As the Chevelle rumbled to a halt outside Dreemurr Castle, Karen took a sip of her coffee from the thermos she'd brought from home and glanced over at Asriel, who had fallen asleep, both from exhaustion and from nervousness. The trip to the mountain was long enough, but the trip back felt like an eternity, especially after one of the rear tires got punctured just two miles before they had reached the castle. A small nail left over from a construction project had managed to wedge itself deep into the tire, which made an odd metallic grinding sound when going at high speeds. Not only that, but his mother was waiting for the both of them inside, and Asriel wasn't relishing the thought of his mother chewing him out for forgetting to leave a note, so he figured he might as well dream while he could, to try and forget about the upcoming event.
Karen pulled up on the parking brake, and looked over at Asriel. He was snoring lightly, and the sides of his mouth were playing out a strange smile. Karen smiled, leaned over, and shook him gently. Asriel's eyes opened slowly, and his smile faded.
"Damn it…" he said. "I knew that dream was too good to last…"
"What were you dreaming of?" asked Karen.
"Don't think poorly of me, but I dreamt that we were going to an anime convention in Baltimore, and you had actually decided to cosplay as a Dark Magician Girl from Yu-Gi-Oh… Yeah… only problem was, you'd decided to make the armor skimpier, to remove some of the weight. I was actually there helping you design the armor, and…" explained Asriel, turning to Karen, who was struggling to suppress her laughter.
"Did I at least look good?" asked Karen, through choked giggles.
"I thought so. We even chose colors that worked around your hair color. Instead of the original blue and pink, we went with a silver and black color scheme… Meh, I'll draw it out later." sighed Asriel. "But right now, I need to see to Mother… I'm not looking forward to this."
"It's best to just get it over with, Azzy." said Karen. "You're lucky, though. At least you have a mom who cares enough to check on you. Whereas me? I don't… Not after last year's car wreck." Asriel looked towards Karen, his heart sinking in his chest. Not a day went by where he wanted to forget the day he got the news from Karen that her mother had been killed. That day killed Asriel; he hated seeing Karen cry, and he wanted nothing more than to make her feel like the whole thing hadn't happened, like it was some horrible fever dream. But happen it did, and Asriel couldn't do a thing to help, except offer his condolences and love.
"I'm… sorry, Karen… That was insensitive of me…" apologized Asriel. "Shall we head inside?" Karen nodded numbly, the memory still clinging in the back of her head, as they both stepped out of the car.
Stepping towards the castle door, the two of them looked at each other, and nodded. They pushed through the doors slowly. The foyer appeared empty, but little did they know that a little skeleton child was floating above the door frame, waiting to surprise her uncle and his girlfriend. And surprise them she did. The moment the two of them shut the door, Arial did a small flip in midair, and landed behind them silently. When they turned, Asriel let out a small bleat of fear. Arial giggled.
"Gramma! Azzy's here!" she called, as Asriel motioned for her to stay quiet, shushing her in a blind panic, but to no avail. Toriel popped her head out from the kitchen doorway, her face worried and angry at the same time. She stepped out of the kitchen towards the two of them, her stride rushed, as if the two of them were in danger, which wasn't far from the truth, considering how overprotective Toriel was of Asriel's wellbeing.
"You, young man, have a lot of explaining to do… Karen? What are you doing here?" asked Toriel, as she grabbed Asriel by the ear and led him into the kitchen, Karen following them both, her mouth covering a worried grimace.
"I drove Asriel home. He invited me to watch the sun rise at Mount Overlook." explained Karen, as Toriel plopped Asriel down into a chair. "It was great! So many pinks and oranges…"
"That's all well and good, but the real problem here is Asriel's lack of responsibility, not the sun rising. How many times do I have to tell you, Asriel, that you always leave a note when you leave the house?" asked Toriel. Asriel stroked the ear that his mother had grabbed him by tentatively in his hands, and silently stared at his mother. Toriel folded her arms and sighed.
"I'm sorry, my child. It's just… the last time you forgot to write a note… was the last time I saw you." she said.
"That was different. That was Chara. I was told not to tell you. And I'm sorry, alright?" said Asriel. "It's the first time since then that this has happened. Can't you cut me a little slack?"
"No, Asriel, I can't. This is serious. When did you even leave?" asked Toriel. "We woke up at 5 to help Frisk and Sans with the children, and you were gone!"
"I left at 2:44 in the morning, and walked there. It took me a good two hours to get there, and-" started Asriel, before Toriel's jaw dropped.
"You left at 2 in the morning, just so you could spend time with Karen on some mountaintop?!" asked Toriel hotly, her voice trembling. "Young man, you nearly gave your father a heart attack! He's been worried sick about you since we found the bed empty this morning!"
"Mom, look, I'm sorry for not leaving a note. I thought that I'd left one before I left for Mount Overlook! It was stupid, and irresponsible, and there's no excuse for my lack of responsibility. I just… wanted some time away from the house. With the fact that I'm homeschooled, and the fact that I have barely any friends outside the extended family, I felt like I was going stir-crazy!" said Asriel, raking his fingers through his hair. Toriel exhaled sharply, as heavy footsteps rumbled down the stairs, Asgore talking with Frisk about Segoe's magic training.
"Well, for your sake, I hope your father forgives you for this. I don't think you've ever seen your father when he's angry." sighed Toriel, as she dished out some scrambled eggs. "Here, eat up. You must be starving." Asriel stared down at the eggs, as Asgore and Frisk walked into the kitchen. When Asgore caught sight of Asriel, he stared at him, crossed his arms, and exhaled deeply through his nose. He looked angry, but still seemed calm, which Asriel took as a good sign.
"Heeeeeeeeeyyyyyy, Daaaaaaad…" said Asriel, as he nervously ate his scrambled eggs. Seeing the anger in his eyes, Asriel felt guilty. "Yeah, I know I'm in trouble, you don't need to repeat it. I got the whole shebang from Mom..."
"Azzy, you can't shove this off. Mom and Dad came running into our room this morning looking for you. I have never seen Dad that scared in all my life. And due to the fact of what happened the last time you left home without leaving a note, I don't blame them." said Frisk. Asgore raised his hand to Frisk.
"Frisk, let us be the parents… Son, you really scared me and your mother. We were about to send out a search party for you." Asgore said.
"I know… I know… I should have left a note, I'm sorry for scaring you and Mom. I won't do it again. I promise." Asriel said with a slight tone of annoyance. Asgore noticed this, but disregarded it.
"Alright, well, at least you're safe. Granted, I did something like this once or twice when I was your age. Where did you even go?" Asgore asked.
"We went to Mount Overlook to watch the sun rise. While we were there, we spotted this white creature disappear into a tree trunk, down in the forest below." Asriel said. This got both Toriel and Asgore's attention.
"What did it look like?" Toriel asked.
"Well, from what I saw, it looked like Asriel… but bigger, and I think it had a black mane running down its back." Karen said. Asgore's eyes widened in shock.
"Could it have been… No… it can't be him… he died during the war, right, Asgore?" Toriel asked, turning to her husband who avoided her eye contact. "Asgore… Aberon did die, right? You told me you finished him off after that one battle." Asgore sighed heavily.
"Tori… you knew me back then… do you honestly think I would have been able to… you knew he was stronger than me… I would never have stood a chance… I had to banish him to protect everyone else." Asgore said, tearing up. Toriel's eyes narrowed.
"You used forbidden magic…? Asgore! You should have told me! We were newlyweds back then! We had just had Asriel!" Toriel screamed in disbelief.
"Mom? What are you guys talking about? Who's Aberon?" Asriel asked as both parents looked at him.
"I… wasn't an only child! I had an older brother, his name was Aberon!" Asgore said, his voice shaking.
"Wait… I have an uncle? You guys never told me that! Frisk, did you know about this?" Asriel asked, irritated. Frisk frantically shook her head.
"I'm just as clueless as you, Azzy." she said.
"We thought it was best for you not to know about him. You see, while your father is kind-hearted, and dedicated to his people, Aberon… was not." explained Toriel. "He never cared for anyone, but himself. He was very powerful, and, being the oldest, he thought that he was destined for the throne. But, one day, during his training with your grandfather, Jorin, Jorin handed Asgore his trident and it glowed brighter than it ever had before."
"Hang on. What does that have to do with anything?" Karen asked.
"Well, you see, Karen dear, Asgore's trident has been passed down the Dreemurr family line for centuries, ever since it was first discovered. When a king dies, the trident turns from red to gray, and only regains its color when it is handed down to the next king once he's coronated, accepting it as its new master. Traditionally, the trident had just been passed on to the oldest." Toriel continued.
"But, on that day when I was in my early twenties, the trident chose me, despite my father still being alive. It was clear that I was the right choice, the right person to rule over monsterkind. That day, my father, Jorin, announced to our people that when he died, I would be king. The next day, I chose your mother to be my queen. Aberon did not like that one bit. For months, he argued with my father, saying the trident was wrong, but my father insisted. One day… he just snapped. He tried to attack me and your mother, who was with child at the time. My father caught him in the act. Ashamed of what Aberon had done, he disowned him and told him never to return to this castle." Asgore said, his breathing heavy with grief.
"Was that the last time you saw him?" Frisk asked.
"Heavens no. Asriel was two months old when we met again." continued Asgore. "It was during the war. He was attacking camps, killing the people in them. Men, women, children. Father and I confronted him, only to find that, to our horror, that the flames he was conjuring to kill these people… were Black. Black flames were signs of Dark Magic, which corrupts the soul of the person using it, and drives them into madness. My father tried to warn him of the danger of using this magic. But Aberon refused to listen. He demanded the throne and trident that I had supposedly stolen from him be returned to him. I tried to reason with him, until he hurled one of his fireballs at me. The pain was great, greater than any magic attack I had sustained before, and I was unable to move. My father had no choice but to fight him. But, Aberon's magic surpassed even his. As my father fell next to me, I felt a surge of adrenaline, and I was able to move again. I pulled out my sword and charged toward Aberon. But with a snap of his finger, I was incapacitated again. He summoned a black bolt of lightning and sent it hurtling towards me, but in that last moment… my father leaped in front of me."
"No!" Karen, Asriel, and Frisk said at once. They all looked at each other and chuckled.
"The bolt struck his heart. Shocked, I broke free from the magic and caught my father, before he collapsed. I insisted on taking him to Toriel, so that she could heal him, but he said it was too late. He told me to be strong and always put the safety and happiness of our kind before my own. I promised him that I would, and then he said to me, "I love you…my son…" Before he turned to dust in my arms. That was the first time in my life I had become livid with rage. The brother I had once loved and respected so much, had killed our father, and showed no signs of regret; in fact, he laughed at his supposed victory. Blinded with anger, I grabbed the trident from my father's ashes and used all the magic within me, as a hole opened in the ground.
"FOR THE FUTURE OF MONSTERKIND, I, KING ASGORE DREEMUUR, BANISH YOU FROM THE LAND, NEVER TO HAVE YOUR TYRANNY HARM ANYONE HERE OR HEREAFTER!" I shouted, before the earth consumed him." Asgore said, tears staining his fur.
"Asgore, don't feel guilty. You did what was necessary to protect the other monsters, and even the humans. You were a hero." Toriel said, hugging her husband. Asriel thought for a moment.
"Well, this thought just came to me, but… if that thing we saw in the forest was him, do you think we should-" Asriel started, before Asgore cut him off, slamming his hands on the table.
"No! No, no, absolutely not! You are not going into the forest!" Asgore insisted.
"Oh, come on, Dad! If it is him, don't you think having him wandering around would be dangerous?" argued Asriel. "Come on, I can handle it! I'm not a baby anymore."
"Asriel, you are not to leave this castle and that is final! I will not lose you again!" Asgore shouted. Asriel looked at him in complete shock.
"I can't believe this. First, you never tell me about Aberon, and now you're saying I can't leave the castle to look for him? You know what? I hate how overprotective you and Mom are of me! It makes me feel like a goddamn child, and I'm sick of it!" Asriel shouted, before he ran upstairs and slammed the door to his room. Frisk turned to Asgore with a look of disbelief on her face.
"It's so ironic, Dad, how you are so strict on lying, yet you hid this from all of us. I can't believe I was raised by such a fucking hypocrite." Frisk said, as she and Karen went upstairs to comfort Asriel, leaving Asgore feeling broken and unsure of what to say. Toriel stood by Asgore, and hugged him, as he began to cry.
