Hey Everyone!
Interference in bold, puns and memories in italics, magic is underlined.
-text- indicates either texts, or mental "talking".
All Undertale stuff owned by Toby Fox, else me or a reference.
Something tugs at your jacket. You look down, and see the small child has an envelope for you. You open it.
3rd Person
Deep in the depths of a blinking maze of servers, a red glow builds in the shadowed light. It peers over the edge of a tower, then races along the top, a bubble of cherry red expanding past one row, then another, then five, then ten, zooming off into infinity. In the silence, something thuds. It is the sound of someone falling out of their chair. Fabric rustles, and two taps echo throughout the glowing light, racing to catch up with the edge...despite the fact that they will lose.
Below the rim of the tower, zoom in, closer, closer, there. The back of a head of messy brown hair...or is it black?...turns slowly from side to side. Small hands clench and unclench, thin fingers covered in scars. The small chest falls, then rises abruptly, small hands scrambling through pockets, turning them inside out in a search for...something. Two scraped knees thud against the cold concrete floor, two small hands slide around, feeling for...something…
...but nobody came.
The figure's movements grow frantic, the red light pulsing along with their SOUL, floating just above their head. Red...or would the better word be crimson? The color of blood...blood on the floor now, fingers raw, nails digging into arms, scratching up and down, up and down. The figure rocks on it's heels, muttering furiously.
"Whereisitwhereisitwhereisitwhereisitwhere-"
The words stop, a breath sucks in. The head tilts back, slowly, menacingly. Hair falls away from squinting eyes. Long black lashes flicker...no, those aren't just lashes, are they? Black irises with a trace of red surround narrowed pupils, the edges so wide hardly a speck of white shows. They catch on a glint of gold in the glow of red, a small heart on a battered chain hanging off the tower above their heads. They jump up, snagging the necklace with shaking hands, throwing the loop around their neck so the tiny golden heart rests against their chest. They let out a sigh of relief.
A quiet chuckle fills the air, distorted by metal and concrete into something hardly recognizable, turning into something out of a horror movie. It echoes down the maze of towers, pinging off steel and halogen lights. Far off, a quiet beeping starts up, almost too quiet to be heard. It is overtaken by the laughter long before it reaches the ears of the frightened child.
The child freezes, jerks back. They scramble, legs akimbo, hands pushing at the hard floor leaving bloody prints behind. Back, back, back into the corner, two towers meeting in a blank edge. Knees drawn up, arms tight, muttering.
"Goawaygoawaygoawaygoaway."
Black filters in front of you, winding and curling and sparkling. It pulls to a point just above the top of the servers, far higher than any human would stand. Cords weave and spin and soak into one another, binding together to form a cloak of solid darkness. Somehow, it seems more melodramatic than menacing.
The hood tilts down, peering at the child huddled before it. It leans, looms, lowers over them. In the depths of the cowl, sparks of gold glint in the crimson light.
-Is it someone in particular you wish to avoid, little one? Or just people in general?-
The child's head shoots up, face twisted in a scowl, "Shoo."
The hooded figure chuckles, then throws back its hood. Long black hair floats in a non-existent breeze, white skin tinged red. Eyes like the starry skies crinkle at the edges, a sharp tooth peeking through the edges of a smile.
-I admire your courage, little one, if not your common sense. Was there something in particular you were so desperate to find? It may be that-
"No Bargains, not if you're anything like him. Thank you, no. I am perfectly caba- capap- cabla-"
-Capable?-
The child scowled, their hands pulling tighter around their legs, "Yes. Now go away," Brown hair plops over scuffed knees. They scoot away from the figure before them. Pointedly.
Nimaron chuckles again, her cloak tilting back to give the child air. She let the silence draw out, then leaned closer.
-Ah, but I have a question, Fallen One, and I do hate an unsatisfied bit of curiosity.-
The child gets shakily to their feet, wincing as their hand makes contact with the hard metal tower, staring at the blood. They scowl, and dig in their pockets again, pulling out a scrap of stained bandage. They give it a look, shrug, and tie it around their hand, only then noticing the scrapes on their other hand. They scowl and start digging, "So? What makes you think I'll answer it."
The trickster's smile curls up at the edges, revealing fangs spattered with something...dark. There is a chunk of...something...wedged between two of the teeth. It glitters dully with the light of dust.
-In order, curiosity and a grudge.-
The child finds another scrap of fabric. It appears to be some kind of handkerchief. They tie it around the unbandaged hand, pulling the knot closed with a painful tug, "Ha, as if. Well, what's your question? Not that I'm going to answer, it, mind."
Nimaron nods her head. The child doesn't seem to notice.
-Was that body the price my brother paid for your plan to interfere with the skeleton, little Chara?-
The child...froze. Slowly, ever so slowly, their head tilts back. Black and red and glowing crimson glare into the resounding depths of space.
Time.
Holds.
Still.
Finally, Chara blinks, their head drooping to glare at their bleeding hands, "What's it to you?"
One dust-coated, long-fingered hand balled in a fist pumps in the air, parting the cloak of shadows to reveal the red silk beneath. Fabric swirls as the Trickster spins on bare feet, hands in the air with sheer delight.
-Yes! Do you think you can pull one over me, brother dearest? Hah! You are as subtle as the wind is still, as the stars are shadowed, and as the Void is varied. The day is not dawned, dawning, or destined when you shall best me at my own game. Now…-
Motion stilled, fabric, wrapped thin legs, folds overlapping in a rippling tide. Nimaron crouched before the child, they who are silent with eyebrow raised. The Trickster reached out a hand with a glittering...SAVE POINT, forged of shadows and stars.
-I rather enjoy a good plan myself, and as you have clearly stated you will accept no Bargain from me, I offer you a boon instead, with one...catch. Tell me what trick my imbecilic brother could not plan for himself, and I shall give you this. One SAVE POINT, to be placed anywhere, anywhen, for you to come back to over and over as you see fit. It can even be moved, if you're feeling adventurous. So...interested?~-
Chara stared in open-eyed glee at the thing before them. They closed their eyes, face twisting into a demonic grin...then opened them again. The crimson light filled their eyes with glittering knives.
"Now, who could say no to that?"
Zoom out on a handshake, zoom out on the black figure towering over shorter red, zoom out on the crimson sphere of glowing DETERMINATION. Back, back, back, until the towers merge into hazy lines, then swerve, and down, quickly now, zoom in…
A box sits against a wall, one screw at an awkward angle, a dent in the bottom right corner. A small pair of bulbs poke out from the top, filaments curling behind smokey glass. Motes dance around them, a speaker blaring a quiet alarm stirring up old metal fillings. Across an ancient screen, three words flash. When they've gone, the bulb on the right lights up, a beacon of red in the shadowy vault. It blips, but not in vain.
Somewhere, in a pokey little basement filled with the remnants of shimmering smoke, another box lights up. Red-blip. Red-blip. Red-blip. Across the screen, the words run again.
ANOMALY CONTAINMENT BREACH.