Undertale: Aleph Null

Clash Of The Pillars

For another twenty seconds or so, I stood in silence, even the air flowing through having calmed, allowing the pain of my broken fingers to settle in as I catch my breath. All was still. I took a final deep breath before turning fully around and walking up to my knife.

I instinctively reached out with my right hand, immediately feeling the pain anew. I picked it up with my left, and looked back to the village, only to have a familiar figure catch my eye from afar. Sans.

'With how high of a pedestal you put him on, I'm surprised you haven't already guessed he's figured out he has a traitor in his midst.'

"What convenient timing for you to show up, isn't it, Sans?" I said loudly for him to hear. My body worn and the potential competition wiped out. I looked at him again, and he seemed... different. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about him seemed off. He emanated an aura of danger. Was it because of the training, or mastery of his powers?

He simply started walking closer, calm as ever. "what's with the odd air of criticality, kid? i showed up when i was supposed to. the apparent convenience of you just now killing my accomplice, who decided he could finish the job early, is a mere coincidence."

'Finish the job early?' Did Sans not tell him to come five minutes earlier. Daniel seems the type to do so, but what use would it give for him to lie?

'Please, you of all people should know that Sans never really answers any questions you have unless he wants to.'

Or... what advantage would it give Sans to lie about it? Daniel already said that he thought he couldn't beat me, and no matter how hard he tried, he already accepted his fate. Why would he lie, when either way, he's most likely dead? But then again, what would Sans gain, looking morally in the right?

"you're strangely silent, kid," Sans finally said, already walked up fully, breaking my train of thought. He was about as far from me as his pawn was. Whatever, it doesn't matter much now anyway. This was always going to end with a fight, who was or wasn't additionally going to participate doesn't make a difference.

"You're 'accomplice' sure talks a lot. Makes you think about why you picked him in the first place."

"i have my reasons. though the importance of those don't seem to be so important now." He stayed silent for a few seconds, looking around to the village, to the broken buildings, then back to me, pupils gone. "how about we finish this, kid." Still looking serious, he winked and started his fighting stance, his eye flashing once again. "for old time's sake."

I started to tense up. But he wasn't making any moves. Was he waiting for me to save, to get stronger, but...

'You better train hard until we meet again. Because I want to fight you at your best, or is that only a thing that can be between you two?'

Dammit, get out of my head! But was he talking about Sans and me? Is he that confident to want to fight me at my best, or just foolish? With the entire fate at hand...?

Whatever. I'm not going to wait for him to change his mind. I get into my stance, switch my knife to my right hand, put up my shield, and Save the world as it is. My wounds heal in an instant, and my Determination surging through me once again.

The moment I moved, Sans lifted his head, eye flashing with more force than ever as a hurricane of flame engulfed me. It wasn't letting up, so I extended my shield away from me into a dome, preventing me from burning through close contact.

Which is exactly what he was hoping for me to do. A few seconds after, bones of blue and orange started appearing, and the ground quickly radiated a blue light. I jumped up as high as I could, dodging the spears, but the bones were still approaching. I collapsed the shield back into the armor, evaporating all of the remaining bones. I started to feel the heat quickly, and right as I landed I bent down a little and twisted my body. I spun myself in a circle, sending a wave of Determination, much weaker that the others, out around me, with enough force to blow the fire away.

We both stopped for a second, looking at each other. It took me a second, but my face started to feel sore. I was smiling wider that I have in a while. Now this is a fight. "That flame came out of nowhere."

"and your Determination shield was able to neutralize my own attacks," he added.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we both have learned more about our abilities," I finished, getting a nod of agreement from Sans before spears of almost all variants materialized behind him. I could use the shield to block them all, but if I only use this, I'll never be able to get a hit off, especially not one that could kill him.

They all started to come at me seemingly at random, but within were areas to go. They were going too fast for me to dodge on my own. I switched to Perseverance, not allocating any power to it, just using the innate acrobatic improvement, being able to move faster than I initially thought without any Determination, dodging all of the projectiles mostly without a problem, as well as approaching on Sans at the same time.

When the barrage was almost over, I got close enough to where there were none flying at me. A slight blue tint caught the corner of my eye, and with greater speed and power than I meant, I lept off the ground. As I heard the spears go up, I turned to Justice, powering it as I aimed my hand at Sans, firing off a relatively large shot. Sans jumped out of the way just in time, but it was closer than he probably imagined.

We're about ten feet apart now, and before I get the chance to land, Sans throws his left hand ahead of him, and I start to feel my gravity pull me away. Not this time.

I change to the Integrity SOUL, shifting my gravity back easily and returning myself to normal. I the opportunity and add a little Determination, forcing my gravity to rocket myself towards him. I put my feet forward, and right as he jumps away to avoid the drop kick, I swing my knife, missing him with the blade, but throwing another wave of Determination. I stop using the SOUL's power, falling back to the ground like normal, looking around to see Sans standing, a burn mark on his jacket. He must have been able to teleport just in time.

He lifted his hand up, and I immediately got ready to switch to Integrity. But nothing was happening. In a panic, I turned to Perseverance, enhanced it, and strafed out of the way before another blast of red yellow fire exploded out of his palm.

I fell to the ground, sliding a little ways, finally stopping thirty feet away. Neither of us have been able to get off a hit yet, but just fighting like this is exhilarating. I almost forgot how it feels to fight against someone who is a worthy opponent. The pawn was able to give a good fight, way better than I would have ever imagined, but this is a whole new level.

Sans was preparing a condensed ball of fire under him, letting it explode, not hurting him, but throwing him up in the air. When he got to the peak, about twenty feet above the ground, he put his feet down, and fire erupted from the bottoms of his feet, not allowing him to fly, but letting him levitate in the air. He stopped and looked at me, expecting me to make the next move.

This is what I live for. I could kill Sans in a single good hit if Determination is flowing through it, but that's what makes the fight even better. If Sans ends up being able to kill me, I'll just come back stronger, learning the new patterns until I finally defeat you. I bend down, getting ready to attack, face muscles straining. But even then, what would be the point of stopping it here!? I'll just come back, and before I start breaking your hold on the world, I'll reset, living this life again and again, lighting the fire of this fight anew.

"Honesty! That's something I've been waiting to hear for a long time now!"