1st Petal [New Bark Town, Video]

[better2do]

[The feed on this Pokegear starts with a shot of an open Trainer's Handbook. It lingers on the page for a moment, and anyone with quick enough eyes can see it's talking about the operation of the 'gear and how it broadcasts to a network.]

- There's a light!

[The voice is at once young and tired. The 'gear shakes as someone turns it around, revealing it's owner, a pale, pale boy with white hair and reddish-brown eyes. The skin around them is a bit puffy, as if he'd been crying recently. What on first glance looks to be a large yellow flower behind his ear is actually a Flabebe, and she clings expertly to her flower as she leans in to look at the 'gear herself. The boy swallows, takes a deep breath.]

H-Howdy. Um. The book says...the book says I'm talking to people in this? So I guess it's like a phone, or the internet. Um...[He pauses, shifting. It's a bit clearer now, where he is - sitting under a shady tree in New Bark Town.] I, I need some help. I can't...that lady, she...she's not my Mom. And, even if she was, I'm not supposed to be...

[Here, on the surface with sunlight and fresh air? Human, furless and flat-faced? In charge of such a delicate, tiny flower friend when he's hurt so many monsters so many times before? These all come to mind, but he says none of them.]

Uh...i-it's hard to explain. But, I really, really need to go back home. I'll just -

[The words catch in his throat, and he bows his head, the first of a new batch of sniffles and the Flabebe's concerned cry audible before he drops the 'gear and it shuts off.]

Comments

video;

[gainedlove]

[...there's something very familiar about this boy. Something about the way he speaks, the sound of his voice...it's around when he start talking about the woman in that house that Frisk realizes, and their heart leaps into their throat.]

[There's a moment of fumbling on the feed before Frisk steadies it again, and it takes a few tries before they can actually say anything.]

A...Asriel?!

[Video]

[better2do]

[If it helps cement it in, when a response finally comes to Frisk, they can see the boy's green and yellow striped sweater - but the wide eyes and absolute shock in his expression is probably more noticeable.]

F...[It's so, so evident that he was crying some more before he finally saw the other kid's message, his voice is a bit raspier and he has to sniff again.] F-Frisk...?

[Is...is it them? Is it really, truly them?]

[Video]

[gainedlove]

[Something funny happens in their chest. Like their heart twisted around, tied itself in a knot and inside out. It's both a relief and so utterly, completely wrong to see him like this. That white hair should be all over, his face longer, his ears--]

[But Asriel is here. And he has a SOUL. And...]

[Sniffling, Frisk wipes a few tears out of their eyes and offers a wobbly sort of smile.]

Who...who else would it be, silly?

text

[rememberthemaim]

[ He was going to ask if Asriel wanted a matching yellow weed, but this actually seems important.]

kick her somewhere soft

scream not my mom

run and find cop

[Text]

[better2do]

[Forgive him, it takes some time and many checks of the handbook to figure out how to change the settings on this thing.]

no!!!
i dont wanna FIGHT anybody
not anymore
not even weird ladies who think theyre my mom
she locked her house anyway

[Text]

[rememberthemaim]

kicking isn't fighting

you outside the house?

[Video]

[usedlightscreen]

[North has never had a biological child, but every paternal nerve in his body pings at the sight of the sad, scared-looking little boy.

He keeps his tone soft and patient, a friendly smile on his face.]

Hey there, are you there? It takes a lot of bravery to ask for help when you need it, you know.

My name's North, what's your name?

[Video]

[better2do]

[Even through all the distressed warning signals in his brain telling him that being in this place is a bad, bad idea, he's starting to pick up on how to use the technology he's been given - and he's starting to realize that wow, that is most definitely a human talking to him very kindly. Frisk was Frisk, and the text could be anything, but this was definite confirmation of humans. When he responds, he's reaching up to the side of his face, as if trying to find something that should be there to tug on nervously, like an ear.]

Y-Yes, I'm here. I'm still here.

[Which is the problem.]

My name is Asriel...i-is there a way I can go back home?

[Video]

[usedlightscreen]

[He's so little and scared. North's heart breaks for him.

The smile slips a little at the question, but his tone remains gentle and sympathetic.]

I'm afraid not, Asriel. No one really knows the way to get back to our homes.

[video]

[paladinlost]

That woman is... ill. She calls everyone her children, even the old men. Do not worry too much about her claims, and be thankful for her gifts.

[A long time ago he'd have thought that cruel, but Cecil has long learned that he cannot help her.]

Returning home is... not an option. But time stops while we are here; whatever needs your presence, it'll not have progressed or been disturbed during your stay.

[Video]

[better2do]

But...she's not my Mom.

[He knows his Mom. He misses his Mom, and he can never, ever go back to his Mom.]

Time...stops? But - but it's not stopped here, right? Time works here! A-And I still need to go home if it does...

[How much time does he have left?]

[Video]

[paladinlost]

I know. She's not anyone's mother, as far as we can tell.

[He hopes. The alternative is far too cruel to imagine.]

...No matter how great your need is, returning home of your own will is impossible at the moment. Even those with the power to teleport or cross dimensions cannot return. I'm sorry.

video

[mon_dieu]

[more to himself than anything.]

By Chaos, another child...

[Video]

[better2do]

[What is this why are there more people talking to him on here and why do they not tell him how to get home]

M-Mister? Mister, do you know how I can go home?!

[Video]

[mon_dieu]

[After a sigh, he tries to speak gently.]

No, boy, none of us know how to just yet. Eet ees a slow and steady progress of discovery.

[Video]

[samsa]

[Ah...poor kid. Kaneki almost hesitates to respond, because he figures most anything he'd have to tell Asriel wouldn't be well received. Especially since there is no way home.

Let's just...ease our way into this, shall we?]

It's a bit of both. It's like a phone that can access the Internet. So you're broadcasting to everyone who has that device that you have. It's called a Gear.

Ah, but first...are you alright?

[Video]

[better2do]

[Easing is appreciated. You're the first person NOT to go right into "btw there's no way home kiddo" and send him deeper into panic.]

I-It's an internet phone? I...never had one of those before.

[For however briefly he'll have this one, it's kind of cool.]

Um - I'm...a little scared. I-I shouldn't be here.

[Video]

[samsa]

Mhm, it's something like that. There are a lot of things it can do. There should be a manual in your bag that tells you about it, but a lot you can figure out just through messing with it for a while.

[Yeah, he figured that'd be the case. He had the same exact experience, so he figures Asriel has had enough of that all at once.]

Yeah...I can imagine. But it's going to be alright, okay? There are a lot of people here who will be willing to help you, including me, if you want. My name is Kaneki. I've been here for a while now, so I can tell you as much as I know about this place.

Video 1/2

[coolskeleton_95]

HMMM! YOUR VOICE SOUNDS FAMILIAR FOR SOME REASON!

Video 2/2

[coolskeleton_95]

WHY DOES YOUR VOICE SOUND FAMILIAR!? WHO ARE YOU, AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THE GREAT PAPYRUS???

[Video]

[better2do]

[OH

OH FUDGE

IT'S PAPYRUS

As weird as it is to see him with skin and flesh, the voice and the self-proclaimed title can belong to no other monster. And, well, he hadn't disguised his voice TOO much as Flowey, just enough for his parents to not question it if they heard him, so of course he still sounds familiar. Oh no, oh no, oh...]

U-Uhm...I...I'm just...nobody?

[He didn't have time to think of a better lie than that, and unless Papyrus doesn't press the issue, it'll hold up about as well as wet toilet paper.]

[Video]

[garbagechild]

_{[HELLO FELLOW MONSTER CHILD!!]}

Hi! You can't go home.

_{[Wrath says this perfectly cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the other boy's tears. He's... not exactly a champion of empathy. But despite the sharp teeth, he doesn't look mean, at least...?]}

I'm Wrath! What's your name?

[Video]

[better2do]

Yeah, everbody's telling me that.

[Still doesn't change the fact that he really should go home, for everyone's sake. Also wow those are NOT teeth that he's ever seen on a human.]

My name is Asriel. For...however long I'm me, I guess.

[Video]

[mttbrandlegs]

[Aww, jeez. Mettaton's not exactly a paragon of kindness, but this kid being so upset almost makes him wish he was back in New Bark Town to be of some comfort. He isn't sure why, but there's something familiar about the boy.]

Sweetheart, don't cry!! You're right, that silly woman is not your mother, I think she's a bit addled--but why don't you take a few breaths and calm down?

It'll be alright!!

[The advice comes out with practiced ease; he's had these kinds of conversations before, clearly. All part and parcel when it comes to a cousin like his!]

[Video]

[better2do]

[Okay. This whole "being humans" thing? It's throwing Asriel for a loop, because the voice that's coming out of this person's mouth is Mettaton, and they look...similar enough to Mettaton, but the flesh and skin instead of metal (or, in another example, bone) is way too strange.

Thank goodness he can recognize voices, or he'd be spilling a LOT of troubling information that he'd rather keep to himself. He takes the advice to breathe, but it's clear that when he responds, he's still a bundle of nerves.]

N-No...no, it won't, I...I need to go home...