NOTES: This is it. After this I am going to be working exclusively on getting the re-write done. You might not hear from me for a while... But that is because I will be working pretty hard.
I went over this a lot, and I am worried that it doesn't feel quite like an end; which is what I wanted it to feel like, even though it isn't technically the end of the fic.
:-"Bad, but better..."-:
Frisk wakes up to a high pitched ringing sound, which slowly transitions to the sound of birds tweeting.
Slowly, they become aware of the warm feeling gently caressing their face, and bright light stings their eyes as they open them.
They are laying on the ground in their backyard, and their head hurts quite a bit.
A faintly recognizable voice behind them shouts, "Frisk! You OK?"
Sitting up and looking back, Frisk sees Chara and replies, "yea, I just… slipped. I'll be fine."
They slowly remember what they were doing… They were playing "touch and go" with Chara when they slipped on some particularly wet grass and hit their head on a border stone… fortunately, the old sharp ones have long since been replaced with rounder ones. It still hurt something awful though.
Frisk looks around their yard, and notices a plume of smoke in the distance.
It takes them a moment to remember that it's from a bonfire that was lit to send off the "recently" deceased… Frisk says, "hey Chara… I know you weren't close with your mom, but-"
Interrupting with a huff, Chara crosses their arms and turns away from Frisk, then replies, "good riddance, I am glad she is gone; she had it coming. You remember what she was trying to do, right?"
Quietly, Frisk replies, "(yea… but still…)"
Retorting loudly, Chara says, "but nothing! She went up to the mountain to try to take me back, so she could continue using me for her own gain; besides, my new family is AWESOME!"
Hesitantly, Frisk comments, "(she is still your-)"
Interrupting, Chara says, "you do remember what she tried to do, right?"
Frisk nods subtly, and replies, "yea… she tried to take you back, and was trying to kill all the monsters so she could leave; thinking that the barrier would fall if no more monsters were left…"
Driving their point home, Chara asks, "and do you remember what happened because of that?"
Quietly, Frisk says, "(Asgore stepped in to protect you and the monsters, and then Toriel stepped in too… After they managed to take you from her, Undyne suplexed her without thinking; ki-)"
Chara interrupts as they drop down onto their butt next to Frisk, points at them with a wink, and says, "exactly! She hurt me! Undyne did what no one else would, and killed the bitch! And then Asgore took her SOUL! It was really awesome."
… Frisk decides not to counter Chara by saying that was not all that had happened, according to Asriel.
Musing mostly to themself, Frisk comments, "(well… I still think it's unfortunate that she went down there, I would have liked to explore the Underground while it was still all mysterious and stuff…)"
Scoffing, Chara says, "eh… you didn't miss much, kid."
Quietly retorting, Frisk says, "(I'm only two years-)"
Chara interrupts, "OK… I guess I am kinda thankful, because if she had not shown up I would have… done something stupid. Anyway, I'm gonna go to our camp to see if Monster Kid is up to play some go-stop."
As Chara gets back up and dusts themself off, Frisk asks, "uh… Do you think you could… say hi to Asriel for me?"
Chara rolls their eyes, "god Frisk, just go say hi yourself!"
Finally deciding to get up, but not caring to dust themself off just yet, Frisk comments, "(… I would, but the Sanctum sent some kid over for mom and dad to look after… and they both want me to be there to meet him; they're supposed to be arriving soon.)"
Curious and confused, Chara asks, "what, like… an orphan?"
Frisk nods.
Chara grimaces, "Geez, that's gotta suck. At least they don't have bad parents to worry about…"
They pause briefly to think, then continue, saying, "Actually, now that I say that… Frisk, don't take your parents for granted," then they take on a more sinister tone, "I'd kill to have them as my parents."
Shrinking back, Frisk asks, "(please don't…)"
Chara chuckles and starts to walk off towards the monster camp, shouting back teasingly, "Ciao, Frisky. I'll say hi to your crush for you."
Embarrassed, Frisk responds, "I don't have a crush on him!"
In response, Chara merely snorts and continues walking.
Alone, at last.
Frisk feels like something isn't right, but they can't tell what it is.
There's a nagging sensation at the back of their head, like there's something in the corner of their eye that they can't quite see. Like some small details are not adding up, but they can't tell what.
Frisk hears their mother calling them, so they dust themself off and head inside.
When Frisk gets inside, their mother gestures for them to follow and takes them to the foyer. Standing by the door, a strange hand-shaped monster is conversing with their father.
Their mother introduces them, "Frisk darling, this is Dahn Thing; she prefers the be called Thing. Thing, this is my dear child Frisk. I felt it would be good to introduce you two, since you will be here as our live-in Secretary."
Frisk waves, then looks at their own hand… then back at Thing… then back at their own hand. Then puts their hands behind their back.
Conrad comments, "again, I thank you very much for offering; it will be much easier to handle things going forward with a… helping hand."
Thing, caught off guard, laughs at the puns, and replies, "of course! It's a pleasure to be working with a family that has such a long history with Monsterkind, and not to mention such a lovely home!~"
Marceline replies, "thank you. We do our best to keep it clean. Rot and dirt only belong in corpses, after all. Now, I am aware that the… Royal Scientist, you said?"
Thing nods.
Marceline continues, "the Royal Scientist wanted to expand our manor's generator, to make it more capable of handling the rest of the town, but I am not sure we have the space. Granted, we do have a manor, but these rooms are full of stories and history we-"
Conrad butts in, "absolutely cannot, and will not , be renovating anything. I am sorry. We can spare some land for a new generator, but the-"
A light tapping noise gets Conrad's attention, and he realizes that he cut his wife off… "I apologize, my love, I just get so worked up when it comes to family matters."
Caressing her husband's cheek, she replies, "I understand my love, I accept your apology…" the two kiss for a moment, slowly kissing more and more passionately…, until Thing clears her throat to get their attention.
Conrad fixes his bow-tie, as Marceline rights herself and continues where her husband left off, "apologies. Now, where were we? Ah, yes, the manor itself is off limits. As for the matter of the antenna, I think that is best left to the Elder to decide. If he deems that it should not be elsewhere in the town, we may be able to put some land aside for that as well."
Thing pulls out a clipboard and writes some notes, then replies, "of course. He would probably want us to put it in the center of town, but Doctor W. , the Royal Scientist, thought it might have better reception with the Sanctum from your backyard."
Frisk tugs on their mother's dress, and she waves them off, "you may go play now, I'll fetch you when our other guests arrive. We are going to be hosting a few important monsters while they build their town, and I think you should meet them. You already met a few of our new guests, so it shouldn't be too long."
With a brief nod, Frisk runs off to draw in their playroom.
They spot a short monster in a blue hoodie and pink slippers, when they arrive; it's looking at the drawings they've pinned to the wall.
Curious, Frisk asks, "(how'd you get in here?)"
The monster turns around, and says, with a wink, "oh, I just took a shortcut. everyone else will be over in a bit. I just wanted to get the awkward greeting out of the way so I could get back to doing what I do best."
Curious, Frisk asks, "(what do you do best?)"
The skeleton looks to the side, and says, "nothing."
Confused, Frisk looks over at the drawings the monster is looking at. They feel a little embarrassed that someone is looking at all their drawings…
After a few minutes of looking over the pictures, the skeleton asks, "hey, kid, you didn't happen to see any… ah, never mind. oh, by the way, I'm sans. sans the skeleton."
Sans holds out his hand for Frisk to shake.
Frisk is hesitant.
Sans comments, "well? don't you know how to greet a new pal? c'mon, shake my hand."
Cautiously, Frisk grabs his hand to shake it, saying "(I'm Frisk-)"…which causes a whoopee cushion to go off.
With a wink, Sans says, "whoops, looks like I left a whoopee cushion in my hand. You've gotta be careful when shaking someone's hand, never know what kinda weird stuff they're gonna do."
Awkward silence…
Continuing, Sans comments, "so, frisk huh? that's an interesting name."
Sans looks to a sheet of parchment that he pulls out from his jacket pocket.
After looking at it for a moment, he shows it to Frisk and asks, "hey, have you seen something like this before?"
Frisk takes the parchment and looks it over.
It's a crudely made drawing, similar in style to some of their other drawings, and features three people; a short pudgy skeleton looking one standing next to a tall and incredibly thin one, with a crude anime girl sitting on the tall one's shoulders.
The tall one has what Frisk can only assume is spaghetti on his head, and the short pudgy one has what are labelled as "hot cats" laying all around him (tails and ears included).
A flock of winged ketchup bottles is also flying over their heads.
At the very bottom, "don't forget" is written in sloppy handwriting.
Frisk chuckles briefly while looking at the drawing, and asks, "(no, where'd you get it? That girl looks kinda like the one I draw myself as sometimes… weird.)"
Sans holds his hand out for the drawing, and takes it back, saying "I dunno, I just found it in some of my stuff. when I popped in, I noticed a few things that looked similar. I figured it was worth a shot."
Frisk shrugs.
Nothing left to do, Sans says, "welp, I'll see ya in a bit, kiddo" and then walks out of the room.
After appearing outside the front door of the manor, Sans pulls out a small piece of paper…
It reads:
hey frisk, i'm sans. sans the skeleton.
i'm your humerus big bro. you
probably forgot who i am, but that's
ok. just means i get to prank you all
over again.
stay safe, and don't trust soap…
it lyes.
-sans
He pockets the note and sighs again, thinking to himself, 'why'd I write this note? what could've happened that'd make both of us forget? … what stopped me from giving them this note? … too many questions, not enough answers.'
Sans meanders to the front gate and waits for the rest to show up.
:-:
Papyrus, Gerson, Asgore, Toriel, Undyne, and Dr. W. walk through the human town to the Addams residence.
The humans are being very welcoming to the monsters, but Dr. W. seems a bit on edge.
Triumphantly, Papyrus says, "DADSTER, YOU SHOULDN'T BE SO WORRIED… I KNOW HUMANS HAVE DONE A LOT OF BAD THINGS, BUT I BELIEVE IN THEM! AFTER ALL, THE ADDAMSES HELPED DEFEND MONSTERS DURING THE WAR! SO FRET NOT, AND LET ALL YOUR WORRIES FADE AWAY!"
Sighing and pinching the bridge of where his nose would be, Dr. W. responds in Hands, "|THE ISSUE IS NOT THAT SIMPLE, DEAR BOY. I WAS RAISED IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE HUMANS WERE VIOLENT OPPRESSORS, AND THUS MY PAST WILL NOT BE SO EASILY FORGOTTEN.|"
Papyrus considers what Dr. W. said for a while, before responding, "I WAS THERE TOO, I KNOW THAT IT IS DIFFICULT… BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS GOOD IN EVERYBODY! WE SHOULD TRUST THE FAIRY GODMOTHER WHO SPOKE IN OUR HEADS, DON'T YOU THINK?"
Sighing again, Dr. W. concedes and nods, saying, "|OF COURSE|" then mutters, "(|THOUGH I WISH YOU WOULD STOP CALLING HER THAT… HER NAME IS LUCIDIA.|)"
Only catching that he was saying something, Papyrus asks, "WHAT WAS THAT, DADSTER? I COULDN'T HEAR YOU OVER SOMEONE MUMBLING."
Dr. W. rolls his eyes, not bothering to respond.
Toriel giggles and Asgore chuckles, as they walk hand in hand, listening to the two.
Asgore comments, "I understand your hesitation, Dr. W. … I've seen the best, and worst, of humankind; but I promise, the Addamses are our biggest supporters."
Nodding, Toriel adds, "as have I. Which is why it is not necessarily a bad thing to hesitate… but keep in mind that monsters are capable of terrible things as well."
Undyne starts to feel nervous, and quickly comments, "i-it was an ACCIDENT!"
Relaxing ever so slightly, the scientist sighs again to symbolically release some stress.
Gerson speaks up, "I remember being sheltered in the Addams' manor during the war… Their walls're sturdy, and their penchant for puzzles makes 'em basically monsters…" He pauses briefly to think, before continuing, "… navigating that house was almost as bad as being out in the war! Wah ha ha!"
Undyne grimaces, "r-really? Geez… Papyrus, it sounds like you have some competition!"
Papyrus responds, "ON THE CONTRARY, I WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO SHOW THESE HUMANS THE PROPER WAY TO MAKE PUZZLES! THEY WILL BE IN AWE OF MY PUZZLE MAKING SKILLS, NO DOUBT! NYEH HEH HEH HEH! OH LOOK AT THAT BIG CREEPY HOUSE! … WAIT, WE AREN'T GOING THERE ARE WE?"
Toriel nods, "yes, we are; be polite."
With a salute, Papyrus says, "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE SO POLITE THAT THEY WILL ABSOLUTELY FALL IN LOVE WITH ME, AND MAYBE EVEN NAME A BABY IN MY HONOUR! NYEH HEH HEH! …SPEAKING OF BEING IMPOLITE, DID ANYONE SEE WHERE SANS WENT OFF TO?"
Asgore and Toriel are too busy nuzzling noses to respond, Dr. W. is looking over some documents on his clipboard, and Undyne is looking away and whistling nervously-not-nervously.
Papyrus looks to Gerson, who replies, "nope!"
The group approaches the front gates to the Addams manor and Sans steps out into view, "lookin' for me? I found a grate spot and just had to sit around for a bit. and hey, guess what, their gate opens up on its own; it's probably haunted. I checked, no electricity."
Sighing, Papyrus responds, "SANS, I WILL NOT FALL FOR YOUR JAPE. THERE IS NO WAY THAT THEIR-"
The gate glides open as Papyrus approaches…
Papyrus freaks out, "OH MY GOD IT'S HAUNTED!"
Sans rejoins the rest as the group begins passing through the gate.
Gaster scoffs, and says, "|PLEASE, THAT WOULD IMPLY THAT A GHOST MONSTER IS INHABITING THEIR GATE. SUCH A LIFE WOULD BE QUITE DUL|-"
The gate closes abruptly, smacking Dr. W. on the tush… "|WELL, IT APPEARS I SPOKE TOO SOON. IT IS INHABITED, AND BY A RATHER RUDE GHOST I THINK.|"
Though too far away, Dr. W. feels like the gate would try to shut on him again if it could.
Gaster takes out a clip board, and starts writing some notes. '|FRONTGATE = RUDE.|'
Sans chuckles, and the group continues cautiously to the Addams' manor.
:-:
A hefty knock at the front doors gets Conrad's attention. He looks to his wife, and says, "I believe our guests have arrived. Shall I fetch Frisk this time?"
Marceline replies, "no, love. I will fetch Frisk. I think it would be best if you show Thing around the second story. Would hate for her to be surprised by the nasty traps we have up there."
Gently taking his wife's hand into his own, Conrad kisses it and replies, "of course, I will meet you in the foyer then."
Conrad departs with Thing to tour the second story, as Marceline goes to fetch Frisk and meet the guests.
Upon arriving to the foyer, Marceline opens the double doors and motions for the guests to enter. "Greetings, my name is Marceline Addams. You may call me Marceline. My husband, Conrad Addams, is currently showing Thing around the house. With me I have my child, Frisk."
Frisk spots Sans again with some other tall(er) skeletons, a bipedal fish monster, an old tortoise monster, and Asriel's parents… Asgore and Toriel.
Frisk asks, "(if you two are here, where's Asriel? …Are you guys gonna live here with us?)"
Asgore replies, "Asriel went off to play with Chara and some of the other children, and no… I'm not. I'll be staying in the monster camp, while my wife stays here."
Toriel adds on, "we felt it would be best if Chara were here, around other human children; but, I could not let them simply live over here without family."
Marceline comments, "It will be nice to have you here, Queen Toriel."
The science-y looking skeleton, who is wearing a suit, a turtle-neck, and a lab coat, looks up from his clipboard at Marceline, then at Frisk, and then looks back down to jot some notes.
Conrad arrives with thing and introduces himself, "I am Conrad Addams, it is a pleasure to meet all of you; and it is a pleasure to see you again, King Asgore and Queen Toriel."
Eager to greet his new human friends, the tallest skeleton shouts, "HELLO ADDAMS FAMILY. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! IT IS A PLEASURE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE! I HAVE HEARD OF YOUR INFAMOUSLY DASTARDLY TRAPS, AND MY INTEREST IS PIQUED! I WOULD GREATLY ENJOY SEEING THEM! …YOUR HOUSE IS NOT HAUNTED, BY CHANCE, IS IT?"
Marceline, sighs and says, "alas, it is not haunted. It is a pleasure to meet you, Papyrus. I am sure Frisk and my husband will be more than willing to show you their traps," then holds her hand out for Papyrus to shake, which he does with excessive gusto.
Winking to Frisk, Sans says, "I'm sans. sans the skeleton. we are meeting now for the very first time."
Sans holds his hand out for Conrad, since Papyrus is still shaking Marceline's hand…
Conrad grips Sans' hand firmly… and a joy buzzer goes off.
Laughing and shaking Sans' hand more fervently, Conrad comments. "A joy buzzer! Classic! I think you and I are going to get along just fine!"
For some reason, Conrad remembers saying something like this before; he decides it is just a minor case of déjà vu.
Finally done shaking Papyrus' hand, Marceline approaches the labcoat wearing skeleton, and says, "I assume that you are the Royal scientist? Dr. W. ? It is a pleasure to meet you," then holds her hand out for him to shake.
Gaster holds his hands up and shakes his head.
Papyrus informs her, "DADST-… MY FATHER, DR. W. , WAS EXPERIMENTED ON BY HUMANS… HE IS NOT PARTICULARLY HAPPY TO BE HERE, BUT WE PROMISED IT WOULD BE OK. WITH THAT BEING SAID… HE TALKS IN HANDS, SO SHAKING HANDS IS NOT SOMETHING HE DOES ANYWAY… UNLESS HE IS TALKING…"
Papyrus gets sweaty as he continues trying to properly explain it… "… BUT DO NOT BE CONFUSED!… THERE IS NO LETTER IN 'HANDS' THAT IS A PAIR OF SHAKING HANDS… (I JUST MEAN THAT HE SHAKES HIS HANDS AS HE TALKS…)"
Marceline curtsies instead, and says, "forgive me, I did not know. Now, I was informed that two monsters were assigned to protect Queen Toriel as she stays here. I assume that would be…"
Marceline walks up to the fish monster and curtsies, "welcome to our home. I hope you find the protections already in place adequate."
The fish warrior puffs up her chest and says, "We'll see about that! My name is Undyne, I'm known as the strongest fish! If you don't pass my REALLY HIGH standards, I'll have to whip you and this house into shape! I'm talking pushups, situps, and 10 laps around the manor every day! I'll have you begging me to go easy on you! FUHUHUH-!"
Imagining their house on legs, frantically running around as Undyne whips it, Frisk asks, "(isn't that just normal strength training…? I already do that for PE…)"
Undyne stops mid laugh, and clears her throat, "r-right! But you see… I'll make you do all of it… WHILE PAPYRUS SITS ON YOUR BACK! FUHUHUHUH!"
Frisk gets the feeling that Undyne is just trying to look tough to impress their parents… It's more likely that they're going to assign her as their PE teacher, so that Bernard and Katsuro can do more official Guard business.
Marceline chimes in mischievously, "well, Undyne, I am sure we can fit that into Frisk's schedule. Darling child of mine, remind me when your next 'Anime-Warrior-Princess' training is?"
Undyne's face goes pale, "what?! ANIME-WARRIOR-PRINCESS TRAINING? What the HELL are you made of?!"
Staring at Frisk in disbelief, Undyne starts to imagine Frisk running around with a giant sword while shooting magic out of their eyes… She then starts to feel like she is being sized up by an apex predator, and hesitantly looks over to the Queen.
Toriel is glaring at Undyne through squinted eyes.
Frisk shrugs, "(Determination… and glitter. That stuff gets everywhere.)"
Papyrus nods in agreement.
Remembering their manners, Frisk approaches the old Tortoise and bows respectfully, "(Hello, my-)"
Marceline clears her throat, and Frisk starts over; this time in a more audible voice. "Hello, my name is Frisk… (You probably already knew that.) What is your name?"
The tortoise monster replies heartily, "names Gerson! I used to be a hero back in the old days. Gerson, Hammer of Justice. I'm here to help keep Undyne in check. Wah ha ha!"
Undyne smiles nervously as her retired superior calls her out as a "problem child."
Dr. W. tucks his clipboard away and approaches Frisk.
He gently grabs their arm and examines it, then looks over their head, and finally pulls out a measuring tape to see how tall they are…
Muttering to himself, he says, "(|INTERESTING… VERY INTERESTING. NEARLY IDENTICAL, ASIDE FROM A FEW DETAILS.|)"
Frisk raises an eyebrow, not being able to understand what he is saying.
Papyrus asks, "WHAT WAS THAT DADSTER?"
Gaster returns to where he was standing, and asks, "|I WAS INFORMED THAT YOU HAVE A BASIC LABORATORY THAT I CAN USE. WOULD YOU MIND SHOWING ME WHERE IT IS, SO I CAN GET TO WORK ON IMPROVING IT?|"
Sans speaks up before Papyrus does, "dad says he's excited to meet you, frisk has been scientifically proven to be perfectly unique, and he wants to check out your state-of-the-art lab."
Gaster pinches the part of his skull where his nose would be…
Papyrus squints at his brother, and says, "SANS YOU KNOW THAT ISN'T WHAT HE SAID AT ALL! HE CLEARLY STATED THAT FRISK IS NEARLY IDENTICAL… TO… THAT LAMP IN SNOWDEN FOREST, AND THAT HE WANTS TO SEE THEIR… LABRADOR? SO THAT HE CAN TRAIN IT!"
Asgore laughs, listening to all the confusion, and says, "Mr. Addams-"
Conrad interjects, "'Conrad' is fine."
Nodding, Asgore continues, "Oh, right! My apologies… Conrad, we're eager to take a tour of your lovely home; would you mind? I would love to see how much the place has changed."
Conrad bows briefly, as Marceline curtsies, and he replies, "of course not. With introductions out of the way, we can show you the rooms and where you will be staying."
Overall, the tour goes smoothly, until they arrive at Frisk's playroom.
Dr. W. whips out his clipboard, and begins going over every inch of the room.
He begins muttering to himself as he takes notes… "(|LET'S SEE… AH YES, ANOMALOUS… ANATOMY… BAD HANDS… BIZARRE SCENES… A NOTE LOST UNDER … NOTES… OH, THIS … IS INTERESTING… AH, NEVER MIND; JUST A CLIPPING … COMIC…|)"
Sans pipes up, "you're never this excited about anything… are those drawings really that interesting?"
Dr. W. ignores him and goes to the center of the room.
He hops a couple times, then looks up, then back down, and then writes some more notes.
Upon completion of his thorough examination… Dr. W. says, "|WELL, I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD ENCOUNTER ANOTHER ROOM LIKE THIS; SO MY ENTHUSIASM SHOULD BE UNDERSTANDABLE. THIS ROOM, AFTER ALL, IS QUITE… 'HERE AND NOW,' YET ALSO 'UNCERTAIN;' MORE SO THAN THE OTHER ROOMS. WALKING THROUGH IT FEELS… 'TIME.'|"
Sans chuckles, and says, "I'd hope so, since, you know, we're always going forward in time… anyway kid, my dad likes your drawings," Sans winks as he continues, "but he doesn't think you put nearly enough skeletons in them."
Dr. W. takes on an unamused look, and again applies a generous helping of fingers to the bridge of his nose…
Papyrus pipes up again, frustrated with his brother purposefully mistranslating their father, "SANS YOU KNOW FULL WELL THAT WASN'T WHAT HE SAID! HE WAS TALKING ABOUT HOW… THE ROOM… IS HERE! AND… NOW IT IS UNCERTAIN? BUT ALSO THAT HE CAN FEEL TIME! BECAUSE… THE ROOM IS FUN! SO HE FEELS TIME FLY BY MORE… AND HE THINKS THAT FRISK NEEDS TO WORK ON DRAWING THEIR 'BAD HANDS' AND BIZARRE SCENES! AND HE LIKED THAT COMIC… THEY MADE? AND HE FOUND A NOTE THAT WAS LOST UNDER SOME OTHER NOTES…! (BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS HIS NOTE, OR A NOTE FRISK WROTE…)"
Dr. W. sighs heavily, and says, "(|WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?|)"
Sans shrugs, and says, "I dunno, people usually pay for my jokes. whatever it was, it got you a lifetime supply of my punderful work."
Briskly leaving the room, Dr. W. continues making notes on his clipboard as the tour continues.
The tour finally gets around to the basic lab that the Addams have, and Dr. W. refuses to leave for the rest of the tour. Instead, he starts to make plans to spruce it up.
One of the spare bedrooms gives Sans the creeps. He isn't sure why, but something about it puts him on edge.
When the tour is over, Frisk, Papyrus, and Conrad convene in the playroom to go over diagrams of all the traps, come up with new ones, and generally goof around.
Sans "helps" Dr. W. bring the lab up to his standards.
Mid "helping," Sans comments, "hey pops… you know how literally everyone calls you 'dr.?' well, I've been thinking. I should be called . after all, laughter is the best medicine."
Rumour has it that Dr.W. 's fingers fused with the bridge of his nose that day…
:-:
A few hours later, and a knock at the front door is answered by Thing.
It's Asriel, and he doesn't look happy.
Thing fetches Asgore, who had gone to the Addams' greenhouse to appreciate their plants.
When Asgore makes it to the foyer, Asriel runs up and hugs onto one of his legs.
Picking up his son, Asgore asks, "what's wrong, Asriel?"
On the verge of crying, Asriel says, "Chara is being super mean… They said I was never going to get horns like yours, and that because I cry a lot my fire magic is gonna turn into 'crying magic!'"
Asgore sits Asriel down, pats him on the head, and reassures him, "I'm not sure where Chara heard that, but they are wrong… Your horns will grow in just fine, and your magic is what you want it to be."
Frisk peeks into the foyer from upstairs, wanting to see what is going on.
Asriel waves, which prompts Frisk to hide.
Realizing how silly they are being, Frisk stops hiding and instead goes down the stairs.
Waving, Frisk says, "(Hay, Asriel.)"
Asriel waves back, then turns to his dad and asks, "dad, can I play with Frisk till we have to go home? I don't want to play with Chara if they're gonna be mean…"
Nodding, Asgore lets Asriel down and gestures for him to go and play.
Frisk and Asriel go off to the backyard to play, and Asgore contemplates why Chara has started to act out so much. 'perhaps it's because we are on the surface? Chara never liked it up here… I'll have to talk to Tori about it later.'
Conrad gets Asgore's attention, and motions for him to follow.
Asgore obliges, and follows him to his office.
Upon shutting the door, Conrad motions for Asgore to sit in the recently moved couch in front of his desk.
Conrad sits at his desk and pulls out some parchment, and says, "I apologize for pulling you away unexpectedly, but I felt this was the perfect opportunity to go over the details of… that. "
Uneasy, and having a guess as to what Conrad is referring to, Asgore says, "no worries, I'll provide as much information as I can."
Conrad pulls out a book of notes, there are names with dates listed beside them.
After a brief moment of looking through the book, Conrad says, "I have my suspicions, but I need it to be clear for our records. Before Greta fell into the Underground and terrorized your people, how many other humans fell… and what happened to them?"
Clearing his throat, Asgore says, "golly, this feels… quite more intense than I expected."
Gesturing for Asgore to wait, Conrad stands up and opens the brass pipe near his desk, and says, "we need some refreshments in my office, as we go over… events and things. Tea, please."
Marceline answers, "of course darling. Give me a moment and I'll send Thing over."
Upon sitting back down, Conrad says, "I apologise, I should have had drinks ready before hand."
Thing brings the refreshments for the two a few minutes later, and Conrad motions to Asgore, saying, "now that he have refreshments, continue if you could. Please."
Hesitant, Asgore fidgets with his tea cup for a moment before speaking, "five fell before Greta did, not including Chara. They…"
Asgore's expression turns very sad. He looks down at his drink for a moment, then continues, "they did not make it. We did our best, but the other humans… they were ready to die the moment they fell into the Underground. Goodness… Their eyes… They were so Hopeless. They ran and hid from the monsters, and refused all help. It was… heartbreaking."
He pauses for a moment, to collect his thoughts. "Those that made it past Snowden usually stayed in Waterfall before passing. A couple particularly tenacious humans made it to Hotland, but… the heat claimed them. We prepared SOUL containers so we could use them to break the barrier, but the Sanctum had contacted us, some time after Chara appeared, and informed us that human SOULs would not be needed to take the barrier down; we were also told we had to wait, though I am not sure why…"
A brief pause as he considers everything and takes a sip from his cup. With a sad smile, he continues, "but knowing that freedom was so close, we waited happily… for a few hours. As it turned out, we experienced time… differently while under the barrier. I'm not sure how Dr. W. put it exactly, but I do remember something about a pretzel, a doughnut, and a tangled ball of yarn."
Nodding, as he writes down on some parchment, Conrad comments, "I see… Well, that was quite fortuitous… It sounds like the Underground is a dangerous place. I am sorry you were kept down there for so long. Hopefully there were not too many casualties…"
Asgore drinks from his cup, then looks off into the distance and says, "…We did our best to ensure everyone was safe, but Monsters often went missing. It was such a common occurrence that others wouldn't really think about it, even when their friend or loved one didn't show up for days."
He fiddles with his cup, as he remembers some particularly bad cases of missing monsters, then continues, "sometimes, a monster's death wouldn't be noticed for weeks after they passed; everyone just assumed they had gone missing, and that they'd show back up. Fortunately, though, we had Hope. That prevented a lot of deaths."
Conrad writes more down, and grabs another sheet of parchment, "I see… I'm sorry you had to go through that… Now, as the only person trained in medicine here… I must ask. How did you keep Chara healthy?"
Perking up, Asgore replies, "well, monster food is quite nutritious! Since it's magical in nature there's no waste, and it provides you with exactly what you need. Given that Chara was the only human in the Underground, we didn't have to worry about diseases… until the other humans fell. When that happened, we had our Royal Scientist start researching human illnesses; the ones that we had information on, at least."
Conrad motions for Asgore to pause, and takes a sip from his cup.
After writing down some more notes, Conrad stands up and says, "thank you, King Asgore. This has been quite helpful. I will need to speak with Dr. W. later… With that being said, I can hardly imagine the weight on your shoulders. Take your time and drink your tea, we can go tend to the garden later to get your mind off of things. After this, you will need to speak with Bernard, and then the Elder, in order to finalize your adoption of Chara Teufel. I know the process is long, but we have to be one hundred percent sure that Chara will be in a good home… Though I have no doubts that they will be safe with you two, we cannot make any exceptions."
Asgore looks to his cup and smiles bitterly, "thank you for your diligence, and the tea, Conrad. I knew it was a wise decision to let the Addams family build their home on monster land, your family has always been there for monsterkind; and, though quite eccentric at times, your family has good values."
Conrad's interest is piqued, as he realizes that Asgore is the same monster who deeded the land to his forefathers… a fact that somehow slipped his mind. "Asgore, if you do not mind… Would you talk to me about my forefathers before we go off to the garden? Family history is very important to me, and it would be nice to hear stories from someone who was there."
Asgore smiles and nods. After taking another sip from his tea, he begins talking about events before the war…
:-:
Chara enters the manor for dinner, and Asgore and Asriel depart not long after to return to the monster camp.
As dusk begins to take hold of the sky, knocking is heard again at the front door of the Addams family manor.
Thing answers the door and greets the guests.
A petite woman with long black hair, wearing an elaborate sapphire coloured dress, a porcelain mask with human features, and a blue butterfly brooch is standing at the door with a stern looking gentleman wearing an outfit reminiscent of vampire garb, and a red butterfly brooch.
Between the two stands a child that looks remarkably similar to Frisk; save for a few minor differences, such as being a tad shorter and having thinner hips.
They appear completely expressionless, and their eyes are shut.
The gentleman begins speaking… but someone behind them interrupts and goes around them, "Sup! My name's Kathryn, we're here from the Sanctum with this… kid. Are the Addamses...eses home?"
Thing curtsies and replies, "yes, welcome. Please, come in while I fetch Mr. and Mrs. Addams."
Obviously nervous, Kathryn says, "ahh… no, that wont be needed Hand… Thing… We're just here to drop this little guy off! I'm sure it'll be-"
The gentleman places a hand on Kathryn's shoulder, which stops them from talking…
He steps forward and says, "If possible, would you be able to get us some refreshments? We have been on the road for quite some time."
Thing bows respectfully, and replies, "of course, Mez!"
The two enter the manor with the child, as Kathryn opts to wait outside.
Once inside, Thing turns to the two and says, "before I run off, I would like to say that it is a pleasure to see you and your husband in person, Lady Lucy," then departs to get refreshments; at the same time, she announces the guests over the brass pipe system from the kitchen.
Everyone in the house comes to greet the new addition. Sans and Dr. W. in particular are curious to see who it is, given that a strange sensation washed over them not long before the knocking at the door.
Frisk, Conrad, and Marceline are the first to arrive.
Conrad looks to the child, and is confused at first, "Frisk, did you get in-…" but Frisk pulls at his hand.
Marceline comments, "my, they are like a long lost twin. How curious."
Dr. W. , Sans, and the others show up.
Upon seeing the child, Sans and Dr. W. 's eyes go dark; they maintain a comfortable distance from him. The other monsters seem a bit hesitant to approach as well, though they do not understand why.
Papyrus, however, is overjoyed to meet a new friend and introduces himself, "GREETINGS NEW FRIEND! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! MASTER SPAGHETTOR, AND PUZZLE MAKER EXTRAORDINAIRE! BUT, YOU MAY SIMPLY CALL ME 'PAPYRUS!'"
No response.
Frisk approaches the child. It's almost like looking at a mirror, and they seem incredibly familiar; except that something about them is off, somehow.
It confuses Papyrus, but the gentleman explains, "This young nameless boy was found in the fields to the north, while some scouts were collecting data about Wälder beast movements. When found, he only spoke one word: 'Addams.' He has not spoken since, nor taken any definitive action on his own… I appreciate your willingness to take this child in, and to investigate this, Dr. Addams."
Thing arrives with the beverages for the guests, but only Mez takes a cup.
Conrad and Marceline approach the child, and Conrad kneels down to speak with him, "hello, I am going to be your new father… I will certainly try to be, at least. I know it will be scary at first, and maybe you wont feel like you are really a part of our family… but it will be OK."
Marceline adds, "family found can oft be better than the family you're from," Chara, upon hearing the phrase, grabs Toriel's hand and holds it as Marceline continues, "Now… I think, to make it official, we should give you a name… Let me consider it for a moment."
Dr. W. approaches the child carefully, and takes out his clipboard.
After jotting some notes, he puts it away and examines the child…
He examines his arms, head, and finally takes out a tape measure to check his height.
An incredibly faint magic-like feeling radiating from the child's chest gets Dr. W. 's attention…
He looks to the two guests and asks, "|I MUST SAY, I AM QUITE INTRIGUED BY THIS DEVELOPMENT. THIS CHILD IS ONE I HAVE SEEN BEFORE… BUT SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THEM. SEEING AS I AM THE ROYAL SCIENTIST OF THE MONSTER KINGDOM, WOULD YOU MIND IF I EXAMINED THE CHILD'S SOUL?|"
Lady Lucy replies, "|REQUEST GRANTED.|"
Taken a bit by surprise by her response being in Hands, but appreciative none-the-less, Dr. W. -…
* FILE LOADED.
:-:
Lady Lucy replies, "|REQUEST… DENIED.|"
Dr. W. did not even register what she said. He is simply staring, with darkened eyes, at the child; scared out of his mind. Unbeknownst to all, a consequence of having been scattered across all of time and space is that he is particularly sensitive to disturbances in time; such as those a Red SOUL can create.
He returns to where he was standing before, and whispers to Sans, "(|A MAN'S ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES, AND BY THIS WE CAN PREDICT ACTIONS HE IS LIKELY TO REPEAT. WE KNOW HIS ACTIONS, EVEN WHEN HE HIDES THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE MARKED; IT IS BY THIS THAT WE KNOW THE WORTHINESS OF SOMEONE. THERE ARE NONE SO POWERFUL THAT THEY CAN AVOID IT. DO WELL TO REMEMBER THIS THE NEXT TIME YOU LAZE ABOUT, LEST YOU ARE JUDGED HARSHLY FOR INACTION.|)"
Lady Lucy briefly looks to Dr. W. , having overheard the coded message, then returns her gaze to the Addamses.
Understanding, Sans retorts, "I don't laze about. that's way too much work for me. I just laze."
Marceline speaks up again, done with coming up with a name, "how about… Sigmund? Sigmund Addams. That sounds like a nice name, doesn't it dear?"
Taken by surprise for a moment, Chara wonders to themself, 'why does that name sound familiar…?'
Conrad nods and smiles, "yes! I like it. It has a certain ring to it that screams, 'Addams.'"
Hoping to get a reaction, Marceline asks the boy, "what do you think about it, Sigmund?"
He slowly looks up to Marceline then looks back down, but otherwise there is no response.
"Well," Marceline says, "I'll take that as a yes until he says otherwise."
Confident that all will be well after assessing the Addams family, and the surrounding area, Lady Lucy asks, "Query: is there any information you request? I should note that the information we have is severely limited."
Marceline and Conrad look to each other for a moment, and Marceline asks, "any particularly favourite foods?"
Lady Lucy replies, "He does not eat."
Conrad, curious, asks, "any favourite activities?"
"He does not appear interested in anything. To answer any similar questions, he appears to be only marginally aware; reactions are limited, and he does not appear to be able to speak in any capacity. He is otherwise a perfectly healthy 12 year old boy. Should his behaviour change, notify us immediately. A means of communication will be set up by tomorrow."
Chara considers that for a moment. He is their age, but slightly smaller and doesn't do anything. 'It'd probably be best if I stayed away from this weirdo, I don't want his boring rubbing off on me .'
"(S _ A _ Y _ S _ _ T _ H _ E _ _ W _ E _ I _ R _ D _ O _)"
"(_ W _ H _ O _ _ W _ O _ U _ L _ D _ _ H _ A _ V _ E _)"
"(_ K _ I _ L _ L _ E _ D _ _ E _ V _ E _ Y _ O _ N _ E.)"
:-:
Toriel looks concerned for the boy due to his situation, but does her best to not let it show, lest she insult him somehow, as she introduces herself, "hello there, little one. I my name is Toriel Dreemurr, I am Queen of the monster kingdom."
No response, as she expected, but she wanted to be polite none-the-less.
With everything addressed, Lady Lucy and her husband say their goodbyes and depart; much to Kathryn's great anticipation and glee.
Toriel, Sans, and Dr. W. depart to continue what they were doing before.
Papyrus sticks around to make the new addition feel welcome.
Frisk introduces themself to Sigmund, "my name is Frisk," then points to Chara and says, "that one with the fake smile is Chara."
Chara retorts, "better a fake smile than your face, McBland ButtFace."
Ignoring Chara's childish provocations, Frisk asks Sigmund, "Wanna go play…?"
No response.
"(Y _ O _ U _ _ W _ A _ N _ T _ _ T _ O _ _ P _ L _ A _ Y_)"
"(_ A _ _ G _ A _ M _ E _ _ W _ I _ T _ H _ _ M _ E?)"
:-:
Chara takes on a subtle look of surprise, swearing they heard something, but hides it quickly.
Marceline walks over and gently takes his hand. He slowly looks up to her. "Come on, let's go to the living room and I'll read you a story."
Conrad walks to the other side of him, and takes his other hand. He slowly turns his head to Conrad, then slowly looks forward.
Sigmund's hands tighten ever so slightly, grasping onto Marceline and Conrad's hands.
With subtle smiles on their faces, Conrad and Marceline guide Sigmund to the living room to read him a story.
:-:
Sans and Dr. W. are in the manor's laboratory.
Dr. W. is pacing, as Sans sits on a stool and thinks.
Finally speaking, Dr. W. stops pacing and says, "|THIS MAY BE A PROBLEM. IT IS LIKELY THAT SOMETHING VERY BAD HAS HAPPENED RECENTLY. I FELT A LOAD OCCUR IN THE FOYER. WHAT IS MORE, I REMEMBER SOMETHING. A BRIEF GLIMPSE OF A RED SOUL, WITH A MARK I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. ANYONE STRONG ENOUGH TO MARK HIS SOUL IS NOT SOMEONE I WANT TO MEET FACE TO FACE, UNLESS THEY ARE ON MY SIDE. IT IS LIKELY EVERYTHING IS IN DANGER.|"
Sans doesn't say anything in reply, which is fine since Dr. W. is mostly thinking out loud to himself.
Dr. W. starts pacing again…
Having his own theories, Sans suggests, "maybe it's not that bad? if he's here, david is probably dead."
Scoffing, Dr. W. replies, "|THAT IS UNLIKELY. IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT DAVID HID HIMSELF AWAY, TO USE CU-270 TO FIND THE RED SOUL.|"
An idea comes to Sans' mind, as he connects some dots, "hey pops. have you noticed how no one calls you by just your first name? and I never call you by that nickname you hate, despite knowing I'm not? everything seems just a little bit off, doesn't it?"
Confused, Dr. W. looks to Sans and asks, "|WHAT ARE YOU GETTING AT? YOU THINK HE IS IN CONTROL OF THE TIMELINE? I SUPPOSE WORSE THINGS COULD HAPPEN… CU-270 ALWAYS DID PREFER AGAINST KILLING. AND WITH HIM IN CONTROL, THAT WOULD GUARANTEE DAVID'S FALL… BUT IT ISN'T A SURE THING. WE HAVE TO BE SURE. I WANTED TO EXAMINE HIS SOUL WHEN THE LOAD HAPPENED, SO IT IS LIKELY HE THINKS OF ME AS A POTENTIAL THREAT… UNDERSTANDABLE, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.|"
With a wink, Sans says, "well, why don't we just get one of the addamses to look for us? he spoke their name, and only their name, right? so he must trust them or something."
Dr. W. turns and waves dismissively, saying "|NO THAT PROBABLY WON'T WORK.|"
Sans is already gone.
He looks for Marceline first, assuming a mother figure might have better luck; though he doesn't know why he feels that way.
His search is short, since Marceline and Conrad are reading him a story still… Sans decides it would be best to ask someone else, since they are too busy and too close to him.
Looking for Frisk is simple, and he finds them in the playroom with Papyrus as expected.
He waits at one of the doors to the play room, and motions for Frisk to come over.
After finishing what they are doing, Frisk obliges.
Quietly, Sans says, "(hey pal, me and my pops are really worried about c- sigmund. pops says he noticed some weird magic on 'im and wanted to make sure sigmund was ok, but he doesn't trust us. since he seems to trust your family, think you can take a look at his soul and tell us what you see?)"
Frisk considers it for a moment, then asks, "(I don't even know what a normal soul looks like, how am I supposed to help?)"
With a brief gesture, Sans pulls Frisk's SOUL out, and says, "(this is your soul. it represents everything that makes you, you. see how yours is red? his'll be similar, but we think something's wrong with it.)"
Thinking for a moment, Frisk shrugs, "(I guess I can ask.)"
Winking, Sans says, "thanks pal, we'll be in the lab. let us know what you see whenever you're ready. and don't worry too much, my pops is a dr. after all."
Sans leaves the room, and Frisk returns to planning traps with Papyrus.
They are not exactly over enthused about trying to talk to the new kid, regardless of why.
Frisk asks, "(Papyrus, what do you think about looking at someone else's soul?)"
Looking up to Frisk from his schematics, Papyrus replies, "HMM. WELL… THE SOUL IS THE VERY CULMINATION OF YOUR BEING, AND IS VERY FRAGILE. YOUR HUMAN BODY CAN GET HIT A LOT BEFORE YOU FALL… BUT YOUR SOUL CANNOT! SINCE IT IS SO FRAGILE, IF SOMEONE WERE TO SHOW ME THEIR SOUL… WELL, I THINK IT WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE EMBODIMENT OF TRUST! AND WHO WOULDN'T TRUST ME? AFTER ALL, I AM THE ONE AND BONY GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"
Frisk considers that for a moment, then returns to their trap planning. Even if they do decide to help Sans, they need to get their ideas down now or they'll probably forget all about the trap they are making; which involves eels with daggers strapped to their heads, and sharks with a mechanism to shoot fireworks strapped to their fins, that will get dropped onto anyone who plays the far right still-out-of-tune-key on the piano.
It would be a tragedy if Frisk forgot all about their trap idea.
Not long after Frisk finishes up their drawing, their mother comes into the room to tell them that it is time to get ready for bed.
Afraid they will incur their mother's wrath should they dally, Frisk hops up and leaves their drawing where it is to go clean up for bed.
Their usual routine of cleaning up, and changing into their spider themed pyjamas, takes hardly any time. Once done, they look for their parents so they can get a story or two before bed; as per usual.
Frisk passes Chara as they head into the bathroom, and Chara stops Frisk, asking, "hey, Frisk… is it just me, or did you hear that weird voice too?"
Frisk tilts their head slightly, "can you be more specific? I'm hearing your voice right now."
Unamused, Chara says, "touché. I heard a voice earlier, when you asked your weird new brother if he wanted to play…"
Curious now, Frisk asks, "what'd the voice say?"
Deciding that Frisk is either messing with them or that they are going crazy, Chara says, "eh, it isn't important. I just wanted to know if you heard it too."
Frisk shakes their head.
Chara shrugs, then goes into the bathroom, saying "k."
Continuing with their original plans, Frisk heads to the living room to see if their parents are there.
They are. Sigmund is sitting at the fireplace, staring into the fire with his eyes closed.
Marceline and Conrad are cuddling on the loveseat, while Toriel is in a recliner near the fireplace; it looks like she's reading a book that can't be found in their house.
Frisk sits near their parents, and asks, "mom, dad, can you tell me a bedtime story?"
Conrad is far too busy kissing Marceline's neck to respond, but Marceline replies, "of course my little angel;" and gets Conrad to sit up while she continues talking. "Today, I will tell you a story about a sad little ghost."
Frisk nods eagerly. Sigmund turns slightly to listen better.
Taking on a soft, bittersweet voice, Marceline recites her story:
"There once was a cute little ghost, haunting an old dark forest. The little ghost was very sad and lonely. 'No friends or family to keep me company, nor even a cat to stare my way' the little ghost mourned."
Day in and day out, the little ghost roamed, looking for someone who could keep them company, but they found no one."
Anyone and anything that could see them were too scared, and those who couldn't were too boring…
So the little ghost roamed alone, for a long long time.
They were alone for so long, in fact, that the little ghost started to go insane."
Toriel partially looks up from her book, a little concerned about the turn in the story, but doesn't say anything…
Marceline continues with a darker tone, "One day, the sad little ghost got an idea while mourning their situation. 'I can't be friends with the living, but surely there are other ghosts? … Though I haven't seen any, surely I can't be the only one!'
With the shriek of a new born child, the little ghost hollered in excitement as they declared, 'Oh! I know! I can make some ghost friends!'"
Taking on a more concerned face, Toriel listens intently as Marceline continues with a sinister tone.
"With glee, and much anticipation to make new friends, the little ghost devised plans for traps and tricks to turn living people into ghosts; so they can be friends… forever."
Toriel's concern intensifies…
"As time went on, the dark forest the little ghost haunted grew more and more lonely."
Marceline takes on a lighter, bittersweet tone, "and, despite all the little ghost's efforts, none of the people they tricked into death turned into ghosts… Instead, the little ghost just felt more sad and alone than they were before. The end."
Frisk claps lightly.
With a slight sigh of relief, Toriel comments, "I was worried, for a time, that your story was going to encourage killing people to make friends… but I see now that it was a metaphor to teach that you cannot force people to be your friends, and to not take what you have for granted."
Marceline raises her brow, "Interesting. I had not thought about that."
Toriel closes her eyes and maintains her composure… then says, "well, that is alright. The lesson was there regardless."
Standing and putting her book away, Toriel says, "I think it is time for me to turn in for the night. Good night Frisk, Marceline, and… Sigmund was it?"
Marceline nods.
Toriel responds, "ah, very good. Goodnight to you too, Conrad."
Conrad waves half heartedly, and says, "goodnight, Queen Toriel."
Marceline tells Frisk, "I think it is time for you to go to bed as well, Frisk. Why don't you show Sigmund where his room is on your way?"
Frisk nods and walks over to Sigmund. They don't bother talking since he wouldn't say anything anyway, and he was right there while Marceline was speaking.
Sigmund slowly stands up to follow Frisk, who feels like this whole ordeal is going to take a long time.
Walking at a slow pace, Frisk guides Sigmund out of the living room.
Their suspicions are confirmed when they witness Sigmund walk, or rather, slowly shuffle, over to the living room entrance.
'He's like a zombie that doesn't smell as bad as a zombie… But even a zombie can move faster.'
"(I _ _ H _ E _ A _ R _ D _ _ T _ H _ A _ T _ , _ F _ R _ I _ S _ K.)"
:-:
Not wanting to take a year and a half to go to bed, Frisk offers their hand.
Sigmund reaches out slower than usual… Frisk feels like he is being slow on purpose, though, in trough, he is actually hesitating.
Curious, though aware that he probably wont respond, Frisk asks, "why do you walk around with your eyes closed?"
He doesn't respond.
Frisk starts to feel like they could ask him all the most disturbing questions in the world, and he wouldn't respond.
When they reach the door to his room, Frisk remembers what Sans had asked them to ask.
They decide to give it a shot. At worst, he won't do anything.
Still hesitant, though, Frisk asks in a hushed tone, "(Hey… uhm… Sans told me that our souls are similar… but that something might be wrong with yours because Dr. W. saw some weird magic on it? What would that even look like, can I… see?)"
Though slow, Sigmund turns and looks directly at Frisk.
* FILE SAVED.
:-:
Everything stops moving as if time itself is frozen, and then everything, except Sigmund and Frisk, melts away into red as he opens his void-like eyes.
With a sigh, Sigmund says, "they were not supposed to notice so fast… I even loaded when Dr. W. got too close. I must have missed something."
Frisk is confused and worried. Everything is gone, and their new brother is confusing and scaring them…
Sigmund pulls out his SOUL and shows it to Frisk.
It is heavily damaged, with cracks and scaring taking up most of it. Everything except for a relatively small gold star in the center.
"That star is yours. I had accidentally destroyed everything and wanted to bring it back, but I couldn't… All the SAVES were corrupted. So, I tried to CHANGE to a new world, but since I don't belong here I couldn't."
Still not understanding, Frisk asks, "what are you talking about? I don't understand… I don't remember putting that star there, and I don't even know how… Also what the heck, you can talk? What's with all the slow moving and no speaking stuff?"
Nodding, Sigmund replies, "this mark was part of our deal. I'm sorry for all this, but it has been a lot harder than I thought it would be… also, them figuring stuff out so fast is problematic and I need some time to think."
The look of complete confusion is on Frisk's face.
Sigmund puts his SOUL back and points to Frisk, "this is your world. Only you can change it, but you didn't want to. You refused to give up. Instead, you had a different idea."
Holding out his hand, a ball appears in Sigmund's hand, "you said, 'CU-270, why don't you use all your Determination and magic to recreate everything? If you make the universe infinite in size, you'll never have to worry about destroying everything again."
He pauses for a moment to let the ball fade away, then continues, "to which I said, 'but Frisk, I don't know what reality was like before it was all wiped away. And doing that would probably cause me to be unable to do anything, since I would have to constantly focus on making new things further and further away from myself…"
Frisk rubs the back of their neck, "that sounds… really hard. So… does that mean everyone I know is fake…?"
Sigmund shakes his head, "no. I can't make SOULS. They all survived because of our Determination, though their bodies were destroyed."
Relieved, Frisk says, "oh, that is good. …So, what is the mark for?"
Placing his hand on his chest, where his SOUL would be, Sigmund says, "hmm… Well, it is like when you SAVED Asriel in a past timeline; except that it is constantly sending my SOUL instructions on how everything is supposed to be."
Frisk tilts their head, "but I don't know what all of reality is like… Doesn't that mean everything is based on how you think it should be? … As cool as your imagination is, I don't think that is good…"
Shaking his head again, Sigmund responds, "No… we discovered, after far too long, that your SOUL has a SAVE of the world in it; but you can't SAVE or LOAD while I exist. This magical binding fixes that. When you try to LOAD or SAVE, it will go through this to my SOUL. In essence I am like a Higgs Boson now, and you are what tells everything how it is supposed to be shaped… well, aside from a few alterations; since it is still from my perspective. Otherwise, I cannot change anything without your SOULs permission; which is handled automatically, through your instincts. Pretty neat huh?"
Crossing their arms, Frisk says, "that doesn't sound good… So… You have to do this forever? I'm sorry… That sounds really hard. I wish I could find a way to make it easier for you…"
Shrugging, Sigmund half heartedly says, "I'd rather have to recreate reality for all eternity, and suffer because of it, than float alone in a void of Determination…"
Frisk isn't sure how to respond… So they ask, "so… you said 'CU-270' earlier… is that your old name?"
Sigmund nods, "yea… I like the name your mom gave me, though. Something about it is familiar, in a good way."
Awkward silence ensues…
After pointing in the air and saying, "aha!" Sigmund relays his revelation, "I figured out why Dr.W.D. Gaster was able to learn so much so fast. He must be able to remember stuff from previous LOADs…"
Sigmund sighs and hunches over slightly, "Which means I'll have to manually wipe his memory any time we LOAD, so it will match the LOAD… I'll probably have to hide the mark too. Well, I guess its time to return everything and wipe your memory again… sorry Frisk, but you asked me to."
Assuming a more open stance, Sigmund brings his hands together, as if he were holding them over something, and closes his eyes… then comments, "oh, if you notice heavy fog in the distance that shouldn't logically exist… Don't worry about it. That's just me 'unloading' that area so I can have a little bit of a break, or to move around or something…"
Baffled by his reasoning, Frisk quickly asks, "wait, but if you wipe my memory I won't know that… and why can't anyone know?"
Opening his eyes again, Sigmund says, "It is more for the benefit of those watching us. We are just one in an infinite number of alternate realities. Some of them are watching us in fear, and others are curious or hopeful. But, as for why no one is allowed to know… It's sad, don't you think? I'm going to suffer for all eternity, and no one can help me."
Frisk doesn't respond… they just start to feel sad.
Sigmund reaches up and pats Frisk on the head, saying, "but it'll be OK, sis. I'll probably figure out some way to make the work a bit easier."
Returning to his previous stance, Sigmund closes his eyes again…
This time, Frisk doesn't stop him; a tingling sensation can be felt from their SOUL.
They instinctively look inward to their SOUL… then nod.
* SAVE FILE EDITED SUCCESSFULLY
* FILE LOADED
:-:
Frisk is waiting for Sigmund to catch up… They want to go to bed.
They are eager to see what treats their mind will dream up for them tonight.
Slowly shuffling over, Sigmund looks at Frisk and appears to try to say something… but it is too hard for him, so he stops trying.
… It makes Frisk feel sad.
Once Sigmund has entered his room, Frisk leaves to their own room to go to sleep.
"Finally. I get to sleep," Frisk says all too soon, as Chara bursts into the room.
Louder than they need to be, Chara says, "I'm sleeping in your room tonight, it'll be like a sleep over!"
Frisk looks at Chara with an unamused face… "Chara, I'm not in the mood for a sleep over."
Dropping their pillow and blanket on the floor, Chara says, "aw come on! It'll be fun!"
Giving in, since it is probably the easiest way to go to sleep, Frisk says, "fine… but I'm not playing any games with you."
Chara shrugs, "that's fine. But… can I talk to you for a bit?"
Frisk looks over at Chara, who seemed a bit hesitant in the last part of their statement, "sure?"
Sitting up on their bed, Frisk waits for Chara to talk.
Chara closes the door to the bedroom, and says, "you're probably going to think I'm crazy, but I swear I heard someone talking in the foyer in my head. I think it's your new weirdo of a brother…"
Frisk raises an eyebrow, "what'd he say? Did he ask about that new thing, oop-daug?"
Tilting their head, Chara asks too quickly, "what's 'oopdaug?'"
Realizing their error, Chara walks over to Frisk and lightly punches them in the shoulder, as Frisk replies, "not much, you?"
Chara sits facing away from Frisk… "that was lame, Frisk. I want to talk to you, because you are the only one that would probably not think I am crazy… but if you are not going to take it seriously, I will just keep it to myself and go crazy for real."
Frisk feels bad now… "(I'm sorry… So… what did he say?)"
After a moment of brooding, Chara says, "it was really hard to hear, and it was really slow… but when you asked if Sigmund wanted to play, I heard someone in my head reply, 'you want to play with me?' And then just a few minutes ago, when you were were waiting for him to leave the living room, I could hear someone say 'I heard that, Frisk.'"
Frisk considers it for a moment… "(so… You think Sigmund can talk like a Psychopath?)"
Chara sighs and shakes their head, "you mean 'telepath,' right?"
Frisk nods… embarrass.
Letting it slide this time, Chara says, "that is the most likely conclusion… but why, and how? And why am I the only one who can hear him?"
Shrugging, Frisk lays down in the bed sideways, and says, "maybe you're more sensitive to telepaths than everyone else?"
Chara doesn't respond… They are not sure how to kindly tell Frisk that it doesn't work that way.
Frisk suddenly sits upright and says, "Oh! I know!"
Turning around, Chara asks, "what?"
Laying back down, and kicking their feet playfully as they talk, Frisk says, "since you can hear him, why don't you just ask?"
Chara throws their pillow at Frisk, and says, "that'd be too easy! Besides, it would probably be rude. What if he doesn't respond? That'd make me crazy, or at least make him think I'm crazy… I don't need some weirdo thinking I'm crazy, even if it's true!"
Frisk sighs, "fine, then don't ask."
Chara retorts, "but if I don't ask then I'll never know… And that'll drive me crazy for sure!"
Frisk throws Chara's pillow back at them, and says, "then go ask, and let me go to sleep!"
Nearly shouting, Chara says, "FINE" and stands up and nearly shouts again, "WILL YOU GO WITH ME?"
Frisk points to their door, and takes it as an opportunity to get Chara back for an earlier comment, saying, "no, go ask your crush on your own!"
Chara sighs heavily, "I don't have a crush on him! He is weird, and boring, and I do not like him!"
Frisk begins pretending to snore so that Chara will leave.
It works. Chara gets frustrated and says, "Fine!… I'll go alone."
Hesitantly, Chara leaves Frisk's room and goes to Sigmund's room.
When they get there, they notice that the room is much darker than it should be…
Chara gently knocks on the open door.
Slow movement is heard, and after about a minute Sigmund is standing at the door.
Chara rubs the back of their neck, and asks, "so… I uh… Heard something… earlier… and I … wanted to know if it was you?"
Sigmund tilts his head.
After clearing their throat, Chara says, "I… Frisk asked you if you wanted to play, and then I heard… something. Can you talk… like… Telepathically?"
Slowly shaking his head, Sigmund makes Chara's worst fears come true… "well, I guess I'm crazy then…"
"(I _ _ C _ A _ N _ _ S _ P _ E _ A _ K _ _ L _ I _ K _ E _)"
"(_ T _ H _ I _ S _ _ T _ H _ O _ U _ G _ H.)"
:-:
Chara's eyes widen a bit, and they exclaim, "AHA! I knew it! I knew I wasn't crazy!"
"(Y _ O _ U _ _ A _ R _ E _ _ C _ R _ A _ Z _ Y _ _ F _ O _ R _)"
"(_ O _ T _ H _ E _ R _ _ R _ E _ A _ S _ O _ N _ S.)"
:-:
Waving dismissively, Chara replies, "yea, whatever… So, I take it you can't talk normally? What's up with that?"
Sigmund doesn't respond to Chara's question.
"(Y _ O _ U _ _ A _ R _ E _ _ T _ H _ E _ _ O N _ L _ Y _)"
"(_ O _ N _ E _ _ W _ H _ O _ _ C _ A _ N _ _ H _ E _ A _ R _)"
"(_ M _ E. )"
:-:
Chara isn't sure how to respond… They sorta feel bad for him, and that makes them feel awkward.
Scratching their arm, Chara says "sorry… I guess, uh… if you want to talk, I'll listen? Uhm… but I'm tired right now so… goodnight, Sigmund."
"(G _ O _ O _ D _ N _ I _ G _ H _ T.)"
:-:
Chara leaves back to Frisk's room… They decide not to tell anyone, since it would be too hard to prove.
:-:
Gaster is throwing a bunch of stuff in new his lab away.
He also set his notes from earlier on fire, using a Bunsen burner.
Sans enters the lab and is super confused about the burning notes. "yo, popster why are you burning your notes? are you madster? where's the disaster?"
Groaning, Gaster replies, "|NOTHING IS WRONG. EVERYTHING IS FINE. WE DO NOT NEED TO EXPLORE THAT PHENOMENON. IN FACT, IT IS PROBABLY BEST WE FORGET IT.|"
Sans is surprised to hear Gaster, who usually insists on archiving literally everything, say that they should forget something exists. "that bad huh? so... what made you change your mind?"
Gaster looks around briefly… then counts on his fingers as he says, "|A SAVE, TIME PAUSING, AND A LOAD WHICH ATTEMPTED… WELL, IT IS BEST TO LET LAYING DOES LIE. LIKE I SAID, WE DON'T NEED TO EXPLORE THAT PHENOMENON. IT WOULD BE LIKE DECLARING WAR ON A NATION WHOSE ONLY WEAPONS ARE EXCLUSIVELY NUCLEAR ICBMS.|"
Shrugging, Sans says, "alright popster, you're prob'ly exaggerating, but I'll take your word for it. I'm gonna head to bed, see ya later."
When Sans leaves, Gaster sighs. '|I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, CU-270… "SIGMUND." SO I'LL GET RIGHT ON WITH IT. IF YOU PULL ANY NONSENSE, I WILL MAKE IT MY GOAL IN LIFE TO PERSONALLY DELIVER YOU TO THE DIMENSION OF THE FORGOTTEN.|'
No response…
Gaster finishes what he is doing, then leaves to go to bed as well… but decides to take a small detour back to Snowden.
In the shed behind their house, Gaster uncovers the dusty machine that Sans thought was beyond repair.
He pulls out a red gem from his sleeve, rearranges a few parts, and sticks a screwdriver into part of it to connect a broken wire…
Once done making his changes, he sticks the gem into the machine and pulls up a keyboard and screen…
It relays a bare-bones Command-Level-Interface directly into his mind.
* I.T.C. MK.1 INITIATING… … …
* INITIATION COMPLETE!
* WELCOME, USER.
* 1:ANALYSE CURVE 2:VERIFY INTEGRITY 3:SEND MESSAGE 4:CALCULATE F.U.N.
:-:
Gaster selects the second option… then waits.
It takes a few hours to verify, but once it is done, and reports the integrity as nominal, he selects the fourth option.
It only takes a moment to return a value… 124
'|WELL, WE SEEM TO BE ON TRACK. 124 IS A NOMINAL FUN VALUE…|'
He thinks for a moment, then selects the first option.
It takes half an hour to generate a complicated 3-dimensional graph… It looks like a mess, but the currently highlighted curve is smooth and appears to be void of any significant alterations.
Gaster sighs in relief… He will probably never feel completely comfortable, but this at least gives him some comfort.
He thinks for a moment, then selects the third option to implant a message into the time-space continuum.
Though none would know it, he did something similar before but had instead sent a somewhat vague warning. He didn't know what would happen, if anything, and it ended up being taken as some sort of prophecy. '|STRANGE HOW SUCH A SIMPLE ACTION CAN CHANGE SO MUCH. EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE JUST WORDS, THEY DIRECTLY CAUSED SEVERAL BAD ENDINGS… I WILL HAVE TO BE MORE CAREFUL IN THE FUTURE.|'
His new message reads:
THE BOY OF VOID, MISTAKENLY THOUGHT FRAIL,
OVER THE WORLD HIS SOUL DID PREVAIL.
BUT TAKE HEART, AND DO NOT FALTER,
FOR IT WAS NOT VICTORY HE WAS AFTER.
A WORLD BRAND NEW, A FATE SUBVERTED,
THE BOY OF VOID, HIS WILL HE ASSERTED.
THROUGH LOVE AND HOPE, AND PEACEFUL DREAMS,
THIS WORLD SHALL NEVER END, IT SEEMS.
:-:
Once done, Gaster shuts the Mk1 I.T.C. down and returns it to the state of apparent irrepairability.
He returns to the Addams manor, and goes to sleep.
Rest comes easier to him, now that he feels better about the situation.
All is quiet in the Addams manor, as Dreams abound, and Hopes persist…
Hopes that maybe, just maybe, some miracle will occur and all the cicadas will stop making noise.
