Chapter 24: Reunions
"It sounds like it came from over here..." a voice called out. A figure approached.
I couldn't make it out. The pain from the fall was immense, and I couldn't think over it, I couldn't process everything properly.
"Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you..." the figure continued. "Are you okay?"
I tried to say something... but all that I could get out was a grunt of discomfort.
The figure knelt down, offering his hand. "Here, get up..."
The figure helped me up, and with my limb arm over his shoulder, began to help me hobble away.
I was still in great pain, but my vision started to focus...
And I realized something, looking at the one who was helping me.
"A- a mon...ster...?" I barely sounded.
"Yeah," the figure replied, like he wasn't offended by that. ...This was oddly comforting for me. I should've been afraid. I mean, a real monster? But... he wasn't threatening. "What's your name?" he asked.
"C- C...ara..." I said, but I couldn't get it out right. I was in too much pain.
"Chara, huh?" the monster replied. "That's a nice name."
"No, I-" then I winced in pain.
"Hey, it's okay... We're going to see someone who can help you," the monster reassured me. "By the way, my... name... is..." And the world began to fade.
I woke up, and the first thing I realize... was that something was in my mouth.
Frisk was above me. She looked okay, and was stuffing some food into my mouth.
"Mph!" I sounded as I got up. I grabbed the food item out of Frisk's hands, and pulled it out of my mouth. "Okay!"
I looked at it, and it seemed to be a food bar of some sort.
"Why were you stuffing food in my mouth!?" I exclaimed, trying to remain calm.
Food heals, right? Frisk signed nervously.
"Oh, uh, right. Thanks, but please try to wake me up first," I said. "If you can't get me up, then stuff healing food in my mouth. Also, remember that only magical monster food heals.
Frisk nodded in acknowledgment.
I got up. Strange, there were buttercups here... That's what we landed on.
Frisk's pants were soaked, so she must've been running through the water. Toby was similarly soaked. But at least both seemed fine.
I got up, and tried to calm m thoughts. That dream really shook me. Memories of the past. My first memories of falling here...
Looking around, the entire wall was an extended waterfall, flowing into ankle-deep water crossing the whole floor, save for the remains of the broken bridge from above, and the raised ground that the tiny patch of golden flowers grew on. I was surprised that the flowers survived the fall of the plank debris.
And in the distance...
Trash piles.
This place... I remembered it.
"Wingding would come here often," I said. "Found all sorts of things that fell in from the Surface..."
Frisk wandered forward, but I looked back up.
Did Undyne think that she had won? I wasn't thinking that as an arrogant thought, more curiosity. What was he thinking now? Was she going to come down to find our "bodies", only to find that we were gone?
Well, no use thinking about it. Best get moving before Undyne did come down to look for us.
Up ahead, Frisk had stopped, to look up the waterfall, as small bits of trash flowed down the waters.
"The waterfall seems to flow from the ceiling of the cavern... Occasionally, a piece of trash will flow through..." I announced dramatically, "...and fall into the bottomless abyss below. Viewing this endless cycle of worthless garbage... It fills you with Determination."
It comes from the Surface? Frisk asked.
"Yeah... this is where monsters get their technology. Scavenging what the humans discard, and repurposing it."
I had a thought... This is where Gaster found the music box for the statue earlier. To think, it was all but trash, but it become something new...
Despite this thought, I didn't want to stay here long, so I ushered Frisk along.
On way, we passed more piles of trash... A broken bike... An empty computer case... A cooler...
I got the bar from there, Frisk signed.
The food bar? I signed back. Thanks, but don't do it again.
There was a clawed-apart DVD case... a training dummy...
The dummy...
It looked like the one from the Ruins. And there was something about it... But I couldn't tell what bothered me about it. Something that felt kind of familiar...
"Eh, whatever..." I sounded, as me and Frisk continued on.
It had to be nothing.
Wishful thinking.
I heard a shift in the water.
Looking back... nothing seems to have changed...
Save for some ripples in the water... around the dummy.
Then something changed with the dummy. It got eyes. Angry eyes.
It disappeared into the water.
"Wha..."
Then it jumped out in front of us.
"Hahaha... Too intimidated to fight me, huh!?" the dummy said, his voice seething with anger.
"You're a monster!?" I exclaimed. "But I've never seen a monster like yo- You're a ghost, aren't you? You've chosen this dummy as your body," I realized.
"Yes, exactly! I am a ghost that lives inside of a Dummy! My cousin used to live inside a Dummy, too. Until..."
The possessed dummy then flew up into my face. "YOU CAME ALONG!" He shouted.
"EXCUSE ME!" I shouted back. "Get out of my face!"
"NO! Now, where was I? OH YES! When you talked to them, they thought they were in for a nice chat... But the things you SAID! Horrible. Shocking! UNBELIEVABLE! It spooked them right out of their dummy!"
"Wait... do you mean the dummy in the ruins...?" I asked. I certainly didn't know that ghost was living in the dummy in the Ruins, but I do recall giving some awkward compliments. ...And that was it.
"YES! HUMAN! I'll scare your Soul out of YOUR body!" he angrily promised.
I tried to step back, to put some distance between us, but he continued to fly forward and stay in my face.
Then I looked down...
Frisk, she looked frightened...
Wait, she didn't like loud sounds, right? And this bastard...
"Feeble. Feeble! FEEBLE!" The dummy laughed. He prepared a magic attack.
...But then I used my Blue magic, and launched him back.
"First of all, stop yelling! You are scaring my friend," I shouted. "Second, I told you to get out of my face!"
"Wha... how?" The Mad Dummy cried out, as he got up (since I wasn't wanting to hold him down). "How are you doing this!?"
"Ghosts are living Souls," I explained. "Until they merge with their bodies. But that makes them more susceptible to Soul Magic, like my Blue magic."
"W-wait, you have magic? B-but you're human! That's impossible-"
Suddenly, several fireballs erupted behind me, casting my silhouette towards the dummy, as I gave him my famous creepy face.
"Oh, I know magic. I am the first human since the old war to learn how to use it," I relayed to him, adding a layer of menace. "And I know that ghost monsters can't be hurt by physical attacks, unless they fully merge with their chosen body, but magic attacks..."
"You- you!" Then the Dummy cackled. "Foolish. Foolish! FOOLISH! You think you are better than me!"
Seems this magic attack was ready... a bunch of smaller dummies that appeared and... Shot cotton projectiles at me.
But most of them missed. And the others...
"OW, you DUMMIES!" The Mad Dummy cried, as he got hit by his own attacks. "Watch where you're aiming your magic attacks!"
"That... is pathetic. You can't even control your own magic properly and aim right!?" I shot back.
"Oh yeah! And you think that you're any better, big shot?"
"Well... yeah. Because I know how to not hit myself with my magic."
"A wise guy, eh!"
"Um... I'm a girl..." But he wasn't listening now, as he got onto a roll.
"I'll defeat you and take your Soul! I'll use your Soul to cross the barrier! I'll stand in the window of a fancy store! THEN EVERYTHING I WANT WILL BE MINE!"
"...And how does that help your cousin?" I finally cut in.
"Well, you see... we were talking and... What was their name again...?"
I gave him a look of "really?"
"Whatever. Whatever! WHATEVER! You think you're a really hot shot, huh? Well, I-"
He screamed as several of my fireballs shot past him.
"Look, I don't want to fight you," I told the ghost-turned-dummy. "But if I have to fight, then I will. That was just a warning shot." I smiled as I teased, "can't get any hotter than that, right?"
"Oh. Oh! OH! You're SO funny," he mocked. "Well, you know what? Who cares? Who cares!? WHO CARES!? I DON'T NEED MAGIC! I DON'T NEED FRIENDS!"
Wait, that wasn't even YOUR own magic? I thought. They were your buddies? No wonder they sucked so bad.
Then he pulled something out, and I grew pale.
"I'VE GOT KNIVES!"
My mind was filled with images of my childhood, but I came to the Underground.
Of my birth father, who punished me with blades like this...
The one thing I feared more than heights.
It took me forever to get over it just so I could learn to cook... But to threaten me with one...
"Oh, now you are afraid, are you...? Well, TAKE THIS!"
And then it flew past me.
And clattered into the water, far behind us.
"I'm... out of knives."
I nearly fell to the ground right then and there, both out of relief, and disbelief. But I remained strong and kept standing upright.
"BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! NO AMOUNT OF MAGIC FIRE WILL STOP ME! I'LL NEVER LET YOU LEAVE HERE WITH YOUR SOUL, EVEN IF I HAVE TO STAND HERE..."
"Forever."
"Forever!"
"FOREVER!"
The Dummy then began to laugh loudly and crazily, his voice echoing across the caverns, his part flying all over the place...
Before some kind of rain fell on him.
It seemed to hurt him, as he began to complain, "wh... What the heck is this!?" Then he cried in mild pain, "Ergh! Acid rain!? Oh, FORGET IT! I'm outta here!"
And he just left.
"What the h*** was that all about...?" I asked.
Then something fell into view in front of us. But this time, it was someone we knew. A familiar ghost.
"...sorry, i interrupted you, didn't i? as soon as i came over, your friend immediately left... oh no... you guys looked like you were having fun..."
"Blooky!" I called out. "It's good to see you! Don't worry, that was playtime, he was picking a fight, and you actually helped us." The "acid rain" must've just been Blooky's tear attacks, which was a form of magic attack. How convenient. "He kind of got aggressive with us for no real reason, and wouldn't stop harassing us. I was more worried that I'd have to light him up."
"oh... oh, that must've been madstablook," the ghost replied. "i heard he got a job as a training dummy."
"That was Madstablook!" I replied. I mean, I've never met Madstablook personally, but I knew that he was a distant cousin of Blooky's, and I've heard he got in trouble with the Royal Guard... a lot. Growing up, there always seemed to be a new story, and it eventually became clear that he was just crazy.
Suddenly, that entire encounter made sense. Well, as much sense as it could.
But who would want HIM as a training dummy?
I shook my head. "Anyways, sorry you had to get involved. Say, isn't your place close by? Maybe we should come by?"
"oh, uh sure. but no pressure," Blooky replied.
"It's fine, don't worry."
I motioned for Frisk and Toby to follow, as Blooky guided us to his home and farm.
No the way, I signed to her, are you okay? That dummy was... pretty scary, I'd imagine.
Frisk nodded, but I could tell she was still a bit freaked out. She then signed, you were going to hurt him.
Well, I didn't want to. It's... it was self-defense, I explained. If someone tries to attack you, especially without a good reason, then it is okay for you to defend yourself by fighting back. I was trying to just get him to back off by scaring him, but he just wasn't getting the hint, so...
I then leaned down, and told Frisk, "don't worry, I was just trying to protect you. And if someone threatens you again, then I'll be there for you. It's not to fight them, but to make sure you are safe, okay?"
Frisk smiled. Seems she appreciated that.
Blooky first led us to his snail farm. "so... uh, welcome to the blook family snail farm... yeah. i'm the only employee."
"What happened. Wasn't there a whole family of ghosts working here?" I asked.
"well, this place used to get a lot of business... but our main customer disappeared one day... now it's just some hairy guy that shows up once a month... but, as business declined... everyone else moved on. they left to go find their own bodies..."
"I... I see..."
I then heard clapping, followed by some barking. Frisk was trying to get our attention.
Me and Blooky walked over to see what she was checking out, and it was the snail raceway. I remembered this.
"oh, do you want to play a game? it's called thundersnail," Blooky explained. Motioning to the track, a small rectangular area with three snails waiting before a starting racing line. "the snails will race, and if the yellow snail wins, you win. it's usually 10G to play, but since you're a friend of chara's, i'll let the first round be free."
"Want a go at the races?" I asked Frisk, and she nodded yes.
"okay... try to encourage your snail," Napstablook added.
"Does clapping work? Frisk can't talk, much less call out," I told him.
"should be fine... okay... 3... 2... 1... GO!"
And the snails were off! Frisk began to clap and applaud to encourage the yellow snail.
But she kept clapping, and...
It flipped over, and somehow caught fire.
Needless to say, she lost.
"oh... looks like you encouraged your snail too much... all that pressure to succeed... really got to her..."
I looked to Frisk. She was so excited before, but now...
She looked so... disheartened. Strange, for someone who was supposed to be determined.
"Hey," I said, as I reached into my gold pouch. I placed 30G into her hand, saying, "here's your prize, for trying so hard!"
This cheered Frisk up.
"Why don't we head to your house, Blooky?" I said.
"oh... sure, if you want to," Blooky replied.
Blooky's house was the same as I remembered it. It was blue, and slanted to the side, away from a similar pink house that mirrored it next to it.
As Blooky, Frisk, and Toby, I stared at the pink house. It was the home of an old friend of mine...
Everyone else moved on. They left to go find their own bodies. That's what Napstablook said. So, what about...
I heard Toby bark, snapping me back to reality. I figured the best thing would be to ask Blooky himself. So in I went.
"sorry," Blooky apologized as we came in. "i... wasn't expecting guests. it's not much, but make yourself at home."
"That's okay," I replied. I noted that he had a PC, a TV, a fridge, and some mixtapes lying around. The whole place looked worn down, small broken holes and cracks littered the floorboards and walls.
Frisk was checking out the TV. She looked at Blooky, signing, do you watch the same show as Papyrus?
Blooky didn't know sign language, so I translated to him. "oh, yeah... there's a show i like to watch on it... sometimes..."
The answer seemed strange. Was there something about the show that... bothered him?
"uh... are you hungry...?" Blooky asked. "i can get you something to eat..."
The ghost went over to the fridge, and pulled something out, which Frisk took interest in.
"this is a ghost sandwich... do you want to try it..."
Frisk nodded, took the sandwich, attempted to bite into it...
...And phased right through it.
"oh... never mind..." Blooky sadly said.
However, Frisk had grabbed it...
...But it was now starting to phase through her hands, barely holding together its form.
"Wait, I got this," I called out, and came up behind Frisk...
And used my Blue magic on Frisk's hands, which caused the sandwich to solidify, at least enough to stop phasing through Frisk's hands.
"Blue magic is Soul magic," I explained. "And any kind of Soul magic can allow non-ghosts to eat ghost food. Otherwise, it'll eventually just phase right through you."
"oh yeah... i forgot about that..." Napstablook replied.
With my help, Frisk attempted to take another bite of the sandwich...
And this time, got a nice, big bite!
Frisk smiled at me, and then quickly scarfed down the rest of the sandwich (fair enough, I couldn't maintain Blue magic forever, especially if I'm not using it on an actual Soul). After she was down, with her hands free, she signed, it was super tasty!
"Glad you liked it!" I replied. "Got another for me?"
Napstablook nodded, and got another sandwich for me. With my Blue magic, I could easily enjoy it.
After we finished, Blooky told us, "after a great meal, i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage... it's a family tradition..."
I remembered this. I always thought it was strange, but I found it... oddly cathartic, like just let yourself feel bad about yourself, and let it all just melt away.
"do you want... to join me...?" Blooky continued.
"Yeah, of course," I replied. "Come on, Frisk," I then told the little girl.
"okay... follow my lead..." Blooky directed us to the center of the small room that was his house. He then fell to the ground, laying sideways on the floor. I joined in, with Frisk by my side. "here we go..."
And we just sat there...
It was... calming... all the stress just going away...
I swore I could see the stars... space surrounding us...
Frisk yawned, and got up.
I suppose she couldn't stay still that long. She was a kid after all.
Napstablook got up the moment he realized this, which was quickly, so I got up too.
"That was nice," I said. "I missed that."
"yeah..."
There was still something bugging me, so I decided I need to address it now. "Um, hey Frisk, why don't you..." I looked around, and noticed the mixtapes lying around. "Are those you're mixtapes, Blooky? Maybe Frisk could sample them? I just need to talk to you."
"uh, sure... no problem... just be careful," Napstablook said.
"Yeah, Frisk, please don't break anything," I agreed.
Frisk nodded, and began to slip discs in, and listen to Blooky's spooky works, I pulled him to the side.
"Blooky, you said that the rest of your family moved on," I began. "So... what happened to them?"
"they just... said their goodbyes, and that they wanted to find their bodies," he replied.
"Okay, I... understand," I replied, though it didn't seem to calm Madstablook. "But... what about Happi?"
"you mean hapstablook? um, she started a human fan club... but only one other person came... but they were talking, and one day... she disappeared."
"Disappeared?" I repeated.
"yeah... i think, maybe, she left to find her dreams..."
"B... but... I thought you two were close."
"hapstablook... she promised we might perform together with shyren, after her sister fell down... but i guess it wasn't meant to happen... but it's okay..."
Hearing this... I started to fume. "No, it's not okay!"
Napstablook froze, as did Frisk, while the mixtape kept playing on loop.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell, it's just... I thought you and Hapi would always be together. And she promised you that you two will make music together. She... she better than this. I was one of her closest friends, I know this! Where... did she go!?"
"i don't know... maybe she found a body for herself..."
"She always wanted to be a star..." I noted. "I bet she went to New Home."
"chara... i..."
"Listen Blooky, I am going to find Hapi, and I'm going to knock some sense into her! She can't just up and abandon her family!" I cried out. "Not... like Asgore did to me..."
Napstablook was silent, but then... "okay... but don't be so hard on her..."
"I- sure. Come on, Frisk, time to go. It's good to see you again, Blooky, really."
"be careful... i hear undyne-"
"I know... We'll deal with her, and then we'll make our way to New Home. We're going that way anyways. See you later, Blooky!"
Me and Frisk left with waves, and as we made our onward, we passed by some monsters.
An Aaron and a Woshua. Monsters we've seen before.
Sigh... here we go again.
Except I missed something important.
Blooky's mixtape was still playing, and we could hear it faintly, but clearly, echoing through the caverns from his house, still only a few feet away.
And the spooky vibes were affecting these guys something fierce.
"...What the HECK is the music?" the Woshua exclaimed.
"I-I DUNNO, DUDE, BUT IT'S SPOOKIN ME OUT!" the Aaron replied, winking for some reason?
"...This is worse than Shyren."
"No way, Shyren is way less scary!" And the Aaron was still winking.
"...If you're so scared, why do you keep winking?"
"THESE ARE WINKS OF FEAR!"
"Forget it. This is beat is too... filthy."
"Wosh! Wait! Don't leave me!" Aaron begged, still winking. "Is this creepy music my punishment for being creepy? Please... stop... I'll never creep again! Wah!" he cried, as he flew upwards.
I was stunned. I mean, they never gave us the time of day, which meant no fight, thankfully, and that their conversation was not our business.
Still, as Aaron flew away, I had to say something, which was, "hey! Blooky's music is great, and not filthy! Not his fault you can't handle scary music!"
No response. Probably for the best.
Frisk looked up at me, concerned.
"S-sorry, I'm just worked up," I apologized. "Let's go."
As we made our way from Napstablook's little farm, and continuing down the tunnel forward, which I remembered the way myself, I found something new.
I mean, lots of stuff was very different from before my fall into the Void, but this... something... compelled me to check it out.
That, and Frisk just wandered through the doorway to our left without my input, followed by Toby.
We found ourselves in a makeshift shop. And on the back wall, the symbol of the kingdom was carved into the wall.
And the shopkeeper...
"Woah there! Rare to see folks like you! Look around, I've got some neat junk for sale," he said.
He was an old turtle monster. And I mean old. One of his yellowed eyes was squinting on his wrinkly green face, he had a yellowed, toothy grin, and he had a nicely grown goatee. He was wearing an old explorer outfit and hat, and was holding a magnifying glass.
And I knew this monster...
Gerson. An old friend...
"Hey, you okay, sweetheart?" he asked. "You seem kind of surprised."
"Oh, s-sorry, it's just... it's been a while..." I replied.
"'Been a while?' Have we met?" Then his other eye squinted, as he thought for a moment. "Eh, my memory must be getting foggy in my old age."
"Well, it might be more complicated than you think. I've been... gone a while."
"Heh, I've been around a long time. Maybe too long. You see quite a lot if you're like me." He smiled a bit. "Studying history sure is easy when you've lived through so much of it yourself! Wa ha ha!"
"Unless... of course... something removed those memories... from everyone," I sheepishly said. I wanted to tell him who I was, but he was old and... I didn't want to overwhelm him. That, and I was worried that I would just sound crazy.
"That... hm, from everyone, you say? That's a lot more than just my foggy memory," Gerson gabbed. "So, help me jog my old brain, where have we seen each other?"
"Uh... you used to... watch me when I was a kid, with my brother..."
"Is that so... Strange..." And then Gerson flashed his toothy smile. "Especially for a human."
Frisk turned in surprise, but I knew that if anyone would figure it out, it was Gerson.
And he noticed too. "Not surprised I figured that out, huh?"
"You used to fight in the war. You were a hero, right? Gerson, the Hammer of Justice?" I replied.
He squinted. "And how would a human know that...? Any human who fought in that war should be long dead by now."
"Um..."
Gerson let out a laugh. "Eh, maybe it's best not to think too much about it. And don't worry about it, I won't rat you out. Although, I never thought of myself as a hero. Sure, I was hailed as one, and it's a fun story to tell the children, but..." and he looked at Frisk, "I never felt that what I did during the war was heroic."
I was stunned. I never realized this, but... "You always said that you did amazing things."
Gerson raised a brow. "You certainly ACT like I know you. Now, I don't hate kids, but I'm not one to babysit... Well, except as a favor for King Fluffybuns, but that was before... well, you don't need to know about that."
Except I did know. He was talking about Asriel.
"Although, I'd think King Fluffybuns used to be the type to adopt a human... so... hm..."
"Gerson?" I asked with concern.
He squinted at me, and grumbled, "I think there was... no, I must be imagining..." Then his eyes widened. "Are you... Chara...?"
"You... remember?"
"Yeah, I watched both you and Asriel. The King and Queen adopted you."
I released a deep breath, overjoyed. "I'm glad you remember me."
"Yes, but... what happened to you?"
I gave him a quick version of events, about the CORE, the Void, and meeting and helping Frisk.
"So you fell into this Void, and that made everyone forget you?" Gerson summed up.
I nodded.
"Yelp, that'll do it!" He responded. "And to think I thought it was just me. Glad to know I'm not losing it! And now... you're trying to help this kid get home, right?"
"That's right," I confirmed.
"Whelp, perhaps buying some of my junk help!" Then he looked back down at Frisk. "So, want some Sea Tea? How 'bout this, I'll give you a discount, a friend of a friend deal!"
Frisk was just silently listening, as I was reconnecting with the old turtle. But with the attention on her... she pointed to the symbol on the wall, the three triangles, and the winged circle above it.
"Oh, that?" Gerson replied, pointing at the same symbol.
Frisk nodded.
"A quiet one, eh," Gerson replied.
"She.. actually can't speak," I informed him. "She's mute."
"Oh, well... Either way, she must not know as much about the kingdom as you do, so I'll give her a quick lesson." And Gerson motioned back to the symbol. "That's the Delta Rune, the emblem of our kingdom. The Kingdom... of Monsters." And Gerson let out a laugh, "Wahaha! Great name, huh? It's as I always say... Ol' King Fluffybuns can't name for beans!"
Frisk joined in with a silent laugh, ...but I was quiet. And I think Gerson noticed.
"Anyways, that emblem actually predates written history. The original meaning has been lost to time... All we know is that the triangles symbolize us monsters below, and the winged circle above symbolizes... somethin' else. Most people say it's the 'angel', from the prophecy..."
Frisk tilted her head, and Gerson continued as he realized that there was more to explain. "Oh yeah... the prophecy. Legend has it, an 'angel' who has seen the surface will descend from above and bring us freedom. Lately, the people have been taking a bleaker outlook... Callin' that winged circle the 'Angel of Death'. A harbinger of destruction, waitin' to 'free; us from this mortal realm..."
Frisk looked down. I bet she was thinking about her previous Resets... the people she's killed trying to escape them.
Gerson, trying to lift her spirits, said, "in my opinion, when I see that little circle... I jus' think it looks neat! Wahaha!"
"Don't worry about it, Frisk," I told the kid. "We're not here to be Angels. I feel for the monsters, and want to help free them, but that's not your responsibility. Let's just worry about getting you home."
"I don't mean put you on the spot," Gerson interjected, "but do you think you know who the Angel might be?"
"I... can't possibly know... but I've tried to help everyone escape and get their freedom, but all it's cost me is everything I love."
"So, it's better to do the small things, then?"
"Perhaps. Actually, we've been having to deal with the new Royal Guard captain. Anything we should know about her?" I asked.
"You mean Undyne? Yeah, she's a local hero around here. Through grit and determination alone, she fought her way to the top of the Royal Guard," Gerson explained. "Actually, she just came through here asking about someone who looked just like you..."
"Oh, did she, now?" I said, frustrated.
Gerson gave a small laugh. "I'd watch your back, Chara. And buy some items... It might just save your hide! Wa ha ha!"
"Yeah, I guess we'll take that deal on the Sea Teas," I replied.
As Gerson grabbed the items, and I pulled out my payment, the old turtle continued. "She's really come a long way since she was a little urchin. She always enjoyed hearing stories from my time as the Hammer of Justice. When she was younger, Undyne would follow me around, to watch me beat up bad guys... sometimes she'd even try to help! Though, most of the time the folks she attacked weren't bad guys. It'd be the mailman or something like that. Anyhoo, I appreciated it!"
"So, she's always been over the top, huh?" I said. "That actually helps a lot."
"She won't go down easy."
"I know. Anyways, thanks for the help." And I picked up our new items.
"Hey, Chara," Gerson called out before we could leave.
I stopped and turned around.
"About your father... I don't know what happened between you two, but... You know, when we first were trapped down here, Asgore and I agreed that escaping would be pointless... Since once we left, humans would just kill us. I felt a little betrayed when he eventually changed his mind. But I'm sure... deep down, he always cared about you. King Fluffybuns loved both of his kids equally, whether they be her own blood, or adopted."
"Then why did he promise to kill humans like me, right after my brother died?"
"You make it sound like it's this big thing. But... maybe it isn't," Gerson said softly.
I scoffed and left. I didn't care about my adoptive father.
And I didn't hear Gerson say, "I hope you two can figure things out. This business about taking human Souls... It seems more like a way to drive loved ones apart..."
Author's Note: Well, definitely more of a transition chapter, and just a bunch of meetings.
So to start, Of course, I was starting on the memory of Asriel and Chara's first meeting. I decided to expand on it slightly, but for the most, it's the same. Well, I did add in one sneaky thing...
Next, the fight with the Mad Dummy. Okay, I'm going to be honest, I really didn't want to write this fight. This has never been a character I was too fond of, and I almost just didn't feel like writing this.
Thankfully (for me, I don't know about you guys), the whole point of the Mad Dummy fight in the game is that you can't hurt him, because you don't have magic. Well, in this story, Chara has magic, and she doesn't take anything bad from anyone.
And, you know, there are a few things I could play off of. Like how in this AU, Chara does not like knives. Mad Dummy's knife attack isn't a big thing, but it is one moment in this fight that I personally really liked. It was funny, but here, I did need to take Chara's fear at least somewhat seriously.
And yes, I did add in a Big Shot reference. You know, because in Deltarune Chapter 2, Spamton's "BIG SHOT" theme references the Dummy theme.
I don't have a lot to say about the meeting with Napstablook. I didn't have much new to add. Save for, of course, Chara reacting to Hapi's disappearance.
I'll admit, I thought I had a strong plot thread here, but writing it out, I'm not sure about the reason. I mean, Chara was close friends with Hapi, but the whole plan to go to New Home to find her? I'll admit, it is strange reasoning, and was a bit hard to plot out a good reason.
Finally, Gerson. I was really looking forward to this. I really wanted to set Gerson up as knowing Chara. In fact, writing it out, I knew that I had to add something about Asgore. I've been starting to think that maybe Chara's reasoning for hating Asgore is, well, it makes sense, as she felt betrayed, because Asgore threatened to kill humans, but she's possibly taking it too far.
I ended up mixing together Gerson's dialogue from his normal conversations, and his Pacifist-ending conversations. In fact, his Asgore speech at the end of some text from one of his Genocide conversations.
And there is one last thing I need to address. So, have you ever watched Charriii5? He does a lot of things, and one of those is that he runs a series of videos that is a parody of CinemaSins' "Everything Wrong With" for video games. And he did Undertale a while ago.
In the video, he criticized how in the Pacifist Route, Gerson claims to be a hero, the Hammer of Justice, but in the Genocide Route, he claims he never was a hero. Charri asked why reality, is in, the past before Frisk fell into the Underground, where the Resets stop in the time rewind, changes just because you took a different route. Now, I think he is wrong, and that reality wouldn't change like that, but it is a good question.
My thought? Gerson was hailed as a hero during the war, but... he never accepted that himself. I mean, wars can be traumatizing, and Gerson likely did some horrible things, or at least experienced as such. Yes, no human Soul was ever collected in the war, but that doesn't mean that some atrocities didn't happen.
As for why he might still happily claim that he was a hero after that? Well, perhaps he puts all of the horror and trauma away, just to tell the kids a good story. One of Undyne's inspirations as a kid was clearly Gerson, so Gerson must like kids enough to tell them stories. After all, they are just kids, they wouldn't understand the awful things that must happen in war, the terrible acts you'd have to commit for the survival of your people.
Plus, if it is true, then it shows a strength in Gerson that the trauma doesn't mentally affect him enough as to not be able to put on a smile and tell these stories in a good light, when he actually hates what he did.
But this is why he sees himself as not a hero, despite being hailed as one, but still tells kids that he was one. Including Frisk, who is a kid. But in the Genocide Route, since you've been killing everyone, Gerson doesn't see you as a kid, so he has no problem being honest.
Actually, I do have a small theory regarding Gerson and this line of thinking about his hero status, though it is dark. You know how he has a kid in Deltarune, Alvis, the old turtle who runs the church?
Well, some people wonder if Alvis ever existed in the Undertale universe, and there is a theory that Gerson is a boss monster himself, so in Undertale, he is in the same boat as Asgore and Toriel, not aging because he never had a kid, but in Deltarune, he passed away since Alvis does exist.
Well, I'm thinking that this might be somewhat true, but as for Alvis being in Undertale, I think that perhaps... he did exist, but was killed in the war. This could be why Gerson didn't see himself as a hero, he didn't save the most important person to him. But seeing other kids reminded him of the good times, so he didn't mind telling them of those good times.
Sorry, this one took a while. I would say that life happened, but that's only half true. I just finished Job Corps a month ago... and I've just felt drained with my art stuff. Hard to finish my projects.
So, next time... Temmie, if I believe correctly!