Multiverse Saga/Taken!Altertale/Chapter 7

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Rhosaith materialized within AlT-113 next to a bed of golden flowers; a pillar of light extended from a hole above down to the bed.

"You came." a voice sounded from nearby.

Turning to face the source, Rho saw 4 standing nearby, next to an alcove.

"Of course I did. I came to help with the reclamation of AlT-113." she said.

"And what about the others?"

Rhosaith shrugged.

4 looked to the alcove. "Works for me. Just be sure to stay out of my way."

4 moved to enter the alcove when a tear of light appeared near the bed of golden flowers; out from which emerged the Star Sanses and the Bad Time Trio. They were chatting among themselves but quieted down when they saw Rhosaith and 4 standing within the space already.

"Mweh heh heh!!!" Blueberry exclaimed. "We meet again, Rhosaith!" he then turned to 4. "And you, brooding Sans. Nice to meet you!!"

4 turned back around and entered through the alcove.

"Well that was rude." Blueberry pouted. "Didn't even say hi back."

"Don't let it get you down, Blue." the yellow-cloaked Sans said.

Blueberry looked back at the yellow-cloaked Sans.

"Yeah, I know, Dream." he said. "Not everybody is positive. Some people are negative. We should do our best not to be negative."

Dream!Sans smiled. "Anyway, we shouldn't leave him alone out here, with that Destroyer loose."

The Star Sanses, followed by the Bad Time Trio, walked through the alcove and down the tunnel beyond.

"You coming?" Chara called back to Rhosaith.

Rho looked up at him, nodded, and ran his way.

"So what's your story?" Chara asked Rhosaith when she caught up.

"My story?" Rhosaith asked.

"Yeah. I don't think I have ever seen you around before. What universe are you from?"

"My... universe?" Rhosaith thought about that for a second. She didn't know their designation system, and she didn't know what designation her universe held.

"According to Alliance archives," Hamlet spoke into Rhosaith's ear, "your universal designation is UnTR-13PO."

"I think it's... UnTR-13PO. Yeah."

Everybody stopped moving and turned to face Rhosaith, their faces dark with apprehension.

"What did you just say?" Sans asked, the white lights inside his eye sockets now point-like.

"What?" Rhosaith asked, unsure what to make of the situation.

"Did you just say you're from a *restricted* universe?" he asked, this time a bit more specific.

Rhosaith remained silent, unsure how to answer.

"Yeah, she did." Ink!Sans said. "Universe 13, no less."

"Whoa, you're from universe 13?" Blueberry then asked. "That's so cool! What's it like there? How'd you escape without alerting the Alliance?"

"Not the time for questions, Blue." Dream!Sans said, stepping out in front of him defensively.

"What's wrong with universe 13?" Rhosaith asked.

"It's a restricted universe." Ink answered. "Meaning that something, or somethings, within hold a realistic threat to the Alliance."

Rhosaith was struck dumb for a few seconds. A realistic threat?

"What the hell is in universe 13 that could possibly hold a 'realistic threat' to a K4 civilization?" Rhosaith demanded.

"Nobody knows." Papyrus said, pulling a box of cigarettes out of his hoodie pocket. "Mind if I smoke?" he then asked.

Rhosaith waved her hand. In response, Papyrus opened the box and pulled one out with his teeth, replacing the box to his pocket as he used fire magic to light the end. After a second, he pulled the cigarette out and held the end of it next to his neck.

"Universe 13 was among the first universes discovered by the Alliance." Papyrus continued. "The only thing that's known about it is that the eggheads back on the Nexus believe it to be the oldest universe in the multiverse. Other than that, only the King knows what lurks within. Well, the King, and you."

Rhosaith shook her head.

"I have no idea what the Alliance could possibly be afraid of." Rhosaith went silent for a few seconds. "Well, except maybe LOV."

"What's LOV?" Papyrus asked.

"It's a parasite that feeds off the SOUL of living creatures. Lives to murder."

"Oh, that." Papyrus said, unconcerned. "No, SOUL-crust—as the Alliance calls it—is prevalent throughout the multiverse."

"Then I don't know why the Alliance restricted my universe; what could possibly have spooked them that badly.

"Anyway," Rhosaith concluded, "we should keep moving. 4 is probably already far ahead."

Slowly, they all agreed and pressed forward, but all of them keeping a hidden eye on Rhosaith.

"Thanks a lot, Hamlet." Rhosaith said.

"It is of no fault of mine, Madam Rho." Hamlet replied.

"You knew they'd react that way. Why didn't you warn me?"

"There's nothing to worry about, Madam. Everything will work out fine."

Sighing, Rho continued along with the rest.

Entering the greater part of the Royal Watchtower, the mercenaries quickly ran across streaks of blood traced along in some areas. Upon entering a long hallway, a sudden shiver of the ground caused them all to stop progress.

"Whoa, did you feel that?" Chara asked the others.

"I felt something just now." Sans responded, turning a covert eye to Rhosaith.

An earthquake, just as sudden as the rumble the mercenaries felt, then appeared; seeming to shake the very foundations of the world itself. After a few seconds, everything stopped just as suddenly as it began.

"Did we get it?" a brooklyn-accented voice called out from nearby.

"I think so." a more feminine brooklyn-accented voice replied. "Lemme check."

"What's going on?" Blueberry asked. "Where are those voices?"

Rhosaith pointed to a massive fissure in one of the purple brick walls. "I think it's coming from there." she said.

"What the— was that always there?" Papyrus asked.

A red hook appeared from the fissure, grasping the outer rim of it. A few seconds later, one of the skeletons who was at the briefing appeared from the hole. Catching sight of the mercenaries standing nearby, she turned back towards the darkness of the fissure.

"Yeah, we got it." she called in, unhooking the red hook from the rim and dangling it down for her partner.

A few seconds later, S.T—the naked skeleton who attended the briefing—climbed from the fissure as well.

"Ay, well ain't this a surprise." S.T said upon climbing free of the hole.

The other skeleton then hopped down as well, the red item she held vanishing completely as she did so.

"Did you cause that quake?" Rhosaith asked.

S.T looked back at the fissure. "Eh, probably. There wasn't a Tunnel entrance to this universe."

"Tunnel entrance?"

S.T pointed back at the fissure. "Yeah, way to get to other universes."

"Why not just use an Anti-Void?" Ink!Sans asked.

S.T gave Ink an annoyed look.

"Does it *look* like I can access the Expanse?" he asked.

"I mean, you can't really tell just by looking."

"The answer's no, I can't. Nobody in my Crew can. So lay off."

Ink put his hands up defensively. "Relax, I was just asking."

"So who's this with you?" Rhosaith asked, trying to distract the two from conflicting further.

S.T looked bemused at Rhosaith, then answered, "Oh, this is Swap."

"Hello." Swap said, waving to the rest.

The mercenaries greeted Swap.

"We should hurry forward." Rhosaith said. "4 is up ahead, and he didn't seem too interested in wanting help."

"What!?" Dream exclaimed. "4 is planning to fight that Destroyer alone?"

"That's what it looked like to me."

Immediately, all the mercenaries in the hall began running through the rest of the tower. In what seemed like no time at all, they finally found 4 heading down the hall below the home at the end of the tower.

"4!" Dream called out when they saw him.

4 turned to face who had said his name, finding everyone else who had been at the briefing.

"So you finally arrive. Took you long enough." 4 said, continuing on his path unconcerned.

"4, wait!" Dream called again. "We need to think out our plan of attack. We don't even know who we're dealing with, so we need to be extra careful."

"You be careful." 4 said. "'the Destroyer' is in Snowdin Town, and he probably already knows we're here."

"What!?!" Ink said. "How do you know this, do you... have you encountered this Destroyer before?"

4 stopped walking.

"Yes." he said after a minute. "And I'm here to kill him, once and for all." he began walking again.

Unsure what else to do, the rest followed after.

"So, 4," Rhosaith said a few minutes after they'd walked through the Citadel door to the Snowdin Province, "seeing as you've encountered this... Destroyer, before, what can you tell us?"

4 looked over at Rho.

"You're a new rifter, aren't you." he said.

"I, uh, don't really understand what 'rifter' means."

"A rifter is somebody who travels between universes using the Anti-Void Expanse as a go-between. It is by far the most common means of travel in the multiverse. You saying you don't know the term confirms it."

"So basically, I'm new."

4 nodded.

"So, are you gonna—"

"Mercenaries don't commonly share information about Destroyers." 4 said bluntly. "Clears competition in that way. If others don't know what they're up against, they could get themselves killed, or they could run. Either way, you get a bigger cut."

"That's insane!" Rhosaith protested.

"Information is power. If you think it's so insane, the Star Sanses is the group best suited for you. They share information like it's nobody's business. For example, everything they've ever discovered about another Destroyer—Error!Sans—has been shared in every detail with the Alliance." 4 spat dismissively at that last statement.

"So information about the enemy should never be shared, simply to sabotage the abilities of the others with you?"

"Sounds like you got it, rook."

As they finished their conversation, the mercenaries were approaching the outer-most sections of the town.

Reaching the inn not too far in, a raspy voice echoed across the empty buildings.

"THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH!" it shouted.

Everybody stopped where they stood.

"I see you brought friends along this time, Error!404." the voice then said.

"And I can see you're still hiding like a coward, Infected." 4 responded.

A hysterical laughter then echoed across the village as a single Sans dragging a somewhat smaller goat-Monster appeared out from behind the furthest house in the village.

"Here I am!" Infected declared.

A blue aura appeared around 404, a great feeling of power seeming to build around him.

"Ah ah ah," Infected warned, "look what I got!"

Infected dragged the goat-Monster—which Rhosaith confirmed to be a naked Toriel—up in front of him and presented her like a meat shield.

"You wouldn't want to hurt sweet little miss Toriel here, now would you?" Infected asked, drawing his axe and pressing it against Toriel's throat.

Toriel didn't seem responsive.

"You know I only care about tearing you to pieces!" 404 said.

"Yes, but what about your new friends?" Infected asked.

404's eyes widened, and he glanced behind him at the other mercenaries. S.T's Crew was an unknown variable, but 404 knew that the Star Sanses and the Bad Time Trio wouldn't stand for innocents being hurt.

"You wouldn't want them to tear you apart before you can do it to me, now would you."

404's aura dimmed.

"That's it. Now back away slowly."

404 backed up a few paces.

Suddenly, Rhosaith drew both a blade from the skirt on her long-coat along with the handle, clicking the blade into place at the end, then pointed it at Infected and fired, launching the blade at high speeds, straight into Infected's right eye.

"Sans!" Rhosaith then shouted. "Use gravity magic and pull Toriel to us."

Immediately, Sans raised his arm and pulled the Toriel from Infected's distracted grasps, pulling her to them in no time.

"Is she alright?" Rhosaith asked as soon as Toriel slid to the ground in front of Sans.

Sans held a hand over her chest, a faint green glow emanating from his palm.

"She's alive." he said after a few seconds.

A hysterical laughter once again broke through the air. Looking back at Infected, he had grasped the blade that was sticking from his socket and was slowly pulling it free, laughing as he did so.

"That was a nice shot!" he said, pulling the blade free. "Weren't you worried you might hit dear sweet Toriel?"

"Not at all." Rhosaith said bluntly.

Infected's smile wavered slightly.

"Not at all?" he parroted. "What are you, some kind of psychopath?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I was so certain in my aim that I wasn't concerned for Toriel."

Infected's smile grew again. "Oh I can't *wait* to tear into you." he said, licking his teeth.

"Blue, Dream, Rhosaith," Ink said, stepping forward with his massive paintbrush. "you three protect Toriel and see if you can revive her. The rest of you, with me. We're gonna take this... *thing* down!"

Rhosaith glanced over at Ink, annoyed that she'd been told to stay back, but when she saw that the other mercenaries were doing as they'd been told by him, she relented and fell back to where Toriel lay.

"How is she?" Rhosaith asked again when she reached her body, which was already being tended to by Blue and Dream.

"She'll be fine... I hope..." Dream said, carefully administering life magic to her SOUL as Blue tended to her physical injuries.

"What can I do to help?"

"Honestly? Just... stay back."

"What?"

Dream looked up from Toriel and looked Rhosaith directly in the visor.

"Stay here and out of the way." he said.

"Why!?" Rhosaith demanded to know as Dream went back to healing.

"Because... the others, they don't... trust you. Please understand, you're new, so you already have that working against you. Now normally, that wouldn't be so bad, but you're also from a restricted universe. Seeing as the King isn't hunting you down, that must mean you bypassed the Alliance's sensors."

"So you all see me as a threat."

Dream slowed a bit. "Yes... nobody knows how to bypass the sensors—not even the King—so you being able to do it... well, it's frightening. What if something else from your universe finds a way to leave without alerting the sensors? It could mean the end of the Alliance and multiverse peace as we know it."

Rhosaith looked over at the mercenaries, who were fighting tooth-and-nail against Infected.

*They call this peace?*

"There's that," Dream continued, "and the fact that you just... fired at Infected without a moment's hesitation. What if you hit Toriel?"

"I wasn't going to." Rhosaith said.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I peered through time and saw that, if I did things correctly, there would be no possible way I would hit her."

"You... *peered* through time?" Dream asked, freezing up. "Are you *trying* to get a Keeper to delete you?"

Rhosaith looked back at the battle. "I... don't think I'll have to worry about that..."

"Everybody who screws with time thinks that! The Keepers don't like it when people screw with time, no matter who it is!"

Rhosaith looked back at Dream to respond but was interrupted by Hamlet.

"Rhosaith is a Time Specter of a 'Keeper' League. She is permitted—within reason—to 'screw with time', as you say."

Dream and Blue both looked dumb-struck.

"You... work with the Keepers?" Blue asked.

Rhosaith silently looked away, back towards the battle. Blue and Dream didn't press.

The battle, all things considered, was going relatively well. Ink had cut off any avenues of escape, while S.T and Swap herded Infected around Snowdin. The Bad Time Trio, along with Error!404, were the major hard-hitters, with Sans and Papyrus keeping Infected from doing anything that would put him at an advantage, and Chara and Error!404 making sure to keep him immobile and pound him with horrid attacks; Chara with his vines, and 404 with his cables.

About five minutes after the battle began, S.T, who had been holding a supporting role for the majority of the battle, finally managed to sever the skull from the rest of Infected's body as he had been immobilized by an endless growth of vines. The last sound heard from the beast was laughter as his body disintegrated into pale blue specks that flew up into the sky.