Sure enough, Madotsuki lead them to the pond- it wasn’t very far from where she first appeared in this world, in fact, so it wasn’t a detail she was likely to forget. Naturally, there were still frogs there to be dealt with, but with two friends in tow they were much easier to deal with. Ib distracted them, and in turn made it easy for Madotsuki or Mary to cut the beasts with their knives. A good hit would make it turn its attention away again, but the remaining attacker could simply strike it again.

Soon enough they had a good supply of frog legs, and the pond was secure. Mary started looking the pond over for the best fishing spot, while Ib pulled out her rose. A single pedal was missing thanks to an unlucky frog strike that Mary had repaid in kind. However, as soon as she dipped the rose into the water, it grew a fresh pedal. “It worked.”

Madotsuki couldn’t see if Ib had actually recovered, but she supposed she had no reason to doubt it. The rose did magically get better, certainly. Mary eventually settled down into a spot and cast out her line. She stared expectantly. “So when do the fish come out?”

The other two walked over to look, but the water was just as murky to them as it was to Mary.

“I’m not sure.” said Ib. “I guess you just wait until one bites the line?”

They all went back to staring and waiting. Just as Ib was about to suggest changing spots, Mary yelped. “Something’s pulling on it!” She was clinging to the pole tightly.

“W-Well pull back!”

Mary complied, yanking the rod back- and pulling the line out of the pond itself with a fish on the end. She actually pulled a little too hard, ending up flat on her back. The two helped her up, then looked at her wiggling and flopping quarry.

The artist smiled and picked up the line, examining it in more detail. “So this is a fishie… I guess that painting my father made was a bit off. It was gray, but this one is blue!”

Ib spoke up. “I think there are gray fish… anyway, now we have something else to eat!”

“Mhm! Now we catch more, right?” Mary sat down again, tossing out the line once more- with the fish still attached. “Oops… let me reel that in...” They eventually had the poor fish stored away properly so Mary could keep fishing. It didn’t take them long to catch a couple more, though it seemed to take increasingly long to do so.

“Maybe…”Mary pondered, “They’re realizing they should avoid the hook? I didn’t know fish were so smart.”

Madotsuki shrugged. “Could be. Maybe we should come back later now that we have some. Oh, that reminds me, weren’t there some other things we were going to look for?”

Mary thought on that for a moment. “Oh, paper! You were going to make a dairy!”

The dreamer fidgets. “Y-Yes. And you were going to make more dolls, I think?”

Mary nods. “So we need more reeds, right?” She reels her line in, putting the rod away. “Then it’s go!”

She started to run off towards the marsh already before Madotsuki grabbed her arm. “Just don’t forget what happened last time...”

Mary froze. “Oh, right… that big slimy arm thing.”

“The proper word is a tentacle. Anyway, just remember to be careful, alright? Don’t go running off without me.”

“I won’t! Besides, I have to keep Ib safe too!”

Ib looked away. “I can get better if I’m hurt. I’ll be fine.”

Mary frowned. “Don’t talk like that, I shouldn’t be letting you get hurt in the first place...”

Madotsuki cleared her throat, grabbing their attention. “Let’s just stick together, and we won’t have to worry about it, alright?” They nodded in agreement. “Then let’s go.”

                                                        ______

The Batter followed behind his new ally, shadowing their steps almost exactly. They didn’t bother with a light, unless the mushrooms spontaneously went out. Then they would put on a mining hat to get through the darkness. They do not seem in the mood to talk much, but occasionally they would act- sometimes they paused for no visible reason, motioning for the Batter to freeze as well, or grabbed his hand to stop him from investigating the sounds or sight of creatures, shaking their head.

It was obvious this child had a lot of knowledge of these caverns and seemed concerned about his safety, but it would be hard to get information out of them until they were willing to talk. For once Batter found himself wanting to start a conversation, but this child always shushed him. For now, he would obey. No doubt there was a good reason.

Eventually, they came across some large rocks, and the child paused in their path and walked towards them. The rocks gave Batter a sense of unease, and he kept his bat at the ready. As the child moved in closer, he saw the rock move and change, seemingly growing into a large lobster-like monster with a claw arm and a face covered in tendrils topped with two large eyes. The Batter started to run in to attack, but then the child turned and glared at him, knife suddenly in hand. For just a moment, the Batter thought he saw something malevolent in their eyes, but before he could really grasp what he saw, they were back to their usual neutral expression, the knife safely tucked away.

“Don’t.” The child turned their back on him again, and pulled out some rocks, which they placed at the beast’s feet. Rather than attacking them, the monster instead started eating the rocks, tendrils pulling them into some unseen mouth. “See?” They even reached up and give the creature a pat on the head, to which it let out some sort of bellow. “Friend.”

The Batter inwardly scoffed at the idea, but he said nothing. If this child wanted to believe that, then let them. This world would be purified sooner or later. After the child was done feeding their ‘pet’, they walked on- with the beast following behind them. They had to slow their pace a little for it, and Batter was quickly starting to wonder just what use that thing had and why he was allowing it to follow them.

He got an answer when several bat-like creatures flew out of a stalagmite and it effortlessly swatted them out of the air, defending the child from them. The Batter on the other hand, had to fend for himself, but it diverted some of them from him regardless. After the bats were taken care of, the child stopped walking. “Rest.”

They quickly set up a small fire, taking the gathered items from the bats- some monster meat, which they ignored, a slimy white substance, which they threw into the flames, and lastly what looked like the bat’s wings, which they cooked and shared with the Batter. The rock beast simply sat on the at the light’s edge, apparently resting. The wings were surprisingly good, especially given it had been a while since the Batter last ate. The small worry of what he would eat down here was settled, for certain.

Now that they were not moving, perhaps the child would be willing to talk. “Who are you?”

They chewed for a moment before replying. “Most people don’t bother to ask, but my name is Frisk. You?”

“The Batter.”

“Mm. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Not important. But why did you come down here?”

“Those shadow monsters were chasing me. I ended up running down here.”

Frisk shakes their head. “It isn’t safe here either. They will return eventually. They like the darkness.”

“Then why are you here?”

Frisk smiles a bit. “I have friends here. But you should go. The shadows won’t come as much if you get enough sleep.”

Odd advice, but they seemed certain it would work. Still. “I don’t think I can go just yet.” Frisk frowns, but says nothing. “If I can find the source of these shadows, I can get rid of them.”

Frisk seems a bit surprised at this idea. “Get rid of Charlie?”

The Batter frowned. “Who is Charlie?”

The child seems hesitant to continue, but finally says, “I think you already know. Anyway, you can’t hurt her.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, and Frisk frowned as they saw the Batter’s resolve seemed unchanged. They tossed something into the fire so it would last a little longer. “Rest time. Good night.” With that said, Frisk turned away from the Batter and laid down to rest. The Batter supposed for now he should do the same. But he would be sure to find out everything later.