It was a cold December day in 2012. The dreaded 'End Of The World' was due in Two days and many people were terrified. The air was very frigid and you thought your cap might freeze to your head. They really don't give officers much in the way of Cold Clothes, do they?
Shivering, the man glanced over at the podium where Mr. Sanchez, the Chief Of Police is currently giving his speech. Tossing around various stories about him and how long he'd been in the service seemed to be his main goal at the second.
He knew for a fact that at least half of the crowd didn't want to stay out in this freezing cold, so he smiled in relief when the Mayor finally took over.
"What the dear Chief wants to convey here, my friends, is that Officer Deleon here is the perfect example of a proper peacekeeper. Under his watch, what used to be a crime-ridden district is now completely safe at night. He is the exact type of person we need in the force, which is why he is, from now on the bearer of the rank 'Lieutenant'."
The crowd gave a thunderous applause, their clapping sounding like the drumming of rain against a tarp roof. It blotted out all sound for quite some time as they cheered. The Mayor gestured to her right and indicated the now standing officer. He stood, smiling lightly as he marched his way up onto the podium.
His footsteps echoed around the city center as he journeyed towards the podium. His gloved hands gripped the microphone, giving it a light flick before his voice rang out.
"Thank you, Everyone. I'm grateful that you've decided to do this for me, however there's one thing I want to know." He began.
"Why me? Why not any other of the hardworking officers we have? Why not give this position to someone who's got better qualifications than I do?" He asked.
"Well, It Doesn't matter I guess. I humbly accept this proposal and the opportunity it provides. I've been working this city's streets and alleys for over five years now, and never once have I seen everyone come together and become the type of crowd we have here today." His voice rang out throughout the square.
"Each and every one of you I made an oath to. I've spent these years honoring that oath in the only way I know how. Protecting each and every one of you from the undesirable portion of the populace. From those who wish to do you wrong. It was your choice to honor me, and I have accepted it humbly. Thank you, every one of you." He finished, beaming at the crowd proudly. His viridian eyes flicked over the crowd, and his smile never faltered.
The mayor grinned at him before approaching. In her hands were two very important objects. The first was his new rank, it's silver badge gleaming even in the gloomy skies above. The second was a new uniform. It's bright blue fabric appeared as an ocean amidst a sea of gray to his vision.
He kept at attention, saluting the mayor as she pinned his new badge on, removing the older one. The placed it in his hands, before placing his uniform in the other. The crowd began to cheer once again before the Mayor addressed them once more.
"For your excellent Service Mr. Deleon." She said, handing him a check as well. The crowd slowly began to disperse, realizing the ceremony was just about completed. He smiled at her, before his boss clapped him on the shoulder.
"Oh, good show boy. You've done an excellent job these past few years. You know, when I first heard that you, an inexperienced, brash officer, would be placed under my care I was worried. I thought you'd turn out horrible. You've grown into a fine young officer however, my friend." He confessed, crushing Deleon in a heavy hug.
"Thanks, sir. I can hardly breathe though. Please get off!" The man wheezed, eyes bulging as he was crushed in the bear hug.
The two separated, before the Chief continued. "I'll need you to start working on the 'urbs a bit. Word has it that people are getting a bit feisty down there. I'm trusting you with the station, but you can keep doing your patrols. Or both, if you really want. Try to keep 'em safe down there, alright?" The chief grew serious, as he stared into Deleon's eyes.
"Of Course sir. I'd never let a Civvie get hurt." He admitted, smiling.
"When do you want me to take over, sir?" He continued, pulling out his ticketing-book and tearing a spare page off.
"One week from now, on Monday. You'll have all your office materials moved there, and you can do whatever you wish with your office. Do try and keep the pranks to a minimum though. We don't want a repeat of the Bagel Incident, eh?" His boss drew a frown as he finished that thought, as if the memory were painful.
"Yeah, sorry. I may have forgotten to tell you about those. At least they were edible though. Getting 'The Shits' was just a minor side-effect." He admitted.
The Chief merely glared at him, before continuing, "Well, head on down there by Saturday, get yourself settled in, and we'll talk then, alright?"
"You're the boss, chief." The younger man joked, chuckling as they separated.
By now the crowd had almost entirely left, and the two men smiled at each other.
"I'll report in on Saturday then sir. Have a good one" The Lieutenant bid them a farewell as they all separated and headed for their vehicles. He was grinning like a madman for the entire drive back to his home. Pulling into his driveway, he couldn't quite place it but something felt...off.
Setting the strange feeling aside, he entered his humble abode. His home was quite nice. Four bedrooms, Two Bathrooms, A spacious living room and Dining Area, and a very well equipped kitchen made up the majority of his home. He'd paid a hefty sum for it but he figured it'd be worth it for both him, and whoever ended up moving in with him. If anyone at all, that is.
Opening the door to his closet, he'd just begun putting his dress uniform away when he heard it. It sounded something akin to a sigh, and it echoed throughout his home.
His pistol was in his hands without a thought, as he began meticulously checking each room of his home. He'd gotten to the door of his own room, before he heard a voice through the door.
"I'm sorry. I interrupted you Sans, I'm sorry. I'll just go now." It whispered. It was a soft voice, filled with nervousness and a tinge of… fear?
"Wait, Naps-" The rougher voice stopped suddenly. It reminded him of the Chief's voice actually. It was deep and rough, and it sounded like sandpaper being rubbed against wood.
Raising his pistol, he kicked his door open, aiming it in the direction he'd heard the voices. He saw a very slight flicker of blue in the corner of his eye, and was surprised to see that the room held nobody within. Checking the room once over again, he sighed.
"Damn. These late-night shifts might be making me hear voices now." He mumbled, sliding himself under the comfort of his bed and drifting off to sleep.
He woke up the next day and it was just like any other weekend. He got up, got showered and dressed, and went out. He wandered through town for a while, went shopping for a few things and then visited some of his buddies at the local Restaurant. Tonight was an O's and Red Sox game.
They talked and mingled for a few hours before leaving in the late afternoon. However, on his way home he had that familiar feeling. The very same one he'd had shortly before hearing those voices the day before.
He shrugged it off though, preferring not to think about it.
He'd barely reached his development before he heard it. That horrible screeching. It sounded like a laughter from the depths of hell itself. It echoed throughout the entire city, Waking anyone who wasn't already up. It seemed to echo forever as it rolled off from Mt. Ebott in the distance.
Ripping his phone out of his pocket, he rushed towards his Precinct to get dressed, ignoring every question he got from concerned residents. He tore open the doors to the station, hopping over the front desk and straight into his new office. Donning the new uniform that'd been left there, as well as his belt, he grabbed his radio and began the call.
"I need all officers, on-duty of off in the Suburban District to get ready ASAP. I heard that, you heard that, and until we know just what that was, We'll be on high alert. You will tell me if anything you see, and you will stick in your patrol teams. You got that?" His order was clear through the radio. Confirmations rang out from everyone who heard him, not a single one wanted to be found alone with whatever made that noise.
He donned his own jacket, and grabbed both his pistol, and a single rifle from the Armory. Marching out towards his new patrol car, he quickly entered it and began his patrols around the areas nearest to Ebott.
He could still hear that laugh. Whatever it was, it echoed throughout the air, almost as if it were drilled into his head. That's when he heard it. It was a deafening noise, actually and he was sure everybody had heard it. It sounded like an explosion as it rumbled away from Ebott.
It repeated several times over, before a single scream was heard. It was the same as whatever had made that horrid echoing laughter earlier. It had been several hours since, and he could still hear that damned echo in his mind.
The world then grew silent. Even the laugh had stopped, and you could hear absolutely nothing other than the silent purr of his cars engine.
His radio pinged, and with one sentence he knew that life had just gotten oh so much more interesting. The Chief's voice came through crystal clear as he uttered what he wanted to say.
"The National Guard has been dispatched to investigate the explosions. They want you to secure the entirety of Ebott. You can handle this Deleon, the suburbs are closer to Ebott than any of us, and I need the rest of the force to hold down the fort."
The newest member of the Precinct Force smiled, before confirming. "Alright sir. I'll have my men secure the mountain, and you can take over for the 'Urbs then" He agreed.
He grabbed his radio and he called in to his teams. "Alright, you heard them chief! I want everyone to get into a search pattern on Ebott and leave no stone unturned!" There were confirmations all over the radio as the cars began their journey.
Mt. Ebott is fairly small for a mountain, and barely reaches past two-thousand feet. It used to be a popular tourist spot due to it's easily-managed slope and the very under-populated animal population. It was rare to see even squirrels for some strange reason. They seemed to avoid the entire range.
The convoy of police cruisers flew down the highway at breakneck speeds. Their sirens blared and let out a stream of shrill screams as they rode. Pulling to a stop near the peak, The lieutenant grasped his radio, and spoke.
"Everyone, I want a six-meter spread around the base of this place. We'll start down here, work our way up, and meet at the peak. Keep an eye out, and stay safe boys. I want you to keep your eyes and ears open!" They'd lined up as he spoke, quickly splitting up into a checkerboard pattern.
He lead the center, slowly climbing the slope of the mountain with his pistol clasped in his hands. His radio buzzed frequently with reports of strange noises in the distance. He looked to his men, trailing ever so slightly behind him before they picked up the pace at his leading gaze.
The climb lasted for almost an hour. They scaled the mountain with no sight of any life, be it human or animal. They heard the familiar thumping of helicopters going overhead when their Lieutenant's radio buzzed with a gruff voice.
"Is this Lieutenant Deleon?" It questioned.
"Yes sir. I presume you're with the guard?" He responded, continuing the climb.
"Indeed. My copters can see your climbing Mt. Ebott there for us. We'll keep an eye on you. Give us word of anything you see there guys. We're hoping this is nothing but you can never be too sure." The man on the line responded, the whirr of helicopter blades in the background.
"Will do. We're almost to the peak and we've seen nothing, but-" He was cut off with an ear-splitting screech of pain.
"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?" Whatever it was screamed. The voice was painfully loud, and it seemed to echo from higher above them.
"What the hell was that?" The Guardsman shouted over the radio.
"I've no idea sir, but we need to check it out." The new lieutenant's voice rang out steadfast over the radio.
"Quick! I can hear someone in a LOT of pain!" One of his officers shouted.
The line began to speed up with determination written across their faces. They scaled the last few hundred feet in mere minutes, each and every one of them keeping to the pattern with precision. The lieutenant was the first to spot it. The entrance to what seemed to be a cave, just below the peak of the mountain. His officers were quick to follow him, surrounding the entrance and training their weapons on it.
With a final warning from their overhead Guardsman, the officers began to enter the dark cavern. Flashlights flickered on, and they proceeded deeper and deeper into the depths of the seemingly black entrance.
And then they heard it. Cheering, the type of victorious, proud cheering that one would expect from survivors of a terrible catastrophe. They slowed, as they came to the edge of a large hole in the earth. The leading man held his hand up in a universal silent signal for 'Stop'.
He peered over the edge slowly, and his breath stopped when he saw them. At least a hundred, maybe more of them. Creatures of a number of sizes and shapes sat there, cheering and holding up what looked like a human child. His blood ran cold with worry when he saw her...him? He Wasn't entire sure, but he was terrified anyway. He shouted to the men and women who'd followed him.
"GET TO THE EDGE! WE'VE GOT A KID DOWN HERE!" his voice echoed throughout the cavern, and it grew silent. Every one of the creatures looked up to him, the child included. Their eyes widened with each officer that stepped up to the edge, peering over in concern and awe.
The Lieutenant was internally screaming. In his mind, all he could see was a child surrounded by monsters in the dark, at the top of a mountain that was screeching in terrible pain.
He stared down at them, and two of them in particular seemed to understand what his eyes conveyed. Two large bipeds took several steps away from the child, and waved their arms out. The rest of their companions followed suit, gazing warily at the hundred or so armed officers standing above them.
A deep, baritone voice rang out from one of the 'leader' monsters.
"Howdy! My name, is Asgore. I led us monsters in our long exile from the surface, and am eternally grateful to the human Frisk for freeing us." It spoke, it's voice echoing throughout the cavern.
There were several moments of silence before Deleon spoke.
"Drive back to town and get Washington on the line. They need to see this." He ordered.
The officers said nothing as they left, and Deleon looked down once more to 'Asgore' and his monster companions.
"Is there a way for you to get up, or do I have to order us the Ladders?" He asked, practically having to shout at the crowd below.
"There was a pathway we followed, oh so long ago. It should be somewhere on the wall up there, and the Symbol of our family should be with it. There must be something guarding it's entrance, else you'd have seen it by now." He spoke, his voice ringing out through the cavern.
The officer merely nodded, and they began their search. They managed to find something, albeit nothing too obvious. Hidden behind a heavily vined section of the wall was a small mountain of boulders. There was a heavy draft of frigid air coming from them and it took several minutes to move the last of them. Hidden behind was a spiraling ramp, heading downwards towards the open cavern in which the monsters were crowded.
As the officers made their way down, they saw elegant carvings etched into the ramp's walls. They pictured a great slaughter. Within that slaughter were both humans, and an array of different monsters and beings. They were being slaughtered by the dozens at the hands of the humans, and it was horrible.
The images were so vivid. So descriptive that the officers felt as if they had seen it with their own eyes. They held fast however, continuing down the path laid out for them. Time seemed to crawl as they descended the winding slope before coming to a stop. The wall ahead of them was solid stone, and a single sentence was inscribed upon it's center.
"The Determined And the Brave Shall Open This Gateway." It read, in its massive text. The officers looked to each other, before searching the area near the door. It took them a while, but after a few minutes they found what appeared to be a carved statue of a Cartoon-y Heart. It was hidden beneath a growth of moss, off to the side of the door. Pushing it down with his hand, Officer Deleon heard a deep rumbling within the depths of the walls. And then it slid open.
The door shuddered, and then fell into the floor with a deafening THUD. The officer flinched at the volume, before being greeted with a very up-close sight of the crowd that had been below. It was made up of hundreds, perhaps even thousands of monsters of different species and sizes. The one he'd spoken to before, Asgore, stood tall above the majority of them. He strode forward slowly and cautiously. It was then that the small human child he'd seen before came out next to him.
The child looked up at the officer, her eyes filled with determination as she watched his every move. For the first time in his life, Nathaniel Deleon was at a loss for what to do next. He made a guess though, and he knelt down near the kid.
"Can I get your name kid?" His voice was soft and cautious, unsure how nervous this kid was.
"F-Frisk, sir." They said, glancing away from the intimidating officer.
"Can I get your full name, please?" He elaborated.
"F-Francisca… Francisca Santiago, Mr. Deleon." She finished, her eyes flicking between Asgore and the officer.
His eyes widened slightly before he looked her over again, and he seemed to have a heavy realization. He smiled softly at her in relief as he realized that she was safe.
"I take it… from the inscriptions we saw you haven't been above-ground in… a while?" He spoke cautiously as to refrain from offending the admittedly intimidating monsters.
"It has been… quite some time. Many of this generation have never experienced true sunlight to be truthful. I hold none of this against you or your people, my friend." Asgore confessed, smiling softly.
Deleon nodded, before gesturing to the officers to begin escorting everyone up the ramp. He looked back to Asgore and then to Frisk before speaking again.
"So… Frisk, you went missing almost a month ago. What happened, honey? You looked so happy when you used to visit the precinct. Is everything okay? His voice was wavering slightly, filled with worry.
Frisk shook her head, before the tears began. She rushed forward, grabbing the man around his waist and hugging him tightly. She was bawling within seconds.
Asgore was only able to watch awkwardly as the young teen wailed, crying into the arms of the other human. He waited several minutes for her to slowly calm down until he spoke again.
"Have… I missed something, Miss Frisk?" He asked, kneeling down to her as well.
Frisk simply looked at them both before she rubbed her eyes. She took a while to compose herself before she began.
"It… It was right after the Divorce… My father changed. He wasn't himself anymore, and it was like anything I did infuriated him. One day he… he got much too angry.. .he was screaming, yelling..." She trailed off, looking away.
"Did he ever get physical, Frisk?" Deleon asked, his eyes barely containing his anger at the man.
"N-No. He was just too different, I guess. I… I ran away after a few weeks of his anger. I couldn't take it anymore between his rage and Mom's depression. He was always sleeping with women, and she was always crying. I couldn't take it anymore sir." Her tears were welling up in her eyes once more, threatening to spill over.
He nodded for a few seconds before standing, and began to speak once more.
"Is there anything else you guys need to do before we head out?" He asked, glancing at the remaining few monsters as well as Frisk and Asgore.
Seven monsters slowly stepped forward, glancing at the Human and the other two. A fish-like woman stepped forth before speaking.
"Can we see the sunset just once sir? It's… been part of our dream for a while now, and we'd be happy to watch it." She requested, her voice containing a commanding tone not unlike that of the officer's.
He nodded, leading them up the ramp and the final hundred or so feet to the top. They all watched from the peak of the mountain as the sun was setting. It was a quiet moment, before they all began to speak to Frisk. Deleon took this time to head back down to the entrance as to avoid listening in on their private conversation. One by one, the monsters he'd left with Asgore and Frisk departed, heading past him with nary a word.
He turned his head at the next set of footsteps before he spotted Asgore, A feminine version of Asgore, and Frisk
"Here, we can take my cruiser down to the station. We'll talk more there so we can get out of this cold." He suggested, smiling at each of them.
There were no complaints as the evening air got even chillier, and they began to join the last group of others. As they exited the entrance of the cave, there was a strange silence outside as the monsters silently rejoiced and basked in the feeling of the moonlight. Everyone seemed so happy and carefree as they made their way past the crowd.
They continued down the mountain towards the parked cruisers and they watched several large trucks driving by, no doubt to pick up the newly rediscovered underground civilization. He opened his door for both Frisk and the feminine Asgore, before climbing in himself.
The ride back was silent until at least halfway through, before Asgore spoke.
"Frisk… You have placed yourself in so much peril for us… You risked everything you know to save us. You have our eternal gratitude, you know. We will forever be in your debt." He admitted, beaming proudly.
"Yes, my child. You have done us proud. We'd be honored to accept you into our family, you know. We can do that right, Mr. Officer" The She-Goat Asked, glancing between him and Frisk.
He took a few seconds to reply, and he did so hesitantly.
"I don't see why not. I might not be a lawyer, but if Frisk was forced to run away from home in order to pursue a happier lifestyle, I see no reason for the courts to refuse the adoption. I'll have to call in a favor to guarantee it though. I just want her to be happy." He admitted, smiling sadly as he drove.
The rest of the ride into town as quiet, and as they pulled into the precinct, he looked sadly towards the two mosters.
"I'll need you two to wait outside my office before we begin. This isn't something I can do with others in the room, and I need her to explain to me in detail every single thing that happened from the moment she left home." He kindly requested, smiling at the both of them
They gave him their confirmation, before he led Frisk into his new, spacious office. Closing the door and locking it shut, he knew he was in for quite a long night.