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bexterbex · 4 years

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A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 21

Warning, if it hasn’t been obvious in the movies there is Nazi symbolism within the First Order. I will expand on this much more throughout the story. If this is something that bothers you, please just exit the story. The author does not condone any Nazi ideals, this is just for fictional uses only.

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

MASTERLIST

Chapter 21: The Beginning of a Long Education

You, Lieutenant Mitaka and General Pryde all returned to the White House together. From there the lieutenant escorted you once again to the red sitting room. This time Kylo was already in the room with lunch waiting for you.

“How did your morning meetings go,” you ask.

“They were substantially better than yesterday. With you taking care of the health committee it leaves my negotiations more open for resources and militarization. I can move along at a faster pace,” replied Kylo after taking off his helmet to join you in eating.

“I’m glad I can take some of the load off,” you replied.

“How did your committee go this morning. Dr. Koroban said you helped make headway in convincing the health officials to negotiate terms on which the planet will run. But I would like to hear it from you,” asked Kylo.

“Well, we have informed them about the immunization policies as well as the hygiene ones. We had informed them of the mandatory vitamins that the First Order requires. We have taken away the two-child policy for now, and have moved to highly encourage the use of birth control. They have also agreed that in areas of high malnourishment that the First Order will provide food but in places where that isn’t an issue to run healthy food campaigns,” you replied and took a bite of your food.

“Are you happy with the progress,” he asked.

“Yes, I believe so. I am curious as to why there is the two-child policy but because it is off the table I won’t ask. I am happy that the health officials seem to be understanding that the First Order wants healthy citizens and is willing to do its part in making sure that happens,” you replied.

At the mentioning of the child policy, you could tell that Kylo was a bit uncomfortable, but he seemed to slightly relax.

“The two-child policy is a means to control overpopulation onboard starships and bases. Since it takes two people to create a child, we harbor a replacement factor. If needed the policy can be changed at any time to increase or decrease the amount of offspring a couple can have. We also rely on the annexation of planets or portions of systems for parts of our population. Many planets and people volunteer to be apart of the First Order for the stability and order it can give them, your planet is one of the richest that we have been able to annex,” replied Kylo.

“I see. Population control is this something the First Order has always done or is it something you have implemented as Supreme Leader,” you ask.

“No, although it wasn’t as regulated as it is now it stems from the Empire’s time. General Hux or Pryde would be able to give you a more definite timeline and a better reason as to why. Hux’s father, Commandant Brendol Hux was the one to solidify its implementation in the First Order,” replied Kylo.

“So it is a relatively new thing? I guess I still have a lot more to learn about the First Order’s policies and hierarchy,” you responded.

“The policy was also put in place as a better way to control the military movements. While the First Order has annexed other planets, most of whom were Imperialist empathizers and small sparsely populated outer rim planets Earth is our largest undertaking. It has the largest civilian population. And while we will be annexing Earth’s military into our own we plan to keep your planet as a mostly civilian planet with a base for control. Your people will have more freedom than any of our other planets and we will heavily rely on your resources. While the majority of the population will be civilians, they will most likely be employed in some way to help the First Order,” stated Kylo.

You took this into consideration, “So this is why negotiations are so important. You won’t have complete control over the majority of the population, so you need to keep them happy. Is that why you have me assisting in committees versus some other role,” you ask finishing your meal.

“You volunteered to help so I greatly accepted it. You have a great deal of knowledge that the First Order does not have access to as you are a citizen of this planet. The government and health officials seem to be more comfortable in your presence as they know you know how this planet works. I won’t lie in saying that I am not grateful that you have asked to assist in the negotiations. I also know that you have said that you wish to stay with me, I am the Supreme Leader of the First Order and this is my place, and so it is yours too. If you do not want to be involved with this please say so and I will find other things to occupy your time,” and with that, you could tell Kylo’s demeanor had changed. This was the first time his voice towards you had a hint of hostility. He wanted you near him, but he needed to complete his goals.

“I am more than happy to help, I think it would be best suited for me in the mornings to negotiate what needs to be done here on earth and in the afternoons I would like to be taught how the First Order operates. I do not want to lead you in a direction that you do not wish to go. I only want to help,” you responded and took his hand in yours. HIs was balled up into a fist and seemed to relax a bit at your words.

“I can see to it that you are given a tutor. Although it may be beneath him General Hux will probably the best candidate. He has the best knowledge of what you are seeking,” he took a sip of his wine. “You were in marketing were you not? Dr. Koroban said you were helping design the campaigns for our health regime and General Pryde took you to the Library of Congress to begin working on it. How have you faired,” he inquired.

“Yes, I found some vintage health videos that, people from this planet understand and will relate with. I don’t know if they will overly trust something made specifically from the First Order in regards to their health. I also found some vintage posters that we may be able to make a decent campaign with. That may bee something you want to consider with anything you are having this planet learn. If it is already available here and is made by people from Earth, use it especially during the transition as it may make them trust you more than any production the First Order comes up with,” you responded taking the final sip from your wine.

Kylo just nodded in regard to what you had to say. There was a knock on the door and he permitted Hux to enter. “Supreme Leader the meeting is ready to convene again.”

“Yes. I will be there in a moment, but first general I must ask you to escort Lady Ren back to the ship. It is now your duty to help educate her on the ways of the First Order. No one within our ranks is better suited for this task. Take it as an honor.” And with that Kylo’s helmet was on once again and you were left alone with the general.

“My lady if you will follow me I will take you back to the Steadfast and on the way up we can discuss what it is that you would like to learn,” you simply nodded as the junior officers came into the room and started to remove the remains of your lunch.

You followed the general to the command shuttle. The lieutenant appeared by your side and saluted the redhaired man. “Ah, lieutenant Mitaka. I will require your assistance in educating Lady Ren. Please reserve the main conference room for this purpose.”

“The Supreme Leader has agreed that every morning I will attend committees on earth and during the afternoons you will be educating me. I still believe the Supreme Leader will be joining me in the evenings. But you should prepare this schedule for the upcoming weeks,” you informed the general and lieutenant.

You soon landed onboard the Steadfast and made your way to the conference room. “Shall we begin,” asked the general.

You nodded. Not sure as to where he was going to start. You took out your notebook and turned to a new page and waited patiently for him to start.

Pacing at the front of the room he began, “I should warn you, the First Order only serves itself. While we may want to bring order to the galaxy we only help those who have aligned themselves with us. In many of the ideologies that I will teach you as a part of this education, it may seem as if we ignore those needs of lesser planets. We do not. We serve the good of the First Order and if a lesser planet has sided with the Resistance or the New Republic we hold no mercy. Is this something you can understand,” he asked you.

“Yes, I believe it is something I can understand, but I may question things as I was raised under the pretense that my home country was right in all things and that it was superior. I know now that that is not correct and so I may question the First Order’s actions, but it is for understanding not criticism,” you responded.

“Now I will tell you what is the First Order. It is this. The First Order seeks order entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in order, complete order. What complete order means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis, the Russian Communists and the Galactic Empire came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Order is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. The object of order is order,” stated the general.

You were reeling at this trying to take it all in.

“Now do you begin to understand the purpose of the First Order,” asked the general.

You were unsure how to respond. Was this something you wanted to be a part of? You felt frozen in time waiting for an answer to come to you. What would you answer?

A/N: Part of Hux's speech is taken almost directly from 1984, for a reason. Please note this.

#kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren imagine #kylo x reader #kylo x you #first order #sw first order imagine #star wars first order #first order propaganda #star wars #star wars imagine #Star wars soulmate au #a soul to mend his own

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forsetti · 4 years

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On Racial Justice: Time For Action

When I was in high school, a young girl went missing. There was a rumor she had been abducted. This was years before cell phones and then internet. Word spread through phone trees, in diners, at the gas station, in the barbershop and hair salon. The entire county became quickly invested into finding her. It was as if someone took a big stick and beat the hell out of our little beehive.

She was found, later that day, up one of the canyons that bordered the rural valley where we lived. She had been killed. I know this because my father was the county coroner, as well as the local mortician. As the news of her murder spread as quickly her abduction had earlier in the day, a wave of anger and fear blanketed the valley. Anger because of what had happened to “one of their own.” Fear because there was an existential threat to their own children out there, somewhere, still at large. The beehive was whipped up into a frenzy.

I can't remember if it was later that same day or the next but the local police soon found and arrested what they described as “a drifter from California,” for the young girl's abduction and murder. They locked the man up in the little jail that was located in our town hall.

Once news of the arrest and jailing hit the hive, the emotions that had been building over the past couple of days began to boil over. By that evening, after a number of drinks at one of the local watering holes, a number of men had worked themselves up into a frenzy over what had happened. At some point, one of the men suggested they drag that “mother fucker” out of the jail and administer some “good ol' country justice.” Before you could say, “vigilante justice,” a number of armed men in pickup trucks were parked in front of the town hall ready to reenact their own personal version of “Death Wish.”

With all respect to the local police force, the few officers on duty were able to talk the inebriated, heavily armed group off the ledge. The men eventually drove off to their respective homes, no one was lynched, and a crisis was averted. A few hours later, in the middle of the night, the police transferred the prisoner to a larger jail a hundred miles away.

The reason I bring up this story is because I am reminded of it every time I hear white people lecture black people on how to behave after one of their unarmed sons and daughters is killed by the police. I watched, in real time, an entire community get worked up to a fever, murderous pitch over the course of a couple of days over the murder of one of their own. Yet, people just like those I grew up around who, within a few hours, rationalized a lynching over one unjust death, cannot imagine the release of pent-up fear and anger many black communities feel that has been building for generations.

The reason Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the National Anthem wasn't because of the killing of one person. The reason there were riots in Ferguson MO in 2015 wasn't just because of the death of Michael Brown. The reason there are protests and riots in all fifty states right now isn't just because of the deaths of George Floyd or Breonna Taylor. The reason for all of these is the centuries-old, systemic practice of viewing and treating black bodies as expendable.

When citizens do this like we've recently seen with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it is horrible and deserves moral outrage and legal repercussions. When this happens at the hands of those entrusted to serve and protect the very people it kills, without consequences, it is evil. When this happens over and over and over and over....again, it is a moral failure not just of the law enforcement officers who do this but of our society because we've turned a blind eye to the deaths, pain, and suffering of our own.

It doesn't take a lot of thought to imagine what would happen if it was unarmed white people being killed by the police. One of the turning points in how the nation viewed of the way our government was handling the Vietnam War was shooting deaths of four young, unarmed students at Kent State in 1970. Like the rural area where I grew up, white America doesn't tolerate the killing of their own by agents of the government. Not for one fucking second.

Yet, a whole lot of white America can't seem to understand why Black Americans get so worked up whenever one of their own is murdered by the police. I've seen more video of white people screaming at police for pulling them over or for asking them to obey safe practices during a pandemic than over the killing of their fellow, unarmed citizens.

I know there are a host of hot takes as to why white America doesn't really give a damn about the killing of unarmed minorities. If the analysis doesn't begin and end with, “as a whole, white America views minorities as inferior and expendable,” it isn't worth a damn. This doesn't mean all of white America is racist. It means that, as a group, white America doesn't care enough to change the status quo. This shouldn't be a revelation to anyone who pays attention to the world around them. White America hasn't given a damn about minorities since, forever. They have really never cared about Native Americans. They've only given a half-assed care about blacks and that was only after seeing images of church-dressed men, women, and children being attacked by police dogs and brutalized with batons and fire hoses at the hands of racist, Southern police. Once the Civil Rights Act passed, White America pretty much went back to not giving a damn about black people. It almost seems like giving blacks the right to vote was all the care White America could muster and a lot of them couldn't (and still can't) do that. The fear and anger the people in my community felt over the course of a few days back in the late 70s led them to be willing to break whatever laws they deemed necessary to get the justice they felt they deserved. Imagine this same fear and anger not building up over a few days but a few centuries. Imagine not one member of your community being unjustly killed but dozens and dozens each and every year. Imagine the fear and anger not that these deaths were the result of some random person but by the very people hired and entrusted to protect your community.

The surprising thing isn't that black Americas are angry. The surprising thing is they've kept their anger in control as well as they have. White Americans protest and riot over their favorite sports team winning or losing. They protest and riot over a beloved football coach being fired. They protest and riot over having their favorite drink being taxed. They protest and riot over not being able to get their hair cut and flower beds properly tended. Black Americans are protesting over the killings of their loved ones.

I cannot imagine what it is like to fear for your life every time you encounter the police, regardless of the circumstances. I cannot imagine worrying about any of my children being harmed, let alone killed by the police. I cannot imagine being punished more harshly by the police and courts for doing the same things that others have done. I cannot imagine being viewed as “violent,” “lazy,” “a thug,” “a threat,”... , no matter how wealthy or successful I am, by a good portion of society, just because of the color of my skin. I cannot imagine my water supply being poisoned with lead and no one with any power gives a damn. There are thousands of things about being black in America I cannot even imagine.

Just because I can't imagine these things doesn't make them not real. It doesn't make them not important. That I cannot imagine these things just means I've been fortunate enough to be on the other side of the systemic racism in our country. As I watch the current protests over the latest police killings of unarmed blacks, I'm hopeful and afraid. Hopeful because the number of protests not just in big cities but around the country in towns large and small means, like the images on tv from the 60s of the Civil Rights marches, are having a real impact on white America. Fearful because I know the history of this country when it comes to the levels it will go to protect the white patriarchy.

Within the past few years, I watched the election of someone who is the personification of white supremacy as a backlash to the first black president. Trump won the election because the majority of white men and women voted for him. They may not do the same next time around but that they did the first time tells you all you need to know about where White America stands when it comes to racial justice and equality.

When it comes to the deaths of unarmed blacks by police, to the overpopulation of our prison system, to the gross wealth disparity of whites and blacks, to too many issues to list here, to my fellow White Americans, I quote Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” You know damn well you wouldn't tolerate being treated how blacks our in our country. You know damn well you wouldn't tolerate the killing of your sons and daughters by anyone, especially the police.

It is time to stop pretending the problem isn't systemic and it is the responsibility of minorities to fix. White America built the system. White America has and still does, to a great extent, support it. White America, all of it, benefits from it. It is up to us to dismantle it. We can either go down as the ones who did what was necessary to live up to the promises of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, or we can go down in history as just another era that made promises it never intended to live up to. This isn't something that could or should wait another day to happen. It is centuries behind schedule. Trying is no longer enough. To quote a Jedi Master, “Do or do not, there is no try.” We owe it ourselves but, much more importantly, we owe it to Black Americans past and present.

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mikhaelkosanik · 4 years

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Chapter 2 (google translate)

Autumn day played with its faded colors. Smears of colorful leaves, the gray sky hiding the sun, the smell of dampness in the air - all this accompanied me in my expectation.

Ahead there was a mesh of fence, blocking the sleepers from the adjacent territory and the city, and several roofs of warehouses and shops. Behind all the same, separated by a fence stood spreading massive trees. Their wet foliage played with bright yellow, red and brown colors. I stood on the platform of the station, trying to hide under a visor between two dusty lamps and a sign with the inscription "Brumaltown" hanging from it. Another cigarette smoldered in my hands, dispersing the bluish smoke. I smoked when I was nervous.

A chilly day, filling my gut with chill, made me look for ways to keep warm. I wrapped myself in a raincoat, but only the smoke from the cigarette warmed, striking my nose with the smell of tobacco. Though now my bad habit came in handy. And still it was worth throwing the cigarette out faster until a guard or controller passed by, ready to write a fine for smoking in the wrong place. Well, the platform was empty waiting for the train.

When I finished smoking, I peevishly looked around - if anyone was coming - and quickly threw the goby onto the rails.

“Uh, they didn’t notice,” I breathed with relief. I did not want to pay a fine of one hundred dollars.

This year, my family came together for the first time in a long time. Eunice, the youngest of the four, came last. This exciting event made me go to meet such a rare guest in these parts.

The train arrived a few minutes late, which gave me the opportunity to think a little about my problems. For the past week, protecting family values has demanded a report from me. But I was not in a hurry, making it clear: even without this paper work, it’s full of business. The deadlines were running out every day, and on top of the documents they demanded more and more insistently. There was no way to deal with the faceless bureaucratic machine, and I just pretended to be extremely busy. In any case, all these pieces of paper did not concern me much. My job is counseling. And above it knew no worse than me.

Finally, in the distance, the nose of the train appeared, looming with the warm yellowish light of the headlights. Usually at such times the fog was shrouded all around, but, fortunately, the air was crystal clear, making it possible to enjoy the autumn before the rains came to these parts. I sighed, understanding what tonight would be.

“It's good that I was able to come. Without her, there would have been a real nightmare, ”I thought, looking at the incoming train.

The train stopped with a loud clang, opening its doors. It seemed completely alien to this place: massive, angular, with a huge bell between the tiny windows of the driver's cab. A muffled sound came from the car, informing passengers of the name of the station.

Unlike the old wooden station, whose floorboards creaked, the gigantic violet-orange color with the railway symbol looked new. And even though the composition was covered with dust, and the train itself looked like a tin can in places with relief and inserts made of ordinary metal, where corrosion showed through the paint, this did not at all plead its novelty, regarding the kind of wooden platform.

As soon as the doors opened, people began to hurry out of the cars. Among them were locals who returned from work and tourists who wanted to see the town about which there were legends. In this small mosaic I caught my eye with a familiar figure.

“I don't have to meet, Leo!” Eunice said displeasedly, coming up to me. - I have not been a little girl for a long time!

Despite the discontent, the sight of the sister said otherwise. She was clearly happy about the care on my part. As soon as Eunice came up, I immediately smelled a strong smell of perfume. Apparently, she wanted to hide behind him the fatigue from the trip and the excitement with which she was waiting for a meeting. I did not dare to criticize this suffocating and tasteless smell. Noting that the sister was off the road, and wrinkles and swelling were spread under her eyes with a treacherous net, I quickly waved my hand:

- Come on. Everyone is waiting for us.

We went down the wooden stairs, which sounded like a subtle creak, and passed several shops.

The railway passed behind them, circling the poorest district of the city. Not surprisingly: the city was located quite far from major highways and highways. The lion's share of supplies - what was earlier, what is now - was made by train. That's why the station was rebuilt in the industrial zone during the reconstruction of the city.

Once in the old car, we headed towards the parental home. Our area, located in the northeast, was considered prestigious. Far enough from here. The path came through the whole town. As I drove away from the station, I noticed nostalgia in the eyes of my younger sister. Eunice almost never visited Brumaltown, living with her family on the other side of the country. Her income was low, and she could not always come to such family gatherings, often limiting herself to calls once or twice a week. Moreover, albeit a small, but still “family” demanded a lot of strength from her sister.

Eunice sometimes could not cope with her wayward and lively daughter, which only added to her problems. Noisy, mischievous, as if in her uncle and aunt, Poppy was at times ugly at school, organized pranks, sometimes very offensive, and even frustrated her lessons a couple of times. No exhortations worked, and Eunice at times simply looked at her daughter’s actions through her fingers.

Poppy's father almost did not participate in raising his daughter, preferring work to family. Eunice justified this with expensive housing and high expenses, but I understood that this was not entirely true.

No, I do not argue, Noel loved Eunice, but over the years this love began to turn into a routine for both. In their relationship, the former spark went out. As a result, the whole household and daughter rested on her sister's shoulders. It is sad that from this her talents were wasted. She is, after all, an equally capable psychologist, as father used to say. But I was not FVP and did not want to interfere in her life.

The trip to the parents' house also turned out to be long and exhausting: fly by plane, and then transfer to the train. For everything - about six hours. Here Eunice appeared extremely rarely in her native land.

While we were driving, I myself involuntarily recalled the history of this place, which has become home for our family. I remember how we moved here during the restoration.

As far as I remember, the town of Brumaltown has never been large. Formed around a woodworking factory at the beginning of the century, he could hardly boast of city status in those years. The population at that time was from the strength of two thousand people, and all of them were workers of this very factory, and even their families, who were not afraid to move to the wilderness. Before the war, almost no one knew about this town. Even the names did not bother to come up with.

When the world plunged into bloody strife, the invaders from the south did not attach much importance to the small settlement of a dozen tiny shack houses and only destroyed the factory, having stolen everything of value that they could find in it. Compared to the capital and major cities, where after the armistice almost every building had to be rebuilt from scratch, the town of Brumaltown looked quite decent. This was written on the pages of textbooks and remembered during the celebration of McKirby Day.

When the war came to an end, the town was completely empty: the destroyed nature has now become very valuable, and all the states that have survived in the least have been equated with nature reserves. From that moment on, it was forbidden by law to use more than ten percent of natural resources per year. Here the factory bent, not getting a chance for a new life. Local, devoid of a single income, then willingly left their houses in search of a better life. But before the war ended, a new disaster came: the period of overpopulation of large cities came. The war, together with the fuel crisis, did their job and turned the great country into two bits with empty and contaminated lands in the center.

The migration of survivors of dead lands destroyed by biological weapons has increased population density to unimaginable limits. The stuffy, dusty megacities have become shelters for hundreds of thousands of afflicted. This led to a lack of housing and work. Consider the new Great Depression. It was then that many towns that had sunk into oblivion began to be remembered and re-populated.

So this town again found its inhabitants. Because of the cold winters, he was dubbed Brumaltown. I think it is justified. Unlike the capital, the town is far enough from the bay, and the climate here is much cooler and harsher. And if you take into account that the chilly wet air from the bay still reached, the winters here were felt very cold and snowy.

Since the rebirth, the town has grown. There was also public transport. Although the language didn’t turn out to be called developed: the bus route, and the three-lane railway station with a branch from one to the shipping docks of the shops — that’s all public transport. No airport, no taxi, no tram or metro.

The town was very small. If you wish, you can walk around it in a couple of hours. Therefore, no one saw the point in the dominance of transport.

I found those times when Brumaltown was not yet located on every map, and the inhabitants deceived that they lived in larger neighboring cities. True, then the population hardly exceeded 5-6 thousand people. Now in the town there were about 25 thousand inhabitants.

The town was obliged by the last round of popularity to the history of the Grasse family. I was then a very young child, so I could not track the development of this story. I could hardly then predict how the story of one girl would change the whole world.

Emma's notes, released a couple of years after moving to Brumaltown, influenced all orders in society, forcing a number of laws and conventions to be adopted. The fact that they had not advertised before, became unpleasant, but officially recognized: there is the Mehoni virus, it cannot be cured, and there is no getting around it. These diseases and the diaries of Emma stirred up the whole world and left no one indifferent!

After the scandal with the publication of records, society in many countries can only accept the fact that 8% of women in the world are sick with the Mehoni virus, which causes autoimmune necrosis.

Gradually, very scarce information about the virus and the history of Emma herself began to exaggerate in society, which allowed the inhabitants to put up with a constant number of patients. Emma lived the rest of her life in Brumaltown. She did not like to talk about where she lived with her family, wanting to spend the rest of the days alone. But rumors about Brumaltown still went around the country, glorifying the town at the level of local folklore.

There were also enough sights here: the Grasse family house, which became a museum, a small planetarium, and a monument to the same soldier McKirby. But rare tourists annually visited to look at the "town from the story of Emma."

Someone came from other countries to satisfy their curiosity: is the town really so terrible as it was sometimes described in urban legends by residents of larger neighboring cities. But there were far fewer foreign tourists compared to the inhabitants of the Northern States or Dixieland.

“How's Poppy doing?” I asked, remembering the lively and mischievous niece.

“Good,” Eunice smiled, continuing to look out the window.

The landscapes of childhood flashed before her eyes. The central square, small streets and low houses with a maximum of five floors evoked fond memories of Eunice, although she rarely visited the town. Her childhood passed here, and she appreciated this mischievous and fun time. Now he cannot be returned; years have taken their toll. They, like sand in a watch, flowed away, changing everything: only smiling smiling good eyes the color of moonlight reminded of a little brisk girl, and freckles scattered from cheek to cheek, framing red faces with their red stars, like a pink sky.

And yet, sometimes, the sister wanted, as before, to run along the old paths in the park, walk through the shops, and eat ice cream in her favorite cafe. It is a pity that this did not work: instead of a cute girl, a tired adult woman with her problems and concerns looked at Eunice from the reflection in the glass.

- Already in the fifth grade I went. She says she likes it, ”continued Eunice, not looking up from contemplating the view from the window. - So far, it’s not a hooligan.

In the meantime, I was thinking about the upcoming meeting. It was lonely, because only two such gatherings in the parental home I did not come alone. The younger ones, on the contrary, always came with their families, pouring salt into my wound.

The only consolation now: Eunice, too, this time alone. And the younger sister is very close to me. She is closer to me than the twins. Eunice understood a lot and often helped in difficult situations. It somehow brightened the upcoming evening. I even smiled sadly: "Only after becoming a widow do you begin to appreciate scandals."

Having arrived at a small two-story house at the very beginning of the street and parked at the sidewalk that separated the lawn from the road, I already wanted to help my sister with my luggage, when my cell phone rang.

- Good afternoon, are you Leo Berdnik? Asked a trembling male voice on the other end.

“Yes, I am listening to you,” I answered a little cautiously, having seen earlier that the call was from an unfamiliar number.

“They gave me your phone at the Everplace Hospital.” They said that you specialize in difficult cases with foster children and children under guardianship. That you are one of the few psychologists who take difficult cases with “pink” families, - the person who addressed was nervous. This made him speak very fast. Almost chattering. And I had to concentrate and listen very carefully so as not to miss anything from what was said.

“Let's meet in my office tomorrow,” I suggested, realizing that I could hardly help on the phone. Yes, and the very combination of the “pink” family inspired a lot of unpleasant memories. “Please write down my address.” When I finished dictating and hung up, I got out of the car.

There was nothing to help: Eunice quickly picked up a small suitcase on wheels from the trunk and ran into the house. Most likely, she was already embracing with her stepmother and father, enthusiastically talking about her household.

Sighing, I took out a cigarette again. The stepmother was against smoking in the house - so I have to do it nearby. While smoking, I decided to look around: a lot of houses were empty this year. This was indicated by tablets on the lawns with the inscriptions: "For sale." Well, yes, the children grew up, they need to be taught for something. Yes, and there is little work. If you want a lot of money, either ride to larger cities, or moderate your appetite.

The area was considered prestigious, located quite far from the industrial zone, but not so far from the center of the town. The houses here have always been famous for their comfort and spaciousness. Except for one, on the outskirts, they sold easily and found their customers at any time. A lot of neighbors were replaced in my memory. Families, although they valued this town, often settled here only while the children were growing. Over the past twenty years, the situation with overpopulation of cities has returned to normal, and the small outback was of much less interest to young people than large cities in the east or west of the country.

Of course, there were those who remained, living their years in the shadow of sprawling massive trees and surrounded by hedges. The silence of the town, its small size liked the old-timers, and savings or third-party incomes allowed these people to not cling so eagerly to work. There were those who returned after school. But for the most part they preferred the center with its cheap apartments. Yes, and I knew a little. Mostly young people left the town to study in college, and then did not return. Parents also left for them in search of new hobbies and new life goals.

The dank day did not want to end, which is why the cigarette smoldered slowly in my hand. This allowed to peer deep into the street for a long time with its yellow-green colors of autumn, which bright spots and drops diluted the gray background of the clouds. When the decayed and finally damp cigarette butt was thrown aside, it was time for me to go to my parents' house. I tried to get in as quietly as possible, but it didn’t work, and I was immediately greeted by the rumble of voices and the smell of food. As soon as I crossed the threshold of my parents' home, I immediately became the center of attention of my three nephews. They liked to communicate with me, because, unlike my parents, I did not condemn them and tried to help if they shared problems with me. I tried to smile so that the children would not see my confusion and longing that autumn evening. My nightmare began slowly.

***

The evening was lively. All the guests had fun talking, Eunice and Jay helped the stepmother set the table and cook dinner. Father told his grandchildren stories about his turbulent youth, and then we all laughed together, recalling various funny cases from our childhood. As I expected, Johan and his twin sister Jay came here with their families.

This half-brother this time brought his weather boys and his wife Lulu, and his sister took only the youngest daughter Sammy, who recently turned three years old. There was nothing surprising in this: the parental house could accommodate a very limited number of guests.

I was always surprised that the children of Johan inherited blond hair from him, while Lulu, his wife, was dark and rather dark. Most likely, in her family there were immigrants from Mexico, but I'm not sure about that. But the kids Jay went to their father with their bright red curls, because their mother had a completely faded, "mouse" hair color. But that only concerned hair. Surprisingly, if Johan’s children went to mother with facial features, taking only hair from their father, then Jay’s children, on the contrary, only inherited hair from their father, the rest was taken from their mother. “Well, castling!” I thought, looking at my nephews.

“Why didn't you bring the rest?” - Johan was very surprised at the sister’s decision to take only the youngest daughter. “You usually dragged the whole family.”

“Brought it if some had not cut off and brought all their horde!” - parried Jay, poking at his brother with a finger with a bright manicure.

Boy Jay, whom I remembered with eternal bruises and a band-aid on her nose, was now a well-groomed and beautiful woman. Yes, she did not look like a mother, unlike her brother, but she more than compensated for her appearance with character. So quarrelsome and restless. And yet this couple had something in common ...

After school, the brother and sister left, creating their own families and preferring to see each other only at such family gatherings. Why they did this, I did not know. In childhood, the two were very close. Literally everything was done together. Maybe Johan was tired of his sister’s eternal commands? Or maybe he just got bored with a maturing Jay over the years?

“Where am I?” - immediately grumbled brother. - Every year we come here. - Johan inherited from his stepmother blonde hair, the same dark eyes and nose, the tip of which bent down. My brother had to work hard to provide for his family. This was reflected in his character - from a bully he turned into a calm guy.

- Yes? - the sister did not let up, clasping her sides with her hands. - Last year I was only with my wife, the year before last ...

The twins, unlike Eunice, came every year, shaking the parental house with quarrels or noisy gatherings. Jay herself sometimes visited her parents, but she alone was quite quiet and even tolerable. Affected work in a bookstore.

- I also remembered! - Johan interrupted, glowing. - You would still remember how I stole candy from you in three years.

- By itself! - laughed Jay. - Drive my candy!

For a word, she did not climb into her pocket, and a good memory only helped her in a variety of squabbles. It is simply amazing that Jay had four children, and in some way incomprehensible to me, she coped with all of them. The half-sister obviously went to stepmother!

I remember how often I received because of these unbearable children. It was impossible to keep track of them in childhood, and they constantly broke something, climbed up somewhere and regularly messed up at school. Well, Eunice wasn’t a hassle. Probably because of this, she was very close to me. Or maybe the big difference in age affected?

There was still time before dinner, and the family members gathered together communicated with each other. The little one also had fun: the boys of Johan brought toy pistols and played, running around the house one after another.

- Injured! - shouted alone.

- Not fair! - answered the second. - Not injured! That you are killed! Aah! Zombie! The aliens have revived you!

- Fool! There were no aliens in the Wild West! - Catching up the younger, shouted Will.

- There were! On it were!

Soon the boys climbed to the second floor. I think they had something to play with there. Oh, and the stepmother will be angry if her now unbearable grandchildren break something! But I don’t have to follow them: adult parents, over there, are sitting at the table in the dining room. Sammy, meanwhile, went from room to room, tapping the pan with a spoon.

“Why did you get a jar from the kitchen?” I was surprised when my niece came up to me with a can on her head, hitting me in the pan, as if in a drum.

- I'm a jerk! - the girl grinned right away. - I'm leading a palad! And after me is an oestre! - a small puffy pen pointed to a small column of dolls tied to a rope. They all dragged along the floor on their leash. For a three-year-old girl, it was a parade, but I had completely different associations. But I decided not to sound like that. He grows up - he learns at history lessons.

Judging by the fact that neither mother nor the rest did not scold Sammy for the theft of utensils from the kitchen, they were not up to her. Looked around. Well, yes, Eunice talked with her father, Johan and Lulu discussed children's assessments, and Jay in the kitchen argued about something with her stepmother. Surprisingly, the stepmother, Bernice, did not respond to the loss. Maybe I didn’t notice? In the heat of heated debate she could.

I removed a can from my niece’s head, took a spoon and a pan, offering to watch a cartoon. Just walked the old "Wolf, dog and mouse." So many memories of this post-war cartoon. Yes, there was an allusion to “pink” families in it, but the cartoon was no worse from this. Even his father, a skeptic in life, a terrible bore and a rather gallful person, liked this cartoon. What can I say about me and Eunice who grew up on these heroes. Sammy said with displeasure that she wanted to lead the orchestra, but still sat next to me.

- Who took the can and pan? - squealed Bernice, leaving the kitchen.

With her nose bent at the end, dark large eyes and a very magnificent chest, her stepmother was like an owl. Especially now, going out in a dress with ruffles and the same openwork apron. Well, like an owl! You look at that, it will start to hoot. Which would be very comical with her tall, nasty, squeaky voice.

I handed out the utensils, pointing to my niece, absorbed in the action in the cartoon. Bernice immediately jerked up the dishes, grunted, and hid again in the kitchen. I could not resist this and smiled ... Yes ... The stepmother's children are great. Their taste for life is relentless. Only Eunice and I remained aloof with our problems. I envied the twins a little: their spouses supported them, loved and, most importantly, were with them. Not like that with Eunice ...

When the cartoon ended, it was the turn of the news. The clock was just seven in the evening. Sammy reached out to the remote in frustration, but I did not give her that. For once, I wanted to see the news block without comment. “The next fuel crisis is beginning,” the announcer said measuredly from the screen. - The Southern Independent Confederation delays fuel supplies for several days. The production of hydrogen elements fails, and the citizens of the North States of America are preparing to raise food prices, ”then they showed several interviews on this subject, where people bought food for the future. Someone complained that insurance and fuel are too expensive, and keeping a car is more at a loss. I knew that gasoline prices had already risen, even though the government was trying to contain this growth. True, the state could not restrain prices forever. And I understood that very well. Yes, right after the split of the north and south, a lot of effort was devoted to creating alternative fuels. Hydrogen blocks, nuclear engines, and electric motors appeared. But they received the main distribution in heavy equipment. Combines, trains, planes - all of them worked on hydrogen. Cars still required gasoline. No matter how many attempts there were to create a small and powerful hydrogen engine, nothing came of it. The technologies of electric cars of the past also did not take root - they were too expensive for the mass buyer after all the crises. Although biodiesel engines have recently begun to appear, the production of this fuel has proven to be more expensive than buying oil from neighbors.

It is good that Brumaltown was rebuilt very compactly after a new settlement. It is quite possible to live without constant trips by car: everything is at hand.

“To other news. The first tourist group visited Utah. According to experts, the level of biological pollution has decreased and returned to normal over the past fifty years, and now this territory can be equated to the reserve. However, according to experts, pollution levels are still high in neighboring states. Cleansing procedures can take several more decades. ”

I involuntarily recalled the lessons of history from high school, namely, as we were told about the horrors of biological weapons of the past. Yes, I did not find any war, nor those times when the south and north were one. But I knew those who caught. Then, eighty years ago, there was a single country, and not two flaps with dead lands between them. Millions died in that war. And the saddest thing is that not a single country in the world could survive. Everyone suffered.

Having finished this news, the announcer passed the floor to his charming colleague: “This year, additional funding was allocated to support the“ pink ”marriages. The state congress believes that it is possible to increase the percentage of new unions ”- continued this news by an interview with one of the WCC employees who complained that during the period of liberalization the percentage of cohabitation without official registration began to grow. Due to several laws, it was difficult to track such a thing, and the “defenders” only had to wash their bound hands. I smiled sadly at the latest news:

- Cancel the Epo and restrictions - get such an increase, which has not been since the beginning of the century!

Sammy heard this and, turning to me, asked:

- Uncle Leo, and what is Epo?

- The procedure is this. After the wedding they go through it, - it seemed to me that this explanation is enough.

I knew the essence of the procedure, but I did not see any reason to acquaint the three-year-old even with official information. What can we say about the real component.

“If you grow up, you will learn more,” I added.

- I know! - the niece jumped up right away, shaking her red curls. - Mom was talking! These are the cools!

I shrugged: courses so courses. I had no idea what Jay was saying to her children and what was not. I did not want to quarrel, and I was more silent and listening, occasionally assenting.

About what is the Epo, I did not want to think even more so. These memories were very painful for me, and I tried to drive them away from me as far as possible. But only from year to year it became increasingly difficult. It was too painful to recall that the consequences of this "procedure" killed my husband Ivy.

The fact that this procedure is necessary and is the key to a happy marriage was said to all representatives of the third sex - eno. Everyone was introduced to the official information. Someone took it, someone not. But as soon as the official union took shape, any eno had no choice. For each person of the third sex, there was always only one choice - either loneliness or Epo a year after the wedding. True, in some places the procedure was carried out before the registration of marriage. It really depended on the region and the family.

- Hey! - Over my head came a few clicks of fingers. “We are only waiting for you.” They set the table! - Eunice still knew how to rescue me from captivity of heavy thoughts.

I sighed and, getting up from the couch, wandered into the dining room, where there was just an empty space between my father and Eunice. To my misfortune, Derek and Matilda joined the family meeting, who were not our relatives, but considered themselves good friends of the family. They either came, or pretended to be very busy. Predicting their appearance from year to year became increasingly difficult, and each time I was afraid of a new awkward meeting.

The appearance of this couple in the house became tense: Derek is my ex-boyfriend, and Matilda was constantly jealous of him to me. And although our relationship came to a standstill many years ago, Matilda still did not trust me, considering her rival. It is amazing that a guy who used to wear a pink hoop and considered himself eno can get a wife who will also be jealous of him. I understood that the third sex had a choice: to be with a man or a woman, but I still wondered how Derek got along with his wife. Although, perhaps, the similarity of characters and interests helped them? Ivi used to come to the rescue, protecting from the barbs and rudeness of Matilda. But he was not with us. Now the title of my defender passed Eunice. She snapped a couple of times at lunges, forcing me not to speak badly about me with the rest.

“You also came off in college,” said Derek, kissing Matilda. “Or should I remind you of George?”

Blushing with anger and resentment, the woman fell silent, lost in thought: she remembered the last unsuccessful novel, which ended on the initiative of the guy. When peace reigned in the house, I began to think that tomorrow I would communicate with a very difficult client.

“Okay,” I decided, realizing that I wanted to stay with my family, “you can’t rush to conclusions for now. We need to talk with these people. ”

The rest of the evening went over a family dinner. We remembered both good and difficult times in our lives.

4 notes · View notes

ask-codeearasure · 4 years

Text

A Dusty Wonderland (Katagma’s Story)

“Notes:

My patience is being tried every five seconds I’m in the room with him. I have to do my best to just tolerate his antics. He jumps from speaking normally, to speaking in third person, to shakespearan, to even just speaking nonsense. I don’t know, why he does this. He is a genious but... he is so... lost... I don’t understand it. Doctor Dreamurr, I must request that we find him some medication as soon as possible, for all our sakes. He’s talking to himself again.... it scares me.”

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Katagma’s story is much like the common “Dust’s” or “Killer’s” or their sub-classes, tragic but one must ask what he expected the moment he started killing, however there is also the question of “Did he have a choice to begin with?”

Word count: 8999

Error’s Story: https://ask-codeearasure.tumblr.com/post/188929960488/a-fear-hazed-day

Sans was a soldier. Despite his young age of eighteen he was more of a soldier than he was a child. A kid his age would normally be working a normal job like a librarian or a waiter, but he wasn’t really the average kid and thus didn’t have a normal job. He was anything but average. He was powerful, but delicate and it was all linked to his psyche. Sans sighed as he walked about the snow of the modern Snowedin. He was not a very happy person, and his mind was unclear, foggy, distressed even. His depression was eating away at him for such a long time that it was starting to affect his day to day life to an unhealthy degree. He slept too much, he picked at his food and slowly but surely it caused him to not eat enough. Papyrus was worrying about him more than ever to such a point that he would refuse to leave the table until Sans finished eating. The secrets, the depression showed clearly in his HP, his HoPe, that being seemingly locked at one. One hit in combat would kill him. However, Sans would always try to play it off as though it was all just a quirk. He smiled openly, and always told jokes to make sure that the people around him were happy and didn’t suspect that he was not mentally unhealthy nor the Arbiter of the underground -- he’d like to keep those facts to himself. It was best that no one knew about that last part other than Undyne and the King. It was his burden to bare. His sacrifice to make and most of all the job he chose. The job of being the Arbiter. Judge. Jury. Executioner.

Being the Arbiter meant being a killer. It meant being ruthless, cold, and unafraid to do whatever it took to get the job done. To kill a human, be them male, female, without gender, young, adult, or old. To not care for anything other than that they are human and to kill them relentlessly, meant that he had to have to be completely detached from reality a little. However, it was also more nuanced than that. He also had to kill his own kind to keep the laws of the underground in check. He was the judge, jury, and executioner after all, he kept things running smoothly. If someone committed murder then… who else was going to make sure that monster didn’t go off and kill someone else when they crave power? He needed to keep everyone in the underground happy and this was the only way to do it. Tell jokes and protect.

Everyone was happy, unlike himself because of his job and his depression. He arrived at his post and sat down and stared up at the ceiling of the unholy Underland that he lived in. The world of which he lived in didn’t call Asgore’s Kingdom the ‘Underground’ no… It was called Underland. This was the reality that Sans lived in and the only one he knew. This was their kingdom and thus they needed to make the most of it. His dull depressed eyes stared up at the walls of the cave. He was unsure of how to go about the idea of suffering this unending mockery that they all called ‘reality’. How long would it take for a civil war to break out? How long would it take for the overpopulation to cause a food shortage? How many lives will be lost? What if the humans came down here by mistake and had completely forgotten that Monsterkind existed at all only to see them now and start another war-- wait that has already happened about six times? He should know, he killed them. What would be thing to end it all?

What?

Sans sighed and closed his eye sockets. It all scared him. Terrified him. He should be scared of it all. He leaned back in his chair at his station, the frigid air attempted to send chills down him, but he was accustomed to it. It didn’t bother him. He often got chided by Papyrus for wearing such a thin jacket. Once he tried to get the older skeleton a thick fluffy jacket that was almost twice his size and it took almost three hours to talk him out of it. He understood the reasoning. The snow sometimes got so bad that it was damn near five feet and took magic to get through it but that was their reality and no matter how thick of a jacket he wore it would be meaningless because the cold would always reach him. Enough said. That was the nature of the situation and he was nurtured into dealing with it. He was mentally cold; the external cold would do nothing to him. Who cared?

The snow was like his job and thus like death. Once it comes it’s sudden and sometimes extremely violent, however it was inevitable. When he began hunting his targets and he attacked it is sudden, violent, and inevitable. He remembered reading some human books that spoke of snow coming and going. “Seasons” they called it. Winter. And winter was a time of death. He wished that the snow would disappear sometimes, but he was stuck with it. What about that strange Summer he heard about? That strange heat of the sun, that ball of light in the sky. That sounded nice. He went to Hotland to see what it was like being in the heat of the area, but it felt like a haze. He didn’t like it. The summer wouldn’t be like that would it? What would it be like to have a different job? Would he like it? Probably not… he didn’t even like his current job. He sat up and looked at the dreary dead trees mixed among the evergreens, all grown by magic in hopes to liven up the underground. Give them hope or as he thought of it, false hope. As the Arbiter he was the reaper, and as the reaper he was responsible for the death of the humans that came down here. He tried to be patient with them. He tried his damn best, but one death was a death wish. One death of a monster meant the death of the human. He tried to be as lenient as possible with them as time went on. Hoping that they’d prove him wrong but none of them could. They just had to kill at some point.

Humans were traitors, plain and simple.

He heard a strange creak coming from the huge doors that lead to the ruins. The home of the woman that he’d talk to sometimes. Tell jokes to. She gave him some light in his life sometimes. He remembered that one day he was going to ask her something, but he kept chickening out on it and she ended up asking him something instead. Asking for a promise he didn’t want to keep at all.

If a human were to pass through these doors, please watch over them and protect them.

He wanted to scream.

He couldn’t keep that promise. Not at all. And he had to break it multiple times. They killed so he killed them in turn. And when he started trying to be patient with them, hoping that they were only killing in self-defense, the more they killed the less patience he had for them and thus their souls were collected for the king. This was going to be no different and he knew it. God forbid this human knew how to reset too. Actually wait, no, that is inevitable. All the humans knew how to reset. It was unfair, but then again… he was unfair for he had one ability that no other monster had, and that was the ability to remember. He never forgets their sins. He had a Photographic Memory and could never forget what they did and exactly how they did it.

He teleported to where the human was likely to be, used magic to break a branch to catch their attention. Scare them. They needed to know that this place was dangerous because there is going to be hell to pay if they do take a life. And no one would like this, it would be a very Bad Time. He requested them to turn around and shake his hand -- the same old song and dance that he had with many other humans. However, this human… was not like the others. They were different. They weren’t amused with the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. Not even a reaction. And there was a very telling sign that this human was one bad apple.

The dust all over their clothes.

They were practically drenched in the stuff. He should kill them right here, right now.

No. said a voice in the back of his head, Remember your promise to the woman behind the door. Remember that? Besides, they're just a kid, just like the others! You jumped at them too quickly. maybe this one will be different. Remember that last one? They didn’t kill until they reached the core! That’s something right? This one might be like them! Scared and just trying to defend themselves.

He let it slide for now.

He told them to keep pretending to be a human for his brother because of how Papyrus had never seen a human before. He hoped that him saying that would get the kid to stop killing, feel like they corrupted themselves by killing others, that this wasn’t a game. That it wasn’t right. The air felt colder. It almost felt like he was suffocating. Thinning and the chill actually did affect him for once, he zipped up the jacket up in an attempt to warm himself up. What was with the sudden drop in temperature? Did the human just… steal his warmth somehow? No, that can’t be right… He ignored it for now.

The human seemed fine at first but the dust on their clothes seemed to be getting worse.

No. No. Surely his mind was playing tricks on him. Maybe it was a trick of the light. Yeah. Maybe he should retire after all this and see a doctor. Surely it was about time to get some antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. Obviously, his job was getting to him.

He yawned and was chided by his brother. “You were reading instead of sleeping again, weren’t you?!”

He stared at his brother for a moment, processing the exclamative. Wait. How could he forget? He used that lie to hide the insomnia and nightmares. He lied to his brother, claimed that he had an extremely complicated sci-fi novel and he was staying up at night reading it. He gave a nervous laugh and said, “Yeah! It was a mistake, I ended up losing my place because I dropped the book when I passed out... I got to the part where the detective is getting close to finding the killer, but the killer is starting to realize that killing is a mistake and that if he continues it, he is gonna have a bad time.”

He hoped the human won’t be heartless and continue their murder spree. For the love of god, don’t be an idiot, human.

Eventually he and his brother had to split up and go off into their different posts. Their shifts required them to go off into far parts of Snowedin to be on the lookout for humans... well, actually it was Papyrus’s job. Sans’ was different and far more... simple.

Tail the human. Hunt them down. And eliminate them with swift, lethal, force. No mercy. No talking out of it. Nothing. But he couldn’t do it this time. He had to be more patient with them. For her sake…

He didn’t really know why he had grown so attached to her… Actually, that was a lie. He did know. He made a promise couldn’t name. When Gaster… well… erased himself from existence, he left a strange void… a void that… he was glad to have but still bothered him. He hated Gaster, loathed even, but when it came to the woman behind the door, he… well… loved her. The woman behind the door filled that strange void in his life that he but… really cared about the woman. He guessed he didn’t want to disappoint her. He never told her who killed the other humans. Didn’t have the courage to. He lied to her, saying that other monsters did it. He supposed he wanted this one to be different.

Sans tracked the human down eventually. Caught them red handed. He gave a hefty but silent sigh.

Maybe they believe they need to do this. You know how your kind are. The voice in the furthest part of his mind said. They don’t know our culture and we don’t know theirs. Maybe just maybe they can be reasoned with.

He decided to wait to speak with them directly about all of this. He watched them carefully and Always stayed several steps behind them to ensure that they wouldn’t notice that he was following until he wanted them to know he was following them. It was so easy to make a human scared of him this way but this one didn’t react. He wanted to let a growl, but he refused to show that kind of emotion to them. Eventually he found an opportune time to catch them. They were at the bridge. He had met Papyrus for the final puzzle, the human wasn’t amused with the puzzle and Papyrus had ran off. Snowedin was getting empty and the cold was getting worse.

“Hey kid…” Sans said with a great lack of emotion, “Listen to me. It seems like you’re going to keep going the way are, ain’t ya’?....”

The kid didn’t seem to care about what he was saying.

“They don’t give a damn.” he thought.

They’re misled, right? asked a voice in the back of his head.

Maybe…

“Ain’t ya?” he stressed. “Look kid, it seems you might end up fighting my brother… and if ya keep up with this little twisted game of yours… let’s just say you’re gonna have a bad time.”

He used his magic to make the world go dark and teleported back home. He fell back into his bed and thought back to the other kids that fell down into the underground. The same thing always happened when he finally pinned them after their little resets became meaningless.

They always cried out “I’m sorry! Please stop! You’re scaring me!”

That plea always echoed in his skull at night. Their last attempt to get some sympathy. They were kids, yes, but the resets gave them godlike powers. The ability to turn back time to whenever they desired when they fell down here. They killed and killed and killed relentlessly…. Well except that first one. She was okay. She only killed one monster, maybe he judged her too harshly. Maybe… Well, it’s not like he can turn back time to let her go about running around the underground again. This human wasn’t scared. They didn’t seem to feel at all!

Maybe they were abused before they fell. That would explain it! Bargained the voice in the back of his head.

He wanted to be reasonable, but he couldn’t. Even if they were scream out that same plea, he doubted he’d care. He couldn’t care. With the way they’re going he shouldn’t even give them a chance. Sans sat up and curled up in his bed. He was terrified of the possibilities that this human brought up just by existing. They could free his kind. They could continue doing what they’re doing and kill them all, just up and leave with only a few monsters surviving. Killing everyone over and over and over again for sick laughs. They were a god amongst mere mortals, and it was up to them to give up. To make that choice. It is the one law of life. Your choices matter in many was and don’t in many others. But in the end, even the smallest action could damn you. This human made a choice and they will face his wrath unless they choose to stop. But the question is, what if they can beat him and still refuse to stop?

Quit scaring yourself. Calm down. said the voice in the back of his head.

He shook his head and took a deep breath. Today was scary. Today was terrifying. Today was chilling. He exited his house and put on that grinning, comic act; his well-known persona; again. He hoped that he wasn’t too late. He made his way outside of Snowedin and… he saw nothing but a pile of dust and his brother’s scarf.

He felt something warm and wet go down his cheeks. He touched his face. A glowing blue liquid stained his fingers.

Tears.

He walked over and picked up the scarf and put it on trying to suppress his emotions.

“Don’t cry.” he thought to himself, “Why bother? It’s pointless right now. It’s pointless in general. It will not stop the human’s pursuit. It won’t bring Papyrus back. It won’t do anything other than tire you out.”

The tears didn’t stop. He felt the rest of the heat in his body just disappear. He couldn’t take this anymore. He teleported to Waterfall in hopes of catching up with the sadistic creature, and surely enough he did. The watery land of dark grass, glowing mushrooms and strange glowing trees and many rivers and sparkling stones around them made for a beautiful sight. The glowing Echo Flowers were also something that made the place even better. But that was going to change so quickly. He watched the beast kill and kill, trying to be patient, hoping that his brother’s words would get to them sooner or later, hoping that their interactions with Monster Kid get to them and make them realize their mistakes. That Undyne would kill them. All of his hopes were shattered one by one by one. He couldn’t take watching the slaughter.

He wiped the tears that were still trailing down his face and teleported to the Judgement Hall. His patience with them was a mistake, he should’ve just killed them the moment he saw them. Once he forces a reset, he’ll remedy his mistake.

“Maybe it’s because you didn’t give them a chance. Maybe you’ll be able to get to them!” proclaimed a voice in the back of his head.

He doubted it. He doubted it severely. There was nothing hopeful about this situation. He leaned against one of the many golden pillars of the room. The hall was grand and the greatest sight of all the underground. The stained-glass windows that showed the outside world somewhat, but only a select few monsters could come here. Him, Undyne, the missing Queen, and King Asgore himself. The human barely even entered the corridor. The barrier prevented the monsters to even try leaving via these windows… well that and the goddamn fall would kill anything except a ghost. The barrier the humans made cursed all the monsters to be forced to stay underground. It was complete and utter bullshit. He remembered begging the king to just give him one of the human souls so that way he could just get the rest right away and come back and free them all, but the king refused.

“I can’t watch another child die because of the outside world.” The king’s decision was final. He didn’t even let Undyne try to talk him into letting her do so.

He watched the outside world as he waited for the creature. It was so pretty. The fresh air must be nice. Seeing the real stars. They were so damn lucky.

Selfish bastards.

He looked to the side and saw the human had just entered the hall. He took a deep breath and sighed.

“You’ve been busy, huh?...” he said dully.

He got no response. Disrespectful little prat.

Just try to reason with them. Maybe you’ll reach them! The voice in the back of his head pleaded.

Fine. He’ll try it.

“So, I’ve got a question for ya… Do you think that even the worst person can change?... That everybody can be a good person, if they just tried?”

The creature took out it’s knife and stepped forward. They wanted a fight.

No. There might still be a chance! They can be reasoned with if you just try harder!

“Ahaha. Can’t say I didn’t try….” Sans laughed shallowly, “Alright. Well, here’s a better question… Do you wanna have a bad time? ‘Cause if you take another step forward… You are really not going to like what is going to like what happens next…”

They stepped forward again. They really wanted a fight.

Why are you picking a fight? Reason with them!

“Well… Sorry, lady… This is why I never make promises...” Sans muttered bitterly. He sighed and glanced outside, “It’s a really beautiful day outside… Birds are singing… Flowers are blooming… On days like these… Kids like you… Should be burning in hell…”

With that the fight began with his strongest attack and the human died.

-----------------------

Reload…

-----------------------

He should’ve known they’d prefer to restart where they left off instead of just taking the loss. They were livid. He smirked, “You look frustrated about something. Guess I’m pretty good at my job, huh?”

They were letting out a small growl out from their throat. His smirk grew a little. He’ll make them give up sooner or later.

The fight began again and somehow, they were able to get away from a good amount of his attack but when it came to them attacking him, they were horrified that he wouldn’t just stand there and take it, but actually dodge it. He wasn’t the kind of person who would just settle for what life has thrown at him. No, he’ll never be satisfied with this. He wanted better. Especially now. He gave the kid a chance and they refused to take it.

They died before they got a second turn.

-----------------------

Reload.

-----------------------

He made them reload their little game over and over again and each time they stepped forward he insulted them for it. Made fun of their little game. He did so with glee from their frustration. Eventually they’ll get so frustrated that they’ll reset it all and he’ll kill them the moment he sees them again. But they were so fucking persistent. He snickered when they stepped forward again for the fight, “Hmm. That expression... that's the expression of someone who's died ten times in a row. Hey, congrats! the big one-oh! Let's invite all your friends over for a big shindig. We can have pie, and hotdogs, and... Hmmm... wait. something's not right. You don't have any friends.” The last part of his little verbal jab was filled with a great deal of malice. He was reveling in their frustration.

The fight began an eleventh time. He noticed that the fight began to last longer and longer and longer with each reset. He was going to stall this damn thing out until they reset. They’ll get bored sooner or later and that will be when they reset.

-------------------------

Reload.

-----------------------

Soon enough they reached a midpoint he was getting really tired of this.

Well if you’re tired of it, try to reason with them! Just try it! For her sake! For the woman’s sake! For mom!

He sighed, “Listen. I know you didn't answer me before, but. . . Somewhere in there. I can feel it. There's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. The memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. Someone who, in another time, might have even been. . . A friend? C'mon, buddy. Do you remember me? Please, if you're listening. . . Let's forget all this, ok? Just lay down your weapon, and . . . Well, my job will be a lot easier.”

The human just stared at him blankly before trying to slash at him with the knife again, he dodged it and didn’t retaliate just yet. He was honestly shocked that they didn’t take his offer. Why was he surprised by this? Humans were cruel creatures.

“Welp, it was worth a shot. Guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?” he huffed. And the fight continued again.

With each reload, picking up just before the fight began, they continued to get better at dodging his attacks. Continued to learn each bit of timing of his attacks, he gave his offer over and over and over again but eventually he gave up. He gave up on giving it and the voice in the back of his head was berating him for denying the option from the human, but he couldn’t offer the option to someone who just chooses to ignore it. But soon enough, the knife broke through his rib cage and death took him.

-------

Reset.

------

THUD! Sans fell out of his bed and he was staring up at the ceiling of his home. He was not happy. Not happy at all. He knew what was coming next.

Maybe you’re wrong?.... I hope….

Sans shook his head. “They’re going to just keep killing because they found it fun… But this time I’ll kill them before they even enter Snowedin….”

He teleported to his post and went to the door and waited.

It didn’t work…

He found himself back at the Judgement Hall. He punched one of the pillars in frustration. He hated this. They figured out his attack patterns and everything!

That thing is not a human… Demon maybe? Humans have reasoning. A moral compass. Demons don’t…

He rolled his eyes. The human walked through the door and entered the hall again. Sans frowned, “.... That expression….” he looked away, “I won’t even grace it with a description.”

They’re sick…

The fight began again, and he died again, and with it came another reset. And another. And another. Enough to lose count. With each reset his dislike, his mistrust, his hatred towards the humans… no… no Demons, grew significantly with each passing reset. But so, did his mentality. His mental health began to deteriorate. How many times did they reset? According to his memory… this was the… twenty-fifth? Yeah that sounds about right. Twenty-fifth. Twenty-five days. Almost a month… A month in hell.

He got out of his bed shaking. The air was so cold. Or was that the fear he was feeling? He couldn’t tell. He looked around his room. Something was off…. Very off… swore to god that the wallpaper in his room didn’t have such strange patterns on it. Why were there patterns on them? What was going on? Were the resets destabilizing the space-time-continuum? Surely that is what was going on! It must be, because he would know if his wallpaper had such a strange gray melting pattern on it. His memory was perfect, there is no memory in his mind that showed these patterns!

He walked out of his room and down the stairs only for something to feel off. There was something off with the living room and he couldn’t place it. He looked at the sofa and stared at it. Something was off about it. He could’ve sworn that it was in a different spot than before. He sighed and walked over to the window to see what was going on outside… But the sofa bothered him. Something was off about it, but what?!

He went back over to the sofa and crossed his arms as he stared at it. It was moved… It was moved exactly three inches further away from the coffee table… and it was a different color. Why? His memory was perfect. This was not where the couch was nor the color of it!

This was strange. It was normally green. Now it was a teal color. Why was this reset different? What was going on. He thought he saw something from the corner of his eye sockets but when he spun around, he didn’t see anything. He heard shuffling in the kitchen, and it caused him to flinch.

It’s just your brother. Calm down.

He took a deep breath. he couldn’t keep going on like this. What was he going to do? What can he do? He was the living embodiment of a glass cannon. He was not like Undyne, he was nothing like the other monsters. His Karma Venom was the most potent thing in the underground, but he only had 1 HP. One HoPe. He had no defense or anything....

But you can become so much more if you have LV.

He accidentally summoned his claws as he paused while leaning against the wall. Papyrus was gonna be mad about him scratching the wall but who cared? If he had LV then he wouldn’t need to worry about the human? One slip-up and one attack could finish them off for good…

He needed to think about this though…

You have no time to think! The monster will be here any moment!

True…

He sighed and tried to think of the first set of monsters that he knew wouldn’t be missed.

The Temmies.

He teleported to Waterfall and brought down a reign of destruction before heading back to the Judgement Hall, panting. He felt sick. He couldn’t believe that he did that. He couldn’t believe he just… killed them… and… maybe… no… no he did enjoy it… It was oddly fun seeing the horror on their faces... It was an awful energy that rushed through him as he killed them all. The entire slaughter just filled him with this… twisted force…

It feels nice, huh…

Very.

Level 5 was nice, however. He only had about level 2 and a half before this because of the kills he had before the human came down… but now… Now he had level five. This made his Karma Damage hit a bit harder… so this will surely do the trick. This will end it all.

---

Reset.

---

He needed more. He needed more levels. He needed to become more lethal. Surely if he kills about half of the monsters in Waterfall -- no. All! All is better! All is secure! With that power, he’ll be at the perfect level to kill the demon! Surely!

Brilliant! Plus you have the benefit of keeping your LV despite the reset! This was quite the surprise, but now! Now you’re far ahead of them! Always three steps ahead of them and no matter what they do, they won’t be able to stop you!

Yes! Yes! This is the answer he was looking for.

He began his rampage and he ended up having a small bit of trouble with Undyne but it was just a necessary evil. He tried to get this through her stubborn skull, but she didn’t believe him. Foolish. She knows he is her superior officer, why must she be so bothersome? Why go against his orders? He held a title that was far above hers?...

He missed one… that Monster-Kid. They tried to run off and get help but one shot from the blaster ended that little idea permanently. Bothersome! Bothersome! Bothersome! He looked at his surroundings. The distortions were getting worse. Since when were there butterflies in the underground? Why was the stone replaced with crystal?

There were also strange flowers in the bushes…

He needed to put an end to this.

He went to the Judgement Hall and the Demon walked through eventually.

“Since when do you kill?!” the demon spat.

Sans laughed, “Oh so you do have a voice! And here I thought your vocal cords were ripped out when you were spawned!” he frowned, “Let’s just get this over with.”

As the fight began, he carefully watched their movements, their reactions. The way they positioned themselves and held themselves with certain attacks. He needed to learn like them but better to know how to kill them.

Know your enemy. Know them better than you know yourself. Learn their ways and use it against them.

Surely enough, while he was busy studying them, he was slain in battle again. He took his rampage to Hotland as well as Waterfall. And then studied the frustrated human’s attacks again. Then it spread to the Core too and his research began again. He found many interesting things out about the human.

They aim for the chest and face of their opponents. They always do a downward strike. They didn’t wield their knife like someone who is actually adept at wielding the weapon. He should’ve noticed this sooner, but he was too busy with freaking out about the fact that they were killing than how they were doing it or how they held and wielded the weapon. He noticed that they were more frantic. Their attacks desperate. Strange… now that he thought about it he had more energy than normal.

A blessing from your killing sprees. You might need more. You might have to spread it to Snowedin.

He didn’t like that thought. He didn’t like it at all. That would mean he’d have to kill...

Papyrus…

Better you killing him than letting him die to that demon. Wouldn’t you rather kill him out of love than that beast killing him out of bloodlust?

He won the fight this time. Out of habit the human landed on their left foot and was trying to lean to the right to correct themselves, but he used his gravity magic to force them into the maw of a Gaster Blaster that was charging up a blast.

---------------

Reset.

-----------------

He won that time...

He actually won and the demon reset because of it.... but it wasn’t enough for him. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he sat up in his bed. He couldn’t kill his brother. No. That was his brother. You don’t hurt the ones you love.

It’s better than letting that thing kill him!

“Shut up!” he silently hissed to the voice. “I can kill everyone in the Core but I’m not gonna touch Snowedin. I’m level 22. This should boost my levels a bit! I’ll even take a weapon to make it easier but I ain’t...” he went silent.

He couldn’t even speak of the idea of hurting his brother let alone killing him.

He looked around the room. The bedside table was warped unnaturally. The grey pattern that appeared before turned red and was dripping like... no... that was blood. His blanket was black and so was his pillow. The tornado in his room didn’t have trash but caught several butterflies instead which seem to be enjoying the ride. How cute. There were also strange vines creeping into the room from the window. He huffed.

Careless vile thing. It thought only of itself. How could it be so selfish? He shook his head and got ready as swiftly as possible. When he walked down the stairs, he saw that his room wasn’t the only place that was warped further. The wallpaper changed drastically in the house. The stairs were a darker color than before. The carpet was fluffier and was a deep seafoam color. The couch was now black. The coffee table was bigger the TV, which was warped and tilted. The kitchen table was also warped. The chairs were angles and warped. The fridge was a different color and shape. Everything was warped to Sans, but Papyrus seemed to not notice any of this.

He just went about his day like all the other resets. Just pretending nothing was off. No… to Papyrus there was nothing off. This had to be a sick joke… It’s all the demon’s fault. Yes, it was all their fault. Sans bit his tongue as he watched Papyrus get what he needed to make breakfast. Papyrus glanced at the corner of his socket and jumped in the air, started for a moment but looked at Sans with a soft, relieved smile.

“Sans, don’t do that, you scared me!” Papyrus tuted.

“Sorry.” Sans said swiftly.

Papyrus stared at him before getting a look of concern, he went over to Sans and held the shorter skeleton’s head and stared into his socket. Sans froze from the sudden action. What was wrong? What was going on? Is this his real brother? It must be. It has to be--

“What’s wrong with your eye?” Papyrus asked.

“My… Eye?....” Sans asked shakily.

“Yes, your left socket, your eye-light is red and blue. It’s pretty but it’s also… concerning…” Papyrus said cautiously. “Go check in the mirror.”

Sans blinked twice, confused, as his brother let him go. He ran off to the bathroom and check himself in the mirror. His brother wasn’t lying, his eye had changed. What was this? The red was light… barely even there but still noticeable. Just barely surrounding the blue. He decided to try his flame. The aura surrounded his eye socket but for brief fleeting moments the red appeared and disappeared, it was there but then gone.

Sans frowned as he deactivated the flame.

“Reality is falling apart and it’s starting to affect me as well…” he murmured, “This is not good at all…”

“SANS COME AND EAT!” Papyrus shouted.

Sans sighed and left the restroom. He sat at the table and tried to play it off. For his brother. For Papyrus. Once he is done eating, he’ll get the biggest knife and then go on a killing spree and then try to kill the human before they reach Snowedin and if they get past him… he’ll have to go to the Judgement Hall and kill them there. If they reset again, he’ll… He doesn’t know what he’ll do.

“Sans… What’s the matter?...”

Sans looked up at his brother. He gave a nervous laugh, “Oh… It’s nothing, I think it’s a side effect from my… training…”

“Your training?” Papyrus seemed suspicious, “Since when do you train?”

“Since you became so cool!” Sans laughed a little, “I thought that… since you always watch my back, I oughta watch out for yours! I mean you are my baby brother after all! Someone is gonna have to protect you if something bad happens!”

Papyrus stared at him for a second before suddenly hugging him. Sans hugged him back.

“I’m so proud of you brother! I knew you weren’t going to stay lazy forever!” Papyrus said happily.

I need to protect him… Sans thought to himself. I have to. I need to… It’s my job….

After they ate, Papyrus left to get to his station early as always. Sans waited several minutes to make sure his brother was gone truly before going to get the knife he had in mind. It was a basic chef’s knife, but it was very… distinct. It had very pretty patterns on it. It was a very fancy knife. A gift from Undyne to Papyrus for being such a good student. Sans smiled as he felt the edge of the knife. It’s extremely sharp. It would add to his damage critically.

“He wouldn’t… he wouldn’t mind… I mean if he knew and believed me about my situation…” Sans mumbled to himself.

Of course, he wouldn’t he’s your brother!

He took a long deep breath and left the house. He began his slaughter again starting with the Temmies and then made his way up to Hotland and soon when he made his way up to the Judgement Hall, a new pattern began to form. He continued to analyze the human’s movements. It was odd sometimes the human would blink quickly or just completely shield their eyes if an attack was too bright or there were too many bothersome lights, he could use this to his advantage.

He won again.

---

Reset…

----

You need more EXP. Purge Snowedin.

“No” he responded to the voice.

He refused to. He did the same thing he did in the previous timeline, again and again. He refused to kill everyone in Snowedin but his level was starting to stagnate a little. He let a growl out as he chased down a rather startled Temmie that slipped away when he just blasted the village, annihilating all… well most of the inhabitants in one go.

He was starting to have fun ... and he didn’t even realize it. A twisted grin on his face. The thrill! The ecstasy!

He used one of his “shortcuts” and killed the poor creature before continuing his rampage again. It continuously repeated. His rampages became extremely quick. So quick that he beat the human before it could get past the door. that lead to Snowedin. He tried to kill the beast, but it escaped with a sliver of health. How unfortunate. He tried this again and again, but the same thing happened. So, he stopped and decided to wait at the Judgement Hall from then on. However, his clears were still too fast. It was getting to the point that he began reading books in the Judgement Hall as he waited for the human. After a few resets he started to question if the voice was right.

Of course, I’m right! You need to do it! You don’t want that demon to win, do you?!

Sans shook his head. No. He will bear with this. He will deal with this his way! He decided to take his time with the clears a few times and he derived even more enjoyment from it and he started to notice it. It scared him but… he didn’t seem to care much. He stabbed Monster Kid at one of the many bridges in Waterfall, thus killing the poor child. It’s all for the greater good.

“Undyne, stop hiding. I know you’re there.” he said, smiling.

Sure enough the knight stepped out of the shadows, “Why… why are you doing this, Sans?” she asked on que like always in every recent reset.

He sighed, “I’ve explained myself a thousand times to you, why should I bother now?”

“You’ve never-” “Oh yeah… you don’t remember the resets….” he interrupted her. “Sorry about that… but still you’ll never remember and I’m tired of explaining myself to you. So, let’s just get this over with…” He fired his already charged Gaster Blaster that she didn’t know was under her and the bridge they were on. He gave a small wave to her as she turned to ashes as she fell. His venom eating away from her so that even if she were to use her Determination, she’d still die because of it, the damage, and the fall.

More and more resets came and went and finally he decided to do something sneaky. Instead of caving to the voice’s demands or tormenting Hotland and Waterfall for the…. Oh, dear he lost count. BOLLOX!... He probably shouldn’t be reading so much during his wait… Oh who cares anymore? Not him.

He got the knife, hid it in his pocket, and went to the door of the Ruins that blocked him from seeing the woman behind the door. He knocked several times and hoped that she’d answer. Please answer. Please answer!

She answered.

Oh, thank god she answered! He told her a few quick jokes before getting to the point, “Ma’am, I… I’m sorry but I need access to the ruins. Undyne told me that she wanted me to extend my patrol over to the Ruins. She saw the door and realized where they lead. I’m sorry… I need to go past these doors…”

The woman gasped. He leaned against the door and hoped that she wouldn’t make him brute force his way through. One of the doors moved a little, “Sans… if I do this… you promise not to be mad at me…?”

“Why would I be mad?!” he asked.

There was a moment of silence before she opened the door. After several moments, he realized who exactly he had been talking to this whole time.

The Queen.

Queen Toriel…

He blinked before giving her a small bow and said, “I… I don’t know if I should call you Your Majesty or My queen…”

“Toriel.” she said quickly. “Just… call me Toriel…”

“Okay… Toriel.” he said simply, “It’s… nice to meet you.”

He was about to shake her hand, but he chose to hug her instead. She hugged him back and it felt so warm. It felt so warm and nice and safe. Like everything was right with the world… But nothing was right with the world. He’d have to let go of her. He’d have to kill her. Kill mom. He’d have to do it for Papyrus… He’d rather kill her than kill Papyrus…

Bones shot up from the ground and impaled her several times in the gut and neck and suddenly… poof.

Dust.

He started shaking from the sudden cold. It felt so wrong. It felt so, so wrong. The warmth sapped from him. The cold of Snowedin area became a draining plague. He shut the doors despite the fact they felt like ice. He looked at his hands. The dust coated them. He frowned but then smiled. He will not lose sight of his goal. He’ll sweep the ruins. He might even kill the human before they can try to escape the area.

But the same problem soon arose much like the awful energy that he felt creeping into him. He killed them over and over again but instead of reloading they reset because they knew that he wasn’t going to stick with the same patterns. They wanted LV. They wanted it so badly. And he did too. He needed to end them. He… He would have to cave to voice’s demands. The world was so warped he was starting to see more butterflies and more strange phenomena. Giant mushrooms, card suit leaves and flowers, strange orbs.

He needed to correct all of this.

He needed to kill his brother.

He started his rampage from the core to Snowedin. He killed everyone that he came across. He killed everyone in Snowedin but Papyrus. He hadn’t gotten to Papyrus. He found himself dusting himself off before approaching Papyrus. He could do this… couldn’t he…?

“Brother are you okay? Are you sure that eye of yours is alright?”

“It’s fine, Paps…”

“Are you sure you’re okay.”

“I’m perfectly fine, Paps.”

“I’m not so sure about that…”

Sans frowned and hugged Papyrus. “I had a bad dream…”

“Another one?”

“I was stuck in a time loop and I kept watching you die… over and over again and I couldn’t stop it….”

“That sound’s scary.”

“It’s terrifying!”

Papyrus held him close.

“I can’t watch you die like that, Paps…”

“I know brother. I kn—”

Poof….

He felt the rest of the possible warmth in his body fade along with his brother. The dust seemingly stained his clothes, he pulled his hood up as he fell to his knees. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” he whispered, “I’m sorry, Paps… I have to do this…” he wiped away his tears and took a long breath before leaving to continue what he started.

He didn’t know he was being watched at the moment.

-----------

Reset.

RESET.

Chara was starting to shake in her boots. She ran into monster after monster and no matter what she’d do in any timeline he’d kill them. She’d be nice and chat and as they talk suddenly a bright light would come and the monster would turn to dust. If she tried to kill them, he’d snag the kill for himself. He found the ruins and actively tore every drop of EXP from her.

She gave up. Instead of interacting with the monsters she’d run past them. She’d run and run she did. Run to the Judgement Hall. Maybe they could work out a deal. Maybe she can get him to stop his rampage if he doesn’t kill her first. She needed to get him to stop. She did start this, but it all made sense now. It all made sense. She sees that she fucked up, but question was, “Is it too late?”

This timeline he killed everyone in the underground. Every last person. Complete genocide. He was actively waiting for her. Waiting for her so that they may fight again but this time she’ll be the one to reason with him. She was Determined to do it!

“Sans!” she shouted.

He gave her an odd look as he looked up from his book, and dropped it carelessly as he looked out the window, was he going to say those words before, when they first met in this place. Before she rest? “’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.” he said, as if any of it made sense.

Chara stood there silent and confused. “What?....”

He goes again, as he points his knife at her. She didn’t like that knife, as pretty as it was, he has sharpened it to a very dangerous degree. The last time she saw it, it was able to make a clean cut right through her. “Take your vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe you sought—

“Beware the Jabberwock, she said before you begun!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

She backed away for a moment before realizing… he isn’t really speaking to her anymore. They were really going to fight, aren’t they? She was about to speak but suddenly he attacked. He used his gravity magic to bring her down to the floor, it was far stronger. It seemed that with each reset after a while his powers just got stronger and stronger, and it wasn’t surprising considering that he started to gain LV. He summoned several bones and she was lucky to be able to dodge them but fell in the process with a thud.

He summoned several Gaster Blaster and she did her best to run and dodge them. The fight was sporadic. His attacks had become almost patternless.

Act.

“Sans, listen to me! I don’t want to fight!” she exclaimed.

“Liar!” he barked, sending out a barrage of bones her way, and using his gravity magic to attempt to launch her into them. She dodged them narrowly.

Act.

“I’m serious! Listen to me! I thought this was hell! I thought I was dead! I didn’t think you all were just… monsters! I thought you were all demons!” Chara exclaimed.

“You made it hell!” he laughed. “My personal hell!”

He used his gravity magic to launch her high into the air. Then using his telekinesis, magic in conjunction with it he launched her right through the floor down to ground level. He laughed hysterically as he fell back to the floor, “That was quite a fall!”

He teleported down to where the human fell and began walking towards them.

“S-....Sans…..” the human coughed, spitting up a lot of blood, “Please… stop… you’re scaring me…”

He grinned as he got his knife and sat on the human’s legs to pin them to the floor.

“DAMN RIGHT YOU SHOULD BE SCARED OF ME!” he laughed through their screams as he raised the knife high above his head and plunging it into the human’s chest again and again. A third, a fourth, and twelth, a fifteenth, twentieth, a thirty-seventh, a forty-eighth, and finally he realized… this was the last reset, finally! He fell back laughing as he held his gut. Finally! Finally! He won!

He sat up and looked around the room curiously there was a strange… pulse of what seemed to magic that came from him that went up the walls of the room, a glowing violet light. He frowned. What was happening? The flame of his eye lit, for a moment it was blue again before the red sneaked in before the flame faded before reigniting violently into an immense purple. The pulse that came from him, snaked around the building and where it touched strange things happened. Grass sprouted, strange giant flowers, glowing butterflies came out of the walls. He felt something strange… a strange… warmth. Where did this warmth come from? He touched his face and saw that it was… a violet liquid… tears. He was crying but he didn’t feel bad.

Tears of joy?

He smiled. He felt confident. He pocketed his knife and looked at the corpse of the demon, the scarlet soul floated above their body. He grabbed it and teleported back to the Judgement Hall, there were strange vines on the pillars.

“The corruption is still here because of the demon… but I think it’s perfectly acceptable now that it’s all over… for now.” he went over to the barrier. All the souls were there. He used the souls to shatter it and finally entered the surface.

---------

The humans didn’t expect it. No one did. Wall Street was destroyed in a matter of seconds. All the Policemen and Policewomen in New York disappeared. The law was gone. And then suddenly the president, the White House destroyed as well. Their death was sudden. The Nuclear Warfare that everyone had was gone and the labs where they were stored and made were gone as well. They were all gone, and it was unknown how or why. For a few weeks things were okay, but then someone, somewhere, decimated Washington DC. World War 3 broke out.

Several months later, the human race was on its final legs but then one by one the stragglers were picked off and the cause of it all snuck back into the underground where he lived and let nature take hold of the planet again.

And with that Sans was finally able to rest…

#Undertale AU #Katagma!Sans #Katagmatale #Fractured!Sans #Fracturedtale #Code: Erasure

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dietaku · 5 years

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Amazing Quest 1: Chapter 8

Here it is, the penultimate chapter. Only a little bit more!

Chapter 8: Collect-a-thon! Alright, team, ready to get all the items necessary for the best ending? Of course you are! The first and most important thing in this chapter is that we can get Hiro's ultimate weapon now. We actually need to go back to the small, otherwise-useless lake near Toruble Castle and you need to go noodling a few times and then sit and wait 5 real-world minutes. Go ahead and grab yourself a drink or a sammich or something. Hiro: Doo-doo-dee-doo~ Hm? Suddenly, the water in the lake glows and a lovely, buxom lady rises slowly from the light. Hiro: What the heck--?! Woman: Fear not, Hiro of the Pudding Tribe, I am Eroustei, goddess of light and mercy. Eroustei then presents two swords, one a glimmering gold color, and one with an ornate hilt and silvery blade. Eroustei: Did you drop this Sword of Power, or this Gold Blade? Hiro: But I didn't drop a sword. I have mine right here. Eroustei: … Let's try this again. Did you drop a sword that will grant you great might, or this sword that will bring you great fortune? Hiro: Oh, I don't need either of those. I have my friends. So long as I have them, then I don't need to rely on artifacts and legends to find my way. Eroustei: YOU BITCH!!! Eroustei very angrily winds up and hurls both swords at Hiro, who bash him with their hilts. Hiro: GYAAAAH! Hiro is knocked flat. Eroustei: YOU THINK IT'S EASY DOING THIS LADY IN THE LAKE THING, YOU INGRATE?! Hiro: Owww... Eroustei: YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE'S FEELINGS, YA JERK! Eroustei drops back into the water and out of sight. Hiro gets: PdngSword and GoldSword! Hiro: Wh-what just happened...? Hiro's best sword is, obviously, the PdngSword which is a huge step up from any other weapon in the game for him. The GoldSword is, in itself, useless (Loyroll can equip it, but it's not terribly strong), but leads to our next quest! We have to find the little encampment to the south of ToneLand's island, which can be a little tricky to get to. But once we're there, we'll meet an old man. Old Man: Hey there! I'm the weapons maniac! I dedicate my life to things that cut others short! Haha! A little dark humor there! Hiro: That's pretty dark alrig-- Old Man: Hey, is that a sword made of gold?! M-may I please see it? Hiro: Sure. Not doing us any good anyway. The Old Man takes it, admiring it lovingly. Old Man: The sheen. The weight. The beauty... Loyroll: The inability to retain an edge? Old Man: I... I must have this! W-what if I traded you for something of equal value?! Hiro: Um. I guess... that's fine? The Old Man runs into his tent and returns, giving the party the TinFlStar, the strongest weapon for Kimaywa! Kimyawa: Yatta! Old Man: This weapon is deceptively powerful. Treasure it always! Hiro: Um. Well, one man's trash, I suppose... At this point, wander around and get into a fight with Kimyawa and Loyroll in the fray. Have Loyroll use the Mirror of Ki and you'll be treated to an amusing scene where Kimyawa's new weapon gets caught in the fire and all the enemies get incinerated. Kimyawa: Nii-chan! Baka! You nearly cooked us all! Loyroll: Even after all this time, this legendary artifact of our ancestors contains fabulous secret powers! Perhaps we could harness this more constructively? You've unlocked Kimyawa and Loyroll's strongest dual tech: Over-Arcing. This deals huge light-based damage to all enemies. And now it's time to revisit an old friend: you have been taking care of Stinky the Griffohump this whole game, right? Well, if you have, by now, he's likely evolved into his adolescent form, where his wings are more developed and his mismatched eyes have evened out. Once all his stats are over 500, which should happen around now-ish if you've been taking good care of him, he'll evolve into his adult form, where he actually resembles a majestic creature of myth and even has a Pudding Warrior Knot on the side of his head, like Hiro's. Hiro: Yes! I knew you had it in you! You were just like me – you just needed a guiding hand to help you out! At this point, the rancher from before walks up. Hiro: Have a look! It's all thanks to you! Rancher: Who'd have guessed you'd really do it? Well done. Hiro: The last of his kind, the proud Griffohump~! Rancher: Oh. Right. That. Yeah, no, he's not the last of his kind. Hiro: W-what? Does that mean... you found him a mate? Rancher: … Dude, Griffohumps are everywhere. They're overpopulated in most regions of the world where they live because nothing wants to eat them. People that try usually end up in the hospital from food poisoning and depression. Hiro: … Rancher: We tell people they're the last of their kind to give them some kind of marketing appeal. I'm genuinely amazed that you made something of him. So I guess the joke's on me. Hiro turns to Stinky as the rancher walks off. Hiro: You and me. We are more alike than you know, my friend. Now with Stinky fully grown, we can ride him around on the overworld map! This not only moves us faster and reduces the encounter rate, he can even fly short bursts when you get a running start, allowing you to clear mountains and get into areas previously inaccessible, including one north of the ocean of Mermania to get Mancala's ultimate weapon, the Abacus of Ages. But as no one uses Mancala, who cares? There's also a neat, but ultimately useless trick you can use because the game maintains Stinky's speed regardless of turns, so if you have him run back and forth over two spaces rapidly, you can cause him to fly anywhere at any time. This is dubbed by the fans as The Stinky Shuffle. Anyways, now it's time to address a particular plot thread that's been dangling since chapter 2. Return to Toruble and speak to the King. King: Siigh... Hiro: … King: Siii-iiigh... Ozma: … King: Siii-iii-iii-i-- Ozma: What's wrong, daddy? King: Oh! Ozma! When did you get here?! See, I've just been a little melancholic lately. Can't quite shake it. It's just been so quiet here in the castle without you running around randomly braining people. Ozma: I have never done such a thing!! … Recently. … in the past few months. King: I just wish I could shake these blues. I haven't been nearly so proactive in banishing people recently either! Hiro: So some good has come of this at least. Ozma: Seems that way... The party exits and fans out. Kimyawa: Dame desu. This is no good. A king can't rule his land like this. Moore: There must be some means by which to cheer him up. Loyroll: It seems more severe than just having a rainy day. Perhaps he is coming down with a bad cold? Ozma: There's a doctor we could ask for help from, I suppose. Let's go have a chat with him! So, now it's time to return to the Mountain of Outcasts. Thankfully, this time, the Dreaded Mountain Maze is in rubble due to Ozma's last temper tantrum here and we can take a shortcut through it and monsters no longer spawn here. Once on the other side, there seems to be quite a change: there's way fewer NPCs here than last time. Eh, probably not important. Go back to the doctor's house and Ozma will knock. You go, JeffCom, reuse those art assets for great justice! Ozma: Doc, it's me. Please open up. The door opens a small bit. Doctor: W-what do you want?! Oh. Princess Ozma. Ozma: Daddy's been really down in the dumps lately. Would you please come have a look at him? Doctor: That's... not really a very good idea. Reasons, you see. Valid reasons, mm, yes. Ozma: I... what? Please, I'll talk to him about overturning your banishment and-- Doctor: No, no, quite busy here, please, and thank you! He slams the door shut and there's a sound of many, many locks being slapped into place. Ozma: W-what...?! What's he trying to pull?! Why that! I'll turn this door to splinters!!! Ozma winds up and slams into the door. When she hits it, she's stopped cold and overblown, comedic tears rush down her face. Ozma: … G-gimmie a hand, please! Hiro: Right. Ozma: On the count of three. Ozma backs up a few paces and counts on her fingers with an accompanying “click” sound so the player knows when to go. If you mistime it, Ozma will back up and count again, signaling you when to go again. If you both hit the door at roughly the same time, your party will go plowing through it and enter into a cave-like bedroom. Ozma: Alright! Doctor, now you listen here-- eh? Hiro: No one's home? Ozma: He couldn't have gone far. C'mon, how deep could these caves go, anyway? Let's find him! There's a bed you can rest in and a save point here, which is a none-too-subtle hint that this is more than just a town. You venture deeper into the caves and monsters start appearing like Banished Munchkins, Outcast Ostriches, and Willow Whips, ghostly plant-like monsters. Most monsters here fear fire attacks, so Kimyawa and Loyroll are excellent choices. A few floors down, the caves change and suddenly have crystal structures laced in the walls, giving this place a weird sense of style. Around here, new monsters like the Crystallis Caterpillar, and Wind-Up Golems start appearing around here and despite looking very rock-like, they're weak to earth attacks. Go fig, right? A little further in and the caves are completely replaced by metal corridors and what looks like a lab setting. Ozma: W-what in the world is this...? Loyroll: This is no mere hide-a-way for the untouchables. Whatever is happening here is happening on a grand scale. You can then go forward, but the puzzles here get a bit dickish. There's one room where you have to rush into a library and sort out books via Dewey Decimal System in a very short span of time, otherwise the room resets due to “Radiation” as a nearby sign will say. After that, you play a minigame not unlike the board game operation, and failing at it causes the miniboss monster, Chimantera, to spawn an infinite number of times. At least, in the SNES release. In the GBA remake, it'll only spawn once and win or lose, the door to the next room opens. Here, you play hopscotch against a kangaroo to cross electrified floors. There's a reason fans of the series call this area “The Cut Content Dungeon” as there doesn't feel like there's a unifying theme here. But once you're past that, you can then go to the last area here, a massive, circular room with a large tube in the center of the room with a woman inside of it and the doctor standing before it. Ozma: Doc! What are you doing?! Doctor: Gah! H-how did you get here?! Ozma: We let ourselves in. What is this? What were all those weird things we passed to get here?! Doctor: N-now that you've seen this... my, you've really put me in a bind... Ozma: What is that...? Oh my God! Is that... my mom?! Party: Say whaaaaaaat?! Doctor: … Well, since you're here anyway and you're so damn curious, I'll enlighten you. Your father hired me to save your mother from her unfortunate condition. At first I thought it a fool's errand – to find a cure for Disney Parent Syndrome! Preposterous! But... as I began my work, I started making breakthroughs and discovering new things... things previously completely unknown to modern medicine. Curiosities in the genetic structures of what we once believed to be ordinary humans. “Golden Tribe” indeed, I must say. Ozma: What are you...?! Doctor: I don't suspect a silverback gorilla such as yourself could appreciate it, but I've been wanting to tell someone about these discoveries for such a long time and I'm about to kill your asses here and now... well, let's just call this two birds; one stone. Hiro: Ozma! Ozma: I'm fine... Doctor: You see, true humanity is no longer with us. They haven't been with us in eons!! The mitochondria here indicates that there was an extinction event of some magnitude. Deima: Cough-cough-hack! Doctor: And now, modern chimerism is nigh-omnipresent! Every tribe! Every person! It's just a matter of dose! Ozma: I don't get any of this! And what's any of that have to do with my MOM, you creep?! Doctor: As I thought, you don't appreciate the meanings of the truth I've discovered here... very well. Let us cut to the heart of the matter then, shall we? The King tasked me to save the Queen... and abandoned her. I was the only one there with her in her twilight years! I realized she was... perfect. Ozma: Oh God, please tell me this isn't going where I think it's going... Doctor: She had to be... preserved. By any means necessary. Ozma: Oh God, it is!!! Doctor: She was too beautiful. Too pure... Ozma: Oh God, I'm gonna barf... stop lusting after my dead mom, asshole!!! Doctor: Dead? Dear girl, she is not dead. She is alive and well and I was just putting in my finishing touches on her new, perfected chimeran body! Ozma: You... you what?! Doctor: Arise! Perfect Human-Chimera 01! The tube's glass slides upward into the ceiling as the green goop pours out. In the Japanese version, the nude woman falls flat before standing up and throwing up some of the green fluids. This was removed entirely in the international release and she was even given a white towel from out of nowhere she clearly did not have previously. Woman: Where... where am I? Ozma: M... mommy?! Woman: O... Ozma? Is that you? You're so tall now... And, um, buff! Like, um, damn. Doctor: Oh-ho-ho... her memory is perfectly in tact too. Seems the “donations” made by my fellows here on the mountain weren't spent in vain! Loyroll: Stand down, you dastard and know when you're defeated. To flail about helplessly is disgraceful. Doctor: You think I am helpless? I'll show you the fruits of my labors, such that even simpletons like yourselves can appreciate them! The Doctor runs to a control panel and messes with buttons. Hiro and Loyroll advance, but the Queen steps into their path. Hiro: Y-your majesty?! Loyroll: Heh. Truly, this is not the first time a naked woman threw herself at me. I'm just not interested. Queen: H-help! I can't control my body! Doctor: Haha! Yes! It's better than I could have dreamed my perfect woman, my perfect creation, and your perfectly beautiful demise! Hiro: You're sick! Doctor: Prepare to die! Ozma: No! Mom!! -Boss Fight!- PHC-01 LP: 70000 MP: 6000 This is a dangerous fight as her stats are not dissimilar to Ozma's, having very high physical stats with very low magical abilities. Equally so, Ozma cannot attack directly during this fight, as you get the unique message “Ozma can't bring herself to do it!” so she's either benched or on support during this battle. Oddly enough, if you invoke her double techs with another character, this circumvents this – so punching her mom is a “no-no” but slapping her with a fish is A-OK! Focus on Kimyawa's elemental abilities or have her and Loyroll use Over-Arcing, use any attack items you have (which are calculated vs. magic defense) and heal often as her physical blows are enough to drop the likes of Mancala in one blow. When her health dips below 25%, then you have to worry about her special attack, Chimeran Rage, which hits the entire party for physical, melee damage and runs the risk of reducing physical attack and defense stats in the party. If this happens, you must heal quickly or she'll just reduce you to paste. -Boss Fight!- Queen: Ah... something just snapped. Doctor: No! Dammit! Move! Move! Queen: I'm free. Ozma: Mommy! Queen: My Ozma. You've grown so strong. And you have such wonderful friends. I couldn't be more proud of you. Doctor: This is an unforeseen turn of events. I didn't think they could go toe-to-toe with Perfect Human-Chimera 01!!! Queen: And as for you... The Queen turns to face the Doctor. Doctor: Oh... shit. Queen: My name is NOT “Perfect Human-Chimera 01”! My name is Valerie Po Toruble, Queen of the proud nation of Toruble! And as its Queen, I must establish justice within the boundaries of my beloved nation! Submit yourself to the court and beg for mercy as your sins will be dredged up before the light of day! Hiro: Um. Wow. I better take notes... Ozma: Mommy!! You're so cool!!! Doctor: Very well, Plan B it is. The doctor messes with the control panel again. PA: Emergency! Self-destruct sequence is initialized. This entire mountain is about to be leveled to the ground in 60 seconds. Have a nice day! Hiro: Quick! Grab him! There's time! Queen: There isn't. You lot get out of here. I'll ensure the evil of this place never spreads beyond this God-forsaken mountain!!! Ozma: Mother! Queen: Ozma. As the Princess of this nation, you must never forget... your heart gets a vote, but your brain has veto authority. Tell your father you love him, dry your eyes, and continue on your journey. You are our beloved land's future! Ozma: Mommy! No! Not without-- Hiro and the others restrain Ozma and pull her out the door. Queen: That's right. Be a good girl and listen to your mother. The Queen turns around, then just puts her entire arm through the Doctor's body. Doctor: BARF!!! Queen: This is the way it should be. The past is in the past and the future, set free into tomorrow. Farewell. The screen whites out here. In the SNES version, the party is returned to the overworld without further delay, but there's an extended scene that cues in the GBA remake when the party enters Toruble again. The House Man we saw briefly before walks in through the ruins of the lab. House Man: My, my what a loud explosion that was... He moves around, exploring the ruined boss chamber. House Man: Hmm... his research was thousands of years behind my own... but I must admit, he had some good ideas. I could probably put these to some good use, even if it takes some time. House Man chuckles to himself, as he uncovers a charred remains of one body. House Man: But then again, I have all the time in the world~! The party returns to the throne room of Toruble. Ozma: Daddy, I-- King: Oh-ho! Ozma! How good to see you! Ozma: Huh? Daddy?! King: I don't know why, but... it seems that funk I was in has been lifted from my shoulders! I'm ready and chipper and ready to start some banishing! Ozma: Ugh. Father... King: Oh, before I forget! The King goes to Ozma and gives her the Queen's Knuckles. Ozma: What on Earth? King: These were your mother's. I found them while taking my little trip down memory lane. I'm sure she'd want you to have them! Ozma: … King: What's the matter, dear? I thought you'd be happy! Ozma: I... I am. I have great friends and my whole future before me. I love you, daddy, but my travels aren't over just yet. See you soon! King: Do your best! Now Ozma has her ultimate weapon and unlocks her final attack “Regal Rampage” where Ozma bequeaths royal beatdowns, which hits six times and runs the chance of lowering one corresponding stat with each blow! Hiro: Your mother had a set of custom brass knuckles? Ozma: Yes, why? Hiro: No reason... And now, the only character without their ultimate weapon is Moore. At this point, we need to return to Moore's hometown and they'll mention a “legendary weapon of the miners” had recently surfaced and that a weapon's expert had it. So that's your cue to return to the weapon maniac from before. Old Man: Oh, hello. Here to discuss weapons? Hiro: Sort-of. We're looking for the legendary weapon of the miners. Deima: If this just ends up something dumb like a shovel, prepare for pain, old-timer. Old Man: No, no! Not a shovel! Much more sophisticated than a shovel! Moore: W-what? What is it? Please, tell us! I'd do ANYTHING to be not be rock-bottom tier in this game! All: … Moore: It's never going to happen, is it? Hiro: A-hem. Show us the weapon. Old Man: Can do! Got: Rusty piece of crap! Deima: Okay, so clearly, you want to die... Old Man: Eep! I just dug it up! If you want to see its true power, you'll have to go see the Old Lady Weapon Maniac! Deima: There's another one of you?! Old Man: Just head east from here! You'll find her there! Well, this is just a damnable lie. You need to go WEST from here to find the small hut in the middle of an island that's otherwise quite easy to overlook. Going east is useless as that section of the map is impassable. When you go there. Old Lady: Good morning! Are you here to ask about my weapons collection? I do love weapons! Moore: Sort of! This is... Old Lady: Ah, yes, the legendary weapon of the miners, unrivaled in their tribe as the pinnacle of design and form. Moore: So it can be repaired? Old Lady: Yes, yes! But I'll need the POLISH. Hiro: Special polish? Old Lady: Yes, but you're saying it wrong. It's POLISH. Hiro: Of course it is. Moore: Where do we find it? Old Lady: A merchant in Mermania has some! Mancala: Sounds simple enough. Let's go. So head to Mermania and speak to the merchant guild merman. Moore: So we're looking for the, uh, POLISH. Did I say that right? Guildmaster: Well, you're too late. I just sold the only POLISH I had to a man in Toruble! Hiro: Is this weapon really that great? Moore: It must be! It's the very best weapon of my people! Deima: Yes, God forbid we overlook the tallest of the dwarves. So head to Toruble! There, we find a wealthy looking fellow. Merchant: Oh? You want this POLISH? It cost me quite a lot! Moore: You don't understand, it's a matter of pride... Merchant: Hmm... okay! I'll give it to you! Moore: You will?! Merchant: But first-- All: ugh! Merchant: Bring me a Lucky Rabbit's Foot! Moore: Just... a rabbit foot? Merchant: No, ding-dong, the LUCKY RABBIT'S foot. The Lucky Rabbit only lives on Mushroom Island. Moore: That doesn't sound so hard. Let's go guys! So now, you need to head north-east-ish until you find a newly-made bridge and cross over to the previously-inaccessible island. There, you'll enter a cave and see a large, white rabbit sitting in front of many, many mushrooms with different spot patterns. Rabbit: What-ho! Welcome to the sacred ground of the Rabbit Clan! How can I help you? Moore: um. I am of the miner clan. I wish to request you for, uh, a Lucky Rabbit's Foot. Rabbit: That's all? That's not really a problem, but would you mind doing something for me first? Deima: HISS!!! Rabbit: Go to the top of the hill here and find me a mushroom that looks like... this! The rabbit places down a mushroom with a particular spot pattern. What pattern this is varies in each playthru. You then head up the mountain dealing with Mushkins, Hedgeshrooms, and Ecobandits, all of which can inflict poison. At the top of one of the four staircases are sets of mushrooms, so one of the 12 mushrooms up here is the one that matches Lucky Rabbit's request. Take it back to him. If you bring the wrong one, he'll scold you for being “dumber than a miner” and show you the one he's after once again and you'll return. Once you get it right, he'll speak to you again. Rabbit: Oh, frabjuous day! Here you go! Obtained: Lucky Rabbit's Ruler. Hiro: What? But this is a ruler and-- oh. Wait. I get it. Lucky Rabbit's... foot. Moore: Let's go guys! You then return to Toruble and speak to the merchant. Merchant: Excellent! Just what I needed! Hiro: Odd, I thought you wanted a, y'know, like a foot-foot. Like the Rabbit's actual hind-quarters leg. Merchant: Eww. You're weird. And gross. Here, take the POLISH and get outta here, ya weirdos. Hiro: Grumble... Then head to the Old Weapon Lady. Old Lady: Awright! Now I'll apply the POLISH and... there! Moore: Is it ready?! Old Lady: Almost! Head back to the Old Weapon Man and he should apply the finishing touches. All: Ugh! Moore: C'mon, guys! For all this work we're putting in, this weapon is going to be the best! So return to the Old Weapon Man. Old Man: Why, you lot have been busy. Now, let me just use my RUST REMOVER here and it'll be ready before you can say “Done”! And... Do-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooone! Got: Pickax! Moore: Of course!! Where a shovel fails, the Pickax prevails! All: … Deima: That tears it, everyone dies. Moore: But-- Deima thrusts her hand skyward and the Old Man's tent is blown away. Old Man: Oh noooooo! Moore: Cough. Cough. W-well, on the bright side I got my best weapon in the ga-- wait, does this mean I only HAVE two weapons in this WHOLE GAME?! Hiro: … The Pickax is... a little better than his shovel, I guess? But now that we have all the legendary weapons, we can finally go to that random forest in the north stretch of the game, with the healing spring in it. When we go to heal in it this time, Hiro and the party just jump into it. You'll then follow a spiral staircase downward until you reach a Pudding Shrine at the bottom. “But wait!” I hear some of you call out, “How the hell were we supposed to know about this?!” All I can say is: Player's Guide Sales! Go inside and Hiro will pull away from the party. Hiro: The final shrine... A small, strange, hairy creature appears before him. Hiro: Um. Lulz: Greetings, Hiro. I am Lul Invictus, but you can call me Lulz for short. Hiro: Very short. Lulz: Oh, the wit. Never heard THAT one before! You do remember my voice, do you not? Hiro: Um... Wait... you were the one who spoke to me when my powers first awoke! Lulz: Indeed so. Your journey is nearing completion, Hiro. You will need the fullest extent of your abilities now. Do you know what I mean by that? Hiro: Yes! My friends! Lulz: Indeed! You've learned much! I now release the limitations on your abilities and bless you with the mighty power of the Final Swirl Flavor Fusion! Hiro glows brightly. Hiro: Thank you, Lulz. Lulz: Fare thee well. And remember: Pudding is meant to be enjoyed! Not contained! Keep those snack packs a popping! Hiro: The more you speak, the less I understand. But I'll do my best despite that. Hiro returns to the others, draws out his sword and poses. Hiro: Do that which is right, live your life for others, and never, ever give up! That is the oath of the Light Puddings! Ozma: Heart~! Kimyawa: Sugoi, Hiro-ni-chan! Loyroll: Well said, friend! Deima: Heh. Hot. Moore: Mm! Mancala: Ooo, we should copyright that phrase and make mint after the war's over! And with that, the last optional quest is finished and we're ready to get us the best ending of the game! It's time to enter the next chapter, with our heads held high!

#Adventure #writing #fiction #fantasy #science fantasy #infrequently asked questions #Amazing Quest

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