The Fallen:

I do not own Undertale, Toby Fox does!

This story is written for [Shibuya Operation Story Storm].

…

Part 5: The Castle:

Todd adjusted his holster the best he could, making sure it was secure between the parts of armour he was given. As much as he hated the smell it had, he knew he had to bear with it the best he could.

Just as he was slowly starting to slip on the helmet, his eyes sliding to the mirror briefly to make sure he was putting it on right, he froze.

For a few seconds, he stared at his reflection, and wondered if he was actually looking at himself.

His hair looked far scruffier and oilier than it used to be, his face was dirty, and his dark blue eyes dully stared back at him... although Todd guessed it was because of how the light shone from behind him. Right now, Todd could hardly imagine how he let himself become like this, knowing that he would keep himself well-groomed at all times (the best he could manage, that is)… But he shrugged off the odd feeling about it, and slipped his helmet over his head.

Todd told himself he couldn't have prevented himself from looking at this, instead focusing on the fact that he had to meet up with Arturo shortly.

Slipping his gun back in, he quickly pulled on the gloves while trying not to gag on the stench the armour gave off as he turned to the direction he came from. Of course, he told himself that the smell wouldn't be as bad as the payoff he would have from using it. So he tried to calm his breathing as he reentered the room with the sea of beds.

It didn't take long for him to spot his Monster companion, and when Todd did he called out as he jogged over, "I'm ready!" Suddenly Arturo turned, stiff for a moment before he slowly started to pull something that he was holding towards his back. But Todd got to the Monster before the Monster put it away and asked, "Hey, what's that?"

"Hmm?" Arturo slowly brought back the long handle he held, revealing a weapon with a strangely curved blade attached to the end. "Have you not seen a swing blade before, Todd?"

"No." Todd shook his head. He noticed that there was a brand on the double-edged blade that seemed to resemble the one on the tunic Arturo always wore. "Never."

"Ah, I guess Humankind has relinquished usage of some weapons then," said Arturo with a nod, soon grimacing. "But some are still around…"

"Like my revolver…" said Todd grimly, bringing it out for the Monster. "It has a kickback, and you need to aim it accurately at targets if you want to land heavy damage."

"I see." With another nod, Arturo turned around. "Let us be off then."

As Todd started to follow Arturo through the hallway, he kept his pace up with the Monster. "So, the plan is to sneak past the Monsters… right?"

"Yes, you will be posing as a recruit for the Royal Guard." Arturo didn't falter in his lumber, his paws thudded in ease. "And I will recommend you must not speak, for I have no clue which Monsters you have spoken to, nor do I know whether or not you have been seen by them. So as long as the Monsters see you as one of them, we should be arriving in New Home within short time."

Todd gave a nod at that.

As Todd let the bear wolf hybrid take the lead, he asked quietly, "But won't they find that suspicious?"

"No, before you had awakened, I had come up with a reason for why you cannot speak," explained Arturo as they continued down the hallway. "Do not worry, Todd, my fellow Monsters will not suspect anything. I can assure you of that."

Despite how Todd doubted that, he shrugged and continued to walk after the large Monster. He knew that Arturo would take care of things, but he couldn't help but think Arturo would have a hard time convincing the Captain of the Royal Guard of that than the other Monsters.

They were about to enter the elevator to go back upstairs when Todd noticed how a pouch strung on Arturo's side was starting to become undone, and quickly spoke up, "Arturo, your pouch is-"

Abruptly, Arturo brought his paws over to it, gently tugging at the strings and knotting them. Slowly giving a smile to Todd, the Monster sighed. "Thank you, Todd. I would not know what I would have done if you had not spoken just now."

Todd frowned at that. "But what's so special about that pouch?"

For a long time, Arturo did not speak. His breathing accelerated, soon becoming relaxed when he replied quietly, "It holds my spouse's dust..."

"O-Oh..." Todd looked away, knitting his eyebrows together. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"It is fine, Todd," said Arturo sadly, closing his eyes as he murmured, "She died when her health was poor, long before the Old War came into being. We could not prevent her passing, but I know that it was for the best that her time was then." He lumbered into the elevator, swerving back as he waited for Todd to join him. "I preferred she would never know what horrors the Old War befell on us Monsters."

Todd blinked, stepping into the compartment and lowered his head. "I'm sure a lot of Monsters would have wanted that."

"...Yes, I do believe that they would have favoured that." Arturo hesitated a moment before pushing a button, exhaling as the rickety doors pulled shut. "To them, that would have been the better option."

As the elevator hummed as it ascended, Todd closed his eyes. 'It would have been better if it never happened.'

After taking the closest outside elevator (that was fixed easily by Arturo because of his apparent knowledge for them from the Royal Scientist's blueprints), they got to the level they had to be. And soon, they headed up a flight of stairs without any trouble from the Royal Guards who were stationed at the base of them.

They got to a monochrome coloured building that seemed to resemble a small cottage, only having a familiar purple arch that off-put the whole design of the building, which appeared to be the entrance to it. The only thing Todd could do was stare at it in disbelief as he wondered why they came over to a Monster's house rather than the place they were meant to be at, and he was about to voice his thoughts when he sharply reminded himself to not talk. So this left him to studying the strange building as Arturo took to conversing with two more Royal Guards, who were stationed on each side of the archway. It wasn't until he finally paid attention to their conversation after a few minutes that Todd soon discovered it wasn't a house.

It was the entrance to the Castle.

Todd found it strange that this was the place they had to enter, seeing how it didn't appear to look like it was an entrance to a castle... However, his mind was changed when he noticed that it led up to a grander building in the far off distance but was unable to glimpse any its finer details. He decided that the Monsters were odder (than they already were) in thinking that this is what an entrance to a castle should be like.

Slowly he himself tuned back into the discussion again, finding that Arturo seemed to be finished with chatting with the Royal Guards and was staring at Todd.

"Come along, Emmanuel," said Arturo calmly, turning and lumbering through the archway that had the same symbol that Todd had seen throughout the Underground. "We must not keep him waiting."

For a few seconds, Todd blinked. 'Emmanuel?' He looked around, gazing at the two Royal Guard members who were watching him. 'Wait… why does Arturo want Emmanuel to come with us? I thought we were going to sneak in-'

"Emmanuel?" Todd started at the sound of Arturo's voice, whipping his head at the Monster who gazed at him patiently. "Is something wrong?"

Todd soon realized what was going on, blinking and nodding while feeling dazed by the information. 'Oh… he means me.'

As he began to follow after Arturo, Todd heard a Monster from behind him whisper, "Wow… that kid must be scatterbrained."

"Yeah, no kidding, George!" the other Monster replied. "I bet that Human could slice open his neck without him knowing."

"Eh, that sounds about right, Macy."

Todd felt slightly nervous from hearing those comments, hoping the other Monsters didn't pick up on his odd behavior like those two. So he quickened his pace as he went through the purple archway, not wanting to get separated from Arturo.

From all that Todd saw, the inside of the Castle was grey, highlighted in various shades of monochrome from all over the room. It felt like the place lacked life in comparison to the other parts of the Underground, if it hadn't been for the Monsters that dotted around the area. ...Yet unlike the other inhabitants of the Underground, these ones seemed more subdued. They all spoke in quiet voices, huddled together in groups of different types of Monsters. The only sound other than their mumbling was the steps Todd and Arturo took, and the Monsters soon quieted while watching Arturo lumber up to a large statue. Todd hesitated for a few seconds before joining the Monster, not wanting to look out of place when there were so many eyes on them now.

Arturo knelt down before the expressionless stone statue, pulling off his helmet and placed it down gently, soon clasping his paws together as he bowed his head. Todd stood there, wondering what Arturo was doing when he noticed a plaque at the statue's feet.

- Asriel Dreemurr -
May the last ray of hope shine undying... and never fade from the night.

It would seem as though Arturo was paying his respects...

As much as Todd wanted to leave at that very moment, he did the same thing, hoping the Monsters didn't suspect his delayed actions to be suspicious.

He noticed how the statue looked like it was ready to fall apart, judging by the various cracks and fissures marked upon its surface... and he couldn't figure out what type of Monster it was from its poorly done design. He immediately wondered if the Monsters were terrible at making statues, but then noticed that there was a little scribble near the bottom of the plaque that said:

sculpted by Becker

'So… Becker made this,' thought Todd with a roll of his eyes, wanting to shake his head but didn't out of the sake of keeping his façade in check. 'They did such a cheaply done job, I have to wonder why the Monsters wanted to keep this around…'

Movement from beside him alerted him, causing Todd to turn his head to Arturo as the dark brown furred Monster rose to his hindpaws. Todd promptly rose as well when Arturo was putting his helmet back on, and the moment they went around the statue, Todd heard many shouts.

"Arturo!"

"Did you see the Humans!?"

"Are we going to be okay!?"

The din of the Monsters seemed like a gush of fear, and Todd couldn't help but frown from behind his helmet as he saw the Monsters run over and cluster the two of them. For a long time, Monsters' cries didn't cease until Arturo pounded his paw into his chest, making the Monsters cringe from the unexpected clang.

"My fellow Monsters, there is no need for panic," said Arturo calmly, sweeping his gaze around him. "The remaining Human's SOUL will be retrieved in due time, I can assure you of that."

A murmur fell over the crowd.

"And Snowdin?" asked an elderly Monster who stood nearby Todd. "What about the Canine Unit?"

"Rover's still there, he'll take over leadership of the Canine Unit!" piped a tiny auburn-furred dog Monster, clenching his paws with excitement as he barked boldly, "Who else would be in charge there!?"

"Yeah!" cried the voice of a Monster somewhere in the crowd with equal cheerfulness. "Of course he will!"

Todd noticed the sad glint in Arturo's eye, and Todd blinked as the dark brown-furred Monster breathed in slowly.

"I have unfortunate news, in regards to that," said Arturo as he frowned down at the small dog Monster. "My fellow comrade, Rover, as well as Carmel and Xander, have been slain."

Right away a huge gasp rose up from all the Monsters.

"B-But he just started!" protested the canine child in dismay, his face paling within moments before he shook his head. "H-He had a life ahead of him as a Royal Guard member! He was always nice to me and played with me!" As a taller pale brown and white-furred canine Monster walked over, leaning down to place a paw on the little Monster's shoulder sadly, the little Monster wailed out in a sob, "He couldn't have been killed!"

"As much as I do not want to believe it myself, it is true," replied Arturo dolefully as he lowered his head; a frown gracing his lips. "If Rover had not wanted to return home like he had, he would not have encountered the Human who I have heard was lying in wait for him..."

While the canine child continued to cry, being comforted by his parent, Monsters began yelling out again.

"Why would the Human do that!? Rover was so nice!"

"Only a Human would prey on us Monsters like that!"

"Carmel didn't deserve that!"

"Xander wouldn't go down so easily, I don't believe you!"

"Humans are horrible!"

"Heartless scum!"

"I want that Human to DIE!"

As the ripple of anger and dismay waved over the crowd, Todd could tell the Monsters were quickly falling back into fear. It was hard to believe these Monsters cared so much about them, so he guessed many Monsters knew each other in the Undeground...

"My fellow Monsters, we must not turn to our anger so easily." Arturo frowned deeper as the Monsters continued to freak out, clenching his paw slightly as he inhaled. He raised his voice higher; sounding clear despite the yelling that threatened to drown it. "The Canine Unit can be revived, we can rebuild it! There is no need for fraught, we are survivors!" Soon some heads turned to him, going mute while others continued to angrily shout out. "The Old War took many of our loved ones, but this threat is not trifling as the Old War once were! As long as we do not lose ourselves, we shall not be broken by the Human!"

By now the Monsters had quieted, and Arturo took in a hefty breath before he softened his voice, "We, Monsters, can survive… We, Monsters, must look out for each other. And as long as we do, we can withstand the Human." For a moment he paused before he bellowed out from the top of his lungs boldly, "We shall see the New War one day, we shall stand together to make that happen! With Asgore leading us…" His voice faltered while he grimaced momentarily, promptly pounding his clenched paw into his chest a moment later. "We can see that day to fruition!"

After a few moments Monsters started to cheer, whooping as they shared excited looks with each other. Todd couldn't help but feel disgusted with what he was seeing, it was enough to make him gag that they were so happy over such a horrible thing. He was shocked that Arturo told them this, so he wondered why, in all honesty, Arturo did that. But Todd noticed after a few seconds that Arturo deflated slightly, which made Todd bewildered that Arturo's behavior changed when he appeared confident in the words he had uttered.

"But first, let us remember the fallen," said Arturo solemnly, clasping his paws together.

Promptly, the Monsters bowed their heads, and Todd did the same, whilst wondering how much longer they would be here for. He thought it ridiculous how Arturo wanted to spend this much time with them. For all they knew, the Captain of the Royal Guard could, at any time, come into the room and interrogate the both of them... resulting in Todd's cover being blown then being killed on sight. However, Todd reminded himself as long as he played the part he was assigned, he would slip past them without letting them know what he truly was…

"Oi, Arturo!" shouted a feline Monster with a beak, whose puffy mane that was dotted with silver hairs shook upon him taking a step forward. "Who is that little lad with ya?"

Todd blinked, now noticing that the Monsters seemed to have finished mourning from the way confused murmurs of agreement ran through the crowd. For a few seconds, he wondered whether or not the disguise wasn't working when Arturo cleared his throat, and nodded.

"Ah yes…" Arturo paused momentarily before he rested his large paw on Todd's shoulder, making him sink towards the ground a little before responding evenly, "This is Emmanuel. I came across him the other day when I was returning to the Lab, and he happened to spot the Human who killed Carmel, Xander, and Rover without being discovered."

"Is he now…?" As the Monster squinted at him, frowning as he tilted his head twice to each side, his ears twitching as he spoke lowly, "I ne'er seen you 'fore in Hotland."

"Emanuel came from the Ruins," said Arturo smoothly in response, earning a sustained gasp from a few Monsters scattered through the crowd. "And wishes to join the Royal Guard."

"Now why does Emmanuel not want to tell us that himself, Arturo?" asked the same Monster in a note of wariness.

"Unfortunately, a note written by his parents has the reason for that." Arturo frowned. "Emmanuel had lost the use of his voice from a puzzle mishap a few years back, thus he cannot give you the news himself."

Straightaway, the feline Monster flinched, blinking dazedly for a few seconds before lowering his head. "I see." With a nod to Todd, the Monster murmured, "My apologizes, lad." He gave a pained smile, and his fangs peeked out slightly at Todd. "We all know how hard it is to keep up with our puzzles at times… and anyone can fall prey to them. So do not feel ashamed of that... it happens."

Todd stared at the Monster for a while before slowly giving a small nod.

"What kind of Monster is he?" asked another Monster excitedly, hopping up and down with pep. "Oh! Oh! Is he a Lupine Monster!? Or a Froggit Monster!?"

"Jimmy!" A Monster, who had been beside the cheerful one, cuffed him on the head. "Froggits are not bipedal- you should know better than that!"

"Oops… heheh…" The Monster slowly rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, slowly giving a goofy grin soon after. "But seriously... what kind of Monster is he?"

"I regret to inform you, my fellow Monsters, that the mishap affected more than just his voice," said Arturo as he lowered his head. "Emmanuel's wounds from that day have not healed correctly, and alas, he does not wish for other Monsters to see them." A couple of Monsters whispered to each other uneasily, but Arturo inhaled deeply. "Nonetheless, his parents' wishes for him to join the Royal Guard has never died... so I shall bring him to King Asgore to see if he deems Emmanuel is fit to join."

After a few seconds of Monsters sharing more whispers, the lion-like Monster strolled up to Todd and nodded. "Well, I know your situation is bleak at the moment, Emmanuel, but know that we are happy you are here." Monsters piped up from the crowd and the feline Monster continued, "Yer assistance in bearing arms against Humankind is such a relief, especially now that we have lost so many of our own kind in such a short span of time. So I hope ya do well, and I am sure King Asgore cannot refuse a lad like ya."

"Yeah, you got this!" shouted a short tabby cat Monster boldly, raising a paw jovially in the air. "You have nothing to worry about!"

"Knowing that another Monster is here to protect us makes me so happy…" murmured a Monster tearfully as she drew a little squirming Monster in her arms closer to her. "I can't stand the idea of losing my child to such a horrid being."

"Good luck!" cried another Monster.

"Thank you so much!"

"You're going to do great out there!"

"With you here, the Royal Guard will not die out!"

"Humankind doesn't stand a chance against us now!"

Arturo seemed to wait until the cheering died down before he murmured, "Emmanuel and I must depart, but know that I am grateful for your understanding and support of Emmanuel." After patting Todd's shoulder, Arturo turned, and waited until the Monsters drew away to create a path for the both of them to leave before he finished, "To this day, I thank you, my fellow Monsters, for being there for me as well..."

"But of course, Arturo," replied the elderly feline Monster warmly. "Ya have done so much for everyone, we can hardly forget yer deeds so easily."

With a nod, Arturo began to walk away.

Todd quickly moved to follow after him, trying his best to look away from the joyful expressions that pressed at each side of his vision. 'If you knew who I really was, would you treat me the same way?' He narrowed his eyes. 'I can't believe you're so horrible, so stupid… that you still believe I'm worth your pity, and your friendliness!' The moment they got away from the crowd of Monsters, Todd shook his head bitterly. 'You're all disgusting…'

When they entered through an archway, bright orbs of light spanned on the sides of the metal-piped lane they strode across. Within a few steps, Todd stopped and raised his voice. "Why did you say that?"

At once, Arturo halted, turning his head back to Todd slightly, and blinked his yellow gaze. "What do you mean, Todd?"

"You were talking about the New War as though you were looking forward to it!" spat Todd venomously, trembling on the spot. "You were encouraging the New War-"

"...It was not what I wanted, it was what they wanted."

Todd widened his eyes slightly. "What?"

As Arturo fully-turned to Todd, his bushy wolf-like tail swished as he spoke quietly, "I do not approve of the New War, but from what has been occurring these last few days…" He frowned as he closed his eyes. "Monsterkind needs hope more than ever."

"Then how will-"

Arturo raised his paw up. "We shall speak of this when I feel that prying ears are not near." He turned away, briskly walking across the path again. Todd let out a frustrated growl before following Arturo into a blue floored and walled room.

The first thing that Todd noticed about it was all the various red wires and flashing lights that were threaded across the walls, and he couldn't help but stare at them in awe. 'Conveyor belts… don't come close to this!' he thought with excitement as he whipped his head around, noticing more and more of how this place looked like it came from science fiction. 'If Edgar was here, he would be flipping out about this! I bet he would run out of things to write about in his note-' Todd frowned, feeling a swell of pain in his chest when he shook his head. 'No… Edgar isn't here… and his notebook is ruined.' He scowled as he thought in frustration, 'This place doesn't matter right now!'

"So… which way do we go?" asked Todd coolly, noticing that there were two doors that led away from either side of the elevator door before them.

"As of right now, the Captain has closed entry to the CORE, due to his insight that the Royal Scientist may have gone there last," replied Arturo sadly. "The CORE was the Royal Scientist's creation, so half of my comrades have spent tireless days searching its depths for signs of his presence, but thus far have not found him." Slowly Arturo lowered his head slightly, soon going on as he sighed, "As well, the Monsters who resided there have been waiting for a long time to return home, and I can only hope my fellow Monsters will be able to go back soon."

"And why is the… 'Core' important?" asked Todd with annoyance.

"Other than the elevator, that we will be taking, the CORE is the only other passage that leads to New Home."

Todd gave a shrug to that. "Okay, that makes sense."

The dark brown furred bear-like and wolf-like Monster nodded at that, soon turning his head back to the elevator and put his paw on the button. For a while, there was humming from the other side before the doors hissed to the sides, allowing them to enter the small compartment that rumbled to life when Arturo pressed another button.

After a few seconds, Arturo turned his head down to look at Todd. "Todd, what was the question you wanted to ask me earlier?"

Todd gave a huff, looking away when he mumbled, "If you want to lead them away from the New War, then why are you giving them hope for it?"

Inhaling deeply, Arturo soon replied to that, "Hope was the one thing Monsterkind had lost since the day Prince Asriel died, but King Asgore has slowly given it back to them through the New War. And without hope, Monsters might not see anything to live for." He closed his eyes. "Despair in the long term can tear Monsterkind apart, leaving them to become husks of themselves. Would you rather subject your loved ones to that, Todd? Torturing them instead of giving them hope to thrive and live their lives to the fullest?" When Todd shook his head at that, Arturo sighed, "Even if the hope that I am giving them now is fleet, it will serve to give them the strength to continue on."

"But if you do that, they may not agree with giving up the New War, Arturo," said Todd quietly with a frown. "When they see that you are against what they want… won't you have no power to change their minds then?"

"Swaying the minds of Monsters, even Humans, can take time, Todd." Arturo shook his head, blinking as he set his calm gaze forward. "If I want to make sure the New War fades away before it begins, I need to slowly give Monsterkind the impression that it was never a good notion to begin with."

"And how would you do that?"

"If King Asgore is slain by the very being that he had hoped to destroy in the New War, Monsterkind will give in to fear, seeing that they had no chance for winning the New War," explained Arturo quietly, bowing his head as went on steadily, "King Asgore is the strongest Monster of the Underground, and many Monsters see him as a beacon of hope. Without him, they will see that there is no one that can lead them into it, not even me. As painful as it will be to strike this blow into them, once they recover from it, I can ease them away from the massacre that could have been." With a smile, Arturo turned his head back to Todd. "And once they understand that no more Humans will fall down, they will begin to see that the Barrier will never be broken, and they will forever stay here. From that point on, the only direction they can go would be towards burning the memory of the New War from their minds, and I can then help them understand that living in the Underground is not as bad as they may believe. If everything goes according to plan, the Underground will only become known as our home, and not a place to escape from. That is why your help in this matter is certainly appreciated by me, Todd. When you take yourself and your sister's and friends' SOULs back to the Surface, stealing away the key for Monsterkind to escape, we will no longer have any chance to return to the Surface.

"Thus, Monsterkind will one day disappear from the knowledge of Humankind, as well as Humankind to Monsterkind." Suddenly the rumbling of the elevator ceased, and Todd flinched, a bit surprised that they got to their destination now. When the doors opened, Arturo breathed slowly, "Both of our races will cease to exist in regard to each other, and life will go on as if Monsterkind and Humankind never had an encounter. Humankind will be erased from our history, and Monsterkind will be erased from yours. This will be the best option if we are to be and remain in peace." And with that, Arturo walked out.

Todd kept up with Arturo's strong stride fairly well as they went across a room into a hallway, leading them to another elevator that they entered.

Once the elevator whooshed open, they came across long grey halls that they went through in silence. At first, Todd was startled by the lack of colour, but he felt it wasn't strange considering how the entrance's interior to the Castle was grey as well. He only supposed it was just the fact that he might have been a bit too preoccupied with the flashy interior of the CORE's entrance and exit…

But Todd didn't focus on what was around him, ignoring the various buildings in the distance by keeping his dark blue gaze forward as he strode through each hall with Arturo.

Soon, they slowly came up to a building that was familiar to Todd. He couldn't help but stop for a minute when he got close enough, studying its structure before it finally occurred to him why it was familiar.

This was exactly like Toriel's home…

Faint memories of the kind Monster ran through his mind, but he squashed them as hard as he could right away. He could hardly think of any of his memories of the Monster's home without thinking about how Winnie, Angie, and Edgar was with him at that time as well, and a dull pain in his heart reminded him that this time they weren't with him.

Not wanting to waste his time mourning, Todd steeled his gaze towards the entrance before hastily striding towards it.

The first thing he did when he was inside the dull grey interior was head towards the stairs, forcing himself to walk down the steps that eerily matched the same ones he went down last time. He felt like he should have been suffocating from the agony of being in this place... however, all he had was the same dull pain that trickled inside him.

"You seem to know your footing here," remarked Arturo as he thumped down the steps after Todd.

"...I've already been through a place like this," Todd returned flatly, feeling his heart ache slightly more.

"Ah, but of course," said Arturo mildly, taking slower steps as they descended towards the bottom. "You would have had to go through Home to depart from the Ruins."

"Home?" echoed Todd in confusion, stepping off of the steps to find that his surroundings were now engulfed by the dim lighting. For a few seconds, Todd squinted, picking out that they were in a long hallway...

His mind drifted towards the same purple hallway that he followed Toriel through... his friends and sister by his side-

A deep inhale from behind him made Todd flinch, turning his head as he heard Arturo's breath resonate through the corridor. "Home was the threshold between the Ruins and Snowdin Forest, and was once a home for us weary Monsters when we were first cast into the Underground," explained Arturo as Todd calmed himself down, starting to travel down the grey corridor as Arturo went on, "Asgore tried to recreate Home, and this is the place that we now walk..." Arturo paused for a brief second. "New Home."

Todd took in the information as he moved his hands along the walls, noticing that the lighting seemed to hardly get lighter... Right away, going on his memory of the purple corridor, he expected to come up to the familiar doors that Toriel had led them to… Immediately he bit his lip, shaking his head as he hoped he wouldn't see them. He didn't want to re-experience the doors where his sister exchanged a goodbye hug with Toriel, or the sad look on her face that they had to leave the Caretaker of the Ruins... However, to Todd's relief, they didn't come up to it. Instead they met another hallway that was open-faced on Todd's left, giving them the view of thousands of buildings from afar...

Within a scarce set of steps, Todd halted abruptly the moment he heard Arturo draw his swing blade out, cringing when the Monster swung it forward to cleave a bolt of blue in half. As the blue fell to the ground, Todd widened his eyes at the sight of split spear parts on the ground.

'Someone was trying to kill us!?' he thought in alarm, biting his lip as he studied the spear pieces with worry. 'I can't believe I let my guard down! But Arturo...' He slowly lifted his head, looking at Arturo while drawing in a shaky inhale. 'If it weren't for him, either of us could've been struck by that spear.'

Todd could only be baffled by the way Arturo was lightly shaking his head, as if he wasn't bothered by the attempt of murder. Even worse, Arturo's musing made Todd feel frustrated about how lax Arturo was being, "Your aim was off."

Before Todd could ask the hybrid Monster what he was talking about, Todd flinched when something landed in front of the two of them...

"I almost got you, though!" exclaimed a blue bipedal fishlike creature, who wore nothing but black shorts, brown boots, and a white shirt; smacked her hand into her other. "My aim was farther than last time!"

"Indeed, it was..." murmured Arturo as the Monster, who was at least three inches taller than Todd (most likely a child like him), grinned widely with her pointy teeth. "Your training with King Asgore is shining through, Undyne."

She gave a hearty laugh. "Wait until you show me your technique!" She punched the air, causing her untamed red locks to whip all over the place. "Once you lay bare your moves, I'll be unstoppable in the war!" She stomped down hard, her eyes burning as they flickered to Arturo. "Lay it all on me already!"

"In due time, Undyne," said Arturo evenly. "We have matters to attend to for the time being."

"You have to do something!?" she cried out in dismay. "What is it!?" She blinked wide-eyed before she caught sight of Todd, soon curling one of her lips up to grin once more as she looked back at Arturo. "Oh... another one!"

Arturo gave a nod.

"Hey there!" She whipped to Todd, grabbing his hands as she piped, "I'm Undyne, training to be a member too! What's your name? How old are you?"

Todd grimaced, pulling his hands away to hold up his fingers twice.

"Eleven?" Undyne frowned as she cocked her head quickly to one side. "Twelve!?" At once, she grimaced as she exclaimed in frustration, "Which one is it!?"

Todd gave up, seeing how foolish it was to try to communicate what his age was without speaking.

"Emmanuel cannot speak, but I do believe he is younger than you." Arturo nodded to Undyne, soon sliding his swing blade back into the scabbard on his back as Undyne gasped loudly.

"He's younger than me!?" For a few seconds, her yellow eyes flickered around in a jumble, soon striking at Todd again. She clenched her scaley hands, shaking them as she proclaimed boldly with a grin, "When I become an official member of the Royal Guard, I'm going to slide through to catch up to you! That way- we can be Royal Guard besties!"

At once, Todd's breath hitched.

"Well, well, well… no one else is awesome enough to replace your man Archie!" A faint image of Archie grinning widely came to mind.

Todd couldn't help but narrow his eyes at Undyne, shaking slightly as he gritted his teeth. 'Not a fat chance… like I want to become friends with a Monster like you!'

It was sickening, how Undyne wanted to squeeze into the gap that Archie once had been in. Despite how similar they were to each other, Todd would never replace his friends for anyone, not even if he was forced to live in the Underground for the rest of his life pretending to be a Royal Guard member. Todd would rather die than let that happen.

"Undyne, should you not be going home?" asked Arturo calmly, and Undyne whipped her head back to the older Monster. "Your parents might become worried if you are absent from their care for too long."

"Oh…" Undyne slightly deflated from that statement, withdrawing her hands to clench them as excitement sparkled in her eyes. "Oh yeah, I have to show them the move Asgore showed me!" With that, a blue spear materialized in her hands. She crouched down slightly, hopping back and forth in a sideways shuffle motion as she raised her spear towards Arturo, wearing a determined expression the whole time she did this.

Arturo smiled at that. "Then you best be off."

Crushing her spear into fragments, thrusting her finger forward, Undyne cried out, "But this doesn't mean I won't forget about your promise to show me your moves, Arturo! You promised, and you will show me!" With a wave to Todd, she raced off with a call over her shoulder, "Can't wait to be in the Royal Guard with you, Manny!"

Todd grimaced, shaking his head as let out a sigh. 'And I hope I don't see you ever again…'

After it had been a full minute that Undyne was gone, Arturo turned his head back to Todd. Todd was confused by the way that Arturo's eyes had darkened, looking pained as he spoke in a low voice, "I wish children, such as Undyne, would not be so invested in the New War as their parents are… This should not be the future that we should be nudging children to, for they do not deserve to be a part of the bloodbath." Starting to trudge forward, Arturo put in grimly, "Todd, we need to stop the New War before that path becomes a reality."

Todd followed after him, soon turning into in a golden corridor that spanned far from him. For a few seconds, Todd brought his hand up to his face, shielding his eyes from the sudden radiance that blinded him. 'Argh! Why is it so bright in here!? I can hardly see!' When his eyes adjusted to the affect of the light that was pouring through large windows (which were adorning the symbol from the Ruins), he realized something. 'It's… sunlight! Sunlight is here!'

"Look, there's loads of sunlight!" Marley's ever so bratty voice rang through his mind. "So we can't be that far!"

'We must be close… we're nearly outside!' Todd thought as he briefly felt his lips twitch upwards, smiling slightly as he stared at the golden light. Suddenly, he was aware of how something warm ran down his cheeks, and when he lifted his hands to them (a bit disorientated when his hands met his helmet instead of his face) he could only assume he was crying. But he didn't know why. He wondered promptly if he was sad, or happy… it just so hard to tell. Instead of the warm stirring in his heart, or the pained stings of his sorrow… his heart felt dead and cold.

'The end of the Underground must be nearby… as well as Asgore.' His hands dropped to his sides, instantly feeling an intense swell of anger rising in him. Todd glared down the golden corridor, marching down it as he frowned deeply. 'We could have been here together! Alive, happy, relieved…' He heard Arturo shadow his steps, but made no effort in focusing on it. 'But you took them away from me, Asgore! And now, you'll pay for what you've done to them!'

Soon Todd met another lifeless grey hallway again, pressing forward as he wiggled his gloved fingers, tapping them against his sheathed gun as he breathed in and out unsteadily. 'I have to end this, or you'll never receive the justice that you deserve!' Upon reaching an archway that was flanked by walls of bricks that vines hugged at the base, Todd halted as he leered through, picking out a large being that occupied the golden room before him. 'Is that him...?'

Before Todd stormed in, he felt himself sink down to the floor when Arturo's paw rested on his shoulder again. "That is King Asgore…" said Arturo in a hushed tone, warily looking in before motioning his head towards the opposite direction that they came. "Your sister and friends' SOULs most likely are being imprisoned in a room at the end of this hallway. I know of the fact that King Asgore was planning on making a crypt, where he would hold them until all seven SOULs were attained…" With a grimace, Arturo soon met Todd's eyes with an unreadable expression. "I will attempt to free them, Todd, while you go to face King Asgore." He blinked slowly as he spoke solemnly, "I have no clue how long it will take me, but I assume the Captain of the Royal Guard will possibly be guarding them. And... I may be forced to draw my swing blade." A heartbeat later, Arturo put his paw on his chestplate, bowing his head slightly. "So if I give my blessings and farewell now, in the case that I may or may not return to you when we part."

"Thank you for your aid, Arturo," Todd said with a nod, soon giving a weak smile. "I can only hope the worst doesn't happen to you."

Arturo gave a pained expression in response, slipping his paw down to rest it on his pouch as he replied meekly, "I wish for that as well." He paused before shaking his head sadly. "But if it comes to it, I can only hope that I can weaken the Captain enough so if you may encounter and need to face him as well, that you can stop him from taking control of the situation in King Asgore's and my own absence." The wolf bear hybrid gave a nod before he began to trudge away. "Do not lose the fire within you, Todd… keep it burning until the end."

When the pounding footsteps down the hallway faded into nothing, Todd closed his dark blue eyes he thought solemnly, 'You won't fail, Arturo… you have to succeed! I…' Turning his head, shaking it, he pursed his lips as he reopened his eyes to stare back into the golden room. 'I believe in you.'

Within a minute of staring back into the room, Todd inhaled deeply before he entered it. He was a bit startled by all of the green vines and tiny plant buds that matted the ground, soon circling inward to larger ones that were golden… as well as the large Monster from before. The Monster was humming contently nearby a golden throne with purple fabric that a red trident rested on, and from seeing the crown on his head, there was mistaking that this was indeed Asgore.

All Todd could see at the moment was a purple cape that draped down to Asgore's white bipedal paws… and Todd noticed familiar white droopy ears, as well as and two large pointed horns on the top of the Monster's white furry head.

Upon taking another step forward, Todd froze when a voice rang through the room. "If you would be so kind... do not step on them." Todd blinked his dark blue eyes, realizing that the Monster was talking since the humming had stopped. "...The Golden Flowers, that is," said the Monster carefully. "They may not be in full bloom yet, but I wish that they would not be disturbed."

Todd set his lips in a flat line, rolling his eyes. 'They're just flowers… they can be regrown at any time. Plus, you have plenty of them to spare.' He felt the urge to step on one of them, to see if he could get the Monster's attention, but then he squashed that idea. 'If I do that, then Asgore will know something is wrong.' Glaring at the Monster, Todd clenched his hands. 'I can't let him know who I am… yet.'

"Thank you," said Asgore in a grateful tone. A trickle of water was heard, and Todd spotted a blue watering can was being waved around, and saw the liquid falling on the premature flowers. "...These Golden Flowers are special to me, but not as much as the one that I cherish the most…" He paused briefly. "The one that my son's dust fell on when he..." Asgore's breath hitched, shuddering for a few seconds before he shook his head.

Soon the Monster forced out a perky chirp, "Ever since it matured, I have harvested its seeds, and they are growing into more Golden Flowers in the Throne Room at this current time." Asgore let out an endeared chuckle. "In fact, I like how they make it a bit more lively. I have always had a green thumb, and not all Monsters have appreciated plants as I have." Inhaling, his tone dipped down. "There is very few variety here, compared to the Surface's...

"Did you know that Golden Flowers are not native to the Underground?" asked Asgore suddenly, making Todd blink in surprise from the information. "They come from the Surface."

Todd frowned at that, looking at the growing Golden Flowers in slight awe. Until he came here, he had never seen flowers like these. He could only assume they went extinct in the past few months, but that didn't make him less amazed that these plants had once come from the same place he did.

Asgore went on in amusement, "The only reason that they have grown here, is because the first few seeds happened to come from a Human that I had taken in years ago..." Todd blinked, bringing his attention back to the Monster who continued to sprinkle his Golden Flowers with water. "They had some clinging to their clothing when we met, and we grew many from those seeds together along with my wife and son throughout the Underground." The white-furry Monster gave a hearty chuckle, his golden armour shaking and chinking from the sudden movement. "We may have had one incident with some, but those years were some of the happiest days that I have lived since we surrendered into the Underground…" His voice became sad. "…Because of the Humans..."

When Asgore brought the pail out of Todd's view, Todd could only assume Asgore was watering a flower that was in front of him. "Did you find it interesting?"

Right away, Todd gave a curt nod. "It was," he replied quietly.

After giving a happy hum to that, Asgore exhaled. "But enough of that, I am sure that you have not come here to hear about me and my hobby..." He stopped humming after a bit, and his voice sounded strained. "You must be another potential Royal Guard member. And... thank you for coming."

Todd screwed up his expression. "Why are you thanking me?" he asked as politely as he could, trying to stop himself from growling out the question.

"Why am I thanking you?" Asgore paused; the sound of the pail's water stilling. "You may be surprised that the only Monsters that ever visit me are Undyne, my Captain of the Royal Guard, and Monsters like you who want to join. For that, thank you."

The bipedal Monster placed the watering can beside the throne, raising his head backwards as he explained contently, "If you must know, I find it rather refreshing, meeting another Monster after so many weeks. For that, I can only assume the Royal Guard are going about their usual business, searching for Humans..." He put his white paw on the throne's armrest, gripping it shakily. "I enjoy spending time with Monsters, but these last few months have not been so grateful to me." He gave a shuddered breath. "I-If it were not for my Captain of the Royal Guard, I have to wonder how I could have gotten through them as I have."

For a long while, it was silent. Todd could tell how the Monster appeared to be tormented by what had happened… but Todd couldn't let himself care abut that. He reminded himself that this Monster was the one that killed the people who Todd was close to, and he carefully rested his gloved hand on his revolver, not wanting to arouse suspicion from the king of Monsters.

"Oh? Perhaps I have rambled on for long enough..." noted Asgore as his paw slid off of the armrest, turning to Todd. The Monster had a bit of a golden mane and a beard, but that wasn't the thing that caught Todd's attention the most.

Asgore was another bipedal goat Monster… like Toriel.

He had a big smile on his face as he gazed at Todd; a friendly glimmer was easily seen in his eyes. His golden armour and pauldrons glimmered in the glow of the sunlight, making Todd want to look away from being blinded, but kept his gaze on the Monster.

"Howdy, I am King Asgore," said the large Monster cheerfully. "And what might your name be?"

"It's… Todd."

"Ah, Todd..." Asgore gave a nod, gesturing his hand as he spoke calmly, "If you do not mind, before we get into business, I would like to wait for my Captain of the Royal Guard to arrive before we talk about your enrollment."

Todd gave a curt nod to that.

For a long while they stared at each other, and Todd spent that time studying the Monster, trying to pinpoint the best locations he could deliver the most painful blows that he could muster at the Monster. It was funny how this Monster, who was said to have wanted to kill the Humans, would be so friendly and naïve to a stranger that he just met… In fact, it was despicable how Asgore assumed Todd wanted to be a member of the Royal Guard, but Todd was merely thankful that he didn't have to do anything to convince the Monster of that.

"Hmm... I have to say, the armour seems to fit you well," mused the white-furred goat Monster with a nod. "I guess he really is certain of your abilities..." Half a second later, Asgore asked politely, "Do you prioritize in a certain field of magic, or do you mainly use your strength to carry yourself through the fight? Do you have a certain type of weapon you are apt at?" Suddenly the Monster blinked, smiling as he took a few careful steps closer. "Oh? Is that your weapon?"

When Asgore stopped walking, Todd noticed a slight change in his expression. Todd narrowed his eyes, noticing that the Monster looked confused. "Huh? It appears that you have something on your..." Immediately, his eyes widened, stiff in horror as he gasped, "...N-No! It cannot be!? That is dust!" As soon as the Monster took a step forward, he asked frantically, "Why do you have dust on your-"

It was then and there that Asgore's gaze grew cold. "No…" With a shake of his broad head, he took a step back. "You are not a Monster, are you?"

Todd couldn't help but let out a cruel laugh, "You really are stupid, aren't you?" The dark brown haired boy frowned, bringing out his revolver and watched as the Monster tensed. "Of course I'm not a Monster, you sick monster!"

Asgore merely stared at him, clenching his paws as he narrowed his eyes. "So, you're a Human..."

"Yeah, I'm a Human," said Todd coldly, pulling off his gloves (after he found it was hard to hold his revolver when he had them on) then started to adjust the chambers of his revolver. "I may be not the smartest one, but I know that you should've been careful of who you're talking to. If you did, you would've noticed how we're the only ones here." Upon hearing a chink from his revolver, he breathed out deeply. "How despicable…"

Slowly, the long red trident was retrieved by Asgore, and Asgore spoke quietly as he glared at Todd, "You have made a grave mistake coming here…"

"Oh no, I haven't." Todd shook his head. "I'm here to kill you."

"I do not want to fight you," said Asgore coldly. "Not in this place-"

"Well, that's a shame!" shouted Todd, aiming his revolver right at Asgore. "It would be nice for your Golden Flowers if we used your dust as fertilizer!"

Right away, Todd shot his gun, but Asgore whipped the bullet away, making it rebound into a window. Upon hearing it smash, Todd let out a growl before he felt pain strike through his stomach, and he let out a cry as his back met the archway of the entrance to the room. He heard thuds go past him, and he weakly pushed himself up, finding that the bipedal goat was rushing down the grey hallway.

"Get back here!" shouted Todd in frustration, thrusting himself to his feet as he gave chase to the Monster. He turned the chambers on his revolver, raising his gun up as he tried to make another shot, but the Monster had already retreated from the grey hallway. Todd pushed hard on his feet, running back into the golden corridor to meet Asgore who was halfway through, standing with his trident raised and ready. "So, you fled to fight me here?" spat Todd as he tightened his grasp on his revolver, taking a few steps forward towards the disgusting waste of space.

"Those flowers were the only mementos that I had left of my family as a whole," coolly replied Asgore as he stared forward, unmoving. "If I let you damage the last things that I have left of our happy days together, it wouldn't matter if you were dead or alive, I would feel another tear in my heart of the tragedy that is my life!"

With a quick swing of his trident, he bellowed, "I will not let you live!" Suddenly flames spewed on the tips of the three-pointed trident. "I will not let the Monsters lose their freedom forever! We shall break the Barrier with your SOULs!"

Whipping his trident at Todd, fireballs hurled towards Todd, prompting him to skid across the smooth-tiled floor to dodge each of them. Todd let out a growl, raising his revolver up when he realized Asgore was running towards him. The Monster's eyes started to glint orange and blue a couple of times before swinging his orange and blue flashing trident. Todd cried out when the trident hit him twice, but upon seeing the trident turn orange, he barreled into it then stiffened when a blue blur flew at him before swiping through his body.

He turned around to Asgore, raising his revolver again and shot a bullet that was cleanly struck away by Asgore, making Todd curse when a wave of fireballs assaulted him. With a cry of pain, Todd thrust himself out of the way of the onslaught of attacks as Asgore bellowed, "I have seen enough of all the misery that Monsters go through because I did not act fast enough! If I had-" With a guarded crouch, slanting his trident in front of him, he gritted his teeth. "I would have saved Monsters from this pitiful fate!"

Waves of fire came at Todd again, making him throw himself away as more and more waves of flames followed after him. He turned his head quickly to Asgore, hissing bitterly, "I don't care! You took away those who I cared about!"

"That does not excuse you or the rest of Humans, child!" countered Asgore angrily, jabbing the bottom of his trident onto the ground, instantly creating a ring of fire around Todd. "We thought they changed since then!"

Todd panicked, noticing the ring of fire inch towards him. He noticed a gap within it and darted past the flames, doing the same when more rings of fire came into creation from each tap Asgore gave with his weapon.

"But clearly we didn't!" shouted Todd furiously as he quickly fired a shot at Asgore, grimacing when his reckless aim struck a pillar instead. "You made that horrible Royal Guard to kill me, my sister, and my friends! And we had nothing to do with harming any of you!"

"That does not change the fact that we need your SOULs in order to bring about our freedom, child!" Asgore stomped towards him, his eyes flashing again and Todd tried his best to dodge the blows from Asgore's trident. "That does not change the fact of your origins! That does not change the fact that Humans destroyed what was left of my happiness!"

The dark brown haired boy yelped when his helmet was fluently cut off from his head, making him stumble backwards when he put his hand on his forehead, feeling blood rush down onto his face. As the figure of Asgore became blurry in his vision, Todd gave a huff, quickly pulling out his half-finished Hotland Gumbo, shoving as much as he could into his mouth before dropping the glass container when Asgore tried to strike him again.

Todd breathed in and out heavily, whipping his revolver up again and steadied it the best he could. He clenched down on the trigger hard, grimacing from the bad backlash and the fact that Asgore batted away the yellow bullet. The scruffy haired boy quickly tried to shoot again, this time hitting Asgore's armour when Asgore was too slow to deflect it. 'Grr... this is starting to get annoying!' thought Todd angrily as he shifted the chambers of his gun. 'At this rate I'll dent his armour before I kill him!'

Upon seeing Asgore's trident jabbing towards him, Todd rammed his revolver into it, pulling the trigger again and hearing Asgore grunt when Todd hit the Monster's arm. Within seconds Todd's revolver was ripped out his hands, spinning in the air as it clattered and slid a few feet away from Asgore. Instantly, Todd widened his eyes, thrusting himself back and forth to avoid being skewered by the trident. 'NO! I can't attack or defend myself without that!' With a growl at his slow speed, Todd thought bitterly, 'I'm only lucky enough that I have this armour to protect me for now! ...But I wish it was lighter on me! Argh!'

As fast as Todd could, he ran past Asgore, trying to retrieve his revolver that lay on the ground. When Todd nearly got to his gun, he heard the Monster was pounding right behind him already, and Todd knew he would get killed if he didn't pick up his pace. So with a last ditch effort, he threw himself on the ground, grimacing from the pain in his stomach to slide to his gun. While attempting to get up, Todd found Asgore's shadow on him, and instantly rolled himself to the side with effort to avoid being impaled. He pushed himself up to sit, getting up and raising his gun and aiming it at Asgore. Todd pulled the trigger, only to give a cry of frustration when he clicked the trigger while the revolver sputtered out nothing. 'Not now…'

Todd shoved his hand into his ammunition pouch, drawing out four bullets, then popped them into the revolver and tried to fish out the other two. Before he could put the last two bullets in, Asgore threw fireballs at him again, causing Todd to jolt and push himself away while he accidentally released his bullets.

When the fireball attack stopped, Todd clenched his fists, snarling as he glared at Asgore, "It doesn't matter if you're happy or angry, or if you've made others kill for you, you still killed the people close to me!" As Asgore breathed in and out heavily, Todd growled more, "You have blood on your paws, and you can't shift the blame! So you need die for what you've done, you disgusting monster!"

"I was only…" Asgore took a few seconds to regain some of his breath, tightening his hold on his trident. "I am only trying to make everything right again-"

"Right again!?" sneered Todd coldly, shaking his head as he felt his prickly locks scratch the sides of his face. "Nothing will be right again! If it weren't for you and your stupid Royal Guard…" Todd hardened his eyes as he slipped in two more bullets, soon raising his revolver again at the Monster. "Everyone would be alive, and everything would be right again…"

For a few seconds, Todd noticed how Asgore's intense expression faltered slightly, looking pained as his gaze softened for a brief second. Todd couldn't help but feel as though what he just said resonated with the Monster… However, as pathetic as that was, Todd knew the Monster's resolve fell.

Steadying his revolver, he knew it would be the perfect time to land a bullet in Asgore's head… yet for some reason, his finger shakily tapped against the trigger. He had to kill the Monster, he had to make Asgore turn into a heap of ashen dust… but Todd's finger just wouldn't press against the trigger. He had no clue why he didn't do it yet, but he knew he had to…

If he didn't…

"Can't you at least spend five minutes with us up there? We don't spend as much time as we used to... and we might not have as much time in the future to do stuff!" Archie's disappointed expression bore into him, making Todd grimace. He wished he spent more time with Archie... "…I-I... you're my best friend, Todd, and I can't imagine doing this without you."

"We should rest." Angie's concerned expression made Todd blink, thinking about how her worries often allowed them to be aware of their limits. They would have probably gotten into trouble more if it weren't for her. "Especially you, Todd… We nearly got killed by those… Froggits, and I think you've run yourself ragged during the walk here."

"Yes. As much as I appreciate your concern, Todd, I don't want this to bog me down too much. So I rather have it that you give up on the sentiments as of right now." Despite all the times Edgar tried to push them forward, trying to be stern and unimpressed most of the time, Todd could tell Edgar was trying to to be mature and looked out for them. Although, Todd guessed now that it must have put a lot of stress on his friend. "Now then, I believe the best route would be to forgo this one."

"Oh, cough out your damn lungs, Todd!" Todd may not have always gotten along with Marley, but he had always assumed she held some kind of happiness that he was his friend since she spent time with him. "You're being fucking annoying, and I can't stand another moment breathing the same damn air with you!"

"Big Brother is always nice to me!" Winnie appreciated him… and he never wanted to snub her… "I would never be mean to him!"

"You're so smart, Big Brother." Winnie always looked up to him…

"I like Mr. Snowman! You made him so happy, Big Brother!" He always liked making his sister happy… "Thank you!"

"Please don't feel bad, you're good" Winnie could never hate him… "I love you, Big Brother…"

"B-Big B-Brother..." She loved him… "I… I-I love you, B-Big Brother..."

Yet he couldn't protect her.

He couldn't protect any of them!

This Monster killed them all!

At once, Todd shoved away his memories, sharpening his gaze as he gripped his gun harder. 'I'm going to make your death the most agonizing! You're going to die know how terrible of a Monster you are!' Resting his finger on the revolver, he hardened his eyes. 'This is your justice!'

Pulling hard, his yellow wispy bullet hurled at the kingly Monster…

Only for it to be struck away.

"Asgore, you are not safe here! I will deal with the Human!"

Todd widened his eyes, shaking as he stared at the newcomer. 'Wh-What…?'

For a while, Asgore breathed in and out, his expression in complete shock before shakily nodding as he breathed, "I-I will..." Turning, Asgore started to hobble away. "Th-Thank you, m-my friend…"

The Monster in bronze armour merely scowled at Asgore, making the king of Monsters flinch before he began to hastily make his getaway.

As Todd watched the large Monster disappear down the corridor, he slowly brought his gaze back to the Monster who intervened.

Arturo had his back turned, appearing to watch the Monster flee while his bronze armour glimmered in the harsh sunlight. Todd grimaced briefly from the reflection it gave out, but that didn't stop Todd from trembling and glaring at the wolf bear hybrid in anger. "What's wrong with you!?" roared Todd furiously as he lashed his hand with his revolver at Arturo, stomping his foot down and hearing it echo through the corridor. "You could have weakened him- yet you helped him to escape! What's the meaning of this, Arturo!?"

Instead of replying, Arturo merely kept staring off into the distance.

"Did you hear me!?" snapped Todd as he unsteadily breathed, trying to figure out why a Monster as smart as this one just made the stupidest mistake in existence. "You let him go! You had the perfect chance to mortally wound him, and yet you didn't!" Deeply, yet shakily inhaling, Todd choked out, "Why, Arturo, why!? Talk to me!"

A chuckle was heard.

Todd blinked in confusion. "Arturo…?"

"It was according to plan, Todd," said Arturo evenly, letting his deep voice ring through the corridor. "Do not fret."

"No, it wasn't!" spat Todd furiously, scowling at once. "You were supposed to strike him down, allowing me to take his SOUL!" As he took steps towards the Monster, he clenched his fists. "That was your plan, yet you sabotaged it! You failed your own plan!"

"Of course not," said Arturo calmly, shaking his head. "My plan is still in motion, even as we speak."

"What are you talking about!?" The dark brown haired boy halted, narrowing his eyes into slits as he growled, "You didn't-"

"Todd, may I ask you a question?"

"Now!?" asked Todd in frustration, shaking his head angrily. "We have to chase down Asgore before he gets to his Captain of the Royal Guard, who will make it harder to kill him!"

"Just… a moment of your time." Arturo turned back to him, smiling warmly as his yellow eyes gazed at Todd sharply. "Do you know of why I did the actions that I just have done?"

"No!" spat Todd as he waved his revolver at Arturo. "You're not making any sense, Arturo! You ruined your plan!"

"Hmm… I did not."

Just as Todd was about to yell at the Monster more, he suddenly was aware of something.

"Wh-Where's the SOULs?" asked Todd in confusion, softening his glare as he furrowed his eyebrows. "You were supposed to get them, and I don't see them." He looked up and down Arturo's broad body, searching for the SOULs of his friends and sister… but he didn't see them at all. "Wh-Where… Wh-Where are they…?" asked Todd quietly, almost breathlessly.

"I do have them, Todd," said Arturo as he closed his eyes, inhaling softly. "Do not worry."

Immediately, Todd couldn't help but feel his guts clench from those words. 'Y-You do…? I don't see them…' Arturo began to lumber towards Todd, taking on a casual pace as Todd took a step back. "A-Arturo?"

"Yes?" The dark brown-furred Monster stopped at the sound of Todd's squeak of his voice. "What is it, Todd?"

"You said you'd get them…" said Todd as he stared at Arturo, baffled by the lack of them. "B-But I don't see them…"

"Oh, Todd," breathed Arturo gently, shaking his head. "I have them. They are safe with me, do not be concerned."

"B-But-" The dark brown haired boy's voice died, and he blinked. Now that Arturo was close enough, Todd noticed something. He stopped looking at Arturo's face, trailing his gaze down to the pouch that held the dust of Arturo's spouse… noticing it twitching.

"We will go and you shall take down Asgore now, Todd. I was just giving Asgore the hope that he was safe…" Arturo paused, soon putting in firmly, "But when he knows that he cannot run, it will allow you the opportunity to take his SOUL… seeing how Asgore will have lost the will to fight."

Ignoring Arturo, Todd concentrated on the quivering pouch.

"T-Todd…"

Widening his eyes, he whipped his head around, frowning in bewilderment. 'A-Archie…?'

"Is something wrong, Todd?" asked Arturo in concern, giving Todd a frown.

"Todd…"

'Angie…?'

"Todd!"

'Marley?'

"Todd!"

'Edgar!?' Todd at once grew frantic, trembling as he tried to figure out whether or not he was really hearing his friends or was starting to hear voices finally after all this time. 'Why-'

"Big Brother!"

Todd tensed. 'WINNIE!?' He began to sweat, shaking harder. 'NO- you're all dead!' He put his hands over the top of his head, ignoring the pain of pressing the side of his revolver against it as well while clenching his dark blue eyes shut. 'You're all dead, and I'm just hearing your voices! I'm just finally cracking up from all this, and my mind is just making up stuff for some crazy reason! You're not here!'

"We're here…" came the voices of his friends and sister. For some reason, they spoke as though they were one person, but were most likely from many people speaking in synchronization. "Help…"

"G-Guys!?" yelped Todd frantically as he looked around. "Winnie!? Archie!?" His breath shuddered. "Edgar!? Angie!?" He bit his lip, feeling sick and lightheaded suddenly. "Marley!?" He began to sink down, sitting on the ground as he breathed in and out unsteadily. "G-Guys…?"

"Todd… I know that this is a lot of pressure I am putting on you," said Arturo gently, taking a step towards Todd again from the sound of his thudding step. "But we must go now if you are to kill King Asgore. You do not need to panic, I am with you and will not let you be killed by him."

"You can't…" Edgar's strained voice rang. "Run…"

Todd jolted the moment Arturo placed his paw on his shoulder, blinking dazedly into the Monster's gaze. "We are running out of time, Todd. We have to do this now, before it is too late."

"It's-" Edgar's urgent cry was silenced.

Arturo had put his paw over his pouch. "Are you unwell?"

At once, Todd felt his rapid heartbeat swallow his hearing, and wildly shook where he sat. 'Something's not right!'

Suddenly, he thought he saw a glint of green.

"B-Big Brother…"

Without thinking, Todd drew his revolver from his head, bringing it down to his side. Immediately, Arturo withdrew, backing away as he gasped out, "Todd!?"

Blood rang through his ears, and without thinking, Todd whipped his gun up and pulled the trigger.

An alarmed cry sounded from Arturo, but all Todd heard was a small thud. He widened his eyes, staring at the pouch that lay on the ground… noticing various colours twinkling from it. Todd gawked at it, letting his jaw droop as he shook his head. 'No… it can't be!?'

"Todd…" Arturo's appalled gaze slowly became round with concern. "I know that the stress of the situation is setting in, but-"

"…Sh-Shut up…"

Arturo flinched, widening his yellow gaze. "Wh-What do you mean, Todd-"

"Y-You…" Todd's expression twisted into an ugly glare. "Y-You monster…" As Todd slowly rose, clenching his hands hard, he roared on the top of his lungs, "YOU MURDERER!"

For a while, Arturo slowly became expressionless as he started at Todd. And Todd couldn't help but seethe as he shook, hearing his revolver rattle as his blood boiled to the point it felt like it dissolved into air. "You monster!" He whipped his glare to the pouch. "YOU KILLED THEM!"

"Todd…" He watched as the mixture of light in the pouch became brighter, noticing the pouch stirring as it lay there. Without a warning, the pouch was scooped up, and Arturo clenched the top with his paws, staring at Todd with blank yellow eyes. "I have them because I retrieved them from the crypt, Todd," said Arturo calmly.

"No! You didn't! You killed them! Why did you kill them!?" screamed Todd shrilly, aiming his revolver at Arturo as his heart drummed harder. "You don't want bloodshed, yet you killed them!? Why!?" He clenched his eyes closed as he shouted sharper, "WHY!?"

"Todd…"

"You killed them… I know you did!" growled Todd slowly in ill-temper, steadying his grip and pointing the revolver where he knew it would pierce Arturo's skull. "Stop giving me this syrupy denial, Arturo! Tell me the truth!"

The Monster closed his eyes. "Todd…" There was a heavy pause, and Todd was about to fill the silence when he heard a mild chuckle. "You really are a naïve child, are you not, Todd?" Todd pursed his lips into a taut frown, glaring hard at the Monster. "You are trusting, you relied on me when I came into your life, and you did not press hard about who I was… except I was one that saved you."

"You saved me from the Captain of the Royal Guard, you helped me back onto my feet to find a purpose to live for…" Todd bit his lip. "But you… you killed them."

"I did not kill-"

"Yes, you did!" snapped Todd harshly, cutting off the Monster abruptly. "I know you did!"

"Then tell me, why you think I would go out of my way, and kill Humans when I did not." Arturo's bushy, wolf-like tail twitched.

"You did, and I will tell you why!" Todd leered at the Monster straight in the eye. "You didn't hit Asgore when you should have."

"And why would that pertain to me killing innocents?" asked Arturo smoothly, blinking slowly. "I would never in my life kill innocents."

"If you wanted me to kill Asgore, you would have struck Asgore when he didn't know you were there!" shouted Todd, watching Arturo open his jaw again, but beat the Monster to it before he could speak, "That Monster called you his friend! He knew who you were! You said you didn't want to serve him, but the way you acted... you acted like he was important to you- like you wouldn't let him die!"

Gritting his teeth, Todd yelled on the top of his lungs, "You're lying to me, Arturo! I don't know why you're lying to me, but you are! Tell me-" Sharply he shot at Arturo. "Why are you doing this!?"

Arturo drew out his swing blade again, deflecting the shot. The moment the bullet hit one of the grand windows, shattering its glass, Arturo slowly slid his swing blade back into the scabbard on his back. "You do not understand still, even though the evidence is before you."

"What evidence!?" croaked Todd with his raw voice; his throat hurting from the volume he had been using the whole time.

"I would never kill a Monster, Todd."

Todd furrowed his eyebrows. "Why does that matter now?"

"There would be no way to get rid of the Captain of the Royal Guard… if I do not want to kill a Monster, Todd."

"Then how did you get rid of him?" asked Todd in appall, whipping his head back and forth in case the Captain of the Royal Guard appeared.

"I did not."

"WHAT!?" Todd gawked at Arturo, shaking his head as his expression screwed up into a dark glare. "You were supposed to get rid of him!"

"Todd, let me tell you this…" Arturo smiled, giving a chuckle. "That would be impossible… seeing how it is me."

Blood roared through Todd's ears. "Y-You're…"

"Yes…" Arturo gave a nod. "And now that everything is in place…" Grabbing ahold of the pouch with his other paw, the Monster clad in bronze armour tore open the pouch. Todd gasped, watching as Light Blue, Orange, Dark Blue, Purple, and Green hearts floated right in the palm of Arturo's paw. "I can finally achieve what I have wanted to after all these years."

With a backhand of his paw, Arturo swatted all five hearts into the pillar nearby them. Todd widened his eyes in horror, yelling out, "NO!" Just before Todd could race towards them, he exclaimed painfully as he was hurled into the wall at the beginning of the hall. "Ungh-"

As Todd fell onto the ground, feeling like all of his bones had shattered from that blow, he weakly lifted his head up, glaring up at Arturo. "W-Why…?"

"I have been watching your journey, Todd, ever since the day I was aware of the fact that there were six Humans in Snowdin Forest," said Arturo evenly, adjusting his grip on his long swing blade (that Todd noticed Arturo was holding now) as he chuckled. "You all thought you were smart, hiding behind the trees… when I could smell your fear wafting off of you."

Todd widened his eyes. 'It- It can't be-'

"Even if you six did not leave your footprints in the snow, I could see you…" The dark brown furred Monster smirked, giving a flick of his bushy tail. "I am a renowned tracker, if you are not aware of that yet. I let you all have a good long time of falling into the blanket of security before following you, keeping a good distance away to make my presence not known." Slowly Todd sat up, trying to pull himself up to his feet while using the wall as support. "I was lucky none of you decided to walk back whence you came... but I eventually caught up with you and was present when the holder of the Light Blue SOUL died. It was… satisfying, watching you all panic the moment Roxie killed one of your own. I was not surprised when you all fled… except for one."

"What does Marley have to do with this?" asked Todd shakily, grimacing as he nearly doubled over.

"She was the only one to fight back," explained Arturo steadily, his ears twitching. "And I have to admit, it was pure luck that you all stayed at Chester's inn… I did not let myself alarm you of my presence, especially when I was not needed in informing the Canine Unit of your existence." Arturo breathed in before he continued, "It was utter chaos in the streets of Snowdin when the Canine Unit was wiped out, all except for Rover who I did not associate myself with. I left without a Monster, other than Chester and his granddaughter, as well as you Humans... knowing that I was there."

Todd hardened his gaze. "So you were there the whole time?"

"Chester would never refuse letting an old friend stay at his inn…" said Arturo with a smile. "I paid the full amount beforehand, even though he insisted that there was no need for me to pay." With a whisk of his paw, he went on, "I went on to Waterfall, and watched as the holder of the Dark Blue SOUL slaughtered Monster after Monster, and I knew she would be the perfect vessel to take down Asgore."

"But why would you want her!?" asked Todd angrily.

"She was perfect, Todd… too perfect… " responded Arturo gently. "She had gained the thirst for killing by the time I met up with her..." After a few seconds, Arturo shook his head, looking displeased. "But she was too far gone to be used." With a frown, Arturo's eyes grew dark. "Although I was pleased with her willingness to kill, I did not enjoy how she slaughtered my fellow Monsters… So I mutilated her as horribly as I could to remind those who came across… or managed to come across her… to never kill my fellow Monsters."

Todd's heart stopped. "S-She… Marley killed Monsters!?" Todd shook his head. "No… that isn't true…"

"But it is, Todd," said Arturo with a dip of his head. "I requested her help, but she only tried to kill me. So, I killed her." With a tilt of his head, Arturo closed his eyes. "I went to the next child, a boy with the Purple SOUL… but he would not take part in my plan. So I struck him down as well, not as terribly as I did with the Dark Blue SOUL holder, and let him bleed out. I did not bother to wait for you, so instead I went to enlist Xander and Carmel in the capture of your SOULs… and watched your chase in the safety of the Lab." Pausing briefly, Arturo opened his eyes. "I wanted to give you hope, that you two could survive when the others did not…

"I asked Reggie to retrieve Xander and Carmel when I knew they would succeed with one of you," breathed Arturo lightly, smiling at Todd. "Then I made it my duty to take down the last Human of the six that I discovered in Snowdin…" He started to lumber towards Todd. "I wanted to make the last death special. I knew how much the deaths of the five Humans affected you, Todd, and I knew how moldable you would be even before I found you grieving your sister." Arturo's eyes narrowed. "And with little intervention, you became the Human I needed you to be. Effortlessly, I helped you, the holder of the Yellow SOUL, fill yourself up with LOVE." He let out a laugh. "Oh, so much LOVE… And you may have been wary of me, but you became my vessel." He smiled. "My pawn, my weapon, and my obedient Human."

"...What…?" Todd pressed his back to the wall. "I don't understand…"

"Oh, you do not need to understand anything, Todd," said Arturo mildly, adjusting his swing blade again. "All I need you to do is kill Asgore… or have me kill you either way."

Todd narrowed his eyes into slits. "But why would I help you!? Why would you need me to die!?" He clenched his hands into fists the best he could. "We were supposed to bring peace to Humans and Monsters!"

"There will never be peace between Humankind and Monsterkind, Todd," growled Arturo bitterly, scowling as he drew his lips back into a snarl. "Have you not heard of how I have said I learnt much about SOULs? Do you not know that we do not need seven Human SOULs?" He gave a laugh as he pointed his swing blade at Todd. "All I need is a Human, full of LOVE, then that would complete the equivalent of seven Human SOULs, and maybe even more." With a sharp intake of breath, Arturo grinned. "With Asgore's SOUL… you would easily have so much LOVE you would be two Humans instead of one, Todd! Along with the Dark Blue SOUL, the both of you would be more than enough! And we can break the Barrier- then slaughter all of Humankind!" Arturo went closer to Todd. "Now then, we must go and take down Asgore."

Right away, Todd swung up his revolver, gritting his teeth as he hissed out coldly, "I will never help you."

Arturo looked amused at that. "Oh? But you have aided me enough already, Todd." He blinked, nodding as he went on confidently, "I told myself, a mere Monster could break the Barrier if they have seven Human SOULs… But a Monster with seven Human SOULs… and a Monster SOUL could do even more." Arturo pointed his swing blade towards Todd. "Perhaps surpass Monsterkind!"

"But- you said-"

"I would have to make an exception," said Arturo coldly, frowning deeply as he went on, "to kill my best friend in cold blood for the war that should have been waged ages ago. He did not have the spine to inflict it, so I must now take matters into my own paws. Once Humankind no longer exists, Monsterkind will thrive on the Surface…" He gave a thrilled exclamation, "And we shall have our peace and my vengeance!"

"Not on my watch," said Todd coldly. He lifted himself away from the wall as he crouched, hearing his name being called by his friends and sister. "I did not ask to be used as your tool, or to take down Humans." He felt his heart beat slowly, feeling a strange feeling stir within him. "I will kill you, Arturo!" he growled as he adjusted his grip. "You deserve death as much as Asgore!"

"Very well, Todd," said Arturo in amusement, crouching as he readied his swing blade. "I accept your challenge. And just as you have watched almost all of your friends', and sister, die before you…" Arturo let out a humourless laugh. "They will now watch as, I, Arturo, the Minder of the Royal Family, the Swing Blade of Might, the Captain of the Royal Guard, slaughter you before them!"

Todd hardened his eyes, telling himself that he had to end this Monster now before it ended him. He couldn't let himself die, or let this Monster wreck havoc in the world. He slipped in bullets before he readied his revolver again, giving a quick look to his friends' and sister's hearts that hovered barely on the ground. 'Everyone… I won't die. I will live, and take us all back to the Surface...' Turning his gaze back, he glared intensely at the Monster. 'And make sure no one will ever come down here again!'

A spurt of energy exploded him, making him let out a roar of fury as he ran towards the Monster. The Monster at once dipped his swing blade down, swinging it backwards after managing to catch Todd's feet below it, throwing Todd behind him. Todd let out a cry of pain when he landed roughly, trying to get up the best he could before aiming his revolver at Arturo's paws. He shot a bullet, missing and gave a curse.

"I knew you would turn on me when you discovered the truth," growled Arturo as he brought his swing blade up, jumping with the curved blade coming down towards Todd. Todd managed to roll away before he was beheaded, rolling more when Arturo continued to jab his swing blade down at Todd. "You always seemed like a oblivious Human child, needing someone to explain to you the answers that you failed to see with your very eyes…"

"Only because I needed help!" spat Todd, whipping his revolver up again, firing off another yellow bullet. Arturo merely swung his blade at it, deflecting the bullet again as he glared down at Todd, letting a growl rumble in his throat. "I thought you were different! I thought you wanted to end it all, to stop the New War-"

"I always wanted the New War, Todd!" snapped Arturo coldly, striking his blade into the ground, sending golden tiles flying at Todd. Todd pulled himself up, ducking behind the pillar and hearing the sickening smashes of the tiles becoming powder. "I once sought for peace, just like I had mentioned to you-" Without warning, Todd was struck in the stomach as Arturo whipped around the pillar with his swing blade. "If it weren't for the Old War that tore apart my life!"

After sliding across the ground for a while, Todd stopped nearby the two pillars over. "Wh-What are you-" Todd coughed as he got up, relieved that the armour protected him from the blunt of the attack. "Talking about!"

"There is a reason why I never wanted to be in the Old War, why I never wished it had happened!" roared Arturo as he stalked towards Todd in his lumber, his yellow eyes mere slits. "I would never be the Monster I am now if it had not happened!"

"And why's that!" shouted Todd, pushing himself against the pillar to get up again. He narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "If the Old War was that bad- if that's the reason why you're attacking me- tell me what the Old War did to make you this terrible!"

When Todd didn't get a response, his eyes widened as noticed that Arturo's weapon gradually became tainted in a brown hue, watching Arturo close his eyes. "Monsterkind, of the Arils… of the Arils… Heed my call, heed my call, as I, Arturo Aril, call upon the magic of my ancestors…" His yellow eyes started to glow. "I ask to cast the art that had been passed down to me, the almost extinct magic of the Arils-"

The dark brown haired boy took a step back, looking down at the ground then Arturo again as he thought, 'He's casting magic!?' Todd always thought Arturo used brute strength over magic… but this magic didn't sound good.

"MODE OF THE QUAKE!" Arturo rammed the end of his blade into the ground. "BROWN MAGIC!"

Suddenly Todd felt strange, his vision blurred and as he took steps backwards, falling over the moment he felt the ground shift below him. He let out a cry, trying to get up, only to find the ground continued to shake below him.

"There is a reason, Todd," said Arturo coldly, and Todd tried to steady his footing from the constant trembling of the ground. "Unfortunately, there is a reason." His voice dipped into sadness, his voice choking up in anger as well, "If it were not for Asgore- I would not be living the shell of my life! The shell of what I used to be! We used to be best friends… even though I was only supposed to be his bodyguard." His breathing shook, soon being void of sadness as he roared furiously, "Yet he wormed his way into my life, and I let him! That was the first of the terrible mistakes that I have made in my life!"

As soon as Todd stopped moving, he noticed his vision and the ground became less shaky. But as soon as Todd took a slight step, the ground shook again, and he yelped when he fell down. The ground seemed to resonate more the moment Todd landed, making him grimace. 'I can't seem to move without the ground making it hard to!' thought Todd in frustration. 'What's wrong with it!?'

"If I had not maintained contact like I did, and just did my duties like the rest of the Arils, I would not have grown to rely on him as I have!" growled Arturo bitterly as he began to make his way towards Todd, and he didn't appear to be affected by the ground shaking. "He did not want to harm anyone, and taught me the way of MERCY… My parents never approved of an Aril who would not kill when required to, but I became that Aril. As well, the old King and Queen Dreemur did not agree that their son, Prince Asgore Dreemur, wanted nothing to do with killing as they liked. We were both fools in their eyes, but in our own, we were doing the right thing."

Just as Todd went still, finding that the ground had stopped shaking, Arturo slammed his swing blade into the ground, making the ground warp and dip down, waving up and down like disturbed water. Todd let out a yelp, but he quickly fired a shot at Arturo before he toppled over from being unbalanced.

"Try as you must to fight me, Todd, you will find it will be impossible to hit me when Brown Magic is in play," said Arturo evenly, his glowing eyes staring down at Todd. "It is the magic of the Arils, ancient magic that only one with the bloodline of Aril can muster on the field of battle. If you had expected Orange Magic or Light Blue Magic when you threw yourself at me... you are mistaken."

Instead of replying, Todd fired off another shot, only to watch irritably as Arturo batted it away with his blade.

"But when the old King and Queen had passed away, in the midst of the Old War…" Arturo dipped his head, frowning deeply. "The old King asked of Asgore to lead the Monsters to glory, a task that Asgore did not want to carry." He tightened his hold on his weapon, his bushy tail grew stiff. "But I still followed his lead, knowing as it was my duty to protect him. I had to protect him…" Arturo let a out an annoyed growl, "Because he had been my best friend."

With little warning, Arturo charged toward Todd, swinging his swing blade back and forth, making Todd leap and dodge the blows. Todd had to a couple of times use his revolver to block some of the blows, and when he knew he had an opening, Todd pulled the trigger to hit Arturo. In response, Arturo howled out in pain, promptly glaring down at Todd and struck him cleanly across the floor.

After recovering from the blow, Todd now noticed that the swing blade was becoming brown again. He widened his dark blue eyes in shock instantly. 'Wait- the ground didn't shake when he was using his weapon on me!'

"Asgore should have ended the Old War peacefully from there…" As Arturo gripped his weapon harder, his wolf-like tail lashed furiously. "And if he did, we would not be in this mess… But that is not why I am fighting you now, Todd!" He trembled, curling his lip back before he went on bitterly, "It is because of those Humans!"

"What did they ever do to you!?" spat Todd as he regained his balance, trying his best to not move. "I know that they trapped you all down here, but-"

"They did more than that, Todd!" growled Arturo venomously, drawing out his words as though he was trying not to swallow something that would taste awful. "Humans can never be trusted, they will stab you in the back! But they did not simply stab my back…" Arturo's gaze grew darker, becoming pained as he choked out, "They stabbed into the back of my son!"

Todd widened his eyes as he stared at the Monster. 'Th-They killed your son!?'

"...That is my grave mistake, not stopping the last of my family from being killed…" whispered Arturo shallowly, shaking as he lowered his head. "I always tried to raise Marco into accepting MERCY… but all he wanted to do was fight Humankind. He did not want to simply reach out a paw for peace as I did, he wanted to use his paw to take them down." Slowly he blinked, his tail drooping against the ground as his voice grew doleful. "If I had… i-if I had let him fight in the Old War, instead of trying to veer him out of it, I would not have lost him to those despicable Humans!"

For a while, Todd blinked at him, not knowing what to say to that.

"When the Humans stole away our children, Marco wished for us, the old Royal Guard, to outright kill the Humans and take them back," explained Arturo miserably, shaking as he continued, "But I reproached him of that, and that forced his paw into action that I did not foreknow. He gathered up his friends, and left in the middle of the night to storm the Human stronghold as their leader. I-I should have not said what I did to him, or I would not have had Asgore and the rest of the old Royal Guard follow me into the Human stronghold… where we found the Humans holding Marco at sword point the moment we arrived.

"In order to free our children, in order for none of them to be harmed, Asgore had to declare Monsterkind's surrender to the Humans. And Asgore willingly gave his word…" Arturo clenched his paws, and his breathing became unsteady. "The Humans released our children, released all but one…" He slammed his swing blade into the ground, creating a wave of tiles to ripple towards Todd. "MARCO!"

Todd straightaway tried his best to stay clear of the incoming force of broken tiles, grimacing as his unstable footing made it nearly impossible to evade them.

When he managed to survive that attack, he slid his scowl towards Arturo who gave a harsh roar, "I saw the way they smirked, how they laughed, how they mocked our kind nature-" With a growl, he spat bitterly, "They betrayed their word! And if it was not for Asgore holding me back, I would have ripped all seven of the Humans' throats out for doing that deed!"

Munching and gulping down the rock-like pear-fruit quickly, and reloading his revolver, Todd knew just from the way that Arturo was getting upset, a barrage of attacks would most likely follow. He steeled himself for when Arturo shifted his long-handled weapon, and Todd steadied his grip as he kept himself alert for any of those signs so he could at least stay alive for now.

"I remember how Asgore told me he would not take back his word- not allowing me to kill the one responsible of Marco's death- reminding me of how honourable Monsterkind is…" hissed Arturo in frustration, clenching his eyes shut. "But he never knew the agony I felt the moment my son became dust that day! Even when we went Underground, forced there forever because of the magic the Humans had cast… I could never forgive Asgore for what he had done, nor could I forget what had perspired that day, Todd!"

Taking in a ragged breath, Arturo's yellow eyes opened as he stared at the ground. "I could not look at Asgore the same way again, even after year after year of that very day. The wound in my heart never healed, becoming a blister as I watched my fellow Monsters around me age while I did not." His bushy tail gave a lash. "No Monster could soothe my soul… Marco's death shattered me. I aimlessly protected Asgore as it was my duty as the Minder of the Royal Family, not knowing why I never quit when I felt I had no respect for Asgore to do so." He clenched his eyes, sighing. "But... I did what I could for Monsterkind, letting my life slip through my paws before me until the day the Human that Asgore adopted fell into the Underground..." His claws unsheathed immediately, and his intense gaze was set on Todd. "Who was accepted by all of Monsterkind, all but me!" He drew his lips back as he snarled furiously, "I could not believe my fellow Monsters would let a mere Human worm into their hearts, when they knew all of what Humankind had cursed them with. But all I could do was watch the Human become the darling of the Underground…

"However, the day that the Human died was the day that sickened me the most," growled Arturo coldly. "When Prince Asriel returned to New Home, falling into dust onto a single Golden Flower… I could not help but know that Humans had never changed since the day my son was ripped from me. When Asgore told me of his plan to start the New War, I did not rejoice from hearing the news I yearned to receive years ago, I was furious of how much of a fool he was that he did not press for it the moment we were trapped in this undercroft!" He began to tremble. "I had been telling Asgore all these years that we should have been trying to break the Barrier, to lash out against our captors… And for it to happen when Asgore lost his own son… by the same beings that took my own… was despicable!"

Taking a step forward, Arturo snarled, "I need the New War to happen, Todd! If it does not, I will not be able to do what my son wanted for us to do. My son wanted Humankind to die-" His eyes became slits. "So I will make ALL of them die!" Right away, he swung his swing blade towards Todd, bellowing on the top of his lungs, "With all of the Human SOULS I have collected these past few days!"

Immediately, Todd hardened his gaze, knowing now that Arturo had relieved all of his reasoning. There was no way of stopping him unless he became a mountain of dust.

The scruffy haired boy gritted his teeth, watching as Arturo charged towards him with a guttural snarl. Before Arturo could land a hit, Todd sent a flurry of four bullets the Monster's way, watching as they rebounded off of Arturo's armour while one of them managed to sink into Arturo's arm. Instead of crying out in pain, Arturo lunged low, sweeping the blade of his weapon towards Todd's legs and Todd sprung above it. Upon landing safely on the other side, Todd shot two more bullets, and smiled when they met their mark.

"And you were so clueless, Todd!" growled Arturo as he fell back into a guarded position, and Todd watched as the Monster's weapon resumed the brown hue. "No Human would want to talk about the sins of their past- I am certain that Humankind had thought we were gone for good!"

"The oldest people of our village always warned us to never go to the mountain, actually!" spat Todd as he tried to keep his footing still, focusing on the Monster as he fumbled to put more bullets into his revolver. "They told us it was dangerous, but we never knew why-"

"Why do you think they would never tell you about Monsterkind?" Arturo's throat rumbled as a growl tore out of it, "Humankind has always had cowardice! Even when they seem to be brave, they never have been seeing how they hid our existence from their descendants!" Taking another step forward, Arturo swung his blade, ramming the bottom into the ground and making it tremble terribly. "How they hid everything…" His eyes flashed yellow.

Todd widened his eyes as the whole floor began to dip and bounce, letting out a yelp as he became airborne before crashing into the ground. He tried to get up, only to find himself being tossed up and down by the animated floor like it was a hyper frying pan. After a long period of time that this continued, he became anxious the moment his weapon was separated from him when the floor promptly stopped flipping him around. As soon as the revolver hit the ruined floor, Todd couldn't help but freak out when Arturo stalked towards him, each step taken making the ground freeze in place before rattling once more.

"I have tried to look past what had happened, but the burning memory of my son's dust could never be smothered," growled Arturo as he raised his weapon. "It was hard enough enacting my ruse on you, Todd, when I could hardly keep my fury from brimming over!" He swung down the weapon, right towards Todd. "But now, everything has been planted for me to use, and I can have my New War!"

As Todd tried to roll away, he couldn't help but stop when the motion in his vision made him become disorientated, crying out when he was struck again.

"And your SOUL is one of the pieces I need to accomplish that, Todd!" growled Arturo with another swing, but Todd was ready this time in rolling away to reunite himself with his revolver so he could fire two shots back. As soon as he heard Arturo grunt in pain, Todd shakily got to his feet as he tried to stop himself from falling down. "If you had not fallen with the rest of the Human children, I might never have had the hope that I can right the wrong in Monsterkind's lives."

"But how is that right, Arturo!?" spat Todd angrily, swaying backwards and sidestepping precariously when Arturo swung his swing blade three times. Finally, Todd leapt back when a forceful jab nearly slid into his abdomen and landed to deliver another bullet at Arturo. "You may have lost your son, but that doesn't mean you have to kill the ones who weren't responsible for that-"

"Humankind has never changed, and I can see history repeating itself again!" Arturo paused, huffing heavily before his yellow eyes burned into Todd's. "Even now, I have seen the Dark Blue SOUL holder and you demonstrate that to me!" He inhaled harshly before he spat with disgust, "Humans are cowards who would act upon their fears when faced with threats- Humans are greedy beings who take more than what they deserve- With twisted minds that are fueled by their thirst for power- for a way to stand above all so that they cannot be dethroned by those they walk over-" Arturo twirled his swing blade, soon running up to Todd as he roared, "Their power ever grows… through the slaughter of Monsterkind!"

Whipping his revolver up and blocking the blows of the swing blade when it came, Todd growled incredulously, "How did I ever do that!? I never wanted to kill any Monster because I was scared, or because I wanted to be stronger-"

"You may not have in the beginning, but I have seen you latch onto that endeavor, Todd!" snapped Arturo as Todd pulled his revolver's trigger again, narrowing his eyes when Arturo swatted the bullet away and brought down his swing blade. Todd barely managed to dodge it as it abruptly became buried in the ruined floor. "You may not have done that in fear or for power, yes…" As soon as Arturo's head lifted, glaring furiously at Todd, he growled coldly, "But that does not mean you resisted the urge to kill my fellow Monsters!"

The scruffy haired boy went silent, shooting two more shots at Arturo, stinging the Monster's paws when he tried to pull out his swing blade. The Monster exclaimed in pain, growling out bitterly as his tugs became forceful, "The Monsters you killed… you wanted them to die! You cannot deny the truth that you went out to murder Carmel or Xander- and you even told me you killed Rover when all that he wanted was to talk to you!" After narrowing his eyes, Arturo clenched his paws around the handle of his weapon harder. "A Human can act recklessly when their mind is clouded with grief, when their vision is hazy from rage-"

"I did it for my sister!" spat Todd as he tried to cram in as many bullets as he could, knowing that Arturo seemed to be struggling with freeing his swing blade from the floor. "I did it for my friends!" After rolling around the chambers, he raised his revolver, heavily breathing in and out as he yelled out harshly, "Everything that has happened to me down here was a nightmare! There's no room for dreaming- no room for hopes-" Resting his thumb on his revolver, he right away fired his revolver wildly. "Because this place has Monsters, Monsters who are absolute animals that want to kill us!"

The bear wolf hybrid growled out in pain, heaving out his swing blade finally after the sixth shot hit him. He began to stomp towards Todd, breathing heavily as he snarled, "You may call us animals, but we have lives as you Humans do! Yet the Humans before you killed us with no sense of MERCY, stomping down on our existence as though we were flies!" With a guttural roar, he jabbed his swing blade at Todd again, "They attacked us knowing that we never wanted to hurt them!"

Todd leapt back the best he could, ducking and darting out of the way of Arturo's wild strikes. At one point, Todd pulled out his revolver when he had a chance to shoot the Monster, only to discover that the revolving chambers on his gun were empty from his earlier assault on Arturo. He tried to fish out bullets, plopping them in precariously, dropping some when he had to dodge. He was only able to drink three quarters of the whole canister of Paste Shake before dropping it from how ruthless Arturo's attacks were... having no choice to abandon it when it seemed like Arturo wasn't letting up.

And after a long period of constant combat, Todd found that he was growing tired…

Panting as he tried to keep his hold on his revolver, Todd stared at Arturo when the Monster stopped throwing blows at him. "If the Humans had honoured their word that day…" Arturo paused, breathing heavily as his stance faltered slightly. "I may be facing you now for a different reason..." Todd grimaced, slipping some more bullets in as Arturo went on, "I may still have stayed true to whom I had been, not wanting blood or dust being spilled… stopping Asgore for the reason that I truly did not want the New War to happen. Marco may have been still alive, having a family of his own while I myself would have become brittle from my age." His voice sounded like a sob was trapped in it, and Todd saw Arturo's eyes glitter, not from anger but from sadness. "We may have killed Asgore by now, and I could have killed you so you would not have returned to the Surface… seeing how unstable you would become from killing Asgore."

Suddenly, in the glow of the sunlight, Todd noticed white flecks fluttering in the air… from Arturo.

"I-I…" Arturo coughed dryly, grimacing as he growled, "I only could hope that I could fulfill Marco's wish to some degree… I know that Monsters will die when the New War happens, but if we could take down at least a few Humans…" He grinned as his eyes became wide, and Todd was spooked by the way they seemed… crazy. "It would make me happy that I did what my son wanted me to do back then. I have no clue what will happen when the Human that stops me does so, but I can only hope that Marco will be waiting for me… not angry or terrified like the last few times I saw him... but proud of me."

Glinting steaks were created from the few tears that slid down Arturo's face. "I only wanted the best for my son, but I did the w-worst instead."

Todd scowled and shook his head at the Captain of the Royal Guard, feeling his heart beat wildly as he raised his revolver. "You really are insane."

"You would think that, w-would you not?" asked Arturo bitterly. "I would think, you are insane as well, Todd." Arturo chuckled. "We are similar, and you cannot deny it. You killed to avenge your sister, and your friends..." Arturo started lumbering towards Todd, tottering as his breathing became shaky and labored. "We both killed for what we thought was right. Some may scorn us for what we have done to drag ourselves to where we are now… but, that does not mean we were wrong. Our lives are nightmares, and to drown them out is to shatter our morals to quell the screaming the past utters to daunt our every move and thought." With another chuckle, Arturo grinned painfully. "We might as well plunge ourselves into the depths of insanity, go to the extreme knowing there is nothing more that we can do to remedy how we still exist today." Arturo's eyes closed. "A-After all, we are l-lost souls…"

The dark blue-eyed boy shook his head, glaring hard at the Monster. "You're wrong… I am not lost, I know what I have to do in order for my life to go back to normal."

"But it will n-never be normal, Todd," replied Arturo coldly, letting out a raspy cough. "N-Not when you do not u-understand there is no return for y-you..."

"I will return!" spat Todd as he readied his revolver, scanning the Monster for any weak points on his body. "I will kill you and Asgore-"

"No, there is no r-return!" growled Arturo harshly, coughing hard before he hissed, "N-Not when you kill me- or Asgore… B-Because there is nothing left for you, Todd, the moment our dust falls-"

A bang filled the hall.

Arturo's swing blade was released when he fell to his knees, leaning over Todd as his yellow gaze became fixed upon seemingly nothing. Todd merely glared at the Monster, stepping back as he watched the Monster's body began to disintegrate into dust. After a few seconds of watching the Monster dying, Todd snorted, turning away to dart towards his friends and sister.

He fell to his knees, panting as he released his revolver, and gathered the differently coloured hearts towards him. "Guys… it's me," he whispered gently.

"Todd…"

"Yes, Archie, it's me!" he chirped as the orange heart hummed against his hand. "I did it! I killed the Monster who killed Edgar and Marley!"

As he began to feel heat behind his eyes, Todd let his tears fall down his cheeks as he choked out, "I've missed you all! It sure is great to be with you again! But we'll have plenty of time to be together when we leave the Underground, just what we wanted to do when we woke up from where we fell down!"

He beamed when he spotted his sister's SOUL, ecstatic as he heard her quiet voice. "Big Brother…"

"I'm here, Winnie…" he murmured gleefully as her green SOUL hovered nearby his heart. "I'm here just like you wanted me to be! I may not have stayed with you the whole time, but I'm never leaving you again!" For a moment, he brushed his hand against her SOUL, soon bringing her close, along with the others, to give them a hug. "I will make sure none of us will split up again," he said warmly. "We did too much of that down here, didn't we? But we won't do that again. Never, ever, again…" He grinned wider. "I just need to kill Asgore, then everything will be okay!"

Todd expected them to respond to that, yet he received silence.

"Once he's gone, we can all go home!" piped Todd cheerfully. "And no one can stop us from going to the Surface, guys!"

"No…"

Todd blinked, gazing at the orange SOUL. "What do you mean, Archie?"

"You can't, Todd."

"But I have to," chuckled Todd lightheartedly with a shake of his head. "How else can we get out of here, Archie?"

"Don't do it…" Angie's strained voice called out to him. "Please, Todd… no."

"If you think I'm too injured to fight, I'm not, Angie," replied Todd confidently, smiling as he nodded. "I feel ready, and I don't want to wait this out."

"Stop. Don't even… do it."

Todd frowned, blinking in confusion until he located the purple heart… He faintly recalled Arturo mentioning that Edgar's SOUL was purple, so he gazed at it with a frown as he spoke, "Wait, what do you mean, Edgar?"

It was few seconds before Edgar's voice rang. "Todd… you need to stop. I… know you want this… but stop as of right now... before it's too late."

"I don't understand," said Todd quietly, screwing up his expression. Of course, Todd really didn't understand. If they were to go home, he had to take down the last obstacle that stood in his way. So he stared at the SOUL he assumed was Edgar, soon speaking as he furrowed his eyebrows, "I mean, Asgore's the only Monster that's in the way of keeping us from getting home, so I need to get rid of him if we're ever going to get out of here."

"No, you need to stop!" Angie's voice rose at once. "You can't continue this!"

"But I have to!" he shouted in frustration. "I need to!" He clenched his fists. "This is for you guys!"

"Then do it!" Marley's shrill voice deafened Archie's, Angie's, and Edgar's protests. "Fucking do it now before that monster returns, Todd! You have that gun with you… so why don't you put it to damn good use!?"

"Of course I will, Marley," said Todd, giving a curt nod to the Dark Blue SOUL that vibrated madly against his right hand.

"Kill not just that one, kill all of them for what they fucking did to us!"

"But I can't do that!" protested Todd in alarm. "Asgore's the only Monster left who's responsible for your deaths, and I just need to kill him for all of you!" When Marley gave a growl at that, he went on boldly, "The other Monsters weren't a part of your deaths, I need to leave those ones alo-"

He blinked, now aware of pain gripping his heart. "Ngh..." He grimaced, biting his lip as a cry of agony tore out from throat.

"Todd!"

"Big Brother!"

Todd didn't understand what was going on at first, but when he slowly turned to the mountain of dust that replaced Arturo, he spotted an upside down grey heart that was trembling madly in the air. Todd gritted his teeth, standing up stiffly as he slapped his hand to where his heart was. 'Is that- Is that Arturo's SOUL!?' His dark blue eyes widened.

"Get away!" shouted Edgar through a strained voice. "Todd, just get away… before it's too late!"

Todd flinched suddenly the moment the SOUL broke apart. Its shattered pieces flew in different directions until gliding through the air gradually, soon becoming suspended. 'But… I didn't see the other Monsters' SOULs? Was… was Arturo strong enough for his SOUL to be visible!?'

"Run!" shouted Edgar. "Run, Todd, run!"

Without warning, the particles resumed their movement… hurling towards Todd.

Todd at once stepped backwards in alarm, hearing Edgar yell at him to run… but he just didn't understand why he should. If he absorbed Arturo's SOUL now… he could become stronger and kill Asgore easier than before. But before he could tell Edgar that, he exclaimed in agony again as a stronger than before throb filled his heart, rapidly becoming unbearable as the particles fed into his chest. He placed his hands on his chest, clenching his eyes shut as the pain continued, almost seeming like there was no way the pain would never become numb as he heard everyone crying out his name as a scream tore out of his throat…

Then the pain ceased.

For a long time, Todd waited, wondering dizzily if the pain would start up again. He stood stiffly, feeling his heart beat madly… but the distress he felt moments ago had vanished. He opened his eyes, his vision blurring and shifting for a long time. The moment he blinked, he could see clearly again, and he focused on the fact that the only things in the long hall was himself, his revolver, the remains of Arturo, and his friends' and sister's SOULs.

He frowned, hearing his name being called, then slowly walked towards his friends and sister. He stared at Edgar's SOUL when he asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Edgar's voice did not answer him.

As Todd's gaze shifted to the other hearts, he spoke coldly, "What's wrong with all of you? I just absorbed Arturo's SOUL, and you're acting like it's a bad thing!" When they did not speak, he glared at them. "I absorbed his SOUL, and I became stronger! Don't you realize what this means!? I have a better chance at killing Asgore now, but you-" He pointed at Edgar angrily. "You were trying to sabotage us from escaping, Edgar!"

"Todd, stop!"

"No, I won't stop!" spat Todd harshly as he clenched his fists. "There's no reason to stop! I just need to kill Asgore for all of you, and then we can go home!"

"Don't do it!"

"No, I have to end this!" Todd snapped to Angie angrily, glaring at her SOUL now. "That Monster caused all of you to die, and I'm going to be the one that ends him! I don't know why you don't want him dead, but I have to kill Asgore!"

"...Big Brother…"

"What!?" Todd's glare at once dropped when he realized it was Winnie who had spoken, but he didn't try to make his tone less angry when he addressed her. "What is it, Winnie?"

"…Why…?"

"I just told you, Winnie!" spat Todd as he let out a growl, shaking his head. "That Monster need to die, alright!?"

"...You're not…"

"I'm not what!?" asked Todd angrily, narrowing his eyes at the green SOUL.

"…Y-You're not… my big brother."

Immediately, Todd froze, feeling traces of hurt in him, but it was shrouded in seconds by the spike of anger that sliced through him.

"I am your big brother!" he snapped furiously. "How could you say such a thing, Winnie!?"

Winnie's voice went silent before a tearful squeak came, "…H-He's a good person… My big brother is a good person, not a bad one!"

"I'm not bad!" protested Todd loudly, narrowing his eyes to slits when he breathed unsteadily. "How can I be bad when I've risked my whole damn time down here, after you died, Winnie, killing the Monsters that murdered you!" He edged back, glaring at the hearts. "In fact, I've been trying to make things right after all of you died! I killed Rover- I killed Carmel and Xander- I killed the Monster that killed you two!" He pointed at the purple and dark blue SOULs. "And now I have to kill the Monster that made that fucking stupid Royal Guard, and this has all been for all of you!"

Before he knew it, he scooped up his revolver from the floor, huffing and puffing as he shouted harshly, "This was for you guys! This was for all of you guys this whole time, so how can you be so ungrateful towards me!?"

"Stop, Todd!" Edgar yelled.

"No!" He gritted his teeth as he roared shrilly on the top of his lungs, "I won't stop until he's DEAD!"

Booms filled the air as bullets flew from his revolver, and Todd shouted as he aimed his gun the best he could, "I need him to die- don't you know what he's done to all of us these last few days!?" Todd reloaded his revolver before he fired more, furious when none of them hit any of the SOULs. "I'm the only one left who can get us out of here- I'm the only one who's been trying to take revenge on the Monsters who killed you guys- and you don't want me to finish the job!?" As he fired more bullets after needing to reload and reload again, he shouted as loud as he possibly could, "How selfish are you guys!?"

Suddenly, the wind was sucked out of him as he was bowled over.

After he tumbled roughly to the ground, feeling his revolver fall from his grasp, he angrily lifted his head, glaring at the king of Monsters.

"What do you think you are doing, Human?" asked Asgore coldly, stepping in front of the SOULs as his scowl was set on Todd.

"I am trying to explain to my friends and sister how horrible they are being towards me after what I've done for them!" retorted Todd as he propped himself up with his elbows. "Stay out of this!"

"What were you fighting for?" asked Asgore with a frown. "What were you fighting for that you were shooting at your close ones, Human?"

With a growl, Todd growled, "I was-" His voice died when he thought about it. "I was…" He frowned before snarling, "I was fighting to take down the Monsters!"

"No, what were you truly fighting for?"

"I just told you!" spat Todd in ill-temper, wondering if the Monster didn't understand him. "I had to kill the Monsters for them, but they don't seem to understand that I had to do it for them!"

"But other than that, what were you fighting for?" The bipedal goat in gleaming gold armour stared at him with an unreadable expression. "There is no reason that you were fighting because you wanted to kill Monsters, there had to be another reason that you did." After a few seconds, Asgore spoke again, "What I mean to say is… who are you, Human?"

Todd opened his mouth, soon closing it. 'What does he mean by that?' he thought in annoyance.

"I know that you are a Human, but who are you?" Asgore's gaze was firm as he held it with Todd's dark blue eyes. "I have only seen that you want to kill me because I made the Royal Guard, who killed your friends and sister for me… But, I do not certainly know what other reason you had." After inhaling, Asgore blinked. "Therefore… who are you, Human? Could you tell me that?"

The dark brown haired boy glared at Asgore, thinking about the question for a while. Then with a grimace, he simply snapped, "Why should I answer when that question is pointless!?"

"It is not pointless, Human," said Asgore seriously, frowning as he went on, "I just want to know who you are, but clearly…" His eyes closed. "You do not know."

"I know who I am!" shouted Todd harshly, narrowing his eyes to the point that they became slits. "I am the one who will kill you! I am the one who you tortured by making your stupid kingdom of Monsters kill my friends and sister! I am the one who you are asking such a stupid question to right now!"

"No, I will tell you who you are, Human." With a shake of his head, Asgore opened his stern eyes. "You are a Human who has lost his humanity."

"What do you mean by that!?" snapped Todd furiously as he slowly pulled himself to his feet.

"…I know that is what you are, because you have clearly lost sight of that," explained the king of Monsters slowly, frowning as he gestured behind himself. "No Human would turn on his own family or friends, and if one has… they clearly have no clue what they are fighting for. Only one who has lost sight of themselves does not know how to answer the question of who they are."

"Shut up, I know who I am!" spat Todd indignantly as he pointed his revolver at the Monster. "You can't tell me that!"

"Then tell me who you are, other than what your name is, Todd."

"I am-" Todd cut himself off abruptly then snorted, shaking his head. "This is stupid!"

"No, you are finding the question unanswerable because you do not know who you are anymore," replied Asgore sadly. "Just from seeing you now… you have lost more than what you are. You have become something that had aimlessly wandered to this corridor."

"I know what I came here for!" protested Todd shrilly. "You can't tell me that!"

"Todd, clearly if you do not know who you are, I cannot allow you to go back to the Surface as you are now."

With a furious yell, Todd roared at the Monster, "I will go back to the Surface, and you can't stop me!" Right away he pushed hard on his feet, running straight towards Asgore. "Not when you're dead!"

At once, Asgore fell into a crouch, scowling at Todd as he tried to pull the trigger of his gun, but Asgore's trident slashed at his armour, making Todd cry out when he was knocked down. He was dazed for a few seconds before he rolled out of the way of Asgore's trident, getting up again as he felt his amour shift on his body. He looked down, noticing how the breastplate was sliding off his body, and grimaced. 'Dammit... he broke it.'

"Can you not see that you have no reason to fight me?" asked Asgore boldly, scowling at Todd.

"Shut up!" spat Todd, raising his revolver again. "I do!"

As soon as Todd was pulling the trigger, he cried out when his hands were struck… before an intense amount of pain filled his stomach, causing him to screech shrilly. Immediately, he fell over, dropping his gun to press his hands to his stomach, widening his eyes at the sight of his own blood. 'No!' he thought in horror as he noticed his own bullet lodged in his body. 'I can't believe he made me shoot myself!'

Trying to refocus, he knew regardless of this wound, he had to shoot the Monster before it was too late.

Despite the pain that pooled from his self-inflicted wound, he brought his blood covered hands down onto the handle of his revolver. He coughed and winced from the pain he felt as he brought it up and clenched the trigger, only to feel it click effortlessly against his slick, red thumb. Immediately, he shoved his hand into his ammunition pouch, widening his eyes when his hand patted the rough material of the pouch instead. He wildly searched it, only to give a cry of anger. 'Wh-Where's my bullets!?' After a few moments of searching the pouch, trying to ignore the intense pain from his punctured stomach, he started to hyperventilate. 'I-I… I ran out of bullets!? NO! I couldn't have! I had plenty of bullets, I couldn't have used all of them!'

Edging backwards, he glared at Asgore as the Monster spoke coolly, "It would appear as though you cannot fight anymore."

"Shut up, you made me shoot myself!" snapped Todd furiously before feeling lightheaded, only having moments before he was aware that he had toppled to the ground from another dizzy spell. As he glared at the Monster, pressing his hands to his bleeding wound at once, he snarled harshly, "You should've been the one to take that bullet! You should be dying right now for what you have done to me!"

Asgore merely stared down at him, making Todd more frustrated as he hissed, "I hate you, I hate you for what you've done to us! And I don't care if you don't think that you killed us, I want you dead!" Right away, he reached for his revolver again, knowing that the only thing he could do right now was use it to club Asgore to death… but Asgore kicked the revolver out of Todd's reach, stepping back to stare down at Todd again.

Todd whipped his head up, feeling dizzy again as he leered at the Monster and hissed, "How did you really think a war against Humans would help you disgusting Monsters!? Are you really that stupid!?" After a few seconds, Todd went on bitterly, "If you hadn't called upon starting up a new war, all of my friends and my sister would be alive! But you did it anyway!"

"…I did it because I was angry, Human," said Asgore quietly. "I-"

"D-Do you really think I care about that!?" roared Todd in a strained voice as he gritted his teeth, trying to get up to strangle the Monster only to fall forward when he lost his balance. He right away tried to press his hands to his wound, finding it hard to move them and breathe as he glared at the Monster more. "N-No, I don't! You should die for what you've d-done... I want that m-more than anything r-right n-now!"

His vision swam again, and he pressed his eyes closed as he hissed out, "C-Can't you see… how much more pain you've caused…?" Slowly he felt himself slump onto the ground, feeling his warm blood splash against him. "Y-You… you really are an idiot… aren't you?"

As he received silence from the Monster, Todd oddly felt weak and tired. He opened his dark blue eyes again, but it was hard to focus on anything from how blurry and bright his surroundings were. He grimaced, breathing hard as his stomach throbbed horribly. "A-A b-big, f-fat… i-idiot… H-How do the Monsters… even w-want you as their k-king… k-knowing how dumb you are…?"

Faintly he heard his name being called by several people, but he ignored them as he went on, "You're an id-idiot… and a m-murderer… y-you know that?" As he was about to say more, his voice died as his head rested down into his puddle of blood. As much as he tried to raise it again, he felt like his whole body became cement for some reason. He attempted to speak again, but could only rasp out tiny puffs of air while blood splashed into his mouth.

His vision became darker and brighter, he couldn't decide which one it was or whether or not if he was breathing anymore… He tried to figure out what was going on around him when he heard something quiet among the sounds that were deafening around him.

"B-Big B-Broth…"

Todd couldn't feel or see anything but the darkness around him. He could hear warbled noises... yet he couldn't pick out a particular word from it.

Without warning, searing pain sliced through him, and he wanted to scream... but he felt like his vocal cords were severed. Slowly he felt weaker; he tried to cling to the strength he had left, yet he couldn't do anything other than let the agony consume him...

The end…

I hope you enjoyed the story! =3

…

EeveeGen9988: "Hello, sorry if this is very, very, very late! *hangs head* Writing and editing this chapter was the hardest to do out of all 5 parts of The Fallen... but now it's live and this story is done! *gives thumbs (paws) up and grins*

I want to thank Chronic Guardian, Aviantei, and Hyoxjnn for encouraging me as I wrote each chapter, helping me to stay Determined throughout all the hardship I went through writing and editing The Fallen as well as their reviews! (And the other people who have reviewed, thank you as well! =D)

Thus, this marks the end of my [Shibuya Operation Story Storm] project! Thank you for reading my story, I really hope you enjoyed this! =D

*all of the confetti from Part 1 has been cleared away as well, leaving EeveeGen9988 to not have to worry about cleaning up the mess she made earlier*"

…

~ Final Item Check ~

- Fizzle Fruit: a pear-like fruit that looks like a painted rock… but its not as hard to eat. Heals 7 HP.

- Paste Shake: a milkshake that is trending in Hotland right now… container says to shake well or you won't feel well. Heals 10 HP.

- Half-Eaten Hotland Gumbo: it may look like vomit chow... but it was not, surprisingly enough. Heals 6 HP.

- Royal Guard Armour: Has the disgusting stench of Monsters… Todd can't wait to take it off. Increases Defense by 20.

- Ammunition Pouch (61): Holds the bullets that Todd wants to use to make Monsters die… it doesn't matter how many he uses.

Empty Pouch: Holds nothing useful anymore… it might as well be thrown away.

~ Fun facts about the chapter's development! ~

- The original name of the chapter was going to be 'The End of the Underground' but from a review I received earlier on, I heard of 'the Castle' and I just loved the idea of using that as the name of the last chapter instead! Thank you for mentioning 'the Castle', Aviantei! =D

- Originally, the end of Part 4 was going to be what you saw for the beginning of Part 5 where Todd and Arturo were going to leave the True Lab and end off at the point where Todd and Arturo finish their discussion of how Arturo feels he'll sever the connection between Humans and Monsters when Todd leaves with his friends' and sister's SOULs and exits the elevator and goes to the next elevator. But, I felt as though the end where Todd agrees to join up with Arturo to take down Asgore so that they can bring peace to Monsters and Humans would be the best place to end Part 4... So that's why the original end of Part 4 became the beginning of Part 5.

- Todd was going to ask about the brand on Arturo's swing blade, and Arturo would have explained the history of Arils and their relationship to the Royal Family more... but I already did that in Part 4, so I only had Todd briefly notice the branding on Arturo's swing blade.

- Arturo's pouch when talked about was where I would have had Arturo tell Todd that his parents dust was in the pouch instead of his spouse's... but that would technically be sort of gruesome if you think about the fact that Arturo would consider putting both his parents' dust in one pouch and quite frankly I think Monsters would find that to be disrespectful and disgusting. Thus, his spouse's dust was inserted instead of Arturo's parents' dust.

- The way that Arturo gained Todd's trust could have gone in different ways. For example, the first idea was for Arturo to say that he was the Captain of the Royal Guard but was willing to help Todd... (but that doesn't sound good to have if you want someone to trust you who's had their close ones killed by the the group of Monsters you're in charge of leading). The second idea was for Arturo to later on reveal he was the Captain of the Royal Guard much later in Part 4 once Todd trusts him, but that still doesn't sound trustworthy. The third idea was for him to say he had a brother who was the Captain of the Royal Guard and he didn't want his brother to kill the final Human while explaining that he and his brother were identical twins, but then that wouldn't have worked because other Monsters wouldn't mention Arturo is the brother of the Captain of the Royal Guard or Arturo's brother and that would make Todd suspicious. The forth idea would have been that Arturo tells Todd that he's a Royal Guard member the moment Todd first wakes up in True Lab but Todd isn't told what rank Arturo has, but Todd wouldn't trust Arturo knowing that. Therefore, the last idea was having Arturo not tell Todd that he's a Royal Guard member then say that he is a Royal Guard member when Todd finds out and tell Todd upfront that he would have killed Todd sooner if he wanted to kill him would be the best option because Todd would have realized that Arturo didn't kill him yet so that meant Arturo wasn't his enemy but an ally (and everything else that has happened in Part 4 and 5)! =D

- Originally in Part 4, Flowey was going to have been the one who saved Todd, convincing him that he had to kill Monsters and there would have been an epic training montage with Flowey and Todd... And Flowey would be using Determination to stop Todd from dying... and Todd would have been confused about the warnings Flowey would be telling him because I wouldn't want to write all the scenes where Todd dies then appears back in a scene from earlier while remembering nothing about all the death experiences. The reason that was changed was because the six children had recently fallen down so there would be no one else who had fallen before and had their Determination extracted and injected into Flowey... So, I wanted to make it so this story fit with canon!

- The fight scene with Asgore and the fight scene with Arturo would have occurred in the Throne Room... but I felt the space would have been too small and we wouldn't want all the Golden Flowers to be trampled from all the attacks and magic going on during the fight. Thus- I felt the need for the Final Corridor to be the place for combat, plus no Golden Flowers would be harmed. As well, Asgore would be happier that he didn't have any of his precious Golden Flowers harmed... that would break his heart! =3

- When Arturo asks Todd to step on the Golden Flowers... I sort of remembered after a while that Reno from Final Fantasy 7 sort of asked Shinra Soldiers to not step on Aeris' or Aerith's flowers. I found that to be funny... heh. Just a funny tidbit, that's all... =D

- I was going to have the Final Corridor be silver instead of gold, y'know, to show the time difference between The Fallen and Undertale... but after a while I felt the grey hallways were dull and boring enough so why should there be a silver hallway? *shrugs*

- From talking to someone about Arturo after Part 4 went live, the ideas presented from their perspective sort of made me question Arturo's real motivations that I wanted to put in for Part 5. When I thought about it, Arturo's character could have actually been not a vengeful Monster but a pacifist like I made him out to be in Part 4. The motivation for him to kill Todd and the last battle could have taken a total flip if I had chosen to alter Arturo's intentions. For all we know, Arturo could have really been a pacifist all the way through despite the war, not loathing humanity but instead feeling extreme guilt over his son's death instead of both. He could have been trying to kill Todd because he felt it was his duty to amend how he drove his son to his death by enacting what his son wanted, not for revenge but feeling the obligation that it was what his son wanted. In a sense, he would have been deranged and have a vibe of 'being trapped in the past' sort of thing. Or, it could have been that he felt the need to kill Todd because he knew Todd would probably escape and inform his village about the Monsters and didn't want that to happen so he felt the need to stop Todd... So, in the end, instead of the 'wracked with guilt but had to do what his son wanted because he felt it was his obligation now' parent Arturo was more of the 'wracked with guilt and hatred at what the Humans had done and feels he should have done what his son wanted him to do so he's now going to do what his son wanted because he made the mistake of not doing that and wants all the Humans to be dead' parent. Well, either way, I think I sorted out what I believed to be the best motivation for Arturo. And in the end, the whole chapter would have been drastically different depending on what motivation I had chosen for Arturo.

- The ending scene/ epilogue of The Fallen would have gone in different ways. One would have been Asgore telling his Royal Guard members to retrieve the corpses of the fallen children so they could have a proper burial, another would have been the birth of Flowey, another would have been Alphys extracting and making notes about the different SOULs' Determination and using Todd's Determination (which was different to the other Determination that was extracted except his was similar to Marley's Determination) on the flower that would be Flowey then making a note that Flowey was gone, and the other one I didn't use was Frisk's fall into the Underground... But I wanted the ending scene/ epilogue be entirely in and end with Todd's point of view, just like how throughout the whole story it was Todd's point of view.

- I was going to add an extra for Edgar's notebook... but I scrapped it due to reasons that the information would have been repetitive of the whole story and it would have taken forever to do... Plus, the notebook is now illegible... I can't mess with that canon.

~ Reader Requests ~

Chronic Guardian's Questions:

"What actually happened to the Canine Unit?"

It's as Arturo said, they were wiped out. They're dead. =D

"Did Marley take 'em out?" "If so, how?"

Yes, yes she did, CG. As the wielder of Dark Blue SOUL, her SOUL MODE (meaning: attack mode or movement) is gravity based so she has to leap around. And from her ballet slippers' description and use, we can only assume that Marley kicked the Royal Guard Members to death.

"Did she dance them to death with enormous amounts of glamour?"

There was no Death by Glamour, leave that to Mettaton EX. *Mettaton pops in: "Oh yes!"*

Anyway, she gracefully killed them, slowly making each and every death more brutal each time one fell. She's not going to make a show out of death! ;3

"Is that why a certain scientist got the idea to weaponize the form?"

I'm not sure which scientist you're talking about, but I will refer to Alphys for this. (and if this still isn't the scientist, let me know and I'll retry to answer the question)

I'm not quite sure, but Alphys wasn't the Royal Scientist at the time. So, since she wasn't present during this time, she honestly wouldn't have seen this. So personally, I think it's coincidental that Marley and Mettaton both were sound dancers. But, she may have read reports from another scientist about Humans who had Dark Blue SOULs and based it off that or studied Marley's SOUL in her lab.

"Is Angie's sibling Frisk?"

Well, no. I feel as though that if Frisk was Angie's sibling, they would have recognized their toy knife that Angie took from them in Undertale. If you look closely at the flavour text, Frisk doesn't make any comments about the Toy Knife any differently than other objects. If they had a certain attachment, they would have indicated it.

As well, this story takes place (maybe…?) 30 years before Undertale in my mind. So, by then, Angie's little brother would be all grown up and gotten over Angie's disappearance. So therefore, I feel as though Frisk wouldn't have been born yet. Plus, I don't feel like assigning Frisk a gender at this point in time, mainly to line it up with canon.

"If not, what purpose does that character serve?"

*EeveeGen9988 backs away slowly* Uh... well... you see... *rubs back of neck sheepishly and backs away into tallgrass*

*from the tallgrass, you can still hear EeveeGen9988* Motivation on Angie's part to go out to find and have the Toy Knife? Err... wait a minute? What's wrong with Angie having a little brother? I mean, I felt like Angie should have a sibling. Nothing wrong with that... *shrugs*

…

Aviantei's Requests/ Questions:

- A Rover Backstory -

Ever since Rover was a little pup, he always never seemed to take things seriously. As much as he tried, he was always a goof when dealing with staid matters. It honestly made his parents annoyed with him and favored his mature sister instead, but Rover hardly had a problem with that… except the day when his parents made it clear that they were ashamed of him.

For a long time, Rover struggled to understand why his parents were not proud of him, but never voiced those insecurities to anyone. He would often play with the other Monster children in Snowdin that he got along with, as well as with his sister who never treated him differently, but the hurt he felt from knowing that his parents hated him made it hard to enjoy his life. But despite how miserable he was on the inside, he always tried to keep up his happy-go-lucky attitude towards life.

One day, his sister announced she was going to try to join the Royal Guard and become a part of the Canine Unit, so Rover thought it sounded cool so he also announced he would join it as well much to everyone's shock. His parents never believed him, seeing as he always had been a goof. And despite how he wasn't overly serious about committing to it originally, he went through with it hoping to prove his parents wrong as well as have them become proud of him just like they were with his sister. He wanted nothing more than that…

But halfway through his training, his parents passed away. It filled him with so much grief, but all he could do to cope was to be the goof he had always been, seeing how that was only way he could deal with serious matters. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't hide it from his sister in the end. After talking about the feelings he had been hiding all these years and how much he wanted to make his parents proud of him but couldn't now with his sister, his sister let him know that he still had her and was always proud of him, which helped him to eventually get over his parents deaths.

Even though he could never have the chance to make his parents proud of him, he still trained to become a Royal Guard member, not to impress anyone but to spend time with his sister who always cherished and believed in him for who he was the whole time. Plus, it seemed like a fun idea, seeing how he could do it with his sister.

…However, he still couldn't help but regret not making his parents proud of him before they died...

- The Fallen Corresponding Chronologically to the War Against Humans and Monsters -

War Against Monsters and Humans happens ? years before 201X.

Asriel's death happened ? years after 201X.

The Fallen happens a few months after Asriel's death, and happens over the course of four and a half days:

- Night 1: Part 1

- Day 1/Night 2: Part 1

- Day 2/Night 3: Part 2 - Part 3

- Day 3: Part 3 - Part 4

- Night 4: Part 4

- Day 4: Part 4

- Night 5: Part 4

- Day 5: Part 5

Undertale happens around 15 - 30 years or so after The Fallen.

- How/If Toriel Finds Out What Happens To The Children -

Toriel definitely finds out what happens to the children. I'm pretty sure that Sans told her that Asgore has six Human SOULs at the current moment, but she wasn't told how they died exactly… So she probably imagined a certain Monster killed them or the Royal Guard did all the effort in taking the fallen children's lives...

…

Hyoxjnn's Requests:

~ Name, age, birthday, gender, hobbies, bio, skills, trivia of characters ~

- Angie Evans -

Age: 11

Birthday: January 15th, a few years before 201X.

Gender: Female

Hobbies: Stargazing, thumb-wrestling, play-fighting, reading, fishing, chess, exercising, and doing puzzles.

Bio: When Angie was younger, she hardly was annoyed with her little brother, and spent a lot of days playing with him until she met Todd and the rest of her friends. At first, her brother constantly tried to stop her from going, however Angie's mother always stopped him so that Angie could have time with her friends. In the end, her little brother when he was old enough to go outside on his own started to try to spy on Angie and her friends, often trying to tell on Angie for the activities they did due to his frustration that she wouldn't play with him like she used to. After a long time of being put through her brother ruining her time with her friends, Angie's patience had finally run out when she was almost 10 years old, and she started to develop a disliking towards him.

Angie enjoys staying up late despite how she knows she should sleep, but likes to stargaze at night. In fact, when she learned about how Edgar liked to stargaze as well, they started to make plans to watch the stars using his telescope at his home during the weekend or whenever it wasn't a school night. Because of this, she may not have gotten as much sleep as she could have, but still enjoys the times that she spends with her friend. Eventually this spiraled into her finding that they had more things in common than she had thought. At first their friendship was rocky until she learned about his interest in stargazing, but eventually she grew to like how knowledgeable he is despite how matter-of-fact he can be at times.

Todd just so happened to be her first friend that she made, both of them happened to be in the same class and from there their friendship blossomed. And if they hadn't been in the same class, she may never have met Archie, Winnie, Edgar, or Marley.

Skills: is the most patient of all of her friends, is good at thumb wrestling, knowledgeable to some degree, and is great at fishing.

Trivia: - Her little brother Victor constantly annoys her and the rest of her friends, and he happens to be the same age as Winnie.

- Angie doesn't like Marley.

- Angie hates dresses.

- Angie isn't girly like other girls because of all the antics that Archie leads her and the rest of her friends into. She would rather explore with her friends than play with dolls or mess around with makeup.

- Archie Smithson -

Age: 12

Birthday: September 5th, a few years before 201X.

Gender: Male

Hobbies: Exploring, making snowmen, doing pranks on people, boxing, thumb-wresting, exercising, play-fighting, and making little harmless jingles.

Bio: Archie was Todd's neighbor and was born two weeks older than him. Often times Archie would try to play with Todd, but Todd was too young to play with him so it wasn't until they were over a year old that they started playing with each other on play dates set up by their mothers.

Archie often was the one in charge for leading Todd into mischief when Todd on the other hand didn't like getting in trouble, but still found it to be fun nonetheless. It was unspoken that Archie and Todd would be best friends no matter what, and that didn't change when Winnie was born. In the end, Archie spent so much time with Winnie when she was little that she once started to call him 'Big Brother' but Todd and his parents had to teach Winnie not to call Archie that (much to Archie's disappointment due to how he never had a sibling).

Despite being the only person that is an only child in his group of friends, Archie feels at times that his friends are like brothers and sisters to him due to their close bonds with him. Nothing will change how he feels about his friends, and he would never be anything but a friend for them.

Skills: Boxing, resourcefulness, strength, a natural leader, fearlessness(?), and has a knack for singing but doesn't want to make a career out of it.

Trivia: - Archie doesn't like reading, or anything that involves patience.

- Archie would never be rude or insult his friends despite how obnoxious he is... intentionally, that is.

- Archie sees Winnie as a little sister he never had.

- Archie was the one who got Todd interested in exploring places outside their village, and eventually that led to him getting his other friends to do it as well.

- Archie once was forced to join a choir by his parents, but he didn't want to be in one so he skipped any rehearsals he could. He got kicked out in the end by the person in charge of the choir much to his parents dismay.

- Marley Forester -

Age: 11

Gender: Female

Birthday: November 10th, a few years before 201X.

Hobbies: Ballet (is really into ballet) and synchronized swimming.

Bio: Marley's parents always wanted their daughter to become a ballerina even before she was born, so when she was old enough she was put into ballet the first opportunity there was. She was always spoiled when she was younger, and her parents never really cared how well she did in school so long as she kept up with her ballet practices and skills. So when the time came that her parents did want her to do well in school, she didn't listen to what they had to say and became disobedient to those other than herself and what her ballet teacher had to teach her in class.

So for many years, she never listened to her parents, so they eventually had her twin brother, Edgar, look after her whenever they weren't around her. Seeing how they only got to see her after-school (whenever there was no ballet practice), weekends, and days off of school, her brother would be the one responsible in keeping her out of trouble due to him being with her more during the day than her parents could. She didn't like how he followed her around, and she could never do anything fun whenever he hovered over her at any time they were together and didn't like how he tried to veer her away from trouble or scolded her if she did or said anything wrong to anyone or anything...

She never really liked Edgar in the end, only seeing the need to talk to him if she needed to complain or rant about something to his disgruntlement.

Skills: Ballet dancing, belittling others, whining, is faster than everyone else, and is strong in kicking power.

Trivia: - Marley never really did have a time when she got along with Edgar.

- Marley struggles with school, and often tries to get her brother to do her homework for her... which he doesn't do and tells her to do it herself.

- Marley hates bugs and winter.

- Marley spends time with Archie, Todd, Angie, and Winnie mainly because Edgar forces her to so he can keep an eye on her at all times that he can and she doesn't really feel close to her friends.

- Due to her life mostly revolving ballet, Marley has a hard time doing anything other than ballet.

- Edgar Forester -

Age: 11

Birthday: November 10th, a few years before 201X.

Gender: Male

Hobbies: Reading, learning, doing crosswords, writing in his notebook, chess, stargazing, doing puzzles, and likes doing homework because it poses a challenge to his skills and likes to learn.

Bio: Since his parents wanted his sister to be a ballerina, they put more stress onto the fact that he had to do well in school so he could be successful in life. Unbeknownst to them, this made Edgar feel overwhelmed and frustrated that he was being treated this way. More often than her, if he failed a test or didn't do homework he would be scolded while if his sister failed a test or didn't do homework his parents wouldn't bat an eye at it. So before and even after the time that his parents gave him the task of looking after and making sure his sister did nothing bad or wrong, he was pressured to be excellent in school and represent both himself and sister to be the more mature and perfect child which he hated.

Often times, he wished he was born into some other family, but in the end had to accept that he would be the only one to keep his sister out of trouble. He always knew that his sister didn't like him, but still did whatever he could to keep her in line.

When he met Todd, he didn't exactly feel like becoming friends with the boy because he didn't like how Todd wasn't as smart as him. Eventually, he started hanging out with Todd when he was put in the same group as him during school and upon spending enough time found the boy to be easy to get along with... unlike his sister. In a way, it was relieving for him so when Todd introduced him to Angie and Archie, he put up with them because by then he knew that if Todd thought they were good people there was a chance that he could get along with them as well. Plus, he could tell Todd was a good person and respected that despite not liking how Todd wasn't as smart as himself.

Skills: High intelligence, interpretation, observance, makes good decisions, can persevere during hardship, knowledgeable, and has a knack for knowing when his sister is going to do something that shouldn't be done and stops her before she does it.

Trivia: - Doesn't like it when his notebook entries sound like diary entries.

- Edgar wants to make his mark on the world by making scientific discoveries and aiding the world however he can with his intelligence.

- Edgar wanted to be a scientist originally from learning that the knowledge he is being taught in school was from discoveries made by scientists and from the explorations that Archie put him through helped him gain a trait of curiosity and thirst for knowledge.

- Edgar wishes his sibling could look after herself without him being with her at all times, and wants her to become a better person. He cares about her despite how others perceive that he hates his sister.

- Edgar cares about his friends deeply and doesn't want anything bad happening to them... although from the frustration that his parents expect too much from him and he has to take care of his sister makes him seem as though he can hardly tolerate them.

- Winnie Fair -

Age: 7

Birthday: March 16th, a few years before 201X.

Gender: Female

Hobbies: Baking, cooking, and drawing.

Bio: When Winnie was younger, only her mother took care of her brother and her until she went back to work. But before and after her mother did, whenever her mother was cooking or baking she taught Winnie how to because of Winnie's interest in it. Winnie tends to be the one who makes meals for the family whenever her parents aren't around, and wouldn't want to give up baking or cooking for the world. And when she was still learning how to cook or bake, she used to cook or bake without properly measuring any of the ingredients so her parents or Todd had to be around her so none of her creations goes wrong. After she started measuring properly, they stopped doing that but Todd still likes watching his sister cook or bake, which Winnie is happy about because she can feed him her creations.

At a younger age, Winnie used to get bullied, and Todd didn't learn about it until he witnessed his sister get punched by the people who were bullying her. For a long time he tried to protect her after that, and tried to coax her into having her tell the teachers and principal, but Winnie didn't want to do it because she didn't want to be mean or rude to her bullies. It wasn't until Todd told his friends about what was happening that they all banded together to tell the teachers and principal about the bullying that was happening to Winnie. And in the end, Winnie's bullies were dealt with but she is still easily turned down whenever she does something wrong or is scolded about anything.

Winnie doesn't blame how her parents are never around as much as they used to be, but accepts how they are doing what they can to take care of her and her brother. Although, she wishes she could spend a bit more time with them, yet tries to make the most out of the time she does spend with her parents.

Skills: Baking, cooking, being positive in times that others may not be, making people happy, and making friends.

Trivia: - At one point, she used to call Archie 'Big Brother'.

- After the late night frying pan accident, she never wanted to be rude, be mean, or hurt her brother ever again.

- Winnie loves anything cute... If she had met a Temmie, she would have tried to convince her brother to not leave the Temmie Village.

- Winnie doesn't like the measuring aspect of cooking or baking...

- Winnie is friends with Angie's little brother, Victor. And Winnie is the only person Victor is nice to out of Todd, Angie, Edgar, Archie, and Marley due to the fact that Winnie is his friend.

- Todd's group of friends (minus Marley) like being around Winnie despite being older than her... If Winnie wasn't around, then they would talk more about stuff their age group is into. But whenever she's around, they have to be careful about topics that are not for her age...

- Winnie used to be bullied at school.

- Todd Fair -

Age: 11 (almost 12)

Birthday: September 19th, a few years before 201X

Gender: Male

Hobbies: Exploring, puzzles, reading, fishing, and spending time with friends.

Bio: Todd's father and mother often were overworked at their workplaces and almost Todd's whole life after his mother had to go back to work he had to take care of his sister. In a sense, he wished his parents were around more, but his father taught him enough for him to get by whenever they couldn't be there for their son and daughter. Todd was even given and taught how to use a revolver in case people were to break into their home or if any wildlife were to attack Todd or his sister. As much as Todd didn't want to use the revolver, he still kept it around just in case any of those things were to happen.

Todd rarely ever gets angry, but the first time he had become furious in front of his sister was when he discovered that his sibling was being bullied. When he got angry at her bullies, it made her scared of him for a long time, even when he tried to stop the bullies from hurting his sister. Despite how Todd and his friends managed to get the teachers and principal to take care of the bullies, he still feels terrible whenever he becomes angry in front of his sister. Ever since then, he's tried to not get angry easily whenever she or other people were around, as well as he feels a need to protect his sister from anything that could hurt her.

Todd is the reason why he has many good friends. Each one he met individually and eventually introduced them to Archie mainly because Archie was having a hard time making a good impression on people, and Todd just so happened to be a person people naturally liked being around and they put up with Archie until he grew on them. Since Todd is someone who's easy to get along with, it was no wonder people would want to become friends with him.

Skills: Gun training, consoling, open-minded, can get along easily with others, adapts easily to people and his surroundings, doesn't get angry easily, tolerates people easily, protectiveness, and making friends easily.

Trivia: - Todd was the one who introduced his friends to each other. He introduced Archie to Angie first, introduced Edgar to Archie and Angie, got introduced to Marley through Edgar, and eventually introduced Marley to Archie and Angie due to how Edgar wanted him to.

- Todd has to take care of his little sister for most of the time because his parents work almost all the time.

- Since Winnie is friends with Angie's little brother, Victor, he goes with his sister every time she goes to Angie's house out of concern that Victor could hurt her feelings or harm her. He doesn't like Victor, but Todd tolerates the boy and doesn't voice his annoyance about the boy while trying to be nice towards Victor. So Todd is the only one of his friends to have been to Angie's house.

- Todd can't swim. He's been taught how to swim several times, but he just has a hard time doing it. Todd wishes he could swim.

- Todd doesn't like to swear... especially if it's in front of his sister.

- Todd rarely gets angry with anyone, especially if it's his friends and family.

~ Special Supplements! ~

Arturo Aril and His Foreshadowing

When I first sat down to plan out The Fallen, when I decided to start writing it, I knew I had to come up with something that aligned with canon the best it can. Clearly, Undyne wouldn't be able to fit her role that she has in Undertale at this moment in time, and there is vague evidence (I believe) that she hasn't quite met a Human yet, so something had to be done about this.

And that was making the Captain of the Royal Guard before her.

Arturo Aril was a Monster who didn't want the war to happen, and was a peaceful Monster. But then as I went on to develop him, his intentions became crueler… and he fell out of loop of being peaceful and became unintentionally vengeful…

His name sort of relates to that, by that I mean his surname. Aril is an extra seed covering that often covers a yew seed. Why is this significant is because the aril of Arturo is a Monster who merely wishes for there to be no more bloodshred and dustshed, but in the end, this aril covers up his true nature (yew). And if you don't know, yew plants (the berries that is) are poisonous. So in a way, Asgore had 'poison' in his kingdom (his garden), and he wasn't aware of it until it was discovered and dealt with. As well, anyone like anagrams? Because if you rearrange the word Aril, you'll get another word that sums him up in Part 4 and 5… Have fun figuring it out! ;3

Anyway, Arturo Aril was the bodyguard of the Royal Family, just as his parents and ancestors were for thousands of years. In fact, his very first post as a bodyguard (when he was much younger) was for the young Prince Asgore (who was the same age as him), who felt it wasn't necessary and just wanted to be friends with Arturo. But despite how he tried to be serious about his role, Arturo became a part of Asgore's 'garden' whether he was placed in or thrived there naturally. In fact, his very weapon, a swing blade, can be used for gardening. I thought that tidbit was fun to have for his weapon choice, heh.

The final event of the War Against Humans and Monsters left him in a state of animosity and anguish… and that's one of the things that was the hardest to develop for him. The deciding factor for what it was, was hard to choose. Whether it was that the Monsters were forced into Underground and Arturo couldn't get to his son in time and was trapped Underground (or Asgore pulling Arturo Underground to save him from being killed) before he could save his son or having his son killed despite being promised that no harm would happen to his son was very crucial in deciding his motivations. Whether he truly hated Humans in the depths of his SOUL or was going to forgive them in the end but having that shattered by the death of Asgore's son was hard to decide. After all, Arturo is the last 'Boss' in The Fallen, and that had to be cemented if his 'Boss battle' and reasons for trying to kill Todd were to work.

So I have to say… Arturo was the hardest character to finalize in the story, and I do hope you agree with what I finalized in the end for his character. After all, I wanted Arturo Aril to be an impressive resident of the Underground, seeing how he was the 'final Boss' of the story. All final Bosses need to be epic and impressive, leaving an impression on you as you defeat them, right?

…

Brown Magic

This type of magic is only limited to a certain kind of Monsters, and that was the bloodline of Monsters who Arturo was related to: the Arils.

Unlike the other types of magic, Brown Magic is different to some degree. One of the crucial effects of Brown Magic involves subjecting the enemy to the Brown SOUL MODE, while the caster of the Brown Magic becomes the focal point that determines the property of the ground. As long as the caster remains still, not moving from where they are, the Brown Magic remains in effect. If they move, Brown Magic is disabled until they become still again, seeing how the caster needs to focus all their energy into the ground if Brown Magic is to work. Thus, moving and attacking requires their focus instead of the ground.

While the caster remains unaffected by the SOUL MODE moving or not moving, whoever is not the caster is affected. Their body has a difficult time processing what is going on, sort of like the body is undergoing motion sickness, so moving around will seriously screw up how the brain is processing things, making it think you're undergoing an earthquake or something, which will make it nearly impossible to attack if you need to aim accurately… So not moving is the best option… but that would make it harder to attack depending on how far away you are and what you use to attack. As well, the caster could easily kill you within two to ten minutes from the effects you are subjected to... but that depends on how much you struggle or if you're able to figure out what is actually happening to you.

The only way to attack the caster would be if the caster is moving or attacking the enemy, although it would be hard unless you were accurate with your blows.

Thus, due to the way this magic affects the ground, Monsters have dubbed this magic: Brown Magic.

...Although, Brown Magic is now extinct.

…

Why Angie's little brother didn't come

Archie didn't like Angie's little brother, Victor, and found Victor annoying. This was mostly because Victor liked telling on Angie and whatever Archie had in store, so whenever they tried to do pranks or activities that were not supposed to be doing normally they got in trouble because Victor told on them.

Thus, Archie had to be very sneaky in making sure Victor had no clue about the plan to go climb Mount Ebott. So that was why Archie had to find a way around Victor in order to tell Angie about the big plan to climb and explore the mountain… which meant he had to not tell Angie what they were doing other than she had to meet up with him and the others at the base of the mountain. Unfortunately, that meant he had to do the same with the rest of his friends, even Todd in order to not have their late night exploration exposed by Victor in case Edgar, Marley, Todd, or even Winnie mentioned the activity to each other if Victor just so happened to be eavesdropping on any of them. So, it was a hard task for Archie to do seeing how he could hardly keep his excitement about his plan to a minimum.

So Victor is known to the five group of friends as: 'Angie's annoying little brother' or as Archie likes to call him when Angie isn't around: 'the Snitch'. No one liked being near Victor (although Todd was always nice about it and didn't want to be rude to Victor), thus going to Angie's house for anything was a no go (except for Todd and Winnie). Although, Angie can't blame them for not wanting to visit her house...

…

The First Draft/ The Pilot of The Fallen
(Deleted Scenes you could say...)
(Basically, what the beginning could have been- untouched and unedited ever since I scrapped it!)
(Was cut due to not liking the characterizations or motivations or appearances or anything that I came up here!)

"Uh… b-brother… y-you burnt it again…"

Todd sighed, taking a look at his pancakes… his crispy and charred pancakes… He gave grimace as he looked at his sister, who pouted at him in return. "Look… I'm not all that great at cooking, Winnie…"

"I'm sure you will! You just need to try harder!" squeaked Winnie with quick nods, her big blue eyes flashing with alarm. "I'll show you again!"

Todd smiled a little, amused as he let his little sister take control of the frying pan. It had been hard lately, especially how their parents had to work harder lately. His father had to go into the mines earlier than usual, his mother worked at the local market… They hardly had time to take care of them, which meant he had to take care of Winnie.

Winnie was shorter than him, wearing a green t-shirt with a beige apron covering the lighter stripes of her shirt, which went down to her knees. As he watched her work her magic with the stove, her light blonde hair, held up in a ponytail, swished.

He could only sigh as he hopped onto a chair at the kitchen table; adjusting his cowboy hat his father gave him that had tipped over his dark blue eyes slightly. How could he take care of his little sister if he was inept at cooking? At least Winnie's lessons with their mother was showing up…

"Brother… you're not watching?" At once Todd stiffened, peering at his sister as her eyes watered.

"No, no…" Todd came over to her side, watching as the mixture as it solidified. "I am, I am…"

"Good!" Winnie chirped with a beam, turning her head back as she poked the half-baked pancake with a spatula. "Just watch me!"

Some days Todd felt as though Winnie was growing up faster than him.

…

"For real? Can't even make pancakes?" Archie's roar of laughter made Todd blush.

"Jeez, man!" Todd scowled as he looked away. "A bit harsh?"

"Haha… seriously! You must suck if you can't cook that!" crowed the curly, red-haired boy as he gave an impish grin. "I mean, c'mon, that is low…"

Todd grimaced, feeling Archie plop his rough hand on his shoulder as the taller boy steered him along the path. Archie was his best friend, a boy who was older than him by a year but still was bustling with enough energy and recklessness to dismantle that fact.

The taller, pale skinned boy was wearing a bright red t-shirt with a black vest. His jean shorts were cut up, probably the work of Archie himself to show his 'cool factor'. His brown eyes glinted fiercely as his mouthed worked nonstop to lecture Todd.

Today Todd decided to go with a plain yellow shirt along with his dark brown hoodless jacket, unzipped because Todd didn't feel the energy to do it up. So his jacket whipped against his dark jean pants, held up in a belt that held a hostler for the gun his father gave him as a birthday present.

"So, you wanted to talk to me about something?" asked Todd as he noticed they had left the village now.

"Yeah!" chirped Archie as trees soon surrounded them. The older boy let go of Todd as he plopped his foot against a rock and pointed towards Mount Ebott in the distance. "You see… the elders in town warned me to not go up there!"

"Uh…" Todd frowned as he looked at the grassy mountain in the distance. "Okay…?"

"So! I want you to come with me!" sharply said the red-haired boy as he beamed.

Todd awkwardly pointed at himself, tipping his head to one side. "Err… for what?"

"To explore it! Why else?"

At once Todd stiffened, taking a step back as he bit his lip. "But we're not supposed to-"

"And I've invited the others! I'm not sure about Stella, seeing how she…" Archie wiggled his fingers when he said, "'Likes to take her time'."

Todd sighed. 'Well, she has a reason to… Going up to Mount Ebott is not something I'd be excited about…'

"But Archie, I can't go up there…" Todd said curtly when Archie continued to chatter on. "I have to take care of Winnie…"

"Oh, then she could come as well!" Archie grinned as he jabbed his pointer finger at Todd.

At once Todd froze, widening his eyes. "Y-You can't be serious… Sh-She's 7…"

"And I'm 9 and you're 8…" Archie said confidently. "If we're old enough to walk around town by ourselves… we're old enough to see that mountain! I'm not scared of the elders' tale… and it's not like we're going to meet a dragon up there or anything… We can do it! Trust me, Todd…"

Todd bit his lip, letting his head drop.

"I'll see you here at 11 tonight…" Archie said with a smirk, punching Todd's shoulder as he dashed away. "Don't forget to bring Winnie!"

The dark blond haired boy could only watch as Archie was nearly back at the village. 'How could I?'