Chapter 2: The Beginning

Loop 107

Chara was still screaming, hitting him ineffectually with small ghost fists. He was lying on the ground, surrounded by smoldering rubble. All around him past the reach of his fingertips, there was ruin. But, not right around him. This space was untouched save for candles marking a magical seal underneath him. Not his own seal. It belonged to the priest. A trio of bells were chiming just out of his sight.

Sighing, he tried to relax. He always had to redo this part when beginning a new loop. And he couldn't do a thing to prevent this. His chronograph would no longer allow him back past the moment that the seal trapped him here. At least this time, there would be another benefit. The remnant stirred within his heart, not yet realizing that its old self was separated from it still.

"Mother Earth, take pity on these poor children before you," the priest chanted, adjusting quickly to a ghost being here too. "Let us separate them from the unnatural hatred and resentment that clouds the sight of their souls."

The priest went on with the chant; the seal flared with power, reaching through them to purify them. Having gone through this before, he bit his tongue lightly to keep from crying out in pain. The holy power of the mother goddess seared the corruption in his soul. It really wasn't that bad, he told himself. After all, he'd gone through this with a much higher corruption and that had been hellish. The remnant didn't even flail anymore. Instead, it simply accepted the casting out and returned to Chara's grave.

As for Chara, they stopped screaming in confused rage and started wailing in confused pain. He shouldn't be callous, knowing how this felt. He reached out to the ghost. "Hang tight," he whispered, the words jarring as the exorcism continued. "Y-you're good, right? This'll just, clear things up."

It didn't take long for them to slump over, their spirit lying against his chest. "Azzy, Azzy," they murmured wearily. They almost looked normal: hazel eyes, long chestnut brown hair, and pale skin.

"I'll get you home, somehow."

Taking care of ghosts and possessions was a part of the responsibility of being a priest. All humans could produce a ghost upon death if not properly interred and possession was a standard work hazard for wizards. Still, this case was unusual in many ways. The ghost was a twelve year old child that had been disconnected from their remnant; they curled away in a corner warily, watching. And the possession victim was an eight year old boy with a two hundred and fifty percent corruption rating, causing his cold emotionless gaze to have a red glow.

"I'm placing a Penance Rosary on you," the priest explained, setting the beaded choker around the boy's neck. "I'll explain its functions later."

"Okay," the boy said, eerily calm. He didn't even flinch when the rosary sealed shut.

Corruption did rise in the case of demonic possession, but this much in a child? He wouldn't believe it if he wasn't seeing it right here. Taking up a clipboard, he started in on the registration form. "Do you have your name?"

"No," he said after a moment. "It was stolen from me; I've been using Nevyn instead."

After making a note that the name had been stolen, he checked against school records to find that he was right. He couldn't grasp the child's name while in the same room as him. "Very well, Nevyn. How old are you?"

"What timeframe do you want?" he asked, bringing up a hand and summoning... was that a chronograph? "8, but realistically I'm 577 years old."

"May I look into that chronograph for proof?" he asked.

"Fine, but I can't let it go," he said, holding his hand out. According to the magical artifact, he was indeed that old. It was embedded right in his body too, an incorporeal device that would have appeared in him right around birth.

As the priest thought that, he wondered how exactly he knew this. Another thought made the answer clear. "You must have natural powers over time."

He nodded, dismissing the chronograph. "I go forward normally, but I can go back almost freely. Your exorcism seal keeps me from going any further back than today."

"And who's this ghost with you?"

"That's Chara, one of the seven children who disappeared up Mt. Ebott in the past century," Nevyn said, glancing over at the ghost. "I don't know much more about this one, but I've been tasked with returning those seven children back home. Only they're all dead and this is the best I can do."

The name was familiar. "Ah, it shouldn't be hard to locate their old home. What exactly started all this?"

"A deal with a devil gone very bad," he said, still monotonous and calm.

While the priest knew why Nevyn could not emote, it didn't make interviewing him any less unnerving.

Loop 106 Notes

Started LOVE 28, ended LOVE 25 at winter 18. Finally making progress again.

Fostered by Steelblaze family: avoid this happening again, they treat me with too much caution and fear. And their house is full of doors.

Met with Master Joachim Sunherald and got him to agree to apprenticeship. He knows a key to the Master's Study. -Got the key spell. Trained in self-discipline again, seems to be working this time. -Joachim suggested that I need to work on socializing more, I promised I'd try to make friends each loop.

Studied stories of the missing children, see relevant files. Divining suggests they all entered through the sinkhole cave at the foot of the mountain that drops down into the underground. -leads to Chara's grave at the end of the Ruins. Not as deep as it looks, survivable if fallen in through the lowest part of sinkhole, nearby vines could help to get down safely. Ground appears unsteady. That area of the underground may collapse well before the rest of the mountain goes, do not enter late in a loop.

-All seven of the missing children are dead. Maybe an eighth child around based on tracker? Six of their souls are held captive in Asgore's castle, they must have some plan for them. Research what monsters can do with human souls. Mystery eighth soul was a white arrow that couldn't pin down the target, need soul's name, probably a child because I was thinking of them as the lost children. Research other missing children. Chara's grave is at the end of the Ruins, their red soul followed me into loop 107. Chara is the original self of the spirit that got my soul and name. Said spirit is almost certainly a remnant.

-New section to airplane note from underground (still presuming it's Sans). He knows I haven't been to the underground in a number of loops. Does not seem as hostile or challenging as usual, more lazily written. Could be good, don't want to fight that guy again.

-Asgore says the monster who knows the most about the barrier would be Dr. Alphys. She was dead. Chronograph suggests an intentional death in a range of over three years, spring 14 to autumn 17. Would be preferable to meet up with her somehow. Don't know how much she can add, but could be valuable resource.

-Undyne knows Fleetfoot, careful of this any time engaging her in open areas or on capitol's rooftops.

Loop 107 notes

Started LOVE 25. -Not enough degrading to count as progress by winter 10

Remnant Chara still has hold on my name and soul. -Ghost Chara is not happy, has a serious hatred of humans. Have not managed to talk with them much.

-Fostered by Andersen family. Improvement over Steelblazes, but not by much. Mr. Andersen confiscated my tablet for two years, had to make notes in notebook and hide that among others. Finally got it back provided I agreed to signal tracking, forbidden zones, and heavy internet filters. At least it's not file filters as my early loop notes would be censored for violence and swearing.

-And two years without my own library card is equally frustrating. Joachim's self-discipline methods coming in handy. Mrs. Andersen finally said I can visit library on my own on tenth birthday, provided I join one of the children's clubs there as I tested out of school and can't join their clubs. I should to see if socialization does help.

Shrill unnatural sounds going right through her brain, like nothing she'd ever heard before. Painfully bright sparks leading a previously unmovable door into being ripped right out of its frame. A wake of cool air shifting her hair as said door went hurtling right over her head… who could be that powerful? That door had not budged for centuries!

The creature turned slightly towards her. Human? Possibly, she wasn't sure. She remembered her first look at it, burning red eyes under a hood's shadow and unholy marks on what little pale skin showed. Now, its eyes turned their intensity at her. "Does that satisfy your curiosity?" It spoke without pride or threat. Or any emotions. Just a deep steady one-note beat.

Elsewhen, a vicious grin spread across the creature's dark green face. Its white eyes looked at her like a precious figurine it could not wait to shatter into a thousand pieces. It did not speak, but sometimes it gave a reedy laugh at things that made no sense to laugh at. Like a kid trying to stand up in bravery but unable to do anything out of terror. Like the glint of dust in the cool glow of the marsh mushrooms.

She would not be afraid. She could not be afraid. Right now, she could only think of a single purpose: destroy this creature before it killed any more. Her soul was filled with an intense drive, pushing her magic beyond what she could ever do before.

And she died. And she died. And she died. Again again again, death. Dust. Nothing.

Undyne jolted up, finding herself in the dark, in bed. What was that about? She put her hands over her face, making sure that she was awake. She had dreams like this sometimes, a grand battle against some undefinable creature. Perhaps a human? But it didn't look like the humans in Alphys' history books, more like a demon creature. Unlike most of her dreams of grand battles, this particular set ended horribly. They were nightmares.

Fortunately, the dream was fading fast from her mind. Did it mean anything? Sometimes dreams that repeated themselves did. But she didn't like talking about this particular nightmare. She was Undyne, head of the Royal Guard! She would not be afraid, especially not of a dream. Perhaps some tea would help to calm down and get back to sleep.

She got some chamomile tea, but the time it took to brew and sip let her wake up more. Now what? It'd been quiet lately, so today's patrol would just be a walk around Waterfall and some questions to make sure it really was quiet. She didn't have any plans. Without thinking on it much, she picked up her phone and wondered. She could spend some time practicing before going out. Or maybe, was Alphys doing anything? Maybe sleeping. She dialed the number anyhow.

And she picked up after only three rings. "H-hi, Undyne?"

Oh, now what? "Hey Alphys! How's the weather?"

"Uh, you know, um, the usual. Hot around here, and, uh… what are you doing up at this hour?"

Undyne leaned back in her chair. "Nothing really. Woke up from some really weird dream."

"A dream? What about?" She was concerned, not as shaky as she usually was over the phone.

"Can't remember now," she admitted. "I just know it was weird and woke me right up. What are you doing up at this hour?"

And she went back to being nervous. "Oh, um, er, well j-just some work, you know, lost track of time? How to, um, well it's really complicated, hard to explain really."

"You're working all the time, you ought to take a break before the stress gets to you," Undyne said. Because Alphys did not need a lot of stress going on. "Hey, you wanna hang out somewhere? Just not in Hotland unless you've got somewhere air-conditioned because that heat sucks."

"Oh, uh, s-sure, I guess I could save my progress and hang out for a bit."

Undyne forgot about the dream by the time Alphys asked her for more details, at least until she had the dream again several weeks later.

"Wipe the mucky snow off your boots, Nevyn," Mrs. Andersen said as they walked into the Hearthstone Library. She was careful to set their umbrellas together in the rack.

"Got it," he said, although she'd insisted on such action so often that it was a habit now when there was any precipitation.

She looked around the lobby area, eying the modest statue of Hestia with some skepticism. "Always heard this place was for literary snobs and scholars, but doesn't seem too bad. Are you sure you don't want the library closer to our home?"

Touching the first few beads on his choker, Nevyn held back on snapping that he was a scholar and this was the best library in Ebott City to get resources for his research. "I like this one," he answered.

"Well, all right," she said, nudging him over towards the front desk as if he couldn't tell where to go. "Excuse me, I wanted to get a library card for my foster son here."

The librarian on duty nodded. "Of course, are you looking for a general card?"

"Don't you have a separate card for children?" she asked.

"No, we'll just mark it as a youth card until he's thirteen, then a teen until eighteen."

"May I get a card that allows for access to magical resources?" Nevyn said, briefly cursing his inability to see over this counter.

"You'll need to be tested for knowledge on magic books for that," the librarian said.

"What would that get you?" Mrs. Andersen asked in worry.

"Access to the enchanted books, for one," he said. As well as access to the Master's Study, which was where he really needed to be. That was the only place that he knew for certain had books on the barrier from the time that it had been erected.

"Enchanted books can't be taken out of the library by a child, but he can certainly read them in here," the librarian said. "We have safety measures in place to prevent trouble from such books." Nevyn silently thanked her for saying that.

"Well, all right," Mrs. Andersen said. "Can't be much trouble if you can't bring them home. Although I don't know where we'd go to test your magical knowledge."

"We can handle that here," the librarian said, now passing over a tablet that held the library card registration form. "In fact, I'm pretty sure we've got some masters in today; I'll send a message up to ask if one of them is willing to test him. How long are you going to be here?"

"I have to be at work shortly, but he's going to be staying here today," she said, taking the tablet and almost writing in the form.

"Oh, he should fill it out because the tablet will authenticate to that, not just the signature." The librarian nudged it away from her

"You're letting a child do an awful lot," she said, but she did hand it to him.

"I tested out of school, Mrs. Andersen, I can handle this," Nevyn said, taking it over to a chair nearby to fill out.

"We figure if they want a library card, they should know enough about writing to fill out a simple form," the librarian said with a smile.

Even with that said, Mrs. Andersen hovered over him to make sure there wasn't anything potentially improper in the form. She needlessly reminded him of how to spell her name as his guardian, the street they lived on, and even the city name itself. Then he had to explain to her (and wait for her to get confirmation from the librarian) that the advisory stating that enchanted books could be dangerous was a standard legal precaution, but realistically the majority of such books could be safely handled with politeness and respect. Any that were truly dangerous would require a librarian's help for anyone to get access to.

Thankfully, she had to get going to work by the time Nevyn went to hand over the registration. "Most of this library is organized by the university classifications, do you know about that?" the librarian asked.

"Yes, m'am," he said.

"Good, well you're always free to ask here at the main desk for help; there's some other librarian desks on other floors as well." She set the tablet into a docking station to transfer to registration. "And I did get one of the magic masters to agree to give you a quick test here. He'll be down in about ten minutes, we'll hold off on giving you your card until that's done."

"Okay, thank you," he said. "You had clubs here, right? Is there a posting of any recruiting for new members?"

She nodded and pointed out an electronic board nearby. "Yes, go use that screen to get to the club directory; one of the options is for openings and recruitment."

In the directory, he found that most of the children's clubs were actually part of a nearby school complex. However, they did note that some clubs were accepting children outside the school body as long as they had a Hearthstone Library card. That was a plus as it gave him lots of options. He skimmed over the science, technology, and magic clubs, but declined them because his over five hundred years of experience would give him an unfair advantage with his supposed age group. Perhaps a reading club? There were some that were connected to just the library.

Then he found something he wouldn't have considered if he hadn't spotted it: the Sunbeam Optimists Magical Cooking and Baking Club. That seemed weirdly specialized, but it was a part of the school's clubs and had a good many years behind it. Because monsters only ate magical foods, he was familiar with magical cooking even if he hadn't done much of it himself. It'd be a club where his experience wouldn't be much of a factor. Besides, they were optimists. That had to be good.

Like the other school clubs, they were looking for new members for the spring semester. That made their next meeting... a week away. Nevyn jotted down the name and date on his tablet, then double-checked to make sure that the school wasn't in his forbidden zone as that was where they were meeting. Once he got his library card, he could request a joining pass for a non-student.

"Nevyn?" an old man said, coming over to him with a cane.

His body went tense as he turned to this familiar face. "M-master Joachim?"

He smiled. "Ah you know me then. Surprising, wouldn't think I'd be known by a child." Then he took a second look and rubbed his chin. "Although, you seem familiar to me. Like I knew your voice before you spoke."

He couldn't remember. But, sometimes things slipped through when he rewound time. "It's a difficult thing to explain," Nevyn said.

"At any rate, you wanted access to this library's magical resources?" Joachim asked. "Can't give you a full on ranking test on the spur of the moment, but we can see if you know enough about magic to handle such access. Come on, we'll need to us a separate room just in case."

"Yes sir," he said, following him. There was a twinge of hurt knowing that he'd have to start all over again to reconnect with Joachim. At the same time, was that a bit of happiness at having the faint recognition? It was hard to tell with much of his emotions repressed behind another being having claim to his soul.

"What do you want the magical access for?" he asked as they entered an elevator.

Nevyn felt a quiet fear as he walked in. The door would shut; he did not like being closed in. Still, it wouldn't last long. Focusing on the conversation instead of the shutting door, he answered, "To get into the Master's Study so I can study the barrier that seals monsters underground."

Joachim raised his bushy eyebrows at that. "Really now? This won't get you access to the study, you know."

"I do," he said, bringing up the key spell on his tablet to show him. "I can get in with this, but I need the library card with magical access to get to that floor on my own."

At first, he was skeptical. As he realized the key was authentic, he looked down at him curiously. "Hmm, who would give such a key to a child your age?"

"You did," he replied. "When I was older. It's a long complicated story."

When Nevyn aced the magical test without effort, Joachim started to believe him again. He even offered to give him an official ranking test in a couple of days. This time, it got him recognized as a Second Rank Wizard with a special asset of being able to cast high magic Delta Rune spells. Only one more rank until he could be recognized as a master, although he doubted he could manage that while his corruption rating was still over two hundred percent.

The Master's Study was not a place for an amateur. The native magic that accompanied these books extended into the air around them, forcing one to constantly keep their soul on the move to not take damage simply in being here. Words and idea, symbols and phrases, they all glided and bounced around the barriers that kept them contained. Just in sight, he spotted a pair of tomes having an argument over comma usage. Much of the magic stayed between them, but plenty escaped away that he had to weave around.

In the early stages of training, young mages kept their bodies still while learning to manipulate the heart-shaped soul to avoid magic. Those mages wouldn't be able to take a step past the door. Nevyn was wary with his soul since he was wearing an ordinary striped shirt and jeans today, rather than a proper wizard cloak. However, he could walk through and search for the books he needed to find.

He already knew the main tome he had to find: Records, Construction, and Analysis of the Mount Ebott Barrier. It was supposed to have been written by the seven wizards who had sealed the monsters underground, all of their notes on it. If Nevyn's thinking was correct, it would detail the locks on the barrier. That should reveal the context he needed to solve the locks for their keys. If he was really lucky, the wizards would have directly written down the keys. But he doubted he'd be that lucky. The intricacy of the riddle suggested that the creators would rather not give away the answer.

When he located the Barrier tome, it was on the highest shelf of a tall bookcase. And it was huge. If he'd come here as an eight-year-old, it'd be too much to handle. It be rough to handle now that he was ten. He didn't want to call it down with telekinesis until he had a better idea of what the tome was like. After all, a displeased book could react violently and he'd lose access to this study. Nevyn got one of the tall ladders and started climbing.

There was a snoring book halfway up that sent out large waves of magic, which he had to climb as quickly as he could manage to keep from getting stuck just trying to dodge. The hits sent paper cuts across his body as he went past, making him wince. However, it wasn't much, not enough to stop for. Nevyn nearly got there when the word 'Healing' caught his eye on the spine of an old green book. It was an early edition of a vital text about healing magic, with a bit of power and kindness to it.

Stopping there, he traced a finger down the spine of the healing book. "Excuse me, would you please help me?"

There was a flutter of pages, a smell of old paper and glue. The magical paper cuts were quickly soothed away. With the spell done, he had a feeling of hopeful eyes on him.

"Thank you," Nevyn said, nodding his head. The book was satisfied, then quietly knocked on its neighbor's cover.

Watching magical books interact could be interesting, but he had a goal to complete. He finished up his climb and looked at the ancient tome. Within a fraying brown cloth jacket, a black leather cover was dry and potentially brittle. It was nearly inactive, just a faint glow of magic from the subject it preserved. When he closed his eyes and focused, there was a feeling... sadness? Not feeling useful, not being read. It could only slumber, waiting here, hoping that one day it would be useful.

"The day has come," Nevyn whispered, opening his eyes back up. There were a lot of old slumbering books up here not being read, so he stroked the tome just as he had the other below. "Records, Construction, and Analysis of the Mount Ebott Barrier. Please teach me, I need to learn from you."

The tome's spirit stirred. They were not full beings, not like humans or monsters. Rather, they were more like animals with no needs, or robots; the books just desired to be read, to be useful. The tome shifted, dust from waiting way up here being shaken off. Words appeared in Nevyn's imagination, 'Are you the one who will break the barrier?'

"I must break the barrier, I will break it," he replied.

'The time has finally come!' It pulled itself out of the shelf and nearly fell straight to the ground. Nevyn reflexively caught it with telekinesis, getting a slight headache for the effort. 'Sorry,' the book said, then set itself back on the shelf. 'A lift will come.'

Seconds later, a little robot that was nothing more than a floating platform hovered up to him. He merely had to point to the tome, which had already pulled itself towards the platform. The robot then caught it and kept hold of it as Nevyn descended the ladder. There were ripples of pages and thumping of covers as he got down to where the snoring book was. When the robot lit a red light, he paused until that book's neighbors bopped it back into an awake enough state to stop snoring. That let him safely descend.

Down on the floor, Nevyn asked the robot for a place to study and was brought to an oval cluster of chairs and small tables. In the center, there was an astrological globe that served as a shield generator, blocking out the random bits of magic in the air. He had to pull over a rolling cart that could hold up the huge tome for him the read from. On the cover, there was a copy of the seven seals. Nevyn took a moment to double-check the picture he'd taken last loop. His tablet was connected to his chronograph, allowing information in it to be retained when time was rewound. As the picture matched the cover, he made a note that degradation was unlikely, then opened up the tome to start his study.

Around noon, one of the library's workers paused by him, mystified at a boy studiously reading such a huge tome. "That kind of book would take you years of study to get through," he commented.

"I'm well aware of that," Nevyn said, absentmindedly glancing at him. "And I intend to complete such a study, no matter how many years it takes." Hopefully eight years was enough.

The man shivered at his gaze, as often happened with people who did not expect to run into someone with a high corruption. Usually, they'd get tolerant to it over time. But it was that heavy serious aura that got the library staff to take him seriously when he asked that the Barrier tome be kept somewhere that he could reach it easier so he could continue his study.

Shortly after Nevyn crossed the threshold of the Artemis Academy lobby, a girl who was probably thirteen stopped right in his path. "Hold it there, you villain!" she said, holding her hand out towards him. "You should not transgress against our school property."

"The word's trespass," Nevyn said, looking just off to her side.

The mistake wasn't about to stop her. "Whatever! In the name of the Magical Girls for Justice, I'm here to stop you from spreading your evil ways!"

That explained it. Shaking his head, he said, "You can't."

"Is that a challenge?" she dared him. Other students decided to get out of the way.

"No," Nevyn said, looking at her for a brief few seconds to stop her cold. "It's plain fact. The Magical Girls for Justice cannot act against a person who has yet to do any harm or has not offered a challenge, thus you can't fight me. It's in your charter, I've studied that document carefully. Besides, you're also advised to not challenge a person bearing a corruption level over a hundred percent. If I was here causing trouble, you're better off contacting adult authorities who know how to neutralize someone like me."

That deflated her intentions some, but she didn't want to give up. "Well, what are you doing here then? You don't look like a student."

"I'm here to see about joining the Sunbeam Optimists Cooking and Baking Club with my library card," he told her.

"Uh," she stared and stammered for a moment. "Th-the Sunbeams?"

He nodded. "It's part of my plan to work my way out of my corruption. Perhaps you stand for justice, but could you give an allowance for redemption?"

"I, I guess that's admirable?" she said, not sure what to do here. "But if you do cause trouble, I will stop you!"

"Very well, can we leave it at that?" Nevyn said, bowing to her.

"O-okay, just this once," she said, then hurried off. Maybe she was embarrassed, or maybe she didn't believe him. As long as she didn't bother him, he didn't care which it was.

In the school lobby, there was a line of signs up as a directory to the clubs that were open for new members. The Sunbeams had a bright and cute sign among the rest, full of drawings of cupcakes and cookies. Home Economics Room 3, on the fifth floor. 'Come with a sunny smile and we'll welcome you with open arms!'

He couldn't do the smiling part. As he walked down the hall, he gathered his thoughts to do some convincing. There were a set of elevators, but there were also a row of teleport panels that led to various classroom levels throughout the academy tower. He stepped onto the square for the fifth floor and was whisked off to a square ring of classrooms. From the spacing of the doors and a sign nearby, these were mostly larger lab-type classes for art, home economics, and science. The room he wanted was straight ahead down the hall, to his right two doors down.

There was a group of twelve students in there, some still in their school uniform and some not. A couple looked his age or younger, but most were older. Across two walls of this room, there were a number of cooking stations for regular and magical cooking. The whole room was bright and cheery, with silly comics posted on walls and colorful chairs all around. "Oh, hello here!" a girl by the door said, smiling wide at him. "Were you looking to join our club for making magical treats?"

"Yes please," he said, flicking his fingers to bring out his library card to show her. "I was informed that I could join as long as I had this."

"Sure thing! Here's the form..." she tilted her head at him, her smile faltering briefly before returning. "Huh, you're kinda serious for an optimist."

"It takes all kinds," he said, taking the form and sitting down at a purple desk nearby to fill it out.

And it was all sorts as the group shared introductions. Some of them were noisy energetic optimists, while others were more quiet but still believing in the best. It was nice to be among such positivity, especially when the remnant tried its hardest to get him negative and angry, or when Chara kept being reclusive and sad. The ghost hardly talked to him. Hopefully, this positivity might help them come out of their shell.

When it got around to his turn, he knew his monotonous voice would be a dark spot in a bright space. Still, he didn't hesitate. "I'm called Nevyn, currently working on self-study rather than being in a school. To be frank, I'm affected by a past demonic possession that corrupted my soul well past the limits where it warps your physical and spiritual nature. People once said I was a lost cause and some still do, but I will not give up working to bring my corruption levels down, no matter what I must do. If that's not optimism, I don't know what is."

Some of the older ones laughed, trying to brush away anxiety most likely. "That's true, you've got to believe in yourself," a boy said.

He nodded. "Right, so I know I'm strange and kind of scary, but I believe this is exactly where I need to be to get back to normal."

"Well everyone deserves a chance to be good, so we hope this works out for you," the club leader said with warm hope.

They were various degrees of unnerved by his presence that first meeting, but they were the sort that wanted to help others. Make others happy. And, he needed to learn to be that way again.