#From questions and a mountain prince (Asriel) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

escapetaleofficial · 4 years ago

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Escapetale || CHP 00 [The Backstory Of A Forgotten Prince.]

[The Backstory Of A Forgotten Prince.]

Long ago, when two races had ruled upon Earth, Monster, and Humans. Neither group was equal, each with their own distinctions. Monsters could not stand to live with such negativity. Each suffered severe discrimination at the hands of Humanity, On behalf of each citizen, others have grown tired of being poorly mistreated, name-calling is a consequence because of being different.

Both sides had taken matters to their own hands and formed an army of their own race,

the two nations proceeded to move forward with their plan and declared war, Humans using Swords, Maces, and sharpened Spears, as for Monsters their combat defense had been longswords, Flails, and Magic.

Humans showing no mercy to their enemies and had taken the victory and monsters left relinquished. After the tragic events of the war. Monsters then had been sealed into one of earth’s surface, MT EBOTT. Where Human had trapped the Monsters by an impenetrable barrier. After the Monster's abuse had ended, they had formed their own land beneath the surface.

Others had contributed to making civilization for others who were homeless or no longer retained a refuge home. Then one day two Monsters who were the same species had fallen in love and fulfilled their destiny, their names were Toriel and Asgore. The King had suffered multiple injuries during the war, he had also lost a bit of his left horn. The two then made a promise to the underground to spread piece and acceptance for one another.

Every civilian in the underground had chosen the two to be the ruler of their new home. Toriel, and Asgore had declared themselves officially the rulers of the underground, their bond had formed stronger as their love for each other continued. The two decided to have come to terms, having a royal marriage. After declaring themselves king and queen their next fate had been decided. Toriel had assured to Asgore that she wanted a child, to love for and nurture. As time had passed, the King and Queen huddled close together as they watch over their newborn child.

Asgore turned his head to Toriel with a warm smile. Asgore: “You really love this child, don’t you Toriel, dear?" He said in a happy manner. Toriel then turned her head left of where Asgore had been standing and gave a warm smile back toward her husband. Toriel: “Yes Asgore, I always wanted to be a Mother.” Toriel said, while she her head away from Asgore, and lowered her head looking into Asriel’s precious eyes.

Asgore: “Toriel, Dear?” He spoke softly. Toriel’s eyes then turned toward Asgore, she then elevated one singular finger to hush Asgore. Toriel: “Shh, be cautious, dear. Our little one is sleeping.” Toriel Said to him quietly. Asgore: “Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten the ceremony, I apologies, let us not forget that it is his big day tomorrow.” He spoke softly.

Toriel then smiles at Asgore only for a moment and turned back toward her child and she began to rest her head closer to him. Asgore then smiled as he softly kneeled to the side with caution, trying not to disturb their sleeping child. Asgore: “I say Toriel, I enjoy his name quite a lot.” Toriel then turned to her husband with a nod of agreement. Toriel: “I too, love the name Asriel, I think it suits him, and sounds rather comforting, does it not?” She questioned him.

Asgore then shared had his same view on his opinion as he simply nodded, turning , then had almost forgotten the time of the night, he lifted his head upward as he glanced the time on the wall clock. Asgore: ”Toriel, it seems to be getting late, I think we shouldn’t bother him as much, would you like some help?” He questioned Toriel.

Toriel ears had perked up as she had seen the time as well and turned her head to Asgore shaking he r head in disagreement for his help. Toriel: “I’m afraid not, dear. But thank you for your kind offer of contribution.” Asgore gave a smile to his wife, trusting her that she had everything under control.

Asgore: “Okay, Toriel. I will meet you in our Throne Room, in the royal palace, all right, dear?” He said quietly, while leaving the leaving the room. Toriel had softly turned her head to her Husband. Toriel: “Splendid, dear. You be safe now, okay, dear?” She said to Asgore, with a warm smile.

Asgore then looked over his shoulder into her eye’s, only to be nodding and agreeing that he will stay safe, then takes his leave to the Royal Palace. Toriel had turned her head, as she leans takes one singular step toward her child. Toriel: “Good night, my child, I wish you the best of having a magnificent slumber. You have, the Underground Prince title awaits tomorrow for you.” Toriel said, as she carefully leaned down to Asriels crib as she softly kisses his forehead, then proceeds to carefully leave the room with caution.

Moments later, the King and Queen had both sat in their Thrones, Asgore had been sipping on some honey tea, as for Toriel, only sitting there. Having a thought that kept circulating her head. Toriel then placed her hands softly on her lap and lowered her head. Toriel: “Asgore, dear? I would like to inquire your information of how I feel, about a thought that would not leave my head.” She, questioning her husband.

The King became curious and turned his head to his beloved wife. Asgore had then pulled a small table toward his throne and carefully placed his tea gently onto the wooden surface of the table. Asgore: “Hm? Is something the matter, dear?” Asgore said curiously, as he grew worried and hoped for nothing serious. The Queen had lowered her eyes to the corner left, as she did not hesitate one bit to tell him. Toriel: “Well I suppose it would not harm to ask.”

Asgore grew more curious.

Asgore: “Hm?” He turned his head to her. Toriel had softly turned her head to Asgore with a smile filled with warmth. Toriel: “Would we ever seek to have another child?” She questioned him. Asgore had widened his eyes only for a few moments, spitting his coffee out. Asgore: “Tori...what is the meaning of this question?” He said, while he became flustered from their question.

Toriel: “No reason in particular.” She said. Asgore then sat straight in his throne and took a gulp of air. Asgore: “W-we should ask ourselves when we are prepared, should we not?” Toriel had then lowered her head and staired at the orange and yellow square patterns of the royal palace. Toriel: "Well, what I wish so badly, is for our child to acquire Bravery, Loyalty and for them to enable themselves to face difficult danger independently."

Asgore had turned carefully turned away from Toriel and looked forward while listening to his wife, but then interrupted her, selfishly. Asgore: “Well, I'd like to leave this terrible prison, I promised our people, to have hope. The entire undergrounds rely on us, and their hope for freedom, to rule the surface in piece!” He said, then turned his head to his wife. Asgore: “Wouldn’t you want peace more than anything else, Torie?" The King questioned her.

Toriel grew uncomforted as she elevated her right hand as she softly begun to rub her left arm. Asgore then turned away from Toriel, as he sprung off his throne, and walked to Toriel and softly kneeled to her height. Asgore: “Toriel, dear?” He questioned Toriel, while placing his hand under Torie’s chin and lifted her head to face him. Asgore: “I would truthfully seek another child, but wouldn’t you want them to grow happily on the surface?”

Toriel straightened her back and turned away from Asgore. Toriel: “Asgore, the prophesy had told us, the barrier seeks seven souls.” She stated. Asgore then lowered his head, being filled with a little guilt. Asgore: “I know Toriel, I don’t want to hurt anything, or anyone.” He said, lowering his head. Toriel: Asgore, the surface will be ours once more, someone from the heavens, who is Brave, Loyal, and filled with courage, who an outlast dangerous trials, will be our savior.” She said to Asgore.

Asgore then lifted his head up to Toriel with a smile, feeling better from her encouraging words. Asgore: “They will be the savor for our people, we had enough of this discrimination, we will leave this place and never will have to look back, dear.” He said to Toriel. Toriel then placed her paw beneath Asgore’s chin, feeling his soft yellow beard. Toriel: “We must face this suffering together as of now for the least, but we shall stay brave together, dear.” Toriel said, giving Asgore a warm smile, as The King giving one in return.

Asgore: “Yes...stay brave...heh...heh.” The two, Toriel and Asgore had both given each other a kiss on the lips. A large interval of time had passed. Asriel had rapidly grown to eleven years old as for Queen Toriel and King Asgore had then ruled the underground since they had been forcefully departure from the surface.

Their child was filled with joy or more of indicative pleasure. He would gather anything that seemed visible or tangible, he would often travel to the center of the mountain to fertilized flowers and let them grow by having them sprinkled in water or let the seed receive rain from the sky that had entered from the hole that was in the center of the mountain as the sun’s ray that had helped them bloom when they reach their full form.

Asriel then walked back to the royal palace in a happy matter. Asriel “I wonder what my Mom and Dad are doing?” As he ran back to his folks, he had caught something in the corner of his eye. Asriel: “Oh? What is this?” He questioned the mysterious glowing light. Asriel had peeked in the corner that had the sensation of the color red. the object was glowing brightly. It had been a soul that was missing or lost from its body.

Asriel: “Could this be? A real Human soul? Just sitting on the ground?” He questioned the lost soul. Asriel had known what would happen as he has thought of motion in his head of what his father, King Asgore, had told him about touching a soul.

{The Memory Of the Conversation with Asriel and His Father}

Asgore: “My child, you’re at a youthful age where I think is appropriate to explain, of what would happen if one Monster had chosen to become one with a human soul.” Asgore said to his child in a soft pitch, as he began to Neal down at his child's height. Asriel had given a lot of concentration of the mind on his father hearing him explain. Asgore: “One shall not lay a finger or any contact of it, your body will form a bond that you cannot overcome, you will lose yourself, every part of your body will alter itself, and could form.”

{The Memory ended}

As he remembers his father's words, he says it to himself. Asriel: “Soul. Fusion.” He said, feeling reluctant and feared what would have happened if he disobeyed his Father's warning. He kneeled to the ground as he began to extend his arm to the soul as he felt excitable to see the act that could await him.

He then placed his paw onto it, as he became to contact it, then before he could take his arm back, was unable to move, the soul had tensed up and while entering his body forcefully. Asriel had felt lightheaded crumbling to the ground as the soul took over his body. Its power had merged itself with him as his body began to modify from the soul fusion. He then woke up as he felt pain throughout his body, he softly placed his paw on the back of his head with rotary motion.

Then it struck him for a second, he had felt horns that had grown from the occurring soul fusion that had happened after he touched the soul that was mysteriously found on the ground. Asriel had felt terror noticing the change to his body. His clothing was a black robe that had the symbol that served the purpose of the Dreemur family.

Asriel: “Oh no! W-what happened to me...? Goodness, my dad will punish me or even banish me from being a prince!” He shouted in fear. He then lifted off the ground from levitation, as his eyes had changed form. Asriel had felt astonished and chose not to believe that he was flying.

Asriel: “.... I am Flying? But was this being ACT of wrong, could it...?” He questioned himself, Asriel could not feel regret as he savored every moment, and idea had hit his head. then realized he had an idea. Asriel: “Hey, if I can fly? That means I can finally experience what is behind this trapped mountain.” He said. Asriel looked up upon the wholes circular hole of the Mountain, focusing to elevate off the ground.

Asriel: “Could it be...?” He questioned himself. Asriel had steadily gazed upon a village where there had been another race that ruled the surface, which were known as Humans. From Asriel’s personal presence did he also see children that that were playing outside of their homes chasing each other with broken shrub that seemed to have been cut off by a smaller tree.

Asriel: “How come...? We live in these Mountains. What made us stay here...and not there?” He then begun to slowly make his way down from the extended height. Asriel: “The air is freshly clean...!” He shouted with excitement. He then ran into a field of flowers then playfully fell into them as he felt the soft petals against his smooth fur!

Asriel: “I can’t wait to tell Mom and Dad! I do not regret touching that soul, something inside me has realized that I feel freer and smaller extent of being trapped! I can’t wait to visit this outside world even more!” He said happily.

He was unaware that Monsters had been kept away from the outside world. A Human who was related to the village as cried out a scream from noticing Asriel playing in the flowers. Asriel then heard the shout of fright from the flustered human. The entire village had heard an outcry to get their attention. Asriel tried to escape cautiously then had been enclosed on all sides.

Villager: “Monster!” One shouted. Being more than two but fewer Humans had then begun to treat Asriel with contemptuous rudeness. Asriel then felt threatened and tried speaking to a calm manner. Asriel: “People who rule this surface, I mean you No harm!” He stated.

Asriel tried to reason with them but they chose not to listen. Villager: “You know what we do to Monsters like you? If you are a Monster...it is Kill? Or be Killed.” One stated to Asriel. The Humans made sure to enclose Asriel so he would have to no access of escaping. Asriel then tightened his hands as his eye pupils turned bright. Asriel: “You better stay away for me, or ill destroy everything in this wretched world of yours!” He said, as his eye's glowed pure white. Asriel’s soul fusion had taken over him mentally causing him to act viciously and threatening.

Villager: “He has Threatened us! EVERYBODY CHARGE!” One shouted. The humans then had no other choice to attack Asriel, throwing Spears, sharpened Daggers, causing Asriel to be in critical damaged, he had been stabbed and beaten given no pity or mercy. After the tragedy had ended Asriel then fell to the ground from the wounds that had been caused by the Humans.

Villager: “Quick! Run away before it gets up, grab your children and run!” The Human shouted. Other’s quickly grabbed their children, grasping them by their arm as they take them into their home’s and lock their doors protecting themselves. Time had already passed as Asriel had been covered in cuts, open wounds, scrapes and bruises.

He opens his eye’s barely as he held onto his stomach in pain and could even merely stand and then left him at a lame movement, limping carefully back to the Mountains. Asriel: “I-...N-need help!” He said, with a weakened voice.

He then fell to his knees as he used every bit of his power to get back and levitate off the ground to fly to the barrier of the mountain. Asriel: “I’m not strong enough...Any moment, I'm going to faint I need to use every bit of my power left...” He said.

He then teleported to the barrier placing his Injured paw as his body started to feel paralyzed. He then made it inside the entry where around the corner his parents had their thrones set up. Asriel: “M-mo.-Mom! D-dad!” He cried in pain, as he fell to his knees then the soul that he had touched left his body, causing him to return to his natural state leaving him still harmed.

Toriel: “My child?” Toriel questioned as she heard the cry of her own child as she sat up from her throne and walked toward the next room where the barrier was present. Toriel: “Asriel!” She shouted.

She had begun to tear up as soon as she saw her child suffering from the severe pain he was.

Toriel: “Dear! Please wake up! Asriel ! ASRIEL!” Asgore rushed in the room as he witnessed his own son near death from being beaten severely. Asgore: “Asriel!” He shouted, while running to them. kneeled next to her as she held Asriel cradling him as she was in tears. Asgore: “Toriel, Dear it is ok! He will be ok!” He shouted.

He then attempted to calm her down as she chose not to notice Asgore at all. Asriel opened his eyes with little effort as his parents tried to comfort him. Toriel: “My child, you will be all right! Please don’t go!” She cried. Her tears make her way down her cheek and drop onto Asriel’s fur.

Asgore then dragged his knuckle across his child's cheek. Asgore: “Asriel, you cannot give up just yet, ASRIEL you are a brave child! Do not lose hope My child! Stay brave! The fate of the underground's rests in your hands, ASRIEL! Stay brave!” Asgore had shouted, as tears lubricated his eyes. Asriel’s vision then turned blurry and then his eye’s closed softly.

Both Toriel and Asgore were then at grief and before they could carry their son to get seek medical help, his body turned into dust, and his soul appeared and cracked. Toriel had dropped to her knees sobbing in a sad but more angry way for losing her beloved one as for Asgore he felt grief and regret for leaving Asriel alone.

Asgore: “Toriel...It’s all of my fault I should’ve-” She then sprung up to Asgore crying heavily as he did his best to comfort his Queen as he looked down on what was left of his child, then from the corner of Asgore’s eye he had noticed that there was a human soul that shined brightly red.

Asgore: “Toriel, dear!...LOOK! Look at once!” He shouted, while pointing to the floating Souyl. Toriel then turned to what Asgore was pointing at. Asgore: “A human soul, do you know what this means?” He questioned her. Toriel had wiped her tears away.

Toriel: “Asgore, I could not bear to even show any remorse of care knowing our beloved son had passed in our own eye’s!” She shouted. Asgore turned to Toriel and Explained that seven human souls could be there way of freedom. Asgore eventually tried to reason with her as she did not admire the idea of Killing innocent Humans, as she despises any type of harm toward others.

Asgore had went to retrieve a jar and carefully place the Human soul inside of it and kept it until the day of their freedom and finally came. Months had passed, and the two King and Queen had trouble getting over the experience of losing their child in their eye’s, events had passed Toriel had discovered five innocent human children, that ran away from the surface village where Asriel had been attacked.

The Queen and King then decided to take the six as their own and formed a new family relationship. There was two boys and three girls, Eventually Asgore then recruited a new defense system to protect their new children from any harm. However, one Monster in the Undergrounds had studied and obtained Intelligence and tried to produce ways of trying to leave the mountain without using any sort of violence toward Humans.

However, tragically one day, there was no solution for any other way of leaving the Barrier that kept them from the outside world. The scientist then brought Asgore to the side and to make it understandable that there was no other option. Asgore: “I..i- See. Then- I have no further choice.” He said, lowering his head. Asgore had slowly walked to his throne and grasped onto his trident.

The Queen had been absent at to their home as for the five other children had been at the Royal Palace playing. Meanwhile Asgore retrieved his Trident that could easily kill any living creature in one hit or stab. He then faced the guards, explained them the plan, and had no choice to follow the kings wish.

Royal Guard: “If Queen Toriel had entered, what are your wishes my king? What shall we do?" One guard questioned the King. Asgore looked down as shade covered his eyes. Asgore: “Keep her, away she could watch in fear, this is our only hope of freedom.” He said to one of the royal guards. Toriel then walked to back to the palace where she ruled with her husband with Pumpkin pie for her children, as she enters, she heard a childlike scream for help.

Toriel then rushed to the throne as she witnessed four of her children dead, she covered her mouth as she begun to tear up as she could not believe what she walked in. There was another frightful scream for attention. Justice: “Mommy!” One child Cried. A loud unlawful scream filled the halls of new home.

Toriel’s head perked up from being called. Toriel: “My child! Where have you gone to!?” Toriel had shouted Toriel then saw her child along with Asgore, being covered in blood from the children who were defenseless and could not help themselves. Justice: “Mommy, Help!” The child yelled and cried for help.

Toriel had attempted to try and save her child but then had been tackled by one of the Royal Guards to prevent Toriel to Interfere. Toriel “Asgore, NO! YOU cannot do this...PLEASE! Please don’t harm the child!” She cried.

Before she knew it, Asgore forcefully stabbed his trident inside the child's body as the child fell to the ground and the soul had appeared. Toriel:“Asgore!! Y-YOU...m-MONSTER!” She was then terrified of him as he turned toward Toriel. Asgore: “Toriel- you don’t understand...” He said in a deepened voice.

Toriel did not accept any excuse and then cried and began to shout angrily at him. Toriel: “Asgore...You just murdered our children..I- can no longer live with this way if you think harming such innocent children is ok...” She said, as tears filled her eyes.

Toriel: “I am leaving you.. Y-you should NEVER put any children in harm!” Asgore's blood pressure begun to rise as he then pointed his trident at Toriel. Asgore: “Guard, Banish her. Far away from the Royal Palace...where she will have no further interaction to me or these souls that could set us free...”

The royal guard then grabbed Toriel as she began shout again Toriel: “Asgore! You can’t do this...You” She said, hile being dragged away. The royal guard then silenced Toriel by putting her to rest with force and took her far away from the Royal palace, leaving her throne and crown behind. After the traumatic events had passed, The King cleaned himself up and proceeded forward to his Balcony as every Monster in the Undergrounds had looked up to their crown.

Asgore: “Monsters of the UNDERGROUNDS, I as your ruler shall promise you, FREEDOM!” Every Monster in the underground had begun to cheer for king Asgore. As soon as Asgore finished preaching to him People, he then sat onto him throne where he then waited for the missing soul to arrive within the undergrounds.

Meanwhile, Toriel had woken up in an empty place that she felt a lone and no other sign of her race anywhere. Toriel: “Where could I be...? How have I gotten here? She then remembers everything that had happened. She looks down in disappointment and then walks toward the flower bed of the Ruins that had not been finished.

Holding in her emotions, taking deep breaths, Toriel had reaized what happened. Toriel: "To think...That Asgore was a good person...Murdering my children...taking everything away the one's i loved the most." She said as tears rolled down he cheek.

Toriel looked up at the hole as a beam of sun poured into the hole of the mountain, shining down onto her. Toriel: “I promise, the day that a child or any human arrives, i promise...I will keep them safe, away from Asgore...." Toriel then made a vow and pledged to herself whenever the child falls will be kept away from Asgore. To this day, ex Queen of the underground visits the Flower bed to seek if any child had fallen.

-To be continued.

#undertale #toriel #asgore #asriel #escapetale #cute #lol #storytelling #my writting #writerscommunity #free write #write #frisk #chara

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the-river-person · 4 years ago

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Monster History in the Librarby

Niven was getting ready to close the Library for the night. All the usual patrons had gone home already. Both of the editors for the Snowdin Newspaper, as well as the Loox that often hung around by the tables and played word games like crosswords, junior jumble, or soduku. Speaking of which, Lady Garf, one of the editors of the newspaper who specialized in making games for it, had left a few of the ones she’d been working on. With a sigh he collected the pages and stored them behind the main desk, he’d have to remember to give it to her tomorrow. The bell on the door tinkled and Niven looked up to say that they were actually just about to close. But the words died on his lips and he stared at the person who had come in. Face hidden by a dark cloak, they were somewhat tall, nearly reaching the height of Sir Papyrus, captain of the Royal Guard. Though he couldn’t see their face, he caught a glimpse of white fur. Was it Ice Wolf? Just a little over a year ago he’d started coming in every few months to check out books to read during his work breaks. No, Ice Wolf was much bigger. “Is this the Librarby?” Asked the figure, a male voice, deep yet not unpleasant, almost musical really. Niven grimaced at the question. He’d once harbored hopes of getting the sign repainted. But there really wasn’t any point now, was there? Not only had everybody just gotten used to it, but even if he did repaint it, the sign would just reset along with everything else in a few short weeks. It wasn’t worth the effort, but it still irritated him. Forcing himself to smile he quickly decided just to see what this Monster wanted before closing up. “Yes, it is. We don’t usually see too many non-locals in here. Most just pass by on their way to the ruins or the Greater Snowdin Caverns. Are you from the Capital?” “You could say that,” said the figure, sounding mildly amused. They offered no further explanation, and Niven decided not to push his luck further that way. “What can I do for you?” For a moment the Monster was silent, looking round the small library as if gauging its potential somehow. Not for the first time, Niven wished for the resources to make a much grander library, something akin to the great libraries he’d read of in human books: Ashurbanipal, Alexandria, Pergamum, Villa of the Papyri, Trajan’s Dual Library, Celsus, the Imperial Library of Constantinople, House of Wisdom in Baghdad, "Dharmaganja" ("Treasury of Truth") and Dharma Ghunj ("Mountain of Truth") in India’s Nalanda University. There were so many, and all he had was a few shelves. A couple histories, fiction, somone’s book report left here years ago and never retrieved (it was gleefully shelved as something new and at least 3 people had checked it out since for the sheer novelty), poetry, only a single science book about astronomy, and an entire shelf devoted to joke books and word games. But if someone was really coming out here, far from the Capital, to look for something specific. Well... They had to be desperate. New Home’s public library was much bigger, and if you couldn’t find something, you might humbly petition the King and Queen for access to the castle archives in the chance it might be there. Nobody came to a tiny town at the edge of civilization. Well... they did come. Sometimes they even bought things at the general store or stayed a the inn. But that was really just people on their way to the Ruins after Reset Day, the crowds and the general traffic as Monsters carried out their plans for the next three weeks. Getting puzzles ready for the famous DT and Royal Guardsman Monster Kid, who lived right here in said small town. So some people came through, a lot of people. But not for books. Never for the librarby that hadn’t even spell its name right when the sign was painted. “I’m hoping,” said the Monster. “That you might have texts on Monster History from before the war. History, perhaps theology? Mythology and folklore? I’ll take anything you’ve got.” Oh, so that’s what he wanted. Niven gulped. Okay so maybe it wasn’t accurate that nobody had been coming to their tiny library from out of town. There was that person from the capital he’d only seen once, a shifty fellow who was supposed to be a castle servant. White hair, pale purplish skin, and a terrifying grin with sharp yellow teeth. Niven had been freaked out by the Monster’s weird face markings and the J like tail that had lashed back and forth in agitation. Jevil, or so he had said his name was, had been after books on Monster Religion. It was a surprising subject, one few cared about. But Niven had a couple of rare tomes on it, possibly texts even the Royal Archives didn’t have. And that, it turned out, was the entire point. Jevil was a scribe in the Royal Archives and kept the smaller of the castle’s two libraries in good order for the King and Queen’s more general use. Thankfully he hadn’t come again after the first time, having taken a stack of books with him. He sent them back a month later, along with a few coins for the late fees, and asked for more books, naming each specifically. So Niven had shipped them off to the Capital, and sure enough they returned the next month with a request for more books. Sans the skeleton had become a familiar face as he came by so often to pick up or deliver boxes of books headed for the weird little Monster. And Jevil wasn’t the only one. Ice Wolf had been checking out the weirdest things. Niven would have expected a joke book, or even an interesting novel, but no. Ice Wolf wanted to read about physics and geology and historical documents and traditions. Niven hadn’t had much cause to write to the Capital Public Library in... well ever really. But to get some of the texts Ice Wolf wanted he pulled up his sleeves and penned message after message requesting various books until someone came down about nine weeks in to ask why on earth there was suddenly more book traffic going to Snowdin. “Oh, heh heh.” He laughed nervously. “I believe we do have some things. If you’ll come this way please.” The Monster followed him into the lower levels of the library, a section which held most of the least circulated books and materials available only by request. He really needed to dust down here, now where was the light? Ah yes. A dim bulb flickered to life, bathing the shelves in a warming and distinctly yellow light. From the shelves he pulled book after book, most dusty, a few with a little water damage, and many quite old. These he stacked before the Monster, who shifted in surprise as he looked over the growing pile. As Niven set another book on the pile he caught a better glimpse of the face beneath the hood. A white furred goat-like face with black markings on his lower cheeks and eyes of a dark muted red. Niven almost dropped the books in surprise but hid his reaction by faking a sneeze, though maybe with all the dust in here it really wasn’t that fake. This was a Boss Monster! But not Asgore, not nearly tall enough and certainly much thinner. But not the motherly Toriel either. It didn’t make sense, all the other Boss Monsters had been killed in the war, only the King and Queen had made it Underground with the others. And the only other Boss Monster living since then had been... Hadn’t Asriel Dreemurr become a flower? How had he regained his body? Or... something similar. It wasn’t quite a child anymore, though not yet an adult. Somewhere in between if appearance was anything to go by. A teenager maybe. That didn’t make sense either as his age should have been tied to Asgore and Toriel’s, and none of them could age anyway with the Resets, but maybe being a flower did odd things to you. Niven watched out of the corner of his eye as the prince began flipping through some of the books. “Monsters and Humans have always dwelt together in the world, though the nature of this coexistence had been woven together with myth, legend, and superstition for thousands of years.” Asriel read the passage from a “Brief History of Monsters and Humans”, it was volume nine of the collection, which was anything but brief. The author had been criticized for his long winded and needlessly flowery language. Still it made for good reading, if you had the time for it. “Owing to the nature of Monster’s Souls and the intrinsic connection their magical bodies have to the state of their soul, Humans were often under the mistaken impression that the Monster Clans were more numerous than they really were. As new generations of Monsters were born, they sometimes took on new and often unique forms different from their elders, forms that matched the state of their very soul.” The Prince broke off reading and looked up at Niven, who suddenly realized he’d stopped taking books off the shelves and had been staring as he listened. Flushing, the Lizard started to turn back to the shelf. “Is that why some of the Monsters around are things like Aeroplanes or shaped like bathtubs and obsessed with washing? Because they were born with new forms?” Niven turned back around. It was a good question, and not really covered that well in schools. Sure they touched on the subject, but no one really focused on the implications of how Monster Souls behaved. “Well, more or less. You have to understand that Monsters such as the Tsundereplane couldn’t have been born until Monsters learned of the existence of human airplanes. And anime of course. Then when this new Monster was born, their soul manifested a body that fit who they were at their foundations, the most basic structure of all the things they could become. We Monsters don’t have much control over this, we can’t shift our own forms at will, but our appearance is far more closely tied to who we are than you would think. Creatures like Woshua were born of groups of water dwelling Monsters. Humans often characterized us with names like Fay or Fairy, Spirits, Daemons, and lots of other things. And human folklore has a lot of tales about faeries who insist upon cleanliness and washing, often enacting terrible punishment if specified arrangements weren’t kept, like leaving washing water out at night for them to bathe in, or having a strict routine of personal hygiene while living in an area where said fairy has to deal with you often. Sound familiar? At some point the bathtub must have been an image they focused on, and at some point a Monster child was born with that form as part of who they were.” Asriel nodded, forgetting that he was trying to hide his face and letting the hood slip down a bit as he listened with wide eyes. Just barely visible in the upper shadows of the hood were his horns, not terribly big, just poking up from the white tufts of fur. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll take this one. And these.” He plucked another four books from the pile. “Can you hold the rest for me?” Niven found himself agreeing to do just that as he followed Asriel back up the stairs and let him out. As he locked up and turned out the lights, he wondered why nobody had heard anything about the prince yet if he was back to his true self?

#jevil #snowdin town #librarby #undertale #undertale au #aeontale #asriel dreemurr #tsundererplane #woshua #toriel dreemurr #asgore dreemurr #monster souls #library #snowdin librarby #flowey the flower #ice wolf undertale

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tookishcombeferre · 4 years ago

Text

some say names are hopes,

dreams, and prayers

bearers of those names hold,

and parents tuck their

flower-petal wonders,

blankets, around baby shoulders.

what hopes and prayers,

dreams and wonders do protagonist’s

parents hold for their children

answered and unanswered dreams

predestined and written in black ink,

wet, still drying on parchment

for, ella, means - fairy maiden, and goddess

tell me then, did her mother plan her

death, godmother’s charms, enchanted

evenings, fallen slippers made of crystal,

glass, and midnight sprints

home so ella may meet herself?

for, belle is beautiful,

strings unattached kind of beautiful,

perfection, awe-inspiring,

dazzling, but no more depth

than just beauty - so within,

must also be.

lilo loses herself in photography

builds herself planets far from earth

stars falling finally to meet the creative

maker of the distant horizon, always lost,

but wasn’t that the hope

given her?

rapunzel named for flower,

lamb’s lettuce - craved by a dying queen

witches were too cheap to save

forced into enslavement as birth

right payment for existing

branded from birth.

merida changes directions from language

to language - she means:

high place of honor in latin,

rebellion in hebrew,

following her heart on the isle of man,

yet, still her mother asks why she fights?

mother’s secrets burst forth, like

winter winds in elsa -

consecrated to God, paths

wind up mountains, and into Hell,

frozen solid, and reborn

from the dead like isaac.

ocean beckons to moana,

father’s fears never outweighing

desire for new horizons

promised in his little chief

drawing closer to the water’s

edge - ocean calls to moana.

name bearers do not end

in disney movies for frisk

searches or frolics, inspects, kills,

hunts, for sport or scampers,

plays, and picks through healthy

relationships depending on the game

asriel, the prince of God, or angel

of death, depending on the tale,

parents hopes for him were clear,

prince, but how far he fell, beatings,

meetings, and greetings

clearer still.

chara, an irish word for friend, or joy,

in greek, or dear one, beloved, in the roman

word, or a star in the hunting dogs

splaying out on night skies they longed to

see, but no name or promise can

stop suicide, it seems

then, connor, named for a feature

programmed in from conchobhar -

irish - lover of wolves or hounds

see, then, likes and dislikes,

love and hatred, only codes, a

promise, fulfilled by machines.

marcus dedicates himself to mars,

god of bloodshed and war, but also

springtime, new life bursting forth

snowy ashes, wielding his own hammer,

nails, and tools to reshape, rebuild,

renew - father’s hopes are clear ...

how does it surprise them,

then, me - named for MacLir’s granddaughter,

seeker of eternal wisdom and men’s

titles - poet, story-teller, and

writer, who became life

giver, border protector, fairy spirit

a changeling of the other world

creators, how could you question

water’s wetness?

on my birthname OR water is wet (idiom) ~ Pip E.

#poetry #long post cw #my poetry #names #birthnames #actually nonbinary #actually autistic #disney movies #undertale #detroit become human #detroit become human themes #disney characters #might expand on this later #disney names #pip writes things

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songfell-ut · 5 years ago

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I give up, here’s Chapter 17

I should’ve posted this a week ago, but I’ve been like “nuuu it’s cool no one minds a 25,000-word chapter” and yeah here’s only 15k that I finally split off into its own thing. Chapter is here, hi @lostmypotatoes

The Grand Hall lived up to its name: Frisk had never been to the nicer parts of the humans’ castle, but there was no way it could be more amazing than this place, which had a ceiling hundreds of feet tall blanketed with tiny lights, speckled marble columns that reached nearly all the way up, and beautiful murals on the walls showing forests, rivers, even the ocean! Monsters stood in long lines along a central aisle of sparkling white sand, so new that it had obviously been made for the humans’ visit, stretching up a gentle slope to the foot of the grand staircase leading into the Underground.

Queen Toriel had taken Frisk from the house in the Ruins through a snowy town – how did it snow inside the mountain? – and on her first-ever boat ride, which ended all too soon in a place called “Waterfall”; from there, they hurried down to the Grand Hall just in time for the Royal Guard to announce the human delegation. Luckily, instead of having to walk through all those monsters, they used a partly-hidden network of hallways to emerge right at the head of the staircase. Toriel gave the child one more pat, telling her to be good and stay where she was, before the Queen walked out to take her place beside Asgore, nodding to the guards.

Frisk was glad she didn’t have to talk to the King yet; he looked like a bigger, hairier, scarier version of his wife or son, scowling and fidgeting around until Toriel cleared her throat. They stood just in front of Prince Asriel, who noticed the child and gave her a friendly nod before he turned to face the aisle. Frisk crept out far enough to look around the rest of the cavern, wondering why humans talked about the Underground as if it was some kind of filthy mudhole. It was such a beautiful place, with boat rides and snow and twinkling lights…

Something like trumpets sounded, and the Grand Hall’s enormous bronze gates swung open. The monsters all put on their politest expressions as the delegation came through the entrance and headed up the aisle, with the frontmost humans stopping at the bottom of the staircase. “Greetings,” boomed King Asgore, extending his arms and flaring his purple cape out like great wings. “Welcome to the Underground, one and all!”

On cue, the monsters broke into cheers and applause. As the echoes faded, a fussy-looking human stepped forward to give a long speech about greetings and honor and honorable blah blah blah; it was starting to get boring when he was cut short by a cry of “Mama!” and someone rushing past him.

“Chara!” Forgetting her dignity, the Queen of monsters hitched up her robe to run to her estranged daughter. They nearly crashed into each other halfway down the stairs, Toriel’s crown falling askew as the human leapt into her embrace. There was a lot of murmuring and more genuine applause, which swelled into a full ovation as Toriel sank to her knees, holding on as though her child was drowning and her arms were a life preserver.

Asriel had also hurried down to meet his sister, and Asgore was starting toward them when it happened: Chara looked up for the briefest second, and when she saw Frisk near the head of the stairs, the woman’s eyes flashed sheer hatred, as though she wanted her dead on the spot.

Frisk jerked back so hard that she stumbled and nearly fell. When she caught her balance, she found herself looking down at Asgore; he was staring at Chara, and followed the woman’s gaze back up to Frisk. For a long second, the King regarded the human child with a question in his eyes, as though he wanted to say something, but knew better; then Chara was all teary smiles again, hugging Asriel and extending an arm to “Papa!”

The applause grew even louder as Asgore joined them, parents and siblings joyously reunited, and Frisk could have cried with rage. Why did Chara have to hate her for being there when she was lucky enough to have her own perfect family? Couldn’t Frisk have had more than a couple of minutes with those wonderful monsters before Chara stole them back?

It was too much. The child sniffled, and turned to trudge back down the hallway, trying not to think of what her mother was going to say when she found out where Frisk had been.

But as she approached the branching path that led to the Grand Hall floor, she came to a sudden halt: someone further down the hall was shouting, “I’M TELLING YOU, IT IS DEFINITELY THIS WAY!”

“sure, bro,” another person mumbled, his deeper voice echoing up the passage.

“SANS, PLEASE! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE CORRECT DIRECTION THIS TIME! THERE IS NO NEED TO LOOK AT ME IN THAT TONE OF VOICE!”

“relax, pap. i’m just impressed you know all these different ways to go.”

The voices weren’t moving—she was trapped up here. Frisk held her breath as the louder person demanded, “REALLY? THEN WHY ARE YOU GIVING ME THAT SMIRK?”

“…uh, bro? this is how I always—”

“DON’T LIE TO ME, BROTHER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS KNOWS WHAT A SMIRK LOOKS LIKE! IT’S A REGULAR SMILE, BUT IN THAT TONE OF VOICE!!”

“you got me. it means ‘pap is the coolest and knows all the directions.’ you like it?”

“…I SEE! NYEH-HEH. YES, I DO LIKE IT! FROM NOW ON, YOU MAY SMIRK ALL YOU WANT!”

“aww, thanks, bro. you’re the best…and that’s the tooth.”

The joke was so dumb that Frisk had to laugh. Whoever it was, they sounded friendly enough, not to mention silly. Were they humans she hadn’t talked to on the way here? Or—

“DID YOU HEAR THAT, BROTHER?” She jumped as the voice came closer. “IS SOMEONE THERE? SOMEONE WITH EXTREMELY BAD TASTE?”

“hey! i think they’ve got great taste. i mean, they obviously speak our tongue.”

Frisk laughed again, and was only a little afraid when the strange pair came into view. They were skeletons—not just thin people, but actual, literal bones that walked and talked. One was very tall, dressed in showy red boots and some kind of fake armor, while the other was much shorter, in clothes far too casual for an event like this. Why was he wearing pink slippers?

Both of them were also looking her over. With the tiny little lights in his sockets trained on Frisk, the taller one bent down to whisper to his brother. “OH MY GOD, SANS!” he yelled. “IS THAT A HUMAN?”

The short one stared at her for a moment, then nodded, and somehow closed one socket in a wink. “i dunno, pap. he doesn’t look that monstrous to me. who’re you, kid?”

“My name is F—Kris,” she said, giving them a bow, “and you’re right. I’m a human.”

“OF COURSE I AM RIGHT, HUMAN, FOR I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! HOW PLEASANT FOR YOU TO MEET ME!” The tall skeleton struck a heroic pose. “HAVE NO FEAR! WE MONSTERS HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE AND THEN BECOME FRIENDS! THEREFORE, YOU MAY SIMPLY REFER TO ME AS ‘PAPYRUS,’ EVEN IF IT IS ONLY HALFWAY CORRECT.” He indicated the other skeleton. “THIS IS MY OLDER BROTHER, SANS. DO NOT BE DISTRAUGHT THAT HE IS NOT AS GREAT AS I AM, AND TRY TO BEAR WITH HIS TERRIBLE JOKES, NYEHH.” Nudge. “SANS! SAY SOMETHING THAT IS NOT TERRIBLE!”

Sans was watching her carefully; he looked like he was smiling, but Frisk had the feeling it was just how his face was made. He wasn’t happy to see her at all. “sure,” he said coolly. “the name’s sans. sans the skeleton.” Papyrus nudged him again, and Sans sighed, as if resigning himself to his fate. “yeah, i know what his majesty said.” He put on a wider grin. “welp, nice to meet you, kris.”

Fakeness or not, the monsters she’d met so far were still much better than any humans she knew. So Frisk smiled shyly at him, and whispered, “It’s nice to meet you, too, Sans.”

His smile dropped a little. They regarded each other for a few seconds; to her delight, his mouth rose again in genuine approval. “heh. you seem like a nice kid.” Shrug. “pap’s right. we’re all gonna be pals, so…”

Papyrus looked pleased as Sans took his hand from his jacket pocket. But as Frisk reached out to shake it, Pap’s smile suddenly vanished. “WAAAIT A MOMENT,” the taller brother said suspiciously. “SANS, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT—”

Too late. The moment Frisk grasped the skeleton’s hand, something erupted in a palm-tickling explosion of Pfffffftttttppppppfffffffff…ffffffppp…pppf…pp……p.

Silence.

“OH. MY. GOD,” Papyrus said in the voice of doom, and rounded on his brother. “SANS, YOU IMBECILE! YOU HAVE BROKEN THE HUMAN! LOOK, IT ISN’T MOVING! IT—”

Frisk couldn’t hold it in: she howled with laughter, and only got louder as Sans pulled his hand back to reveal the rubbery, air-filled contraption that had made the rude noise. “what can i say? it’s always funny,” he said proudly. “quite a gas.”

“HOW COULD YOU, BROTHER?! THIS IS A CLEAR VIOLATION OF ACQUAINTANCE ETIQUETTE!” raged Papyrus. “HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO ASCEND THE HEIGHTS OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP NOW THAT YOUR IDIOTIC PRANK HAS DAMAGED THE SMALL HUMAN?!” Papyrus stabbed a gloved finger at Frisk, who was now doubled over. “IF THIS IS HOW YOU ARE GOING TO BEHAVE, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO HOME NOW! YES, HOME! YOU CAN PICK UP YOUR ROOM IN CASE WE HAVE HUMAN GUESTS!”

“i dunno, bro,” said Sans, winking at Frisk again. “it’s probably too heavy for me. you should get it instead.”

“NYEHHH! I MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT GET IT!”

“aw, pap, don’t be so hard on yourself. i’m sure if you just try harder—”

“LEAVE!! NOW!!!”

Funny as the brothers were, that seemed harsh to Frisk—the nearest houses had to be pretty far away from the Grand Hall, and making Sans walk all the way back because of a few jokes was a little much. She eyed Papyrus doubtfully, wondering if he was like humans after all.

“it’s fine, kiddo,” Sans told her, as if reading her thoughts. He winked one more time. “don’t worry, i know a shortcut. so, eye will see ya later.”

Before Frisk could react, Sans was…gone. Baffled, she looked around, then up at Papyrus. “HM? OH, YES. SANS HAS DEVELOPED HIS MAGIC EXACTLY ENOUGH TO BE AS LAZY AS POSSIBLE,” the tall skeleton said distastefully. “I CAN ONLY HOPE HE IS ACTUALLY CLEANING HIS ROOM NOW. MORE LIKELY, HE IS—”

There was a sound of clapping and cheering from the Grand Hall. “THAT’S RIGHT!” Papyrus threw his red scarf over his collarbone. “COME ALONG, HUMAN! I SHALL INTRODUCE YOU TO THE OTHER MONSTERS! YOU WILL BE DELIGHTED TO MEET THEM, ESPECIALLY THE ROYAL GUARD, AND THE FEELING WILL BE MUTUAL! NYEH-HEH! FOLLOW ME, NEW ACQUAINTANCE!”

“Um…” Frisk bit her lip. Papyrus was a lot to take in, especially without warning, but he didn’t seem to be faking his enthusiasm, or his kindness. Frisk looked at him, made up her mind, and smiled again. “Can we be friends now?” she asked, holding up her hand.

The skeleton’s cheekbones turned bright pink, somehow, eye sockets going wide and glittery. “REALLY?!? WOWIE! I CAN’T BELIEVE I—” He made a noise like a cough. “I MEAN…O-OF COURSE YOU WANT TO BE MY FRIEND, KRIS! I AM EXTREMELY GREAT.” Papyrus leaned down a little to take her hand. “COME ALONG! AS A FRIEND OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS, YOU SHALL BE KNOWN AND LOVED BY ALL! NYEH-HEH-HEH!”

Frisk sure hoped so, especially if the other monsters were as nice as he was. Even if they weren’t, she’d already made new friends, exactly like she was supposed to. Mama couldn’t be mad at her for that, and Chara couldn’t take them away from her!

The dream with Asriel was a fitting end to a frustrating night. Sans had picked the biggest inn he could find and asked for a room with the biggest bed they had, only to find that it still wasn’t big enough for him. He didn’t want to try sleeping in his disguise, which meant another night stretched out on the floor, longing for the massive bed in the High Priestess’ quarters. He never would have thought he’d want to go back to the humans’ castle—that damn bed had spoiled him for life! Not to mention that when he was sleeping in it, he had Frisk all to himself…

He had just started dozing off when the door to the next room opened and closed, a couple of human voices whispering back and forth. Sans made the mistake of concluding that that was it, and was completely unprepared for the sounds that exploded through the wall a minute later.

Sans was not an expert on human…anything, but he knew was he was hearing, and that he was hearing it very very loudly. At that point, he had several options; after mulling exactly one of them over, he sat up and ran a thread of magic through the lamp fixture over the bed, worming it through the conduits in the wall and into the next room. From there, he could feel the vibrations of the bed moving – ugh – and spread his magic in a thin layer under one side of the mattress; then he twitched his hand, and grinned at the shrieks and thuds of the couple being dumped onto the floor.

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t need to do anything else. The humans got dressed in a hurry, grabbed their things, and left, and did not come back. Sans let his magic dissipate and settled down, feeling a little smug, but mostly annoyed that the sounds were still stuck in his head.

The giant skeleton tossed and turned, dreamed, and got up in the morning a lot later than he intended; he was so unrested, and so disturbed at having seen Asriel – had it been real? Why and how would the Prince visit him of all people? Why now? – that he barely remembered to put his chain back on before he left the room. He forgot to ask directions when he checked out and had to grump his way around town at random, looking for the stables the warehouse lady had mentioned. He had to get the carts and horses, then go to all the stupid places and get the stupid things…

Well, this wasn’t the right way: he was on a street lined with cute little cafes and humans sitting around in fancy metal chairs. He stopped to get his bearings, and nearly swore as his stomach growled. At least there were food stands everywhere…but what the hell was a “crepe”?

A minute later, he found a place to sit down and gnaw on a couple of folded-over, chocolatey things, which were actually pretty good. There wasn’t much to do as he ate but people-watch, which would have been kind of neat if the people in question weren’t humans. They followed the overall pattern he’d observed at the castle, where the men were loud and stupid-looking, while the women were also loud and ranged from scrawny to actually-lumpy to extremely lumpy. Even the ones with nice faces were still too…human, without any soothing voices, or graceful movements, or sweet expressions…

It made him wonder yet again if Frisk’s SOUL was the real reason he’d been so drawn to her; the first time he’d seen it, he was scared shitless, and then he wanted to rip it out for strictly non-romantic purposes. Was it because she’d reminded him so much of Kris? Or would he have just eventually fallen in love with any human who was powerful enough for him, even if she was a gross person on the outside or inside?

…Nope. It was because she was Frisk. Satisfied with that line of introspection, Sans finished the second crepe and tossed the wrappers in a trash can, forgetting that she wasn’t there to yell at him for littering. Time to ask someone for directions to a more useful part of town.

The first person he talked to just shrugged, and the next pointed him the wrong way entirely, but an irate half-hour later, Sans was back on the right track. This street seemed much dingier, with fewer people around; it smelled weird, too, like horse pee and desperation.

Maybe that was why someone had started following him. Sans smiled to himself, wiggling his fingers inside his coat pockets. Should he get further into the back alleyways before he confronted the guy, or—

“Heya.”

Sans glanced to his right. A man in his early twenties was standing by a side street, nodding at him. “C’mon this way,” he said. “Got somethin’ to show you.”

“I don’t think so, pal,” said the disguised boss monster. “Whatever ya want, you’re wastin’ yer time. Don’t have any cash on me.” Without waiting for an answer, he speed-walked further ahead, grinning as he heard a soft whistle behind him.

Sure enough, someone was waiting right around the next corner, an older man in nice clothes. “Excuse me, sir,” he said loudly, “but do you have the time?”

Sans thought of the old woman again and snorted. “Nope,” he replied, and tried to walk around him.

The man quick-stepped back into Sans’ way. “My. Her Eminence doesn’t pay you enough to buy a watch?” he asked innocently.

What the hell? He wasn’t wearing the armband. “Who said anythin’ about—”

The distraction almost worked: the guy made a sudden feint toward him, and if Sans had been any less alert, he’d have backed right into the human sneaking up to grab his neck with a wire loop. Instead, Sans pivoted and slammed an elbow into his would-be assailant so hard that he felt the guy’s ribs crack. The man who’d stopped him cursed under his breath, turning to run.

Almost absent-mindedly, Sans waved a finger in the fleeing human’s direction. There was a shnk of bone erupting from the pavement, and a muffled scream as the man’s ankle was impaled mid-flight. The rest of his body yanked to a stop and hit the ground in a twisted heap.

Footsteps pounded toward them, and Sans turned to face the first guy who’d talked to him, then one other human. They sized up the situation and moved to either side of him, one armed with some kind of club and the other sporting a huge knife.

Sans gave a low laugh as bloodlust started bubbling to the surface. Finally! This was what he’d been waiting for! No more playing cute and harmless! No more letting people do whatever the hell they wanted with him! No witnesses!

Really, the only problem was that it was too easy. Sans let the one with the knife get in close, then grabbed his arm and broke it at the elbow, spinning the would-be assassin around and shoving him into the guy with the club. Both humans hit the ground, but the knife guy was up in a moment, scrabbling for his weapon with his good hand. Sans kicked the knife away, pinned both of his palms to the ground with a couple more bones, and lifted the remaining human by the neck with his magic.

Was that it? He glanced around at the one with the wire loop – on the ground, struggling to breathe – then the guy with the impaled ankle, who seemed to have passed out. The third was staring at his hands and making weird noises – not very knife of him, ha ha – and the last one dangled a few inches off the ground, clawing at the red mist around his throat.

Sans hummed under his breath, surveying the four men with an artistic eye. Well! Where to begin? Might as well start with the one he was holding up. The human windpipe was so fragile that one good crunch would do it…but no one said it’d have to be a quick crunch. Sans began to apply pressure, slow and hard, and grinned as the man’s eyes bulged in terror—

Out of nowhere, he froze mid-squeeze as a strange emotion hit him. It was…nostalgia, and then—guilt? That was it; the longer Sans stared at the captive human, the less he enjoyed the guy’s fear and despair. He knew exactly what it felt like to be trapped by someone stronger, didn’t he? Back in his jail cell, cowering behind a human witch’s barrier, knowing she could do any damn thing she pleased to him—had he looked like this to her?

Sans shook his head in irritation. What was he thinking? That was different! He wasn’t Frisk, and these guys had tried to kill him!

…just like he’d tried to kill her before and after she stopped him from hurting anyone. What had she done to retaliate? Kept him safe, given him her own stupidly oversized bed, let him sleep for over a day, and fed him more in one sitting than he’d eaten in goddamn weeks.

Sans tried again to shake it off, to rationalize that no one in their right mind would hold a psycho like him to Frisk’s standards, but when he looked again at the human in his grasp…

No, dammit! These assholes had attacked him out of nowhere, and he’d defended himself! Surely she wouldn’t expect him to just stand there and get murdered?

…But none of these guys could move under their own power anymore, much less hurt him. Now Sans could see Frisk snarling up at him in all her tiny, furious glory: “If you kill anyone and you cannot look me in the eye to tell me why it was necessary, I don't want you to come back at all!”

Argh! It wasn’t fair! She wasn’t here to stop him—she would never even know! Why should he quit right when it was finally getting good? Couldn’t he at least nick ‘em a few more times, enough to make them sorry? They might be pretty sorry already, but… “But,” Sans mumbled out loud, scowling.

Now he was thinking of Dr. Serif. The boss monster could practically hear his cool, smug voice: “But what, Sans?”

Tch. If he had to be hearing things, he’d much rather it be Frisk. He knew he should’ve taken a shortcut back to the Underground last night. Then he could’ve seen her and…done…something? Maybe he wouldn’t be so damn frustrated now, his mind jumping all over the place…

“Sans.”

Oh, shit. What about the fortune-teller? “Don’t kill anyone.” That guy had been right about stuff so far; would something happen to Frisk if Sans ignored his stupid, cheap advice? For all he knew, it could—

“SANS.”

“What?” he snapped. “Whaddya want, Doc…tor?” He gaped at Dr. Serif, who was standing only a few yards away, arms folded. “The fuck are you doin’ here?” demanded Sans, releasing the human from mid-air and ignoring his wheezing.

Dr. Serif came closer and made two gestures. A skeletal hand popped up and seized the fallen human by the throat, glowing green before vanishing. “He should live,” the royal sorcerer said crisply. He glanced at the man whose hands were affixed to the pavement, and the one up ahead. “In the meantime, do you plan to leave these gentlemen like that?”

Sans was still mad that he couldn’t leave them dead, but… He made a disgusted noise, and the bones all vanished. “Ya gonna tell me why you’re here, or what?”

“What.” Dr. Serif walked past Sans and snapped his fingers. Two pairs of disembodied hands sprang out of thin air, and one latched onto each human’s head; to Sans’ immense discomfort, the hands glowed blue, and each man obediently got up with sluggish, jerky motions – even the one with the shattered ankle – to come sit in a row, legs crossed like schoolchildren. “Why did you attack this man?” Dr. Serif inquired. “Only speak if you have useful information.”

The human with the broken ribs mumbled, “He’s the High Priestess’ agent,” in a voice that made Sans feel even weirder. There was good old-fashioned violence, and there was this. “Gonna hold him for ransom and lure in the skeleton.”

“Do not lie to me.” The humans jerked, eyes going glassy as the blue intensified. “This is not an instrument of live capture,” said the royal sorcerer, retrieving the wire loop with yet another hand. “Why do you, or your employers, want him dead?”

There was a round of silence. Evidently, no one knew, or probably cared. They’d had their orders, and that was that.

Sans stepped closer. “Were you the ones going after Frisk a few weeks ago—the High Priestess? Are you gonna try it again?”

“Wasn’t us,” said one.

“No one’s supposed to kill her anymore,” said another, and his associates nodded slowly.

Dr. Serif blinked a few times. “According to who, and since when?”

“Last week. Someone paid the Assassin’s Guild to blacklist her. She’s untouchable—anyone who goes after her gets a bounty put on his head.”

Sans had never seen the royal sorcerer so taken aback. “I didn’t know that was even possible. It would cost several hundred thou—no, a million dinar to make it worth their while,” he muttered. “Do you have any idea who did it?”

More silence. Meanwhile, Sans was not that surprised to find out there was a formal guild for murderers. Humans were such fucking scumbags.

“Are you affiliated with poachers, then?” was Dr. Serif’s next question.

“Yeah,” they all said at once.

The doctor’s foot tapped a few times. “Does your attack on the priestess’ agent have to do with the timing of his delivery to the Underground? Fewer monsters will be venturing outside if food is being brought directly to them—I assume you wanted to prevent this?”

Sans watched the men’s faces stay blank. That was probably too many words for them. “What’re you gonna do if ya can’t catch any monsters?” he asked instead.

The blue light intensified again, and someone finally mumbled, “Ransom. The High Priestess will pay to get her agent back. She won’t know he’s dead yet.”

Dr. Serif frowned. “And you’re hoping she’ll send the boss monster to rescue him?”

Nods. “It’s worth a hell of a lot of money.”

There was an odd pause. “For his magic?” the doctor asked.

“And ransom. She’s screwin’ it,” one man said tonelessly.

Dr. Serif grabbed Sans’ shoulder to restrain him. “Surely you’re not taking that rumor seriously,” he said. “It can’t be worth the danger of trying to capture such a powerful monster—he was relatively weak when he was first caught, and two men still died of their injuries.”

“Lady payin’ us says it’s true. She doesn’t want Her Eminence arrested for mis…missen—”

“Miscegenation?” growled Sans.

“Yeah. That. She wants us to catch it, but not kill it. We’ll keep it and get a shitload of magic, then sell it back later. Win-win.”

“Hm. So, your employer is a woman who wants to help the High Priestess? What is her name?”

No one answered. The blue light flickered, and one man finally said, “Dunno. We just got a few letters, and payment up front. Pretty sure it’s a rich lady ‘cause of the handwriting and the way the paper smelled, but we don’t know for sure.”

The doctor stared the man down, still holding Sans’ shoulder. “And she has hired you to hold the skeleton prisoner…for how long, exactly? And through what means?”

The human shrugged. “She said she’d tell us more once we killed this guy.”

Dr. Serif thought about it for a moment, then snapped his fingers again. The skeletal hands tightened, and Sans watched the men writhe in tandem and fall sideways like puppets with cut strings. “Well, that was more interesting than expected,” said the royal sorcerer. His hand tightened on Sans’ shoulder. “Come along.”

Sans shut his eyes as magic surged around them. It didn’t have the rushing-through-space feel of his shortcuts; this was more as if the ground had jumped out from beneath their feet and just as quickly hopped back into place. He opened his eyes and started. “Where—”

They were standing outside a large, well-kept stable. The doctor released him, saying, “I must commend you for not killing any of those men. We’ve acquired valuable information, and once they wake up, word will get around that the High Priestess’ agent is not to be trifled with.” He smiled, ever so slightly. “They will not recall I was even there.”

Sans gestured impatiently. “What the fuck was that about? Someone wants human-me dead, but they just wanna borrow real me to keep Frisk outta jail? An’ someone else’s paid out the ass to keep her alive? What’s—”

“It could well be the same person.” The royal sorcerer brushed some dust off his robe. “What is miscegenation?” he asked curtly.

Sans’ toes curled. “Boning a monster. It’s a literal crime. I heard somebody talking about it last night.”

“Interesting,” the doctor said slowly. “No one spreading that rumor in the city seems to know about it yet.” Sigh. “If you overheard it here, I suppose it’s only a matter of time before everyone knows.”

Sans didn’t want to talk about that right now, or ever. “How long were you following me?” he asked instead.

Pause. “Long enough.”

The boss monster didn’t like that, either. “Whatever,” Sans mumbled. “But thanks fer gettin’ all that stuff out of ‘em. You’re pretty freaky, but I guess ya come in handy.”

He heard the familiar sound of someone ignoring a pun, and then “You’re welcome.” Dr. Serif crossed his arms. “I was sent here to intercept you and the High Priestess. Given that I have not seen Her Eminence with you, may I assume you were foolish enough to come alone?”

“Uh…”

“As you were also foolish enough to leave the castle when and how you both did, I am not surprised.”

Sans snorted. “Ya think that was my idea?”

“No, but this almost certainly was.” The royal sorcerer gestured to the smushed roll of papers in Sans’ front pocket. “Come along. There should be three carts on reserve in Frisk’s name here, for when you were supposed to have picked them up on your way to the Underground.”

Sans followed him into the stable. “What, ya didn’t like us bailin’ on you?” he asked, taking childish pleasure in the older skeleton’s annoyance.

The doctor reached back without looking and took the papers from Sans’ pocket. “Hello,” Dr. Serif said cordially to the human behind the counter, who stepped right up to assist them.

This turned out to be prophetic: the doctor not only accompanied him everywhere for the rest of the morning and afternoon, he took complete charge. He made things so much smoother that Sans couldn’t even be mad about it; people listened to him, and he could fully answer their questions while Sans inspected the cargo and supervised the loading. The doctor also signed the bills of lading, reminding Sans after the first visit that as a perfectly normal human and not a monster in disguise, he was not “Sans” and needed to pick a pseudonym already.

They had almost no time to eat lunch or dinner, electing to grab a couple of sandwiches as the drivers brought the carts to the second-to-last warehouse. “So, was it your idea to swoop in on us like this?” Sans asked. “I know it was annoying to wake up and have us gone, but—”

“His Majesty is extremely unamused by his daughter’s behavior,” said the royal sorcerer, in a tone that wiped the smirk off Sans’ face. “To be very honest, I am glad I will not be there when Her Eminence receives this.” He extracted a long, expensive-looking envelope from his robe. “His Majesty assembled the paperwork yesterday for—”

“The adoption thing?” Sans interrupted. “Is it true?”

Dr. Serif made a face. “No matter where I go, the speed of gossip remains constant.” Another sigh. “Whatever you’ve heard is likely true. Should Frisk’s mission prove successful, His Majesty is prepared not only to pardon her theft, but place her directly in the line of succession.”

Sans took a long sip of water, trying and failing to figure that one out. “I thought ya said he was pissed off at her. Why…?”

“Tell me, Sans. Knowing Frisk, do you think she would appreciate being pressured into accepting such a heavy responsibility, especially in anticipation of her little brother’s death? His Majesty knows exactly how she will feel about it.” Dr. Serif paused for a huge bite of his sandwich. “Also, he may personally be unhappy with her actions, but he knows better than anyone that if she can outmaneuver him, then she is worthy of the throne.”

Fuck. “Yeah, when ya put it like that—”

The royal sorcerer glanced at him. “Out of curiosity, when did you learn that the King was her father?”

“Not till we were almost t’the Underground. I kinda found out by accident.”

Dr. Serif half-smiled. “It’s been common knowledge ever since she was brought to St. Brigid’s. And…by any chance, did she ever tell you anything about her mother?”

Sans had to whack himself in the chest as the last wad of his sandwich threatened to get stuck in his windpipe. Why did human bodies use the same damn tube for breathing and eating? “Only that she’s dead,” he rasped. “Why?”

“Wipe your hands, please, and put this somewhere safe until you can give it to her.” Dr. Serif held out the gilt envelope. “It contains copies of all the relevant documents, including an investiture of nobility—she would technically become a duchess first, then Crown Princess upon the death of the King or the Prince.”

Sans scrubbed his hands on his shirt and took the envelope. He was thinking so hard that he almost didn’t notice Frisk’s full name in fancy cursive across the front; then he looked again, and stared at it for a minute, and finally said, “Huh.”

“You don’t seem entirely surprised,” the doctor observed, sounding almost disappointed. “Have you already heard something to that effect?”

“Yeah. I had a long talk with Grillby the other day, and…I wasn’t gonna ask Frisk, but I was kinda wondering, and then she said…” Had the King done the calligraphy himself? “I never did hear her last name. I figured the High Priestess just doesn’t need one.”

“It was not hers to use for most of her life, and I would be very surprised if she chose to do so now, or ever. According to what I have gleaned from Rosa, the name does not have pleasant associations for Frisk—another fact of which the King is very aware.”

“Holy shit.” Sans looked at the envelope again. “He’s callin’ her that ta piss her off?”

“It is technically her legal name and belongs on a document of this importance. So, yes.”

“Shit.” Sans scratched the back of his head, thinking even harder. “So whoever filled out the paperwork for him knows her name, too? Which means everyone is gonna know about it by the time we get back?”

The doctor raised an eyebrow. “You’re coming back with her, then?” He let the question hang in the air, and Sans ignored it till Dr. Serif continued, “You are correct. I am genuinely sorry to leave this with you, but you will have to give her the news before you return, or else she will be completely blindsided. Please don’t do that to her.”

Sans wasn’t going to admit that the thought had already crossed his mind: throw the envelope away, let her enjoy the rest of her time in the Underground, and feign astonishment when they got back – hopefully triumphant – and found out she’d someday have the power to do literally anything she pleased, such as freeing monsters with a single decree.

Except…she was already helping monsters, and had already spent three lonely, stressful years as High Priestess. How much worse would her life be if she became the actual Queen? Would it technically fit that second fortune? Fear stabbed him so hard that he could barely breathe—what if she got surrounded by advisers and hangers-on determined to harass him away from her? There was no telling how long her father and half-brother would be around, and they probably wouldn’t let her keep a pet skeleton around, not to mention a suspiciously bony kid…

Sans couldn’t help it. Dr. Serif eyed him warily as the boss monster snickered again: a fucking crime. It was too perfect.

The carts were ready now. The boss monster tucked the fancy envelope into an inner pocket and resolved to quit thinking about it for now. Frisk could handle this; she’d know what to do. If she didn’t, they’d figure it out together.

Thankfully, the rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. By the time they were ready to head back to the Underground, the sun was just touching the horizon.

Everything had fit into three large-ish carts, which Frisk had accurately predicted would be a better idea than two really huge ones. The drivers were nervous about starting so late in the day, but Dr. Serif had implied that they were just headed to the city, the road to which was well-lit and patrolled by watchmen. Sans got a huge kick out of seeing the humans’ faces when the procession reached the outskirts of the village, went about a hundred yards, and came to a sudden halt. “You may remove the horses now,” said the doctor. “Please return to the village. Here is a small gratuity for your trouble.”

If the humans had questions, they were effectively answered by the five-hundred-dinar pieces Dr. Serif placed in each of their hands. They unhitched the horses and jogged them back in the fast-fading light without a backward glance, leaving the loaded carts sitting in the road.

From there, the disguised monsters waited until no one was in sight – not difficult, given the hour and the cold – and then enacted the plan they’d agreed upon earlier: Sans encased the lightest cart in a film of red magic, thought carefully about the place by the river where Undyne had attacked him, and teleported the whole thing there. No more than ten seconds later, a large patch of blackness crept over the pale bedrock; Gaster rose from it head-first, followed by the carts, and everything settled into place as the ground shimmered back into ordinary rock-ness.

“What the crap?” Sans pulled his chain off. “How do you even have that much magic?”

Gaster brushed himself off again with two extra hands, keeping his own tucked beneath his flowing black coat. He glided in a circle around the carts, checking that they had made the journey safely, and nodded. “Surely you’re not worn out from one spell?”

“No, but I’m a damn boss monster!”

The older skeleton smiled. A hand appeared in front of Sans, holding a gray orb slightly bigger than the hole in its palm. “Humans use these to store magic. Keep at least one on your person at all times and let it absorb your ambient power. Put it away when full, then repeat the process. Do so regularly, and you will soon have a supply built up for contingencies exactly like this.” The hand vanished. “Has Her Eminence used the teleportation spell I gave her yet?”

Sans remembered the brooch she’d gotten on All Souls Day, and shook his head. “I don’t think so, but she wears it a lot.”

“Good.” Gaster looked at the nearly-night sky. “Lead the way.”

The boss monster wondered exactly how many more of those stones Gaster had squirreled away in whatever fold of subspace he was using, and contented himself with the fact that the creepy bastard still seemed to be on their side—Sans hadn’t forgotten the fortune about bewaring him, but right now, he didn’t have much choice. Even the lightest of the carts was much heavier than the wagons full of monsters had been, and as tired as he was, he doubted he could’ve pulled or teleported them all on his own.

Gaster’s extra hands were pulling and pushing two of the carts with apparent ease as they followed the river. Sans tried to think of something that would pass the time without leading to invasive questions, and finally thought to ask, “The solar panel demonstration went okay?”

“Oh, yes.” Gaster’s voice was neutral, and it was impossible to read his expression in profile. “Someone attempted to sabotage it by cutting several of the wires on the main panel, so I used my own magic as a substitute. It was most impressive, if I say so myself.”

That sounded like one problem too many. They had enough crap to deal with in the Underground without worrying about sabotage or the King being passive-aggressive or some random lady who wanted to keep him away from Frisk! Get in line, he thought bitterly.

“How is Her Eminence’s mission going?” asked Gaster, as if reading his mind.

“Pretty good, I think. Asgore hasn’t met with her yet, but he’s letting her do whatever.” Sans felt the corners of his mouth lift. “She’s spent a couple nights with Undyne and Alphys at Toriel’s house, havin’ some girl time. They went shopping yesterday, ‘n pro’ly today.”

Gaster nodded. “I don’t know how you intended to do this alone,” he said, glancing at the carts, “but given your accelerated timeline, I suppose it was the best way to let her enjoy herself for a day or two. It will also help her cause if the monsters see a great deal of her firsthand.”

Sans knew what he meant—all Frisk had to do to win them over was be herself. He didn’t notice that he was smiling until he felt Gaster’s stare; the other skeleton was suddenly in front of him, drifting backwards as Sans walked. “Don’t mind me,” murmured the royal sorcerer, examining the boss monster’s sternum.

“What’s my LV?” Sans asked bluntly.

Gaster reappeared beside the cart. “You are at LV 16.”

Sans was…almost surprised. Gaster gave him a hard look. “The first time I checked, you were—”

A sound off to their left made both skeletons stop to listen. It was faint, but unmistakable. “Keep going,” Gaster said, and they picked up the pace, both assuming their disguises.

There was no question of outrunning the humans, so they let the sound of hoofbeats gradually overtake them. “Well, well,” said the first rider, pulling up in front of the carts and forcing them to stop. Two more poachers rode up alongside, and three more brought up the rear. Each man had a coil of chain slung over his shoulder, and their leader carried a heavy crossbow. “What are you doing out here so late?” he demanded. “Where you headed with all that?”

“The Underground,” Dr. Serif said calmly. “We have no monsters or valuables with us, so if you would kindl—”

“Bullshit.” The leader nodded to the other men. “Search ‘em. There’s gotta be—”

Sans didn’t even see what happened next: an unseen force yanked each man out of the saddle to hit the bedrock, filling the air with thumps, whinnying, and curses. “This is your last warning,” said Dr. Serif, still sounding very reasonable. “Leave us, or you will suffer.”

When the men didn’t answer – except for more profanity – the doctor made a gesture. This time, Sans glimpsed the skeletal hands smacking the horses on the rump, one after another; the animals screamed in panic, nearly trampling their riders as they bolted in different directions.

The poachers gaped at each other, then at the human-shaped skeletons. “What the fuck are you?” demanded the leader. With no warning, he whipped up his crossbow to fire at—

—Gaster, whose body had vanished, leaving nothing but an eerie smile and empty sockets. “Well, then,” he murmured, his eyes lighting blue and yellow. He glanced at Sans. “Please go on without me. I will see you back at the castle in…” He paused, counting on a set of hands. “…nine days.” The fingers snapped once, twice, thrice. “My regards to Her Eminence.”

Sans opened his mouth to object, and the ground dropped out from beneath him.

Silence descended in his wake, leaving the poachers in abject terror. Without the carts’ lanterns, it was impossible to see anything but the light in Gaster’s sockets. “Well,” the monster said. He looked at the men with mild curiosity, like a child with a jar full of insects. The leader jerked as a hand suddenly latched onto his face. “Can I trust you to keep this little encounter a secret?” asked Gaster.

The man nodded frantically, clawing at the hand as blood began welling under its phalanges. The others nodded, too, babbling reassurance.

“Good,” the skeleton said pleasantly. The humans had exactly enough time to start hoping before his eye-lights dilated, illuminating the hideous, masklike face. “What a pity that I do not believe you.”

There was a gruesome sound, and another, and another, and another. Silence; a tide of magic rose and swept over the bedrock, leaving nothing behind but a few splashes of blood.

Gaster nodded in satisfaction and turned to rinse his hands in the river, humming Sans’ favorite song. He paused long enough to chuckle to himself, then brushed his coat off once more, extracted a fresh stone from his coat, and vanished.

The sentries outside the Grand Hall’s gates rolled their eyes as another knock came from within. “Any sign of him?” someone asked through the crack.

“No,” the rabbit monster snapped. “For the last time, you don’t need to keep asking every ten minutes! We’ll tell you when he—”

A long, low sound from the opposite direction cut him short. “Sans?” called the guard.

“The one an’ only,” a gruff voice answered over the rise. In the still, cold air, they could now hear the sound of wheels on sandy rock, and the labored breathing of a boss monster managing three heavily laden carts by himself. “Can I get some damn help here?”

Twenty minutes later, Sans had recovered enough to get up from the cavern floor and hobble through the swarm of hungry monsters by the gates, some of whom had been waiting all day for their share of the food. “You guys don’t need to inspect it,” the colossal skeleton informed the guards, who were busy walking around the carts and poking them at random. “Me an’…someone I trust watched ‘em load it up.”

The rabbit guard looked at his partner, then at Sans. “This came from humans, right? It’s probably gotta be—”

“It’s gotta get out to people now,” Sans growled. He pointed at someone randomly. “Go get more help, whoever’s awake. I’m gonna go find Her Majesty.”

“No need,” said a clear voice. The monsters all bowed out of the way as Toriel stepped off the patchy gray sand of the central aisle. “I am glad to see you back safely, Sans. Thank you so much for your efforts,” said the former Queen. “Please, get some sleep. I will handle the rest.”

Sans was so tired that he could barely stay upright, but he shook his head. “I’m gonna check in with Asgore first.” Toriel’s face darkened, and he sighed. “C’mon, To—Your Majesty, ya know he’ll freak out if he finds out this came in without ‘im knowing.”

The other boss monster sighed, closing her eyes. “True. And if you go now, you may run into the Captain and Dr. Alphys. They will also want to know you’ve arrived safely. But after that, I want you go straight home! Do you hear me?”

He did, but sleep could wait: if those two were at Asgore’s house, then Frisk might be, too. His magic flared up, and without another thought, the skeleton took himself straight there.

Remembering how easily the women had detected him before, Sans aimed for the end of the house near the master bedroom, and caught himself with only a slight stagger into the wall. Voices were coming from the living room; the boss monster waited for his vision to clear, then pushed himself upright and crept down the hall to listen.

“It is lovely,” Asgore was murmuring. There was a musical clinking of fine metal and china—the King must be looking at the tea service Frisk had picked out for him.

“Yeah, she was pretty proud of it. Everything she’s brought has been awesome,” agreed Undyne.

Sans scowled. Frisk wasn’t here after all. Well, he didn’t have enough magic to zero in on wherever she was, and Undyne was still talking, so he might as well eavesdrop. “She got me some targets, and comi—uh, battle strategies, and stuff for my scales. It was really thoughtful,” said the Royal Guard Captain.

“And I can finally finish Adventure Lady!” Alphys exclaimed. “C-can you believe it?!”

To Sans’ surprise, Asgore chuckled. He didn’t think the King knew how to do that anymore. “I’m glad to hear it, Doctor. I know how much that was bothering you.” Clink. “What about the agricultural implements Sans mentioned?”

“Yes, Y-Your Majesty. We spent a few hours today looking them over—she knows how to treat plants so that they can go days without being watered! We t-talked about different chemicals that can improve the quality of our soil, specific nutrients for whichever crops we decide to plant first, and all the seeds she brought. The next step is to decide which fields to convert to pasture if we want to raise c-cattle or sheep.”

“Hmm. Yes, that would be wonderful.” Sans heard tea being poured and china clinking again. “What else has she been up to?” asked the King.

“We went shopping for clothes yesterday,” the Captain said, “and Mettaton is teaching her how to dance. It was pretty fun—did you hear he wants to have a big party before she leaves?”

“Yes, I have. Some festivities could be good for our people, but…we’ll see.”

“Right.” She cleared her throat. “And just so you know, Majesty, we’ve spent the past couple nights at the Ruins.”

A long pause. “I…see. Did you have a good time?”

“Yeah,” Undyne said quietly. “Everyone did.”

“That…” Asgore heaved a great sigh. “That’s good to hear. What about today?”

Undyne’s chair creaked. “Today was a little more complicated. She checked on some of the people she brought back—not that she busted in on anyone,” the fish monster added hastily. “She only got started ‘cause Vulkin asked her to come visit.”

Asgore made a startled noise. “Vulkin wanted to see her? Why?”

Sans wanted to run in and shake the King like the idiot he was, but he edged back and tried to think nicer thoughts as Undyne answered, “She said Frisk was the only human who ever gave a crap about them, basically, and her family wanted to meet her. We ended up staying for over an hour.” Another pause. “Also, Majesty…Frisk’s got this thing she does where she can hum something at you, and it’s…really nice. Not hypnosis or anything sneaky, it just…” Sans could almost hear Undyne shrug. “Right before we left, Vulkin started getting worked up, and Frisk calmed her down just like that.”

“She’s done it for us, too, right before bedtime,” said Alphys. “I haven’t s-slept so well in forever.”

“Hm. She has other abilities, then, besides creating barriers?” He poured more tea. “Have you investigated her capabilities in that respect?”

“N-No, Your Majesty. She wanted to have your permission before she made any, even j-just to study them in the lab.”

Sans got the feeling that Asgore was a little put out by Frisk conducting herself so well. “If you believe she is trustworthy,” said the King, “then by all means, study her barriers as fully as you can. The knowledge may prove…useful.” More clinking. “Thank you for your time, both of you. Get some rest. And…” His voice softened. “Please thank her for the gift.”

The giant skeleton smiled a little. Before they could get up and notice him lurking in the hall, Sans used the tiniest wisp of magic – all that he had left – to whisk himself outside to the courtyard. He waited by the tree, foot raised as if in mid-step; when the door opened, Asgore saw him and started. “Sans! You’re back!”

“Hey, Majesty.” Sans raised a genuinely weary hand. “Yeah, I just got in with all the stuff. Everything’s fine. Just wanted to let you know.”

“Thank you very much,” the King said heartily, another trace of his old self showing. “I’ll be down right away.”

“Uh.” The bigger boss monster fake-coughed. “Please don’t, Yer Majesty. Someone’s already got it under control.”

Blink. “Some…oh.”

“Hey, you,” Undyne said, moving around Asgore and hopping down the stairs in one easy bound. “How’d it go? Are you okay?”

“It’s fine, ‘m just worn out.” Sans let out a full-force yawn. “I’ll walk back with you guys,” he said as Alphys came down the steps.

“All right, then,” Asgore murmured. “Thank you again, Sans.” The skeleton nodded, and they politely waited for the door to close before turning to leave.

“Don’t even think about it” was the first thing out of Undyne’s mouth. “She’s asleep already.”

Sans was too tired not to ask, “Where? Tori’s again?”

“I’m not telling you!” snapped the fish-woman. “We had a lot of fun yesterday, but today was pretty rough on her.” She eyed him as they stepped into the elevator and waited for the grating to close. “You don’t look so hot, either.”

“I will be in a minute.” Sans swayed on his feet as the elevator descended. “After all, we’re goin’ to Hotland.”

Undyne twitched. “Nope. We’re not doing those.”

“Aww, c’mon, fish-face.” Yawn. “I’m just gettin’ warmed up.”

Twitch. “I’m serious, boss. Drop it.”

“Drop it like…it’s hot?”

“I SAID—”

The elevator ground to a halt, and he felt Alphys tug on his coat. “L-let’s go to my lab, Sans. You can take a nap and get some magic back befo—not yet!”

Sans had the impression of falling and something grabbing him, but he didn’t pay much attention till Undyne heaved him onto the lab’s concrete floor. “Ow,” he tried to say, but it was too much effort; he decided to pass out instead.

They weren’t heading to the family’s main house; for some reason, Asriel had insisted she come with him to the one in the Ruins, where he and his mother had been living before the delegation arrived. He’d told her that he had a surprise for her, but he was so anxious that she didn’t think it was going to be a good one.

Good or not, she had to admit that when Asriel opened the bedroom door and motioned her inside, she was very surprised: she backpedaled so hard that she crashed into his legs.

“It’s all right,” said Chara, very quietly, from her seat on the bed. “I wouldn’t be glad to see me, either.”

“Chara,” Asriel protested.

“It’s true.” The woman watched Frisk lean into Asriel, clutching his robe with one small hand. “Isn’t it, Frisk?” she added.

The child inhaled sharply, looking up at the Prince in alarm. “It’s all right,” he told her, smiling with such affection that she had to smile back. “I know all about you, Frisk. You’re ten years old, and you’re a girl, and you belong here. In fact, you could say you’ve come home.” He looked at Chara, beaming. “Right, sis?”

Sans must have teleported from the lab at some point – maybe in his sleep – because when he properly awoke, he was in his own room. The boss monster sat up and turned the light on with a speck of magic. A glance at the clock made him do a double take: how was it almost ten o’clock?! Sans sprang to his feet and zipped down to the living room.

No one was there, but he heard children running around outside, with the occasional shriek of happiness, or anger, or possibly disembowelment—he never could tell with kids. There was Papyrus’ voice, and Undyne’s; then he heard Frisk, and without thinking, he took another shortcut out beside the house.

Before San could get his bearings, a handful of snow hit him upside the head. “Morning, boss!” shouted Undyne. “About time!”

“GOOD MORNING, BROTHER!” Papyrus raised his head from beneath a pile of children. “WE ARE AT WAR! WOULD YOU CARE TO JOIN US?”

Sans blinked. “War?”

“Yes, indeed,” Frisk said gravely, and he looked up to see her standing on the balcony, not far above his eye level. Magic rippled through him in gentle waves as she smiled. “Is everyone ready?” she asked the monsters.

The giant skeleton came forward for a better view as the children sprang to their feet, or paws, or seahorse tail. Frisk dipped something into a narrow bottle, raised it to her mouth, and leaned over the railing to blow a stream of huge, wobbly, fast-floating bubbles.

In an instant, the kids were charging after them, leaping and clawing and even biting them joyfully out of the air. Frisk dipped the stick again and angled herself toward Papyrus to blow another round of bubbles; instead of popping them, the younger skeleton surrounded each one in blue and sent them flying in all directions, which was Undyne’s cue to materialize a short spear and leap after them, yelling, “Come back here, you cowards!”

When the last bubble had been vanquished, Frisk made even more of them, almost obscuring the pack of children; this time, Papyrus used his magic to grab all the bubbles, and instead of chasing after them, the kids tackled him again. Undyne coordinated the assault, directing her troops to surround the enemy and attack as a unit, ignoring Papyrus’ protests of being muuuurdered and that she could not have his pirate-ship bed once he was dust, because for the hundredth time even if she did have an eyepatch that did not mean she deserved to be a pirate more than him. Then everyone scattered again for Frisk to send another batch the kids’ way, and two more groups for Papyrus to keep away from Undyne.

It was hard to say who was enjoying themselves the most. Sans hadn’t seen his brother playing like this in…how long? Even some of the adult monsters were coming over to watch, standing around and chatting with each other, or asking Frisk how she’d made the bubbles and happily accepting the extra bottles she tossed down for them. It was like she’d never left…

A thought struck him, and he backed further away from the house to crane his neck all the way upward. There it was, the thin brown haze of negative energy that’d been accumulating since he absorbed the last round of it. …But—

Sans had avoided looking too directly at Frisk, and tried to take another quick peek now, only for his eyes to lock onto her. She’d taken off her cloak, revealing one of probably many new outfits: a dark-green velvet dress that accented the curves of her bust and hips, silver earrings that shimmered as she bent down to refill the bottle, and gray boots that reminded him of the fact that she had feet.

And when he finally managed to look back up toward her face, he was ambushed by the sight of a black choker. The damn thing looked like a collar, but it wasn’t even trying to be practical; it was just a little bit of lace hugging her neck, and a flagrant reminder that most things wearing collars had nothing else on. He’d contemplated keeping her as a pet, once upon a time, before he even—

Suddenly, Undyne vaulted onto his shoulder, crashing his nasal ridge into the bottom edge of the balcony. The Royal Guard Captain rapped him on the skull with the butt of her spear, dispelling the last of his lust-induced stupor. “Quit staring, moron,” she hissed, and gestured to Frisk. “C’mon, lady, we need more bad guys to kill,” the fish monster said in a normal tone, raising her voice to finish, “unless Papyrus is too weak to keep going!”

“I AM NOT!” The skeleton stomped his foot in feeble rage, trying to catch his breath as Undyne leapt down. “BUT PERHAPS…PERHAPS WE COULD TAKE A BREAK, FOR THE CHILDREN?” Two small monsters ran circles around him as he desperately added, “THEY SEEM VERY TIRED, NYEH-HEH!”

Frisk bit her lip, and Sans wanted more than ever to scoop her up for a giant hug—not only was it always hot when she did that, it meant she wanted to help Pap without hurting his feelings. Luckily for everyone, his mouth-related thoughts suddenly turned in a more wholesome direction. “Hey,” Sans murmured, catching her attention. “Ya know what you oughta do?”

The others stopped as Frisk leaned down to hear him whisper. “That’s a wonderful idea,” the priestess said warmly, and Sans felt his skull turn red. “Here, Undyne, I want the children to help me try something,” Frisk told her, dipping the wand again. “You two can supervise.”

Papyrus was happy to accept his new role, and Sans also paid close attention to Frisk’s lips as she blew a long, low stream of smaller bubbles. The kids grabbed at them and squealed as a sound followed each pop—to their delight, every bubble now contained a tiny burst of music.

Undyne reached out to poke one. “What, did you whistle into ‘em?” She jumped at the sudden sound, then laughed, popping another one. “That’s so damn cool!”

“Sans thought of it,” Frisk said. She was grinning from ear to ear, almost prancing in place. “Here!” This time, instead of a single pitch, she whistled a scale of several notes, sliding up and back down; when the children popped them, it produced a whole tangle of sounds. The adult monsters drew closer as more bubbles drifted and burst, scattering bits of music through the chilly air.

“Yo!” cried Monster Kid, bounding nearly straight up for emphasis. “Guys! Let’s try to make ‘em into a song again!”

The adults chuckled and shook their heads, but the children loved the idea. And as it turned out, they were right: the sheer futility of trying to break the bubbles in the right order was so much fun that, before they knew it, nearly every monster in the field was chasing after them. No one could hear much of anything over all the shouting and laughter, but that was okay. Everything was okay.

“Sans?”

Still smiling, the giant skeleton turned to face Toriel, noting that she was coming from the ferry and not the Ruins. “What’s all this?” she asked.

“We’re slaughtering our foes in glorious battle,” a cute little bunny said in passing. “It sounds pretty!”

“LIKE THIS, YOUR MAJESTY!” Papyrus demonstrated with a couple of quick jabs.

Toriel’s eyes widened as the sounds made a faint chord. “How wonderful!” She looked in amazement at the crowd of happy, energetic monsters. “You haven’t even received your rations yet—is this an early celebration?”

“Nah, it’s just fun,” Undyne said cheerfully. “People were fighting over who was gonna get what, and the kids were upset, so Frisk showed ‘em how she could make this stuff. Next thing you know—” Quick as scaled lightning, the Captain flicked an energy-toothpick at a bubble overhead, grinning at the resultant chime. “F sharp! Nice.” With a salute to Toriel, Undyne was off again, lifting a couple of random children onto her shoulders.

“How wonderful,” Toriel said again. She sighed, looking fondly up at the balcony. Frisk was starting to puff a bit, but clearly determined to keep going. “What a fine young woman she’s become! It’s almost like having Chara back with us.”

Sans shuffled his slippered feet. He knew it was the highest compliment Toriel could give, but the comparison really rubbed him the wrong way. Not only had he heard a lot of things recently, he couldn’t shake the dream he’d just had—the Prince so eager to have Frisk and Chara back together, and the child trying to be good, but unable to hide her fear and uncertainty…

And speaking of Asriel: “Tell her I’m sorry.” What was that about? Who was—

Suddenly, the dreams clicked together in his mind like puzzle pieces. Asriel had tricked Frisk into meeting with Chara, knowing perfectly well that the poor kid didn’t want to. Was he only sorry for that, or had something else happened afterward, awful enough to make Asriel want to apologize from beyond the friggin’ grave?

Toriel was saying something, and the skeleton shook his head. “Sorry, Tori. What was that?”

She cleared her throat. “I was asking if you’ve met the boy who’s courting her. Frisk said he’s very kind, and wealthy, but…she didn’t seem terribly enthusiastic.”

Sans almost laughed out loud. So much crap was going on that he’d actually forgotten about that guy! “Had some girl talk, huh?” he asked carelessly, shoving his emotions way, way back down and hoping his eyes weren’t glowing.

The goat monster chuckled, still watching the field. “We stayed up the other night to discuss where to distribute all the food you were bringing. Afterward, yes, we did talk about her love life.”

He made an indifferent noise. He was fine. He could do this. “I met the guy once,” he said. “Kinda boring, but I guess he could be worse.”

Toriel nodded. Her ear twitched as a longer, sweeter trill came from above—Frisk was pulling out all the stops, Sans thought proudly. “Were you there when she spoke to the fortune-teller?” she asked.

The skeleton made himself shrug, as if he wasn’t screaming internally. Stupid girl talk! How much had Frisk told her?

Well, the fact that Toriel hadn’t murdered the shit out of him meant she probably didn’t know everything yet. How she was failing to connect the dots between Frisk and Sans’ human love interest was beyond him, but he’d keep playing along for now. “Yeah, I went with her to that festival,” he said. “Pretty weird stuff. Apparently, she’s on track to have a kid soon.”

Toriel grimaced. “I certainly hope not. Frisk is much too young for that kind of responsibility.”

Sans snorted, and Toriel turned to glare at him. “Sorry, but ya haven’t seen her in action,” he said. “The first time I met her, she kept me from killin’ a whole bunch of people, all by herself, an’ she wouldn’t let ‘em kill me back. She got all bloody fixin’ up some kid who came to ‘er for help at two in the morning, she’s payin’ everything for three or four different orphanages that I know of, she keeps tabs on anyone in the whole damn kingdom who might need help, and she’s workin’ on freein’ us, too.” He shook his head. “She’s not a little kid anymore, Tori. She’s got so much crap ta deal with, and she’s been takin’ care of it all on her own. As long as she finds the right guy, it’s…”

He had to stop before he got any more worked up. Luckily, Toriel was too deep in thought to notice. “That does sound impressive, but you’re right. Her happiness depends on whether she can find a good husband, one she can trust to stand by her and care about her children—”

Now they were both grim and silent. “Just a few more,” the human called from above them.

She sounded so breathless that Sans shook his head, reaching up to tap on the railing. “Hey, Frisk? Quit it before ya pass out.”

Toriel listened for a moment, then nodded. Sans watched her stride out to the middle of the field and clap her hands. “Everyone,” she said, “I am glad you’ve enjoyed yourselves, but please return to your homes now. The Royal Guard will be here shortly to deliver your share of the supplies that Frisk arranged for us and Sans brought in last night.” The former Queen nodded benignly in their direction. “Thank you, both of you.”

The giant skeleton was rather embarrassed by the round of applause that followed, though Frisk seemed to take it in stride. Then again, it could be the fact that she was barely conscious. “Time to come in, Pap,” Sans said, jerking his head as the monsters bid each other cheerful farewells and went their separate ways. The children still seemed more excited about the bubbles than the prospect of food—were the poor little bastards just used to being hungry by now?

There was no need to ask Undyne to take care of Frisk: she had already jumped straight onto the balcony and was assisting the human inside. Sans teleported into the living room, where he immediately got in the way of the Captain half-carrying her down to the couch. “’m fine,” Frisk muttered.

Sans leaned over her, scowling. “Ya need your breath, kid. Don’t use it all up next time.” Now that he was closer, he could also see dark circles under her eyes. “How much sleep didja get last night?” he demanded, and looked at Undyne. “Were you guys at Tori’s house?”

“No,” the goat monster said, shutting the door behind her and coming to sit beside Frisk. “Mettaton kept her up so late that she spent the night at the resort.” Toriel’s hand came up, glowing green, and brushed Frisk’s cheek. “If you had stayed with me, child, I’d have made sure you rested properly.”

The priestess rubbed some feeling back into her lips. “I beg to differ,” she said a moment later. “Remember how afraid I was to fall asleep that second night? Undyne was already mad because I caught her cheating at cards—”

The Captain swelled like a pufferfish. “For the last time, I didn’t frickin’ cheat! My 6 got stuck behind my queen, and I didn’t know it was there when you asked for it!”

“Mmmm-hm.” Frisk let her head fall against Toriel’s shoulder as the goat monster stroked her hair. Sans had to look away, more irritated than ever—how stupid was it to be jealous of someone mothering her? Especially considering what she’d had for an actual mom…

“Anyway,” said Undyne. She glanced at Sans, saw his expression, and whacked him again to get his attention. “You know what your damn human did to me?” Frisk smirked as Undyne pantomimed writing huge letters across her own face. “GO FISH. Is that the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard, or what?”

Sans snickered. “What? She was probably just being supportive. You know, ‘go—”

Frisk and Toriel dissolved into laughter as the Captain smacked her forehead with one webbed hand. “Argh! That’s the same dumb thing she said!”

“It’s all right,” the human said, in what Sans gleefully recognized as her pre-pun voice. “I guess our humor is just that sofishticated.”

“NOOOOO,” moaned Papyrus, who had just come inside. “NOT YOU, TOO, NYEHH!”

“What’s wrong?” asked Sans, winking at Toriel as she covered her face with one hand. “Are you mad enough to krill someone?”

“SO HELP ME, YOU TWO, I WILL LEAVE THIS HOUSE AND NEVER—”

“But it’s so nice to sea you,” Frisk said, and Sans snorted so hard that he had to sit down before he fell over. Toriel was giggling uncontrollably, clutching her sides; Undyne just shook her head and retreated into the storage room behind the kitchen cabinet.

Papyrus looked mollified. “YES, I KNOW. BUT I—” He stopped, and they nearly died as they watched it hit him. “GRAAAAH! IF HER MAJESTY WAS NOT HERE, I’D—”

“It’s all right, Papyrus,” Toriel said behind her hand. “I know I can trust you to control your temper.” Papyrus nodded, and the goat monster added, “You’ve always been a pacifisht!”

Undyne poked her head into the kitchen, raising her voice over the din: “Pap! Get away from those nerds and come help me! We need to make room for your stuff when it gets here.”

The younger skeleton sighed dramatically, even for him. “NYEH-HEH! I SUPPOSE I MAY AS WELL. AT LEAST SOMEONE AROUND HERE WILL BE DOING SOMETHING USEFUL!”

“Thank you. You’re the least shellfish person we know,” squeaked Frisk, at which Papyrus made an incoherent sound and stormed off into the kitchen.

Sans was pounding the floor, the women nearly sobbing. “Children—children, please,” Toriel said weakly, wiping her eyes. “Really, it’s time to calm down now.” A long pause… “We can’t keep kraken up like this!”

“Oh my God, they’re gonna kill themselves,” Undyne grumbled from the storage room. They had closed the cabinet door, but it wasn’t soundproof enough. “Let’s move some of this stuff to the shed, and…hey, what’s this?” She picked up a heavy package lying in the back corner. “Huh. Looks like one of Frisk’s. Pap, go ask—”

“SANS! POSSIBLY FRISK!” Papyrus charged into the living room, hoisting the box over his head and nearly tripping over his brother. “IS THIS A FORGOTTEN PUZZLE?! MAY I OPEN IT TO KEEP IT COMPANY?”

“Oh!” Frisk gave a last snrk and accepted a clean handkerchief from Toriel to wipe her face. “Actually, Papyrus, that one is for Sans.”

“Wha?” The giant skeleton sat up and quirked a brow at her. “What’re you talkin’ about? I was with ya when we bought all this crap, and I don’t remember you gettin’ me anything.”

“That’s because you weren’t paying attention,” the priestess retorted.

…She had a point. There had been quite a few times when they were in a shop and he was so bored that she could’ve been plotting the death of all monsterkind without him noticing.

“SURPRISE PUZZLES ARE THE BEST KIND! OPEN IT ALREADY!” urged Papyrus, shoving the gift at his brother’s face.

“Yeah, boss,” Undyne said from the kitchen. “Don’t be so damn shy.”

“I’m not bein’ shy! I just…I wasn’t expectin’ it.” Scowling, Sans grabbed the package and dug his phalanges into the lid. One good rip would get this over w—

“Sans!” Frisk’s voice made him hunch his shoulders like a guilty kid. “If you tear it open like that and break something, I will end you! Do you understand?”

The others watched the colossal skeleton set the package down gently, unwrapping the paper and moving it aside as though it was made of glass. Toriel and Undyne exchanged disbelieving glances as Sans located the box’s tucked-in corners, eased them loose, and picked at the ribbons tying it shut.

But a moment later, as he removed the last layers of tissue paper, their amusement faded into gasps and murmurs. Inside the box lay a chessboard gleaming in white marble and flawless onyx, each of the pieces individually wrapped and set in neat rows.

Undyne chose one at random and peeled the paper away to reveal a knight astride a black pegasus, wings spread and hooves ready to strike. “Whoa!” She picked another, this one a rook carved in the shape of a ruined tower, complete with crumbling bricks and a few tiny bird’s nests in the windows. “Where’d you find this?! Are you gonna teach him how to play?”

“We did most nights back at the castle.” Frisk shrugged. “He beat me every time.”

“Incredible,” murmured Toriel. She took the knight and held it up to examine the sculpting of its plumelike tail. “Humans have such an amazing capacity for beauty. I never could understand…” The goat monster sighed, handing the piece back. “What do you think, Sans?”

Sans couldn’t answer. He’d calmed down a lot after all the fish puns, and he would have been fine just hanging out with everyone until the Royal Guard came by. He hadn’t known Frisk was going to give him anything, much less something beautiful and thoughtful and completely perfect—like her, dammit. How was he supposed to stop feeling all these feelings when she kept doing things?

The pause became more and more uncomfortable as he glowered at the chessboard, heat building around his SOUL until he wanted more than ever to just rip his clothes off right there. “PSST! BROTHER!” Papyrus nudged him. “YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO SAY, ‘THANK YOU FOR THE MAGNIFICENT PUZZLE, NYEH-HEH! I SHOULD ASK THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO PLAY IT WITH ME, AND WEEP GENTLY WHEN I LOSE!’”

Sans fidgeted, and Frisk looked expectant. “This’s…ya know, ya didn’t hafta waste a bunch more money on somethin’ we—” His head snapped up, startling everyone. “Hey, there’s the Royal Guard! They probably need help, right? Let’s go help!”

“SANS,” Papyrus began, and huffed as his brother disappeared. “THAT’S NOT WHAT I TOLD HIM TO SAY AT ALL! HOW DID HE GET IT SO VERY WRONG?”

Sans was not surprised by the others’ reactions when they joined him a few minutes later at the cart by the town Christmas tree. He could only imagine what they’d been saying, though the glare Undyne was giving him made her opinion pretty clear.

“Good day,” Toriel said to the cat monster holding the supply list, ignoring Sans entirely. The cart had just come through Waterfall, the sacks and crates patterned with condensation that was already freezing into ice crystals. “I have a very selfish request,” the former Queen continued. “As you know, I was awake for the entire night, and I am extremely weary. I would like to bring my share home with me now, unless of course you need me to—”

“You were up the whole night, Lady Toriel?” Frisk repeated, one hand on the side of the cart. She frowned, then rounded on Sans so fast that he flinched. “You want to be helpful, don’t you? Then you can take her and her things back to the Ruins!” An imperious gesture at the three guards. “The list, please,” she ordered in her High Priestess voice.

The cat-lady handed it over, bemused. The tiny human ran her finger down the page, nodded, and turned to the cart. “It should all in that crate, there, and that stack of—look where I’m pointing! Yes, that one, and those over there. No, don’t put it—”

Sans obeyed her as fast as he could, setting the boxes neatly beside Toriel. Frisk checked them over again, then handed the list back to the feline guard. “That should be correct, but if you find any discrepancies, let me know. Has everything gone according to plan so far? No thefts or serious disputes?”

“No, milady,” the guard replied. “We should be finished by this evening at the latest.”

Frisk smiled. “Excellent work. Please keep it up.”

The Royal Guard all saluted. Toriel’s eyebrows were raised, and Sans wished she’d look at him so he could mouth Told you so. “Good job, guys,” said Undyne, not bothering to hide her grin. “It looks like you’ve got this under control, so Frisk and I are gonna go see Alphys now. You coming, Pap?”

“HMM.” He glanced from her to his brother and crossed his arms, clearly torn. “SHOULDN’T I STAY AND HELP PUT OUR FOOD AWAY?”

“Oh, but Sans wants to help so much, we shouldn’t take that from him.” Undyne looked daggers – spears? – at the giant skeleton. “He can come right back here and do it after he drops off Her Majesty. Right?”

Dammit. “Right,” grunted Sans.

Frisk was already starting to turn away. He cast around for an excuse to talk to her again, and said, “Hey.” She glanced at him as he rummaged in his inner pockets. “Ya want those invoices back?”

The priestess frowned at him. He hated it when she did that, especially when he deserved it. “I suppose it could be useful when I talk to His Majesty.” She started to extend a hand, and her eyes widened. “That’s right,” she said to the guards. “Did you give him my note?”

“Yes.” The dragon guard cleared his throat. “He said no.”

“What R02 meant to say,” the cat monster, “is that King Asgore regrets he will not be available to speak with anyone today.”

“But he does want to talk to Sans,” the rabbit said helpfully, “and Dr. Alphys.”

“I see,” Frisk murmured. “Thank you.” As Undyne glared at R01, the human stepped back, pulling her cloak around her. “You’d better keep them to show His Majesty, then.”

Sans shrugged, rolled the papers back up, and opened his coat wider to find exactly where they’d been. All he could think about was reaching over to tug down her choker where it was riding too high on her throat; he forgot what else was in his pockets till he noticed her staring at something inside his coat. His SOUL tingled in alarm: the King’s golden envelope was sticking up partway, with the letters FRISK D showing. “Sans? What is that?”

“…Uh.” Fuck. It was too late to disappear again. He glanced around at everyone listening, and at Frisk, who was already unhappy because of him. Was this really the time to tell her what her father was planning, and that the humans all knew her name now? “It’s…I-I’ll show ya later, I promise. There’s a bunch of stuff we’ve gotta talk about.”

Her frown deepened. “Agreed.” Just like that, Frisk turned to smile at Papyrus. “Shall we?”

“CERTAINLY!” He gallantly held his arm out to her, neither of them noticing how Sans’ socket twitched.

Before the bigger skeleton could say something stupid, a touch on his radius made him spin around. “If you could take me home now, I would greatly appreciate it,” Toriel said quietly.

“Sure.” He gave Frisk one last glance. “Have fun, guys.”

Undyne made another face at him, and Papyrus waved. “GOODBYE, SANS! HAVE FUN! PLEASE BE USEFUL TO HER MAJESTY AND NOT RUN OFF AGAIN BECAUSE YOU ARE EMOTIONALLY INCOMPETENT!”

Sans twitched again, and Frisk smirked. “Have a good rest, Lady Toriel,” she said over her shoulder.

“Enjoy yourselves,” Toriel replied cheerfully. But the moment the trio was out of sight, the goat monster’s smile vanished. “Back to the Ruins, please,” she said coolly.

Sans had a headache already. “Yes’m,” he mumbled. At least all this inner turmoil meant he was generating plenty of magic: she laid a hand on his arm, he made a swiping gesture at the crates, and they were all standing in the entryway of Toriel’s house, easy as butterscotch-cinnamon pie.

“I wish I could do that,” the goat monster commented, not for the first time. “Can you bring those to the kitchen for me?” She strode ahead, briskly opening cabinets and moving things aside to make room. “Also, please tell me what the matter is.”

Sans grunted, twitching a finger to waft the crates over. “Do me a favor, Tori, and gimme a check. You can probably see it for yerself.”

Toriel obligingly turned and squinted at his SOUL. “Good heavens,” she said after a moment, and looked up at him. “Sans, what in the world…?”

If it looked half as turbulent as it felt, then it was probably pretty scary. “I wasn’t kiddin’ the other night,” he muttered.

“I…didn’t think you were. Still…” She rubbed her eyes, swaying a little with sheer tiredness. “I did want to ask you something. I heard you telling the guards last night that you inspected the carts alongside someone you trusted. By any chance, was that…?”

Well, there was a convenient misunderstanding if he’d ever heard one. “Was that what? Someone I’m totally nuts about an’ hafta stay away from because she��s a human, and just friggin’ deal with it?” He rapped on his chest. “Does it look like I’m dealin’ with it?”

“No, you are not.” Toriel crossed her arms at the waist. “Sans. I know this must be difficult for you, but—”

“Let’s play pretend for a minute,” he said conversationally. “Imagine I came up to you sometime real soon with a human an’ said, ‘Here ya go, meet the wife.’” Just saying the word made his SOUL ache further. “What would you do?”

Her eyes narrowed to golden slits. “It would depend,” Toriel said with deceptive calmness, “whether you would prefer I be kind, or truthful. Do you want my blessing to try and find happiness for a few short years, and to be even more alone in the world once she d—”

That did it. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Tori! Ya think I don’t know how screwed I am?” Sans snarled, and her mouth fell open. “I didn’t tell you about this so you could give me a kick in the goddamn teeth! I told ya ‘cause I wanted to talk with somebody who might have some idea what I’m goin’ through! If that’s too much to ask, just fuckin’ forget about it!”

“I am sorry, Sans! I truly am!” There was a puff of smoke as Toriel threw her hands up. “If you could marry a human, I would be the first to congratulate you! But as things are…” Her face contorted. “What does my opinion even matter? You know that I have no power here, no matter how many people keep calling me ‘Majesty’! I can do nothing to help you!”

“You could still be my goddamn friend! That’s all I wanted!” He kicked at nothing. “But no, yer so worried about botherin’ little ol’ Gorey that—”

Whump.

Sans stared at the scorch mark at his feet, a smoking, blackened ring on the tiles. Then he looked at Toriel, whose hand was still aimed at the floor, her chest heaving as though she’d run the entire length of the Underground. “Do not. Talk to me. About. Asgore,” she said through gritted fangs. “That wretched man has already cost me my entire family! Do you think I enjoy catering to his paranoia and living in fear that someone else I care for will be banished, or die? What do you think he would do if you were to wed a human? What would happen to you, and to her? If Asgore decided you were truly a threat—”

He could feel his eyes burning, and didn’t trust himself to say anything. Toriel gulped. “It is not safe for you to marry a human, Sans. It is not safe for any human down here! You’ve seen it for yourself! Frisk is the only one he will even tolerate, and he could still…” Another shake of her head, ears flapping against her cheeks. “You know Asgore. All he has to do is ignore her until she leaves. It would be so easy, wouldn’t it?” The goat-woman buried her face in her hands. “Those damned men would just shrug and say that she failed in her mission, and I would never see her again! I can’t lose anyone else, Sans! I can’t—”

The skeleton’s anger subsided as he watched the former Queen’s shoulders rise and fall. He took a couple of steps toward her, sliding his hands into his pockets. “What happened with Chara?” he asked quietly. “Why wouldn’t he let her come back?”

Toriel’s fingers curled, claws digging into her muzzle. “It wasn’t her fault,” she muttered, eyes hard and dry. “He said he didn’t blame her, but he still agreed to send her away. And when that bastard human would not marry her as he promised, Chara needed us—she needed her family! But Asgore said she was lying, and he sent her away again! I didn’t see my little girl for ten years, Sans! And then—”

Sans stayed silent. Toriel let her arms fall, and slid down against the cabinet until she was slumped on the kitchen floor. “I got her back, and it was too late. She hated us both,” she said dully. “She died hating me, Sans. And she was right. I couldn’t protect her from Asgore, and when the accident happened, I could not protect her or Asriel. I was right there, and I could do nothing! All I did was send the humans away, and he even begrudged me that!” The goat monster gripped her robe, nearly puncturing the fabric. “Now my only friend comes to me for a sympathetic ear, and what do I do? I sneer at him for confiding in me and complain about my troubles!” She scrubbed her eyes with her sleeve. “I’m completely useless, as always.”

“Don’t say that, Tori! Remember that one little thing where ya kept the humans from declarin’ war on us an’ sealing the whole damn Underground? Besides…” Sans shuddered as something else came to him. “For all we know, he woulda had Kris killed, too.” He crouched to her eye level. “You saved Frisk’s life, Tori. Are you sayin’ that wasn’t worth somethin’?”

She swallowed again. “I…I don’t—”

“An’ she grew up to be High Priestess, and she saved my life when I got caught. If it wasn’t for you, she’d be dead, and I’d be dead or worse.” He shook his head. “If she was dead, we wouldn’t be gettin’ any food deliveries, or monsters comin’ home, or random bubble parties—” Despite himself, he chuckled. “Or fish puns—”

Toriel managed a smile. “That was fun, wasn’t it? Poor Papyrus.” She gave a long, deep sigh. “I may have saved her life, but as far as I am concerned, you are the reason she has come back to us. Thank you, Sans.” The goat monster got to her feet and wiped her eyes again on her sleeve. “I…I still don’t know what to tell you about your human. I haven’t even asked you her name, what she is like, how far your relationship has progressed—may I assume you intend to keep courting her?”

“Uh…” Sans ducked his head, scuffing his slipper over the burned floor tiles. “Tell you the truth, she’s kinda the one courtin’ me.”

“Sans!” the goat monster scolded him. “You’ve found a woman with enough magic, strength of mind, and good taste to fall in love with you, and you’re letting her do all the work?”

The skeleton scratched his neck vertebrae. “…Yeah?”

Toriel gave him one of her squinty, pursed-mouth glares, and he held up his hands. “I know, I know! It’s just…there’s all this stuff, but it’s her, an’ I never met a her before, an’ I—”

“All right, all right.” Toriel sighed again. “I still wish you would change your mind, but I understand that it’s not so simple.” She couldn’t conceal a yawn. “We can talk more when I’ve had some rest. I promise.” To his surprise, she took his hand and gave it a good squeeze. “In the meantime, go and help the Royal Guards, and then apologize to Frisk. That was the most lovely gift imaginable, and you behaved as though she’d handed you a steaming pile of—”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sans lifted one shoulder. “Okay, Ma, I promise I’ll be good. Go get some sleep.”

“Yes, dear. And, Sans—” She gave him a look he couldn’t interpret. “I hate to be intrusive, but…if everyone is gathered again this evening, could I please join you? If it’s all right with the others?”

Sans made a rude noise. “Of course I’ll come ‘n get you. We’re almost halfway through her offishal visit.”

Toriel laughed. “Well, water you still doing here? Go on!”

He chucked, raising a hand. “‘Kay. See ya, Toriel.”

“Thank you, Sans.” She swatted at him playfully, letting him dodge out of the way. “Now, shoo!”

#songfell #why am i like this for reals

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skelebonecentral · 4 years ago

Text

Hothouse rose chapter 1

a reverse harem with the lust boys

first we gotta meet the basic skeles

words under cut

Frisk was your cousin.

They’d run away, a week after their mom passed away. Your aunt, their other mother, was frantic and your whole family had gone out searching, as well as most of the town. You’re so glad it was your dad’s oldest sister who first caught sight of the monsters and not the sheriff or someone not quite as sensible.

Frisk came back from the mountain that loomed above your town with a whole civilization behind them.

Yeah, they tried to hook their mom up with Toriel, the strong, kind, and welcoming goat woman who was the Queen of the monsters, but Frisk was just a very romantic kid in general. They flirted as a hobby, it was hilarious and you were so glad they were back and safe to continue cracking you up with it.

They hugged everyone and apologized for scaring them, that they figured out that just because they were hurting didn’t mean it was okay to hurt other people, when they finally got the chance to exit the monsters’ camp after the police and government and all kinds of things showed up.

Still, you had to admire them for how much they grew up if that was what they wanted to say right away. Well, sign. Frisk was mute, after all.

Having them home was so nice, and their new friends were awesome.

You met Toriel first, of course, and her ex-husband, Asgore. You felt sorry for the big fluffy guy, he looked so hopeless and sad when Toriel would glare at him. And Frisk called him Dad, that was so cute, cause he just lit up. It was weird, though, feeling so pitying toward a ten foot tall goat man with huge horns and a long golden beard who had been alive for centuries longer than you.

Still, you liked both the goat people, and Monster Kid, Frisk’s new bestie who ran around with them. He was…well, he was a monster kid. Lizardish, with a tail and yellow-orange scales, but no arms to speak of. It made him top heavy, since he was humanoid, so he fell over often. Frisk seemed very fond of him, and you were glad. They hadn’t had a lot of luck making friends with other human kids at school before all of this.

But Frisk, being the eternal matchmaker they were, decided YOU needed to get in on this whole monster friend business.

Of course, you didn’t realize it until Gyftmas. It was a monster holiday from Snowdin, a small town Underground, that centered around gift giving and involved Santa for some reason? Anyway, the monster community was holding a carnival inside the local event center (it was mid-September so there weren’t any OTHER holidays to do) and your little cousin, being the ambassador, was of course invited and they brought you as their plus one.

Did you forget to mention that Frisk was the ambassador for monsters? They are. Well, at least in name. That’s their official title, is Ambassador, but they’re more like a figurehead while Toriel and Asgore handle the actual statecraft. The adults do let them cut ribbons and make speeches, but they’re just not ready for something that complicated. They are only six, after all.

But back to the carnival, Frisk brought you, and took you to a particular booth.

The booth was decorated with several action figures from an old 80’s cartoon that you used to love watching reruns of, and the sign above said, “THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ TRIVIA BOOTH!”

Frisk beamed as they dragged you, and looking in the booth, there was a very tall soldier-looking fellow who seemed to be a skeleton.

“HELLO, DEAR FRISK! I SEE YOU BROUGHT A HUMAN WITH YOU!” he called exuberantly, waving with bright red mittens. He had a black something or other on under the white chest piece of…oh that’s not actually armor. As you got closer, you’re now aware its made of fabric and the lines and emblem on the front are felt pieces sewn to it. The big round shoulder pads are attached, too.

Frisk signs eagerly, “Hi Papyrus! This is my cousin, Y/N! I wanted them to try your trivia!” Their hands are going very fast, and they’re bouncing, so they’re very excited about this.

“OH!” the skeleton stands up, showing his very obvious spine in his black whateverthatis and the odd ultra-short shorts that match his chest piece. “HELLO, HUMAN Y/N! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET A RELATIVE OF MY DEAR FRIEND, FRISK!”

He holds out his hand, and you shake it, feeling the long fingerbones underneath and finding yourself grinning like an idiot. Holy heck, an actual skeleton was talking to you. Your inner child was screaming with joy in their Jack-skellington slippers. Frisk had to have known…well, how could they not, your room is covered in Halloween and skeleton themed knickknacks.

“H-hey, Papyrus, I’m super glad to meet you, too!” you didn’t mean to stammer but you’re trying not to freak out as your arm is nearly shaken from its socket. He’s so STRONG!

Frisk giggled and signed something too quick for you to parse, and Papyrus let you go, “OH, ALRIGHT! HAVE A GOOD TIME, FRISK! YOUR COUSIN AND I WILL HAVE A BATTLE OF WITS!”

They scampered away and left you with the skeleton, who pulled out a fold out chair, setting it in front of his booth and then sitting in his own behind the counter, “ALRIGHTIE THEN! HUMAN Y/N, YOUR CHALLENGE SHALL BE TO ANSWER TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT MONSTER CULTURE. THE MORE YOU GET CORRECT, THE BETTER YOUR PRIZE! BEING FRISK’S COUSIN, YOU SHOULD DO VERY WELL!”

“Don’t be so sure, Papyrus. I have some wicked test anxiety,” you joke, and he blinks his sockets at you.

“NO NEED TO BE NERVOUS!” His smile seems set in his long jawed skull, but it actually tilts up a bit more, “SOMEONE WHO LOVES OUR FRISK IS BOUND TO BE A GOOD LISTENER AND KIND SOUL, SO I HAVE FAITH IN YOU. FIRST QUESTION!” he whipped out a set of cards, “WHAT IS KING ASGORE’S FAVORITE DRINK?”

You smile, happy it’s one you know, “Golden Flower Tea. He likes tea in general but that’s his favorite.”

“CORRECT! WOWIE, AND SO CONFIDENT!” Papyrus seems just as pleased as you are, “NEXT ONE! WHAT WAS THE FIRST SECTION OF THE UNDERGROUND CALLED?”

“Ah,” you had to think a moment, then said cautiously, “I think it was the Ruins?”

“YOU’RE RIGHT.” Papyrus then set two further action figures from the same set as his decorations, “THESE WILL MARK YOUR SUCCESSES! ALRIGHT, NEXT!” He shifted his sockets in a comical manner that you had to fight your instinct to laugh at, “HOW MANY MOVIES HAS METTATON, OUR BELOVED STAR, PUT OUT AS OF TODAY?”

You blink…and you have to guess because you honestly don’t care for Mettaton’s version of movies, “28?”

Papyrus’ jaw just falls open, and he sets another figure on the counter, “I THOUGHT FOR SURE THAT WOULD STUMP YOU! I’M FLABBERGASTED. YOU MUST BE A VERY DEDICATED FAN OF METTATON, JUST LIKE MYSELF.”

You blush, “N-not really. His music and dancing are great, but the movies go over my head, I guess. I only watched one because Frisk wanted me to…”

He chuckles, “AT LEAST YOU ARE HONEST. I WATCH THEM FOR THE FUN OF SEEING EVERYONE ELSE’S REACTIONS, HONESTLY. AND THE SET DESIGNS! THEY’RE VERY WELL DONE, AFTER ALL.”

“Oh, yeah, I did notice that. I bet a lot of Broadway plays would love to get his input on that front.”

Papyrus perked up, “BROADWAY? I KNOW A STREET BY THAT NAME BUT I GET THE FEELING YOU’RE REFERRING TO A THEATER OR SOMETHING SIMILAR.”

“Kind of?” you quirk your mouth a bit, not really smiling but thinking about it, “It’s a street in New York City with lots of theaters on it that’s famous for having the best in plays and musicals in the country. It’s really a cool place, from what I hear.”

“OOH! I SHOULD LOOK UP MORE ABOUT THAT LATER. ANYWAY!” He gets out a set of note cards, “I WROTE ALL THE QUESTIONS DOWN SO I COULD HAVE LOTS OF CHOICES. YOU’RE DOING A LOT BETTER THAN SOME PEOPLE!”

You were getting excited now, wondering what he could ask.

“OKAY! WHAT WAS THE NAME OF OUR LOST PRINCE?”

You frown. That was a serious question, and you think back to Frisk’s descriptions they would give you now and then of their time under the mountain. “Asriel.” You remembered thinking his name sounded angelic.

“ANOTHER FIGURE FOR YOU!” Papyrus plops the next figure on the desk and…

“Is that the villain? I didn’t know they even made a figure for him.” You can’t help yourself, not when you’d loved his antics as a kid. “Lord Verminator, looking good.”

Papyrus gasped, “YOU LIKE ALIEN WARLORDS OF JUSTICE?! I THOUGHT HUMANITY HAD FORGOTTEN THIS CLASSIC SERIES! I HAVE EVERY FIGURE EVER MADE EXCEPT FOR THREE, AND EVERY EPISODE ON VARIOUS VHS TAPES. I WILL HAVE TO ASK FOR FRISK TO BRING YOU OVER AND HAVE A MARATHON!”

You nod eager, “I know I haven’t been able to see every episode. I only got a few episodes they put on an old cable channel but it was so good. I managed to salvage some merch from antique stores, but it’s never been enough.”

“THERE WAS MORE THAN ACTION FIGURES?!” Papyrus is awestruck, orange sparkles appearing around his skull. “OH THIS HAS TO BE FATE! MY FIRST HUMAN FRIEND HAS A GROWN-UP COUSIN WHO LOVES THE SAME SERIES AS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS? SERENDIPITOUS!”

You finally laugh and nod, “You’re so peppy! How did Frisk manage to keep you a secret? I wish we’d met sooner now.”

His sparkles increased, and he began pumping his fists up and down eagerly, “DO YOU REALLY MEAN IT? BECAUSE IF SO, I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY! LET’S GET THIS QUIZ OVER WITH SO WE CAN GUSH ABOUT OUR FAVORITE THINGS INSTEAD!”

He takes a notecard and asks, “WHAT IS THE SYMBOL OF OUR KINGDOM CALLED?”

“The one Toriel wears, right? I think…it was the Delta Rune?”

“YES!” the card was set down, a figure was placed, and another card picked up, “WHO IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD?”

“Undyne.” You sigh, “She tried to suplex me the first time I had to go to Toriel’s to pick up Frisk.”

“OH, THAT WAS YOU?” Papyrus tilts his skull, and you notice his sockets are slightly uneven. You also notice you like hearing him talk, even though he’s very loud. “SHE TOLD ME SOME HUMAN CAME AND MANAGED TO DODGE HER GRAB. SHE’S BEEN TRYING TO GET FASTER AFTER THAT.”

You want to comment, but Papyrus gets another card, “WHO CREATED THE CORE?“ he stops, frowns, then tosses the cards behind him, “THAT ONE WAS ACTUALLY A TRICK QUESTION, BECAUSE NOBODY KNOWS WHO DID IT! AND AS MUCH AS I LIKE TRIVIA, I’M MORE EXCITED ABOUT TALKING WITH YOU.”

Smiling, you take his elbow when he offers it, despite him being two feet taller than you, even in his flat bottomed red rain boots, “That’s pretty flattering. What was the prize for the quiz, though? I’m curious.”

“A DATE WITH YOURS TRULY!” Papyrus laughed, “NYEHEHEHE, BUT I HAVE A FEELING HUMANS WOULD BE RATHER INTIMIDATED BY SOMEONE AS HANDSOME AND CAPABLE AS MYSELF, SO GIVING YOU A TOUR SEEMS MUCH NICER.”

Papyrus led you around the event center, pointing at the various booths and explaining them, even sometimes introducing you to the monster manning it. You didn’t see hide nor hair of Frisk for the rest of the evening, but you didn’t really notice. Papyrus’ enthusiastic rambling and genuine glee at showing you around kept you glued to his side gladly.

When the crowds had thinned out considerably, you asked, “Papyrus, this has been the most fun I’ve had at a fair in years. I’d really like to do more cool stuff like this with you, so maybe we could exchange numbers?”

He froze, then turned, big sparkles appearing again, including inside his sockets, “WOWIE, REALLY?! OF COURSE WE CAN! I REALIZE IT IS LATE AND HUMAN BEINGS NEED PLENTY OF SLEEP TO BE HEALTHY, UNLIKE THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SO LET US HURRY!”

He shoved his phone into your hand and you gave him yours, typing in your number and naming yourself with a balloon emoji on the end to remind him of the fun fair you’d shared together. You get your phone back as you hold out his, and it says “THE GREAT PAPYRUS” with a skull emoji and a gold medal one on the end.

“Perfect! Feel free to text me whenever, but I might not answer if I’m busy or sleeping.”

He nodded, “I UNDERSTAND! I WILL PROBABLY BE TEXTING YOU QUITE OFTEN, BUT FEEL FREE TO TAKE YOUR TIME. UNDYNE SAYS I TEND TO RAMBLE WHEN I’M EXCITED. AND I’M ALWAYS EXCITED! ESPECIALLY WHEN I MAKE A NEW FRIEND.”

You nod and bid him goodbye, getting a back-cracking hug, before he rushes off into the fair and you head toward your car. Frisk had texted you earlier to say they were going home with Toriel, so you rode back alone, glad for the break so you could process your night with the personification of optimism that was Papyrus.

You got texts from Papyrus every day. Multiple texts in a row, about ten different times a day, and about just about any subject that was on his mind at the time.

“JUST GOT BACK FROM MY MORNING JOG! I HOPE YOU’VE HAD A GOOD MORNING SO FAR!” at 5:30 am.

“IF YOU NEED ANYTHING AT THE STORE TODAY, I WORK AT SMILE MART! MY SHIFT IS FROM SIX TO TWO, SO FEEL FREE TO SWING BY FOR A VISIT.”

“I LOOKED UP BROADWAY FINALLY! THERE’S SO MUCH TO LEARN! IT’S BEAUTIFUL!”

“UNDYNE IS STILL DOING SPEED TRAINING TO TRY AND OUTMATCH YOU. I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TWO TO OFFICIALLY MEET ON BETTER TERMS!”

That was the general gist of his messages, just little windows into his day and topics that related back to earlier conversations.

You would answer him between classes, since you were a freshman in the local college, and once you were off around noon, you’d head to Smile Mart and see Papyrus in action.

The first time you actually were able to see him at work, he was meticulously arranging the dairy section, making every gallon of milk have the handle facing the same direction in his white button up, black pants, and bright pink apron.

Hearing you approach, he snapped upward and his face lit up, “HUMAN Y/N! HELLO!” Standing to hi full height and brushing himself down, he posed like a soldier at parade rest, “HOW DO YOU LIKE MY DAPPER WORK ATTIRE?”

You smirk a bit, just in an effort not to laugh out loud at that pose and speech combined, but answer honestly, “You make it look good.”

“THANK YOU! I’M AWARE!” he grinned, then got back to his task, “THANK YOU FOR COMING IN. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR TODAY?”

That sounded suspiciously like a work script rather than just Papyrus being himself, but you shrug it off, “I don’t need anything in particular at the dorm, so I’m just gonna grab one of those yogurt and fruit smoothie drinks over there when I head out. best breakfast treat.”

He looks at the items you’re pointing at, then nods in approval, “FRUIT AND YOGURT ARE GOOD CHOICES FOR A MORNING BEVERAGE. AND DORMS? ARE YOU PERHAPS A MEMBER OF THE CLERGY?”

You do laugh at that, “No! No, I’m a first semester freshman at the university. You have to spend your first semester on campus if you live more than a certain distance away and unfortunately, my house isn’t in the right range.”

“OH. THAT’S QUITE INTERESTING!” He rubs his chin, “I WAS ACTUALLY CONSIDERING GOING TO THE COLLEGE MYSELF, BUT SANS ISN’T EXACTLY A FAN OF IT.”

“Is that the brother you told me about at the fair? The one who sleeps?” Papyrus had mentioned he had a brother who was lazy and slept a lot, but not the name.

“YES. HE NAPS ALL NIGHT AND FREQUENTLY DURING THE DAY ALSO!”

You grin as he waggles his brows. He had noticed how you didn’t like his wording when he’d said the same line about “napping all night” at the fair, and now he teases you with it. “Still called sleeping, Pap.”

He chuckles good naturedly and shrugs, “WHATEVER IT’S CALLED, THAT’S WHAT SANS DOES. SLEEP, EAT, AND EMIT SLIME.”

“He emits slime?”

“SOMETIMES. FRISK SAYS THAT IS ACTUALLY CALLED DROOL UP HERE. NOW I’M WONDERING IF MY BROTHER IS RELATED TO DOGS BECAUSE THEY’RE THE ONLY ONES I’VE SEEN WHO DROOL QUITE AS MUCH AS HE DOES WHILE SNORING.”

The visits become routine after that first one. When you get a break during his shift, you just go to the store and buy some kind of single serving drink. Yeah, you wish they were in cardboard cartons or glass instead, but all your bottles do go into your recycling bucket at your dorm. It’s more an excuse to talk to Papyrus, anyway.

He asks more about the university, and when you ask him what he’d major in if he did attend, he has a very good answer already, “SPORTS MEDICINE! I’M A VERY GOOD HEALER NATURALLY, AND I LOVE ATHLETICS OF ALL SORTS, SO WHY NOT COMBINE MY TWO PROCLIVITIES INTO ONE CAREER PATH? UNDYNE DOESN’T NEED ME ANYONE ELSE IN THE GUARD NOW THAT WE’RE UP HERE, AND I WANT TO BE HELPFUL.” He scratched his chin a bit before adding to the end, “WELL, MORE HELPFUL THAN I AM CURRENTLY ANYWAY.”

That’s a great idea, you think, and you encourage him to go for it. After all, he’s got so much energy, you’re sure any course of study will be a breeze.

It’s kind of surprising when, a few weeks later, he texts you excitedly, “I GOT MY ACCEPTANCE LETTER! NEXT SEMESTER WE’RE GOING TO BE CLASSMATES! ONCE IT’S TIME, LET’S CHOOSE OUR SCHEDULES TOGETHER!”

Wow, he really does go for what he wants, doesn’t he?

Great was definitely the least you could say about Papyrus by the time you two were meeting up on the first day of the semester.

He had already invited you over to his house several times, Frisk had dragged you along on lots of outings with the skeleton, and you had braved a meeting with Undyne and her adorable wife, Alphys, as part of a celebration for Papyrus’ acceptance into college.

So when his unique figure came striding up the sidewalks on campus, you immediately ran to meet him and got scooped into a twirling hug with your mutual giggles echoing off the old gothic revival buildings around the ovular clearing.

“Papyrus!”

“Y/N!”

As you were set down, you beamed up at him, “I’m so glad I didn’t start my gen ed until now. We have all semester together.”

“I KNOW! SURE, I HAVE TO TAKE THAT ONE NUTRITION CLASS WHILE YOU’VE GOT CHEMISTRY, BUT OTHER THAN THAT!” He’s bouncing on his heels and utterly pleased, and noticing his bouncing is what draws your eyes to the shorter figure next to him.

Another skeleton, about your height and blinking at you with white lights in his large, round sockets, stood next to Papyrus and waved lazily at you, “heya.”

“Oh my gosh, you must be Sans!” you were excited to finally meet Papy’s brother. “I dunno how it took this long for us to end up in the same place but I’m so glad to meet you!” You offer your hand and it gets taken with a long “pffffffffffffffffft” sound.

“SANS! I TOLD YOU NOT TO BRING THAT TODAY!” Papyrus sounds equal parts furious and embarrassed, as the bright orange glowing on his cheekbones betrays.

“had to, bro. can’t skip the classic gags,” Sans takes his hand back, revealing a small red whoopie cushion in it.

You stare, surprised, “Oh my gosh? I didn’t know anybody even used oldies like that anymore. Or did actual harmless pranks like that. Consider me impressed; you’ve got better taste in humor than most of MeTube.”

That seems to shock the smaller skeleton before you, making him lower his hand slowly. He was wearing a blue hoodie jacket over a white shirt with small stains on the chest, and black basketball shorts with white socks and pink house shoes. “uh. thanks.”

“DON’T ENCOURAGE HIM,” Papyrus huffed, “HE’LL START PUNNING AND THEN WE’LL BE HERE ALL DAY.” He pulled you forward, away from Sans, and waved at his brother, “HAVE A GOOD DAY DOING WHATEVER ODD JOBS YOU HAVE TODAY, BROTHER! I WILL BE ENJOYING MY TIME LEARNING WITH MY BEST FRIEND!”

“I thought Undyne was your best friend?” you say as he speeds away from a perplexed looking Sans, who you wave to with a helpless expression.

“SHE’S MY BEST FRIEND, TOO. YOU CAN HAVE AS MANY BEST FRIENDS AS YOU LIKE!”

Classes go smoothly, but you begin to notice….

Well, you see Sans pretty much everywhere.

Leaving your one class you don’t have with Papyrus, you see him snoozing on a bench outside.

While leaving your part time job sorting all the incoming books for the library on campus, there he is again, at one of the computers looking up jokes.

Even while you’re out getting a haircut, you find him running a little hotdog cart. Finally, you have to ask him what he’s doing.

“Heya, Sans,” you go up to the stand, which is currently empty. “Been seeing you around a lot.”

“why didn’t ya say hi, then, kiddo? my brother sings your praises daily, wouldn’t have minded saying hello.” He’s just got a green apron on over his outfit from before, and you smile.

“I don’t wanna intrude. Just thought I’d ask what was up, y’know? Normally it’s just students at the library. How’d you even get in the computer without a student id?” That had been bothering you for a bit.

“oh, easy. I’m faculty.”

Your brain shorted for a moment, “You…are?”

“yep,” he chuckled, waving you to a seat next to his cart. “turns out a monster phd converts pretty well to a human one. Just consulting with the physics department right now, but once the political climate settles some more, who knows?”

Something bubbles up to the front of your mind, “Oh. Oh! Papyrus said you liked physics once. I guess it’s more of a passion for you than he let on.”

“heh, used to be. might be again. dunno yet.” He looks across the street, away from you. “anyhow, frisk and pap both seem to think you’re the bees’ knees.”

You tilt your head a bit, but then see the little buzzing insects around a flowerbox on the other side of the street. “Oh! hahah, good spot. Yeah, I’m pretty lucky two really cool people decided I’m interesting enough to look after.”

Sans hummed as you both watched the bees, “yeah, they’re both kinda neat folks. My bro’s the coolest though. biased, I know, but it’s true.”

“I can’t argue there,” you feel happy thinking about Papyrus, “He’s taken to school like a fish to water. I really love finally having a friend who’s so positive. Not that my roommate’s not cool, but she’s as tired as I am usually.”

“you got a roomie?” he hums, “then why spend time with my bro? surely you’ve got more in common with her?”

“Hah!” you actually laughed. “I’m a linguistics major, Sans. She’s a botanist. Her side of the room is covered in so many plants I have to take sinus medication 24/7. Nah, she’s a good person but we have nothing in common other than living space and shared love for cheesy family-friendly rom-coms.”

You had gotten so involved with watching a particular bee rolling around a tulip that you didn’t notice when Sans faced you again. “so if she decided to get into a fight, you wouldn’t back her up?”

“Oh, no, I’d pull her out and tell her off for fighting. But she’s always in the greenhouses or labs, so I doubt she’d find anybody to fight with even if she wanted to. More likely to squeak like a dog toy and hide, if we’re being totally honest,” you turn to Sans smiling, but his expression makes you freeze.

His lights were out and the haunting blankness of his huge sockets made you shudder.

“kid, you better be telling the truth. My brother’s the best, but people take advantage of his kindness. If you hurt him, you’re gonna have a bad time.”

Nope, you were not going to stand for that. Getting up, you bolted, and as soon as you made it back to your dorm, you texted Papyrus.

You: Papyrus, we need to talk about your brother.

Papy: WHAT HAS SANS DONE NOW? YOU TWO HAVE BARELY EVEN MET!

You: We talked today and he threatened me.

It takes more than two seconds for an answer. Clearly you’d managed to rattle Papyrus (heh).

Papy: TELL ME EVERYTHING.

You explain yourself, how you kept seeing Sans around when Papyrus wasn’t there, and the incident after your haircut today.

Papyrus doesn’t answer in text, and after a moment or two you get a call from him.

“Papyrus-“

“I AM MORE SORRY THAN WORDS CAN SAY FOR WHAT MY BROTHER DID TODAY.” His voice was hard and serious, something you’d never heard before. “I DON’T BLAME YOU IF YOU’D RATHER NOT TALK ANYMORE AFTER THIS, BUT I ASSURE YOU I WILL HAVE A SERIOUS DISCUSSION WITH HIM ABOUT WHAT HE DID. APPARENTLY, FROM WHAT I GATHER, HE DID THE SAME THING TO FRISK.”

He’d threatened a child?! Not just any child either, your COUSIN! Who saved his people from captivity! You were about to ask about that when Papyrus continued. “FRISK SAYS IT WAS JUSTIFIED, BUT I’M NOT SURE HOW. BUT YOU? YOU HAVE NEVER HARMED ME, NOR ANYONE ELSE, AND HAVE DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE IT. SO, NOW THAT I’VE SAID MY PIECE, WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

You have to turn your brain back on to think for a moment. Papyrus was very dear to you, he was sweet and lifted your spirits no matter what. Still, with a scary protective brother, you weren’t sure if you wanted to be near him anymore.

“Papyrus, I like you. You’re my best friend. But I can’t feel safe around Sans and I’m kind of scared to come to your house ever again. We still have classes together, but I think if we’re going to be friends still, we can only meet out in public or at my place.” Even saying that makes you nervous. Nobody’s ever done this before, threatening you just out of nowhere.

“THAT’S REASONABLE. I CAN HEAR HOW SCARED YOU ARE, Y/N, AND I’M….WELL, INCREDIBLY ASHAMED TO HAVE BEEN PART OF WHY YOU’RE FEELING THAT WAY. THIS WILL NOT GO UNSEEN TO, I SWEAR IT!”

Tears were starting to leak out of your eyes at this point, your adrenaline leaving you tired and scared, but you smile, “I have faith in you, Papyrus. Just…I’m just scared now. I’m gonna try to calm down and I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“YES, THAT IS A GOOD PLAN. TRY TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF UNTIL I CAN BE KIND TO YOU INSTEAD…” There was silence, and then a very soft, worried, “I love you.”

That was enough to get you sobbing, “I love you, too. Be safe.” You had to hang up now, and you curled up under your covers to hide from the world.

As soon as he hung up the phone, Papyrus quickly wiped his sockets. He, too, was crying at the thought of his dear friend, who he loved fiercely, being terrified and menaced by HIS BROTHER of all people. But he was going to fix this.

Yes, he’d been far too late to fix what happened with Frisk, and Frisk themselves didn’t seem too upset by it, but YOU certainly were. He could feel it in the way you’d spoken, how very close he’d been to losing his best friend. He still might lose them.

But he’s going to make the effort to try not to.

Taking several deep breaths, Papyrus left his room and went down the stairs. Sans was on the couch as he’d expected, flipping channels on their TV.

“hey bro, what’s up?” Sans had his normal expression, and it made Papyrus furious.

“BROTHER. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.”

Sitting up, Sans looks confused, “what do you mean?”

Papyrus took another breath, feeling his ribs fill to capacity with the cooling air that helped calm him, “SANS, I JUST GOT SEVERAL VERY FRIGHTENED TEXTS FROM Y/N, AND THEY WERE ABOUT YOU.”

Ah, there, the permanent smile on Sans’ face drooped significantly, “oh.”

“YES, OH.” Rubbing his sockets, as they had started burning like he was going to cry again, Papyrus asked, “DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS WOULD DO TO ME BEFORE YOU THREATENED THEM? DO YOU EVER CONSIDER HOW THIS COULD HAVE MADE THEM SO FRIGHTENED THAT THEY NEVER SPOKE TO ME AGAIN? OR IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED? DO YOU WANT ME TO BE ALONE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, SANS?”

“n-no, no that’s…I don’t want you lonely, paps, I just want you to be safe.” Sans’ voice and eyelights were both small and shaky. Good, he realized how serious this was.

“I KNOW YOU DID THIS TO FRISK, TOO, AND I’M JUST…SANS, YOU CAN’T THREATEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!” He wanted to move, to do something dramatic, but Papyrus just couldn’t with the weight of his frustration and disappointment. “I LOVE THEM BOTH, AND YOU…YOU DON’T SEEM TO CARE WHAT YOU BREAK ON YOUR WAY TO WHAT YOU CONSIDER MY SAFETY. I’M AN ADULT, SANS, NO STRIPES ANYWHERE, AND I’D LIKE YOU TO TREAT ME LIKE ONE. I KNOW I’M OPTIMISTIC, I KNOW I’M SILLY, BUT THAT’S HOW I LIKE TO BE. I LIKE BEING A GOOD INFLUENCE FOR PEOPLE, AND IF THAT MEANS SOMETIMES I GET MY HEART BROKEN, THEN I LEARN, DON’T I?”

Sans was just staring at him, but he finally found his voice, “but paps, they aren’t like other folks. They’re humans, they have a lot more power and-“

“I KNOW THAT.”

Closing his mouth that had opened to argue, Sans listened. “SANS, DO YOU THINK I WASN’T SCARED WHEN FRISK CAME? I WAS TERRIFIED! I KNEW THEY COULD DUST US BOTH WITH A MOVE, BUT I HAD TO AT LEAST MAKE THE EFFORT TO SHOW THEM THAT WASN’T WHAT HAD TO HAPPEN. I WANTED TO CAPTURE THEM, YES, BECAUSE THAT WOULD HAVE MADE UNDYNE AND EVERYONE ELSE SO PLEASED WITH ME, GIVEN ME MORE OPPORTUNITES TO MAKE THE FRIENDS I WANTED. BUT…THEY LIKED ME.” Papyrus was at a loss. “THEY PLAYED ALONG WITH MY ACT AND SEEMED HAPPY WITH IT. SO I CHANGED MY MIND. I DIDN’T FORGET WHAT THEY COULD DO, WHICH IS WHY I TRIED TO GET UNDYNE TO BE FRIENDS WITH THEM, TOO. I DIDN’T WANT HER TO GET HURT EITHER, OR FOR HER TO HURT FRISK.”

Oh the tears were back and Papyrus scrubbed them away angrily, “BUT NOW I’M WONDERING IF I SUCCEEDED IN SPITE OF YOU! I’M WONDERING IF YOU DIDN’T THREATEN EVERY PERSON I’VE EVER TRIED TO BEFRIEND JUST OUT OF SOME TWISTED SENSE OF PROTECTION!”

Sans just looked at his hands, bones looking ashen as Papyrus tried to hold back his sobs. Had…had he been hurting Papyrus more than helping him all this time? Yeah, Frisk had posed a threat but the kid had made good. Really good, if he had to be honest. And he had seen nothing to really make Y/n any more dangerous than they were. And now Papyrus was crying.

“SANS, I DON’T BLAME YOU FOR BEING AFRAID OF WHAT HUMANS CAN DO TO US, BUT I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU DON’T TRUST ME ENOUGH TO MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS ABOUT FRIENDS. IT HURTS, AND…AND EVEN THOUGH I’M SURE YOU DID IT OUT OF LOVE FOR ME I JUST CAN’T FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT RIGHT NOW,” sniffling a little, Papyrus couldn’t even look at his brother. “I’M GOING TO STAY WITH UNDYNE FOR A FEW DAYS. I HOPE YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO…WELL, NOT DO THIS AGAIN. THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES MORE. SOMETHING.”

Escaping back up the stairs, Papyrus quickly packed three days’ worth of clothes and essentials, then ran out the door. He just couldn’t believe his older brother had betrayed his trust like this.

It was pretty awkward with you and Papyrus after that.

You tried to talk like normal, but he was sad, and you were scared.

Two months after the incident, you got sick of it. “Papy, let’s go to Bungle Land.”

“OH?” he perked a little, “WE HAVEN’T BEEN FOR A LONG TIME. OKAY.”

Grinning, you took his hand and ran to your car, giving him the option to drive if he wanted. He had his license, but just hadn’t gotten around to buying the perfect car for him. But he refused, wanting to save driving for his own dream car, so you let him move the passenger seat back as far as he liked while you drove to the local theme park.

And you had fun. Papyrus was an adrenaline junkie and took you on every ride, while you were a game shark, trying your hand at the carnival games and loving the useless and low quality plushies you won from them. You both had a lovely collection of little birds, though Papyrus had exchanged five of his for a larger plush of a super hero, more to his tastes, from this trip alone. Thank stars for your yearly pass, and the lovely guest vouchers that came with it.

Finally, as the sun was going down and you were hungry, Papyrus guided you toward one of the stands before a familiar voice made your heart freeze, “hey you two. Pretzels and lemonade?”

Papyrus’ expression soured, “SANS, DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS IS THE TIME FOR ONE OF YOUR ODD JOBS? WE WERE HAVING FUN.” He’d gotten an apology from Sans a while back now, and a Promise not to repeat his blunder, but he still wasn’t sure of Sans’ intentions for Y/n.

“I really didn’t think you’d be here today, pap, swear on my bones,” Sans looked exhausted and held up his hands. “but tell me what you want and I’ll make it while I do something I’ve been meaning to.”

You just say you want a pepperoni pretzel and a cherry lemonade, and Papyrus goes for a normal pretzel with a blue raspberry lemonade, but you’re nervous. The skeleton had threatened you, after all, even if your fear of him had mostly shifted to annoyance at his cheek in doing so.

Getting your food, Sans said softly, “I know I’m nobody’s favorite person right now, so I’ll make it short. I realized I’ve been overbearing, stepped over a lot of lines, and need to work on myself. I’m really sorry, y/n, for acting like you were going to hurt papyrus when I don’t even know you. it was wrong, and I’m going to try and see a therapist to get a hold on my…paranoia.”

That…was honestly one of the best and most sincere apologies you’d ever had. You can’t help smiling, and you can almost feel the pride radiating off Papyrus for his brother. “Okay, Sans. That was a proper apology, and you haven’t done any stalking that I’ve noticed so…apology accepted. I hope your therapy goes well.”

He looks so relieved, shoulders sagging noticeably, but his smile turns more genuine and he nods, “okie dokie. Go have fun, and I’ll see you at home, paps.”

“YES YOU WILL! YOU’RE GETTING THE IMPROVED VERSION OF SPAGHETTI TONIGHT FOR THAT!” It’s heartwarming to hear the excitement in his voice, and the brighter smile on his face, “YOU DID A GOOD THING! BYE, SANS!”

“Bye, Sans,” you add, and he waves you both off. Even if he was the one who finally apologized, you felt a weight off of yourself as well, and his gaze no longer made you feel like demons were on your back.

#fic #reader x papyrus

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abimee · 6 years ago

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So since you explained Chara's surface life can you tell about life Underground? Like how they adjusted and stuff.

heLL yeah, I think they really liked the underground! minor talk of suicide and depression as a warning, as it comes with the territory

I always interpreted that Chara climbed the mountain to die, but upon surviving and breaking their arm they got really scared ( because theyre, y’know, a child), and when asriel found them and brought them to his parents they basically scooped that child up and immediately tended to their injuries.

For a little bit they just kinda sat in bed and didn’t speak to any of the Dreemurrs, and when Toriel or Asgore would come into the room they’d turn away from them and not answer any questions. Toriel kept leaving food in the room for them to eat as they weren’t comfortable around them yet ( and its why Toriel leaves the food on the ground for Frisk, a habit formed). For a good week Chara did not speak to them, but they still tried to care for the child and do the best they could.

Asriel eventually got them to open up because he kept putting toys on the bed ( he had given up his bed for Chara and was sleeping with his parents to give them privacy), and he kept trying to read them books and draw them stuff. He kept putting stuffed animals on their head and scribbling them in crayon and leaving poorly written notes to them through the door, which made them warm up to him --- it wasn’t something they ever experience before, being sought out by another person, someone wanting to make friends.

Chara’s first big gesture was bringing their dish out into the kitchen once they were done eating, and everybody was very surprised to see them. Soon Asriel tried eating with them in their room, and though they still didn’t talk they allowed the presence in the room.

It took about three weeks, before Chara would speak. The Dreemurrs hadn’t told anybody about Chara yet, because they still didn’t know what they were going to do. They were partially afraid that humans were going to be coming looking for them, and was partially preparing for any sort of attack.

The first thing Chara ever said to them was their name. They actually chose Chara from one of the books that was in Asriel’s room, an astrology book that talked about a star named Chara, which in (latin? greek?) meant “Joy”.

Once Chara got a bit braver, they were made a special spot in the family; they built a bed for them in Asriel’s room, changed their clothes ( Chara ends up just borrowing one of Toriel’s shirts, which is why their shirt covers their pants and legs). Asriel began to show them around HOME and the RUINS, and when they felt like they could, they were introduced to the underground.

Within a month, they started to feel safe within the underground, and got back a bit of their energy and life; they missed a few things, like feeling the sunlight on their face or seeing the flowers in their hometown. They tried to explain what the golden flowers were like, but Asriel only thought about buttercups, which were never the same. The golden flowers made nice tea.

They liked a lot about the underground, however; how small it was, and how people treated them, and how they were able to go wherever they wanted because it was hard to get lost and there was always someone looking out for the prince and their new friend. They liked feeling snow for the first time and building their first snowman, and they liked chasing froggits in Waterfall and wading knee-deep in waters and then getting scolded for coming home wet. They liked going crystal gazing and beating Asriel with cattails, and they liked the view from the Capital.

They liked that Asriel would read books to them and set up all their stuffed animals as he did ‘’magic tricks’’ for them. They were a bit confused by the advanced technology of the Underground, as they had both the time and magical capabilities to forward their machines faster than humans, so things like camcorders and basic computers were already made. Chara saw their first video when Asriel showed them a home video they made about their oc, GOD OF HYPERDEATH. Chara had their first ever piece of chocolate when a crate was found floating in the landfill, and they salvaged them by dumping them in the snow before they were fully melted in the wrappers. Asriel taught them how to use a stove and laughed when Chara asked what an elevator was.

They weren’t used to affection, and were ashamed and embarrassed by it. They would kick and flinch when anybody tried to hug them, and didn’t know how to respond to ‘’i love you’’s or goodnight kisses for a very long time. They laughed in uncomfortable situations and smiled when they were scared, but Asriel learned to understand these things before Toriel or Asgore, whom he would scold when they’d try to hug Chara unprompted.

Eventually, Chara learned to show affection in their own way; by drawing things for them, by picking Asriel up or making funny faces. Chara also had a knack for scaring people, and would try to scare their family often by jumping from corners and hiding in dark rooms, because they thought it was funny.

Their diet grew to enjoy underground-based foods, and they grew used to sharing things with Asriel, but still had a fear of things being taken away. Their personality shifted underground from what it was above ground, to somebody a bit more reserved and sometimes distant, but Asriel really liked that about them, because they listened to him a lot and would make him laugh without even saying anything, just by their actions alone they were who they were to them. Nobody grew as close to Chara as a the Dreemurrs did, and they tried to speak Chara’s silent language back to them; friendship necklaces, baking their favorite foods, framing their photos and drawings. By a year, Chara had become a Dreemurr, and though they still struggled, and were sometimes aggressive, and had nightmares every night and would sometimes not stop crying no matter what anybody did, they were very happy underground.

Their anger was just as a part of them as everything else, too. Though they were quiet, they were easily agitated too, due to trauma. Not directed at anybody, but just an aggression bottled up inside them, that they’d take out on themself and on objects, would scribble obscene things to attempt to hurt and enrage themself, would destroy their own things to make themself upset. Their aggression was accepted just like every other part of themself, though they tried to get better coping mechanisms for Chara, like drawing happy things when they were upset or taking them on walks when they were mad so they could kick snow. They never hurt Asriel, or anybody in the underground, because their rage wasn’t because of them. Maybe sometimes they’d act rude to them when they were angry, but Chara never lifted a fist at any of them.

Altogether, they were rather happy, and content in the underground. And even when they weren’t, they still preferred being down there than being up here, ha ha

#WHAT IS THIS A BOOK FOR ANTS #long post #Anonymous

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brushstrokesapocalyptic · 6 years ago

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The Legend of Asriel PART 1 | MEETING

a child lost in a sandstorm finds something unexpected.

While traveling through the desert, as the Gerudo are known to do, Frisk gets separated from their family in a sandstorm. They manage to find shelter in an old, worn-down shrine, and as they’re shaking the sand from their cloak they notice a figure they’re not sure was always there.

They cough, trying to get the other’s attention, and when they don’t react they reach out to touch their shoulder. Immediately the ghost jerks awake, looking around wildly, yelling frantic words Frisk is physically incapable of understanding. Frisk manages to catch them, tell them in sign that they’re deaf, and after a moment the ghost manages to calm themself.

They’re nearly as fluent in Gerudo Sign Language as Frisk themself. They introduce themself as Chara, and tell Frisk they are— or were— a hero destined to save the land from evil. Frisk is skeptical, seeing as the ghost doesn’t look very much older than themself, but Chara seems pretty sure of it.

When Frisk asks about how Chara died, their hands remain still in their lap for several minutes as they look around the room, frown deepening. Frisk looks around as well, taking in the deep cracks all over the floor and walls, like something was being thrown about with more force than Frisk cares to think about. Chara looks down, at the dais they’re both sitting on, and at the odd slot in the middle where something used to rest.

“...I’m not sure,” Chara admits. They were sent here along with their— they mangle the sign a little, starting with the sign for sibling before correcting into friend and then ending with something vaguely resembling a backwards prince— to retrieve a sword. The last thing Chara recalls was reaching out to touch that very sword in this very room, and then... nothing.

Frisk looks at the state of the room again. They don’t even have to ask for Chara to answer their question— it wasn’t this broken down. It was practically glistening, light beaming down from the ceiling. Truly the perfect shrine for a legendary sword.

Some more sand blows in through the door. They feel like they should probably close it, but they’re not sure they could with all the sand piling up.

Eventually Chara gets to their feet, stretching, and announces that they’re done sitting around. The two of them go poking around the shrine some more. Eventually, Chara throws their hands up in what Frisk is guessing is supposed to be delight and tries to pick something up. Their hands pass right through it, and their face shifts into something more like frustration. When Frisk comes to investigate, they find an old short sword with a black hilt, which Chara urges them to take, "Unless you’ve already got a weapon."

[ID: Frisk holding a sword and examining it. Next to them, Chara smiles and prods the edge with one finger. Chara is saying, “That’s my old sword! It’s practically a toy, but it’ll come in handy.”]

Now equipped with a blade, Frisk decides to settle in and wait the sandstorm out. Chara gets increasingly antsy though, pacing around the room and muttering to themself. Frisk asks what’s wrong, and Chara admits that they have no idea how long it’s been since they died, and since there’s no sign of the person they came here with, they’re really concerned about what happened.

Frisk says, “Why don’t we go looking for them, then?”

“We already searched the shrine, though—”

“I meant elsewhere. You know, across Hyrule. There’s nothing stopping us.”

Chara blinks, mouth opening and closing a couple times before they recover enough to sign again. “Who’s us?”

“You know, us. Together.”

“You don’t have to help me.”

“I don’t exactly know how ghosts work, but it’d probably help a bunch to have some alive person tagging along. Besides.” Frisk grins. “I’ve always wanted to see the rest of Hyrule.”

“You don’t have like, a family or anything who’d miss you—“

Frisk places a hand on their shoulder, meeting their eyes dead-on. Several seconds pass. They shake their head. “You can’t stop me from helping out.”

Chara stops, and laughs. They sit back down next to Frisk. “Yeah, alright, fine. Still, it’s gonna be a bit of a hike to get out of the desert, no matter which route we take.”

Frisk blinks. “Isn’t there only that pass through the valley? I’ve read a bunch of stuff about that being a strategic advantage, ‘cause all the mountains make it a bottleneck.”

“Oh, no, there’s a shortcut. It’s just not well-known because hardly anyone can actually use it.”

“How come?“

Chara smiles ever so sweetly. Frisk contemplates whether this deal is actually worth it.

[Next Part] [Index]

#loz ut #loz #undertale #legend of zelda #i am an excellent artist #my writing #i have decided the schedule shall be!!!! every friday.

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storyteller15 · 6 years ago

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Chapter Four: The Unexpected

The sudden bump from the private jet's heavy landing startles me awake.

I yawned and stirred my body around. Ugh, I don't want to get up yet. I want to sleep more for crying out loud. Last night, I decided to sleep on the long leather sofa. Sleeping in a private jet is something that I wanted to cherish while it lasted. I let out a small groan. I felt so groggy and nauseous, that I had no choice but to wake up.

The jet finally came to a stop. It looks like I made it to Berdea. Reaching for my phone, I switched the airplane mode off. Today's Thursday, 7:59 AM. I’m right on schedule, and I'm ready to start my morning. Oh, I wonder what Berdea looks like. I sit up and leaned towards my window to get a quick view.

Suddenly, a Tsunderplane blocks my view, making me scream and fall back out of the couch. I quickly sat up to look at her from my window again.

"Quit staring at me like that, you sicko!" She shouts at me and takes off to the sky.

I blinked a few times, processing on what just happened. I get up in a luxurious jet plane and was greeted by a mechanical plane monster wearing a mob cap, who was blushing? I snickered and started laughing so hard. That was definitely not what I had in mind to start off my first day away from home. Although it was pretty entertaining.

It's pretty rare to see different race of monsters like Tsunderplane. Berdea is known as the biggest city in Auradon . I was told that Mount Ebott is twenty miles away from the city. I've always wanted to see it up close, despite the sad truth about the mountain.

Just then, my flight attendant appears to my side, looking peppy as ever.

"Good morning, Miss Zafrina," she greets me with a smile, she reminds me of Gretchen. "I assume you slept well?"

"Yes, I did. I've never felt more than relaxed before." I responded with a smile, not mentioning my surprised encounter with a Tsunderplane.

"I'm so glad to hear that! Anyway, we have arrived at your destination. You will meet up with the other Selected girls while you wait for the palace's royal chauffeur. Other than that, I would like to say how much of a privilege it was to serve and fly with you, Miss Zafrina! I'll be rooting for you!" She exclaims at me, making me blush.

"Thank you so much! It's also been a privilege on having you as my flight attendant."

I get up slowly, stretching my arms out before I gathered my cross-body bag and luggage. I nodded at the pilots as I leave the cockpit, walking down the stairs before I walked into the elevator that will take me inside the building.

The airport is packed with monsters and humans. I followed the signs to get to the place I needed to go. I rode down two escalators, walking towards an area where dozens of humans and monsters are boarding into a shuttle train. I quickly ran inside before the doors slid shut, slowly transporting us to the other side of the building.

The ride is surprisingly fast and exciting that I was literally bouncing on my heels. I felt like a kid again. It's no wonder kids enjoy riding on planes and trains. I held on to the steel pole to prevent my body from being pulled back by the train’s speed.

"Look, Mommy! It's the pretty girl that was on TV!" A little bear monster gushes to her mother.

"Janette! It's not nice to point at people." The mother sternly scolds her daughter.

I was puzzled and looked around. Is there another Selected girl in here? I was told that there should be four of them waiting for me. Unless, maybe her flight was delayed and had to land in Berdea late. I was trying not to think that she meant me. I really hate being in the spotlight. It's like you are asking everyone to pay attention to you.

"Excuse me, Miss?" I looked down, finding the little bear monster looking at me.

She looks so adorable, her fur was in a light chestnut color, wearing a small heart barrette on the left side her ear. She was wearing a pink coat decorated in flower patterns.

"I just wanted to say that you look much prettier than on TV!"

"Oh, thank you very much." I smiled at her blushing.

"Are you gonna win and marry Prince Asriel?" I nearly broke my smile, flabbergasted by her question and felt my cheeks heat up.

"I'm afraid that depends on the Prince." I gave her a gentle smile. "Whoever he picks among the thirty-five girls will surely become a great Queen someday. And besides, there are a lot of girls I have to compete against, so it'll be quite a challenge for someone like me."

The little bear monster started pouting. "Awww! But I want you to be the one."

"Janette! Manners, please! I'm so sorry if my daughter was bugging you. She loves to talk to random people, she's a social butterfly." The mother apologizes in her child's behalf.

"Oh, no. She gave me no trouble at all! We were just having a nice chat, and your daughter is very good at making interesting conversations." I promised.

The mother blushed at my comment and smiles at me. Just then, the shuttle train comes to a stop, sliding the doors open as everyone gets up to leave. That was a fast ride, not that I was surprised. It's an airport after all.

"Come along, dear. Our ride should be here soon, say goodbye to the kind Selected girl." The mother says to her before she looks at me, smiling. "Good luck in the Selection, my dear."

"Thank you, ma'am." I responded, feeling my cheeks heat up a little.

Janette looks up at me and gives me a warm smile. "Bye bye uh . . ."

"Zefie, you can call me Zefie."

"Ooh! That's a pretty name! Bye-bye, Zefie! I hope you win and marry the Prince! My mommy and I will be cheering you on until the end!" She waves me goodbye, following her mother.

I watched them go, chuckling to myself. I walked out of the shuttle train, repeating the words Janette told me. Do I really look that pretty enough to have Asriel marry me? I suddenly stopped thinking about it and quickly pushed those wishful thoughts to the side.

The personalities matter the most, I reminded myself. Sometimes pretty girls like Felicity got an ugly personality. I tried to be patient to see the goodness in her for thirteen years. And all this time, Felicity still remained the same. And that is why I stick to my belief. Maybe someday she will change for the better.

As I exited the airport, I finally meet the other Selected girls face-to-face. They were all standing there, waiting for the royal chauffeur. I swallowed hard, feeling my stomach twist into painful knots.

In an instant, I recognize one of the girls. Scarlet Wolf, standing tall and stoic with her long black hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a red bow tank top with black capris, and red high heels.

Bethany warned me to not be too friendly to the other girls. Since the Selection is a competition, she assumes that any friend you make will betray you, the moment you let your guard down. However, I wanted to be positive and keep an open mind.

I approached to the girls slowly and smiled. "Hello there, my name is—"

"Zafrina Alban? Yeah, I know ya." The girl with lavender-colored hair spoke first. "You're that chick with those purple eyes."

"Gosh, are they real?" The monster next to her, suddenly gets close to my face staring deeply into my eyes.

Her fur is a custard color, with short ears and a long bushy tail. And of course, her hair color is light cyan that goes well with her emerald eyes. Could she be a squirrel?

"U-uhm, yes they're real." I responded to the squirrel monster.

"Well, shucks! My name's Colleen!" The squirrel monster says.

"Delilah," The girl with the lavender hair joins in. "Colleen and I came from the same town, so we know each other, because we're friends."

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you both." I smiled shaking their hands, but Colleen squeals out as if my hand tickled against her fur.

I gasped, retracting my hand. "Oh no! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Of course, silly! I'm laughing, because of your soul. It's full of energy and warmth, that it sent me tingles down to the bone! Your magic is amazing!" She wiggles her fingers around as if they're imitating stars.

I was shocked, feeling my entire body froze from her comment.

"How do you kno—“

"Monsters can actually feel human souls." Delilah answers for Colleen. "And because you're a powerful Mage, your soul has twice the energy than a normal human’s. Which isn't a surprise, knowing that you're a descendant of the Alban family."

So, everyone does know about me and my real family. Nanny gave me a choice to change my last name, but I didn't want to. I was brave enough to keep my last name, because I can't change who I am. So, I decided to accept myself.

"Don't worry, that's all in the past." She reassures me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "You're different from your real family, and I say, you're better off without them."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me." I smiled at her as Colleen joins in, hugging us.

"Yay! Group hug!" Colleen beams, and releases us.

The girl next to Scarlet walks towards me, smiling genuinely. "Don't forget about me, I'm Fiona Taylor."

"Hi, pleased to mee—" Fiona cuts me off by hugging me.

"Pleasure's all mine, Zafrina! I just hope we all become good friends along the way as we compete fair, and square." She says earnestly.

Scarlet lets out a small huff, that I don't think the other girls heard it. I slowly make my way towards her, but not too close as I plastered a small smile at her.

"Hello, Scarlet, It's nice to meet you." Her dark brown eyes focuses on mine, looking a little distraught.

"Hello, Zafrina." She moves her long bangs to the side, not showing any emotion.

So far, these girls are kind and funny. Of course, I'll have to FaceTime Bethany about them. I promised her an update once I reach the palace. Now that I've befriended Delilah, Colleen, Fiona, and I guess Scarlet; I'm sure I'll start off the competition smoothly.

Careful, Zefie. I can hear Bethany talking to me in my head. Keep an open mind, but don't get too comfortable around them.

Just then, a long black limo with two purple flags printed with the Delta Rune symbol on the back of the trunk parks to the side. Colleen lets out an excited squeal while Delilah places her hands over her hips. I quickly check my phone to realize that Bethany texted me. I grinned like a kid and begin to text back while the Royal chauffeur packs our luggage.

"Alright! Let's get going!" Colleen squeals in delight.

Delilah follows after her giving me a confident smile.

"Let's go, buddy," Fiona wraps her arm around me. "We wouldn't want to keep Mettaton and the royal family waiting!"

She lets go of me to follow them into the limo. I held on to the strap of my bag tightly. Right, to the castle. I head to the car, only to have Scarlet block me for a moment.

"If I were you, I would be careful on the people I trust as an ally." She says with a stern voice before she walked ahead of me.

I opened my mouth, but closed it. She has a point, I really need to be careful. I shook my head slowly. I swear, Scarlet is like another version of Bethany. Well, more of a stoic version.

I quickly catch up to Scarlet as we both climbed into the limo. The chauffeur closes the door after me, taking my seat between Delilah and Fiona. Colleen sat by the little parlor that contained sparkling cider, and water. She pops the bottle open, helping herself by filling up a glass cup. Scarlet takes her seat across from us, sitting alone and crosses her arms.

Finally, the chauffeur climbs into the driver’s seat and begins to drive away from the airport. Our final destination is at the palace. If I remember correctly, Claire told me that Mettaton will be the Royal planner. He will be waiting for all thirty-five of us presented at the castle for further instructions.

Some of the girls have a huge crush on him. On the other hand, Bethany thinks Mettaton is gay, because of the way he talks and dresses. Honestly, I just think he's just being himself. The media loves him.

"So, Zafrina," Fiona says, suddenly breaking the awkward silence. "What town, or city did you come from?"

"Aura Cove, it's located at the south end of Berdea." I responded proudly.

"Gosh, that's far away! I heard that place was where the Selkies originally came from." Colleen says, astounded.

My heart pinged with pain the second she mentioned the Selkies. Nanny . . .

"Selkies? Didn't they go extinct after the . . . You know." Delilah pressed her lips in a tight line, knowing that the war with the humans against the monsters was nothing but a painful past.

"Yeah, but rumor says that our King saved the last one, and she's his best friend. My parents did say that she's a powerful Selkie." Colleen answers Delilah, feeling my skin form goosebumps.

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, my grandfather met her once. She goes by the name, Runa Cordelia. Her last name means 'Jewel of the Sea.'"

"So, where do you think she is now?" Delilah leans forward, now interested in Colleen's knowledge about the 'last' selkie.

"Who knows? However, I did hear that she still sends letters to the King and Queen. Perhaps they will know."

My heart started racing, feeling my lungs suffocate it. Nanny doesn’t like to be the center of attention. Her entire race has been erased off the earth, leaving her as the only one to survive a cruel death. I used to think she didn't like being a Selkie.

When Bryn and I were still young, Nanny moved us to Aura Cove where she can live as a human. It's the only town where no one knows who she really is. Only King Asgore and Queen Toriel are the only ones that know she lives there. And until it's the right time, we can never let her secret out.

"Wow, Zafrina! Your town has amazing history. I'm so jealous." Fiona gushes, giving my hand a tight squeeze.

I blinked twice, and let out a nervous chuckle. "There's nothing to be jealous about. I just love living there."

For a second, I thought I saw Fiona crept an annoyed look. I shook my head. Maybe I'm just dizzy from all the excitement. I leaned my head back while the girls found another topic to discuss. In the corner of my eye, I found Scarlet staring at me, but she looked away before our eyes met.

"What about you two? Where did you guys come from?" She focuses on Delilah and Colleen.

"Oh, we're from Bluebell City." Colleen smiles brightly.

"Yeah, it's pretty big, our city has a reputation of growing bluebell flowers and some Echo Flowers." Delilah joins in.

I smiled, I love Echo Flowers. Sadly, we don't have any in Aura Cove. I hear that if you whisper something to the flower, it'll repeat whatever you say back.

"Well, as you know, I come from Altaria City." Fiona says, not waiting for any of us to ask her.

While the girls continued their conversation, I texted Bethany back. Berdea is five hours ahead of Aura Cove. I'm surprised she was up late at this hour. It's nine o'clock in Berea time, and Bethany's up at four in the morning in Aura Cove, just so she could check up on me. I felt crestfallen. I miss her already; Bethany's the only person who makes me feel comfortable.

"So, Zafrina, do you have a nickname you prefer us to call ya?" Delilah asks, bringing me back to reality.

"O-oh! Uh, Zefie. I prefer Zefie." I stuttered, feeling flustered.

"Ooh! I like that name, it means 'lovely lady,' right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, you certainly are a lovely lady." Fiona comments, giving me a sincere smile.

My whole body was chilled to the bone. Something is a little off about her, but I don't know what it is. My gut did the same thing when Felicity was up to something before. I quickly pushed those thoughts to the side, I won't judge too soon, I have to keep an open mind.

"Ooh! I simply can't wait to meet Prince Asriel! He's so handsome and brave!" Colleen places both her hands over her cheeks to hide her blush.

"Well, that won't happen," Fiona cuts in, with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"What?! Why?!" She whines, watching big fat tears form in the corner of her eyes.

"We don't meet them until tomorrow morning," Delilah pats her friend's arm. "Besides, what we do know is that once the thirty-five of us gets to the palace, Mettaton will handle things from there."

"Ooh . . ! Mettaton is quite the hottie, but the prince is who I'm after." Fiona fans herself.

"What about you, Scarlet? Don't you think Asriel's a hottie?" Colleen asks her, trying to include her.

"Why yes, yes he is." She responds, sounding swooned for a second.

Suddenly, my phone vibrates over my lap. I quickly check, only to find Bryn's text. Really? Even she’s up that early back at home, too? I guess she misses me, and I miss her even more.

"Is that your sister?" Fiona gapes at the picture of her.

"Ooh! Where? Where? I wanna see!" Colleen leans over to look over my phone too. "Wow! She's so pretty!"

"Are her breasts real?!" Delilah gapes too, forming a perfect 'o' with her mouth.

The picture I saved as Bryn's contact picture is just her smiling in a flirtatious way in her red sleeveless blouse, shaping her natural sized waist and breasts. I tried to find different pictures of her looking less flirty, but I gave up later on, because she insisted on me keeping it.

"Err, yeah. Her name is Bryn, and yes, they're actually real." I answered their questions, flabbergasted from their reactions.

Are girls really that shocked to see other girls breast size that intimidatingly big? It's just fat in our chest for crying out loud. I take a small glass from the parlor, pouring water inside.

"Well, damn," Delilah looks down at her chest, looking distressed. "Just by looking at your sister's boobies makes mine look a lot smaller!"

I nearly tipped my glass over, just hearing her say that. Colleen and Fiona burst out laughing at Delilah, watching her face turn red, as if she's some cartoon character that's about to blow off steam from her ears.

"Shut up! I'll have you know that girls with smaller boobs are attractive, too!"

Noted, Delilah is quite short-tempered.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Colleen shrieks, making us jump from our seat. "Guys, we're here!"

We all looked at the window as the limo drives past the open gates. I noticed a small sentry station over to the left side of the gate. For a second, I thought I saw a skeleton, wearing a blue zip up hoodie sleeping. Could that be one of the skeleton brothers Claire was talking about?

"Whoa, look at that." I looked at the direction Delilah was pointing.

Out in the palace courtyard is a big open field of soft looking grass, stretching up to two miles from the gates, to the palace. I can see some big golden flowers growing in the field, the road to the palace lined with lovely beds of different colored flowers. I notice some shrubs were finely cut in different shapes, and sizes until I found a rather interesting one. This bush is in a shape of a skeleton head. It was grinning happily as if it was meant to show how cool it looked.

The limo comes to a stop, which made Colleen and Fiona squeal as if they couldn't wait to get out. Delilah growled, tugging at her ear.

"Ya mind not screaming like idiots by my ear next time?!" She shoots them both a glare, but neither of them paid attention to her.

I quickly covered my mouth with my hand to hide my grin. My phone buzzes again, receiving an impatient text from my dear sister again for some details about my location. I twiddled my thumbs on the keypad as swiftly as possible, letting her know that I've reached the palace and will promise to text her later.

"Zefie, come on! Everyone's waiting!" Colleen calls out from outside.

Wha?! I notice I was the last one still in the limo, as I shuffled out the door, moving my hair to my left side. I gasped. towering above us is Berdea's palace, its height nearly intimidating. I wonder how many floors does it hold. Nanny did mention that King Asgore likes his castle to look a bit like a fourteenth-century style. However, now that they’re living on the surface, the royal family made their home into a palace.

"Ah! The last group are here!" A woman exclaims, coming out from the double doors of the palace. "Welcome, Ladies! Right this way please, we wouldn't want to keep Mettaton waiting."

Colleen was the first to follow, Delilah on her heels, then Fiona, and Scarlet. I take one quick glance at the beautiful scenery, noticing a huge greenhouse on the right side of the palace. How beautiful, I hope I get the opportunity to go look in there.

I walked up the steps, facing forward. There is no going back, I told myself. And in seconds, I walk through the big double doors, hearing it creak and close shut behind me.

I try my best to catch up with the others, allowing the nearby maids to carry my bag and luggage up to my room. I kept my phone inside my pocket just in case.

Down the wide hallway, I spotted the grand stairway that leads to the guest rooms, with two sets of elevators standing beside it. I wasn't sure how far the stairs and elevator goes, but maybe Mettaton will give a heads up about them. I looked around again, amazed by the architecture of the palace. Their beige colored tiles sparkled brilliantly, that I could see my own reflection.

I didn't look at where I was going as I bumped into a tall figure, making me fall back onto my ass with a loud thump. I let out a loud squeal, feeling my phone hit my ass twice as hard inside my pocket.

"Eek! Oh no! I'm so terribly sorry! I didn't watch where I was going!" I quickly apologized, flushing red in embarrassment for being so clumsy.

Just then, a red glove was lowered in front of me. "WHOOPSY DOOPSY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HUMAN!?" The voice asks, unabashedly shouting, but was filled with concern.

I blinked a few times, carefully placing my hand over it as the person carefully pulled me up.

"T-thank you," I looked up and gasped, finding a tall skeleton.

He was wearing a strange outfit that some superheroes wear, having a red raggedy scarf wrapped around his neck that made him look heroic.

"YOU ARE MOST WELCOME!" He beams proudly. "WHICH IS WHY I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IS ALWAYS HERE TO HELP THOSE IN DISTRESS!"

He looks familiar. The way he grins suddenly made me realize something. The shrub from outside the palace, that's him? Perhaps he did something honorable enough to let the king and queen have their shrub shaped as his head and face.

"NYEH? YOUR SOUL," he continues, taking my hand onto his again. "WOWIE! IT'S FULL OF ENERGY, I CAN ACTUALLY FEEL MY BONES TINGLING!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I guess it's because you can feel my magic. I'm actually a human mage."

"W-WHAT?! A HUMAN MAGE?!" He asks, dumbfounded. "WHY, IT'S NO WONDER YOUR SOUL IS FULL OF ENERGY AND LIFE!"

I smiled meekly. "It's not really—"

"NONSENSE, HUMAN MAGE! YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE POSITIVE, AND LOVE YOURSELF FOR WHO YOU ARE!" He shouts, cutting me off.

"That's a very good advice," I said earnestly. "Thank you."

"OH, YES, I APOLOGIZE! ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF." He says, and puffs his ribs out as if he's trying to look cool. "I AM PAPYRUS! THE COOL, PRESTIGIOUS, AND POPULAR ROYAL GUARD OF THE PALACE!"

I let out a chuckle. "Nice to meet you, royal guard Papyrus. My name is Zafrina Alban, but you can call me Zefie for short."

"What a fantastic name, human mage Zefie! But uh, what are you doing out here all alone?" He asks, with his voice finally tuned down.

"Oh, uh, I'm not sure . . . I was with a group girls, following a woman who will take us to Mettaton. I guess I got a little sidetracked and got lost."

"Ah! You must be one of the Selected girls! Well, allow me to escort you to the room where the other Selected are needed!" He insists, holding out his bony arm.

"Why thank you, that would be helpful." I placed my hand over it.

In an instant, he excitedly speed-walks towards the end of the hallway. I was surprised on how fast he can walk in those red boots of his. It makes me feel like I'm the one who's slow. And in seconds, we stand in front of a large doorway, where I can see a bunch of makeup stations filled with girls getting their makeup done. I can see Fiona getting her hair done, having her orange hair getting curled. It was so packed, I couldn't even see Delilah, Colleen, or Scarlet.

I felt my palms sweat a bit, but I felt a hand press against my back. I looked up, finding Papyrus smiling at me confidently. He's so positive, and I like him for that.

"FEAR NOT, HUMAN MAGE ZEFIE! YOU WILL BE FINE, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT METTATON IS GOOD AT HIS JOB. NOW, I MUST GET GOING! I'M OFF TO DO MORE IMPORTANT DUTIES AS A ROYAL GUARD! NYEH HEH HEH!" He says with a grin.

"Alright, goodbye Papy—" I watched him run off as he happily disappears down the hallway, making a sharp left turn. "Rus . . ?"

I chuckled, surprised at how positive and confident he was. Perhaps that's the other skeleton brother. Hopefully I get to meet the other one that was sleeping at the sentry post. It makes me miss Claire more.

I took a few deep breaths and walked inside. My breath stilled when some of the Selected girls notice my presence, making me feel intimidated.

Over to my right, I see a beautiful Ferret monster with white fur, and long gorgeous blond hair styled into a bun. She was dressed in a ruby dress that makes her look exquisite. I felt my stomach twist into different angles just by looking at her.

"Ah! There you are, Miss Alban!" The woman from earlier, walks to my side. "You had me worried, I assumed you got lost along the way here."

I felt my cheeks flushed, embarrassed from my early encounter with Papyrus. "I'm so terribly sorry, ma'am."

"That's alright, I'm so glad you're here. Anyway, you're next to have your makeup done. Mettaton?"

Just then, a tall human-like figure with black hair and silver skin, wearing a magenta button-up collared long-sleeved shirt with a black vest and pants appeared before us. I tried to not look nervous and decided to look to the side.

"Yes, Wanda? What do you need?" He asks, moving his fringes to the side a little. "I'm quite busy, darling, so please make this qui . . ." His voice trails off as his dark eyes focused on me.

Mettaton looked as if he just saw something quite extraordinary, that he was speechless to even respond. I felt my stomach formed excruciating knots again, but I forced myself to hold in the pain.

"Oh, my! You look drop-dead-gorgeous, darling!" Mettaton gushes, getting a closer look at me.

"Let's see here," He tips my chin up carefully, turning my face side to side as if he's analyzing me. "Pale skin, light auburn hair, low-pointed nose, fabulous smile, and oh my! What lovely pair of light-amethyst eyes you have there, darling! Are they real?"

I chuckled nervously, feeling my stomach twist in an awkward angle. "Y-yes, they are."

"Oh, so stunning~! Thank you, Wanda. Now, come along, darling. Allow me to pick out a dress for you before you have your makeup done." He takes my hand, pulling me away to the other side of the room.

"Dress? Makeup?"

"Why, of course! You didn't think I was going to allow a gorgeous girl like you to pose in front of the cameras, and do a small documentary of yourself without a proper dress, and makeup?"

My smile faded instantly, feeling my entire body shut down. Posing? Camera? Documentary? I quickly shoved those thoughts away, feeling my magic buzz under the skin of my fingertips. Perhaps there's a good reason for us to have an interview. I'm quite camera shy.

We stopped in front of two long metal racks filled with different colored dresses. Mettaton works quickly, trying to find the right color and design that would suit me the most. About twenty seconds later, he pulls out a gorgeous sweetheart neckline gown with lovely ruffles that went around the skirt like waves.

"That looks gorgeous," I said, feeling exhilarated.

"Yes, it will look gorgeous when it's on you~! Come along now, darling. Stacey?"

The girl at an empty makeup station perks her head up before she walked towards us. They share a brief conversation before he gives her the gown.

"Alright, darling, time to get pampered from head-to-toe. You're in good hands. I will check up on you in twenty minutes, ta-ta~!" He pats my shoulder, before he leaves to check on the rest of the Selected girls.

I sit over the chair as Stacey checks on my face. She begins her job by washing my face first, brushing my hair to get the knots out that must've formed while I slept on the private jet. So far, my hair was put up in a stylish messy bun, letting some of my hair stick out. I didn't have that much makeup on, so it's just my eyes and lips that were worked on.

After some finishing touches on my eyes, Stacy escorts me over to the corner of the room, beckoning me to go behind a large screen that'll allow me to change into the gown Mettaton picked. Of course, I wasn't looking forward to walking in them, I'm not the type to wear gowns or short dresses all the time. Stepping into the gown, Stacey helps me fasten the zipper before she buttons them up, feeling the dress tighten around me a bit. Good thing Mettaton didn't ask me to change my shoes, walking in heels would probably hurt like hell!

Seconds later, I was pampered and ready. The hem of my skirt felt a little heavy for me to move around. I shrugged. It's actually not that bad anyway, I'm only doing this for Bryn.

"Alright, ladies~!" Mettaton shouts, getting our attention. "Now that everyone is all pampered and well-dressed, it's almost time to be interviewed live on camera."

Nearly half of the girls squealed with excitement while I felt my feet, and palms sweat like crazy. Millions of people will be watching this. And among them will be Nanny, Bryn, and Bethany. I couldn't help but smile. I'll make them proud. I took three deep breaths, feeling my anxieties shrink little by little. Stay determined, Zefie, I thought to myself.

One by one, each of us waited at least ten minutes before the next girl walks in. Sadly, my clothes and phone were taken back to my room. I won't be able to text Bethany about the situation I'm in. Within a few seconds, Colleen manages to find me in the crowd before she settles next to me with a grin.

"You look so lovely!" She whispers to me, smiling.

"Thanks! You, too." I gushed, loving how her hair was done in a french braid that curled into a bun, including her light grayish cyan gown that matched her hair and eyes well.

"S-so, what are we going to do?"

"Don't worry, Zefie, we're just gonna do a few poses for the camera, so we can have our before-and-after pictures displayed on TV for the Selection. It's a fantastic idea really. And after that, we just talk about ourselves a little, and then we'll be sent to our rooms to have our dinners there."

"Sounds easy enough. Were you able to find Delilah, Fiona, or at least Scarlet?"

"Not yet, I think they were up first, so it's just you and me for now. I think Scarlet is being interviewed right now."

Just then, the same ferret monster I just saw earlier is over at the corner with some girls talking.

"Who's that, Colleen?"

She looks over at the direction of where I'm pointing and saw her body flinch, before turning back to me. "That's Malachite Levoue, aka Mal. She's supposed to be one of the sexiest Selected girls among the thirty-five."

"Well, she definitely won the title, but do you know what she does?"

"Modeling, and it looks like her career of being rich and famous in Coloratura City wasn't enough. So, I guess she wants the prince, too."

My whole body went still, feeling my lungs suffocate my heart enough to make me stop breathing.

"So, it looks like she'll be one of our toughest competition yet."

"It seems like it, I heard that she's got an awful personality." She shakes her head, but looks at me smiling. "Ah forget about her, let's just focus on what's up ahead."

"You're right, tomorrow will be a big day to meet the ki—"

"Miss Zafrina Alban? you're next, darling~!" Mettaton calls out for me, poking his head out the doorway.

"Oh my god! You're up next! Good luck, Zefie!" She hugs me as I meekly walk into the other room.

I took a few deep breaths slowly, noticing a lot of camera equipment set up, along with bright lights to capture our complexion. I find Mettaton talking with the camera crew, going over the plan as I make my way to a large screen displayed against the wall. I squinted at the bright lights, brushing out my ruffles to straighten them out.

"Alright darling, are you ready to pose and show Auradon what you're made out of?" He asks, beaming with joy.

I responded with a gentle nod. Stay calm Zefie, I begged myself. Everyone at home are watching. Be brave and confident.

"Great! Now prepare to pose in five, four, three, two, one."

♕ ❀ ✩°｡⋆*:･ﾟ✧ ❀ ✩°｡⋆*:･ﾟ✧ ❀ ✩°｡⋆*:･ﾟ✧ ❀ ♕

I let out a tired groan, coming out of the shower in my white robe. That interview was a bit intense, and I was dismissed to my room thankfully. The Selected girls are to stay on the second floor just for tonight. We are not allowed to wander off on our own until further notice. Each Selected are given two maids, to help us dress, prepare baths, and to be sure we stick to our schedule on time.

Most of the maids are lamb monsters, the Rams are the butlers. And I love mine so far, there's Barbara who loves to talk a lot, and is good at designing gowns. Lesley loves fashion, but likes to get things done on time. We got along the first time I stepped into my room. Of course, I went through some limitations with them. And since I was used to doing some things on my own, they at least allow me to shower by myself, and pick my own clothes. And in return, I allowed them to start my shower or baths, dress me, and answer the door.

With my maids dismissed for now, I finally had the freedom of having the room to myself. My room is so big and spacious, it’s actually twice as big than my sitting room back at home. I even have a big flat-screen TV hooked up onto the wall for me to watch. On the left side of the corner is a window seat with little bookshelves for me to sit when I want to read or relax. I love how it sits in front of the multicolored stained-glass window, which of course had the delta rune symbol on it.

The best part about my room is my bed! A king-sized rococo designed bed with silvery-white bed sheets. The headboard itself looked so fancy, especially when the top of it looks like a crown. The wall curtains are draped around my bed, parted and tied with its colors matching my bed sheets, making it look sophisticated and exquisite. There are so many pillows, some that are big, and a few that are small. That’s going to be a big problem for my maids to drag me out of bed since I love to sleep in.

Delilah's room is down at the West Wing. Colleen's is across mine, which makes it easier for me to come see her every day. As for Fiona and Scarlet, I'm not sure, hopefully I will encounter them soon.

As promised, I go ahead and FaceTime Bethany. It didn't take long before she answers after the second beep. And here I am now, smiling like an idiot when her face appears on the screen.

"About time you called!" She smirks at me, eating her ice-cream in her room. "How's the palace? Did you see your crush? Are the girls giving you a hard time? Is the weather in Berdea okay?"

I chuckled, smiling at her. "That's a lot of questions to answer! The palace is cool, bigger than I expected. And no we can't meet him until tomorrow. The third question is undecided. And the weather is alright."

"Well that's good, but I'd be careful of who I trust, Zef. This IS a competition, and you know how the Selected girls are when it comes to Asriel."

"Yeah, I'll try to be careful." I promised, forcing a smile.

She raises her eyebrow at me, looking crestfallen. "Look, I know you're just trying to be kind, but I don't want them to take advantage of it. They will use it against you one day to hurt you. And you know how I am, when people like that try to hurt you. But this time, I can't be there to help you anymore. You're gonna have to stand firm, and not let anyone knock you down; just like the time you put Felicity back into her place."

I sighed softly. I hate how she's sometimes right. The thing is, I don't like to be mean. It's not in my damn nature. However, if they cross the line, then I will snap and put my foot down.

"You're right, I'll be careful."

"Good. In the meantime, my mom says that Mettaton is going to broadcast the before-and-after pictures of the Selected girls." She smirks at me.

Shit, I forgot all about that.

"Oh yeah . . ." I meekly looked to the side.

"To be honest, I can't wait to see your transformation. Maybe this will give you a good chance to have the people throughout Auradon support you to win." She says, being positive.

I smiled and nodded. "Again, you're right."

"Oh! Hey, I'll be right back, I have to help my mom on something." I can see her getting up from her bed, putting her phone in a different angle.

"Okay, see ya later." I pressed the end button and sighed.

The second floor is full of guest rooms, where the Selected girls stay. Parts of the hallway has a nice big lounging area for the girls to socialize and relax. I even heard that the second floor also has an indoor pool and spa. It’s available for us to use any time in case we feel like having a relaxation time. I should go see it sometime and experience that luxurious life in the palace.

I pulled off my robe, putting on a simple powder blue tank top, with soft black shorts. Sarah definitely did an excellent job on my measurements. My new clothes are fitted to the right size for my body. Claire gave me an option to what type of sleep-wear I like to use for bedtime. So, I told her t-shirts and tank tops with color matching shorts.

Leaving my room quietly, I wander down the west wing to discover more things on the second floor. In the middle of the hall that separates the west, and east wing is a loft, containing the stairs with two sets elevators. I squinted my eyes, feeling puzzled about it. I find it a little strange for the palace to have elevators, but I’m sure King Asgore has his reasons for having them.

“Well, hello there, buddy,” I gasped and whipped my head around, finding Fiona standing behind me grinning. “I guess this is how you spend your free time in a late afternoon?”

“Fiona, h-hi! Y-you uh, surprised me.” I stuttered, recovering from my jump-scare.

“What can I say? I’m an unexpecting person.” she jokes, shrugging her shoulders.

I chuckled softly, draping my damp hair over my shoulders. “What brings you out here? Are you exploring the second floor, too?”

“I guess you can say that. But I’m just bored, I was hoping I’d run into someone to have a little chat.” She says, twirling a lock of hair with her finger.

“Oh. Well, if you like, perhaps you could join me by accompanying me to the indoor pool?”

“Oh, no; I couldn’t,” her voice suddenly sounded slick. “Not with someone who’s so dense and annoying.”

My smile instantly fell, shocked that I understand why my gut has been going haywire when I was around her. A smug smile spreads across her face.

“You see, Zefie, this is the Selection. And in this competition, there is no such thing as friendship. Anyone can betray anyone. And right now, it seems that I’ve played you like a fool.”

I blinked twice, trying my best to stay calm. “Then why did you—?”

“Be friends with you? Isn’t it obvious?” she sneers at me, crossing her arms. “They did say to get to know your competitors, and I did so. But that doesn’t mean we could get together and talk about friendships, rainbows, and fucking unicorn kisses. Why should I be friends with some short-tempered flat-chested girl who dyed her hair into an ugly purple shade? The squirrel monster is more dense than you are, so bravo for at least being a little smart. As for that dark-haired enigmatic girl? She’ll probably get booted out the competition if she doesn’t learn to smile like a proper lady.”

I opened my mouth to try to say something, anything to defend them, but nothing came out.

“Aw don’t be sad, buddy . . ! The truth will only hurt just for tonight. Why don’t you be a good girl, and go back to your room to relax? The program should be starting later on tonight, and I wouldn’t want to miss your little interview and camera shots of you.”

I didn’t bother looking at Fiona, still feeling dumbfounded for ignoring my instincts about her.

She walks towards me, patting me on the shoulder as she showed her fake genuine smile again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Zefie. Perhaps the prince will realize what a sad little orphan you really are.”

And just like that, she walks away and disappears to the east wing. I slowly balled my fingers into a fist, preventing my magic from getting out of control. Stay calm! I begged myself. My knees shook like jello, falling over to try to catch my breath.

“Zefie?!” I heard Colleen cry out in concern, hearing multiple steps coming towards me.

“Hey, you okay?!” Delilah carefully holds my face up to look at them. “What did that two-faced bitch say to you?!”

Oh . . . They overheard us. I couldn’t respond, continuing to breathe heavily. So, this is Fiona’s game; playing as the nice friend as she leeches out any personal information she can use against us.

“Gosh, even I didn’t know that Fiona can be such a backstabbing, conniving bitch.” she shook her head, sounding crestfallen.

“It’s not your fault, Colleen, we all didn’t know, and that’s how good she is at being fake. Short-tempered flat-chested girl, huh? We’ll show her, we’ll show her how wrong she is, and shove her words back into her big fat mouth.” Delilah spat out, with her voice sounding enraged.

“Temper, Delilah,” Colleen reminds her before she sat down next to us. “Don’t worry, Zefie, you have us! We don’t care if one of us becomes a winner. We compete fair and square, and betrayal is not in our vocabulary.”

I closed my eyes and smiled, hugging my now two new friends. “Thanks, guys.”

♕ ❀ ✩°｡⋆*:･ﾟ✧ ❀ ✩°｡⋆*:･ﾟ✧ ❀ ✩°｡⋆*:･ﾟ✧ ❀ ♕

"Yes, Nanny, everything's fine here. We won't be able to meet Asgore and Toriel until tomorrow." I said, keeping my phone close to my ear.

"That's fine, honey. It will give you time to relax until then." she spoke with her soothing voice.

"Okay, but shouldn't we be worried? The monsters and humans are spreading rumors about you, now that I've entered the Selection. They're going to find out soon."

"Is that so? Oh, my dear sweetheart, I suppose that I forgot to tell you something important."

"Huh? Tell me what?" I felt my blood gone cold, afraid of what she will say me.

"I want to come out of hiding," Nanny confesses. "I don't care anymore. One way or another, everyone will know what I really am sooner or later. I don't want you and Bryn to carry that burden anymore. I am Runa Cordelia, the last Selkie of the monster race, and a mother of two precious daughters."

I let out a small gasp and stifled a cry. Thank goodness, Nanny can finally become herself whenever she wants to. I know she hates to have everyone pity her. It will only remind Nanny of the family and friends she lost when the war broke out. That was why she wanted to stay in a town, isolated from the ones that knows who she really is.

"The whole town was surprised, but they still love me for who I am. And that's what's important." She continued, letting out a small chuckle.

"What made you decide to come out of hiding, Nanny?" I asked, feeling knots form in my stomach.

Nanny chuckled softly. "Do you remember when we brought Bryn back home with us?"

"Of course I do, I can never forget it."

There was a long silence, before Nanny spoke again.

"Well at that time, we moved from Elridge, to Aura Cove. And one day, you asked me why I was ashamed of being myself. I laughed at your question, because I wasn't at all. I just wanted to live in a place where no one knows what I really am. I was so tired of every monster pitying me, wondering if I missed having my kind. It will only remind me of the painful past I've already moved on from."

I felt my heartbeat in an excruciating way. I would feel the same if anyone did bring up something that I wanted to forget. Nanny is the type of person to mourn for a little bit, then move on to continue on with her life. She will not let any tragedy keep her from doing the things she loves. And that's why everyone respects Nanny.

I felt some tears form from the corner of my eyes. "That's a relief, no more hiding."

"It is sweetheart, it is." She responds happily. "You should turn on the TV soon, the broadcast will come on any second. Don't forget to get a good night's rest."

I wiped my tears and chuckled. "Yes, Nanny, I will."

"I love you, sweetheart. Bryn does, too."

"And I love you both, too. I'll call tomorrow, I promise."

I press the end button, throwing my phone over to my bed. Fiona's hurtful words echoed throughout my mind. So much for friendship. I walk over to my luggage, taking out my instant picture. Nanny and Bryn's smiles are what I miss the most.

I told Bethany about my early incident with Fiona. I wasn't surprised when she responded by wanting to break her entire bones. Bethany was right this whole time about choosing your allies. But I trust Delilah and Colleen. We decided it'll just be the three of us against thirty-two girls, well, hopefully we make more friends instead of enemies. Other than that, I suggested that we should still be kind to the ones who are kind to us.

I open the glass double doors to my balcony and stepped out to get some fresh air. The cold air tingled against my skin, feeling the ends of my hair stand. What a lovely breezy night it is at the palace. I was very lucky to have my room overlook the garden, especially when I can see Mount Ebott from my balcony. Watching it at least helped me forget about Fiona.

I draped my arms over the stone rail of the balcony. Mount Ebott, a mountain full of sad and happy history. What lies under it, is another world where it is much different than the surface. I should be happy. Nanny can be herself again, and I still have friends I can talk to. I can never ask for more.

Suddenly, a loud gust of wind blew against my face, making me yelp as my picture slipped out of my fingers. I gasped and ran for it, but it was too late. I watched in horror as my picture flew with the current towards the trees.

"Oh no!" I cried out, feeling my stomach twist into knots while my heart felt like it was going to run out of air.

If I don't get it back soon, I don't think I'll ever get a good night's sleep. That picture means a lot to me, and it’s irreplaceable. Even if I have it saved in my phone, it won't feel the same if I can't touch it.

I felt a cold chill run throughout my body. I know I can't leave the second floor, but I also can't leave my picture out in the trees. There's only one way to get it back. And it's probably the stupidest idea I've ever thought of.

I looked down, squinting my eyes to see through the dark. On the bottom is a bed of golden flowers. I whimpered and closed my eyes shut. If I use magic, someone will sense it and I will be in big trouble.

I took a deep breath and climbed over the railings as my arms held on to it tightly. All of this for a picture? I asked myself, looking over my shoulder to be sure my landing is accurate. Yup. It's worth it.

I exhaled loudly, closing my eyes and forced myself to let go of the ledge. It was only a matter of seconds before my body was prepared for the impact, landing on my back first, letting out a loud painful squeal. I felt my heart thumped loudly, feeling so much adrenaline pump throughout my body.

The pain wasn't too bad. And to my surprise, the big golden flowers actually cushioned most of my impact from my fall. I sat up slowly, rubbing my back. This will definitely be one of the most bizarre stunts I'll ever tell Bethany. And what will she say?

All of this for a damn irreplaceable picture.

I got up to my feet, feeling them shake like jello. The strong wind came by again, making my hair fly around like crazy. I quickly ran to the direction to where my picture flew. I scanned the area while I ran, in case there was a guard on duty. I really don't want to get in trouble at all.

It didn't take long for me to find what I was looking for. Towering above me is a tall tree that stood up to twenty feet. The leaves sparkled in a light magenta color, looking as if it’s made out of jewels. The trunk itself is in a light auburn color, watching the branches sway side to side from the wind.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, finding my picture stuck between the leaves up in the tree branch.

I analyzed the trunk and branches carefully. Since I'm barefoot, it'll make it easier for me to climb up the tree. With the moon as my only light, I climbed up the tree, gripping on to the nearest branch as planting my foot over the rough trunk to pull myself up. This could take some time before I can get to my picture on time. I prayed that the next gust of wind doesn’t come again by the time I reach it. I’ve already broken enough rules to get myself kicked out of the competition.

What the hell? I cursed to myself. How tall is this tree anyway? Did I miscalculate? I shook my head as I continued to climb, nearly at the top. Suddenly, the clouds covered up the moon, making my surroundings nearly pitched black. Dammit! What do I do now?! Slowly, I used my free hand to search for something to hold onto, feeling a long thick branch covered in some leaves. I shook the branch to test how sturdy it is before I went ahead, using it to pull my body upwards.

Oh! The leaves suddenly begin to glow in a beautiful light magenta color, lighting up the entire tree. I gaped, but sighed in awe at how beautiful their lights glowed. I noticed that the tree had some vines hanging over the branches. I wonder what kind of tree this is, perhaps Nanny would love to have a tree like this in the backyard.

With the lights from the leaves, I finally found the exact branch where it held my picture. The problem is, the branch was long and a little narrow. And I guess that means I have to crawl to it, carefully. Well, this is a risky situation. I was tempted to look down, but I stopped, knowing it will only make things worse for me.

“Come on, Zefie,” I encouraged myself. “Stay determined.”

My hands gripped around the thick branch, slowly scooting my body forward. I tried my best to be fast, but slow to reach the end of the branch. If I don’t hurry soon, my maids will cause a ruckus, and the guards will be searching for me.

“Hello?” I gasped, with my eyes widened, feeling my entire body froze to the spot. “Is anybody up there?”

My heart pounded loudly in a fast pace, with my breath laboring. That voice! I know that voice from anywhere!

Suddenly I felt my body tilt to the side and I cried out, quickly wrapping my arms and legs around the branch to prevent me from falling. I gasped, placing my free hand over my mouth, realizing the mistake I just made.

“Are you alright up there? Do you need some help?” The voice asks, filled with so much concern.

This bad! Really, really bad!

What in the world is Prince Asriel doing out here?!

#selectiontale #undertale #undertale au #zefie alban #fanfic #terato writing

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narcisskanotfrisk · 5 years ago

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BeyondFell: Part 9

She advanced again, and noticed that this time no branch cracked behind her. She found herself again before the abyss of her dead. She waited again for Sans, and turned around just after the last step. The latter looked at her strangely before exclaiming: "Woah ... I barely have time to arrive when you turn around, the discussion is likely to be hearsay mouahahah." "Ahahah, no, I don't think so!" But I would like to ask you a few questions about the Underground ... " " Oh ? I can light your lantern on a subject or two, I think. What would a person as flourishing as you want to know ... " Frisk thought at the same time that Sans was talking to him. She had to save time. However, she didn't really know what to question him about. What if she asked a little more about the history between monsters and humans? Or should she ask how the monsters survived? No, it would wake up from wounds of the past, and it was not what Frisk wanted. So she looked at him at the end of her sentence and simply asked this question. " How are you today ? She said smiling as usual. Sans was taken aback by this question. He had killed her twice, and in addition it showed as the nose in the middle of the face, but she wanted to know how he was? This girl must have been really stupid ... No, it wasn't that, she had something else that he didn't have. He then took a deep breath, then sighed before answering. "Well ... I would say it will be fine, as always. On the other hand, you would do my brother Papyrus' day. He's a human-hunting fanatic, not really my thing. " "Oh, it's because ..." She paused in the middle of her sentence. Flowey had told him that monsters were not supposed to remember timelines. Even though he was gone, she had to respect that and say nothing about her previous reset. However, she did feel that something was wrong. If no one remembered the old timelines, then why had Toriel had this reaction? And Sans, why did he crack branches at the start and now more? All this troubled her as long as she came to ask an unusual question: "You monsters, do you know the term" timeline "? " "Hmm ... No one has taught you how it goes here, right?" "Oh, uh, yes ... but I have the impression that he was mistaken on certain things," she replied, looking him in the eyes. He sighed before answering: "Princess, some monsters remember timelines and others don't. We do not know how it happened but ... black spots started to appear on some monsters ... These started to remember certain events, while those who did not have them did not notice what change. By the way ... what is the monster that gave you directions to the Underground? " "Oh, it was Flowey! It is a flower that speaks. " Following Frisk's word, the skeleton's orbits went blank, as if he knew something about him that she didn't know. As he remained like that for a moment without smiling, she touched him with the tip of her finger. "Hey! Do not touch me !" Sans took a step back and threw her a bone, which appeared thanks to his magic. Frisk dodged it, despite the very short reaction time she had. Sans expected anger to appear on Frisk's face, or at least fear. But that was not the case, she looked at him with incomprehension. She didn't know what Flowey had done, but apparently Sans him wanted it. She got up, fell as a result of her dodging, and looked at him straight in the orbits. "I don't know the past between you and him .... But he was there to tell me what to do and how to react to these new dangers ... I would rather move forward in the present than rehash the past ! " Frisk held his gaze filled with determination. She even manages to scare Sans a little before he pulls himself together. He sighed before answering: "... you couldn't know he was a traitor!" He fled with the first human soul. When he returned, his parents themselves killed him for this act of high treason, especially ASGORE ... Not enough to break a bone, but he finished it completely.” At that moment, Chara's memories resurfaced, and she began to hold her head, screaming in pain. Human, the first having fallen was her! She remembered everything now ... She came here because she loved walking in the mountains. However, she hadn't paid attention, and ended up falling into the Underground. Asriel, son of Toriel and Asgore, as well as prince of the Underground, found her and healed her in secret. He did not like the way of making monsters today, always trying to provoke a fight and to fight each other. If his parents found that he was hosting a human, which is more under their roof ... Unfortunately, his parents eventually discovered her, while they were having fun in his room. However, they did not react violently and looked after her as if it were their own daughter. Asriel was however suspicious of his parents, and investigated on his side, while gradually becoming someone important to Chara. She had never really had someone as a "friend", most used her as an object. Asriel was the first to care about her. She ends up becoming her best friend. Both rejected by their own species, they could only understand each other. However, a most obscure fate awaited them .... Asriel realized, by dint of investigating, that her parents did not like Chara, and simply wanted to use it to stab humans in the back. Asriel, unable to hide this from Chara any longer, confessed to her everything his parents wanted. Chara felt betrayed ... Despite everything, she kept her trust in Asriel. She returned to the ruins alone, because she had an idea in mind to save her friend. She also knew that Asriel wouldn't want this solution. But she had to do it ... She had given him an appointment there to explain to him what she wanted. If only one of them could be saved, she wanted it to be him. Of course, Asriel, hearing her project, refused to comply ... So she took the knife she had stuck in the kitchen, and stuck it in her chest. Asriel had no time to react. Unable to do anything to save her, he promised her that he would try to live on the surface ... After her death, her soul left her body, and Asriel recovered it. He buried her in a place of nostalgia, which was that of their first meeting: the place where one falls in the Underground. Her soul being in Asriel, she had some flashbacks from her stay on the surface. He managed to survive a week, but humans eventually found him. She saw battles interspersed ... Her friend took terrible wounds ... Tears ran down her ghostly cheeks: she didn't want to see more ... But it came back to her, whether she liked it or not! She saw Asriel return to the Underground. Wounded, he limped to move. However, his father was waiting for him on the throne. He looked at him haughtily and said to him: -Is that all my own son can do? ... Pathetic! He skewered him like a vulgar pig ... She felt the pain of their two souls break, then the memories subsided .... She managed to recover from her emotions and straightened up thinking about all these memories that she had lost. That didn't explain why she was there again. Admittedly, she no longer had a body, but she still survived in a world where she no longer had her place ... "Why ... He could have ... survived ... If only ... humans weren't as stupid ... I wanted at least one of us to be able to survive ... But instead of that, I caused the death of my best friend ... So why am I still there ... Wait ... Didn't this pile of bones just say that Flowey was Asriel ?! I knew I recognized his voice! Oh, I hope he will get out ... " Suddenly, a click was heard, calling out to Chara. Frisk had slapped Sans, who looked surprised more than hurt. But what had happened while she was reviewing her past ??? "I don't know what could have happened here while you were locked up, and I don't really care!" The past doesn't matter as long as the person changes to the present! " Frisk had just thrown these scathing words at Sans, holding his gaze despite the animosity he displayed. She might be curious about the past, but she wouldn't change her mind about Flowey just because Sans was trying to get her there! She heard footsteps on the other side of the precipice. It was Papyrus, Sans's brother, who was arriving. She barely had time to think that Sans had teleported across the precipice. She tried to hide as best she could behind a tree, while listening carefully to the two skeletons ...

#undertale #au's undertale #Beyondfell #au's

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escapetaleofficial · 4 years ago

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“Welcome to The New AU that has been released to public, by EscapeTaleOfficial.” “We hope you enjoy your experience with this AU, as the story is finally being released to public.” “Thank you all so much for giving my Story a chance, we have gained fan art, and my AU, is getting up there with Underfell, Outertale, X-tale, it’s fantastic what creativity can lead to.” -Nicholas/EscapeTaleOfficial

“If you all don’t want to wait on the next chapter, Visit my profile on Wattpad, where you can Continue the journey.”

Long ago, when two races had ruled upon Earth, Monster, and Humans.

Neither group was equal, each with their own distinctions. Monsters could not stand to live with such negativity.

Each suffered severe discrimination at the hands of Humanity.

On behalf of each citizen, others have grown tired of being poorly mistreated.

Name-calling is a consequence because of being different.

Both sides had taken matters to their own hands and formed an army of their own race.

The two nations proceeded to move forward with their plan and declared war.

Humans using Swords, Maces, and sharpened Spears, as for Monsters their combat defense had been Longswords, Flails, and Magic.

Humans showing no mercy to their enemies and had taken the victory and monsters left relinquished. After the tragic events of the war.

Monsters then had been sealed into one of earth’s surface’, MT EBOTT, where they kept away from the society of humans by an impenetrable barrier.

After the Monster's abuse had ended, they had formed their own land beneath the surface.

Others had contributed to making civilization for others who were homeless or no longer retained a refuge home.

Then one day two Monsters who were the same species had fallen in love and fulfilled their destiny. Their names were Toriel and Asgore.

Asgore had suffered multiple injuries during the war, he had also lost a bit of his left horn.

The two then made a promise to the underground to spread piece and acceptance for one another.

Every civilian in the underground had chosen the two to be the ruler of their new home.

Toriel, and Asgore had declared themselves officially the rulers of the underground, their bond had formed stronger as their love for each other continued.

The two decided to have come to terms, having a royal marriage.

After declaring themselves king and queen their next fate had been decided.

Toriel had assured to Asgore that she wanted a child, to love for and nurture.

As time had passed, Toriel and Asgore, huddled close together as they watch over their newborn child.

Asgore turned his head to Toriel with a warm smile.

Asgore: “You really love this child, don’t you Toriel, dear?"

He said in a happy manner.

Toriel then turned her head left of where Asgore had been standing and gave a warm smile back toward her husband.

Toriel: “Yes Asgore, I always wanted to be a Mother.”

She then turned her head away from Asgore, and lowered her head looking into Asriel’s precious eyes.

Asgore: “Toriel, Dear?”

He spoke softly with his lips. Toriel’s eyes then turned toward Asgore, she then elevated one singular finger to hush Asgore.

Toriel: “Shhhh, be cautious, dear. Our little one is sleeping.” She said to Asgore.

Asgore: “Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten the ceremony, I apologies, let us not forget that it is his big day tomorrow.”

Toriel then smiles at Asgore only for a moment and turned back toward her child and she began to rest her head closer to him.

Asgore then smiled as he softly kneeled to the side with caution, trying not to disturb their sleeping child.

Asgore: “I say Toriel, I enjoy his name quite a lot.”

Toriel then turned to her husband with a nod of agreement.

Toriel: “I too, love the name Asriel, I think it suits him, and sounds rather comforting, does it not?”

Asgore then shared had his same view on his opinion as he simply nodded.

Asgore then had almost forgotten the time of the night, he lifted his head upward as he glanced the time on the wall clock.

Asgore: ”Toriel, it seems to be getting late, I think we shouldn’t bother him as much, would you like some help?”

Toriel ears had perked up as she had seen the time as well and turned her head to asgore shaking her head in disagreement for his help.

Toriel: “I’m afraid not, dear. But thank you for your kind offer of contribution.”

Asgore gave a smile to his wife, trusting her that she had everything under control.

Asgore: “Okay, Toriel. I will meet you in our Throne Room, in the royal palace, all right, dear?”

Toriel had softly turned her head to her Husband.

Toriel: “Splendid, dear. You be safe now, okay, dear?”

Asgore then looked over his shoulder into her eye’s, only to be nodding and agreeing that he will stay safe, then takes his leave to the Royal Palace.

Toriel had turned her head, as she leans takes one singular step toward her child.

Toriel: “Good night, my child, I wish you the best of having a magnificent slumber. You have, the Underground Prince title awaits tomorrow for you.”

Toriel carefully leans down to Asriel’s crib as she softly kisses his forehead, then proceeds to carefully leave the room with caution.

Moments later, the King and Queen had both sat in their Thrones, Asgore had been sipping on some honey tea, as for Toriel, only sitting there.

Having a thought that kept circulating her head.

Toriel then placed her hands softly on her lap and lowered her head.

Toriel: “Asgore, dear? I would like to inquire your information of how I feel, about a thought that would not leave my head.”

Asgore became curious and turned his head to his beloved wife.

Asgore had then pulled a small table toward his throne and carefully placed his tea gently onto the wooden surface of the table.

Asgore: “Hm? Is something the matter, dear?”

Asgore grew worried and hoped for nothing serious.

Toriel had lowered her eyes to the corner left, as she did not hesitate one bit to tell him.

Toriel: “Well I suppose it would not harm to ask.”

Asgore grew more curious.

Asgore: “Hm?”

Toriel had softly turned her head to asgore with a smile filled with warmth.

Toriel: “Would we ever seek to have another child?”

Asgore had widened his eyes only for a few moments.

Asgore: “Tori...what is the meaning of this question?”

Asgore then became flustered by her question.

Toriel: “No reason in particular.”

Asgore then sat straight in his throne and took a gulp of air.

Asgore: “W-we should ask ourselves when we are prepared, should we not?”

Toriel had then lowered her head and staired at the orange and yellow square patterns of the royal palace.

Toriel: "Well, what I wish so badly, is for our child to acquire Bravery, Loyalty and for them to enable themselves to face difficult danger independently."

Asgore had turned carefully turned away from Toriel and looked forward while listening to his wife, but then interrupted her, selfishly.

Asgore: “Well, I'd like to leave this terrible prison, I promised our people, to have hope. The entire undergrounds rely on us, and their hope for freedom, to rule the surface in piece!”

Asgore then turned his head to his wife.

Asgore: “Wouldn’t you want peace more than anything else, Torie?"

Toriel grew uncomforted as she elevated her right hand as she softly begun to rub her left arm.

Asgore then turned away from Toriel, as he sprung off his throne, and walked to Toriel and softly kneeled to her height.

Asgore: “Toriel, dear?”

He placed his hand under Toriel’s chin and lifted her head to face him.

Asgore: “I would truthfully seek another child, but wouldn’t you want them to grow happily on the surface?”

Toriel straightened her back and turned away from Asgore.

Toriel: “Asgore, the prophesy had told us, the barrier seeks seven souls.”

Asgore then lowered his head, being filled with a little guilt.

Asgore: “I know Toriel, I don’t want to hurt anything, or anyone.”

Toriel: Asgore, the surface will be ours once more, someone from the heavens, who is Brave, Loyal, and filled with courage, who an outlast dangerous trials, will be our savior.”

Asgore then lifted his head up to Toriel with a smile, feeling better from her encouraging words.

Asgore: “They will be the savor for our people, we had enough of this discrimination, we will leave this place and never will have to look back, dear.”

Toriel then placed her paw beneath Asgore’s chin, feeling his soft yellow beard.

Toriel: “We must face this suffering together as of now for the least, but we shall stay brave together, dear.”

Toriel had given Asgore a warm smile as for Asgore giving one in return.

Asgore: “Yes...stay brave...heh...heh.”

The two, Toriel and Asgore had both given each other a kiss on the lips.

A large interval of time had passed, Asriel had rapidly grown to eleven years old as for Queen Toriel and King Asgore had then ruled the underground since they had been forcefully departure from the surface.

Their child was filled with joy or more of indicative pleasure.

He would gather anything that seemed visible or tangible, he would often travel to the center of the mountain to fertilized flowers and let them grow by having them sprinkled in water or let the seed receive rain from the sky that had entered from the hole that was in the center of the mountain as the sun’s ray that had helped them bloom when they reach their full form.

Asriel then walked back to the royal palace in a happy matter.

Asriel “I wonder what my Mom and Dad are doing?”

As he ran back to his folks, he had caught something in the corner of his eye.

Asriel: “Oh? What is this?”

Asriel had peeked in the corner that had the sensation of the color red. the object was glowing brightly. It had been a soul that was missing or lost from its body.

Asriel: “Could this be? A real Human soul? Just sitting on the ground?”

Asriel had known what would happen as he has thought of motion in his head of what his father, King Asgore, had told him about touching a soul.

Asgore: “My child, you’re at a youthful age where I think is appropriate to explain, of what would happen if one Monster had chosen to become one with a human soul,”

Asgore spoke in a soft pitch, as he began to Neal down at his child's height.

Asriel had given a lot of concentration of the mind on his father hearing him explain.

Asgore: “One shall not lay a finger or any contact of it, your body will form a bond that you cannot overcome, you will lose yourself, every part of your body will alter itself, and could form.”

As he remembers his father's words, he says it to himself.

Asriel: “Soul. Fusion.” Asriel had felt reluctant and feared what would have happened if he disobeyed his Father's warning.

He kneeled to the ground as he began to extend his arm to the soul as he felt excitable to see the act that could await him.

He then placed his paw onto it, as he became to contact it, then before he could take his arm back, was unable to move, the soul had tensed up and while entering his body forcefully.

Asriel had felt lightheaded crumbling to the ground as the soul took over his body.

Its power had merged itself with him as his body began to modify from the soul fusion.

He then woke up as he felt pain throughout his body, he softly placed his paw on the back of his head with rotary motion.

His clothing was a black robe that had the symbol that served the purpose of the Dreemur family.

Asriel: “Oh no! W-what happened to me...? Goodness, my dad will punish me or even banish me from being a prince!”

He then lifted off the ground from levitation, as his eyes had changed form.

Asriel had felt astonished and chose not to believe that he was flying.

Asriel: “.... I am Flying? But was this being ACT of wrong, could it...?”

Asriel could not feel regret as he savored every moment.

Asriel then realized he had an idea.

Asriel: “Hey, if I can fly? That means I can finally experience what is behind this trapped mountain.”

Asriel then flew up to the hole as he began to peak what was kept from him.

Asriel: “Could it be...?”

Asriel had steadily gazed upon a village where there had been another race that ruled the surface, which were known as Humans.

From Asriel’s personal presence did he also see children that that were playing outside of their homes chasing each other with broken shrub that seemed to have been cut off by a smaller tree.

Asriel: “How come...? We live in these Mountains. What made us stay here...? And not there?”

He then begun to slowly make his way down from the extended height.

Asriel: “The air is freshly clean...!”

He then ran into a field of flowers then playfully fell into them as he felt the soft petals against his smooth fur!

He was unaware that Monsters had been kept away from the outside world.

A Human who was related to the village as cried out a scream from noticing Asriel playing in the flowers.

Asriel then heard the shout of fright from the flustered human.

The entire village had heard an outcry to get their attention.

Asriel tried to escape cautiously then had been enclosed on all sides.

Villager: “Monster!”

Being more than two but fewer Humans had then begun to treat Asriel with contemptuous rudeness.

Asriel then felt threatened and tried speaking to a calm manner.

Asriel: “People who rule this surface, I mean you No harm!”

Asriel tried to reason with them but they chose not to listen.

Villager: “You know what we do to Monsters like you? If you are a Monster...it is Kill? Or be Killed.”

The Humans made sure to enclose Asriel so he would have to no access of escaping. Asriel then tightened his hands as his eye pupils turned bright.

Asriel: “You better stay away for me, or ill destroy everything in this wretched world of yours!”

Asriel’s soul fusion had taken over him mentally causing him to act viciously and threatening.

Villager: “He has Threatened us! EVERYBODY CHARGE!”

The humans then had no other choice to attack Asriel, throwing Spears, sharpened Daggers, causing Asriel to be in critical damaged, he had been stabbed and beaten #fandomgiven no pity or mercy.

After the tragedy had ended Asriel then fell to the ground from the wounds that had been caused by the Humans.

Villager: “Quick! Run away before it gets up, grab your children and run!”

Other’s quickly grabbed their children, grasping them by their arm as they take them into their home’s and lock their doors protecting themselves.

Time had already passed as Asriel had been covered in cuts, open wounds, scrapes and bruises.

He opens his eye’s barely as he held onto his stomach in pain and could even merely stand and then left him at a lame movement, limping carefully back to the Mountains.

Asriel: “I-...N-need help!”

He then fell to his knees as he used every bit of his power to get back and levitate off the ground to fly to the barrier of the mountain.

Asriel: “I’m not strong enough...Any moment, I'm going to faint I need to use every bit of my power left...”

He then teleported to the barrier placing his Injured paw as his body started to feel paralyzed.

He then made it inside the entry where around the corner his parents had their thrones set up.

Asriel: “M-mo-Mom! D-dad!”

He cried in pain, as he fell to his knees then the soul that he had touched left his body, causing him to return to his natural state leaving him still harmed.

Toriel: “My child?”

Toriel then heard the cry of her own child as she sat up from her throne and walked toward the next room where the barrier was present.

Toriel: “Asriel!”

She had begun to tear up as soon as she saw her child suffering from the severe pain he was.

Toriel: “Dear! Please wake up! Asriel! ASRIEL!”

Asgore rushed in the room as he witnessed his own son near death from being beaten severely.

Asgore: “Asriel!”

He then ran to Toriel, and kneeled next to her as she held Asriel cradling him as she was in tears.

Asgore: “Toriel, Dear it is ok! He will be ok!”

He then attempted to calm her down as she chose not to notice Asgore at all.

Asriel opened his eyes with little effort as his parents tried to comfort him.

Toriel: “My child, you will be all right! Please don’t go!”

Her tears make her way down her cheek and drop onto Asriel’s fur.

Asgore then dragged his knuckle across his child's cheek.

Asgore: “Asriel, you cannot give up just yet, ASRIEL you are a brave child! Do not lose hope My child! Stay brave! The fate of the underground's rests in your hands, ASRIEL! Stay brave!”

Asriel’s vision then turned blurry and then his eye’s closed softly.

Both Toriel and Asgore were then at grief and before they could carry their son to get seek medical help, his body turned into dust, and his soul appeared and cracked.

Toriel had dropped to her knees sobbing in a sad but more angry way for losing her beloved one as for Asgore he felt grief and regret for leaving Asriel alone.

Asgore: “Toriel...It’s all of my fault I should’ve-”

She then sprung up to Asgore crying heavily as he did his best to comfort his Queen as he looked down on what was left of his child, then from the corner of Asgore’s eye he had noticed that there was a human soul that shined brightly red.

Asgore: “Toriel, dear!...LOOK! Look at once!”

Toriel then turned to what Asgore was pointing at.

Asgore: “A human soul, do you know what this means?”

Toriel had wiped her tears away. Toriel.

Toriel: “Asgore, I could not bear to even show any remorse of care knowing our beloved son had passed in our own eye’s!”

Asgore turned to Toriel and Explained that seven human souls could be there way of freedom.

Asgore eventually tried to reason with her as she did not admire the idea of Killing innocent Humans, as she despises any type of harm toward others.

Asgore had went to retrieve a jar and carefully place the Human soul inside of it and kept it until the day of their freedom and finally came.

Months had passed, and the two King and Queen had trouble getting over the experience of losing their child in their eye’s, events had passed Toriel had discovered five innocent human children, that ran away from the surface village where Asriel had been attacked.

The Queen and King then decided to take the six as their own and formed a new family relationship.

There was two boys and three girls, Eventually Asgore then recruited a new defense system to protect their new children from any harm.

However, one Monster in the Undergrounds had studied and obtained Intelligence and tried to produce ways of trying to leave the mountain without using any sort of violence toward Humans.

However, tragically one day, there was no solution for any other way of leaving the Barrier that kept them from the outside world.

The scientist then brought Asgore to the side and to make it understandable that there was no other option.

Asgore: “I..i- See. Then- I have no further choice.”

Toriel had been absent at to their home as for the five other children had been at the Royal Palace playing.

Meanwhile Asgore retrieved his Trident that could easily kill any living creature in one hit or stab.

He then faced the guards, explained them the plan, and had no choice to follow the kings wish.

Royal Guard: “If Queen Toriel had entered, what are your wishes my king? What shall we do?"

Asgore looked down as shade covered his eyes.

Asgore: “Keep her, away she could watch in fear, this is our only hope of freedom.”

Toriel then walked to back to the palace where she ruled with her husband with Pumpkin pie for her children, as she enters, she heard a childlike scream for help.

Toriel then rushed to the throne as she witnessed four of her children dead, she covered her mouth as she begun to tear up as she could not believe what she walked in.

There was another frightful scream for attention.

Justice: “Mommy!”

A loud unlawful scream filled the halls of new home.

Toriel’s head perked up from being called.

Toriel: “My child! Where have you gone to?”

Toriel then saw her child along with Asgore, being covered in blood from the children who were defenseless and could not help themselves.

Justice: “Mommy, Help!”

The child yelled and cried for help.

Toriel had attempted to try and save her child but then had been tackled by one of the Royal Guards to prevent Toriel to Interfere.

Toriel: “Asgore, NO! You musn’t, Please don’t harm the child!”

Before she knew it, Asgore forcefully stabbed his trident inside the child's body as the child fell to the ground and the soul had appeared.

Toriel: “Asgore!! Y-YOU...m-MONSTER!”

She was then terrified of him as he turned toward Toriel.

Asgore: “Toriel- you don’t understand...”

Toriel did not accept any excuse and then cried and began to shout angrily at him.

Toriel: “Asgore...You just murdered our children..I- can no longer live with this way if you think harming such innocent children is ok...”

Toriel: “Asgore...i am leaving you, you should NEVER put any children in harm!”

Asgore's blood pressure begun to rise as he then pointed his trident at Toriel.

Asgore: “Banish her. Far away from the Royal Palace...where she will have no further interaction to me or these souls that could set us free...”

The royal guard then grabbed Toriel as she began shout again

Toriel: “Asgore! You can’t do this...You”

The royal guard then silenced Toriel by putting her to rest with force and took her far away from the Royal palace, leaving her throne and crown behind.

After the traumatic events had passed Asgore cleaned himself up and proceeded forward to his Balcony as every Monster in the Undergrounds had looked up to their crown.

Asgore: “Monsters of the UNDERGROUNDS, I as your ruler shall promise you, FREEDOM!”

Every Monster in the underground had begun to cheer for king Asgore.

As soon as Asgore finished preaching to him People, he then sat onto him throne where he then waited for the Seventh Soul to arrive to fulfill his selfish faith.

Meanwhile, Toriel had woken up in an empty place that she felt a lone and no other sign of her race anywhere.

Toriel: “Where could I be...? How have I gotten here?”

She then remembers everything that had happened.

She looks down in disappointment and then walks toward the flower bed of the Ruins that had not been finished.

Toriel: “Little one, I shall promise to protect you from ‘HIM’ I will make sure of it, that you’re safe and happy here on the day of your arrival."

Toriel then made a vow and pledged to herself whenever the child falls will be kept away from Asgore.

To this day, ex Queen of the underground visits the Flower bed to seek if any child had fallen.

-To be continued.

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