Chapter Ten

For the first time in 300 years, Toriel Dreemurr saw the sun. She shielded her eyes from the bright, midsummer light, blinking against it. Dazzled by the day star, she heard rather than saw the the members of King Asriel's royal guard surround her. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a world of lush green trees, a beautiful and modern city in the distance, the ocean meeting the horizon beyond, and a team of uniformed monsters and humans surrounding her, none the least bit intimidated by a boss monster with a bound human soul.

The soul in question railed at her from within, seething with a terrifying malice. "Let go of me, you conceited bitch! You took me from my children! If you think for a moment that I'm going to let you use my power to hurt anyone, you'll find yourself sorely mistaken! Let me go!"

Toriel's hand landed on her chest, barely able to contain the awful hate. It was so different from the war so long ago. The souls harvested then were not so quick to anger, being soldiers who knew the penalty of death. Those souls had been ripped out of the monsters who'd taken them before being shoved in the prison.

But this? This was not someone for whom an early death was a sure promise. This was a woman who'd been peacefully watching her children play in the yard when she was taken. And the shattering of that peace had been enough to make her soul powerful enough to fight back; to be filled with a determination that could cry out and shatter the sky. Toriel knew, if she attempted to tap that power, it would backfire, and she would be dust.

Her plan to use this soul to power her way through the soldiers on the mountain and make a bid for the Dreemurr throne had been a pipe dream at best.

King Asriel approached. "Unbind the soul."

Toriel shivered in the presence of the king. "Parley."

Asriel snorted, clearly amused as his arms crossed over his chest.. "Do you really think you're stepping off this mountain alive?"

"No. I want to assure the future of my sons and as a Dreemurr, I am allowed the parley."

The soul's hollow laugh filled her mind with a black sickness. "Oh yes! A great future! You left them to die at their father's hands!"

"Those laws were abolished after Asgore abused them to his advantage." Asriel turned away. "Unbind the soul and follow me."

Toriel sighed, and with more relief than she cared to admit, released the soul. The soul hovered in front of her for a moment before shooting away, going wherever it was that human souls went after death. Feeling suddenly lighter, Toriel followed after the King of All Monsters to a grove of trees. The guard followed her, all still ready to take her down at the slightest command. They were a well disciplined team, so unlike the unruly and easily provoked guard she had cultivated, much to Asgore's displeasure.

In the grove, Toriel took a moment to admire her nephew. He'd grown considerably from the young goat who'd fought alongside his father in the war so long ago. Asriel had been blessed with incredible strength and courage, and though she'd lied to herself about it 300 years ago, had Asgore succeeded in taking down the king, he would have fallen to Asriel's superior might and iron will. When she'd discovered newspapers from the surface in the dump, she'd read them voraciously, following along as her nephew grew older, wiser, married, ascended the throne, and eventually had children.

But looking at him now, she understood why Asgore's bid for the throne was doomed from the start. She'd understood from the war what a monster bonded with an unwilling human soul could end up looking like if the monster was not strong enough to control it: twisted and vile; a horrifying entity of destruction. But King Asriel Dreemurr appeared tireless and uncannily beautiful. A human soul rested within his and the two worked in a deep partnership. She wondered briefly who that good friend was, but decided that it didn't matter. She'd made her bed. It was finally time to sleep in it.

Toriel sighed, looking around at the wildflowers that grew at their feet. "You've chosen a very pretty place for my dust. I like it very much."

"Does Uncle Asgore still garden?"

Toriel smiled, nodding. "He never wanted to appear weak, so it was always through me that his wishes came, but he turned as much of the prison into a garden as he could. And, many places in the cavern were made into their own small paradise that way. The throne room is nothing but a garden. There's no court to hold so he ripped up the floor and filled it with flowers."

Asriel smiled softly, his black lips pulling up a little. "Your sons."

"I have two sons. Asriel, the oldest, is the singular fruit of Asgore and I. The youngest, whom Asriel called 'Chara' to hide his identity from his father, is Christopher Nightfall. Both of them have a considerable Level Of ViolencE. Their LOVE was forced on them by Asgore, at first as a test and later as a continuous need to assure their dominance over an unruly 'royal guard.' Christopher has done much to shield Asriel from needing to take lives for his own safety as much as Asriel has done much to shield his brother from the worst effects of that LOVE."

Toriel smiled wryly. "They both, rather cunningly I might add, have protected the daughter of Everdawn who was kidnapped and dropped into the cavern. I ask that you consider these things when they are presented before you."

"You offer nothing else as evidence in their favor?"

Toriel frowned. "I have nothing else to offer. But protecting an Everdawn from certain death should be more than sufficient to safeguard their lives."

Asriel smiled,leaning in a little. "Toriel the Reaper, the great spymaster of the Iron Bark War has nothing else to offer to her sons' defense?"

Toriel looked up at him, confused as Asriel's smile grew. "I…"

"How many humans were kidnapped and tossed into the Ebott Prison by your count?"

"Twelve."

Asriel looked to the white dog monster at his side. "Dogaressa, I want it noted that Asriel Dreemurr and Christopher Nightfall's operation to hide fallen humans in the prison was a rousing success."

Toriel's jaw dropped. "What do you...?"

Asriel chuckled. "Thirty two humans were kidnapped and dropped into the prison. Your sons successfully retrieved and hid twenty of them in the prison over a ten year period. Frisk was the one they couldn't get to in time to secret her away."

Toriel's gasp came out as a chuckle, eyes looking to the ground. "Have they really?" She smiled tears filling her eyes. "And here I thought I was the only one who truly knew everything that happened in my meager domain…"

"Based on the reports We've received from the humans we have been extracting from the prison, Christopher takes after his great grandfather, Darian Nightfall, who at current, is celebrated as the best spy We have ever had in Our employ. He ended two wars while waltzing behind enemy lines with ease. And Asriel takes very much after you, a spy of such skill, your methods are still studied today. To have not just one, but two people of that caliber in Our service would be a great boon."

Toriel sighed deeply, half bent over in relief.

"What was your purpose in forcing an engagement between Christopher and Frisk?"

Toriel's eyebrow quirked and she stood up straight. "Wait… How do you know about…?" She growled. "There is another way in and out of the prison!"

Asriel nodded once. "And even with you being unaware of it, you still managed to run a rather devious scheme to kidnap humans under Our nose." He put his hands on his hips, head lifted tall. "My question stands. Just as it was three hundred years ago, it is the same today. The marriage of any member of the wizarding families is a matter of state, especially that of an Everdawn. What was your purpose?"

Toriel frowned deeply. "I decline to answer."

Asriel's eyes glowed softly. "You don't have a right to decline. Answer the question."

Toriel huffed. She looked away for a moment, attempting to fight the magic behind the command, and then looked back with a deep sigh, unable to lie. "Knowing that the child of such a union would make for an incredibly powerful soul, I planned to make the child's death appear as an instance of sudden infant death syndrome, take the soul, and use the power to ascend your throne."

The glow in Asriel's eyes jumped fiercely before fading out. "Well, you did marry into the family. No one can expect you to hold to the Dreemurr's solemn protection of the wizarding families." He stepped forward, taking Toriel's hands in his.

For a moment, the urge to fight welled up inside her, only to pass away. She'd let her last chance to escape pass her by when she didn't take a soul and leave at Frisk's appearance. "I told my eldest that I named him so as to be a stand in for you. The truth is, I named my son after you in the hopes that he would be would grow to be as strong and wise as you."

Asriel smiled softly. "Goodbye, Aunt Toriel."

Toriel closed her eyes, her soul lifting out of her body to hover between them. "Goodbye."

Below the mountain, Frisk sat quietly in Chara's arms while he shook, her hand gently rubbing his arm while he held her tightly. Asriel disappeared to find Frisk something to eat, and while time was of the essence, he knew Chara needed to be alone with her. The goat prince walked the empty halls of the palace, heading for the servants hall and the kitchen, occasionally stopping to upright something Brine had knocked over in his mad dash.

He froze at the sound of voices coming from the front parlor. Carefully peeking inside, he found Isadora looking up at his father, a huge pile of gifts on the floor behind her.

Asgore looked over the pile of gifts. "Isadora? Where has everyone gone?"

The orange rabbit monster shrugged without turning around. "If you're asking about the guard, Your Majesty, I have no idea. Her Majesty bid me send the staff away before she..." Isadora trailed off eyes on the floor.

"She left through the Barrier.'

"She left this for the staff before she sacked us." Isadora kicked the box with her name on it and it crashed into the wall, crumpling as it hit the floor.

"Such bitterness. Tori has always treated you well."

"It's not about me."

Asgore sat on the floor so that he and Isadora were eye level. "It's about my sons, isn't it?"

"Always. It's always about them. She just left them behind to face you alone." She turned to Asgore. "Her betrayal means nothing to you?"

"It was only a matter of time." He smiled softly. "She wasn't the only one reading papers from the surface. The only reason she waited so long was how much she enjoyed being a queen. No such life awaited her on the surface. She could have escaped long ago and chose not too. That she chose to go now is it's own miscalculation. She will not escape the gathering on the mountainside."

Isadora gasped. "Then you know about-!" She covered her mouth with both hands.

"Frisk? Yes."

Isadora deflated. "Then why didn't you harvest her soul?"

"She is an Everdawn. As a Dreemurr, safeguarding the wellbeing of the wizarding families is my privilege. I know that sounds strange coming from 'Asgore the Ravager,' but even during the war, harvesting the soul of a wizard was not something I would allow. If I had won the throne, I needed their trust in that matter and keeping the Dreemurr oath would assure that." He shrugged. "And Frisk's soul is more than powerful enough to consume any monster that would try to bond with it. I would cease to exist."

Isadora found her fury. "Then if you know about her, you also know about Chara. Why did you force him to kill? Why?!"

Asgore sighed. "Christopher's unique ability as a member of the Nightfall family had yet to be awakened and that was the surest method by which to bring it about. I knew that, so long as that part of his soul remained dormant, he was always in danger from Tori." He smiled apologetically.

"She presented it as giving Asriel a brother."

Asgore shook his head. "That was her story after the fact. Her orders were to take a Nightfall whose power had not yet awakened knowing that many Nightfalls never come into their true power and such a soul would be enough to open the Barrier alone. That Chara was a child and Asriel found him first was a miscalculation."

Isadora frowned, eyes on the floor. "I don't know which of the two of you is lying anymore."

Asgore nodded. "I don't ask you to believe either of us. It isn't fair to do so. We've both stewed in our lies for more than three hundred years."

Isadora looked up. "The guard is gone, Toriel has runaway, and I am sure that Dr. Gaster has met his end."

Asgore gave her a faint smile and patted her shoulder. "Then I am the only thing standing between my subjects and freedom."

Asriel shivered, hands coming up to cover his face as he leaned back against the wall. His breath came out in a whisper, "I'm not ready."

Isadora's ears went up, and she put her hands on her hips, eyes blazing. "No. I'm not letting you do this to Asriel. Chara may shrug it off, but Asriel loves you. And if that means I'm the one who has to fight you, I will."

"No one has to fight me, Isadora. That's not how this is going to end."

Asriel's trembling hand covered his mouth, tears filling his eyes.

Isadora shook her head, her ears falling down. "What happened to your ambition?"

Asgore shook his head. "It left me a long time ago." He stood and offered her his arm. "Will you walk with me, Isadora? I'd like to see my garden."

The rabbit monster nodded and slipped her arm around his. "All in all, you weren't a bad king. The constant intrigue between you and Toriel I could have done without."

Asriel quickly hid behind an overly large vase in the hall as the two came out.

"Tori thrived on that sort of thing. She was surly when she didn't have it and as time went on, and we had less and less of our original followers to play her game, I had to fill in, not that it made either of us happy."

"You said you wanted to awaken Chara's power. I've never seen him use magic, and Toriel was very clear that he never learn it from any from the staff. So what is his power that it was enough, even untrained, to keep her at bay?"

Asgore nodded thoughtfully. "Just as an Everdawn is a light that always rises with the sun, a Nightfall is a darkness that covers the world at the end of the day. And even untrained, my son's power infuses him, cloaking him in a darkness that comes to his aid without fail. It makes his sword strokes sure and powerful. The right words always come to his lips. And the cold breath of LOVE that infuses him, can never consume him."

Asgore opened the door to the throne room, holding it for Isadora before following her inside. Asriel snuck up to the door, looking inside through the sliver left open. The room was filled with a variety of blooming flowers in a riot of colors, the floor having been ripped out long ago and topsoil dragged in from the doorway to the Barrier. The throne had long ago been removed and replaced with a simple park bench.

Asgore sat on the bench, admiring the garden. "Thank you, Isadora. Now if you don't mind. I'd like to be alone for this part."

Isadora sighed deeply and nodded, leaving the room and pulling the door shut. She jumped, but managed not to squeak when she saw Asriel. The goat prince stood there, hugging himself and Isadora put her arms around him, squeezing him as tightly as she could.

After a moment or two, she patted his back. "Come on, Asriel."

"I…"

"Come along." Isadora drew him along.

"He's my father!"

Tears slid down the rabbit monster's cheeks and she dragged Asriel away. "We all must make this passage at some point in life, Asriel. Come along."

Inside the throne room, Asgore sighed at the sound of his son's sobs. "I'm sorry, Asriel. But you've long been able to stand on your own."

Asgore stood and reached into a pocket hidden in his cape, withdrawing a bag of monster dust. "I may no longer have my ambition, but that doesn't mean I am interested in dying." He opened the bag, looking at the collected dust of so many of his followers. "The lot of you have one last thing to do for me."

He opened the bag and scattered the dust over the flowers, enough for a full grown goat monster. The bag empty, he folded it neatly, and placed it back in the pocket of his cloak. Chuckling softly, he turned away, walking carefully through the flowers to a set of large flower boxes set against the wall. Activating a hidden switch behind long overgrown vines, the boxes lifted easily, revealing a hidden passage out of the throne room. Asgore descended into it.

As the flower boxes descended, Muffet launched herself from her hiding place on high ceiling, landing on the flower box and quickly crawling underneath it. Before it shut completely, she shot a blob of webbing at the vines, leaving an indicator for Undyne, knowing her Captain would be quick to follow behind.

Crawling along the rough hewn ceiling of a stairwell descending into a deep darkness, Muffet followed Asgore. The goat monster lifted his hand, a flame spurring to life in his palm. The fire's light lit his way along an unfinished floor of dirt in a shaft that was just big enough for him. After what seemed like ages, the tunnel let out into a cavern gallery filled with massive and beautiful columns of stone. The river that disappeared into the cavern wall in New Home, continued here, meandering through the middle of the gallery.

Asgore followed along the river bank to a natural bridge of stone hanging over the water. Muffet dropped soundlessly to the floor as she followed behind Asgore. The goat monster crossed the bridge heading upwards toward a rocky area filled with green grass and trees reaching up toward the sunlight streaming through a large hole in the cavern ceiling. The trees that grew here were large and sturdy, easily taking Asgore's weight as he climbed.

Unwilling to risk an escape, Muffet threw several strings of webbing, catching Asgore and pulling him back to the ground. Asgore hit the ground and rolled to his feet, looking for his attacker. Muffet remained still, invisible against the cavern wall. A glowing, red trident appeared in Asgore's hand as he carefully moved around the rocky area, eyes searching.

He turned from Muffet and she leaped into the air, reaching for a long dry stalactite. Asgore caught the sudden change in the look of the rock out of the corner of his eye and threw the trident on instinct. It caught Muffet's coat, shredding it as it knocked her to the ground. She rolled to her feet, her camouflage fading away.

Asgore's eyebrows went up as Muffet pulled four daggers from inside her coat. "A specialist? I was unaware that my nephew was willing to use the spider kind. Would you be what happened to the guard?"

Muffet said nothing, choosing instead to throw webbing at the trident, and swinging it hard, embedded the weapon deep in the rock wall.

Asgore nodded appreciatively of the move, even as he fell into stance. "Your kind were less than welcome among the Royal Guard, when I walked under the sun. I doubt things have changed. Why serve a master who only calls when the fight must be dirty?"

"Frisk is my friend."

Asgore paused, visibly shaken. In the blink of an eye, Muffet was on him, daggers finding the weak points in his armor, cutting the straps that held it in place. The metal protecting him fell to the ground as Muffet leaped up and away, grabbing onto a dry stalactite. Asgore growled and grabbed his trident, ripping it from the wall. An explosion of rock followed, the stones flying through the air. Muffet lifted one arm to shield her eyes.

He turned, loosing a volley of fire balls at the spider and Muffet jumped for a thicker stalactite, hiding behind it. Asgore tossed the trident lightly in one hand, changing his grip and pulling his arm back to throw it like a spear for the stalactite. His arm didn't move. He looked back only to have Undyne's fist connect with his snout. He let go of the trident, stumbling backwards.

"I'll thank you not to throw things at her." Undyne took the trident, and, forcing her magic through it, snapped it over her knee. The trident's red glow faded and she threw the pieces behind her. They clattered against the rocks, coming to rest in the silent grass.

Asgore frowned, "You would be Captain Undyne, correct?"

"I am."

"Your reputation precedes you."

Undyne raised her arm and a glowing spear formed in her hand. "So does yours."

She lunged at him with the spear and he leaned backwards enough that it didn't catch his throat.

Undyne spun around, using the momentum to strike at him again. "You've obviously had this little escape plan for a while. Why wait to use it?"

Asgore caught spear mid swing. "I wasn't going to leave my sons alone with Toriel."

Undyne sent a surge of power through the spear and Asgore let go of it, hissing. "And now that she's gone, you think you can sneak off too?" She pulled the spear back, repositioning and lunging forward again, bringing the spear around.

Asgore ducked under the spear, rolling forward and coming up with the breastplate Muffet had cut off him, holding the cut straps to use it as a shield. He blocked Undyne's next two blows, backing up to the pieces of his broken trident. He reached down for the pieces, only to find them gone. Looking up, he saw Muffet holding them. Growling loudly, he bull rushed Undyne with the breast plate, slamming into her and knocking her against a rock.

He lifted the breast plate, looking to bring its edge down on Undyne's neck. Muffet's web caught it and she pulled as hard as she could, fighting to keep Undyne from an early grave. She was no match for Asgore's strength and he easily dislodged her from the stalactite. Muffet let go of the breast plate in order to catch herself with a web. Undyne slammed her spear into Asgore's chest, hitting his soul. The goat monster froze in place, his eyes rolling down to look at her as his body began to fade, slowly turning to dust.

"What a sorry win. Two on one."

Undyne pulled her spear back. "It's not about winning. It's about being of service to my king."

Asgore's dust spread out among the grass, his cracked soul hovering for a moment, before shattering completely. Undyne shivered and shook herself. Breathing in deeply, she let the breath out slowly, letting the cold that came with a rise in LOVE cover her before gently pushing it away. Muffet let herself down to the cavern floor only to grab the nearest large rock as the ground began to shake.

Above them, the earth let out a groan before the quaking stopped, and the Barrier shattered.