WARNING:
This chapter has, perhaps, the goriest scene in the fic so far. Be advised.
Snowdin - Part 4
"This story, I can assure," Avy said to his audience. "Is one not any of you have ever heard. Something I and few others have managed to keep a secret for over a decade, starting not long after the mad ape Mickey first came from the capital, out of the castle of New Home itself, claiming to be the supposed chosen champion of King Asgore. But now, everyone else who also knew this story but kept silent is dead. Or worse. My family, my children, are long gone as well, and if I have any grandchildren he can get through, I've never heard or met them before, so it wouldn't bite me that hard. Sounds selfish, I know, but it means that no matter what I say, Mickey can't harm me except by going straight through me. So, I am the only one left with this forbidden nugget of knowledge, and without family or any people that I can't afford to lose. The only one… who can dare to tell you this particular tale."
Almost everyone in the bar, not just Frisk and Flowey, had stopped whatever they were doing, be it drinking, eating, thinking or what else. Everyone except for Sans, who seemed to be actively ignoring the situation, instead focused on the remainder of his food. Even Grillby had stopped his cleaning to watch the storyteller with nervous anticipation. Frisk had moved herself and Flowey a few seats closer to the old bird, sitting on the other end of the round table he occupied, effectively being in the front seat.
From the crowd, the young donkey-headed monster from before had given Avy another bottle of booze. The old bird had requested one, claiming his words would sound better with alcohol flowing through, and so Grillby hesitantly accepted his request purely on the condition he would pay extra next time. Something the old bird clearly didn't plan to, as to him, this story might as well be his suicide note.
"So… where to begin?" Avy said and took a sip from his drink. "Well… many say that the troubles first started the day Mickey first arrived. Others say they truly started with the war. But if you ask me, it all started perhaps much earlier than that. With the kings… growing madness. The war, and later Mickey, these were just awful inevitabilities that followed. But doubtless, most of you have probably already heard those tales, so I don't need to go over that."
"Erm… no, we haven't," Flowey admitted. "Or at least, she hasn't. Probably."
"Sorry what?" Grillby asked, sounding like Flowey was suddenly growing a second head.
"Yeah," Frisk confirmed with awkwardness. "That's… true."
"Or maybe I did," Flowey said, pondering. "But my memory is kinda… wonky these days."
"Well either way," Avy continued. "Whatever you know of Mickey, I want you to forget right now. Doubtless, you've heard countless stories of him, of his strength and "greatness" or whatnot, right?"
"N-no actually," Frisk answered. "We know nothing about Mickey. In fact, we only just heard about him for the first time like… last night."
Avy looked at them strangely, moving his bird head sideways as if it would somehow help him understand them better.
Oh crap, Frisk thought. Maybe I shouldn't have just admitted that.
"Y-you two really don't know who Mickey is?!" Grillby asked with some astonishment.
"Uh, yeah, I mean no," Frisk answered. "We don't know much about him… really. Barely anything in fact."
"Yeah, that's what we've been trying to say," Flowey confirmed. "That's… kinda the reason why we wanna hear this story so much."
"But… you're an ape monster too aren't you?" another monster, one resembling a small male dwarf rabbit asked. "From Apetown? I don't want to assume, but you got to have heard something, especially since he's so famous."
"Gods, just how isolated are you people?" the donkey monster asked.
"It's… complicated," Frisk excused nervously. "I mean, we know a few things. We know he's like a knight or a warrior or… something? And that he leads a group called The Royal Hunt, who are like… some sort of group of other warriors or knights I'm guessing? But that's about it. We don't know how he's like, what he looks like, how long he's been around or just… anything. I know that sounds strange and… and improbable, but-"
"Heh, don't feel embarrassed, girl," Avy said reassuringly. "Frankly, I'm not even that surprised you two outsiders don't know much about him and The Hunt, considering the constant erasure and secrecy surrounding him and his ilk."
"But, is that gonna be like a problem?" Frisk asked him. "In terms of telling your story, that is?"
"Nah," Avy said. "I will just have to take a while longer to tell it, but it's fine. I ain't going anywhere. Have no other place to go currently."
He then grabbed his new bottle again and took a big sip from it
"Now where was I?" Avy said once he finished. "Ah yes. The beginning."
He gave out a small cough as if to prepare.
"So," he began. "A decade ago, during the First War, I was a senior journalist working for a now bankrupted newspaper company called Snowdin's Newspaper Paper Business, or SNPB for short. Great name, I know, but it was fine enough place to work at. Either way, thanks to that profession, I have seen and experienced many things down here in the Underground most monsters haven't seen or even heard of. Awe-inspiring things, mundane things, even some terrifying things. Dark, unknown magic, that kind of thing. I was also lucky, or unlucky rather, to be one of the first to see the first hints of King Asgore's eventual despair into insanity."
His face took on a look of despair, and so he took a large gulp from his drink. Then he placed it on the table, winced, and continued.
"King Asgore has ruled this underground for thousands of years," Avy said. "Still, there weren't many complaints through most of it. He was kind enough, and The Royal Guard did a decent job upholding law and order through the centuries. But then one day, the prince and his adopted sibling died and the queen left and vanished."
"Erm… excuse me?" Flowey interrupted, raising one of his vines in the air. "I thought this was a story about Mickey."
Frisk sensed a certain tone of discomfort in her companion's voice, but then shrugged it off as her imagination.
"I'm getting there," Avy said. "But a long story short, decades later the queen suddenly returned one day, and then… she died."
"Supposedly," Flowey added.
"Flowey," Frisk sternly whispered to her companion.
"Oh sorry," he replied.
"Supposedly, yeah," Avy continued. "And after that… Asgore fell into a deep depression."
He took another gulp.
"Gah, that… was when everything started to go to shit," Avy then said. "The Royal Guard became harsher suddenly, apparently following the kings new, harsher words. Towns stopped getting supplies, and Asgore had stopped showing up altogether. Eventually, it escalated and… a rebellion was formed, and a war quickly after."
"The First War of the Underground," the donkey monster added.
"Aye," Avy said. "The first war in this underground, we called it. After thousands of years of relative peace, it must be a record. But honestly, in hindsight, I'd say it was maybe a long time coming. So long story short, the rebellion lost and the kingdom was victorious. After that, everyone was sure things would go back to normal. But I knew better than that. I knew things would never be the same again down here. Not for a long time. Those suspicions only grew stronger once Undyne, leader of The Royal Guard, retired in anger quickly after the war."
The old bird suddenly chuckled in amusement, as if he was reminded of something ironic.
"Funny thing is," Avy continued. "I thought that was a good thing at the time. I was never fond of her. Not many of us at SNPB were. I even wrote an article about it, defending that choice. Of course, we were mostly on the kingdom's side at the time, so there was some bias involved. But… I had a hunch that things would only grow worse afterwards. As it turned out, I was right."
He sighed.
"The rest of the Royal Guard followed in Undyne's steps," Avy said. "Eventually, we were without protectors. Without a group to keep order down here, besides a few lawless mercenaries here and there that cared more about the size of their bank account than about honour and justice. So quickly afterwards, there was a lot of chaos down here. Gangs were formed, even rumours of a black market. But not even King Asgore himself seemed to care about us anymore."
He became silent all of a sudden. Stared at his bottle like he was contemplating whether or not he was morally right to drink from it.
"Frankly," he continued. "I'm not even sure Asgore is even alive anymore. I always knew him to be strong of heart and mind, and not once did I consider the possibility that he could turn mad from grief. Some monsters do, yes. But Asgore was not just some monster. He was a Regis, or boss monsters as we call them these days. A king of kings. Eh, whatever the case, whether he was alive or dead, this is how the kingdom currently was. And that was when… Mickey arrived."
There came a sudden air of discomfort in the bar, and Frisk felt suddenly shivers run through her, like the place itself had suddenly gotten colder. She also felt her attention increase tenfold, and despite the sense of dread, she wanted desperately to know more at this point.
"No one knows where he truly came from," Avy continued. "Not to mention, no-one can say anything about him before he arrived. They say he's an ape monster, but even they, isolated as they are, haven't given us anything to go off on. Even today, a decade later, little is known about him before his appearance, or even how he met Asgore and was chosen by him. If he was, that is. We hadn't heard from the king in years at this point. Then he shows up, claiming himself his champion and voice of reason. Bah. I was there when he showed. Oh, I was there. I was, in fact, one of the first to meet up face with the Mad Ape. He seemed charming enough, and strong. Very strong in fact. At my first impression, I could see why Asgore would choose him as the new leader of The Royal Guard. But even back then, I happen to notice a… a certain glint in his blue eyes. Some strange hint of darkness or evil, like in the old king but… worse somehow. At the time, I ignored it. But now, I knew I should've trusted my guts."
He took another swig, a big one this time.
"What happened then," Frisk pried.
"Then," Avy continued. "Thing's appeared to be starting of… great. We had a new order of knights, this one called the Hunt instead of the Guard. An odd choice, but we accepted it nonetheless. Even Asgore himself seemed to be getting better, although he still wasn't open to the public anymore, only talking to the higher-up, and mostly to the accursed Royal Scientist Gaster."
Frisk felt a shiver run up her skin once more at the utterance of that name. Even the way Avy said it seemed to show hints of deep grudges and hatred.
"But things still weren't great down here in Snowdin," Avy continued. "As many in this bar can tell you. Most businesses had closed except for a handful. Even our newspaper business, once the king of the town, was a sad shadow of its former self. But we Snowdin folk were hopeful. Perhaps naively so. Most of us just told ourselves it was a slow process. That Snowdin was so far away from the capital area, but that the renovations would come to us later. Hells, we even went as far as to run a campaign to give ourselves our own mayor, before even asking King Asgore for permission. We were just that optimistic."
He took another swig and eyed a sleeping bear monster in the corner of the bar. The old bird looked happy like he was reminded of something joyful. Then, his expression changed to sadness as he turned away from the bear and back to the crowd.
"But that's a story for another day, girl," Avy continued. "Days passed. Then weeks. Then months. Not once were there hints of renovations coming down here to Snowdin, and to this day, there still isn't, as you can plainly see. All talk about improvements, yet no actions were made. We were getting nervous. The optimistic spirit in us Snowdin folk was fading as quickly as it came, and the whole town was beginning to grow nervous and doubtful of the king's rule. Even hastening the unofficial mayor campaign in a desperate attempt to bring some semblance of hope during those days. But then… one of us… one of us at SNPB had an idea to lift our spirits. His name was Carson, The Angel rest his soul."
He looked at the bottle with a hint of melancholy.
"W-wait," Grillby suddenly said. "What has Carson got to do with Mickey? Didn't he die of an unrelated printing accident."
Avy chuckled heartily at that. Almost breaking into laughter, it seemed.
"That… is indeed what we said," Avy said. "That is what we all said. But the truth of Carson was just… too horrifying to reveal, even without the added danger to our lives in revealing it. But it doesn't matter now. Not anymore that is."
"W-wait what?" the dwarf rabbit from before asked, sounding incredibly bewildered. "C-Carson's not dead? After all this time? Gods, what happened to him then?! Is he still alive?! Tell me! Is my uncle still alive?!"
"Well I didn't say he wasn't dead Hari," the bird told him. "Just that we lied about how he died."
"Oh, well then," the dwarf rabbit, Hari, said, sounding disappointed but irritated. "But still, why did you lie about it though?! Why am I only now hearing about this?!"
Avy looked at the rabbit with a saddened yet uneasy expression.
"I'd suggest you leave now, Hari," the old bird said to the rabbit. "Forget about this. As the truth will be much worse than the comforting lie we gave you."
"I don't care!" Hari replied angrily. "What?! What could be so bad that you lied to me about the death of my uncle?!"
Avy looked at him, his expression showing unease like the old bird wasn't sure if he should continue. It was the first time, during this whole storytime, Frisk noticed, that he looked even the smallest bit hesitant.
"Alright then," Avy said. "But keep in mind. I did warn you, Hari."
He took another swig of his drink.
"Hmm, to put it lightly," Avy continued. "Carson was one of our best journalists. Top-notch. I'm not even afraid to say that he was better than me, and I had worked there since the company started, a hundred years prior. During the war, this brave little rabbit even went to the frontlines. Talked to Royal Guardsmen, soldiers and whatnot. Took great photos as well. He was amazing, and the company only suffered without him."
The bird nodded toward Hari the dwarf rabbit who smiled a bit in remembrance. But then the rabbit quickly stopped smiling and turned grumpy again.
"It's not gonna work that easy," he muttered.
"So as I was saying," Avy continued. "While the whole town was losing hope, and the well-intentioned mayor campaign only growing stronger through sheer bitterness and grief, there was still one outside aspect that kept us motivated. One thing that people still looked up too during these worsening times, even when our faith in the king was fading. That thing… were the stories of Mickey and The Hunt."
He turned silent again before taking another sip of his drink.
"Not one of us in town had ever met him," Avy continued. "Yet, we ignorantly adored him nonetheless. The stories of him spread like wildfire through the underground, not the least because of what we printed of him. So Carson had the idea to write a piece on him and his achievements, maybe make an interview in fact, as a sort of way to help motivate the monsters here in Snowdin. Truth is, we all needed a hero in these times. But the problem was, Mickey and his group were very isolated and didn't really let themselves be seen in public that much so reaching him was hard."
He sighed once more. This time, it was like he was reminded of a terrible mistake or oversight he made once.
"That… should've been our first clue that something was up," Avy continued. "Instead, Carson decided to look up some civilians who had encountered him and find more about him that way. Interview some farmers, city folk or whatnot from the notes we got. And so, we bid Carson farewell as he headed towards the first source. A farmer near Waterfall."
He stared at his drink for a while. His expression changed that to worry and later of pure unease. The light above flickered uneasily, and Frisk felt the air suddenly grow thicker and heavier.
"He came back several days later," Avy continued. " Our boss Octo and I… well, we were the first to greet him. But something was wrong. Very wrong, we could tell. He looked… distraught. Scared even, more so than from any of his investigation during the war. We tried to pry the truth from him, but he wouldn't tell us anything. All he said was that he discovered something. Something that just didn't fit, and so asked that we stayed away from anything suspicious related to Mickey or The Hunt for the time being, at least until he knew more for certain. Fortunately, we listened to him at first, and I dread to think what would've happened to us if we hadn't. But that wasn't the end of it. Not with Carson."
The old bird grabbed his bottle and chugged fast and hard. He chugged until there was seemingly nothing left in the bottle.
"Gah," he said and slammed it on the table. "So anyway… Carson. He… he was on to something, that much was obvious. For days he isolated himself in his house, barely leaving. Eventually, he stopped coming to work, except to get some supplies or notes, all which related to Mickey or The Hunt. After his isolation turned to weeks, our worry grew even more. We asked his neighbours if they knew anything, but nothing. Even they were surprised by his sudden isolation. Then Carson wouldn't answer our emails or calls."
"Yeah, I remember that," the dwarf rabbit Hari said, regretfully. "We just assumed he was depressed because of… well, everything."
"Heh, of course, you did," Avy said. "Don't let that bite you. I would have assumed that as well if I didn't know any better from my line of work. Anyway, one day, one of our co-worker by the name of Rudy, Angel rest his soul as well, went to his house to check him himself. When Carson answered his knocks… gods. The description Rudy gave us. In his words, Carson looked like someone who had been through hell. Restless, half-dressed and dirty, with a terrible stench, and a pure expression of worry and horror. Carson didn't let him in of course, just told him to stay away. But Rudy managed to catch a glimpse inside. Most of the apartment was trashed, unsurprisingly, but he also glimpsed a strange blackboard with dozens of scribbles, he told us. Like something you'd find at the home of some conspiracy nut. Finally, we at SNPB decided that enough was enough. Something was clearly up with Carson and his work. We had to find out what, with or without his permission."
"Well, what was it?" Frisk asked with morbid curiosity.
Avy looked at her, his face expressing disappointment.
"We… never found out," he simply answered.
"What?" Frisk replied, befuddled. "Didn't you guys like… I don't know, follow his footsteps or something."
"Yeah, we did," Avy said. "But we weren't the first to do so, it seemed. For example, I went to the aforementioned farmer's house. But when I came, I found it empty and in ruin, and judging by the smoke, it had only been destroyed recently. But the neighbours said something strange. They just said that they hadn't heard of anyone who lived there recently. That the farm had been empty for years."
"But you didn't buy that, did you?" Flowey asked.
The old bird chuckled lightly.
"Of course not," he said. "You don't survive the mass layoffs at my old journalism job unless you knew a thing or two about body language or hidden expressions and thoughts. I could tell something was off the moment I asked them about the farmhouse. I could see they were nervous. Some even appeared to be terrified of something."
"Of Mickey?" Frisk asked.
"Perhaps," Avy said. "Either way, I decided not to pry and just pretended to fall for their words. But that was not the eeriest or most glaring thing I found that day. That thing… goes to what I found inside the ruined, burnt wreckage of the farmhouse."
"W-what did you find?" Frisk asked, feeling the nervousness in her rise.
Avy didn't answer at first. He just looked at her and took a gulp from his drink, seemingly the last one. This wait just made her unease and frightful anticipation rise. Then once the old bird was finally done, he placed the drink on the table and looked sternly at his crowd of listeners.
"I found…" Avy began. "Well… besides all the strange pointy spikes and piles of white powdered dust littered about. In the basement… underneath all the wreckage… I found a wooden table covered in ropes… and a pool of blood."
"Wait, blood?" Frisk asked in surprise.
"That's right," Avy said. "Monster blood in fact."
She looked around the room to see if anyone was just as confused as her, or if she simply misunderstood how monsters actually worked. However, it seemed everyone was just as bewildered as her.
"I'm sorry, what?" a random voice from the back asked.
"How is that-" another voice began.
"Wait, you're sure it was monster blood?" a third monster asked.
"Ok, this overly long story is officially just nonsense," Flowey said and rolled his eyes.
"That… is…" Grillby muttered.
"But I… but I thought that monster blood turns to dust once it leaves the body?" Frisk asked the old bird.
"And you're right, girl," Avy said. "Or at least… it's supposed to. But this pool of blood didn't. In fact, it had apparently been here so long it had gotten dark in some spots."
"How… how is that possible?" Hari, the dwarf rabbit, asked.
"Heh, I asked myself the same thing back there," Avy said and smiled. "Believe me, I could make neither head nor tail of it. At first, I thought I was mistaken. Maybe it was simply ketchup or… some other strange liquid. But I tested it. Tasted it. No matter how improbable it seemed, I became certain that it was genuine monster blood that somehow hadn't dusted yet. And with the added fact that there were also ropes tied to the table, I could sense that some gruesome scene took place there. Something I dread to imagine."
"W-well, either way," Grillby said as sternly as he could to the old storyteller. "That's all fine and dandy, b-but unless you have something more, erm, concrete about Mickey-"
"Oh, I'm getting there," Avy said. "Believe me, I wish that pool of blood was the worst part. But after my initial shock wore off, I took some photos and scooped up some of the blood in a bottle."
"Oh, then can we see them?" Flowey asked him.
Avy looked at him with a look of disappointment and sighed.
"I'm afraid I can't," he answered.
"Why not?" Flowey asked, with a tone of doubt.
"I burnt the photos," Avy stated.
"Wait, why?" Frisk asked in disbelief.
"You'll see," Avy just said.
"But, what about the blood then?" Flowey added.
"It has long turned to dust," Avy said. "Did so by its own. Just a few days later in fact."
"Well that's awfully convenient," Flowey said and rolled his eyes.
The old bird smiled.
"Heh, I know you don't believe me, flower," he said. "In fact, I'm not expecting any of you too."
"Then why are you telling it?" asked a monster from the back.
"Because I simply don't give a shit anymore," Avy said grumpily. "So anyway. Once I came back to Snowdin, back to SNPB, that is, I got some… bad news. Carson had gone missing. Rudy and some other co-workers went to check his house. When he didn't answer the knock for almost half an hour, they… well, invited themselves in. They looked everywhere for Carson. All the rooms, the basement and attic. No trace. It was like he had vanished from this earth. But the strangest thing was, as Rudy put it, he couldn't even find the blackboard he managed to glance at in his last visit. Nor any of his research."
"Someone had taken it?" Frisk guessed.
"Most likely," Avy said. "I showed my boss and co-workers my photos, and from what we gathered, we were too scared to tell others we were looking for him. Still, we called some of his friends, relatives and neighbours."
"Yeah, I remember that," Hari said. "Always thought it was weird. How you just asked if I've seen him but then immediately hung up once I denied."
"I'm sorry for that, Hari," Avy said. "Wish we could've told you. But it was for the better. Trust me."
"Yeah, I'll be the judge of that soon," Hari said, grumpily.
"What happened next?" Frisk asked.
"Then," Avy began. "We tried to look up the other sources Carson had. Secretly, of course, in what was a futile attempt to trace his investigation, and hopefully, find him through that. But, like the farmhouse, they all came out blank. Days passed. Then weeks. Eventually, we gave up and moved on."
"And not once did you tell us Carson was missing?!" Hari asked.
"Oh, we were going to," Avy continued. "But then, one day, just as we were about to, SNPB was unexpectedly delivered… an unmarked box."
He paused once more. The old bird then looked around the eager crowd, face expressed with fear like he was too scared to continue.
"What was in it?" Frisk calmly asked the old bird.
"Another drink, please?" Avy suddenly requested, not even looking at her.
"What?" Frisk replied, confused.
"My bottle is empty," the bird said. "Another one Grillby? Something much stronger this time. Much, much stronger."
"Erm… ok then…" the bartender replied, sounding reluctant. "I think I have… something like that around here."
The flaming bartender kneeled under the bar counter and picked up a large, green bottle of some indistinguishable liquor. The old bird took a quick look at it and nodded.
"Just throw it," he said.
"Er… ok…" Grillby said. "Catch."
He threw it in the air across the bar, and Avy grabbed it with his winged hand, the hard glass clanking as it touched his pointy claws. He then bit the tap off with his beak, rudely spat it onto the ground, the sediment spewed out from the top in abundance. Then without saying a word, he proceeded to chug loudly.
The lack of any other noise had grown uncomfortable, yet, strangely enough, not one of the other monster decided to speak up in his stead, and it dawned on Frisk that the worst part of the tale was probably about to be revealed soon. If this was obviously fiction, she would've been morbidly excited. But she wasn't sure what to believe, and since there was an undeniable sincerity in the old bird, Frisk was dreading to hear more. She felt like she had to force herself to stay and listen on. She knew she just had to find out what kind of figure, what kind of monster, this Mickey was.
Finally, after an uncomfortably long gulp, the old bird placed the bottle on his table. He grinned and shook his head like the taste was incredibly disgusting. The smell that followed was indeed so.
"Alright, you got your drink," Flowey said with mild impatience. "Now tell us. What was in that box?"
The bird stared at his new drink like a statue. The sediment ran out his mouths, over his chest and shirt, but he remained unmoving and uncaring. Then finally, he continued.
"Alright," he began. "So here is… how it happened…"
Several years ago…
"This is… weird," Rudy said, looking at the large, mahogany box. "You said there was no note with it?"
The black-haired reindeer monster stood over the strange mahogany box alongside many of his co-workers. It was about the size of a small storage crate and mostly blank with the only thing standing out being the carved Deltarune symbol on the front, underneath the numbered combination lock. It was the symbol of the kingdom and was represented by a set of two bird-like wings attached to a sun that hovered above three small triangles.
The box had been moved inside the SNPB building and placed on a vacant work desk near the entrance and was now circled by most of the workers in the building. More and more people showed up here and there once they heard of the strange situation going on.
"Yeah, nothing," Avy confirmed. "No letters. No stamps. Nothing. It's like it just appeared by itself outside the building."
"I think it's from the capital," the secretary, Hendur said. "Judging by the symbol and its fanciness."
Hendur was from a rare yet extremely bizarre-looking monster type, even compared to most monster standards. Often called "Handymen" by other races, his race had the appearance of an average-sized blue-skinned humanoid with a large human palm in place of a head.
"What's in it?" asked a worker lady who resembled a skinny frog in a business suit.
"I don't know," Rudy said, his hand on his chin. "Has anyone ordered anything recently? On the company's name, that is?"
No one in the small crowd came forward.
"Tried opening it?" the janitor, a youngish female Loox, asked.
"Of course we have," Avy said, almost dismissively. "It's locked tight."
"Well… I could probably pry it," the same Loox suggested. "I am pretty strong after all. Probably won't need to get my tools. "
Rudy shook his head.
"Nah, that's not a good idea," the reindeer said. "It could be… rigged or something."
"Rigged?" Avy asked him.
"I mean… yeah…" Rudy began. "There were a lot of experiments with bombs and traps during the war. And I've heard stories of humans using similar methods with mail on the surface."
"But who would want to kill us?" Hendur asked him. "And why is this box so finely made and also marked with the royal insignia then? Unless you are suggesting the king or someone in the council is holding some vengeful grudge against the company, which while possible, would be-"
"I… I don't know, ok?" Rudy answered. "Let's just… let's just be safe for now before we do something we'll regret."
"I'm just pointing out," Hendur said. "The idea that someone from high up in the kingdom would send us a package bomb is very improbable, and-"
"What's going on here?" a calm, yet slightly worrisome voice from behind the crowd asked.
It was Octo, their boss. Octo, like their nickname hinted at, was a monster resembling a large octopus. They had 6 eyes on a bulbous cone-like body, and no solid limbs, unless you'd count the countless tentacles they use to crawl around with.
With their arrival, everyone that worked at the building had officially shown up here. Once Rudy saw Octo, he turned towards Hendur with a bewildered expression.
"You didn't let them know, Handy?" the reindeer whispered.
"I didn't think it was that important," Hendur simply answered. "Octo has been going through a lot of trouble nowadays. What with the passing of their mother and the breakup before that, so adding more baggage on an already unstable mind would be counterproductive. Also, I have told you before to stop calling me Handy."
"G-guys," Octo said, trembling in nervousness. "I asked… w-what's going on?"
"There's this… unmarked box that was sent here, boss," Rudy explained to Octo. "You didn't… order anything recently for the company, have you?"
"Erm… I can't say that I have," Octo answered, thinking. "Or… maybe I have but… hmm… Nah. Don't think so."
Rudy turned back to the box and sighed.
"Great…" he muttered.
"Well… what's in it?" Octo asked nervously.
"We don't know," Avy said.
"Yeah, it's locked," Rudy said. "The key requires a numbered code. But we got nothing to go off. No letter or anything came with."
"I'm starting to think it is simply a mixup with the post office," Hendur suggested.
"Wait, did you mention this had a numbered code lock earlier?" Octo asked with a tone of realization.
"Erm… yeah," Rudy answered.
Octo stared at him thoughtfully for a bit. Then, they said:
"I… think I might know it."
Avy, Rudy, Hendur and several co-workers looked at them in surprise.
"Wait, what?" Rudy asked.
"It's a big shot," Octo said. "But I… I have a special code me and my family often use. For… well, everything. Safe deposits, email accounts, that sorts of things."
"Hmm," Rudy said and looked at Avy and Hendur.
"Well, it's worth a shot if you ask me," Avy said.
"Agree," Hendur said.
"Well… alright then," Rudy said.
The crowd opened up to allow their boss to reach the chest. Octo crawled through the opening and slowly and carefully placed two of their front tentacles on the lock.
"Alright," they said. "Let's see here."
They proceeded to turn the dials while muttering seemingly nonsense to themselves here and there. After a few seconds, a soft but clear click came as the lock came loose and fell off.
"Aha!" Octo expressed. "Well, I'll be. It worked."
They placed one of their tentacles on the lid to open it.
"WAIT!" Rudy suddenly yelled. "Don't! Open! It! Yet!"
Octo and all of Rudy's co-workers looked at him in confusion.
"W-why not?" Octo asked nervously.
"We don't… we don't know what's in there," Rudy explained. "It could be a trap… a bomb or some sort of poisonous gas. I mean, there must be a reason it came unmarked."
"I've told you, Rudy," Hendur said. "It's highly unlikely that anyone would want to kill us or Octo, especially if it's either someone who knew their family's secret code or one from higher up who could afford to just give away a box of this expensive type. Or both."
"Well… maybe they found out about the code somehow," Rudy suggested. "And maybe they… I dunno, stole the box or something?"
"That seems like a lot of assumptions based on nothing we have," Hendur said.
"Erm… guys?" one of the young male co-workers, resembling a tall rabbit monster, said nervously.
"I mean… is it really that bad to take cautions?" Rudy asked Hendur. "At least we should open it in a private room or something?"
"Guys?!" the young male co-worker yelled again.
"What?" Rudy said to the young rabbit, somewhat irritated.
The young rabbit monster pointed at the box, shaking.
"T-there is something… leaking from it," he frightfully said.
Rudy and Hendur stopped their debates and took a look. Indeed, there was something strange leaking from a tiny crack in the bottom. It was a small quantity of strange and thick gooey white liquid.
Hendur dipped his index finger in some of it, from a finger on one of his two smaller hands, not the big one on his head, and licked. He spat it out immediately.
"Guh," he expressed. "Tastes like… metal?"
He suddenly turned silent and looked down at the white ooze he spat out. Even without a face, the others could read that something was wrong.
"What is it?" Avy asked.
"We should move the box," Hendur said with utmost seriousness. "Let's not open it. Or at least, not just yet."
"Oh, now you agree with me?" Rudy said with surprise.
"Why?" Avy asked. "What's in it?"
"Not sure," Hendur said. "But… it doesn't seem good."
"L-let me open it in private then," Octo suggested.
All the workers looked at their boss like they just suggested committing suicide.
"Are you serious?" Avy asked.
"Y-yes," Octo said. "Whatever is in there was obviously meant for me, judging by the code and… and the fact that it was sent here. To my business."
"Are you sure about doing this?" Rudy asked. "I mean… if someone is trying to kill you… you know what? Let me open it instead, I-"
"No Rudy," Octo said as sternly as they could. "I am your boss and… while I don't see who would want me dead or why… I… I understand the risk but as your boss, I'm giving you an order. I will open it."
Rudy, Avy and several others looked at Octo with shock, surprised at their sudden portrayal of bravery. But Hendur didn't look surprised. He looked simply amused as if this was a long time coming.
"Erm… alright then," Rudy said. "Take it then."
Several minutes later, Octo had moved with the box outside behind the building. Rudy and several others waited by the back door room, while Avy sat by, talking to Octo through the phone on a speaker. The old bird took notice that it was very reminiscent of bomb-defusing situations from old human movies that floated dow here, which considering the info at hand, it might as well be. But he found no amusement from it, as he would if it were a much better, less intense moment.
"Have you opened it?" Avy asked through the phone.
"Not yet," Octo answered.
One of their many tentacles was used to hold the phone to their ears, two of their other ones were ready to grab the lid open and the rest was in a position to make a run for it if need be. There came a moment of uneasy quiet from them that lasted for several moments.
"Octo?" Avy asked worryingly. "Still there?"
"Yeah…" they answered. "Just… nervous is all."
"I can still open it for you," Rudy said, who stood behind Avy.
"No, no, no…" Octo answered. "It's for the best if I open it and… and I'm not gonna be responsible for the death of a worker."
"You won't be-" the reindeer monster began.
"Rudy, please," Octo said to him. "I… I've always been cowardly and… you know I want to change and… I can't do that if I don't take any risks, and even if this is just minor… just let me do this for you guys, ok? You've all done so much for me. It's only fair I should return the favour."
"Hmm, alright," Rudy said, thinking. "Just… be careful Octo."
"I will," Octo answered nervously.
The octopus monster went quiet for another few moments. Then they took a deep breath.
"Alright," Octo said to themselves. "C'mon, you coward, you… let's get this over with."
There came a sound through the phone of a wooden lid being removed.
"Oh…" Octo muttered frightfully through the phone. "Oh, gods…!"
"Octo?" Avy asked. "What's in there?"
"I-it's… it's…" Octo stammered. "Oh… oh, my gods! Carson! I… I…"
Suddenly, Octo gave out a large wail of pure horror.
"Octo?!" Avy asked, worryingly.
There was no answer.
"Octo?!" Avy repeated. "OCTO?!"
Before he could process this, the backdoor besides the workers suddenly burst open, and Octo stumbled backwards through it and clumsily fell on the floor. They seemed to have almost fainted, and they shook wildly on the floor. Avy, not even bothering to think of the phone, carelessly let it drop on the ground as he, Rudy and Hendur went to help their boss. They lifted them up, while the rest of the workers watched in confusion and worry. Meanwhile, Octo was panting and sweating wildly, their six eyes showing pure terror and disbelief, and they pointed one of their shaky tentacles towards whatever they had just witnessed.
"Are you alright?!" Avy asked. "W-what was in the box."
"I… I…" Octo stammered, out of breath.
Suddenly, they then proceeded to throw up, hitting the floor, the roof and even Avy himself.
"Gah," Avy exclaimed.
The old bird brushed off some of the vomit of himself before it quickly dissipated into a pile of dust. Then, as he was busy with that, Avy felt like someone just brushed past him. It was Rudy, who curiously headed towards the box.
"Rudy, what are you-!" Avy began.
Suddenly, as soon as the reindeer monster looked into the open box, he grabbed hold of his large mouth as if to hold in a vomit.
"Oh, dear gods," Rudy muttered under his palm.
"W-what is it?" Avy asked nervously.
"Don't… don't come near here," the reindeer said, shaking. "Whatever you do… d-don't come here.."
Avy looked at Hendur and the Loox janitor who held Octo and then looked at the other frightful bystanders. But despite his friend's warning, Avy decided to ignore it, knowing it was possibly foolish.
"Wait, here," Avy said and let go of Octo.
Avy stood up and headed outside towards the now open box. Hendur was the only one to carry Octo now. It proved to be a difficult job, but he still managed. Avy could feel his heart pounding nervously as he neared the object, feeling more terror than ever before. The box ahead felt like a window into some unspeakable horror. Then he looked at Rudy, who leaned his back against the building, still holding his mouth and looking incredibly disturbed and distraught. Then, Avy gazed on whatever laid in the box.
"By the Angel," the old bird blurted out.
At first glance, the thing that was cramped inside the undersized box looked like a strange writhing gooey thing, resembling a pale, bloody and incredibly large fetus that might as well been ripped prematurely from a pregnant mother's womb. Avy didn't recognize what it was at first, but when he quickly the examined the pulsing thing closer and pieced the awful hints together, he felt a rush of pure unadulterated horror writhe like mad tendrils underneath his skin and up to his neck. He took a few steps backwards, shaking at this utter display of pure psychopathy.
Cramped in there was the body of a dwarf rabbit monster, utterly mutilated nearly beyond recognition. His eyes had been carved out, leaving 2 bloody holes, and a smile was forcibly shewn with barb wires. Its fur was mostly flayed off, showing the bloody pink skin underneath, and the cuts were so deep in some places, you could see muscles and even bones. In one part, Avy thought he could glimpse at his innards. His texture was also incredibly gooey, like an ice cream slowly melting in immense heat, and his limbs seemed to have vanished into a puddle of melted flesh and fur at the bottom. To make it worse, the old bird felt like he was staring at him. His eyeless face with the sewn grin looked pleading and hopeless as if they were begging to be snuffed out. So now, the horrifying part was the possibility that he was still alive, writhing in either pain, fear or some horrid combination of both. Avy couldn't tell if he was but hoped to his gods he wasn't.
Avy was so shaken, he didn't even notice that the rest of his coworkers had joined beside him in witnessing this horror.
"Oh no!" one co-worker gasped.
"Is… that…" another one said.
"What sick fuck…?!" a female one said.
Even Hendur, stoic as he usually was, shook wildly in terror and disbelief. Avy couldn't even stand straight. His world appeared darkening around him. He couldn't believe this was happening. He refused to. This was a dream. Some horrid nightmare. Had to be, for what person, what demon on this good earth was capable of performing such horrifying acts. But, no matter what happened. He couldn't wake up. And he felt like was going to grow mad with denial and frustration. And then he fainted, once the truth dawned on him, for it was too terrible for the old bird to bear.
"None of us dared to scoop Carson out of that box for the longest time," Avy said to his the audience at the bar. "Eventually, the body and goo dusted. But that took an agonisingly long time. Days, in fact, with hours just for his ears to be gone. I just hope he was already dead at that point."
He took a quick sip from his drink.
"That's not all though," Avy then continued. "Once he was gone, we at SNPB got the answer to our questions in the most… terrible manner. Turns out, there was a second gift in the box, laying underneath whatever remained of Carson. It was a letter, marked with the royal Deltarune symbol, nowadays used as the official insignia The Royal Hunt. It included a videotape and a note, telling us Carson had dug too deep and then asking for all of us remaining members of SNPB to watch the tape at the same time, and afterwards, destroy it in whatever manner we pleased, which we did, like the good dogs we were. In that video, all the doubts about what happened to Carson was erased."
He took a deep breath.
"That video is… the most disturbing thing I've ever seen, to say the least," Avy continued. "To this day, I still can't erase a single aspect of it from my memory. I won't explain it in detail, for I will spare you that awfulness. But too put it short, it included nothing but 30 minutes of footage, fully edited by the way, of one of Mickey's lackeys, a mad goblin woman by the name of Vissie, having… her way with Carson. It was… like watching some fucked up snuff film. Nothing was spared in it, but we were still too terrified to look away, afraid to disobey Mickey's order, now knowing what he and his Hunters were capable of. Speaking of, he was also in it, just out of frame, so we didn't catch him at first. He did nothing but sit by, smoke and watch Vissie do her tortures, injections and flayings while Carson screamed through all of it. And screamed. Gods. His screams. Meanwhile, Mickey just sat by. Watching. And for a moment, he smiled."
He took a deep pause now as if to let his audience take in what he said. No one said anything. No one could say anything. Not a mutter was made, not a sound was uttered.
Frisk didn't notice the quietness this time. Nor did she care for it. She didn't know what to say, what to think even. Nothing but dread filled her mind at the moment. She had a hunch the other creatures at the bar thought the same, and she nervously looked around. As she expected, almost all the strange creatures, the fiery bartender, the talking animals, stared at the storyteller in disbelief and horror. Even Flowey looked utterly baffled. The only one who didn't was Sans, who instead stared down at his now empty plate. Frisk wasn't sure he even heard the story, or maybe not even the worst part. Yet, there was a hint of empathy in his expression, like he heard the horror, but was mostly unfazed by it. Like he knew it beforehand or maybe even expected it.
"Gods…" Hari said, breaking the silence, voice wracked with shock. "Uncle Carson… I… fuck me…"
"W-what happened next?" Flowey then asked, voice shaken.
"Next, we lied to his family," Avy answered. "Told them Carson had died of an unrelated workplace accident and then sent them his dust. We also told them he had died quickly and painlessly."
He took another sip of his drink.
"Another lie, of course," he then added. "Either way, we at SNPB did not dare to approach Mickey or The Royal Hunt ever again after that. Just kept writing out the propaganda we were sent, to scared to tell others the truth of him for the longest time. Thankfully for Snowdin though, Mickey and The Hunt came to town not long after for an unrelated event, and… well, many in town got a chance to see just how The Hunt actually does their work. A few years later, SNPB went bankrupt and our boss Octo vanished. No one knows where they are though, but many suspect they committed suicide. Then as time passed, all the rest, Hendur, Rudy, everyone else that knew of Carson and the tape passed away until I was the only one left. And then… well, here we are."
He grabbed his drink and chugged. And chugged, and chugged until seemingly not a drop remained. It was like he was cleaning the filth he had just spewed out. Frisk, finally able to think properly again, found herself no longer lost for words.
"Holy fucking shit…" Frisk blurted out, uncontrollably. "That guy… Jesus. He sounds like a… like a fucking animal."
Frisk was about to call him a monster, but then managed to stop herself at the last moment.
"An animal eh?" Avy asked back. "Heh. Aye, I can see that. But I wouldn't give him that much credit. Animals are wild, often driven by instincts rather than intellect or will. They can be empathetic as well. Nah, I wouldn't call Mickey an animal, for there is a hint of… awareness in his work. Some sick, twisted semblance of calculating intellect. Do you know why there was blood in the farmhouse? Why often, he and the hunt leave behind bodies that are often solid for some time post-death?"
"N-no, why?" Frisk nervously asked.
"Because before the final blow, they inject them with something," Avy explained. "Some small essence of determination that keeps their bodies solid for a while, not enough to bring them back or keep them alive, but enough so that they won't dissipate so quickly."
"Erm… ok," Frisk nervously replied, more confused by the answer. "But… why? What's the point of that?"
"Yeah," Flowey agreed. "Seems like too much trouble for… nothing. If they are still dead, then why keep them solid?"
"Well it's simple," Avy said. "It's so Mickey and The Hunt can mutilate them."
"Jesus…" Frisk muttered.
"Hang them around or stuff 'em like art pieces," Avy continued. "You can't do much with nothing but pure dust. But he found a way around that. Somehow, he was desperate enough for it. Mhm. So yeah. He's closer to a demon if anything. A wicked creature of pure evil that lives on the agony of others."
He took another pause and sighed in deep contemplation. After a few moments, the muttering with the others finally returned, and Frisk was relieved to hear even just a little bit of life in the bar. She turned to Sans, who still just stared down at his now empty plate. She then looked at Flowey, who like the old storyteller, seemed to be now deep in thought.
"I… think we should go now, Frisk," Flowey then suddenly said.
"Yeah…" Frisk agreed. "Sans?"
"Sure kiddos," the skeleton replied in his strangely cheerful manner.
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a torn wallet. His usual chill voice felt somewhat sudden in this air of melancholy, yet Frisk didn't feel the one bit surprised by it. She was sort of glad in fact.
"Keep the change Grillbz," Sans said to the bartender as he reached into his wallet.
He then slammed on the bar counter what looked like several gold coins. Grillby looked mildly spooked by the slam, seemingly having also been in deep thought just a moment ago. He took a closer look at the coins, counting them with his finger.
"There's not much change…" he said blankly.
Sans stood up from his chair and shrugged.
"Eh, it's free money either way," he said and then turned to Frisk. "Ready kiddos?"
"Yeah, sure," Frisk replied.
She grabbed the bag holding Flowey and placed it on her back. She then stood up and followed the bulging skeleton to the exit.
"Erm… shouldn't we just… teleport?" Frisk asked him with nervousness.
"Nah, it's too tiring," Sans answered. "Besides. My house is just a short walk away."
With that, the bar door closed behind them, and Frisk felt a rush of hidden terror rush through her body as she thought back to the story. It also dawned on her she had finally found the truth about Mickey, the person that would go after her should her humanity be discovered. If even just one aspect of this story was true, then Frisk wished she never even heard it in the first place. She wished she could go back to her blissful ignorance, where she was only able to imagine what this Mickey was and what he was capable of, which most likely wouldn't even be close to the apparent truth.
Everyone attempted to go back to their business, although reluctant and with an air of dread hanging above everyone. Hari, the dwarf rabbit, left in clear distraught. He told the others at the bar that he forgot to do something important. No one really bought it.
Avy still sat by the round table, reminiscing about everything he said. He felt happy. He didn't expect to, but then realized it was good to finally get this horror he carried out at last, after more than a decade of uncomfortable secrecy.
Before he noticed, the young donkey monster from before had taken a seat beside him. Avy looked at the young monster, who had an expression of worry and sadness.
"You know Mickey's gonna hurt you for this," the donkey said in a warning tone. "He doesn't take broken promises lightly. You know that right?"
The old bird simply smiled.
"Oh, I've heard," Avy answered casually. "I know he will come for me. In fact, I had that on my mind before I told the tale."
The donkey stared at him, surprised by his answer.
"But then… why did you…?" he blurted out.
"Why tell the story?" Avy replied, and chuckled. "Heh, no real reason I think. I've lived a long enough life. Too long in fact. And I've already lost everything. It was about time I went out. Might as well make an impact with it. But please, go away now, young man. My story is over. Let me at least spend my possible last remaining hours in peace."
With that, he grabbed his new drink and chugged wildly, savouring it like it was the last time he would ever drink again, which considering everything, he was more than certain it was.
Author's note:
...yeah.
Sorry about that.
So to the several of you who read these notes, I would also like to apologize for the delay of this one. No real reason for it tho.
Thing is, as soon as I was satisfied with this chapter, I wanted it out and done with and decided to just do the notes later. Thing is, I kinda got busy after that, with schoolwork, my gaming backlog and writing the next chapter (which I expected to finish before the end of April, but then I hit a wall and... I'll explain why in the next chaptet notes. But the good news, you wont have to wait long for that chapter.)
Anyway, onto my thoughts.
So I dont think I lied when I said this would be one of the goriest chapter so far. I kinda went all in and honestly? Maybe I did go a bit far. But if you are wondering, yes. Carson the dwarf rabbit is dead, dont you worry.
I was also, crazy as it sounds, kinda excited to get to this chapter. I wanted to give a big hint as to what Frisk and co are up against in this AU, and what better way than a pure display of what they do to spies and vultures.
The main inspiration for this scene (and if you didn't think it was obvious, it could be in hindsight) was that one part in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5. You know the one? With Sorbet and Gelato? Those two gay dudes that die of screen?
But honestly, I dont remember if I completely based the scene on that. I think I always wanted a scene along these lines that just display the utter evilness of the villains before even introducing them properly. Although, I will say, their "arrival" is... not far off...
But if you read the old prequel story, all that wont apply to you so... (but frankly, thinking back, I am not really proud of that story anymore. It feels kinda cheesy and even cringy reading back. But that might just be me though. It was my first published fanfic and I still hadnt gotten much hang on writting. Im even considering rewriting it someday, also partly because Ive gotten bunch more ideas for this AU and some of it might contradict that prequel story so... well just see what I decide, wont we?)
Anyway, enjoy this super fun chapter based on the family friendly game of Undertale and Ill see you seen with the next chapter. Hopefully.
... oh and if your wondering about the politics bear story? Oh you arent? Well either way, I still havent given up on it yet. Even tho its been several months, I still want to continue it and I am strangely proud of it as well. Im just trying to map it out better because besides the ending of it and a few scenes, I am mostly making stuff up as I go along with it, and while that is fun... I also need to plan it better if I want it to be cohesive.
But I do have ideas for it, trust me. In fact, this chapter even has cameos of a few characters from that spin off story, and also a big hint of a particularly big... lets say moment in it, if you can find it. So dont worry. Its not dead just yet.