In what's being called the largest terrorist attack in the European Union's modern history, the Palace Pendragon, the seat of royal operations in the European State known as the United Kingdom, was bombed this morning in a deliberate attempt to disrupt the special United Nations conference on the question of worldwide monster sovereignty. A group of pro-human extremists claiming to call themselves the Human Liberation Front have claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement released to the public, they state that "Monsters represent a demonic plague set upon Earth as Satan himself, and it must be the duty of every able person to eradicate them for the protection of human sovereignty and prosperity." Before today, no record of any previous activity existed with the European Intelligence and Security Office.
Early reports of the damage confirm eleven dead and nearly two hundred wounded, but several people currently remain unaccounted for, including all the delegation from the Kingdom of Monsters. This situation is developing, and we will bring you more news as it breaks.
- BBC Special Report on the Morning of Thursday, April 25th, 2120.
Pendragon Palace, London, England
Thursday, April 25th, 2120. 11:40 AM
The gleaming assembly hall, once Willow's pride as an example of what a new United Kingdom could do for the world, was in shambles. The blast and the force from the cave-in had knocked everyone back; many delegates were unconscious. Toriel had protected the monsters with a magical barrier of fire, hot enough to incinerate anything that got close but cool enough to keep them alive. Asgore, although knocked off his feet by the blast and visibly shaken, was protected by Undyne's shield and looked to be without a scratch. Although Frisk could see none of the aftermath, the screams from trapped and wounded people were enough to make them recoil in horror. At some point, the screams were broken by a group of people who presented themselves at the front of the room.
"Attention to everyone here! We are the Human Liberation Front! A group of freedom fighters dedicated to protecting the right of Humans to rule over the world! We cannot allow for the monsters to have their way with us or our planet! And the price they must pay for trying to control others is death!"
"Death to Monsters, Glory to the Humans!" The terrorists opened fire on the spinning cloud of flames protecting their monsters, and the delegates who remained in the room scurried for cover as bullets began to spray in every direction. Even inside of the flame wall, everyone except Toriel ducked for cover.
Chara floated in front of Frisk, hovering themselves above their desk. "Frisk! Frisk, are you okay? Please be okay."
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I think Toriel protected us. But more importantly, who attacked us? The…Human Liberation Front? I've never heard of them."
Undyne spoke up. "Great. More terrorists! Small fry at that. Don't they know they're going to hurt innocent people!? Even their methods twisted. Toriel, can you let me out? We have to protect the delegates!"
Toriel was tense; keeping up the fire barrier required a lot of magic and left little room for much else. She spoke to Undyne through whatever grunt she could manage.
"I…can't…drop…the barrier! If I do, even for one...second, the bullets will get through!"
She scoffed. "So what then, our only option is to sit here and wait?"
Smoke poured out of Pendragon Palace's grand assembly hall as the trapped guests tore down doors, broke windows, and did whatever they could to get out of the hall as quickly as possible. Outside, the jovial and curious crowd that had watched the procession of dignitaries had been replaced with a sea of emergency response vehicles. Over the yelling and barking of orders, sobs and wailing could be heard from the vicinity of the grounds. Willow did her best to not lose heart as she paced in from of the command tent, but with every passing second her consternation grew.
"You have to let me in! Send me in there right now, you don't understand!"
"Your highness, I swore on the crown to protect you! Under no circumstances can I let you inside that building! Your country needs you, that would be a death wish!" The young officer pleaded with the Queen. He begged her to remain calm, but as the moments passed, she found it harder to try and keep the concern for her friends from overwhelming her.
Willow snapped. "Corporal, was it? Tell me, do you know what will happen if let any of the monster dignitaries die? Do you know what this world will do to us, to Britain, to the goddamned European Union if any more delegates bleed to their death inside of my palace? Do you know what that will do to the world? Do you know what the world will do to my family? If you can manage even a slight mental picture of anything I just mentioned, then you should know that I have to be there for them."
"Willow, please. Listen to the officer. He isn't trying to hurt you." Justin walked around from being a car in front of them. His clothes too were in tatters, and he walked with a limp and the help of a mechanical brace he received at the medical tent. "It's a miracle you're alive right now. I know magic makes a difference, but bloody hell, why push your luck? Our boys can handle this."
The soldier, still stiff from Willow's last rant, continued. "Agreed, sir! Our security forces have this and help is already on the way. Scans of the building show that the monsters are still alive, and that the terrorists are using World War III-era equipment. They won't be a match for our forces."
Willow turned her attention to Justin. "The nerve of you! How dare you just drop me off and run away like that! Honestly, I-I had half a nerve to run back in then. Why, I have half a nerve to just…p-push you down right now" She opened her mouth to continue ranting, but before she could finish, Justin stepped forward to embrace her, gripping her in an embrace so tight the air at first all escaped her lungs. She staggered a bit before slowly wrapping her hands around his back, tears streaming down her face as she finally let her façade drop.
"The monsters, I hope they're able to forgive me. For this, for everything. I had one job today, and I failed at it. The Republicans are right, I'm just – "
"Willow, please. You've done well today. You've done all you can. It's okay."
"But! But! They're my family, Justin. They're my family and I left them!" Willow was openly sobbing by this point. She buried her face in Justin's jacket as she gripped him tighter. Justin held a quiet, solemn look in his face, but his whole body quietly shook with violent fury. An attack like this was never supposed to happen in one of the strongest countries in the world. The E.U. was certainly going to answer for this later. But his fury at the powers that be were secondary to the confirmation that his Queen and his love were okay, even if he couldn't directly tend to her anguish.
Another soldier, an older man, radioed into Justin's comm. "Duke Greenwood, this is Captain Lancaster of the Air Division, 3rd Army. We're ready to initiate the drone strike on the Queen's order. Just give the word."
Justin hesitated for a moment, looking down at a still sobbing Queen on his shoulder. "Can you give me my word that none of the delegates will be hit?"
"Aye sir. All munitions are either targeted or laser guided. The attack will be surgical."
Before he could an answer out, Willow pushed herself up and out of his embrace, and positioned herself in front of the partially collapsed and smoking palace, taking in the smoking wreckage as if it was a beast she was trying to stare down for dominance. She stood up straight and began to walk towards the command tent, beckoning for Justin to follow.
"This is Queen Willow. Captain Lancaster, you're free to fire at your discretion. Do not stop until all of the terrorists are dead. Kendall Unit, be prepared to infiltrate and retrieve any hostages still inside the building. The delegates from the Kingdom of Monsters are Priority Item One. Breach at the first shot.
"Yes, your majesty! Over and out."
Willow turned to Justin. Hot, stinging tears still flowed down her face, and the expression she held was filled with sorrow despite how determined she attempted to look. She wanted so much to crumble in his arms, to held and kept safe until all this madness was over, but unfortunately, she had to other things to deal with. She was the leader of a nation, a responsibility she had been made aware of several times in her life since rising to face her destiny. From the moment she became a Queen, and for the rest of her life, her utmost duty was to the State, regardless of what happened. Maybe at one time she would railed at the responsivities placed on a 17-year old, but she knew that she couldn't afford to do that any longer.
"Justin. The personnel check. Has every unit gotten back to you yet?"
"Yes, and no one's unit is reporting anyone they shouldn't have. The scans of the Palace don't show any of our soldiers either. There's a chance that they're wearing our weapons, but -
"They would need to be activated by us. However, I have a hard time believing that those brutes inside could have knocked out Collette. Hmm…."
She held up her hand to engage her com. "Attention, all units. It's likely there are another set of terrorists in the palace. Use extreme caution when entering." A chorus of affirmations greeted on the other end.
And just as they reached the tent, they heard it. Five successive blasts, then a sixth, and after what felt like an eternity, the sound of gunfire finally disappeared. The area around the command center went quiet for second, and just when it seemed like this nightmare might finally be over, a wave of confusion swept the tent, then the other security units, as if things had just gotten worse. Willow and Justin walked in and observed a virtual map of the palace showing soldier's movements. One by one, they were beginning to fall, even with all their supposed strength.
Willow finally spoke up, face pale. "What…what's going on?"
A middle-aged officer, engrossed in whatever was happening on his module, looked up at her and saluted, and then grimly stated "Your highness. Those six gunshots that killed the terrorists, they weren't us. And whatever group is inside the palace now, we can't track them. The drones have been destroyed. It's just as you said. There's someone else inside the palace."
Willow felt her heart drop. Not again.
"UNDYNE! DON'T RUN THROUGH! YOU'LL BECOME A FISH STICK!"
"Rrrragh! But I've got to do something! Let me go Paps!" Undyne, spear already out, struggled to get out Papyrus' hold and burst through Toriel's barrier. Even if it was safe on the inside, it was an action would almost certainly badly injure her; the flame barrier was incredibly hot. Sans was looking down with his hands in his pockets, no doubt thinking about the merits of teleporting outside and dealing with them himself at the cost of exposing himself to certain death. Frisk knelt on the floor under the desk in quiet contemplation, thinking about how to get out of this.
"We're really screwed now, aren't we?" Chara said from the one place where they wouldn't have to worry about any bullets or fire.
"I'll…I'll think of something. Some way to get us out of here." But no matter how hard they thought, it was hard to focus over their mother's pained expression and Papyrus' and Undyne's yelling. The universe didn't give Frisk much time to think, however, before Undyne finally found her chance to act.
It all happened in a second. Finally breaking free of Papyrus and his magic bones, she began to move towards the barrier's flaming edges. Papyrus reached out to stop her, which caused Frisk to standup and move towards her in kind. Toriel turned her face to avoid having to look, and from the corner of Frisk's eye, they saw Sans taking the only opportunity they were going to get to open his eye and reveal the blue glow that, even after years of not doing a single genocide run, still struck a tinge of anxiety into the hearts of both children. But before any of them could act any further, they heard six gunshots and the grunting of bodies as they hit the floor. Their weapons gave a loud clang and scattered across the steps of the dais. Toriel almost immediately relaxed the barrier and slumped into her chair. Undyne and Papyrus dashed to Asgore as Sans and Frisk stayed behind.
Toriel managed to speak in huffs as she caught her breath. "Wow…I have not had to use magic that strong in ages. That was quite the workout for an old goat like myself."
Sans walked up to her and held her hand, his expression changing into one softer than Frisk had seen this entire trip. "tori. you did really well. there's not need to goat yourself into doing anymore. you saved everyone."
Toriel let out a smile as she let the tears well at the bottom of her eyes. She gripped the skeleton's bony hands tighter as she let herself relax. Up on the steps of the dais, Undyne helped Asgore to his feet as Papyrus went to survey the bodies of the now-dead terrorists.
"Your highness, are you okay? Thank goodness my shield held out for as long as it did! We were so worried about you!"
Asgore grunted a bit as his eight foot frame rose out of the position he had to contort himself to stay under Undyne's shield. He dusted himself off and gave her a relieved smile. "Never better. They're going to have to work a little harder than that if they're going to end my life." His smile quickly faded as he surveyed the damage done to the palace, and the mountain of rubble that blocked their view to the outside. "However, something tells me that the conference might not have been the success story we hoped for. Did…did everyone…?" Asgore paused shot Undyne a look of concern.
She returned a puzzled face before realizing who Asgore was referring to. "Oh yeah, the other delegates! We…we don't know. I can only assume that everyone made it out okay but we haven't had time to – Papyrus, be careful! Don't get too close to those scum!"
"UNDYNE, IT'S FINE! THESE HUMANS…THEY'RE REALLY DEAD! THEY'VE BEEN SHOT CLEAR IN THE HEAD." Papyrus exclaimed, checking each one of them for a pulse. Five years ago, everyone (and especially Sans) may have worried about letting Papyrus see so much blood and violence, but his time in the royal guard had only seemed to push him forward. "WHO DO YOU THINK DID THIS, THE BRITISH?"
Frisk finally spoke up, moving into the aisle to get a better view. "That's what bothers me. If it was the British, where are they? You think that the soldiers would have breached at the same time. Yet, we haven't anything except-"
Gunshots, then screaming, erupted from the direction of the grand hall. And unlike the terrorists, who were using crude machine guns, Frisk could tell by the sound of the weapons they were among the caliber that the European Union used. So, who were they using it on?
Toriel looked pale. "We have got to get out here. Now." Sans nodded in agreement.
"MAYBE WE CAN GO THROUGH THE HOLE THE REBELS USED! AFTER ALL, IT DOES GO OUTSIDE!" Papyrus said, walking towards the open hole as he replaced his concerned look for the terrorists to one of determination. "AFTER ALL, AS AN ELITE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, IT'S MY JOB TO PROTECT THE ROYAL…."
"…FAMILY." Papyrus' slowed down as everyone turned their attention to focus on two cloaked individuals who emerged at the top of the wreckage. One of them was a girl with an athletic build who couldn't have been much larger than Frisk. She wore a soldier's mask designed to mimic a medieval witch doctor's mask. However, even though you couldn't see her face, her distinctive princess curls gave her away as someone of a distinctive personality. She wore a curved, two-sided blade on her right wrist. The man to her left however, did not wear mask, and even though he had a face full of stubble, his softer features implied he was younger than thirty. Under his robes, Frisk could see that he wore an all-black uniform and had two broadswords affixed to his waist. His broad but slim figure created an imposing presence as he towered over Papyrus at the top of the rubble. Everyone wore a tense face.
The woman was first to step forward, speaking through her mask. "You. Frisk. You're coming with us. Now."
Before Frisk could even speak up, Toriel stood up from her chair, indignation in her voice. "Excuse me!? my child is not going anywhere with you people, especially with terrorists."
The girl scoffed and shrugged. "Terrorists? You have it all wrong, lady. We're the resistance! We have something to fight for. Not like those idiots who we just saved you from. We told them to cause a scene, but jeez, not to shoot up the entire assembly hall. This wasn't the plan at all. Isn't that right, Cage?"
Cage finally stepped forward, walking past a flabbergasted Papyrus and facing the group. He eyed the monsters intently before setting his eyes on Frisk. "Look, this isn't a kidnapping. We just have a few questions to ask you." He let a small smile escape before continuing. "We're not here to harm you…if we don't have to."
"And you expect us to believe that?" Frisk shouted. "You're the one who armed these terrorists. You can't just let someone do the dirty work for you, sit back, and then take credit for cleaning up the mess that you caused. You want me to be grateful? Be happy we're still alive to stop you from hurting anyone else."
Yeah Punk! You all-black wearing dweeb! If you're going to get off on threatening my buddy Frisk, you're setting yourself up for a world of pain you are not ready to enter!" Undyne declared, drawing a spear as Asgore did the same. Toriel gripped the arm of Frisk tightly, and even through their jacket they could feel Toriel's soft paws become hot with the fires of her rage.
"Fine. Have it your way. But remember, you are the ones who chose this path." Cage snapped his hands, and from the back of the room, more hooded and masked soldiers flooded in. More odd than their clothing, some of them had weapons, and some of them didn't. The sight confused everyone but seemed to alarm Asgore.
"Undyne, Tori, wait! These people, terrorists, there's something weird about them. It may just be a guess, but you're magic users, aren't you?"
"Wooooooooow, you actually guessed it! And without any hints. Score ten points for fluffybuns!" The girl on top of the rubble walked past a flabbergasted Papyrus to Cage's side. "It's as you say. We're a cabal of magic users, and we're not afraid to wreck your shit if we have to."
Frisk could hear Chara laughing as they watched the events unfold in front of them. Even with Frisk's rising anxiety, the group's display seemed to not worry Chara at all.
"What's so funny, Chara? Have you finally lost it?"
"Oh please Frisk, you see these clowns, right? And you expect me not to laugh? You have so much faith in me! These guys are absolutely hilarious, with their 'We are the resistance!' bit. Ha!"
"Chara, this is serious! I've already been kidnapped once, and you remember how that ended. And above all, we can't let anything happen to Asgore. If Asgore dies, the Kingdom of Monsters will collapse. And then we'll all be finished."
"Fine then, my dear partner. Cage's SOUL can't be read, neither can his other stats. He's not a monster, after all. But he certainly does look the part. It looks like we're surrounded on all sides. For all his dramatic posturing, Cage does looks pretty determined. You may have to fight your way out of this one. What are you going to do?
Frisk shot a concerned look to Papyrus, who they knew would understand this more than Undyne would, and after recovering from their own shock, Papyrus responded with their trademark haughty smile before throwing a thumbs up. Their exchange caught the attention of Sans, who drew his attention away from Cage's swords to his little brother approaching the edge of the dais. Papyrus swung his skeleton arm out and posed as he began to address the crowd.
"HUMANS, DO NOT BE ALARMED! WHILE IT SEEMS LIKE FRISK IS (how would you say it?) LIKE AN ORANGE IN AN APPLE BUNCH, DO NOT BE AFRAID! FRISK IS WELL CARED FOR AMONG THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. THERE IS NO NEED TO BE SCARED." When Papyrus finished, he winked at Undyne and then looked towards His Majesty, hoping that Undyne would recognize the opportunity that Papyrus was trying to make for her. Some of the hooded members could be heard laughing from the back, emboldening Papyrus to continue.
"Huh? Kid, what are you talking about? We know Frisk is accepted by the monsters, that's why we're here. We need to talk to them about some important…monster stuff!" The twin-tailed girl said turned her head to face Papyrus.
"OHOHOH! IS THAT SO? IS THERE MONSTER STUFF SO IMPORTANT THAT IT CAN'T BE DISCUSSED IN FRONT OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS?" Papyrus took a couple of steps forward, approaching the girl just enough to make her shift her focus from the group to him.
The girl stopped just short of the dais steps and held her spinner in front of her. "Unfortunately Papaya, this meeting is for Humans only. Do you want to do something about that?"
"IT'S PAPYRUS, NOT PAPAYA! I AM NOT REMOTELY FRUIT SHAPED. AND YES! I ABSOULTELY WOULD. PREPARE YOURSELF HUMAN, FOR THE MIGHT OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"
Before she could move, Papyrus engaged her SOUL and turned it blue, causing the girl to lose her balance as she lunged forward at Papyrus. The soldiers in the back of the room rushed down the aisle towards the group, but before they could come within a spear's length of Undyne, Papyrus used two lines of bones to slam the soldiers into the desks on either side of the aisle, and the masked girl into the rubble against the wall. Cage, proving to be the most adept of his group, jumped to avoid Papyrus attack and landed facing the Frisk, with Toriel and Sans their sides. Quietly, Papyrus whispered to himself "NYEH NYEH HEH" as jumped down to meet Asgore and Undyne. "YOUR HIGHNESS, WHILE I'M AFRIAD I MAY QUITE POSSIBLY BE ABLE TO DO THIS ALL DAY, WE NEED TO LEAVE WHILE WE HAVE THE CHANCE!"
Undyne seconded. "I agree with Papyrus. It's important to the entire kingdom that you get out of here alive. We don't have much time." Even then, Undyne was pinning soldiers to the floor as they talked, ensuring the aisle would remain clear for their escape.
Asgore faced Toriel with a worried look, whose own resolve didn't falter at seeing the worries of her ex-husband. "Asgore, don't you dare worry about me. I can take care of myself. But you need to live. Please, get to safety."
Asgore nodded. He looked at his royal guardsmen and did the same, and soon all three of them ran up the aisle and out of the chamber, leaving just Sans, Toriel, and Frisk staring down the stone-faced Cage.
"my bro is the best, isn't he?" Sans said, speaking to no particular person but keeping his focus on Cage. "I don't think I could have come up with anything as nearly as elaborate as that." He opened his eyes to reveal his dark pupil-less eyes "so please, don't expect too much mercy or forgiveness from me when I come to kill you."
"Oooooh, so edgy! I'm trembling in my boots!" the girl said getting up from the rubble and dusting herself off as she jumped back to Cage's side. He addressed his subordinate.
"Raven, how damaged is your SOUL?"
"Ehh, not bad! That attack wasn't powerful. I can still fight!" She said, examining her Red SOUL. Frisk was the only one to audibly gasp, but they could see Toriel and Sans' attention drawn to the red heart over Raven's chest.
"I don't understand." Frisk said. "Even now, red SOULS are supposed to be extremely rare. I'm the only person I know with one, how do you have one?"
"You too!? Huh, I guess we're not as unlucky as we look! No wonder those two monsters are protecting you so much, if your magic is as weak as mine."
"Weak? What are you talking about?
"Well, you know. Everyone back at Cauldron knows my only strength is in movement. That's why I figured you dodged so much too, you know, with that 'pacifist ambassador' shtick. Don't tell me you actually think you're the strongest human alive? What a riot! What do you think, Cage? …Cage?"
Cage was quiet in thought, inspecting all three of them closely. Eventually, he turned to face is subordinate. "Raven. I can handle this. Make sure the other three don't try to come back. But remember not to kill them. We need them alive."
Raven saluted him. "Yes, sir! For the sake of peace!" Using the desk in front of her as leverage, she catapulting over the three and started moving towards the exit, with any grunt remaining in the hall following her in her stead. Toriel fired at her on instinct, and her move to try and stop Falcon gave Cage the room he needed to jump the desk himself and lunge at Toriel. Before either of his blades could connect however, he moved to defend himself against a stray bone aimed by Sans and meant to impale him.
"huh. that usually works on guys like you. figured I would give it a shot."
Sans failed to get a rise out of Cage. "So, cheap tricks really are your game, huh? Fitting, for a monster. Trust me, you won't be able to get off another shot like that."
"oh? you should know that i'm full of games. i always seem to get lucky with simple humans like you."
That one worked. "I'm going to wipe that stupid grin off your face, Sans! Prepare yourself!"
As Cage expected, Sans' next action was to turn Cage's SOUL blue, largely holding himself to the floor as he rolled over the last set of desks separating his aisle from the one Toriel and Sans shared. His broadswords blocked all the fireballs they could, but every time Cage would even approach striking distance of Sans, Toriel would create a wall of fire that couldn't be avoided without retreating back an aisle. The onslaught of Sans' precariously placed bones and Toriel's relentless rain of fire simply proved to be too much to handle alone.
Toriel took advantage of the distance they were able to make between them and Cage to find time to talk. "Frisk, you have to get out of here. Cage is after you. With you here, we'll always be on the defensive. But outside, you can find the others. We can make up a plan and beat Cage and his cohorts. But we can't do that here."
Frisk, crouching behind the pair, reached for their sword, trying to assure themselves that they could be of help to the tired goat. "I can help though! I'm strong! I have magical abilities and I can protect myself. I don't need you to fight for me."
Toriel was firing off successive rings of fire, much like the ones she once fired at Frisk but with much less room to escape. She still managed to find time to look back and show a weary smile to Frisk. "Aren't you the one who said that above all, Asgore must live? My child, you are the same. You represent the hopes and dreams of humans and monsters. Above all, you're the one who must live. This world needs you."
Frisk hesitated but picked themselves up as they found their will to move. "I…I understand. Thank you, mom, for everything." They hugged Toriel's leg before gathering what courage they had to dart from behind the table and up the aisle to the exit.
For the first time since arriving, Cage let a bit of panic show on his face. "NO! I can't let you leave. You have to come with us." Cage took the broadsword in his left hand and threw it square at Toriel, causing her to temporarily stop spellcasting and for Sans to summon a bone to save her.
"now you're down a sword. and don't even think for a second you're getting this back."
"Trust me, one will be enough. I have more than a few tricks up my sleeve."
The loud clang and cracking of bone Frisk heard caused them to turn around, and they even hesitated for a second before Toriel turned to them one more time and offered a reassuring smile. She turned back to Cage. "It's time to give up. Admit it. You made a mistake trying to hurt my family and now you are going to pay for it. But it is not like I would show you any mercy, even if you did."
Cage laughed. "How amusing! The ones who threw this world into chaos are the ones offering mercy to me? Do you even hear yourselves!? 'The hope of humans and monsters?' What a joke. I am the opposite for all you stand for."
"The opposite of what I stand for? How dare you even begin to insinuate that known me or everything I've been through."
"I know plenty about you. Dutchess Toriel Dreemur, hero of the Monster War and Queen of the Underground until your desertion of the throne almost one hundred years ago. You isolated yourself from your kingdom and let your own two kids die on your watch. And them six more! Your negligence runs deep. But even after all of that, Asgore still saw fit to elevate your status and grant you local dominion over your old home. You're the epitome of the hypocrisy that nobility stand for, and your willingness to participate in this farce of a conference shows you're still a present danger to the peace of this planet."
Toriel's shock was visible across her face, but it was quickly replaced by fury. "Fine. You know my name, my story, and even my shortcomings, sure. But you still know nothing about me! About my growth, about my love, and about my life. I have suffered too much pain and endured too much sorrow to let a person like you judge me! And how do you exactly plan to bring about this dream of yours? With that power? You should know, both of us have much more magic to spare than what we've even shown you." Toriel let her hands flare brightly into two massive fireballs, both the size of the chairs in front of her as she aimed them at Cage. "And I should warn you, with Frisk gone, I don't have a reason to hold back."
Cage smiled.
"Good."
He threw his remaining sword at Sans, who instinctually dodged it. But before he could launch his next attack, Cage had already summoned Toriel's SOUL, and before either of them knew it, it had been converted to a dark shade of brown. Toriel rose to defend herself but found she had no fire to summon. Sans at that moment turned to cast his own magic, but it was too late. Cage drew a dagger and used it to slash Toriel down her torso, letting himself take a bone to the thigh to see the deed through. He fell back to lean on a chair and coughed up his own blood as Toriel fell to the floor.
Sans scremed. "TORI! Toriel, no!" Sans' casted several free bones towards Cage, but since losing his concentration, his hold on Cage's SOUL had also slipped, allowing him to move around his shots freely. Breathing heavily upon landing on the floor towards the base of the dais, he tore a piece of his jacket off and used his to stop the blood gushing from the gaping wound on his leg. The pain was almost too intense to remain conscious.
Her eyes wide, Toriel managed to wheeze her words through gasps. "H-How…did...you?"
Cage managed a smile. "I have no need to explain things to you. Bring Frisk to me and you may just find out."
"yeah buddy. cute of you to think you're going to be able to leave this room alive."
"Fine! Kill me and take and your revenge, and let your girlfriend die." Cage spat. "Or, you can save her and we'll all live to fight another day, just like you want. Don't forget, skeleton, that I just saved you from those terrorists! I offered you a path to resolve this without fighting! But you wanted it this way! I'm not letting you or anyone else stop me from my goals!" He could hear the buzzing of drones gathering outside and the movement of EU soldiers outside the door. Cage knew that his time was up. Sans, in a rare moment for the world-renowned spy, was too flustered to notice.
Sans took the wounded Toriel in her arms and shot him the iciest glare he had ever used in his life. "Deal. But if I ever see you again, I will kill you. You will be dead where you stand"
He teleported away, and Cage used his stolen British equipment to radio his teammates. "Raven, Crow, this is Cage. I'm still in the assembly hall. I'm hurt and need extraction."
"This is Raven! I'm still in the area. As you predicted, the King and his royal guard are headed for the palace, but we expect they'll make a move for the airport soon. I'm standing by in rendezvous point C."
"Crow here. Airport's done. Awaiting orders. Over."
"Come and get me Raven. Let's move to point Omega and plan our next move there. All units engaged in combat, retreat. We've done enough for today."
"Roger. Crow out."
"Right captain! I'm on my way."
With that done, Cage activated the life support system in his suit, and let himself pass out as the sound of footsteps grew louder. His injury was a minor setback. But for now, all was going well for the Order of the Black Cauldron.
AN: And my story's primary antagonist finally reveals himself! Cage is a character we're going to see a lot of right up to the very end! The kind of world he envisions clashes with what both Chara and Frisk envision, so this chapter is just the first of many times tensions will arise between the two. Stay tuned until next week to learn more about the Order of the Black Cauldron!
This chapter is a little longer than I would like my updates to be (5,000 words ^^;) but I hope it and the previous chapter makes up for weeks of inactivity. Thank you so much for reading my story.
