Sariel brushed aside her bangs, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and tugged one of the strings on her hoodie down. Just off enough from being even that it would catch Gaster's attention, because she knew how much he hated it. Taking one last look at herself, she was about to knock on the door before she took a whiff of her hoodie. She'd showered, but had to do one last double check to make sure that there wasn't any lingering B.O.

Satisfied, she knocked on the door and waited patiently. Almost passively her mind reached outwards, and she smiled to herself when she caught Gaster's own private little universe of thoughts and emotions. She reflexively started to read into them, but forced herself to stop. She'd learned enough etiquette, and had enough of the basic manners of Cored interaction with civilians drilled into her by her primer classes, to know that to do such would be a violation of trust and security.

Also in the house were the two nebulous clouds of Mr. and Mrs. Grushchwalds' thoughts. But she paused as she sensed two more minds, ones she didn't recognize. One of the clouds of thought was small, primal almost. But she recognized the faint undertones of a canine's urges to it, so they must have gotten a dog since she saw them last. The other mind, however, was different.

It was human… in the most basic sense. But there was something off about it. A tint of something that felt oddly familiar and alien at the same time. And more than that, the cloud immediately retracted away from her mind, sealing itself closed in the way only a class 2 would be able to.

Just as she was about to prod further, however, the door opened to reveal Mrs. Gruschwald's smiling face. Sariel immediately felt her brows unfurrow and her features relax. There was something about Gaster's mom's smile that was warm and inviting, an almost supernaturally smoothing force.

It was something all moms had, she guessed.

"Hey sweetheart, it's good to see you!" Mrs. Gruschwald exclaimed, standing aside to let her in. Sariel stepped into the house, a lit candle bathing the home with cinnamony warmth. "You just got back from your training week earlier today, right?"

Sariel nodded as the door closed behind her, taking a deep breath. She loved the smell of Gaster's house. It was different from the scent of gunpowder and cleaning oil that her own home was always steeped in. "Yes ma'am. Ugh, don't even get me started on it, it was a disaster."

Mrs. Gruschwald laughed, nodding sympathetically as she walked further down the hall. "I remember those days. Is Instructor Agil still in charge of the Camp?" She asked, and Sariel pursed her lips, causing her to laugh again. "By the looks of it he is. No one was ever good enough for his standards, don't let it get to you. Would you like anything to drink? You know we always have a little bit of everything."

Sariel shook her head slowly, a faint hum in her ears as the unfamiliar mind carefully reached out to mingle with her own. It wasn't attempting to form a link, not quite yet at least. For some reason she was reminded of a child's curious fingers poking and prodding at anything that caught their interest.

"Is there someone else here?" She asked, and Mrs. Gruschwald paused for a few moments before nodding.

"I suppose I should have known that you'd realize. Just a moment." She hummed, before leaning her head into the stairwell. "Boys! Sariel's here, come down and say hi!"

Sariel's heart fluttered just the tiniest bit when she heard Gaster's deep voice drift down the stairs, as well as Mr. Gruschwald's confirming grunt. She then mentally slapped herself as she caught her hands subconsciously fixing her hair.

She didn't even know when it had started to happen, but she was not going to make it obvious. She nearly cursed as she saw Mrs. Gruschwald's smile and side glance, her face flushing just the tiniest amount as she smiled sheepishly.

Maybe she was a bit more obvious than she thought she was.

Footsteps trampled down the stairway, two heavier pairs followed by a much lighter third pair. Mr. Gruschwald smiled down at Sariel as he came into view from the stairwell, having to lean down to avoid hitting his head on the low-rise ceiling.

"Hey there kiddo. Looks like yeh got a good tan in, working your arse off at camp." He greeted, and Sariel smiled proudly. She'd hoped people would notice.

Gaster followed behind shortly afterward, talking over his shoulder to a third person she didn't recognize. He turned from the stranger to look at her, and her stomach did miniature gymnastics as his chocolate brown eyes took her in. "Hey Sary." He said, his voice rumbling in the air, and she forced her usual grin onto her face.

Don't make it awkward. "Hey Gaster!" She called back, as the trio stepped into the hallway to join them. Mr. Gruschwald looked between everyone gathered before walking over to Mrs. Gruschwald and kissing the top of her head.

"Alright kiddos, just be back before it gets too dark out. Yeh know the rules, no candy from strangers and all that." He said, and they all nod while Gaster rolls his eyes. Sariel forces herself to stop staring at him, to instead look at the boy who had been following behind them quietly.

He was normal looking enough, despite the obvious signs of mutation. A small, pale face with dark brown eyes that studied her curiously, grey wolf ears and a bushy grey tail that was wagging behind him slightly. Gaster noticed Sariel staring at him, and he cleared his throat.

"Ah, right. Sariel, since you hung up on me again before I could explain anything, this is my new little brother. He was officially adopted as of yesterday, but he's been here for a couple of weeks. Sariel meet Joey, Joey meet Sariel. We call him JJ, since Joey's my dad's name and all." He said, and Sariel smiled slightly. She was a bit disappointed that she and Gaster probably wouldn't be spending time alone, but she guessed that-

"You wish to mate with Gaster?" Joey asked abruptly, and Sariel's thoughts ground to a halt. Her smile remained frozen on her face, her body going completely stiff. Gaster glanced between her and Joey, chuckling.

"Right, I told him we were mates. We're friends, yeah." He said, and Sariel nearly crumpled with relief. She glared at Joey, before smiling sweetly at Gaster.

"Yep, as Gasty and his dad says, we're mates." She agreed perhaps just a bit too hurriedly, but Joey only slowly shook his head, sniffing the air.

"But the pheromones you're releasing suggest that you wish to procreate with-"

"WOW WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME!" Sariel practically screamed, her face going bright red as she heard laughter coming from deeper in the house. Both Gaster and Joey blinked in surprise, and she tapped her circlet. "I mean, if we want to head over to Giorno's, we have to beat the dinner rush!"

Gaster nodded slowly, that stupid dumb look on his face that she liked - that she certainly didn't like. "Right, yeah. I guess so. We were actually gonna go clothes shopping for JJ before that, if that's okay. He also needs to get measured for his uniform since he- Oh right! Sariel, JJ's been accepted into the Academy, so you'll be going together. Isn't that great?"

Sariel forced her smile to widen, though she felt her eye slightly twitching. "Yeah, that's… awesome." She said, and as Joey looked like he was about to speak again she snapped a mental link between their minds. If you're going to try and fucking out me again, don't. I mean it, or I'll roast your mind until you piss your pants.

She glared at JJ once Gaster had started tapping on his circlet. "Right, looks like the closest tailoring shop is over at…" Sariel wanted to keep listening to Gaster, but she nearly staggered when she felt a sudden surge of primal violence flood over their link as JJ's ears flattened and his eyes narrowed.

You are not a predator. Do not threaten me. She heard a voice that was entirely different from the one he had spoken with.

Yup, that settled it.

She definitely did not like JJ. And judging by the look he was giving her, the feeling was mutual.

You wanna go, you little punk?

I do not want to go anywhere with you, but if you wish to fight-

"Hey guys, everything okay?" Gaster asked, looking hesitantly between the two of them, completely oblivious to the mental battle taking place over their link. Sariel clenched her jaw, while JJ's ears flicked and his brows furrowed. But the one to break the stalemate between them was Sariel, who nodded and forced her smile back.

"Yeah, everything's fine. JJ here is a pretty funny little guy." She lied, and JJ snorted. She felt her eye twitch, but continued smiling. "So, walk and talk? I feel like I need to know how this little twe- I mean, how you guys ended up taking him in."

Gaster's smile grew big and bright in the way only his could, and he nodded as he walked to the front door and pulled it open. "It's a funny story actually." He said, waiting for all three of them to file out before closing the door behind them. They were in a nicer portion of the city, a gated community that was about a twenty minute walk from a good shopping center.

"Joey hit me with his truck." JJ answered as Gaster was about to resume talking, and Sariel's eyes widened while Gaster winced.

"Mr. Gruschwald did what!?" She exclaimed, and Gaster sighed loudly.

"Okay, well, I didn't want to start there, but yeah. So, story goes that dad was making a supply run to Mackadon…" He began as the trio walked down the sidewalk.

-

I do not like Gaster's mate.

She is very annoying. She doesn't display cowardice behaviors, and in fact she is very combative… but somehow that is even worse! She even threatened me despite not being a predator.

All because I stated the very clear signs that she wished to procreate with Gaster. Her pheromones had flooded the entire house. Because of this, she also does not seem to like me.

But Gaster very clearly likes her, as do mom and Joey. So I cannot eat her.

Frustrated!

We are back in the loud area of the 'city', with lots of people around. There are more big buildings, and people walk in and out of them as cars drive by along the street beside us. We have just finished 'clothes shopping' for my main body, as apparently I will need more of these clothes if I wish to attend the Academy. I do not understand why I cannot wear the clothes I have already been wearing, but mom said that it was necessary.

Sigh. The process was very annoying. Sariel kept making fun of the clothes I wished to wear, and to make it worse Gaster even laughed along with her making fun of them. Though he apologized when he realized his betrayal.

I take a deep breath, allowing the scents of the city to enter the modified olfactory system I have modified. There are so many tantalizing scents, rich sources of biomass offered by people… who are also biomass.

But through everything else, lies the annoying Sariel's pheromones. She very clearly wishes to procreate with Gaster, though I do not smell any of those same pheromones coming from him. Smug.

At least he knows which mates to avoid. He will never breed with you, Sariel!

"Oh, I got JJ hooked on Agency Heroes." Gaster says, and I immediately resume listening to their conversation. Sariel does not seem to like it when he mentions me in their conversation, but she smiles anyway. It seems that she also knows to show interest in what Gaster likes to talk about.

"Is that right?" She hums, turning back to smirk at me. "You any good? I doubt it."

I bristle. Does she doubt my flawless skill in the game?

"I am better than you." I growl. I know in my Core that I must be better than Sariel. But her smirk only widens as Gaster shrugs.

"He's definitely better than I was when I first started playing, but… you might still have him beat." He admits. Gaster has betrayed me again! How could he possibly think that I would lose to Sariel.

She laughs, looking back at me and sticking her tongue out. "Told you short stack, I'm better." She taunts, and I feel the frustration building inside of me.

I think I may hate Sariel.

"Come on guys, give it a rest." Gaster sighs wearily, as he has heard us fighting the entire trip. "We're almost at Giorno's anyways."

Oh, they said that Giorno's was a 'restaurant'. Which means…

FOOD! I am so hungry. I have not eaten anything since 'lunch'!

I lick my lips, looking around as we continue walking. Gaster seems to have noticed my excitement, as he turns back to look at me with a smile.

"You're gonna love it. All of their food is greasy and high in calories, just like you like it." He assures me, and I nod hurriedly. I sniff the air, hoping to find this 'Giorno's', and…

I pause.

The loudness of the crowd is deafening, the scent of each pulsing heart and coursing blood calling to me tantalizingly. But just underneath it, is something I have not smelled in weeks. Though it is slightly different from what I remember, I can smell…

Kin.

But the Kin scent is very wrong. It is weak, and sick, and it mingles with the smell of a human in a strange way. I raise my nose in the air, pushing out my mind, which makes Sariel stop and turn to look at me.

"The hell are you doing?" She hisses, but I ignore her, probing with my mind. Past the annoying Sariel and Gaster, past everyone else present. Until finally, I feel Kin's mind. But it is wrong. It feels like a human mind, but very different. One that is dark and strange and filled with pain, and hunger, and as it senses my own mind mingle with it it is overcome by-

RAGE

I flinch and pull back my mind in on myself, growling as I bring out my tentacles. Gaster's eyes widen and Sariel reaches into her hoodie, but I do not care. I look around frantically, trying to find the Kin. It is going to attack soon!

"JJ, put your tentacles away-" Sariel begins to say before a loud scream interrupts her. She immediately starts looking to where it came from as everyone around us on the sidewalk stops and does the same. I feel her mind brush past mine, and when her eyes widen I know she has sensed it too.

There is more screaming, and over the crowd I see large black tentacles waving in the air. It thrashes against the ground around it, as humans and nuans start running away. And when they clear out, I can see the Kin.

It looks like a human female, but… it is not. It is less than human, and more like Kin. Their clothes are old and torn, their skin dark black like Kin in some places but pale in others. Their eyes are bright yellow, and as the scent of blood fills the air, making my mouth water, it looks straight at me through the people in the crowd running away.

"Kill…" The Kin whispers, so quiet that through all of the screams even the wolf auditory nervous system has trouble hearing it. "Kill kill kill kill KILL KILL KILLL!"

And with a loud scream that rips through my eardrums, it starts running towards us.