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Omgosh, thank you for all of the wonderful reviews!
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Yes, Fearia is the sixth human SOUL not counting Chara. The first time this was mentioned was in the chapter titled "Glitter and Gold".
Frisk will still be the seventh human SOUL as she should be. :)
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All Roads Lead Here
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Reappearing at the entrance to the Judgment Hall, Sans felt the small child slump lightly against his chest. As expected, she still couldn't seem to handle teleportation, but at least he had been able to save her from face planting when they arrived. He felt kinda bad for not warning her, but it was for the best. Trying to explain teleportation to a little kid would be far too complicated and time consuming. And taking into account of how much time he'd already wasted, he just couldn't afford to waste anymore.
"sorry, kid." Sans apologized quietly to the unconscious child. As carefully as he could, the skeleton maneuvered the tiny human into a more comfortable position in his arms. He didn't know how long it would take for her to wake up, but he hoped it wouldn't take too long. The sooner she was awake, the better her chances would be of defending herself.
The nervous skeleton felt like his fuzzy slippers had turned to lead as he forced himself to proceed to the Judgment Hall. This was a horrible freakin' idea taking the kid to Asgore. What the hell was he even doing? What else could he do? In truth, he was out of options and he knew it.
For this tiny human, all roads had always led here, but she had just taken longer to arrive. Now, whether Sans liked it or not, the kid's fate was in her own hands. Considering the strange circumstances revolving around her, the girl's chances were actually better than most, but she still had to convince the King that those factors were enough to grant her sanctuary in the Underground.
Unfortunately, Asgore was the literal definition of a 'stubborn goat.'
Skull full of worries, Sans was caught off guard when a blinding light erupted in front of him as he entered into the empty Judgment Hall. It was one of the kid's damn healing stars, she just hadn't been awake to warn him about it this time. This might be some ironic form of karma, but he could see now why it might startle people when he just appeared in front of them without warning.
Stepping into the light, Sans silently watched as several glowing strings reached out for the child he held in his arms. Converging around her chest, they seemed to be searching for something that couldn't be seen. The kid should be all healed, right? So what was the star trying to find?
Sans pushed those questions aside for later when he felt the small child finally begin to stir. Amber hued eyes opened slowly as she awoke from her magic induced sleep. "Are we there yet?" She asked again, drawing a slight chuckle from the skeleton. Her mind was probably just replaying the last thing it remembered.
"yep. we're here, kid." Sans grinned before nodding to the star. "and look what i found."
"You found a star!" Fearia marveled as she easily spotted the dimly floating object. Having finished whatever it was attempting to do, the star had resumed its nearly transparent state.
The child fell quiet as she took in her surroundings. Was this the Capital? This pristine hall they were currently standing in had an entirely different feel than anywhere else she had been to in the Underground. With its enormous pillars and tall chapel style windows, this room truly made her feel tiny.
"Where are we...?" Fearia asked with undisguised apprehension. Unconsciously leaning into the skeleton's warm winter coat, she suddenly didn't feel so confident anymore. This place just felt ominous.
Following the child's line of sight, Sans could understand her worry. This place was meant to feel imposing. It was where monsters were brought after a crime had been committed. Here, in this hall, they would be found either innocent or guilty depending on how they were judged.
"this place is called the Judgment Hall." Sans replied. "but don't worry, kid." He reassured as he lifted his bony hand and ruffled the child's messy hair with affection. "nobody's judgin' ya here."
Against her wishes, Fearia was gently lowered from the skeleton's arms. Looking down, she instantly took notice of how cool the marble floor felt beneath her bare feet. Letting her unease get the best of her, the small child reached up and covertly grabbed a handful of the lazy skeleton's baggy shorts. She was starting to have second thoughts about all this.
"let's go." That was all the skeleton bothered to say as he led the way through the core-lit hallway. The kid remained attached to him as her bare feet worked a bit harder to keep up. The noise they made on the marble seemed louder than it probably was in the silent hall.
The ornate hallway was long and at the same time seemed far too short as they arrived at the other side. A large open doorway lay before them, the passageway beyond was gloomy, untouched by the core's light. The small child's grip tightened as she forced herself to proceed into the unknown.
Leaning against the cracked wall next to the King's doorway, Undyne grumpily pulled at her new bandage. Her arm was now bound in an embarrassing sling and the wrappings were much more professional looking. There was no way she was going to be able to put her armor on with this. Still, she couldn't bring herself to remove it either since Alphys had warned her not to.
She had had to have emergency surgery to reconnect the magic arteries that had been severed in her shoulder. It was really no wonder she hadn't been able to move her arm before. The injury had been much more serious than even she had realized at the time, and knowing this now just made her more angry. She could have lost her arm! Even now, there still might be lasting damage, but she would have to wait to find out.
The next time she saw that damn skele-
Undyne's eye widened slightly when she spotted said damn skeleton walking casually towards her. Sneering, the Royal Captain pushed herself off the wall and summoned a magic spear out of impulsive fury. "There you are, ya lazy jerk!" She growled as she used her less dominant hand to point the weapon threateningly at the shorter monster. "I've been waiting here for hours. Do you know-"
Eye flaring with blue magic, Sans held his hand protectively in front of the terrified child. "undyne, ol' buddy, ol' chum, why don'tcha put your weapon away." He suggested calmly, though the look on his skull clearly stated that this wasn't a suggestion. "there's a kid here. we wouldn't want things to get ...messy."
Looking down, Undyne easily spotted the tiny human trying to hide behind a femur; it really wasn't the best hiding place. A vicious grin spread across her face as she let her spear dissolve into light particles. "So, I see you're finally doing the right thing, huh? Bringing it to Asgore is a smart move. I guess even a bonehead like you knows when to concede."
"what can i say, i'm a realist." Sans replied with an apathetic shrug, letting the blue fade from his eye as he grinned up at Undyne. "but i wouldn't get my hopes up too high if i were you." he warned. "this might not tuna the way you want, pal."
He wished he felt as confident as he sounded, but right now Sans was only hanging onto the hope that everything would turned out for the best. Stuffing his bony hands back into his jacket pockets, the skeleton returned to his state of cool nonchalance as he walked past the seething suspended Captain. The human growth attached to his femur, however, took a considerable toll on his dignity.
Finally away from the scary fish lady, Fearia felt herself relax a little as she released her death grip on the skeleton. She hadn't been prepared to face the Captain of the Royal Guard again so soon after her last encounter. Even without her armor, the tall warrior was still very intimidating and her disposition was worse than ever. Vaguely, Fearia wondered what had happened to her arm but she had been too scared to ask.
The little girl's amber eyes seemed to light up when the garden of golden flowers came into view. It was beautiful! ...and also a little unnerving considering her nightmare last night. Despite that, Fearia couldn't help but stare in awe at the stunning display. Streaming through the geodes in the ceiling, a soft light illuminated the secret garden below in large patches, making the scene appear almost surreal; like a painting.
"Fearia, Daughter of Freya." A deep but kind sounding voice spoke. "I have been waiting."
Startled, the little girl subconsciously latched onto the skeleton's femur yet again as she searched for the owner of the voice. He was easy to find, really. Sitting in his thrown on the far side of the room, Fearia spotted the largest monster by far. He was huge! Was this the King? The King of Monsters? He must be.
Noticing the exceptionally tiny human's hesitance, Asgore tried to soften his appearance a little with a welcoming smile. "Do not fear, child." He started as he raised a large furry hand out in front of himself, only to lower it again slowly as if trying to calm a scared animal. "I only wish to ask you some questions. Please, come closer."
Fearia felt herself start to tremble as she released her friend's leg and took an obedient step forward. This King sounded nice enough but she couldn't shake the same dread she always felt whenever she was standing before Chief Marx. If she didn't react right away, would his personality flip too? She didn't want to find out.
Numbly walking past the skeleton, the little girl turned to look up at her friend. Her eyes widened a little when she noticed that his eye lights had gone out completely and his grin wasn't genuine at all. Was he scared?
Reaching up, the little girl quietly took hold of the skeletal hand that had strayed from one of his pockets. Getting his attention, Fearia gave her friend a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Sans. It'll be okay." She didn't really know that, of course, but she hoped her words would be enough to put his mind at ease.
Looking down at the small child, Sans felt a sharp tug at his metaphorical heartstrings. To think, after everything that's happened, she would be the one trying to make him feel better. He didn't feel like he deserved it either.
Lowering himself so that he was closer to her level, Sans gave a real smile as he placed a bony hand to her head. "you're a good kid, squirt." He said as he ruffled her hair fondly. "don't worry about me, i'll be fine. better not keep the king waiting too long, though, or he might start making some tea. if he does, we'll be stuck here even longer."
Fearia giggled at that as she felt herself calm down a bit at the lazy skeleton's words. "Okay." She nodded before reaching up and giving the skeleton's skull an affectionate pat as well. "I'll be right back so don't go anywhere."
"wouldn't dream of it, kid." Sans chuckled as he gave the little girl a gentle nudge to get her going. Turning, she flashed him a smile before scampering off into the flowers.
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aww...
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In the next chapter, Fearia finally gets to speak with the King of Monsters.
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Sheii Bae~
