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starsgivemehp · 6 years

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Erebus’s Return - FULL EVENT TRANSCRIPT

Hey, guys! Guess what? That event that I started back in uhhh, June? IT’S FINALLY DONE! For those of you interested who were not participating, I’ve taken the liberty of copying it all down and transcribing it here for you to read! It’s a long bugger, and there are a few trigger warnings, but it was a really awesome story and Red has been permanently affected by it!

characters involved: Red, Vex, Three (Lucida), Erebus, Arum - me Vesper, Bix, Ruby, Ryder, Tallow - @lostdreemurr Fisk - @subject-number-3-frisk Dove, Puppy, Crow, Mellow - @pyrocicle Grillz, Fuku - @r0astet0aste Pap - @honeyhogger

Put under a readmore because it’s SUPER FREAKIN’ LONG!

If you don’t care to read the whole thing, scroll all the way to the bottom for the TL;DR longlasting effects this had on Red and Vex

- - -

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum -

Past Alphys's upper lab - and she had been shoved aside by whichever skeleton your muse was with, without explanation - was the true lab. Some had been here before. Some had not. Gaster had not taken up residence here. There were just the amalgamates and the best and the various rooms. But it was as they neared the room full of flowers that people began to appear together. Timelines clashes together as they approached Gaster's old machine.

Bix was dumping the skeletons in front of Gaster as Vesper, Fisk, Grillz, Dove, Puppy, and Pap all appeared in the same room. Visible to each other for the first time.

At the same time, if Red or Vex was accompanying one of you, their form flickered, and then disappeared with a snap.

It was just them, near the entrance to Gaster's Lab. Let the temporal madness ensue.

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Vesper had been hand in hand with Vex when suddenly, he wasn't. He was just. Gone. That in and of itself was distressing. Add to it the stress of being in an unfamiliar place with a steadily growing crowd of unfamiliar people. Including someone who looked like a mirror image of him and he just...couldn't handle it. He slunk back, pressed against a wall and slowly began to panic.

Ruby too, was in a panic, having received a sloppy text from Dove saying that Red and Vex had gone missing. As f they had been taken. Her nonexistent insides were coiled up in fear, soul pounding as if she had just run a marathon. This place. These people. These monsters....

She cringed as she was suddenly overwhelmed with unpleasant memories of her lab, her shoulders drooping as she realized that neither Red nor Vex were among those gathered here.

"HAS....HAS ANYONE SEEN RED? OR VEX?" She was just going to assume the answer was no, but the short skeleton had no idea what else to say.

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Oh, come on, Fisk had just now gotten here. why does it look like others had decided to join in? In fact.. who were these people? Friends of Red and Vex? Well, she had no idea they had this many friends from out of their timeline, at least it looked like for the most part. The human decided to back a couple steps away from the others, chuckling nervously from the question. "Well, no. I mean, Red kinda ported on me after hearing that Gaster had Vex."

It took her a moment to think about this, them appearing out of nowhere, and in fact, she could've swore she saw some Red's or Vex's disappearing on her. It all suddenly clicked in her mind. They all clearly were here for the same reason, including her. They were here for the brothers. They were hare to help them. Best thing to do is to just team up against Gaster. But, first things first. "Just.. who are you all?"

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove took a deep breath, holding back her swearing to shove at the empty space in her head. Ow ow ow ow ow OW. Her head was ringing like a bell but she knew what that meant.

"we're probably all here to help. I don't know about the rest of you but I've been through a timeline merge before and... ow. that's what's happened. ow. I'm Dove. Ruby, they're that way, or Red is at least." She pointed vaguely.

A tiny blaster with green eyelights snuggled up to her, whining with distress.

Grillz/Fuku

Whoa. This was even more disorienting than when Red suddenly teleported with him without warning. He watched in dismay as Red seemed to blink out of existence, leaving him alone in the lab. But. No. No he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by people he didn't recognize. There was a mix of humans and skeletons. And him. Everyone seemed confused and upset. What was happening.

It wasn't until one of the humans began speaking that the situation made any sort of sense. And even then it was only just. She introduced herself as Dove and called one of the skeletons Ruby. Well... It seemed like a strange time for introductions, but he wasn't one to be rude.

"I'm Grillz. I'm looking for my daughter and my future brother in law, and I guess my fiancé now too since he just disappeared."

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

What. The fuck.

Vex had been next to him and they were rushing through the lab when the other simply vanished and several others appeared beside him. He was instantly on high alert, thinking he had just walked into some sort of a trap. But once he'd gotten over his initial shock and thought about it, he realized this must be thanks to some timeline shenanigans.

But even as he realized this, when the alternate version of Grillby spoke about finding his brother in law and fiancé he couldn't help but bristle, a surge of protectiveness washing over him. "your fiancé? you're not talking about red, right? cause he happens to be my bond mate."

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Pap wasn't the only one to bristle. Ruby folded her arms, tapping her foot rather impatiently as she glared at the taller skeleton and flame elemental. "I'M SORRY. DID YOU SAY MATE? AND FIANCE? DREAM ON BOYOS. RED AND VEX ARE MY BOYS."

Everyone had been too busy squabbling amongst themselves to notice the arrival of a tall, eerie appearing skeleton. For those who had seen Gaster before, he would look too familiar for comfort - although his laid-back and lascivious nature made it obvious that he wasn't anything like his father in the slightest. He sat back, listening to them whine and argue, before a sharp, piercing whistle split the air.

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Wait now, mate, freaking fiancé?! This is too strange, and making her head hurt a bit. It didn't help any that the whistle was so high pitched. But it seemed to at least caught some attention. And despite the loud ring in her ears, she spoke up "I get it, we all know them! I'm not even going to dare to say what I am to them, but let me say this. I want to save them, and I am sure the rest of you do as well. Can we argue about who is who's partner after we save them from utter torture and possibly death?" All Fisk wants, is to save them. And while the others are quite a surprise to her, she knows fighting will not help anything.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove pointed slowly at Tallow, looking up to glare at him with an eye bright with red magic. The red ribbon around her wrist was telling for... probably only Ruby and Tallow.

"agreed. rescue from homicidal jackass now, fight over later. our timelines will probably split back up post rescue so everybody just chill and let's plan."

Puppy nodded vigorously. The motion didn't mean much without a body behind it, but bobbing up and down really fast was at least entertaining to watch.

... Blasters aren't that smart, are they?

Grillz/Fuku

Grillz didn't like this. He didn't like that there were others claiming to be Red's partner. He had an unseemly jealous side that had never really had the chance to come out before, but now it was threatening to show itself in full force.

But the other human was right. At her words, reason returned to him. He regained his composure and became stoic once more. He had to get back his husband (soon to be) and his Daughter. He couldn't bare to imagine what was happening to the both of them.

"Planning is good." He said, nodding somberly and folding his arms across his chest. "We don't really know what we're going to face. And we can't save Red--or Vex or my daughter--if we go charging in blindly and get ourselves killed."

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

He was struggling to contain his jealousy as well, but when the other Grillby didn't move to argue with him it helped him calm down just slightly. They were right of course, and normally he would've been the first one to suggest it, but everything had just been such a shock to him that he hadn't been thinking rationally.

"yes i did say mate. me and Red have soulbonded. but you're right in that we need to worry about who's who later. we all seem to have caring about red and Vex in common so let's focus on that."

As much as he already didn't like the flaming monster for trying to say he claimed Red, he was right about one thing. "we do need a plan. my soulbond with red let's me have a vague idea of where he is, so if you'll let me take the lead i think i can point us in the right direction." He crossed his arms but looked to the side at his next words. "however im certainly not the strongest fighter out of all of you here, that much is clear. so you'd all have to stick close behind me in case we run into trouble."

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

"NOT A BAD JOB," Erebus said approvingly as Bix dumped Red and Vex at his feet. They were both unconscious, of course, having been knocked in the back of the head by the small skeleton. Erebus summoned a few extra hands, that lifted both skeletons onto tables and began to strap them down. As timelines snapped together, features collided. Mostly on Red, as a ring appeared on one finger, a band of green appeared on the matching wrist, and the composition of his soul shifted slightly to match the bond made. A few other cracks appeared on Vex's body, but for the most part, he'd been a constant. Both were tied down by the wrists, ankles, torso, and neck - Red in particular was tied down tightly by the neck. A weakness to be exploited.

Then he tilted his head. "IT SEEMS MY THINGS HAVE FOUND FRIENDS. GO AND FIND THEM, AND STALL THEM FOR A BIT. OR SEE IF YOU CAN AT LEAST SEPARATE THEM. I NEED TO SEE WHAT I CAN DO ABOUT FIXING THIS PLATE."

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

The praise appealed to some lower part of him -- one constantly seeking his brother's approval -- and served only to strengthen whatever hold Erebus had over him. He nodded at the command, and turned to exit the lab.

*shall I eliminate any of them

Vesper was grateful the bickering had turned to words of agreement, though he remained huddled against the wall with his arms wrapped around his knees. He lost Vex. To whatever this thing was that wanted him. Just like that. Gone. And he couldn't do anything about it. He was so weak. So weak. So useless. And now? He couldn't even pull it together enough to help formulate a plan. How pathetic.

He whimpered softly, curling up tighter. This had to be a dream. It just had to be.

Ruby pressed close to Dove, happy for a familiar face and company. "DOVEY," she said, touching the human's arm, "TAKE YOUR PILLS. THEY'LL HELP YOUR HEAD." She was less worried about the others, and whatever their relationship with Red was, and refocused. Right.

"WE NEED TO MOVE FAST, HIT HARD, AND WORK TOGETHER." she announced. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS GASTER WANTS BUT IT CAN'T BE GOOD."

Tallow whistled again. Softer. Drawing everyone's attention to him. He signed slowly, hoping everyone knew hands, and hoping someone else would narrate for those who didn't.

((We stay together. Period. No splitting up. No matter what. If we lose someone we find them and regroup. If we split up, we're well and fucked.)) His silent observation had been spent preforming a CHECK on everyone, and he was...worried to say the least.

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Fisk's attention moved to Tallow, completely able to understand hands as she instantly repeated what he had said. "Stay together, no splitting up. Lose someone, we find them and regroup. And we are in deep is we split. I agree." She seemed to have had some attention on Vesper for a moment before smiling at everyone, clasping her hands together. She needs to stay enthusiastic about the situation. "We must know about each other, and abilities and such in order to have some form of organization."

The human then pulled out the shield that Red had made her from her inventory. It wasn't anything pretty to look at, but it was the last of Red she had left at the moment. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Fisk, a Frisk if you think along those kinds of terms. I'm sure you all know that Red's timeline is a mixture of UnderFell and Handplates. I personally am from a Handplates timeline. I remember this place pretty well, so I can assist navigation if that is needed. I have normal LV 1 human stats, but I can also summon bones and blasters because of the experiments done to me. I hope to be of use to all of you."

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove nodded slowly to Ruby and Tallow. It only took a moment to dig out a large orange bottle and dry swallow a large white and orange tablet from it. While Dove took a moment to order her thoughts enough to deal with introducing herself, Puppy changed to his skeleton form.

"hiya! i'm puppy. i usually protect mama if she gets into a fight she can't handle by herself. i can take blaster form as well as use bone attacks and summon other blasters!" He was a tiny thing, clearly still a babybones... But Tallow and Ruby could both attest he has shockingly high lv for his age.

Dove put a hand on his shoulder. "alright. I'm Dove, something of an alternate to the Frisks. I'm currently dealing with two sets of memories so if I'm confusing, that's why. on th' one hand I'm here for Red. our magic is currently bonded, so that's going to be interesting to see how it interacts with a soulbond. I'm also here for Bix, who is the li'l guy with the tail we're almost certainly gonna have to subdue. please don't kill him if you can avoid it. I have unusually skewed stats; I hit hard but can't take a hit very well without creating a shield." she held up her walking stick.

"I'm a skilled combatant from Bix's side; I had been underground for almost four years with him'n Sidi. Due to the bond with Red I can summon bone attacks; on my own I create shields and fireballs and can use a short-range teleport. I also have a year's supply of monster candy on me."

Grillz/Fuku

Grillz watched with surprise as the blaster became a small skeleton. The corners of his mouth twitched up. He had a major soft spot for kids. And this one seemed like a real sweet kid. He was very concerned, however, about bringing a child into a situation like this. It seemed downright irresponsible! He wasn't one to tell other people how to raise their kids, but he would never put a young one in this kind of peril. And then he remembered that he had allowed his daughter to get kidnapped. So maybe he didn't have very much room to talk. He glanced around and decided it was his turn once again.

"As I said already, I'm Grillz. I have experience in fighting in some of the earliest battle in the monster human war." He paused, painfully aware that he was the oldest one present by a longshot. He continued. "I'm mainly a ranged fighter, using a bow and magical arrows. However, I can also do close combat with my fire abilities. But that isn't ideal. Like most of my kind, I have high attack, but low defense. But I have a lot of health, so there is a bit of a buffer. I'm not fast, but I'm agile.

"On a different note, I believe that if we are to begin exploring this place, I should be at the head of the party. Shadows conceal many enemies, but I can light things up easily. Also, I'm a bit bulkier than anyone else here, so I can provide a bit of cover. And if I have regular healing, I make an effective wall." He smoothed out some wrinkles in his vest, wondering if anyone would protest.

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

He bristled as Dove said she was tied to Reds magic, and a wave of anger and jealousy went through him but he managed not to act on it. He surveyed everyone as they listed off their abilities and nodded at Grillz as he spoke. "okay. me and hot stuff here will take the lead and be on the outskirts of a fight when one happens."

He closed his eyes and put a hand over his chest as it glowed slightly, focusing on his bond to locate Red. He turned to a hallway on their left and started down it, motioning with his hand for the others to follow. "this way, i can feel him."

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Erebus waved a hand absently as he turned back to his Subject 1. Red was still unconscious, though it looked that Vex was starting to wake up. Good thing Erebus had already gagged him. For the moment, he was focused on fixing his broken magic.

"YES, YES, KILL THEM IF YOU MUST. I REALLY DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO RANDOM MONSTERS. THESE TWO AND HUMANS ARE ALL THAT INTEREST ME. SO FEEL FREE TO USE WHATEVER FORCE YOU DEEM NECESSARY TO KEEP THEM AWAY. THEY'RE JUST ANNOYING LITTLE PESKS, AFTER ALL."

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

The group had filed out, following behind Grillz and Pap. Tallow brought up the rear, occasionally taking a mental head count of everyone. Perhaps he miscounted, or perhaps he missed someone between Ruby's exuberant bouncing and the flickering light cast by the fire elemental.

But it didn't occur to him until sometime later that they were missing someone.

Vesper was easy prey. Alone, in the near dark, just coming out of a panic attack. He couldn't stand to be around so many strangers, all bickering and squabbling and even once they settled -- he felt like he didn't know them at all. So when another skeleton appeared, tail flicking, he didn't think twice about it.

Which might have been his first mistake.

*where did they go

"i don't....know?"

*yikes

*youre just shy of completely useless arent you

*well

*thats not true

*i do have a use for you

Vesper didn't even have time to react before the smaller skeleton was on him, pinning him to the floor with a hand on his skull and the bladed tip of his tail pressed between his vertebrae. The sensation caused Vesper to seize up, a whimper escaping his throat.

*dont move

*if you move ill sever your spine

*understand

Vesper whimpered again.

*call out to them

*bring them back here

"i can't. i don't know their names. i was...out of it when they were introducing themselves."

*try anyways

He pressed harder, and pain lanced up his spine.

"Aghk!!! Help! Please! Anyone...!" Bix's free hand closed around an arm, gently positioning it across his leg.

*louder

"H-Help!!"

He sighed.

*lets motivate you

*i want you to really get their attention ok

*scream real loud

He broke his arm without blinking, leaving the limp to dangle as the lanky skeleton screamed for help.

Ruby froze, "OH NO. WE FORGOT VESPER. WHAT DO WE DO?" She knew they weren't supposed to split up but...they had to go back for him!

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Fisk looked over at Ruby with surprised eyes. Did she mean that shy skeleton from before? After looking around for him, she also noticed that he was gone. It made her eyes wide, body just barely shaking. no, no... calm down F, this isn't a time to have a panic attack After a deep sigh, she looked back, a sharpness in her eyes. She could hear something, far in. They were pretty far in already so, it was hard to hear from their starting point, but she could hear it... a scream for help.

"As much as I wish to go back for him... I can't help but feel like Gaster would..." She had no place to talk. To leave someone behind, she felt horrible! Even if it is a trap, she needed to. She was DETERMINED to get Vesper back. "We need to hurry in that case, before Gaster finds him."

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove cringed internally, a grimace flitting across her face before she could force it back into a neutral smile. "Fisk's right. anyone working with Gaster and making that kind of sound... if their trap doesn't work, the bait's dead or worse than dead."

Puppy had since returned to his blaster form, but bobbed up and down in an imitation of a nod.

Grillz/Fuku

Grillz turned toward the sound of the cry. Damn it! They had only just started and things were already going awry. He scowled and looked back the way they were heading. It was very likely, as they had said, a trap, or at least a diversion. Red, Vex, and Fuku were somewhere deep in this dark place, probably in the other direction. But the one they had left--Vesper? --needed help. But the three prisoners might not have a lot of time. Grillz hated this. This decision was really testing his morals. What to do? What was most important?

"...You all can go back. I'm going to keep going. I have to find them." He turned away from them, as he did his morals. It was hard. But for his daughter and his lover he would cast away all morals. There was no one he wouldn't sacrifice for them. ... and that realization scared him a little.

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Pap cringed and closed his eyes, trying to block out the cry of distress. It hurt him, but he'd made his decision before the others even started talking about it. "...im going to keep going too. come on grillz, red and Vex don't feel like they have a lot of time."

He started walking again, away from the sound. His fists clenched in his pockets, hating himself even more than usual. But...he wasn't going to risk Red's life for someone he didn't even know. However he did pause for a moment and turn his head slightly to the group behind him. "...im sorry."

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

"NOW THEN." Erebus lifted Red's hand to examine the damage to the plate. "WELL WELL WELL. YOU DID A NUMBER ON IT. I'M SURPRISED YOU DIDN'T OUTRIGHT DIE. ONE OF THOSE MEDDLERS SAVED YOU, DID THEY? OR DID ALL OF THEM? IT DOESN'T MATTER. I CAN FIX THIS." He hooked up an HP stabilizer to Red's soul directly, powering it on. Then he grabbed his tools. This would be fun.

Red was starting to wake up by then, blinking hazily. His hand, his hand hurt, his neck was... His eye sockets snapped open wide as he focused on Erebus with a buzz saw. That dark grin... Oh stars, it was too much like his nightmare. But the way his hand hurt. He gasped in as deep a breath as he could get, with the straps in place. "no. no no no don't don't d-aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The buzz saw dug into his wrist and he screamed, body going rigid, as bone and marrow was split. Erebus was literally cutting his hand off, and he was screaming his non-existent lungs out.

Papyrus jerked against his restraints, shouting around the gag in his mouth. He summoned a few bones, that shot at Erebus. ...20 damage each. They hardly put a dent, and Erebus didn't even turn around. "CAREFUL, SUBJECT 2! IF MY HAND SLIPS, I MIGHT TAKE OFF PART OF HIS RADIUS AND ULNA, TOO."

The bones stopped. Red was still screaming. His HP shuddered down to 0.5, then was yanked back up by the machine. His wrist was cut halfway through.

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Tallow whistled again, sharply. ((DO I NEED TO REPREAT MYSELF OVER AND OVER AGAIN SO SOMEONE FUCKING LISTENS?)) His signing was sharp and aggressive, eyelight flaring violet. Pap and Grillz had already gotten ahead, and he let out a frustrated sigh. ((I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL THEM MYSELF.)) He rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes for a moment when...

Bix appeared before them with a crack, immediately lashing out at the closest person: Fisk. It was oddly silent, considering all the screaming before -- and Ruby suddenly felt incredibly guilty. They were too late. Too much time spent debating, too much time arguing -- and now...

She cast a shield up to protect Fisk, and the small, tailed skeleton snarled.

*your friend was pathetic

*useless

*hardly worth the effort

*but you dont care do you

*you left him there to rot

*heh

*your turn now

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

The girl was looking at Tallow when he was speaking, and was even going to say something when Bix showed up. Her eyes went wide, entire body shaky when it looked like the skeleton was about to attack her. She was about to break inside. The screams she had heard, about to be attacked. 'Red... RedRedRedRedRed!' All the while the shield was on her, her fear slowly turned into anger, eye starting to glow red in self-defense.

'No... not yet, not yet... be patient...' She pulled out her shield, quietly gulping to herself. If she was going to OVERLOAD, she might as well do her best to get to Red. "Tallow... as much as I agree to your words, to stick together and everything, unless you wanna see me kill everyone, I need to go, NOW!"

FISK FLEES

Who knows where she went, she just instinctively ran off, past Pap and Grillby, to protect the strangers around her.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove froze, a high-pitched whine of pain escaping between her teeth. For a heartbeat, all she could do was clutch her wrist, trying not to scream in pain as well, before she blinked to Pap's side without hesitation. Her good hand reached out, grabbing the skeleton. "take us to Red. now. I have the magic."

And then a newcomer dropped into the fray at Ruby's side, out of a knot of strange, water-textured ribbons. She wore a cloak made of oversized crow feathers and a beaked mask, and held a tall staff that coiled around a small star. The dim corridor was filled with near-blinding light; shadows now offering no hiding spots if they were cast by the light of the staff. To everyone here, her presence seems to fill the very building; it's like standing next to the sun.

Grillz/Fuku

Red's screaming shot at them like bullets. Hearing his love scream in such agony made Grillz want to curl up in cry. Distressed, his flames took on a paler color and dimmed significantly.

And then Dove appeared beside them and he nearly shrieked and attacked, fearing an ambush. Luckily he caught himself, though he could feel decades being taken off his life. every minute they were there. He watched her grab Pap and her words clicked together like a puzzle. Of course! He put a hand on Pap's shoulder.

"You can teleport like Red can, yes? And you have a soul bond with him? Do as she said. You can use that to take us right to Red, can't you?" Fuck Jealousy. Fuck pride. They had to get there before it was too late! They were running out of time!

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

He felt the moment Red woke up, and gasped at his panic. And then...oh god.

Pap stumbled onto one knee and couldn't stop himself from screaming in time with Red as his hand was getting severed. "RED! oh my god oh my god..."

He cradled his wrist and tears sprung to his eyes. "oh god, im gonna kill him! he's cutting off his hand we need to move now!"

He managed to stand up and nod at both of them. "yes, i can. let's go." He grabbed both of them and reached for his magic, gasping softly as he felt Dove's well up within reach. Shit, that'll be helpful.

"hold on tight, and be ready to fight."

He teleported them to where he felt Red was, and his gaze immediately locked onto Red. "red!!"

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Vex yanked against his restraints again helplessly, as Erebus continued to saw at Red's hand. He felt it, then. Dove's bond with him. And through it, in a roundabout way, the bond to Red, and even fainter, Red's bond to Pap. Their magics were tangling together, and she if not the others would be able to feel the terror, the outright age regressing horror of being back here, of remembering, all at once, all of the horrible things that had happened to him. Tears welled up and began to pour down his face and he made a choked sound through the gag.

Red was in too much pain to focus on anything. Stars, it was worse than when the plate was put on. Tears streamed down his own face as he cried out still, no longer like before, but heaving sobs and cries, arm rigid. Erebus switched the saw to a manifested purple hand as he turned to look at his visitors. A fire elemental, a skeleton intriguingly similar to Subject 2, and...

"WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? MY TEST SUBJECTS BEFRIENDED A HUMAN? FASCINATING. COME HERE, CHILD."

Another manifested hand shot out, grabbed her by the throat, and lifted her up. Still a third hovered over her chest, summoning her soul to look at.

"OH DEAR, IT APPEARS TO BE CRACKED. YOU'RE USELESS TO THE BARRIER DEAD, AREN'T YOU? BUT NOT ENTIRELY SO... I THINK YOU'RE MY NEW SUBJECT 4."

A dozen purple bones appeared to shoot at Grillz and Pap, as if as an afterthought. He didn't give one shit about them. He turned back to glance at Red, as his HP jerked back down to 0.5, then back to 1. His wrist had an inch left and he was dry-heaving now, on the verge of passing out.

Fuku was strapped in with metal bands on a table in the corner, an afterthought. She didn't mean anything either.

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Tallow sighed at the appearance of the newcomer. Great. Another person to keep tabs on. Although, she seemed quite capable of handling herself. And benevolent. This he could handle. He looked down to Ruby and clapped a hand on her shoulder, ((You two, take care of him, for fuck's sake. I'm going to...attempt to save the fools that just rushed headlong into danger.))

Ruby nodded, summoning her shield and spear.

"GOOD LUCK TALLOW. PLEASE BE CAREFUL." She turned to Crow and smiled, "HIYA! NO TIME FOR INTRODUCTIONS. LETS DO THIS!"

Bix pounced.

The bones certainly would have impaled Pap and Grillz, but a blast of violet light disintrigrated them before they could hit. A blaster floated, menacingly, staring Erebus down as it hovered protectively over the other two monsters. A smaller blast of black fire was aimed at the summoned hands, attempting to free Dove from the monster's grasp.

A swift smack to the back of Pap's head announced Tallow's arrival, the boss skeleton hefting his scythe over his shoulder, manifested hands signing,

((When this is all over, and we're all sore and miserable, I'm going to kick your asses back to your respective timelines. What part of "stay as a group" are we not understanding?))

He whistled sharply, trying to get Erebus' attention.

((Hey ass face...wait. We have similar faces. Hey you. Yeah. With the nasty ass intentions. Why don't you, uh, fuck off??))

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Oh, oh stars. Where is she? It looked to be around where she used to be kept. She was able to slow down enough to look around, trying to pinpoint her location. Oh, yes, the cell was right there. Wait, no, she needs to hurry over to the main lab room, because working on the both of them at once would have to result them in the same room for sake of safety. The main lab would be the only place where that could even be done. So, she went and made a couple turns, then she stopped in her tracks.

She can't let them know she was there, not yet. If she could be a surprise attack to gaster, it might give them enough time. So, Fisk stayed flat against the wall, keeping as silent as possible as she looked over towards the door. She needed to be careful, one wrong move could cause some serious trouble. So, she closed her eyes, and slowly pulled out a pill bottle. Pure DETERMINATION and magic, she pulled a single pill out with a deep breath. If she took one or two, she can stay in control. But for now, lets see where this goes.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Hand on her throat, lifting her up. It wasn't crushing her windpipe yet and hadn't started to cut off blood circulation to her brain-- ah, he wanted her alive. For now. A grin forced itself onto her face, despite the pain and lack of air. She had at least three minutes, four and a half if she could keep calm--

Dove was going to kiss Tallow after this, she really was. She couldn't've asked for a better distraction! Her left eye lit up red, her right orange as she drew on both bonds, sending the boys her icy, calculating nature. She had a plan. Bones erupted under her feet to try and relieve the pressure from her neck, while much smaller ones went for the straps holding Vex and Red down, trying to slice through without damaging either of them.

---

Puppy had followed the jump, but landed himself on the other side of the room. A wolfish grin split his jaw wide as he summoned six more mini-blasters, charging and waiting for the opportune moment to fire. Though if mama didn't rescue herself and soon--

---

The masked Huntress saluted Ruby, slinging her staff into Bix's path and firing off a burst of white fire. It was remarkably similar to Dove's silvery flames, but much hotter, much brighter, and much, much, MUCH stronger.

Grillz/Fuku

Grillz braced himself for the impact from the bones. But they never came. Tallow's blast saved him and Pap from significant damage. He looked back gratefully at the tall (irritated looking) skeleton. He was motioning with his hands, but Grillz had no clue what any of it meant. He shook his head.

"I don't understand, but thank you"

He took his chance and dashed across the room to the table where his daughter was restrained. Fuku turned her head and saw her father coming towards her.

"Daddy!" Oh thank god, he had come to save her and Red! This had been a nightmare! Grillz reached the slab and held his daughter's face.

"Fuku! Oh baby..." He felt his insides drop. Fuku had clearly been doused with water. One entire side of her face was no longer ablaze. Her core was cracked from the sudden change in temperature. Looking at the injury, he saw that the wound would never fully heal. It had been out for too long. Grillz felt his fear and anxiety turning to cold fury in his gut. The ones he cared most about in the whole world had been hurt. He wasn't going to let this go.

"Hold on, Baby girl. I'll get you out of there as soon as I can. But for now, daddy has business to take care of."

He turned back to the creature that had orchestrated all of this and moved away from the table to keep Fu out of the line of fire. Then grillz summoned his weapon for the fist time in years. An orange long bow, nearly as tall as the elemental himself, appeared in his grip, glowing as bright as Grillby's flames. He drew back the string and a rod of fire knocked itself in place. Then he let it fly, aiming for Erebus's middle.

Pap/Null/Haze

Pap braced for impact, but was startled when it never came. He yelled at the smack to the back of his head and gave Tallow a glare. "i couldn't wait any longer! besides it wasn't my idea."

He got out of the middle of the fight, rushing to Vex' side first to try and get the straps undone. First, he removed the gag from him, then summoned a razor sharp bone to slice at the restraints. "come on Vex, if you can keep hitting him, please do. we're gonna need all the help we can get." He wanted so badly to have run to Red first, but he knew Vex would be able to help them in a fight.

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Vex didn't really look to be in any state to do any fighting. When the gag was removed, he coughed a bit, hands tightening into fists. With Dove's bones and Pap's help, his hands were soon free, and then his ankles. He struggled to sit up... only to to slip off the table and land in a heap on the floor, bones rattling, breathing too rapidly. For once, he sounded to be the one on the verge of a panic attack. But then Dove's wave of icy calm washed over him from the bond. He grabbed the edge of the table and started to force himself up, eyes starting to glow.

"R-RIGht... right..." His voice was... far too quiet. Not at all like its usual screechy, high tone. Nonetheless, he lifted a trembling hand, summoning ten bones to shoot at Erebus.

The scientist dodged out of the way of Grillz's flaming arrow - and it narrowly missed Pap, good job - but some of the bones Vex summoned hit. Five of them, for 100 damage total. He was at 4,800/5,000... And mostly focused on the human in front of him until the bones landed. Then he whipped his head around, the hand around Dove's neck tightening a little. "I SEE YOU'VE UPPED YOUR ATTACK, SUBJECT 2, BUT YOU'RE NOT NEARLY STRONG ENOUGH," he said with a twisted grin. Vex shrank back, still only on his knees, one hand gripping the edge of the table for dear life.

The buzz saw finished slicing through the bone of Red's wrist at last. His hand clattered to the floor as the manifested purple hand turned off the saw, put it down, and picked up a power drill to begin the process of applying a new plate to his left hand. Just then, the straps holding Red down were finally filed through by Dove's bones, but Red, sputtering for breath and delirious from the pain, couldn't even begin to try and get off the table. His hand was just gone, and he was gaping at the wound left behind, heavily bleeding marrow, in utter shock from the whole ideal. It was actually. Gone.

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Bix startled at the fire, narrowly avoiding being scorched. He bared his teeth at the huntress, scarcely noticing that Ruby had moved behind him -- blinking across the short space to drive the blade of her spear through his tail, pinning him in place.

He yelped amd whirled around, claws gouging into her face and eye socket.

"AHGK! PUT HIM OUT!"

Tallow noticed that Red had been freed, and watched as the air nearby rippled. Another newcomer? He wasn't going to complain at this point. They needed all the help they could get. He rushed forward, whistling at Erebus to get the Gaster's attention, flipping the bird for a good measure of sass. The tall, lanky skeleton with the fiery mane put a gentle hand on Red's shoulder, keeping an eye on the distracted Gaster.

"Hey," Ryder said, "Sorry I'm late. Need a hand?" He stopped, and let out a breath, "Well, I'm officially the worst monster on the planet. Look at what you've done to me. Now I'm making very bad, very terribly hurtful jokes. You're rubbing off on me." He reached out and took what remained of Red's wrist gently, applying a bit of his own healing magic. "Babe, look at me. This is gonna hurt like hell, and I'm sorry. But if I dont do this and you keep losing marrow, you'll die."

"One, two, three-" A flash of white light left the bones cauterized, and he immediately switched back to healing magic to ease the pain.

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk - 06/30/2017

Fisk was just trying to understand the situation, keeping quiet until she eventually came away from the wall, into the room. It seemed that some yellow was escaping her eye. Oh, shit, she was preparing to overload, if she hasn't already. She only took two pills, but even still, that's double her usual dosage. Expect to have a bad time if she attacks. The more distractions, the better.

'Would you look at that, another annoying Gaster.'

She looked at Tallow with a apologetic look. She had completely forgot about him.

'No offense.'

She was keeping an eye on everyone taking care of Red and Vex from the corner of her eye, her glove now removed as she got a creepy smirk on her face, the yellow in her eye starting to flare, and even some more pills in her hand if needed.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Crow unceremoniously cracked Bix across the back of the skull; fully intending to merely knock him out. That accomplished, she offered Ruby a small vial of a green-glowing solution. "here, universal regenerative solution. should do ya." Her voice sounded... suspiciously like Dove's, but was deeper and more forceful.

---

Puppy's blasters moved into place, all six firing off to try and contain Erebus while he himself fired straight down the middle. Of course, if the asshole managed to dodge it would hit mama, but Mama knew this trick and knew what to do.

---

Dove whirled her walking stick into place in front of her, summoning her shield. The glowing green magic shield arched from the ends of the stick, fully four and a half feet in diameter, curved just enough to protect her hand from getting fried. Correction, two minutes. Her free hand reached up, digging into the construct gripping her throat and trying to rip it away. Silver flames coated her hand as she accessed her instinctive magic. She had to trust the others could protect Red and Vex for now; she had to worry about herself first now that they were free.

Grillz/Fuku

Grillz cursed in his first language (which sounded like a log cracking violently in a fire) as his arrow missed. Was Erebus impossible to hit or was he out of practice? Maybe both. The firing of the blasters made him flinch. He was glad those little things weren’t aimed at him. He averted his eyes from the bright attack and spotted Red slumped on the ground and gasping beside yet another monster that he didn’t recognize. Well the more the merrier. As long the more was on their side and Erebus didn’t have any reinforcements.

At the moment, the blasters seemed to have things as under control as they could be, so he took his chance and dashed across to Red's side. He let his bow disappear and put a hand on his knee, trying not to look at the cauterized stump where his hand used to be.

"Red," he said in a voice that was forcibly calm, "it's going to be okay. We're here. And soon I'll take you home. It will be all right."

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Pap swore as the arrow narrowly missed him. "watch where you're aiming hot stuff!"

As Red's wound was cauterized he doubled over himself, letting out a scream of pain as the sheer agony rippled across their bond. At least he wasn't bleeding anymore, he'd be safe for now. Once he regained his senses he turned to look at Vex, expression softening slightly as he grasped his arm. "Vex, look at me. we can do this. im going to teleport you over to your brother, and i need you to protect him while the rest of us distract that asshole. if you can, launch some attacks at him when you get the chance, but the most important thing is that you keep yourself and red alive. alright?"

He waited for a confirmation before teleporting them across the small battlefield to get to Red. He grimaced at the wounds and sent some loving and soothing vibes through the bond to try and calm Red down. "babe, we've got this, okay? Vex is right here, he's okay. he's gonna watch over you while we finish this fucker off. just keep breathing. i love you." He pressed a kiss to Red's forehead before snapping his attention back to the Gaster. "come on flame boy, let's keep him occupied."

Summoning his magic, he made a row of blue bones erupt from the ground under Erebus, each one doing one damage per second that it was in contact with the other monster. This way, he hopefully was able to make him a little less mobile.

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Red was slowly growing too numb to even panic, though staring at his marrow-dripping wrist in shock was not helping matters. He snapped his gaze up as Ryder appeared (and the corresponding ring appeared beside Grillby's). Okay, honestly, despite the situation, he might've laughed at his fiancé’s very distasteful hand joke, but he just didn't have the breath for it. What he did instead was just let out a low sound something like a wheeze, and his left hand clasped around Ryder's. He hardly had time to process the words and meet Ryder's gaze before the searing pain in his wrist doubled. A half-stifled yell of pain later, he was slumped against the other skeleton, gasping and trembling. "hhh... th-thanks..." he forced out, struggling to gain some semblance of composure. They were all in danger, he needed to stop freaking out and help, damn it! His gaze flickered to Grillz and he nodded breathlessly. At least someone around was calm. As was Dove, it seemed... The calmness from her was surprising, given how she was clawing at a hand around her throat...

Erebus whipped his head around at Tallow's whistle, and scowled. He blocked the oncoming attack just in time to hear blasters charging behind him, ah, that was how they wanted to play this...? The manifested hand's grip on Dove's neck didn't waver as he suddenly dissolved into goo, thereby dodging Puppy's blasts. No telling where they would ricochet from Dove's shield. The goo half-formed again, and a too-big hand shot out to start wrapping around Fisk, sticky and trapping. "TWO HUMANS? MY, MY, AND WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO YOU, WITH EYES LIKE THOSE? A SUBJECT 5! EXCELLENT!"

"sh-shit... i c-can't, oh god, i can't..." Vex trembled on his knees, voice still far too quiet, almost childlike with terror. He nearly whimpered when Pap grabbed his arm, looking up at his alternate with an almost broken expression. Right, he had to... He had to protect Red. As much as he wanted to curl up and let someone protect him, like the child he still was inside, he had a duty... He took a deep breath, trying to center himself with Dove's calm, and nodded. "r-RIGHT. YES. TH-THANK YOU." He got back to his feet and allowed Pap to teleport him to Red's side. Ryder and Grillz were both there for healing and moral support, and he forced himself to plant his feet there and summon his sword. He'd be defense. He could do this...

[ *Almost out of breath, are we? My friend, just hold on a bit longer. I apologize for the wait.]

As Erebus's goopy form attempted to wrap more around Fisk, Dove's shadow moved. Something goopy sprang from it too, a lighter shade, almost tinged blue, and it latched onto Erebus's form, starting to spread. The scientist jerked and snarled. "GET OFF OF ME, THREE!"

"No."

Suddenly, a voice which only Dove had been able to hear before rang out in the room. A girl's voice, polite, sophisticated like an adult's, and yet clearly one of a child.

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Just as things were beginning to get out of hand, Ruby appeared, kicking open a door and dumping Bix on the floor a tad bit unceremoniously. Listen. She was tired, and still a bit irate at nearly losing an eye. She had thanked Crow for the vial of, well, whatever it was – as it made her pain ease and erased any damage the small fell had done.

“CHEERS BOYOS, RESCUE'S HERE!” She didn't hesitate, rushing to Dove's aid as she smashed into the manifested hand with her shield – avoiding Dove's face with a precise aim. “SORRY DOVE, RAN INTO A BIT OFA SNAG.”

–

Tallow chuckled silently.

((That's alright. I am an annoying Gaster.)) As if to emphasize his point, he rushed the half trapped, and now goopy Gaster – summoning his scythe. He'd take off his head! He'd – FUCK!! One of puppy's blasts ricocheted, and he was forced to duck and roll to avoid being seared into dust. He couldn't wait to lay into all of them about team work when this was all over.

–

Ryder looked over at Grillz, the fire on his skull flaring at the suggestion of taking Red home. He tried not to be jealous, knowing that this was somehow an amalgamation of all of the timelines, but he couldn't help the twinge in his soul. In another universe, Red wasn't engaged to him. He forced himself to take a calming breath, to focus on his magic. And then he heard her, the voice of 'Subject 3'.

He looked between Vex, and the other skeleton he didn't recognize, slipping out a quiet, “We need to get them out of here...” as he watched Erebus struggle with the goopy hold he was stuck in.

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Fisk gasped out in surprise, the goop seeming to be quick to wrap around her. She knew she couldn't come back from this, a growl trying to escape her throat as she kept her breathing from going too quick. Her glow in her eye started to die down when the tightness got worse, tears in her eyes as she gazed over towards Red and Vex's new location. She can’t... not yet. She wanted to attack Erebus, but the other goop forced her not to. Instead, she tried to force the goop off her, knowing that it was futile to doing so. If anything, she was hoping the others would forget about her, and leave her behind. After all... what importance is she?

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove gasped in relief as the hand was finally knocked away. Her soul erupted in silver flames, attacking the hand still cupping it. "thank." Tiny voice, soft voice, that was a bit too close for comfort.

Crow, meanwhile, headed straight for the goopy group. She's experienced with working with groups, though, and switched from her staff to a strange twisted sword that a flick of the wrist separated into two. She waited for Tallow to recover before attacking, though; unlike these nerds she's got experience fighting as a group.

Grillz/Fuku

Grillz watched everything happening around him, crouching protectively beside Red. Everything was chaos, but also different kinds of chaos. There were attacks flying, words being flung, new people appearing every few minutes... God, everything was absolutely insane. Then, through all the chaos, a flash of silver caught his eyes, falling as the mad man who was the reason for everything turned to sludge. He locked onto it. Keys. Those were keys! They were batted around a bit in the fight and skittered across the floor.

His gaze flicked up again to where his daughter was still locked onto the table. This might be his only chance to free her. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Red's side, but he knew he was in good hands. All these people were here to save Red. But Fuku only had him. He reached out and grabbed hold of the one who had appeared beside Red earlier-the cat headed skeleton-to get his attention.

"Take care of him. I'll be back quick." He said, not knowing if the other could hear him over the sounds of the fight. Then he stood up and made a dive for the keys.

Pap/Null/Haze

Pap looked up as the newcomer spoke quietly to him, and nodded. "i know we do. but red can't go anywhere yet. that machine that's hooked up to him is the only thing keeping him alive. even if his raised HP from bonding with me transferred over as the universes meshed it wouldn't be enough to allow him to survive without it." He looked to Vex and Red, then to the large machine that was keeping Red alive.

Fuck, how could he get him out of here? He thought for a moment and an idea popped into his head, and he glanced up at the other with some hope. "okay, i have an idea. ive been able to look at a smaller version of this machine before, i think i might be able to modify it enough to make it portable. but...id have to turn it off to do so. do you have enough healing magic to keep red going for a few minutes while i fix it?"

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

"gh... three...?" Red repeated to himself, still gripping Ryder's left hand with his own, trembling one. It was keeping him grounded for the moment. That and Pap and Dove's calm emanating from the bonds. A deep breath, and he could sit straighter, eye magic sputtering to life at last.

"i'm not leaving until everyone else does too." That was directed at both of them, though his gaze planted steadily on Pap's.

"WE CAN'T JUST RUN WHILE YOU FIGHT OUR BATTLES," Vex agreed, seeming to be far more in control now from his panic earlier.

"You there!" The girl's voice sounded again from the goop, as a face slowly rose from it. Her gaze was fixed on Fisk. "Hello, nice to meet you, I'm so sorry for the goopy mess. This will be tight a moment."

"YOU'RE NOT PULLING ME BACK THERE WITH YOU, THREE!"

"Oh, am I not? Watch me, Father."

The bluish face sank back down a little as it gave a massive tug. Erebus resisted, indeed tightening on Fisk's body a moment. But then with another heave, he was ripped away, shouting in fury.

"Everyone, I can't keep him locked up forever. You should use this time to regroup, yes? Heave ho!"

Both puddles dissolved until there was nothing but a faint stain on the floor, and a fading scream from Erebus.

There was a moment of silence, as both brothers looked around, assessing the situation. Grillz was at his daughter's side, there was Bix unconscious on the floor, Tallow had his scythe. Ryder was still healing Red's wrist. Fisk was unfortunately covered in goop. Who the fuck was the green lady? Dove seemed okay too, thanks to Ruby's help. Pap was there behind Vex. And...

Oh.

"...WHERE IS VESPER?"

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

The silence that stretched after Vex' question was uncomfortable. Ruby rubbed the back of her neck, frowning softly. She didn't want to be the one to tell him - nope, nope, nope.

Bix slowly began to come to, groaning softly as he picked himself up off the floor. His skull throbbed painfully, and he wobbled before plunking back down -- too unsteady to attempt to stand. Ow.

*where

*where am i

Clearly he had no recall as to what had happened. Or what he had done.

((They fucked up,)) Tallow said, tapping Vex on the shoulder. He was absolutely throwing everyone under the bus. ((We were supposed to stick together, because Bix,)) he gestured over his shoulder, ((Was hunting us down. Not his fault. Mind control and all that bullshit.)) He still didn't tell him where Vesper was.

Ryder nodded at Pap, "I can keep him stable for a long time. Let's get him mobile." He wasn't listening to Red. They needed to get out of here - or at least get Red and Pap to safety.

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

The human 's eyes went wide from the tightness, but then heaved in relief when the tightness was gone, collapsing onto the floor and panting heavily. She seemed to be out of it for a couple moments, but was internally thanking the goop that Erebus had called 'Three'. But then came the question from Vex, her entire body froze up, she had no idea how to reply to it. True, she had never met him until this incident, but saw him.

Fisk was more than likely going to regret it for many resets. But even so... she did not believe she was the one that should say it. She could only gaze at Vex for a moment with pained and guilty eyes before looking away. But then it processed, all this goop. She looked like she was gonna be sick, but held back for the sake that she took account into what Three said. They didn't have much time, she should really just get the goop off and actually come up with a plan with the others. So instead she stood up wobbly, and started to force the gunk off her and onto the floor around her. But then came the look that she was about to be sick as she did so.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove rubbed her throat, but her eyebrows shot up. "who the hell is Vesper?" Her voice was even more raspy than usual, after being choked for so long.

Crow returned her dual blades to a single sword, then swept over, holding up a number of healing items. "alright, heal bitch here, who needs it?" Dove was handed one of the little vials. "and have none of you fucknuts worked together before?"

Grillz/Fuku

Grillz all but entirely ignored the group behind him as he unlocked his daughter's bonds. Once Fuku was free, she sat up and threw her arms around her father. Grillby pulled her close to his body, almost entirely enveloping her in his embrace. Thank god she was safe.

"Daddy..."

"Oh baby girl! My baby girl! Shh... It’s okay. It's gonna be okay now. You're gonna be okay. Come on, let's see it."

He pulled back and took her face in his hands, turning and tilting her head gently as he assessed the damage. It wasn't pretty. There was no hiding the blatantly obvious bald spot on her face, void of her bright green flames, leaving the cracked core underneath.

"Is it bad?" She asked him, already able to read the answer on his face. He gave her a somewhat pained expression and released her face, taking her hands instead.

"We might be able to keep it from scarring. Perhaps we can get it lit once again. We can't worry about that now. Can you stand?" She answered by doing just that. "Good. Fufu, you need to get out of there. We don't have much time until that beast returns. Take that hall over there and follow it out to the main lab, okay? I'll follow you once everything is d-"

"Wait! Wait, dad, you're telling me to leave?" She asked incredulously. "No! I'm not leaving. I'm staying to help you all fight."

"Fuku we don't have time for this!" Grillz groaned in exasperation. "Don't be difficult. Don't try playing at being a hero-"

Playing?!" She cut her father off again, staring at him with disbelief and anger. "I'm sorry, is this a game, dad? What part of this makes you think I'm playing? Huh? Oh yeah, being tortured and used as bait was so damn fun I can't wait to do it again."

Grillz regretted his words and quickly backpedaled. "No. This isn't a game. You're right. I'm sorry, Sweetie. I'm... I'm scared as hell right now." He admitted, taking her hands again. "I was so close to losing the only people in the world who matter to me. The only family I have left. I don't want you to get hurt, baby girl."

Fuku's expression softened slightly. "Well... it's kinda late for that." She reminded him, jerking one of her shoulders at her ruined face. "I'm scared too, dad. But I can't run away from everything that scares me. I can be helpful to you. I can fight. So I'm going to fight."

"...have I told you how much like your mother you are?"

"All the time, dad."

"She was just as stubborn as you. And just as brave. Alright. Fight. But please, be careful. Don't go prematurely turning me to dust with worry."

"You don't need to worry, dad. You're the one who taught me everything I know. I'll make you proud of me. Just watch."

"I already am proud of you. I always have been."

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Paps gaze softened as Red looked at him like that and said he was going to stay and fight. He let out a sigh and cupped his soulmate's cheek, rubbing it softly with a thumb, and pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "how'd i know you'd say that. red, look, this is not a battle you can fight right now, you either Vex." He glanced up at the taller brother. "you can't fight this by yourselves, let us do this one thing for you after everything you've done for all of us here. the way you can help us most is to get to safety where we won't be constantly checking to make sure you're both okay. then we can completely focus on beating this son of a bitch permanently."

He gave Red's cheek one last run before withdrawing and nodding up to Ryder. "alright, im gonna turn it off get ready." He flicked a switch on the machine and it died down. Alright, he could do this. He just needed time.

He began taking components apart and setting them in piled around him while he informed the others of his plan. "everyone listen up real quick! i can make this machine portable so we can get red and Vex out of here and safe but i need a little time. if you can buy me that then we can get these two safe so focus completely on this goopy motherfucker."

He got a zap to his finger and he hissed, shaking his hand. He glanced at Vex for a moment before returning to work. "Vex, before you argue about leaving, just stop. red can't get out of here on his own, and even if he could he's in no condition to protect himself. you need to protect him. he protected you when you were young and it's your chance to return the favor. im counting on you, Vex."

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Red's eyes narrowed as Ryder flat out ignored what he said. And then as Pap cradled his face like a baby, his eye alit with red. He let go of Ryder and smacked the hand away. "don't fucking baby me!" he hissed. "i. am not. going. anywhere." He stood up, wobbly on his feet, and his hand caught Pap's in a death grip before it could flip off the machine. Despite minor wobbling, his grip was firm and even a little painful. He was not letting Pap turn it off. Before he could say anything, though, he processed the question. He felt a sudden chill.

"...WHO EXACTLY FUCKED UP? WHO SPLIT? DID THIS ONE, DID- EVERYONE PAY THE FUCK ATTENTION!" Vex's voice rose to ground-shaking levels, bone sword slamming down on the examination table he'd previously been occupying, destroying it with a crunch and screeching of metal.

"WHERE. THE FUCK. IS. MY VESPER??"

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Ruby caved, "He's...he's... dead..." her voice was quiet, tears pricking at the corners of her sockets. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Tallow let out a huff of breath, ((He got left behind. Had an attack or something and couldn't keep up.))

"I wanted to go back..." Ruby said, mumbling.

((Pap, Dove, and Grillz split up first. I'm not laying blame, I'm just answering your question. Vesper was left alone and...)) a quick glance to Bix, ((And he was...killed...))

Across the room, Bix shrank against the wall in fear. Part of it was because deep down, he knew it was his fault. While the other part of him saw Vex as his brother. His eye lights narrowed to slits, and his breathing shallowed.

Ryder glared back, "Don't look at us like that. You're hurt. Badly. You want to fight? Fine. Then let Papyrus do his thing or you will die before you get to make the first punch. Understand?" He returned his grasp to Red's injured arm.

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

While the situation didn't seem all that good as is, Vex is really not helping any. She could understand he was pissed, apparently to skeleton meant a lot to him. It was all their faults, everyone had a part of the blame with them. To have a loved one killed, it does hurt. But she couldn't allow herself to be faltered. She hid her eyes as she let herself gulp "I don't know to a exact what really happened, I was caught in the middle of trying to figure out what was even going on, or where to go. We didn't even realize he was missing until it was too late." Her voice hurt, from the grip before, but she was able to at least wither something out.

Her head was pounding, hopefully after things go back to the way they were, he won't remember this in their own timeline. Because otherwise, she was expecting herself to get killed by him or worse. She took a silent look around, taking a light look at the situation. The fire elemental, he had a daughter? She never knew that, at least in her timeline... she hated seeing the kid like that, it seemed that some of her core went out. It didn't look good either. Hopefully she will be fine by the end. Red, he was still willing to fight. Fisk couldn't help but smile inside at that. But, the issue here was Gaster. Who was that three that had helped them by sending him back for some time?

She shook her head, back to the main focus. The human had always thought that maybe is she threw another liquid at him, he would have a weakness, but the time she tried it it didn't work. The only way, that she knew of, was by brute force and attack. She still had the shield that Red had made for her, so she could be a tank if needed, and she might have enough magic to stun him for a couple seconds, but she would lose control if she did that... Fisk has no idea what to do at this point.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove was, much like Red and Vex, currently a mashup of two of her selves - and part of her was here for Bix. That was the part that took control, stalking over to Bix to look him over.

Crow rubbed the beak of her mask. "Save the emotions for later. Not that I don't feel for your loss, but right now we need to get out of here with as many of us alive as possible."

Grillz/Fuku

Grillz rejoined the main group, Fuku now at his side. His daughter was free and alive. He could lay most his worries about her to rest. But with those worries gone, guilt began worming it's way in to take their place. He really had left someone alone to die. Even if he hadn't known them and didn't care anything about them, it was clear that someone else did. Someone else was going to miss him and grieve for him. Christ, he had been through that himself before. And now he had let it befall Vex. But what was he supposed to do. It was a no win situation. Sure, now he knew that Fuku was safe, but back there he might have been choosing between a stranger's life and his daughter's. Gah... He shook his head, shoving those thoughts away. Later. He would address them later.

"We don't have a lot of time. You heard that monster. We need a plan. I recommend we form ranks to fight when the beast returns. Close range fighters in front. Then shields to protect those behind them. Then healers. And in the back long range fighters. What does everyone else think?"

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Paps eyes widened as Red slapped his hand away before he narrowed them in brief anger. "i am NOT babying you red jesus! you just lost a hand for fucks sake!"

He hissed as Red gripped his hand painfully tight. He was about to snap at him when Vex started screaming like he'd never heard him scream before. He felt his soul sink as he realized what had happened. "Vex...i didn't...i didn't notice and when we did i...i felt red with his hand and i didn't think..."

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Red felt the pain of grief flood through him, via the bond with Dove. Muted, nothing near what Vex would be feeling, but it was enough to make his breath catch. He loosened his grip on Pap's wrist, barely registering Ryder's words. He was right. Choking back the tears he knew Vex was choking back too, he let go altogether to let them work. His soul sought out Pap's for comfort. Dove was not an option; she was bordering on dissociation at this rate. And Pap was here. "go ahead, get me mobile," he said quietly.

He's dead. I'm sorry. Vex could hardly register the words. He tried to focus on Tallow's signing, but the burning in his soul, the overwhelming grief, made it hard to process. Left behind... Couldn't keep... Split up... Answering.... Vesper... And the glance. Vex's gaze followed. There was such fire in his throat. He was burning. And a part of him, the child still inside, wanted nothing more than to scream again. Scream and cry and wail and collapse into a ball, as useless and weak as he had ever been. Why did he let Vesper come? He knew it would be intense. Vesper had a panic attack without him and now... And now...

His grip on the sword tightened as his chest heaved. What could he do? Cry? Scream? Curl up? Run? Succumb?

"YOU... YOU ALL... ALL OF YOU... YOU JUST... LEFT... H-HIM... TO.... YOU... YOU!"

He was more known for strength than speed, but let it be said he was fast. He lifted his weapon and then was lunging for Bix, with every intent to get revenge in dust.

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Bix couldn't think past trying to save his own life, adrenaline racing through his bones and manifesting as a whole array of blasters. But he didn't fight back. He only wanted to defend himself, fear choking out the words and apologies and cries of "no no no! please no!" In Vex he saw his brother, and though he hadn't landed a hit - he could already feel the pain of past beatings in his bones.

Tallow sighed, watching everything go to hell in a handbasket for the fourth time. His eyelight shimmered violet, and he blinked across the small space, colliding with Vex before pushing him back. "ENOUGH." He forcibly rasped, the word little more than a sparse wheeze -- though Tallow was surprised it came out at all. It hurt, but he had greater concerns.

A pair of spare hands signed aggressively, [[YOU'RE ALL THE WORST BUNCH OF MONSTERS I HAVE EVER HAD THE DISPLEASURE TO MEET. WORKING TOGETHER? NOT IN YOUR VOCABULARY. NOW, THEN,]] He pushed Vex back into a wall, locking him there with a show of great strength (and a little bit of magic). [[WE'RE GOING TO GET RED MOVING. GRILLBY IS GOING TO GET HIS DAUGHTER TO SAFETY. AND EVERYBODY ELSE, EVERYBODY ELSE IS GOING TO STICK TOGETHER AND FOLLOW GRILLBY'S PLAN. DO I MAKE MYSELF INCREDIBLY CLEAR?]]

Someone had to be in charge. Why not the boss monster?

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk - 09/08/2017

Fisk had flinched when Tallow had taken control of the situation. Well, at least someone did. The one known as Bix seemed to would have been murdered by Vex anyway. As much as she would have, this crowd would be one where she felt mellowed out, as if she had no real impact here. Out of all honesty, deep inside, she felt like she didn't belong along with the others. But she seemed to agree with the plan, only lightly nodding instead of speaking up. And she even seemed to be silently making hands. 'I understand.'

Dove/Crow/Puppy

One might have expected Dove to be frozen, torn between the dual natures that had influenced her here, but in such emergency situations she tended to have a priority list of reactions. Though she couldn't react as quickly as Tallow, she still put herself between Vex and Red. They would, if all went according to plan, be safe and have time to recover. That made Bix's retrieval and protection her next priority. Much as she hated to be forced to choose, she couldn't let Vex take his grief out on someone whose will hadn't been their own.

Crow sighed and looked at the tiny skeleton on her shoulder. "yer in th'back, Mellow."

"i know, sweets."

"ain't lettin' ya get stepped on."

"a'ight, fine, 'm goin'." Abruptly, there was another fell Sans in the mix, this one with an impressive skull crack, who shuffled grumpily back to lean against a wall. Crow watched the rest of the proceedings, debating smacking sense into her younger alternate later.

Puppy, for his part, went over to nuzzle Red comfortingly.

Grillz/Fuku

When she read Tallow's hands mention her, Fuku stuck out her chin defiantly. "I'm not leaving. Dad isn't taking me anywhere. I'm already here and I can fight. I'm going to fight. I've already had this conversation with my father. You're going to need me if you want to win this fight."

"She's a close range fighter." Grillz explained. "We don't have enough of those. We need someone in the front to press him, or else the distance fighters won't be able to land a hit. I can also be close range if I fight with magic instead of a weapon. So Fuku and I will be in the front. If anyone else fights close range, they come to the front too. After us, the shields. We need to get this together quickly." he simply ignored the sudden appearance of a new skeleton. By now, so many people had just appeared out of nowhere, he was beginning to expect it.

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Paps soul reached out to Red's in return when he felt the other seeking comfort, sending soothing and loving waves to him to try and keep him calm. When Red let go of him he pressed a quick kiss to his forehead and nodded, getting back to work on the machine while still listening and watching the conversation. Everyone seemed to have Vex handled, so he didn't try to get involved.

When Grillz and his daughter spoke up he couldn't help the look of faint surprise on his face. Wow, that was one strong kid. And even though he didn't know her, he felt a sense of pride. "i can dance between close range and far range, but im no shield. i can possibly get on one of my blasters and hit him from above though, and get a good birds eye view."

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

"LET GO OF ME!" Vex screeched, grabbing ahold of Tallow's wrist and trying to wrench himself free. "LET GO, I WILL KILL YOU! HE KILLED MY LOVER! LET GO!"

"papyrus!" Red growled. "he didn't know what he was doing!"

"I DON'T CARE! VESPER IS DEAD!"

"and we're all gonna be dead if you don't calm down!" As he said it he flooded Dove, and by association Vex, with calming energy. There was the older brother in him, taking charge for the first time in decades. "remember how to do this! fight now, feel later!"

Vex glared at him, orange magic still flaring from his sockets. But after a long, tense moment, his shoulders slumped. He let go of Tallow's wrist.

"...RIGHT," he muttered, the magic dying down at last. "I'M SORRY."

Red nodded, then looked back at the machinery Pap was trying to detach to make him mobile. "pap, you're better off in the air near the back, long range. with only 1 hp and not a lot of room to dodge, close range is too risky for you. don't argue, just do it. bix, you're a glass canon, so you need to be near the front but ready to duck behind the shields if need be. yes? fisk, with your overload, you should stay near the front too. use the shield. ryder, your defense is through the roof, you're with the shields. ruby, short range, right? Vex in front, i'm in the back. don't have a lot of room to dodge myself, either, and with my hand... dove, shield position, and take a deep breath while you're at it. babybones-" Puppy "-long range. that should be everyone."

"RED, YOU REALLY-"

"shut the fuck up, i'm not leaving."

Vex closed his eyes, relenting. "PUT ME DOWN. I'M CALM."

While everyone was discussing tactics, there was some of the goop slowly, inconspicuously forming together again. Erebus was creeping back despite Three's efforts, and he was rising up in a discreet corner, about to strike Bix from behind.

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

Tallow felt like something was off. He scanned the room, fingers idly tapping against his hip when - oh no the fuck he didn't! He lunged for Bix -- shoving Dove to the side in the process -- grabbing the smaller skeleton by the front of his shirt and pulling him away. The action put the smaller skeleton right back into defensive mode as he moved further back to recover. And then, without even a little hesitation, he locked his fists together and smashed Erebus in the chin -- putting enough force into the blow to send him reeling at the very least (it would have broken a lesser monster's jaw).

Ruby cast a shield up over Red and Pap, giving them extra time to finish what they were doing, while throwing another Bix's way. He was scrambling to get to his feet, tail lashing and mind reeling from before.

[STAY TOGETHER] Tallow signed aggressively, several pairs of violet hands materializing. [NO MATTER WHAT. I'LL PUSH HIM. THE REST OF YOU STICK TO THE PLAN]

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Fisk pulled out her shield from inventory, quietly gulping before taking another pill in order to stay overloaded. She really did not like where this was going, and while she could hold up as a shield, she had no idea how long she could stretch the overload like this. hopefully long enough for the battle because if not she will end up losing control. But for the time being, she went into formation and glared at Erebus, eyes a bright yellow from the magic.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove stumbled aside, but managed to recover her balance without going down in a heap. The calm from Red helped with that, and she added her own to help Vex. She used the shield Ruby through up as cover to slip back towards the group, setting up one end of the defensive line herself. A green shield domed out around her staff, anchored to the ends of it.

* focus, Bix.

Most wouldn't notice the change in voice, but it's most familiar to Bix.

------

Puppy took up a position directly behind Dove, his blasters forming and charging, but holding their fire for now. Mellow's did the same.

Crow swiped some sort of paper down her blades, causing them to ignite in silvery flames that crackled and twisted like the solar flares of a strange sun before she joined the fray. Each of her movements was precise and under perfect control. No movement wasted, the moves moves of a fighter used to utterly destroying things far above her on a cosmic scale.

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Pap nodded at Red as he was ordered to stay in the back, quickly returning his attention to the machinery in front of him. "that's fine with me, not about to argue with that logic."

He jumped a bit as Tallow moved quickly which was quickly followed by a harsh crunch sound as Erebus was hit. Fuck he didn't have nearly as much time as he would've liked. He shot Ruby a thankful glance as the shield was thrown up over him and Red, and he redoubled his efforts to fix the machine.

"okay okay i just need to rewire this and bend this piece this way..." He was mumbling to himself and cursed as he was electrocuted lightly from a misplaced live wire. It took him another two minutes--although it felt like an eternity longer--before he finished, tearing off a few strips of his favorite hoodie to use as makeshift straps to go over Red's shoulders.

He finished securing the strange backpack like machine to Red's back, double checking that everything was working before nodding to Red and giving him a quick kiss to the forehead. "be careful babe." Then he reluctantly pulled away and summoned a blaster, getting on top of it and floating up some so he could survey the battle and help where he could.

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Erebus had just managed to form the upper half of his body when Tallow's fist connected with his face. With a scream, he was shoved back, goopy bottom half splattering when he hit the wall with a loud THUD. He seemed disoriented, jaw half-goop again and looking dislocated.

3,500/5,000 HP

"yOu MiSeRaBlE, oVeRsIzEd RoDeNt!"

That deathly screech was more jarring than Vex's, and came out distorted, as his jaw began to shudder back in place.

"SON OF A BITCH-" Vex steadied himself as Tallow abruptly let go, lifting his sword again. His soul was hammering, but he quickly got himself into formation in front of the shields, casting a grateful glance at Dove. Yes, he was definitely calmer now. He could fight with a clear head. There was time for mourning later.

[ *I couldn't hold him any longer, I'm so sorry!] Another mass began to form, but struggling, nearby Dove. [ *My friend, help me form here! I can still help. I can still fight!] Sticky and a little melty, a child's hand reached up for Dove, as blue-tinted eyelights started to form in the mush. They flickered to Fisk, and the other hand started to shakily extend to her. [ You there, other human, lend Dove some of that power of yours! It will help.]

"good." Red winced as he heard the sound of Erebus hitting the wall, his soul thrumming faster as he fought down panic. "shit, please hurry... pap, no, not the hoodie!" In the midst of this very important, very deadly battle, the sheer distress on his face as he watched Pap tear strips off that beloved, soft orange hoodie. A strangled noise of horror at the damage. He loved that hoodie!! He hardly had time to react to Pap's forehead kiss and departure, hand brushing the fabric now tying the soul-sustainer to him. Rest in pieces, one of his favorite comfort objects... He took a deep breath and stood. A sway, and then he was dashing to the back of the crowd of people, his socket alighting with re... yellow...? A strange mix of red and yellow, nearly coming off as orange, but the colors were distinct enough to tell it was not orange at all, cycling in time to his pounding soul. Up came his hand, and with it, three blasters.

But none of them were fast enough to stop Erebus's enraged attack on Tallow - seemed he was pissed enough to ignore his real targets for a moment in favor of getting revenge. He shot forward, body forming more, and a goopy but still sharp bone extended. The point of it shoved straight through the weak spot of Tallow's neck as the monstrous creature bellowed.

- - - - -

Step, step, step...

"eesh... 's creepier than me here. hhhehehehhhh... good one, me. thanks, me."

step, step, step...

"maybe i can find smelling salts 'round here, heard there are humans in..."

step... halt.

"oh boy. hey, buddy... gosh... y'look half dead. lemme help with that..."

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow - 10/12/2017

Vesper wasn't terribly responsive, but he was dimly aware that someone was trying to help him. Shit, he was in a lot of pain -- broken leg just barely attached. Shit. He was supposed to stay out of trouble.

"...thanks..." he said weakly, and then promptly passed out.

------

Ruby was the first to react, before Tallow even, pushing her magic into a shield and shoving Erebus away from Tallow with a grunt and the battle cry of a warrior. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!!"

Tallow didn't move from where he fell, fingertips steady beginning to dust. But it had been worth it. He had landed a good hit, the others finally had a chance. They just had to work together. Oh stars, please let them just work together. And Red... he’d be okay. He'd recover.

[You can do this....] The summoned hands flickered, magic waning, [Kick his ass. Work as a... unit... don’t give up...] The hands faded entirely, his sockets slipping closed as he collapsed into dust.

Fisk looked at the hand that had formed for a moment, before letting one hand off the shield to grab ahold of it. She's honestly never been able to transfer her abilities before, but now was a good time to do so. She also looked over at Tallow for a moment as he dusted, silently nodding in determination. The deaths so far won't be in vain. So in order for more power to be available to Dove and Three, she popped a couple more pills into her mouth. Hopefully, it won't override her sense of who is good and bad and it will just get instantly transferred.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove

"It's all good, friendo." Dove reached down, grabbing the hand extended to her, a faint smile forming, before the rush of DT hit her like completing a circuit. Her eyes, already lit up red and orange from leaning into Red and Vex's power, both flare a painfully bright red now. The power surge rushed through the bond, though not enough DT to be lethal leaked through. [Red, Vex, and Pap are now benefiting from Dove's DT boost.]

Puppy, Mellow

The pair of skeletons summon and charge up their blasters, waiting for a good opening to take pot shots now.

Crow

Meanwhile, the Hunter is Hunting, supernaturally enhanced skills being brought to bear on Erebus. This is a woman who fights things that regard her as little more than an ant. The Blades of Mercy dance a twisted, crooked dance, as silver flames flare as she searches for patterns to disrupt.

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

At the moment, Pap hadn’t really been thinking about what he was doing as he ripped his hoodie but he realized he must look mildly ridiculous right now with his strange hoodie crop top thing. He wasn’t too worried about his favorite article of clothing though, he had other things to wear and Red and the others were far more important.

He got up in the air just in time to see Tallow impaled by a goopy bone and sign his farewell. Pap’s sockets went out for a split second and he felt his soul clench at the loss before he pushed his feelings aside to focus on the fight. Vex was right, fight now, mourn later.

The tidal wave of DT hit him hard enough to make his blaster wobble and nearly dematerialize, almost sending him crashing to the ground to his likely death. But he could hardly be mad, the rush of so much magic brimming in his bones quickly overwhelmed any other thought. “h-holy shit. now we’re talking.”

He summoned a closely packed carpet of blue bones under Erebus, hoping to limit his movements and make any sudden move he did make hurt something fierce. He stayed hovering in the air, his orange magic now tinged with streaks of red thanks to the DT, and kept a few dozen bones floating in the air by him at the ready. He was watching the whole battlefield and hopefully it would help them all be able to work together better. Though he was particularly keeping an eye on Red and Vex to make sure they were alright.

“okay guys try and form a half circle around erebus to surround him and pin him against the wall! but make sure to keep enough distance from him that you can dodge!”

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

"you're welcome. whoops. there he goes." Arum scooped Vesper up very carefully, making sure his very broken leg stayed on. The layout should be similar... He found the right room and set Vesper on a table, then hooked up a grim magic machine. Without any green magic of his own, this was all he could do. He made sure the connections were stable, then left the other skeleton there. "good luck, pal." And with that, he moved on. "hmm... smelling salts... gotta be around here somewhere..."

Red's three blasters charged and fired where Erebus had been pushed back by Ruby, but he was hardly paying attention to the damage dealt. "tallow!" The scream that left his teeth as his 'fuck buddy' started to dust rivaled Vex's usual volume. He could hardly process Tallow's dying words, tears welling up in his sockets. No, no, no! "tallow...!" A choked sob escaped him and he lifted hand and stump. The number of blasters he'd summoned doubled, yellow overtaking the red in his eye now. He was brimming with Justice, and as they blasted his creator, Erebus took heavy damage.

3,000/5,000 HP

"SHIT!" Two blasters popped up from Vex, to add their attack. Unfortunately, he had no KR, they simply did 50- no, 100! The DT! - damage each. But it was something. It was definitely something.

2,800/5,000 HP

"i WiLl KiLl YoU aLl! I wIlL hAvE mY tEsT sUbJeCtS bAcK!!" Erebus's voice was unholy, as he remained slammed against the wall from the onslaught. But as the skeleton brothers’ attacks faded, hands summoned dozens of bones, which shot forward into the crowd of attackers.

[ *Whooah, almost too much! Stars!] With a yelp, something nearly a scream, the goop of black finally formed fully, her hand solidifying and holding Dove's tightly. It was a girl, she looked hardly more than 8 years old, and she was wearing a filthy, ragged hospital gown. The plate on her right hand read WDG 3-L. Three squeezed both Dove's and Fisk's hands, her sockets coming alit - a vivid, clear blue. Integrity. "That's more like it! If only I knew how to make those blaster things!"

But even without them, it seemed she had some fight in her. Both sockets swirling, she unleashed a barrage of her own bones, hoping to deflect a few of Erebus's and land a few hits.

Vesper/Bix/Ruby/Ryder/Tallow

“OH, SHIT!” Ruby’s shield shattered under the onslaught of bones, a few catching her squarely in her now unguarded sternum and sending her stumbling back. “AHN, SHIT...” Her ribs were cracked, and the pain was immense but she had to focus. A massive shield went up, blocking the bones that threatened to hit the others. It was obvious she was tiring, but she remained DETERMINED to protect her friends.

———————

Bix was afraid. He was afraid he would die and afraid he’d fucked up and afraid that if this other monster broke free then he’d search out and destroy them all. Them, their loved ones, their entire world...

He shifted without thinking, body elongating and bones cracking to accommodate a new shape. Feral growls and a shrieking roar and he lunged forward, latching onto Erebus’ arm — threatening to tear it from his very body.

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Fisk couldn't help but silently gulp at Erebus, gently gripping you young subject three's hand. "Just tell me if you need more, I'll gladly give." But, she knew deep inside that she was overstressing her body enough as is giving all the magic and determination. She is willing to die for the cause. Fisk also had her shield in her other hand, half tempted to try and summon more blasters to help with the back lines. But the lightheadedness she was feeling made her decide otherwise. Just a little while longer... And she can stop.

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Pap’s soul hurt as Red screamed like that, and he wanted nothing more than to go to him and pet his skull soothingly to calm him down. But that would have to come later, right now he needed to make sure that Red even made it out of this alive.

He fired blasters of his own at Erebus, summoning more and more bones to attack him with. Thanks to the DT he could summon many more attacks without collapsing, but still he knew time wasn’t on any of their side. He would tire eventually, and more than likely Erebus wouldn’t. So they needed to make this quick. “everyone focus your attacks! we need to finish this quickly!!”

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove keeps up the shield and her magic, taking the occasional fiery pot shot, but she's here as a defender rather than a direct combatant.

Puppy and Mellow keep up their blaster fire, slipping into a slightly-off-kilter pattern between the two of them.

Crow meanwhile is attacking mercilessly with her swords, silver fire dancing along the blades.

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

The onslaught was overwhelming for Erebus. He snarled and roared as Bix bit into his arm, shaking it furiously. That left him open to a few blast attacks from Pap, Dove, Puppy and Mellow. Crow was being a biiig nusiance, with her damage.

2,300/5,000

1,700/5,000

1,200/5,000

"eNoUgH!" With a veritably demonic screech, Erebus staggered back and cloaked himself in a ball of intense voidling energy. Bix hanging off of his arm disappeared into it before he could react, with Ruby not far behind. Tendrils lashed out from it, reaching as far back as possible. Red and Vex dove in separate directions.

"Whoa!" A yelp from Three as she yanked both Dove and Fisk out of the way. The last two tendrils shot to the fire elementals in the back.

"no no no no!"

"RUBY!!"

If his aim was to make his test subjects hysterical again, he was 1 point up. Red was staring in horror as one by one the captured monsters were enveloped by darkness. A shockwave through the room made them all dispell, knocking poor close-range Crow flying backwards into the other wall. Everyone who had been caught was gone. No dust, no leftover clothes. Gone.

The heartwrenching wail from Red at this new turn of events had yellow magic bleeding out even more, two stormclouds of righteous vengeance and grief. Vex took his hand, orange bursting as brightly as a forest fire, every ounce of bravery untouched as a child overspilling. As one, they attacked.

750/5,000

Fisk - Subject-3-frisk

Fisk watched with wide eyes as the monsters caught in the blast disappeared, hands shaking heavily as she let out a silent gulp. Were they... Dead, just like that? And she couldn't see the amount of HP that was left either.

The girl looked down at her bottle for a moment before smiling both nervously and a bit of relief. If this was not a good idea, then when was it ever. Fisk opened the bottle and gulped down every pill inside, overdoing it like never before. Her eyes were too blurry as her eyes started to cry a horrid mixture of yellow and red to even see straight, but even so. The blasters came out, instantly able to blast without a load time. "Red... I... I can't lose you."

Her breath started to rag, slowly losing control of herself as she finally let go of three, not without leaving a bunch of her energy to go through the bonds for a bit longer. This is it, this is the end of it for her. Fisk was no longer in control when she did a large amount of bone and blaster attacks, while making the mistake of letting go of the shield. And at the same time, it was like she knew what would happen as she took one last moment to see the ones still standing. Then all that was left of her vision was black.

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Crow slammed into the wall with a grunt, rolling to her feet with shocking ease. She shook off the pain quickly, but not quickly enough - she had no chance to save the poor girl who landed the killing blow. The Huntress shook her head, plunging a wicked looking needle into her left leg twice to restore her heath.

423/793

623/793

793/793

Dove yelped at being pulled away, and cried out as Ruby and Bix disappeared, both halves dreadfully upset by this turn of events. Before she could react, though, Fisk sacrificed herself. A muffled cry escaped her, and she pulled Three close to her, holding the little skeleton close, afraid her best friend would disappear, too.

Puppy and Mellow were safe enough from their positions, though both cried out at Dove and Crow's injuries.

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Immense fear rushed over Pap in a wave and he did what he did best: avoiding. Whether that was his problems or an attack, he was always a master and finding his way around obstacles. He cursed and flung himself off of his blaster as one of the inky black tendrils lashed at him, and he managed to soften his fall some by summoning and desummoning bones at a perfect time. His fragile body still wasn’t very happy with that maneuver, and he groaned as he forced himself back to his feet.

HP 0.6

Pap got up just in time to see everyone vanish and watch in horror as Fisk completely overloaded and sacrificed herself to land the killing blow. He took a step forwards and fell to his knees, panting and watching with disbelief as Erebus melted into nothing but dust.

After a second of catching his breath he looked frantically around for Red and Vex, hurrying as fast as he could to Red who was closest to make sure he was alright. “shit, are you two okay?! fuck who’s still here?! i still have some magic left i can heal!”

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Red was preparing another no-holds-barred attack when he heard Fisk's voice. He snapped his head around and his sockets went wide as he realized what she'd just done. "fisk, no, don't-!" He was too late. In fact, he and Vex barely had time to throw themselves out of the way of the insane amount of blasters and bones shooting at Erebus. Once they had stopped passing overhead, he lifted his head to see her body collapse to the floor.

"no no no no...!"

He hurried towards her, not even caring about the sticky, gooey dust of his creator. He fell to his knees in front of her body, and pressed a hand to her chest to find a heartbeat. There was none. Green sputtered for a moment under his hand, as he attempted to use healing magic, but it died off after only a second.

She was dead. Just like so many others. Vesper, Tallow, Ruby, Bix, Ryder, Grillz, Fuku, and now Fisk. Eight. Eight people were gone, and seven of them, he loved with all of his timeline-combined soul. It was over. The battle, the horror, it was over, but it didn't feel like a victory. Tears welled up in his sockets and he slumped over her body, starting to sob. He hardly heard Pap's hurried words, though his hand did reach out blindly, trying and failing to find his. He couldn't stop crying.

Vex knelt down in front of some of the gooey dust. He tugged off a glove, then ran one phalanx across some of it. It was like sludge, almost. But it was definitely dust-caked.

"HE'S REALLY GONE. HE'S REALLY DEAD," he said slowly. "WE REALLY DID IT." He looked over at his sobbing brother, and then at Pap. His soul was heavy. "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT," he said quietly. "I SHOULD HEAL YOU INSTEAD. YOU TOOK A NASTY FALL."

His voice seemed too loud in the room, now that so many people were gone. It was too empty. Three was clinging to Dove just as tightly, her sockets wide, as she stared down at the human girl who had sacrificed herself. "This..." She swallowed thickly. "This isn't... how I expected it to go..." Nonetheless, she reached up to lightly stroke Dove's hair. "It's all right, my good friend. I'm not going anywhere...”

Dove/Crow/Puppy

Dove hugged Three tightly for a moment, then scooped her up and slowly approached, torn between Red and Vex. Red seemed to need the most comfort right now, though, so she crouched and put a hand on his skull, rubbing softly. Three people she'd loved were gone too.

Puppy immediately darted over to Vex, hugging his uncle tightly and nuzzling into him comfortingly. Mellow sighed softly and wandered over to Crow, grabbing onto her shoulder before returning to his smaller form, burrowing under the cloak.

Crow sighed, looking around and shaking her head morosely. "Alright! Who still needs help?" She'd let Vex take care of Pap, but if anyone else needed healing... She dropped her blades, pulling the staff she had arrived with from nowhere in particular.

Pap/Null/Haze - [askinfresh]

Pap caught Red’s searching hand and he quickly pulled his beloved into a quick hug, forcing him to turn away from the human’s small body. He held onto him tight as he whispered reassurances to him and rubbed the back of his skull, completely ignoring the pain in his shoulder and ribs from the fall to instead focus completely on his lover.

As Vex spoke to him he looked up at his friend, tears starting to gather in his eyes before he wiped them away with his arm and nodded stiffly once. “okay...th-thank you vex. if you need it i can heal you up some too.” He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and the sheer weight of so much death around him made him want to vomit. They needed to get out of here. He looked up at the others who remained, taking a deep breath. “we need to get out of here. we need to get them out of here.” He looked at Vex and Red sadly and with a heavy soul.

Red/Vex/Erebus/Lucida/Arum

Red just sobbed quietly into Pap's chest. He felt Dove start to rub his skull and leaned into that, too. Two beloved ones who survived. Parts of him were overly relieved about that, but there was so much grief in his heavy soul that he could hardly think about it right now. Everything was over, his adrenaline had died down and the only thing he could feel was sorrow and loss.

Vex didn’t realize how badly he also needed to be comforted until his nephew came running over and providing one. The taller skeleton swallowed thickly, then hugged the child back tightly. "THANK YOU," he said, his voice quieter. "IT'S OKAY... I'M FINE." A lie, but at least he wasn't dead, and that was always a victory in his book. "ARE YOU HURT, KID? I CAN HEAL YOU TOO." He carried the boy over to where the little group of people was, and knelt beside Pap. A hand settled very gently on Pap's wounded shoulder and began to heal the damage as best he could. Thankfully, even though he'd used quite a bit of attack magic, he naturally had a huge reservoir of green magic. There might be a little bit of scarring, but he was fairly confident he'd taken away most if not all of the pain. A glance to Crow. "I THINK THE REST OF US ARE FINE. INSTEAD, CAN YOU COLLECT THAT?" He pointed to the dusty pile that was once Tallow. "HE SHOULD BE JARRED AND SETTLED SOMEWHERE PROPERLY.

Three allowed Dove to hug her and lift her. She looked between her brothers sadly, the one sobbing and the other numbing himself by doing damage control. She was rather more hoping for a happy reunion, as improbable as that might be. A hand of hers also settled gently on Red's head. "Will you put her to rest properly too, Red?"

The crying skeleton lifted his head from Pap's check to look up at her. He wasn't sure who she was entirely, and he was too tired to ask. But she was right. He took a deep, shaky breath, then pulled away and carefully got an arm underneath Fisk's body. He only had the one hand now, so he used a manifested one to help him lift her up, leaning her side against him slightly. One last mournful look at her face, and he heaved himself shakily to his feet. "y-yeah... let's... get out of here," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "i want to go home."

THE END

...

TL;DR?

Red: lost his broken right hand that had had the plate on it, regained a lost sense of the JUSTICE in his soul, making his magic now contain yellow flecks inside of the red, and has been severely traumatized by the things Erebus did and everyone who died during the fight - most of them were lovers.

Vex: Gained a bit of scarring around his left eye and forearms, has become a bit jumpy, suffering from grief due to a few deaths as well, internalizing EVERYTHING like the dumbass he is. Mostly blames himself for how badly things went.

Lucida: is here~! Three, or Lucida, is the long-lost sister of these two, and also the one who set them on the path to freedom, knocking herself and Erebus into the void in the process. The giver of Vex’s scarf, physically no older than 8, but intellectually an adult, and she has been watching her siblings/the events of the world from the void.

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