:-"Daren't to say goodbye: Part 1"-:
Frisk is Running.
Faster, faster, faster.
No matter how fast Frisk runs, they can't outrun it… Its terrifying arms grabbing for them, tearing their flesh. Its horrifying faces all screaming, biting, whispering, shouting, and howling in endless pain…
The horror writhes in strange ways as it tears them apart, but they don't die. Their SOUL comes out and the horror grabs it, consumes it . They feel disconnected from everything and yet part of a larger whole… part of an endless hunger that wants to devour everything.
A hand reaches into the darkness, grabs their SOUL, and brings it to safety.
Frisk is relieved… until they notice who it is.
David.
He has a terrifying look on his face. A strange mix of satisfaction and anger.
Frisk tries to escape, but they can't.
They can't escape his grip… But they have to keep trying! They have to keep trying, or their friends will all die!
David beings squeezing Frisk's SOUL and cracks appear.
Frisk doesn't feel anything anymore, and they stop struggling… the cracks continue getting worse.
A shadow as deep as the void envelops their SOUL, then-
:-:
With a jolt, Frisk wakes up in a cold sweat and gasps for air. It's still dark out, but they're having a hard time staying asleep. The excitement, and fear, of what's to come fills their mind and refuses to let them sleep peacefully. With a racing heart and a mind full of horrible after-images, Frisk gets out of bed.
They are frustrated, nervous, and anxious… and it's making it hard to stay still.
Frisk grabs Sans' jacket and wraps their arms around themselves and the jacket, giving themself and the jacket a hug… it makes them feel a little safer.
Chara notices and comments,
"good children should be in bed, lest they be punished… Why are you crying? Did you have a nightmare? …you shouldn't cry, only babies do that."
The robotic voice throws Frisk off for a moment, until they remember that Chara isn't talking directly.
Frisk doesn't immediately respond… they're thinking.
Eventually Frisk changes the subject and asks, "Chara, I know you were the one that was talking in my head while in the Underground… you know, making comments on everything I was looking at and giving me hints… and I know that you never seemed to want to talk to me directly… but… why'd you stop? You know… after the barrier was broken the first time? I… got used to hearing you make comments about things, and the silence was… weird, after a while."
Chara hesitates.
Frisk sits at the edge of their bed, patiently waiting.
Chara begins moving around, indicating that they are typing something.
They respond after a few minutes… "Seeing Asriel again, and then you proving me wrong, made me really upset at myself; hearing what he had to say about me afterward made me even more upset. I know… I know I am not the best person… but I did what I did to try to save monsters, and to make up for hurting Asgore."
Another long pause, Frisk waits to reply because they can see Chara is going to say something else.
Unbeknownst to the duo, Toriel is now standing outside of the door about to open it.
"After you and Asriel broke the barrier, and you left the Underground, you did not need me anymore. I wanted to stay with Asriel, even if he could not hear or see me, even if he hated me. He was my best friend. I made a plan to kill myself and save all the monsters, but I never thought about how Asriel felt about it, or how badly it would hurt everyone else. Pretty pathetic excuse for a sibling, am I not?"
Contemplatively, Frisk replies, "Yea, that is pretty bad. But I don't think you should worry too much about it… Sure you were taking pretty Jurassic measures, but at least your heart was in the right place? Even if that place was kinda sucky, you just need a guide… Chara, I've got another question… why'd you sound all weird in my dreams when you did finally try talking to me? That still freaks me out a little…"
This reply is faster, seems like Chara is slowly getting used to the mode of communication, "I think you mean 'drastic.' I was not attached to your SOUL like I was before, and I had to try to reconnect; but it was rather hard. The more we talked, the easier it became."
Frisk blushes lightly in embarrassment and says, with a hint of frustration,
"I-… I knew that! I was just… being silly! It was a pun!"
After a brief silence passes, Frisk asks, "OK… so… want me to tell everyone who-"
Chara interrupts, "NO!"
With a hand over her mouth to silence herself, Toriel stands on the other side of the door in shock, with a partially outstretched arm held near the doorknob.
Her original intent was to tell them to go to sleep, after hearing them faintly through the pipes, but now she can't even bring herself to touch the doorknob. She didn't get much of what they said through the pipes, nor on the way to their room, but from what she's hearing… The SOUL is Chara…
She contemplates the phrase "I made a plan to kill myself and save all the monsters."
'But… Chara… they were just sick! Were they not…? How could I not have known? How could I not have noticed?! I… I failed them… How can I consider myself a good mother, if I can not even tell when my children are in pain?'
Frisk shushes Chara, "you'll wake every one up… be quiet. Fine… I won't tell anyone till you're ready."
Toriel moves her outstretched hand over her chest and clutches her pajama top as she continues to hold her other hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out loud.
Distraught, she decides to quickly and quietly make her way back to her room.
"Thanks… and while we are on the subject, I… do not want to talk to Azzy yet. I am not ready. Well… 'Flowey.' I guess he's called now."
:-:
Conrad and Marceline can hear the entire conversation. The pipes leading to their room receive almost every sound in the house fairly clearly. They can close and open the pipes as they choose, especially when they want privacy or silence, but otherwise they usually leave the pipe to Frisk's room open, just in case.
The pipes leading to the guest rooms are closed off, for their privacy.
Conrad stands from the bed, goes to a window, and opens up a curtain to look out into the night sky.
Quietly, he contemplates how to approach the situation. Chara is, after all, the child that went missing 30 years ago. The same child that was seen dead in the arms of a monster… For their SOUL to be still in one piece is good news. It was a little before their time, but the impact of the event has lasted through the years all the same…
Quietly, Conrad mutters to himself, "Oh daddums, I wish you were here to guide me; but alas, you and mummy have already left this mortal coil..."
Marceline slowly and gracefully walks up to her husband and embraces him from behind, then rests her head on his as she quietly says, "isn't the waxing gibbous moon so beautiful, dear? It doesn't quite beat a full moon, but it does have beauty all its own."
Taken from his contemplation for a moment, Conrad replies, "yes, it is, mi amor."
The two stand there at the open window for a while.
After a few minutes, Marceline says,
"I think we should give Frisk more time before leaving, don't you?"
Conrad caresses his partner's hand, and replies,
"yes, I think that would be good. Let's surprise them in the morning with something for them to do."
Marceline, tired and wanting to go back to sleep, gently pulls on her husband's shirt as she goes back to their bed. "Come, mon amour, let's sleep. We can think more about it all in the morning."
Conrad follows after closing the curtains.
Eventually, everyone manages to settle down again and fall back to sleep… except Frisk.
Frisk is starting to feel more tired, but they can see that Chara is going to say something, so they wait.
Taking advantage of that fact, Chara asks, "Frisk, could you ask Alphys to make something so I can talk to you more… privately? I… do not want to talk to anyone. I am sure your family is fine, but… I am… shy… I also… do not like people. Like… I greatly dislike like people. I mean… You are fine, but…"
Frisk nods sleepily before slowly leaning over and falling asleep on the edge of their bed.
"Thanks… again. Oh… Already asleep."
:-:
Frisk's phone reads 9:00 A.M. March 30th, 2045|No Messages
Sleepily, Frisk gets up off the floor and changes out of their pajamas. When they go to leave their room, they are met with a note on the door.
"Dearest child of mine,
your father and I have decided
to postpone our departure to
the Sanctum. We felt it would
be best if you had more time to
say your goodbyes. With that in
mind, your father has set up
some elaborate little traps for
you; with a little help.
Have fun, my little angel!"
A robotic voice speaks up behind Frisk, "your mom is really pretty… also scary."
Frisk is surprised by the voice, since they're still sleepy and not used to having Chara speak from the SOCDev yet. As a result, they are startled and squeak a little in surprise.
Chara responds, "hey what is with that reaction?!"
Frisk walks up to the SOUL carrier that has Chara in it and straps it on with an expressionless face, opting not to say anything due to embarrassment, and then goes out into the hall way.
They are not entirely sure what they expected… but this definitely wasn't it.
The hall way is absolutely covered in all sorts of devious looking traps and puzzles. Some of it reeks of Sans… 'I should probably put Sans' jacket away so it doesn't get ruined...'
Frisk swaps Sans' jacket for the Apron in their dimensional box, they feel significantly less safe now, but at least Sans' jacket won't get ripped. Frisk also decides to pull the stick out of their box, 'never know when it'll come in handy…'
Pockets: SnowPiece.
Box A: Ab Quiche, Hot Dog...?, Sans' Jacket, Ribbon.
Box B: Frying pan.
Equipped:
Stained Apron
Stick
Chara recommends, "Call it "Sa jacket."
To which Frisk asks, "why…?"
And Chara responds, "because it sa jacket!"
Frisk giggles a little and renames the item as recommended.
Pockets: SnowPiece.
Box A: Ab Quiche, Hot Dog...?, Sa Jacket, Ribbon.
Box B: Frying pan.
Equipped:
Stained Apron
Stick
Frisk looks down the hall and spots a sock in the middle of the floor with a big sign that says,
"DON'T PICK ME UP," with a smaller sign under it that Frisk can't read.
Carefully, Frisk makes their way out into the hallway. They test the floor for pitfalls before putting their full weight on it, until they remember that this hallway can't have pitfalls in it for structural reasons. The bear traps are particularly intimidating, but Frisk's small feet easily avoid setting them off.
Upon closer examination, however, it appears that the bear traps are no more than a diversion. They don't have springs or anything to snap them shut when triggered.
Chara's device says, "above!"
Frisk glances up and hops backwards as a magic pie falls from the roof onto the bear trap, which makes a sound that's followed by other sounds which all sound like… traps are being set off.
Frisk puts the stick in their pocket.
They proceed to sprint forward, hopping over obstacles and doing their best to dodge the magical pies that have suddenly started being flung all over the place. Frisk has a suspicion that both Sans and Toriel helped… They really like that, but it's a brutal combo.
Chara helps occasionally as Frisk dodges, saying the direction a pie is coming from, but occasionally they mess up. Several pies end up acting as a distraction for other pies, and eventually Chara's device is covered in pie bits. Frisk is hit in the face near the end, but otherwise it's mostly their sides that have taken the blows.
Finally at the two signs, Frisk reads the large one again because they see smaller text, it says:
"ONLY PICK UP THE SOCK."
The smaller sign says, "Behind you, punk!"
Frisk ducks and looks behind them, but there isn't anything there.
Suddenly a torrent of cyan spears rushes down the hallway from the direction of the signs and drenches Frisk and Chara in magic water. The hallway is sparkly clean now, and so is Frisk and the SOCDev holding Chara.
Frisk looks down to where the sock is suppose to be, but it's gone. 'must've gotten swept away with the wall of spears.'
The magic water fizzles away as Frisk continues through the hallway.
When they round the corner at the end of the hallway, they notice… more traps?
No, they are back at the opposite end of the hallway now, and the turn they just came from is a dead end.
Frisk sighs, "well, looks like this is gonna take some time…"
As they carefully go down the hallway, Frisk notices the sock is back where it was before.
Frisk mumbles, "Now I know why Papyrus is always so frustrated with Sans leaving socks all over the place; who knows what'll happen if I pick it up?"
Chara says, "my feet are cold, pick up the sock for me so I can wear it."
To which Frisk replies, "you don't even have feet!"
A strange sound comes from the SOCDev, which Frisk slowly realizes is a sort of chuckling sound.
With a huff, Frisk walks briskly through the hallway. Pies are flinging everywhere again, but Frisk doesn't try to dodge them. They are channelling their inner Papyrus.
When they approach the sock, they ignore what the signs say and instead use purple magic to write on the small one.
"Pick up your own socks, Sans!
-Love, Frisk."
Frisk braces for another barrage of watery spears… but nothing happens…
Chara advises, "When you turned around and ducked, you hit the sock with your foot. Pretty sure that triggered the spears."
With a straight face, Frisk proceeds down the hallway and takes care to avoid the sock.
They pick up the large sign, just in case.
Frisk notices that their shadow seems to be a bit darker than it should be, but realizes that it is just because of the lighting in the hallway.
Carefully, Frisk continues down the hall. As they approach the end of the hall, they look for signs of magic… but they don't see anything.
Frisk looks back and notices that something is written on the back of the small sign… they sigh and make their way back.
When Frisk reads the back of the sign they face-palm and sigh.
"NYEH HEH HEH!
MADE YOU LOOK!
-THE GREAT PAPYRUS."
Chara's device pipes up, "Heh, I would have told you, but I wanted to hear how you would react."
Frisk continues in silence, feigning absolute dignity and composure.
Back at the end of the hallway, Frisk thinks hard about what Sans would have the teleport trigger on…
Chara suggests, "maybe you should try walking backwards?"
Frisk almost objects, but realizes… that's just the sort of thing that Sans would do. He's always going in the wrong direction to get to the right places…
They examine the floor and note where the obstacles are, then turn backwards and begin walking…
It seems to work, and eventually they feel confident enough to turn around.
Frisk sees that they have indeed made it past the final trick; so they continue on and go to the lobby.
Upon arrival, Frisk sees their parents, and monster friends, lined up and waiting in the lobby… They decide to hand the sign to Sans, who smirks.
Curious, Frisk asks, "so uh… why… why are you all just standing in the lobby?"
Sans shrugs and replies after a moment, "no reason."
Frisk shrugs and goes into the kitchen… only to find themselves at the end of the hallway again.
:-:
Bernard is waiting in the lobby with Conrad, Sans, and Papyrus. Marceline is standing at the entry way to the kitchen with Toriel, sharing recipes; but Undyne and Alphys are no where to be seen.
After Conrad finishes talking about the elaborate tricks and traps they've placed in the hallway, Sans raises his hand.
The other three look to him in silence with questioning faces.
"frisky just wrote 'pick up your own socks, sans! -love frisk' on the small sign undyne made, should i have undyne spray 'em with water again?"
To which Papyrus jubilantly says, "ABSOLUTELY NOT! THEY ARE CORRECT SANS, YOU SHOULD PICK UP YOUR OWN SOCKS!"
Sans chuckles and pulls on a nearly invisible strand of magic, causing it to snap. "alrighty."
Bernard is still confused about all of it… so he asks again, "I- I'm sorry Conrad, I just don't understand. What exactly does Frisk need to do in order to get out of there?"
Before Conrad can answer, however, Sans raises his hand again and silences everyone.
"heh. the kid just took the sign that says 'don't pick me up'"
Papyrus grumbles…
"HMM… WELL, EVEN THOUGH THEY DID SO GOOD, THAT IS A VIOLATION. I SAY PUT THEM BACK!"
Conrad adds, "I think it is OK, what else are they doing?"
Sans replies, "well, they're approaching the end of the hallway… and now they're walking backwards around the corner. so far so good… now they're handing fake me the sign and just asked why everyone is standing around, no reason, and now they're walking to the kitchen."
Conrad thinks for a moment…
"hmmm… that is a violation, they need to ask their mother if breakfast is ready."
Sans snaps his fingers, "alright, they're back."
Bernard sighs, "poor Frisk, I hope they are not too upset when it's time for their lesson today."
Conrad pats him on the shoulder and reassures him gleefully, "no worries Bernard, Frisk will be a little frustrated, but Sans will put it to an end if Frisk stops having fun. Right Sans?"
Sans just nods, he's focused on maintaining the new Illusion now.
Bernard decides to go into the kitchen and prepare the meal he and Frisk will be eating after their surprise "Anime-Warrior-Princess" training today.
:-:
Frisk runs the gauntlet of pie-terror once again… They are getting better at navigating it, and they are not getting hit with nearly as many pies as at first.
They have started to notice really thin shiny strands all over the place, and it sees that stepping on those triggers the traps… somehow. Frisk can tell that a lot of magic is going into this, but they have no clue how it all works…
Chara says, "Hey Frisk, I know the perfect way to get Sans back… wanna hear it?"
Frisk stops mid-step, "yes."
:-:
After a few minutes, Frisk makes their way out to the lobby again; but this time everyone has changed where they are standing, and Alphys and Undyne seem to be coming from one of the downstairs rooms, giggling.
Frisk points at Sans with squinted eyes, saying, "you… I know it was all you!"
Sans shrugs and winks, while saying "I dunno what you mean, buddy."
Charging down the staircase, Frisk rushes up to Sans and uses their apron to try to catch him off-guard so they can pin him down and give him what Chara calls a "Noogie."
Unfortunately for Frisk, Sans is a step ahead and they find themselves in the position they wished to put Sans in.
After giving Frisk a noogie, Sans lets them go and pats them on the head, saying,
"gotta be faster than that."
With a huff, Frisk crosses their arms. They're feeling very expressive today, they're not sure why.
Sans glances at Frisk's feet for a moment, because something catches his eye, but doesn't see anything…
It confuses Frisk, but they don't look, in case he has some prank in mind.
Curious and hungry, Frisk asks "so… what's for breakfast?"
To which Bernard suddenly replies, "cold hard steel!… with a side of potatoes, some bacon, and two eggs. You'll be eating after your Anime-Warrior-Princess lesson, don't want you to get cramps."
Excited and surprised, Frisk looks over to where they heard Bernard and shouts, "Bernard!"
They run over to him with their arms out, and he lifts them up and spins around a little before setting them back down.
Frisk asks, curious, and excited,
"you're gonna give me another anime-warrior-princess training lesson?!"
To which Bernard nods and smiles, saying,
"yes, little warrior, I am going to give you another lesson. Are you ready to go?"
Frisk nods without hesitation, but then starts to think for a bit…
They look over to everyone else and notice that only Undyne and Alphys are left, seems everyone else went off to do their own thing.
Frisk knows how much they both love anime, so they ask,
"hey! Would you two like to watch my anime-warrior-princess lesson?"
Undyne reacts faster than Alphys, nearly shouting,
"WOULD I?! Of COURSE I would! …Uh, how about you babe? You wanna go too?"
Alphys is sceptical. There's no way the training Frisk does can be rightfully called "Anime-Warrior-Princess" training… but she decides… "s-sure, I'll go! I wouldn't mind watching how you got such good reflexes."
Frisk nods once swiftly,
"then it's decided! You should get some food. Saint Bernard! When are we gonna go?"
With a soft and deep chuckle, Bernard replies, "well, little warrior, we will leave when everyone is ready… but, are you sure they should come? The villagers won't take kindly to them."
Frisk pouts, but Undyne, being on her way to the Kitchen, pats Frisk on the head and points her thumb at her chest while saying, "don't worry Frisk! I won't let some punks get in the way of hanging out with you! It'll take a lot more than pitchforks and torches to scare the strongest fish!"
Frisk equips Sa Jacket… they feel safer now. They aren't sure if his jacket is enchanted, or if it's just his brotherly-ness making them feel better. Whatever it is, it's a welcome feeling.
As Bernard and Frisk wait patiently for Alphys and Undyne to make their meals to-go, Conrad and Marceline come downstairs in their training gear.
Marceline is still wearing a dress, but is now wearing a steel Cuirass, with plated gauntlets and a rapier on her side, and Conrad is wearing similar garb, but with dress pants and the addition of visible leg armour. Neither of them are wearing helmets.
Cheerfully, Conrad asks, "all ready to go?"
Bernard shakes his head and points to the kitchen,
"waiting for two more that will be joining us unexpectedly to get food."
Alphys and Undyne leave the kitchen with some wrapped up food.
Conrad says, "ah, well if those two are Alphys and Undyne, they appear to be ready!"
Undyne looks Conrad up and down and says, "sweet armour! You look classy, yet fierce, I like it!"
Conrad adjusts his armour proudly and begins to walk to the door.
"thank you, Undyne."
Bernard asks, "everyone ready?"
The group nods, almost in sync, and Frisk walks closer to him and grabs his hand.
With a smile, Bernard says, "very well then, let's go."
Marceline looks to the monster couple and adds on, with a subtly serious and sinister tone, "Alphys, Undyne, I am sure the guards will let you two borrow some armour; Frisk's training can get rather intense. Wouldn't want any accidental injuries."
Alphys gulps.
After that, the group slowly departs.
Pulling on Undyne's arm to stop her, Alphys says "o-on… s-second thought… m-maybe I wont go."
Undyne reassures her, "don't worry babe, I'm sure it'll be fine! She's probably just exaggerating. You know how eccentric the Addams' are!"
Alphys sighs, and says, "y-yea… you're probably right. OK! I'll go!"
Happy, Undyne pulls Alphys along saying "atta girl!"
:-:
Bernard, Conrad, and Marceline take up defensive positions around their two monster guests, much like a convoy for VIPs. It worries Frisk… 'have the humans really started to act more hostile to monsters?'
Frisk's grip tightens around a few of Bernard's fingers, which prompts him to look down and see their worried face.
In a reassuring tone, Bernard says, "we just want to be careful, Frisk. Not everyone is open to monsters being here yet. A few are starting to act more in favour of monsters, but it takes time. Most of the guards are in favour of monsters, especially those who end up being posted to help protect the Monster camp… Which has grown a lot, actually. Maybe we should go there later?"
Alphys speaks up, "I would like that! I haven't seen my f-friends in so long… I also want to see how much of the town is finished."
Bernard glances back and says, "Alright, I'll arrange for us to visit the monster camp after the lesson."
Alphys nods excitedly, then suddenly remembers something and pulls out her phone to send a message to someone.
As the group makes their way through the village, they see angry glances from some, scared glances from others, but they are met with a happy, welcoming, face occasionally as well.
Eventually the group arrives at the training yard, where a course is already set up.
Bernard holds his hand out to the group and says, "alright, hand me your meals and I'll put them in the fridge, then we can start when I get back… actually, Alphys, Undyne, you two come with me so we can get you some armour… Alphys your uh… it's going to be a bit difficult but we should be able to get something for you."
Alphys shivers slightly as she looks at the course… they were not exaggerating, it seems.
Undyne looks at the course with enthusiasm, as she walks with Bernard, and says, "man this is SO HARDCORE! Hey, Bernard, can I pick out the armour myself? I have my own set, but it's somewhere in the monster camp."
Bernard replies thoughtfully, "of course, light armour I assume?"
Undyne scoffs, "HAH! LIGHT ARMOUR IS FOR SISSIES! I want THICK HEAVY STEEL to protect my RIPPED body!" She then starts flexing in a similar fashion as Aaron would… Alphys, embarrassed, turns her head away and covers her face as she blushes.
Bernards laughs heartily as he guides them into the armoury.
:-:
While those three are getting armour and putting away the food, Frisk spends a few minutes to look over the course…
'Let's see… some pretty standard stuff here, a tight rope as usual, some fake trees, a few traps, a few platforms to get up onto… looks like one is s et up to break … a wide open space in the middle as usual… but what is that?'
Frisk wanders closer to the strangely shaped obstacle, then hop backwards quickly when it moves.
'It looks like one of the training dummies for the guards… but something's different … I wonder, who' s making it move ?'
Before Frisk can get a closer look, however, Bernard and Undyne come out of the armoury.
Undyne is wearing a set of armour similar to her own, but with a much more rugged/worn look to it. It also looks lighter and easier to move in than her heavy anime-inspired set.
Alphys exits wearing… Her lab coat?
Curious, Frisk asks, "is Alphys going to go back to the manor?"
Alphys answers for herself, "n-no! I am just going to stay behind Undyne. I refuse to wear armour made for a pony…"
Frisk snickers and puts Sans' Jacket away, but keeps the SOCDev on.
Bernard steps into the middle of the clearing. Marceline and Conrad move to each side of him.
Concerned at the fact that it appears they are about to start, Alphys says,
"Uh… wait! Frisk doesn't have any armour!"
The three adults draw their swords and Bernard states, "that is correct."
With a focused and serious face, Frisk adds in a grim voice, "Armour is for sissies."
Undyne becomes as stiff as a post and a chagrined look overtakes her previously confident grin, but it's hidden by her helmet.
Hurt, Undyne begins to yell out "WHAT-" but is interrupted as a guard tosses a sword to Frisk, who catches it and darts forward with a wide swing.
They are so low to the ground that the adults are unable to reliably counter without sticking their swords into the dirt, which they avoid doing since they don't want to damage their swords.
Frisk slips between Bernard's legs, but continues forward and jumps up onto one of the platforms.
Marceline and Conrad turn swiftly and swing, but Frisk holds their sword vertically and stops the blows before hopping back and moving to a more advantageous position.
With a leap, Frisk thrusts downward towards Bernard.
Bernard, having not moved since the start of the training, side steps faster than Undyne thinks should be possible with his heavy armour.
Disappointed, Bernard remarks, "Tsk tsk… Frisk, the same tactics as always."
A flurry of swings and stabs from the parent duo pushes Frisk back, who has to leap and flip in various ways to dodge them all in addition to using their short sword to deflect some of the strikes.
Undyne is perplexed at first by the thought of a child's parents attacking them, but soon realizes that Frisk's parents always seem to stop short or purposefully miss.
Despite their care in making sure they don't hit Frisk, however, Frisk's arm is nicked by a lunge from Conrad as they fail to keep their balance due to the SOCDev.
Combat pauses and Bernard comments,
"your reflexes are getting slower, Frisk. Do you need a bandaid?"
Frisk looks to their arm… they didn't even notice at first because of how sharp the blades are; fortunately it's just a scratch… unfortunately this is their favourite shirt.
Frisk replies, "no, the SOCDev is just slowing me down… that's all. I'm gonna have to get used to it if I'm going to carry it around till we can save them."
Chara doesn't say anything… They don't really feel guilty, but they think they should.
Bernard, with a low and serious voice, replies, "very well then, let us proceed…"
Combat continues. Frisk does their best to utilize the environment to gain an advantage over their larger opponents… until the puppet starts moving.
The battle is now four against one, as the Wälder beast shaped dummy moves into the field… far more than the normal dummies would. Frisk's first thought is 'how did they convince Mad Dummy to haunt that?' but they realize that Mad Dummy would probably love to haunt something that looks so fearsome.
They push their thoughts aside, however, as now their foes have changed tactics with the introduction of the fourth opponent… so they have to come up with a new strategy.
Alphys, watching from behind Undyne, is filled with a sense of terror and awe as she sees Frisk run around the arena, flip, dodge, and attack with their short sword in ways reminiscent of the anime shows she likes to watch.
Undyne feels… Hurt. She's got a look of utter disbelief. 'There is no way that punk , who refused to hurt anyone, is this good at combat! Did… Did they never take me as a serious threat?'
Undyne is glad she has full plate armour, as there are several instances where debris flies at them and stray attacks glance off her armour. Alphys, while hiding behind Undyne, gets her finger caught in a part of Undyne's armour… she doesn't want to mention it yet.
In an attempt to catch their opponents off guard, Frisk uses the trapped platform to their advantage, by hoping up to it in such a way that they will land, and retain their bearings, then strike unexpectedly.
It succeeds, and they take the dummy by surprise. The dummy pretends to be dead, and Napstablook floats out to watch on the side lines with Undyne and Alphys.
"oooooohh… … … i hope i did ok… … i'm not really good at fighting… i don't like it… … … …"
Undyne, surprised that Napstablook would have agreed to something like this, comments,
"you did AWESOME, don't worry about it!"
Napstablook considers this as combat continues, then replies, "it was more fun than i expected… but… i think i'll stick with making music… … … ooooooooohhh… … … … i hope that's ok… … … … … … … … ooohhh i hope they weren't hoping i'd keep doing that… … …"
Alphys reassures him, "don't worry Napstablook, I'm sure they'll understand."
Napstablook responds, "… … … … … … thanks undyne, alphys… … … … i'm gonna go… … … I want to work on my music… … … …" and then fades away.
:-:
A couple hours pass, and the signs of fatigue are visible on all three participants. Frisk earned a few more scrapes (mostly from the environment), and their parents earned more than their fair share as well…
Bernard is the only one in the group without so much as a mark on his armour.
In their final play, Frisk switches their technique… they have a crazy, anime inspired, thing they want to try. They are sure it will fail, but they will have fun either way.
They stand upright, instead of keeping themself low to the ground, and run forward at Bernard.
Bernard twists his sword and swings the flat side down at them, but Frisk does a twisting flip suddenly and lands on the sword, forcing it down… but now their back is facing him… so they quickly leap with a spin while swinging in an upwards crescent. Frisk adjusts their sword mid flight so that the flat side will hit Bernard instead of the edge.
After it makes contact with Bernard's face, Frisk's parents put their swords away and begin clapping.
Bernard wipes a bit of blood off of his cheek, because Frisk's sword nicked him, and pats Frisk on the head.
"I've nothing left to teach you, little warrior."
Bernard bows respectfully, Frisk mimics him.
The group heads back inside… and Alphys can't stop fangirl-ing over the whole thing.
When she asks where Bernard learned all of his sword play, he replies, "well… the whole story is a little embarrassing, but I learned from the last Kendo master… He was more than just a Kendo master though, that is just the only specific name I remember… he was a master in many forms of combat. A Samuur… Uh. Sameuraye…"
Alphys pipes up, "A SAMURAI?!"
Bernard chuckles, a little embarrassed, "yea… A Samurai, but he expanded his mastery outside of the traditional styles. He was truly Japan's greatest warrior."
Alphys begins hoping up and down excitedly, "OMG OMG OMG OMG! THISISJUSTLIKE ANIME!"
Bernard scratches the back of his head, "if you say so… Anyhow, I am best with… e-eye-jut-sue"
Alphys, being a mega anime nerd, corrects him, "you mean Iaijutsu? That's the 'Art of the Draw!'"
The two continue to talk about Bernard's training while Frisk is patched up by Undyne…
She looks… disappointed?
Frisk asks, "was it not as cool as you thought it'd be?"
Undyne, looks to the side, and says, "Honestly? I can't believe how good you are at combat… but, you never… you never fight back. I bet… I bet you could've killed every single monster in the Underground if you wanted to… You could have committed genocide… but you didn't… So uhh… anyway! When did you start training?"
Frisk thinks for a bit… "Well… I was six when I first started training, and with all the fun traps and stuff we set up around the house… I've basically been training every day since then! I only know how to fight so that I can stop people from fighting. If you know how to fight, it is easier to stop fighting."
Undyne hides her shock with a smile, "SIX?! You've only been training for TWO years?! What the heck!?"
Frisk giggles a little, they are used to reactions like that. They have always been seen as an odd child… They have always been treated cautiously.
Hesitantly, Undyne asks, "So… Uh… Frisk… in the Underground when I tried to fight you… did you…?"
Patiently waiting, Frisk looks at her questioningly.
Undyne finishes healing Frisk and moves away a little… "did you consider me a threat… at all?"
Frisk replies without hesitation, "of course I did! Why do you think I ran away?! You were wearing that huUUGE set of armour! It was so intimidating!"
Not really convinced, Undyne remarks, "yea but… well… maybe I'm just over thinking it. I guess… really I am kinda taking a step back and realizing… all the stuff I did wrong… I try to be the best warrior I can, but… I guess I still have a lot to learn."
Frisk pats Undyne on the back, "it's OK! Everyone makes mistakes. C'mon, let's go eat! Then we can watch some Anime on the only working TV!… That is what me and Katsuro… used to do…"
Undyne notices that Frisk's mood has dropped considerably and tries to distract them,
"Yea! We can do that. How about we get Alphys to join? You can show her what REAL anime is!"
Frisk thinks for a moment, then replies, "yea, she does have questionable choices in anime…"
Chara concurs, but doesn't say anything… 'Mew Mew Kissey Cutie 2 is way better than MMKC 1!'
* The desire to keep Katsuro's memory alive fills Frisk with… Determination.
* FILE SAVED.
:-:
Sans, hidden from sight of the group, rounds a corner and vanishes as the group goes into the dining hall to eat.
His suspicions are correct… Frisk has… something following them. Unfortunately, Sans can't determine what exactly it is without raising an alarm… and who knows how it'll react to being openly discovered?
Approaching the door to his room in the Manor, Sans activates a hidden menu and selects a destination… The dancing flames under his door shift, and he enters… "(hey, papyrus…)"
:-:
In Marceline's study, just after the others leave, Toriel is pacing, unsure how to approach the situation, while Asgore sits in a chair.
Asgore is shocked, relieved, worried, and confused… 'How could… Chara…? After so long… Yet… They… do not want us to know… Do… Do they hate us? Were we bad parents?'
Toriel stops pacing and turns to Asgore, "I cannot forget the past, even if it is for our child's sake… I do not think… I do not think it would be wise to have them go back and forth between houses either… But we cannot stay at the Addamses forever, no matter how welcoming they are…"
Some more pacing, followed by another thought, "I suggest… I suggest we move to the Monster camp when Frisk leaves for the Sanctum. The monsters need a proper leader, and I… I should have never left… Are you going to say anything? Or just keep day dreaming like a helpless whelp?"
Asgore doesn't respond immediately. He's feeling an immense amount of self loathing… images of all the human children he has slain flit through his mind, their hopeless faces haunt him.
When he gains clarity, Asgore responds, "we must find a way to make up for our crimes."
Angry at the accusation that she has committed any crimes, Toriel retorts,
"you have to make up for your crimes, don't drag me down with you Asgore Dreemurr. You declared war! You killed those children!"
Asgore has been spending a lot of time with Conrad and Marceline… He has found counselling of sorts in them, and it has changed his perspective…
Morosely, Asgore responds, "no. You abandoned your people. You could have tried harder to stop those children, and you did not. You could have-"
Toriel, with tears in her eyes, slaps Asgore across his face and moves to leave the room.
Asgore says in a whisper, "Frisk reminded me… something I had failed to remember on my own… The children… every single one of them… was someone else's Chara… someone else's Asriel."
Toriel stops with her hand on the doorknob… and whispers back, " do you think I do not already know that? I was … I am a mother." Then leaves the room.
:-:
After eating and watching some Anime DVDs, Frisk and crew get ready to go to the Monster camp.
Alphys looks at her phone questioningly… she is expecting a reply to her earlier message, but none have been received. 'dang it Sans, did you lose your cellphone again?'
Frisk sees Alphys looking at her phone and remembers… "Oh hey! Alphys! We should give the guards cellphones! That could help them trust us more, and will help with defence efforts."
Caught off guard, Alphys responds, "O-oh! Y-yea that would be a good idea!"
Frisk continues, "yea, and I had a small request I'd like to make… A… certain someone is really shy, and they want to know if you can make something that can let them talk to only me."
Alphys isn't paying much attention, she's looking on the Undernet to see signs of activity from Sans, "Mhm, sure."
Conrad approaches the two and places his hands on their shoulders, "all ready?"
Frisk nods with a slight smile.
Alphys, hesitantly, says, "uh… yea, I guess," and then takes one more look at her phone before putting it away.
The group makes their way through the village again, this time heading to the Eastern gate.
Alphys and Undyne receive distrustful stares… but it slowly begins to escalate.
At first it is just small pebbles, nothing too harmful, but eventually they start throwing golf-ball sized rocks.
The party does their best to ignore them, but a stray stone hits Frisk.
Angry, Bernard yells out, "are you done throwing stones? You've hit a child! Begone!"
The men throw a few more stones, not feeling threatened by Bernard
Another stray stone hits Frisk… their shadow shifts in a strange way.
Bernard draws his sword, "all of you are going to suffer the consequences if you continue! I swear I will exclude your families from the first harvest!"
Indignant one man shouts, "You're nothin' but a damn monst'r symp'thizer! You ought t'be striped of yo'r title!" And then throws one final stone.
Bernard steps in the way of the stone, but Frisk's shadow extends to his, then impales the stone… and its thrower.
The man is standing in shock, holding his chest where the shadow is turning his flesh to Dust.
Those around him are also in shock, but a few throw rocks even more vigorously while others try to help the man.
All of the stones are stopped mid air, however, as they are impaled with a shadow as deep as a moonless night…
Frisk and Bernard's shadows warp and twist more… until a figure splits off from them and their shadows return to normal.
The shadow rises from the ground, its dark form appearing flat but taking on a small humanoid form. Its eyes and mouth are only visible because they are even darker than the rest of its body, as though the void itself is staring at them.
Everyone is caught off guard by the turn of events, and viewing the creature has caused them all to go stiff due to sheer terror.
* A VOICE IS HEARD CLEARLY THROUGH THE VOID
"Monsters? Them? I think you are confused, human. I'M THE MONSTER HERE. "
:-:
Frisk recognizes the voice, its CU-270. 'How… How did he…? Is the barrier down? Is the Horror dead?'
"Worry not, humans. Your reaction to me is only natural… NOW DIE."
:-:
CU-270's shade appears to begin an attack, but Frisk yells, "Stop!" And it stops… As does Time.
Confused, the shade turns and approaches Frisk, though it doesn't need to.
"These threatened you and your friend's lives, and yet you want me to spare them?"
:-:
Frisk nods.
The shade does not seem to respond for a time…
"Very well."
:-:
Frisk suddenly feels… strange. They can't quite describe it…
* FILE LOADED.