I sing myself a quiet lullaby

“Kidd!” Teddy specified his ‘friends’ name. Then seemed to think for a moment. “Hmm.. He figured out all the routes! All the deaths, then a reset and retry until he did it all ‘n then it’s back to normal for a small bit..” He mumbled, leaning on Frisk just a bit while they walked. Probably a bit tired.

“He doesn’t know I remember..” He mumbled. “My brother killed me in one,, ‘n I killed my brother in another and hurt my friend! It made me feel really bad..”

     ...Okay, yeah, that definitely meant his friend had reset powers. Just like Frisk. Wow. 

     It was weird to think they weren’t alone in that, but it was also... kinda sad?  They weren’t sad for themself, no--  ( They were long past feeling that way )   But they really pitied the poor kid who had to go through that. The awful control of a power too much for some child to hold, and dealing with mistakes and deaths that always somehow mattered and didn’t matter. And pitied Ted, from hearing what he said next.

     They looked at him for a moment in shock. There was even a small urge to hug the smaller child.  “ ...That really sucks. ‘M sorry to hear that. ”  Frisk grimaced.

Ted nodded, reaching over to gently take hold of Frisk’s hand again, nodding. “I understand…” He mumbled.

“My friend was forced too. But he gets second chances, so I guess it’s not as good for you..” He shrugged. “Why did you have to?”

     Feeling him hold their hand again, it surprised them for a moment. But they were grateful he was being so compassionate. It kind of reminded Frisk of their younger self.

     They raised a brow as Ted mentioned having a friend who was forced too. And had second chances...?  Hm.  “ I dunno. There’s this... person, out there who can kinda just... take control of my soul and make me do whatever they want. They haven’t done that in a while though. Probably abandoned this timeline. ”

Ted paused, slowly letting go of any grip he had on them. “Oh…” He whispered.

He debated a bit, quiet. Eventually, the blonde looked up to Frisk again. “Do you regret it too?” He asked after a little. Probably not the response they were expecting from a child.

     They probably scared him now, didn’t they?  Frisk couldn’t really blame him;  they’d be scared if they were some innocent little kid finding out they’ve been walking around with a serial killer too. Why’d they have to go and mess up meeting the first actual person they’ve seen in, like, forever?

     Frisk felt like they were holding their breath as they awaited Ted’s response. Their gaze hadn’t broke, but the silence felt deafening to them even if they were used to it.

“Your soul is quite powerful, so there are very few wishes that would be beyond your power.  Short of becoming a god, any wish you make would certainly come true.”  Because of Frisk’s determination, combined with the resets building Frisks fate, Frisks potential as a magical child was well above the other candidates.  

“If you are ready, simply picture your wish and I will do the rest.  Bear in mind that your wish is in your control, whatever you imagine will be the wish that is granted.”  Kyubey continued, hoping that this information would ensure that Frisk would agree to the contract.

     To be fair, they were pretty on board with the wish thing as soon as it had been offered to them, seeing as Frisk had pretty much nothing to lose down here. Or at least, that was the way they saw it. 

      ———  “ Okie dokie. That sounds great, gimme a sec then. ”  Frisk said, as their mind drifted to trying to come up with a way to picture the wish they had in mind. 

     ...How were they supposed to imagine a concept?  The kid had no clue how to pull that off, but that was fine. Just as long as another player never got within, like, a hundred foot radius of their soul and never touched their controls again-- Frisk would be fine with anything. They wanted their soul to be free of its chains, and free of the code it was bound by.

“Where’d they all go?” Ted asked, most likely what would be one of his last questions. He’ll realize they’re upsetting the other soon. He looked around curiously for a second, then up at Frisk again.

“Why didn’t you go too?”

     Ugghhh. Ugggghhhhhhh. Wouldn’t this kid shut up?  What was with this interrogation?  This just felt like punishment, but they probably deserved it. Actually getting to speak with some kid of their own species only to relive all the stuff they were trying to forget?  Awful. And fitting.

“But,, I thought monsters were the big scary things that hide under kids’ beds ‘n closets to try to eat them?” Ted mumbled in confusion, looking up at Frisk curiously.

“Are the monsters still here? Are they nice?” He asked curiously, tilting his head.

      ———  “ Well, yeah, that’s what humans say ‘cause they think monsters are some kinda myth. But they’re a real species that used to live on the surface with humans a really really really long time ago. ”  Frisk explained.

“Well.. It’s a bit hard to be friendly with someone who trys to hurt you whenever you see them.. That’s the nicest way I can put it..”

Locket Sighed.

“While sometimes they don’t really have a choice, they haven’t really apologized for the amount of times they’ve hurt me on their own accord so it’s a bit of a hard situation..”

     They gave a dry laugh at the answer,  “ Oh, yeah, makes sense then. I kinda get how that feels. ”  Frisk paused, as if they were unsure they should actually say it, but then they remembered they didn’t really care anymore. Or rather, it didn’t matter anyway. 

      ———  “ Prob’ly from the other side of your situation, though. Y’know. Considering all the... ”  They gestured out to the empty Underground, the copious dust on their clothes and beside where they were sitting. 

“I like the snow!” Ted chirped, seeming to perk up a little. “I’d like that, yes please.” He nodded, following Frisk quickly.

“Umm.. So.. Whats it like down here?” He questioned, deciding to try and learn more about where he was. “I’ve never seen anything like this before..”

      ———  “ M’kay. Great. ”  Frisk nodded, glad that he seemed a little happier now. They led the way towards Snowdin, their feet knowing the path so well by now that they could probably walk there blindfolded. 

     Their train of thought stopped for a moment as they tried to figure out how to answer his question, unsure of just how honest they should be. He was just a kid after all-- a much younger, innocent kid, but didn’t that just mean maybe it was okay for Frisk to trust him? 

“It’s a Monstermon card! I guess you don’t have it… Um- It’s a game! My brother and I play it with the other kids sometimes. I always lose though…” He mumbled that last bit, before shrugging and looking back up at Frisk with a smile.

“Um… Can you take me somewhere,, Less,, Scary?” He hesitantly questioned, just now noticing the surrounding area. He didn’t like how dark it was. “It’s dark here…”

      ———  “ ...Monstermon...?  ”   Frisk just looked at him strangely.  “ Uh, okay, weird. ”

     It was kinda unthinkable the humans would make a game for kids about monsters considering they sealed them underground and all. So Frisk was thinking either this kid was from a post-pacifist timeline, or somewhere else entirely.

     They frowned as they looked around too;  they didn’t think it was that bad, but maybe it was just ‘cause they hung around all of the Underground a lot.

Locket couldn’t help but chuckle and smile at the question.

“It was a nickname from someone I knew as a kid. I have to say they weren’t the best at naming things, but it stuck.. And I have to say it’s more interesting than just going by ‘Chara’ when there are a million other versions of me.. It’s just a shame that I’m not on the best terms with the person who gave me the name..”

      ———  “ Oh, okay... ”  Frisk nodded slowly as they gave it some thought,  “ I guess that makes sense. ”

     The child had to raise a brow at some of the things Locket said, however. A million other versions of them?  What did that even mean?  The name Chara struck as familiar, but only ‘cause that was the name of the first fallen human, wasn’t it?  It wasn’t exactly a common name either. Frisk didn’t really get it, but something else piqued their interest more than that.

“Oh..” Ted nodded, taking the candy. He slowly seemed to be relaxing… As long as he was sent home later, he supposed being down here would be okay. “That’s okay! Father never lets me or Felix have candy… I’m not picky with them…” He shrugged as he happily munched the candy. How trusting he was of Frisk was,,, Concerning. He didn’t even really hesitate to eat what he was given.

“Umm..” He paused, looking back up at Frisk again. “Right- Thank you! Uh- Payment,, Um,, I don’t have any money on me…” He mumbled, digging in one of his pockets. He huffed a bit before pulling out a Monstermon card. He glanced at it, then offered it to the other. “Here! Since I don’t have money- You can have this!” He chirped. He didn’t think of the fact Frisk may not have Monstermon.

     Noticing that he was calming down more, Frisk felt relieved it was actually working. They didn’t think they still had a comforting bone in their body-- but maybe it was just that they never had the chance to show it.  ( For obvious reasons. )  But they did raise a brow at how this kid behaved and talked, a bit of concern and pity peeking through their walls.

      ———  “ Huh?  No, you don’t have to-- ”  Frisk wasn’t expecting anything in return. 

     They only gave him a single piece of candy--??  Why would he need to pay them back for something as small as that?  But before they could say as much, he was holding out... something to them. Frisk looked at it questioningly, but decided to just accept it if the kid really insisted on giving it to them.

Ted tilted his head hesitantly, a quiet whine coming from him. He didn’t know where he was or why he was here, this wasn’t kindergarten— And this clearly wasn’t Kidd or anyone Ted knew. This was weird and scary.

“M- Monster Candy..? What’s,, What’s that..?” He questioned, hugging himself. He hoped that was just a brand name.. Monsters are scary! He couldn’t defend himself! That was his friend’s job because he was a pacifist! Not to mention he was a huge coward and cried at everything.

But,, Candy sounded nice right now.

     Frisk had all the time in the world down here, and yet they still felt way too impatient to deal with this kid. It was probably just that this was new and they were uncomfortable, but who could blame them?  They weren’t expecting a babysitting gig years after killing off basically all of monsterkind.

      ———  “ Exactly what it sounds like. ”  They responded as if it was obvious, pulling a little delightfully wrapped piece of candy out of their pocket. 

“I suppose i’m talking to you because… if you’re like me, which, based on our shared name and appearance, you are… You’re probably not happy with the current results, but also can’t fix it yet. I’m not sure how i got here but… i suppose you can say I get it.” they pulled something else out of their phone- a hand made heart shaped necklace. not the actual locket, but… it was obviously inspired by the locket. they slid it on as they kept talking.

“…i have something going on sort of like this myself. not… this extreme or isolating, but… being trapped without knowing how to fix it, being alone mentally, even if not exactly… physically. and maybe i’m just presuming things. maybe you think yourself remorseless, or that this is what you desire or…” they trail off.

“…but even the worst mistakes don’t make a bad person. and even bad people… can be good with some effort.” the way they said bad people was almost as if… they didn’t believe the concept that much.

     Mal frowned. They didn’t want to admit they weren’t happy. Never in a million years. ‘Cause if they ever did, they’d have to admit that they were living in a lie for years, convincing themself they wanted and deserved it for ultimately no reason. No, they were happy with the way things happened. They didn’t have a choice. It was funny hearing Red thought they could fix it somehow. The most hilarious thing ever. That just wasn’t possible.

     They looked curiously at the necklace, noticing how obviously familiar it looked. And as Red continued to speak... Ugh. This saccharine positivity bullcrap. They raised a brow at their words. Maybe it would have moved them, even a little, more than they’d like to admit-- If it weren’t for the fact that Red sounded like that while they were talking. How was Mal supposed to believe a word they said when it was that clear they didn’t even believe it themself?

Ted frowned at the sight of the knife, immediately tensing up when he noticed it. He was scared and this person was apparently dangerous… He didn’t want to get too close. He just wanted to go home.

As soon as Frisk responded with ‘Hell,’ tears began filling his eyes and he looked a bit panicked, but did his best to relax. Don’t panic. This is just another universe, he’ll be fine.. Right?

He took a deep breath when he was asked how he got there, hesitating for a bit before responding. “Um.. R- Right- I,, I fell..? I think..? I-I’m not entirely sure- This is weird..” He sniffled, rubbing his eyes. Why couldn’t he have brought a friend with him?

     Jeez, they’ve been away from human contact for way too long, judging by the way their little joke flew right over the kid’s head and sent him in tears. Yikes. Maybe Frisk should’ve figured that answering the way they did to a kid that young probably wouldn’t be a good thing. Frankly, they stopped caring about that a long time ago, considering they didn’t need to anymore.

     He wasn’t a monster. So Frisk had no need to harm him.  “ Wha--?  Don’t cry, sheesh!  I was just kidding. ”  They made an attempt at calming him down. Though they weren’t confident it was actually working or not.

      ———  “ You fell?  ”   Frisk asked, brow raised at him.  “ ...So did I. ” 

     Not that they knew what he was capable of, but the answer made sense to them considering the large crevice in Mt. Ebott was how Frisk got doomed to suffer here, and they assumed that was the same way the boy came through.