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English
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Part 5 of How to Save the World
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Published:
2021-04-10
Updated:
2021-10-25
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60,320
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21/?
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41
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Chapter Text


⚜ Brothers In Arms 

Chapter 17: Sokovia


 

Sokovia was cold.

 

Or, at least, the particular area they had landed in was. Snowflakes drifted to and fro, swirling around the group in a hypnotizing dance that was broken by the feeling of sharp winds and rather exposed human limbs.

 

It was likely chilly at best for Toriel, who appeared to be rather unaffected, but for the average man it was freezing. Flint shivered, even with his long sleeved shirt, and rubbed his arms as he heard somebody’s teeth audibly chatter behind him.

 

“Warm. Place. Now!” Paula hissed through clenched teeth, her dress and simple pull over sweater not enough to keep the cold out. Ness gestured for them to all follow him, and the group quickly headed for a building that looked similar to a hotel of sorts. The outside was old and worn down, stones deteriorating into dust.

 

Despite the outside appearance, the inside looked warm and cozy, so they all huddled together as they stepped through the creaky door, exhaling in relief at the interior heating.

 

Grabbing a room, settling in, unpacking, and navigating the old fashioned hotel was difficult for one particular reason that all of them had completely neglected to see to, and Flint had stood around for fifteen minutes straight as their group struggled to communicate to the staff that spoke only Sokovian that they needed a room. 

 

But eventually, they got through it, if only because of Loki’s genius idea of pointing to a picture on the wall that showed off one of the hotel’s rooms.

 

The actual room wasn’t as well lit nor as clean as the picture, but it would do, and the group eventually split off. Paula, Ness and Harmony shared a room with Loki and Frisk, while Toriel and Flint had a room for themselves. If Flint had been listening harder when the arrangement was made, he would have heard two particularly mischievous children laughing silently and making low mutters of “Toriel and Flint, sitting in a tree…” 

 

But alas, he didn’t, and Flint was busy trying to see whether or not that weird off color on the wall above the mirror was a stain or a leak from the floor above while Toriel sat at the edge of her bed, nervously looking around. 

 

Washing up and crashing onto the bed felt like a feeling no other could compete with after the long day, and Flint quite honestly wished to pass out right then and there.

 

It was 4 am in Sokovia, 10 pm in Fourside. The sky was starting to get lighter, as it does in different regions, but Flint didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to get up, wanted to sink deeper into the mattress as he slept through the day.

 

It was like he had jet lag, but also not jet lag, considering he got here through a portal. Would that still count as jet lag? Maybe it would be classified as something else… portal lag, maybe?

 

But regardless of his absentminded thoughts, Flint knew that he had to get ready to move as soon as possible. Ness and Paula had requested that they come to their room after they finished unpacking and settling in, and Flint knew that the faster they did that, the faster they departed to look for his children.

 

So, fighting against his internal clock that tried to force his sleep, he sat up and met Toriel’s eyes.

 

“Ready to go?” He asked softly. His voice was slightly hoarse, but Toriel understood and nodded determinedly. She had bags under her eyes, and concerningly her hands looked like they were trembling, but she was ready to set off.

 

“Yes. Let’s go.”



“What do you mean, you have no plan?”

 

Flint watched bemusedly as Ness and Paula were yelling at each other, bickering like an old couple. Loki and Frisk were on their beds, busy with a mobile game, while Harmony was dozing off in her crib. It was supposed to be almost 11 pm back at home, after all.

 

“We do have a plan! Locate the kids, kick the asses of whoever is keeping them captive, including the soldier guy if he’s evil, and get back home!” 

 

Flint and Toriel had arrived at the Ebbund family’s hotel room a mere ten minutes before, waiting on the opposite side of the door for some time before being let in by a distracted Frisk. The shouting had been going on since they had gone in, and it was still dragging out now.

 

“That is not a plan! That’s just a general synopsis of what we should be doing! We have to figure out just how we’re meant to track these kids down, find some way to get around this country easier, and get an alternative if something goes wrong! Backup plans, Paula, backup plans!”

 

The two were glaring at each other, breathing hard. Ness’s black hair that was neatly combed beforehand was now wild and hanging in front of his eyes, reminding Flint of a rambunctious kid. The same went for Paula, who had her hair down over her shoulders as stray strands stuck out like porcupine quills.

 

“Okay, okay, let’s slow down.” She sighed, rubbing her eyes wearily. “Clearly, we left a little faster than we expected to, but we can sort it out as we go. Is that alright with you?”

 

Ness nodded, visibly deflating. The two shook on it, oddly formal for the married couple, before finally turning to Flint and Toriel. He waved, Toriel following his cue.

 

“Right. Sorry about that! Let’s discuss.” Ness sat down on the floor, Paula urging Loki and Frisk to sit as well. Flint hesitantly found his way to the floor, Toriel sitting on her knees, until they were all comfortably seated in a circle.

 

“Do any of you have ideas of how we should approach this?” Paula started. “We’ve been… trying to find out a good, well thought-out way to find your children, Flint, but we’re not sure about all the details, you know?”

 

He nodded tensely. He was impatient to leave Fourside, and knew they were bound to arrive forgetting something.

 

“We can find a map?” Toriel piped up. “Digital or physical, it’ll aid us a lot as we go along. 

 

Ness nodded. “For sure, that’ll definitely help us. Any other ideas?”

 

“We can look around the local news or area for sightings of these guys,” Frisk piped up. “Though I’m not sure how we’ll get past the language barrier.”

 

The room was silent for several beats, each person shifting uncomfortably, fishing for an answer. Harmony cooed quietly in the background, and Loki slowly raised his hand.

 

“How about a translator? We could grab a person that speaks both languages, but if you wish to be more… modern, I suppose, you could always use ‘Google Translate.’”

 

“Ah, great idea!” Paula said, clapping her hands together. Ness, who had just opened his mouth to respond, clicked it shut and nodded. 

 

“Right! It might be a bit off, but it’ll work.”

 

Loki leaned back, pleased with his contribution.

 

“What do we do if we’re ever like- tracked down by HYDRA, too?” Frisk interjected. “Isn’t that a possible outcome for what we’re going to do? Plus, have we forgotten the soldier with a metal arm Flint and Toriel said was hanging out with the twins?”

 

“Well, we can’t really do anything other than hide and fight back…” Ness replied. “But in the worst case scenario where we’re backing into a corner, we’re teleporting you kids back home. No matter what.”

 

At this, Frisk and Loki jumped to their feet. 

 

“Wait, what?! That wasn’t a part of the plan-!”

“Are you kidding me?! No, that’s off the table!”

 

“Hey!” Paula said sharply. The two snapped their jaws shut. “But that’s the worst case scenario, alright? Of course, we’ll try to get all of us out of there. But if we’re really, really short on time, you two and Harmony are out first!”

 

Clearly not liking it, the two sat back down, fuming angrily. Paula rubbed her face in her hands, before she also sat back down.

 

“Not another word about that tonight. Not now.”

 

There was a tense silence, but slowly Loki and Frisk nodded. Paula relaxed, giving a tight lipped smile, before gesturing to Ness for them to continue.

 

“Right, well… what’s our route?”

 

They all looked at each other, unsure who should speak up first. The outside was beginning to grow brighter with the sun, and the bustle of people heading to work began. Flint shut his eyes, thinking about just how his sons are, where they might be, how they might be doing. 

 

They needed him. And he’d bring them back.

 

“Let’s head to the streets.” Flint said suddenly. All eyes turned to him.

 

“Better to start somewhere than nowhere.”



As Toriel wandered the streets, she got odd looks from many of the people around her. Some may have thought she was simply in a suit, but others likely knew her for who she was.

 

But Toriel was used to the odd stares by now. She simply ignored them for a while, as she searched the crowd for any signs of… Anything, really.

 

It was mid morning, beginning to tip into noon as Toriel roamed the area. Flint had gone off on his own in an effort to cover more area, though she knew it was more likely he was forced to, based on the sour look on his face before they departed.

 

She brushed her paw against an old news stand- nothing in stock but a few raggedy old magazines and a plentiful amount of more recent newspapers. Clearly, the place didn’t get that many people.

 

Toriel took a look anyway, and peered at one of the newspapers. Seems like tabloids.

 

But then somebody suddenly grabbed her by the arm of her robe, pulled her into a nearby alleyway, and threw her to the ground, causing her to tumble.

 

She looked up. Three men stood above her.

 

“Eyy, I seeee y’ure one’a dem monsterz, from the America, or- * HIC! *

 

Toriel blinked, and stood. She brushed off her robe, even though it was already a bit dirty before she was thrown down, before looking up at the men.

 

“Yes, I am. And what does it mean to you?” She simply asked.

 

“We don’... Don’ like you monsterzz here-” *HIC!* “-You don’... Deserve the-” *HIC!* “-sun.”

 

“Well-”

 

“GET-” *HIC* “-HER!” The drunken man shouted.

 

His two ‘henchmen’ stepped forward, one of them pounding his fist into his hand, the other pulling out a switchblade.

 

Step by step, the three men continue to inch closer, as Toriel began to back up, she began looking for ways out of this fight-

 

But there was no escape-

 

She would have to FIGHT-

 

And then, suddenly, a metal pipe came flying out of the back of the alley, slamming into the left-most man. The other two backed up-

 

And then, a 13-year-old girl floated down into the space between Toriel and the men. Her hands and feet were glowing red.

 

She flung her hand forward, throwing a red projectile at the right-most henchman. He was flung back a solid five feet.

 

The middle guy pulled out a broken bottle- charged the girl- she hadn’t noticed in time- but Toriel threw her arms forward, and suddenly two white fireballs slammed into his chest, sending him stumbling.

 

“It’s- It’s the red witch! ” One of the men screamed, suddenly standing up and running away, screaming like a small child.

 

The other two men’s eyes widen, and they also begin to run away, escaping into the crowd.

 

The young girl lowered her arms, and her extremities stopped glowing.

 

She turned around, and grinned sheepishly at Toriel.

 

“Heh. Thanks for the… Save…”

 

Her grin dropped into a shocked expression.

 

“Oh my god. You’re- You’re from Ebott, aren’t you? Like, one of those monsters from the mountain.”

 

Warily, Toriel nodded. The girl’s face widened in wonder.

 

“Wow… You look. Uh. Really cool.”

 

“Oh, thank you, child!” Toriel said, smiling at the young girl, who smiled back.

 

“Oh, right. I’m Wanda.”

 

“And I am Toriel. Nice to meet you!”

 

“Nice to meet you too. Come on, we should probably get somewhere warmer…”

 

“Oh, no need! I am perfectly warm as I am. I have fur, after all.”

 

“...I can see that,” Wanda said, “But it’s more for me than you.”

 

“Well, no need for that either!” Toriel said as she lit a fireball in her palm, before throwing it at the ground. The fireball popped as it hit the ground, before becoming lit and, somehow, without fuel, stayed lit on the ground.

 

Wanda stared in awe. She stepped forward and began to warm her hands over the fire, looking up at Toriel.

 

“So, what are you doing so far from Ebott?”

 

“Well…” It was likely best not to divulge all the details. “...I am helping a friend to search for his children. We have reason to believe that they are lost, here, in this city.”

 

Wanda nodded. “Huh. They likely would not have lasted long in this city.”

 

Toriel winces.

 

“...Well, I’m sure they’re fine.”

 

Toriel sighs. “I… They are quite strong, those children. I believe in them.”

 

Wanda nodded. “I’m sure.”

 

For a while, the two of them sat there, by the fire, staring into its white depths.

 

“...Toriel.” Wanda says quietly. “Can I ask you something?”

 

“Go ahead, young one,” Toriel says with a gentle smile.

 

Wanda looks up at Toriel, winces, and looks back down at the fire.

 

“...Sometimes,” she says, “I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. You saw, earlier, how I have these powers?”

 

Toriel nods, tilting her head. “Your magic.”

 

“R-Right, my magic. Well… Sometimes, I have to use it to… you know… hurt people. And… Sometimes… I wonder if the people I’m hurting deserve it. My brother acts like he doesn’t care, but I know he’s thinking the same thing. About. People being hurt. And…”

 

“Oh, young one, I doubt you need to worry about that.”

 

Wanda looked up at Toriel, bewilderment crossing her face.

 

“I understand that you may be afraid, but for how little time I’ve known you, I can tell you that, simply by worrying about that, you have proven to have quite the moral compass.”

 

Toriel smiles down at Wanda. “I believe in you, after all.”

 

Wanda blinks. Were those… Tears in her eyes?

 

“...Thank you.”

 

For a bit, the two sit there and wait, before-

 

BBBRING. BBBRING.

 

“Oh, I have to take this.” Wanda reached into her pocket and pulled out one of those flat-screen phones.

 

“Hello… Oh! Hey! Pietro! What’s going on… What? They found them? Okay, I’ll be right over in a few… Now? We’re leaving now!? Ugh.”

 

Wanda put the phone away and stood up with a sigh.

 

“I have to go, now.”

 

“Are you sure?” Toriel asked. She had been quite enjoying this talk.

 

Wanda nodded sadly. “Goodbye, Toriel. I hope to see you again!”

 

“ And you too!”

 

Wanda smiled, before running off.

 

Toriel smiled as well.