Undertale 2: Forgiven
Chapter Twenty
The early morning sun began to rise over Mount Ebott. Its warm light peeked over the horizon, and streaks of colored light stretched across the morning twilight sky. It was the beautiful sight that Alex and Jasmine had retreated here to behold in the first place.
Now, they had new friends, as well as entire race, to share its radiant beauty with.
"Hey Sans, what's that great big ball of fire in the sky?" Papyrus asked.
"We call that the sun, bro." Sans answered.
"Wowie! I can't believe I'm meeting the sun!"
"This is incredible! Humans get to see this everyday?" Undyne asked.
"Yeah! The number of mediocre pictures of it on social media are astronomical!" Alphys exclaimed, scrolling through her phone.
Asgore and Toriel stood on either side of Asriel, their hands on his shoulders. Asgore gestured to Toriel. The two stepped aside for a moment, leaving Asriel so that they could talk in private.
"What is it, Asgore?" Toriel asked, folding her arms. Asgore coughed awkwardly.
"Tori..."
"Don't."
"Listen, Toriel. I know you dislike me, and you have the right to. But we have our son back; he shouldn't have to feel torn between two bickering parents. So, how about a compromise? For Asriel's sake, can we at least put our differences aside?" Asgore proposed humbly.
Toriel exhaled, shutting her eyes. She tapped her pointer finger against her upper left arm. "I suppose that's fair. On one condition."
"Name it."
"We share custody of him. He needs both his Mom and Dad as he continues to grow older." Toriel stipulated.
"Deal." Asgore nodded quickly.
The two shook hands.
Alphys glanced back at Asgore and Toriel before walking around to Undyne.
"So...now that we're all free, what're you gonna do now?" Alphys asked Undyne. Undyne shrugged.
"Who knows? What do you wanna do?"
"Well... I just wanna catch up on anime, honestly." Alphys chuckled awkwardly.
"That doesn't sound too bad." Undyne said with a smile.
Papyrus stepped in. "Hey, Undyne! So are we still gonna train together? So I can become a member of the Royal Guard?" He asked.
"Actually..." Before Undyne could answer, Asgore walked over.
"Now that we're all free, there may not be any need for a Royal Guard anymore." Asgore said.
"What?! That's a stupid decision!" Papyrus shouted. Asgore raised an eyebrow.
"Nyeheheh, your highness." Papyrus tried to fix his statement.
"Alex. Jasmine," Asgore called them over. He placed a hand on both of their shoulders. "Now that monsters are returning to the surface, I have no doubt that the human race will have some strong reactions.
"Would you two be willing to serve as our ambassadors, to help us deliver a message of peace?" Asgore politely entreated them. Alex and Jasmine looked at each other, surprise present on both of their expressions.
"What do you think?" Alex asked her.
"I think it'd help them a lot." She said. Alex nodded, then turned to Asgore.
"What's the pay?" He joked. She slapped his arm. Asgore chuckled.
"I'm sure we can negotiate some terms." Asgore smiled.
Alphys shifted over to Sans, who was on his phone. "So, uh, what're you gonna do now that we're all on the surface?" She asked. Sans silently shrugged, texting away.
"Dunno. Maybe Pap and I'll go travel a bit. Seems we're both out of jobs now. We can explore a bit." Sans answered finally.
"Who're you texting?" Alphys asked with a nosey sense of curiosity.
"Someone I know." Sans answered. Behind him, Toriel's phone chimed, and she giggled.
"Good one, Sans." She complimented.
"Thanks, Tori." Sans chuckled.
Alphys glanced back and forth between the two of them. She decided to back out of the conversation.
Alex walked over to Asriel, who had been by himself this whole time, silently watching the sun rise.
"Hey, Asriel. How're you feeling?" He asked, patting Asriel's back.
"There's...well, a lot of things running through my mind."
"Like?"
"Well, like confliction about the things I've done. Sad about Mom and Dad. I can tell they're not like they used to be. I'm kinda down too that my brother couldn't be here...
"But mainly, I'm happy to be free, alive, and myself. So thank you for that." Asriel nodded.
"Don't mention it, man. I'll have Alphys rig a phone for you, and we can exchange numbers. You can talk to me anytime." Alex said, resting an arm around Asriel's shoulders.
"Thank you." Asriel said.
There was a moment of silence between them.
"Alex?"
"Yeah?"
"Why didn't you kill Flowey?" Asriel asked.
"Murder is wrong," Alex answered with a simple shrug. "It isn't my place to take his SOUL."
"Flowey doesn't have a SOUL..." Asriel stated. The two glanced at each other, making eye contact again.
Their wordless exchange put the subject to rest.
Jasmine walked over to Papyrus, who stood by the cave, alone, with his arms folded. "Hey, Papyrus. What's wrong?" She asked.
"Heh... Asgore says there may be no more need for a Royal Guard anymore. I'd worked so hard to be a member all my life. What do I do now?" Papyrus sighed.
"It's okay, Papy. Maybe you won't be a Royal Guard member, but you'llfind a new path. Maybe you'll be a bodyguard for someone important; maybe Asgore's bodyguard?" Jasmine suggested. Papyrus lit up.
"Yeah! I could do that," Papyrus said, standing proudly, "I would be the best bodyguard ever!"
Jasmine smiled and walked over to Asgore, who was also by himself. He was further from the group, looking down the cliff face of the mountain. She could see in his eyes that something was eating at him...
"Watch out. Papyrus wants to be your bodyguard now." Jasmine said with a chuckle.
"That may actually be a good alternative for him. At least it'd be a job for him similar to what he wanted. Thank you for that." Asgore said, nodding his head a bit.
"What's the matter?" Jasmine asked. Asgore shrugged and sighed.
"I... I have some things on my mind is all. It's upsetting for me the way Toriel treats me now. The way she talks to me, looks at me. And now we share custody of our only son.
"We aren't the happy family that we once were. I'm ashamed to say that I've failed as a husband and a father." Asgore's head sunk sadly. Jasmine placed a comforting hand on his arm.
"It's not an easy situation to be in. Alex tod me about you two. The loss of children can and is enough to break a marriage apart. My suggestion is that you move on, and don't dwell on it.
"Just try to be happy with yourself. Make friends. Don't isolate yourself either.
"As for Asriel, you haven't failed him. You can still be there for him as his father. Be that strong, loving role model for him, because every boy needs that in his father. Alex also knows a thing or two that'll help Asriel cope."
Asgore glanced over at Alex and Asriel. Alex's arm was wrapped around his son's shoulders. The two of them were standing together, laughing together.
"Perhaps Alex could become like Asriel's brother." Asgore thought to himself. That thought made him smile.
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."
Undyne walked over to Alex and Asriel. "Alright, break it up, lovebirds. It's gross." She teased. Alex chuckled.
"Hey kid, I wanna ask you something." Undyne said to Asriel.
"Hmm?"
"How'd you like to train with me? We'll make you strong!" Undyne yelled.
Asriel hesitated, glancing Alex's way. Silently, his gaze conveyed his doubt about what answer to give. Alex nodded with an encouraging smile.
"Alright. Sure." Asriel agreed.
"Awesome!" Undyne exclaimed with an enthusiastic fist pump.
The noise of a crowd began to echo out of the entrance to the Underground. Monsters began to pour out of the tunnel, happily rejoicing in the sunlight. Asgore led them out into the forest below. Everyone else except Toriel followed them, per Alex's request.
"What is it, my child?" Toriel asked him. Alex wrapped an arm around Jasmine.
"Jazzy and I were talking. We'd like to make an offer. We know that you've been alone for a long time, so...how would you like to stay with us?" Alex asked. They both smiled. Toriel's eyebrows perked in surprise.
"You want me to...stay with you?" She repeated slowly. They both nodded.
"I don't know..." Toriel said hesitantly. "Are you sure?"
"Of course!" Jasmine exclaimed.
"So we pay a little more on food during shopping trips. We both have guest rooms back home. Plus, we'd like to." Alex said.
After carefully considering it, Toriel agreed.
"Great!" Jasmine shouted happily.
"That means I'll be following you home then?" Toriel asked.
"Yeah, of course. The cabin's down that way. Just give us a minute." Alex said. Toriel nodded and started down the path.
Alex and Jasmine hugged each other tightly, and kissed for a brief minute. They mostly just held each other silently.
"We should go before Toriel gets lost." Jasmine said.
"Right. Let's go." Alex agreed.
Hand in hand, Alex and Jasmine went down the path...
The End