And here they come.

- The History of Humans and Monsters, by Anonymous


Within an hour, word spreads around that there's something wrong with the Barrier. Reports (as well as rumors) depict it as rumbling faintly and looking like its shaking. No one has dared to come near it.

Nobody except them.

They go, and Asriel and Frisk follow. When they go, Toriel and Asgore trail after them.

And here they stand, gazing up at the practically invisible Barrier that traps them inside. Except they can see a faint silver lining the air, something invisible wobbling like the air when it's hot out.

They blink.

"What did you do, C?" Toriel asks breathlessly.

"They're going to destroy the Barrier," Frisk says softly. "They're going to save us."

"What...?" Toriel mumbles, shaking her head incredulously. "No—I... I cannot allow this! It is far too dangerous for a child!"

They're 14, they want to say, but stay silent. They only continue to stare at the Barrier, hands and fingers twitching in anticipation. They want to touch the Barrier, but then they remember what happened to the six magicians when they had been pushed through—upon first impact, their souls were ripped from their bodies and their physical forms evaporated.

They inhale deeply, shakily.

"Tori," comes Asgore's deep voice. "It is alright. I trust them."

Asriel gives a soft smile up towards his parents. "Don't worry, Mom! Me and Frisk will be with them all the way through!"

The declaration only gives Toriel more worry. "But... you three are children!" she protests.

Frisk lets out a tiny, exasperated sigh, and turns. "Mom," the child says softly, seriously, "please let us do this. If you want, you can send out some of the Royal Guard to watch over us."

Toriel seems to mull over the idea for a few moments, and then she sighs. She hangs her head, defeated. "Alright," she finally agrees, her voice a whisper in the wind. "Be careful, my children."

She kneels, and wraps Asriel and Frisk in her arms before giving each of them a loving smooch on the forehead. She pauses, and then looks at their back. "C..." she says, and when they turn around, she gives them a soft smile, outstretching her arms.

They stare at her for what seems like a long time. Never in their previous family did anybody show affection (their mother would pat their head sometimes but that was the most). And now Toriel, a woman who had hardly known them, was offering to give them a hug.

They don't hesitate to launch themself into her arms. Her grip tightens around the three of them, and they flinch when they feel a pair of lips against the crown of their head.

Toriel lets them go, and they turn back towards the Barrier.

Taking a step forward, fingers shaking anxiously, they brush their fingertip against the Barrier. The Barrier makes a strange whirring noise—

—and then shatters like glass.


Out of the corner of their eyes, they can see dogs—the Royal Guard—trying to inconspicuously spy on them as they traverse closer and closer to a place they'd once called home.

"Is that...?" Asriel asks, voice trailing off. The gates of the kingdom are high and mighty, quite far off, but visible even in the distance.

They nod, and don't say a word. Their heart is pounding. Their hands are sweating. They want to cry and scream and vomit all at once—but they force themself to remain silent.

"...I know this place," Frisk murmurs, furrowing their eyebrows. Asriel turns to them with a questioning noise, and the child clarifies, "I... recognize it. I feel like I've been here before."

Asriel's eyes widen. "Maybe this is where you lived!"

"...Maybe."

Asriel purses his lips, and turns to them. "So, what's the plan?"

They hesitate, but admit their plan is to take down their father. The King of Humans.

Frisk's eyes widen so much it looks like they're popping out of their head. "What!" they gasp. "Just how do you think you'll manage to do that?"

They wordlessly lift their hands, and flick their wrist in front of them. A wave of fire billows out across the ground, charring the grass and destroying the land. When they step on it, the grass melts away completely.

Frisk nearly stops out of surprise. "Whoa... you're gonna kill him?" The child sounds worried. "Isn't there, uh, another way you can do it that involves... no killing?"

They don't reply, and keep on walking.


The three slowly get closer and closer to the entrance of the kingdom, and right before they're in range, they stop.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Asriel asks, and gestures to himself. "I'm kind of... well, illegal here."

They purse their lips, and then gesture to the sides of the kingdom walls with two hands. Murmuring something about secret entrances to them, they wait until Asriel and Frisk are out of sight until they turn their attention to the gates.

The sun is high in the sky. They don't have the night to conceal them.

Taking a deep breath and willing back the strange urge to cry, they stalk towards the gates.

There are two guards posted there, standing in what looks like heavy armor. They're chatting idly with one another, but then the two notice them approaching and burst into action. They each point each other's spears at them, towering far far above them and looking almost downright terrifying. Except they're not afraid.

They only stare up at the two guards, their red eyes shining.

"...It's you," one murmurs, and turns to her partner. "It's the princess! Inform the king immediately!"

They resist the urge to gag. Instead, they let the guards stand in front and behind of them, leading them to the castle. The castle is darker and larger in the distance, and now that they've gained an outside point of view, they can see why so many of the villagers in their kingdom find it to be terrifying.

There's whispers across the citizens as the guards force their way through.

"Is that the princess?"

"The missing one?"

"It is!"

"I wonder where she went!"

"I heard she died!"

"I heard she went to the forbidden forest!"

"Don't be stupid—nobody comes back from there."

"Then where could she have gone?"

"What's with those clothes?"

She. Her. Princess. The terms make them shiver. Their hands itch to destroy.

The castle doors creak as they open, and the sound chills them to the bone. It's the most terrifying thing they've ever heard. Inside the castle is the same as they remember, except almost bleaker and grayer. The guards lead them inside, until the three are standing before the man on the throne.

The king. He's as cruel-looking as ever.

"Why have you come unannounced?" the king demands, sounding annoyed. His voice is harsher.

The guards bow wordlessly, and one steps aside to reveal them. They, however, do not bow. They stand tall, angry red eyes boring into his.

He blinks, realization dawning upon his features. "Oh... my dear Chara..." he whispers, slowly rising out of his throne. "You... you have returned...! I thought you'd be lost forever, but—"

Before he can race towards them, they throw their arm out and outstretch it in his direction. He's frozen in place, and his eyes widen in terror.

"What... are you..."

The guards race towards them, but without moving their outstretched arm, they kick their leg out and send the guards both flying backwards. The two slam against opposing walls, groaning and losing consciousness.

"You... are not my daughter," the king hisses, and they want to retort that no, they aren't and they never were. But then he grins, and suddenly they're being lifted in the air like it's nothing.

Their father stands there, his arms raised. "You think you're so smart, my dear Queen." He sends them bounding backwards with a twitch of his fingers, and they're groaning once their head hits the cold tile floor. They feel weak and wobbly as they prop themself up on their hands, glaring at the king with shaky vision.

They're not a queen, they want to say, but their throat is dry and throbbing, and they cannot say a word.

"I knew what really happened to the monsters," the king hisses, chuckling as he steps off the stage and onto the floor. He cascades his arms out in front of him proudly. "I've always known! But I kept it a secret."

He flourishes his hands, and their body spins upside down in the air before slamming against a pillar. They hear a cracking noise, and know something is probably broken, and when they slide down to the floor on their stomach they groan lifelessly.

"Do you want to know why I kept it a secret?"

They don't. But he's going to tell them.

The king steps forward and grabs them by the hair, jerking their head back so he's glaring into their eyes, a painful grin stretched across his features.

"Because I knew who you really were. From the start." He spits in their face.

Disgusted, they throw their arm out, and the king is suspended in the air. He flails, but manages to stay calm as he chuckles out, "Don't you wish to discover what I mean, my dear Chara? My darling girl... you were going to be something great." He sneers. "But you just had to run away with those filthy monsters, didn't you?"

They listen no more, and practically throw themself to the side in their efforts to slam their father against the wall. He crashes through it, the wall cracking from the hole made. They pant, struggling to climb to their feet, as the king angrily storms out of the hole in the wall.

"I'll bet you've become one of them," he spits at them, eyes ablaze and swirling with rage. A strange black color emits from his hands. "You were never fit to be an heir. Too much of the queen of old inside you." He grins. "Your betrothed would have taken care of you nicely."

They clench their jaw, adrenaline coursing through their veins. It makes them feel weak, and they shudder. Pain spreads across their body, and they know they're bleeding somewhere.

"C!" a voice calls.

Startled, they turn to see Asriel and Frisk running into the throne room through opposite entrances, and then stop, shocked to see one another. They gasp softly, and urgently motion for them to go away, but it's too late. The king sees.

And he grins.

"Is this who you've been with all this time?" he cackles, throwing his arms out to stop the two forcefully. "A monster and a little freak? I almost pity you, my darling girl."

"PUT THEM DOWN."

The shout comes from the broken entrance to the throne room, and they whirl around to see an unfamiliar figure standing tall—blue, with scales, and long red hair tied in a ponytail. The fish woman is dressed in armor, and there's magic blue spears hovering above her head and one clenched in her hand. Multiple monsters dressed in armor follow—including Asgore and even Papyrus.

The king raises his eyebrows. "Have you brought the entirety of the monster kingdom just for me to slaughter?" he asks wistfully, his voice taking on a darker turn. "What a wonderful gift!"

The monsters get into position. Guards from all around flood behind the king, and the king clenches his fist to hold Asriel and Frisk up higher. They both struggle and gasp, and they can faintly see an invisible grip around their necks.

"I said put them down," the fish woman hisses, her sharp teeth bared.

The king only smirks. "Let's play."

And the battle begins.


next chapter: the battle of monsters and humans