L(a)unch Time

[Um, Temmie as gaster? / Asgore eating a burger / Asriel with a blue stop sign.]

The enormous device glowed faintly in the distance, humming with a soft, yet distinctly metallic sound. Even from here, it was clear that it was brimming with a power few could comprehend, let alone reproduce. The work of many hours of labor, sweat and tears, but at last, even while trapped in the Underground and working against odds beyond measure, here was the tangible proof monsters could grow and prosper.

It truly was a sight to behold.

Never before, nor likely after would monster-kind produce such a technological marvel again; a beautiful mix of science and the arcane arts. The bright letters, visible even from the balcony, would forever serve as a sign to anyone traveling through Hotland; a landmark of development and progress.

The COURR was officially operational.

"Golly. I never thought this day would come." Asgore sighed. There was a level of tiredness in his voice, though mixed with hope and perhaps even a shred of excitement. A lot of sacrifice lead up to this point, but hopefully all would be worth it. "You've outdone yourself, Temster."

"i owe it to colleg!" the scientist proclaimed, inexplicably vibrating on place. They stood over by the railing, glancing towards the COURR and the swirling mix of energy and lava under them. There was something inexplicably curious about it, but Tem had no idea what exactly. "is simpel too! tem flakes go in, git swissed-mulded to enrgy! best powa in da wurld!"

"Indeed." the king stated, having little to no idea what Tem actually said. It didn't matter though, it was obviously high-science, things he couldn't understand, even if he had tried.

Asgore sat back against his chair, just calmly observing the handiwork of his Royal Scientist. While Toriel couldn't make it on account of being abjectly mad at the king for obviously minor reasons, Asriel did opt to join him, sitting in the other chair. Though the COURR was definitely an interesting sight, he still seemed extremely uncomfortable, repeatedly eyeing the little sack Asgore has placed on the table and was now reaching into.

"Would you care for some lunch, Tem?"

"nu, i fed on science n stuffz!" they said, bashfully looking away. "and tem flakes, sumtimes..."

"Very well." Asgore nodded. "You're welcome to join us anytime though."

With that, he pulled out a couple of bundles from the sack. They were mostly just colorful wrappers, containing one of Asgore's most beloved meals: a sizable, juicy burger from the best ingredients the Underground could provide. Asriel visibly cringed as he pulled out a vial along with them, containing a bright, red SOUL. It was floating inside a mostly clear liquid, still glowing from the power nestled within it.

Kind thoughts of a human coursed through the goat monster's mind, mixed with the decidedly less-kind thoughts of the accident that claimed their life. Although nobody could rightly expect it to happen, falling upon nothing but the rocky floor couldn't have been a kind way to go. Asriel just wished he at least knew their name. Asgore harvested the SOUL they've left behind, much to Toriel's chagrin. On the one hand, a human SOUL floating in the Underground was not only irresponsible, but potentially dangerous as well. On the other, the use his father had for said SOUL was... less than benign.

The king placed one of the wrapped-up burgers before the profoundly uneasy Asriel, while uncovering his own. It was still fresh from less than an hour ago, still quite warm against even his furry fingers. Asgore licked his lips and pulled the top bun off, to spice his meal up with the rarest of condiments, the kind he could never taste after the war and their exile.

SOUL-Sauce.

Asgore shook the plastic vial vigorously, the determination within the soul mixing rapidly with the mix it was kept in. He raised it above his burger and squeezed, watching with almost childish glee as liquid determination poured over the succulent meal. The boss monster made sure to leave his lunch extra sauce, before offering the vial to Asriel, next. His son looked like he was about to lose his breakfast as well, much less the incoming lunch, but he placed it between them, for convenience.

The first bite was heaven in burger form. The determination spiced up the already flavorful meal by margins impossible to comprehend. His eyes glazed over just briefly from the just-about intoxicating effect, barely even noticing as some of the extremely precious sauce made its way into his beard, leaving it red and pulsing with light. It really gave the burger that strong, zesty taste Asgore missed so much.

Once he could focus again, he glanced at Asriel to see if he was eating properly. Rather than consume his burger with the same fervor, like a real father-son duo, the child was more intent on dissuading him by meekly raising a blue STOP sign he acquired from somewhere, trembling all over like a leaf. Asgore couldn't even really guess where he got it from, though its implication was fairly clear to him, even without words.

Unfortunately, the meaning was lost on Temster.

To them, it was a challenge and an insult.

"HA!" Tem cried, attracting their attention. They gazed at the stop sign with seething hatred. "yu think dat blu borad will stop Tem? cant stop sciens! cant stop teh TEM! Yull nevr take me aliv!!"

Temster tensed up and before either of the goat monsters could utter so much as a single word, their jumped over the railing. Plummeting to the energized lava below, they could once again see the majesty of their creation, even here. It changed everything and it would define monsters for future generations. Power through science; power through tem flakes. Even if they could have done more, this was enough. They've secured the future of their kind, a lasting prosperity that would bring about the Golden Tem Age they so sought to find.

With that, Temster the Royal Scientist closed their eyes one last time and embraced oblivion.

Asriel and Asgore blinked, spicy determination still dripping from the latter's beard. They needed a moment or two to shake off whatever temporary stupor caught them, leaving both monsters slightly confused and disoriented as time itself reshuffled their memories to accommodate for the now-missing piece. As thoughts and recollections swirled about, only one thing remained clear as crystal.

Neither of them really knew how this whole situation occurred in the first place.