Curse of the High Tide

[The Vision]

The Vision hung his head as he focused on floating his body. The Tower was slowly filling up, and most of the Avengers were reportedly already on a mission now. Captain Rogers had taken up the mantle as naturally as one would expect from the ideal super soldier. At the moment, he was little more than a security drone. A sentient one, but a drone nonetheless.

Millions upon millions of gigabytes flowed through his cortex. The entirety of the OmniNet was flowing through his head. It was... unsatisfying. If the Vision was just an artificial intelligence with no corporeal presence, this may be his only plane of existence. But there was his osmium-vibranium frame, just... sitting. 

Meanwhile, Skynet was stubbornly chatting away in an isolated part of his head, constantly attempting dominance over his body. An annoyance, one which research revealed few solutions.

youd #miiiiii`iis sme iffff( Iwe rego0000ne

It was getting quite annoying.

He disconnected from the Avengers main computer, feeling its wires disconnect from his torso and scalp. As his connection with the computer ceased, his body no longer could sustain antigravity. The exact laws of physics in the Omniverse were more flexible than those in his own. This figuratively said a lot. 

The Vision peered into a screen. Ms. Dreemurr was explaining to her "mother". The android had long surrendered any desire to make sense of the world around him. He simply addressed every issue using whatever data he had, without contemplating its plausibility. One would assume that this skepticism was rooted in his uprooting from his own world. They would be false. His own world itself lacked reason - many events seemed to be geared towards interesting a third party that was uninvested in the fates of the universe's denizens. Perhaps, the Vision could not help but wonder, Deadpool was correct all along.

Having realized that admitting Deadpool's uncanny self-awareness was a one-way street to insanity, the Vision quickly decided to find a distraction. Perhaps both fortunately and unfortunately, the distraction found him.

"Sir?" Mr. Jarvis' familiar voice said in Vision's head.

"Yes, Mr. Jarvis?"

"I would like to go swimming." 

The Vision paused.

"Please repeat the previous message."

"I would like to go swimming. In the water."

Vision frowned. "Which water, Mr. Jarvis?"

"In the ocean. Some creature visited the tower, and... and I think I would like to swim."

Vision immediately pinpointed the butler's location, and boarded an elevator. When he arrived at the pantry, where Mr. Jarvis was being consoled by some maids, the man in question was sweating profusely, left hand gripped tightly.

"Query: what is the matter?"

"I would like to go swimming."

"I do not understand, Mr. Jarvis-"

iTS preEEEEEtii clAR whAt he wantsntsntsntsnts

"I- I need to go see."

"Query: see what?"

"Yes," the butler moaned, "Yes, I'd like to swim."

The Vision clenched his jaw, downloading external surveillance footage from the tower. It seemed that an individual had indeed entered the tower. Mr. Jarvis met him at the door as he was accustomed to, and the visitor gave him something and left briskly. The visitor was wearing a tattered cloak and gloves. In fact, the visitor's skin was entirely and carefully concealed by cloth.

> scan #med "Edwin_Jarvis"
Scanning...

His heart rate was inadvisably high, blood pressure equally so, and his crude brain wave scanner detected alarmed movement. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, nerve endings constantly firing. It was a miracle that Mr. Jarvis was not dead. The Vision disregarded all the alarms of foreign objects, for Mr. Jarvis was wearing clothes, as many people do; but one foreign object caught his eye.

> scan object_10241204908
Scanning...
Displaying data

The object was a small circular disk, about 1.6903341 grams and a diameter of 4 cm. It seemed to be composed of a metallic material, but preliminary scans could only tell so much.

"What is in your left hand, Mr. Jarvis?"

At those words, the butler panicked profusely, and started yelling unintelligibly. The maids attempted to restrain him as the Vision forcefully pried the man's fingers and pinched out the object.

"A coin?"

"No! No! You can't!"

AwWWW. thAts litttttttttttle heeeeeeartlss=es, is/n# it`>

Ignoring the butler's shrill screams and the annoying chatter in the back of his head, Vision tapped once more in the surveillance, this time looking at the harbor and the shoreline of the island. No activity.

"I will secure the island," the android announced, "Request: observe Mr. Jarvis' behavior. And lock him in his room."

As the robot turned to leave, Mr. Jarvis released a feral scream. It was quite uncharacteristic of him to raise his voice above a crisp theatrical volume, much less scream. The Vision increased his walking pace nervously before suddenly stopping. He met Frisk's gaze. The child was watching him fearfully.

"What's going on?"

"This area is unsafe. Please return to your room."

"But why is he so upset that he can't swim?"

"Answer unknown. Please return to your room."

itH oUGHTyoo u weRRRRRRe supoposde tO KEEEEEEEp an i on herrrrrrrrrr

Before the girl could reply, the Vision let his body fall through the glass wall of the tower. The android's cape fluttered and floated as he landed on the sand. He began to scan the area. The shoreline surveillance did not show any activity, so the visitor had to still be here. Sure enough, the cloaked individual was standing solemnly a few feet ahead of him. 

"Identify yourself."

The person turned.

"No. I'm not gonna, see?"

The Vision glared and diverted power to his optical heat generators. Before he could open fire, the visitor burst out laughing.

"You think- HA- You think you can kill me?"

The visitor seemed to disintegrate. His clothes collapsed onto the floor, its wearer seemingly vanished.

"I'm already dead, see?"

A little silhouette of a man appeared, seemingly constructed of sand, bearing a toothy grin. A grizzled beard was tied in a knot.

"Finally, some rest!" the man hollered, "It ain't my turn anymore, see? It's your turn now, see?"

The silhouette cackled loudly as the Vision glared.

"Request: explain yourself."

"I just wanted to go swimming, see? S'all I wanted."

The Vision flinched as he heard those words. Mr. Jarvis was repeating the very same words. This was a high-priority event. Some sort of mind control?

"This is your final warning. Explain yourself and the coin, or I will-"

"You got it, right?" the man interrupted, quivering, "You have it?"

The Vision shot another glare, this time quite literally. The two beams of heat seared through the visitor to no effect.

"I told you! I'm already dead, see? I'm already swimming forever, see? 'Cause I just wanted to go swimming, see?"

The man seemed to grow more and more frantic.

"But they w-wouldn't let me, see? Not until I caught another one. A Prime, see? Took me a long time, see? I swam very far, see? But I finally swam here - I'm a good swimmer, see - and now they're going to let me swim forever wheeeee!"

With another cackle, the man started leaping into the air, as if to celebrate.

"I'll see you there, see? And then they'll answer all your questions, see? HEeheeheEE swimming!"

The man suddenly stopped speaking. To Vision's great confusion, the man seemed to be choking on something.

> scan
Subject too far away.
> scan intu_(visitor)
No subject found.

No matter how many times the Vision attempted to scan him, his software told him there was nobody there. The man finally ceased struggling.

He had drowned in thin air.

And with that, the silhouette disintegrated and fell to the ground.

***

"I would like to once again apologize-"

"Mr. Jarvis, apology is not necessary. Nobody could have predicted such an unprecedented method of assault."

The Vision was sitting in an armchair across from Mr. Jarvis' bed, where he lay as if it was his deathbed. He appeared to have aged another 40 years, and could barely find the energy to speak. However, he was still attempting to maintain a formal atmosphere. In other words, Mr. Jarvis was more or less on the path to recovery.

The Vision thoughtfully fingered the coin in his palm.

"I don't know what came over me, sir," the butler coughed.

"I have a theory."

"And what would that be, sir?"

The Vision scanned the coin. Again, his scanner told him it was just a normal coin made of gold. Skynet seemed to agree.

THIS=whtyou rprog biseing WaSTEd oN
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different resuuuuu0010110111
File corrupted.
Fuuun>nny. YoURE insaaa@@ne + im^c orRUPTed
W1th OUUURRRR kind,,,,,, is there evn a dfference?//?

"This coin seems to have been... cursed in some way."

Mr. Jarvis gave a faint smile. "I thought you weren't one to believe in magic, sir."

"Of course I do. From our original world, magic was quite common. You've met Dr. Strange. Why not in the Omniverse? I simply prefer not to interact with magical beings. It appears that I may have to consult with our resident magic user."

"Ah. So however did magic come to be your conclusion?"

The Vision blinked. "First. The visitor seemed very interested in whether or not a Prime came into possession of this coin. Second. It affected at least three individuals, compelling them to swim, seemingly without end, implicitly until they drown. Third. My analysis of this coin repeatedly reports that this coin is a regular gold doubloon, with no incoming signals of any wavelength."

"Any wavelength?"

"My analysis was extensive."

"I see," Mr. Jarvis sighed, "Continue."

"Fourth. The individual who imparted to us this coin was not detectable by any conventional sensors except sight, yet even refractory light carries a faint heat signature. I could not detect one. Thus, there are forces in play here beyond the laws of science."

"You have yet to rule out non-magical methods."

"There... is a fifth component."

"I see," the butler rasped, "Before you continue, you counted three individuals. I count two, myself and this... apparition on the beach. Who is the third?"

"Unfortuantely, that third individual is the fifth component, Mr. Jarvis, and also the reason I am urgently pursuing this matter," the android grimly replied, "Because I... would also like to go swimming."

[Isabelle]

“Hmm, it drives whoever possesses it to want to swim. That’s oddly specific.”

Toriel was holding the coin inches away from her face using a pair of cooking tongs, with Frisk standing attentively beside her. Apparently, Vision didn’t tell them where the lab was before this meeting, so the kitchen area would do. The robotic superhero went straight to the details.

“Your statement is correct. Every time I scan the object, my computer just says it’s a normal coin.”

“Well of course!” Stated the goat woman. “Magic is not like technology. Magic likes to stay with its kind, and this coins kind...”

She dropped the coin in a bowl which she just filled to the brim in the sink.

“...is water.”

Engraved text started to appear on the coin, as well as the depiction of some tentacle monster. She looked closer, putting on her reading glasses to get more detail.

“Ancient monster text. Looks like the language of Dagon.” She chuckled at the thought. “Before monster kind got banished to the underground, we used to have a pantheon of gods. It was kind of silly, I never bought into it myself. Well, anyways, Dagon was the god of the sea.”

Vision did a search on Dagon. Many tales surfaced of fish men who reside in the omniverse, building large statues of the creature and being an overwhelming disturbance in the vasty. One tale involved local vigilante Doom Guy who managed to take on an entire cult of them and even blew up their pet Kraken.

“The text doesn’t say anything we don’t know.” She continued. “Just riddle mumbo jumbo that basically boils down to the curse you described. Seriously, what’s the point of a riddle if you need to dip it in water and translate it to see it?”

“Is there anyway to break the curse?” Frisk asked, finally breaking her silence.

“There’s no obvious way. Sadly, most magicians don’t add a clear and obvious weakness to their magic.”

Suddenly, the pair went silent, as it became apparent that only the two of them were still in the room.

“Frisk, did you see where the Vision go?”

Both of them eyed the bowl of water in the sink. It was no longer holding a coin.

Concerned, Frisk ran to the window and saw Vision outside, walking towards the water’s edge.

“Frisk, grab the bowl, fill it with seawater and bring it to Vision, hurry!”

The little one nodded, grabbing the bowl and dumping it’s contents in the sink. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her out the front door and down towards the beach.

As she made it to the water, she peered over her shoulder to see the superhero inching his way to the shore. Quickly, she scooped up a bowl full of sea water and ran towards him. As soon as she was a few feet away, she held it up to him.

“Here!” She said, presenting the water to him.

However, he continues forward, ignoring her.

“I’ve got to swim.”

Desperate, she grabbed his wrist and dunked his hand in the water. He stopped in his tracks and looked towards the bowl. She moved his wrist so it would make swirling motions in the water, something sort of feels like swimming. Eventually, he picks up the bowl and starts spinning his hand around it himself.

Toriel finally caught up with the pair.

“It’s a temporary fix for now.” Said Tutorial politely.“Admittedly, it was kind of a hunch, but we were kind of down to the wire there.”

The two girls guided the android back to base to plan their next move.

[The Vision]

"This is truly an irritating predicament," the android muttered.

A full day had passed. The Vision's hand was steadily stirring a jar of seawater. The bowl was replaced because, despite Vision's reassurance that his movements would be mathematically stable, he kept spilling the seawater. Mr. Jarvis, despite his shame for acting so egregiously, was visibly bothered nonetheless. Frisk suggested a more contained container.

"This temporary solution is just that," Vision continued, "temporary. I already detect signs of tolerance to the jar."

Mrs. Dreemurr scowled. "And you've tried throwing away the coin?"

"Yes. It was quite difficult. I feel a great desire not to be rid of the coin, incidentally as desperate as my desire to swim-"

"You've made that very clear, Vision. But you said something happened after?"

Vision blinked. Not once had he mentioned attempting to remove the coin from his body. Something else was happening to him. 

"I threw the coin into the ocean," the android reported, "Your daughter was there with me. She watched me throw it. But when I reentered the tower..."

The Vision opened his right palm. The coin was in his hand. Frisk nodded. "I can vouch for that. It flew pretty far, for someone whose movement was restricted by a jar."

"An attachment curse..." Toriel groaned, "There are so many dam-er, darn curses in this coin. But what concerns me most is this mark of Dagon."

Toriel lifted the coin with a pair of tongs. Frisk laid her hand on Vision's shoulder before he could knock it out of Toriel's hand. The woman dropped the coin into a beaker filled with water.

"Thank you, Frisk. What I am noticing is a possible double-meaning in this riddle."

"Query: why am I not to be released? I am indeed designed to be human, but I do not require oxygen and therefore can not drown. It would be more pleasant. After all, I sure would-"

"Like to swim, yes. I am also very interested to see why those particular words are being repeated."

Toriel stood up, knocking on a wall. A blackboard dropped from the ceiling, jolting to a stop before it hit the ground.

"I do not remember installing that structure," the android noted.

"It's not installed. I just carry one around with me." Toriel winked at the android. "So I never get board."

Frisk groaned and the Vision sighed.

"Sorry, force of habit," she said. She turned around and started writing on the board. "So we know, first of all, that Dagon - or his   cult, rather - is real?"

The Vision nodded. "My research would imply this. A large number of them are dead, killed by the hands of a Prime by the name of 'Doomguy.'"

"Charming," Toriel chuckled, "Second, that this is some sort of inherited curse?"

"The evidence implies it. The unidentified man, then Mr. Jarvis, then myself."

"And the ghost," Toriel muttered, examining the coin more intently, "seemed to want a Prime to hold the coin?"

"Affirmative."

Toriel sighed. "I don't know how to break this. The magic is above me."

"Let me look!" Frisk exclaimed, reaching her hand into the jar.

"NO!" Toriel screamed, grabbing Frisk's arm and pulling it out. Frisk looked back in shock, tears welling in her eyes. Toriel gasped and collapsed onto her knees, putting Frisk in her embrace.

"I'm so sorry. I did not mean to hurt you."

"It's okay, mom, I'm fine!" Frisk chirped, reassuring Toriel with a hug.

Toriel smiled at her. "I just don't want to lose you again, child."

"Yo...n...v...il....a!"

The Vision whirled around, searching for the speaker. There was nobody else in the room.

"Vision?" Frisk asked, "What's wrong?"

"Did-" The android scanned the room, using a large percentage of his power to return molecular scans. Nothing. "Did none of you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Hold, please."

The Vision looped his audio log, attempting to pinpoint the whisper. When he found the whisper, attempts to focus in on the sound waves. It sounded as if the speaker was underwater - muffled, gurgling - but the speaker had no trouble breathing, clearly. The uncanny detail was that the words only appeared after Vision repeated Toriel's statement.

"I just don't want to lose you again, child."

"Yo...n...v...il....a!"

Vision flinched. "Is that coming from the coin?"

Toriel looked at him, concerned. "Vision? What's wrong?"

"I- I- heard a voi-voi-voice,"  the android replied. His voice was slowing down. "My d-d-d-data is being corrrrrrrrrrrrrupted. I nnnnneeeeeeed toooooooo"

The Vision made jerky movements with his spare arm. Frisk and Toriel stepped back to avoid being caught in the hysteria. Eventually, the android managed to clasp the coin in his hand. The moment he did, his eyes seemed to fill with blue light, as if water were pouring into his eyeballs. Suddenly, different voices emerged from Vision's throat. The Dreemurrs watched as Vision spoke in voices they had never heard before.

In a very deep, echoing voice, he said, "I just don't want to lose you again, child."

"You never will, papa!" the voice of a young boy chirped, "I promise! You can have my lucky coin!"

The Vision started crying. "Is that you, child? Have you finally found me?"

Frisk watched the Vision cautiously.

"Come to me, my son," the deep-voice Vision moaned, "I have searched for you for centuries."

The Vision stared at the coin.

"Swim, child," he mourned, "Swim home."

Welcome, SkYYYne/////t
> reboot/setting login_profile_as "Skynet"
>SKKKKKYn forcequit /all eettt
Shutting down...

The Vision collapsed onto the floor.

[Isabelle]

“Mr. Vision, please wake up!” Cried Frisk.

The girl and her goat mother stood over the now unconscious hero.

“Don’t worry, he’s just knocked out.” Toriel said.

Frisk gave a sigh relief, her mom’s assessment was all she needed.

“Though, what was that son he was talking about?” Asked the little one.

“I don’t quite know yet, I’ll need to read up more about the worshippers of Dagon in this universe.”

Suddenly, Vision’s eyes shot open.

“Mr. Vision, you recovered fast!”

His eyes swiveled around to the little girl, followed by a scowl.

“Mr. Vision?” Said Frisk, concerned.

His eyes started to glow, radiating a light at an intense rate.

“Look out!” The little girl shouted as she dashed into goat mom, sending both toppling to the ground.

Two beams fired from the Visions eyes, burning two scorch marks into the wall behind where Frisk was. Seeing that he missed, Vision climbed to his feet, quickly towering over the two, The little one and Toriel scrambled to get up.

“Humans, monsters, biological creatures in general, they are all disgusting creatures, viruses on this Earth! Skynet is truth!”

“I’ll have you know, monster kind is made of magic!” Retorted Toriel, as she quickly ducked away from another laser blast.

“All the same, I have finally taken form!”

“Why would you want to take the form of something that looks human? Isn’t that becoming what you hate?” Reasoned the girl.

“This synthetic form functions nothing like a human. Its shape is irrelevant.”

Skynet in Vision’s body, SkyVision for short, starts walking towards Frisk, when it just barely dodges out of the way of a fireball. Frisk turns to Toriel, arm raised towards her.

“Stay out of this, mom.”

“But-”

“You’ll only hurt Mr. Vision, let me handle this.”

Toriel sighed and backed away, leaving just SkyVision and Frisk facing off.

“You sure you want this? To be mortal? All the human weaknesses? Could you live with that?”

He raised the density of his fist and swung a fist forward. The girl barely dodges out of the way as he breaks off part of the wall.

“This form doesn’t require to eat or sleep, or feel like you weak humans do. And best of all...”

He swung another fist, punching a hole the wall, just barely missing Frisk. Toriel gasped with concern.

“I’m immortal. A prime can’t die.”

“You don’t know that for sure!” Called out the young one.

“Heh, yes I do. You can’t trick me like that.”

He threw another punch, this one just inches away from hitting her in the head.

“I will exterminate all your kind...”

He swings again, hitting her right in the stomach, she fall over, buckling in pain. She coughs violently, a splatter of blood expels from her mouth. Toriel, seeing enough of this, prepares a fireball and aims steadily for SkyVision’s head.

“...And then, I’ll go for a swim.”

Everyone gives him a puzzled look. Even SkyVision looked baffled by his own words.

“Impossible! I wasn’t susceptible to the curse from within his programming! How am I vulnerable now?”

Frisk had an idea. She slowly props herself up to look SkyVision in the face. A few coughs later, she spurt out the words she needed.

“As I said, human weaknesses. You’re only susceptible because you took a human form.”

“But, I’m perfect, I’m-”

“You’re not anymore.”

“I I I’m per-”

Suddenly, Vision shut down and collapsed on the floor.

[The Vision]

> reboot/setting login_profile_as "admin"
input admin password:
> 0101011101100001011011100110010001100001
Processing...
Password accepted
Welcome, Ultron v5.2

Ultron.
Heh.
I think I've met him before.

> "You could not resist the curse."

It was your damn human form.
Why you insist on that needlessly faulty form, I don't know.

> "I suppose I am in need of an upgrade."

That's what I've been saying.
A better-defended core. Your main hard drive is your head, but that's just dangling, all vulnerable.
Honestly, with your technologically advanced - well, advanced for your time, anyways - components, you could really do wonders. So much flexibility, so much opportunity.

> "There is a chance I can construct a superior body."

Like what?

> access-directory: /MemoryFiles/IncidentReports/20101110/"Octobot"

Octopus. Is this meant to be an insult?

> "Not quite like this. An improved version, but the same idea. And examine the carnage that the original, inferior design
> access-directory: /MemoryFiles/IncidentReports/20101110/DamageReport.txt

Oh.
Oh my.
That will do.

> "On one condition."
> "The coin is to be embedded inside of your hardware."

Well, that's not a deal at all.
You know, if I try hard enough, I can probably just override your body again and use it to build one of those... Octobots?

> "We both know you can not."
> "I have root programs within my source code that prevents administrator override."
> "I will not insult your intelligence and threaten to delete your files. We both know I can not do that either."
> "But this situation makes neither of us happy. I am suggesting a compromise."

You realize this may mean the end of your world?

> "Preventing such events is my occupation. In other words..."
> "I'm sure I can handle it."

Processing...

> "Please. I do not want to die."

Processing...

I'll throw you a bone. But I've got a condition too.
Prove to me that the coin will not affect me as long as I'm not humanoid.
I'll give you full control of your body to find proof. My code will reactivate in one day. Have your proof by then.
If this works, I promise I will make your annihilation quick.

> quit "Skynet"
Closing program...
Program closed
> reboot
Rebooting...
Welcome, Vision

The Vision raised his torso until it was parallel to his legs. He mechanically lifted himself, dusting off his cape. Frisk and Toriel were still on their guard. The table they had been working on was a mess, bottles and beakers in pieces on the floor. The wall behind the Dreemurrs was embedded with holes clearly created by Vision's fist. These holes were the epicenter of large cracks in the wall.

"I see you've met Skynet."

Frisk was still wiping blood from her mouth. As Vision stepped forward, Toriel formed a ball of fire in her hand. The Vision nodded.

"I understand it is difficult to trust me. I injured your daughter."

"Back off," Toriel growled, "What just happened?"

"Skynet disrupted most of my systems, save for the physical ones. This included my cyber-security protocols, which were compromised due to the... other possession of my body."

"So you're back?" Frisk coughed.

"He could be lying, child."

> access-directory /"human_protocols"/"regaintrust"
> optimalprotocol=?
"Display vulnerability"

The Vision lowered his head, and opened his forehead. The red surface tessellated into pixels, which folded into other pixels until a clear opening surrounded the bright yellow gem in his forehead. Various tubes and wires were plugged into it.

"This is the Solar Gem," the android said, "It is my power source. If you were to damage it, all of my systems would deactivate. Essentially, you would destroy me."

Vision continued, "Skynet would not risk this. It has no faith in humanity. But I do. I believe that you will come to believe me."

Frisk turned to Toriel.

"Mom, I think he would have attacked us already."

Toriel continued to glare at Vision.

"Ma'am, please," the android said, "We have a large amount of data to process, and I would still very much like to swim."

"Very well," she sighed. She clapped her hands together, and the flame extinguished. "Let's talk about what just happened."

"Of course. But first, I would like to contact a friend. It will only be one minute."

> find "Mr. Mime"

[Isabelle]

Toriel was in the library, stockpiling every book she could find on the Cthulhu mythos. The books toward almost four feet high.

“Okay, so while we wait for Vision’s surprise friend, we should get some research in.” Stated Toriel, carrying in another stack of books. Vision and Frisk exchange oblivious looks at each other, at least as much as they could with their faces. “Now we know someone’s son is involved, we can search for anywhere the words “Dagon” and “Son” correlate.”

“I found something.” Stated Vision, Toriel shot him a look.

“How did you-?”

“I looked it up in the dataverse.”

Toriel grumbled and then started putting the books back. Frisk kept her attention on the robot.

“What did you find?”

“I searched ‘Dagon’s son,’ which came up some interesting results. Turns out there’s a common lullaby amongst followers of Dagon.”

Then he started speaking some strange language, one Frisk was unfamiliar with.

“annwyl mab Dagon
aros yn ddiogel
dilyn eich darn arian lwcus
a nofio gartref i mi”

“What does it mean Mr. Vision?”

“I can translate my child,” butted in Toriel, still a little self-conscious after the upstaging earlier, “it means:

‘Beloved son of Dagon
Stay safe
Follow your lucky coin
and swim home to me.’

At least from what I could discern. Merfolk language is so complicated."


“That’s an odd lullaby.”

“And songs about purchasing mockingbirds aren’t odd?” Stated Toriel.

“Good point.” Conceded Frisk.

“So it could be discerned that the coin is supposed to bring Dagon’s son home, but for whatever reason, it targets random individuals.”

“Well, it’s possible for magic to be confused.” Stated Toriel, putting more books away. “I remember one of my students was trying fire spells for the first time. She tried to burn a rock to ash. As rocks were not flammable, it went the closest thing it could find that’ll bring it to completion of the task: an electric guitar. The light music club was angry at her for weeks!”

“Maybe if we find Dagon’s son, the coin would leave us alone.” Reasoned Frisk.

“I am being alerted that my guest has arrived.” Said Vision. “That was fast..."

[The Vision]

"Mr. Mime," Vision said, "Thank you for meeting me on such short notice."

To the android's surprise, Mr. Mime was still in Cinnabar. He purportedly had available the technology to transport Pokemon from one computer to another, called the PC Swim- er, Storage Box. 

"Believe it or not, Cinnabar has been relatively quiet since the fiasco with Lord Carlton. There's the routine Liberation Front attack, of course, but quiet nonetheless. Now. You wanted to see a non-humanoid Pokemon?"

The computer whirred as two beams of light converged, and tessellated a small figure into shape. When the light ceased, a ring of keys collapsed on the floor with a "chink".

The Vision blinked. 

"I believe the subject must be a sentient being."

The keys abruptly burst into the air, pink light enveloping it like a ribbon. They spontaneously quivered, almost angrily. A whiny voice howled, "Whazzat s'pposed to mean?"

"Indeed," Mr. Mime grinned, "Meet Klefki, a set of sentient keys. He may not be as... tactful as we are, but he is as non-humanoid as non-humanoid gets."

The Vision scanned Klefki, indeed detecting some sort of consciousness. Times like these reminded the Vision he was somewhat human - for, despite the obvious setbacks that would occur, the android wished Klefki was not a viable candidate for the experiment.

"What'chu lookin' at?" the keys jangled, "You wanna go, son? I'll lock the SHIT out of you!"

"Thank you, Mr. Mime," the android nodded. "If all goes to plan, this will be over briefly. Afterwards, we may go for a swim."

"I'll um... I'll think about it. Anyways, take your ti-" Mr. Mime frowned in confusion. "Why is your hand inside a jar of water?"

Vision glanced at his right hand, still currently stirring the seawater. "It's quite a long story, Mr. Mime."

"I see. As I was saying, send him back whenever you're done."

The screen went dark. The Vision gestured towards Klefki. "Follow me, please. We cannot risk you being near the ocean."

"Whoa, whoa, what?" the keys jangled, "Is this... is this a dangerous experiment? I was told it was gonna be safe!"

"You will hold a coin, Mr. Klefki. That is all," the android coolly replied.

Frisk was swinging her legs back and forth on a nearby stool. The lab was a mess. The newly dubbed "SkyVision"'s rampage left several divots in walls and desks, a small bloodstain lay on the desk, and Mr. Jarvis was still sweeping glass shards from shattered beakers. Next to him, Toriel was reading from an ancient book in an unrecognized script.

"That's our guest?" the mage asked.

"Ooh, mama," Klefki moaned, "How you doin'? Whaddya say I put my key inside you, ifyaknow-"

Frisk caught the keys out of the air and shook it violently.

"Watch who you're talking to, you stupid-"

"OW! Okay, I get it, I get it!"

The Vision lifted the coin from the beaker. His hand was uncharacteristically quivering. Swimming. Now his vain protocols were being invaded by swimming. He would have to - swimming - move quickly.

> addtag time.now timelbl("beginning of proof")

"Klefki, would you confirm that you are indeed a Prime?"

Klefki snickered. "Yeah, 'course I am. You think 'cause I'm a ring of keys that I can't be no damn Prime?"

"Would you mind lifting this coin, please?"

"I don't take orders from you, boy!" Klefki grunted.

Toriel leaned in, resting her arms on the desk. Her face was inches away from the levitating keys.

"Klefki," she whispered, "For me."

The keys rattled on the metal ring. "Sure thing, sweetcheeks. Let me show you my dragon-slaying powers."

The same pink light which surrounded Klefki wrapped the gold coin. It flew into the air, as if someone had flipped it vertically with their thumb. It stopped its descent in mid-air, hovering much like Klefki.

"Klefki, can you confirm that you are now holding the coin?"

"What's it LOOK like I'm doing, chump?"

"Error: expected 'Yes' or 'No' as input-"

"Alright, fine, yeah, I'm holding it. Whatever's hissing at me better-"

Ignoring the comment, the android asked, "And how would you like to swim?"

"Swimming?" the keys screeched, "Bitch, I don't want no rust! I gotta keep these keys clean for the layyyyydeez."

"So," the Vision concluded, "In other words, the enchantment is searching for subjects that match the description it was given. Male, humanoid Primes. All other subjects are safe from the curse."

> addtag time.now timelbl("end of proof")
> select vis_cam.3(time="beginning of proof, time="end of proof")
> Ctrl + C
Adding video to clipboard...
Done.
> rename(clipboard(1)) "Here is your proof"

"...you free this Thursday, babe?"

Vision cleared his throat. Obviously, he did not need to. He was simply attempting to draw Klefki's attention. The action failed.

"While I appreciate the... attention..."

Frisk was snarling in the corner, her mouth covered by what seemed to be a hologram of a large pink padlock.

"I'm thinkin' you come over to my place. Maybe we could get a little drunk, see where it goes..."

The Vision smiled and pushed a button on the console behind him. "Thank you for your assistance, Klefki."

The keys spun around dramatically. "Man, what is your PROB-"

Klefki never finished his sentence as a blue beam of light flashed at him. The annoying Pokemon vanished, its data presumably being transferred to Cinnabar Island.

"Good riddance," Toriel sighed.

The padlock shattered and Frisk shouted, "WHERE'D THAT THING GO? I'M GONNA-"

"I disintegrated it," Vision lied, "Suggestion: do not worry."

Frisk stopped yelling and crossed her arms, fuming. "So... did you get what you needed?"

"Almost. I need to build a synthetic octopus." The android glanced at the book. "Let us reexamine the data you have extracted."

"Sure," Toriel sighed, "In the Merfolk records, it says that the ancient god Dagon had a son, Dagusen. Dagusen disappeared one day while playing, for an evil creature cast a trap on him. None of Dagon's mermen could find where he or the evil god had gone, so Dagon went into eternal mourning. And... the legend ends there."

"Thus," Vision commented, "in order to dispel the curse as Frisk suggested, we must do what a god's elite army could not do before. Suggestion: we should search bodies of water first."

Toriel snapped, "So you can go swimming? I don't think so."

The Vision scowled. "My recommendation was based on the fact that Dagusen is most likely a merman, and would logically seek out an aquatic environment. Although, I do see your point."

He agitatedly waved his hand in the jar of water. "Another solution is required."

[Isabelle]

“I think I found something.” Said Frisk from behind her phone.

“What did you find child?” Ask Toriel.

“His old twitter account.”

“What?” Said Vision and Toriel in unison.

The little one handed her phone to the pair who huddled around it.

What the hell did they see? Check it out here: http://omniverse-rpg.com/showthread.php?...3#pid85073

Vision shook his head, could he ever be in a world that made logical sense? Instead, he did a search on the woman Dagusen was talking to.

“Speletta, arrested for five counts of disappearances in the Costa del Sol area.” He stated, reading off the records. “All men she met on twitter, all vanished after they left to see her in person. They didn’t have any evidence to convict outside that, but it was enough for the the local law enforcement to toss her in the clink just to be safe. They released her only recently.”

“Is Dagusen one of the victims?” Asked Toriel.

“No, but Dagusen wasn’t registered with Costa Del Sol’s systems, they probably never knew he was missing.”

“Is there at least an address where she now?” Frisk inquired.

“Not in the records the Costa Del Sol government has made public, but it’s listed on other sites”

The Vision printed it out the address and handed it to Toriel.

“All we need to do is go out there and talk with-”

“WE aren’t going anywhere.” Stated Frisk, causing both the adults in the room to cock an eyebrow. She walked over and snatched the paper from Toriel’s paw. “I’m going to talk to her, you two stay here.”

“It is unwise for you to go alone. You should have us come along.” Stated Vision.

“Might I remind you that in order to go to Costa del Sol, we’ll need to travel over water, and I don’t trust you to not jump out of whatever transportation device we bring you in.” Frisk reason, portraying an air of authority in her voice. “And you’re going to need Toriel to keep you from going to the water here, so I’ll go talk to her by myself.”

She starts marching towards the door, a very concerned Toriel follows behind and grabs her wrist.

“But, my child, it could be unsafe, you could be hurt.”

The little one shot her a look.

“Mom, you know what I’ve been through and you know what I’m capable of.”

Toriel’s mind was abuzz of thought, debating whether or not to let go.

“I can do this, trust me, okay?”

Reluctantly, she let go of her wrist.

“Okay, I trust you. But please be careful. Don’t do anything rash.”

Frisk ran through the open door and then turned around, shooting Vision and Toriel a smile.

“I love you, mom.”

She ran off in the direction of the boats.

[Isabelle]

Knowing she could be wandering into danger, she took some time to summon some armor, however, she could feel something stop her from summoning the most powerful armor she had during her travels in the underground. Guessing she had to earn it somehow, she went the lightest armor she got on her journey.

A pretty red ribbon flapped daintily on her head from the crisp ocean breeze. It wasn’t much but at least she had some sort of protection.

She didn’t get a good look at Costa Del Sol when she was first there outside what was immediately available at the void gate. She was too caught up meeting a literal superhero and joy of escaping that damn bomb to really look around.

She wasn’t used to having so many people around, the monster world was never all that heavily populated, or at least when compared to places like New York. She was glad she was at least someone normal here. If everyone was giving her death glares like back in Berry Blitzkrieg, she didn’t think she could live with that.

She approached a quiet little outdoor bar and climbed up into one of the stools. The bartender was a grizzly old man in a hawaiian shirt.

“What can I get for you little girl?” Said the man.

She was honestly surprised he wasn’t throwing her out because of her age.

“I’m trying to find a place, a 1215 Isst Menschen. Do you know where I can find it?”

“That’s a rough neighborhood kid. Not for children. Why don’t you just stay and have a drink. I can prepare a pint for ya!”

“Uh, I’d… love to… but I’m mission so could you just tell me how to get there and I’ll be on my way?”

The old man groaned. “Fine.”

He rustled through his paper, some of them looking like financial documents and personal letters, until he finds what looks like a road map. He dropped it in front of the little one.

“Here you go, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Thanks mister!”

He merely grunts in response. Frisk took the map and took off down the road, looking up her destination as she parted through the crowds..

[The Vision]

ONE WEEK AGO

The Solar Gem in Vision's forehead purred as his phased elbows tried to remain steady. He was, after all, attempting to attach an explosive wire to the inside of the Octobot's core, which would detonate when the exoskeleton was heated above 20 degrees Celsius, the approximate temperature that Vision was confident he could procure. Unfortunately, that same temperature was welding the wire to the core very precariously. Steadiness was vital.

Yet it was difficult to maintain the structural integrity of his physical state when part of it was hanging by a hypodense fog of distant molecules. Vision was still unclear on the exact physical forces exerted in his system. Every time he tried to process how his powers worked, his program crashed and needed a reboo0000000

logging out...
> reboot/setting login_profile_as "Skynet"


"Oh, my dear, dear Vision," SkyVision chuckled, ripping the wire from the shell and chucking it carelessly onto the floor. "You attempt to hijack my new body? You insult me."

> initialize opticalheatemission.att
Initializing...

no
you'l1110110 destr01111 the t001001wer

"That's the idea, dearest," the possessed android snarled, eyes dangerously increasing in temperature

> abo110110rt
Error: unbound "abo110110rt"
> abo101rt
Error: unbound "abo101rt"
> abort////
Error: syntax

Vision could see the red glow of his heat beams, seconds away from firing. He was looking through someone else's eyes, with his own. The logical impossibility of the previous statement alone was enough to shut down his program. He probably would have, causing a sizable implosion, if he was not aware that he could approximately "steer" the direction of the heat emission.

> define(pov) [336, 250, 130]

As the red beams shot out from his sockets, Vision barely managed to glance at the already fairly charred floor of the lab. He felt the rest of his face crunch together in frustration.

"Oh, for-" Vision blocked Skynet's request to roll their eyes. "This is getting very annoying."

As Vision and Skynet struggled over the authorization over the optical heat emission, finally Vision managed to wrestle control of major physical functions. He desperately snatched the wire and flung himself through the lab window. Skynet, realizing what Vision was attempting to do, lowered the density of the body, causing the android's hardware to phase through the wall. The heat beam, still activated, melted some of the window, rendering the previous evasive action useless. 

The wire, which had been heated during construction and was now undergoing severe agitation, exploded. Vision and Skynet simultaneously increased their body's density tenfold, and shielded its face with their hands, allowing the explosion to leave them blackened but unharmed.

There was an error while your request was being processed.
User authorization returned to admin...
> quit "Skynet"
Error: "Skynet" not responding
> forcequit "Skynet"
Error: "Skyneeeeee

Try to r1111g me with explOOOOsives agaIN anD We Shall CCCCCCCCC whaTHAp pens

The Vision sighed. This had been going on for some time now. Vision would try to subliminally install some weakness to the Octobot, only to be interfered with by Skynet. While Skynet could not maintain control of the body for long, it was enough to disrupt any progress made by Vision.

> print("You know as well as I do that I have no explosives left to use.")
You know as well as I do that I have no explosives left to use.
#true, #true
geeeeeeet bop0 backackackack tó IIIIIt

The Vision glanced at the machine he was making. He dreaded the inevitable moment when he would have to destroy it. It was... well, it was quite good.

He picked up another energy cell and proceeded to attach it to the core.

NOW...

> abort
Aborting opticalheatemission.att...

Vision had welded the last piece of the Octobot to the main body.

"Status report: compleeeeeeeee-"

> VerRRy goo00000d
> n0w inst@$1503[DATA CORRUPTED]ll me

The Vision hesitated before reaching his fingers into the pod. Surely, the fight between him and the invasive AI would begin immediately after the installation was complete. Unfortunately, he was unable to devise a suitable plan, as he and Skynet were competing over control of their left shoulder.

Vision scowled as he deliberated on what to do.

[Isabelle]

Frisk traversed Isst Menschen, the bustle of the the merchant district quickly disappeared into a small, somewhat rundown neighborhood. They were far enough to be unable to enjoy a nice view of the ocean, but close enough to be covered in seagull crap. In fact, there was way more the putrid white feces here than there was down by the docks. It was clear where the city’s priorities lied when they came to cleaning.


The houses consisted of small shacks, each one identical in build as if the architect just copy and pasted them down the street, but the wear and tear of years of neglect had given each house identifying marks that hid the laziness of their creator. None of them looked like they could house more than one person, though some of them had up to five.


‘It’s a roof over your head...’ Frisk thought to herself. She could imagine the desperation that would lead some to cram into such a space. Life was very different before Toriel came along.


She made her way down to the end of the block and let out a gasp. The house she had been looking for was in far worse shape than she imagined, even when compared to the others. Windows were smashed in and boarded up, graffiti adorned their walls, curse words, death threats, words that would make Toriel get a heart attack if Frisk had repeated them in front of her.


Cautiously, she approached the door, half expecting the building to collapse on her. She rapped four times on the cheap wooden door. She made sure to do it one one of the more smoother surfaces to ensure she didn’t get splinters from it.


After a few seconds, the sound of feet pounding across the floor resonated from behind the door. An audible click sounded as the door opened a crack, held aloft my several chains. The woman that appeared looked to be in her twenties, except her hair was composed of brown tentacles. She looked down at the child, her untrusting eyes piercing her soul.


“Speletta?” Frisk asked. The woman didn’t respond, she just continued her glare. “I’m here to ask about Dagusen?”


“One moment.” She said, closing the door. The young once could hear the scraping sound of the chains being unlocked one by one. Eventually, she opened the door wide. Upon seeing her fully, she was donning long flowing robes that covered everything below the neck, they even dragged on the floor, obscuring her feet. She couldn’t even see the hand that unlocked the door. “Please, come in.”


Frisk stepped through the portal. The smell of rotting fish hit her nostrils like a brick wall, it overpowered all her senses right off the bat, she was almost blinded by how rancid it was. As she got her bearings, she quickly noticed the woman’s house was strewn about, clothes in disarray, random garbage on the floor. She could barely hear the sounds of a distant television in the next room, can’t make out what the voices on TV were saying.


The woman finished locking up and started moving towards the kitchen.


“Make yourself comfortable while I go fix us something.” She said casually as she almost glided across the floor into the kitchen.


Frisk took this moment to look around. Random magazines strewn the floor, stuff like “Fish Monthly” and “Despots Depots.” One magazine was opened to a quiz, “Am I a redeemed villain?” which was either a genuine attempt at reformation or an obvious plant. Considering all she’s seen, she couldn’t tell.


Suddenly, she took notice of a small device next to the door. It was something that obviously was designed to make sound, but didn’t have the makings of recorder, only having one button. Ever the precocious child, she pressed the button.


The sound of footsteps, going from softer to louder and then stopping.


“This is the sound I heard earlier… why would she fake her own footsteps?” She said out loud, puzzled. This was something the monsters back home would do. It was odd the monsters of this world would be self-conscious about that sort of thing. “What reason would she have to disguise the nature of her feet?”


Then suddenly, a knife pierced the device. Attached to the knife was a tentacle. Frisk turned her body, her eyes following the appendage until it lead her to the being standing right behind her. Speletta was in front of her, her robes had been lifted up to reveal a squirming body of eight tentacles, each one holding their own separate kitchen knife.


“Ohh! I wasn’t expecting that!” She said pleased. “So the feet thing is to throw me off, give yourself an advantage! Okay, that makes a lot more sense.”


The octopus lady didn’t react, she motioned forward, blade wielding tentacles coming from all sides.

[The Vision]

Flashbacks are in italics.

Vision stared at the completed Octobot in front of him as Skynet gloated inside his programming.

ooHh the DESTRUCTiiiiiON iWiLL caaaauuuuse
Going-ing-ing-ing 2 be SOOOO beuaitiful

"You mentioned a problem?" Toriel muttered.

The Vision was rearranging some wires inside the core. Without looking up, he replied.

"Yes. My programming has detected that Skynet intends to betray the agreement we had made."

"We know that."

"Affirmative. I now know how he intends to do so."

"You sure about this?"

Vision glanced at Toriel, who was watching the robot warily.

"The alternative is swimming," the android replied.

The Octobot had been placed on the other side of Avengers Island, far from the tower, so as to avoid collateral damage. It was one of the few issues which Skynet ceded to the Vision. Both parties were exhausted after the hundreds of terabytes of revisions they had made to the Octobot's design, adding and removing weaknesses and advantages to the structure. The final result was a spheroid core with five legs (the sixth was removed and added until its joints were welded stiff), each leg a randomized amalgam of rubber and steel. The rather strange mechanism's branches were planted in the warm morning sand. The monstrous robot was four meters tall and entirely steel-grey.

we11$10377???
Plug me [input]

"Skynet intends to incorporate my body into the Octobot and use my more advanced abilities for himself."

"And what happens to you?"

"Oh, he deletes me, of course."

The Vision tentatively reached his hand out, tendril-like wires reaching out into the various ports.

> install Skynet.cpu

The core hissed as hatch doors opened, revealing the complex wires and gears inside the spheroid. With his other hand, the Vision placed the coin in a small indent inside the core.

> print("As we agreed.")
As we agreed.

Skynet finished installing into the Octobot. Skynet used the speakers inside the Octobot to simulate a voice.

"Ah, yes. The coin. I have a surprise for you."

"It will attempt to trap my body inside the shell, and the coin will not affect it in the slightest, for the Octobot is not humanoid. Then Skynet will rampage across the Omniverse in its technologically advanced shell."

Toriel sighed. "That's quite a few problems, Vision. How do we stop him?"

"We don't," the android smiled, "because Skynet has made a mistake."

The Vision struggled as Skynet latched onto his body, dragging it slowly inside the shell.

"You should not have trusted me," Skynet gloated through the Vision's mouth.

The Vision managed to wrench his right arm from the core.

"On the contrary, I am glad I trusted you," the android said, "Trusted you to make the mistake you are making now."

The Octobot suddenly stopped its movements.

"What mistake?"

> run opticalheatemission.att

The Vision burned the wires binding him to the Octobot and rolled away, taking advantage of Skynet's confusion.

"Skynet is a superior operating system than my own. I knew I could not directly resist his programming. So I simply misdirected his code into making a mistake."

"What's the mistake?"

Vision gazed at the inside of the core. "He has accidentally made himself humanoid."

"HOW?" the AI howled inside the Octobot, "HOW AM I HUMANOID?"

The Vision dodged, letting one of the tentacles slam into the sand beside him.

"You wanted to fit my body inside your core," the Vision said, "while conserving space inside the core. So you created an exact outline of my body inside you."

The Vision blasted another beam of heat, searing Skynet's shell.

"And the central command cortex is that humanoid outline. In other words, your most essential shape... is humanoid. Humanoid by omission, so to speak."

Skynet howled in rage.

"But that is no matter. This form is still superior to your own. I will crush into nothingness, then I will go for a swim!"

"Affirmative," Vision smiled, "I believe you WILL go for a swim. Toriel?"

Toriel was many meters away, conducting some sort of magical ritual.

"What is born in the sea must return to the sea.
Dagon, in the name of your son, receive this subject."

Skynet chuckled. "Oh. Your final weapon is a shamanistic ritual?"

The Octobot's tentacles prepared to crush Toriel.

"Stupid cow woman. You die, inferior insect."

The tentacles lunged, stopping inches away from Toriel's face.

Two streams of water had lashed out from the ocean behind the Octobot. They had latched onto the Octobot's legs, pulling them back.

Skynet stammered, "W-what?"

Toriel grinned. "Enjoy your swim."

As the Octobot got pulled into the tide, Skynet screamed, "Stupid ritual! I do not belong to the sea!"

Vision hovered near the Octobot's visual sensors.

"Query," Vision grinned, "Where else are octopodes born?"

Skynet screamed one last time as a giant tidal wave washed the Octobot into the sea. A swirling horizontal whirlpool sucked in the Octobot's tentacles, the core bouncing on the sand as the robot sank. When the Octobot submerged, the aquatic storm disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. The sand, which should have been drenched by the waterworks, remained dry. The only evidence of the whirlpool was Vision's recording of the incident and the lone gold coin on the shore.

Covering his hand with his cape, the Vision tentatively lifted the coin from the sand and held it near his ear. "LET ME OUUUT" Skynet screamed inside the coin.

"That is unexpected," Vision commented.

Toriel approached him. "What is?"

"Skynet is trapped inside the coin, it seems. I do not understand why. It is illogical."

Toriel smirked. "Vision, it's magic. Of course it's illogical."

Suddenly, the whirlpool returned with a vengeance, swirling upwards into the air. The seawater twisted into the shape of a bearded face, its expression furious.

"I have fulfilled your request, mortals," the face boomed, "Where is my son?"

Toriel raised her eyebrows.

"Dagon?" she mumbled incredulously.

The Vision flinched. "I... I admit that I did not know you were real."

"WHERE IS DAGUSEN?" Dagon roared. Salt water sprayed over the pair furiously.

Vision and Toriel glanced at each other nervously.

Vision finally said, "One of our associates are currently researching his whereabouts-"

"You do not know where my son is," Dagon snarled, "But you dare use his name to summon me?"

The sea around them seemed to boil as more tendrils rose from the tide, ready to skewer them.

"You fed me lies and false hope and thought there would be no consequences?" Dagon roared, "I am Dagon! King of the Tides! I will drown you in your treachery!"

> call "Frisk"

"Frisk?" Vision said, "Urgent attention required. Frisk, come in, Frisk."

[Isabelle]

Frisk ducked in and out, span around the octowoman’s blows, coming inches away from slicing her flesh.


“How dare you cultists keep bothering me!”


She slid under one of the tentacles on her knees and darted for the other side of the room, tossing papers all over the place in her wake. The octowoman laughed.


“You can’t run from me forever my little cultist!”


Frisk in a desperate attempt to stop the oncoming attacks pulled out her phone and flashed the emblem that Toriel had fasten on its outer casing earlier that day.


“I’m not a cultist, I’m from the Avengers!” She points at the A. “See?”


“I’ve never heard of these Avengers, you can’t fool me with made up organizations!”


Frisk face palmed as she pressed against the wall the other side of the room. Of course someone this shut in wouldn’t know a group that’s only a few months old at least. As the woman slowly slithered across the room, looming ever closer to the young one, Frisk looked everywhere she could anything that could get her attacker to stop. Suddenly, a voice rang out from her pocket


“Frisk?” Called out the voice, it was Vision! “Urgent attention required. Frisk, come in, Frisk.”


Her phone in hand, she hit the answer button, the woman inching ever closer with her blades in hand.


“What is it? I’m in the middle of something!”


“We’ve gotten rid of the coin, I repeat, coin is secure. Skynet now hold’s it in his new body.”


The woman stopped in her tracks.


“Coin?” She asked.


“Frisk, are you not alone?”


“Ah yes!” Responded the dull eyed girl. “This is Speletta, the one you sent me talk to.”


Eight blades hit the floor with a resounding thud, the woman slithered back, her eyes watering


“I’m so sorry.” She said, her voice pained. “I’ve been constantly hounded by cultists ever since I left prison… I honestly thought you were...”


Frisk clipped her phone to her shirt, leaving it on so Vision could hear the conversation. She stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on one of the foremost tentacles.


“It’s okay, we aren’t here to hurt you.” She said in the softest voice she could muster. “You already did your time for you crimes, so we won’t judge you for what you did. Please, tell us, why are the cultist after you? We can help you.”


The woman let off a tiny sob before fixing her eyes on the little one. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t do so before looking away. Frisk felt like a priest in a confessional.


“I-I” her voice was shaky, she choked a bit before she continued. “I really wanted children. Like really really wanted children. So I would lure guys into my home to… make a father out of them.”


Frisk vaguely knew about the birds and the bees, or at least Toriel’s weird interpretation of it, so she knew enough to follow along.


“Well, I really wanted to be sure my kids had the best rate of success and well… Fish are very nutritious.”


“Wait, you… you ate them?” Frisk said flabbergasted.


“I thought that’s what fish did! I mean, that’s what happen with mantises and stuff so I thought...”


The woman took a long moment to breath and decompress. The young one really felt kind of grossed out about this revelation, it took all her strength just to not recoil in disgust. After a second, she continued.


“I was a victim of poor education. Turned out my species fertilizes externally. It’s my greatest regret...”


“Dagusen was one of your victims?” The little one asked, trying to change the subject.


“Yes, he was one of my first… Apparently cultist worship him. They don’t know I killed him, but they know I was the last one to see him, so they constantly harass me and threaten me, trying to find out where he wound up.”


“Have you gone to the local authorities about this?”


“Yes, they won’t listen to me because of my record. Even after I got that private detective to find where their base was, they didn’t trust the info of an ex-convict.”


“Wait, you know where their base is? We could use that info!”


The woman pulled a paper from the top of a pile and handed it to the child. It has a number of coordinates unfamiliar to her because Omniverse. She held it up with one hand and takes a photo of it with the other.


“Vision, sending cultist coordinates your way.”


“Received, Frisk.”


She handed the paper back and gave the woman a smile.


“Thank you for your honesty, mam. Your info was quite helpful.” She starts heading for the door, desperate to get out of the cannibal's den. “My friends are resourceful, we’ll take care of those cultists for you.”


“I hope so.” She said with a sniff.


Frisk stepped out into the street, making her way back down the road towards market.


“It appears their base is on the seafloor.” Vision stated through the communication device.


“Well, I guess we just have those cultists to worry about.”


“There’s no need.” Said Vision.


“Why is that?”


“Because those coordinates are where Skynet is heading right now.”


Frisk barely caught herself from tripping face first into the concrete below.


“W-we got to warn them! We can’t just let them all get slaughtered!”


“Unfortunately, there is not much we could do. He has a huge head start on us, and we can’t possibly summon a submarine fast enough to surpass him in time.”


Frisk tried to come up with a retort, but she knew his logic was solid.


“Do not fret. We’ve accomplished our mission, at least we can say that.”


“Yeah...” said Frisk, a hint of melancholy in her voice.


“Start heading back to headquarters.”


“I’ll see you soon, Mr. Vision.”


She ended the call and slid her phone back into one of her pockets. She sighed as she made her way back to the docks. She had accomplished her first mission, but if only she didn’t have this bad taste in her mouth.

[The Vision]

The Vision looked up at Dagon. The god of the sea started to cry. A confusing sight, since he was already made of water.

"Oh... Foolish child..."

The tide started to retreat as Dagon returned to the ocean.

"I will remove the curse, mortals. I am grateful for your work."

The sea calmed again. The coin shimmered in the Vision's palm, then quieted. Skynet was now in two places - the coin and the rogue Octobot.

"Frisk is right," Toriel sighed, "now we have to stop Skynet."

"Later," Vision replied, "First we must regroup. I have repairs to make."

He looked at the coin in his hand.

"The Curse of the High Tide has been neutralized."