You might think, upon first glance, that the young lad was perhaps just a normal Asian child. They had, after all, the skin color of a typical Chinese with dark hair flopping around their forehead, and, without a doubt, his father's smile. But he had his mother's green eyes, and his hair was distinctly brown, not black. Frisk was the child of a young American teenager who'd gotten pregnant far too early, and a father who had, unfortunately, been unable to handle the pressure of being a young father and who'd tragically taken his own life. He had lived a hard life because despite his mother trying her best, she didn't have much of a steady job. She'd had to let Frisk grow up in the church's local orphanage because she couldn't afford a big enough home for her and Frisk. She essentially slept out of a tent since she wasn't old enough in the eyes of the law to drive a car.
Still, they'd been happy enough…until the day came when she was gone. Gone into Mount Ebott, where people who went…didn't come back. And that made six children who would never again see the world.
Frisk had been determined to get his mother back, and to find out what had happened to the other children who had vanished over the years. It was his only hope, his only dream, for a normal life. He had climbed that mountain high, intending to perhaps find a very wounded mother in some cave somewhere up there…
Only to find a world of monsters living underground! Needless to say, Frisk had learned all about the plight of monsterkind and had been able, by hook and by crook, to gain their friendship. It had been very challenging with some of them, after all, they were locked behind a magical barrier. A human could get in and get out but…a monster? No. Only a monster with a HUMAN SOUL in their possession could do that. And to break the barrier completely so that all monsters could pass, you'd need seven human souls. After all, it would take all the souls of the monsters in the Underground to equal the sheer, raw power of ONE human soul, not even "boss monsters" like King Asgore had individual souls strong enough to break through the barrier, let alone shatter it for everyone.
Well, Frisk…was the seventh. Luckily for him, there was no need to claim his soul when he'd befriended the monsters and been able to get Asgore and Toriel's son, Asriel Dreemurr, a second chance at life and a chance at redemption for his terrible deeds. Asriel had absorbed the human souls they'd had AND all the monster souls there to try and force Frisk to stay because, to him…all was as a "game". If Frisk left the Underground…or if he stayed and just enjoyed his time with the monsters, that'd be it. Game over. No more "fun". And Asriel, currently soulless and without any compassion, didn't want that to happen.
But having souls inside him meant a return of his own nature. His gentle, compassionate, tenderhearted self had begun creeping back in, and he'd brought the magical barrier down. Now monsters were living among people openly again.
Yes…
I said "openly". It was something that Frisk wanted to talk about with Sans and Papyrus's big brother, Dr. W.D Gaster. The skeleton monster cheerily smiled as he opened up the door to his enormous laboratory, waving Frisk on inside. He wore a very nice big black long-sleeved lab coat-cloak mixture that had the texture of silk, with the distinct upper collar of a sweater beneath that as he let Frisk into his office and sat down. The laboratory they'd just strolled through was bustling, a variety of humans and monsters were working in it, from strange avian-looking creatures to the occasional minotaur to even a dragon every once in a while, all chatting and speaking with humans. The humans had hooked them up to machines, and were taking things like EKG readings or putting stethoscopes to their chests to see if they could actually hear a heart.
"You would not believe how many times I've had people ask "How can skeletons smoke cigarettes if you have no lungs"?" W.D Gaster confessed as he shook his head, sitting down in a very large, fancy leather chair behind an enormous, big mahogany desk. The desk had a fancy little globe set down upon it, stacks of papers in an "outgoing" bin and a few in an "ingoing" one, a cute little bobblehead of David Tennant as Doctor Who between both, and a mug that read "Dr. Science" with a bearded, big-haired man on the front as a CD player was playing some of "Dr. Science's Greatest Hits" in the back.
"Be sure to send your questions to Dr. Science! Remember, he's not a real doctor!"
"I have a MASTER'S DEGREE."
"In SCIENCE!"
"I never get tired of listening to this." He confessed to Frisk. "It's a delight."
"You know, you sorta sound like David Tennant." Frisk admitted as he looked at the bobblehead. "Anyone ever tell you that?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. I've been thinking of doing some Youtube voice work." Gaster confessed as the skeleton monster winked at Frisk, who took notice once more of the lines on his face. One ran down from his left eye, the other ran up from his right. Frisk had been meaning to ask about this for a long time but…his school assignment came first.
"Um, doctor, I got assigned to do a report on monsters who'd been living among humans in secret." Frisk confessed. "And I remember Toriel and Sans and Papyrus and Asgore and a bunch of other monsters who said you'd lived through the war."
"I did, I did." Gaster confessed with a nod. "And there were quite a lot of monsters who'd lived openly among humans before the war happened, and the vast majority either were forced underground or had to hide." The skeleton monster confessed to Frisk. "No doubt you'd like to know about what type of monsters those were?"
"If you could." Frisk asked.
"Well, first of all…the obvious."
"The obvious?"
Gaster rose up, brought his skeletal, giant-hole-through-them hands up to the top of his cloaked robe and tugged it down, showing off the sweater beneath. Sure enough…a big, fat, cute-looking Temmie that was saying "Hoi" in an adorable cartoon text balloon.
"People looooooved Temmies." Gaster said with a grin. Frisk smiled back too, every time he saw W.D Gaster, he had a new sweater underneath. "Oh, and uh, this sweater?" He snapped his fingers and a floating set of skeletal hands manifested in midair, sweeping over to the light switches as he turned the lights off in the room. "It glows in the dark!" He added as, sure enough, the sweater beneath lit up with a faint neon glow.
Frisk giggled as the skeleton monster put the lights back on, Frisk writing down some notes on a little notepad he'd brought. "So what other types of monsters were commonly living among humans?"
"Well, the Melusine or "Mer-folk" race were very popular too. They were surprisingly human in appearance despite being rather blue and scaly skinned and having distinct red or green hair. They were beautiful creatures, after all. For monsters that lived more in secret, there were the "fair folk" as they called themselves, and there were also 'youkai', shapeshifters. Dragons could also change their appearances to a large degree to look like humans, though not totally. With a proper disguise though they, like, say, the kitsune race, could easily pass for humans." Gaster admitted. "I've never seen a race fall from grace as quickly as the dragons. They went from being respected and revered to being one of the most reviled and despised of monsters. There's a reason why any that linger around today don't talk about the war, it was very much a low point for all of them save for those that lived in the Americas, who didn't take part in the war." W.D Gaster went on with a deep sigh.
He rested his hand on his cheek, looking out his office window, seeing one such dragon having his tongue examined by a tongue depressor. Frisk looked at the lines on his face from his eyes, and at the holes in his hand and he hesitated before speaking up.
"Dr. Gaster, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while. I…I've only seen those kinds of lines going down people's faces and that kind of…hole in the hand…on ONE sort of monster. The kind of monster that's absorbed human souls." He spoke up. "Did…did you absorb human souls in the war?"
Gaster visibly stiffened. Frisk hadn't thought it possible for a SKELETON MONSTER to get pale but…he was being proven wrong as W.D Gaster shook his head violently. "N-No. Not during…after." He murmured. "…the only man I ever loved." He confessed to Frisk. "Not that I didn't find some women…fascinating…but when it came to "love"…there's only ever been one so far. And he was a human mage, one of the Seven Mages that helped seal us in the Underground with the magical barrier. Leopold."
"What happened?" Frisk asked. "How…how did the war end?"
Gaster took in a deep, long sigh. And he began to speak. And he would, indeed, not be the only monster Frisk would speak to about the war. Oh no.
…
…
…
…the plan had been set in place. King Maecoal stood on the far end of the plains as Gaster quietly stood alongside Leopold, one hand on his, clasped dearly, as Gerald, coughing madly, was standing nearby, barely able to keep upright. Cu Chulainn had an enormous, beautiful blade lofted up onto his shoulder as he stood alongside the most willing of their troops, Erimentha hiding behind a platoon so she'd have room to draw without being struck by incoming arrows or projectiles.
Hadiya stood with Cu Chulainn as she had her fists clenched, burning yellow projectiles faintly formed in midair, ready to shoot forth at a moment's notice. Tobias stood in front of Gaster and Leopold, standing on top of a stump, as Elisud was standing not too far from Cu Chulainn, ready at a moment's notice to call upon his shielding power.
Seiichi rode atop Sakamoto, rubbing the dragon's head softly, his expression sad and mournful as the dragon was quietly gazing at his compatriots across the field who were perfectly positioned to put their plan into place. Sakamoto had done a bit of magical work of his own, Tobias had been given a gigantic horn to speak through, taken from a bull who had agreed to donate his horns after Seiichi had talked him into it an hour before. Crows and ravens and other birds were circling overhead above him as Tobias held the horn up to his mouth, taking a deep breath as he stared in the direction of King Maecoal, looking at the expanse of monsters between his own assembled army and that of the king's.
"Despite your backhanded treachery against us on the day you enlisted the help of the dragons to attack us at our most vulnerable…despite your campaign of butchery across Ireland…despite all that you've done to humans and all that you keep trying to do…I'm giving you one last, final chance, King Maecoal. I want you to understand, I want you to truly see that there is a better way than this. If you won't take it…you force us to fight you. You will force us to kill you. For the sake of your people, for the sake of the future, for the sake of your son…stand down." Tobias called out through the magical horn.
King Maecoal blinked slowly, his hand gripping his trident as he glanced over briefly at Asgore and Toriel, who were standing not too far away. He turned behind him, seeing the dragons who were glancing amongst each other, whispering, murmuring, then looking in his direction. His generals Melusine, Jocasta and Selkie gazed at him as he turned his attention to them, Sir Grillby far in the back, looking away, currently in chains for refusing, absolutely, one hundred percent to fight at ALL.
"…sir?" Melusine quietly asked, eyes filled with a faint hope. "…your orders?"
King Maecoal turned back to look at Tobias.
"…NAY." He roared out, as he held his trident high. "CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE!"
That was when all Hell broke loose. The skeleton warrior Garamond let loose a roar as he led the first charge against the humans, swinging his sword blade, spinning it about above his head as Cu Chulainn charged forth. King Maecoal watched on Hadiya launched her projectiles, which barreled at his men, slamming and striking into them over and over. They weren't as effective as Tobias had hoped, King Maecoal had obviously taken notice of her skills and the armor of the monsters had a certain amount of magical shielding built into them.
But when she was able to get at their faces or their feet or hands, the monster soldiers would be stunned or would drop, instinctively howling, yelling, hopping on one foot or clutching their hands or reeling back, holding their face, feeling like an ingot of iron had slammed into their skull, getting quickly set upon. The wave led by Cu Chulainn tore into them, they were injured and desperate and their numbers made them impressively overwhelming.
Garamond clashed blades with Cu Chulainn as the red, long-haired human's eyes glittered. "Stand down or you die." Cu Chulainn said. "I've giving you a chance because Gaster's earned my respect, and I don't want to take his brother from him. Surrender and you'll be spared."
"It's a bit too late for mercy after all you've done." Garamond snarled. "You didn't show much of it to my troops before. I'm going to avenge them today!" He proclaimed, getting a good, strong kick on Cu Chulainn that knocked him back a bit, making him stagger slightly. The warrior barely got his sword up in time to block Garamond's swing, loud CLANG-CLANG-CLANG sounds ringing through the air as Garamond struck with astounding ferocity, as if he was using an axe on a log, determined to get enough firewood to last through all winter.
Erimentha, meanwhile, had finished drawing, and it was the first batch of her creations that now rose up from the ground, crafted from her mind's eye. Their tribal tattoos were made of black stone, their bodies a mixture of the ground and rock beneath as she held her fist up. "Ladies, show them how we do things where my beloved calls home!"
The Mami Wata she'd crafted from her drawings on papyrus and, when that had run out, cloth…roared, hissed and snarled, racing towards the stunned monster soldiers. They barely had time to lift their shields up as wicked blades clashed down, the slightly curved swords slashing over and over again.
One of them dove on a soldier, biting into his neck…only for an axe to sever her head, which dissolved into dirt and dust as Jocasta frowned darkly, glaring over in Erimentha's direction. She twirled her axe, barreling at her, slicing with her axe as she tried to carve a path towards the artist. Eri, seeing the danger, immediately got out the stick she'd carved to use for drawing, now drawing in a patch of dirt not far away.
Elisud, meanwhile, held up his hands. "ERRGGGHHHH!" He focused intensely, creating a giant green ball of shielding energy as he then thrust his hands forward…and the ball of green magical power rolled forward! Gawain and his friends quickly got out of the way, hooting and hollering as Selkie let out a yelp, the ball slamming right into her and the archers who'd been launching arrows over in the human army's direction. They were scattered, knocked aside like bowling pins as Elisud began to form another ball, this time around Erimentha…
"Just in time too!"
Toriel shook her head back and forth as she sat on the couch with Asgore sitting across from her in another chair. He'd made tea for all of them this time. It wasn't nearly as good as hers but…still. Not bad. Toriel sighed as Frisk kept writing down notes, he'd had to get multiple notepads to get all this down, but his attention was firmly seized as Toriel continued to speak. "Ms. Jocasta had finally managed to get past enough of Eri's drawn up little army. Eli set down a shield over her as the minotauress wailed on it with her axe again and again."
"That was when the second monster wave surged forward. Cu Chulainn was finding himself overwhelmed, he'd gotten the upper hand on Garamond at last and had almost cut right through his chest when he got knocked back by a spear that impaled him through the stomach. Melusine had gotten him off Garamond just in time and we were shocked, we thought Cu Chulainn was down, he wasn't moving at all. We couldn't believe a single random spear from almost out of nowhere had gotten him. It looked bad." Asgore sighed as he shook his head slowly. "Very bad. Our first wave was now whittled down as much as my father's forces and Hadiya was trying to use her projectile weaponry to stem the second tide as Bowen's group let his arrows fly, but the monsters had better armor at the moment, and better shields and weaponry."
"After all, we'd been severely set back by being prisoners of the dragons for so long. It undercut our efforts. He'd had months to prepare for a moment like this." Toriel added. "Seeichi and Sakamoto were using birds to peck and claw and dive at the monsters, aiming for their eyes. There were a lot OF them but despite their best efforts, it wasn't proving to be enough. The second wave had better coverings over their face, most of what he did was just proving to be a nuisance. Luckily, that was when the dragons took to the skies."
Indeed! Solomon the were-spider was trying to get Cu Chulainn up, shaking him slightly to waken him up, Melusine advancing on him, magical spears manifesting in the air around her. Elisud was bleeding from his nose, struggling desperately to try and keep "bowling" green shields at the enemy while keeping his own shield around Eri up. Selkie's troops had regrouped and were now launching themselves forward, into the fray too. Tobias was struggling to hold off Selkie, who was pressing down on his own blade, Tobias forced onto his knees, barely able to keep his sword up.
"Get off of the lad!" Abel Rogers roared out, the heterochromatic captain knocking into Selkie, forcing her back as he held his slightly curved sword up and swung at her, loud THWAKKA-KLANG-KLANG noises echoing over the battlefield, joining the throng. "Pick on someone a bit more your size!"
"You're not even worth half my skill!" Selkie snarled, ducking and swerving, avoiding his swipes as she managed to deliver a harsh, powerful kick that launched him back as Tobias yelled out.
"DO IT NOW! DRAGOOOONS!"
And hearing this, the dragons immediately took to the skies…and then dive bombed at Asgore's troops from behind! Grillby gaped as he looked on from the far off hill he was on, monsters were being burned by fire, or picked up and tossed about. Sakamoto decided to follow in their lead, he grinned proudly, surging down, sweeping across a platoon of monster soldiers, knocking them away. Iolo smiled in delight as he looked at Seiichi who cheered as he punched the sky with both hands…his smile fading as he realized that Arthus and Bowen and Dylann were very, very badly hurt. Gawain had been struck through the back by a hail of arrows, managing to spare Iolo the same fate, and now Iolo turned, furiously, gazing at Courier, who stood, bow and arrow set in hand, looking nervously across the field of battle at him.
The skeleton monster gulped as Iolo raced at him, swinging his blade. He yelped, barreling off, avoiding Iolo's swipes, diving away just in time as, of all people, ARIAL raced forward. She slammed hard into Iolo, knocking him to the side, holding up her spear and pointing it at him, only for her to freeze in place, lifted up as a long, white-haired mage shook his head.
"You're not going anywhere." Leopold said, Gerald shivering, clinging to his back, some blood trickling from his mouth as Gaster, nearby, was looking over the three heavily injured men who barely stirred.
"…they're not going to make it…" He murmured. "Oh, Eli is going to be heartbroken…"
Eli was, luckily, not needing to expend as much effort on the shields. Jocasta had been knocked away by Hadiya, who yelled furiously as she launched a hail of yellow projectiles at her. She wasn't wearing quite as much armor as others, typical of her kind, they didn't want much getting in the way of their rough and tumble style of fighting. Jocasta howled as she was assaulted by the pulsating yellow projectiles, reeling, clutching at her face. One eye had been blown open, the remains and oozing blood gushing out from her hands as Eri rose up, having drawn the quickest thing she could think to draw.
Snakes! Stony snakes that rose up from the ground, wrapping around Jocasta, binding her up as Eri flopped backwards onto her rump, cringing, looking down at her hands. "I can't feel my hands…I think I'm spent…" She confessed to Hadiya as Hadiya raced to her side, lifting up the hands and kissing them.
"I've got you." Hadiya insisted. "Stay behind me." She told her, giving Eri a deep, passionate but still rather quick kiss right on the lips. A faint spark tickled between them as they both shuddered with pleasure and adrenaline before they rose up, Eri getting behind Hadiya as she swung her arms about, launching her balls of yellow magic at the monsters. Solomon, the were-spider, knelt by Cu Chulainn as he began to bind the wound he'd gotten with his spider's silk, Cu Chulainn's eyes flickering open as he rose up, holding his sword high.
"You're not getting rid of me so easily!" He proclaimed, sweeping forth into the fray as Solomon raced alongside him, scuttling across the ground, slamming hard into Melusine, the two rolling around on the ground, Solomon punching and clawing at her as she struck and headbutted and kicked at him in return!
But just when it looked like things were going well and the monsters were going to HAVE to give up, that was when King Maecoal entered the fray. King Maecoal's trident shot up, burning waves of fire shooting forth. Leopold dived away, gasping as Arial flopped to the ground. Seiichi yelled as he avoided another fireball, but Solomon was hit right in the face. He yelled and howled and screeched, clawing, rolling around, flopping onto his side. The fire was out but…his eyes had been burned beyond recognition, now ravaged, scorched sockets, looking like meat that had been left to cook for too long as he wailed and screamed.
Melusine advanced, holding up her magical spears…only to be tackled, Iolo knocking her clean off her feet as a horrible RRRKK-CRRAACCCKK noise rang out. She screeched, the agonizing pain rising through her as she struggled to get Iolo off her, launching her spears all about in a desperate attempt to do just that. CHUNKA-THWUNK noises rang out, Iolo clinging to her, struggling to try and keep her down. It was then that, at last, he flopped off, now very, tragically dead, enough spear wounds on his back had done the trick. Melusine almost felt like HER back was broken, she struggled to get up…but she couldn't.
Monsters may have been made up of magic, but the imitation limbs and organs they had were very close to the real thing. She was paralyzed! She laid there, having to listen to Solomon's screaming as King Maecoal's trident forced its way through Gerald.
A wet, nasty sound rang out, Leopold splattered with Gerald's magical insides, milky, faintly clumpy…stuff…jettisoned out of his chest as he flopped onto the ground, eyes unseeing, King Maecoal diving away to avoid burning dragon fire from the skies.
"GERALD!" Gaster cried out in horror as Leopold felt pure, raw, absolute fury race in him. Leopold glared balefully in Garamond's direction, holding his hand up, clenching it tight as Garamond tried to swing his sword at him, to stop the young mage. Garamond's sword was halted in place, the skeleton monster gasping as he was lifted up, up into the air, then forcibly brought down. Again…and again! AND AGAIN…as Gerald's body slowly faded away into dust, joining the thick cloud that was beginning to slowly settle around the battlefield…
THA-SCHUUUUNK! A dragon flopped down out of midair, howling. Malajun screamed at the sight, Akshauhini looking horrified as Sakamoto tumbled down, down, down, crushing people beneath him, BARELY managing to grab Seiichi off of him, tucking him against his chest. THRAAKKA-SCHA-KOOOOOM! His body crashed into monster and human alike, the light in his eyes beginning to fade, his mouth hanging open slightly, Seiichi screaming as he shook him.
"NO! NO, SAKAMOTO! NO! NOOOOO!" He howled out. "Please! Please, you have to get up!"
"I…I wish we…had more…time…" Sakamoto whispered. "…I would have been so happy with you….I…WAS happy…"
With that, he stopped moving, stiffening, his body crumbling, Seiichi flopping down into a pile of dust that sifted through his fingers.
King Maecoal wheeled on Elisud, focusing. His trident shot in Eli's direction, wrapped in magical energy…just as Asgore and Toriel grabbed him from behind, tugging him back. THWUMPH! He was pinned to the ground, the sound of wailing, dying humans around them as Selkie was attacking with a vengeance. Arrow after arrow was flying from her bow, she moved with astounding speed as Asgore shook his head.
"This HAS to stop! YOU'VE got to stop! This is insanity, father! Enough people have died!"
"The humans took and took and took and now you're siding with them!?" King Maecoal roared. "After everything their kind did to us?! After all they KEEP doing to us?!"
"You can't act like you've been better than them!" Asgore insisted fervently.
"MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO BE "BETTER"!" King Maecoal furiously snarled, managing to finally toss Asgore off him, then kicking Toriel off as he lunged in the direction of Abel. The captain had thrown a dagger from his belt at Selkie and it had struck her right in the eye. She howled, clutching at it, falling down, her voice dying away in a gurgle, Abel racing over to Tobias as Tobias was helping Gawain up. The rest of Eli's old platoon had been almost utterly wiped out, they were all that was left.
"Come on, we've got to go help Asgore and Toriel, we need to stop the king."
Abel didn't get to say another word, King Maecoal's trident impaled him and Gawain in one foul swoop, Tobias reeling back, having been speared in the stomach, though not enough to kill him. He coughed and hacked, looking in horror as a faint glow rose up from the limply-hanging bodies of Gawain and Abel on the trident…as the glow shifted and altered into…
Little floating…hearts?
"Oh NO." Frisk's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe he'd gotten GRILLBY of all people to talk about what had happened as they sat in the back of his bar, the fire elemental having begun spilling his guts once Frisk had told him of what he'd heard from Gaster, Asgore and Toriel. "You don't mean…"
"Yes." Grillby sighed as he held his head in his hands. "…King Maecoal absorbed their souls. He grew…bigger. Taller. His…his teeth got sharper, his fingernails got a bit larger and more clawed, his muscles bulged. Black lines slid down from his eyes, a hole opened up in his forehead and magical energy seemed to coalesce in it like a torch. He began to tear through the humans like TISSUE PAPER, ripping them apart, and he was…he looked so HAPPY doing it. There was so, so much blood…"
He shuddered, shaking his head back and forth. "I remember Arial screaming. Gaster's mother had almost been shot through the back but Seiichi had dived and taken the shot to the shoulder instead, he'd saved her life. She couldn't believe that he'd done that after monsters had taken Sakamoto from him, but…that was the type of person he was." Grillby smiled sadly. "She would have been grateful…until the loud, WET noises rang out. She was horrified, being caked in human blood, one of many, by the king's rampage. Garamond was dust beneath her, Courier had been accidentally shot in the fray by a monster arrow and was barely clinging to life but she was more horrified at the king. He was crushing a man's skull like a grape, and then…then as he turned to finish Tobias, that was when Cu Chulainn was…he stopped being a "man"." Grillby sighed, looking into Frisk's face. "He gave into the demon."
Indeed…he did. King Maecoal found himself pinned to the ground, looking into a red, scaly-skinned, dark-eyed thing who had seven pupils in each eye, pointed, clawed digits, a muscular body, teeth and talons like daggers, with a long, bladed tail. Cu Chulainn roared, his body coated in a miasma of rust and blood that blended together as he headbutted the king in the face.
A foul, sickening crack went out, King Maecoal's nose broken as they rolled around on the ground, everyone mesmerized by the sight around them as the skies began to darken, and lightning cracked. Thunder roared through the air, but not nearly as loud as the two's furious, bestial snarling and screeching. THWAK-THWAK-THWAK! King Maecoal struck at Cu Chulainn in his most diabolical form, hitting him again and again.
Cu Chulainn just laughed, even as blood dribbled out the side of his mouth. His tail shot up, and THWUUUULP! A loud, wet meaty sound rang through the air as it stabbed into King Maecoal again and again. The king shuddered and howled, a strange glow coming over him as Cu Chulainn roared in his face. "Come to me!" he roared out. "Come on! Show me what you've got! Don't let yourselves become what gives this fool power! Show him what it means to be…a HUMAAAAAAN!"
And then they manifested, bursting out of King Maecoal as light exploded from his body. He howled in agony, two fluttering little hearts wafting through the air, sliding off, down…down towards two prone forms. Gawain murmured softly, Eli racing to his side, tears in his eyes as Abel dragged his frame towards Solomon as Eri and Hadiya barreled over to them.
"I wasn't…gonna leave without…seeing you all one…last…time." Abel insisted, feeling the salty iron taste of blood in his mouth, flopping to the side, Solomon fighting back the pain he felt in his eyes…because the pain in his heart was infinitely worse now.
"You know…you were so good to us." Eri whispered. "Thank you for all you did."
"For being such a good friend…I…I hope where you go is where you deserve." Hadiya added, Abel quietly smiling back at them, the light beginning to fade out of his eyes as he gripped Solomon's hand, and Eri and Hadiya's in the other.
"…I'm…g-gonna tell the…others…" Gawain whispered as Eli wiped his eyes, the bearded young man looking into Gawain's barely-seeing eyes. "…you've won. We'll…we'll wait for you up there…tell our story. All of ours…"
"I will. I'll write it all down." Elisud whispered, clinging to Gawain tight…even as he felt the warmth slowly leaving him.
Cu Chulainn looked down at King Maecoal, who's eyes were bigger than dinner plates, full of terror and fear.
"Where's your crown, King Nothing?" He asked darkly, as he brought his claws down.
THWUUUSCCCHLLKKKK! The head came off, the crown tumbling to the side as King Maecoal's body slowly dissolved into dust, Cu Chulainn letting loose a primal and furious roar, holding his fists high into the sky before, at last…he flopped onto his back, covering his face with one arm, laughing softly…and crying.
"I did it…I did it…oh, Connla…Connla, I'll find you soon, my beautiful boy…" He whispered. "No more of this…I'll find you…I'll find you…"
Asgore reached down, picking up his father's crown, Toriel putting a hand on his shoulder as the people left on the field of battle, monsters and human alike, heard him speak. "MONSTERS! STAND. DOWN. NOW, GODDAMN IT!" He roared with the most intense, furious, baleful snarl they'd ever, EVER heard him say.
Loud, metallic noises rang out as weaponry was thrown down, spears and axes and swords tossed away as Tobias rose up and walked towards Asgore and Toriel, hand outstretched.
"Let's…talk." He said. "We've got to decide what to do now. And we should decide it quick, before word of what's happened here reaches the ears of too many."
"Yes…we should." King Asgore admitted softly.
…
…
…
… "The dragons were the ones who made the suggestion. They had, after all, made many a city underground with their unique magic. None would be quite as big or expansive as the one they'd kept us prisoner in but…" Gaster shook his head. "It would do. Monsters would go underground to avoid reprisals, to keep humans from potentially finishing the job now that King Maecoal was gone and so much of the monster kingdom's army was decimated, the same way the dragons had been."
"And the mages?" Frisk asked, having been riveted by the story, leaning in, eyes wide as Gaster quietly sighed.
"They decided on a barrier." He confessed. "They outwardly would tell people that nobody could get in and nobody could get out. But the truth was…any human could get in and get out. Luckily, we had Leopold to pretend he just couldn't pass on through when the King of England and others wanted a full demonstration." He chuckled softly, glancing off to the side, looking at the wall, as if seeing something off in the distance, many miles away.
"Wait…why did…?" Frisk was confused, tilting his head to the side.
"The barrier had to be erected from two sides, not just one. And Leopold and Seiichi volunteered. They decided they'd spend as much time around monsters as they could…and spend it with me." Gaster sighed softly, looking at his hands, flexing them softly. "The snow was falling in thick flakes all around us that day as monsters shuffled into the deep caves, descending down, down into the depths where their new home would be. I held Leo's hand through it all, Seiichi holding his as we stood at the opening, King Asgore and Queen Toriel by our side. Melusine was badly, badly hurt, she needed Jocasta to hold her up, they'd run out of healing potion and magic and food and had to make more, so…they all looked so pitiful. WE…we looked so pitiful, standing there. Just…beaten, broken and…silent. Almost totally silent." He murmured.
Gaster took in a long, deep breath. "Eventually, Seiichi and Leopold asked for me to take their souls. That way they could be with me forever and always help monsters through me, until the day I passed on." He confessed. "I wasn't sure at first but…it was what they wanted, and at last, I did it. They became a part of me, completely, and…and that helped save me when I fell into the CORE. Having multiple souls, human souls, inside of me meant that being ripped into pieces across time and space wasn't quite the…soul-destroying experience it could have been."
"What happened to the others?" Frisk asked. "Toby and Eri and Hadi and Eli and Cu?"
"Well…" Gaster hesitated. "Tobias proved to be a pretty fine ruler. He had many…MANY kids, I remember that much. He would come by the cave, sneaking off every once in a while just to check in. It was comforting to Asgore and Toriel and I and everyone else. It…it meant a lot." He admitted softly. "Eri and Hadiya got to see the world and had even more adventures, though none would ever quite reach the highs they'd had when we were all together." He chuckled. "They had good, long lives. Cu Chulainn would eventually find his son but…Connla ended up bursting into his tent. He was eight years older and all armored and Cu Chulainn demanded to know who he was, but Connla refused to say…"
Frisk's eyes bulged. Oh no. OH NO.
"He…he wouldn't identify himself. His mother Aife bound him not to identify himself or back down from a challenge. She wanted Connla to do this to get even with Cu Chulainn because a year before Connla showed up to challenge him, Cu Chulainn had begun to fall in love again. Connla almost beat him in a fight, but HE didn't know this was his dad either, not until his father's helmet got knocked off from his thrown spear and the hair came tumbling down and he realized too late who it was. And…and Cu Chulainn didn't realize it until Connla…was dying."
Frisk hung his head, biting his lip, feeling a cold chill rise in him. "That's awful…"
"He had to live with that guilt forever until the day he supposedly died. His mortal frame died standing up against a standing stone, a menhir called Clochafarmore in Ireland. Like…like Boromir in the tale of the Lord of the Rings. More spears in him than you'd think a man could handle. And what he turned into was…was…" He trailed off. "…whatever he is now isn't human. I…miss that."
"And Elisud?"
"Elisud did write of all we'd done. He wrote many stories, keeping much of them hidden for…well, obvious reasons. God forbid anyone find out the barrier could be easily gotten into or a host of other secrets about monsters. Many of them were hidden in plain sight those as fairy stories and fiction, tales from a well-written monk who was much beloved in the land of Wales for years and years to come. He died peacefully in his bed from what I hear. He never had children but his works touched millions of them, and that made him happy enough. He liked to visit the local towns and bring the children gifts of books and sweets and things, so he was surrounded by the lives he touched when he finally passed on." Gaster smiled softly as he nodded at Frisk. "…I looked up where he'd lived and was able to find a magically-concealed little vault where he'd kept his most true-to-form stories about us. It was like listening to the voice of an old friend."
He snapped his fingers, his floating extra skeletal hands sweeping across the room to his nearby office bookcase, getting out one very dusty-looking tome. "I've got other copies made but…here's the original." He offered to Frisk, who took it eagerly, eyes widening as he gazed down at the pages and began to read. He knew where he wanted to start…after all, he'd heard just about everything…
Except the end.
…
…
…
…the snow had continued to fall as Tobias, Cu Chulainn, Erimentha, Hadiya and Elisud stood on the other side of the cave, magical seals drawn around the opening to this enormous cave, the same seals on the other side as Leopold and Seiichi and Gaster put the finishing touches on them. A "heh-hem" came from behind the king and queen of monsters as they turned, seeing Grillby and Arial slowly walking up to them, with…two small packages on the skeleton monster's back. Small little packages that faintly breathed, murmuring and mumbling and bubbling in their slumber.
"…you let her fight when she was going to give birth soon?!" Gaster wheeled on Jocasta, who shook her head, Melusine cringing.
"She insisted." Grillby admitted. "It was her choice. King Maecoal was just as horrified as you, but she insisted."
"Wh…what're my brother's names?" Gaster asked as Arial slowly took her children off her little backpack she had, showing off the tiny little baby skeleton monsters.
"Sans and Papyrus." She said with a smile. "They're adorable, aren't they?"
"…look, I…we…"Cu Chulainn began to say.
"Don't. Whatever you have to say, don't. You have your own family you need to take care of. I can never and I WILL never accept any apology from you or any your kind." Arial spoke quietly. "I'm only tolerating Leopold because Gaster loves him, and tolerating the one you call Seiichi because he saved my life. That's it." She said darkly. "…you had better hope no other humans ever come down. Because we won't forget or forgive so easily what you're doing to us now. Even if the alternative is…is being wiped out by humans. We won't let this go."
"…you shouldn't." Tobias confessed. "But for what it's worth…we are so, so sorry. I…I hope one day, things will be better, and you can walk freely…better than how it was." He murmured as Leopold and Seiichi nodded.
"Let's…let's do this." Seiichi murmured. "…we should get it over with before anyone changes their minds."
"Remember, England's royal jackass and his court will be by in a week to check on this barrier. You have to make it look like there's just NO WAY anyone can get through." Tobias insisted.
"We'll adjust things a bit." Leopold offered with a nod. "It'll work."
"Will you really be alright down in the dark?" Eri asked as she and Hadiya stood close together, Leopold quietly nodded.
"Yes. For the same reason you'll be alright. You have each other…don't you?" He asked as the two women smiled at him, Gaster kissing Leopold on the cheek.
The snowflakes were coming harder now as the human mages began to quietly murmur, the seals glowing beneath them, a big, distinct, glowing barrier of white rising up from the ground as Tobias felt the tears spring to his eyes as he looked at Toriel and Asgore, seeing Gaster's face and Leopold's eyes…seeing Seiichi's tear-stained face that looked so haunted, knowing…it'd be the last time they would all be together.
He couldn't help but weep for what might have been as they finally turned away, Elisud left behind, staring off into the recesses of the dark cavern depths before he turned to look at the sky, as the snowflakes cascaded around him, Grillby having remained in the caves too.
"I think you'll tell a good story about this." Grillby spoke up softly as Elisud turned to look at him.
"Yeah…I think I will. And…you know, I'd been…I'd been working on this…this song. This song about…about pain. About…moving on, but…also about regret. So, so much regret. I'd only really gotten like…the final climactic chorus of the song made in my head but…well, now I think I know how I want that song to go." He quietly murmured to Grillby.
"…I like songs." Grillby said softly as he nodded. "Please…let me hear it. I'll keep it in my heart like a little torch to carry. One last gift from the human world."
Eli nodded. And then he began to sing, softly at first, but growing in passion and power, his words echoing through the snowy air, cascading, dancing along like the snowflakes fluttering about him.
Touch – ticking in the firelight,
Flicking like a firefly in my mind!
Stuck – standing in a crossroads
Heavy like horse carts in a line…
Mess – careful where you make it
I can't seem to shake it anymore!
Stunned – overrun and outmatched,
Waiting out the outcome on the floor…
But aaaaaall iiiiiis welllll…
Caaaan't yooooou teeeeell?
All of the leaves are greeeeeen…
On every forget-me-not!
But all that we might have beeeeeen…
Is covered in…frost…
Soft – tender like a symphony,
Tearing out the rest of me bit by bit!
Late – better now than never,
Trailing off together into a pit,
Love – somehow we misplaced it
Somewhere in the basement down below,
I try…try to get it better, try to stay together,
But we goooo…
And IIIIII dooooon't miiiind…
IIIII'mmmm juuuuuust fiiiiine…
All of the leaves are greeeeeen…
On every forget-me-not!
But all that we might have beeeeeen…
Is covered in…frost…
If you need me to be strong…
I will, I will!
If you need me to be GONE?
I will, I will!
They say "Life carries on",
And I will…I wiiiiiiill…
If yooou wiiiill…
Touch – ticking in the firelight,
Flicking like a firefly in my mind!
How loooooong can we keep faaaaaaaalling?
How loooooong can we keep faaaaaaaalling?
How loooooong can we keep faaaaaaaalling?
How loooooong can we keep faaaaaaaalliiiiiing?
All of the leeeeaaaaves are green…
All of the leaves are greeeeen, ohhh…
On every forget-me-not!
On every forget-me-noooot!
But all that we miiiight have beeeen…
All that we might have been…
Is covered in…
Covered in…
Covered in!
Covered in frooooost!
Covered in…
Covered in!
Covered in froooooooooost!
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Well...at long last, it's over. This year and month was the anniversary of Undertale and I was determined to finish "Frost" before I did. This year has been super hectic and challenging for me, I lost several jobs, the Coronavirus really hit my hospital I'd worked at hard. Now I'm trying to make my way forward and start anew.
There wasn't a lot of prequel stories about what happened before or even during the Monster/Human War and I decided to add a touch more realism to how things might have gone. I wanted to show that both sides could be both right and wrong, and to really dive into a story about PEOPLE, both humans and monsters, and to be a story as much about love as it was about sorrow, and about futures denied, about what might have been...if not for the wrong choices.
I've really enjoyed writing this story. I'd been meaning to finish it for a long time now and at last, I got to tell the story I wanted. I hope you all enjoyed it too, despite a certain unpleasant TROLL who keeps leaving disgusting bullshit guest reviews in my review section...when they weren't pretending to be me and leaving guest reviews on other people's tales, demanding those folk give this story a good review or else. I'm glad I got to finish this tale the way I wanted, despite the onslaught of crap from this troll and her friends.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all, and a happy early new year's wish from me. Be good to each other. The world is unfair because people are unfair to one another. That's why we have to be good to one another...to make it a little less unfair, one person at a time.
Be thou just and good.
Sincerely...the author.
Nick. :)