Chapter Text
The group's fall was abruptly stopped when they all fell hard on a bookshelf, landing in a dazed pile. Thankfully the lights were back on, at least around them.
“O… Ow…” Ralsei groaned.
“Who thought it was a good idea to put a lever like that there anyway?!” Noelle groaned, rubbing her head.
“Ugh, I landed on my wing!” Berdly complained. “And where'd my glasses go?”
“They're right over here by me. Here, I'll…” Frisk picked up Berdly's glasses and started to stand up to give them to him, only to crumble down with a yelp, grabbing at her ankle, which looked like it was already starting to swell.
Susie knelt by her. “Here, lemme…” But before she could send out any healing magic, Ralsei beat her to it, sending out a DualHeal at everyone, bringing them all back up to max HP.
“Everyone feeling better?” he then asked.
“... uh, yeah. Thanks,” Susie said awkwardly, trying to ignore that while her bumps and bruises felt much better, the silent rejection of her healing abilities still stung.
It was like Ralsei had written her off.
Frisk carefully got up, sighing in relief as she moved her ankle experimentally. “It's much better. Thanks, Ralsei.” She turned, presumably to give the glasses to Berdly and looked up at Susie. And of course she was able to read Susie as well as always, or maybe Susie was just getting worse at hiding her feelings, because her expression quickly became concerned. “You okay?” she asked softly.
And now Noelle was looking at her worriedly too, so Susie nodded, giving a smile that hopefully didn't look too forced. “Yeah, I'm good now. You might want to give those glasses to Berdly soon though before he ends up walking himself off the bookshelf.”
“Hey!” said bluebird complained.
Frisk still didn't seem convinced but nodded, taking the glasses over to Berdly, who thanked her. They then looked around, searching for a way out.
“Well, there's no going back the way we came,” Frisk said, looking upwards. “And there's a dead end back there, so it looks like the only way to go is forward.”
So they continued on, but after only a few minutes, a booming voice cut them off in their tracks. “...LAIGHT… WHO DAIRE BRING LAIGHT HEAR…”
Frisk, Susie, and Ralsei all froze in their tracks while Noelle let out a yelp. It was unsurprisingly Berdly who was the first to speak. “W-Who's there?” he asked.
No one answered.
As usual, Frisk tried to be diplomatic. “We're not trying to bother you and we didn't bring the lights. They just kind of turned on when we fell. We're just lost and trying to find our way out.”
Again there was no answer, though Susie swore she heard heavy breathing in the distance.
“Okay, screw it! We're coming through,” she said firmly, sliding down the wooden plank onto the next bookshelf. This guy wanted to be creepy in the dark, so she'd show them scary!
Finally after a minute, the booming voice spoke again. “...GO… BACK… YOU SUDN'T COME HERE…”
“I'm sorry, but we kind of don't have a choice,” Frisk said in her usual gentle tone. “The bookshelf fell, so we can't go back the way we came.”
Once again the douchebag didn't answer, so they continued forward, sliding down a few more planks. A stack of books blocked them from going left, so they were forced to head right, which seemed to be where the voice was coming from.
And it felt like all the while, the lights around them were getting dimmer.
Susie felt Noelle cling to her arm. She didn't shake her off.
And then the voice boomed out again, making them all jump. “... THIS ZOAN… IS FORBIDEN… CONTINUE AND YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF SPOOCKED IN THE DARK.”
“Again, we REALLY don't have a choice,” Frisk said apologetically as they continued. “Like I said, we're super lost.”
"So there's no need to spook anyone in the dark!" Berdly added with a shaky, nervous smile as an equally shaky Ralsei nodded.
Noelle nodded nervously too, still clinging to Susie's arm, only letting go when they had to slide down another plank. The lights darkened even more. “We just need to go through. Then we'll be out of your hair.”
The lights went out.
“... VERY WELL… IF YOU COME CLOASER TO THIS PLACE… THEN YOU MAY FIND… THE DARK…” A pair of giant glowing orange eyes appeared in front of them, causing Berdly to let out a rather girlish scream that Susie was totally going to tease him about later if they survived this. “....HAS COME TO YOU!!!”
…
It felt like the darkness was constricting Frisk as she stared up at the bright orange eyes of the creature menacing them. She quickly checked him.
Jackenstein- An unsightly beast that lives in total darkness.
Apparently the Check system was feeling rather rude today.
“Something doesn't feel right,” Ralsei said worriedly. “It's like this area, or maybe an ability, is suppressing my magic.”
“That…can happen?!” Berdly yelped.
“... GHO HO HO… THERE'S NO ESCAIPE FROM THE [DARK ZONE].” Jackenstein laughed. “UNLESS… YOU LEAVE.”
Suddenly, faintly glowing green walls sprang up around them, forming what looked like a maze and coming to about shoulder height. Some sort of glowing golden crystals lay in a path in front of them, not moving or looking like normal bullets. Frisk swiftly Checked one.
Treasure:
Golden crystals which restore magical energy.
Frisk's eyes lit up. “We need to collect these crystals! They'll help restore your magical energy!” she called out, swiftly scooping up the first one and about to hand it to one of her friends. But before she could, it vanished in her hand with a tingling warmth. She then felt a similar warmth deep within her chest and a soft red glow dimly lit up the area around her.
Berdly reached past Susie and Ralsei and grabbed her arm. “Um, Frisk, since when does your soul glow like a nightlight?”
Frisk jolted and looked down at her chest, a chill running down her spine as she realized the glow was indeed coming from her. “What the…?!” She frantically looked at Ralsei, the only one that she thought might have any answers. “Ralsei, what's happening?!”
“It's okay. It's probably an effect of the magic crystal,” Ralsei reassured her. “You've always had an exceptionally bright and strong soul. So most likely the crystal caused it to shine a little bit more.”
“Well, at least it's helpful,” Susie shrugged. “Don't worry too much about it, Frisk. We'll figure it out. Now let's grab the rest of these, get that key up there and get the hell out of this maze.”
As Susie gathered the crystals, Noelle quickly darted up the north path and grabbed the key. A portion of the gate opened up at the bottom and they all rushed through it.
“GO BACK… YOUR TAKING TOO LONG… YOUR TAKING… TOO LONG…!!!” Jackenstein yelled, briefly sounding almost panicked for some reason. Another maze shot up around them, bigger and more complex than the first, with white bullets aimlessly floating through it. Frisk's soul began glowing once again and Ralsei used LightUp, lighting the area further.
“If this wasn't so freaky, it'd actually be kind of cool. Kind of like real life Pac-Man,” Berdly commented.
“This isn't the time to talk about video games, Nerdly,” Susie groaned.
“It actually kind of is,” Frisk told her, dodging one of the bullets as she hurried to gather the treasure and find a way to get to the key. “If Jackenstein's being inspired by the game, we need to use the game to find a way to beat it. Berdly, you clearly know how to play. What's coming? What do we do?”
“Gather the treasure. That's how you rack up points. And watch out for the ghosts, well, the white bullet things,” Berdly said hurriedly as they weaved through the maze, dodging the “ghosts” and gathering the treasure. “As the levels progress the maze will get more complicated, and the ghosts will get more numerous and faster.”
“I got the key!” Noelle called out.
“Awesome! I see the opening! It's at the bottom right!” Susie called back. “Now let's…”
“YOUR TAKING TOO LONG!!!”
Everyone screamed as a massive, glowing black and red jack o’ lantern with a wickedly grinning face burst into the maze and flew at them. Panicked, Noelle flung her arms out, firing an IceShock. It was nowhere near the power of her usual attack, but it still caused the monstrous pumpkin to shiver and slow down slightly.
“RUN!” Berdly screamed, grabbing Frisk and Noelle's hands as Susie threw a wide eyed Ralsei over her shoulder. They fled as the pumpkin chased them, laughing maniacally. Thankfully its light also let them see where they were going, and they ran out the exit right before it could reach them. Thankfully it disappeared after they left the maze, leaving everyone shaken and gasping, but unhurt.
“WHAT THE HEACK WAS THAT PUMPKIN THAT WAS SCAIRY!!!” Jackenstein gasped before laughing. “JUST KIDDING THAT WAS MINE :)”
“Yeah, we kind of figured that,” Frisk muttered, trying to calm her racing heart.
Another maze appeared around them, and just as Berdly had predicted, it was more complex and the ghost bullets were more numerous and faster, enough that they had to stop short several times to allow them to pass before they could go through an opening. Finally after what felt like endless twists and turns, they found a path where they could reach the key. Though every path felt like a frustrating dead end. Finally they were able to go upwards and find a path to the right side of the maze.
And that, of course, was when the pumpkin appeared again. With its signature cry of “YOUR TAKING TOO LONG!” it flew at them. Berdly managed to get it to slow down with a weak wind gust, enough to allow them to outrun it to the exit.
“OH NO!!!” Jackenstein cried out. “I CAN'T FIND MY PUMKIN…!! BUT MAYBE… IT WILL FIND… YOU.”
Another maze appeared, accompanied by a glowing green tree and they were again forced to run like headless chickens, Susie sniffing out treasure as Ralsei helped Frisk light the way. Susie yelped as she was hit by one of the ghosts, but insisted she was fine and they kept going, gathering all the treasure before finally getting to the key. They made their way towards the exit, glancing nervously for the pumpkin, but it seemingly didn't appear.
“Maybe Jackenstein really did lose it after all,” Noelle said hopefully as they ran towards the open exit.
“YOUR TAKING TOO LONG!!!”
They all screamed and skidded to a stop as the pumpkin loomed menacingly in front of the exit, grinning maniacally as always.
“You were saying?!” Berdly yelped as they turned and fled, both he and Noelle using ice and wind to try to slow it down.
“Look, there's another exit!” Frisk cried out, pointing north where a glowing yellow arrow indicated the way out. They frantically weaved through the maze, trying to reach it.
“We're almost there!” Frisk heard Berdly cry as they darted up the straight path towards the entrance.
And then just as she reached it, she heard a sudden thud. Gasping, she turned to see Berdly fallen on the ground, Noelle trying to help him up.
And the pumpkin was bearing down on them.
Before Susie and Ralsei could react, Frisk, flooded with adrenaline, flew past them, throwing herself between Noelle and Berdly and the wickedly grinning jack o’ lantern. “LEAVE THEM ALONE!!” she screamed, something building up in her chest.
Blinding light emanated from her soul, filling the air, but Frisk barely noticed it, or Noelle and Berdly call out her name, or Jackenstein say something about light as she rushed angrily at her adversary, trying to keep it away from her friends.
“YOUR TOO BRIGHT!!!” the pumpkin screamed, turning bright orange and running away from Frisk, crying for its mom. At first this made Frisk pause, but when she saw it turn black and start to take on its spooky form again, she assumed it was a trap. She growled and charged at it again, and it cried out, turning orange and cute again, literally shrinking away from her as it fled before it finally vanished.
“Y-Yeah, that's right, you'd better run!!” Frisk yelled, shaking her fist at where it vanished as she tried to catch her breath. She then ran back to Berdly and Noelle. “Are you guys okay?” she asked worriedly.
Noelle nodded, looking a bit shaky but smiling. “We're fine, Frisk. Thanks for saving us.”
“That…was…awesome!!!” Berdly cheered. “Your soul lit up the entire room! You had that thing terrified! How'd you do that?”
“I…I don't know,” Frisk admitted. “I…didn't even realize I was doing it. I just wanted to protect you guys.”
“That was Unleash,” Ralsei said suddenly, startling everyone. “It's a spell that casts a blinding light powered by either the caster's energy or emotions.”
“Wait. I cast a spell? I-I used real magic?” Frisk asked softly. “Just like you guys?”
“What are you talking about, Frisk? You always had magic here. You can use those star things,” Susie pointed out, patting her on the back.
“I…I know. But the power I was using…it wasn't exactly mine. I was…just taking it from something else,” Frisk said quietly. “But…that spell…it was me? Or was it the crystals?”
“It was you,” Ralsei said without hesitation. “This is a magic dampening area so the crystals helped, but the light came from you.”
“My own magic…” Frisk said softly.
“NO!! THE LAIGHT!!! IT HAS EFFECTS ON ME!” Jackenstein yelled. “STOP USING THAT!!! TEARRIBLE!! GO TO [DARK]!!!
With that, another maze sprang up around them, a bit smaller than the others, but the ghosts were zipping around quickly. They gathered up the treasure quickly, dodging the ghosts, then went in and grabbed the rather elongated looking key.
As soon as they did, the pumpkin appeared. “YOUR… LONG…” it said mockingly and they all ran. Frisk vaguely noticed the maze wall shimmer, becoming reflective and distorted, their reflections long and stretched like they were looking in a funhouse mirror.
It somehow made this stupid maze more and less scary at the same time.
“Frisk, you wanna zap that thing again?!” Berdly asked.
“She's going to need to build her energy back up!” Ralsei told him before Frisk could attempt it or answer. “Unleash has a large cooldown time and this is a magic dampening area. We need to get more treasure!”
“Right! So let's get as much as possible so Frisk can blind that stupid pumpkin!” Susie gasped as they all darted out the exit.
“YOU DIDN'T GO BACK :(“ Jackenstein pouted, or at least that's what Frisk assumed he was doing. He then formed another maze around them, the openings even harder to see than before, and they ended up crashing into ghosts several times trying to get to the key. As they collected each piece of treasure, Frisk felt the tense energy of Unleash build up inside her. And then as they exited the maze, the energy literally exploded uncontrollably out at Jackenstein.
Giant footsteps stumbled backwards, the orange eyes moving back as Jackenstein screamed. “NO!!! NOT THE LAIGHT!!! IT BURNS!!! TO THINK MY OWN PELLETS WOULD BE USED AGAINST ME”
For a moment, Frisk felt bad for Jackenstein, but then his pumpkin sprang out at her once again, looking terrified. She wasn't sure if it was trying to protect Jackenstein or attack them, so she focused on keeping her light on it. It again turned orange and cute, running around and screaming “Momma mia!” before disappearing behind Jackenstein.
She got the impression of being glared at by Jackenstein. “NO MOIRE MISTER NAICE GUIY… INSTEAD. MR. VERY NAICE GUY. LEAVE :)”
“Jackenstein, that's literally what we're trying…” Frisk started but was cut off with yet another maze, this one with an obnoxious amount of very quick ghosts that pummeled the group as they fought to get to the key. Just as they had and were starting to make their way back the way they came, another pumpkin, one the same color as the original but with a rather cute smile appeared.
“YOUR TAKING TOO LONG!” it cried out in a high pitched voice before chasing them much like the normal one had, albeit more slowly. Still no one wanted to find out if it could give as much damage as the other, so they ran for the exit. The cute pumpkin started to give its cry again. “YOUR TAKING TOO LONG…”
“IS TAKING TOO LONG!” the original pumpkin yelled as it burst in as well, sounding rather frustrated as it chased them at its usual pace while the cute pumpkin trailed along behind it. Thankfully they all got out before either could reach them.
Frisk quickly treated her and her friends’ injuries with Rhapsotea and Scarlixer while Jackenstein seethed. “ENOUGH!!! MY PATIANCE RUNS THIN NO MORE KEYS!!! DRESS IN HUMILIATION”
With that, they were forced to go through an even more complicated maze, Susie sniffing out each bit of treasure as they worked their way through the narrow walls, stopping and backing up to let the ghosts through. But as Jackenstein said, what was waiting for them wasn't a key.
It was a tutu.
“I'm not putting that on,” Susie said immediately.
“That's fine. I will,” Frisk said. She smiled a bit as she put it on. “I actually used to do ballet. One of my gym teachers taught dancing lessons and ballet was one of the styles he showed us. It was fun. I didn't get a tutu though.”
Noelle smiled as they hurried back the way they came. “That's awesome that you can dance. I actually tried doing ballet because I wanted to be in our school's production of the Nutcracker back in grade school, but I tripped during the audition. Maybe you can show me a few moves.”
Frisk grinned at this, stopping just in time to avoid a ghost. “I'd love to! It's been a while since I danced though so I might be…”
“YOUR TAKING TOO TOO!” the pumpkin suddenly yelled as it burst in.
Frisk yelped, scrambling out of it as they all ran. “Sorry! I thought I was supposed to!” she called back as she flung it back at the pumpkin. It scooped it up, but as she turned the last corner to flee, it caught up to her with blinding speed. Frisk froze as it caught hold of her and her friends rushed to defend her, but the pumpkin simply smiled, putting the tutu on her head.
“YOUR TOO TOO,” it said in its rumbling voice with a shockingly friendly smile.
“Um…Thanks?” Frisk said awkwardly as it left. They then all fled before the pumpkin remembered what it was doing and resumed chasing them.
“...FOOL THAT YOU ARE… YOU REALIZE NOT WHAT FRAIGHTFUL FOARCES AWAIT YOU…” Jackenstein proclaimed as they left the maze. “TONAIGHT, ON THE MOST HAUNTED OF NAIGHTS… I SHALL INFLICT YOU WITH MY GRAITEST CURSE…” He paused dramatically before adding, “THE SAME THING I WAS USING THE WHOLE TIME”
The maze he created now was less complex than the others, and the key had returned, but it was so filled with ghosts that it was almost impossible to transverse without running into one, and Frisk was indeed hit hard trying to make the first turn, even with Ralsei's LightUp and her soul guiding the way. They slowly made their way through the maze, gathering treasure while practically dancing to get out of the way of the ghosts. They finally made their way upwards and grabbed the key, but as they did, a literal army of tiny orange pumpkins appeared, all shouting “YOUR TAKING TOO LONG” in squeaky voices that would have been hilarious except for the fact that they were all swarming the maze.
Berdy yelped, using his tornadoes to blow them back a bit, Noelle also using her ice as they fled frantically down the maze to the exit. And as they got close, Frisk once again felt the energy build up within her. With the pumpkin swarm bearing down on them, she turned to face them, arms spread wide to shield her friends, and cast Unleash.
The tiny pumpkins screamed, and Jackenstein screamed too. “NO!!! THE LAIGHT!! DON'T BRING IT CLOSE TO MY FAICE!!!”
The tiny pumpkins converged back into the larger one, which cried and fled from Frisk's light, bouncing so crazily around the room that it actually put itself back under the light. It then let out a loud, pathetic scream before vanishing.
The room lightened just enough to see the large, hulking silhouette of presumably Jackenstein. “THE LAIGHT… NOT THE LAIGHT!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!” he screamed, his eyes turning bright white before light filled the room again. Frisk covered her eyes for a second as stars filled her vision, then rubbed them away, her eyes widening as she saw Jackenstein's true form.
He was tall, around Tenna's height, though much bulkier, most of his body white, minus the yellow googly eyes of a skull emblazoned on his chest and yellow shoulder pads. He had a jack o’ lantern as either a face or a mask, short black hair, and what was either white screws or ears on the top of his head. All of this might have been frightening, except for the fact that he looked utterly terrified, clutching his head with his short, ball tipped tail tucked behind him.
He then covered his face with his massive hands. “N… NO… DOAN'T LOOK… I'M… I'M… I'M TOO SCAIREY!!!” he cried and Frisk felt her heart ache.
“Jackenstein, you're not that…” she started, but he had already turned and fled, still covering his face. She gasped, realizing he was on a collision course with a low-hanging chandelier. “Look out for the…”
*CRASH!!!*
The ensuing thud shook the whole room. “Are you all right? The chandelier… It…” Ralsei asked worriedly as they all ran over to him.
“OUCHI…” Jackenstein whimpered, clutching his head. “OHHH, IT HOARTS… IT HOARTS… EVERYTHING… SO BRAIGHT… CULDN'T SEE… HEAD HIT SHANDALIERE…”
“We're sorry, we were just looking for a way…” Ralsei started as Frisk threw in her own apologies, feeling terrible she had actually gotten him hurt in her attempts to drive away the pumpkin.
Jackenstein clutched his head harder. “OH… MY HEAD… IT HOARTS… IT HOARTS INSIDE” he sobbed.
“Um, don't worry! We know how to use healing, so…” Ralsei told him, quickly running over and casting Heal Prayer.
Jackenstein calmed just a bit. “HMM…” He then cringed back, letting out a pained scream. “OAAAHHHHH IT STILL HOARTS!!!!!!!!”
…
All Susie could do was watch as Ralsei jolted in shock. “H-huh? Sorry, I guess I'll, um, try it again…!”
“I'll help. Maybe if we cast it together, it'll heal all the damage,” Noelle suggested.
“That's a good idea. Thanks, Noelle!” Ralsei told her with a smile
“Umm, maybe I could…” Susie offered, wanting to help too, then immediately thought better of it. Noelle and Ralsei were much better at healing than she was. What would the paltry amount she could heal even do?
“Susie…?” Ralsei asked in a confused tone, breaking her out of her thoughts.
“Umm, nothin’. Never mind,” she told them with a fake grin, making Frisk, Noelle, and even Berdly look at her in concern. Thankfully, their attention was drawn away by Jackenstein's pained screaming and Ralsei and Noelle both turned to him to cast Heal Prayer at the same time, allowing her to slip away unnoticed.
“How's this? Feeling better?” she heard Ralsei ask gently.
“NO… STILL HOARTS…” Jackenstein whimpered.
“Maybe we should try non magical methods. Like an ice pack?” a worried Frisk suggested. Susie wanted so badly to help. But she couldn't just weld Jackenstein together like she could Tenna. And what was healing one or two HP supposed to do when he was in this kind of pain? She should just stay out of their way.
Because she was useless when it came to healing, no matter what Frisk and Noelle thought. Berdly was right; she should just stick to what she was good at.
“How's the adventure, hero?” a rather familiar voice asked and Susie jolted, seeing the old man standing in front of her.
“...Old man?” Susie asked in shock before looking away. “Shouldn't you be busy… writing a letter or something?”
The old man laughed before pointing his cane at her. “... Shouldn't you be helping that pumpkin fella?”
Susie glanced over to where Frisk and Berdly were putting together a makeshift ice pack of Frisk's scarf tied around some of Noelle's ice while Ralsei and Noelle kept casting Heal Prayer on Jackenstein.
“Nah, Ralsei and Noelle got it covered,” Susie said, shrugging her shoulders in an attempt at nonchalance. “I… I quit.”
“Quit? Quit what?” the old man asked.
“You know. Healing. That green sparkle thing,” Susie told him, looking away as she scratched the back of her neck.
The old man hobbled closer. “Hmm. So you don't like doing it?”
“Well, uh… I dunno, actually,” Susie admitted, glancing over as Frisk handed the ice pack to Jackenstein, who put it against his head. “At first, I was really… I was really excited I could do it. But like… I sort of realized… I just suck at it. Heh.”
Both of them then were forced to duck as the ice pack came flying in their direction with a cry of “TOO COALD!!!” from Jackenstein. Still the old man wasn't dissuaded.
“What if you practiced? Put a little shell into it,” he suggested.
“I mean, I kind of… When people aren't looking…” Susie admitted, vaguely hearing Berdly suggesting trying magic food and Frisk agreeing. “I was kind of trying to practice a little, but… I sorta realized, y'know? I'll never be as good as Ralsei. Or Noelle. They're mages. I'm a warrior. So what's the point? So everyone can see how… bad I am? I should just stick to what I'm good for. Y'know… uh… hurting people… magic. It's not like our group doesn't already have plenty of healers.”
“Hm. Is that so,” the old man mused before they were both forced to sidestep as a Rhapsotea Frisk had been trying to encourage Jackenstein to drink was swatted out of her hands and sailed past them as Jackenstein flailed in pain. He then looked away with a challenging smirk. “Didn't take you for a purple bellied coward.”
“Coward…? Hey, what do you mean by that!?” Susie asked angrily.
The old man shook his head. “You're afraid of making some little green sparkles.”
Susie stormed over to face him. “Look, just CASTING it isn't a big deal!” she argued.
“Alrighty then…” He took a few steps away, turned to face her, and raised his hand. “Here.”
“What?” Susie asked, confused.
“I pricked my finger with my pen earlier,” the old man told her. He gave her a challenging smile. “If yer not a coward, give me your best shot!”
For just a split second, he reminded Susie of her grandpa, challenging her to try a new move he'd taught her until she got it right, and her heart ached, but she pushed the feeling away. She bared her teeth. “Fine, if it gets you to shut up! Take this!”
With that, she poured her energy into her healing magic, shooting it out like a bullet at the old man's hand. But before it could reach him, a piece of paper fluttered out of his coat and he made a grab for it. “Oop, my letter!”
Susie's ball of magic sailed over him and over her friends’ heads, right into Jackenstein's mouth. They all jolted in surprise and then Jackenstein slowly let go of his head. “OH!!! THE OUCHI… THE HOART… IT'S GONE!!!”
“...Susie?” Ralsei asked in shock, then he beamed. “Susie, that was a great idea!”
“H-huh?” Susie asked in shock.
“I was wondering why Noelle and I's healing wasn't working… I suppose… we were only healing the outside. Frisk and Berdly actually suggested it might need to be ingested to heal anything internal, but Mr. Jack was in too much pain to eat or drink anything. But Susie, your healing blast seemed to hit the spot!”
“You were so awesome! We didn't even think of targeted healing!” Noelle told her, stars in her eyes.
“Yeah, that was epic!” Berdly agreed.
Frisk nodded, grinning widely. “We knew you were a great healer, Susie!”
The tidal wave of compliments threw Susie for a loop. “Huh? Well, heh, I was uh, actually just trying to heal that old man…”
“...Old…Man…?” Ralsei asked in confusion as they all turned to look.
There was no one there.
Susie just stared in shock before trying to shrug it off. “Huh. Guess he left. Heh.”
“I noticed he moves pretty fast,” Noelle reassured her. “Back in that maze when we were taking him to his study, I thought he was further up the maze and then I turned around and he was right behind me.”
“Crazy old man,” Susie muttered but couldn't help but smile.
“Well, Mr. Jack is better, so let's be on our way!” Ralsei suggested, only for Jackenstein to come lumbering up to them.
“YOU… GIRL… YOU HELPED ME…” he said with a huge smile.
“Hey, uh… it was…” Susie started, only for all five of them to be nearly crushed in a hug by the giant. Susie wanted to complain, but didn't have the heart. Or the breath for that matter.
“YOU FIAVE… MY FRIANDS!!!” he proclaimed before finally releasing them. “ME NAME IS JACKENSTEIN. I WAS BULLYED, AND HAITED BY THE OTHERS, FROAM MY LARGE AND UGLY BODDY. I WAS BANNISHED TO THE DARK ZONE, ONLY TO APPEAR ON FESTIVAL NAIGHT.”
“I'm so sorry,” Frisk said gently. “You don't deserve to be treated that way." She looked down, fidgeting her fingers. "And I'm sorry we scared you and your pumpkin by barging into your home, and that I basically blinded you. I…just wanted to protect my friends. I didn't mean for you to get hurt.”
“NO, I'M SORRI,” Jackenstein said softly, bending down to her level. “YOU WEARE LOAST AND I WANTED TO HEALP, BUT I WAS SCAIRED YOU'D SEE MY HOARIBBLE FACE.” He touched his mask softly. “I WAIR THIS MASK, BEACAUSE MY TRUE FAICE, SCAIRES EVEN MYSELF.” Susie thought about telling him hiding in the dark, forcing them through all those stupid mazes, and his evil pumpkin constantly jumpscaring them was more scary than a chance glimpse at his face, but the big lug clearly felt bad enough already. Plus she understood.
After all, if people were going to be scared and make fun of you anyway, it hurt less for it to be because of something you actually did.
Jackenstein looked at them, hopeful, yet vulnerable. “DID… DID YOU WANNA SEE IT?”
“Sure, but only if you feel comfortable,” Frisk said gently. “I promise, we're not going to be scared or call you names.”
“Yeah! And I bet you look cool underneath that mask,” Noelle encouraged.
Jackenstein nodded shakily, his eyes flashing orange. “COVER YOUR EAYES” Absolutely no one did as he lifted his pumpkin and Susie prepared herself to see an epically gruesome horror movie face and to tell Jackenstein he looked badass.
But what she saw was… a little white candle with eyes. Which she guessed made sense since his Light World form was most likely a jack o’ lantern. Definitely not what she was expecting though.
“Um, actually it's kind of…” Ralsei started before Jackenstein slammed the pumpkin back on.
“ACTUALLY IT'S TOO SCAIRY” he squeaked.
Frisk smiled. “Relax, Jackenstein, your face is totally fine. You can wear the mask if you feel more comfortable, but we're not scared, see?”
Noelle nodded with a smile. “In fact it looks cute!” she added, making Jackenstein blush.
"I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW..." he mumbled.
“Yeah, we're not afraid of your disproportionately small candle face!” Berdly proclaimed, then yelped as both Noelle and Frisk elbowed him hard.
Jackenstein's eyes shone. “YOU FIAVE ARE MORE DIFFERENT, THEN THE OTHERS. YOU ARE KAIND. MERSIFULL. AND, MOST OF ALL… YOU DOAN'T KNOW HOW TO CLAIMB.”
“I don't see what that has to do with the rest…” Berdly started, only to be cut off by Jackenstein as he pulled out a bunch of strange gloves with hooked claws attached.
“TAKE THESE… MY FRAINDS… MY CLAIMBING SETS.” Jackenstein requested.
Frisk smiled and took them. “Thank you so much! Here, I can pay you for them…”
Jackenstein shook his head quickly with a smile. “NO, NO, THEIR A GIAFT. I MAIDE THEM SO I COULD CLAIMB WITH FRIANDS. ONLEY I DIDAN'T HAVE ANY FRIANDS TO GIAVE THEM TO UNTEAL NOW.”
“Well, we’ll be here for you, big guy,” Frisk reassured him. “And we really do appreciate the climbing gear. Just let us know if there's anything we can do for you in return.”
“THE YOUNG WOMUN ALREADY GAVE ME THAT WONDERFUL HEALING,” Jackenstein pointed out. “AND THE REAST OF YOU TRYED HARDER TO HEAL ME THAN ANYWUN ELASE EVUR DID. SO LET ME KNOW IF I CAN EVER REPAY YOU… I LIVE IN A HOAL.” Susie's heart ached at this. She knew what being homeless felt like.
“I'm sorry,” Frisk said softly. “But when we seal the fountain, we can bring you to our home in Castletown.”
“Yeah! I can make you and your pumpkin your own room!” Ralsei offered kindly.
Jackenstein beamed. “REALLY!?”
Ralsei smiled. “Of course. It can look any way you like.”
Once again they were all swept up in a gigantic hug. “YOU FIAVE… ARE THE BEST FRIANDS!!!”
“Aww, thanks,” Ralsei beamed as Jackenstein let them go again.
“We'll come get you after we seal the fountain, okay?” Frisk told him. “And… if you see a shadowy figure with an antlered helmet, stay away from them. They're really dangerous.” Jackenstein looked a bit confused, but nodded, and happily waved goodbye to them as they all donned the climbing gear, then climbed up the rocky outcropping on the bookshelves.
It was time to unlock the door to the fountain and hopefully find the Legendary Axe while they were at it.