Alphys had a love-hate relationship with the internet by this point.
The plus side: access, voice, and freedom. All information about her favourite media just a few clicks away. It was bigger, better, and more entertaining than the Undernet.
The downside: bullies. Cross the wrong person or group, and they’ll summon their angry mob in a heartbeat. Spam, harassment, smear campaigns… potential physical harm to her public Lab address, and more. All the ‘good stuff’, as Flowey might say.
She closed the page. The ease of escape was another plus of the digital world. Yet, the knowledge that so many awful people exist didn’t help her anxiety one bit.
Could she still call it different from ‘real life’? Real people populated the online space, so they must carry their thoughts outside of the screen.
After all, it was too simple to pretend face-to-face.
Asgore did that.
Mettaton did that.
Sans did that.
Alphys herself did the same.
She checked her messages again. It’s almost midnight, but there’s still nothing from Undyne.
Already, Alphys started to worry about the worst case scenario. Maybe she got hurt on the job? Perhaps captured? Both had happened before. Nothing would prevent them from happening again.
She started searching for news of any police-related fatalities that fit the general location. What if the media got there first?
Nothing turned up on the internet anywhere. There was also a lack of alarm from the Magi’s side. If Cenna, Lady Lucidia, or Mezil Thyme didn’t call for an emergency meeting, her beloved fish should be fine.
At least, so she hoped.
Drinking soda at this hour may have been a terrible idea. It tasted sweet on the tongue and turned gassy in the stomach, worsened by her binging on Popato Chisps.
Thus, to settle her terrible tummy, she went to the kitchen to brew some soothing tea. There she found Doctor Gaster with a can of cold beer. He opened it over the sink just in case the fizz spilled everywhere.
Looking at the design, Alphys remembered when Undyne brought back a ‘six-pack’ one day. The girls tried this brand of beer together just to see why humans were so crazy about it. It was too bitter for Alphys, but her fishy girlfriend called it ‘Smashingly Refreshing’.
Then, for reasons unknown, the remaining three cans were left forgotten in the back of the fridge. They were rediscovered today by Doctor Gaster himself.
The scientist took a swig, then proceeded to complain. “Bah, what atrociousness! This is not fit for monster consumption. Are you sure you truly want this, my friends? …You actually like it, Roman?! It’s good to drown in, Helvi?!? Egads no! Are you trying to be like Queen Toriel?! …Well, I do suppose that anything better than this would be a waste.”
And so, he continued to drink something he hated.
“Sensei…?” asked Alphys. “A-a-are you okay?”
Just hearing her voice was enough for Gaster to try and prop himself up in a proper, teacher-like manner. “Oh, Doctor Alphys. I’m just obliging the requests of my grieving friends. Being a part of me, they can’t exactly ingest this brew of malt without my assistance.”
“Um.” She muttered, "I-is there anything--” Immediately after that, Alphys let out a loud, nasty burp. That made her feel sicker than before.
“Goodness me!” Gaster exclaimed, “You sound like YOU need help. Did you binge on junk food again? Helvi certainly has experience with Sans doing just that. Sit down and rest. My friends want me to make something to alleviate your ailing stomach.”
They first brewed some herbal tea, which Alphys immediately started sipping despite the heat. Gaster then proceeded to check the whole kitchen for suitable ingredients.
Watching them work reminded Alphys about her own parents. When she was a tinier, happier lizard, she would watch her parents make breakfast while she would eagerly wait at the table. Moments like that have long vanished into the annals of time.
By the time Gaster finished cooking, Alphys was served a bowl of unidentified beigeness. The colour may not look appealing, but it did smell appetizing. It’s made of… beer?
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Beer bread soup with some cheese,” Gaster showed the empty can of beer. “It’s the closest thing they could come up with for a soft meal based on your current pantry. Apparently, this was once common in the ancient past… if my history books are to be believed anyway.”
“L-let’s try it then.”
She spooned a portion, blew twice to cool it, and gave it a slurp. The consistency reminded her of rice pudding: thick, yet soupy.
The dish was warm, malty, cheesy, slightly sour, and strangely comforting. The alcohol had been long boiled away in the cooking process, removing much of the bitterness that Alphys disliked.
Being reminded of the innocence long lost, the lizard shed a tear. “Thank you, sensei.”
She spent the rest of the meal concentrating on getting the food in and the gas out. After finishing it all, she felt much, much better.
“Wow, the soup… it works?!” Alphys tapped her belly. “My stomach isn’t trying to turn into a balloon anymore.”
Gaster rubbed his chin. “My friends speculated that you were too hungry. And that junk food, instead of satiating the hunger, only made the gas worse. Seeing the results, I agree with their assessment. They’ve honed a unique sense of care that comes with minding children.”
“…Are you fine, sensei? All three of you? I overheard the drinking talk.”
His arms turned limp in sadness, despite Gaster’s attempts to raise them. The scientist then said, “I do suppose that any parent would feel down in the dumps after that procedure. A complication in one son, and a massive unknown in another… It worries the heart. Worries me too, for different reasons! Will the boys even have a world to return to whenever they do heal?”
Alphys stared at the bottom of her bowl. “Y-yeah… I think the same too. Um… Can I talk with you? I-it’s about my parents.”
“What about them?” asked Gaster. “I hope you don’t have a tragic, dysfunctional past.”
“No, sensei! It’s not tragic. But, um… it was quite strained.”
“You see…” She glanced to the side. “In my final years of high school, I fell behind my studies. I couldn’t cope. I… I couldn’t make any friends either. Group projects were the worst. I stopped… um… going to school altogether. In the end, I barely graduated. I was a far cry from the girl who once received an award from you, Sensei. I think my parents were disappointed with me too.”
“I moved out on the first opportunity to prove to them that I can get better on my own. Except. I got worse. I failed my teaching jobs. Started a human fanclub. Conned my way into the Royal Scientist position. Flowey. Undertale. And… here we are. On The Surface. With a possible racial war on our hands.”
“I didn’t meet them even after settling up here. I haven’t introduced Undyne to them yet either. I just… just feel… Scared. Scared that they might get angry at me for avoiding them. It’s been years.”
Hearing her broken heart, the arms of the skeleparents couldn’t resist giving Alphys a hug. Gaster felt a bit awkward being put in that position.
“Helvi and Roman believe that you’re being too hard on yourself. If your parents are worth their salt -- my addition there -- they would be thrilled to see you again. They know you struggle with issues, and so they’re trying to give you space in hopes that you’ll discover your true potential.”
“With that said: by golly show them all the current friends you have made! Especially Mister Mettaton. Didn’t I hear that he owes his entire career to your creative hands? That’s definitely not a sign of failure of any kind!”
Hearing that affirmation made Alphys smile. “Thank you again, everyone. Still…I’m worried about them, though. I w-wonder if they regret moving out to The Surface.”
Gaster shook his head. “My dear student, our days below were numbered. Why was I filled with desperation enough to commit such questionable acts of science? It’s because the Chronograph showed--”
Helvetica, the right arm, slapped her hand square on Gaster’s mouth. Her husband waved his finger in discouragement.
“Alright, alright. Now is not the right time. I understand.” The holes in his palm did absolutely nothing to muffle his statements. “Well then my friends, what about a change of topic? Move forward instead of moping about the past. I have a theory to propose! If this works, we’ll solve one problem. Or ten!”
If Alphys wanted to be honest with herself, she felt like she wanted to curl up under a blanket and pretend the world was happy. But… listening to Gaster’s plans may be what she needed.
“W-what would it be?”
“First, I need the DT Extraction Machine. I speculate that the sheer amount of Determination within those pesky Spirit Gate Particles is the reason why the pumps broke. You’ll need a lot more force to push a matter determined to stay put.”
“Hmmm…” The lizard rubbed her chin. “That means if we drain the DT first, we would put less pressure on the pumps.”
“Exactly! Frisk’s DT just compounds the supercharged nature of the matter. Not conducive for any control at all. Once we make it less volatile and less harmful, we can move on to the second part. All that magic needs to go somewhere, somehow. That bit is still on the drawing board.”
It was then her phone started to ring. With a slight gasp, the lizard hurried to check her screen.
The words read: ‘Fish Waifu’.
Alphys wasted no time to answer the call. “Undyne?!”
“Hey Al,” Indeed, it was Undyne. A very tired Undyne. “So, so sorry about not contacting you sooner. Go on. Yell at me if you must.”
She blinked twice, noting the odd behaviour. What made her girlfriend more apologetic than usual? “Undyne? Is… is everything alright?”
“I’m safe and unharmed. It’s just, ugh, I wish things could have gone better. Feels like a colossal waste of time. Anyway, I’m finishing up some loose ends before heading back to town. Anyway, how’s Papyrus? Is he okay? What about Sans?”
“T-they… I… I wish I can say that everything’s fine. But. It’s complicated.”
Alphys summarized to Undyne what happened during the surgery. Her girlfriend didn’t say much in response.
“I see… God. What’s going on anymore? Um, Al. Do we still have rooms? Beds? From what I hear, we have even more guests incoming.”
Even MORE people?! Alphys started calculating the ratio between amenities and guests. There’s House Berendin, the patients, future Lemurian backup…
“Um. We’re running tight. M-maybe we can borrow some sleeping bags for the night? We’ll figure it out later. You concentrate on getting back home safe and sound first, alright?”
“Yeah. I will. Gotta go now. Talk to you later, Alphys.”
The call ended. Just hearing Undyne’s living, uninjured voice already lifted a huge weight off Alphys’ shoulder.
But…
…She didn’t like the fatigue in her girlfriend’s words one bit.
“Gaster-sensei,” said Alphys. “You need the DT Extraction Machine, right? Could you go ahead without me? I-I have to stay behind to receive Undyne. I’m… getting a bad feeling about this.”
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* * *
Undyne sighed as she ended the call. It’s been a long day for her, and it looks like the next few days will only get longer.
“Callin’ your gal there, ma’am?”
The human driving behind the wheel was none other than Commissioner Eldin himself.
When she first met him, his most striking feature was his unusual hair: red on the top half of his head and silver white on the bottom. Did he dye it that way? Although she withheld judgement, she thought that such a radical look was a bit of an unusual fashion statement for the big boss of the police force.
As for the rest of Roger Eldin… he actually reminded her most of Asgore. He’s fair-skinned with a friendly face, complete with a weighty yet strong body. He also sported a bushy red moustache, not yet greyed. Tough guy, but oddly approachable. That man could pass as a senior wrestler, she thought.
“Yeah,” Undyne answered. “I feel bad that I kept silent the whole day.”
Roger nodded understandingly. “That’s the rotten downside of being a law enforcer. I’ve gone and put the missus through some hard times too. She was absolutely knackered. Day in, day out.”
Undyne resisted the urge to slap anything. The police car looked like it had seen many years of rigorous use, and she wasn’t sure if her fish-brand strength could crack something.
In the end, she threw her body against the seat and groaned out loud. “Ugh, I can’t believe we busted a dozen hideouts and found absolutely nothing. NOTHING!”
The old human chuckled. “Hey, I’m just chuffed that nobody died. To be honest, I thought you were gonna charge in like a bull in a china shop.”
Squinting, she questioned: “What makes you think so?”
“Remember when you suplexed my undercover agent and his whole damn van?”
“What do you mean--”
Upon that instant, the memories of her stunt from late winter flashed by her mind. Frisk begged her to protect them from kidnappers, and Undyne did exactly that.
Glancing to the side, she sheepishly muttered: “…Oh. Right. Guess, uh, you were involved in that.”
“You bet your ass I was. Old Thymer couldn’t have made the switcheroo go hunky-dory without my help. Point being, you didn’t blow your top or faff about. Hats off to you. Left a much better impression than Sovereign Billy. As usual, the crown is outta touch with the ground.”
“Hey!” Her temper flared a bit, “I’ll have you know that King Asgore is the closest person I ever had to a father. Don’t diss him, okay?!?”
But then, she piped down. “…But I also get what you mean. We want peace and freedom, yet we have no damn clue how the rest of the world works.”
“You don’t say.” Roger raised his eyebrow. “What’s your honest thoughts then? About being in my police force, I mean.”
She flat out commented, “Both interesting and boring.”
“Hah! For real? Explain, lass.”
“‘Interesting’ that you rely on a lot of tech: robots, dogs, robot dogs. ‘Boring’ that every dang mission is a lot of analyzing and observing. Gets real tiring after the third attempt or so. Still, today’s challenge made me realise just how, um, outdated the Royal Guard is. I’m surprised we even lasted this long.”
“Heh, heh. You’re welcome. You can buy me a drink one day. Then order two more for the Old Thymer. If it weren’t for that bloke, your dingy town may have gone up in smoke months ago. And I don’t mean bloody violence! Just good ol’ ‘incentives’ to break your community apart and shuffle them around the country.”
“Yeah… he really did work his ass off.”
The more Undyne pondered about the state of her town security, the more worried she became. Does she even have the ability to bring her troops up to date?
More importantly, should she continue this career path at all? She can’t have her future wife die from the stress of waiting without stability.
So she asked: “…Should I just go back to being a teacher?”
Roger shrugged. “Why not do both? Your quaint lil’ town’s gonna need someone to teach them how to cop.”
“Errr… you’re not gonna send your human police instructors to us?”
“Whoa there lady, you’re getting waaaaaay ahead of yourself. Listen here: a good police force needs trust in the chain command. You, Captain, have the highest trust among your fairytale community. My human folks? They’re neutral at best. Suspicious at worst. For them to become trusted enough, you gotta give them a stamp of approval. The only way you can do that is to know the ropes yourself.”
“In other words, I’m gonna be teaching people one way or another.”
“Yep! Then, you can set aside time to play with the little mons. Maybe start a community football club or something. Whatever floats your boat. Best of both worlds I’d say. Once you get your force sorted, it’ll minimize the number of times you gotta do whatever baloney we do today. Which means a more stable daily life with your spouse.”
“That said, you should at least know that I told my missus and the wee ones to go hide at nanna’s if I don’t come home tonight. They know the routine.”
Undyne furrowed her brows. “Damn Gungnir! After everything, we STILL can’t stop them??? I thought we won…”
The Commissioner shook his head. “Winning one lil’ skirmish doesn’t mean ya won the war, Cap. The Magi already made that blunder.”
His statements stirred some curiosity. “How so?”
“Just take a look at the hot mess we’re in. Fuck, I don’t think Old Thymer’s old timer ever thought it’ll come to this. Though, maybe he did. Hence why he never got a proper replacement before he croaked.”
Curiouser and curiouser. “Tell me more. Frankly, I wanna be in the loop for once.”
“Back when the Old Thymer was a New Thymer, I heard an intriguing tale about my family line. Supposedly, my very own flesh and blood ancestor struck down the Gungnir boss some several hundred years ago. One spear breaking the other spear.”
“Since then, those Magus peeps thought their mortal enemies were as good as gone. But nope, they went underground instead. Elected new leaders. Made new friends. Rebuilt right under our noses. All the while being ignored in favour of other ‘more important issues’.”
“Because of that, Old Thymer’s got a pest problem now. And we have that vermin’s slippery eel of a daughter on our hands to boot. A lesson from nature here, Ma’am: if you see one rat out in the open, it means that there are tens of thousands of them hidden in the woodworks. By this generation, the infestation has been baked into society itself.”
“Don’t tell anyone you heard that from me, though. They’ll call it ‘hate speech’ and put my job on the chopping block. I still need the badge so Old Thymer doesn’t get stabbed in the back by ten knives and a pencil.”
Talk about being in a pickle. Undyne responded with a slow, acknowledging nod. “Duly noted, sir.”
“Good.” After that, Roger continued to grumble under his breath. “God… those smooth-brained cyborgs on a mainframe, going ‘Exterminate! Exterminate!’ on everything their 2-bit chips refuse to recognize…”
Indeed, those were frustrated words that should never, ever go public.
The car stopped in front of a music shop. The lights were still on. Rather odd at this hour in this part of the city since it’s neither a club nor a bar zone.
“Alright, we’re here. Come out and stretch your legs.”
Stepping outside, Undyne recognized the shop’s signboard. “Hey, I’ve been here before!”
Surprised, Roger asked, “Really now? When might that have been?”
“Before Halloween. Alphys told me that Mettaton recommended us to visit this place. Said that it sells everything related to music, from instruments to scores to classes. I bought a cool spooky piano book for myself here.”
“You play the piano? Well, well, well, you’re chock-full of surprises!”
They went inside. Other than the lack of spooky decorations, the shop was the same as she remembered. It brought back many good memories, making her smile a bit.
She remembered how Sans stared at the expensive orchestra-quality trombone, internally debating if he should buy it for himself. Toriel proceeded to make all sorts of trombone puns with him.
Papyrus couldn’t get over the weirdness that all the decorative prop skeletons were naked. Frisk had to explain that humans don’t see them the same way as monsters do.
Meanwhile, Asgore and Alphys accompanied Undyne at the piano section. They had many units on display, free for any visitor to try. So she did just that: played some tunes that came from under the mountain…
Her ears then picked up the melodies of a lute from the stairs leading to the second floor. It began with a strum, followed by an ethereal tremolo. A mesmerizing male voice began to sing a tune, but the echoes prevented her from understanding the lyrics.
Roger commented, “That’s our guest alright. Sounds like the chap is practicing to pass the time.”
They climbed upstairs. There, they found the singer sitting on a chair, under a lone light. He wore an elaborate garb of fiery orange and golden yellow. Rich blue jewels adorned the embroidery, shimmering against even the faintest luminescence. The brilliance of his clothes contrasted against his long jet black hair, styled in a high ponytail.
He carried an air of an mystical beauty befitting his costume. The flair doesn’t faze Undyne though. She’s not the kind to get swept by mere appearances, more so after befriending Mettaton. But she knew that fangirly Alphys would get hypnotized by it for at least five minutes.
As his fingers plucked the strings, the singer sang:
“The will to overcome shall urge us on
To brave injustice ‘til the stars have gone.”
Sensing the presence of visitors, the man stopped mid-verse.
When their eyes met, Undyne was overwhelmed by a flash of a very familiar sensation. It wasn’t a swooning fluster, perish that thought. It was magic. Not just any magic, but fire and earth magic. The elements matched his amber eyes.
That oddity confused her. Could this incredibly fancy musician be yet another Red Human? Or someone with a special Mark like Aiden? If that Gungnir warrior can control electricity, then maybe there’s another Magus out there capable of controlling other elements? What’s up with musicians and Red Magic anyway? This person could very well be the second one she had encountered this week.
“Are you Ha-chi-ga-mi Wah?” she asked.
The musician corrected: “Hajikami Hua. ‘Ginger Flower’. I’m not made up of eight gods, nor do I have a ‘W’ in my name.”
Undyne tried again. “Ha-jee-ga-mi Aah?”
“You’ve overcorrected the ‘Ji’. Be a bit softer with it. Also, your ‘Ka’ is resting too much at the back of your throat, turning it into ‘Ga’. The ‘K’ needs to be sharper too. More emphasis on the ‘H’ for ‘Hua’, please.”
“Haji… Hajikami Hoah…?”
“You’ve gotten the first part of my name correct. Now, for ‘Hua’. Say Hu-aa.”
“Huu-aah…”
“Closer. Shorten it, and leave the ‘A’ open.”
“Hua!”
“Perfect.”
“Yay!” Undyne grinned. But her joy of overcoming the obstacle was quickly dashed by the urgency of the situation. “Ngaaah what am I doing?!? I’m getting distracted!!!”
She brought herself back to earth with a few pats on his cheeks. “Mister Hua, we’re here to give you a ride to Ebott Town.”
He nodded sagely. “That mountain has become a beacon, it seems. Both young and old, allies and foes, are drawn to it.”
Mister Hua then turned towards Roger Eldin.
“Commissioner, you have friends waiting for you at the usual haunt.”
“Bloody hell?!” The veteran policeman was nowhere happy to hear that. “Tell those blasted Barfellows that they gotta hoof it to town on their own. I ain’t even sure if we’ll have a road to Ebott by the next hour, let alone the comin’ sunshine!”
“The path narrows, I see. I will pass the message in your stead.”
“Appreciate it. I gotta need all my four limbs for the drive.”
They quickly returned to the car. Mister Hua kept his lute’s case within his reach at all times, having it ride together with him in the backseat. Understandable, as good instruments often had an impressive price tag.
Roger concentrated on driving while the musician informed the aforementioned friends by text messaging them. The journey continued on with a pin-drop silence, with only the occasional radio chatter breaking the silence.
It’s starting to feel rather awkward. Not to mention that Undyne caught herself starting to yawn. So, she took a leaflet from Papyrus’ handbook of icebreaking and asked: “Uh, your name means ‘Ginger Flower’, right? Ginger is a spice, so… are you a Magus?”
“Hmmmm,” said Hajikami Hua. “The mages of this land give form to the abstract. That is not my domain. Instead, it lies in the shaping of concrete realities.”
“Okay…?”
Everything flew past her head. Eccentric riddles were definitely not her cup of tea. So Undyne tried switching topics.
Attempt number two. “Is there a reason why you’re going to Ebott in such a big hurry?”
Mister Ginger replied, “I owe my freedom to House Berendin, especially to The Grandmaster and his daughter. It is only fair for me to aid them in their greatest need.”
That was an unexpected answer, but it was a delight to hear. “Really? Wow! That’s awesome! I’m super relieved that not everyone ditched them for whatever reason.”
“What makes you think so?” the guest asked.
“The internet, mainly. They said some… really insulting things about everyone who attended yesterday’s feast. And apparently Judge Thyme wasn’t very popular.”
“I understand your reasons for concern, but not all are so blind.”
“Not blind alright.” Roger burst into a grumble. “Ain’t that just brilliant? The Old Thymer better explain himself when next we meet. Didn’t fancy pants realize that being a big ham leftie gunman is a blaring ad for his old ID? I could do with less CG conspiracy nuts in my line of work, thank you very much…”
As much as she wanted to ask, the veteran cop didn't look like he’s in a mood to chat.
Undyne sighed and stared out of the window, her thoughts clouded by worry.
Wait for me, Alphys. I’ll be back soon.
Just hold on a little longer.
Sitting in the car had a strange lullaby effect. She almost fell asleep on the way. Maybe she did here and there. But then, Roger lightly shook her shoulder.
“Cap, we got a problem.”
When she sat upright, she noticed the traffic in front of them got clogged up. At the end of the long queue of cars stood a bright orange glow, releasing a ton of black smoke.
A crowd had started to gather. People stepped out of their cars to film the curious event on their phones.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“There’s a whopping fire blocking the road. Junky cars and gasoline. Pretty standard stuff. Looks like the goons beat us to the punch.”
“Huh?” Undyne checked the time on her phone. “This many cars? At this late hour? Isn’t it like, the dead of midnight?”
“That’s because we’re still on a major highway connected to the metropolis. The city never snoozes, they say. And it shows. Anyways, it’s time to call the fire men. And by that I mean the humans with the water hose, not the walking torch. Though, he would have helped a ton too…”
The Commissioner got on the walkie-talkie to coordinate with other law enforcers. He gave a bunch of details that didn’t make fully sense to Undyne. The grainy sound quality from the replies made it even more difficult to discern. That’s another skill that she had to hone for The Surface.
In the meantime, Undyne caught sight of suspicious activity. Her body has long adapted to its loss of depth perception with increased movement sensitivity.
Off road. From the side shrubs. Four flames lit up from their hiding spots. They flew into the night sky in a high arc.
“Get down!!!”
Both Undyne and Roger ducked their heads. Glass crashed against the chassis of the car, followed by an intense light and heat. Some of those who stood outside were caught in the flammable splash. They ran around in panic with their clothes on fire.
The whole road erupted into a chaotic whirlwind of terror.
More fire?!?
AGAIN?????
Why do I have such AWFUL luck with fire?!?!?
Just when she was about to bolt out of the car to rescue others, a thunderous voice commanded from the backseat.
“Banish thyself, insolent flames!”
The fire vanished.
Light. Heat. Everything that makes fire a fire… gone in a snap. What’s left were liquid flammables dripping off the sides of the car.
In addition to that, the orange glow at the far end of the traffic congestion ceased to exist.
Confused mumbling replaced the screams. Those who were outside hurried back into their vehicles. Then, the traffic as a whole began to move, eager to get out of whatever trap they were stuck in. Metal screeched against the asphalt as cars just shoved through any obstacle in the way.
Both Roger and Undyne turned their heads towards the man named Hajikami Hua.
The elaborately-dressed man faced their questioning gaze in a calm, poised manner. He said, “No flames ignited by our foes shall burn within my domain. You may proceed without fear.”
Now she really, really had to ask that question. “Are you a Red? With uh, a fire Mark or something?”
Not missing a beat, Hajikami Hua replied: “Close enough.”
“Uh huh. Okay.”
The two police officers leaned close to each other for a quick whispering session, starting with the fish.
“Why are we transporting this guy to Ebott Town again?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, Ma’am.”
“Nobody said anything?! How many god-tier folks do they have on their side???”
“Heck if I know! I thought I was the most powerful bozo here until five seconds ago. Y’know, given my rank and all.”
Both sides silently acknowledged that they’re not going to get answers unless they reach Ebott Town in one piece. Therefore, they mustered all their remaining focus for the journey ahead.