Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Frisk closed his phone with a snap, then pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply in an attempt to calm himself down. How had Chara dealt with these guys? Ever since he’d re-taken his role as ambassador, he felt like he was completely swarmed in politicians and diplomats, each with their own agenda.

Not to mention that now, with the Beasts roaming around the countryside, things were less stable than ever before. There were many who were happy to call this proof of the “darker side of Monsters,” despite the fact that Monsters were the ones taking charge in eliminating those creatures before they could hurt anyone!

Frisk sat down on the couch with a weary sigh. He had to try and stay positive somehow. It was hard enough to keep his mother happy without him focusing on the gloom and doom. And with Toriel getting further along in her pregnancy, they couldn’t afford her emotions to affect the child’s birth. If they lost the baby… Frisk suppressed a shudder. No, he couldn’t even consider that.

He heard soft footsteps upstairs, heading towards the stairway and took a deep breath, forcing a smile onto his face. He had to stay strong for Mom. It shouldn’t be too hard, right? After all, he was used to hiding behind a smile.

The slightly forced grin quickly disappeared when the phone rang again though. He groaned and reluctantly reached for the object, pulling it up to his ear.

“Hello? Yes, this is Frisk…”

---

Kid took long strides down the sidewalk, a bouquet of roses clenched tightly in his teeth. His feet crunched on packed snow, his claws leaving little marks in it. Not that he was paying attention to such things.

He adjusted his shoulders to accommodate the weight of the satchel he wore, being careful not to adjust it too far for fear it would slide off his armless torso. He didn’t want to deal with that, especially since said satchel was heavier than usual.

A few minutes later, his visor vibrated softly. Kid glared in response. Who was trying to contact him now, of all times?

The reptile grumbled, but checked his interface, relieved to see that it had only been a text. From Frisk, apparently. Curious, he opened it.

-Hey, Kid. Your drama club teacher called me, said he couldn’t get into contact with you. You’re supposed to be over there right now.-

Kid gave a slightly frustrated sigh, then went about replying.

-Todays Wednesday-

-Yeah, so?- came the swift reply.

Kid waited for a moment, not slowing his pace. Finally Frisk sent another message.

-Oh, right. I can’t believe I forgot about that.-

-Me niether-

-Sorry, Kman. Look, I’ll talk to the guy, make sure he doesn’t get upset with yuo for missing today. I’m sure he’ll be understanding. -

The reptile smiled.

-thanks Frisk-

-Hey, Ive been talking to politicians all day. A Drama teacher’s gonna be a refreshing break. And uh, say hi to her for me, k?-

-K-

Kid shook his head and set his visor so that no one else would be able to call him, at least until this was over. He should have done that in the first place… but he had been preoccupied.

Snow started to fall gently from the sky, and the reptile shivered… though it wasn’t from the cold. He lowered his head to stare at the white sprinkling of snow around him, losing himself in memory.

Fortunately for him, he’d memorized this path in the last two months, and even with his thoughts occupied, he still made it to his destination without much trouble. His magic pulsed within him and he took a few shaky breaths to try and calm himself before he hesitantly looked up.

Before him was an iron fence, long metal bars stretching out of the ground, each sharpened into a spike. Other bars bent and twisted around the upright ones in intricate patterns. A little to his left was the entrance, which he headed to. It was the only part of the place not protected by fence. There wasn’t even a gate here.

Upon entering, Kid found himself looking over rows and rows of graves, some old, some new. All were fairly well maintained, though it was hard to tell with the fresh covering of snow.

He wasn’t interested in most of them though. His feet followed the familiar path through the grounds, until he came across one set slightly away from the rest. It was this one that he slowly seated himself at.

He didn’t look at the headstone. He didn’t need to. The words written upon it would forever be etched into his mind.

“Chara Dreemurr. Taken from us too soon.”

Kid’s memory of the funeral and the time before it was fuzzy at best. The most he remembered was that it had been a bright, sunny day, and he had been furious about it. How could the world just… go on like nothing had changed, while a piece of his soul was lowered into the ground?

Chara hadn’t left dust… and what was left of her chassis was still around, so they’d buried her in the Human fashion. Kid wondered if she’d have approved of the decision.

After a moment, he let out a sigh, and then leaned forward, gently placing the flowers on her grave.

“Hey…” he murmured. “I was afraid I was gonna be late today.” He checked the time on his interface. “Looks like I made it, though. Didn’t want to keep you waiting.”

He shifted himself into a more comfortable position, using his tail to keep himself upright.

“At least Dad and I managed to find more of those chocolate roses…” Kid’s lips twitched into a small smile. “Remember when I found those for the first time, and you thought I just got you fake flowers? Man, the look on your face…”

The reptile gave a quiet hum, his eyes narrowing in thought.

“Well, a lot’s happened since last week. Metta-” Kid stopped and corrected himself. “Uncle Mettaton came back out here. Apparently he finished the acting parts for his big movie really fast, and then flew down here in secret. He lives next door to us now.

“He comes over a lot. He dresses up funny to, so people don’t recognise him. He’s been trying to help out me and Dad.” The teen shrugged. “Dad seems to like having him around, so that’s cool.

“Sans left a couple days ago again. He’s gonna go hunt more of those…” clawed feet dug into the snow and dirt beneath it. “Things. With the Canine Unit. Apparently there’s a bunch of them up somewhere north of here.” Kid sighed. “Don’t worry… I didn’t ask to come along this time. I already know what he’d say.”

The boy looked up to the cloudy sky, watching snowflakes tumble lazily towards the ground, gently propelled by the light wind that had picked up.

“At least there haven’t been any more attacks here since last month. But even so… Undyne’s still got the curfew enforced, and there’s a lot more of her people around than I remember seeing before. I guess she’s just making sure that… that no one else gets hurt.

“What else? Well… I don’t think your mom has left the house since she took her maternity leave off from the school. That’s what Frisk said, anyways. I don’t really see him much either though. Apparently he’s really busy these days.”

Kid fell silent, closing his eyes and paying attention to the sensation of the flakes melting against his warm scales.

“You know…” he said at last. “I started looking into… some things. Monsters… don’t really have any stories about what happens after you die. I spent some time looking, and there’s nothing. But… Humans have a bunch of em. All different kinds, all different ways. I’ve been looking into it, and it’s… it’s pretty interesting.

“I know you’re not Human… but you’re not a Monster either, so… I thought I’d look and see. But most of them… I dunno. I figured you’d just find them boring. I couldn’t really find anything that really fit you, you know?

“But then… I found this one book. It was called “Norse Myths and Legends.” I read all the way through it, and it sounded just like you. Valhalla, where the warriors go to fight all day and feast all night. I think you’d fit in really well with the Valkyries.”

Kid opened his eyes and looked back up to the skies.

“Is that where you are?” he whispered, his voice beginning to tremble and treacherous tears filling his eyes. “Eating and drinking and living without a care in the world… while the rest of us are down here, and have to find a way to keep going on?”

He couldn’t do anything about the tears that started to trickle down his face, but he tried to get his wavering voice under control.

“I talked to Alphys,” he confessed. “She… she said it’s hard to say cause I’m a… a hybrid Monster, but I could live to be three hundred, maybe more. Do you understand what that feels like?” The reptile choked back a sob.

“T-three hundred years… and I barely got you for one. A-and now, I… I have to live the rest of my life w-without…”

His voice trailed off and he started crying freely, the heat of his scales the only thing keeping the drops from freezing onto him. He remained that way for a while, unaware of the world around him.

At last, he sniffed and blinked his eyes dry.

“It’s hard,” he confessed. “It’s really hard, but… I’m gonna keep trying.” He lowered his neck and rested his muzzle briefly on the locket he still wore around his neck.

“You wouldn’t want me to give up, would you? You’d want me to keep fighting. Keep going forward. So that’s what I’m gonna do.” He let out a small sigh that was almost a whimper.

“I love you, Chara.” he whispered. “I’m always gonna love you. I don’t know if there is an afterlife, or if Monsters can have one, but I’m gonna hope… I’m gonna hope that at the end of all this, I’ll get to see you again. That’s really… all I ask.” He managed a smile. “And if you are up there, feasting at Odin’s table… save a seat for me, okay?”

The Monster stood and finally looked at the polished, smooth headstone belonging to the love of his life for a moment. Then he turned and began walking away. He’d only gone a few steps however, when he stopped, a sudden realization hitting him. He let out a small laugh, though there was no humour in it.

“It’s funny how things repeat themselves, isn’t it? First I lost the family I had…” He began walking again, his final words a whisper barely audible, even to himself.

“And then the one I wanted.”