The very next day, after their morning cheers, Sans told the duo to follow him once more and brought them to the other half of the second room. Frisk, noticing this, pointed it out to both of the other monsters, tilting their head slightly as they spoke.
"heh, good observation kid." Sans commented. "guess you tend to notice a lot of things, huh? anyways, yeah. this is the outlaw notice board. since you two did such a great job with ice cap's job yesterday, paps and i thought you could handle capturin' an outlaw."
"We're gonna be capturing….an outlaw?" Monster Kid asked, beginning to tremble slightly. "Y-Yo….that sounds really d-dangerous…." Sans just shrugged.
"relax, kid. it's not like we're gonna send you up against some kind of horrifying demon of mass power or whatever." He said. "we're just gonna give you some low-life who stole something and needs to be reprimanded. but these are gonna be pretty strong monster, so you're gonna need some kind of preparation beforehand." He turned to the ladder suddenly. "yo, snowdrake! can you come up here, i need your help with something!"
A few moments later, the snowflake-headed duck Frisk had noticed yesterday climbed up the ladder. That's when they noticed a few other things about them. It looked like the snowflake part of the monster's head was actually made out of ice, and that they had tiny ice particles sticking to their feathers.
"I came soon as I could, so what's up?" Snowdrake asked. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's snow problem!" Dead silence. This made the room just a little bit colder as Snowdrake puffed his feathers up a bit.
"gettin' back on track. snowdrake, i need you to show these two around town." Sans said. "then help them choose an outlaw to fight."
"Woah, woah. You're actually asking me to help train the newbies?!" Snowdrake asked, the cold air immediately disappearing. "I….I never thought…..I would've thought you'd choose someone more experienced, like Tsunderplane or Whimsun!"
"are you gonna be okay, or…." Sans asked, giving Snowdrake a questioning look. "i mean, you seem happy about it, so i'll just assume that you're gonna do it. have fun, i guess." He climbed back down the ladder, leaving Frisk and Monster Kid with Snowdrake.
"So...what're you gonna show us then?" Monster Kid eventually asked. "And what's so exciting about helping us?"
"Y'see, I was once the newest recruit, before you two." Snowdrake explained. "And I felt like a total screw-up half the time too, 'cause I was trying to be a comedian at the same time, like Sans does." He let out a small huff, before shaking his head. "But whatever. C'mon, we'd better get going, that way I can show you everything you need to know before we choose an outlaw for you to fight!"
Snowdrake first took them downstairs, even pointing out some of the other guild members who were down there while listing off the others. The two monsters Snowdrake had mentioned before, Whimsun and Tsunderplane, turned out to be one of the three main explorers. Two other monsters, one named Vegetoid and the other named Madjick, kept watch and acted as the gatekeepers for the guild. This left the final two apprentices, Shyren and Froggit. Shyren normally made the dinner for the rest of the guild, although nobody else knew what she did. Froggit, on the other hand, spent most of his time in front of the cauldron doing who knows what. After Snowdrake explained what each member did, he then took them all the way to the surface and eventually to the nearby town.
The town, named New Home apparently, was filled with a lot of monsters, some gathering into groups and talking together or talking to others that stood behind counters. Snowdrake brought them to the center of town, before stopping and turning to them.
"So, this is New Home! Pretty, nice, huh?" He said, to yet another bout of silence. "Huh…..man, that's real cold." That one actually got a small giggle out of Monster Kid, which seemed to lift Snowdrake's spirits slightly. "Anyways, we got-"
"Oh! Wait, hang on, I know a lot about New Home, I've lived here for a while!" Monster Kid chirped up. He then pointed out the several stores, explaining what each of them did. There was a bank, a tent where attacks could be linked together and relearned, a shop, and a storage unit.
"So, you know your way 'round town now." Snowdrake said once Monster Kid finished his explanation. "Come back to the guild when you're ready, so I can help you pick out an outlaw to chase!" He began fluttering back off to the guild, just as Monster Kid turned back to Frisk, their eyes lighting up.
"Frisk, let's go to the shop!" He said, excitedly. "Before we go back, we've gotta go see what the shop has. C'mon, let's go!" He ran off, meaning Frisk had to run off after him. Thankfully, he stopped right in front of a storefront, with two dogs at the counter. One of them looked female while the other looked male. In fact, it looked as if the two were some kind of couple.
"Oh! Hello there, Monster Kid." The female dog said. "It's been a while, how have you been?"
"Who's this friend you have with you?" The male dog asked. "They don't….smell like a monster we've smelt around here. Are they new?"
"This is my friend, Frisk. And we've formed an exploration team!" Monster Kid explained. "Frisk, this is Dogamy and Dogaressa! They run the shop around here!"
"Welcome, Frisk was it?" Dogaressa said. "Please, take a look at our wares!" Frisk let Monster Kid choose what they should buy, ranging from food items that would heal them in battle to orbs and seeds that would do quite a number of things in battle.
However, as soon as they were finished shopping, they heard a rather loud "Hey, hey HEY!". Two monsters came running (or rather hopping for one of them) over. The bigger of the two looked like a pile of rope with tiny little feet on one end of the rope and a fireball on the other end. The smaller one looked like a mini volcano with tiny legs and an absolutely adorable looking face.
"Oh, Pyrope! And little Vulkin too!" Dogamy said, as the two finally made it. "What is it today? Another Cinnamon Bunny?"
"Yeah, yeah! That would be real HOT!" The taller of the two, Pyrope, said. "Could we have an apple too? We need it for Sir Whimsalot. He's gotten sick now too!"
"Both him and Final Froggit now? Those poor dears." Dogaressa said, reaching underneath the counter and pulling a bag out. "Here you go, that'll be just 20G, you two." The smaller one, Vulkin, jumped up, a little gold piece stuck in its mouth. It set the piece down, as Dogaressa set the bag's loop around the small opening in the monster's head.
"Thank you!" It said, in a tiny, cute voice. "Go back? Go help friends?"
"Yeah, of course Vulkin!" Pyrope replied. "C'mon! We gotta get going!" Vulkin gave a small chirp before the two raced back the way they came. Frisk turned back, asking Dogaressa who those two were.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know them." Dogaressa said. "Those two are good friends. One of their friends had gotten sick, so they've been getting them the food they need. Before then, they tended to keep to themselves."
"At least they're doing a very wonderful thing, helping their friends in need." Dogamy pointed out. "A lot of monsters wouldn't even bother nowadays, after all." Dogaressa looked as if she was about to say something else, when the two monsters suddenly came running out once more.
"Hey, hey! Vulkin pointed out that there was an extra Cinnabun in the bag!" Pyrope said, as the two stopped at the counter once more. "We only paid for a Cinnabun and apple, not for two Cinnabuns! How much more do we gotta pay?"
"Oh! You don't have to pay anything else!" Dogaressa said, waving it aside. "Think of it as a gift from Dogamy and I. And share it between you two!"
"Really?" Pyrope asked, before he began bouncing excitedly. "Thanks so much! C'mon Vulkin, we'd better get going!" The two began running off, until Vulkin suddenly tripped on a stone in their path. The bag flew off of their small volcano, somehow flying backwards and back towards the shop. Frisk rushed forwards, grabbing the bag (and anything that might've fallen out as well) before they went to help Vulkin back to its feet.
"Thank you!" Vulkin said, as Frisk picked it back up and set it down, even securing the bag around its volcano once more. "Sorry for the problem! But thank you anyways!" Frisk was about to say "It was nothing", when something strange happened. The entire world seemed to suddenly spin for a moment right before Frisk's eyes.
Suddenly, they tensed up and their vision went pure black. They heard something shattering from a long ways off, just before they heard Vulkin shout out. It was much louder than anything Frisk had ever heard, and if they could move, they would've certainly have flinched back.
"H-H-HELP!" was all they heard before they saw a flash of light and the world returned back to them. Frisk backed away, extremely shocked and confused by what had just happened. Vulkin gave them a questioning look, before Pyrope just called them closer. The little monster jumped and ran to catch up with their friend.
Frisk backed away, trying to make sense of what they had just seen. Monster Kid began talking with Dogamy and Dogaressa once more, mostly commenting on how cute those two were and how nice it was for them to be looking out for their friends. Frisk turned to them, actually asking if they had heard anything out of the ordinary.
"Heard….anything?" Monster Kid asked, tilting his head slightly. "No. I don't think I heard anything weird. Yo, what about you two?"
"Sorry, but we haven't heard a thing." Dogamy said, while Dogaressa shook her head.
"Huh, that's really weird." Monster Kid said, most definitely crossing his arms….if he had any that is. "Maybe you were just imagining things, Frisk! We'd probably get back the guild, otherwise you'll keep hearing things, dude!" Frisk let out a very small sigh, trying to assure themselves that they hadn't just been hallucinating. However, they had no choice but to follow Monster Kid back through New Home.
Until something stopped them, that is.
Both Pyrope and Vulkin were standing with a strange monster in the main square. This monster looked like some kind of girl, except she had six purple arms. She wore a dark pink romper with little buttons and a little bow at her chest. Finally, she also had black hair tied off in two pigtails using little bows.
"So you really did see it? That's hot! Like, red-fire HOT!" Pyrope was saying, bouncing more than before out of pure excitement. "Thanks so much!"
"Ahuhuhuhu~ It's the least I could do, deary." The spider-like girl said, covering her mouth with one hand. "I couldn't dream of ignoring two helpless children."
"Yo, what's going on?" Monster Kid asked, as the duo walked over. "What's got you two so excited?"
"Oh! Hey there!" Pyrope said. "Well, Vulkin here lost a really important item a while ago and I've been helping them search for it in my free time. But Miss Muffet here says that she's seen it!"
"Woah, really? That's super nice, Miss!" Monster Kid said, laughing slightly. "It's great to see monsters helping each other out!" Muffet simply nodded, before she turned to Vulkin and Pyrope.
"Well then, shall we be off, dearies?" She suggested. "We don't have time to waste, we might as well get to that item of yours before nightfall!" Both Vulkin and Pyrope nodded, voicing their agreements. The three began walking off, although Muffet accidentally bumped into Frisk along the way.
"Oh, dreadfully sorry, deary." She apologized, although Frisk couldn't sense any actual sincerity in her words. "Please, pardon me." As she began walking off, Frisk immediately felt the whole world spin again. Before they could do a thing, the entire world flashed and their vision went black. Then came the far-off shattering and….another flash.
Instead of hearing something, they saw what looked like a clearing at the top of a mountain. They couldn't see themselves, Monster Kid, or anyone other than two people. And to their horror, it was Vulkin and Muffet, with Pyrope nowhere in sight.
"Deary, please. You mustn't scream too loudly." Muffet said, walking forwards rather threateningly. "If you keep resisting like this, deary, it will mean big trouble for you." Vulkin tried backing away, trembling slightly.
"H-H-HELP!" They screamed.
The world returned once more, making Frisk literally jump a few feet back. Monster Kid noticed this, and gave Frisk a questioning look.
"Yo, something up, Frisk?" He asked, tilting his head. "You look really freaked out, is anything wrong?" Frisk debated silently if they should tell him what they had seen. After a few moments, they told Monster Kid to follow them so they could talk without being overheard. Once they were a good distance from some of the other local monsters, they finally described everything they had heard, the vision they had, and the strange dizzy spells they had been having. Monster Kid was silent the entire time, letting Frisk explain everything.
"So….what you're basically saying is that Muffet is going to hurt Vulkin? And that we need to go find those three before something bad happens?" Monster Kid asked. Frisk only nodded in response. "Yo….that sounds like an emergency! And….well, that's just it. It only sounds like danger. We can't just suddenly run off without telling anyone, we're only apprentices after all." He laughed slightly, which made Frisk pout ever so slightly. "Maybe you just need more sleep, dude! C'mon, we'd better get back to the Guild!"
The duo finally began heading back to the Guild, finding Snowdrake back in front of the Outlaw Notice Board. He offered to choose the outlaw for them, assuring them that he wouldn't choose any outlaw that looked too tough. However, as he moved to take one of the papers, a loud voice suddenly shouted out from behind the board.
"UPDATING OUTLAW NOTISSSSSE BOARD! UPDATING OUTLAW NOTISSSSSE BOARD!" The voice yelled, just as the board flipped over to reveal an empty piece of wood.
"Y-Yo, what the heck just happened?!" Monster Kid asked, shaken up by the sudden yell and even by Snowdrake's complete lack of a reaction.
"That? Oh, it's just Parsnik." The ice monster explained. "Parsnik is kinda like Vegetoid in a way, I guess. Except Parsnik burrows underground behind the Job and Outlaw Notice board. Y'see, the boards on revolving panels, so Parsnik can just hit the boards, update the wanted posters, then hit them to return them to normal! It's not exactly a job that's noticed much, but it is pretty important. So he takes a lot of pride in it."
"Oh….Still, that's pretty startling, isn't it?" Monster Kid commented. Parsnik suddenly shouted from behind the board once more, announcing that the board was updated and to stand back. Once the board flipped back over, Monster Kid seemed to notice something. And he instantly began trembling when he noticed it. Frisk asked him what was wrong, and even Snowdrake looked concerned as well.
"It isn't cold in here, unless that's just me again." Snowdrake said, ruffling his wings slightly. "So what's wrong? What's got you all worked up?" Monster Kid just pointed at one of the posters with his tail, not saying a word. Frisk squinted before letting out a small gasp.
It was a wanted poster for Muffet.
Exchanging a nod, the duo ran off. Frisk did yell to Snowdrake that they needed to be somewhere over their shoulder before they climbed the ladder. They made it to the crossroads, where Pyrope was pacing as his fireball head was burning with an even stronger flame than before.
"Yo! P-Pyrope!" Monster Kid yelled as they made it down to him. "Where's Vulkin, and Muffet too?!"
"Well, we were going along just fine, until I noticed that Muffet and Vulkin were gone!" Pyrope explained. "I called, and called, but nobody came. I….I'm really scared. What if something happens to Vulkin?!"
"Yo, calm down! Just take us to where you last saw them!" Monster Kid instructed. Pyrope simply nodded and led the two all the way to the base of a rather rocky looking mountain.
Frisk recognized the area as the same one they had seen in their strange vision. While Monster Kid assured Pyrope they would find Vulkin and bring them back safely, Frisk actually ran ahead. Monster Kid nearly freaked out at this, but ran after them after also yelling for Pyrope to go find help and get the authorities. The mountain itself was actually a Mystery Dungeon, with ten entire floors to it filled with bug, rock, and even a few poison-type monsters.
But they powered through. And, soon enough, they reached a clearing on the very peak of the mountain. From a far ways off, they could see both Vulkin and Muffet, although they couldn't hear what they were saying. That is, until Vulkin suddenly shouted out.
"No! No no!" They yelled, trying to run out from behind the spider monster. Muffet, moving quickly, shot a web out at Vulkin's back legs. The poor volcano monster was tripped and fell literally on their face.
"I told you I would still take you back to your friend, so please quiet down." Muffet said, sounding rather disinterested in their cries. "Deary, please, you mustn't scream too loudly. If you keep resisting like this, deary, it will mean big trouble for you."
"H-H-HELP!" Vulkin screamed. The duo rushed forwards, even standing in front of them protectively.
"Stop right there, Muffet!" Monster Kid yelled, even making the air around him crackle with electricity. "You aren't getting away with this, we know exactly what you're up to!"
"P-Pardon?" Muffet said, backing away while covering her mouth. "H-How on earth did you find this place? How did y-you figure out-Huh?" Monster Kid had begun shaking once more. Frisk shook their head, before announcing they were Team Determination and that they were going to take her down. But Muffet seemed far too distracted with the fact that Monster Kid was showing a sign of weakness.
"Ahuhuhu~ So you say you're an exploration team, and that you're going to capture me then, hm?" She asked. "But just judging by your fear, you're obviously nothing more but apprentices. What do they call you? Ah, that's right….rookies." She laughed once more, before smiling widely and showing off her rather sharp teeth. "But, you are right. I am an outlaw, with a bounty placed upon my head. But can you do it? Can you take this criminal to justice, dearies?"
"'C….'C-Course we can!" Monster Kid snapped back. "We'll take you d-down no problem!" Muffet just smirked, before sending multiple purple darts flying from her mouth. The duo had to run in opposite directions to dodge it.
Monster Kid gave a huge electrical outburst, one that Muffet was seemingly unaffected by. She used Poison Sting once more, until Frisk hit her from behind using Scratch. They dodged her attack, which looked just like Pound or possibly also Scratch as well. They used Ember, which made Muffet flinch back quite a lot.
Monster Kid used Thundershock once more, noticing how much Muffet had recoiled from the Ember attack. This caused Muffet to recoil even more, until she shot a web down right at the ground, causing it to expand into a huge web that stuck both Frisk and Monster Kid to the ground. But that certainly didn't stop Frisk from firing another barrage of fire in her direction. She flinched back, even backing away a bit closer to Monster Kid. He ran as fast as he could while stuck in a web, creating some kind of white trail behind him.
His Quick Attack knocked Muffet literally off of her feet, sending her flying a few feet away. And she didn't get up once she landed either. Frisk and Monster Kid pulled their feet out of the web and walked right over to Vulkin.
"H-H-Help…..Help….." Vulkin was muttering, trembling violently as Frisk tore away at the web binding their back feet together. "S-Scary monster….scary spider…."
"Yo, calm down, it's okay." Monster Kid said, walking around and bending down to Vulkin's level. "Just come with us, we'll bring you back to your friend, okay?" Vulkin looked up, tears in their eyes (and then promptly also evaporating probably due to their intense body heat). They nodded shakily after a while, letting Frisk help them to their feet. The three, all together, finally began to head down the mountain.
It didn't take long to reach the bottom of the mountain, where Pyrope and the proper authorities. Muffet was properly arrested while the two friends were reunited. The reward for Muffet's bounty was sent to the guild as well, although a good portion of the G was already taken.
That night, just after dinner, a huge, rather loud storm blew in. Monster Kid watched it from the window, while Frisk prepared for bed. After all, they had yet another day of training ahead of them. Lightning cracked across the sky, making Monster Kid jump slightly.
"W-Woah! It's super intense out there, yo!" He said, before walking back to his bed. "Y'know, it was storming the night right before I met you, Frisk. Do you think that's connected or anything? Yo! Do you think you can remember anything now?" Frisk thought for a moment, before shaking their head "no". "Aw man….bummer. But no pressure, just try remembering a bit at a time!"
The two sat in silence for a while, before Frisk said they were going to try to get some sleep. Monster Kid agreed and the two both laid in their beds, dead silent. Until Monster Kid began speaking, that is.
"Yo….Frisk, you awake still?" He asked. "I've just been thinking about that whole vision or whatever it was you had. Maybe it had something to do with you when you were a human." He laughed rather quietly. "I dunno, that's just the feeling I get. There's not exactly too many Goat-like monsters who can dream of the future. Or any monsters that were once humans either."
There was a long pause, where the only sound Frisk could hear was the rain outside and the occasional thunder.
"I'm sure you were a real good person when you were human. After all, you helped save Vulkin and we both took down that bad monster." Monster Kid continued. "More bad monsters have been popping up lately. Most people think it's because time keeps getting messed up. And a lot of people think that the Time Gears are the reason time itself is getting messed up."
Frisk asked what the Time Gears were. Just hearing about them….it made their heart race. They needed to know what these things were. Just so they could figure out what it was that made their heart race.
"The Time Gears are these….weird things. They control time in a certain area. They're hidden in a lot of places too." Monster Kid said. "It keeps time running properly and smoothly."
The forest was being drenched in rain. However, along the main path, the ground seemed to rise, as if something was burrowing beneath the surface.
"But what happens if a region loses its Time Gear? I'm not entirely sure. It's not like it's ever happened or anything. Even the most hardened criminals know to avoid messing with the Time Gears."
The trail suddenly stopped in a small clearing, right in front of a strange collection of lights and a small, blue gear sitting in the center.
"Honestly, my guess would be that time would most likely stop in that area too. But nobody knows since a Time Gear has never been stolen. Yo, you don't think anyone would be crazy enough to take one, do you?"
Frisk didn't reply.
"Heh….good point. Maybe we should just get some rest. It's pretty late out...and stuff. G'night, Frisk!" Monster Kid finished. Frisk heard him roll over, but they couldn't sleep now. Not after everything he had told them.
Something burst out of the ground. It was short, and had a rather strange silhouette. It looked up to the gear, before laughing slightly.
"So, they were right! It's actually right here!" It said, just as a vine broke free from the ground. It wrapped itself around the gear, before yanking it out. "FINALLY! A real, genuine Time Gear!"
Something didn't feel right, Frisk kept thinking. Something felt like it was just….wrong. They didn't know what it was, or why they felt like this. But they just knew something was wrong. They bit their lip, before nearly coughing due to the fur. They still hadn't gotten used to that it seems. Instead, they sighed and tried to push that feeling out of their mind. They needed to get to sleep, they had a long day ahead of them.
"But….I have four more to get! And nobody is gonna stop me! Nobody!" Lightning flashed across the clearing, illuminating the...thing's face for a moment.
It was smiling.