THE LAST HOPE

A week had passed since Frisk and the others had arrived at Delta Keep. By then they had all integrated into the lifestyle of the place. MK now had a suit of armor and Gerson had made him an honorary guard, but placing him at the bottom of the ranking. They all spent time preparing for the upcoming meeting with the humans. Asgore informed Frisk of the world's current state.

Undyne and Alphys were working on the contingency plan, charting a course to the land they found, as well as planning how to fill the ships with all the remaining Monsters.

On the side, Frisk was still looking for Toriel, trying to find the woman. However, the castle's size and how little free time they had made that difficult. Some of the others were trying to help out but there was only so much they could do.

Asgore was planning the trip out to the summit. Frisk and Undyne would be traveling with him. Gerson, as captain, would also be present in his carriage, along with MK who had made it clear his place was at Frisk's side. Asgore had to fill out the entourage with advisors, carefully choosing who would come with him.

Eventually the day came where Asgore had to make his journey to the summit. He sent a servant to let Frisk and Undyne know. Undyne put on her armor and packed her suit, along with a container of lubricant provided by Alphys.

Frisk was given two options to wear: a dress or a suit. Ultimately, they chose a dark blue suit to wear.

MK put on his own guard outfit which had some chest armor along with guards for his legs.

As they prepped, Alphys and Undyne spoke. "It might be best if you start preparing the ships while we're gone," Undyne suggested.

"I'll be doing everything I can," Alphys assured.

"You'll do great," Undyne encouraged. "Keep working on the course to the land."

"Frisk and I are all done," MK said. "What about you?"

"Just a few last things."

"You sure you won't come?" Frisk asked Flowey.

"You're gonna be too busy to worry about me," Flowey said. "Besides, you don't need the distraction. I'll be waiting right here until you get back."

Frisk sighed. "I'll make sure Papyrus looks after you."

"YES, DO NOT WORRY," the tall skeleton assured. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU UNTIL FRISK RETURNS."

"We're going, Frisk," MK announced.

"Coming. See you in a few days."

Outside, Gerson supervised the boarding of the carriages. Everyone was assigned to a specific one. Eventually, Undyne's group appeared.

"Ah, good, you're here," the turtle said. "You'll be traveling with the king and me."

"Great. We'll get loaded up," Undyne said, hefting a case.

Frisk glanced around at the others in the procession. As they did they saw a tall white shape walking to one of the carriages. They froze when they realized it was Toriel. She was coming?

"C'mon, Frisk," MK said, taking their hand in his gauntlet, pulling them into the carriage. They sat down on the back bench, waiting for the rest to join. After a while, Asgore entered and sat in the front. Gerson entered a moment later.

"Okay, we're all here," the turtle said.

"Then let's head out," Asgore said.

Gerson tapped the front of the carriage, signaling the driver. The carriage lurched forward as the horses began pulling. Behind them, the others followed.

"Alright, we should arrive at the summit meeting by nightfall," Gerson estimated. "We'll set up camp then talk to the humans the next day."

"Um, if I may ask, why are you bringing other people with you?" Frisk asked.

"Most are advisors," the king answered. "They are also meant to be representatives of my people so the humans see just who they're negotiating with."

"Why the curiosity, lad?" Gerson asked.

"I noticed one of the advisors in particular was joining us," they answered. "Her name is Toriel."

"Ah, her," Gerson said. "Yes, the king felt like she should be brought along."

"Why?" Undyne asked.

"She is a scholar that works for my family," Asgore explained. "She was hired by my mother a few years back. I thought it best to bring a scholar along."

"Is that the only reason?" MK asked.

"Yes, why? Should there be another one?" Asgore asked.

"Well, have you met her?" Frisk asked.

"Briefly, when she first started working for my parents," he answered.

"Why you kids asking about her?" Gerson asked. "Seems like a really random Monster to ask about."

"She's a Boss Monster, for one," MK said, which was apparently news to the other two. "She's also hugely important in our time."

"W-how do you know she's a Boss Monster?" Asgore asked.

"She's just like you, for one," Frisk pointed out. "Horns, floppy ears, paws instead of hooves."

"Did you not know she was a Boss Monster?" Undyne asked, puzzled.

"No," Gerson said. "Boss Monsters are rare and all of the remaining ones are known."

"Remaining ones?" Frisk asked.

"Boss Monsters were among the first to be killed by the humans for their power," Gerson explained. "Our king is one of a handful left."

"Well, Toriel is another," MK said.

"That makes no sense," Asgore said. "She's a nobody. She works for us because she has no family of her own."

"You sure?" Frisk asked.

"She was raised by her mother, who died years ago," Gerson said. "At least, that's what she told us."

"And Boss Monsters don't age if they have no parents," Asgore reminded.

"Well has she aged at all in recent years?" Frisk questioned. "Actually, don't bother. Not enough time would have passed for it to be obvious."

Asgore and Gerson shared a glance at each other, amazed by this revelation. "Did my parents know?"

"Not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if your father knew and kept it from you," Gerson told Asgore. "After all, you're supposed to marry a princess. It'd be bad if you married a scholar."

Asgore looked to Frisk. "Is there some other reason we should know her?"

Frisk looked at their companions, all of them debating whether or not to tell him. "Um, I'm not sure we should tell you," Frisk said. "We… we don't want to mess with things too much."

Gerson wanted to press, but refrained. If they felt the knowledge had to be unknown then he would let it be. Sure, they were trying to change things, but they made it clear there was a limit to what they were willing to reveal in case they changed the wrong things.

"If you feel uncomfortable then we will not press," Asgore said.

"Well, with that out of the way, what do we do when we get to this summit?" MK asked.

"You're gonna stick by Frisk's side during the whole thing," Gerson said. "Undyne, I want you with me. We'll be watching over the meeting place."

"So, what should we be expecting when we get there?" Undyne asked.

"Odds are the humans will have arrived first," Gerson said. "But this is a peace meeting, so they shouldn't try anything."

"You're bringing guards anyway," Frisk pointed out.

"Precautions," Gerson answered.

"So, we should expect the humans to be doing the same," Undyne said.

"If I might be so bold," Asgore began, "does your 'future knowledge' happen to know how this meeting plays out?"

"Well, from what we were told, Monsters attempt to negotiate with the humans but their leader rejects their pleas," Undyne informed.

"I find that a little difficult to believe," Asgore said. "I know the human king. Sure, he's cautious, but he respects us and our lands well enough."

"King? He's going to be there?" MK asked.

"It's a meeting of kings, laddie," Gerson explained. "Of course he'll be there."

"Regardless, humans still declared war so I think it might be safe to say that respect is gone," Undyne said.

"I don't believe that. Which is why we're doing this," Asgore said. "We're going to meet and I hope I can make my case to him to leave us in peace."

"Well, history says you fail," MK said.

"Hopefully I can change that," Frisk spoke up. "It's why we came."

"I pray you're right," Asgore said.

The ride was long. They passed the time discussing their plans for the summit.

As the sun began to set they arrived at the designated meeting grounds, which seemed to be an abandoned city. Tents were already set up on one side and the humans were walking amongst them. Asgore's procession went to the other side, away from the humans. As they traveled, Frisk got a look at some of the people there. Many were wearing armor and carrying swords or spears but others were wearing robes and holding ornate staffs. Oddly, those wearing robes were in all sorts of colors. They were orange, blue, green, yellow, teal, and purple, though there was only one wearing red.

Frisk looked at the one wearing red and saw the red sword on his belt, along with the black cape. When he turned, Frisk got a look at his face, and something about it seemed familiar. But more than that, Frisk felt uneasy looking at him, a shiver going up their spine.

"You okay, Frisk?" MK asked.

"Something about that red wizard… unsettles me," Frisk said. MK followed their gaze, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the one in question.

"Red wizard?" Asgore questioned. "That must be Volos. He leads the wizards."

Frisk continued to stare at the man until he disappeared behind a pillar. Only then did they look away. Eventually, the carriages came to a stop. Gerson opened the door as Frisk pulled their hood up. The turtle stepped out first with Asgore following a moment later. As he stepped onto the cobblestones, a few humans in armor showed up, led by a human draped in green.

"King… Asgore, is it?" the wizard asked.

"Indeed," Asgore said.

"I'm Dobromil," the wizard introduced himself.

"Pleased to meet you," Asgore extended a hand in greeting, but all the humans in armor were on edge, nearly drawing their weapons. Meanwhile, Frisk, MK, and Undyne stepped out, standing behind the larger Monster.

Dobromil didn't take Asgore's hand but he didn't react with fear like the others. "The summit will be at noon tomorrow," he said.

"Good. I will be seeing your king then," Asgore said pleasantly.

"Oh, our king is not present for this meeting," Dobromil said, surprising the others. "He has more important matters to attend to. Volos will be leading these talks. See you tomorrow." With that, he turned and left, the guards following.

Undyne faced Asgore. "I thought you said the human king would be here."

"He should be," Asgore said. "I don't understand."

"Sounds like we're going to be dealing with the leader of the armies instead," Gerson said.

"That's bad," MK voiced.

Frisk was pondering on this development, wondering why it was going this way and how it was going to affect their plans.

"Well, I'll get the supplies unloaded and have everybody start setting up tents," Gerson informed.

"I'll establish a watch, just in case those humans try anything funny," Undyne said, getting a nod from Gerson.

Night fell, and everybody was preparing for sleep. Asgore had already changed into more comfortable clothes and Gerson was standing outside his tent as guard. He was looking over some scrolls when the tent flap was raised by the turtle.

"My king, you've got guests." Gerson stepped aside to allow Frisk and MK to walk in. Frisk took off their hood when they entered and Gerson let the flap fall.

"Howdy, children. How can I help you?" Asgore greeted.

"We need to talk," Frisk said. "About… Volos."

Asgore gestured for the two of them to sit down. Though he was puzzled as to why they sat on their legs, hands on their knees. "What about him?"

"How much do you know about him?" MK asked.

"Well, he's the leader of the humans' wizards for a reason," Asgore began. "He's their most powerful sorcerer. He's a tactical genius and formidable on the battlefield. I think he has a son who has recently come of age. Not much beyond that."

"Anything else?" Frisk pressed.

Asgore pondered on it for a while. "I… I don't think so. I think he might be of noble blood but I can't be certain. Why?"

Frisk and MK shared a glance before speaking. "We've been discussing it," Frisk began. "And we think he might be the reason for the war."

"What? Why would you think that?" Asgore asked.

"Sir, the human king isn't here, but he should be," MK pointed out. "Instead, a leader of the military is present. Not the best person to send for negotiations."

"And from what you've told us, we doubt the king wouldn't at least try to make time for this," Frisk said. "We think Volos came instead of the king on purpose. How, we don't know, but we're sure he might have either lied or downplayed what this summit was about and made it so he went instead."

"Why would you think that?" Asgore asked.

"To sabotage the peace talks," MK said. "He might be trying to prevent an end to the war and keep the fighting."

"And why would he do that? What reason would you have to suspect that of him?" Asgore asked.

"Sir, there's… something wrong with him," Frisk said hesitantly. "Like… there's a lack of feeling. An emptiness inside. A desire to… kill."

Asgore was puzzled. "How can you tell?"

Frisk clutched their arm, MK resting a hand on their shoulder. "I've… met someone like that before," they answered. "I know what to look for."

Asgore was a mix of astonished and afraid. "Are… you referring to… LOVE?"

Frisk nodded. "We suspect his is… very high."

MK took over. "Because of that we think he might desire for the war to continue and will seek to ensure it keeps going, no matter what. And because of that… we're afraid we won't be able to… negotiate with them."

Asgore sat in silence for a moment. "So, even with your help, you don't think we can talk this out?"

Frisk shook their head. "People like him… they don't listen to reason and they don't stop, either."

Asgore sighed. "We should at least try, then. Perhaps if we convinced the others?"

Frisk shrugged. "Maybe. I didn't get a read on them, but they might be willing."

"Then tomorrow, we will try," Asgore decided. "Now, both of you should be off to bed."

"Yes, sir," they both said, departing and returning to their tent. Asgore was left alone with his thoughts, worry on his mind. Surely, Volos wasn't that evil… right?

Morning came, and everyone got ready for the meeting. Asgore wondered if he should even bother given that it seemed destined to fail. But he would try anyway. If he could prevent more suffering from this war, he had to try.

Frisk decided to have their cloak on and hood up for almost the entire thing, only lowering their hood when they needed to. They obscured their face beneath shadows so the humans couldn't see them. They didn't want to know how they would react to seeing one of their own on the side of the Monsters yet.

Undyne was busy establishing guards amongst the Monsters, ensuring their camp didn't get any surprise visitors.

MK was trying to help Frisk rehearse a speech they had planned for the humans as well as staying by their side the whole time. If anyone tried anything, they'd have to go through him. Though he did catch a few mocking laughs from the humans. He tried to not let it bother him but Frisk had to grab him by his tail more than once.

Gerson was checking out the dilapidated structure that would be the place the meeting would be held to ensure there were no surprises set by the humans.

Eventually, noon came and Asgore rounded up everyone that would be coming with him, which included Frisk, MK, Gerson, and Toriel. As they entered, they saw the humans already there, gathered around a stone table with wooden chairs lining it. There were seven humans present, each one a different color and Volos was in the middle.

"Well, seems the freakshow finally arrived," the purple one said.

"I didn't realize they were bringing children to this meeting," the orange one said, pointing to MK.

Frisk laid a hand on their friend's shoulder. "Easy," they reminded. The Monsters sat down in their chairs. Asgore's creaked under his weight.

"Well then. Shall we begin?" Asgore suggested.

The yellow wizard pulled out a gavel and banged it on the table. "At the behest of the Monsters, we call this summit to order."

"Well, I shall start," Asgore said. "And I do want to thank all of you for coming out here. I know it is quite a ways from your capitol."

"Spare us the pleasantries, Monster," Volos said harshly. "We all know what your kind is really like."

Asgore felt his stomach sink at that. It seemed Volos was trying to enforce his fellow's perception of him and his people.

But then Frisk spoke. "And what about your kind?" they said. "Perhaps we should save the insults for another time. We are here to discuss peace talks between your kingdom and ours."

Asgore smiled. Frisk managed to get the discussion on track. "Indeed," he said. "We are not here to trade insults or bandy threats. I come here to negotiate a cessation of hostilities between our peoples."

Volos glared at Frisk, whose face was still hidden by shadows. "Very well."

"For what reason do you make this request?" the blue wizard asked.

"My people are weary and tired of this constant fear," Asgore explained. "Your kind have gone and killed many of us and we are unable to fight back. We just want to live in peace."

"You said 'negotiate'," Dobromil said. "That implies you have something to barter with."

"Yes. We have recently gotten an abundance of food and my people are willing to trade it," Asgore said. "I understand you have been having a hard time as of late on your own food stores."

The purple wizard tapped his fingers on the table in thought. "We could use the extra food. We barely have enough for the approaching winter as it is."

"We don't need their false generosity," Volos said harshly. "Besides, how do we know we can even stomach their kind of food? What if it's poisonous?"

That got some of the humans talking amongst themselves. Frisk interrupted their musings. "It won't be poisonous," they assured. "Besides, Monster food is made almost completely with magic, which turns into energy when eaten. It's impossible for it to be deadly in any way." Though it could give you a stomachache depending on how badly it's made, they thought to themself.

The humans discussed that amongst themselves again though they seemed placated by that. Volos, however, glared even more harshly at Frisk. Internally, they smiled. He was doing his best to ruin things but Frisk was managing to counter his accusations rather well.

"I know you are wary but my people have no ill will towards your kind," Asgore assured. "We only wish to live in peace."

"You say that but how much do you mean it?" Volos questioned. "I know your kind well, Monster. How can we be sure you're being honest in your intentions? How do we know this isn't some elaborate trick to stab us in the back?"

Again, the humans were muttering to themselves.

Frisk tapped Asgore, and he leaned over so they could whisper. "They doubt your honesty. They fear you might try and take their lives. You need to make them see that isn't what you want."

"I'm not sure how. We have little proof beyond my word and Volos might try to counter it no matter what I say," Asgore said.

"Well, they started this war because they fear what a Monster could do with a human Soul," Frisk said.

"But how would we get one? It takes hundreds, if not thousands of Monsters to equal the power of a single human Soul," Asgore said.

"Volos seems to be making them think you could take it through deception or trickery," Frisk surmised. "You need to reassure them."

"How?"

Frisk tried to think of a solution. There didn't seem to be any way to prove to the humans the Monsters were harmless beyond words. Unless…

Frisk thought it through, weighed the risks and benefits. It was a rather risky ploy but it would dismantle Volos' claim more easily than anything and would probably force the humans to question much of what the red wizard told them.

"You're wrong, Volos," Frisk said, making their choice. They stood up from their chair, everyone looking at them. "The Monsters aren't like that at all. They're not evil. They're not demons no matter how much you say otherwise. You say that the Monsters would kill a human for their Soul but I know you are wrong, and I can prove it."

Frisk waved their hand, the shadows receded, then they pulled their hood back, exposing themself to everyone present. All those across from them let out a gasp at the sight with a few recoiling in shock. They expected such a reaction and hoped they were realizing what it was they were seeing. After all, a human child was on the side of the Monsters, and they had heard Frisk defend the Monsters without prompting several times already.

Frisk looked at each of the wizards, all in various states of shock and surprise, except Volos. Frisk wasn't sure what they were seeing in him but he looked like all his plans were coming undone.

End of Chapter 5