THE LAST HOPE
Frisk was lying on their bed with Toriel's hands on their chest as she channeled her magic. A cable ran from them to Alphys' case where she was desperately trying to get the heart to restart.
Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans were all nearby, worried for their friend. Asgore, Gerson, Haward, and the three wizards were also present. Asgore held a bag of dirt with Flowey's body planted in it. For the past couple hours, Undyne and the others informed the four humans about their purpose and their plans. They had taken it well enough, but right now, their concern was Frisk, who was just barely breathing and, according to Alphys, hanging on by a thread.
Alphys tried another shock to the heart to trigger the failsafe, but again it failed. "Come on, you damn piece of junk!" She slammed her fist on the case in frustration.
Toriel was trying to heal Frisk but she could see now why it wasn't a matter of healing the damage done to their heart. While she was channeling her magic into them, she felt a cavity in their chest where their heart should be.
"Can no healing spell fix the heart?" the yellow wizard asked.
"Those spells only work on living things," Alphys explained. "Frisk's heart is not living."
MK was at Frisk's side holding onto their limp hand. "They can't stay like this," he wept, tears running down his cheeks. "They nearly died once before and even our magic couldn't keep them alive."
The blue wizard faced the flower in Asgore's grasp. "Speaking of death, we all heard what Frisk said."
"Death Touch," the yellow wizard said. "It's forbidden. The knowledge to use it is supposed to be lost."
"Seems my father found it again," Haward said.
Asgore looked down at the flower. "But if he died, shouldn't he have turned to dust?"
"Flowey isn't a Monster," Undyne explained.
"Then what is he?" the teal wizard asked.
Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, Alphys and MK shared a glance.
"HE'S A FLOWER THAT WAS BROUGHT TO LIFE THROUGH… UNNATURAL MEANS," Papyrus explained.
"What do you mean?" Haward asked.
"alph here was able to figure out what allows humans souls to persist after death and extracted it from a few of them," Sans explained. "she then in… gave it to a flower, which gave it sentience."
"Why?" the blue wizard asked.
"Doesn't matter," Alphys deflected. "But the point is, I gave Flowey life and he was an ordinary flower beforehand. That's why he doesn't turn to dust."
Asgore looked at the flower in his hands. "Hmm… perhaps I might be able to do something for him, then."
"What do you mean?" Toriel asked.
"Well, I am a rather good gardener. Perhaps I might be able to fix him," Asgore explained.
"Good luck with that," Undyne said.
"HOW IS FRISK?" Papyrus asked.
"I still can't get their heart to restart," Alphys fretted. "If it doesn't restart, their organs might give out."
"Perhaps there is something we could do?" Haward suggested.
"like what? this is a bit out of your league," Sans pointed out.
"But we might have a spell that could do something," he protested.
Alphys sighed. "At this point, I'll try anything. I don't know how much longer they can last."
Haward and the three adult humans walked up to Frisk. They crossed their staffs, Haward adding his spear to the mix. Together, they concentrated, channeling their magic through their weapons, then sending it to Frisk's body. They were enveloped in a multi-colored glow that slowly faded away. Once done, Frisk took a deeper breath, and Alphys' case registered the heart beating at a normal rate.
"Their heart is beating correctly again," Alphys determined.
The humans stepped back using their staffs for support. "Is Frisk's heart okay now?" Haward asked.
Alphys ran a diagnostic, the results coming back. "No," she said sadly.
"What is wrong?" Toriel asked, her hands by her sides again.
"The damage is worse than I originally thought and that fight clearly didn't help," she explained.
"How long do they have?" MK asked.
Alphys shook her head, tears in her eyes.
"Maybe give us a best to worst case scenario?" Asgore suggested. "Starting with best case."
"Optimistically, they have a month at most," Alphys explained, taking her goggles off to rub her eyes.
"And worst case?" the blue wizard asked.
"They might not wake up," Alphys wept. "Their heart is so bad… at some point it will just stop beating."
Undyne came over to hug Alphys, who sobbed into her shoulder. The lights in Sans' eyes were gone. Papyrus hugged him. MK was still holding Frisk's hand with his own, crying for his friend's state. Toriel came over and laid a hand on MK's back but that just made his crying worse.
Asgore looked down at the floor in sadness. What were they going to do now?
A while later, the humans were in their room discussing this latest development.
"So Frisk and those other Monsters are from a thousand years in the future where some great catastrophe wipes out the human race and nearly does the same to Monsters," the yellow wizard repeated.
"And they came to our time hoping to change the outcome of this war because for some reason, doing so prevents the horrible future," the teal wizard said.
"That's a lot to take in," Haward said. "No wonder they're so desperate. The fates of everyone depends on this war not ending with the Monsters underground."
"Which explains why there are so many ships docking here. They're planning to flee," the blue wizard said.
"At least that's one worry off our minds," the yellow wizard said. "We don't have to kill our own kind."
"We still need to stop my father," Haward determined.
"Haward, there's no need," the blue wizard said. "We'll be far away from him soon…"
"That won't matter," Haward interrupted. "You saw the look on my father's face. He won't stop. Not until all the Monsters are dead, alongside all who help them. He'll follow us and he's determined enough to go wherever we go."
"What do you suggest we do then?" the blue wizard asked.
"I don't know," Haward admitted. "But we need to end his threat before he becomes a real problem."
"Something doesn't make much sense to me," the teal wizard admitted. "If Volos is truly that desperate, why then, in the original timeline, did the Monsters survive? Wouldn't he have had them all killed?"
"Perhaps he was overruled by the king," the yellow wizard suggested. "It wouldn't surprise me if the king had decided enough was enough and forced the Monsters to surrender."
There was a knock at the door. The yellow wizard answered it to find a mouse there dressed in clothing. "Can I help you?"
"I just had the strangest delivery," the mouse said, holding up a hand. In it was a scroll. "A raven just landed on my window and this was tied to its leg."
The wizard took the scroll, looking at the outside of it. It was addressed to Haward. He handed it to the younger man, who unrolled it.
"It's from Dobromil," he said.
"What's it say?" the teal wizard asked.
"It says… that my father is launching an attack on the Delta Keep."
MK was still with Frisk. The others had left to attend to their duties. The evacuation plan was still underway, but MK wasn't needed to prepare the ships so he was going to stay by Frisk' side. He prayed they woke up. He didn't think he'd be able to survive losing them too. He had already lost his whole family.
He was running a metallic hand across their cheek when he felt them stir. He perked up when their head moved. "Frisk?" he tentatively asked.
"M…K…?" Frisk gasped.
"Oh, thank god," he breathed. "Alphys said you might not wake up."
Frisk groaned, facing him. "Flowey?" they asked. MK looked down. "Is he really…?"
"Asgore said he might be able to do something, but… I wouldn't count on it," MK answered.
Frisk started to cry. A hand went to their eyes as they wept. "It should have been me," they cried.
"Frisk, why did you fight Volos?" MK asked. "Surely you'd know that your heart wouldn't be able to take it?"
"He was going to kill Haward," Frisk explained. "He… he could be a big help."
MK sighed. "Well, at least you lived."
"Flowey didn't," Frisk bemoaned. "It should have been me. It would have been me if he hadn't done that." A thought occurred to Frisk. "MK, how long do I have?"
"You… Alphys said you have a month at the most," MK explained.
"And at the least?"
MK didn't say it, but Frisk got the idea. "I see. Well, at least I won't have to suffer long."
"But it's too soon," MK protested. "Far too soon. You're not supposed to go yet."
"Hey, we both knew I wasn't going to live a full life when Alphys pulled my heart out," Frisk consoled.
"But it's still too soon!" MK shouted. "I can't lose you, not now."
Frisk felt bad for him. "I know it's not ideal, but you'll manage. I know you will."
"It's not just that," he admitted. "There's so much I haven't gotten to say."
"Like what?"
MK couldn't get the words out. He wanted to, very much, but for some reason it wouldn't come to him. Before he could try to say anything, Papyrus burst in.
"MK, EMERGENCY MEETING," the tall skeleton said. "OH, FRISK, YOU WOKE UP. I'LL TELL THE OTHERS."
"What is it, Papyrus?" MK snapped at him.
"HAWARD JUST GOT A MESSAGE. VOLOS IS GOING TO ATTACK THE CASTLE!"
MK and Papyrus ran to the war room. Asgore, Gerson, Undyne, Alphys, Sans, Haward, and the three wizards were already there.
"Volos is going to attack?" MK asked. "How do we know that?"
Haward held up the scroll. "I got this from Dobromil. He said that my father is taking the forces at his disposal and launching a full-scale attack on the Delta Keep."
"He can't have sanctioned such a thing so fast," Gerson said. "How could he have gotten the king's approval in just twelve hours?"
"He didn't," Haward revealed. "He's claiming to be doing this on the king's orders, but he's not."
"So how does Dobromil know that?" Undyne asked.
"The night I was convincing people to join us, he wrote a letter to the king about recent developments then sent it the next day," Haward explained. "He got a response back shortly after my father returned. The king has decided to call a cessation of hostilities between the human and Monster kingdoms and plans to personally reach out to Asgore to discuss the recent development that is a human siding with Monsters."
Asgore gasped. "Did the king's letter really say that?"
"How can we know that was genuine? Where is this letter?" Gerson questioned.
"Unfortunately, it seems my father destroyed the letter after reading it, then immediately decided to plan to attack the Delta Keep," Haward explained. "Dobromil only knows the contents of the letter because it was sent to him."
"Volos isn't doing this for humans anymore," the yellow wizard said. "It's clear this attack is of his own volition."
"He's insane," Alphys stated.
"I would not put it so bluntly, but yes," the blue wizard agreed.
"When is this attack happening?" MK asked.
"Two days," Haward said. "That's how long it will take for him to get his army here."
"We're not ready," Undyne said. "Even if we double-timed it, worked through the night it will still take a week to get all the ships ready for departure."
"Perhaps you should send who you can now. Evacuate as many people as you can," the teal wizard suggested.
"The ships are not ready for such a journey," Alphys said. "They won't be ready to sail that distance for at least three days."
"Isn't there anything else you can do?" Haward asked. "Surely your future knowledge would have allowed you to know about this and account for it."
"It doesn't work like that," Undyne rebutted. "The humans seem to have erased this war from their records and our own aren't nearly as comprehensive. We didn't even know Volos existed."
"We don't have a plan for this," Alphys said. "We didn't have time to come up with one, nor did we think it would even happen."
"Then we stand our ground."
Everyone turned to see Frisk leaning in the doorway.
"Frisk! You shouldn't be standing," MK said, running to their side. "You need to rest."
"I'll rest when I'm dead," Frisk returned, pushing MK away.
"What do you mean 'stand our ground'?" Gerson asked. "There's no way we can stand up to an army of humans out for blood."
"Under ordinary circumstances, maybe," Frisk agreed. "But you guys have something the Monsters in our timeline didn't; them." They pointed to the wizards standing with them. "With humans fighting for you, it's bound to level the playing field."
"Even so, we don't have the means to sustain against a siege," Gerson said. "Not to mention the giant hole in the wall that Volos' cohorts blasted when they retreated."
"We don't need to stand against the entire army," Frisk said. "Most of those people were conscripted into this. Young or old men forced to fight in a war they didn't want any part in. If they see the battle turning against them, they're likely to retreat or surrender. If we go after the commissioned ones, the army will collapse."
"Even then, do you think that will work?" the yellow wizard asked. "They aren't likely to back down just because of deserters."
"There's one linchpin that really holds it all together," Frisk explained. "Volos. He's the reason for this war, preying on your fears and superstitions to encourage you to fight. Without him to stoke fires and the like, the army's dedication will fall apart. If we remove him, do you think you can convince the other humans to stand down?"
That question was directed at the humans in the room. They looked between each other before nodding. "We might be able to do something."
"Then if we end Volos, we end this war," Frisk decided. "After that, talking to the human king should be a simple matter."
"And by end, you mean… kill?" Haward asked.
"What other option is there?"
"Capture? Imprisonment?" the young wizard suggested.
"And have him continue to spread fear and mistrust? We're trying to end that," Frisk stated. "If we kill him, that ends his threat permanently."
"There might be other humans that will take up his cause," Asgore said.
"We'll find a way around that," Frisk assured. "But if we don't kill him in this battle, we'll all die."
"I don't like it either but it might be the best way," the teal wizard agreed. "Volos is committing treason going against the king's orders. That's punishable by death."
Asgore solemnly nodded his head. "But Volos is a formidable foe. How do we go about killing him?"
"If we bait him, give him something he can't refuse, he'll be where we need him," Frisk said. "He might have backup, but we can take it out no problem."
"What would Volos be willing to go after?" the yellow wizard asked.
"Me," Asgore realized. "He wants to kill Monsters and it was clear during that farce of an execution that he would have enjoyed killing me."
"I'm not so sure about this," Gerson said. "That's like asking him to kill you and you almost died once, my king."
"I can be there to protect him," Frisk said.
"Frisk, you can barely stand," Alphys pointed out.
"I'll be fine by the time of the battle," Frisk assured.
"Fighting will make your condition worse!" MK exclaimed.
"Can't get worse than this," Frisk stated. "I could die at any moment."
"But…"
"I'd rather go out like this than passing on in my sleep," Frisk said. "I don't have long so I want to make what's left of my life count for something."
Everyone could hear the silent plea in Frisk's voice. They wanted to do this and denying them that could break them.
"Okay, but I'm going to be with you," MK said. "I'm your partner so I'm going to be by your side for the whole thing."
Frisk nodded in understanding.
"As nice as this is, that only solves the location of where Volos will be," Gerson pointed out. "How are we going to kill him."
"He's powerful, but still a man," Frisk said. "One strike to the right place and he's done."
"But he's too powerful," Gerson reminded. "How do we get past his defenses?"
"I was able to match him in battle," Frisk said. "With MK as backup, I should be able to beat him."
"And his sword?" the yellow wizard asked. "He can use Death Touch with it. One strike, you die."
"But without it, he's powerless," Frisk said. "If we destroy the sword he'll be vulnerable."
"Easier said than done," Undyne said.
"not to mention the chaos that's going to come with the battle," Sans added. "it's going to be hard to isolate him or draw him out, even with bait."
"WELL, WHAT IF WE KEPT THE FIGHTING CONTAINED TO ONE AREA?" Papyrus suggested. "LIKE, SAY, THE COURTYARD? IF WE KEPT MOST OF THE ARMY THERE, AND HAD ASGORE ELSEWHERE, HE'D HAVE TO LEAVE THE BATTLE TO GET HIS TARGET."
"That could work," Gerson said. "And it would have the benefit of separating him from the majority of his forces."
"Sounds like we got the start of a good plan, here," Undyne said.
"Yeah. We stand, we fight," Alphys agreed.
"We kill Volos, we end the war," Frisk added.
"Then let's get started," Haward said.
End of Chapter 13