Septenary 10
Author Note: Before this chapter begins, I would like to alert you all I am fully aware that the character introduced in the first portion of this chapter does not appear in canon game-play until a much later location. However, I reckon there are a lot of critical changes that would occur with the presence of seven humans rather than one, and the sheer amounts of determination as well as the other traits would bring power to some of the most obscene parts of the game. Therefore, the deviation from what's currently speculated about this character is completely intentional.
With that being said, enjoy! Please don't forget to review!
She didn't understand completely why she had to wear the mask, but Beatrice didn't want to upset her mother by over-inquiring. After all, questions always seemed to get her in trouble with Nan or Christen, so she kept them to herself as she fit the thin plastic over her mouth and nose. It felt foreign and she sneezed despite it, but Toriel regarded her with a small, patient smile, so she dismissed it with a tiny grin before remembering she couldn't see it.
"H-how long...?" She finally ventured warily before clamming up.
"Do not be afraid to ask, my child," her mother soothed, and she grinned again. Of course Toriel wouldn't get onto her for something like that! She was too good!
"How long do I need to wear this thing, Mama?" She asked more confidently.
"As long as it takes for you to adjust to the environment, my dear," she replied with a smile that almost seemed sad. "I was beginning to think I should equip all of you children with them, but...Well, you know how it is."
The little five year old did, and it still hurt to talk about it, but her mother seemed comforted when they discussed it, so she kept quiet. She missed Frisk and Micah much more than she originally thought she would (which made her feel guilty), but she found herself missing the others almost just as fiercely. They were far from perfect- Akin was loud, Oswald could be mean- but they were kind, honest, and loyal. She'd give just about anything to have the full group with the two of them, and she knew Toriel felt the same way.
"Yes ma'am," she echoed softly. "But I bet they're having lots of fun out there. We don't hafta worry."
"Indeed." The motherly monster looked to her with a loving smile and a wink. "In fact, we must be happy for them, should we not? Then our love can reach them anywhere."
"Yeah!" She crowd in agreement. "Can we fix dinner now?"
"Oh dear, it is about time," the mother mused. "Shall we have a flavored loaf? How about cinnamon tonight?"
"Sounds great! And don't worry, Mama. I know the drill."
She didn't blame her mama for not wanting her going outside alone. Even if the monsters were nice enough when they were all together, there was no guarantee they wouldn't attack her out of fear or anger like they'd done to half their group when they went exploring. Besides, she was content to sit inside and do her schoolwork; there were lots of books for her to read, and she loved hearing about the histories of the monsters as well as the humans. As her adoptive parent waved goodbye, she was already opening the newest book and beginning to work her way through the first chapter.
The first few minutes were quiet as per usual. It was when the five year old became aware of the intense silence that she realized she was extremely bored with her new project, and she hadn't even turned the first page over yet.
"What's wrong with me?" She wondered aloud, as children often do. "The book seems cool...Why don't I wanna read it?"
Maybe it was because it was all she'd seemed to do since coming to live with her. Before the others left, it was easy to find someone to play with or at least watch if she got bored. Now that it was just the two of them, there was nothing but her own thoughts, and sometimes her mother was too busy to play or even talk. She'd had to reassure her parent many times she was there to stay, and while she definitely meant it, she needed someone to talk to beside her caretaker.
Her next thought shot both inhibition and excitement through her tiny frame. It was scandalous, and probably outright naughty, but maybe, just maybe if she peeked through the big door the others left through, she could find someone to talk with. Of course she'd have to hurry back before Toriel returned, but her outings lasted for a pretty long time. Surely she'd be happy if she found a little friend, right?
The next thing she knew she was in front of it, so she supposed she had to be correct. Maybe the others would even come back if she just opened it the slightest bit-
"oH?"
Beatrice nearly jumped out of her skin; she'd barely touched the wood and the door had...talked? She leaned closer warily, softly putting her hand against the door handle and speaking as softly as possibly.
"Hello?" She repeated. "M...My name is Beatrice. What's yours?"
Text appeared before her eyes rapidly and she blinked quickly, trying to discern them only to realize they weren't words at all. They looked more like symbols, none of which seemed to go together, but she was willing to keep trying to make sense of it before the mysterious stranger seemed to realize her confusion.
"oH My...how DID you accESS this roOm?" The voice inquired shakily.
"This door has always been here," she replied with a little smile, trying her best to look like her mama often did. "How long have YOU been here?"
"S o mAny ?..." The voice drolled, and she couldn't help but flinch as the symbols began appearing rapidly.
"S-sorry if I asked too much at once..." She looked at her feet to avoid the harsh images. "I just really wanted to make another friend other than Mom. It's lonely without the others."
The rapidly pictures ceased at once and the child felt a cold chill dart up her spine at once. "oTHerS?"
She'd been warned not to disclose that there were any others humans to those who didn't know- something about never knowing who was listening?- so she used her excuse now. "Y-yeah, other children. There were a bunch of monsters that came here for a vacation, but they went away, so I miss them."
"cHilD. NO need to lIE to Me," the stranger voiced with a strange chuckle. "but...I wILL not PreSs you if yOu do nOT press me."
"W-well..." She felt strange, like a cold darkness was filling up her chest. "Mama will be home soon. I should go back upstairs..."
"oF coURse you wAnt to. I a sCAry to you, aM i NOT?"
Little Tally prided herself on not telling lies- Nan had instilled at least that into her- but she didn't want to hurt his feelings, either. Instead she touched the door again and smiled softly again, and by the way the symbols that appeared slowly faded, she hoped that meant they liked this.
"You're kind of scary," she admitted. "But that's just cause...I never met you before. So once I know you, you won't be scary anymore!"
"...tHank YOu. BUt wHaT mAKEs you ThINk yOu can FiX me?"
"...Nothing at all!" She chirped, quickly kissing the wood and scurrying toward the stairs. "But I'm willing to try! Bye, Mister Door!"
Now that she was away from them, the cold darkness had left her chest and made her feel normal besides the chills she was still shivering off. Whoever she'd encountered had to have been a monster, but if she asked her mama, she was scared she'd be upset she'd gone so close to the exit of the RUINS. She'd kept a lot of secrets from Nan, so she'd keep this little one for now.
Besides, she had a feeling they weren't a bad guy. Maybe not a good guy, but a...?
"W.D Gaster, huh, Tally Mark? That guy's a trip. You're filled with patience anyway."
A trip! Exactly! She smiled to herself and settled back down with her book now as the shivers finally subsided. "Thank you, Chara!"
'Could you check on Tally?'
"Heh. I actually just finished doing that, and let me tell you, she's got her tiny hands full right now."
'What do you mean?'
Frisk knew her younger friend was capable, but the thought of her having to face any hardship still rattled her internally. She was only five years old, and they'd gone too far to get back quickly if something really went wrong. Chara may be a narrator, but somehow she doubted that they'd be of any use without her body to host, so she'd developed a sense of paranoia since she'd slept and had violent nightmares about losing her Tally Mark.
"Don't worry, Frisky Bits. She just made an...interesting friend."
She didn't like the sound of that in the slightest, but her reliable narrator didn't seem bothered, so she tried to assure herself not to be, either. It didn't have to matter that they were dead, or that they couldn't necessarily perceive peril, or that they were indifferent about pretty much everyone but herself-
The loud shriek emitted from the kitchen window yanked her from her thoughts and inspired her to peek in. Adeline had her hands over her mouth and was suppressing a surge of giggles as Papyrus yelled to Sans about how she'd 'TRANSFORMED THE NOODLES!' and about how 'STUPENDOUSLY DELICIOUS!' the new sauce she'd used was. She had to snicker had the antics; none of the boys seemed to like the skeleton brothers much, but she and Adeline both thought they were hilarious.
"hey kid." She managed to let herself jump when the shorter skeleton appeared, but it still made her heart seem to skip a beat. "looks like soup's on...well, pasta."
She couldn't be sure he'd interpret correctly or if Chara would bother to voice in his head, so she merely nodded and headed inside. Micah was exactly where she'd left him, sat on the stairs and working on interpreting monster text the way Toriel had taught him. Akin had been intent on exploring the second he'd woken up, so he was curled up in a bundle on the couch now as he brushed snow out of his hair and off his clothes. Maria still looked to be half asleep as she leaned against Oswald, who mostly looked annoyed (as per usual), but they were all there, and that did wonders to ease the anxiety stirring in the pit of her stomach.
"We made Alfredo pasta," Adeline voiced shyly as Papyrus distributed the various dishes full of food around. "I hope you all like it."
"It's hot. I'm happy," Akin mumbled and immediately shoveled a big spoonful into his mouth.
"The taste of something familiar and delicious makes this strange new place feel like home. You are filled with determination."
FILE 11.5 SAVED
'Eleven files already?' She thought as she dug into her dinner eagerly. 'Have we really come that far?'
"You've still got a long way to go, but yes.'
'Chara...Do the others have these save points too? Like, do they have half files to save?' She responded, but the thought of having more to go made her more apprehension than she cared to admit.
"Nope, just you. I told you before, you're special." Maybe it was just her imagination, but they almost looked sad about that fact, maybe even a little afraid.
'The others are very strong,' she noted, trying to pour her empathy into her own thoughts. 'You could always try appearing to them. You could save stuff for them.'
"It doesn't work like that, but trust me, I wish it did."
'You do?'
They'd said before they didn't want to get attached to any of them, especially herself, but it sounded more and more like they were going against their original plans. She figured it was probably because she was linked into her emotions of empathy and love, but she also liked to believe that the little ghost attached to them had once been a good person themselves. Of course she had to wonder what caused them to die, and why they'd chosen them, and why they were both so powerful in this world, but those questions were just going to have to come later. Much like her beloved Tally, she would have to be patient.
"Eat your noodles, kid."
'You don't look any older than me!' She complained internally at once. 'Who are you to call me a child?'
"I'm dead. I've been dead for a long time. The universe decided to mock me by making me die when I look like this. So yes, I'll call you 'kid' all I want. It's an affectionate term."
If that was the case, Sans must care about them in a positive way. The concept was admittedly foreign to the ten-year-old; nobody at the orphanage really knew what it was like to have adults that loved and cared for them, and if they did, those same adults had abandoned them and broken the very trust they'd built. She couldn't help but feel like the small skeleton had more on his mind that just concern and care for them, though; the looks he gave them and the way he never seemed to be far proved that much. It was the same way Nan behaved when she was paranoid and looking for a reason to deliver punishments, and while she liked to think he wasn't that psychotic, she was positive he wasn't as useless as Papyrus implied.
Given the expressions Oswald and Maria continued to shoot in his direction, she wasn't the only one the brothers weren't fooling.
"I'm going back out there," Akin decided externally as he finished up feasting out of the bowl she assumed the meal was cooked in. "It's a pretty interesting town."
Micah lifted his head now, which alarmed her to say the least; it was to her understanding he avoided him at all costs for reasons all of them were aware of. "I'll go with you. I want to decipher more books."
The younger boy eyed the book in his hands and mumbled, "You're telling me you already cracked the whole thing?"
"Of course," he responded in a flat tone; he evidently still didn't like him much, but at least he was trying to be cordial. "It's just a children's book. The title means says 'Fluffy Bunny Goes to the Store'."
"OOH! A CLASSIC!" The tall skeleton decreed. "EXCELLENT CHOICE, HUMAN PRISONER!"
"Yeah, I guess you can come," the male her age agreed. "But you better keep up!"
He then naturally raced out of the doorway, and not to her surprise, her best friend didn't take much liberty in entertaining his statement. Instead, he walked down at his own pace and kissed her cheek, squeezing her hand the way they often did.
"I'll be back soon," he mumbled into her ear. "Make sure nobody kills anybody, okay?"
'I always do,' she signed with a faint chuckle.
Papyrus insisted they were all his prisoners, but if those two boys were free to explore, she figured the rest of them should, too. There was sort of unspoken agreement they wouldn't remain in one place after exiting the Ruins, after all, so they should all learn as much about Snowdin as they could so they could later determine if they should return. The skeleton siblings were entertaining and she found herself becoming fond of their antics, but there was an entire community in Snowdin, and if they were dangerous the group would have to flee more readily.
"You sound more like Purple every single day."
'Am I supposed to apologize for that?' They signed teasingly as they stepped outside.
"Nah. Anyway, everyone, Frisk suggests that you explore Snowdin more in case there is any danger."
For a moment, the others didn't seem to hear, or at least didn't care enough to respond. Oswald eventually hefted himself and Maria up, however, and walked to the door with a roll of his eyes.
"I doubt anything could hurt us here," he muttered as he stepped onto the icy terrain.
"You just don't like the temperature," Maria replied readily in a chiding tone. "Frisk has a point. Adeline, come on! We're exploring!"
"OH! WELL! DO BE CAREFUL, HUMAN PRISONERS!" Papyrus exclaimed when the younger girl followed after, stumbling over reapplying her layers. "I WOULDN'T WANT ANYONE TO TAKE YOU AS THEIR OWN!"
"We will be!" Adeline chirped with a small smile. "And thank you again for letting us eat and rest. We really needed it."
"OF COURSE! THANK YOU FOR...NOT LEAKING MORE!"
Sans let out a small chuckle and lifted his hand in a wave, but by the way Chara grunted in the back of her mind, she knew he would still be watching as they continued on. As long as he was around, she somehow felt like they'd never be alone as humans again, and that filled her with enough determination to save another file.
"That Sans is getting on my nerves," she heard Oswald grumble just ahead. "He's judging us for no reason. Maybe we should be the ones keeping an eye out for him."
Perhaps she truly was the only one that had the positive sentiment about it.
...
As Frisk figured, she was much to explore in Snowdin. She'd met up with Akin and a young monster that simply went by "Monster Kid", ran into a few chatty and quirky locals, and seen a few monsters doing their jobs without much concern to her species. Whether or not they didn't care or just didn't recognize what a human looked like she wasn't sure, but at least everything seemed to be calm.
"You really want to leave so soon?" Chara inquired as she stared into the foggy path at the end of the area. "What about the others?"
'I'll come back for them,' she responded with finality in her expression. 'I just want to see if there is any more.'
The fog was so thick she couldn't see in front of her, so she put her trust into her narrator as she blindly walked forward. Eventually she stopped due to the obvious silhouette of Papyrus before her, and she found herself flinching when he began his usual loud volume. Maybe it was because the sound seemed to get lost in this open space or because the lack of discerning her surroundings, but the familiar pang of fear seemed to knock up her spine and press down her chest.
"ATTENTION HUMAN! I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME CONFLICTING FEELINGS!" He announced. "LIKE THE JOY IN FINDING A FELLOW PASTA LOVER, AND SOMEONE WHO HAS FRIENDS WHO LIKE MY PUZZLES! HOWEVER! YOU ARE A HUMAN, AND MY PRISONER NEVERTHELESS! YOU WILL BE SENT TO YOUR CELL- OR AS I LIKE TO CALL IT, MY GARAGE- UNTIL UNDYNE COMES TO FETCH YOU!"
She didn't know who "Undyne" was, but she definitely didn't want to stop now. If he was trying to block her path, there was more to see whether it be more Snowdin or a completely different area, and she was set on witnessing it first. The others were great, but accommodating to everyone constantly was tiring. She had her own adventure to accomplish with Chara, and she wanted to get a jump start on it while she still could.
"STEPPING FORWARD FOR BATTLE? HOW EAGER!" He crowed eagerly. "THEN I WILL CAPTURE YOU! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"
Even if he wanted to fight, she would not. She would just have the MERCY him until he was willing to concede, so she tried her best to keep that in mind as she jumped over the bones and avoided the different patterns. Still, it wasn't always easy when they pierced through her body and made her hard to control her SOUL with the fatigue weighing it down, and she even heard Chara yelp once.
'This isn't doing anything...I'll have to change up my strategy,' she thought as he continued to shout.
FLIRT
"FLIRTING?! OH NO, CRAFTY HUMAN! FOR I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!"
"I can make pasta."
"OH NO! YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!"
The rest of the battle became a blur after that. She'd allowed herself to become extremely weak by not resting up enough and only eating a portion of her pasta, and there was no time to go back for more supplies.
"HUMAN!" Papyrus's voice sounded far away; why did his face look so horrified? "HUMAN, THIS IS NO TIME FOR NAPPING! HUMAN!"
The pain was now in her back, something sharp and hard. He'd done many things during their FIGHT, but he never aimed from behind. It must have been someone else, someone more malicious, more determined to kill...
"What the HELL, Stars."
She always thought she'd think of her loved ones when the time came for her to die, but her memory seemed to fail her as she watched her surroundings go completely black and her SOUL break in half.
...
"You cannot give up yet! You are the future between humans and monsters!" The voice that radiated in the back of her mind was unfamiliar, but it did not frighten her, wherever she was now. "Chara...Stay determined..."
Chara? That was her companion's name, but certainly not her own. Could someone else finally see them, too?
"Come on, Frisk. You heard the monster. Open your eyes."
Their surroundings were still completely black, but she found herself able to clearly take in her own body and more important, her narrator. They looked much more annoyed than upset or shaken, but they still offered a small smile as they extended their hand to her.
"We can touch when we're here. Unless you're scared of me now, of course," they mused.
She didn't hesitate, immediately launching forward and engulfing them in an embrace. They shifted under her immediately, even tried to pull back, but eventually accepted it and even rested their hands on her back.
'Death...Death doesn't hurt like I thought it might,' she signed as tears prickled her eyes. 'I let Tally and Micah down.'
"You really think you'd die that easily?" The other responded with a weird smile. "Your just in the starting screen. Kind of like being in a save point. When you press that big "Continue" button, you'll start back where I last saved save you. That would be in the house."
Sure enough, there were two glaring white options ahead: CONTINUE or RESET.
'What does the other one do?'
"That would throw you back to the start of the game," they said flatly. "I doubt you want that. You'd have to make Mo- Toriel- cry all over again."
'C-H-A-R-A.'
"What?" Their expression was impatient, which seemed out of her character when they'd been so calm and decisive up until now if not sarcastic.
'What killed us? I don't think it was Papyrus...Who is Stars?'
Now they snorted and turned away. "Good old Ozzy. He saw you two fighting and before I could talk some sense into his thick skull, he fired a shot at Papyrus. Honestly I thought his aim was going to be a bit better; he shot too low and got you right through the rib cage. If your HP were full, you probably could have survived it with a lot of damage, but when you had 4/20? Not a chance."
No wonder it hurt so badly. She'd never seen Oswald shoot before, or really show any signs of aggression, so it was hard to discern if he was just having an off day or he meant to kill both them. Even in this peaceful state, the thought of him doing something so malicious made her feel sick; surely he'd never be so cruel. He was short and only seemed to truly care about Maria, but he was no villain. She refused to let herself believe that figment of her own insecurity.
'Then we need to get back,' she decided. 'I bet they're freaking out.'
Chara arched an eyebrow and crossed their arms as they began floating after her. "I thought you'd question that you can come back from death."
'Did you?'
"...I guess, but it didn't really matter much because I could in the end." They seemed to listen to their own words and something pain-filled flashed across their face before they returned to their normal demeanor. "Point taken."
CONTINUE
"It was an accident!"
"If that's the case, he can testify for himself! Oswald, look me in my eyes! Oswald, look at me in MY DAMN EYES!"
"Don't yell at him! He's in shock!"
"ANSWER ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"
Maria hadn't felt so many powerful emotions at once since it hit her that she'd probably never leave the orphanage. She'd carefully constructed walls around herself; limiting physical touch, tucking her fears down inside, avoiding strong points of passion. Now that she was watching her best friend hold the red SOUL of one of the children she'd sworn to protect, she found it impossible to keep her composure when Micah began screaming.
"Get. The Hell. AWAY from him!" She screamed herself, shoving him backwards. "What do you know about what happened?! Nothing! Leave them alone!"
"whoa, kids." Sans' voice didn't sound all that different and the grin never dropped, but something about him indicated urgency. "i know your emotions are high right now, but no need to fight."
"I'll fight all I want to!" She snapped at once, whirling to her companion and dropping to her knees. "Oswald...Oswald, look at me..."
He finally lifted his dark green gaze, and while she wasn't surprised to see the moisture there, it still broke her heart. She was debating one whether or not to hug him when the SOUL he was cradling in his hands suddenly disappeared, seemingly vanishing into thin air. Micah was too busy being held back by Akin and Adeline seemed too busy crying to really notice, but she gawked as tears dripped down her own face.
"Wh-what?" She whispered hoarsely. "What...Happened...? Her SOUL-"
"Unless you want to really cause an upset, just go with it."
...
The hotel was a few degrees warmer than the outside world, and she found herself falling to her knees at the sight before her. She'd just been in Sans and Papyrus's home near hysteria, and now she was back where she was as Oswald went out to see what had happened to Frisk. She got up on shakily legs and stumbled to the door, and sure enough he was in an exact spot he'd once been in with a bewildered expression.
"D-did you hear the Narrator?" She asked warily. "They...They said go with it, but...What the hell is this?"
He didn't respond immediately, but his first instinct was to go tearing off in the direction of where Frisk and Papyrus had evidently been fighting. She rushed after him this time, her knees buckling out from under her as she entered a fog too thick for her to see in front of herself.
"She's alive." Despite her disorientation, her best friend was near by the sound of his voice. "Thank the powers that be...She's freaking alive."
"And she's...fighting him again?" Her knees throbbed where she'd hit them and her mind felt fuzzy. "Why? That...She'll..."
"I don't think she's going to die," he interjected stiffly. "I'm the one who killed her. He wouldn't."
Oswald, a murderer? It was a strange concept, one she couldn't bear to accept easily. "On...Not on purpose."
"Of course not on purpose." His hands were trembling as he reached out and pulled her up. "They were fighting...I shot at him and it hit her instead. I can barely see through this fog, but I should have never aimed when my vision was compromised."
"O-oh, Ozzy..." She mumbled after a long moment of solemn silence. "I believe you."
"It isn't a matter of belief." Now he was pushing her backwards, back toward the light of day. "It's a matter of their trust. I have violated it irredeemably, especially hers. You go back. I'm going to complete this journey alone from now on."
It didn't register at first. Confusion coated her every thought and action, bringing a layer of lethargy over her perception as they exited the foggy area completely. She watched in a dream-like state as he removed his hat from his head, placed on her head, checked the bullets in his gun. She felt his lips brush her frozen cheek.
It wasn't until he disappeared back into the haze that she snapped back into reality and let out a strangled cry as she desperately rushed after him, panic setting her nerves ablaze.
He couldn't. He knew, he knew exactly why she built every layer, why she only put her trust in him and him alone, and yet he was still walking away. There was nothing she could or wanted to do the first night she was alone before, but this time was different. She loved him and wanted to continue doing so even now. She needed him in more ways than she'd ever needed her birther, and she'd been damned if she let him go in a place as bizarre as the Underground.
"Ow."
The FIGHT barrier. Of course. Earlier in the snowy forest, Frisk and she had pushed against the invisible wall that kept Micah separated from them before she eventually gave up to explore. There was no way he could truly leave as long as the battle was in progress, and the reminder only made her grip him in her arms tighter just in case it ended prematurely.
"You're not leaving!" She was yelling again, but this time it had less to do with anger and shock and more to do with things she'd not allowed herself to feel in years. Hope. Heartbreak. Despair. Rage. Rage. Rage.
"Micah despises me. Akin will likely compromise me from this point on," he stated coldly despite her wild emotion. "Adeline and Frisk are going to be afraid of me. Even you'll learn to be afraid."
"No I won't!" She grabbed him by his stupid, oblivious face and all but smashed her forehead against his, her brown eyes never breaking from his green ones. "How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not leaving! I'm not going to abandon you or die on you like our caretakers did to us! So YOU CAN'T do it to ME!"
The tears were making it hard to see and breathe now, but she still felt his hands on her shoulders and his chin tucking her head underneath. He was warm like he'd always been, and it rattled her to think of how much younger he was than her and yet how much the two of them felt similarly.
"Okay." His voice was weak, worn down, but she knew if he said it, he was sincere.
The world made them both hard, but at least this proved they had each other. Even when they had less than strings to grasp at from the world around them- the Surface or even the Underground- they still had each other.
"Aww, look at the little lovebirds. It's so beautiful I'm going to be sick."
Had she ever acknowledged how much she hated flowers?
"Good, maybe you'll die," she snapped at once, turning away from her best friend's grasp to glare at the small monster behind them.
"Well that's not very nice," Flowey crooned with his usual malicious grin widening. "I have to say, I'm proud of you, PARTNER. You managed to make your first kill, and it wasn't even a monster! You're even more cruel than I thought!"
"Oswald is not cruel!" She all but snarled. "It was an accident!"
"Oh, sure it was, Ballerina. I'm a lot like you two!" He chirped with a maniac giggle. "But don't worry! Soon you'll both give in to your real desires, and then we can work together to show the REAL meaning of this world! It's only a matter of time~!"
"What is the real meaning of this world, then?" Oswald's eyes were hazy with moisture, but she knew better than to try and touch him when he was coming unraveled so quickly, so she just focused her attention on glaring at Flowey. "If you're so coy, then why don't you just tell us?"
The flower's cocky grin broadened if that was possible. "Ooh, now you're eager! Now that's just perfect! The thing about genocide isn't that it can be explained, only acted on. Don't worry, I know you're both dead inside, just like me! And I'm not the only one who knows, so if I were you, I'd watch my back!"
"Not the only one?!" She snapped and stepped closer, trying to seem more intimidating even with the trembles sliding across her veins. "It's not true! How would anyone else know your lies?!"
"That Smiley Trashbag knows more than you think, kiddos!" He winked now and giggled a final time. "Looks like their little battle is over, so I'll go for now, but don't worry! Your best friend will be watching~"
"Get back out here, you coward..." Her best friend's voice was a growl as he stormed over, driving his heel so aggressively into the ground the ice beneath snapped harshly. "I said GET BACK OUT HERE AND FIGHT IF YOU'RE SO DAMN SMART!"
"HUMAN!" Papyrus's voice was right behind her, so much so that she stumbled forward and whirled around in alarm. "OH! I MEAN HUMANS, PLURAL! IT APPEARS YOU TWO ARE TRYING TO ESCAPE AS WELL! I WILL HAVE TO TAKE YOU INTO CUSTODY LIKE I DID YOUR LITTLE FRIEND!"
Now that she had some time to discern his silhouette further, she saw that Frisk was hanging limply under his arm. The fact her body was still present and her SOUL wasn't shining out proved she had to be alive, but it still sent another surge of adrenaline through her inch of her own culmination of being. Papyrus was less than dangerous, but the monsters in the Underground, especially Flowey, wanted both of them to bend to their will and she was so sick of it.
"I'll FIGHT you!" She declared fiercely. "For our freedom from you!"
Before the barrier surrounded them, she felt a familiar hand secure around hers, and like they were meant to, their SOULs fused into a dark shade of green. She could see pretty quickly why Frisk had so much trouble; he may put up a weak and fragile front, but his attacks proved he could carry his weight well in a battle. They proved to be faster and more diligent; Oswald's attacks were effective in destroying the smaller bones, and her hopping and twirls helped their defense and their HP to remain up throughout the duration.
"Nothing is making him stop..." She grunted as he went on another ramble about "BEING A ROYALGUARDSMAN" and how "UNDYNE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE ONCE I SHOW HER THREE HUMANS!" "We need to change strategy."
"What we're doing is working," he huffed back. "You want to FIGHT?"
"That'll make Sans our enemy..." It did cross her mind; he'd be easy to conquer that way, but she'd be damned if she proved Flowey right now. "Besides, we're better than that. What are our options?"
CHECK INSULT FLIRT
"...We're not flirting with the skeleton."
"Fine. But I will if it makes him stop. Look, even he looks bored."
"Maybe that'll make him spare us. No need to flirt."
"ALRIGHT HUMANS!" The monster declared with a puff. "TIME FOR MY FAMOUS BLUE ATTACK! WAIT..." He squinted and leaned forward. "HUMAN! ONE OF YOUR SOULS IS ALREADY BLUE! WELL...THIS IS EMBARRASSING."
"You decide to flirt with Papyrus despite Oswald's wishes."
The return of the Narrator filled her with integrity without them noting it; she'd become too accustomed to their commentary for the long period of silence that preceded now. "Hey, Papyrus! You...You have really strong bones!"
"WHAT?! FLIRTING?!" The taller shrieked at once and stumbled back. "NO MATTER! I'LL STILL BEAT YOU! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"
"That did a lot of good," Oswald grumbled at once.
"Let me try again!"
FLIRT
"I think...Your pasta is hot, but not as hot as you!" It made her uncomfortable to lie so obviously, but luckily, he remained unaware.
"YOU PERSIST! WELL THEN, I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU! I MAY BE A SKELETON, BUT I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!"
I have zero redeeming qualities
"Ozzy!" She complained, but he merely shrugged and tipped his hat as he told them to "NOT BE SO HARD ON THEMSELVES, SOMEONE WILL LOVE THEM EVENTUALLY".
Eventually her companion's strategy won out; their 'enemy' eventually tired out too much to continue, and they accepted the mercy gratefully. As the battlegrounds faded, so did the fog until she could clearly see him scooping up Frisk and handing her over with his eager expression never changing.
"YOU TWO WERE EXCELLENT TO BATTLE!" He announced; was he actually proud they beat him? "UNDYNE WILL...OH. I DON'T THINK SHE'LL LIKE THAT YOU BEAT ME. BUT! SHE'LL CAPTURE YOU ALL HERSELF WHEN YOU CONTINUE FORWARD, SO NOBODY LOSES! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"
"What is forward? Besides...Undyne," Oswald asked slowly. "And who is she, anyway?"
"SHE IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, SILLY! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT! FROM HERE YOU'LL GET TO WATERFALL, AND THEN HOTLAND, AND IF YOU AREN'T CAPTURED BY THEN- WHICH YOU WILL BE!- YOU WILL REACH THE KING'S CASTLE AND THE BARRIER!"
"The barrier?" She asked immediately while adjusting their smaller companion against her chest and shoulders. "Barrier between us and what?"
"THE SURFACE OF COURSE! IF YOU GO THROUGH THAT, YOU GO BACK ABOVE!"
Go back Above. She met her friend's eyes immediately; if they went up, they'd pop out somewhere far from where they'd started. They could finally have new lives, ones all of their own and on their own terms. They'd be runaways, but at least they could find a nice family to stay with, or even a kinder orphanage. That was the solution they'd been wondering about, she was sure of it.
"And...Would we have to fight the king to get through?" Oswald inquired steadily.
"OH, KING ASGORE? WELL, HE...HE'S A BIG FLUFFY SWEETHEART! I'M SURE IF YOU JUST SAY "KING ASGORE, MAY BE GO HOME?, HE'D HAPPILY OBLIGE. WELL, GOTTA GO! YOU ARE ALL FREE TO PROCEED...IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH...HEH!"
He immediately tore back to Snowdin Town, and Maria finally felt assured enough to set Frisk down in the snow. She looked pretty beat up from the battle, covered with various new scars and bruises, but she was certainly alive (which was a welcome change of pace from last time). She carefully pushed her tangled hair away from her eyes and sat on the frigid ground, wincing in discomfort but remaining so she wouldn't be too alarmed or confused when she eventually woke.
"Somehow I doubt any king is that big of a pushover," Ozzy commented after a few long moments of dead silence aside from Frisk's soft breathing.
"Who knows?" She replied with a shrug, which sent a surge of pain down her back that reminded her she still need healing. "Everything else is bizarre down here."
He merely nodded and turned his back to the two of them. "I'll leave you wake her. I'll attempt to gather the others."
"Are you sure?" The memories of earlier were understandably fresh, and if she was with their companion, she couldn't hold anyone back from fighting.
"Positive. I started this. I will make it tolerable again."
She wasn't sure how long she sat there after that, but everything felt frozen and numb by the time the brown eyes of her companion fluttered open. She looked around lethargically, wincing with every motion she took to sit up on the backs of her hands and falling right back down after applying pressure.
"Don't take it too fast," she murmured as she pulled her to her lap, taking great care to carefully sit her up against her torso. "You're in really bad shape."
"I...I died?" The younger girl whispered, which only made the entire experience more harrowing.
"Not...More than once," she replied heavily. "It was an accident. I know it's probably going to be nearly impossible to forgive Oswald for it, but he-"
"Frisk says not to worry about an explanation; she already forgives him."
Maria couldn't process the smaller's signing immediately. She'd spent all thirteen of her years harboring anger, resentment, and even hatred toward everyone who hurt, and here this ten-year-old was forgiving her murderer like it was hardly worth noting. Nevertheless, the relief hit her like a truck, and she found herself crying uncontrollably as she embraced her fiercely, then loosened only slightly due to the small squeak of pain.
"You realize you have a lot to learn from Frisk. You are filled with integrity."
These children had no simple solution, and yet they were going to be a tedious problem.
Yellow Soul- Oswald- had outright slaughtered one of his 'friends', and despite the circumstances surrounding it, there may very well be external influences that encouraged him to shoot. Blue Soul was traumatized by it and so was Green, but they interpreted it about the same by sympathizing with every party. Orange was riled by it, but nearly as much as Purple, who was resisting the urge to try and return the favor to Yellow. Then there was Red, the unlucky one, who remarkably was the most unaffected by the whole ordeal.
This group of six did not have harmony. They would not operate as ragtag groups often did in popular Surface media; they'd never become 'best friends' or team up for the greater good because they had no reason to be unified in the end. Of course they could conjure something similar or even greater, but who was to say the opposite effect wouldn't reveal itself soon?
Judgement was going to be a pain.