They could already hear metallic clanging echoing from the doorway. Frisk glanced to Asgore, who returned it. Frisk decided to knock, but there wasn't a response.
"I don't think they can hear me..." He commented, trying again to the same result.
"Let me try." Asgore requested. Frisk stood aside and Asgore stepped up, readying his fist to knock. The first thump shook some loose snow from the roof, the second dented the door and the third caused the rest of the snow to plummet from the roof, burying Frisk and half of Asgore with a resounding "whumph" sound. The clanging stopped and footsteps approached as Frisk worked to free himself. He'd just freed himself when the door opened, revealing a confused-looking Undyne. Her confusion turned to shock at the sight of Frisk's guest.
"A-Asgore?!"
"Hello, Undyne." he chuckled, reaching down to help Frisk to his feet.
"Whuh... what are you doing here? I thought you'd be in New Home!"
"I was in my palace when Frisk arrived. We went over to the barrier, and yes, I attacked him, but he's had an interesting idea."
"What, becomin' a snowman?" She gestured to Frisk, who was still dusting snow off of himself. "You'd better come in before you freeze your butts off."
"Thank you." Asgore nodded, letting Frisk enter first. He sighed in relief at the warmth of the house; as beautiful as Snowdin was, its distance from the Core left it far too cold for his liking. Asgore followed behind, pulling the door gently.
----
"Wowie!" Papyrus exclaimed, peeking through from the kitchen. "Is that really you, your highness?"
"Hello, Papyrus." Asgore smiled, waving briefly. "How are you two?"
"Fine!" Papyrus grinned, starry-eyed. Undyne, however, was frowning, deep in thought.
"Sir, what kind of business would bring you out here? If Frisk had died you'd be working on breaking the barrier..."
"Undyne!" Papyrus chastised. "At least offer our guests a drink before anything else! The poor human looks colder than when we fought!" Frisk smiled gratefully, gently rubbing an arm as Papyrus disappeared into the kitchen again. Undyne's frown didn't improve as she continued to stare at the two.
"Something's up." she muttered. "Frisk, I thought you were more determined to get outta here. Why'd you come back?"
"I.. I was thinking about what Sans said... that I didn't have any LOVE but I had plenty of love."
"Oh, jeez, did he do that whole "judge of all beings" spiel again?" she sighed, rolling her eye. "Just 'cause an old friend of his did something weird..." Frisk chuckled slightly. Papyrus entered again, carrying a tray of glasses of water.
"Of course you have plenty of love, human! I do not date any old so-and-so, you know! I have very high standards!" He set the tray down, giving everyone a glass.
"You told me you dated him because he could cook spaghetti." Undyne commented off-handedly. Papyrus flailed in surprise, then tried to shush Undyne with a finger to his teeth. Frisk and Asgore giggled quietly at the show. "Anyway, what were you saying, kid? Somethin' about love?"
"Yeah, well... He made me think about what I wanted, where I wanted to go... and I figured out people would want me here more than in my world."
-----
"But what of your family?" Asgore frowned slightly.
"I don't really have any... My parents died a long time ago and I don't have any siblings"
"That sucks." Undyne commented, leaning back. Her glass had already been emptied.
"Yeah, and I think people here need me more than up there."
"Need you?" Papyrus asked, tilting his head slightly. "For what?"
"I brought them hope for unity, I think. If they can be friends with me, why not others?"
"I suppose..." Papyrus put his hand to his chin in thought.
"But there is still the issue of monsters desiring your soul." Asgore frowned slightly.
"Ha!" Undyne grinned, raising her hand and forming an energy spear in it. "Let 'em try! I'll remind 'em why I'm the captain of the Royal Guard!" Asgore chuckled, nodding in approval.
"I had hoped you would say that. Would it be possible to make some of the Guard protect him permanently?"
"Permanently? Well, I guess, but it'd be awkward to do so for too long." The spear faded as she lowered her hand.
"Ooh! Ooh! Pick me, pick me!" Papyrus blurted out, raising his hand enthusiastically. "I'd be perfect for it!"
"You're still in training, Papyrus, I can't accept you for any official mission."
"Then make it unofficial!" he grinned innocently. "The human deserves a guardsman as great as you or I, surely!"
"... I suppose if it went through the records it'd be harder to hide..." Undyne considered her options, closing her eye.
"Miss Undyne?" Frisk attempted to get her attention. "I'd like for Papyrus to help protect me, but I think he won't be the only one helping me."
"Whuh?" she opened her eye again, looking to Frisk.
"I'm going back to the Ruins. I know someone in there, she's very strong."
"How strong?" Undyne asked, eye narrowing slightly.
"About as strong as Asgore."
"Jeez, that's it?" she chuckled, her gaze drifting to Asgore. "If that's all you have, I'd do a better job of it."
"..." Asgore didn't reply, making Undyne's grin drop a little.
"Uh, everythin' okay, big guy?"
"Hm?" he blinked slightly, looking back to Undyne. "Um, yes, all is... I'm fine."
"... right. Hey, Papyrus, how's the spaghetti?"
"Oh, goodness!" he exclaimed, bolting to his feet and rushing through to the kitchen. Undyne sighed, getting up to follow.
"I'll try to not set the house on fire this time." she grinned, striding quickly into the kitchen. Asgore and Frisk exchanged nervous glances.
-----
To the relief of the guests, the house remained unburnt, and all four were soon seated around the table. Asgore and Undyne were on the couch, Frisk and Papyrus on the floor across from them. Asgore leant in to start immediately, but paused on seeing Frisk hesitate.
"Is everything well, human?" Asgore asked, blinking a little.
"Uh, yeah, it's just... The spaghetti down here's more of an acquired taste than it is up there."
"Ooh! You've had spaghetti before?" Papyrus leaned in, curious. "Was it as great as my own?"
"It, uh, it was certainly different, that's for sure..."
"Think you could cook it?" Undyne asked, eating hers without hesitation. "I know Alphys would wanna try some real human grub out at some point."
"Of course he can!" Papyrus declared. "He told me so himself!"
"Would you consider doin' it, then?"
"I, uh, sure."
"Fantastic!" Papyrus grinned, scooping another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. "I, the great Papyrus, will sample some authentic human cuisine! Can I help make it?"
"I guess, but you'll have to follow my instructions closely."
"Okay!" Undyne and Asgore were smiling at Papyrus' enthusiasm as they got on with their meal. Frisk glanced at his still-untouched plate. He'd sampled Papyrus' cooking before; he could almost feel his tongue recoil at the thought of another batch. Still, everyone else had eaten it without complaint. Maybe this time would be different. He cautiously prepared a forkful...
-----
"Knock knock."
"Who is there?"
"I'm skel."
"I'm skel who?"
"I'm skelkin' around, sure you wanna talk to me?" She laughed. She always laughed. The laugh fell quiet, though, and was followed by a few seconds of silence. "Hey, uh, you seem kinda quiet today, everythin' okay?"
"... the human?"
"He's safe. Safer than you'd think, actually."
"Oh?"
"He's with Asgore now. They're comin' here."
"What? You mean... Asgore hasn't..."
"Kid's fine. So's Asgore, actually. They've got a plan, let the kid die of age and take his soul after."
"Age? This isn't like him..."
"Problem is, the kid's still a kid, he's gonna need a mom. Asgore seems happy to be the dad..."
"... He wants me to be the mother."
"Looks like it." More silence echoed, a soft, winter breeze flowing through the air. "... Still there?"
"Yes..."
"Cool... Uh, wanna talk?"
"... Asgore and the child... they didn't fight?"
"Kid talked him out of it."
"And they're coming here?"
"Yup."
"... should I forgive him?"
-----
"Huh?" Sans shuffled, looking at the door.
"... He's keeping us down here, biding his time before the next, innocent human falls down. Why doesn't he take the soul he has and use it to get six more souls from the outside?"
"You know he'd have to kill way more than six, even with the power of a fused soul he can't stop humans from being aggressive towards monsters."
"Not all humans are evil! We had a human in the family, you remember him?"
"Uh-huh."
"He was a good child... I don't know why he..."
"Hey, it ain't worth getting choked up over."
"Sans, please..."
"... sorry, didn't know you still hurt from back then. I'll shut up."
"Thank you..." They sank into an uncomfortable silence. Eventually, Sans got up with a grunt.
"If you need a hand cleanin' up, I can find a shortcut or somethin', but I'll get goin' if you don't need it."
".. It's nothing I cannot manage."
"Alright. Same time tomorrow?"
"If I am not busy, of course."
"Alright." Sans grinned a little - only a little - and trudged down the long, straight path back to Snowdin.
-----
Frisk groaned quietly, stomach still objecting to the meal he'd eaten. Papyrus hadn't improved at all. He laid on the couch, feigning sleepiness, and tried to overcome the beast in his gut... and his mind. The voice had spoken up again, calling for their deaths. They had all wronged him, the voice said They had attacked him, they had wanted him dead. They didn't care for him. Only his soul. Even now others would be hunting him, blades ready, fangs dripping with saliva and malice. Hunt them first. Make sure he couldn't be touched. To survive among monsters, one must be a monster. Frisk rolled onto his side, facing the back of the couch, as he put the pillow over his head. The voice was stronger now, louder.
"He isn't me..." he muttered to himself, gripping the pillow tighter. "He can't be me..."
"Human?" A gentle hand rested on his arm. Frisk flinched a little from the surprise touch, but moved the pillow and sat up. It was Papyrus, frowning slightly in concern. "Are you okay? You were muttering in your sleep..."
"I... I'm okay..." Frisk muttered, managing a weak, fake smile. "Just... trying to talk myself to sleep, I guess."
"You said something about somebody not being you?"
"..." he considered talking about it. If he could trust anyone, it would be Papyrus, but he didn't want to cause undue concern to someone so... innocent. "I-it's nothing, Papyrus..."
"... If you want to talk, human, please..." Papyrus looked Frisk in the eye.
"... later, Papyrus, I promise. Let me... let me get myself ready..." Papyrus nodded wordlessly, resting a hand on his head in a show of sympathy, before getting up and walking up to his room. Frisk flopped onto his back, sighing quietly. Even if the voice was right, he could still rely on his friends. They, at least, meant him no harm. He tried to go back to sleep, still fighting the monster in his gut.
-----
Asgore trudged through the snow, quietly enjoying how his breath turned to clouds before him. The village of Snowdin hadn't changed since his last visit, despite the human's arrival. He didn't know what to think of that; had the monsters here adapted to their underground life? Or had their fondness of the human overwhelmed the desire for freedom? In either case, he was content. In New Home, so close to the barrier, all he heard were the grumbles of monsters demanding out, the angry rumble of a mob barely suppressed. It had taken all of his power, both diplomatic and physical, to ensure the hollow, fragile peace remained intact. He sighed quietly, shoulders dropping a little.
"Your majesty?" a citizen asked. He looked over, to see a young monster looking up at him. "Are you okay?"
"I am, thank you." he smiled gently. "Yourself?"
"You aren't gonna hurt the human, are you?" This caught Asgore off-guard.
"Well, no, I do not wish to, but... you would not hurt him?"
"I know he has the Soul we need, but... c-can't we wait for another?"
"... you enjoy his presence that much?"
"Uh-huh! He's a nice human!"
"You may be a very old monster before another human falls down." Asgore warned. "You do realise that, yes?"
"I know, I know... but you'll be here too, right?"
"Yes, I plan to stay here for a while." He smiled, ruffling the child's hair. "The human will be in my care, too."
"Really? Can I visit?" the child's eyes widened at the prospect of a new friend.
"We shall see. Run along, now, I have business I need to take care of."
"Yes, sir!"The monster nodded, running off to share his story of meeting the king. He smiled as the child left, then frowned a little. He had business to deal with.He went to walk on, but was stopped by a very familiar laugh.