Everything was done. Everything was called for. Everyone knew.
The gates to the Ruins had been left open upon Toriel's re-emergence, so most of the monsters that used to live there were now wandering about Snowdin Forest. When Ginger came carrying the good news, some of them decided to stick around a little while longer, some leapt for joy, others went to gather their comrades and further spread the news. She thought about going in there with them to help round up the rest of the Ruins dwellers, but she ultimately decided not to; they had it under control.
Besides, she didn't want to keep her friends back in New Home waiting. Ginger had gone over every place twice; Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotland, the CORE, and even most of New Home knew at this point. Everything was double-checked, from the forest to the capital. Everything was accounted for.
Everything and everyone was ready for a new life above ground.
The human passed through the throne room again, paying mind to the Golden Flowers as she went through, not wanting to step on them. She couldn't help but smile when she went into the next room again to join her newfound monster friends once more.
"Uh...H-hey guys? I-It's, like, ten minutes to eight o'clock," Alphys alerted everyone, checking the time on her phone. "Ginger, you know a bit better than us, but isn't the sun going to be coming up there soon?"
"Oh, shoot, you're right. In fact, I was right on the money comin' back! It should be coming up right now!"
"Yo, what!? Oughta my way, punk, I don't wanna miss this!"
The fish monster shoved her young adversary out of the way and ran to the now empty Barrier Room.
"Hey! Someone stop her before she finds someone to impale up there!" Ginger exclaimed.
"UNDYNE! WAIT FOR ME!"
"Sans, my loyal judge, are you not excited? You seem just as lax as usual," the king mused.
"eh...i guess i'd like to see it too."
"G-guys, wait for me! I wanna see it too!"
"I STILL do not know how it is possible...It obviously was not you, Asgore, who shattered the Barrier."
"Well, who knows? Perhaps more answers will unravel as time goes on."
Ginger stepped out onto the ledge outside of the cave opening, the dormant grass crunching a bit beneath her shoes; she had done it once before, unbeknownst to all but one of her friends, but this time, they were able to join her.
They all stepped out onto the grass, and the freshness of the autumn air enveloped them all.
"WOWIE..." Papyrus marveled. "IT FEELS SO FRESH!"
"can't say i'm not impressed by this."
"Out that way," Undyne pointed out, extending an arm eastward. The sky there glowed a lighter shade of blue, and the spot where the sun would show its tip was a bright puce. "Is that where it's gonna come up from?"
"It is," Ginger replied, not caring this time to throw a sarcastic remark.
"Hey, uh...Shouldn't the sun have, uh, r-risen by now?" Alphys asked. "I-I read somewhere it rises at, like, six or something."
"Not during the fall and winter," Ginger answered. "Daylight hours are shorter this time of year."
"Oh...I-is it gonna be cold out?"
"Sorry to say it is; we might want to consider dressing warm for the time being."
"and that's the cold truth."
"SANS!"
"Alright, everybody, watch out towards the east. Here it comes."
And they all watched intently as the white tip of the sun finally showed a sliver, and then slowly rose into the air. The sky gradually faded in from a dull navy blue to a vast array of bright, warm colors streaking the sky. Reds, pinks, violets, oranges, and the sun, engulfed in bright gold.
Stunning. Absoultely stunning.
"Wow...Th-this is even better that the ones on the T.V...I mean, WAY better!"
"Happens everyday," the human confirmed. "Well...Depending on the weather, you might not always be able to SEE it."
"It's been so many years," Asgore breathed. "...But it's still just as beautiful as I remember it. Why...I could just stand here and watch it all morning."
"It is quite a sight to behold," the queen agreed. "...However, now that we're all finally free, we should really think about what comes next."
The king's eyes widened for a moment upon letting the remark settle in.
"...Yes...You're right," he realized, and then he turned to the human.
"Erm...Ms. Wingren," he addressed her. "I...know this may be a lot to ask, so I will not enforce it unless you want to, but...You are human yourself. In order to establish a peaceful relation with the others of your kind, we will need someone they can trust to speak for us. Would it interest you to act as our Ambassador to the humans?"
"Ambassador..." she echoed. To be the Ambassador for an entire race. "Ambassador of Monsterkind"...It sounded even better than being a general. What a position!
...What a position, for someone with 5 LV, she realized. As wonderful as it sounded, she was NOT a trustworthy candidate for the job. The human world was far more complex than that of the owls.
"...As much as I'd like to, your majesty, I...I'm not the right type of person for that type of task. You need someone...better with people than me. I'd probably make a bad impression on them, and things would end up going downhill from there. Uh...How about him?"
She pointed up at the taller of the two skeleton brothers.
"M-ME? AMBASSADOR FOR MONSTERKIND?" he checked. King Asgore nodded.
"...WOWIE! WELL, IF HIS MAJESTY WILL ALLOW IT, I WILL BE THE BEST AMBASSADOR MONSTERKIND HAS EVER SEEN!"
"I like your enthusiasm, Papyrus," he complimented. "I am quite sure it will help us in the future."
"I WOULD CERTAINLY SAY SO! NOW, IF YOU WILL ALL EXCUSE ME, I, THE GREAT AMBASSADOR PAPYRUS, MUST GO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION ON THE HUMANS!"
He barreled down the mountain with his lanky legs in a flash.
"Oh...Oh, dear," Toriel mumbled. "Will he cause an issue?"
"not if i make sure of things," Sans answered. "i'll go catch up with him. later, gaters."
And he went off...back into the mountain. Asgore was perplexed by this.
"Ah, Sans, your br-"
"Let him go that way," Ginger assured him. "He's got his own way of doing things."
"I still think it's screwy! I'm going after that guy the right way! PAPYRUS, WAIT UP!" Undyne announced as she followed in her friend's footsteps.
"Guys!" Alphys almost whined as she scampered after them. "I'm n-not exactly a runner, you know!"
All of them disappeared. Only Ginger and the monarchs of monsterkind were left standing on the ledge, still admiring the skyscape.
Asgore scratched the back of his head in an awkward manner.
"Um...Should I...follow them?"
Toriel shot him an odd, somewhat contemptuous look.
"I would...prefer if you did," she told him.
"...Yes, Toriel."
He turned to leave...
But before he took his first step down the mountain, the human ran towards him and flung her arms around him, much to his surprise.
"...I'll see you later, okay?" she promised.
The king of monsters held back another flow of tears. She really DID remind him so much of...
"Oh, my dear child..." he just barely whispered, letting his tears flow freely as he knelt down on his knees and returned the embrace. "You have been a light for us to follow, and you have lead monsterkind back to the sun. Even if you are not the Ambassador...You are the still our future."
The queen's mild glare faded as she saw the sight for herself. For the longest time, she had a false image of Asgore painted in her mind, and now she knew the truth for sure. This was no merciless brute; the man she'd once known was still there, even if he'd done many a terrible thing, and even if he was broken by it.
...Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to fix him.
The king finally stood back up, and with one more wave, descended down the mountain and into the forest below. Before disappearing, he looked back one last time at the two people he loved the most.
To his surprise, Toriel was smiling down at him, just a bit, and to an even greater deal of shock, actually WAVED BACK.
The content grin he wore grew ever so slightly bigger, and he nodded before disappearing into the red and gold trees.
"...It seems as though everyone is eager to set off, no?"
"I'd say so. I don't think I've ever seen Papyrus so happy."
"That is a surprise. He is almost ALWAYS in a good mood, so Sans often claims."
"Heh..."
"...So, Ginger...You came from up here on the surface, did you not?"
"...Yes. Yes, I did."
"And your group...you said, when you were in the Ruins, that they were missing you. So...you must have a place to return to, do you not?"
A place to return to...
She had decided long ago that returning to the Tytonic Union was no longer an option. They'd long since left, for sure, and even if they hadn't, she couldn't show up to them like this. She was no longer an owl, and she wasn't going to be turning back into one, for certain. Her life as a Pure One was over. What would she do if she stayed behind? Camp out in the wilderness again and live off nothing but deer for the rest of her days? Ginger didn't think so. Not when she had a better choice.
...As well as a promise to withhold.
"...No. I don't have anywhere to go. I...I can't return to the life I had before, with the Pure Ones. I can't explain why, but...I can't go back to them. They've all probably left by now, anyway. Besides...I...I made a promise to someone. I promised him that I'd...take care of you guys for him. If...If it's not too much trouble, Toriel, I...I..."
"Dear, are you-"
Now it was the queen's turn to be tackled into a hug.
"...Quite alright?"
"I...I want to say with you. With everyone."
"...Ha..."
Toriel returned the gesture. This was a starkly different person from the one that'd first fell down.
A very good kind of different.
"...Ginger...You really are a funny child," she remarked, looking down at her, somewhat amused. "If you had said that earlier, I do not believe any of this would have happened the way it did. Not now, at least...It is a good thing you took so long to change your mind, is it not?"
"It is. It really, really is..."
"Well...I suppose, if you really have no other place to go, then...I will do my best to take good care of you for as long as you need. Would you like that?"
"Why are you guys so good to me, huh?" the human sniffed.
"Dry away the tears, child. Everything is all alright now..."
"I know. I...I just love all you guys so much...Heh...Y-you know, I...I always thought I was this rock that people could count on, and cling to for safety. But I guess...I guess sometimes, rocks need other, bigger rocks to lean on when they fall, am I right?"
"It seems as though we have all learned a little something from this, have we not?"
"Yeah..."
She wiped her face on her arm. before pulling away. Toriel extended an arm for her to take, and she gladly complied.
"Come along now," she prompted. "Everyone is waiting for us!"
Slowly, they descended down the mountain.
"Everyone did learn something from this whole shebang..." Ginger agreed. "...Even fish-face."
"Oh...You two do not seem very fond of each other, I must admit."
"We've got a lotta bad history for people who have only known each other a handful of days. We have this weird...love/hate relationship. As in, we love to hate each other."
"Just do not have an all-out war with each other every other hour, alright?" Toriel joked...slightly. "We would not want a repeat on a much greater scale again."
"We negotiated a Cold War pact; we'll only go for each others' throats when there's no one else around to see it."
"The throats!"
"Just a figure of speech, I promise! Not really gonna do that. Besides, even if she tried that for real, she wouldn't be able to. I've gone head-to-head against that one. No holding back. When everything was said and done, I had nary a scratch on me."
"And to think I was so worried. I like your sense of independence; I am quite sure it will take you far."
"It already has, some...But I've still got a long road of life ahead. A lot of things are gonna get me where I need to be. Including you guys."
"...I am glad to know you think so."
...
...
...
"...My Lord. The two new recruits you wanted me to show you."
"From the Academy?"
"Correct, indeed."
"Excellent. Let me see them."
They were both Tytos, one Masked and the other Sooty; they were roughly the same age, and had known each other from when they first met at the St. Aegolius Academy as orphaned owlets, having become like siblings to one another, so it was said. They cowered some at the image of the High Tyto's massive size paired with his imposing mask, but the light-hearted churr that followed gave them both some reassurance.
"Your names, young ones?"
"...Nutbeam, sir," the Masked Owl answered him. "And this is Silver, my brother."
"It's a pleasure, your Pureness, sir, to finally meet you in the flesh."
The Sooty Owl seemed less frightened by him and more in awe.
"Silver here is a pretty big fan of you, I'd say," Nyra told her mate. "Not half bad in the air, in case you wanted future reference."
"Interesting...Well, you two, before you begin taking the courses, I feel it wise for you all to become acquainted with our other trainees. Er, Valdimore. Would you take these two young Tytos to the hollow where the rest of their fellow youth assemble?"
"Yes, your Pureness," the Eagle Owl saluted before guiding the two newly fledged owls to said hollow.
"...That Silver boy," he commented. "I like the look in his eye. Seems like a good candidate for a lead position."
"You don't suppose he could be the next leader of..."
"Why, yes. As a matter of fact, I do."
"...Hm. Well, whatever you saw in him, it must have been VERY good."
"I suspect he and Vaygar will get along quite well."
"And what of Nutbeam?"
"Hm...Soft-spoken. Not as much of a fighter. Perhaps we could recommend the healing arts to him?"
"I like that idea."
"...How's Kludd fairing?" Metal Beak asked on a whim. "I know it's been a while since...that. But I haven't seen any odd behavior from him. I'm not sure whether to think of this as good or unsettling. What's he been up to as of late?"
"Good. Very good, I'd even say. He appears to have been spending more time with Uklah, I've noticed. I do believe he's moved on quite nicely."
"Oh. Well...I should think of it as good, then, it seems. Everyone is healing, everyone is hoping. Good, good..."
"I sometimes wonder what she's done with herself. As far as we know, she's still..."
"Under that strange spell? Yes, I know. What made my mind go on a tangent is how she may have reacted to certain things as a human."
"One trapped Underground, as well, it seems. With a load of...monsters. Do you think she's even still alive down there?"
"Oh, yes. If something happened, I'd have sensed it long ago."
"Your Pureness!"
A voice came from above, and he saw a figure coming down from the cave opening; a Bald Eagle, it turned out to be. More specifically, a messenger he'd assigned. And he was carrying what appeared to be a bunched-up bundle of papers in his bright yellow talons.
"Messenger Sam," he greeted. "Back from the mainland so soon?"
"Yes. I have extraordinary news. News that I believe you will...Joss. Joss!"
Another silhouette descended from above. A much smaller bird, yellow, with a bright orange beak and talons. A finch of some sort, it appeared to be. He spiraled down and landed gracefully next to the comparatively immense eagle, holding something in his own claws.
"Your Majesties," Sam told them. "This is Joss. And he's a fellow messenger from the mainland."
"Messenger...Joss?" Nyra echoed. "...How coincidental."
"Hello," the little bird piped up. "Are you...Nyra and Metal Beak?"
"We are," the latter affirmed. "What news do you bring?"
"I think it wise to give you mine first, your Majesties," Sam told them. "His package will make more sense, then, so he says."
"Well, let's see what you've got there, Sam."
The eagle pushed the bundle towards the monarchs' feet.
"It's a newspaper I snatched. Take a look at the headlines."
"Let's see here, now..." the old Sooty Owl mumbled as he unfurled the paper and read the big, bold letters on the front.
"BREAKING:
MONSTER MYTHS TURN OUT TO BE TRUE
THOUSAND-YEAR BARRIER DESTROYED
FORGOTTEN RACE EMERGES WITH HUMAN
A NEW ERA OF MAGIC ON THE RISE?"
"...What...?"
"With human..." Nyra awed. "That must be-"
"You get the basic idea, don't you?" Sam interrupted him.
"...Yes. We very well do."
"Then, I think it time you see what Joss has brought you."
"Here. I was sent by someone very special," the bird tweeted.
It was a folded envelope, specifically addressed to Ablah General Nyra and High Tyto Metal Beak. The king of the Pure Ones slid his claw across the packaging, then pulled out the letter and unfurled it. As his mate scanned the text along with him from behind, he read the writing aloud.
"To whom it may concern at this point:
I'm still very much alive. But for reasons you may already know, I am unable
to resume my duties as a member of the Tytonic Union, and have, under the
many strange circumstances that I have come to face, retired from the force.
If you ever wonder where I am, or how I fare, rest assured that I am in the
hands of good people, and I see peace and prosperity in the near future for
my new comrades and I.
However, despite my new life among man and monster, I shall never forget
my days spent with the Pure Ones, and I shall never resent them. I learned a
great deal among you, and it is that knowledge, paired with the knowledge I
gained while in the mountain, that helped to carry me to where I am now.
I thank you, the High Tyto, for being an inspiration to me. I thank you, Nyra,
for being my teacher and guardian. I thank the squadron leaders for being
examples to me. And I thank my four former Pure Ones-in-training for their
companionship and friendship. Phillip, keep listening. Vaygar, keep spreading
your wisdom. Uklah, keep smiling for everyone. Kludd, never stop fighting
for the good of the Union. I want you to find someone as good as I was, and
I hope you are all happy, safe and healthy, no matter what happens.
I don't think I will see any of you ever again. It is unwise to try to maintain
something like this, now that I am no longer the Tyto Alba you once knew
me as. But you will always live on in my memory for as long as I live.
Wishing everyone down there the best of luck. I love all of you.
Best regards and final salutations,
General Ginger Wingren Dreemurr"
By the time they'd both finished reading the letter, they were both nearly in tears.
"Y-your Majesties?" Joss twittered. "Erm...Did you see what else was in there?"
"What...? Something else?" Nyra asked, just to be sure. Joss pointed down at the envelope; there, sticking just out of the opening, was the corner of another, smaller paper.
Using the tips of her claws, Nyra pulled it out. Metal Beak peered over her wing and looked over the writing on it as she read aloud.
"I thought I might send you a photo of
me and my new friends, just so you
know for SURE that I'm in good hands.
Except for the ugly-as-sprink fish woman.
I don't like her. She can go to hagsmire
and get served up with a side of coleslaw.
Ha ha..."
Nyra curiously flipped it over.
And there was indeed a sepia tone photo on the other side.
There was a young human-that had to be Ginger; it looked exactly like a human incarnation of her-two large, white monsters that looked something akin to mountain goats, one male and one female it seemed, judging by the horns and faces, two reanimated human skeletons, one much taller than the other, a sharp-toothed, humanoid monster with fins, gills and a missing eye, and a small, stout yellow dinosaurian creature in a lab coat and spectacles.
...They were all smiling.
And so were the two owls.
"...Whatever she's up to now," the High Tyto remarked. "...All I hope is that she's happy."
...
It took time, patience, and a bit of negotiation, but it wasn't long until monsters were integrated into human society. Within only months, they spread several score miles from their small home base in the North Georgia Mountains across the region, and with the more than welcome news of their natural benevolence spreading like wildfire, the modern humans found that, for the most part, they had little to fear from them, even from those with the sharpest claws and the ugliest fangs. Not being the Ambassador, Ginger instead served as somewhat of an example of a human raised among the monsters. The humans were surprised, and a wee bit suspicious, to find that there were no records of any 'Ginger Wingren' anywhere, but she covered herself up fairly well during the interviews.
"So my monster family says, I was abandoned shortly after birth; almost like I was just tossed down the hole like any other waste. Toriel just sorta...looked up from her gardening and saw me coming down towards the flowerbed one day in the Ruins. Lucky she was there to catch me; otherwise I wouldn't be standing here today."
All other questions from the human reporters and interviewers that followed thankfully could be given more honest answers, much to everyone's pleasure. A little twist here, a little white lie there. Nothing major, nothing worrisome. As long as it had SOME form of truth behind it.
As for the matter of the human SOULs Asgore had accumulated overtime, Ginger stepped in with the claim that the other humans that fell through had not survived the three -and-a half hundred foot fall though the mountain, and that she had been a special case, having been caught before she hit the ground and saved via the powers of monster magic; an odd story, but it worked, nonetheless. And the concern that the children's bodies might be found was also ultimately quelled; Captain Undyne made the decision to have the coffins destroyed beforehand, as well as the plaques in Waterfall and any and all other inanimate entities that told their dark story. To everyone's surprise, when the coffins were taken to be disposed of on the sly, it was discovered that the remains of the six humans that'd been resting in their caskets had...simply vanished.
Good for monsterkind, but still very mysterious. Some even speculated(and even hoped) that, perhaps, the humans had been revived by whatever caused the Barrier to open, and had all been taken back home.
And, come to think of it, what could the humans DO about it if they DID find out? It had technically been on Asgore's land that the six humans were slain. It was HIS country. Not theirs. It was a country within a country. What he did on his turf was not up to the judgement of the foreigners, most monsters agreed.
As for adapting to human society, it was actually not as difficult as first fathomed; everything was fairly similar to how it'd been below ground, save for the new day-night cycle and a few other, small environmental things. With the sun now in the picture, most monsters found themselves having to stick to a more regimented schedule.
Papyrus discovered fairly early on that spaghetti was indeed popular on the surface. After a few more self-improvements to his dishes(and some additional advice from Ginger, unknown to Undyne) it wasn't long before he started dishing out some of the best pasta the surface world had ever tasted. And being the Ambassador for monsters only added to his growing popularity as a chef.
Sans was...the same as always, for a while. But over time, people started noticing him being more...productive? Papyrus was the first to point out the fact that he'd set up another one of his illegal hot dog stands up on the surface(albeit he had gotten legal permission this time around to do so) and that paired with his new stand-up routine at Grillby's surface location got him not only some decent earnings, but also a bit of due respect.
Undyne had somewhat of an existential crisis upon finding out that the humans did not have a "royal guard" to join. The closest thing to that was a spot in the military, which was not only hard to get in, but it involved war with other nations as well, and it was decided that it was NOT a good idea for a monster of her caliber to get into any armies any time soon. So, after much internal(and external) debate, she finally settled on law enforcement as a career.
It wasn't hard for Alphys to find work at any of the labs on the surface. She ended up being a lot of things; chemist, programmer, and a few more. But all in all, she remained a scientist, and she was good at what she did.
Asgore ended up stepping down from his throne as king, seeing that monsters could simply follow under the humans' similar laws. Instead, he pursued his passion in botany, and became locally renowned for his expertise on gardening and landscaping.
Toriel finally found her place in the education department, and was one of the best teachers any school could ask for. Of course, Ginger ended up being her star student...both a blessing and a curse. The praise she received for her academic achievements were balanced out by the envious mocking of other pupils. But after one pushed attempt to irk her ended with the provoker losing a good chunk of head hair(Toriel was surprised by this, as well as somewhat off-put, despite the counter attack being fairly than justified) it was decided by the entire school that getting on Ginger's nerves was an arrogant and foolish thing to do.
Despite her success in school, Ginger's natural thirst for action could not be quenched. After several recommendations to put her in martial arts, Toriel finally decided to give it a try, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that her fostered human child was learning far more there than just how to put up a fight. Even so, that was the human's favorite part of the whole ordeal, and she honed her skills until they were nearly as sharp as an arrow tip.
And the tournaments were the best. Things. EVER.
What made things even better was when Asgore found himself a place as groundskeeper of the aforementioned school; Ginger oftentimes saw that he and Toriel had frequent run-ins, and to her relief, they were quite civil, and gradually grew warmer from there. It took many months, many long conversations, and a lot of trust and worry from both ends(as well as what amounted to at least three whole pies and four gallons of tea by the end of summer) but in good time, the two Boss Monsters found themselves able to put the past aside to look to the future.
Their future. Together. As a family again.
Frankly, Ginger was thrilled at their announcement that they would be patching things up. It was the best news she received the entirety of that year.
But with the good, there was always the rub.
It had been more than great hearing about her foster parents getting back together, but when Asgore broke it to her that Alphys and Undyne were doing the same, "tying the knot," so to speak, the tea she was drinking at that moment came right back out through her nose.
"O-oh, dear, are you quite alright?" Asgore had asked her at the sight of it.
He got a verbal response after a few moments of her coughing and spluttering.
"...WHAT!?"
That hadn't been the reaction he expected...or wanted, frankly.
Despite her new life among humans and monsters, there were some beliefs that she still held fast onto from her days with the Pure Ones, and it didn't look like she was going to change her mind about them anytime soon. It took yet another long conversation, but Ginger was finally at least convinced to attend the ceremony WITHOUT crashing it.
Oh, well...Her old man Mr. Wingren would have at least appreciated the thought(as well as find it hilarious.)
But it went alright. Aside from shooting the bridegroom a few suspicious grins every so often(which successfully made the fish monster paranoid of a wedding crash that would never happen) everything turned out fine.
On the plus side, Ginger decided, they were happy. Alphys was happy. Undyne was happy. Everything was still warm, fuzzy and lighthearted. It was...It...
Nope, I still think it's gross...
She and Undyne never stopped their feuding. They had developed a fearsome archrivalry, each passionate about trying to drag the other down as best they could. In the presence of the rest of the group, they were chummy at best and dissociative at worst, but behind closed doors, the insults, threats, burns and challenges raged like a bonfire. It was a rare occasion, but in particularly heated debates, they even drew their old weapons, the bow and the spear respectively, and took to good old-fashioned outdoor combat. It was tense, frightening, and glorious.
"Ha! Gotcha that time!" Undyne hollered one day after finally grazing the human with a thrown spear.
"You're a worthy opponent," Ginger retorted, still holding her arm where the spear had skidded over. "Worthy of an arrow to the knee!"
The former captain swiftly moved to the side before the arrow could strike her in the leg.
"That maneuver again!? You're a hundred percent old-school!"
"At least I could keep my books in one piece!"
Neither of them ever admitted to each other how much they loved doing that.
Despite the clashes with Undyne, Ginger never stopped being good friends with Alphys. The raptor monster became her pop-culture sensei, and unraveled the world of human movies, music, literature and other entertainment to her awing eyes. She even tried to get her into anime one night...Though it didn't go quite as Alphys had planned.
"THAT'S your favorite anime? C-come on; the Pokémon anime is low-tier. The games are better."
"But it's hilarious! And that one kid is absolutely savage! Why couldn't I have had a brother like him!?"
"Y-you have, uh...Some uncommon taste, I gotta admit. It makes it interesting, a-at least."
"Are there any anime where people get eaten by dinosaurs? I'd probably watch that."
"Erm...I-it's not anime, but it's from the same country. You might like, uh...K-kaiju movies?"
"Hmm...I'll try it, but first, check out the DVD I got the other day. It's the latest installment!"
"What's...Oh. O-oh, no, you're not gonna make me watch this are you?"
"Chill. People say it's not as gory as JP3. I haven't seen it yet, so what's say we give it a go?"
"W-well...Ah...Y-you know what? Okay. Sure! Maybe this one will be better."
As much as Alphys tried to get her into the new and fresh, Ginger almost always opted for "well-aged media" instead. As such, the Jurassic Park series solidified itself as the human's all-time favorite movie saga the instant she saw the first one(although the third installment always remained her personal favorite, much to the dismay of fellow humans.) And it seemed fitting to watch such movies with Alphys, for obvious reasons. They both expected at least a little bit of a bloodbath(one hoping for it and the other fearing it) but eventually found out that the goriest part of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was actually the operating sequence on Ginger's favorite character. Even the scene where the one guy's arm was ripped clean off didn't show much blood.
And the film was unexpectedly emotional; the human had her little dinosaur friend snuggled right up to her whenever the tear-inducing flashbacks of the baby raptors came on, knowing that Charlie, Delta and Echo had all died in the previous film, and by the final act, especially after Blue's final farewell, they'd both melted into a huddled mess of blankets, tissues and tears.
"That...Was a-actually pretty good," Alphys admitted as the credits rolled, still drying her eyes from underneath her glasses.
"Do me a favor Al, and don't ever fight a hybrid abomination."
Life was good; it had its ups and downs, but nothing was ever too much for anyone. Humans and monsters came to coexist very well, and Ginger was glad of it. What used to bother her had faded into the farthest reaches of her mind; she rarely longed for the days of the Tytonic Union, despite never forgetting them. She almost never missed her ability to fly, not even thinking about that old JETPACK setting on her phone anymore. She never scorned her new life as a human. She only looked up.
It was the only direction she could go in.
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ONE YEAR LATER
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Ginger lay awake in bed; she couldn't sleep for some reason. Her eye darted this way and that, looking for something to focus on in the darkness, hoping that maybe if she concentrated on something long enough, she would finally be put to sleep by boredom. But to no avail.
She sighed heavily, knowing that since she was alone, she would have no one to pass the time with.
She didn't know she was wrong.
"Howzit?"
The phantom voice came out of nowhere. She sprang upward and looked around, but saw nothing but darkness shrouding the room. Not even the moon provided light; even if the skies weren't as cloudy as they were, a new moon could not even illuminate the sky.
"...Who's there?"
"Maybe turn the light on?" the voice suggested; it sounded female, and...slightly familiar. "Just do me a favor and don't freak out when you see me."
Ginger reached around her night table with a shaky hand until it found the lamp. She flicked it on, and the room was washed in a soft, yellow light, now showing what was in the mirror across from her bed on the opposite wall of the room.
There, sitting next to her in the reflection, was what looked to be another human. Smaller than her, bob, brunette locks, a somewhat bored expression in her deep red eyes.
And she was wearing a familiar-looking green and yellow striped shirt.
"Can't sleep, huh?"
Ginger's eyes widened. She knew who this human was.
"...You," she uttered. "...You're...You're the first-"
"Yeah, you get the idea. Don't wear it out, okay, Ging'?"
"...Chara...But aren't you...like...dead?"
"Yes."
"But then..."
It was then that she noticed that the figure was actually mildly transparent.
"Oh, no. You're a ghost, aren't you? You're here to haunt me because you're jealous, aren't you!?" she panicked in a hoarse whisper.
"Calm your nerves. I'm not gonna haunt you. Unless you want me to, that is."
"...Then what do you want?"
"Well, I guess you could say that I...just wanted to thank you, I guess," the spirit told her. "If it hadn't been for you, then...well...Heh...Everyone'd still be stuck in that hole."
"...Really?"
She looked up at the spot where she'd seen Chara in the mirror. She was in the real world view as well, and she effortlessly hovered to the other side of the bed to face her.
"I don't think it'd happened as well as it did if another human fell through. And...I was sorta bitter to you guys for pretty stupid reasons, I guess. The humans in that village back before I fell through...Looking back, not all of them were rotten, no-good hellspawns...But some of them were. Especially the ones that were supposed to be my...*ahem*… 'family.' That was why I hated them so much. That was what drove me to Mt. Ebott. That was what made me hatch up that little scheme I had, and...That was what got my brother killed. And now look what he's become."
"...Do you think there might still be a way to bring him back?"
"Not without killing any more humans. Not one that I know of."
"...Well...We got it to happen one way. Maybe there's another? Who knows? We just haven't found it yet, maybe."
"Don't hold onto your hopes too much. It'll get to your head, if you do."
"Heh..."
"...So. How'd the Taekwondo tournament go today?"
"Uh, how do you THINK?"
Chara snickered a little; the bandage over her eye was all the answer she needed.
"I happened to be watchin'. Congrats on the win; you really creamed that guy."
"Yeah...I think he came out with more psychological damage than physical. I could practically SMELL his terror."
"Ha! Ha...How's your eye?"
Ginger ran a finger over the bandaging covering her left eye.
"Hairline fracture in the socket; aches a little, and I gotta keep this thing on it, but it should be fine within a month. My only concern is that I'll run into Undyne at some point before then. If she sees me like this, she won't ever let me hear the end of it."
"Well, at least you still HAVE that eye. You can come back at her with that, prob'ly."
"Heh...Yeah. You're right..."
"...Did you know Snowdrake came to the tournament?"
"WHAT!?"
"HA! I knew it!" Chara exclaimed. "You're TOTALLY eyeing him up!"
"Uh...Well...I guess I sorta have a thing for handsome birds," Ginger admitted. "He's a cool dude. Pun intended. I dunno, I might have a chance with him one of these days. I guess we'll have to see what happens, am I right?"
"Well, good luck. If you actually manage to snag him, you'll be in for a lifetime of bad ice puns."
"I can live with that."
"Hey, if you can handle Sans, I guess you have a point, huh?"
"Yep. Heh...heh...Ah...I have a question."
"What's up?"
"How long have you been...uh...here? With me? I mean, I didn't know about you until now, but I'm pretty sure you didn't just show up."
"Ever since you fell down the mountain, actually. But I didn't wanna talk to you, since I was still kind of iffy about humans, and, ah...I guess I didn't wanna freak you out anymore than you already were. I've sorta been tagging along behind the scenes. I analyzed you a lot; took notes, tried to predict you...got scared of you. Related to you sometimes...You and I have a lot in common, actually."
"...Weird question."
"What?"
"What if Asriel had YOUR SOUL?"
"Uh...I'm not sure if that'll work. See, when we died, our SOUL...split. And it messed mine up a lot. You could say that my SOUL isn't entirely whole anymore."
"Don't you have an afterlife to go to, or anything like that?"
"...When I've finished my business, I probably can."
"And what's your business?"
"Well...Making sure this family stays together...unlike the last one...that I failed. If I can do that, then I should be able to move on."
"...I'll help you in any way I can."
"No, no. It's the other way around now. This is your family; not mine. I blew it. You earned it. Also, I'm dead, so I don't really have much say in it."
"You could always haunt my nightmares if I ever do anything to get on your nerves," Ginger teased.
"...Heh...You ain't bad for a human."
"So...Chums?"
"Yeah, I don't see why not."
"Cool...Um...Should I tell them? About you?"
"Who?"
"You know...Them. Our parent-"
"Oh. Uh...Not yet. I don't know how they might react."
"Then, when?"
"...Maybe never."
"...Hm..."
"I'll let you know if I change my mind, 'kay?"
"Fair enough."
"...Do you hear something?" the ghostly child noted.
It was very faint, but they could hear the sound of padded footsteps coming up the stairs and approaching her room.
"Oh, shoot, it's Mom and Dad," Ginger rasped. "Do you think they heard us?"
"You, maybe, but not me. Hurry, pretend to be asleep!"
Chara faded out of view, and Ginger swiftly snapped the lamp off and pulled the covers back over her head...
Just as her bedroom door opened.
Toriel entered the room, a small platter of butterscotch-cinnamon pie in hand and a smile on her face. She placed it on the floor in plain view, then quietly began to step back out. Asgore watched the heartwarming scene from outside, and his wife carefully shut the door again. They both looked at each other.
"...I never thought it'd be anything like this again," Asgore breathed.
"Neither did I...I suppose time does heal all wounds. And I'm...very glad the three of us are together."
"Three and a half," Asgore winked.
The smile faded from Toriel's face.
"...Something wrong?"
"...How do you think she will take the news?"
"Well, if you're worried, I can say this: I highly doubt she'll have the same reaction as when I told her about Alphys and Undyne."
"I hope so; these are two very different things," she agreed, managing a bit of a laugh at the memory of Ginger's Golden Flower tea spurting right out of her nostrils. "The thing is...Well...She has been somewhat more open to me about her past as of late, and she says that the main reason she left her old home in the first place was because her younger brother was...Well, to sugarcoat it, too big a handful. And it lead to a new array of problems there for her. I do not want that to happen to her again."
"Don't you worry about it, Tori. Knowing how things turned out...erm...with the last one, the chances of them being any more than we can handle are close to zero."
"Ha...I should hope, should I not?"
"Hope and dream. Hold onto our hopes and dreams for the future. That is what got us this far, isn't it?"
"...It is."
"We'll tell her the day after tomorrow, alright? Saturday; low-stress. After lunch, I believe would be the best time."
"That sounds like a very good idea."
...
The sound of footsteps growing more distant gave the clear.
"...You didn't happen to hear any of that right, did you?" Ginger asked her spectral companion. "They were too quiet for me to make out the words."
"Oh, I gotcha covered on that."
"So...What'd they say? Did they know I was awake?"
"No, they didn't. They were just talking about...familial matters, is all. You're not in trouble."
"...You're being suspiciously vague."
"I don't wanna SPOIL the surprise. Heh heh heh..." Chara sniggered. "But it's good, I promise."
"Well...I guess that's reassuring," the living human finally said.
"...You know...Just throwin' this out there, but...You know you still have the power to Save and Reset, right?"
"Wh...R-really?...!"
"Just thought I'd let you know. Just in case. Your thoughts?"
"I...I dunno, Chara. We've come this far. I mean, life's not always gonna be perfect, am I right? Everyone's gotta live with somethin' they don't like. You can't hold onto grudges or regrets or stuff like that forever, can you? Doesn't sound like a good time to me. And besides...I don't wanna screw any of this up somehow."
"...You have a lot of good points there...But just in case something REALLY bad happens, that's always an option, okay? You might have to start over from the Barrier Room again, but it's better than...I dunno, being orphaned, or Alphys gettin' burned alive by a flaming grill, or something like that, for a couple examples."
"...I see what you did there and I don't like the image you just put in my brain."
"What? Of Alphys getting...'Delta-Ruined'?"
"Did...Did you just make a pun?"
"Eyyyup."
"I'm gonna like having you hanging around...As long as you don't make me imagine gruesome stuff like that all the time."
"I'll curb my impulses...Well...It's, like, fifteen minutes to midnight. Tired yet?"
"Yeah...That worked...Thanks for that."
"See ya later."
Chara faded from view again with a wave. Ginger was finally washed over with the urge to sleep, and settled back down, taking note of the pie slice left on the floor.
She could still Save and Reset? She never would have guessed.
But, having come so far, she didn't want to tear everything that everyone had worked so hard to earn away from them all again.
She fell asleep, hoping that she would never have to use those powers again...
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...And she never did.
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A Pure One Underground
by Ginger the Barn Owl
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THE END
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...That is...
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...If you so choose.
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That's right, readers.
This story has not one, but TWO possible endings.
If you want, THIS can be the ending to the story. Everything is wrapped up and done with. And in that case, thanks a million for reading. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. :D
But if you're not satisfied with this ending...if you feel like there's more that could have happened beneath the surface, you can stay tuned...
For the TRUE ENDING.
(NOTE: I call it the True Ending because it's my personal choice between the two endings as author, but like I said, if you want, this can be the "True Ending.")
So, what's your choice?
Will Ginger live happily among humans and monsters?
...Or is there STILL something else that can happen?
Stay tuned to find out! ;)