(no subject)

[vicedirector]

You awaken to blackness. Frightening, although familiar--this is the same terrible thing you narrowly avoided during your first trip into Lebensbaum. The pain of your death is still real, echoes of the wounds you suffered appearing on your skin. Inspecting your surroundings will tell you that you've woken up inside of the cooled, empty bonfire pit....and the town as it was is nowhere to be seen.

The sky is a whirlwind of blank, dark void. What previously acted as roadblocks on either side of the town seems to have moved upward, blocking out most of the sun's light. The street is barren, filled with piles of broken concrete, shattered glass, and smoking craters where many of the buildings used to be. Old bloodstains dot the pavement, mixing in with overturned cars and crumbling brick walls. Lebensbaum is a dead town, in more ways than one.

Except for the hotel. It stands, as dusty and abandoned as it ever was, but no worse for the wear. Scorch marks can be seen on the ground around it in a clear border, as though it had a barrier protecting it from whatever destroyed the village. If you venture inside, everything is in its place, as though the outside wasn't completely obliterated.

The living can be seen walking around, going about their daily lives, and if you concentrate, you can even see the buildings as they once were--in working order, clean, and in one piece.

As of Monday on Week 10, however, there is a door, seemingly pasted into the middle of the street. As the days tick by, the doors will increase in number, one for each victim.

Comments

[thebonezone]

[sans has to explain ritual sacrifice to her. great. how to do it really fast-- anime.]

alphys showed you that anime with the brothers, right? one of them's in a suit of armor? uh... halfgrass alkhatrist, i think. anyway. you know how they had to do a whole human sacrifice thing with a bunch of specific rules to create their magic stone? that's basically the same idea. it's killing people in specific ways as an offering to get something in return.

[it's simplified but. he tried.]

that's why all the rules and timing of it and the whole-- one of each sin, right? you guys needed to fulfil some conditions.

[detanimetion]

[oh okay now she gets it but also]

...you watch anime? With Alphys? [UGH BETRAYAL BUT ALSO A NEW ANIME FAN SHE CAN TALK TO SHE HAS VERY CONFLICTING EMOTIONS ABOUT THIS

oh right priorities]

Bullshit! If that's the case, why are they breaking the rules and killing everyone left and right now? Plus there was me and Sisuca! What's the matter, Sloth? People not dying fast enough for you?

[vicedirector]

[ another laugh ]

Nah...it's only the second phase of operations.

You and Sisuca weren't supposed to happen, yeah, but technically none of the rules got broken. You got done in, but by one of us, so you're slotted here in the same way as a culprit...you ever watch those executions? That's us.

[ .... ]

Is that it? I'm gonna go back to sleep, now...

[thebonezone]

[@undyne stop wasting all the questions sans already knew this bit. sort of. kinda. he's being more explicit this time around, at least!!]

you said you were getting energy out of this, but if it's a ritual sacrifice, it's gotta be bigger than that, right?

[detanimetion]

[UGH IT'S NOT HER FAULT NO ONE TELLS HER SHIT]

No, that's not it. And if you go back to sleep, then I'll set Papyrus's spaghetti on fire and feed it to you so you'll have to be awake the entire time you eat it. I think there's some in the back of the fridge from when I was still alive - it's gotta be what, three weeks old by now? More?

[SHE KNOWS YOUR WEAKNESS NOW SLOTH!!]

If it is just for energy, is there somewhere else you can get it that doesn't involve killing everyone here? [Like killing Katerina. She's down with that.]

[vicedirector]

Hmmm...I think I'll take that risk.

[ In true anime fashion, he sticks his hands in his pockets and hops on top of the collapsed wall he was leaning on it. ]

I'm done talking now. Maybe, like, calm down a few notches and I won't bail next time?

[ And Belphegor promptly vanishes into thin air. Searching the sloth door realm nor any of the others won't net them any results. He's nowhere to be found. ]

[thebonezone]

[motherFUCKER]

. . .

[you know what. you know what. it turns out sans wasn't over his trauma at all.]

[he's flopping down on the ground and groaning again.]

the wooooorst.

[detanimetion]

What, all that and he didn't even tell us anything useful? What an asshole!

Let's blow up his door. [SHE IS ACTUALLY GOING TO GO GET THOSE GRENADES FUCK YOU SLOTH]

[thebonezone]

[he should. probably stop her. groans more.]

no, i got something out of it. and don't explode the door, we might need it later.

[detanimetion]

Like what? We knew most of that shit already and the stuff we didn't doesn't seem like it'll be helpful at all? [UGH SHE REFUSES TO TALK TO LUCIFER OR ASK HER FOR ANY HELP WHATSOEVER OR DO ANYTHING WITH HER THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE MURDER]

Maybe if we blow it up, he won't be able to find a way back out here!

[thebonezone]

i know you hate puzzles, but even you've gotta know that having more pieces helps.

[that was a bit harsh for sans, so he just sighs and gets up. he's annoyed, but he learned something. that's more than he can say last time. he shouldn't take it out on undyne just because her brand of shounen clashes with Douchey McDadface.]

he can teleport, so a door won't matter. but i'll need it if i wanna go back out.

[detanimetion]

Not if they're pieces to the wrong puzzle. If he's willingly giving us answers, then they're not going to be ones we can use against them.

[She doesn't care about Sans being harsh with her at all - it's actually a pretty enjoyable break from his normal bullshit trolling! GO FOR IT SANS GET MAD AT HER THIS IS GREAT]

You're going back in there? You sure you'll be okay? Need me to come with you?

[no]

[thebonezone]

he probably doesn't think we can. and maybe we can't-- but we've got a bunch of humans still hanging out alive who might.

[and oh boy wow no. no he does not.]

nope. it's probably gonna be a waiting game anyway. which, heh. i'm pretty good at.

[that is nothing to brag about. at all.]

besides. someone might as well use that huge bed he's got. wake me up if something happens.

[detanimetion]

[So Undyne fucked off somewhere shortly after this conversation, but she comes back right before Sans is about to go through Sloth's door, looking unusually serious and pensive.]

Hey Sans. If you do see Sloth again, can you try something for me?

[thebonezone]

[... undyne looking serious is fine, but undyne looking pensive is probably the scariest shit sans has seen all day.

admittedly all he did today was bully his sindad so that wasn't very scary.]

uh. try what?

[he's not making any promises he hates promises???]

[detanimetion]

[ugh Sans you'll make a promise to a woman you've never met before but you won't make a promise for her SHE SEES HOW IT IS!!]

What I said about him being used as a tool clearly didn't work, but maybe you'll have better luck with your approach. [aka the lazy bastard approach]

The best chance we'll probably have is to try to turn the sins against each other or Katerina. She's clearly not as in control here as she wants us to believe. So...see if you can get Sloth to start thinking this isn't worth the effort. He doesn't seem to know what any of their actual goals are. Ask him if he actually has a plan beyond 'follow Lucifer around' and if it's worth spending all this energy on an end result he's not even aware of.

Ask him if it's really worth doing all of this just for some girl's stupid quest.

[Huh it kind of sounds like Undyne's been thinking a lot about this??? How strange....]

[friendboned]

. . .

WHAT'S THE NEXT PHASE?

[friendboned]

SANS.... YOU WATCH ANIME?

[somehow he shouldn't be surprised by this.... it's very uncool]

[thebonezone]

i gotta spend the time not doin' my job somehow.

[friendboned]

BY WATCHING CARTOONS... FOR CHILDREN?! THIS IS A NEW LOW FOR YOU, SANS!!!

[thebonezone]

i don't see how. i haven't gotten any shorter from watching them.

[badumTSH also how is cartoons for children any worse than literally in a bar papyrus]

[friendboned]

[look everything you do is embarrassing for him okay]

UGH!!! YOU NEED TO GROW UP ALREADY, SANS!! LIKE ME!!

[Mister Believes in Santa and Won't Go To Bed Without a Bedtime Story]

[SO MATURE]

[thebonezone]

[the most mature. speaking of mature:]

you sure did grow up, bro. and up and up and up and up... i think that's outta my reach.

[he obviously didn't mean literally but sans sure is making a tall joke.]

[friendboned]

[GROANS]

AND START BY CULTIVATING A MORE REFINED SENSE OF HUMOR... LIKE ME!!

[thebonezone]

nah. when it comes to cultivating jokes, i'm already outstanding in my field.