With all four nodes activated, Woona made her way back to the power room where Alphys awaited her. "G-good job, Woona," Alphys praised as she approached. "You handeled this p-pretty well...better than I usually do."
Woona smiled happily. "Thanks," she replied warmly. "How come you haven't gone in?" She gestured to the door with the four glowing lights. "It's open, isn't it?"
"I-it wouldn't let me in, for some reason," Alphys admitted. She walked up to the door...and it slid open. "H-huh," Alphys murmured worriedly. "M-maybe it was just stuck?"
Woona glanced towards Alphys suspiciously. She couldn't shake the feeling that Alphys was actually just afraid to go in without her, not that she could blame the drake if that were the case. Still, something about the way Alphys spoke told Woona she wasn't dissembling, so she let it pass. Shrugging, she went through the doors, only to step into another elevator. "Huh?" she asked, confused.
"It's the backup elevator," Alphys explained. "In case the main one loses power and crashes, this one can be taken back up to the Lab...or elsewhere in the Underground. Course, it needs power, too. The power room is this way." Turning, Alphys led the way through the hallway to the left.
Woona happily followed Alphys through the hall, past two data pads that did not turn on as they approached. "What are those?" Woona asked. "How come they aren't turning on?"
"T-they draw power directly from the central power core," Alphys explained. "They don't turn on unless it's on. It's this way." Walking past the two screens, she led the way into the final door to the north, Woona following along behind.
The large power room was almost featureless, the only part of it that wasn't blank floors, walls, or ceiling was the power core at the opposite wall and the pipes leading from it into the rest of the lab. However, none of the trio that had just entered could notice this right off the bat, as all the Amalgamates were there, filling the chamber, and blocking the path to the generator controls.
Alphys swallowed convulsively. "T-they've never done this before...w-what do we do?"
"I...I think they want something," Woona murmured, stepping forward.
"Woona, no!" Alphys spoke up firmly. "Don't do anything reckless!"
"And how do I not do that?" Woona asked curiously. "I've yet to meet anyone down here who abides by that for an example."
Somewhere, Sans just spat ketchup all over the nearest wall, Chara murmured, soft laughter in his silent voice.
Woona smiled, the bit of humor giving her confidence. "The Determination you injected them with...it tried to turn their magical energy into physical matter, which is what led to them fusing like this, because there wasn't enough magical energy in any one of them to create even a single body of pure physical matter. So each of their bodies tried to absorb living energy from the world around them to complete their body..."
Alphys gasped in shock. "That's why they were always so hungry after they woke up?" she murmured in awe. "They were trying to eat enough to stabilize?"
"But even monster food wasn't enough...which is why they fused," Woona explained. "If they could have gotten human food, or even pony food, they might have stabilized...but for now, maybe..." Closing her eyes, she focused her magic, pouring it into the Amalgamates.
The Amalgamates watched her, the magic flooding into their being as their semi-liquid forms started to solidify, gaining more stability. At first, it seemed whatever Woona was attempting was working, but then the magic she was pouring in started to be pushed back. Wincing, Woona withdrew her magic, rubbing the base of her horn.
"So much for not being reckless," Chara teased.
"W-what happened?" Alphys asked cautiously.
"I thought...if I drew power from the Soulstone, I could give them enough magic to stabilize them in physical forms," Woona replied. "And...separate them back into their original selves."
"And it...didn't work?" Alphys murmured sorrowfully.
"It would have," Woona answered. "I could feel it. The Soulstone was providing more than enough power. I...managed to stabilize them, so they're no longer melting all over the place...or leaving bits of themselves behind. But when I tried to separate them...they fought back. They...didn't want to be separated."
"What?" Alphys asked, stunned.
Voices began echoing around the chamber, the voices of the Amalgamates, though the voices did not come from any of the mouths. Some of the voices came out of Woona and Alphys' cell phones.
"We are together."
"We did not choose this."
"We did not understand."
"We were afraid."
"But we are not afraid now."
"We have found understanding."
"We have found strength."
"We have found unity."
"The bonds remain."
"Our families wait for us."
"We wait for them."
"We were angry."
"But now we are not."
"We forgive you, Doctor."
Alphys stared at the Amalgamates for a time, then wiped away the tears that formed at the corners of her eyes, sniffling. "T...thank you," she whispered softly. Walking forward, she held out her arms, and was enfolded into a large group hug with all the Amalgamates. With their physical bodies now stabilized, she wasn't absorbed. "I guess...I need to face up to what I've done, and bring you all back to your families."
The faces of the Amalgamates were hard to read, but the air in the entire lab seemed to become happier and less oppressive. The Endogeny activated the generator with its featureless muzzle.
Smiling, Woona led the way back towards the elevator...but paused as she saw what was written on the first screen she came to.
Entry Number 8
I've chosen a candidate.
I haven't told Asgore yet, because I want to surprise him with it...
In the center of his garden, there's something special.
The first golden flower, that grew before all the others.
Woona swallowed as she felt Chara's rage surging again.
The flower from the outside world.
It appeared just before the Queen left.
I wonder...
What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?
As Alphys stepped out of the power room, Chara erupted out of Woona's body, dragging her over as he manifested, knife drawn. "You!" he roared out angrily, red light and black shadows suffusing his form. "You did this!"
Alphys flinched back, terrified as she backed against the wall. "I-I-I d-don't underst-t-tand..."
"Flowey!" Chara roared out. "You're the one who brought him to life as a soulless husk!"
"I-Is that what he calls hims-"
Chara slammed his spectral fist into the wall, the force of his rage shaking the lab. "HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY BROTHER?"
Alphys' eyes widened as she realized what Chara was saying. "T-the dust..."
"He suffers every day...trapped...unable to feel...unable to DIE!" Chara roared out. "Too much Determination inside him to escape, as the resets bowed to him until Woona arrived! Trapped in a living hell that never ends!" Blinded by his rage, Chara raised his knife high. Alphys huddled in the corner, not even trying to defend herself.
Desperately, Woona tried to pull Chara back, but his rage was drawing too much of her magic into him. Desperately, she tried to pull them both out of the situation with a shortcut...but the wormhole failed when she couldn't put enough magic into it to complete it, and they both fell through the fabric of reality.
Poor Chara. I wonder where they'll end up?
... What?
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
That cliffhanger ... has me scared for what's to come.
oh shit
plus first comment
Woona... you must continue... you must... you need to complete your quest... your last stop... Asgore.
Gaster, here we come!
At least... I think it's Gaster we're about to see. They did fall through an unstable rip in reality.
Or we'll see Underswap. Or Underfell. Or even Outertale.
Or it'll be something completely unexpected... like the original version of Undertale maybe? Frisk and all? Actually, the more I think about it the more sure I become that we're about to see Negatale. That would be an interesting experience.
..... .....
7305466 I looked up Negatale and holy shist why that. I never even heard of it. Wow. Besides I'm hoping for Gaster. Great story! And Woona, make sure to use some of that leftover soulstone D E T E R M I N A T I O N to get the hell outta there with dadster.
Oh my goodness! Things just got real! Hope Chara and Woona are fine....
... Goddammit, Tatsurou, how haven't you gotten into Steven Universe if you can make stuff like this?
Wait, what's going on? I thought we were in magical pony land.
Oh, right, that. Woona, you better do something, or else, or THIS will be the least of Alphys' worries.
Woona, do something already!
WOONA, DO SOMETHING ALREA-... aw, I wanted to do the Rule of 3 thing. Oh well, time for random stuff to happen, see you later.
7305622
Actually, I think I will be getting into SU soon. Someone managed to present it to me in a way that got me interested enough to look past what put me off from it originally.
7305631 Ah, poo, I guess that's what I get for being terrible at saying words.
7305653
Here's how it was presented.
"Young son of single dad tries to balance realizing his magical destiny and a normal life while dealing with a small squadron of overprotective space-moms."
...given my recent story bent, you can see why this would intrigue me, right?
7305660 Wh-... But th-... and th-... I mean, from what I can gather, you're interested in super powerful beings adopting kids and teaching them stuff. But to most people, that's not really a deciding factor in the first place, it's usually just the intrigue of the characters, the setting, the presentation, and so on. So for me to guess "Hey, Tatsurou, you know how you make stories about adoption, fantastical adventures, and the kid applying what s/he knows to solve complex situations? Have we got a show for you!... And it's not Veggie Tales." would've necessitated me to know that's the thing that would've set you on it, despite the fact there should've ALREADY been enough to come to the conclusion that the story's about a kid being taken care of by 3 space moms with their own distinct personalities while dealing with the everyday struggles of being a kid and learning to-...
*9 hours of inane rambling later*
And that's why Chara and Frisk are shippable... whoops, lost track of time.
Whoooooooo lordy loo... what a chapter, jeebs.
Nice job so far!
Whoooooooo lordy loo... what a chapter, jeebs.
Nice job so far!
Nope, not gonna pun here. Things have gotten real serious now.
7305466 I'm hoping for Mafiatale.
7305692
It was specifically stating that the Gems related to Steven as adoptive Mothers that was the clincher for me.
Of everything I'd seen and heard so far about the show, nothing indicated that until I was shown a sequence of clips in a Youtube video entitled "Mom Squad".
Also, that becomes the backdrop on which everything else happens: the awkward adoptive parent/child relationship...especially when the Gems - if I interpret correctly - are struggling between taking care of Steven and trying to avoid fully stepping into his mother's shoes since they respected her too much to ever want to risk 'taking her place'.
Wow. Uh, I hope Gaster can help with them falling out of reality at the end there, that seems like a bad thing to happen.
Or Sans, since he can open the portals, too.
Umm I have a bad feeling somthing very horrible is about to happen and for once it's not because of Chara
A pretty nice start, followed by some pretty desperate things happening.
Woona stepped in at the last moment (or it seems so) but.. falling through through the fabric of reality does not sound pleasant.
At least it will give Chara time to cool off. Or for Woona to do something about it.
Or something.
But things certainly got more complicated.
7305430
Where indeed?
wonder what woona has gotten herself into now
7305718 if you did a story based on steven universe i would totally read it
7305702
7305701
Congratulations, it's twins!
the365effect.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ShitHitsFanMediumT.png
Gaster looks up from his newspaper as Chara and Woona land in his equivalent of a living room.
7306206 Shit has hit the oscillating cooling device
Everyone goes for Gaster.
I root for Sans.
Awwwww crap. It's all fun and games until someone takes on a physical form and pulls out a knife.
7305718 So, if this one is another PWNY story, does that mean that Steven gets a brother/sister and the gems have to juggle two children? Hmm, I wonder how Garnet would interact with them.
7306142
Yay! :D
Gaster is about to have some last minute guests.
Well then...
You do NOT want to mess with the fabric of reality, let me tell you that much.
7306775
Seriously, though, duplicate post.
7307322
Yeah I know, internet was messing with me last night
Simply put...
AMAZING...
And...
cLIffhanGEr
?
-
7305466
Or they'll land in some gamer's computer room. Or in the secret room that you can only gain access to by not hitting any of the end-credits.
7305707
that's a darn shame. Someone finally made a Sans and Carlos pic. Just found it about ten minutes ago.
static1.e621.net/data/sample/77/2a/772a350a34b8513ec217f09f558c1bd4.jpg
Chara pulled a knife again?
About time.
Oh... snap... I hope Woona can placate Chara long enough until he calms down... Things have changed...
7307075 Personal experience?
O_O
Did I do a good job with the game-version of the dialogue?
Finishes chapter and finds it to be the last one uploaded [TF2 Scout voice] ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!
I should have waited a few days until there was another chapter uploaded. Lesson of the day, kids: If the chapter title says 'final' and the story is incomplete, expect a freaking cliffhanger.
How am I going to sleep now? grumble grumble
7306560 Umm...I think you misunderstood.
7306560
I'm not planning an SU crossover at this point. I'm discussing watching the show to see if I'll enjoy it.
7311981 Well, ID say give it a shot, not sure how many episodes but I can definitely say that once you get into it you get to grow with Steven as he understand how to be a gem and how to protect and take care of others.
Plus it has its funny moments.
7311978 well now I feel like a fool. XD
7307075
7306923
And THIS is why W.D. Gaster has trust issues! Well, let's hope Wing Din Gaster brought cookies.