Frisk: The first half of this chapter is pretty relaxing, for the most part. Just a bit of further description for me and my brothers.
Chara: A portion of the latter half is when plot begins to rear it's ugly, harsh head.
Asriel: I'm a bit scared, honestly. We don't know much about what might happen.
Red: Only one way to find out!
Chapter Start!
"So boys...do you think you all can tell me more about what life was like in this 'Underground?'" Red asked as she and the boys were sitting outside and simply enjoying the sunlight. It's been a few days since she's been freed from the Artifact, and she found herself to be slowly adjusting to the Surface just like everyone else was.
Red found herself to be greatly enjoying the sunlight. She has only a vague memory of the sensation of its warm rays, warming up her fur. It also wasn't too hot either, so removing her cloak and cowl was unnecessary for the day. She eagerly munched onto Cinnamon Bunny that Asriel got for her. It was her fourth Cinnamon Bunny in a row. That's okay, Asriel was on his ninth Cinnamon Bunny. Chara was eating a bar of chocolate, and Frisk was sipping Golden Flower Tea that his father was kind enough to make for him.
Frisk acknowledged Red's question as he sipped a bit of his tea. He looked towards his brothers as they exchanged looks that represented a quick and silent conversation that she wasn't able to notice. After the moment passes, all three of them came to a silent agreement, as Frisk turned to her with a caring smile.
"Well, as you've heard already...it's been six years since the Barrier's been broken. Before then, all monsters have been trapped Underground, with little to no hope of escape. They've eventually managed to get used to living there, but it was obvious that they would much rather escape to the Surface." Frisk lowered his head slightly. "Many things happened during that time. Some monsters were obviously holding onto the hope that they'll eventually escape. Others have lost that hope a long time ago. They were very depressed, but accepted that they were probably never going to leave the Underground. There was that third party that was ailling to do whatever it takes to make sure that all monsters would be able to leave the Underground. Then there's a fourth party. Wishing the same as the third, but would instead rather live peaceful lives with the humans instead of fighting with them again. But one thing was the same. Whether they were content with their situation or not, everyone was suffering."
Asriel nodded softly. "There was a lot of suffering involved. For all of the monsters. Papyrus. Undyne. Alphys. Sans. Mom and Dad...everyone was falling on hard times..." He sighed as he hugged his legs. "We didn't exactly make lives easier on ourselves at most times. Most of us have done something we're not proud of, and never will be. Being free of the Underground with all of our loved ones took a lot of miracles. Miracles that, in order to be achieved, took all of us cooperating together. And even then, we were only able to just barely manage it."
"To out things in a certain perspective, Frisk and Asriel suffered more than anyone else." Chara said as he stared at the ground below him, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Everyone has had a pretty damaged life due to some certain events in the Underground." He closed his eyes and let out a mysteriously remorseful sigh. Mysterious to Red, at least. "NO ONE has suffered more than Frisk and Asriel. I've devoted myself to doing my best to make sure they never suffer like that again."
Red looked at the three of them. She noticed how they all seemed unexpressive the moment they began mentioning the times in the Underground. The times haven't been the best, that much was obvious. Though it was the matter of what exactly happened to make them take on expressions like that. Her curiosity lead her next question. "Okay, I get that life in the Underground wasn't the best. But this Barrier was broken six years ago, right? Compared to centuries of imprisonment, you might as well say that it was just broken. What took you guys so long to do so? And why?"
"That section of information...is not something we're excited to tell you right now." Chara said while shaking his head. "Let us reassure you, this is nothing personal. So far you've actually been pretty cool to hang out with. But...this isn't a topic we're totally ready to share with anyone that doesn't have an intimate understanding of it."
"Take the humans, for example. If we told any of them this type of information, they wouldn't believe us. Not one." Asriel shook his head. "The Monsters emerging from Underground after centuries of imprisonment...that's one thing. The type of secrets that lead up to that event...it'll be too complicated for them to understand. So we won't bother telling any of them about it." Asriel smiled. "Don't worry, Red. You're our friend. When we become closer with one another, understand one another better...then we'll tell you the deeper details of what's been going on." He scratched one of his floppy ears, laughing nervously. "Trust us when we say that even if we told you right now, you most likely wouldn't believe us. You're still having a difficult time keeping up with current times and the basics of what lead up to them."
"Can it possibly be more unbelievable than me being trapped in a red orb for as long as the Monsters have been trapped in this Underground? I kinda doubt that." Red said with a slight roll of her eyes. "But alright. Obviously the deeper details of that whole situation is personal and it's the painful kind of personal. So I'll leave it alone."
"Thanks for understanding." Frisk nodded.
Red nodded back as she finished her current Cinnamon Bunny, wiping the crumbs off of her muzzle. "So, you three and the King and Queen are one big Dreemurr Family, huh?" The three of them nodded. "Cool. Though I'm a bit surprised that they adopted two humans. How did that come about?" She immediately regretted it as soon as she saw Frisk completely freeze up and Chara's eyes overshadowed his hair in a very ominous manner. "Oh...guess that's even more personal, huh?" Her ears flattened against her head. "Sorry..."
"D-Don't aplogize, Red. You didn't know." Frisk said as he waved his hand to dismiss it.
"It's just a question we don't want to answer. Leave it at that." Chara said a little bit too harshly. Red picked up on his harsh tone, but kept herself in check. Touching a sore subject like that would leave many to be upset.
Asriel patted Red's shoulder. "Let's...put it simply. Their lives weren't the best, so they decided to live with me and my family. They're both much happier with us than they've ever been before." He softly shook his head. "They've chosen not to go into seriously deep detail into their pasts to us, and we respected that. You just weren't aware of that agreement, that's all."
Red nodded softly. "Again, I'm sorry..."
Chara found it best to change subjects. "So, Red. Apparently you were strong enough, and skilled enough, to be recruited as the youngest member of the Royal Guard, ever. That's got me pretty curious as to what you can do." Plus he wanted to know why she was giving a magical aura of extreme power when she was inside the Artifact. Yet when she was released, all of the power disappeared within her and he hasn't sensed it ever since. He didn't know what to think of it, but he would at least want to gather some estimate on her inner power. Because he was getting a feeling that it wasn't being supressed on purpose.
Asriel and Frisk on the other hand, were interested in Red's magic for a different reason...they merely wanted to see what it was like. Their curiosity was piwued, and it wouldn't be going away any time soon. Red could see the eager looks on their faces, and she folded her arms.
"You want me to show you my magic?" She asked.
"You also said that you"re great with a sword. Can we see that, too?" Asriel asked, his small tail wiggling a bit. Frisk was simply nodding to the prospect.
Red thinks about it for a little bit, her ears lightly twitching. Then she smiled. "Fine. I can show you my swordsplay, and my magic. But...you'll have to show me yours, first. All three of you." They all blinked at this. "That's right. If I have to demonstrate a bit of my magic, then so should you. It's only fair, considering I'm new here and all."
Now it was their turn to think about how to proceed. Asriel looked like he didn't have a problem with that arrangement at all. Frisk seemed to be patiently pondering the offer, scratching his head while it was cocked to the side. Chara had his arms folded with his eyes half-closed. Then he lifted his head up with a casual nod. "Okay. We're curious about each others magic, so that is fair. However, let's do it somewhere a bit low-radar. We don't want any humans to be freaking out if they catch us using magic in ways that aren't...completely safe."
"Okay. How do we do that?"
"We've been walking everywhere so far. Let's change that for an occasion like this one. Asriel, time to give her a demonstration. You've got the most magical reserves for it."
Asriel nodded. He placed his paws on Frisk's shoulder, who placed his hands on Chara's shoulder. Asriel then reached his paw out to Red. "Take my paw. Trust me, this isn't something you'll be used to on the first go."
Red cocked her head a little, but nonetheless reached out and took his paw with her own. "Well, okay. But where are we go-"
She didn't get a chance to finish, as all four of them disappeared in a colorful flash of light...
(One Warp Later)
"-ing...?" Red just barely finished as she found herself in an open spot in the woods that wasn't too far away from Mt. Ebott, but far enough away from the city as well as the entrance to the Underground. Safe enough away from either side of civilization. Red blinked as she realized they were in an entirely different area than they were now. "W-Wha?! How did we get all the way out here?!"
Chara smiled and wiggled his fingers. "Maaaaagiiiiic~"
"...You're a real wiseguy, aren't you?"
"You should spend more time with Sans. Then you'll know what a true wiseguy is."
Frisk and Asriel laughed a bit as the latter shook his head. "Well it is magic. Teleportation magic is something all three of us can do, but it takes a lot of stamina out of Chara and Frisk. So it's usually left to me or Sans. Sans is a really good master of teleportation. Though I've managed to fet pretty good at it too."
"Woah...that's pretty cool. I don't think many people of my time period could do something like that." Chara silently disagreed. There was possibly one monster of her time period that could do teleportation to a master level...though it was rude to talk about someone who's listening. Not that he cared about that. He was pretty indifferent about a subject like that, sometimes. He was cautious enough to take it too likely at least. Red soon snapped him out of his thoughts. "Okay, that's one thing you showed me."
Chara nodded. "We can sum up our abilities somewhat like this. Asriel is the strongest of the trio, no question about that. Quite possibly the strongest monster of all. His magic is stronger than either mine or Frisk's, and those powers can be extremely versatile. A major downside to him is that, while he's definitely no slouch, close combat isn't his style." Chara pointed to himself. "As for me, close combat IS my style. Much better than either of them. Also, having an affinity for dark magic can be pretty handy. I can do much more with darkness manipulation than one might realize. Though my magic is still pretty weak compared to my brothers." He then pointed at Frisk. "Frisk here. He's got a well-balanced skillset of his own. He's not so bad with his physical prowess nor his magic. All of his stats are equal based, leaving very little weaknesses for him. He could be a dangerous fighter himself He's also the best at evasion, more than everyone. It helps because he's a a Pacifist."
Red blinked as he turned to Frisk. "Pacifist? With your kind of power and skill that your brothers are sure you have?"
Frisk shrugged. "I'm a lover, not a fighter."
Asriel raised his paw. "I'm a lover, AND a fighter."
Chara folded his arms. "I'd much rather fight. But I can love, too. It's just that if something threatens them with force, then I'm going to defend them with force. Asriel is not naive enough to not fight back when a situation is dire. Frisk won't fight at all if he can help it, and he'll sure as hell try to help it." He then closed his eyes. "Don't get me wrong. Most of the time I won't hit either, if it can be avoided. But if it can't, I'll never hit softly."
Red looked at all three of them three brothers are obviously very protective of one another. And since Frisk was not a fighter, or at least preferred not to be, Asriel and Chara were highly protective of him most of all. Because unlike their youngest brother, they will fight when it's deemed necessary. Though it's obvious that Asriel will be less likely to support fighting back, but won't stand around and allow his loved ones to be harmed. Chara is much more likely to support fighting back, it was an aura flowing all around him. Though it's also likely that due to the influence of his brothers, his hidden lust for battle much more restrained and successfully supressed.
She didn't know why. She could smell that he had this lust for battle for a long time, yet he keeps it restrained until he actually needed to release it. Maybe it had something to do with the three of their hidden pasts. Though they said that for now, they'd rather keep their pasts secret, they weren't comfortable enough yet. They just met her after all, she couldn't blame them. Yet she still found this chemistry between the three of them to be incredibly strange, and very well-balanced at the same time.
Chara shook his head. "We're getting a bit too off topic, though. You wanted to see our magic. Asriel, you go first."
"Okay!" Asriel nodded as he held his paw out a little bit, and a couple sparks of colorful lightning sparked off of his paw. He held his other paw outward and rainbow flames crackled off of that paw. He smiled as he gently puts the two paws together, and an orb surrounded the two elements. He holds the orb outward to Red. The orb glowed with the fused elements of lightning and fire, which made the orb of magic sparkle.
"Woah..." Red said, leaning into the orb, and lightly touching it with her paw. She was surprised that she felt just slight warmth instead of a burning sensation from the fire, and no shock from the lightning.
Asriel smiled at her reaction. "Surprised you only feel a slight warmth and no shock? Undyne was able to teach me a lot about self-control of my magic. I've got a lot more reserves than most monsters, so I have to be able to manage them properly. She taught me how to do just that, as well as learn a few new things as well. Watch." Asriel disorted the orb, and he raises his paw, as a rainbow sword appeared within his grasp. He switched again, a blaster appeared over his shoulder. He made the weapons disappear, as a sparkling star appeared just above his paw. He nodded proudly. "Creativity is Power. At least for me~"
Red looked up towards Asriel with a very impressed smile. "Wow, Asriel...you only showed me one thing, and I've already learned that the concept of magic has changed a lot over the years."
"Yeah. Lotta things happened to get to that point."
"My turn." Frisk clasped his hands together, and his soul turned green. When it did, a green orb manifested from his soul and soon encased his entire body like a crystal. It gleamed green like a crystal. And it looked very strong from the amount of concentration put into it, which actually seems rather casual. Almost like meditation, but not quite. Frisk smiled gently. "There are different human souls that have a certain ability to them that makes them unique, and are represented by different colors. My soul is special, I can switch between many of those abilities. I can switch betwern Soul Modes."
Red's eyes continued to brighten in surprise. "I would have thought that humans couldn't use magic anymore..."
"Most of the human population forgot all about it. Frisk and I are that small percent that is pretty much still in tune with ours. It just took some rediscovering in order to do so." Chara shrugged. "Alright, lemme take a crack at it. Check me out." Chara smirked as he concentrated dark magic, and it swirled around him for a moment. Red was surprised to sense this much darkness emitting off of Chara, and he was willingly summoning it. When the energy finished gathering up, it set itself atop his shoulder, and took the form of a raven. It flaps it's wings and cawed for a couple moments before relaxing it's wings and preening it's shadowy feathers.
Red blinked. "Your magic affinity is darkness?"
"It sure is." Chara's magic used to be utterly demonic, and it corrupted his soul nearly beyond redemption. Now he could manipulate that same darkness with a much more stable mind and soul, making it easier to control. He abandoned the Void powers he gained during his time in the Void. However, unlike Asriel and Frisk, his takes a lot more stamina out of him than theirs. Though he makes up for that by not being completely dependent on magic, and is more of a hands-on fighter when need be.
"Even though you're emitting quite a lot of dark magic right now...you still feel like yourself..." Red murmured.
"I've learned a long time ago that darkness and evil don't have to be one in the same. Correlation between the two isn't a necessity, it's just very common." Chara said as he lightly petted the shadow raven's head. "I've learned how to control my inner darkness. Tamed it. Instead of making it a tool, i made it an ally. And the payoff is totally worth it."
"Still...it kinda has me on edge. It smells kinda foul. It's a much lesser foul than full out foul. But...it's still pretty foul." Red shook her head. "I dunno how to properly describe it. I just know that it's not something I can feel completely safe around."
"That's fine. Sometimes I'm not so sure of it either. But it hasn't stopped me yet." Chara shrugged.
Red sighed as she rubbed her neck. "'Yet' huh? So it's tried to stop you before? Dunno if i should feel very confident after that one."
"Whatever. Show us your magic, Red. Like I said, I'm pretty curious as to what you can do." Chara truly was curious about what Red was capable of in terms of magical ability and/or combat. One may never know when they might need it. Anything can happen, and not all things will be good. She's one of the new ones. He and his brothers are already intent on getting to know her as a person. Might as well know if she can fight, as well.
Hell, if she checks out, she could be his new sparring partner.
Though before she could do anything, Frisk suddenly raised a hand halfway. The other three stopped in their tracks and turned to him curiously. "Someone is nearby. Someone familiar...really strong...and..." Frisk lifted his head with pause. "And...VERY hostile." Since Frisk was more focused on healing and defense more than fighting, he was also the very adept at sensing certain magic oddities. It helps that both Asriel and Toriel were pretty good sensors as well.
Asriel's ears lifted slightly in the air while his eyes closed...then they were wide open as he looked around cautiously. "I...I feel it too. But what could it be...?"
Red blinked as her ears twitched, and she sniffed the air a bit. Then her eyes narrowed. "Oh yeah. Whoever is out there, they're hostile."
Chara narrowed his eyes and stared out into the open. "You heard them. We know you're out there, so show yourself!" His voice echoed throughout the fields.
There was silence throughout the fields at first. Nothing but the oncoming breeze blowing through the floors and causing the leaves in the trees to rustle. Everyone stayed quiet and alert. Chara's eyes were narrowed and focused, as well as Red's. Asriel and Frisk's were cautious and worried about what might happen next. All four of them could feel the tension building around them. They anxiously waited for something that may or may not never come...
A dozen bones shot out of the woods and towards Chara and Frisk. Chara's eyes widened as he moved to push Frisk and Asriel out of the way.
There was the sound of slicing, as well as bones being slashed into pieces. Chara opened his eyes and turned towards the sound. He was surprised to see Red holding a sword, closely looking like a sabre, and sliced bones scatterered around her boots. Her cloak flowed with the remaining gusts of wind, and she had placed her cowl back over her head. Chara blinked. She definitely wasn't kidding about being skilled with a blade. Those bones came at them fast.
Though that's what bothered him. From what they know, only three monsters should be capable of bone magic. Gaster was still stuck in the Void, Papyrus wouldn't do such a thing as a sneak attack, and Sans was nowhere near their current location. So who?
Red clenched her teeth and snarled angrily. "Attacking us from within the woods in a way we can't see you?! That's the move of a total sleazeball! Come out and face us, coward!"
"Pfft. Sleazeball? I gotta admit, Little Red, I haven't heard that one from anyone." Chara snickered.
"Don't call me Little. May I remind you that you're short compared to me and Asriel?"
"Grrr..."
Setting aside their banter, they turned towards the direction that the bones came from. For a moment, it felt like the assailant wouldn't take up Red's forced request, and they would have to go after them. But before they could even think about moving, they could hear their attacker moving towards them first.
"heh...ya know, i was kinda scared for a sec. when i first teleported into the underground in this timelime, i was actually worried. i shouldn't have been able to do that so easily. something had seriously changed, in more ways than one. but then i noticed something else. i couldn't sense toriel, asgore, myself, undyne, alphys..." The voice cracked a bit. "papyrus..."
Chara blinked. This sounded far too familiar...and just slightly glitchy?
"...but after i calmed down a bit, i noticed that i didn't see any dust. no monster dust, at least." Chara instantly took this stranger seriously. "that could only mean one thing. the barrier is broken, and all the monsters have gone to the surface. the usual true pacifist ending...is what i thought this was. so imagine my surprise when i sensed both chara and frisk in this timeline in physical form at the same time...when they really shouldn't be."
Frisk and Chara looked onward in shock as they watched the figure enter the light. "...Sans?" This version of their skeleton friend had a red slash across his chest, with slight redness dripping from his teeth and a bit on his slippers. There were glitching white boxes on parts of his body, especially around his right eye. What really haunted them was the scarf around his neck looking a lot like Papyrus's...
"heh. you kids look a bit bone-rattled." The alternate Sans spoke with a shake of his skull and a chuckle. Red watched the stranger with confusion very clear on her face, while Asriel looked just as shocked as his brothers. "i...am from a genocide timeline. a rather...faraway one. a timeline when...ya know. but circumstances were different and...tahaha, what am i doin'? i didn't come here to give ya my life story. long story short, name's Geno. as in Geno Sans."
"Geno Sans...then...what ARE you here for...?" Chara asked cautiously, slowly moving in front of Asriel and Frisk.
"well i WAS looking for the one you call geno alphys. rules were broken, that's the only way she survived. and i want to know how and why. buuuut this little predictament has grabbed my attention, so i decided to follow it. and i say again...look at what i've found." Sans visible eye glowed red on top and blue on bottom, then he moved his hand upwards. Chara and Frisk's souls glowed blue, and they yelped as they were floating upwards. "i've found you two little squirts runnin' around at the same time, when that shouldn't be happenin'. i dunno what your game is this timeline...but...i'd rather not find out."
Chara grunted as he struggled against Geno Sans' hold on his soul. It was much more difficult than he figured it would be. The grip on him was intense and it was strong. He gritted his teeth as he looked towards Frisk, who was wincing in pain from the harsh grip on his soul. He quickly turned back towards Geno. "Look, I don't know what your story is, but by the sound of your name and nature, it's me you want! Let Frisk go!"
"there are very few times that the things you say are actually legit. besides, it doesn't matter if i want either you or frisk. to me, both of you are guilty. and i intend t-huh?" Geno's focus on holding the boys airborne was cut off as Red sliced at him, forcing him to warp a couple feet away from her and drop Chara and Frisk. They both gasped for breath and stood back on their feet. Geno sighed. "gee. i gotta admit, the redhead is definitely a new one. i've never seen her before. where'd ya find her?"
"It doesn't matter where they found me. What does matter is that you're trying to hurt my friends! I'm not just gonna let that happen!" Red barked at him while snarling.
Asriel turned towards his brothers and friend, then Geno Sans. "S-Sans...I don't know what's happened to you in the timeline that you were in...but this isn't the same Chara that you might remember. He's changed, and for the better!" Asriel wasn't fully aware of what was going on, but he knew that this was quickly heading towards conflict. He and Frisk wanted to avoid a fight. But Chara and Red were ready for one, and Geno Sans hostility still hasn't gone down.
Geno laughed softly. "...heh. hehe. that's...that's real funny kid. but you've gotta realize how stupid you sound." His visible eye turned pitch-black. "a dirty creature like him can't change. it's impossible."
"No it isn't. Chara's changed! I don't know what your Chara did to you, but my Chara is a good person now. I'm not as knowledgeable at this timeline thing like you are...so you can at least acknowledge that Chara being a good person IS a possibility?"
Geno laughed softly. "you're such a naive kid, asriel. i see this frisk was able to save you, i don't have TOO much of a problem with that. but this...now this i have a few issues with. he's a dirty little traitor if he lets chara run around. i dunno why this timeline's sans would allow such a thing to happen. haa...looks like i gotta fix his mistake before i carry on with my own business."
Chara cursed himself for their current predictament. Figures. This kind of stuff couldn't happen during the six year wait. But nooooooo! Let it happen during our first week on the Surface! That's not trolling at ALL! And now we've gotten Red involved in this before she was ready. Now we'll have to tell her the truth SOONER! And right when she was really beginning to trust us! Dammit! Chara stood up and glared at Geno. "Hey! I don't know how you came to be, but you need to back off! That's Chara you know isn't me! Not anymore!"
"Sans. Please." Asriel said softly. "I can sense you're in deep pain of many levels. I also know that you're not a bad person. But what you're implying is completely different from what's really going on!"
"heh...excuse me if i don't believe ya, kiddo. i've been fooled many times with the whole 'redemption' story, only to watch my loved ones get stabbed in the back when they least expect it. i won't be making that mistake."
Chara has figured out that conflict was inevitable, and he was the target. He kept himself protectively in front of Asriel and Frisk, while Red kept her sword pointed at him. He could see she was in shock, but her first priority was defending her friends. He had to give her credit for that. He turned back to Geno. "Listen. I'm sure we can sort this mess out...Geno, is it? We don't have to come to blows. But if you keep pushing me, I WILL start pushing back. Just back off!"
Geno stared at Chara for a moment, the scarf around his neck flowing with the wind. When it stopped, he let's out a quiet, hollow laugh. As he did so, a Gaster Blaster blinked into existence right above him. It was glitched with white boxes, mostly around it's right eye like Geno's.
"...fraid' i can't do that." The blaster's maw charged with energy, awaiting his command to fire.
Asriel's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Geno! Don't do this!"
His plea was ignored. He could only see Chara in front of him. He actually stayed in this timeline to age into his pre-teen years. He was also much stronger. But Geno didn't care. For some odd reason, HE felt much stronger too. It may have something to do with the fact that he could enter a timeline himself from the Void, when he originally couldn't. Something's changed. A lot of things changed. But he currently didn't care about that, either.
He grabbed his brother's scarf with one hand, smiled wickedly, and raised his other hand. After a moment of tension, he closed his fist.
The blasters fired.
Frisk: I believe what we have here is a rather serious misunderstanding...
Asriel: Why is he attacking us?!
Chara: Obviously he's after me. But bringing you two into it will be a painful mistake on his part.
Red: What the heck is going on?!
River Person: Tra la la~
Me: What the?! I didn't call you he-
River Person: The Second Catalyst has arrived, with rather hostile intentions. He is the next step, the second cause of everything being forever changed. After this conflict, will he be friend or foe? Will it matter? Who knows? Tra La La!~
Me:...How the hell does the River Person know my story better than me?!
Extra Note: I don't own Geno Sans. He's an AU character belonging to LoverofPiggies of Tumblr. He's a significant character of the Aftertale Comic. It's pretty awesome. I just wanna give credit where credit's due. I aim to get Geno Sans in-character the best I can for this story.
...who am I kidding. I'm already worried about Red. This not gonna go well for me, is it?
Ah well. Until the next chapter, I suppose. Later~
