Ask or Dare Undertale

:::Symptoms:::

—WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF VERY SENSITIVE AND SERIOUS MATERIAL SUCH AS SELF-HARM AND TERMINAL ILLNESS.—

ENTRY NUMBER 💱💱💱💱:

Irregular heartbeat.
Biting.
Coughing up blood.
Twitching.
Vomiting.
Sharper teeth.
Maniacal laughter.
Screaming.
Uncontrollable crying.
Meat-plentiful diet.
Exhaustion.
Quick temper.
Stomachaches.
Lack of sleep.
Bloodlust.
Harm to others.
Harm to self.

These are all the symptoms I can remember from the infection. It was so long ago that I wasn't there to experience it for myself, heh, despite these old bones being, well, old...

It was a story passed through my family, from generations ago, stemming from my great-great-great grandmother, who was a scientist as well. She wrote the entire story in her journal, along with all the symptoms she had identified from it, shortly before her death. She was mainly the one who treated it when it came around, before King Apollo's decision to eradicate most of the infected monsters... Asgore's father really was different than he is. Much less sweet...

Anyway, Subject 2 has displayed almost all of these symptoms, and they have only gotten worse over time. I'm surprised nobody else has noticed it. I'm sure Asgore has... then again, he has terrible memories of it, so he probably doesn't want to remember. I know that his father told him all about it before he passed.

An almost tyrannical king, that man was, but such an amazing father to his children... I always see Asgore's eyes light up when I ask about him. He tells me the greatest of stories about Apollo, then gets a bit choked up remembering how his father was on his deathbed. Shortly after that, his sister ran away. Poor man's been through so much... but back to the journal...

Whenever S2 talks, I can see his teeth. His canines are sharp, like a wolf's teeth. Or any predator, really. Teeth made for tearing apart and consuming their prey. I thought our species didn't need those. Research proved that I was right. We are high-ranking monsters, we have no need to hunt like more primitive ones do! Unless we are infected with that damn virus...

I know that S2 has harmed others. Why else would he have so much blood on his clothes? Like he had been sprayed with it by a sprinkler. I know the feeling of being covered in blood, and it's not that great, unless you're a sadistic psychopath. I can't deny that I'm half of the way there... sometimes, I wish that I could take back my actions... but enough of that.

Unfortunately, the other symptoms have only struck when nobody else was around to see them... except for me. He coughed up blood a few days ago, I heard him being sick a day before that, and he always seems to have a slight twitch to him. And it's no secret that he's always exhausted. Take one look at him and you can see it.

His laughter is erratic, not carefree like it once was, and his stress causes him to scream a lot. Always into a pillow, never in public, but he does sound like he's in pain... like a dying, angry wolf...

He doesn't eat, either. Not much, at least. Whenever he does eat, he always seems to tear at it with his teeth, like an animal.

And... about the last symptom...

Using the security footage, I was able to see him take off his bandages to change them. I know why those bandages are there now.

X's and slashes carved into his wrists, ankles, and neck. Why would he do that? And they bleed so much, it's like he loses half of the blood in his body from one bleeding session! But how is he not fazed? How is he not dead?!

The only explanation is that the long-dormant virus has taken him as its host. Using his own blood to satisfy his aggressive urges so he doesn't hurt anyone. He always said he would walk the world with knives sticking out of his body at every angle before he would hurt any of us, and now I know that he really would do anything to himself to avoid hurting us. He's said that especially to me. I don't know why he holds me on such a high pedestal, I wasn't the best father to him... but I love my son so much.

I'll do anything to cure him.

Nothing will take my son away from me again. Last time it was the CORE that ripped me away from both of them. I won't lose him again.