Madness As A Means To An End

Crunch! Crack! Sphhhhlt!

Drip… Drip… Drip.

"Fascinating," Roman whispered, gazing at the near-lifeless form of the Princess on his operating table.

Her bones had been shattered to dust. Large gashes across her body, her chest cavity wide open, her hips, lungs, and heart exposed to the open air, but still, her heart kept beating.

Roman watched as the tendons from her severed hand began to stretch out and reattach the hand to her arm. Wrapping around each other to heal.

Pkkkkkt! Slither! Squish! Snap!

Even the bones, snapped back into place.

Snap! Creak!

Her chest cavity began to close back up, but Roman couldn't allow that. Desperately, he reached out, pulling her chest cavity back open. Quickly using clamps to secure their current position, he stared into the chest cavity. Watching her lungs repair themselves, her intestine wriggled back into place.

Squish! Slither! Shik!

"The human soul… this determination. Is a wonder." Roman did his best to hold back his laughter, Golden flames spilling from his eye as he reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a silver stopwatch.

"Let's test… this… loading, shall we?" Roman clicked the stopwatch, activating it, before slowly reaching into Chara's chest cavity, and wrapping his bony hands around her heart, giving it a light squeeze, feeling her still beating heart against his palm.

Thump

Romans's gaze drifted up, to look into her eyes, lifeless. Gray. Hopelessness, and yet, she persists. "What drives you to persist I wonder… you hold the key Chara. I know you must hate me. You may even wish to kill me"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His grip on her heart tightened, beating through the gaps of his fingers "But the world will thank me. Right now, they'd say I'm crazy! That I've gone mad! But they'll see! Thousands of years from now they'll erect statues of me! I'll be a hero!"

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

SPLAT!

The blood splattered all over Roman, instantly staining his coat. Leaving traces of blood on his face, when suddenly. Darkness

Roman stood alone, staring into the void. The abyss. How many times has he seen this now? A hundred times? A thousand? Just how resilient was the determined soul?

All his thoughts quickly disappeared. Nothing could exist in a void. Not thought, not space. As he stood in the void he felt his very essence being pulled into it. Nothing can resist the void. Only nothing can exist in the void.

While he still had time, Roman clicked the stopwatch once again, and in an instant, it reset to Zero, and he was right back to where he was. When he started it… and… he remembered.

"It worked!"

Roman was left stunned, his golden flame being stifled. "It finally worked!"

All his memories had returned to him! Every time he could feel the void, but when time was loaded back, his memories were left behind. But now, they were all intact.

"Test number, seven hundred sixty-three…" he whispered into his log "It finally worked… but the experiments… they've meant something. I've finally succeeded. I am now in control of my time. In the event of the loop, I will remain free from the trap of determination.

"With this, I can save everyone. I can defy fate. I can push the boundaries of science, further than ever thought possible. While my brother squandered his genius building a power plant, I have freed myself from the shackles of fate. But… this is only one successful test… it must remain consistent"

With no hesitation, Roman grabbed a scalpal and swung!

Slice! Splurt!

More blood. Romans' very color being stained. From bright white bones to a maroon skull… maroon hands. And once again, he awoke, in the void.

***

Edrege stood alone in Waterfall, watching the flowing blue water splash onto itself. Its beauty was unrivaled, but today, it brought him great Sadness. He had failed.

His job, as First Captain… ensure the safety of the royal family, and he had failed. Both princesses… no. His sisters disappeared almost two months ago. But they didn't disappear alone. Roman disappeared too.

Edrege was no fool, while the underground lost hope, and assumed they all just fell into the core, he knew a darker secret.

Edrege gazed into his reflection, he didn't recognize himself anymore. The fur around his eyes was matted, his eyes bloodshot, the rest messy. But he didn't stare into the pool of water for his reflection.

Slowly, Edrege reached into the pond, sinking his hand to the bottom, until he grasped onto a piece of cloth. Pulling it from the bottom, he removed a large lab coat. He stared at it a moment, running his fingers over the fabric softly, anger and regret filling his mind.

"Edrege?"

He was very suddenly snapped out of his trance as he turned around quickly to see who had called out to him. His father, King Asgore. Edrege stepped forward, looking down on his father, who he now towered over.

Asgore looked saddened but it quickly turned to a smile. "My, how you have grown my son."

"What brings you out here my Liege?"

"Edrege! Drop the persona! I'm your father, address me as such, please" Asgore laughed a bit, not liking his son referring to him so formally.

"Yes, father. I'm sorry"

"So, what are you doing out here in Waterfall my son?"

"I was thinking about the past… when work on the core first began. When Dr Gaster and Dr Roman were partners, instead of just doing their things. Hiding secrets from each other. From you! And how are you so calm! You know as well as I do, Samas and Chara were kidnapped by that bastard Roman! You know he's somewhere in the lab! Why won't you permit me to go after him?!"

Asgore's smile didn't fade at his son's barrage of spite. Smiling through, he just laughed again. "If you truly believe Dr. Roman is behind this, you know as well as I do, that he'd kill you before you ever got the chance to bring him to justice!"

Edrege's brow furrowed, a low growl escaping his throat as his anger began to boil over. "I'm not the same boy I once was! I'm far stronger than I ever was! I must save my sisters!"

Asgore became thoughtful for a moment, contemplating Edrege's words before speaking. "Hit me."

"What?"

"You're not deaf son. I said hit me"

"Father I won't hit you!"

Asgore didn't like that answer, and in response delivered a quick blow to Edrege's temple.

Pow!!!

The force of the blow created ripples in the water around them, shockwaves visible for short moments before disappearing, yet Edrege stood there unfazed.

"You will not get me to strike you. We both know this"

Asgore just nodded, turning his back to his son and walking away. "Then you are not permitted to try and search the lab of Dr Roman."

Edrege didn't know what to say, all he felt was anger. So much so, that an intense heat filled all of the waterfall. The water instantly being brought to a boil, and steam filled the area, but there was nothing he could do. He needed to control his emotions.

Edrege took a few deep breaths, looking back into his reflection before plunging his hand through his armor, shattering a hole in the chest plate, which he used to rip it all off of his body.

"Then I will no longer serve as first captain. I'll take things into my own hands" He said to only himself, making his way directly to Holland.

***

Dr Gaster sat in his office, face in his hands as the stress began to overwhelm him. "How could he?!"

He screamed out, quickly standing from his desk and flipping it, his rage shaking the core itself as he began destroying everything in his office.

"Roman you bastard! What have you gotten yourself into now!!!"

His rage was only matched by his fear and regret. If he had spent more time looking for a cure… maybe… maybe it wouldn't be like this!

He had become so engrossed in his work. He had grown resentful of his brother. A genius that rivaled even himself. He wasn't as obsessive. While Gaster tossed his entire life into the core, Roman wanted to split their time for other research, but Gaster didn't listen. He didn't care. All that mattered was the core.

Was he to blame for how things were going? His anger slowly faded away and he fell to his hands and knees, begging that his brother truly had not done this.

Before he could truly begin grieving, alarms began to sound across the core someone had broken in

"Intense damage sustained! Total lockdown underway!"

The system began blaring in repeat, the core being shut down and plunged into darkness, minus the bright red flashing lights of the alarms. Gaster quickly assessed that someone was tearing through the core towards… Romans office.

Gaster was quick to act, quickly throwing off his lab coat, and replacing it with his dark black cloak. He was ready to fight.

As he made his way through the core, he came to a security door. Locked tight. He knew on the other end was whoever was causing this disturbance. He would not allow anyone to harm his brother.

He stood and waited, and waited… and waited. Nothing happened. He was ready to call it a full in the system when he started to hear the sound of metal being crushed and bent. The red flashing didn't provide proper lighting, but he saw the security door being twisted and compacted until it completely blew off its foundation, nearly taking out Gaster who narrowly managed to avoid it.

The second attack, however, he could not avoid, as he was thrown back by an immense wave of heat. He felt a sudden intense burning sensation and screamed out in pain as he realized the railway bars were melting, leaking molten steel onto him.

Gaster knew he didn't have time to collect his thoughts and quickly teleported to a safer position, to get a better view of his attacker, but now, he wished he hadn't.

"Edrege! What do you think you're doing!"

The creature who has busted into the core was none other than Edrege, stripped of his armor and emanating an immense heat. Gaster knew if he wasn't stopped, he would destroy everything he'd been working for. Not just that, but Gaster knew, Edrege's target was his brother.

That's when Gaster got a short glimpse into Edrege's eyes and nearly crumbled under the pressure of Edrege's rage, his blood lust. He knew if he wanted to survive… he would need his prototype. So he ran. Sprinting away as fast as he could. Thinking he had a decent head start, when suddenly

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Massive footsteps were rapidly approaching, faster than Gaster was moving. He tried to duck into an opposite hall, thinking Edrege was coming up from behind. He tried to hold his breath, staying silent as the thumping footsteps approached rapidly, and soon passed.

Gaster, desperate for survival, made his way through the halls in complete silence. Dreading the thought of encountering Edrege. He made his way to another security door, this time made of a strange liquid material.

Gaster sighed in relief, flaring his coat, and walking through. He had designed this security measure to keep even Roman from entering this room. The only security card to get through was the material his coat was made from. Any monster who would try to pass would have their soul attacked directly, repelling them.

The room, was almost empty, save one massive skull in the center of the room. Romans's first invention, was a dark secret Gaster had sworn to take to the grave. The blaster.

A weapon made from the melted form of other monsters, an amalgamation. It was dripping. Melting, but somehow after all these years was intact.

The experiments of two young boys, in an attempt to bring their only family back to life. Turned into this.

Gaster put his hand on the weapon, and it began to glow with a bright purple hue, slowly floating up from its pedestal. That's when he felt it, the heat. He quickly turned back towards his specially made security door, seeing electricity blasting out of it as two hands slowly tore through, parting the unique door from itself seemingly causing no damage to Edrege, who made his way through. Now face to face with Gaster.

"Where is Roman? I'll only ask you once. I know you know!"

"Edrege, I truly don't know. I don't know what you're doing, why you're attacking the core… attacking me. I understand you're angry, but anger isn't justice"

"What's the point in justice?! When justice tells me to turn a blind eye! When justice allows my sisters to be taken away from me, by your bastard of a brother! What has justice given me!?"

"Edrege, I know, this was not the path you wanted for yourself. I remember it all very well. Which is why you're so protective of Samas, I get it-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Gaster was flung across the room, breaking through the wall and back onto the railways. He felt so weak. As if his head had been crushed, reaching up, he felt it. A massive hole had been formed in his skull. Looking back at Edrege, it dawned on Gaster. Edrege had hit him with his mace.

Gaster barely made his way to his feet. Barely recognizing Edrege was walking towards him. "Don't say her name, Gaster! It's your fault that she got so tied to Roman! You're just as guilty! But I'm done with this broken system! When freaks like you and Roman are allowed to run free! No more games! I'm your judge, jury, and executioner! W.D Gaster, I hereby find you guilty, and your sentence… is death"

Edrege turned his walk into a sprint, charging at Gaster, who was still incredibly unstable from the blow to his head, but he managed to teleport once again, away from Edrege. With no control over his actions, Gaster was shocked when he heard a loud blast. Looking over, he saw a smaller Blaster had appeared behind Edrege, hitting him in the back.

This attack seemed to have stunned Edrege, giving Gaster just enough time to recover. He had heard enough. This slander on him, and his brother. He was tired of it all. A bright purple flame burst forth from his eye socket as he extended his hand, the massive Blaster beginning to glow behind him.

"Judge, jury, and executioner? Bullshit. You're just an overzealous kid who has yet to learn his place. Just another silver-spooned sniveling bitch"

Gaster waved his hand and the Massive Blaster split off into hundreds of Smaller ones, rapidly approaching Edrege. However, as they got close they began to immediately melt under the heat that Edrege was emitting.

Gaster needed to change his plan, instead, he had the blasters pull back and blast Edrege from afar. The hits weren't guaranteed, but hundreds of blasts firing at once guaranteed multiple hits, however, Edrege seemed to not be fazed like he had been with the initial blaster, walking forward toward Gaster through the blasts.

That's when Gaster noticed, the melted railways, He hadn't thought of this before, but he could use this to his advantage. Below them, would be a near-endless abyss, that would vaporize anyone who fell in. The center, of the core.

Changing the location of the blasters to in front of his attacker, he had them all release a constant blast onto Edrege, concentrating full power on pushing him back, but Edrege was quickly becoming used to it.

"The power of each blaster equates to two. When merging with another, it multiplies by itself. Two times two, four times four, sixteen times sixteen"

Gaster laughed as the Blaster began to merge again, getting larger and larger. More power than before. "Five hundred twenty-six blasters, each blaster shoots with the power of a cannon. Each multiplying by itself with each conversion. Well… you couldn't even begin to comprehend how large that number is."

With that all the blasters combined back into one massive Blaster, it took a moment to charge up, but not enough for Edrege to even contemplate moving out of the way.

The blast shook the entirety of the underground, swiftly alerting Asgore who began making his way to the Core. But Gaster didn't let up, he knew how strong Edrege was, and not a simple speck of dust would be left!

Gaster couldn't help but laugh as the Adrenaline of the situation finally took over. He felt powerful

Crack

Through the blast a large hand grabbed Gaster by the head, squeezing it and cracking it further. The blaster was forced to stop firing as Edrege tried pulling him into it. That's when Gaster got a good look, Edrege was down one arm. All that power… and he could only destroy one arm. Again, Gaster laughed.

"You're not just a monster, are you? You're a demon… you need to be destroyed… you need to be"

"Guilty"

And with that, Edrege crushed Gaster's skull, shattering it to dust. Causing The rest of Gaster's body to fall, slowly turning to dust as Edrege let him fall over the edge.

"Goodbye, Dr Gaster."