Well look at that. A new chapter is here and quite as long as the last. Maybe a bit longer.

We reach the destination that the chosen members of the Dreemurr Faction have been sent to. They make quite a discovery, which is also going to be quite significant to future events of this story as well. It's a rather surprising revelation for them, most likely not for you guys, though. Still, hope you enjoy.

Toriel: I have found myself a bit...surprised by the discovery and revelatiion made here. And I also got a bit angry once the circumstances has been better explored.

Asriel: With this, there's a bit of hope out there after all.

Red: Oh. Um...uh...I don't know what to do here. I'm not entirely sure how this works...except all I know is that this place isn't what we'll initially think it is. I guess that's all?

Chapter Start!

Asriel opens his eyes and looks upward towards the ceiling. He must have fallen asleep in the lower decks of River Person's ship without realizing it. As he slowly sits up and places his paw on the wall, he was surprised to sense a constant flow of magic within the entire structure, which further convinces him that they really did create the ship through magic alone. They are able to keep it maintained for amazing periods of time, and are even able to adjust any part of it that suits the situation or the wishes of the passengers. He wondered what exactly that can lead to, and was actually quite interested in finding out what else the River Person could do aside from transporting people around via vehicle.

He'd wonder more about it later, he'll focus on waking himself up now. With a soft and cute yawn, he stretched his arms out and scratched his floppy ears. There was then a slight rumble from his belly, causing him to blush and hold it in embarrassment. He laughed sheepishly as he shifted off of his bed and rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe...I guess I should get something to eat..."

Making his way up to the deck, he was lucky to see that everyone was more or less awake. Toriel was already prepared for him, as she hands him some morning pie that she stored in a Dimensional Box. He was impressively quick to begin eating it, with his mother happily watching him. As he went on to satisfy his hunger, there was a topic that Frisk brings up regarding Alphys.

"Say, Alphys. I think we should get a further headstart on your techno-magic."

"H-Huh? Really?"

"Sure. Maybe we should begin trying to help you develop it."

"Geno Alphys was right about the versatility of the ability. There's no harm in trying to use them to their best potential." Chara reasoned. "Besides, it's also a chance to work on those restraints and limitations. If you can't remove them, then at least you'll be able to find a workaround."

Alphys conceded to Chara's point, placing a paw on her chin and thinking deeply. Reviewing what Geno Me explained...I'm capable of things related to technology and magic together. I can mimic technology via magic...I can techno-magically shapeshift, but that takes a lot out of me and can leave me defenseless at my current level...so...I should keep working on these powers so I can increase my tolerance for them. She opened her eyes and nodded. "Undyne. I think from all the years of me watching anime...I can come up with a few things i might be able to try. The sooner I figure this out, the more better off I'll be. I'll need some targets."

"I can manage that!" Undyne grinned as she casually held up a hand, and a blue disc appeared within it. "Wanna give it a shot?" Alphys nodded strongly, cracking her fingers slightly as she watched the disc closely. She whiped her forehead slightly as she wondered if she'll be able to do the same things again. Or if she'll even be able to do anything at all.

"Creativity, Alphys." Asriel reassured her. "A monster's greatest asset when it comes to magic is their creativity and how skillful they are at applying it. You have things that are specific to you, and you'll be able to call to those things within your imagination. Though you won't know until you make the attempt. I know you can manage something, Alphys. You're a genius!" Asriel smiled softly as he posed with a thumbs up.

Something about Asriel's reassurance filled her with Determination.

Alphys nodded as she turned to Undyne. "Toss it." Undyne grinned as she readied her disc, and then tossed it out towards the water. Alphys closed her eyes and thought about the numerous shows she watched and the comics she read that involved bionic powers, and wondering if she can use some of thosee powers herself. She might not be able to use many of them, but that doesn't mean she won't be able to work upon what she could use. And what she could use, she could always build upon. Her eyes opened and her glasses flashed white before she held her paw out towards the disc. Similar to last time, a pod appeared by her side and fired a laser shot towards the target, shattering it. Alphys slightly beamed at her success.

"Oh my! That's amazing Alphys!" Toriel gently applauded her for her accomplishment. "Of course hearing of your abilities sounds impressive enough, but actually seeing it is a different matter entirely!"

"Yeah! I guess I did do it! It's pretty basic, but I have to start somewhere!" Alphys smiled as she gazed at the laser pod levitating next to her. "It doesn't look like summoning these laser pods takes a serious toll on my stamina, since it's just techno-spellcasting." She looked at her paws for a moment before nodding. "I want to try a few more things, this time with my bionic abilities. I already know that I have lightning force-fields and bombs. Try tossing another one."

Undyne looked understandably worried. "You sure, Alph? Geno Alphys said that it can take a lot out of you." Alphys nodded in confirmation. Undyne returned the gesture as she manifested abither disc in her hand and pulled it back. "Okay, here goes!" With this, Undyne lets go of the glowing blue disc, tossing it outwards. Alphys narrowed her eyes as she felt them lock onto the target, very similar to a lock-on system. No way! My eyes can do that?! Hold on, probably just my glasses doing that...but still really cool! As swiftly as she could, she pulls her arm back as a plus bomb manifested in her paw, and she tosses it forward. The bomb makes contact with the disc and it explodes with a burst of energy forming a plus. Undyne grinned as she pumped her fist. "That was dead-on, Alph! You should be called Alphys the Accurate!" She frowned a bit as she folded her arms. "No. That doesn't sound nearly badass enough for you..."

Alphys smiled sheepishly as she felt just slightly drained, though she'll be able to recover her energy quickly. Still, in the eyes of her peers, what she's managed to accomplish was very impressive. And she had to admit, she felt very accomplished herself. She softly shook her head. Easy, Alphys. You JUST unlocked this magic, so don't get too ahead of yourself.

"Tra La La!~ We're arriving ever closer to our destination. Look ahead." River Person sounded out, lifting their head. The crew looks outward, and were surprised to see that they were correct. A small island was slowly coming into view, and it felt like they were going faster. Alphys was really curious on how they were managing their magic so precisely, efficiently enough to have the boat accelerate with just their willpower. "Ten minutes, I reckon is our estimated entry time!"

"Wah ha ha! Excellent!" Gerson beamed as he stepped in front of everyone, tapping the floor with his foot. "Alright then, ladies and gents! We're approachin' our destination!" He narrowed his eyes as he grabbed hold of a telescope, zooming in on the approaching island. Though when he got a good enough look, his grin widens with excitement. "Well will ya look at that!It ain't just one single island! It's an archipelago!"

"Archi...wha...?" A question mark appeared over Red's ever so lost head.

"Archipelago's are islands grouped together in one place. Apparently that's where our destination is...which is gonna make it a lot harder to find Mettaton, Napstablook, and Shyren." Alphys explained. "The one fortunate thing about this is that there's only four islands from what I see, and all of them are big enough to provide a lot of cover. If we're lucky, we'll be able to find them on three of the islands. Though the only way we can cover that much ground without wasting too much time is if we split up..."

"Well crud. That's gonna be a drag." Chara sighed, before turning towards the others. "How are we gonna divide ourselves up?"

Gerson rubbed his chin as he gazed carefully at the islands. Four of them in total. They would search three of them, then ultimately meet up at the last one. He nodded and turned to everyone. "Alright then, youngin's. Here's the setup. Chara, Muffet, and Alphys will go to the third island. Asriel, Red, and Toriel will go to the first. Undyne, Frisk, and myself will be at the second, while River Person waits for us at the last one. Some of ya have a phone, so come in contact with one another once ya find something worthy of noting. Or if you're in trouble. Definitely let us know when you're in trouble, and we'll meet up right away."

"Very well." Toriel nodded softly as she gathers Chara and Frisk and briefly kisses them on their foreheads. "You two stay safe. And as Gerson said, call immediately if something comes up that you can't handle yourselves."

"We've got this, Mom. You can trust us." Chara said as he turned towards Asriel and Frisk. "Alright guys. Let's get this done."

"Right!" They both nodded.

Undyne took the time to embrace Alphys and sweetly kiss her lips. "Looks like we'll have to split up for the time being. I'm not going to be watching you closely like I'm tempted to. I have faith in your ability to succeed. I know you'll be fine. Take care of yourself until we can meet back up, okay?"

Alphys nodded strongly. "I got it, Undyne. I'll do my best. I won't let any of you down!"

And with that decision made, they grabbed paws/hands with their group members, and they each disappeared in a flash of red, green, and blue light, making it onto the different islands of the archipelago. River Person simply continues to sail on ahead, on standby for the ones who seek to go to the fourth island.

"...The Dreemurr Faction's first true trial has begun. Let us pray for their success..."

They seemingly spoke to no one in particular. But in truth, they were speaking to a nonexistent man glitching right beside them...

(The First Island)

Asriel was leading both Red and Toriel on their own separate island, after confirming that they were alright and well. Aside from Red feeling a bit motion sick from the sudden movement, there weren't any other complications to take note of. They proceeded onward, the renewed desire to find and save their missing friends ignited a burning fire in Asriel's soul. He was filled with Determination, no doubt about that. Though he had to wonder, if a place like this had more to it than he was initially sensing. Because what he was sensing, there was definitely inklings of magic here and there, and it was a wonder what exactly was this archipelago, and what it was hiding.

"Children! Look, up ahead! I see something!" Toriel exclaimed briefly, gesturing ahead of them. Red and Asriel noticed it right away, and proceeded to make their way towards the point of interest. They pushed past a couple trees and bushes, trying to get a clear indication of what Toriel sees.

They were shocked by the sight. Especially Asriel and Toriel.

"...I...I can't believe it..." Asriel stuttered in disbelief.

There was a sizable village up ahead of them. It wasn't a normal village either.

This was a village populated by humans...and monsters. Asriel was in awe at the numerous amounts of humans and monsters walking alongside and being incredibly friendly. They were each waving to each other in a good-natured manner, others were helping others move supplies into others' houses. A couple human and monster children were even playing with one another, running around with little to no care in the world. From the looks of it, the village wasn't incredibly advanced, but it definitely wasn't completely primitive. Asriel can sense an abundance of magic in the air and around him, meaning that it's been used to create a majority of the huts that the citizens live in. They looked much more durable than regular, non-magic huts. And from where Red could see, there was even an efficient use of magic when it came to growing crops. Toriel took a guess at it being a type of plant-based magic to enhance them and help them grow. To be perfectly honest, a couple of these magical crops-which they could see were safe and edible-tempted Asriel and Toriel through the growling of their bellies. Unfortunately, this didn't go unnoticed. The citizens closest to them saw them right away, and they froze at the sight of them.

Noticing the increase of awkward tension, Asriel timidly raises a paw and waved. "Um...Howdy...?"

"Great introduction, your highness." Red huffed with a sassy fold of her arms. "You were really great at introductions on your birthday. What happened? Hm?"

"I wasn't prepared for this! I had plenty of time to think of something for my birthday!" Asriel weakly protested, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ground. "I wasn't exactly prepared for something like this..."

"To be fair, I don't think any of us were..." Toriel said softly, her eyes still wide as she processed this shocking-yet very incredible-sight.

"What's going on out there...?" The voice of an elder female calls out to the group, taking their attention away from the other citizens. Someone stepped past the citizens that politely moved out of the way. Soon someone stopped in front of the group and took a good look at them. Toriel could identify he female as a fellow monster, having the appearance relative to raccoons. The ringed tail was shown to be under her cloak, as she also used a walking stick to get around. Her green eyes seemed tired and stern, but also kind. Her fur was messy and her face looked a bit wrinkled, but she looked relatively fine regardless. Her eyes widened as her eyes set upon Toriel. "Do my eyes deceive me...? Is that..." In her shock, she nearly tripped over and dropped ber walking stick. She managed to stay upright and still gaze at the Boss Monster with surprise. "Is...is that you...my Queen...?!"

"U-Um..." Toriel seemed a bit unsure, but the answer was already very clear. "Um...do I know you? I do apologize for not remembering..."

"No no! You and I have never met, you don't know me at all!" She shook her head rapidly. "It's just...I never imagined that I would be able to see the Queen of Monsters!" A majority of the humans and monsters in the area were shocked by the mention of the monarch of monsters having made an appearance to their hidden land. Toriel simply blinked owlishly at how amazed they looked. Asriel and Red seemed just as surprised as she was. The elder shook her head as she closed her eyes. "You see, we never expected to see a Dreemurr to grace us by stepping foot upon this island...we honestly didn't think we'd see other monsters come here because of the War between Human and Monsters. Does that mean that the Barrier has been broken?"

"Um, that's right. Our people are living there. King Asgore stayed behind to manage our people while we visited this hidden location."

"Thank goodness. Thank goodness..." She sighed as she lowered her head. "Ebott's monsters are safe and living on the Surface, and Ebott was the one where the Dreemurrs has been sealed away...this is heavenly news. And I see that you've brought some friends during your absence from the Surface world. The other one looks a lot like you!"

Toriel placed her paws on Asriel's shoulders. "That's because he is my son. This is Asriel Dreemurr, my beloved child."

"You...you and Asgore had a son...?!" Her eyes widened at the news, getting another look towards Asriel so she could see for herself. Toriel speaks the truth. Not that she was accusing Toriel of lying, it was just a bit amazing for her to hear. "My goodness, much as happened with you as there was with other monsters! I'm shocked that you were able to bear an heir!" She closed her eyes and turned to the side for a little. "Perhaps there is brighter hope for monsters than I expected..."

Asriel was filled with wonder, as he reached out towards the elder. "Excuse me...but how is this possible? Not that I'm not glad to see other monsters...but I thought the only ones left would be from Ebott..."

"Ah. That's what many of the outside world might think." She nodded as she gazed towards the skies, the wind blowing past each of them. "There's no mistake, a majority of monsters have been wiped out in the Monster-Human War. However...there's many more of us left than you think. Not all monsters participated in the war, and not all monsters were sealed behind the Barrier. Monsters are still very much roaming the world. That's not to say there aren't too many of us left, but I definitely wouldn't consider us to be horribly miniscule. Compared to humans, perhaps. But not overall." She explains as the other monsters of the tribe nodded in agreement. "I cannot really say for sure where others might be, but I can assure you, there are other monsters out there in the world. They're nowhere near the amount of humans in the world...but it's enough."

Asriel and Toriel's eyes brightened, even though they didn't smile for a bit. So that was it. Not every single monster was sealed under Mt. Ebott like everyone thought. At best, most of the remaining monsters were scattered. Scattered across the world. She was right, that was definitely something to hope for, and it was especially something they needed to tell their friends and Asgore as soon as they possibly can. But first, they had a bigger priority to focus on. Toriel clasped her paws. "I hope you don't mind that we change the subject, but there's something we would like to ask of you. Did previous visitors ever come here? Was there a ruckus somewhere due to an unknown disturbance?"

One young child raised her hand, gaining their attention. "Well...we heard things going on from one of the other islands...but then it went quiet. We don't know what happened over there. They won't tell us."

"...Who won't tell you...?" Asriel asked suspiciously. If there really was some sort of fight...then Napstablook would make himself invisible and hide. Not even Frisk or Mom will be able to detect him, and they're pretty adept at sensory. He won't come out of danger until after the danger has passed...which means the danger is still around. Though this only increases my worry for him, Shyren, and Mettaton...

Another human villager raised a hand to answer. "There's someone with control over this archipelago. There are humans capable of using magic, and the monsters that works alongside them. They both use their magic to keep us under their heel, and the human that's mainly leading them is a woman named Augustine. The group as a whole is known as Stoneforge. If anyone might know for sure what happened to your friends, she's the greatest candidate since she's in charge of those subordinates."

"We have tried to resist...unfortunately we are not strong enough to make it meaningful." Their chief lowered her eyes and shook her head. "Eventually we just accepted the situation as it was, and resisted no longer. I promised we would do whatever they say as long as they left my children alone. Now here we are. We struggle, but we're still alive."

"'Your children'...?" Toriel briefly asked.

"Mhmm. I surely haven't been around nearly as long as you have, your Majesty. But I've been around enough to be significantly older than everyone else here. I take care of these people as best as I can. And in turn, I've helped them take care of each other. It matters not that they be human or monster. Maybe I'm not strong enough to effectively protect them, but that won't stop me from trying."

Toriel felt her soul grow for this woman. It's clear that these people have been under oppression from whoever has been harming them, but she's never forgotten what her main priority was, and that was the safety and health of her people before her own. It's been taking it's toll, given how tired she looked and sounded, but she won't give up. Even beyond that, this was a tribe of humans and monsters. To her, they're one in the same. Her love was genuine and warm. The Queen of Monsters...felt herself unable to turn away from their plight.

"I apologize for not asking earlier...but what is your name?" Toriel asked. This shook the chier out of her stupor, and she seemed surprised by the question.

"O-Oh! My name? It's Nikon, don't mind too much about it. And this gathering of islands is known as the Seloms Archipelago. Not many know about it because it's been pretty well-hidden thanks to a magic field that seems to make them undetectable to most of the world. That's what we guess on how monsters around the world may have hidden themselves, whether by their own will or not."

"I see. I'll be sure to remember the last two details. But for now...would you mind telling me the direction of the ones bothering you?"

"Why would you need to..." Nikon gasped as she understood Toriel's intentions, judging by the shadows beginning to loom over her eyes. "No, my Queen! Please, don't concern yourself with trivial matters such as ours!" The other members nodded, pleading with Toriel not to get involved in their affairs and to focus on her mission.

She was having none of it.

"I will ask you again...show me the people who are bothering you."

Nikon flinched slightly. Toriel still sounded gentle, but has made it clear that she isn't turning a blind eye to this. She sighed and simply gestured them to follow her, instructing her people to stay behind and keep things in order. The trio soon follows after her.

As she leads the way, she was wondering if this was the kind of person Toriel was. She wasn't lying when she said she never met the monster monarch, nor does she know much about her at all. All due truly knew that Toriel was by all means a kind and loving person...as well as a bit difficult to deal with at times. As well as being much more pushy than her much more gentle husband. Though to actually see her fighting for others' sake. Usually royals wouldn't be so ready to lend a personal helping hand to their subjects. She admittedly gained this mindset from numerous stories about how royals act when she was a child. Now she was curious as to how Toriel may act, as well as her son. Eventually, Nikon lead them to the people she was mentioning. Toriel understood, sensing how some of the humans had souls that were giving off slight hints of magic. She could also see a few monsters among them, most likely allied with their human allies. They looked to be merely patrolling the area, most likely to keep the villagers from wandering too far out of their boundary without their consent, or at the very least the consent of their superior on the archipelago.

"These are just some of the people who do their part keeping us in line. We may outnumber them, but they've proven that they're more than capable of keeping us in one place.": Nikon sighed while closing her eyes. 'We really don't wish for you to get involved with this. It's best if you just-" Nikon opened her eyes, and was surprised to see that they were gone already. "Where did they go...?"

"Pardon me!" Nikon's jaw dropped as she realized where they were. The trio has made their over to the men and have gotten their attention. Toriel cleared her throat and managed a small smile. "Right, excuse me...are you people bothering the village that we've just passed by?"

One of them, a male wearing mostly casual clothes consiting of a short-sleeved brown shirt and sleeves, turned towards the monsters and raised an eyebrow. "That depends on who's asking. I don't think we've seen you around here before."

"That's because we're rather new to these parts, you see. We've come for precious friends of ours that seem to have stumbled upon these islands, and we've also discovered a village consisting of humans and monsters alike. As much as this makes us happy, we've also found that they're not as happy as they can be. They're under your watchful eye, so I assume that you're the reason for their misfortune?" Toriel asked. "If so...I'll have to ask you to please stop that."

"...What?"

"I'm asking you to leave those people alone. By what they say, they've been living peacefully on this archipelago until you and your leader took over the islands with no regard for their feelings. And that just isn't polite." Toriel explained. "So if you don't mind, please take all of your belongings and leaving the islands in peace. If you do, there will be less trouble for you and your superior." One of the others-notably a monster-huffed at Toriel's silent threat and raised his paw, large mounds of earth surrounding him. Toriel guessed a hypothesis that most members of this guild use earth magic. She sighed quietly. "I really do not think you should do that."

"You come here giving us orders like you're some sort of big shot! Who do you think you are?"

"I'm someone who doesn't turn a blind eye to situations like this. That should be information enough." Toriel stated strongly, narrowing her eyes. "Once again, I hope you can choose the sensible option and leave peacefully. Should you choose the significantly less wise decision, such as proceeding to attack me...I cannot promise that you'll be leaving unharmed."

The monster has chosen to call her out on her bluff. With a defiant grin, a buildup of earth turned into a spiked ball and shot it's way towards Toriel at enhanced speed. Before it could even reach her, it suddenly ends up falling into pieces, harmlessly falling behind Toriel. The attackers seem highly confused by how the attack seemingly fell apart. Until they saw Red standing before Toriel with her sword drawn, her cape slightly flapping in the wind. It was an amazing manuver for Asriel to witness, as he barely saw Red draw her sword, much less actually swing it. He, like the attackers-and Nikon in the background-were left dumbfounded at how quickly and effortlessly the attack has been left utterly useless. Red slowly rose her head, her silver eyes glinting slightly while a soft growl escaped her muzzle.

They had no time to reflect upon their poor decision, as Asriel vanished in a flash of lightning. Then he reappeared in front of the one who attacked his mother and placed his paw on his chest, greatly shocking him with Shocker Breaker. He cried out from the sudden and unexpected pain of the attack, with Asriel wincing a bt as he fell on his back, smoke coming off of him. The attack was non-lethal, but it still must have hurt quite a bit.

"Um...sorry?"

"Don't apologize to the enemy!" Red barked in disbelief, having swiftly made her way across the field before they could react further, slashing down on one of them and watching him crumble to the ground. She turned swiftly as yet another one gathered earth and shot multiple shards of it towards her. Red narrowed her eyes and slashed at nearly every single earth shard, slowly moving closer as the attack grows increasingly desperate. Eventually she reached her, then swiftly slashed her across her arms and then kicking her in the back of her head, watching her weakly crumble to the ground, unconscious. She huffed as she swfitly turns again to see more of the patrollers going from shocked to angry. One of the humans without magic reacted and attempted to strike Red from behind, though was abruptly stopped by fire exploding against his side, blasting him and knocking him unconscious. Toriel was the offender, nodding quietly to Red. She nodded back in gratitude.

Asriel was humiliating the other attackers without really meaning to. He was calmly and almost curiously dodging the other non-magic users that were trying their best to strike him down with their weapons, consisting of spears, swords, and axes, not too unlike the Royal Guard back home. Unfortunate, as he was once assigned to skillfully evade the entire Guard attacking him at once...repeatedly. Thus, this was relatively familiar, and why he was mostly onchalant about the attacks. Eventually, he jumped up when they tred to attack him at the same spot smultaneously. Fire gathered in his paws and he throws the ball downward, causing a small explosion that caused them to scatter back and crash into the ground. He landed gracefully on his feet, rubbing his neck. Red glared at him as he was about to apologize again, making him flinch and close his mouth. As he did so, another came a him with her axe swinging horizontally. He ducked backwards with a somewhat surprised look on his face, before pushing forward and kicking her in he side, knocking her over and onto the ground.

Toriel looked to the side as yet another group of attackers stands back up, attempting to strike her with their Earth Magic. Toriel merely sidesteps and launches a blast of fire at one of their backs, the small explosion blasting him forward and landing on his face. She raises her paw again as another tries shooting larger pillars of rock into her back. Those were also swiftly slashed apart by Red, who landed on her feet as Toriel turns around as three fireballs manifested and sped towards the offender. He gasped as he tried to defend by erected a rock wall. He succeeded, but didn't count on the follow-up: Red pointed her sword towards the wall, slashing it vertically in half and separating them. He was left in awe as Red pounced and kicked him hard in the chest, throwing him back into a tree. He too, quickly loses consciousness.

Red noticed that a few of them were still trying to get back up and attack them, realizing that they were much more persistent than she initially gave them credit for. Though to her, it was becoming an annoyance. These guys, both the humans and monsters alike, are becoming awfully irritating! Don't they know that they're outm-

She heard the sound of hard rock being smashed to pieces, as well as slight bits of fire passing her by at the same time. Asriel was shown to be responsible, seeing that one of the other human magic users attempted a quiet attack from behind while Red mostly had her guard down. She blinked as Asriel then conjured fire in his paw and launched it towards the attacker, striking him hard in the chest and exploding. It wasn't fatal, but still did great damage. He crumpled to the ground, covered in soot. Asriel turned towards Red and smiled. Red nodded in gratitude, before turning away and pouted in embarrassment at her carelessness. I could have taken care of it...

A wave of flames pushed most of the attackers back, and they were in awe as Toriel swept her paw across, causing the flames to grow stronger. To their immense shock, despite the flames clearly touching the grass and trees around them, they did not burn. The only thing being damaged by Toriel's flames were her targets. Asriel regarded his mother as a definite master of control when it comes to pyrokinetic mastery.

"How is nothing else on fire from all of this?!" One of them shouted after being awed long enough.

"There is much more to fire than simple burning and destruction, fool." Toriel said with narrowed eyes.

"T-This isn't over! That village is gonna pay for this!" With a whimper, the monster shouts this before limping with his other comrades.

Once sure that there weren't any more at the moment, Asriel sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess Mom did try to warn them..." He then turn towards Red and smiled. "Other than that, you were pretty amazing, Red!"

"Ha! I know!" Red beamed proudly, lightly feeling her dress by patting it. "I didn't exactly know how this whole 'combat-skirt' thing would work out, but it's totally fitting me! I'm still able to move freely without any hassle! Maybe Alphys and Muffet were onto something after all!~"

Toriel sighed as she looked towards the darkness of the forest ahead of them. As much as she appreciated the victory as the teens behind her, she knows from the monsters defiant cry for vnengance, that things were not over just yet. This was just a small force patrolling this part of the island. Which means the rest would be coming for retribution. She narrowed her eyes, fire flashing across them. They would have to get past her first, and that's highly unlikely to come to pass.

They shall not harm these villagers any longer. We shall see to that, personally.

Nikon simply watched on in a mix of shock and awe, seeing how the three of them took care of those patrollers. It was surprising that they were simply supposed to search for their friend and leave, but now they chose to fight for the sake of those they didn't even know about. And it didn't look like they would be backing down from their choice after this. Nikon feels slightly guilty for bringing up the issue at all, having brought them into this issue. And yet despite that, they made the choice to intervene instead of going along with their own business. This desire was especially strong within Toriel.

Toriel lifted her head as she heard the sound of a survellience camera moving around. She turned to see one hanging in one of the trees, seemingly reinforced and made with magic. It scanned her closely. Toriel's expression soon turned to one of indifference. "I suppose it would be a bit too simple for us to not be watched in some way. I also suppose that the one known as 'Augustine' is watching and hearing me right now. If that's the case, hear this: You've made a very grave mistake, keeping these villagers in captivity. It's bad enough that I now know that some of my people are here, but humans as well? That is unacceptable. And you would also be wise to hear this as well: If the state of the other islands are similar to this one...you'd better give up and escape while you can." Toriel slowly raised her paw towards the camera, conjuring a fireball with narrowed eyes. "Because if that turns out to be true, as well as you still being here, and I work up the anger to find you personally...pray that I don't."

A split second later, the camera was destroyed by fire, regardless of it's magic protection...

(The Fourth Island)

The woman, now identified as Augustine, stared blankly at the screen that's recently gone static from Toriel destroying the camera it was connected to. One would assmume that she was simply accessing the situation in a calm and collected manner, wondering what course of action to take next. Well in truth, she really was wondering what to do next, but she was not doing it with a particularly calm state of mind. Toriels threat has send terror coursing through it, as her eyes, even from a video standpoint, looked like a burning inferno eager to burn it's target into cinders. If Toriel meant what she said about what she would do regarding the state of the other islands...then there was little doubt that she was in very serious trouble.

Perhaps Parvos wasn't wrong after all. But she also tried to be reasonable about the chances. She obviously came with her son to rescue their friends. So even if they desregarded the situation with the archipelago at first, there was no way they were going to leave until they got them back. But Augustine wasn't one to just give up when things got rough. Still, that didn't mean that she wasn't terrified of what the monster monarch would do if she ever gathered up the nerve to come find her. She had her own magic to fight with, so it's not like she was defenseless. But she wondered if it would be enough to repel someone like Toriel. She won't even get started on her other allies, including the one she put a bounty on. Now identified as Alphys, it was clear that the scientist was close to Toriel, so that was yet another grave error she made that might cost her dearly.

"...Okay, I might need some help with this. I REALLY don't want her to find me.' Augustine said as she lowered her head and clasped her hands. "I also can't afford to turn back now. There's been too much time spent into this, so I'm just gonna have to take what she has to dish out, and hope that I can win out in the end." She turned to the side with a slight look of nervousness. "Still...I would rather not face her at all."

"I don't blame you, Augustine. She does sound righteously angry with you." Someone from the other screens told her with a bit of a chipper tone in his voice. "And when one compares the kind and pleasant Queen to her kind and pleasant husband, she's the harsh one. Surprising, isn't it?"

"You want to keep hiding in your compound so that you won't have to fight...why do you even bother?" One from another screen asked condescendingly and with a gruff huff.

Augustine rubbed her temples as her two top subordinates made fun of her. "You two take a lot of joy out of my humiliation, don't you? Still can't accept that you belong to me?"

"That's only because of your accursed magic. Things would be drastically different if you didn't have that." There was a huff from his side of the screen. "We may have some bits of our free will, but you always make sure to apply just enough so that I don't try to slit your throat in your sleep. You're a coward."

"Well that's not very nice! Augustine is a strong and independent woman who doesn't need any protection...oh wait..." The other one started off chipper again, only for his tone to die out in a sense of mock realization. Augustine groaned at his taunting. He knew full well how much danger she was in, and he also knew that she could influence his actions so that he follows her orders...but that apparently doesn't mean that he's unable to poke jabs at her with a cheery smile. This only made her more frustrated with him, just slightly surpassing the one that's literally itching to kill her. With a brief shake of her head, she sighed and gazed at the screens.

"You two are being unnecessarily mean to me."

"Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Does that ring a bell?~"

"Now you're just flat-out insulting me!"

"Noooo. Why would I do such a thing, 'Master'?~"

"On my God..." She sighed, nearly facepalming. "Look, you two are unable to disobey me even if you wanted to, so here's what you're going to do. Get rid of thr ones heading to your respective islands. One of them is no doubt the one with the bounty I set on her."

"Seems like she's heading to my island...unfortunate. She's a fellow scientist. I really wanted to be friends with her..."

"You're not hanging out with an enemy, cousin. As much as it disgusts me, we're doing what she says. The human natives of these islands I can tolerate. They're innocent. The ones SHE brought here, however...they're not." The latter screen sighed. "Whatever. If I'm going to continue being her accursed 'pet' I might as well do the job I've been assigned right."

"She looks pretty strong...and she has quite lovely hair. She also looks pretty fierce."

"Please! As if I'm gonna be scared of a walking pile of seafood."

"Well that's not very nice..."

"I don't care about that. I'm here to do my job. Begrudgingly, might I add. Because she acted out recklessly, without thinking. Now I have to clean up HER mess. I swear..."

"Relax, little cousin. She can't keep us under her heel forever. We'll be free from her grasp, sooner or later. Maybe then, we'll also free your sister..."

There was a sudden growl from the other screen. "Let her keep that battle-hungry brute. She's nothing but a savage beast with nothing on her mind but fighting, disregarding the consequences of her actions. It's because of her that we're stuck in this mess!" The tone suddenly lowered as he was seen lowering his head. "And as her twin...I'm partially responsible for getting us into this mess as well."

"I know you hate her for her actions, but we can't give up on her, nor leave her behind...I don't want to lose either of you."

Silence took over for a few moments. Augustine sighed as she grabbed her head in frustration. "Look. Darkness. Tempest. Save your family drama for another time, alright? Just go do the jobs you're assigned, then you can go back to moping pointlessly about something that doesn't matter."

"Foolish woman. You'll let your guard down eventually. I WILL take advantage of that and kill you." The one known as Tempest suddenly turned off his screen. Darkness sighed sadly, then turned off his own screen. Augustine leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. First Toriel, and now this. She didn't need this kind of thing plaguing her mind right now.

"Guess Tempest still hates my guts, huh?" The third screen, which showed no image at all, said rather knowingly.

"I'm surprised you're so calm about that, Lunar. Usually you'd get annoyed by how much he complains about you."

"Normally I would be...but I'm far too excited about my next battle to even care." A dark cackle emitted from the screen, and it gave Augustine chills. "You'll release me from these magic shackles, Augustine."

"And why the hell would I do that?!"

"Because you're cowardly. When the situation ever-so-quickly becomes out of your control, and you can't do anything to stop it...you'll free me. And then I'll be able to get the battle that I craved for so long. You're pathetic lapdogs are practically chew toys at this point. They fall far too easily." There was a deep growl at the end. "I don't care what you do, but I WILL have my battle! If I find out that you've cheated that chance from me...I'll eventually get off my ass and actually work hard towards finding the way to freedom myself...then I'll take my time picking my teeth with your bones."

Click...

There was a reason that Augustine keeps Lunar shackled instead of putting her under her magic influence like Darkness and Tempest. Her free will and Determination greatly surpasses theirs, even if she and Tempest were twins, and is far too strong to be suppressed by someone like her. The only thing keeping her restrained were those magic shackles, and even they might not last much longer. She's gotten herself in quite a bind. Her best subordinates are most likely planning to betray her, and Toriel was now going to actively hunt her down for her actions. Not only that, but she and her friends still won't leave without finding the ones they're looking for. So she's potentally gotten on the bad side of people from almost every side of this island.

...Parvos was possibly onto something. She might be screwed.

Darkness, Tempest, and Lunar all belong to my buddy eliteprobe! I know I said something about it before, but this is for emphasis. Because there's a place down the story where their role shall be expanded, I asked permission from him first to see if he was cool with it. And he agreed! I hope I got their initial portrayals right. I tried pretty hard to do so. Hope he doesn't hate me if I slipped up somewhere down the line.

Again, credit goes to him!

Also, I wonder what he thinks of the signficant change that he'll most certainly notice? It's kind of like what he's possiblly doing for them...but there's a lot more to it. But one thing is the same...they hate each other. Darkness, however, just wants his family to stay together.

Poor Darkness. :(

But for now, the team has split into groups of three. Next chapter will be more focused on the other two teams and what they're doing, as we explore more of the Seloms Archipelago. Toriel isn't a happy camper, knwoing that both humans and her own people are out there, and they might be treated like this. It doesn't get better for the other two islands, unfortunately. And they stil have to find Mettaton, Shyren, and Napstablook! Will they find them?!

Alphys: I'll help save them. nothing is going to stop me. I swear it!

Undyne: Alph! You're being so intense right now...I like it!~ :3