Thanks go to Chara Moonstone, 10burgers, Doctah Sawbones, WhoWritesThisCrap, Acoolnamme, Zack Frost, Azariah33, Nabzif, Genowar, Wingah, and I'mANervousWreck.
Azariah33, welcome to the story! I hope you've been enjoying binge reading it, and I appreciate all your reviews. :)
Also thank you everyone who offered condolences about Molly I really appreciate it-
Now then, onto the chapter! the next chapter should be up in two weeks time. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.
"OOOOOH my god!"
With wide eyes and dropped jaws, Chara and I stared straight up. We dropped our bags carelessly onto the wood floor of the Dreemurr house, our shoulders sinking in unison.
"Ehehe, that's right!" Asriel reached up with one large, floofy hand, rubbing behind his horns awkwardly. There was a blush just barely visible under the fur of his face, but it was pretty hard to make out considering he was almost a foot taller than me! In a deeper voice than I remember him having, he continued. "I forgot you guys haven't seen us in awhile!"
"Yo, Cter! check it out!" Monster Kid spun around so fast that I had to jump over his tail, which was now long enough to drag on the floor behind him and decorated with the same spines that had once adorned his head. The spines on his head has grown at least half a foot, now jutting out in dangerous points. But, what I found most noticeable about Monster Kid's post-monster puberty body were the dragon wings comin' out of his shoulder blades! "My wings came in!"
My expression didn't get any less stunned, my jaw still hanging low and my head still sinking forward. Slowly, my eyes glossed between the two of them. Asriel and Monster Kid were both taller than me and Chara now, the both of them ranging somewhere between 6'6 and 7 feet tall. Asriel had gotten to be about as tall as Asgore now, if not a little taller. He was still relatively thin, more like his mother in that way and less like his bulky father.
There was certainly muscle definition though, that much was obvious through his far from baggy, yellow striped shirt. I squinted at him suspiciously, wondered if he wore a size too small on purpose, but ultimately I was just happy for him. I knew as Chara, Frisk and I were getting older and stronger, he was getting self conscious about his smaller form. But now, his horns had grown in, he had gotten taller, and if I had to guess, he probably had to shave to keep from growing an Asgore-esc gold beard.
Monster Kid's wing span was certainly impressive. And his legs had grown so long, they now had a second point of bending around his ankle. But, I didn't think much of it. Legs like that were common in dinosaurs. And, I guess, dragons as well? Was still trying to wrap my head around that. Anyway, his old yellow and brown striped shirt was a hoodie now, and a white scarf wrapped around his neck. I thought it was funny how many holes had to be put in that hoodie for all the spines on his back as well as his wings to fit through, and I wondered internally how much of a pain it must have been to take on and off. His face, once circular, now was more pointed in a snout. When he grinned, I could see just how sharp his fangs were. He might have even been intimidating, if I didn't know how goofy he really was.
"Uh... Cter?" A hint of concern entered MK's voice when I didn't respond to the showing of his scaly wings, and he arched a brow over his shoulder at me. "You uhh... You do think it looks cool, right?"
When I sniffled, Monster Kid recoiled. He immediately spun around, expression suddenly panicked. As tears built in my eyes, he stammered and stuttered, reaching out towards me timidly with his wings. "Y-yo, Cter! W-what's wrong-?!"
Then suddenly, I had my arms wrapped around Monster Kid. I hugged him tight to my chest, leaning back and lifting him up even though he now towered over me. Tears streaming down my face, I shouted,
"MY BABY BOY IS ALL GROWN UUPPPPPP!"
Chapter 56: Slice'a Life
Or: How Far We've Come
"Sooo... You aren't all grown up?" As we made our way up the steps, I cocked a brow over towards Monster Kid. I had relaxed after my outburst, and reasonably, everyone had gotten a kick out of my reaction to MK's aging.
"Nope. I won't be for another decade or two." MK shook his head, following me up the steps. Behind him, Chara and Asriel trailed. They were talking about something too, I imagine they had their own catching up to do. MK furrowed his brows, "Yo, I coulda swore I told'ja that once..."
"I get hit in the head a lot." I answered with a joking smile, and Monster Kid snickered. We made our way up to the second floor, and I removed my hand from the railing and placed it in my pocket. Turning to face the other three finishing their trek up the steps, I questioned. "So, what's after this? You just keep growing slowly over the next ten to twenty years until you're fully grown?"
"Nah. I'm gonna look like this for most'a that time, until I get into the last few years." MK shrugged his shoulders, and I continued down the hall with my suitcase in tow, looking over my shoulder to maintain eye contact as he spoke. "Towards the end'a this part of my life cycle, I'm gonna go into a chrysalis. I'll be in that for two or three years, and when I bust out, I'll be a full grown dragon!"
"A chrysalis, huh..?" I pondered quietly, my brows drawing closer to one another while I turned my head forward. Monster Kid's life cycle was certainly intriguing to me, learning about it scratched a certain nerdy itch in my brain. But, as we approached the shut door of my room, those thoughts were pushed from my head.
It had been so long, after all. Since I'd seen my own room, since I'd seen my own home as a real place where I'd be staying. I still hadn't seen Asgore, Toriel, or Frisk. Apparently there was some important political meeting today, so it was MK and Asriel who greeted us upon arrival. And I was excited to see everyone, I was excited to sleep in my own bed. I was certainly excited for two weeks without morning workouts with Future.
... But, I was anxious, too. This was the perfect world I had been working towards. This was everything I had been fighting for the past two and a half plus years. This was my goal, this was the perfect world I was desperate to get back to. So... What if it wasn't what I remembered it as? So much had already changed, and I hadn't even set my bags down. Monster Kid and Asriel were different, and these hallways seemed thinner. This building seemed smaller...
Was it me? Had, I changed..?
Clink! Creeeaaakkk...
My underused door creaked on its hinges, and I wondered how many times it had been opened and shut in the time I had been gone. Couldn't have been much, but when I saw how my dresser and desk remained dusted, I figured Toriel still gave the place routine cleanings. Or, at least, that she'd cleaned the place up after hearing I would be coming back. Either way, I appreciated the effort.
"Wow. So this is your room." Chara's voice chimed in as they took a few steps through the doorway, following past Asriel and MK. Their scarlet orbs glossed over the simple blue walls, scanning the occasional poster. They wandered towards my dresser, where a plastic figurine of Teen Gohan and Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z stood upon the wooden surface.
"You've been in my room in Future's castle before." I arched a curious brow back at them, lifting my suitcase over the carpet and setting it beside my bed. They looked up from the Teen Gohan that they were carefully inspecting, frowning over at me.
"Yeah, but that's like... Your work room?" Chara shrugged as they stood upright, before gesturing out towards the room around. "This is your room room."
I smirked with a little amusement at that, crossing my arms over my chest while I leaned my back against the wall. "Well? Is it everything you imagined?"
"..." Chara pondered silently for a moment, before they lifted their hand. They pointed straight down to the two figurines sitting on my dresser's top. "Thought there'd be more of these. And that they'd be feminine. And half naked."
I laughed at that, and Chara smiled some at the sight of me laughing at their joke. Monster Kid chuckled at the idea of me owning anime girl figurines too, but Asriel didn't laugh. He just squinted with something I thought might have been suspicion, his eyes slowly glossing between Chara and I. When I finally noticed this, I furrowed my brows, looking over to him. "You good, Asriel?"
"Huh? Oh, uh..." Asriel was taken aback some by my question, and he paused to think for a moment, like he really had to consider whether or not he was 'good'. But, after a moment of thinking, he scoffed like he was dismissing some silly thought. "Yeah, I'm good!"
Silently Max stood in the kitchen window. He stared out at the grassy plains, still glistening with the early morning dew. These sights still almost felt new to him, he'd spent most of his life in an urban area after all. He hardly ever saw nature like this before. But now he lived in it. Down the driveway, he glanced for a few long moments at the barn where Anthony had likely already begun his day, and he furrowed his brows.
Truth be told, Max hardly knew how he felt about Anthony. All the woodsman had ever shown him or his adoptive sister was kindness, but... He was dangerous. Anyone who looked at him could see that. And judging by the scars Max had seen on Anarchy's skin here and there, he figured the man had a checkered past.
And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that he was simply unnatural. Beyond his unearthly appearance, he also possessed a handful of super human abilities. Max had seen him carry around thousands of pounds worth of building materials. He'd seen him stand in fields under direct sunlight in mid July, under heat that should have burned his albino skin red. But, it didn't. Sometimes he would steam under the scorching rays of the sun, a red mist would rise from his skin and Max didn't know why. He was always watching from the house's window, never close enough to truly observe. Honestly, he tried to keep his distance from Anthony.
But, for whatever reason, Mako trusted Anthony in spite of the danger he represented. She took the time to visit him out in the barn, she invited him inside for every meal. And every day, Max sat across the table from a man he hardly knew and hardly trusted. And he didn't make too many efforts to know Anarchy any better, in the same way that Anarchy did not attempt to learn any more about him.
He was a solitary man, Max had gathered that much. It was likely why he owned this remote property in the first place, because he didn't like other people. But that rose a question: Why would Anthony invite himself and his sister to live here with him if he preferred being alone? As far as Max could tell, Anthony had nothing to gain and plenty to lose from this deal. The wilder parts of Max's imagination had tried to convince him that the albino woodsman had some sinister plot in store; Anthony looked a lot like a slasher movie villain, after all. But it had been nearly two years living here, and Anthony hadn't crossed Max once. Never showed a hint of aggression or malevolence, he simply minded his own business. Every day, for two years.
... So, if he didn't have any cruel intentions, then Max only had one other conclusion to draw. It was for Mako. Anthony had somehow been befriended by his kind younger sister despite his antisocial tendencies. For one reason or another, he wanted her around. And Max found that she wanted to be around him, too. In fact, it was a conversation the two of them had before they'd even accepted Anthony's offer.
"Listen Mako, I know you like this guy, but he could be dangerous. We can't just live with a stranger in the middle of nowhere."
"But he's not a stranger! And besides, if he really had bad intentions, why would he offer to send us away, too?"
"I'm... Not sure. But, still, if it turns out he wants to hurt us, we'll be trapped out there with him. There won't be any one to help us."
"There's no one here to help us either, Max. I have to hide in this inn all day, remember? If we're with him, we'll have plenty of space and I'll be able to get out way more!"
"... I don't know about this."
"I get it. You're worried about the maybe dangers, but you're forgetting about all the dangers we already face every day. If we stay here, we're always gonna have to worry about human supremacists finding me. If we move to Ebbot City we aren't gonna know anyone there or know anything about our surroundings."
"... But, if we stay with him, we'll still be in semi-familiar territory, we'll be hidden from people who might wanna hurt you,-"
"And we'll have a super cool and pretty new friend!"
What could he say? Mako made a pretty convincing argument. And, in all honesty, life had been easier here. He could tell Mako was safe and happy, and with all this space and time on her hands she could practice her passion a lot more. The young skeleton had an affinity for singing, actually. She dreamed often of the big stage, hearing the loving roars of both humans and monsters together. Music was a universal language, after all. She thought that maybe through her voice she might be able to bring the two species closer together.
And Max believed in her, because he had seen her. He knew the reach of her KINDNESS, the depth of her INTEGRITY. He often thought that if humans ignorant enough to hate monsters were to just sit and really talk with Mako, their perspectives would be changed. She was a prime example of the goodness that exists within each and every monster soul, and it seemed that her loving nature had reached even a man as strange and distant as Anthony.
"Morning, Max!" Mako's voice chimed in, bringing a close to Max's morning monologue. He looked over his shoulder, and he smiled at the sight of the skeleton woman wandering across the kitchen towards him. She was still dressed in her sleeping clothes; a pair of pink pajama pants decorated with stars and an extra large magenta shirt that fell over her more like a dress than a shirt.
"Morning, Mako." Max turned to face her as she walked right up to him, swaying her arms by her sides along the way. "I was actually just about to get started on breakfast; could you go ask Anthony if he's got any requests?"
"Hmm..." Mako paused thoughtfully, placing her index finger on her chin. The fact that she thought about this question was surprise enough to Max; every morning she would be the one to go ask Anthony breakfast questions and inform him of when it would be time to eat. And yet, on this particular morning, Mako perked up as though a lightbulb had lit up over her head, and she proposed an unusual idea. "Why don't I get started on breakfast while you go talk to Anthony instead?"
"Uhh... Sure?" Max shrugged at this harmless request, even though he did think it odd. Perhaps Mako was just in the mood to do some cooking this morning? Whatever the case, she seemed excited about his agreement to this idea, smiling wider. She stepped forward and gave him a quick hug, and that made Max smile.
Through his nostrils The Anarchist inhaled, tilting his head back slowly until his lungs were full. Then, he lowered his head, exhaling in the same manner. He sat with his legs crossed behind his barn, on a rug draped over the gravel path that lead out into the forest.
It was a nice, cool morning. In the shade of the barn, Anarchy was protected from the morning sun's warm rays. He had yet to put on his sweatshirt, his upper body only covered by the white tank top that he'd slept in. Though he was dressed in his usual carpenter jeans, he'd yet to put on his steel toe boots, his feet only covered by generic white socks.
He sat with his eyes closed, breathing in the morning air and feeling the chill of early fall settle over him. His hair fell unmanaged down his shoulders and over his chest, shifting occasionally whenever a light breeze blew through the barn behind him. His fists were brought together over his lap, knuckle pressed to knuckle while Anthony cleared out his mind, and reached out.
... Jevil?
Another slow, deep breath, before Anarchy opened his eyes. Once more he found himself seated in the void of his darkness, a pitch black world. The only color was in him and the jester that now stood before him. Jevil smiled his crooked grin, tilting his head so quick that it made the bells on his goofy hat jingle.
"Does something weigh on you, Chaos Incarnate?" Jevil's voice echoed through the blackness, curiosity glimmering in his gold eyes. But, his tone was knowing. Like always, the hopping devil already had a good idea of why Anthony was paying him a visit.
"..." Anarchy didn't say a word as he pushed himself to his feet. He stood there for a moment, now looming over the little goblin of a prophet. But, after a moment of staring, he lifted his hand, gesturing without a care over his shoulder. At his command, light shun behind him. A rift split the void, and a scene was displayed through the eyes of a Wyrm.
"Listen up!" Lexi swung her scythe out to her side, pointing the index finger of her free hand up at the Wyrm and stomping one foot forward. "You may have won this round freak, but I'm not done!"
"I'm gonna find Anthony! And I'll carve through any worm, serpent, or scorpion to get to him!" Furiously she shouted up at the beast before her. And The Dark's abomination merely tilted its head, blood red eyes watching Lexi curiously. She was so fearless, to demand something from the nothingness. This amused the monstrosity, made a feel a strange sense of respect. Not much, but enough so for it to want to listen to each of her words. "So you better relay a message for me!"
"You tell Anthony that Lexi's comin' for him!" The Predator's outstretched hand curled into a fist, and she brought it back, beating it once against her chest. "That I'm gonna find him, because I haven't forgotten what he did for me!"
"You tell him I didn't forget about him!" Lexi demanded from this creature, stomping right up to the very edge of her platform. She glared up at the Wyrm, her ice cold breath misting frost past her nostrils. She could feel this abomination's hot breath rain down upon her from every huff of its massive snout, but she hardly noticed. "And you tell him that I'm gonna pay him back!"
As the rift faded into darkness and the scene returned into the nothingness from once it was displayed, Anarchy lowered his hand. Then, with his other hand, he waved over his opposing shoulder. Once more The Dark opened behind him, colors shifting and shaping into a different display.
"Tell him that one: Nightmare is finally ready to talk to him."
Hacker's eyes widened some at those words, and his jaw tightened again. Nightmare? As in Nightmare Sans? This was a very important contact indeed if that were true. Nightmare was a special being, one that Xander had been trying to get ahold of ever since Anarchy disappeared. But, Nightmare had been ducking him for years now. So, Hacker was skeptical.
"Two: That I'll be waitin' for him and whatever muscle he wants to bring in timeline DT00001."
A meeting place? Hacker and Demon would have to tag along for that, in case this was a trap. Hacker could feel the anticipation drying his mouth as he rapidly typed down all that the man on the other end told him with one hand. "... And three?"
"..." Things were ominously quiet on the other end, for far too long. A handful of seconds that felt like a handful of hours passed, and just as Hacker opened his mouth to repeat his question, a low, ominous chuckle echoed out of his phone's speaker. "And three..."
In the dark corners of the room, shadows darted and writhed strangely. Hacker could never get a good look at the motion he spotted from his eyes' corners. Suddenly he felt hairs rising on the back of his neck, and he didn't understand why. It felt like he was being watched, like some hungry beast was lurking just beyond his senses. And as Nightmare spoke his final sentence, a few vantablack maggots wriggled out from beneath several keys on Hacker's keyboard, making him scowl with disgust and unease.
"I know where Anarchy's hiding."
Anarchy lowered his hand, and that scene faded to vantablack as well. He blinked his cold, scarlet eyes, and then he finally spoke. "They're getting close to finding me. I don't have much more time here."
"Nonsense, nonsense!" Jevil chuckled carelessly, waving one grey hand at The Anarchist. His Devilsknife appeared with its blade resting on the ground, the handle sticking straight up. He rested his elbow on the butt of the handle, leaning back casually while he waved his opposite hand in a circular motion. "With the help of your Doctor, you could drop in on The Predator right now and slaughter her merry band in minutes, minutes!"
"And if Nightmare truly does possess some forbidden knowledge, you could sick your Darkness on him in an instant! Uee hee hee!" Jevil hee'd and haw'd like the lives of those he spoke meant nothing to him, because they didn't. But, his suggestions hardly helped Anarchy's mood. In fact, the Bastard Son's lips dug deeper into their frown.
"... Order's Mad God is coming, aren't they, Jevil?" Anarchy's ruby orbs narrowed with lethal precision, And Jevil stopped his giggling. This made his pale hands ball into fists, and he continued. "Something big is coming. A serious change is on the horizon, I can feel it."
"Order's Mad God..?" Jevil repeated, bringing a curious finger to his mouth. He placed the tip of his index finger against one of his pointed canine teeth, pushing down not quite enough to split the skin. Then, suddenly, he perked up, pulling his finger away from his jaws to flash a dark grin. "Oh, Chaos Incarnate! You really were listening back then! Uee hee hee!"
"I'm always listening." Anarchy's deadpan voice answered, those medicated eyes blinking down at the golden smile of his jester. He furrowed his eyebrows with withheld frustration, "I remember what you told me back at the circus, but I still don't know what it means. I don't know who 'Order's Mad God' is, and I don't know why I'd need any help killing them."
"Remember the words by which you live, Anarchist. Chaos is without an ego." Jevil suddenly shifted, planting both his hands atop Devilsknife's peak and skillfully standing himself upon it. He tilted his head up to look Anarchy in the eye. "You do remember what you said that day, don't you?"
"No kings. No gods. No Angels. Anarchy."
Those words echoed through the darkness, bouncing from Anarchy's right ear to his left. He did not move, merely squinting his eyes suspiciously down at his jester. "... Are you trying to say there's something out there stronger than I am?"
"The limits of chaos are not something yet shown to this world!" Jevil stated, jumping back from his hand stand and landing with ease on his feet. He held his weapon high over his head in an extravagant pose, "But The Angel's mortality should be something you are very familiar with!"
"Angel..?" Anarchy leaned his head back some, confusion piercing his stony expression. But then, confusion faded to irritation, and The Anarchist's jaw tightened as he took a threatening step forward. "Are you telling me that-?!"
"If you still wish for your perfect day, Chaos Incarnate," As Jevil spoke, the void distorted. Lights began seeping into the dark, shadows shifted and hissed. A strange noise reverberated through the abyss, and Anarchy squinted with confusion. "If you still wish for your vengeance,"
"Anthony?"
Anarchy blinked a few times, suddenly feeling lightheaded. He looked from his left to his right, trying to understand from where his name was being called. Was his name being called? Was someone talking? Wait, what was Jevil saying? Anthony's disoriented red eyes darted back to the grinning clown, trying their best to read the movements of his lips.
"Then you are running out of time to waste, waste!"
"Anthony?"
Scarlet eyes snapped open, immediately greeted with the beautiful sight of the forest laid out before him. He felt his senses quickly returning, as though he had just been awoken from a dream, and he squinted into the light. Blinking a few times, he turned his head and peered over his shoulder towards the barn's open front.
"Oh, sorry. Was I interrupting something?" Max apologized from where he stood at the barn's entrance. He leaned back some, looking skeptical as Anarchy rose to his feet. Judging by the light anxiety in his eyes, Anarchy figured he probably didn't know if he was allowed in.
"Nah." Anarchy answered simply, waving one hand towards himself. A silent gesture, confirming to Max that he was in fact allowed within the barn. With his free hand, Anarchy rubbed his head, grumbling tiredly to himself. He wandered over towards his work bench, where his sweatshirt lay strewn over the wooden chair he'd built and his work boots were haphazardly kicked off. "What's up?"
"Just wanted to ask if you had any requests for breakfast." The corner of Max's mouth curled just a little in a harmless smirk while he wandered a few strides into Anarchy's living space. Or, working space? It was hard to decipher where work ended and life began with Anthony, he often thought. Trying not to get particularly thoughtful, Max pointed with his thumb over his shoulder and back towards the house. "Mako wanted to cook this morning."
"Whatever she makes will be fine." Anarchy answered without much life in his voice, pulling his sweatshirt over himself. Max squinted curiously at the scars that detailed The Anarchist's arms just before the sleeves of his hoodie hid them away. he often wondered how Anthony had been harmed, he often wondered about Anthony's past in general. But, he never thought to ask, because he wasn't sure he would like the answer to his questions. "Thanks for asking."
"Oh, uh... Alright." Max shrugged lightly, letting his eyes leave The Anarchist once he turned those crimson orbs back towards him. He scanned the walls instead of maintaining eye contact, silently wondering where Anthony might have found that blue shield mounted upon the wall. The shield was detailed with the Deltarune, which if Max remembered right was the symbol of Monsterkind's religion. He hardly thought Anthony a religious man, but judging from how bare the rest of the walls were, he didn't think him one to hold onto useless knickknacks either.
"Then I'll uh..." Again Max pointed over his shoulder towards the house, beginning to take a few awkward steps back. If Anarchy noticed his discomfort, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead, he just waved goodbye to Max, pulling out the chair of his work bench and facing it towards the forest that loomed behind his happy farm. "Go, update Mako on that. See ya at breakfast."
As Max's footsteps grew further and further away, Anarchy began the process of lacing up his mud crusted work boots just like he did every morning. Quickly his thoughts drifted back to Jevil's words. The made prophet and his riddles, Anarchy frowned. Once upon a time he liked Jevil because they both spoke crazy, but every now and again even he was thrown for a loop by what the hopping clown would say.
"But The Angel's mortality should be something you are very familiar with!"
... Or, maybe he had just heard something he didn't like.
Anthony The Anarchist lifted his head, and he looked out to the field of his garden. With his summer crops harvested, now all that remained were stalks of corn and a pumpkin patch. Truth be told, he wasn't much of a farmer. But, he'd gotten a little better and expanded his harvest a little more than last year. And that was progress that he was proud of.
But, he hardly had time to admire his handiwork. He was preoccupied, watching the one that stood in front of his garden. A green eyed boy stared back at him from the field, his hair and his clothes not shifting as the wind blew by. Little Angel just stood there, harmless as could be, between Anarchy and his peaceful work.
And Anarchy's jaw tightened. A rare hatred flickered in his medicated eyes, before he turned them down to the boot he was lacing. As he finished tying the knot, he stomped his feet to the ground and he stood up on the concrete of his labor. But, when he looked back into his garden, little Angel was gone.
"So, I was thinking we'd take you guys on a tour of the city!" Monster Kid explained over his shoulder as the four of us made out way out the front door, pouring onto the driveway. He smiled back towards us, leading the march towards the sidewalk. "A lot's changed since your last visit, haha!"
"I figure that should kill enough time for Frisk to be out of their meeting, so then we'll meet up with them." Asriel informed us while we stepped onto the sidewalk, beginning to make our way towards town. My eyes were preoccupied glossing over the neighborhood, and I found myself smiling at any familiar face I spotted in a front lawn or through a window. I nearly waved down and talked to Dogamy when I saw him digging holes in his own front lawn, but I didn't want to cut off Monster Kid and Asriel. I figured I would have two weeks to catch up with the monsters that I missed.
Monster Kid's voice cut back into my distracted ears, "Then we were thinking about going on a walk through Mount Ebbot for a little trip down memory lane."
Mount Ebbot?
My eyes lifted then, rising swiftly to the mountain that loomed far ahead of us. Almost instantly the smile and some of the color drained from my face when I looked upon Ebbot's leveled peak. My eyes tensed, pupils shrinking. I hadn't seen my home's mountain in years now, and after living in Future's timeline for so long, I had nearly forgotten the haunting sight of it. The unnatural cut off, the blackened plateau... Of course it hadn't healed. How could it have after the devastation that I brought?
"I exist to hate you, Angel! To kill you! Don't you get it?!"
... How could any of the devastation I'd caused be healed..?
"Angel..?" Chara glanced back after walking a few steps ahead of me, quickly noticing that I had stopped walking with them. Then they recoiled some when they saw my expression, and I realized I must have been doing a piss poor job or hiding how awful I suddenly felt. They quickly followed my eyes to the destroyed peak of Mount Ebbot, and they grimaced. "Oooh, right..."
"Huh-? O-oh!" MK looked back to me, and he jumped at the sight'a my face too. Then, like Chara, he followed my gaze to the sacred place that I'd defiled, and two and two were put together. Swiftly he spun around on his clawed feet, racing back to my side. He lifted one wing, blocking Mount Ebbot from my sight while he placed the talon of his free wing gently on my shoulder. "Y-yo, Cter, I'm sorry!"
"O-oh, no, Monster Kid-" I shook my head, blinking my eyes in an attempt to drain the emotion from them. I waved a hand, smiling weakly. "It's fine, really-!"
"Going to Mount Ebbot was a dumb idea." Asriel admitted with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head. I could see the anxiety in his eyes as he walked back towards me. He lowered his eyes, looking to the side. "Most of those memories aren't, really all that good anyway..."
"We can do something else, alright?" Chara was quick to say, putting an arm around my shoulder and smiling in the comforting way they often did. I looked from them, to Monster Kid in front of me, to Asriel at my side, and suddenly...
I felt the tension in my chest release, my invasive thoughts went silent. I lowered my head and shut my eyes, and I couldn't help but start to chuckle at the way the three of them crowded me the moment they thought I might be upset. Quickly my chuckle was growing into full blown laughter, and I reached up, running one hand through my hair while I tilted my head back.
"I'm sorry, guys." I apologized, still wearing a smile as I opened my eyes to their confused expressions. In an instant I felt silly for getting so worked up, and I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Really, it's alright. I was actually thinking about visiting the mountain at some point while we're here."
"... And, I think it'd be a lot more fun with friends." I added after a short pause, my smile getting just a little sweeter as my apologetic tone faded. The three of them exchanged glances, but Asriel spoke up first.
"You sure, Cter..?" He asked me skeptically, tilting his head towards me some. There was some worry and some doubt written over his expression. He assured me, "It's not a problem, really. There's plenty of other things we can do instead."
"No, I'm serious." I rose both my hands, taking a step back so that the three of them were no longer crowding around me. "I wanna see Mount Ebbot again. I, think it would be good for me."
"Well..." Again Chara exchanged looks with MK and Asriel, before they looked back to me. They tried their best to weed the uncertainty out of their expression, and again they flashed that smile at me. "Alright Angel. If that's what you want."
"Yeah!" MK Suddenly exploded with life, jumping forward and spinning around me. He rested a wing across my back, and with me in tow he began walking forward again. "And afterwards we can see who can fly fastest back to town!"
"But I don't have wings." Asriel interjected, furrowing his brows some as he looked over towards Monster Kid, walking to our right.
"Just grow some." I answered with an easy shrug, my smile just a little teasing as I watched Asriel almost instantly frown.
"What do you mean 'just grow some'?!" He exploded, throwing his hands up over his head. "That's not how it works!"
"Sure it is." Chara joined in from my left, their own smirk growing on their face as we joined forces to tease their brother. "It's what literally all three of us did."
"You just gotta clench, bro." MK shrugged casually, trying his best to hide his own little grin. He wasn't doing a very good job of it.
"I-!" Asriel lifted one finger like he was getting ready to scold us, before he pursed his lips. He turned his head, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath in through his nose. Then, he lowered his hand, opening his eyes and looking forward. "I'm walking ahead of you guys."
The three of us burst into laughter as we watched Asriel speed walk ahead of us, giggling like morons at his expense. He turned his head away from us and pretended to ignore us, but I knew he was smiling too.
... Maybe today won't be so bad.
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