#6. it's not good to stand in front of a Gaster Blaster | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

krat395 · 4 years

Text

W.D. Gaster, the Ultimate Tickle Master (Chapter 10)

After a grueling battle in the forest, Gaster once again managed to get the best of all five of his “enemies.” But, before he could tickle them all at the same time once again, he was hit by a powerful lightning blast! A lightning blast so powerful that it sent him sliding about 60 yards away from everyone! :O Where did this lightning blast come from?! Or, maybe the better question to be asking is, “WHO did this lightning blast come from?!”

Undertale© Toby Fox.

******************************************

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 11

******************************************

W.D. GASTER, THE ULTIMATE TICKLE MASTER

Chapter 10: Axe of Retribution

Gaster: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! *Gaster shouted, sliding about 60 yards away from Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne after being hit by a mysterious blast of yellow lightning* Gah, what on earth?! *he asked, moments after witnessing the individual that attacked him and his clones with lightning*

???: Ehehehehe. Hello, Gaster. *said the attacker casually (and confidently) while summoning an axe that looked a little too big for them to wield effectively* It’s me, the girl that’s about to kick your ass! Ehehehehe~

Gaster: Oh, is that so? *asked Gaster, summoning his scythe while proceeding to stand up* Well then take your best shot, ALPHYS!!! I dare you!!

(WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?! ALPHYS?!?! THAT’S WHO ATTACKED GASTER JUST NOW?!?!?! ALPHYS?!?! :O :O :O :O :O)

Gaster’s eyes sockets do not deceive him! Alphys is indeed the one that’s responsible for attacking him just now! Like Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Gaster himself, Alphys has magical abilities of her own. And with them, she is going to “fight” Gaster and make him pay for what he did to Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne this morning and Muffet, Blooky, and Mettaton yesterday afternoon. ;) Or, at least try to make him pay for what he’s done. She is going up against W.D. Gaster after all! But with her axe, lightning magic, and Undyne attire (again, everything minus the boots and eyepatch) aiding her however (the Undyne attire gives her a boost of confidence), she might just stand a chance. ;)

Alphys: Ehehehehe. That’s all I needed to hear. NGAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! *shouted Alphys, as if she were Undyne, while charging at Gaster with her axe*

Gaster: Hehehehe. Oh you. *said Gaster with a chuckle, summoning Gaster Blasters in an attempt to slow Alphys down* Do you really think that charging at me like that is going to work? Hehehehehehehe~

But it did work! Before the blasters could hit her, Alphys dashed out of the way with lightning-fast speed; as if she were a bolt of lightning herself; and before Gaster knew it, she was directly in front of him, just itching to dig with her clawed fingers and toes into his hopefully sensitive bones! But before Alphys could do that though, she and Gaster then clashed their weapons; Alphys with her large axe and Gaster with his demonic scythe; and they continued doing so for the next couple of minutes. All while Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne quietly made their way over to them to find out exactly what the two of them were doing, using the trees as cover to prevent Gaster from seeing them.

………

Toriel: Oh my goodness, can anyone explain to me what we just saw? Or, WHO we just saw? Asgore?

Asgore: Hey, don’t ask me, Toriel. I’m just a confused as you are. And… so is Papyrus by the looks of it.

Papyrus: Nyeh heh heh! You’re gosh darn right, your majesty! Nyeh heh heh!

Sans: Hehehehe. Oh, don’t worry, you guys. You’ll find out what or who that was in a little while, trust me.

Undyne: Fuhuhuhu! Yeah, what he said. Fuhuhuhu! And once you find out, you and Toriel are going to be like, “What the *bleep*!!” Fuhuhuhu!! *said Undyne with a massive smile on her face before getting her ponytail yanked by Toriel* OUCH!! OW!!

Toriel: Language, young lady!

Undyne: OW, OW, OW, ok, I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! Ow, ow, ow!!

Toriel: Ok, that’s what I thought. *said Toriel, moments before letting go of Undyne’s hair*

………

A few minutes later…

Gaster: Hehehehe. You’re skills are admirable, young lady. *said Gaster, complimenting Alphys* But let’s see how they fare against this!

Moments later, Gaster teleported directly behind Alphys with a full intent of digging his bony fingers into her overly sensitive sides. But right before he could do that though, Alphys dashed away from him with lightning-fast speed and then towards him with a full intent of digging her clawed fingers and toes into his bones. But then right before Alphys could do that, she was placed into a telekinetic hold by Gaster. Damn those telekinetic powers of his! And to make matters even worse, he summoned ghostly hands to try and tickle her everywhere on her sensitive body; her feet, her belly, her sides, her ribs, her neck, her knees, her thighs, her tail, you name it! But before that happened though, Alphys destroyed every single one of them with numerous bolts of lightning!

Alphys: Haha! Take that, G-Man! Yeah, I can cheat too! *teased Alphys in a cocky manner, moments before striking Gaster with lightning to free herself*

Gaster: fjhefuisirfhwauifrhsubgisheiushrbrfbrerguregushierisigefarhsihs!!!

Alphys: Haha! Yes! I’ve escaped!

Gaster: Hehe! Indeed you have! Hehehe. Now try to dodge this, why don’t you! *shouted Gaster, summoning bigger hands (2x bigger) to tickle Alphys with* Mwahahahahahaha!!

But then, before the hands could actually tickle Alphys, Alphys managed to destroy them all WITH FIRE FROM MOUTH; just like that of a fire-breathing dragon!!! :O In addition to summoning an axe and creating and controlling lightning, Alphys can also create and control fire!

Gaster: Hehehehe. You’re full of tricks, lizard. I like that about you. *claimed Gaster, summoning magical orbs to attack Alphys with in the form of spinning sickles*

Alphys: Ehehehehe. Good. Because there’s plenty more than where that came from! *exclaimed Alphys, moments before creating a large fire wall to protect herself from the sickles*

………

While Alphys was busy protecting herself from Gaster’s orbs with her fire wall, Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne, while continuing to stay out of sight, finally reached her and Gaster’s current location.

Toriel and Asgore: *surprised gasp* OH MY GOD!! ALPHYS?! THAT WAS ALPHYS?!

Undyne: Fuhuhuhu! Hell yeah, it was! She really got him good, didn’t she?

Sans: Hehe. Yep. Pretty cool, huh?

Papyrus: (Oh, good. That was Alphys. I’ve never seen her do that type of attack before. So when she attacked my dad a while ago, I thought it was some random stranger. :/)

Toriel: …Why was she in the house all this time?! *asked Toriel with a bit of sass in her voice, confused as to why Alphys didn’t physically assist her, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne in combat from the get-go*

Sans: Good question, Tori. You should ask her that after we all tickle my old man together. *said Sans to Toriel with a cheeky-looking grin on his face* Hehehe.

Asgore: Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s get over there and help her!

Undyne: Oh, no, no, no. Not yet, Asgore. Let my little lizard bae have a little more fun first. Fuhuhuhu! (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I’M SO PROUD OF YOU, ALPHYS!! X3)

………

Gaster: Mwahahahaha! Really? A fire wall? You’ve already got plenty of those on your computer, you know; and everyone else’s computers for that matter. *teased Gaster*

Alphys: Oh, shut up and “burn,” old man! *exclaimed Alphys, without any intention of offending Gaster as she began redirecting her fire towards his current location* NGAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! *she shouted, like that of her fish waifu once again*

Gaster: *absorbs Alphys’s fire with his left arm and then fires it all back at Alphys*

Alphys had a feeling that Gaster was going to absorb her fire. So, in response to this, she too absorbed the fire; but not with one or both of her arms. Instead, she absorbed her own fire with her axe! Then, immediately after the fire was absorbed, Alphys jumped high into the air and then came down with a powerful slam, creating a fire shockwave that sent Gaster soaring through the air about 20 feet away from her!

Gaster: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!!! *shouted Gaster while flying through the air*

………

Papyrus: Ok; now, Undyne?

Undyne: Fuhuhu; nope, not quite yet, Papy!

Papyrus: Well, when will it be time?

Undyne: I’ll let you know! *said Undyne in a bit of a sassy tone to Papyrus*

Toriel: Hey, no need to be so bossy, young lady! *shouted Toriel, scaring Undyne a little in the process*

Undyne: …I’m sorry. *Undyne apologized with a worried “Oh *bleep*!” expression on her face*

………

After being launched into the air by Alphys, Gaster then worked up enough energy to summon two giant hands; two giant hands that are capable of delivering some serious tickling to Alphys!

Gaster: Oh, you are so asking for it now, young lady! Hehehehehehe~

Alphys: Hmph! You talk too much. *teased Alphys, moments before obliterating both of Gaster’s giant hands in quick succession; the first one with a combination of her fire and lightning magic and then the second one with her axe* Hahahahahaha~!!

Gaster: *puts Alphys in the strongest telekinetic hold possible; a telekinetic hold in which she’s unable to move her eyes :O*

Alphys: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!! *shouted Alphys frighteningly, struggling to free herself from her current predicament* Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!

………

Undyne: Oh *bleep*!! Ok, everyone, let’s go!! My lizard weeaboo is in danger and needs our help!!

Toriel: Uh, “weeaboo,” Undyne? *asked Toriel confusingly, not expecting such a word to come out of Undyne’s mouth*

Undyne: (Oh, *bleep*! Did I really just say that out loud?!) Uh, nothing, just a silly little name I made up! *lied Undyne* Fuhuhu! Anyway, let’s save Alphys! She could really use some help right about now!

With that said; Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne all proceeded to run as fast as they could towards Gaster; attacking him with their weapons to make him let go of Alphys; Toriel with her sword and shield, Asgore with his trident, Sans with his double-bladed scythe, Papyrus with his weapon in its scythe form, and Undyne with her spear.

Gaster: Gah! Not again! *exclaimed Gaster, summoning hands and orbs to fend off his five attackers*

Of the five attackers, Toriel managed grab a hold one of Gaster’s limbs with her weapon its bladed whip form, Gaster’s left arm to be exact, before the hands and orbs began attacking her. Noticing this, Alphys, who had just recovered from being trapped in a telekinetic hold, felt the need to imbue Toriel’s weapon with lightning, electrocuting Gaster to make him lose control of his magical orbs to some extent.

Gaster: fjasdfshegiuraefwjoiuseofnafsfwenfoanfonaos!!!

Toriel: Mwahahahaha! I got you! *shouted Toriel, firmly grasping Gaster’s left arm and shoulder to prevent him from teleporting away* Mwahahahahahaha~ Wait! Oof! Gah! No! Oooof! S-so many things pushing against meeeeeeee! Gah! I… I can’t tickle him! Ahhhhhh~

Despite having a firm grip on Gaster’s left arm and shoulder, Toriel is unable to tickle Gaster due to his summoned hands constantly pushing against her arms, legs, head, and torso. All she can do is hold onto him until he gets fully subdued and pray to God that he won’t try to tickle her in an attempt to make her let go of him!

Alphys: *gasp* It worked! Asgore, your turn! *shouted Alphys, moments before imbuing the monster king’s trident with lightning*

Asgore: Hohoho! Thanks, Alphys! *said Asgore in response*

Asgore then proceeded to fend off some of Gaster’s hands and orbs with his lightning-imbued trident with incredible ease. Then, once the hands and orbs were taken care of, Asgore managed to poke Gaster with his trident; electrocuting him once again and making him lose even more control of his magical orbs.

Gaster: afiaefiufwaeiofonaesvnrjeksanerkjenskjerasj!!!

Asgore: Hohohoho! Another step closer! *shouted Asgore, firmly grasping Gaster’s right arm and shoulder to prevent him from teleporting away even more* Hohoho! Oof! Gaster, stop that! Oooooof!

Just like Toriel, Asgore, despite having a firm grip on Gaster’s right arm and shoulder, is unable to tickle Gaster due to Gaster’s summoned hands constantly pushing against his arms, legs, head, and torso. It appears that it’s going to take more than the brute strength of two boss monsters to subdue Gaster!

Undyne: *gasp* Oh, I see what you’re doing, babe! And I like it! Fuhuhuhu! Well, come on then! Just like we practiced! *exclaimed Undyne, summoning spears from the ground in a straight line directly towards Gaster’s left leg*

Alphys: Hehe. Aww, nice! Ehehehehe.

Undyne: Papy, do the same thing with your bones!

Papyrus: Nyeh heh heh! Will do, Undyne! *exclaimed Papyrus, summoning bones from the ground in a straight line directly towards Gaster’s right leg*

Alphys: Ehehehe. Ok, here goes nothing… KAMEHAMEHA!!! *shouted Alphys, sending chain lightning from bone to bone and spear to spear until eventually reaching both of Gaster’s legs* (Ehehehehe. Yeah! Giant energy beam or not, shouting that was definitely worth it!!! *gasp* Oh dear, now I’m starting to sound like my “little bro!” The extremely rare not-so-sweet side of him to be exact!)

Gaster: safjhreugiersgurwhtugiersogniowernstboerooesranew!!!

By electrocuting Gaster a third time, Alphys has managed to make Gaster lose practically all of his control with his magical orbs. That and make it possible for both Undyne and Papyrus to grab Gaster’s legs; Undyne with a firm grip on Gaster’s left leg and Papyrus with a firm grip on Gaster’s right leg.

Undyne: Fuhuhu! Beautiful, babe! Just beautiful! Fuhuhu! Oof! Urgh!

Papyrus: But still not quite enough, I’m afraid! Gah! Nyoo hoo hoo!

Just like Toriel and Asgore, Undyne and Papyrus are unable to tickle Gaster due to so many summoned hands pushing against their arms, legs, heads, and torsos. Clearly four individuals aren’t enough to fully subdue Gaster either! So, upon observing this, Sans, who has been fending off Gaster’s hands and magical orbs in a nearby tree this entire time, teleported directly above Gaster and landed directly onto his shoulders to subdue him even more.

Sans: Hehehehe. Gotcha, Dad! Hehehehe. And now you’re blind! *shouted Sans, covering up his father’s eyes just like a little kid riding on one of their parents’ shoulders*

Gaster: Gah; really, Sans? Urgh! Just how old do you think you are? *asked Gaster in disbelief, struggling to keep control of his magical orbs as he summoned hands to push against his older son’s arms, legs, head, and torso*

Sans: Hehehehe. I am 7 years old! I’m a little kid! *said the 28-year-old skeleton jokingly, keeping a firm grip on Gaster’s head with his hands and legs* Hehehehehe. Wheeeeeeeee~ Oooooooooof!! *he exclaimed as skeleton hands started pushing against him*

Gaster: Uraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

By covering up Gaster’s eyes, Sans has made Gaster lose all control of his magical orbs. But not his summoned hands though! The summoned hands are still pushing against everyone’s arms, legs, heads, and torsos with all of their might in order to prevent everyone trying to subdue him from tickling him! Even more so now with Sans firmly grasping Gaster’s head!

Alphys: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! H-h-hold on, guys! *panicked Alphys* If I could just… * she shouted, making her way close to Gaster only to be stopped by some of his summoned hands*

At this point, Gaster has summoned the maximum number of hands that he’s capable of summoning. All 200 of them! And with them, he is fending off Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys; enough to prevent them from tickling him but not enough to make them let go of his limbs and head. So, that’s where Alphys comes in. Somehow, while fending off some of Gaster’s summoned hands with her axe, lightning magic, and fire magic, the nerdy lizard girl herself needs to find a way to fully subdue Gaster. Somehow, she needs to make something happen. Anything! Literally anything at this point! Gaster is very strong! And Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne don’t know how much longer they can hold him!

Alphys: O-o-ok, you guys! Eyaaaaaaa! *slices through some of Gaster’s summoned hands with her axe* How’s this work for you? *charges up and then fires lightning from her axe directly at Gaster, affecting him and only him with her lightning*

But the lightning blast didn’t do any good! If anything, it made it more difficult for everyone to fend off the hands. Hmmm… perhaps fire will work better?

Alphys: *bleep* *bleep*!! Um, ok, uh, h-h-how about this? Will this work? *charges up and then fires a steady stream of fire (like that of flamethrower) from her axe directly at Gaster, affecting him and only him with her fire*

Nope! Fire didn’t work either! Just like the lightning, the fire made fending off Gaster’s hands even more difficult! But, luckily for Alphys though, there’s one more thing she can do; something that might easily subdue Gaster; but, also something that might make it harder for everyone to tickle him. :/

Alphys: Ugh! All right, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but I’m kinda out of options over here, soooo… here goes nothing…

With that said; Alphys proceeded to take a really deep breath. Then, once she was ready, SHE BLEW ICE BREATH IN GASTER’S DIRECTION, completely freezing Gaster and the ground around him without affecting Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne in any way, shape, or form!! :O But not just that though! Just in case Gaster tries to find a way to escape his frozen predicament, Alphys felt the need to make it harder for him to try and escape by surrounding him with a plethora of ice pillars and spikes! Of course after Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne all moved away from him! That’s right! In addition to summoning an axe and creating and controlling lightning and fire, Alphys can also create and control ice! Lightning, fire, and ice; that’s three different types of elemental magic at Alphys’s disposal! And with them, along with her axe, she makes for one fearsome warrior under the guise of a nerdy scientist that lacks combat skills. In other words, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Or, in this case, a lizard in fish’s clothing; literally since she’s currently wearing Undyne’s clothes minus the red boots and black eyepatch.

Sans: Woah, CHILL out, Al! ICE think you’ve made your point! Hehehehehe~

Undyne: *sarcastic laugh* Oh, shut up, bonehead! *Undyne shouted at San before saying the following to Alphys,* Alphys, that was very COOL of you! Fuhuhu!

Toriel: Hee hee hee! Yeah, way to LET IT GO, young lady! *cheered Toriel* Hee hee hee!

Alphys: Heeheeheeheehee!! Awwww, thanks, you guys! *said Alphys while blushing* Heeheeheehee!!

Asgore: Hohoho! Of course, Alphys! Hohoho! Of course! Hohoho! Of course!

Papyrus: Nyeh heh heh! Yes, indeed! But, there’s just one problem though! How are we going to tickle my dad while he’s frozen solid like this?!

Alphys: Oh, ehehehehehe, I have no idea! Ehehehehehe; but, hey, look on the bright side. At least now we don’t have to worry about him tickling us! Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee~!! *giggled Alphys; moments before feeling something tickly dig into her overly sensitive soles underneath the grass and dirt* PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! *SNORT* HUHUHUHUHUH?!! *SNORT* HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, *SNORT* WHAHAHAAHAHAT THE HEHEHEHEHEHELL?!! *asked Alphys confusedly in between spurts of adorable giggles and laughter as something tickled her feet underneath the part of the ground she’s currently standing on* HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!!!!!! *SNORT* *SNORT* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!! *SNORT* OHOHOHOOHOH GOHOHOHOHOD, *SNORT* *SNORT* HAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA, *SNORT* OH MY GOHOHOHOHOHOD, *SNORT* HAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA, *SNORT* SOMETHING’S TIHIHIHIHIHICKLING *SNORT* MY FEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEET!!!!!!! *SNORT* *SNORT* *SNORT* BLAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! *the nerdy lizard girl giggled and laughed once more, moments before falling to the ground and onto her back; and moments before something began restraining her to the ground in a spread eagle position with her tail lying flat against the ground in between her legs* HEHEHEHEHEHEHELP ME!!!!!!! *SNORT* HAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, *SNORT* SOMEBOHOHOHOHODY, *SNORT* HEHEHEHEHELP MEEHEEHEEHEE!!!!!!! *SNORT* *SNORT* EEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE~!!!!!!!

TO BE CONCLUDED...

#undertale tickle #undertale tickling #tickle fic #tickle story #feet tickling

7 notes · View notes

that1nkyone · 6 years

Text

Spectrum Ch 32

[ 1 ] - [ 2 ] - [ 3 ] - [ 4 ] - [ 5 ] - [ 6 ] - [ 7 ] - [ 8 ] - [ 9 ] - [ 10 ] - [ 11 ] - [ 12 ] - [13] - [ 14 ] - [15 ] - [ 16 ] - [ 17 ] - [ 18 ] - [19 ] - [ 20 ] - [ 21a ] - [ 21b ] - [22] - [23 (Intermission) ] - [ 24 ] - [ 25 ] - [ 26 ] - [ 27 ] - [ 28 ] - [ 29 ] - [ 30 ] - [ 31 ]

There’s no way we can be this close. Holy heck.

Next chapter will be the last. Though there may be an epilogue of sorts. I feel we might need one.

For now, here is part one of the finale.

Thank you for reading, guys. : )

Chapter 32! In which there is a fall.

An orange laser burned past Gaster.

Shrieks echoed through the halls.

The stench of rocket fuel filled his senses.

The halls whipped by him. The trail of jet fire curled away from him as his hands stampeded against the floor and walls and ceiling.

Gaster almost didn’t notice any of it.

Frisk was speeding away from him, yet his vision continued to tunnel onto the small human as if they were a beacon.

Even Papyrus, who thundered down the hall behind him - having joined the chase from heavens-knows-where - was beginning to become little more than background noise to him.

Yes.

This was it.

This was the way it should be.

Just him. Just the doctor and this focus.

No voices, boggling about his mind. No arguments within his skull, none of his body working against him.

Everything flowed, in a smooth exhilarating machine. Everything within him meshed together as it should.

He hadn’t won yet. Gaster understood that. But the doctor almost felt a moment of peace, as the chaos unravelled around him.

He gestured forth, still in the serenity of the moment. Three Blaster skulls darted forward in response, light collecting in their respective maws.

The whine of another laser sounded from behind the doctor, and he effortlessly whipped around to dodge as Papyrus let forth his own blast.

Gaster heard a shriek and a clatter, and glanced down to see the remains of one of the Blaster skulls, passing underneath him as they continued onwards down the hall.

He turned again, seeing the two remaining Blaster skulls releasing their own blasts towards the fleeing human.

Frisk suddenly seemed to drop from midair, straight out of their line of fire. The human swept inches over the tiles, and Papyrus shot again from behind. Another Blaster skull exploded into shards and light.

Gaster chuckled.

The human had a talent for dodging, that was for certain.

He gestured backwards, and the remaining Blaster retreated a few metres away from Frisk, back to his side.

He could hear Papyrus keeping pace behind him, the creature panting wolfishly - but the doctor knew that he would not tire easily.

His gaze off of Frisk for a moment, Gaster spun around once more - his extra hands continuing their pace to carry him towards the human. He gestured, and the Blaster turned to face Papyrus as well, building up a laser blast in its maw.

Orange flickered in Papyrus’ eye sockets for the briefest of moments. He stumbled into a slower pace, allowing some distance between himself and the doctor.

Gaster smiled. He rose his free hand, as the Blaster skull beside him reached full charge -

- and turned to face the retreating Frisk.

He brought his hand down. The Blaster fired.

One of Frisk’s wings exploded.

There was a shriek of terror from Papyrus. The human kicked about as their small craft spiralled out of control.

They bounced off the ground, the rocket engine spluttering as the human hastily began pressing buttons on the front of their harness.

The mechanism released Frisk, and they hit the floor, rolling from the impact.

Rather than crash into pieces, their harness suddenly collapsed into itself. It spun and shifted and flipped until it was simply a phone once more, clattering across the tiles.

Frisk rolled to a stop next to it, their arms immediately scrambling for the object. But they were clearly disoriented. They tried to stand, and only leaned heavily to the side, staggering directly into the wall.

< HOLD ON, FRISK! > Came a sudden bark from behind Gaster. The human finally managed to grab their phone - and promptly fell against the wall with a groan.

Gaster smirked, eyes fixed on the helpless human. He waved a hand forth as Papyrus darted past him, distracted.

A Blaster skull obediently hovered by Gaster’s side at his summons. The whine of the laser charge sounded as it gathered its energy.

The doctor brought his hand down in one decisive command.

And then the Blaster skull exploded into shards beside him.

Like that, the focus disappeared.

The doctor flinched away from the blast, startled. A scrabbling of claws sounded, and Gaster looked up in time to see Papyrus reach Frisk.

The taller Blaster closed his jaws on the back of Frisk’s sweater and picked them up - darting away from the doctor and down the hall.

In a smoldering rage, Gaster spun around, scanning the area with a snarl. His focus was interrupted. Ruined.

A laser blast had shot down his weapon before it could fire - and Papyrus had clearly been busy attempting to save the human -

Gaster’s glare intensified.

Sans.

… It had to have been Sans. Of course.

The other Blaster may have been injured, but his laser was still functional.

Gaster frowned, as he looked around. He could not see the other beast anywhere - not even across the CORE chamber, in some sort of concealed level in the facility.

The other skeleton brother, however, was a deceptive one. The Blaster was clearly capable of trickery.

He gestured with both hands.

What remained of the Blaster platoon materialised around him. A substantial amount - a solid eight.

Gaster found himself smiling at that familiar number. This was all he would need.

FIND HIM. He commanded the chattering platoon, turning his attention to the retreating Papyrus, vanishing around the curve of the hall. FINISH HIM FOR GOOD.

Gaster was certain of one thing - Sans was injured.

He would not get far. He was now simply a broken, malfunctioning weapon - one he could not coax or control.

No matter what strings he pulled.

Gaster frowned, his mind returning to the matter at hand. His target had been carried out of sight, and he needed to rectify this.

He surged forth, stampeding down the hall once more with a quick summoning gesture. Two Blaster skulls broke off from the rest of the platoon and darted ahead of him - leading the way, fixated on his target.

The doctor focused as Papyrus came back into view, around the curve of the hall. However, rather than running, his slender form was suddenly still - his back still facing towards Gaster.

He had stopped completely, and now seemed to be digging furiously into the tiled floor beneath him, Frisk still clutched in his jaws. Debris and ceramic shards were flying behind him as he dug.

Papyrus was trying to drop to the facility level beneath them, the doctor realized. Trying to escape. And he couldn’t use his laser because of his precious cargo.

With a smirk, Gaster thrust a hand out to the Blaster beast, listening to both lasers charge within his weapons. Papyrus must have noted his presence, as he suddenly began digging with more desperation and force than he had, before -

- and then, the left Blaster skull suddenly slammed into the right.

Gaster stumbled, off balance, as both skulls slammed into the wall from the impact, bouncing off the ceiling and floor, respectively. They vanished behind him, shrieking in pain.

The doctor whirled around, agitated. Then, he froze.

The group he’d sent to hunt down Sans were now clustered behind them. In their many faces, he saw panic and confusion. They all chattered, ceaselessly.

< FriENd! FRIeNd! WhY? wHy? >

< WeAKeNED uS! >

< wHo’s tHeRe? WhO’s wHeRe? >

< BuRNiNg bUrNInG BUrNing buRniNG - >

Gaster faced the group, wide-eyed. He could not see either of the two Blaster skull who had failed to take their shot, seconds ago. In spite of their cracks and scars, they were indistinct from the rest of the group.

A burning anger rose in him.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL? He growled.

Suddenly, there was the clatter of plaster. Gaster spun around, just in time to see Papyrus’ lengthly tail vanish into the large hole in the floor. The dust of debris curled in the air, catching the violet light of the CORE.

The whine of a laser sounded before Gaster could pursue.

There was loud explosion behind him, and a shower of white shards clattered on the tiles beneath him. Gaster’s arms pulled him away from the group, and he turned to face them, wide-eyed.

Yet another Blaster skull had been shot and disintegrated.

The cluster of Blasters began to shriek and chatter in panic. One threw itself into the CORE window, causing a web of cracks to appear. Several skulls scattered away, one colliding hard into Gaster in its panic.

He shoved it away with his many hands, his shocked expression twisting into a scowl.

ENOUGH! He snapped at the weapon, who chattered back, morosely.

The Blaster skull responded to his words - with the rest of the cluster chiming in with more of their garbled nonsense.

< PaCk hURt mE! PACk HUrT! >

< NoT mE! nOt mE! >

< KiLL! BuRn! KILL! BURN! >

The Blaster skull pulled out of his grasp, backing into another agitated skull. It shrieked and bit at the other. They suddenly rounded on each other, snapping, shrieking and hissing. Another one within the cluster pursued another, charging its laser as its target shrieked, attempting to escape.

Gaster gritted his teeth.

He held up all his entire swath of hands, eyesockets narrowed.

STOP THIS! He hissed. AFTER THE HUMAN!

Several Blaster skulls managed to fall in line, even the fleeing ones turning around and returning to their master. But two more were still chattering and snarling at each other, growling threateningly as they floated apart.

< think you’re losin’ your touch there, doc. >

Gaster’s eye sockets grew wide.

He spun around - slamming a hand on the Blaster closest to him. Imposing his will as best he could.

< and that’s saying a lot. you know, considering. >

The doctor’s many arms twitched, erratically, his gaze darting about. He looked across the chamber, over his shoulder, down the hall. He even glanced down at the hole in the floor.

Sans’ voice was close.

SHOW YOURSELF. Gaster demanded, eyelights shrinking into pinpricks.

There was the whine of a laser. Another Blaster exploded into shards, and Gaster darted away from the cluster, his gaze furiously searching his surroundings.

< nah. that’d take more effort than i’m willing to put in, right now. >

A furious grin appeared on the doctor’s features.

NO EFFORT TO ASSIST YOUR OWN BROTHER, I SEE. He said, his eyes darting around the halls in search of the Blaster.

< pap’s got this covered.> Came the reply. < he’s probably better suited for protecting the kid, honestly. >

Gaster’s features twisted into a frown as he heard the voice speaking from behind him, once more.

< y’know, you got a lot of nerve, doc. >

He whipped around. He saw nothing, but a few other of his chattering weaponry.

< being all high and mighty about the dangers of doing stuff ‘at the cost of everyone else.’ last i checked - judging folks was my job. one of ‘em, anyway. >

There was no trace of Sans. With a growl, Gaster turned to look down the hall after Papyrus.

But in doing so, his gaze was caught by a bright flash. A rumble sounded, and he suddenly looked over at the large chamber beside him.

His eye sockets grew wide.

The CORE was rippling with all kinds of furious colours - red, blue, orange, even teal raging across the surface in streaks.

< while we’re at it, weren’t you were the one who wanted that test run for the coolant, all those years ago? before it was even ready? >

Gaster stared at the CORE.

He had never seen his creation so… large, before. The view would have been frightening in some ways - but moreso, it was fascinating. It churned with power and heat. It was about to hit critical mass.

The only thing that brought him back into the room was the realization that the explosion could kill Frisk. The answer to all his problems.

Gaster’s fascinated smile faded.

…but what of the nature of the explosion?

Would it also erase the human from existence, rendering his efforts for naught?

Gaster shook his head, a rising feeling of discomfort within him. He was away from his target, and the concentration he’d had was slipping away entirely. Without the high of his focus, the air seemed… heavier. Constricting.

He reached out for the parts of himself he’d dismissed, to help piece together the situation before him. But he received no response.

He’d conquered them, after all.

Now he was alone.

< you were the one who wanted to throw everything in danger, despite what everyone else thought. > Came Sans’ voice, once again.

Gaster’s fear dissolved into irritation.

< you worked owel into the ground, treated reno like dirt - made sprig work to the point of passin’ out, trying to figure out all your secrets. not to mention, you kept dismissing val. you rode off the back of the folks who actually cared about the core, and the monsters that depended on it… >

SHUT UP. Gaster muttered.

He began to turn towards the direction of the Control Panel room, only for a shrieking Blaster skull to slam into his form. He reeled, coughing as his many arms braced out to the sides of the hall.

He snarled, looking up at the offending weapon. It had a few more bite marks upon it - visibly fleeing from a scuffle from another one of the malfunctioning weapons. At this rate, barely functional in its poorly-made, battered state.

< And while all that went down, you just sat back, spending your time making things that depended on you. stuff only you could really control. >

The doctor twitched.

He pointed at the offending, malfunctioning Blaster skull, who shrieked in alarm. The other two turned on it by command.

It was promptly blasted it into shards.

The satisfaction Gaster felt was short lived, as the voice continued speaking.

< you know, maybe i was a stupid kid. a stupid kid with dangerous powers. powers that you wanted to be kept under wraps. i get that. >

The CORE hummed once more, reverberating as it turned a deep magenta. The halls were soaked in reds and purples as it rumbled louder.

Gaster turned to face it.

He could see his startled reflection in the reinforced glass.

< terrible reason to make the mutagen, though. >

The doctor watched his reflection began to twitch and spasm.

A humming sound reverberated through the halls. Gaster felt something in himself pull in one direction, then another. Then two parts, pulling in opposing directions. Then three. Four.

He could see his body pulling apart. Stretching every which way - not unlike his many arms.

Gaster gritted his teeth, his hands all bracing out to the sides of the hall, keeping him suspended as if he were in the center of a tarlike web.

< you want the solution that makes everything easy. that fixes everything. don’t think i don’t i get that. >

The air sliced open around them, once more. With such force that Gaster could barely find it in himself to think.

The Blasters around him began shrieking in panic, once more. Several cries were cut off - punctuated by the sound of shattering and roaring.

The other parts of Gaster’s SOUL were still silent - having finally submitted to his will. But his body destabilised, his being twitching and warping.

He felt his cranium split open. The crack above his right eye became a chasm, stretching further and further apart. Gaster watched his reflection, seeing nothing but blackness inside his very own skull. His eyesockets flashed violet, flickering wildly in response to the CORE’s energy.

He was unrecognisable. Falling apart.

When Sans spoke next, his voice was strained.

The black rifts vanished and Gaster forcibly pulled his being back into his centre. His cranium slammed back together. He dropped heavily to the ground, shaking in pain. His many arms lay like a mess of black tape upon the tiles.

He looked around himself. There were new shards on the floor, the remains of Blasters that had failed to duck out of the paths of the rifts in time.

Gaster’s eyes darted from Blaster skull to Blaster skull.

Out of the makeshift platoon he had managed to construct, there were only three left.

< you’re right about me, you know? i’m not the nicest of guys. i tried to fix things, quickly. even tried to push ‘em out of sight and mind, just so things could be convenient - nice ’n easy. >

The doctor’s arms lashed out at the three Blaster skulls, attempting to dismiss them back into his inventory. But at the sudden movement, they scattered, shrieking in terror.

The rifts had disoriented them once more. And he’d lost his own focus.

< guess i haven’t been much better than you, on that side of things. promises or none. >

One Blaster skull shrieked, turning on the other in seconds. Its massive jaws clamped down on the other’s crest, causing cracks to travel down its skull.

They struggled and wrestled, slamming each other against the walls of the hall in a maddened, frenzied struggle.

< we ain’t so different, i guess. but see - the thing is, i’ve decided that i’m not about to drag everyone down into oblivion with me just to make myself feel better. just to prove a point. >

Shards began to fall off them both. The third Blaster skull darted behind Gaster, seeking shelter. It chattered loudly as it watched the scuffle.

Finally, one Blaster skull bit hard into the cranium of the other. The force of its own bite caused its own jaw to crack, the lines travelling up its snout. The lights in its eye sockets extinguished, and it crashed to the floor. The other hovered for a few moments, free of the other’s grasp - only to fall upon the tiles and shatter.

< oh yeah. that reminds me, actually. >

Gaster stared hard at the mess of shards and shattered skulls before him, his features twisted into fear.

The doctor’s gaze darted about, wildly. At the empty halls - across the chamber, everywhere he could see.

< you know the one. about how it feels, havin’ your own weapons turn on you. >

Gaster froze.

Slowly, he turned to the final Blaster skull at his side.

He looked down into its large, black eye sockets.

< then again… >

Within one socket, one blue ring flickered into view.

< Y o u k n e w t h a t , d i d n ‘ t y o u ? >

Gaster stepped back as the skull lunged at him.

White, glowing skeletal claws appeared inches from his face and they dug deep into his black, tarlike torso. He saw blue, veinlike patterns of light surge up from them, reforming Sans’ forelegs, his scapulae, his ribcage…

Sans’ body was still glowing as Gaster felt the full weight of the Blaster hit him with all the force of a train. The collision knocked any proverbial wind out of the doctor and all he saw was the teeth and claws of his own creation.

Just as Sans’ back legs had reformed, Gaster felt himself collide into the glass of the CORE chamber from the force. He heard the glass crack and splinter and shatter and suddenly the heat of the chamber assailed him from all sides.

For a moment, he felt numb horror. But the free-fall he expected didn’t come.

Instead, here in the chamber, he felt his back collide into a burning, steel platform.

A loud crash of glass echoed through the halls.

Papyrus’ head snapped to face the sound, eyes wide.

He trotted to a stop, still keeping Frisk’s sweater tightly gripped in his jaws. He glanced around at the halls, then across the CORE chamber.

Where had that come from…?

“Papyrus…?”

Frisk’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked down at the human. They looked a little more alert than they’d been earlier, but he could still see the exhaustion in their features.

“Y-you alright?” They asked, dazedly. Then, they winced in pain, rubbing at their side.

Papyrus crooned, looking around. It certainly figured that their friend would still be checking up on the wellbeing of others, despite everything.

He couldn’t hear the Blaster skulls anywhere nearby - nor could he sense Gaster in the immediate vicinity. But he needed to set the poor Frisk down, somewhere…

“…we’re on the Control Room level, right?”

Papyrus blinked, glancing down at the bleary-eyed Frisk. They shook their head, managing to pocket their phone.

“… O-okay.” They said, more to themself. “…We need to get over there.”

Papyrus crooned in confusion. Frisk looked back up at him, managing a firm look.

“I’ll explain later.” They said, quietly. “I… We have a plan.”

Papyrus gave a huff, then glanced around again.

Though he wished that the human would say more, the Blaster obliged, darting down the hall. This was no time to be standing out in the open like this.

Besides, it appeared Frisk wasn’t alone in their shenanigans! Which meant…

“… Papyrus?”

The Blaster blinked, looking down at Frisk.

“Sans was with you…” They said, quietly. “With Gaster…”

They looked up at him, concerned.

“… Is Sans safe?”

Papyrus hesitated. He gave a quick glance over his shoulder, seeing nothing but the empty hall.

He told himself not to worry. Not too much, at least.

Sans wasn’t doubting him, anymore. Papyrus felt that he should attempt to do the same.

Though he kept at ear out, regardless.

Papyrus looked down at Frisk, crooning reassuringly. He wasn’t sure if he could answer the human’s question. And not simply because he was literally unable to answer questions right now.

< … HE’S GOT A WAY OUT OF HERE. > He said, more to himself than Frisk. And yet, Papyrus was uncertain if his brother would take that option.

They’d simply agreed to meet after all this was over. And Papyrus couldn’t help but wonder what his brother would do in the meantime.

As the Blaster darted down the hall, he could see the shards of dispatched Blaster skulls coming closer and closer. Slowing his pace, he was careful to step over them, giving a quiet whine as he did so.

They were close to the Control Panel, again. He’d made a full circuit around the facility hall around the CORE chamber.

He slowed down, all the way. He approached the battered sliding doors, his sternum growing tight.

He forcibly tried not to think about the image of his good friend being hurled through the window, directly into the chamber itself. Which, of course, meant it was all he could think about.

His bones were rattling as he peered into the room, cautiously.

And a teal-green fist stopped inches from his snout.

Undyne and Papyrus stared at each other for five seconds.

The Blaster nearly let out an excited yelp - though soon realized that any sounds he’d make would be muffled by Frisk.

And at the same time, Undyne had slammed her hands over her own mouth.

“MMMMmM.” She reprimanded, her eye blazing in anger. Yet Papyrus couldn’t care less, stamping his feet in excitement.

The captain waved her hand, holding a finger over her thinly pressed lips.

Papyrus, though a little confused, obliged. He dipped his head, gaze darting about and falling silent.

Frisk waved at her, pressing their lips together. Leaning his head forward, Papyrus finally released them as Undyne took hold of them, cringing at their injuries.

“Oh, geeze.” She whispered, hushed. “…I told you one of us should have come with you, punk.”

Frisk pointed at Papyrus, smiling.

“Nothing he couldn’t handle.” They whispered back. Then, they looked down.

“… I distracted Gaster for as long as I could. And I tried to lead him closer to here. But I got shot down.” They looked up. “Papyrus got me out of danger.”

Despite the situation, Papyrus felt his metaphorical heart swell.

“… well, let me tell ya, you did enough.” Undyne said, looking up at the ceiling, then over her shoulder. “We’re almost ready.”

Papyrus blinked, feeling a little left out of the loop as Undyne looked back at Frisk.

“Mind holding out for a little bit longer? I can’t heal you here. CORE space, remember?”

The Blaster noted that she’d glanced out the shattered CORE window of the control room as she spoke. But Frisk nodded, in understanding.

“I’ll be okay.” They whispered back. “What’s going on?”

Undyne walked over to one of the concrete science benches in the room and set them down, their back up against it.

“A certain bonehead must’ve figured out what we were up to.” She said, her gaze darting up at the ceiling. “… but we gotta keep it down.”

Papyrus blinked, slowly stepping forward into the room.

He could see Alphys, who was now standing at the controls beneath the window. She wiped her forehead, notably receiving the brunt of the CORE’s heat from the open window.

Despite this, she was typing rapidly at the controls. Beside her were a couple of flickering screen displays.

One was full of numbers and diagrams that Papyrus couldn’t quite identify at this distance.

The other appeared to be… video footage?

“You almost done, Alphys?” Undyne asked, quietly. She’d stepped in front of Papyrus, rubbing the back of her neck. The Blaster saw some new scars and scrapes upon her back.

“Give me ten more seconds.” Alphys said, in a loud whisper.

Papyrus gently nudged the captain’s shoulder with his muzzle. His intent was to get some kind of explanation for what was going on.

And it was certainly not for his eye sockets to well up when she turned to face him.

Especially not when he realized the scars were from when she’d been pushed through the window and into the CORE chamber and…

Strong arms wrapped around his muzzle in a firm hug. Papyrus shut his eye sockets, giving a soft whimper.

“Sorry if I worried ya.” He heard Undyne say, hushed. “… You guys had me worried, too.”

Papyrus gave soft whine. She gave the side of his head a scratch as she withdrew, sighing.

Then, she stood up straight, a firm look in her features. Papyrus shook his head, his own expression hardening in focus (he suspected he looked less dignified with tearstains down his muzzle).

“I’ll run you by things quickly, but things are about to get crazy real soon. You mind making sure Frisk’s nice and protected?”

Papyrus nodded firmly - and would have saluted if he could. He slowly and carefully stepped towards the human, looking up at the Control panel.

“Undyne.”

The whisper was urgent. Undyne darted forward to the control panel, where Alphys stared firmly at the screens.

“H-he’s got him where we want him.”

Papyrus stared at the two monitors near the buttons, once more. He hadn’t gotten a clear view of the second screen, yet.

It wasn’t video footage. It was a video feed.

“What do we do?” Alphys whispered.

Papyrus’ sternum grew tight.

On the grainy display was Gaster…

… lying pinned beneath Sans’ claws.

A maddened gasp rose up from the doctor.

The force that had felt so unstoppable and terrifying had come to a screeching halt. Gaster’s eye sockets darted up to his adversary, who seemed to be losing focus in his pain.

With all the strength he could muster, Gaster’s many arms surged forth, grabbing Sans by the sternum and managing to shove the creature off of him. Sans’ claws ripped free of the doctor’s torso, leaving it sagging and torn.

The Blaster stumbled back, and his back leg gave, causing him to collapse to his side.

Gaster heaved in one gasp after another. Sans’ body had fully-reformed - though it appeared the burden of his injuries had returned with it.

His femur had a crack travelling up it, now - and it was clear to see that the exposure to the CORE energy wasn’t sitting well with the Blaster. His eye socket was flickering between blue and yellow - and he shut it tightly, groaning as it crackled about inside his skull.

Instead of continuing his attack, Sans slowly began pushing himself back towards the shattered window.

A twisted smile appeared on the doctor’s features, though he was still trembling.

The fool didn’t have the energy left to finish him.

And yet…

The doctor frowned, hearing a quiet chuffing through the roar of the CORE.

The beast finally lay still on the steel platform, amongst the window shards. He was chuckling quietly - deliriously - his features screwed up slightly in pain.

< welp. > He breathed.

The doctor shakily pulled himself off the platform, shaking with his own laughter.

WHAT… DID YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE? Gaster said, his smile twisted and strange. YOUR CHILDISH RAMPAGE ONLY SERVED TO BE YOUR END!

His breathing grew haggard, and desperate.

EVEN NOW, YOU STILL FAIL TO KILL ME! He bellowed.

Sans shrugged at that.

< nah. >

Gaster heard a small, scraping sound. He noted the Blaster was steadily digging his claws into the steel beneath him.

< don’t think the plan was to kill you, doc. >

The doctor heard a ‘GACHUNK.’ His gaze darted downwards with a frown.

The sound had come from beneath them.

Undyne withdrew from the glowing, blue canister. It sat securely within the large mechanism in the corner of the room, the machine humming to life.

She tried to ignore the sound of Papyrus’ bones, rattling softly. She tried to ignore the sound of Frisk’s shaky and nervous breathing.

“… You sure about this?” Undyne whispered, glancing at the video feed once more.

“I’m sure.” Alphys said, softly. “… If anyone can withstand this, it’s him. The odds are good. A-and we’re out of time.”

Despite the certainty in her voice, there was a pause. The scientist’s claws hovered above the panel. They were trembling.

“You ready?” asked Undyne.

Alphys drew in a breath.

“No.” She said.

There was a brief silence, before she reached forward and began to type furiously on the control panel before her.

The entire facility began to hum. Gaster’s eye sockets grew wide as he looked downwards.

The platform they stood upon. The only small part of the CORE chamber’s interior that even had such a thing, jutting out towards the ball of energy itself.

… They were standing atop the Control Room.

And someone…

… Someone was messing with the control panel.

Urgency driving his movements, he gestured to summon a Blaster skull -

- only for nothing to appear by his side.

He gestured again, and again.

He found himself blaming their insolence, before spinning to face the CORE, itself.

Gaster stepped forward to the edge of the platform, prepared to climb down through the window to intervene with whatever futile attempts were being made -

- and froze, as something in the base of the enormous chamber caught his eye.

The light left his eye sockets, as he watched a glowing, blue liquid branch out through the maze of water channels beneath the CORE itself.

Arcs of blue magic rose from the concoction, up into the huge and crackling CORE. And almost instantly, the heat and roaring of the energy sphere began to subside.

Gaster’s hands balled into fists.

… The CORE was slowly shrinking.

And he could hear - barely, above the roar - the clattering of shards (glass and bone), slowly rolling upon the platform he stood upon.

The colours on the CORE’s surface grew cold. Purples, blues and greens began to churn on its surface at it seemed to compress in on itself.

The shards at his feet picked up speed, whipping past him. They went flying, carried by the pull of the CORE itself.

Gaster stared at his creation.

With fear came anger.

With anger came desperation.

He ducked down, his many arms gripping on the surface of the platform as he began to crawl down, through the shattered window of the control room - his hands hovering inches away from the buttons beneath the window -

- and then he felt a force begin to pull him back.

Gaster felt the forces of the CORE begin to tug him in its direction, and almost instantly his many hands lunged outward, grabbing everything and anything - from the window frames to the broken, jagged shards. Keeping him anchored to the platform.

In his rush, the doctor had dropped a level down. And now, he had a clear view of the inside of the control room.

His gaze focused into a frigid glare.

The infernal scientist had ducked down behind the shelter of one of the benches, and she was now peering back at him, holding her glasses firm against her face. The cold colours of the CORE gleamed brightly in her lenses.

He saw the human, Frisk - injured, but alive. They were crouched low on the tiles, staring directly at him in surprise.

He saw Papyrus, curled and braced against the floor, his claws digging into the tiles as he sheltered Frisk from the force. His eye sockets were focused past the doctor - having the gall to ignore him.

And finally, he saw the captain of the royal guard, near the back of the room.

Before he could process her presence, his gaze was caught by something next to her.

The coolant receptacle. It had a large, empty cylindrical canister currently inserted into it.

Undyne had dug her fingers into the wall beside it, her sharp teeth gritted in strain - but twisting into a grin as soon as their eyes met.

“HEY!” She shouted over at him. “THIS LOOK FAMILIAR?!”

Gaster strained against the forces of the CORE, trying to pull himself into the room to rip every single one of its occupants apart - just as Undyne kicked a leg out to the receptacle, pushing its ‘release’ button.

“NO? HOW ABOUT A CLOSER LOOK?!”

The canister disengaged from the receptacle.

Gaster’s eye sockets grew wide as the canister whipped towards him, pulled by the forces of the CORE.

It slammed directly into his torso.

His grip loosened. Several of his arms still clung to the safety of the platform. But the smooth, boiling steel tore from his grasp.

The world was silent, as he slipped free from his anchor to this world.

His gaze landed on the canister before him, seconds before it whipped by him.

The label for Solution Sigma was unmistakable.

His gaze rose to Sans, the beast staring back at him as he managed to keep a firm position on the platform atop the control room. His claws remained fixed into the steel.

Gaster stared at him, as he grew smaller, and smaller. He stared at him as the heat of the CORE burned into his back.

Gaster stared at Sans.

…

Gaster focused.

Papyrus hadn’t felt anything else like it.

He’d felt a lot of things in this room. Fear, pride, sadness, excitement - anger, even.

Too many things, he decided, for this little place.

But being pulled at by a strange, imploding force of an undefinable nature had left him lost for words.

The pulling forces were slowly subsiding around him. He was unsure how long the four of them had been sheltering against the pull of the CORE, but it had felt like forever.

Alphys later told him it had only been a few minutes. But he’d felt so concerned, staring out at the CORE itself. He’d stared at the CORE itself, watching one person vanish into it - and only one.

He remembered the terror he’d felt as he watched Gaster shove his brother off his feet - and the clang he’d heard from up above. He remembered the terror he’d felt when the plan his trio of friends had hatched was revealed to him, piece-by-piece.

… But Papyrus also remembered Sans.

He held onto that thought with as much conviction as he could muster, and he felt his bones cease rattling.

He was startled out of his thoughts to hear a wheezy, breathy laugh.

Undyne had collapsed to the floor, back up against the wall next to the coolant receptacle. Alphys was slowly crawling over to her, managing to stand and stumble the rest of the way to collapse into her arms. They two held each other, tightly.

“I love it…” gasped Undyne “… when a plan actually works out.”

Papyrus chirped, standing up with what could pass as a smile. Then, he looked down at Frisk, who slowly sat up beneath his ribcage.

They clutched their phone, and looked up at him - with a smile that didn’t quite reach their eyes.

Papyrus hesitated.

Then, he leaned down, nuzzling them gently.

< THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLY BRAVE OF YOU, FRISK. > He said, hoping the intent got through. He felt Frisk’s small arms embrace his muzzle.

A scraping sound from above stopped the quiet celebrations in their tracks.

Undyne’s smile vanished, and she slowly rose from the ground - supported by Alphys.

“Th-that came from the roof.” The lizard said.

The Blaster didn’t hesitate. He darted forward, looking at the video feed.

It had gone dead, for now. He didn’t wait for it to come back online.

Papyrus hurried towards the shattered window. He carefully stepped over the controls, the cooling heat of the CORE chamber meeting him. His forelegs rested on the bottom of the window frame, his head poking out of the Control room.

“What the HELL?! “ Undyne roared from behind him. “PAPYRUS, GET DOWN FROM THERE!”

Papyrus, with great care, twisted his head around and looked above the Control Room, to its roof. He slammed a forepaw onto the platform, managing to awkwardly pull himself up on top of the steel surface.

And there, lying motionlessly before him, was his brother.

< SANS! >

Papyrus darted forward. < SANS! SANS, ARE YOU THERE? >

The beast stirred, groggily. With a whine, Papyrus stopped to gently nudge his brother.

He looked over at his injured leg. Papyrus was almost relieved to see it - even though it looked even worse than he’d last seen it.

Seeing it injured, however, was preferable to seeing it vanish.

Papyrus wondered if that was fair of him to think.

< gr… nn >

Sans interrupted his thoughts with a groan, his eye sockets flickering blue.

He croaked, woozily.

Papyrus crooned softly.

< THERE NOW, BROTHER! IT’S ALRIGHT. > He looked up glancing about.

It was no wonder Sans was having trouble focusing. Sans had had little to no shelter from the forces of the CORE’s pull. If not for his weight and his claws, his brother perhaps would have gone flying into the energy ball alongside the doctor.

It had taken every bone in his body (and Alphys’ reasoning) not to blow his cover and try to help Sans during the pull. But his brother had held up against this force before - when he was slightly smaller and lighter. And he’d been capable of doing it again.

The smaller Blaster’s eyes shut, and he let out a small growl. Papyrus gave a deep sigh.

Though, not without driving himself to absolute exhaustion.

Papyrus’ gaze darted over his shoulder, taking in the CORE. The violet swirled upon it - the heat still radiating outwards in spite of the blue coolant, glowing from below.

It made him uneasy.

The larger Blaster trotted around to the other side of his brother, and quickly clamped his jaws on the blue material of his scrapped hood.

< JUST ONE MOMENT! > He said, muffled as he began to tug his brother towards the hall, back inside the facility. < I’M GETTING US OUT OF HERE. >

< nno… n… >

Papyrus’ gaze returned to Sans, blinking. His brother appeared to be trying to get up, though appeared too weak and shaken to do so. Not to mention, he seemed to have forgotten about his injured leg.

< BE CAREFUL WITH THAT! > The taller Blaster huffed, doubling his efforts to pull his brother -

when he heard a low hum in the air.

Papyrus’ spines stood on end. He glanced about, startled. Something… instinctual was pulling at him. He felt like he could hear something… garbled and high-pitched.

< w… wait… >

The taller Blaster looked down at Sans, whose eye sockets were flickering. It seemed as if he were trying to put words together, but his focus hadn’t quite returned, yet.

< wait… he’s… this isn’t… >

“… this isn’t…”

Undyne’s indignant glare to the ceiling faded away.

She spun to face Alphys, who was staring hard at the CORE. Sweat was beginning to bead on her forehead, as the violet reflected vividly in her glasses.

“… this isn’t right…” She mumbled, taking a step back.

A distant, static roar surrounded them all. It caused the entire facility to tremble, to rumble thunderously as the CORE itself began to pulse. Violet energy swept and churned over its surface.

“What’s happening?” Frisk asked, their voice slightly strained.

Undyne rushed up to Alphys' side.

Several arcs of violet energy were slowly rising from the sphere.

The halls were again drenched in violet. Papyrus’ gaze darted up at the CORE, as the roar grew louder and louder around them.

< r… run. >

Papyrus’ gaze dropped to his brother, whose eye sockets had managed to reach a stable white. Sans’ gaze darted up at him, wide-eyed.

< bro, we need to - >

A skeletal hand grabbed his foreleg from behind.

And Sans was dragged backwards, the material ripping free of Papyrus’ jaws.

Several hands grasped his brother’s legs, his tail, his spine - a few landed on his skull.

Papyrus instinctively flinched back, seeing the CORE in its entirety. It was a deep violet, and tendrils of energy had burst from its surface. They’d exploded outwards, then curved directly to their target - led by holed hands of Gaster.

Sans gave a start, his eyelights shrinking into pinpricks of fear in his eyesockets. Then, they shut, reopening to reveal flickering, furious blue.

He planted his claws in the steel, straining against the hands. He gave a loud, furious bellow.

Papyrus’ sternum grew tight.

< YOU - >

Then, he darted forward with a howl.

< YOU LET GO!!! >

He managed to grab Sans by his forelimb, his claws clamping on as tightly as he possibly could. Sans flinched, but didn’t protest. He pushed harder against the hands, the tendrils that swamped the CORE chamber.

Papyrus held fast, snarling as he pulled, attempting to step back and bring his brother with him.

He could hear the muffled cries of his friends beneath him.

Cold horror gripped Frisk’s exhausted body.

“It’s got… it’s got him.” Alphys said, staring at the video feed in horror. “It’s got Sans! He’s got Sans!”

Undyne was moving before the scientist had even finished speaking. She ran towards the shattered window, with a yell.

She grabbed a large shard of glass and threw it out the window at one of the many hands reaching out from the CORE.

“Use magic!” Frisk cried, their voice ending in a croak

“I can’t!” Undyne shouted back. “We’re still in CORE space!”

“C-Close the windows!!” Frisk’s voice almost sounded unrecognisable, even to the human themself. Their throat felt raw, their body trembling.

Alphys was scrambling at the controls, her gaze darted around the buttons. “They’re broken, Frisk!” She yelled, pointedly. “And the shutters aren’t working!”

The human child was slowly staggering to their feet, grasping their phone to their chest.

Their chest ached, their determination severed from the CORE.

“D-Do something.” They whispered.

They heard the scraping of claws overhead. They saw Sans’ back legs appear in the window, suspended by the hands.

“Do something!!” They cried, hoarsely.

“NGAAAAAH!!”

Frisk’s gaze darted to Undyne, who had ripped up one of the science benches from the floor of the room. As debris clattered from its base, she hurled it out the window with a roar.

It passed straight through the tendrils, arcing and landing straight in the coolant with a splash. She staggered through the effort, gritting her teeth in pain and the heat.

“PAPYRUS!!” She roared at the ceiling. “KEEP HOLDING ON!! I’M COMING UP THERE!!”

“No!” Alphys darted over at her. “No, you are not!! There’s too many - h-he could get you, too!”

“They can’t fight all those forever!” Undyne yelled back. “They need help!!”

“You’re NOT going up there!!” Alphys shrieked, her claws stampeding at the controls. “I have to try to - “

Frisk sank to their knees as the two yelled panicked instructions at each other.

They heard the scrape of Papyrus’ claws overhead as he was pulled along, bit by bit. He was the only one anchoring Sans.

Frisk tried to think of a way to help. Something, anything.

They took in a shaky breath, blinking away tears as they saw Sans be dragged just a little further.

They looked down at their phone. Their jetpack was broken, for certain. They were tired and dazed from the many impacts they’d suffered.

They tried to think of something.

But they could only focus on the tendrils of violet, swarming out from the CORE. They could only think about how Undyne and Alphys wouldn’t be enough. How Papyrus wouldn’t be enough.

How Frisk wouldn’t be enough.

Their determination faltered, for the briefest of moments. There was no other available help. There was nobody else to turn to.

… A moment passed.

Their gaze dropped down to their phone, once more.

IT’S… STRANGE HOW MUCH A SINGLE PART OF YOU CAN CAUSE SO MUCH SUFFERING.

For a moment, Frisk was back in the True Lab. The cold, green tiles, and the haunting, buzzing voice flowing out of the phone’s speaker.

IT’S NOT… YOU. IT DOESN’T… IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE YOU…

Frisk’s head lifted from the phone. Their hands gripped it tightly.

Oh.

ISN’T IT BETTER THIS WAY?

Frisk turned away from the CORE. They stared down the halls, in the direction that the three of them had arrived from, after escaping the CORE Underground.

Standing tall, they lifted their phone to the side of their head.

And called one last person.

“I know you’re there.” The human said, firmly, into the speaker. “I know you can hear me.”

There was a quiet static buzzing on the other end. But Frisk continued, nonetheless. They tried to stave off their panic - and their anger.

“You’re hiding from this.” They continued into the phone. “You’ve faced enough, and you don’t want to face anymore. I get it, now.”

They spun to look over their shoulder as Undyne lifted a second science bench over her head, throwing it towards the CORE once more. She roared with the effort, then staggered and collapsed on her hands and knees.

Frisk felt their chest ache, and they turned away.

“I know you’re scared!” They told the phone. “I get it! But it’s not better this way! Pretending that you’ve got no part in this - that you’re not responsible - isn’t going to help the people you’ve hurt!”

Something flickered in their mind, and they shut their eyes.

Frisk gritted their teeth at the long-repressed image of dust on their hands. The brief flashes of red and grey.They shut their eyes as they imagined the empty Underground, clouds of white sweeping upon it. The life and colour being swept away from everyone, and everything.

Frisk clutched their sweater. Their sweater dirtied by all elements except dust.

They took in a shuddering gasp, as they imagined the Underground as they’d truly experienced it. Full of life, colour. Full of people. Friends.

Their eyes reopened, in a firm glare, out towards the churning CORE.

“You can’t leave things like this.” They said.

There was another scraping sound from above. Frisk’s voice rose, breaking out of contemplation.

“You can’t hide from this!” They cried over the roar. “And I know you can’t fix all this! But you can change it! So please…”

There was a sudden groan of steel from above as claws were dragged several feet along. Frisk drew in a shaken breath and spun around, watching the tendrils of energy grow curved as their prey lost his grip.

And Frisk called for help.

Papyrus could hear Undyne beating against the ceiling below, the punches growing weaker and weaker. He could hear Alphys shrieking, speaking at such a pace that Papyrus couldn’t even pick apart her words.

And he could hear Frisk.

He could hear Frisk, calling for help.

Papyrus felt himself being jerked forward, once more. His gaze returned to Sans, who was still straining, more hands grabbing onto him. He looked back up at him, eye sockets dark.

< papyrus - > he began.

And then more tendrils surged forth from the looming CORE. More hands shot forward, this time slamming into Papyrus. One pulled a leg out from under him.

The muffled cries grew louder. Papyrus slammed his back legs down, rearing back as his brother’s body cleared the platform, suspended in the air.

Papyrus summoned all the strength that he possibly could, even as he was slowly pulled forward with his brother, inch by inch, towards the vengeful CORE. He held firm, Sans digging his foreclaws onto the edge of the platform, holding on as tight as he possibly could.

He could hear screaming, everywhere and nowhere all at once. Papyrus focused through it, trying to ignore the anger and frustration that the doctor spilled forth. The violet of the CORE seemed to grow brighter and brighter - the light permeating each shadow, each nook and cranny. Staining the entire facility in its constricting hue.

Papyrus looked up in time to see a third wave of tendrils burst forth from the CORE.

He faced them directly. His jaw ached, as he held tightly to Sans’ foreleg. His limbs felt weak, and shaky.

And then, something loud and piercing struck through the violet.

Sans looked up at him - and then past him. His eye sockets had grown wide.

< what the - >

Something white burst out from the shattered windows behind them. Something amorphous and strange. Papyrus couldn’t place what it was - just some odd, white disc of sorts. An odd, fleshy spiral, with white, square particles flickering about it.

It was stark in the violet light.

Papyrus watched as it seemed to hesitate before the giant sphere of power. It seemed to shudder, and convulse with the force.

Then, it seemed to compress into itself, becoming a tiny sphere, itself. It let out an electronic screech.

And exploded into hundreds of white tendrils.

Papyrus watched, still holding on tight to his brother, as frail, skeletal hands formed on the end of each tendril. They moved to intercept the violet ones that reached out from the CORE, grasping each one forcefully, locking fingers tightly.

The purple tendrils twitched and spasmed. Their own hands tried to loosen their grip - they tried to pull away, tried to retreat. But they only dragged the white tendrils with them.

Papyrus watched as they tugged and wrestled - but the frail, white hands remained steadfast. They began to slowly melt into the violet hands, with a green shimmer.

A scream echoed throughout Papyrus’ mind. The anger and the rage of the doctor vanished from the air around him - as did the violet.

… He realized that he’d never heard Gaster sound so afraid.

He felt himself being pulled forward, the heat of the CORE assailing him from what seemed like all directions. He felt his claws slip free of the platform.

The last thing Papyrus saw was the surface of the CORE swirling before him, as green and violet light churned together in agony.

Undyne let out a bellow as Sans, Papyrus and Gaster vanished into the surface of the CORE.

“NO!!”

Alphys’ claws were at her mouth, and Frisk started crawling towards the control panel.

“T-Turn it off!” They yelled. “Turn the CORE off!”

Alphys didn’t move, staring at the control panel.

“I can’t.” She croaked.

“Y-You can deactivate it!” Frisk shakily got to their feet, gritting their teeth. “You have to shut it off and - “

The scientist suddenly slammed her fists onto the controls, causing Frisk to jump. Tears were streaking down her face.

“I-It doesn’t work like - !“

There was a loud roar, and a shockwave suddenly burst forth from the CORE.

All three were knocked off their feet.

The sudden force sent Alphys, Frisk and Undyne flying across the control room. The captain collided hard into the wall with a grunt, as shards of glass clattered around her body.

Undyne lay there, dazed.

Her ears rang. Her vision swam, blinded temporarily by the flash of light.

She reached up to her eyepatch with a groan. It had shifted from the blast, and now her eye stung. She re-adjusted it, the red material properly concealing her damaged eye once more.

Her eye grew wide as she felt the floor rumble.

Her gaze darted to where the others were. Frisk was bubbled in an electric shield, courtesy of Alphys - and they were now sitting within it, dazed and exhausted.

The scientist herself was lying facedown on the tiles, one claw outstretched towards her spell.

It flopped to the tiles, and the shield dissolved. Frisk plopped back down on the ground with a grunt.

“Hey…” Undyne shakily pulled herself to her feet, wincing at a pain in her shoulder. “Alphys, you okay?”

The scientist groaned, still facedown.

The floor rumbled. The facility gave a loud, creaking groan as if in reply to the scientist. The three of them suddenly grew alert, looking around as the ground seemed to tremble.

“… Th-that’s the steel.” Alphys said, having lifted her head off the tiles, her eyes wide. “Th-that’s the steel support.”

Undyne felt the facility rumble, once more. Cracks began to form in the glass of the chamber. It still housed the CORE - though instead of a perfect sphere, the energy ball was beginning to resemble an oval as it shrank down, smaller and smaller.

Despite everything, Undyne found herself staring at it a moment.

“… Huh.” She said. “Never seen that, before.”

“…I-It’s starting to dissolve.” Alphys said, in wonder. “I-it’s finally shutting down.”

The colours of the CORE grew fainter and darker. The bright violet that had swirled about it moments ago was starting to fade, becoming a deep, dark black.

Before the captain could watch any longer, the facility rumbled again.

Alert once more, the captain stepped forward, picking the dazed Frisk off the floor.

“Alright, punk. We gotta go.”

The human grunted in protest as she lifted them up, starting to squirm.

“N-No! Wait!”

Undyne frowned. “Hey, hey! Listen - this place is about to come down, and you’re in no shape for running.” She looked up at Alphys, who had managed to pull herself to her feet.

“You know a good way out of here?” Undyne asked.The scientist nodded, her gaze darting down the hall.

“W-we’re on the right level.” She said, beginning to jog. Undyne hurried after, keeping a tighter hold on Frisk. “The exit - it might be locked because of breach protocol - b-but that’s nothing I can’t fix in a hurry!”

The door came into view mere moments after Alphys mentioned it - and she immediately rushed to work on the door’s side panel, sliding it open and picking at the wires within. The facility rumbled once again, and the scientist didn’t even flinch.

Undyne glanced around, frowning as she watched the cracks travel across the windows of the CORE chamber.

“C’mon, c’mon…”

She felt Frisk struggle in her grip again, and she glared down at the kid.

“Hey, knock it off! You can’t move when you’re all messed up like this!” She frowned. “You humans are pretty fragile, remember?”

Her frown vanished when she saw Frisk’s expression.

“We can’t leave them.” They croaked. “There has to be some way to save them…”

Undyne blinked, startled.

“Frisk, what’re you talking about?”

The human stared up at her, blinking in what seemed like confusion. Then, horror appeared on their features.

They suddenly grasped their head, gritting their teeth. Their small form appeared to be shaking with effort.

n py us!

“We have to save Sa s!!” They cried, hoarsely. “We have to save Pa r

The captain felt a chill.

“… What’d you say?” She asked, softly.

The human blinked, suddenly shaking with fatigue. Their hands dropped from their head.

“We… we’ve left…” They murmured.

Their eyes rolled back and they passed out, their small body growing limp in Undyne’s arms.

The captain stared hard at the human, in silence.

“U-Undyne!”

Alphys’ voice caught the captain’s attention as the steel exit door finally slid up into the ceiling. Carrying Frisk close, Undyne darted through, Alphys leading the way. The human child didn’t stir, in spite of the noise.

“Th-This way! We should be able to reach the exterior, soon!”

As Undyne ducked and weaved through broken and malfunctioning traps and defences, she felt a pang in her gut.

She felt… strange.

Hurt.

Afraid.

And for the life of her couldn’t figure out why.

It pissed her off. This whole thing bothered her in a way she couldn’t describe.

She had Alphys accounted for. Frisk, too.

That was everybody.

Undyne gave a quick glance over her shoulder, the tails of her grey eyepatch fluttering into view as she saw the CORE one last time.

… Yeah.

She turned away, her gaze drifting to the tiles passing beneath her as she ran.

… That… had to have been everybody…

The world fell away from Sans.

He’d felt Papyrus’ stalwart grip on his forelimb. He’d felt the searing heat of the CORE come closer and closer to his spine - and then a bright, roaring light blinded his vision.

He felt Papyrus release him. He felt the many hands scatter off of him, as a terrified scream echoed through his mind.

He was blinded, at first. An all-encompassing heat consumed him - and then a swirling, fiery white and grey surrounded him.

He was falling.

Black streaks shot upwards around him as he plunged - to where, he didn’t know. They seemed to slash through the strange space, but not through him. It seemed like he was falling down a huge tunnel of glowing white, streaked with black.

Sans twisted around in his fall, trying to make sense of where exactly he was. But before he could put the pieces together, he caught sight of another large shape, plummeting at his own speed.

He was several feet away. His huge, lanky form was being moved about by the forces that pummelled him, but his eyesockets remained closed.

< papyrus! > Sans cried.

There was no response, and Sans did his best to swim through the air towards him as they both fell. His brother must have lost consciousness when they’d lost their footing on the ledge.

Sans’ efforts to close the distance between them were fruitless, however - he barely moved from his position, only succeeding in spinning upside down.

He focused on his brother, stubbornly trying to edge closer. But as his vision tunnelled on Papyrus, his grim expression loosened into surprise.

Sans could see the red of Papyrus’ old and tattered gloves, still wrapped around his brother’s forelegs. They’d been all that remained of his brother’s old outfit, now.

At first, Sans thought they they were finally being ripped away from the force of their fall. But a closer look made Sans’ sternum tighten in horror.

It wasn’t the material that was vanishing.

It was the colour.

The red in was being ripped away, away and upwards in red, square particles.

The process was slow - but Sans could see it clearly. The slightly warm, yellowish tint of his brother’s bones was being ripped away, leaving behind a cold, greyish white.

Sans drew in a breath.

He looked down at the tattered blue sleeve that remained on his own foreleg. It, too, was slowly losing colour. A stream of blue square particles was drifting upwards from the force of his fall.

Sans’ eye sockets went black.

Desperation drove him now, as he tried to hurl himself at his brother. To do what, Sans had no idea. Somehow, his tempered ability to resign himself to the inevitable wasn’t really kicking in.

And at that moment, something black flashed by his vision.

A swift, stretched shape, not unlike the black streaks that were currently racing by them.

Sans’ face twisted into a furious snarl.

They weren’t alone.

Of course they weren’t. Gaster was here - falling with them.

The doctor still had his many arms, several grasping at his own head and clawing at anything nearby. He seemed to be blindly darting to and fro, the forces of the fall throwing him this way and that.

He was smaller and lighter, of course.

Sans, in spite of the futility of it all, struggled again to hurl himself over to where his brother was. But he spotted Gaster, drifting over to Papyrus’ position.

He felt the flames begin to well up in his jaws as several of Gaster’s many arms lashed out onto the unconscious Blaster.

They gripped his spine and skull -

- and then, they shoved him away.

The fire died in Sans’ jaws as Papyrus came flying towards him. With a lunge, Sans clamped his jaws around his brother’s upper limb.

His gaze fell onto Gaster.

The monster was spasming. A small, black, spiderlike being twitching and tossing in the forces of the fall.

The curves of his arms were starting to droop - even to grow so formless and tarlike that they simply fell upwards, swept away from the doctor himself as he fell. The black arms were ripped away into nothingness.

His hands still grasped at his skull. Some disintegrated into dust. Others remained, though were no longer physically connected to his body. The rest of his form was a twitching, amorphous mess, trying to retain its usual shape - but failing, as the monster’s legs collapsed into each other, lost in the rest of his black mass of a torso.

Sans watched as Gaster’s bowed head rose. The hands slowly withdrew from his skull, twitching with fatigue and fear.

Their eyes met. Sans froze, as the doctor’s eye lights lost colour.

“Jump.” He pleaded.

Sans’ eyesockets narrowed.

He focused, as hard as he possibly could. His head throbbed, his eyesocket crackled, but the telltale flashing of blue and yellow illuminated the air.

Sans watched as the black streaks around him grew shorter and shorter, in the blinding white space. And at the same time, Gaster himself began to lengthen into an indistinct grey and black blur.

He vanished from sight, swept down into nothingness.

As the fall of the Blasters slowed, the black streaks came into focus. Sans could now see they they were rifts - thousands of them. They were all roaring, and Sans winced at their instability.

But he could see, even now, that these rifts weren’t like the ones he was used to.

The black rifts he knew had square particles spewing out of them, repelling all who saw them - except him, of course.

These ones were travelling in the opposite direction.

Sans didn’t have time to think on it too much. The weight of his brother, and the pressure of his CORE eye was causing a strain he had not felt in a long time.

He focused on a single, large rift.

The light in his eyesocket crackled. He felt something snap just above his eye, but he held focus, still holding onto Papyrus with his jaws as hard as he possibly could.

He felt the forces pull himself towards the rift, and he and his brother were sucked through.

The energy of the rifts was still unstable. Sans braced himself as he felt his already-wounded body being hit against the walls of the tunnel, energy crackling and burning both himself and Papyrus.

He felt his injured leg flare up in pain, but he let himself be carried by the forces, his eye socket squinting in focus.

He’d entered one end of a tunnel. He’d yet to see the exit. He wondered if this particular rift would even have one.

Just as he could bear the pain no longer, the blackness around him was interrupted by a pale flash of light.

A large, flickering rift of grey, pulling the two Blasters towards it.

Sans shut his eyes, as the pain finally overwhelmed him.

As he passed through the strange rift, he hit the ground, finally releasing Papyrus. He heard his brother hit the floor, his bones clattering from the force.

Sans rolled a few times with the motion, and then he was still.

... At long last, everything was still.

#Spectrum #Fanfiction #Gasterblaster AU #Undertale #WHOA BOY ONE MORE??!!

100 notes · View notes

mysterion-the-ghost · 3 years

Text

Gallowtale chapter ten

No one's pov

The group of six lived together for a couple of days now. Chara lets Sans help them with their anxiety being comfortable with Sans' therapeutic side. Frisk also hangs out with Sans a lot, but that's because the two tell each other puns that, and the two make puns to get on Paps' and Undyne's nerves mostly.

Flowey, on the other hand, hates the three so far, especially Sans. He thinks the punny skeleton is a smiley trash bag and avoids him most of the time. However, he can stand Papyrus but doesn't want to admit it to anybody.

This brings us to now during the group's training session happening at the moment.

Papyrus blocks Frisk's punch. “Heh, try harder, Frisk! You need to focus!” he said with a chuckle as the two fight head-on.

Chara was against Sans since he went easier on them than Undyne. They dodge one of Sans' gaster blasters as they use their magic to cut it in half. Sans grins at this and tells them, “Good job, pal. Your dodging is getting better.” He continued to throw attacks at them, helping them dodge.

Flowey was giving Undyne a run for her money. He was using his vines to throw her around, but she gets free. The two were pushing each other's limits to the max and ended up trying again. “Damn weed face, you're pretty good; I think that's enough training for today,” she said, ignoring Flowey's glare at her.

“DON'T CALL ME THAT YOU ASSHOLE!!!!” Flowey yells and is going to attack her again, but Chara holds him back.

“It's ok, Flowey. Just ignore her.” Chara said softly, this being one of the rare moments of them speaking, making Flowey back off for now.

As the six take their break and cool off from the training, they just finished doing. Frisk and Sans were telling puns to each other, laughing at how cheesy they were. Flower, on the other, had coaxed Chara into helping him with pranking Undyne.

The flower snickers as he and Chara set up a water bucket prank on Undyne's bedroom door and walked away casually as if the two did nothing wrong.

Papyrus was making the group some food in the kitchen while under the supervision of Undyne to make sure he was cooking correctly and didn't burn anything this time.

-meanwhile-

???'s pov

I was in the living room as my mom was making us lunch. I wasn't really paying attention to what she was making as I watched my favorite show, The Nascar race channel. My dad and I used to love watching this channel together, but he left one day...My mom told me he went to a better place and that he was never coming back.

“Marcus darling, lunch is ready.” I hear my mom say to me before sitting down next to me with two plates floating in front of us. “Marcus?” she asked, gently nudging my shoulder with her nose.

“Mom, I told you to call me Mk,” I whined at her, finally looking at her. My real name is Marcus Holder, but my friends call me monster kid. I don't know why but it stuck, so I just tell everyone to call me Mk.

“Sorry, honey, but I just love your original name!” she giggled and smiles at me, and I can't help but smile back.

I love my mom very much. She is just the kindest woman ever, and she works a lot at the local daycare, which is cool because I get to help her too!

The two of us eat our lunch and watch Nascar while talking about which car will win.

-time skip to 3 weeks later-

Mk's pov

I was walking with my mom to the local supermarket, which is the only grocery store in our town of Calving. I see a bunch of people rushing around us like normal though their expressions were different….they looked terrified. I guess they are really late today or something.

My mom and I just walked into the store without a care in the world at the moment, just thinking everyone is late today. Oh, how wrong we were….

This weird creature thing was chasing people when it noticed my mom and me. It stares at us for a moment before running towards us, and my mom used her magic to pick me up and book it out of the store as fast as she could while the creature ran after us.

I was terrified. What did it want from us? Why did it look like that? It looked like a zombie from the walking dead show my mom watches. It looked human with greenish-gray skin, grayish-black hair, rotten teeth, was so thin you could see its ribs against its skin, it had cuts leaking black ink-like liquid, and it had dirty torn rags as clothes.

I was crying as my mom ran as fast as she could. Then the creature disappeared from my line of view, and I was more terrified. “M-m-m-m-mom, it's g-g-g-gone…” I whimper as she goes into an alleyway, and she sets me down in the trash can then hides me in the trash as best as she can.

“Marcus….just stay here until I get you, ok? Promise me you'll wait right here until mommy comes back.” my mom says to me in tears.

“I promise…” I said softly as I stay put while she leaves me here.

Mk's mom pov

I leave my son as my thoughts race a million miles a minute. ‘What the fuck was that thing? What did it want? Was it Alice and Galahad that made it?’ I thought to myself as I went to see if it was safe enough yet.

That creature came into my view range again, and I use my magic to help me fight this thing.

-halfway through the fight-

Still, Mk's mom's pov

‘How is this thing so strong?!’ I thought to myself as I was panting heavily with claw marks on my face and scratches on my stomach. I stood there looking at the creature with my now soaked and torn shirt.

Then what I hear next made my soul and heart stop as I froze, hearing a voice I haven't heard in a long time.

“Hello Sally, long time right?” came a familiar voice from my left and turned towards it, and I saw Alice with a kid who looks to be 6 or 7 beside her. “Heh heh, you bastards made Gaster fire my husband and me, and now you have to die.” she cackled, smirking at me.

I didn't say anything because technically, I barely spoke to Gaster in my whole career there. See, I only work at the daycare, so my son doesn't know what my job really is…and I would like to keep it that way. I then scream as the creature runs at me as it tears into my stomach and my guts barely leave my body thanks to my magic.

The creature didn't like that and bites into my throat, and I cried out a gurgle-like cry before it went back to tearing my stomach open and eating some of my organs.

I soon drop to the ground, and the last thing I heard was Alice laughing as she walked away as I died. ‘I'm so sorry, Marcas…’ was my final thought before it was all black.

Mk's pov

It was all silent, and I was worried for my mom, so I get out of the trash and see my mom face down near the alleyway entrance. “MOM!!!!” I screamed and ran over to her face and was sobbing, trying to get her to wake up, hoping and praying she doesn't leave me. Then I heard someone yelling at me...

#undertale au

0 notes

wyverntooth · 6 years

Text

G’s Core Pt 2

(Undertale is property of Toby Fox, thus I hold no legal rights to it. CORE!Frisk is Dokudoki’s creation, Gaster!Sans is commonly found in Echotale and or Underpatch which were created by Yoralim and Borurou respectively, ERROR!Sans was created by Lover of Piggies and Axetale is the creation of Bananafrappe and Azulandrojo while most of the artwork for their AU comes from Mercy-Monster. These are all ideas I’ve borrowed and they’re to be credited with these things, although this story is my creation so thanks for reading and please check the earlier mentioned creators out. Please enjoy!)

Every Journey Begins With One, Hellish Step

“….” G stared in silent bewilderment at his companion’s unconscious state, barely able to register the transparency his companion had begun to display. His silence would be broken, however, the frigid zephyrs trying to drain him of the little body heat he could retain as snow began to fall from above with a desperate haste to reach the ground beneath his boots. “Sorry, but I won’t be able to survive in this weather if I stay out here. I’ll see you when you wake up, kid.”

Pulling over his hood and zipping his jacket, G strode into the forest, casting a hesitant glance back at CORE!Frisk before quietly scoffing. They’ll be fine. They always are. Besides, they have to decide whether or not they’re tangible, so they’re safe from hypothermia or those ‘ravenous beasts’ they mentioned. G thought assuredly, a smirk coming to his face as he made his way towards one of the Guard Barracks.

The snow crunched beneath his boots, accompanying his every breath and step, the forest’s quiet wildlife boding poor tidings later. Didn’t matter, though. Once he got to the barracks, he’d have access to the public records and provisions. Frisk said that the population’s been cut by zero-point-3 percent, which may or may not be a lot depending on the time frame we’re given…He stopped, the sound of his boots crunching snow ceasing as he swept the heavily wooded landscape with his eyes.

Something’s not right. He thought to himself, certainty in his being. Wait….Looking around cautiously, he summoned a pair of long, nondescript bones to his hands. His breathing was all he heard, the quiet birds and rodents having gone silent.

“When it’s silent in the forest, there’s a predator nearby.” CORE!Frisk’s words rang in his head, their familiarity with that subject having come from living in a man-made Hell on the surface.

Alright, G thought, supraorbital ridge furrowing in seriousness. If Frisk’s right, than who is it I’m up against? The Dog Guard, perhaps? This is their modus operandi: stalking their prey ‘til it’s far enough away from the beaten path that it won’t find its way back… A rustling of feathers made him lift his head to find a crystal-feathered avian staring down at him from the branches above in its nest. Okay, it’s just a drake, nothing to worry about…

His thought was proved wrong when the creature above him snarled, its teeth slick with blood and dust, making the Revenant’s eyes narrow as he took a stance similar to that of Papyrus. Looks like those lessons Fell!Pap gave me are going to finally be put to good use.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he found the Drake diving at him with its razor like talons ready to tear into his being, forcing him to slide away as the avian monster sank its fierce claws into the spot where he’d stood not a moment before before turning and charging for his head. G, seeing how the maddened creature’s eyes practically burning with desperation, slammed the bone in his left hand onto the ground and flipped above the mastiff-sized raptor to land behind it with a swing for its head.

The blow landed, but instead of incapacitating it as intended, G’s senses swam with data concerning the beast before him. “LV: 7 HP: 20/20 ATK: 15 DEF: 6 EXP: 2 NEXT: 30″ These numbers, as inconsistent as they were, explained a lot about this creature’s life. Despite being a bird of prey, a Drake wasn’t usually battle intuitive or aggressive, and yet this one was holding up against a blow that could’ve concussed a Royal Guard in the central timeline of their multiverse.

Said reptilian-avian screeched, sinking its jaws into G’s shoulder as a reward for his lapse in focus. Jolting in pain from his unconscious observation, G willed the bone in his right hand to undergo a transmutation, grafting the bone in his right arm into a casing with the skull of a blaster around his fist which he subsequently used to remove the foul poultry from his now damaged shoulder.

His stats held themselves in his mind, the knowledge that Sans and Gaster’s fusing into him bringing him what he was still a bitter taste in his mouth. “LV: 13 HP: 70/70 ATK: 130 DEF: 130 EXP: 60 NEXT: 254″ The skull over his fist glowed, G’s high magic output giving it an artificial facsimile of power and sentience, only to be shattered over the encroaching Drake’s brow with a punch.

Its eyes vacated of life and its body fell to the snow covered ground, every molecule of its being beginning to quiver in ecstatic madness as it prepared to become dust. “No you don’t!” G said sternly, flooding magic into his hands and the creature he’d felled, his intent alien to any other than himself.

The bird’s body ceased to quiver and yet its eyes still remained vacant of life, as if it were any empty shell yet to be filled. It croaked out a strange chirp, a grim smile crossing G’s face as he returned his bone staff back into the ether from whence it came.

“That’s more like it…Now then,” Turning away from the empty eyed bird, G looked towards the general direction of the barracks he’d come this far for, with a groan. “Back to walking.”

The barrack door creaked with neglect, its hinges fighting against themselves to move in the frigid air that threatened to snuff the warmth from all life in the forest. G sighed heavily, scowling at the cold, dark place he’d held such hope in finding. Fitting, that a monster would seek a cold, dark dwelling instead of the outside world. He’d have chuckled if not for how peeved he was with the bird he’d recruited as his thrall.

During his trek, it hadn’t shut up or behaved with any semblance of intelligence outside of premature sentience displayed by a child. Every tree was so interesting to it that it had to circle it three time before climbing to the highest branches that could support its weight. This wasn’t something G appreciated at all, if put in mild words.

Even his memories as Gaster told him that children weren’t this easily distracted or poorly behaved. Said avian dived under him with its scaled belly acting like that of a penguin, knocking G flat on his ass as a result and getting him to growl in disapproval. “Thrall!” G said firmly, rising to stand and see his psuedo-puppet to be frozen before him like a toy soldier. “Cease this unruly behavior, you sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgic half-grounded Achiyalabopa-wigeon crossbreed, or so help me; I’ll make your undeath a Hell worse than this one you’ve been in!”

It merely blinked its lifeless eyes at him before returning to whatever it had been doing before, G’s quiet groan audible to only himself. If I’d gotten a Caladrius, an Alicanto or even an actual Achiyalabopa, this wouldn’t be a problem. He silently stewed, glaring venomously at the mastiff-sized avian’s turned head. But I got a Drake: a near-flightless, avian with as little intelligence as a newborn when enthralled! Why did I think this would be a suitable thrall?! Am I going soft?! Am I getting sentimental?!

Despite knowing the answers to these questions, G continued his internal queries as he entered-closing the door behind him with his left heel-and took a seat on one of the numerous bunk beds occupying this small barrack. Sighing heavily with a drag of freshly lit cigarette, G admitted to himself what he hated to think about. I’m desperate for companionship.That’s why I enthralled this stupid, fucking bird.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he found said avian in front of him with a small book in one of its talons and its mouth agape in something similar to the smile a pet would give its owner. “Thanks, Thrall….I’m sure I’ll enjoy reading it.” G said, a rueful smile crossing his face as the bird gave him the book and darted after something only its falsely-resurrected eyes could self-deceive.

“Go have fun, Thrall…”Taking another drag of his cigarette as he stared out the window into the dark, blizzard-beaten forest outside, G muttered under his breath, “This is gonna be our home for a while, so we might as well get comfy.” Falling back into the bed, he propped open the book Thrall had given him, the cherry of his cigarette illuminating the words of the first page.

#yay chapter 2 #this chapter didn't flow too well #damn #I should work on this story more often huh?#Axetale au #Gaster!sans #Enthralled!Drake #mythological creature references #does anyone actually read my shit I wonder?#g’s core

1 note · View note

peacekeeperangel · 7 years

Text

Flamethrower Chapter 6

OH MY LORD THIS CHAPTER

Sorry it took so long guys I had to do a complete re-write TWICE and I’m still not totally happy with it. Eventually I just decided to put it out because otherwise I’ll be writing this one chapter until Doomsday. God willing I’ll be a little faster now that the Beast has been slain.

Summary: Not much is known about Sans the Skeleton. He owns a bar in Snowdin. He has a younger brother Named Papyrus. And recently something’s been raiding his trash for food. Reversing the Roles of the Baby Blaster AU originally created by @spacegate

Part 6 of 17(?)

Notice: this Piece is mostly self-edited and may contain typos, grammar errors and run on sentences. if you spot a mistake, please report kindly

Undyne didn’t stay for long after Gaster had left. It had only been thanks to her father’s mercy that she had been allowed to stay and assist. But that was only for one day, which was quickly coming to an end.

The bar was closed. Sans didn’t bother leaving any sort of note or explanation as to why on the front door. Snowdin was a tiny town, secrets were difficult to keep, especially when it involved the town barkeep. Sans hoped at the very least he could keep the local gossip mongers at bay long enough to get this new charge comfortable.

This was a more difficult task than Sans had originally expected. While he fully realized that Grillby was skittish, what he didn’t expect was how sensitive the elemental was. Sans could turn suddenly or knock over a bottle and the Elemental would freeze solid, or bolt for anyplace to hide, usually tripping over his own feet in the process. Sans couldn’t help to be impressed that his hyper-energetic high-volume brother had managed to keep the anxious child calm long enough for Sans and Caedmon to collect them both.

Unsurprised, but impressed. After all his baby brother was the greatest after all.

“Are y’really sure you wanna help Grillby?” Sans asked, “Y’might be a little more comfortable sitting with Papyrus for a little bit.” They were currently making Sans’ old room more habitable for Grillby, which mostly consisted of clearing out all the trash that was scattered throughout the room. Most of Sans’ clothes were in the wash, or simply draped around the house, much to Papyrus’ dismay.

“M’okay....” Grillby replied, his gravelly voice whisper-soft as usual as he fiddled with this oversized shirt and shorts. Not as bad as the adult sized t-shirt he had been running around in but Papyrus’ Hand-me-downs were a vast improvement until Sans could go shopping for proper clothes. “...Want to be useful.” He added cautiously.

After a few scares and startles, Grillby had settled on top of the mattress that made up the bed, watching as Sans would putter about the room and stuff whatever random object that fell into his field of vision into a plastic garbage bag. Not exactly ‘useful’ but the young elemental seemed to be a lot calmer in Sans’ presence, so he really had no reason to complain.

What Sans really wanted most was for Grillby to answer some of his questions. Like how he was able to change shape, or why he had been in the forest alone for weeks?

Most importantly, what had Gaster said to him when Undyne had left them both alone?

“Hey, Grillby?”

The boy looked up at him with solid white eyes. “Yes sir?”

It was Sans’ turn to flinch. “Please don’t call me ‘sir’ kiddo. Makes me feel old.” He stared at the child for a few moments, “...How about we go make some dinner eh?” the skeleton just didn’t have the heart to disturb the child.

Before Grillby could even form a reply, a sound resembling more of a cannon shot than someone knocking, resulted in the entire room flooded with a wave of heat that felt like he was back in Hotland and light that left him seeing spots.

Sans quickly discovered the cause when the spots cleared. Curled up in a corner, looking less like a walking talking campfire flame and more like an oversized sparkler was Grillby in his cat form. Solid White eyes wide open and unseeing.

“Grillby?” Sans knelt down, “Kid...? Are you-” he cut himself off before he could finish his stupid question. It was clear to anyone with any lick of sense that Grillby was about as far from ‘alright’ as a monster could get. Sans knew the kid was jumpy in regards to sudden noises, but this was unlike any previous reactions before.

It also didn’t help that the monster who had knocked so forcefully hadn’t stopped knocking since the first strike. While none were as powerful as that first hit, it was still loud enough to be heard clearly from the second floor, with each strike a spark flew off of the tiny elemental.

“Hold that thought Grillbz,” Sans grinned brightly to the prone fire cat, disguising his annoyance. “I’m going to go answer the door.”

Sans held back from teleporting, opting instead for a brisk power walk down to the front door, letting his temper simmer at just the right level he used when he wanted to scare the ever-loving crap out of rowdy customers. “Hey y’mind cooling it with the drum solo, we’re kind of prefer smooth jazz to rock n’ roll-”

“Open the door y’cheeky whippersnapper!” an aged voice bellowed from behind the front door. “It’s too cold for jokes!”

Sans blinked, pausing briefly before he opened the door for a large, ancient turtle monster wearing a pith helmet and furry-looking overcoat. “Gerson?!”

“Wahahahaha! Hello sonny, about time you got that door!” the turtle crowed, stroking a scraggly looking goatee with one hand while carrying a massive grocery bag, nearly the size of Sans himself in the crook of his arm, “Snowdin is just as cold as I remember it to be.”

“Uh... Wha...?” was all that Sans was able to get out before Gerson shoved the bag into his arms and half-stomped half-limped into the house, kicking snow from his boots.

“A little fishy told me a little about the mischief she and Papyrus got into this weekend,” Gerson proclaimed cheerfully, “including something involving a fire elemental with, and I quote “Super Cool Hero Powers”?”

Sans sighed, enveloping the grocery bag in an aura of blue magic. “It’s a lot more complicated than that Gerson.” he admitted, levitating the bag beside him. “The kid... It’s a really long story.”

“I wouldn’t have walked into this Ice Box willingly for a short story short stuff.” Gerson smirked dryly, “Now, mind satisfying this old man’s curiosity? What’s this about a kid with powers?”

Sans sighed, shoving the bag back into Gerson’s hands. “Mind waiting a bit before I start spilling my guts mister Captain of the Guard?”

“Retired.” Gerson snorted, taking the bag before it tipped over, “Is there a problem?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice as he watched the skeleton climb the stairs.

“Hopefully not anymore since you stopped trying to beat the front door down.” Sans replied, gratified when the old turtle winced sheepishly, “But I’d like not to overwhelm him right at the moment.”

“Ah, gotcha.”

Grillby was still hunched up in the same corner Sans had left him when he had gone downstairs, but the cat’s flames were more settled- Less firecracker and more candlelight sort of fire.

“Hey Grillbz,” Heat came off of the elemental in strong waves, Sans tried to approach but was only rewarded with a sharp spike in the temperature. “Turns out all that banging was this old obnoxious jerk I know.” he squatted down as close as he could to the little elemental without burning himself, gratified with the cat blinked slowly, as if to acknowledge his existence. “I’m going to go downstairs and talk with him a bit. Wanna come?” to his utter surprise the little cat nodded slowly.

“Are you going to stay the way you are now?” Grillby nodded again a little quicker than before, but made no move to stand. “Do you want me to go down ahead?” Grillby nodded a third time.

“Okay, cool...” an idea came to him. “Do you wanna talk to the guy?” the kitten shook his head, confirming Sans’ suspicion. “That’s fine, you can have something to eat while we’re in there, then he won’t bother you.” he pointed to his mouth, “People won’t bother you with your mouth full amirite?”

Grillby’s feline face was full of confusion as he nodded uncertainly. “Trust me it’s an old trick I used to pull when... well nevermind.” Sans scratched the back of his bony head. “Anyway I’ll go on ahead, come down as soon as you’re ready okay? No pressure.” He stood up, and quietly exited the room, pausing on his journey to check on Papyrus.

No change, The younger skeleton was still sleeping soundly, wrapped up in almost every blanket in the house. The doctor assuring Sans that Papyrus just had a bad cold- attributed mostly to his wet clothes when the rescue party had found their cave. Papyrus would be his normal bouncy self in a short while.

Satisfied that everything was as well it could be, Sans returned to the kitchen, “Okay, Grillby just needs a little extra time, but he’ll be down...?” He stopped dead in his tracks just inside the kitchen door.

“Gerson...What the heck?”

In the brief amount of time it had taken Sans to check on the boys, Gerson had unpacked a surprising amount of goods from his grocery bag, and was in the middle of cooking... something. Sans wasn’t quite sure what but at that moment the old turtle was in the middle of reducing a large onion into an equally large pile of onion bits.

“Figured you might be hungry.” Gerson replied simply, tossing the diced onion into a frying pan, “And that you might want a break after, what... a day of running around?”

“Two, actually.” Sans replied settling into the small breakfast space set aside in the corner of the kitchen. “Plus, the doctor’s visit... and filing the report with the Canine unit... Visiting Caedmon at the Guardhouse...Gaster....” Sans found himself wondering when he last ate. It was one of those habits he had that drove Papyrus batty.

“Oof. My regards on that last one.” Gerson winced sympathetically, grasping a packet of mushrooms he opened them and began the work of cleaning and preparing them for the pan. “Now, how about telling me that long story?”

So he did. Sans told the old turtle about the mystery that Papyrus had solved through blind stubbornness and many nights of hot dogs. About Sans going out night-after night after closing the restaurant to search for the mysterious fire child behind Papyrus’ back only to find Papyrus going out to do the exact same thing and succeeding where Sans had failed to the cost of the younger brother’s health.

“An exciting few days t’be sure.” Gerson said stirring a pot of something heavenly fragrant. “So. Whatcha going to do with the little spark?”

Sans cocked a non-existent eyebrow. “Do?” he intoned, “I don’t quite follow your lead on this Mon Capitanne. What do you expect me to do beyond keep the kid safe and fed right?”

Gerson chuckled darkly. “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me we’re in Waterfall. I remember your case against Gaster.” Sans froze, his eye lights going out. “The child prodigy of the Royal Scientist running up to my Second in Command’s front door, Little brother in hand and shouting that both their lives were in mortal danger?”

Sans didn’t reply leaving only the sound of Gerson’s spoon scraping the bottom of the pot to fill the room.

“I told you the whole story then....” Sans finally broke the silence.

“That you did. I don’t need to dredge up the whole ugly court battle with that old Ghoul of a Royal Scientist, but here you are... and here’s a boy who can somehow do the same things you claimed Gaster was attempting to do with yourself and-”

“Just Papyrus!” Sans barked sharply, his hands shaking as he balled them into bony fists. “Glass Canons Aren’t Useful On The Battlefield....” the words rang hollowly as Gerson stumped beside him and laid a careful hand over his shoulders.

“You’re here Sans.” Gerson’s grizzled voice was firm, supportive and yet gentle. In a way it reminded Sans of the Redwood trees that surrounded Snowdin. “Your safe and So is Papyrus. You got away.”

Sans quietly nodded, resting a hand on the hand of the old turtle.

“Um...”

The pair looked up to see the fire elemental clinging nervously to the doorway looking ready to flee at any given second. “I-Is th...um...”

“Oh hey kid,” Sans stood up quickly, “Don’t worry about this guy, he’s the old jerk I was telling you about upstairs.” he said jovially jerking a thumb in Gerson’s direction. “Hey Gerson meet the new Housemate Grillby.”

“Howdy Grillby.” Gerson said with a dip of his pith helmet. The elemental started blankly back at the old turtle and said nothing clinging to the doorway like his life depended on it.

“Hey, uh Gerson how about giving Grillby a taste of your food?” Sans grinned nervously at the old turtle, who quickly got the message and stepped back towards the stove. “You’ll love this kid I learned everything about food from this guy.”

“And yet you still eat Typhus pods like they’re going out of fashion.” Gerson snorted back as he gathered up three plates from their resting place in the kitchen’s drying rack. “I hope you’re giving him something else.”

“Mr. Papyrus gave me sinaminbunzz...” Grillby said, his whisper voice sinking into a mumble as he looked away.

Gerson laughed, a quieter version of his normal booming belly-laugh. “Wahahaha, is that so? Do you like Papyrus?” He asked the question of Grillby but continued staring at the pot as he juggled the plates with a deftness that defied his age as he poured out a rice-like noodle with a creamy sauce.

“....He’s very strong.” Grillby replied simply, staring at the plates with an intensity Sans only saw from the Canine Unit when they came to the restaurant. “They’re both very strong.”

“Is that why you agreed to stay with Sans? Because he’s strong?” Grillby responded to Gerson’s question with a nod, trying very hard not to look the turtle in the face.

Sans wasn’t sure why Grillby was trying so hard not to look at Gerson, when Sans was able to maintain eye contact with the young elemental almost right from the start.

If it bothered the old turtle, he gave no sign as he stepped up to the table and set two plates of mushroom risotto down “Well dig in, youngsters. Here’s to brighter tomorrows.”

Grillby stared at his plate then looked over at the mushroom risotto next to Sans. “Ummm...?”

Sans cocked a non-existent eyebrow “What’s wrong kid?” he asked, “Something on your mind?”

Grillby jolted in surprise.... then proceeded to cram the dish into his mouth by the handful, the mild scent of burning cream and mushroom wafting through the air as he completely disregarded the temperature of the dish.

“Uh, Grillby there are things known as spoons yanno...?” he said picking up his own spoon as an example. Grillby’s only response was to pick up the spoon and continue shovelling in food just as fast as he swallowed it down.

“People don’t bother you with your mouth full,” Stupid. the little voice in the back of Sans’ brain reminded him. He resisted the urge to facepalm as he set the utensil down. “Slow down will you kid? There’s plenty of seconds.”

This statement actually caused the manic shovelling to stop as Grillby looked to Sans in wide-eyed surprise. “Murrr?” he asked his cheeks bulging with Mushroom pasta.

“Yeah, in fact-” Sans’ plate glowed with an aura of blue light as it hovered over to Grillby’s plate and dumped a healthy portion of its contents onto it. “I’m not as hungry as I thought I was. You can have some of mine.”

“Sans? Mind if we chat in the living room for a bit?” Gerson spoke up gently, having moved to the door in the brief time Sans had conversed with the little elemental.

“Sure thing.” Sans set his plate down close enough that Grillby could reach for it, but far enough to not make it look like he was essentially giving the befuddled elemental his whole dinner. “You know where to find me if you need me Grillby.” Sans assured him before stepping out.

“Here.” Gerson pressed the box into his hands before Sans had a chance to form a question. “They’ll be useful, just in case.”

Sans carefully opened the box to reveal a dozen or so metal rectangles, each the size of a domino each with a golden yellow gemstone set into the center of it.

“What the heck are these?” Sans asked, holding up one rectangle, rewarded with the image of a blazing fire shining from inside the stone depending on how the light caught it.

“Magic Suppressors.” Gerson replied gruffly, “Fire Magic Suppressors.”

Sans nearly dropped the box. “Gerson what the hell?!” he hissed, hoping that his long term house guest hadn’t heard the old turtle’s statement.

“Don’t let the bogey stories from the Big War scare you Sans, they’re not as bad as all that.” Gerson assured, his leathery face unchanging. “Any monster could overpower one of these with one good shot, but these should keep ambient fire magic down.”

“And how is an already squirrelly kid going to feel when he finds out I’ve got a box of these damn things?!” Sans retorted sharply. “He barely trusts me as it is!”

“Probably relieved, if I’m a betting Monster.” Gerson replied peering briefly over Sans’ shoulder towards the kitchen. “Most people forget, but short of Boss Monsters, Elementals are one of the most dangerous monsters in the Underground.”

“This isn’t a very funny joke Gerson,” Sans said, “I mean yeah the kid’s got an itchy trigger finger when he’s scared but-”

“Sans I saw his LVL.” Gerson interrupted. “I checked it when I gave you both food.”

Sans froze. He had always meant to check the boy’s level of violence but a part of him didn’t want to know. “How high?”

“Not as high as my own, or any Veteran’s but... far too high for a child to wield.” Gerson said, “Elementals are very disciplined but their power tends to go off-kilter when emotionally...” the old turtle paused to search for the words, “... emotionally distressed.” He finally settled.

“I’ve seen Elementals whip up storms or flood whole villages just from grief or anger. If I’m right, Grillby’s got enough power to burn all of Snowdin and half of Waterfall to ash,” Gerson said firmly, “N’just by going by his behaviour in the kitchen and what you told me, I think he may already know that.”

“You think he’s still scared of me?” Sans asked.

“I think the poor boy’s scared to death of himself.” Gerson insisted.

Sans thought about that. “So what should I do? Tell the kid to stop feeling so much?” He asked sarcastically.

Gerson groaned, “Dammit Sans I said no such thing! All the suppressors are for is to protect you, Papyrus and any other monster in case Grillby looses his grip on his self control.” he said tersely

“You think it’s bound to happen?”

“I’m surprised it hasn’t happened already,to be perfectly honest..” Gerson sighed sadly, “It’s probably only a matter of time.”

#Baby Blasters #ARGH THIS MONSTER #Flamethrower #WOO FREEDOM!#Grillby being cute #I guess Tiny Grillby is an Anxiety-ridden kitten #Poor Bab

32 notes · View notes