Chapter Thirty Seven

"This is a good sign," Asgore commented. "If we can show humans how to use magic, perhaps they will be more willing to accept us into society."

Toriel wasn't as confident. "Are you sure about that, Gorey? After all, there's the chance that they will fear us for our skills. That was what caused the first war, after all."

"That's the beauty of it. By teaching humans to use magic, we give them power in return." He smiled. "I don't see this going poorly. After all, you will be the one teaching them."

"Oh, stop." She smiled. "That doesn't ensure success."

"Why wouldn't it?" Asgore put his hands on her waist. "You know how great you are at that."

Toriel hugged him. "I suppose. I'm just... Worried about it."

"Naturally." Asgore gave her nose a nuzzle. "You are a mother, after all."

"Nice block!" Undyne grinned widely. "You're definitely getting better."

"Thanks." Asriel panted. "But Frisk isn't exactly a tough opponent."

"Hey!" Frisk shouted indignantly.

Asriel merely shrugged. "Well, it's true. You aren't doing too much to fight me."

"Consider yourself lucky." Frisk grumbled, but she was smiling. "I guess you're right. I don't really want to fight you."

"Who do you want to fight?" Undyne asked. "Anyone?"

Frisk shook her head. "No, not really."

"Well, neither do I." Asriel said. "But you can at least try a little bit. C'mon, you aren't going to hurt me."

Undyne watched as Frisk took up a balanced stance, holding her wooden sword up. Asriel did the same. He had definitely been much more eager to practice since Frisk had joined him. He seemed to always stand a little straighter and work a little harder when she was around. It was pretty adorable, actually.

"Ready?" Undyne asked. Both kids nodded. "Go!"

Frisk stepped forward and swung from the right. Asriel easily blocked and sidestepped, following up with an overhead swing. Frisk ducked to the left and attacked again, catching Asriel on the calf.

"Oww." Asriel grumbled, rubbing the foam padding on his legs.

"Not gonna hurt you, huh?" Frisk teased.

"Aww, it doesn't hurt. Just surprised me." He smiled. "Good job."

"I'll say the same to you, Azzy." Frisk replied. "You almost got me on that attack." She adjusted her kendo helmet. "But I'm good at dodging. That's what I did a lot in the underground."

"You're not too shabby when it comes to blocking either." Undyne spoke up. "I threw loads of spears at you, and you defended yourself like a pro!"

"I had practice." Frisk shrugged noncommittally.

"Huh? When?" Undyne asked, confused.

"Oh... Um, well, against you." Frisk looked down. "I didn't exactly get past you on my first try."

"What do you- oh, right. The LOADing. Sans told us about that when you ran off." Undyne looked somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I didn't know that you were so cool then."

"It's okay. Like you said to Asgore, a lot of you tried to kill me at some point." Frisk smiled. "It's a good thing I'm so tough."

"It can't be as bad as what I did, anyway." Asriel said, looking down. "I killed Frisk over and over."

"Azzy, we talked about this. I'm fine. That wasn't really you. That was Flowey." Frisk put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for that."

"Yeah, I know." He looked back up, a new light in his eyes. "I have a fresh start now."

Alphys stared into the void, lost in thought. This couldn't fail. She needed it to succeed. It just had to work. If it didn't... She shook her head. It would, she told herself.

Sans popped into existence beside her. "Heya." He greeted.

"Hmm?" Alphys mumbled, still thinking.

"You, uh, you okay?" Sans asked. "You're looking kind of sad. Like a down-osaur."

Alphys shot him a glance. "Y-you can tell? Yeah, I'm a little w-worried about this."

"Tell me about it." Sans agreed. "Papyrus doesn't seem to feel that way, but I sure do."

"Papyrus never lets a-anything get him down, does he?" Alphys smiled wanly. "God, I w-wish I could be like him."

"Don't we all." Sans stared out the window. "What's your main concern?"

"Th-that we can't do it. That Gaster will be st-stuck in the void. I... I've had a lot of failure." Alphys stared at her feet. "I don't think I c-can handle any more."

"Failure?" Sans asked. "When did you fail?"

"Are you kidding? F-first there were the amalgamates, then there was the whole m-mess where I tried to play the hero for Frisk, and in the end, n-none of my research actually helped us." She sighed deeply. "I c-can't do anything right."

"Alphys. You need to take a look around." Sans gestured to the room they were standing in. "Who built this machine? Who retrieved Asriel's SOUL? Who found Gaster and remembered who he was? Who brought monsters back to life, even if they are a little... different?" He pointed at her. "You did, Alphys. You've done amazing things"

"W-well, when you put it like that..." Alphys smiled in spite of herself.

"I'm only saying what's true. Now let's go check on Papyrus. I haven't seen him in a while. God knows what he's gotten in to." He grinned. "He may have found your instant noodle stash. And you know how he gets around any kind of pasta."

-End of Chapter Thirty Seven

Well, I'm very late and very sorry. Things have been... interesting. Let's leave it at that.

On the bright side, I'm still going. I really have nothing else to say. Okay bye.

Umbreon31