Summary: *Throws some feels just because!*
Notes: Hey guys! Glad you are still reading this nonsense! No, really, I have all this chapters written but I am too afraid to upload them as they are, they are going through tons of proof readings... (2019 edit. The first version of these chapters turned out to be bullshit. How did this happen?) Anyways! I´m learning to play the violin... Any advice people? I'm using the Suzuki method btw.
Ebott Ville, Wendell Ebott Hospital, 1 year 7 months after the release of monsters and magic back in the world.
Cold…
So cold…
Is it winter already…?
Eternal winter.
Did I knit enough sweaters for the children?
I feel... something soft cover me. Warmth.
Guess I did…
No.
Wait.
It smells like chemicals…?
It smells like disinfectant!
"Mom could you…. …. …. knife? … …. … … … to wake… …. hungry"
"Guh, no Wendy. No mmgg… knives for you…" I'm covered and warm, and I almost fall asleep despite trying to stay awake...
"Mr. …?"
"Huh?" I shift in the warm blanket, and try to think.
That did NOT sound like Wendy's whispers or Webber's speech.
"Mr. Higgsbury?"
"Who…?" I try to speak but it feels like I'd eaten a razor blade. My throat… it hurts, but I can deal with it. It is not as raspy as it was when... nevermind that. The pain's going away anyways.
"Can you… ? … … hurt … ?" the voice asks.
"Yes, hurts… I guess," I croak.
It doesn't hurt too much, but still, it's like an itch I can't scratch. I slowly get used to it.
"Your… can… open. Your eyes?" My hearing seems to be coming back to me too.
"Eyes? Did I lose them again?" I try to touch them but my arms feel a bit heavy.
"What?!" A second voice... feminine, deep, motherly?
"Umm... he's just confused mom, he doesn't know what he's saying." The first voice sounds familiar...
Maybe I hit my head too hard this time around. Now I'm delusional, it seems.
It wouldn't be the first time.
Must've been out like a torch for a while, as well. The sun is killing my eyes.
Sun?
The first thing I see when I open my eyes is the bright beam of light coming through an open window. I have to blink several times to be able to get rid of the blurriness.
Window?
Ceiling?
Higgsbury!
A physical audit first and foremost!
Eyes? Check!
Two arms? Check!
Two legs? Double check!
Ten fingers? Triple check!
Ten toes? Check!
Movement in all of the above? Check and ultra double check!
My stomach hurts, though.
"Nnn..." I better sit up so I can see how my body is holding up.
If it is holding up this time.
"You shouldn't do that Mr. Higgsbury! The stitches might come undone." The first voice speaks again. I know them from somewhere, I'm sure of it!
"Stitches? Wha-" Tiny hands push me down. They are too little to be Wendy's and far too big to be Webber's...
I look up slowly so as not to hurt my head and-
Is that who I think it is? I try to speak but end up coughing instead.
"Ow..." I rasp.
A brown haired child with light brown skin, not too different from when we had first met before, if only taller. His brown locks might need a cut but otherwise he has barely changed. Wide open eyes met mine. Those hazel eyes… they were filled with worry, surprise and maybe… sadness?
That won't do!
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I try to look as confused as I could.
Okay, maaybe that was too much. Oh my lords, look at that face! It went from a "Ím glad you're up!" to "My jaw just fell to the floor".
"Pfft, hahah! I'm so sorry Frisk I couldn't help it- Oh Lords!" I can't finish talking -my throat is still dry- but I can't help but make little wheezes.
Now look at that pouty face!
"V.e.n.d.e.t.t.a." The word comes slowly from that tiny mouth like if it is a death sentence.
And so the mighty shall fall, they say.
Or laugh their guts out.
Same thing.
*Frisk used Tickle!
*It's super effective!
"Hahahahaha Frisk! haha come on!" My voice cracks and sounds strange, and I gasp for breath between laughs.
"No." Frisk looks dead set on killing me with tickles!
"I'm sorry! Forgive me, please hahaha!" My stomach starts to ache, the pain slowly increasing in strength.
"No!" A slow grin is spreading on Frisk's face. It'd be cute if not for the unstoppable tickles.
"Mercy please, it hurts!" If only I could stop laughing...
"Mercy is for the weak!" Frisk crows, and they look so happy.
"No, hahaha it really does! Frisk, my stomach…!" I manage to lightly put my hands on their chest to stop them.
Frisk stops tickling me and I come to realize there is more than just a pain in my stomach, but an increasing, throbbing pain all the way to my back.
"Frisk! He is in no condition for you to do that! Please don't do it again. We don't want to hurt him more than he already is, do we?" I turn my head to see a white furry monster speak to Frisk… I'd be surprised but I'm too happy to think much of it.
"No mom, sorry mom." Frisk looks apologetic to the white monster, head tilted down cheeky eyes looking through his bangs.
"I'm not the one you almost tickled to death. Apologize to him, my boy." Toriel gestures towards me, and I catch the shine on a clar hidden under pristine fur. My boy?
"I'm sorry Mr. Higgsbury." Frisk murmurs to me, before he glances to the side.
"He deserved it, though," was heard with a badly concealed whisper and I couldn't help myself again and started laughing with renewed energy.
Oh gods of science, this child!
I huff, Yes, I deserved it, sorry." As I came down from the laughing spree I tried to assess my surroundings. There were three occupants in the room, me included. The room is nothing special. As for most normal hospitals, there is a lack of personality, the kind that compels you to get out of it as quickly as you can and never come back again. The white paint on the walls looks old and in need of another layer. Otherwise, it's a normal hospital room.
It has to be the most beautiful room I've ever been in my entire life.I know this because if I'm in a hospital room...
"I'm… free?" I say this with mixed emotions. I should be happy, there will be no more dreadful nights, hearing shadow creatures whispering, claws shredding my throat; creatures prowling at the edge of the warmth of a well lit campfire; horrible, horrible deaths; losing my limbs to shadow creatures; but at the same time, I will miss the children's laughter while I harvest watermelons for the first time in the season and their little smiling faces from a well-done meal.
"Yes, you're back! Once you get healthy they will let you go and we have so much to talk about. We can have sleepovers and so much fun!" Frisk bounces on the edge of the bed and they look so happy.
Isn't this what I've dreamed of? Freedom from my eternal prison on that infernal island?
"Am I? Really?" I wonder if this is another nightmare, it's just too good to be true! Something's wrong though, I can feel it. There is no way I was just allowed to leave!
This is too much! Too quickly...
"Are you okay? Please don't be upset. I'm sorry… did I hurt you?" Frisk bombards me with questions I can't answer thanks to the ache in my chest.
"Why are you crying?" Frisk touches my face, and when they pull back I can see the tears wet his fingers.
Was I?
Why can't I…
"I-I" My throat, which was already parched and croaky, seems to close up and I couldn't breathe and-
Stop crying. Think.
Did I really come back to the world I belong to? As I thought to myself, it clicked. Why I felt wrong.
"Where are the children?" I say between tears, although I already had a feeling.
"There was no one when we found you. Were... were you with other people?" The furred creature speaks up again. This must be the goat monster Toriel. I see Frisk getting upset and it's all my fault, but…
If no one is here but me... does that mean I escaped alone? Are the other survivors still back there? Or are they...
Dead?
No, that can't be!
"I'm sorry sir but were there children with you? Could you describe them and give us their names so we can find them?" Toriel slowly says. She fits Frisk's description. I remember him saying something about a gentle monster who aided him when he fell underground. The only thing missing from what he depicted is the purple robe but I guess she can't use that every day, can she?
I wipe my eyes, sniffling.
"I- I am not certain if they are here, madam." I try to remember my manners, since this first encounter is already doomed.
"What do you mean, they are not here?" She asks again but I don't know how I could possibly answer her questions without having to explain everything.
So I go for the next good explanation my messy thoughts can come up with.
"If you haven't found them… it's very probable that I came back alone, madam." I don't want to say "still trapped". For the same reasons. Frisk looks to the side; I can see him look at something, but my eyesight is too blurry -now with tears- to check what it is.
"Mr. Higgsbury please take this crab apple. It will heal your wound better than the medicine they have here," the child tells me while offering a freshly cut crab apple. How will a crab apple help me?
I highly doubt it will do anything, but I bite it anyways. It's delicious! How long has it been since I've tasted an apple?
*Wilson P. Higgsbury
*HP: 140/150 = HP: 150/150
*You eat the crabapple.
*Your HP was maxed out. Your wound closes and heals... but your heart is still in pain.
There's too much new information and changes. I can't hold it back anymore as I close my eyes and let the flow of my tears leave two thin tracks in my face. I feel how I slip into despair as I think about the possibility of never being able to see the other survivors again. Even though I'm so happy it hurts, it hurts more knowing that my family might be arms try to encase me with their warmth while I hiccup from all the sobbing. I… I feel a little better.
I haven't cried like this since... a very long time. It feels nice to cry knowing someone won't judge you. Someone who understands is by your side.
Last time I cried like this, no matter how much I sobbed, nobody came.
I sob some more in Frisk's tiny arms and I try my best to hug him tight. He doesn't complain about the growing wet spot in his sweater.
I feel Toriel's presence grows concerned but I don't give it too much thought.
There is only one single thought in my mind left, as my conscious mind slows down into slumber once again.
Please, don't let go.
Notes: "Mercy is for the weak!" Is a reference to Bubbles from Powerpuff Girls. Imagine that same evil little face in Frisk's! That would be so cute!