Chapter 6: A Battle with the King

Everything is going well as of now. Almost all my friends have been reunited, and to my surprise, I did not have to fight many of them. However, there is still one more that I need to befriend, and that will not be so easy. Asgore, the king of the Underground, is the last one. He won't be easy to convince unlike the others. It was him who gave the order to kill all humans that fall down here. He is the one that gives no mercy. The nerves in my body begin to tense as I make my way towards the castle. I don't know what to expect anymore. The unexpected change in Undyne's actions and location during that battle makes this situation more unpredictable. What if he has different attacks that I don't know about? What if he's stronger than before? I should have left a day earlier. If I matched the same time and same path as before, all the actions would be the same, right? I cannot tell exactly because the second time I encountered Asgore, Toriel was there to stop the fight. He never attacked me, so I don't know if the order of his attacks would be any different than before. One thing that did remain the same was his dialogue. He said the exact same thing during both encounters. I wonder if he will say the same thing again. After passing through Waterfall, Hotland, and the Core, I find myself at the entrance to the castle. Well, this is it. I take a moment to calm myself down and pull out my cellphone that Toriel gave to me. I dial up a number and the phone rings…and rings…and rings. Nobody answered. I end the call and try again…nobody answered.

"Come on, come on," I sigh in frustration.

I try one last time, but the result was the same: nobody answered. Why isn't she answering her phone? She usually answers, especially if it's from me. I need Toriel to be here so that way I can convince Asgore to not fight. I don't want to accidentally kill him or risk dying in this battle. I think of other possible monsters that could stand with me. Sans! He should be waiting for me at the entrance to the throne room. I wander through the castle until I make my way into the long corridor. Suddenly, a familiar face appears.

"Hey kid…," Sans begins, "Good to see ya again. You finally made it. The end of your journey is at hand. In a few moments, you will meet the king. Together…you will determine the future of this world. You already know what EXP and LOVE is, so I'm not going to bother explaining that again. You are a good kid, ya know? You never gained any EXP or LOVE, but you did gain love…as expected. I'll be honest, I didn't expect to be here talking to you, but you RESET, you chose to go back in time to get a different ending. Now, you are about to face the greatest challenge of your entire journey. Your actions here will determine the fate of the entire world. If you refuse to fight, Asgore will take your soul and destroy humanity. But if you kill Asgore and go home, monsters will remain trapped underground. What will you do?"

I take a moment to think back on my purpose for the RESET. I want to free monsters, including Asriel, and live with them among the surface.

Sans continues, "Well, if I were you, I would've thrown in the towel by now. But you didn't get this far by giving up, did you? That's right, you have something called DETERMINATION. So as long as you hold on; so as long as you do what's in your heart; I believe you can do the right thing."

I run up and embrace Sans. He has done so much for me, all because of the promise me made for Toriel. He promised her that he would take care of me outside of the Ruins. I let go from the embrace and step back to talk with him again.

"Alright, we're all counting on you kid."

"Wait!" I shout, "I need you to come with me."

"Come with you?" Sans responds, confused.

"Yes, I don't want to fight Asgore. The last time I encountered him, Toriel was there to stop us. I don't want to risk his life and mine if I know we could have a peaceful result. Toriel hasn't answered my calls. I'm worried that she might not be here to stop us from fighting. I need someone else to prove to him that I've been here before and I could be spared."

"Sorry kiddo, I have never met the King personally, and I don't think he would believe a commoner like me. If you have done this before, you could do it again."

Before I could say another word, Sans vanishes, leaving me alone in the corridor. Great, do I really need to fight him again? After everything that has happened last time, I don't think I could fight him. He changed after Toriel intervened. After the barrier broke, our relationship was a lot better. He agreed to protect me and take care of me. All of that…gone. Now, he is back to his old self; waiting for another human to fall and take the last soul needed to pass the barrier. I try one last time to call Toriel, but nobody answered. I hope she is alright. Now, is there anyone else that could help me? I think about the rest of my friends, until one specifically pops into my mind. Undyne! She is the leader of the Royal Guard. If there is anyone that could convince Asgore besides Toriel, it would be her. I quickly dial up her phone number, and I finally get an answer.

"What do you want human? I am in the middle of a cooking lesson!"

"Sorry Undyne, there is something important that I must request."

"I am not your puppet, human! You do not request me anything!"

"No, it's not that. I'm at the castle, and I need your help."

"My help, why do you need my help? You are about to face Asgore, right? If you can beat me, you can do it on your own."

"But I don't want to fight him! I want to talk him out of it, but the thing is, Toriel was here the last time to do it. He wouldn't believe anything I say. I don't want to fight and end up having to kill him, or him killing me. There is a peaceful way out of this, but I can't do it without having someone he trusts there to stop him."

"Well why can't Toriel do it?"

"I've tried calling her multiple times, but she has not answered. I'm trying to find any possible ways to avoid fighting. I don't know what his actions will be. He could have more power or different attacks that I won't recognize."

"Listen, human, you found your way out against me; you should have no problem against him. I beat him before, remember that. He trained me until I was finally able to knock him down. If I could beat him, you could too. However, if you end up killing him and running away, I will come to the surface and end you!"

"Noted, thanks."

The call ends, and I am once again alone. Undyne refuses to help; Sans refuses to help; and Toriel has not answered my calls. She may be in there already. If not, I may have to fight. I regain my composure and enter the throne room. Asgore is watering the flowers, like usual. The sun shines into the garden, but at a different angle than before. Geez, how long does he water these flowers? His humming fades as he hears me enter the room.

"Oh? Is someone there? Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers."

I pause for a moment, waiting for him to finish.

"Here we are!" he turns around to face me, "Howdy! How can I…"

Like before, his face turns from happy to complete shock. Yes, I am a human that has found my way to the castle. One question remains in my head…does he recognize me? We stare at each other for a moment before his reaction softens.

"Oh!" he pauses for another moment, "I so badly want to say, 'would you like a cup of tea?' but…you know how it is."

He moves over to the side of the room in silence before continuing.

"Nice day today, huh? Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…perfect weather for a game of catch."

Another silence fills the room as the chirping of the birds become louder.

"You know what we must do," he states, "When you are ready, come into the next room."

He walks into the next room as I remain in the throne room. One last shot…I grab my phone and dial Toriel's number…no answer. I put my phone away and take a good look at my surroundings. I am terrified, but I shouldn't be. Will I make it out of this alive? Or will I finally face death? I take a deep breath and enter the next room.

"How tense," he says, "Just think of it like…a visit to the dentist."

I follow him down the hallway and to the entrance to the barrier.

"Are you ready?" he asks. "If you are not, I understand. I am not ready either."

He passes through the doorway leading to the barrier. I follow behind him.

"This is the barrier. This is what keeps us all trapped underground. If…if by any chance you have any unfinished business…please do what you must."

I stand here knowing that there is no other choice now. Nobody will come to my aid this time. I will have to fight him.

"This is it then."

The containers holding the six other human souls raise into sight. My heart jumps to my throat at looking at those souls again. They were free, and I trapped them again. The other victims finally had peace because they were freed. I never thought about those souls. They are now trapped once again. What have I done?

"Ready?" he asks.

I am not ready for this. I am not even close to being ready for this. I cannot fight him. The guilt and stress levels are intense. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have RESET. Now, everyone is trapped here, even the souls that were freed. All because of ME. I must fight. If I lose, humanity will end. I cannot win because I refuse to kill Asgore. I wish you were here, mom. I could really use your help.

"Human…it was nice to meet you. Goodbye."

He takes no mercy, so there is no turning back. The fight begins.

Asgore begins with his attacks. I manage to dodge them, barely. I try to talk him out of fighting, but nothing seems to be working. I must attack him. His attacks become more intense and I am quickly losing the energy to dodge them. I start to get hit and my numbers begin to lower. I look at my injuries, some more ugly than others. I quickly take out a stored slice of pie and eat it. My energy and health go back up as Asgore's attack and defense weakens. However, the attacks keep getting more intense, and I am quickly losing the energy I had from that slice of pie. I try to reach for another snack, but I am hit from behind, causing me to lose everything. I shout in pain at the numerous attacks that he landed on me. My health is low, and all my stuff is scattered. I lose my footing and land on the ground in pain. He slowly makes his way over to me. So, this is it? I am really going to die. I lost. Humanity is lost. All because of me. This is what I deserve for everything I caused. I'm sorry everyone, I made a terrible mistake, now, I will pay for my actions. On the ground in pain, I wait for the final blow. I hear the sound of a fireball being made and prepare for the end. The sound of the fireball being thrown gets closer and closer, but I don't feel anything. I'm still alive. I struggle to turn around and see Asgore on the ground. Suddenly, a voice rings through the room.

"My child!"

I shakily look over to the direction of the voice to see Toriel. She was shaking with tears in her eyes and fireballs in her hands. I try to reach out to her, but don't have enough strength.

"Mom," I say in a weak voice. Then, everything went black.

Hello beauties and gentlebeauties! I feel really good about this chapter. What do you think? I have been reading all of the reviews, and I thank you for all the feedback. This chapter, unlike the previous ones, I am trying to focus on being less formal. I am still suck in the essay mindset and am trying to get away from that. So, thanks for that recommendation and I will definitely try to be less formal. Again, if you have any recommendations or feedback, please let me know! I am open to any suggestions or thoughts that you all have. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will see you next time!