Chapter 18: The Heavy Drudged Up
Kia was exhausted.
She was currently battling Mad Dummy. Well, an aggravated ghost hosting inside of a burlap training dummy with no arms and only a stool to stand on. It was currently doing an armless ska dance apparently, but an exhausted Kia was a grumpy Kia. By the time the Mad Dummy was ready to use its knife, Kia was done with this battle. She just wanted to crawl somewhere safe, cuddle with Frisk, and just go to sleep!
Kia dodged the poorly thrown knife. Grabbing the hilt of slow moving knife, she stopped before she could jab the hilt of the blade onto the FIGHT button. Something snapped, but it wasn't the button. Brow bones furrowed. What happened? Kia lifted the inches away hilt and used her other hand to SPARE the Mad Dummy. It… wasn't her turn. He looked incredibly nervous.
"I'm… out of knives."
He started to spaz out. His three parts flew all around as he gets madder and angrier. Kia was just staring at him blankly, just waiting for him to be done with tantrum.
"BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! YOU CAN'T HURT ME AND I CAN'T HURT YOU! YOU'LL BE STUCK FIGHTING ME…"
He paused. He seemed to calm down. Kia squinted at him.
"Forever. Forever! FOREVER!"
He stated to discombobulate all over again laughing hysterically as Kia knocked her knuckles against the bridge of her nose and sighed. She shifted so her weight would sit on one leg as she waited impatiently for the Mad Dummy to calm down a bit. So far, it wasn't happening.
Kia inspected the knife in her hand as the Mad Dummy continues to spaz. Kia tried to open her hand or at least loosen her grip on the dang thing, but her hand refused. Warning bells rang off through her mind. Something was wrong.
Frisk had plastered themselves against the wall of the BATTLE area. They have been looking for ways to get past the barrier, but so far they haven't come up with any ideas. Chara was nowhere to be found, and Frisk felt especially lonely and lost without their friend beside them.
Frisk sighed in relief as Napstablook came in with his magical tears attack. Frisk dashed over to glop onto their Mom as the Barrier finally fell. Kia's arm had instinctively folded behind her to support Frisk's sudden piggy back ride. Kia looked uncomfortable with Napstablook's low self-esteem. Frisk smiled and waved hello was their friend over their Mom's shoulder.
"well… i'm going to head home now… oh… um… feel free to 'come with' if you want… but no pressure… i understand if you're busy… it's fine… no worries… just thought i'd offer…"
He flouted away up the ramp. Frisk patted their Mom on the shoulder and pointed after the ghost. Kia took a moment but shrugged. She was too tired to think anymore. Plus she needed to focus on forcing her hand to let go of the damn knife without Frisk knowing it was a struggle to begin with.
"We were invited. Let's go."
Sloshing through the water onto the ramp, they came to see Napstablook beyond a pond of water and a SAVE point. He turned to direct them to his house and left. Frisk slid down to touch the star before Kia could crush and absorb it. Kia stumbled awake from her daze and smiled down at Frisk. The knife fell to the floor next to the pond. Kia nudged it into the water with a plop.
Frisk smiled back and began to explore around the area with Kia in tow. They had seen a duck that could only take one across, a fish house with a training dummy in front, and a really small snail farm. There wasn't much to do at the farms other than to lose money to an inadequate racing snail. Speaking of money how did this much gold end up in Kia's bag? Was it really from winning the BATTLES she had with all the monsters she has encountered? Is this some kind of game to them where they give a reward for being defeated? This is ridiculous! Kia just couldn't understand.
Eventually, they ended up on the floor of Napstablook's house after listening to some spook tunes, attempting to eat a ghost sandwich, and awkwardly chatting with the depressive DJ ghost. While Napstablook and Frisk were experiencing something cosmic, Kia had fallen asleep uncomfortably on the hard floor.
Kill them
What?
Kill them
Why?
…
Sudden images of her opponents during her time as a test subject flashed through her mind's landscape. Terror, guilt and … relief filled my body after ending each life.
Stop it
Their eye glazed over. Their floating SOULs shattering. Blood stained her trembling fists. A sense of peace and acceptance suddenly forced its way into her heart.
STOP IT!
Running through the grass with K4 behind her, mutant humans with tortured animal SOULs fused into them chased after them, searching, hunting for their blood, their bodies, their SOULs. A squawk and screech sounded from above and behind the trees they had just escaped from. Green filled her vision as they stopped before a cliff. A large orange humanoid bird flapped just behind them above in the air as a lion growled and whined just below, mad without reasoning. The bird thing let out a squawk of pain before diving for them. The lion roared and charged half hearted. The used to be in the cells across from K4 and DT.
No
They were flying through the air. Feathers in their terrified grips. Roars echoed weakly behind them as another life was taken slowly for survival.
No more … please…
A coo of understanding and fluttering could be heard before warm thick liquid ran in rivers down her hands. A gentle sad smile turned wide and full of teeth with pain. Salty rivers passed down dirty cheeks as K4 heaved behind a bush behind her. The sensation of what she was doing was right welled within her once again. It was sickening.
… please …
Kia was surround by unconscious bodies of their previous torturers. She held onto Kai as he smiled at her with that small genuine smile of his. He always tried so hard to cheer her up. She couldn't tear up; because, she trying so hard to stop the bleeding, to try to save the life in front of her. She hoped with all her might that he will make it until the ambulance came. She was DETERMINED. His eyes glazed over. Peace and calm forced it's way into her heart, her SOUL. Kia refused. Stop! STOP it! Why! WHY is it always like this?! WHY CAN'T I FEEL!
…
Make them suffer as much as you did. I know how you feel when you killed them. Make yourself feel better!
Something wasn't right. Intruder. Intruder! INTERUDER!
WHO ARE YOU?!
Kia woke up in sweat with maniac giggles echoing around her skull. Suddenly she noticed that she was clinging to something really soft. Eye sockets snapping open as she instantly released the flustered ghost, Kia sat up in a startle. Looking around in fluster and embarrassment, Kia's eye lights focused on the giggling of Frisk as they held their stomach tight. Kia sighed in relief. She gave a half-hearted glare at her child before turning to Napstablook. He looked to have a blush and didn't really look at her when she apologized for the embarrassing situation. He just shrugged off her apology, and then admitted meekly that it wasn't so bad.
Flustered and blushing, Kia lead the amused Frisk out the door after a few polite moments of saying 'See Ya Later.' It wasn't until we were outside that Kia noticed that Frisk had tuned in some of the DJ Ghost's music. Soon after leaving a tunnel out into the other larger area, Kia encountered Aaron and Woshua. It was, uh interesting to say the least.
Moving on to the left, Kia entered shop with Frisk to buy some food. A couple of bottles of Sea Tea and a dozen of Crab Apples later they left to continue down the tunnel. Eventually, they found more History Tablets on the wall.
'Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell. Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful SOUL can leave.'
They were nearing a water fall and a pool to cross over, surrounded by echo flowers.
'There is only one way to reverse this spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human SOULs, attacks the barrier … it will be destroyed.'
Frisk was quiet was they treaded through the water. A reluctant chime echoed around the rush of water and their splashes.
"Mom, do you think we can help them?"
Kia stayed quiet for a moment longer. Her shoulders seemed to be weighed down even more than before. Weight of her memories, weight of protecting, weight of promises, and the weight of LOVE … and love held up less and less surely.
They passed another tablet. This tablet was more opinionated and bleak than all the others.
"But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped down here forever."
"I don't know, but if there is a way, I'm sure we'll find it."