A Complicated Business

[The Vision]

"The right kind," Vision replied. He already began scanning the bread, a bright-red light from his Solar Gem creeping along the loaf. As his CPU ran cross-checks between the sugar coating and other known substances, a man approached Frisk from behind.

> match([selected:object], itemtag: narcotics)
Scanning...

"Oh, hi there, young lady!" the man was veritably shouting, "You seem lost! Are these men with you?"

Frisk took a step back. "Uh, yes, sir."

"Great!" The man flashed a painfully toothy grin. "Here, why don't you have some candy!"

He stuck out a lollipop from his pocket. It was bright-pink, and was coated in sugar. Frisk nervously shook her head.
Match verified.
Narcotics detected.

"Come on!" the man pleaded, smile growing wider, "I won't take no for an answer! Take it."

Frisk grabbed the lollipop with the tips of her fingers. She smiled nervously. The man gazed at her expectantly.

"Well?" the man said. Tears were welling in his eyes. "Try it. It'll make you feel gooooood."

Frisk glanced nervously at Hellboy and Vision. Hellboy shook his head violently, but Vision was busy scanning. Sighing, Frisk tentatively stuck out her tongue. The lollipop slowly moved towards her open mouth. It was just candy, right?

Match indicates substance damages human capacity to feel pain or other negative emotions.c

"Wait!" the android cried, snatching the lollipop from Frisk's hands.

He looked around. The townspeople were all staring at him with the exact same smile.

> run "smile.att"

Vision simulated the exact smile that they had and turned to Frisk.

"You..." Vision grinned, “forgot to take your sugar pills this morning. That explains your attitude!”

The man was still staring at him curiously.

“...darling.”

The man stared adamantly at the trio. The Vision turned to the other two and nodded. Hellboy was the first to react. He flashed a toothy grin, giving a nervous chuckle while he was at it. Frisk soon followed suit. The strange man, noticing the change in demeanor, started laughing in relief.

“Oh, I see!” he cackled, “Well, you should go take care of that. Don’t want kids to miss out on their daily Sugarcane!”

Vision laughed in response. “Quite right, quite right. I will go take care of that right now!”

The android placed a gentle hand on Frisk’s head, patting her.

“Let’s go, darling.”

Vision abruptly walked away. Hellboy and Frisk stopped smiling and followed him.

“Keep smiling,” Vision whispered.

They were walking through the town. It seemed everyone was under the influence of this narcotic. Every citizen they passed, no matter age or gender, were staring blankly ahead with an unsettling smile. Vision’s facial recognition programs were confused – his mechanical ones read them as friendly faces, but his organic programs – perhaps, instincts? - noted a sinister and undesirable nature to every smile.

Without breaking his smile or his stride, the android quickly turned right, ducking in an alleyway. Hellboy almost walked right past, but Frisk tugged on his jacket. Frisk panted. Vision forgot that she was physically smaller, and had to walk much quicker to match the Vision’s footsteps. She didn’t seem to mind.

“What. Was that.”

Vision lifted the two loaves of bread and the lollipop.

“The sugar coating is composed of a narcotic chemical,” Vision reported, “Riscus Herbas, according to the Dataverse. Illegal in most major cities. It damages the user’s ability to feel negative emotions, and alters reward pathways in the brain.”

“A happy drug,” Hellboy groaned.

Vision nodded. “I suspect this is why Mr. Wright and Captain Rogers were here. Presumably, their mission was to halt the distribution of the drugs.”

“So we bust up drug dealers,” the demon whispered, “and avoid the sugar.”

“I don’t think so,” Frisk muttered, “if the whole town is high on it, that implies government involvement. Why else would the other two get imprisoned if they were trying to stop the drug trade?”

The android nodded. “In which case, we are dealing with a police state that intentionally drugs its populace, presumably to keep them quelled. But why?”

Hellboy chuckled. “You really are a robot, huh? Look at this place. Who wants to live in fog like this?”

Frisk sniffed. “Yeah, it’s got a sickly sweet smell, too.”

“Query: the air smells sweet?”

Hellboy frowned. “Wait, you can’t smell?”

“No.”

“Well, it smells sweet.”

Frisk and Vision glanced fearfully at each other. Hellboy raised his eyebrows.

“Ohhhh. I see. That’s just great.”

Vision glanced around him. “Recommended: breathe in small quantities and through a filter.”

Frisk had already tucked her chin under her shirt. Hellboy covered his mouth with his coat. Vision created an in-built filter over his mouth, turning his mouth into a gas mask of sorts.

“Let’s go save our friends,” Frisk mumbled under her shirt.