Chapter Text
Frisk takes a deep breath. Her hand lingers on the edge of the vehicle’s door. The cold air from the interior clashes with the heated wind moving across the cityscape. Her head tilts back to allow her eyes to lock onto a very specific floor in the brick building. The curtains are closed, but the color is familiar enough that she doesn’t need to look through the glass. A bittersweet smile twists onto her face. The emotion spiral throughout the rest of her body. It gives her enough courage to step away from the side of the vehicle. She turns on her heel as she shuts the door. She watches the awaiting faces of her new friends— the hybrid saved from the Underground— disappear behind the tinted window. She trails her fingertips across the glass. She stops when she reaches the front door. The window rolls down. Creed glances at her. She smiles kindly at him. “Thanks for the ride. Be careful with my friends, alright?”
Creed nods, accepting her order easily. Frisk doesn’t know if this is because he was going to do that anyway, or if he’s seeing parts of her mother in her. Creed has been, after all, Delphine’s subordinate for many years now. It might be muscle memory at this point to accept orders from an Adamos. Frisk wouldn’t know, though. She doesn’t look much like her mother. She’s always been told that she looks more like her father— from those who knew who he was, anyway.
“I’ll see you at the academy,” Frisk continues, but she turns to look at the faces sitting in the rows behind Creed. Natalia is sitting in the front seat beside Creed. Clover and Chara are in the backseat. These are the three people who are going to be living with the Monsters. Alex is apparently staying with Creed for a little while, and Ellis and Diana are getting dorms at the academy. Rainer already has a dorm he’s returning to when he gets back from visiting his family’s estate. Frisk, technically, has a dorm at the academy already, but she asked if she could be dropped off somewhere else until the day for their return to the academy comes in a week. Although Frisk wasn’t intending for someone to answer her plea since she was going to do it regardless, it was nice of the commander to give her permission.
“Stay safe,” Natalia calls out with a smile appearing on her face. Her ears flatten against the top of her head.
“We will see you soon,” Clover adds, nodding respectfully at Frisk. The nebulous patches around his neck stretch out even further.
“Behave,” Chara shrugs one of her shoulders. Her goat horns glint in the dim lighting.
Frisk chuckles. She shakes her head. “I make no promises. Goodbye!”
Frisk waves at them as she pushes away from the open window. Frisk continues taking steps backward. Creed rolls the window up. He pulls away from the sidewalk. He joins the traffic moving through this street. Frisk keeps waving until the vehicle disappears from her line of sight. She lets her hand drop to her side. She stares at the traffic passing by. She sees people walking on the sidewalk in front of her, but none of these people know her. They don’t care about her. They only do if she’s in their way, and given how she’s tucked between the staircase leading up to the brick building’s front door and the streetside wall, no one is scrambling to push her out of the way. They keep walking without even a glance given to the teenager hiding in the shadows of the awning.
Frisk puts her hand on the staircase’s railing. She pushes down and jumps into the air. She swings her legs over the side. She lands on the steps with a flourish. A smile creeps onto her face. She rushes up the remaining steps, her footfalls creating a rhythmic noise. This beat is kept going even when she stops by her fingers pressing against the keypad hanging beside the door. When the correct code is inputted, it makes a beeping noise and the door’s lock clicks open. Frisk pulls the door open, slipping through the crack. The door automatically shuts behind her as Frisk crosses the lobby.
The elevator ride is quick and empty. The radio must have been busted again because it was only playing static. Frisk nods her head along to the static, pretending she’s listening to some better song. The elevator’s doors open. When Frisk steps into the hallway, she finds the music she was looking for. It is muted somewhat by the walls, but it is loud enough that anyone on the floor could hear it. Unfortunately, Frisk can’t figure out what song it is. She doesn’t even know if she likes it. She just knows it is probably going to get really annoying as the afternoon stretches into night.
Frisk stops at the end of the hallway. She looks over the potted plant through the window. The street isn’t any different even from this new angle. The traffic is the same. The people aren’t distinct enough to be anything more than blurring colors passing through. The sunlight is bright as it reflects across the many buildings outlining the neighborhood. Frisk brushes her hand against the glass. She pulls away with a fine layer of dust lingering on her fingertips.
Frisk turns away from the window to a door. The once bright red paint is now a peeling maroon mess. Frisk flicks one of the flaps. She reaches her hand to the door. It is open. Frisk narrows her eyes at it. She shrugs it off. Best case scenario, she accidentally left it unlocked the last time she was here. Worst case scenario, someone has broken in and they’re still there. Either way, Frisk can take care of it. She hasn’t been training at the academy for nothing, after all, and it isn’t like there’s anything worth stealing in the apartment. The burglar is going to discover that almost immediately.
Frisk kicks the door shut with her heel. She tugs off her shoes. She leans out of the threshold of the mudroom to the common area. She scans every detail. Her eyes snap to the dining room light. It is on. It casts a buttery yellow light across the table. There are dozens of papers spread out across the wooden table. There is a figure sitting at the table. They are clicking a pen, looking over the papers. Frisk shuffles forward a half-step. She sees the figure better than she had hiding behind the mudroom’s wall. This, however, also alerts the figure to her presence, and they suddenly look up to make eye contact with her. Red eyes meet red eyes, and Frisk’s face brightens with excitement.
Frisk throws her shoe onto the ground without bothering to glance at where it lands. She slides across the carpet in her socks to the dining room. She catches herself on the doorframe. Her smile lifts her entire face. Her eyes glimmer with happiness. She squeezes the doorframe with her fingers. She leans further into the room. “Kris! You’re here! Did you hear I went missing? Are you here because of me?”
Kris shakes his head. He gestures to the papers on the table. Frisk’s smile drops and she rolls her eyes. She moves her hands away from the doorframe. She purposefully stumbles into the room. She sets her palms against the edge of the table. She glances over the papers. Kris makes no effort to hide them. Frisk has to be the one to avert her eyes when she realizes nearly every single sheet is stamped with a confidentiality stamp. “I should have known it would be councilor business. Did they bring you back because of the Monsters?”
Kris shakes his hand, implying that’s one of the few reasons the council brought him back. Frisk rolls her eyes again. This is what Kris deserves for not even showing a hint of concern about her wellbeing. Frisk pushes off the table. She rolls her shoulders. She supposes that she was asking for too much. Kris isn’t an emotional person, and he’s never been worried when Frisk has wandered off. This is because Kris has some strange sixth sense to find her wherever she goes. It’s also because Kris is a wanderer himself. He doesn’t stay in one place for very long. He tried his best when she was a kid, but once she left for the academy, he went back to his nomadic ways. Any time Frisk disappears, Kris views it as her following in his footsteps. Frisk can’t be mad at him since he has reassurance and plausibility on his side.
Frisk moves into the kitchen. She opens the fridge. It is nearly empty. While Frisk and Kris lived here when she was a child, it hasn’t been either of their homes in a long time. Frisk comes here when she wants to get away from the academy, but she doesn’t stay here long so she doesn’t stock it. Kris, likewise, doesn’t come often enough to need food. He only stays when the council has too many requests for him to handle remotely.
Frisk pulls a water bottle from the top shelf. As she pulls away, she glances over her shoulder at Kris’ back. He needs to brush his hair, Frisk idly thinks, as she speaks about an entirely different matter. “Well, I’ll have you know that I was in the Underground. I’m the reason the Monsters are free. I’m also going to advocate for them to have their own place in the world, so you better be prepared to cast the vote I want you to do when the council holds another meeting. Now, you might be wondering what you’ll get in exchange. I’ll tell you what you’re going to get.”
Frisk takes a long sip of her water for dramatic effect. She closes the refrigerator door with her hip. She slides back from the kitchen to the dining room. She places her arm on the top of his chair. Frisk leans against it. Kris moves back in his chair. He looks over his shoulder at her, giving Frisk all of his attention. Frisk smiles at him. “I have an Origin now. It’s called Annihilation. I haven’t looked into what it is exactly, but that’s not what’s important. Since I have an Origin now, I can replace you on the council. Once I graduate, anyway.”
The council presiding over Carmine is composed of a thaumaturge from each Trait. DETERMINATION is the hardest one to find a thaumaturge for. Kris and Frisk are some of the only individuals in the world to have a Red SOUL. This is why the council puts up with Kris’ behavior. He doesn’t actively engage in many of his responsibilities, but he does the bare minimum. He prefers field work and diplomatic missions as he wanders the entire nation. Frisk asked him once what he was looking for. He didn’t give her any hint of an answer, not a word or his body language. Frisk was left with that question remaining unanswered even to this day.
While Frisk’s identity has been mostly kept secret from the combined efforts of Kris and the commander, anyone who does know about her understands she is most likely Kris’ successor. Unlike the other councilors, Kris doesn’t get a choice about it since Frisk is the only other red Trait around. Kris hasn’t given her any type of training. Frisk blames this on his flighty nature while others think it’s because she’s never had an Origin before. Now that she does, she can be properly trained for her future career.
Kris narrows his eyes at her. He turns his head away, letting his dark hair cover his face in shadows. He doesn’t agree or disagree with her. Frisk frowns, but she drops the matter. She looks over the papers he’s been working on. He makes no attempts to hide anything from her. Frisk would like to say it’s because they’re close or because she’s his successor, but she knows it’s because he doesn’t care enough. He isn’t going to toss these papers from the window or anything, but he isn’t going to stop Frisk from peeking over his shoulder. He’s always been this way. When she was learning how to read, these confidential documents were some of her first full-length sentences. Combined with his selective mutism, Kris is the reason Frisk didn’t talk a lot when she was younger.
“This is good,” Frisk murmurs, gesturing to the papers involving the monsters. There are thorough documents detailing all of the monsters. There are lists of resources that need to be acquired for them. There are maps detailing what land is going to be given to them. Frisk’s lips twitch with a smile. It isn’t as good as it could be since the monsters are just being given the mountain at this juncture, but it’s a lot better than Frisk thought they were going to get.
Her mood sours when she picks up the edge of another paper. “This is less good.”
Kris turns his attention to the paper she’s holding. It has been a week since the monsters were free, and there are already organizations forming that are against monsters. There’s concerns about resources, jobs, housing, and other matters that ultimately end with the only solution being to put the monsters back into the mountain. The council should, theoretically, be strong enough to recreate the barrier since they are meant to be the most powerful thaumaturges of their trait in Carmine. The council has not responded to the organizations, but the silence isn’t discouraging anyone.
“So much for peace, huh?” Frisk asks with a chuckle. She moves the paper aside. She will have to tell the others about it. She needs to be careful about how she tells them, though. If she doesn’t do it right, they’re going to act out. Frisk doesn’t want her friends to get in legal trouble so soon after regaining their lives. This is especially regarding Chara since her HATE SOUL is going to put an even bigger target on her back. Frisk will break her friends out of prison, but she would much rather not have to do that.
“I’m guessing our relationship with Apatite is still strained because of the Adherents?” Frisk asks. Kris nods. Frisk sighs. She pulls the chair out from beside Kris. She falls into the seat. She taps her fingers against the table. “When are they going to realize it isn’t our fault? We’re doing the best we can. Between the Adherents, the bandits, and the beasts in the south, we’re fighting on three different fronts. With the xenophobes in the capital, it’s about to be four fronts. We can’t be dealing with their nonsense about honor. Aren’t they the ones who don’t enforce laws outside of their settlements? Can’t they just consider this outside of their domain and let us handle it the way we do?”
Kris raises an eyebrow at her. Frisk’s nose wrinkles at the implication that look brings. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I’m not saying we should kill all the Adherents. I’m just saying that if we have to kill one, we shouldn’t be blamed for it. It is the military’s duty to protect the people of Carmine, not the runaways from Apatite. I know they’re more concerned about the drakes than the humans, but they should have done better at keeping the bonded pairs within their borders.”
Frisk sighs. She shakes her shoulders. She sinks even further into her seat. “But I guess you’re right. It is a religious thing for them. I’ve never understood it, but I can’t blame them for what they believe in. All hail the Great Dragon!” Kris gives Frisk another look. She frowns at him. “I have been paying attention in my class, thank you. I know about their religion.”
Kris rolls his eyes back to his paperwork. Frisk lifts her feet to brace against the edge of his seat. Her water bottle falls into her lap. The condensation sends water droplets across her fingers. She tugs at the plastic wrapping. She doesn’t look at Kris as she asks, “Do you know what Carmine’s proxy is?”
Frisk didn’t know what reaction she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t Kris dropping his pen and hurriedly looking at her. His lips part slowly. He narrows his eyes. He scans Frisk’s body. All of a sudden, he brings her status screen to his face. Frisk frowns. She moves her hand through the screen to get Kris’ attention. He grabs her wrist, moving her hand away. He reads the screen. Frisk tugs her wrist from his grip. She leans back in the chair. She rubs her wrist with her other hand as she speaks, “I heard it in the Underground. Some weird monster called me that. I thought it just meant that I’m from Carmine, but you’re acting strange, Kris. What does it actually mean?”
Kris looks away from Frisk and the screen. He stares into the distance at nothing in particular. When Kris’ attention snaps back to Frisk, he taps his finger against the word Miracle listed at the bottom of the screen. Frisk scoots closer. It is added to the bottom as if it is even greater than an Origin. Frisk’s hand hovers above the word since the screen’s are made from magic, not solid material. Underneath the word, RESET is written in orange-tinted letters. Frisk tries tapping the button, but it isn’t a button to be pressed.
“So, a proxy is someone with a Miracle? Does the Carmine part talk about where I’m from, or is it tied to RESET being my Miracle?” Frisk asks. Kris holds up two fingers. Frisk rubs her chin. She stares at her screen for a moment longer. “Are there other proxies?” Kris shrugs. “How helpful. No, I mean, that is helpful. You’ve been helpful. Thanks for telling me. I’m going to take a nap. I’m heading to my dorm at the academy tomorrow. If you order takeout for tonight, I’ll bring donuts in the morning. Sound like a deal?”
Kris gives Frisk a thumbs up. Frisk grins. She gives Kris a side-hug. He hugs her back. Frisk pulls away. She throws the half-full water bottle at Kris as she leaves the room. He catches it, dropping it onto the table in one of the few spaces where there isn’t any paper. Frisk giggles to herself. She turns on her heel, heading toward the hallway where the bedrooms and bathroom are branching off from. She listens to Kris click his pen and their neighbor blare music as she crashes into her bed. Quickly, she finds herself slipping into sleep.