AMS
SAVE BRENT!
Ever since the first day of high school, something wasn't quite right about Naomi. She appeared normal until the blue and red fire elemental monster boy who was in the 10th grade was around the girls. It was Frisk, Naomi, and Fuku after school in their club, answering questions. Everyday, when the first person asks for advice, Frisk saves. By the end of the week, if the advice worked thus far, she would save again. If anything was wrong about the advice she gave, she would load to the part before she answered any questions. It was a requirement for the students to give an update everyday if life for them was normal still. Frisk would jot it down to remind herself as there were a lot of students who asked questions. One of the monsters who often came by to just observe was Brent. All three girls felt uneasy when he just sat at a table and watched them answer questions. Frisk for sure felt Brent might be a threat to them. Frisk had enough of her fears one day and confronted him. She was looking a little too feisty though. With her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face she marched towards him. Naomi was biting her nails and keeping her eyes on Brent at all times. Brent looked up at Frisk and smiled sheepishly.
"Why do you come to our club just to stare at us? It's creepy and it's freaking us out! If you don't have any questions for us, then you don't have to come here," snapped Frisk.
It wasn't like her to lose her cool like that. But being stared down by a fire elemental for two weeks straight does something to someone's mental capacity. Brent blushed and looked down at the table.
"I'm sorry it's just...I've been trying to gather the courage to ask if I could join your club. I got kicked out of the football team and most of my friends got into drugs. You three are always together and I thought if I was part of the group I could be happy. If you guys don't want me here anymore though, I'll leave," said Brent.
Frisk's anger faded and was replaced with guilt as well as anxiety. She sighed and summoned a star. Brent just stared in disbelief. While shaking, he pointed at the star.
"H-how did you make a star appear and what did you do?" asked Brent.
Frisk glanced over at him and touched the save button. When he saw the small screen say "file saved", his eyes widened.
"I have a power to save, load, and reset. I have become more responsible with my powers. I hardly ever reset, but I have been forced to in the past because so many mistakes were made at once that I found myself having to reset to change more than one person's fate, including my own. I haven't reset in five years. While things are going good for me and everyone else, I save. If something goes wrong, I load my save file before the bad things happened. If I were to reset, I'd be 10 years old again. I'd be a child who had just fallen down here again. I would have to re-experience everything but figure out what to change to make a better future," explained Frisk.
Brent nodded in understanding.
"In what circumstances would you find yourself resetting?" asked Brent.
"Well, one visual that comes to mind is if someone killed every monster underground. Another circumstance would be if I was unhappy with how I have lived my life," said Frisk.
"So, if you're unhappy with how you've lived your life, everyone's life will be brought back to how many years it was when you fell down?" asked Brent.
"What I mean by unhappy is utterly depressed. But I don't see that happening. I am pretty content with how I am living my life," smiled Frisk.
Brent found himself wanting to help Frisk be happy all the time, but he also felt like it was unfair of her to think that way. He never wants to relive what happened five years ago. He shuddered just by thinking about it. Then he thought of something.
"Wait, I'm shuddering even though I'm not cold. Frisk shuddered on the bus even when I sat next to her. So she wasn't cold at all. She was... afraid of me?" thought Brent.
"Well Brent, we'll see how you do with our club. If anything goes wrong, I'll simply load, and you will forget everything that has happened," said Frisk.
"What would happen if you were killed?" asked Brent.
The question made Naomi glare harder at Brent.
"I have been killed too many times to count. If I am killed, I load my save file," answered Frisk.
"Okay," said Brent.
The four of them reached Grillby's.
"The three of you work here at Grillby's? No wonder you guys are so close!" said Brent as he walked in.
"What are you doing?" asked Fuku as she tied the back of her apron.
"Oh, is it okay if I hang here with you guys? I don't want to go home yet," Brent said kind of sadly.
Fuku and Naomi looked at Frisk, and Frisk just shrugged. Naomi glared at Brent, and Fuku nodded her head at Brent.
"Thanks guys," beamed Brent.
He felt awkward handing out with a group of girls who obviously have some sort of problem with him, but they treated him better than how his own parents treat him, which is why he is able to deal with the rudeness they give off. He doesn't know why they are rude with him, but he doesn't question it since he thinks he knows the answer. He thinks they are simply annoyed by him. His parents always call him annoying. They tell him they wished they had known he would be annoying so that they could have given him up. He could withstand cold shoulders and glares.
"Even though you guys don't like me, I will still consider you all to be my new best friends since you treat me better than my parents," thought Brent.
Naomi was having trouble seeing Brent as Brent. Everytime she glanced at him, she saw the man who kidnapped and tortured her and Frisk. She sighed heavenly as she thought about Frisk.
"My hero," whispered Naomi to herself.
All night Brent watched the girls run a restaurant by themselves without complaint. Neither of them looked tired, bored, or angry at all. He envied the customers. They all smiled at the customers like it was no big deal, yet they scowl or frown at him. He suddenly felt a little twinge of pain in his chest area. He knows he doesn't have any real friends. The ones he thought were his friends tried to get him to do drugs.
"You'll be extra popular if you smoke this with us."
"No, it isn't right. My father told me that whatever I did, I should make sure to stay away from drugs!"
The next few days everyone on the football team treated him like dirt. It was just cold shoulders, which he dealt with like a champ. The guys who were doing the drugs told the coach they found some drugs in his locker, which they planted there. He was kicked off the team and was no longer popular. The guys who were still his "friends" were only his "friend" because they didn't want to be lonely.
Frisk noticed Brent and how he looked so broken, sad, and lonely. She felt bad.
"What is wrong with us? We're treating this guy badly because he's a fire elemental. Yet we're friends with a girl fire elemental. Granted she is the one who saved us, but he isn't Grillby. He isn't the one who hurt us," Frisk whispered to Naomi.
Fuku was still at the cash register, taking care of customers who were paying their bills. It was about time to close down for the night.
"I'm sorry Frisk but I can't help my eyes. When I look at him, I see Grillby," said Naomi.
She walked away. Fuku hadn't not noticed Brent's sadness. She felt the same as Frisk did.
"She saved right before she agreed to let him join us. We might as well make the most of it. If anything bad happens to us, Frisk will load and steer us in the right direction. We should be nicer to him," thought Fuku.
"Hey, you guys wanna have a sleep over here with me?" asked Fuku.
Naomi got excited and Frisk agreed to. They texted their parents/guardians on where they will be.
Sans replied with, "Okay, kiddo. Tomorrow's both of our day off so how about we do something together?"
Frisk smiled and replied, "Thanks and I'd love to do something fun!"
Brent was about to walk out the door when-
"Brent? Won't you join the fun?" asked Fuku kindly.
He whipped his head around, shocked to hear such a kind voice come from the one girl in the group who hasn't said anything to him before. He stopped himself from tearing up and mentally told himself to not be annoying or weird.
"Th-thank you!" said Brent.
He went to walk back towards them when he tripped over his shoe lace. Naomi scoffed and went upstairs while Fuku and Frisk went to make sure Brent hadn't hurt himself.
"You go on ahead upstairs, we still gotta clean a bit and we'll head up as well," said Fuku.
Brent nodded and headed upstairs. He felt a sense of unease as he walked upstairs.
"That Naomi girl doesn't like me for sure. She just glares at me. I guess I'll have to deal with her glaring for tonight," thought Brent. He sighed a heavy sigh but was able to smile since Fuku and Frisk had taken a kinder tone to him. Naomi wanted to make Frisk load and make her reject Brent from entering the group.
"He's a fire elemental man, he's gotta have done something horribly wrong. I gotta ask him serious personal questions to find out all that I can," sneakily thought Naomi.
Brent made it up the stairs and sat down in a recliner chair, just across the couch that Naomi was sitting on casually.
"Brent, can I ask you some personal questions?" asked Naomi in a serious tone.
Brent hadn't expected her to say anything to him, so he was caught off guard.
"S-sure thing," hesitantly replied Brent.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" asked Naomi with a deadly poker face.
"No," innocently said Brent.
"Have you ever raped anybody?"
"No."
"Have you ever stolen anything of importance?"
Brent was quiet for a moment. The side of Naomi's face perked up.
"I stole some wine from a store when I was younger. My mother told me if I didn't steal her her favorite wine, that she would get my father to sprinkle cold water on me," confessed Brent in a low, guilty tone.
Her smile faded. Yes he did steal something and it was important, but it wasn't entirely his fault since he was threatened. Naomi leaned forward.
"I don't like you Brent. You remind me too much of someone who did horrible things to me and Frisk. I personally hate that those two are so nice to you when you don't deserve it," hissed Naomi.
Brent looked up at Naomi with a confused expression.
"I cannot help the way I look. I am sorry a monster who looks like me has harmed you and Frisk, but I am not that monster. I am just a school boy who wants friends and happiness. Am I not entitled to what makes me happy?" asked Brent.
"As long as you're a fire elemental man, no. No you are not," said Naomi.
She could hear that Frisk and Fuku were in the kitchen together, and she smiled.
"In fact, I think it's time for a little pay back," snarled Naomi.
Brent was really confused now. He would never put his hands on a girl, and he didn't want to burn her so he really didn't want to even touch anyone. His parents never taught him how to control his temperature. They were too busy abusing him. Naomi reached into her backpack and picked up a bottle of water, and she took off the cap. Brent stood up and went behind the chair he was sitting in.
"W-what are you doing?" asked Brent.
"Do as I say, and you won't get splashed. Go out the door and into the hallway now," ordered Naomi.
Brent, scared for his life, walked into the hallway. When he was out there and was literally in front of the staircase, he thought about making a run for it. But if he tried to run, she could throw the water from a distance and dowse him. He didn't want to take that chance.
"W-w-what now?" stuttered Brent.
He was close to tears. This is pretty accurate to how his own parents treat him.
"Open the closet over there."
Brent opened the large walk in closet.
"Go in, there should be a door knob that is the same color as the wallpaper. When you find it, open it and get in."
Brent did as he was told, found the door, opened it, and got in. He turned around to face Naomi and he was clearly on the verge of tears. Naomi smirked at him as she slowly closed off his freedom. He began bawling, so she quickly shut the door. She pushed things back in front of the door to make it look like it wasn't tampered with and to keep Brent inside. She walked back to the living room, put the cap on her bottle, put it in her backpack, and chilled.
"Alright Fuku, that was the last dish. Let's go upstairs and join those two," said Frisk.
"I'm so excited! I've got tons of board games and card games that we can all play," gushed Fuku.
They got upstairs and went into her living room. They were disappointed when all they saw was Naomi. Frisk had a funny feeling.
"Naomi, where'd Brent go?" asked Frisk.
Naomi looked up at Frisk from a book she was reading.
"He got a message from his parents and he had to go home. He told me to tell you guys he said maybe some other time," lied Naomi.
Frisk looked down. She didn't know Naomi was lying. Naomi was a great liar. In fact, the night she got kidnapped by Grillby, she lied to her parents about where she was going. That was one of the reasons why her parents lost hope in her being alive after 40 days. They simply did not know where she went. If she had told them the truth, she would have been saved even if Frisk didn't have the powers she has.
"At least I know where he's at. We can all sleep with both eyes closed and not worry about a thing! I'll feed him once a day. Unlike him I'm not a murderer. He just needs to be contained," thought Naomi.
"Well, I'm sure we can talk to him and see if he made it home okay on Monday. Let's play some games," said Fuku.
Frisk nodded and the three of them picked out which games to play in order. In the room where Brent is, he is wailing his head off.
"HEEEEELLLLLLP! HEEEEELLLLLLP MEEEEEE!" screamed Brent in agony.
His parents had done a lot to him. But they never confined him to a room. They had threatened to use water on him but they never actually held water close to him. Naomi was psycho!
"That psychopath! I should have waited downstairs with Frisk and Fuku! Now I'm going to be stuck in here for the rest of my life!" sobbed Brent.
Hot red lava leaked down his face as he continued to cry. The floor was made of something that resisted against this. Grillby made it that way because he kidnapped other fire elemental girls and murdered them. That's why there are not that many fire elementals left in the underground. For some reason, Frisk thought about the small room in the closet.
"Brain? What are you trying to tell me? Naomi wouldn't put Brent in there...would she?" thought Frisk.
She kept a poker face as she learned time and time again that showing what you're thinking can lead to problems. When Naomi and Fuku were asleep, Frisk got up and walked out of the room. Naomi's eyes opened and she followed Frisk. Naomi was a little too obvious about it though, so Frisk knew to not immediately check the room. So instead, she walked into the bathroom and made grunting noises to make Naomi feel embarrassed. It worked as Naomi just blushed and regretted following her.
"I'm a great liar! There was no reason for Frisk to think of that room. Naomi, you're safe," thought Naomi to herself.
She calmed herself down and went back to the room to sleep. Frisk knew that Naomi would listen for a flush. Frisk saved right there in the bathroom.
"In case anything goes wrong, I can keep trying until I save Brent if he is in there," thought Frisk.
She carefully opened the bathroom door, making sure it didn't make a sound. She tiptoed to the hallway, and carefully opened the closet. She whispered through the door.
"If you're in there Brent, do not make a sound when I open this door. It's me Frisk. If you are in here, stay quiet and follow me to safety."
Brent on the inside heard what she said and quickly dried his tears and snapped his mouth shut. Frisk opened the door and what she saw broke her heart. He was obviously reliving trauma but worse. He was a pale blue now and the red parts of him looked orange. His eyes looked tired and depressed. But there was a tinge of happiness since Frisk found him. She motioned for him to get up and follow her. They went outside of Grillby's and walked to Frisk's old house. No one had bought it yet.
"Why are we going in this abandoned house? You're not lulling me into a false sense of security are you?" asked Brent.
"No I used to live here with my guardian, Sans. I still have the key and decided we could talk in here and get things sorted out. If you don't trust me we can go to your house," offered Frisk.
The fact that she offered a solution to his uneasiness made him positive he could trust her.
"I trust you," Brent said slowly.
They walked in her old house. Brent was taken away by how big it was and it smelled of spaghetti and quiche.
"Why does it smell like that?" asked Brent.
"Before I came to live here, Sans' brother Papyrus cooked spaghetti everyday and Sans made a quiche once. Even after I came to live here with them, Papyrus still cooked spaghetti. When I was 13 Papyrus married Mettaton EX and moved out. Sans and I couldn't afford to keep this house with Papyrus gone so we moved to the capital," said Frisk.
Brent looked around.
"The room on the left upstairs used to be Papyrus', and the room on the right was Sans'. When I first moved in here, I slept in a sleeping bag right here on the floor. After Papyrus moved out I took his room," explained Frisk.
She suddenly felt sad.
"Sometimes I want to reset just to relive life with the skelebros," said Frisk.
"I'm having a hard time believing Mettaton EX married a skeleton," said Brent.
"It's true. I could take you to visit them sometime if you want. Mettaton is down to earth and loves everyone," said Frisk.
"I'd love to meet her," said Brent.
Frisk sat down in the middle of what used to be the living room and Brent sat down with her.
"Tell me what happened," said Frisk.
"I went upstairs like you and Fuku told me to, and I sat down in the living room across from Naomi. I expected her to just glare at me like normal. But then she started asking me questions about crimes. She wanted to get dirt on me. The only bad thing I have ever done was I stole wine for my mother because she threatened to use water on me if I didn't. She stopped beating around the bush, told me she didn't like me because I remind her of someone who hurt her and you. Then she took out a water bottle, undid the cap, and forced me to go in the room you found me in. I don't know who hurt you and her or why, but why did she have to attack me?" said Brent.
Frisk sighed heavily.
"It's not you she hates. She hates that you're made of fire. If you were a different type of monster, she would have no problem with you. I'm not saying that justifies how she behaved, but someone who was made of fire put her and me in that room I found you in. His name was Grillby, Fuku's dad," said Frisk in a sad tone.
Brent leaned in as he was even more curious as to what happened. Frisk told him the story on what Grillby did, what happened during the first 40 days, and what happened after she loaded her save file. All of it blew Brent away. He was disgusted with what Grillby had done. He felt sad for Naomi, Frisk, and Fuku.
"So all you guys are close because you all saved each other," said Brent.
Frisk smiled warmly.
"Yeah. Grillby ended up causing us to be best friends who took an oath to look out for each other. I'll admit I was scared of you at first too. Fuku was as well. Well, more like she didn't know how to feel. But her and I talked about it and we realized we weren't being fair to you. Naomi was stabbed to death by Grillby. She subconsciously remembers because it was traumatic for her. She needs help from professionals. I'm going to call a hotline and tell them about her and her recent behavior. I forgot to do so, but can you lock the door and windows?" asked Frisk.
Brent nodded and quickly started locking everything that could open.
"Hello can I speak to someone professional? Thank you. I have a friend, Naomi, who recently kidnapped someone who reminded her of Grillby, the man who kidnapped and tortured her. I rescued the poor boy and we are away from her right now. She is currently sleeping over at Grillby's restaurant with Fuku. Okay, thank you very much. Mhm. Bye," said Frisk.
"Well?" asked Brent.
"They're coming to pick her up with an ambulance. Brent, I am so sorry you had to go through all of this. For what it's worth, you are a rare case among monster men. You are sincere and nice. You're not creepy. Well, at least not in a bad way. You gotta work on that staring thing of yours. I know you stare when you think, but it is creepy," warned Frisk.
"Heheh sorry. I will work on that. And...thanks," laughed Brent.