Underdoom - Chapter 11

"Frisk... it's best if you just forget about me okay?"

Those words stung to hear. There wasn't anything Frisk wanted less.

"Just go be with the people who love you."

The young girl could not turn away from the sad little boy's tearful face. Without a word, she immediately drew close to him, pausing but for just a second before embracing him.

The boy gasped just a bit, shocked and surprised both by the sudden embrace and Frisk's capacity to forgive and love others, including those who he thought deserved neither love nor forgiveness. Tears welled up anew in his eyes. How could this be? After all he'd done, after all that had happened, she was still willing to forgive him. She still wanted to comfort him. She saw the pain in his eyes, and wanted to see it no more he felt he deserved it. He felt that after all the pain his actions had caused, (regardless of the fact that it was in effect "the other guy"), the smart on him did not deserve healing. Still though, there she was her arms wrapping so tightly, yet so gently around him. Soon enough, he was returning the gesture, as much as he felt he couldn't or shouldn't. The fact that someone so cared about him almost sent him once more into a deluge of tears.

They held each other for a while, Asriel sobbing quietly into Frisk's shoulder as the girl's hand gently ran over his back.

"ha... ha....." The boy's voice struggled to get out between his sharp sobs. "I don't want to let go..." And truly he didn't. What would he give for this to last forever, to feel love again, to feel someone else's embrace again, to have a soul (or at least for now, the power of one)

Every time Frisk began to ease her grasp, Asriel tightened his, and every time Asriel began to let go, Frisk would just clasp him tighter. Eventually, they somehow managed to let go of each other, slowly, deliberately, drawing it out, knowing that just as well as it was their first embrace, it would also be their last. That realization hit the little prince especially hard, as he had known such loving embraces before, with friends and family who he knew were just around the corner, but were forever out of his reach. Frisk too knew this, and as contact was severed completely, she too wanted to weep.

Before she could however, he spoke up again. "Frisk... you're... you're gonna do a great job, okay?"

No audible response from the girl. Instead, a silent nod coupled with a forlorn, but triumphant expression.

"Everyone will be there for you, okay?" He then turned around, not wanting to see the look on her face when he uttered his farewell. "Well, my time's running out... goodbye."

With that, he quietly walked away, but not before one last wish,

"By the way, Frisk... Take care of mom and dad for me, okay?"

"...I will."

And then he was gone.

And then another familiar voice
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"Frisk! Frisk, wake up!"

Frisk's eyes shot open upon hearing her adoptive mother's voice calling out so urgently.

"Come along, dear, we're about ready to leave."

Frisk looked all around at the busied inhabitants of Snowdin, all of them carrying personal effects on their shoulders, on their backs, and when available, on a sled or buggy. Excited conversation could be heard all around as everyone once more spoke of freedom and surface life. Hope seemed to have rekindled itself somewhat in everyone, despite the frightening circumstances, but now, the hellish threat was locked away behind a manifold of laser defenses, and the exit from the ruins, previously unbeknownst by anyone save for Toriel, now served as the glad substitute for the east gate in the palace.

Frisk fought a smile through her yawning and drowsiness, feeling once more at peace about the underground at large, though still somewhat perturbed by what had or would become of her friends who now were working to resolve the crisis now locked up behind blue and red light.

More importantly, she also thought of him.

The memory of his face would follow her forever. His tragic story instilled in her a sense of duty that could not be broken by any force in hell or on earth. She knew she had put Alphys at risk. She knew that Toriel and Asgore were not going to like the news, and as she looked up at Toriel's forlorn face, she knew the possibility of saving him had come at a price. Regret blew across her mind like a cold breeze, but the chill was quickly thawed by her warm resolve to find a way. What way that would be, she wasn't sure. Unlike Alphys, she did not know much about the nature of a soul, let alone how to restore one. Still though, his words weighed on her like bricks, laboring her soul with grieved determination to save him. heaven knew how, but it mattered not. She was too determined to leave it alone.

"Alright everyone!" Toriel's voice carried a lot more power than either Frisk or papyrus knew or expected, and both jumped a bit at hearing her. "As soon as everyone's taken what they can and we've all gathered up, we'll be heading into the ruins, and from there, the Surface!"

Cheering and whooping resounded against the chasm walls.

The smile having returned to his face in full, papyrus couldn't help but be jubilant. "Wow, it's really happening this time... Can you believe it Frisk? I though we were all goners for a while!"

"O know right?" Discontentment and unease were not easy things for a child to hide, It was easy for Papyrus to innocently pick up.

"Frisk, what's wrong? There something you want to talk about?"

"Hmm No I'll be fine." Inadvertently providing cover for her less-than-honest admission was Toriel, continuing her instruction after the applause had calmed down somewhat.

"now remember everyone, don't try to bring all your effects at once! The stairwell that our kind first climbed down upon our interment here is somewhat narrow, and it will take some time to clear it of debris and climb to the top. Now, some of the guard will stay here so that your belongings will be protected until you come again to retrieve them. Now, everybody come along, we haven't a moment to lose!"

The chatter and bustling activity once again sprang to life, mingled with some more applause, and as Frisk walked alongside Toriel, hand clasped firmly in the matriarch's gentle hand, her thoughts did not deviate one bit from her initial objective.

"He'll get to see this too...."
________________________________

"NGAAAAAHHHHH!!"

Undyne's battle cry tore through the air with all the demoniac yells already filling it. Running from here to there, an imp underfoot, Step on its head. keep moving. Hell knight on that bridge, jumping down. Throw a spear. Direct hit, right in the throat. Thing lands with the spear hitting the ground, impaling it further on its own weight. No, don't get distracted. Keep moving. Keep killing. Revenant above you. Rocket fire incoming. Run. Jump. Grab the ledge. Jump up on him, punch his mobility pack. Jump off, let him die and move on to the next demon. Turn around add run. Mancubus right there. Doom Slayer's on it. Chainsaw ripping its gut. Move on. Keep going.

Thoughts were brief in the Warrior woman's head, just as the Praetor trained her. There was no time to stall or stop. There was too many of them.

Sans too felt the flurry of combat like never before. Unlike Undyne and the Marine, he had no need (or capacity) for constant running. His telekinesis and bone walls did him good enough, though even those defenses found themselves strained by the constant assault of demonic forces. Summoners threw scarlet waves of raw hell Energy at him only to have their projectiles (barely) absorbed by his barricades. In return, their newly summoned minions, a hodgepodge of imps and Knights, were thrown violently at them, bones breaking with the sheer force of impact. The glow of his blue eye shone ominously against the deepening red of the hellish air.

For the Doom Slayer, this almost felt easy. Yes, they certainly were putting up a huge fight, but with Sans' and Undyne's assistance, thsi was no worse than his previous foray into Argent D'Nur. At least fifty of them were swarming through the battlefield, torn with rocky crags and overshadowed by a once great Argent temple, out of which flew more of the enemy. He glanced every now and then to see his compatriots fighting, and deep inside, the fear he felt on their behalf was overshadowed a bit by genuine pride. Their courage sounded out in every blow they dealt to the horde's mindless minions. Half gone. Keep going. Don't stop until they're all dead.

A pinky reared up to charge at Sans' stationary position. Undyne took quick notice after dispatching another hell razer. "SANS, LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"

The small, but surprisingly nimble skeleton lowered his barricade, letting the demon get a clear shot before effortlessly sidestepping it, letting ti crash into the wall before impaling it from behind with several jagged bones. From there he gracefully jumped from place to place, avoiding the horde's projectiles as he hopped and flipped his way to a new strong-point.

Undyne continued her own rampage, letting her adrenaline take over as two Barons thundered towards her. Spear in hand she charged, but not at them, Sans landed nearby, almost bumping into her while the demonic pair swiped at both of them, the two monsters practically sliding past them between their legs. A bone from Sans and a spear form Undyne launched in tandem to impale the two beasts together. In pain, but very much alive, both tried casting fireballs at their assailants before the Doom Slayer's Gauss bolt ran them both through the head, blowing their craniums out in a shower of messy gore.

Then, the Doom Slayer jumped right in between his two companions, facing either and nodding to both. As he nodded, the last thirty or so of the horde encircled them. now they knew what his nod meant. They gathered back to back, and before the demons came into close range, he handed Sans his plasma rifle and Undyne his LMG. they all stood together on the bridge, waiting for those eternal two seconds before the demons began to climb up the sides.

No fanfare, no boasting roars or battle cries. Just immediate fire and carnage. Demon after demon crawled its way to them, only to be cut down by a spear or a bone or a bullet. They all stood back to back, firing incessantly. In one hand, Undyne held the monstrous belt fed gun, firing wildly from the hip as her other arm busied itself with a more precise spear, throwing it into the mouth of an awaiting cacodemon that had tried to take aim at the Doom Slayer. San's telekinesis waved the plasma rifle in the air, swinging it to and fro as it fired. Those enticed by the deadly decoy were gunned down by the Slayer's chaingun. He felt the heat of its triad barrels creeping along the weapon's furniture up into his fingers as he fired, taking out whatever took aim at him of his allies. A baron tried leaping at him only to smack itself face first into a bony wall flung up by sans, blue spears shooting out of the ground impaling and killing it as it fell Imp fireballs and lost souls were similarly blocked, while their relatively frail bodies were torn asunder by bill, bone, and bullet.

Then it was over, at least for a moment. The skull gate at the other end of the room opened, just as before.

As they all caught their breath, the Doom Slayer found it somewhat interesting that they not only chose Argent D'Nur to do battle with him, but the very same place that was host to the captive wraiths and the Well. The same gates leading to the Wraith pedestals were yet open, green runes still glowing.

Soon enough, the others caught him spacing off. Sans was first to break silence. "You see something, man?"

He turned towards the skeleton and then back at the old pedestal, pointing towards the horned decorations that hung over the wraith's corpse before jumping down and jogging thereto, his companions exchanging looks and following suit.

Making it to the top of the dilapidated stone staircase, they joined the Doom Slayer atop the temple. They were somewhat perturbed by the seemingly demonic corpse that the Praetor was staring so steadfastly at.

'What IS that thing?" Undyne's lip was curled into a disturbed snarl as she looked upon the disemboweled eyeless beast

The Doom Slayer reached for his dossier device, fumbling around in his pouches only to remember that he had given it to Alphys. Mildly irritated, he gestured to his company that the information was not on hand, shrugging his shoulders and pointing to his empty pouches.

"Ah, I see." Sans took a deep breath, rocking on his heels a little. "So, yeah, nice scenery and all but I think we-"

"Whoa..." Undyne's eye went wide and her mouth agape in awe.

"What the..."

The Doom Slayer noticed the green glow emanating from behind him. He turned around to see yet another familiar sight.

It was the night sentinels. he stepped back a few paces giving them some room. Nine of them stood around the old pedestal, all looking directly at the Praetor and his posse before pointing in unison towards the skull gate. Undyne and Sans both wore slight, open mouth smiles, awestruck by their ghostly appearance and powerful presence. The Doom Slayer nodded to them, and before they left, each of them put a fist to their chest in unison, saluting their old chief. As he returned the gesture, his friends, now almost gleeful for sake of awe, also pounded their chests in salutation. Then, dropping their closed fist salutes, the sentinels vanished.

Silence ensued for a moment before Undyne spoke up.

"... That was AWESOME."
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The many lockers tat lay flush on the walls of the main power room befuddled Mettaton. He knew what he was here for and what Alphys had assigned him to do, but he could waste hours searching among all these lockers. One after another, he closed each locker door, coming up empty handed. Where was it? He had seen Alphys working on it before, and in his anticipatory excitement, he had not taken note of where she had put it. He was looking for a needle in a haystack, and his impatience was beginning to catch up with him. In his irritation, he decided to text Alphys. He knew however, that if he were to be too overt, it could end up very poorly for both him and his maker. All it took was the Cyborg asking to see her phone and it would be over. He needed to be discreet.

Deciding on what he would say, he opened his phone.

“need help w/power main.”

Alphys replied with some apprehension. “like wht.”

“Combination number....”

Samuel's voice would have made her jump if her once-taut nerves hadn't been stretched into slackening already“Does he need help?” He had noticed the vibration of her phone

“Hmm? Oh, no, There's just an old padlock on the power main and he doesn't remember the combination.”

“Ahh...” Hayden's voice once more waxed bored and uninvolved.

She then turned her attention to her monitors, keeping close watch over Asgore and the Flower. The former was still engaged in climbing the treacherous ledges and architecture, trying to climb atop a dilapidated structure atop which sat the latter.. There he sat still, staring into the eternal night sky. He faced away from the camera, and so any mention would be hard to detect, but the amount of time in which he stayed mostly stationary was telling enough. Only a twitch of one of his leaves here and there, and that was the fullest extent to which he ever moved. Feeling the phone in her pocket vibrate once more, she saw it was Mettaton and answered.

“PL320W”

Finding the compartment with that label was no problem. He had seen the letter “PL” written on at least a dozen of these, all on the bottom tier of three that lined each wall. Most were filled with supplies and tools, but he knew he'd find no such thing in this unit. He opened it, finding a table inside. It as wheeled like a cart and was somewhat reminiscent of an operator's table. Certain power tools were attached fast to the sides of the table, including a drill press, blowtorch, and welding torch (the unit hanging underneath the table surface). All the cords on these tools connected to a main hub under the table, from which was derived a single, large cord that served as a power strip for the whole table He pulled it out, looking at what lie thereon with greedy eyes and spastic entusiasm.

Whether it was the vanity within him, or his admiration for all things glamorous, Mettaton found himself quite distracted by what he saw. Betwixt the many tools that lay in dishes and sat in bolted positions around the table was a humanoid figure, painted mostly black, with some parts remaining unpainted', gleaming silver in the dim light of the lab. A large gun sat affixed to its right arm. Hair similar to Mettaton's adorned it's head.  Its chest was open, and the soul  receptacle port was in the open.

Now that he had located the prize, all that remained was asking Alphys what to do with it.

“OK, fusebox open, now what.”

The reply surprised and confused him “Find fuse.”

“wht is fuze??”

Alphys could feel Hayden's single digital eye running over her. As she typed, she prayed he wouldn't catch on or ask questions.

“Go to DT room.”

With that last text, Mettaton was almost certain as to what she was up to. He reached the DT extractor room and begun to search a certain cabinet found near the extractor itself. No matter how many times he saw it, the bird skull-like machine still sent a ghastly shiver down his synthetic spine. If his suspicions where right as to what Alphys was doing, he would end up having to use it.' Within seconds, he found what he was looking for: a clear capsule lidded at top and bottom with a metal cap adorned with a small button in the center.

Mettaton broke out his phone again. “Found fuse. What now.”

“fill it up.”

“with nthing inside??”

“With HDD inside.”

That last text made Mettaton's head spin. What would putting some old hard rive in the capsule do? He knew what the DT extractor did and how the capsules worked. The process through which he inherited his current body directly involved the machine and a capsule which still lay in his core. What he now held in his hands was no monster soul. It was a capsule in his left and a black hunk of metal and polymer in his right. He placed the drive inside the vessel, closing the lid tightly in preparation for the next step. This was perhaps the most perilous part of it all, as this large machine, with all its metal, wires, tubes, and motors, would most certainly get Hayden's attention. Mettaton's grip on the container tightened somewhat as he looked at the activation panel on the wall. He normally wasn't one to hesitate or worry, but who knew what that Cyborg would do if he found out what was happening. One was only as quick as the elevator if they were to intercept the CEO from harming Alphys. It felt like it was too big a risk.

Then he felt the phone vibrate again.

“u have it ready?”

He knew he didn't have to text her to answer.

Without hesitating any longer approached the control panel, wiping the dust off and pressing the proper commands

POWER:

/INITIATE?

EXECUTE.

Alphys' eyes were still fixed on Asgore and his dangerous climb when the DT Extractor dialogue opened itself on her screen.

DT_EX/POWER/MAIN_EXTRACTOR/STAGE_1/PERMISSION

DT_EX_LOWER_COMMAND

GRANT?

_YES  _NO

Almost without reading the script, she clicked “yes.”

The automaton winced as he heard the creaky old machine brought to life on Alphy's command. The motors and servos that moved it along its rails began to start up. The tubes gargled with various fluids. The console emitted various noises indicating readiness in some areas and needed maintenace in others. The only two status screens he needed to see were labeled “AVAILABLE_DT” and “DT_EX_FUNCTIONALITY.”

Upstairs, tension rose anew as the sound of the machine reached Hayden and Alphys' ears.

 “Sounds like he's busy down there...” Hayden's voice oozed with boredom and disinterest.

“He certainly is, Doctor.” Alphys felt somewhat gladdened, seeing Hayden's lack of interest in her affairs. With that came an opportunity to drive him further away, make it harder for him to interfere with her acquisition of knowledge. “You know, we can re-reoute every single circuit in the underground from here if we-”

“Alphys...”

“Yeah?”

“Please do me a favor and get back to your own work.”

Never had she felt so glad to be pushed aside.

Downstairs, Mettaton made ready the capsule, having directed one of the tube from the machine down to the capsule, which now sat on a pedestal amid the empty space under the machine. A short syringe like tool tapped into the button on the cap of the vessel, and a loud hissing soon filled the dank laboratory air as the airtight seal between machine and capsule tightened. Then, a white vapor-like gas filled the capsule. He knew what was supposed to happen next. He knew what that gas was and what it was distilled from. He eagerly awaited the result. He knew what was “supposed” to happen. But would it happen? Could it happen? Could this work?

The gas stopped flowing, signifying that the capsule was full. The opaque white of the DT vapor fogged the vessel.

For a few moments, nothing.

Then, Mettaton looked on in disbelief at the capsule.

Light was penetrating the murky gas, which distilled until the light source was completely revealed. It was a heart, glowing a deep, valiant blue

It was surrounding the drive, which now neatly floated in the center of the vessel

The automaton grabbed it and ran towards the power main. He already knew what to do

Powering on the tools on the table, he wasted no time prepping the EX chassis for it's new fitting. Only a few bolts kept the chassis case from opening. Once he had taken it off, all he needed to do was insert the capsule into the receptacle. Sure enough, upon removal of the last bolt, there it was: an empty cylindrical space with two prongs at each end for insertion of the vessel. Mettaton eyed it over as he prepared it for installation. The outlines of the drive were very well blurred by the blue heart that now encapsulated it. It was more of a splotch of black than a defined shape. He still couldn't wrap his head around it. What was in this thing? How did it form this? These and many more questions buzzed around in his head before he snapped out of his mystified state. He inserted it into the chassis, making sure the prongs had bitten into the caps.

Not even a second after he had installed it, he felt his phone vibrate. Alphys did too. Every computer downstairs seemed to be making a racket, notifications popping up o each and every one of them, from the DT extractor console, to Alphys' computer, at which point, she almost panicked before a relieved and amazed smile spread across her face as she read the message the notification bore.

The words were simple, but they struck both fear and awe into the two that read them

“I AM VEGA.”