"W-we d-did it, Chara!"
Pathetic.
"The m-monsters will never recover from this! T-they barely stayed comprehensible. I m-mean, it w-was fair for both s-sides, right?"
Weak.
"It's n-not like I doubted you. Never, not for one second. I just feel so relieved that it worked! That it's over!"
Unworthy.
"C-Chara?"
In the way.
"Chara?"
KILL!
"How are you?"
Aofil shakes their head. How did it go this wrong?
"Y-you did your creepy smile again."
Their entire body is pulsating. Uncomfortably warm. Aofil can feel every single heartbeat of theirs echo throughout their bones and muscles. Every thump is as loud as a bomb. Pushing against their skull from the inside.
This kangaroo trial!
Such disgusting injustice!
"C-Chara?"
The monsters got off scot free! Their punishment was nothing more than a slap on their fingers! They're still walking out of the courtroom by their own volition, on their own legs! That's not enough!
"I told you that it was a bad idea to let the monsters show the magic on you, Chara. That lawyer didn't know what he was talking about. It was a stupid idea of him to suggest you like that."
Is that so? Is that what this monster thinks?
"Your cover was almost blown. What if the king and queen had found out that you were you, and not your twin? The lawyers reason for sending you up there was stupid. Even if the magic they surrounded you with was hurtful, and even if that meant the jury instantly caving to you."
A monster calling a human's idea stupid?
"They don't deserve to know that you're still alive, Chara! I won't allow it! It's just you and me, like it was always meant to be. And now...finally..."
What an idiot.
"We'll be together on the Surface!"
A pathetic, worthless monster.
"C-Chara?"
So weak.
"W-why are you laughing?"
If it is what the monsters said, that one human soul is worth all the monster souls combined.
"Quiet! Someone might come!"
Then one human murdered is enough for the entirety of monsterkind.
"C-Chara!"
And they've killed seven!
"P-please, you're scaring me!"
Aofil snaps their eyes on the flower cowering on the table inside its cheap and cracked pot. Sobbing fearfully. Just as it should. It feels it, Aofil knows. It feels their power, their determination. It's flowing like the blood in their veins. Reaching out to each and every cell in Aofil.
The monsters wanted to show that their magic was harmless to humans, wanted to demonstrate it during the trial. What they didn't account for was that their magic might've been harmless to humans, but not to themselves.
It did something to Aofil. It opened their eyes. They've always known how weak the monsters were, but they've never realized, physically realized. Their magic has shown Aofil that, should they choose, they can wipe the monsters away with less than minimal effort.
Aofil's drunk with this vision, this realization of why the Barrier was created. It was not to protect the humans, it was to protect the monsters. Now that they've escaped, and now that there is no way for the humans to reconstruct the Barrier, there is only one way forward.
This curse that Aofil bears, it was labeled such after the Barrier was erected, according to the pastor's testimony during the trial. It was a curse during a time without monsters. Now that the monsters have returned, Aofil's destined to show the humans that they are a blessing.
Chara showed that a human couldn't live with the monsters, and the six other kids were extensive proof of that.
The king spoke of hatred, spoke of being blinded by fear and anger, imploring to not make the mistakes he did.
He didn't speak such out of kindness though. He failed to enact his revenge. He was too weak and feeble to go through with his actions, yet six children weren't enough for him!
Worst of all, the jury bought it. The jury swallowed his sob story, his disgusting lies. The tears of monsters fell like waterfalls, waterfalls of deception.
How can there be mutual understanding? Mutilated, both the children the monsters killed, and the deceiving begging they did towards the jury. When the children begged for mercy down in the Underground, they weren't granted any, yet here the king expects...No, demands, mercy to be show to him and his subjects! The other monsters plucked the same note, and before Aofil realized it, it was over.
Hands were shook, smiles were exchanged. Pleasant smiles, relieved smiles. Smiles that promised a joint future.
A joint future was the reason Chara died! The reason Aofil almost died!
The monsters again with their blasted tears, and their disgusting ways of molding what Aofil said into offering forgiveness. The lawyer's betrayal, siding with the unfair 'compromise' that was set upon after the exhausting hours inside that damned courtroom.
The flower jitters fearfully as Aofil throws their fist down on the table.
There has to be a way for Aofil to show everyone what liars and murderers the monsters are! There has to be something they can do! They don't have much time either! The monsters are about to hold a speech to the crowd outside. Aofil needs to stop them, but how?
"C-Chara?"
Wait! Aofil may not be able to stop it, but maybe they themselves don't have to?
"Flowey," Aofil says.
"Yes?"
"You'll help me, right?"
"Yes!"
"Good, because we're not done with the monsters."
The flower's eyes move side to side, frantically. "We're not?" it asks with a shaky voice.
"Absolutely not!" The words trickle from Aofil's lips like the most vile of poison. They're not done! Not until the monsters have payed for what they've done. Payed for slaughter.
The door is knocked on carefully, and in comes the pastor. He stops in the door frame, staring at Aofil's hunched over position, and deep, angry breathing.
"How are they?" Aofil asks as they lock eye contact with the pastor.
"W-who?" the pastor asked, a bit taken back by the sudden stare. His posture relaxes after a second though, and he closes the door behind him. "The monsters?"
Aofil's head jerks to the side at that horrific word.
"The monsters are preparing to hold a press conference in a couple of minutes," the pastor explains, "but I'm sure you already know of that." He leans forward, almost as if he wants to get closer to Aofil. "They are," he takes a deep breath, and stops talking. His face scrunches up into a variety of emotions, blending in and out, interweaving together, causing his wrinkles to loosen and contract multiple times per second.
He finally exhales after a short chortle to himself. As he opens his eyes, his eyebrows harden into a determined furrow.
"Aofil," he speaks gently. "Is this you?" he asks, almost as if he's congratulating Aofil. He doesn't wait for an answer, and instead tucks his clamped hands under his chin. A knowing smile explodes from his jaw, and he nods. "Determination," the pastor whispers to himself, "I never thought I'd feel it. Nevertheless emanating from another human to this extent. Your soul must be strong, Aofil. The crimson heart beats within you."
Aofil puts their hand over their chest. Warm, pulsating. Like their cheeks. Burning with determination. Burning with what the monsters can never imagine to feel. Now the monsters are outside, proclaiming that they're entitled to it. Entitled to be just as the humans that tower above them. They need to be reminded of their place in the world. The humans need to be reminded how high above they really are!
Aofil needs to remind their fellow human, what I means to be human.
"Your choir is waiting for you outside, Aofil. Speak your red heart's desire, and they will listen. They will lend you their ears, their hands, and their souls. They will walk with you to the ends of the world, lead them there. I'll be there when the time comes."
Aofil scoffs. The pastor sure likes to spruce up to the point of grandiose. Aofil's not gonna rebuke him though, for amid all that theatrical fluff, he's got a point. If justice can't be served in the so called house of justice, then Aofil needs to make it happen themselves, and they know just how to do it.
Aofil taps the flower pot with a knuckle. "Flowey," they say, "You got some more talking to do on the monster's behalf."
"I-if you say so," Flowey responds with a weak nod.
Aofil wraps their fingers around the pot. "No." They lift it up. "You're saying so," they wink.
A small giggle escapes Flowey, but it's hesitant to even be audible.
Aofil leaves the pastor alone in the room with a small nod as a goodbye. They head out towards the main entrance, but it's closed, and with a couple of security personnel guarding it.
"My fellow humans," comes a loud and deep voice from outside. It's the king's! "Many of you have come here in hope of finding vengeance, to find revenge for the terrible things that have happened since our imprisonment, and the separation of our species."
Dammit! He's already started! No matter, Aofil can figure something out around it.
Aofil slinks off to the side, out through a side door, but as they try and go around the corner, they spot a pair of upright dogs standing with polearms crossed, blocking access to an elevated wooden platform. Their hooded appearance fail to hide their large muzzles, moving slowly over to Aofil's way.
The muzzles wrinkle, and one of the guards puts up a large paw. "An audience with the king will follow after his speech, please register with Undyne, the head of the Royal Guard." The guard moves its paw over to the side, pointing over to a large queue of press folk in front of a blue colored monster frantically writing as fast as it can. Next to it is a smaller, and fatter, yellow monster, writing just as fast.
"Can you kill them? The guards?" Aofil asks to the flower in their hands. "Don't move, just say yes if you can."
No answer.
"Flowey, I asked you a-"
"Yes," the flower answers without emotion. "Just get me close."
"Can you fill up the robes with your vines afterwards? Make it seem like they're still alive?"
"Yes."
"Alright."
Aofil walks up to the guards.
"Human, we told you th-"
The large dog bends over.
"Dogges-"
And the other follows shortly after.
Aofil looks down at Flowey in their hands. Two large vines are extended from him, towards the guards. Aofil follows the vines with their eyes, seeing that they've impaled the two dogs in their respective throats.
The dogs muzzle start to shake with fear, and as their features start to fade away, and turn to dust, they give one last look towards each other.
They try to speak, but not a sound escapes them.
Flowey makes sure of that.
Their pained and panicked expression softens, like an old water stain on a piece of paper, and it's not long before they collapse. Two clouds of glittering and pale dust bursts up as the pile that's left of the two guards crash on the concrete ground.
Their robes and weapons barely have time to move as Flowey fills in the hollow fabric and vacant grip with vine twisted into the shape of the guards that just a moment before inhabited the clothes and commanded the weapons. The two marionettes takes a step forward in conjunction, obscuring the dust from any outside viewer.
"Done," Flowey says.
Aofil barely hears him. Enthralled, they can only stare at the iridescent shards still hovering in the air. They stretch out one hand to feel it.
Dust. What a monster truly is. Just dust. Nothing but a miserable pile of weakness and pathetic. Aofil feels a smile tug at their lips. A grin, eager for more.
Aofil's fingers eagerly, and with borderline perversion, rub together the dust stuck in their hand. All the way out to their very claws. What was not but a breath ago a monster is now hanging like crystal snow off the fur on Aofil's hand. They blow on it, and it flutters away.
The warmth inside them grows, and surges through their body like a crashing wave on a golden beach. The rushing blood through their ears sounds just like the wave receding from the sand.
Aofil bends down, and scoops up a handful of dust in their hand. So soft, so clean. The despair the monsters felt just before they died is still present, the last emotion they felt. The feeling is intense, like how carbonation would be, should it be physical. Tickling, almost.
Aofil lets the dust flow between their fingers, like the sands of time, but the dust of monsters. Just as the first is always spilling, always rushing like the largest and most violent of waterfalls, so too shall Aofil make the latter.
The king still speaks of cooperation, of trust, yet he hasn't shown any. Demanding fully, despite not putting it forward first, not showing that he's willing to sacrifice. There's no respect shown for the sea of unmistakably more powerful beings before him. Such arrogance! How dumb does he think that the humans are? To believe that humans are so gullible to eat it up would be...
Why aren't the crowd booing? Why are they not erupting, collecting their voices to curse this wretched king's tongue?
Aofil takes a leap up the stairs leading up to the wooden platform the dogs were guarding. Their haste almost has Flowey dragging with him his puppets, but he's quick enough to make them only flinch, and regain their balance just a second afterwards.
They have to find a way to shut off the microphone, and a way to reroute it to Flowey so that he can speak what the king truly means.
Aofil halts just before rounding the court building's corner. They're just a few steps from the monsters as the king stops speaking. He turns around, and beckons for someone behind him. He then leans into the microphone again.
"I'd like you present to you, the human that saved us all, the human that brought hope, and showed us monsters back here to the Surface."
A small child, wearing a purple and blue striped sweater, emerges from behind Asgore's cape. It steps up to the podium, looking over the crowd that stretches the entire parking lot. A wall of vans stand at the end of the lot, but there are still people behind it, Aofil sees.
"My name...is Fr-"
Aofil looks back at the podium, at the child staring back at them. Their face is frozen, and rapidly draining of color. Violent convulsions follow shortly after, and the child pushes away from the podium while grimacing in pain.
The king behind the child reaches over, and puts one of his hands on the child's shoulder.
"Nothing to fear, Frisk."
There's a thick quiet hanging in the air. Aofil can hear whispering from the crowd. Unease, uncertainty, uncomfortable. Seeds of doubt.
Perfect.
"No!"
The whispers are shut silent as the child whips around, and with all its might, shoves the king's hand away from them. They back off in fear with their head snapping from monster to monster.
This is it! The single moment Aofil needs!
But what about Flowey?
No, Aofil doesn't need his voice anymore. Not when they have a human to use instead of a measly monster. They do need his body one last time.
"Remove your vines from the robes, Flowey!" Aofil whispers harshly. The flower turns around to ask why, but Aofil shuts it down with a mad glare. The flower obeys, but before it again can ask why, Aofil moves the pot up to their face.
They lean into the flower.
"What are you doing?"
"Shh!"
When they feel one of its thorns dig deep into their chin, they shove the pot backwards while throwing their head forwards.
Their pained yell steals the attention from the child, the monsters behind the podium, and the crowd.
"Chara?! What are y-" the flower again tries to ask, but fails to for the last time. Aofil throws the pot with all their might against the monsters, and emerge into the spotlight from behind the curtains.
The flower pot smashes just before the king's feet, sending shards of old ceramic flying in all directions. The dirt seeps between the cracks in the wooden floor, and the flower tumbles out violently.
Hot blood is pouring down the gash on Aofil's cheek as they rush forward towards the child. It's too petrified to even move as Aofil wraps their arms around it to try and protect it from the monsters. It's drained and quivering stare and heavy breathing is the only indications of the child being alive.
"They attacked me!" Aofil shouts to the people in the crowd. "One of the monsters have been disguised as a flower this entire time, and now that the trial is over it tried to kill me!"
Aofil throws an accusatory finger towards the flower writhing on the planks before the monsters, "It's been with me all this time, during all the time we've spent building our case. It's been spying for the monsters!"
The collective heads of the crowd turn to the monsters. Aofil sees the king and queen flinch violently. The two large monsters look down on the flower desperately trying to catch its bearings, over to Aofil dragging Frisk with their hands pressed firmly against their shaking head away, and back to the crowd.
"That's why they got away!" Aofil screams at the top of their lungs. "That's why the kids they murdered will never have justice! That's why my twin will never rest peacefully!"
The king and queen's head shoot back to Aofil, mouths hanging open in scared confusion.
"You monsters killed Chara!"
The hanging mouths slam close in an instant, as the king and queen buckle from the words Aofil's throwing at them. The monsters take strain on the podium, and it almost breaks from the weight.
"You killed my twin, and then you-"
Frisk is janked from Aofil's arms, as an armor wielding monsters sprints by them. It's the blue one from the registration table! How dare!
The monster places Frisk next to the king and queen, before turning back to Aofil.
"Human!" the monsters shouts. She flexes her wrist, and a cyan spear forms. The light and crackling from it sends a wave of gasps throughout the crowd. "Where are the guards that stood on the way here?" The monsters lifts her spear against Aofil. "Did you kill them?"
How would she even begin to challenge a human? Arrogant monster! That armor won't do it any good! It won't even-
Aofil's focus is torn away from the huffing monster, and towards the crowd. Above it, and moving quickly towards the podium, is a jagged rock rotating rhythmically in the air. Aofil follows it with their eyes with increasing eagerness. How it nears the collapsed king and queen more and more with each passing second until...
The rock smashes against the queen's head, whipping it backwards forcibly. The stone bounces off with a deep thud, and with a trail of dust on, and behind it. The soft sound of the impact, combined with the pained howl of the queen, rumbles the wooden structure beneath Aofil.
The blue monsters turns around, calling out for the queen, "Queen Toriel!"
In that moment, Aofil takes the lunge. The king and queen are wide open!
"Oh no, you don't," screams the blue monsters as it whips around, and just barely catching Aofil with a forceful grip as Aofil tries to sprint past it. It sweeps Aofil's legs with its own, "punk!"
Aofil braces for the landing, but they're caught mid air by the armored monster that's now behind them. The handle of its spear goes up against their throat, holding them down.
"They're trying to kill them!" comes a voice from the crowd. Aofil smiles as the words reach their ears.
It's the pastor.
What was it he said again? About Aofil's soul?
Determination. Aofil needs to focus it. They need to let their Crimson Heart beat louder than ever! Aofil closes their eyes. They focus on the warm feeling inside them. Spread it out! They have to spread it out! Let it go through their head, their fingers, their toes! Everywhere! They let their heart beat as everyone's! With each thud, they see the crowd getting angrier. With each thud, they see the crowd realizing. With each thud, they realize that Aofil's spoken what they've wanted to say. Each thud has them realizing more and more that Aofil's voice is theirs. Aofil's mouth will speak their words.
Now Aofil just have to say the words, and their fate will be reality.
"Kill them!"
A bottle comes flying, and not from the pastor. This time it smashes against the monster trying to subdue Aofil. Shards of broken glass hang in the air, just like the ceramic pieces off the flower's pot. The blue monster stumbles backwards, and Aofil manages to struggle loose.
"Dirty tricks! How dare you, human?" roars the armored monster.
Aofil pays it no mind though. Their eyes is on someone else. The monster that's hunched over, desperately trying to hold his queen together. Desperately trying to wake her up.
Pathetic.
Aofil bends one arm down to catch the jagged neck of the bottle thrown.
Weak.
The child looks over the now trampling crowd closing rapidly in towards the podium stand. The roar from them is deafening.
Unworthy.
Aofil's reflection is revealed as the king realizes that they're closing in. His cape is brushed aside, showing his polished breastplate.
In the way.
Aofil's grizzled muzzle is grinning. Their cheeks are glowing. Aofil's horns almost bend forward in excitement. Wrapped inside their clawed fingers is the first strike for the justice of the humans. For now, only their arm is dusted by the remains of the monsters, only a few particles are dancing from the wind on their snow white fur.
KILL!
Aofil takes the leap, closing in on the king with the bottle raised high to secure the first strike. Their red eyes reflect like two glistening stars in the king's plate. They descent with a fury unlike any seen by monsters since the war before the Barrier. Aofil's weapon is thrown down against the exposed throat, and-