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Thank you, everyone, for the wonderful reviews!
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Who's ready for some lore?
Maybe a bit of mystery, too? :)
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Tarnished Timepiece
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"is this it?" Sans asked as he held up a small pink locket with faux rubies embedded into it. The costume jewelry had been at the very bottom of a wooden barrel.
"No, keep looking." Gerson replied after only giving the locket a quick glance. "We're looking for a large round silver locket about as big as the palm of your hand. ...I might have put it inside of something..."
The palm of his hand? That didn't sound like a locket... "are you sure we aren't actually looking for a pocket watch?" Even as he said this, Sans could have sworn he heard a faint ticking sound coming from somewhere. Head completely inside a large trunk, Gerson either didn't hear him or simply chose not to. Releasing an improbable sigh, the skeleton listened to the ticking as his eye lights scanned the small cavelet. It was coming from the other side of the room.
Opening a chest they hadn't gotten to yet, Sans pushed aside a heap of old clothing. At the very bottom, he found a beat up pair of leather boots. Huh... Picking up a boot, the skeleton held it up to his skull.
*tick tick tick... grrrinnnd ...tick tick tick*
Tilting the footwear, an old purplish hunk of metal tumbled out and into his open hand. The lid flipped open all on its own revealing a strange looking timepiece. The mechanism didn't appear to be functioning quite right, he noticed, as one hand kept ticking forward then winding back, while the other wasn't moving at all. Was this what he was looking for? It wasn't silver, but true silver was known to tarnish. So... "is this it?" Sans tried again as he held out the pocket watch.
Looking up, Gerson's old eyes seemed to light up when he spotted the strange object. "Wha ha ha! Ya found it!" Abandoning his search, the rickety tortoise stood back up as the skeleton walked over to him. "Thank goodness." He said as he stared down at the 'locket'. "I was startin' ta think I threw it into the canal by accident."
"i think it's broken." Sans said as he held it out for the old timer to see. "some of the gears sound like they need to be reset. why were you looking for a pocket watch anyway?"
"It isn't broken." Gerson replied sadly as he reached out and retrieved the device. "Honestly, I would have thought both of the hands would have long since stopped moving."
Pressing a button on the side, a panel slid down, hiding the clock face from view. In its place, a picture of two humans could now be seen. One of them, a woman with long coppery colored hair and green eyes was holding a small child in her lap. The child had medium length brown hair and her hazel eyes seemed to express a gentle calm.
Sans stared silently down at the picture. Was that...? No... this kid looked ever so slightly different. Even so, the similarity was striking. It was strange, seeing humans like this made it harder for him to believe that so many of them were violent. Of course, there was also the possibility that humans such as these were just a rarity.
"Ah, Freya and little Frisk." Gerson said as he gazed at the picture with nostalgia. "To think, I had almost forgotten their faces."
"wait, that's frisk?" Sans asked as he studied the little girl in the picture. Somehow, he'd expected her to look a bit different.
"She was such a kind child." Gerson smiled sadly. "To think, this was made just a few months before the war started. What a terrible, terrible time..." He said, shaking his head at the memory. "Didja know, if it wasn't for the good ol' Kingdom of Magic, all of us monsters down here would probably be long dead. Though... this ain't much of a livin' now is it? Wha haha..."
Sans didn't know what to say to that. A month ago, if someone were to have asked him about the war, he'd probably just shrug and repeat what he'd been taught. The vague story about how there was a fight between humans and monsters. But now, he was starting to think that there was a whole lot more to that story. A forgotten part, glossed over after centuries of retelling. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious. However... "i'd love to hear more about this, but we should probably get going."
Clicking the lid shut, the old tortoise bobbed his head. "Ol' King Fluffybuns, wha haha, I almost forgot about him. You're right, kid, we should probably get going before the big guy starts pouring himself some tea."
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It was too late. Old King Fluffybuns had indeed already poured himself some tea. How was it, that for someone who could teleport at will, they could take so long doing something that should have only taken a few seconds? That was what he had been pondering quietly to himself for the last 28 minutes.
Lifting his tepid cup of golden flower tea to his lips, Asgore jumped slightly, accidentally spilling some, when a pulse of light appeared in front of him. Now, standing amidst his garden, was his recently suspended Judge and an old knobby tortoise shell. Somehow, he'd remembered his friend being slightly taller...
Stuffing his bony hands into his jacket pockets, Sans stared down at the shell with slight worry. He privately hoped the old timer hadn't just keeled over after that little trip. According to the latest trend, his luck had been going in a downward spiral lately. So, until he came out, the old guy's chances were about as iffy as a cat in a nuclear box.
Carefully poking his head out of his shell, Gerson looked around before slowly pulling himself back onto his wobbly legs. He'd forgotten how disorienting a trans-spatial trip could be. Quite honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he'd taken one. But he knew he had at some point in his very long life. "Wha ha ha..." The old tortoise laughed weakly as he looked around. "What a lovely patch of flowers."
"Gerson, my old friend." Asgore greeted with a touch of worry as he rose up from his throne. "I do hope that that form of transportation wasn't too much for you. It's easy to forgot sometimes that not many creatures can handle teleportation, especially for someone your age. Perhaps I should have asked for-"
"Oh, quiet ya old fussbucket!" Gerson snapped at the fretting King. "I'm perfectly fine as you can see. For such an important matter, the fastest means of transportation was indeed required. You have my thanks, kid." The old tortoise nodded appreciatively over to the helpful skeleton.
"any time, gramps." Sans grinned, secretly relieved as he fell into a more relaxed stance. Lucky break.
"Now, where's the child?" Gerson asked as he looked around for the tiny human.
"I believe Sans might know the answer to that question." King Asgore replied dryly as he turned to give his Judge a discerning look. "Though, I have yet to ask him properly."
"Sans," The King started, narrowing his eyes. "Where have you hidden the human child?"
The skeleton cringed slightly as he closed an eye socket. He truly didn't like where this topic was heading, but now was the first and only chance that he was going to get to prove the kid's case. He just needed to choose his words carefully and remain calm and collected.
Cool as a cucumber. At least that's how he appeared on the outside, but on the inside... that was a whole different story. He just hoped the King didn't see right through him. Heh.
"i haven't hidden her anywhere." Sans replied with a casual shrug. "she's sound asleep back at my place. being chased around waterfall all day really tuckered her out."
"actually... " He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "i was meaning to talk to you about the human earlier today." Sans continued as his eye lights slid to the side for a brief moment before returning to give Asgore a serious look. "i think ya might want to hold off on taking the kid's soul. in my personal opinion, the sixth child is a unique case."
"How so?" Asgore asked contemplatively as his calm demeanor betrayed very little as to whether he was for or against such a decision.
"Because she is Freya's daughter." Gerson revealed with absolute certainty.
"Freya...?" For once, Asgore was truly baffled as he turned to look at his old friend. Surely he was mistaken. Perhaps the ancient tortoise was finally becoming senile after all these years.
Hearing the name of his dear childhood friend brought back bittersweet memories of much simpler days. It had been so long since he'd last thought of her. Too long. To think that she was somehow still alive... No. Human lifespans were so very short. Not even a Celestine could stave off death for more than a few hundred years.
"That isn't possible." Asgore contended solemnly. "Nearly five centuries have past since the war, Gerson. Freya would have died a long time ago. As would her children."
"unless." Sans interjected. "our timelines have somehow gotten crossed. i don't know how, but i believe the underground as we know it today is currently connected to the surface world from years in the past. hundreds of years in the past. this isn't just a theory either, i've got a bit of proof backing my claim." He said as he retrieved a silver coin from his pocket and held it out. "look at the date."
Taking the small coin from the skeleton. Asgore lifted it up to his face and squinted. "Land of Elm..." The King read quietly as if he was remembering something. Turning the coin over, his eyes widened slightly. "11x? This must be an antique."
"it's brand new." Sans rejected. "since, according to the kid, this is the same year that that coin was minted. 11x."
Asgore couldn't deny that the coin he held was indeed far too shiny to be anything but new. Even so... None of this made any sense. He knew that the Underground had never had a stable connection to the Surface. Being incomplete, the barrier had always interfered with the system so that staying linear was next to impossible. But somehow anchoring to a point hundreds of years in the past? That was truly impossible. He didn't need to be a scientist to understand the improbability of such a leap.
"I'm sorry," Asgore shook his head as he lowered the coin. "but there must be some other explanation for all of this. If what you're saying is true, then that would imply that on the Surface only eleven years have past since the end of the war. That is something I am not quite willing to believe."
"Believe this then, ya stubborn old coot." Gerson grouched as he held out the pocket watch. The lid, just like before, popped open all on its own. Maybe it had a loose latch? Everyone stared down at the dial face as the single hand ticked a few seconds forward before that grinding noise happened and it was rewound back to its original starting point.
Definitely broken, Sans concluded as he watched the hand once again attempt its short journey only to reset itself a few seconds later.
"Frisk..." Asgore whispered quietly to himself as he tried to wrapped his mind around what he was seeing. "She's alive? How is this possible?"
"Perhaps the barrier is weakening." Gerson suggested. "Or maybe the system's finally breaking down. Either way, something's gone awry. Before any hasty decisions are made regarding this child, I think we need to take a step back and assess our situation."
"I'm inclined to agree with you, my old friend." King Asgore finally relented. "Before anything else, though, I think I would like to speak with Frisk. Sans," he turned to his Judge. "it's nearly morning. When she awakes, please bring her to me. We have much to discuss."
"uh, actually..." Grin lessening, Sans looked away.
"Frisk appears to still be on the Surface." Gerson informed. "This new child, Fearia, claims to be Freya's younger daughter."
"Fearia, you say?" Asgore contemplated. "If she really is a Celestine, she should be able to prove it. We shall then know for certain if she is who she claims to be."
What? Sans felt that familiar feeling of dread settle into his bones. What would happen if she somehow failed to prove that she was a Celestine? Knowing the kid, she would probably find some way to mess this up. There was nothing else he could do to help either. It was going to be all up to her. He was just going to have to trust that she could pass the King's test.
What the hell was a Celestine anyway...?
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So many mysteries...
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In the next chapter, Fearia has a terrible nightmare!
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Thanks for reading!
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Sheii Bae~
