This chapter ends the arc, guys! It's time to get this outta the way. End one thing, and the beginning of something else that's much bigger than they're currently capable of understanding. The current battles shall end here and the opportunities for new experiences are soon to be opened for them.
Unfortunately for them, not all of those experiences will be pleasant, but let's cross that fragile bridge when we get to it. It's another big chapter, but do bear with it, okay?
Chapter Start!
[Music: Heartache]
Toriel stood across from the woman who had tried to convince her to turn her back on her people, and is likely still trying to. Regardless, Toriel shall not budge.
Augustine slowly raised her hand as a large gathering of earth followed her movements. "You really shouldn't be concerned about issues such as this, Toriel. It would benefit you better if you just turn a blind eye to all this and just mind your own business!"
"I did that once. My children and best friend were disappointed in me, but gave me another chance. My husband didn't blame me at all. For me, the latter only made me feel worse. I've already resolved to make up for my poor judgement." Toriel stated strongly. "So no, I'm afraid I cannot just 'turn a blind eye'. You can discard that suggestion right now."
"Fine. You brought this outcome upon yourself."
"That's not very nice, stealing my line without permission. Shame on you."
Augustine responded, gathering the earth and molding it into a sharpened halberd. On the other side a large spiked ball morphs on the other side. She soon throws both of them towards Toriel, causing Nikon to slightly gasp in worry. Toriel wasn't as concerned, a swipe of her paw was followed by a wall of blue flames to rise between herself and the projectiles. The stronger flames managed to push them back and then incinerate them. Toriel waves her paw as the flames followed their movements, the flames gently flickered, yet their increased heat was very intense.
Augustine wasn't easily deterred, as there was more earth gathering around in five spots. They gathered and formed into separate beings, rock golems that were much harder than the projectiles that was previously thrown at her. Toriel narrowed her eyes as blue flames once again gathered around her and she prepared to attack said earth golems. She gathered a few flames in her paws and threw them towards the golems. They impacted the golems, pushing them back slightly. Though they recovered easily enough and made their way towards her without any signs of stopping. And they admittedly didn't have any minds to begin with. Augustine instructed two of them to move towards Toriel, while the other three stayed behind to keep protection for herself.
"You truly don't understand what you're dealing with, Toriel! You don't know what kind of attention you'll be bringing to yourself by doing something like this!"
"I already told you that trying to dissuade me is a hopeless cause." Toriel easily responded as she gracefully moves out of the way of one of the earth golems punching at her.
She conjures another ball of blue fire in her paw and throws it towards one of them, watching it impact it's chest and push it back a few feet. She came to a slight realization that Augustine was hardening them via her earth magic. She seems more skilled than she's giving her credit for. The second earth golem swung it's fist towards her next, though she gracefully spins to the side in order to dodge it, and then tosses another blue ball of flame towards the golem, watching it smash into the earth golem and pushing it back once again. Though this time, when the embers remained on it, she clenched her fist. Each of the small bits of embers then created mini-explosions that created craters on it's body. She kept her eyes narrowed as the craters slowly recovered from the surrounding earth filling in said craters. This wouldn't be too easy, as Toriel reluctantly accepted.
The other golem moved towards her and brought both of it's fists down upon her. Toriel didn't stray from it's path this time. This time she stands her ground as she catches both fists with her own paws. Both were coated with blue flames. With a small grunt, she pushed both fists back, sending the golem off-balance. With it distracted, she clenched her fist and punched the golem in the chest. To Nikon's amazement and Augustine's disbelief, the earth golem was sent flying across the room from the force of Toriel's punch. It crashed into the wall on the other side of the room. It nearly shattered from the impact, making a crater in the same wall. The other golem trying to attack her attempted to swipe her aside. Toriel turned and slightly dodged the swipe, before she grabbed the arm and swung the large golden over her shoulder, smashing it into the ground, before her blue flame covered fist smashed into it's chest, cratering it. She was about to land another punch, though she was immediately swiped aside by one of the other golems.
She stopped a few feet from the wall and shook her head, slightly winded from the force of the blow. But before she could reacted, she was grabbed by one of the other golems in one hand. The creature soon began to crush her within it's grip, causing her to grit her teeth and tighten her eyes in pain.
"MY QUEEN!" Nikon gasped from were she stood, seeing her monarch being relentlessly crushed.
"You couldn't have just dropped this whole thing, could you? You just couldn't turn a blind eye to something that shouldn't even matter to you. Dammit Toriel, why can't you be one of those royals that don't care one bit about their people!? That could have made things easier for both of us!" Augustine shouted as the earth golem began squeezing harder, getting further struggle from Toriel. "No, you just have to have a bleeding heart, don't you? Having a heart for a group of monsters that don't live anywhere near you! That you don't even know about in the slightest! Are they really worth sticking your neck out for?!"
"...Yes. That is who I am." Toriel said quietly. Augustine's eyes widened as Toriel slowly began pushing the golem's hand open. It was painful for a few moments, but she's gained her momentum back. The earth golems were strong, there's no doubt about that. But she was significantly stronger than them by a large degree. Thanks to Asriel and Undyne giving her some motivation to improve herself, she's able to focus her magic into her physical strength, and she tends to do it well. She still considers Asgore her superior in that regard, though. She slowly opened her eyes as they began glowing icy blue. "How can I call myself a Queen of Monsters if I ignored the suffering of my people just to bring peace to my own selfish conscience? No. I'm afraid I won't be making that mistake again." With this, she began coating the earth golem with cold blue flames...and Augustine gaped in disbelief as it slowly turned into ice. Toriel dropped to her feet and punches the ice, shattering the golem and keeping it from reforming.
"W...What...? How did you...?! Ice?! Since when did your magic consist of ice?!"
"Don't feel to bad about not understanding. It took me quite a while to get the hang of it." Toriel replied, a cold flames coating her paw. "Dreemurrs have access to Rainbow Flames. They are the most powerful, and the purest form of fire there is. And from that, we can manipulate any color of flames we choose, and they each have different properties and abilities. This is ice-fire. Though to be fair, it's not exactly ice. These flames are just that cold." She raised an eyebrow as the other golem tried to strike her down from behind. She stepped to the side and watched it's fist drive into the ground, then placed her cold paw on it's arm. Flames coated the arm before it quickly freezes over, then it falls apart to the ground in pieces. She then placed her paw on it's chest, and sent it flying into a wall with a powerful burst of ice-fire. It freezes over completely before reaching the wall, shattering it into even more pieces.
The remaining three earth golems slowly grew more persistent. They each charged towards Toriel, who simply stood her ground and waited for them. She swiped her paw as one ball of blue flame aimed towards each of their chests, yet they shielded themselves with a piece of earth forming right before impact. didn't stop charging. She found them slightly impressive because of this, but still didn't intend on losing. She raised her paw as two streams of cold fire erupted from the ground, freezing two of the golems entirely. The last one had it's arm morph into a sharp stone lance and attempted to pierce her with it. Toriel narrowed her eyes before gracefully dodging to the side and grabbing said lance. She then lifted the golem over her head, then slams it down to the ground, cracking it greatly. She kept a firm hold on the lance, and cold flames spread around the golem. They completely froze over, encasing the golem into fragile ice. With a firm squeeze of her paw, the golem shatters into pieces. She slowly turned her ice-blue eyes towards Augustine, who was gazing at her in awe and disbelief.
She grew desperate. She held a hand up as a large gathering of earth to form a large ball of rock. Nikon felt a bit nervous at it grew much larger, almost large enough to touch the ceiling. Toriel did not break her stride. Augustine throws the large ball towards Toriel, hoping that it would crush her. Toriel slowly raised her paw, which coated itself in cold flames. She then fired a blast of cold flames that impacted against the earth ball, freezing it over. Once it does, Toriel clenched her fist and smashed it into ice crystals falling onto the ground. Augustine's eyes widened as she stepped back slightly.
"Surprised? You really shouldn't be." Toriel stated calmly as she continued marching towards her. "You're someone who hides behind her subordinates and uses them to pick on others that are weaker than them. Then you try to challenge a monarch. How did you think this was going to end?"
"...My Queen..." Nikon muttered in awe, and slight joy at seeing the tormentor of herself and her tribe being put in her place.
"...Monsters here...their magic is being restrained...do you realize how horrible a treatment that is?" Toriel muttered darkly, her eyes shadowed again. Each step she took created a slight ring of cold flames, which slowly turned into patches of ice. "Monsters are made almost entirely of magic. It's a major part of our way of life. It defines us in a plethora of ways. We take great pride and appreciation for it. There's few insults greater than trying to forcefully keep us away from it. It is simply unacceptable." She snarled as her fist clenched tightly. "It's a sin so grave and terrible in our eyes, we don't even know if there's any conceivable punishment for it." She found herself right in front of Augustine, a ball of cold flame in her paw. "Maybe you can help me construct one..." Augustine completely stopped functioning at that point, rendered immobile by the fierce, icy glare Toriel sent her way. After a few moments, Toriel closed her paw over the flame, putting it out. "But alas, that is not for me to decide. Nikon and her tribe are the ones who suffered from your greed, so they shall decide what to do with you. That's one thing I shall not 'butt in' on regarding this issue." With this, Toriel turned her back on her, and the human woman sunk to her knees, shocked by how narrowly she avoided death via cold.
Toriel's eyes returned to crimson, and she smiled softly as Nikon hugged her, wrapping her paws around her waist and expressing her many thanks through her grateful tears. As she hugged the smaller monster, she thought about what Augustine said about selfish royals not doing anything for their people just to satisfy themselves, and why she couldn't be more like them to avoid trouble. Remembering her actions of the past, Toriel slowly closed her eyes.
I was like that once...but never again. Not when I have the power and will to help those who dearly and truly need my help, like a true monarch should be able to do. I promised everyone I would do better. And I intend to keep that promise.
(Meanwhile...)
[Music: Dummy Remix]
Red was proving to be quite difficult to deal with when it came to these earth magic users. They seemed much tougher than she thought they would be. Still, there was no way she was going to allow them to get past her and hurt Asriel. Yet at the same time, Red also couldn't allow her guard to drop since the prisoners still needed her help. She couldn't leave them on their own, especially when they were counting on her. Asriel was counting on her too, all the more reason to stand up to them.
She slashed at the multiple earth bolts sent her way, before she swiftly moved towards them to confront them up-close. They saw her coming as multiple pillars tried to get in her way. The pillars were troublesome, but she waved her hand as multiple magic bombs appeared over her head and launched themselves towards the earth pillars, destroying them in the resulting explosion that sent them flying through a wall. She jumped through the hole in the wall, intending to continue the battle. Though she stopped and blinked as she looked around the new area. It looked a lot like a larder, storing many variations of food within it in different cabinets and boxes. After resisting the urge to salivate at how much food was there, and remembering the state of the prisoners, she grew very, very ticked.
"You jerks have all of this food...all of this delicious looking chow...yet you don't even have the decency to feed your prisoners to an optimal amount...? You hog all this for yourself...knowing full well that they're starving..." Red's silver eyes slitted dangerously. "Ohoho...you're all gonna get it now. See, it was bad enough that you lock them up waiting to be taken away, but you don't even have the decency to properly care for them?! You all are unbelievable!"
"Just the way things are, pup We've been doing this for a while now." One of the monsters stepped through the hole in the wall, not looking the least bit ashamed. The world isn't as bright as it might have been years ago. Now we have other was to progress our development...even if they're not morally sound." She said as she summoned more earth magic, alongside her human accomplices. "So that leaves the question of why you're choosing to interfere with something that has nothing to do with you. What's wrong with you?"
Red snarled, baring her fangs angrily. "Are...you...kidding me? You all are pretty much bullying islands-worth of people, taking their freedom for granted, and not even bothering to take care of them for the very purpose you're imprisoning them for. And you have the idiocy to say that there's something wrong with me!? Yeah, of course I'm gonna interfere! Now I'm gonna kick your tails!" She held her sword in her paws with her eyes narrowed into slits. They've brought the next few moments on themselves.
They each lifted various amounts of earth magic, morphed them into spikes and shot them towards her. She slashed many of them apart multiple times, the debris falling past her. She took the chance to run at them with her sword drawn towards them. As she does, the earth once again moves around them, and they rose upwards to form a wall in-between them. She was not deterred by this, as more magic bombs formed above her head and shot towards said walls, destroying them with multiple explosions of magic. Red didn't break stride the moment they were vulnerable. landing in between them and slashing at their legs and chests, knocking a few of them down.
Her ears flickered slightly as she swiftly turned and slashed at the arm of one of the monsters attempting to attack her from behind. While said monster reeled back, Red heard the other mages attempting to smash heavy rocks on her head. There was a brief flash of light as she cut each of them vertically, before more magic bombs manifested above her head and launched them them towards the earth mages, destroying their projectiles. They lunged at her, with their fists being coated with rock. Seeing them coming, Red stabbed her blade into the ground and pushed herself upwards, spinning and kicking them all away before launching herself in the air and manifesting multiple magic bombs around her. She launched them all towards her targets, and they all exploded simultaneously. She landed gracefully on her feet and pulled her sword out of the ground.
Only one of the larger monsters remained standing, growling as he glared at the pup. An earth pillar shot down from the wall, crashing into into the ground before her. She jumped back just a few feet, barely dodging it. There was NO way he was going to allow himself to lose to a little girl! "If you care so much about someone who has nothing to do with you, then you'll have no problem letting them die!" As he said this, the others began to get back up, with struggle.
"You'll do no such thing." Red deeply snarled. "I've been trusted with their protection, so you're not gonna do anything of the sort. End of story."
"It won't be too hard to find more of them. So spilling some of their blood and dust is not gonna cost us any sleep. They're going to pay for your interference, and you can't do anything about it!"
Red's silver eyes flashed dangerously. "I protect those who can't protect themselves...that duty applies to monsters. And in this new world I found myself in, that has to apply to humans as well. So I suggest you don't challenge me in that regard...because I intend to win." As soon as she says this, something began glowing behind her. Their eyes widened as they see something manifesting, appearing as a Delta Rune symbol, with an eye at the very center. It glowed purple for a few moments, before it released a powerful ball of purple energy that shot towards them and promptly explodes, sending them flying across the room. They landed hard on the ground, and it was highly unlikely that they would get up. She sighs as the figure disappears, and she brushes off her dress while also sheathing her sword. She was done here, so she should go help Asriel as soon as...
...No. He trusted her with the prisoners safety and freedom. She had to tend to them first. She turns back to the larder with all of the food, and strokes her chin. I'm actually starving...but they need this a lot more than I do.
(Down Below...)
[Stronger Monsters]
Asriel was beginning to realize just how dangerous someone with dual-elements could be, and that danger extended to himself since he's been practicing how to properly control such a power. However, what he didn't know was how Lunar was able to apply her twilight magic into an offensive tool. But given by her overwhelming confidence in it, she'll have to make the assumption that she's extremely skilled with it. He was proven correct as she had already sent him flying back with a kick covered with light and laced with darkness. He managed to shield himself with a coating of fire around his body, but he still felt the heavy blow. He raised his arms as Lunar laughed gleefully.
"Ha! You're so young, yet so incredibly strong! That potential of yours is fantastic to behold!" Lunar cackled, clenching her fists as her slitted eyes widened happily. "Let's continue, shall we?!"
Asriel regains his footing and shook off the shock in order to prepare for an attack again. Though while he engaged in this duel, he decided to act as well. "Say, as we're doing this, do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?"
Lunar raised an eyebrow, then managed an eyeroll. He heeded her request/demand without much of a fuss. She should probably return the favor. "Whatever. But you'd better be a pretty damn good multitasker, because I'm not stopping!"
"I don't expect you to." Asriel admitted as he gathered flames in his paw. Lunar smirked as her own paw gathered darkness within her paw. She struck out first, appearing right in front of him and throws a strong punch towards him. Asriel reacted swiftly, throwing a punch against hers. The elements clashing together made for an impressive showing of flames and shadows. The flames licked against the walls while the shadows covered the floors. The elements decorated the whole room as both of them stood their ground. Lunar was still grinning widely, while Asriel seemed calm and collected, yet also curious. The clash ends after an explosion sends them both skidding backwards from one another, sending streaks of flames an shadows all over the place. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you working with someone like Augustine?"
Lunar rolled her eyes with annoyance. "I would have to be pretty pathetic to willingly work for a human as weak as her. Weak and cowardly to a fault. She's someone who doesn't have the stones to fight her own battles, preferring for her subordinates to do all of her dirty work while she sits back and watches like the coward she is!" Lunar charged Asriel and attempted to punch again. Asriel ducks under it as his leg charged with lighting, kicking her in the back and sending her into the ground. She wasn't down for long, and got to her feet relatively quickly.
"So you're not with her willingly?"
"Hell no. I've been sent from place to place, I've been all around the world. And many people have tried to tame me and bring me under their heel as their slave. And every time they try, they fail. I'm too much for them to handle, unlike my cowardly brother and nerdy cousin."
"You have a brother and a cousin?"
"Sure do." Lunar rushed towards Asriel, and she flashed with a bright light briefly laced with darkness. She kicks straight at Asriel, who caught the oncoming leg with a bit of effort on his part. She wasn't deterred by this, she simply grinned and used her other leg to kick him in the side of the head, sending him tumbling across the ground until he regained his bearings and got back to his feet. She rushed hat him again, her fist being covered in a bright light, swiftly aiming to punch him. Asriel responded in kind, his own fist being coated in lightning and smashing against the fist coated in a bright light. Lunar's eyebrows rose with interest as she noticed the color of the lightning. "Even your lightning is rainbow. You've got a thing for rainbows or something?" Asriel shrugged awkwardly at the question, but continued with the attack. More lightning was channeled through his arm, boosting it and winning the second clash, his lightning fist overpowering her light fist and smashing into her face. She was launched back again, crashing into the wall. She simply smirked as she landed on the ground, wiping her nose. "I commend you Master for teaching you not to pull your punches against a threatening female such as myself."
"It was kind of essential." Asriel admitted. "So, about your brother and cousin?"
"Oh right, them." Lunar rolled her eyes. "To put it simply, Tempest is a dirty trickster with no sense of honor. My problem with him is that he'll gladly stab the enemy in the back if it means victory, something I find repulsing." Lunar snarled, clenching her fist. "And then there's Darkness, my know-it-all cousin. He's a weapons specialist, and at the time, didn't really care about the consequences of his creations until they were forcibly shown to him. He's got a much higher body count than Tempest, even though it wasn't him who got his paws dirty."
"Is that right..?"
"Tempest is always taking the easy way out, while Darkness sits in his labs all day! They lack the guts to face their problems head-on! They're utter failures as Dragons! And they have the gall to criticize me for the way I choose to live my life!" Lunar charged at Asriel again, and he prepared to respond. Lunar pulled her hand back as it began to coating itself with shadows. The shadows eventually extended and thinned out, shaping into a katana-like blade coated with light. Asriel's eyes widened as she grinned madly and slashed at him horizontally. He ducked under the slash. Though he bleated as she kept up the assault, slashing at him repeatedly in multiple direction, each leaving a trail of darkness. He dodged a direct hit from every single slash. He backflips shen she jumps high and stabs directly downwards, causing a slight burst of shadows to strike out. Asriel lands on his feet easily enough, though he was still a bit winded. Lunar grinned as she takes the blade out of the ground. "Nice. Your reflexes are something to behold."
"Having someone constantly throwing spears at you gives you the motivation to dodge." Asriel said sheepishly.
"Hmph. Well, don't get too comfortable. You're still a few leagues below me, though I do commend you for doing well. Now it's time for me to try even harder." As she says this, her other paw gathers with the brighter side of her Twilight Magic, and it manifested into a light katana coated with darkness. She placed both blades against one another and once again grins madly. Asriel sighs before steeling himself, holding his paws out as two Chaos Sabers appeared in his paws. One was coated in flames, while the other was coated in lightning. Lunar tilted her head. "Oh...you can wield magic weapons with both paws...you're full of surprises...how...FUN!~" Lunar vanished with a blur. Asriel's instinct kicked in as he honed in on the killing intent. He turned around and parried the dual blades from Lunar.
The effect was immediate. Four elements pulsed around the large room, which might as well be called an arena. Lightning crackling outwards, light shined on nearly every corner of the room, bright flames licked at the ceiling, and shadows streamed along the floor. Lunar was grinning widely as she pressed down further with her blades, while Asriel defiantly holds his ground against her. Overall, magic energy pulsed around the room and emanated between the two powerful fighters. Lunar pulled back slightly before immediately slashing at him multiple times. Black slash trails were followed by white, and vice versa. Asriel found it slightly difficult to keep up with her this time, being pushed back from the amount of force she was putting into each strike. He made a misstep, and bleated when one of the slashes succeeded in cutting his cheek, and she didn't stop there. When he found himself trying to regain his balance, she slashed down with her light blade, then her other disappeared and instead slashed at him with shadow covered claws, making him wince. She took advantage of that as well, swooping in and kicked him in the chest, knocking him on his back and causing his Chaos Sabers to disappear.
Asriel coughed slightly as he rolled on his side, trying to recover from the blow. Lunar made her own weapons vanish and placed a paw on her hip, giving him time to collect himself. It took a few minutes, but Asriel finally struggled to his feet, panting softly as he readjusted his scarf and made sure his Locket was alright. After a few more pants of breath, he gazed towards Lunar with lowered eyes. "Don't you think it's a bit harsh for you to talk about your family like that...?" He gently asked her.
Lunar waved the comment away. "The world has an intense dark side, kid. And it's caused them to lose hope in ever making it a better place. They let that darkness consume their hearts and souls. It hasn't caused me any grief, however. All I've been interested in is battle. As I was being sent place to place with these stupid restrains oppressing my power, I've only ever been interested in fighting. Fighting is EVERYTHING to me. Everyone has their own way of living, that one is mine!" Lunar charged at Asriel again, rapidly spinning and going for another roundhouse. Asriel swiftly defends against it, before grabbing said leg in his paw.
"They do sound like they're not very easy to be around, but don't allow yourself to leave your family behind. By the sounds of it, they need you in their lives. There's more to life than just fighting."
"BAH! That's nonsense you're spouting, kid! Being in so many battles has hardened me, made me stronger. The more battles I emerge victorious from, the more that I've proven my might to those that try to kill me. I prove myself stronger, therefore I prove myself to be their significant better. There's nothing in life that is more important than the glory of battle! Which is why I consider those who try to cheat their way to being the strongest through trickery and dishonesty as mere scum that needs to be crushed! My brother and cousin can say whatever they want about me and my lust for battle, but unlike them, I'm not a lier, nor a deceiver! I don't use shortcuts or underhanded tactics to get what I want! I earn what I want honorably!"
"I see..." Asriel muttered as he gripped her leg tightly and swung her into a wall, cracking it slightly. Asriel is soon coated in both lightning and fire again.
Lunar smirked as she covered herself in light and shadow, as well as whatever is in-between. "Very well. One more clash will decide the victor!" With this, Lunar pounced at Asriel, and prepared to strike him down. Asriel jumped at her as well, his eyes focused. He took a moment to look her in the eye, seeing how wide they were, how slitted they were, and how large her lust for battle really was...yet there wasn't a speck of genuine evil within them. Predatory intent, perhaps. But not actual evil within her heart or her soul. And besides that...
...She looks so happy.
[Music Stop]
Their magic clashed against one another, light and darkness against fire and lightning once again collided with intense force. Once again, the elements covered the room, and was very much on the verge of destroying it. Lightning thundered, flames blazed, light blinded, and darkness nearly consumed. Above ground, others could even feel the ground shaking somewhat. The resulting explosion blinded them both, again sending them to both ends of the room.
Once the smoke clears, Asriel had his paws on his knees, his ears drooping slightly and swaying with his panting. Lunar was on the other side, wiping a bit of blood from her muzzle. They both stared at one another for a couple moments. Asriel then speaks. "...I...really can't help but acknowledge my brief time here, and meeting you...I find it to be a good opportunity. And a bit of an eye-opener..."
"Hm?"
"A terrible experience...it humbled me. There's so much to see in the world...so many people to meet...so much I still have to learn...and there's so many people who love me...people who will be sad if something bad were to happen to me. I can't give away my life so easily anymore...I have to live for them...and I have to live with them. And I fully intend to..."
"What do you mean...?"
Asriel made an effort to lock eyes with her, and smiled weakly. "You see...the monsters of Ebott have grown to appreciate the light of the Surface so much...because we knew the darkness of the Underground for so long...it's why I want to make the best out of my second chance at life...to make that experience worthwhile for them...and for me..." Lunar's eyes widened in surprise at this as Asriel's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell backwards on his back.
Lunar gazed at him for several moments, shocked stiff about the look on his eyes. At first she thought he was simply being needlessly philosophical, something she doesn't always take interest in. But the look in his eyes told her that he knew EXACTLY what he was talking about, and fully meant what he said. This spoke volumes to her soul. Someone so young couldn't possibly know what that feels like...but once again, she somewhat knew that he was being completely truthful about his words.
Those are the eyes of someone who's been through unimaginable amounts of hell...yet he's still smiling, and he's so young. That...doesn't sit well with me. And what does he mean by his SECOND chance at life? What could he have possibly-
Lunar flinched as a surge of lightning coursed through her body, and the full effects of the burns she received finally struck true. She smiled while closing her eyes. I guess I can try to figure it out...right after I'm done being passed out... With this, Lunar fell forward and landed flat on her face, just as unconscious as Asriel.
A draw. That was a first for her.
(Later...)
Asriel slowly opened his eyes as he began to wake up from his unconsciousness. As he does, he regained his other senses. He felt his head being pressed against something, as well as the back of it being petted. He readjusted himself so he could see what was responsible.
"Oi. Is our Royal Highness waking up from his nap?~" Lunar teased, revealed as the one petting the back of his head, as well as pressing his head against her chest as comfortably as she could. She seemed to be much calmer than before, given that the bloodlust in her eyes disappeared, replaced with somewhat gentle mischief. "I managed to wake up before you did, but we both fell unconscious. Our duel was a draw. Not a loss, but not a total win either. That's a new one for me."
"It was a draw...? But that doesn't make any sense. Didn't you win?"
"No freaking way. We both lost consciousness, which means it was a draw. True victory means one of us remains standing, not both of us falling to the ground after a few seconds!"
"I agree, but I fell unconscious first, so technically, you won the duel." Asriel emphasized with a small smile. "Guess you really are the better fighter. You're really amazing!"
"Oh my God, you're deliberately handing the victory over to me with a smile. Your humility is so potent I legitimately almost feel bad..." Lunar shook her head while her other paw palmed the side of her head. "Look kid. I appreciate it, but I've already told you that I don't want victories handed to me. I don't do technicalities. What I desire is clear-cut victories in battle." Lunar sighed. "And after I got a good look into your eyes...I now get the feeling that there's more to you than I thought. While I wouldn't really care about stuff like that, you actually succeeded in catching my interest. So...why did you accept my demand for a duel so easily? I figured it would be a lot harder than that, given how ya look like you're not really a fan of fighting. While i do get that you don't want me hurting your friends, I feel like you did it for another reason." After Lunar scanned his face for a few moments, she frowned a little. "No way."
"No way...wha?"
"Don't tell me. Did you willingly go along with my demand for an honorable duel because that would be plenty enough to make me happy?" Lunar questioned with narrowed eyes. Her suspicion was proven as Asriel meekly looked to the side. Lunar glared for a few moments...then reared her head back and laughed uproariously. "HA! That's a new one! You knew I wanted a worthy opponent from you, and instead of fussing over it, you simply gave it to me to make me happy! Do you have some sort of thing for pleasing women, or are you just a fluffy pushover?"
"It's not either of those things!" Asriel rejected, though there was a bit of hesitance regarding the latter. He rubbed his arm slightly. "I was just...well...you really like fighting. Obsessed with it, even. I guess, when I was fighting you...you reminded me a lot of my Master, Undyne. She likes fighting a lot as well, though she tends to focus that into her goals. That's to ensure the safety of Ebott's denizens. She'll fight ANYONE who threatens her home or her friends, human or monster."
"That so? Is she the walking fish-woman I saw a while ago? When everything died down, everyone took the injured here in my cousin's lab so we could heal." Lunar stated. Asriel nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I could tell she was tough. You could tell by the eye patch."
"It is a pretty cool-looking eye patch..."
"Yeah. And it looked like she put my brother in his place. I'd like to fight her at some point." Luanr grinned. "And then there's that older, female version of you, that's your Mom?" Asriel nods again. "Thought so. She's pretty tough as well. Here I thought that the greater the magic user, the less damage they can endure...she defied that by being strong in magic and being pretty formidable on a physical level as well. She's definitely impressive, for fighting mostly with magic, that is."
"Well, magic is our way of life. We don't find any shame in using it from time to time, even in a fight."
"I prefer to keep magic out of my daily life as much as possible. But hey, to each their own." Lunar tilted her head. "Changing the subject a bit...you seem fairly relaxed, waking up to find yourself being hugged to a girl's chest like this. Not the reaction I expected."
"Oh, I don't mind it too much. Mom and Master hug me like this all the time!" Asriel said politely.
Lunar's eyes rose a bit in understanding. Ah, so he's used to it. By his mother and by his teacher, no less. Both are pretty understandable...huh...I never thought I would feel a tinge of envy for someone else outside the subject of battle. I thought MY girls were big, but those two women completely topped me...especially the former. She stroked her chin, sporting a smile graced with mischief. The spider and pup still have plenty of room to grow, and the latter is looking impressive already. Give her time and practice, she too can grow into a worthy challenge for me...
"Are you thinking about something, Lunar?"
"Nothing...nothing." Lunar shook her head. "Anyway...I'm a bit curious about how you tick, Prince. You say that there's much more to life than fighting. What might you mean by that?"
Asriel placed a paw on his chin and tilted his head. "Well...what I meant was that I've spent a very long time in the darkness that is the Underground...we've growing to really appreciate the light f the Underground...the Monsters of Ebott have been trapped under the mountain for a long time, and they're still a bit unsure about what might come in the future. But...there's no way that they can just turn back after waiting for so long. So...I have to do my best so that we can continue making Surface life easier for Monsters as time goes by. Still, i recognize that I need to work harder for their sake, so that we can make the best of our second chance at life on the Surface. We don't wish for a second major conflict between humans and monsters. The consequences...won't be very good, so we try to make sure that we avoid that outcome as much as we can."
"Ah...you're into peace between the two of them so that both of their lives will be easier." Lunar shrugged. "Alright, Prince. So what were to happen if your desire for peace between the Humans and Monsters doesn't exactly work out? What if things don't exactly pan out the way you want them to?"
Asriel softly closed his eyes. "I'm not looking for perfection...but if we can just accept each other despite our flaws and our mistakes...then I'm sure that there will come a time where we can live together in harmony. Just like we used to before." He slowly opened them, only to have them narrow slightly. "And until I help everyone reach that dream of ours...I will never stop trying."
Lunar tilted her head curiously and actually etched a smirk on her face. Hmph~
"ASRIEL!" The owner of the name soon found himself dragged away from the arms of Lunar and into the arms of Red. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, her tail wagging with relief. "You're okay! Thank goodness you're okay!" She quickly pulled away and glared at him. "The nerve of you, worrying me like that!"
"Well-"
"I thought you were immediately going to come back after checking that source of the magic out, and instead I find out that you got yourself in a fight all by yourself! And with a flipping DRAGON?!"
"You see-"
"When you tasked me with protecting the prisoners until you got back, I was fully ready to fulfill that request...imagine our worry when you haven't come back in a while! We thought something worse happened to you than a simple aftermath of a duel!" Red snarled, getting into Asriel's face with narrowed eyes. "For a somewhat wise and well-spoken prince, that was pretty stupid of you!"
"I'M SORRY!" Asriel whimpered, comical tears running down his cheeks. Lunar watched the entire exchange with a mischievous/amused glint in her eye.
The Prince is whipped by his personal guard dog...that...is...HILARIOUS.
In another portion of the lab, next door, Tempest and Darkness were on their knees, rubbing their aching heads as they kept their heads down as to not risk getting hit again. The one delivering the punishment was Toriel herself. Her arms were folded and her eyes turned a sinister crimson.
"So this is the summary...my sons encountered the both of you...Frisk now has a scar on his chest, and Chara lost an arm..." Toriel gritted her teeth. "I am very...and I do mean VERY...tempted to incinerate the both of you were you stand. It is only upon Frisk, Undyne, and Gerson's behalf that I haven't skinned either of you alive!"
"Your anger is...justified. Very much justified, I might say." Darkness said cautiously. "We have little excuse for our actions, and we hope you can accept our humblest apologies...despite our own hostilities against Augustine, we really should have come up with another way to handle this complicated conflict of ours. I honestly thought there would be nothing we could do to escape her control, so...I stopped trying. Obviously Tempest wasn't pleased with that decision to give in so easily. And for once, Lunar agreed with him." Darkness lowered his head and closed his eyes. "Seeing Alphys struggle so strongly...seeing her resolve to push onwards despite the damage her scientific failures have caused to her and those around her...I could no longer bring myself to harm her. I flat-out refused to at that point. While I ran and hid from my mistakes...she's chosen to face them and surpass them. She's me...but significantly better..."
Speaking of Alphys, Undyne and Mettaton were busy tending to her, as well as Napstablook and Shyren. Mettaton, however, was profusely apologizing to Chara, who's arm was bandaged up and properly treated. Darkness' technology was highly effective, and healing magic wasn't a bad fix either. However, Toriel did think that at that point that they needed to make a call to Asgore and tell them what happened. After a few rings, the jolly king answered, and the very first thing he asked was if they were okay. They explained everything, up to their entry onto the island, to their eventually conflict with Augustine. They even covered the important bits, such as the Dragons and the secret behind he magic-users accompanying Augustine. However, though he fully took in those details with the utmost seriousness, he was most concerned about one thing.
"CHARA! MY PRECIOUS BABY!" His cries and shouts of worry could be heard throughout the room despite his voice emitting from the phone. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! WAIT, YOU SAID METTATON DID THIS TO YOU?! HE WAS FORCED TO DO SO BY THIS SO-CALLED DARKNESS?! POINT ME IN HIS DIRECTION, SON! I'LL BURN THE SCALES OFF HIS BODY!"
"Dad...chill. I'm fine..." Chara muttered into the phone, blushing slightly. He could have done without the whole 'precious baby' part, because now the females in the room were giggling at him. He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Really, I'm fine. This is nothing but an obstacle that I eventually will be able to surpass. Trust me, I was more concerned about the conditions of my brothers. They're in better shape than I am, which is what really mattered to me at the time. While Mom...well, she's Mom. Everyone else made it out of their battles fairly okay."
Chara could hear Asgore calming himself down, taking in calming breaths that reined in his temper. Good thing too, because Darkness felt like he was going to fall to his knees out of pure intimidation, and he was in an entirely different room. "Y...You're right, My Child. I'm usually more reserved than this...though I suppose hearing that you got hurt was a really quick way to make me forget that. Anyway, I've fully took in all of the information, and will discuss it with Sans in we shall do so another day. But for now...I'm most concerned with you all getting back home as soon as possible, so I can wrap you all in a big hug and make you all some warm tea."
"Hm...I'll keep that in mind, Dad. We'll see you when you get home." Chara nodded as he hears his father hang up. As he did so, he then turned to the rather concerned face of Muffet. "...What is it, Muffet?"
"There's one thing about your attitude at this that worries me." Muffet asked, her eyes completely serious. "You've lost a limb, Chara. I just don't see how you're able to be so calm about it, even after the fights are over. And why haven't you asked Alphys to make you a prosthetic arm? You know that it would be a cinch for her, right?" She looked rather concerned for him, and given by the somewhat solemn look in his eye, she has every right to be.
Chara slowly gazed over to his bandaged stump, and gently rubs a hand over it, closing his eyes. "It's...just my personal preference. I can manage just fine without a prosthetic. It would be a waste of Alphys' time to make one for me when shen has much more pressing matters to attend to." Besides...I not only don't need it...I don't want it. This is just one more price I have to pay for my past sins. He kept that part in his mind. But given how Muffet's frown became even more concerned, she could safely imagine that Chara was not very positive about his decision, yet will also not back down from it.
It once again brought Darkness to think: What could he have done to think that such a decision was the best one?
That was a question for another time, as Nikon soon entered the room. "All of my people have been freed from their unjust prison, and Augustine has been soundly apprehended. Thanks to the efforts of all of you, and how you risked yourselves to help us. We simply cannot thank you enough for doing so. We are in your debt."
"Wah Ha Ha! No no, think nothing of it, Nikon! Reaching our hands out to you to save you was because we wanted to. There's no need to repay us at all." Gerson smiled softly. "We were more than happy to help!"
"Ummm...not to stomp on your humble parade..." Muffet cheekily butts in, a hand on her chin. "But if you really want to repay us, then I cam make the suggestion of you giving all the gold that that meanie Augustine gained over your suffering...will you be willing to hand some of it over to us?"
"Muffet!" Frisk reprimanded her, pouting.
"What?! They're not going to use the gold, they seem plenty fine without the need for currency!" Muffet weakly defended.
"But still-!"
"It's quite alright." Nikon smiled. "We have no need for the gold. We have lived peaceful lives without the need for currency, as we make and use everything we have and need without such a thing. SO do not feel guilty taking the gold for yourself, we have no objections against it."
"See?! They're totally fine with it!" Muffet grinned while rubbing her hands together. "All of that gold might just make me forget that Mettaton still owes me quite a bit of money himself...maybe." She turned slightly and glared towards the robot, who shrunk under her gaze.
Tempest opened his eyes as he gazed at Undyne, wondering what she might do with him now. Undyne folded her arms and tilted her head slightly. "...Okay. Since everything's died down for the most part, I think it's safe to say that we can finally go home. You dragons gonna join us?"
"Join you? Even after all that we-"
"There's no use stayin' here, right?" Gerson added. "There's no reason why you shouldn't. Wanna do so makin' up? You've got a much better chance doing so with us than anywhere else. You can trust us on that."
Darkness folded his arms and closed his eyes slightly. "We have had many bosses, and been to many places in which we were not treated as kindly as we may have liked. And yet despite that, we were still somewhat useful to them. If it gets out that we've finally escaped the cycle's grasp and are now acting on our own terms...then there's no doubt that someone will eventually come for us and try to reclaim us for their own purposes. It's a matter of when, not if."
"They'll have to get past me first." Asriel declared strongly. This caused Lunar to grin quite widely.
"I don't say this about a lot of people...but I'm really beginning to like you, kid. Watching how a Prince that doesn't have the attitude of a spoiled brat with a semi-decent goal is going to be pretty interesting to watch." Tempest seemed quite surprised to hear this. Usually, Lunar is not someone who would take a liking to someone so quickly. Even if they were a somewhat worthy opponent, she hasn't taken so far as to actually begin liking them on a personal level. He wondered what kind of charismatic power Asriel possessed to manage such a feet, and over a draw. Lunar hated those, and yet she was perfectly okay with it this time. His thoughts were interrupted as Lunar turned towards Tempest with a smirk. "So...the fish with legs managed to beat the crap out of you, little brother?"
"We're the same size, you battle-hungry maniac." Tempest snarled.
"Oh no no no, that time has passed. I'm now older than you, AND taller."
"...We're twins. You are only older than me by two minutes. TWO. MINUTES." Tempest gritted his teeth in frustration. "And for the record, we ARE the same height! We always have been, eer since we were mere hatchlings!"
Darkness rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Actually, Tempest...Lunar's recently gained a whole two millimeters over you. She is taller than you, if only barely."
"...Two...millimeters...?" Tempest mumbled, his eyes going completely vacant as he dropped to is knees in humiliation."Two millimeters...she passed me by two millimeters...how can this be...how...?"
"HAHAHA! Get used to it, short-ass! Your twin sis is the taller one now!" Lunar declares triumphantly as Tempest drops to his knees as waves of depression loomed over him.
"Enough of your complaining! It's time we get back home! Mama and Papa are waiting for me!" Red declares with an annoyed huff. She was right about the given situation. Now that the danger was currently over, everyone could only laugh a little as they all prepared to head back to Ebott.
Besides...Alphys has a promise to keep.
(The Next Day)
Lemon Bread was currently slithering her way towards Alphys' home, seeing that she was called there by Alphys herself. It's been a very stressful few days for her, as they were spent constantly worrying for the safety of her sister, Shyren. Alphys has sent herself out so she could go save her, and bring her back to lemon Bread safely. As much as she didn't like Alphys for what she's done to her, Alphys was one of the people she could count on most to get her back, no matter who or what stood in her way, and no matter what hardships she had to face in the process. She'll freely admit that Undyne surely had a hand in helping her improve so much despite her failures and flaws. And yet still, Lemon Bread cannot bring herself to forgive Alphys so easily.
As she entered the home of Alphys and Undyne, she was understandably happy to see Shyren waiting for her behind the door, and she to was smiling towards her happily. She gasped as she slithered towards her and pulled her into a hug. "Shyren! Oh my god, Shyren! You're alright! I thought I'd never see you again!" She declared with tears in her eyes.
"Ha...it's okay, sister...I'm fine now. There's no need to cry over me. Please don't cry." Shyren quietly begged of her, happily returning the hug and nuzzling her calmly. "It was really scary...Alphys was being hurt very badly for my sake...she risked her life for me, even though she knew that with her current level in using magic offensively, she stood no chance. She kept trying, for my sake." Shyren turned towards Alphys, who was sitting nearby with Undyne's hands on her shoulders. Mettaton was there as well, fully repaired but full of guilt for having all of this happen in the first lead Shyren and Napstablook into deep trouble, and has seriously hurt some of his loved ones, which was almost entirely out of his control.
"Alphys...did you really almost get yourself killed for my sister's sake...?" Lemon Bread asked her. Alphys solemnly nods to her in confirmation. After a moment of pondering and gazing between her and her sister, she frowned. "This still doesn't make up for things...realize that."
"I do." Alphys responded quietly.
Lemon Bread once again looked at her with narrowed ethen felt Shyren's pleading gaze on her. With a prolonged silence, Lemon Bread eventually nodded in recognition and hugged Shyren again. "...But I am grateful to you for saving her. Thank you. I don't want you killing yourself for anyone's sake. Undyne would be sad if you do."
"Like I'd ever let that happen!" Undyne huffed.
"Right.." Lemon Bread nodded quietly. "...Well, I'm going to go now. Please take care of yourself. As much as I don't like you...seeing you hurt doesn't bring me pleasure either. Shyren appreciates your help greatly...I'm going to appreciate it too."
"Okay..." Alphys softly nodded as Lemon Bread and Shyren soon slithered away together. As they left, Mettaton slowly leaned his head over her shoulder. Alphys looked towards her and smiled softly. "I'm really glad you're safe, Mettaton. I managed to bring you, Shyren, and Napstablook back safely...I managed to succeed..."
"Yes, Darling, but you got seriously hurt in the process...I got Blooky and Shyren in a rather troubling situation." Mettaton said with a frown, shaking his head shamefully. "...While I'm rather glad I'm back home with the both of them safe and sound...it's clear that I can't let something like that happen again. I'm going to stay home for a while, make sure everyone gets their fair share of glamour to let everyone know I'm alright!" He turned to Napstablook with another smile. "We've got a lot of catching up to do, Blooky!"
"We do...we worried a lot of our friends...we have to make this up to them..." Napstablook admitted. "...Maybe...Shyren will want to join in on our redeeming as well...hopefully she'll be up for it..." He blushed slightly while turning away. "Though...I guess we should give her a bit of space...she just reunited with her sister, after all..."
"Of course of course! They'll have their space! We'll try it when everything's calmed down."
As they discussed this, Undyne pulled Alphys towards her, and pulled her into a soft hug. She pets the top of her head as a small smile stretched across her lips. "Hey...you gonna be okay, babe? I know you've been through a lot. And for the second time, I had the tension of waiting for you to wake up. That's really taking it's toll on my soul, ya know. Want me to punch Darkness in the nose agian."
"I think you've punched him enough.." Alphys laughed softly. She raised her paw as it generated slight bits of data energy. "...There's still a few bits of my power that I don't understand...and once again, that almost got me killed. I really need to get better at this before i can consider myself capable of keeping up with the rest of you. Now that we know that there's something seriously dangerous lurking out there...I just want to be able to use my magic competently when the time comes that I have to help the rest of you fight when I need to..."
"And you will. But right now, you need to relax. You're alright now. You're safe. That's the only thing that matters to me right now." Undyne grinned. "Now I don't wanna see any frownin' from you today. You're a helluva lot cuter when you're smiling. Gimme more of that!"
Alphys chuckled a little as she smiled at Undyne's enthusiasm. "You always have a way to cher me up..." With this, Alphys wrapped her arms around Undyne's shoulders and pulled her into a kiss. Undyne was more than happy to return it, holding the scientist close to her as she occasionally waved her fingers through her crimson hair.
Geno Alphys could see them sitting together and enjoying their time together. Her eyes closed softly as she turned around and moved down the hallway of their house. She clenched her fists as she reflected on her major mistake. I sent my counterpart into a battle she wasn't fully ready for...I can't do that again. I WON'T do that to her again. If Alphys is going to face the threats that are sure to come after us now that we've somewhat made ourselves known...I HAVE to help her master her techno-magic. I have the time and the knowledge...I'm gonna make her a dependable protector of her own right. Just you wait...!
Geno Alphys was filled with Determination.
(?)
A certain shadowy feline was walking down a poorly lit corridor. That was fine though, he didn't really need the light of the corridor in order to move through the dark. His eyes were more than enough to help him through such a thing. He was still looking rather laid-back, though now he was being called in because of the recent events. Personally, he found the entire thing to be rather hilarious and simply interesting overall. Though his superiors weren't as amused as he was, in fact some of them were flat-out annoyed/irritated by what's recently happened. But the very top of the little hieracrhy he found himself intertwined into. Not that he really minded. It gave him something to do, after all. He had a lot of free time on his paws since he basically does whatever he wished whenever he wished. It was how most felines operated, monster or not.
After a few minutes of walking, he eventually reached the end of the corridor, where he could see a much larger, and significantly more menacing feline was communicating with someone.
"Ahaha...you sound quite upset! What's the matter? Did you get a pretty nasty furball?"
"You know exactly why I'm upset you witch! You are treating this as if it were some sort of entertainment for you, and not a serious conflict in the making!" The larger female snarled irritably, causing the other monsters and humans around him-aside from Parvos-slowly stepped away from him.
"Awww! You're such a cutie when you're looking upset like that! You're like a big grumpy kitty cat! Much different than your son, who's pretty relaxed most of the time...he won't let me rub his belly, though. He says it's too demeaning. Oh, there he is right behind you! Hi Parvos!~"
"I really can't understand why you choose to act so childishly."
"I'm being lectured on acting childish by a lazy cat. Do you see the contradiction there?"
Parvos yawned as he placed his paws behind his neck. "Whatever. I'm a bit too tired to get involved in a back and forth with you right now."
"Aw...I tend too enjoy those back and forths of ours..."
"Yawn."
"ENOUGH! Both of you!" The larger feline roared, but neither of them seemed too affected. "The little trial that's been set for the Dreemurr Faction has ended in their success. And due to that success, three rogue dragons are now in their custody. Do you plan on letting this go on for much longer? Have you more trials prepared for them?"
"Actually, I kinda worked it out like this: Whoever tries to mess with the Dreemurr Faction, that counts as their next trial. So far, their first one is a success. The next one will be the guild that picks a fight with them next. And the one after that, and the one after that, and so on! It can be anyone from any guild. I'm not picky. If they continue to succeed, great. If they eventually fall...well...I'm not entirely against that, either."
"What are you up to, witch?"
"Parvos! Your father's being unreasonably cold to me!" Parvos offered the woman no defense, causing her to groan. "Ugh...fine. I'll be straight with you. I'm not entirely 'up' to anything, you say. Now that the Dreemurr Faction has made it's first appearance outside their safe haven...it will only be a matter of time before more come for them...they'll burn them away, or they'll get overwhelmed. Who knows what might happen? The world has been such a quiet place so far...but this new event has been a major change that I wholeheartedly welcome! Especially Chara's return...despite losing an arm, he still pushes onward through his own suffering...always staying determined...hmhmhmhmhm...he hasn't changed at all, has he...?"
The older feline raised an eyebrow. "...I care not what your connection with that child is...just know that I won't be waiting around for whatever you might be hiding from me. I'm going to be taking action soon."
"You're free to do what you like, Ratoveros. Have fun, don't have fun, does it really matter? I suppose not. Farewell, my cute wittle kitties!~" The voice soon disappears afterwards. The larger feline soon turned and walked away. Parvos yawned a bit as he stretched out his arms.
"Welp, I'm gonna go for a cat nap, pops. What are you going to do?"
"I'm not going to follow her example, unlike you. I'm actually going to prepare for our eventual conflict with the Dreemurr Faction." Parvos' father stated with narrowed eyes as he stepped down the corridors. "...I'm going to get the Six ready. They've been practicing for long enough. It's time to put their skills to use at last."
Parvos whistled slightly. "Those Six, huh? Ya sure you wanna do that? That's sure to piss the Dreemurr Faction off greatly. Especially Asgore and Toriel."
"I care not for the enemy's feeling. If those two truly cared about the Six, then they shouldn' have let them die in the first place." He reasoned as Parvos shrugged, not caring either way.
One thing is for sure, the pace was about to change dramatically...and ALL sides were going to suffer for it, sooner or later. Besides...
Asriel Dreemurr...and Chara Dreemurr...the so-called 'Monarchs Of The New World'. I wonder what they'll do next...feline curiosity is going to work, I guess...
I've learned quite a bit of important things on that expedition, and I've met some new friends as well. Lunar seems to really like me now, just because I dueled her to a draw. Darkness seems to be a pretty polite person who mostly keeps to himself, but he seems glad to be free of Augustine's influence. Tempest...he seems to have a lot on his mind.. I hoped he was okay. I hoped that everyone was okay. Good thing they actually were okay, I didn't have to worry.
Though Red still seemed a bit upset with me...also, the River Person seemed to be watching us the entire time, in a sort of testing manner...I wonder why...
...Since we can't really make it known that we've brought Dragons to hide in Ebott, they've decided to secure themselves in the Underground. Monsters have completely cleared themselves out from there, so it's a good place for them to hide until they're ready to show themselves on their own. We learned quite a bit from this expedition aside from the existence of Dragons. Mom learned that magic can be bestowed upon humans. That sounds serious, and it will be discussed in deeper detail another time. But for now, Dad's just glad we're here safe and sound.
Still...Frisk and Chara were badly hurt. The former has an 'X' like scar on his chest that kinda looks like the 'X' on the 'Mercy' Button. And Chara lost an arm. What scares me about that part is...I think a part of him believes he deserves it. I couldn't confront him about it at the time, or he would have continued to wave it off. But still, I made sure to remember to bring it up at a somewhat better time.
Something about all of this feels wrong to me. It's like...this is nothing compared to what might be coming ahead. Sure, we're getting along well with humans on the Surface...but now I'm worried about the people that might try to destroy our unison before it betters itself.
This expedition of ours...it feels a lot like a precedent. Things were going to get worse before they get better...whether we're ready for it or not.
{Act One: Beginnings}
Complete.
Done! Chapter is DONE! And...so is this act!
Yeah, I have a layout for this now, and this is how I'm going to do so! I know at least a majority of how I want this story to pan out. Act One: Beginnings. Their beginning time on the Surface have started out easily enough, until forces on the outside have begun to give them a hard time. What's happened around here was, as Asriel said, a precedent to what's to come. It's not going to be easier for them from here on out. Things are going to be hard on them...especially hard on Chara.
Agonizingly hard on Chara.
They should stay determined for what's ahead. It will be beyond daunting for them, that's a certainty. And not just from the dangers of the outside world, there can be dangers within their home, too. Or maybe that's just an influence...? Who really knows? For now, we'll focus on more Surface activities before more plot can kick in.
Until then, farewell.
{Act Two: Souls}
Next Time...