Rescuer Network: Truth will out

[sponsorigami]

Um... hello? Is this working? I-I'm Ivan Karelin... from, from Flowers Over Bones, one of the kidnapped, brainwashed musicians.

I... I'm not chipped anymore, but I still don't have all my memories back... I also know about Arpegius and the other ghosts, and I helped to rescue Stella from Virgo's basement... and another one possessed me to break a speaker and yell at Juno... Virgo's basement is probably where they brainwashed us. I don't know about Pride's set up, but... I'll try to answer what I can about both...

[ He takes a breath, trying to get to his main point beyond offering to share what he knows. ]

I-I can shapeshift into people and things I've touched before, including people from both Virgo and Pride, and... I can use a katana and shuriken to defend myself. There must be something that I can do... maybe something only I can do...

[ ie: Use him. He wants to help rescue people. ]

Comments

[text]

[determinate]

It's okay if you're not fine. You just got out too.

[audio]

[sponsorigami]

But I am okay. I mean, maybe I don't remember everything about my real life, but I'm... I'm a hero... That has to count for something... right?

[determinate]

Yeah! I'm friends with some heroes back home.

But heroes have to rest too. So if you're not ready to go back in there yet, that's fine. It hasn't really been that long, and it's hard to go back to normal life after things happen.

[sponsorigami]

But working at a bookstore while shapeshifted isn't my normal life. None of this is...

[ Not that it could be seen, but Ivan slumps into his chair. It's been over a week. Did really escape to be of no use to anyone but people looking for something to read? ]

[determinate]

What's your normal life like?

[sponsorigami]

I helped protect the city, even going into dangerous places if it needed.

[determinate]

Like the guard? Or a superhero?

[Different things, for the most part.]

[sponsorigami]

Superhero, mostly.

[ He can do the former as well, though. ]

[determinate]

That's cool. Do you have superpowers?

[sponsorigami]

I can shapeshift.

[determinate]

That's pretty neat. Are you a human? Humans where I'm from don't have magic.

[sponsorigami]

I'm a human. I'm also called a NEXT. Not everyone has powers, I think... It's something rare.

[determinate]

Oh, you're special! That's probably why you're here.

They say there used to be humans with magic thousands of years ago. I guess there must have been, but I don't know where they got it.

[sponsorigami]

Are you from the future? I mean, NEXTs are still pretty new to my world, not exactly something that happened thousands of years ago.

[determinate]

I don't think so. Do you have monsters at home?

[sponsorigami]

... Um, I don't think so. I've... I've been called a monster before, but... there's nothing like an actual monster.

[determinate]

That's rude.

You're not from my world then. We've always had monsters. Even when they were in the Underground, people still remembered. [Sure, it was kinda just stories by Frisk's time, but still the kind you know were real at some point. It's hard to forget a whole big war, they guess.]

[sponsorigami]

I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it as an insult.

[ He didn't mean to be rude! ]

[determinate]

No, I meant it was rude for them to call you that.

Not because it's a bad thing to be a monster. But they meant to hurt you when they said it.

[sponsorigami]

Oh. Yeah... They didn't want me around...

[ It's a wonder he didn't get kicked out of school. Or maybe he did. Ivan can't remember. ]

Um, so you know some nice monsters?

[determinate]

Yeah! My whole family and most of my friends are monsters. They were all underground, but I fell through a hole.

[sponsorigami]

[ They must have been raised by monsters since they were little. Rather than worrying Ivan, the thought brings a small smile to Ivan's face. ]

I think... family doesn't depend on blood. Both my families aren't related to me.

[determinate]

I don't have any family like that either. [That's why no one noticed, really, when they fell down the hole.] And the music people took a lot of the family I do have. It's just my dad and Alphys who aren't here now.

[sponsorigami]

[ Neither does Ivan. Well, he's been disowned by his family. They're alive but not apart of his life anymore. ]

... How many are here?

[determinate]

Four.

But Papyrus came with the others to help, so they only have three. My mom Toriel, Undyne, and Sans. You know him, right? [He's one of the ones Sans got out, so it seems a safe guess.]