Another friday, another chapter. How about we start really getting the ball rolling on this story?
To the citizens of Ebott being summoned to Don Asgore's manor always meant life was about to be turned upside down for you, for better or worse. Even the lower gutter-class, in which Cor counted himself, knew The Don was a busy monster, and if he took time out of his day to come and visit personally, outside the safety of his manor, chances were the tidings were good, and one would be showered in riches and favor.
On the other hand, if the Don's attention came in the form of Undyne, The Spear of Injustice, his chief enforcer, kicking your door in and backhanding your dad to the floor when he drunkenly rose from the couch to make a stink, then running her spear through the hem of your shirt before hoisting you over her shoulder and telling you that 'The Boss wants a word' more than likely, you were in for a bad time.
At least, that what was Cor figured, having experienced just that, on top of now finding himself seated at an old wooden table in a cold concrete room below the Dreemurr Manor.
Everyone knew neither the Don nor his wife ever resorted to torture or death as a punishment, but even so, there are worse fates.
The only shred of hope Cor could hold onto was that the queenpin sat across from him, with the Don instead leaning against the wall near the door, arms crossed and green eyes boring into him as if peeling away his skin and fur to judge the soul beneath. The frown he was wearing easily clued him in that he didn't like what he was seeing.
He could easily imagine why he was here. Their catastrophic break-in at the Don's lab the night prior. The rulers of the Dreemurr Mob didn't care about theft, petty or grand, in fact, they encouraged it, even if they were the targets, but when dust starts pilling up they take notice. He only hoped his reddish eyes and slouched posture didn't give away he hadn't slept all night thinking about what he had done.
"Good morning Cor, I hope Undyne's care wasn't too strenuous? The Impaler does good work but as you might gather from her nom de guerre, she is not always the best suited for the more genteel of tasks" Toriel began with a disarmingly good-natured chuckle.
"It's nothing, headmistress" Cor shrugged.
"Oh please, just call me Toriel, we are not at school" she said, folding her paws in front of her and pinning him to his chair with a suddenly more serious look.
"Now, Cor, do you know why we had the Impaler bring you here?" she put to him
He recalled another of his dad's surly nuggets of wisdom, often interjected in between drunken rants or beatings 'Better to live a lie than die an honest death'
"Dunno. Don't know nothin'" he shrugged
Toriel smiled knowingly, before reaching into a drawer and plopping a folder onto the table.
"In that case, let us talk about something you, hopefully, do know something about" she said with a small laugh "As you know, the educational facilities here in Ebott are somewhat unique. Our city being what it is, any kind of academic accomplishment or diploma from here would not count for anything in the wider world. So why should a student even try to put in any effort?" she asked.
Cor shrugged again, hoping his feigned mask of indifference wasn't too obvious "We get a forged diploma, the better our grade on the finals the better the forgery" he said.
"Exactly that, a student that does well would not get a diploma from Ebott, but rather one from any other top-academy in the world of their choice. That way, those that work hard and try to excel will get a good chance as starting a more lawful life outside of Ebott if they wish it…" Toriel trailed off, dipping her head in a more accusing glare towards him "… while those that do not usually never stray far from Ebott at all"
She opened the folder, revealing it to be his school papers.
"Now, since you do know all of this, where do you figure you will end up?" she put to him.
He gulped, yearning to feel indifferent about his grades and his chance outside of Ebott, but finding he couldn't entirely shed a sense of shame.
"You show great promise in the field of chemistry. I do believe I have even heard your classmates gossip about your ability to turn almost anything into an alcoholic beverage, but aside from chemistry-"
"I never wanted to go outside of Ebott anyway" he shrugged again, cutting Toriel off before she could state the obvious.
"My dad always says traveling is just a nice word for 'running away'" he added.
"Your dad means a lot to you, does he not? You mention him quite often"
He nodded, but a cold realization suddenly seized him; this was the first time he had mentioned his dad in this room, why would she say something like that?
"Tell me a bit about him, your father, I mean"
"He's… alright, I guess" Cor mumbled after a while, nervously fidgeting his paws.
Toriel raised an amused eyebrow at the lad "Really? That is all? I would have thought you would have more to say about such an important figure in your life, for example, which gang he works for?"
Cor's confused eyes darted back and forth between Toriel and the imposing Asgore standing at the door for a few seconds "Well, he… works for you?"
"Good golly, cut the crap, you know what she means" Asgore suddenly growled, a baritone rumbles that could be felt in the floor. The Don of the Dreemurr Mob advanced on Cor, covering him in his shadow.
"I got a few hundred gangs working under me, even the odd cult or two, but the list of people I have that report directly to me is one I like to keep short and reserved for those close to me and I'll be a Jerry's uncle if your deadbeat dad ever made it anywhere near that level, so why don't you be a nice boy and answer the question, hmm?"
The threat lingered in the room for a few moments before Toriel gently raised her paw, as if signaling the Don to take a step back. Cor was glad for the reprieve but was even more impressed with himself at how he had managed to hold the Don's stare without flinching… even if the same could not be said for his bladder.
"What my bellicose husband means to imply is that we would like a better understanding of your father's position in Ebott. He is not known to either of us, so maybe you could tell us where he is employed?" Toriel calmly put to him.
Cor's eyes fell to the floor, mouth twitching as he tried to form some kind of half-lie to present.
"He's… an independent contractor" cor muttered, his meek words immediately drowned out by a roaring laugh.
"Independent contractor? In other words, he's unaffiliated? Not flying any colors as no one wants him? Pfft, pitiful, but about what I expected" Asgore snorted in derision.
"Tch, whatever" Cor bristled "s' not like it matters what you think. The bosses play their games, and the grunts play theirs"
"Wise words" Asgore chuckled "Normally, I wouldn't give a snowcone's hat what some unaffiliated bottom-trash is up to in my city, but when somebody decides to murder someone in a place that specifically falls under my protection, well, I can't help but take notice"
A shiver went over Cor and the brief burst of anger in his eyes quickly fizzled out, but still not a word of admission escaped him.
"I think, by now, you realize why we had you brought in, Cor" Toriel chimed in after a few moments of silence "Thuggish behavior we can accept, even expect, but your actions have gone beyond even that. There is dust on your paws"
"What? N-no, I didn't-" Cor tried, but the sharp *Click* of Toriel flicking her claws and a TV screen emerging from a panel in the walls quickly silenced him.
The screen flickered to life, showing surveillance footage of the inspection gantry in Alphys's lab.
"I know what you're thinking" the bemused voice of Asgore cut in "'There can't be any footage! All the cameras were down for maintenance!' that is true… just not for the interior ones inside the building"
"…Shit..." Cor hissed, feeling the last embers of resistance flicker out in his soul as he watched the figure of the Loox that had accompanied them crash through a door and into view on the TV screen, closely followed by him stepping on the Loox to get in"
"Here is how I see it, young Cor" Toriel suddenly cut in "You are barely present in the Mob's hierarchy, you have little hope for a legal life outside of Ebott, you have all the makings of just another back-alley goon with no future prospects… and your callousness has led to an unneeded death"
"Not to mention you're a real piece of work to boot. Like hitting girls, do you? Think it's fun picking on those weaker than you?" Asgore leveled at him, just as the TV showed the scene of him backhanding Kuro to the floor.
Even at his most drunken, violent and vitriolic of moods, Cor's father had never been able to make him feel as defeated as he did beneath the Dreemurr's gaze. There was no point in arguing, no way for him to save face now. All that was left was focusing on a way of leaving the room without the rest of his life being ruined.
A part of him bade him to apologize, to leap from the chair and throw himself at the Dreemurr's feet to beg their forgiveness, but what little remained of his sad, ruined pride forbid it.
Instead, all he could do was sit and grin it. Paws clenched until his fingers hurt, breaths coming in deep, long hisses and eyes unfocused as all he could think of was willing the moment away. Wishing to be anywhere else in the world than this room and just wanting it to be over and done it.
Amazingly, it seemed to partly work as he suddenly felt Asgore's shadow disappear from over him as the Great Don retreated back to lean on the wall, and Toriel's voice cut the silence, neutral but welcoming.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Cor?"
He slowly rose his head, coming eye-to-eye with the queenpin, finding her face to be a lot less malefic than he had imagined.
"… I didn't mean to…" he managed, practically a whisper, before turning to look at the TV. He heard Toriel snapped her claws again and the screen froze on the scene that had put him in this room; Kuro hanging off the guardrail and him leaping to catch her.
"I know" Toriel said calmly "Despite everything you have said and done, you did try to save her in the end"
"And it's the only reason we had The Spear bring you here instead of the city border. You see, my wife seems to think there is actually hope for you. Seems more like a waste of time and effort to me" Asgore huffed and shook his head.
"There is nothing I detest more than seeing the potential and aspirations of the young squandered. Your actions have seen a life cut short long before its time… but it would be foolish of me to punish a crime with another" Toriel explained.
"… What?" Cor said with the same tone of surprise one might get from seeing a tem grow a second head.
"So, instead of handing down a sentence, I would instead like to hand out an opportunity" Toriel continued, sliding a piece of paper along with a nametag across the table over to Cor.
His confusion only grew as he noticed it was his name on the tag, as well as 'The Queenpin's Monthly Giveaway' Stamped in bold letters as title on the paper.
"Normally, I'd claim everything you and your entire family have to their name as compensation, not just for the life lost but also the lab resources you've ruined. But, given that you're as poor as moldsmal I'd be better off searching the couch at home for spare change. But there might be another way you can pay us back" Asgore growled.
"But the choice is yours" Toriel continued, her velvet voice like a soft cushion against Asgore's gravel "It would be an exercise in futility to demand compensation, and exile would only compound the tragedy… And I have a feeling that you agree that this is a tragedy, one that you wish could have been avoided, and not just for your own sake"
"… you want me… to volunteer for the giveaway" Cor said lowly.
"We would very much, yes, but it is your choice. It is volunteer work after all" Toriel smiled "But, if you accept and do a good job of it, who knows? Maybe it could be a new start for you, where something like what happened last night will never happen again?"
Cor's breathing turned funny as he continued to stare at the nametag and paper in front of him, suddenly realizing what such innocuous objects could actually be worth to him.
"And I'm guessing… you'll want me to… hand out the insulin" Cor muttered, voice low and slurred as if speaking in a dream.
"Huh, guess you're not as dumb as you look" Asgore grunted.
"I imagine it will not be easy for you with the constant reminders of last night's tragedy, but if you can… well, maybe we will see more of each other, under more comfortable circumstances, of course" Toriel cooed, reaching over and placing a paw on his and giving a smile that wouldn't be out of place on a Renaissance masterpiece painting.
Despite how uncool it sounded Cor found himself unable to completely discount the idea of working in the giveaway. Maybe it was the Queenpin's soft paws, her disarming smile, or hint towards better things to come if he took the offer but Cor suddenly found the curves of his mouth edging upwards in a small smile as well.
Maybe… this could be a new start.
The screech of metal quickly ripped him back, finding the Don pulling a heavyset metal door open before standing aside, crossing his arms and nodding towards the opening.
"Wh-what?" Cor dumbly queried.
"We're done here. You're free to go" The Don rumbled.
Cor's eyes flashed between Toriel and Asgore in quiet disbelief that the interrogation was over, but didn't wait for a reaction from either. He leapt from the chair a bit more eagerly than he wanted, pocketed the nametag and paper, and quickly marched for the door.
"The Giveaway is on this Saturday" Toriel's voice cut in, stopping him dead in his tracks "Will we be seeing you there, young Cor?" she put to him.
A semblance of his composure had returned and with it, the feigned mask of indifference "I'll think about it" he shrugged with a non-confirming grunt, but even still the all-knowing smirk on the Queenpin's face easily clued him in that she knew what he intended, no doubt reading him as easily as an open picture book.
She was kind of annoying in that way, he realized.
But he still looked forward to seeing her again at the giveaway.
With a quick nod, he stepped through the door and outside to freedom, where even the air seemed to taste sweetly of things to come.
"I must say, despite everything that has happened, I quite like the young man" Toriel mused back in the interrogation room.
Asgore huffed a quiet laugh in response "Well, I guess for a punk that likes to pick on others, hit on girls and booze up in his free time, he's not as spineless as I would have thought" he said, his grin falling into one of slight concern "But… are you sure it's a good idea to not tell him the whole story? After all, Kuro isn't really dead" he snapped his claws and the screen whirred back into life, showing the scene of Kuro emerging from the S.O.D tank like some kind of dark rebirth, as well as the chilling scene of her killing a janitor with a mere touch before walking off without a concern in the world.
"She might as well be" Toriel said with a heavy sigh "I am afraid she is no longer the shy and reserved but kind and caring girl she used to be. It is better for Cor this way, if he had known the truth of what happened to Kuro he would have either seen it as a lucky break and gone back to his old ways, or it would have hurt him even more, perhaps beyond healing"
Asgore nodded in quiet acceptance and snapped his claws again, shutting the TV off "I got a few of the men out looking for her. With any luck we might bring her in later today, maybe we can get Alphys or Sierra to work on some kind of cure or rehabilitation technique"
"We should be so lucky" Toriel sighed, unconvinced.
She felt her husband's large paw on her shoulder, slightly tugging as if urging her to stand up into an embrace.
"Hey, if all else fails I can make her a tea that could calm her down, flush all the S.O.D and LOVE right out of her system. Chamomile with a dash of Vegetoid leaf is great for the humors" he grinned.
"… I wish you wouldn't take this so lightly" The Queenpin huffed, standing up and marching straight for the door.
"Come on, Tori. I know this is a sad situation and all, but don't you think we're making a chicken out of a feather here?" Asgore called after her.
"I mean, how dangerous can one kid hopped up on this new drug really be?"
Asriel turned his whole body into the blow, hips turning counter-clockwise and shoulder pistoning back to give punch maximum velocity, and with the fire magic coating his paw it struck the punching bag like a small meteor, leaving a scorch mark and sending out a shockwave. He used the rebound momentum from the bag to backpedal and duck low in case of a wild counter-attack and sure enough, one of the wooden poles attached to the bag swung around, clean over his head.
This was it, with his opponent rocked under his attack and throwing wild punches in a panic it was time to go in for the takedown.
Still low to the ground, Asriel reached one with one paw aimed at where the bag's proverbial feet would be and let out a gout of flame, the sudden heat and pain sure to force anyone to lose their footing and step back. He followed up with the coup de grace, curling his arm inwards towards his chest and smashing his elbow at the bag's chin in an uppercut brutal enough to send a Knight-Knight to sleep, wake it up and send it right back to sleep again.
With the villainous punching bag defeated Asriel stepped back, feeling the tiredness and sweat of the last few hours of training wear down on him, the acidic sensation in his limbs, his heart racing in his chest, the breath burning in his lungs, the weariness in his soul from the expenditure of magic, and the dull ache in his paws, caked in dried blood and dust from the last few hours of use on the bag.
Frisk had recommended using a spiritually possessed dummy as punching bag several times before – citing the improvement of having a bag that would actively try and fight back and dodge, to say nothing of the magical nature of the dummy being much easier on his paws.
But that would jeopardize the cover circumstances had made for him. As fate would have it, a startup newspaper in Ebott had visited the Dreemurr Manor a few months after his rescue and while everyone in his family had made a good accounting of themselves, he had been sleeping off the previous night's sortie as the Vigilante at the time, with his parents fedding the newshounds a story about how he had been like that ever since he got home; sleeping most of the day and either writing or being on the computer when he was awake.
Thus, Asriel Dreemurr, son of Toriel and Asgore Dreemurr, almighty bosses of Ebott's underworld, was publically regarded as a layabout and couch potato, if tragic and traumatized one.
It suited him fine, though. He didn't want nor deserve any gratitude for his actions as the Vigilante. Knowing what he had done, having the people of Ebott praise would probably have made him sick to his stomach.
No, better that he was regarded as a footnote in his family. Having a sentient Dummy as punching bag witness this side of him – the damaged and dangerous one – could ruin all it, giving the Dummies reputation for foul temper and loose tongues.
A brief flash of light, gone in the blink of an eye, suddenly filled the room.
"Pic Captured!" Chara's excited voice sharply followed.
Asriel turned to find the worrying sight of Chara, wide grin on his face, gingerly kicking his legs and with two ghostly fingers disappearing into his cellphone, electronically possessing it.
"Is that mine?" Asriel put to him.
"Well, duh, my phone plan ended about the same time my life did" Chara snickered.
"I'm not sure I like you digging around on my phone. What are you-"
"Oh, don't you worry, you're gonna like this. In fact, you might end up Loving it" Chara cut in, his grin widening.
"Huh?"
"Aaaand done! Here, check it out, nerd!" The ghost child exclaimed flipping the phone to show the display to Asriel. A cold fear ran down his back and settled in his legs as a leaden weight as he read cheerful and colorful screen "ACCCOUNT REGISTERED! WELCOME TO MONSTR!"
Asriel's jaw slowly slackened as the implication of what Chara just had put on him dawned.
"M-Monstr… that… that Dating App!?" He wheezed.
"Yup! I already set up your account so you can get right to browsing through all the hot chicks of Ebott, you poonhound you"
"You-I-Wha-Why-I-How-When- WHY!?" Asriel gasped and fell to his knees as the taunting words on the cellphone display taunted him with exposure and a brave new world completely foreign to him.
"It's simple, really, I wanna help you" Chara confidently asserted, sitting straight and proudly crossing his arms.
"Wha- How will this help me!?" Asriel whined, pointing to his phone as if it was a particularly gory roadkill.
"Well… you've been going to Alphys for about half a year now" Chara began "But even with her's and mom's help it seems like the message isn't going through that thick goat skull of yours. You're still beating yourself up and putting yourself in danger most nights trying to, I dunno, make up for all the killings you didn't commit by saving people in danger, if I got it right"
"C-Chara… you…" Asriel stammered, reaching up to pull at his horns in panic.
"And while it's pretty friggin' badass you got your own costume and cape and all, we're all worried for you, Azzy, and we all want to help you get better. I thought my sharp wit, dashing charms and good looks would be enough to pull any dopey mope out a hole no matter how deep, but obviously, that's not the case. So, consider this me throwing in my hat into the 'Asriel Disaster Relief Effort'" Chara finished, waiving at hand at the phone.
Asriel, with a face that screamed but with a mouth that could only whisper, regarded the phone with terror. He reluctantly reached a paw out to take it but found he could no more grab it than he could grasp time itself.
"But… how will this help?" He asked out loud.
"Easy, you can't run around at night if you got some fine piece of fur running you ragged during the day!" Chara eagerly beamed.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"It's all mathematical, Azzy. There's no problem in this world so big it can't be buried in an ample enough bosom!"
"… My mistake, maybe I didn't make myself clear the first time. What I meant to say was; I'M SORRY, WHAT!?" Asriel half-screamed, half-whined.
"Oh, don't be such a drama queen, Azzy, plenty of guys around your age uses Monstr. Imagine it; wouldn't it be nice to have someone who hasn't known you since you were wearing diapers you could offload all your thoughts and fears off on?"
"That… sounds more like therapist than a girlfriend"
"Well, if you had bothered to read the book mom made and Alphys gave you, you'd have known love is the best therapy" Chara grinned, returning his attention to the cellphone.
"Now, we still need to tweak the Matchmaker system. I already got all your personal info in here, but we still need to set your preferences" Chara explained.
"My… preferences?" Asriel fearfully choked the word as if it was the name of a particularly violent execution method meant for him.
"Yeah, like, what kinda girl you're looking for. I'd imagine other caprine monsters like yourself… unless you wanna get freaky?" A devilish grin formed on the ghostly Chara's face.
"Honestly, I think you could have whoever you wanted. With that pic I just of you, standing there, all cool and sexy, sweat dripping off those cannonball shoulders and between those washboard abs, we'll have all the chicks drooling over you like me over a chocolate fondue!"
His only reply was a gulp and a wild look from Asriel, instinctively reaching for a towel to wrap around himself in embarrassment.
"Not to mention you're the kingpin's and queenpin's, uhh, 'princepin'. Once they see you're loaded and got status the golddiggers's gonna come at'cha, picks a'swingin'!"
"Wh-why would I want that? What's that got to with love!?" Asriel bleated.
"Fine, fine, no golddiggers, let's see what else we got then" Chara chuckled with an almost sadistic glee at Asriel's torment on his face.
"What about a Tem? Huh, that sounds kinda fun. Bet it's pretty high on the 'Crazy Scale' though"
"Chara, I really don't think that-"
"Or a flamin' hot fire elemental! Hmm, no, guess the bedroom play would get too painful"
"Could you please listen to-"
"Wait, is that Frisk!? Why does she have a profile on here!?... ah, I guess that actually makes sense…"
"… Fine, a human!" Asriel suddenly burst, jumping on the spot as if breaking out of a shell of shame.
The grin on Chara immediately vanished in favor of a scowl as he turned his head towards the frantic goat monster.
"Did you just seriously say a human?" he grunted, almost more a warning than a question.
"Well, yeah, I-"
"You got the whole selection of all the different creatures of monsterkind at your disposal… and you chose hairless apes just smart enough to comprehend concepts like evil and apathy and just callous enough to embody them?" questioned with a hint of disgust cold enough Asriel could actually feel the temperature of the room fall and his fur stand on end.
"I see your misanthropy is still alive and well" he huffed back, noticing a kind of tonal shift between the two of them.
"Asriel, as your brother, I implore- no, I beg you to do better than Humans. Someone like you getting together with a human is raunchy and degenerate beyond my darkest fantasies and I've known people with an armpit fetish!"
"Uhh"
"Seriously, why humans? Why are you drinking from the toilet bowl when I'm offering you pippin' hot portion of snail soup with cinnamon sprinkling?" The ghostly Chara demanded, more akin to a revenant than a benevolent spirit now.
Asriel found a sense of relief as he realized the answer was literally in front of him and that it could be conveyed in a way that might put Chara at ease.
"Because I haven't known a lot of humans in my time, but almost all of those I have met have been nothing less than an inspiration to me"
"Humans? An inspiration?" Chara wheezed with such disbelief he might as well have claimed chocolate was now verboten.
"Absolutely" Asriel added, shifting his gaze towards the window, feeling the sight of the summer weather in Ebott reflecting the golden brilliance of the two humans closest to him.
"Just take Frisk, for example, she could have anything she'd ever want, legal or otherwise. She could take it easy and live a comfortable life until her last days if she wanted to, yet she's up bright and bushy-tailed every morning, out there protecting Ebott any way she can, volunteering for any charity she catches wind off, never misses an opportunity to do right by others and still manages to get home for dinner every day and never fails to get mom and dad roaring and beaming with laughter when she tells how her day has been"
"Yeah yeah, Frisk is the bee's knees, everyone knows that. So what?" Chara shrugged.
Asriel allowed a small smile as he turned his attention on Chara himself, an uncommon gesture, judging from the ghost's brief look of surprise.
"And then there's you… I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you. And as much as I often wish you hadn't done what you did to save me, how could I not have anything less but the deepest admiration for someone who would do something like that?"
"Look, I know I like to blow a lot of hot air up your butt about how cool I am, but at the end of the day I'm just another human meatbag" Chara shrugged "You ask me, if a human has the opportunity to give his life to save a monster, he's morally obligated to do so"
Asriel frowned at Chara's casual dismissal of his own life "So is that why you saved me? Because you felt you had a moral obligation?"
Chara looked briefly taken aback at the callous implication he had made. He made to protest but a sudden thoughtful look came over him as he realized the truth of it.
"I guess, in a way I did, but… not in THAT sense of the word" he mulled.
Asriel grinned, feeling a sense of satisfaction at seeing the usually so cool and mischievous Chara put on the spot.
"How was it you described humans? 'hairless apes just smart enough to comprehend concepts like evil and apathy and just callous enough to embody them'?" Asriel recounted, shaking his head in dismissal.
"Does that really sound like someone who would see it as a 'moral obligation' to give their life for those they care about?"
"I… guess not, but-"
"You've always been my protector, Chara" Asriel cut in, voice barely above a whisper. Chara could only look back in confusion at if he had heard correctly.
"More than that, you're a guardian angel, Chara. My knight in shining armor that keeps my demons at bay and who won't even let dying keep him down. You didn't just save my life the once back with the Flowey Gang – more than once the thought of letting someone like you down is all that has kept me from ending it all. I know I'm still at a precipice, that any day the darkness could swallow me but having you as my bulwark against evil and my rock in the storm does more for me than any self-help book or psychiatrist visit ever could. And if humanity can produce someone like that... then that makes humans my dating top pick!"
Chara could only stare wide-eyed as Asriel finished his speech, iris darting back and forth as if simultaneously deep in thought and looking Asriel over for any sign of jest.
Then he leaned back, a wide smile appearing on his lips and he threw his head back in a laugh.
"Oh, wow, you really had me going there for a minute. Damn near brought a tear to my eye, but then you had to go and ruin it with the dating!"
"Well, you asked" Asriel replied, smugly folding his arms.
"And I'm glad I did. Feels like ages since I've seen a trace of that little poet with his shining words hiding inside you… it's good to see you again, Azzy" he added without a hint of sarcasm.
"No sense in digging up dead people" Asriel answered in a quiet tone.
"You're not dead, Azzy… other than drop-dead gorgeous!" Chara burst, bring up the cellphone once again.
"I've almost forgotten you used to write – I'm gonna add that under 'interests' on your profile" He eagerly whopped, ghostly fingers digging into the electronics to possess the phone.
"That still only makes 'Working out', 'Cinnamon', 'Snails', 'Writing' and 'butt-stuff', though. Would be nice if we could add a fifth interest, and no, being as edgy as a Snowcone's hat doesn't count" Chara mused.
"I'm not into butt-stuff!"
"Fine, but that just means we have to find even more interests of yours!"
"Well, golly, I'm sorry I don't have time for a hobby outside of trying to keep myself sane and alive" Asriel growled back.
The ghostly child leaned back on the back, hand scratching his chin deep in thought.
All the while, Asriel had finally recovered enough from the shock of being thrust into the online dating scene to start changing into his regular clothes.
It was when he finished dragging a towel across his face to wipe the sweat off that Chara jumped into action once again.
"Makeup!" he shouted as he launched into the air.
Asriel staggered back, taken by surprise at Chara's sudden explosion.
"Golly!" he gasped.
"You do makeup! That's gotta be a real hit with the ladies, I bet they'd love doing a manicure on your claws or something!" He eagerly explained.
"What are you talking about? I don't do makeup" Asriel retorted in confusion.
"What, really?"
"Yes, really! Why would you think I did?"
Chara pointed a ghostly digit at his face.
"Well, what are those black lines going from your eyes and around your head, then? Looks like a mascara gone wild to me!"
A cold silence suddenly filled the room. Chara's accusation hung like a blunt sledgehammer in the air, and Chara himself turned from his confident demeanor into awkward gawk, as if just realizing he had said something bad but not knowing what.
Asriel raised a paw to his face, slowly tracing a claw along the black lines running from his eyes across his face. Without a mirror, it was easy for him to forget the one physical reminder his time in Flowey Gang had left on him. A scar on the soul so deep it's proverbial blood seeped out of its window and stained his face.
The silence lasted what felt like minutes until Chara's now much quieter voice broke it.
"It's… not mascara, then?" He asked, more a realization than a question.
Asriel shook his head.
"No, they're called Trauma Lines. It's… a wound on the soul that appears on the body"
"Trauma Lines?" Chara cocked his head to the side "Jeez, I've heard of 'Red Flags' in the dating game, but Black Trauma Lines is a new one"
"You really think anyone would go out with me once they see these on me?" Asriel coldly put to him, a claw resting on the black marks on his face.
Chara squirmed at the awkwardness of it all.
"Well, you might find, y'know, the caring type who could see it as a challenge, I guess. Someone who-"
"I'm not interested in becoming a puzzle game for someone else to put together" Asriel huffed, turning his side to Chara.
"This is my cross to carry. My life is already burning wreck and I won't drag anyone else into it"
With finality, Ariel stomped over to his wardrobe, throwing the door open and pulling out the first shirt his paw caught. The last few minutes of exchange with Chara had been a carousel ride of emotions that had unfortunately ended with him feeling sick to his stomach. After half a year, how could Chara not know the lines on his face were Trauma Lines?
The answer was as obvious as it was aggravating, he knew. Trauma Lines weren't exactly a common condition among monsters, and didn't appear at all to humans. There was no way Chara could have known as no one had told him. As much as Chara's remark made him feel sick to his stomach, he knew it was ultimately his own fault.
"I'm sorry" the voice of Chara whispered, sounding right behind him.
Asriel made to turn around but noticed a small glow below him. Two ghostly arms reaching around him in a hug.
He couldn't physically feel it, but what he could feel was his racing heart quieting and the sea of sick in his gut calming down as a benevolent soul reached into his own.
"I didn't know that cool thing on your face was really not all that cool at all"
A part of Asriel still wanted to snap and rage at his brother, but even he could see it would be both unwarranted and unfair.
"… It's fine" he said lowly, feeling the sensation of the incorporeal hug tightening.
"Doesn't mean I'm gonna give up on you, though. Maybe you're not ready for online dating, but I'm sure I can find something else that can help you" Chara cooed.
An involuntary chuckle escaped Asriel "Way to ruin moment… still, thanks. I really meant it when I said you're my guardian angel"
"Then I'll do my best to be worthy of the title"
An unusually cold wind buffeted Ebott's summer night sky. Down in the streets of the gutter quarters, the tall buildings and wide warehouses did well to protect the sparse nightlife from the freezing winds, yet Kuro still felt its effect as icy raindrops, chilled by the wind and their long fall from the sky, yet even all these elements of nature coming together to create a cold conglomerate could do nothing against the burning fire of bitterness raging in Kuro's heart.
A week had passed since her dark rebirth and she had zilch to show for it. For all her grand plans of assembling a gang of like-minded and like-hearted followers, getting even a single lost soul to follow her dark promise was still beyond her.
The last few days had been spent demonstrating her power and potential in the most shocking and overt way she could think off. She would seek out the seediest dens, bars and dives in the city, sniff out the most dangerous gangers and monsters, and then kill them and those nearest with a mere touch. She would then loudly proclaim her deed to all around and offer them the chance to share in her new powers.
Yet the finely-honed survival instincts of Ebotts's gutter-class so often confounded her. Too often, the monsters she had marked for death would sense her presence and intent before she even got close, often managing to flee or sick their posse on her, and while her newfound powers made her nearly impervious to harm, the distraction would often serve to allow her target to escape.
Even when she did manage to kill the most dangerous monster in the room, jump on a table and loudly offer anyone the power to do what she did if they would only submit to her, the only responses she got was either apathy, them running for their lives or most annoying of all, vengeful gangers copying her plan by trying to take out the strongest monster in the room, a position she now filled.
The fruitlessness of a wasted week's efforts kept shoveling tainted coal into the dark furnace in her soul. It just didn't make any sense. Everywhere in the world, but in Ebott especially, people respected power. By openly flaunting it she should have entire gangs and subsidiaries under the Dreemurr Mob eating out of her hand, yet all she managed was a new rumor going around of a crazy, cackling bird monster able to kill with a touch that haunted the streets at night.
It was her parent's fault, she had surmised. All her life they had pushed her towards a life and career in the legal world and taught her nothing of the life and culture of the city she grew up in. Now that she suddenly stood at the apex off all criminals she was completely unprepared for the task, and even though she vented her vengeance on the two pathetic fools that would dare call themselves her parents in the most gruesome way possible, it still irked her that she had been effectively handed the key to a life at the absolute top of Ebott but she didn't know how to fit it into the lock.
And just as the proverbial cherry on top, all her powers and potential still hadn't exempted her from Ebott's invisible army of pickpockets. Or rather, the opposite of a pickpocket.
She once again fished up the note she had found in her pocket a few hours earlier. A simple instruction;
"Alley between Pyrope Pizza and Clownshoe Gang HQ – 1 A.M – I have a gift for you"
She didn't know what she found most frustrating – that someone was giving her instructions or that someone had successfully pickpocketed her. Whatever the case, as she turned into the alley mentioned in the note, nestled between a run-down pizzeria and a dilapidated brick building from which strange honking sounds emanated, she fully planned to make this 'gift giver' pay for the slight, intended or otherwise.
She strode down the dank alleyway, noticing but glossing over the subtle signs of Ebott city-life that seemed to persist in every alley; the glitter of spilled monster dust, scorch marks or freezer burns from magical attacks, broken bottles and general detritus that spoke of the city's active but dangerous soul.
Not that there was another soul in sight, Kuro surmised after a few steps. She seemed to be all alone – no one hiding in the shadows or peering down from rooftops.
A sudden thought turned Kuro's already bubbling rage to the point of bursting. What if the note had been a prank? The comedy of making someone waste their time following simple instructions like a tool?
That mere implication made Kuro grit her teeth in furious indignation. Even the S.O.D dripping from her talons fizzled as they hit the rain-slicked ground, boiled by the anger within her.
A sudden crash of something heavy hitting the ground made her snap to her senses, hands flying to her head as she momentarily thought the noise had ben her literally blowing her lid, anger boiling over like a tea kettle.
But as she turned around, she found the true culprit.
A large individual was standing at the mouth of the alley. It wore a pair of large work boots, one foot placed on a large metal locker. The rest of it was covered in a large black longcoat underneath a scarf and trilby hat that completely obscured its features.
Kuro grinned. Finally, another living soul to vent her anger on!
"If you think you got me trapped just because you're covering the exit you got another thing coming, friend" She eerily hissed, talons stretching out from between her quills, ready to tear.
"I'm not here to fight you" a deep voice spoke from the cloaked individual. "As I said in the note, I got a present for you" he said before giving the locker a swift kick, sliding it over to Kuro.
She regarded the locker as if it was an agitated Final Froggit charging at her, stepping aside and letting it come to a stop on its own. The tainted blood and dust in her veins bade her ignore it and instead turn her attention and talons to the stranger, to rend and tear until there was nothing but a smear left on the sidewalk.
"Been keeping an eye on you these last few days, seems to me you're having trouble really getting the ball rolling. This oughta help" The stranger crisply explained.
Kuro's eyes darted back and forth between the stranger and the chest, unsure of whether to indulge her curiosity or bloodlust first, but eventually settling on the former.
Half expecting a rabid Tem to jump out at her, she reached a foot out to kick the locker open. No Tem, but the sheer dullness of the locker's contents was almost as surprising. As far as she could tell, it seemed to be chock full of papers, letters and pamphlets.
She glanced sideways at the stranger with an evil eye, getting a nod in return.
"Take a look. You'll like it" he instructed.
Grimacing in disappointment, she reached down to pick up what looked like an academic thesis titled as "Vital Motive Force Transplantation For Efficient Diagnostical Efforts"
The title alone almost her yawn.
But as she flicked to the next page, coming upon a diagram of what the thesis explained how to do, Kuro immediately realized coming all the way to this dank alley was well worth the effort.
"What the heck…" she gasped to herself, looking past the thesis into the locker, mind racing as she realized that together the contents were explosive enough to level a city 10 times the size of Ebott.
She dug down into the locker, quickly realizing it was outfitted with dimensional storage magic and contained much more than it outwardly appeared capable off.
Maybe even a city 20, or 30 times the size of Ebott...
Many of the things she found were more mundane but still incredibly useful. Weapons, both of the human and monster world. Lease contracts on strategic properties all over Ebott, even a voucher for 1000 free printings at a leaflet printing company.
She had been handed everything she needed to create a gang that could rival even the Dreemurr Mob in size and potential, seemingly on a platter.
Kuro had early on realized the S.O.D in her veins had melted away a lot of caution and scruples, but even she realized this was simply too good to be true.
"So, what's your deal in all this, hat man?" She growled at the stranger.
"I have no use for the things in there, but I do have a need for a lot of chaos in the near future. I see it as an investment" He answered coolly.
"My ass, even the Don himself would come a-running if he knew what kinda naughty stuff you had tucked under your bed" Kuro grinned as she suddenly realized the opportunity she had to test out some of the more esoteric toys in the locker interrogating the answers out of the stranger.
"And, you know, speaking of naughty stuff in the bedroom, what's stopping me from taking some of the stuff here and-"
The sound of rapidly approaching footfalls and a large shadow falling over her instantly snapped Kuro to alert. Her talons unsheathed and her quills stood on end, ready to kill in the blink of an eye.
But it was still far too late.
A boot smashed into her ribs, sending the smaller bird monster careening through the air and crashing into a brick wall. Her high LV kept most of the damage superficial, but it was still hard enough to make her see stars.
The stranger didn't give her a chance to blink them away. In an instant he was in front of her again, smashing a large fist into her gut.
She instinctively reached a hand out to claw at him, but could only clumsily flail in between gasping for the breath that had been forced out of her.
The stranger saw it coming, easily grabbing hold of her offending arm and with a quick turn and pivot of the hips effortlessly threw her over his shoulder, crushing her into the ground hard enough she became slightly indented into it. The boot that then crashed down into her chest, pinning her, only made it worse.
Kuro's mind was racing. The scuffle had barely lasted 5 seconds yet here she was, apparently about to die, with a boot weighing down on her hard enough she could audibly hear her ribs creak, and all she felt was was a strange mix of primal fear and mind-blowing ecstasy, the S.O.D-induced enjoyment she found in death, even how own, apparently, combining with the instinctual need for survival and she couldn't help but let out of moan that was a strange mix of a grunt of pain and gasp of pleasure.
She looked up at the stranger standing above her. She tried to speak but it became a garble, as she couldn't decide whether to beg the stranger so let her go or to step on her harder.
Instead, the stranger spoke first.
"Look at you, all that LV, all the potential and not the faintest, foggiest idea of how to use it" he leaned down on his knee, putting his head closer to hears, and for the first time Kuro noticed the carnivorous and predatory eyes looking out from underneath the hat.
"Let me drop some wisdom on you; no one ever made it far in a place like Ebott simply by killing anyone that got in their way. You may think your little dip in that fountain of darkness made you strong, but strength alone won't take you anywhere. The graveyards of Ebott are full of guys that were stronger, tougher and smarter than you. You need guts, wit and power to get anywhere in this life. And frankly, I've seen Moldsmals with more of that than you"
Kuro slowly felt her sense and rage coming back to the fore, spurred on by the stranger's scathing comments. She tried to dig her talons in the boot crushing her to the floor – she would merely need to touch the skin for her lethal touch to save her – but the stranger saw it coming and the moment she tried she felt the pressure increase and her ribs bend, the sensation the sharpest pain and greatest pleasure she had ever felt.
"But you do have a gift" the stranger continued "One it so happens you can share and one it so happens I can make use off… and that so happens to be the only reason I don't do the world a favor and end your miserable existence right here. You want people to follow you? Then you need to show them more than a murderous lunatic. People follow ideals and dreams, not other people. Show them that and you've won half the battle"
Kuro felt the boot rise from her chest and she greedily sucked down the air that had been denied. She briefly lost it again as another kick sent her rolling and crashing into the locker.
"The stuffs' all yours. Do whatever you want with it. We won't see each other again" The stranger brusquely growled before turning and marching out of the alley.
"W-wait!" Kuro called after him, voice hoarse with choked air "Who the hell… are you?" she barely managed.
The stranger stopped, hands in his pockets. He was silent just for long enough for Kuro to almost ask again.
"You won't care" He stated matter-of-factly "Once, you might have been a person worth knowing, but now? You're nothing but desires and emotions unleashed and uncontrolled. You're little more than a wildfire, dangerous, but short-lived, nothing special. So go. Go and burn some stuff. Be a menace. Spread some chaos, my little wildfire" he finished before walking off again, rounding a corner, out of her sight.
"The hell…?" Kuro hissed, but found her curiosity at the stranger's identity and motive vanish almost as quickly as the stranger himself. A part of her found it infuriating having been made a pawn so openly and easily, but it was quickly quenched by the excitement she felt just thinking about what she could do with the stuff he had given her.
So what if he played some grander game she couldn't see! Now she had all she needed to really get her gang going. In a way he had given her even more than that, she mused.
Every good villain had a moniker, a title, a name, and now she had it too.
Very well, if the stranger, whoever he was, wanted a show, wanted chaos…
Then Wildfire was happy to oblige.
A conspiracy takes shape. Talk about enabling, huh?
Until the next. See ya in a week!
