Wandering through the unexplored side of the city. Which, as it turned out, was largely residential. It ran parallel to the one with all the apartments. Only, the ones here were a bit more rundown. Less maintained, and cared for. The duo traveling into it, past a random blue stop sign, that had been defaced.
The sight of which prompted a guttural growl from Chara. Her counterpart quickly hurrying her along to be away from it. To focus on...well, anything else really.
Eventually, they found their way to an apartment complex. It was equally as expansive, but in general disrepair. Then again, they'd had to wander down strange streets, and to odd places.
Whenever Aliza began thinking of turning off this path. She always found the thoughts vanish from her. As though they were being plucked away. Compelled to...
|Proceed|
The sidewalk had various problems. Including missing pieces, broken sections and the sort. Trees having pushed their roots through the area, and under both the sidewalk, and roads. Even with her thoughts as foggy as they were at times, Aliza couldn't help but feel like she'd picked a bad place to wander into. As fascinating as it was to see.
The apartments were in a general state of disrepair. With plants having tangled, and overgrown some of them. As though it had been left more forgotten than not.
Her thoughts were broken by the sound of other children. Noticing them gathered around someone talking. Starting to wander off, already at a fair good distance away. Following along with a child wearing hooded rags. One of the monster kids noticing them, motioned.
"Hey, hurry up, or you'll miss it!" Before running off and around a corner further down, and out of sight.
"Miss it?" Aliza asked.
Chara noted. "They probably found something they think is neat." She reasoned. "Like, a dead cat."
Aliza looked horrified. "W-why would...t-that be neat?"
"H-hey now. I didn't say it was." Chara commented quickly. "It's more...I dunno. When, I was back on the surface...I got yelled at to come look at a thing by other kids before." She explained. "And...well, that's what it wound up being."
"What happened to it?" Aliza asked, visibly looking distressed. "W-was it...w-what happened?"
This was a learning experience for the soul of perseverance. It seemed Aliza liked cats. Good to know, and something that she realized was only going to make the story much worst if she told it. Not having the heart to admit that some of the children had decided to drown it, after it scratched a bully from her little 'hometown.' She sought an escape from the sad expression on the other girls face.
"I'm...just kidding." Chara lied, trying to sound convincing. "Heh. You...you should have seen the look on your face though."
"C-chara." Aliza pouted. "That...wasn't funny."
"Well uh...I didn't really find it funny either. I just-" Chara thought up a reason. "ya know, wanted to know if you...liked cats too?" It was a bad, stupid reason. But hey, at least she tried.
"You could have...you could have just asked." Aliza huffed, crossing her arms. "Without being...all...spooky about it."
"Yeah. Uhm..." Chara scratched the side of her head, embarrassed. "R-right...I'm sorry." She laughed nervously. "I..uhm, I..."
There was a long and awkward silence after that. Well, that conversation hadn't gone well. But, then, it wasn't the worst so far. So, there was that at least. But, they were both strange beings in their own right, with their own...let's call them quirks.
Regardless of their present embarrassment, things would not wait for them to rectify it. Instead, the disruption would come, in the form of haunting melody, filling the air. One that prompted a chilled breath to escape from one of them.
The sound of a music box echoed, flowing out from somewhere unseen. The first couple notes weren't anything significant. But after a moment, Chara instinctively hummed along with it, before stopping. Realizing.
"That's my music box." Chara noted quietly.
"Huh?" Aliza asked.
"That's...that's my music box, that song, it's..." Chara began to look around, listening, trying to deduce its origin. "I...I gave that to mom...I..." She felt the spark of something in her, and began stepping, and then running towards the sound. "Mom!?"
"Chara, where are you goin?" Aliza asked in alarm, hurrying after her. "I-I thought she...wasn't in the city?"
This was true. But the momentary sentiment that was hope had filled her. And it wasn't always the smartest of emotions. Powerful, but...daft.
The duo wound up following the path the other children had taken. Hurrying down it, and around the corner in this abandoned apartment complex. Revealing it to be an alleyway, in this broken section of the city. The music echoing down its walls, from a spot in the ground.
Whisper managed to speak to Chara. "H-hey...mom's...she's supposed to be ahead. Right?"
Chara huffed. "Then...someone has it." She music was loud here. "Here?"
There was an open manhole, going...down. In the dark. The rest of the alleyway, was a dead end. It didn't cut through to anything but a wall. This...was the only path forward. Had the other kids gone inside? They had to have.
It was in this moment that Chara thought a very clear thought. One born from paranoia, but wise. History had shown, that every time she ventured off alone, something bad had happened.
Heading down into the sewers of the city, was definitely, absolutely, going to be a bad idea. Sure, it was nothing but water flowing from there to Waterfall, and it wasn't exactly like a human sewer system. Much cleaner by all measures, but still.
Had the other children gone down to see the music box? Why would it be in the sewers? There were questions she really wanted an answer to. And an object she desperately wanted back.
Aliza caught up. "C-chara...huff...please don't...run off please." She panted some. "You're...faster than I am."
Chara glanced back. "I'm uh...I'm sorry. But...it's down there." She pointed. "The other kids must have gone down too. Probably to check it out, I guess?"
"To...the sewers?" Aliza raised a brow. "Why go in...why not bring it out to listen to it?" She wandered over, and stared down into the dark. "It's...real dark down there."
"I think...there are some faint lights on the walls." Chara tried to recall what she'd read about these things. "But, the kids probably have flashlights."
"And...you wanna...go down?" Aliza asked, clearly hesitant.
It wasn't like it would honestly be that threatening right? But, Chara could tell the idea made the other girl a bit uncomfortable. And, for once, she had to admit what a silly idea this sounded like.
Even if the music box was down there, it would be difficult to find. Sound echoed in a place like that. It carried, and danced around, a thousand times. It may not be impossible, but it would be difficult.
Whisper suggested. "Well, we can ask them when they come back up, right?"
That was a fair point. They could just wait for the other kids to come back up. Then, if she was just patient, she could get her music box back from them then. Honestly, it was a safer idea that getting lost in the sewers, even if she hated the idea of just sitting around waiting.
"Yeah, that's...fair." Chara agreed, asking. "But, uhm...do you mind waiting for them to come out?" She asked. "So...I can-"
Aliza interrupted with a nod. "That's perfectly okay. I get missing...your things."
"I know it's silly, but-" Chara hesitated.
"Chara, it's okay." Aliza assured her again. "It's important to you, so-"
The conversation was interrupted by a sudden development, in the form of a loud sound. A distant noise like a scream, rising and coming to their attention from within the hole. It was an unpleasant sound, and others, muffled could be heard, drowned out by the music, if only barely.
Chara blinked. "That was a scream."
Aliza tensed. "Why...m-maybe it was just-" She hesitated. "I...maybe, it's...a prank?"
"Probably, but..." The purple eyed girl glanced to the side. "we should...go tell someone."
The suggestion was unexpected by Aliza. Who half-imagined her counterpart would jump at the opportunity to pursue what sounded like danger. And, while she initially liked the idea...the sounds of panic broke that prospect for her. If...they went and told someone. That would take time.
It would take time to convince someone to come. It would take time to return. And then...by then...what if it was too late? What if someone got hurt, or lost?
"We...have to help." The orange eyed girl said, swallowing her fear.
"What?" Chara sounded, and looked surprised. "But-"
"If we don't...it might come to late, right?" Aliza asked, hesitantly. "You...you were thinking it too. But..."
Chara sighed. "But...it sounded reckless." She glanced at her partner. "If we do this...we try and stick together. And...if it's not some prank, or it's something too dangerous. We run back here, okay?"
"Okay." Aliza agreed.
It felt a little bit like dungeon delving, as a concept. Only, to deal with whoever had made the scream, and probably retrieve the music box. It was...likely it was a prank to scare people. After all, what else would be down there? The larger concern, wasn't over the prospect of direct danger, but of structural or getting lost, in their minds.
"Okay, let me...I got it. I'll deal with light." Chara nodded, motioning, as she cast |Phantom Hand| intent to use the glow it provided as light. "But...it won't last forever so I'll have to recast it. And...I dunno how much TP I wander around with at a time."
"So...we've gotta be quick." Aliza agreed, taking a deep breath. "Let's..l-let's...ohh." She felt afraid. "We...we can do this."
"Of course, just...try not to get hurt okay?" Chara requested, before trying to pump them up. "And...fuck yeah, in general. Heh." She didn't know if she'd used the swear completely accurately. But it earned a snicker out of her counterpart, so she hoped it worked.
The pair descended down the ladder, and into the dark. The phantom hand promptly providing a capable means to illuminate the dark. Which was haunted by the sound of a music box. And the fading echoes of screams within, drowned out by it.
This was a terrible idea.
There were lights now and then throughout the sewer, along its walls. Which had overgrowth, and plants even there. Including some luminous fungus in the damp corners, and below large spaces where water was meant to flow.
Surprisingly, perhaps, to humanity, it was mostly clean water through the canals. Running from showers, and sinks. Shining faintly with residual mana, dust, and debris that broke down within it. Glistening with an unnatural shimmer, cast by the faint lights on the walls.
The claw like hand moved just ahead of them. One drew the bat, internally requesting it keep an eye out behind them. As it could see through the darkness perfectly.
Whisper responded. "No worries. I've got this."
Chara internally thanked her own whisper. Noticing Aliza move to speak, she put a finger to her lip. Giving a soft 'shh' in the process. It was best not to speak, for the time being. After all, they had to pay close attention if they were going to find the other kids.
They stepped along the side paths. The walkways through this odd space. There wasn't a great deal of room. Enough, certainly, but not a staggering amount. Chara wagered, however briefly, dodging an attack would be a nightmare in a space so confined.
After she thought this, she motioned for them both to stop. There was a sound. Like a disturbance of water. Almost like something was pushing through it. The music dampening it, making it hard to pick out. But she'd heard it. It was immediately halted after they paused their movements.
Whisper noted. "I'm not seeing anything behind us."
She kept this in mind. They were coming up to a fork, that continued forward, or went right. The music box echoing around, louder than it had been before. That at least suggested they were going the right way. Maybe. But they weren't alone, and that was more pressing perhaps.
Chara didn't have a great way to share the information. But tried her best. She didn't know if Aliza would understand, but she used sign language.
'Aliza. There is something ahead.' She signed.
Aliza examined the motions. She didn't understand them. Frowning some, clearly feeling bad about not being able to do so. Before it was repeated, and she seemed to get the point. Her eyes widening, as she examined the path before them.
The spellcaster of the group, thought for a second. If she did this next move quick, she could see what it was, without it escaping. She just had to be quick, and precise. If it was a threat, they'd need to run. Chara noting, there was no way she could protect herself and Aliza in this confined a space.
Taking a breath, her eyes closed. Focusing on the sensation of the Phantom Hand. Feeling her will flow into it, controlling it. Swaying it, to her own end. The fingers moving as she got the sensation down.
Her eyes opened, and briefly steamed with purple light, and magical power. The energy in the palm building, and then exploding forth. In a massive beam of yellow light. Exploding out, illuminating the entire long tunnel forward.
As it went, the two got a look at what lay ahead of them. There was something, resembling a child in ragged cloth in the water. With eyes invisible beneath the hood, save for two points where it was simply darker, than dark. The light cast, revealing a hand around a corner farther down. And something crawling on the ceiling at a distance away from them.
When the light began to fade, the distant sound of the music box faded. Chara noticed the 'child' before them in the water. The way its smile stretched in unnatural fashion. It was one of the creatures of the dark. And that meant...
"Run!" Chara ordered, snatching Aliza by the arm.
Aliza let out a gasp, turning and running along with her.
The sound of water being disrupted filled the space. Alongside giggles in the dark. And the noise of wet feet slapping fast against the tile they were running on.
They came to the corner, back towards the way out. Charas foot slipping on water. Causing her to slide, and then fall. Stumbling over the side, and into the water below.
Aliza gasped. "Chara!"
A noise came to her attention, as the world flashed purple and black. Giving a vague outline of the grinning creature attacking her. Slashing out with some glistening piece of metal. Her soul shining, as she leaned back. The end of the makeshift knife slicing across her cheek.
But it's attack wasn't finished. Instead it only continue to laugh, and slashed at her. Aliza staggering as she tried to dodge, stumbling, and falling to the ground. The creature, missing by inches, slicing a piece of her hair in the process.
"You're a human." The creature said, in a voice not unlike Charas. "Temmie really wants a heart, like yours." The girl tried to crawl, but was stepped on. "Mind if we borrow it?"
Chara cast |Phantom Hand|
The distortion beside the creature surged, and grasped it. Halting the moments, as the grey child let out a sound of surprise. A sound drawing a glance, before a bat was brought swinging. Crashing into its head, sending it flopping, and splashing into the water. The phantom hand releasing the creature, as it squirmed and thrashed.
Chara snatched Aliza up off the ground. "Keep going, don't stop!"
Aliza got to her feet, hearing noise coming from behind them. "Chara, they, she, i-it sounded-"
"I-I know, just move." Chara didn't understand, but there wasn't time for that. This was significantly worst than she imagined. How...how had these things gotten into the city?
The phantom hand slashed out at the dark. The sound of splashing blood, or ink audible, as something laughed in response. Aliza struggling to keep up with her counterpart. The pair growing nearing the escape hatch, only to see the top dragged shut. As another one of the childish creatures dropped down to block their path.
"Sister~" The grey child whispered. "You're not leaving again, are you?"
Chara growled, hearing the giggling, and the noise growing to be all around them. This was a trap. This was a trap, and she'd sprung it like a damn idiot. She felt...fear, as Aliza squeezed her hand.
There was a surge of movement, seeing a knife dance near her. She weaved to avoid it, nearly falling off the platform with her wet shoes. A sound from behind seeing something tackle her. Smashing her off the walkway, and into the water.
Aliza moved to help her, only to be slashed by a crude knife. This one cutting across her arm. A noise, like static looming in the air, growing louder. Her scarf swinging as she moved to dodge, nearly falling in the process. She wasn't used to having so little space. Hearing more vile laughter in the process. The hit had...hurt less somehow, and done less to her.
Another dove from above, lunging from the shadows at her. As something destroyed the phantom hand. The sound of thrashing water filling the air. She was cut by it, as the creature vanished into the dark. The other moving to stab her, as she weaved to avoid it, only to hit something as she fell back. It was like...metal and wires.
She glanced up, only to find a television screen looming in the dark. The moment she witnessed it, her vision became trapped. She couldn't look away, couldn't think of anything else, but unrelenting fear. And then...
A sharp feeling raked across her throat. Her movement was trapped, her body frozen by the wiry creature. Hands unable to grasp as blood began to flow from her. Until her legs gave out, her vision blurring, her body slouching down to the ground. Her soul cracking, and shaking violently. One of the grey children reaching out, to grasp it.
"No!" A roaring scream tore through the sewers.
|Phantom Hand - Hate|
The phantom hand tore out, and ripped the creature in half. Before moving to slash at others. The bat coming down hard, and furious on another that was now dying in the water. The television creature lurched, and lunged. Knocking her back into the water, forcing her to stare at the screen. As she thrashed, trying to resist it.
One of the grey children howled. "D-don't drown her idiot, you'll-"
But it was well and truly too late for that. The girl, smothered under the water, saw the faint orange glow shatter. Snapping her from the trance, as pain flooded her.
Unwilling to accept what had happened, she drew in water, feeling it fill her lungs. Burning, aching, as she writhed, and struggled. Feeling them collapsing, in the painful process of drowning. They tried to stop it, but it was already done.
The pain came to cease for a moment, and then Chara died.