Me: Here, have some headcannons. I hope ya don't hate mah headcannons. I worked really hard on them and I hope I don't disappoint with them. Observe the headcannon and tell me what you think.
Sans: *wears actual toy cannon on his head* here's a headcannon. am i cool yet?
Red: ...That was such poor taste, it's hilarious how bad it is.
Asriel: Golly, that was just...golly.
Chara: You don't deserve to be cool, you fool! You have too much of it! Leave some for the rest of us!
Alphys: I think you're being a bit overdramatic about this.
Muffet: That's just how he does things, sometimes.
Asriel:...I sense badness. Badness is gonna start happening, isn't it?
Me: Possibly. I dunno. Maybe.
Start Chapter!
{Accessing Memory: Red}
She has no named parents. As far as she knew, she was completely orphaned. Shortly after her birth, her mother has 'Fallen Down' as according to Dr. W.D. Gaster. The strain was far too much for her mother. She didn't even get to hold her child before she faded to dust. Her father, grieved by this loss, faded to dust soon after, out of despair. Monster souls are made of love, hope, and compassion. A monster who isn't strong enough to endure immense despair or other negative emotions are weakened. In their case, the emotional backlash made the father turn to dust entirely. This left Red without her birth parents, and she grew up as an orphaned pup.
Red did not grow up alone, though. While he did not adopt her, Gerson made sure she was properly taken care of. Gerson takes good care of all the monster orphans. And while a majority of them tended to be pretty energetic, Red really stands out in that regard. And it truly shows with her intentions. She wanted to learn how to fight. Gerson had tried to convince her that someone her age shouldn't be learning how to fight, but she insisted on doing so. Realizing that Red was serious about this, he had little choice but to comply. Ever since she requested it, she's trained under him. Him being a legendary warrior tends to help. She's been learning from him for years. And she's grown stronger from those experiences. Unfortunately for her, her pink hair is very noticeable, and as well as her appetite, both tend to be attraction for bullying towards her.
Unfortunately for the bullies, she doesn't allow herself to be a target for bullying. She doesn't take it lightly at all.
"You're being a hog again, Pink-Hair! If we let you eat first you'll just devour it all! You don't wanna get fat so quickly, do ya?!" A Astigmatism made the rather foolish mistake of mocking her hair AMD trying to steal her food. He was rewarded by a rather irritated kick to the eye, knocking him over.
"Don't make fun of my pink hair! And who the heck are you calling fat!?" The canine said irritably, a vein pulsing from her forehead and a dog treat in her mouth. She was surrounded by other Loox, who were teaming up with Astigmatism to try and pick on Red...they were now sweating bullets as they see her easily down their boss. Red room turned her head towards them, her eyes dangerously slitted. "You three were gonna try and pick on me too, weren't you? You think that it's okay to bully others so long as you're in a group...?"
"U-Uh...n-"
"YOU'LL MAKE IT WORSE FOR YOURSELF BY LYING!" A swift spin kick sent them all flying as she wore a comical enraged face. They landed on their their heads.
"W-We're sorry!" They said sheepishly as they waved their hands nervously to try and soothe her anger. Red was still snarling angrily at them, fists clenched.
"Now now, missy. That's enough of that. I believe those boys have had enough." A much younger Gerson said, walking towards her with a smile. Red huffed a bit towards the boys, before turning towards Gerson with a much more relaxed smile.
"Sorry, Gerson. I guess I got a bit too angry there. They kept messing with me, so I had to teach them a lesson. A pretty quick one." Red smiled proudly. "Don't worry. I didn't use my sword or my chakrams...this time."
"I'd hope not. You're strong enough just with your paws. Your weapons are far too dangerous to be used on mere bullies." Gerson said with a bit of sternness. "Not to say that they didn't deserve it...but do remember to hold back once in a while, alright? They're not quite gifted like you."
"Right. I'd never forget something so important, Mr. Gerson." Red nodded.
"I'd hope not. You're a fiery, yet sweet young lass. I don't wanna have to whack ya upside the head to make ya see sense." Gerson nodded back. "Wa ha ha! Good thing I don't have to sorry about that from you too much! That's a huge load off of my shoulders. Don't want King Asgore and Queen Toriel giving me a hard time because I was teachin' a bunch of hoodlums, nope, they wouldn't let me live that down at all." Gerson nodded softly, then he glared at the Astigmatism and group of Loox. "Beat it, ya hoodlums! Ya lucky I don't rat you out to your parents!" With this threat, the group runs away as quickly at they could. With a sigh, Gerson turned back towards Red, who finished her dog treat, licking her muzzle and placing her paws on her hips.
"Good riddance, chumps. Serves you right." She then turned towards Gerson for a bit. "Anyway, what did you come out here for?"
"Ah, yes. I wanted to show ya somethin'. Bit of a token for all of your hard work in gettin' so far in your training." She smiled at the mention of some sort of reward. Though she shook her head humbly.
"You don't need to give me anything, Gerson. I do my training with you because I really want to."
"I insist on it, child. I waited for a while to give you this. Not only do I think it'll be a great fit on ya in terms of form, but it's also very fitting as it matches your name." Gerson pulled back a bit, pulling something out of the pack on his back. It was a red cloak with the Delta rune symbol on a flap. It even has a cowl that will be able to cover her head and face. Red eyes it with immense interest, surprised by such an attire. Gerson smiled at her sparkling eyes. "This is for you, child. You've chosen to become as strong as you could in order to try and protect as many monsters as you possibly can, as well as the Royal Family if need be. I can truly admire that determination of yours. And I think this'll go along and fit nicely with that amazing willpower of yours."
"Wooow...it looks amazing, Gerson! It looks totally amazing! I really really like it!" Red beamed as she takes the cloak for herself, and eagerly began to put it on. Gerson smiled as she seems to fit it perfectly, swaying her cloak and watching it follow her movement, and it allowing her to move very easily. After another practiced twirl, she smiles excitedly. "It fits really well! I can't believe how much it fits! And it looks so cool!"
"Wa ha ha! I knew you'd like it! You seem to have a real liking for the Delta Rune symbol, and how great cloaks can look on amazing warriors and all of that ho-ha you youngsters be yammering about when it comes to that sort of stuff." Gerson said with amusement.
"Of course we think it looks cool! The Delta Rune is a pretty strong symbol for all monsters, so I would like it for it to be displayed as proudly as it possibly can. It doesn't matter if it's by the Royal Family, the Royal Guard, by me, or by anyone else. I wouldn't want anyone squandering it by saying that it's just a mere symbol. It means such more to monsters than that. I've always liked how it looks, but I like it even more that it stands for how monsters can be strong while still retaining their love, hope, and compassion." Red smiled. "I wanna do whatever I can in order to defend monsters that are unable to defend themselves. However I can, whenever I can. So I'll gladly wear this cloak with a smile. I'm gonna represent one of the best monsters that monster kind has to offer!" Red beamed happily as she hopped excitedly.
"Hmph. That's quite a big role to fill, isn't it pup? Being one of the best that monsterkind has to offer...that isn't very easy to do, ya know. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to try and be recognized by all monsters. You don't have that recognition handed to ya like the Royal Family does,and even they have to work their tails off to love up to their reputation. However...you at least know that it won't be easy, and aren't being cocky about it. That's definitely a step up from what I usually get."
"Of course I won't be cocky about it. I know it isn't going to be easy, and it's a very big deal to try and be recognized that way. Still, I'm doing it mostly for the monsters, and not for myself." She closed her eyes. "Well...even if I get stronger to help other monsters and they don't recognize me for it...that's fine too. It won't stop what I want to do." Red smiled. "After all, Gerson, you're a pretty famous monster yourself! One of the coolest ones ever!"
Gerson's facial expression didn't change...but the blush on his face spoke volumes. Many volumes indeed. He turned around, lightly rubbing his cheek with a sheepish grin. "Me? One of the cool ones? Please, don't be absurd. Describing me as such is not very accurate." He said while still looking mostly sheepish. Red meant every word. She looks up to Gerson quite highly, as do many other monsters, and even a couple humans. So of course she would want to follow in his footsteps as much as possible...while still keeping track of her own identity as she makes it.
She's a very promising one, I'll give her that.
"Alrighty then, child. You try and live up to your words. Just try not to allow yourself to go through too much pain just for strength's sake. I've seen a lot of monsters try going down that route, and it doesn't end well for them. Trust me."
"Don't sorry. I'm quite sure I can keep a leveled head." Red smiled. "Now...Im gonna have to get something more to eat!"
"Didn't you just eat, though...?" Gerson lightly sweat dropped. Red didn't seem to be listening, as she began marching off in order to find some more food to eat. Gerson just sheepishly follows her to make sure she doesn't eat everything that's given.
It was quite a great day for Red, receiving her cloak. Something she grew very attached to over time. Soon it became an important part of her identity, as it really adds significance to her name.
...Unfortunately, her positivity would take a serious downturn, later on...
(Three months later...)
She chose a rather unfortunate time to be to be away from her village, away from most monsters that could assist her. She couldn't just ignore the problem at hand, either. So she would have to do her best to just do what she could.
She wanted to help others. Be they monster or human. And this one turned out to be the latter.
"Are you okay?! Can you move?!" Red said in a panic as she managed to help a collapsed elder woman who had a bleeding leg, heavily implying that she could not walk with it. But at the very leasr, Red could try and carry her to safety.
"...A monster...helping me...youngsters won't be seeing that every day..." She said with a tired smile. "Youngin'...ya mind taking me to my hut? It's not very far from here. Just go straight ahead from here. And hurry. Things tend to get quite dangerous after it gets dark."
"I know. I can kind of sense these things wirh my trusty nose." Red nodded, gently lifting the elder woman over her shoulder and began carrying her along. She didn't know how the woman became like this, but it was very clear she'd rather not stick around and find out if someone did this. There's no way she would do this to herself, there's no point. Still...she did still smell something amiss. For now, they needed to get away.
Red wasn't very physically strong, but she was well above average. It was enough for her to carry the elder with decent ease. She soon reached the hut that she was speaking of, and slowly carries her inside without issue. She nodded as she sets the woman on her her chair, sighing deeply as the weight slowly ease off of her. She soon sits down on her knees, watching the human with curiosity. The same curiosity was sent towards her by the old woman. She couldn't smell any malice off of her, so she seemed like a nice enough person to her.
Red has been told to be cautious around humans, as they are much stronger than monsters. The one thing she had to remember was not to pick a fight with them, they wanted to keep as much of the peace between the species as possible. But they never said anything about helping the humans, so surely this must be allowed, right? Well, she already started. No use in turning back now.
"Are you sure you're okay? That leg looks like it for hurt really badly." Red said worriedly, gazing at the leg in question.
"It's quite alright. I'm fine, truly." The woman nodded. "I don't know what those hoodlums praddling around are worried about. You monsters seem to be a kind enough folk. While I agree that not all of us get along, that doesn't mean we should be at each other's throats."
"Sounds good to me." Red smiled. Then it left her as she tilted her head again. "Seriously...what happened to you? How did you end up like this?"
"Apparently a couple ruffians found that it was a good idea to rob me and leave me injured in the dirt. Why, if I we're a couple years younger, I could have taught those fools a lesson they'd never forget!" She shook her head angrily. "Good grief, I don't even know if they'll come back. I doubt they will, though. Though I don't have enough doubt to consider it completely unlikely. We should both be careful with how we proceed around here. Don't want have any serious accidents, am I right?"
"Totally!" Red beamed. She didn't know what the others were talking about when it came to being cautious about humans. This ome seems very nice and patient. However, she did say that there were a couple bad humans, as well. Guess a serious challenge would be to tell the difference between the two. She supppsed that her nose could help with that, but there would be no telling if she would always have a chance to sniff things out. She still looked worried about the human's leg. "Do you want me to go get you something for your leg?"
"If you're so insistent on helping, then you could be a dear and go out to the river and fill the bucket with water? Traveling from land to land tends to use up said water. I could use it to clean up the blood." She smiled kindly. "And do take your time. Plenty of water will be needed for this."
"Okay! I can do that! Just sit tight!"
Red soon ran out of the hut with a bucket in her paws. Time the river shouldn't be too hard, she passes by it every night once in a while when she goes on her own personal walks. Which reminded her, she was probably worrying Gerson and the others with her rather extended adventuring. As soon as she was done helping the woman, she had to return as swiftly as possible. They would probably be a bit angry that she interacted with a human all by herself. But once they hear about how she helped her heal and get back in her feet, they'll be so proud of her!
It's like the woman said, there's no reason that humans and monsters can't coexist peacefully. Things may be rocky, but at least there isn't a constant threat of all-out fighting. That was the last thing anyone wanted. Maybe this would be one of those acts that will prove to both humans and monsters that they can certainly be friends. Red smiled as she filled the bucket to it's fullest. It would be difficult to carry it all the way there without wasting a little bit of it. Hopefully she wouldn't mind too much.
Red made her way back to the hut, fully expecting the woman to be waiting outside for her, and she was expecting to tell her to stay where she was. Her eyes slowlg widened as she stopped walking, and dropped her bucket of water in shock. Her mouth slowly parts as a gust of wind blows by, making her cloak flow along with it, as well as her hair. The elder could be seen alright...but she was lying on the ground, facedown.
"...What...what happened...?" Red ran up towards her and began pushing at her side, wondering if she was unconscious. "H-Hey! What are you doing outside?! Wake up!"
The woman was unmoving, but she did hear what Red said. She tired moving her head as best as she could. There was a small, strained smile on her face.
"Sorry, youngin'...it looks like I'm sorta bleedin' out quicker than I thought I would..." Red was confused by this, until she could properly see that she wasn't bleeding from just her leg. There was a slight stab wound right in the middle of her side. Red knew that wasn't there before. How could such a thing happen?! "It doesn't look like I'll be makin' through this...but I do thank ya for tryin'..."
"Hey! Don't talk like that! You can make it! I just have to get you to a healer!" Red said desperately. She didn't want to believe that this elder would die in such a disrespectful manner. She was sure she didn't do anything wrong. So why...? "Why? Why would someone do this to you?!"
"...someone your age shouldn't be knowing about the complexity of how some humans do things...especially a monster as sweet as yourself. Please...don't blame yourself for this. This is just how my village does things. First my banishment...then something worse. What's happening right now..." She closed her eyes, her breathing slowing. Red was growing ever uncomfortable. She was surprised as she sees the woman pull out her soul, and slowly hand it towards her. "They'll be coming back to finish me off...I won't give them the satisfaction. This will be my final defiance...I'm sorry you have to bear this, youngin'...but I can't let them kill you too."
"Wait! Don't talk like that! What are you-" Red didn't get to finish. The woman slowly pushes her soul into Red's chest, her breathing getting slower and heavier. They may have made me the scapegoat...but I sure won't let them be rewarded for it with my soul...I'm sorry, youngin'...for doing this to you. I didn't even give you my name, and neither did you. Hmph...guess we're not adept when it comes to proper greetings... The woman chuckled quietly, before her wrinkled hand falls to the ground, and she stopped moving entirely. Red's eyes widened as the old woman went completely silent, breathing and all.
Was she...gone?
No...why would anyone...she didn't know her for long, but she sure wasn't a bad person. Why would anyone do such terrible things to her? She did say that not all humans are bad, and that not all humans were good. The same went for monsters. But...
Red lowered her head, her cowl slowly overshadowing her eyes. The soul within her chest began to pulse quietly. She then slowly stands up, and began walking away from the woman's body. Her nose began following the trail of the ones responsible for this. Her tail lies limp behind her, and she slowly draws her sword. She couldn't just let this go quietly, she wouldn't.
Not entirely in control of her emotions, she didn't realize that two sentinels were slowly manifesting behind her. Nor that they began firing indiscriminately in all directions, slowly setting the forest ablaze. But she didn't care. So long that she could find the ones responsible for the innocent old woman's death. It was prolonged, and she was most likely just asking Red to help so the monster would feel accomplished, and feel nice for helping. But she didn't think it through, nor tell her the entire story. Now...now she didn't believe she could control herself.
Humans that weren't a target of her attention could see how she was slowly walking through their village, and she was raining destruction upon their homes. Multiple blasts of magic utterly devastated their homes, and gravely injuring others. They fled in terror, trying to hide away from her immense power, and realizing that she was turning it against them. Red was unaware of this the entire time. Her eyes glowed bright pink under her cowl, as the Royal Guardians continued to fire destructive bursts of energy all around them. By the look of things, she wasn't going to stop at this rate. She initially failed to realize that W. D. Gaster and Gerson were standing in her way, forcing her to stop where she was.
"...I ask you only once, child. Stop what you're doing. Cease this rampage before the consequences become far too immense." Gaster said quietly. Red didn't seem to hear him, as she suddenly charged forward and lunged her sword at him. He immediately turned her soul blue, swiftly realizing that she was carrying a human soul within her body. A Gaster Blaster manifested by her side and shot at her point-blank, sending her flying and destroying yet another home of the humans. Red crashed against a wall, then falls to the ground on her side. Gaster immediately warped in front of her, his gaze unrelenting. He slowly raised is hand, as another Gaster Blaster manifested by his side, prepared to discharge. "Interesting. It would appear that a monsters power is drasticslly with the absorption of a human soul. However, you do not seem to be in control of yourself...that is not something I can allow to continue."
"Gaster, stop."
"Gerson. Realize what she has done here. She attacked a human village out of blind rage, and with immense power from absorbing a human soul. This will not bode well for the monsters, Gerson. She must be dealt with before she can make things worse." Gaster observed.
Gerson watched Red with a pained gaze. King Asgore and Queen Toriel...they wouldn't like this situation. But he had to make difficult choices in order to lessen the damage as much as possible. Gerson sighed as he slowly moved his hands towards the downed canine. She was coated in a crimson light. As soon as he began, Red's eyes began to stop glowing. Once they did, she turned towards both Gerson and Gaster in shock, then around her. She could see many humans that were injured, and that most of their homes were destroyed. Once realization catches up with her, she could only stare back at Gerson in horror and disbelief...as well as shame towards herself.
...I...I didn't mean...Gerson...Gerson, I...
She soon lost all consciousness, feeling herself fade away and become imprisoned an an orb, which lands in Gerson's hand. He could only look at it sadly as he fully realized the consequences of what would follow after this.
It would only got worse later on...and she was sealed away for the majority of it.
{Present}
Red's soul stopped glowing as her senses soon caught up with reality. As soon as the memories became more and more clear, it fully dawns on her what she's done. She got angry, seriously angry that someone's life was taken seemingly for no reason. The woman gave her soul away to her so that other humans that did this to her couldn't kill Red soon afterwards. But by what she saw, the humans didn't even stand a chance. The ones responsible for her death couldn't even stand against her, they were easily swept aside and obliterated.
...but she kept going despite this. Her anger took over, and she devastated an entire village with it, with them being nearly helpless to defend themselves. The power...it became too much for her to handle. It took over her, clouded her mind. She did indeed become a horrible beast with unfathomable power. Gaster really was nearly forced to kill her. Gerson managed to provide an alternative, seal her away. Thus keeping her away from the horrific aftermath of that situation, which was the humans war on monsters.
Her desire to avenge the elder resulted in her attacking the guilty humans, as well as the innocent. Shame filled her for doing such a thing, and resulted in her being sealed away in the Artifact. The Annoying Dog was in league with Gaster and Gerson in order to keep this dark secret.
Red simply lowered her head and sighed. Well...she wanted to know the truth, and she got it. And she certainly didn't regret it. But that didn't make it any less hard for her to accept. As brutal as this truth was, it was the truth. She can allow her mind to be fooled sometimes, but the soul itself cannot lie to it's owner. At the very least, she didn't have to wonder anymore. Still, she did admit that comfort was needed.
She didn't waste time turning to her side and hugged Asriel, who immediately hugged her back. He noticed how tightly she was hugging him. "Was it that hard for you?"
"I couldn't even get her name...I really am suckish at manners sometimes." Red murmured, nuzzling Asriel while closing her eyes. "Well...I guess I can cross that off my to-do list. My parents have fallen down before they could even hold me, and I was bullied for my immense appetite and my pink hair. Of course I didn't take that lying down and usually taught them a lesson. But still...didnt think you could get picked on for having pink hair."
"Neither did I. It sounds quite silly for people to be making fun of you for your hair."
"Hmph. So you don't think my pink hair is silly?"
"Of course I don't. Just because it's natural pink doesn't make it silly, Red. Mettaton wears pink with pride, and so does Dad. As such, both of them are super strong in their own right. Surely you having pink hair can't be considered silly." Asriel smiled. "But if you still need assurance, then take some from me. I think your pink hair is beautiful."
Red blinked owlishly at Asriel. Then she felt an immense amount of burning in her cheeks as she lowered her head in embarrassment. Asriel reaching out to soothingly pet her hair didn't help that situation in the slightest. She was feeling sad about how bad the truth was. But he had managed to make her feel better in a matter of moments. Not completely, but enough to keep a frown off her face. There didn't seem to be a forseeable to end to how sweet he can be.
Though she did turn towards Gerson with a confused head tilt. "I thought you didn't know how my story started?"
Gerson rubbed his neck. "Now ya know my memory ain't perfect. Especially when we start involving time and space."
Alphys looked towards Gaster when it was clear Red was shaken, but otherwise fine. "Now, Gaster. Now that's out of the way, I think we should take notice of our second question. What happens when a human absorbs a Boss Monster Soul? You two are the ones who most likely know this."
"...Ah. Yes. I must say. Those effects are rather...interesting. Interesting...and dangerous." Gaster turned around, his hands clasped behind his back. "Papyrus. Would you mind reminding everyone here what a monster soul mostly composes of?"
"THAT WOULD BE LOVE, HOPE, AND COMPASSION."
"Precisely. These are the most important components of a monster's soul. A human soul can stay intact without these things. Which is why when a monster absorbs a human soul, there isn't a lot of change to the monster themselves. Either the human erases their own consciousness, or they share control of the body. The negative effects of a monster having a human soul, is very low. Now we must wonder...what happens when the case is the other way around...?" Gaster closes his eyes.
"Ya see, youngin's. Before Asriel applied his Angel's Blessing to all monsters, negative emotions greatly weakened monsters, and too much of it could make them turn to dust. And so you ask what happens when a human absorbs a Boss Monster soul, the only soul which a human can absorb. The effects are much rather the same as the other way around. However..." Gerson closed his eyes.
"However...?" Alphys asked curiously, and with slight concern.
"During the war, the humans were filled with much malevolence towards us monsters, which weakened us greatly. This includes Boss Monsters. It was true, there used to be many more of them, and they were the ones who could apply a much more threatening challenge than regular monsters. So as such, a majority of them were eliminated first. Boss Monsters are much more heavily influenced by malice than regular monsters. Their souls can actually become corrupted should it become too much for them to handle. And once their bodies turn to dust, and their Boss Monster Souls are absorbed while corrupted by all of that malice...well...I suppose you can guess what are the direct opposites of love, hope, and compassion?"
Asriel thought for a moment. "...contempt, cynicism, and cruelty. Those things come to mind, and words related to them."
"Yes. When a human filled with these sorts of emotions absorbs a Boss Monster soul, those negative emotions are amplified. They gain immense power...and those negative emotions become dominant. You can see why victory for the monsters became even more impossible after that. And of course, war is not a place for positive emotions. As such, the majority of Boss Monsters were killed, while a few of their souls were absorbed. Absorbed by a select human group that was trusted to handle such power. Though I suspect that they weren't aware of the consequences, or just did not care. So long as victory was almost certain. Monsters can become quite resourceful, so they didn't want to take any chances. To assure their victory, they fought fire with fire. An unidentified monster, which is Red, absorbed a human soul. So they decided to have a few humans absorb Boss Monster Souls so they their victory can be much more assured."
Alphys slowly rubbed her chin, something disturbing came up. "But...not just any human should be able to absorb a Boss Monster Soul. They would have to be immensely powerful. Back then, what kind of human would be powerful enough to absorb a Boss Monster Soul?"
"...A magician." Asriel whispered quietly. "The Waterfall Ancient Glyphs. It said seven of their greatest magicians sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell. Those magicians were obviously human. They seem like the most suitable candidates for absorbing Boss Monster Souls to make sure the tides of war stayed on their side." Alphys and Frisk adopted expressions of shock, which was very telling for the latter. Asriel slowly turns towards Gerson. "That's what you were trying to hide from the monsters. Am I right about this...?"
"...You inherited a good portion of your mother's intelligence." Gerson said solemnly.
Asriel nodded as he turned towards Red, who also had a solemn look on her. It would seem there are much deeper and darker secrets to the war than they realized...
Me: How'd you like the headcannons? As well as Red's past?
Asriel: To think that sometimes, the nameless ones have the most impact.
Red: This fills me with a lot of guilt. I'm...i'm gonna need a while to get over this.
Alphys: I get the feeling that we won't have a lot of time to get used to things...
Gaster: I can sense the storm growing ever closer...
Gerson: When it strikes, we do not know. That is what makes us on-edge. Until the next chapter.
