A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I'm still in high school, and have multiple jobs, so things have gotten a bit busy. Critiques and comments are welcome.
"So… what's OFF?"
They were seated around Toriel's rarely used dining room table, an air of mild discomfort surrounding them. Frisk had a slice of pie before them, though truly, they'd just taken it out of politeness. They knew that when Toriel got stressed, she liked to keep her hands busy.
The Batter sat, his back straight as a board, at the end of the table. Both feet were planted firmly on the ground, both hands resting on his knees. His bat was leaned against the table before him, easily within reach. Alpha, Omega, and Epsilon hovered over his shoulders. Frisk wasn't sure if it would be rude to ask them to leave.
He wore his hat in the house, which Toriel normally would've taken a firm stance against, but she supposed she could let it slide, just this once.
"OFF is where I live." came the reply. Frisk sighed. They should have expected that answer.
"Yes, dear, but… what is it? Where is it? The Underground certainly doesn't have a district named OFF." Toriel inquired, touching her jaw thoughtfully. The goat-woman was taking all of this rather well, though Frisk suspected she was more confused than she was letting on.
The Batter was silent. He was… pondering. If he'd been a more emotional person- or even an emotional person at all- he would be very lost, and very afraid. However, the Batter was none of those things. He was treating this like a puzzle. How was he going to solve it?
The two creatures before him, he learned, were Toriel and Frisk. Frisk resembled him in quite a few ways. Toriel did not. Oddly enough, they'd never heard of OFF before.
"Where am I?" he asked, entirely ignoring their own questions.
The woman and the child shared a glance. Frisk answered.
"You're in the Underground. It's underneath the human world. That's where you're from, right? You fell Down?" They were prodding him, trying to get information as casually as possible.
"I fell nowhere. I came through a portal."
Toriel tilted her head. "A portal? So you… are not from the human world."
"I told you. I am from OFF."
Frisk took a frustrated bite of pie. This was getting them nowhere. This man, whoever he was, wasn't being too cooperative. Didn't he see they were trying to help them? Though, his answers felt less like willfully being obnoxious, and more like something he couldn't help. Well, no matter. Frisk had dealt with plenty of less-than-helpful monsters, they could definitely deal with this.
"So, you aren't from the Underground, and you… aren't from above? That must mean you're…" Frisk trailed off, twirling the fork around their fingers. All at once, it hit them. It was a good thing they'd swallowed, or else they might've choked. "You're from another world?"
The Batter wasn't sure why this child was acting so startled. Yes, obviously. The place he was currently in, and the other place they spoke of, they weren't OFF. Therefore, he must have been from somewhere else. Why was this such a revelation to them?
"Yes."
"Holy shi…" They trailed off, with a glance at Toriel. "Uh, wow! I think… we should probably talk to Alphys. She might be able to figure out a way to get you home. You… do want to go home, right?"
"Yes."
Toriel folded her hands on her lap. "I believe that's a good idea, my child. This seems to be quite a mess. Are you planning on taking our… guest with you?" The woman shifted her eyes towards the Batter, with her trademark gentle smile.
The human pondered, before shaking their head. "No, probably not. He's a human, and, uh, the monsters down here have just gotten used to me… I'll ask Alphys to come with me and look at-…" They paused once more, and furrowed their eyebrows. "Are you a human?"
The Batter said nothing. The silence stretched for an uncomfortably long amount of time, all three creatures staring at one another. All was quiet, except for the humming of the add-ons.
Finally, Toriel spoke.
"So, where do you think Mr. Batter is going to stay, dear?" she asked the child. Frisk looked up at her. They knew that, if asked, Toriel would provide a place for the Batter to stay. But… she was also clearly confused, and perhaps a little frazzled. Besides, Frisk had a better idea.
"Don't worry, Mom. I've got a place in mind."
"i dunno about this, kid."
They were standing in the home of the skeleton brothers, Sans and Papyrus. Upon entering, Frisk had quickly shut the door behind them, to block out the frigid Snowdin weather. The Batter stood behind the child, seemingly uninterested in the discussion. His add-ons hummed peacefully. Truthfully, the bright, colorful world of the Underground was overwhelming him just a tad.
Of course, 'bright' had a very different meaning when one was comparing OFF and the Underground. OFF was garishly bright, and almost hard to look at. It was neon in color- except when it wasn't. On the contrary, the Underground's colors were more subdued. It was the action, the hustle-and-bustle, the homely feeling that was affecting the Batter.
Now, however, he was faced with two new characters. The taller one was, quite possibly, one of the most pure beings he'd come across in a long while. Nobody was without faults, but this one was… it practically radiated good intentions. The shorter one, though… if they'd been in OFF, the Batter would have purified that one in a second. It was noticeably impure, and on instinct, the hand gripping his bat twitched.
"Trust me, Sans, it'll just be for a bit. Batter's not that bad. Right, Batter?" They turned to the pale man, who, predictably, gave no response. The silence stretched on for a few awkward seconds, before Frisk gave up.
"He seems nice!" Papyrus agreed. "Wowie, I've never seen a monster that looks so much like a human before! Funny how I've never heard of them until now!"
Since they couldn't have Papyrus trying to 'capture' the Batter, Frisk simply told him that the man was a monster. Which wasn't true, the Batter was a human being.
…Right?
Frisk did feel a bit bad lying to their friend, but they also knew that an altercation between Papyrus and the Batter would probably end poorly.
"He just needs to stay here until I can talk to Dr. Alphys. She's gonna come down here and take a look at him and try to figure out where he came from, and, uh… everything else. Please, Sans?" Frisk begged.
The short skeleton folded his arms. "why can't you just bring him up to Al's?"
"I don't want to risk walking him through all those monsters, getting here was hard enough. He's a-" The child glanced at Papyrus. "I mean, he looks enough like a human that, y'know, it could mean trouble. And you know how Dr. Alphys gets about strangers in her lab. I just hope she's there, and not out with Undyne…" They trailed off for a moment, before shaking their head. "C'mon, Sans, the faster I get out of here, the faster I can get back!"
He still wasn't convinced. Still, Frisk had a point. The faster they left, the faster they could get this weirdo out of the Underground. "alright, Frisk. hurry up. if Al says no, i know a shortcut me and this, uh… Batter can take to her lab."
Papyrus practically jumped for joy. "Hooray! It's always nice to have new guests. I just wish Sans would have cleaned up a bit more. Oh, well! Mr. Batter, sir, may I take you on a tour of the house? You'll have to watch out for a small white dog… not sure how it keeps getting in here…"
It was hard to resist a grin that sunny. Frisk looked up at the man uneasily, wondering what his response would be.
"Are there any specters in your home?"
Papyrus and Sans shared a glance. "Well! Sometimes, when Napstablook comes to visit. At the moment, though, our house is specter-free!"
The Batter seemed to accept his defeat. There was no way out of this. "You may give me a tour."
The tall skeleton beamed. "Excellent! Right this way, sir, and the Great Papyrus will show you around his humble abode!" With that, he marched into the kitchen.
As the Batter followed, his add-ons trailing behind, Frisk and Sans watched, a little uneasy with the idea of the two being alone together. Still, now it meant they could talk freely.
"kid, this guy gives me a bad feeling. i don't like it. this kinda thing's never happened before."
"I know, which is why I want to get it fixed as soon as possible. I'm worried about how this'll affect the timelines. Do you think it will?" Frisk replied, voice soft.
"hard to tell. better not take chances. hurry up and get Al back here. and, uh. be safe." Sans said.
The human nodded, called a good-bye to Papyrus and the Batter, then darted out the door, and into the snow.