Running through the familiar halls, the smokey blue and purple swirling, the once-unnatural sight and sounds of the attachments to the universe was now familiar.

The helmeted man in slate plate armour was in the lead, his black jacket - which had spiked and plated metal shoulders - flapping behind him; the woman beside him wearing silver plate mail over a black shirt and pants not too far behind.

"Front and center!"

The man hissed to the woman, who nodded, her pale grey eyes glittering under her own helmet.

The two dropped lower to the floor, with the man in the lead, unsheathing a longsword with a bone hilt as the woman pulled a rifle off of her back, and the two nodded at each other.

The man summoned a red ball of energy, and after a moment, it shifted slightly, a thin line circling it; and he threw it towards the figure up ahead.

The figure turned and growled as the ball thunked on the ground, and took a few steps forwards - but the ball exploded, a large flash of light going off to blind the figure, which stumbled backwards, holding its eyes.
Leaping from cover, the man charged forwards, with the woman not too far behind.
She would open fire, careful to not hit the man that dashed past the figure she had sprayed, and quickly cut down the figure behind it, skidding to a halt while he did so.

"Suppress the weapon!" The male barked, and the female grunted her affirmation, a blue construct surrounding the tip of the barrel.

The two would dash forwards, taking out another two figures on the way forwards.
"Good, good!" A new, deeper voice echoed out, and the two figures spun to face it, the woman raising her rifle as the man hefted his sword. "Now, let's see what your plan is for this!"

With a snap of his fingers, two dozen new figures appeared, and with a confident smirk and a glance, the two would charge forwards, dancing through the crowd like two harmonized dancers, leaving a trail of death in their wake -


Frisk shook her head.

"Focus!" She scolded herself, turning her gaze back to the two in front of her. Freddy had leapt back, parrying a strike from Undyne, who was forced to spin to shove off Dawn.
"Excellent!" Frisk cheered, as Freddy took advantage of the opening and dove forwards, cleanly drawing the edge of his blade across Undyne's outer thigh as he rolled past.

"He's only been back for a month, too." Chara remarked dryly from her spot beside Frisk.

"Only a month. Yes" Frisk grinned happily - it had been a wonderful month, indeed; even with Toriel having been injured, Freddy had returned! And - even with how much had changed? She felt closer to him than ever.

"Careful, Frisk." Chara chuckled, shaking her head as she watched Undyne seize Dawn by the shirt, and slam her into Freddy. "He may pass you up, and again make you the weakest link."

Frisk simply rolled her eyes, ignoring Chara.

"For real. Look at that!" Chara chuckled as Freddy recovered quickly, leaping to his feet to counter the spear Undyne had thrusted down on him. "He's better than you were at the start!"
"Chara, look." Frisk said, tearing her gaze off of the combat to look at her. "In order for you to insult me, I would have to put value in your opinions."
Not feeling that anymore was needed, Frisk turned her gaze back to the spar, where Undyne had managed to box in Freddy, sweeping him from his feet and holding a spear to his throat.

"That was amazing!" Frisk rose to her feet, and jogged over to the others, Undyne helping Freddy up while Dawn rose to her feet.

"Was it?" Freddy asked, his eyes glittering as he scratched his head. "I was just trying not to get my ass handed to me."
"For someone who has only been training alone?" Undyne said, beaming with pride. "That was superb. Much better than I expected - from the both of you."
Dawn jogged over, breathing heavily, and Chara threw an arm around her, the two heading back to the house.

"Undyne, I have something I wanted to ask you."

Freddy began after a few moments; it appeared that he had been waiting for Chara to leave.

Undyne was cleaning the dirt off of the tip of her spear, but would pause, raising an eyebrow at Freddy. "What you need, kid?"

"Before he left - Harley asked me to make sure to keep an eye on Frisk, on Chara. To keep them safe. And -" Freddy lifted his chin, clearing his throat. "I - I want to enlist into the Elite Royal Guard; to ensure that I can fulfill that duty to the max."
Frisk raised her eyebrow - this was the first time she had heard mention of this promise, after all; but this sounded like something Harley would've said, right?

No matter, she would remain quiet while she waited for Undyne to reply.

It would take a few moments, too; as the Captain took her time to evaluate the younger man; her hard, yellow gaze flickering over him.

"Cross your right arm over your chest." She said softly, and he would comply right away.
"Freddy Suarez - do you swear to defend the Royal Family, even if it would cost you your life?"
"I do."

"Do you swear to honor the values of the Royal Family, no matter how you may feel about them?"

"I do."

"And do you swear to abide by their choices, no matter how they may affect you?"
"I do."
"Kneel before your sovereign."
Freddy turned to face Frisk and knelt - Frisk was in shock with how fast things were moving.

"Princess Frisk Dreemurr; Do you accept Freddy Suarez into our Elite and most Royal Guard, those sworn to defend you with their lives?"

Frisk would blink, her blue eyes darting between Undyne and the kneeling Freddy, before realizing that she needed to answer.

"Oh - Yes. I do."

"Rise, Freddy."

He would do as he was told, and turn to face the Captain.

"Welcome, my brother in arms. It is -"
Undyne would break off as the sound of raised voices in front of the house; with a raised eyebrow, Frisk would jog towards the noise, with the other two following.

Up front, there would be a crowd of people marching and chanting in the center of the cul-de-sac; all waving signs that would say -

"Anti monster protesters."
Chara said from where she stood, right out front with Dawn next to her.

"But - why?" Freddy asked; staring at the crowd. "I know they have been around for a while, but-"

"The NHDS. resurgence." Dawn replied glumly, her hands deep within her pockets. "It has emboldened them."

"Disgusting." Chara snarled, spitting on the floor. "They will chat and scream today that our presence will lead to war. But tomorrow?"

"They join the fight against us." Frisk finished, and the two would meet eyes for a moment, an unspoken understanding crossing between the two.

"This is it, isn't it?" Chara asked her sister, and Frisk nodded, her brow furrowed.

"Yep."


A/N - My baby was born!

Six Chapters until Arc Five