Chapter 2: Not The Only One

Rebecca had managed to fall asleep while her family was hugging her and Papyrus scooped her up, carrying her to their room while Sans and Gaster both went to check on their mates and children and Kano checked up on Ida and Hope, finding them sound asleep. He then went to Papyrus and Rebecca's room and quietly knocked, to which the skeleton answered. "Um...sorry, but...is it okay if I stay here, Master?" He asked a bit hesitantly.

The tall skeleton at once understood. "Of course, Kano," he said, scooping up the puppet and bringing him over to the bed and placing him down on the bed beside the mage, who was sleeping but moved her arm so that she was holding Kano protectively.

"I won't let them hurt you," Rebecca mumbled out sleepily.

Kano snuggled closer to her before feeling Papyrus lay down beside him and both the puppet and the skeleton fell asleep as peace filled the air again.

The next morning, Rebecca woke up and smiled at her husband and the loyal puppet, slipping out of bed quietly and letting them both rest since they had helped her earlier that morning. She got dressed and headed to the kitchen, looking around and smiling as she held up a hand.

"Coffee in a cup, let's have two, made just right for my brothers and for myself, hot chocolate if you please," she said before snapping her fingers.

A pan moved to the stove with the right amount of mixture and milk for hot chocolate while the coffee pot kicked on, brewing coffee. It wasn't long before two cups of coffee made just right were in Sans' and Gaster's spots at the table and the hot chocolate was ready and more was made for the family members beginning to stir.

Papyrus and Kano came down and smiled at seeing Rebecca awake. "How are you, my love?" The skeleton asked.

"Doing better, Handsome," she said with a smile before looking at Kano. "And you, Kano? Are you okay?"

He nodded, though looked a bit worried. "Master...I can't shake the feeling that what you saw may happen very soon," he admitted.

She nodded. "And if it does, we'll be ready for it," she said reassuringly.

A knock at the door surprised them and Sans, who had just come in for his coffee, looked at the clock, seeing it was a little past seven. "Who's visiting this early in the morning?" He asked.

Rebecca went to see and found it was River Person and Asgore, who looked like he had been running. "Asgore," the mage said worriedly, letting him in. "What happened? You look like you ran all the way over here."

"I did, mostly," he said as he and the cloaked being came in. "Rebecca, I have to know something. Did you have a dream last night about a monster attacking us? And only you and your friend Hannah were fighting him but it didn't work out?"

The young woman felt her knees give out and thankfully, River Person caught her before she hit the floor. "Seems this dream wasn't only for you, Rebecca," he hummed. "Looks like the king and myself received it too."

"Then...Kano must be right," Rebecca said. "The evil mages created a monster to destroy all of us and it's arrival is pending on the horizon, but moving fast no doubt."

Gaster came out and saw River Person helping the mage to the couch. "Rebecca? What happened, dear sister?" He asked her.

She looked at him. "Call Sans and Sierra in here please," she said.

Nodding, the tall skeleton did so and when Sierra heard Asgore's question, she actually looked a bit frightened. "I...I only heard rumors about such a creature," she said.

"Apparently it's not just rumor," Asgore said gently.

Sans pulled Sierra into a hug to soothe her as she trembled a little. Esther, who had come downstairs, saw her mother and father embracing and her mother looked worried. "Mommy? Daddy? What's wrong?" She asked curiously.

The skeleton was about to tell her it was alright when Sierra placed a hand on his arm and gave him a look that said the child needed to know. He nodded, realizing she was right. The little child had been through a lot before she and Sierra had come to the Underground and it wouldn't be fair to hide something from her. "Esther, come here, kiddo," the joke-loving skeleton said.

"Yes, Daddy?" She asked, going over to him.

Sans kneeled down to her height and his hands rested on her shoulders. "Sweetie, I need you to be very honest with Daddy, okay?" He said.

"Okay," she replied.

"Did your other parents ever talk about a monster they had hidden away? One that is very dangerous?"

Esther gasped and began trembling. "Sweetheart?" Sans asked when she didn't respond. "What's the matter, sweetie?"

The child glomped him, clinging to him. "Daddy," she whimpered. "Is it...here?"

Sierra gasped in horror. "Honey, did they ever...show you this creature?" She asked.

The little girl shook her head. "No, but...they always took me to where its cage was and it would make a lot of sounds. It was scary. They said they might one day put me in there with it."

Sans held his daughter close and rubbed her back. "Don't worry, babybones. Daddy will protect you," he promised. "No horrible creature is going to get you while I'm around."

Rebecca bit her lip before standing up, putting her cloak on over her casual clothes and grabbing her staff. "River Person, can you take me to behind Asgore's castle?" She asked. "I have to check on something."

"I can," he said.

The mage kissed her husband and waved to the others. "We won't be long," she said.

"What are you looking for?" Asgore asked.

"Something I'm hoping hasn't happened yet," the mage replied as she followed the cloaked monster out to the river and got into the boat and they were at the castle. Jumping out of the boat, Rebecca ran to behind the castle, vaguely aware that River Person was behind her and they made it to the barrier, but when they got there, a horrible sight greeted them.

Hannah, the mage that had been working with Rebecca and the monsters, lay right at the wall of the barrier, bruises visible on her face and arms and it looked like she had either gotten scratched or something sharp had hit her arms. "Hannah," the dark-haired mage said in horror.

"Reach out and get her in here, Rebecca," the cloaked monster said. "Humans can cross the barrier just fine. It was to keep us monsters in."

She looked at him. "So humans can leave and that's it?" She asked, to which he nodded. "But can humans enter through here?"

"Only one way to find out," he said. "Reach out and get her in here."

Rebecca reached out and managed to grab hold of Hannah's hand. The girl stirred awake and turned her head to see her friend reaching out to her. "Rebecca," she said, reaching forward.

"Hannah, we got to pull you in and get you treated," the dark-haired mage said, trying to pull her friend in. Hannah tried to grip her friend's hand, but as she was in a weakened state, her grip wasn't as strong, but Rebecca held on and as soon as she got her friend's hand and lower arm through the barrier, River Person reached out and grasped the injured girl's arm.

"I've got her," he said and with a few pulls, doing his best to be gentle so that he didn't jar her too much, the cloaked monster pulled the girl into the Underground and lifted her up at seeing she was more hurt than they realized. "She's badly injured. She needs healing right away."

"Let's get her to Asgore."

Not only did Asgore heal Hannah, but Toriel and Grillby helped him and the brown-haired girl opened her green eyes, looking at them with a bit of uncertainty, but she stayed calm. "It's okay, Hannah," Rebecca said.

She nodded. "Sorry, it's just...," she trailed off and tears filled her eyes.

"What happened, young one?" River Person asked.

Hannah took a deep breath and looked at them all. "The evil mages unleashed their monster they created," she said. "The good mages were all hurt, but are alive, save for one."

Tears escaped her eyes and the truth hit Rebecca like a speeding truck. "Oh, no," she said softly, gently shaking her head. "Not your father, Hannah."

Tears fell faster from Hannah's eyes as she nodded, her shoulders heaving a bit as she cried. River Person sat beside her and pulled the girl into a hug, rubbing her back and holding her close, knowing how hurt she was as he remembered when Rebecca had lost her parent figures and how hurt she had been.

Asgore looked grim. "It seems our dream was a warning after all," he said. "A warning that war will come once again."

"How many times must we fight for our lives before we are truly free?" Toriel asked, looking a bit distraught.

"How many more nights must we lie in fear of not making it?" Papyrus asked softly, hugging his wife.

The others were quiet before River Person looked up at Asgore. "Asgore, will you allow me to take Hannah in?" He asked.

The girl lifted up her head and looked at the cloaked being, who gently stroked her head. "If you'd like and the king agrees, you can stay with me, young one," he said.

She nodded. "Thank you," she said, tears still falling. "You're very kind."

Rebecca placed a hand on Hannah's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, Hannah," she said before taking the girl's hand. "We'll get through this. We will succeed as your father wanted us to."

The brown-haired mage nodded as she clung to River Person, who continued comforting her.

Meanwhile outside the mountain, the evil mages were watching their monster destroy a few things and they called him back, to which he obeyed. "It won't be long now before all monsters are gone for good," one evil female mage said.

"And we'll finally be able to rule this area," an evil male mage said.

"Yes," said a third, who was the leader. "With the leader of the good mages gone, it is only a matter of time."

All three were eagerly looking forward to the day when they would win.

The plot is thickening.

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418