The Garden, Chapter 6

	Frisk held onto the brown paper bag, filled with all kinds of goodies for her lunch. Asgore sat behind the wheel, reclining back into the seat. He was worried that no car that he wanted would have enough room, but luckily he found just the right one. It was a little dated, and wasn’t the nicest mobile in town, but to him it was perfect.

	He hummed along to the radio, the station of choice of course being classic rock. Ever since Undyne showed him the whole genre of ‘Dad Rock’ he couldn’t get enough, and luckily for him, a radio station had it going twenty-four seven. There was always a pad of paper and pen in the console, in case he found a song that he really liked. Frisk giggled at his love for the old music, but she couldn’t say she didn’t enjoy it either. She found herself rocking out with the old King, swaying to the beat and singing along.

	The school building came into view, Asgore turned into the entrance. Frisk unbuckled her seat belt, grabbing her backpack and preparing for the day. Monster Kid sat on a bench near the building, kicking his feet idly as he waiting for his friend to show up. Asgore parked in an open spot, turning the engine off. Frisk hastily threw open the car door, her backpack strapped to her back, the sack still clutched in her grasp. Ducking his head, Asgore rose from his seat, looking down happily at his child.

	He knelt down and gave her a hug, “Have a great day at school, Frisk!” he said before planting a small kiss on her brow. She giggled, hugging him back. A distant ‘Yo!’ was heard, Frisk turning to look at her monster friend. Asgore smiled and ruffled the human’s hair, letting her run off to the school building. Returning to his car, he sat and checked his phone. He was in no rush to get home, and Undyne was texting him about who-knows-what. He turned up the radio and delved into his conversation.

~~~

	Monster Kid peeked into the sack lunch, his eyes glistening. “Yo! Where’d you get that?” he asked, “That looks, like, really good!” Frisk laughed, sealing the lunch back up. She loved Toriel’s lunches, anything that she cooked was amazing, but Asgore obviously put in extra care, and it really showed. A thermos sloshed on the side of Frisk’s backpack, fresh tea made for the entire day.

	“Whoops!” an nasally voice said as they snagged the paper bag from Frisk’s hands, “Was this yours?” Three boys showed their faces, most of which had small bruises and shaggy hair. They counted three strong, all with pudgy arms and mugs, sneers hanging on their jowls. The first bully crumpled through the paper bag, setting his eyes on the treasure inside, “Woah, this looks really good! Be a shame if something or someone was to steal it.” The other two chuckled.

	MK stepped up, “Yo dude, that’s not at all cool.” He stood up as tall as he could, perching on the balls of his feet to make him seem bigger. “Give it back.”  He was promptly pushed over, his armless body lacking much balance.

	“Yo, you need a hand… wait, was that insensitive?” One jeered, the others howling in laughter.

	“Why don’t you try fighting someone with the same amount of limbs, freak. You might have a bit more success,” said another. Laughs echoed along the walls, MK both was seething on the ground, both in pain and in embarrassment.

	Frisk looked down at her friend, her fists clenching. She stepped up, her usual deadpan face showing slight signs of anger. The antagonists just laughed, “Is big scary momma goat gonna come and give us detention later?”

	“Teacher’s kid and teacher’s pet.”

	The bully holding the lunch looked at the note, reading it aloud “‘Have a great day at school, Frisk!’” He snickered, “What, did mommy make this for you too?”

	A hulking shadow covered Frisk, the darkness spreading to the feet of the bullies. “No,” the shadow said, a slight blue tint to their eye, “I did. I suggest that you put it down and leave Frisk alone.” The bullies stood wide eyed in fear.

	“Now.” The word held command only few could resist.

	They were not the few. Their wills broke, and they ran away, squealing a few pitches higher than they were talking with before. Asgore huffed, looking back down at Frisk and MK, “Are you two alright?”

	Frisk nodded and Monster Kid picked himself up off of the ground, the bruise under his eye only getting bigger, though he was beaming “Yo, thanks mister Asgore sir. Really saved us there. You’re awesome!”

	Asgore smiled at the monster’s kind words, “Hohoho, I suppose. I’m just glad you two are safe.” The bell began to ring, cutting him short. “Welp, hope you two have a great day! See you in a few hours Frisk!” He ruffled the child’s hair one last time before walking away.

~~~

	Toriel was walking down from the office, a mug of steaming coffee in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. She stood near a window overlooking playground, the sight of children, both human and monster alike, playing carefree with one another warming her heart. She peered around, looking for Frisk, but couldn’t seem to find her or her armless best friend

	She took a sip from the cup, the dark, bitter taste making her shiver. Coffee wasn’t as big underground as it was on the Surface; it seemed like everyone drank it here. Toriel couldn’t say she enjoyed the taste, and monster food was already energizing enough, but there was a nice kick behind the bitter brew. The aftertaste was also a nice plus.

	Her eyes caught what looked like a small standoff across the yard, three versus two. Through the thick of the cluster, she caught the yellow scales of Monster Kid, as well as the deadpan face of Frisk. The coffee started to bubble, she didn’t realize that fire started to form at her fingertips. She set down the mug and papers, ready to storm out there and give them a stern talking to. She noticed that the bullies held a bag above Frisk’s head, laughing and jeering. Maybe they needed a little bit more than just a talking to.

	In what seemed like an instant, the children were covered in shadow, and Toriel froze. Asgore stood behind Frisk, his posture showing that he meant no harm, but was still ready to defend his child. She saw him open his mouth to talk, and the mean spirited boys skedaddle. He helped MK up onto his feet, patting the monster gently on his back. His usual toothy grin flashing The bell rang and he left, obviously wishing Frisk to have a good day.

	She sighed as she picked up her mug and graded papers. Maybe she was worrying too much about Asgore, he seemed finally happy. She just didn’t know, and that’s what scared her the most.

	The second bell rang, signalling for the kids to file into their classrooms. Toriel took another sip, drawing an ‘X’ next to a three names on her roster. She had a few calls she needed to make after class. Every day she was calling more and more strangers about their kids.

	And every day she was calling fewer and fewer people that she knew.