Monster Age: A Fantasy Epic

by GR Griffin

  As they clashed, even Zeus was surprised by how strong she had become. Undyne was ferocious, striking so hard she was breaking her own spears. Heaven's Shard failed to make contact, but her spears nicked and cut at his steel skin. She jabbed his ankle out before following with a fierce tornado kick to the face, stumbling him back.

  There was a break in the combat as the two stared each other down. Zeus opened his mouth and built up energy at the back of his throat. Undyne prepared herself for the right moment to move. As devastating as it was, the beam was fairly easy to dodge. She would wait until the last second, then leap as high as she could into the air, then – wait! Undyne caught what Zeus did. For a brief moment, his grey eyes snapped away from her.

  Zeus's lungs reached their full capacity. The last second before he roared, he turned his head. It wasn't Undyne he was aiming for.

  The beam of dark energy raced across the expanse, toward Alphys.

  She was frozen with fear. Her last sight would be the beam before it turned her into dust. It drew near. She screamed. Undyne leapt in the way, along with a wall of spears.

  The blast slammed into the couple in a cascade of detonating spears. Undyne and Alphys barrelled across the dirt, rolling side over side and over each other before skidding to a stop.

  Alphys lifted her head. Her entire world spinning. Undyne lay in front of her, on her back, unmoving and smouldering. "U-Undyne… Undyne!" Alphys clawed the mud and crawled herself closer. "Are you…?" Another handful of mud saw her another foot nearer. "D-d-don't be… please…"

  Undyne slightly lifted an arm, jerked her head and groaned, letting her girlfriend know she was alive. She turned her head and found Alphys crawling toward her.

  Undyne grinned a pained grin. "You… alright?" she asked before breathing heavily, like those two words took the same amount of effort as running a marathon.

  "Oh, Undyne… you saved me." Alphys rested her head and Undyne's belly. "Th-thank you."

  Alphys's hand found Undyne's. Their fingers squeezed.

  "Don't thank me just yet." Undyne went to stand. "I'm not finished with him." Her body leaned an inch upwards. Undyne slurred from the effort.

  Alphys could see Undyne was in no condition to fight; she could not even push Alphys away. "Stay down, Undyne," the doctor said. "You're not strong enough."

  Undyne wasn't listening. She fruitlessly tried to rise against her flagging joints.

  "Let's just lie here and rest a while," Alphys said, sounding like she was falling asleep. "Just lie here… and rest…"

  The captain of the Royal Guard flopped like a fish. Her strength was gone, determination kaput. She'll wait and recuperate for a little. A few minutes rest and then this punk emperor will feel her sting.

  Victory was firmly within Zeus's grasp now. These lesser creatures bowed to his feet, weak and beaten. Their powers worthless compared to his. Six monsters. Imagine now humans in the millions, at his feet, powerless to halt his reign, trying ever trick in the book to extend their worthless lives. They would fight, they would struggle, they would bargain, they would grovel, and they would fall.

  One remained. Asgore, holding his wife who was limp in his arms. His eyes lifted. Wetness built around the brims.

  "Zeus, don't do this," he pleaded. "Look at what you're doing. Look around."

  Zeus stood over the fallen king. Just for one second, Zeus thought he saw something else. A memory teased at the edges of his thoughts. The sight of Asgore holding his wife felt familiar somewhere.

  "All this destruction. All this pain," Asgore said. "This will be your future."

  Zeus lifted Heaven's Shard over his head. "At least I have a future."

  It was here where the thinnest spark of hope within Asgore's soul fizzled away. No goodness existed within the Emperor's soul. Not anymore.

  Before Zeus could strike the killing blow, his greatsword collided against Fleck's shield. Fleck's right forearm trembled as pressure piled on the burn.

  "Fleck, what are you doing?" Asgore yelled. Toriel stirred. "He's too powerful!"

  Zeus withdrew his blade and struck again, almost knocking them down. The sight of the child, wielding their sword and shield, thinking it stood any kind of chance against him – the beholder of humanity's damnation – was quite amusing. He pushed down and Fleck's shield budged. Their arm trembled against the sheer power pressing down on them; the shield not built to handle strength of that amplitude.

  "Warning," the shield spoke, "battery power at thirty one percent." Fleck gulped. Those two strikes alone had taken down the battery by eighteen percent.

  The greatsword rose again. Fleck pressed the button on their weapon, switching to the laser sword, and swung as he swung. The red laser sliced Heaven's Shard in half, sending the amputated piece sinking into the mud.

  The same sword wielded by his father, which had seen more battles than the average troop had had hot meals, which had survived impact after impact without so much as a dent, met its end to a human with a toy sword.

  Such a weapon of significance, and the great emperor of evil discarded the hilt aside like it was garbage. "I outgrew that anyway," he said before dark electricity discharged from his fingertips.

  Fleck's sword absorbed the lightning. The red blade turned brighter and the hilt grew hotter the more it absorbed. Their left hand began to burn.

  The automated voice sang: "Overload. Overload. Overload. Overload."

  Professor Haze's invention exploded in Fleck's hand. They recoiled back, clutching it, inhaling through clenched teeth. The palm was black and burnt and bleeding; they couldn't feel the fingers too well.

  Zeus roared his beam, Fleck blocked with the shield. Ebbs curdled around the brim as the underside began to glow red. Their arm burned; sizzling surface against an existing burn.

  "Warning," the female voice from the shield said, "Battery power supply at twenty percent. Suggest immediate recharge or battery replacement."

  Asgore cried out their name as he reached for them.

  Fleck shrieked for Asgore to take Toriel and get out the way.

  "Thirteen percent."

  The corners of the shield began to crack. As hot as fire.

  "Not without you," Asgore shouted.

  "Seven percent."

  The cracks spread. Hotter than the sun. Fleck said it as loud as they could: GO!

  "Three percent."

  Reluctantly, Asgore heaved up Toriel.

  "One percent."

  And dragged her away as fast as he could.

  "Battery depleted."

  * * *

  Flowey the soulless, unfeeling flower witnessed the moment the human's shield detonated into smithereens. When Fleck opened their eyes again, ten feet back, the wet mud cold on their back, Flowey knew how much their arm would be on fire.

  Even from that distance, he could make out the charred entity that was Fleck's left arm. The sleeve had frazzled away, leaving the skin pitch black and hurting like crazy. Fleck pressed it against their belly, unaware of the moisture building under their eyelids as they tried to suppress the numbing agony. Flowey feared there was no hope for that arm.

  Funny, this version of Fleck was doomed – the ultimate route for this timeline to take was set in stone – but he still cared. He wanted to gasp in shock at every bit of their pain. Those same monsters; he tortured and tormented for years within the same period of time, yet it tore him apart seeing Toriel drowning, Asgore cradling her, Alphys electrified, Sans and Papyrus getting broken against each other, and Undyne sacrificing herself for the one she loved.

  The tiny human stood in the Emperor's shadow. Flowey still cared.

  "Run… Run away…" he whispered. "You can't win, Fleck. You can't. You're only chance of survival is to run away. Do it… please…"

  His eyes closed.

  "I can't watch you die like this."

  * * *

  Fleck needed a miracle to get out of this one.

  Just once, just once, they closed their eyes and en
visioned the infamous reset button. It hovered there in the black behind their eyelids, written in golden text and bordered in a golden box. Reset. They reached out and touched it. With one press of the button, the entire passage of time rewound. Back to the start.

  Juhi lay in his warm bed, breathing his laboured breath. Quiet. Calm. Pink light shining through the windows. His time had come, as it comes to all eventually. Soon, he would be nothing but an ashen pile of memories, and his mantle would be passed on to the rightful heir, the legacy to the throne: his only son.

  "Father, I am here," Prince Zeus said. His eyes silver and his hair golden.

  "So, you came to say goodbye, huh?" Juhi replied. "I didn't know you still cared…"

  Prince Zeus took his father's cold hand. "You're my dad. I can't stop caring even if I wanted to…"

  "Good morning, Fleck. Did you sleep well, my child?"— "Fleck, I'm not letting go! Do you hear me? I'm not letting go!"— "Your determination is for me and me alone. Give it to me or I will tear it from your soul." – "Good luck out there, Kiddo." – "Apple. A-pull." – "Second floor, room number lucky thirteen. It's the last door on the left. Enjoy your stay." – "Oh, Fleck, that was one mighty shot… toward my heart. That's so sweet of you. Get in line." – "Humans… Nothing but warmongers and butchers… eh, Maxie…?" – "Nice knowing you, human." – "You shouldn't be here, you stupid, stupid child! You can't! You gotta get out of here! Run away, before—" – "I am the icy chill on your back. I am… Vail. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fleck." – "Welcome to where dreams come true, Fleck!" – "Save me, Fleck! SAVE ME!" – "I think about that poor, misguided soul abandoned forever in the Underground and… it should've been you." – "He showed me a world where everyone wanted to be my friend… I've never had a real friend before." – "Geoffrey. It's Geoffrey…" – "Congratulations! I've just checked our records and it turns out… you're our one-hundred-thousandth guest!" – "Not nearly as strange up-close as I imagined." – "Will you act as the champion for the rebellion, and in doing so, commence our assault on Castle Highkeep?" – "Howdy, Fleck! Long time, no see. I'm the advisor!" – "I GET STUCK WITH YOU! YOU ANDROGENOUS, MUTE IDIOT!" – "In this world, it's kill… to save." – "I guess it's only fitting that I leave you as you left me, as you left Chara: trapped below in the darkness. Alone. All alone." – "You… appear intact… Unlike us…" – "You and I have never met before, and yet, I think we both know exactly who the other is. Don't you, Fleck?" – "So I ask you now, Fleck. For this world, its people, and my son… will you save them?" – "This momentous day shall be called… the day determination died."

  Their journey, from the start to where they were. Several days condensed into a few seconds. Every decision, every choice, every move, every sentence, every feeling, every thought, every smile, every frown, every tear, every step, every footprint, every breath, every ray of light, every shining star, every shadow, every corner of darkness, every snowflake, every raindrop, everything exactly as before, through thirty three chapters. Back to Fleck, layered with wounds and dirt, with one hand injured and one arm severely burned.

  Such events in such a small window of time, and it all winded to this moment under steel skies. This path was theirs to walk, not by choice. Their actions, thoughts, drives, all dictated by someone else, both during the Underground and afterward. Their motives Fleck's. Whatever they deemed right, Fleck deemed right. Whatever was considered unfair and unjust, these rubbed off the lonely human child. For once, as Fleck faced their greatest threat yet, these feelings, these beliefs, they truly believed were their own. No one guided their actions but themself no matter how untrue it all seemed.

  Zeus, the Emperor of Evil, the vanguard to the extinction of mankind, controlled every molecule of this Outerworld. And them, a lowly human child. Unarmed. Magicless. Powerless?

  There needed to be some kind of thread to cling to, a hope that there existed a way out – a better end to this madness. Perhaps had they known better or searched their dreams for a solution, then…

  Hopes and dreams! Of course!

  Why didn't Fleck think of this before? It felt so obvious, so dumb of them for forgetting.

  Fleck could not reset. They could not reach their save file. They could not save their progress. But they could still…

  Save!

  Chapter 34: The Day Determination Died

  Determination: the power to delve into the past, look into the future, reshape it, and look out into the unknown worlds beyond.

  There was one side to their Determination rarely explored: to look inwards to the true goodness inside.

  With their Determination, Fleck stopped reaching into their own soul and, instead, reached out to another's. Zeus's soul became clear to them – black like tar, dripping with negativity both practically and literally with not a speck of light escaping. But, somewhere under there, Zeus, the real Zeus, existed. A spark of hope. A shine of dreams.

  All of Fleck's pain vanished and they smiled a warm smile straight from the heart. It was like Fleck was speaking to his soul, the upside-down heart: the culmination of his being. It whispered not to the dark, sickly substance, but reached toward the true nature buried beneath.

  Save!

  Remember, Zeus. Remember who you are. Remember the good times. This evilness is not what defines you.

  "What are you doing?" Zeus said as a feeling most bizarre gripped at his chest. A soothing sensation, not one of rough anger or the bitter boil of hatred. He felt warmth under his armour. "What is this feeling? What are you trying to pull?"

  Pictures flashed before Zeus's eyes as the human used his own memories against him. He stepped back as the images took hold, and Fleck stepped closer, unafraid. Filled with Determination.

  You're more than this wickedness. You're better than this. Don't fight your feelings. Let them in.

  Zeus remembered. Memories from so long ago, memories thought lost to the annals of time, were resurrected before him: the first days upon finding the Outerworld, when the lands were fresh for discovery; a millennia ago but as clear and as crisp as if it were that day. Long before the rise of Castle Highkeep and the establishment of the Monster Military, when Highkeep Enclave was a grass plane with the needle point of the Obelisk within its centre, and the first inhabitants ventured out into the six separate islands to start their new lives.

  His father and he were exploring the Oasis. They were both young and the pain was still fresh, but there was hope for their future, and dreams of a better world. Juhi's hand eclipsed his as they strolled barefoot on those warm, golden sands. No fear of annihilation, they had all the time in the world.

  The young Zeus picked up a pebble and tossed it into the ocean; he had no idea he had done that, it didn't seem like something he would do. He could not remember being so small or as scrawny as a twig, seeing life from a child's perspective. His father was a future prediction of himself, tall and strong.

  Through all the loss, Juhi still possessed one bright spot, one wonderful thing to live for: his only son. The fresh waters purified their bodies and baptised them of the last grimy traces of Earth. The bountiful lands filled their stomachs and returned meat and colour to Zeus's shrill features. His tuff of hair between his ears shone golden. He wore fresh, clean clothes. A healthy six year old boy, the final shred of family Juhi had left.

  The darkness surrounding his soul began to crumble and crack, revealing glimpses of light beneath, who they really were. The Emperor felt his arms go slack and the desire to destroy begin to leave his body. This desire felt so trivial now as he remembered better times.

  "That memory," said Zeus. "The pain was fresh from losing the ones we loved. I never thought it could be cherished." This got a wider smile out of Fleck, finding the good within him. Zeus closed his eyes. "What a fool I was to forget."

  Such a wonderful memory. His father was smiling. He could not remember many moments when he smiled. The sun, pink and wonderful, shimmered off his healthy casing of fur. He barely remembered sands that sof
t or warm. A couple coconuts lay in the sand, the milk went down as smooth as honey. They had packed some provisions in a sack from the surface world: rich Outerworld fruit, moist and ripe, tingled delightfully on the tongue.

  Zeus, the six year old boy, could almost feel the corners of his lips rise as he looked out upon the flat horizon to the south. He turned to his father – lying on his death bed. Old. Withered. Breathing his last.

  "The Obelisk's secret…" he said. "I kept it from you, because I feared what would happen if you knew." He reached out, drawing one last breath. "You're a lost cause… my son…!"

  He crumbled to dust.

  Zeus snapped his eyes open. "What?" The human stood there, smiling, arms out. "NO!" His fist lashed out like a whip, striking Fleck unaware in the cheek. The evil thickened. His resolve reignited. "You dare use my own memories against me? I will not be swayed by the likes of you!"

  Fleck lay face down in the dirt, that strike spread throughout them like a wave of prickling heat, settling as a sunburn on the infected area. Slowly, they got up and revealed a coarse bruise where his knuckle met cheekbone, a small lesion where the skin broke. And yet they still smiled. They stretched their charred hands out again and spoke to his soul, remembering why they were there.

  Save!

  It's okay. Remember. This isn't you. Fight the anger. Fight the evil in yourself.

  Another memory stopped Emperor Zeus: the day Barb was born. Zeus was older now, a young man, he had been one for a few hundred years now. He pushed open the door to where the new-born slept, being as quiet as his hulking frame would allow. As a kid, he was so quiet that he had a nasty habit of startling people. They wouldn't notice he was there until either they saw him or he opened his mouth to speak.

  The air held that new-born, sanitised, powdery scent. In the crib, bundled in blankets and under a mobile of stars and rocket ships, lay the baby monster, sound asleep. He never would have imagined Barb to grow into the woman she was today as he looked upon her there as the newly-born bat, so tiny and fragile like a glass sculpture, with her eyes closed and a tiny stub nose and a wisp of black hair.