Thankfully, Richter's arrival at the house was without any failures. He didn't know if he could handle another situation like the one in the alley. Truth was, he just couldn't handle situations like that anymore since Shaft. It was as if his own ability to stifle his emotions was shattered like his will at the time. He was tempted to just leave the Vampire Killer at his house so he wouldn't have the urge to whip every single person who ticked him off. He really needed to work on that. He added it to his list of "Shit to Fix After the Village". His own emotional failures were at the bottom of the list since they didn't really matter. There wasn't anything he could do about them. Now thinking about it, Ember might be able to do something about it.
The house itself was eerily quiet when he arrived. With construction of the house completed, the only sounds that would normally be heard were the detonations and digging underneath the house. The cave itself couldn't be completely dug out by picks after all. They found Bomb Magic to be surprisingly effective for such a situation. However, he was surprised that no one had come by to file a complaint. The noise was horrendous. If Richter wasn't used to sleeping with the sounds of heavy clockwork and machinery, he doubted that he would've been able to sleep now. Yet, he still managed to keep himself alert of foreign sounds. That's if he actually slept; he still managed to sneak in and help with construction. All they would do is drag him outside the construction zone and tell him not to do it again. The process usually repeated itself several times until Richter went to another zone. The only creature who could do anything was Ember. All she had to do was grab Richter with her mouth and carry him up the stairs to his house. He never really resisted. The first time he did, he ended up being dragged up the stairs by his leg. He never thought about struggling after that. She was more stubborn than most. Hell, Richter thought she could be more determined than himself sometimes.
None of the Section Leaders arrived at the set time, which confused Richter. They hadn't been late before and all of them stressed being punctual. Well, except the Brothers. They didn't seem to care that much about arriving on time. Richter didn't blame them though. They were the most kid-like out of the entire group of leaders. It helped their collective perspective though. It was nice to occasionally relax and look at things in a fun way. Their constant bickering also served as comedic relief from their stressful schedules. In all, Richter wouldn't trade them in for anything.
An hour in, no one had showed up. Richter was becoming increasingly worried. This went beyond being late and stretched into something stopping them. Nothing had stopped them before and all of them could easily teleport to his location, if they knew where that was. It was a weird system that Lossoth hadn't completely explained to the Belmont. Giving up on thinking about the things he didn't know, he decided to stick with the things he did know. He did know one thing: If they didn't show up in the next hour, he would go find them and kick their undead asses for being late for such a long time.
Taking advantage of the clear yard and his spare time, he decided to rest in Ember's usual spot. She shared the Forest Section Leader spot with Owl Knight, so he trusted her to wake him up when they finally arrived. Sprawling across the grass under the large willow, he silently laughed to himself. Usually she was the one being mischievous. Richter thought it was about time for a little payback. It helped that the spot was quite excellent, with the spot being the only one that had efficient shade throughout the day. In all likelihood, nothing would come from him sleeping in her spot. At most, he just hoped he could be forgiven. He couldn't help but smile at his small form of revenge as he drifted off to sleep.
"We haven't made a complete path yet, so it can be a bit rough getting here. You'll get used to it if you visit often. We haven't had a real reason as to why to make a path since we don't get any visitors."
"Nah, it's fine! A secret mansion in the middle of the forest is COOL! Better than where I live, for sure."
The Cloaked Knight hoped that they wouldn't do anything too drastic to the house, even if they were just visitors. He had this feeling in his non-existent gut that they would be missing a few walls by the end of the night. Undyne in particular gave off the vibe of destruction. He couldn't figure out what Papyrus was learning from her. He shouldn't be too judgy though. Still, he wasn't too keen on a confrontation with Richter about why part of the house he lived in was missing. It wasn't as if they couldn't rebuild it; it was just that they didn't have the time anymore. Richter's schedule, while effective and kept everyone happy, was strenuous and tiring. The Cloaked Knight didn't know if Richter was aware that they weren't avoiding him like he assumed; they were just resting in the Altar. So when he saw one of the monsters of the surface, it served as a pleasant surprise.
Like seeing Richter's main Fire Warg curled up around the man's sleeping form under the large willow. That served as a surprise to the Cloaked Knight. His thoughts from earlier about having a soft spot for animals must've been real then. He should've expected it though. He didn't think he's ever seen Richter so embarrassed before in his entire existence. It wasn't like Richter to show himself openly resting or even relaxing, so the Cloaked Knight was instantly worried. What if the Belmont was ill? Maybe seriously injured? He didn't want to wait to find out.
The Cloaked Knight signaled the Fire Warg to get her attention, which he succeeded at. All she did was shake her head and curl back up. On closer inspection, the Cloaked Knight could see that Richter had his hands buried into her fur, completely unconscious. No wounds or signs of illness. He obviously wasn't going to be moving anywhere though. Completely forgetting about his guests, he softly tried to talk to the Warg.
"...is there something wrong with him?"
She just shook her head again and nuzzled Richter slightly. Eventually, she responded.
"(No, I just found him sleeping here. Since this was my spot, I forced him to share. He seemed to like the idea, even if he won't say it.)"
"...You've been around Richter more than most so answer this. Is this behavior normal? This doesn't seem like something he would do."
"(You'll just have to ask him that when he wakes up. We were supposed to have a meeting a few hours ago, but someone caused a cave-in. I was sent to tell Richter that we would have to have the meeting later, but he's currently sleeping...on me. So yeah, not too keen on telling him that when he's sleeping. You will ask him later. Not now.)"
The Cloaked Knight had to agree with her decision. He had only needed to see Richter grumpy once to know that he had seen the scariest version of Richter. He wasn't loud or violent. He just...stared at you until you basically felt like withering away. Such a different version of the day-to-day Belmont. He was jolly and quite nice to hang out with. At least, that's what he had heard. Today was the first time he got to do something with the Belmont that wasn't work related. The Cloaked Knight had noticed Richter's mood shift throughout the day. Once he got back from whatever endeavor he ran off to do, he was extremely moody. The Cloaked Knight was glad that Undyne and Papyrus had seen past that.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by a loud and boisterous voice from behind him. At the sound, the Fire Warg emitted a very faint but meaningful growl. She didn't want anyone to wake up Richter.
"WOWIE, THE HUMAN TOOK YOUR ADVICE, UNDYNE. MAYBE WE SHOULD MAKE HIM SOME SPAGHETTI TO HELP HIM FEEL BETTER. AFTER ALL, SLEEP CAN WORK WONDERS, BUT MY CULINARY MASTERPIECES ARE PERFECT FOR A TIRED BODY!"
Papyrus must've not known that Richter was a light sleeper when it came to a foreign sound. A very light sleeper. His training taught him to be able to get up at a moment's notice incase of danger or etc. The Cloaked Knight was surprised that he hadn't woken up by his conversation with the Fire Warg. He must've already accepted the Cloaked Knight's voice as a normal occurrence. However, the speed at which he bolted up and pulled out his Flail-Whip was impressive. It would have been more impressive if he hadn't fallen over the now irritated Fire Warg. The Cloaked Knight could see the now standing Richter's eyes scanning the area and his left hand tensing, as if readying a sub-weapon. After seeing it was just Papyrus and Undyne, he slowly relaxed. He put up the Vampire Killer and sighed.
Richter couldn't exactly figure out why he wasn't angry at the sudden awakening. Normally he would be grumpy as hell(His grumpy was practically hell anyway). Undyne was laughing her ass off and Papyrus had both hands over his mouth as if embarrassed. Ember was still around the Belmont, muzzle softly nudging his left leg as a sign to relax. The Cloaked Knight was staring at Richter, helmet slightly tilted. Richter took that as a sign of confusion. He must've been thinking the same thing Richter was. Giving him a simple shrug, the Belmont sat back down with Ember. She gave a soft hum of contentment as he sunk one of his hands into the ruff of her neck. She was ungodly soft, compared to the pelts of the wolves back in his world. Richter, after finally steadying his heart, decided to speak.
"Papyrus, it's ok. You don't need to feel bad. I needed to wake up anyway. A meeting was supposed to be here today. I'll talk to Ember about it in a minute. Cloaked Knight, you need to be ready soon. I'm assuming we will be getting to your section in the next few weeks. Why don't you lead them into the house while I discuss the meeting? I'll be joining you after that."
Papyrus didn't take his hands off of his mouth, even when being pushed inside the house. Undyne was still laughing, but somehow managed to practically carry Papyrus. The Cloaked Knight just shook his head from confusion. Either Richter was becoming soft, or he was hiding something. He didn't want to have a midnight lecture like the one time someone overlooked building the last step to the Trophy Room. Richter had spent a few hours looking for the poor Dhuron's head. It was the strangest game of Marco-Polo the Cloaked Knight had ever seen, or heard.
With the rest gone, Richter turned slightly towards Ember. She was just staring at the entrance of the house, muzzle pulled into a silent snarl. Richter softly smacked her nose before speaking.
"Just because you're allowed to do this doesn't give you the right to maul anyone you want to. You should know better."
Whining softly, she slowly lowered her head between her paws.
"(That skeleton is too loud. It's out of place here and he woke you up!)"
Richter receded his hand and went into full-glare mode. She pulled back slightly at the Belmont's gaze.
"It's not your job to worry about me. We have to adjust to creatures like him anyway. As well as that, I needed to be woken up. It's fine, ok?"
"(But you need rest!)"
All he could do was rub his temples with his fingers. He needed to talk to his guests and if he continued arguing, they would have to wait for a long time. He just had to give up.
"How about this: I'll rest early tonight. Is that fine? Now, to save time, mind telling me why the meeting was cancelled?"
Ember leaned against Richter's side at his surrender and began to explain.
"(Someone thought it was a good idea to bomb the ceiling alone without the adviser. Caused a cave-in that we've spent all day cleaning. It happened early this morning and we couldn't find you. We have to push the meeting to next week due to cleanup.)"
The Belmont took a few moments to take all of the information in. Those results probably weren't intended and none of the creatures meant ill will, so there was no need to act harshly. The Section Leaders must've chewed out whoever did it, so Richter wasn't necessary. He wasn't needed in the situation since he wasn't allowed to assist with the construction. Dusting himself off, the Belmont got up from his spot next to the Fire Warg. He had reached his decision.
"Well, at least I know about it. If it has been taken care of, then I don't have to interfere. I'm glad that I don't. I already had to save someones ass today and I don't think I want to do it again. Even if it's family."
Well, he would do it for family no matter what, be he wasn't going to admit that. Ember didn't have to read Richter's internal thoughts to figure that out.
"I've got to talk to our guests anyway. You can come with me if you want. Or, you can finally enjoy your spot now that I'm gone. It's up to you."
Richter didn't wait for a response and headed inside. He could hear a soft growl being emitted from Ember. The reason remained unknown to the Belmont.
Two broken tables, a shattered clock, several knocked over suits of armor, and one mentally scarred Skelerang later, Undyne and Papyrus left. Despite all of the broken furniture, Richter found the experience to be worth it. He hadn't had that much fun talking in his entire life. Other than his history, the topics never got too serious. The most serious was Undyne wondering if it was possible to catch a Skelerang's boomerangs and throw it back at him. She ended up throwing the boomerangs so fast that they nearly decapitated the skeleton. Needless to say, it was horrifying for the poor Skelerang. Undyne kept on mentioning something about anime, which confused the hell out of Richter. Apparently, anime was something like visual stories involving "fantasy" characters who looked and acted like Richter. He made a mental note to talk to the Alphys person later. She apparently was similar to the Librarian when it came to knowledge. Richter assumed she was an ancient creature surrounded by rows and rows of tomes. In fact, he was tempted to possibly invite the Librarian whenever he went to meet her. They could learn from the monsters more so than trying to learn alone. Another thing he wanted to learn how to make was the "Spaghetti of Papyrus". He never stopped talking about it, so Richter assumed it must've been of godlike quality. If not, he would be severely disappointed.
After fixing the broken clock(he simply refused to replace it), he found himself without anything to do. He hadn't seen Ember or the Cloaked Knight anywhere. Maybe the Fire Warg actually stayed in her spot under the tree. Richter wouldn't blame her if she did; it was an excellent spot after all. Looking at the now fixed clock, he saw that it was around eight. He did tell the Warg that he would rest early. He wasn't known to be to go against his word. He had managed to build a decent and trustworthy relationship with the monsters of the castle and he wasn't keen on destroying it all because he didn't want to go to sleep. Richter had no reasons to avoid sleep. The nightmare he had the night prior was hopefully a one time thing and he didn't have dreams. There wasn't anything for him to do anymore other than supervise. In a way, he wished he forced himself into more of the work. He knew that they wouldn't appreciate it though. They saw him as a very grumpy foreman when it came to work and he didn't want their opinions of them to get worse. He didn't mean to get so...ticked. It was just that there wasn't a simple way for the Belmont to resolve the problem. He had to work or he would be frustrated, but working eventually makes him tired. Being tired makes him angry with himself for showing weakness, pissing him off. The monsters didn't want him to be grumpy, so they forced him out of the working. Either way, he would eventually become cross. Everything would sort itself out once the project was completed. He knew that such a project is going to take a while though. At least it was better than being in a constant life-or-death scenario.
Sighing for the sixteenth time that day, he grabbed his blue overcoat by the door. It was probably one of the few articles of clothing from being controlled by Shaft that he actually liked. Shaft cared about the color, surprisingly, so it wasn't a horrendous mess like his hair was. Richter was the first Belmont to care about his appearance. It was one of the main reasons why he wouldn't put on armor. Not that he would admit it. His public excuse was that it slowed him down. Since he didn't look for another shirt, the overcoat would be his only protection from the cold other than magic. The weather outside wasn't harsh enough to merit the use of magic, so there wasn't much he could really do.
He was able to confirm his suspicions outside. Ember had indeed stayed in her spot under the tree. From the fallen leaves, it was as if she hadn't left at all. She didn't take notice of Richter's exit of the house. Only once he was in whipping distance did she finally pay any attention; slight movement of her head was all he got. He assumed she was pouting for some unknown reason. He knelt down slightly which resulted in her turning her head further. She was definitely pouting now.
"Come on now. I invited you inside. You don't have to get all pouty. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have come out here; it's cold anyway. Scoot over."
Without allowing her to refute, he flopped on top of the Warg. Grabbing handfuls of her fur, the Belmont was prepared for what she was about to throw at him; that being her trying to shake him off violently. After about a minute, she just slumped down on the ground and gave up. Richter slowly climbed onto her back and sunk into her fur. He embraced the warmth that naturally radiated from the Fire Warg. Despite Ember's mood, she allowed it. From what she saw, he was only wearing his overcoat for upper body protection. She knew he never really cared about himself when he was worried about someone else. The least she could do is allow him to be comfortable.
"So, what's wrong? Heh, normally you're the one asking ME that question. So, come on; fess up here."
She didn't want to tell him about what had happened after he left. If she did, she doubted that he would stay in the position he was in. Then again, it does involve Richter and lying is considered a major offense. He trusted her with his secrets, so she finally accepted that she should do the same.
"(So, something happened after you left. Cloaked Knight came up to me and we talked for a bit.)"
Richter's gut instinct was telling him to bail, but he considered such a reaction to be rude.
"What did you guys talk about?"
"(That's the thing; You. He was concerned about seeing you openly resting in front of the public. I told him it was actually normal and that we just hyped you up to be some sort of god. That's when he told me something...particular.)"
His instinct was getting stronger. He was 99% sure he knew exactly what Cloaked Knight had told Ember. Burying his face in between her shoulder blades, he grumbled from exasperation. It was practically impossible to keep a secret from the Altar's population. He should've expected that it would happen eventually. He just didn't know it would happen so soon. Richter thought he was falling apart too early.
"(He told me about something you were thinking and feeling at that one bar during your trip to the town.)"
Turning her head in an attempt to see Richter, she continued.
"(Why didn't you tell me you had a soft spot for animals? Now thinking about it, you almost did in the Caverns. Too embarrassed to say it? I think it's adorable. I just wish you trusted me more to tell me about it.")
He just audibly groaned. Ember finally found out. She was probably going to tell her some of the other inhabitants. They would tell others and it would spread throughout the Altar. Everyone would know of another weakness of Richter. He kept on failing to act like the leader he needed to be. He couldn't allow himself to show weakness, no matter how petty or extreme. The one time he showed weakness was the time Shaft took over. Shaft had managed to prey on Richter's one inner desire at the time. He couldn't allow that to repeat, even if Shaft was gone. He just got a fresh start; a new life. He couldn't, nay wouldn't allow himself to repeat his old mistakes.
"(Richter, come on. Richter. RICHTER!)"
Snapping himself out of his mental train of self-depreciation, he turned his attention to the Fire Warg. She had somehow gotten Richter off her back and was directly facing him. One paw was on one of Richter's leg, while the other nervously pawed at the ground.
"(Hey, listen. I'm sorry. I didn't know talking about this would bring him up. We can stop if you want to.)"
Growling at himself, he decided to actually talk about it. He didn't know why he would want to. It must've been something about the Warg. Damn her! He couldn't figure out why he was allowing her to get close. If his assumptions were real, then everyone close would soon end up like Annette.
"Fuck it. Let's get started on talking about this shit show."
He took a deep breath, collecting all of the negative emotions inside his soul; allowing them to swell and overtake everything else. He didn't need to be positive where he was going. He couldn't allow himself to hesitate. No more hiding. She was the only being he could talk to.
"Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to hide your own weaknesses knowing that when you reveal them, the world you know could change dramatically? The last time I even had a desire, it was preyed upon and used as a weapon against myself and my loved ones. I know Shaft isn't here now, but I constantly have this feeling that I'm about to break the peace. It's as if everything is made of fucking glass and simply relaxing will cause it all to shatter! I can't deal with this daily! I JUST CAN'T!"
Quickly standing up, Richter began to vent his frustration into one of the nearby trees. Emphasizing every point with a punch; both his knuckles and the tree began to break as he continued ranting. Ember didn't dare stop him.
"It's as if this is my punishment for allowing myself to be MANIPULATED by Shaft. I'm in the PERFECT world with the BEST people. I've got a goal that will better the lives of potentially thousands. Only thing FUCKING stopping me is myself. I can't allow myself to lower my guard. My training and my past mistakes force me to never allow myself to DO-THAT-AGAIN! "
Richter's knuckles broke first. Screaming out in frustration and pain, he dashed through the tree. It slowly fell behind him as he just stared at the floor. The Fire Warg could see tears slowly flow down his face and into the dirt; mixed with the blood coming from his hands.
"I don't want to give this up, but every time I wake up, I get this feeling that everything's a dream; under control by Shaft to make me believe I'm doing something good when I'm killing millions."
He fell to his knees, hanging his head low. He slowly tore parts of the overcoat into bandages and wrapped up his broken fists. His voice was shaky now; broken up by sobs.
"The worst thing about all of this is that I have to hide it. I have to hide my insecurities and desires for the better of everyone. I can't allow anyone to know about what I'm going through. If they found out, they could be affected. I have to put of this facade of happiness and oftentimes, I believe my own lies. I often lose myself in my own web of masks. I shouldn't be like this...but I am."
He tried to steady his breathing as he continued to bind the makeshift bandages. He had liked that coat. No point in getting attached to anything thought if it all could change. Ember cautiously approached Richter. She didn't want him to be set off again. If everything he said was true, then something had to be done. He had managed to mentally get himself into a situation that couldn't be resolved alone. If he wouldn't believe himself, he would believe her. At least, that's what the Fire Warg hoped.
As she slowly curled around the Belmont, she attempted to console him.
"(Richter, you need to stop and listen to yourself. You killed Shaft completely. You kicked his ass so hard that he will be forever stuck in whatever hell you sent him to. You don't have to pretend for our safety. If we ever have to, we can save you from yourself. I'm pretty sure the Librarian knows a way to break us from your commands if you ever go rogue. No matter how powerful you are, you're human. We aren't. We can kill you eventually if we need to. So just live your life. This isn't a dream. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't embarrass yourself in a dream considering how prideful you are. You just need to accept that it's over. All you have to worry about now is building the relationship between us and the monsters here. So shhhhh... It'll be fine.)"
Ember, to reinforce her point of them being here for him, placed her head into his lap. She didn't know what to do about his now broken knuckles though. Maybe magical food. That or Toriel.
At her show of comfort, Richter finally broke completely. Wrapping his hands around her muzzle, he sobbed onto her head. He subconsciously stressed very sob by clutching some of her fur. He wanted to believe everything she had said; he truly did. However, it was so hard for him to just suddenly accept something of such a drastic level. Richter was aware that Ember was reading his thoughts. He didn't try to stop it though. She had gotten close enough to see ALL of him, not just his public appearance. It didn't mean he wouldn't try to enjoy his life though. He just wished that no one else had to deal with his own problems. He wasn't given enough time to reflect though, for he could hear Undyne traipsing through the forest. What she wanted at a time like this, he didn't know. He never got a break from anything. Rapidly changing emotions probably wasn't good for his health.
"(We'll talk about this later then. Just remember that you don't have to protect anybody anymore. There isn't a threat to this world. At least, not one created by you. We will be there to protect if it ever comes to that though. Now go. I'll be here in case something goes wrong.)"
Ember nudged him up until he was completely standing, then took a few steps back from where she was. Undyne could be a bit rambunctious and she didn't want someone to trip over her for the second time. He subconsciously felt himself put on another "mask" as he slowly approached where Undyne was wrecking havoc. It wasn't hard to actually find her. The amount of noise was absurd considering it was coming from one creature. He found it like the underground detonations times ten.
"HEY NERD! GET OVER HERE!"
Richter could only oblige. Undyne had somehow gotten herself stuck in some of the brambles. Using a magical blue spear, she cut herself out why speaking. Richter would've helped her out, but his knuckles were currently broken. He felt somewhat useless in the situation. Perhaps it was a good thing though for the Belmont. He didn't have to worry about causing any trouble. It wasn't like he was going to do so, it was just a mental reassurance.
"Good, there you are. I was worried I would have to bust into your house to talk to you. "
He knew she was being serious.
"Listen, I just came to invite you to this thing we're doing some training at Toriel's house. The kid wouldn't stop bugging me until I finally came here to invite you. So, want to join us?"
She bowed her head in thought before suddenly jerking it up; her eyes showing a playful fury that made Richter want to hide. Whatever she was about to say next, he wasn't going to be happy with it. Undyne's version of fun was a lot more violent than what the Belmont imagined.
"HEY! I know something we can do at her house. The back is pretty open, so we could do some fighting! Didn't you say that you used to be Vampire Hunter? A pretty damn good one based off of all that bragging. How about we have a small scrimmage? Excellent training and I know everyone will be impressed. It's not often I can find a human who has the guts to actually fight."
"Sorry, but I've got stuff to do."
"COME ON, YOU WEENIE! IT WILL BE AWESOME!"
"I really can't! Today's meeting was cancelled and I have to work on planning the next one and all that. Maybe the next time."
Richter knew what he said was a dramatic over-exaggeration, but he hoped Undyne didn't know it. It wasn't that he didn't want to attend. Hell no, in fact, Richter really wanted to relax. He wasn't so sure on dueling Undyne, but everything else sounded fine. That's if he could trust himself to do so. He just didn't want to deal with people at the moment. He found it hard to socialize when battling his own inner demons...literally in a sense.
Undyne couldn't hide the disappointment. It would've been the first time she got to have a proper battle in years. Almost no one would actually fight her. She couldn't get too violent when it came to training with Papyrus and Toriel wouldn't allow Frisk to train with her. The humans on the surface were a bunch of softies without actual muscle, so she found them to be completely boring. Once she had first seen Richter in his anime looking gear, she knew he might be fun to fight. His blatant bragging later in his house helped confirm her suspicions. From what that monster girl had told her, Richter was heroic and brave as well. She couldn't figure out why he suddenly changed though. There was something off about him at the moment. She gave up trying to figure it out and turned to leave; trudging forward back to Toriel's house where everyone was. Before leaving earshot, she decided to leave with the final word.
"You know, a certain kid came by and told me a man clad in blue came by and rescued her from a rowdy group of humans. That wouldn't have been you, would it?"
She left almost immediately after. She knew she had hit a nerve when she heard the Belmont jump with surprise. He wasn't as sneaky as he thought. Richter reached up to grab his head, but he had to stop himself. He mentally reminded himself to deal with his broken knuckles before going anywhere. Turning around, he found Ember accompanied by Salome. She was arranging some medical herbs and bandages, looking expectantly at Richter's hands. Deciding against his better judgement, he bailed and chased after Undyne. He would rather be lectured by Toriel than deal with having his hand being sewn up. Magic would help more than anything else.
Richter was still trying to figure out how he was going to explain how he broke his knuckles to Toriel when he finally caught up with Undyne. She wasn't surprised in the slightest by his appearance by her side. However, she was surprised by his appearance. Finally near streetlights, she could see the remains of his destroyed overcoat and his bandaged and bloodied knuckles. His eyes were sunken in, as if he were crying. Why he would be crying baffled Undyne. She could understand why Frisk would cry, but not a grown adult male; especially a fully adult male fighter. Maybe someone he knew died or something. Undyne wasn't going to pry in his business. Warrior's code after all.
The Belmont was glad that Undyne didn't comment on his appearance. However, he knew he would have to bring up the knuckles. It was going to be almost impossible to get through the night without doing anything about them. As much as he hated relying on people when it came to his health, he didn't have a choice. He could tell that Undyne really wanted to fight. If she wanted a fight, Richter needed both of his hands to work perfectly. Fighting without them was somewhat hard. He couldn't rely on his dashes and kicks for the entire battle. He wasn't built for that. That was more of Maria's domain. She used her familiars and her kicks to down enemies at an incredible rate. Richter was honestly surprised. She was incredibly talented when Richter first started training her. She was much faster than Richter and used her speed to her advantage. He hoped she was utilizing her training well and surviving. When it came to the Hunter-Gatherer System, she was more of the gatherer. She had the ability to spot things that hundreds of people couldn't see, even if they were staring right at it. Richter was sure she could be an amazing hunter, but she refused to injure any animals. Thus, it became Richter's job to hunt for the village.
Richter hadn't realized that Undyne had stopped until he was forcefully pulled backwards by her. Blinking, he quickly took in his surroundings. He had subconsciously followed Undyne to Toriel's house. Undyne was staring at Richter worriedly. He realized she was saying something.
"Hey, Richter. Human, come on. DON'T TUNE ME OUT!"
Her yelling finally got his full attention; not before jumping a foot into the air though.
"Wha...what? What's wrong?"
Sighing, she slowly rubbed her face with her hands. It was only then did Richter notice that she had an eyepatch over her left eye. Why hadn't he noticed that before?
"Dude, don't do that again. Thought you were going to keep on walking until you fell off a cliff or something. I've been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes."
The Vampire Hunter was surprised that she actually cared. They had just met after all. Mentally punching himself, he knew he had to start being more trusting.
"Oh...Sorry about that. I've got a lot to deal with, you know? Managing an entire population of monsters is ungodly stressful."
That wasn't the exact reason why he was spacing out, but it was close enough.
"HAH! That's all? You've got to toughen up then. Speak to Asgore about it. He had been managing the Underground for QUITE a long time. Now, ready to have some fun?"
"Sure. Actually, ca-"
Undyne had almost made it inside before someone had grabbed her. She would've kept moving if it wasn't for the gasp of pain that came from behind her. Turning around, she saw Richter curled over, cradling both of his hands. She soon saw why he was in pain. His knuckles were practically shattered. Whatever he had done, he managed to fuck them up incredibly. Did she miss a fight or something?
"Jeez, what did you do to your hands? I didn't know it was THIS bad. You might want to get Toriel to look at them. That's probably not healthy."
Hissing through his teeth from the pain, he barely managed to respond. It felt like his hands were being crushed by Galamoth's staff. He couldn't get the pain to stop. He really shouldn't have grabbed Undyne as she went inside. What made it worse was that he had wanted to stop her to ask about his hands.
"...NOW!"
Thankfully, someone inside had heard them talking. The door opened and out stepped a very excited Asriel. His mood immediately changed once seeing Richter nearly keeling over from the pain. He stepped back inside and yelled for someone. Next thing Richter knew, he was being guided towards a couch. The pain finally began to subside for the Belmont as he sat down. Whatever he had pulled when he grabbed Undyne, he wouldn't do it again. He wouldn't even dare move his hands until he managed to get them treated. Thank god for magic, he thought.
"I'll have to remove the bandages for this to work, Richter. This will be VERY painful, but just sit through it. I don't know what happened and I don't want to know. Now sit still."
A very frustrated Toriel knelt across from him, slowly taking of his bandages. He had blocked his senses, so he didn't feel anything. In fact, he was pretty sure he had zoned out again. With the bandages off, he got a good look at his mangled hands. He was sure that bones weren't supposed to be jutting out like a pair of Brass Knuckles.
"Undyne, get the kids out of the Living Room and take them to Papyrus. I don't want anyone to see this."
Richter didn't feel that she was overreacting. His hands were horrific. He was surprised that he hadn't passed out from the pain already. Toriel must've been on the same wavelength, for she quickly brought it up.
"Nevermind what I said earlier, what did you do to your hands? This is very bad. Your hands are in critical condition."
Richter tried to open his mouth, but ended up with nothing. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't speak. He must've completely disconnected himself. The closest he got was him signalling his hands with his head.
"Don't move, Richter! You can explain later then. I'll have to get started now. If not, I don't think magic will be able to save your hands."
Undyne couldn't help but watch as Toriel slowly healed Richter's hands. She doubted that anyone would find out what happened to them. Richter seemed to be the kind of warrior who didn't care about his injures, so he wouldn't consider mentioning it to anyone else. They just served as reminders of past battles. She could understand his angle. He wasn't phased by the scarring on his chest and back. He did indeed look like the main hero from several Adventure Anime. He had the same confident and brash attitude most of heroes in the show had. From what he had said about his past, it would be possible to make a season or two based off of his adventures. Alphys would flip out if she met him. She couldn't help but sigh softly at the lack of her girlfriend. It didn't matter the situation; her nervous habits made everything better. She would probably be going down the list of shows that had the name Richter or something. She could always get so enveloped into her hobbies. Undyne loved her for that.
She was taken from her thoughts by someone tugging on her shirt. Looking down, she could see a very worried Frisk staring expectantly up at her. Frisk must've known that no one was allowed to go into the Living Room while Richter's mangled appendages were being dealt with. Undyne hadn't directly said anything about them not being allowed to go in.
"Is he going to be ok? I can't go in there, so it must be pretty bad."
"Aww, punk. He's going to be fine. Don't be such a softie. He's probably tougher than any of us. He managed to stomach that much pain before even getting here, then he must be resilient. I'm pretty sure no other human could survi-"
She was interrupted by a loud huff from Frisk. He was pouting.
"Sorry, I guess I'm not helping. Point is, he will be fine. Didn't he arrive here in worse shape?"
Frisk nodded, indicating to their entire body.
"All of his body was covered with blood and burns. It was bad."
"Yeah, if he can get through that, then this will be easy. Hey, let's go check on the Bone Bros. Poor Asriel must be dealing with SO many puns."
Undyne could barely catch up with the speeding Frisk. If she could just convince him to join track once he got older, he would be a champion.
Richter slowly tensed and untensed his hands, testing to see if they were functioning correctly. Somehow, Toriel had managed to completely heal his knuckles. Richter didn't know what to do about the blood he had lost. He assumed he would be fine if he just sat down for a while. Toriel was completely exhausted from the ordeal. Richter's hands had been worse than their appearance. Internal fractures and bone fragments were a large problem. If she hadn't done anything, Richter would've lost his hands. She still hadn't received an answer from Richter as to what he did. In fact, he hadn't spoken at all. Head gestures were the only thing she got from the Belmont. She felt that she deserved to know what happened in case she could stop it from happening again. She hoped he didn't get into a fight. If he did get into a fight, it must've been with a wall or something.
"Now that you have full control of your hands, mind telling me what you did to them? I'm surprised you let this happen to you if it was a fight. I just can't be your personal infirmary. This is the third time you've shown up at my house injured."
Richter didn't know exactly how he wanted to respond. He could tell her the truth, but that would open a can of Flea Men that he would rather leave closed. Well, at least for the moment. He couldn't directly lie to her for multiple reasons. That only left him giving a half-truth/half-lie answer that he hated receiving himself. Suddenly, the Belmont remembered what Ember had told him about living his life. That meant no more hiding things. After a few moments, he responded.
"My past. My past fucking happened, Toriel. I'm just dealing with the shock waves now."
Tutting, she waggled her finger at Richter. She was glad that she had gotten him to speak, but she had to deal with the most pressing issue first. Just because he was a guest didn't mean he could be an exception.
"Watch your language, young man. This is a no swearing household. I will have you know that we have a Swear Jar here. Next time you curse, you have to donate a gold coin. It's the rules."
Richter was in a surprised stupor. He hadn't expected her to say that in the slightest. Trying to stop himself from laughing failed as he rolled around, amused by the absurdity of it.
"I'm glad to see you in higher spirits, Richter. I try my hardest to keep everyone here positive. It's much easier now that we've been here for a year. When we first arrived, all of the humans were so grim. Frisk did so much to help the humans understand that we aren't a threat and we just want to live peacefully. So, is there anything in your past that you want to talk about?"
He truly appreciated how willing they were to help him, but he wasn't willing to talk about it yet. He would probably talk to Ember again before anyone else. After her, well...He might talk to Asgore. Undyne did recommend him after all. If he was the ruler of the Underground, then he must've had some method of dealing with the constant stress. Kings always knew how to remain calm and collected; something that baffled Richter when he was a kid.
"Nah, not right now. I'm just glad that my hands are working now. I don't know what I would've done without them."
Smiling, Toriel got up and headed towards the kitchen. Richter could hear her call out to him.
"I would say that having working hands would be...HANDY!"
He could hear laugh at her own pun. He just quickly walked away before he would be subjected to more of her awful puns. His destination: Wherever Asriel was. He had looked so worried about Richter when he had spotted him at the doorstep and the Belmont wanted to show the monster that he was fine. Good thing it wasn't hard for him to actually find the child. All of the rooms but one were silent. The one that wasn't, however, partially blocked what sounded to be a full on war. Tumbling and yells could be heard. Richter just laughed to himself. He remembered when he used to be a kid and roughhousing was a big part of it. Even after his training started, he would get with the Blacksmith's son and try to see who had improved more over the week. Then those weeks became months. Richter never saw him after a year long period. He never found out what had happened to the kid. The Blacksmith wouldn't say anything to Richter, even when on his deathbed. The Blacksmith was willing to take what had happened to his grave. No one ran the forge after his death. All the armor and weapons they got were from other towns. Richter remembered that someone had said the family, and in a way, the forge was cursed. Why, he never knew.
The moment Richter knocked was when things got rough. The door immediately opened and a small hand reached to grab him. Reacting instinctively, he backflipped and pulled out one of his Boomerang Crosses. Cursing himself, he put the Sub-Weapon up and looked down at his "assailant". It was a surprised Frisk, hand still outstretched. He kept on switching from looking at the ceiling and Richter.
"Sorry about that Frisk. My training's deeply rooted in my psyche. Nothing I can do about it."
The kid quickly retreated back inside and shut the door. Richter could hear some muffled talking and someone heading towards the door. Not without knocking something over, of course. The door suddenly opened and a smiling Undyne stood in the doorway. Her smile was freakishly large, with it going above eye to eye. To Richter, it was more like above eye to eyepatch.
"Good! You're ready for the training! I've been practicing with Papyrus. He's getting better, but he's still a WIMP compared to me."
She turned back towards the room and looked at someone.
"Aren't you, Papyrus?"
The Belmont could hear a very muffled and meek response.
"Please, Undyne...No more "Noogie the Skeleton."
"TAKE IT LIKE A MAN PAPYRUS! If you want to impress the humans, you've got to be tough like ME!"
She turned back, facing Richter.
"Let's get started then! Asgore should've finished setting up the chairs out in the yard. It's going to get dark soon. IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME!"
Without waiting for a response, Undyne rushed out of the room. He assumed she was honestly excited for whatever was about to happen. Richter peered into the room. It was a total mess. Pillows and blankets littered the floor, with a very tired looking skeleton on the ground. His normally perfectly white skull was covered with scuff marks. On the large bed in the corner was Frisk, Asriel, and Sans. Frisk waved at Richter while Asriel tried to get Papyrus up. Sans, after inspecting Richter's ruined overcoat, spoke.
"sup? don't get too torn up over my bro. he can handle her atomic noogies."
Asriel fell on top of Papyrus from laughing while Frisk groaned. Like how he dealt with Toriel, Richter bailed. Hopefully Richter's appearance was enough reassurance for Asriel. Richter wasn't one for puns anyway. Heading past the living room and into the kitchen, he opened the screen door and left. He saw that Undyne was right; it was getting dark. Good thing some of his magic created glows. However, he assumed that he wouldn't be using his magic during the battle. It might make it a bit unfair considering that Richter was far more advanced than Undyne. Asgore and Toriel were sitting in the chairs, which were arranged in a horseshoe pattern around the edge of the yard. He couldn't find Undyne. Richter was surprised by how large their yard was. He thought that it would've been smaller, like the rest of their house. He was happy to be wrong. His style of fighting, that was allowed, meant having some distance to move and dodge. His magic and the Vampire Killer were used in close quarters. However, he was pretty sure that using them was forbidden.
Toriel waved him over and he obliged.
"Are you sure you're up to this? Your hands were just healed after all."
Asgore decided to warn Richter about a threat to his health.
"As well as that, Undyne is a very competent fighter. You might be outclas-"
Richter didn't allow him to finish. He didn't actually say anything, of course. He thought that would've been rude. What Richter did to stop Asgore from finishing was laugh. It was an involuntary reaction. Asgore clearly hasn't seen him fight in his prime before. Richter started to hype himself up for the small battle. He would finally be able to show that they didn't have to worry so much about him.
"Sorry, but you just wait. I'm a Belmont for a reason. Other than birth, of course. You'll be quite amazed. In fact, both of you will."
The screen door opened and out came the rest of the group; Sans at the back. They all took their seats. Frisk and Asriel were vibrating from excitement. Papyrus was trying to muffle Sans to stop his...pillow puns. Thinking about it, Richter thought it might be fair to bring in his own audience. They also served as guards for the rest of the monsters in case Richter turned rogue. Turning back towards Toriel and Asgore, he asked them.
"Hey, mind if I add to the audience? I've got some friends who would love to see this. They won't cause too much trouble."
Asgore just nodded. With confirmation, Richter pinged a few monsters he knew who might enjoy watching the battle. After a minute or so, they all arrived. Gurkha and Blade arrived first with Hammer being a close second. Ember took the longest. Richter didn't exactly invite her to see the fight, but more of moral support in case he went mental. Hammer spoke first.
"Aww, cool! I was wondering if that lady was ever going to challenge you."
Adjusting his hammer on his shoulder and lightly punching Gurkha, he continued.
"Lighten up brother! You'll get to see Richter fight someone who ISN'T US! Think about it! You get to cheer the main man himself. Blade, what do you think?"
"I think that Gurkha should learn how to enjoy opportunities like this. It'll be amazing for sure. Hey goat dudes, mind if we join you?"
Toriel just nodded, trying to suppress a giggle from their brotherly arguments. As they joined them, Ember trudged up to Richter and nudged his hands.
"(How are they?)"
Whispering, he responded.
"They're fine. Toriel somehow pulled off a miracle with her magic. If it wasn't for her, my hands would be gone. I'm going to so burn that tree when I get home."
"(Bit late for that. The Altar absorbed it.)"
"Then I'm going to summon it and destroy it as many times as I can. The thing broke my HANDS!"
"(Correction: You broke your hands on IT. You know, you could've allowed us to at least bandage it up before you left. Salome was severely disappointed.)"
"What can I say; Undyne invited me and I couldn't refuse."
"(But I heard you say that you-)"
Richter pressed his hand against her muzzle, although he knew it wouldn't do anything. She got the message and switched topics.
"(I'm just glad you're back to being...you.)"
With that, she walked over to where Frisk was and sat decided to lay there. Richter turned towards Asgore and asked about something that had been bugging him since he entered the yard.
"Asgore, where is Undyne? Shouldn't she be here?"
Right as he finished his sentence, the screen door slammed open with enough force to shatter it. The sound of glass was accompanied by heavy metal plates scraping against each other. Out stepped Undyne in her heavy plate armor. The left eye in the helmet was covered with a small sheet of metal. She looked like she belonged in Richter's trophy room. The Brothers playfully booed Undyne when she appeared.
"READY TO FIGHT, PUNK? DON'T HOLD BACK! MAGIC, WEAPONS; WHATEVER! LET'S GO!
She punctuated her "go" by throwing one of her blue magical spears. Richter slid underneath it and rolled out of the way as she buried another where he finished sliding. He was caught by complete surprise. It was probably that surprise that caused him to launch several axes towards Undyne after getting off the ground. She quickly deflected them with the end of one of her magical spear. Richter remembered that there was an easy way to deal with enemies who could deflect his projectiles. Conjuring a few flasks of Holy Water, he waited until Undnye was close. She got close fast, Richter found. He wasn't liking how close Undyne's fighting style brought her. Nearly being impaled by her jab with a spear, he flipped over her and launched the flasks. She dove to the side as the Holy Water surprisingly released waves of Blue Holy Fire. She instinctively recoiled as the Holy Fire spread in her general direction. As she flailed about, Richter flanked her and took a quick swing with the Vampire Killer. She still managed to deflect the hit with her spear, before tossing it at Richter. He certainly didn't like that she also had a very competent ranged attack.
A blue light spread underneath Richter's feet and several spears jutted out of the ground. The remains of his overcoat were caught in the spears. Undyne quickly took advantage of his entrapment and wound up a punch. He deflected the blow with his forearms, which sent him several feet backwards. His arms hurt like hell and he now had nothing to protect his chest. With Undyne quickly running towards Richter, he had to think of something. He decided to use one of his heavy combos to give him some space from her. He wasn't used to how direct and projectile heavy she was. He needed to give himself some space to pull off a counter plan to her spears. Richter usually dashed through projectiles, but he couldn't dash consecutively that many times without tiring. She just wasn't giving him time to react. Every time he would get up, she was there with another attack.
Richter left himself visibly open to lure Undyne; he acted like he was preparing a spell. Undyne quickly ran towards Richter, spear raised. Richter smiled as she fell directly into his trap. He dashed through Undyne, sending her sprawling backwards. Quickly turning around, he Ultimate Uppercutted her upwards before she could recover. Cheers erupted from the Brothers as Undyne started to falll twenty-something feet. Richter didn't fall with her, however. He was levitating off of the ground due to the Item Crash he was about to use. Yelling the name of crash, he began.
"GRAND CROSS!"
A bright beam of light surrounded Richter and reached towards the sky; seemingly never ending. A large magical cross, the size of several wagons, erupted from the ground and impacted with Undyne as she fell. She found herself launched across the lawn and over the fence. Softly touching down, Richter looked at the damage of the battle thus far. The Grand Cross hadn't disturbed the ground and none of her spears had caused significant damage to the fence. All Richter could do was wait. He noticed that everyone was staring at him with shocked faces. Frisk and Sans were talking about something, although he didn't know what. The Brothers were just laughing quietly at their surprise. They had fought Richter before, so they were used to him pulling out powerful combos out of nowhere.
Richter had to kneel down for a second to catch his breath. He forgot that he didn't have the stamina he used to ever since killing Shaft the second time. Right as we was finally breathing normally, the the fence was smashed open by a furious Undyne. Her helmet was quickly thrown at Richter, which he reflexively whipped. It exploded into several fragments of metal. He surrounded Undyne with Fire Pillars to allow him to rest. Laughing at her sudden yelling, he sat down. He was glad that he had learned how to do that from Dracula; probably one of the only good results from fighting Dracula. He just shrugged at everyone's surprised glances. She would eventually find a way to get through.
He wasn't given enough time to enjoy the rest. A large fiery section of the wooden fence was suddenly launched towards the audience's direction. Richter's heart halted. He knew they didn't have enough time to get out of the way and none of them could destroy it. Toriel and Asgore couldn't control Richter's fire. The Brother's wouldn't be able to intercept the flaming projectile. Acting without thinking, he pulled out the Stopwatch and empowered it. Time completely halted with a large timer appearing above Richter's head. The time kept on resetting; a strange error that had been occurring since the Altar's magical connection. Time wouldn't start until he stopped powering the Stopwatch. Quickly lowering the Fire Pillars, Richter rushed towards the fiery fence wall. He couldn't directly damage it due to time being frozen, so he got between the group and the fence. Unfreezing time, he quickly dashed through it. Pieces of scolding wood surrounded the Belmont as the fence was no more. The yelling, and Papyrus's scream, stopped as they saw that Richter had somehow intervened. Undyne quickly ran over to the group.
"OH SHIT! I thought I was throwing it at Richter! You guys ok?"
Toriel was the first to respond and her tone was very grim.
"Yes, we're fine; no thanks to Richter here. You need to go inside and think about what you've done. While you're there, put a coin in the swear jar. Go now, Undyne."
Undyne left mumbling to herself. The Brothers started cheering, only to be shot down by Toriel's glare. Her gaze softened when she turned to Richter.
"Thanks for helping out there. Normally we're used to Undyne's reckless habits, but that was...unexpected."
"No, it's my fault. I should've done something different instead of using fire. None of you can control my fire either and I knew that. I feel really bad now. Sorry."
Before Toriel could speak, Asriel jumped in. He was vibrating with excitement. She gave up and went inside.
"Be sorry for being cool? That was amazing! With all of the dodging and magic, it looked like a living light show!"
Frisk jumped in like he normally did.
"My favorite part was when you launched Undyne into the sky. No one had anticipated it!"
Of course, the Brothers couldn't resist retorting to what Frisk had said. They always needed to show off. Surprisingly, it was Gurkha who spoke.
"Actually, we did. He did something like that to us once. It was, uh, an interesting experience."
Frisk and Asriel crowded the Brothers as they told them the story of when Richter had needed to get to the teleport room in their sector...with full hearts. They hadn't been defeated so easily in their lives. Asgore got up to inspect the fence. When Richter tried to follow, Asgore stopped him with his hand.
"It's fine, Richter. I would feel useless if I didn't do something here. Toriel doesn't allow me to do any of the chores anyway."
With a smile, he went to the fence. Richter had lost track of Papyrus and Sans. They weren't in the yard and he hadn't seen them since he saved them from the fence. Richter walked to Ember, exhausted. Stopping Time took the most out of Richter and he knew that his body wasn't ready when he began the empowerment. He had no choice, however. None of the Brothers were fast enough to stop it and neither were the family. He slightly wished that he had brought an Ice Shade. He flopped over on top of the Fire Warg, resulting in a quiet huff from her. He had to stop himself from falling unconscious. He wouldn't hear the end of it if he had.
"(I can see that you're tired. Maybe you should've conserved your energy a little more.)"
"What did you expect? I wasn't used to how she fought, so I used what I deemed appropriate to give me some space. I didn't expect her to throw that fence though."
"(I don't think anyone did. Good thing that you saved them though. That was an excellent display that you still are YOU, not anyone else. Now, it's about time we go. You said you would sleep early tonight and I WILL make sure you do.)"
"Sure, whatever. I'm just going to lay up here then and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
Ember could instantly name several ways she could remove Richter from her back, but she held her mental tongue. He deserved to rest for a while and he wasn't too heavy to carry. As Ember went through the house and past the kitchen, Richter hand stretched upward and waved towards Toriel and Undyne; where the latter was being lectured by the former on what to do and what not to do with property. Undyne gave a quick thumbs up towards wherever Richter was on the Fire Warg and Toriel quickly shook her head. She doubted that Undyne would ever learn.