It wasn't long before the first knocks on the door came, one on the back door and one on the front. Ginger approached the front one; seeing where the two Snowdrakes had come from, it wasn't hard to tell which was at which entry. The metal door slid open, and revealed that not only was the young bird monster there, but also the entirety of the Canine Unit; Doggo, Dogamy, Dogaressa, and Lesser and Greater Dog all stood behind him as he entered and greeted the Huntress. And more still, Shyren and Aaron were tucked away among the crowd; the small, tone-deaf fish monster slightly dubious about the sea-horse standing beside her. But even he seemed a bit concerned...for once.
"Dude! It's been, like forever!" Snowdrake exclaimed. "Never thought you'd make it big!"
"I know. It's COOL, isn't it?"
Alphys was dealing with the other crowd; there were three monsters from New Home; an Astigmatism, two Whimsalots and a Final Froggit, and, of course, Mr. Snowdrake.
When the resort comedian heard his son's voice, it was like music to his ears. He entered the Lab, and found him and the human exchanging terrible puns.
"ICY that you enjoyed what I left under the tree for you."
"Sorry if it looks a little...WEATHERED. But it has yet to FLAKE away into nothing."
Such wonderfully terrible puns. Snowdrake was in such high spirits that didn't even notice his father until he addressed him.
"...Snowy?"
He looked away from his human friend, only to behold his father standing there. The wide grin fell from his beak, and he looked away, a bit of shame flashing in his eyes.
"You know somethin', son? Ha...Those puns...They ain't so bad after all, ya know? While you were gone, I...I kept seein' this guy on stage between my shows. The only thing he told were puns. And, I realized...I shouldn't have put ya down. Your jokes...They're good, alright? They really are. And...Heheh...It's ICE to know you've been hangin' in theah this whole time. I guess ya could say I'm...I'm proud, Snowy."
Snowdrake had turned his back to him, head hung. His father slowly approached.
"Come on, junior. You...you forgive me, don'tcha?"
"Snowdrake?" Ginger asked.
It was then that the young bird monster drew in a convulsing gasp, and his father wrapped his wings around him.
"It's alright, son. I'm with ya...I'm with ya..."
"Erm...Mr. S-snowdrake, sir?" Alphys piped up from behind them.
"Doctah. I'm guessin' you called us here about..."
"Yeah...About that, uh...Th-there's something I need to tell you. All of you."
All of the monsters gathered around the Royal Scientist, and she explained everything that happened; the initial goal of the project, the DETERMINATION, how it reawakened their fallen family members...and then broke them down into near goop soon afterwards.
"I...I just want to apologize for what you're all about to see," she finished, eyes moist. "What I've done i-is horrible, and...It's even worse that I kept it from all of you f-for so long. And...I'm sorry for that."
Silence reigned. The monsters knew that for her to put it that way, it must be a serious matter.
"...Guys?" she called out, seeing that they'd all gathered upstairs. "Everyone's here to see you."
Everyone watched as the first monster descended, its long legs striding down the escalator. It stopped and looked in the direction of the four monsters from New Home, then said something to them in their mixed-up, unsynchronized and differentiating speech.
"...'bout time...determined...robbit robbit..."
The Astigmatism smiled as Reaper Bird lowered its head.
"...Brothers...!"
He greeted the two fused monsters warmly, and the two Whimsalot fluttered near.
"Comrade? Are you in there?" one of them asked.
"...Still alive!" a somewhat slow and muffled voice called from Final Froggit approached, now, and Reaper Bird bent its long legs to meet it. The frog monster saw its friend in the entity, and pressed its short, blunt snout against it contently.
"Well...That...uh...W-went well," Alphys remarked.
"What am I? Chopped liver?"
Lemon Bread was the one who said it; she got off the escalator to meet her sister; Shyren was too excited to say anything; she just flitted over to her, salty tears streaming down her face and wearing an ecstatic smile. Aaron approached curiously, but then flashed a toothy grin.
"So, tell me, cousin...Can you still flex?"
He tensed his muscles and struck a pose, Lemon Bread's arm doing the same. She rolled her eyes, then addressed her sister.
"...Chowderhead."
Shyren nodded, stifling a giggle.
"I don't see anything..." Doggo mumbled. "My brother must be standing pretty still."
"Oh, the members of the Canine Unit are...uh...coming," Alphys promised, looking up at the top floor; Endogeny sniffed the air, then made a mad dash down the escalator, running like the wind, and their claws scraping against the tile floor as they came down to meet their family members. Finally, they stopped right in front of the crowd of dog monsters, their front part hunched down and tail stuck in the air, wagging wildly.
Dogamy and Dogaressa exchanged glances, then looked back at the compiled heap of fused dog monsters. And then, they beamed.
"Mom!"
"Dad!"
Doggo was the next to approach.
"Brother? Izzat you in there?"
Lesser Dog and Greater Dog approached Endogeny, smiling and panting; they didn't seem aware of what was actually going on, but they seemed pleased nonetheless. All of the dogs gathered together greeting each other, finally seeing one another after so long, and a long series of happy barks and yips filled the Lab.
Mr. Snowdrake and his son watched along with the Huntress and Royal Scientist. The resort comedian had an uncertain expression on his feathered face.
"So...Mr. Snowdrake, a-and Jr. Are you two, ah...ready?"
They both nodded, and Alphys called for Mrs. Snowdrake to come down. Snowy whispered to his human friend.
"So...Is it, uh...bad?"
"It could definitely be way worse," she answered. "You can still tell she's a Snowdrake, at least."
"Is she...theah? Up here, I mean?" his father chimed in, putting a wing on his head in insinuation.
"I...think? A little slow, but she gets her point across."
"O-okay, you two. Here, uh...Here she is."
She lead Mrs. Snowdrake down the escalator towards them, and the Vegetoids on her face squinted a little as she eyed her loved ones.
"...Mom?"
"Hon'?"
"S...now...y...?"
She shambled closer to them, her good wing stretched forward a bit. But her son was the one to close the gap between them.
"Mom! It's you! It's actually you, you're here!"
He pulled her into an embrace, and she put her wing around him.
"Ha...I...missed...you too..."
Mr. Snowdrake approached her, and she and her son turned to face him. There was an odd mix of emotions in his eyes; a bit of uncertainty, some sadness, some sympathy, and a lot of confused happiness. She brought her wing up to his face, then, without warning, pulled him in to join her and their son.
And to this, he finally smiled.
"Doc..." he continued. "I'll be honest; part of me still wishes I knew about this earliah but...I can undahstand why you didn't tell us befoah. You prob'ly had no idea what was gonna happen, so...I can see why it'd be so upsetting. And...I'm just glad she's back, really. Both of us ah."
"I'm glad you're back, Mom," Snowdrake said to her, a mischievous grin slowly inching its way across his beak. "You don't know how much I missed you."
"...How much...?"
"Ha...I missed you SNOW much!"
Mr. Snowdrake, much to his son's surprise, burst out laughing.
"Haha...Good one..." his mother chortled.
"So...Can we take 'em back home with us?" Dogamy asked.
"Oh. Ah, yes. Yes, you can all take them back home," Alphys confirmed to the families. "...My work here is done."
"We best be gettin' back to Snowdin, then," Doggo alerted the rest of the Canine Unit before turning to the Snowdrake family. "You birds comin'?"
"Sure thing, dogs," Snowy accepted. "We'd rather not go back there OWL by ourselves."
His father gave him a curious look, which he took notice of.
"What? You know we're birds, too," he explained. "I gotta shake things up sometimes! If I just stick to ice puns and not go for any bird jokes, it'll drive everyone..."
"Uh-oh..."
"STORK RAVEN mad!"
Both of his parents squawked out good, hearty, genuine laughter. He never thought he'd see the day his father, of all people, laughed at his jokes. But now, he was seeing it.
I must be getting better at this... he surmised.
The families of the Amalgamates bid their farewells, and then gave Dr. Alphys their thanks for finally coming clean and bringing them back, and it wasn't long until everyone had left the lab. Only she and the human remained.
"...Well, that went well," Ginger remarked.
"Heh...Better than I anticipated, really...A-a lot better. Heh...Th-thanks for bein' here during all that; I think your input really helped calm things down."
"You got ahold of Undyne before they showed up, right? What'd she say?"
"I, uh...told her I m-might not end up showing up until midnight. I actually thought this might take, like, a-a few hours to get done. I-I thought they were gonna ask a bunch of q-questions, o-or get angry, and I thought...well...you get the idea, right?"
"I do...And I wasn't planning on showing up at Asgore's place until around midnight, myself," Ginger stated further. "I guess we've got some time to kill."
"G-guess so..."
The human suddenly snapped her fingers.
"I got an idea."
"Wh-what's your idea?"
"Remember back when I was doing the puzzles in Hotland, and you were telling me about one of those anime you watch?"
"Oh. OHHHH, I see what you're getting at!" the monster exclaimed, an excited smile now on her face.
"I specifically remember you offering to show some o' that to me. Don't know when I'll next get the chance, so maybe we could do that now."
"Sounds like a plan! Uh, I-I have one of my DVD player and some of the discs back on the lower floor. Y-you wanna head back down there?"
"Heck, yeah! Let's watch some..."
She trailed off, and an unsettlingly large grin spread across the human's face.
"Erm...What's on your mind?"
"I just had ANOTHER idea for something we could watch. After we watch that anime."
"What's that?"
She slid her messenger bag off and began to rummage through its contents.
"I found this movie in the dump, actually right after you and I first met. I was looking for more stuff to make my arrows and junk out of," she explained. Ginger's hands finally got ahold of the DVD case she'd kept in there.
"And lo and behold, THIS beauty makes itself plain. I watched it with Papyrus, and he showed it to Undyne, and we both LOVED. IT."
She showed off the case, and Alphys scanned it over curiously; the partial Spinosaurus skeleton on the cover gave her a good enough clue as to what it might be about.
"...'Jurassic Park III,' huh...?" she mused. "...You know what? Sure! I-I'll give it a go!"
"Alright, then! Let's get this show on the road!"
...
"Snowdin Town...This place has not changed so much, it seems."
Toriel trekked through the snowy town, Joss curled into her warm paws. She was glad that the town seemed the same as it'd always been; the path through the forest hadn't been quite as she remembered it, sporting more, and different puzzles. Judging by the handwriting on some of the signs(and on a cardboard sentry station she chortled at) it looked like the same person was in charge of most of them. She recognized the name on the sign by the spaghetti plate; "Papyrus." The young man that she exchanged jokes with said he was his younger brother. He'd stated many a time that he was passionate about capturing humans...up until now, where he claimed that he had instead become friends with the one she was now on her way to meet.
I suppose that is a good thing...
The Boss Monster passed by the Gyftmas tree, being careful not to make eye contact with any of the monsters that sat around it; she knew that there would likely still be a number of people that would recognize her, and she did not want to draw attention to herself.
But someone, making an armless snow angel along the side of the path, noticed her as she went by. And the first thing he saw was just how worried she looked.
"Hey, uh...ma'am?" he addressed? "You okay?"
She jumped a bit, startled, then turned to face whoever had spoken. She found herself looking down at a small, armless lizard monster, who looked like he was no older than maybe eight or nine. She remembered bitterly that her two children had been the same age when they perished.
"...I am quite alright," she responded, almost curtly, and tried to pass him by. "I just have a lot on my mind, is all."
"Huh...You know somethin'? This kinds reminds me of when I met a friend of mine, 'bout a week ago. She was standin' around, lookin' glum, so I went ahead and cheered her up! Spread the word that there was a newcomer, and someone put a present under the tree for her! Haha!"
A week ago...That couldn't have been...
"Ah...What is your name, child?"
"Name's Kidd. I know; lame name, right?"
"No, no, it is not, I promise," she told him. "Erm...So, your friend. What was she like?"
"Oh, she's real famous, now! You've heard of the Huntress, right?"
"The Huntress?" she echoed.
"No?" Kidd asked, tilting his head curiously.
"I...I cannot say I have."
"Well, I'll explain it to you; she's a human that showed up one day, and she's been through thick and thin trying to get to the king's castle! She's super smart and strong, but she's also really nice, even though she doesn't like it when people point it out. She's crazy awesome!"
All he had to say was that she was human, and Toriel instantly knew who the Huntress was.
"...Might I ask, Kidd?" she said to him. "Why does everybody call her 'the Huntress'?"
"Mainly 'cuz of how she looks and fights. She has this bow and arrows she made from stuff at the garbage dump, and she's got this set of armor, and a cloak she got from a guy here in Snowdin who put it under the Gyftmas tree for her and this cool messenger bag, and she's really-"
"That will do, child," she interrupted, starting to walk again. "Thank you, though. I needed to know quite a bit of that."
She left him with that, but unbeknownst to her, Kidd decided to trail behind the mysterious monster, curious as to where she might be going? It was odd; she looked a lot like King Asgore, for some reason, with the white fur and floppy ears, and...her purple robes. He'd heard that there used to be a queen of the Underground, but she'd disappeared sometime before he was born. This couldn't be her, though, could it? What made her decide to come back? It was a mystery to him...But that mystery only made him more curious, and that further prompted him to follow the monster, wondering exactly where she might be going, and who exactly she was.
Toriel didn't know it, but as she went, the number of monsters following her on the sly grew greater and greater.
...
"What do you mean, 'she's not there'?"
"She's gone. And Asriel isn't in there, either."
"Hmm..."
Toriel hummed thoughtfully; it wasn't like them to suddenly disappear, and especially Chara, seeing how weak she was.
"...How about we check the garden?" she suggested. "He might have brought her there to look at the flowers. I know she said she wanted to see the ones from her village, so...maybe he wanted to give her the next best thing."
"It's a shame we don't have any actual Golden Flowers down here. The buttercups are the closest we have...But you're right," he nodded. "Let's go see to that."
They headed down that way, making their way down the brightly lit, gold hall. Normally, Toriel would have smiled at the beauty of it, but she couldn't help but get a feeling of unprecedented dread. Something was amiss, and the sooner she figured out what it was, the better.
They turned the corner and approached the Throne Room. Her husband entered first, scanning around for the children, but they were nowhere to be seen until...
The figure walked in through the northern exit. The tall, slim figure of a Boss Monster, but with unnatural black sclera and stripes on either side of his face, expression weak, but also contorted with pain. There was a trail of blood behind him, and he was carrying the limp body of a human in his battered arms, one of which looked about ready to fall clean out of the socket.
Asgore froze at the sight of it, then let out a loud gasp as his paws rose to his mouth. This...It was...He'd...
"...Asriel?"
Toriel heard the sound of distress, her motherly instincts kicked into full overdrive. And the sight she saw made her freeze as still as a stone.
Asriel stumbled closer to the enormous flowerbed. Slashes and puncture wounds plagued his entire form, and several arrows were stuck in his back.
"M...Mom...Dad..." he croaked, a tear beginning to stream down his face.
"...Help..."
His eyes rolled back, then he fell forward, and Chara's dead body fell from his grasp as his arms disintegrated into white dust, and the moment he hit the ground, the rest of him followed suit.
The king and queen watched on, wide-eyed, in sick denial of what had just played out before them.
"...No," Asgore finally whispered, falling to his knees at where the dust of his son now lay. Toriel followed moments after, her paws sifting through the white powder, still not believing what she'd seen until she touched his remains.
They looked at each other, the look in their eyes full conveying what they had both finally concluded.
Asriel and Chara were...
Dead.
That was when they finally broke, and the loud, anguished wails rang out across all of New Home for all to hear.
They didn't see it, but Asriel had dropped something else as he disappeared; a single Golden Flower, pulled up by the roots, that he'd brought back with him; a souvenir of his last adventure.
...
Only twenty hours had passed since the tragedy. The monthly address had been cancelled, unbeknownst to the monsters waiting down below for the king to explain exactly what'd happened the previous day. Asgore and Toriel stood just inside the balcony in each other's arms, each trying to console the other. But their attempts were fruitless.
"I'm sorry, Toriel..." Asgore sobbed. "I should have found and stopped him before he could do it, this is all my fault!"
"No, no, Asgore, this is not your fault!" she assured him. "Don't you dare think that! You are not to blame for this! It is not your fault I promise...!"
She held him even tighter, and, over the course of the next minute, noticed that he'd stopped weeping. She pulled herself back to look him in the eye; Asgore now had a look of realization on his face, and his breathing had become even.
"...You're right," he whispered. "...It isn't my fault. And nor is it yours."
His voice was hushed and calm, but for reasons unknown, it sent a cold shiver down the queen's spine.
Several images flashed through Asgore's head. The sight of his fatally wounded son stumbling back into the garden, bloodied and battered beyond help, the arrows that fell to the ground as he dusted...And the distant memory of the human soldier, in the War of Humans and Monsters, swinging his axe, killing both of his parents in one sweep of his weapon. He'd screamed for them, but it was too late. They had taken everything from him that day.
And now they had done it again.
"...Excuse me, Toriel," he said to her as he passed her by, going out onto the balcony. "...I have an announcement to make."
There was something wrong with him, she knew now. His blue eyes, which usually had a gentle twinkle in them, now flashed like a flame. He wasn't just distraught, now.
He was angry.
...Too angry.
"...My loyal subjects," he said to the vast crowd of monsters that stood below, eyes turned up to meet him. "Forgive me, but I carry ill tidings...Asriel and Chara, the prince of the Underground, and the embodiment of a peaceful future between humans and monsters, were both found dead yesterday afternoon."
There was series of gasps from the crowd below. Some denied it, others wept, others simply lowered their heads.
"...As you all know, Chara had been bedridden with terrible illness for two weeks up until today. Asriel tried to grant her final request: to see the flowers growing in the center of her village. He absorbed her SOUL, and used this power to cross the Barrier into the surface world...only to be brutally attacked, and ultimately killed, by the humans which inhabited it."
The gasps from the crowd rang out louder, and now, some of them wore angry faces. There was chatter among them that the humans had gone too far this time.
"Citizens. We never threatened mankind with our powers. All we wanted was to make peace with them. And, as you all know, the only things we got out of those attempts at peace were injustice, suffering, and a thousand years ago, near-genocide...And now, they have killed my patience. As king, I promise to all monsters of the Underground that the crimes wrought against us for a millennium shall not go unavenged. Mankind may have shattered our hopes for peace, but not for our freedom! I, King Asgore, hereby declare war! Henceforth, any human that dares to face us again, no matter who, no matter how old and no matter what they stand for, will perish! And once the seven SOULs needed to destroy the Barrier have been obtained, I will use their power to transcend to omnipotence, and with that power, I will wreak our final vengeance on mankind once and for all! This world will be OURS to claim! Sharpen your weapons! Harness your magic! Find the will within yourselves to kill! We have been trod upon like worms for too long! This time, there will be NO MERCY!"
An uproar of applause came from the crowd below, chanting for the destruction of humanity. Asgore summoned his trident, the magic entity he hadn't wielded since the war, and rose it high into the air. The cheers from the monsters below rang out even louder.
It felt like a full day had passed, but after only mere minutes, the cheers ceased, and the King of Monsters lowered his trident again, letting it dissipate. He turned around to face his wife, the gleam of hatred still burning hot in his gaze...
And then, his eyes widened just a bit, at the expression on her face.
She was absolutely appalled.
"...What have you done...?" she rasped hoarsely.
"Something that should have been done long ago."
"...You do not know what you have done!"
"On the contrary, Toriel. I know very well what I have done. I have just unlocked the gateway to our freedom. The gate is a long ways off, but in time, we will get there. And when we do, we, you and I, and everyone else, will take back what is justifiably ours. Humanity hasn't changed since the days of the war. And it will pay for the sins it has committed with its very existence."
"You cannot possibly be serious!"
"It's what SHE would have wanted."
That was what made her silent. It was known by every member of the Dreemurr family that Chara hated humanity with a burning passion, but for what reasons, it was never obvious to them.
...Until now.
Toriel just shook her head in disgust, and he watched in anger as she left him standing there, alone.
Asgore's fists clenched at what he was witnessing; his partner in ruling, and his lifelong companion, was leaving him there, by himself.
"What? You're leaving? They killed our son and you just turn your back on me? For THEM?"
She just kept walking away.
"Don't you forget this, Toriel!" he called out, but she made no indication that she heard him. "I will gather the SOULs alone, without your help and with my own two hands if it comes to be! And if something happens to me, then..."
She slammed the door shut.
"Then it's YOUR FAULT! TRAITOR!"
Right when he said it, Asgore landed a fist against the grey stone wall, shaking the entire castle and leaving a good-sized dent in the rock. It made his hand sting badly, but it was nothing compared to the growing turmoil on the inside.
As it dawned on him that he had just lashed out at the one thing he had left to love, Asgore's legs caved in beneath him, the clenched fist sliding down the wall with the rest of his form until he fell all the way to his knees. And when he did, the once proud and noble King of Monsters wrapped his cloak around himself, collapsed forward onto the stone floor, and wept.
...
Memories.
Shattered memories.
That was all those things were now; fragmented memories from days gone by. But even as far away those times were, they did not come without consequences.
Asgore stood just inside the Barrier, as still and as silent as a statue. He'd been like that for several hours at this point; there was a lot on his mind, and he thought very hard about it all, especially considering that it had taken him this long to learn any of it. Toriel had been in the Ruins this whole time, trying to protect the humans that fell, only to fail when they finally emerged into the rest of the Underground? Including young Ginger Wingren? She hadn't failed with that one yet; as far as he knew, the human was in Hotland, presumably in the company of Dr. Alphys.
Alphys...
In order to have evaded so much danger and gotten to know so many of his citizens and underlings, she had to be fairly slick; she knew his loyal Judge Sans and his younger brother Papyrus, Captain Undyne, Dr. Alphys AND his former queen? The last part had been confirmed with that piece of pie she'd gifted him. And now that he knew she was acquainted with the last one, he was distraught; how attached had Toriel gotten to the humans before Ms. Wingren, let alone her herself? If he'd known that poor Toriel had so much as known their names, he'd have ordered all citizens to never lay a hand on any of them.
And that was when he realized...He let out a shaky breath as it dawned on him.
...He couldn't do it.
Especially considering that UNDYNE had let her go, he was the only one left who could do the job...but he couldn't. Not knowing what he knew now.
...But he HAD to.
The SOULs in their canisters seemed to glow a bit brighter. Communication between them, he always thought that was, whenever they glowed brighter and flashed with more light. If only he knew what they were saying...Maybe he could get to know them all just a bit better.
But it was too late now.
He wasn't sure what would happen when the human returned, whenever that might be. In all honesty, he wished that Ginger would just stay living in the Underground, never returning to the castle where she was supposed to meet her demise. Maybe, she would never show up...But he'd hoped long ago that no other human would fall into the land of monsters, and it had happened too many times already, so he shook woefully.
All he had left was his kingdom, but now knowing just what he'd done, he didn't think killing the human would be any better for them than it had been for Toriel.
His head hung lower; he wanted something, someone, ANYONE to take this cup from him. To put him out if his misery, maybe even offer him some peace.
...
*But nobody came.
...
"Okay, I admit; that wasn't one of my brighter ideas," the human remarked, taking the disc out and putting it back in its case now that it was over.
Ginger figured that having dealt with monsters that'd literally melted into goop, Alphys would be able to handle some convincing, human-crafted movie gore...But apparently, she was quite a bit more squeamish than she'd thought, and the realistically nasty imagery, especially throughout the first half of the film when she was the least prepared, was not an easy thing for her to stomach. The T. Rex having its neck brutally snapped in two was bad enough, but when the human corpse fell out of the tree and into plain view, she had swiftly excused herself, and was gone for about a minute...only to come back looking very green in the gills. It was obvious what'd happened.
"H-how can you guys stomach all that up there...!?"
"I've actually seen worse...albeit without the dinosaurs."
"Blugh...S-sorry. I've seen so much other horrible stuff already, I...I thought I could handle it."
"And I'll admit something else; I thought that Mew Mew Kissy Cutie thing was gonna be ultra weird...I was, uh, pleasantly surprised, to say the least. Might watch it again; plot's interesting enough to make me wanna dig deeper."
"Oh...W-well, glad you think so!"
"I, uh...gotta head out, now, though. I saw that the elevators here in the Lab also lead up to New Home, so I'll just take that route. You gonna go see Undyne now?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna meet her in Snowdin. Heh...I hope Sans and Papyrus' house is plenty warm. I-I don't do well in the cold."
"Neither does she. So...erm...If everything goes okay between me and Asgore, expect me to come around again by, say...I don't know, sometime tomorrow around dawn? What time is it now...?"
She checked the time on the phone; October 25th, 11:52 p.m. Eight minutes to midnight. But with the elevators working, she wouldn't have to rush.
"So...Al'?"
"Uh-huh?"
"Remember what happened at the CORE?"
"...Yeah."
"I didn't think I was gonna be seeing you again at that point, so...I didn't get to give you a proper goodbye, you know?"
"Heh...Y-you make it sound like it's been months since then," she joked.
She was unaware that from Ginger's perspective, that'd actually been the case.
"So, if I don't come back, for some reason, just in case...Would you mind giving that thing back to Papyrus? He and Undyne enjoyed it, so..."
She handed the DVD box down to her.
"O-okay. I'll do that."
"And, ah...I got somethin' else. For, uh...for you. That I found at the dump alongside that movie thing."
She started to dig into her messenger bag again and took hold of it. This little thing had served its purpose in the last timeline, and now it was time to pass it on.
"It looked kinda like something from one of those anime, and I thought it was cool, so..."
Ugh, Glaux. The Huntress is such a sentimental dork, she reprimanded herself.
"Forget it, just take the darn thing. Keepsake, or whatever."
She just pulled the item out and tossed it at the Royal Scientist, who just barely caught it with fumbling hands.
"Whoa. What's...Oh..."
"So, whadaya think? Too soft? Wait till everyone finds out I'm what a tsundere I am, huh?"
Alphys barely heard her; she was busy gushing over how adorable it was.
"Uweee, WHERE'D YOU FIND THIS, IT'SADORABLEANDIT'SINSUCHGREATSHAPEWHOWOULDTHROWAWAYTHISEEVEETHAT'SNUTSTHANKYOUSOMUCHYOU'RE...Y-you're..."
"Done yet?"
"Sorry. Heh...Went off on a bit of a tangent there. Erm...You really are a great friend. I-I know you don't think so, b-but..."
She squeezed the plush, a light pink tint forming across the scales on her face.
"Ohh...You're awful sweet, you know that?"
Ginger sighed, and a smile appeared on her face. Never did she think she'd take anything like that as a compliment...What a twist.
"...C'mere, pal."
She knelt down and opened her arms wide, inviting Alphys in, and she gave her one last hug goodbye.
"Hey, and...um...Thanks for helping me out there w-with the amalgamates. And...everything you've ever done f-for me, before that. I really owe you one. If...if you do come back, then just ask me if you ever need anything, a-and I'd be more than happy to back you up. You and U-Undyne and Sans and everyone else...I really owe you guys a lot. Heh heh...Hey. I-I even think my nervous stutter is starting to go away, you know?"
"You and I really backed each other a lot during this whole thing, didn't we?"
"Yeah..."
"...Alright, no more mushy stuff. Get over here!"
Before the Royal Scientist could react, Ginger had her in a headlock and was ruffling up the plumage on her head.
"Gyack! Hey! Let go! Hahaha!"
"Weren't expecting THAT, huh?"
"No! I wasn't! Ha ha...Heh..."
She let go, then gave Alphys one more, lighter scratch on the head.
"Well...I gotta get to New Home. Mind if I take the elevator?"
"Go on ahead. Here, just follow me there; w-we're both going in the same direction right now, anyway."
The Huntress followed her to the Power Room; Alphys took the elevator off to the west, leaving the center shaft to her human friend.
"Well...I-I gotta bundle up and head over to Snowdin...See you again, a-at some point. Sooner or later, I guess."
"Bye, Alphys."
They parted ways, and Ginger huffed out a sigh as she headed into the elevator. And she was just about to take the quick flight to New Home when...
She noticed the two monitors along the wall to the generator. They had been deactivated when she passed them by the last time, but now, it looked like they were turned on. Wondering what they said, she approached them, deciding to read the farthest one first.
*ENTRY NUMBER 8
I've chosen a candidate. I haven't told Asgore yet, because
I want to surprise him with it..In the center of his garden,
there's something special. The first Golden Flower, that grew
before all the others. The flower from the outside world. It
appeared just before the queen left. I wonder...What happens
when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?
"Well," Ginger scoffed. "I happen to know what..."
And then, she trailed off, realizing something that could have...
"Wait..."
*ENTRY NUMBER 18
The flower's gone.
"...Oh, no..."
Something without a SOUL gaining the will to live.
The Golden Flower that grew before all the others.
Alphys was responsible for...
Him.
And then, she realized something else. Something she'd completely forgotten about until now.
...In this timeline, Asgore hadn't been killed by Flowey...
And in turn, SHE hadn't avenged him.
Flowey was back. She didn't know where, but he was back. And what was worse...
He would remember. What would he do? To what lengths would he go to get his revenge?
"Oh, no...No, no, no, no, I need to get to New Home!"
If she warned the king that she knew what would happen in the future, maybe she could stop Flowey before he started anything. She dashed back into the elevator, skidded across the floor and pressed the button that would take her back to the castle...
But before the elevator started up, her phone rang. She pulled it out.
...And on the other end of the line, there was a voice she'd never heard before.
"Chara...Are you there? It's been a long time, hasn't it...?"
She froze. There was something...not right about this voice.
"...But you've done well," it continued. "Thanks to you, everything has fallen into place."
"...You have the wrong number," she told it."
"...Trust me...I don't. Well...See you soon."
The elevator doors slid shut, and as the elevator began to rise back into New Home, it became unstable again, flashing the warnings and red lights.
"WARNING! WARNING!"
"OBSTRUCTION IN SHAFT!"
"AIR PRESSURE LOSING STABILITY!"
"VELOCITY INCREASING! ALTITUDE RISING!"
And then, as suddenly as it began, the lights faded and the alarms grew quiet. The elevator didn't crash into its destination, but rather slowed, and then came to a halt...And then, the doors opened up, revealing the slate grey scape of New Home
Ginger stumbled out, knees weak and heartrate high. All of what she'd just experienced within the past minute was overwhelming...
But she had to get back to the king.
She tried to shake the uneasiness from herself as she turned the corner north, coming to the branch in the path; she could either take the other elevator for a quicker arrival or she could take the long way. Ginger checked the time on her phone again; 11:57. Just about midnight. She didn't want the elevator to malfunction again, but if it got her back to the Throne Room faster, she decided to take the risk.
To her pleasant surprise, the elevator decided to work right this time, and she was taken right to the Judgment hall in a jiffy. She nodded, satisfied, then began a brisk walk, borderline jogging down the golden corridor, then turned north and went through the Throne Room, Barrier-bound. She was too concentrated on her current thoughts to stop and take note of her surroundings.
...So she didn't see who was standing in the back corner of the Throne Room, waiting for her. Nor did she see her begin to follow her into the north room, slowly and quietly.
Her gait had slowed, now, as she approached the end of the cavern to meet the king again. She brushed her foot across the Save Point there before she went in.
*The End
*File Saved
She had to admit to herself; she was a bit nervous about going back in there, now, but for different reasons than before. What would he say when he saw her? Did he...figure it out, knowing just who she was acquainted with ever since the start of her journey? She peeked around the corner...
And there he stood, just like last time. But he did not seem aware that she was behind him.
Ginger cleared her throat to alert him, and his entire body tensed.
"Your Majesty?" she addressed him.
"...You've returned."
"That I have."
"...So...That's..."
"Asgore?"
Out of the blue, the king fell to his knees as though he'd just been struck by a bullet.
"ASGORE!"
She rushed to his aid as he collapsed, fearing that the miserable Flowey may have sniped him with one of his accursed "friendliness pellets" from afar. But this turned out not to be the case. She looked down at his hidden face, and his body convulsed with heavy sobs. The pain that made the king fall was not of the body, but rather of the SOUL.
"...I can't do it..." he gasped. "I can't do this to you...!"
Shakily, he rose to face her, but he was still on his knees, and his cries refused to quell.
"...I've hurt so many people. The humans, the kingdom...I drove my own wife away, I'm such a miserable, miserable creature...!"
He buried his face in his hands again.
"No you're not, Asgore. It's...It's okay, I'm right here..."
She enveloped his enormous head as best she could in attempt to console him, and in turn, Asgore held her back, almost as though he'd known this human for years, and she was his own child...just like the first one to fall had been.
"...I'm sorry for what I did to all of you children..." he said to the SOULs flashing in their holders. "I'm sorry, citizens, for failing you and putting you all through this misery..."
He tightened his grip.
"...I'm sorry, Toriel...!" he whimpered, his voice nothing more than a squeak. "I'm sorry for what I said that day, I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt you! I would bring them all back to you, if only I could...!"
Wherever she was, it was then that he made a promise to her. He would not lay a harming hand on this human, and no other human ever again.
He loosened his hold on the Huntress and looked her in the eye. She was shedding tears, now, too.
"...You're probably not gonna believe this," she said to him. "...But I've done a lot worse things up there than you. If...If you're a miserable creature, I'm a hellspawn."
"No, no, you're not, I promise..."
He brushed away one of her tears with the pad of his thumb, and looked her in the eye; the familiar glimmer of one who had gone through too much hardship and being far too young to bare it was strong and apparent. He knew that gaze too well.
"...Young one..." he continued, finally calming down. "...You remind me so much of the first human to have fallen down here. You have that same look in your eyes...Haunted by the past, but...with great hope that the future will be better. Chara was like that...I am like that, now, I admit. The things you've done, the things you've been through... You are not alone in this. I am here for you. And so are my people. Alphys, Sans...Toriel. Everyone is on your side. Young one...You are our new hope...You are the future of humans and monsters...!"
A twinkle in his gaze and a newfound hope in his heart, Asgore took the human back into his arms, and she held on tighter.
...There was to be no battle now. They would both be alright.
Finally, the king rose to his feet, his eyes flashing with newfound vigor, and he pointed to the sky.
"...Come, child," he said to her, his voice having regained its strength. "I have a new policy to enstate!"
"What's that?" she grinned, ever happier with what she was now beholding.
"As King of the Underground, I hereby declare that henceforth, all humans who fall down here will be treated not as enemies...but as friends."
Ginger started to tear up again, and Asgore bent back down to console her.
"...What do you think of that?"
"I think it's a good idea," she agreed, the two of them sharing another warm embrace. "It really is..."
This was fine. No...It was wonderful. The war was over. For real this time. And she would be happy down here as long as she lived, if that came to be, with all of the amazing friends she'd made along the way. Forget the surface world. Forget the past. Forget the Pure Ones. This was her new calling.
"Well...If you ask me, I think that is the best idea you have had in ten years."
The voice came from behind, without any warning. The king and the Huntress turned to face the doorway, and there, just inside the Barrier room, stood none other than...
"TORIEL!"
Ginger bolted from the king to meet her, and the other Boss Monster kneeled as she approached and pulled her into a hug of her own.
"...I got the message you sent me...I must say, a lot of things I had not known were made plain, and...Oh, I am so, very glad you sent that. Not only did it make me realize a few things, but it also let me know you were still alright, I was so worried..."
"I'm okay, Toriel. Ha...Better than that, really. We...I just..."
"I heard everything, child. I was waiting in the Throne Room for you to arrive; I had gotten here a bit early. And...Well, you just passed right by. It looked like you were upset about something, so...I kept my distance until I heard..."
"The proclamation?"
She nodded.
"Yes...I heard that part, too."
She stood back up and looked over at Asgore, and she let go of the human child. He was frozen where he stood, almost certain his eyes were deceiving him.
But then, she drew nearer, looking him right in the eye. Her expression was stern, but she was not about to yell at him, having heard his lamentations.
"...Is it true, Asgore?" she asked him. "Have you really longed for me ever since I left? Are you really, finally going to end this horrible slaughter of mankind? And..."
She faltered for a moment.
"...Are you really as haunted by the past as I am?"
He gave no answer; he was speechless, finally convinced that what he was seeing and hearing was real. After several moments, he nodded, but his breathing grew heavy, he began to shake, and his face contorted into pained sadness as he started crying again.
"...What did I do to you...!?"
Toriel watched as her former husband fell back to his knees, crumbling into a heaping, weeping mess of sorrow and tears. She sighed and shook her head; no doubt, she was still angry at him for the things he'd done, but she couldn't help but sympathize him. They had both been through so much. And now knowing just how remorseful he was...
Finally, she bent down and placed a paw on his back in attempt to soothe him. The bitter memory of him lying in bed, just about half dead from the buttercup poisoning after their children had used the wrong ingredients in the pie they made him, came back to her. She had been right there beside him the whole time...It was strange, knowing that just a couple of months later, she had left him by himself.
"I have wondered the same of myself, Asgore," she told him. "And...Really, you are not entirely at fault here. I was the one who just...left. I should have come back, even if I did retreat to the Ruins. There was still time to stop it before it could start...But I wasted that time hiding away, afraid to face my responsibility as queen. It seems as though you have finally come to your senses...And I am glad of that, at least."
He rose his head, still breathing heavily, but a small smile formed on his muzzle.
"...I thought I'd never see you again. Tori. After all this time, I-"
She tensed at the petname, then finally gave him the piece of her mind he needed to hear.
"Do not 'Tori' me, Dreemurr," she just barely snapped, the smile on his face fleeing. "You might have finally seen your mistake, but I will say now, I am still absolutely livid at the things you have done. Collecting only one human SOUL and trying to get the other six from the surface might have been too dangerous a task, but it does not excuse the deaths of six human children that you called upon. And it does not matter how many you may have taken with your own hands; you were the one who ordered for it, and you are therefore the one ultimately responsible."
His head lowered, tears still streaming from his blue eyes.
"...I will not deny that," he admitted. "And...I know that the things I have done c-cannot be undone...Oh, Toriel, no word exists that can tell you how sorry I am...!"
The human went back to comfort the king, standing beside him as he dried his face.
"...You were good to Toriel, right?"
"...I'll be honest with you," Ginger admitted. "I was actually sort of...cold to her. I was confused, and mad, and I just wanted to get back up there, and...I'm not gonna lie to you either, Toriel; I thought you were...kinda clingy at the time."
"Well...I cannot say I blame you for thinking that," Toriel replied. "I believe I came off that way to...some of the ones before you."
"Now I know why, though, and...I realized just how much I missed you when I got to Waterfall."
"I will not desert you again, dear," she promised, approaching her and the king to face her. "I am right here for you. And...and so is Asgore."
The smile returned to the king's face, for just a fleeting moment, and the river of tears streaming down his face still flowed strongly.
"I...I feel as though this could be means for a new beginning," he mused. "Toriel, I...If you can't stay with me anymore, because of what I did, then...C-could we at least be friends again? I'm sorry, Toriel. I've been so alone for so long, it...I'm just glad to see you again either way. Really I am."
The former queen let out an uncertain sigh and looked off to the side.
"...I don't know, Asgore," she answered him. "There is still a lot I need to think about."
He nodded in understanding, Ginger still standing by his side; if he had pushed Toriel too far away, maybe he could make something out of what they had now.
"Hey! Hold up, peeps! Lay down the weapons!"
The voice came from just outside the Throne Room, and the sound of heavy boots running towards them got louder, and then the feet skidded to a halt. Toriel's gaze widened at what she saw; there stood a slim, but muscular piscine monster, with hair as red as rust and a patch over her left eye.
"Undyne?" Asgore realized. "What brings you here?"
"I was already on my way here with Alphys when a friend of mine gave me a ring sayin' to get over here, and I didn't want everything going south," the captain answered. "Little Miss Stick Figure here might be a pain in my hole, but if you two end up fighting to the death, the Underground's gonna take a blow, no matter which one of you dies. So nobody fight each other, or else I'll..."
She trailed off when she noticed Toriel standing there.
"Oh. Well, hello there," the queen greeted her. "Are you one of young Ginger's friends?"
She mock gagged, and so did the human in question, before giving her answer.
"When Hotland freezes over," she snickered, a mocking, toothy smirk on her face. "Honestly? I ain't gonna kill her, or anything like that, but she smells."
"Bold choice of words coming from a fish, wouldn't you say?"
Undyne was about to snap back at her, but then she remembered their pact. Sure, insults could be flung here and there, but nothing too overboard.
"...Whatever. So, uh...Wait. Aren't you Queen Toriel?"
"Erm...Yes, as a matter of fact."
"Holy crud...You haven't been around since my last year of junior high. Asgore's told me bunches about you, though."
She turned back to give her ex a bit of a cynical look.
"...Have you, now?"
"Uh..."
The pink of his face showed through his white and gold pelt.
"Good stuff, I promise. So, uh...Nice seein' you again, I guess."
She went to stand beside Asgore, Ginger shuffling away some.
"So, is she, like...your ex?" she whispered to him, to which he gave another solemn nod.
"Jeez...That's rough."
"It's...not as bad as you might think," he assured his protégé. "What went on between us was...civil, to say the least."
"What happened to your little...*ahem*...rendezvous with Alph'?" the human added, eyebrows waggling in a suggestive manner.
"Would you quit that? Ugh...Met up with her up in Waterfall. We changed out plans and decided to meet up here instead. We didn't want anything to happen."
"So...Is she supposed to be here?"
"Hey! Wait!"
The Royal Scientist's familiar nasally voice rang out as her claws clicked down the hallway, and she turned into the Barrier room, looking about ready to collapse.
"I'm not...as fast...as you..." she puffed. "Ah...Don't...Nobody hurt each other! Please...Ha...ha...Eh...Uhh..."
This didn't look like a fight; it looked like a get-together. Ginger, Asgore and Undyne were standing there, looking pretty content with how things were. And then there was...
"Are you the Royal Scientist, Dr. Alphys?" Toriel asked. "Oh, you are simply adorable."
"...Queen Toriel? Wh-what are you doing here? You've been gone for years!"
"I figured it wise to come put a stop to any violence. Young Ms. Wingren here mentioned you in the note she had delivered to me, stating she considers you a close friend. Is this the case?"
"U-uh..."
The yellow scales on her face flushed pink again, and she shuffled one of her feet in an awkward fashion.
"Well...Y-yeah, that is the case."
"I knew I said I'd 'see you soon,' but I didn't think it'd be THIS soon," the Huntress joked.
"Heh...Yeah, i-it's funny, isn't it?"
"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYBODY! IF ANYBODY FIGHTS ANYBODY, THEN I'LL! BE FORCED! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"
"Now what in the name of..."
Toriel trailed off when she saw the six-and-a-half foot skeleton standing there, wearing the most RIDICULOUS getup. But in a weird way, it...suited him?
"Are you her friend, too?"
"OH! HELLO, YOUR MAJESTY! WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO SPARE THE HUMAN FOR US?"
"I think I can do that," the queen giggled.
Papyrus bent down to whisper something to the human.
"PSST...DID ASGORE SHAVE?" he asked, his eyes then diverting to the ACTUAL king. "AND...CLONE HIMSELF?"
"I'll explain later, man."
"hey, guys. what'd i miss?"
Toriel's eyes widened, not sure if her ears were deceiving her.
"That voice...!"
She turned to face the door again, and there stood another skeleton, far shorter than the first, a grin on his face. She approached him curiously.
"Hello there, young man," she greeted. "I think we may...know each other?"
"oh, hey...i recognize your voice, too, ya know?"
"Ha...I wondered what you might have looked like many a time...I didn't think I'd be THIS close!" she chuckled. "I am Toriel; it is very nice to finally meet you in person."
"name's sans. and, uh...same."
"You...you know my loyal judge?" the king asked.
"met her in snowdin forest," Sans explained. "she answered to one of my knock-knock jokes from in the ruins one day while i was practicin', and it's been a thing ever since."
"Well, I..." he said to the queen. "I am certainly glad that you haven't been alone this whole time, Toriel. And...Sans is a very amusing character. I'm glad the two of you are acquainted with one another, to put it simply."
"Oh...Wait, then...!"
She turned to the taller of the two skeleton brothers.
"This must be your brother, Papyrus!" she exclaimed, taking his gloved hand with her paw to shake it. "Oh, it is so nice to meet you! Sans had told me so much about you!"
"WOWIE...I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"
"So, Papyrus..." Toriel continued, a mischievous smirk slipping across her face. "Tell me...What does a skeleton tile his roof with?"
"HMM...SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES, RIGHT?"
"No, silly! A skeleton tiles his roof with..."
"WAIT..."
"...SHIN-gles."
Papyrus' reaction was absolutely priceless.
"I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"
Sand and Toriel burst into hysterical laughter. Asgore watched the scene, and smiled. They were so happy...
He couldn't help but let slip a sad frown, just for a moment, and he turned away in shame.
"Hey, come on, Asgore," Undyne cheered him. "It's gonna be okay. There are plenty of fish in the sea!"
"Y-yeah!" Alphys agreed. "Undyne's totally right about that fish thing! Sometimes, you've just gotta, y-you know...s-stop going after furry Boss Monsters, and, uh...Just get to know a...really cute fish...? Uhh..."
She looked up to see Undyne staring down at her, seeming a bit embarrassed.
"It, uh...It's a metaphor."
"Well..." the captain finally answered, flashing another toothy smile. "I think it's a pretty good analogy."
And then, there came yet someone ELSE from around the corner. But the only part of him that came into view from the doorway was...
His leg.
"OH! MY! GOD!" he buzzed. "WOULD YOU TWO JUST SMOOCH ALREADY!? THE AUDIENCE IS DYING FOR SOME ROMANTIC ACTION!"
"Nobody asked for your opinion, bolts-for-brains!" Ginger called out to him as he disappeared again.
"Yeah! What she said!" Undyne chimed in; their disdain for Mettaton was one of the only things they could agree on. "Man...The nerve of that guy! Makes me wanna tie those noodle arms up in knots just for the fun of it...You know what I'm sayin', Alphys?"
She was silent, her pink blush having gone even redder.
"Uh...Alphys?"
"N-no...He's right. LET'S DO IT!"
The fish monster froze there, her face going puce again.
"What...!? Here? With everyone...Uhhh...Well? I guess? If you want to?"
She shrugged, then scooped her girlfriend up into her arms.
"Okay, then...Don't hold anything back, Al'!"
"Oh, no..." the human uttered. The two lovebirds puckered their lips and readied to meet each other, and Ginger turned away in a panic.
"No, no, no, no, NO...!"
"Ahh, not in front of the children, you two!"
The Huntress opened her eyes to find that Toriel had come between them before anything could happen.
"Uh...Sorry," Alphys apologized. "G-got a little carried away for a second there."
"THANK YOU, TORIEL," the human said to her; it sounded exaggerated, but she very well meant it.
"So, young one...I am afraid you will have to stay down here for a while. But, looking at all of the great friends you have made...Will you be happy here, with all of us?"
"I should think...In fact, I think this might be the first step into a brighter future for all of us."
She approached the queen again, and they wrapped their arms around one another yet again.
"Now, what is this?" Toriel mused. "I thought you did not like hugs."
"How did you know that, I never told you that..."
"I figured it out myself; I just have that motherly instinct when it comes to children...Something seems to have changed since you left."
"A few things have, I'll admit...I'm glad we're all here, though."
"And we are not going anywhere, child..."
"Hey...Th-that reminds me," Alphys realized. "Papyrus...YOU were the one who called everyone here, right?"
"THAT IS CORRECT, DOCTOR!"
"Uh...Besides Queen Toriel, At least...Undyne and I g-got here before you. How did you know to call everybody here?"
"OH, LET'S JUST SAY A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME," he answered. "OR, MORE ACCURATELY...A TINY FLOWER TOLD ME!"
The jovial atmosphere came to a halt, and Ginger practically turned to stone where she stood.
"A...tiny flower?" Alphys echoed.
"Oh, no...No, no, no, he's coming!"
"Who's coming?" Asgore inquired, concerned.
"No time to explain! Everyone-"
She spoke a moment too late.
Out of nowhere a thorny vine shot out and wove itself around all of them and tightened its grip like a boa constrictor. In an instant, they were all trapped. Everyone panicked.
"What is going on!?"
"oh, shit..."
"AH! THIS DOESN'T SEEM FRIENDLY!"
"Hey! What gives!? LEGGO!"
"Help...HELP! S-somebody help! Anybody!"
"Who is responsible for this!?"
And then, Ginger saw the ground before her rumble, and the familiar face popped out from the ground.
"You IDIOTS," he sneered. "While you guys were having your little pow-wow...I TOOK THE HUMAN SOULS!"
"You won't get away with this, ya freaky little weed!"
Undyne tried to escape from the vines' hold as she hollered out, only for the grip on her to become even tighter, practically squeezing the breath right from her lungs.
"I already have, fish-breath...So, save it! You're a goner, too! Because now, not only do I have the HUMAN SOULs, but all of YOUR SOULs are gonna be mine, too!"
"No..." Ginger breathed. Flowey turned to her, now.
"And you know what the best part is?" he told her. "...It's all YOUR fault. It's all because you MADE them love you. All the time you spent listening to them...Talking to them. Encouraging them. Caring about them...Without that, they wouldn't have come here. YOU are the one who lead them to their demise!"
"NOOOOO!"
"And with both their SOULs and the humans' under my control, I will FINALLY, after LONG YEARS, achieve my TRUE FORM!"
"DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME YOU DID THIS, FLOWEY!?" she hollered at him. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST GIVE IT UP! THERE'S NOTHING FOR YOU TO GAIN! There's...Come on...If you remember what happened, you can't be stupid enough to do it again."
"You just don't get it, do you?" Flowey snapped back. "...This is all just a GAME. If you leave the Underground satisfied, you 'win' the game. If you 'win,' then you won't want to PLAY with me anymore! And what would I do then?"
"...I don't understand."
"Of course you don't...And that's why I'm going to make sure this game between us NEVER ENDS. I'll hold victory in front of you, just within your reach...And then I'll TEAR IT AWAY JUST BEFORE YOU GRASP IT. OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER, AND OVER AGAIN, FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY."
"Not if I find a way out of it!"
"Still just as cocky as ever, huh? Hee hee...Alright. I'm entertained by all of this, so I'll propose a little wager. If you DO end up defeating me, I'll go ahead and give you your 'happy ending.' I'll go away. I'll bring your friends back. I'll even destroy the Barrier, since I'll have the power to do so. Everyone will finally be satisfied and everything will be all peachy-keen...But that WON'T happen. You...I'll keep you here, no matter what."
It was then that a box formed around the human, trapping her in an enclosed space. She could barely move.
And then, an array of spinning bullets surrounded the snare, from all sides.
"...EVEN IF IT MEANS KILLING YOU...ONE. MILLION. TIMES."
He let out a deranged cackle, and the friendliness pellets began their assault. One wave hit the human, then another, then a third. Ginger was trapped. They were all trapped. And this time, there would be no hope of escape.
...This was really the end.
The human was on the brink of death; only one HP remained, and the final wave of pellets honed in on her, ready to kill...
...And then, they were blocked.
A new array of bullets, flaming fireballs, stopped the enemy bullets from drawing nearer, and they bounced back and dissipated.
Flowey's psychotic grin faded.
"...What?"
"...Do not be afraid, child," Toriel suddenly encouraged. "No matter what happens...We will always be here to protect you!"
The flower snarled, firing up two more series of bullets from each side, only for them to be cut off by a bone to the right and a spear to the left.
"THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN! YOU CAN WIN! I BELIEVE IN YOU! AND IF THE GREAT PAPYRUS BELIEVES IN YOU, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!"
"Kid...I know we're not friends...but we're not enemies anymore, either. If you could get past THESE muscles, you can muscle your way right through this guy! So put 'em up! For us! We're all with you on this!"
"what? you haven't beaten this guy yet? come on; this weirdo's got nothin' on ya."
Flowey tried yet again, and was blocked by another row of flames, and then a shield of bolts.
"T...technically, it's impossible for you to beat him..." Alphys chimed in. "But...Somehow, I-I know you can still do it! Defy the odds!"
"Human..." Asgore smiled. "For the future of humans and monsters...You have to stay determined!"
The atmosphere was suddenly choked by green bullets, all of them heading out towards the Huntress.
So many monsters appeared there along side them. Kidd, Snowdrake, the Canine Unit, the Royal Guards, and so many others had come to her aid during her greatest time of need. And as they healed her wounds, they all gave her their own encouraging words.
"Freeze this guy solid!"
"C'mon, you got this!"
"Raff, raff!"
"Ribbit...!"
"We're in with you on this, lil' dudette!"
"You HAVE to win!"
"Ahh~! I'll help, too!"
"Grrrr-AFF!"
"Urrrgh...NO! Unbelieveable!" Flowey cried out, seemingly outnumbered. "This can't be happening...! You...YOU...!"
Everything froze again, and the sadistic grin return to his face.
"...I can't believe you're ALL. SO. STUPID."
"Oh, no..."
"ALL YOUR SOULS ARE MIIIIIIIINE!"
As his victory scream rang out, the entire earth seemed to shake with his own power. Everything began to disappear into a white oblivion. All of the Underground. The human SOULs. The monsters. Her friends. EVERYONE. All at Flowey's MERCY.
And he had not a merciful petal on his body.
Everything vanished, and the entire Underground was gone in a flash of white.
...
...She wasn't sure how much time had passed.
Ginger rose to her feet again, and was greeted by an inky blackness that she knew all to well.
The void...she was back here again.
She looked down at herself; she wore nothing but her old orange and white shirt. No cloak, no armor, nothing to protect herself with. And she was alone...Would she find that Flowey had summoned another mock-Save Point for her to stumble across, only to shatter her Save File yet again, and fight her like the beast he would become?
The Huntress started to breathe heavily again. She was going to have to do hat all again, wasn't she? She looked this way and that, and then turned around all the way to look behind herself in search of the telltale glimmering star.
But when she looked that way, she was met with something entirely different.
There, standing just a handful of yards away from her, stood the small form of...
A monster.
Its back was turned to her, so she couldn't see its face, but the white pelt, Nubian ears and pawed appendages signified a Boss Monster...The youngest-looking one that she'd seen yet. The monster had no horns, and was barely taller than Alphys at full height. The long-sleeved shirt it wore was striped green and yellow, and she noticed the tiny tuft of fur it had sticking up out of the top of its head.
The monster turned its head slightly to the left, then to the right, and then stood still again. It flexed each of the stubby, padded digits of its forepaws, drew in a deep breath, and then, when it exhaled, clenched its hands into angry fists. The creature was small, but Ginger could sense the rage flowing through its veins.
"...Finally," it whispered in a deathly hush. "...I was so tired of being a flower."
The voice was very young, and male...
And all too familiar.
She knew that voice.
She knew this monster.
And then, one of his pawed feet shifted to the side, and slowly, he turned to face the human, head still tilted downward. And then, the figure rose his head. He smiled, and his eyes opened, revealing them to be a soft hazel...But they flashed with a dangerous light that no child should possess.
"...Howdy," he greeted, his tone dead pan, the light in his eyes flashing brighter. "Chara...Are ya there?"
It can't be...
"It's me...your best friend...!"
There was another white flash, and where the young prince once stood, there now hovered a creature of untold power...That looked just like the one depicted in the plaque in Waterfall, and the plaque in Ebott Village. A creature clothed in royal robes, emblazoned with the Delta Rune, eyes as black as the void itself, and a stripe-streaked face which bore teeth as sharp as daggers.
This was no floral beast.
This was a prince.
This was a GOD.
This was...
ASRIEL DREEMURR.