Fair warning: Mia's parents were verbally abusive and neglectful, and some parts get kind of sad. If you think that this will be triggering to you, it may be best to skip this perspective.

For those of you looking for the first perspective, "And Brenda Was Filled With Kindness," it was pushed to Chapter 2. When I upload the next chapter, it will be pushed to Chapter 3, etc.

Before she even opened her eyes, Mia felt a burning pain dancing over her entire body. She began to scream and contracted into a tiny ball, her arms and legs squeezed into her chest as tightly as she could draw them. She did not know where she was or what had happened to her; all she knew was this mysterious, searing pain. She kicked and thrashed about, her movements limited by walls that stood, cold and solid, close on every side of her. Her cries rang close in her own ears, locked in this unforgiving prison with her.

Minutes passed, and the pain did to seem to lessen. Her eyes and cheeks were flooded with tears, and her voice ached from wailing. Every so often, she heard a small noise, a bump here, and a whisper there. But when she opened her eyes, all she could see was darkness.

Just when she had given up all hope of ever escaping her lonely torture, the blackness behind her eyelids turned to a pale red glow, and she felt a puff of air whisper onto her face. A gentle voice wafted down to her.

"Hey! What's wrong? What's wrong, dear?"

Mia turned her head slightly and, for a split-second, looked up in the direction of the voice. A kindly pair of blue eyes met hers, looking down at her sympathetically. A blonde-haired woman, who appeared to be the possessor of the voice, was crouching down very near to her. She appeared to be quite young, though much older than Mia was. The lid of her confinement had been removed, and the woman was gripping the edge of one of the solid, grey slabs which penned her in on every side.

Mia screwed her eyes shut as quickly as she had opened them.

"It hurts… It hurts!" she whimpered.

"What hurts?" The woman asked.

"Everything!" Mia cried.

She didn't know this person, but in her heart, Mia desperately hoped that she would be able to somehow ease her suffering. Not that she expected her to care about her, personally. Why would she? Mia knew she was a bad girl; she had been told that often enough. No, the girl would only stay until she had somehow managed to get her to stop crying, then she would leave, and she would be left once again to her own devices. Crying was irritating to adults, she knew, and most of the time, the only attention they gave her was to make her be quiet. But somehow, Mia still had hope that this girl would be different.

The older girl was murmuring soft and soothing words to her. She reached down and stroked her cheek, gently wiping away her tears. Minutes passed, and gradually, the pain faded into a dull ache that Mia found more manageable. Her shrill cries dulled to the occasional whimper. She was still in pain, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been before the girl's arrival.

"Is your name Mia?" the girl asked her, gently.

Mia nodded. She did not wonder how the girl had guessed her name. She didn't even give it a second thought.

"And how old are you, Mia?"

"Six," she responded without hesitation.

Now that she had quieted, Mia could hear the sounds of motion and other young voices elsewhere in the room. Specifically, she heard the voice of an older boy, who seemed to be encouraging someone to get up. He had a thick accent that made her think that he might be a cowboy. She rolled onto her back. From this angle, she had a much better view of the woman who had removed the lid from her confinement. She had withdrawn her hand and was looking in the direction of the voice.

Mia stared at her, intensely. It surprised her that she had asked about how old she was. Even more surprising was the fact that she was still there with her. It was touching to her, this patience that was being shown to her by the older girl. She remembered that this girl was not the only one to have shown her this form of kindness. Her mind wandered to Toriel, one of the only people she could think of who had actually cared for her, personally. She had given her everything she could ever need, providing a constant stream of care and affection. When she was with her, she had known in her heart that she was loved. She wondered why she had ever left her and her warm Home. As she reflected on these things, she was filled with curiosity and a longing to see her again.

"Where's Toriel?" she asked the older girl.

The girl turned and looked down at her, blankly.

"I don't know," she replied.

Mia was disappointed. She thought that maybe, since they were so similar, the girl would know something about her kindly caretaker. The girl reached a hand down towards her.

"Mia, do you think you can sit up?" she asked.

Mia thought for a moment. She had not really been thinking about her pain, but it was definitely still there. She thought she might be able to stand if she were forced, but she really did not want to. She did not reply, but continued to stare at this strange woman with the kind eyes.

"It's alright," the girl said, "I'll wait for you."

Mia felt a pang of guilt. This girl had been so gentle with her, so kind. It as the least she could do to try to do what she asked. She remembered a church service she had attended once on her own. The preacher had talked about bearing your burdens with patience. Though she did not care anything about God, and rarely even went to church at all, she had understood this particular message, and it had really made an impression on her. Well, this girl had borne with her, so she would try to bear with her pain as best as she could manage.

Filled with Patience, Mia grabbed the hand of the older girl and pulled on it hard. To her surprise, she found that her feet were steady, and that she would be able to stand solidly on her own. The pain in her body had receded to the tips of her fingers and a tingling sensation on the surface of her skin. She used the friction between her feet and the floor to pull herself upright. Although she was wearing only tights and no shoes, they were worn enough that her feet stuck slightly to the cold stone on which she stood. She released the girl's hand.

"It hurts a little bit less now," she announced.

The girl's face lit up with a glowing smile.

"That's good!" she exclaimed.

Mia nodded. It was very good.

Now that she was standing, she could see that, on either side of her, were grey, stone coffins lined all in a row. On the left side, the side on which the girl was standing, were three other children: two boys and one girl. She remembered hearing the voice of the older boy.

"I want to go see the other children," she told the older girl.

"Okay. Let's go!" she responded.

Mia stepped carefully over the side of what figured must have been her coffin. The blonde girl lead her to where the other children were. Mia saw a girl with a brown bun in her hair sitting in one of the coffins. Over her stood a person who must have been the owner of the voice that she had heard. Not only did he sound like a cowboy, he looked like one too. A bandanna was tied around his neck and a brown suede hat was on his head.

Both of these children were a fair bit older than she, which intimidated her slightly. But beside the cowboy, she saw another child, a redhead, who looked to be about her own age. She approached him and introduced herself.

"Hi, my name's Mia. What's yours?"

"My name's Frasier," the boy answered.

"That's a nice name."

"Thanks."

The boy smiled bashfully. His voice was soft, but pleasant to hear. He was just about Mia's height, but his face was serious, which gave him a mature look. Beneath his clear blue eyes was a spattering of freckles, which contrasted his paper-white skin. He was squinting, and it looked as though his eyes were having trouble focusing.

"Are you okay?" Mia asked him.

"Yeah, I just need my glasses."

"Oh, you have glasses?"

Mia held three fingers in front of his face.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

The boy made a face at her.

"That's not how it works."

"How many?"

"Three. They're just fuzzy."

"Ew!" Mia cried, giggling hysterically.

Frasier sighed in exasperation.

"Not that kind of fuzzy. I meant blurry!"

But the image was already imprinted in Mia's mind. She kept giggling and covering her face.

"Ew, fuzzy fingers!"

Her laughter was infectious, and soon Frasier was giggling along with her.

"If you had fuzzy fingers, it would be hard to eat!" Mia exclaimed between gasps.

"Not if you ate with your face!" Frasier cried.

At this, Mia was puzzled. How else could you eat? Didn't everyone eat with their faces?

But she understood when Frasier put his hands palm-up in front of him like a plate and mimed eating off of them by bringing his face down to his palms and chomping wildly at the air. Mia broke into a fresh round of giggles, and soon the pair had launched into a game in which Frasier ordered food from a pretend kitchen and ate it with his face.

Since Frasier could not see without his glasses, Mia had to be the waitress. Frasier sat on the edge of one of the coffins while Mia scrambled around him, carrying imaginary food on imaginary platters to and from an imaginary kitchen.

"May I take your order, sir?" she would ask.

"Yes," responded Frasier, sitting as tall as he could, "I'll have the chicken soup."

"And would you like a spoon with that?"

"No, I'm going to eat it with my face!"

It was immense fun while it lasted, but the pair quickly tired of the game, and turned to investigating the room in which they so mysteriously found themselves. This was obviously much more difficult for Frasier due to his impaired vision, so Mia described to him their surroundings.

Mia noticed that, after a while, another little boy joined the group. He did not come over and play with them, but dashed around the room furiously, jumping in and out of and over open coffins. Mia did not think that running around like that looked like too much fun, so she left him alone, but she would have been willing to play with him if he had wanted to join them.

Eventually, the girl with the kind eyes approached the group.

"Is everyone alright?"

Her voice rang clearly through the grey hall, immediately capturing the attention of the children. As if under a spell, they stepped noiselessly back to become a part of a rough circle that had formed within the group. The The older boy had grabbed the running child by the shoulder, and was firmly, though not cruelly, holding him still.

All eyes were on the blonde woman as she continued to speak.

"To be honest," she began, "I don't know where any of you have come from, and I don't think I've ever seen you before. But I think it would be a good idea to stick together, at least for now."

Mia liked the sound of that proposal. She certainly did not want to say goodbye to her new friends, neither did she have any clue what she would do if she did. So she, along with the children, nodded her head silently in agreement. The girl with the brown bun spoke up.

"How about we go around and say our names?"

"And how old we are," added the cowboy.

Mia noticed that the girl was now standing, but was leaning on the cowboy for support. Brenda seemed to like their suggestion, and she was nodding in agreement.

"Okay," she said, "that sounds good. I'll go first. My name's Brenda, and I'm twelve years old."

She motioned for the next person on her left to speak, which happened to be the girl who could not stand.

"My name is Isabelle," she stated, and I'm ten."

Next was the boy on whom she was leaning.

"I'm Samuel, and I'm eleven."

He released his grip on the younger boy, who was now standing calmly by his side.

"And what about you, little buddy?"

They boy answered with vim.

"My name's Joseph, and I'm seven!"

Joseph held up his fingers to further demonstrate his age, and the two older girls began to giggle quietly. Mia wasn't sure why they were laughing; there was nothing unusual about holding up your fingers to show someone your age, at least, so she thought.

"Mia?" Brenda prompted, encouragingly.

"I'm Mia, and I'm six," she said, proudly. She poked her new friend in the arm to get his attention.

"Now you."

The boy cleared his throat nervously.

"I'm eight, and my name's Frasier."

"Thank you," Brenda replied, smiling at him kindly.

Frasier blushed in embarrassment, but Mia patted him on the back and gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.

"Does anyone know how we get here?" Isabelle inquired.

Mia certainly didn't. She shook her head as the other children either did the same or avoided eye contact.

"Maybe if we look around a little, we'll figure it out," Samuel offered.

"That's a good idea," Brenda replied. "Maybe it'll jog our memories to see where we are."

Mia wasn't sure how she felt about that idea. On the one hand, she was curious about where she was and how she had gotten there. But on the other, all the crying she had done had worn her out, and part of her wanted to take a rest. Suddenly, she became aware of how hungry she was. She felt that she was in no mood to explore until she got something in her stomach.

Brenda beckoned to her and to Frasier.

"Come on, now!"

"I'm hungry," Mia protested.

"Well, maybe we'll find some food along the way," was Brenda's response.

She extended a hand to her, and Mia took it, stoically accepting the proposition. She had decided to trust this girl, and followed her willingly, even though she was feeling rather grumpy.

Brenda lead them as far as the last coffin in the row, where she stopped and turned to the rest of the group in confusion.

"Wait, we missed someone!"

Mia looked down in curiosity at the empty coffin. The lid had been tipped to one side, and white strips of cloth like mummy wrappings lay in the bottom.

"No we didn't, it's open," she pointed out.

"Let's check the lid," Samuel suggested, "I think they have our names on them."

Brenda let go of her hand and walked around to the other side of the coffin. The rest of the children crowded around as she lifted the cover up to the light and read it aloud.

"Chara."

The name echoed through the room, leaving a sinking feeling in Mia's heart. She edged a little closer to Frasier and crossed her arms nervously.

"Or is it Chara?" Brenda pronounced the "cha" like chair, cocking her head in curiosity.

"Has anyone heard of a girl named Kah-ra? Chair-ah?"

Mia thought, but try as she might, she could not remember ever having heard the name before at all in her short life.

"I don't think we're going to solve this one," Samuel interjected, "Why don't we keep going and leave this be for now?"

Honestly, Mia did not care what they did as long as they stayed together and, at some point, got some food. So she took Brenda's hand when she offered it, and followed her out of the room.

Directly outside the hall was a very large set of grey, stone stairs. Without hesitation, Brenda began to ascend, taking Mia complacently with her. It seemed an eternity before they reached the top. Mia's legs ached, making every step a burden, but Brenda went slowly, and Mia never let go of her hand, though she gripped it tighter and tighter as they got closer to the top. Finally, they completed their ascent, and were faced with another, much larger grey hallway.

Mia remembered being in this hallway once, though she felt it was a very long time ago. She had been lonely then. All of her friends she had left behind, continuing on by herself to whatever destination lay ahead of her. She'd had her shoes then, though her feet were now clad in nothing but her tights. She wondered where they had gone…

Her reflections were interrupted when Brenda lead the group through a wide doorway into a sunlit room carpeted with golden flowers. They grew straight from the floor of the room, thick and full, petals shimmering in the gentle sunlight that fell from overhead. In the center of the room was a great, golden throne, the feet of which were entangled in the yellow blossoms.

Brenda released Mia's hand, who immediately dashed forward and buried her face in the flowers. She adored flowers of all varieties, her favourites being the blue, slender-petalled blossoms which grew in clusters in the woods beside her house. But though the flowers near her home were pretty, these were in a category all of their own. She had never seen any flowers that shined as these seemed to, or were as big, or as soft. As she spread her hands wide in the living treasure, a gentle scent wafted up, calming and refreshing.

When she smelled the fragrance of the flowers, her mind flashed to the time she had spent there a long time ago while she was waiting for… for something. She could not exactly remember what. She spent what felt like hours simply sitting and lying in these same blossoms. While she was there, she did not feel hungry, or thirsty, or tired. Resting there on the shimmering softness, all she had felt was peace. She had even picked some of the flowers and woven them into her hair.

The other children seemed to hold an equal appreciation for the flora, and soon the whole group was walking around and resting on the radiant carpet of gold. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Samuel gently lowering Isabelle to the ground. Apparently, there was something wrong with her legs, because once she was seated, she did not move or rise.

She sat up as she saw Brenda approach the boy, who stood to meet her.

"I'm going to go out into the hallway to see if I can find anything to eat," she told him.

Mia's heart leapt. While she was content to rest on the flowers, she was still excited at the mention of food. She watched as Samuel and Brenda argued peacefully over which one of them should go. In the end, they decided that Brenda would go as planned, and Samuel would stay, particularly to watch Joseph, who was once again running recklessly about the golden room. He shook her hand and wished her luck, after which she turned away and exited the room alone.

Mia was a bit disappointed to see her go, but was glad that it was Brenda who had to walk, and not she. Moments after she had left the room, Samuel clapped his hands several times to get the attention of the group, and called out,

"Alright everybody, who wants to play a game?"

Immediately, Joseph bounded over to the rest of the group.

"ME!" he screamed.

Mia and Frasier both sat up and scooted a little closer to Samuel in response.

"What game would you like to play, Joseph? Samuel asked.

"Duck, Duck, Goose!" he exclaimed, without hesitation.

Samuel turned to the other children.

"Are y'all alright with playin' Duck, Duck, Goose?"

"Yeah."

Mia and Frasier nodded their affirmation.

"Okay, then everyone has to get in a circle."

It took a few minutes of shuffling, but eventually, everyone was gathered in a rough circle between the great throne and the door. To Mia's left was Frasier, sitting patiently with his legs crossed, and on her right was Joseph, who was sprawled out on his back, wriggling in the golden blossoms.

"Who wants to go first?" Samuel asked the circle.

Instantly, the hand of the three youngest children shot into the air. After a moment of thought, Samuel pointed to Frasier.

"You were sitting nicely, there. How about you go first?"

Frasier leapt up, delightedly. Though he still didn't have his glasses, he was able to slowly make his way around the circle, carefully tapping each child on the head as he passed. On his third time around, he paused over Isabelle.

"Goose!" he exclaimed, lightly thwacking the top of her wobbling bun with the thick part of his fingers.

Isabelle's eyes went wide and she glanced around nervously.

"I… can't, I… I'm… I'm sorry…" she began to stutter.

Samuel patted her shoulder and began to stand up.

"It's okay, Isabelle, I'll take your turn for you."

He turned to Frasier, a playful look in his eyes.

"Better run, buddy, 'cause I'm gonna getcha!"

Frasier squealed and dashed around the circle as quickly as his sightless feet would carry him. Samuel made a show of pretending to chase him, but let him reach his seat on his own time, though he was very clearly capable of catching up to him. When Frasier reached his seat, he panted and wheezed, bending over and resting his hands on his knees.

"Hoo… You're fast for such a little guy!"

Frasier giggled happily as Samuel began to make his way around the circle. Mia watched him intently as he passed by, hoping desperately that he would pick her. She sat up as straight as she could, eyes and mouth locked open in anticipation. He was only on his second time around when he tapped Joseph on the head and shouted,

"Goose!"

Joseph leapt up with joy and charged after him at full speed. This time, Samuel had to run with all his might, due to the energy of the younger boy. Mia was disappointed, but resigned herself to watching the runners chase each other around the circle.

Though Joseph was a speedy child, Samuel made it to his place in good time. But even after he sat down, Joseph kept on running, a spectacular grin on his face. The older two children began to call out for him to stop, but it took the better part of a minute to get him to slow down and continue the game. Once again, Mia waited in anticipation as he made his way around the circle. Everyone else had already gone, so technically, it should be her turn next.

On Joseph's sixth or seventh time around the circle, she began to get impatient. She squirmed a little in her seat, but quietly waited for him to make his decision. Samuel, however, sensed her agitation.

"You gotta pick someone, Joseph," he called.

Suddenly, Mia felt a solid tap on the top of her head. She had been chosen!

"Goose!" Joseph exclaimed as he zoomed past.

Mia scrambled to her feet, giggling in pure joy as she chased after Joseph. The flowers provided decent footing, and she managed to just keep pace with him, though she could not quite overtake him. She chased him around and around the circle, two, three, four times, before Joseph finally dived head-first into his seat. Mia slowed herself to a walking pace, breathing rapidly from the exercise. She had completely forgotten about her hunger and any trace of a foul mood. Now all eyes were on her, as she began to circle the small group of children.

It made her feel important to be It. She felt special; she got to choose the next person to be goose, and with her was the power of the game. Who would she choose? Now this was a question. Everyone who had wanted a turn had already gone. Time was running out; she would have to make a decision quickly.

On her fourth trip around, she knew who she was going to pick. Who else, but her new friend Frasier? She lightly tapped him on the head.

"Goose!"

Frasier got up, shakily but decidedly, and carefully trotted after her. Mia took off with glee, speeding easily away from him, and heading straight to the spot he had recently vacated.

Just as she had reached his former seat, she saw Brenda striding joyfully into the room. She scooted towards Isabelle to allow room for her and Frasier back into the circle.

"Alright," Brenda grunted as she took her seat between Frasier and Joseph.

From her pockets, she pulled two glittering, transparent cups filled with creamy, vanilla yogurt. Mia reached out her hands eagerly, and scooted forward to receive one of the glasses. Immediately, she stuck her fingers into the cream and began to devour it sloppily. The yogurt felt cool and soft on her hands. As she ate, she discovered that there were bits of edible glitter mixed into the cream that crunched when she chewed them.

Contented with her prize, Mia slid in between Brenda and Frasier, licking up her yogurt happily. Frasier also had a glitter parfait, though she thought

that he was making much more of a mess of himself than she was. Brenda was passing out food to the rest of the children, keeping only a wrapped piece of candy for herself.

She did not look up from her food, but she could hear the older children talking amongst themselves.

"Are you feeling any better?" Brenda asked.

"I still can't walk by myself, if that's what you're asking," Isabelle replied.

She heard Brenda shift beside her onto her hands and knees.

"Maybe this'll help."

Mai glanced up and saw Isabelle accepting another glitter parfait and preparing to eat it, daintily. She returned her attention to her food, but heard Brenda say,

"Sorry, there weren't any spoons."

"It's okay," Isabelle politely replied.

Mia did not really care that there were no spoons. Her hunger had returned to her, and she ate with vigour.

The children ate for a while in silence. Mia gobbled up her food eagerly, enjoying every last bit. Just as she was licking clean the sides of her parfait glass, Samuel's voice rang out.

"Hey Frasier, what's that written on the throne there behind you? There's somethin' etched below the seat."

Mia looked up, first at Samuel, then at Frasier, then at the great, golden throne which sat behind him. She noticed that there was, in fact, a little copper plate beneath the purple, velvet seat. Frasier squinted at it intensely.

"Frasier, can you read?" Brenda inquired

"Yeah, but I don't have my glasses." Frasier replied, still looking at the plate.

"That's right!" Mia thought, "He can't see! But I can read…"

Mia bounced onto her knees, dropping her empty yogurt glass absent-mindedly.

"I can help him!" she exclaimed.

Kneeling beside him on the golden blanket of blossoms, Mia began to sound out the words, letter-by-letter.

"K… oh, that's an I! Like in Mia! So kee…"

"Yeah, but it's after a K, so it says 'ih,'" Frasier cut in.

"Oh, okay. Kih… N, and that's a G. Kin-g-"

"'N-G' says 'ing,' Mia."

"Right! Okay, King… Oh look! An A! S… As…"

"And that's another G, right?"

"Yeah! And an o, so Asgo…"

"Is that an R?"

"Yes, and there's an E after it."

"So, Asgore?"

"No, there's an E."

"Yeah, but the E is silent."

"Oh, alright then. Next there's a D…"

"And another R."

"And two E's."

"So Dree…"

"Hey! There's an M! All the letters in Mia!"

"That's pretty cool. There aren't any F's, though… What's that after the M?"

"It's a U."

"And then two more R's."

"Dreemurr."

"Right. Let's say the whole thing together."

"Okay."

Slowly, carefully, the children sounded out the inscription in unison:

"King Asgore Dreemurr."

Mia sat back, satisfied with her work. The name had made an impression on the group. They were murmuring anxiously, as though the memories associated with the name were not necessarily good ones. She herself took a moment to reflect on the name. She knew that she had heard it before… but she could not remember where.

Suddenly, she heard a low, kindly voice in her head, speaking to her softly, but clearly.

"My name is Asgore Dreemurr. It's nice to meet you, Mia."

Vividly, she remembered standing before a great, looming figure, her golden flower crown slipping clumsily over one ear. Though he was at least three times her height, his face was kind, and he spoke to her with gentleness and respect. He was dressed in royal robes, and a golden crown was on his head, resting between his two long, curved horns. He smiled at her warmly, and she smiled back, in spite of herself. She had liked this man. His presence was welcoming to her. He almost reminded her of Toriel.

Frasier was the quickest to express his reflections on the name. Whatever he had remembered, it was vastly different from what Mia's experiences had been, for he exclaimed,

"He hurt me!"

His eyes were wide and fearful. Mia was surprised at his reaction.

"But he looked so nice…" she protested.

But then she had another memory of the same figure, standing over her in the darkness, flashes of fire sending ominous tongues of reflected light up the shining trident in his hand. His head was lowered, but he somehow seemed larger and more imposing. Mia remembered adrenaline and fear coursing through her body. She felt a fiery heat and heard the crackle of fireballs exploding all around her. In her head, she screamed, as from the figure's furry paws came a lethal torrent of searing flame, bursting up mercilessly all around her.

Frasier was right. He had looked nice, but he had turned on her. Her body and mind were locked in fear and in the memory of the burning pain of his enchanted fire.

"Why did he attack us?" she wondered desperately aloud.

She could not figure it out. Why would someone who had treated her so well turn against her with such viciousness? She could not reconcile the two figures in her mind: the father and the murderer, the demon and the friend.

"I liked him," she heard Isabelle say.

"Me too," she rejoined.

For regardless of what he had done to her, she knew that, at one time, she had found in him a friend, if only for a few moments. Not that that meant she could forgive him for what he had done, or that she could ever look at him again without feeling the same sense of fear and desperation that she did when he had turned against her with fire.

She heard Samuel's voice call out commandingly over the group.

"This Asgore fellow... You all say that you've met 'im?"

Mia nodded along with the other children.

"And you say that you've fought 'im?"

Once again she nodded, a shudder running through her body. Across from her, she saw Joseph leap up and dash about the room.

"It was awesome!" he exclaimed, "There was fire and a huge spear thing that he swung around like this!"

He began excitedly to swing his leftover popsicle stick in the air, grasping it with both of his hands. Mia did not understand how he could find such fun in something so awful. She heard Brenda's voice pipe up beside her.

"But why would he fight us? We're just children, and he's enormous! What could he possibly gain from killing us?"

"He said something about wanting to save his people," Frasier offered.

"I really don't think he enjoyed hurting us," said Isabelle.

Listening to the dialogue, Mia was conflicted. The two images of Asgore once again clashed in her head. In the end, all she could think was that, no matter how nice he had been, it did not excuse what he had done. She thought that it could be true that he had not wanted to harm her.

"But he did," she spoke aloud.

Mia felt very disturbed about the whole situation. Instinctively, she leaned into Brenda, wrapping her elbow around the arm of the older girl. Brenda responded by placing a hand on her head and tenderly stroking her hair. Immediately, she felt better. A feeling of comfort and warmth that she rarely felt rose up within her. From her more secure position, she was able to better reflect on her feelings and on the details of the issue at hand.

The next person to speak was Brenda, who seemed to be advocating a position that was quite similar to her own.

"Yes, " she said, "I do remember him saying something about his people, and how he wanted them to be free. He wanted to give them hope. But wasn't that what we were supposed to do? Didn't you hear of the prophecy? The angel from above?"

Mia had no idea what she was talking about. She had never heard about such a prophecy, and she did not know where Brenda had gotten the idea that it was their job to help the monsters. But as she sat in her position of security and comfort, she realized why it was that she was so upset with Asgore. It wasn't that he had hurt her. She had been hurt before, and she had always recovered. It was that he had let her down. She'd had such high hopes for him, that he would be good to her. She had so badly wanted him to be her friend, and for a moment, it had looked as though he was going to treat her as one. It did not bother her when her parents yelled at her and belittled her. She knew that they didn't like her and that they did not care if she was happy. But she had hoped so much that Asgore was going to love her, and he had turned on her, dashing her hopes with a swing of his great spear.

She tried very hard to articulate these feelings to the other children, though she could not quite find the words to explain her thoughts exactly.

"I don't care," she began, "He was really scary. I thought he was going to be nice, but then he tricked me. He wasn't nice at all! I don't like him! I don't like him…"

Tears had welled up in her eyes as she was speaking, and they were beginning to spill over onto her cheeks. She buried her face in Brenda's arm. Brenda rested a hand on her head and began to rock her back and forth. Mia took great comfort in this woman with the kind eyes. She was bigger than her mother, which made her warmer and cozier to hug, not that she hugged her mother much. She really did remind her of Toriel. To her, the connection between them was indisputable.

Isabelle began to speak in response to Mia's outburst. Mia listened with one ear, but she really did not care what she had to say. She had made up her mind about Asgore, and there was little that Isabelle or anyone else could do to change it.

The room fell silent as Isabelle spoke. Even the flowers seemed to still their rustling petals and listen to the sweet timbre of the girl's young voice. She was saying something about forgiveness, and how anger and bitterness always ended up harming you in the end. Mia did not see how being hurt by bitterness was worse than being hurt again by Asgore, but apparently Brenda did, for she was nodding thoughtfully. Even though she had made up her own mind, Mia trusted Brenda, and if she decided to forgive Asgore, she would act accordingly, though she had not forgiven him herself.

She looked up at the older girl in anticipation, waiting anxiously for her response to Isabelle's message. She seemed to have accepted the arguments she had made. The look in her eyes was deflated, but resolute.

"I guess you're right," she said, finally. "I don't trust him, but I see your point."

Mia heard a shuffling sound from across the circle. Samuel's voice rang out from above her head.

"Well, now that we're all in agreement, what say we get a move on? There's no use waitin' around here, and I think some of us are gettin' a little jittery.."

He motioned to Joseph, who was quite literally bouncing off the walls by jumping into the air and kicking them with his feet.

Mia giggled at the sight. Her mood lifted, and she felt ready to leave the fear and disappointment of their discussion behind her.

"I think that's a good idea," said Isabelle. Without hesitation, she rose to her feet, and dusted off the back of her leotard. "Let's keep exploring, shall we?"

This caused quite a bit of shock among the other children. Mia vaguely remembered that, up until that point, Isabelle had been unable to walk, or even stand on her own without Samuel assisting her.

"Isabelle! You're alright!" her former assistor exclaimed.

"You can stand again!" Brenda cried, happily.

She rose to her feet as well, and Mia stood with her, not wanting to let go of her arm.

"Well, yes. I suppose I can!" Isabelle replied.

She seemed delighted at the discovery, looking over her newly-restored appendages in glee.

Brenda shuffled her arm around so that she was holding Mia's hand instead of pulling her around on her arm like a trailer on the back of a pick-up truck. Frasier began to stand as well, but wobbled, due to his impaired vision. Mia went to offer him her hand, but there was no need. In an instant, Samuel was by his side, leading him and keeping him steady as he had done with Isabelle.

Brenda lead her with the other children to the other side of the room. As she passed by the great golden throne in the center of the room, memories raced through her mind of her meeting and battle with Asgore. She flinched away from the throne as if it were a physical manifestation of her painful memories. Brenda seemed to understand her distress, and lead her in as wide of an arc as possible around the object of her terror.

The pair came to a halt at the end of the room, where gaped a massive, black rectangle of darkness. Mia felt a sense of dread hanging in the air. The feeling began to creep up on her that she might not actually want to keep exploring. She liked it there in the golden room, which was warm with sunlight and alive with the carpet of whispering blossoms. It felt safe to her there, even though it was where she had uncovered all of her horrible memories about Asgore. Brenda too seemed apprehensive, even afraid of the open doorway. She shrank from the opening, taking a couple of steps back into the gold-covered room.

Upon sensing Brenda's hesitation, Mia instantly became afraid. Of what, she could not be sure, but fearful she was. She placed her other hand on Brenda's arm and slid behind her, using her body as a shield between her and the great gap of which she was so mysteriously afraid.

Though it had seemed to her in the moment that all of the other children held some form of apprehension for the rectangle of blackness, apparently this was not the case. For zooming past her into the void she saw Joseph, with no sign of worry or fear to be found about his person.

"Joseph, stop!" Samuel called out to him.

Mia could not see him from behind Brenda, but she heard him call back, his voice echoing and thin.

"C'mon! What are you waiting for? Don't be scared! Asgore can't get us if we're all together!"

Mia supposed that this was true. She had been hurt by him before, but she was sure that, with people like Brenda and Samuel on her side, that they would find some way to overcome their foe. She felt just a little bit braver, and looked up to Brenda to see her reaction. Brenda was frowning, but she no longer looked afraid. Mia felt her hand being gripped more tightly. She released her grip on the older girl's arm as the two of them took a tentative step forward.

"Yeah, that's it!" she heard Joseph call.

Now that she was no longer situated behind a solid human torso, she could see the boy standing a little ways off into the expanse of darkness.

"C'mon, it's not so bad!" he continued to shout. "Whatever's out there, we can take it!"

Mia smiled at his courage. As her fear receded, falling off of her heart like a limp bandage off a long-healed wound, she became very curious about what lay through the gap. Joseph was far ahead of her, dashing further and further into the expanse, and shouting,

"Bring it, Asgore! You ain't got nothin' on us!"

Mia looked up expectantly at Brenda, and was encouraged to see her smiling confidently at Samuel. She saw Isabelle pass through the door, walking naturally and without fear, and to her delight, Brenda and Samuel followed her with equal ease. She peeked at Frasier, who flashed her a steady smile. She grinned back joyfully, then focused her attention on examining the room into which they were about to enter.

The air on the other side of the opening was cooler than that in the golden room, and Mia thought that it tingled with magic or some form of mystical importance of which she was unaware. From the ceiling shone a wide ray of white light through a large, circular hole. Mia remembered looking up at such a hole as she lay on her back on a bed of grass and golden flowers. In fact, there was on the ground directly under the light an ovular patch of grass on which grew a bed of the same, shimmering blossoms.

Slowly, they passed it by, making their way through the spacious chamber and into an L-shaped hallway which branched off to one side. Mia itched with anticipation. She knew that something very important lay ahead, and though she did not know what it was, she yearned with every fiber of her being to reach it.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Joseph pass through an open doorway at the end of the hall and heard him cry out in wonder and joy. It took all the strength she had to not to tug on Brenda's hand and plead with her to go faster, but she managed to keep herself under control, remaining calm as she and the other children passed ever-so-slowly down to the end of the hall.

Her patience was rewarded when finally, finally she emerged from the dark hallway into the brilliant light of a gorgeous, setting sun. The brightness hurt her eyes, but she embraced it readily. It was truly a magnificent sight. She and the other children were standing high up on the side of a great mountain. Before her was spread a grand landscape with forests, cities, and off in the distance, a glittering ocean dyed crimson with the light of the sun. Looking closer to her, she saw that the side of the mountain was dotted with clusters of the same, star-shaped blue flowers that grew near her house.

Mia sighed in delight. Truly, this was a sight worth waiting for. Beside her, Brenda began to laugh with joy. Mia beamed, and a single tear of gladness rolled slowly down her cheek.

But as she was looking out at the beauty that lay before her, Frasier shouted out,

"Look!"

She turned and looked in the direction of his outstretched finger.

"It's Toriel!" he cried.

Mia squinted her eyes and saw a pair of figures descending the mountain on a dirt path some ways ahead of them. She gasped, and squealed in delight. She and the rest of the children began to dash down the mountain as quickly as they could go. Though she was running as fast as she possibly could, her little legs simply could not keep up with Brenda's. She began to skid, her stockinged feet providing little friction to aid her.

She was just beginning to panic when she found herself being lifted forcefully into the air by her armpits. Brenda had picked her up and was holding her securely against her hip. Mia threw her arms around the older girl's neck, and beamed as they went careening down the mountainside. She felt as though she was flying, though the rocky, downhill terrain made for a bumpy ride.

Growing ever-nearer ahead of her were the two figures, one short and brunette, the other tall and clad all in purple. It was becoming increasingly obvious to her that the latter of the two figures was Toriel, that wonderful figure who had welcomed her with such warmth to the underground when she had first descended. She began to call out to her as she drew near.

"Toriel! Toriel!"

The pair halted. Without turning around, the taller of the two figures answered her.

"Mia?"

Mia's heart leapt in joy. Toriel remembered her! She watched deliriously as Toriel dropped the hand of the figure beside her and peeked over her shoulder. She gasped, and put her hands up to her mouth.

"Mia! Brenda!" she exclaimed.

Giggling uncontrollably, Mia barrelled into her open arms. She smothered herself in Toriel's white fur and her sweet-smelling purple dress. After a few minutes, she felt herself being lifted from Brenda's arms. She clung to the monster tightly, the entirety of her being flooded with pure happiness. She felt the rumble of her chest as she cried out in a loud voice,

"Isabelle! Samuel! Frasier! Joseph! Oh, my children have returned to me!"

Before long, Mia was buried in a bouncing blob of children. It was a group hug; something of which Mia had never before been a part. Immediately, she knew that she liked it. For the first time in her life, she felt like she belonged somewhere. Yes; here, sandwiched between her friends and the only grown-up who had ever put her needs above her own, this was her place. This was where she was meant to be, and in this moment, Mia could not have been any happier.