Then a soldier...

[heart_breaking]

Who: Chara and Alan
When: Sometime May3-5
Where: Nihlus' room, Mero Deck
What: Chara has a bone to pick.
Warnings: Codescrew/mindscrew warnings, chara warnings. Undertale and Tron spoilers.



[Chara's fist is at least half the size of an adult's, half the usual height down the door, and one hundred percent as confident while knocking. There's no mistake that this man was behind all the stupidity that happened after Peter and Alice's original screwup. Chara has words to say. (And, if it comes to it, a knife in their pocket. No one can ever say they don't come prepared.]

Comments

[alan_1]

[Nihlus has told him not to open the door for anyone he doesn’t know. Alan supposes it’s a reasonable precaution given the circumstances. But peering through the door’s peephole now, it hardly seems necessary now. The person on the other side of the door is a child, one who Alan assumes is here for another of the room’s occupants. It won’t take much time at all to tell her (or him -- Alan can’t quite tell) that the others aren’t here right now. He doubts even Nihlus would object to such a brief conversation.

He opens the door.] Hello. Can I help you?

[heart_breaking]

Greetings. [He's old. And alone, apparently, if he's the one at the door.] You're Alan.

[This isn't a social visit. It isn't an assasination, either, but this doesn't mean Chara wants outside eyes restricting what they could do if they decided they needed to. Chara glances down the hallway, making up their mind, then tries to push past him into the room.]

[alan_1]

[That gets a raised eyebrow. He wasn’t expecting them to know (or care) who he was. He’s about to ask them their own name, but is interrupted by them trying to barge their way into the room. He could try and stop them, but… it isn’t really his room to kick them out of. If he actually felt threatened by them he might have tried to shut the door in their face, but he’s not. Instead he moves out of their way with a frown.]

I take it you want to speak with me?

[heart_breaking]

That's right. Everyone's saying you're the one who was gonna reprogram Rinzler.

[They stop and turn, standing in the room's middle. Images of the room trashed from an imagined fight blink idly in Chara's mind, but Alan doesn't look strong enough for things to get that extreme. It might not even get to that.]

People got hurt, and you're just hiding in here.

[alan_1]

[Alan stiffens at the accusation, though he isn’t completely surprised. Given the ship’s current climate, there’s only one likely reason a stranger would know his name. He stays by the door, keeping it half-open.]

What do you think I should do instead? [Asked calmly, without much expectation of a real answer. He can’t do anything for the wounded. Rinzler certainly wouldn’t want to see him. Isn’t it better for everyone that he stay out of sight?]

[heart_breaking]

[They weren't expecting him to ask, but if he insists...]

You should be trying to fix things. You haven't told anyone you're sorry! You didn't check to see if Frisk was okay, and I bet you didn't talk to Peter and Alice. You haven't done anything!

[alan_1]

I understand why you’d feel that way. But things aren’t that simple. [Alan finally closes the door behind him. If this is going to be an extended conversation, it’s best he keeps to Nihlus’s rules about security.]

With the way some people could react, talking about what happened could make things worse.

[heart_breaking]

Frisk wouldn't care anything about that! [Chara slices a hand through the air.]

All they would want is an apology! And maybe a promise never to do it again, but knowing them, they'd even forgive you without one!

[They might forgive him without an apology, too, but that's more than Chara's willing to concede. Frisk deserves an apology from someone, and this old man's the one they've found.]

[alan_1]

[He thinks he knows who the child is now. Toriel had mentioned three children after all, and if the physical resemblance between them and Frisk hadn’t made it clear, their obvious care for the other child did. He smiles slightly at their vehemence -- there’s something touching about how important it is to them that he apologize to their sibling.]

I suppose I can do that. [The apology and the promise. Alan’s not planning on doing anything like this again if he can help it.] I just might not be able to answer Frisk’s questions if they have any. At least not now.

[heart_breaking]

Who cares! Just talk with them, they'll work anything else out later.

[The coloring is different, and there's no way anyone could mistake Chara's vehemence for Frisk's gentle touch, but still the connection is obvious. Now that Alan's conceded the point they wanted they're backing down, and in the wake of that storm the resemblance is stronger than ever.]

Make sure you do it soon. Anyway, hiding here forever won't fix anything. Sooner or later you'll have to face a lot more than one little kid.

[alan_1]

I will. You have my word.

[There’s still a slight smile on his face as he says it, though he sobers at their next remark.] I know I will. But rushing to face everyone head-on isn’t always the best way to go about things. Especially when people are already so divided. [He won't go into specifics, but the fact of the matter is that doing something to appease one side would only further anger the other. And the last thing the ship needs right now is more anger.]

But that’s more my concern than yours. [He takes a step toward the door and then pauses and looks back at them.] Is that all you wanted to talk about?

[heart_breaking]

No.

[They follow him to the door, feeling their resolve from before they entered the room rising inside of them like a cloud. They stand opposite to him, eyes locked with his as though they don't even realize the obvious height difference.]

If you ever even think about doing anything like that again, you won't have to worry about anyone else hurting you. No one's going to do it.

That's because I'll get to you first.

[alan_1]

[The threat comes as a surprise and he turns sharply towards Chara, expression disapproving. Meanwhile the look on their face is utterly serious.]

I wasn’t planning on it, [he says flatly. He wonders if they learned that from someone else on the ship, that the right way to ensure Alan’s compliance would be to threaten him. Given the animosity of many of the crewmembers, he wouldn’t be surprised.]

I already know what I did was wrong. You don’t have to make threats.

[heart_breaking]

[Alan is disapproving, and Chara preens inwardly.]

Sure I don't. Just like you don't need anyone to tell you when something you're about to do is a terrible idea that's going to get innocent people hurt.

[Oozing superiority, Chara steps past him and opens the door.]