Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale, but all original characters are mine
A/N: Napsty is finally here, and you know what that means! Some spoopy beats! And a dead end. After all, things have been relatively peaceful in the Ruins, but now, with Blooky's appearance…well, changes are a must. X3 What sort of changes? Who knows…no, really, I have absolutely NO clue. XD Boo~hoo, pun completely intended. X3
Now, time to meet our resident spook, AND DON'T LET ME CATCH ANY OF Y'ALL CALLING GHOSTBUSTERS! XDDDDD
Other than that, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 9
[…I…honestly don't know about that.] Instead of opening his eyes to greet the resident spook, Noah kept them closed. [...but, if you don't mind, can you keep me some company?] He already knew what Blooky looked like, so there was no need, and…and…he just didn't want to open his eyes right now. [I don't feel like being alone right now.] The hypocrisy in those words weren't beyond him, but…that aspect wasn't something he liked focusing on.
"oh…are you sure…i don't want to be a bother…"
[Tis fine. You won't be a bother…if anything, you being here helps me.] Turning his head towards Blooky's general direction, a soft smile graced his lips. [It's been a while since I've seen someone who could both see, and hear me.] Chara was the only other exception, but then again, counting Toriel and Frisk, Noah's met only a total of 4 Monster's…and he had been avoiding 3 of them for the better part of the week. […you…you can see me…right?]
It was a harrowing, albeit unreasonable thought to have, given his aforementioned declaration, but it was enough to make him tense.
Thankfully, Blooky let those worries rest in peace. "…yeah…why…am i not supposed to…?"
[…I'm not sure.] The worry in their voice didn't escape him, but really, Noah was just happy to have someone to talk to. [I haven't seen any Monster's here but Toriel…but she can't see, or hear me. The kid they've taken in…Frisk…they can't either…so you being able to see me helps…since I can't even see myself…] The mirror's in Toriel's house doesn't show his reflection, and neither does the water his hand is swimming in. He could see his hands, and clothes…but never his face. That fact never really bothered him until now, but now that he's had some time to think…well… […so, this is what boredom does to a person.]
"…"
[…]
"…"
[…you still there?] He asked, lips twisting into a bemused grin.
"…yeah…" Tilting his head to the side, Noah stared, grin softening. "…do you want me to go…?"
[Nah. As I said, it's fine…but I suppose that by being silent, I'm not doing a good job of showing that I wanted some company…] Chuckling awkwardly at that, he sighed. […well, I suppose some introductions are in order…my name's Noah.]
"ah my name is napstablook…but i guess you already knew that…"
Perking his head up at that, Noah frowned, wincing at that little slip-up. [I heard your name once in the room next door to the one with the Spider-Bake Sale.] Technically not a lie, since his first interaction with the Ghost was in that room…possessing…oh dear god, did he inadvertently possess a child?!
"…oh…i'm sorry if i said something i shouldn't have…i just wondered…"
[…okay, feel your sins crawling on your back later…] Shaking his head, Noah opened his eyes with a reluctant sigh. [Nah, I just realized something…harrowing about that time.] Holding up his hand, however rude it was, he stopped Blooky eye's from drooping due to how his words may have been interpreted. [Nothing bad about you, but something I might have done.]
"oh…sorry i made you remember something bad…should I go…?"
His attempt died before it even reached home, may it rest in peace. [No worries.] Noah huffed, focusing his attention to the water. [The reason why I wanted company is…I…] Trailing off, he hummed in silence as the water drifted about his hand in rippling silence. […I have a habit of overthinking things when left to my own devices.] A bad one at that. [It can lead to rather depressing thoughts…and I tend to freeze up in paralyzing fear because of it…] If he were born in the Undertale verse, that'd probably be his main SOUL trait…and he's already seen one person's variation of that.
Just the memory of the actions of that abomination made Noah bury his fingers in frustration, but the jolt of pain that ran up his arm spooked him out of that thought.
"…you're hurt…are you okay…?" Hovering into sight, hesitantly, Napstablook looked into the water. "…burns…your hand is…burnt…?"
It was a question that made him think, but as he turned to eye Blooky, Noah bit back a hiss in annoyance, fingers shaking in the water. […I got into an accident a week back.] Slipping his hand out slowly, he eyed the splotches of faded pink with trepidation, and sighed. [It was my fault though…and, well…I've been avoiding the issue ever since.] And speaking of issue…now that he's got a good look at him, Blooky looks remarkably similar to how they're portrayed in the game.
Albeit fuller, since he isn't an 8-bit pixelated image on a screen. Wasn't as big as Noah'd thought they'd be; only somewhere between 4-5 ft, but white body aside, guess that trying to find the right shade of black to represent the sclera of Blooky's eyes looked pretty impossible, since there seemed to be this weird…sensation that it's both shiny and…not…? Probably didn't make any sense, but since Napstablook continued to shift around the water white line in between his eyes furrowing in thought, he supposed continuing the conversation would be best.
[…Napstablook, you okay?]
"…huh…oh…" Tilting their head up, Napstablook stared. "…yeah…sorry…it's just…why haven't you healed your hand yet…?"
Blinking in surprise, Noah ah'd in understanding. […it's because I don't want to have it healed…]
"…you don't…?" He could hear the question in their voice, echoing as it was…but it made him grin.
[Call me sentimental…but that accident I mentioned…] Tilting his head forward, he slipped his hand back into the water, watching the ripples distort the rooms reflection. [I…said some pretty horrible things.]
"oh…did you mean them…the horrible things, i mean…?"
Humming in silence, he traced a scarred finger across the water's surface, the searing sting dying down to mere pricks. […I did…every word at that…] Lips dropping, he sighed. [I'm…generally a nasty person. Real nasty, even when I know there's no reason to…but what happened then made me blurt out all sorts of things. Before I knew it…everything had been said…]
Tilting their head to the side, Napstablook turned, staring off in space in thought, before slowly hovering down the sit beside Noah, as best they could anyway, since they were a ghost. "…are you sorry…?"
Burying his head into his knees, Noah replied with a mumbled […definitely.]
"…hmm…i…know this may not mean much…coming from me i mean, but shouldn't you apologize…" Silence stretched on between the two, and for a moment, Napstablook shifted, eyes drooping. "…it gets lonely when all you do is watch…saying sorry becomes harder as time goes on…not that it matters for me, since i'm a ghost…]
[…I'll keep your words in mind.] It wasn't hard to guess what Blooky had been referencing with that, but, for the life of him, Noah wondered if that bit of unlively advice was meant for them as much it was for him. […but…that aside, can I ask why you decided to visit the Ruins? At the moment, it's a bit…desolate, for some reason.] Eyes drifting around the room, he recalled the past two weeks in full, before sighing in annoyance. [None of the other Monsters have popped up for the last 3 weeks…so…it's been a bit lonely.]
"hmm…" Following Noah's line of sight, Napstablook tilted their head forward in silence. "…oh…i usually come here when i want to be alone…no one is usually here…so it was a quiet place for me to get away…"
[…get away?] Brows furrowing in worry, he frowned. [Is something happening outside the Ruins?]
"…hmm...? …outside…?" Brow…or at least, what Noah think's is their brow, furrowed in thought. "no…it's not because of anything outside…though things have been getting weird…with the dreams and all…"
[…dreams?] Tilting his head towards Napstablook, Noah's frown twitched, setting itself into a thin line. […what do you mean by Dreams?] The answer he received was…confusing, but at the same time, telling.
[…of a human killing everyone…maybe…] Unaware of his shifting expressions, Blooky continued. […its weird…some say the human is nice and saved them…others cry from the nightmares of being killed…over…and over…and over…]
[…so…this world…] Expression relaxing in contemplation, he hummed in silence. […what do you think? You've been in the Ruins for a while…so…do you think the Human is dangerous…?] Napstablook never went against Frisk, or Chara in the Genocide Routes, so what the little specter can actually do is…unknown, really, aside from what was shown. [Killing a Ghost is…well, not impossible…but…]
"i don't know…my opinion doesn't matter much…but i think they're nice…?" With a note of uncertainty, they frowned. "toriel was very lonely before they came…but now she's smiling so much more now…but everyone else…"
[Why don't you talk to them yourself then?]
"no…i wouldn't want to be a bother…"
Waving off Blooky's concern, Noah grinned. [Don't worry. The Runt is more a hugger than anything else…and they haven't hurt Toriel in these past couple weeks…so they aren't the Human from everyone's dreams.] Not if he has anything to say about it, but seeing the hesitation in the ghost's eyes, he decided to cast a trail of…ectoplasm? Did that count as a pun? […well, if you're undecided on what to talk about…maybe you two have something in common? I hear they like music…so…do you like music…?] Kind of a not-so-subtle jab there, but seeing as they perked up a bit at that, he found that not much else can be said. [What do you say?]
"…"
[…you don't have to answer now.] Shaking his head, his grin softened. [If you want, I can go over first and show you they mean no harm.]
"…are you sure…?"
[Yeah…besides, I need to apologize anyway, as you said.] Staring at the burns on his hand, Noah huffed. [I've waited far too long to give Toriel her apology…and I suppose now is better than later.] Getting up on his feet, he blinked, stumbling forward as the muscles in his legs trembled. […just give me a couple seconds. Numb legs and all.] Patting down his knees a couple times, he nodded, stomping on the ground to test the amount of strength he could put on it. […alright then, ready to go?]
Rising from the floor themselves, Napstablook simply stared, eyes drooping in uncertainty. "…sure…but…if you don't mind…can we just meet at toriel's…? i don't want to slow you down…"
Brows raising, Noah shrugged. [You wouldn't, not really…but if that's what you want, then sure…but before you go, mind if I ask you something?"
"about what…?"
[Before you came here…was there anyone else who planned on coming into the Ruins?]
Turning their back away from the door, Napstablook hovered in place for a moment, thinking. "…i…don't know…? there was talk in waterfall…but no one mentioned the ruins…so…" Tilting their head forward, their body slowly faded from sight. "…hmm…sorry…i don't know if anyone else is coming…" And with that, they vanished from sight, leaving Noah to their thoughts.
[…I need to control my thoughts better.] Lips curling into a weary frown, a small glance at his hand told him more than enough reasons why. [Blooky's a shy ghost, and aside from their firs…on second thought, that meeting is void, so they haven't done anything to warrant extermination.] If there was one thing Sans did right, it was that he didn't act on the experiences and knowledge of Past Timelines…and as much as Noah'd hate to admit it, he should probably do the same. [Murder shouldn't be the first thing to resort…and…the less chances Frisk has to understand about Save and Loads, the better.]
His conversation with Blooky already answered a lot of questions. Not all of them, unfortunately, but enough to narrow down the possibilities immensely. […apologizing to Toriel comes first, though.] Taking one last look at the water, hoping to catch the briefest of reflections…Noah was met with only the ceiling, and sighed. […I really am a nasty person.]
A/N: Okay, I admit, I honestly wasn't so sure how to write Blooky, and this chapter was supposed to be so~ much bigger...so, apologies for the rather lack-luster performance and all. Maybe. XP
But to the point, some questions have been inadvertently answered! Well, not really, as all it did was narrow down the scope of possibilities by a wide margin. Brings up a few other questions, but it also adds a tad more dan...wait, why am I telling you this?!
Erase the last three sentences from your memory banks. 83
Anyway, hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Look forward to the next one!