"...It's a nice little town, isn't it?"
They passed through the little town in the subterranean tundra. Ginger scanned around, looking at the citizens; the members of the Canine Unit were all gathered around Endogeny, yipping and chatting with each other, and a few other townspeople were marveling at the Amalgamation of a dog. Nobody seemed to take notice of the resurrected prince passing by with an owl perched on his arm.
"Sure is," Asriel agreed. "It's a little sad that it's just going to get left down here, though. All cold, and lonely..."
"Hey. What if this place was rebuilt on the surface somewhere?"
"Like, you mean, everyone relocating the shops in new buildings?"
"No, I mean literally building an exact replica of the town somewhere snowy! Everything can be the same as here!"
"Do you really think we could pull that off?"
"Well, yeah! Snowdin 2.0. Snowdin, but on the surface!"
"Cool idea, Ginger; I'll suggest it to Dad next chance I get!"
...
"...So, it is true," she affirmed. "You yourself personally...took care of the first? And ONLY the first?"
"She...she said that if it would help us, then...She wouldn't fight back. And then she just...stood there. Arms open and waiting. Almost like she wanted to do it all along."
Toriel shook her head bitterly.
"I didn't think I would feel anything. No sympathy, no remorse, after what humankind had done to...But I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm not sure how long I mourned. All I know is that I nearly took that trident to myself when I'd finished."
"What of the other five?"
"...The Royal Guard, for the most part, with one exception...The SOUL of Kindness...suicided in Hotland, due to lack of resources, so I've been told. I know my incumbent captain did the dirty work on the SOULs of Integrity and Justice."
She looked out into the room where everyone was waiting. So, Asgore was not the only one with human blood on his hands, it seemed...No wonder she and Ginger seemed to have such a disdain for each other.
"...I don't think it hurt them much, if that makes you feel any better."
Speak of the devil. Undyne was right behind them...How much had she heard?
She shot the captain a dirty look, and she retreated back to where she came from. No; it DIDN'T make her feel any better about the situation.
"The SOUL of Justice...fought her back. There was still one bullet left in his gun, and when he used it in the battle...well...It's obvious where it landed."
"Okay, I might have made that one a little more painful than the last one."
Again, the look the Boss Monster gave the captain was nothing short of a death glare, and she disappeared again.
"You've done many a terrible thing, Asgore. Undyne, as well."
"I know. And I will carry the burdens of my sins for the remainder of my days," he answered, kneeling in submission.
"But, I will admit...My first interpretation when I heard the news was that you slew each and every one of them personally, and without remorse, judging from what I last saw of you. The reality of the events is...not...quite as terrible as I first thought."
Asgore just barely rose his head as she continued.
"Do not get me wrong; it is still absolutely despicable, what you've done. Yet..."
She sighed; as much as she hated to admit it...
"...I doubt you wanted it anymore than I did. Before I came here, Ginger sent me a letter, regarding you. She wrote that she'd spoken with you, and that she felt she could finally convince you to stop the massacre...It seems she very well did, judging by what I heard from outside the Barrier room."
"I am quite glad she did...If only I knew you'd been in the Ruins. If I'd known you tried to...That I was..."
"Asgore..."
Toriel watched on as the regal King of Monsters fell into a pitiful heap of a creature and wept at her feet.
"I took them from you," he lamented. "I took them all from you and I had no idea. I'll never forgive myself for this, never..."
"You BEST forgive yourself for it, Asgore," she almost snapped, not able to find the anger or the hatred in order to do so. "If she can, then you can. And...I hope to as well. If not now, then someday."
He raised his head just a bit, a tiny smile making itself present on his face, even as his tears continued to fall. Just her forgiveness alone, even if not now, was more than what he could have ever asked for.
...
"...Is that smoke?"
"Oh. Probably. Undyne's house must still be ablaze...or, at least, what's left of it."
"How'd it get set on fire? I know I said I saw most of what you did here, but, uh...not every single thing."
"It was kind of...both of our faults. But in my defense, I've never used a stovetop before and had no idea how they worked. And SHE'S the one who kept telling me to turn up the heat, so really the blame can't be split 50/50."
"How would you split it, then?"
"Heh heh...I'd say 90/10. I'm the 10, in case you didn't know."
"Oh, really?"
"Just don't tell her I said that! She'll probably try to skewer me again!"
"Oh, boy...That wouldn't be good."
"Well, now that I have my claws back maybe I'll be able to show her what a battle on MY turf is like. See how well she like losing her OTHER eye..."
"You don't like her much, do you?"
"Well, DUH. What made it obvious?"
"A lot of things, actually."
"The little 'date' episode at the Trash Zone was the icing on the cake."
"Oh...I didn't see that, either. I probably would have been there, but I was busy, uh...trying to write something without any hands."
"You honestly should have seen it; you don't know HOW many insults I wanted to hurl. Especially one in particular..."
The last remark came out as more of a murmur than a coherent statement.
"But even so, we've both agreed to just sort of be...you know, closet enemies when we're all hanging out together. Trying to kill each other every chance we get is just going to make things worse for everyone."
"So, will you come out of the closet when you two are alone?"
Ginger made a very strange-looking frown.
"...What?"
"Did you have to word it that way?"
...
"...So...this is what they were kept in."
"The SOUL vessels...Human SOULs, as you know, live on after death, and do not require solid hosts. Just...containment, to keep them from, ah...wandering off."
"M-hm..." she grumbled.
"I'm...not sure how much this will help matters, but...I did...speak to them, whenever I got the chance."
"Did you, now?"
"Erm, well...it was only in one direction; SOULs are not very...talkative, it seems, unless you merge with one...which I have never done. But I'm sure they could hear me; every so often, I could have sworn they glowed just a tad brighter...In a way, you know, since their SOULs are still present, they're still...with us, so to say...If only I knew where they were now. They probably would have liked to see you again."
"What...sorts of things did you talk to them about?"
"Mostly mundane subjects; told them about the flowers and birds in the garden, read to them every so often...alerted them whenever I...got another..."
His eyes grew wet again, and he blinked rapidly to expel the tears.
"I...wonder if they could speak with one another, if not me."
"I cannot say for sure...but I will not completely put it out of plausibility."
"There are still many things about the nature of SOULs that I do not know...Perhaps my Royal Scientist would offer more information on the subject if you're interested? She's been working on such subjects for quite a while now."
"Hm..."
"That reminds me...She hasn't given me any updates on the project in a while; I'll go ask her about it."
"What kind of project?"
"Well...Her task was to see if she could successfully get a monster SOUL to persist after death, from those who had already fallen down. If this was accomplished, I thought that maybe we could find another way to break the Barrier without having to...to...you know..."
"Take anymore innocent lives?"
"Y-yes...that."
"I see...So you DID try to find an alternative of some sort."
"It would have been better that way...But I suppose it doesn't matter now, seeing that the Barrier is gone."
"Do you think that flower had anything to do with that?"
"I wouldn't know...But anyways, I think it's about time to get the results of the experiments. Dr. Alphys! Would you please join us in the Barrier Hall?"
There was no response.
"Erm...Dr. Alphys?"
Finally, he saw her tiny yellow head peeping out through the door. She seemed...hesitant to approach; maybe Toriel intimidated her some?
"It's alright; she won't hurt you...will you, Toriel?" he made sure of.
"Unlikely." she answered, with a small, breathy laugh.
He beckoned the Royal Scientist to come forth, and she complied, though very slowly. She seemed upset about something.
"Dr. Alphys, would you like to share with us the results of your experimentation on the SOULs of monsters?"
She swallowed, and sweat began to bead down her feathery brow again; sure, Ginger had forgiven her for the disastrous results, but this was King Asgore, the one who'd assigned her the project in the first place. AND the queen, now. What would THEY think?
"Is...something the matter, doctor?" he asked.
Finally, the Velociraptor sighed, hanging her head in shame.
"I...I'll tell you," she finally said. "I-it's about time I did."
"Did something happen?"
She nodded, and he stooped down to match her inferior height somewhat. Even on his knee, he still towered a good two feet over her.
"Go ahead," he reassured with a smile. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't possibly be that bad."
Tears threatened to spill from her eyes again, and she shut them tightly to prevent this.
"...It all started when I first g-got the bodies..."
...
"How are you not sweltering? You're covered in fur AND you have long sleeves."
"Well, you see, Boss Monsters' fur is designed for adaptability; it actually helps keep us cool in high temperatures as much as it keeps us warm in cold ones. When its hot out, it provides a special sort of airflow so that the whole body is cooled down."
"Even with long sleeves?"
"Even then. Besides, if the heat gets to me, I can always roll them up."
"Eh...Whatever you say, pal."
"What about you, though? You've got feathers."
"We can spread them out to release more heat if we do get too hot, but it takes a pretty decent amount of heat to do that. Birds have a higher temperature than mammals'."
"How hot?"
"Average avian body temperature is around 105 degrees. We have high metabolism, so we need to be hot stuff in order to keep our systems working. Yours?"
"Oh, wow...Mom and Dad say that anything above 99 or 100 is a fever. I'm scared to think of how hot birds might get when they're sick."
"I'm not really sure, but I imagine it wouldn't be that much cooler than the outer temperature here."
"...That's hot."
"I guess it's a good thing we owls are such hot stuff."
...
"...But you said you brought them all back home, didn't you?"
The Royal Scientist nodded.
"What did the families have to say about this?" Toriel asked.
"Th-they...all actually seemed p-pretty happy to see them again. Even...l-like that. It's funny, you know...The Amalgamates themselves d-don't really hold a grudge against me f-for what I did to them all. I-in fact, they all seem content the way they are. But...They're still all misshapen a-and melty, and...I-I don't think they'll ever be the same again. Even if I tried, th-there's almost no way to successfully separate all the d-different entities like that, a-a-and once the DETERMINATION's in, th-there's no safe way to get it out. They're all stuck like that for the rest of their lives and..."
What she said afterward was incoherent, having turned from clear language to hysterical blubbering.
"Oh, you poor dear," Asgore consoled as he pulled the tiny monster into as soft an embrace he could manage. "You didn't know it would happen. Nobody did."
"I didn't know, I...I-I'm sorry I failed you," she managed to utter. "I failed so many people, I..."
"But they're all alive and happy, are they not? You at least brought them back; I think that's more than any of the families could have ever asked for."
"...Well..." She sniffed. "I...guess you have a point. But I...I'm just so sorry for everything, Asgore. The subjects, a-abandoning the experiment, leaving all of th-the families in the dark for so long, the lies, I...I can't even express in words how sorry I am for everything."
"It's alright, Alphys. I promise it's alright."
"...You're still fired," Toriel added.
"U-understandable," the smaller monster accepted. "Heh...I was thinking about r-resigning anyway. T-too much stress."
"Hm...Besides," the queen continued. "There is not much a need for a Royal Scientist anymore, seeing that we will all be heading to the surface."
"She does have a point," Asgore agreed. "Perhaps you could find another lab to work at? With humans, perhaps?"
"Uh...Y-yeah! Maybe...!"
"Whatever the case may be, I am quite sure that the surface will offer a bounty of potential careers for all of us. I, ah...may have to step down from the throne, however. It would not surprise me if the land above ground has already been claimed by stronger forces. Tori, didn't you say on occasion that you were passionate about teaching?"
"Do not 'Tori' me, Asgore," she scolded, failing to hide the bit of a playful intonation in her voice. "But you are right. I may try to open one up myself, if I get the chance."
"...Can I be the groundskeeper?"
"Oh, that depends on how well you BEHAVE, mister."
"...Yes, Toriel..."
...
"Sooooo, I might end up stuck with you guys for a bit once we get to the surface in the case that my little party's already left for the island. Is that gonna be an issue?"
"Doubt it; you owls are pretty independent, aren't you?"
"That we dare. Honestly, though, I can't wait to fly over the treetops again and find a vole to slip down my gullet; it's been too long since I've experienced the thrill of proper hunting. And the sensation of a full gizzard? Oh, man; makes it twitch just thinking about it. Just HAVING one again feels INCREDIBLE by itself, really."
"Well, it won't be much longer now before you get that chance."
"Nope."
"Heh..."
"Heh heh...heh...So, unrelated question."
"Yeah?"
"You wanna watch Jurassic Park III with me when we get up there?"
"What's that?"
She showed off the DVD case she'd snagged from back at the lab.
"Movie I found in the dump; don't know why anyone would have thrown it away, it's an absolute thrill ride."
"Really? What's it about?"
"I won't spoil too much, but it's basically about a bunch of humans going to this remote, restricted island full of dinosaurs. Lots of people get eaten and I love it."
"Sounds scary..."
"Eh, well, you're not wrong. But it's not exactly a monster-horror movie. The dinosaurs really do behave the way you'd imagine, like real, primitive animals. Besides, not all of them eat people; some of them are vegan. And some of them even have motives for their kills. I mean, if you were a Velociraptor and someone stole your eggs, wouldn't you want to give them a piece of your mind?"
"Probably, but...I wouldn't want to be too mean about it."
"And that's exactly what happened; even raptors can have a soft side, it seems."
"It sounds like you really enjoyed it. You show it to anyone else?"
"Well, the first time I watched it was at the skeleton bros' place. Papyrus loved it; he and I even have this inside joke about one of the scenes."
"Which scene?"
"It'd be funnier if you saw it yourself instead of me explaining it."
"Oh..."
"Alphys, though...I thought SHE of all the monsters down here would like a movie about dinosaurs. Because, well...duh. Actually, the first thing I thought when I saw her for the first time was 'Wait, what is that, a Velociraptor?' No joke."
"Hee hee hee hee...What'd she think of it?"
"I really should have taken the gore into account before I suggested it to her. Didn't take long for her to vacate and vomit...You could say I kinda forgot about the super-realistic human corpse falling out of the parachute and into the screen without warning. That's a little different from what she saw in the lab, though, so in hindsight, I guess I can see why she was so disturbed by it."
"Ugh. I'd probably toss my cookies if I saw that, too. Even when I was a flower, I...could never get used to too much blood. I figured it was a good thing monsters just turn to dust when they die, so there's usually not TOO much of it."
"Yeah. It's a lot more graphic with humans and animals. The body sits wherever it sits, and just...rots. And it's not just a disturbing image; when the decomposition sets in, it makes the most HORRIBLE stench. Smells like someone yarped all over a pile of rotten eggs, then left the pile out in the heat of the summer sun to ferment."
"Ew, gross. I'll be sure to steer clear of human cemeteries once we're all up there."
"Well, the bodies are buried in a graveyard, so the smell doesn't really penetrate the ground, I don't think...But If Al' thought just the sight was sickening, imagine if she smelled it; she'd probably end up losing an entire day's worth of meals. All at once...But even after that, she wouldn't quit watching it, even when I said I should turn it off; maybe she thought that by watching it, she'd toughen herself up a bit more."
"She could have also just been trying to please you; I mean, when someone shows you their favorite movie, they probably wouldn't expect you to puke about it."
"Yeah, I know, but still. She was all like, 'N-no, no, I can take this! If-if I could watch those monsters melt into goop, I can handle some f-fake movie blood!'"
"Oh. My gosh."
"What?"
"You sounded. JUST like her! Ha ha ha ha ha ha...!"
"Wait, really?"
"Do more! You'll see what I mean."
"Oh, well, okay."
The owl cleared her throat, making sure she would sound nasally enough.
"Wh-what!? No! No I don't sit on my bed and watch anime all day!"
Asriel burst out laughing, and Ginger, realizing that he'd been right, did the same. They were lucky that the resort had been mostly cleared out, otherwise they would have had several eyes on them.
"Wait, wait, wait, can you do Papyrus!?"
"Let's see."
She got the rest of the laughs out of her system before giving it a go.
"NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! FEAR NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE SPAGHETTI YOU COULD EVER EAT!"
Asriel kept laughing; she was SPOT ON.
"Wait, wait, Asriel, watch this..."
She paused for a few moments to make sure she wouldn't ruin the impersonation with her own laughter right in the middle of it. And when she was sure she wouldn't, she went ahead.
"hey, my name's sans and i'm super lazy, and whatever. wanna go to grillby's? the guy that runs that place is...lit."
Asriel's howling laughter became so loud, Ginger wouldn't have been surprised if her friends at the exit could hear it at this point.
...
"I was going to give them all a proper burial once we reached the surface," Asgore explained as he and the queen headed down the stairs to the basement. "...It was the least I could do for them after..."
He trailed off.
"...Are you sure you want to see the bodies?" he affirmed. "It...If it will hurt you, I do not want you to see the empty shells they used to be. And...I fear it very much will."
"...Then how about you go first?"
"Fair enough," he agreed. "I'll...prepare you as best I can, in that case."
He stepped over the empty red coffin and approached the orange one. It was odd, but...The lid of it looked slightly crooked, like it wasn't secured correctly.
Curious... he said to himself, not thinking much of it yet.
He knew what happened to humans' bodies when they died...So, then, why was he so afraid?
Slowly, and almost hesitantly, he pried the lid off the casket to behold the body of the young human that laid inside.
Only to discover that it wasn't there.
"...What?"
Toriel could see the confusion in his eyes.
"Is something amiss?" she questioned.
"...Very," he answered. "...It's gone."
"Gone?"
She came over to see for herself, cautiously peering down into the coffin.
It was empty. In fact, there wasn't a single trace of the body that'd been in there for almost eight years.
Not knowing what to expect, Asgore flipped up the lids of the other coffins; Justice, Kindness, Patience, Integrity, Perserverance...All of them. Gone. No mummy wrappings, no skeletal remains, nothing. It was almost as though the bodies had just...
Gotten up and left themselves.
But that couldn't possibly be the case...Could it?
The two of them looked at each other for a while; dumbfounded, shocked, frightened even.
"Toriel..." he breathed. "...You don't think...when that flower did what he did it could have..."
The expression on her face was all he needed to see to know; she was thinking the same thing.
"...Wherever they are now," Asgore smiled. "I...I hope they find their way home."
...
"This place is actually pretty humble for a family of monarchs."
"Well, my parents didn't want everyone to have the impression that we were, uh...'hoity-toity,' I think is what Mom said."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Even if we are the Royal family, we're still mostly just like everybody else, and we wanted people to see that. Mom and Dad are really good, you know, and...they wanted to make sure I turned out like them, too."
"Ah, I see...Um...I have another question."
"Yeah?"
"I know this might be a little weird, considering your perspective of time from all those RESETS, but...exactly how old are you?"
"Oh, that's all? Well, uh...I was like this the day I...you know, so I guess I'm starting up again from that point. I was about nine-and-a-half, I think, so I guess that's the answer to your question. But if I'd been...well...'actually' alive all this time, I'd probably be pushing into adulthood."
Ginger whistled.
"Long time."
"You?"
"Twelve. Gonna be thirteen in the spring."
"Oh...That's pretty neat. But anyway, from my perspective, it's actually probably been at least TRIPLE what I am now, if not more. I've got a lot of knowledge from all the RESETS stored away. More than you'd think for someone my...real age."
"Wise beyond your years?"
"That's about right, and it's both a blessing and a curse. I kinda wish I stuck around a little while longer for Mom and Dad to teach me about some of the things I figured out myself, but...oh, well..."
"Those two are some of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, Asriel. I'm gonna say that."
"Yeah...They sure are."
"Speaking of which..."
He was walking down the Judgement Hall towards the Throne Room, Ginger still perched on one of his arms, and the light bouncing off the illuminated yellow walls from the torches lining them bathed the two children in that seemingly otherworldly golden glow. Up ahead was the turn that lead to the Throne Room, and just past the there was the exit to the Underground, where everyone would be standing, waiting for them.
"We're almost there, Asriel," she said to him. "They're just beyond the Throne Room."
The Boss Monster was strangely silent, and Ginger noticed that his formerly brisk gait had considerably slowed.
"...Asriel?"
And, just outside the Throne Room, he stopped. Ginger addressed him again, but he refused to look her in the eye.
"...You're worried about how they'll react when they see you, aren't you?"
"It's...not just that. What if...what if they don't think it's really me? Like, they think I'm just some illusion, or...or worse..."
"An imposter?"
Asriel nodded solemnly.
"And, even if they did think it was really me...They saw me come back, a-and they saw me turn to dust right in front of them. Seeing me...back, like this...They'll probably ask so many questions, and...I don't know if I'll be ready to answer them all, and...what if...What if they don't forgive me for what I did? What if they...they don't love me anymore...?"
"Asriel," she said to him again. "Your parents are going to be overjoyed. And if they do ask questions, just...just tell them the truth. It's better than bottling it all up, and if I could forgive you, then it'll be a snap for them. You're their son, for Glaux's sake. They won't ever stop loving you...They never did."
Asriel smiled, then, in one swift motion, wrapped the Barn Owl in another embrace.
"Thanks so much...You've already done so much for me, and for everyone. I know I've probably said it enough times, but there's just no way I could ever thank you enough."
If Ginger's wings weren't pinned up against her body, she would have returned his token of affection.
"But...i-if you don't mind..." he stuttered, putting the bird on the ground. "Would...would you mind going ahead of me? I just want them to prepare for what they're going to see by knowing what went on with you. That might help."
"Not a problem; my situation might be a little easier to explain."
With these thing being said, the two of them finally continued into the Throne Room. Ginger scouted ahead, just to make sure the two of them didn't take anyone by surprise. The off chance that Asgore might be standing there, tending to his garden again as when she'd first seen him, loomed over her head, but ultimately proved to be false. The room was empty.
The two of them walked around the immense flowerbed, and Asriel eyed the two thrones sitting in the room. He took particular notice of the one off in the corner, covered by the white sheet to conceal itself from view. It was his mother's old throne, apparently having fallen into disuse after she left the king. He wondered if the two former spouses would ever reconcile; they had been practically inseparable before his death, and Toriel had only left him because of his declaration of war on humanity. He wasn't sure how likely a reunion between them was, especially after everything Asgore had supposedly done, but all Asriel could really do was hope.
At least they seemed to get along alright earlier; he remembered a few of the things said between them while he was working his snaky vines(which were no longer with him) into the canisters, and it was a far cry from Toriel just chastising his every decision since her disappearance. Maybe there was still a chance...
They approached the door to the next room, hugging the wall to avoid being seen. Ginger heard her friends mingling with one another from inside, and she rose a feather up to her beak, signaling for the Boss Monster to remain silent before listening in.
"W-well...Maybe she went back for that movie! She might have left it at my place after we watched it. I-I don't know...just a thought..."
"Well, even if that is the case, she sure is takin' her sweet time. I could've walked all the way from here to the Ruins and I'd have been back by now."
Little did the fish monster know that Ginger had done just that, and then some.
"I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF SHE WENT BACK TO ALERT THE MONSTERS IN THE RUINS TO THE OPEN BARRIER!"
"that's entirely possible."
"I'm sorry. I-I'm just...a little worried, is all. Like...C-come on. What could happen?"
"If it is within everyone's best interests, I will not hesitate to send out a search party to locate her. Even so, I am quite sure she's alright, wherever she is, especially if she carries the good tidings of the Barrier's destruction."
"Gorey's right. We-"
She heard Toriel stop short upon realizing what she'd just said, and Ginger imagined her throwing her furry hands over her mouth in embarrassment. One thing was for sure; if she was calling him that again, she could safely assume things had gone smoothly during her absence.
"smooth move, toriel."
"I mean, ahm...My apologies. That sort of slipped...Oh, Asgore, don't you start weeping again, you've put yourself through enough of that...!"
"...eeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
"ERM...SANS. WHY DOES DR. ALPHYS SOUND LIKE A MOSQUITO?"
"They'resocutetogether~!"
Oh, boy. Ginger figured she'd better go on in there and sort things out before the little yellow raptor turned into a squeeing mess.
"I'll give you the signal when I'm ready," Asriel told her, seeing that she was about to make herself known.
"Bravo, six. Going dark."
Ginger turned towards the doorway, then carefully stepped inside. Her talons were so quiet against the stone floor that even she could barely hear them, and the monsters were apparently oblivious to the faint noise as well, even when she had shortened the distance between herself and the crowd to only two yards. She drew in a deep breath, reminding herself to expect the worst reaction.
"...Guys?"
Toriel, who had her back turned toward her, was the first to hear her voice, and she turned around, expecting to see the human that she cared for so dearly, but instead saw the small, brown bird she'd become at her feet.
"Oh...an owl?" She was clueless. "Where did you come from?"
"Well, last time we both checked, I came from the surface."
Toriel's eyes widened. There was no mistaking Ginger's smooth, even somewhat snarky intonation, let alone her all-too familiar voice.
"Uh, yeah. It's me. I'm back," she admitted flatly. "But I doubt you were expecting this, huh?"
Now everyone was eyeing the Barn Owl, eyes bugged out as though she had three heads.
"What...what happened to you?" Toriel whispered, mortified.
"It's a long story, fellas, but in a nutshell...this is the real me. This is what I looked like before I fell into the mountain. It might have had something to do with the amount of DETERMINATION I have and how it interacted with the Barrier, but somehow, I became a human. And now...I'm not a human anymore. I'm the way I used to be...which is a good thing, so please...PLEASE don't freak out."
The six monsters exchanged glances with one another, all of them wide-eyed and obviously confused. But none of them seemed to be in a state of panic, which the young owl supposed was a good thing.
"So...this is, like, normal for you?" the Royal Guard Head finally said.
"Yep. It's all good."
"Well...This certainly is quite a surprise," Toriel replied, emitting somewhat of a chuckle as she said it, but still bewildered beyond words. "But I do believe you, child. Why, I cannot mistake that voice anywhere...Besides, after all that has happened, I doubt there is much that cannot be believed..."
"I was thinking the same thing myself, not too long ago."
"SANS! ALPHYS IS MAKING MOSQUITO NOISE AGAIN AND I DON'T KNOW WHY!"
"prepare your ears, kiddo. here it comes..."
The owl approached the Royal Scientist, her humorously deadpan blue eyes looking into the monster's large, sparkling brown ones.
"...This is actually kinda weird," she remarked. "I thought YOU were supposed to be the short one."
"guEEEEEEOHMYGOSH!YOU'RESOSMALLANDCUTEANDFLUFFYLOOKINGICAN'TTAKEITAND-"
Alphys' rambling became so high-pitched that it was no longer coherent until it finally died down some.
"~UWAOHMYGOSH I...Heh...S-sorry about that, I couldn't help myself. Um...J-just lemme..."
The former Royal Scientist reached down to stroke the top of the owl's head.
"I'm gonna have to get used to this..." Ginger decided.
"So you're gonna stay small like that, huh?" the fish monster taunted. "Cool; now I can step on you more easily,"
"Oh, you wanna bet?"
Ginger flew up to just above her eye level and fluttered closer to her face, menacingly flashing the hooked claws she's so yearned to have back.
"AND I have an aerial advantage, now. You wouldn't want to fight me if you know what's good for ya."
"I'll take my chances. You and me; whenever we get a chance."
"Don't mind if I do."
"WOWIE! WHAT'S IT LIKE BEING ABLE TO FLY?"
"Oh, it's pretty cool, I guess."
It was more than just that, but she didn't want to make herself out to be a braggart.
"M-mind if I ask a question?"
"What's on your mind, Alphy'?"
"If...if you were like that before you came down here, a-and the interaction w-with the Barrier ended up making you human, how exactly d-did you turn back?"
"Oh...Well, I actually had to-"
"Wait! Don't tell me! I have a hypothesis!" Alphys interrupted. "Did it have something to do with the Barrier breaking? If what happened to you upon passing through had something to do with an abnormal reaction with the magic composing the Barrier, maybe when the Barrier broke, the cause for the transformation was reversed, too! I mean, you were still a human for quite a bit after it was destroyed, but the effects of the Barrier didn't necessarily have to wear off right away! Something as powerful as that could take several minutes, or even hours to completely fade away!"
Although she wasn't entirely correct, Ginger had to give her props for her sudden, yet very extensive theory.
"Good guess, but actually no; my form only wore off when I made it. I gave up my humanity willingly. But I have to say, that was a pretty interesting thesis; you even said all that without stuttering."
"O-oh, I-I-I-I did?"
"Aaaaaand, it's gone."
Her yellow-scaled face flushed pink again.
"Heheh, heh...Hey, but...I...I-I did, didn't I?"
"It's progress. Keep it up and you'll be giving speeches for the world's most advanced scientific corporations in no time flat."
"Oh, well...I-I wouldn't say that."
"D'aw, come on, Al! The bird's got a point, you are gettin' better at it."
Undyne's further compliment only made her even more flustered, and she ended up hiding her scarlet face in her hands in embarrassment.
"I mean, you're a lot more capable than you might think, bud," the owl continued. "At least your lab's still standing, am I right?"
She peered up at the fish monster, obviously referring to what happened at their little meetup at her now destroyed house. It took her a minute to get the hint, though, but when she did, her sole yellow eye looked down at the Barn Owl with all the ferocity of a rabid Dire Wolf.
"I'm gonna kill you!"
"Hi, 'Gonna-kill-you.' I'm Ginger."
"Wha-"
"my god, kid...i'm so proud..."
Undyne fell to her knees in defeat and let out a frustrated growl; she never thought she'd be bested by a lowly bird.
"Pray tell, dear Ginger," Asgore inserted. "You say that you willingly gave up your humanity?"
"That's right."
"But why?" Toriel added. "And how, exactly?"
Ginger inhaled through her beak, making a hissing sound; she would have to come clean soon...
No...THEY would have to come clean soon.
"Um...Hold on, just a sec."
She looked back at the door to the Throne Room, then peered around the doorway to see if the young prince was still there, waiting. And that he was.
"I'm ready whenever you are," she heard him whisper. And she winked at him in response.
"Is someone there?" the king asked, having seen her look out the door, though not the wink.
"Uh...Yes. There is someone there."
"Another friend of yours, dear?" the other Boss Monster continued.
"Yeah. You could say that."
"Oh, how nice. Well...Would it be alright for us to meet whoever it is?"
"He...says he's ready. But I better give you and...*ahem*...'Gorey' a heads up."
Toriel's eyes narrowed, and Asgore went as red as his Royal Scientist had.
"Oh, you heard that, did you?"
"These ears can pick up the heartbeat of a rabbit from fifty feet above ground. I can hear a lot of things you can't."
"My goodness...Are you sure you're not stretching that just a tad?"
"Positive. We have to have strong eyes and ears in order to hunt the way we do. Ask my peers, they'll tell you the same thing."
"Oh, my...Well...Before we meet your friend, since your here, I might as well tell you what exactly went on while you were away; regarding the king and I."
Ginger gave no verbal response, rather sat down on the stone floor and looked the Boss Monster directly in the eye, indicating that she was listening.
"As you know, I read your letter, child. You do hold several points. If Asgore had absorbed one SOUL, then tried to collect the other six among the humans on the surface, then... well...History would have likely repeated itself. And if...If I had done something to prevent them from having been taken in the first place instead of just..."
"Leaving?"
Ginger's reply was not condescending, rather understanding; something that Toriel had seen in her from the start, even though she rarely ever showed it. Asgore approached from behind and stopped beside her as she spoke.
"...We have agreed that we were both in the wrong. And if you could forgive him, then..."
She acknowledged the king's presence. He had already heard all of this while the human-turned-owl was gone, but he was happy to be hearing her kind words again.
"...So can I."
The owl had to strain to stop the smile inching across her face from becoming too ridiculously wide. The monarchs saw this, and they each stifled their own, small laughs.
"I...cannot exactly condone what Asgore has done," Toriel sighed. "But I can see that he was left with a very difficult choice. And, as his partner in ruling, it was also my responsibility to help him reason on what he should do. And...I let my own emotions get the better of me. You were right to say that neither of us were in the best state of mind during that time. I see these things, now. As has Asgore."
"We both agree that we'll take each day as it comes, and hope for the best."
"I do not recall saying THAT, Asgore."
"W-well, I...don't necessarily mean between you and I, you know, heh. I-I mean with everyone down here."
"Asgore, I wonder whether I should see your dedication as touching or unnerving," she teased him.
"Ah...Well, I...If...Just remember, if there's anything I can do for you, then don't hesitate to ask, alright?"
"I will keep that in mind."
"Nice. Very nice," Ginger answered. "Which is good. That's going to please someone."
"Your friend is ready to introduce himself, is that right?" Toriel inquired.
"He is. He has been...But you two aren't."
"...Why ever not?" Asgore questioned, confused at her reply.
"What you're about to witness is...something you won't believe unless I explain in words how unbelievable it really is. If I don't tell you it's real beforehand, you won't think it's real. He told me he was afraid you would think he was a ghost, or some sick fake. And I'm here to tell you that he's real. I know he's real. Because I met him while I was out. I went all the way back the Ruins and found him there. I spoke to him. I got to know him...And I SAVED him. Using the powers retaining my human form, I gave them up to SAVE him. And he's here. He's standing just outside this room, waiting to see you both again."
"So, who you're talking about," Alphys added. "I-is the one you gave up your humanity for?"
The owl nodded.
"He sounds so afraid," Asgore commented. "But he doesn't need to worry. Whoever it is, we will believe it's him."
"You make it sound like we already know this person," the queen continued. "But why, may I ask, would we not believe it was really him?"
"Because," Ginger answered, in a voice so calm, her words made it eerie. "He's been dead for so long."
Everyone heard her reply to the queen's question, and they were all equally disturbed.
"Prepare yourselves as best you can," she continued. "Because I don't think anything can fully prepare you for what you're about to see."
The Barn Owl turned away from the other monsters, and stepped slightly towards the door leading back into the Throne Room to address her friend.
And as soon as she uttered his name, the king and queen's eyes widened, and they looked at each other in sheer disbelief.
"...Asriel," the young bird called. "You can come in now."
And from the Throne Room and into the dark corridor, almost as though his dust had spontaneously reassembled and risen from the flowerbed it had scattered across so long ago, the young prince finally emerged.