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It was almost too quick that the 3 managed to teleport, so much so that Asriel felt a little dizzy. But, they were here.
“oh look, we actually ended up in the right place,” Sans said, sarcastically. Kepa looked over at him, raising an eyebrow.
“Wait, I thought you knew how to teleport to specific locations-” Kepa tried to say, before Asriel interrupted him by putting his hand on his shoulder.
“it'll be a while until i can teleport us out,” Sans said, as he started looking around some more, “so let's check on those recordings.”
Asriel slowly approached the big computer terminal in the center of the room. It was almost too big, but maybe that was just him.
“Hey, so,” Kepa asked, “what are we looking for, exactly?” Asriel looked to him for a moment, before looking at Sans, still checking out the room.
“I have a feeling that the President’s security had something to do with this whole mess,” Asriel answered, as he turned back to the computer. “Whatever they did at the rally, it's all recorded. And they're probably trying to hide it somewhere here.” Asriel pressed the on button, as the PC began to boot up. “Just gotta find where...”
“Okay, so,” Kepa approached Asriel, as the login screen popped up, “HOW exactly are we supposed to find it?”
Asriel looked to Kepa for a minute, before answer: “That’s simple, we just search their files and then-”
“No, really, how? We don’t even know their login.”
Asriel looked back to the PC, before just randomly guessing the password.
“I mean, seriously, Az,” Kepa continued, “It would have to take millions of tries to get it right. There’s no way we’ll get it right on the first try- and you got it right on the first try.”
Asriel looked in shock for a minute. “Wait, I thought it would be harder than just ‘Password1234!’.”
Kepa blinked for a moment. “‘Password1234!’? Babe, who would ever put their password as ‘Password1234!’?!”
“Apparently the President’s security.”
Kepa looked for a minute, before replying: “Yeah, they would probably do that all things considered.”
Asriel started looking through the files, searching for footage at the exact moment Papyrus did their thing. It couldn’t be that hard to find footage from-
…
No.
No, that can’t be.
There was no footage. At all.
Asriel sat there, not comprehending. How could there not be footage from today?
“how funny, this room doesn't have cameras,” Sans commented, reminding the room of his existence.
“Sans look,” Asriel replied, getting Sans attention just enough that he looked over, slowly starting his walk to the terminal. “There’s nothing here. The footage must’ve been deleted.”
Kepa looked for a minute, before replying: “Okay, shit, we got nothing. Let’s just go back before we get discovered and-”
“Keep looking,” Sans replied, his voice carrying an air of seriousness that it usually never did.
Asriel looked to Sans for a minute, before continuing his search. There had to be something here, right? Files upon files of nothing but boring meetings and PAM rallies, nothing at all related to the situation at hand. There had to be something here-
A file caught Asriel’s attention.
‘Classififed, PAM eyes only.’
Asriel looked to the others, who looked back at him. Asriel clicked on the folder, opening it to hundreds of recordings, all from throughout the city.
“This is every part of the city,” Kepa commented. “But why these recordings-”
“Wait,” Asriel interrupted Kepa, accidentally. “This is footage of Chara.”
Asriel clicked on it, revealing a video of Chara grabbing Betty and shoving them out of the way of… nothing.
“Huh,” Asriel, almost too audibly asked. “Why would Chara do that?”
“Check another one,” Kepa asked, as Asriel clicked out of the folder, looking through more strange and unusual videos.
“this one is from the meeting day. in front of gaster's lab,” Sans noted.
The video started playing, revealing Betty slowly walking away from the building, her face covered in shadows.
“Betty,” Asriel asked, quietly.
“Wait, wasn’t she sleeping at Gaster’s lab during all this,” Kepa asked. Sans looked back and nodded.
Asriel closed the video and clicked on another one, this one at Toriel’s school.
All he saw was a… Pink blob things scurrying across the floor, before hiding in one of the corners.
“What the fuck is that,” Kepa asked, quietly.
“hell if I know,” Sans answered, as the video was closed, and Asriel hovered over one more.
“So, remember, do not mention the plan to anyone,” one of the people in the video said offscreen, supposedly a PAM member.
“Got it,” another one said, just as they started walking out into the frame. The three watched more intently, as the two waited, and waited, until…
What.
The.
Fuck.
“You know what to do,” Betty commanded, before looking at the Camera and destroying it with a pink blob.
The three stood in stunned silence, unable to process it. Betty, the innocent cute girl who wouldn’t hurt a fly, the one behind ALL of this?
“it… it was all her,” Sans noted, looking at the others with a stunned expression.
“Asriel, Sans…” Kepa started to say. “We have to warn the others, right now-”
Kepa didn’t get to finish his sentence, before the door to security opened up, revealing…
Betty.
Oh god.
The three looked at her for a Second, what felt like an eternity, before she spoke to them.
“Oh,” Betty looked down, seemingly sad, as she slowly approached them. “I wanted to be the one to tell the others. About the whole plan, about my trait, about everything. Although, thankfully…”
Then she tilted her head down, covering it in shadow.
“You never found out what my trait was…”
Betty looked them head on, her expression an uncanny, inhuman smile.
“FEAR.”
Sans reacted first, as he held out his hand, ready to teleport them out of the room. “let’s go-”
He didn’t even finish his sentence before Sans was on the ground, weakened from the same blast that knocked him out before.
“SANS,” Asriel and Kepa screamed, almost in unison, as they rushed to Sans' side, barely catching a glance at the man who took the shot.
“I must say,” Betty replied, her voice now almost playful, “your soul is very special for a monster, Asriel.” She held out her hand, almost like holding an object. “Mind if I borrow it for a moment? I’m just curious.”
Asriel got up, fear and rage taking him over.
“STAY AWAY,” Asriel yelled at the top of his lungs, as he prepared to summon one of his swords-
Suddenly, inexplicably, he was back in the ruins. He felt younger, like he was a kid again. But how? Why-
“Asriel?”
That voice.
It can’t be.
Asriel turned around and-
“Frisk?”
Sans and Kepa looked at Asriel as he said that, as he stood there, motionless, as if he was in a trance.
“Asriel, snap out of it,” Kepa begged, as he rushed up to Asriel, grabbing hold of him, leaving Sans all alone.
“He can’t hear you, neither of you,” Betty said, as Sans looked her dead in the eyes.
“Don’t worry, he won’t feel a thing,” Betty continued, as she summoned a pink, sharp spear. “I’ll make this quick.”
Kepa looked for a minute, fear filling his heart, before shaking Asriel. “Come on, babe, snap out of it!”
He didn’t move.
“Asriel, please,” Kepa begged, tears in his eyes.
Betty smiled, as he threw the spear right at him.
“ASRIEL!”
Asriel finally snapped out of it, looking at Kepa, his face in tears, and-
Asriel and Kepa barely had time to react before Sans somehow teleported right in front of the two. Just as the spear pierced him.
Sans’ white, Monster soul, shone for a minute, his blood covering the two, as shock filled their hearts.
The Spear left Sans’ body, causing it to fall into the two’s arms, as they dragged him away from Betty, dust slowly filling the air.
“Hang in there, man, we’ll think of something,” Kepa reassured, falsely, as Asriel Held onto him, sobbing.
“Come on, it’s going to be okay, Sans, you’ll live,” Asriel replied, barely keeping his composure together.
“We’ll… I-” Asriel started to sob, almost breaking down right there-
“Asriel… Kepa…”
Sans' voice brought the two back to reality. Sans looked up at them and, for a minute, smiled, weakly.
“E- enjoy the future… for me…”
“No,” Asriel held on tightly. “Nonononono!”
A chomp filled the room, as Sans’ body faded to dust.
…
Asriel slowly stood up, black marks slowly fading onto his face, as rage filled his heart. Kepa looked up, just in time to see him ignite a flame in his hand.
“HE WAS MY FRIEND!”
Kepa looked and yelled, “Asriel, Wait-”
The flame moved faster than his words, only to be blocked just as easily by Betty as his words were by Asriel’s rage.
It didn’t deter him.
He tried again, harder this time. Still nothing.
Then again.
And again.
And again.
Still, nothing.
Asriel started to grow weak. Barely being able to throw another flame at her, this one weaker.
“No…” Asriel’s voice wavered. “I won’t… Let you get away with this…” Asriel approached closer, and closer and then…
Collapsed, right at her feet.
“I… I won’t let you win…”
Betty chuckled.
“I thought you’d be stronger than that,” she asked, sarcastically, before summoning yet another spear. “Oh well…” Betty threw the spear at Asriel-
Before a green shield blocked its path.
Asriel didn’t have time to react before he was grabbed by Kepa, being dragged across the room.
“ASRIEL, WE HAVE TO GO,” Kepa yelled back, as he summoned a bow, and launched a Justice arrow right into the wall ahead of them, causing orange sunlight to flood the room.
It was their only chance of escape.
“No, we can’t-”
“Asriel, shut up, I can’t see you die too,” Kepa didn’t even let Asriel finish his sentence, only turning back to see the same man that shot Sans aim right at him.
Another green shield came up, blocking whatever attack was behind him that Kepa didn’t want to see. He just started running, as far away as he could.
“Kepa, we have to go back,” Asriel shouted at him, his voice filled with exhaustion.
“Asriel, if we go back, we die,” Kepa responded, as he slowly approached the beach, the hotels to his right seeming like an impassable wall of exploitation.
He looked back to Asriel, watching as his legs barely kept up with him. Kepa looked back, looking for any signs of their pursuers.
There was no one behind them.
Kepa slowly stopped running, until he was standing on the beach, holding an exhausted, crying Asriel.
“We have to go back, we-” Asriel didn’t even get to finish his sentence, before he broke again, and collapsed onto the beach.
“Fuck,” Asriel screamed, as the waves carshed over him, drenching him in saltwater and washing away his tears. Kepa rushed up to him, holding him close.
“Fuck…” Asriel sobbed, quietly, as he held onto Kepa, too tired to even stand up, even as another wave crashed over them.
The sun sank into the sea, as the air slowly became illuminated with the blue ghostlight of dusk.