Strange Ones: Volume 3

The Talk About Now

"We all once started as a small group of friends." Alex read from a black, worn-out journal she had found in the Delta Base's library. "We looked out for each other, no matter what. That is until one of us left us in search of something she never spoken of. Then, she came back, only to be filled with anger and hate. She has formed an army of changelings which wreaked havoc across the whole island. An invasion was among all of us. That is until one of us proposed a group which protected all of the residents of Strange Island. That group was finally formed. We gathered strong fighters, ones who were in school, experienced fighters, every strong Strange One fought against the changelings, ending the invasion. And soon, the organization Delta was born."

"Alex?" A voice said behind her.

When she turned around, she suddenly saw the other humans, Jonas, Ren, Clarissa, Nona and Michael standing behind her, each of them wearing raised eyebrows on their faces until they noticed the open journal in her hands. On top of Nona's head was Ori, who also had a raised eyebrow.

"Is that a worn-out journal?" Clarissa asked, pointing to it.

"Yeah." Alex nodded, looking at the journal in her grasp. "I found it in the base's library. I was curious of what was written inside of it, so I decided to pull it from the shelves and take a good look at it."

"Did you just start reading it?" Jonas asked.

"I only read one entry, so yes." She approached a table and sat down, and the others followed her and did the same action. Then, she placed the journal on the table. 

"So," Nona said, putting a finger on her chin. "Whose old journal is this?"

"Let me take a look." Alex looked at the back of the front color of the black journal, only finding a written sentence on it. "Property of W.D. Gaster." She read.

"W.D. Gaster?" Michael said. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's just a Strange One name, Mike." Ren replied. "Some Strange Ones have the everyday names that are from around the world, but some Strange Ones also have names that are also words. Like, Frisk for example."

"I guess that makes sense. I still have a lot to learn about the culture of Strange Ones." Michael looked at his sister. "Hey, sis? Can you read another entry from that journal?"

Alex nodded before she looked at the next entry and read it. "April 5, 1998. Being a scientist working at Delta is a lot to handle. We have to craft weapons for newcomers, create replacement parts for our team and all sorts of things. I would be lying if I said that having a lifestyle like this was easy. I mean, raising two sons while working for a secret organization is stressful. But, it's not all that bad. Not only that I stay at the base and create things, but I can put my abilities to use when I'm on missions. Perhaps I should tell the girl that I have under my wing about this experience sometime in her life."

"Wow." Clarissa crossed her arms. "This Gaster guy must have had a lot of work to do."

"I'm surprised that he handled all of that on a daily basis." Michael replied. "Well, if we were to meet the guy, there is no doubt that any of will have a lot a questions."

"But, there is one question we should ask." Jonas said. "Is W.D. Gaster still alive?"

"Are you guys talking about W.D. Gaster?" A voice said, getting the ears of all the humans,

They all turned to the door of the room, only to find a woman with orange hair with the top of her head concealed with a green and blue bandana. She was wearing a blue trench coat with gold shoulder pads over a black shirt. Her hands were trapped in black finger-less gloves and she wore black jeans with black and gold combat boots. It was no other than Petra, a Warrior from Delta, who was leaning on the door frame with her arms crossed. All the six humans could do was look at her with their eyes wide.

"How long were you standing there?" Nona asked

"I was just walking down the hallways of the base until I heard you guys talking about W.D. Gaster." Petra said with a shrug before noticing the journal. "It also appears that one of you guys found the old man's journal." 

"Is there any good reason why he left it?" Alex wanted to know.

"He said he can buy a new one." Petra pointed to the journal. "That one's already full."

"I guess that should make some sense." Ren said with a shrug.

"Wait, hold on." Clarissa crossed her arms, then pointed a hand at Petra. "You know W.D. Gaster?"

"I've known the guy when I was five years old." The Warrior put on a grin.

"How?" Michael wanted to know. "Since you know him, you have to tell us about him!"

"Yeah!" Alex nodded. "What's your story with him?"

"You guys are really eager to know, aren't you?" Petra chuckled. "Maybe I'll tell you guys later. Just focus on the now from now on."

As soon as Petra left the room, the room fell quiet. The humans looked out of the door before Jonas filled the room with his voice.

"Can you guys believe that it has been four months since Asgore and Toriel announced the education program for wannabe heroes?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Alex put a hand on her head. "I can't believe I forgot about that!"

In response, Ren gave her a look before holding up four fingers. "Four months. The announcement was four months ago and you've already forgotten?"

"Ren," Nona put a hand on his shoulder. "Just cut her some slack. Besides, everyone has been waiting for this for four months."

"And it's already happening." Clarissa added. "Hero school is already in session and they made the building by rebuilding an old one!"

"Yeah." Jonas nodded. "I also can't believe that Betty will be attending that school under the name of her alter ego."

"Speaking of Betty," Alex looked at everyone. "I heard that the siblings who have adopted her will be teachers there. Also, Yang told me today that her dad will be teaching there as well. I heard he loved working with kids."

"What about Ruby and Yang?" Jonas asked.

"They will be his assistants."

"Did you guys also hear about the new Youth Members?" Ren asked.

"You mean the Drew Brothers?" Clarissa replied. "I have heard of them. Pinkie told me about them a week ago. She said the eldest looked funny whenever he was angry," She laughed. "He usually gets angry whenever someone makes fun of his height. It's hilarious!"

"I think I met them once." Michael put a hand near his chin. Then, he blinked and suddenly slammed the table with his hands. "Dang it! I forgot something!"

"What?" Nona stood from the table.

"I got a call from Carly this morning! She said she was going to visit the base and the school today!"

Meanwhile, Ori slid off Nona's head and fell onto her left shoulder. Tapping the side of her head, the little Spirit Guardian finally got her attention. Then, he pointed to a window of the room. The others stood up from the table and looked out of it. They all looked down to find a girl about sixteen with dark red hair tied in a braid and square glasses. She wore a bright pink jacket with blue jeans, tan sneakers and a red beret. In her hands was a brown spiral notebook and a black pen was clipped on the front.

With each of them getting wide-eyed looks, the humans ran out of the room. But Alex stopped at the doorway and looked at the old journal lying down. She looked at the hallway, then walked back to the table, grabbing the journal from the table, slipping it into her jacket and walking out of the room in pursuit of the others.