"Have you heard?"
"Did you hear?!"
"I saw it in Snowdin..."
"I heard from someone who saw it in Snowdin.."
"My cousins knows someone who saw it in Snowdin.."
"... in Waterfall..."
"... Hotlands..."
"It came from out of the Ruins..."
"A human!"
"A human?"
"Human?"
"Human!"
"The last and final human..."
"Seven Souls!"
"The Barrier..."
"... King Asgore..."
"The surface!"
"Sky!"
"Sun!"
"Stars!"
It spread like a wildfire of hope throughout the Underground... A frenzied excitement.
"Justice."
"Retribution."
Fight. Fight. Fight.
Without really understanding what that entailed. Most had not been alive during the war that had started all of this; it was a miserable fairytale made history by the uncaring, stone psuedo-sky. But although they could not phathom the surface or the price to get there, throughtout the city a tide of anticipation flooded through the streets.
"How long?"
"I can't wait!"
"Not long now..."
They flocked to New Home, swept up in the waves of travelers. All the way to the entrance of the castle, to wait...
"Who do you suppose will bring it?"
"Undyne?"
"Another?"
"What will it look like?" A small child asked of its mother, tugging on her arm.
"I don't know, dear. I've never seen one."
"Will it be big and scary?"
".. Tall and powerful..?"
"Don't fret, the Royal Guard will protect us."
"King Asgore will finally set things right!"
"Right!"
"Right!"
"He will!"
"Not long..."
But another child in a blue and purple stripped sweater had entered into New Home, seeming rather anxious and jittery among the gathered crowd. They wandered through the house, seeming to be looking for something but trying to not make eye contact with anyone around them.
"Don't fret.." Somebody repeated to them.
"Don't be afraid..."
"Don't you understand why we've gathered here?"
"Has your mother never told you?"
The fairytale that had led them all here.
"A long time ago, a human fell into the RUINS."
"Injured by its fall, the human called out for help."
"Asriel, the king's some, heard the human's call."
"He brought the human back to the castle."
"Over time, Asriel and the human became like siblings."
"The King and Queen treated the human child as their own."
"The underground was full of hope."
Hope... An older monster sat back, remembering that time. The hope that had sprouted like a tree. But, the monster reasoned, it was only natural that a tree should lose its leaves.
"Then... One day..."
"The human became very ill."
The child in the sweater continued on, looking sick themself as they stared directly ahead, their wide eyes, their heart seeming to race... The Monsters continued the tale, their intent clear to get them to understand.
"The sick human had only one request."
"To see the flowers from their village."
"But there was nothing we could do."
The child paused to listen, closing their eyes as if to brace for pain. Because...
"The next day..."
"The next day..."
"..."
"The human died."
A hand rose to rest against the locket that now rested against the child's chest.
"Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's Soul."
"He transformed into a being with incredible power."
"With the human Soul, Asriel crossed the barrier."
"He carried the human's body into the sunset."
"Back to the village of the humans."
"Night was falling..." The child whispered. The adults around them perked up, nodding vigorously. They were getting it! Somebody had told them before, it seemed.
"Asriel reached the center of the village."
"There, he found a bed of golden flowers."
"He carried the human onto it."
"Suddenly, screams rang out."
The fingers around the locket around the child's neck tightened forcefully.
"The villagers saw Asriel holding the human's body."
"They thought that he had killed the child."
"The humans attacked him with everything they had."
"He was struck with blow after blow."
"Asriel had the power to destroy them all."
"But..."
"Asriel did not fight back."
The staff of the Morningstar smashed against the hard ground as its owner furrowed her brow, the thud surrounded everyone. The child noticably flinched.
"Clutching the human..."
"Asriel smiled, and walked away."
The child did not seem content to stay in once place...
The child stumbled forward, trying to leave the story behind but it followed after them.
"Wounded, Asriel stumbled home."
"He entered the castle and collapsed."
"His dust spread across the garden."
The child was obviously distraught, but while it was painful, they had to understand. It wouldn't be painful anymore. There was hope. Hope that shouldn't have been there! That seemed impossible! But wasn't! Of course it hadn't always been that way...
"The kingdom fell into despair."
"The king and queen had lost two children in one night."
"The humans had once again taken everything from us."
But that was why it was so special. Why they had finally been able to gather here.
"The king decided it was time to end out suffering."
"Every human who falls down here must die."
"With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier forever."
There would be a happy ending. Finally a happy ending!
Justice.
Retribution...
"It's not long now."
"King Asgore will let us go."
"...will give us hope."
"King Asgore will save us all."
The child had their teeth gritted painfully, their eyes squeezed shut as they tried to run. The Monsters followed in concern.
"You should be smiling, too."
"Aren't you excited?"
"Aren't you happy?"
The child didn't stop.
They just did not understand, and that was sad... but they would see. They would.
"You're going to be free."