Chapter Text
After a dinner full of tension and unspoken words, Nick went to bed.
In the morning, he felt taller than usual. It was a strange sensation, as if he had suddenly found a lost centimeter of his body. *“Hmm. Must’ve just slept well,”* he thought, brushing the fleeting feeling aside. However, the lethargy remained; it weighed on him like a heavy burden, making his movements sluggish.
Leaving his room, he ran into Chara. She was... strange. Quiet. She didn't tease him. She didn't attack him with some biting joke. She just greeted him silently with a nod and headed to the kitchen. She looked like Nick, but she wasn't Nick.
Nick didn't go to eat. He had no appetite. He slumped onto the living room sofa and just watched his family eat breakfast in silence.
(Family?)
Existential thoughts washed over him like a wave. He wanted to call them that. He wanted to call Chara his sister. Asriel, his brother. Toriel, mom, and Asgore, father. But... he couldn’t. He had only fallen into this Underground a little over a month ago. Yes, he had grown deeply attached, but... what if they didn't like him being so bold with his labels? He feared that if he uttered the word, they would reject him. It felt too shameful. There was too much fear of losing this newly found peace.
His thoughts were interrupted by Toriel.
"Oh, my dear Chara!" Toriel was clearly worried. "You're so quiet today. Are you feeling unwell?"
Chara only shook her head, but Toriel was already reaching for the phone.
"I’m calling Gaster this instant!"
Ten minutes later, Gaster was standing in the kitchen, studying Chara, who was nonchalantly eating pie.
Gaster, using his scanning eyes, nodded, cutting off Toriel's panic.
"Chara has begun puberty," he announced. "As expected, her demon power has increased, triggering physiological changes."
Asgore and Toriel looked frightened.
"Do not worry," Gaster continued. "Since she is a demon, her puberty will progress differently. There are no sensitive symptoms—no pain, no bleeding. Chara will simply be this... quiet and irritable for a few days once a month. It is normal."
Gaster turned and saw Nick lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.
"Nick, why aren't you eating? Is everything alright with you?"
Toriel turned to him immediately, her worry shifting targets.
"Nickie, my son! You look pale as well!"
Nick raised a tired hand.
"I'm fine," he muttered. "I have... bipolar disorder. This is a normal cycle. This behavior is standard for me."
Gaster ignored his explanation and walked over to the sofa.
"Nick, did you enjoy our last game of chess? I particularly liked how you took my Queen. It was a powerful move."
Nick, caught off guard, looked at him blankly.
"The Queen? What... chess game? We didn't play. I don't know what you're talking about."
Gaster sighed, the usual spark in his eyes dimming. He clearly hadn't expected the "genius" to miss their secret language so easily.
"I am saying that you should be helping Chara," Gaster whispered so the others wouldn't hear. "And not forget about yourself. Or what we discussed recently."
Gaster stood up and quickly scanned Asriel and Nick using invisible magic.
"Hmm. Interesting," he murmured. "Nick, it seems your power has grown as well. You’ve grown by one centimeter. Both your demon power and your monster power have increased."
The scientist turned to Asriel.
"Asriel... you’ve grown by a full three centimeters. And your monster potential... compared to Asgore, yours is much higher. Very soon, you will surpass your father, Asriel."
Gaster didn't wait for questions. He simply turned and left, leaving the family in total confusion.
(Strange. He didn't even say goodbye...) Nick thought, still trying to figure out which "Queen" he had supposedly taken.
[End of Chapter 14]