The woods were full of whispers.

The time of man had longed since been forgotten in a world of nightmares and dreams, buried under the snow that covered the ground without bottom. Shadows reigned, darkness champion, for light was ambiguous to this realm of monster and beast that tormented only the mind of their creator.

Knights and heroes had fallen not in battle, the unconquerable could not be taken from the wounds that claimed the lives of mortals. Their demise came from within their own mind, from stalking in the woods that were full of whispers, from the hell that was not unlike the one you were in now. He was everywhere, the enemy without face or name, king of the Void and herald of darkness, heir to oblivion and lamentations. For he would sit atop a throne of tears and bloodshed as it had been prophesied from the tales of the Old.

You hadn't said that?

The darkness was suffocating, ebony claws of black that reached for your heart, eager to stake claim to the soul of the living. There was no hope here, wisdom and magic would not prevail in the realm of the mind. Here you were defenseless, subject to the mercy of the darkness, a foe without compassion nor love.

You could not remember who you were before this. The darkness had often whispered that you were here since the dawn of creation, no other being existed prior. You had no sire or dam to call your own, known to none but shadow. Memories would occasionally surface within the turmoil of black and forgetfulness, only to be burnt and carried away.

The King of shadow and nightmare had won. He had eradicated his enemy, the one of ink and creativity vanquished in a battle fought in the Void without name. And his one enemy, the pitiful excuse of a human that had remained a thorn in the King's side for far too long had finally been eradicated, their mind buried under the effects of the serum created by Mayor Grimes.

He went by the name Error, a title that had been bestowed upon the King of the Multiverse by a universe that had long since been eradicated. But not many remained to tell that name for their king was simply King, nothing more. If orders were questioned, reign challenged, their universe would be vanquished in the blink of an eye. It was amusing how humans and monsters alike prayed to their false gods when those were simply idols in the likes of Error, the one with true power, the one who could erase them as if they meant nothing.

Every living thing was a complex series of code that could be wiped away. Self-consciousness was a glitch from this, a bug that Error was determined to destroy. He reflected upon this as he sat on his black throne in the Void, watching the remaining universes hum to themselves with the distinct chatter of those that inhabited them. He was tempted to delete them all then and there, but Error liked being king and a king could not rule without his subjects.

The King had directed his focus to Mafia - the name Ink had once bestowed upon the universe. It was one of the handful that Error had not yet deleted, not that the option was available to him for the presence of [Y/N] kept the universe thriving, a personal shield against his war of darkness and oblivion. The reason that this universe could not be deleted, the reason that [Y/N] was the life preserver against Error's wrath was quite simple, a reasonable explanation that anguished him even upon recollection.

Unlike the others of the realm that were fabrications of code and thus virtually nonexistent, [Y/N] was alive, similar in composition to Ink or Error who existed outside of the mortal plain, able to jump from one timeline to the next. No code made Error and no code made Ink and the same was for the human that was now wasting away within Mafia. And once the serum took its full toll on [Y/N], they would simply cease to be and the universe would lose its temporary armour, subject to the mercy of its King.

This was the plan, the final step in total domination over the remaining universes. But [Y/N] had not given way to the serum, even as the hours passed and they lay collapsed on the ground, silently waging war against the army in their mind. But the serum would win, Mayor Grimes had assured her King of that. And liars were often met with tooth and claw in Error's realm.

But you would not die!

In a different life, in a different time and place perhaps eons ago had you faced the King of the Multiverse. You had brought him down before and you would do so again. The memory had resurfaced through the turmoil within your mind, the turmoil that was threatening to consume you entirely and send your soul into whatever afterlife lay beyond this one. You clutched the memory as a lifeline for without it the darkness would consume you.

I've beaten Error.

The name flashed through your mind. You remembered not just this life but of ones before that, lives where you had been in a thousandfold of different universes, alternate versions of reality with different monsters and different...

Sans.

You had not forgotten about him, even after all this time. There was still hope, hope for everything. The Multiverse and even this damned world would not be forsaken from mere foolishness. You would fight until your last breath for even though Error did not see it, every being within this universe was alive, capable of thought and feeling just as much as you were. And that wasn't a glitch, it was the definition of life.

With a gasp you tore yourself away from your mind, away from the clutches of the darkness and broke free through the grasp of the serum. Time seemed not to have passed, the sun still remained in the sky, the collapsed bodies of various humans still scattered about, they too fighting amongst themselves to resist the strength of the serum that now ravaged through them. You could not aid them for the battle was with themselves, one that none could best but the one involved.

You would fix this, the answer lie with Mayor Grimes. Even now you could picture her in the capital building yards away from you, watching in grim amusement as she claimed presumed dominance over her subjects. But you would force her to kneel, strip away her diplomacy and arrogance to reveal the wretched beast beneath. She would have a counter to the serum and you would disperse it, you would save them all.

And only then, when things were righted with this universe, would you confront Error.

"I'm coming." You inclined your head to face the camera that had focused its render on you, anticipating and following your every moment. With a flick of your hand, the magic that flowed through your veins became an invisible hand that ripped the camera from its post and flung it several feet away.

There were guards, the monsters under Grimes' control and the few freed humans that had become blood-traitors against their own species. The monsters you were merciful, for they acted not of their own accord and you only managed to deflect their attacks, not once harming them in case you could restore them to their former selves. But for the humans that had willingly opened fire against your band of rebels, converted the humans outside into potentially mindless servants, you showed no compassion or remorse for.

Not once had you seen Sans or any other significant figures within the monster community. Even Undyne had failed to make an appearance. Memories flashed through your min, brief details that you hadn't paid much attention until now. Sans hadn't reacted or mentioned much about his brother's death, but Papyrus had quite literally been vaporized, and that was not something one could come back from.

It would kill him, you realized. Sans had killed his brother out of spite, convinced that there was no way to bring Papyrus back from the clutches of the serum and had decided to kill the skeleton as an act of mercy. But if the word got to him that there had been a way to reverse the effects, what would the toll be on Sans? You didn't have the power to reset, you were certain of that. Once you died in this universe, your consciousness would simply pass onto another completely new universe and a whole new adventure would start.

You shoved the thoughts aside. That was something to think about later, something to contemplate after this was all said and done. You could not change the things of the past, only work to improve the future as best as possible. With that thought, you slammed your fist onto the elevator button and watched as the doors closed, concealing the burnt and mangled bodies of the humans you had slaughtered, disappearing the unconscious forms of the mind-controlled monsters.

It was quite an awkward scene, slowly rising thirty-two stories to where Mayor Grimes' office lay, eerie elevator music playing in the background. It reminded you of the music that had played in the Core, where you had often fought against Mettaton in various battles.

When the doors opened, your left hand was slightly ablaze with [F/C] flame, ready to counter any attack thrown your way. Grimes would not go down without a fight, she had yet to play her best cards.

But it soon revealed that Mayor Grimes had chosen to play her king card first, Asgore stepping into the midst. A red trident was clutched firmly in his hand, the first signs of decay visible on his face. "No," you whispered the phrase, to low for even you to realize that you had said it. A brief memory flashed through your mind, one that felt like joe than a lifetime ago, of Asgore infected with the serum and turning on you and Sans, having to kill him for the greater good...

Asgore couldn't be alive, not after you killed him, right? The serum did not resurrect the dead, it only controlled the minds of the living and put them in a trance-like state. But upon closer inspection it seemed that Asgore wasn't under the influence of the serum, some sort of device had been installed along his spinal cord that controlled his every movements, a corpse that was nothing more than a puppet.

His magic still remained, power as alive and fierce as the day you killed him. "C'mon [Y/N], you killed me once, why don't we make it another?" Asgore laughed to himself, voice rancid and hoarse from obvious decay. His eyes were a milky-white, no traces of his pupils remained.

He brought his trident down to your heart, a brute blow that caught you unawares and you managed to block it with a temporary shield that sprouted from the base of your palms, a metallic ringing filling the air as steel met magic. But this was an attack that you refused to let best you and you waved the shield away as if it were air, turning to the side as the trident pierced the area you had been only heartbeats ago.

You side-stepped another blow to the heart and formed a ball of [F/C] energy within your hands, the very containment of the magic humming through your entire being. This was not Asgore, this was a corpse that had been violated for the sake of Mayor Grimes' campaign. You were doing the former monster king a service by murdering his corpse, putting an end to its desecration.

You wrapped your fingers in an iron-grip against Asgore's left hand, pinning it to the ground with the sudden adrenaline acting as your fuel to the inferno inside, kicking him once in the chest that flung him to his back. "I'm sorry," you whispered into his ear, hoping that Asgore's spirit could somehow hear you in the Void. On those words, you slammed the ball of magic onto the device implanted on Asgore's back. He gave a violent jerk before going still.

"He's not the best of us."

You had wondered where Undyne went, news of her whereabouts were often shrouded in rumour and mystery. Sans was by her side, the two monsters sharing looks of complete nonchalance, minds masked through the serum that controlled their movements. With a pang you realized that you had been the one to ultimately deliver their fate, brought both Sans and Undyne into the state they were in now. Even if Mayor Grimes had forced you to inject the serum into them, it was still your very hand that had done the deed.

Unlike Asgore, Sans and Undyne had not yet died and still had a chance at recovery. The goal of this battle would be different, you would only aim to hinder them to the point where they could no longer attack you.

As a rain of spears fell down upon you, a torrent of blue magic bathed you from behind as both Sans and Undyne launched into the attack simultaneously. Every fiber of your body screamed in agony from the sheer extent of it all having already been worn thin from your fight with Asgore. Most of your energy was focused on the shield that acted as the only membrane between you and the brutality of Sans' blaster, knowing that you could potentially recover if a spear of two nicked you.

With a guttural cry, you tore yourself away from the shield and flung yourself onto the floor, feeling the heat of the blue laser roar past your huddled form. The blaster vanished as Sans prepared to launch another attack at you, giving you just enough time to make a move against Undyne.

Undyne charged, hands clutched around a black spear that she had pulled from the sheathe fastened on her back. You parried the blow with a translucent [F/C] dagger that had formed in your hands, feeling your strength deplete as the magic within you was taxed even further. You had not expected Sans to recover so quickly and barely had enough time to whip around and form a barrier to prevent you from being seared from the laser, earning a gash in the back from Undyne in the process.

A howl escaped your lips and the fight became a struggle for survival. Your dagger whipped without distinction, protected only by the shield that saved your from Sans' wrath. You kneed Undyne once on the side, feeling nothing but the agony of the gash that ran down your backside, the heat and slickness of the blood that pulsed from the wound. As Undyne twisted in response to the kick, you grabbed the spear from her hands and brought it against her throat, holding the knight to the ground. You increased the pressure, ignoring her frightened gasps and struggles, relaxing only when Undyne gave way to unconsciousness.

She was not dead.

Yet.

There was no time to revel in your victory as you turned around and dispelled the shield, meeting the blue laser with your own. [F/C] meant against blue, a spectacular display of light and magic that illuminated the darkening room as the sun set in the distance. Sans' impassive face was visible against the light of the laser, caring not for what happened today. An opponent with nothing to lose was only all the more dangerous.

You took a step closer to Sans, every muscle and organ in your body screaming from the strain the magic was taking on you. The two colors of your lasers had intertwined into a single mixture, where one started and the other ended was a mystery. You closed you eyes and allowed every focus of your being to center around this one moment, not one aspect of energy used to fuel your body was more important than what was occurring now. Mind blank, body numb, every essence of your being flowed into the laser that roared from your hands, a hurricane contained within a funnel tube.

A sudden pulse of energy erupted from your hands and it became the breaker of the bond between your and Sans' connected lasers, throwing the two of you back. Sans collided with the wall and went still, for what you hoped slipped him into unconsciousness. You too felt fatigue, but you were immediately dragged from it as you were lifted from the floor as if you weighed nothing more than a rag doll.

"Impressive," Mayor Grimes clucked. "You've managed to best the few humans that swore alliance to me, conquer the monsters under my charge and even surpass the few of monsterkind's most legendary warriors. He was right, you surely do not fail to impress."

"Error," you replied back, attempting to keep your voice steady. The handcuffs she had fastened around your wrists blocked any magic from flowing through you. You were helpless, hapless to her mercy. "He doesn't care about you or me, only to see the world bathe in fire and flame. We will all burn together if we don't do anything to stop him, working for the demon is only helping to bury yourself five feet under."

Your eyes searched here, hoping to find any trace of reason there. "I can't do it alone," you whispered, which wasn't a lie. Facing Error alone would be a suicide mission, especially if he had proven to be even a rival to Ink. You hoped that painter would be able to help you when this was all said and done. Come to think of it, where was Ink now? It seemed quite odd he hadn't interfered with what was happening within here now.

"I made a promise," Mayor Grimes whispered as she raised a silver knife from its place on her table. "I told my king that I would stop you, that I would serve him and he would reward me. He would keep this universe safe, keep it alive. I'm only going it for my people." She gestured outside the window to where the rebels were now waking up from their serum-induced comas, enslaved within their own minds. They had not won the fight as you had.

"You don't have to do this," you whispered, urgency in your tone now. "There's a counter-serum, isn't there? We can give it to the monsters and the humans, forget this ever happened. I'm not the threat here, Error is the one that will kill us all. He doesn't live up to his promises, we're rodents in his eyes."

"Determination," Mayor Grimes noted, respect flashing vaguely in her eyes. "After all this time, no matter what has been thrown your way, you've always been so determined. Such a shame that you have to meet your end at such an age."

As the tip of the knife pressed against the hollow of your chest, a spell formed not in words nor expression manifested itself. It was simply desire, the want to change and alter the fate in front of you to better suit your needs. Bound not through your chains, the spell latched into the knife and forced the blade around, the tip now facing Grimes herself. Without any hesitation, the blade buried into her chest, a wet thud that resonated through the empty room.

Perhaps if this had been a fairytale and you a hero would you have given Mayor Grimes a second chance, allowed her to learn from her mistakes and become a better person. But this was not a story and you were not a hero, and revenge was all that brought you satisfaction on the final moments of Grimes' dying breaths.

The sun set in the distance, the last of its rays barely illuminating the tucked away files that read Counter Serum, heralding the ending of one chapter, promising the beginning of another storm yet to come.

For as the King reigned on his throne of black in the Void without name, there would be no peace.

(A/N: I'm so sorry for the huge delay in posting, this chapter took me awhile to write. This is actually not the end of the book, Repo Man isn't even halfway over. And yes! This story will bring more aspects of Mafiatale into it in the coming chapters!)