Reunited
And the $!$? Squad/Fun Gang/Lancer Fanclub will soon be back together, and Queen can't seem to decide whether she wants to be a sweetheart or an asshole. What she does know is she wants to be Noelle, Frisk, and Tina's new mom and isn't gonna let anyone or anything stop her!
...
Frisk sighed with relief when she reached the walk light, feeling safer in this more public place. She quickly hit the button and Queen immediately drove up and stopped in front of her. For the first time, she was relieved to see her.
The door slid open for her and Queen hopped back into the back. "Get In" she told Frisk, and Frisk got behind the wheel again. Thankfully, the road was completely empty as she pulled away from the curb, so she was much less terrified to drive now.
"Frisk We Have To Drive To Find Noelle" Queen told her. "Turn On The High Beams."
She pointed out the right button to Frisk and Frisk hit it. A huge spotlight with Queen's face on it appeared above the car. "When She Sees The Queen Signal She Will Come Running." Queen said proudly.
Noelle spoke quietly from the backseat. "W... Why do you... need to find Noelle so badly?"
"What Are You Saying This City Is Dangerous. Imagine Poor Noelle Clipping Into A Wall Somewhere. Wasting Away From Potassium Deficiency" Queen told her. She was smiling, but her voice sounded worried.
"Y... you're actually worried about her?" Noelle asked softly.
Queen smiled. "I Would Be If I Wasn't Going To Find Her."
Noelle paused for a second, then spoke again. "B... but why her? Wait, let me guess... is it because she's weak enough to make into your peon?"
"Haha No" Queen said immediately. "Just The Opposite. It's Because She's Strong."
"H... huh? What do you-"
"Frisk Stop The Car" Queen ordered before Noelle could finish her sentence. Frisk immediately stopped and they all got out.
"What's... wrong with it?" Noelle asked, and then it exploded, answering her question. Tina jumped back into Frisk's arms at the loud sound.
"Phew" Queen sighed. "I Was Just Concerned Because It Hadn't Exploded Yet"
"You put yourself and us in a car that was about to EXPLODE?!" Frisk yelped.
"Looks Like We'll Have To Split Up On Foot." Queen said, ignoring Frisk. She paused for a second. "Frisk If You See Noelle Tell Her My Knowledge Of Her Preferences Is Absolute. And If She Needs Proof Use This." She pulled her mixtape out of her pocket and handed it to Frisk.
"Um, okay." Frisk said, not sure how Queen thought a mixtape would show Noelle she knew her preferences, but not about to argue with her. It was like arguing with a brick wall.
"Toodles" Queen said and headed off.
"Ph... phew." Noelle sighed, taking a deep breath as she pulled off her box. "Somehow, I feel like we're almost out of here. Let's go, guys."
Frisk nodded and led her sister and Noelle down the empty side roads, which were thankfully free of hostile Darkners. "Gosh, that was close, wasn't it?" Noelle breathed as they walked.
"Yeah." Frisk agreed and Tina nodded.
"This... Strange world... this big city... It's so wild... It kind of makes my head spin." Noelle admitted.
"I feel the same. It's been a crazy two days." Frisk replied.
As they continued along the path, they found that the way was blocked by yet another forcefield. Noelle checked the instructions written on the wall. "Looks like another puzzle... Maybe if I go... down here?" Noelle suggested, then vaulted over the traffic cones blocking the other path before stepping on the switch. The letter D appeared, and the force field went down, allowing Frisk and Tina to go through. Tina then held the switch down, turning off the force field in front of Noelle. Noelle jumped on the switch that had an "E" on it, letting Frisk and Tina through once again.
As they worked on solving the puzzle together, Noelle spoke again. "...when I said this city makes my head spin, I didn't mean it in a bad way... you know? I always wanted to go someplace new." She looked down sadly. "And Dess... always told me she'd take me... Somewhere like this. Somewhere with shining lights."
"Frisk always told me that too! And she did!" Tina said proudly, gesturing all around them.
Noelle smiled sadly. "She's a good big sister, I can tell." Frisk blushed slightly at this.
"What's Dess like, by the way?" Frisk asked softly. She wondered if something had happened to her, but wasn't sure if she should ask Noelle.
"A... lot like you, actually." Noelle admitted as they walked, jumping on switches to lower forcefields and spell out the words to the puzzle. "Kind, tough, protective... and she loved exploring and going places, and always took me with her and her friends." She laughed softly. "I remember the night we explored the forest behind the graveyard with Asriel and Chara. I don't know if Mr. Dreemurr ever told you about them, but they're his son and daughter. They're both older than me, but they always made sure to include me. Even though I ended up crying because I was scared. But for some reason I feel nostalgic thinking about it. Dess wiping away my tears with Azzy's jacket with warm sleeves that smelled like cinnamon... I even miss Chara trying to prank Azzy and jumping out at us. She felt terrible when she realized she scared me too, and Dess yelled at her, but... I wasn't mad. I guess... I didn't mind being scared, as long as I had them there to comfort me." She jumped on the last letter of the puzzle, which Frisk realized spelled out the word "December," and jumped back over the cones to join Frisk and Tina. "I know, that's all kind of weird, huh?"
"Not at all. I... used to go exploring a lot by myself, and then with Tina." Frisk told her.
"We would pretend that we were on a quest, and that I was a princess and Frisk was a knight, and my plushies were our soldiers and bodyguards!" Tina said happily. "We travelled through scary woods to get to this really pretty place we called the Sacred Springs! There was a nice clear spring for getting water and wading in, with lots of blackberry bushes surrounding it, and dandelions for us to make wishes on!"
Noelle smiled. "That sounds really nice."
Frisk nodded. "Even if we sometimes scared ourselves walking through the woods, going to that place was worth it. It was like a little paradise there, and it was a grand adventure to get there. It was my special place when I was younger, and it was great to share it with Tina."
She smiled softly as she thought of the memories, how when she needed to get away as a small child, she'd bring her favorite plushie or a few library books and spend the day there where it was peaceful. Even if her childhood had been filled with loneliness, whenever she went to that place, it always brought her joy. And it was wonderful to have Tina there to share the springs with, to have adventures like she once had before she was made to leave childhood behind and grow up.
And thinking about that place made another memory come to her, though she had no clue whether it was dream or reality.
...
"Wa-ho! We did it, Frisk! Through the power of kindness, we defeated the guardian of the Sacred Springs!" a little boy's voice called as a bunny hopped away from the large dandelion patch that rested in front of the sparkling spring.
"Yay!" Frisk heard her own voice say happily. "Now what?"
"Nooow... Um, we each get to make a special wish!" the little boy's voice replied. There was a flash of white and a dandelion was now in her hand. Frisk closed her eyes for a second, and as a special wish came to mind, she opened them once again and blew, watching the tiny white seeds float into the blue sky.
"So what'd you wish for?" the voice asked eagerly.
Frisk felt heat come to her cheeks. "Promise you won't laugh?"
"Don't worry, I won't."
Frisk smiled. "I wished that we could be bestest friends forever and ever." There was a light laugh, filled with joy, and Frisk pouted. 'Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh!"
"Sorry, it's just..." A warm arm went around her. "That's my wish too!"
Frisk smiled and turned to look at her friend...
...
"Frisk, you okay?" Noelle's voice said suddenly, snapping Frisk out of her memory.
Frisk jumped. "Huh? Oh yeah! Sorry, just thinking!" she said with a smile as they continued on. Still, her mind was lost in thought again. Who was that boy? Frisk couldn't remember having any friends as a kid. There had been a few kids she talked to at school, but most of the time, she was alone. Despite wanting to so desperately, she never had a best friend, and was afraid to let anyone get close because her parents didn't want other kids over "getting in the way." And most of the kids had thought she was weird anyway.
And try as she might, she couldn't remember the boy's face, or even if he was human or monster. Thinking of the memory, she remembered a sense of deep affection and care, but if they had been so close, why couldn't she remember him?
Probably because he wasn't real. Maybe he had been an imaginary friend or a lovely dream.
Either way, she couldn't think of this now. She had to focus on reality, on finding Ralsei and Susie and getting all of them out of the Dark World safely.
They finally made their way out of the alleyways and to what looked like a carnival. There were stands set up to play those games where you throw balls at bottles. Frisk was thinking about stopping for a second to play and see if she could win Tina a new plushie when they heard an all too familiar laugh.
"O-oh no, she's coming back this way!" Noelle yelped. "I'll hide in that stall!" She dove behind one of the stalls just in time and put on her box head just as Queen came walking up.
Queen grinned when she saw Frisk and Tina. "Hey Check This Out" she said proudly, then wound up her arm like a baseball player, throwing the ball she was holding in her hands so hard the pins exploded. Frisk and Tina's eyes widened, but thankfully Noelle wasn't hurt and she had her box head on so Queen didn't recognize her.
"Sweet Right" Queen asked with a grin. Frisk nodded as Tina clutched her hand. Queen's attention turned to the booth Noelle was standing at. "Hey Where's My Prize"
"Oh! Um..." Noelle reached behind the counter and pulled out a wrapped box. "H-here!"
"Ha Ha Nice" Queen grinned, taking the box. She then started to walk off before hesitating. "Wait I Actually Don't Want This." She walked over to Frisk and put it on her head before heading off again. Frisk just blinked and took the box off her head, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do with this.
And then she heard a much more welcome voice. "Hahaha, how was THAT?" Susie asked proudly and Frisk turned around, smiling when she saw Susie and Ralsei.
"Haha, Susie! You're not supposed to ATTACK people with it!" Ralsei laughed, holding a cone of cotton candy in one hand as he turned to Susie.
"Oh yeah?! Watch me!" Susie taunted, though it was playfully. She then turned Frisk and Tina's way and her eyes lit up as she saw them. "Hey, guys!"
"Susie! Ralsei!" Tina cheered and ran up to them, giving them both hugs. Ralsei happily hugged back, while Susie stiffened in surprise, then slightly awkwardly hugged Tina back before ruffling her hair.
"There you guys are! We were wondering when we would find you!" Ralsei said happily as he ran up to Frisk.
"Yeah, you missed out on the cotton candy booth! But don't worry, I got you guys some!" Susie said with a grin, pulling two large cones of cotton candy out of her bag.
"Thank you!" Tina beamed, bouncing happily as she took her cotton candy. She immediately broke off a piece and stuffed it in her mouth. Her eyes lit up. "It's so yummy!"
"Glad you like it, squirt." Susie grinned.
Frisk thanked Susie gratefully, touched by the gift. She shuffled the box to one hand so she could take the cotton candy Susie handed her.
"Oh, and check out my new move!" Susie told her, forming a ball of green light in her hands and firing it at Frisk like a bullet. But instead of it hurting, it dissipated into Frisk with a warm glow, making her feel slightly healed.
"Heh, how's that!? Meet the new healing master, guys!" Susie said proudly.
"Oh. Yes, she is a real... "master" at it, Frisk." Ralsei said with a wink and a playful eye roll.
Susie shook her head. "God, teaching you sarcasm was a mistake." Ralsei just chuckled.
"I think your new attack is really cool, Susie!" Tina said supportively.
Frisk nodded. "You're learning healing! That's great!"
"Now we just need to get the amount of HP she can heal up." Ralsei said with a smile, then noticed the box Frisk was holding. "...Oh, Frisk, what's that you have there? Is that... a gift for someone? Or did you win it in one of the booths over there?" he asked.
Frisk laughed. "Well, it IS a prize from the booths, but Queen won it actually, not me. She decided to show off her skills at the game, then decided she didn't want the prize she asked for, so she gave it to me. I have no clue what the heck's even in it, but if one of you likes it, it's all yours." She then frowned, remembering Queen's propensity for explosions.
"Actually... I should probably check it first to make sure it doesn't explode. Queen had it last after all."
"Okay, if there's a chance of that, I'm checking it." Susie said firmly, gently taking the box from Frisk and unwrapping it. She sighed in relief. "It's okay; just a plushie of Berdly with... Oh."
Frisk took one look at it and upon seeing Berdly heading up to them, knew exactly what to do with it. "Hey, Berdly!"
"Oh, Frisk!" Berdly hurried over to them. "Have you seen..." He then realized Susie and Ralsei were with her. "Frisk!? We took a break from trucing for ONE second. And you're ALREADY back with Susie!?" Susie blinked in confusion at this.
"And Ralsei." Frisk reminded him.
"Yeah, don't forget Ralsei!" Tina said firmly. "And stop being so mean!"
Berdly crossed his arms. "Yeah, whoever that other guy is. Hmph, should have expected this." He grinned. "You couldn't keep up with my puzzle solving skills."
"Sure, right." Frisk said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, you want this plushie I got?"
"...Huh...?" Berdly asked, taken aback. Frisk showed him the plushie and his eyes lit up. "...A plush? Of me... With nipples?" he asked softly before grinning again. "...Hmph. Guess I'll forgive you for now." Despite his nonchalant tone, his eyes were alight with happiness and he was clearly thrilled with the gift. "See you, Frisk."
"That was nice of you, Frisk." Ralsei praised her.
"Heh, good way to get rid of that weird plush." Susie shrugged. "Come on, let's get the hell out of here."
"Um... actually..." Frisk started, about to tell them about Noelle.
"W... Wait!" Noelle called before she could, throwing off her box.
Susie and Ralsei jumped about a mile. "N... Noelle?" Susie asked in shock.
"We found Noelle." Frisk sheepishly explained like it hadn't just been made obvious.
Susie grinned. "...Cool. What the hell were you doing in there anyway, Noelle? That's cheating."
"I... I... Um... I..." Noelle stammered, clearly tongue tied around her crush. Frisk was about to help her, but Susie beat her to it.
"...Hm. Glad you're okay though. Since that stupid Queen took you, I was kinda worried..." Susie admitted. Noelle squeaked and blushed deeply. Susie's eyes then went wide. "Wait. Aren't you on THEIR side?" She showed her teeth at Noelle and moved in front of Frisk, Ralsei, and Tina protectively.
"H-Huh? W-Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Umm... I... I..." Noelle turned desperately to Frisk. "Frisk, help me!" she whispered.
"It's okay. She's on our side. She ran away from Queen." Frisk reassured her friends.
"T-That's right! Frisk said I could... I could be on your team?" Noelle said nervously.
"Oh, really?" Susie asked, turning to Frisk for confirmation, and Frisk nodded. "...Well, if Frisk said so, I guess." She grinned. "Didn't really want to kill you anyway." Noelle looked even more nervous, but she was blushing.
"Oh, and Noelle, this is our friend Ralsei." Frisk introduced the two.
"Nice to meet you. Frisk's told me a lot about you." Noelle said shyly, offering her hand to Ralsei.
Ralsei smiled widely as he shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you too!"
"C'mon, guys, let's get the hell out of here before that annoying Queen comes back." Susie interrupted.
"O-Oh, okay!" Noelle stammered before getting in line. She then turned to Ralsei. "Frisk... also said I should be... behind... Susie." she told him.
"I did?" Frisk blurted out and everyone turned to her. Noelle gave her a pleading look and Frisk tried to recover. "Oh, yeah! I did! Since Queen's looking for Noelle, she should, um, be in the middle where she'll be safer!" Frisk laughed nervously, feeling like a huge idiot.
"Uhh... well, if Frisk says so..." Susie replied with an awkward smile. "All right, let's go already." She stepped behind Tina and Frisk, letting Noelle get behind her, leaving Ralsei all the way in the back. Frisk felt like she had made this situation even more awkward, but she'd let Susie and Noelle work out things from here.
"Hmph, guess I'll join too, but only for this room!" Berdly said, walking up to them.
"No one was asking!" Susie hissed, baring her teeth.
...
"...So the next thing I know, Queen's jumped into the backseat with Noelle and Tina, leaving me, who has no license, to steer when we're going the wrong way down a one way street. I've got walking cars coming right at me and I'm trying to keep from hitting them." Frisk told her friends with a laugh as they continued along the path. Berdly had left a few minutes ago and she felt comfortable sharing her story of the driving lesson from hell without hurting his feelings.
"Did you hit them all?" Susie asked with a grin.
"No, I wasn't going to get into a car wreck with Noelle and Tina in the car. Somehow I managed to avoid them all, but we ended up in this huge traffic jam. So Queen makes me go down this dark alleyway to go turn on the walk light while Noelle and Tina have to listen to her mixtape with her."
"How long WAS that alleyway anyway? You were gone for like ten minutes." Noelle asked, finally tearing her eyes off Susie's butt, or whatever she had been looking at with a blush for the last few minutes.
"The alleyway itself wasn't that long. I just got jumped by this weird puppet guy who decided shooting dollar sign attacks at people and enlarging his head creepily was a good way to make sales."
"Were you okay?" Tina asked worriedly.
"Did he hurt you?" Noelle, Ralsei and Susie asked at the same time, though Susie's had an angry tone like she was going to find Spamton and beat him up while Noelle and Ralsei's were simply horrified.
"Not too bad. I...actually felt sort of sorry for him. He was clearly having some sort of mental breakdown." Frisk admitted. "From what he told me he was a popular salesman whose sales went down the drain, and he ended up homeless and living in a dumpster. He was desperate and insane, but I don't think he was evil."
"What did he even want from you?" Susie asked.
"I...have no idea what he wanted from me personally but he was curious about my soul or something and wanted to make some kind of weird deal with me. He wants me to meet him at his shop alone to talk about it, but..."
"Yeah, you're not going alone." Susie said firmly.
"Actually, it's probably best you don't go at all." Ralsei said nervously.
"R-Ralsei's right." Noelle agreed.
Tina nodded. "He sounds scary..."
"Trust me, I have no intention of going." Frisk reassured them. "I feel sorry for him, but I'm pretty sure that he's a danger to himself and others and I'm nowhere near qualified to handle that." She then remembered something. "...There was something that really confused me though. Spamton kept trying to tell me something, but all that would come out was "hyperlink blocked." It was like something was literally forcing him to keep quiet." Her eyes widened. "Crap, it might have been part of Queen's mind control. We'll have to be really careful."
Ralsei looked like he'd been struck at this and Susie and Frisk looked to him in worry. "Ralsei, what's wrong? Do you have an idea of what might be going on?" Frisk asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure. Not yet, but something feels like it isn't right. But... let's not worry about now. Let's focus on getting to the fountain. We can sort this all out in Castletown." he replied shakily.
The whole group was looking at him in concern now. "Ralsei, you know you can talk to us about anything, right?" Frisk asked worriedly. She remembered again about the weird shadow guy dream she had that Ralsei and Susie seemed to be worried about. She wondered if it had anything to do with what was concerning him.
Ralsei tried to smile. "I know and I will... but when we're back in Castletown, okay? I want to look into it some more first."
"All right." Frisk agreed.
"But we ARE going to go into this more when we get back there." Susie told him. "No more secrets."
"No more secrets." Ralsei agreed, but Frisk noticed that he looked away. Susie noticed too and had a rare worried expression on her face. Noelle and Tina looked both confused and concerned. Frisk mouthed, "I'll tell you later," to them.
They made their way to the end of the room in silence after that and spotted another one of the teacup rides sitting next to a flight of stairs. "Look, Frisk, there's another teacup ride here!" Ralsei said a little too cheerfully as if to distract either them or himself from the scary stuff they had been talking about. He then frowned. "But there's only three seats...Tina would be able to fit with Frisk, but there still wouldn't be enough seats."
"M-maybe two of us could... sh-share one?" Noelle asked so quietly Frisk could barely hear her, looking hopefully at Susie.
"Damn, guess we gotta take the stairs." Susie said, heading for the stairs. Frisk gave a disappointed Noelle a sympathetic look. She wasn't sure if Susie was being oblivious again, hadn't heard Noelle, or wasn't interested and trying to avoid having to tell Noelle that.
They passed through a winding maze of tiny paths and too many stairs. Susie ended up hoisting Tina on her shoulders to give her a ride as the little girl was growing tired. Frisk smiled at the adorable sight and she could see Noelle's eyes light up and her blush get even deeper as she watched the normally tough and aloof Susie be so sweet with Tina.
After passing by a force field, they arrived at another tile that likely turned off at least one of the force fields. Noelle spoke up. "Wait, I know! Umm, to turn of that force field..." She went over and stood on the tile. "You just stay standing on this switch!"
"Huh. Well, see ya later." Susie smirked, turning to head off with Ralsei and Frisk. Frisk knew she was joking, but Noelle's eyes went wide.
"W-Wait, what did I volunteer for?" the poor deer monster asked quietly.
"We'll be right back, promise!" Frisk reassured Noelle as they headed up. After going the wrong way and arguing whether they should or shouldn't all pile into one teacup to get at something that was in a treasure chest(Susie was all for it while Ralsei and Frisk thought it was too dangerous), they finally went the right way and encountered two Ambyu-Lances.
"Hey Frisk, lemme show you my ultimate healing!" Susie grinned.
She ended up using it a few minutes into the battle when Frisk, trying to escape from an ambulance bullet, slammed face first into a cactus bullet one of the Ambyu-Lances put in front of her. This immediately led to the Ambyu-Lances making fun of her.
"That's the worst healing I've seen!" one taunted.
"Is she charging for that?" the other asked.
"Hey, she's actually healing someone, unlike you guys who are attacking us!" Frisk growled.
"Yeah, you're being mean!" Tina said. "If you're such good healers, how come YOU haven't tried to heal us like Susie does?"
Ralsei nodded. "You should apologize to Susie. She's actually behaving like a healer, and she's learning!"
"C'mon you guys, stop being so overprotective." Susie told them, though Frisk caught a faint smile on her face.
They managed to calm and spare the Ambyu-Lances with Susie and Frisk lying about their health and Ralsei and Tina washing their hands, and even got a free healing out of it as the Ambyu-Lances wanted to prove they were better than Susie. Feeling much better, Frisk jumped on the tile, turning off the switch. They then turned around to get Noelle.
"Wait for me!" Noelle called as she jumped off the switch like she actually thought they were going to leave her.
They took the path that was now opened and ended up having to dodge sparks from fireworks as they raced to the other side. Thankfully no one was hurt and Frisk jumped on the nearest switch, causing an arc of electricity between two poles to fire up and break the balloons blocking it. The same thing happened for the next one, but the final one dropped a piece of cheese, which forced them into a battle with some miace. It took Frisk, Tina, and Ralsei trapping two and Susie chasing the other one around the bridge on all fours like a maniac to spare them, and they were bruised and sore afterwards. Who knew something so tiny could attack so hard?
And then when the dust cleared, they realized they were missing Noelle. "Wait, where's Noelle?" Susie asked in a panic.
Noelle walked up to them sheepishly. "S-sorry, I... I'd just never seen fireworks up close before..."
"Those bullets? What, you scared?" Susie taunted playfully.
Noelle's eyes went wide. "Uh.. um... I guess so..." she said quietly. "Maybe that's why I couldn't stop watching...?"
"Susie, don't tease Noelle." Ralsei sighed.
"O-Oh, it's okay! I d-don't mind!" Noelle reassured him with a smile. Ralsei looked confused but let it go.
The next puzzle involved Frisk picking up a bucket and catching a mouse tied to a balloon after it dropped. She safely returned it to its hole and the bridge came back together, allowing them to cross. The next puzzle was much the same, except Frisk had to run to get it before it hit the ground.
The third mouse puzzle however...
"Twenty more?! Damn, we're gonna be here forever!" Susie groaned.
"M... maybe if we um... split up the work?" Noelle suggested quietly.
"Huh?" Susie asked.
Noelle smiled. "Tina and I will release the mice... Susie and Ralsei, you break the balloons when they reach the top... and Frisk, you catch them! Umm, if that's ok."
"That's fine." Frisk reassured her.
"Ready...?" Noelle asked and Frisk nodded. "Go!"
Frisk ran around like a headless chicken, trying to catch the mice as Noelle and Tina released them and Ralsei and Susie jumped on the switch, but kept tripping or missing them. Finally, after the sixth attempt, she managed to get them all. "Phew, finally! Those things are hard to see."
"Hey, you still did it! Hell yeah! Take that, you stupid mice!" Susie cheered.
"It's nice seeing you enjoy a puzzle, Susie." Ralsei said warmly.
"Well, maybe they aren't all awful if you do 'em like that." Susie replied with a small smile. She turned to Noelle. "...not bad, Noelle. That was kinda smart."
Noelle blushed deeply. "H-Huh? Th... Thanks..."
"Heh, maybe next time I'll let you do my homework." Susie joked. She burst out laughing.
"Can I?" Noelle whispered reverently.
Frisk shook her head and put all the mice in their hole, which brought the bridge down for them, then placed the bucket in the bucket shaped hole, which opened a set of stairs for them to take up. They climbed the stairs and followed the long path, which took them to an imposing Queen shaped mansion, a black geyser shooting out of it.
Ralsei sighed with relief. "Look! We're finally close to the Fountain! It's Queen's mansion!"
"H-huh!? W-wait, why did we come here!?" a terrified Noelle asked.
"Because the only way to get home is to seal the..." Frisk started before a familiar voice came from behind them.
"Frisk. Tina Bean. You Were Very Good. Thank You For Bringing Your Big Sister Home." Queen greeted, reclining on her throne and swirling the battery acid in her glass. "(I Knew Our Truce Was The Best). Now You Two Look Very Tired. I Shall Send You All To Your New Rooms While Noelle And I Take Over The World." She motioned for Noelle. "Noelle Get Over Here"
"But I don't..." Noelle started to say, but Queen cut her off.
"Noelle" she said more firmly, but was still smiling. "I Will Only Say It One Time. Infinitely. Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here."
"Queen, I don't..." Noelle started again, hands on her hips.
Queen pouted. "Noelle Are You: Hesitating" she asked sternly before smiling again. "Let Me If-Then This For You. How About: IF You Don't Listen THEN... A Certain Bird Might Take A Ride In The Acid River" Her visor flashed "True," and Frisk felt sick with horror. Tina clung to her and Frisk hugged her little sister protectively. How could she have ever thought Queen could be nice at all?! Didn't she know better?!
"B... Berdly?!" Noelle gasped, her entire body shaking. Susie had frozen beside her, her eyes wide. It was obvious that she too didn't expect something this terrifying from Queen.
"We're not going to let you hurt Berdly!" Frisk yelled.
Queen's visor briefly flashed question marks before she spoke again. "Frisk I Do Not Think You Properly Heard Me. We Will Need To Get Your Hearing Checked But For Now I Will Repeat Myself: If Noelle Doesn't Come Over Berdly Will Take A Long Ride In The Acid River." Despite her threat towards Berdly's life, her voice sounded casual and persuasive somehow instead of aggressive or threatening.
Noelle shakily walked over. "I... I'm sorry, guys... I... I wish I could have stayed with you longer, but... I... I can't let Berdly get hurt, y'know?" she whispered to them as she left so Queen couldn't hear.
"We'll save you both. We promise." Frisk whispered and Susie nodded. Frisk looked to her friends. They all looked as helpless as she felt. She wanted to beat the crap out of Queen, and so did Susie, but they couldn't act until Berdly was safe and away from the acid river. She didn't know what failsafes Queen had put into her terrifying plan.
"Don't Be Sad Noelle Honey" Queen cooed as Noelle came to her side. "All That Remains Is The Final Step."
And then a familiar voice came from behind them. "My splendorous Queen! There you are!" Berdly said in relief as he came running up to them. "Phew! I looked in every used game store for you!" He then turned to Noelle who was looking at him in shock. "Oh, Noelle. Are you okay? You look a little funny." he asked, genuine concern in his voice. "You still mad at me?"
They both turned to Queen, who just smiled. "Okay Plan B." she said calmly. A cage dropped, catching Noelle and pulling her away from them, causing the Fun Gang to cry out.
"H-huh!? What are you doing!?" Berdly asked in horror.
"I See Now Her Will Must Be Unleashed Through Force" Queen answered. "Perhaps If I Make Her Face Into A Robot One...?"
Berdly stood there, looking terrified. "B-but... you said you wouldn't do that if I..."
"Variable Lying Set To True" Queen said with a smirk.
"We were going to be smart together! That's not fair!" Berdly yelled, clenching his fists.
"Understood" Queen answered. "Fairness activated."
With that, three cages shot out of nowhere. Frisk pushed Tina to safety just in time as she was trapped along with Susie and Berdly.
"FRISK!" Tina screamed.
"H-HEY!" a frightened Susie yelled.
"Good Thing I Calibrated These Cages" Queen grinned.
"You... You said I could trust you! You said you were a GAMER!" Berdly cried.
"Berdly" Queen said calmly. "I Only Play Mobile Games."
Frisk had no idea what that had to do with anything, but apparently it was the most terrifying thing in the world to Berdly. "NOOOOOOO!" he screamed.
"One Of You Is Going To Help Me With My Plan" Queen announced, ignoring him. "And It's Going To Be Noelle." She then looked over at Tina, who was running over to Susie and Frisk. She gasped and rushed over, grabbing Tina just as the little girl reached for their cage bars.
"Oh No Tina Bean You'll Burn Your Little Hands." Queen cooed as she shifted Tina in her arms so she was cradling her like a baby. The little girl screamed and struggled to get away, but Queen held her tight, starting to rock her.
"Let her go!" Frisk yelled.
Ralsei came running up to them. "Put her down!" He started to summon a Pacify, but Queen signaled and two Swatchings grabbed him.
Queen shook her finger at them sternly. "Oh My It Looks Like Some Of You Missed Your Nap Today." She rocked Tina more, avoiding a flailing arm as it nearly hit her in the visor. "I'm Sorry Tina Beanie You're Simply Too Small To Be A Peon Yet. You're Not Yet As Strong As Your Big Sister Noelle. But Since I Ran Out Of Cages And Don't Have Your Special Tina Room Set Up Yet Since You Have No Search History You Will Stay With Me. The Rest Of You..." She snapped her fingers. "Go To Your Room."
Frisk cried out as her cage shot away, holding out her hand to a screaming Tina and struggling Ralsei as she was taken out of sight.
...
"Frisk! Susie!" Ralsei cried out, struggling unsuccessfully against the Swatchlings' iron grip. He looked at Queen with fear filled eyes. "Wh... What are you going to do with us?"
"Frisk Susie And Burghley Are Going To Hang Out In The Cool Rooms I Made For Them. And As For You..." Queen held up a finger, then paused. "Oh Damn. I Literally Don't Know." She let out her high pitched operatic laugh as she carried a struggling Tina into the mansion. The Swatchlings followed behind her, dragging Ralsei with them.
Unable to get free and also needing to get in there anyway to rescue his friends, Ralsei let himself be taken. He struggled to figure out how he'd free his friends alone.
But in this, like so many situations in his life, he had no idea what to do.
...
I hope you guys enjoyed! While Spamton Neo isn't going to be in the story, as I can't think of a way to include him that makes literary sense at this point(due to both Frisk's caution and the fact that you have to randomly run off during the climax of the story to deal with secret bosses), but he WILL be in Castletown with the others. So you guys will get to see more Spamton!
And now the Fun Gang's been captured and Tina's getting some one on one time of her own with Queen, so a lot's planned for the next chapter. :)