CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR: These Idiots Again
Blue tugs hard against the frozen window, snow pounding down on him as he struggles with the iced-over latch.
The door was hopeless, the snowbank piled against it almost taller than him- so he'd decided to cut his losses and had turned to papyrus instead, managing (with much difficulty) to pull him onto the ladder, occasionally having to gently slap him to keep the heavily concussed skeleton from slipping into unconsciousness. Blue, sufficiently freezing, is now attempting to open the window instead, papyrus propped up against the side of the house and occasionally letting out a weak mumble about spaghetti as blue pulls tenaciously on the handle.
He huffs, breathing hard, his breath making clouds in the ice-choked air as he raps against the windowpane and glances behind him at papyrus. The poor skeleton is still in a half-unconscious state, the cold getting to both of them as Blues hands shake inside his gloves. Blue is beginning to worry now, again rapping against the glass, hoping that someone will come soon. He needs to get Papyrus inside as soon as possible, and explain to his own brother what has happened- he must be so worried. Blue really needs someone, anyone to-
A blurry shape appears in the window, and Blue jumps, frantically trying to get its attention- banging on the window furiously as snow pounds down on him. The blur turns towards him, seemingly jumps with surprise, and races to the frozen window, details becoming clearer as Nells' worried and confused face appears on the other side of the ice-glazed glass. Suddenly, she disappears, but soon returns, Bells enter upper body visible now as she clambers on top of a stool to better see him.
Blue really wishes he had lips right now- maybe then he could mouth "LET ME IN!" in a way Bell can understand, because right now all he can do is make furious hand gestures. But Bell seems to understand his meaning anyway- the small human quickly tugging against the window latch and finally managing to open it with a harsh snap of cracking ice, Blue falling through it with a loud crash.
He tumbles hard onto the kitchen tile, Bell shrieking in surprise and quickly scrambling off of the stool, eyes wide and very confused. She quickly rushes over to a very stunned Blue and helps him up with a worried expression, the small skeleton shaking the snow off himself with a cacophony of clicking bones before quickly scrambling back up onto the counter and out of the still-open window- much to bell's confusion- before returning with papyrus's arm slung over his shoulder, only barely supporting the large skeleton.
"Blue!? Wh- are you okay? What happened where've you been I-"
Bell chatters incredulously, goggling at Papyrus with huge, worried golden eyes.
"-I- is he okay!?"
She asks, clearly very confused,
Blue still trying to find a safe way to get Papyrus's gangly form through the small window.
"A-AH! RIGHT, THAT-"
Blue gasps, shifting Papyrus's weight slightly and grimacing,
"I P-PROMISE I WILL EXPLAIN- BUT FIRST, COULD YOU ER…GIVE ME A HAND PLEASE? I N-NEED TO G-GET HIM INTO THE WARM."
Blue asks breathlessly with a slight chatter, still somehow supporting Papyrus the taller skeleton completely limp and quite clearly slowly crushing him. Bell blinks at the scene as snow blows in her face, before internally shaking herself and deciding it'd be better to help now, ask questions later.
"O-okay I- yeah I can do that!"
She replies, still a bit caught off guard by the scenario, reaching out with both arms and managing to just barely support about a third of Papyrus's weight and helping Blue shove the large, still very concussed skeleton into the house.
"What's wrong with Papyrus though? a-and why have you been gone so long?"
She asks worriedly, glancing at Papyrus, who is face down on the tile.
"You said you'd only be gone a bit, but, but you…u-uh…"
She trails off, and Blue cringes, feeling extremely guilty for letting himself be so distracted for so long... Helping his friends must always be a priority! But, then again, how are you meant to pick between them? Oh, that's never been something he's good at…He shoves the window shut against the howling wind with a tha-klic of the latch, letting out a sigh of relief and leaning back against it as he replies;
"I AM TRULY SORRY MY FRIEND- ME AND PAPYRUS GOT RATHER…AMBITIOUS, IN OUR EFFORTS AND, WELL…"
Blue pauses sheepishly,
"WE, ER, MAY HAVE FALLEN OFF THE ROOF."
He adds, Bells eyes widening as her mouth opens in shock. Off the roof? Then Blue jumps slightly, remembering something and fumbling with his pocket, right, the phone! He can still hear some static interference- somebody must have made sure the call didn't terminate- and quickly passes it to Bell, adding hastily as he begins to try and shove papyrus onto his back;
"WH-WHICH REMINDS ME, COULD YOU PLEASE MAKE SURE THIS DOESN'T TURN OFF? AND IF MY BROTHER COMES BACK WILL YOU EXPLAIN THINGS? OUR PAPYRUS MIGHT'VE HIT SOME ICE ON THE WAY DOWN AND I MUST MAKE SURE HE IS OKAY FIRST BEFORE I DO ANYTHING ELSE, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE MY BROTHER WAITING AGAIN!"
Blue explains worriedly, glancing at Bell pleadingly as he simultaneously waves a hand in front of Papyrus's face, prompting little response. Bell takes one look at papyrus- who has snow all over him and a sort of blank, stunned expression- and nods firmly to Blue, giving him a solid thumbs up. Blue sighs with relief- So at least that is taken care of. He immediately turns and begins to properly take care of the concussed Papyrus- Nell walking off and lifting the phone to her ear.
"U-uhh…hello? Is anyone still there?"
She asks nervously into the very cold phone, the static noise from the other end suddenly spiking as a few indistinguishable noises break through.
"Blue idiot? That you?"
A rough, irritable voice barks from the other end, Bell blinking in surprise. That wasn't what she expected. Walking over to the extremely tall sink, she sits herself down on the kitchen tile and leans back against it, replying:
"Uh…no? My name is Bell, Blue is helping Papyrus right now. They fell off a roof then had to climb through the window because it's snowing so much- i think Papyrus is sick now, so he might be a bit."
She explains, glancing at Blue, who's multitasking at keeping an eye on a boiling kettle and shoving papyrus onto the couch. It's impressive, how the small skeleton keeps track of so much at once.
"But you can talk to me for a while if you want!"
Bell adds brightly, the voice from the other end pausing, some sort of argument going on in the background.
"…you're a kid, arentcha."
It asks somewhat awkwardly, pronouncing 'you're' as 'yer', Bell cocking one eyebrow curiously as she replies.
"Yeah, I guess- but I'm not a really little kid, I'm gonna be eight soon!"
She adds, a little defensively, the voice from the other end huffing impatiently through the static.
"a human kid?"
It asks, Bell starting to be confused by the weird questions.
"Well, yeah…but, um, why's that important?"
She asks, the gruff voice from the other end replying flatly;
"'cuz it means I don't have t'be the one to tolerate you."
It replies, Bell just blinking in confusion as muffled shuffling comes from the other end. What'd they mean by 'tolerate'? She wonders, slightly wounded. If that's Blues brother, she doesn't think she's going to like him very much... There's a loud scuffling noise from over the phone that makes her jump, before an unexpectedly young voice says;
"…uUh, hi?"
Bell's eyebrows shoot up in surprise at the voice. That…wasn't what she was expecting, but still, a possible new friend? She smiles at that thought, replying brightly;
"Oh, hi there! I'm Bell, Blue told me to watch the phone and explain things to his brother, but I don't think he likes me very much."
She explains, a redheaded child on the other side of time and space also raising her eyebrows at Bell's voice. That wasn't what she was expecting either.
"Oh…you, uh, aren't what i was expecting. My name is Chara, but that wasn't Blue's brother- that was the grumpy guy who showed up yesterday with 'rus."
Bell blinks, still sitting cross legged on the kitchen tile, snow slowly piling higher against the window in the howling blizzard outside, climbing higher, inch by inch.
"Chara? Like char-uh? Wow, I did not expect to ever get to meet you! Hi!"
Bell exclaims, remembering Sans's unusual reaction to that name, and vaguely recalling the fact that the Chara in this universe (she's not very good with the whole 'other universes' thing yet, but she's getting there) has been dead for a while…probably? There were photos in Miss Toriel's room with that name written on them, but does that mean they're maybe also royalty? She can't remember very well, but it was something like that.
"I think my version of you is dead! Am I dead in your universe?"
She asks, and Chara, on the opposite end of time, space, and a phone call, gives the phone a look. That is probably the strangest sentence they've ever heard, and there's a momentary silence before they find the words to reply.
"…uhhhh…n-no? I don't know? I've been in the underground for…maybe a month now, but I've never heard of a monster named Bell before."
Bell giggles, grinning as she exclaims;
"I'm not a monster! Imma' human- like you are, i…think? Are you human?"
She asks, realizing she doesn't actually know for certain whether or not the Chara in another universe would still be human. Ooh, what if there's a human sans and Papyrus? Bell tries to imagine that, and makes a face as she finds she can't. There comes a similar laugh from the other end, Chara replying;
"No, I'm human- but uh, I'm sorry to say I still have no idea who you are…"
They reply, and Bell makes a 'concentrating' face- her mouth scrunching up as she thinks hard. Why wouldn't Chara know her, if she knows Chara? Wouldn't they be all switched around like Blue and Other-Papyrus are?
"Oh! I know!"
Bell cries, grinning,
"Bell is just my nickname- my proper long name is Misericordia, Misericordia Potenvi!"
She clarifies, using her 'bloody oddity of a second name' as the harbormaster often puts it, a short pause coming from the other end. Bell remembers that mama once said it was Latin for kind. Bell thinks maybe if it's just for kind then it'd be shorter, but mama wasn't ever wrong about anything, so maybe she's mistaken.
"…Oh."
Chara replies, eventually, if only because they're unsure what else to say. Eyebrows raised, Bell asks flatly;
"I'm dead aren't I."
Chara sighs and relents, admitting;
"…Yeah, yeah you are."
By this point, Blue has successfully managed to get Papyrus on the couch, and has turned to making tea- the small skeleton glancing over at Bell and letting out a small sigh of relief as he sees the animated chattering being exchanged between her and whoever has the phone. It sounds like she's really hit it off…Noticing him, Bell looks up, beaming and calling over;
"Blue! You didn't tell me there was another another sans!"
She calls excitedly, Blue blinking at her in surprise before smiling and replying;
"YES! THAT WOULD BE GRUMPY ME- OR 'RED' AS MY BROTHER CALLS HIM!"
He replies, pouring one hot cup of tea and two mugs of hot chocolate, downing one himself before bringing the other to Bell. He sets it down beside her, the child flashing him a grateful smile. He stands up, ruffling her hair as he does- that seems to be a habit most sanses share- then pauses as he's about to walk off, turning on his heel and asking;
"OH, BY THE WAY, BELL, WHAT HAPPENED TO MK? I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM YET- DID HE GET PICKED UP?"
Blue asks curiously, Bell looking up and putting one hand over the receiver as she answers;
"Well, we think his momses couldn't get here through the snow because they didn't show up and he got reeeeaaalllly sleepy from the cold, so he's napping over there."
She replies, pointing over to the warm stove where a small nest of blankets sits right in the path of the warm air, a yellow tail poking out one end as quiet snores come from the cozy pile. Blue blinks, and his brow furrows. Oh dear, his mothers (would he still have two mothers in this world? Or two dads?) must be very worried about him by now! He really should call them, but he will have to wait until Bell is done talking with whoever's on the phone.…unless they have a house phone? Landlines should still work in the storm…Blue wonders for a moment, his mind wandering.
Bell resumes her happy chattering over the phone, Blue staying standing there for a long minute while his mind whirs. Then, he remembers, right, yes- tea for Papyrus! He must do that first before anything else. The lanky skeleton is shivering on the couch now, blankets piled around him, his teeth chattering as Blue trots up to him, bandanna bobbing.
"AH, PAPYRUS! YOU'RE PROPERLY AWAKE, AND A GOOD THING TOO! I BROUGHT YOU TEA- BUT ONLY IF YOU FEEL UP TO DRINKING IT, OF COURSE."
Blue offers brightly, Papyrus blinking at him in surprise and pausing a long moment while his brain catches up before managing through chattering teeth;
"O-OH, B-B-BLUE! Y-YES, I WOULD V-V-V-VERY MUCH L-LIKE S-S-"
He struggles a moment, drawing the cocoon of blankets a bit tighter around him, as if in some bid to stop the shivering.
"SOME?"
Blue interjects helpfully, giving papyrus a sympathetic smile. Papyrus nots, relieved, returning the smile as best he can when he's vibrating like a jar of bees. Blue is kept quite occupied with making sure Papyrus doesn't accidentally spill the whole thing over himself, and Bell ends up giving a live commentary of his actions to her friend over the phone- from the sound of it, they've got one like a house on fire. All the while, he keeps an eye out for a house phone- but no such luck.
Bell's constant narration is oddly comforting, the child sometimes abruptly answering an unheard question, usually with something along the lines of; 'oh, yeah, that's _ here!' Or 'who the heck is _?' Or even once 'how can you never have seen mettaton? He's awesome!'
Blue chuckles happily to himself as he watches- he has his suspicions about who Bell is talking to, and he hopes he's right. He wants his two human friends to be friends…his brow furrows, and he stops halfway through making toast- it's just occurred to him that when he does get home, he might never see Bell or other him again. he frowns as best he can with a frozen grin, and tries not to think about it, returning to his task. He knows it will all work out in the end.
Suddenly though, his thoughts are interrupted.
"Hey Blue! Your brother's on the phone!"
Bell calls over to him, Blue immediately perking up and setting the plate of toast on the counter with a small chink as he hurries over. Bell hands him the phone with a smile, getting up and trotting over to the plate of toast as he gives her hurried instructions for Papyrus-watching, Blue immediately bringing the phone up to his ear- or where one would be, if he had them. As she's carrying the plate of steaming bread to the couch, Bell looks over her shoulder for a moment. She smiles to herself, watching Blue talk animatedly into the battered phone, a deeply relieved expression on his face as he chatters away to his brother, finally getting to unload all of the stress and explain all of the events that have happened to him with an expression of immense relief as he chatters away.
Then, the small child turns, and trots towards the couch with a smile.
Meanwhile, the snow piles higher, the vents upon the cavern roof vibrating in the rock as a distant core thunders, its systems pounding far beyond what it should as somewhere else, it's gray parallel lies silent.
And, though nobody knows it yet, something is deeply wrong.
