Due to his shock before, Richter couldn't really admire his surroundings. Now that he has gotten over it, he finally decided to look around. The first thing he noticed was the furniture. The furniture was larger than what he had expected. Then considering the size of the bed, he realized that he should have expected it. The house wasn't imposing in the slightest, with the rooms being slightly too small for the large furniture. T'was strange to him, though, that the 'monsters' moved into a house too small for them. They couldn't have built the house. Toriel seemed to be a wise 'monster', so it probably wasn't likely that they built a small house on purpose.
Richter's thoughts were disturbed by Toriel's voice asking,
"You don't know much about this place, do you?"
Richter had been looking at a dining table that had chairs of completely different heights. Nodding, Richter stated,
"I will be able to explain once we sit down and talk. This entire situation is just unusual."
Toriel walked into the living room and offered one of the larger chairs there. Sitting down, Richter couldn't help but notice the unusual fireplace. What made it so unusual was that it didn't have a chimney. The fireplace was just a small cubby in the wall. From Richter's understanding of fire, it usually produced smoke. Why would they have a fireplace that can't be used? As well as the unusual fireplace, the pictures above it didn't prove to be much of an explanation as to what was happening. The photograph had the exact same 'monsters' from the images earlier. He assumed they must be friends or family. Now that both people were seated, Toriel spoke,
"So, Richter, could you please explain how you got here. You had said that you were from the year 1801, but it's impossible for a human to live that long. Not only that, you seem to have no knowledge of the current date. It's as if you came from a completely different time."
Richter just chuckled, ignoring the lingering pain in his side from doing so, and said,
"I really hope you have the time, for this will take a while."
Toriel nodded.
"I've got more time than you think. With no school during the weekend and having my lessons planned, there really isn't much for me to do. So, tell your story"
Getting comfortable, Richter began.
"To be honest, I don't know where to start. For this to work, I need to know something. Have you heard of the Belmont family?
"No, I haven't. Should I know the name?
"What about the name Dracula? Have you heard that name?"
"Yea, I have! Isn't that a big villain in those human horror movies involving vampires? I know that the movies were based off of the book. Not that bad, actually. Human's have decent literature."
Richter had the sudden, grim realization that Dracula might not exist here. That meant that he was sent not only to a different time, but a different version of his world as well. Richter knew that the world he was in was the same WORLD, but maybe not the same version. Richter never really had to think of such abstract situations before. That didn't mean that he wasn't taught about things like it though. Living in a family of Vampire Hunters, Mages, and Prophets had taught him a lot. Strangely, he was told of stories involving jumping dimensions, whatever that meant. He had to stop his thoughts from spiraling out of control.
Richter began,
"Then there really isn't a good way to explain this. See, I think I came from a different 'version' of this world. Not only that, I think it was from a different time. I know about as much as you do."
Toriel looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself. In reality, she had more questions than she assumed the man could deal with.
"First, introductions. I'm Richter Belmont, a Master Vampire Hunter. I was born, raised, and trained here...Well, I mean another version of here. The reason is very simple. You see, where I'm from, there are these mystical forces of good and evil. Beings of incredible power are used to keep those forces balanced. However, every 100 years, the Good force weakens. This allows more demonic and evil entities to rise. This caused incredible destruction and chaos, as Evil tried to take over the world. One of those beings was Dracula, a Vampire Lord. Probably one of the vilest and cruelest creatures in existence. That's where the Belmonts came in. Our job was to kill Dracula and his monsters-"
Toriel flinched at this. Richter found that to be a bit unusual.
"-so that the forces become balanced once again. We had been doing this for generations, and we had never failed. Then my generation was formed. Dracula was resurrected again, and I was sent to deal with him. I stormed his castle, killed his mage, Shaft, and finally killed Dracula. However, unlike every other time he was killed, I destroyed him entirely. His soul and body were decimated. What I didn't know was that Shaft had placed a possession spell on me, which slowly took over. I had lived with my adopted sister, Maria, at the time; another story for another day. I had just disappeared after a while. This is where things become shifty. I had somehow summoned the castle and Shaft; my goal apparently to resurrect Dracula. I was stopped by a man named Alucard, who was assisted by Maria. They rid me of the spell, and with my help, stormed both versions of the castle. Yeah, somehow the castle had a reverse version that housed Shaft and the summoning process. So I guess, in a way, I stormed Dracula's castle three times. If you knew the lifespan of the Belmonts, than you would be amazed. To cut this short, I killed the bosses and lesser minions AND marched my tired body up to Shaft. Fighting an empowered Shaft is the explanation to my wounds. As he died, he had somehow sent me and the Altar through a rift."
Toriel nodded and said,
"Then you landed in the forest and was taken here by my children."
"Yea, that basically covers it. I thought you wouldn't take this well. It's an absurd story, to say the least."
Toriel responded,
"I've heard more confusing stories. You don't live to this age without hearing the strangest of tales."
"Anyway, I'm surprised that I survived the damage and the fall as well. I was in critical condition before he sent me through. Maybe my masterful handle on magic had to do with it, but I-"
Toriel gasped and stared at Richter with a shocked face.
"What, did I say something?"
"Yes, you did. You said you had a masterful handle on magic? The only humans who we have ever encountered who could use magic died hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago!"
"Like I said, I'm from a different time of a different version of this world".
Toriel was ecstatic. She never would give up the opportunity to learn, even if it was slightly controversial.
"What kinds of magic do you know? I never knew that people other than monsters could use magic proficiently. Even the humans of the past couldn't use magic as well as us."
"Well, all of it revolved on offensive magic for killing the monsters-"
Toriel flinched heavily again. Richter sighed and restarted with a different subject.
"Before we continue Toriel, I need to address something. I've noticed that you flinch when I talk about killing monsters. You see, our versions of monsters are different, so when I say monster, I mean a horse riding skeletons and possessed suits of armor that throw axes. When you say monsters, you mean-?"
"I mean creatures like me. Loving and caring souls who like to socialize and bake pies...Although some of us seem more excited than others."
Toriel quickly glanced towards a patch of wall next to the front door that looked like it had been destroyed several times.
"That's good to know. Hopefully the excited monster that broke that wall doesn't come by for now. I don't think I could handle it."
"Yeah, she can be a bit extreme. Same goes for her culinary activities."
Richter had no clue who she was talking about, so he decided to get back to the point.
So you were asking about what kinds of magic I can use?"
"Yes"
"Then I will gladly elaborate"
With a smile, Richter slowly cleared the unusually low coffee table.
"See, all Belmonts can conjure endless amounts of certain items. Well, until we run out of magic, or mana. They look like hearts... It's a strange process. Anyway, the list has slowly increased over the years as our power increased, but I know them all by heart"
He chuckles at this. He begins to summon the respective objects as he states the name.
"We have the basic stuff such as Daggers, Throwing Axes, Boomerang Crosses, and Flasks of Holy Water. Then, things become more complex. We have the Rebounding Stones, Holy Books, and Blessed Ash. Then we have the complex items. We only have one of each of these, but we can empower these items to enact special events. Those items are the Stopwatch and the Agunea Gauntlet. Each one does their own thing, and the Belmonts used them constantly. Well, most of them. See, the later generations of Belmonts have increasing levels of power. With my incredible ability to use advanced forms of magic, I could conjure and use more powerful items. As well as that, I have the ability to empower these conjured items even more to produce devastation, but are physically taxing. I like to call them Item Crashes.
"Do you know anything else other than conjuration?"
"Yes, yes I do."
Richter de-conjured the produced items and focuses back on Toriel.
"You see, the Belmont family is incredibly holy. That's one of the main reasons why we were so powerful against Dracula and his minions. Holy, for us, means that we are intertwined in the forces of good. By being connected to these forces, we can truly harm the forces of evil. My generation figured out how to combine our Holy connections to our physical abilities. So our non-casting move sets are hybrids of physical prowess and magical skill. Adept is a common term used to describe people with that ability."
"That everything?"
"Nope. I also can manage elemental magic, some more than others. I've only mastered two kinds. I learned about my ability right before I stormed the castle the first time. Lightning and Fire are the forms I know and use most when it comes to elemental magic. I have the ability to channel pure lightning, which can be boosted by the Agunea Gauntlet. When it comes to fire, I can create towering pillars and can envelop my flail-whip. I haven't been able to directly cast it towards something, though."
"Anything else? This is fascinating!"
Richter thought about mentioning his ability to freeze time, but decided to retain that for the sake of sanity. So Richter just shook his head and shrugged.
"That is amazing! To know that beings of greater magical power exists is something to be shocked at."
"It's truly nothing. Being from a different version of this world, this should be expected. I'm sure you can produce more effective magical spells. Now then, I was wondering if you could answer some of my questions."
"I don't mind. You deserve some answers."
"Ok, let's start off with the inventions between the years 1801-2104."
So Richter and Toriel conversed about the extreme change of technology since 1801. Needless to say, Richter had a lot to learn. Apparently, Toriel had been under a mountain for most of it, so she was also learning. Richter handled the information rather well; something that surprised Toriel. From his description of what his world was like, they had nothing when it came to technology. They were on the subject of automobiles when the front door opened and two young voices floated in. Toriel, mid-sentence, halted and looked towards the front hall. A young voice called,
"Mom, were home!"
And then the two children from earlier stepped into view. Richter suddenly became conscious of the fact that he wasn't wearing his normal tunic, and instead his chest was only covered by the blanket of bandages. In fact, most of his clothes were torn and tattered from the constant fighting and the fall. Disregarding his thoughts, he turned completely towards the kids and simply waved. The goat kid, Toriel said it was Asriel, waved back and smiled. The human, however, said,
"That was fast. You looked like you would be out for a while."
Richter chuckled to himself.
"Your mom is amazing when it comes to first aid. No idea someone could heal a person at such a speed."
Toriel just laughed and brushed the compliment aside.
Looks like the introductions just began, and Richter knew that it was going to be his life for a while. A while meaning until his destroyed body heals; from the looks of things, it would take quite a long time. That is, until he decides that he needs to get home.
Wasting no time, both children sat down and looked like they were going to explode if they weren't able to ask their questions. Richter, not wanting to be responsible for the deaths of two children, said,
"Go on ahead."
About two second later, Frisk asked,
"Who are you sir? You aren't from here."
Richter found that to be a blunt way of saying it. Then again, he knew that they were simple children. After sitting there doing nothing, Richter decided to respond before Toriel assumed that the wall really did do something to his mental capabilities,
"There really isn't a simple way of explaining this. I'll try my best to simplify the story as best as I can. You see, I came from another version of this world. Not only that, I came from another TIME from the other world. In that world, I killed monsters-" Richter noticed the kids flinching. "- and halted the efforts of a vampire lord. On my third run, I was accidentally sent here by an evil human mage."
"Then why were you so hurt then?" asked the human child again.
"In my line of work, one is injured constantly. Doesn't really help that my second and third trip occurred back-to-back. Repeating the same quest over and over again has the ability to wear one down."
The human kid sat there, thinking. While it was happening, the goat kid decided to question Richter further. The Belmont thought the word interrogate would be more apt.
"What do you mean by monsters? Do you mean vampires as in the ones from the movies? You kill things? Why did you fall from the sky? How are you still alive?"
Richter had to stop the kid before he killed him with questions. Richter had forgotten how curious most children were.
"Slow down there; I just recovered enough to stay awake. I don't want to pass out from question overload."
The goat-child looked down, embarrassed. Richter immediately thought of a sheep, but had to dispel those thoughts. He didn't like to assume too many things anyway. It was a risk he wasn't going to take.
"I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can. By monsters, I mean vile creatures that are commanded to kill people. Things like demons and possessed suits of armor with gigantic axes. I don't know what you mean by vampires from movies, but this vampire had one goal: To see the world destroyed and burning. He would do anything to just watch men suffer and would keep these people in constant agony. A truly terrible creature he was. Anyway, next question. Yes, I do kill things. I have to. It's my job to destroy these monsters and send them back to the hell they came from. I was assigned that role and I had the willpower to keep it. This nicely segways into my next answer. Why I came from the sky, I don't know. However, I already told you about the mage accidentally sending me here with a failed killing spell. I have to deal with stuff like that quite often, so that's why I'm still alive. I guess you could say that I'm resilient. My training also helped. Any other questions?"
Both kids looked like they were about to explode; or so Richter assumed. He hoped that sudden combustion wasn't a thing in his current world. It would make his life a lot harder
Richter turned to Toriel and found that she had an apologetic expression. Richter assumed that he had just dug his own grave with the shovel of "Willingly Answering Questions".
About two hours later, the questions stopped. The marathon of incredibly varied inquiries was nearly impossible to handle in one sitting. Richter tried to answer as many questions as he could, but some of them got personal. Richter had accidentally said Annette's name, and he had to basically demand that they don't ask about it. He was NOT getting into that...Ever. Even Toriel was curious. Near the end, Richter offered a proposal. They get to have ten final questions to ask, but they have to answer ten of his own. Richter went with simple stuff, such as their names and such. They decided that complex questions were the best way to go. Different mindsets, he guessed. Asriel, the goat child, seemed the most cautious when it came to the questions. However, the questions that he asked were incredibly informative for him. He seemed to understand the general concept of multiple versions of this world. Richter honestly didn't expect that. Then again, Richter didn't know what to expect anymore. The place he currently resided in followed different rules and ideals; new technology and creations abound. Too many things to completely understand in one day. Only Toriel seemed to understand his sentiments.
After Frisk's final question, Richter decided to leave. He'd admit that it was a bit rash, but Richter didn't have a choice. Richter needed to find a way off of the current world and back to his own. Richter couldn't just stay there knowing that Maria could be in danger. Richter knew that she was incredibly tough and powerful, but he knew she wasn't immortal. If Richter could end up in his current situation, who knows what could happen to her. They obviously didn't handle his departure well.
Toriel was off her chair seemingly a second after he had said that. "You can't leave! You've barely healed, yet alone recovered enough to head off. Where would you go?"
Richter expected to be questioned, but he never knew she would be so sincere. She was truly worried. Richter could count the amount of people who truly worried about him on one hand. Being the naturally talented kid of the bunch made it so that he wasn't the subject of worry.
"I need to. I'm tougher than I look, trust me. I have to head back to the altar and figure out how to go back home."
Asriel spoke up, "Why would you want to go back? That place seemed mean from what you said!"
"Only when Dracula comes back is the terrible part. The rest of the time is nice. As well as that, I just can't abandon my sister.
"Maria?"
"Yea. She can fend for herself, but she isn't as strong or powerful as me. If this happened to me, than it could happen to her. I need to get there before something bad happens to her. I would fail my duties as a big brother if I didn't."
With his main statements over-with, Richter headed towards the door. Before he even put his hand on the door handle, hee knew he couldn't leave without thanking the family though. Thus, he turned around.
"Before I leave, I have to thank you. You were such good hosts and you seem to be amazing people. In a way, I wish I could stay; I can't though"
Toriel halted the kids and looked Richter straight in the eye. He saw only concern in her slightly crimson eyes.
"Then we wish you good luck. If you do get it working, at least come by to say farewell."
"I can do that."
And with that, he was out the door; the forest being his set destination. Richter couldn't allow himself to look back, or he might not make it far.