Learning the Ropes (Part 3)

Learning the Ropes (Part 3)

The Core Apartment Collapse had bought Asriel six months of nightmares, and a longer lasting habit of keeping his hands out of sight when not in use. And whenever his hands did end up in his field of vision, he had another habit of rubbing them pretty fiercely, as though trying to rub something off them. The nightmares were dealt with by talking to his parents, and their sincere understanding helped him internalise that acceptance they had talked about, which helped. When Toriel voiced concern over his hands, Asgore decided the solution was to associate his hands with something else.

And so in addition to the blue magic he was learning - his Mother had indeed pegged his request to the apartment, but felt it could be therapeutic - Asriel was enrolled in defense classes taught by the Royal Guard. When it came to fighting, every monster that didn't use raw magic or their bare hands had an affinity for different weapons. Through trial and error, he found a saber the most comfortable. One time he tried to wield two at once because it looked cool, but it upset his balance so much he could be tripped up easily.

The training had the desired effect: He spent a lot of time practicing different postures with his hands, and eventually forgot to rub them, though it was something he occasionally did when stressed out. Toriel refused to have weapons in the house however, so at Asgore's suggestion his magical training now also included how to summon a weapon of energy, as he demonstrated to a wide-eyed Asriel and his friends one day as he summoned a red trident and felled a tree with a single swipe.

His blue magic training took place in a quiet cavern in Waterfall. Plenty of space to accidentally break things. His teacher, as it transpired Sally the Justice Minister, was surprisingly patient given how nothing had budged for two months, and then everything smashed for another three. A curious facet of these lessons is that she never talked shop with him. He had asked about those who caused the collapse, and she dodged the question. He soon gave up asking. She never raised it during meetings with Asgore either, and Asriel began to suspect she had been told not to discuss it in front of him. Surprisingly, he found he resented this.

Within a year, he felt like he was making bounds and strides with his magic. He could summon a copy of his saber - and had begun to add little flourishes to the blade and the hilt - and his fine control over the small items had greatly improved, and Sally felt he was ready to move on to larger things like furniture. Really old run down on its last legs furniture. Which was a wise decision as the difference in force between a stationary chair and a chair that rockets into the ceiling is surprisingly slight.

As his journey into adolescence continued unabated, the games he played with his friends changed. No longer interested in merely running around, Bearnard and Dohj wanted to do what a lot of young boys want to do: Fight each other. Asriel's Royal Guard trainer suggested, almost certainly at Toriel's worried insistence, they spar under his supervision, which allowed him to set very simple rules: Do not summon the sharp form of your weapon, No magic other than your weapon, and if you are disarmed or tripped up, the fight is over. These were rules the boys had drilled into them, and even when they snuck away to spar on their own they kept them.

Asriel's style was interesting. Despite the natural offensive nature of his weapon, he was soon adept at parrying Dohj's twin daggers or Bearnard's large poleaxe. Dodging their strikes until they overreached and then employing a quick feint to knock their weapon clear or their feet askew. While this wasn't always successful, the Royal Guard admired Asriel's restraint. Occasionally Asgore would spar with him personally, and rather than the slight advantage of his win/loss record over his friends, Asriel had yet to defeat him. Asgore was a master of defensive combat too so his feints never worked, but when he did go on the offensive Asriel couldn't keep up. By the time his saber was in position to parry the first trident thrust the second usually tripped him up.

Between Sally and the Royal Guard and accompanying his father, the time his mother spent teaching him had dwindled. And it had mostly ceased being the standard book learning of his earlier days. She would invent disputes, or take reports of actual disputes, and discuss what course of action he might take. One curious aspect of this course was that Toriel would not allow him to think on the matter too long. As Asgore had shown at the apartments, a King needed to be decisive. Asriel had to get used to thinking on his feet. In addition she would also occasionally have refresher courses on Diplomacy, should the need ever arise. Asriel had all the different forms of communication and presentation memorised, and his posture was excellent. His tail still twitched however.

Slowly but surely, it felt like accompanying his father was becoming more like his father accompanying him. Asgore would be more direct about who they were meeting and why, and when they got there, it was even money that Asgore would spot someone he needed to ask about something, and Asriel would have to talk to the Councilor or the people arguing or what have you. This was fine in New Home and Snowdin and the Ruins, as he was well known and liked there. He was practically an honourary Whimsun whenever he made an appearance there. But in spite of this he was learning his name wasn't a free pass.

The Hotlands councilors were somewhat indifferent to him. They'd hear him out, but they wouldn't do him any favours. The Core Councilors were insecure, having only been fully ratified a few years after the apartment collapse, and were nervous about how to build a rapport and thus didn't seem to try. But it was the Waterfall officials who seemed to be, well, not hostile, but showing something between impatience and disdain. Waterfall was where some of the oldest monsters, like Gerson, had settled, and their choice of Councilors showed it. Having to listen to practically a whelp who had never seen the sun like they had was an affront to their dignity. Even their deference to Asgore was slightly resentful, and they had been influencing the Core to see things their way.

Another facet of growing up is that his days off were becoming increasingly busy. There had always been someone asking him to take a note to his parents, but now it was more likely they'd ask him to help out with something. Not an important matter of statecraft, he might carry some groceries for them, or grab something off a roof, or keep an eye on some kids, or admonish a gang of dogs for taking, well, 'liberties' with the river. Okay, there was a bit of statecraft. He occasionally faced having to talk to his parents about some of his decisions, and he had to apologise once or twice, but more often than not he could defend his actions, even if Asgore or Toriel would helpfully modify his "decrees" now and then.

Time for himself was rarely in one unbroken block. Not that he resented it, his parents had spoken of the satisfaction of helping those they led, and he felt like he was starting to get that feeling too. Still, it was good to get at least a few hours to himself, which he inevitably spent in the cavern. His lack of fine control over blue magic was actually more of a help than a hindrance, as rocks often smashed against the walls, making clearing them out later easier. Asriel had initially tried to move the rocks at the very top of the pile, those still beyond the barrier. However no matter how hard he visualised and focused, nothing happened. It seemed the barrier's frontier was absolute. So instead he relied on pulling some of the middle rocks, so the top ones would tumble down where he could move them.

It wouldn't be long now.

****

"Thank you for your demonstration, Doctor Gaster."

The stoic skeleton bowed precisely, took the cart upon which his prototype lay and wheeled it from the Council Chamber. The Council, including all three Dreemurrs, had been treated to a demonstration whereby a small flame bolt, conjured by the Queen at Gaster's suggestion, had been absorbed by the device, powering a lightbulb and a television.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Began Toriel. "I hope that you were all as impressed with this demonstration as I was. I believe that if we apply this technology to the Core, the energy we could harness would offer a great benefit to the Underground."

Interested discussion took place. Asriel watched with equal interest. He had attended council meetings before, but this was his first time where Asgore had explicitly vested him with permission to speak. Unlike the Royal Ministry, the snootier councilors could get annoyed when someone piped up with a question. Asriel wasn't sure whether he had proven himself, or whether the fact he had to get pillows like his father's to accommodate his horns' attempt to flee his skull had nudged him into it. For now though, it was Toriel's show. Or rather it was Woshington's. The tiny Waterfall Councilor stood up.

"Queen Toriel," He gargled. "I am indeed impressed. If the Royal Scientist's projections are accurate, an upgraded Core would provide enough energy to meet our needs four or five times over, and would be a remarkable piece of monster engineering."

The opening statement was full of respect. However something about his 'if' guaranteed a 'but' was not too far behind.

"But," Sure enough. "I'd like some questions answered. What is the projected construction time?"

Toriel extracted her spectacles from a pocket, delicately donned them and looked at the project overview. "If we build the facility as a single entity, it would be approximately ten to twelve years. If we take a phased approach, we could have one section up and running within four years, and its energy would speed up the construction of the rest, meaning it would be complete after eight years in total."

"And how much, Majesty, would this cost?"

"I believe the King and the Royal Financier have already offered a detailed-"

"Please remind us."

Frowning slightly, Toriel consulted a second document. "Without any other alterations in the budget, we project a twelve percent tax levy for five years could fully finance the project."

"And we have arrived at my problem, Majesty. The people of Waterfall have already had to endure taxes to allow for the full incorporation of the core. Not that it wasn't a worthwhile goal," he looked at the three Core Councilors, who looked back gratefully. ", but to ask them to sacrifice so much, so soon after the last time, makes me query the value of this pipe dream."

The Hotlands councilors nodded thoughtfully. Asgore leaned forward in his chair.

"I don't understand, Woshington. This project has the potential to improve the lives of every monster here."

"Of course, sire. It is a question, then, of diminishing returns. I have studied the kingdom's use of the Core as it presently stands. My understanding is the Core currently operates at sixty percent of maximum safe capacity. This figure has barely risen in ten years. Do we really suddenly need five times that much power?"

"Well when you put it in raw figures it sure looks that way." Mused Asgore. "But I think you're missing the personal factor. Demand has stagnated because our population has also stagnated."

Snowdin, Hotlands and New Home murmured with interest. Woshington kept a steady face.

"You know how hard it was to establish stable food supplies when we first came down here." Continued Asgore. "I think we've done a great job so far. But I've spoken to people. Few of us have large families. The barrier aside, you know we've had to balance the food production carefully. There is plenty for all right now, but..." He dipped his head slightly, thinking about monsters that never were.

"I appreciate the balancing act, Asgore." Said the Loox that served as the Ruins' lead Councilor. "But what does electricity have to do with food?"

"Um, excuse me, Councilor Ocule?"

Everyone turned to face Asriel. He kept a stoic face, though under the table he lightly rubbed his hands.

"It's just, I had been helping with sorting the books recovered from the Waterfall Garbage heap a while back, and one of the books we tagged for sending to Doctor Gaster was a book about human farming methods, and they've come up with very cool- um, interesting techniques to grow all sorts of food without the sun. Shining the right kind of light on it acts like the sun. You could even grow it without soil. I think they called it hydra-ponics? Well anyway, if we have a lot of surplus energy, couldn't we grow more food?"

Ocule looked interested, and Asriel made a note to ask Gaster if he could borrow or copy the book later. Woshington was unmoved.

"Do we really want to rely on human hand-me-downs? Isn't that beneath our dignity? It's practically filthy!"

"Oh come on, Woshy." Said Asgore jovially, stroking the grey streaks in his golden beard. "The Core is based on human designs right now. It's not fair to ask us to pick and choose the advantages we can get from them."

"And returning to your original point," Added Toriel. ", electricity usage has also remained steady because we had previously left parts of the Underground unpowered for fear of overtaxing the Core. With a surplus we could invest in infrastructure once more. Our proposed budget even includes laying new cables as part of it. It would allow us to reclaim parts of the Underground like Home. Who knows, it may be possible to have enough population growth that Home could join Core as a new district."

Ruins and Snowdin looked interested in this, as a new District between them could potentially mean more allies on the council. Woshington saw this too, and was much less enthusiastic about the prospect. In fact it was the root of all his concerns. Ratifying the Core Annex had been hard enough, but at least then he had the consolation of Councilors who looked to Waterfall for advice. It was unlikely he could repeat the trick.

"Yes, well, Home was always a bit...dry for some of us." He rallied. Asriel caught his eyes dart over to the Core Councilors for a split second. And right on cure, the lead stood up.

"Excuse me, your Majesties." Said the nervous cat. "I w-would like to ask what happens to the existing Core while the project is going on? Will we have to shut it down? You know that would be catastrophic for most of the Core's population."

"Don't worry, Hamburg." Reassured Asgore. "Incidentally, if I may make a personal tangent, how is your wife?"

"Leggings? Oh she's d-doing great."

"Wonderful! I always thought you'd make a nice couple. Anyway, when Gaster designed the first Core, he made it, um, what was the word again?"

"Modular, Asgore."

"Thank you, Toriel. And this means you can flick a switch and move from one generator to the other instantly. There should be little disruption."

Most of the councilors looked enthusiastic about this. Woshington wasn't. He had played a card that hadn't panned out. Time for the trump card.

"I have one final concern, Sire. And I regret it is the most serious. According to Doctor Gaster's reports, his Magical Core design requires much more active heat regulation than the existing model, correct?"

"Well, yes, it would appear so."

"And how do you propose to provide the cooling for this?"

"Well, I thought we could ask Snowdin to increase their production of ice-"

The trap was sprung. "I'm sorry, Asgore. We've had to endure the river growing colder during the Core construction project, and I believe we are at our limits."

"Now I asked around Waterfall when the Queen brought this up, and the impression I got was they wouldn't mind-"

"I believe as their representative on the Council, I'm in a better position to make such a judgement call, and I think the river is cold enough. I'm sorry, but I feel I would have to veto any further increase in iceflow."

Skeptical murmurs filled the chamber. Woshington's colleagues looked awkward, but reluctant to challenge him. Without a reliable cooling system, Core Plus was dead. As was the threat of a seventh district diluting his influence any further.

"Woshington, surely we could devise some alternate cooling system once it is up and running..."

"Toriel, I cannot in good conscience ask the denizens of Waterfall to endure this for so long."

"Come on, Woshy. Remember what we've been through. This will help the entire Underground!"

"Indeed it may. But my duty is to Waterfall first. You shall have to find another way."

An impasse. Nobody was fooled as to the motive. Asgore and Toriel looked at each other anxiously. Hamburg looked sort of relieved he hadn't messed things up.

"Well, what if...?"

For the second time, Asriel was the center of attention. He almost rubbed his hands again, realised it, and instead scratched his left horn.

"It's just, I've been toying with an idea for a while. I didn't think it was my place to bring it up, but if we're stuck on this..."

"Go ahead, Asriel." Toriel's hope spurred him on.

"The thing is, for my whole life, we've been focusing on how to control the temperature in Hotlands. And that's been good. I thought the new Core might make this pointless, but how about we, well, send that heat through the underground?"

Ocule literally eyed him with curiosity. "What do you mean, Prince Asriel?"

"Well, we don't have to do the whole underground. But if Waterfall is indeed too cold already, perhaps we could use the lava pumping systems we use in the core today to provide additional heat?"

"Croak?"

"If we laid it along the river, sure, the ice would just melt. But I think if we had dedicated water channels, clear of the main stream, you could warm them up for the people of Waterfall to make use of. And," he added hastily, grabbing the project budget report from his mother ", I think if we built that first, and delayed starting the Core by three months, the additional costs would be minimal, as would the burdens we're asking you to endure."

The Hotland councilors didn't look too impressed by this proposal, but lacking a formal veto over such things, their disinterest was more a polite protest at having to contribute anything. Most of the others were interested, including Woshington's colleagues.

"It is...a novel proposal, young Prince. Literally reversing the flow of our thinking. However, I still believe asking us to endure the river's temperature dropping further is a great ask."

"With, um, all due respect, Councilor Woshington, Woshetta told me how she likes swimming in the cold water. It helps her wash."

His own daughter undermining his position, Woshington turned to his colleagues. They were surprisingly resolute. And the veto needed unanimity. This was filthy.

"I see. Very well. Waterfall shall respect the will of the Council. Provided the upgrades do not begin until everything the Prince has offered is complete, regardless of time frame."

"I think that's perfectly reasonable." Beamed Asgore. Under the table, he and Toriel squeezed hands fiercely.

****

With the Woshetta Amendment appended, plus a few budget tweaks to lighten the tax burden, the Core Plus project could begin. Asriel only had to stand on the tip of his toes to receive his Father's congratulatory hug after the meeting adjourned.

"It must not have been easy to speak in front of all those people, my son." Toriel said with pride.

"I was a little nervous, but it's not like I haven't seen them around or anything. And talking to people can get the job done better than barking an order."

"Sounds like you're on the right path to ruling with wisdom." Said Asgore with equal pride.

"Well I can't just give out an order and expect immediate obedience, can I?"

"Indeed, my son. Well, except for..."

"For what?"

Those two words froze his parents. Asriel didn't understand what was going on.

"Surely your father has..."

Asgore found his large paws very interesting. Toriel's gaze could pierce the barrier.

"Asriel, could you please excuse us?"

"Uh, sure. See you later!"

Not wanting to be a casualty in one of their rare arguments, Asriel raced home, gathered the pot full of blooming flowers and some tools, and headed out the door. Time to carry out a promise.

****

Whilliam greeted him cheerfully when he entered the Ruins. Whilhomena was the third Ruins Councilor and had told quite an exciting story, though in her version for some reason Asriel had threatened to have Woshington executed, something he had to correct without revealing the horror he felt at the idea. After enduring a swarm hug and accepting a Spider Donut, he made his excuses and continued to the cavern.

It was nearly like he first found it. His sketches in the soil was almost completely uncovered, and the soil looked ready to hold life again. There was still one massive boulder at the back of the cavern, but the rest had been cleared out with years of meticulous work. Despite the hole in the ceiling being clear, much less sunlight shone down than on that first day. The cave entrance must still be blocked up, and he was powerless to change that. Regardless, one beam still landed on the soil in the middle, so that's where he'd work.

Carefully digging at the soil, tossing aside any pebbles he found, he made sure plenty of moist soil was brought to the surface. With limited exposure to the outside world, this was already one of the damper areas of the ruins, but it would be important to give them a head start. Finally, he gingerly took the flowers from the pot and placed them in the holes he had dug, giving them a little room to spread their roots. Covering said roots with damp soil, he stood up and viewed his handiwork with satisfaction.

"You have done an impressive job, Asriel."

He wheeled round in surprise. His parents were approaching.

"Mom? Dad? Are you alright?"

"Oh yes, my son. We shall need to speak with you when we return home. But that can wait."

"You knew where I was?"

"Well, when you have been down here as long as we have, you eventually learn of all sorts of nooks and crannys. Also Whilliam told us how you like to come here."

"Oh. I always thought this place was, I dunno, my secret place."

"Son, where do you think the flowers in the Throne Room came from? I took some with me when we moved from Home. That being said," Asgore eyed Asriel's name on the floor. ", I'd say you've made this place your own. You certainly put the effort into it."

"Did you come down here to watch the sunlight too?"

"At first. But it hurt too much."

Asriel couldn't fathom sunlight being painful. But then again it's the difference between having had and lost it, and having never had it and gaining it. Even the greatly weakened power of the sun made this place feel comfortable.

"So, that last boulder. Planning to keep it here?"

"Um, no, I just wasn't strong enough to move it yet."

Asgore laughed. "Remember Asriel. As King you sometimes need to let others help you."

Cracking his knuckles, he approached the boulder. Adopting a broad stance, a red trident appeared with a flash. He remained in that stance for just a moment, before thrusting it into the boulder with both hands. There was a terrific crashing sound as the boulder shattered into tiny pieces. Asriel felt like a kid again, in the best way.

The three of them cleared the debris away. Asriel looked at the brown rainbow as it finally emerged. He had fiddled with adding some colour to his fire in the past, but Bearnard had laughed at him. Maybe he should do that again...

"Asriel?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"When you first came here, did you bring any...paper with you?"

"No, why?"

He walked over to where she was. Under what had been the very bottom of the boulder were two sheets of paper, protected from being crushed by a natural indent in the floor. Toriel grabbed one, and promptly dropped it as she covered her mouth in surprise.

"What is it?!"

Asriel picked it up now. It was him. A drawing of what he looked like when he first came here as a child, with overlarge floppy ears and a green sweater. It was clearly a child's drawing, though it had been drawn in marker rather than the crayons of his own youth. His own name was written in rainbow colours at the bottom.

"Who could have drawn this...?"

The second sheet might answer this. He promptly picked it up, and himself almost dropped it in surprise.

"Asriel?"

His father looked over his shoulder, and now the entire family was surprised and confused. This was a letter. Attached to it with a paperclip was a photograph.

"Dad, is this...a human?"

"...yes."

The photograph was a young girl, with brown hair and rosy cheeks. There was something in her eyes Asriel couldn't make out, and she had a tiny smile, like she wasn't used to smiling. He hungrily read the letter:


DEAR ASRIEL,

I CAME HERE TO BE ALONE, AND I
SAW YOU DRAWING YESTERDAY. I
THINK YOU'RE NICE. DO YOU WANT
TO COME UP AND PLAY WITH ME?

YOURS TRULY,
CHARA

PS. THIS PICTURE WILL HELP
YOU KNOW WHO I AM.


It was a lot to take in.

"She...she must have seen me playing here. And then she came back the next day to...to invite me. She wouldn't have known about the barrier. But then the cave-in happened later. I...I hope she wasn't hurt."

All three remained silent for a while.

"This...this is such a lovely gift." Said Toriel. She was smiling broadly, but tears were flowing as well. "It appears your first experience with humans was a happy one. I knew they could not all be..."

A reassuring arm rested on her shoulder. "Yeah, Mom. I hope she's okay."

Asgore seemed lost in thought.

****

It was getting dark by the time they returned home. The journey had been pleasant enough, people waving at the Royal Family and their returning in kind. Normally they would have taken the scenic route home, but on this occasion Toriel suggested taking the River. It was a way of giving Woshington some personal space, or else it would look like Asgore was taking the earlier success with poor grace. Also it was just faster.

Instead of talking about whatever it was around the dinner table like they normally would, they escorted Asriel to the throne room. It struck him that for all his apprenticeship as king, he had spent precious little time here, unless it was helping Asgore with the flowers. When your preferred method of leading people is to be among them, such places are practically obsolete. Now however King and Queen sat on their thrones with Asriel standing before them. He almost felt like he was on trial. There was something like regret on Toriel's face. Whatever she had compelled Asgore to do, perhaps the day's events had softened her resolve. When she spoke however it was quite steady.

"Asriel. For the past seven years, you have studied under me, learning the laws and customs of this Kingdom. You have accompanied your father to get to know the people of this Kingdom. You have learned well. Not merely from us, but from others. It is clear you are not one to dismiss an idea because of its source, and such thinking is to be treasured. Your judgement is, not flawless perhaps, but nearly always well reasoned. And you have never abandoned the kindness we have always known to be part of your core. When we look at you, in spite of everything, it is still you. And for that, we cannot be more proud."

A typical teenage response would be to let all the praise sink into him and let his ego shine. Part of him wanted to do this. But the meeting was too formal to be something so simple. His parents were working up to something, not unlike Woshington starting his attack on the Core proposal by flattering Toriel.

"Son," Said Asgore. ", I must as you a question: What do you believe the most important parts of leading a kingdom are?"

He thought back to everything he had learned.

"Well, it's tough to summarise. You have to be able to make snap decisions, but you can't rush to judgement, you have to think it through. Sometimes you have to know more than the people advising you. You can't issue orders on a whim and expect them to be obeyed, you have to work with people so everyone understands why you're doing it. You have to accept that you can make mistakes, and..." Whilbur's tiny body flashed in his mind for a moment. "...you also have to accept that you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. And with experience, you can cultivate the wisdom for when to think, when to act, and when NOT to act."

His parents nodded in approval.

"A noble effort, Young Prince." Replied his Father. "It's certainly a better answer than I could have given at your age. There is one aspect that is incomplete, however."

"What's that?"

"My son," Said Toriel. ", you are correct that blindly barking orders to supposed subordinates is a terrible way to rule. It is unsustainable and is likely to stoke resentment in the people. However, there is one final right, privilege and responsibility the King of the Underground has. When we were banished here, every Monster there took an oath, and have instructed their children in it. Should the King ever issue this order, every Monster must obey without question. And it is only the King who can decide this. No ministers, no councilors. Even I could not stay your Father's hand if this decision was in his heart."

Asriel stood still, waiting with baited breath.

"It is the decision," Asgore eventually continued. ", of whether to renew the war against the humans."

This revelation hung in the air for a long while.

"Oh. Is that it?"

The tension was replaced with surprise.

"Asriel, my son, I do not believe you appreciate the gravity of such a power."

"Well, it's just, the humans sealed us here centuries ago. If they wanted to attack us, surely they would have done it by now."

"I see where you have misunderstood." Said Asgore gravely. "Let me ask you: If the humans did indeed come to the underground and start attacking us, would you fight them? Would you rally the Kingdom to join them in battle?"

He thought of Whilbur again. "I...I wouldn't like it. I don't like hurting people. You've seen me after I give my friends a bloody nose when sparring. But..." A steadying breath. "...I don't like seeing others get hurt either. If there were humans down here, and they were attacking, I would fight. I would kill if necessary."

"A sound judgement." Asgore nodded approvingly. "But ultimately, such a scenario is self-defense. It is easy, and natural, to justify such a war. And therefore it's not the war I'm speaking of. Now I must ask you: What if no humans entered the Underground? What if you had no evidence of hostile intent? Would you declare war then?"

The tension had returned. Asriel wasn't sure how to proceed.

"...what's the point?" He ventured. "Why declare war against an enemy you can't reach? The barrier means we can't attack them."

"Yes. Therefore the first stage of any such war is to do away with the barrier. You know what that entails."

"Seven human souls..."

A solemn nod. "If you were to declare such a war, the kingdom would begin training for combat. In the meantime you, and anyone else you choose, would strive to bring a human to the underground. Obviously no easy task, and it may happen by accident, but when you have a human, you must...kill them to take their soul."

"But...but what if they didn't do anything..."

"Now you appreciate the gravity of this decision. If you go down this path, it is now be kill or be killed. And not just once, you will have to do it six more times. And then lead the Kingdom to the surface to reclaim what was once ours. Do you think you could do that?"

There was no reply. He felt cold. He thought of Whilbur again, and the tantalising glimpse of sun, and for a moment thought that maybe breaking the barrier would be worth it. But then he remembered a drawing of his own face and a photograph of a young girl now resting on the desk in his bedroom, and thought of the price he'd have to pay. He started rubbing his hands again.

"It is perhaps the heaviest of the burdens I have borne while sat on this throne." Continued Asgore. "I admit, it was cowardly of me to keep it from you, but it is a decision that would go against everything we recognise you to be. I did not want to burden you too."

"You do not have to tell us what you would do." Toriel leaned forward in her throne. Asriel felt grateful. "When the time comes, it is ultimately your decision and you shall have to make it on your own."

A lump in Asriel's throat made his "Thank you" sound choked.

"If it is any comfort, we had this discussion when the Kingdom was young. Even setting aside the risk of inviting our vanquishers to come down and finish the job, we both agreed that any more bloodshed would be just a waste. Is that not true, Asgore?"

Asgore's head was bowed. He looked a little intimidating.

"Gorey?"

"Forgive me, Tori. I've been pondering it of late, and I think...there is a time I would consider declaring war."

Toriel clutched her snout in shock. "But why? What has changed?"

He looked up again. At Asriel. "Our son."

"What? But what did I-?"

"You were born. As simple as that. We both love you with all our hearts. This may be my weakness, but I have fear as well. Fear of losing you. And today I discover that a human appeared to be watching you. And nobody knew. If they were hostile they could have..."

"But she wasn't!"

"I know that. But if a human hurt you or...well..."

"Asgore." There was steel in Toriel's voice. "You would regret it. I know you would. If the worst happened we would be crushed. But we would rally. If you make such a declaration in grief and anger, you will have to abide by it."

"It would be my duty." He agreed. "But I would fulfill it. Every human who entered the underground would-"

"See? Even for our son you would not abandon your principles. You hate killing as much as he does. It is what I love about you. But you would draw the conflict out by sitting and waiting so you would not have to do the deed yourself. If you truly resolved to bring war, better to use the first human to escape the barrier and find six more-"

"Tori!" Asgore exclaimed in shock. "For someone who would never do it, that's incredibly ruthless."

"You are correct. I would never order it if I had the power. But if it were happening regardless, I would not have the Kingdom languish in anticipation. Either never do this, or do it properly! Otherwise how could I ever..."

"You...you would not support me?"

"You forget, Asgore. I never took the oath. We were united in mind, so there was no need. You know I have always striven for diplomacy first, even during the war. The human child's gift to Asriel is surely a sign of hope that we can live together once again. I am almost ashamed you take it as a sign of fear. If you did this, I...I am not so sure I could stay-"

"Mom, Dad, please!"

Despite just talking about him, both had briefly forgotten Asriel was in the room. His cheeks had tear tracks.

"Dad...I'm not going to say never declare war. There's too much we don't know about the outside world to say absolutely never. And even though right now I want to say I'd never do it, even I'm still thinking about the what ifs that would justify it, so I'm not one to criticise. And I think Mom's right, I think we should talk to them first. Isn't that what you always taught me? Talking to people first? But, just, whatever happens...please don't declare war just because I die. I know you love me, but I'm not worth risking the kingdom. At least try to talk to them first? At least let Mom help you make your decision...?"

He barely had time for a sniffle before Asgore was clear of his throne and swooping down on him. It had been a long time since Father and Son embraced like this.

"I am so sorry. Forgive me. I...I still have that weakness. I still have that fear. I'm ashamed of it, that my own son would have to remind me. Please don't allow me to forget. Tori, please..."

As Asriel felt tears drip onto his head, another set of large arms embraced him.

"It is alright, my son. We shall always put our best foot forward. There is no better way to honour you."

In spite of the resolution of the argument, dinner was subdued. And that night, all three lay awake, with much to think about.