"I don't want to fight you- any of you, I refuse to!" He cried.

Aruin stared at the ground, his hair a black veil over his indigo eyes. His violet mage robes fluttered in the wind as he refused to look up at him.

"None of us want to either, believe me, but he won't trust us if we don't," Aruin replied, still focusing on the ground. "We all wish that there was another way, unfortunately, there isn't."

"But why? What could be so important that you need to gain his trust? What's it he's planning?" He demanded.

"It's better you don't know, because then you can't do anything more to break our resolve... Just know this; for the survival of monsters it has to be done." The purple mage said, finally lifting his head.

Determination showed strong in his eyes. He wanted to say more, to protest further, but the words died in his throat. With a wave of his hand, Aruin began his attack, the pages of his tome fluttering over. And by the end of it, he was left clutching his right hand in pain as his friend turned and walked away, vanishing among the masses of fighting bodies. Blood and tears the only proof he'd been there at all.

"Please stop this! Whatever it is he's planning, there's no way it warrants this!"

Hydel acted as though he hadn't heard his protests, his blue eyes sprinkled with regret and determination framed by his platinum colored hair. The archer mage simply raised his bow, an arrow already on the string, and drew it back.

The battle ended quickly, he wasn't really putting his heart into it. He watched, clutching the right side of his face as his friend walked away.

"Naui, please, just tell me why the four of you need his trust." He pleaded.

"Sorry Gaster, I can't, Kaimeers up next and his kind heart wouldn't be able to take it," Naui replied. He could feel his friends' warm breath with every punch he avoided. The golden brunet's amber eyes were stoick with determination. But the tears were proof enough that he couldn't keep his emotions at bay.

At last one of Naui's fist collided with his skull, leaving him on the ground and clutching the space above his left eye.

"We'll understand if you hate us, it's a cruel thing we're doing, but it's what we have to do."

"I could never hate any of you, I know none of you are doing this because you want to." He whispered, watching the mage leave.

In their emerald mage robes and carved staff, Kaimeer looked more like an ethereal, otherworldly guide here to lede him away. And given how they normally were, it wasn't a stretch.

Their smile was pinched, forced. There was a redness in their green eyes, like they had been crying. Their brown hair swirled around him even in the slight breeze. Just because he used green magic the most did not mean it was all he knew.

He was left clutching his left hand as their expression became somber, mourning even.

"He plans on casting a spell that will turn Mt. Ebott into the tomb of monster kind, he already has the backing of the head mage as well as several other very important mages. Naui, Aruin, Hydel and I plan on changing that." Kaimeer explained. "We will be a part of the six he plans on having to aid him in the spell's casting, our intentions will prevent it from becoming a genocide spell.

"Only seven mages? But a spell of that caliber takes so much magic, you'll all-"

"We know that, but we are more than prepared to make this sacrifice for the sake of thousands of innocent souls. Not doing anything would go against all of our traits, especially Hydel's and mine."

He pressed his face deeper into his pillow, fighting back tears and choking down sobs as the painful memories returned. His friend; Aruin Naui, Kaimeer, and Hydel, they didn't deserve to die. Not with how loving their souls had been, he wanted so badly for this to be a dream, then all he'd have to do is wake up. But this was no dream, it was cold reality, his friends were dead, giving up their lives so monsters could survive and heal.

'Mama?'

His distress and sorrow had woken the soul. He could feel it's concern for him as it looked for the source of his anguish and pain. It was both adorable and heartwarming.

"I'm alright now, thank you." He murmured.

"Dad?"

He sat up and was surprised to find not only Sans, but Papyrus as well standing there in the doorway to his room. Both looked worried.

"You alright dad? I felt your magic flare up in here and came to check, Paps is worried too." Sans said.

For emphasis, Papyrus made a soft whining sound, his features soft. He'd undoubtedly felt it too.

"I'm fine now, just some unpleasant memories. You can both come keep me company if you want, help keep the nasty memories away." He offered.

Ans was answered by two little skeletons jumping onto the foot of his bed and crawling over to him. Smiling, he curled his arms around them, closing his eyes.

"Dad, were you talking to someone earlier?" Sans drowsily asked.

He froze. He hadn't realized the two had been there for that long, he had no reason to. Thankfully his eldest son nodded off, but it didn't make this feel any less horrifying.

He paused what he was doing and placed a hand on his middle. There it was again, the strange sensation, no stronger or weaker than before. Glancing around the room for any unwanted visitors(He still hadn't learned how Chara had gotten in), he confirmed what he was indeed alone. He lifted up his shirt just enough to see the child. His soul pulsed a little at the sight. The body was old enough that it and the soul had combined. A little over two months and the body was already wiggling about, whenever he checked it was always in a different position. At this point he was silently gushing as he caressed the barrier with both hands, his mouth in the shape of a soft smile, radiating love and affection.

"My, my, what an energetic little thing you are." He cooed softly.

He was once again reminded the the child still was lacking a name. He'd decided a while back that a font name was a no go, the child would be more human than skeleton, it just didn't feel right. Mulling over his problem for a bit, a suitable name popped into his mind. Hollow. He liked it.

"Hollow." He said aloud, testing it. "Yes, my little Hollow."

It felt right, so Hollow it was. He smiled as he lowered his shirt back down. There was one challenge dealt with. Now that he'd decided a name, the second, or maybe third, hardest part was over and done with.

Edna was no fool, nor was he unaware of the woman's sharp observation skills. He was well aware of the glances she'd occasionally give him, and the growing attention to his middle and the new swell there. She never brought it up or even mention it, but she did make it known that she'd noticed it. For it could not be written off as the effects of actually eating properly. Now that he and Grillby were a couple, the elemental didn't let him get away skipping meals.

The elemental in question had also noticed the new plumpness in his middle section, they were too cuddly for him not to have, but he'd never brought it up either. Thankfully it was small enough to hide from the casual observer. But how long would that last? Hollow's body was five months along now, and he was expecting this to take between nine and ten months. By then there's no way he could hide it, not even from a brief glance, even with his preference for sweater that were slightly larger than necessary. By seven months he'd be visibly showing.

He was driven from his thought by the speaker in his office buzzing.

"Dr. Gaster?" Toriel's voice asked from the speaker.

She sounded distressed, like she might break out sobbing at any moment.

"Your majesty, what's wrong?" He asked.

"It's Agore- the children made a pie and he had a slice. He started groaning and dry heaving soon after, then vomited shortly after, he's gotten worse." The normally calm and composed woman sobbed.

So it happened after eating a slice of pie.

"Do you know what type of pie it was that the two made?" He asked.

"Butterscotch." She rasped.

Butterscotch… That explained it, one of the ingredients in the recipe called was cups of butter if memory served. The king had a garden of buttercups just outside the barrier, one of the only places where sunlight existed.

"I know what happened, I'll be over shortly."
He ended the call after that and got up. He was now very, very glad his own children didn't have access to a flower garden and a kitchen.

Asgore was not doing well. The blankets and sheets clung to his sweaty fur and mane, there were dark patches under his eyes and he was writhing in pain. Thankfully the king was nowhere near close to death, the children had not included enough of the deadly flowers to be fatal. First, he emptied the king's stomach one more to be certain he could not ingest any more of the pie, then had him swallow an antidote. The effects weren't immediate, Asgore's expression was still one twisted with pain, but the antidote would clear his body of the poison.

He found Toriel in the kitchen, the pie in question still resting on the table. She looked up at him with worried eyes, but calmed down when she saw him nod.

"Asgore will be fine by tomorrow." He told her. "The children included buttercups instead of cups of butter, probably it confused them. The plant is poisonous, thankfully they didn't use too many."

"Thank you for helping," Toriel said, shoulders relaxing. "I'll make sure to talk to Asriel and Chara about it, they'll be happy to know their father will be alright."

"You're welcome."