Second part of today's double upload! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! ^.^
The week following the second assassination attempt was one of the most suspenseful and frustrating weeks that Frisk had experienced in the current timeline.
Just as they'd predicted, Toriel's anxious presence practically hovered over their shoulder for what seemed like twenty-four hours a day – she didn't dare so much as take a step too far away from them, no doubt ready to throw up a protective wall of fire in the event of another attack. While touched by the concern, Frisk couldn't help but wish that Toriel was a little less prone to worry, because while they didn't fault the monster for her caution, it was also incredibly inconvenient when there was research to be done that may or may not save lives in the near future – and while they trusted that Sans would at least be thorough in his research in their stead, Frisk would be less at risk than he would if it came down to avoiding an attack.
Well, perhaps not less at risk, exactly, but certainly more likely to recover from it. A few more deaths to add to their list, while far from fun, would spare others from having to die in their stead. But they couldn't risk that.
They hadn't been lying to Sans when they'd said they intended to tell Toriel about the fairies eventually, but they also didn't want to see her dusted because she knew too much and acted accordingly. The longer they spent researching the fairies, and the more research they actually completed, the less of a risk there would be of that happening when they finally did tell her.
Which made their current predicament even more frustrating, because Sans hadn't been able to find anything they didn't already know despite a couple of days of research.
"Lots of the fairy stuff has gone missing or been checked out," Sans told them when they managed to get a moment of privacy in their hotel room to call him. "Including those articles you got a look at, apparently. Only stuff that's left is mostly mythology stuff, and that's not exactly helpful, buddy."
While it could have been a coincidence, Frisk (and Chara, judging by the ghost's cursing at this information) didn't think so. It was just too convenient. A couple of assassins get caught claiming little to no memory of their boss, save for a musical voice, when the monster Ambassador had been snooping around fairy mythology barely a week before? No, that wasn't just a coincidence.
Someone removed those texts from the library so I couldn't get ahold of them. Stars, what do I do now?
There wasn't much they could do, which made it doubly frustrating when a few days after the two criminals had been arrested, Undyne had called them up with information.
"We've been going through the files on these guys that the technical guys have uncovered, and the files we gathered on the first assassin," she told them, with surprising professionalism, considering the slew of foul language that had been roaring through the speakers when Frisk had picked up their phone. "The first guy was claiming amnesia too, so we figured why not? According to the files, though, the first assassin was acting completely out of character when he came after you – he's apparently never been a violent sort of human, not like the HuRg guys are. He's supposedly one of those sorts of humans that doesn't like the monsters but isn't willing to raise a fuss over it. Ha!" She snorted. "The rest of the squad seem pretty convinced by the whole act, but I'm not convinced yet! He's probably in league with those HuRg guys, considering the whole 'I can't remember anything but an angel choir voice' shtick!"
That last sentence had chilled Frisk almost down to the bone. Angel choir voice.
Did that mean the fairies were involved in that first assassination attempt, as well?
The third assassination attempt came a week after the second. There was no warning – one moment, Frisk was leaving a restaurant after one last successful interview with a monster and a future human family willing to foster them, already coming up with plans on moving the monsters in with their new human housemates as soon as possible, and then the next, the sound of gunfire went off, and a pair of bullets hit them in the chest, right over the heart.
When they LOADed and were on the Fowl Manor grounds once more, and once they'd warned Sans quietly about the impending threats, they took a moment to sit down in their hiding spot and just… shiver. And think. And listen to Chara ranting from their usual place just behind them.
*I didn't even see them! They were somewhere in front of you, but I didn't see where the shots were coming from!
And without knowing where the bullets come from, we can't dodge them nearly so easily.
Frisk held true to the events of the first run of the week – once upon a time, they might have tried to upend the timeline completely in order to make sure the assassination never happened, but sometimes predictability was more advantageous than unpredictability, and now was one of those times. The day before the third attempt on their life, they called the police, once again using the excuse of an anonymous call to justify their information. Then they called the interviewees and asked if they could move to a different restaurant. They agreed, and the day after the attempt, the news declared that two more suspected terrorists and would-be-assassins had been arrested by the Dublin police – and, like the previous three, were pleading amnesia when it came to their actions and to the one giving them orders, and, also like the previous three, described an individual with a melodious voice, but no other distinguishing features.
"This is getting ridiculous!" Undyne complained when they called her for information. "Seriously, how are these dumbasses not getting that the amnesia excuse doesn't work?! You'd think they'd smarten up by now! These guys are either stupid or there's some human out there who really can mind control people!"
A third assassination attempt by fairies, using humans as puppets. Frisk didn't normally swear, but the damn it they used in the privacy of their own head upon realizing this was fully justifiable in this case. This is the third time… they really want me dead. Why?
*Why does anybody want you dead?
To get at the monsters. Frisk shook their head, and sent a quick text to Sans, asking for an update on how the research was going. But why?
*Covering their tracks, maybe? Humans aren't really aware of them either, apart from those sightings during the Crash, and there haven't been many sightings since then, so they're lying low.
Frisk shook their head. But I wouldn't even know about them now if they hadn't encountered Flowey. If they really wanted to be kept a secret from monsters, then they should have just kept their distance. Their phone jingled lightly, announcing a text from Sans – whose response to their request for information was a very disappointing still nothing new, might need to try something else.
*Well, most monsters still don't know, right? Only Sans, Flowey, and the two of us know about them for right now. Four people are easier to get rid of than an entire species.
They shook their head again. Maybe, but… I can't help but feel like we're missing something.
The fourth assassination attempt came maybe four days after the third. This time, however, Frisk didn't need to LOAD from their SAVE point again to avoid it. They'd been stepping out of the town hall doors after a long day of meetings and planning for moving monsters into human dwellings when Chara had suddenly shouted a warning.
*Duck!
Frisk ducked – Chara might have better reflexes overall, but their own dodging capabilities were nothing to scoff at – and a bullet went whistling past, grazing their scalp and leaving behind a thin stripe of pain. They raised their head just in time to see the assassin drop his gun and run for it.
Frisk had the police called ASAP, and several minutes later a forensics team was carefully sweeping the area while a paramedic from the local hospital was carefully tending to their head injury. The gun was very carefully picked up with gloved hands and slipped into an evidence bag, presumably for testing later.
A couple hours later, Undyne called them to let them know that the fingerprints on the gun had led them to the new assassin, who had been promptly arrested and, of course, was claiming to remember next to nothing about his boss.
"Yet another wacko talking about a musical voice," Undyne grumbled. "Some of the squad actually came and asked me if there were any monsters that could mind-control people, can you believe that?! As if we'd do that, even if we could!"
That statement sent a chill rushing down their spine that remained long after Undyne had hung up.
The police are starting to distrust monsters.
They needed to get to the bottom of this, preferably now. Whether they intended for it or not, the fairies' attempts to kill them through human puppets were odd enough now that, with magic being on the table for otherwise inexplicable events, the human police were starting to suspect the monsters of being involved somehow, because they had no idea the fairies even existed, and therefore had no other magical suspects.
Sans had nothing new for them, information-wise, when they texted him the next day.
HumerusPnmaster: nothing in any of the books here
HumerusPnmaster: checked online too
HumerusPnmaster: found couple of blogs by people who spotted fairies during the crash
HumerusPnmaster: nothing else
Frisk frowned, rubbing at the top of their head. The graze from the bullet had been easily healed using monster food, but for some reason that area felt particularly sensitive, even after being healed.
FriskyBits: Do any of those people live in Dublin?
HumerusPnmaster: 1
FriskyBits: Could you and Flowey talk to them, maybe
FriskyBits: If this person's seen the fairies, even only once
FriskyBits: then they might be more helpful than books or websites
HumerusPnmaster: maybe
HumerusPnmaster: might need a cover story for that tho
HumerusPnmaster: cant have the fairies knowing just how far were going to look for them right
They pursed their lips in thought for a moment and then glanced over at Flowey, who had insisted on coming along with them on non-ambassadorial duties today. The flower noticed the glance, and have them a slightly miffed what? look.
When they showed him their texts, he groaned, but then made an offer.
"What if I go with them? I can pretend to be a smiley, curious little monster brat who stumbled across human mythology and wants to know more, or something." His tone of voice was more akin to the tone he used when calling someone an idiot than honestly helpful, but Frisk didn't particularly mind that, instead telling Sans about the flower's suggestion.
HumerusPnmaster: wont that just make the fairies more suspicious
FriskyBits: It might, but its better than you just turning up out of the blue to ask questions
FriskyBits: They already know about Flowey
FriskyBits: I don't think they know about you yet
There was a pause.
HumerusPnmaster: ok
HumerusPnmaster: works for me
Frisk sighed and smiled, relieved, but Sans's next words brought them back down to earth.
HumerusPnmaster: kiddo if this doesnt work out I want you should tell tori about the fairies
*What?!
Frisk gulped.
FriskyBits: Sans I can't do that
HumerusPnmaster: cant or wont
They winced and typed out their reply quickly
FriskyBits: Cant
FriskyBits: If the fairies find out she knows about them she'll be a target too
FriskyBits: We need more info first
HumerusPnmaster: kiddo
HumerusPnmaster: listen
HumerusPnmaster: I get you wanna protect her
HumerusPnmaster: but you cant keep her in the dark forever
HumerusPnmaster: and I don't want to keep another big secret from my bro forever either
FriskyBits: But what if they keep coming after me?
HumerusPnmaster: then shell be another pair of eyes to keep an eye out for things
HumerusPnmaster: look you cant just rely on that save
HumerusPnmaster: who knows how long itll last if you keep using it like this
HumerusPnmaster: if tori knows that'll help some
HumerusPnmaster: so tell her
Frisk hesitated. They didn't want to risk telling Toriel about the fairies so soon, but… well, Sans had a point. They couldn't keep relying on that SAVE point. Sooner or later, it would run out of LOADs and disappear, and then… well, it wouldn't be exactly good. Having another pair of eyes keeping watch for fairy threats probably would help preserve their life for longer and make it less likely that things would get that bad but at the same time…
No, they decided. I can't keep putting it off forever, but…
FriskyBits: Not yet
FriskyBits: But if I die to puppet assassins again then I will
FriskyBits: That sound okay?
They waited anxiously for the skeleton's reply.
HumerusPnmaster: promise
Frisk grimaced but did so.
FriskyBits: I promise I'll tell her about the fairies if I die to puppet assassins again
HumerusPnmaster: ok
HumerusPnmaster: keep that promise kid
I will, Frisk thought, taking a deep shuddering breath to steel themselves. They had yet to break a promise to the skeleton, and they weren't about to break that trend now.
Total Frisk Deaths: 4
The one behind the mesmerized assassins sure ain't the sort to give up, huh? Hopefully Frisk won't die to them again… but then again, the story wouldn't be interesting if they didn't! :3
And wait, Flowey's actually being willingly helpful there at the end? What the hey? Who's this flower and what did he do with the real Flowey? XD
Shit will be hitting the fan once more in upcoming chapters! Hold onto your seats~
And here's one more worldbuilding tidbit, again based on a question (actually, technically a series of statements, I guess?) from MemorySteel: "MAGES. WHAT WERE THEY LIKE. HOW WERE THEY TREATED IN THEIR CULTURE. *flailing*"
I will not say much about modern mages save for this: if they do exist, they are in hiding, possibly a la Harry-Potter-wizarding-world style, but in all honesty probably just doing their best not to use magic in sight of prying eyes or security cameras by only using magic inside their own homes or hidden in secretive shacks or lairs in remote locations. The ancient mages, on the other hand, I will talk freely about!
Mages tended to differ depending on what parts of the world they were from. Though at this point in the fic, where the only documented mages are the seven Shamans who created the Barrier, there were many other communities as well. For instance, there were once mages in Ireland as well (these being the human magic users mentioned by Opal Koboi in book 8 of the Artemis Fowl series, when she mentioned that the reason for the Berserker Gate being so complicated was because humans knew almost as much about magic as the fairies.)
Anyway, yeah, different groups of mages, what were they like... in Europe and Asia, especially during the Dark Ages, mages were, if I were to pick one word, secretive. They liked their privacy, especially in places where people accused of being magic users were burned at the stake or drowned. For the most part, people in those areas never even really trained themselves in how to use their magic, save in small ways, so as to go unnoticed. As a result, mages in those parts of the world tended to also be very conservative - they have magic and know how to use it in some respects at least, but for the most part would rather just do things the normal, non-magical way, save when their magic was needed most. Modern mages have this viewpoint as well, save in very, very isolated locations where there's nobody around but mages, where they will sometimes go wild a la Hogwarts castle.
On the other hand, in more Tribal groups, such as native Africans and Native Americans, mages were often actively encouraged to use their magic as freely as they saw fit to. Feeling lazy and don't want to lift a bunch of firewood? Levitate it or teleport it! Buffalo herd or a pack of lions giving the hunters trouble? Summon a ring of fire to trap them! Did someone lose a leg? Grow them a new one out of a tree or something! An animal being feisty? Talk it down with your gift of tongues! As a result, those people tended to use their magic for more or less anything, often in flashy and impressive ways, and so long as it was for the benefit of your tribe, it was a-okay, even expected of them. (On the other hand, a rival tribe without a mage or without one that could match yours in strength would basically think of them as an equivalent to the Boogeyman - "Don't bother this tribe or the all-powerful shaman will get you!")
