by GR Griffin
A power unlike any other blasted into the pillar and nobody could avert their gazes. From the focal point, a white sphere emerged and expanded in a rapid rate, spreading over everything and everyone; first Asgore and Toriel, then Fleck and their soul, then Barb and Zeus, Juhi, Alphys and Undyne, Flowey and Brute, Sans and Papyrus, then everyone else.
As this barrier washed over them, Asgore and Toriel felt an unidentifiable force pull him off the ground, alongside Fleck's body and their Determination.
"What's happening?" Asgore marvelled.
The former couple clung to each other as a current began to swirl them around the Obelisk. Both shot a glance at Fleck as their lifeless frame drifted beyond them. They reached out, calling their name, but Fleck floated out of reach.
Alphys and Undyne rose from the ground, caught in the field. Using her strength, Undyne wrapped what was left of her melting limbs around her comatose girlfriend.
"I'm here, Alphys…" Undyne whispered, close to her. "I'm here…"
The crushed flower floated out of Brute's hands, all while the assistant rooted himself the ground. The fragments of Flowey's pot, as well as the soil, took flight, following Flowey in a contrail of orange terracotta and silken earth.
Sans, Papyrus, and all their missing pieces, drifted away from the crumbling wall. The former, with his remaining hand, reached out and grabbed Papyrus by his.
"Bro, hold on!" Sans cried.
They had no control as they whirled around the glowing Obelisk. Former Emperor Juhi, untouched, unaffected, stood his ground, entranced in awe. This magic passed through his dusty body. It was… incredible.
Zeus remained solid on the ground, Barb clung to him, as his soul beamed light into the pillar of rock. His exaggerated frame shrank, and each piece of his father's armour dropped off his body, exposing his royal garment underneath. There went a wrist guard. Followed by a pauldron. Then a cuisse.
Asgore and Toriel, spinning within a shower of white, were not holding each other, but hugging each other. An aura most soothing, so delicate, poured around them, healing them. Their pains, both within their souls and minds, diminished. The injuries on their bodies faded away.
Toriel whispered his name, Gorey, as he felt the arms of the man he loved, hands so soft against her back. It took her back, took them back, to the days where all was right in the world, especially when theirs was beneath the surface. She lost herself to those large, soft arms of his. She knew she always loved him. She never stopped loving him – a tiny glimmer in her soul never gave up of him, even as his downward spiral became complete. He was here, and she was there, and neither wished for it to end.
Undyne's sickly hold held Alphys, who, in her dull state, felt the arms of her dying lover grow stronger, and stronger around her body.
The royal scientist thought of why she was here, and all the steps needed to get to where she was. She recollected herself in the Underground: the moment where she found the courage to confess her wrongdoings, to the families and to Undyne herself. The magic cradled her like the first rays of sunlight.
Undyne heard the faintest whisper: "Un…Undyne…?"
Alphys lifted her hands and found the strong body of whom she loved the most. The two gazed at each other. Alphys saw her, her as she was meant to be. Undyne, the captain of the Royal Guard, strong and able, whole, no longer melting. Just as the doctor saw her alive, Undyne caught the spark of resolve reigniting within those wonderful dark eyes. They smiled, hugged, laughed, and neither wanted to let go.
The disassembled bones encircled their owners. Just like a jigsaw, the pieces snapped back into place. Fingers, arms, legs and ribs reconnected and broken bones healed instantly. Papyrus gawked as his missing arm popped back on his shoulder, and the fingers found their way to his hand. He moved it as if it were never lost. The same with his legs.
"Hey," Sans said, wiggling his fingers, laughing as vigour seeped into his voice, "I think I got one of yours by mistake." The feeling was euphoric. Feeling and colour and life was injected into everything.
Flowey the flower felt this magic fill and inflate him. His gasped the most nourishing breath he had ever taken, each of his golden petals reattached to his head. His pot pieced itself back together and the soil returned inside before his roots sank into it.
The bubble of glorious white grew beyond the garden, past the destroyed boundaries of Highkeep Enclave and encapsulated the entirety of Highkeep Enclave, and over all six crumbling, collapsing, and drowning islands.
* * *
The treacherous thunderclouds had gathered over the Plain-plain. Every monster had taken cover under and with what they could; the cracked earth meant there was nowhere left to run. Its citizens were stranded and absolutely to the mercy of the weather. The once-sparse serpents of lighting danced and slithered in the hundreds, hunters cornering their prey. The sky become a spectacle of crackling electricity, its noise so blaring. One had no time to think, let alone hear their own thoughts.
The thunder reached a destroying crescendo before and entire cascade flashed. The bubble of magic from the Obelisk, at the exact moment, spread over the lands.
And then… silence.
The citizens: the families: mothers, fathers, children; the shopkeepers: sole traders and Sweet and Sour's employees; the travellers; the train conductors; everyone was quiet. After the longest time, they crept toward the edges of their hiding spots and peered outside and to the skies to the most bizarre scene.
Their world had stopped. There was no other way to phrase it. The Outerworld had stopped in time as if someone had pressed pause on the remote control. The raindrops were motionless, frozen in freefall. Touching them made them drift away. The streaks of lightning reaching down from above were perfectly still. Those great fingers of white whose existence lasted within blinks, numerous in the thousands – a rainforest of electricity – as far as the eye could see, had stopped metres from land. The fractured land in which they stood on, with floating debris and cracks half finished, as identical as the Shattered Zone.
Numb, the civilians gazed with baited breaths at the spectacle.
Geoffrey, the impressive Vail of Ice Island, gaze bewildered at such a strange turn of events. "What…?" he scarcely breathed.
The cave walls pressed in tight on his sides, building the coffin for which he house his remains. Just when he thought he end had arrived, those final boulders meant to seal him slowed and halted a breaths width away. All when eerily silent as the caves stopped collapsing. Geoffrey touched the nearest geode and it floated away like it was in a vacuum, bobbing against two others in its path.
The same phenomenon transpired to those trapped within the mines of Rocklyn as their death-traps ceased in on an unexpected, instantaneous note, and they were all left holding each other in anticipation for the demise which now won't arrive. Up above, the canyons and valleys went still, and the monsters – among them Bub, Peabody, and even the pepper, Fisk – continued sprinting and shouting for a few seconds before realising the change, whereupon they slowed to a confused stop.
The overturning Forest was no different as the wave rushed over them, and its capsizing trees and shattering walkways became stuck in perpetual limbo. All its civilians, every single one, remained on the last remaining segments of horizontal walkways. All around them, their apocalypse transformed into a freeze-frame.
The frog boatman opened his eyes having braced himself for the largest tidal wave he had never seen in his life – its maw large, with white choppers ready to devour him whole – and looked to find it still. He had no knowledge or past experience with waves, but he was quite confident they weren't supposed to do that.
From the safety of his banged up boat, he found the entire waters themselves halted like a painting; every individual ripple, tide, and tear identifiable. No longer was the air drowned with the slamming of waves against the wood, or the creaking of houses and the smashing of windows and the clatter of furnishings. It went quiet. The entirety of the witnesses h
uddled on roofs and treetops too bewildered to move and too befuddled to speak.
The same happened over in the Oasis. The deadly waters seeping within mansions stopped in an instant. Master Mind, Jim the doorman, guards and wives, trapped within the drowning halls of Mineyor Manors, adhered the furniture that floated, the tops of their heads coming close to the ceiling. In an instant, the rising level stopped and the water became as thick as custard, thick enough to make for comfortable sitting. At first, they were stunned. Then they laughed. Then they were stunned again.
Outside, the scene was identical to that of the island Bob. Water, its mighty, unstoppable nature, to chew and chew, devour until nothing remained, had its entire nature rewritten.
The Outerworld was in ruins, but they were alive. They were all alive.
* * *
In the centre of it all, around the Obelisk, Fleck drifted lifelessly with their soul, their Determination, nearby. They was almost horizontal, their chest raised, limbs hovering in the magic. The wounds on their body healed: the cuts sealed up, leaving no scars; the horrid burns on their arms scattered into the wind; the putrid discolouring on and under the skin regressed back into its original, healthy tone. Slowly, their soul neared, drawing closer to its owner as the others watched. The red soul touched their chest, then sank back to whence it came, reuniting itself with its host.
The light evaporated and Zeus's soul returned to him in a white aura. His father's armour lay in pieces at his feet. Barb, still holding on to him, found her footing.
Slowly, everyone hovered back onto the ground, landing in a wide circle. Fleck splayed out between them all, lying on their side in a cat-like pose, still and quiet. Everyone stood frozen, inspecting the child from afar for any signs of life.
Toriel and Asgore feared the worst. Fleck's back was to them, unmoving for so long.
"Fleck…?" Toriel said.
…
Nothing. No movement. No breathing. No…
Thump, thump.
A cough and a gasp jolted the child; Fleck lifted their head and inhaled strong and deep. Their chest rose and fell as their lungs restarted. They rolled onto their back and found the king and queen. Inappropriate how their first thought after returning from the great beyond was how much of an adorable couple those two made.
Fleck smiled sheepishly, carrying a message for Toriel: the children said 'hi'. They really miss her pies.
The stunned quiet in the air was shattered by the calling of Fleck's name by all their friends. It wasn't long until Fleck found themself off the ground and wedged between Mom and Dad in the biggest embrace loved ones could give, the three of them laughing and shedding tears of joy at the same time. In the heat of the moment, Toriel could not restrain herself. She needed to feel the human's warmth against her own, the sounds of their breathing, and the innocence of their voice to rekindle her shaken soul. The royal couple held on tight, as did Papyrus and Alphys. The last two, Sans and Undyne, figured themselves too cool to be seduced into such a sappy reunion, until they realised they too wanted in so badly. The six monsters huddled around their human, smiling and laughing and crying at their return.
"You're alive," sobbed Alphys. She removed her glasses and wiped at her leaking eyes. "We're all alive. I can't believe it!"
"We thought we'd lost you," Asgore added. "Come here." He extended his cuddle around both Undyne and Papyrus. "I thought we were all lost."
"I'm so glad they let you stay with us, Fleck," Papyrus said, then sniffed and flicked at the rain coming from his eye sockets. "It's a pity human heaven didn't let you keep those wings, or rent them on a monthly contract."
As the group celebrated their friend's return, Assistant Brute marched over on muddy shoes to where the revitalised Advisor in his reconstructed pot lay. "Advisor," he said in a glad manner.
Flowey was better now, but his jaw hung open at the dazzling spectacle above. Trillions of stars dancing in the air, close enough to touch.
What was going on? He wondered. How was this possible? A million ways this story could go, all converging to this one ultimatum of death and despair. He had never dreamt of this. None of it was meant to happen. Then how?
The crowds among the garden's outskirts, who spectated the scene, were filled with the most bizarre mix of relieve, happiness, and wonder. The mummies never broke their hug. Haze and Leigh were back up, disbelieving everything. Grill and Dom both wanted to collapse.
Barb the bounty hunter, with the gash in her wing stitched up, pulled away from her brother. The corners of her lips rose in a slow smile. "Maxie, you're…"
Zeus noticed his hands. They did not belong to the Emperor of evil, but to the Emperor of the Outerworld. A surviving puddle beside him reflected a lion with a mane of flowing, golden locks, and two eyes of precious silver, and a pelt of healthy fur, dignified in his royal red suit.
Barb finished, "You're you again." Then she hugged him once more. "I'm so glad you're back."
Zeus returned it with the hands he used to hold her as a baby. "So am I."
Juhi approached, speechless, attracted by the shining point on the Obelisk's face. As fresh as a flame burst alive. It encompassed the entire Outerworld.
"It's a miracle," he said as if this were all a dream. "You did it, my son. You did it just in time." He held his head. "They're alive. They're all alive, but… what was that just now?"
Zeus let out a single note of a chuckle. "You're asking me?"
From the focal point in the pillar, there was a flash which drew everyone's attention toward it, and from its pulse, a new figure took shape in stars of white. With two arms, two legs, a torso, and a head, the figure was distinguishable. Whatever he or she was, monster or human, they descended to the ground before Zeus and Barb.
The features took shape, with a lean figure of a woman wearing what could only be guessed as ragged garments. She had long, braided hair that reached her waist, two long, pointed ears, and large, animalistic eyes. Stars took the shape of symmetrical markings, tattoos maybe, which ran across her body.
This being of magic faced the Emperor. An angelic quality graced her expression. The living and the dead stayed noiseless in sight of this being.
"Zeus," she said. Zeus recognised her alluring voice immediately. She stretched out a hand, holding it with the deft weightlessness of a feather. "You have… Whoa!" The spectre of energy suddenly stared at her hand, then wiggled her feet. "I have arms! And legs! And…" She patted down her belly. "And I a size zero? Is this what a size zero looks like?"
The Emperor was too drawn by her voice to be distracted by her behaviour. "You. Your voice. It was what I heard before I found this," he said, glancing at the Obelisk behind her. "You're not what I expected from… whatever you are."
Zeus was as surprised as Flowey and Fleck, who had both heard her voice moments before being abducted. It would appear that the voice of this spectre had called out to these three people: the human, the monster, and the flower; and fate had transpired that all three were to stand here within these crumbling walls and muddy grounds.
"Oh, right, sorry about that," apologised the spectre. "This is all new to me, that's all."
"Who are you?" asked Barb, latched on to Zeus.
The spectre stopped staring at her body to contemplate that question. "Honestly, I have no idea myself. I've been somewhat asleep for a very long time."
Zeus rose, gently breaking his and Barb's hold. "Are you… Kanika?"
She heard that name, registered it, let it process, and replied, at first, with pause. "Kanika?" she repeated. "Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. Too long, actually." She glanced away. "No. Kanika's been gone for a really long time. I'm just the essence she left behind in her final moments."
Kanika, or her essence at least, continued. "You don't want to know how long I've been lying dormant, watching the world go round and being unable to do anything. I've seen everything, learned so much: your language, emotions, needs, pain, happiness… love. For so long I lay
still in the earth, feeling it turn, watching the best and worst of humans and monsters alike. I witnessed the same tragedies, the same grievances, and the same mistakes countless times both up here and down there. And then… I felt you, Zeus. I felt a wound within your soul, a wound I had never seen before. And for a reason I couldn't explain back then, I wanted to reach out to you. I called your name and you heard me. You found me. You unlocked the initial power within.
"I've watched you, Zeus. Watched you grow, learn, stumble and fall many times. I have awaited the greatest strength needed to unlock my true potential, and now I have found it."
"Found it?" Zeus whispered.
"It takes strength to cheat death and rewrite the past, as did it take strength to harness this world's elements as you did…" She stopped to smile at the fish warrior. "And, yes, that suplex was mighty impressive. But there was one strength greater than all of them combined. One true strength born from the soul."
"What?"
Kanika placed the gentlest hand on his chest. A wave of its enthralling power went through him.
"Forgiveness," she answered. "The pain from your loss ran deep, deeper than any wound. You held on to that pain, drawing strength from it, feeding it, allowing it to grow until it consumed you. The strength you needed to let go of the past, to rid yourself of the pain which plagued your life, to forgive, took a strength unlike any other. You have no idea how strong you were to do that, and this world has you to thank."
The revelation struck Flowey. Of course, he understood now; he never saw this route because it was inconceivable. The prospect of big bad Emperor Zeus, the main villain of this story, discovering what a miserable creature he had become, and tossing away his hate with one simple act, was unthinkable. His hatred was so ingrained into his being it was never predicted he had the strength needed to forgive, not when his soul was crammed with nothing but ire and revulsion.
