Chapter 4: Beef and Blackmail
Sergio grunted as Manny finally extracted the bullet from his side. The hood rat sat on Manny's bed, his wiry torso exposed as his friend treated him.
"So I'm supposed to believe that the Slingers' back porch randomly combusted just as one of them fired at you?" Manny interrogated. It was an inconvenient trade-off; Manny could see all of Sergio's scars, but he hadn't said a word about them. However, he kept pressing Sergio about the situation at the Cold Blooded Slingers' residence.
"I don't know what else ta tell ya. I mean, whatchu think happened?" Sergio answered.
"The back porch was nothing but brick and cement," said Manny, soaking a rag with cleaning alcohol and handing it to Sergio. The hood rat cleaned his wounds as Manny went on, "There were no propane tanks there, and even then, none of us had weapons. Their shots wouldn't have ricocheted off anything. But most importantly, Ser-hyoh, after you tackled me, I saw you wave your arm just before the fire started." Manny crossed his arms. "It looked like you started the fire with your mind."
Though appearing neutral, Sergio felt nothing but anxiety from Manny's insights. Though arguably crazy, Manny was dangerously bright when he needed to be. He noticed more aspects about the Slingers' porch than Sergio did, and he used all of these points to come to the exact conclusion.
Of course, Manny's uncertainty of his own assumption was of prime importance. Though bright, Manny was quite unpredictable. If Manny knew that Sergio could use magic, and linked magic to the monsters, there was no telling how he would react. Would Manny force Sergio into more escapades, utilizing his new abilities? Would he follow Sergio to the underground, desirous of powers of his own? Would Manny be linked to Sergio and interrogated about what he knew about your local hood rat? All of these outcomes seemed equally possible and equally undesirable.
Sergio would need to lie in order to protect himself, Manny, and the monsters' cause.
"Now you thinkin' I'm a firebenda? You musta been watchin' too much Avatar," Sergio dismissed.
"I'm serious, Ser-hyoh," Manny replied, frowning. "I'm trying to grasp what reality is anymore. I never thought I'd see a talking goat, a talking fish, or you in Sunday ropa in real life. However, I have, and all of those happened today. Now, I'm seeing porches en fuego during gunfights! You were absent for quite a while since last week. No phone calls, no trace where you went, nothing!"
"Jeez, are you my bro, or my dad? I ain't know I was supposed ta check in wichya every time I went someplace."
"You're not," Manny admitted, his tone softening. He started pacing through the bedroom. "Ever since what happened this summer, I have been anxious about who my true friends were. Most of the people I called hermano had betrayed me. I thought that you were finally fed up with me." He sighed. "I just didn't want things to change between us."
Sergio definitely knew where Manny was coming from. Manny used to be part of a friend group comprised of neighbors in his East Harlem neighborhood. Though Sergio was in the process of joining the Sixth Street Clique, Manny and his friends hit it off quite well as far as he'd seen.
However, that all changed after some altercation between Manny's friend group and some other scrubs. It wasn't gang-related, as far as Sergio knew, but knowing Manny's aggressive loyalty to those he called friends gave him an idea as to how the situation turned out. Plus, Sergio knew that Manny stopped wearing his favorite shirt because the bloodstains were too difficult to get out.
Whatever Manny did, somebody was not happy. According to Manny, his old friends took him to a new "hangout spot," where he was then jumped by the group Manny antagonized. When the smoke cleared, Manny had never found his "friends" again, leaving him with only Sergio to call an ally.
Manny's situation sucked, in other words. Sergio would have taken the peer pressure to kill some poor sap over getting jumped any day of the week.
The hood rat applied bandages over his wounds before putting on a shirt he borrowed from Manny. "Look, bruh, it don't matta if we got monstas runnin' around, cats and dogs fallin' from the sky, or Donald Trump as president. All this craziness happenin' recently don't change the fact that we brothas. I mean, we had each otha's backs since, what, grade school? 'Cause a' that, I got no reason ta turn my back on you now."
"I suppose you're right," Manny nodded. He cleared his throat. "Lo siento for getting mushy on you just then."
"Heh, yeah," Sergio grinned, welcoming the change of tone.
. . .
After a spicy Mexican lunch, Sergio wished Manny farewell before leaving his home. Sergio had to hand it to himself; he'd managed to pacify Manny without revealing anything about the monsters or his powers. To further reinforce Manny's trust in him, Sergio gave him his new phone number. He just hoped that Manny wouldn't be as clingy as he feared.
It was probably too soon to walk after getting shot, as the wound was providing him more problems as he moved. This was the first time in a while that he felt significantly slowed down by physical injury. Possibly the smart thing to do was to sleep off the initial pain at Manny's house. Manny's parents certainly wouldn't have minded, considering if they would even be there that night.
However, it would take weeks, months, even, to fully recover from a gunshot wound. Sergio volunteered to search for "the fugitive" and get information about his identity. Asgore's entire campaign could have been compromised if Sergio didn't ascertain that Asriel didn't do anything stupid, giving the rest of monsterkind a bad name.
In other words, time was of the essence if he wanted to repay his favor to his new friends. The campaign shouldn't have been delayed just because Sergio did something stupid. Therefore, he needed to get healed in the quickest way possible.
Once he was out of Manny's house, he thought of everything he could to summon a healing spell. Admittedly, it wasn't as easy as summoning a firestorm to cook up Slingers. Sergio noticed that when summoning offensive magic, he had tapped into his intrinsic anger, self-hatred, and slight panic, making his magic lethally potent. Apparently those same emotions didn't apply to restorative arts.
Therefore, he would return to the underground, consulting the one monster whom he knew could help. It was strange, but Sergio couldn't help but feel the awkwardness already setting in. He already decided that any beef between them was water under the Brooklyn Bridge. Nevertheless, that didn't change the history between them. The last time they even talked to each other was right after the 'Big Sleep.' Since Sergio was working closely with Asgore, he had no idea how things would go if he consulted her.
He'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
. . .
Meanwhile...
Asriel's wayward travels led him to what the humans called "Times Square," a rather bright, hectic section of the city. There were huge screens with strange logos that he guessed were human brands. All the colors, all the people, all the cars...It was a sensory overload. Suddenly the relative quiet of the underground didn't seem so tedious.
He stuck to alleyways that were out of the way from the general population, partially because Tobias's last known position was at an alley, and partially because the high population density of the area would have hindered his goal. Then again, a good hiding spot for a human was in the middle of a crowd of humans. But if Tobias wasn't in the area, he would have drawn more attention to himself for no reason
Though it was still light outside, Asriel doubted that the area would have looked that different at nighttime. The thought interested him, but he didn't want to be out here longer than he had to.
He saw a news report detailing his father's appearance at New York's city hall, the king standing beside Sergio and Undyne. He was proud of his father for making strides of peace with the humans, but it was quite surprising to see Sergio there. The prince never pegged the human as a political asset.
Of course, much of what Asgore's company said on TV was false. Sergio didn't just "find them lost in a park" and lead them to City Hall. The human feigned ignorance of the monsters' background, and Asgore skillfully deflected questions directly related to the civilization's history. Asriel knew too well why his father would take this course of action.
And yet, a part of him was disappointed that his father would use deception in order to bolster the monsters' progress. The worst thing about lies was that, more often than not, the truth would prevail, which would end up hurting those who propagated or believed the falsehoods. The backlash could lead to political strife between humans and monsters. The strife could lead to conflicts. Once it got to that point, it could turn into another full-scale war. Given the results of the last interspecies clash, Asriel feared that the monster population could cease to exist should another one occur.
This could be what Tobias wants, Asriel concluded grimly.
He heard a rustling sound not too far off, accompanied with a short yelp. He felt a cautious darkness within the atmosphere, but not one as severe as Tobias's. Regardless, he crouched near a corner before getting a closer look.
A human man with light shade in his jawline pointed a knife at a teenage girl with slightly tan skin and black hair. The girl had her back to the wall with an indignant, insolent expression in the face of danger. It resembled Sergio's look during the "Battle for the Barrier," as he called it.
"Look, you make this quick, nobody has to get hurt," the man threatened, putting the knife closer to the girl. "Give me your purse."
"I don't have anything you'd want," the girl answered angrily. The man backhanded her across the face, the girl staggering a bit from the force.
"I'll be the judge of that, girlie. Now, let's try this-"
"Let her go." Asriel emerged from the corner and walked towards the robber. His hood still concealed his face, the prince hoping that this would intimidate the robber in some way.
However, the man's countenance became more surly. "Get outta here if you know what's good for you, creep." He hardly gave Asriel a glance before turning back to the girl.
The prince didn't stop approaching the robber. With more conviction in his voice, he said, "I won't ask you again."
The robber shoved the girl against the wall and turned his body and knife toward Asriel. "You have no idea who you're messing with, bub."
Asriel took his fists out of his pockets, preparing to summon a spell. Then the girl made a well-placed kick in the man's crotch from behind him. Cursing, the man swung the knife behind him, the girl ducking under the attack. While the man was distracted, Asriel summoned and struck the hilt in the back of the man's head. The girl performed a roundhouse kick, the robber taking a sneaker to the face and collapsing.
Once it was confirmed that the man was temporarily incapacitated, the girl then saw the hooded figure who assisted her, her eyes drawn to the glowing sword in the person's hands. Realizing what he was doing, Asriel dispelled the sword and put his hands in his pockets before she could further examine them.
"How...did you do that?" she asked, bewildered.
Asriel clenched his jaw. Perhaps he should have stayed out of the mugging if he wanted to remain anonymous. Judging by what he'd seen, the girl probably could have handled it herself.
The problem was, she'd already seen the magic take place. There was no favorable way he could think of that could undo such a thing. Wiping people's memories were classified as "dark arts" eons ago and were lost with time. He didn't want to lie, as he feared that it would come back to bite him. So, he did the next best thing, the one thing he was used to doing by now.
He evaded the question.
"Are you all right?" he asked the girl.
"I deal with creeps like him all the time. But thanks, anyway," the girl replied, a small smile on her face. "Who are you, though? What's with the costume?"
He avoided this question as well as he began to walk backwards. "Stay safe," he concluded before leaving the alley.
Fortunately, the girl had no further questions nor had intent to pursue him. This window of silence had given him more time to think about his recent actions. Part of the reason he ventured to the surface was to rectify the wrongs - no, the crimes he committed against other people. At one point, he had endangered the entire world. In order to truly make up for it, he guessed he needed to save the world.
Of course, there was a significant difference between saving the whole earth and helping one human. Surely, Asriel had a long way to go before he could be satisfied with himself. Nonetheless, it brightened his spirit a noticeable amount, his head held higher and his gait faster as he traversed New York's alleyways.
Baby steps, he told himself.
. . .
Meanwhile...
Sergio had taken a bus from Harlem to Lower Manhattan and slowly trudged toward the underground's entrance. As usual, the Royal Guard stiffened up at the sight of him and gave him clearance.
He entered the throne room, which only housed the king as he took notes on scrolls and surfed the Web on a brand-new computer Alphys had made for him. He turned his head and smiled at the human. "Salutations, Sergio. You return with good news, I hope?"
"Eh, depends on what you call 'good news,'" Sergio responded, walking in front of the throne. "Alphys made an app that could help me find monstas and where magic was used."
"Simply attesting to her ingenuity," the king said proudly.
"While I was usin' the app, I found out that magic was used at a crime scene. I couldn't get a closa look without the cops gettin' wind a' me."
Asgore hmmed, stroking his beard in contemplation. "I can't say that I blame you, considering how imperative anonymity is to your goal. Did you see anything about the scene?"
"All I saw was blood and a dead guy's hand in the stuff."
With a sigh, the king answered, "This is a negative development indeed. Do you think that the humans will associate the crime scene with the monsters?"
"It ain't likely, 'less some conspiracy theorists start reachin'. Nevatheless, forensic dudes will notice that magic was used and start ta ask questions. I don't know how quickly people will connect it ta y'all, but I'm tellin' you now so that you can prepare for it when it hits the fan."
Asgore nodded. "Noted. I'll prepare potential statements to dispel any suspicion. Is there anything else you found?"
"Nothin' else I found, per se, but it's still somethin' else ya need ta hear. While I was lookin' fa the fugitive, I saw one a' my old friends out in my neighborhood. I don't know what he did, but he ticked some fellas off. These fools was strapped and were 'bout ta ice my dude right there."
"May I interrupt?" Asgore asked. Sergio nodded. "'Strapped?' 'Ice?'" Sergio had tried to reduce his use of slang around the monsters, but he was only human.
"Meanin', they had guns and were 'bout ta kill him in they backyard," Sergio clarified.
"I see. Since you were in the vicinity, what did you do?"
"I dived in and tackled 'im, savin' 'im from the bullets. The thang is, I took a couple a' shots ta the body. I ain't know how else ta react, 'cause I ain't had a gun a' my own." Sergio paused. "I used fire magic ta defend myself and Manny. Cooked up three a' the guys after 'im."
Asgore's eyes widened, a slightly exasperated sigh escaping him. "Did anybody see you perform magic?"
"Anybody who woulda saw me got fried, minus Manny. Afta the blast, me and Manny shipped outta there 'fore people started ta notice that a brick house caught fire."
"You didn't extinguish the flame?" Asgore inquired incredulously.
"It was all movin' so fast, Asgore, and there were mo' bustas wit guns comin' in," Sergio defended. "I figured I ain't wanna murk mo' people than I needed to, so I ran ta get myself outta danger."
Asgore eased off a bit. "You're right. I suppose I can't really blame you for coming to your friend's aid, but...I can't shake the feeling that there were more witnesses than you may have perceived in the occurrence. The last thing I want is anything underground-related to set us back now that the barrier is destroyed." Asgore softly gasped as he realized something. "You said you were shot. Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'mma survive it, but it's really slowin' me down. The bullet's out, but the pain's still there. You got some sort a' spell that can help me out?"
"I know a few things about treating monsters and their magical injuries, but that was never my strong suit. Since you have a different composition than monsters, it's probably best that I don't try anything that would only exacerbate your condition."
"Do you know anyone who can cure humans?" Anyone except her?
"Well, ever since the monsters were separated from humans, there have been fewer and fewer monsters who could treat them. The only monster I know who could help you is Toriel."
Sergio groaned. "That's what I was afraid you'd say."
"You're on better terms with her than I am," Asgore pointed out. "In fact, she'd actually be happy to see you." Sergio could detect the self-spite in Asgore's tone.
"Yeah, but it's still gon' be awkward ta come up to 'er and say, 'Ayo, Toriel, I got shot. Can ya hit me up?'"
"Well, ask yourself which is worse: the awkwardness, or the pain."
"Ta be honest, I ain't sure I can ansa that question," Sergio joshed. "I'll be back."
. . .
Sergio took the river person's boat from Hotland to Snowdin and traveled to the ruins. There, he was greeted by a few monsters who happened to be outdoors at the time. Sergio also eyed Sans leaning on the front wall of his house, playing with a paddleball. While he enjoyed the warm hospitality of the other monsters, the human felt a cold guilt within him as he saw the skeleton, even though Sans hadn't even noticed him.
Sergio was all too aware of Sans' ability to detect others' "LV." Technically speaking, Sergio had no Execution Points in his system since he never killed any monsters. However, Sans still noticed a darkness within Sergio's soul and discerned something similar to LV there.
The human assumed that Sans knew about the times he'd killed other humans. It was the only explanation. Before the house fire incident, Sergio and the Sixth Street Clique were involved in a gang fight with the South Side Vipas that left many dead on both sides. Sergio had killed seven people with his pistol, his last victim begging for his life before dying in an execution-style fashion.
He had never disclosed this with anyone in the underground, but Sergio still felt that Sans was onto him. After seeing him stop time and use magic that cancelled all of Sergio's movement entirely, your local hood rat couldn't begin to imagine all that Sans could do. Sans knew he was lying about his jacket earlier, and he knew Sergio lied about the "LV-like sense" Sans got from him. If Sans didn't know now, it was only a matter of time before he found out. The skeleton's potential reactions kept Sergio on edge.
Now, with the fire incident, Sergio suspected that his "LV" had increased. He knew for a fact that Sans would have some questions for him regarding that.
Sergio entered the ruins and ascended the staircase that led to Toriel's house. As he stepped on the familiar carpet, he heard the magical fire crackling in the fireplace. The smells of baked foods of all types had mixed together into a warm, sugary scent. It was nice to know she was still baking. He turned to the living room. There she was; a somewhat tall, white goat monster sat in a chair, glasses on her face as she read a novel. She wore her traditional purple robe with a crest of some sort on the chest area.
Toriel was completely engrossed in her novel to notice the sound of Sergio's wet footsteps beyond the doorway. Sergio knocked on the wall beside him to get her attention. Her eyes shifted to his before she immediately beamed at him. "Good afternoon, Sergio! Good to see you!"
Well, this was going a lot better than he expected. "Uh, ditto," Sergio responded, taking off his jacket and putting it on a rack.
"Come on in, have a seat. I'll get you something to drink," Toriel said, rising from her chair and heading to the kitchen.
"I...ain't come here ta chew the fat wichya," Sergio admitted, his tone a bit somber. "I need ya help."
Toriel seemed to notice his tone and answered urgently, "With what?"
Sergio then explained the situation that occurred on the surface. Toriel listened intently, then immediately stopped Sergio when he got to the shooting part. "Oh, my gosh! Are you all right? Do you need anything? First aid?"
"Manny already patched me up and everythang. I was jest wonderin' if you could take away the pain."
Toriel thought for a moment. "I believe I can, but I'll need to see where the wounds are."
That set off a red flag in Sergio's mind, but he remembered how Manny never asked about the scars. Perhaps the same would happen here. He lifted his shirt.
Toriel gasped and froze for a few seconds, no doubt seeing the old wounds before focusing on the bandaged ones. She put a clawed hand over his side and closed her eyes, concentrating. Soon, a green aura formulated around her hand, and Sergio felt a gentle warmth at his wound. He fixated on the emotions he felt from the external spell. Though his predominant dourness was still present, there was a small glimmer of...compassion. Soon, the warmth spread throughout his entire body, or rather, his soul.
Then it went even deeper than that. He suddenly remembered a distinct incident he had when he was six years old. He had just gotten a bicycle for his birthday a day prior. Needless to say, he wasn't that experienced with it. But, being as confident as he was, he had his father take off the training wheels after he thought he'd gotten the hang of it.
Looking back on it now, Sergio felt that he did pretty well for a six-year-old. All that had changed when he failed to notice a pothole in the road. The front wheel caught in the hole, and the bike catapulted him a couple feet forward.
He landed on his head before his body rolled over. He had a helmet and joint pads on, so the only injuries he suffered were a scraped arm and leg. Sergio could have walked it off if he were older, but every pain seem magnified at six.
He didn't cry out, but he silently wept as he got himself up. Unbeknownst to him, his mother was watching him the entire time. After he had crashed, he saw her running towards him, still dressed in a purple bath robe, curlers still in her hair. Even though Sergio's injuries were minor, her immediate response and loving demeanor to her hurt child had meant a lot to the young hood rat.
She got the rubbing alcohol out and cleaned Sergio's scrapes. After seeing that everything was all right again, his mother gave him a quick hug before dislodging the bike from the pothole.
Sergio was back to the present. The pain he felt from the gunshot wounds was completely gone. He had returned to his full strength and speed. He removed the bandages from his torso. There weren't even traces of the bullets left on his body.
"Thanks, Toriel," he said before putting his shirt back down.
The former queen looked distracted. "Who hurt you?" she asked out of the blue.
"I ain't know who shot me, jest some thugs from Harlem."
"That's not what I meant," Toriel clarified, her tone serious. It was at that point when he knew what she was talking about.
"Don't worry 'bout it," he replied coldly. Sergio's fleeting sensation of compassion was gone now as he steeled his look. Toriel, fortunately, got the hint and didn't inquire further. "Ain't there some sort a' spell I could use ta heal myself if somethin' like that happened again?"
"The healing arts are difficult enough to perform on other people. Unlike other disciplines of magic, one has to be born with the ability to heal. There aren't many who can, and I've only ever known healing monsters to heal other monsters," Toriel explained. "For the rest of us, there are few things that work better than a home-cooked meal."
"Yeah, that's right," Sergio answered in realization. "Yo' buttascotch-cinnamon pie came through in the clutch one time. Although, will that work wit bullet damage?"
"I honestly don't know." Toriel returned to her seat. "What business would Asgore have you do that would put you in danger like that?"
"Business or not, it can still get dangerous out in them streets. Hence why I saved Manny back there."
"What did you do after you jumped in? How did you get out of there?"
Sergio recalled the pacifistic philosophy Toriel pushed to him when he first fell to the underground. In hindsight, nearly everything she tried to teach him failed in the long run. Even so, Sergio did resolve conflicts with monsters nonviolently most of the time. If Toriel hadn't taught him what she did, there may have been blood on his hands. Well, more blood than there would have been.
"Me and Manny ran 'fore mo' damage was done," Sergio lied. It was only going to cause Toriel distress if she knew the entire story. She'd get angry at him and start arguing with Asgore once again. The human could guess that seeing his ex-wife again was not high on Asgore's to-do list.
Toriel nodded. "I'm glad that you could resolve it peacefully, even with magic at your disposal. This is how I know you're growing up to be a responsible young man."
Sergio tried not to make his guilt apparent as he silently gulped. This was one of the rare times he felt bad about lying to anyone. As much as he tried to force it down, he still felt slight ambivalence toward Toriel's character. Part of him was still angry at her for almost killing him after she'd saved him. However, the other part recognized Toriel's motherly characteristics and connected them to his own mother prior to his father's death. Every time he thought about it, his soul ached with nostalgic yearning.
"I do what I can," Sergio responded.
. . .
Back to his full strength, Sergio took out his phone and opened the MonsterFinder application once more. He'd gotten a hit on the app while his bus was in Midtown Manhattan. He didn't get off the bus then because if Asriel would try to evade him, the human wouldn't have been in any position to give chase.
During the ride, Sergio strategized how he would go about this. It wasn't a capture order, but an identification order. Asgore wanted to know who escaped and why. With that in mind, Sergio also considered Sans's words; he would give the prince a chance to prove himself. But after a long-fought battle, Sergio wasn't going to make it easy on him.
He traveled to Times Square and looked at his phone. The application pinged something two miles northwest of him. Instead of a red splotch, it was a moving red dot.
Gotcha. Sergio crossed the street and headed for him.
. . .
Meanwhile...
Not only was Asriel left with no chance of returning home and no clue as to where Tobias was; he was also left with no way to get food. The last time he ate anything was...before he became Flowey. Because of that, the hunger pangs he felt were getting much harder to ignore.
The only option he could think of was eating from the trash cans. Sure, it was appalling and unsanitary, but it was also inconspicuous. He could rummage through garbage while remaining incognito. Now, for other sanitation needs, such as brushing and showering...It was going to be difficult to maintain that.
He approached an apartment complex's corner. Before he could turn, he felt something kick against his stomach. He fell backward, his hood coming off.
Asriel saw someone with a phone in front of his face. The assailant then stuck the phone in his pocket with a smug expression.
Sergio. The realization made his blood boil to an extent.
"What are you doing here?" the prince questioned with malevolence, putting his hood back on.
"I'm makin' sure you ain't out here doin' anythang stupid," the human replied.
Asriel got up and pieced together the aspects he just saw: Sergio had a phone with a rear camera, which was pointed directly at him as he fell.
The prince was just photographed.
He quietly scoffed. "I thought you had no interest in my endeavors."
"I don't," Sergio returned. "I do have an interest in you screwin' it all up fa the monstas wit yo' nonsense 'bout Tobias."
"What makes you so sure that I will?"
"You busted ya way outta the undaground completely unprepared and unaware a' the land. If you wasn't discovered already, it's only a matta a' time."
"If you think my failure is imminent and would be detrimental to the kingdom, help me. Help me find Tobias and bring him in."
"That's exactly what I'm talkin' 'bout. You got this delusion that you gon' save the world or some crap by chasin' down somebody you don't even know is still alive anymore!"
Asriel balled his fists. "I saw it myself! Tobias rose from his grave and walked to town!"
"You sayin' ya legit witnessed this Tobias dude go zombie mode?"
"Yes. I saw it in a vision-"
"Oh, you havin' VISIONS, now! If you can see the future, how I was able ta ambush ya right here in this alley? If you can see the future, where's oldboy right now?!"
The prince gnashed his teeth, his breathing heavy. Of all the people to find him in the surface, why did it have to be someone so obnoxious? Perhaps the most annoying part of it all was that he couldn't get it through the human's thick skull that life as both monsters and humans knew it were in jeopardy, and that bickering wasn't going to solve anything.
He felt an electric heat in his left hand before putting his index and middle fingers together. He jabbed his hand forward to shoot an electricity arc towards Sergio's pocket. The human quickly investigated his smartphone, which was now in pieces.
"Whatchu think that did?" the human questioned, his tone barely changed.
"I wear this cloak for a reason, and I won't let you tarnish it."
Sergio huffed deridingly. "Joke's on you, flowa boy. The picture's already saved in the cloud."
Drat. The human was one step ahead of him. Asriel quickly assessed the situation: His mission was important, but his anonymity seemed just as paramount. He briefly, yet darkly considered eliminating Sergio from the situation entirely.
No, he thought intensely. Traces of Tobias must have been left within the prince. Though their souls were separated, Asriel could still sense Tobias's soul within him sometimes...
"What do you think YOU will accomplish by taking a picture of me?"
"Sans told me ta give ya a chance, so I am. Ya got seven days ta show me some evidence a' this Tobias characta still roamin' around. If ya don't step up ta this exact spot a week from today, I'mma show the king personally who the 'fugitive' was."
Asriel bit his lip. "You're blackmailing me?"
"That's politics, fam. You of all people should know 'bout it."
"Since you're so critical about the situation, what will persuade you of Tobias's continued existence? How do I know you'll keep up YOUR end of the deal?"
"Heh-heh, you the soothsaya," Sergio replied, poking Asriel's chest. "You figure it out."
Asriel growled and turned away before he did something he would eventually regret. He thought of the situation that unfolded; Sergio had blackmailed him in an attempt to protect the monsters' cause. A purpose like would have been believable for anyone...except Sergio. As Flowey, he had watched Sergio's actions and reactions to occurrences underground. From what he'd seen, Sergio's main goal simply was to survive. Everything he had done was purely for his own survival.
To think that Sergio's motives would suddenly become noble and focused on something greater than him was...absurd, really. How did he not recognize it from the beginning? Sergio could have said all he wanted about his role in the Crown, Asriel knew that there was something deeper, something more personal that motivated the human.
It wasn't that hard to guess. The only question was...
"Why are you so...?" Asriel began. He hadn't taken more than five steps from where Sergio confronted him. He had turned back to ask him a question. However, there was no one there.
He turned his head forward and walked with a swifter pace.
Oh, snap, son. The beef is percolating with these two protagonists. And to think, if Manny hadn't intervened, Sergio would have found his target a lot sooner.
I already have an idea as to what Sergio sounds like in my head, but what do Sergio and Asriel sound like in yours?
Shoutout to DanteLoyal and saitama1155. Without you, this chapter may not have been possible.
Sergio's endgame is laid out, and Asriel must play if he wants to retain his goal. But to what end will the prince go in order to keep his identity hidden? What is Sergio's true purpose for his aggressive ultimatum? Finally, what will the future hold for the underground?
Stay tuned for the next chapter of New York State of Mind!
