Undertale: Long Road
By: Nathan Weaver
Chapter: 20
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Frisk asked as she looked past the curtains at all the kids milling about the front yard. "You could stay home, I'm sure mom would keep you company.
"Ugh, no thanks!" Flowey grumbled from his perch in her arms, as he glanced toward the same window Frisk had just been looking through with masked apprehension. "I can't spend time with her, Frisk, I just can't."
"So, you can't," Frisk repeated as she stared down at her friend with a curious look, "but, would you like to?" Flowey opened his mouth to answer, only to close it as his eyes slowly shifted from side to side in thought.
"Maybe, a little," Flowey said with a heavy sigh as he looked back out the window and shrugged. "But I can't let her figure out who I am; not yet."
"Well, maybe later then," Frisk smiled and hefted Flowey higher in her arms. Back before he had started taking his medicine again, he wouldn't have even considered revealing who he was. The fact that he had done so now, showed just how far he had come. Maybe it wasn't happening as quickly as she'd like, but he had definitely changed in the past month or so.
"It's alright," Frisk reassured as she reached for the door-knob. "I'll be by your side the whole time. If you feel uncomfortable, just let me know."
"Thank you," Flowey answered in a near whisper and bashfully turned to stare at the floor.
Smiling, Frisk quickly shook her head and opened the door before stepping outside. She was hit by a chorus of chatter and antics as she was greeted by a chaotic crowd of monsters around her own age. As she watched she could see that many of them were busy, packing food, clothes, or camping gear into cars, while the rest of the children drifted aimlessly.
All in all, this was easily one of the most hectic things Frisk had seen in awhile. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe the parents could do something to get it all under control. But, given that all the kids had already formed up into packs, she doubted that was going to happen.
When mom had told her about Asgore's end of summer camping trip it had sounded like a lot of fun. It still did, but now that it was happening she couldn't help feeling a bit intimidated by it all. In fact, as she looked out at all the unfamiliar faces she couldn't stop her lips from spreading into a nervous grin.
"Hey, is that Frisk!?"
"Oh wow!
"It is, it is!
Frisk turned to see three other kids running toward her. They were all monsters, but other than that they were each very different. One was a pink little bunny girl wearing a cute summer dress, and next to her was a tall girl made of green flames. Between those two, an insect-like monster fluttered about on gossamer wings. Peering more closely, she saw that it looked like a cross between a round beetle, and a droopy, depressed fairy, but it was still cute in its own way.
As they screeched to a halt before her, Frisk was struck with the sense that she'd seen each of these three monsters somewhere before, but she couldn't recall where exactly.
"Uh, hello!" Frisk said as she demurely waved at the trio with one hand, "well I guess you all already know who I am!"
"Of course we do!"
"Duh, you helped free us!"
"Yeah, you're a hero!"
"Hey, is it true that you fought with Mettaton on television!"
"Oh jeez, yeah I missed that too!"
The questions came in a rapid flurry, one after another. They came almost too quickly for Frisk to even tell who had spoken, let alone answer any of them. She was still struggling for footing when she noticed Flowey nervously eying the three, with an almost frightened expression.
"Sorry, could you three all take a step back?" Frisk quickly asked, almost without thinking. "My friend, he isn't comfortable around strangers."
Strictly speaking, that wasn't entirely true. While Flowey had never particularly liked meeting new people, he hadn't become this uptight around them until very recently. In fact, that was the entire reason she'd been reluctant to bring him along.
"Sure thing!" said the fire girl in a calm understanding voice as she took several long steps back.
"Yeah!" the rabbit nodded and quickly stepped back as well, though not nearly as far, "We aren't strangers though silly, we've met!"
"Yes, you said kind words to me in the Ruins!" the insect-like Whimsun said as it fluttered backward. "Thank you for that, by the way."
"We talked in Hotland," the fire girl added with a polite nod, "though, I didn't realize you were human at the time."
"Yeah, sorry about that?" the bunny girl grinned in embarrassment and shrugged uncertainly. "Back In Snowdin, I just thought you were some weird kid without fur, not that you look weird!" She quickly added that last bit as she waved her hands in a panic.
"That's alright, I get what you mean," Frisk said with a smile as she felt a surge of affection for these three. They may have been strangers until just a moment ago, but they were nice, and certainly seemed interested in getting to know her!
"Frisk dear," Toriel called from the other end of the yard amidst the thickest part of the chaos. "I am sorry, but could you come over here and give me a hand?"
"Be right there!" Frisk quickly stood on her tippy toes and called back before settling on her heels. "She needs me, but I'll find you all again later, okay?"
"Sure thing!" the bunny girl said with a smile as she bounced in place. "Oh, and I'm Bonnie by the way!"
"Whimsie," the small insect-like monster chimed in demurely.
"And I'm Fuku," Frisk was a little surprised to see the green flame girl actually bow as she gave her name. She seemed really nice but very polite and formal.
"And uh, I'm me," Frisk added with a tight nod as she lamented how awkward it was to introduce herself to people who already knew who she was. It was all a part of being famous she supposed, but she didn't think she'd ever get used to it. It was just so weird that nearly every monster already knew who she was, and that was practically everyone she hung out with these days. "Well, I'll catch you all in a bit!"
Waving, Frisk stepped past the small group and began walking across the yard towards the pile of camping gear that kids and parents were piling at the other end of the yard. Given that she kept having to stop for people or walk around them, it was surprisingly slow going.
"Sorry about all that," Frisk said quietly as she looked down to see the way Flowey was gazing at anyone that wandered too close. "So, what happened, you weren't this nervous around people before."
"Everyone seems bigger than before," Flowey muttered without taking his eyes off another kid that was passing nearby, "and they all look at me funny now!"
Frisk blinked in surprise at that. Except for mom, she hadn't noticed anyone looking at him differently than before. Yeah, people did stare at him, but that wasn't new. Maybe he was now noticing because he had gotten so much of his soul back? Or, maybe he had noticed, and just hadn't cared before. She couldn't know of course, but at least now she had some idea why his behavior had changed.
"Yoooo Frisk!"
Hearing her name, she turned to see Monster Kid, running up to see her with a huge grin on his face. However, as he got closer and saw the passenger in her arms, his smile became decidedly less enthusiastic.
*Oh boy!
Don't tell me you're bringing him!" MK said with a grimace as he narrowed his eyes at Flowey. "Couldn't you leave him behind this once?!"
*Fight, fight, fight!
"I can't do that!" Frisk answered as her eyes went wide at the sudden conflict, "it'd be cruel, and, he's like family. She muttered the last part in a near whisper as her gaze nervously fell to the ground. She knew that MK had a good reason for being upset with Flowey, but that didn't mean she wasn't to choose between them.
"Like family!?" MK repeated incredulously as he looked from side to side in open-mouthed disbelief. "What does that make me Frisk, I thought we were…"
"Um, excuse me?" Flowey said in a stiff stilted voice as he reluctantly brought his gaze up to meet the other boy. Both Frisk and Monster Kid blinked in confusion. Neither of them expected him to speak up at that moment, let alone for him to be polite about it.
It was only then that Frisk noticed how nervous Flowey was. He couldn't even bring himself to meet Monster Kids eyes. It was as if every time he looked up something pulled his gaze back downward. But eventually, he managed to meet his gaze and took a deep breath opening his mouth to speak.
"About before," Flowey began before pausing to swallow nervously, "I'm sorry."
Two sets of eyes grew as wide as saucers, as both kids looked down at Flowey in shock. Though Frisk knew he was getting better, she had not expected him to actually apologize to someone. Not yet anyway, and definitely not to somebody other than her.
"I was mad and said things that I shouldn't have," Flowey sighed and broke eye contact before his head sank tiredly, almost as if he was ashamed. "I know this doesn't make everything okay but, for what it's worth, you're not pathetic."
"Oh," Monster kid looked around in confusion, his mouth moving wordlessly as he struggled with suddenly having the wind taken from his sails. "Well, okay then." For a long moment after that, the three stood there in silence. None of them were sure exactly what to say until finally MK opened his mouth and broke the impasse.
"You know, my dad could probably use my help," Monster Kid said with a reluctant shrug as he looked across the yard at a man who could pass for an older version of himself. "Catch you later?"
"Yeah, sure!" Frisk smiled and gave a quick nod. Truthfully, she would have loved to talk more, but even before this latest shocker, it hadn't been the best time for it. "Besides, I should be helping out anyway."
"Alright, later then!" with that Monster Kid turned and began weaving back through the crowd towards his dad, as Frisk waved goodbye.
"Oh wow!" Frisk practically beamed as she lifted Flowey up in her outstretched arms stared at him with a big dopey smile. "You're just full of surprises today, aren't you?"
*I'll say. We didn't see any bloodshed or anything. So disappointing.
"Don't make a big deal out of it!" Flowey groaned as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It just needed to be said, alright?"
"Alright," Frisk repeated without breaking her smile she returned to holding him by her side. "But still, you did really good, I'm proud of you." She didn't see it, but Flowey blinked in surprise, only for a smile to spread across his face as he turned to hide his blush.
On his own, it might have taken minutes for Flowey to wipe away his grin and get his expression back under control. In that time, he was sure Frisk would notice and make this huge deal out of it. He wasn't sure why but the idea of her seeing him like that bothered him.
Luckily for him, it was at that moment that the corniest car Flowey had ever seen pulled into the driveway, and completely wiped the grin off his face.
"Is that Asgore?" Flowey asked in a high disbelieving voice, as he stared slack-jawed at the strange vehicle. "What's he driving?!"
"Oh, that's right," Frisk chuckled tightly at she stared at the red and white VW Bus the immense monster had stuffed himself into. The whole thing looked like a colorful milk carton sitting on its side to her. "You never did see his new car, did you?"
Before he could answer, the king of the monsters popped open his door and began the process of squeezing his way out of the vehicle. As roomy as a hippie van may be to other people, for him it was clearly more than a little bit cramped.
"Howdy!" Asgore yelled out as he stepped out of the car and the frame buckled at the sudden decrease in weight, "Are you kids ready to have a good time?"
Frisk grinned widely, as all around here other kids yelled out in reply.
"This sure is a lot of children," thought Asgore as he shut the car door and looked at the army of kids moving about Toriel's front lawn, "I wonder if we have enough chaperones?" They'd make it work, but as he walked around the car, he couldn't help wondering why so many parents had signed their kids up at the last minute.
"Asgore!" came the familiar voice of Frisk as she ran up to him with a smile, her little flower friend in tow. "Have I told you how much I love your car?"
"Why yes, yes you have!" Asgore said with a deep rumbling chuckle as he smiled at the carefully restored vintage vehicle, "I'm rather fond of it too!" He really was too, he knew that other people thought it was a bit much, but he loved how colorful and distinctive it was. Though he'd love it more if it was a little roomier. Even after customization, he still bumped his horns into the roof, sometimes. Thankfully, he'd had it diamond plated, so no damage was done at least.
"So, are you excited for this weekend?" Asgore asked as he bent forward and grinned at her happy face. "Don't tell anyone, but I've heard we'll be making what you surface dwellers call, s'mores!" At that, he scrunched his face up into a playful mock-wink and chuckled as Frisk snorted in delight.
"I'm really looking forward to it!" Frisk said with an enthusiastic grin, as she held up the flowerpot toward him. "And so is Flowey, really, he hasn't stopped talking about it!"
"Oh, is that right!" Asgore chuckled again and made a show of raising both eyebrows as he glanced down at Flowey with a smile. He didn't really know the funny little creature, but if Frisk wanted him to be a part of their game that was fine by him. However, as his gaze settled on him, he jerked away and stared down at the driveway in obvious discomfort.
"Yeah, that's right," Flowey answered in an uneven stutter, his eyes briefly flickering toward him before they snapped back to the ground. "It sounds fun."
Asgore blinked in confusion and slowly stood back to his full height. Maybe he was reading too much into it, but something about Flowey's behavior just now seemed, off. It wasn't just that he hadn't acted like this before either, though that was certainly strange in itself. No, what bothered him the most was that the way Flowey had behaved just now seemed, painfully familiar.
"Are you alright?" Frisk asked as she looked up at him and narrowed her eyes in concern.
"It's nothing," Asgore said as he snapped himself back to the here and now with a shake of his head. "So, are you packed and ready to go?"
"Got my backpack right here!" Frisk gestured to the heavy pink bag strapped around her shoulders and smiled. "There's a sleeping bag and a few other things back in the living room too!"
"Well then, let's get that loaded into the back!"
A short time later, Asgore found himself happily humming away as he loaded whatever people handed him into the back of his van. As it turned out, since he'd had the back seat taken out to give himself more leg room, he was going to be hauling quite a lot of the gear himself. He didn't mind, he had the extra room after all, and was quickly making use of it.
As busy as he was with his head buried in the back arranging luggage, he didn't notice Toriel slowly walking up behind him. That is, he didn't notice, until he heard her calling out his name.
"Asgore," Toriel said loudly as she cleared her throat, "we need to talk!"
Surprised, Asgore sat bolt upright only for his horns to slam into the diamond plate ceiling and create a noise not unlike hitting a steel drum with a hammer.
"Are you alright!?" Toriel asked with wide eyes and stared at her former husband as he clutched at his skull.
"I'm fine!" Asgore groaned in a low voice as he sucked in air, "It doesn't hurt, it just rattled me a bit!" That was more than somewhat of an understatement. It may not have hurt, but the echoes bouncing around his skull certainly weren't at all pleasant. Not for the first time, he wondered if maybe he should cover that ceiling with something a bit softer.
"So," Asgore began as he slowly stood upward, careful not to hit his horns a second time, "how can I help you?"
"Like I said, we need to talk," Toriel repeated as she seemed to look everywhere but at him, "but not here, let's do this somewhere private."
"Oh, I see," shrugging, Asgore nervously scratched the back of his head as he took a quick look around for somewhere that matched that description. "Well, if you have a place in mind, lead the way."
Without saying a word, Toriel turned and walked around the car, to the side of the house. Asgore quietly followed but didn't make it more than halfway around the van, before he overheard two parents talking heatedly nearby.
"Can you believe they're still doing this," said a feathery bird woman in a hushed tone that nevertheless carried. "With all these murders going on, you'd think the king would've canceled!"
"Shh, be thankful he didn't!" the other woman hissed as she held a finger to her mouth. "At least this gets our kids out of harm's way for awhile!"
Asgore stopped in his tracks at the words but otherwise made no reaction. Had that been why so many parents had signed their kids up late? Did they just see this as a way to get their kids out of the city while things were dangerous? It was surprising, but he couldn't really blame them.
Since that first horrible murder around mid-summer, more monsters had been killed every week. What started out as an isolated tragedy, had turned into a near panic. Even the news people had become frantic. Senator Crier was on the television almost daily, telling people these crimes were proof that monsters and humans couldn't live together. Even worse, people on both sides were starting to believe it.
With a sigh, Asgore shook his head and resumed following Toriel, having paused for less than a second while going over his thoughts.
One brief walk later, they both came to a stop next to the porch in Toriel's back yard. With a quick glance, Asgore knew it wasn't the most private of places to speak. Any of the kids could've walked in on them, but for now, at least they were alone. Besides that, he doubted they were going to be discussing anything all that sensitive.
"Well then, is Sans doing alright?" Asgore asked casually as he made a show of looking around the yard. "I thought he'd be out lending a hand, he isn't sick is he?"
"He is testing something," Toriel said with a sigh as she waved off the question. "Now, could we please get on with this? I did not call you back here to be social."
"Yes, I guess I did know that," Asgore took a deep breath and closed his eyes tight before slowly letting it out. Of course, he had known, she wouldn't forgive him so easily for what he had done. And yet, a foolish part of him hadn't been able to help getting its hopes up.
"So," he began as he looked up at Toriel with a wistful smile, "how can I help you?
"I need you to watch Flowey," Toriel frowned and quickly looked away from him as she answered. Asgore couldn't help but widen his eyes in confusion at the request.
"Of course I'll watch him," Asgore said with a disbelieving shake of head, "he's tiny, and the wilderness is no place for a flower!"
"That is not what I meant!" clenching her jaw tight, she folded her arms and met Asgore's gaze with hard, serious eyes. "I need you to watch him."
Asgore went still as he heard the steel in her voice. She was serious. Looking into her eyes had left no doubt of that. He hadn't seen her so intense since, since the day she'd left him.
"What's going on?" he asked seriously as he glanced over his shoulder back in the direction they had come. "What is it you even want me to look for?"
"I cannot tell you that," Toriel answered in as quiet and calm a voice as she could manage, though she couldn't hide the tightness in her throat. "I just need to know, if you see what I do."
"Please, what is it that you think you see?" Asgore asked in a quiet intense tone as he turned to look back at her. Normally, he wouldn't talk to Toriel this way, but if something was making her this upset he had to know what it was.
"What I see?!" Toriel choked out, her voice unsteady. The trembling tone halting Asgore, who was ready to pry her for more. "What I see is impossible!"
Asgore wanted to say something, he wanted to comfort her, but without knowing what was going on he didn't even know where to begin. In the end, he was never able to find the right words and was only able to stare as she slowly shook her head.
"Just, watch him closely," Toriel said again as she took a steady breath and regained her composure, "I am sure you will understand what I am looking for, very soon."
"Alright," Asgore practically whispered as he raised his hands in surrender, "for you, I can do that."
Shaking his head with a sigh, Asgore furrowed his brows as he tried to puzzle out what this could be about. There had been something about Flowey that had nagged at him, and maybe that was part of this. Whatever this ended up being, it couldn't be worth all this turmoil, could it?
"Thank you," Toriel said in a soft genuine voice as she uncomfortably turned her gaze to the ground. "I appreciate you doing this."
"It's nothing," Asgore sighed with a slow shake of his head before wondering how the parents were doing without him or Toriel to help with the children. Thinking back to how crazy things had been earlier, probably not well.
"I better get back," Asgore smiled and held up his hands apologetically, even as he began to turn around. "Go ahead and take a break, I'll handle things for a bit." Walking away as he was, he was unable to see if she had an immediate reaction to his words. However, before he could disappear back around the corner of the house, she called him out once more.
"Asgore," Toriel called out in a firm but not harsh tone, "if I could ask you for just one last thing?"
"Go ahead," Asgore looked back and felt himself relax as he saw Toriel smile, ever so slightly.
"School starts on Monday," Toriel said without breaking her smile, "If my little girl isn't back in time for her first day, I will hunt you down!"
"Yes," Asgore chuckled as his grin grew to match Toriel's own, "perfectly understood!"