DarkFoxKit: *is playing a game on the computer emulator, and her eyes were a little bloodshot.*
Donfyre: *jumps up next to her, looking at her worriedly and poking her side* Foooox? M-maybe this wasn't such a good idea…
DarkFoxKit: Huh? What's not a good idea? I've been grinding all day, just let me get past the first gym!
Donfyre: *is pulling at Fox with his tail* Come ooon, Fox, we have to do the AN! And I meant that maaaybe helping you with setting up an emulator wasn't the greatest idea. ^^; How long have you been playing the game?
DarkFoxKit: … Since this morning… around 10 am, I think. Why? And we'll do the AN in a second! *is struggling against Fyre's hold, trying to stay on the computer chair*
Donfyre: Since this morning? You been playing for over 12 hours straight! DX *shuts off the power to the computer* There. c:
DarkFoxKit: … *Is staring at the blank screen for a few seconds before screaming.* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I DIDN'T SAAAAAAVE! *glares at Fyre with red angry eyes* YOU! C'mere, I've got some plans for you.
Donfyre: MEEP! O-O' H-hey, I didn't know that you forgot to save in a while! *is backing away from the glaring Fox* B-but it couldn't have been that long ago since you last saved, right? Y-you can just redo it!
DarkFoxKit: Oh, I've got something to 'redo' alright… the entire insides of your body! *jumps at Fyre*
*Camera goes static. We are suffering from some technical difficulties, please standby…*
DarkFoxKit: *turns the camera back on* Hey readers~ So the next chapter finally up, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Oh and I have a new mon in my game. *shows the camera on the computer screen with a certain blue Wooper inside it* Keep up the good fight, Fyre~
Donfyre: HELP! I AM NOT A FIGHTING WOOPER! DX O-ow! *is flung to various places around the screen by another creature*
DarkFoxKit: Hmm… he'll need a lot of training. Anyways, hope you guys like the story. We'll see you again in the next update. Come on, Fyre, just hit it with your tail! … Oooh, that looks like it hurt. *shuts off the camera*
Chapter 7: Getting Reckless
I hadn't had a good night's sleep in several loops, and I'm still not going to get that. Why? Because I was woken up by Spike.
"Hey… Frisk, wake up."
I felt him nudging me while I grumbled and groggily open my eyes. "What?"
"Shhh, Toriel's still sleeping. Listen, Alphys told me to come and get you," Spike whispered.
"Why?" I asked, still trying to rub the grogginess away from my eyes.
"You know, it's about the spy," Spike whispered.
Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I sat up from the bed… it was odd to be lying in a real bed, something I hadn't been in for two years worth of RESETs. But Toriel wouldn't put up with any argument. I looked around and realized it was still dark with the red tints of light. We were still in lockdown.
"Had she found something out?" I asked quietly. "And what time is it?"
"It's about 10 PM right now, two hours until midnight and the RESET. But as for what Dr. Alphys found out… just come with me," Spike said, gesturing me with his head to follow him.
I slowly got out of bed, trying not to wake Toriel. I followed Spike out of the room, and headed to the basement. I noticed there wasn't much activity going on in the shelter, most of it was in the cafeteria, which I'm guessing are cooking the food for the next loop's breakfast for the resistance. Toriel usually handled that, but she must've left other people in charge this time after a tiring mission.
When we made it to Alphys' room, she was running a scan on her computer.
"Yo, Dr. Alphys, I brought Frisk," Spike said.
Alphys stopped and turned to us, "Ah, good. Spike told me about a possible spy being in our midst. You and Lesser Dog heard this from the people in the city, correct?"
I nodded, "Yeah, they said the spy is how Undyne knew I was alone outside the shelter when she took Papyrus."
Alphys frowned and nodded, "We've never considered a spy being among us, but Sans did say to always be careful since you never know who's watching. The fact there's a spy among us is definitely a cause of concern."
"And Alphys had been scanning the shelter for hours, yet we can't find any trace of a monster or human affected by Chara's RESET," Spike said with a frown.
That doesn't sound good at all, whoever this spy is must be really good at hiding themselves from the scanner.
"Oh, speaking of Sans, how is he?" I asked, worried for Sans' sanity. The last time I saw him, he was… well, the best word I could use to describe was: 'depressed'. Not that I could blame him after losing Papyrus like that.
"Sans… he's… well, he… doesn't talk much anymore. He barely comes out of his room, and the only time he talks to me is when he's trying to find something out or to update status," Alphys answered. "I just told him about the footage data you collected this loop, but also the price we had to pay for it. We lost almost half of our outgoing team."
"It would've worked if only Mary and Tsundreplane hadn't gotten caught at the last minute." I frowned. "But I guess there was no avoiding something going wrong in a plan that was hastily put together."
"Yeah, but at least we're finally moving a step forward. We've collected more gadgets and food then we had in a long time," Alphys said. "Unfortunately even this isn't enough to combat those dreaded RESETs."
"Would it make the extraction of Chara's DETERMINATION work faster?" I asked.
"Yes, but not fast enough," Alphys sighed. "And well… Sans is starting to come up with a crazy plan…"
"What plan is that?" Spike asked.
"Well… Frisk, do you remember the DETERMINATION I had extracted from those human SOULS back when I worked for Asgore?" Alphys asked me.
"Yeah, what about them?" I asked.
"Well… I didn't use them all up. In fact I still have quite a bit stored in a large syringe bottle," Alphys said. "We've kept it here in case we may ever need it. It's not enough to surpass Chara's DETERMINATION, but it might be enough to resist her RESET, at least the brainwashing part."
"How would that work?" Spike asked.
"Well you see…" Alphys began. "When a human with high DETERMINATION chooses to RESET something, everyone's mind will be wiped of what happened before the RESET. If the human is skilled enough, they can manipulate the memories and mind of the people they're RESETTING, and if someone else's DETERMINATION is high, though not quite as high as the one RESETTING, they would be forced to be caught up in the RESET too, however their minds are left untouched. Their memories from before the RESET is still with them. That's a theory Sans and I have been thinking and we're hoping to use it to create a way for us to be immune to the RESETs, however, we can't extract DETERMINATION from our allies, it could be detrimental to them, even if it's a little bit. And it's too dangerous to extract them from our enemies. So this always left us in a rut."
Spike and I let that sink in.
"So… if you've got a bit of extra DETERMINATION leftover from your research days, why not use it?" Spike asked.
"Well… it's our only one. If we use it and it fails us, there would be nothing more we could do. We're still studying how DETERMINATION works," Alphys said. "But… Sans is thinking about using it on… uh… someone, in hopes their DETERMINATION would be high enough to surpass Chara, even for a second."
I frowned at that.
Spike blinked, "Who would have a DETERMINATION high enough for that?"
I looked away.
"Well… Frisk-"
"No," I said, interrupting her. "I lost most of my DETERMINATION when Chara began her reign. It would be a waste to use it on me."
"... Well… if Sans can't find anyone, he might try to use it on himself," Alphys said.
"What!?" I turned to her. "He can't do that! Just a little bit of that stuff would cause him to melt!"
"I-I know that… a-and he knows that t-too… but after the lost of Papyrus… well… I don't think he really cares anymore…" Alphys said grimly.
"Yo, we gotta do something about our leader… and that spy," Spike said.
"Yeah, we do…" I frowned.
"I still can't find the spy with the scans, and Sans refuses to come out of his room for anyone," Alphys said. "So for now, let's just focus on our usual missions."
And unfortunately, it seems that's all we can do.
Spike and I left Alphys' lab while she continued to look for the spy.
"You know, it's too bad we can't just capture one of the brainwashed soldiers or civilian, get them to talk on who the spy is, and then get Alphys to study them and see if there's a way to reverse Chara's brainwashing," Spike sighed.
I stopped at that. "Capture a brainwash citizen… why didn't we think of doing that before?"
Spike blinked and frowned, "Uh, cause bringing someone who's infected with Chara's RESET could cause our entire base to fall? Not to mention it's risky just to try doing something like that. We don't want to be cornered by the elites."
"I know it's risky, but I'm tired of standing back and letting Chara's side toy with us. All we've been doing is gathering food and useless junk. We need to take it to the next level, like capturing a soldier or civilian."
"And what if that leads to the elites trying to get them back? Even with the lockdown, that won't stop them from storming into the shelter after the next loop," Spike said. "Heck they always raid our food supply before we can even finish breakfast! The only thing keeping them from invading the shelter in the first place is because they like watching us squirm and fight against our friends and family. If we gave them a reason to actively come after us, then it's game over."
"Yes, but that's only if we get caught. The soldiers and Chara can't possibly keep up with everyone. We just have to capture one of them quietly," I said.
"And what if their friends and family realize they're gone? They'll alert Chara for sure!" Spike protested.
"Then we'll try to get Alphys to invent a memory erase spray or something so we can let them go with no memory of being captured," I said. "Spike, I know it's dangerous, but we'll never get anywhere in this war other than surviving if we keep playing it safe. Look at what happened this loop; we managed to collect a lot of data on Chara, even though we, regrettably, lost a lot of our allies."
Spike sighed, "You've… gotten a lot more reckless since Papyrus was taken away. Is this wise, Frisk?"
I looked at him and gave a frown.
"At least think about it, Frisk. Doing something like capturing a civilian or soldier could cost you more than you can afford. You could end up losing me in the process," Spike said quietly as I felt my blood go cold at the very thought of that. "Well… I'm going to bed until it's time for breakfast. Goodnight, Frisk."
I watched Spike walk off and thought about what he said. Was I… really becoming more reckless lately? I… I just wanted to finally make progress in this war, was that so wrong? I'm tired of always running in fear because of a soldier or Chara's civilian spotting us. I don't want to keep watching my friends becoming a part of Chara's army, one by one, as we lose more and more.
I sighed as I head back into Toriel's room. I'd rather go to my room, but she'd freak out of she wakes up and I'm not there, and I didn't want to do that to her. I climbed into the bed and wrap myself up in the fluffy blanket.
Maybe Spike was right, maybe I am getting too reckless. Things just… hadn't been the same since Papyrus was taken away. It felt terrible having him chase me down like that. Knowing Papyrus was no longer with us was one thing, but it was another having seen him chasing me down for Chara. And then there was Sans… had losing Papyrus destroyed him? He too was starting to get reckless with the DETERMINATION idea. I have to do something, but there's no real benefit for sacrificing ourselves like this… I should try coming up with a more careful plan so we wouldn't lose more allies this time.
I closed my eyes, thinking sleep would be impossible for me now, and yet to my surprise, Toriel was gently calling me.
"Frisk… Frisk my child, it is time to wake up. We do not want to be late for breakfast, do we?"
I groggily blinked open my eyes to see Toriel smiling at me, I also noticed that the room was no longer dark with nothing but a red tint of light, the lockdown was over, it was a new loop. I sat up and yawned. The bed felt so good that I didn't want to leave it.
"Heh, I told you that you would sleep better with a real bed," Toriel said to me. "You're sleeping with me from now on, Frisk. Your so-called room will be used as storage since it's so empty."
"But Toriel…" I frowned, still groggy.
"Do not argue with me. My bed has more than enough room for you, Frisk, and I will not be having you sleep on the cold hard floor every night," Toriel said firmly.
I sighed, why couldn't her motherly instinct kick in with other kids? Why does it only seem to go into overdrive when it has to do with me? Is it because of how we met in the Underground? Still… a part of me really like having her fuss so much over me like this, even if I didn't deserve it.
"Alright, alright…" I sighed.
Toriel gave me a smile, "Good, now let's head to the cafeteria for some nice warm breakfast. I need to help distribute the food anyways."
I followed Toriel to the cafeteria, "Toriel… I'm sorry, because of me we lost a lot of our allies in the last loop."
"Oh Frisk, don't be so hard on yourself. We all did what we had to do," Toriel said. "I'm sure we'll find a way to beat Chara soon, especially with the data we've collected."
But that data isn't enough… I sighed before going with Toriel into the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was full of monsters and humans, all starving for some food. I went to sit at a table and waited. Spike soon came over and sat beside me.
"We had a big haul from the last loop, so we'll be eating good today," Spike smiled, licking his lips.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Hey, what's the matter, Frisk?" Spike asked.
"I was just… thinking about what you said last night. You think I'm being too reckless lately?" I asked my friend.
Spike gave a sigh and said, "Well Frisk… we did lose a lot of our allies in the last loop, but I can't deny that after all this time, we're finally starting to bear fruit. It's just… I'm worried, you know? Even with the progress we've made, we still lost more than we should. I'd rather not lose anyone else if we can help it."
"Y-yeah… I hear ya. We really should plan out these things better so we have a better chance of returning to base without getting caught," I said.
"Yeah… um… Frisk, about that idea of yours, capturing someone…" Spike said. "We could try it if you think it'll help. I don't like the idea we have a spy here, and it makes it hard to trust anyone. But we need to better plan things out first."
I nodded, "Of course, Spike. We could discuss it with Sa- …" Sans probably wouldn't want to hear anything I have to say right now. "... Let's try to discuss it with the guidance leader and Alphys tonight. Until then, let's try to get through this loop. Act normal, we don't want that spy have anything new to report to Chara."
"Right, of course," Spike nodded.
Toriel soon came by, giving us a big plate of nice, roasted ham, along with some macaroni and mashed potatoes on the side, and some carrots and apples for a more healthy part of the meal. It was nice, being able to eat a full meal before going on a mission.
"Can't remember when was the last time we had a meal this big," Spike said, licking his lips.
"Yeah, we better enjoy this while it lasts," I said.
After our meal, we all headed to the center for the morning announcements and team assignments. Once again, Sans was nowhere to be seen. So the big screen TV Alphys had to take over for him again. I wonder how long it'll be for Sans to come out and lead us again…
"Fellow freedom fighters, this morning I have good news and bad news. The good news is we managed to secure a significant amount of data on Chara herself, this will bring us one step closer to countering her RESETs. As for the bad news, this unfortunately came with a heavy price. We've lost nearly half of our outgoing team last loop. They shall all be remembered fondly as our friends and allies."
I heard some monsters and humans crying. I felt bad for them… while I wasn't particularly close to the ones we lost, they were still our allies, and they were close to a lot of people here. Now they're gone, and this devastated their friends and families, just like it devastated Sans when Papyrus was taken away.
"Our allies are growing shorter, but we will remain strong and determined. Better that than to give up and fall to Chara's darkness forever," Alphys said sadly. "... It's time to assign the teams."
I was assigned with the food gatherers this loop. Spike was staying behind in the shelter today. It was time to go out and explore the city once more.
"Everyone have their bags and boxes?" Toriel asked.
Everyone gave her the affirmative.
"Then let's go," Toriel said before opening the doors.
While we were passing the patch of flowers that Toriel had as a garden before, I looked over at them and thought if I should water those some time. I always loved how beautiful and golden those flowers were, and they always seem to save my life whenever I fall.
When we made it to the city, however, something was different…
"Do you think they know about the footage we have of Chara?" I asked Toriel.
"I think that is a very likely scenario…" Toriel frowned.
Remember how I said the deeper the city, the more dangerous it was? Well, the entire outer rim had armies of soldiers covering the place, and the elites were around the second rim. We'd be lucky to step foot in the outer rim without getting swarmed at this rate.
"Oh dear… this does not bode well," Toriel said.
Everyone was looking at the city with fear. I gave a glare, knowing Chara must've felt threatened enough from our little stunt at the ceremony to have her best soldiers patrolling the outer parts of the city so we couldn't get in without getting caught. We can't get food or gadgets with the city infested with soldiers and elites, what do we do now?
DarkFoxKit: Ah, looks like things are picking up again. I'm sorry for the late update, been distracted for a while. ^^' Anyways, as always, I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story.
ScarkitTheMadaNeko: Thank you again.
penguinfan28: Makes you sand? *raises an eyebrow*
AShinyBlueMew: That's good, cause that was the idea I had in mind when I made them 'evil', they turn into their Underfell counterparts. ^^' As for the Temmies... I'll be honest, I didn't think about them when I wrote this story. But thanks for mentioning them, I managed to come up with a role for the Temmies later on in the story. And I'm glad I got down Toriel's nature in this story. :D
Consider-Me-A-Hooman: Heh, well seeing as your avatar is a picture of Chara I can see why you love it when I'm evil.
JadeKnight: I'm glad to see you're still reading. ^^
AnimeGirl: The reason Chara wants Frisk will not be revealed until later on in the story, so I won't be answering that right now. :#
