Fresh's POV hours later

We get dumped out of the net onto a white marble floor. The water gets sucked out of the room and a wall blocks us from escaping. I could finally move. We tumble across the floor. I feel Deccy's tail still wrapped around my leg tightly. We lay on the floor, Deccy holding me cloe. He shifts around to face me, resting his arms on my shoulders.

"You okay, Deccy Dec?"I ask

He nods.

"Are you alright?"He asks

I nod. 

He looks around.

"Huh, strange space."He says

I sit up with him. The space was entirely empty besides some glass on one wall. Those merfolk were watching us. He leans in, hugging me, trying to hide from their stares. I hug him protectively.

"Deccy, I got you. They won't hurt you."I assure him

I hiss at them, holding him. Some giggle, other yelp and swim off. I feel a hand scratch behind my ears, making me start to purr. My tail sways. Deccy's tail slips away from me. I glance at him. He smiles and keeps scratching gently or rubbing between my ears. My purrs got louder. I couldn't control it.

"D-Deccy Dec..."I say, still with purrs

"Thank you for protecting me."He says, leaning against me while sitting beside me

"N-No problem."I say, holding purrs back

He puts my hat back on my head. His ears perk up.

"You are the best person I know."He says

I smile, liking the sound of that. And part of me liked the fact he didn't use the term friend when he told me that.

"I just don't get why you get in so much trouble. Or put yourself in trouble."He says

I glance away. Do I tell now? No, he may get upset. Plus, we don't know where we are, what is gonna be done or how to get out. He seems uneased enough as it is. 

I just glance around the room, noticing any detail there is in sight. Deccy goes against a wall. I try to sense any bad words, but there is nobody using unrad language. Just our luck.

I hear Deccy shriek. I look over to him to see a webbed hand pulling Deccy's tail. I come over and pry the hand off of his tail. I hiss at the merfolk through the hole.

"Hands off of him!"I growl

The hole is covered up. I stand up and nod, then feel a hand tugging my ear. Deccy leaps at me, knocking me down.

"Hands off of Fresh!"He snaps

There is a hole in the ceiling that got covered now as well. He looks at me and frowns.

"You ok?"I ask

"Are you?"He asks

I nod.

"Good."He says, not answering my question

He seems uneased. I scratch behind his ears. He looks at me, his face burning up, then rests his head against me. He starts letting out loud purrs, his ears drooping and his head leaning into my touch. His tail sways calmly. He seems relaxed.

"You alright, Deccy?"I say, wanting to make sure

I want to see him happy.

"Yeah....Just scared....Dunno what they are gonna do.....But you are making me feel safer....Like always...."He purrs

"You always feel safe around me?"I say

That was a surprise....sorta. I'm called a troublemaker, how safe would someone feel around one?

"Mhm."He says

Apparently very safe.

He smiles and we curl up together. A strange smell fills the air. I look up, seeing a strange gas fill the room. Deccy's purrs grew silent. I feel sleepy. 

"D-Deccy........"I say, trying to stay up

His head drops. He is out cold. I sleepily pull him to me, then black out.

.

.

.

.

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.

.

.

I slowly look around to find that I am in a new room. And my shades aren't on. I shrug it off, I've lost my shades plenty of times, I can summon another set. But Deccy isn't here with me.

"Deccy Dec! Where are you?!"I exclaim

I look around. I am in a big room, all alone. I run around it, looking for any sign of escape or him.

He is nowhere. No sign of anything.

"DECCY! DECCY DEC!"I shout, hoping he will hear

I hear a little voice, muffled.

"Fwesh?"It says

Still, I recognize it.

"Deccy!"I exclaim

I run to the wall I heard his voice and feel along it, seeing if there was a loose brick or secret way through.

"Fwesh? Fwesh? Where are you?"He asks

"I'm right here!"I say, pounding on the wall to bust through

I then turn around,  I see a chair. I pick it up.

"Stand back!"I shout

"Don't hurt yourself!"He snaps

I wait a few moments. Then I throw the chair and it smashed right through the wall. I run right through after it, shouting Deccy's name. He looks at me.

"Deccy!"I say

"Wait a second.......Since when did you become a kid in a pink pup onesie?"He asks

"Huh?"I ask

I look down and find that I am smaller. And in a onesie. He reaches up and rubs my ears near the onesie's sewn on ears. I start purring. I feel my tail swish back and forth, stuck in my new clothes.

"Oh come on! My ears and tail are still here!"I say

He giggles, continuing to pet my ears. I start letting out purrs. Then I notice his clothes. He is a kid and in a bright yellow bear onesie.

"S-Says the one in a cute bear onesie!"I say

I frown, shaking my head. He looks at me, his face lighting up. 

"Y-You called me cute..."He whispers

I nod.

He pulls the hood down to hide his face.

I feel sleepier. I rub my eyes sleepily. Deccy looks around and yawns.

"Where are we?"I ask

"Dunno. But I weally wanna stay with you."He says

I smile. I look at him. He holds my hand, staying close. Then he hesitates, releasing my hand. He opens his mouth to speak, but then the floor opens up below us, sending us down two seperate holes.  I come out the other end, landing on a pillow. 

I look around, real confused. I see two other beds beside me. In one slept a lil Rufous and lil Nightmare. Rufous wore a fox one while Nightmare wore a kitten onesie. No wonder I couldn't teleport! RUFOUS IS HERE! And with Fell stuck near the innocent brother of Sans and Edge banning him from cursing around them, I doubt he is uttering a word.

Rufous wakes up first.

"Aw fawk! We got captured!"He says, unable to even curse properly, no need to censor

He looks at me and jumps.

"How'd you get here Suave? And where are your gwasses?"He asks

"Sup, Rufous. It's Fresh, not Suave."I say

"Oh, sorry. Not used to seeing you without shades, you don't really show your eyes. Suave does."He says

"Understood. How the heck did you both get here?"I ask

"Well, I came to find you guys with Fawacy and then something knocked us out and.........Oh no.....I AM SO DEAD! Encwe, Suave, Jasper and Fewicia are gonna kill me!"He replies, realizing the situation

"Pfft, I can see why. But how did Nightmare get here?"I ask

He glances at Nightmare, still asleep.

"Dunno. Killer is SO gonna kill whoever got him here though....."He says

"Or would he thank them for making his husband like this?"I wonder

"Pfft, a cute child. Good point."He says

He slowly wakes up and looks around, confused.

"Why is there a camewa on da ceiwing?"He asks

We look up and sure enough, there is a camera on the ceiling. I hop up and grab it. A tape inside it said:Analyzing land dweller growth.

The hell?

I look around. I get up, leaving the bed. I bang on the door. Then I step back and ram the door down. 

"What's gotten into to him?"Rufous asks

"Hell if I knew. It's wild Fresh....Oh wait, Deccy is my guess."He says

I smirk.

I hear voices. I look around and run to the voices. I kick a door and smile. It doesn't burst open. Right. I'm a kid. Not strong enough.

I hear a yelp from inside.

"Deccy?"I call

"Fresh!"He says

The doorknob jiggles. Then it opens and Deccy leaps to me. We hug each other and he hugs me tight.

"Look! Classique is here!"He says, pointing to Classique in a bunny onesie, also a kid

"CLASSIQUE!"Rufous cheers, running and hugging Classique to the ground

"EEP!"Classique yelps

We all go into that room and block the door. We all just huddle together. But then there is banging. The door is shoved open and we all freeze. Rufous gets snatched and we're locked in. Deccy hugs me tight. Classique is panicking. Nightmare sits there staring at the door.

After what seems like hours, the door sways open. We look at each other, confused. We aren't staying here though! Deccy tries to get up but his legs gave out. I pick him up.

"What happened Deccy Dec?"I ask

He shrugs.

"Dunno. Can't feel my legs..."He says

"I got ya."I say

He pulls the hood down again.

I carry him as we go down the halls. Nightmare gets curious and opens a door. And in there we find our other missing bud.

"Hewwo."Fallacy says sweetly

"Fallacy! What are you doing locked in here by yourself?"Nightmare asks

"I dunno. I saw the swirly swirly and ended up here."He says

"Ah, right. Wait, Rufous must be being sent to that again."Nightmare says

"Swirly swirly?"Deccy asks

"Oh, they showed a swirly thing that either erases memories or twists their memories to fit in with a childhood. Fallacy, what do you recall? Who are you?"Nightmare says

"I am Fallacy! Prince of my father's vampire kingdom! Sissy and I got gwounded last week and my father is on a trip to negotiate peace with someone called the Mortal King."He says

"See?"Nightmare says

We look at each other in surprise.

"Wait....After all the things Jasper has done to get grounded, what the heck did you do to get grounded as a kid?"Classique asks

"We went to a nearby village, looking for other kids to pway with. All the kids in my village were older than us and didn't want to pway. I bumped into this nice boy and his friend who were playing Guard and Thief. They were really nice and we played together. We even ate a watermelon in a twee. I weally liked them, especially the wainbow one. His face glowed like a wainbow after I complimented one of his drawings, they were really cool. Sissy did too.But we got caught and father got mad. He says we shouldn't be fwendly with food and enemies. He told us that they are bad monsters. Monsters that make us look bad and want us killed. That is stupid, he says. But he is stupid saying that. They are fwends to me, not food or enemies. They are good. And we should be nice if he wants peace, not avoiding or saying mean things. I wanna see those nice kids again."He says

Classique looks astounded.

"He just described Encre and Azure playing with two nice new kiddos in Guard and Thief! And those events did happen! His father and the King before Asgore negotiated peace after a war, but both sides saw the other as bad monsters."He tells us

"That's some guts calling your father stupid."Deccy says

"Well he did mistake a love potion for fruit punch once. He was in love with a door for a week. Mama found it hilarious."Fallacy says

"But that's some good logic and points."Nightmare says

"No wonder his castle had so many mortals living there! Heck even Suave! He proves his father wrong! But wow, you knew Encre even back then?"Classique says

"Who is Encwe?"Fallacy asks

"The rainbow boy."Classique says

Fallacy gasps in astonishment, like Suave did when he finally learned what the microwave was and how it worked.

"You know him? Can you take me to him?"He asks

Classique nods.

"We just gotta find Rufous."Classique says

"You mean the wed boy? He is this way!"He says, leading us down a hall

He goes to a door and pounces at it. It gets knocked down.

"How the he-"Deccy begins

"This is why our world's doors are reinforced."Classique says

"Cwaasique!"A voice cheers

We go in and Classique gets tackled to the ground by a very happy Rufous. Rufous is noticably covered in wounds though.

"Fwend, are you okay?"Fallacy asks

"I wouldn't listen so they hit me....But I'll be fine."Rufous says

"You're okay!"Classique cheers

"Mhm!"Rufous says

Classique hugs Rufous tightly as he gets lowered.

"How is your family doing? What did they discover this time?"Rufous asks

Classique sighs.

"You saw the swirly swirly, didn't you?"He asks

"Mhm."Rufous says

"Oh great....They're just fine. On the go as always."He says

"Huh?"We all say

"My family is full of merchants or travelers."Classique says

Classique has Rufous sit. He stitches the holes and bandages of Rufous' clothes. They pull their hoods up again and Rufous tucks his tail away.

The door shuts behind us. Then another dozen of doors and walls slam down to box us in together. Fallacy yelps in surprise, turning to a bat. His little clothes changed with him so it looked like a bat with a onesie. A bat that got stuck between Nightmare and I. Then we get stuck between each other and in a pile. Deccy got stuck beneath Rufous and I, Classique hugged by Rufous and I am hugging Deccy. I smile.

"You okay?"I ask Deccy He nods

We exchange Are you okay's and yes, how about you's with everyone.

I smile. I look at him and nuzzle his head. He purrs again. Then I hear something.

"Here are your kids from your, what did you call it? Daycare?"A voice says

"Mhm. Can we have them back?"Another says

"HeRe aRe oUr lIsCeNseS."A third says

"Sure thing."The first says

"Oh dEaR, budDy, cAn yOu gEt tHeM?"The second asks

"SURE!"The third cheers

A tentacle lowers down and wraps around us like a cocoon.

I hold Deccy close, unaware of what's going on. Rufous holds Classique close and Nightmare lifts Fallacy up so he doesn't get squished. 

"Okay, that will keep them safe until we get back to the raft."A voice says

"YeAh. LEt'S gO bEfOre ThEy rEalIzE I gAvE cOunTerFeIt lIsCenSeS anD wE aRe fRauDS!"The other says

"I can't believe they even bought that. I'm not even ten!"The first says

"LeT's jUst go QuIckLy."The second says

"Mhm."

We could hear and feel movement. Then splash noises.

"WHERE THE FUNK IS GRADIENT?! WHERE IS MY CHILD!? MY SON?!"A voice yells

Error.

"Welcome everyone to the raft safe and sound. And you're warmly welcomed as the first thing you hear is Error entering angry, glitchy, and protective father mode."I whisper

"Aww, how sweet!"Rufous says

"I get that mode too, hmm maybe we can start a club at this point....."Nightmare says

"BrO! YoU gOt cEnsOrEd!"E!Pap shouts

"The FuNk?"Error says

"Hey! Fresh is nearby!"Another says, sounding laid back

Reaper is my guess. He is pretty chill.

"Where are Ghastly and Nighty? I swear to the stars Dream if you-"Killer growls

"Don't be pointing your knife at him Killer!"Cross snaps

"I'm sorry but when something goes wrong with Nightmare OR Ghastly, he just so happens to have a long record of being the cause! I mean who the hell puts a 4 year old in an oven?!"Killer says

"And that is the two members of the protective lover club arguing."I say

"I like this tour."Fallacy says with a giggle

"Fwesh, you do sound like a good tour guide."Rufous says

I chuckle.

"Hey, we're back."Ghastly says

"GHASTLY!"Two voices shout

The cocoon hits the floor rougly as Ghastly probably got hugged by his knife-loving father and protective brother.

"GRADIENT!"Error shouts without Gradient saying anything

I hear a thud and glitchy noises.

"NEVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN! WhAt werE y0u evEn dOiNg?"Error snaps

"Getting everyone back home safely! Shall I open the cocoon?"Ghastly says

"YeP."Gradient says

"YoU aRe gRouNdEd fOr tWo wEeKs. AnD tHat Is JuSt mE bEiNg nIcE. BeSiDes, yOu HavE a BoyFrIeNd tO dEaL wIth!"Error says

"GRADIENT!"Bluescreen shouts

"Uh oh.."Gradient says

We drop down as we are released from the cocoon. I sit up, looking around. Everyone is scattered across the raft, staring in shock. Besides Shino, she is just building with her brothers to expand the raft due to the new increase in people.

"Your plan worked, Shino!"Ghastly cheers

"YAY! Raven you owe me a milkshake!"Shino says

Raven falls backwards laughing.

"That was too cute!"He says

"YES! Fall and face defeat of my cute strategies!"Shino says jokingly

"No, Shino. It's KNEEL before your cute strategies."Jasper says

(two innocent beans of chaos)

I see Gradient is stuck being hugged by E!Gaster, Error, Bluescreen, PJ, E!Pap and Ink. Ghastly is being hugged by Killer and his brother as I predicted. Azure, Encre, Felicia, Suave, Poussière and now Jasper looking over at us in utter shock. After a few minutes of dead silence, everyone else went back to what they were doing. But not them. Any of them. Dream moved rather fast to leave everyone's sight. Rufous and Fallacy got uneased, hiding behind Deccy and I. Classique and Nightmare crawl to sit in front of us.

"Why are they staring? Are they upset?"Fallacy asks

I shake my head no.

Killer looks over.

"Nighty?"He says

"Hewwo, Kills."Nightmare says 

Killer scoops him up.

"What happened to you?"Killer asks

"Well, let's just say that down in the deep blue sea are merfolk as curious as Ariel and experiments more than Science."He says

"Well, you look adorable like this and in a lil onesie!"Killer says, cradling Nightmare in his arms

I could see Nightmare's face burn.

"Wait, how'd you even get down there?"He asks

"SOMEONE GET UNCLE DREAM!"Ghastly shouts

Suave drags Dream back in.

"Oh, you did something didn't you?"Jasper says

"You are a bigger trouble magnet than my own nephew, and that says something!"Felicia says

"OH WOULD YOU LET THAT GO!"Dream says

"Sorry, but someone who puts their nephew in ovens and carelessly puts their sibling in the care of a psychopathic creep cannot live their actions down utnil they prove to me that they are a mature, responsible, SMART, skeleton being. And you aren't helping your case right now."Felicia says

"Tell them what you did."Ghastly says

"Brother slept in and I tried to prank him by throwing him into the water while he slept. He sank so quickly."Dream says

"I'd be much angrier if we didn't have him here right now or in such a cute condition. Don't EVER do something so reckless to my husband again."Killer says

Dream ran off before anything else could happen. Felicia shakes her head. Killer takes his family inside and up to bed.

"Sissy?"Fallacy says, peeking out, turning back to his skeleton form

"Oh my Blood Moons...."Felicia says

"Sissy! You had a gwowth spurt!"He cheers, running over

Poussière smiles, nudging E!Pap who notices and took pictures for his book. As well as the rest of us.

Fallacy looks up at Felicia. By now she was no longer part fish.

"Sissy, you are weally tall."He says

"And you're adorable."She says

Jasper comes over to Fallacy. He was taller than Fallacy now by at least 6 inches. 

"Who are you?"He asks

"Okay, what the frick happened to him?"Jasper asks us

"He saw the swirly swirly."Rufous says

"The funk?"Poussière says

"It's something that can erase or twist memories into something else for a child-like mind. Fallacy only recalls his childhood now. So does Rufous."Classique says

Azure comes over and scoops his two friends up. Rufous clung to him, looking scared in these new surroundings full of strangers. Classique begins to explain what happened the best he could.

"So....He can't ground me because he doesn't even remember me?"Jasper says

"But M'Lord gave me the authority to do so when he can't so don't try anything Jasper."Suave says

"Dang it. How do we bring his mind back?"Jasper asks

"Dunno."Classique says

Azure takes them inside and comes back out after putting them to bed. By now, Deccy and I were noticed and teased or questioned a bit by Error and his family. We answered as much as we could and then they went inside as well. Deccy and I just sat there, watching everything unfold.

"Sissy! How did you get so tall?"Fallacy asks

"I stayed healthy."Felicia says

"Heya bud."Poussière says

"You got a gwowth spurt too! How am I so small still?"Fallacy says, lost in confusion

"Eh, everything will make sense later."Poussière says

Suave kneels down.

"It is so good to see you back here safe and sound my friend."He says, sticking out his hand

Fallacy tilts his head in confusion.

"Who are you? I'm sowwy, I don't remember you....but you look familiar."He says, shaking Suave's hand

"I'll explain everything soon. I am Suave, a friend and servant."Suave says

"You don't have fangs, are you a non-vampire?"He asks

"Indeed."Suave says

"Father doesn't like them...He never allows them near the castle..."He says, trying to make sense of this

"But you do. Like I said, I will explain."Suave says

"Okie dokie."He says

Encre was sitting down and sketching something. Fallacy goes over to him and hops to peek over his shoulder.

"That looks gweat!"He says

Encre looks at him and his face lit up in a rainbow. Fallacy's little face got a yellow glow and he gasps.

"I know you! You're the pway pal with the watermelon in the Guard and Thief Game! You gwew too! It's so nice to see you again!"He cheers

Encre's eyes widened. His eye-lights went pale and he fell to the side, twitching but not seeming conscious. Azure overheard this and straight up fainted. Poussière catches him.

"Fwend? Are you ok? Wake up! Pwease!"Fallacy says, nudging Encre gently

"Great, you killed him with your cuteness."Jasper says

"What? No! I didn't mean to kill him! Fwend! Please don't die!"Fallacy cries, hugging Encre

"JASPER! TO YOUR ROOM NOW!"Felicia says

"Sorry..."Jasper says

"What is going on with them? Are they gonna be okay?"Poussière asks, holding Azure close and protectively

"Uh...I dunno...Didn't expect them to hit their cursed memories."She says

"CURSED?!"Poussière and Fallacy exclaim

"I can explain. Brother, what happened after we played with them that day?"Felicia asks

"We got caught and gwounded."He says

"Yes, that is true. But they did too. They didn't know we were vampires so their village was gonna be merciful and just have them too busy to play for a week or two, until a certain Prince Asgore heard the news. He had them, children, taken in and got their memories of that day meeting us cursed. Any attempt to remember it would be painful. But now they are not attempting, they are unlocking it so the curse must be........Oh dear...."Felicia explains

"I HATE ASGORE!"Fallacy snaps, having a deadly look in his eyes already

"Wow, and this is when he's a kid and they're just friends."Suave says, noticing this

"He is a special fwend! I can feel it! He just has to wake up! I wanna help him!"Fallacy says, hugging Encre close

Fallacy notices something. Encre had one of the necklaces Azure had wrapped around his neck. The soul locket glowed.

"I wonder what this is."He says, then open it

The soul shot out, rising to the air and shining. Kinda like when Lapis was freed on steven universe. A body took form and landed on the raft, a cane in their hand.

(Guess who :3)

"Oh my!"Suave says

The stranger gets up and stretches. Looks like a lady, kinda like Encre. She had a satchel and a cane though.

"Ah, good to be out. You freed me without the double tap Azure. So who needs a whack? Are you-Oh."She says, turning around and seeing us all

"Oh this is gonna be good!"Felicia says

"This wasn't what I was expecting.....Though I dunno what I expected..."She says

"We can explain everything!"Suave says

"Okay. But first let's handle the upset lil cub here."She says, taking out a hand puppet and putting it on

She taps Fallacy on the shoulder and gets his attention.

"Look at this lil bunny. See the bunny?"She says

"Ooo!"e says

"Wanna play with this bunny?"She asks

"Yes, but....My fwend first."He says, huggigng Encre

"Stubborn still, huh? Well, I will trade you the bunny for my grandson."She says

He nods. She gives the bunny puppet and he releases Encre. She carries him away. Fallacy follows quickly behind.

"Poussière, be a dear and release Azula to help Azure."She says

Poussière does as told, soon another lady appearing and carrying Azure away.

"So that's Encwe's gwandma?"Deccy asks

"Mhm. And the other is Azure's grandma. They are very nice."Suave says

"Yep, now let's get you two settled."Felicia says, scooping us up

Encre's grandma and Azula got their explanation after they removed the curse on ther grandsons' memories. We went to sleep and woke up the next morning. I walked around, watching as everyone greets each other. Fallacy gave me a hug, then ran to play with Encre. Suave is working on a cure before things get out of hand. We don't know if the swirly thing has permament effects.  Azula liked meeting the rest of us and making tacos with Blue while Azure slept off the curse removal side effects. Encre was up and moving though. I went over to him, curious on why he wasn't resting.

"Don't you need to sleep off the side-effects?"I ask

"Nah, they feel minor to me. They have a stronger impact on Azure though."He says

Then he scoops Fallacy up, who hugs him close. Fallacy still knows nothing more than his childhood memories. I shrug and sit on the edge of the raft, helping Shino make more space on it. I got on Elanor's, or Encre's grandmother, good side real quick when she figured out who I was. She didn't even mind my appearance or way I spoke, which usually others would have a problem with. 

"So do you censor like Suave does?"She asks

I nod.

"Ah, interesting."She says with a smirk

I later witnessed what happened when people get on her bad side. She bumped into Dream and learned who he was. She also knows the Charles incident, which set him on her bad side. 

WHACK!

"Have some family priorities, boy!"She told him

Oh, and Fell would get hits from Azula and Elanor every time he cursed. Either with a chancla or cane, but he's still on their good side. They are a mischievious duo, smuggling him mustard every time Edge takes it from him. Same with Classic when Pap takes his ketchup. Elanor even started a game with me too. For every person or word I censor, I get a cookie. For every person or word she censors, I tell her a fact about me. Yeah, by the end of the day she got 2 facts about me and I got to share 12 cookies with Deccy, Gradient, Azure as he awoke, and I. 3 for each of us. And that's just a single day.

Now, Classique and Rufous. Well, turns out Rufous was a chaotic one as a kid. Classique is there along for the ride to keep him out of trouble. Literally. Rufous will pull Classique onto his shoulders and will run around, laughing and being any mischievious child. Classique will be there to guide him orwarn him when he is doing something wrong.

This is normal.

A few days pass and Suave got a cure for some of them. Fallacy is cured. He recovers his memories and Jasper is very happy, though enjoyed the trouble he was able to cause with his child version of his father. Encre and Fallacy talk through their recovered memories, recovering any forgotten ones. Suave pulls Classique and Rufous aside and cure them too. But the onesies grow with them. Rufous quickly got his memories back as well. He scoops Classique up and smirks.

"Let's go make sure Jasper didn't mess with your sword."He says

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS ASSUME I MESSED WITH IT?"Jasper asks

"You have a history."Rufous says

"It's in a closet."Jasper says

"Come on Classy. Before trouble is started."Rufous says

Classique facepalms.

"Says the trouble maker."He says teasingly

"I dunno what you're talking about."Rufous says in denial

They head off and I go join Elanor after Deccy and I got cured while she tries to understand the new technology in the kitchen.

"So these are the kitchen beasts Suave told me about...What are their names?"She asks as I sit on the counter

"Fridge, Freezer, Toaster, Microwave, Stove, Oven, Dishwasher, and Blender."I say, pointing to each one

Then I explain what they do. She found it interesting without any fear that Suave seems to have when first learning about it. Next thing everyone knew, she was making cookies and sweets from the oven.

"So Suave says you don't have emotions....Besides your bond with that Deccy guy."She says

"Yeah, those things are new. I've only experienced true anger, care, love joy and worry so far. I've never really felt it, yet it was a piece of cake to fake. My shades would usually show any so-called feelings I have. But yeah, I've only gotten that with Deccy. They say it's because bonds make people better people or change....But part of me doubts that."I say

"Why?"She asks

"Cause, I'm a parasite. Parasites don't change from what I know because of others, they feed on others. They are bad..."I say

"But you're not bad. So you are no parasite. Even if you are one, you can be good. And you are. Not all parasites are bad, that's just nature. Besides, you have plenty of people here that think you're rad as you might say."She says

I look at her and smile.

"Now have a cookie."She says, handing me a cookie

I take a bite.

"It's delicious!"I say

"Thanks!"She says

There is a moment of silence.

"Does that Cipher fella still bother you?"She asks

I glance at her.

"Suave explained your history and situation. Has he bothered you?"She asks

"Umm, no. Not at all, which is cool. Nothing to worry about."I say, hopping down from the counter

She looks at me, as if not believing me.

"I've put that situation behind me."I say

"Alright, but if he gives any problems, I'll be happy to teach him a lesson."She says, her hand getting engulfed in a magical purple flame

It reminded me of the blue one that surrounds Cipher's hand when he makes a "deal". I step back, uneased a bit.

She snaps and the flame is gone.

"I have my ways of convincing troublemakers to cut it out."She says, summoning and twirling her cane smoothly

I nod.

"Umm, thanks for the concern. I'm...gonna go now. Peace."I say, leaving

That night, I enter a weird dream. It was complete darkness, I could not move. I hear laughter echo around. Then Cipher appears. I jump, still unable to move.

"You really thought that getting away from me and our deal was that easy? Cause it isn't and you haven't completed your tasks."He says

"Leave me alone! I don't care about the stupid deal! You can't and won't get Deccy! You can't and won't make me do that deal!"I snap

"Hmm, we'll see about that. But it is never that easy to set me aside. I may not be able to find you or your dear Deccy physically, but I wonder how long either of you will last mentally....Alright, I will leave you be and have my fun with Deccy."He says

"NO! YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE!"I growl

He comes close and into my face.

"Then let's negotiate.~"He says

I get surrounded with blue flames. The kind that come from Bill Cipher's or Cipher's hand when deals are made. 

"I refuse to help you. You won't be able to make me do anything."I say

"Oh, but once I break you, that will change."He says

Then he steps beside me, slipping behind me. He grips my shoulders tightly.

"Now, get comfy. We're gonna have fun running through all the scenarios and plans I have in store.~"He says

I look ahead and see a vision of him blasting Deccy to dust.

"NO!"I yell, waking up

"You won't last a week."He says, his voice fading as I blink to wash the sleepiness away

I look around, recognizing my room on this raft. I fall back against the bed and sigh with relief. I get up in a panic, remembering what Cipher said. I run to Deccy's room. I enter and check on him. He is shifting a bit so I nudge him. He opens an eye to look at me.

"Hey, Deccy Dec. You alright?"I ask

"Yeah. Just trying to doze."He says

"Okay, have pleasent dreams."I tell him

"Same to you."He says

I nod, leaving and shutting his door. I sigh, relieved.

"Fresh?"A voice says from behind

I jump and turn to see Nightmare there.

"Sup Nightmare."I say

"You ok? I sense a lot of negativity from you. Did you and Deccy fight or something?"He says

"Nope. Everything is fine with us. I just am tired, that's all."I say

"Okay...If anything is wrong, you can tell me."He says

"Okay, night Nightmare!"I say, then head back to my room

I go back to sleep, only to be put back in the trap with Cipher. This went on for weeks, every single night. I started taking naps in the day to avoid sleeping at night, when Cipher sets the trap. Or I'd fall asleep throughout the day at random times. Often I get caught by the others. They'd seem worried? I think? I would tell them that I am ok, though none of them seemed to believe me and still seemed worried.Even Error. Surprisingly he has stopped calling me 90s trash and stuff. He calls me by my name or if he is annoyed with me an idiot but that's it. So one night Cipher tried to convince me that Error doesn't trust me and is just waiting for a chance to get rid of me. He failed.

Twice I got caught by Deccy. Once was when I fell asleep at night right into Cipher's trap and woke up after another sight of Deccy getting hurt. I yelled as I woke up and next thing I know, Deccy is in my room.

"Fresh! I heard you yell! Are you okay?"He asks

"Sup Deccy Dec. I am just fine. Just had an unrad dream."I say

"You were sleeping on the floor?"He asks

I look to see I am on the floor beside my bed.

"Oh, guess I fell out of the bed. Oops."I say, shrugging it off

"What was the bad dream about?"He asks, sitting beside me

I can't tell him. Cipher will just go after him.

"Eh, it wasn't too bad. Nothing for you to worry about."I say

"Then why are you crying?"He asks

"I am?"I say

He wipes some tears that I didn't even know were there.

"Oh....Well everything is ok Deccy Dec. Sorry for disturbing you."I say

He reluctantly left. The next day I was sitting on the raft watching Ghastly play with the orca that came back again. I dozed off for a few minutes and jolted awake when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Deccy. I look at him and calm down.

"Oh, sup Deccy Dec."I say

"Fresh? Are you okay? You were dozing off. Did you not rest well?"He asks

"I am great. I just went to sleep late and woke up early, not giving much sleep time. My mistake. But I'm ok."I say

He looks at me with worry and slowly nods.

"If you say so."He says, then walks away

I take off my shades and look at them. Cipher's words last night got to me. I was a troublemaker and not well liked even before his tasks. And he showed me memories or situations where the others talked about me. The name troublemaker kept coming up. And do they really trust me? They know my connection with Cipher. Are they really worried or are they just waiting for me to turn on them or cause trouble again? I glance at my shades. They said the well-known YOLO on it. I don't want to be a threat or troublemaker, well not a bad troublemaker. There are good troublemakers like Jasper. But how do I get through this situation?

"HeY! FrEsH! CoMe PlaY!"A voice shouts, taking me out of my thoughts

I glance over to see Gradient waving to me with some of his friends. I remember Error telling me that the kid looks up to me despite every wrong thing I did because I was around to help him. I smile. Can't let the kid down. Don't doubt myself. Don't let Cipher get to me. I can figure a way out of this.

"Sup broski! Sure!"I say, joining their game

It was fun. 

And I did prove Cipher wrong. He said I wouldn't last a week but I lasted two before I cracked. But not to join or do the deal's tasks. No no no. He cracked me enough to tell someone the truth. 

I knocked on E!Pap's door and he opens the door. He looks at me as I nervously play with my shades in my hands. Part of me was worried that if I tell someone that Cipher is contacting me again that I'll lose everyone's trust.

"HeY FrEsH, yOu SeEm UnEaSed. WhAt'S wRoNG?"He asks

"Can we talk?"I say

"SuRe! CoMe On iN!"He says

He shuts the door behind me and we sit in bean bag chairs. I tell him everything and even how he is reaching me. Since I made the deal, he ran a test to make sure that he can access me whenever he wishes, in case I rebel. He stared at me once I was done and there is a knock at the door.

"PaPs! YoUr SpaGhEttI iS dOne! MaY I cOmE iN?"Error says

"NoT nOw BrOtHeR!"He tells Error

"SoMEThINg wRoNG?"Error asks

"I aM bUsY rIgHt nOw!"He tells Error

"OkAy!"Error says

E!Pap looks at me, then comes over to me and hugs me.

"I wIlL tRy tO mAkE sOmeThIng tO bLocK CiPHEr oUt. EvEryThiNg wIlL bE oK."He says

"You're not upset?"I ask

"ThErE iS No ReAsOn fOr mE tO bE UpSet. YoU aRe jUst dOinG wHat yOu cAn iN tHis sItUaTiOn."He says

I smile at him a bit.

"EverYtHiNG Is Ok, FrEsH. NoW, tRy tO gEt sOmE rEst."He tells me

He grabs me by the hand and teleports to my room. He sets me in bed and has me go to sleep. I take a small nap at most. I wake up and enter a living room, putting on my shades. I sit down on the couch, chatting a bit with Jasper until he ran off to cause chaos again. Then I heard a conversation in the kitchen.

"What's WrOnG DecCy? SoMeThInG sEeMs to bE oN yOuR mInD aNd sTrEsSiNg yOu Out."E!Pap asks

"Fresh. He is worrying me."Deccy says

"So y0u've noTicEd hiS iSsUe As wEll?"E!Pap asks

"The issues he claims to not have? Yeah."Deccy and Suave say

"He seems like he hasn't slept that well, or at all."Suave states

"I don't want him to get in trouble again...."Deccy says

"AwW, ThAt'S nIce oF yOu DeCcY."E!Pap says

"I don't want him to get hurt or into trouble doing those stupid tasks for Cipher.."Deccy says

"YoU dO kNow wHy hE wAs dOiNg tHoSe tAsKs, rIghT?"E!Pap says

"Because Cipher is a manipulative jerk."Deccy replies

"Though that may be true, Fresh didn't tell you the other reason?"Suave asks

"What other reason?"He asks

"Should we tell him?"Suave asks

"Tell me what?"Deccy asks

"Mhm."E!Pap says

"Deccy, he did not just do the tasks because Cipher was being a jerk. Cipher planned to hurt and/or kill you. He did those tasks in order to keep you safe. Trust me, I've seen his phone."Suave says

I check and realize I left my phone in the kitchen. I hear footsteps and then tapping.

"His password is YOLO123."Suave says

I hear phone typing.

"Check his calender, notes and reminders from the days he was doing the tasks, you'll see what I mean."Suave says

I hear a long silence.

"Why would he not tell me this?"Deccy mutters

"He Did nOt WaNt To sTrEsS yOu Out Or WoRrY yOu. He sTiLl dOesN'T....WiTh hIs IsSuE."E!Pap says

"Though it could be his condition as well."Suave says

"Condition?"Deccy says

"You know he doesn't have real emotions right? Or didn't I should say?"Suave says

"Why are you using the past tense?"Deccy asks

"Well it seems your bond with him has given him emotions that he lacked. He cares a lot for you. And he has gotten stronger feelings of joy, nervous, and anger. What did he say for example when he found out he was taken by those merpeople?"Suave asks

"He AsKed wHat ThE fEeLinG iS wHeRe yOu wAnT tO fUnKinG KIlL sOmEonE. He hAd to CenSor hImSeLf gEtTinG tHat AnGer."E!Pap says

"Is that why you told me that you told him how I felt about him?"Deccy asks

SO IT WASNT A LIE!

"Yeah, he had recalled everything from when he was a cat and in denial of his new feelings. So if you told him I lied, you confused him and basically friend-zoned yourself. He is still trying to understand emotions and social cues."Suave says

"He....Likes me?"Deccy says

"Indeed."Suave says

"Then what could be the issue he is keeping secret?"He asks

"WeLl....NeverMinD."E!Pap says

"What?"Suave and Deccy ask

"NOPE! I reFusE to IntRudE On hIs pRivAcY!"E!Pap says

"What are you a therapist or counselor or something?"Suave asks

"WeLl PeOpLe dO cOme tO mE fOr hElp."E!Pap says

I head outside, sitting down on the edge of the raft. I take my shades off and set them aside. My head hurts and I shut my eyes.

"I am giving you one last chance Fresh, do the deal and leave them behind or regret this for the rest of your life."Cipher says

"Sorry, but I don't have regret for not siding with you as an emotion yet. I think you already know the answer."I tell him

"Pfft, you're gonna regret that. I'll make sure you do."He says

I open my eyes again. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look over to see Deccy beside me.

"Sup Deccy Dec."I say

He sits beside me and hugs my arm gently.

"You okay?"I ask

"Mhm. I know the truth now, Fresh."He says

"What truth?"I ask

"The truth about why you did those tasks."He says, resting his head on my shoulder

I don't say anything.

"Thank you for protecting me....But you don't have to deal with those bad dreams silently."He says

"How-?"I begin

"Suave got E!Pap to crack by making spaghetti and photos that could be used for his scrapbook."He says

"Pfft, that's honestly no surprise. But...I wasn't sure if it would bother you next..."I say

"Heh, well don't worry about that. How about this, we tell each other if there is a problem from now on no matter what happens."He says

"Okay. That's a deal I can make."I say

"I love you Fresh."He says

"As friends?"I ask

He hesitates.

"Nevermind. I love you too Deccy Dec."I say

We watch the sunset together. Just two best friends....Friends. Never in my life have I hated that word as much as now. But I didn't have a clue what was coming.

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TBC