A/N: In case you didn't read the description, the story contains some massive spoilers for the game. You've been warned.

"Okay. So everyone's just through here, right-?"

A child stepped out into the throne room and balked at the sight of the garden that spread before him.

"Oh…"

He stopped in his tracks, golden petals tickling his ankles. A lump formed in his throat for the umpteenth time - he'd felt like that a lot during the walk through his old home - and he curled his hands into fists, digging his fingertips into his palms, trembling from the wave of memories that was bubbling to the forefront of his mind.

"Hang on, Frisk… I just… I just need a moment."

A few seconds passed.

Then a few minutes.

The monster sniffled, then reached over, wiping his nose on his striped shirt. He loosened his grip, staring up at the opposite wall, sunlight shining in from above. The flowers under his footpaws tickled slightly. Inwardly, something gave him a comforting pat on the back. It made the young boy smile.

He nodded silently, and from deep within, he was filled with determination.

Toriel bowed her head, her back stiffening as she took a deep breath of the stale cavern air, exhaling after a few moments and letting her arms drop back down to her lap, clasping her hands together against her old, purple robe. The edges of the fabric swept back and forth, almost-imperceptibly, from the faint breeze that managed to blow in from the large hole in the ceiling, and the corners of the white-furred monster's mouth curled into a friendly smile, looking up and gazing around the grotto. A strange sense of satisfaction settled over her as she watched the room's other occupants mill about: Sans, bless his heart - or his ribcage, she thought, making a mental note to try and remember that one - was busy typing another "text" on her phone, his bony fingers tapping noisily against the buttons-

"HEY, UNDYNE, WE SHOULD ALL GET TOGETHER SOME NIGHT AND WATCH THROUGH THAT SHOW! OH, AND THEN, WE CAN WATCH THE SEQUEL!"

-and the skeleton's brother, Papyrus, was busy chatting with the two scaly creatures across the room about some show. Undyne, the blue fish woman, wore an enormous grin, snickering through clenched teeth when Alphys, the glasses-clad lizard standing next to her, abruptly hopped up and down in a passionate huff, her lab coat rustling and ruffling each time she jumped. "Wh-what? There's no way we could marathon Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2, nuh-uh! You don't understand since you haven't seen the first one, Papyrus, but Undyne's watched it with me once and-"

Toriel brought a hand to her mouth to stifle a soft laugh at the younger monster's heartfelt rant, turning her head a little further to the side when she noticed a brief movement close by, accompanied by the same rustling of cloth, then followed by a meek slurping noise. Her maroon eyes narrowed, ever-so-slightly, when her gaze fell on the blonde-bearded monster standing across the room from her, awkwardly scratching at the horns on his head as he politely half-listened to his scientist's conversation, all while sipping at the cold cup of tea that he had offered Frisk a short while ago. The goatwoman sighed, reached up and running a palm over her own tiny horns; anger, regret, irritation, and the tiniest hint of pity all clashed together in her mind, and she quickly turned away from Asgore, ears bumping against her shoulders as she glanced at the tunnel that led into the castle's throne room.

"Frisk has been gone for a while, hasn't he?" The monarch said quietly, his purple robe shaking as he pulled a small saucer out of his pockets, setting his teacup onto it and placing the drink on the ground. His expression warmed when he stood back up, a thoughtful smile dimpling his cheeks and making his beard shake. Despite her best efforts, Toriel couldn't help but feel wistful at the image of her, him, and their two bouquet-laden children that popped into her head. She bit the inside of her cheek, taking another deep breath to shoo the thought away. "He must be having fun."

"I WONDER IF HE WENT ALL THE WAY BACK TO SNOWDIN," Papyrus glanced over at Asgore, standing up a bit straighter and adjusting the fit of his raggedy scarf. A continued tapping drew the monster's attention to his other side, however, and when he noticed Sans still tapping away on the phone, he sidled over to his brother, throwing shifty looks left and right along the way. "SANS!"

The shorter skeleton peeked up from his text, smiling casually and tapping the toes of his slippers on the floor. "yeah, papyrus?"

"TELL FRISK THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IS WONDERING WHERE HE IS!" The taller skeleton replied, thumping his fist against his breastplate. He paused, then spoke up again, a nervous note playing in his voice. "AND ASK HIM IF HE COULD BRING SOMETHING BACK FROM THE HOUSE FOR ME! NYEH-HEH-HEH!"

"well, i would, but he hasn't looked at the last text that i sent him," Sans said mildly. Toriel blinked, anticipation running down her spine, and the goatwoman cocked her head in confusion. "why don't you just text him on your own phone, papyrus?"

"I CAN'T! IT'S OUT OF POWER!" Undyne had gotten halfway through pulling something out from her jeans when she heard her friend's reply, and the fish girl paused, then returned the aforementioned dead phone to her back pocket, looking sheepish for a split-second. Alphys leaned over, curious, only to jolt, blush, and cover her face.

"wow. you must have talked with frisk a lot." Sans winked. Toriel inched forward, her gut telling her to expect a punchline. "i guess you really wore your batteries… down to the bone."

Understanding dawned on the purple-robed monster, and she reached up and giggled through her fingers. The shorter skeleton shrugged, pleased with his joke, cheerfully shooting his friend a sideways glance when he heard her reaction.

The rest of the room was silent for a brief, palpably-tense beat. Then, someone coughed.

Everyone's heads turned towards Asgore, who was covering his mouth with a fist, trying to hide a familiar cringe, but the horned king froze in place when he realized everyone was staring at him. Toriel could see the humor sparkling in the other goat's eyes, betraying his amusement, and she took more than a little satisfaction in her ex-husband's reaction - at least some things hadn't changed about him. Undyne was the first to really laugh at the pun, folding her arms against her tanktop and chuckling surprisingly quietly, and Alphys made a noise that was somewhere between a stuttered giggle and a groan, rolling her coat's sleeves up a bit and adjusting her glasses when they started to slide down her nose.

Papyrus, on the other hand, shared Asgore's sentiment, stomping his foot grumpily even as he smiled. "SANS! I DEMAND THAT YOU LET ME LOOK AT THAT PHONE FOR A SECOND!"

"okay." Sans turned the phone around in his grasp and held it out for his brother to see. The taller, armored skeleton bent over to look at the small screen, but Sans pulled away just as quickly. "how was that?"

"THAT WAS TERRIBLE!" Papyrus exclaimed indignantly. "I DIDN'T MEAN AN ACTUAL SECOND! LET ME LOOK AT IT LONGER!"

As the skeleton brothers debated with each other over texting Frisk, Toriel kept giggling to herself, feeling a pleasant contentedness as Undyne, Alphys and Asgore all started to chuckle as well, and the goatwoman watching as the three monsters stepped a little closer to the center of the cave, gathering in the circle of light that came in from the ceiling. Her friends' amicable argument echoed off the rock walls, and the former queen of monsters peered around again, her attention wandering back onto the path to the throne room. Frisk had made such nice friends on his journey.

A muted thump drifted into her ears, carried in by the cave's soft breeze, and she perked up, said ears twitching at the new sound, the wind still rolling gently against her horns and fur. Her smile deepened, recognizing the sound of rubber-soled sneakers before remembering a series of similar thumps, some on the stones of the ruins of Home, others against the wooden floorboards of her actual house. Frisk must have finished his walk! She took a small step towards the tunnel, still listening to the encroaching footsteps as she waited patiently for the human child to enter the room.

When the footsteps drew nearer, however, they changed, and Toriel tensed. It didn't sound like a pair of shoes at all. In fact, the steps were so soft that it didn't even seem Frisk was heading this way, even though the monster could tell, from the shakes in the ground, that someone was approaching. She took another small step, then ducked her head, staring down her robe at her footpaws. Hers were a little louder, obviously, but if they were softer, then they would have matched perfectly. The goatwoman furrowed her brow, briefly picturing Frisk as a monster, then remembering…

She winced, a lump forming in her throat, and she summoned all of her willpower, forcing the ancient memories back into her subconscious. Out of the corner of her vision, she saw Asgore retrieve his cold teacup, and the thought from earlier, of her old life as a happy family, slipped through her facade. She turned away from the monarch, fixing the tunnel's entrance with a pained stare in an attempt to save face.

"Frisk?" Toriel knelt, dropping her voice to a hushed whisper. "Is that you?"

"Oh…" Whoever was there stopped walking, and the goatwoman's nerves flared. She recognized that voice. A daydream struck her: A small white snout poked out from the other room, accompanied by one floppy ear, messy headfur, and a sweet, innocent expression.

She scrunched her eyes shut and shook her head again, harder this time, hard enough that air whistled past her own ears as they swished back and forth above her shoulders. She tried to think of Frisk, but the human's figure blurred together with the monster child, and she felt a reassuring pang deep down in her soul, as if her other son had absorbed it to comfort her. She dragged her fingers up from her knees to her chest, holding them close to her heart as a calming warmth spread through her.

"Tori?" Asgore said shyly, his baritone voice filled with concern, and his remark was followed by a few grunts as the others noticed her plight. Toriel ignored them, inhaling heavily, crossing her fingers together, and exhaling heavily, wrinkles forming in the insignia on her robe. Once she had steadied herself, she looked at the tunnel again, suspense pumping through her veins.

Nobody was there. Her anxiousness vanished in an instant, and she slumped over somewhat, closing her eyes and bowing her head again. It was what she expected, and yet she still felt let down. Behind her, her ex-husband hesitantly walked up with an outstretched hand, stopping a good few paces away, unsure of whether to comfort her or not. Part of her was annoyed at his wishy-washiness. Another part was glad that he respected her boundaries. And another part was glad he had safely returned his teacup and saucer back inside his cloak first.

"Frisk?" Tiredly, the goatwoman repeated herself, a weak smile wriggling onto her muzzle, trying not to look at the door, hoping that the human child wouldn't notice her frazzled nerves. "Is that you?"

Slowly, quietly, the footsteps resumed, bouncing through the passage. Toriel's smile drooped slightly as the sound became clearer and clearer. It couldn't possibly be Frisk, not with how softly he - or, well, whoever it was - was padding through the castle corridor.

It stopped, and she heard Asgore gasp sharply through his nose, as well as a confused 'nyeh' from Papyrus. "ANOTHER CLONE!?"

She whipped her head up at the skeleton's words, and her jaw dropped open.

A small white snout poked out from the other room, accompanied by one floppy ear, messy headfur, and a sweet, innocent expression. He was leaning to the side to peer into the room, shyly holding his palms against the corner of the tunnel, the green and yellow stripes on his shirt easily visible even in the dim light. The kid shivered, then nodded, his face gaining a touch of iron as he ambled fully into the room. He dropped his arms to his sides once he ran out of wall to follow, dusting himself off before scanning from side to side, looking from Asgore to Alphys, to Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, and then Toriel.

"Um, howdy, everyone."

Toriel practically felt her heart stop in disbelief, her maroon eyes widening to the size of saucers. She shook her head just as strongly as before, then stopped after mere seconds. She brought her hands up, then wiped them down her face. She bent her elbows and grabbed her horns, tugging on them. That sent an aching pain through her, and she let go of her head with a grunt, staring at the monster child. His eyebrows quirked upwards when he noticed her reaction - the cave's soft breeze ruffling his messy headfur - and the goatwoman choked up, her vision blurring with unshed tears, when the boy walked up to her, glancing between her and Asgore.

"Mom, dad, it's me!" He said with another nod and a smile, trembling just as much as his parents. "Asriel Dreemurr!"

That did it.

Toriel crumpled over, a garbled cry escaping her throat as she flung her arms around Asriel and pulled him into a tight embrace, grasping his shoulders and squeezing to reassure herself that her son was really there, finally allowing herself to weep when he didn't just vanish. Emotion completely overwhelmed her soul, and she nuzzled one of the child's floppy ears, sniffling and sobbing and shuddering heavily all the while, each and every noise lingering and echoing in the cave. Asriel fidgeted in her grasp, but settled down just as quickly, letting out a soft, short laugh before affectionately leaning his head against hers. The sleeve of his striped shirt rode up a bit when the goatwoman let her chin rest on her son's shoulder, and she gave him another squeeze, continuing to make sure that it was all real.

She heard Asgore murmur something incoherent, somehow speaking even quieter than he had earlier, and then the horned king dropped to the cavern floor with a heavy thud, his cloak billowing out around her, him and their child. One arm wiggled its way between her and Asriel's ear, while the other slipped around the boy's back, scooping him even closer into the hug; Toriel felt her ex-husband press their child against her robe, her elbow growing damp as more tears flooded down the crying monarch's cheeks.

He was here. It wasn't a daydream. He was here. He was alive! Her heart pounded in her chest and her mind raced, trying to process the impossible situation, and the goatwoman couldn't help but laugh through her tears, a wave of renewed, relieved hope flooding through her. The family of monsters stayed there on the ground for a while, hugging and crying.

"S-son…" The monster kneeling next to her stammered out, and he gingerly nudged Toriel's side. "I c-can't believe it…"

"Yes," She replied, the pleasant memories of their happy family keeping her from mustering up any of the sharpness she had reserved for Asgore, and she simply nudged him back, giving Asriel another nuzzle afterward. "O-our son…"

"SON?" All three goats bounced in shock, and Toriel and Asgore both turned to glance over their shoulders at Papyrus. The skeleton was hunched over in utter bafflement, holding a bony fist firmly against his hip bone, using his other hand to rub at his temple. He threw another shifty look at his brother, leaning in and not even bothering to whisper. "SANS, DID YOU KNOW KING ASGORE HAD A SON?"

"yeah." Sans nonchalantly stuffed Toriel's forgotten phone into his jacket. Asriel fidgeted again, and Toriel stole a glimpse at her son, blinking at his narrowed eyes and cheeky grin.

"WHAT!?" Papyrus yelled. "WHEN DID YOU FIND OUT?"

"when he came in and called tori and asgore 'mom and dad'," The shorter skeleton replied, glancing over at the pile of hugging goats and grinning right back.

The joke cut through the room's tension like a knife through butter, and everyone relaxed, letting out a collective exhale. Toriel let her head droop, sniffling loudly and giggling, and she looked around at the other monsters, not wanting to let go of her son just yet. Undyne had kicked back against the wall, blowing her red bangs out of her eye and directing a thumbs-up at Asgore, while Alphys was still slack-jawed, the royal scientist's focus going from goat to goat to goat, a slight blush rising to her cheeks as she took the scene in.

"H-how did this happen? I mean, um," The lizard said, backpedaling almost immediately afterward, her lab coat shaking. "But didn't Asriel? No wait, you're right here! Er, well, Asriel… no, prince Asriel! Or do you prefer just Asriel? But didn't you, y'know-"

"Yeah," The kid hastily said, and Alphys clammed up, her eyes looking huge behind her glasses. Toriel peered curiously at Asriel when he hummed in thought, blinking a few times as his grin shrank down to a small half-smile, and she loosened her grip when he fidgeted again. He reached up and sheepishly scratched the back of his head, and she followed suit, combing her fingertips through his headfur. "But Frisk helped bring me back."

"Wait, Frisk?" Undyne blurted out, her fins whipping back when she jumped up, standing at attention. "What do you mean, huh? Where is that squirt, anyway?"

"Yes, I was wondering that as well…" Asgore said, getting to his feet and grabbing both ends of his cloak, pulling them back over his armor before giving his son an encouraging look, scratching at his tear-stained face and beard. Toriel raised her head ever-so-slightly when Asriel tapped his footpaw against her knee, and she reluctantly let her arms fall back to her sides, ducking her head into her sleeve when she felt how matted her own fur had gotten from crying.

"He's right here." When the goatwoman looked back up, Asriel was holding his hands to his chest, and an unnatural gust swept through the cozy cavern, buffeting the young child's ears and fur. A shining aura surrounded his body for a moment, but before anyone could react, he held his hands out, motes of energy swirling into his palms and bursting into a warm, thrumming whole. The entire cave grew brighter and brighter, even drowning out the evening sunlight streaming in from the ceiling, forcing everyone to recoil in dismay…

…and then, a split-second later, the room returned to its usual dimness, save for a pulsing, glowing heart that hovered in Asriel's palms, a white core surrounded by red, silently shedding a gentle light.

Alphys got her bearings back first, gasping in shock and jogging over to the child in front of her, holding her glasses firmly on her nose, and after a minute or two, the rest of the room came to its senses; Undyne, Sans and Papyrus all followed hot on the royal scientist's heels, staring at the two-toned heart. Toriel's breath caught in her throat when she saw Asriel, and she could tell that Asgore's face had blanched. They - and Alphys too, judging from the 'anime is real!' she muttered under her breath - knew what they were seeing.

Asriel was baring his very soul to all of them. And if Frisk was 'right here', then that could only mean one thing. The thought left both the king and ex-queen awestruck.

"Woah…" Undyne breathed, similarly awestruck, though more from the ethereal sight rather than what it actually meant. The fish girl reached up and scratched at her hair, her ponytail still dangling from side to side from the wind, her usual enthusiasm having been replaced by raised eyebrows and a slight, solemn frown.

"Frisk, he-" Asriel started to say, then paused, scrunching his snout up a little, a melancholy expression on his face. "He gave his soul to me. He's in here now… and we're both okay."

"huh." Sans said, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets, an uncharacteristically surprised look accompanying his lingering grin. "didn't think the kid had it in 'em."

"FRISK!" Papyrus stomped up behind Alphys and bent over, cupping his hands to his mouth as he called the human child's name, a friendly tone to his voice. The tall skeleton's scarf drooped onto his brother's shoulder, prompting the shorter skeleton to take a step back, still keeping his gaze trained on Asriel and Frisk's merged soul. "CAN YOU HEAR ME IN THERE? FOLLOW THE SOUND OF MY 'NYEH'S!"

Asriel barked out a laugh, his eyes narrowing a second time as he chuckled alongside Papyrus, and the boy brought his arms back to his chest, the view of his soul fading when it touched the stripes of his shirt, and he rested his hands on top of each other, closing his eyes and sighing peacefully. Toriel knelt a bit straighter on the ground, and Asgore hummed, taking another peek into his cloak, the muffled clatter of dishes ringing out from inside the cloth.

"Uh?" Asriel cocked his head at the noise, then smiled wider. It alone was enough to make Toriel's heart soar, the goatwoman's nerves so thrown for a loop that she wasn't able to feel anything other than a dazed sort of happiness. Even Papyrus' continued 'nyeh'-ing couldn't break her out of her trance, nor were Undyne, Alphys, and Sans' attempts to get him to quiet down a little bit. "Oh, okay!"

The young monster child ran off, his footpaws padding rhythmically against the floor. Asgore reached out to try and catch his son, only to let him just barely slip by, and Toriel rapidly rose to her full height, jogging a couple paces, trying to voice her thoughts, only for her entire train of thought to disappear when Asriel twisted around and spoke up again. He beamed at all his mother, his father and all of his, and Frisk's, friends.

"Hey, Frisk says that he thinks the sun's gonna set soon, so he really wants to get going now!" The goat boy piped up, wringing his hands together before gesturing towards the doorway leading to the barrier. "And dad? Uh, he said he'd still like a cup of tea later, if it's okay with you!"

The boy's excitement was infectious, and both Papyrus and Undyne followed after him when he slipped through the door. Alphys went soon afterward, running hot on Undyne's heels, and Sans glanced at the two remaining goats in the room, then shrugged, grinned, and strolled forward as well. The medley of their footsteps drifted off the further away they got, and Toriel brushed at the lap of her robe, walking up to her ex-husband's side. He was smiling, albeit sadly.

"Frisk gave his soul up to Asriel…" The goatman stated the obvious, but he yelped in surprise when he spotted the other monster standing right next to him. "Oh! Are you… ready to go too, Tori?"

She nodded, striding past him to give chase after their child, her muzzle curling into a smile so wide that she thought her mouth couldn't get any wider, and she swiveled on her heels, jogging after Asriel with a light giggle and a spring in her step. Asgore shook his head at his ex-wife's enthusiasm, then reached up, adjusted the fit of his crown, and ran after her, smiling bashfully all the while. His cloak billowed out behind him, swishing through the air, and within moments the cozy little cavern was silent once again, the twilight shining in from the world above.

A/N: Inspired by dreemurr-reborn over on Tumblr, who drew the pictures (and wrote a couple bits of dialogue) that helped to inspire this whole fic. Go check 'em out!