Chapter 7: Go Team AJ!
Sergio made it back to the underground, slowed only by the newly-felt weight of the current circumstances. He was still reeling over the fact that Asriel was telling the truth the entire time. What the prince did in order to catch the other human was still crazy, but Sergio couldn't honestly say that it wasn't justified to some extent.
Now the hood rat had a difficult choice to make. By turning in video evidence, it could have been implied that Asriel didn't care so much about anonymity. If Sergio showed the video to Asgore, the king may have put some qualms to rest knowing that it was his son up on the surface.
The downside? Asgore would have known that it was his son up on the surface. This could have raised more questions in the king, as well as Toriel. How was it that their son was still alive? What could he have been doing instead of reuniting with his parents? More importantly, how long did Sergio know about Asriel's survival without telling anybody?
Tobias was an entirely different matter. Based on what he'd heard from the two goat monsters, the king and queen of old loved the first fallen human as one of their own. Brotherly quarrels were far from unheard of in the modern family, but few had the undertones of deception and political corruption like this.
The alternative was to not tell Asgore. The king would remain wholly unaware of the situation and continue to have faith that Sergio would uncover the fugitive's identity sooner or later. Nevertheless, there was a limit to even the most virtuous king's patience, and Asgore was far from worthy of that epithet.
"Hey, Sergio, didja hear?" said Undyne, practically jumping on her feet. "We've finally gained some footing with the city government! The mayor set up a meeting with Asgore!"
Sergio merely showed a ghost of a smile. "Yeah, I heard," he replied, his voice comparatively calmer.
Asgore stood in the middle of the throne room, watching the news on his projection screen. He frowned upon seeing Sergio's expression. "Are you not happy that we've made such progress?"
"Ay, progress is good and all, but somethin's fishy wit how DeMarco gave 'is announcement. I ain't see too much a' his speeches or nothin', but the way he spoke and acted today was a little off. It look like he was real reluctant ta open dialogue wit you."
"Well, politicians must make compromises sometime," Asgore surmised, sipping his tea. "Perhaps someone in the city council was able to convince him."
"I don't think so, Asgore; dude's opinion changed ovanight. Only thang that can get politicians ta change they opinion is wit cash or threats. What I saw in the press conference today confirmed that it wasn't cash, othawise he wouldn'ta looked so shook."
Asgore raised an eyebrow, stroking his beard. "I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary during the conference, but I'll take your word for it. If that were the case, what do you think may have caused it? The fugitive?"
Sergio could have honestly responded with a resounding no, but he knew that, family reunions aside, Asgore would have wanted to focus on politics first and foremost. He then realized that, though he disassociated himself from the title of "politician," he was really thinking like one in recent days. It wasn't enjoyable to keep secrets from Asgore and Toriel that would have changed their lives for the better. With that in mind, Sergio still put the needs of the monsters as a society first.
"I dunno," he responded, shrugging. "It's possible."
"Even if the fugitive didn't use the most moral of means, he deserves a medal," Undyne commented. "I mean, he's done in one night what we couldn't do in two weeks. If he's done anything to tip the scales in our favor, we should take advantage of it while we still can. Maybe that's why he escaped, to further support his civilization."
"That's easy ta say now, but even I knew somethin' was up wit the conference, and I ain't a real professional in readin' suckas' faces. Once othas start ta get suspicious, they gon' start an investigation. Once that get announced, people will start pointin' fingas at the 'Free the Monstas' campaign." The room was silent with Sergio's assertion, the monsters in deep thought.
He continued, "All I'm sayin' is, somethin'll hit the fan. You betta prepare a strong case for when that happens."
"Duly noted, Sergio. Have you made any progress on the fugitive?"
Sergio blinked. "Nah. Oldboy's still at large."
Asgore hmmed in slight annoyance. Whether it was directed at Sergio or to the fugitive, the human couldn't say.
"So what's the plan fa now?" Sergio asked.
"I suppose it's best to remain vigilant, but we must not lose a crucial asset. Until we know for sure that the fugitive is hindering our cause, do not impede his work. I will handle whatever the mayor might have in store for me."
. . .Asgore confirmed a town hall meeting with DeMarco the next day via phone call, and news of this spread everywhere. Similar to the Free the Monsters campaign video, it had garnered overwhelming support from the humans. Asgore may not have successfully convinced DeMarco to chat with him (by himself), but he cemented the monsters' status as the underdogs. Emphasis on "under."
There was tons of opposition as well, but almost none from the local channels. It didn't take much digging to find anti-monster sentiment on the internet from..."alternative" news sources.
Sergio had a morbid curiosity later that day and searched "free the monsters campaign" on Google. The top autocomplete suggestions were "real," "fake," "hoax," "conspiracy," and "advertisement." Sergio wondered if Alphys was aware of many of the popular opinions found on the web.
He didn't bother showing the Asriel video to Sans. After thinking about it, Sergio himself couldn't decide whether or not the video was real. Video effects worked wonders these days, and there was no telling what Asriel did to make a convincing video to help whatever cause he was fighting for. The blurry video quality and the rain didn't help Flower Boy's case, either.
The human didn't forget about Asriel's request for him to help find Tobias, yet he disregarded it. Flower Boy didn't present hard enough evidence to prove Tobias's current existence, and the monster was the one responsible for DeMarco's shift in behavior as far as Sergio knew. There was no telling what trap Asriel planned to lead Sergio into, especially considering the L he took in the underground some time ago.
Plagued by indecision, Sergio decided to sleep it off until the next day, thankful he didn't have to dress up this time.
. . ....then he got to thinking. Why couldn't he pull up to Asriel? It wasn't as if he was giving credence to the possibility of this Tobias character actually existing. Not that he'd admit it, at least. But several things were working against your local hood rat.
One, the fact that Asriel actually had something to present to him the day he needed to. Thinking about it, there was little chance he headed back to the underground to get that flash drive, much less fabricate the video. Somehow, some way, Flower Boy got the recording of him taking a fat L from some stranger at someone's house.
Two, Sans's words still rang through his mind. The skeleton advised Sergio to give Asriel a chance to prove himself. Looking at it objectively, the goat hadn't done anything to prove that he was unworthy of trust after he came out of his flower-turned-demon-goat form. A lot of his friends from the underground had presented reasons why he shouldn't have trusted them. Heck, Asgore was legit gonna kill Sergio in cold blood had Toriel not intervened. Toriel showed that she could be trusted, but his trust in the motherly goat was like a crack in the mirror. The mirror may still work fine, but you could always see the crack in the reflection.
Sans, however, had never tried to kill Sergio or put him in a bad position. Sans, low-key, may have been the smartest of all the monsters in the underground. I mean, you can't stop time and know of Sergio's potential for LV and then not know a thing or two.
Perhaps life would have been easier if Sergio heeded his counsel. However, he also didn't need anyone holding his hand. He was 15. Whatever business he had to take care of, it was gonna get taken care of.
And thirdly, he had been crashing in the same bed that Asriel may have died in. It was just bad vibes all around on that front. The castle had a bedroom with two twins on either side. If he wasn't on Asriel's, he was probably on Tobias's, and that didn't keep his stomach from turning at all. It was something random he had come to realize that day.
He sighed. It was probably gonna be another sleepless night. He had to direct Asgore to the town hall the next day, and if he and Undyne weren't enough, Alphys was coming along as well. Knowing how much of a nervous wreck she was, he knew he'd have his hands full. It almost felt as if he was a teacher leading a bunch of kindergartners to their next class.
He got up from Asriel's bed, dusting his clothes off. He checked the time on his phone. It was 7:23. The sun was going down, and Asriel expected him to be at that same alley within half an hour or so. If nothing else, he needed to show Asriel exactly who was boss. He may have been the prince, but he was gonna put in more work for the crown than the actual prince!
That'll teach ya ta try ta kill me, busta!
With a huff, he headed out, slipping past the throne room as the surface council discussed which points to discuss at the town hall meeting the next day.
. . .Meanwhile...
Jenessa's parents were home more often, but contact was not reduced between her and Asriel over the course of the last few days. He had handwritten some instructions that would help her control the powers she recently discovered, having told her to focus on the most exciting moments she'd had over her life, like roller coasters and jumping off of high dives. Once she did that, she'd be more consistent in summoning the lightning with her mind.
She had consistently stopped by his alley, a nondescript, almost-unpaved abandoned dead-end with a lot of long-vacant apartments surrounding him. It was a simple deal: Jenessa spent her lunch money on food for Asriel, Asriel in turn gave her a "magic class."
Jenessa was improving, and quite quickly at that. In three days, she had evolved her magic from basic spells that were directly linked to her body, to summoning electricity in the air and casting it whichever way. Asriel started to play a skeet-shooting game where he'd throw boxes and bottles up in the air, and Jenessa would zap them. At first, the boxes and bottles would fall unceremoniously to the ground, whether it was from lack of reflexes or poor aim. Now it was hard to remember when she last missed.
Asriel was in luck the day he was going to meet up with Sergio. There was a students versus staff game happening at Jenessa's school. She asked her parents if she could attend, which they approved. This gave her an adequate window to accompany Asriel and Sergio for whatever clash of words they'd get into.
In the dead-end, Asriel had a small sleeping bag set up, a bag of donated clothes acting as his pillow. There were several materials available for homeless people to snag for free. Asriel had taken it upon himself to get some spare materials while nobody was looking.
It was sundown. Jenessa was sitting on a chair that may or may not have been stolen from a restaurant when it was closed. However, to be fair, Asriel saw someone else steal a chair first. Asriel stood patiently in the middle of the dead-end.
"Do you think he'll actually come by?" asked Jenessa.
"I know he will." It wasn't the whole truth, but he couldn't lose hope. "Whether he's willing to cooperate or coming out of spite, that I don't know. It's my hope that he'll understand the gravity of this situation."
"Why do you want to involve him so badly? I thought he hated you."
"He does. Ardently so." Asriel sighed, taking his hood off. "It's...complicated. When I saw Tobias at the mayor's house, instantly I thought of all the good times we had...so long ago. I remembered the time he first fell. I remembered when he first had butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I remembered sitting together with him in grade school. You have to understand, Jenessa, that I saw when Tobias at the absolute happiest time of our lives. We didn't have a single care in the world. We were both the same age, but I looked up to Tobias almost as I did my dad. Everyone did.
"And now, he's doing the absolute worst things imaginable. The only saving grace he has is that he hasn't killed the mayor. Yet. Whatever plans Tobias has, they can't be allowed to go on. But when I went against him…" He closed his eyes and balled his fists. "I just...couldn't. I was too weak, and Tobias took advantage of it.
"That's where Sergio comes in. Do you remember when I talked to you about my dad's studies of determination?"
"Uhh...kinda?" Jenessa shrugged.
"Well, whatever Sergio doesn't possess in...friendliness, he more than makes up for in determination. When I was with Tobias as Flowey, I could tell there was something different about him. He took our philosophy of 'kill or be killed' as a challenge. He was fully determined to survive without killing anyone. He had every intention to kill me...us, by the end, but somehow both of us survived. He won't have any qualms about...combating Tobias should the situation arise.
"Tobias, when we first found Sergio, told me that he was the 'one.' I always asked him what that meant. I thought he was just referring to Sergio being the seventh human to fall underground to complete Dad's plan. Tobias only told me that there was a lot more potential within Sergio, transcending even the barrier. I would press him, but he would say, 'It's more necessary for you to be surprised.'" There was a slight sparkle within Asriel's black eyes as he stared at the starry night sky. He sat on his sleeping bag in contemplation before turning back to Jenessa. "I know I asked you this before...but what's your purpose for learning about all of this? Why do you want to be involved in something so treacherous?"
"To be honest?" Jenessa answered without missing a beat. "I'm just a very curious person. I mean, my life was just school, homework, eat, and sleep. My parents wouldn't really let me do much else. Honestly, it was a miracle they even let me go to the 'game.' Right when I least expected it, though, suddenly I got this ability to control lightning. It had to be for a reason, right? And I wanted to find out what it was.
"Then you came along not long after, and you explained everything I wondered about and more. Maybe this is my opportunity to be a superheroine. I can see it now." She stood on her chair, one leg on the top of the back. "'Jenessa Justice, crime fighting extraordinaire, alongside her partner..." She clenched her teeth, trying to think of a name for the prince.
"Alongside 'er partna Asriel In-Yo'-Dreemurr."
The brief reverie was cut short as Asriel's "favorite" New Yorker stormed into the dead-end of the alley, wearing a grey jacket and black cargo pants. He stuck his new cell phone in his pants pocket.
Sergio's eyes flitted from Asriel to Jenessa, who was still in her heroic pose on the chair. "Whateva happened ta being undacova, playboy? You just lettin' this Asian chick get yo' identity like this?"
There were a million things Asriel wanted to say, but he figured almost all would be wasted on the hood rat. "You're late."
"And you supposed to be dead," Sergio fired back, scowling. "Don't try nothin' ta make me change that."
"Gee, anger much?" Jenessa dismissed, hopping off the chair.
"And who are you supposed ta be?" Sergio pointed at her.
"Uh, Jenessa? We're in chemistry together in school?" She raised an eyebrow.
"That don't mean nothin' ta me. You irrelevant." Sergio turned to Asriel. "Didn't know I was holdin' up date night. Let's get a move on."
Asriel rolled his eyes. "Right. How much did you hear? We were just discussing it."
"I came in 'round the part where you couldn't kill Tobias 'cause he yo' long-lost boyfriend or somethin', so ya need me ta take 'im out for ya."
The prince's brow raised before both furrowed, his teeth clenched slightly. "We are not killing him." He stepped toward the hood rat, pointing directly to his chest, right where the heart symbol would always appear during fights underground.
"So you ain't deny the 'boyfriend' part. I always knew yo' goat behind was sus," retorted Sergio, an immaturely, lopsided smile across his face.
"Sergio-" Asriel's eyes began to flash in several different colors before Jenessa cut in.
"So, Tobias, how do we find him?" The girl had raised her hands, almost ready to zap either of the two boys.
"Yeah, Ghost Hunta, how we findin' 'im?" Sergio challenged, crossing his arms, the smile still on his face.
Asriel's shoulders lowered slightly. He had only calmed down for Jenessa's sake. Such was the power of a mediator. "To be honest...I don't know. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up."
"Don't blame ya lack a' plannin' on me, Flowa Powa. Ya local hood rat is here. We got a ghost ta catch. What's the next step?"
"Are you serious in trying to catch Tobias?"
"I'm serious in makin' sure you don't mess anythang up. If you wanna go around blockin' the monstas from livin' a normal life, you can talk ta yo' dad about that. I'm only here 'cause you got this one chance ta prove yo' self before I tell Asgore exactly who escaped. As far as I know, Tobias jest a figment a' yo' imagination. How am I supposed ta know he ain't?"
"That's where Jenessa comes in. Jenessa, show him your powers."
She spread her legs out a bit before clapping over her head, her palms remaining connected for a bit. With a bit of a strained grunt, she opened her arms, and small circular flashes of lightning started to form within the girl's wingspan, all bursts of energy not connected to her body directly. She winked at Asriel before sending an electric arc towards Sergio, intentionally missing by mere inches, causing Sergio to jump and cut right. Even the prince jumped back a little in surprise.
The hood rat cursed and summoned flames around his fists. Asriel raised a hand towards him and said, "Stop!"
"Whatchu mean, stop?! She almost killed me!" Sergio's fists were raised to his chest, the flames still steadily crackling over them.
"Wow, he's a lot jumpier in person," Jenessa quipped, blowing on her index finger like a hot gun barrel.
"How did she almost kill you?" Asriel pointed out, crossing his arms, attentive.
"Is you blind?! She jest about zapped me!" Asriel waited for the gears to turn in that disturbed head of his. The flames vanished from his fists as he said, "Wait...magic?"
Asriel nodded. "Jenessa discovered her power at the time we battled at the Barrier. I gave her no special powers or anything. Only trained her to use it more efficiently." He took a small step towards Sergio, the two being about four feet apart now. For once, he felt his heart swell up with courage...no, determination. "This may not be a direct lead to Tobias, but this is something. Considering all that has happened since we fought, Sergio, a lot of things happened that shouldn't have. You discovered your magical abilities. I went from me, to being a flower, to...the 'god of hyperdeath,' then back to me. Tobias rose from the dead. And now Jenessa, someone neither of us knew well before, apparently, discovered her powers the exact day we fought.
"There is something much larger in play here. And I feel strongly that Jenessa would be a great asset to our team in order to thwart Tobias's plans."
"Yeah, okay, so some otha girl got powas. That's all good and all, but I honestly don't care 'bout anyone else gettin' powas like I did. All I came here for was about this Tobias dude. If you ain't got no mo' leads, Asgore 'bout ta get more leads on you. But you prolly don't care 'bout that now that you got her here."
"We gave you the video!" Jenessa cut in.
"Yeah, but that video don't give me nothin' except some guy in a hoodie. Somebody could confuse that 'Tobias' there wit me. Wouldn'ta been the first time!"
"Did you see the news today about the mayor?" asked Asriel.
"Yeah, but for all I know, you coulda pulled some strings ta get the mayor ta talk all that noise. Face it, Asriel, ya got nothin' concrete. Jest a new side chick and a homeless man's setup in this alley."
Asriel sighed. "Are you not willing to listen to reason?"
"It's hard ta listen ta reason when there ain't nothin' but half-baked theories and flashes a' lightnin'. You got nothin' on Tobias. If the video ain't staged, I got nothin' ta go off of. That video coulda been taken anywhere given how dark it was."
"But Sergio-"
"Face it, Asriel. Ya done lost again. Come back ta the undaground and regain yo' sanity. You waste my time like this again, you gon' have yo' Royal Guard on yo' punk-hide like white on rice. And if you eva try zappin' me again," he turned to Jenessa, "I'mma cook yo' punk-hide like a rotisserie chicken!" Sergio turned and headed out, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.
Asriel balled his fist. "So you don't care what happens to this city, what happens to your friends, when Tobias strikes again?! If you sit there and do nothing, you'll never know peace again!"
Sergio only stopped for a brief moment, turning back to the prince. "That's my secret, 'Yo' Highness.' I neva knew peace."
The statement had left Asriel dumbfounded enough to give Sergio an ample chance to walk away. Then he heard a "hmph" to his left before Jenessa raised a hand with two fingers extended, pointing directly at Sergio's back. Asriel instinctively grabbed her hand. "No."
The voice had the calm sound of Tobias's voice mixed with his natural tone of urgency. He recoiled at the sound, his hand flexing back from hers.
Jenessa looked back at Asriel, her mouth agape, her eyes tinged with concern. "Asriel?"
"I...sorry...he's still a part of me." It was the same energy that coursed within him when Tobias wanted to kill the humans himself as Flowey. "But zapping him wouldn't help anything."
"Pretty sure it'd show him to keep insulting you. You were about to knock him on his butt earlier. Why didn't you?"
"It...was what I was always taught. I had to refrain from resorting to violence because that's exactly what he wanted me to do. It wasn't easy...but the more I talk to him, the more I see Tobias." He looked down, shaking his head. "It's FRUSTRATING," he concluded through grit teeth.
Jenessa was silent for a moment, twiddling her fingers. "So...what to do about Tobias now? Are you actually gonna go back to your home?"
Asriel pondered it. He was tired of the running. He was tired of the hiding. The constant threat of being detected by humans and delaying the monster migration process was getting to be too much. He'd never admit it, but perhaps Sergio had a point.
Maybe it was time to go home. Since Tobias was a legitimate threat, the Royal Crown needed to know immediately. There was no telling how much Sergio had expounded upon the situation. Given the callous nature by which he treated what Asriel thought was a good lead, if Sergio did mention it, it was possibly treated as a ridiculous joke.
But something inside him grew, a combination of guilt and anxiety rising in the pit of his stomach. So many inward signs were pointing to the opposite, continue hiding and try to find Tobias with the aid of Jenessa, as they had tried to do. But the logical side spoke to him. He had already tried that once from sporadic visions. There was not telling when the next one would happen, or if he would even receive another one.
Tobias's plans were already well in motion. It was even more frustrating not knowing anything other than something along the lines of world domination. But how he wanted to do it was still unclear. Political manipulation and murder were definites, but every fiber of his being knew doubtlessly that this was just the beginning.
It was time.
He clutched the fabric of his cloak near his chest with both hands. RRRRIP! RIP! RIP! Several pieces of brown cloth fell to his feet, showing the green and yellow sweater and black pants on his person. His heart beat faster than ever, knowing that his only shield of anonymity had been destroyed.
He took a few deep breaths, still clutching a bit of fabric in both fists, his arms extended to his sides. He opened his eyes. "I'm going home. Are you with me?"
Jenessa rose from her seat. "Wait, right now?"
"Yes, right now. I've put this off for too long." The cloths in his hand fell slowly to the ground. After another deep breath, he felt stronger-and happier-than ever before. For the first time in about a century, he was going to see Mom and Dad in the way he should have all these years. No flower petals, no sinister plots, nothing was going to come in between his family...and his eventual kingdom, again.
"Understand that if you accompany me on my quest to see my own family, you may not see yours for a long time. Your mom and dad'll be worried sick. I'll understand if you won't go with me."
"Are you kidding me? This is how the heroic duo is born!" She smiled. "Jenessa Justice and Asriel the Arbiter will officially start their journey to protect the ancient underground throne!" She hummed a theme song from a popular superhero movie, raising a fist in the air. "Go team AJ!"
"And don't worry about my parents. They'll be fine," Jenessa concluded.
Asriel couldn't help but smile. The human certainly had a great energy towards her, a wellspring of determination in her soul. If he was being honest, he didn't know where he would be without Jenessa. Sure, the food and drink helped, but her sheer willpower in learning how to use her powers for good proved to him that there was much good left within the world, despite what he may have done as a flower.
Because of her, redemption seemed more than possible.
It's been two years, but I finally got another chapter for NYSOM! I'd been thinking about this series ever since I had left, and I knew I couldn't let this opportunity get squandered. I don't even know who'd still be reading this, but it's my hope that at least one person was looking forward to this.
Jenessa was humming the Avengers theme, in case you were wondering.
Team AJ has officially started their quest to protect the throne, throwing inconspicuousness out the window. They have no idea the path laid out for them has several twists and turns. It will not be a short or simple journey for them to achieve their goals.
Meanwhile, Sergio has hardened his heart to the new discovery of more magical humans being within their midst. What could be the cause of such stubbornness? More importantly, where does he think he's going after his discussion with Asriel?
Stay tuned for the next installment of New York State of Mind!