Hello and welcome back!

I've been told that smut / lemon is generally a no-no on this site, so we'll have to can that.

BUT! That just means we'll have to turn up the Friskriel fluff! Starting right now!


Frisk gently turned in her bed as she slowly woke up. Her dreams became more and more slippery and fuzzy, and her surprisingly brightly-lit room came ever more into focus.

As it did, so too did her goofily smiling brother, sitting on the floor besides her bed, already wearing his loose-hanging black t-shirt and jeans daily-wear, looking over her like a silent sentinel.

"You know, some people would think it's creepy having someone staring them while they sleep" Frisk mumbled, tiredly but friendly.

"I don't" Asriel simply answered with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Of course you don't, when you're the one doing it, you creepy goat!" Quick as she could, Frisk grabbed one of her pillows and threw it at him.

Asriel laughed as he caught it out of the air, got to his feet, and briskly walked towards Frisk's bed.

Seeing the boss monster approach with mischievous intent, Frisk ducked under her blankets with a playful shriek.

Asriel deftly shot his paws in under the blankets as well. Frisk yelped and laughed hysterically as he began tickling her.

"AHAHA NO STO-AHAHA" She laughed, as she squirmed like a cat in a bag beneath the blankets.

"You dare strike at your prince? Such transgressions shall not go unpunished!" Asriel said, trying to make his voice sound malicious and failing horribly.

"HAHAHA, I WILL HAHA NEVER YIELD!" Frisk practically shouted, as she suddenly tore the blankets away and reached up, quickly placing one hand on the inside of one of Asriel's ears, and another on the nape of his neck. Almost instantly, Asriel's expression changed from one of mischief to complete, peaceful bliss, as Frisk scratched his sensitive points. He sighed in absolute contentment.

"Are you going to behave?" Fisk asked with a smile.

"Uh huh..." Asriel muttered in response, eyes closed in pure relaxation.

Frisk couldn't help but giggle at the infectious smile on Asriels face. Almost all the Dreemurrs had infectious smiles, in fact, but she had always felt closest to her brother.

"Now, why did you come here?" Frisk asked, trying for a stern tone.

"Uhh... breakfast... downstairs" Asriel answered sleepily.

Frisk felt a knot of annoyance in her stomach. Right, it was a work day, her carefully laid plans of staying in bed and watching Netflix all day were brought to ruin before they had even started.

"Alright, listen well, my servant-prince" Frisk began, intensifying her scratchings on Asriel's ear and neck, his knees shaking a bit in response.

"You're going to carry me downstairs to the living room. You will address me as your master – if you don't or If you bonk me into anything, I'll stop scratching, understood?" She ordered playfuly.

"Anything for you, master" Asriel said, voice still blurred by deep bliss.

Frisk braced herself, leaning into her brother for balance, as she felt strong arms reach down and pick her up in a bridal-like carry. As they marched down towards the stairs and living room, Frisk kept up her relentless scratching, as she nestled herself into her brothers furry chest. Try as they might, neither of them imagined they could be much happier than they were now. To Frisk especially, this was her favorite way of waking up, nestling close her big brother, like the big walking, talking teddy-goat he was, so full of fluff, warmth and love.


There were times when Toriel would wake up in cold sweat. Roused from a nightmare in which the event's of Frisks' journey had never come to pass; where she was still trapped underground alone, where hope dwindled from the hearts of monsters daily, and where her beloved son had not been returned to her.

She would throw off her covers and race down the hallways, aware that it had been nothing more than a nightmare yet fully convinced it was true; that she was alone again. Only when she laid eyes on the sleeping form of her once lost child did she find ease, an ease only compounded upon further when she entered the room next door, Frisk's room. It was curious how human children had a way of falling into her care, but she would have it no other way.

In truth, raising her children, watching them grow up strong, wise and good brought her more contentment and fulfillment than being a queen ever did.

A fact that only rung true once again, sitting as she was, in her reading chair, watching Asriel and Frisk eat their breakfast at the dinner table. Spontaneously, Asriel would pick a piece out of his bowl of Mon-Stars and playfully toss it at Frisk. In response, Frisk would pinch some of his fur-hairs, flick one of his ears or jab a finger into his side, making him shudder. Despite his size, she had found out that her brother was almost as ticklish as she.

As Toriel watched all of this, she felt a contented sigh escape her. She realized that if she were to simply expire and turn to dust right here, she would accept it without regret. She had lived a long and fulfilling life, and death did not frighten her in the least.

A knock came on the door, and almost immediately, her moment of bliss was shattered. She recognized the heavy, booming yet somehow gentle knocks, something only her former husband could make.

"Come in" she called.

The door opened in response and in came, unsurprisingly, the king of monsters and her former husband; Asgore Dreemurr, alongside beams of morning sunlight shining from the rising sun in the sky behind him.

"DAD!" Frisk called out as she saw him, leaping from her chair and rushing to meet him. Asriel's more subdued response was a gentle smile, wave and welcoming "Howdy, dad!"

Frisk soul was a fair bit younger than the body it resided in, meaning that she could tend to come off as a bit more childish than one would expect. It only really served to make her all the more endearing though.

"Haha, it's good to see you all!" Asgore said as he was tackled by Frisk, reaching down and scooping her up in a hug. Frisk was almost comically small compared to everyone else in the house, even Asriel, who, while still large, would probably never reach the same size as his father; he was stuck somewhere in between his parents; broader and taller than his mother, but not as much as his father.

Toriel rose from her chair, watching the spectacle with not-quite a frown, not-quite a smile expression. Try as she might, she still couldn't help but feel a small tinge of resentment whenever she saw her former husband, but the years, and their shared imprisonment during Asriels crownquest, had helped to soften her up a bit towards him, and while they would most likely never get re-married, they could at least be considered friends.

Nevertheless, it was impossible to forget that the family father standing in the entryway had several human lives on his conscience.

Asgore released Frisk from his hug, and knelled down, petting her on the head.

"So, what are you up to today, Frisky?" He asked with a smile.

Frisk immediately crossed her arms and looked away "Work. Got an interview with some workers union guy" she pouted, her expression easily betraying that her opinion of the guy was less than stellar.

Asgore laughed and ruffled her hair "Ha, surely it's not that bad? Being a journalist is a great way to learn about the world and make new friends!"

Frisk didn't answer.

"Golly, are they... treating you well over there? In the capital?" He asked, his happy smile turning into one of concern.

Frisk batted his hand away "Pfft, it's fine, there's still a few...insignificant insects who still think it's a good idea to make fun of me" she answered, her voice suddenly taking on a dark, quiet and malevolent tone.

"Uhh"

"Oh, nothing you have no worry about, father. I know how to deal with pests"

Asgore cringed inwardly, as he witnessed Frisk's silent transformation into another person entirely. Her body posture became more straight and confident, yet her expression as a whole changed into one of smug arrogance, her eyes even opened up a bit. Her arms crossed and despite being the smallest in the entire household, somehow managed to look down on all of them.

Immediately, Asriel steeped in, scooped her up, and held her tight. Recognizing the signs of one of Frisk's Soul Shifts, as Alphys had called it.

"I'm sure you do, Frisk, but we both know you don't want to do that, right?" he cooed.

"Set me down, you fool! You can't tell me what to do! You gnat!" Frisk protested and struggled to get free.

"Nope, not until you cool down" Asriel answered, holding fast "Why don't we finish breakfast together? Then I can tell you exactly how you don't "deal with pests""

Frisk shouted, screamed and kicked as she tried to get free to no avail, even as she was carried out of the entrance hall, into the living room, leaving an awkward looking Asgore, and a furious Toriel behind.

"Dreemurr... How many times have I told you..." She said angrily, eyes glowing with inner anger.

"Not to ask her about living alone?" He finished, trying to stand up under her withering glare.

"Ahh, you do know, so I can only assume you did it to tick her off, right?" she asked mockingly.

"Come on, Tori, you know I'd never do anything to harm her"

"You got a funny definition of "not harming" then" She answered with scorn.

Asgore stood up straight with an annoyed sigh. "Look, I sent a letter to the police last week about Frisk's... less-than-optimal experiences. I just hoped that maybe-"

"Maybe what, Dreemurr? That something would change? That your, what, 7th letter in as many months would work where all the others failed?

"At least I'm trying! Are you?" Asgore snapped.

Toriel took a small step back in surprise yet kept her steely gaze transfixed on him. Asgore looked away in embarrashed shame. He was well aware that the last 8 years working to secure monsterkinds place in the world had taxed him a great deal and made him more irritable, but, dammit, here was his ex-wife, someone who had forsaken her sworn duty as queen to live a quiet and comfortable life in the suburbs and she had the audacity to look down on him!? Even now, so many years later?

"Get... out" She hissed at him.

"I need to talk to Asriel" Asgore quickly replied.

"And you couldn't wait until he met at the office? You work at the same place for gods sake!"

"No, this is urgent"

"Well, perhaps he doesn't want to talk to you"

"Just, please!" Asgore snapped once again, before taking a few seconds to compose himself.

"Just... let me talk to my son, please"

For a few seconds they stood there. Toriel glaring holes into Asgore, and Asgore feeling very much like he was being hollowed out beneath her gaze, yet refusing to back down.

Then, with a dismissive grunt, Toriel spun around and walked briskly back into the reading room. Looking at her leave, Asgore was subtly reminded of why he had married her in the first place; she was without a doubt the most beautiful, intelligent and graceful woman he had ever met.

Doing his best to ignore the ache in his heart, he turned towards the living room, where the sounds of Frisk recovering from one of her Soul Shifts did not bode well.


"What did I do!? What did I do!?" Frisk asked hysterically, as Asriel tried to control her shaking, gently but firmly holding her shoulders.

"Nothing! Nothing, I promise, it was a small one this time, you didn't do-"

"I ALWAYS DO SOMETHING!" She shouted and pushed Asriel hard enough to knock him down on the floor.

Frisk stood up, looking at her shaking hands with disgust.

"Every time I lose it, I do something bad. Even now... even at home with you, I can't..."

Without another word and tears trailing behind her, Frisk turned and ran up the stairs, the booming sound of her door being slammed shut echoing downwards.

Asriel could only sigh in defeat as he picked himself off the floor. In many ways, the inconsolable, torn Frisk that came after she had had one of her "falls" were much worse. Cruel, megalomanic jerks he could deal with, but seeing one he loved so dearly go trough something like that... that was a battle he couldn't compete in.

Frisk had moved out to live in her own apartment in the human capital about half a year ago, not because she wanted to, but because she felt bad living off people that had already done so much for her. They had of course protested that she wasn't "leeching" and that would be more than happy to have her live there for as long as she wanted, but she had been adamant. Of course, that didn't stop her from staying at the Dreemurr household every Friday evening to Monday morning.

However, coming to the City had been more trouble than expected. Finding a job for someone that had no formal education or work experience on paper, proved to be almost impossible. Luckily, a 3rd party privately owned newspaper agency had reached out to her, upon learning that she had been living with monsters for a long time, and offered her a job. It didn't pay well, and very few took them seriously, but she had come to love the people that she worked with, and it was a great way of learning about a world she had no prior knowledge of.

Unfortunately, not everyone took it so well. A few people, having learned about her living with monsters, had taken it upon themselves to "remind her of her place". At least once a week, she'd find crude graffiti sprayed on her apartment door, her e-mail chock-full of hate mail, or sometimes even get mugged on the street. All these things had only served to severely aggravate her Soul Shift syndrome. It was important she stayed as positive and happy as possible, lest the soul of Valantis would one day take over for good.

Asriel went over to the kitchen cupboards; experience told him that Frisk would need a few minutes of alone time before any kind of consoling would work. He felt rotten leaving her alone up there, but at the same time grateful he didn't have to witness the sight of his savior in such emotional torment. And, at least it gave him just enough time to prepare a cup of hot chocolate for her. She might have to have the day off, and he would probably be late for work after he had helped calm her down, but none of that mattered; only Frisk's happiness did.

"Howdy Asriel" Asgore's booming but somehow still quiet voice came from behind.

Asriel looked over his shoulder "Hey dad" he answered, a bit lower than intended.

Asgore took a step inside the kitchen, looking around with appraising eyes as if it was his first time there.

"Is, uhh, is little Frisk doing alright?" he asked tentatively.

Asriel returned to the kitchen table, and poured a spoonful of cocoa powder into the cup.

"Yes, she... no, I... I don't know, dad"

"It's been like this ever since we brought her home, right?"

Asriel nodded.

"I see... but, uhh, how are you holding up then?"

Asriel sighed and dropped the spoon onto the table with a clank "Dad, I appreciate you coming to visit, I really do, but why are you here, truly?"

Asgore clasped his hands, twiddling his thumbs and looked nervously to the side.

"Yes, you're right. Asriel... I would like to, how to put this... ask a favor of you"

Asriel turned around again "Oh? What is it?"

"It's... something important, nothing you can't handle, I'm sure, but, uhh, not that you have to do it, because you don't, it's not that important, just, uhh-"

Asriel quickly took a steep forward and placed a paw on his fathers shoulder, silencing him.

"Easy there, dad, whatever it is, I'm sure it beats going to Los Suenos and fight an old king" He said with a smile.

Asgore relaxed a bit at the gesture "Hehe, yes, of course. Golly, I'll just... cut to the chase then. Asriel, have you heard about The Weathergood Mall Project?"

Asriel glanced away for a moment, digging trough his memory.

"Yeah, that mall they're building in the human capital, right?"

"Indeed! The city officials wanted the mall to carry different cultural themes from all over the world in the different sections"

Asriels eyes widened a bit at the implication.

"You mean... we-"

"Yes, I know, I was very surprised as well when the offer landed on my desk, it's not like "the suits" to show such goodwill. Nevertheless, we were contracted to build the, drum-roll please... food court!"

Asriel took a step back, head almost swimming with excitement. For the last 4 years, monsters weren't even allowed to leave Ebott without special passports only granted to a few, and now suddenly this! Even better; they were specifically asked to build it in a way that reflected their culture! Not that it differed that much from certain human ones to begin with, but nevertheless, this was the perfect way to reflect their way of life to the human public.

"Dad, that's... THAT'S AMAZING!" Asriel shouted as he jumped up to hug his father with a laugh.

Asgore joined in, reciprocating the hug. "It is indeed, but... that also brings me to why I am here"

Asriel fell back onto his feet, already feeling a cold run down his back.

"You see, they started construction about 5 months ago, and all was going smoothly... until yesterday"

Asriel drew a breath in.

"What happened?"

"Well, it appears that the construction team we sent... made a "whoopsie""

"A "whoopsie?""

"Yes, golly, that sounded stupid. But anyway, last night, the crew accidentally built a hallway leading from the food court into the sports section"

Asriel scowled.

"And they've gotten into trouble for that? Using magic to build something?

His father shook his head in response.

"No, I know we aren't legally allowed to practice magic outside of Ebott, but we've been granted special legislation in this case"

"Oh, that's nice"

"It is... no, the problem is that the company responsible for building the sports section claims that we've built upon their section. They're calling it a breach of contract"

"Oh darn"

"Even worse, they're... I just received a letter threatening us with a lawsuit over "loss of profit" if we don't make amends, Asriel"

Asriel grasped at his ears in disbelief.

"Loss of profit!? Over a hallway!?"

"I know, it doesn't make any sense, but when have the suits ever?"

"But if that... if that happens-"

"If the lawsuit passes, we'll be taken off the project and they'll find someone else to do the job" Asgore finished, collapsing down on a chair with a resigned sigh.

There were many kinds of fears, Asriel had long ago learned. There's the obvious fear of danger; that hot rush flooding the body when standing face-to-face with mortal danger. There's the fear of imminent loss, that cold, crippling one that settles in one's heart when you watch someone you love dearly waste away and you've promised not to tell anyone.

But there's also the dark, all-encompassing, all-swallowing fear that leaves one numb, the one that replaces every sinew, dust particle and hair on your body with utter despair. The one you get when all you've striven for is about to collapse, taking everything and everyone you hold dear with it in it's landslide.

He'd told himself many lies about the progress he and his father had made. That every small concession made in their favor was actually a vast step forward towards freedom. But that was also what they were; lies.

They needed this, this foot inside the door, if they were ever to gain their place in the world before the turn of the next century, Asriel knew.

"What do we do?" He whispered low.

Asgore meekly clapped his hands together, and looked up at his son.

"Well, I arranged for a meeting with a representative from the company. I am... I were supposed to meet him at about 8:30"

Asriel raised an eyebrow.

"You "were"? But dad, you have to! We can't lose this!"

"I know! I know!" Asgore insisted and rose from the chair.

"But I just got a call from Miss Muffet. It appears that Bob and his Temmies are planning to go on a "dragon-slaying" quest that will take them beyond the cordon. They're, heh, "mustering" at his house now"

"What, again?"

"Yes, again. I'm sure you know we can't have a group of armed monsters march up to a military checkpoint, it'll be catastrophic, but if it's anything like last time, they'll answer to their "lord and liege"" Asgore said the last words with sarcasm.

"So they'll only stop if you tell them?"

"Yes... which is why, Asriel... I would like to ask you to go to the meeting in my stead"

For just a second, Asriel could have sworn a sledgehammer was going berserk inside his head.

"Who-wha- ME!?" He protested.

Asgore raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"I know it's a lot to ask you, and you don't have to say yes, but... we need this, and you have a good way with people, Asriel. I'm sure you can reason with them"

Asriel merely sighed and looked away with distressed eyes. As heir to the kingdom, he did have official authority to parlay and act in his fathers stead, but this was something wholly new. True, he had been on a few goodwill campaigns and meetings with humans before, but always as a kind of assistant or moral support to his father.

This would be the first time he would ever have to exercise that right, and the first time he'd go it alone, and on such an important political matter as well.

"My son, if you don't want to, I understand. I'll call them, see if I can't get the meeting postponed till later"

They would never agree to that.

Asgore sagged his shoulders, breathed out and made to leave for the door.

"Alright, I won't force you. Guess I'll see you later down at the office then. I'll be in Temmie Town if you need-"

Like a bullet, Asriels paw suddenly shot out to grab his fathers wrist.

"I'll do it"

The flustered king turned to look.

"Wha- are you sure? You don't have to if you don't feel ready, or-"

"I don't, but I'll do it" Asriel repeated with determination, still looking away.

The surprised frown on Asgore's face slowly turned to one of pride. He knelled down and hugged his son close.

"I'm proud of you. I hate to put this burden on your shoulders, but I'm happy you took it"

"Well, someone has to" Asriel replied returning the hug.

"Hah! Don't get cocky now. I'll be off averting another war, you know"

"Oooohhhh! The Temmie War! How frightening!"

Asgore laughed heartily, a sentiment shared by his son. After a few seconds he coughed, silencing them both.

"So... you know how to handle it?" Asgore asked breaking away from the hug gently.

Asriel looked up, thinking.

"Just avert the lawsuit, right?"

"Right. If they want monetary compensation, we can work something out. If they want a section of the food court... we can give them a small portion, just don't overdo it; we don't want to avoid the lawsuit just to lose the contract anyway"

"Right" Asriel finished, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

Sensing his nervousness, Asgore placed a paw on his son's head.

"Listen, I know you can do it, just..." He looked away for a moment.

"There's something my dad used to tell me"

He moved his paw to point at Asriel's head.

"As long as you think with your head..."

He moved the paw down, placing it on Asriel's chest.

"... but act with your heart, you need not fear any battle, be it martial or political"

"Think with your head. Act with your heart" Asriel repeated.

"Yes, it's pretty much a family motto. Ancient, but I like to think it's still true"

"Right... I won't let you down, dad!"

Asgore moved his hand, placing in on Asriel's shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

"I know you won't. You couldn't even if you tried" He said with a fatherly smile.


Asriel slowly closed the door to his room behind him. Frisk had somehow managed to fall asleep. If she needed her cup of chocolate re-heated, she could just ask him for a quick fix of fire magic. She would most likely be late for work, but waking her up now just to remind her of that seemed unnecessarily cruel. Let her rest instead.

For now, he needed to prepare.

He had already showered the morning, so first order of business was finding the right clothes.

He threw open the doors of his wardrobe; immediately, 2 options presented themselves; his formal, royal dress-like robes and a business suit with a white shirt underneath and matching pants.

As much as it irked him, going with the suit would probably be the safer bet. "The Suits" usually didn't take kindly to any kind of extravagant attire that deviated from their own. It had to be all black and white, otherwise they might think you're not taking the matter at hand seriously.

Nevertheless, Asriel immensely disliked the piece of cloth. The tight fabric felt uncomfortable against his fur and dressing like one of the suits made him feel dirty, that he was sucking up to the tormenters of his people, that he was betraying those he had sworn to serve.

He suddenly realized with heavy breath, that his heart was still racing and cold sweat was running down his back. He had to calm down. It was the perfect time for his relaxation ritual.

He went to retrieve his guitar sitting in the corner of his room, plunked down on his bed and gently moved his fingers into position on the strings.

After he had rescued his friends and family from the old human king, Undyne had insisted they ramp up his training, in order to compensate for Frisks soul leaving him, something that had left him greatly weakened, both in body and in magical ability.

Unfortunately, this proved to be a bit more than what his weakened body could handle, and barely a week after coming home, he had severely injured his leg in training.

Initially, Undyne had wanted them to continue, claiming that learning to fight while bound to a wheelchair or crutches were incredibly important skills, but here his mother had steeped in, insisting they turned it down a notch until his leg had healed.

So instead of martial training, Undyne had taught the basics of playing guitar. Asriel had been surprised Undyne even knew that, but it was becoming clearer and clearer to him that there weren't many things Undyne didn't know how to do.

He had never gotten that good at it, and he didn't have the time to practice, but he did find the tunes and motion of playing the strings highly relaxing.

My friend, my friend, be at ease, though your task is grim, I know victory you will seize

So, meet with a lawyer representative of a construction firm, and find way to make him call off the lawsuit. Sounded easy enough, but there was never any accounting for with the suits; they were as cunning as they could be cruel.

You will see, you will see, that not all is lost, you will triumph, no matter the cost

Asriel thought back to the first political excursion he had joined his dad on, when he had been 15. A visit to a children's hospital on a goodwill mission. It had started off wonderfully; human children were so much more accepting than the adults. For the first time in a long while, Asriel felt at peace, that he was doing something good, that he was being useful, the hospital staff had even complimented him on the calming presence he seemed to carry around.

That was until an enraged pair of parents had arrived, shouting up a storm that they would never let "filthy beasts" sully their precious angel. Asriel remembered how scared he had been, hiding behind his dad's larger frame, but he also remembered how, despite how furious the humans had been, his father had calmly managed to talk them down, and made them apologize for their behavior. They had even promised to join a pro-monster movement.

Could he ever be as great as his dad? He figured not, but he would try.

In the end, in the end, when all is said and done, an era of peace will have begun

This was it; his trial by fire. He was dressed, groomed and combed and about as ready as he would ever be.

Which felt like not at all.

There was a knock on the door. A light one, rough, made by a hand un-cushioned by fur.

"Come in, Frisk!" He called, putting his guitar down on the bed.

The door slowly creaked open, revealing a Frisk that had changed from her nightgown into her daily-wear; a slightly larger and long-sleeved version of her blue- and purple striped blouse, a light blue jacket, white sneakers and black leggings topped by a skirt.

"Hi, Azzy" She said meekly, and looked to the side nervously.

Asriel immediately got up from his bed and went over to hug her.

"Feeling better now?" He said quietly, nuzzling his muzzle in her shoulder.

She simply nodded, and then gently raised a hand, looking him in the eyes.

"Snootie?" she asked.

He huffed a laugh in response.

"Snoot is ready for boop!" He declared with a smile.

Frisk chuckled as he pressed 2 fingers unto his nose. Just to complete the moment, Asriel made a small bleat in response.

The laughter and smile he got in return were one of the many things that made life such a wonderful thing.

"Alright, now I think I'm all better" She said in-between her laughs.

"I'm glad to hear it; I would hate to make it illegal for you to be sad"

"Hah, you can do that?!

"I don't know, should I find out?"

"Haha, nah, better not...,but, uh-" she began, gazing away for a second.

"Do you think you could drive me home? I have some stuff to do before work"

Asriel thought for a minute. The metting with the lawyer was soon, but if memory served, The Weathergood Mall construction site wasn't that far away from Frisk's apartment.

"I think that can be arranged, but..."

He slowly craned his head back to look at Frisk, giving them a wry smile.

"We're already late, how are we going to make up for lost time?"

"Race you to the car?"

"You're on"


Meanwhile, not so far away, in the Royal Labs, a far more tense atmosphere was prevalent. Alphys, still holding the title of Royal Scientist, was running to and fro in her labs. In just a few short hours, a gathering of human scientist would arrive, hoping to learn more about the nature of human and monsters souls; an important step in understanding their differences, and perhaps towards lifting the ban.

And EVERYTHING had to be in order!

To anyone else, the pristine, shining laboratory was the perfect incarnation of cleanliness and order, but to the frantic lizard lady, even the smallest blemish was an unforgivable act of tardiness.

She yelped as she saw a few motes of dust and hair hover in the sunlight. She felt cold fear when she noticed the tiniest of fractures in one of her beakers and yet another in one of her volumetric flasks.

She was a whirl as she stormed around, sucking the dust out of the air using one of her technical appliances, and quickly charging down 5 flights of stairs to get to the depot, retrieving some new glassware.

But at last, everything seemed in order. No fractures, no dust, no spots, no flashing red lights-

beep, beep, beep

Her head swung around at the droning noise. Her work computer was flashing, definitely not something on the Approved Catastrophes list.

She plunked down on her chair, grabbed the mouse and clicked on the flashing screen. Immediately, it expanded into an even bigger one, crowned by a title.

"PROJECT ICEBREAKER"

It was about the worst thing possible.

The screen expanded again, showing a list of 50 names...

… and 33 of them flashing red with the words: LOCATION UNKNOWN!

She rolled back in her chair in stunned silence, wide-eyed and horrified.

"Heh... hehe"

No, this had to be a mistake. The candidates couldn't just disappear like that! They couldn't, they couldn't, they couldn't!

Computer make mistakes sometimes, it happens; that's what all this was, a glitch, a fluke, a bug.

She breathed out, laughing nervously as she did, but still happy that she had convinced herself like that. Yes, nothing more than a mistake.

Because if it wasn't...

Then it just about meant Game Over for monsterkind on the surface.


There we go! We're slowly but surely getting into the plot.

I should probably mention on the topic of OC's; there will be a fair few, BUT with the exception of 2, all of them will be minor and won't appear for 1 or 2 chapters at most. But we'll get to that later

Whelp, that's all for now, stay safe!