Underdoom - Chapter 7

All was nearly quiet on the outside. The guard kept watch at the main entrances, locking themselves into a horrible staring contest with their unloving, snarling, menacing enemy. The horde was simply waiting. trying to see if their quivering quarry would break, looking for some sort of weakness either within them or their defenses. So far, no one had budged an inch. The tension in the air was taught to the point of snapping into violent, bloody frenzy. Every sudden snarl or bellow from the demons elicited a jolt or a flinch from the guardsmen, who retaliated in petulantly nocking arrows in false offense, or jerking as if to ready spear into the air. The horde reacted in these bluffs similarly to how their prey reacted to theirs, and the greater among them, who hadn't indulged themselves in the bluffing, were getting visibly annoyed with both with their lesser brethren and the defiant guard facing them. A few imps were roughly swatted down to the ground by either a baron or a knight as abrupt punishment for their constant aggravation. The greater beasts knew they were in a disadvantageous position: Those guards had skewered any demon who raised a firebell towards them or the laser defenses. Inciting an attack was just going to be a waste of demonic blood. They had to use time to their advantage. Those guard would falter, one way or another. One of their switch-outs would go afoul, making one the of those great crossbow topple over, letting the demons attack the guard in the ensuing confusion and temporary disarmament. Perhaps the lasers would begin to falter, or perhaps-there was a structural weakness they could take advantage of, but none had been made apparent. Still though, patience was the key. The barons knew it, and so did the summoners. It was only a matter of time before something went wrong, and knowing this, some of them bared teeth and gum in a twisted expression that vaguely resembled a smile. That little display did far more to unnerve the Royal guard then any snarling or yelping the imps or cacodemons could bellow out.

Meanwhile, the shore party had gathered in the upper atrium of the compound, all gathering around Hayden the Praetor stood front and center, surrounded by Asgore and Sans to his left and Undyne to his right. Alphys listened intently from her desk while Mettaton continued to monitor security, looking back every few moments to eavesdrop. The tether home module, about as tall as Hayden and twice as wide, covered in wires and a single operator's panel, stood behind the Cyborg. Toriel, Frisk, and Papyrus were close by, anxious to know what would happen to their friends and family who were preparing to disembark into a literal journey into Hell.

"Here's the situation." said Hayden as he pulled up another familiar artifact via hologram, broad, ridged with what looked like endless lines of demonic jaws, and adorned at the center with a green gem similar to that found on the hilt of the Crucible. The Doom Slayer listened intently as the Cyborg told his new allies about it, arms crossed, eyes focused intently on the CEO and staring through the holographic prize hovering in front of him. Hayden attempted to conceal his notice as he spoke. "What you see here is the counterpart to the crucible. It is called 'The Siphon.' Similarly to the crucible, it is capable of harnessing great amounts of Argent Energy, and it is most likely what is fueling their current invasion."

"How come you weren't able to tell us this before?" Asgore asked.

"I was unsure of what it was beforehand." Hayden answered. "Shortly after returning to my home dimension and readying the bracers, I went to my personal office. There, I decided to look at our most prized artifact, the Helix stone, via holo-display. Alphys, I believe you're familiar with it?"

"That I am." She answered, briefly scrolling through her new device's interface before finding a display of the stone."Talking about this?"

"Indeed I am. Now Doctor, if you will zoom in on the primary stone, just a little under the Argent symbol?"

"Okay... right here? Under to the Crucible rune?" She said, pointing to one of the many glowing runes on the stone.

"Precisely." Hayden purred. "My associate, Olivia Pierce, had been studying that stone for years. I always had the feeling she was hiding things about it from me, and when she opened the Hell Portal on Mars, I had no doubt that there was further treachery she had hidden. My suspicions were correct. While the devices were being prepared, I took some time to decrypt some of her personal files. Years ago, she had interpreted that rune to mean something mundane: another realm of Hell or something like that. I trusted her judgement at the time and thought nothing of it. Then, as I searched her personal files, I found a rune translation key she had kept hidden from me, as it differed from what she had published to the Board Archives. Upon re-scanning the Helix Stone with it, I found several of her translations to be intentionally incorrect. Among her discrepancies was the true meaning of that rune you've pointed to. In addition, while the Crucible was ending out its beacon, some of our probes in Hell detected an energy spike somewhere beyond the Great Steppe in the Seventh Circle. I knew it couldn't be coincidental, especially when it spiked again as Hell began its invasion of the underground."

"Okay, so our objective is to get into that realm and remove the Siphon. That's gonna stop this whole mess?" said Undyne.

"As far as I can deduce, yes, it will."

"Looks like it's time to get the party started then." Sans added. "When and where do we start? I don't think it would be a good idea to open a portal in here. Can your tether send us there?"

"Hell is... very finicky about how it lets things in and out." Hayden replied. "Without wasting any more time, I'll just say this: Hell only permits entrance and exits through doors opened by familiar energy sources, such as Argent energy. The tether was the result of our efforts to cheat the exit system without a direct portal. Entry, on the other hand, is not so easy. That's why it's a prototype - it only works one way for now, which is out. To get in, we'll need to open a direct portal, and since we don't have the time or resources to construct a teleportation pentagram, we will simply need the Praetorian here to open one for us with the crucible."

"Why not use the portal they used to get in?" Alphys asked.

Hayden hesitated slightly. 'We don't want to waste time dealing with the horde outside. It's better to sneak past them and open another portal. The quicker we get this done, the better. Now, if you would show us what I'm talking about, sir?" he said, pointing to the Praetor.

Everyone turned their attention to the Doom Slayer, who now held his rightful prize in his hands. Everyone gasped as the Hell Walker activated its great, glowing blade with a flick of his wrist. All the while, the Slayer wondered just what Hayden was playing at. He now knew about the Siphon; did he know about what it would do when paired with the Crucible? Was he trying to repay him in some way? Torn between a distant elation and an immediate suspicion, his thoughts were interrupted by Hayden, continuing his instructions. "Now, as Sans, stated, this isn't the place to open it. You will all need to be inserted beyond the security checkpoint somewhere in New Home."

"That's what I thought." Asgore responded. "We'll need to go where there is fewer of them around so we don't risk any of them making it into the underground."

Mettaton spoke up. "Best place looks to be around this maintenance entrance from the core. Haven't seen any of them around there for an hour now. I think they're all making their way towards the main entrance." he said, pointing out a monitor that seemed devoid of demonic presence.

"Looks like that's your insertion point." Hayden remarked. "I think it's time you all got ready." He pointed to a crate of ammunition and other supplies he had brought from the UAC base.

The Doom Slayer, took his fair share of ammunition, reloading his chaingun and taking as many shotgun shells as his Argent fueled suit would let him. In they went into his suit's storage system, ready to be automatically loaded into his arsenal as soon as the chambers of his weapons went empty. Undyne stretched and practiced her stances. Asgore flared his fire magic, his last encounter with demonkind being the first time he's used his power to its full extent in a very, very long time. Sans simply cracked his neck, lit his eye in its blue form and began to pace as everyone else readied themselves, fitting the rough, metallic tether bracers onto their forearms.

"Alright, do you know what you're doing, Toriel?" Asgore asked, walking over to his former Queen.

"It'll take some effort to get everyone out, given the entrance to the surface from the ruins goes up several stories. I think we can manage, though."

"Just stay safe."

"We will. Frisk, come along, dear. We need to get everyone gathered up."

"Okay."

"Papyrus, are you coming dear?"

"Just a minute." he replied, kneeling near his brother. "You promise me you're coming back in one piece, okay Sans?"

"Ah, you know I will, bud." he said, hugging his brother. "We'll be back in no time."

Alphys and Undyne were saying similar goodbyes. "Hold the fort down while I'm gone, okay Al?" said Undyne, retracting from a kiss with her dearest friend.

"I will."

"You know I believe in you, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Don't ever forget that"

"Stay safe..." Alphys said quietly as Undyne walked away to join the rest of the shore party.

"Don't you worry."

As the group made their way to the door, two words from Alphys were heard before the door shut behind them.

"Good luck."

Frisk and her company bid a final farewell to the shore party before they parted ways. She looked back as they took a differing route leading them to the maintenance shaft. Suddenly, she saw movement behind them. It was small, and seemed to notice when any of the shore party would see it. It ducked back underground when Undyne turned all the way around, engaging in a conversation muffled by distance and white noise. Frisk knew who it was. She focused on the little hole he left behind, wondering what he was planning on doing. it felt all too tragic to know that only a few days ago, she saw him as he really was, albeit for only a short time. Did he remember it at all? She wondered to herself, not noticing that her focus had been pointed backwards for as long as it had been.

"What is it , dear?" Toriel asked in concern. 'Do you see something?"

"Oh.." Frisk said, trailing off. "No, I was just watching them."

"Don't worry." papyrus responded. "They'll be back soon."

As the Shore party vanished from her view, she let her concerned mind govern her speech. "I hope..."
_______________________

They could all hear the hell spawn growling and roaring throughout the chamber of New Home, their bellowing echoing through the pipes and ventilation shafts of the maintenance corridor. Though it was distant, it made everyone's blood curdle slightly, save of course of the Doom Slayer's. He had heard their ugly chorus a million times before, it was almost odd not being able to hear the echoes of their hideous voices. All the time he had spent in Hell had conditioned him to the sound. It was as mundane to him as birds singing in the morning/ Now that he had not heard it in so prolonged a time, it felt like he was right back home after a short trip. It was a sick twist of that normal feeling, but it was all he really knew.

They came a good distance from without the door, making their way through the corridors of the Palace basement until they had reached the outer plaza. The light within the chamber had become blood red, a noxious fume floating through the air. Demons could be seen crawling through the streets and on the walls, with massive, floating beasts hovering in herds through the putrid air while towering red monstrosities prowled the streets. Many buildings had been toppled or destroyed, with some of the perpetrators at work on other edifices, tearing them down out of destructive boredom and aggression. The sight awoke deep feelings of anger and spite within the monsters surrounding the Doom Slayer. This was their home, and now it lay in partial ruins now occupied by hideous, demonic aberrations. They would be ousted soon enough.

"I know we're just here to open a portal..." Undyne remarked. "But I can't tell you guys how badly I wanna skewer them all right now.."

"Patience, dear. 'Asgore replied. "Focus on what we're here to do. Now, where are we gonna open it..."

Suddenly, a familiar flash of red light lit up beside them. The Doom Slayer activated the Crucible, its glowing Argent blade flooding the darkness around them with terrible crimson light that overpowered the dim redness of the chasm. He took a deep breath, holding his sword with both hands straight in front of him, the blade's edge facing fore and aft so that it's profile ran a line in front of him. he took a step forward, squaring his weight on both feet and swinging the sword in a great horizontal cutting motion, the blade resting to the right and behind him. A red light emanated from his "cut", as if he had torn a space between Hell and the Underground. He quickly followed up, sending the blade upward, making an askew "X" in the air. The fissure expanded to reveal the Underworld itself. The group looked on in awe as the Great Steppe of the Eighth Circle opened up before them in all its horrible, grey, hellish glory.

"Nice..." Sans commented. "Alright, so we just jumping in, or-"

He was cut short out of disbelief as the Praetor took a great leap into the opening. Silence followed before Sans walked up to the portal, looking down to see that it hovered above several cliffs and bones that extended for several meters out of the ground. "Looks like a long way down..."

"Well, no use just standing around is there?" Undyne replied. Without another word, she leaped into the portal.

"All ashore that's coming ashore..." Asgore muttered as he ran in after them.

sans paused for a moment before getting over his apprehensions. "Here goes nothing..."

And with that, he too took a bounding step into Hell.