The public mourning event was today and the main four orchestrating it all would meet. Former King Asgore, former Queen Toriel, Asriel; one of monsterkind's saviors, and the determined human of this current era... Agni.
The poor girl had been set up to act as Betty's decoy, against her own will too. Prior to this, she, Betty, Asriel, and Hate were given a rundown by Adel on the plan. Betty was supposed to stay with Asriel during the mourning and pilgrimage that'd follow afterwards to protect the monsters while she, Hate, and Adel headed to Mount Ebott to find the culprits exploring the place.
But Betty was stubborn with the idea of being out of public eye, even after agreeing to tag along, and instead devised a plan where she would be exploring Mount Ebott instead. Unfortunately for Agni, this meant she had to swap places with the determined human, which she of course tried to protest against. She didn't want to deal with the public either, especially while imitating the rarest and most powerful human alive, but Betty had the upper hand with her silver-tongued words on Adel.
Agni forgot what exactly the pink-haired girl had said to convince him, but it was something along the lines of providing better firepower. Whatever the reason, she was made victim to taking Betty's place with an illusion spell cast over her to appear exactly like them. After that, she was sent on her way with Asriel, who was as unhappy as she was with the change of plans, to his house.
"I can't believe she went to Mount Ebott instead, is she trying to be insensitive?" Asriel asked as he buttoned up the black dress shirt he wore, eyeing Agni with worry. "If anyone figures out you're not Betty, we'll be in trouble..."
"E-exactly! What if I have to s-show a spell or my soul? I can't cover that!" Agni agreed, huffing furiously. She could think of a hundred reasons this could all go wrong, she didn't sound exactly like Betty either, the trained ear could figure that out. Not to mention, while the illusion was perfect it was limited and could be dispelled if she were to sustain enough damage or if she ran out of magic. There were so many issues Betty hadn't accounted for that she had the urge to ramble about. "It's like she didn't think this through!"
"It seems like a curse that follows every determined human I meet." Asriel groaned and shook his head.
"Re-r-really?"
"Really." The monster nodded. "I'll tell you all about it later." He finished up the final touches on his outfit with a small, dainty tie before he noticed Agni wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion. She was still currently in that standard skirt and striped sweater Betty was known for wearing constantly. She didn't seem to have any black clothing on standby for herself either. "Uh- Is that what you're going to wear for the mourning, by the way?"
Agni's cheeks flushed red as she looked down at herself. "I-I have no choice, the clothes are part of the illusion." She tried to take it off earlier while no one was around, but she quickly found out it was useless. It was one of the many issues she had with the spell cast over her.
"Well if that's the issue," Asriel walked over to the nearby closet and scrounged around. "We have...This!" past a variety of striped shirts and old clothing, he unveiled a long purple dress with a deltarune symbol.
"That's n-not black though." Agni pointed out. And would Betty really wear something like that?
He went ahead and shoved the dress to Agni, smiling brightly at her. "That is true, but monsters like it when humans represent them so they'll overlook it! I think."
Oh right. Agni nearly forgot the deltarune symbol on the outfit wasn't just an emblem made for the former royal monsters. It was, and still is, a source of hope and determination for monsterkind. She also heard it told a now-fulfilled prophecy.
Still, she was reluctant to wear it. By her own will, she didn't want to draw any more attention than needed. An outfit like that was sure to stir up unnecessary gossip. "D-Do we have any better alternatives?"
Asriel took a second to glance at the closet and then back at Agni, shaking his head. "Not that I can see."
Agni didn't say anything but gave a look of dejection as she snatched the dress from Asriel's paws. It'd only take a few seconds for her to slip it over her body and adjust it. This feels a little too big for me. "W-who's outfit is this anyways?"
"Oh! It was my mom's actually."
"Y-y-yo-your what?!" She gasped, mortified by the fact she was essentially wearing a royal and historic item. Also just generally wearing the clothes of someone else's parent weirded her out a whole ton. "I can't w-wear this! I can't go to the mourning!" She tried to take off the dress but before she could, Asriel grabbed both of her hands and looked straight at her.
"You'll be fine." The monster firmly promised. "She won't mind. Besides, this is Betty's reputation in jeopardy, not yours. Ease up a little!"
Nervously looking down at herself, Agni figured Asriel was right for the most part. This was Betty she was imitating, not herself, and therefore any action she did wasn't of her consequence- for now at least. That didn't save her from reacting to people's judgment and opinions, however. Whether it was rational or not, she was scared of making a bad name for herself even when she wasn't herself. She didn't know how anyone would react to the dress she wore and was afraid the reception would be negative, especially from Asriel's parents.
"I-I guess you're right... " She murmured before jerking her hands away out of Asriel's grip. "S-still, I'm worried wearing this won't...get me the best reactions. T-that and I don't want to ruin my friend's standing."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Betty is already in a weird spot with her public opinion," Asriel said, further attempting to ease the human's nerves.
"I think t-that just makes me feel worse!" Agni groaned and fell backwards onto the bed. She placed her hands over her eyes and took a second to think. She didn't even know Betty had a worsening public view, considering they have only just recently been in the spotlight. 'I-I'm going to get shouted at if I make one wrong move!"
"I don't think she's that far down the barrel yet. It's just that some humans and monsters may of set their bars too high with Betty and got disappointed. Not to mention the whole town she was 'supposed' to protect bur-" Asriel paused, watching Agni lay around looking pretty out of it, hypnotized by her own worry. "-ing. You're not listening are you?"
No response, just clear, internal panic. It only amplified when Toriel herself entered the room, barraging in without warning.
"My child," Toriel spoke calmly as she opened the door. "Are you and the human...Ready?" Her red eyes gazed at Agni, who was lying on the bed looking like they were five seconds away from a panic attack and wearing one of her old dresses. She said nothing for a long, uncomfortable moment before turning towards Asriel. "Is she alright?"
Asriel forced a smile while futilely nudging 'Betty' to get up. "She's just nervous having to be in public."
Agni failed to move, only mumbling incoherent words. She had become stuck in her own fears, having an overload of panic and worry. Imitating Betty, wearing someone else's clothing, going out into public to represent someone she wasn't, it was all a little too much for her.
"She looks more than 'just' nervous. She's rather pale..." Toriel stepped over to the disguised human and placed her hand over their head. She frowned, feeling their temperature rise from the stress they produced. Thankfully she had a way to calm them down, generating a green glow from her palms that would seep into their body. "Poor thing, having so much responsibility just for your soul trait must be taxing."
"Oh boy," Asriel said under his breath.
Agni and Asriel would stand between Former King Asgore and Former Queen Toriel in front of the masses of humans and monsters dressed in black, the tapped-off arena behind them all. People from every district far and wide would gather around the origin of the latest and most tragic event in human-monster history; Justego, Amikeko, Persistego, Kurago, There were at least a few inhabitants from every other district outside of Determino whether it was to mourn lost loved ones or those innocent souls who didn't deserve their unexpected fate. Some who attended had been a part of the tragedy itself and were now here to see its effects on the kingdom as a whole.
That wasn't even mentioning the many cameras around broadcasting the whole event throughout the entirety of the kingdom.
Many of the attendees held offerings ranging from flowers to fruits, to miscellaneous items that may have been associated with one of the many victims or to pay respect to them all. Some of the attendees happened to be very well-known individuals here to give offerings of their own such as the esteemed Gaster with his echo flowers, police officer Undyne with an armored helmet, and Jessica with her blue sympathy flowers; much to a lot of people's surprise.
Agni was nerve-wracked to high hell at the sight, she had never seen so many heavy-hearted individuals in one spot, here to pay their respects while she was just here to fill Betty's role. She felt like just being here was disrespectful to the dead; so many monsters and humans had their eyes trained on her and the three goat monsters next to her, waiting for them to speak and initiate the ceremony she had no intention but force to be here.
The only reason she had gone into a breakdown was thanks to Toriel's healing magic having soothed her mind earlier, otherwise she would've been openly panicking way before this all started. Right now she was trying to keep her panic at bay, telling herself she just needed to act calm and natural until it was all over. I can do it, just stay brave, Agni. Your friends are depending on you for this and messing up will only bring consequences.
'Betty' bawled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her sweaty palms as she glanced around at everyone around them. So much stress coursed through her, and even her self-reassurance wasn't sufficient enough. She had nowhere to hide.
But then she felt a paw clutching onto her hand, paw pads pressing against her skin; Asriel's hand gently gripped onto hers. It felt...Calming for some reason, almost as much as the healing magic applied to her earlier.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine..." Asriel whispered softly into Agni's ear.
She found herself shaking her head in disagreement at the statement. She truly believed she wouldn't be fine, not with how she was progressing at the moment. "I-I'm scared." She whimpered.
"And I understand that," Asriel said, looking straight into Agni's eyes with a flash of determination. She just looked away but he refused to give on her regardless. "so how about this: I promise you won't be alone in this, just hold my hand and we can get through this together."
Silently, Agni let her fingers wrap around Asriel's paws and then between his digits. She gave a light squeeze and just held it there for a good, long second. Will this really help...? She gazed at the crowd with unease and continued to hold onto the monster's mitt. To her surprise, it worked. She had someone to lean on, something to redirect her stress to; The need to panic or run away plagued her less, just as long as she kept her grip. "I-I guess it works...Just please, don't let go..."
"I promise." Asriel smiled, eyes shining. "Be brave."
Be brave. Agni echoed back those words in her mind. She felt her own soul gray ever-so-slightly. "I-i'll try..."
"That's all I need." he assured.
"I want to thank everyone who has come to join today's event, everyone who has come to respect the fallen and lost from the most recent tragedies." Asgore voice boomed at the crowd, his voice filled with resolve and respect. The ceremony was about to begin.
"I also want to thank those who are here to participate in the later pilgrimage, either to spread the dust of their loved ones or to pay additional respect." the large monster would then look towards the camera, gesturing to the viewers watching on their screens. "Lastly, I want to thank those who are watching even if they themselves could not attend today's event."
Toriel would be next to speak out, her soft and emotional voice filling the air. "What was supposed to be a broadcasted set of interviews for those involved in the 'Sicko Incident' turned deadly with over a hundred humans and monster lives lost in the span of an hour." She looked at the arena, off limits to the public but a thick set of police tape, and gave a heavy sigh. "Succeeding this was another attack on a secluded town in connection with the perpetrators of this horrible tragedy. Only two monsters out of the dozens of residents there at the time survived. I am, as well as all of you I'm sure, devastated by these losses suffered in such an unexpected matter..."
Agni wasn't exactly a social butterfly and her house was secluded from the town itself, but Our Town was her home with what time she had been there. Now almost everything was burnt down, including most of its inhabitants. A peaceful place now in ruin and ash. She wasn't as distraught as other people were though, she never had strong connections with anyone there except for her friends she only recently made, but it was still devastating to her in her own right.
For a moment 'Betty's' thoughts would drift off to her destroyed home, what-ifs of better outcomes and scenarios that could've happened if fate was much more merciful. it was a good way to distract herself from the current, stressful situation of being in front of an entire crowd as she continued to grasp onto Asriel's hand.
Unfortunately, she had to snap back to reality when Toriel asked, "Asriel, Betty, is there anything you two would like to say to the crowd?"
Wait what? ME?! Agni did not sign up to do any talking whatsoever, she was just here to fill Betty's place and nothing more. No one told her she had to speak as far as she knew. She could feel her mind swirling, going back to the depths of fear and panic.
Calling for help, she would set her sights on Asriel with a pitiful glance. He would notice and smile at her. No words, no advice, just that smile and the feeling of his furred paw in her clasped hand. It was a strange, silent reassurance before he took initiative by stepping toward and speaking out to the gathered humans and monsters.
I'm going to have to talk, aren't I? Agni thought in despair. There was no way out of it, all she could do was endure what was to come.
"I was there when the four unknown humans struck the arena, I saw so many humans and monsters die in front of me..." Asriel spoke, his green eyes dulling. "It was so unexpected, and I'm sure it was traumatizing for a lot of us. It was for me."
"I tried all I could to stop it, assisting Betty in warding off the attackers, but the damage had already been done and..." To Agni's surprise, Asriel's hand flex, squeezing on hers. He...He's nervous too? "I felt like I didn't do enough to minimize what had happened. I feel like I never provided enough aid...So I'm sorry, to all those who have lost their loved ones to this tragic event. I'm sorry for all the suffering you are going through, from the bottom of my heart."
Was he saying all those things earlier to convince himself? She wondered while her eyes trained on their held hands. Was it possible Asriel had his own fear, speaking out into the crowd? But he didn't seem scared when she looked at his face, he looked confident and ready to admit his own grief without fault.
But then she sensed it, Asriel's fear. He indeed had some, but it was faint like how someone presenting might get nervous but hide it the entire time. He's not scared, but worried? It made her realize she wasn't the only one with some negative thoughts bouncing through her brain, it's just that Asriel knew how to handle it better than she ever did.
He was brave, unlike her. Can she be also? Asriel was doing everything in his power to make it feel possible. It might be possible, just this once.
"I-" she blurted out then paused. Immediately she regretted speaking out, but it was too late for her as everyone turned their attention towards 'determined' human. So many eyes were trained on her, even the cameras were aiming right at her. She felt like she couldn't do this, her fear spiked over, overtaking any bravery she had in her soul. There was only one thing preventing her from falling back: Asriel's hand. That soft reminder to be brave and that she wasn't alone in this.
I can do this...I'm not alone. "I...Also have similar feelings. And I'm sure a lot of us do too, a lot of what-ifs we wished could've happened. I feel this way for especially Our Town, my home." 'Betty' finally spoke, forcing herself to speak confidently just like Asriel did, facing her fear head-on. "All of it is gone, but if I had been there then maybe it would've not been."
She tried to speak as if this was what the real Betty would say, but her own thoughts and feelings on the tragedy would slip into the mix. "I barely knew those who lost their lives, but they were innocent people. Humans, monsters, none of them deserved to die. I can only find myself at fault for it all," she sighed "but I must stay determined. We all have to if we want to get past these hardships we face. But that does not have to stop us from mourning, hence why we're all here today."
She stared at the crowd for a second before dipping her head and taking a step back. I'm done, thank god. I feel so weak though...
"Without further wait, you all may place your offerings in peace." Toriel concluded.
The crowd would shuffle themselves closer to the arena, past the three goat monsters and 'Betty' to place down their gifts to the long dead and perhaps cry over their personal losses. Flowers, candles, profits of the fallen, and many other items would soon be laid out around outside the Arena's perimeter. It didn't take long until the bundles of offerings began to look like a decorated, rainbow-like flower field with the clear intention to display love and respect for the victims of the arena and town tragedy.
To Agni, the sight was beautiful yet saddening at the same time. It was nice to see how humans and monsters openly shared and express their grievances with offerings and comfort for one another, but she deeply wished something like this would never happen again. To have a world where no one would experience that fear would be nice, the thought crossed her mind as felt her own body become weighted and heavy.
Her legs would buckle and cause her to nearly collapse if not for Asriel's quick reaction to catch and force her to continue standing up. "Woah. You okay there, Ag- Betty?" he asked with worry, his eyes momentarily looking towards the cameras recording the scenario.
Stay in character, Agni. "Y-yeah, I've just been tired is all! It's been stressful lately." She leaned forward, quickly sneaking in a whisper "I-I feel weak...I think my soul is acting up."
"huh? what's wrong with it?" he whispered, perplexed.
"Something with m-my trait," Agni knew what was up with her soul, she was lacking a lot of fear and timidness like she usually did. Holding Asriel's hand, gaining confidence from him, it may have worked a little too well. "I need to go somewhere private for a minute..."
"I got you." Asriel nodded then continued to speak normally, picking back up their fake conversation "Oh no, I had no idea! Come with me Betty, I'll find somewhere you can take a break.."
"Thank you" 'Betty' dipped her head and was led away from the general public and Arena. She would be taken a good distance away down a sidewalk, far enough for no cameras to spot both her and the goat monster. Eventually, they would find a secluded spot in an alleyway, although the teen wasn't all so glad it had to be this of all places- She had been in enough of them to know it usually brought trouble in an almost cliche manner.
After settling Agni against a wall, he would ask, "What's wrong with your soul?"
Now Agni wasn't about to give any clear details about her soul, as most of the information about it she wanted to keep limited, but she was getting weaker and couldn't deny showing them what was wrong with it. She wasn't scared to either, feeling safe around Asriel. Too safe. His presence was weakening her at this point. It's like their kindness was poisoning her. And indeed it was, the moment she ripped her soul out of her chest, showing its dark orange color slowly fading to gray.
"It's graying!" Asriel exclaimed, "but why? Are you scared?"
The opposite, actually... "Y-yeah." She lied then went on to mention, "I-I have trouble manifesting bravery, I'm not in tune with my trait at all..."
"No wonder you freaked out so badly earlier." Asriel commented. Just then, he noticed Agni's illusion disguise flickering between her true form and 'Betty'. "That's not good."
Alarm spread across Agni's face as the illusion on her struggled to stay on. Great. Now she's weak AND the spell was faltering. Her soul wasn't feeding it enough magic with it going gray. It was getting so bad she began to feel like she couldn't stay awake. I can't keep this up... "I-I don't think I can go on."
"But we need you to keep playing the role of Betty!" He said, unaware of the real circumstances Agni was facing. "Come on, you have to be brave!"
"I...W-wish I could. I want to! I feel like I can do it...B-but I can't..." Her upper body would slowly begin to slide off the wall, unable to withstand the lack of energy in her body and now nearly gray soul.
"Come on, stay with me, Agni!" Asriel shook Agni, which unfortunately only did the job of dispelling her illusion completely. "Crap- What am I supposed to say with you gone?" he desperately asked in a last-ditch effort to salvage the situation.
"Y-you can get t-through th-..." Her sentence drifted off as she went unconscious and fell to the ground.
Asriel was alone.
Agni couldn't believe it, her worst nightmare had come true and it wasn't even intentional. She didn't mean to leave Asriel in the dust abruptly, not after mustering up enough bravery to play the role of Betty for as long as she needed to, but that became her downfall. Her soul didn't want to be brave anymore, it didn't want to stand tall and face the world head-on, it wanted to cower like she often did. But since she went against the very meaning of her soul, it harmed her and potentially her allies.
All those monsters and humans she left behind with one less protector too...She was given a task and ended up being a failure. The disappointment on everyone's faces coursed through her mind, how she failed to uphold her mission. She could only guess what kind of reception Betty was receiving online and from the gathered souls at the arena. It was sure to be negative with her suddenly not present.
Where was she anyways? Agni was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to a dark, seemingly infinite room. It was like she was in a void. A cold, endless void. I'm not dead, am I?
Patting her chest, she quickly found out she was indeed alive, her heart still beating and her skin warm. All of it felt very real and she was conscious of every decision she made.
That also meant she was conscious of everything happening in this void, including the appearance of some figure manifesting from a distance like some kind of nightmarish demon pulling itself out of the mist. She was very much weary of its presence. "Who- Who are you?"
It stopped in its tracks and spoke, but its words were inaudible and faint like the murmuring of a distant crowd.
"W-what-"
A ripping sound emitted from the being as it thrashed its hand into its own chest. The sickening noise of squelching liquid rang throughout the void as it took out its soul, strings of its flesh trying to cling on only to be broken off. The soul pulsed with dark, hateful purple as the slowly glanced up at Agni with a deranged grin. An aura of malice surrounded them, so potent it was enough for the orange-haired girl to summon her spear out of fear for her life.
"You poor soul, Agni. Your friends are in trouble and you aren't there to help them..." A familiar voice spoke.
Oh no. "Y-You! What are you doing to my friends?!" Agni squeaked out, her eyes shrinking at the sight of her enemy. She knew her mistakes would catch up to her, but never in this way with this evil creature appearing once more.
"A game! A very, very fun game! You know how I'm a sucker for those!" He cackled and squeezed hard onto his soul. "Why don't I spoil the surprise for you? I'm sure you'll like it as much as your cheating friends do!"
"Don't- Don't you dare do anything!" Agni stumbled out with a commanding tone, which didn't seem to reach Boukyaku's ears. He just kept laughing and laughing as his soul grew brighter and brighter. Whatever he was about to do, she didn't want to stick around and see. She wanted to get away. For all she knew, he was about to kill her.
The fear of injury and death moved her to act. She hurled the spear at Boukyaku out of desperation, and when that didn't work; as it landed in his shoulder yet didn't faze him, she made a run for down the void.
No! No! No! Her friends were in trouble and she was being attacked with nothing to do about it. She was weak and useless to do anything, a cornered mouse with no choice but to try and desperately scamper away.
Agni had to run in fear, for if she didn't then there was no way she'd survive. Her heart was beating like drums, filled with panic and desperation to get was from her attacker. It became strenuous, her chest began to feel pain, her blood vessels demanding air, and her heart beating too fast for her body to handle. The fear in her was worse than speaking to a crowd or having anyone depend on her. Disappointments and shame can be fixed, but she refused to be harmed under any circumstance.
But even with all the speed she had, the bright light from Boukyaku's dangerous soul rapidly approached. She could see it reflecting off her skin and clothing until she could see the light from the corner of her eyes. And then it overcame her.
She was too slow, engulfed by the blinding magenta.
For a long, agonizing minute she could see nothing but that color, not even herself expect, but then something appeared: Her soul, filled to the brim in dark orange. It hoovered in front of her and she would reach out for it, only for her to find out she had nothing to reach it in the first place. She could only watch as it floated there, bobbing slowly up and down.
Deafening cackles and gibberish sounds of mockery filled Agni's ears, the voice of Boukyaku coming from multiple directions. Before she could comprehend it all, a hand lurched forward to grab her soul.
Agni screamed.
Gaster dropped her.
"Get away from me!" Agni screeched as she kicked back into a corner and began manifesting a row of luminous spears. She gasped and heaved for air, her heart pounding and her lungs working overtime. So much stress, fear, and panic filled her, she didn't know she had her magic aimed toward Gaster, she only noticed the color of purple in the room.
Pressing her hands over her head and bawling up, Agni's magical pikes were sent towards the doctor. Quick thinking kept the situation from becoming deadly, Gaster extended his hand out and manifested a spherical shield of kindness to block the incoming explosive spikes.
The attack was stronger than he expected, shattering the shield with ease with only a few hits from the Agni's hailfire. Thankfully the spears were poorly aimed most of them went in completely random directions, hitting walls and furniture far away from him. Still, the attack shocked him into forming an additional shield out of caution seconds after the initial one.
"Calm down!" Gaster yelled.
Agni, startled by the different voice, instead summoned another spear. Rather than attack him once more, she used it to blast a hole open to the outside. Without hesitation she fled, prompting Gaster to send a wire of patience and entangle the beserked girl with speedy precision. "Dear Deltarune, don't you even dare think of leaving! Don't you see what's outside?!"
She would continue to retaliate despite her restraints, thrashing around on the ground and hopelessly shouting as she was dragged back. Tears began to form in her eyes as she was unable to deal with the sheer panic she felt. It ultimately accumulated into one burst of horror when her eyes trained on what was happening out in the open.
Purple. Magenta. It was everywhere. The sky, the grass, the trees, the sun itself, the city, Mount Ebott out in the distance, it was all heavily tinted with that same sickening soul color Boukyaku possessed. A fountain of twisted perseverance magic poured from above the old home of monsterkind. It was like her nightmare hadn't ended, her mind and soul would go into full overload.
Her thoughts went blank and she would collapse, murmuring an assortment of things to herself ranging from how she left Asriel alone, how she failed her task and the possibility of her friend's death. She gave up, her dark orange eyes hopelessly staring into the altered world. She could see a stream of magic emitting from the tip of Mount Ebott right before she was dragged back into Gaster's lab-like home.
Super Short Story!
Betty walked down a road that cut through the Glistening Thicket to god-knows-where, Kumu following after her from behind with its attention on the strange formation of the trail rather than the beautiful golden trees and flowers surrounding them. She herself was curious as to the road's appearance too, it was nothing she had never seen before. The material was strange, some solid rock-like formation that stretched for miles without faltering, not to mention the weird yellow streaks on it. This wasn't like the dirt and gravel roads she had known.
Kumu opened its mouth, crackling out a hiss-like sound Betty would immediately understand. "This can't be a brick road, Kumu, why would they make one here in the middle of nowhere?" the human asked, drawing her friend to simply shrug by bobbing its spherical body.
Where does this road lead to anyways? And what kind of technology could've made this path? It's so... Alien. Betty nervously glanced up at the seemingly endless stretch of road. Another thought came to mind: How long has time passed prior to her awakening? She was afraid it could be years, maybe even centuries.
There was only one way to find out and that was by-
"Wait, what's that noise?"
Betty could hear rumbling from the distance, a strange, inhumane growl that bellowed down the road blaring with...Music? Whatever the hell was coming down their way, she and Kumy were quick to get off the road and hide behind a set of golden-leaved bushes. Just then, a strange contraption sped past the two with a speed that could outmatch even the strongest wizards known to humankind. It was like some sort of messed-up metallic chariot she had just witnessed. not to mention she saw teenagers and a monster(?) operating it without a horse.
"What...The hell." Betty murmured, breathless.
Where are we?
Notes:
•Inverted souls weaken upon feeling emotions opposite to their trait.
•Agni was once brave, especially morally.
•Agni's dream was just a dream. Boukyaku didn't invade her mind or anything.
•I always assumed Betty had no clue what modern technology.
•Sorry that this chapter didn't have too much special going on, I wanted to flesh out Agni a bit and how she acts with different scenarios. Figured it'd also help explain why what kind of issues inverted soul users face on a mental, magical, and even physical level.
• I had an entire section of text for after Agni was dragged back into Gaster's home, but scrapped it due to how awkward the interaction felt when writing. See below if you want to read it, but just know it's not canon.
[Special thanks to Shadow8Phantom for the review! I appreciate your kind words and hope you'll continue to like my story :D]
Scrapped part.
Thirty have passed since Agni woke up. Currently, she was sitting on the couch in the living room, wrapped to the brim with blankets provided by the doctor. The past minutes had been blurry to her and she was only now coming to her senses, although her eyes were still glued to the outside, that terrifying purple color that replace everything. That beam of magenta coming out of monsterkind's former home was also a cause for concern, she could see it from one of the windows, pulsing like a fountain of pure, unrestrained magic. She could hardly believe its been up for so long and she could only pray her friends and the civilians were alright, for now she was bound to the house to apparently recover.
What the hell was happening at Mount Ebott? She knew it was that purple-smiling being's work, but why they caused it was unknown to her. She felt like she knew why but desperately hoped it wasn't true. She would've checked the tv for news on the situation if she wasn't trying to strike calm herself, morbidly curious on how everyone else was handling the unexpected, but what she experienced earlier was more than enough panic for now.
Speaking of which, during her beserk-like panic attack, she had unintentionally harmed Gaster. She hadn't noticed at first, but it became apparent to her that his shoulder had a hole in his coat. He reassured her the spear she threw at him missed, thanks to the little mass skeleton monsters naturally had, but she couldn't help but feel terrible. She continued to attack him even after that, all while he tried to restrain and calm her.
Feeling like a villain, especially upon seeing Gaster walk into the room with a cup of hot chocolate and their still torn coat, she dug herself deeper into the fortress of blankets she had. "o-oh hey..."
"I see you've calmed down at last." Gaster casually noted as he settled the mug on the coffee table, in front of Agni. "May I offer you some hot chocolate? I know the current situation outside is...stressful for you."
Agni didn't know what Gaster was trying to lead the conversation into, she was used to this strange kind of bribery, but didn't question it as she nodded and took the warm cup. "Y-yes...Thank you." she paused then murmured, "Sorry for attacking you awhile ago, a-are you sure you're okay...?"
The doctor sighed. "It would be a lie to say I'm not worried you'd attack me again, you're rather deadly while in a panic. Strange, for what should be a bravery soul." He waited for Agni's face to explode with surprise and quickly try to hide it by drinking the cup's contents. He knows! "As much as I am curious of your circumstances, those will have to wait for another day. Our current predicament, as you can see from outside, is far more concerning."
Agni sighed in relief, glad they were avoiding the topic of her soul for now, but the issue of the entirety of Ebott's surrounding area being affected by Boukyaku was just as much of a major concern to her too. "A-asriel and my other friends might be at Mount Ebott by now, alongside all th-those mourning civilians."
"I'm aware," Gaster stated, his eyes trained out the window with his eyes reflecting its hue, "Who could've caused this all...?"
"S-someone who you should be scared of." the orange-haired girl blurted.
"Hm?" Gaster turned and looked at Agni, her words catching his attention despite his stoic expression.
"I thi-think they're all in trouble, my friends and everyone else, I-I don't know his name but it's the work of that one humanoid," Agni looked up at Gaster, her pupils darkening, "T-the one with the purple smile and eyes. Y-you know who that is, right?"
"I'm afraid I do...Your guess is more than likely the truth." Gaster turned away and then looked back at Agni from the corner of his eyes. "But unfortunately there's nothing I can do at the moment, nor am I allowing you to leave this room for your own good. Especially after that outburst..."
"...I won't argue with that," Agni sighed, figuring taking any measures might lead to another panic attack and 'panic attack'; she didn't feel so good either, "I'm already stressed enough as it is, and I feel so worn out."
"You did lose your trait then suddenly regain it under stress, I wouldn't be surprised your body is taxed by such changes and reactions," Gaster noted while studying the human's behavior. "you're still shaking even with that comical amount of sheets over you..."
Agni didn't even notice she did until the doctor mentioned it, but made no comment on the observation. "I-ignoring that, i-is there anything that can be done about my friends or those pilgrimage attendees?" she asked, deeply worried about the more than possible trouble the people she knew could be in. The purple environment, the beam of magic at Mount Ebott, it was an eerie and scary scene especially when she knew there were people caught nearby the origin of it all. There was no doubt in her mind who the perpetrator was.
For a thoughtful second, Gaster would think before ultimately shrugging. "If I knew a way, I'd tell. I'm just a scientist, not to mention I have to watch over you, my sons, and my current projects at the moment from going into harm's way. My plate is already full enough as it is." He watched as Agni's expression faltered to disappointment, eliciting another sigh from the monster. "Asriel and Betty stand a good chance against any opponent thrown their way if their time at the arena has anything to say. I'm sure your friends are exceptionally well in handling themselves too."
"I g-guess." Agni wasn't convinced, even though they were strong, she had a nagging feeling they weren't enough.
"That's not mentioning the former royal guard leader, king, queen, and AMD leader are there too to protect the civilians..." He further added in hopes of easing Agni's worries.
"I-if you say so..." Yeah, that didn't work in the scientist's favor. The girl was clueless about the strength of any of those individuals.
An awkward silence fell on both of them.
"...Ahem. Well-" Gaster's expression faltered into a slight discomfort, having little to no idea how to proceed with the conversation, "I'll leave you here for now, I need to check up on my sons. Please try not to run off anywhere."
"A-alright."
"Good." And with that, Gaster disappeared in a flash from thin air.
Agni sighed and turned her attention back to the outside and its altered state. I'm such a fuck up...
