THE LAST HOPE

Alphys was looking over all available maps of the sea, trying to determine the best possible route. She needed to be careful of marauding pirates and the like. She also needed to be aware of wildlife and currents. If she wasn't careful, they could lose a whole crew. A couple ships had already docked and were being loaded up with supplies and being cleared of anything that wasn't needed.

Sans walked in, his wooden leg clacking on the stones. "how's it going?" he asked.

"So far, so good," Alphys answered. "I'll need to discuss the route with Asgore when he gets back. Can't go anywhere without his approval."

"um, about that," Sans said. "he and the others were supposed to be back here by daybreak. now it's almost nightfall."

Alphys looked up from the maps. "You don't think they were captured, do you?"

"hope not," Sans said. "though, if they were, we won't be able to mount another rescue."

Alphys sighed. "Let's just hope they manage to get out on their own."

Just then, a horn sounded, alerting people in the castle that someone was approaching. Alphys and Sans walked to the nearest window and looked out to the ground below. A large group of rainbow colors was approaching the gate with Asgore in front.

They ran down to the courtyard, arriving just as the gate was opened and the newcomers were let inside. Alphys realized that the people in robes were humans. But leading them was Asgore, Undyne, Papyrus, MK, Gerson, and Frisk.

"kiddo!" Sans exclaimed when he saw Frisk. He ran to them and hugged them, Alphys doing the same. "we were starting to get worried about you."

"I'm okay, I think," Frisk assured. "But I'm tired, hurt, and in need of a real bed."

Alphys looked over all the humans and quickly figured out they were wizards. "What's going on, your majesty?" she asked.

"It is alright," Asgore assured, projecting his voice over the courtyard so everyone could hear it. "We have new guests amongst us. These humans saved our lives and are willing to help us."

That got the Monsters murmuring to themselves. The humans could see that the Monsters weren't fully trusting of them. They were listening to Asgore but it was clear they doubted the sincerity of these people.

Haward stepped forward, his spear strapped to his back. "I know you don't trust us and we understand that," he said to all the Monsters present. "We have done great harm to you all. I do not believe we can ever fully apologize for all our transgressions, but that doesn't mean we won't try. We followed Volos and his orders because we thought they were the right thing. But now we see, they were not. He wasn't doing anything for us, he was doing it for himself. We can no longer stand by him because of that. We have freed your comrades and king against his wishes and now we choose to fight for you. And we promise, we will not turn on your kind ever again."

That got a small amount of applause from the Monsters. They appreciated his words and the sincerity behind them.

Asgore turned to Gerson. "How about you try and find some quarters for our new guests? And see if you can give them a tour of the castle."

"I'll see what I can do, sir," Gerson acknowledged. "This way, humans." He walked off, many following him.

Frisk's friends gathered together. Flowey popping out of the ground and wrapped a vine around Frisk's leg.

"so i take it the plan didn't go according to plan?" Sans guessed.

"That's one way to put it," Undyne said.

"How did you get a hundred humans to side with you?" Alphys asked.

"Well, Volos was going to execute me," Frisk answered. "Haward managed to convince many other wizards to flip and help us escape."

"But I don't get why Haward would do it," MK said. "Isn't Volos his dad?"

"Well, I had something to do with it," Flowey revealed. "Gerson helped out as well. Though I still don't get why he seemed so easy to convince."

"He came to me in my cell," Frisk said. "I talked to him thinking I could get through to him. Apparently, I did a better job than I thought."

"hold on. can we go back to the part where volos was going to kill you?" Sans asked.

"I was a threat to his plans so he had to kill me to end that threat," Frisk said.

"He was going to kill the rest of us, too, if Haward and Gerson hadn't jumped in," Undyne said.

"Yeah, but I wish they interfered sooner," Flowey said. "Because that was too close for comfort."

Frisk rubbed their neck where it had laid in the guillotine.

Alphys glanced at the retreating humans, a thought going through her head. "Hey. Do we know if anything like this ever happened?" she asked.

Everyone thought on it, trying to recall what they had learned from history. "Not as far as I know," Flowey said.

"Nor me," Frisk added.

"Well, that's something," Alphys said. "A hundred humans changing sides, attempted murder and execution of a child and king respectively, especially as that king is Asgore, would leave a mark on history. If there's no record of that, what does that mean?"

Undyne tapped a finger to her chin. "Do you think you can check what records exist? See if there's any mention of today anywhere in history."

"I'll see what I can find," Alphys confirmed.

"What do we do if she finds something?" Flowey asked.

"That depends on what she finds," Undyne answered. "For now, we need to rest."

Haward looked around at the purple-brick walls of the Delta Keep. His father had wanted to infiltrate this place and conquer it. But now he was being shown around by its captain. The wizards were all being shown to various rooms and the various facilities. Though Haward noted the lack of bathrooms might be a bit of a problem for some.

"Here's your room," Gerson said, opening the door. Haward and three other wizards stepped in. "Now, this isn't permanent, of course. If you want a different room, we'll try ta find you something. If you need food, just pull this rope." He gestured to the hanging rope.

"Is it some kind of room service?" the teal wizard asked. "That's fancy."

"It's a pretty recent addition," Gerson said. "A few rooms don't have it yet. But we're working on it."

"Thanks for letting us in," the yellow wizard said. "After the trouble we've caused for your kind, it's very generous."

"Eh, it's not very good to hold grudges," Gerson assured. "Besides, you people have been deceived as well, so it's only fair. Word of warning, though, some Monsters might be a little more hesitant, so I'd be careful when walking around."

"We'll keep that in mind," the blue wizard said.

"Now then, I've been gone for almost a day and have a lot to catch up on," Gerson said, leaving the humans be.

Haward sat down on one of the beds. "Feather mattress?" he wondered. "Feels soft enough."

"Could be," the yellow wizard said, sitting down.

"Hey, I just want to thank you guys for doing this," Haward said. "I know it's not easy going against my father."

The blue wizard shook his head. "He was breaking rules torturing that kid. I couldn't be a part of that."

"I just wish Dobromil came with us," the teal wizard said. "But he wouldn't turn."

"That's because he doesn't feel good fighting his own people, which might be what we'll have to end up doing," the yellow wizard informed.

"I hope not," Haward said. "There must be a better solution to this than everyone trying to kill each other."

Frisk was face down on their bed, loving the soft feathers. Everyone else who had gone on the mission was sitting on their own bed. Alphys was nearby, looking through various history books to try and find evidence that they changed history.

A soft knock sounded on the door and Papyrus stood up to open it and in walked Toriel.

"I just heard," she said. Her eyes landed on Frisk. "Young one, are you alright?"

Frisk gave a thumbs up to answer.

"They're just tired," MK said.

"Well, I am glad that you all made it back and with many humans on our side as well," Toriel said.

"it is surprising that so many were willing to side with us," Sans said.

"BUT IT IS VERY APPRECIATED," Papyrus added. "AT LEAST WE'VE GOT SOME ALLIES AMONGST THE HUMANS."

"Was Frisk already not one?" Toriel pointed out.

"I don't count," Frisk said from the mattress.

"And what is Alphys doing?" Toriel wondered.

"Uh…" Undyne tried to think of an excuse.

"She already knows," Alphys shouted. "No need to hide it from her."

Frisk looked up at Alphys. "What? Weren't we supposed to keep it a secret?"

"Yes, but I needed her help, so I had to explain things to her," Alphys defended, still looking through the books.

"It is alright," Toriel assured. "I know you must keep it secret and I have not told anyone. Though, admittedly, it is a bit difficult to believe. Monsters from a thousand years from now. I am still trying to come to terms with that."

"And what did she tell you about me?" Frisk asked.

"Just that you are on our side," Toriel answered. "Other than that, not much."

Frisk quietly released a sigh.

"So, what is Alphys doing?" Toriel repeated.

"Well, as far as we know, humans turning on their kind didn't happen," Undyne explained. "Alphys is trying to find any mention of that in these books."

"But so far, I'm not getting anything," Alphys said. "I've scanned through everything twice, focused on this period of history, but there's no mention of a rebellion, defection, resistance, or anything like it."

"THAT'S ODD," Papyrus said. "IF WE SUCCESSFULLY CHANGED SOMETHING IN THE PAST, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECORDED, RIGHT?"

"unless it wasn't," Sans said. "there is an unfortunate tendency in history for the victors to write the past as they see fit. it's possible that the humans might have expunged this event from their records."

"But what about the Monsters?" MK retorted. "Wouldn't we have put at least a mention of this?"

"I've look over Monster records. Still nothing," Alphys said.

"What does that mean?" Toriel asked.

Everyone looked at each other. "We're not sure," Undyne admitted. "We were planning to use those books to keep track of the changes to history."

"It could be possible that they don't rewrite with history," Alphys said. "They only record the one way things go. They might not contain the information of this new history we've created."

"Assuming it is new history," Flowey said. "Perhaps the reason it isn't in there is because things happen to undo it. Perhaps it's impossible."

"I don't think so," Undyne said. "If that were the case, wouldn't the Asgore of our time have mentioned something? We're not keeping anything from him. If he knew all of this beforehand, wouldn't he have said anything to any of us?"

No one had a rebuttal to that.

"Well, either way, we need to keep to the plan," Frisk suggested. "When we change something big, we'll know for certain that it is possible and Monsters fleeing to a distant land will be a huge change."

"Alphys, how goes the plans on that?" Undyne asked.

"I've almost got a route mapped out," she answered. "There are just a few fine details I need to do first. Also, the first few ships have docked and we've begun loading them."

"Let's stick to that plan," Undyne recommended. "And let's get it done quickly. I doubt the humans, particularly Volos, is going to be happy and doesn't try to enact some kind of revenge."

"But he would not do that, right?" Toriel questioned. "Surely he would not be so cruel as to-"

"Yes, he is," Frisk interrupted. "He tortured me within an inch of my life. He had me locked in a cell without food or water. He was going to execute me and enjoy it!"

Toriel took a step back, shocked at Frisk's anger.

"I know you don't want to believe humans can be cruel because of your mother, but you haven't seen human cruelty firsthand. I have," Frisk snapped. "They can be ugly, they can be abusive, they can be neglectful. And I'm tired of your bias and blindness to it."

"But they are not all bad," Toriel lightly retorted.

"That doesn't mean they're all good! Or free of sin!" Frisk shouted at her.

"Frisk, calm down," MK cautioned.

Frisk took a few deep breaths, forcing themself to calm down. They looked at Toriel and saw that she was on the verge of tears. They weren't going to apologize though. They were too mad with her.

"Back to the subject at hand," Alphys said. "We might have a slight problem. The humans that are here. What do we do with them?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Papyrus asked.

"Well, are we going to bring them with us or leave them behind?" Alphys questioned. "After all, we don't know if we can fit everyone on all the ships. They're going to be packed with supplies as it is."

"We'll figure that out when all the ships dock," Undyne decided. "But for right now, let's say they do come."

"that'll certainly change things," Sans commented. "after all, humans and monsters don't live together until a thousand years from now."

"And we'll be the greater population, too," Alphys added. "I've looked over the population census, and the total number is somewhere close to three-quarters of a million."

"And there's only about a hundred humans on our side," Undyne realized. "Heh. How the tide has turned."

Toriel wiped her eyes to rid herself of her tears. "Are you certain that this is the only way?"

"We tried diplomacy and it failed," Undyne said. "We've done the plans and made the preparations. This is the only way to survive what happens."

"Should we tell the humans what we're doing?" Alphys asked.

"maybe, but not yet," Sans suggested. "i'm not too sure they're all on our side. best to keep them in the dark for now, until we're close to sailing."

"Okay, let's get to work," Undyne decided.

Gerson was polishing his helmet when there was a knock at the door. He opened it to find Haward there. "Well, what can I do for you, kid?" he asked the human.

"Might I come in?" he requested.

"Sure." Gerson let the human walk into his chambers.

"I'm honestly surprised your castle is so… purple," Haward admitted.

"Monster magic, kid. Let's us do a lot," Gerson joked. "So, didja need to tell me something?"

"Well, I know we've already pledged ourselves to help your kind. I get that the other monsters don't trust us," Haward admitted. "And I get why. It's thanks to my father that there's not a lot of trust between us."

"Yeah. It's gonna take a lot to overcome so much mistrust," Gerson agreed.

"Maybe I could help with that," Haward suggested. "I'd like to join your guard for the king, or whatever it's called."

The turtle looked at the poncho-clad human in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I'd like to join your guard," Haward repeated.

"You sure? It's not exactly an easy job," Gerson cautioned.

"I'm sure. Besides, I'm sixteen," Haward defended. "My dad was originally planning to have me join the guild and this will show the Monsters that we can be friends."

Gerson tapped his fingers together. "Hmm. Well, I can consider it. But I'd need to assess your capabilities first. Though I'm not sure how to do that. No offence, but I don't trust you to fight one of my guards and not strike to kill."

"Perhaps I can just demonstrate what I can do?" Haward suggested.

"I guess. Let's go to the training arena," Gerson decided.

Frisk was walking to the same arena with MK. "You sure about this, Frisk?" he asked.

"We need to keep our skills sharp," Frisk said. "And you went down to that orange wizard faster than I would have liked."

"I know. I tried to beat him but that driver threw me off."

They entered the stone stadium to find Gerson and Haward already there, with the human wielding his spear.

"What's this all about?" Frisk asked.

"I'm going to join the guard," Haward said.

"Not before I see what you can do," Gerson reminded. "And while you do have some skills, I can't gauge how powerful they are without an adequate target."

"But I can't fight a Monster," Haward said. "You won't let me."

"How about you fight me?" Frisk suggested. "I'm not a Monster and I know magic."

Gerson looked surprised before debating it. "Well, I guess so. But try not to kill each other. This will be a sparring match, nothing more."

"I'll be fine," Frisk boasted, stepping forward. Haward walked to one side of the arena, Frisk stepping to the other. The two face each other with Haward brandishing his spear.

"Alright you kids, nothing lethal and play fair. You're not trying to win, you're just showing me what Haward can do," Gerson said. "Alright, begin!"

Haward took the first move, swinging his spear and sending a trail of fireballs at Frisk. They easily evaded the attack and sprinted to Haward to close the distance. The taller human sent another fireball with his free hand, but Frisk avoided that, too, retaliating with a punch to the air which sent off a stream of red fire that Haward just barely dodged.

Gerson was surprised at that. MK stood next to him. "Frisk is very skilled at fire magic," he said. "They learned from their parents, so it makes sense."

Haward thrust his spear forward, a jet of fire coming from the tip, but Frisk thrust their hands forward together, splitting the jet to their sides. Then they summoned a barrage of fireballs and flung them at Haward, who managed to evade them. He swung his spear, sending a wave of fire at Frisk, who dodged again. This time, they thrust their fingers forward and a jolt of red electricity struck Haward, causing him to spasm for a moment.

Frisk then whipped out their trident, brandishing it proudly. Gerson noted that it was almost identical to the one Asgore wielded. Haward swiped at Frisk with his spear a few times but Frisk easily countering each time with their trident. Then Frisk raised their trident, preparing to swing it. Their eyes flashed cyan, then orange. The first swing left behind a trail of blue. Haward tried to parry, but the swipe went right through his spear but did nothing to him. The second one left a trail of orange and sent Haward flying back several feet.

"Wait. Did they just use blue and orange magic?" Gerson questioned. "Only Monsters can do that."

Haward realized after that attack that he was out matched. Frisk probably wasn't even using their full power and they were beating him easily. But he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He stood up from where he landed. Frisk walking to him with their trident at their side. Haward raised his spear and sent his own bolt of lightning at Frisk, the red jolt heading for them.

Frisk raised their trident just in time to counter it. Haward used that distraction to raise their spear, pointing it upwards, summoning a firestorm. Frisk managed to evade all the falling balls of fire, though they put their trident away to do it. One headed straight for them, so Frisk stretched their hands out and blocked it from striking them by splitting the fire in every direction.

Haward summoned more fireballs, but he could feel he was approaching his limit. Fewer fireballs went at Frisk, and they easily evaded them all. They fired off another bolt of red lightning. Haward caught it with his spear but was unable to send it back.

"Okay, that's enough," Gerson decided, clapping his hands. "Keep this up and you're bound to break something."

Haward had to agree. He was panting, but Frisk wasn't. How were they still going after all that?

"Well, you both did admirably," Gerson said.

"I was losing, though," Haward pointed out.

"Yeah, but you held your own, against an opponent who is apparently your superior," Gerson reassured. "That is impressive. Well, I think I can let you into the guard. I'll have to ask Asgore for permission first, of course, but you're good enough for me."

"Thank you, sir," Haward said.

"You should probably rest, get your strength back," Gerson advised. With that, Haward departed.

"Well, now that that's done, wanna train?" MK asked his friend.

"Sure, that got exciting," Frisk said.

"I'll say, but you were doing great," MK praised.

Gerson left to go talk to Asgore.

"Yeah. Let me just… get my heart back to normal first," Frisk suggested, a hand to their chest.

"Well, while you do that, let's discuss training," MK suggested. "I want to work on my own special attack. Maybe see if we can get my own Soul magic to work. And let's also see what you can do with that trident. What do you think?"

Frisk tried to say something, but they couldn't breathe. Their legs were wobbling and suddenly, they realized they couldn't feel their heart beating.

"Frisk, something wrong?" MK asked.

"H… heart," they got out before collapsing.

"FRISK!" MK ran to their side. "Shit, not again!" He tried pumping on their chest. "Hold on, Frisk. Frisk?"

They tried to get breath into their lungs, but it was a struggle. They could hear MK pleading for them to hang on, but they could feel it wasn't working. As they panted, their vision grew darker, and darker…

End of Chapter 10