Chapter 17: First Resurrection
They started onto the board walk when sudden light neon blue circles started to surround them. Terror seized Kia's barely functioning heart when spears spikes up all around them. It was a blur to her after that. There was a lot of running, harsh breathing, and near heart attacks at the close calls. At the end of the board walk was dark nothing. It was just a drop off into darkness and rushing water.
Kia stood before Frisk with the intention of protecting her child but that only got the point of Undyne's flying spear slicing off the board walk behind her. Kia turned in time to see Frisk's terrified expression before she jumped after them, just narrowly missing Undyne's grab for her arm. Kia skydived after her child and pulled them towards her. They clung to each other for dear life. Kia couldn't think anymore as they turned in dizzying spirals in the void filled with rushing air.
Suddenly, the ground found them and Kia landed under her child with a loud CRUNCH.
Why? What did we do to deserve this? Do our SOULS have to do ANYTHING other than who we are?
I winced at the cracks and chokes I could hear from the examination room down the hall. Sudden silence had shut my eyes in resignation with another SOUL freed and one SOUL scarred even further. The doors opened to see a strait jacketed and muzzled Experiment DETERMINATION being led by three extremely muscled men. I peered at her through my crossed arms atop my knees to see past her curtain of limp sweated hair hiding her expression. The shadows under eyes had darkened again under her dull eyes. I looked away as the rattle of the bars opened and closed around her cell across from mine.
A strangled scream caught my attention as one of the burly men had tried to do something to the breaking woman and paid for it with his fingers. DT stood solidly before the hunched man before she powered kicked him out of her cell and slammed the door closed with her foot before the others could recover from their dog pile.
Shivers passed down my spine when I noticed her expression hadn't changed in the slightest. The mentioned men stood and sneered at her as they rattled her bars in jeers before leaving, bored of her lack of reaction. Some shuffling came from the other cells, but it soon stopped as she slowly perched herself on her cot to stare at the opposing concrete wall.
Silence reined the area.
I looked again and suddenly caught her eyes. They looked like two voids staring right through me. It was extremely unnerving. I attempted to give a small smile in reassurance, to convey that everything will be alright in the end. That is was going to okay. Mumbles and whispers echoed softly throughout the prison. Either to share information or to ask if she was alright, she didn't acknowledge anyone.
Her expression stayed the same. As if she couldn't muster any energy to form the emotions to be a human being. As much as I am scared for my life and my sister's livelihood back home, I am terrified for this woman who has to face this pain and sorrow and responsibility every day.
He cried for her.
He wished he could help her … to protect her … instead of her protecting all us.
Why? Why her? What did she do to deserve this?
Vision slowly returned to her as she woke to pain. Where was she? Was she still in the cell? Soft sobbing was heard. Was it K4, uh, Kai again? Why? She has killed so many. She doesn't deserve anyone's tears and sorrow.
Kia slowly came to awareness. Rushing water was close by. The sobbing continued along with timid touches to her face. Soft crinkles of something and groan of wood the shifting of weight resulted.
"Mommy," A small voice warbled, "please, please wake up! Don't leave me like Daddy did."
Kia gasped for air as she immediately recognized that small voice she hasn't heard for so long. Frisk. Frisk! She need to GET UP! Pain shot up her spine and the back of her ribs as she creaked on her shaking arm bones to sit up to properly face Frisk and sooth their fears. Small arms wrapped themselves around her middle as Frisk's Face vanished in the front of her shirt as they sobbed in earnest.
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Sans panted out of breathe as he finally short cut to where Kia and Frisk were supposed to be, only to see a frustrated and confused Undyne up ahead on the docks. Sans stood to catch his breath as the Head of the Royal Guard approached at an increased pace. When the Captain finally stomped up to Sans, Sans was relieved to see that she was unsuccessful in her capture. Things are going along the appropriate flow.
"Sans," Undyne barked behind her helmet, "Out of the way! I have a Human SOUL to collect and a Monster to save!"
Sans was able to side step Undyne's focused charge off the docks. Sans looked after her and shrugged. He started on the way across the docks to view the scene below. When he got to the sliced off part, he looked down in the darkness. A bit of magic will allow him to see and hear what is going on down there.
Sobbing was the first sound he heard before he saw Frisk bent over the body of an unresponsive skeleton. He suddenly felt bad for the kid. Taking a closer look, his nonexistent breath stopped in his nonexistent lungs. Lying under Frisk wasn't a skeleton monster but a human corpse with a dripping broken Human SOUL slowly leaving the body. With the way her arms were positioned around Frisk, he could only assumed that she took the fall's hit herself to save Frisk.
Sudden feeling slowly wormed its way out of his SOUL at the sight. Shaking his head, he tried to access her STATs.
KIA 0/320 LV 41
WHAT?! How is this possible? Everyone is accounted for. There weren't any rumors of a murderous Lady Skeleton or Human Child killing any monsters. Neither of them should have killed a Monster.
His questioned was soon answered by Frisk's impossibly sad and small voice.
"Mommy, please, please wake up! Don't leave me like Daddy did."
Frisk was in pain. They are hurting. They're suffering. Kia is making Frisk suffer in sacrificing herself to save her child, leaving them alone with Survivor's Guilt. Sans wilted and hunched in second hand pain for the kid. This was too familiar to him.
KIA 1/320 LV 41
What? What is going on?
Sans' left eye blazed with magic as the impossible started to happen.
Kia's SOUL was mending itself and being reabsorbed into her corpse as she struggled to sit up with shattered or fractured bones.
KIA 5/320 LV 41
KIA 10/320 LV 41
KIA 15/320 LV41
KIA 20/320 LV 41
Kia's empty eye sockets blazed to life with two solid crimson eye lights and bone eye lids. Her once harden bone features softened with magic give her expression and the illusion of flesh refilling her clothes. The expression of fierce DETERMINATION and affection and sorrow was terrifying.
This was nothing like Genocide Frisk. They would go back to their last SAVE Point. They went back in time to come back from the dead. Kia came back through sheer force of will. What is keeping her alive? The Will to Live? Sans doesn't believe that one bit.
Suddenly, the SAVE Point a couple of feet away from them disappears. Sans get a start. Where did it go? Sans strains his eye a little more. Wisps of multicolored vapors were flowing from the SAVE Point's location. Then more wisps of magic from far off distance he couldn't see were being sucking into her very SOUL. Multiple colors glowed between the cracks of her bleeding SOUL helped in the flow by being the vacuum, healing her bit by bit as she tried to calm the hysterically relived and happy Frisk. Sans stared at her SOUL closer.
The pit in a stomach he doesn't have dropped when he saw broken Human SOULS tucked within her vibrant RED SOUL.
Then out of nowhere, a large orb of pearly white magic hurled itself from up above into Kia, making her gasp in Frisk's embrace. Her appearance went from freshly dead human corpse to healthily alive Skeleton Monster. The multiple colors faded back within her SOUL as their job was done.
Sans fell to his knees at the edge of the air and darkness as his magic gave out under the strain. His sweat rained down his skull. His breathe was lost. Quite honestly, he didn't know what to think anymore. Questions and thoughts jumbled about within his skull looking for some semblance of a thought process or some kind of order.
Far below, Kia stood on shaky knee caps as Frisk clung to her like a bur on an animal's fur. Frisk had a koala hold on Kia so the mother wrapped her arms around the distraught child and held them close. Unknown to either of them, a forgotten poltergeist was done being ignored.
They waded through the low water between trash piles to continue travels, passing the empty SAVE Point spot.
Chara slipped from Frisk's healthy, whole SOUL over the short distance to the exhausted broken red SOUL of Kia. They grinned as they settled over the returning SOUL. Slowly, but surely, they drank in the excess DETERMINATION. They shall soon be strong enough to influence and maybe even take over this host.
Soon