Chapter 7
Seeing as they didn’t trust anyone, Karlis had no one to look after their kids.
They knew logically that they all didn’t need looking after and could probably do better without someone watching them. Again, they never knew who they could trust or not.
They knew they could put Raiden in charge, and trust them with that responsibility, but it didn’t ease any of their anxiety or worry.
As a result, they relented and let the kids come with them to this stupid PTA meeting, where they had to deal with Helen and Linda, who may as well have changed their names to Karen #1 and Karen #2, the ultimate headaches. They would admit that it could sometimes be very fun and amusing to get to prove themselves right when arguing, or to watch other guardians, such as Frisk’s guardians.
It was just their luck that they had basically no energy left in their reserves due to overexerting themselves the previous few days during training, so they couldn’t even bring up enough energy to hide their scars that marred their body, but at this point they didn’t even care about the others’ judgement. They were slightly relieved at the knowledge that the monsters wouldn’t be bothered at all. Concerned maybe, but without judgement on Karl and their abilities to raise their kids.
“Are you even listening to yourself Helen? That one article speaking of the so called correlation between vaccines and autism is completely faulty, and it does not overturn the years of work done by scientists to fight diseases like Tetanus or Tuberculosis!” Sans argued, who had been accompanied by his brother Papyrus, and the humans Chara and Frisk, who were talking with the other Mage siblings.
Karlis was sat with their head tilted back and eyes closed, and was absolutely exhausted and one word away from snapping. They couldn’t really care about this meeting except for how important this is for the others, and it was shown in their demeanor. Their hair which had grown out to just about past their shoulders was a mess, and they were wearing sleek black trousers and a t shirt with an obscure band logo. They knew that dressing with a shirt like that would piss the others off, so they did it partially on purpose.
They eventually had enough and decided to intervene when Helen opened her mouth to spew more nonsense.
“Helen you are aware,” they drawled slowly, “that Sans has multiple degrees in Science based subjects, aren’t you? If so, I believe he has more knowledge on this subject than you do, considering the number of scientific degrees you hold amounts to the grand number of zero.” They emphasised the point by holding up one of their hands, bringing their pointer finger so it touches their thumb, creating a 0 shape with their hand.
“Secondly, were there any references or citations in this so called article? Ones that are reliable? Any that actually links back to any proper investigation with analysed data? Because, that single quote-unquote ‘Study’ does not provide near enough evidence” Karlis finished, their voice still low, but sharp with annoyance. They leant forward while talking, planting their forearms on the table.
Linda scoffed and Karl simply raised an eyebrow at her response.
“Is there something you would like to add, Miss President?” they asked in the most sarcastic tone possible.
“I do in fact actually.” She huffed in a haughty manner, “I just can’t believe someone like you has any place to talk about professionalism, OR about the welfare of the kids”, She said, whispering the last part to avoid being heard. Which failed.
Karl’s gaze hardened into something steely, a challenging glint shining in their eyes.
“I do beg your pardon” They said incredulously, in disbelief.
Well just look at you!” She snapped. Clearly, this had been building up for a while.
“You’re barely an adult, you’ve hardly had any experience in the real world, you should simply just leave this sort of talk to us adults who actually know what we are talking about.”
This Lady. Cannot be Serious.
“Although what can I expect, those kids that you say are those have no manners and either never partake in class or are constantly disrupting lessons.” She added with an eyeroll, while Karl stayed silent, and Karl had to silently warn the others to not do anything brash, as they were all absolutely fuming.
“Lady, you should be well aware that we have not had the best past, where do you think I got these scars from? There’s a reason that I am their legal guardian” they said.
“That is no reason to disrupt class, they can never sit still” Yeah, because they have trauma asshole, and after constantly being on the move for over a few decades, it’s kinda difficult to fucking settle down, who knew?
“First, that is normal for children regardless. Second, it’s not disturbing anyone and it helps them feel safer in the space. Not to mention that all teachers and staff were made aware of our situation, and you, at this point, have no right to that confidential information.”
Linda simply sighed condescendingly
“I don’t know who in their right mind made you their guardian. You’re just as bad as the monsters.” She said, pointedly ignoring the skeleton brothers and other monsters present at the meeting..
“They need a proper home where they’ll be disciplined. No wonder they and Frisk and Chara get along, they don’t have any good examples to show them how to behave. They’d probably be better off in an orphanage for humans.” She finished with a scoff, smugly feeling like she had won.
The room had gone deadly silent, with the temperature dropping to what felt like below freezing. Other parents watching the debacle were shocked that she would go so far, and some looked rightfully pissed and hurt, like Sans and Papyrus, which caused the frayed thread Karlis was clinging onto to finally snap, or for them to wilfully let go.
Everything was quiet, except for the growling emitting from Karl. Before Linda could move, there was a flash of light, and then there was a scythe hovering right next to her neck, so if she dared move an inch, blood would be drawn. Karl ignored the surprised looks, well aware their eyes were both softly glowing, as were their hands up to their elbows.
“Listen carefully, because I’m only going to say this once. You have no, and I mean no, right to talk about any of us like that. From what I’ve seen Frisk is one of the best children I’ve met and also shouldn’t be underestimated considering they freed the monsters and are now their ambassador. The so-called monsters are the best family for Frisk and Chara. You don’t get to make light of people’s choices, actions, identity or past, because it does not concern you. Word of advice, the world doesn’t revolve around you. And maybe, just maybe, me and the monsters are alike because we both know what it’s like being fucking oppressed and ignored all the time.”
With that they pulled the scythe back and walked away with their family and Frisk’s family quickly followed, their feather necklace burning slightly against their collar bone.