NOTES:
A kind reminder that if you feel the desire to harass anyone, don't.
If you feel like you should be able to harass who ever you want, you are not welcome here.
I do not tolerate people harassing others… This message was directed at people on AO3, due to another Author being harassed, but it is applicable here too.
:-"Unintended consequences"-:
Alphys' Cell reads: 2:35 P.M. November 14th, 4033| No Messages
She has yet to adjust her phone to match Surface time... but she knows that it's pretty late...
Looking up to the clock hanging on the wall reveals that it's actually 3 A.M...
Undyne left two hours ago to get sleep... Alphys has been opting out of sleeping for an hour and a half now.
She can't get any sleep... 'How could I possibly sleep, knowing that Asgore is going to sacrifice himself?'
Furiously working, trying to find some way to stop him from this sacrifice... has brought no results. With the barrier segments removed, the rest of the Artifact can take the barrier down remotely... but it can't activate it remotely. The Artifact takes the barrier down remotely through means that Alphys does not understand...
At first Alphys thinks that she can use the artifact to disrupt the flow of magic to the arcane patterns that power the barrier, but now she's not so sure. Her idea is to activate the barrier, disrupt the flow of magic to prevent it from forming, then set the Artifact down and remotely stop the disruption, allowing it to form the barrier without anyone present... But the Artifact doesn't have an unlimited supply of magic, so she can't just make a full sized barrier to test her theories... In fact, it needs to be recharged before they can use it to make another barrier.
'Frisk will definitely need to help, they have the most DT, right? Then we can get the magic we need from monsters... and everything will be OK... It'll all be OK... Right?'
Sighing in defeat, Alphys moves on to her other important project... Fixing, and improving, the Aircraft.
The rough landing made it unsafe to fly in, so it'll fall apart if they try to use it.
'The aircraft needs to be upgraded...'
Alphys falls asleep at her work desk in the manor's lab.
When breakfast rolls around, Undyne comes to get her.
Alphys, however, doesn't feel like eating breakfast. She grabs some bread, and goes to the backyard where the aircraft is sitting.
She works herself to sleep, again...
Undyne carries Alphys to her room and tucks her in.
'What a nerd... My nerd... I'm gonna have to give her a talk about taking care of herself.'
Undyne decides to take it upon herself to try... finding someone who can fix the aircraft. She can't do it, because she isn't a nerd.
She goes to the temporary monster camp, and finds some engineer monsters who are available to help.
:-:
Frisk's Cell reads: 9:00 A.M. March 27th, 2045 | No Messages
Today, Frisk feels happy; they're not entirely sure why, but don't want to question it.
Since they already know some of the answers for today's school work, they finish quickly. They look for Asgore to spend some time with him.
He's in the greenhouse on the side of the manor... as expected.
Seeing Frisk enter, Asgore greets them, "Howdy Frisk! Here to help again?"
Frisk nods.
Cheerily, he replies "I appreciate your help, and company, Frisk! Will you help prune the vines?"
Frisk nods happily.
Pruning the creeping vines is their favourite part, after they're fed, at least.
Asgore hands them a pair of pruning scissors and they get to work.
While helping, Frisk starts talking about Katsuro. They're worried about him, and want to give Asgore a good impression for when they see him at the Sanctum; or if he comes back to visit.
Excitedly, they say, "Katsuro and I are not allowed to be left alone anymore, we always get in trouble!"
Curious, Asgore asks, "oh? What kind of trouble?"
With a mischievous grin, Frisk replies, "we would prank the other guards by switching around helmets, putting weird things in their boots and gloves, and sometimes we would even give them fake sandwiches made with saw dust... heheh..."
Asgore smiles sweetly at them, and says, "Sounds very mischievous, at least no one gets hurt. I am glad you have such a good friend, Frisk. I hope to meet him some day."
Happily, Frisk says, "He's at the Sanctum, so if we ever go there you can meet him!"
While pruning the vines, occasionally humming to themself, Frisk's mood darkens as they recall what Asgore has to do; and as they realize that he may never meet Katsuro...
Frisk finishes pruning, and places the scissors in their holder on the wall.
They go to Asgore and hug his leg tightly, and sadly say, "Asgore, you don't have to sacrifice yourself. I'm sure Alphys could find a way to keep you from having to do that... we could go and ask her!"
Asgore lifts Frisk up and holds them, knowing that kneeling down wouldn't be as effective, and says, "I am very grateful for your concern, little one. Alphys has been trying to find a way to activate the barrier remotely, but she has not found anything yet... Eventually we will have to stop searching for a way out, and accept the consequences. Everything will be alright, Frisk. It's time for me to be brave..."
Frisk wraps their arms around Asgore's neck as much as they can, and they hold back their tears.
:-:
* WATCHING FROM WITHIN THE VOID, CU-270 CONTEMPLATES THEIR CONVERSATION.
CU-270 does not understand why Frisk is crying. They were never physically harmed, so why cry?
What is the point of crying? It is to show pain, is it not?
It must be something else. Their face doesn't make sense to CU-270. It is all scrunched up and... sad?
CU-270 wonders if, perhaps, their crying is in advance of pain to come. Frisk has been spending a lot of time with Asgore, and the other monsters appear to become sad when they see him. They must be worried that he is ill or will die soon, which is strange since he is a perfectly healthy boss monster... Perhaps he has taken on a dangerous role in the efforts to stop the "Gibbering Horror?"
Something can be done about that, but CU-270 does not yet know what. They cannot protect Asgore's SOUL like they are Frisk's. Asgore would die from DT overload, and since Frisk's DT is at similar levels as CU-270's, neither they nor CU-270 can SAVE or LOAD should something bad happen. It is inconvenient all around.
CU-270 decides that he has observed the humans and monsters in this area for long enough now.
Passive observation from within the void will only get him so far, since he cannot read their minds or interact with them. He is not excited about the prospect of interacting with humans, but the "Addams" family appears to be quite "nice." Perhaps they would be a good integration point.
Sans has been trying to help CU-270 "integrate with society."
But CU-270 does not feel ready...
Sans says that spending some time observing the "Addams" from the shadows will help him...
Deciding that he cannot be cautious of humans forever, CU-270 leaves the comfort of the void. He appears within the dark spare room that he has claimed as his own.
CU-270 still doesn't like the feeling of reality on his skin, in his ears, or in his eyes. The sounds are grating, the feeling on his skin is uncomfortable, and the light is blinding.
Carefully moving through the manor, he avoids "bed rooms," because Sans has informed him that it is bad to go into rooms with beds in them, without being invited. Why it is bad to enter rooms with beds in them is unknown to CU-270.
Deciding to observe the human known as "Conrad" first, CU-270 takes position in a small dark corner.
Sans said that Conrad would be the best human to start with since he is usually busy reading documents, or practising medical procedures, that require his full attention. Such things are typical for humans that wear suits. They are always reading something, or bossing people around.
The humans wearing suits are the ones who the scientists had to listen to, so perhaps Conrad is one of them. If he is, watching him may grant insight for why they have so much power over others.
After a few minutes of observation, however, CU-270 is bored of the human known as "Conrad." Why he is not addressed as "Dr. Addams" like the doctors and scientists in the Lab is unknown to CU-270. Seems like the people who wear suits are just as boring as the scientists and doctors.
He decides that "Frisk" would be a better subject to observe.
Being physically present will also allow CU-270 to directly prevent their vessel from being damaged.
He will have to hide himself from Sans, however, as Sans specifically instructed him to observe Conrad first, for at least a week, if he were to begin personal observation.
But that is fine. CU-270 was designed for stealth...
CU-270 goes to the ruins of a large human city, and looks for clothing similar to the clothing the humans on "Stag hill" wear. He also looks for an appropriate accessory that can hide his significantly not-human eyes.
None of the surviving false eyes will work, so the best he can do is a piece of cloth to make it appear as though he is blind. The attire CU-270 chooses is also significantly not normal. He opts for a more classical "ninja" style. Which is to say... clothing that is not restrictive, allows him to blend, and covers most of his important details such as his face, ears, and eyes.
For pants, he finds some dark green pants with large pockets on the legs, and has a pair of dark blue sweat pants for night-time observation. Gaster often wore sweat pants when he felt sick.
For a shirt, he finds a plain brown tee shirt for normal observation, and a dark blue "turtle neck..." Gaster enjoyed "turtle neck" shirts. CU-270 wonders when he will see Gaster again.
CU-270 will have to be careful. If Sans saw all the humans in the village before the RESET, he will stick out like a sore thumb due to the lack of a "Déjà Vu" response. To mask this, he will need something Sans has seen, but doesn't know he has seen... The best choice for that is to steal something from one of the villagers... CU-270 can give it back later.
CU-270 considers getting a hooded jacket... and decides that a jacket would not be a bad idea, but wearing the hood constantly would make him look too suspicious. He decides it would be best to take a jacket from one of the villagers, as the ones in the ruined city are too well-made.
A face mask will be important too, but anything not made entirely out of roughly stitched cloth will stick out. He finds a long piece of off-white fabric wrapped around a mannequin's neck. It looks good enough.
He cuts a piece of the fabric to cover his eyes with. Those he has seen who are blind are usually given cloth that is a similar colour to their skin. Most likely to give the impression that they lack eyes.
CU-270 opts out of getting shoes, his bare feet are quieter than any shoe he can find. Some socks would not hurt, though.
After scavenging for some dark blue gloves, CU-270 returns to Stag Hill from the unknown desolate city and double checks to ensure the clothes he scavenged will blend in well enough. He then realizes that he didn't pay enough attention to the clothes the villagers wear. He will have to steal an entire outfit, because none of their clothes are stitched as well as the clothes he found. At least the clothes he got for night-time observation don't need to match.
CU-270 opts to keep his jumpsuit and armour on for now and leaves the clothes in the void. He needs to double check the Addams' clothing and he can't have unknown factors, like what noise the clothing makes, interfere with his stealth.
Breaking the bazaar taboo of not entering rooms with beds in them, CU-270 enters Conrad and Marceline's room and goes to examine the clothing stored in their closet.
Upon entering their dark closet, he sees a large number of suits and dresses, and various other articles of clothing, along the walls. The closet is rather large. There is a fitting area, complete with a mirror, plenty of walking and changing space, and a couple padded stools.
Closer examination of their attire reveals exquisite craftsmanship, comparable to the old clothes from the city. Many of the outfits appear to have been passed down, but it seems like one of the Addamses can sew. This must have been why he thought that the clothes from the ruined city would work. The Addamses have significantly higher quality clothing than the villagers.
Conrad is the most likely candidate to be able to sew, due to his ability to stitch skin together. Since the fabric is delicate, only an equally delicate hand would be able to perform such sturdy yet precise needlework. CU-270 will find out eventually during his observations.
A female voice behind him stops his analysis, it is likely Marceline. "Find what you are looking for?"
CU-270's gut instinct is to teleport away, but he is curious as to how she managed to sneak up on him.
He turns around slowly and looks at the mystery person.
Sure enough, Marceline is standing at the door to the closet. Her slim form appears more imposing than it should. The darkness of the closet is contrasted by a single beam of light, from the bedroom window, that manages to find its way across her face; it's highlighting her eyes, giving her a mysterious look.
CU-270 doesn't detect any sort of magic, nor does he see any technology that could aid her approach. The female human seems to be naturally adept at moving quietly and keeping her presence hidden.
He attempts to speak to her in sign language, |I DO NOT SPEAK 'HUMAN,' WHAT DID YOU SAY?|
In response, she simply raises an eyebrow.
Neither of them understand the other... which is problematic for possible future attempts at communication.
Especially if it is uncommon for humans to understand Sign language or Wing-Dings.
Deciding to play it safe, CU-270 slowly steps backwards into the shadows of the closet and begins to walk into the void...
But Marceline does something he doesn't expect... she turns on the lights in the closet, quickly walks forward, and gently grabs his wrist.
CU-270 is frightened at first, and immediately assumes she is a threat, but her body language is not threatening. He is very confused. Her grip is firm, but gentle. Different than David's.
She speaks more words he cannot understand, they sound calming, but wrong. They have a similar flow to them like when Sans is speaking in Wing-Dings, except the sounds don't make sense.
He tries to teleport out but he is blocked by something. A second analysis still does not reveal magic or technology. Sans must be preventing him from leaving, but where is he?
The world appears to pause for the briefest moment, then understanding fills Marceline's eyes.
Marceline gently pulls CU-270 so that he's standing in front of the mirror on the left side of the room, then waits.
After about a minute, Conrad walks into the room.
CU-270 is sure now that Sans has something to do with what's going on. He still cannot teleport away.
He escapes Marceline's grip and puts distance between them and himself.
Conrad checks to make sure Marceline is OK, then searches through the clothing and pulls out a suit.
He looks back and forth between CU-270 and the suit, then picks out a different one.
CU-270 does not understand exactly what Conrad is doing, but he knows that suits are worn by the people that tell the scientists what to do. That is not good... and this human appears to be showing him that he owns a lot of suits. CU-270 is confused by this.
The people who wear suits always argued with the scientists and doctors, and when that happened CU-270 was hurt more. Are suits somehow linked to power in humans? If so, then perhaps this human is showing CU-270 how much control he has over people?
He hides himself in the darkest corner he can find, and tries to leave into the void... but it's too bright, and he can't use magic to make the room darker.
Feeling trapped, and not fully understanding what is going on, CU-270 begins to panic. His eye-lights go out, exposing his fear. He crouches in preparation to make an escape, bares his teeth, and lets out a deep rumbling growl in warning.
Conrad immediately drops the suit he is examining, then steps in front of Marceline and moves her, and himself, out of the way of the door quickly.
CU-270 takes advantage of the opening and bolts through the door, then runs off to find a dark room.
The spare room he tends to go to is still dark.
Darkness is safety... darkness leads to the void, the void is safe.
Stepping into the room, CU-270 amplifies the darkness within until his gateway to the void opens and he steps through. CU-270 decides to begin observing humans physically when they are unconscious and pose no threat, that way there is less risk.
* SANS IS ATTEMPTING TO GET HIS ATTENTION, BUT CU-270 IGNORES HIM.
:-:
Sans contemplates the turn of events, and realizes he shouldn't have let Marceline talk him into that plan. He knew it wouldn't work, but he helped anyway... and now CU-270 is ignoring him.
'this isn't good... how am I gonna fix this? should i even bother trying? guess i'll just hang with grillby for a while... think it over.'
:-:
Done with tending the plants in the Greenhouse, Frisk asks, "Asgore, could you teach me more about fire magic? I want to be able to control more fire!"
After carefully considering the request, Asgore smiles gently and says, "of course I can, Frisk. Let us go out to the backyard, there is more room out there and less humans to stare at us."
Frisk nods happily.
On their way, they see Marceline walking from her bedroom to her downstairs study.
Frisk decides that it would be fun to have their mom watch as they literally play with fire, so they ask, "hey mom! You wanna watch Asgore teach me more fire magic?"
Intrigued by the idea, and wanting to witness magic up close again, Marceline agrees with a sly smile and follows the two outside.
Once outside, Asgore starts off with basic exercises and safety, then begins guiding Frisk in how to control more fire.
Asgore instructs them, "fire reacts to your Bravery. The more Bravery you add to the flames, the larger they will grow... but be careful not to add too much, or you could accidentally hurt yourself or others. Build your fire up slowly, and be confident in your ability to control it, or it will not listen to you."
Demonstrating, Asgore summons a ring of fireballs. "Remember this, always: 'Approaching a dangerous situation without thinking is not Bravery, it is foolishness.'"
:-:
After calming down, CU-270 begins watching Frisk from the void again. He wants to understand them, to prevent people from harming them...
He is met with the sight of Asgore summoning a ring of Fire in front of Frisk, and almost immediately attacks... but CU-270 realizes that he is teaching Frisk how to use basic fire magic.
CU-270 continues watching, ready to prevent the inevitable harm that will occur when Frisk fails to produce the desired results.
...But, after an hour passes, nothing bad happens. CU-270 watches Frisk fail on multiple counts, but Asgore and Marceline only respond with patience and... kindness?
Conrad joins the group. CU-270 is wary of his presence, but eager to see how he reacts to Frisk failing...
When Frisk attempts to make a wall of fire, they fail... They are only able to make what amounts to candle lights. CU-270 prepares to strike, in anticipation of danger... but no punishment ever occurs. He doesn't understand... Instead of punishing Frisk, they all... console and encourage them?
CU-270 decides that it must be some sort of psychological manipulation. Those who wear suits are sneaky, they manipulate people into doing what they want. Gaster taught him to keep his distance from them, because they are nothing but trouble. He will need to learn how to speak like the humans do, in order to verify his assumptions.
The fastest way to do that would be to go back to the human lab and utilize the technology there to expedite his learning...
As CU-270 considers that option he hopes that David has left the lab, but after a brief moment, he decides that David would not dare get in his way, so he goes to the lab.
:-:
Alphys wakes up and is confused at first. The last thing she remembers is working on the aircraft in the backyard...
'Oh no I fell asleep! Gosh dang it... Wait... what day is it?'
She briefly checks her phone and recognizes that it's the same day, just later. '...Oh... that's fine.'
She leaves her room to check on the aircraft and sees some of the engineer monsters working on it.
A hand is placed on her shoulder and she immediately jolts in surprise, but she calms down when she sees that it's Undyne.
Undyne gently says, "yo, nerd, you've gotta take better care of yourself! I get that there's a lot that needs to be done, but you can't get it all done if you're tired and can't think. So, let other people help... OK?" Then smiles sweetly.
Alphys blushes from the smile, but is uncertain. "I-I... I can't waste any t-time. When Asgore activates the b-barrier... h-... he..." Alphys begins tearing up as she continues, "we c-can't waste any time, we have to do everything ri-right or he-"
Undyne interrupts Alphys with a hug, "I know. But don't worry, everything will work out just fine!"
A big toothy grin stretches across Undyne's face. It puts Alphys a bit more at ease.
Excitedly, Undyne says, "hey, come with me. I've got a surprise for you!"
Reluctantly, and nervously, Alphys follows Undyne through the Addams' yard until they reach...
A picnic, set for two. The two sit down and enjoy the food and a beautiful view of Ebott Forest.
The encounter is somewhat awkward for Alphys, and she doesn't know what to do. She decides to check on the UnderNet for news from the monster camp.
They were able to set up the Antenna in the middle of the village thanks to Toriel's negotiations. It helps that the antenna doesn't take up much space, thanks to the information in the Artifact, otherwise they wouldn't have approved it.
Everything is fine, it seems. 'Grillby already has a new bar set up... Weird, I figured that'd be last?'
When she looks up from her phone, knowing now that everything is going mostly as planned, she spots a small yellow flower in the distance... it appears to have a face.
Alphys starts feeling uneasy about it, and decides to look away... but she looks back briefly to confirm, and it's gone.
She feels even less at ease now, and decides that it would be best to go somewhere else.
"U-Undyne? This is all very nice, but I... I think I should get back to work now. We don't know how much time we have before..."
Somewhat disappointed, but understanding, Undyne replies, "yea..."
More excitedly, she says "Hey, I know! Maybe I could try to help some more? I guess... I could carry more stuff? Oh! I know! I could yell at you when you aren't taking care of yourself! Make you eat and sleep on time! That'd be super helpful!"
Alphys doesn't like the prospect of being yelled at, but... at least Undyne cares about her. "Maybe... Uh... don't yell? Could you... strongly suggest in-instead?"
Undyne puts on a big toothy grin and says, "fine by me!"
The two walk over to the aircraft to work on it more. Alphys wants to upgrade it with sturdier materials.
It could actually be much heavier than they originally made it, given how much thrust it produces, so Alphys wants to outfit it with a metal body.
:-:
As dinner time slowly approaches, Papyrus begins cooking Lasagna using the instructions Marceline left for him on a note. He's doing his best to follow them exactly, as he normally does.
Papyrus always does his best.
The other monsters think of him as immature, but it's just a front. He's always the best version of himself that they need him to be, whether they know it or not.
His antics mostly revolve around helping everyone, because a good royal guard would do that, but, now that monsters are out of the Underground, the need for his silly immature self is slowly fading... He finds himself taking on a more serious, less boisterous demeanour. Spending time with Conrad has also helped by showing him how to appear as dignified as he truly is, or... believes himself to be.
Thing enters the kitchen and asks to help, and Papyrus graciously accepts.
Since there has been no work for her to do yet, she feels anxious; so she does small things around the house to keep herself busy, like helping cook breakfast and dinner.
She is, however, competing with Papyrus for things to do.
Once everything is cooked to perfection, or cooked exactly as instructed, Papyrus uses the brass pipe system to call everyone to dinner... But most of them are outside, so he goes to fetch them while Thing begins setting the table.
:-:
Dinner is cooked well. Papyrus proves himself to be a great cook, with some guidance...
Everyone is much more lively today than they have been. Frisk is happy.
Asgore is discussing various gardening techniques with Marceline, while Toriel speaks with Conrad about medicine, and the lack thereof, for monsters.
Sans and Papyrus seem to be talking together about their day, while Alphys and Undyne are being all cuddly.
Frisk decides to chat with Thing. "Hey Thing, how're you feeling so far? All comfortable?"
Politely, Thing replies, "I am very comfortable, Ambassador Frisk. Thank you for asking."
With a smile, Frisk says, "it's funny hearing you call me ambassador... you can just call me Frisk!"
Thing responds cheerily, "if you think that would be OK, then I shall. Thank you."
Frisk finally notices the extra plate set at the table, and asks, "who's plate is that?"
Papyrus responds, "I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THE MYSTERY SHADOW BOY WOULD LIKE SOMETHING TO EAT! SO I SET A PLATE FOR HIM, JUST IN CASE! SANS, DID YOU WRITE THE NAME CARD LIKE I ASKED YOU TO?"
Sans replies casually, "yup. take a look for yourself."
Papyrus gets up and walks to the end of the table to read the card... he can't understand it.
A bit upset, Papyrus yells out, "SANS! ! WHAT IS ALL THIS GOBBLEDYGOOK? I ASKED YOU TO WRITE HIS NAME, NOT PRACTICE YOUR OBVIOUSLY LACKLUSTER DRAWING SKILLS!"
Sans casually replies, "he can't read the same stuff we can paps, those are wingdings."
Frisk notices that Sans has been making less jokes... his casual replies almost feel like a cover for something. Frisk doesn't want to pry though, so they don't say anything... but then they remember that Sans was supposed to talk to them about what happened last night.
"Hey, Sans, you said you were gonna talk to me about something yesterday, didn't you?"
"oh yea, I did, huh? we can talk after dinner."
Frisk continues to eat, and after a few minutes they remember something important. "Thing, could you remind me tomorrow that we need to talk to resource management and ask if they'll let some Vegitoids help with growing crops? We also need to ask about expanding the farms, now that monsters are on the surface. We should also ask if some Water-type monsters, like some Washuas, can assist too."
Thing pulls out a small MTT brand notepad, and jots down the request. "No problem Frisk, anything else you would like me to remind you of?"
Frisk shakes their head, "nope, that's it, thank you Thing!"
Sans looks at Thing and speaks to her in Sign language, |be careful with the kid, they've got a... uh... "guardian angel." he's still getting the hang of the 'other people are nice' thing.|
Thing signs back, |Thank you the warning, Sans. I will make sure to keep from trying to hurt Frisk, who is my employer.|
Sans snickers, and replies, |sarcasm doesn't transfer well through sign language, ya' know. he primarily speaks in sign language, and he's probably watching right now. good luck.|
Thing just shrugs in response, they don't feel particularly worried. Actions speak louder than words.
Done with his meal, Sans gets up, nudges Frisk, and leaves as Frisk looks up.
Frisk finishes their meal quickly and follows him, happy to be able to get out of cleaning up.
Once Frisk is out in the main lobby, they don't see Sans anymore... 'he must've used a shortcut.'
Assuming that Sans went to his room, Frisk goes there and almost opens the door... but stops themself and knocks instead.
Sans answers from behind the door, "(who's there?)"
Feeling playful, Frisk says, "You."
"(*snicker*...you who?)"
"Why are you trying to get my attention, I knocked on your door!"
"(heh... come on in frisk. thanks for knocking.)"
Frisk opens the door to Sans' room and sees him sitting on the edge of his bed.
They decide to stay at the doorway, and ask, "we gonna talk about what happened?"
He gets up and says, "yep."
Curious, Frisk asks, "...So, what did he do?"
Sans walks over to Frisk, and says, "he put a mark on your soul. i don't know exactly what it does, but if you let me take a look i can figure it out."
Frisk nods and reveals their SOUL, it looks perfectly normal.
Carefully, Sans looks at it through a yellow lens. "yep, about what i figured. you can put your soul away now."
Curious, Frisk asks, "so, what does it do?"
As casual as ever, Sans replies "if your soul takes any damage it'll be transferred to his, and, if that is bypassed, it prevents your soul from shattering. it also prevents david from being able to interact with your soul."
Worried about the first part, Frisk says, "it sounds... good. Except maybe that first part. Why would he do this?"
Sans shrugs, "i don't know why he did it, but you have a red soul like he does. so that could be it. oh, there's a side effect... it looks like the dt between your souls is being shared, so i don't think either of you can load, save, or reset. which isn't really bad. since neither of you can die right now, you don't need to save or load."
A bit worried, Frisk asks, "what if we need to RESET?"
With a wink, Sans says "no offence, but i prefer no resets. no time loops, no trying to make everything perfect, and no avoiding consequences. if we do everything right the first time, you won't have to reset... so, how do you feel about the mark? want it taken off?"
Frisk considers the options for a while... On one hand, they don't want anyone to be hurt in their place, on the other... not having the danger of being controlled by David is a great thing.
Before Frisk can say anything, Sans says "i see you're having trouble deciding. if you're worried 'bout him being hurt instead of you, and are wondering if that part can be taken off, it can't be. it's an all or nothin' situation."
After hesitating further... Frisk decides, "I want it removed. I can't let someone else get hurt in my place. I'll just have to be more careful in the future. As for David... we can figure something out."
Sans nods, "ok, i'll let him know soon as he starts talking to me again. i kinda upset him a bit earlier today, but it'll be fine."
Frisk nods and asks, "anything else?"
Sans replies, "nope."
With that, Frisk leaves Sans' room and goes to goof off until bed time. They want to practise their trap making skills.
Eventually Papyrus joins Frisk and begins making puzzles and traps with them.
Together, they create a truly puzzling puzzle. One the likes of which none have seen.
A truly difficult and indescribable puzzle...
Proud of their creation, Frisk and Papyrus set it up in the lobby... then go to bed.
When Frisk enters their room, Chara's SOUL seems to turn towards them. It reminds Frisk that they need to find a way to save Chara and Asriel...
Maybe there's some magic I could learn... best place to learn magic is the Sanctum, but that's pretty far away...'
Frisk thinks about how and when they should go to the Sanctum for a while before covering Chara's container and changing into pajamas.
They realize that if they go to the sanctum, they'll be able to see Katsuro. It makes Frisk happy.
When they lay down and fall to sleep... they start to dream.
:-:
Outside, Frisk sees Katsuro in his guard uniform. He's waving them over.
They join him with a clearly visible smile, happy to see their best, and weirdest, friend.
Katsuro salutes playfully as Frisk approaches, saying "Your Majesty, I await your orders!"
To which Frisk replies, "Silly Squire, I gave you orders a fortnight ago! You are to teach me the ways of the sword! The ways that Sir Grandpa won't."
Feigning dismay, he throws an arm over his face, while turning away, to exaggerate, as he says, "Alas! My Princess, I am unable to comply!"
Taking on a respectful pose, he continues, "For you see... I dare not disobey the order of my superior, the great Saint Bernard!..."
Frisk puts on a sad face.
Katsuro sees their dismay and raises his finger as he says, "But! BUT! I can, instead, teach you the ways of... TAG! You're IT!"
After swiftly tapping Frisk on the Shoulder, Katsuro runs off with a wide smile on his face.
Frisk chases them down, giggling, but is never able to catch up.
"Not fair! I have tiny little legs and I can't catch up!"
Yelling back, Katsuro says, "C'mon Frisk! You can do it! You'll never be an 'Anime-Warrior-Princess' with that attitude!"
And so they continue to run... and run... It stops being fun after a while, but they continue to run... They leave the village and follow him through the forest... until, eventually, Frisk can no longer see him. Frisk stops running. They're lost, alone, and scared somewhere in the Ebott forest.
They call out for help.
But nobody comes.
They call out again, louder...
Behind them, a familiar voice is heard, it sounds like Tim, but a little younger. "Oh, you poor thing, are you lost?"
Turning around, Frisk sees that it's... 'Tim?' He looks younger than Frisk remembers him being.
Frisk nods, deciding it's just a coincidence.
Tim points, and Frisk looks in the direction he's pointing... They see the training grounds...
Frisk doesn't want to go there though. It makes them feel sad.
When Frisk turns around, there's nothing there. Tim is gone, and everything is white...
As Frisk looks around, the only place left is the training grounds.
Hesitating, Frisk stays in place...
A hand is put on their shoulder. When they look up, they see Katsuro... His armour looks heavily damaged.
Frisk doesn't understand why.
Calmly and happily, he says "hey, there you are... I thought we lost you, you had us all pretty worried ya know. Glad to see you're alright, Frisk... Hey... you OK?"
Frisk shakes their head and points to the training grounds.
Katsuro sighs, and says, "oh, yea, it's pretty sad, huh? But don't worry, these things happen! It isn't your fault... C'mon, let's go. We'll face it together, OK?"
Frisk nods and holds out their hand for Katsuro. He takes their hand and they walk together to the training grounds.
It doesn't take long to get there, and when they do... they see a long wooden box in the middle of the training grounds. It isn't particularly fancy, but it does have some painted designs on it.
Boxes are used when the one being cremated is not presentable enough for anyone to view, the symbols are meant to embody who they were in life. Usually the family of the deceased paints them on before the cremation.
Katsuro kneels on one knee behind Frisk, places a hand on their shoulder gently, and says, "see? It isn't scary. It's just a box. Something edgy vampires named after herbs sleep in... like Mordrid Terragon! right?"
Frisk nods, feeling somewhat better, but tears still come to their eyes.
They don't like what they see...
Continuing, Katsuro says, "don't worry, little princess. It's okay. It is pretty sad though, huh?"
Frisk nods again. Katsuro moves in front of them, still kneeling, uses a finger under their chin to tilt their head up and bring their eyes up to his, and says, "hey, I've gotta go now, OK? I've got a new job, and it's pretty far away... We won't get to goof around together anymore... but it'll be OK. And hey... no matter what... Don't you ever think it was your fault. OK? I should've been more careful... I'm sorry, Frisk. Be good."
Katsuro stands up, now wearing formal attire, ruffles Frisk's hair, and goes to lay in the coffin...
Frisk tries to cry out, tries to grab him and stop him, but they can't. They can't do anything, their words sound distant and quiet. All of their actions feel sluggish, and without force... like their body decided to start going to sleep at the worst possible moment.
The coffin lid slams shut after Katsuro lays down.
:-:
Frisk wakes up, tears running down their face, and sees Toriel holding them.
Gently, she shushes them and says, "do not worry, little one, it was just a bad dream."
Toriel wipes the tears from Frisk's face, and they give her as much of a hug as possible while trying not to cry more. 'It had to be just a dream, right? Katsuro... he isn't...'
Frisk cries more... They decide not to ask, just in case it's true.
Toriel rocks them back to sleep...
* The desire to make sure all of their friends are safe and happy... FILLS FRISK WITH DETERMINATION!
* FRISK CAN FEEL THEIR SAVE STARS AGAIN.
* FILE FAILED TO LOAD.
* FILE FAILED TO LOAD.
* FILE FAILED TO LOAD.
* A NEW STAR APPEARS IN FRONT OF THE MANOR.
* FILE SAVED.