Chapter Text
Huh, no Error and Gaster this time around? Oh well, didn’t miss seeing their ugly mugs, anyway.
You know you’re used to dimension hopping when those are your first thoughts when you wake up in a damn alleyway. I coughed and took a glance at my surroundings. Since I couldn’t do that very well from my position, I stood up and exited into the streets to get a better look.
The first thing I noticed was the kind of clothes everyone was wearing; old style dresses and tuxes. Then I noticed Monster Kid standing on a box, trying to shout “Extra! Extra!” with a newspaper in his mouth, due his lack of arms. Instinctively I strode over to help him. I noted his clothes – a tailcoat that was too big, and baggy pants that looked like he’d trip over them if he took one step. There was also a small Delta Rune on the front of his coat. Weird.
He looked at me inquisitively, and I smiled and spoke. “Mind if I give ya a hand?” (Yeah I know my humor’s morbid.)
His eyes lit up, and he spit out the newspaper into my hand. It was a bit soggy from being in his mouth for who-knows-how-long. I helped him hand out papers for a while, shouting “Extra! Extra!” with him (I had put aside the one that had been in his mouth).
After a while, I felt someone’s eyes on me, and I discreetly took a glance around to see who could be staring at me. To be fair, almost everyone was; they’d never seen me before. In fact, I probably should’ve thought this through before just stepping out into the open, but oh well. What’s done is done.
“Yo! Thanks for helpin’!” the little one said cheerily before hopping off of his box, landing in front of me with a little crunch in the snow. “The name’s Monster Kid, but everyone just calls me Kid. What’s yours?”
“Minx,” I almost offered him a handshake, but then I resorted to just patting him on the head.
“Hey! How about I take ya back to my place? I’m sure Toriel wouldn’t mind,” he suggested.
“Why Kid, dare I say you’re makin’ a move on me?” I teased.
“Mayybe~” he sang. “Well, let’s get goin’; I’m s’posta be home before dark, anyway.” He skipped off, tripping a few times.
I smiled and followed him, glancing over my shoulder one last time. I could’ve sworn I saw a shadow darting between the crowds, but I tried my best to shrug it off as my out-of-control paranoia.
There was one thing I did not miss about this whole fucking thing; that was the cold. Despite my best efforts, I still started shivering after a little while.
Kid noticed. “Ya ain’t dressed for the weather, are ya?”
I mustered a smile. “Guess not,” I gave a chilled laugh before letting out a huge sneeze, which seemed to startle Kid.
“Don’t worry, we’re almost there, just chill out for a minute,” he chirped.
“I think I got that covered,” I muttered.
Suddenly a wild door to the Ruins appeared! (Dat reference doe) Kid banged on it with his head four times, and it opened. Some kind of magic spell on it or something, I guessed. We stepped inside, and I tried to soak up all of the warm air I could through my frozen skin.
Kid kicked the door closed before trotting off down the hall, tossing his head for me to follow, which I did the best I could. Damn this kid was fast!
We both nearly tripped on the stairs, but we recovered quickly and ran up the rest. I don’t know why I was so giddy all the sudden, but once we reached the top, I understood why. The smell of butterscotch cinnamon pie decorated the air with a sweet scent, and I breathed it into my lungs in huge gulps. You don’t know how much you’ve missed something until you have it again, let me tell you.
“Yo, Tori!” Kid yelled, leading me to the kitchen. “We got a visitor!”
“Oh, we d-“ she stopped when she saw me, making my ears twitch slightly back in concern. Though her features remained suspicious, she smiled. “Why hello, who might you be?”
“Minx,” I said bravely.
“She’s alright,” Kid spoke up, “She helped me in the town with the papers.”
“Oh, well in that case,” her face softened a little, “I am Toriel, leader of the Caretakers. Why don’t you two have a slice of pie? I’m sure it’s been a long day.” She reached behind her and took a freshly baked pie off of the counter.
“I’d love a piece,” I said, Kid wildly nodding his agreement.
While Toriel nimbly sliced two pieces for us, I took the chance to study her purple floral dress. It was collared with white buttons, long sleeves, and poofs at the shoulders. It almost reached to her ankles and swished gently when she moved. Oh, and a hat with a buttercup stitched on the front. This all registered in my mind in a matter of seconds before she turned back around and handed each of us a plate of pie, heaping with whipped cream. She carefully placed Kid’s on his head, and handed me mine. I gratefully dug in with the fork she provided, humming in satisfaction when it melted, just like the first time I tasted it.
When I gave my dish to Toriel and looked over at Kid, he had somehow already eaten his piece and was offering the plate back to her, who put it in the sink to deal with later. I again shrugged it off and turned to the goat monster. “Thanks for the pie, it really hit the spot.”
She giggled. “You’re quite welcome. Kid, why don’t you run around the Ruins for a little while?” after he had left, she smiled at me, “Come have a seat, won’t you?” she led me to the kitchen table.
I sat down and squirmed a little under her calculating stare. She didn’t look by any means unfriendly; just the way she was looking at me made me uncomfortable.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” she asked, tilting her head.
Shit. “Uh…no, actually. How could you tell?” I tried to stay nonchalant, but I couldn’t help swallowing nervously at the end of my sentence.
She smiled, making me feel a little better. “I could tell because of your clothes; I fear you may have attracted unwanted attention to yourself throughout the day. Come, I believe I have a change that will suit you.” She got up and helped me to my feet as she was speaking.
We both walked through a silence before I spoke. “…You’re not gonna ask me where I’m from or anything?”
She glanced at me as she entered a room. “No, I have I feeling I already know. You know of the AUs, correct?”
I started at the mention of them. “You know about ‘em too?”
She nodded mysteriously before diving into the closet and digging through it. “Ink, as well. I’m supposing your presence here has something to do with the recent earthquakes?”
“Earthquakes?” I echoed. Then I remembered how some of the AU papers would fall off of the wall in Ink’s room. “Oh! Yeah.”
She said something, but her voice was muffled by the clothes, some of which she was throwing out of the closet entirely. “Ah! Here it is!” she exclaimed as she stepped back out, holding up a gray-blue dress. “This was mine when I was young, so I have no use for it anymore.” She held it up to me.
“You want me to have it?” I asked incredulously.
“Of course, child. It will help you to blend in better, anyway,” she smiled and nodded. “Try it on! See if it fits. There’s a spare bedroom around the corner.”
I accepted the garment with shaking hands and followed her directions to the bedroom, slipping into the dress a few minutes later. I don’t usually like dresses (y’all know that by now), but this was from Toriel, plus it would help me to blend right in.
There was a weird strip of leather with a notch in the middle, but I didn’t know what it was for and put the thing aside. I pulled my tail through the slit in the back and watched myself twirl in the mirror, nodding approvingly. The neckline dipped modestly below my collarbone, making it look nice without showing too much. The short sleeves were at a length that I felt comfortable with, and it reached to about mid-shin; it hugged my sides, too. The bottom flared out when I turned, and I smiled to myself. I felt like a real lady.
I exited the room to find Toriel leaning against the opposite wall, waiting for me. Her eyes lit up when she saw me.
“How do I look?” I asked, turning in a circle.
“Marvelous!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “Now, to add some finishing touches. Can you grab that leather band and bring it to the other room?”
“Uh, sure,” I said and did as she asked. When I got back to her room, she was waiting with darker gray-blue boots and hat. She helped me button the band around my waist, putting it so the notch was in the middle and handing the hat to me. I slipped my ears through the holes in the top that I assumed would’ve been for her horns and fixed it snugly. After that, I buttoned on the boots that covered up the remainders of my legs that were still showing.
“Perfect,” Toriel commented before leading me to a mirror in the hallway. “What do you think?”
“Ya got any dog tags or anything?” I asked, adjusting the neckline.
“Sure,” she scurried back to her room and grabbed some.
I slipped the tags over my head and smiled at my reflection. “There,” I said, “Now it’s perfect. Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
“You’re quite welcome, my child. Though could I just…braid your hair? The temptation is too much.”
I hesitated, but the hopeful look on her face gave me sense of Kindness, and I relented, nodding.
She squee’d and motioned for me to follow her to the living room, where she took out my pony tail and set to work. This was going to take a while – my hair is so long I can practically sit on it – so I decided to strike up a conversation. “So, uh…how do you know about the different dimensions?”
She hummed in thought. “Well, I came across Ink in the Ruins one day. The poor dear got such a fright that I felt obligated to invite him in for some pie; I don’t think I was meant to see him,” she giggled. “He explained to me the concept of AUs; it struck me strange that there are different versions of myself, all scattered across time and space. Anyway, he had to leave after a while, and that was that. You see, I’m able to feel magic. Not physically, but mentally; it’s complicated. I felt the same magic emanating from you as I did Ink, so I assumed he sent you.”
“Yes, he did,” I confirmed. “Those earthquakes you’ve been feeling are the result of a parasite chewing its way through the AUs. I teamed up with him to try and stop it.”
“Oh dear,” she exclaimed, “I hope you’re able to find it. How many have you been through so far?”
“This is my third one,” I replied, “A week in each, then a few days back with Ink. It’s going well so far, but we haven’t seen a sign of the parasite. I’m just watchin’ for anything suspicious.”
She hummed again. “Could you remind me to swap numbers with you later? I can call you if I see anything.”
“Of course,” I said. After a moment’s pause, I said, “Tori? Did you used to have a tail?”
“Why yes, I did,” she said cheerfully, “when I was younger. When I matured, it fell off. It’s a rite of passage, in a way. I see you found the slit at the back.”
“Yeah, I did. Somehow I hope my tail never falls off; I’d have to teach myself how to walk all over again.”
She laughed. “Yes, that’s the pain of losing a tail. So the dress fits well?”
“Like a glove,” I confirmed.
After a few more minutes, she tied off my braid and laid it over my shoulder. “Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful,” I said, “thank you.”
“Well, it’ll keep it out of the way. Did Ink explain what this AU is about?”
“A little,” I shrugged, getting up and sitting in the chair across from her.
“Well, as I said before, I am the leader of a gang called the Caretakers, comprised of monsters who wish not to entangle themselves in the Mafia and other gangs. You’ll recognize the other members by the Delta Rune, the symbol on the door you entered to get here. There’s also the Mafia, and there are different gangs contained in it, though the biggest is the Dreemurr Family, headed by my ex-husband, Asgore. I used to be part of it but broke away to form the Caretakers. Sans and Papyrus are part of it, as well as Undyne. I’m supposing you’ll want to get to them, right?”
“Yes,” I agreed.
“Very well,” she nodded. “then I suggest you rest here for a day before leaving.”
“I was planning on it,” I said, “’Sides, how could I resist a chance at having another slice of your pie?”
She giggled.
Just then the door opened, and Kid ran in, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of me. ”Yooo,” he said, “Dude, what happened while I was gone?”
Toriel and I both looked at each other and started laughing.