THE LAST HOPE
Frisk and MK walked through the village, Frisk carrying Flowey, as they headed for the entourage. They had to wade through the crowd that surrounded all the carriages. Flowey kept silent, doing his best to not draw attention to himself. Frisk and MK were concealed by their cloaks.
After pushing through the crowd, they emerged near the group of carriages. Many Monsters in armor were already there. The two of them looked around for Gerson, eventually spotting the turtle. They went over to him and Frisk tapped his leg to get his attention. He looked down at them and it was clear he recognized them.
"Is everyone else here?" MK asked.
"Just waiting on the king and your group," he answered. "How many are coming with you?"
"About fifteen," MK said. "The rest are staying behind."
"Well, I think we can find room for them all," Gerson said. "It might be crowded though."
Just then, Undyne, Alphys, Sans, and Papyrus emerged from the crowd with the fish woman shoving others aside. "We're here," Undyne said.
"Good. I take it you're the leader of your group?" the turtle asked.
"Not officially, but yes," Undyne answered.
"You'll be traveling with the king then," Gerson decided. "I'll be there as well. The rest will be going with the various guards."
"What about Frisk?" MK asked.
"They'll be with me as well so I can watch them," Gerson explained.
"I'm going with them," MK announced. Before Gerson could protest, MK spoke. "I'm their bodyguard. It's my job to watch them."
"Very well."
More Monsters eventually emerged from the crowd, all from Undyne's group. Gerson and a few other guards sorted out who went with whom. After a while, Asgore arrived.
"Are we ready to depart, captain?" he asked.
"Yes, my king," Gerson answered.
"Then let's go." He boarded his personal carriage first, followed by Gerson, Undyne, Frisk with Flowey, and finally MK. The king bid farewell to everyone before Gerson closed the door. They sat down on benches in the carriage and Gerson tapped a knuckle on the front to let the driver know to go. Horses pulled the lead carriage away, followed by the rest.
Gerson sat down next to Asgore in the front, while Undyne, Frisk, and MK sat in the back.
For a while, the six of them sat in silence. Frisk removed their hood now that they were safe. The carriage shook with every bump in the road, which occasionally unsettled them.
"Something wrong?" Asgore asked.
"Just used to the ride being smoother," Frisk explained. "In our time, the wheels have a system to suspend them to absorb impacts."
"And they aren't drawn by horses either," MK added.
"How do your carriages move them if not by horse?" Gerson asked.
"Not sure we'd be able to explain in the time we got," Undyne said. "That would require explaining a thousand years of technological development."
"What about your arms?" Asgore asked, pointing to MK. "How do those work?"
"And how did you lose them?" Gerson asked.
"Actually I never had arms," MK said. "Doctor Alphys made these for me so I could fight better."
"Doctor? I'm not familiar with that title," Asgore said, puzzled.
"That won't be invented for a few centuries," Undyne said. "But she's basically our most advanced scholar."
"And as for how they work, that explanation is lengthier than the one for our self-pulling carriages," MK said.
"So where are we headed?" Frisk asked.
"To the Delta Keep," Asgore explained. "It's the castle where I live as well as the capitol of my kingdom."
"As in the original castle of Monsters?" Undyne asked.
"There hasn't been many others," Asgore said.
Undyne turned to Frisk and MK. "The Delta Keep used to be the center of the Monster kingdom as well as the seat of power for our king. It was rumored to have been created hundreds of years prior to the war as a safe haven for Monster kind."
"Does the castle not exist in your time?" Asgore asked.
"No," Frisk answered. "It seems to have been destroyed a long time ago."
"Wow. We're gonna get to see a lost part of Monster history," MK mused. "This is going to be so cool!"
Gerson and Asgore looked at each other in confusion.
"Um, might I ask what becomes of me in your time?" Asgore asked.
"We'd rather not say," Undyne said. "Sure, we're trying to change things but you need to understand we're trying to change them for the better."
"I understand," Asgore agreed. "I will admit I am curious, but perhaps it is for the best I don't know."
"So you people are trying to change your past?" Gerson asked. "Which is our future, which…"
"Don't think on it too hard. You'll hurt your head," Flowey said rudely, startling the two Monsters across from him.
"That flower can talk?" Gerson asked, surprised.
"Name's Flowey. Flowey the flower," he said.
"Flowey the… guess our king isn't the only one who's bad at names," Gerson said with a teasing smirk.
"Hey, I'm not that bad," Asgore lightly protested.
"Wa ha ha ha! You are. You got it from your father, who got it from his, and so on," Gerson laughed.
That got a chuckle from everyone present. After it died down, Gerson tried to get his thoughts back in the right direction. "But as I was asking, you're trying to change history. But if you do what happens to all of you?"
The four across from him sobered up. "We don't know," Frisk admitted. "Alphys has been trying to figure that out, but with no success. Theoretically, though, the moment we entered the past we've already changed things and put our existence at risk."
"But nothing we do could matter in the end, either," MK said. "One theory she had was that we can't actually change history, and if we try things happen in a way to correct what we do."
"Or we're in a time loop," Flowey said. "Doomed to repeat this cycle over and over and over for all eternity, unable to actually affect anything because it's all set in stone."
"But we're hoping we can change it," Undyne added. "Who knows. If we succeed we erase that future, but we will still continue to exist."
"But you don't know that for certain," Asgore pressed.
"Alphys has done more research on it than anyone," Frisk said. "But even she can't give a definitive answer."
Gerson and Asgore shared a concerned glance. "Are you sure you're all up for this?" the king asked.
"It's not like we have much other choice," MK pointed out. "We either do this or we go extinct."
Asgore sighed. "Perhaps we should talk about happier things," Asgore suggested. "Is there anything remotely like that?"
"We do have a few other things we could share to fill the time, I guess," Undyne said.
"Perhaps about the time you spent before the war?" Asgore asked. "There must be many happy memories from that time?"
"Quite a few," Undyne said with a smile. "But where to start…"
For the next few hours, Undyne, Frisk and MK told Asgore and Gerson about their times after the Monsters returned to the surface. Both had been mildly surprised when Undyne said that she and Alphys had started living together. They did their best to avoid talking about Frisk's relationship with Asgore in the future outside their work. They also avoided memories that lead into the war because those ended in tragedy.
Eventually, MK spotted something through the window over the hill. Undyne and Frisk leaned over to look through said window. They could see the top spires of a castle.
"You kids see the Delta Keep?" Gerson asked with a smile.
"We see the top of it," Frisk answered. A few moments later, they crested over the hill and the full castle came into view. The sight made the jaws drop of those who had never seen it.
It was certainly larger than the one in the Underground and the bricks were mostly purple in color. There were three towers, two taller than the third, with wing adornments on the taller ones and a structure behind them which was the main keep of the castle.
"Whoa," was all Frisk could say. It was certainly more elaborate than what was in the Underground. Frisk looked down and saw a village around the castle walls. There was an ocean on the other side with a few ports visible next to the castle.
They went through the village first. Many Monsters waved at the carriages as they passed. Frisk drew their hood over their face as a precaution in case anyone looked inside. The doors of a massive gate were opened, allowing the horses to pull the procession inside. They stopped after they passed through a second gate which promptly closed behind them.
Frisk looked out and saw many Monsters in armor, probably all Royal Guards. They started to think this might have been a bad idea. Any of those Monsters would be inclined to have them killed on sight for just being human. They weren't sure why but that thought prompted a sense of déjà vu.
Asgore must have picked up on their tension because he had an idea. "Perhaps you should stay here for now, Frisk. At least until Gerson has convinced the guards you aren't a threat."
"They can't just sit here," Undyne protested. "If someone checks on them that would probably end badly."
"I can hide under my cloak," Frisk suggested. "As long as I don't draw attention to myself, nobody should notice."
"Very well, but I'd stick as close to your companions as possible," the king emphasized. With that, the door opened and Gerson stepped out first, followed by Asgore. All the guards welcomed him back, waving to the king as he left the carriage. Because of that, no one noticed Undyne step out a moment later, or the concealed human with a flower in their hands, or MK behind them. Everyone else disembarked from the rest of the carriages, and once empty the drivers took them back to the stables.
Alphys, Papyrus, and Sans came over, surrounding Frisk as inconspicuously as possible. Asgore turned to them. "Perhaps you all could wait in the throne room while my captain and I inform everyone of this development."
"Um, try to keep any mentions of the future out," Alphys suggested.
"Don't worry," Asgore assured. He gave them directions to the throne room, pointing to the entrance across the courtyard that led into the castle proper. They walked amongst the purple-brick walls and pillars to the throne room. Undyne threw the doors open and everyone followed her inside.
The throne room, unlike the rest of the castle, was golden in color. Pillars kept the ceiling up and tiles covered the floor. There were stained-glass windows lining the walls with a rather large one behind the throne, the Delta Rune built into the frame. The throne, however, wasn't very fancy. It wasn't overly large or ornate like one would expect. It was more akin to a padded chair, with purple fabric and a golden frame, the Delta Rune emblazoned on the backrest. It was very similar to the throne room in the Underground, minus the backdoor and the garden.
No one was sure what to do now, so they decided to sit down and wait. Frisk, though, walked closer to examine the throne. They were fairly certain it was the same one they saw in the Underground. Did Asgore just bring it with him when they were forced to flee underground?
"Golly. It's almost identical," Flowey said, echoing Frisk's thoughts.
"I think that's because it's the same one," Frisk said.
"Not to mention the general design of the castle," Flowey added. "The layout is different but it seems to have been built to be similar to both castles that would be later built in the Underground, both in the Ruins and in New Home."
"Huh. Did Asgore try to have them built as a homage to his home from the surface? Minus the cozy houses, of course," Frisk wondered.
Just then, the doors to the throne room opened and a few Monsters were standing there with Toriel amongst them. Frisk was still concealed by their cloak, their face covered by shadows to obscure their features.
"By order of the king we are to take you all to the guest rooms," Toriel explained. "We have managed to prepare three of them and you are free to divide yourselves however you please."
Undyne stood up and began addressing the Monsters, sorting them into three groups. She, Alphys, Sans, Papyrus, Frisk, and MK would stick together. She divided the remaining Monsters up as best she could. Once sorted, Toriel and two other Monsters began escorting them to the prepared rooms with Toriel leading Undyne's group.
A short walk through the halls and they arrived at a wooden door. Toriel opened it, allowing the group to walk inside. She followed behind them, leaving the door open.
"The king requested that you get one of the better rooms. This one has an extra room connecting to it that you can use for bathing," Toriel explained. "If you need something to eat," she gestured to a rope, "pull this, and someone from the kitchen will be over quickly to take your order."
"Thank you, miss," Undyne said stiffly. It was weird addressing Toriel as such since Undyne only ever knew her as the exiled queen. Right now, she wasn't even queen yet.
"You are welcome," Toriel said with a bow. "Now, if you will excuse me I must attend to my studies." She left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Okay, that was weird," Undyne said after she left.
"INDEED. MISS TORIEL IS USUALLY NOT SO… LIKE THAT," Papyrus said.
"and she's usually wearing fancier clothes than that," Sans pointed out.
"Well, this is a thousand years before we all met her," MK said.
"It seems she's some sort of aide to the royal family," Alphys realized. "So this would be before she became queen."
"And a long time before she had me," Flowey muttered sadly.
Frisk looked around the room. It had the same purple bricks for the walls and was pretty simple in terms of decorations. There was a door on one side which was probably the 'bathroom' Toriel mentioned. There were also five beds.
And there were six them.
"Uh, how are we going to do this?" Alphys wondered.
"MAYBE TWO OF US COULD… SHARE ONE?" Papyrus suggested.
"uh, none of the beds look big enough for that to be comfortable," Sans observed.
"Well, uh, Frisk and I aren't too big," MK said. "We could… share one?"
Frisk glared at MK, making the lizard shrink slightly.
"You might have to do it that way. Unless you want to sleep on the floor," Undyne said.
Frisk huffed. "Fine. But only until Asgore can work something else out."
MK smiled nervously. "Um, doc, can you fix my arms now?" he asked.
"I think I can do it," Alphys agreed.
"We should probably lock the door, first," Undyne suggested. "Don't want any random Monster seeing our prosthetics."
"well, yours, anyway," Sans said, swinging his wooden leg.
Frisk put Flowey in the windowsill before helping MK detach his arms and handed them to Alphys. Carefully, she pulled apart the shoulder joints. Reaching into her metallic case she grabbed a rag and began wiping the gears down.
"I could use some water," Alphys requested. "A wet rag will clean this gunk off better than a dry one."
"I'll see what I can do," Frisk said, walking out of the room. They pulled their cloak tight and covered their face looking for a water bucket that they could borrow.
Asgore paced back and forth in his room thinking over all these latest developments. He was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in."
Gerson opened the door and stepped in then closed it behind him.
"Ah, Gerson. Have you informed all the guards yet?" Asgore asked his captain of the guard.
"Everyone who needs to know has been informed and the rest should hear about it by the end of the day," the turtle answered.
"Good, but I take it that's not what you're here for," Asgore observed.
"No. As your captain I must advise against you bringing a human into the castle," he said.
"They are a child, Gerson."
"But you saw it; they can cast spells," Gerson pointed out. "That makes them very dangerous."
"I am not unaware of the risks, Gerson," Asgore said. "Still, I believe them when they say they are no threat."
"You really want to take this chance?" Gerson asked seriously. "They could be here to assassinate you and with their ability to cast spells, they're a greater threat than an ordinary one."
"I know, I know," Asgore insisted. "It's not like I'm blind to the risks, Gerson. But if we remain afraid of humans our whole life, if all we do is see the bad in them, then we are no better."
Gerson had to concede the point there. "But do you believe their story? About being from the future, trying to prevent a horrible one from coming to pass?"
"You saw the arms. There's no greater proof than that," Asgore rebutted.
"Yes, but it's still just too incredible to believe," Gerson insisted.
"Whether or not it's true, they needed our help and we need theirs," Asgore insisted. "Perhaps this human, Frisk, could be the key to ending this war."
"You're really letting them come along?"
"I must. This next summit could be our last chance to avoid further dustshed, and with Frisk, we might be able to negotiate something reasonable."
"Other than being sealed underground," Gerson said, reminding Asgore of that detail they shared.
"Hopefully," Asgore agreed. "If not, we might have to prepare for further battle."
Gerson sighed. "I still don't like the idea of this meeting, going to talk to the leaders of the war, the humans' most powerful wizards."
"Me neither. But this time we will have one of our own."
"I still doubt the wisdom in having a child act as a negotiator," Gerson said.
"Me too, but nonetheless we must try," Asgore said. "If my future self was willing to appoint them to such a position it must have been for a reason. This will allow them to try and prove it."
Frisk lugged a full bucket back to the room. They opened the door, knocking first to let them all know they were coming in. Sans had let them in, picking up one end of the bail to help them carry it in while he shut the door. They set it next to Alphys.
"Thanks, Frisk," she said, dunking the rag in and then squeezing the excess water out, before using the now wet rag to clean the servos of MK's arms.
Frisk looked around and noticed the case was still open, a screen on it with numbers running across the screen. Frisk saw the cable and followed it with their eyes to Undyne.
"Another diagnostic?" they asked.
"My eye is a bit on the fritz," Undyne explained, and it was then Frisk realized she was out of her armor. "So Alphys is trying to figure out what's going on."
"And while that works, I can clean this," Alphys said, still working on MK's arms. The lizard was sitting on a bed which Frisk took to mean he had claimed it for both of them, giving how everyone was sitting on different beds.
After another few moments, Alphys finished cleaning the servos. "Okay. They should be good now." MK walked over, picking the arms up with his tail. With practice, he plugged them into the implant on his back. A moment passed as the arms booted up until they stopped hanging limp at his sides. He flexed them, then spun both around on the shoulders to test them.
"Finally, they work again," he said, relieved. "Thanks."
"No problem," Alphys said, putting the rag down, squeezing the water out into the bucket.
"Any chance we can use that water to bathe?" Undyne asked.
"Not in your condition," Alphys advised. "The best you could do is wipe yourself down, considering that… you know…"
Undyne raised both of her metallic arms in understanding. "Yeah, I figured." She lowered her arms back down.
"IS THERE ANY REASON YOU COULD NOT MAKE THESE WATERPROOF?" Papyrus asked, raising his right arm.
"I didn't have the means to do so," Alphys answered. "I can cover the circuits, wires, and joints with metal plates, but I didn't have any rubber or plastic to seal them up."
"at least you guys got limbs that respond to your thoughts," Sans said, tapping his wood leg.
There was a knock at the door. MK quickly went to it and held it closed before someone could try open it. "Who is it?" he asked.
"It is me," came Toriel's voice. "May I come in?"
"Sorry, but no," MK said.
"Okay, then," came Toriel's voice. "Well, I have been sent to inform you that the king requests you dine with him tonight."
MK looked at everyone and they were all surprised by that.
"Um, can we discuss this real quick?"
"Of course. I just need your answer," Toriel said.
MK turned to the rest, continuing to lean on the door.
"We should probably agree," Alphys said. "At the very least to not seem rude."
"It would also give us guest-rights protection," Undyne mused. "But I need to be presentable."
"I THINK WE ALL DO," Papyrus pointed out.
"Give us about an hour," Frisk suggested. "We'll be there by then."
MK relayed that to Toriel, who left shortly after.
"Well, let's get ready for dinner," Undyne said.
End of Chapter 3