Chapter Text
Martlet clung desperately to the object nestled between her wings as she sat atop the edge of one of New Home's many planter boxes, not daring to loosen her grip for even a single moment. She wasn’t at all sure what to actually do with the familiar leather hat, but she did know that she couldn’t let it fall, no matter the circumstances. While she was sitting directly opposed from the sheer drop beyond the flowerbed behind her, strong winds were periodically blowing through New Home, and Martlet was not taking any chances.
After failing to keep Clover safe time and time again —and kicking herself for it each and every time— the last thing she was willing to do was let their iconic hat be lost as well.
However, despite this self-imposed mission, Martlet couldn’t actually bring herself to lay even a single eye on her new keepsake. She knew that doing so would only intensify her regrets, as well as bring her mind to that look that Clover had had in their eyes.
To the radiant glow of their decision.
To their final, heartrending words.
“It’s time to go”
…
Martlet knew fully well that hoping to stave off memories of something that had happened only about a couple minutes ago was entirely unrealistic, yet she engaged in her fruitless struggle anyway. She could feel a whirlwind of raw emotions building every time recalled those sights and sounds, but she wasn’t at all ready to confront that maelstrom. So she instead struggled to escape to some place of serenity, praying that her turmoil had an eye of the storm somewhere, anywhere.
‘I just gotta hold it together for now. For Clover.’
She wasn’t entirely sure whether Clover was… gone… already. But she was not going to risk letting the last thing Clover ever heard be her pained wails. After all, Martlet was only waiting just on the other side of the bridge leading to that damned tower. The one where they had only just confronted Ceroba minutes ago. It probably wouldn't be impossible for Clover to hear her from here.
She just had to hold it together and wait while Ceroba did… whatever she was doing with Clover's SOUL.
‘Come to think of it, how long is the process even going to take?’
Martlet realised she had absolutely no idea how to answer that question. In fact, she wasn’t even sure whether or not the process of extracting Clover's SOUL would be… painful or not. Martlet felt her stomach lurch at the prospect of such a possibility. Had Ceroba only suggested Martlet and Starlo leave because she was about to do something gruesome?
‘...No. Surely she has another way’ Martlet reasoned. Although she couldn’t quite convince herself of the notion.
Desperately seeking some sort of reassurance, Martlet glanced over to the eccentrically dressed Star monster sat to her left. Starlo's back was curved, and his arms were braced atop his legs, holding up his torso. The expression he wore was blank, and he was staring intently at nothing in particular. Martlet imagined she had looked much the same only moments ago. Realising that Starlo probably had about as much idea of what exactly Ceroba was doing as she did, Martlet decided to let her worries win out. Without warning, she shot up, and made to turn towards the bridge that would lead her back to Clover. She felt Starlo turn to look at her in surprise, but was grateful when her companion seemingly elected not to comment on the matter.
However, Martlet only managed a few steps before-
CLANK CLANK CLANK
The avian monster wheeled around in surprise at the sound of metal hitting stone. A sound which grew louder and louder at a frightening pace. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Starlo shoot up to join her in discerning the source of the noise, although she didn’t have time to really register the fact. After all, barrelling directly towards her at breakneck speeds, came a fully armoured…
“Captain Undyne?!”
For a moment, Martlet thought the captain might bowl her over, but luckily the wrecking ball of a monster that was Undyne instead came to a literal screeching halt right in front of her instead.
Undyne's voice came a bit muffled through her helmet, though it was still easily loud enough to be heard. “Martlet?! What the hell are you doing here? You’re meant to be in Snowdin!”
“Oh! Hello captain. The thing is, I uh- earlier I-”
“Never mind, you don't need to explain. I bet you also got word that there’s a human here, right?”
“Exactly! I was asked to um, scout things out! Since I can fly and keep an eye on the human from the air, and also since I could get here pretty fast, and also…um mm… some other reasons.”
Undyne remained silent for a moment, but when her voice did ring out again, it did so with a slight enthusiastic pep, much to Martlet's relief. “Great. Well in that case you must be waiting for reinforcements, right? Well they’re here! So where’s the human?.”
Martlet glanced back towards the tower. “Well actually-”
“Over there? Great, thanks! Now stand back Martlet and…civilian." Undyne glanced at the now very baffled looking Starlo. "No need to put yourselves in danger.” With that, Undyne turned heel and began marching towards the bridge.
“Undyne, hold on for a moment!” Martlet shouted after the young captain, ultimately to no avail.
“Don’t worry about me Martlet, I can handle this. You go clear the area. I’ve been told the human is already fighting someone so there’s no time to waste. HERE I COME HUMAN!”
“NGAAAAAAAAaaauuuuUUH - WHAT THE FUCK??”
Martlet flinched back as her captain came to a very sudden halt only a few paces before her. Desperate to find out the cause, she quickly shuffled to the side. Glancing past the wall of armour blocking her view of the bridge. Almost immediately, Martlet realised exactly what had happened.
Halfway down the bridge, walking towards the two royal guards at a painfully slow pace, was Ceroba. In reality, the fox monster was actually putting great effort into disguising her very slight limp, though this was ultimately unnecessary. After all, no one was paying attention to her hindered gait or tear-stained fur. Instead, they were all fixated on the glass container wrapped within her arms. Held within was…
“...Clover…”
The vibrant Soul gave off a soft yet steady yellow glow that seemed to reach far further than one would expect, flowing even beyond the now-tinted glass of its container. Ceroba held the container at a small distance, almost as if this fact brought her a deep sense of discomfort. Yet, even with this being the case, the light spilling from Clover’s SOUL radiated far enough to clash with shadow cast by Ceroba's loosened fringe. The wary expression she wore was therefore on full display, though the three monsters across from her were in no mind to notice the fact.
From the corner of her eye, Martlet noticed Undyne slowly remove her helmet. Almost as if the armour's eye holes were somehow causing her to see things that might not be there. Several moments passed as all four monsters just stood and stared, simply taking in the situation.
“You… killed the human?” Undyne sounded appropriately incredulous, although Martlet swore she could also make out something else present in her captain’s tone… Was that disappointment she was hearing? Martlet fidgeted awkwardly as she awaited Ceroba's response. She wasn’t sure at all what answer Ceroba would give that question. In fact, Martlet wasn’t even sure how she herself would answer that question, were she in Ceroba's position. Would it be safe to tell Undyne the truth?
“I…” Ceroba glanced down at the container with unfocused eyes and simply said nothing for a painfully long moment. However, when her next words did come, there was an element of certainty to them, poking through Ceroba's overwhelming wistfulness.
“I suppose I did...”
Martlet could practically see the gears turning in Undyne's head. Clearly, Ceroba's delivery of that answer had only left Undyne even more confused.
“What the hell?? Was the human really that weak?”
Martlet's wings stiffened at that comment, but she took no action as Undyne continued.
“Uh, no offence, but you’re just a civilian right, uh…”
“Ceroba.” The fox’s expression shifted from wary to exhausted.
“Right, Ceroba. So what the hell are you doing taking on a human? Don't you know how dangerous that is? More importantly, how did you win??
Ceroba lowered her head in exasperation. Though this did not deter Undyne in the slightest.
“You do look a little strong… Lay it on me. I want to hear about the whole FIGHT from start to finish”
"Ahem."
“With all due respect Miss Guard Captain, we’re all completely spent from the whole thing, n’ we could really do with a rest.”
Martlet nearly jumped out of her skin hearing Starlo speak. The sheriff hadn’t so much as made a peep during the whole encounter, yet seemingly Ceroba's plight was enough to change that fact. Much to Martlet's chagrin, however, all this accomplished was bringing Undyne's steely gaze upon the two of them instead.
“You mean… you two were in on this as well?” For a brief moment, Undyne's gaze narrowed upon them, and Martlet felt like her soul might stop pulsing.
…
“Great! Well that explains it then! The three of you worked together! And you know what that means…?”
“What does it - ack” Martlet squealed and nearly buckled as Undyne dropped the full weight of her gauntlet on Martlet's shoulder. Starlo received the same treatment, though his reaction was more of a gasp of pain. Clearly he had somehow injured his upper back.
Ceroba turned away in shame seeing this, though Martlet didn't really take notice of the fact.
“It means that monsterkind only needs one more soul until we’re free. And it also means that you three are heroes!” Undyne dropped her toothy grin after noticing that her words seemingly had not helped either if their spirits in the slightest. “But hey, if you guys are hurt, then you definitely should all head home and turn in. You can tell me all about the fight some other time.”
Martlet wanted to point out that, no, they really couldn't head home yet, although she certainly wanted to. She didn't get to voice her concerns, though. Instead, it was Ceroba who spoke up this time:
“Not yet… we have to deliver the Soul first.”
Undyne shot her an awkward grin in response. “Of course! I wouldn’t dream of taking all the credit.” She hoisted her helmet back onto her head, and as she did, her bearing almost instantly reverted to that of deadly solemnity. Martlet watched as she scanned the nearby surroundings, before beckoning to the three defeated looking monsters. “I’ll escort you to the castle. Let’s go.”
With that, the group set off in merciful silence, striding down New Home’s largely empty streets in a line. Undyne naturally took point, while Starlo followed behind her, Ceroba slunk behind him, and Martlet made up the rear. Admittedly, Martlet was decidedly lagging behind, lost in thoughts of right and wrong. Although the walk to the elevator leading to the castle was so short that the others were never afforded a chance to notice.
‘I didn’t even realise we were this close to the elevator the whole time… If I had just dodged Ceroba's attack, then maybe Clover and I could have-’
“DAMMIT!!”
Undyne's sudden shouting jolted Martlet so hard that a few feather bullets came rocketing off her wings and went flying off in random directions. Luckily for Martlet, she managed to swiftly realise her mistake and dissipate the attacks, leaving the others none the wiser.
‘I really should be used to the captain doing stuff like that by now…’
Martlet stepped closer to the elevator to try and determine the cause of Undyne's sudden outburst.
The change in distance was almost immediately reversed after she found her captain slamming the elevator buttons with a concerning level of force.
“What’s wrong? I-Is it not working or…”
Undyne wheeled around and clutched at her head, causing her helmet to rattle a bit as she did so.
“NGAAHHHH! I COMPLETELY FORGOT. WHY did I tell those idiots to DO THAT?!”
This response naturally did nothing to help with Martlet's bewilderment, bringing a very slight shake to the avian monster’s head. “What is it? What’s going on??”
Undyne's unhelpful streak did not end there, however. Ignoring Martlet, she swept her eyes over the whole group.
“What’s the time?! Do any of you have a watch?!”
Martlet rummaged through her back pocket, eventually pulling out her prized pocket watch. Her father had gifted it to her as a potential way of helping her not lose the time so often, though it hadn’t really helped much in that regard. In the end, Martlet had elected not to use it much, out of fear of clumsily dropping it. Even with that being the case, Martlet wasn’t about to deny an angry Undyne, so the keepsake was pulled from its protective sheath with all haste.
“Uhhh, it’s… eight-thirty-five, wh-”
Hearing that, Undyne wheeled around and kicked the elevator shaft’s metal doors with enough force to leave a sizable dent behind.
Martlet elected to take another step back upon seeing such a sight. Given the ringing of boots on pavement that briefly reached Martlet's right ear, her two acquaintances had seemingly both decided on the same course of action. The incensed spire of armour standing before them spent a few moments huffing in frustration, but eventually calmed down enough to offer an explanation.
“I told my nerds to lock down the elevator leading to the castle at eight-thirty, and to unlock it again at nine. Then, I’d have plenty of time to SMASH the human while they were stuck on this level. But, well, since you guys just did it yourselves...”
“We’re stuck standing here for nearly half an hour.” Starlo concluded.
That exchange hit Martlet like a hurricane.
Having to stand around with her own thoughts for over 20 minutes was already terrible, given the circumstances. But beyond that…
'Oh angel, she thinks I helped kill Clover.'
That realisation was only now properly sinking in, and it hurt.
'I just hope word of this doesn't spread too much. If folks in Snowdin start praising me for…doing that…' Martlet didn't want to imagine what that might look like.
Unfortunately for Martlet, those fears were proven real far sooner than she had imagined.
While the streets of New Home were presently largely empty, a group led by ‘Monsterkind’s Hero’ and flanked by a monster carrying a glowing human soul could only go unnoticed for so long. The nail in the coffin came when a young monster, one with the appearance of a crow and the consistency of paper, spotted the group through a window while waiting for their father to unlock their apartment.
“Look pa! It’s captain Undyne and a-” The child stopped mid sentence as they shifted their gaze further down the marching order. Their father, for his part, seemed largely disinterested. That is, until he reluctantly turned to look and also spotted it.
“S-SOUL??!”
Martlet couldn’t help but cringe at the shrill exclamation, and through her half closed eyes she could barely make out Ceroba and Starlo’s similar reaction. Martlet pressed her wings to her eyes and prayed to the angel that the exclamation would go unnoticed.
Unfortunately for her, those prayers went entirely unanswered.
Slowly, New Home began to wake up. Monsters began to trickle onto the street to investigate the commotion, and the sounds of opening doors could be heard almost every few minutes. Before long, the once dreary streets were alight with curious eyes and rising celebration. A small crowd gathered on the pavement across from the elevator, each of them looking on in wonder. As the crowd grew in size, some of the monsters began to excitedly whisper to one another, and Martlet even spotted a some of them hugging loved ones. The energy rose, and rose, and rose, until…
“One more soul and we’re free!”
“The surface is in reach!”
“We're going to win!”
“Three cheers to the Royal Guard!”
“Hooray for our heroes!”
Martlet was already loathing the attention, but it wasn’t until the cheering that Martlet began to feel her emotional whirlwind truly twist into a raging tempest.
And then the applause started.
Martlet wished she could pretend that they were all clapping for Clover, that they had all realised the monumental significance of what the kid had done for them. But she couldn’t. She knew fully well that the crowd only saw a soul, and the ‘heroes’ of monsterkind bringing it to its ‘rightful’ place. And it was 'heroes', because they weren’t just cheering for Undyne. Whenever Martlet threw the occasional glance at the raucous crowd, she found only glances of admiration and celebration returned back at her. No matter how hard she looked, she could not find a single mirror for her rage and dejection.
It made her feel angry. Angrier than she had ever remembered before
But even then, Martlet couldn’t even fully bring herself to feel angry at the onlooking monsters. After all, for the longest time, she had also longed to be free. To learn what real wind might feel like. To let real air fill her lungs. And so she couldn’t bring herself to truly hate them, leaving her with only her inner turmoil and dejection. The only detail she could take solace in was the fact that, while the crowd certainly had noticed her, most of their attention seemed to be directed towards both Undyne and the monster carrying Clover’s SOUL.
As Martlet's thoughts turned to Undyne, so too did her fury hone in on the brash monster. Undyne's callous attitude and nonsensical stunt with the elevator enraged the bluebird to no end. Just why did Martlet have to stand here and pretend she was like her?
That said, she definitely wasn’t going to ever let it show. She was rather terrified of the imposing royal guard captain, after all, and so she bit back her venom directed towards the Undyne as well.
Of course, that only left the other monster receiving the most cheers from the crowd…
Martlet sneered to herself. ‘I hope she’s happy. She finally got her Soul, after all, and people are cheering her for it.’
Those vicious musings were immediately cut short as Martlet observed Ceroba more closely. With each and every cheer from the crowd, Ceroba's ears seemed to droop lower and lower, reaching depths Martlet didn’t even realise were possible. She could tell that Ceroba was desperately trying to keep up appearances otherwise, but was still able to notice the slight trembles that coursed up and down Ceroba's body without end. Was it because of fear? Anger? Sorrow? Martlet wasn’t sure. But either way, the sight left her feeling guilty about her internal outburst.
With that being the case, Martlet's disgust instead circled in on the only prey left within its sights, Martlet herself. ‘Clover’s death is being cheered, and I’m doing nothing to stop it. Guess I’m just as useless as always.’
‘You said your time with Clover changed your life, but did it really? Here you are posing as “Monsterkind’s Hero”, so maybe nothing’s changed at all.’
Martlet grit her beak. Why was she doing this? Lashing out helped no one, least of all herself. She needed to somehow distract herself before she actually did something rash, though she wasn't exactly sure how she'd accomplish that, given the cacophonous celebrations she found herself encircled by…
Martlet opted to check on Starlo first. It was a little difficult to make out the details with Ceroba standing between them, but she did notice that his hat was pulled incredibly low over his head. Martlet was left wondering how the sheriff could possibly even see anything.
‘Perhaps he can’t’, she reasoned. She certainly wouldn’t judge him for trying to block everything out. She longed to do the same, after all. Martlet had never thought that she would prefer New Home’s usual tired and monotonous self to seeing colour in the city's streets, but now she wanted nothing less than to look upon rows of pure gray stone and yellow light again. Even the rooftops were slowly filling with onlookers by this point, and even more curious eyes occupied almost every window, the light spilling from those now serving to frame the long shadows cast upon the group.
“Was the human scary?”
Martlet snapped back to attention. She had been so caught up in her thoughts and her examination of the others, that she had failed to notice as a younger monster had broken away from the rest of the crowd and approached her fellow "heroes". The monster in question was made up of what looked to be dark clouds, arranged in a rectangular shape. Near the rectangle’s top, a shimmering sheet of rain formed a circular break, the sight of which reminded Martlet somewhat of a window. Or at least, it did up until said circle blinked; before going back to staring expectantly at a rather off-guard Ceroba.
“So… Was it?” The nebulous monster titled its entire body quizzically. Clearly their curiosity did not have room for patience.
Martlet watched quietly as Ceroba slowly tilted her head upwards to face the young… girl? Martlet wasn’t entirely sure.
“I…” Ceroba only continued to waver, and Martlet couldn’t blame her, given the circumstances. In all honesty, a small part of the bluebird wanted to step in and say something herself. This was potentially a chance, after all, an opportunity to make even the slightest difference. To set the record straight, for at least one monster.
That chance proved fleeting, however, as the sound of sliding elevator doors suddenly rang out from behind Martlet, finally signalling the end of her waking nightmare. She turned to look back at the now very disappointed younger monster, and considered whether she should speak her mind.
But before Martlet could come to a decision, Undyne marched up and interjected. “C’mon kid. You can ask your questions later, we have a soul to deliver.”
The "kid" bent forwards in disappointment, but flipped around and started heading back in the direction from which they had come.
‘Never mind then…’ Martlet internally sighed as she turned around and strode towards the elevator. The majority of her mind and body preferred that outcome anyway. She felt exhausted in almost every conceivable way, not to mention that Martlet also still really felt like shouting at someone right now.
Reaching the inside of the elevator, Martlet leaned against the right-side wall and breathed a long sigh of relief. Even with the doors still open, it was relatively tranquil within. Undyne, who had already situated herself on the opposite wall, let out a distorted snort through her helmet and absentmindedly nodded her head. “Tiring stuff, huh?”
Martlet didn't feel like responding, and luckily didn't have to. As Undyne almost immediately turned away from her. “You comin’?”
Martlet turned to look and see who the captain was snipping at, and found Starlo and Ceroba still standing on the pavement outside. Ceroba had completely stopped in her tracks, and was seemingly staring intently at the floor. Starlo, for his part, was saying something to her that Martlet couldn’t quite hear. Although she definitely could make out the soft urgency present in his voice. Truthfully, Martlet found herself envying his levelheadedness, given how she herself was feeling.
Despite her new acquaintance's best efforts though, Ceroba was still refusing to take another step towards the elevator. After a lengthy awkward moment, Ceroba finally narrowed her eyes and set her jaw. Hair and cloth twirled as Ceroba spun around faster than Martlet could even register.
“Wait.”
The young monster who Undyne had shooed off had floated about halfway back to the crowd, but stopped upon hearing Ceroba's call. Instead of fully turning around, the nebulous monster instead sort of shifted through themselves, their 'eye' directing itself back towards Ceroba.
“Yeah?”
Ceroba's shoulders rose and fell.
“The human… They weren’t scary.”
With that, Ceroba once again turned towards the elevator and marched through the door, with Starlo stumbling after her. The two of them awkwardly situated themselves against the far wall, and said no more. Martlet stared out the doors once again, catching glimpses of some of the sleepier monsters among the crowd making their way back to their homes.
A painfully cheerful wave goodbye from another member of the crowd was the last thing she could make out before the elevator doors shut with a resounding ‘THUD’.
Martlet brought a wing to her face, shielding it from the golden light spilling through the hall’s windows. Ornate pillars flanked both sides of the resplendent hall. And beautifully intricate stained glass windows lined the walls. The glittering scene left Martlet completely dumbstruck, as her eyes swept across the room, back and forth and back again. And yet...even a sight as resplendent as this one felt tainted, in a way that she couldn’t quite explain. The whole structure felt… final in some way. And that finality felt like it was relentlessly bearing down on her. Not to mention that the odd light filling the hall reminded Martlet so strongly of…
Martlet glanced back towards the container held up by Ceroba's hands. This was it. The end of a journey. Why had it all gone by so fast? How could this possibly be the way things were meant to end?
Martlet wiped an unwilling tear from her cheek. The drop had already nestled itself deep enough within her feathers that she couldn’t wipe it all away, but she hoped that it would at least remain unnoticed. Just a little more to go… She had to believe that this all meant something. She owed Clover that much, at the very least.
Another tear rolled down Martlet's other cheek, prompting her to briefly bury her face in her wings. She was so close to just breaking down right there. Martlet knew that, were she given the chance to just…lie down and curl up into a ball right now, she almost certainly would. Heck, maybe she was just going to do it anyway! Surely the others didn't need her help finishing the job.
But no, that wasn't right at all.
‘You promised that you would bring Clover to the king. And you've failed them enough today. This is your chance to sort of make good on that one promise, at the very least.’
With that thought, Martlet stepped out the other end of the hall.
The architecture on the other end was mercifully plain, and Martlet swore she was left feeling a little lighter for it. The familiar pure gray stone of this corridor definitely felt less…judgemental. Martlet kept forging ahead, with Ceroba and Starlo following closely behind.
Undyne was not with them, as she had elected to stay behind and watch for anyone who might follow them up the elevator. Martlet wasn’t really sure that such a thing was necessary, but was immensely relieved by the fact regardless, especially after how unbearably awkward the elevator ride up had been.
The group rounded a corner, and Martlet spotted it. The portal was plain, yet large enough to still be somewhat intimidating. Echoing from beyond, Martlet could just barely make out a tune being hummed in soft, deep tones. It was at that moment that she knew.
‘This is it.’
Despite her crisis of faith just moments ago, or perhaps because of it, Martlet was determined to see things through. She marched her way to the far edge of the portal, and turned to face her companions. She was curious whether they had come to the same realisation as her. Ceroba came to a stop next to her, and Starlo rounded out the other end of their formation. He had largely kept his stoic expression, but Ceroba…
Martlet stared straight into Ceroba's eyes and was left certain that Ceroba had not found the same resolve she had. Ceroba was looking back in Martlet's direction, but her eyes were affixed in that distant stare that Martlet had become oh-so familiar with over the course of the last half hour. Her eyebrows were deeply furrowed, so that the uncertainty plaguing her was clear for all to see. Even more striking was the light shining from Clover’s SOUL playing across the reflection in Ceroba's eyes. Martlet swore she could see raging flames and glittering streaks duelling in those eyes, the two forces breaking apart and clashing again and again. The whole picture was chaotic, and disturbingly real. Why was Martlet so easily able to make it all out like this?
Eventually, Ceroba registered Martlet inspecting her expression, and all those battling feelings became conquered by shame. The fox monster closed her eyes and tilted her head downwards, letting shadow fall over her face.
That wouldn't do.
Martlet wasn’t interested in admonishing Ceroba for her doubt. She understood well enough what Ceroba might be feeling. Yet she did still need the fox monster to pull herself together. Instead, Martlet opted to simply step closer, perhaps hoping that her presence alone would be enough to share some of the resolve she had gathered. From behind, Starlo also stepped closer and laid a comforting hand on Ceroba's shoulder.
Ceroba snapped to attention, and turned around to face her childhood friend, who in turn offered a reassuring nod. Martlet watched as Ceroba's gritted teeth gave way to a bittersweet smile.
This was it, then. Better to go now while that flickering flame of unity and purpose still burned.
Without even a word, the group turned to face the entryway, and strode into the journey’s last destination together.
For the second time in minutes, Martlet stepped into a room which left her filled with awe. The throne room, just like the hall before, was downright gorgeous. Familiar bright light spilled into this room, and vibrant plant life spiralled all across the floor, even crawling up the walls in some spots. Unlike the hall though, the atmosphere here wasn’t particularly oppressive. Instead, Martlet found it almost tranquil. The lighting here, while similar in many ways, felt more soft and natural when compared to the harsh contrasts that had characterised the hall.
Of course, Martlet could only put off acknowledging the elephant (or rather, large goat monster) in the room forever. Humming softly to himself, the king sat on his throne. He looked mostly relaxed, though there was still some rigidness present in his pose. Martlet certainly felt intimidated by the sight on account of his rather impressive garb, but the king’s demeanour itself spoke more to the positive impression of him that Martlet had held throughout her life. He had a hand to his beard, and was contentedly scanning through some document held in his other hand.
While the King did appear relaxed, that did not mean he wasn't taking his work seriously. He was so absorbed in his reading, in fact, that he hadn't even noticed the three of them enter the room. Instead, he continued to simply hum away while further scanning the page, blissfully unaware of the fact that monsterkind was now only one soul away from freedom.
Martlet glanced to her left towards the other two ‘Someone has to speak up… guess it might as well be me.’ Martlet took a deep breath and prepared to speak. She faltered a couple times of course, but eventually she managed to squeak out the words.
“Um, excuse me. Mister King, sir.”
The king perked up slightly and gave a slight chuckle. He shuffled his documents, then bent down to lay them at his feet.
“No need for the formalities, you may just call me Asgore, should you prefer.”
He finished placing down the documents, and began to right himself. Martlet couldn't help but notice that he sat a little taller than before.
“Now then, to whom do I owe the pleas-”
It was in this moment that Asgore fully looked up, the full weight of realisation shining upon his face.
“Ah…”
For a few moments, the King simply stared at them, expression shifting as his shock gradually gave way to a deathly seriousness. As the change fully settled in, Asgore broke the room's silence.
“I see. May I ask, are you all alright?”
Before Martlet could even begin to figure out how to answer that question, Starlo jumped in. “We’re all uninjured Mr. King… Asgore. If that’s what ya-you meant.”
Starlo turned slightly toward Ceroba and ‘whispered’. “You uh, are okay, right?”
Due to the stillness in the throne room, Starlo’s words carried a bit further than he had probably intended. He tilted his head forward to let his hat slip just a little bit lower.
“...More or less.”
Ceroba's response brought Asgore’s focus upon her instead. To Martlet's surprise, Ceroba didn’t flinch at the attention. Instead, Ceroba simply continued looking straight ahead. She wasn’t quite meeting Asgore’s gaze, but she certainly looked more alert now than she had earlier. Even as Asgore stood and took a couple steps closer, Ceroba remained still.
“I’m glad to hear that. Though if you do require medical attention, then please do speak up, I assure you it would be no trouble at all.”
Asgore once again swept his gaze across the three of them.
“I don’t believe I’ve met you three before. May I have the pleasure of knowing your names?”
Martlet was first to introduce herself.
“I’m Martlet. I’m… part of the Royal Guard’s Snowdin Division. Mr Asgore sir.”
“Ahhh, a Royal Guard, is it? I thank you for your courage in helping keep monsterkind safe.”
Martlet couldn’t help but scoff to herself at that comment, but she kept her beak shut nonetheless.
Starlo was the next to speak. “Name’s - er… My name is Starlo. I run a… thing, down in the Dunes.”
Asgore stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I see… Would that ‘thing’ happen to be this 'Wild East' place I've heard about recently, by any chance? . It seems like a truly fascinating piece of The Underground, I must say.”
Starlo was clearly left somewhat taken aback at that response. “Uhhhh, yeah! That’s the one…”
“Indeed. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Starlo."
The king turned once more.
"I believe that leaves you, Miss…”
“Ceroba.”
Asgore awkwardly stared and waited for more, but Ceroba simply stared back. The meaning of such a gesture was clear enough.
“Ahem. Well, Ceroba, I see you have elected to bear the responsibility of carrying this Human’s SOUL. Are you also a member of the guard, by any chance?”
“I am not.”
“I see…so your bravery goes beyond duty, then? You have my gratitude for your extraordinary efforts to bring us all freedom.”
Asgore took a breath, clearly wanting to say something more. Ceroba, however, did not afford him that chance.
“There's no need for appreciation… It was the least I could do.”
Ceroba gripped the soul container just a little bit tighter.
“The human… died by my hand, so… I bear the responsibility of delivering them here, that's all.”
Asgore’s eyes widened, and for a brief second it almost looked as though something like recognition flashed through his expression. “I see… Thank you. Truly.” Something within his tone delivered a real sense of authenticity.
This time it was Ceroba's turn to be caught off guard, though she forced it down even more quickly than Asgore had. Ceroba simply nodded in response, leaving the air to be filled by yet another round of awkward silence. Once again, Asgore was the one to break it.
“One soul away… Truly, this is a momentous occasion.” For a brief moment, the King simply stared at Clover’s SOUL, emotions that neither of the three could understand playing across his face. Once the moment had passed, Asgore shook his head, again focusing on his three subjects instead.
“On to the next order of business then. For helping to bring monsterkind this far, you three will all be rewarded, as thanks for your invaluable service.”
“Sir, that’s-”
“Well dang Mr. King, I mean-”
“...”
Asgore chuckled at their protests.
“Please, you three, there is no need to worry. This is not the first time that something like this has happened.”
“Now then…” Asgore gestured towards Martlet, causing the bluebird to tense up in apprehension.
“Martlet, as thanks for your service and initiative, I would like to grant you a position within the Royal Guard's New Home Division.”
“The New Home Division…?”
“Indeed! As those who guard monsterkind’s beating heart, they are also the beating heart of the Royal Guard, so to speak. Many of our most experienced guards are counted among their number… You could consider it a promotion, if you'd like.”
“I…see.”
Upon hearing those words, Martlet felt all the bravado she had built at the throne room's entrance began to fall away. The entire world seemed screwed up and wrong, and it made her feel ill. She had screwed up again and again today, and ultimately, she had failed what might’ve been the most important promise she’d ever made. Yet here she was, being offered a promotion for it all. It was all just so-!
Martlet's misgivings were interrupted by the King speaking up again. He had turned to face the others now.
“As for Starlo and Ceroba…”
“You’ll have to forgive me for not remembering what the exact bounty for a human soul is nowadays, but rest assured that it will be enough to last a lifetime.”
Asgore let out an awkward chuckle. “Assuming that you don’t spend it too frivolously, of course.”
“Naturally, I will also grant you both entry into the Royal Guard, should you desire-”
“No.”
Ceroba began marching towards Asgore with obvious anger in her steps. The king was clearly left somewhat uncomfortable as she came closer, and closer, and closer. Despite this, he did not move a muscle, instead simply observing Ceroba's approach.
“So that was a no to joining the guard then? That’s truly a shame. Having already fought a human I’m sure that there would be plenty you could teach the oth-”
“STOP!” Ceroba roared.
The onset of regret was near immediate, and Ceroba went from bristling to painfully sheepish in the blink of an eye.
“I-I’m sorry. I just…”
She took a deep breath, then held out the soul container, to the point where it was almost directly touching the king.
“I don’t want to join the guard, and I won’t accept any reward. So please, just take them…and keep them somewhere safe. I wish for nothing else.”
Asgore’s arms slowly slipped forth from beneath his cloak, and his hands gingerly found purchase around the soul container. He looked down at the heaving monster in front of him with concern.
Still clinging to the container right beneath where Asgore had taken hold, Ceroba's own hands were trembling . For a moment, it seemed as though she might never let go. Yet her fingers eventually slipped from their hesitant grip, and her arms fell limply to her sides.
For a long time, Ceroba simply stared at the Soul, its light still reflecting the myriad strains of emotions dancing through her eyes. Then, all at once, she turned and strode out the throne room. Not a word was said by Ceroba as she left, nor by the three monsters watching her leave. The silence was more awkward than ever before.
Moments later, Starlo moved to follow her, but he didn’t get far before…
“Please wait, you two.”
Starlo and Martlet wheeled around to face the king once again, both visibly looking less than happy at the fact.
“I know you two would like to follow after your friend, but I have a few more questions I need to ask, if you don’t mind.”
Unfortunately for Asgore, Ceroba wasn’t the only one who had boiled over at the mention of a reward.
Martlet was done. She had pretended to be stoic for long enough, and she just couldn’t ignore the fact that she felt sick to her stomach any longer. New Home's citizens celebrating had one thing, but being offered actual tangible benefits? Being served what would essentially act as a reminder of her failures for years to come? That was far too much for the exhausted avian.
“I’m sorry King Asgore, but I’m going to have to agree with my… friend.” Martlet stated bluntly.
This time, Asgore did not react with surprise. Instead, he just cast a melancholy glance towards the flowers lining the floor, and let Martlet continue.
And continue Martlet did, her every successive word carrying that little bit more edge than the last.
“To be honest, I don’t want the promotion, nor do I deserve it, the fact that you're even offering me one is ridiculous. Only one person in this room deserves praise. Only one person in this room is a real hero. But that person is dead. And you’re holding what’s left of them!”
Martlet bit her tongue. Her outburst had felt good, she had to admit, but she wasn’t helping anything by shouting. She had known it wouldn't help all along. In fact, she was even a little worried, now. She had never heard a bad word said about the King, but he had declared war on all of humanity. Now that she knew humans likely weren’t exactly how she had thought they were, wasn’t it possible that the King of monsters could be harsher than she had realised?
Either way, Martlet decided to cut her storm of rebuttals short. At that point, she wanted nothing more than to just escape back to Snowdin anyway.
“Look. The point is, I think I’ve learned that I’m not cut out for the guard today. I’m going to think about whether I want to even keep being one, before I consider any ‘promotion’.”
Clack, clack, clack, Martlet's footfalls echoed through the castle as she also marched out the room. Now, only two monsters were left standing among the golden flowers.
“I presume you’ll be following them?”
“Well, I’d like to, but uh-” Starlo nervously fidgeted with his hat. “If that thing you wanted to ask was super important, then… I suppose I should stick around.”
Asgore smiled warmly, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I wished to ask some things regarding the human, truthfully.”
“...Alright. I’m listening.”
“Wonderful! First of all, I wanted to know their name… assuming you knew it, that is.”
“Clover. Their name was Clover.”
Asgore nodded thoughtfully. “I see… And did you spend enough time with them to understand them well?”
Starlo was taken a bit off guard by that question. Truthfully, he hadn’t spent that much time with the kid. Not to mention that Clover hadn’t really said a lot. Starlo couldn’t really say that he knew Clover well at all, could he?
He wasn’t sure he liked that particular realisation.
‘I Suppose there is one thing I know for certain about Clover though.’ Starlo figured he might as well be honest. Whether Asgore wanted to believe him or not was the King’s own problem. Not entirely knowing why, Starlo removed his hat, and began to speak as clearly as he could.
“Clover was… really kind. Even when people attacked them, or messed up, they didn’t hold it against anyone. In fact, Clover even went out of their way to help us out with our own problems, several times.”
Asgore’s earlier smile was gone now, replaced with a painfully reticent expression.
“I see…so the ‘hero’ Martlet was referring to was indeed…”
Asgore brought the soul container a little bit higher.
“Your other friend, Ceroba. She said she was the one to kill the human, did she…”
Asgore shuffled uncomfortably for a brief moment.
“Do you think she felt the same way as you do? About Clover, I mean."
Starlo slowly spun his hat in his hands. “I’ve come to realise that I maybe don’t understand her as well as I thought", Starlo admitted. "But… she did say she respected Clover a whole lot, at least.”
“I see…yet it wasn’t enough to stop their clash, I presume?”
Starlo sighed in frustration. He wasn't sure he liked the picture this was painting.
"No. I guess it wasn’t.”
“And that fight, that was the end of Clover, then?”
“No it’s not- I mean, it was, in a way. But there’s more to it.”
“Oh? Please, go on.” Asgore, who had been glancing back and forth between Starlo and the glowing Soul in his hands during all this, returned his undivided attention towards Starlo.
Starlo took a deep breath, and gathered himself. “The truth is, while Ceroba did technically kill Clover, she never actually won that fight. Instead, she only did it afterwards because Clover asked her to. She…took their SOUL peacefully, I guess."
“In other words, Clover chose to give up their life.So we could all be free.”
For the duration of this encounter thus far, Asgore had remained completely unmoving; but that changed as Starlo brought the ultimate truth of the matter to light. Asgore’s expression fell, and he turned, leaving Starlo to face a wall of cloak and flowing hair.
“Thank you for this Starlo, I believe that is all I-”
Asgore’s head sank a little lower. “No, there is actually one more thing. Do you know where the human’s body- er, where Clover died?”
“It was on a rooftop or tower of sorts. There was a pink tree growin’ on it… Don’t know how many of those are around.”
“Only one, fortunately.” Starlo swore he could see Asgore shake his head for a moment, though it was hard to tell from his view.
“Thank you again for all your help, Starlo.” Asgore gestured towards the portal from which the sheriff had entered, originally. “You must be worried about your two friends. Please, do not let me keep you.”
Starlo slipped his hat back on, tipping it slightly towards the King.
“It’s no problem at all Mr. Asgore. It was nice meeting you n’all.”
He began to make his way out the throne room, but stopped at the door and turned his head one last time.
“For the record…I don’t really want a bounty or anything, either. Just in case you were wondering.”
With that, the cowboy was gone.
Asgore waited until he could no longer hear the sharp ringing of Starlo’s boots hitting stone, then made his way out the throne room’s other exit. As he walked, he raised Clover’s SOUL to be level with his eyes.
“Clover…perhaps you don’t wish to hear this from me, but I’d like to thank you for what you’ve done for us. It is quite apparent that those you met down here care for you a lot.”
“Perhaps this is silly to say, but… it truly makes me wonder, did you care for them as well?”
As if responding, the floating yellow SOUL seemed to glow just a little bit brighter at that.
Asgore gave a bittersweet smile. “Indeed, it’s almost certain, isn’t it? Considering all you’ve done.”
“I imagine your friends would probably not want my help, yet I still wonder if I couldn’t look out for them in some way. I’m sure you would prefer for them to live happily, yes? If I could guarantee that in some way…it would be the least I could do to repay you.”
Asgore was at the barrier now, and he regarded it wearily for a few long moments.
He had already given the thing plenty of his disdain over the years though, and wasn’t really interested in affording it much more. Pulling at a silent thread of magic, he commanded 7 containers to rise from beneath the ground. Slowly, they came into view, each a painful reminder of his grim mission. Gazing upon them, he tilted his head, coming to a sudden realisation. He held out his arms and inspected the container that he was currently carrying.
‘Miss Ceroba was a civilian, was she not? …I wonder where she obtained this from. The SOUL looks rather stable regardless, so perhaps I should move it to one of my own containers, for safety’s sake.’
Asgore set the container holding Clover’s SOUL before one of his own, and carefully regarded the transition process. It blinked in between the spaces a few times, before finally fully manifesting in its intended destination.
Satisfied that nothing had gone wrong, he knelt before Clover’s SOUL and bowed his head.
“Rest well, Clover.”
With that, the containers all sunk back beneath the ground. Leaving the twisted ambiance of the barrier to once again resume its storied reign.
Ceroba leaned against the cold stone, head buried in her hands. She was tucked around the side of the elevator leading to the throne room, hiding from any potential remnants of the crowd that had gathered earlier.
During the trip down, the regrets born from her escape from the throne room had had plenty of time to grow. And now that she could do nothing but wait for the other two, they were growing plenty more. Ceroba had determined that, while she couldn’t gather the nerves to go back and 'un-abandon' Starlo and Martlet, she could at least stay put and avoid causing them any more headache.
…She really was oh-so good at making everything worse, wasn’t she.
‘I’ll apologise to them both. For just leaving them up there.’
Deciding on that made Ceroba feel a little better at least, though she probably needed to do the actual thing to make any real dent in that particular strain of guilt. Of course, she had a mountain of other things to feel infinitely guilty about, but those had temporarily been pushed to the back of her mind. For now, Ceroba was at least trying to focus on one thing at a time.
Opting for that strategy did mean idly sitting around while vainly hoping she would actually get to apologise soon, though. She had absolutely no idea how long the other two would be, and that fact was of course entirely her fault.
Ceroba's claw tips dug a little deeper into her scalp as she replayed the awkwardness of her exit from the throne room once again.
…She really did hope that they wouldn’t be too long.
As if answering her prayers, a faint metallic whir suddenly descended upon Ceroba's ears. Ceroba turned her head and allowed her ears to directly face the elevator shaft. To her relief, she had not just been imagining things. The whirring noise was still there, and it was steadily growing louder.
Ceroba slunk towards the corner of the wall and poked her head around the corner, just in time for the familiar rattling of elevator doors to ring out. Stepping out the elevator, and nervously glancing around the street came…
“Martlet!” Ceroba hissed.
The poor bird monster’s soul nearly sprang from its body. Martlet whipped around and glanced back at Ceroba with wild eyes, giving a sigh of relief when she saw who it was calling her name. She ducked around the side of the elevator shaft to join Ceroba in hiding, giving Ceroba a tired smile as she did so. Ceroba could tell that Martlet was trying her hardest to appear friendly, but there was still a hint of wariness present in her stance. Not that Ceroba blamed her.
Ceroba tried her best to collect her thoughts. Despite all her longing to set things right, now that the moment had actually arrived, Ceroba realised that she had no idea of what exactly she wanted to say.
Still, she had to try. If all she could conjure were the bare essentials, then so be it.
“Sorry for sneaking up on you like that Martlet. I just… I really wanted to apologise for something.”
Martlet tilted her head
“Oh… Is this about you knocking me out earlier? Because I think it’d probably be better if we just leave that in the past.”
Ceroba's stomach lurched. ‘Oh angel… I didn't properly apologise for that either, did I?’ She grit her fans. ‘First thing’s first either way.’
“No… I actually wanted to apologise for just running out the throne room earlier. I just abandoned you two up there and… Well. I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble.”
Martlet's eyes widened, before nervously darting off to the side.
“Oh… There’s um, no need to apologise for that. I completely understand why you did, because…”
Despite already looking exhausted, the bluebird somehow deflated a little bit more.
“The truth is… I stormed out, like, minutes after you did.”
Ceroba's eyes widened.
“I see…Well, hopefully Asgore primarily blames me for the whole affair.”
“I-” Martlet rubbed her face with her wings and groaned. “I don’t wanna think about that. In fact, now that Clover’s been…put to rest, I'm think I'm just going to head home. If you're gonna wait for Starlo then let him know too, please.”
“Of course, that’s perfectly understandable. Pl-”
Ceroba froze. ‘I was about to tell her to look after herself. That would sound absolutely ridiculous coming from me, surely.’
“...I wish you a safe journey home.”
Martlet gave a half hearted nod. “Thanks. I’ll uh, talk to you later.”
With that, Martlet stepped back onto the New Home’s streets and trudged her way back towards the elevator leading to the UG apartments. She looked unbelievably dejected, but Ceroba was too distracted to really read into the fact. Something about what the bird had said was bothering her, but what?
‘Clover’s been put to rest’
It was those words, but why…?
The body!
Ceroba had been so focused on the Soul that she had failed to even consider that there was a part of Clover that hadn’t been laid to rest yet.
Angel, she was so awful.
Come to think of it, she didn't even know how humans preferred to be remembered. Either way though, they had just left Clover on the tower! What if some confused monster thought Clover was still alive and…
Ceroba glanced nervously at the elevator doors. Starlo was still up there…It would be beyond rude for her not to wait for him. And yet, Ceroba's newly conjured worries clawed at her relentlessly.
She let out a frustrated sigh. ‘The rooftop is close by anyway…’
Ceroba dashed out onto the shadowed streets. Panic fuelling her every step.
She sprinted down the pavement. Slowing down only when she reached the bridge to the tower, so as to not fall off. She reached the tower itself in record time, and…
Clover was still there.
Ceroba let the tension fall from her shoulders. Looking upon Clover’s limp body like this didn’t make her feel any better, but at least she could find solace in the fact that they had seemingly been left undisturbed.
Since she'd last been there, Clover had slumped themselves against the tower’s parapets, their head now hung low. It seemed that, after marching through large swathes of the underground, Clover had finally settled in to take their very last break from the journey. A small collection of pink blossoms had already nestled themselves in Clover's hair and lap, suggesting that the child had indeed been in this position for a while now.
Petals drifted through the air around her as she continued to examine the aftermath of today. New Home’s stale winds blew past her, causing dots of pink to dance around her, flitting in and out of sight.
It felt like they were taunting her, the petals. She could almost hear them whispering: “Well, isn’t this familiar?”
She had learned their significance a long, long time ago, after all. And this scene of Clover’s empty shell resting among the drifting petals…the meaning was not lost to Ceroba.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, so many precious lives had fallen along with the blossoms. And they all had landed squarely at her feet.
Life was so fleeting. And yet, here she still stood.
Another gust blew through New Home, leaving Ceroba shivering as the chill pierced straight through her fur.
What was missing made it all the more biting, she supposed.
As she had been carrying it, Clover’s SOUL had practically radiated warmth in Ceroba's hands. Almost as if the child it had once belonged to were trying to reach out to her from beyond the grave. As if they were trying to gently reassure her still, even after all that had happened. She just couldn’t understand. When she had been the one slumped and defeated on that side of the tower, just why had they…
Ceroba pulled herself from the memory, only to find that she had inadvertently wrapped her own arms around her torso, perhaps subconsciously trying desperately to hold on to a fragment of that gentle warmth.
'But no. You don’t deserve that. And you certainly didn’t deserve the real thing either.'
'Not a single moment of it.'
Ceroba tore her arms away and left herself open, letting the chill cut into her as another stale gust whipped through New Home. This wasn't the time for her to be feeling sorry for herself. What mattered right now was figuring out what to do with Clover's body.
From what she remembered from Starlo's movies, humans preferred to be buried underground…should she really be trusting such a source? Ceroba sighed and shook her head in frustration. She felt completely drained in a way that made it difficult to even form thoughts.
That didn't matter, though. She had to do something. She could rest after she had just…figured out a temporary solution, at the very least.
"Ceroba?"
Ceroba spun around in the direction of the person calling her name. But in her haste, one of her legs moved faster than the other, causing her to nearly trip over herself.
A pair of gloved hands caught her as she stumbled. Ceroba glanced up to find Starlo intently watching her with concern.
"Careful there… You alright?"
Ceroba huffed. "Thank you. I'm fine, Starlo." She righted herself and smoothed a newly formed crease in her clothing.
Starlo studied her for a few moments, before frowning slightly.
"To be honest…you don't seem that fine."
"Hah. Do I really look that bad?"
"No that's- I mean, just considering everythin' that's happened today and all-"
Ceroba's lips curled upwards.
"I'm just teasing you Starlo, don't worry."
"O-oh. Heh, right."
Starlo's anxious-sounding response gave Ceroba pause. Why was she actually teasing Starlo? He had just been genuinely concerned for her, and it didn't seem as though her response had really put him at ease at all.
She studied Starlo's expression, much as he had done to her only moments ago. Her friend was trying to wear his usual confident expression, but something was definitely off. Perhaps his smile wasn't curling up as far as usual, or perhaps it was something in his eyes. Ceroba wasn't sure, exactly.
"Starlo, you don't seem so fine yourself, you know."
Starlo hurriedly glanced away at that. He continued to avoid Ceroba's attention for a few long moments, but eventually relented.
"I mean… I guess I'm not entirely fine." He shook his head and turned back to Ceroba. His false bravado hadn't entirely vanished, to her disappointment.
"Well, if we both aren't feeling great, I reckon we oughta' head back in turn in. Right?"
Ceroba shook her head. "You can head back if you want, but I can't. I have to figure out what to do with Clover."
"What to do with Clo-?" Starlo glanced at the opposite end of the tower.
"Oh. Right."
Starlo thought for a moment, glancing absentmindedly around New Home as he did so.
"Well… I think they usually get buried under the ground, and they have these wood boxes. What were they called again…?"
"Star, are you absolutely certain that those films-"
"…Starlo?"
Starlo wasn't listening. Instead, he was staring back towards the main street. Ceroba followed the Sheriff's gaze, until she also spotted him.
King Asgore was steadily making his way down the street in the direction of the tower. The King was moving at a leisurely pace, seemingly looking about and examining his realm, though it was difficult to say for sure given the distance. Before he had even made it very far, three owl monsters rushed from their apartment building and scurried out to greet the king. Asgore turned to the group and began exchanging words. The King's march could quite easily be stopped, it seemed.
Ceroba took the opportunity to tear her gaze away from the approaching king and turned back towards Starlo, who himself was staring back at Clover's lifeless body.
"Star…what's going on?"
"Well… I just remembered that the King asked me to tell him where exactly Clover died. You don't think he's…"
Ceroba glanced back at Asgore, who was now waving goodbye to the trio of monsters he had been speaking with.
"It's certainly possible. He would know about human customs, I imagine."
Starlo set his jaw. "I'm gonna go ask him. You just sit tight here for a moment."
Ceroba made to protest, but cut herself off. While she didn't want to let Starlo handle everything, she also really didn't feel like facing the unbearable awkwardness that speaking with the King again would present.
Ceroba nodded meekly. "Alright…thank you."
She watched as Starlo puffed out his chest and began marching his way down the bridge. Normally, the sight would have likely made her chuckle, but not today. Today was anything but normal. Instead, Ceroba simply glumly watched her friend for a few moments. By the time Starlo had reached the other side of the bridge, Ceroba had already returned to her world of swirling petals and regrets. She once again carefully studied every detail of Clover's resting place. Not stopping even as her vision devolved into chaotic pools of pink, gray, and brown.
By the time Starlo had come back and pulled Ceroba from her stupor, her eyes were burning, though she still tried to give Starlo her full attention as he explained the King's plans regardless. Everything he spoke about seemed fine, so Ceroba reluctantly gave her approval. The pair therefore only exchanged a few more words as they began the trek back home.
"Oh yeah, where's Martlet, by the way?"
"She already went home. She told me to let you know, actually."
"Huh. Fair enough… We should probably check on her in a couple days."
"…Indeed. That would probably be for the best."
Martlet heaved herself up from her bed and flipped over to lie on her other side. She knew fully well that there probably wasn't any point to doing so, seeing as her previous 10 shifts in position hadn't really helped her at all, but she just couldn't help it. No matter how she ended up, there was always something bothering her. Several times there had been an awkward bend in one of her wings that she just couldn't ignore, next she had felt as though she couldn't quite get her neck at the right angle, and then after that one of her legs had felt as though it were weighing too heavily on the other. No matter what she did, there was just something wrong that she couldn't possibly ignore.
Martlet groaned and grasped around her nightstand, eventually finding the button that turned on her bedside lamp. She pulled her pocket watch from the stand and held it above her head.
'…3 hours.' She had been trying to fall asleep for over 3 hours, and yet she didn't feel any closer to rest than when she'd first laid down. Martlet glared intently at the pocket watch's hands, as if they were somehow at fault for her current predicament.
Normally when Martlet was having trouble sleeping, she'd fantasise about puzzle making, or new pieces of furniture she could cobble together for her house.
But she knew fully well that tonight was different.
Tonight, her mind offered her no streaks of ingenuity and imagination. Tonight there were no playful currents of thought for her to escape to. Instead, her mind was screaming. And the howls were filled with just one word.
why.
why.
WHY.
So many things had happened today, and Martlet was desperately struggling to find reason in any of them. Even her own actions now made practically no sense to her. Why had she brought Clover to New Home? What had even made her decide to escort Clover to Asgore in the first place?
It was just too much to think about. Her mind jumped from topic to topic, memory to memory, and the pit in her stomach lurched each and every time.
Martlet just couldn't understand any of it.
She didn't understand…
A tear rolled down Martlet's cheek, then another, and another. She wiped at her eyes, but her wings could only do so much against the downpour.
Martlet sniffled.
She shivered.
She sobbed.
Her throat felt raw, her eyes felt strained. She wasn't sure how long she had been crying for.
'I definitely won't be able to sleep now.' Martlet mused dryly.
Mere minutes later, Martlet drifted into dreamless sleep.
Ceroba sighed internally as she listened intently to Starlo's uneven breathing. He really was too sweet.
Despite the awkward silence of the walk home, he had been by her side the whole time. When it came time to break the news of Clover's sacrifice to Starlo's friends (and Blackjack), he had made sure to do most of the talking —though they hadn't explained much, admittedly, instead promising to give details later. When Ceroba had refused to invade the Five's usual hangout this evening, out of worry that the others might find her presence uncomfortable, he had insisted that he keep her company at the Ketsukane Estate.
And so here the two of them were. Lying in the kitchen upon a makeshift pile of tatami mats, sleeping bags, and blankets. To top it all off, Starlo was clearly trying to keep an eye on her, waiting for her to find merciful sleep before he did so himself. The glances he shot at her through "closed" eyes and the way his breathing stopped whenever she moved made that fact clear enough.
Just why did he still care so damn much about her?
It wasn't that Ceroba didn't appreciate the gesture but… Well, she certainly didn't deserve a friend this good. Not to mention that Starlo was undoubtedly about a complete wreck as well. The last thing she wanted was for him to sacrifice sleep for her sake.
She was usually able to tell which of her nights would be sleepless ones, at this point, and tonight would undoubtedly be one of those. She was used to functioning without sleep, anyway, so it was fine...though Starlo definitely wasn't going to accept such logic.
Either way, she wasn't about to let Starlo keep this up. He would just be forcing himself to stay awake so that he could wait for something that would not happen.
'…I guess, here's a chance for me to be the one reaching out for once.'
Ceroba pushed herself up with her elbows and faced her friend. "I know you're awake, Star. There's really no need for this."
Starlo visibly startled, and his response came only half a minute later.
"…No need for what?"
"Don't be silly. I can tell that you're waiting for me to fall asleep."
"You can???"
"Yes. I can. And…look, I really appreciate that you're going this far for me. But surely, you must be just as exhausted as I am. So please, just go to sleep. I'm sure it won't be long before I manage, myself. "
Ceroba channelled all of her resolve and concern into a nondescript magic bullet and flicked it at Starlo, bouncing it off her best friend's forehead.
That was enough for Starlo to realise that he wasn't going to win any arguments with her, and so he simply sighed instead.
"Alright. If you're really sure then… Good night Ceroba."
"Good night to you too Starlo…and thank you."
"Hey, what are friends for." Starlo muttered as he shut his eyes tight, clearly trying to indicate that he would indeed do as Ceroba asked.
Ceroba lay back on her side and exhaled, as her sardonic thoughts reared their ugly head almost immediately; 'What are friends for…? Clearly, I wouldn't know.'
Ceroba stared at the wall, taking in the familiar painful stillness of the estate.
…Maybe falling asleep was going to be more difficult than she had assumed.
After many minutes of thinking and lying, she was eventually treated to the onset of Starlo's soft snores. She didn't really mind them, though. She had long gotten used to sleeping with the noise made by not just Starlo, but the rest of the Feisty Five as well, and they had never really been the main reason she had trouble sleeping. Even in those earlier days when she hadn't been used to the noises, they had never been louder than her own thoughts.
And now…while she wouldn't ever admit it, it was nice having something to listen to. Something that was different from the house's usual creaks, which themselves seemed somehow more distant than usual.
The Ketsukane Estate's ghosts preferred to roam on quiet nights, it seemed.