Queen's Mansion, Part 2
Frisk, Susie, and Ralsei explore the mansion, Tina is an adorable bean, Tasque Manager is a good babysitter, Frisk is a confused "princess" and Queen's trying really, really hard to be a good mom while taking over the world. That's about it. :D
...
"Do you know where Queen could have taken Tina?" Frisk asked Ralsei as they headed down the corridor. "When Queen was talking with Susie and I, she had Tina with her, but I have no idea where in the mansion they might be."
Ralsei looked down. "I don't. She carried her off while the Swatchlings held me back." He tried to smile. "I really don't think Queen would hurt her though. She seemed to be acting nice to her. I-I'm sure she'll be okay! She has to be!" He looked down. "I'm sorry, Frisk. I really let you down."
"It's not your fault, Ralsei." Frisk said reassuringly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did your best to keep her safe. And...Queen's a dick sometimes, but she said she'd never hurt Tina and I actually believe her." She laughed a bit, trying to ease the mood. "Especially since she told us flat out she was my, Tina, and Noelle's new mother and ignored me when I said we hadn't agreed to that."
"She did what now?!" Susie asked in shock.
"Right before she "taught" me to drive by making me take the wheel in the middle of a one way street of oncoming traffic, she told me that it was her duty as our guardian and new mother to teach me to drive."
Susie shook her head. "Seriously? She's a nutcase."
"A little bit, but at least that hopefully means she won't hurt Tina, not deliberately." Frisk pointed out, though felt a bit of worry. "Though I want to get Tina back quickly. She doesn't have a clue about safety. What she thinks is okay or normal could end up with Tina getting hurt."
With that they picked up the pace, heading down a set of stairs into the next room, which had a big statue of Queen's legs at the base of them. Thankfully, there was a Save Star nearby and Frisk quickly hit it, even though no one needed healing(yet.)
Ralsei ended up changing into his butler uniform quickly and picking up some ButJuice from the cafe so they didn't run low on healing items, telling them he had told the head butler, Swatch, that he was delivering them to some guests. The poor guy looked like he felt a bit guilty for telling a half truth, but Susie congratulated him and Frisk told him it technically wasn't a lie since they WERE guests, albeit forced ones.
After Ralsei pulled the suit off and returned to his normal robes, they continued on up the other staircase, coming into a room full of pictures of Queen that were done in a weird Mona Lisa style. As they passed by another computer screen, Queen's face popped up on it.
"I See You Have: Escaped From Your Room Units" Queen said, though she was smiling, not seeming at all perturbed by their escape. "Who Can Blame You For Wanting To See My Glorious Mansion?"
"Where's Tina?" Frisk asked angrily, noticing her sister was no longer with Queen.
"Do Not Worry Dear Frisk She Is Enjoying The Mansion's Sights With My Assistant And Playing With Tasques." Queen reassured her, her smile showing a rare softness. "I Am Making Sure She's Happy... Despite Our Differences It Is A Goal You And I Both Share."
"Queen... if she gets hurt in your mansion..." Frisk warned.
Queen frowned, her expression either sympathetic or pitying, Frisk couldn't tell. "I Understand Frisk... You Fear Authority Due To Your Bad Lifegivers Programming You To Do Just That." Frisk bristled at this, but Queen didn't seem to notice. She returned to her usual happy demeanor and continued before Frisk could angrily protest her statement. "But You Can Trust Me. Like I Said Before I Will Not Hurt The Precious Tina Bean. I Even Turned Off The Painting Flamethrowers So She Does Not Blunder Into Them."
"Why the hell do you have painting flamethrowers?" Susie asked in disbelief.
Queen shrugged. "Sounded Cool."
"Well... can't exactly argue with that." Susie muttered to Frisk, who was feeling a little better, knowing Queen was genuine.
They left the paining room after taking a few wrong turns and entered the next room, which had a vase with Queen's face on it sitting right on the floor and two paintings of the vase on the walls as well as another computer screen.
Queen's face immediately popped up again. "Now I Know You Are All Loving My Mansion" she said with a smile. "But We Have A Few Rules Around Here You Have To Follow. One Wipe Your Shoes, Two Have Fun, Three Respect The Pottery, Four Have Fun, Five List Entry Duplication Error." The screen then turned black.
Passing the first vase was easy, but the next room had a maze of vases, and Frisk walked carefully to avoid hitting them. She was successful... until a vase literally jumped on her head. She tried to keep it from falling off, but between the vase being slippery and her bad balance, it fell and shattered, right in front of three Swatchlings, two dressed in red suits and one dressed in blue.
"I'm so sorry!" Frisk apologized frantically. "It literally jumped on my head. I didn't mean to break it!"
But apologies didn't seem to help. "Welcome, young masters." the first Swatchling, the one in blue, said.
"We have prepared several attack patterns for your enjoyment." the second added, and the next thing Frisk knew, red and white bird shaped bullets were flying at them.
The group managed to dodge without injury. Frisk looked frantically to Ralsei. "Ralsei, you worked with these guys, do you know what calms them?"
"They like to be coordinated! Their outfits change with both temperature and mood. If we get them all to red or blue, they should calm down!" Ralsei told her.
Frisk nodded. Turning to the Swatchling in blue, she spoke softly. "Ever went camping? I remember I used to take my sister, and we would sit in front of the fire, feeling its warmth and watching the reds, oranges, and blues dance in the flame as we cooked our food over it." She smiled softly as she remembered doing this with Tina sometimes, going into the woods whenever their parents' parties got especially rowdy and scary. She would build them a campfire the way she had learned in a survival book and build a shelter out of branches and blankets, and they'd snuggle next to each other in front of the warm fire. Frisk would cook Tina a hot dog if she had them, and tell her campfire stories. Despite the reason they were in the woods, despite that it got cold out there sometimes, these "camping trips," gave Frisk the opportunity to give Tina some fun, something a normal kid should get.
The Swatchling seemed to enjoy the story. Their uniform turned yellow, but it still wasn't enough.
Susie stepped up, trying to help. "Explosions! Think about explosions!" she told them. Their uniform turned to orange.
Ralsei threw out his scarf to defend them just as the Swatchlings sent more bird bullets fluttering around them. Susie was struck once, but told them she was fine.
Once the Swatchlings settled down, Frisk spoke about the warmth of the sun as she took Tina out to play on a sunny summer day. The Swatchling finally turned red, and the three paused and looked at each other, seeming happy.
"We feel so coordinated!" the now red Swatchling enthused.
"Thank you, young masters!"
"Thank you!"
With that the Swatchlings wandered away happily and the group breathed a huge sigh of relief as they continued on.
...
After they crossed the finish line, they found themselves in a room full of pictures of Tasques. And then they heard a female voice. "Princess Tina, now that you've helped me clean all the paintings, can you tell me which one is first alphabetically?"
"The left one!" Tina's voice said excitedly. Frisk felt her heart soar as she realized that Tina was indeed not only safe but happy. The group quietly approached to see Tina speaking to a tall, cybernetic Darkner with a diamond shaped head, catlike yellow eyes, a crescent shaped mouth, and a tuft of blue hair that looked like ears. She had floating hands, but no arms, and her tail was swishing happily.
"How refined. Now which one is third alphabetically?" the cat woman asked.
"Umm... Tasq's!" Tina replied.
"And what is the fourth?"
"Ri..." Tina started to say, then thought this over. "Fourth in the alphabet or just fourth?" she asked. Frisk grinned in pride.
"Fourth." the woman answered, seeming just as pleased.
"The left one!"
"That's correct!" the woman cheered, the hand not holding a whip floating out to ruffle Tina's hair, making the little girl smile. "I'm so happy I could whip something!" She then saw Frisk, Susie, and Ralsei and her eyes narrowed. "Like these intruders!" Angrily, she rushed at them and two Tasques leapt out of two of the paintings and rushed to join her.
"No!" Tina cried, rushing in between and throwing her arms out in front of the group before Frisk could even react. "Don't hurt them! That's my sister and her friends!"
"Oh! My apologies, Princesses. I did not know." the woman said apologetically. She curtsied. "I am Tasque Manager, our Lady Grace's head maid. I keep order in this mansion so everything is perfect for our Queen. She gave me the privilege of watching Princess Tina while she fulfills her duties."
"It's, um, nice to meet you." Frisk said awkwardly, not sure how to tell this lady she was no princess without getting attacked again. Before she could figure out what else she was supposed to say to her, one of the Tasques wandered over happily, carrying a struggling Maus in its mouth.
Tasque Manager gasped. "Oh no, darling, not on the floor! You'll terrify the Swatchlings! Come now, let's let that thing go outside." She turned to the group. "I must take care of this, but I will return in an orderly fashion." With that, she hurried off.
Tina hugged her. "I'm so happy to see you, sis..."
"I'm so happy to see you too. Are you all right? Queen didn't hurt you, did she?" Frisk asked quietly, hugging her sister back tightly.
Tina shook her head. "No... She's still kinda scary but she was nice too." she admitted.
"Good, or I would have had to kick her butt even harder." Susie said with a slight grin.
"Susie!" Ralsei protested.
Tina looked down. "Queen... she said you're really sick, Frisk, because you don't get enough to eat. And...And she said she wanted to make you all better and take care of us." She hugged Frisk, clinging to her sister's shirt as Ralsei and Susie exchanged worried glances. "Are you sick, Frisk?" Is it true?"
"Aww, Tina, I'm all fine." Frisk reassured her, stroking her sister's hair.
"But it's true that you don't eat much." Tina said softly.
"I'll be all right, Tine, and we already have a better place to go once we leave Cyber World. Ralsei offered to let us stay with him. We were going to talk to you about it when we brought you to Castletown but then all this happened." Frisk told her.
Ralsei nodded, giving Tina a hug too. "Frisk's right. I made rooms in the castle for all of you, and trust me, I won't let any of you go hungry." he promised. "In fact, once we get home, I'll make a yummy cake for us. How's that sound?" Tina just hugged him tighter, answering his question without words.
"Don't worry, squirt. Nothing's gonna happen to Frisk. Or you. We're the..." Susie then flushed a bit, realizing she couldn't say their group's name in front of Tina, considering she had made it a swear word. "Hey, Ralsei, what was that name you picked for our group again?"
"Oh! I put down The Legendary Heroes: The Herald Of Fun And Friendship!" Ralsei grinned.
"Okay, geez, that one's a mouthful, dude. Plus, it probably would be a bit too long to fit on our track jackets..." Susie started, then changed her tune when Ralsei looked disappointed. "That doesn't mean it's bad! Let's just...shorten it a bit. How about...the Fun Gang! The rest of that stuff can be our catchphrase or something."
"I like it!" Ralsei agreed happily.
"So do I." Frisk said with a smile.
Susie grinned. "Then the Fun Gang it is!" She then knelt to Tina's level. "AND...as to what I was saying before I got sidetracked, the Fun Gang takes care of each other, kiddo. Nothing's going to happen to Frisk. Nothing's going to happen to any of us, because we're not gonna let it." Tina smiled up at her and Susie smiled back. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah." Tina told her and gave her a hug.
Susie hugged back, less awkwardly this time. It looked like she was starting to get used to hugs. "Good. Now let's go kick Queen's butt!"
Tina now seemed unsure again. "Queen, um, told me she's taking over the world just to make everyone happy. Do...Do you think that's true?" she asked quietly.
"I think that's what Queen believes." Frisk told her gently. "But the way she's going about it is far from right. Mind controlling and forcing her will on others isn't okay, and neither is her threatening to kill Berdly to make Noelle do what she wanted, even if she was just bluffing."
Tina fidgeted her fingers a bit. "She said that wasn't what she was doing. She got all confused when I said that and told me that she had meant Berdly would get to ride this special swan boat ride down the acid river instead of Noelle if Noelle didn't help her."
"Tina, that b... that lady, could be lying about that, just like she lied to Berdly." Susie warned Tina gently.
"I...I don't think she was. She wasn't acting like people do when they lie." Tina said softly.
Frisk considered this carefully, remembering Queen's phrasing before they had been captured. How she had gotten confused when Frisk yelled at her that she wouldn't let her hurt Berdly and acted like Frisk had misheard her before repeating her statement, and how it hadn't sounded like a threat. She explained what she had observed to Ralsei and Susie before concluding, "I...kinda think Tina might be right here. We'll have to be careful, but that might be what Queen meant. Actually, considering the time I got to spend with Queen, I wouldn't be surprised if it was." she said with a slight laugh.
"Yeah, you might be right. Queen is weird enough to do something like that." Susie agreed after a moment's hesitation.
"Does that mean we don't have to fight her?" Tina asked hopefully.
"I'm hoping not to, Tine, but we need to make her see sense. She can't just mind control people either; it's not right." Frisk told her.
"So what do we do?"
Frisk thought about this for a moment, then Queen's words came to her mind. Despite her and Queen's differences, making Tina happy was a goal they both shared. And somehow, she knew Queen meant it.
And if they and Queen had to battle to keep Queen from taking over the world... she didn't want Tina to be part of it.
Frisk bent to Tina's level. "Tine, Ralsei, Susie, and I are going to go see Queen and try to get her to stop what she's doing without any of us getting hurt. We want you to stay with Tasque Manager and keep an eye on things in the mansion while we do, okay?" She glanced to her friends. Susie seemed unsure for a second, but then nodded, and Ralsei seemed to be in agreement as well.
"But I want to help you." Tina told her, looking at her worriedly.
Frisk smiled, ruffling her sister's hair. "Trust me, you will be. Remember the story Susie and I told you? How Lancer got everyone together and saved us during our fight with King?" Tina nodded softly. "Well, Lancer's...not feeling well right now...so we need you to be our backup, okay? We might need people to help us convince Queen to stop trying to take over the world, and we might need you to get those people, or go get the rebels."
Tears filled Tina's eyes. "I don't want any of you to get hurt!"
"Aww, Tina, we'll be okay!" Ralsei told her, using the sleeve of his robe to wipe the little girl's tears away.
Susie nodded with a grin, putting her hand on Tina's shoulder. "Yeah, we're really tough, remember? And you being our backup means you can get the cavalry to back us up if we really need it, okay?"
Tina sniffled a bit, but nodded.. "Okay."
"Good. We'll be back soon, we promise." Frisk told her, giving her another hug.
After a few minutes, Tasque Manager came back, her Tasques in tow. "I am sorry for the delay. Is there anything you need?"
"We need to go speak with Queen. Could you please watch Tina for a little while longer while we do?" Frisk asked politely.
Tasque Manager curtsied. "Of course. It would be my pleasure to watch the young princess." she said with a smile before turning to Tina. "Princess Tina, since you did so well with helping me with the paintings, you've more than earned a treat at the Color Café. They serve exquisite macarons there."
Tina nodded shyly and Frisk gave her a final hug. "Have fun, sis." She then looked up at Tasque Manager. "Thank you so much. T-Take good care of her, okay?" she asked. She knew Tasque Manager was very good with Tina from the little she saw when Tasque Manager didn't know she was watching or she never would have even suggested Tina stay with her, but it was still a bit nerve-racking leaving her little sister with someone new.
"Of course, Princess Frisk. I would never provide anything other than the most exemplary care for the little princess." Tasque Manager reassured her.
"You'd better or I'll kick your as- butt!" Susie threatened.
"Susie!" both Frisk and Ralsei scolded her at the same time.
Tasque Manager glared at Susie. "How dare you insinuate I would not fulfill my duties, then proceed to use such... uncouth...language around Princess Tina?!"
"Don't fight." Tina pleaded with tears in her eyes.
"No one's going to fight, Sis." Frisk reassured her, smoothly stepping in between Susie and Tasque Manager, though their tempers had cooled already at seeing the tears in Tina's eyes. "Susie, it's okay. Tasque Manager, I apologize. My friend is just very protective of Tina."
Tasque Manager was mollified. "YOU have nothing to apologize for, Princess Frisk, when it was your friend being uncouth, but I SUPPOSE I can understand. You have my word as our wonderful Queen's head maid that I will take good care of Princess Tina and no harm shall come to her. Shall we meet at the café once you and Queen finish your business or would you rather I bring Tina to you?"
"The café sounds great. Thank you again." Frisk told her with a smile and Tasque Manager smiled before leading Tina off. Frisk watched as they left and waved goodbye, though her heart ached a bit. Still she knew Tina would be fine and much safer with Tasque Manager than she'd be with them.
Ralsei put a hand on her shoulder. "She'll be all right, Frisk."
Frisk smiled softly. "I know."
...
Not wanting to deal with the random street of cars in Queen's mansion, the group decided to head upstairs where they were greeted with another teacup ride. However, this one was more dangerous than the others(minus the one that nearly got them crushed) as they had glowing bullets and beams to dodge around. Thankfully, the shadows revealed where they should turn to remain safe, and working together, they finished the ride with no injury.
Upon walking through the door, they were greeted with a dinner party. Frisk and Ralsei greeted the guests in a friendly way, not wanting to piss anyone off, and listened as Hacker bragged about being, well, a hacker. Apparently some of the guests didn't believe him though.
At the end of the room they found a locked door, and needed to check all the trays for the key. When they checked the final tray, it somehow split into three, revealing the key and two bombs. Frisk kept an eagle eye on the one with the key as the three trays spun around them, and lifted the lid to get the key once they stopped, glad her observations were right. Though apparently the key was a small bomb too, as it blew the door open for them.
The next room they passed through was filled with paintings. True to her word, Queen had turned them off for Tina's safety, but they still needed to examine the paintings to find one that unlocked the passageway. They also found a pathway where, after finding another key from a spinning set of five dishes, blew open a shortcut to the first floor. Frisk was relieved to have this emergency exit and quick way to get back to Tina.
However, the door out was locked, so the group ended up needing to check around. They entered the kitchens to find dishes everywhere and a group of Swatchlings cowering from a bunch of Maice feasting on leftover cheese.
"Eh, I got this." Susie said with a feral grin as she went to go catch them. However the Maice panicked and rolled together, forming a wheel.
Thankfully traps were set up, and Frisk, Susie, and Ralsei worked together, trapping the mice and dodging their panicked attacks, but despite their efforts, the Mauswheel started spinning out of control.
But then suddenly they heard a welcome voice. "We'll take it from here," Tasque Manager called, she and her Tasques jumping protectively in front of them. They quickly stopped the Mauswheel and Frisk sighed in relief.
"Thanks again, Tasque Manager." she said gratefully, then realized Tina wasn't with her. "Where's Tine?"
"She is in the Color Cafe. Swatch agreed to look after her while I dealt with this problem. A lady of Princess Tina's class does not need to be around filthy vermin." Tasque Manager explained, and Frisk couldn't help but agree. "However, I need to get back to her soon. The little princess is a darling and is helping Swatch make puff pastries, but her cooking skills are...somewhat less orderly...than her organizational skills."
"In other words, she got a little overenthusiastic with the ingredients and either made a big mess or added way too much of everything to the batter?" Frisk asked with a laugh, knowing what cooking with Tina was like.
"...Yes."
"Sorry about that. As soon as I finish talking to Queen, I'll come help clean up." Frisk offered.
"I will too." Ralsei added.
Susie shrugged. "I'll eat up any leftovers."
Tasque Manager brushed it off, though not before rolling her eyes at Susie's comment. "No need. The Swatchlings, Swatch, and I will set everything in order. Do not worry about anything other than spending time with your mother, Princess Frisk."
Frisk wanted to object to Queen being called her mother, but figured it would be best to just leave it and thanked
Tasque Manager again as the woman headed off. Plus, part of her, the part she wanted to quash since Queen was a dictator, was touched that someone WANTED to be their parent, and loved seeing Tina this happy and well cared for. Even if it was totally weird being called a princess and her new "mother" was kind of nutty.
"Well, "Princess?" Ready to head off?" Susie teased.
"Now don't you start." Frisk grumbled but without any real anger.
Susie laughed and they headed back down the hallway of paintings until they found the switch that opened the pathway that lead to a large room where a bunch of dark red rectangles showed up on the lighter red carpet. Heading north, they reached a large door. Frisk went to open it, but it was locked.
"It's locked..." Susie sighed. She looked around. "What's with this giant empty room anyway?"
Just then the two computer screens next to the door turned on, and Queen's face appeared once again. "Welcome To My Extravagant Dining Bonanza." Just as she said this, dozens of platters phased through the wall and took their places on the dark red squares. Queen smirked. "Only One Of These Delicious Platters Has The Key. I Am Sure Searching Will Be An Addicting Game of Chance."
Susie growled as the screen went black. "H-how the hell are we supposed to search all these!?"
Frisk shrugged, looking at the intimidating arrays of platters. "I, um, guess we better get started." She began lifting lids of platters to check, but after she lifted the third lid, Queen came back on the screen. "ERROR: Results: Key Not Found." She smirked, "Lmao" appearing on her visor. "Did You Mean: Give Up?" With that, the platters flickered and switched places, moving so fast Frisk couldn't see them.
Ralsei's eyes went wide. "All the platters got mixed up again!?"
Frisk tried again, only for the same results to happen. Susie groaned. "Frisk, isn't there something else we can do?"
Knowing it would be impossible to find the key just by lifting lids, Frisk wandered through the room, looking to see if any of the trays were different to signify where the key was. And then she spotted a small dog dive under a platter in the back.
Susie noticed too. "Hey, there's something under this one!"
The dog jumped up as they approached, carrying the platter with it and crashing into another platter, sending it flying. Susie growled. "Don't try to run away, you little..."
The dog obeyed, but not in the way any of them wanted. It came running at them, somehow picking them all up with the tray. "HEY, WAIT A SEC!" Susie objected.
But it was too late. The dog ran wildly through the room, slamming into more platters. Thinking quickly, Frisk moved her body to steer, trying to get all the platters to find the key. Now this was efficient!
Finally they toppled the one with the key. Ralsei cheered. "There's the key! Now we got to..." But before any of them could reach it, the dog reached out, breaking the key.
"It broke it?!" Ralsei gasped, but before he could say anything further, the dog went for the doors, slamming into them and breaking them open, sending them all hurtling past a bunch of shocked swatchlings. They leapt off the tray right before they could hit the wall, sending more platters flying.
Susie grinned. "Hahah, was that awesome or what?!"
"Yeah!" Frisk grinned. "Let's go again!"
"Umm, let's skip the blatant destruction." Ralsei deadpanned before turning to Frisk. "Let's go, Frisk! We're almost at the third floor!"
The rest of the trip was absolutely nuts. They literally crashed into Swatchlings chasing rolling vases and had to calm them, dodged a few paintings Queen had forgotten to turn off, and took another deadly teacup ride they had to dodge beams and blue bouncing balls in. The teacup ride ended with tea being poured on all of them. Well, on Frisk and Ralsei. Susie drank it all before a drop could even land in her teacup.
Frisk envied her.
Finally, FINALLY, they reached the third floor safely, where they found Berdly standing there waiting for them. "Frisk. Susan... Glad to see you arrive unwounded. Now, let us hasten!" He hit a book that caused a large bookshelf to slide out of the way, revealing the secret passageway he had mentioned. "Through here is a secret passageway to the roof! There, we can enrescue-fy Lady Noelle."
Frisk and Susie glanced at each other at his particular choice of words. "Uhh, okay." was all Susie had to say about it. She walked over to the passageway. "Let's go, guys."
"Oh, Frisk. Frisk is..." Berdly stammered before looking determined. "Frisk! You and your lackey distract Queen!"
Frisk glared at him. "Ralsei's not my lackey, he's one of my best friends. And we told you his name. Call him by his name." She missed Ralsei's shy smile at her defending him.
Berdly instinctively stepped back. "Umm, sorry, Frisk. Sorry, Ralsei. Geez, she's getting to be almost as scary as Susie." He muttered the last part under his breath before turning to Susie with a smile. "Let's go, Susie! Just the two of us! Haha!"
Now Frisk wanted to laugh. It looked like yet another person had a crush on Susie. And yet again, Susie was oblivious. "Fine, whatever!" the dragon girl said awkwardly as she followed Berdly into the passageway. The bookshelf closed behind them, leaving Frisk and Ralsei alone together.
Ralsei rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "Thanks for defending me, Frisk."
Frisk smiled. "Anytime, Rals. Like I said, you're one of my best friends, and I'm not going to stand by while someone talks down to you."
Ralsei beamed. "Thanks, Frisk! You're one of my best friends too!" He reached out and took her hand in his, a slight blush on his cheeks. For a second he looked nervous, looking up at her as if to ask if it was okay, and Frisk smiled reassuringly, squeezing his hand. His fur felt silky soft, tickling her palm.
For some reason, a sense of nostalgia filled her.
She must have had a weird expression on her face as Ralsei looked worried. "You okay?"
Frisk smiled assuringly and squeezed his hand once again. "I'm fine. Just fine." With that, Ralsei smiled, and the two walked off hand in hand, ready to face their next challenges together.
...
I hope you guys enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you think!