Asriel couldn't move. There were no real purple threads holding him in place, but the purple SOUL's influence was unsettlingly strong. His monster SOUL was the only thing he could move, and even then it could only be done on the grid formed right in front of him. Ciruel didn't seem to be faring much better, either. The way he was trembling, the way his fists clenched…he was under a considerable amount of stress. The threads emerging from him held him in place, too, and his unstable SOUL shook as if it was going to shatter in any moment.

The monster has something clear: there's no way he was going to attack Ciruel. His SOUL was in no condition to resist any attacks. A single ember, no matter how weak, could make the SOUL burst like a water balloon, and Asriel didn't want to know how badly things would go if that happened. Death was the most obvious consequence, and in the nigh probability Ciruel survived, he had no idea how a human without a SOUL would fare.

ACT - CHECK

*CIRUEL 23 ATK 16 DEF

* PERSEVERANCE

It was a decent amount of DEF and from what Asriel could see Ciruel had more HP than anyone else he had met so far, but it didn't mean anything if the SOUL was so unstable.

The only option to deal with this FIGHT was to make Ciruel get a grip on his emotions and stop it himself. Once that happened maybe his SOUL could begin to heal. "Listen, you need to let us go" Asriel said with as much calmness as he could muster.

"Let you go?! That is not an option!" he shouted. His SOUL pulsed, white spheres travelling through the threads and taking form. It was an attack, brought from Ciruel's out of control emotions. It all take the shape of books, all of them positioned around Asriel's SOUL, conveniently following the purple threads imprisoning his SOUL. The books fell and crossed the air, forcing the monster SOUL to move along the threads to barely dodge the onslaught of books.

ACT - APPEASE

* You try to calm Ciruel down.

* He seems grateful.

"Calm down. It's okay, please calm down" Shouting wasn't going to deal anywhere. Asriel's only option was to talk. Ciruel's breathing gets funny for a moment.

"Why would you even want to return to the Underground? Monsters don't belong there!"

More white spheres emerged from the scholar's SOUL, this time forming words that seemed to express what he was thinking. 'TO THE UNDERGROUND THEY RETREATED. TO NEVER BE SEEN EVER AGAIN. THAT WAS TO CHANGE'

ACT - APPEASE

* You try to calm Ciruel down.

* He completely ignores you.

"I know that, but-"

"This is your chance to escape. You are dooming yourself to being trapped Underground forever. Get that already!"

While Ciruel spoke he was getting closer to Asriel, the threads between their SOULs getting taut. Ciruel grasped his notebook tighter and moved his hand wildly, as if he had tried to slam it onto Asriel's head. The monster was defenseless, unable to move, but thankfully it seemed he had enough restraint to not to actually hit Asriel.

ACT - LISTEN

* You stay silent.

* Ciruel continues his train of thought.

While Ciruel thought of the best words he could use to convey his thoughts the purple strings shook, a series of large white fountain pens formed in the end of the threads, moving to pierce Asriel's SOUL. Most of the pens ended nailed onto the floor, but the floating monster SOUL hadn't suffered any damage. Moving along the lines was being of help to dodge all those attacks.

"M-m-my family has worked hard to understand monsters. We know you c-c-can't be happy trapped under a mountain. Please, stay! That's for the best!"

There! That could be useful. Staying calm and silent may not be effective either, at least that's the impression Asriel had. He had to make sure Ciruel understood, attacking verbally would be necessary.

ACT - CHALLENGE

* You stand straight and argue.

* Ciruel tries to defend himself.

"The best for whom? For you?" Asriel wanted to wince, he thought he was being too direct. Asriel wasn't confrontational by nature – more often than not he followed other people, thinking they would know better than him – but unless he took the initiative this would lead nowhere.

"N-No, it isn't for me, it's for everyone!" Ciruel shook his head.

"You want me to stay because that's what you want"

"That's not true! I want to help monsters!" the scholar shouted, the threads from his SOUL reverberating with the volume. It was amazing for Asriel that nobody had noticed what was going on in the study.

The shaking threads' vibrations reached the SOUL, Asriel feeling the tremors in his own body. It felt nasty, as if suddenly millions of ants were crawling in his fur, but at least it didn't seem to be harmful for him. He gritted his teeth, trying to listen to Ciruel.

ACT - LISTEN

"If humans accept monsterkind then everything will be good. W-We will liberate everyone, no matter h-h-how long it takes, but you need to stay for that!"

While Ciruel seemed to sincerely wish to help monsters, to Asriel by now it was getting clear his drive to keep him over the surface was fueled by personal motives. Perseverance relied on the personal goals, after all. 'MONSTERKIND CAN'T SHATTER THE BARRIER. I CAN HELP. I MUST HELP'

ACT - LISTEN

"This is where you should be, not trapped under Mt. Ebott!" Ciruel finished his train of thought. It wasn't hard to see what Asriel needed to pressure about. Ciruel did know he was doing the wrong thing.

The threads tightened.

ACT - CHALLENGE

"I'm the Prince of All Monsters. My place is with the monsters" That was easier to say than questioning Ciruel's motivation like earlier, because that was something Asriel truly believed in. Ciruel's fists stopped shaking for a moment, as if what Asriel had said was a huge revelation, but the momentary composure was soon gone.

"I know, I know! I don't care! You need to-what I mean is-look, you need to stay! I….I…" Ciruel looked at his notebook, almost letting it fall onto the floor. It seemed he was mulling something, like he had an argument and wasn't sure how to word it.

ACT - APPEASE

"Let's stop" Asriel suggested "You seem tired…"

"I-I'm okay, what I mean is that we can break the barrier. We can do it! How hard can it be? If humans set it up, then humans can destroy it! So stay up here and help us find the solution" Ciruel smiled for a moment, hopeful. It wasn't what Asriel was looking for, though. The moment Asriel shook his head Ciruel's smile disappeared "Why not?! Are you kidding me?!"

Ciruel almost threw the notebook at Asriel, but after a second or two of being ready to do it he sighed heavily and just swatted the air. He seemed to start calming down.

ACT - CHALLENGE

"Do you know what you need to break the Barrier?"

The question caught Ciruel off-guard. He had been so worried about convincing Asriel he had lost sight about what he was saying. Knowing he had waded into unexplored terrain, Ciruel stammered a reply. "W-w-well how hard can it be? Surely with something hard enough, we can-"

"It isn't so simple!"

"Then tell me what we need, young man!"

Asriel hesitated. He didn't think mentioning human SOULs were the key to break the barrier was the right thing to do. Ciruel wasn't in his right mind, Asriel didn't want to risk him doing something brutal like trying to obtain seven human SOULs…or offer his own. "You need…Mom's magic. Yes, that is it" Asriel lied "Without Mom's magic breaking the barrier won't be possible"

"C-can't we contact her or something?" Ciruel tried to cling to any hope, but Asriel didn't waste any time crushing that possibility either "Damn it! Damn it all!" the scholar shouted, but it seemed talking had been useful in some way. A couple of the purple threads turned loose, as if whatever was holding them in place was weakening progressively.

Perseverance couldn't exist if the goal was absolutely impossible to achieve, that was how it was different from determination, but giving Ciruel no option than admitting there was nothing he could do had been only half of the job. It wasn't over yet, though.

The white books falling along the threads returned, this time in less quantity and falling slower than before. That was a good sign!

Ciruel's name was yellow already. Sparing him was an option, but Asriel felt ending the FIGHT now wouldn't be right. There was still the matter of what could have caused Ciruel to be so emotionally overwhelmed. Asriel wanted to find out what it was and help him. While Ciruel organized his thoughts Asriel started struggling, trying to see if he could move more now. "Are you okay?"

"…I'm okay. I'm okay! We can't break the barrier but I can still take care of you. It's not over for me yet!"

"For you" There it was; he had finally admitted there were personal reasons in his fighting.

"M-my family, we have all studied monsters. I'm expected to follow their steps. I can't betray their expectations!"

With each word more books tried to crash against Asriel's SOUL, but the scholar's clear hesitation was affecting the speed of his subconscious attacks. It wasn't really a FIGHT anymore; it was more an endurance contest.

ACT - LISTEN

"If I don't then I'll be a failure to everyone. I'll have failed my ancestors; I'll have failed myself. That's why…I need to keep you up here. Trust me, I don't want to, but what other option do I have?"

He was starting to relax. Asriel took it as a good sign. The fact the offensive magic formed by Ciruel's emotions was starting to slow down was a confirmation of that. His SOUL also diminished a bit in saturation, but it was far from being healthy yet. Ciruel himself showed signs of getting better, too. He raised his head and seemed much more composed than before.

The threads surrounding Asriel' SOUL loosened more, the grid it was on starting to waver and deform.

ACT - APPEASE

"You don't need to do that. Surely if you take the time to think and-"

"You don't get it, do you?" he said bitterly "I have no other choice. It is what I have been told since I can remember. This is all I'm good for"

The threads started falling onto the floor, vanishing away. Asriel didn't want to find out what would happen if the threads his SOUL was on fell, just in case it was not good.

ACT - CHALLENGE

"If you don't want to work in something about monsters why don't you change your job?"

"It is not that I don't want to. Don't get me wrong, I love this all, and I love monsterkind. Monsters are…like friends I have known for all my life. It's just that I…I…I can't…"

His self-doubt formed the fountain pens again, this time emerging from the floor, Asriel avoiding getting impaled on them by staying as high as possible in the grid.

ACT - LISTEN

"…I can't fail. If I fail it is the same than negating my own existence. All I am is relying on this. If I fail, I don't think I…"

Nothing happened.

ACT - LISTEN

"…I don't think I could face anyone ever again"

So that's what it was. Ciruel had a deep-seated fear of losing his personal identity, as it all relied on his success in this field of study. That wasn't something Asriel or Patta or anyone else would be able to solve. Ciruel himself was the only person capable of finding peace and healing their own SOUL.

It didn't mean Asriel wasn't going to try to at least nudge Ciruel towards what the child thought was the right path to follow. Asriel didn't know much – he was no more than a child, and this was an adult problem he was not sure how to deal with – but maybe to show some support would be good?

The grid crumbled away even more, only half of its original number of threads being left.

ACT - APPEASE

"It's okay. Are you sure you need to achieve something?"

"That's what everyone expects of me…that is what I have been told since long ago. That's what everyone wants, and my job is to reach the goal that was set for me" Ciruel was completely calmed down by now, raising his head with something akin to pride. His perseverance may be causing havoc in his emotions, but in a way he was proud of what he needed to do.

Most of the grid was gone by now.

"Is that what you want?" Asriel felt that was the important question here. Ciruel mulled it for a few seconds before nodding resolutely.

"It is. I want to continue"

That wasn't the answer Asriel had expected. He fumbled with his words for a moment before continuing. "Maybe you don't have to meet their expectations"

"…I don't?" Ciruel raised his eyebrows as if this were a novel concept to him. Had that seriously not ever crossed his mind before?

"No!" Asriel thought for a moment what Toriel would say. He had been basing his own words on what he imagined she would say. He imagined Toriel as if she were talking to him, and a few words resonated in his mind. "Can't you see what you have been doing to yourself?"

Ciruel got completely still for a moment. "What I have done to myself…I…I…" Ciruel's SOUL shone brighter for a moment, the purple threads shaking strongly. Asriel felt the pressure on his SOUL loosening, it seemed Ciruel was getting his emotions under control.

The scholar dropped his notebook. The threads disintegrated, the environment around them fading away. He looked around the study as if it had been an unfamiliar place for him. "…I have been a major idiot"

"What do you mean?"

"All these years I have barely thought about anything else other than what's expected of me. I was obsessed…I let myself be directed by those expectations. I…don't know how it happened"

"Do you know what a SOUL is?" Asriel didn't know much but he thought it was the cause of Ciruel's behavior.

"A soul? Of course I do. The human soul weighs 21 grams, smells like grilled vegetables, looks like a wrinkled tartan quilt, and sounds like bridge traffic. That has nothing to do with this" Asriel's eyes widened in disbelief. SOULs didn't fit that description at all! "Or maybe it does. A soul is what defines a person. Since I let myself be defined by the image of myself that demanded to meet those unrealistic expectations it could be said my soul was no more than that. I see what you mean" Asriel shrugged in response to Ciruel's words. Maybe Ciruel's concept of soul wasn't so different to what Asriel meant.

"And now what?"

"I suppose I'll take a vacation first. I'll rest, take the time to think, and once I return I'll continue with my work at my own pace. Monsters are my life but from now on I won't let anyone but myself tell me what I should do or how far I need to get" Ciruel picked his notebook up, opening it and reading the content with fondness. He seemed…content "I got a start already. It's up to me to bring it all to something worthwhile"

Asriel could see Ciruel's SOUL still had that saturated purple color. An unstable SOUL wouldn't heal immediately, as expected. Patta's had been healing progressively, it was to be expected Ciruel's would slowly temper until it reached a balance, at least as long as Ciruel willed it. Asriel didn't understand very well how human SOULs or even monster SOULs were supposed to work, but he did know Ciruel was the only one who could heal it.

It seems to me human SOULs are more attuned to our emotions and minds than to anything else. The person draws strength from the SOUL and SOULs are formed by that person's emotions, forming a continuous cycle.

Monster SOULs are something I don't understand beyond the most basic theories. It must be because I was human and despite my…current life status…I'll always be human. My own SOUL is the proof of that.

"Asriel, please return to your home" Ciruel ordered, getting away from the study doors and getting back to his desk "I'm very sorry for everything I did"

"Golly, it's…okay, I guess" Asriel said, smiling. The apology was accepted and it was good to be let go, but Asriel wished he could see Ciruel's SOUL heal, at least to be sure the scholar would be okay.

"The day has just started. It is nine in the morning, if you and your friends leave now I think you'd reach the mountain in one hour or so. If you use a cab, that is. Got money for that?" Ciruel seemed ready to take out his wallet to give Asriel all the money they needed. Asriel still had some gold, unused and most likely never going to be exchanged for cash. With some luck Patta would have enough money, but it wouldn't hurt to ask for a loan, right?

After Asriel gave Ciruel two gold and received in exchange more than enough money for the cab trip – and for a couple weeks of life without worries as a gift for Patta, a thank you for escorting him to Mt. Ebott – the monster opened the doors of the study. "Hey! Young man, there's something else you need" Ciruel stood up, having remembered something. He took out of his pocket a key, giving it to Asriel "Don't ask why, but I heard the door of Patta's bedroom got locked"

Asriel tilted his head "Why would you lock them in their bedroom?"

"I hadn't wanted to say I had done it" Ciruel smiled with regret "Just go already"

It didn't take more than a few seconds for Asriel to guess why Ciruel would do that. Narrowing his eyes, Asriel exhaled loudly and took the key, deciding not to tell the scholar what he thought about locking Patta in a room. After all, Asriel figured Ciruel wouldn't do something like that ever again. At least he wanted to believe that. Soon Asriel was running down the hallway towards the guest bedrooms, clutching the key in his hand.

It seemed the place Patta and Frisk were in was the bedroom temporally belonging to Frisk. First Asriel pulled his ear away and placed his head against the door, trying to listen inside. He couldn't hear steps, but there were murmurs. It didn't sound like Frisk. Relieved it didn't seem like his friends were in trouble, Asriel inserted the key in the lock and opened the door.

"Damn it, somebody is coming!" Patta said while Asriel was opening the door.

"Patta! Are you and Fr…" Asriel's voice trailed off while he looked around the bedroom.

The mattress on the bed frame was upturned and bare, the fabric of its wrapping in plain sight. The rest of the bedroom seemed like somebody had tried to rob stuff. Practically all the furniture was strewn around, and the nightstand seemed quite battered. The curtains were gone, and the glass of the window was broken, a large jagged hole overtaking most of the pane.

The adult in the room relaxed once they saw who it was. There was something amusing in seeing Asriel slack-jawed. They hadn't wrecked the room that much, right? "Asriel! Did anything happen to you? We were going to look for you!"

"…what happened here?!" Asriel exclaimed, snapping his mouth shut at the end once he realized he had been staring in obvious surprise.

"Uuuh…well the door was locked, and the window seemed to be stuck, so we had to break the glass. We were desperate, okay?"

"Where is Frisk?" This room was in a second floor! It wasn't that high but it was possible Frisk could get hurt if they jumped. Patta turned to the window, peeking outside.

"Frisk! Are you okay?" they called, Asriel soon joining them despite the sharp glass shards around the hole. There was Frisk, lying on the ground outside! There was also a long rope formed with the curtains and the bedsheet, the end of it tied around Frisk as a harness of sorts. Frisk raised their arm and flashed a thumbs up. Despite falling from a little below the window it seemed they weren't hurt. "…I need a cig" Patta muttered.

Now that they had made sure Frisk was okay Asriel tried to make the bedroom look less chaotic. He tried to lift the nightstand, finding it to be quite heavy. Patta must have been stronger than they looked! They took the nightstand and placed it where they had taken it to break the windowpane.

There wasn't much they could do, so after setting the mattress back onto the bed frame Asriel and Patta left the bedroom. While they were doing that Asriel confessed he had gone to say goodbye to Ciruel, and that Ciruel had been the one to lock the door. The monster didn't tell most of the events of the study, instead saying Ciruel had wanted to keep them for a while longer but had regretted it after talking to Asriel. Patta was somebody Asriel trusted, but revealing Ciruel's personal' problems didn't mesh well with him.

"Ciruel? We're leaving" Patta said, finding Ciruel in his study. The scholar was sitting in his chair, staring towards the mountain outside.

"Alright. Thank you for having stayed the night, esteemed guests. It was a pleasure to know you" he said, waving without turning around. It seemed he was deep in thought and didn't want interruptions.

"Thank you for letting us stay. Eeeh…here is the key to a bedroom. And…" Patta left the key on the desk and went back to the study doors, just in case. "…and sorry for the mess. We had to break a window. W-We'll get going now!" Asriel and Patta practically ran away. While they ran they heard a 'Wait, what?' echoing from the study.

"Shouldn't we pay for the window?" Asriel asked while running.

"His actions are what led to me breaking it" Patta excused themselves, but Asriel somehow took the time to stop and glare at Patta "Come on, Asriel! We have to get Frisk and get away" they said while crossing the entrance door. Asriel sighed. Thankfully it wasn't as often now as it was during the first two days, but Patta could still be kind of a handful.

-ooooo-

After Asriel managed to subdue Patta's slight misbehavior after ten minutes of more glaring and a couple statements about how disappointing it was for Patta to not to pay for the window the adult finally relented. Frisk, taking a role as a spectator, smiled to Asriel when the group returned to the study, where Ciruel was waiting, having already checked the damage to the bedroom. While Ciruel wasn't happy at all, he didn't accept the money Patta tried to give him, saying it was his fault Patta had needed to break the windowpane in the first place. Once they returned outside, Patta, in a moment of childish pride, turning to Asriel with the smuggest smirk they could muster. "Told you"

"Where did you learn to glare?" Frisk asked, impressed. Asriel, blushing slightly, laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"That's how Mom looks at that when she really wants him to do something and he hesitates. Dad is the king, but Mom has a lot of ideas and suggestions. Some says she is 'the brains behind the king' I think" he explained.

"That was great!"

"I'm not very good at it. If Mom were here I bet Patta would have yielded in just a minute or less"

"Your mother sounds fearsome" Patta said. The group was now leaving the manor fields, entering the long path lined with trees.

"She is! She is awesome!" Asriel's eyes were shining with pride. He immediately started to extol the virtues of Toriel, showing great deal of love and concern for his mother. Frisk was rather impressed, and confessed they would be a bit nervous to meet her. Patta listened patiently, supposing they wouldn't even know what to say to her.

Asriel's appreciation speech lasted almost all the way to the bottom of the hill where the road joined back with the streets. "Okay, so…the plan is to take a cab to get to the mountain, now that we finally have enough money for that. Once we get there we'll climb Mt. Ebott and find a way for Asriel to enter the Underground. It shouldn't take more than three hours; I'd say"

"I almost can't believe I'll be back home in just a few hours…" Asriel said.

"You will, don't worry" Patta said and then turned towards Frisk "…Frisk, you were a great support to us during these days. Thank you for everything" Frisk nodded and looked at the ground. They didn't really want to tell Patta they were going to go into the underground and abandon the surface, possibly for the rest of their life. Maybe they could hide their real intentions, though?

"…I want to be with Azzy for as long as possible" they mumbled, getting closer to Asriel "Let me go to the mountain too"

"I would like that" Asriel said. He wanted Frisk to be with him in the Underground, after all. It was a selfish thought but now that the surprise of hearing Frisk deny humanity Asriel had decided to embrace the chance no matter what. Patta didn't need to know about it.

…we're all selfish to a fault, aren't we?

"I don't know; I don't think there's enough money for three cab trips" Patta said.

"I'll wait for you to return! Then we can return together and it'll be only two trips" Frisk distorted the plan. Patta seemed to be about to express more concern, so Frisk hurried to add something more "I can take care of myself! I have done it for years already. I can do it for a few hours more while you return"

"…fine. You can come with us" Patta conceded. Their impression of Frisk's wish was that they only planned to reach the mountain, not climb it, and that was fine. To be frank Patta felt bad for Frisk, because they clearly considered Asriel a good friend, and it was likely they wouldn't see him ever again. May as well let them be together for a bit longer.

Frisk grinned, relieved. The end of the path was just a few feet away. In matter of minutes the group would be on track towards Mt. Ebott, and towards the moment that would drastically change all three of their lives.

If any of us had even suspected what would happen on that mountain we wouldn't have dared to approach it. I really hate how timelines seem so unmalleable. There's no other option than letting it happen. I won't try to modify it again.

I already damaged this timeline enough.

-ooooo-

Ciruel bit the pen, rereading what he had just written. Asriel was gone, and if he had to be completely honest he hated that, but it was the right thing. Patta and Frisk would take care of Asriel until the monster child was back into the Underground. Ciruel hoped he'd be okay. The scholar had also buried his notebook in the shelves, intending to not to look at it for quite some time.

Now he was with a new notebook, writing plans for the next few months after a short vacation. It seemed the world had suddenly conspired to make him work, though, and he was largely responsible for that. He had just finished a call with the laboratory he had sent Asriel's fur sample to. While there had been no DNA analysis – the fur wasn't good enough for that, apparently - the laboratory had detected strange traits that mesmerized the scientists working there, and now they were demanding Ciruel to tell them from what that fur came from.

The shock had been so strong those scientists were already spreading word about their findings, getting other scientists involved and apparently sending some of that fur to other laboratories. Ciruel supposed the scientific community of the country would cause a lot of hubbub for some time. Somebody had theorized the fur was from a monster. That, coupled with the rumors that had been going around the city for some days already, was starting to get a lot of interest country-wide.

At least that was what somebody had informed Ciruel about shortly after Asriel, Patta and Frisk left.

"Monster bodies are made of magic, that must be why the fur is so different to the fur of any earth animal. I wish they weren't so cagey about what's so weird about it" Ciruel smiled slightly, closing his notebook when the door of the study opened, one of his employees barging in "What is it?"

"The radio station called. They want to know if you'd be willing to talk about monsterkind in a couple hours"

Ciruel took off his glasses and buried his face in his hands. "A couple hours? Really?"

"Apparently they changed today's programming to include a segment about monsters. Haven't you noticed yet? The whole city is talking about monsters!" the employee approached, showing Ciruel several posts and threads from the social networks. Indeed, monsters was the main topic. In a couple of those threads a photo was attached, and indeed, it depicted Asriel and a teenager Ciruel didn't know.

"No way…does everyone believe the monster in that photo is real?"

"They do. The teenager was cornered and forced to give some testimony about it. This and the rumors are making everyone think it is real. It is not bad, right?"

The scholar crossed his arms. "Depends of what people think about monsters".

The employee scrolled through the feed of the social networks. "You won't believe it. The response is…

…overwhelmingly positive"

Overwhelmingly positive. Those two words stunned Ciruel. He had expected just around 50% approval for monsters, not "overwhelmingly positive". The employee remarked he had to scroll for a long while to find a negative message. It was almost unreal how there was so much acceptance for Asriel.

"I think it's because of the photo" the employee said "The monster appears defenseless, harmless…and inspires sympathy. Look at his eyes, it seems like he was caught in the photo against his will. It'd be hard to think this monster could try to hurt anyone, don't you think?"

"Asriel is nice, but I doubt he is a fuzzy pushover" Ciruel supposed. He hadn't seen Asriel's fighting skills but surely he had a couple tricks ready. Magic works like that.

"Besides he is cute and a child! That makes him more endearing to the general public" the employee kept scrolling "There's also a picture of that person he was traveling with, and a few posts specifically mention Frisk. That must be another reason he's being accepted, because he has been with two humans and they seem to get along very well"

Ciruel felt a strange feeling of pleasantness. There was something calming in how Asriel was being accepted by the general public, all because of a series of circumstances neither Asriel nor his companions had planned. This convinced Ciruel that, if Asriel had chosen to stay over the surface, things would have gone well.

After telling the employee that he accepted to go to the radio station in two hours Ciruel let himself relax. It didn't last long, though, because another person entered, and it was someone Ciruel knew very well and was happy to see. "Cohen!"

"Yo!" Cohen waved, approaching with energy. His bandanna had the Youth Troop pin, as usual "How's it going? Did the monster come here?"

"He did, but he is already gone"

Cohen frowned. "Damn it, I hoped to meet him. But I don't get it, after everything you have done why would you let him go? Oh, I get it! He escaped!"

"He didn't escape, I let him go" Ciruel wasn't going to tell Cohen what he did, that was for sure.

"…no, I don't get it. Why did you let him go? What about your plans, what about monsters living among humans?"

"I decided it wasn't the right thing, forcing him to stay here. Asriel belongs with his family, with his people. We can't keep him up here, even if I wanted" Ciruel said proudly, as if that had been his stance since the beginning. Cohen didn't take it very well, though. His gloved fists were risen as if he was preparing himself to punch Ciruel in the face.

"But we have sacrificed so much for this! We can't let it end like this. Do you even know what people are saying about the monster? They are okay with him! They want him! This is what you and me were hoping for, why would you go against that all?"

"This was a mistake, Cohen. Let's not continue" the scholar frowned. Was that how he had been acting just an hour ago? Like Cohen was right now? "Come here, let's calm down and talk" Cohen obeyed. Despite his initial outrage he seemed pretty calm. Ciruel didn't know much, but it seemed Cohen wasn't a case similar to his. Cohen was sane.

It was more that Cohen was an inexperienced teenager. He had an idea for the future but he hadn't realized the consequences and implications it could have. He had the drive and the will, without the experience of adulthood to help balance it.

Cohen sat with Ciruel, looking through the window. They stayed in silence for a moment before the teenager sighed. "I think I have ruined everything I had in the Youth Troop"

"What do you mean?"

"I lost my friends…I lost the respect I had from other people…I really screwed up. I don't know what I will do"

"It's not all so bad, you haven't lost my friendship. That is good for something, right?"

Cohen smiled "It is, but…this feels so empty. I don't want this to have happened for nothing. If the monster leaves I don't know what I will do"

"You'll think of something. You're young and brave, you will be okay"

"I know I will be okay! All I want is to know this was all worth it. Have you seen the photo that has spread in the social networks! I uploaded it. I uploaded all the evidence about the monster's existence. In matter of hours most of the city believed the monster exists and now they to see him. They are all looking for him"

"They are?" That may not be good.

"Yes, they are. Nobody plans to hurt him…I think…but they want to see him! There must be a way"

"Asriel wants to return home" Ciruel said with a certain bluntness in his tone "Leave him be"

"Oooor…no, I think I see now. The monster was influenced, wasn't he?" Cohen turned to look at Ciruel "The person with him, they must have told Asriel to ignore your proposal. It's their fault" The scholar shook his head, going to confess he had locked Patta away to talk to Asriel alone, but before he could do it Cohen stood up with new panache "Yeah, that is it! I see what I need to do. All I need to do is to talk to the monster without that person or Frisk intervening. It's that easy"

"It won't work"

"I can convince him! That can work, yo. Look, if the monster agrees to stay it is all okay. Let me talk to him. He's going to Mt. Ebott. I'll try to catch up to them"

"How are you even going to do it?"

"Hmmm…" Cohen shrugged "Sooner or later someone will see the monster and alert everyone else of his position. I'll take advantage of that and get there before anyone else does. That'll work" Cohen trotted towards the doors of the study. Ciruel didn't really make a move to stop him, mostly because he believed Cohen wouldn't reach Asriel's group in time.

Cohen left without even saying goodbye, enthusiastic about the possibility of one last chance at convincing Asriel. He was closer to age to Asriel, surely there was something he could say that would do the trick. The problem was Patta and Frisk, but Cohen was more worried about the adult than about Frisk. There wasn't much time to think what to do.

All there was to do was keep an eye on any messages in the social networks and get going towards Mt. Ebott. With some luck they would encounter Asriel before the media got to him. Maybe he had been a bit too rash bringing all that attention to the monster. Maybe he could use it to his advantage.

Cohen was prepared.