Chapter Text
17/10/2009
SATURDAY
8:31AM
SECTION 1
The morning sun shun through the windows of the dorm room, bathing the interior of the dorm in a brilliant golden light, and illuminating the dust what hung stagnantly within the air, today was a rather peaceful one, no classes were on at Columbia University, and he was going to visit Toriel and Kris later that day, and return to this horrid University on Monday.
He let out a frustrated grown, having buried his snout and face into his pillow, he didn’t have the energy to get up today, but he had to get up if he wanted to get a Greyhound Bus from New York to Boston, and then a smaller domestic bus service to Hometown, and be there in time for dinner.
He lifted his head up, groggily looking around the surroundings of the dorm room, his eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness of the room brought in by the morning sun.
The interior of his dorm room had several posters atop its walls, largely being of Asriel’s favourite bands, Nine Inch Nails, Black Sabbath, and AC/DC, as well as a rather odd one, one for a band called “Blood Crushers”, what him and Dess were apart of between mid 2005 and late 2006, though the band soon broke up after the incident, but he didn’t loiter looking at it, as his gaze soon affixed to the oak cabinet what sat next to his bed.
He rose up in bed, holding himself up with one of his arms as he focused his sight on the contents that sat ontop of the oak cabinet.
Various framed photos sat ontop of the oak cabinet, the first being a framed photo of him, Kris, and Toriel and Asgore, on Christmas of 1999, and the second framed photo was of him and Dess, he didn’t know when the photo was taken, but from what he remembered it was when him and Dess took Kris and Noelle to the lake sometime during the summer, was it 2005?, or was it 2004?, he couldn’t quite remember the specific date, but he remembered Noelle took the photo of him and Dess.
A smirk formed on his face as he remembered those happier times, but his smirk quickly turned to an unhappy scowl, he remembered the time after the incident, how he couldn’t stop crying, how Toriel left her pumpkin pie for him outside his bedroom, how he wouldn’t leave his room for months.
He figured leaving Hometown and going to Columbia University would’ve made everything better, that all the tragedy and suffering from that horrible time would remain in Hometown, but he felt as if everything got worse, now that he only saw Kris and Toriel on a monthly basis, and the friends he had in Hometown felt so far away, as some moved to the Midwest and West Coast, and few remained in Hometown.
His eyes trained onto another item on the oak cabinet, his phone, a 2007 Blackberry 8800, what Toriel got for his birthday, hoping it’d cheer him up and distract him from Dess.
Now that he saw so much, so much that reminded him of her, he couldn’t stop thinking about her, as collapsed back into bed, blankly staring up at the ceiling as he found himself lost in thought.
He hoped she had ran away, somehow survived falling into the lake, and that she couldn’t put up with Carol's bullshit anymore, that she was in some far away land, and hopefully she was happy.
But he knew this wasn’t the case, he knew that she probably was dead, or worse, there was no way, no way she could’ve survived, and it’d be so much easier if he at least knew that Dess was dead, but he didn’t, and that’s what stung the most, that he had no closure.
If it wasn’t for his sake, it was for Kris’s sake, that at least they’d have closure, and they could stop blaming themself for what happened.
He sniffled, the more he thought about it, the more sad he got, and the more he tried to not think about it, the complete opposite happened, and he just found himself thinking about it more and more.
A tear ran down from his eye, staining his white fur before hitting the pillow, as he looked up, thinking about Dess, about her….her….he couldn’t quite remember her voice, it’s pitch, its tone, became a mystery to him, and that’s what hurt most, he promised, he promised that’d he remember her, all of her, yet he’s starting to forget…
Yet the floodgates couldn’t hold anymore, as the single tear was followed by more, and more, as he began to weep, but he didn’t wail, or sniffle, he remained silent, because nobody would listen nor care, and he let himself fall into his endless sadness and wrath, and his tears hit the pillow.
Yet he is brought out of this sullen state, as someone had rung him on his Blackberry 8800, could it be Kris?
He groaned, lifting his head back as he rolled towards the oak cabinet, grabbing his Blackberry 8800 as he looked at who the caller could be.
The phone number ringing him wasn’t one he recognised, and if it was someone on his contact list, he’d see their names on the caller ID rather than this phone number.
He wiped the tears from his bloodshot eyes with his left arm, and because he didn’t have anything better to do at this instant, he answered the call.
“.....Hello..?-”
“Are you Asriel Dreemurr..?”
A voice on the other side of the phone cut Asriel off, he sounded hoarse, like he was a heavy smoker, and how did he know his name?
“Wh-What?, yes i-i am, what is this-no, who are you..?”
“Do you know who December “Dess” Holiday is..?”
He moved back, getting up from the bed as the mention of Dess from the mysterious voice on the phone at first shocked him, but then that shock was soon replaced by anger.
“WHAT IS THIS FUCKING BULLSHIT!?, IS THIS A SICK JOKE?, TELL ME WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE..!”
He screamed into his Blackberry 8800, as his anger steadily increased and so did his heart rate, as he clenched his left hand into a tight fist.
The mysterious man paused, as an audible sigh was heard, before the man began to speak again.
“I am Robert Umbra, a private investigator hired by December’s mother, Caroline Holiday to investigate her disappearance, i asked about who knew her the most, and she told me you did, and gave me your number.”
“Now, Asriel, you can either cooperate, or explain to her why you didn’t comply in helping me find her lost daughter, and I doubt she’d be happy, do you understand..?”
He looked down at the floor, lost in thought as he tried to speak a couple times but stopped himself, before he finally spoke again to respond to Umbra.
“Fine, where are you?, i'm going to Hometown, Massachusetts soon to visit my mom and-.”
Umbra interrupted him before he could finish speaking, as what Umbra said struck a chill down Asriel’s back.
“I’m aware you’re going to meet your mother, Toriel Dreemurr, and little sibling, Kris Dreemurr, i know because both my client, Carol, told me, and i've done my own research.”
“And before you get mad again, i’m aware how much her disappearance harmed you, Asriel, so it is in your best interest to cooperate with me here.”
“F-Fine, but please, tell me, where do you want to meet..?”
“QC’s Diner, located within Hometown, but not inside, i will be waiting outside in my car, it is a 1982 Chevrolet El Camino, jet black in colour, very hard to miss.”
“....Alright.”
“Rember, Asriel, do the right thing here.”
“...”
He hung up the call, as he paced around the dorm room, thinking about the interaction he just had with this “Umbra” person, about how Carol hired someone to look into Dess’s Disappearance, and about how Umbra knew the names of Kris and Toriel.
He didn’t want to trust Umbra, and he disliked how he had investigated his family and how he worded “best” interest, but he became desperate in these recent months to see Dess again, or at least get closure for him and Kris, and he hoped that Umbra might be able to at least attain the latter.
He sat down on the edge of his bed, looking at the Blood Crushers poster on one of the walls of the dorm room, as he found a new resolve, one what wasn’t there before.
He was going to find her.
17/10/2009
SATURDAY
18:23PM
SECTION 2
The sun began to set upon Hometown, the sky a vibrant red colour while people were returning home from work, yet a car remained idling outside of QC’s Diner.
The car in question was a 5th Generation Chevrolet El Camino, Coloured Jet Black with Massachusetts Licence Plates, as it idly sat parked next to QC’s Diner, with some patrons of the Diner occasionally giving awkward glances at the El Camino as it loitered outside.
He sat inside of his car, leaning back in the driver's seat as he was waiting on Asriel, he had been waiting outside for 3 hours now, and he didn’t show up, and he began to figure that Asriel got cold feet and decided not to meet him at QC’s Diner.
He leaned up as he now opened the glovebox of his El Camino, withdrawing a pack of Marlboro Cigarettes, as Umbra was a heavy drinker and smoker, using it to alleviate stress and his gnawing guilt.
He withdrew a Ciagerrete from the pack, shoving it into his mouth as he withdrew his silver-plated Flip Lighter from the glovebox as well, this Flip Lighter was his fathers, Marshall Umbra, as he turned towards the driverside window, as he now lowered it
He lit the Cigarette in his mouth with the Flip Lighter, breathing in a puff of smoke as he now placed the Flip Lighter back into the glovebox with the pack of Marlboro Cigarettes, before closing it back up as he removed the lit Cigarette from his mouth, blowing out a puff of acrid smoke out of the now open driverside door window.
He looked back towards QC’s Diner as he put the lit Cigarette back into his mouth, letting out a disgruntled groan, as he figured Asriel wouldn’t show up.
If that was indeed the case, he would drive to the holiday manor and inform his client, Carol, about how Asriel despite agreeing over the phone to meeting him in person, didn’t show up to that meeting he agreed to.
But, he was going to wait another hour to at least see if Asriel was possibly running late.
He looked away from QC’s diner, leaning back as he took another puff of the Cigarette in his mouth, before removing the Cigarette from his mouth and blowing out another puff of acrid smoke.
Someone had knocked on the passengerside door of Umbra’s El Camino, causing him to get startled as he had let his guard down.
He flinched, instinctively reaching into his dark gray jacket and withdrawing his Colt Detective Special, before turning towards the passengerside door, and seeing who was knocking on the El Camino’s window.
Asriel moved back, seeing Umbra withdrawing his Colt Detective Special spooked him, possibly he had the wrong car, as he stared into it.
He turned, focusing on Asriel and looking at him up and down, realizing who it was he then stuffed his Colt Detective Special into his jacket, leaning forwards to open the passengerside door as he threw his still lit Cigarette out of the lowered driverside window, as he spoke.
“Get in.”
He reluctantly stepped forwards, entering Umbra’s El Camino as he sat in the leather passenger seat, looking at Umbra as he scanned his facial features with his eyes.
Umbra’s cheeks had been sunken in, with him having noticeable eyebags beneath his brown-coloured eyes, and he had several wrinkles across his face despite being in his early 30s by Asriel’s best guess.
He had jet-black hair, though Asriel noticed some strands of hair were grey, and Umbra had a stubble beard, which seemingly had been recently shaved.
A scowl formed on Umbra’s face as he watched Asriel’s eyes scan his facial features, before he spoke with a noticeable hint of anger in his voice.
“I didn’t ask you to meet so that we could gaze at each other's facial features in silence, Mr Dreemurr-.”
“Just call me Asriel, or if you really want Azzy.”
An eyebrow raised upon Asriel’s mention of “Azzy”, before he spoke again, but his voice lacked the tone of anger he had been speaking with earlier.
“So, Asriel, i wanted to meet with you in person because i need something from you, well, there’s other means of attaining what i need, but my client advised me not to speak to your mother.”
“Is Carol behind this?, why is she doing this?, it’s been 3 fucking years and now she’s hired you to investigate what happened to Dess..?”
He physically cringed as he said Dess’s name, as a surge of sadness and rage shot through his system.
“Krismas Dreemurr, your little sibling, they were the only one who was with December Holiday when the “incident” happened, at the lake near the disused military shelter.”
His expression turned into a scowl, his anger increased as he heard Umbra speak about Kris and especially about how they were with Dess when she went missing.
“What about it?, why the fuck are you mentioning Kris..?”
“Because i need to talk to them, to begin making sense out of any of this, because i have no real basis from where to go.”
He clenched both of his hands into tight fists, his anger grew as he now understood Umbra’s true motive behind mentioning Kris.
“No, i’m not going to let you use Kris in your BULLSHIT INVESTIGATION.!”
His expression like Asriel’s turned into a scowl, as he too got angry at Asriel’s sudden escalation within his car.
“BECAUSE I AM DOING MY DAMN JOB ASRIEL!, I KNOW YOU HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH HER, IT’S IN YOUR BEST-”
His rage boiled, crescendoing into him lunging forwards, as he thrust his right fist forwards, connecting his fist with Umbra’s nose, and factoring in his enhanced boss monster strength, there’s an awful crack as Umbra slammed against the driverside door.
He groaned, blood trickling down from his now broken nose as he raised his left arm, wiping the blood from his nose as he looked down at the blood in his palm, as he clenched his left hand into a fist, shaking with rage as his calm facade faded.
He let out a cry, lunging forwards as he grabbed Asriel by the neck with his right arm, pinning him against the seat as he now thrust his left arm forwards, left-hooking Asriel’s jaw as his fist connected, causing Asriel to call out as he slammed back against the seat.
He let out an enraged shout, moving back as he raised his right leg, as he now kicked Umbra hard in the groin, hitting his private parts.
He cried out, instinctively moving back and leaning against the driverside door, looking at Asriel before screaming at him, charging forwards as he wrapped his hands around Asriel’s neck, and began to choke him as he slammed him against the passengerside door.
“ACK-”
He struggled against Umbra’s iron grip on his neck, as he began to desperately slam his fists against Umbra’s chest in an attempt to force him to break his grip around his neck.
He moved back, out of breath because the air knocked out of his lungs by Asriel slamming his fist against his chest, as he slammed back against the driverside door.
He too leaned back, equally out of breath as Umbra, letting out a groan as he winced from the pain caused by Umbra’s grip around his neck.
“Wh-What if we just make a compromise, a-asshole.”
“T-The fuck you mean compromise?, you just b-broke my fucking nose..!?”
He readjusted his sitting, gripping his nose with his right arm, snapping it back into place as he let out a groan, before looking at Asriel as his breathing calmed down.
“You, and i…we both investigate this, we have the s-same goal, and if you know about Dess….you should know what dark worlds are-.”
“I-I know what they are, lardass, because i’ve read the legend of the DELTA RUNE before, i know how to open dark fountains too.”
“P-Please, U-Umbra, just don’t drag Kris into this, they’re already struggling and you approaching them about this bullshit’s probably gonna send them off the edge.”
“Then why the FUCK didn’t you start with that?, i-i wouldn't have been so angry if you told me the kid’s struggling.”
“I-I…..u-...i’m sorry, ALRIGHT..?”
“...Fucking..fine.”
“So, Asriel, where do we go from here, exactly..?”
Despite how much it pained him, he thought about Dess, and about the adventures they went on in these “dark worlds”, and about where they adventured in.
“Hometown High School, me and Dess used to adventure with a “Darkner”, called “Seam”, he was close to Dess, if anything, maybe he knows about what happened to her.”
He raised his eyebrow, curious about what Asriel meant by a “darkner” as he had never heard of the term before, as he curiously responded to Asriel.
“Darkners, what are they?, i've heard the term “dark worlds” before, but never of a “Darkner”.”
“Creatures, intelligent like you and i, Dess used to call them “Dark Nerds”, but we shortened it to “Darkners”, they’re the approximation of objects in the dark worlds.”
“So you’re suggesting we go to this school while it’s closed-.”
“No, on Monday, it’ll be easier getting in, and i can use an-”
“I don’t see how that’s easier, especially if your little sibling, Kris is at school while we go there.”
He let out a sigh, looking away from Umbra before looking back at him.
“Just, trust me, alright..?”
“If i get in hot shit because of this, it’s your fault, not mine, because this is your idea.”
“I know, but what choice do you have?, i’m the best lead you can get, and i know you’re aching to get more information, and it’s in your best interest to collaborate with me.”
“Well, you won’t let me get near Kris, so, you are indeed right, and finding where she ended up will earn me another 20k from my client.”
“Meet me outside the school at 11:30AM sharp on Monday, and if you don’t trust me, don’t show up at all, i can cancel my classes at Columbia University and remain in Hometown a little longer.”
He leaned forwards, opening the passengerside door and exiting the car, as he walked down the street like he wasn’t fighting Umbra mere minutes ago.
He leaned over, closing the passengerside door as he leaned back, he didn’t want to trust Asriel, and now that Asriel eliminated Kris as a lead, he only had Asriel.
And, what other choice did he have?, but to collaborate with him.