The morning sun shone brightly over the courtyard. It was filled with different kinds of monsters, many happily chatting with each other as they waited for the audition to begin.

Toriel stood on the walkway on one of the walls and looked down over the group. It was quite a lot of monsters considering she only went out with the announcement yesterday. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she opened them and walked over to the speaking balcony. The monsters down below fell silent one by one as they noticed her standing there. Toriel smiled and spoke into the microphone.

"Hello everyone. Thank you for coming today. I'm Toriel, and per the request of the Queen, I will supervise you and this audition. As some of you might know, smaller villages have been attacked and some bigger ones too. The ones who are up to the task will be sent to reinforce the Royal Guard that have already been sent out over the country. Depending on your skill in fighting and in magic, you will be sent to different parts." She said and her voice boomed over the courtyard. She could see some of the other monsters nodding and getting pumped up over the task.

"Now, to the rules." She said and turned to the left as she raised her hand. A big screen made of fire appeared with rules on it. Toriel could hear some gasps and wows from the group, but she ignored them. She turned back towards the microphone, still holding her hand out.

"You will fight each other in tournament like condition. You will fight two battles each, more if we feel like we need to see more of your power. Some of you have requested to stay in a group, and that's fine, but your opponent will then also be paired up with someone else to make it even. We will have three fights going at the same time, so be aware of your surroundings. If you knock someone out in another ring, you will be disqualified. Those who are not fighting at the moment will stand in the sidelines and watch. We will not show or tell who will be fighting who until the match are about to begin. So pay attention to what I have to say. Me and the judges will have the final word in everything in this, there is no point in arguing the decisions we make. And finally…" She said and flicked her outstretched hand, making the text change on the fire screen.

"Keep your powers in check. You are not here to kill or badly hurt your opponent. If you kill someone, you will answer to it. And in this tournament, it's not important to win. It's more important to show that you can handle a battle without killing your opponent. Is this clear?" She said and got a chorus of affirmation. She nodded satisfied.

"Alright then. Let the audition begin. First up; Mira vs. Alrid in ring 1, Jarred vs. Noa in ring 2 and group Wolf vs. group Water in ring 3." She said and let her hand fall down, making the screen disappear. The monsters in the courtyard started to move towards the sides and the monsters who got their name called out moved towards their assigned rings. Toriel watched the scenery and sighed, this was going to take some time.

.

Toriel glanced down at the notepad in her hands. It was full of scribbles and notes from all the battles she had seen, and they were almost done for the day. Just a few more fights and then she would get the time to go through all the candidates. She brought her eyes up once more and overlooked the three fighting rings. In one ring, a lizard monster were fighting a spider monster. In another ring were two skeletons fighting one cat and one bull. In the last ring were a fish and a lizard fighting a dog and a cat. Toriel hummed as she watched them fight and wrote down some more notes. She paused in her writing when she heard light tapping from footsteps and then a slight thunk. She looked the the side to see Frisk climbing onto a small chair they had brought over. She chuckled a little.

"Shouldn't you be with Miranda and Matthias, dear?" She said and Frisk gave her a shy smile.

"Well, yes, but I wanted to visit you! You have been here for so long, I got worried that you have become bored." They said and leaned onto the stone railing. Toriel smiled at them but it turned into a small worried frown.

"That's very sweet of you, but, ah, don't lean on the railing like that. You might fall." She said and Frisk nodded a little, but didn't move away. They looked over the courtyard to see the monsters that was still fighting.

"Frisk-" Toriel begun warningly, but got interrupted by Frisk suddenly yelling.

"PAPYRUS! SANS!" They yelled, waving one of their arms in big and happy movements. Toriel looked over where the child were looking and saw the two skeletons stopping in their movements. Even from this distance, Toriel could see how the tall skeleton shone up at the sight of the child.

"HUMAN! IT IS GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" He shouted back as he too waved with the hand that didn't hold the smaller skeleton, who had a big shield in front of him, waved too before he noticed something and gave out a warning shout to the taller skeleton. A wall of spikes were flying towards them and the smaller one successfully hid behind his shield as he held a hand out towards the taller one. A blue energy shield appeared just in time in front of him and the spikes got stuck in it. The attack stopped and the energy shield shattered. And thus was all focus on the battle again.

Frisk looked worried for a moment, but when the two skeletons continued without seeming hurt, they breathed out.

"Quick reaction there." Toriel commented as she carefully looked on how the skeletons fought. Then she glanced down at Frisk.

"Do you know them, my child?" She asked before looking back to the fight. Frisk nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Met them yesterday!" They said with a big smile. This brought Toriel's gaze back upon them.

"You met them yesterday? But you were in the castle all day." She asked and Frisk realized what they had said. They looked a little nervous now.

"Did you sneak out again?" She said with a huff and Frisk raised their head to meet her gaze.

"But it was night! And they looked to be freezing!" They defended themselves and huffed in defiance. Toriel gave them a mischievous look.

"Oh? So, that's where your blanket went. I was wondering this morning. It appears that I will need to take it from them, then." She said in a serious tone, but the smile on her lips betrayed her. Frisk decided på play along.

"Noo! Please, mommy! Don't! I let them keep it!" They said in fake desperation as they gave Toriel puppy eyes.

"Hmpf. They surely bullied you into letting them keep it! I will need to take a serious talk with them!" She said as she turned around like she was about to walk away. Frisk grabbed her robe and clinged to it.

"Nooooo! Dooooon't!" They said and both Toriel and Frisk paused. They looked at each other before they started to giggle and Toriel picked up Frisk. She nuzzled their hair as they continued to giggle.

"Silly child." She said with a soft smile.

"Silly goatmom." They said back and nuzzled into Toriel's fur. Both of them stood there for a little while before a high whistle rang out, ending the battles that was going on.

"Oh! Seems like I have forgotten the audition. Frisk, please be a dear and go and play somewhere else. I need to finish this up." Toriel said as she let down the child. Frisk stood there and looked up at her.

"Toriel… They are for my journey, right?" They asked quietly and Toriel sighed.

"Yes, they are." She said and looked a bit sad. Frisk looked down to the ground and stayed silent for a while. Then they grabbed Toriel's robe and tugged it. Toriel watched as Frisk looked up at her with pleading eyes.

"Can you make sure Sans and Papyrus gets in, please? I really like them, they are funny…" They said in a quiet voice. She gave them a tiny smile.

"I'll see what I can do. But I can't promise anything." She said and patted them on the head.

"Now, go on and play with your siblings." She continued and ushered Frisk towards the door leading to the inside. Frisk glanced at her but did as she told them. As Frisk disappeared into the castle again, Toriel looked after them. She sighed a little before she turned back to the balcony and continued to work.

.

Sans and Papyrus sat in the shadows, watching everyone else chat and talk with each other. The audition had ended an hour ago, which meant resting time. Everyone who had been on the audition had been given some food and water to consume, which Papyrus was happily eating on. Sans were sitting beside Papyrus, leaning onto the wall.

"It's been quite the day today, huh." Sans said with a big yawn, hand over his mouth and one eye closed.

"Agreed! And we got to see the human again! That's just so cool!" Papyrus said enthusiastic and took another bite of his bread.

"Didn't expect to see them here, though. If they're here, that must mean they either are one of the soldier's children, or they might be a part of the royal family." Sans said and looked over the courtyard. He looked at the royal soldiers he could see and tried to see anyone who resembled the kid.

"Wowie! We might know someone from the royal family!" Papyrus said with stars in his eyes. Sans looked at him and chuckled.

"Take it easy, bro. They might-" He begun but got interrupted by Toriel walking out on the speaking balcony again. Her voice boomed out over the courtyard once again.

"Thank you for your patience. Many of you have been qualified and will be sent to the villages on the outer part of the kingdom. Some of you have been disqualified and thus will be sent away. The guards will gather you in different groups. Please be prepared to follow them when they ask to. Once again, thank you for participating!" She said before leaving.

"That was quick of them deciding!" Papyrus said as he packed his and Sans things into the bag. They sat there for a little while before a human guard approached them.

"Excuse me, are you Sans and Papyrus?" She asked and Sans nodded.

"Yup. The Skelebros to your service." He said as he got up and winked at her. The guard nodded before making a motion with her hand.

"Please follow me." She said and started to walk in one direction. Sans and Papyrus followed her into the castle. During the walk they were joined by a lizard, a bear and some type of a wolf/bird hybrid. After some walking, they were shown into a big room, looked like some kind of meeting room.

"Please wait here." The guard said before she disappeared out of the room. The five monsters stood there for a bit in silence before the bear spoke up.

"So, we are going to work with each other now. How about we introduce us?" He said and everyone nodded. The lizard stepped forward, tapping the floor a little with the cane in his hand. He had an eyepatch over his right eye, a shirt, a vest over it, a pair of baggy pants and no shoes on his feet.

"You can call me TC. I'm a traveling alchemist. I have mirror magic, which means I can create mirrors to aid me in various tasks. My speciality is to see how different kinds of magic works through the reflections and to locate it's true source." He simply said before stepping back and the hybrid stepped forward. She looked mostly like a wolf, but she had a pair of wings folded on her back and a rattail. She wore a t-shirt with a high collar, pants that are easy to move in and no shoes either.

"Mira. Ranger. Can fly, make tracks light up. Tracking magic." She said simply before stepping back. This time Papyrus took a step forward.

"I am Papyrus! I'm a swordmaster! When I'm not fighting with my sword or are dueling, I am able to attack with bones! And outside a battle, I am able to heal bones! Nyeh!" He said very proudly of himself. He stepped back and Sans simply raised his hand.

"'Sup. Name's Sans. Sans the skeleton. I'm a shieldbearer. Shield magic, so I'm gonna to cover your backs." He said with a wink and showing his shield that were on his back. Papyrus gave Sans a stare but couldn't help but to smile, TC huffed a little, Mira raised an eyebrow and the bear grinned. Then he stepped forward and tipped his worn and torn hat in greeting. He wore a fishing vest and a pair of cargo shorts. On his feet were a pair of knitted socks.

"I'm Malte, healer by default. My magic is healing, can heal both wounds and bones. Nothing more to it." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. As he stepped forward, it became silent between them.

Before the silence became awkward, the door opened and everyone turned towards it. In walked a human woman that the monsters immediately recognized as Queen Estelle. After her came another woman dressed in a suit and Toriel. The five monsters bowed to the Queen as she walked over to them. She stopped in front of them and thoroughly looked at them. The woman in the suit stopped behind her to the side while Toriel stood not as close to the Queen as the other woman was. Nothing was said for some minutes, until the Queen turned towards Toriel.

"So these are the ones you found trustworthy?" She said and Toriel nodded. The five monsters gave each other confused looks. Sans narrowed his eyes a little but didn't otherwise move.

"Yes, my Queen. From what I have seen, they can be trusted. Their skills will also be very helpful, if something were to happen." Toriel said as she walked up Malte. She smiled at him and motioned him to take a step forward.

"This is Malte. Can hold hold his own in battle, but his main function are a healer. Perfect for the journey in the terms that they need a medic." She said before she walked over to TC and motioned him to step forward.

"This is TC. He is an alchemist and has a vast knowledge of different magic. We don't know what they will encounter, so he is a necessary member of the journey." She said and turned around towards Mira and motioned to her to step forward.

"This is Mira and she is a ranger. Can detect many dangers beforehand. She will be able to reduce the dangers they will encounter." She said before walking over to the two skeletons. She were silent for a few seconds as she looked at them. Papyrus started to squirm a little but then Toriel smiled and motioned them to step forward. Toriel turned towards Estelle made a gesture the skeletons.

"This is Sans and Papyrus. A shieldbearer and a swordmaster. They will be able to protect everyone. They have an incredible synchronization with each other which I haven't seen in many." Toriel said with a smile but got interrupted by the woman in the suit.

"What's the 'but', Ms. Toriel?" She said and Toriel faltered a little. She hesitated for a split second before she sighed.

"They weren't my choice." She said and looked the Queen dead in the eyes. It was silent for a moment before the Queen sighed.

"They choose the skeletons, right?" Estelle said and Toriel gave an apologetic smile. The woman in the suit chuckled a little and Estelle sighed once again.

"Troubling child." She mumbled to herself fondly. Then she straightened her back even more and became serious. Toriel moved over to the Queen's side.

"Mario. Will you please go and fetch Frisk?" She said and the woman behind her bowed before disappearing out through the door. When the door closed with a click, the Queen addressed the five monsters in front of her.

"You five have been chosen to quite a special mission. Before we proceed, you have to swear on our ancestors that you will not speak of this outside this room until it's time." She said and the monsters were silent for a little while before Mira spoke up.

"I will say nothing of what had been said in this room." She said and the others nodded.

"I will not say anything either! Nor will my Brother Sans do!" Papyrus said proudly. Sans closed one eye.

"Sure thing." He said with a shrug.

"I won't anything, I swear it." Malte said and Tc once again nodded.

"If it's needed to be silent for this mission, then I shall not say anything about it outside this room." He said and Estelle looked satisfied.

"Good. Now then, I will explain your mission. Your mission will differ quite a bit from everyone else. Instead of protecting a village, your mission will be an escort mission." She said and paused to let it sink in before she continued.

"First of all, I need to explain the basics of this mission so you will understand the importance of it. The Monster Kingdom have been infected with some sort of epidemic. People have become violent and attacks everyone they see and are thus not trustworthy. We do not know much about this, and that's why I'm asking you to be very careful. I do not think it's a trap from Asgore's side, but something have happened in his kingdom. He has requested help, and I will send him some doctors and scientists in order to help, along with some soldiers. Your mission is to escort everyone to Asgore's castle and then back. Your priority though will be one very special person." She said, not letting anyone to ask a question. It knocked on the door before it opened to reveal Mario walking in, a child walking in behind her. Sans and Papyrus got big eyes as they recognized the child they met the night before. The child walked over to the Queen and she put them in front of her, her hands on their shoulders.

"This is my child, Frisk. Due to their odd ability to calm down even the most furious animal, I have decided to send them to Asgore so they can help. Your priority one is to protect Frisk with your life, no matter what. If you fail to do this, there will be consequences." Estelle said dead serious and gave the monsters a cold stare. Frisk looked at the monsters and gave a small wave with a smile to Papyrus and Sans when they noticed them.

"Not to be rude, ma'am, but why are you sending a child to take care of violent persons?" Malte asked as he frowned. The Queen gave him a cold glare.

"It is not that I want to send my child to Asgore, it is something I must. If I did not care for them, why would I do my best to ensure that they are protected? My best men will follow, and so will you. Don't dare to question me again." She said in a chilling voice. The others looked hesitant, but then the child spoke up.

"Besides, I do wanna help. They are suffering there and if I can help, I want to do it!" They said and smiled big. The monsters just looked at Frisk.

"If the child goes, and if it's my duty to protect them, I will go!" Papyrus said and showed thumbs up to Frisk who giggled at that. The other monsters grumbled an agreement. Estelle gave a small smile.

"Good. I hope you have understood your mission. Now, you will leave for your mission tonight. Until then, you are not to leave the castle ground. You will meet up with your human teammates after this, Mario will show you the way. If there is anything you need, ask Mario. She might be able to gather some things for you. I wish you the best of luck on your journey." She said and started to escort Frisk out of the room with Toriel after her. Frisk looked back and waved to Sans and Papyrus who both returned the wave with a smile.

"Well then. If you would like to follow me." Mario said before she turned around and walked towards the door. The five monsters looked at each other before they followed her.

"This is so exciting! Sans! I'm going to be the best bodyguard there is!" Papyrus said to Sans as they walked Sans chuckled.

"Sure, bro. You're gonna be the best." He said with a smile.

AN: Just going to give you a heads up from here. From here on I'm going to write another story in another fandom at the same time as this story. So this story is going to be updated slower than at this pace I have done now. But I will try to update at least once a month, can't promise anything though...

And for anyone who are worried that this is going to turn into a story where Oc's will have a big part: don't worry. They will not.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!