Chapter Ten
Royal Chains And Triangles
Toriel had been aware of what was going on since she fell asleep. The transition was so seamless, as if it were a dream, but it too real to be a dream. She had no control of her own body; she felt like a puppet on a string. Tori had walked and talked without her even thinking about it, it was all being done for her. It was a nightmare beyond measure; she had hurt and tried to kill Frisk. Could she forgive herself for it? Could Frisk forgive her? Was Frisk even alive?
Toriel began to open her eyes, seeing a white room, and some curtains around her. Was she awake? Or was this another dream? Where was she?
A man stood over her, looking at equipment next to her and making notes on a clipboard. He was wearing an outfit of an ugly sea-greenish color, and with a flat set of brown hair on his head, above his round glasses. The man looked at Toriel, then started yelling out.
"She's awake!" He exclaimed.
It all happened so quickly that Toriel didn't have time to process it all. A doctor appeared at her bedside to her right and began to ask her questions, presumably if she was alright. Toriel tried to remain conscious, but she soon fell back into a deep sleep.
…
The rest of the events upon her next awakening was a blur. She was okay enough to walk, the three fingers she lost were healed into little stubs, and she changed into patient cloths so that her robes could be washed by one of the nurses. They managed to stop the rest of her body from crumbling apart, including her innards, but she had received a lot of damage from her finger wounds being untreated for so long. Monsters don't wound the same way as humans; if there is a wound, no matter how small, it needs to be treated or else they start to fall apart from the inside out. Almost every monster has very resilient skin because of this, and it takes a lot to penetrate through the hide or skin of most monsters. The dust, if the wound is closed up, eventually starts to regenerate and rebuild the body so long as the wound remains closed, and the process occurs rather quickly.
Thankfully, the doctors operating on her knew this. Either that, or they simply closed the wound not knowing what else to do.
Toriel was taken to see Sans and Papyrus, who were placed in the same room. They were both alright. Sans had a small crack in his skull, which Toriel left, but other than that he seemed okay. Papyrus lost one of his very back teeth when Asgore struck him in the face, but it was already beginning to grow back. They were both still sleeping. Toriel was taken to see Frisk. Frisk was alright, asleep as well. Frisk had gauzes across his face, covering several burns. The doctor said that Frisk had been burnt pretty bad, but nothing that isn't recoverable. It relieved Toriel to hear that.
Toriel wanted to wake Frisk up, to tell them how sorry she was. Tori raised her hand to look at her stubbed fingers. Frisk had always been a pacifist, and never wanted to hurt anyone, even if they hurt Frisk or others. Frisk was stubborn like that. Yet Frisk found it necessary to cut her fingers off. Why? Why didn't Frisk just run? Something wasn't right about this, Toriel knew that for sure. She felt it in her gut. Whenever she had a gut feeling, she was usually right. Sans jokingly called it her "mother instinct". After many years of taking care of human child after child, she knew how each tended to tick. Frisk wouldn't do that. But she pushed the thought in the back of her mind for now.
Lastly, the doc took Toriel to see Asgore. Walking down the hallway next to the doctor, she entered the room to her left and saw Asgore on the cot. Even from the view of the doorway, she could see that he was injured quite bad. His skin swelled up in multiple places on his face and had burns and singes on his fur.. Asgore was awake, and he looked at Tori and smiled.
"You are okay…" Asgore said softly.
"We managed to help him regain consciousness," The doctor explained to Toriel, "He had lots of glass shards lodged into his face and arms, which we managed to pick most of it out. The rest will have to come up on its own. We also managed to stop any internal disintegration from occurring further. He should be healed up and ready to go in a few days. He's tough, that's for sure."
"Thank you so much, doctor!" Toriel hugged the doctor for all the good work he and others have done. The doctor hugged back and then released.
"Doctor," Asgore called from the bed, "Have you heard any news about the mushroom creature who did this?"
The doctor looked at Asgore shook his head, "No, we haven't. I'm sorry… I must check with the other patients. I'll let you two talk." The doctor left abruptly, leaving Toriel and Asgore alone with nothing but the sound of the light beeping of medical equipment and a ticking clock above the door. Toriel approached the bedside and kneeled down.
Asgore smiled at her, then looked into her eyes, "None of this is your fault, Tori. Nobody will blame you for anything."
Toriel would usually despise Asgore for calling her Tori, but under these circumstances, she didn't care. She was just happy all of her friends were alright, including Asgore. Toriel looked into Asgore's eyes as well, and immediately felt warm and safe. It seemed proficient fire magic users could do that, and while Toriel and Asgore were still together, it was a frequent exercise of comfort and intimacy between them. The warmth was pleasant, and Toriel could sense nostalgia in her from it.
"Despite it all, I still care about you, Asgore." Tori responded, changing the subject.
"Even after all the disgusting things I have done?" Asgore seemed surprised by what Toriel had said.
"Yes," She confirmed, "Even after it all. I'm glad you're okay." Toriel instinctively reached over and held Asgore's hand with her good right hand. She didn't really know why she did that, but she held onto Asgore's hand, as if Asgore would die if she let go of him.
Asgore caressed his thumb on Toriel's hand affectionately while it was being held. For just a brief moment, her mind flashed back to the time Asgore was deathly sick in the Underground, when Asriel and Chara were still alive. Asgore held her hand and caressed it the exact same way, and the way he did it spoke to her. It said that everything would be alright, that nobody is going to be hurt anymore. Despite everything that has happened, that nostalgic feeling gave her comfort. She held Asgore's hand tighter. Again, under normal circumstances, she would probably slap Asgore for trying to show such affection, but Toriel felt she needed it from him. It was a while since she saw this side of him. For such a long time since after their release from the Underground, Asgore has simply been bitter and angry, at Sans especially. It wasn't like him to be like that, but Toriel leaving him took a serious toll.
For that period of time he held her hand, for once in a long while…. She wanted Asgore back. She had forgotten about the things he has done, and in place remembered all the happy memories they spent together. That moment seemed to last for so long, until Asgore frowned and realized what he was doing, slowly letting go of Toriel's hand shamefully. Toriel was disappointed, but she didn't bother to urge Asgore on.
As soon as Asgore let go, Toriel seemed to forget the happy memories a moment. No, she needed to get back to reality. Asgore was a murderer. A killer. He took her children away. She was glad he was okay, but that doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean she forgives him. He is an unforgivable welp and didn't deserve that moment.
Toriel stood up, giving Asgore a quick forced smile, "I'm glad you're okay. I'm going to check on the others."
She walked out of the room, and didn't bother to look back at Asgore. She felt her eyes welling up, but she held them back with all her might. She stepped out into the hallway, and she noticed some men sitting in chairs that she hadn't seen before. She wasn't sure why this bothered her, but she supposed that paranoia was getting to her. She needed to see Sans. Toriel turned to walk, but she almost ran into the doctor.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Toriel apologized.
"It's fine. Sans and Papyrus are awake. You can come and speak to them now."
Toriel quickly thanked the doctor and ran into the next room.
Papyrus was the first one to greet Toriel, and Sans, still exhausted (or just being lazy as usual) smiled at Toriel. Sans always seemed to have some sort of smile to varying degrees, but she could tell that Sans was happy to see her. Sans frowns very rarely, and when he does, he looks kinda scary, almost like it's unnatural for him to do so. Toriel hugged Papyrus, then hugged Sans.
"so, is asgore ay-okay?" Sans asked.
"Yes, he is," Toriel answered, "In fact, he should be recovered within the next few days."
"and you?" Sans' little white pupils directed themselves at Toriel. Her focus turned down to the floor shamefully.
"I hurt you, Sans. I tried to kill Frisk. I put everyone here."
"c'mon tori, don't be like that," Sans said, "you know you didn't have control of your actions."
"Yes, but… When you see yourself doing it, when you see your own hands do these deeds, it is hard not to think like that."
"DON'T FEEL BAD, TORIEL!" Papyrus assured from the other bed, "AT LEAST EVERYONE IS OKAY NOW."
Sans nodded in agreement, "how is frisk?"
"Frisk will be alright, though he has burns on his face. Recoverable, but not sure how long it will take for full healing."
"alright. that's good to hear. i hope that-... tori!" Sans' countenance turned to a scary looking frown and he sat up in his bed, "what happened to your hand!?"
"Oh…" Toriel lifted her damaged hand, almost forgetting about it. It felt as though she could still move her missing fingers, like they were there the whole time; a ghost appendage extending from where they once were. Toriel hesitated to tell Sans, but Toriel knew it would be best if she spoke the truth, "Frisk did this. Out of self-defense."
Sans simply sat there, stunned for a few moments.
"so you're saying that frisk… our frisk… did that to you?"
"Don't be angry, Sans." Toriel pleaded, though Toriel could see that Sans seemed more scared than angry. Sans was shocked, but he shook himself out of his daze and began to get out of the bed.
"i need to see frisk," Sans said, "right now."
"SANS, YOU SHOULD LAY DOWN AND REST." Papyrus suggested
"He's right, Sans," Toriel agreed, "You should lay down."
"papyrus, tori, you guys don't understand," Sans argued, "frisk isn't being themselves,"
Toriel gave a confused expression. What was Sans talking about?
"Sans, what are you-"
A loud noise from the hallway interrupted Toriel. It was yelling, incomprehensible struggling, but Toriel could recognize one of the voices. Asgore! Toriel ran into the hallway and went past Frisk's room to see Asgore. The doctor got in Toriel's way,
"Stay calm, Toriel, don't panic-"
"What is going on!?" Toriel demanded. More struggling. Toriel pushed the doctor out of the way and entered Asgore's room.
The two men from outside earlier were now in the room, struggling with Asgore. One of the men was tying something onto Asgore while the yelling continued.
"Stop!" Asgore pleaded, "What are you doing!?"
"King Asgore Dreemurr, you are under arrest for the murder of Mayor Kaluza of Ebbot City."
"What?! I did not do anything!" Asgore stated firmly, "I did not kill him!"
Regardless of Asgore's plea, the policemen tied a rope around his beefy arms anyway, cuffing his arms to the bed.
"You have the right to remain silent," the other officer began with the Miranda Rights, "Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements. Do you understand these rights that I have read to you?"
Asgore stopped struggling, and simply nodded.
"Having these rights in mind, do you wish to speak with us now?"
Asgore slowly shook his head.
"What is going on here!?" Toriel finally snapped out of her shocked daze. She attempted to approach the bed, but one of the officers slowed her down and stepped in front of her.
"Ma'am, please do not interfere. We have reason to believe that Mr. Dreemurr has committed a murder."
"I don't care what reason you have to believe it; you're going to listen!" Toriel looked at the officer straight in the eyes, "Asgore may have done some evil things, but he would NEVER actively go out and kill someone out of spite or for any reason unless he had no other choice!" Toriel pierced the officer's eyes with her own gaze. She wasn't sure why she defended Asgore so, but seeing him in cuffs made her feel defensive of him. "Now, I want to talk to my husband! Alone…" Toriel took a small breath and smiled at the officer, "Can you do that please?"
The officer hesitated a bit, but otherwise did as she asked.
"We will wait outside of the room…"
Both of the policemen walked out, giving Toriel and Asgore alone time. Toriel approached the side of the bed and looked down upon Asgore. It didn't make any sense. Asgore would never kill the Mayor. The Mayor was the only one Asgore ever trusted within the Human Government. Why would Asgore murder the only bureaucrat he could rely on? Toriel decided to look into it.
"Where were you last night, before you came to the house?" Toriel asked calmly
"I was at Undyne's and Alphys' apartment." Asgore answered casually, "Speaking of housing, our- I mean, your house- completely burned down last night. I do not think that the house itself is salvageable, nor is anything inside."
Toriel took out her cell phone,
"I know a teacher at school. Her brother is a lawyer. He's really good and he can help us out. Until a lawyer is with you, I don't want you saying a single word to police."
"Toriel?" Asgore asked like a child whom done something wrong.
"Yes, Asgore?" Toriel paused from dialing the digits into the phone.
"You believe me, right?" Asgore said, "I did not do it."
Toriel kneeled down next to Asgore's bed,
"Of course I do. Why would you think I wouldn't?"
"You have not believed in me up to this point. You already saw me as a heartless murderer. I can tell by the way you look and talk to me."
Toriel remained silent.
"Though, to be perfectly candid," Asgore continued, "You have the right to think that way of me. I have caused you nothing but misery, and I know that you will never be able to forgive me."
Toriel still stayed quiet.
"We have spent more years than I can count together," Asgore kept going, "I have made mistakes. And I regret them to the bottom of my heart. What must I do to earn your forgiveness? I would walk across a sea of razors for you, be tied of and beaten, even die for you. Even now, when you least believe in me, I would do it."
Toriel didn't know what to say next. She never considered ever granting Asgore forgiveness, but now it made her think of what Asgore could to do earn her forgiveness, to make reparations to the past. Was there anything Asgore could do?
"The longer you hold onto your hatred for me, the more we both will hurt," Asgore said. "I do not even care if you will be with me, but I need your forgiveness, for both our sakes. Can you forgive me? Toriel, I love you-"
"No you DON'T!" Toriel yelled, getting up and turning her back to Asgore. "If you loved me, you would have heeded my advice, and you would have not gone to war with humanity! If you loved me, you would have respected Asriel's memory rather than using it as an excuse to go to war!"
"I know, Toriel," Asgore replied calmly, "I was filled with hate when I made the choice, and full of fear if I were to crush the hopes of monsters. I put myself in that position, and my love for you was clouded by my hate for the humans and the desire for our freedom."
Toriel looked back at Asgore. She was going to say something, but the door behind her opened up. One of the officers were at the door.
"Ma'am, someone is here."
Sans appeared as the officer backed away.
"tori! thank goodness! frisk is awake! C'mon, let's go see him!" Sans went away.
Toriel gazed back at Asgore. He nodded in acknowledgement. Toriel walked away thinking on what Asgore said. Was it better she forgive him, or simply keep hating him? She would have to find out soon enough.