Thanks go to FuntomDLiz, TiredWhiteMayge, Wingah, lmao-imdeadaf, DoctahSawbones, 10burgers, EpicSlayerGuy99, GMLxAwesome, Ricee, Zillowzest, Guest, and RisukaTheSquirrel!
Man, I always feel like it's been years since I've updated this story now that I usually do three weeks instead'a two. On the bright side, it lets me get non-mainline DoubleTale things written between updates! I've got some other DT:R related stuff in the works that I'm going to start releasing once I build up a solid backlog of chapters and get the plot outline totally straightened out, and I also recently posted the first chapter of a Dragon Ball Z fanfiction titled The Universe's Gutter! If you've been missing the insane action or just wanna support me in finally writing a Dragon Ball fic after years of making DoubleTale as close to Dragon Ball as possible, you should head over and give it a read n' a review when ya get the chance! It'd make me very happy. :)
But, DoubleTale: Rewritten is the main story and the main focus, and I'm very excited to see what you all think of this chapter! Will there be answers to old questions? Will there be new questions to go with those new answers? Only one way to find out! On to the chapter!
(Next update should be either Thursday, March 7th or Thursday, March 14th.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.
Golden light filtered in through the window. The light of the morning sun trickled all the way down onto Angel's eyes, making him wince tiredly. He struggled for a moment, before inevitably letting his eyelids flutter open. He had to blink into the light a few times, but when he finally managed to see across his bed his eyebrows rose and his lips lifted into a little smile.
"Morning." Chara smirked a little at him from the other side of their shared bed. They were both laying on their sides, facing one another. That light came through the window just behind their head, it made their auburn hair glow around their face.
Angel didn't say anything, not at first. He stared at them, and he smiled quietly, until they started to wonder if he'd even heard them. But then he spoke, and his words made their eyes widen and their cheeks tint red. "... I love you."
"G-geez Angel, do you have to say that every time you see me?" Chara tried to scold him, but they were smiling. They looked away, reached up and nervously brushed a loose strand of hair behind their ear. "You could at least say good morning first..."
"I just wanna make sure you know." Angel explained in his gentle, sleepy tone. He reached out across the bed then, offered his hand out to them and continued to smile sweetly.
"O-of course I know, dummy..." Chara rolled their eyes and tried to pout, but nothing they did could remove that little smile from their face. When they saw his hand reaching across the bed they finally relented, reaching out with their own hand. They looked into Angel's eyes while their fingers intertwined with his, and the embarrassment faded from their sweet smile. "... And, I love you too."
Angel almost laughed when he heard that, he couldn't help it. A quiet happiness and relief washed over him when he felt their hand in his, and it was so overpowering that his tired eyes drifted closed in a long, tired blink...
When Future's eyes opened, the first thing he saw was the empty bedside across from him. He lied sleeping on his side, and his arm was outstretched and laying across the cool mattress. It was overcast outside, not much light made it into his room through the window.
Future blinked his tired eyes a few times before clenching them shut for an extra long moment. He flipped over onto his back, and he pulled back the hand he'd stretched out over his empty bed to scratch at the scar on his bare chest. After that, he grunted quietly while he forced his body to sit up. The golden heart locket around his neck dangled as he leaned his head forward, rubbing his tired eyes with his index finger and thumb.
The King swung his legs out from under his blanket and over the side of his bed. He stretched his arms up over his head, yawned loudly, and then let his shoulders drop again. His eyes drifted over to his bedside table, locked on to a little notebook with a pen strapped to it. He snatched the tiny journal up, flipped it open and rubbed his sleepy eye with one hand while the other flipped through pages with paragraphs of varying sizes. He pulled the pen out once he reached a blank page, and a little smile curled his lips while he wrote a few words down.
I saw Chara in my dream again last night. Told them I loved them, and I was asleep long enough to hear them say it back.
I think it's gonna be a good day today.
Chapter 109: Birdcage Rage
Or: Widow's Peak
"Mornin', Alphys." Future greeted as he made his way into the kitchen. He was still blinking some sleep out of his eyes, but he'd gotten dressed and put his crown back on his head. Alphys was sitting at the kitchen table; she looked up from her laptop to flash Future a smile while he wandered over to the coffee pot. He opened a cupboard above the counter that coffee maker sat on, and he retrieved a black mug with a red soul design on its front. That soul had a little crown on top of it, and the mug had the words "World's Best Hardass" written across it. The munchkins got it for him on his birthday two years ago. The King glanced back to Alphys while he pointed that empty mug at the coffee maker, "This fresh?"
"Just made it!" Alphys answered with a nod, and her chipper tone made Future smile. He turned back around, grabbed the pot's handle, and began pouring coffee into his mug. Alphys shut her laptop, folding her claws over each other and resting her chin on them while she watched Future set the now half empty pot back where he found it. "Any plans for your day off?"
"Ah, probably just gonna wander around the city. Talk to the people, see how everybody's feelin' and if there's anything I can help 'em with." Future shrugged his shoulders, leaning back against the counter. He brought his coffee up to his lips and took a sip, Alphys had no idea how he could stomach it black even after seeing him do it every morning for the past few years.
"Sounds kinda "work"y for a day off." Alphys stated with a knowing smirk, before lifting and sipping from her own mug of far more sugary coffee. Future chuckled at her statement, he had to give another shrug. Alphys smiled gently when he didn't refute her reply, her eyes grew wistful. There were a few crows feet around them these days, some of the color in her scales had gotten to be a little faded as she got older. Her eyes drifted down into her coffee when she spoke again. "Asgore used to do the s-same thing when he had time, back in the U-Underground days."
"Between the walks on my days off, the gardening, and dressing up as Santa for the kids every December I'm startin' to get worried I'm gonna wake up one morning with big fluffy paws." Future stated with an amused scoff, opening his free hand and flexing his fingers. Alphys' expression lightened up, she snickered and giggled at the image Future had put in her head. The sound of her laughter made Future smile, and he allowed himself just a moment to enjoy the joyful noise. Once her laughing died down, he arched a brow at her. "You seen the jalapeno munchkin yet?"
"H-he was up before me, actually." Alphys explained, prompting Future to arch a brow at her. She nodded her head towards the far end of the kitchen, where a sliding glass door lead to a balcony that overlooked the Royal Garden. Alphys frowned with some worry while she went on, "He's, been out there all morning. I-I, think he might be upset about something."
"Hoo boy..." Future muttered as his eyes glossed over to that balcony door. He took another long drink from his coffee mug while he stared at the glass, nodding to himself when he finally pulled the mug back away from his lips. He pushed himself off the counter, beginning to walk across the kitchen tile. "I'll go talk to him."
On the other side of that glass door, sitting in a chair on that balcony, Xander Fortune ran a hand through his disheveled hair. His other hand held up that flyer he'd pulled off the graveyard fence, and between his lips he held a half-smoked cigarette. Ash accumulated at the burning end of the cigarette, drooping and threatening to fall free while it steamed gray smoke. Xander's tired eyes narrowed at all those hateful words he'd read over and over, looking at them was starting to make his forehead ache...
"Whatcha got there?" Future's voice spoke so suddenly and so quickly from behind Xander that he nearly swallowed his cigarette. He jumped in his seat, and that motion knocked the ash from his cancer stick loose. It landed right on that paper he was holding, and the young Fortune snarled his annoyance, brushing the ash away while Future laughed at him.
"I-it's nothing!" Xander hissed on reflex, pulling that paper closer to his chest. Future just tilted his head and gave him an incredulous look, and Xander glared up at him for several seconds... Before sighing a gray mist and shutting his eyes. He relented, extending that flyer out to Future. "... I found this garbage near the memorial in Eden's sector of The Omega. It's existence... Concerns me."
"Un huh..." Future took that paper carefully, bringing it up to his face and squinting at it. He grimaced after a moment, shaking his head. "Yikes, "#GATHERTHETRUTH"? You might be able to sue these guys, Xander. I know there's no way you don't have a trademark on 'Gatherer' and things near it."
"I did, before my timeline was obliterated. I can't imagine that trademarks span different timelines, regardless..." Xander rolled his eyes, and Future chuckled. The King took a seat on the chair beside Xander, he watched the young Fortune put out his cigarette in the ash tray on the small table beside him. He shook his head, eyes refusing to meet Future's while he admitted. "... I don't like knowing that there are people out there spreading misinformation in my name. If progress is still being stalled, if people are still getting hurt because of the things that I did, then..."
"Xander, these things are bound to happen. Some people are stupid and some people are stubborn." Future stated gently, frowning a little at the sight of Xander so forlorn. He set that paper back down on the table in front of Xander without ever bothering to check its backside, and then he set his hand on The Gatherer's shoulder. "People are always gonna resist progress, people will always fight change. But so long as you stay here, they've got nothing to fight for. They'll kick their feet and pound their fists and throw their tantrum, and then they'll get bored and find something else to shout about."
"... I don't know, Future." Xander looked over to Future briefly, before looking away again. Hesitantly, he pulled his shoulder out of Future's grasp. He reached out and grabbed that paper off the table; when he stared at it in the light, he could just barely see the outline of The Scarlet Letter on its back. Gatherer exhaled quietly, and then he folded the page up and put it back in the shirt pocket of his black denim jacket. "I think it was a mistake to bring me here. I think I got off too easy for what I did, and I think the other shoe is going to drop eventually."
Future didn't respond, not at first. He sunk into his chair some, let his green eyes scan the sky. Quietly, he took a deep breath. Then, he nodded his head and stood from his chair. He turned his body towards Xander, and when the young Fortune arched a brow up at him The King nodded his head towards his shoulder. "C'mon. You're goin' with me on a walk around town."
Xander didn't look back at Future. He frowned a little deeper, and he stared out at the Royal Garden below. Then, he took a deep breath, and he pulled himself up out of his chair. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans, he rolled his eyes and followed after Future.
"... Fine."
"He seems very... Focused, today." Toriel commented with a slight smile, looking across the yard and to the skeleton of a house. From that in progress home, the sound of Anthony's hammer switched occasionally to the sound of a different tool or power tool. Toriel laughed a little, putting a paw over her mouth to hide her smile. "I still can't believe carpentry is his passion."
"The carpentry is the easiest part for me to believe." Mako admitted from across the small, round yard table she and Toriel sat at. There was an umbrella in the table's center, it opened up over their heads to protect the both of them from the sun while they enjoyed the lemonade Toriel had brought out. Mako laughed a little nervously when Toriel looked back to her, scratching the back of her head. "Everything beyond that has been pretty weird!"
"Tell me about it!" Toriel exclaimed, leaning across the table some and shaking her head with a bewildered smile. "Five years ago I lived under a rock alone, and now I give my death-cheating children any extra baked goods I make to pass out to our multiverse friends!"
"Five years ago I was hiding in a tiny apartment with my brother!" Mako stated after laughing at Toriel's words. One of her pupils turned into an exclamation point and the other into a question mark, but she was still smiling as she shook her head. "Now I make breakfast for a god every morning before he goes and does all my yard work!"
Toriel immediately broke into a fit of laughter, leaning forward and slapping her knee with her paw. She couldn't help it, it felt good to speak to someone just as appalled by this life as she was. Mako felt the same way as her pupils returned to normal, giggling right with Toriel. After their shared laughter quieted down some, Mako asked. "What's been the weirdest part of all this for you?"
"Ohh, that's a good question..." Toriel shook her head with a slight smile, she had to glance to the side while she pondered. She quickly found an answer, and Mako watched her swipe her hand through the air beside her in a demonstration. "The fact that Angel and Chara can just, do this, and a hole to a completely separate world opens? It gives me a headache if I think about it for too long."
"Sometimes me and Anthony will be in a separate timeline to see someone or do something, and I'll forget something at home, right?" Mako hastily swallowed the mouthful of lemonade she'd been drinking so she could get those words out, nodding her head in agreement with Toriel's words. "Anthony will just step into his own shadow and fall into it, then pop back out of my shadow like two seconds later holding whatever I forgot!"
"I'm thankful every day that Angel does not have that ability. I love that boy but I know he would never use the front door again." Toriel widened her eyes and shook her head, and Mako started laughing. That made Toriel start to smile too, but she managed to keep up her deathly serious tone while she went on. "He would be walking out of dark broom closets and crawling out from under furniture. Every October would be a living nightmare."
That thought got Mako cracking up again; it really was funny to her how different Anthony and Angel were. She was glad that Anthony had a friend like Angel looking out for him, and she was glad that Angel had Anthony looking out for him too. After her laughter quieted down, Mako turned her head and once more looked across the jobsite. Anthony was standing a few paces back from the wall he'd been working on, eyeballing it in a way that made Mako guess he was making sure he hadn't screwed something up. Toriel's voice brought Mako's attention back across the table. The queen smiled as she set her glass back on the table, "What about you? I have to think living with Anthony requires adjusting to quite a few peculiar activities."
"Honestly? He goes to bed by ten, wakes up by six, eats every meal I make for him. He's polite, just goes about his day without any problems." Mako widened her eye sockets and shrugged her shoulders, like even she was bewildered by how normal Anthony was at home. She smiled a little while she scoffed, "Living with him is great! I even forget every now and again that he's more than my kind, reliable lumberjack friend who lets me and my brother live in his house."
"I think that's very sweet." Toriel smiled quietly while she listened to Mako speak. She didn't know it as well as some others did, but she knew Anthony had suffered through a hard life up to this point. And though he'd made far beyond his fair share of mistakes, the queen was still overjoyed to see this kind of a turn around for the young man. She was put at ease, knowing that he had someone like Mako by his side. With that said... "But, surely there's something that you struggle to wrap your head around."
"Well..." Mako leaned back in her chair, folding her hands over her ribcage. She tilted her head back and blinked her sockets up at the brightly colored sun-umbrella over her head. She thought for a moment, and hesitated, before eventually she admitted. "I guess just the scale of everything is, way too massive for me."
"What do you mean?" Toriel furrowed her brows, tilting her head curiously.
"Just... Things like all the different worlds, friends scattered across an entire multiverse, everything that happened with Errorphim and how important Anthony really is... It's a lot to think about." Mako shrugged her shoulders when she said that, not unfolding her hands and continuing to stare up at the multicolored umbrella overhead. A warm Summer breeze rolled by, but it was Winter back home. "I care about Anthony, I like to think that I'll be by his side in one way or another for the rest of my life, but..."
Mako hesitated again. The words on her tongue felt ungrateful, or maybe pointless. She winced her eye sockets, and eventually tilted her head back down to look across the table at Toriel. "It's, hard not to feel small in the wake of it all. There's real problems in my home timeline, humans and monsters are really struggling to coexist. And I, feel like there has to be some way I can help, I have ever since I met Max. But, instead of doing that I'm... Always wrapped up in what Anthony's got going on. I get worried sometimes that I'm caught in the gravity of this, whole big multiverse thing, and that it's going to prevent me from helping Monsterkind back home."
"That sounds like a very heavy thought to have weighing on your mind." Toriel spoke carefully, a frown pulling down her lips. Mako nodded her head, glancing to the side with teardrop pupils. Behind her, George The Dragonfly - who had been laying behind her chair like a huge sleeping guard dog - lifted his big head and pushed it gently against Mako's leg to comfort her. She smiled gently, setting a hand on the Dragonfly's head while Toriel asked. "Does Anthony know that you feel this way?"
"Between the guilt he feels, the effort he's putting into helping Frisk, building Angel and Chara a house and now this Aliza situation... I just feel like he already has so much on his plate." Mako shook her head while she pet George. She once more looked over to Anthony working on that house while she went on, "It's important that I support him, I can't stress him out more. I hate to even think about it, but... Anthony's at war with something inside him. And this whole huge world we live in would be in danger if he lost that war."
"... You have a very important role in that war, Mako. And its normal to feel the pressure that role puts on you." Toriel chose her words carefully, and Mako's attention was brought back to her when she reached across the table and took one of her skeletal hands in her fluffy paw. Toriel smiled knowingly when she looked at her, "But you're not alone. Anthony has a lot of people who care about him now, and so do you."
"... Yeah, yeah you're right!" Mako perked up so quickly, it would have surprised Toriel if she was anyone else. She grinned wide at the queen, Toriel flashed a relieved smile at the sight of stars in her eyes. "I shouldn't let myself get so worried, I've got friends to help me! Thanks, Toriel!"
"Of course!" Toriel laughed as Mako graciously took her paw in both her boney hands, shaking it up and down. After her paw was released, she waved a dismissive hand with a smile. "I know full well what it's like to have important loved ones to worry over. Take it from me: everything will work out just fine!"
"Here ya go, munchkin." Future stated with a smile as he leaned down, handing off the tiny white dog he'd just retrieved from a tree to the rabbit boy standing beside him. Xander stood a few paces back, watching with a frown and a cocked brow. With his hands in his pockets he could feel his lighter and his cigarette pack; he wanted another smoke, but he knew Future wouldn't be happy about him lighting up in front of a kid.
"Thanks, Mr. King Guy!" The rabbit boy beamed, before turning and running off back towards his home with the yipping white dog in his arms. Future stood up straight, smiling as he watched the boy go. It'd been a weird transition, going from "Angel" or "Cter" to "King" or "Your highness", but Future was getting used to it.
"You a dog guy, Xander?" Future turned and looked over his shoulder back to Xander, flashing him a smile. "You kinda strike me as a cat person, but I didn't wanna assume."
"I'm not big on animals." Xander responded flatly and without turning to face Future. He was facing the road that they stood beside. He'd pulled his cigarettes from his pocket and was fitting one between his lips while he stuffed the pack back into his pocket. A car drove by, and Xander blinked his tired eyes slowly. "My dad always said they'd just leave hair all over the house. As if he was the one who'd have to clean it up..."
"Un huh..." Future grimaced quietly at the sight of his despondent protege; he hated to say it, but sometimes Xander's attitude made him miss his previous students. He watched the young Fortune bring up his grandfather's lighter, flick it open, and ignite his cigarette. Those lifeless amethyst eyes continued to stare out across the road at nothing in particular... Future stuck his hands in his pockets and gave a silent sigh. Then, he tried his best to put on a little smirk while he asked. "Hey, you know what you remind me of?"
"What?" Xander punctuated his less than enthusiastic question by pulling his cigarette away from his lips, exhaling a stream of gray into the air. He had one arm crossed under his chest, propping up the elbow of his cigarette holding arm on that arm's wrist.
"You know doomer chicks in old movies?" Future's smirk grew a little while he tilted his head and teased. "Like the lady in Fight Club and Fight Club adjacent movies?"
"... You hitting on me, your highness?" Xander finally looked back over to Future from his eye's corner. His eyes were still mostly dead, but the corner of his mouth lifted a little. "I know you Angels have a type."
Future squinted his eyes at Xander and smiled without any joy, Xander figured he didn't like having his little joke turned back on him. That made the dead smile on Xander's face grow, and he shrugged his shoulders while he looked forward again, taking another drag off his cigarette. "Don't make me contact royal HR."
"Very funny." Future stated, shaking his head. He was at least a little happy to see Xander manage a smile, even if he still looked miserable and even though it was at his own expense. He walked past the most miserable prince of the monsters he'd ever seen, gesturing for him to follow. "C'mon, sourpuss. we're headin' to the craters."
"Joy." Xander rose his eyebrows and gave his sarcastic remark, but he did turn and he did follow after Future. Things were quiet between the two of them again while they wandered down the sidewalk, Xander didn't have anything to say and Future wasn't about to try and drag conversation out of him.
The only breaks in the silence came from people calling out their greetings to Future and him calling back. Xander was perplexed by this; he was used to the gasps and awe stricken stares. Flashing cameras and people too intimidated to say a word, he was brought up to understand that was how people reacted to royalty. But, these people, from their tiny homes and humble storefronts didn't revere Future - The King Of The Monsters - like he was a king. They talked to him like he was a neighbor! An old buddy, someone they had a drink with every now and again. Future talked to many of them the same way, and that confused Xander. Didn't they see the crown on his head? Didn't he feel its weight on his shoulders?
"Now, would'ja look at that?" Future's voice drew Xander's attention. The King had stopped at the pavement's edge, in front of a guard rail that circled one of the two massive craters left in Ebott City. Xander walked up beside him, pulling what remained of his cigarette out from his lips and letting cancer mist out from between his teeth. His brows furrowed, and he pondered the sight before him.
"Over four years ago, this city was in ruin. Killers were on the loose, the people were hiding away underground. The new king had no idea what he was doing." A small smile pulled at Future's lips in spite of the terrible history he described. he folded his arms over the metal of that guard rail and leaned forward onto it, his wistful eyes looked out over the craters beneath. "The fighting nearly destroyed the city. The core of our community had been ripped out, leaving nothing but holes and emptiness behind. And yet..."
A little bit of light reflected in Xander's tired purple eyes when he looked out over those craters. Soil that had once been scorched and destroyed had healed over time, grass and flowers had bloomed and been carefully cultivated all the way down the slope of the smaller of the two craters, the one that they stood in front of. Stone steps had been elegantly sculpted down the crater's edge in several places, leading down to the trees that had been planted and the ponds that had been dug out at the flat bottom of the crater. The larger of the two craters was still under construction, Xander could just barely hear the machines and the workers that operated them in the distance, at the far end of the dug out park, where a valley connected the two craters but was currently blocked off from the public.
"And yet, we're healing. Rebuilding. The old core is gone, and maybe we did lose what we were in the fight." Future shrugged his shoulders, but then he turned his head. He smiled at Xander Fortune, and even The Gatherer could see the KINDNESS in his eyes. "But, now we're growing a new core. Our civilization has a new heart. You pickin' up on the metaphor here, sourpuss?"
"... Yeah, I get it." Xander hesitated before he admitted that. He shut his tired eyes, and he took one last drag off his heavily diminished cigarette. Then, he pulled it away from his lips and pinched it between his index finger and thumb. He spun it there, until all that remained of its burning ash fell off and petered out on the pavement. His eyes opened, and he exhaled the last of that smoke. "I'm, the city. My 'core' was ripped out in the fighting, I lost what made me who I was. And now I feel empty, like there's a crater in me. But... If I work hard and try to 'heal', then I'll grow a new heart. Evolve into something... Different, than what I was."
"Wow, it's an even smarter metaphor than I realized." Future smirked and closed his eyes while he patted himself on the back, turning his head forward once more. But, Xander's frown did not fade. Future opened his eyes just in time to see The Gatherer flick his cigarette butt over the railing and down into the healing wound beneath, and that made The King frown as he looked back over to him and watched his eyes narrow painfully.
"... I appreciate you sticking your neck out for me, Future. I know you're trying, and I've come to respect you and your efforts, but..." Xander had to pause, he didn't have the strength to finish that statement. It took him another moment, he had to rest his palms on the railing and lean his weight onto it. If he slipped, he would tumble over it and ruin a lot of flowers on his way to the bottom. "Sometimes, I see the way you lead, and I see how happy your people are... And all I can think of is how many people I let down. Everyone who needed me to be like you, but I was me instead."
"The fact of the matter is, Future, even if I do stop feeling so empty?" Xander turned his head and looked at Future. If the sad look on The King's face hurt him, he didn't show it. He didn't show anything, because he was empty. "That's not going to make it up to them. It's not going to bring anyone back. It's just going to mean that I'm not suffering anymore... And I'm not sure I deserve that."
"Xander-..." Future started quietly, but he really wasn't sure what he could say. Xander didn't bother waiting. He scoffed, shaking his head as he went on.
"You know, Errorphim almost killed me when he first appeared. Lexi froze the wounds shut, and later Melanie and Ralsei healed me, but... I know I had the option to stay dead. I could have ignored the green light, sunk into the fire, burned away..." Xander's mirthless smile vanished gradually while the shaking of his head slowed to a stop. His eyes stared down into the crater and narrowed until his vision grew blurry... He rose his eyebrows and took a deep breath before continuing. "But then I thought... If there was some afterlife, and I met Clifford there, he wouldn't want to see me. He'd be disgusted and disappointed with what I had died as, so... The only way to avoid that was to come back and try to be... Something better, before I die again."
"Lately I think that was a bad choice." Xander admitted before Future could say anything about his story. His eyes stung a little, and his chest tightened, but no tears came. His exhausted monotone voice didn't break when he spoke again. "The me that Clifford was in love with is dead. All that's left is the me that stomped on his dream and destroyed the empire that he died protecting. And he would be disgusted by that me."
Things were quiet after that. Xander's words hung in the air like a thick smoke, his outlook made it hard to breathe. Future stood there, leaning on the railing with him, the both of them looking into the crater but neither of them seeing the same thing. Future shut his eyes, and the deep breath he took broke the silence. He lifted his head and opened his eyes again, focusing his vision on Mount Ebott in the distance. "... C'mon. I've got something you need to see."
"Is it the set up to another stupid metaphor..?" Xander turned his head and looked at Future with those beaten down eyes. He watched the king step away from the railing and cut one hand back through the air, opening a tear in reality and a portal to another location.
"More of a simile." Future answered, stepping one foot through the portal. He reached out to Xander with one hand in an offer to lead him through, and Xander rolled his eyes... Before begrudgingly taking Future's hand.
When Xander stepped out on the other side of that portal, he was greeted by a harsh gust of wind and noticeably thinner air. That portal closed, and a quick look at his surroundings informed Xander that he was standing with Future on one of Ebott's highest peaks. Being this close to the overcast skies, Xander could feel heavy winds pulling at his hair and his clothes. He furrowed his brows at Future, who had his back to him. His head was tilted down, he was staring at the ground in front of them. "Where are we?"
"... This is, where I buried my Chara." Future forced those words up his throat, he winced at the way they stung. Xander's expression flinched when he heard those words. He peered skeptically around Future, and his eyes narrowed painfully at the earth Future stared at. There was an obsidian tombstone there, perhaps made from Future's ink. There was no name, no lifespan, no quote. Just a generic phrase for the unmarked grave: "REST IN PEACE".
"... Future, if this is some attempt to draw a connection between your loss and mine to show me that I'm just like you or something-..." Xander hesitated to begin refuting, but he did regardless. He shook his head and lifted his hands to wave them and dismiss this idea as gently as possible, but Future cut him off.
"You're not like me. You're like them." When Future's quiet voice said those words, Xander's entire refutation was forced to a screeching halt. His eyes widened some, his pupils trembled as they followed Future's hand gesturing at F!Chara's grave. "... I'm, like Cliff. That's the simile."
"... I'm, not sure what you're getting at." Xander's eyes darted back to Future's turned back, his hesitant voice trembled a little.
"... Chara was a bad person, but meeting me made them want to be good. I promised that I would always be there for them, and... When I failed, they went back to being who they were." Future's KIND eyes trembled a little, he felt his own chest tightening. Gradually, Xander watched him lower himself down onto one knee. Now, it was very apparent how heavy the crown on Future's head was. The King Of The Monsters reached out a shaky left hand, and he rested it on that generic tombstone. "They did... Awful things. Things I'll never fully understand, things I'll never fully forgive. They destroyed so much of what I cared about... But, I still love them."
That got Xander's eyes to go wide. His breath caught in his throat, his pupils trembled. Sure, he knew that Future had lost his Chara. And he could guess that he missed his Chara. But, to hear it laid out like that... His throat tightened while Future went on.
"I had to bury them all the way up here, far away from the world under a tombstone with no name. Because the people down below hate them, because if any of those heartbroken survivors of their crimes found their grave, they would dance and piss all over it. And I just... Couldn't let that happen." A quiet frown sunk deeper into Future's face while his fingers ran across the cold headstone. His eyes narrowed painfully as he read those three basic words over and over... "It's been years since I lost them, and still every time something important happens, all I can think is how badly I want to talk to Chara about it. It's been so long that, when I dream of them, I immediately know that it's a dream. But, I'm so happy to see them that I don't care."
Gradually, Xander's shaky hand reached up. His fingers took ahold of his shirt, he gripped at his chest to try and sooth the emotion raging beneath it. His thoughts drifted back to the orange soul that he'd watched float up into the sky after Errorphim was defeated. The statue he'd built, the way it had crumbled...
"They've got a piece of me, Xander. And no matter what they did in life, no matter how they died, I will never get that piece of me back." Despite the way those honest words burned him, Future's lips curled up into a sad smile. His eyes stung, and he had to take a deep breath that was a little shaky, but he had the strength to continue on. "Because I love them. And when you love someone, you make excuses."
When Future stood up and turned to face Xander, he saw that The Fortunate Son had his head down. Shadows covered his eyes, his right hand clenched desperately at his chest and his left was a trembling fist at his side. Future took another deep breath, and then he rested one hand on Xander's shoulder. Xander flinched, his hands clenched tighter... "Cliff loved you, Xander. You've got a piece of him, and no matter what you've done wrong, he would never want it back."
Xander inhaled sharply. His head turned further away, he tried desperately to hide his face. His body trembled in a feeble resistance, and that defense crumbled when Future pulled him into a hug. Immediately, Xander's hands lifted. The Fortunate Son grabbed desperate fistfuls of Future's shirt, and he sobbed into The King's chest. Future's hand rubbed Xander's back, he smiled sadly at the sound of his student's wailing. He knew how bad it hurt, and he knew there would always be a scar, but he also knew that this wound would heal so long as Xander let his feelings out.
Xander hated that he was crying. He believed it was weakness, and he believed weakness was never something someone like him should show. But he couldn't hold it in, he wasn't strong enough. So, he rested his forehead against Future's chest and let tears overflow down his face. His desperate hands clutched desperately at the fabric of Future's shirt, some diseased part of Xander wanted to push him away but the rest of him knew he wouldn't be able to stand if Future wasn't there to lean on.
It took a few moments, but eventually Xander had to accept that he wasn't going to be able to put this emotional spill back in the bottle. He wasn't going to be able to shove Future away and stumble off to hide the sound of his sobbing. But... They were alone up here. Sure, Future had seen him hysterical, and that was embarrassing to Xander, but no one else in this timeline even knew about this place. No one would hear The Gatherer crying this high up. So, he relented, and he let the tears pour until there weren't any of them left.
He'd never admit it, but Xander felt a whole lot lighter by the time he returned to the castle. Future's simile had worked; something in Xander had desperately needed a reason to believe that Clifford wouldn't loathe him now, and Future was a living example of that reason. Neither of them spoke about it again, but Xander was grateful that Future had been willing to share such personal feelings just to help him feel less alone.
Now, The Fortunate Son was sitting in the quiet living room. Normally he would have retreated to his room and hidden away from the others who lived in the castle, but he didn't feel like he had much reason to hide after the day he'd had. So, he sat on the couch, enjoying the peace and quiet while he made his way through the pages of an old monster history book. He was familiar with much of it, but he still thought brushing up couldn't hurt.
"Tea?" Future's voice drew Xander's attention, and he looked up to see the king hunching over some and holding out a small tray with two teacups on it. Xander couldn't help but smile as he set his book down beside him, reaching up and taking one of the two cups.
"You really are going to turn into Asgore one of these days." Xander commented as he carefully brought his teacup closer, sitting up and crossing his legs.
"Ah well. Maybe if I'm a goat furry I'll feel better about hittin' on Monster women." Future joked as he set the tray down on the coffee table between the couch Xander was sitting on and the loveseat he was plopping down into. He leaned forward and took his own teacup off the tray, glancing up and over to Xander while he did so. He asked in a tone a little more gentle, "... How ya feelin'?"
"Better." Xander managed a smile that was both polite and honest, and that made Future smile some. The Gatherer lifted his cup and sipped his tea, its warmth was comforting. He hesitated and stared into the cup's contents, but he did manage to get the words out. "Thank you. For, helping me, I mean. Even if I think I'm a lost cause, it's... Nice, knowing that someone believes otherwise."
"It ain't just me, munchkin." Future assured with his patient smile, relaxing back into his chair with his tea. He was about to go on to explain that Xander had Lexi and Eden in his corner too, as well as people like Anthony and Alphys and Grillby, but, before he could, the doorbell rang.
Ding dong!
Future and Xander both turned their heads to look towards the front door across the living room, confusion drawing itself across their faces. Future started to sit up, but Xander lifted a hand and got to his feet first, setting his teacup down. He explained as he walked away from the couch and towards the door, "You just sat down. I'll get it."
Future shrugged and relaxed back into his seat, watching Xander make his way to the front door. He took hold of the knob, turned it, pulled the door open, and tried to stand up straight and look presentable for whoever was visiting... Before his eyes widened and a slight smile pulled at his lips. "Oh, Eden! I didn't know you were stopping by!"
"I didn't have time to call, I'm sorry." Eden apologized while she stepped forward and right into the hug Xander had fearlessly offered her. She wrapped her arms around him too, and though that made Xander happy, he couldn't help but look past Eden. He arched a brow at Mad Mew Mew, and behind her, even more surprisingly, CORE!Alphys. Eden explained with her head on Xander's shoulder, "It, might be urgent."
"Oh..?" Xander questioned quietly, more to himself than Eden. He slowly released his hug, before skeptically stepping aside and gesturing for the three women on his doorstep to enter. "Well, come in. I'll help however I can."
Future must've overheard the conversation at the door, because by the time the four of them were wandering into his home he was already over at the dining room table, clearing off any clutter and assuring everyone had a place to sit. He was halfway through pulling out chairs for everybody when he looked up and asked, "What's goin' on, Eden? You've got that "uh-oh" look on your face."
"Well... I apologize for not briefing the two of you sooner, but the truth is that some trouble has been brewing these past few days." Eden frowned at the graveness of her words, her eyes glossing down to the floor briefly. Xander and Future shot one another a glance as they took a seat at opposite ends of the table's far end, before looking back to Eden as she sat down at the table's other end. Mew Mew sat beside her, but CORE!Alphys chose to stand by her side instead. She went on, "I'll explain all of it in a moment, but first I have to ask you about some footage Alphys dug up. It pertains to Jevil's Circus."
"The first time I was there or the second?" Xander arched a brow at Eden, frowning some. He lifted the teacup that Future had been kind enough to bring over from the living room and took a sip before he added on, "Neither visits were particularly pretty."
"The first, I'm afraid." The others at the table might not have understood why that was the worse option, but Eden and Xander did. Cliff was there for the first circus. If this footage had something to do with Xander, that meant it had something to do with him, too. Xander's expression hardened up some, and he hesitated... Before nodding.
"Go ahead." Xander said those words, but Eden understood he was really saying 'I'll be okay, you can show me'. He looked between the three women on the table's opposite side and assured them, "I'll tell you whatever I know."
"Well, as you know, Jevil brought most of the most important people in the multiverse to his Circus and Anarchy killed the majority of them. You and Cliff were brought there and escaped, and I knew that much, but..." Eden glanced to the side and paused, before lifting her hand and giving Alphys her order. On the void lizard's command, a screen opened in the air above the table, drawing Xander's attention to it. "I, wasn't aware that you brought a third person back to our timeline with you."
Xander furrowed his brows up at that screen. He pursed his lips, didn't make a sound while that video played. His eyes winced just a little at the sight of Clifford, running back across the circus and to that woman trapped underneath a massive wooden pillar. Now that he was seeing it, the memory became very clear to him. It was surreal seeing all of it in third person...
"It's okay, I've got you! You're not gonna die here!"
Xander's expression softened from the sound of Cliff's voice. His eyes got a little misty, and he almost smiled. Always rushing off to save someone... Of course Xander remembered this particular incident. It had been, greatly overshadowed by the events that would happen just days after it, but seeing the footage made that day all the more clear in his mind. When the feed paused on the blurry image of Cliff beginning to step through the portal to escape with that woman over his shoulder, Xander exhaled quietly to steady his emotions.
"... Xander, we need to know who this woman is." Eden spoke softly, folding her hands together on the table. Xander figured it couldn't have been too easy for her either, seeing Cliff and hearing his voice again. Learning about some other heroic deed he'd done before his death, and apparently knowing of some consequence to that deed that Xander did not yet know... "The Dark in the circus make's CORE!Alphys's footage too hazy to make out her identity. Physical description, personality, name, I need any details that you can spare."
"I'll tell you what I know, but... It's not much." Xander's eyes drifted back down to Eden, and that screen disappeared from above the table. Eden nodded her head with understanding, and Xander looked down into his teacup. He smiled a little sadly as he watched the drink steam, "... You know, I really scolded Clifford for that stunt. Told him it was reckless, that we didn't even know who that woman was, that it could have been a trap... His response was very sweet."
"He told me that, for whatever reason, when he saw that woman crying out for help... He saw you, Eden." Xander lifted his head enough to share his quiet smile with Eden, who recoiled a little with surprise. Her eyes widened, and she couldn't help but smile slightly while Xander went on. "He said he looked back, and for a moment that voice crying out sounded like you. That girl under the pillar looked like you. He said that made him think about what he would do if it was his little sister who had needed help, and if no one had helped her. He said it felt like it was his duty to help anyone who needs it."
"Can you believe that?" The corner of Xander's mouth lifted, and Eden scoffed with her own bittersweet amusement at that story. Xander couldn't help but laugh just a little at the memory. "That's how much of a sweet oaf your brother was; he saw someone in peril and something in his brain instinctively envisioned that person as the one he loved most in the world to motivate him to go help them."
Xander and Eden were both smiling about that, even if knowing that sweet oaf was gone made the memory sting just a little. Mew Mew was smiling some, too. She looked relieved to see Xander and Eden smiling about Cliff. CORE!Alphys remained mostly unmoved... And Future had gone pale. No one noticed because they were so focused on Xander and Eden, but Future's eyes had went wide and his pupils had shrunk when Xander gave that nugget of information. Hastily he blinked his eyes and shook his head, he sunk into his seat and took a sip of his tea in an attempt to hide all evidence of his true feelings on the story.
"As for the woman, I never got her name. She was unconscious by the time we'd stepped through the portal. Judging by the bleeding gash in her side, one of Anarchy's worms probably got its jaws on her." Xander shrugged absentmindedly, shaking his head while he delivered the bad news. He furrowed his brows while he tried to remember anything remarkable about her. "Honestly, I was so focused on Clifford and his broken arm, I barely even looked at the girl. All I remember is that she had this... Ridiculous, mostly brown, faded pink hair? Like, she'd dyed it pink months ago and most of the color had faded out?"
Suddenly, Future choked on his tea. He had to lurch forward and hastily set the cup down, spilling some tea on the table in the process. All eyes were drawn to him while he hunched there, one hand on the table and the other beating against his chest in a fist to try and make his sputtering stop. He lifted his hand off the table and waved it dismissively, shaking his head as he wheezed words out without looking anyone in the eye. "S-sorry, sorry..! Just, accidentally swallowed wrong..! Y'know, wrong tube, a-all that..! Ack..!"
"Uhh... Alright..?" Xander stated skeptically, leaning back away from Future some. He listened to him cough another two or three times, before asking. "Are you, going to be okay?"
"Y-yeah, yeah I'm good..!" While Future spoke he hastily stood up from his chair, making it groan as it scraped across the floor. He stepped away from the table, waving a hand back towards Xander and his guests with his back to them. "I-I'm, gonna go find a paper towel to wipe up that tea spill..! Don't, b-break anything while I'm gone! H-haha..!"
". . ." Silence hung in the dining room for several long moments after Future escaped down the hall. All heads were turned to stare in the direction he'd left in, before eventually turning back to the table and the task at hand. Mew Mew commented, "Your new advisor is a weirdo!"
"He has his moments." Xander scoffed his amusement at Mew Mew's statement, waving a hand to dismiss her worries. He looked back to Eden and arched a brow, "Anyway, what's this all about? Why are you suddenly interested in some woman from Jevil's Circus?"
"... We have reason to believe that someone is targeting Anthony." Eden spoke those heavy words clearly, and she felt the gravity in the room intensify under that reality's weight. Xander's eyes went wide, but he remained visibly skeptical while he waited for Eden to elaborate. He didn't have to wait long. "Someone important to him was taken. Her property was vandalized, and all tracks were covered. There's a very capable person out there, and we're afraid that they might be hoping to set Anthony back on the war path."
"That's not good..." Xander grimaced, letting his eyes gloss to the side. He set his teacup down, he was hardly thirsty after hearing that news. His fingernails clicked anxiously against the table while he digested Eden's words.
"Alphys was going over footage of Jevil's Circus to try and find any survivors. Everyone there was capable of causing trouble, and Anthony gave every single one of them a reason to want to hurt him." Eden explained, a frown digging deeper into her face. Her hands remained folded on the table, her fingers squeezed together in a quiet show of anxiety. "That's how we found out about the woman Cliff helped. I believe that her connection to us is too big of a coincidence, and thought it would be best to figure out her identity and whereabouts."
"... Why didn't you tell me about all of this sooner?" Xander hesitated to say those words, but managed to get them out when he once more looked across the table at Eden. Her eyes went wide, she recoiled. Her lips parted, and she winced as she tried to find words. An excuse, a reason that wouldn't offend Xander. Xander frowned, and his eyes narrowed some, but he lifted a hand to stop her before she let out any words. "Never mind, it doesn't matter."
"Xander-..." Eden started to say, shaking her head. Xander cut her off, keeping the conversation focused.
"Do we have any other clues?" The Gatherer asked, arching a brow at Eden. "Tracks, abnormalities, a calling card, anything?"
"... Well, they left this painted on the wall." Eden reigned in her own expression, focusing with Xander back on the task at hand. After she gave the word, another screen appeared over the table courtesy of CORE!Alphys. It displayed that circled A, the Scarlet Letter scrawled on the wall of Aliza's diner. "It seems like a clear shot at The Anarchist to me."
This time, Xander was the one who went pale. His pupils shrunk in his wide eyes, he felt the hairs on his neck stand. Once more, he saw footage of Fortune City Hall in flames. His grandfather, laying dead against a wall with the Scarlet Letter drawn upon it... His hands were white-knuckled, gripping the edge of the table. That flyer he'd hidden away was burning a hole in his shirt pocket, or at least it felt that way. Eden furrowed her brows with concern at Xander's haunted expression. She tilted her head and asked gently, "Xander, what's wrong? You've, seen this symbol before, right?"
"Y-yes, I..." Xander's hand lifted. He reached up towards his shirt pocket... But then his fingers paused. His stare lowered back from that screen to Eden, and he winced with a painful thought. She hadn't told him about this until she had to, she didn't want him involved and he knew it. With that in mind, Xander's hand lowered, leaving that flyer in his pocket. He swallowed and shook his head, before finally coming up with an answer. "It's, the symbol for anarchy, as I'm sure you know. Anthony's father, The Ivory Ghoul, he uhm... It was, a calling card of his, is all. My family was tormented greatly by that symbol and the misdeeds that it marked."
"I'm sorry Xander, I didn't realize seeing it would evoke such a strong response." Eden frowned with sympathy. Immediately, the screen and the Scarlet Letter upon it vanished, and Eden leaned forward some while she asked gently. "Are you okay..?"
"Yes, yes I'm fine. Just, an old superstition is all." Xander faked a smile, waving a hand to dismiss Eden's worries despite the paleness of his face. His smile slowly waned however as his eyes lowered back to his hands, and when he spoke Eden thought he was assuring himself more than her. "... The Ivory Ghoul is long dead, after all. Fortune City is far away, and Anthony is my friend..."
Xander was allowed a moment to stew on his less than pleasant thoughts, before Eden reached across the table and freed him. She grabbed ahold of his hand, and when he looked up to her he saw her reassuring smile. That made him feel just a little lighter, it was a gentle reminder that he wasn't in that secluded mansion and he wasn't alone anymore.
That thought, however, made his eyes drift over to the stain that Future had left on the table. The tea was drying there now, Xander feared it might leave a stain. Were they out of paper towels or something? Why was Future taking so long? Maybe he'd bumped into Grillby or Alphys and gotten caught up speaking with them; he was always so chatty with those two. Xander feared it was because he'd had so many loved ones ripped away from him, and now believed that every moment spent with the ones he had left was precious. Either way, he shrugged and decided it didn't matter.
"That woman was hospitalized and in a coma after she got back to our timeline." Xander got back to the task at hand, but he did squeeze Eden's hand gently to show his appreciation for her support. He let go of her hand and sat up straight once more while he explained, "I meant to check in at the hospital and learn more about who she was, but... After the attack later that week and losing Clifford, I completely forgot about her. By the time I remembered to check in with the hospital it had been weeks, and they said she'd vanished."
Eden frowned quietly at that news; she hadn't thought about it in quite some time, but that was one of the most hectic times in the old empire's history, rivaled only by its destruction at Errorphim's hands. News outlets called Predator's assault on the capital an "Unprecedented terrorist attack". The people feared that The Gatherer wouldn't be able to protect them from The Predator that their media had demonized or from The Anarchist who they had all seen dismantle The Angel on a huge screen in the sky. Crime rates rose, people went missing, some tried to escape the timeline and had to be quietly dealt with by Hacker and Demon. It took them months to get things back on track, and looking back Eden couldn't be sure morale ever fully recovered. It wasn't the last nail in the old empire's coffin, but it was certainly a nail in their coffin.
"I never heard word about her trying to escape through one of our firewalls, and as you know no one ever got through to escape the timeline." Xander lifted his teacup once more. He could tell it had gone cold, but heat quickly flowed out of his palm and brought the drink back to a steaming temperature. He took another drink before continuing, "So, she was almost certainly stuck in our timeline. If she survived her injuries and the chaos, that is."
"Then... That would mean she either escaped when our firewalls were destroyed, was killed by Errorphim, or..." Eden trailed off, her hands clasped one another anxiously once more. She didn't dare finish her thought, for fear of speaking it into existence. Xander had no such fear. He looked up at her from under his eyebrows, and shadow dripped down his grave expression while he finished Eden's thought.
"... Or she infiltrated The Omega with our people."
"Soo... She, kisses people, and that lets her control their mind?" Anthony pondered aloud, resting his palms on the back of the couch and leaning some of his weight onto it. Having just got out of the shower, his hair was still wet but he was fully clothed in sweatpants and a white tank top. It'd been a long day of work on Angel's house, but he'd made good progress and managed to keep his thoughts primarily away from the current predicaments that he could not punch his way through. He'd just gotten back home with Mako in the last hour, and now it appeared that her and Max were watching some brightly colored anime in the living room. Anthony cocked a brow at the screen, "Why's this show so pink..?"
"It's called Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, Angel's Alphys recommended it to me awhile ago." Mako explained, turning her head to smile up over the back of the couch at Anthony. She turned her head back to the screen then, furrowing her browbones. "I like the pinkness, but the kissing thing is weird."
"It's an insult to my asexuality is what it is." Max stated in his deadpan voice from the other couch that was pushed up against the back wall of the living room, and Mako snerked before throwing a throw pillow at him to scold his poor attitude. Max caught the pillow and smiled at his sister's reaction, setting the pillow under his arm and using it as an arm rest. He looked over to Anthony, "You an anime guy, Anthony?"
"Well, me n' Angel watched a lotta Dragon Ball Z when we were kids..." Anthony remembered after some thought, looking towards the ceiling and scratching at the few white hairs that had formed on his chin since he shaved that morning.
"Oooof course ya did..." Max muttered to himself, managing a sarcastic smile in the wake of Anarchy's revelation. He couldn't help but snicker some when Anthony thoughtlessly brought his hands to his side, cupped them together, and then push them out in front of himself with his palms pushed together.
"I wonder if I could do the Kamehameha now..." He pondered to himself like Max and Mako weren't even there, looking forward at his still pushed together and outstretched hands. This made the human-monster siblings laugh, and the sound of their laughter put a small smile on Anthony's face.
"You should watch with us!" Mako invited excitedly, rapidly patting the couch cushion beside her. That made Anthony's smile widen, and he began stepping around the couch to join the both of them, when the doorbell rang.
Ding dong!
Anthony turned around to look over his shoulder at the front door, Mako twisted around to look over the back of her couch and Max leaned forward and turned his head to look. George The Dragonfly lifted up his head from where he laid on three dog beds pushed together on a rug at the living room's center. Max commented while Anthony stared perplexed at the front door, "I didn't even know we had a doorbell."
"Maybe it's one'a your spacetime pals?" Mako tilted her head while she wondered aloud, looking up to Anthony. He didn't say a word, just turned his back to her and faced the door. Mako and Max couldn't see it, but Anthony was frowning. Mako was probably right, he knew that as he walked towards the door. But, he still felt unease. The farm was a secluded place after all, he didn't like surprise visitors. Shadows slipped between the fingers of his left hand, which was held back at the ready in case he had to pull his crowbar out of his inventory.
Anthony took slow steps to the front door, his skepticism caused an air of anxiety to fill the room. Max stood and stepped carefully over to the couch where Mako sat. He stood beside her, ready to move and protect her if necessary. George hadn't gotten up yet, but his wings had unfolded some, ready to flap and lift him up into the air at a moment's notice. Anthony grabbed ahold of the doorknob, turned it slowly, and pulled open the door...
"Uhm, hi!" A friendly voice spoke first, and Anthony recognized it. His eyes went wide as he stared down into eyes that were the same color as his, on a face that he was very familiar with. Auburn hair framed that face, and those eyes squinted some as their welcoming smile grew. Frisk outstretched one hand to The Anarchist, it almost made him flinch. "You're Anthony, right? My name is Frisk, I'm the Ambassador between Humans and Monsters!"
Anthony stood there for a few seconds, dumbfounded. His first thought was that Frisk had somehow escaped the dollhouse prison he'd built them, but then he saw the Toriel and Asgore standing behind them. The king and queen, both wearing crowns atop their head. They were certainly dressed to look like royalty, and that dress code had extended to this Frisk as well. They wore a suit and tie that was a similar color scheme to Toriel's dress, with a Deltarune design on its back. The longer Anthony looked at them, the more he realized that they were older too. Still short and - regrettably - still easy on Anthony's eyes, but older. What did they say? Something about being an ambassador? Why were they holding their hand out like that? Anthony didn't want to touch them-!
"I-it's an honor, Ambassador!" Mako's voice suddenly cut in. Anthony's wide eyes darted down to watch her push past him in the doorway. She grabbed Frisk's hand and shook it eagerly, there were stars in her eye sockets but anxious sweat on her forehead. Those stary eyes darted up to Asgore and Toriel too, and Mako's eyes widened further while she stammered to herself. "Ohmygosh the whole royal family's here-"
"You must be Mako!" That Frisk took Mako's hand in both of theirs, they smiled wide as they shook her hand up and down. Their scarlet eyes darted between the skeleton and the Ghoul with relief and excitement as they went on, "The honor's ours, really! I'm really glad we were able to find you two!"
"... You were, looking for us?" Anthony narrowed his eyes while he pushed those words up and out of his throat. He tilted his head skeptically, holding his left hand behind his back and keeping his fingers open.
"O-oh, right! Sorry, let me start over!" Frisk laughed a little nervously as they released Mako's hand. They stood up straight and flashed a sheepish smile while they scratched the back of their head, just below where their hair was pulled into a ponytail. They lowered both hands to their sides after that, reeling in their expression to something more serious before they explained. "I'm Frisk - the Human/Monster Ambassador - and behind me are Asgore and Toriel, the king and queen of Monsterkind."
"Knew that already..." Anthony muttered while a frown tugged down his bottom lip, revealing a few of his sharp teeth. Mako tugged irritably at the hem of his shirt, silently urging him to quiet down. He obliged, silencing an annoyed growl in his throat.
"If you know who we are, then you know that our biggest goal is helping humans and monsters to coexist peacefully." Frisk frowned some when they said that, their eyebrows furrowed under the weight of this particular topic. They swallowed and gathered the strength to look Anthony in the eye while they elaborated. "Anthony, if I may be so blunt, after we saw you two work together to face that horrible creature Errorphim on the screen that appeared over Ebott City...
We believe that the connection between you and Mako could greatly help our cause."
It was a hard process for Mister Asgore, adjusting to his new importance in The Omega Timeline. It was hard adjusting to life in general now that CORE!Frisk was gone. Many of the spaces that Frisk had kept to themself for one reason or another collected dust for a long time before Mr. Asgore even considered cleaning them out. Cleaning out what CORE!Frisk had left behind meant accepting that they weren't coming back, and that was very hard for their old friend Asgore to do.
Now, Mr. Asgore stood in an old office building. It was mostly a place for storing old records and data, it didn't see much use even when Frisk was alive. Certainly not in the last decade or so, anyway. Still, sifting through all the filing cabinets and manila folders was mentally taxing, especially with the feeling of Frisk's ghost lurking in these halls. Mr. Asgore pushed up his reading glasses so he could rub his eyes with his index finger and thumb, sighing into the empty office he sat at a cluttered desk in. Maybe it would be best to come back at a different time...
Creeeaaakkk... THUD!
Asgore jumped some at the sound of the building's front door opening and then slamming shut. He hastily pushed out his chair and stood from that dusty desk, making his way to the office's open door and peaking his head out into the hallway. "Excuse me, this building is closed. If you have some business here you'll have to come back at a later-"
"Can't do that, Asgore." Asgore recoiled a little when he heard his name be called from the dark hallway. He knew he'd heard the voice before, but he wasn't sure from who. A moment later, he watched a tall figure emerge from the shadows. Eyes set beyond Asgore and frown defining his features, Future stomped right past him and into that office he'd been sitting in. His stern tone offered little explanation, "It's urgent."
Mr. Asgore opened his mouth to object, but he was so perplexed that no words came. He turned around and watched Future stomp around the office, looking left and right like he was searching for something specific. Asgore squinted at him and tried to figure out why he looked so familiar while Future remembered something. He dropped to one knee beside one corner of the rug on the floor, pulling that corner up and carelessly tossing it onto the rest of the rug to reveal a metal square on the floor. It had a handle on top of it that had folded down into the panel, and when Future popped that handle back up and grabbed ahold of it Asgore finally came to his conclusion. "... Cter?"
"..." Future paused briefly. He turned his head away from Asgore and took a quiet deep breath, and then he looked back up at him from under his eyebrows. That frown had not left his face, and light barely reflected in his green eyes. "... Been awhile, Asgore. Sorry I didn't visit sooner."
"I, never expected you to." Asgore admitted, his brows drawing near and a frown pulling at his own lips. "As I recall you... 'Wanted out'."
"Ha, yeah." Future laughed without an ounce of joy, turning his head and looking back to the handle he was holding onto. He stood suddenly, pulling on that handle and with it dragging another tall rectangular filing cabinet up out of the floor. He muttered to himself as the cabinet locked into place above ground, "That worked out great for me..."
"Cter, with all due respect, it's been years." Asgore took a step closer to The King Over The Mountain, his expression hardening some. Future was beyond strange to look at for Mr. Asgore. His hair had grown dark with his ink, stress and struggle and age had begun drawing little wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. And then there was the crown on his head... Asgore shook his head, he could ask what on earth had happened in those years away later. "You can't just show back up here and start digging through Frisk's old property without permission."
"Reckon it'd be a little hard to get their permission these days, Fluffybuns." Future commented absentmindedly, pulling open the top drawer of that filing cabinet and looking into the rows of folders organized within. He lifted his other hand to start sifting through those files... Before Asgore's hand snatched ahold of his wrist. He paused then, turning his head to glare back at the old king with a paw wrapped firm around his arm. The silence was deafening, tension vibrated in the air as Future's dull green eyes glared into Asgore's indignant white ones.
Slowly, Future's other hand lifted off the drawer handle. it reached into the files, flicked through their subsections. D, E, F... He grabbed a folder, pulled it free, and then turned his body. He haphazardly tossed that folder over to the desk beside the both of them, the sound of it slapping down onto the wood echoed through the building. Hesitantly... Asgore released Future's wrist. The both of them turned to that desk, their eyes landed on the folder packed with pages on the table.
Mr. Asgore's eyes widened slowly, his pupils shrunk. A pit opened in his stomach, and from that pit a thousand unpleasant memories bubbled up to the surface. On that old, dusty folder, there was a simple title. An easy classification, one that both kings knew the magnitude of. An image of a bright pink soul was on its front. And above that image, one big, bolded word.
F_E_A_R
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