THE LAST HOPE
Alphys was showing Asgore the maps she had drawn and telling him about the route they would take. Toriel was present as well, as was Sans, Papyrus and Undyne.
"…so that's where we're gonna go," Alphys concluded. "This course should allow us to evade any human ports or pirates."
"Very good, Alphys," Asgore complimented.
"Are you sure the ships have that sort of range?" Toriel questioned. "Especially as we will be taking our entire population and the humans that have sided with us."
"If we ration our food, we might be able to stretch it out," Undyne recommended. "Besides, we'll have fishing boats with us as well so that will increase the time we can spend on the sea."
"This is a very ambitious plan," Toriel said.
"But it might be our best bet at this point," Asgore said. "Though, I am not sure we will have the space for everyone. Even if we loaded the ships to capacity."
"DON'T THE HUMANS KNOW A FEW SPELLS THAT CAN HELP?" Papyrus asked. "SURELY THEY HAVE SOME WAY TO CRAM ALL OUR STUFF INTO A SMALL SPACE WITHOUT FILLING IT?"
"We could ask them," Undyne suggested.
"But what about…"
"ALPHYS!" MK came running in, Frisk hanging from his side.
"What is it?" Alphys asked, concerned.
"It's their heart! It froze up. Again!" MK explained.
The Monsters from the future gasped when they heard that. "Sans, case!" Alphys shouted to him, but he had already vanished.
MK laid the gasping Frisk on the table. Papyrus came up, a green glow enveloping his left hand. He laid it on Frisk's chest and their breathing got slightly calmer. Slightly.
"What is going on?" Toriel asked.
"Frisk's heart is acting up," MK explained.
"But it hasn't done that in months," Undyne said, next to them.
Sans returned just then, Alphys' case in his hands. Quickly, he handed it to the lizard woman. She laid it next to Frisk, pulling the cable out. MK took it from her, placing it in his mouth for the moment.
"Sorry about this," he apologized. He grabbed Frisk's shirt and tore the chest open. He took the cable out of his mouth then plugged it into a small port off-center of their chest.
Alphys tapped on the keys, working fast. "Okay, initiating cardiac restart," she said, pressing a key. But nothing happened. Frisk was still gasping for breath. She tried it again, but got the same result.
"What's going on? Restart their heart already!" MK shouted.
"I'm trying. It's not working," Alphys fretted. "Something must have been damaged."
Frisk was grasping one of MK's arms and he saw their grip loosen slightly. "We're losing them. Do something!"
Alphys started to panic. She tried to think of something to do. Then she got an idea. She rapidly typed on the keys, a warning sound coming from the case. "Okay, get ready, I'm gonna see if I can shock the heart to trigger the mechanical failsafe."
MK cupped Frisk's cheek with a metallic hand, feeling their grip on his arm continue to go slack.
"Clear!" MK and Papyrus let go as Alphys pressed a key. There was a small jolt before Frisk took a big gulp of air. They tried to sit up but their arms wobbled.
"That hurt!" they said. MK then surprised them by hugging them.
Alphys looked at the screen and all the red had turned to green. "Biomechanics have restarted. Cardiac rhythm is stable. The heart is going at about seventy beats a minute. They'll be fine."
The adults released a collective sigh at that.
"What just happened?" Toriel asked.
"Frisk's heart seized," MK said. "We were about to train when they collapsed."
"But… that is not how you usually deal with a seizure," Toriel observed. "Why did Alphys have to plug into them?"
Everyone looked at Frisk, who sighed before nodding.
"Frisk has an artificial heart," MK explained. "A prosthetic like what we have but theirs is internal."
Toriel gasped, as did Asgore.
"I've had this heart for over a year now," Frisk said. "It's replaced my real heart."
"What happened to it?" Asgore asked.
Frisk pulled their torn shirt apart a little more, revealing a jagged scar over the center of their chest. "I got stabbed. It tore my heart in two. I would have died that day, if it weren't for Papyrus." They pulled their shirt back together to conceal their chest. "His healing magic kept me alive long enough for Alphys to hook me up to a device that kept me alive."
Alphys finished typing on the case, running a diagnostic. "Usually such injuries would be fatal. But medicine in our time is much more advanced. The plan was to find a donor and transplant the heart to Frisk."
"So, what happened?" Toriel asked.
"We couldn't find anyone compatible," Alphys said. "You can't just stick any old heart into anyone's chest. They need to be compatible on a biological level for it to work. And, unfortunately, I didn't have access to anyone remotely compatible. So, I built an artificial heart for them to substitute."
"It took her days to make it," Frisk said. "Those days were painful. The machine couldn't keep me alive on its own so they had to use magic to keep my organs from failing. But it didn't matter how much healing magic they pumped into me, eventually, my body would give out."
"What was all that just now?" Asgore asked. "Wouldn't the heart make you, I don't know, immune to that kind of thing?"
"It isn't a perfect substitute," Alphys explained. "I didn't have access to cutting edge technology, so the heart I built for them was built with… less than adequate materials and tech. Because of that it's prone to failure. But if Frisk manages to remain calm and keep their heartrate down, it's less likely to fail."
"I have a bad feeling there is more," Toriel said.
"There is," Frisk said. "My body isn't taking to the heart very well and it can't handle the growth my body is going through. Eventually, a few years from now, my body will just give out."
Asgore looked down in sadness. "How long…?"
"Twenty years, if I'm lucky," Frisk answered. "But it'll be time well spent."
"I am sorry," Toriel said gently.
Frisk shook their head. "I don't want to hear it. I should have died a long time ago. Every day I'm still here is a miracle and I intend to enjoy it while I can."
"Is there not something that can be done for you?" Toriel asked. "Alphys, can you not do something about their heart?"
The lizard didn't respond, just stared at the screen, where the results of the diagnostic were displayed.
"Alphys, what's wrong?" Undyne asked.
Alphys lifted her goggles off to rub her eyes. "T-the heart has been damaged," she stammered. "Not-not like normal damage, but like, extreme damage. Many critical components have been either destroyed or badly damaged."
"What do you mean?" MK asked.
"I'm dying," Frisk deadpanned.
Alphys nodded. "I-I don't know how long you have," she said, on the verge of tears.
"ISN'T THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN DO?" Papyrus asked.
Alphys shook her head. "Even if I could, I no longer have access to the tools I need."
"Can you not heal them?" Toriel suggested.
"Healing magic doesn't work on artificial body parts," Alphys explained.
"How long do I have?" Frisk asked, their voice scarily neutral.
Alphys shrugged. "I'd have to track the deterioration, monitor the breakdown, but… it could be weeks, maybe months, before catastrophic failure."
Frisk pulled the cable out of their chest, straightening their shirt as best they could. They got off the table, their legs wobbly, before turning to leave.
"Frisk, wait," MK pleaded, grabbing their arm. "Where are you going?"
"Just around the castle. I… need to think."
"I can come with," MK suggested, preparing to hop down.
"I need to be alone," Frisk insisted.
MK caught a small change in the tone of their voice and let them go. Calmly, they strolled out, closing the door behind them.
"There is really nothing you can do for them?" Asgore asked Alphys. She shook her head.
"The technology of this era is horribly inadequate, plus I need a sterile work area and we don't have that," she explained. It was clear she was close to a breakdown, so Undyne came over and hugged her, trying her best to comfort the lizard.
Frisk walked through the halls of the castle, eventually coming to a quiet hall, next to a window. There, they leaned against the wall and slid down, legs to their chest. They buried their face in their knees, quietly sobbing. They knew they wouldn't get to live a full life, but this was much worse. They knew the reason for this change. Volos' torture. It was the only thing that could have caused so much damage in such a short time.
"Frisk?" a quiet voice tentatively asked.
Frisk looked up to see Flowey next to them.
"I just heard," he said. "Is it true. Are you…"
"Yes," Frisk said.
Flowey looked down, his expression unreadable to Frisk. He went between the bricks of the floor to pop up closer to them. "Golly, I… I don't know what to say to that. We… I thought we'd have more time together, you know."
"So did I," Frisk agreed.
Flowey chuckled. "Heh. It's horrible. I should be extremely sad, heartbroken even. Instead, I'm just furious that we're gonna run out of time."
Frisk looked down. "Volos did this," they revealed. "He tortured me electrically. It damaged my heart to the point Alphys can't fix it."
Flowey let out another mirthless laugh. "Is it possible for me to hate him even more than before? Because I think I do." He leaned his head on Frisk's arm. "Life really seems to hate us, doesn't it? I'm stuck in this body, without a Soul. You lose your heart, doomed to die a premature death. We lose our parents, unable to reconcile with them before they are killed. We are kept apart because I'm a flower and you're a human. And now, fate just twisted the knife even further, by killing you quicker."
Frisk laid their hand on Flowey's head as he leaned on their side. "Sometimes I wonder: is this my punishment? Is this the price I have to pay, for the things I did?"
"Well, at least the karma is unfair to us both, isn't it?" Flowey almost chuckled. "We get to equally suffer in different ways." He buried his face in their side. "I… I don't want to lose you, Frisk. I've grown so attached to your presence, to lose you… I don't think I'd survive."
Frisk hugged him. "I can't imagine a world without you, either."
Alphys was helping Asgore with counting the supplies they were going to bring on the voyage.
"You all really do care about Frisk, don't you?" Asgore asked. "It's kinda clear your relationship with them is more than business."
Alphys chuckled. "They helped all of us through a bad part in our lives, me especially," she explained. "We'd do anything for them. I just wish there was some way to fix this."
"There really is nothing you can do?"
"The technology of this era is too primitive," Alphys said. "Nothing would work."
MK entered the room just then, something in his hands. "Um, Doctor Alphys, I think you need to see this." He walked over to her, holding out a device. "You know that equipment you brought with us? One of them started beeping."
Alphys took the device from MK's hands.
"What is that?" Asgore asked.
"A scanner," Alphys answered. "I made it to detect our enemy in our time."
"Well, it's beeping and a dot appeared on the screen," MK said. "I was lying on the bed when it started going off."
Alphys looked at it. "It's malfunctioning."
"That's what I said," MK said. Alphys banged it on the table. "That's what I did! I thought you'd do something more scientific than that."
Alphys looked at the screen, and the red dot was moving. "This can't be possible," she said. "There's no way our enemy could be here."
"That's what I thought," MK added.
"Perhaps it actually is detecting them?" Asgore guessed.
"Well, the world's not on fire, so that doesn't make sense," MK said.
"It's detecting something, though," Alphys deduced. "But what?"
"Well, how does it detect the one you built it for?" Asgore guessed.
"It scans for LV, and when it registers an extremely high amount, it alerts me," Alphys explained.
"Perhaps it's detecting someone else then. Someone with a very high LV," Asgore supplied.
"Who would have an LV that high?"
MK's eyes widened. "Volos might."
Alphys looked up at MK, then back at the scanner. "Whoever it's detecting, they're less than five hundred yards away and closing."
Asgore turned to MK. "Find Gerson, have him lock down the castle. We've got an intruder."
MK nodded before running off. "Alphys, find your friends and neutralize the intruder or intruders."
"Yes, sir," Alphys saluted. "Um, Asgore, if it is Volos, he might be here for you."
"My chambers are fortified against intruders. I shall head there with an escort," Asgore assured.
"I'll go find Undyne. We'll stop this person."
Frisk and Flowey were still curled against a wall when a horn sounded. "What's that?" Flowey asked.
"An alert of some kind," Frisk guessed. "We should probably find out what's going on."
Frisk stood up.
"I'll be by your side," Flowey assured before he went his own way.
Haward and the other humans were in their rooms when the horn sounded. "That sounds like a warning horn," the yellow wizard said.
"Warn against what?" the blue wizard asked.
"Guess," the teal wizard snarked. "There's only so many people who would be so bold to attack a castle."
"Do you think it's dad?" Haward asked.
"He might be here for the king," the yellow wizard guessed.
"Let's get to his chamber and protect him," the teal wizard suggested.
Alphys found Undyne with Gerson. She was trying to lead them to the intruders while the scanner was still detecting their presence.
"Can't believe Volos would be so foolish," Gerson said, hammer in hand.
"The guy must be desperate to increase tensions if he's willing to do this," Undyne guessed.
"This way," Alphys said, turning at a junction.
"That device is neat," Gerson said. "But I imagine Volos is going to try and sneak his way to Asgore."
"Hopefully we get to him before then," Undyne said.
"Turn here," Alphys said, turning at another junction.
"This is a strange path to take to the king's chambers," Gerson said. "He's back that way."
"Maybe he doesn't know where Asgore is?" Undyne guessed.
"He's on a clear path," Alphys said. "There's no sign he's wavering around."
"Not to mention the humans have tracking spells," Gerson revealed. "All they need is something from the king and they can head right to him."
"Then why go the wrong direction?" Undyne wondered. "If he's trying to enflame tensions, killing Asgore would do that."
An idea occurred to Alphys and she stopped in her track, the taller Monsters almost walking into her. "He's not here for Asgore," she realized. Immediately, she started running, still following the tracker.
"Then who?" Undyne asked, following.
Haward was trying to find Asgore's chambers with the other wizards, but they were having a hard time with that. "Which way to the king? All these hallways look the same," Haward said.
As they ran, they came across Frisk and Flowey. "What's going on?" the younger human asked.
"We think there might be intruders and they're after the king," the blue wizard explained.
"Then count me in," Frisk said.
"Frisk, you need to rest," Flowey advised.
"Not with Asgore in danger," Frisk denied.
"Well, which way is the king's chambers?" Haward asked.
"Follow me." Frisk led the way. But a few turns in, they came across Volos, with two wizards at his side.
"Volos," Frisk hissed.
"Well, look what we have here. A band of traitors," Volos mocked.
"We're not going to let you harm the Monster king," the blue wizard declared, staff in hand. The other two stepped forward with their own staffs at the ready.
"Oh, I'm not here for him," Volos revealed. Before anyone could react, he waved his hand and brick hands grabbed the three adult wizards and slammed them against the walls.
Haward whipped out his spear in defense. Frisk turned their hands up and conjuring red flame.
"Why risk coming here if you're not after the king?" Frisk asked.
"Because I'm here for you," Volos said. "You're ruining things, turning us against each other. I'm here to end that threat."
Haward stepped forward. "You'll have to go through me, first," he challenged.
The other two wizards brandished their staffs.
"Step aside, son. You're no match for the three of us," Volos warned. "Do the smart thing and give up."
"Frisk is a kid. A child!" Haward insisted. "Are you really going to murder a child?"
"That child is a threat to our kingdom and its stability," Volos dismissed. "Yes. Get Haward out of the way."
The purple and orange wizards stepped forward, staffs at the ready. But then, an energy blast struck in front of them, forcing them to step back.
"Alphys!" Frisk exclaimed, the yellow lizard running up from an adjacent hallway. Her right hand, which was now a blaster, was smoking.
"Haward. Take Frisk and run!" she ordered.
The older teen grabbed the younger one's hand and began running. Flowey managed to wrap his vines around Frisk's leg and hauled himself up as they ran.
"Stop them!" Volos ordered.
Alphys stepped forward, discarding her scanner and flinging her left hand forward, white lightning leaping from it to the two wizards, shocking them.
At that moment, Undyne and Gerson caught up. The fish lady leaped to engage the orange wizard, while Gerson ran at the purple one. Both let out a battle cry as they engaged in battle.
Volos ran past while Alphys tried to stop him with another blast of lightning. Volos raised a brick wall to counter it. She turned to help her friends as they battled the wizards, charging up her hand for a stronger blast.
Haward and Frisk ran as fast as they could but Volos was taller and older. "Keep running, I'll keep him occupied," Haward said, turning to face his father, Frisk continuing to sprint.
"Get out of the way, Haward," Volos menaced.
"I can't," Haward denied. "I won't let you kill them."
"It is a threat and a danger to the human race," Volos insisted. "You're betraying your own people by protecting it."
"And you're betraying ours by attacking them," Haward shot back. "Was anything you said true? Was any of that 'do it for the better of the human race' real or just hogwash to deceive us?"
"Stand aside. I won't hesitate to go through you," Volos warned.
"Listen to yourself," Haward insisted. "You're threatening your own son. What kind of person does that?"
"One who will do whatever it takes," Volos said. "Now, one last time, get out of my way!"
Haward shook his head. "I won't." Holding his spear in one hand, he drew his father's sword with the other. "I will stop you."
"Oh, Haward, you're no match for me," Volos said with mock sadness. "It will be a shame, but I will go through you, whatever it takes." He charged his son, swinging his staff as Haward rose the sword to parry, the two weapons clashing.
Frisk stumbled to a stop. "I… need to… catch my breath," they said, placing a hand on their chest.
"A few moments, then we need to keep going," Flowey said. "He wants to kill you and we can't let that happen."
Frisk stood up, looking back at the way they came. "We can't let Haward fight him. He'll die."
"So what? He's willing to die for you," Flowey reminded.
"He could be someone's ancestor!" Frisk protested. "If he dies who knows how many people vanish."
"You're the only human left. What does that matter?" Flowey asked.
Frisk shook their head when a thought occurred to them. "Wait… what if they're my ancestor?"
Flowey raised an eyebrow. "Yours?"
"He looks a lot like me," Frisk said. "In fact, come to think of it, he looks like an older version of me."
Flowey hummed, other connections falling into place. "You're right. He could be." He groaned. "Great, now we have to go back for him. But how are we going to beat Volos?"
Frisk smirked. "Well, I do have a special trick I haven't done in a while," they said knowingly. "Perhaps that would do it?"
Flowey smirked when he got the idea. "I see where you're going with this," he said.
"One more time?"
"One more time."
Flowey adjusted himself, going to the back of Frisk's shirt before sliding his roots and vines down underneath their clothes…
End of Chapter 11