And on the first step of the expedition! A risky delve into the top of capital society, a dangerous gamble and a dark, terrifying secret revealed! How will our heroes cope!?
Read on to find out!
"Frisk, c'mon, I know you, urrg, have better things to do. Ooohhhh"
"Perhaps but this is way more fun"
"Fun? Frisk, I, urk, I think I'm... dying"
"Nah, it's just a bad case of vertigo. You just haven't earned your wings yet" Frisk finished with a supportive bump to Asriel's back, eliciting even more retching from the ailing monster.
Asriel had quite early on the group's flight with the airship learned 2 important facts: There was a reason not all monsters were born with wings and another unfortunate side effect of eating too much human food. He had spent the last hour doubled-over in front of the toilet in his private quarter, with Frisk providing not totally helpful support.
Unfortunate, as Alphys and Undyne were already waiting on the bridge in order to plan what to do once they arrived in the human capital.
"I'm not sure you're quite fit to go planning" Frisk said, finally showing a bit of her more usual sympathy.
"Oh, you, urrk, think so?" Asriel said, trying to sound sarcastic but was foiled by the incessant tingling in his throat.
"Yeah, not to worry, we'll just do this!" Frisk fished Asriel's phone out of a pocket in his robe and with practiced ease called her own, accepted the call, and place it on the sink.
"Wha- what?" Asriel tried.
"I put it on speaker. You should be able to hear what we come up with" Frisk explained with a teasing smile.
Asriel's only verbal response was yet another retch. He just barely managed to raise his paw to give a thumbs up.
With a final chuckle, Frisk turned for the door. She knew that it had probably been ages since a monster had experienced any kind of vertigo, but she also knew that her brother was in no real danger.
"Just call on the phone if you need anything" she said as she reached the door.
"I need this to end, urrgh"
Another small chuckle. He would fine, he was made of sterner dust than that.
The hallways of the lower section of the airship were quite vibrantly colored, even in a way that didn't annoy the eye, though Frisk surmised that some places looked more at place in a kindergarten than in the new royal flagship of an entire race. Nevertheless, it did well to provide for the wholly monster crew's need for lively surroundings.
The crew itself consisted mostly of smaller monsters, so as to easier fit into the tighter crawlspaces and corridors of the ship, including a group of froggits for more menial tasks and a small team of highly-trained, highly-efficient but not at all highly-professional team of technician temmies, or "tEChmieS" as they liked to call themselves.
Despite the varied bunch, however, they all showed a deep respect for Frisk, to the point that she was sure she had had to tell every crew-member at least once that there was no need for bowing.
She entered the elevator leading to the top section, the bridge, and pressed the up-most of 3 buttons. In an emergency, the elevator could be jettisoned from the ship to act as a kind of escape pod. Something that seemed unlikely as there was a powerful magical barrier around the ship, providing a good amount of protection... but not invincibility.
She just hoped that they would never have to use it.
A pleasant chime awoke her from her thoughts and the doors slid open, revealing the somewhat more cold and serious environments of the bridge. Not so many colors here, but on the walls hung many of the magically moving paintings her father sometimes made. A beautiful garden with grass and flowers swaying in the wind here, a majestic, snow-capped mountain range there, it really made Frisk wonder if her dad missed his true calling in life, him being so good at gardening and other arts.
The crew and the deck was a whole lot more subdued than those in the lower section, most only giving a short salute or nod upon seeing Frisk. The only exception was a tem flight lieutenant who fainted on the spot.
Beyond the door to the meeting room, Frisk could hear Alphys and Undyne already engaged in their "small-talk"
"Undyne, no! You can't do a cyber-mega buster! It's just not physically possible!"
"Not with that attitude, just you watch!"
"No, I-it's impossible... and if yo-you have to do it at least wait until we're off the ship!"
"Hey, if worse comes to worst at least we'll go out with one heck of a bang, right?"
"I'm... not sure Asgore would appreciate us playing fast-and-loose with the new airship like that, Undyne"
Frisk entered, suddenly feeling that everyone's lives were on the line. She found Undyne, holding a larger than usual energy spear above her head as if she was about to impale an enemy lying on the ground. Alphys was cowering in a corner, quivering in apparent fear.
"Hope I'm not interrupting" Frisk said politely.
"Oh, heya, Frisky" Undyne said with a disappointed frown and lowered her spear.
"Hmm, guess the cyber-mega buster will have to wait till later, then"
"Oh, thank god!" Alphys exclaimed over in the corner.
"Hey, where's Punk Asriel, uhh, Prince Asriel, I mean?" Undyne asked.
"Right here" Frisk replied, placing her cell phone on the large table in the center of the room.
"Ooooohhhhhh" A tortured groan escaped from the speaker.
"Woah, what's going on with him?" Undyne asked.
"He's... leaving dinner"
"Leaving... dinner?"
"Yes, you know, the opposite of having or eating dinner"
"The opposite of... oh darn" Undyne finished with a surprised expression that nevertheless quickly changed to her usual, stoic one.
"Tsk, tsk, we'll have to work on that once we get back to Ebott, can't have it be known that someone trained under me was done in by a bit of fresh air. You hear that, Asriel? It's gonna get hardcore once we get back!"
"Ooohhhh" Came the strained reply.
Frisk clapsed her hands together, catching the attention of the assembled monsters. "So, what's the plan, then? Do we have any leads?" She asked.
"Do we ever! Alphys, take it away!" Undyne ordered.
Alphys nervously cleared her throat and placed a laptop up on the table "Ehhm, yeah, about that, I kinda... slightly hacked into the capital city's police department's database, eh, y-y'know, because they might... know stuff?"
Frisk could only stare in disbelief as Alphys dropped the bomb that was the potential political scandal if it was ever found out what the royal scientist had done. On the phone Asriel gave off a loud rasping, the news causing havoc on his already tormented condition.
"That was... quite bold of you" Frisk understated.
"In my experience, "bold" is just another word for "badass!"" Undyne said, clasping a hand unto Alphys's shoulder. The lizard herself blushed and looked away at the affection.
"Anyway" Frisk began with a sigh and shake of her head "Did you at least find something in there?" She asked.
Immediately some of Alphys's nervous blush evaporated, apparently glad at having something else to talk about "Eh, yes, actually, I think I might have" She spun the laptop so it faced Frisk. On it was a long, detailed police rapport. Frisk leaned in close, nodding and humming in an analytic, professional manner but in truth not understanding a single sentence of the complicated wording of the report.
"Apparently, the police undertook their own small investigation into the disappeared monsters" Alphys explained "And, they even managed to narrow it down to a single likely suspect; a certain Countess Gospodar"
Frisk took a step back in stunned surprise at the name, at once amused at it being dropped and her not even thinking the countess could have been involved in the disappearance, giving the rumors surrounding her.
"Wait, if they had 1 likely suspect why did they drop the investigation?" Undyne asked.
Alphys made to answer but was interrupted by Frisk.
"Because the "graceful" Countess Gospodar goes to the same country club as the chief of police's wife" Frisk said, voice full of loathing.
"Wait, you know her?" Alphys asked.
"I know of her. I was actually supposed to have an interview with her later today; there have been accusations that she have been involved in some kind of underground slave ring, but I canceled so I could be here instead"
For a few seconds, silence descended upon the room as they all digested Frisk's words and their implications. Even Asriel's groaning on the phone had stopped.
Alphys was the first to break the stalemate.
"Do you think you could, uhh, I don't know, perhaps rearrange the same interview?" She offered.
Frisk flashed a wry smile. In truth, she had had the same idea "I'm actually pretty sure I could. Countess Gospodar is an avid anti-monster activist, she wouldn't miss a chance to talk down to someone like me for the world" she said, her smile faltering a bit as she realized her own words.
"So, what, you think you can make her spill the beans just by talking to her?" Undyne asked with a challenging look.
"Heh, nah, I'm good, but not that good. Though, I suppose it could serve as a distraction while, oh I dunno, someone else snuck around her villa looking for those answers?" Frisk's face dropped to look at the phone on the table, shortly after Undyne and Alphys followed suit.
"You're... you're all looking at the phone, aren't you?" Asriel asked on the other end after a few moments of silence.
"Well, you are the prince" Frisk explained "Gospodar would like nothing more than to serve someone like you a piece of humble pie"
"Urrgh, don't say that word, *hiccup*
"So that's the plan, then" Undyne butted in, leaning forward and resting her hands on the table "The 2 of you go in and get the interview started. After a few minutes Asriel excuses himself, sneaks away and looks for evidence" She surmised.
"Yup" Frisk agreed.
"Sounds good to me" Alphys concurred.
"Ooohhhh" Asriel... agreed?
"Well then, better find your best suit and best behavior, Azzy" Frisk said to the phone, leaning a bit closer to it.
"We're about to have a meeting between monster and human nobility"
Frisk gave herself one last look-over in the large mirror situated in the living room of her personal quarter, making sure it was up to snuff. One might assume that when going to meet nobility, one would wear one's finest and most expensive clothes, but, as Frisk had found out when studying courtesy, it wasn't that simple. If she were to wear something too fine the hostess might see it as a challenge or even a veiled insult. Thus, Frisk had settled for a simple striped dress in her usual colors, well-tailored and made of high-quality cloth but ultimately bland and a tad bit boring, the perfect compromise, Frisk surmised. She did a short twirl, noting that the skirt didn't rise more than 8 centimeters, good enough... hmm, perhaps she would have to go a bit easier on the pies and instant noodles, though.
Satisfied that her outfit would do the trick, Frisk turned for the door leading out of her room. Now came to the tricky part.
It wasn't that Asriel's sense of fashion was bad. The problem was he didn't have on at all. Pretty much the only criteria he had for the clothes he had was that they were green. His finer clothes, the delta rune robe, and business suit, while regal-looking and quite beautiful, were both something either mom or dad had given him.
Though, perhaps that was for the best. Countess Gospodar probably wouldn't expect much from a monster. Better to play it by her rules.
Frisk reached up and gave a few short knocks Asriel's door, his quarter located just across the hallway from hers.
"Hey, you just about ready?" She called.
"Just about" came a quick reply.
"Alright, I'm coming in, I better not find you with your pants on your head"
She entered, almost excited and hoping to find him in a bundled mess for a cheap laugh. But, to her slight disappointment, she found him, back turned, facing a mirror much like the one in her own room, in the process of buttoning up the last few buttons on the white shirt underneath the black business suit.
"There... we... go" he said, turning around and spreading his arms wide to present himself.
"So, on a scale from -10 to 0 how bad does it look?" He asked with a snide smirk.
Frisk, of course, immediately picked up the invitation to a quick jab on him and usually she wouldn't hesitate to take it, but... woah.
It was... a series of short revelations for Frisk. She realized she had never actually seen Asriel in a suit before, him having sworn that he would do all that he could to keep Frisk away from the political work he and his father worked in. She realized that the suit he wore was probably bought at least a year ago, it seeming to sit just a little bit too tight, a far cry from his usually more loose-hanging clothes. She also realized that all the sparring, training and running he did with Undyne... really showed. Toned didn't even come close to cut it.
His impressive physique wasn't all of it either. He had evidently showered and been groomed as his fur seemed more shiny and pristine than before, his horns too, seemed more smooth and ivory-like, perhaps owing to a bit of polishing, the only marring feature being the shorn top of his rightmost one, it having been cut off at the end of a "long story" he had once told her.
All in all, he looked nothing lie the goofy, kind brother she had known just a few minutes ago, instead looking like some kind of majestic creature straight out of a fantasy novel, shiny, furry and green-eyed.
"Uhh, Frisk?" He asked.
"Uh-huh"
"Frisk, you're, uhh, drooling"
"Mr. Dreemurr will see you now"
"What? Oh god, no, Frisk! Is it really that bad!? Golly, I thought I had done such a good job at it, too"
He reached up to unbutton the shirt.
"NO!" Frisk shouted.
"ACK! What? What did I do!?"
"No, it's, uh, fine, good enough, I mean, uhh... we should go... Now!"
"Oh, you sure? I could go change if-"
"I'm sure, now, go!"
"I'm going, I'm going, just don't shout at me!" He said as he hurriedly rushed out the door and made for the shuttles.
Frisk herself stayed behind, taking deep breaths as she tried to cool the warm blush that had started in her face and then spread. No, she needed more!
She tore open one of the windows. She had been told to do so only in an emergency but she needed something cold and splashing water on her face couldn't do. Stupid make-up.
She stuck her head out, feeling the... something, quickly disappearing. The wind buffeted her face sharply and undid her carefully made hair, but she didn't care, she could do it once they were onboard the shuttle, for now, she needed to think of something else.
For it was wrong to think like that, he was her brother for crying out loud! Not by blood or dust, but still...
She sighed. Of everyone in her family, she had always been the most flirtatious. Not that she had ever meant anything by it, it was simply her own way of messing with people, but boy, this had been a wake-up call!
No, whatever had happened would have to wait for another time, she surmised, sticking her head back in and finally feeling her racing heart calm down.
They had a job to do, 33 monsters gone and in need of a rescue, everything else must come second!
'What a shame' Frisk thought.
"Golly, this is going to suck, isn't it?" Asriel whimpered as he and Frisk walked up the long driveway leading to Gospodar's villa, flanked on either side by pristine manicured lawns and plants that had probably come from the other side of the world. The villa itself was no slouch in the wow-factor either. The front looked more like a finely-carved castle gate, and the walls surrounding it were inlaid with figures and scenes, depicting some kind of ancient battle.
"Only if you get spotted" Frisk answered with a shrug. "There's probably a few hired security guards around. Still, I'd almost rather tango with them than sit trough an entire interview with the "good countess""
Asriel chuckled lightly. He was tempted to answer that she had once turned some of the most noteworthy figures of monsterkind from enemies into friends, almost without uttering a single word, so a grumpy old countess would be no problem at all. Of course, the Frisk that was with him now didn't know that...
He turned his attention back to the villa itself. It was expansive but not tall, only apparently 3 stories tops. He eyed a drainage pipe close to a window on the middle floor, perhaps a way in when he slipped away from the meeting. There were a few cameras here and there, but nothing he couldn't avoid, thankful that Undyne had once trained him in detection avoidance 101 once, using a few of Alphys's cameras.
"Say, Frisk, after this, could you do me a favor?" Asriel asked.
"What's up, goat-butt?"
"What? Oh, eh, do you think you could buy me some peach yogurt once we're done here? Think I'll need to cut down on the solids foods for a while"
"Heh, you've really taken a liking to that stuff, haven't you?"
"It's delicious! I almost begged dad to build a royal factory to make it just for Ebott the other day!"
"Good use of taxpayer money"
"Hah, ehh... I was kidding, Frisk"
"Sure you were... but alright, I'll get you your drug"
"Thanks, Frisk"
They arrived at the door. A camera above it whirred as they came close, almost like a snake hissing a warning.
Beside him, Frisk took a deep breath.
"So, you're ready?" She asked.
"No"
"Good, now, remember, I'll do most of the talking. You just sit and try not to make too much of a fuss. Wait a few minutes then find a way to excuse yourself, sneak away and search for clues. Simple, right?"
"I... guess. Frisk, I've never tried infiltrating a manor before"
"What, really?"
"No! Of course not! Why would you think I had!?"
The door opening silenced whatever answer Frisk might have given. Instead, they both immediately stood to attention, straight-backed and orderly.
The door opened completely, revealing an elderly, posh-looking butler.
"Yes?" he simply said, in a tone that smacked of aristocratic linguistic overkill.
"Frisk Dreemurr" Frisk answered in a frighteningly similar fashion.
"We're here for the interview with the gracious Countess Gospodar"
The butler glanced over at Asriel, seizing him up, his face completely disciplined and unchanging as if he wore a mask. The prince himself could only meet his scrutiny with a nervous smile.
"It was informed that you might bring a friend, but this is... highly irregular. I regret to inform you, but Lady Gospodar's view on beasts are... quite extreme"
"We are aware, but I assure you, he is quite harmless" Frisk said with a smile.
Beside her, Asriel gave off a slight, sympathetic laugh.
Fortunately, the butler seemed to buy into the small lie. With a simple shrug, he turned on his heel and gestured for the human and monster to follow.
As dazzling and impressive as the outside exterior had been, the inside of Gospodar's mansion was the exact opposite. Dull, swamp-green walls stood nearly featureless for long stretches, with only a few drab paintings, pinned butterflies or crude symbols here and there.
That all changed when they reached the great banquet hall. Polished gold crests, symbols, and trophies covered nearly every centimeter of the walls and the light from a giant, diamond-encrusted chandelier above them reflected off of them. For Frisk and Asriel it was like being lit up by flashlights from all directions.
"Frisk, my dear! So glad you decided to show up, despite your earlier cancellation!" came a refined voice, light as a bird's, but as authoritative as a lion's.
A quite pudgy, elderly lady rose from a seat at the end of a long table in the middle of the room and made for the duo. Lady Gospodar, looking every inch of spoiled nobility as Asriel had figured. From top to bottom looking very much like someone who had lived a sedentary life. Her dress, a beautiful velvet light green he admitted, bulged to either side. Her skin was likewise gray and drab, only barely covered by a thick layer of glistening makeup.
Yet for just second, he eyed a glimpse of feral cunning the woman's eyes.
Gospodar reached a finely manicured hand out to Frisk, each finger bearing a large, gem-encrusted ring. Frisk took it into her own, bowed down and planted a quick kiss.
"It was my fortune that the business that previously prevented me was undone, your esteemed ladyship, I hope to learn much from you in the coming hours" Frisk said.
Asriel couldn't help but quietly sigh at how pleasant Frisk's voice sounded like when spoken with an aristocratic hint, similar and yet so different from Countess Gospodar, though, that didn't surprise him. Here was a person who simply wore the name of human nobility and another who personally embodied it.
As if noticing his sigh, Gospodar slowly craned her neck to face him, looking like someone trying to locate an annoying sound in a large room.
"Now, this is certainly a surprise. Asriel Dreemurr, Crown Prince of Monsters. If I had known you would be accompanying dear Frisk I would have had my servants fetch some food from the local pet store" she said, amused, but not unkindly.
Asriel chuckled half-heartedly, convincing himself to take the statement more as a compliment, rather than the veiled insult it probably was.
"It is quite alright, Countess Gospodar, most human food would suit my palette just fine, but, please, allow me to understate what an honour it is to meet you in person. Your name is oft mentioned amongst my dad's cabinet" Asriel replied, trying his best to mimic Frisk's and Gospodar's aristocratic accent.
"Man, you're such a sellout" Flowey commented inside his head.
"Indeed? Well, I am glad to hear you know to listen when your betters speak" Gospodar replied, again sounding not in the slightest like she was trying to insult.
Asriel gulped, knowing full well that the next many moments would be absolute torture.
And a torture it was, though also a strange kind of learning experience. Asriel was no stranger to the hatred and ignorance that was shown his people by the suits but never once had he heard those same, thinly-veiled insults and made up facts spoken with such complete conviction. It was almost like she expected Frisk and Asriel to agree with her on the spot.
Frisk did her best to keep the conversation centered on the interview, but the countess took every opportunity to rattle off more of her conjectures to the prince. Frisk asking into her connections with the human government lead her to give Asriel a lecture on why monarchy was so "old-fashioned and boorish". Another question delving into her supposed relationship with a leader of another human nation lead to her asking him how many women his father had courted. As someone with such a title, and with no grasp of "good and proper surface values" he must have been wading in them!
Asriel deflected the questions as best as he could but even his patience was wearing thin. He glanced over at a grandfather clock standing close-by, he had been sitting there for almost half an hour. 'Just another 30 minutes' he thought to himself, then he would be able to excuse himself to the washroom and get away from this madness. For now, all he could do was to sit, smile and nod while sipping off a cup of tea he had been served by the butler, though, by the taste and color of it, he was pretty sure the countess had deliberately given him a cup of heated water instead, he had decided not to speak up.
"Countess Gospodar" Frisk began "In your official police statement regarding the investigation into your, of course, completely unbased and untrue connection to an underground slavery ring, you mentioned that monster slavery was an "interesting, but crude idea" could you elaborate?"
"Why, of course, dearest Frisk!" The countess chirped "If beasts are to ever integrate into the workforce, they would need proper experiences in the fields, would they not?"
"I suppose" Frisk agreed.
"Splendid! Then, would you not also agree that beasts, by virtue of the laxity their magical affinity had given them, would have to be forced into work if they are to ever learn those values within a sensible amount of time?"
"Ohh, I don't know. Slavery just sounds so-"
"It does indeed, and black market slavery too! That wouldn't do at all. I much prefer the term "enforced labor" official, blue-collar labor, of course. Oh, Frisk, I cannot imagine how your life in Ebott must be, why, it reminds me of a good friend of mine and his tales of when he lived with a feral tribe of natives in the Southlands!"
… Perhaps half an hour was more than enough waiting. Any more and he might do something stupid.
"Excuse me, Countess" Asriel said, rising from his chair.
"I would hate to impose but could I avail you the location of the washroom?"
"Sheesh, you're laying it on thick" Flowey groaned within him.
Gospodar sneered in thinly-veiled contempt but nevertheless raised a lanky arm to point at a set of double-doors.
"The servant's quarters are down that hall. I would appreciate if you would suppress your beastly urges and not leave a mess, Prince Asriel"
"... Thank you and I will... try not to" Asriel replied with a quick, insincere bow before rushing off, desperate to get away.
As soon as the doors closed behind him, Asriel went to the nearest window, opened it up, and crawled outside into the evening sun. At once he was surprised at how clean the air was, just now realizing how sickly sweet it had been inside the manor, probably because of the stifling perfumes and all the sweets and chocolates the countess seemed to have hidden in every piece of pottery.
He stalked trough the garden leading to the front of the house where he had seen the drainage pipe, making sure to keep as close to the walls as possible. Luckily, the sun was on the other side of the house and the shadows the house threw were long and deep.
A nearby gardener suddenly started shouting and Asriel froze. Only after a few seconds did he see the cables leading from a phone in his pocket into his ears, and that he was actually just singing loudly along to something, though, it sounded more like shouts of alarm than anything.
He reached the front of the house and quickly looked around. He would be visible from quite a distance when he started crawling but as far as he could see, the only danger was a guard sleeping in a booth guarding the entrance to the driveway. It was as clear as it would ever be.
The drainage pipe itself proved to be surprisingly difficult to traverse, not just because it looked like it had been recently polished, but the suit he was wearing also suddenly felt too tight and frustrated his attempts to raise his legs along the pipe, nevertheless, he made good, if slow progress towards the window. The manor itself was located atop a seaside cliff and from the window, he imagined one would have a great view of the ocean, the perfect place for an office.
A strange sense of deja vu overcame him. There probably weren't a lot of people who had ever had need to climb a drainage pipe and yet here he was, doing it for the second time. Last time, he had been trying to reach a burning apartment to help whoever was trapped inside. It had ended with him being shot and nearly die.
Hopefully, this wouldn't be like last time.
He reached the window and looked over his shoulder, satisfied that the coast was still clear. The window itself was locked, but there was a devious trick his father, of all people, had shown him once.
He locked his legs as tight around the pipe as he could and leaned over towards the window as much as he could, just barely able to fit a single claw in between the window frame. Perfect, now just a quick but weak infusion of fire magic, aaaaand...
*Pop!*
With the sound of the cork being popped from a wine bottle, the window jumped out of its hinges by virtue of the heat vacuum he had created. With a push, shove and jump, Asriel managed to ease himself trough, getting himself inside the supposed office.
Great! Now he just had to find some kind of clue, maybe in a drawer or desk or-
Bed?
There was a great king-sized bed in there...
"Oh, golly..."
The bedroom.
The sheer possibility of being discovered in such a compromising place filled Asriel with a super-heated blush!
The door! He had to get out! This was another person's private bedroom! He had to-
He stopped, just shy of reaching out for the door handle. There was a strange, sweet and oddly familiar scent in the air. Something that... filled him with dread for some reason.
He raised his nose into the air, tasting it. He knew he had smelled that before, recently even, but where?
He tried to follow the trail. Did it lead outside? No, it was inside the bedroom. Did it come from the ventilation unit? No, the air around it was clean and scentless.
He closed his eyes, focusing as much as possible on finding the source of the dread-inducing sweet smell. He turned his head to follow and opened his eyes again.
A closet?
He inched closer, almost scared of what he would find. sans had made plenty a joke about him and his brother hiding in closets and apparently, it was also a human idiom for having a dark secret...
He opened it carefully, almost expecting a terrifying Final Froggit to leap at him from inside. Instead, he found, not surprising at all, a long rack of fur coats.
And, as he sniffed the air again, the source of the strange smell.
The furs also seemed strangely... bright and fine, not that usually worn furs were but it was like the animal the fur had come from might never have lived in the wild at all.
He moved a paw to touch and ran it down a sleeve on one of them. And as he pulled it back, he realized with horror what the strange smell was. He had smelt it before, 2 days ago at his near assassination.
On his paw, like the teardrops that had no doubt been shed in its cruel creation were several glittering granules of monster dust.
–-
"Frankly Frisk, you should know you can be perfectly honest with me"
"Oh, whatever do you mean?" Frisk said, practically a droning slur at this point. Keeping up the aristocratic charade had been amusing at first but the countess's monumental arrogance had quickly taken all that away.
"Well, I can't help but think that you seem... slightly anxious" She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Frisk, you can tell me... This Asriel, is he and The Dreemurr family holding you against your will?"
Frisk couldn't help but stare in near-shock at the audacity for a few seconds.
"Ehh, no, not at all" Was all she could manage.
The countess leaned back, the grimace on her face easily betraying that she didn't quite believe her.
"If you say so. Nevertheless, I would like to have this "prince" of yours checked once he returns. I do not trust-"
CRASH!
Both Frisk and Gospodar jumped in their seats at the sound. A set of double-doors behind Gospodar, leading further into the manor, had been kicked open, revealing a sight Frisk had never imagined she would see.
It was her brother, but in a state she had never seen him before; absolutely furious. His eyes were alight with a white fire, the air around him seemed to shimmer as if in a heat haze, the lips on his muzzle were peeled back in a beastly snarl and in his left paw he clutched a couple of fur coats.
Gospodar rose from her chair in a dignified manner "What is the meaning of this, Prince Asriel?" she demanded, still daring to hold her noble tone of voice "What have you been doing in there and what are you- ekk!"
Asriel suddenly moved, walking briskly towards the countess and startling her into silence. Frisk too, stood in stunned silence. "Asriel" and "angry" were 2 things that just didn't seem to fit together, like "Temmie" and "coherent speech" yet here they were. She noticed that as he moved, burnt, soot-stained footprints were left behind wherever his foot touched the floor.
"A-Asriel" The Countess tried again, quivering with barely concealed fear "I- I insist that you stop! Or-or I will call secu- argh"
Asriel's free paw shot out, grasping the countess by the throat and silencing her. Despite her doubtlessly immense weight, he lifted her up, her feet dangling a few centimeters off of the floor. He raised the fur coats in front of her.
"WHERE DID YOU GET THESE!?" He shouted in rage. The countess's only response was a strained, choking gasp.
Frisk, finally coming to her senses, rounded on Asriel, tugging at the sleeve on the arm holding the countess.
"Asriel, what are you doing!? Put her down!" She insisted.
Asriel felt some of his rage subside at her words, but he couldn't let this go. This was a crime too heinous to just forgive.
"WHERE DID YOU GET THESE!?" He repeated. "TELL ME, OR SO HELP ME I WILL BURN THIS ENTIRE CESSPIT TO THE GROUND LOOKING FOR THE ANSWER!"
"Asriel, put her down! You're hurting her!" Frisk cried, still tugging at him.
"She deserves to be hurt!" Asriel snarled back, not as angrily as before but still with a malice-filled voice that shook Frisk to her core.
But that wasn't the end of it.
"These coats?" He said, raising them in front of Frisk.
"They're made... with monster fur"
She gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. Surely he must be mistaken? No one could be so cruel as to have monsters skinned for the making of a coat!
But no, looking close, she saw a telltale glitter of monster dust in the hairs on one of the coats. And...
A note?
She reached her hand out and plucked the little paper scrap, sticking out of one of the pockets, and quickly read it over.
It was... perhaps exactly what they had been looking for, but in a context far more horrifying than any of them could have imagined.
"You... Despicable... Bastard!" Asriel snarled at the gasping and whimpering countess.
"How would you like it if I were to do the same to you!? WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!?" As before, The Countess's only answer was fearful choking as she struggled uselessly in the monster's iron grip. Deep inside, he knew it was an empty threat, something he would never do, but never had he been so unsure of that and never in all his life had he personally witnessed such a crime against his people.
"Asriel... put her down" Came Frisk surprisingly calm but determined voice.
Asriel grimaced. He didn't want to let go. He imagined how easy it would be to just squeeze a little tighter, snap her neck and leave her soul to rot. He would have nothing to do with such a poisoned, rotten thing!
"Asriel, put her down... now!" Frisk demanded.
No, even now, he still couldn't go against Frisk... and, it was probably for the best. He had promised her that he would never kill, after all, and the scandal it would unleash if it became known that The Prince of Monsters had killed someone in their own home would no doubt spell doom for Ebott.
With a final relenting growl, Asriel released the whimpering countess. She collapsed onto the floor with a pained whimper, and scurried away, coughing and gasping for the breath that had been denied her for so long.
"I think... we got what we came for" Frisk said calmly, waving the note in front of Asriel. He didn't deign to look or answer, instead fixating his angry glare at the quivering Countess.
"There... there will be consequences for this, I assure you!" The countess hissed at him. All traces of her former aristocratic speech gone.
"Yes, you're right... there will be" he said and walked past her, heading for the door to the outside, kicking the chair the countess was leaning against away as he did, causing her to fall to the floor once again.
Frisk still stood, face cast down and hidden in shadow, facing the countess.
"Frisk, please, you must understand" Gospodar whimpered, trying to stand up.
"This... this is all a big misunderstanding, please, you have to believe me"
No answer was forthcoming from The Determined Child, instead came a court bow, as she had done in her initial greeting.
"I thank you for your time, Countess Gospodar, I think our readers will be VERY interested in what has been revealed here. I would wish you good day, but that would be lying" She said, finishing her bow and following Asriel out the door.
Neither of them said a word as they headed back to the shuttle that had taken them to the manor. They had found what they had been looking for, a clue, and more than likely the already ending day would see them down on the surface again before it was over to investigate it.
Asriel clutched the collected bundle of coats in his paw tightly. He knew his father had practically no political influence in the capital but once he showed him the coats he was sure he could arrange for the countess's immediate arrest and have her put away for good. Even the suits would have to react once they found out monsters had been skinned alive for the making of mere clothes!
And the furs themselves... they were new. They could only come from one source. The 33 kidnapped monsters.
They were on the right track, they knew, but already out the gate, both of the Dreemurr children silently feared where the path might take them.
And with that, the real meat of the story has finally begun, a whole 9 chapters in...
Well, it's gonna get worse before it get's better.
