When Asriel walked onto the field wearing his work clothes, he was surprised by the reaction he got, not from the staff, but from the students. He was dealing with a particularly stubborn shrub, one Asgore had left just for him, as he didn't have the 'right kind of gentleness' needed for it - when suddenly he was surrounded by both humans and monsters.
"Uh," he blinked, freezing in mid-shovel, his eyes wide. His daughter was not among them like he expected, which was an even bigger surprised.
"You're back!" one of the humans cried, looking thrilled. Those around them also were grinning, some unable to hide their excitement.
"Uh," he repeated, blushing and hating it. He vaguely remembered Alphys telling him that some of the kids missed him (and had suspected Undyne of having to do with his disappearance), but he hadn't believed it. "So?"
Quite oddly, this brought cheers and applause, which in turn made him go scarlet. "Stop that!" he snarled, holding up his shovel at them. With screams of delight and fake-fear, they scattered, but he noted that it was definitely gleeful. He realised, with a kind of pang, that he had missed that, too. The kids had loved to tease him, taking advantage of his short temper to do so without causing any real harm, and he in turn made his reactions a touch overblown.
He realised also that, perhaps like his father, he'd always adored kids, even before having his own, and had for a long time. With a smile, he turned back to the shrub and got back to work.
Frisk was having a different experience completely.
"So you see the problem, then, Ambassador?"
"No, she sees that you're the problem, don't you, Ambassador?"
The Ambassador sighed, rubbing her eyes. She knew that if she spoke, it would only add to the problem, but at the same time, if she did not, they'd take it the wrong way, anyway.
This was a side of the job that most people either didn't see - or didn't care about: the daily annoying skirmishes between monsters, humans, and a mix of both.
This was between a human and a monster, one that she'd seen coming the moment the human had moved to the Underground. The area they'd chosen - MTT Towers and Hotel - wasn't exactly human-friendly, but the human had made a point to move there because of that, just asking for the trouble they were so clearly now in.
And the problem? The human liked to have parties - full of other humans - and their neighbours, represented by this monster, did not appreciate it one bit. One would think that this would be dealt with by the landlord, but ever since the place was converted into both a hotel and an apartment, that had become kind of a... grey area, to say the least.
Which meant it was up to Frisk.
"Okay," she said slowly. "So, I do have a solution, one that can only work if both of you commit to it." She looked at both of them, who nodded somewhat reluctantly at that. "Okay. How about both of you have parties on the same nights?"
Both of them stared at her in surprise, then slowly looked to each other. For a moment, the length of silence was both amusing and annoying for Frisk, but to say anything risked a negative result, so she kept quiet and waited.
"Well," the monster said finally, slowly. "I... guess that could work."
"I could send you a monthly chart of when I'll have them," the human said, blinking in surprise when they said it. "So you can plan well ahead of time, like I do. That makes the best kind of party, you know."
"That would be helpful."
"Also, if we have it the same nights, we could exchange guests sometimes, spice it up a little."
"Huh, how interesting! I would have never thought of that, but what a great idea!"
Frisk smiled and left them to it, only rolling her eyes when she was out of sight. She hoped the afternoon would be more interesting after this.
Indeed.
At recess, Nicky ran outside with her new friends - a monster named Rayoss, and a human named Jilly - and proceeded to try and beat them at tag. She was quite good at it, and she kept getting better and better, years of puzzle-play helping her with strategy.
She'd forgotten all about the morning, instead focusing on her current activities. So when, quite suddenly, she found her uncle Sans at her side, she started in shock before giving him her usual hug. When she did, he grabbed her, held up his bony left hand, and his left eye burst into a flame like nothing she'd ever seen before. A blast of - something - Nicky had hidden her face into his parka by now - burst out from his palm and melted the would-be bullets aimed at Nicky in mid-air. When they had dropped and he held his hand out but still, no other shots came.
Nicky huddled closer into his parka, shivering. She hadn't heard any gunfire, but hearing Sans's magic was enough to frighten her. Sans had been careful; his shot had been contained and hit nothing but its intended target, but that also meant he'd had no hope of hiding the shooter or shooters. The bullets would have to do for now, and did, now molten gunk on the dirt below.
The whole schoolyard was silent and frozen - even the teachers - and all were staring at Sans in varying degrees of shock. He ignored them, his eye snuffing out and going normal, before he sighed, shut them, then opened them to their normal form. His grip on Nicky loosened, and she pulled free, her knees shaking, her eyes wide and her ears low. "U-uncle s-sans," she stammered, one hand holding onto his parka, still.
"go back inside and get your vest on, nicky," he advised shortly. She winced, and he realised his mistake. With another sigh, he smiled and said, in a softer tone, "go ahead, kiddo. i'll be here when you get back." She nodded, teary eye, before turning and running back towards the school.
sans stood up to his full height, waved to everyone, then shoved his hands in his pockets, still grinning but walking towards where the gunfire had been, trying to be as casual as possible. Soon, the playground returned to its normal volume, and sans relaxed a little - but only because the noise could mean a kind of cover.
He walked to a hidden copse of bush, and then he peered behind he, he predictably found no one but their weapons - two guns with silencers attached. Seeing these, he suspected that they'd come back, so, with a grin, he held up a hand and said one word:
"nope."
The guns imploded immediately, almost as melted as their bullets.
They met up after school was finished, and Toriel was enraged. "Bulletfire!" she snarled. "On my school's grounds, at my granddaughter! I'll kill them!" Asgore grabbed her and pulled her back before she left the staff room.
Undyne sighed, her chin in her hand. "Well, now we have yet another problem."
"humans are after her, too," sans agreed.
"SO WHAT DO WE DO, BESIDES GUARD HER AT ALL TIMES?" Papyrus wondered. "DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE?"
"We get to the bottom of who is responsible and we cut them off," Asgore said calmly. "But I must admit, something puzzles me."
"WHAT?" Papyrus pressed.
"Why shoot on the school grounds, and risk harming other children, and not just Nicky?"
"Because they don't care anymore, Asgore," Undyne said flatly, her eye narrowed.
"Where are Asriel and Nicky?" Toriel suddenly asked, looking worried.
"They're in the garden shed together, Asriel showing her the tools of his trade," Asgore replied, somewhat proudly. Toriel relaxed.
"BUT WHY DON'T THEY CARE ANYMORE?" Papyrus asked. "IT'S ODD THAT BOTH GROUPS DON'T CARE AT THE SAME TIME. DON'T YOU THINK?"
Shocked silence met his words. None of them had made that connection prior to now, but once it was made, it was so obvious that it was rather embarrassing.
"Could they actually be working together?" Toriel whispered, sounding horrified.
"How?" Undyne snapped. "Maybe they want the same thing, but wouldn't working together go against that very sentiment they share?!"
That was when she got a text message from Alphys, she checked was from her but didn't open it. If she had, things would have been very, very different. But as she did not, this is how it went.
And she would always regret it.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Asgore quipped sadly.
"Okay, but that still doesn't help us," sans said shortly. "is it carlson? who's the monster ringleader? who the hell's in charge, and how do we kill them?"
They understood the sentiment, but had no answers, regardless.
Nicky was in Asriel's arms, clinging tight, one hand clutching a wooden mallet like a soother. "I wanna go home, Papi," she admitted.
Asriel gave her a kiss, then nodded. "As soon as we get the all-clear from everyone, we can go right home, okay?"
He texted everyone and told them that with their okay, he and Nicky would be on their way. when he did get responses, he only accepted the ones from his parents, giving him the all-clear. With a smile, he picked up Nicky and went on his way - bullet-proof vests in place.
"Please," Alphys whispered, her hands raised and shaking and her eyes shut. "Please. I'm alone. Please. I'm a-alone."
The cold muzzle pressed closer to her chest and she stumbled back, feeling faint. She was held frozen at the door, Basket asleep in her room, and she was facing three humans at the doorway - one with a rifle to her chest.
"Liar," the gunperson said. "Your daughter is here." Alphys's eyes opened and filled, shaking her head desperately, but another jab silenced her. "Text your wife and tell her to come home, and we'll spare you and your daughter."
Alphys nodded, one hand going to her pocket and pulling out her phone, before lowering her other hand to text Undyne hurriedly. She sent it, then held her hands up again and said, "Th-there, I did it. Pl-please, my d-daughter..."
One of the other humans grabbed her phone, and she scrambled to get it back - but another painful, sharp jab from the rifle pushed her back. "Knew it. Look." They showed the gunperson her desperate message.
"Go through the back and save Basket! Don't worry about me, save Basket! Hurry!"
She shut her eyes, wincing, her hands shaking again.
"You think this is a joke, doctor?" the gunperson snarled. "You think this is a game?"
"N-no," she answered. "I w-want it to be j-just a n-nightmare."
"You want to save your daughter above yourself, right?"
She nodded desperately, her eyes filling. "Yes."
"You know, then, that you're dead already, right? You're useless to us, now."
She swallowed, her eyes going hard. "Yes."
"Then we have a compromise: die quietly, and we'll leave your kid to your wife." The humans exchanged looks with each other, all nodding. "None of us want to kill a baby, monster or not."
"Th-thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes, her raised hands closing into fists.
"Ready?"
She opened her eyes. "Wait. w-why are you doing th-this to us?"
"Honestly? Why does it matter? You're gonna die anyway. Why would you want to know?"
"I'm dead anyway. Why does it matter if I know?"
The gunperson shrugged. "True. Fine. Why are we doing this to you?" They aimed the rifle right at Alphys's chest, right above her heart, so close she could feel it.
"Because you're monsters. And because we can."
Alphys shut her eyes.
The human fired.
