Another wave of vertigo fell over Sans as he, Fuku, Frisk, Asriel, and Toriel appeared in the rebel base. Fuku already had a hold on his arm, however, so he didn't fall over.
"It's a good thing I'm not counting on me being the power source for the Inverse Harmonius." Sans said as he waited for the dizziness to pass.
He felt her push something into her hand. It was a bottle of ketchup.
"Thanks, Fuku." He said before taking a long drink from the red container.
"Anytime, Fluffybones." She said with a teasing smile before moving to check on the still unconscious Toriel. She and Sans moved the bossun woman to one of the cots laying around the room. Frisk and Asriel followed, the former setting Mettaton's head on the cot beside Toriel's. Sans almost said something about it, but stopped himself; if it comforted Frisk, he didn't object to the grisly reminder of Asgore's rage.
Sans looked around the base for signs of activity, but found it completely vacant. Even the River Person's chamber was empty.
"Guess they really did go all out." Sans said, eyeing the empty racks that formerly held weapons and armor. "With any luck, they'll be done by now."
Turning to the group, Sans said, "All right; we're not too far from the palace now. I'm gonna go scope it out real quick and make sure the fighting's died down."
"I'm coming with you." Fuku said, standing up.
"What about Toriel?" Sans asked.
"There's nothing more I can do now than make sure we get a fully-trained healer."
Nodding, Sans said, "Fair enough. Frisk, Asriel, you stay here until we get back. See if you can't find a disguise or hiding place for Frisk in case someone comes back before us."
"Oh!" Asriel said, eyes alight. "I know! C'mon, Frisk!"
Sans watched as Asriel led Frisk away by the hand. Already his years of scientific experience were asking questions; would it have to be a bossun soul, or could it be human? Were there any side-effects, and was the change permanent? Was it truly the soul, or was it the determination contained within it that prompted the change?
He shook his head. There was no way to tell now, not in that reality anyway. Still, it was good news; Glen's Asriel could be restored ... provided Sans could find her again.
Feeling Fuku's hand on his shoulder, Sans shook his head and said, "Yeah, I'm coming."
They left the secret passage, closing the lid of the steamer trunk to ensure no monster stumbled upon it by accident, and made their way out of the building without incident. In fact, they didn't see another living soul, even once they were out on the street.
Sans and Fuku exchanged glances. Words were unnecessary; they could both feel it. It was like a low hum or a shrill note just above the audible spectrum; resonating through them and leaving uneasy.
They hurried through the empty streets of New Home, both keeping their eyes our for signs of life. While not finding any monsters, there were signs of passage; the streets were practically filled with discarded garments and possessions.
Picking up a gilded pocket-watch, Sans said, "This isn't junk; it's still ticking too. Someone just abandoned this like ..."
"... like they had to leave in a hurry." Fuku said, her face grim. "Sans ... you mentioned you were gonna open a dimensional gate to get us out of here. Do you think this is because of that?"
"You think the whole Underground was watching Mettaton's show?" Sans shook his head. "Even if they were, don't you think we'd still see people packing? Someone lagging behind? I didn't exactly put a time table on getting people out of here, so why leave behind so much stuff?"
Fuku suddenly clenched Sans's hand tightly. "Sans!" She said, pointing to a small mound of suitcases. There were too many of them for someone to simply have dropped them all right there. Drawing near, Sans spotted the piles of ash.
"I see it." Sans said, glancing around the immediate area for signs of what killed the poor monster as it attempted to flee. On closer inspection, he spotted a few strange tiny scorch marks on the ground. They were too small to be fire magic, though Sans' wasn't sure what kind of weapon would leave such a mark in solid stone.
There were more piles of ash as they drew nearer Castle Dreemurr. Most were around what Sans assumed were their belongings, but outside the castle, but ash was surrounded by gold-embossed armor and clothing, both of the palace guards and the rebels. There were signs of fierce fighting.
"Question is, were they fighting each other, or were they fighting whatever killed those other monsters?" Sans asked aloud, more to himself than anyone.
Fuku nodded. She looked worried as they continued into the castle.
Knowing she must've been worried about her father, Sans patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry; it'd take an army to snuff out Grillby. That guy, he's an inferno."
She gave him a smile. "Thanks. C'mon; we should hurry."
Unfortunately, they only found more ash and empty armor. Sans felt an odd chill as they walked through the chapel, the massive sun windows shattered. The familiar ache of a thousand hopeless battles fought there still burned in his memory.
"What's wrong?" Fuku asked.
"It's nothing." Sans told her. "Just ... bad times. Remember how I said i tried to stop the genocide in my universe?"
When she nodded, he gestured to the room. "This is where it finally went down. This is where I finally got a backbone and tried to do something about it."
She took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey. You tried. You made an effort, even if it was a little late."
"Yeah." Sans said, still feeling a little glum. Shaking his head, he said, "Let's keep moving, yeah?"
"Okay." She said, giving his hand another squeeze.
There were more ash piles in the hallways the further into the castle they walked. The feel of unease was definitely intensifying, and Sans found himself glancing back every now and then, just in case. Fuku was hugging Sans's arm now, the bright points of her eyes darting hopefully to every new corridor only to turn to disappointment.
Eventually, they found the massive doors leading to the throne room. One lay on the floor and the other hung from a single hinge.
"That's not a good sign." Sans said. As they stepped into the room, however, they saw a single monster standing in the middle of the room. If the black armor, blue skin, and red hair weren't enough of a giveaway, the glowing blue spear the fish-woman held made it perfectly clear.
"Ah ... the mysterious other Sans." Undyne said, not turning to face them. "So there you are. You've been busy."
"Yeah, well there's a lot that needed doing."
Undyne laughed ... and yet there was something off about her laughter. Yes, it was a maniacal laugh that hinted at mental instability, but he heard that all the time from his own Undyne. This was more a difference in tone, something that made it sound like someone else using her voice.
"Where is the human child?" Undyne asked, her voice strangely quiet.
"Doesn't matter." Sans said. "We don't need-"
It was a good thing Fuku was faster than Sans; she pulled the skeleton behind the remaining door, the glowing spear passing so close to him that it cut the side of his coat.
"Are you o-OH!" Fuku jerked back as another of Undyne's spears slamming into the door, its head stabbing the air between Fuku and Sans. They ran from the door moments before it too was torn from its remaining hinge. Undyne threw it across the corridor, where it slammed over the passage, cutting off their escape.
Sans felt a massive hand grab his shirt and pull him from Fuku only to slam him against the wall.
"Sans!" Fuku cried out.
Sans couldn't speak; it wasn't just the shock of being lifted and slammed against the wall; he could see Undyne's face now, though he could scarcely recognize it as such; the blue scales of her face were stretched over a skull that was too large for it, a pair of thick glasses obscuring the eyes even as they made Sans realize just who ... or more accurately, what he was fighting.
"Alphys?" Sans said. "Jesus, Doc, what the hell did you do to yourself?"
Some of her armor was missing, revealing that what lay beneath was nothing but coiled tubing and metal, with only a few patches of dull blue scales remaining. Most frightening of all was the strange opening in ehr stomach, the translucent plating revealing the glowing form of a human soul merged with that of a monster.
She hurled him through the open doorway and into the throne room. Sans managed to twist around and land on the ground facing ... whatever Alphys was.
"I improved myself." Alphys said with Undyne's voice. "Now I have a body to match my magnificent mind."
She stepped into the throne room. "I've been working on it for ages, you know; cybernetic upgrades, genetic engineering, psychological manipulation ... all so I could finally destroy that wretch of a king."
"And Undyne?" Sans asked. "What about her? She loved you."
"She still loves me." Alphys said, her hand touching the translucent cover over the combined souls. "And now we'll be together forever, just as she wanted."
Sans couldn't help but shudder. He didn't know anything about the Undyne of that universe, and given the rest of the place he probably wouldn't have liked her anyway, but what Alphys did to her made it impossible to feel anything but sympathy for the Captain of the Guard.
"So ... what?" Sans said, standing up. "You did this to take over the kingdom?"
"Not just take over; I will improve our ability to survive!" Alphys said. "Think about it; even the strongest monster cannot stand up to the strength and determination of a human soul. It doesn't matter how many weapons, how much armor we stock up; we'll still be easy pickings for the remnants of humanity."
She looked at her arm, her twisted face full of self-admiration. "But with my modifications, our army will sweep across the surface and destroy all resistance. Think of it, Sans; all those human souls just there for the taking! With my modifications, monsters will become like gods! Just look at me! Look at this form! Look at my magic!"
Sans dove aside moments before a flood of spears flashed through the air. Glancing at the wall, he was shocked to see the spears formed a perfect silloutte of him on the wall.
"Such power! Such control!" Alphys said, clenching a massive fist. "We'll be unstoppable! But before any of that, we must deal with the barrier."
"Why?" Sans asked. "You've already got a human and a monster soul. You can pass through the barrier."
"Do you think me a fool? I've worked too long to achieve this to risk throwing it away by overconfidence. I will leave, but I will not be alone; my core-bots managed to sneak away one soul without triggering the failsafe, but there are five more in Asgore's vaults, as well as the soul of the human you're protecting. Seven's still small for an army, but it'll be enough for us to gather more. The barrier won't even matter; with my improvements, we'll simply walk out of here."
"Who's we?" Sans asked. "All we've found was ash."
"Yes, the ash of traitors. The ash of rebels, and the ash of those foolish enough to stand with the king."
"And the people running away?" Sans asked. "The people just trying to escape?"
"Cowards and fools!" Alphys snapped. "Idiots who rejected their potential for a pipe dream of finding a better universe."
Shaking her head, Alphys said, "I need the human, and I know you know where it is. Tell me now, and I'll allow you to join me. Hang on to the foolish hope of hiding her, and I'll turn you to ash where you stand.
"Hmm." Sans said, rubbing his chin. "Let me think."
The Gaster Blaster appeared silently behind Undyne. It opened its mouth as Sans pretended to think, slowly charging power until finally releasing it in one massive blast.
Sans shielded his eyes from the light. Once it faded, he looked back up and immediately felt his draw drop.
Alphys was laughing. The attack hadn't even knocked off another part of her armor; it hadn't done much more than sizzle her hair.
"I saw your fight with Asgore, Sans." Alphys said. "But you forget that I too worked with Gaster."
Sans's eye-sockets widened. "You ... you remember Gaster?"
Alphys's blue skin stretched thin across an evil grin as she raised her hand. The air shimmered before a giant Gaster Blaster appeared in the air above her. The massive Gaster Blaster was half-machine, oil-caked metal looking to have consumed the bone.
Sans was so transfixed on the horror of the Alphys Blaster that he didn't notice Undyne's other hand move before it was too late. The spear hit him in the chest, pinning him to the wall with surprisingly little pain. He looked down and saw the spear had shot through his ribs, not hitting the bone but also making it difficult for him to free himself.
"Last chance." Alphys commanded, her blaster charging. "Tell me where the human is. If not, you'll get an up-close look at how I improved Professor Gaster's work."
Sans glared at her, blue eye flaring. "Not a chance."
"Very well."
Sans tugged at the spear with everything he had. The spearhead was deep in the wall, but he could feel it slowly give despite his awkward grip on the shaft. It wasn't giving fast enough, however; in a matter of moments, the Alphys Blaster finished charging.
Just as Alphys started to bring her hand down, however, a burst of white fire caught her in the face. Alphys screeched, clutching her face for a moment before turning to Fuku.
Fuku was livid, the bright blue of her flame burning a bright white all around her. She skimmed across the ground, dodging spears with a grace Sans couldn't help but envy. The blasts of fire that flew from her fingertips seemed to home in on Alphys, each blast
Realizing he was wasting time and that the Alphys Blaster was still pointed straight at him, Sans tugged at the spear. With a final pull, he felt the spear leave the stone behind him. Pulling it carefully out of his rib-cage, Sans turned to find Undyne and Fuku struggling; Alphys's spear pushing against blades of pure white flame shooting from Fuku's hands.
For a moment, Fuku looked like she was the stronger; whatever well of power she was pulling from, however, was emptying quickly. Her flames faded, and with it her strength until Alphys shoved her to the ground, her spear shattering the fiery blades.
There were no words; Alphys simply lifted the speak over Fuku's helpless form to deal the final blow ... and stopped, her eyes going wide. One hand fell to the head of the spear sticking through her soul compartment.
Sans let go of the shaft, still feeling a little stunned. Quickly shaking it off, he hurried to Fuku's side and helped sit up.
"Sans ..." She said, head lolling slightly. "You ... you have to go."
"Like hell I do." He said, putting her arm around his neck. "Upsies!"
Alphys pulled the spear out of her body with a scream that would've set Sans's hair on end had he any. Alphys's Blaster spun about and blasted the wall beside Sans and Fuku, stopping their attempted escape.
"Die!" Alphys snarled as her Blaster centered on them.
The door covering the exit suddenly flew the other way, propelled by an explosion from the other side. Three figures were standing in the cleared passage; River Person, looking somewhat worse for wear, Wolfred, whose gilded armor was covered with ash, and the bright purple flame of Grillby, a large canister containing a single orange soul in his hands.
Grillby's eyes flickered to Sans and his daughter before turning on Alphys.
"I'll end you." Alphys said, "Just like I was about to end your daughter! And there's nothing you can do about it."
"Oh?" Grillby said, his voice strangely quiet.
Sans realized what was about to happen. "Grillby, no! We n-"
Grillby brought his hands together, shattering through the walls of the container and touching the glowing soul.
The effect was immediate. Grillby's flames flared around him, their light so bright that Sans had to shield his eyes. The light flashed by him and Fuku, followed by a surprised cry from Alphys. Sans risked a peek and let out a gasp. Grillby had Alphys by both hands, his purple flames burning so intensely that he looked three times his normal size. His flames snaked over Alphys's stolen body, burning away scale and skin and melting metal.
Alphys ran him through with spear after spear, but Grillby didn't so much as flinch. He lifted Alphys as though she weighed nothing and hurled her across the chamber. Her body landed on the throne, knocking it over and smashing it to kindling beneath her weight.
River Person and Wolfred grabbed Sans and Fuku.
"Come on." River Person said, "We have to go."
"No!" Fuku cried out, struggling to escape Wolfred's grasp. "Dad!"
"Go with them, little flame." Grillby said, not turning.
"D-dad ..."
"Please." Grillby said as Alphys rose to her feet. "Let me be good father just this once. Wolfred."
Wolfred nodded and pulled Fuku toward the passage. She resisted a little before finally letting the wolfman help her.
River Person gestured to Sans. Sans glanced at Grillby as he prepared to fight Alphys.
"We'll keep a fire going for you." He said, "So don't do somethin' stupid like dying."
To his surprise, Grillby let out a laugh. It was the first laugh Sans ever heard Grillby, any Grillby, ever make. Grillby gave Sans a quick nod. "Until then."
"Until then." Sans repeated before following River Person out of the chamber.
ns 15.158.61.16da2
