Chapter Eight
They walked along the trail and passed by the music box, feeling that something wasn't right, and realizing that the music box wasn't making a sound.
"… Strange, that box wasn't off when I came back to see you," Curtain said.
"Huh? Well, I didn't expect it could go off since it didn't when we left it," the child said.
As they kept walking along, they could see the entrance to where the piano was ahead.
And then she came out from there, which froze the two in their steps.
"…" The red-eyed creature looked towards them, as they were finally able to see her full form:
She was tall and slender and wore a black dress that seemed to dissipate into darkness at the bottom along with any feet or shoes she may have had, and wore a longsleeved black shirt that reached low enough to her knees with a rusty gold rope on her waist. Over her shoulders and just below her neck was a shawl that was torn in the front and held a hood in the back, and her sleeves around her wrists had an etching of small white gems around it as well as a single etching on the hood. Her skin was mostly pale while a dark patch was over her left eyebrow and on the opposite side on the her lower right chin and cheek. The hair was black on top and dark gray below it, giving a different shade when looking directly at her face of darkness or from behind of gray. It also fanned out in waves and a few strands of electric strikes around her head, and the back of her hair not in the fan was pulled to the front and laying over her shoulders near her neck.
The beam of her red eyes returned after noticing them since she didn't realize they were returning so soon and for a moment it lowered in intensity to the surprise. With a sinister grin of sharpened teeth and her black-clawed hand that she showed to the child and Curtain with a wave, she quickly disappeared into the darkness nearby.
Once she vanished, Curtain and the child immediately ran ahead to the doorway and noticed a few feathers on the ground in a trail. The two grew almost as pale as the lady as they ran ahead inside. They rushed through the false wall, and found someone sitting upright on the ground in front of a cracked desk that broke from impact. He looked up at the two with blue liquid dripping from his gold beak on a gash of four strikes on his chest. His eyes were a weakening green, his blue feathers were ruffled on his head and wings that were slumped down his sides, as was his feathery blue and light blue tail on one side. By similarity besides colors considering his fur was a lighter blue as well, he was indeed an Aecan.
"You… little ones… leave. The dark one is near. Please run," He said weakly.
Curtain and the child ran to his sides instead.
"No… nononono! This can't be! I-I was just here and no one else was… How… Why did she do this…?" Curtain said, her tears falling down her cheeks.
"Please sir! We can save you! M-Maybe we can save you! Here! Take my food! Please take it!" The child pleaded as she handed him some food she had.
"… You two… you are quite kind, but… this wound will not heal so easily from that creature. She is not normal… a dark, horrid entity… I'm already finished…" He said, placing his hands on the child's hands and pushing her food back to her.
"You need this more… little human. I've been so busy but I have heard about you… Do not… look so sad… I tried my best to fight her off… I at least damaged one of her arms so… you can hurry and escape…" He said, patting the child's head.
"Wh-What? You… You fought her to save the human?" Curtain asked.
"… She came in searching for the child, believing she was here because someone else came through here… I came in and told her no one else was here but me and I just arrived… she said she… wanted to find the human, that they were being too… kind… such a strange thing to say but… I felt I had seen her cruel eyes before, so I relented from giving an answer or letting her stay… she wasn't happy, and so we fought… she's abnormally strong, but I didn't want whoever was here before and the human to come here to her, so I did what I had to to wound her…" He said, looking down at his own wound.
"… You're… so brave… but you never even met the human or me… it's… it's all my fault… I should have been more careful! I saw her before but I didn't think she'd attack anyone else…" Curtain said, her tears pouring.
"I'm so sorry! I wanted to meet one of my people but I never would have looked if I knew! I'm so so sorry!" Curtain wept.
"… You are descended from the ones who stood on the surface, huh? And by the looks of it… heh… you are not only of us…" He said, gently petting her head to comfort her.
"Sniffle, Yes… I'm half human and half aecan. I wanted to learn more of my people and how to fly because… I lost my mother and father long ago and… I wanted to learn how to fly so that… so that I could feel closer to my mother and make her proud to know I found someone else of our people… but now… I failed so bad… so bad… I'm so sorry," Curtain held his hand as she continued to cry.
"There there, dear one. It's not your fault… that creature… has plagued our people… even during the war… do not feel so heartbroken. I… I'm actually glad… even in my last moments… I feel so happy… something I haven't really felt as I kept myself in my research when my sister had passed away… seeing that my people lived on in the surface and that… and that a human had taken such care of one… it only brings me joy to know that peace can once again reign between humans and monsters… that it's still possible… thank you for coming back… and you little human… thank you for making her come back here, and for bringing hope down here too. Your journey may be hard… but you… I can sense you are determined… stay determined to see this through no matter what. To give all that happens here… meaning," He said with a genuine smile as his own tears poured down.
The child and Curtain both cried along with him, feeling like they were losing a good friend who believed in them even when they didn't know. They lightly hugged the Aecan to not hurt his wound, as he cried more and patted both of them gently while they could feel the warm of his kind soul in each pat.
"And please… be careful… that creature is very malicious and bitter… don't lose hope… don't give in to her… fight back… or run. Just stay alive…" He said, his voice weakening more.
"Sir… thank you. My name is Curtain, and this is…" Curtain said as the child spoke,
"I am Ch… Fr… I am still trying to discover myself, but for now, I am your friend."
"Ah… I see… I am Theodan… it was nice to meet you two… and don't be so sad… I'm sure we may… meet again one day… not soon of course… live… and one day, that demon… will finally fall… and hope will rise again… goodbye, my little friends…" Theodan said, as he slowly drifted away as his eyes closed.
His body began to dissipate into dust, as the girls watched with heavy hearts. His dust had spread on their hands since they held them and a little on there knees and Curtain's scarf, while the rest ended up on his desk and books.
They stood in silence, leaving their tears to fall while slowly processing all that occurred and all that the kindhearted Theodan had told them. Their tears had dried up on their faces, as the child turned towards Curtain and noticed her lowering her head. She rose up from the ground and wrapped her arms around Curtain to comfort her. With a final cry of her last bit of frustration, Curtain hugged the child back.
"… I'm sorry Curtain. I'm sorry that this happened…" the child said.
"… thank you, kid," Curtain said as she patted the child's back.
"I wish… I wish I could have stopped this but… I had… I touched the save point when you came to me already!" The child let out a cry.
"… Kid… don't… no, let it out. It's okay to cry. Just remember what Theodan said… stay determined," Curtain said as she comforted her.
When the child calmed down, and Curtain cleaned up their faces with some tissues she had, the two departed the secret room with one last look. They headed out straight to the Riverboat Person as they silently rode back to Hotland.
"… Curtain, are you sure you want to keep following me? Maybe… you should have stayed there to see what Theodan had in his books," The child said.
"… Kid, I don't want to lose anyone else," Curtain replied, as she patted her head.
The two continued along through Hotland with Alphys calling as she was helping them through some puzzles and obstacles, while the positive voice's suspicions only grew. The child hesitatingly touched another save point and headed on to battle soldier RG 01 and 02 whom Curtain mostly blocked their attacks so that the child was easily able to have the two leave to hang out. Upon being on the news for the bomb game, Curtain actually stood away as a claw-game hand appeared near the child but was quickly put away when Curtain wasn't besides her. At this point, Curtain realized that Mettaton was too prepared for her and grew suspicious of Alphys. After dealing with the bombs that were fake and real but real, the two pressed on ahead to see the Core, though the dreariness they felt earlier didn't bother them as much. Alphys also called the child again and said,
"Um… I noticed you've been kind of quiet… Are you worried about meeting Asgore…? … W-well, don't worry, okay? Th-The king is a really nice guy… I'm sure you can talk to him, and… W-with your human soul, you can pass through the barrier! S-so no worrying, OK? J-Just forget about it and smile."
The child hung up, though she was pained since she wanted to trust that Alphys had good intentions, but she knew at this point it could only be Alphys who was setting her up to battle Mettaton and told him that Curtain was with her. She couldn't understand why Alphys was trying to be the 'good guy' instead of being honest, but for now she would keep pressing forward since the Core was much closer.
After exiting the next elevator, the child and Curtain reached a stand of spider treats as a Spider lady was selling them for a pretty hefty price. Although Curtain was able to afford it and bought one to try, the child had some food already and not enough money so she went onward. Curtain found the spider donut to be interesting, while the two came across a room of jumps and two minigames on opposite sides.
"Hm… do you think we should split up to solve the puzzles quicker?" Curtain asked.
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," the child said.
"Alright, I'll take the more difficult route. You take the easier one," Curtain said and the child nodded.
The child was able to reach the room and complete the puzzle pretty quickly, as Curtain took a little longer since she had to get to the room. Feeling beckoned by the positive voice, the child walked ahead and noticed a sealed door. The door then activated and opened as she realized that Curtain must have solved the puzzle to open it. She went ahead and found a save point as she touched it, and then entered the building since she wanted to see what lies ahead just in case if Mettaton was going to try to take Curtain again, which she wanted to avoid. As she walked through, she couldn't help but notice webbing and hear a voice talking,
"Ahuhuhu… Did you hear what they said? They said a human wearing a striped shirt will come through. I heard that they hate spiders. I heard that they love to stomp on them. I heard that they like to tear their legs off. I heard… that they're awfully stingy with their money. Ahuhuhu… You think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don't you, deary? Ahuhuhu… I disagree with that notion. I think your taste… is exactly what this next batch needs!"
The child swallowed hard as Muffet revealed herself, and she wished she had had enough money to buy a spider donut… and didn't already eat the one she had before.
+ Ahhhhh!
- Jump! Jump!
After surviving through Muffet's attacks and her pet, a spider came with a receipt showing that the human had bought a spider pastry from the Ruins. This made Muffet realize that the human must not be as bad as she was told. Her more threatening demeanor instantly changed as she apologized to the human and allowed them passage.
"Ahuhuh… That was fun! See you again, dearie!" Muffet said with a wave of her two hands, as the child waved back with a web still on her own hand.
The child turned and started walking ahead when the exit slammed closed, startling her as she jumped back along with the spiders near her.
"Hm? What is the meaning of this?" Muffet inquired, as the child realized she had nothing to do with this.
A bright orange light began to take over the room in front of the exit, as the child and Muffet both grew frightful of what was occurring.
Fire.
The exit was devoured in flames, as the spiders began to panic.
"My pretties! Please fall back to me! Away from the flames!" Muffet called out, as her pet appeared by her side and the spiders hastily ran on the pet's back.
The child noticed a few spiders too close to the flames as she quickly scooped them up and ran towards the pet. Muffet was also guiding her spiders to the entrance to escape as the child grabbed the few who were too close or stranded to place them on the pet's back.
"Oh you sweet child! Thank you for saving my sweeties," Muffet said gratefully, and the child nodded.
Muffet and her spiders reached outside as the child was bringing the last spider. The little one began to shake as the child turned and noticed something about to swing at her head. She quickly dove and pushed the spider forward with her palm so they could escape out the entrance. Muffet caught the spider and looked just passed the child with a frightful expression. The swinging object slammed into the top of the entrance as the doors slammed shut while the object, which was a piece of stone, fell in front of it, blocking the door shut. The child quickly got up and turned to see who Muffet had seen, her eyes widening upon recognition and how much more frightening she looked with the flames roaring behind her.
"Hello little one…" The red-eyed lady greeted while standing a few yards away, her voice echoing while the flames behind her rose a little.
"I believe we have some business to attend to… so let's get this started already," She said, as she snapped her fingers and the child's soul appeared.
Ah, the hell-beast is here to cause more harm...