//------------------------------// // siX ch1pterrrrrrrr // Story: Of Monsters and Girls // by Fullmetal Pony //------------------------------// “Um, Alphys?” Sunset pointed out towards the window behind Alphys. “Is that a friend of yours?” Alphys turned her head and froze. Sweat flooded her brow and dampened her lab coat. A spindly monster resembling a giant malnourished bird stared back at her with a massive eye. Twilight felt her stomach roil a little watching some sort of goop drip off its skeletal wings like the whole thing were made of wax. “I’ll, uh, be right back!” Alphys yelped and took off with a speed neither Twilight nor Sunset had seen from her before A second later, Alphys was outside by the monster and conversing with it. The way its beak flapped like rubber combined with the erratic ways its wings twitched and its torso convulsed tinted Sunset’s cheeks green and Twilight had to look away. “Has Alphys mentioned unique monster diseases?” Twilight coughed. “No, but maybe it’s ju—” Sunset’s phone buzzed. She pressed the answer icon while keeping her eyes on the monster outside. They’re coming. Sunset shrieked and dropped the phone. She froze when a second ringtone echoed through the library. Both she and Twilight slowly looked down to the vibrating pocket of Twilight’s lab coat and gulped. Steeling herself, Twilight managed to pick the phone up like it was a diseased lab sample and looked at the caller ID. She let out her held breath. “It’s Pinkie.” “Wait!” Sunset called out when Twilight pressed on the call icon. “It might b—” “Hey, Twilight!” Pinkie’s voice sang through the phone. “I tried calling Sunset but all I got was this noise that kinda sounded like a seashell. Weird, right? Anyway, are you two still with Alphys at the school?” “Y-yeah, Pinkie,” said Twilight. “Hmmm, you sound a little winded, don’t stay up too late doing sciency stuff! Especially because we’ve got quite the day ahead of us tomorrow!” Sunset tapped Twilight on the shoulder and pointed toward the door. Alphys had shuffled in with the other monster trailing behind it. It walked with an uneven gait, with each step looking like it would make it fall over and collapse into the goop it was dripping onto the floor. “Pinkie, I’ll call you back, we have some issues here to deal with.” Pinkie started to blab about something but Twilight pulled the phone back and pounded down on the end call icon, belting out, “Just send us a text or something. Bye!” The monster loomed over them and flipped its head back and forth like it was screwed onto its body. It never kept its head facing forward, so Twilight and Sunset were forced to gaze into the massive void of its pupil. Alphys stood beneath it, looking smaller than usual and haunching her back to the point her snout was pointing to the ground. Sweat poured down her face. “S-sorry,” she muttered. “T-they really wanted to talk to you… p-probably because of your magic.” “Okay.” Sunset took a breath. With a straight face, she looked right at the monster. “What seems to be the problem?” “SiOfMeElTtHIdNiGsFtEuErLbSaWnRcOeNIGyWoAcNaTnEdDeTtOeScEtEmDaRgAiLcPrHiYgSht,” the monster gargled and gasped in several different voices. Twilight and Sunset flinched hearing the monster’s gabbled speech. Twilight was now looking quite green and Sunset had gone pale. Alphys took a step forward. “It’s, uh, a little hard to understand them, but they’ve been saying they and the others have been feeling odd for the past hour or so. I told them nothing strange had been detected, but they wouldn’t listen.” ‘Is it…” Sunset chewed her lip when the monster peered closer at her. The scent of burning rubber and ash invaded her nose. “Are they known for this sort of thing?” “EwVeEcRaSnIhNeCaErTtHhEiAnCgCsCoItDhEeNrTM, ONYSETSERoSdCdAeNhT?” “I’m not sure.” Alphys lowered her head and sighed. “Ever since they wound up like this, they’ve said they’ve heard and seen things. I’ve checked before though, and nothing was wrong.” In a lower voice she whispered, “Maybe it’s the DETERMINATION.” “DETERMINATION?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “But I thought monsters couldn’t manifest it on their own.” The monster started convulsing again and making pained gasps and grunts. Its movements flung off some of its goop which landed on Twilight’s shoe. She shuddered and then clasped a hand to her mouth and bolted for the bathroom. The monster watched Twilight run off and then let out a croak. “SoOhRnRoY.” Sunset took a breath and steeled herself. “Sorry about that, Twilight’s a little less used to monsters than I am. I don’t want you or…” Sunset glanced at her phone, still resting on the ground. “... whoever else felt something to be concerned though. We’ve been carefully monitoring any variances in magic and haven’t noticed anything serious.” The monster peered closer at her and blinked. The chilling thought struck Sunset that the monster’s head resembled another monster’s entire body as if it had been partially melted and mounted on a half-formed torso. “But we’ll keep you in touch if anything comes up,” Sunset gulped. “JtUhSaTnTkHyOoUuGgHoToYdObUySeHtOhUeLnDKNOW.” Sunset blinked and the monster was gone, but its burning scent lingered. Alphys collapsed into a chair and Sunset did the same. Alphys stiffened when she felt Sunset’s glare on her. “What in Equestria was that!?” “I’m sorry.” Alphys twisted her torso and buried her head in the desk. “I thought it was better but…” A sniffle followed by a few soft sobs followed. Sunset raise up a hand, held it out for a second and then laid it over Alphys’ back. “Guess that thing rattled you too. Look, I’m just a little on edge and it’s late, but it’s fine, sounds like it was just a concerned monster.” Alphys kept her face buried in her claws. “You want me to call Undyne?” “No!” Alphys shot her head up and looked at Sunset like a spooked horse. She deflated back into her chair and kept her reddened eyes to the ground. “I’m sorry, I just got comfortable talking with other monsters about them. I didn’t want to bother them anymore and I knew you’d ask questions.” Alphys whipped out her phone and pressed a few buttons. A beam of light shot out of its screen and a collection of journals and cassette tapes materialized onto the desk. “You and Twilight were so open with me. I should have said something after you told me about your incidents.” Alphys paused, waiting for Sunset to reply but she waited on her word, leaning forward in her seat with a concerned look on her face. “The Underground… no, I have a precedent for mixing magic as well. This is all my data and… I’m sorry!” Before Sunset could say something, Alphys fled from her seat and tore out of the library, sending loose papers flying. By the time Sunset recovered enough of her wits, Alphys was long gone. She glanced over at the documents Alphys had left and read the title of journal at the top of the stack: Harnessing DETERMINATION for Monster Use. She peeled back the cover and looked to the first words when the floor near her rumbled. She glanced down and saw that her entire backpack was vibrating. With one hand she shut the journal and with the other, she pulled out the enchanted tome from her bag. Setting it on the table, she opened it and read the message. “Dear Sunset, Apologies again for the delay in getting over to help with your Monster situation, though it has been a relief seeing your letters grow more and more relaxed. We’re still cleaning up the last bit of the mess Discord made trying to ‘teach’ Chrysalis about friendship, but hopefully, I’ll be over to help in a day or two. Sincerely, Twilight” Sunset made a mental note to write back later and then turned her attention to the documents. Taking a deep breath, she loaded them all into her backpack. She was just finishing up cramming them all in when she heard a door creak open. Hastily zipping it shut, she looked up and saw Twilight wobbling back over to the desk. She dropped down into a chair by Sunset and then looked around. “Where’s Alphys…” Her pupils shrank a little. “... and that monster?” “They, uh, both left.” Sunset glanced to the side. “I explained that nothing was wrong and Alphys went to help it back to its home.” “What could make a thing like that?” Twilight gulped. “An… an accident, nothing to worry about though.” Sunset sucked in her lower lip. She gave a sigh and rubbed her left temple. “Look, Twilight, it’s late and I think that was the sign for us to call it a night.” “Yeah, that sounds like a plan.” Twilight jolted her head up and then pulled out her phone. A bit of color returned to her face along with a smile. “Oh, looks like Pinkie’s got quite the plan coming up. It’s cutting it a little close, but if anyone can do it, it’s her.” Sunset glanced at her phone and then raised her hand over her mouth like she was yawning. “I’ll be sure to check it out later. Why don’t you head back home? I can clean up.” “Are you sure?” Twilight spotted the book on the table. “Did Princess Twilight send a message?” “Just that she’ll be here in a day or two.” Sunset put on her most practiced smile. “As for cleaning up, trust me, I have experience in making the library look tidy.” “Okay.” Twilight got out of her chair and picked up her bag. “Call me if you need anything.” “Will do.” Twilight made her way over to the door, gave Sunset a small wave, and then left. Sunset let out the breath she’d been holding in and frowned. She looked over to her bag and leaned over to pull out the documents, when her phone buzzed across the floor. She picked it up and lost a bit of color seeing that the caller ID only displayed a chaotic mash of letters and numbers. She gulped and pressed the answer icon. Why? The voices chilled Sunset to the bone, but she tightened her jaw. “Twilight is still getting used to a lot of things and all this monster stuff probably hasn’t helped. We both may have gone over our heads with magic, but I’ve had longer to deal with it. So if you and the others wanna talk, talk to me.” The line was quiet for a moment. The next words from whatever was on the other end came out like a haunting whisper carried on the wind. Good… friend. The line then cut out. Sunset took a breath and then marched back over to the desk. She still had work to do. ~~~ “A story?” Sonata corked her head to the side. “Like a movie?” “I can’t be sure,” Flowey spat. He then looked over all Dazzlings with a grin that made their skin crawl. “Does it matter what sort of sick form of entertainment we’ve been sucked into? Agency, fate, choice, whatever you call it, all meaningless.” “The why bother having us meet you?” asked Aria. “Sounds like a lame plot twist if you ask me.” “I’m… different.” Flowey’s smile thinned into a razor sharp grin. “I’ve had to power to control things before. I even pleaded with Them with almost all my strength to just leave us alone.” His expression soured and fangs poked out of her mouth. The ground rumbled under the Dazzlings and thorns poked up around Flowey. “But They just couldn’t be satisfied! This is even worse than a RESET, you sick bastard!” Flowey panted and glared off into the darkened ruins. Sonata stepped back and hid behind Aria. She paled feeling how tense Aria was. Adagio kept her jaw tight and took a step forward. “Not getting into how you’d prove your little theory, it sounds like you’re a little ticked at someone.” Adagio let a grin slither up the sides of her face. “I’m sure we could work out an arrangement to deal with them.” “Ha!” Flowey cackled. “You idiot, bet you’re thinking I’m just some insane abomination.” Flowey’s eye narrowed and his lips flattened out into a subdued sneer. “With what I’ve seen and done, you’re not far off. Oh, and as for how I know this…” Flowey’s eyes widened out so that they went from beady dots to hollow voids. Bullets materialized around the Dazzlings. The smile Flowey flashed them chilled them to their core. “This isn’t our first time meeting.” The bullets edged closer to the Dazzlings. Aria and Sonata hugged each other tight and closed their eyes. Adagia gasped when a bullet pressed up against her jugular. Tears tumbled down her face while her eyes remained locked on Flowey. Then, with a blip, the bullets vanished. Thanks to holding each other, Aria and Sonata were able to stay upright on shaky knees. Adagio collapsed to the ground gasping for air. “Pathetic,” Flowey sighed and then glanced back off into the shadows. “This is the best You could send?” “L-let’s go,” Sonata stuttered. Aria rapidly nodded. “Not so fast,” said Flowey, causing Sonata and Aria to freeze. “Since you’ve been so helpful and They don’t want me to kill you, I think I will help you out.” Adagio managed to raise her head and coughed out, “Why?” “Because what else could They want you for? Besides, if I have to listen to the three of you bumbling around the Underground again, I really will go insane.” Flowey vanished under the soil and then poked up right beside Sonata and Aria. A vine shot out and wrapped around Aria’s leg. Despite being covered in thorns, it didn’t break her skin. Flowey glanced over at Sonata, who stood shaking like a leaf but refused to let go of Aria. “You, there should be some pots back in that house. Get one and I’ll handle the rest from there.” He then turned his head up to Aria. “Going back through the Underground will take too much energy, so you’ll carry me.” “I…” Aria gulped. “I don’t…” Flowey summoned a ring of bullets around her neck. “That’s not a request.” ~~~ Aria tried to keep her hands as steady as possible. Flowey kept his eyes forward while the Dazzlings carried him through the ponds and streams of Waterfall. Sonata bowed down so that her head was level with Flowey’s. “What?” he snorted. “Well, you’re still really scary, but I was just wondering why you’re not out conquering the world, destroying the world, or doing other evil things to it? I mean you’re like super strong, even stronger than some of the mo—” “Shut up,” Flowey snarled. Sonata backed away but remained within reach of Aria. Flowey shook his head and then glared back at Adagio, who quivered under his gaze and fell even further behind the rest of the group. “I swear, I can’t tell who is worse, you or Miss Glam back there.” Flowey turned around and looked forward again with a sour look on his face. “As for why I’m not showing you idiots the real meaning of this world, one, I barely have any power left. It may be enough to deal with you idiots, but against the massive DETERMINATION I’ve been feeling outside, it’d be useless. Two, They won’t let me, but even if they did, I probably wouldn’t bother anyway.” “You mind me asking why?” said Aria. “No, since there’s at least a smidgen of something resembling a brain in your head at least.” Flowey continued to stare forward and sighed. “At a certain time, there was a person I would have called precious, but let’s just go with important for now. They certainly were useful to me.” The Dazzlings all shuddered at the way Flowey mused over the last sentence. “Anyway,” Flowey continued. “That person just wanted to live their life and I still want that too. They’re an idiot, but they’re a special kind of idiot.” “So you don’t want to bother them?” asked Aria. “You don’t seem the kind to really care for others.” “Hit that nail on the head, but we made a promise and they can't fulfill it if They are calling all the shots. After all they went through, they deserve to be left alone.” Flowey’s expression darkened and his pot shook in Aria’s grasp. “But now they’ve be thrown into this. They must have something planned for them too. Well, They are in for a surprise them. My power is still that of a god, and They will feel my wrath.” Flowey let out a small chuckle which grew in volume to a cackle that rang through Waterfall. When the Echo flowers started imitating him, Sonata forced her hands against her ears and Adagio broke out into a cold sweat. Aria’s steps grew jittery but she continue walking forward even as her stomach tried to claw up her throat. In the swell of his own maddened laughter, the tiny voice buried deep within Flowey’s mind barely registered with him. “Frisk, I won’t let Them hurt you.” ~~~ The moon had long since hit its peak and was cresting to the west by the time Asgore made it back to his apartment. His undone tie draped over his neck and he savored breathing in the cool night air without it or the top button of his shirt constraining his throat. While he did appreciate the work Ms. Rarity had done in crafting him the suit, it still baffled him how humans had developed a fashion sense of partially asphyxiating themselves with all these tight collars and colorful ties. He blinked to stave off the exhaustion that bent his back and looked up at the descending moon. It was as grand as the sun itself and the way it changed every night captivated him. Every night upon his return home, he had spotted other monsters gazing at it just as they watched sunsets and dawns. At first, he had greeted them, but he soon came to realize that there were far too many monsters to say hello to if he wished to get any sleep before he awoke once more at dawn to another day meetings, negotiations, and planning. He looked away from the moon when the apartment buildings came into sight. He plodded through the puddles that dripped through the outer hallways that led to the rooms and turned a corner to get to his own one. Sunset Shimmer was slumped against the wall by his apartment. Asgore’s face grew tight and he quickly drew close to her. “Ms. Shimmer?” She looked up at him with baggy eyes that resembled his own. “We need to talk.”