Alpha Timeline
Camp Buckingham, California?
Daytime
Spring 2020

The sun was blazing down on Mt. Ebott, and from the clearing where Chasriel emerged from the mountain, they could do little to stop themselves from taking it all in. They had finally made it, and not only was the world wide as heck, it was bright too. They vainly tried to protect their aching eyes from the rare, brilliant sunshine.

"So, that's…that's the sun? It's…brighter than I ever imagined! It hurts, but it's beautiful."

"Yeah, wow. I had forgotten how it all looked too. There aren't a lot of sunny days here." Chara responded, moving their arm for just long enough to squint and spot their village on the horizon. A part of them desired to appreciate the truly beautiful sight of the valley from the mountain. But wanting to enact their plan took precedence over anything they wanted. Chasriel sighed as they looked down and began to move towards the ledge. "There it is Asriel, Camp Buckingham. Let us go."

Before Asriel could respond, Chara had already directed their shared body to slide down the side of the mountain and into the forest below. The newly-combined Chasriel had taken on the form of a much older-looking Asriel, chiseled and fit under the caretaker robes they had snatched from their mother. Even with their body in their hands, Chara had no problem directing their new body down the incredibly steep cliffside and coming to a stop with grace. Despite all their determination and magic, they have never felt so powerful until this moment.

Chara smiled and laughed as they tore through the brush and the trees in the forest. The animals didn't stand a chance; birds and deer gave way as the monster ducked under branches and hopped over tree logs. "Hahahaha, Asriel, this is amazing! I…we feel great! This is so much better than anything I could have ever imagined!"

"Y-yeah! Definitely!" Asriel cautiously agreed. They tried to sound optimistic for Chara. "It sort of stinks that we can't get your body back now. But at least we'll be able to save everyone!"

"Yes, Asriel, thank you! I truly couldn't have done this without you!" Despite controlling their movement, Chara could feel their body tense up and blush at that remark. Was this how Asriel felt when they complemented them? It shocked them to experience what Asriel's love felt like.

Their newfound feelings gave them enough pause that they skidded to a stop once they reached a clearing on the side of the mountain. Chara could feel Asriel's delight at seeing the mountains and the lake light up against the vast blue sky.

"Amazing! I can't believe how beautiful the world is! Chara, we'll get to live here with everyone?"

Chara hesitated to answer, vacillating in their minds as to how to let Asriel down about the truth of this world. They eventually settled on taking control again and moving down the mountain. As awkward as sharing a body might seem, moving with Asriel felt fluid and natural. It reminded Chara of when they tried sawing wood with their dad. The movement from side to side felt effortless, but at the same time, tangible and real.

Chasriel tensed as Chara softly responded to Asriel. "Soon, Asriel. We're almost there. When we get there, we'll make everything right. I promise."


"Damn Lemel, another great haul today. I always think the Riviera is picked clean, and you always manage to find something, man. How do you do it?" Daniel readjusted his backpack loaded with canned food, household supplies, and random assortments of medicine before turning to fistbump the very exhausted-looking Lemel. He wanted to tell Daniel that he kept a secret stash of stuff at their old house so that he would always have somewhere to scavenge when he left camp. But doing so would blow the only excuse that he had for leaving the colony at all.

Lemel decided to simply feign ignorance and say "I don't know. I guess I've just always gotten lucky. When you've been doing this as long as I have, you know where to look."

Daniel smiled and threw his head back to the sky. "Well alright, remind me to stick with you then. If we keep running like this my family will be in the colony in no-"

Lemel held their hand up and brought their enthusiastic partner's talking and walking to a halt. Nodding to Daniel that 'this is a moment when you really should shut up', they motioned with their outstretched hand to duck at the side of the road and to hide from whatever was coming through the forest. Lemel thought it was going to be a bear, or some sort of human waiting to ambush them, so was thoroughly shocked to see a six foot, white-haired goat monster emerge from the brush with…a body.

"Oh god, that's….it can't be…Chara!?"

"YOO IS THAT-" Lemel clasped his hand over Daniel's mouth, but it was too late. The goat monster's black eyes turned in their direction as it tried to ascertain the source of that yelling. Feeling Daniel's body shake under his bony hands, he decided to grab him by the forearm and to tear into the forest below rather than taking their chances coming to face-to-face with a real monster.

"BRO-! What are you- ahhh, stop! Let me go, let me go, this shit is steep!" Daniel yelled as they both stumbled towards the lake. He tore his arm free before tripping and performing some genuinely noteworthy acrobatics down the hill. "The hell was that!? I know the world has been nuked to hell and back but damn, we got fuckin' mutants now?"

They reached Lake Drive and the both of them ran towards the camp gates, hoping to get ahead of the monster. Lemel fumbled with his pack and retrieved a bright orange flaregun as he breathlessly tried to explain the situation to Daniel.

"That's…a monster from…the mountain! It's holding my friend…It's holding my dead friend!"

"A monster, what!? Nigga, come on, you can't really expect me to-" With a loud pop, Lemel fired the flare almost straight up into the air. It left behind an orange trail of smoke as it sailed in a clear parabolic arc towards the forest in front of them.

"There's no time to explain. We need to tell the guard NOW. If we don't, this could be the end of everything."


Chara couldn't remember a time when Camp Buckingham was more loud. From the unmanned gate, Chasriel could hear the yelling of people further inside the camp and the clicking of firearms that certainly couldn't have been used since the apocalypse began. But then again, if a six-foot goat monster wasn't enough of a reason to give away the location of your camp to the entire region, then what was?

Asriel sounded distressed. "Chara, why is there no one here? We definitely heard and saw people on the way here. But it doesn't seem like anyone's out. Are they all afraid?"

"Seems like it." Chara said, sounding as unamused as ever as they made Chasriel stride through the makeshift gate and on the short path to the old golf course. Their tone sounded like Chara was remarking about a pet rather than a group of potentially dangerous people. "Figures. If I were them, I can't say I would have given us a chance either."

"Should we go talk to them? You know, to try and explain who we are?"

Chara scoffed and their voice deepened with cynicism as they remained focused on the path. "No need."

Chasriel made their way down the hill just past the gate and approached the clearing where all the main roads of the settlement met, as well as the spot of their fateful encounter with Mother just last year. From their position just before the intersection, they could see a couple of men with rifles at the guard house and a much larger contingent of people gathered towards the camp assembly hall. To their left were the fields, in the process of being prepared for spring crops, and the patch of creamcups that at one point been Chara and Madeline's favorites. Asriel, who was noticeably concerned about the human's level of anxiety but had no reason to know or worry about the dangers of a firearm, tried to keep themselves focused on the mission.

"Chara, what should we do here? I really think we should try talking to them. They seem pretty scared. And if we just tell them we're friendly, everything will be okay, right?"

"Asriel, I told you, it's not that simple. Humans are unpredictable, there is no way to tell if they will attack or hurt us. It's best to just simply…"

Before Chara could finish, one of the guards noticed Chasriel coming down the hill and brought the AR-15 around his neck to the ready. Upon seeing his partner's violent reaction, the other guard did the same.

Chara's disgust at the two guards caused Chasriel to growl, scarring the guards even more. "See Asriel? They have no intention in talking at all. So very typical of humans and Mother's men."

"Mother!? Chara, what's happening, I don't understand. What are they doing?" Asriel said, overwhelmed. A part of them wanted to wrest control of their bodies from Chara, to try and run or defuse this conflict before it got any worse. But Asriel trusted their best friend, just like Chara trusted in them

The second guard, a shorter man with a full beard and fairly messy hair, shook in fear as he tried to communicate to his partner. "Damn, man! What the fuck do you think that is? Some sort of mutated animal? How in the ever-loving fuck is something like this alive?"

"Hey, I-I don't know. But shit, it's got Angeline. I guess she did die for sure." The second taller, slimmer guy said. He then turned his attention to the approaching beast. "Hey, you ugly animal fuck, if you know what's good for you, you'll turn around right the fuck now!" He clicked the safety off the rifle and extended it out to meet Chasriel.

Sensing that Asriel was beginning to lock up from the fear, Chara took stock of their options in their head. As terrified as Asriel was, it was hard to say the fallen child was scared in the slightest. With the incredible power they felt from their merged bodies, Chara knew that these humans couldn't pose a threat to them if they just struck them down first. They strongly considered taking the humans out now, but in the end, decided to play it safe. After all, if the humans initiate, that's all Chara would need to prove their point.

"Asriel, this is a gun. It's a human weapon designed to kill anyone it's used on. It's very dangerous. But if we just ignore them, we should be able to move on. Just remember what we came here for, okay?"

"R-right! You want to be put to rest in the flowers over there! And then we'll…we'll…"

Chara calmly finished their thought. "That's right. We'll free everyone." Satisfied with Asriel's compliance, Chara turned Chasriel towards the lake to their left, where the patch of creamcups sat undisturbed. As they started to walk away, the two guards began to panic.

"It's still moving, what's it doing, WHAT'S IT DOING!?"

"I don't know! Hell, can it even understand us!? The fuck is bringing a dead child back here supposed to mean!? That shit's a threat, right?"

The guard that was holding his rifle shot three warning shots in the air. The loud bang echoed across all the mountains in the area and caused Chasriel to drop Chara's body as they yipped in fear. The guard who fired the shots then began to furiously run towards the meeting house. "I've fired the warning shots, the entire camp will be here soon. Let's get out of here man, I'm not touching that thing without backup."

"Dude, no, we can't just leave this thing here!" As Chasriel was bending down to pick up Chara's body, the second guard unloaded three rounds into it's back as he too began to backpedal towards the meeting house. Asriel yelled in pain and Chara winced, their shared body temporarily locking up from the shock. But the surprising part is that the unimaginable suffering Chara had envisioned from getting shot only manifested in what felt like a really, really bad cut. Did it hurt? Sure. Stung, even. But they did not feel encumbered in the slightest. They took a few more steps forward and finally placed Chara's body down on the patch of golden flowers.

The other guard, seeing that the monster did not fall after being shot in the back three times, took off for the guard house as well. Chara, boldened by their newfound stamina, decided it was time to make their move.

Asriel felt paralyzed by the pain from the gunshot wound. But they tried their best to remain strong for Chara's sake. He asked. "Okay Chara, so what do we do now?"

Chara let their smug expression show on Chasriel's face. "Now we wait. Sooner or later, they'll come to us."

And come they did. With only about three minutes passing, a large crowd of people armed to the teeth with guns and other makeshift weapons began appearing from the meeting house. At the front of the pack was her, Mother, with…Madeline in tow?

Chara did a double take. Madeline was alive. Not only that, but Lemel too, whose aloof expression implied that he too was not too happy to be here at this moment. Chara could feel their anxiety casue Chasriel's body to tense under Diane's corrosive glare. It felt as if they would be forced to relive every bad memory, every awful experience that she put them through. Chasriel's hands instinctively started to flare up with fire magic as Chara's emotions became heated.

"Asriel, this is it!" Chara said, their voice growing vengeful and dark as they spoke. A dreadful smile began to form on Chasriel's face, scaring more than a couple of villagers into taking several steps back. "This is the moment that we save monsterkind. With this power, we can put all of them down! We can take their souls and save the underground. It's that easy."

Asriel sounded blindsided. Their sudden hesitation even caused Chasriel to back up a bit. "What!? What are you talking about Chara? That wasn't the plan at all!"

"YES IT WAS, ASRIEL!" Chara yelled back. "It was ALWAYS the plan! We need seven souls to break the barrier. You know as well as I do that my one would have never been enough. And if we don't do this now, they WILL kill us first. Is that it!? Do you want to die?"

"No! But…But I…I I didn't want this…" Asriel could feel himself falling apart, overwhelmed and lost in the face of Chara's incredible emotion. Chara's incredible determination held such a tight grip over their shared body that taking control felt like more work than they could handle. And yet, their pain was apparent to anyone looking. Chasriel was crying. Tears flowed from their black eyes as they confronted the mob of humans that lay before them. And for all of Chara's talk, they could have easily attacked by now, but they didn't.

Across the field, the camp villagers murmured among themselves about the appearance of the otherworldly beast. Some of them look genuinely scared, as if Chasriel was a harbinger of the end times and this was a sign that that the world's rapture would be near. Some of the men in particular looked like they were eager for a good hunt after months of not being able to shoot. And Diane, the most dangerous human of them all, simply eyed Chara's empty husk of a body and Chasriel while she looked on with a disapproving scowl. Madeline, held tight in her grasp, could do little but stare in horror at the events unfolding before her.

Eventually, Diane spoke up. "Madeline, you can feel it too, can't you? The SOUL of that monster."

At first Madeline didn't respond, opting to look down and away and feign ignorance instead of giving Diane the confirmation she wanted. But that action was enough of a confrmation that Diane knew exactly what was going on.

"Rifleman, to arms. Take aim for this monster. Fire on my count." With the order given, any available man with a gun filed to the front, including Lemel. He fumbled with handgun as the more experience marksmen quickly took up their posts.

Sensing the monster's consternation, Madeline tried to appeal for Chasriel's life. "Mother, it's clearly scared. Why do you have to do this? Can't we just let it go?"

Diane responded flatly "And let Angeline and whatever monster she took over destroy this village? Not a chance. There's only one reason that she returned to this village, and if we don't stop her now, this entire world will be at risk. Remember, I'm doing this for you."

"For me…" Madeline looked down again as she contemplated Diane's words. Meanwhile, Chasriel continued to fiercely growl at Diane. It launched the two fireballs in it's hand towards two trees above the group, making them both explode into a burst of flame. Many in the group screamed, but Diane remained where she was, steadfast in the face of all of Chara's sorrow.

Chara was irate. "That bitch, she's using Madeline's power to keep herself calm! Never beneath using her fucking kids and whoever she gets her tainted hands on! Her and everyone else here in this camp are truly beyond redemption and must be punished."

"Chara, what are you talking about!? I don't understand. Who is that…?"

Chara's patience was running out as their frustration rose. "My sister, Asriel! and my fucking mother. Madeline is being held captive. We have to save her and destroy them now!" Chara raised their hand to the sky and clouds began to fill in on the spots where the sun once shown. They continued to growl as Diane watched intently.

"Chara, we can't do that...!" Asriel said, managing to find his voice and speak up against Chara. He could feel himself trembling with fear. "We can't kill all of these people just to get our freedom. That wouldn't be right. No one would be happy because of that. Especially not you."

"AND!? Asriel, do you know what's not right? THIS. FUCK THESE HUMANS, THEY LITERALLY JUST SHOT YOU IN THE BACK! If there was another way to do this, I would, but this is only way we're ever going to get our freedom! And you can't stop me." Thunder began to roll in the clouds above, loud and dangerously close to Camp Buckingham. A couple of the guardsmen began to back up.

Lemel watched the sight with tears filling his eyes. "Fuck this monster bastard man, I'm so sorry Chara. I shouldn't have squealed, I shouldn't have given in to her goons. And because I did….!"

Diane's grip on Madeline tightened. She winced in pain, her wrist being squeezed hard enough that she could feel the feeling drain from her small hands. But her power numbed the pain she felt so much that she was able to keep herself from yelling. Meanwhile, Diane overall looked indifferent to her daughter's agony. After all, why should she be concerned with magic that was always hers in the first place? Chara could have sworn she saw her smile slightly before calling "Ready."

The safety switches on all the guns switched off as the marksmen steadied their breathing. Their aggressiveness only served to make Chara feel even more hopeless and enraged. Desperation resonated throughout their entire body as Chasriel took aim at the denizens of Camp Buckingham. "This planet, the one humans destroyed, is CRAWLING with humans, each more reprehensible than the last. The proof is all around you. If we just let these ones live, it will surely result in the destruction of monsterkind. But killing a few and taking their SOULS would make us gods. We'd be unstoppable! Anyone who stands in the way of our freedom could be wiped away! No one would be allowed to hurt us again and we could finally live in peace in the world we've always desired! Asriel, Why can't you accept that!?"

Asriel could feel how overwhelmed and miserable Chara was. Knowing that he had a chance to try and turn the tide, he continued to press on in the hopes that he could save his best friend. "No Chara! I can't! I can't do this. If we kill these humans, we'll start another war with them. Then monsters and humans will never know peace. There has to be another way!"

"NO! I'm NOT letting this immense power go to waste!" That woman, that demon cosplaying as human MUST pay for her crimes. And I WILL be the one to do it! Humanity is guilty and if we are to survive, THEY ALL MUST DIE!" Chara brought their hand forward, and large exclamation points formed on the ground under Diane's party. It was their only warning that they would have before the Shocker Breaker decimated them all.

Asriel, feeling the attack on both sides to be imminent, didn't let up. He, for the first time, could feel the determination grow in their newfound SOUL to save Chara from an existence of suffering and sadness. He hurriedly tried to say whatever he could before it was too late. "Chara…even Madeline? Even your friends…? Them too?"

"SHUT UP! NOTHING YOU SAY COULD EVER STOP ME NOW! I MUST….I have to…."

Sensing a moment of weakness, Asriel wrested control of Chasriel from Chara and looked towards a scared and crying Lemel and then the absolutely distraught Madeline at Diane's side. Fully prepared to fight for control of their body, Chara stumbled at seeing Lemel's regret on his face and Madeline, their only surviving family, suffering in the grasp of her Mother. The sight of her, looking as if she wanted nothing more than this hell to end, triggered a feeling in Chara that they had been repressing since they surfaced. They couldn't ignore the pain of their friends anymore. They couldn't ignore Madeline anymore.

In that moment, it felt as if time stopped. The memories of the days they spent together, the times they cried, or laughed, or depended on their love when it felt like nothing else in the world was on their side sapped any will Chara had to hurt them any further. For one brief moment, all Chara wanted was to see their sister smile again. To enjoy a future where they could both be happy in the place they had found together. It broke their vengeful spirit and gave Asriel the assurance that they would be able to save everyone that day.

"Chara…let's go home. To the place we belong."

"Asriel…! You stubborn fool…!"

"FIRE!"

In that moment, a hail of gunfire assaulted Chasriel from all corners of their vision, making them writhe in pain as their body absorbed the lead from all sides. For nearly a full minute, it felt as if Chasriel were being burned alive by the fires of hell itself. But even this pain wasn't enough to keep Chasriel from rising to their feet and retrieving Chara's body from the creamcup patch, now covered in the sticky dust of the slowly decaying monster. Their body collected flowers and seeds from the ground as it left, making Chara's dirty green and yellow shirt appear gold from the flowers.

As Chasriel walked away, they could hear the astonishment of the crowd as they commented on how the abomination continued to move. Lemel, who had tried to keep it together to carry out his orders, sobbed as he could no longer maintain the façade of supporting Diane. Diane ordered the gunmen to reload and fire at will. And amidst the hail of gunfire, Chasriel swore that they could have heard something.

Still tight in her mother's grip, Madeline yelled at Chasriel as she began to finally cry. "Oh Chara! I love you! I love you and I miss you and I always have and I always will! I'll be okay! I promise. So until we can meet again someday, please…! Oh Chara, I'm so sorry…!"

Chasriel stopped for a brief second after hearing Madeline's cry, and then continued to walk away without turning around. The men of the village continued to fire on the monster as they retreated, but there wasn't a shot that could bring it down again.

Chara and Asriel were silent the entire way home. Upon making it back to the barrier, Chasriel stumbled forward before collapsing, almost immediatedly beginning to turn into dust from the sustained damage done to them from the humans. Chara bodied rolled across the floor before coming to a stop directly across from Asriel.

In his final moments, Chasriel smiled. "Now Chara…now we'll be together forever. With everyone who's always loved you. Aren't you happy?"

Chara, in their very last second of shared cognition, only had one thing to say.

"You idiot."


Beta Timeline
Ebott Castle
Grand Ebott City
Thursday, May 2, 2120, 9:06 AM

Asgore never quite got used to waking up in a castle. For most of his life, he lived in a modest house living a modest life. Even amidst the bustle of New Home, he never longed for more than what his California King bed offered him. So now that he lived in an ornate, sun-drenched room at the top of the castle, he felt as if the room would always be a little out of place for him.

Asgore's favorite part about the room, however, was it's balcony. Doors on every wall led outside to a grand balcony overlooking the entire Kingdom, and while the height of the castle still paled in comparison to the city buildings that surrounded the island, Asgore still enjoyed starting his day drinking a warm cup of tea while admiring the city and the sunrise. This morning, like every morning, Asgore sat among the flowers and vines he had planted at the balcony's edge and caught up on the reports from the day's previous news. This could have continued for quite some time, before Royal Guards 01 and 02 requested permission to enter Asgore's room.

RG 01 called over the room's intercom to Asgore's tablet, sounding as chill as ever. "Your majesty, this is, like 01 and 02, requesting to enter the royal suite, sir."

Asgore's face lit up at the prospect of visitors. "Ah! Lop and Draco! How wonderful! Please, come in. You can find me on the balcony." He turned around to offer a warm smile to the duo, who opened the door and took some time admiring the size of Asgore's new bedroom. He tried his best to retain his chuckles when RG 02 made a comment remarking about the location of the bathroom. "What can I do for you two on this fine day?" he continued.

"Like, we're here to update you on some stuff that didn't make it in the briefing today. The….committee and stuff have been busy."

"…statue's almost done." Draco said, quiet and succinct as usual. There comment seemed to be the brain jolt that Lop needed, as he brought his fist down into his hand in surprise and continued.

"Right! Like, the Asriel fountain will be done in time. They're putting the finishing touches on now….and the water will follow soon."

"…stage setup is also complete."

"That too! They've like…been working overtime and stuff."

Asgore smiled and felt himself relax a little at being able to hear some good news. "That is wonderful, you two! I know we have all been a bit distracted with everything that has been happening recently, but it is equally important that monsters remember to keep having fun. Is Frisk around to help as well?"

"Ummm….actually" RG 01 said, scratching his head. "I think…Frisk isn't in the castle, your highness."

"…went to mt. ebott…not back yet."

"Yeah! Like, Dogamy and Doagressa confirm they left the island."

Asgore sounded puzzled. "Well, I guess they had some business to attend to there. That is fine, all citizens are allowed free movement between the island and the mountain, after all."

"…more…there's a letter."

"Oh?" Asgore raised a furry eyebrow. As if visitors wasn't enough. Draco stepped forward and pulled a letter out from underneath his armor. Lop begin to wiggle a little at Draco's display of callousness.

Under his breath, Lop said to Draco "bro, you actually kept that in there!?" before remembering he was in mixed presence. He apologized to the King, saying "Sorry sir! This letter…like, came in this morning. It was dropped off by a citizen. Another bunny…but…I can't…"

"It is quite alright, Lop. The sender may be listed in the contents. It is not important if they were not identified." Asgore said, trying to reassure his hard-working guard. Using the tip of his nail, he cut the letter open and fished out the trifolded paper in the envelope. As he read it, the color began to drain from his face and his expression dropped from his usual cherry self to one of great concern.

Asgore huffed, folded up the letter and slid it within his pants pocket. "01 and 02, I am leaving the castle. Please prepare my armor and have a private train called to the station. Under no circumstance are you to tell anyone of my whereabouts, is that clear?"

"Y-yes sir!...sir." The two guards sputtered. They saluted their king and scurried away as they began their preparations. Now in private, Asgore furrowed his brown and began to consider his situation.

Toriel had been kidnapped and the assailant requested that Asgore come alone to the Ruins to get her. What could he do?


Gerson Town
Thursday, May 2, 2120, 12:18 PM

It had been awhile since Toriel had gotten out.

With the help of Professor Woshua and a few other teachers, she had the pleasure of leading the youngest of children at The Ebott School around the environs surrounding Mt. Ebott. Most of these children would have been too young to fondly remember the underground for what it was, and Toriel decided that taking a day or two to show them what the mountain was like today would be worth their time. After all, just as much as Grand Ebott City was their home, Mt. Ebott and the underground were as well. They had just finished touring around Gerson Town when their group finally reached the entrance to the underground.

Stepping in front of the crowd of rowdy kids, Toriel clasped her hands together and brandished a smile so bright it could light the sky. "So everyone, now that we've seen all we can see in Gerson Town, where does that mean we head next?"

"The underground!" The monster kids excitedly responded.

"Excellent! Now, remember your travel rules. Make sure you find your buddy. And always remember to stay in pairs, no matter what. Professor Woshua, if you could please."

"Yes Lady Toriel! Remember everyone, green means clean! Make sure to keep your green wristbands on at all times!"

Looking on the group of rowdy children, Toriel couldn't help but be happy at how monsterkind had flourished over the past five years. Raising a new generation of monsters that were full of hope and joy was a fulfillment that she could have never imagined, and her time as a teacher had brought back feelings that she hadn't experienced since she was a very young girl. To think that she could be a part of this all on the surface truly was the best outcome possible.

She was about to call them all inside the mountain when, out of nowhere, there was an earthquake.

It only lasted for a second, but for that second, Toriel wobbled with the rest of Gerson Town and was shaken to her core. The town was constructed on the side of Mt. Ebott for the monsters after their ascension, but the speed of its construction as well as its dubious location made it one of the few places she wouldn't want to be in an earthquake. The birds that had been living in the forest around them took off for the sky as the world shook, and worrying about the birds of her own, Toriel looked around to make sure that all of the children from the school were accounted for.

Admist the group of screaming children, Toriel tried to take stock of the situation. "Is everyone alright? it felt like we had a little shake, but everything should be fine."

"N-nothing to wosh here! Come now child!" Professor Woshua said, trying to comfort a crying Loox.

Toriel sighed, and decided to walk back to the head of the Town near the train station to try and figure things out. Tense and a little anxious from having any event derail her field trip, she forces a smile for Royal Guards 03 and 04, who both look overwhelmed in their booth as calls flood in from the underground.

"Gerson Town Guard Booth, this is RG 04 speaking…what!? A new monster? Ugh, please hold. Gerson Town Guard Booth, RG 04…what do you mean there was no electricity? The electricity has never stopped...?"

"Gerson Town, RG 03…hm….hmmmmm…..no, we haven't done anything….what?"

Toriel cleared her throat and pretended to look like she was impatiently waiting for her two eccentric guards to finish up. The moment they both saw her, they dropped their tablets and immediatedly snapped to attention.

"L-Lady Toriel!"

"Hi, yes, hello you two." Toriel said quickly. "Could you tell me if everything is alright in the underground?"

"Ummmmm…more like the opposite…" Royal Guard 03 managed to say. They scrolled through the incoming reports with their free mantis claw while trying to respond to the former queen. "It…sounds…like there's a lot of new monsters down there."

Royal Guard 04 wiggled her cat ears as she talked. "Yes, Lady Toriel! People are saying that monsters they've never seen before or haven't seen in a long time are appearing everywhere, and that there's considerable damage in Snowdin."

Toriel frowned. Maybe this wasn't going to be the best day to go into the underground after all. She said "Thank you, you two. That will be all." and walked back to the group deep in thought.

Toriel decided to consider her options. Taking the children in now would surely result in a lot of complications, especially if there was relief work to be done underground. But what better chance for the children to see their country in action than to see it in a time like this? Even then, taking children in after a disaster may be too much of a risk and it was her job to protect them…

"…Toriel…! Lady Toriel! Please!"

"Huh!? Oh, sorry, Professor Woshua." Toriel snapped back to real life to face the professor and a high school-aged fire girl with him. Wearing her displeasure at being bothered plain on her face, she plainly said "What is it?"

Fuku Flame stepped forward. "Lady Toriel! I'm sorry to bother you, but there's been an emergency!" Fuku said, breathing hard as she spoke. Did she run here? She was dressed in her school uniform, but the high school students should be back in the city. When regained her composure, she continued. "The Earthquake has shaken some rocks loose in the Ruins and trapped a couple of monsters! We need your help and all the help we can get!"

"Fuku Flame, yes? You are Grillby's daughter, if I presume correctly? Why my help?"

Always polite, she responded. "Yes ma'am, I am! His only pride and joy! I was here running some errands here when the earthquake happened. And we need you because there aren't any other capable monsters around here. After all, most of the guards are in the city now, and…well…"

Fuku Flame trailed off in an effort to not be disrespectful. She wiggled her hand with embarrassment as she spoke, but lucky for her, Toriel came to her rescue. She let out a deep sigh and headed for the entrance to the underground. At least now she could scope things out on her own.

"Fine. I'll go take a look at how things are in there. Professor, please take the children home for today. I do not think I will be back in time to conduct a tour."

Toriel disappeared into the cave to the whines of her children, and as soon as she left, Fuku slipped away from the crowd and slid down the side of the building next to her, taking a massive sigh of relief as she hit the ground in the forested mountain below. She was SUPER worried at first about being able to convince the queen to return to the underground. Like her father, she wasn't known for her ability to lie. But now that she had, everything was in place for their plan to go off perfectly. Once the children had moved away, she turned on her communicator and relayed the message to the group. Claw was ready.


Beta Timeline
Snowdin
The Underground
Thursday, May 2, 2120, 2:45 PM

The walk through Snowdin had been a weird one for Asgore. Expecting to find a desolate underground, populated by maybe a couple of remaining stragglers, Asgore walked into a new home filled to the brim with citizens, some he hadn't legitimately seen in decades. But that wasn't even the weirdest part: when asked about what they were doing here, a lot of the monsters would say things like "What do mean? It's not like we have anywhere else to go" or "This is my home, for now. Maybe one day we'll reach the surface." as if nothing had happened over the past five years at all. Matter of fact, it seems like none of the new monsters living in the underground had any recollection of current events at all.

Asgore struggled to wrap his head around it. What could all this have meant? The underground is relatively small; there's no way that someone wouldn't have heard about a human freeing them all after 1,000 years of captivity. It also wasn't possible that scans of the caves or sweeps conducted by the royal guard would miss this many people, even if they were a little lax at their jobs. And this didn't even begin to factor in the Queen's reported kidnapping, which no one had any knowledge of. Even the guards in Gerson Town didn't see anyone like that enter the underground. The dilemma left only one thought in his mind: could someone have been using necromancy…? There's no way…

Asgore approached the doors to the Ruins, a place he hadn't personally entered in over 100 years, to find that it had caved in on itself after the earthquake. "No problem." he thought. Clearing rocks would be easy for the Kingdom's strongest monster. He spent a minute sizing up exactly what he should do before turning around and summoning his trident. What wouldn't be easy for the Kingdom's strongest monster, however, would be dealing with a less than amused Toriel, who was standing right behind him.

An apologetic grin swept Asgore's flushed face. He stammered his greeting at Toriel. "AH! Wow, y-yes, what a surprise this is, haha…"

Toriel didn't even wait to give him the time of day. She promptly and sternly spun on her heel and began to angrily stomp away, leaving deep, defined indents in the snow. Her face full of anger and disgust, it was clear that she had no intention of stopping for Asgore again.

"Wait, Toriel, please!" Asgore pleaded with an outstretched hand. "You saw it too, right? On your way here. Something-!"

"Oh, spare me your drivel, Asgore!" Toriel sharply snapped back, still not having turned around. Even after all these years, her vitriolic tone still felt like needles in Asgore's SOUL. "The only thing that's clear about all of this is that you called me all the way back here to make some…vain pass at me. I was a fool for leaving my kids behind."

Asgore could hear her voice choke a bit. But he didn't want to stop trying to tell her the truth. "I did not call you, I promise! Whoever called you here was not me."

Toriel spun around again, shocking Asgore and making him back up a couple of steps to keep his distance. Tears welled in her eyes, but the sting of betrayal hurt more than any discomfort she could have been feeling right now. Asgore noticed that her hands were red from the heat of her magic and hoped he wouldn't be the target of her fireballs.

"Asgore, please! Spare me today of all days, please. As if walking here was not hard enough, with all of these ghosts around, do you want me to relive this too!?"

"I swear on the throne, I was not the one who called you here. This morning, I received a letter that you had been taken to the end of the Ruins. I set out to save you, not to trick you." Asgore face softened as he tried to be sincere with Toriel. She looked like she hated every second of it but let him continue. "You have never known me to be a liar. I would not start now. So please, I beg of you to forgive me."

Toriel let out a deep sigh. Walking here through the crowd of monsters had been a surreal experience for her, and not a pleasant one. When she emerged from the ruins on Ascension Day, enough time had passed that only the older group of monsters knew who she was, and even if they did, few of them held any contempt towards her for what happened all those years ago. But now, walking through the streets of New Home especially, she was met with hostility and anger in what used to be their old home. The experience unearthed long forgotten scars that she had once repressed, and seeing Asgore after being forced to relive these painful memories was more than she could handle.

Toriel's face still burned with anger. "You have no idea what it was like, to have to walk back here through a crowd of monsters who detested me to only find you here. I was told that a child was trapped deep in the ruins, but it looks like the only child who's trapped here is you, Asgore."

"That is it, the monsters!" Asgore said, trying to keep the situation under control. "These monsters, it feels like they have been resurrected from a certain point in the past. None of them are aware of anything that is happened recently. And I think if we can get into the ruins, we may be able to get to the bottom of this. I need your help, Toriel. Will you join me?"

Toriel sighed and walked forward. Asgore, freezing from her sudden action, was simply elbowed out of the way as she summoned two blazing fireballs and let them unleash on the rocks blocking the doorway. The fire was so intense it melted the snow on the path, and the force of the explosion easily cleared away anything that could have been in their way. Upon seeing that the job was done, Toriel took a deep breath and began to trudge her way back to Snowdin, ignoring Asgore as she passed.

Curious about the turn of events, Toriel considered for a brief moment if it was worth entering the ruins, her safe space, with Asgore. But the idea of even spending that long along with him was enough to make her skin crawl. More than anything, Toriel was exhausted from the emotional strain of the journey and just wanted to go home. Before reaching the bridge, she turned one last time and said "If you want to look into this, go ahead. But anything that happens in this kingdom is no longer any of my concern. Farewell, Asgore."

"What if our kids are in there?"

Toriel stopped in her tracks. He could feel her frustration from dozens of feet away. She was slow and deliberate as she spoke, hands in fists again. "What did you say, Asgore?"

"This may be a long shot, and I don't even know if it is going to be true. But our kids may be inside the ruins. If they are…they are going to need us. Both of us."

Toriel was silent for a long time as she mulled over Asgore's words. Anguish marked her settling face as she debated the merits of accompanying him to the end. Asgore's nose became wet with sweat as he anxiously waited for her decision. He felt awful for saying it, for even bringing it up, but the more he proceeded through the underground, the more he couldn't shake the feeling that his kids were alive. If these monsters had made it back, wouldn't his kids have reappeared too?

After what felt like a full minute of silence, Toriel calmly began to walk back towards the ruins, stepping over the rubble as she made her way back to their old house. "Follow me." she said, nodding in the direction of the ruins before turning and focusing on the path ahead of her. Asgore cleaned himself up and made after her as she entered.

The entire walk back to the beginning of the ruins was filled with painful memories for Toriel. Memories of being trapped here for 100 years, of escorting six children through layers of monsters and traps only to be killed by the murderer who now trailed her every step. Memories of her living alone in an oversized house, and memories of her laying in grief over the grave of her dead child. The Ruins were never a happy place for Toriel, and while Asgore certainly had unpleasant memories of being here, the paled in comparison to what Toriel had to unpack every time she walked these halls. She had to keep reminding herself: she was doing this for her kids. Nothing on this planet would keep her away from them.

And sure enough, it seemed destined that they were to be reunited once more.

The sun shone through the hole at the top of the room, illuminating the patch of creamcups that had grown there for over 100 years. Birds could be heard chirping in the forest above, and every now and then, a breeze would sweep through the cave, rustling the vines and the flowers with the quiet kiss of spring. On the center mound of the flower patch lay Chara and Asriel, the two kids she had left behind so long ago. The children reacted to her presence, rubbing their sleepy eyes and rising up from the bed to see who was there, but neither of them would be given a chance to see who it was before the Dreemurrs sprinted to embrace their children. Toriel, who could no longer hold back her tears, bawled as she held Asriel to her shoulder. Asgore, for the first time in a long time, let himself cry as he held Chara in his hands again.

One thought had been present in both of their minds on the walk here: what if all of this was fake? What if these monsters really were just ghosts, apparitions brought back to fool them both? What if they were to find their children and they were simply spirits that couldn't be reached, ethereal bodies that couldn't be touched? But none of that mattered now. For the first time in over one hundred years, Toriel and Asgore could touch and smell and hear and embrace their children. This was no dream. The Dreemurr family had finally been reunited.


A/N - Sorry for the month-long wait folks! This was a long one.

This chapter is a mostly by-the-numbers retelling of events in Undertale, so I never expected it to end up as long as it did. But the more I wrote, the more I realize I wanted to ham it up for as much impact as possible! After all, the actions that happened on that fateful day change the story forever, and I wanted to give it the narrative weight it deserves. I hope everyone didn't mind.

Also, the royal guard continues to expand! The more I think about how stretched thin the royal guard must be, the more I think "Gosh, I really need more characters!" So I lucked out with RG 03 and RG 04. The pair are unused characters from Undertale and thus aren't technically OCs. But, I know a lot of people haven't heard of them, so it's worth talking about.

The next chapter may take a little longer because I'm working on workshopping some work I'm submitting to Deltastuck (more on that later!), but you can definitely expect a September update. Until then, keep cool, and thank you all so so so much for reading with me up to this point. I'm so happy that people are finding my work enjoyable and fun. I hope we can continue to all enjoy it together!

Thank you to semi-professional illustrator and musician Goomy ( irlgoomy on twitter!) for proofreading my work! Goomy is working on a MSPA-style adventure comic called Deltastuck ( deltastuck on twitter!) and if you enjoy this fanfic, you'll definitely enjoy it's work. Check it out!