The Captain of the Royal Guard, Undyne, postured and posed overhead the awestruck gazes of the knights, squires, and pages of the Underground's fighting force. Awestruck was an apt word, for Captain Undyne was the foremost knight of the realm. She lived as an excellent marksman with throwing spears, a particularly gifted individual in the art of shoving people into walls, and a hero that could boast of being a veteran of over a thousand battles.

Once Undyne was ambushed by no less than three bloodthirsty humans, but by the end of their epic and anime-worthy battle, she was victoriously stained red from the roots of her admittedly already bright red hair down to the set of heavy armor that she easily wore. She stood stained in the unnatural blood of her enemies-

An armored gauntlet slipped past Undyne's guard, slamming into her face. "Sorry about that, child, but it might help if you weren't daydreaming " The light pouring through the stained glass windows overhead the hall blinded Undyne's eyes for a second while she reoriented herself.

"Shut up, old man!"

Undyne shouted back and did her best to skewer old man Asgore with her spear. Asgore sidestepped the spear with the ease of a veteran of a thousand battles and moved in to strike with his trident. Unfortunately for him, Undyne was solidly in the camp of overkill and thus continued with the energy of her previous movement to thrust her spear into the wall and away from Asgore's range.

Using the wall as a springboard, she then swung herself around and manifested another spear in her hand using sheer force of will. Okay mostly magic, but sheer force of will sounded cooler.

Sadly, Asgore didn't use this time to stand around and was already three meters back and hiding behind the safety of his legendary fire magic. A massive wall of fire greeted Undyne who charged anyway. Her momentum generated enough force to sail through the fire and crash against Asgore's trident which was brought it up just in time.

Undyne's spear shattered, flinging her to the ground from the burst of energy.

"You know what, when I get something brokenly awesome like that for magic, everyone's going to get their butts kicked so hard," Undyne muttered into the floor. Stupid fire-wall making her burn up. Undyne forced to roll away to avoid a swipe from Asgore's trident who took advantage of the momentary lapse of action to close the distance.

Undyne moved out of Asgore's range and motioned to make another weapon out of sheer awesomeness, one with the striking power to finally knock the old man on his butt, but Asgore's trident disappeared with a flash. A smile sprouted underneath his bushy beard. "Well done, today."

Undyne scowled. "Give me five minutes more, and I'll knock you flat on your back!" Undyne made a fist and swung at the air.

Asgore kept that stupid grin and answered, "I hope you do, too! I'm rooting for you!"

Undyne scowled. "What's the deal anway? This was like half as much training as usual! You said you'd show me how to get in enclosed spaces!"

Hence them throwing around sharp objects in the carefully maintained halls of the castle. Real humans with their overwhelming desire to kill wouldn't care about broken objects, so neither would Undyne care for her six broken walls, eight shattered windows, and nine cracked vases she accidentally smashed during the course of the fierce and terrible battles.

Being a royal guard trainee had its advantages after all. Besides, Asgore was the kind of nerd that was too soft to say he didn't want monsters gifting him ceremonial vases or abstract pictures of squares. Undyne was doing the fuzzy pushover a big favor.

"You know from Gerson that my advisors have been advocating for a new Royal Scientist." Asgore shrugged as he adorned his massive purple cloak and readjusted the straps of his shining armor. After a moment, he waved his large hand and the remaining fires in the hallways quenched their thirst for arson. The castle halls went back to being the esteemed halls it was except maybe the giant gouges in the wall from Undyne trying to jump off them.

Asgore moved just a little faster than he would if he wasn't concerned. Undyne narrowed her eyes and peered past Asgore's distracting beard. "Bull. You're hiding something." She crossed her arms and stared daggers into old man Asgore.

"Of course I'm not…" Asgore was a decidedly bad liar because he chose that exact time to finagle with a cell phone right in front of Undyne. It wasn't subtle either because he was decisively bad with trying to use the piece of tec.

"Yes, you are hiding something. You've been dealing with the missing egghead for months now! There's something else isn't there?"

Asgore looked away from Undyne's glare. "No there isn't." The phone choose that exact moment to ring again. Asgore took one look and twitched in noticeable discomfort.

"Is too, old man," Undyne crossed her arms and stared.

"Well, look at the time. It's a beautiful day and all, but I really must go do umm King stuff!" King Asgore, lord of all he surveyed, strode off with a rapid pace certainly unrelated to Undyne's questions. Undyne grabbed Asgore's cloak in a desperate last attempt to get him to stay, but Asgore's massive build only caused Undyne to crash to the floor and be dragged a few feet before Undyne thought to let go.

Asgore didn't even notice that Undyne embarrassed herself like that…

"Don't expect me to drop this…" Undyne ranted as she picked herself up. She then went back to kicking the ground like the competent person she was.

Of course, Undyne wasn't going to let this go! Not when Alphys would always complain about how no one cared about the Royal scientist position! During one of their impromptu meetups in the junkyards, she spent the entire time ranting about how nothing was being done about the position. Of course, Undyne let her go on for hours because she was always so passionate and admittedly beautiful when she was ranting, but a side effect (Other than staring at Alphys) was that Undyne knew what she was talking about!

The whole bit about the advisors was complete and utter garbage. Undyne was going to get to the bottom of this! Right before Asgore left Undyne's sight though, he turned around. Undyne opened her mouth to complain, but paused when something in Asgore's eyes struck her. Quite literally his eyes because Asgore's eyes were glowing with blue and orange magic.

"Why don't you get some help for that wound? Give Alphys some company. I let her look through some notes and work at the doctor's old office space again. " Asgore called out.

For some reason, Undyne felt this was less a suggestion and almost an order. The King didn't elaborate either, leaving her sight immediately after giving that almost order. Undyne was nowhere near understanding what just happened.

Well if Alphys was here, she might as well check out the office that Asgore would sometimes allow interns or assistants, (aka just Alphys) to go 'd go for healing purposes and certainly not the several boxes of anime that Alphys brought in the last few times she spent an overnight digging through the notes of her old boss what's his name.

"You win this time old man…" Both in the literal sense of a fight but also her attempts and information gathering. Oh well, at least whatever the old man was worried about couldn't be that interesting. It was probably something about the upcoming ball the fancy nobles were throwing. Stupid nobles. Asgore would probably need to smooth their feathers, (quite literally in one particular case. That birdbrain loved to complain).

Whatever Asgore was doing, it couldn't be that bad.

Right?

Asgore strode fully armored with his resummoned trident grasped in his hand in an easy carry. His weapon stood ready to smite down his foes and the foes of his kingdom in service of its people. Once again, the king was called to the grim duty of betrayal and oath breaking. He needed to again betray any memory of his once happy family in favor of the greater good.

For the sake of his people, he would once again kill his heart.

Asgore stalled for a moment to listen out to expansive cavern's silence. The path he choose wasn't the shortest passage to and from the castle, but it did allow Asgore to the chance to see the smaller monsters along the way of life. He choose this path often enough to be acquainted with every rough stone sprinkled throughout the cavern to form the brittle path until the road transitioned to the smoother asphalt of the city. It was quite a gradual shift from the silence of the cavern to the chattering of his citizens eager to continue on their way, but one he'd grown to love.

The path sprawled throughout the city with many meandering ways as if it were a mighty river and each detour a tributary trickling out from the turmoiled origin. Asgore walked on the path daily and allowed the mighty river to pull him wherever it wished. With his feet as the raft and the flow of the river his guide, he let the course of the river determine how to see his rebuilding and expanding kingdom.

He could see the family of four green scaled dragons that built their home in a village years ago now prosper within a proud city. He could see the school children eagerly press forward against him and ask about ruling, about fighting, and whatever it was that the young would playact for the rest of the day in their pursuit of fun. The king's path allowed him to stop and smell the golden flowers he'd taken the time to plant along the way in honour of the fallen.

There were always too many flowers, but Asgore thought that the fallen would appreciate his kingdom being beautiful. They would appreciate giving their lives for something better. It was a little thing, then, for the king to plant another flower for each guard that gave their life. His capital was beautiful as a consequence, if you could call the long lines of blood-won golden flowers a sight worth the sacrifice.

There functions of the King's path were important in day to day use, but it was overall secondary to today's purpose. He didn't need to meet his old friend at the edge of New Home. He could have gone straight onto his oncoming crime, but he made an excuse anyhow.

The meandering path allowed him the chance to stall off one more execution.

"Are you sure, Gerson? Your message didn't say much. "

The King looked away from the flowerbeds blooming around the road and turned it to an elderly knight. Gerson's eyes blazed with an internal fire, jolly and fierce enough to convey all the strength his old and tired appearance would not. Gerson's impeaching gaze rose to meet the king's.

"I may be older than you by a long shot, but don't you youngsters be thinking that I've forgotten what a human looked like."

"Are you sure they were in my home?" Asgore clutched his trident with a stronger grip and repeated his sentence.

Gerson slowly nodded as the two strolled down their path like they had all the time in the world or as if this was just another chance for the two old friends to smell the flowers. Still, there was never a chance of a peaceful walk; Gerson's hammer dragged behind the massive knight. Each scrape and screech against the road sounded a death knell for whatever came against the magical hammer.

Each scrape sounded a death knell for Asgore's heart.

No other word was spoken between the two, but the silence was borne of the easy familiarity Asgore sought for in crisis like this. Instead, Asgore made due checking on the flowers along the path through the city. He made careful note of which ones needed to be watered, which ones weeded, and which ones were for his old friends.

Again, there were too many of those.

Gerson chimed in after a few minutes of walking. "Were you able to alert the guard captains? I heard they were on leave."

"Golly, isn't technology incredible my old friend?"

Gerson laughed at that, slapping his knee with a hand not carrying the hammer. Technology had taken a rather drastic turn in the years since his last royal scientist whats his name. Messaging across the Underground was something bizzare for Asgore, nevermind those things called…. computer games. He had a phone for emergencies… hence Gerson calling him. The turtle didn't take to the new devices just like Asgore, but the two could make do in times of crisis.

This was undoubtedly a crisis.

Asgore's smile fell. "The captains are checking the borders now. If this is a trap or distraction, they'll take care of it. If this is just another rumor, they'll make sure panic doesn't spread."

Asgore didn't have an army. That implied victory against the overwhelming odds against monsterkind. The guard was both the shield and hope of the underground. They'd posture and pose so brilliantly that they'd give hope to those who'd fall down. Aside from experienced warriors like Asgore and Gerson, the average human could tear through entire squads of soldiers, but the shield of the underground still existed.

Yet monsters still fell down.

Gerson blinked slow and exaggerated after Asgore's response, quietly in thought for a moment. "Ya know, a thought comes to mind. Do you think this is it? Send an assassin after you to send the rest of the kingdom in chaos?"

Asgore's eyes were drawn to a nearby home where a group of of fuzzy eared and stripe shirt wearing children were playing with a rubber ball. A tiny rabbit held the ball in front of their own court of like-minded and similar-aged children. When the kid was about to throw said ball, their eyes caught Asgore's. The ball was unceremoniously discarded to the ground as the child eagerly pointed out the king.

The court of little people turned to see Asgore standing in full armor and started cheering with all the depth of their inability to understand what an armored king meant. Their cheers were an empty cry because Asgore knew they wouldn't understand what he would be doing. There would be no cheers if they understood.

Asgore faced Gerson and nodded to the old man. "Undoubtedly."

Killing the king like this made a terrifying amount of sense. Asgore was a visible target, so his death would panic the populace. In addition, he could count on one hand the number of Royal knights with human kills. Asgore was the foremost warrior and king of the realm. He'd killed his fair share of humans during the war, even managing to almost snag a soul before one of the seven human mages shattered it with a burst of magic. Killing him would be a real coup.

Asgore was due judgement, but even if those imprisoners from above willed it, he wouldn't roll down and die. There would be no mercy for his own crimes, but he wouldn't answer to the call of an assassin's blade.

Like Gerson before him though, one last thought crossed Asgore's mind.

"Was it…?"

One last doubt lingered, and like a worm festered in his splintered, broken heart, Asgore knew it would grow and grow until his curiosity was slackened. Gerson paused in his trawl to look at Asgore, cocking his head to the side so he could stare at the hesitant king who had stopped his walk to stare at the elderly knight. Asgore let silence linger for a last bittersweet second. "Was it another child?"

Gerson's gaze cast downward, and Asgore's heart plummeted. "I only caught a glance of the human of it before high tailing out of there." Gerson offered lamely. "I couldn't see them well since I was a wee bit concerned with fetching my hammer You know… An assassin isn't likely to be a little brat. There's a chance..."

" There is nothing I would like to say more than I agree…" Asgore closed his eyes as if closing them would somehow stave off the crime he'd once again need to commit. "You know from the two humans before this one what a child can do."

And now Gerson was dragged into the mess again too, and all because something as casual as a social visit. His old friend needed to be forcibly dragged into the fray again if only to contact the king. Asgore turned to dismiss Gerson, but Gerson's eyes were just as stubbornly set as they'd been during the war with humanity. So be it.

Gerson's gaze softened. "I understand if it's an assassin," Gerson put an arm on the King's shoulder, "but hey, you don't need to- if it's just a child-"

Here it was. One more crime to commit. One more tragedy for the Underground. One crime like that which led his wife to deserting him. One more crime that spit on the memory of his honor. The third crime desecrating his fallen children despite being in their name. The third soul of a human for the king.

Asgore opened his eyes to reveal them burning with blue and orange fire.

"I will do what I must for my people."

Asgore's home was a modest abode for a king. For one, it only stood a single floor from the ground though the basement was impressive in scope. The home held the same number of rooms as any other modest citizen of the realm could brag about. Another issue for any sense of royalty was the lack of grandeur in the tiny home. No ostentatious chandeliers or suits of armor lined the walls. Walking up to Asgore's home felt like walking up to any old home. The only standout feature was the bed of yellow flowers lining the walls outside his home, and the mighty tree protruding from the path made from its fallen red leaves.

"Pretentious much, Fluffybuns?" Gerson, in that fundamentally good-natured way of his, grumbled. "Making the path with leaves fresh off that darned magical tree. You're acting like some terrible sorcerer king when everyone knows you're a big softy. At least, I reckon they know. I can't remember exactly… "

Gerson had no sense of propriety for the situation, being the other important reason Asgore asked the old knight to help him in the first place. Still, the nickname made Asgore wince in good humor despite the situation. Asgore's responding chuckle may not have been real, but it did serve to lighten the air just a little while Asgore opened the door of his home.

No assassin leapt out at him with knife in hand. No trap laid on Asgore's table. The staircase to the basement stood locked with his pair of padlocks he placed that morning. Most of the house was the way he left it this morning before his sedate walk to the castle and bureaucratic tasks involved in being King.

Most of the house. A light in the kitchen was lit, with Asgore knowing that he'd left no such light on that morning. Worse were the footsteps which sounded faintly against the polished floors. Asgore and Gerson stepped forward with their hands clutching their weapons. Asgore looked to Gerson and motioned towards the kitchen. In that moment, it was not Asgore and Gerson that stood ready to act. The king took point while his knight stood ready to support with a raised hammer.

The king felt the beating of his heart more than his curled hand's grip on the trident. He'd been in this situation once before. The difference between what came before and now, on the other hand, was the smell of blood and dust, grit and grime, and stench of decay that filled his nightmares. So it was that Asgore found himself away from his cheerful home but instead that last battle he seemed to dwell upon years later.

A screech rent the very air. It was the sound of screaming and weeping that shook his core. It was the sound of the wounded on both sides, but the crying and dead gazes seemed to stare so much more to him than any other soldier. It was the look of once friends striking down one another for some unknown cause. It was the look of resigned despair as his people looked to him at their defeat. It was the look of those who could never look again to their leader with bright eyes, now left in only the dull glare of the fallen. It was the look of those left to rebuild as, even years after, the isolation of the war took its toll. It was the look of a queen as she cursed and raged after their spark of hope faded. It was the look of war waged once again by the defiant glare of his guardsman against an invader.

And most striking to Asgore, It was the request of a child asking to go home. That was not an unfamiliar question to the king, for he once faced a question like that from another human. It was a question so similar to one he'd once reflected on for but a moment, but this second child's words were asking for something else.

A child once asked Asgore if they could never go back home again. They asked if they could stay with the King. Asgore's answer to that child… his child in all but blood and dust and soul … yes.

The victim's question to leave his kingdom, on the other hand, was a question that shook Asgore in what was left in his core. It was a question that came back to him after every execution or edict against a human. It was enough to make Asgore repent. To go upon his knees and cry out. Asgore would never do this. Asgore would never kill another child. He'd never kill a child when he called two his own. He'd never go back on the promise he made to his family.

For a man who once called another human his child, the act was inconceivable. But it was the duty of the King to keep his oath to the kingdom, and it was his trident which killed the second child to ever ask him for that kind of safety. A king's duty was to slay those who would threaten the safety of his citizens. A king must go above and beyond the stress and rigor of life.

The King crossed into the kitchen.

A quick word about the state of the King's kitchen:

The room was a reasonable size for a kitchen until the fact was considered that perhaps the king should have something filled with grandeur instead of paneled floors. This kitchen though, in keeping with the homey atmosphere of the rest of the household, kept things at a reasonably moderate quality of life.

There was an oven that was never used because the King could simply bake anything he wanted by abusing the power of his reddish orange hellfire. The kitchen sink was a piece of hardware often clogged with water or food because the King's hands were too large to reach in and undrain the apparatus. The King employed no servant to take away the trash bags filled with slips of paper holding recipes for food he'd try making then regret doing so. In short, his kitchen was reasonably well lived in and cozy.

There were odder appliances as well as the standard. There was a fully rigged electrical system for the lights. There was a refrigerator gifted years ago by the last Royal scientist after he was first nominated to the position for his work with developing the electricity coursing through most the home. Said fridge's door normally would never be thrown so precariously open to the elements, but the human child digging through the icebox was a certain oddity in the messy room.

The back of the green, striped, and entirely too small shirt made Asgore's vision swim. Another child. Why must it always be children? Asgore's sudden breath was louder than he hoped for the child cocked their ear to the side.

Asgore froze.

The human turned around and upon seeing Asgore, gave a tiny smile so hauntingly familiar that the king never noticed his trident crash against the floor.

"Morning Father. Where's the chocolate?"

Chara rubbed red eyes with sleepy vigor and yawned completely oblivious to the tempestuous feeling slowly swirling Asgores heart like some hurricane of emotion going through his core. Another yawn shook Chara's little frame. Chara waved hello to Gerson who stood right behind Asgore, entirely forgotten amidst Asgore's mental collapse. Gerson's usual jolly gaze seemed to burn to just a wisp of its normal flame.

Chara closed the fridge door and pointed to Asgore's armor and trident. "What's with the getup? If you're going out, you should wake up Asriel. He was hogging the blanket anyway." Chara and Asriel disappeared decades ago. Asgore's guilt must have finally made him snap. It was inconceivable. His children were dead and dusted long ago.

Asgore remained silent. Chara blinked the tiredness away from their eyes, and for the first time, a note of worry appeared in their next question. "Is something wrong?"

Asgore opened his mouth and closed it. Chara's hand was gripped around the hem of their sweater and their fingers twitched while waiting for Asgore's answer.

"Why wasn't Mother in bed?"

Finally a true sign of Asgore's own desperation filled Chara's question. The next question was a whisper sunk into the ground like the thought too impossible to conceive and needed to be buried. "Where's Mother?"

And so it was that Asgore found his voice. "You said Asriel is here…" Asgore's voice was dry. "Why don't we get him?" Asgore finally moved but only so that he may wrap his arms around his child to hold them close. That way, they wouldn't be able to see the tears crawling down his face.

Chara's own tentative grip around him told him his efforts were in vain.

I made a few changes to the surroundings that might suit the past. For example, New Home does not have a tree at the entrance, but since there is a space for one It wouldn't be too ridiculous to assume that the area just changed over time.

Speaking of which...

This story features a drastically younger and or AU Underground. I mean for crying out loud, Undyne has two eyes!

Story should be 0/10 needs more eyepatches.

Edit: With the addition of Deltarune to the timeline, Undyne with two eyes is apparently cannon.