Old Friends And New Beginnings, Part 2
UPDATE: Big change to the final chapter, with Spamton being added in a major scene.
...
Before they had taken more than ten steps down the path, there was an ominous rumbling, causing the ground to shake under their feet.
"What's going on?!" Tina cried, grabbing onto Frisk's shirt.
Teddy and Stripes tensed. "Not this. Not again." Teddy gasped. Spot whimpered and grabbed hold of an equally shaken Stripes and Tina while Teddy pulled Frisk and a protesting Susie over to them.
"Hey! What gives?!" Susie yelled as Teddy pulled Ralsei closer to the group as well.
"I'm not getting separated from my comrades. Not again." Teddy said, his voice firm but Frisk could tell exactly how scared he was.
The unnerving rumbling drew closer with a distinct Thud, Thud, Thud. Everyone tensed even further. Everyone except Susie and Ralsei.
"Guys, it's fine! It's just..." Ralsei started, and then a giant robot came thundering around the bend. It had white skin and a black heart shaped screen and wore a blue leotard with blue lipstick and a blue star cap with teal shoulder pads and gloves and a black belt. It looked just like the Queen robot from the video game Frisk, Susie, and Ralsei had played with Queen.
"...Queen playing with this giant robot body she built." Ralsei finished with a sigh. He looked up at the giant robot with his hands on his hips. "I hope you haven't broken anything."
"Don't Worry Ralph We Only Broke A Few Things." Queen answered proudly.
"It's Ralsei!" Ralsei protested, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.
"Yeah, his name's not that hard to get right!" Frisk told Queen firmly. Then something occurred to her. "'We?"
"Yeah! Girl Dad and me!" Lancer's voice said cheerfully and Frisk finally spotted the tiny form peeking down at them from Giga Queen's shoulder. "Hey, blue person! Hey, New Little Sister! Whoa, who are these guys?"
"I'm Stripes, and this is Teddy and Spot. We come from Princess Tina and Commander Frisk's kingdom. We're their Royal Guards." Stripes introduced the group.
Lancer's eyes shone. "You guys didn't tell me you had a KINGDOM! When do I get to see it?"
"Sorry, Lancer, it's kind of a wreck." Frisk said apologetically, not wanting to tell him that she didn't even KNOW they had a kingdom and risk breaking their reality. Plus, she didn't want Lancer anywhere NEAR their old house just in case their parents came home.
"Unfortunately, the commander is right." Teddy said. His fists clenched around the spear he was holding. "The Lightners who act as king and Queen ran it into the ground."
"Oh, that's bad." Lancer said with a frown, then brightened again. "Don't worry, blue person and pink sister! You can live in our kingdom! And Girl Dad said she was your girl dad now too so you don't have to live with those meanies any more!"
"LOL I Actually Said Mother But It Is Literally The Same Thing." Queen agreed. "Now Let's Not Worry About Those Horrible Excuses For Lightners. Let's Check Out Our Cool New Castle!"
"Sounds good." Frisk agreed, glad the subject had passed. Queen lowered her massive hand so they could all climb up, and the group did just that. They sat on Giga Queen's shoulders, enjoying the ride to the castle.
"This is so cool!" Lancer said happily.
"Hell yeah!" Susie agreed. "Hey, you know what would be even more cool?!"
"What?" both Queen and Lancer asked.
Susie grinned. "If we made a SECOND giant robot! Then we could have a giant robot battle!"
Stars shone in Lancer and Queen's eyes. "That Would Be Epic I've Been Wanting To Do That For A Long Time. I Shall Have A Second Built Immediately" Queen agreed with a grin.
Susie was practically bouncing. "This is going to be so much fun! Hey, Frisk, we should use our Thrash Machine in the new robot!"
"Yeah, Lesser Dad found it and fixed it!" Lancer agreed.
"That's awesome!" Frisk said happily, excited to see if it looked as cool as she remembered.
Tina grinned. "I wanna play too!"
"Don't Worry Tina Beanie We'll Build It Soon." Queen told her.
They made their way to the Castle and Queen let the group down before powering down her suit and climbing down. Lancer then dragged Queen off, wanting to show her his bike, leaving the rest of the group standing in the courtyard.
Teddy looked up at the castle in awe. "It looks just like I remember." he said softly.
"You've been here before?" Frisk asked him.
Teddy nodded quietly. "Before everything was torn apart. I was a soldier in training then. At least I think I was... It's been so long everything is a bit blurry."
"You remember the Great Divide?" Ralsei asked.
"I remember there was chaos. The further cities faded into darkness and Darkners vanished without a trace. And then I woke up in a faraway land. I apprenticed myself to a Lightner and worked hard, but then I was badly wounded. I became useless to them then, and I was sent to a wasteland and left to die. And then...the Commander found me."
Frisk's eyes went wide, remembering the truth.
Twelve year old Frisk was on her usual weekly trip to the dump, digging through piles of trash for things she could either use or sell. She tossed some cans and other pieces of scrap metal into a bag to take to recycle, careful not to cut herself on anything.
And then she saw him, lying on a pile of trash. A big brown teddy bear, his plush fur dirty and one arm nearly ripped off.
She smiled softly and picked him up. "Aww, you got a bit roughed up, huh, buddy? Don't worry, I'll fix you up. Tina's gonna love you."
"...She took me to her kingdom and healed me. She gave me new purpose, entrusting me, along with Spot and later Stripes, to help her protect the most precious person to her, her little sister." Teddy continued proudly. Frisk smiled sadly, remembering how when her parents had had a "party" with their druggie friends and Tina had been terrified, Frisk had put Teddy in the three year old's arms and told her that both she and Teddy would always protect her. Even though she hadn't known Teddy was alive, he had clearly taken her words to heart.
"And we've been best friends ever since!" Tina said happily, hugging Teddy, who wrapped his arm around her with a soft look on his face.
"Heh, that's really cool." Susie said with a smile before turning to Spot and Stripes. "How about you two? How'd you guys meet Frisk and Tina? You remember the Great Divide thing too?"
"Honestly, I barely remember anything. Mostly getting swept away by something and waking up in a strange place. I was like seven or eight when it happened; I'm not sure." Stripes admitted quietly. "Some Lightners rounded me and some other lost Darkner children up. I became the attendant of this little Lightner girl, but was...let go... once she was old enough to take care of herself. I was sitting on the side of the road, wondering where to go next, when Princess Tina found me and brought me to her castle."
Spot let out a small whine. Frisk had no idea what he was saying, but Teddy clearly did and translated. "Spot woke up alone too, in a strange place Lightners visited a lot. He had a lot of stuffed animals to play with and the Lightners played with them too, but no one seemed to notice him until the day the Commander walked in. She found Spot, picked him up, and cuddled him in her arms. She said Princess Tina would love him, gave one of the Lightners a gold piece, and took him home and introduced him to the baby princess."
"I'm sorry." Frisk said apologetically. "You guys have been through a lot."
"It's not your fault, Commander. You and the princess have done everything you could to care for us, and we've been happy under your command." Teddy reassured her. Stripes nodded with a smile and Spot licked her face. "Much as we've missed our families and this world, we're so glad we met you both. And it was you three who found a way to bring us back to our old home."
"And we'll help you find your families again too! You'll never have to leave them again!" Tina promised.
Frisk nodded. "We could walk around town, see if we can find who's here and who's missing, and I'll see if I can track any missing in the Light World. I can't guarantee I'll find everyone, but I'll do my best."
"Thank you. Both of you." Teddy told them and Spot wagged his tail happily.
Stripes sighed softly. "I'm...not sure how much I can help. I...remember that I had parents, but I don't remember their faces. I'm not even sure if they were both cat monsters."
"It's okay, Stripes. You're...not the only one that lost your memories of the original Castletown." Ralsei told her gently. "When I woke up in the Light World, all I remembered was my name and my purpose. I...honestly only knew about the Great Divide itself when I found my way here and read about it in the castle library."
"Even many of my memories are faded, and Spot doesn't remember anything at all either." Teddy told Stripes. "But maybe a walk around town will bring some things back. And... we have the chance to make new memories here. All of us."
Ralsei nodded with a smile. "I'll do everything I can to make sure Castletown will always be our home, and go back to its former glory. Speaking of which, with so many people having returned, our Dark World has expanded to make sure everyone has a dwelling. You'll be easily able to find a house here, or rooms in the castle for you. Where would you like to stay?"
Teddy, Spot and Stripes turned to each other and spoke softly for a moment before turning to Ralsei. "If it would be all right with you, my Prince, we would prefer to live in the castle We want to be close to the commander and princess so we can fulfill our duties." Teddy requested politely.
"We would be happy to have you there." Ralsei told them with a smile. "The castle should have expanded to give you your rooms, and I'll make sure everything's set up. They're probably pretty plain right now, but as soon as I can I'll set them up to your liking."
"Oh, Prince Ralsei, no need to trouble yourself. A plain room will suit me fine." Teddy reassured him.
"And I can decorate my own." Stripes added. Spot barked happily. "And Princess Tina brought all Spot's things and all our clothes and supplies with her."
Tina looked at Frisk in utter confusion. "I did?"
Frisk was confused too until she remembered something. Tina's drawings in the Dark World had turned into chestplates, and as she also loved to draw the Toy Squad in clothes she had designed for them and even had pictures of their rooms. Maybe her drawings, in the altered reality Spot, Teddy, and Stripes lived in, had made real items for them. "Your drawings." she whispered to Tina.
"Oh! My drawings can turn into things other than chestplates?" Tina asked back, thankfully in a whisper.
"Looks like it, sis." Frisk told her.
Tina looked to her friends. "Never mind! I've got them! Frisk said..."
"Well, let's go look around!" Ralsei said loudly and cheerfully, cutting them off. "Why don't you guys go ahead of us and have some fun? There's lots of Darkners to meet and talk to, and you can check out your new rooms and make sure they're to your liking!"
The Toy Squad hesitated and looked to Frisk. "It's fine. Go have some fun; you guys deserve it. We'll catch up to you." she promised with a smile.
"All right, Commander. Thank you." Teddy told her, though he still looked a bit confused.
"Don't let the commander push herself too hard." she heard Stripes whisper to Susie, who nodded.
The three headed off and Tina looked up to Ralsei in confusion, wondering what had made him nervous.
Ralsei knelt down to her level. "Tina, when you talk to them, you have to be really, really careful, okay? It's best they don't know everyone in the Light World sees them as stuffed animals."
"Why?"
"It would make them sad and confused. To them, their Dark world forms are all they know. They live in a reality that's different from ours."
"Is that why they think I'm a real princess?" she asked.
"Well, considering Queen adopted you, you really are, but yes. Your mind, your imagination, and the power of both your and your sister's souls helped transform a once empty Dark World into a kingdom for them. That's the world they know." Ralsei explained as best he could. "For them, that reality is the real one. If they know Lightners see them as only toys, it will hurt them."
"But I don't see them as just stuffed toys. They're my best friends." Tina told him.
Ralsei nodded with a smile. "I know, and that's what made the world you and Frisk created so happy for them. But it's best if they know only that world, okay?"
Tina still looked a bit confused, but nodded. Ralsei smiled and ruffled her hair. "Thank you." He then changed the subject. "Now what would you guys like to do first? Would you like to walk around and talk to people? Go and relax in the castle? Get some food?"
A loud rumble from Susie's stomach interrupted the group. Susie grinned. "Well, you know my answer. Let's hit that new café that Swatch guy built! Last one there has to pay!" She picked up Tina, put her on her shoulders, and darted off for the café.
"Of course." Ralsei sighed.
...
Swatch kindly provided them with sandwiches and drinks at the café and the group sat down to eat, but the other customers decided that Ralsei sitting down and trying to eat his sandwich was the best time to ask him for things. The poor guy ended up so busy talking to them that he hadn't gotten a chance to even take a bite of his sandwich.
Frisk tried to intercede. "Look, Prince Ralsei is trying to have his dinner right now, but I can help you. What's wrong?"
"I want a Dark Candy Starfait, boss!"
"Lemonade, please!"
"They're not waitstaff." Susie growled, getting up. "They're customers too. Don't bother them for stupid things while they're busy eating. Go order at the counter like sane people!"
"Listen to the warrior." Swatch said as he came over. "I'll be happy to serve you at the counter, but don't bother my customers."
The Darkners immediately shrank back from her and slunk to the counter. Ralsei turned to Susie with an apologetic look as she settled back down. "Thanks, Susie, but you didn't need to do anything. I could have handled it..."
"Ralsei, if they're asking you guys to do dumb things like that, that means they're walking all over you. You already took care of them by bringing them in and making sure they have homes. They can order their food for themselves." Susie told him, crossing her arms, though her expression was soft. "Seriously Rals, don't let people take advantage of you. You too, Frisk."
"Yeah, they weren't being very nice." Tina said with her arms crossed.
Ralsei smiled a little. "All right." He finally got to eat and was halfway through his meal before a more serious problem happened. Top Chef came in, arguing with Swatch that the café should be a second bakery. Swatch rejected that and sent his men to remove a now spinning and crying Top Chef.
Top Chef pointed at Ralsei as he was dragged towards the door. "You! You're in charge! Tell them I had this place first!"
"You two, let him go." Ralsei ordered the Swatchlings. "And Top Chef, um, don't you already have your own bakery? The building shaped like your face?"
"Mama Miba! I have a lot of customers! I need this place too!" Top Chef pleaded.
"This is a café, not a bakery." Swatch said calmly. "There's no need for two bakeries, and this place has been in my family since before the Great Divide. I will not let you take it. Please leave."
"Top Chef, we need to be fair to everyone. This building is Swatch's and the bakery is yours." Ralsei told him.
"Mama Mina, if I'm rejected from the café, what can I do now?" Top Chef sobbed.
"Um, work at your bakery?" Susie asked, raising an eyebrow. She grinned. "Hey, you can make me a cake!"
"Ma Mia! Moi cake was destroyed because of you!" Top Chef yelled before turning dramatically to Frisk and Ralsei. "There will be no prizes from moi to any of you as long as ze purple girl is in your party!"
"Fine by me. Ralsei can make me a cake." Susie shrugged.
"B... But my uniqueness... as a baker...!" He sniffed. "D-Don't mind my pastries are a little extra salty today, everyone!"
He fled the building and Swatch apologized and offered them blackberry tarts, which Susie was all too happy to accept. But just when they were almost finished eating, two Rudinns came in, laughing about something.
"Man, I don't know what's weirder, the fact that this weird blue person's charging $4.99 for the "opportunity" to eat some tattered old clothes off an old training dummy or that people are actually paying for it." one said, rolling his eyes.
"I know. Those Cyber World folks can sell anything." the other one agreed.
"My dummy!" Ralsei cried out and leapt up, running out of the cafe with the girls chasing after him.
...
When they caught up to him near the edge of Castletown, a clearly upset Ralsei was arguing with the blue Addison and it was obvious why. His beloved training dummy was tattered and the clothes had been ripped off and put on another dummy. They were chewed up by something and heavily damaged.
"W-Why would you do this to my mannequin!?" Ralsei yelled before giving the Addison his best glare, which wasn't at all intimidating. "A-as your prince, I...I demand someone fix this!" He was completely ignored as the Addison sold another bite to a worm monster who said he couldn't understand taxes and values but apparently really liked eating clothes.
"Umm, is... is anybody listening...?" Ralsei asked in frustration.
"I was listening~!" Lancer yelled somewhere.
"Don't yell that from across town!" Ralsei called.
"Hey, Lancer!" Susie called back happily.
"Hi, Susie!"
Frisk shook her head and turned to the Addison. "Look, that was Ralsei's dummy. He made it with his own hands. It's not yours to sell." she told him firmly.
"Well, if it was...Ralph's, he should have known not to leave it out." the Addison shrugged. "It's fair game. Market rules. You want a free sample? Just $4.99 to try a bite of these clothes!"
Frisk glared at him. "I already told you; it's NOT yours. It's Ralsei's! This is HIS castle and HIS training yard. He's nice enough to give you a home and let you stay here and you took advantage of him and took something that was precious to him. I'm not standing for that." She grabbed Ralsei's dummy and gently pulled the clothes off the Addison's dummy. Tina helped her.
"What are you doing?!" the Addison yelled.
Frisk ignored him just like he ignored Ralsei. "Here's your dummy back, Rals. I'm pretty good at sewing. I'll fix up the clothes. It'll be good as new soon."
She handed the dummy and the clothing over to him and he put them in his inventory, hugging her afterwards with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Frisk."
"You need to pay for that!" the Addison argued.
"You're the one who stole it first." Tina told him, giving him the most impressive glare a six year old girl could accomplish(Which was about as intimidating as Ralsei's) and crossing her arms.
"She already said it belongs to the prince." Teddy's voice said from behind them. Frisk turned to see Teddy coming up with Spot and Stripes. The massive bear monster glared at the Addison, who shrank back. "And the Commander and the princess do not take insults or attacks to their friends lightly. They defeated a hellhound in combat to save me once, without even using their swords. I would highly advise not angering them."
"Yeah, and messing with Ralsei means messing with me too. I'm the only one allowed to mess with him!" Susie added. The Addison wisely gave up and decided to leave.
"I'm a worm. I'm glad he's gone because I was running out of money, but what am I supposed to eat now?" the worm monster asked sadly.
"Um, there's a café and a bakery. That food tastes a lot better than dummy clothes." Susie let the worm know.
"I'm a worm; I eat leaves from the trees. But without the trees, I needed to eat the clothes from the training dummy. That's the way of the worm." the worm admitted.
Frisk's eyes softened. "Hey...how about I get you some REAL leaves? Light World leaves? I don't think old clothes would give you any nutrition anyway."
"You would do that?" the worm asked softly.
"OF course." she assured him with a smile before turning to her companions. "Hey, you guys can go on ahead. I'll run to the Light World real quick and catch up with you."
"I'll come with." Susie offered.
Tina's eyes shone. "I wanna help too!"
Ralsei smiled. "That's very nice of you guys! We'll walk you to the entrance and wait for you there."
...
The trip to the Light World was quick, and Frisk, Susie, and Tina simply went outside and gathered several handfuls of leaves for the hungry worm. But when they returned, the transformation power of the Dark World did them one better, creating a small grove of candy trees.
The worm's eyes shone. "Thank you, Lightners!" they said before happily munching on one of the trees.
"You guys did great!" Ralsei cheered as he walked up to them. Teddy, Spot and Stripes were a short distance away, happily talking to another group of Darkners.
Susie gave Frisk a playful nudge. "Looks like you rescued someone else, Great Defeaters Of Hellhounds." she grinned, then looked curious. "So what exactly happened with that "hellhound" situation anyway? I mean, I don't think those exist, so..."
"It was just the neighbor's pitty puppy. Little gray and white guy, really cute." Frisk explained as they started walking again, though glanced to the Toy Squad to make sure they didn't hear. "His owner decided to leave him in the yard without a leash, and he loves kids, so when he saw me and Tina coming down the street, he came running up to us, all bouncy and wiggly. Tina was holding Teddy by the paw, and he thought that meant she wanted to play tug, so he grabbed Teddy by the ear. I managed to get Tina to let go so Teddy wouldn't be ripped further and then distracted the little guy with a piece of sandwich to make him drop Teddy. Tina got Teddy back and I gave the puppy a belly rub, then picked him up and carried him back to his house so he wouldn't get hit by a car." She chuckled a bit. "Impressive, huh? I nearly got licked to death for such a feat."
"Well, to Teddy and that puppy, it very much was." Ralsei told her with a smile. "Frisk, even though your actions seemed small to you, on Teddy, it had a big impact. You really did save his life." He took her hand and squeezed it. "Look what you guys did for that worm. Sometimes the little things can make the biggest difference in someone's life."
After a few moments, the Toy Squad rejoined them and they continued their tour of the newly improved Castletown. As they walked past a row of shadowy buildings, Tina glanced into a dark alleyway, then tugged on Frisk's shirt. "Frisk, how come that man's putting a pillow in a dumpster?" she asked, thankfully in a whisper.
Frisk glanced in that direction and her eyes widened when she saw it was Spamton. The short puppet man clearly hadn't seen any of them yet and was now carrying a ratty cardboard box towards what looked like a makeshift sales counter. His shoulders were slumped, a far cry from the energy she had seen during their fight in the alleyway, and despite that she was afraid of him, her heart went out to him. Ralsei's words came to her mind again, about how something small could make a big difference in someone's life.
Maybe she could make a difference in Spamton's life too. She couldn't just leave him alone when he was homeless and hurting. She had to do SOMETHING.
Susie, Ralsei, and the Toy Guards stopped, realizing Frisk and Tina weren't following them, and walked back over, following their gazes.
"That's the guy I told you about," Frisk told Susie and Ralsei at a whisper, moving so that they were out of line of sight of the alleyway. "Spamton. I...want to go talk to him. I can't just leave him to live in that dumpster..." Ralsei's recent words came to her mind.
"Yeah, you're not meeting him alone." Susie said quietly, her eyes wary.
"We're coming with you." Ralsei told her. "Plus, we can help him better as a team."
Frisk nodded. "Tina, why don't you go ahead with Teddy, Spot, and Stripes? We'll only be a few minutes."
"But I don't want you to get hurt if that's the scary guy." Tina whispered.
"I won't. Susie and Ralsei are with me." Frisk reassured her. "And Spamton's not evil, he's just a little...confused. I don't want him to be scared if we all head towards him in a huge group."
"Are you sure about this, Commander?" Teddy asked quietly. Stripes looked concerned too and Spot whined a little.
"Yes, we'll be just fine." she reassured him. "Do you mind watching Tina for a few minutes?"
"Of course we don't mind," he reassured her and Stripes and Spot nodded.
Frisk thanked them and took a deep breath as she, Susie and Ralsei cautiously headed into the alleyway. Spamton still had his back to them, organizing items on the cardboard box that served as his sales counter and glancing to a old fashioned phone that was already resting on it. "Spamton," she called out, though kept her distance, not wanting to startle him or get attacked, especially if he was angry she didn't show up sooner or alone.
He quickly whirled around to see her, though instead of getting angry, he brightened and smiled widely, hurrying over to her. "FRISK! YOU [Little Sponge]! I KNEW YOU'D COME HERE [[On a Saturday Night]]!" He then noticed Ralsei and Susie, though seemed more confused than upset. "WHY'D YOU BRING [[New Customers]]? THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN [[Exclusive Deal]]!"
Susie glared at him. "Because we weren't about to let her meet some shady guy who jumped her in a back alley alone."
Spamton bristled. His insane grin stayed, but he glared at Susie's angrily. "SHADY?! I CAN ASSURE YOU KIDS I'M AN [HonestMan]! WHAT DO I LOOK LIKE, A [Therapy For Psychopaths]]?!"
Ralsei put a reassuring hand on Susie's shoulder before she could spit out a retort. "We're sure you're a very nice person, Spamton," he said soothingly. "But Frisk's our best friend and we just like to make sure she's safe and happy." Spamton relaxed a bit, though Frisk noticed a bit of longing in his eyes as he looked between them. "Frisk came to us with her concerns, so we all decided to come check on you. She said you didn't have a place to stay, and as the ruler of Castletown, it's my duty to look after my subjects and make sure they all have a home."
Spamton's eyes lit up. "SO I GET A [[Sweet Crib]]?!"
Ralsei smiled. "Of course! Come with us. We'll help you pick out a nice house!"
"[[Deal!]]" Spamton said eagerly. He quickly threw his items back into his cardboard box, grabbed his pillow and followed them out of the alleyway. Frisk felt a lot better now, though she noticed Susie was still a bit wary and kept herself between her, Ralsei and Spamton.
"So tell us about yourself, Spamton. Frisk said you were a salesman?" Ralsei asked, making small talk.
"YES! I USED TO BE NOTHING BUT THE E-MAIL GUY, NOW I'M THE..." Spamton stopped mid sentence before screaming, "[[It Burns! Ow! Stop! Help me! It burns!]]", All three of them jumped and looked at Spamton in horror, but then Spamton just continued on like it didn't happen. "...GUY! [[Amazed at thi5 amazing transformation? You too can]] HAVE A [[Communion]] WITH..." He started laughing maniacally.
"Spamton, are you all right?" Frisk asked gently.
He grinned. "YES! NEVER BETTER! SOON I'LL EVEN SURPASS THAT DAMNED [[Clown Around Town!]] BUT UNLIKE HIM I'M GONNA [[Shoot for the sky!]] AND GET ON THE PATH TO... [[The Big One]]." He begin glitching wildly. "I'LL GET SO. I'LL GET SO. I'LL GET SO. I'LL GET SO. I'LL GET SO..." His head became covered with a static screen. "[[Hyperlink blocked.]]."
A phone began ringing in the distance, coming from the direction of Spamton's shop. For some reason it scared Frisk more than anything she had encountered so far.
As Spamton's head returned to normal, she knelt next to him. "Spamton, do-do you need us to take you to see a doctor?" she asked, trying to stay calm as Susie and Ralsei exchanged alarmed looks.
"Has anyone done anything to you? Was it the Knight?" Ralsei asked gently, moving into a position to do a soul check.
Spamton grinned. "SPEAKING OF [[Communion]] FRISK DID YOU KNOW THAT THE KNIGHT..." Before he could say anything else, he began glitching wildly. "No, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" His face turned back to normal. "TOO MANY EXCESS VACATION DAYS?! TAKE A GODDAMN VACATION STRAIGHT TO HELL" he screamed at them.
At that second, Spamton's phone rang once again, scaring the hell out of all of them.
"...SO WHAT [[Sweet New Dig!]] AM I GOING TO BE STAYING AT?" Spamton then asked casually, as if the prior conversation hadn't even happened. He blinked at their frightened expressions. "WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? ACCORDING TO [[Encyclopedia of]] [[Being Afraid]] THERE'S NOTHING TO FEAR EXCEPT ..."
His glasses faded to static, then his voice changed to a small frightened one that clearly wasn't his. "... can anyone hear me? Help..."
"What the hell?! Who was that?!" Susie yelled. Frisk just stared at Spamton in horror, her heart pounding like a rabbit, as Ralsei stood frozen in fear.
Spamton's glasses returned to normal. "HUH? WHAT? NO, I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING JUST NOW!" He turned to Frisk. "... BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE THEY WERE TALKING TO YOU."
"Um...Let's just...get out of here and go to the castle." Ralsei asked, trying to remain calm but his voice was a little high pitched. "Spamton, why don't you, um, come stay with us for now? I'll set up a room for you."
Spamton brightened. "WOW REALLY? DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE [Friend Request Accepted]?"
Frisk tried to smile. "Sure, Spamton. We'd love to be friends."
"GREAT! NOW THAT WE'RE [Friend Request accepted], WE DON'T NEED ANYONE ELSE! WE DON'T NEED [[Easels]] or [[CRTs]]! WE DON'T NEED ANY [[Man, Woman, or Child]] [[At Half Price]]! WE DON'T NEED [[MIKE]]!"
"Who the hell's Mike?!" Susie demanded.
Spamton paused. "... ... Mike... DON'T BELIEVE [[Anything You See On TV!]] THE MAN'S A CRIMINAL, I TELL YOU! A CRIMINAL!"
"...Right. Now let's get the hell out of here." Susie said, a hint of shakiness in her voice as she grabbed Ralsei and Frisk and practically dragged them towards the castle with Spamton trailing along, all of them hurrying to leave the creepy alleyway and the eerie ringing phone behind.
...
"...All right, Spamton's all settled in his new room." Ralsei reported twenty minutes later as he headed back to the hallway, where Susie and Frisk were standing there waiting.
"Good. I locked the doors and windows." Susie told him.
"Tina and I talked to Queen and Lancer. They said everyone's present and accounted for." Frisk added. "I don't know who that voice using Spamton to call out from could have been, but it's not a Darkner. Not one from Card Castle or Cyber World at least. Queen's sending out some patrols to check on the other things. And Lancer's keeping Tina distracted so she doesn't worry. Teddy and Stripes want me to take a break too, but..."
"Then you're taking a break," Susie insisted, putting her hands on Frisk and Ralsei's shoulders as she guided them towards Frisk's room and got them both to sit on the bed, sitting next to them. She sighed. "You two are going to hurt yourselves at this rate, and I know your pals from your house agree with me. I promised Stripes I wouldn't let you overwork yourself and I'm keeping that promise."
Frisk nodded but looked down, feeling guilty. She hadn't seen Teddy, Spot, and Stripes as anything more than her sister's beloved plushies, and yet they cared about her, respected her, and saw her as a leader.
Ralsei of course noticed. "Frisk, why are you acting like you feel guilty?" he asked kindly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Is it about Spamton? Because that's not your fault."
"No... I mean, I don't know what to do for him and it worries me. There's so little I know about the Dark World and how it works, and... Spot, Teddy, and Stripes, I...I didn't even know they were alive! They called me Commander, they're worried about my health, and they care about me, and I didn't even know they were alive." Frisk said softly, taking her scarf in her hands and picking at the fabric.
"Frisk, how the heck were you supposed to tell?" Susie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously, they didn't move or say anything in our world. They didn't look any different from normal toys. I didn't know they were alive either until we put together all the pieces and Tina started telling us what they were saying."
"Susie's right. In the Light World, Darkners look just like ordinary toys do. It's not your fault you couldn't see into a parallel reality without the help of a fountain." Ralsei pointed out.
"But Tina..."
"Could see them as they were because she's so young and her soul resonates with theirs. Children are more sensitive to those types of fluctuations than teens and adults are." Ralsei explained. "And even she couldn't see into their world completely."
Susie gave her a reassuring smile. "And hey, even if you didn't know they were alive, you still took care of and cared about them. You and Tina brought them to your place when they were all alone, just like you did with me. You sewed them up, played with them, and hell, you keep your door locked because you were worried your parents could take them away." Frisk felt Ralsei's grip tighten on her shoulder as Susie said this.
But when she looked to him, he just smiled. "See Frisk? They never felt unloved by you. So don't blame yourself for something you can't control, okay?"
Frisk nodded, feeling a little better, and Susie and Ralsei smiled to her. Susie then looked contemplative and a bit troubled. "Hey, Rals? If those three were Darkners... Does that mean all toys are?"
He shook his head. "No. Most toys are just toys. While I'm not sure, I believe most Darkners were either created from the fountain, born from other Darkners, and some speculate that we were created by Lightners. I...don't honestly know the full truth of our creation, or why we take the form of toys in the Light World. It might be that we were created to help young Lightners and toys were a form they felt comfortable around. A form they could see as a friend and protector."
Frisk's eyes went wide as she remembered the vision she had in Cyber World of her younger self playing with a little boy she couldn't remember or see. How she had been clearly close to him in the memory but hadn't had any human or monster friends she could remember before the last few weeks.
She remembered her missing plushie, the one she had loved as a child. The one her parents had sold. How she had told her mother that he was her best friend...
Had he been a Darkner? And could he be the one desperately trying to call from Spamton to reach out to her, lost in the dark?
"Frisk? You're spacing out on us again." Susie told her, putting her hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Ralsei asked worriedly.
"I-I think I might have been friends with a Darkner as a child... But my parents, they sold him and I can't even remember what he looks like, so I don't know how to find him again, and I... I really let him down." Frisk felt her chest constrict. "What if he's the person calling out to me using Spamton?! What if he's lost in some unopened Dark World, trapped in the dark and..."
Susie opened her mouth to try to say something, but before she could, Ralsei pulled Frisk into a hug. "Frisk! It's okay. You didn't let him down and he's not missing!" His eyes closed as he cuddled her close. "He's closer than you think."
Frisk looked over at him in shock as Susie's eyes widened too. "R-Ralsei?"
"Try to remember, Frisk." Ralsei pleaded. "That day in the snow, ten years ago." He took off his scarf and wrapped it around her neck. "You wore a bright pink scarf just like this one that day. It fluttered behind you in the wind, and I thought you looked like a superhero. And indeed you were. You saved me...just like you saved the others."
Frisk's eyes widened as she looked into the eyes of her friend. The eyes that she realized had been familiar all along.
And then she started to remember.
...
It was the day after Christmas, and five year old Frisk wandered through her neighborhood. Mommy and Daddy were both gone again, which had come to feel normal to her. But still it was lonely and empty at home, and she desperately wished she had someone to play with.
Maybe if she walked around, she would find another kid who would want to be her friend.
And then she spotted something green in the snow, and curiously wandered over to it. Her eyes widened as she spotted a plush of a little white goat monster wearing pretty green robes, thick glasses and a little green witch's hat. His robes and leg were ripped, cotton coming out of his leg. He was also splattered with mud and yucky black snow.
She ran over to him immediately. "Oh no, you're hurt!" she gasped, carefully picking him up so she wouldn't hurt his leg more. His little pink eyes gazed up at her through his glasses, and she could tell that he was cold and scared. She smiled, trying to make him feel better. "Don't worry, it'll all be okay! I'll take you home and make you feel all better!" She wrapped him up in her scarf so he would be nice and warm, cuddling him to her chest. For a second, she swore she felt him snuggle into her.
She carried him down the street, reaching her home in about ten minutes, and shifted him in her arms, keeping the scarf around him and being careful not to hurt his leg, so he'd be able to see her house.
"Here we are!" she said cheerfully as she brought him inside. She stamped her boots off on the welcome mat, not wanting to make the floor all wet and slippery, and then carried him to the couch, where she set him down gently. She pulled off her blue jacket and tucked it around him. "There, all warm and cozy! Now just wait and I'll get some stuff to fix your leg and clean you up!"
She hurried off to get a damp cloth and her mommy's sewing kit so she could fix him up. She had sat by her mommy while she had sewed up her own things and one day when her mommy was in a good mood, she had even showed her how to sew up the rip in the seam of her jacket so she could do it all by herself next time. Mommy said it was good for kids to be self-sufficient, whatever that meant. And when she had finished fixing it, her mommy had even smiled a little and told her she had done real good. Mommy had never told her that before, so it made her extra happy to hear it. And knowing how to sew meant she could fix her new friend all up and make him feel all better.
Gathering all her things, she hurried back out to the living room, not wanting to keep him waiting too long. "I'm back! I got the-" Her eyes went as wide as saucers as they met the pink ones of the little goat boy with glasses that was now sitting on her couch in the place of the little stuffed toy she had left.
He had gotten a lot bigger now! He was a bit taller than she was now, though he looked to be around her age. He looked a bit like the goat boy she had seen walking with his mommy and daddy once, though younger and more fluffy. She didn't know monsters could do that!
"H-Hi." he said shyly. "I-I'm Ralsei."
Frisk beamed and bounced excitedly. "You can talk! And you're as big as me now! That's so cool! How'd you do that?" She then blushed. "Sorry, um, that was rude. I'm Frisk."
"Don't worry! It wasn't rude! And this is my real form! This is what I really look like, but most people can only see me as a stuffed toy." he told her.
She frowned. "That's really sad. Why can't they see you as you really are?"
"I dunno." Ralsei admitted, then winced as he moved his torn leg wrong.
Frisk hurried over to him. "Here, I'll fix it! My mommy taught me to sew, so I can make your leg all better!" She pulled out a needle and thread and a damp cloth. Tenderly she cleaned the mud and snow off his fur and robes before tending to the gash. She pushed the cotton back in as gently as possible and then sewed up the gash, fumbling a bit, but being as careful as she could. Soon she had it fixed, the stitches a little ragged, but sturdy and strong. She also fixed the rip in his robes, though had no green thread so had to use the same white thread. Ralsei said he didn't mind though.
"There! All done! Do you feel better?" Frisk asked as she put the needle and thread away.
He got up with her help and moved his leg a bit. His eyes lit up and he grinned. "Yeah! Thank you so much!"
She grinned back. "You're welcome! Would you like to play?" She then frowned. "Or do you have to go home?" She hoped he didn't have to go home right away. She wanted to play with her new friend.
"I-I don't have a home." Ralsei admitted softly. "At least I don't think I do... I don't remember anything but my name, and the Lightner who got me after that didn't want me. Tears filled his eyes. "I don't know where to go now..."
"I'm sorry." Frisk said sadly and gave him a hug. "But you don't have to worry any more. You can stay with me!"
Ralsei teared up, leaning into the hug and hugging her back tightly. "T-Thanks, Frisk."
...
Frisk covered her mouth in shock, then as the full realization hit her, she threw her arms around Ralsei, sobbing. "It was you." she choked out through her tears.
Ralsei hugged her back tightly, tears in his own eyes as he stroked her hair. "It's okay, it's okay."
"I'll give you guys a moment." she heard Susie tell them, though it felt like it was from a distance. A scaled hand patted her back and then she heard Susie's footsteps leave the room.
"I'm sorry." Frisk sobbed as she held Ralsei closer.
"Frisk, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You were at school when your parents took me away when they were selling things. It was their fault, not yours." Ralsei told her softly.
"I know...but... You were my best friend, Ralsei. We were together almost two years. How could I just forget?! I was devastated when I found out you were gone! I searched for months! How could I just..."
"Frisk." Ralsei said firmly. "It ISN'T your fault. You were seven. You were probably traumatized and your mind found it easier to block everything out. Plus, everyone, especially your parents, probably told you I was a figment of your imagination or just a toy, didn't they?" Frisk nodded softly and Ralsei gave a sad smile. "With all that, it's no wonder you forgot. Plus, when we met in Castletown, I was older and wearing a disguise because I was nervous, so how were you supposed to know?"
"I..."
Ralsei looked down. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Frisk. I should have, but I was worried that I'd either just confuse you or hurt your mind if you weren't ready to remember."
Frisk hugged him. "It's okay, Ralsei. It's not your fault. We've pretty much barely had time to just rest and talk anyway. I'm...just glad I've got you back."
Ralsei smiled at this. "I am too. And...besides us meeting Susie, something really good came out of this." Frisk looked at him questioningly and Ralsei smiled wider. "I got to befriend you all over again."
Frisk hugged him again, tears still in her eyes, but now they were happy ones. She had her childhood best friend back and they got to pick up right where they left off. She would make sure she never left him again, and wasn't going to let anyone, let alone any Knight, take him away from her again.
...
After a little while of just catching up and letting each other know what happened in their lives in the years apart, Frisk and Ralsei headed out to find Susie. Frisk smiled and Ralsei shook his head as they found her in a very familiar position, sitting in a fancy chair next to Lancer and Queen, being fanned by Rudinns as they spoke to the Toy Squad. Tina was cuddled up next to Queen's side, playing with a smartphone Queen had obviously given her.
Susie smiled when she saw them. "Hey Frisk. Hey Rals. Everything good now?" Frisk and Ralsei nodded with smiles.
Queen looked to them and smiled. "Hello Dears. Your Soldiers Have Fully Checked Castletown And We Have The All Clear."
"There's no suspicious activity or any sign of the Knight, though we'll keep up patrols until they're captured." Teddy reported. "And the phone you mentioned was confiscated and is going to be tracked and monitored for any possible communication."
"Good." Frisk sighed in relief before turning to Queen. "Queen, you've had more contact with the Knight than we did. Do you know who they could be or what they're up to?"
Queen shook her head. "LOL No While I Believe I Was The Only One They Spoke To In Cyber World They Were Still The Strong Silent Type. They Only Told Me They Would Reconnect Our Worlds Then Did So And Left. And They Always Had Their Face Obscured And Stuck To The Shadows. I Have No Idea What They Look Like. And While I Believed Their Purpose Was Benign Considering What What's His Name Over There Said It May Very Well Not Have Been."
"His name is Ralsei." Frisk reminded her.
Queen's visor developed swirlies again. "Wow You Know The Knight's Name?"
Frisk rolled her eyes and pointed to Ralsei. "No, HIS name is Ralsei. I've reminded you a million times."
"Oh. I Shall Have To Put It In My Memory Banks." Queen said matter of factly.
"Yeah, good idea." Susie said, rolling her eyes. "As for the Knight, we need to figure out all we can about them so we can figure out what the asshole's plan is. I thought there was a chance they weren't evil, but that thing with Spamton kind of changed my mind."
Frisk thought this over. "Well, I found out from Seam that if this is the same person who opened the Castletown fountain, they DID help King overthrow and imprison the other three kings. And...King, who bullied everyone else, respects the Knight and sees them as above him..." Her eyes widened, then she sighed. "Which means, the only person here who might know something about the Knight is King himself. Though I don't know how easy it's going to be to get HIM to talk, considering he hates us."
She turned to Ralsei. "Where is he? I'll go speak to him."
"Yeah, you're not going alone." Susie said immediately, getting up from her chair.
"He's locked in the dungeons, and I'm going too." Ralsei told her.
"We'll come too." both Teddy and Stripes put in immediately. Spot couldn't speak, so he simply barked in agreement.
"Should I go too?" Tina asked.
"No, Tine, you stay here with the others. I don't want you anywhere near that big jerk." Frisk told her immediately.
Tina looked worried. "But I don't want him to hurt you!"
"He's not going to." Ralsei reassured her. "He's behind thick bars that repel magic. He's not gonna be able to escape or form any attacks. He wouldn't be able to hurt anyone even if he wanted to."
"Yeah, the worst thing he'd be able to do is run his mouth, and that won't bother me." Frisk reassured Tina. "I don't care what that meanie says, as long as I get him to talk about the Knight."
"Are you sure?" Tina asked worriedly.
Frisk smiled. "Of course. I'll be fine, and I'll be right back."
"And I'll take good care of her!" Lancer told them, making a heroic pose. "C'mon, Pink Sister, let's dig a hole all the way to Susie's room!"
"Okay!" Tina agreed happily and the two children ran off to Lancer's room.
"I'll Make The Children Some Snacks And Meet You Down There." Queen told them. Frisk nodded and thanked her, and the three heroes, along with their three guards, made their way down to the dungeon.
...
As they made their way to the back of the dungeon, Frisk immediately saw King sitting on the floor of his cell, his back to them. He barely glanced at them. "Ah... the Lightners. ...Have you come to humiliate me?"
"No. We came here to talk to you." Frisk said firmly. "We want to know about the Knight. Who are they?"
King laughed harshly. "As if I'd tell you anything, even if I did know."
"So you don't know?" Ralsei asked. "Mr. King, please, if you do know anything, tell us. If the Roaring happens..."
"I'm not concerned about your oh-so-precious Lightners, little patsy. I'd be happy if the darkness destroyed every single one of the creatures who abandoned us!" he said angrily.
Teddy and Susie narrowed their eyes and stepped forward, but Frisk held her hand out to stop them. "So you'd be happy about turning into a stone statue? Because that's EXACTLY what would happen if the Roaring started." she told King.
Ralsei nodded. "We were meant to live in darkness, Mr. King, but not that much, especially if competing fountains are filling the air. If it happens... We'll all turn to stone and the Lightners will be alone under the crushing darkness."
"Everyone will be destroyed, not just us. Is that your idea of paradise?" Frisk asked, repeating Ralsei's words.
King's eyes narrowed. "You're lying."
Susie glared at him. "Ralsei and Frisk don't lie. And I've seen what could happen if a Darkner is under a competing fountain myself. Lancer turned to stone. Thankfully he's okay now that the Fountain is sealed and we're back in Castle Town, but I'm not letting him get hurt like that again."
King paled. "My son...he was turned to stone?" His voice softened. "Is he all right?"
"As if you care." Susie spat out. "You were gonna throw him off a CLIFF."
"Ah. Your prejudice made my bluff too effective, I see." King said matter of factly. "... besides, even IF I threw him, he would just...bounce." He grinned, and for once it was genuine. "My son... is... a bouncy little pumpkin."
"Aww, cute!" Ralsei cooed, but what King said didn't fly with either Susie or Frisk, who both glared hatefully at King.
"I SAW Lancer's face, you bastard. He was terrified for his life, and ours. Even if the crap you just spouted was true, you scared the life out of your son and broke his heart. He loved you, and you threatened him like that, and you tried to make him watch his friends die. How does any of that strike you as okay?!" Frisk yelled.
Susie put her hand on her shoulder. "Frisk, you'll never get through to him. He'll never admit he's wrong." She glared at King. "We're done talking to you. Now let's go, guys."
"You'd better run, Lightners." King called after them. "Because you'll soon face someone... More fearsome... More tyrannical than you could EVER imagine."
The group stopped and looked at King. "Queen? We already met her." Susie shrugged.
"WHAT!?" King asked in shock.
Just as he said that, the dungeon door opened and Queen sauntered in. "Wow Nice Hamster Wheel"
King turned away. "So you, too, have come to humiliate me..."
"No I Am Serious It's Cool," Queen shrugged, the word "True," lighting up on her visor. She moved past the group and glanced at the giant hamster water bottle hanging on the wall. "That Water Bottle However..."
"DO NOT SPEAK ILL OF THE ROYAL WATER BOTTLE!" King yelled before scooting over to his water bottle and happily drinking from it.
"It's Nothing Compared To The One At My Mansion" Queen grinned, the word "True," flashing again.
King crossed his arms and frowned. "Hmph. Materialistic as always."
"Materialism Evaluation Denied" Queen stated. "I Simply Give Myself: The Treatment I Deserve" She grinned tauntingly at King. "You Slept Curled Up On A Dirty Throne Every Day"
"ENOUGH, WENCH!" King yelled, but Frisk caught him grinning when he likely thought they weren't looking. He then arranged his features into a pout. "What purpose have you here... Queenie Beanie."
"Just Thought I Would Send A Message, Kingy Wingy" Queen grinned before her expression hardened. "That You Don't Have To Worry About Lancer" Her face lightened a bit again. "I Will Be Looking After Him From Now On. After All... I Am..." She paused. "His Mother"
King laughed. "When was that decided!?"
Queen shrugged. "Arbitrarily Right Now"
"...hmph." King grumbled. "Do what you please with the boy. But if he cries..." He smiled again. "...Bounce him on the ground like a ball."
"I Think It Is Time We Abort This Conversation" Queen stated.
"...As you wish." King said after a moment.
It was at that moment when Rouxls came scurrying in, freed from his stone prison. "Oho, quite sorry, mine Kinge... Queen hathe a nyew Man about Towne now!"
"Who?" King asked.
Queen's visor filled with question marks. "Yeah Who" she asked in confusion and Frisk tried not to laugh. Next to her, Susie and Stripes snickered, while Spot cocked his head and Ralsei and Teddy looked like they were done with this conversation.
Poor Rouxls, now humiliated, now had to get himself out of this awkward situation. "Er... I think I... Left my puzzle on. POSTHASTE!" he yelled awkwardly, then ran out.
"Who Was That?" Queen asked, the word "Bro?" appearing on her visor.
King sighed. "That was my son's... LESSER father."
Queen laughed. "Cannot Calculate Someone Less Than You"
"BEGONE!" King yelled, though started laughing afterwards with Queen. Frisk blinked. They certainly had a... strange ...relationship.
"Bye Bye Kingy Wingy" Queen waved. She started to head out, then paused. "By The Way Did You Want Anything From The Store"
King smiled a bit. "...cashews."
"Order Processed" Queen agreed before heading out.
Frisk looked at King, but he just turned away from them. "We have NOTHING to discuss."
"Mr. King, the Lightners returned everyone here safely. If you're willing to reconsider, then..." Ralsei started.
King glared at him. "What? Live in a kingdom ruled by YOU? The Lightners' little patsy...? Staying in this cell is far less humiliating. Now if you will excuse me. My giant hamster wheel is getting cold." With that, he hurried over to the hamster wheel and started to run, the loud squeaking noise drowning everything out. The group glanced to each other and headed out.
...
"I'm sorry, guys." Frisk sighed a little while later as they all sat around the dining room table while Ralsei cut into four massive cakes he made, a strawberry one that Susie had requested, two white ones, and a rich chocolate one. After all the major shocks and stress of the whole day, Ralsei declared they needed something to cheer them up. "I should have kept my head in there instead of agitating King further."
"Not your fault. That guy was being an a..." Susie then glanced to Tina, who was listening while munching the piece of chocolate cake Ralsei had given her. "Jerk," she amended. Her eyes lit up as Ralsei served her a massive slice of strawberry cake. "Thanks, Rals."
"You're welcome, Susie! I hope you like it!" Ralsei said happily. He then cut a slice of one of the white cakes. "I...made this one especially for you, Frisk." he said shyly, setting in front of her. "White velvet blackberry. Just like the one we tried to make when we were six."
Frisk thought for a second, then smiled as the memory came back to her. "I remember. You didn't remember your birthday so we both shared mine, and I wanted to surprise you, so I saved up to buy us white velvet cake mix, icing, and eggs so we could make a birthday cake together, and we mixed blackberries from the Sacred Springs in the mix too. We managed to mostly bake it right, but we tried to get it out of the pan when it was still warm, so it ended up falling apart on us. It was like a tower of cake crumbles." she chuckled. "This one definitely looks a lot better."
"But our first cake still tasted good! We spread icing all over the crumbles as best we could and just set it between us, grabbed two spoons and ate until our stomachs hurt." Ralsei said with a happy smile.
Susie laughed. "Wow, you guys actually ate a whole cake by yourselves? I'm so proud of you! Or, well, your six year old selves."
"Actually, we only managed like half of it." Frisk admitted with a chuckle.
"Amateurs." Susie teased. "Here, I'll show you how it's done." She grabbed the remainder of the strawberry cake and tossed it high in the air. She opened her jaws wide and snapped it up in one bite as it fell back down.
Lancer's eyes were wide as he ate his own chocolate piece. "Susie, you're amazing!"
Ralsei shook his head fondly. "I'm going to have to make you a dozen cakes for your birthday so we get some too, won't I?"
Susie grinned. "Eh, round it up to twenty. Especially if you make that awesome strawberry cake again."
"I'm pretty sure even you couldn't eat THAT many cakes."
Susie's eyes sparked at the challenge. "Try me."
Frisk chuckled, taking a bite of her cake and relishing the sweet and tart taste, happily listening as Ralsei and Susie bantered and the Toy Squad listened indulgently to Lancer and Tina's stories. Sweet memories of the past had returned, and with the Fun Gang by her side, she knew more sweet memories were to come.
For now the Knight and the stress of the future were set aside.
...
After dessert, the group decided to get back to business and figure out what they should do next. As they had no more clues about the Knight's identity than before, it was unanimously decided to keep an eye on the fountain for now, as Ralsei mentioned it would react when a new fountain formed.
The Toy Squad immediately volunteered to guard the fountain, insisting Frisk, Ralsei and Susie rest after the day they had. Queen also got volunteers to help, and said she could have cameras set up around the fountain that could be monitored from inside the castle. Frisk and the rest of the Fun Gang, including Tina and Lancer, offered to help, but were told to relax. After some protest, they gave in and Ralsei showed them to the fountain. Frisk, Tina, and Susie went to their rooms and changed out of their armor and into more comfortable clothes, then met Ralsei in the sitting room. It was filled with big, fluffy couches and chairs as well as carpeting that had felt soft as a cloud to Frisk, and Queen had even installed a big TV.
Tina and Lancer ran around, chasing each other until they tired themselves out, then fell asleep on the floor with Tina's head on her new brother's back as Lancer snored peacefully on his stomach.
"Aww!" Frisk cooed, though softly so she didn't wake them. "I wish I had a camera."
"I Do," Queen said with a smile as she came walking into the room. She smiled even wider when she caught sight of Tina and Lancer, hearts filling her visor. "Aww" She pulled out her smartphone and took several pictures.
"They're so cute. Can you print me out a copy?" Frisk asked with a smile.
"Of Course Dear."
"Thanks. Though I probably should get them to bed." Frisk admitted, picking up Tina carefully so she wouldn't wake her.
"Same." Queen agreed as she picked up Lancer, cuddling him in her arms.
They carried the two to their respective rooms and Frisk happily tucked Tina into her new bed among the stuffed animals Ralsei had given her, pulling the sheets up to her chin and putting a little brown teddy bear into her arms. She then kissed Tina's forehead and the little girl blinked her eyes and smiled sleepily up at her before falling back to sleep.
Frisk tiptoed outside, not wanting to wake Tina again, and met Queen in the hallway. "She's asleep." she reported.
"So Is Lancer." Queen told her. "Now Why Don't You Go Relax Frisk Dear? If You Need Me I'll Be In My Room. It Has A Clear Lack Of A Free Acid Pool So I Must Rectify The Situation."
Frisk chuckled. "Just make sure it doesn't spill into the hallway or anything. I don't need burned feet."
"Don't Worry Everything I Make Is Up To Code."
That didn't reassure Frisk much, but she smiled and nodded anyway, resolving to let Ralsei know. She headed back to the living room, where Susie and Ralsei were sitting on the couch, waiting for her. Well, Susie was waiting for her. Ralsei was fast asleep, snoring softly as he snuggled into Susie's shoulder. Susie was sitting as still as possible, clearly not sure what to do about this situation.
"Seriously? I'm not a teddy bear. Why do you guys keep using me as one?" Susie grumbled, though kept her voice low to avoid waking Ralsei. It was pretty obvious she wasn't upset though, as a smile was starting to break free.
"Well, you used ME as one this morning." Frisk teased as she sat on Ralsei's other side.
Susie turned bright red in embarrassment. "Shut up, Frisk." She then glanced down at Ralsei. "Man, poor guy's beat. No wonder, considering the fountain and having all these strange people he's trying to take care of, including us."
"I know. He deserves a good rest." Frisk said sympathetically, removing Ralsei's glasses, which were falling off his face. She handed them to Susie, who put them on the lamp stand.
Susie settled back into the couch cushions afterwards. "It's been a good day, huh, Frisk? You, Ralsei, Lancer, everyone... It's...just cool hanging out together, right?" she asked quietly. Frisk nodded with a smile and Susie continued. "... that's why, y'know... Don't you think we should... figure out a way to bring everyone into the Light World? I mean, NOT as toys?"
"Is there even a way?" Frisk whispered.
"I dunno, but... honestly, even though we're living in the Dark World, it'd still be awesome for Ralsei and Lancer to be themselves in the Light World instead of having to look like a plushie and a card. I know Rals has full awareness or something, but it would suck for him to be a plushie and not able to move and have no one be able to see what he really is."
"It really would be great to show Ralsei and Lancer around. We could stop by that cool lake to have picnics..." Frisk said, getting lost in the idea herself.
"And walk to school together..." Susie added, getting more excited, though lowering her voice when Ralsei stirred in his sleep. "Though Ralsei would probably become a teacher's pet." she chuckled.
"Teacher's pet? Rals would probably BE the teacher." Frisk joked.
"Hopefully he'd be less boring than Alphys." Susie shrugged. "But enough about school. Let's talk about something cooler. The festival's coming up, and honestly, I can't wait for you, Tina, Rals, and Lancer to see it. The whole freaking town becomes a carnival. We should go like we talked about. Hopefully by that time, we can bring Rals and Lancer. Wonder if Noelle and Berdly are going too."
"They probably are."
"Cool. It would be awesome if we can all go together."
Frisk smiled. "That would be great."
"We'll figure it out. Maybe in the morning. I'm beat."
"Me too." Frisk settled into the couch, closing her eyes, listening the soft sound of Ralsei's snoring. She felt Susie settle back too, and soon the dragon girl's snoring joined Ralsei's. Frisk smiled sleepily and drifted off, feeling safe and warm with her companions around her.
But the feeling was not to last.
...((Frisk's Dream))...
They were having a picnic by the lake, her, Susie, Ralsei, Tina, and Lancer, talking and laughing. The air was crisp and cool, and fall leaves were floating around them. The wind sang through the trees.
Actually, that wasn't the wind.
A beautiful melody, soft as a whisper at first, but growing louder and louder, filled the air. Frisk looked around curiously, trying to find the source, before turning to her friends. "Who's singing?" she asked, and then her eyes widened in shock.
Her friends had simply frozen in place like they were a movie and it was on pause. Susie was in the middle of shoving a giant sandwich in her mouth while Lancer and Tina were laughing and Ralsei was in mid word. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so terrifying. She waved her hands in front of their faces, called their names, and yet they didn't respond.
And yet the melody continued, growing louder and louder.
It was coming from the lake.
"Who's doing this?! Let my friends go!" Frisk yelled, trying to sound braver than she felt right now as she took a few steps towards the lake. It rippled as the melody grew.
Frisk found herself taking another step towards the water, and then another, almost against her control. "I'm not joking around! Stop this!" she yelled to try to intimidate the singer, but to no avail.
She was in the water now. It lapped around her ankles. Involuntarily she took another step, and then another.
The sandy lakebed disappeared underneath her, causing her to cry out and fall into the now dark waters. She struggled to get to the surface.
But something wrapped around her ankle, pulling her under, deep into the darkness.
Dark, dark, yet darker.
...
When her feet hit solid ground again, it was still dark. She gasped, thankfully getting air rather than the water she thought she had been in before. She frantically looked around.
She was in That Place again.
And then HE came from the shadows, just as he had done this morning, his twisted, oval shaped face still set in its permanent grin as he walked(or floated) up to her.
She wanted to ask him what he wanted, why he had brought her here again. And then she remembered Susie's words when she had spoken about him in the library, her expression of fear when she told Frisk not to speak to the man, that Ralsei knew of him, that Ralsei was afraid of him.
"S-Stay away from me!" Frisk yelled and backed away. His permanent smile drooped, but he kept coming.
Frisk knew she didn't have the strength here to fight him, in his own realm. She didn't even know what this man, this creature, was capable of. She tried to force herself to wake up. When that failed, she tried to run.
The man rushed forward and grabbed her wrist. His touch was icy cold, so cold it burned. She screamed and struggled against him, but his grip was iron.
And then he spoke, his strange words having a note of pleading to them that cut through her terror. She stopped struggling and looked up at him. He spoke more, sounding apologetic.
Frisk took a deep, though shaky, breath. "What do you want from me? I don't understand."
He looked relieved, then flipped her hand palm upward and started tracing something on it with his index finger. Frisk stiffened for a second, then realized he was trying to spell out letters.
"H-E-L-P."
"Help? You need help?" Frisk asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"
He traced out more letters onto her palm. "T-R-A-P-P-E-D."
"You're trapped here? Where is here?" Frisk asked. She swore she heard far away voices speaking but the man traced letters on her hand, distracting her.
"V-O-I-D."
Frisk frowned worriedly, her heart aching for the poor guy. She understood why he was so desperate to contact her. This place was really creepy. "What can I do for you? Is there a way to get you out of here? How did you even get here in the first place? And how did I get in here?"
He pointed to himself, then traced out more letters, pausing between groups of them. Frisk repeated the words to let him know she had gotten them. "Machine. Made a mistake." He then pointed towards her and traced out the answer to her second question. "I'm asleep and spirit traveling? How?" she asked.
"S-T-A-R P-O-W-E-R-S."
"They can do that?" Frisk asked in shock and the man nodded.
Frisk was now worried. "Can my powers get me out of here too?"
He nodded, tracing into her palm that her body was outside the void so she could go back to it.
Frisk sighed in relief, then had an idea. "Would I be able to just walk you back to the Dark World if I can get out?"
He shook his head. His permanent smile drooped and his shoulders slumped. Frisk put her hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "Look, I'll do my best to help, okay? Do you need me to find your machine? Will that get you out?" He shrugged, looking unsure. Frisk tried to smile. "It wouldn't hurt to try. Do you know where it is?"
He shook his head and then spelled out another sentence.
"You were removed from existence?!" Frisk asked in shock. He nodded sadly and Frisk tried to think of something, but this was above her level of knowledge. "Is there something that you think could fix it?"
He looked desperate. "I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-E. P-L-E-A-S-E."
"All right. I will. I promise." Frisk said soothingly. She tried to figure out where to go to get this information. "Do you know anyone who might know about the Void."
"R-A-L-S-E-I."
...
It was about five AM and said goat boy was sleeping peacefully until he felt a chill fill the air and heard Frisk whimper. Both he and Susie shot up as they heard Frisk let out a scream before yelling at someone to get away from her. She threw herself back into the couch, her outstretched arm nearly whacking Ralsei in the face. She struggled violently for a moment like someone was holding her by the wrist.
"Frisk?!" Ralsei gasped. "Frisk, it's okay! Wake up!"
Susie leapt to her feet and gently shook her shoulder. "C'mon, Frisk, snap out of it!" She looked to Ralsei, frightened. "She's ice cold. Just like she was this morning..."
Ralsei heard her, but it was like it was from far away. For a second, just a split second, he saw someone, or rather something, a shadowy man with a white twisted face, lurking in the darkness, its black melting eyes focused right on Frisk.
"Let her go!" he screamed, throwing a Pacify at the creature. At Dr. WD Gaster. It passed through him harmlessly Susie yelped as it narrowly missed her.
"Ralsei, what is it?! Where is it?! What's got her?!" Susie cried. She pulled out her axe, her yellow eyes frantically searching the room but obviously couldn't see anything. "C'mon, you coward! Let her go and fight ME!"
At the same time, Frisk's struggling stopped. She asked what the man wanted from her and her frightened expression softened, becoming sympathetic. "Help? You need help?" She seemed completely unfazed by what was going on outside her body.
"Frisk, don't listen! Come back to us! Wake up!" Susie pleaded, rushing back to Frisk.
Frisk didn't seem to hear her and continued her onesided conversation, asking what she could do and where they were, speaking to this person the way she would any Darkner or Lightner that needed help. Ralsei's heart pounded. Was this Dr. Gaster or some sort of terrifying Void monster trying to trick her so it could possess her? Or did they legitimately need help? What was he supposed to do?! She was spirit traveling right now but nothing seemed to reach her! He needed to get her back...he had to get her back...
He should have told her what he feared! Susie was right; he had kept too much before and now she was... now she was...
He could barely breathe, he felt like he was going to pass out...
"Ralsei! Ralsei, c'mon, snap out of it, because I need you to help me help HER snap out of it!" Susie yelled at him before turning to Frisk. "Summon her soul or something!"
"I can't, she's spirit traveling!" Ralsei said frantically.
"What the hell does that mean?!"
"She's literally in the Void right now! I can't summon her soul, and I can't shadow walk to her without us both getting trapped!" Ralsei told her frantically.
"So what do we do?!"
"I...I..." He looked to her frantically. "What'd you do last time? How'd you get her back?"
"I woke her up! But she's not waking up!" Susie yelled. She slammed her fist into the wall with a resounding thud. Finally Frisk seemed to respond, jumping in her sleep and turning towards the sound.
...
Frisk and the man both jumped as they heard the sound. "What was that?" Frisk asked.
"C'mon Frisk, get out of the fucking void and stop talking to that guy! Wake up!" she then heard Susie's voice plead and then Ralsei's voice call her name over and over.
"I'm coming!" Frisk called to them and then the man's grip tightened. Frisk tried to pull her arm away. "Hey, let me go! I gotta go back to them! They're probably terrified. And I can't figure out a way to get you out of here if you won't let me go back." she said as calmly as possible but was now a little worried that this had all been a trap.
The man tried to say something with an apologetic look and then remembered he couldn't be understood and traced letters into her hand again. "W-A-I-T. P-L-E-A-S-E."
"But..."
"F-O-U-N-T-A-I-N. S-H-O-W Y-O-U."
He beckoned. A part of the Void shimmered. She hesitated. He looked to her pleadingly. "I W-O-N-T H-U-R-T Y-O-U. N-E-E-D T-O S-E-E."
Frisk was uncertain, but knew he was desperate to show her. Cautiously, she walked over, making sure she had him in her sight in case he was going to backstab her. He pointed to the shimmering area as an image showed. She cautiously looked into it, finding it was like she was looking through a window into a strange living room she had never been through before. She saw the goat woman from earlier, pacing in a purple nightdress and talking on the phone.
"...I cannot wait for you and your brother to come home next week." Toriel was saying to the person on the phone, who she guessed was Chara. "It has been so lonely without you both." She listened to what Chara was saying. "Chara, we have been over this. Things between your father and I are...complicated. But I promise you and Asriel will see him when you get home." She smiled. "And I will bake that chocolate cream pie you love. Just make sure the rest of us get some too." she teased. She paused for a second. "All right, dear. Make sure you get plenty of rest for your final. I love you too." She hung up the phone with a soft sigh, her expression longing and lonely. Frisk felt bad for her.
Toriel settled into a chair with a book, looking sadly at the empty couch. She read for a few minutes before her head started drooping and she fell asleep.
Frisk looked to the man watching this intimate moment with her and he pointed at the screen again, just as a window creaked. Frisk stiffened as a shadowy figure crept in from another room. They stood in front of Toriel's sleeping figure for a moment.
Frisk ran at the screen as the figure pulled out a knife. "Look out!" she yelled and ran to tackle the figure like an idiot but just ran through the scene like a ghost.
The man caught hold of her again, tracing into her hand that she wasn't really there. He pulled her back and pointed again urgently.
The figure walked away from Toriel, not harming her, and turned the TV screen to static, then stabbed the knife into the ground. Frisk gasped as, like in the video she had seen in Queen's mansion, a pillar of light and smoke swirled through the air. As darkness filled the room, the figure opened the door and slipped outside, leaving the door open behind them.
"Oh my god, I need to get back to the Light World." Frisk gasped. "I have to stop this!" She turned to the man. "Thank you. How do I get back?"
She again heard her friends calling out for her and he pointed to their voices. "F-O-L-L-O-W."
Frisk nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thank you again. What's your name?"
He smiled. Well, he was always smiling because his grin seemed permanent, but now he actually seemed happy. "G-A-S-T-E-R."
"Gaster?" she asked. He nodded. She smiled, though her heart was pounding frantically. "It was, um, nice meeting you. I'll try to investigate a way to help you. Um, see you next dream, I guess." she said as cheerfully as she could before hurrying towards the voices of her friends.
As she did, the Void blurred around her.
...
"Frisk!"
"Frisk, c'mon, come back to us!"
Frisk gasped as she found herself back on the couch in Ralsei's sitting room, her two friends shaking her shoulders and yelling for her to wake up.
"Guys! Guys, I'm fine, but I know where the next fountain is! We need to..." Frisk tried to get up but swayed, her limbs freezing and her mind fuzzy and disoriented.
Susie caught her and lowered her back to the couch. "No, you need to sit down! You just scared the crap out of us doing some crazy spirit traveling thing! We've been trying to get you up for nearly fifteen minutes after you decided to talk to some creepy entity thing!" she yelled before turning to Ralsei. "Ralsei, check her soul. Make sure that asshole didn't do anything to her."
"On it." Ralsei said immediately, summoning her soul. He carefully checked it over, then sighed in relief. "She's fine. She's still her."
Frisk blinked in confusion. "Why would I not be me?"
"I...I was afraid he might try to possess you." Ralsei admitted looking down.
Frisk's eyes widened. "That's a thing that could have happened?!" she yelped.
"I've...heard stories about Void entities doing that. I don't know how true they are." Ralsei admitted.
"Is that why you were so freaked out yesterday? Why didn't you tell me and why did you tell Susie not to tell me?! Ralsei, that's something I kind of needed to know." Frisk told him, sounding a little angrier than she intended.
"I-I didn't want to scare you, and...I was worried the entity would hear and go after you. And I didn't know for sure what the entity even wanted with you. I wanted to figure things out first before I told you, but then the fountain happened and I..."
Frisk softened. "I know. We all kind of got distracted. Just tell me these things next time, Rals, okay?"
Ralsei nodded. "I will. I'm sorry."
Susie sighed in relief. "It's a good thing you weren't possessed, Frisk. Why the hell did you talk to that guy?"
Frisk sighed. "He was desperate, Susie. He had hold of my wrist and wouldn't let go until I talked to him. He was trapped in the Void. There was some sort of mistake with a machine and he was erased from existence. He just wanted to get free and needed help. His name's..."
"Dr. Wingdings Gaster. The man who speaks in hands." Ralsei said quietly. "I've heard of him."
"What do you know?" Frisk asked softly.
"Some gray monsters came to me, speaking about him, then disappearing when I looked away for a split second. They basically told me what he told you. He was a genius who created some sort of machine and accidentally tore himself across time and space." Ralsei explained. "I don't know what the machine was or what his motives are. When Susie told me he tried to grab your soul, it scared me. I was worried he'd use you or try to possess you to break free."
"If he wanted to possess me, he probably would have right there when he first grabbed hold of me." Frisk reassured him. "He wants me to investigate and find a way to get him free, or at least that's what I got from him."
"Frisk, are you sure this guy can be trusted?" Susie asked skeptically.
"He seemed genuine enough, but I won't let my guard down." Frisk reassured her. "But I definitely think this should be looked into more. Especially since he showed me where the..." Her eyes widened as her brain snapped into gear. "Susie, we need to get to the Dreemurr house now! The Knight's there; they just made another fountain! We gotta go before she gets hurt!"
"Frisk, slow down! You sure it's there? You sure this Gaster guy can be trusted?" Susie asked.
"Am I one hundred percent sure? No, nothing's one hundred percent, but I'm pretty sure he was telling me the truth." Frisk admitted. "Plus, it's the only lead we have, and we should check it out, shouldn't we?"
Susie nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. C'mon, Frisk, let's get our gear."
"Right." Frisk agreed, trying to calm herself. "Rals, can you go talk to Teddy, Spot, and Stripes? You said our fountain did something if a new fountain activates. If it did, we'll know Gaster's information was legit, or at least if the Knight opened a new fountain."
"On it." Ralsei said, hurrying out as Susie and Frisk hurried to get their armor on and grab their weapons, ready to once again save the world.
...
And that's the last chapter! For now at least! I hope you guys enjoyed! Please comment and let me know what you think, and if you have any questions or suggestions!