To say confusion erupted in the throne room when Glen came bursting in with Chara on her shoulders was an understatement. It was pure pandemonium.
Queen Toriel, looking quite regal in her robes, stood up straight, her face stern as her hand moved to the trident resting beside the lone throne. Undyne and Alphys were standing near the throne, though both looked shocked at Glen's appearance. Several dog-knights of varying sizes soon surrounded Glen and Chara, their voices like barks as they demanded to know how she got there and what she planned to do. A few Temmie Knights remained at their posts. The only discrepancy was the lack of Magnificent, though the structure of the castle was as such that the little skeleton might have very well gotten lost.
"Miss Glen!" Undyne said, a look of horror on her face. "I ... I told you to wait in the chapel!"
"Bad news in the chapel." Glen said, setting Chara down. "You've got an ichor problem."
"Excuse me?" Queen Toriel said in the sort of voice that usually commands fleets.
"Oh, right." Glen gave the queen a quick bow before grabbing Chara and tilting her forward in a quick approximation of the same. "Glenda Adams Soleil, call me Glen, and Chara ... uh, Anodyne Esquire. Call her ..."
"Chara." Chara said, hiding behind Glen's leg again.
"Right. Look, I don't have forever to go into it, but I've been hopping dimensions and in the last one there was this kid who had this black stuff dripping from her we started calling ichor and it's really corrosive, burns me to the touch, and has some metamorphic effect on monsters, we lost a bunch of survivors, but we managed to lock them in the lower lab and I don't know what the cause is but its really dangerous and now its here, only its in a different-"
"That's enough!" The Queen commanded, rubbing her forehead. After a few moments of silence, she looked to Undyne. "Did any of that make sense to you?"
"Er, as I was saying before her arrival, Miss Glen is an inter-dimensional traveler. You see, according to some of the literature I've collected about humans, there exists the possibility of an infinite number of-"
"I am aware of multiverse theory, Doctor." Toriel said coldly. "And for the record, your comic books are not historical accounts."
Undyne's cheeks went red. "Well, u-um, she's saying that she encountered a viscous substance in a separate reality that seemed to have a negative effect on both humans and monsters, and is now claiming to have discovered the same substance here."
Toriel's eyes fell on Glen. Glen stared back evenly, hoping to put off the impression of someone who knew what she was talking about. Granted, she spent most of her life trying to pull that off to limited success, but it was still worth a try.
"All right." Toriel said. "If this is true, what do you suggest we do about-"
"Your Majesty!" Alphys shouted, pointing behind Glen. Glen turned to see a single temmie covered in ash limping into the room. From the lack of armor and weaponry, it was clearly the Dark Temmie, only it showed no outward signs of ichor.
Chara hugged Glen's leg tighter, trembling so hard that it felt like Glen had a massager taped to her thigh. Glen watched the Temmie with narrowed eyes. She seriously doubted it was truly injured ... so what was it trying to pull?"
"Ur Majsty ..." the Dark Temmie said, looking particularly pitiful as it hobbled closer to the throne. "Last survivor; Temmie Knights in chapel all ded."
This caused a gasp throughout the room, mostly from the other Temmie Knights.
One of them in gilded armor approached the Dark Temmie. "What are you saying? Those Knights were some of our best protectors!"
"All ded." Dark Temmie said with a sob.
"But who would do such a thing?" Captain Temmie asked.
Glen realized what was happening just a second too late. Even if she hadn't, the look of victory in the Dark Temmie's eyes made the situation perfectly clear.
"Human!" Dark Temmie screeched, pointing at Glen. "Human kill Temmie Knights! Human tear off their heads and laugh, and stomp on ashes!"
"What?!" Glen said, more out of indignance than anything. "Why in the name of the Creator would I kill Temmie Knights?"
"Please ..." The dark Temmie said as it continued crawling toward the queen. "Please no let human hurt temmie. Please no let human make temmie cry."
It was one of the oldest ruses in the book ... and yet, as Glen watched Toriel and saw the mothering instincts kicking in, she realized that noting she said was going to work.
Toriel picked up her trident, her face again stern. "Human, what have you to say in your defense?"
"I say it's a crock of bull." Glen said. "That Temmie's lying! It's the source of the ichor!"
Toriel stared at the Temmie for a long moment. It continued to whimper and limp as though injured. "Human so mean! Human torture Temmie Knights, human torture me!"
"Take her." Toriel commanded. Immediately, the massive dog knight in plate armor grabed Glen's arms.
"Whoa, big guy!" Glen said, "Easy!"
He barked at Glen and proceeded to pant, the heat (and most unfortunately, smell) of his breath washing over her.
"Lord Dogamy and Lady Dogessa." Toriel commanded. "Go to the chapel and report back as soon as you can."
As the two armored dogs headed for the door, Glen called out, "Don't touch the ichor! Whatever the stuff is, it effects monsters worse than humans!"
"Your Majesty," Undyne said, sounding a little nervous. "Perhaps I should accompany them. If this ichor is real and it poses a threat, I'll need to analyze it immediately."
"Go ahead." Toriel said, nodding at her. "In the meantime, I'll deal with the humans."
Undyne's eyes flashed to Glen's, concern in their yellow depths. Sighing, Glen nodded.
Toriel waited until the dog knights and Undyne were gone before looking at Glen. Trident in hand, she said, "You are accused of murdering my people, humans. If you have anything further to say, I suggest you do so quickly."
Chara hugged Glen's leg tightly. "M-miss Glen."
"It's all right, little one." To the queen, Glen said, "Chara has nothing to do with this. She has harmed no one; even if you find me guilty, I ask that you show her mercy; you only need one more soul, and if you're gonna kill me, you don't need to harm her."
"She is ... your child?"
"No, but I will defend her as my own if it comes to that."
Toriel met Glen's gaze with silence. After a long pause, she nodded. "Chara will not be harmed. What's more, should you be found guilty, I will protect her in your stead."
Had it been anyone but Toriel, Glen might have doubted the sincerity of her words. "Thank you, your Majesty."
Toriel turned to Alphys and said, "Captain Alphys; there is a spare room beside that of my wayward son; would you please take the child there?"
Alphys didn't look happy, but she only said, "Your Majesty." and stomped toward Glen and Chara. Chara shook her head.
"I wanna stay with Miss Glen." Chara said stubbornly.
"Chara." Glen said, kneeling beside the little girl. "It's okay. I'll be okay, you'll see."
"But ..." she shot a worried look at Alphys before cupping her hands and whispering, "She scares me."
"What, Alphys?" Glen said, feigning surprise. "Nah, she's just a big teddy bear. It's just for a little while, anyway."
'That's what mom said." Chara told Glen, hanging her head.
Glen felt her heart ache for the little girl. "Hey; look at me."
When Chara's red eyes met hers, Glen put her rune hand over the child's hand, the rune briefly glowing.
"I''ll be back." Glen promised. "And I promise by the end of the day, you'll have a family again ... even if it's just me."
Chara stared at Glen for a moment before throwing her arms around Glen. As Glen patted her back, she heard Chara say, "Frisk wants you to be careful too."
"I will." Glen said, smoothing her hair. Leaning a little closer, she added, "Now get somewhere safe."
Sniffing, Chara slowly approached Alphys, who gave her what she must've thought was a friendly grin. With a final look at Glen, Chara followed the lizard lady out of the room.
Queen Toriel stared at Glen for a long time before nodding at the dog guard. "Bring her."
Toriel led the Greater Dog and Glen out of the throne room. After passing through a few nondescript rooms, Toriel opened a massive door to reveal the now-familiar passage to the surface. The magic of the barrier swirled in the air, its resonant energy setting Glen's hair on end.
"You are dismissed." Toriel said, not turning around.
"Your Majesty?"
"You may return to the throne room." Toriel said firmly.
The dog knight nervously saluted and swiftly departed.
Glen and Toriel stood at the barrier in silence for at least a full minute.
"For the record, I understand." Glen said.
"What do you understand?" Toriel asked, still not looking at her.
"That it doesn't matter if I'm guilty or innocent. You need my soul to free your people."
Toriel turned her head toward Glen slightly and regarded her for a moment before nodding. "My people have waited so long already. They deserve to be free."
"Like I said, I understand." Glen said. "I'm not even angry. I'll have to put up a fight, of course."
"Of course." Toriel let out a deep sigh, her eyes on her trident. She raised it a few feet before stopping and lowering it back to the floor. She met Glen's gaze.
"You could pass through the barrier." She said. "You'll need the soul of a monster."
"No, I don't. I don't want to pass through the barrier, Toriel, and despite what that ichor-infested creature says, I'm not here to kill you." Glen said. "I'm not here to kill anyone. Oh, I'll fight, and I'll defend myself, but I know you, Toriel. Well, I know a Toriel, and because of that, I know you don't want this either. If you had another option, you'd take it in a second."
"Gladly." She said. "But what option do I have?"
Glen looked at the barrier. It was powerful, yes, but Glen had been one of the thirteen to stop the Epitimus Incident. She was also functionally immortal; even the mightiest barrier would have to fall eventually.
"Give me time to examine the barrier." Glen said. "Post guards if it makes you and yours feel safe. I'm sure I can find a way to break it without hurting anyone else if you'll just give me the chance."
"A chance." Toriel repeated thoughtfully. "And ... if you succeeded ..."
"When I succeed, I'll introduce you and yours to the surface world. I'll get in touch with whatever government is in charge and do everything in my power to make your integration into the human world as smooth as possible."
"But why?" Toriel asked, genuine confusion in her eyes. "Why do all this for us?"
"Because I've had a chance to get to know a lot of your people since arriving here." Glen said with a smile. "Sans and Papyrus, Rahnna, Mister Kidd, Undyne and Alphys, and so many more. Your people are kind, friendly, and they don't deserve to be imprisoned down here anymore. They probably didn't even deserve it to begin with."
Toriel seemed to be considering Glen's words when loud shouting made the bossun queen's eyes shift to the passage through which they'd arrived. It wasn't fighting; the monsters seemed to be shouting in warning.
Toriel's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness." She breathed.
Glen turned as something horrid stepped into the passage. Gleaming ichor covered the writhing surface of a horrid misshapen creature that lumbered forward on five legs. All across its skin, the faces of the fallen Temmie-Knights could be seen, all showing signs of great pain. Atop the beast stood the Dark Temmie, ichor dripping from its eyes and mouth as it cackled.
"Oh no, help Temmie, temmie so small and hurt!" Dark Temmie dropped the sickeningly sweet voice to let out another laugh. "Idiots."
"What are you?" Queen Toriel asked, clearly horrified. "What have you done with my guards?"
"Ah, your Majesty!" Dark Temmie gave a mocking bow before laughing again. "You're the biggest idiot of them all. Your people imprisoned, and you still can't do what's necessary to save them. If you had, I wouldn't have had to die to try and free us myself. Your pathetic guards are fine; I covered the floor with ichor, but they listened to the human's warning. I was counting on it."
"You?" Toriel asked. "But who ..."
"Me and Frisk. It should've been so simple; merge our souls after my unfortunate passing, then pass the barrier and simply take the other six. The world out there had completely forgotten magic; it would've been easy pickings ... but Frisk, that little goodie two-shoes, she wouldn't let me harm a fly. She had to go to Ebott and ask for help. It got her killed, and me consigned to this ... this ... pathetic form."
Shaking his head, Dark Temmie said, "Give me the souls, and maybe I'll let you and the human live. Don't, and I'll infect every monster in the Underground with this ..." Dark Temmie looked at Glen with a twisted smile. "... ichor."
"Your Majesty!"
Glen and Toriel turned to see the Magnificent Sans run through the door. He wasn't alone; Asriel was with him too. They both carried what appeared to be a lunchbox with a large horn on it. They weren't horns, however; they were halogen bulbs. Glen barely had time to cover her eyes before Sans and Asriel blasted the light at the Dark Temmie and the Temalgamate.
The Dark Temmie screamed in pain punctuated by the cries from the Temalgamate. The beast thrashed about, quickly knocking off its mount.
"Asriel?" Queen Toriel said, recognition in her eyes. "You ... you came-"
"No time, your Majesty!" Sans said. Indeed, the light of the halogen bulbs was already flickering. "We need to get back to the throne room!"
"NO!" The Dark Temmie screamed. Ichor surged from it, enveloping the Temalgamate. The mass of merged Temmies surged to the door, right toward Sans and Asriel, who managed to leap out of the way just in time.
"NONE OF YOU ARE LEAVING!" The Dark Temalgamate rose from the floor, now resembling one massive Temmie with dozens of ichorous paws. "YOU'RE ALL GONNA HAVE A BAD TEM!"
"Oh, hell." Glen said, wishing again that she had Headache.
Her eyes widened as she felt her rune pulse in response to her thoughts. "Oh, no." She said, "Not like that. Not here, not now!"
It was too late; the ground was already shaking. Magnificent and Toriel looked confused, but Asriel met Glen's gaze, fully aware of what was about to happen moments before the massive metal form of the Mechawyrm erupted from the ground.
. It was bigger now, much bigger; it took up a third of the room, its massive coils brushing up against the barrier.
The Dark Temalgamate screamed at it before puking a stream of ichor at the Mechawyrm ... but the Mechawyrm was only a construct. The ichor splashed harmlessly off the Mechawyrm and fell to the ground, no more thick or viscous than water.
With a roar, the Mechawyrm dove at the Dark Temalgamate, its massive metal jaws open wide. Glen was sure it would pulverize the Dark Temmie, but was astonished when several of the Dark Temalgamate's paws caught the metal jaws and held them fast.
Glen hurried over to Magnificent and Asriel. "The flashlights!"
"They're burnt out!" Asriel said. "I didn't have much time to throw them together."
"Let me see!"
They handed over the inactive flashlights. Glen set them on the ground and went to work, checking connections, making repairs, and finally channeling her Dreamer power into both of the batteries. The lamps flared to life moments later.
"Focus them on the Temmie!" Glen said before moving away from them.
"But what about the giant metal snake?" Magnificent asked.
"You let me worry about that!" Under her breath, she added, "It was my fault, after all."
Glen started with the coils; the Mechawyrm was busy fighting the Dark Temalgamate, so the end of its body was currently not moving. Glen's eyes danced across the Mechawyrm's long body for some sign of Headache.
The flashlights were having an effect; the ichor was slowly falling away from the Dark Temalgamate, sometimes taking large chunks with them. These chunks hit the floor of the cavern with a series of splats. Some gradually turned to ash, but a few actually coalesced into temmies.
The Dark Temalgamate tried to reabsorb the temmies, but the Queen was not having that. Her fire sent the dark creature running more than the Mechawyrm, the light of the flames just as bad as that of the halogen lamps. She picked up the small bodies of the Temmies and carried them to safety before leaping bravely back into the fray to rescue more.
The smaller the Dark Temalgamate got, the less it was able to resist the Mechawyrm's assault until finally, the Dark Temmie was unable to keep the jaws of the Mechawyrm from slowly closing around it. With a final whimper from the Dark Temmie, the jaws slammed shut.
"Ha ha!" Magnificent said, pumping his flashlight in the air. "The Magnificent Sans is victorius!"
"It's not over yet!" Asriel said, eyes wide. "Look!"
The Mechawyrm slowly turned its gaze on the small figures below it. It was hard to tel what the machine could be thinking or feeling, but there was no doubt as to what was about to happen when it opened its now-empty jaws wide.
The two bossun, the skeleton, and the temmies flew in all directions as the Mechawyrm slammed into the ground, this time tearing a massive hole in the ground.
"Glen!" Asriel called out, "We need that music gun!"
"Good thinking!" Glen tried to call another dubstep gun. Unfortunately, while it was a simple matter in a parts-laden environment like the Junkyard, there were no parts in the area near the barrier save those of the Mechawyrm, and they didn't respond.
The ground rumbled shortly before the Mechawyrm tore its way through the ground once again. It coiled around itself and rose, mouth opening to attack.
"This is why you put failsafes in things you make." Glen grumbled, her mind briefly thinking of the crotchedy old rimstakken she'd mentored under back on Vinta.
She froze. Failsafe. Security failsafe. The Mechawyrm didn't have a failsafe ... but Headache did.
"Headache: Action code forty-seven!" She bellowed as loud as her lungs could manage. "Authorization turbo-cheesecake!"
The Mechawyrm's head shot down to strike, only to suddenly be pulled off-target as one of the body segments near the head slammed against the ground at an odd angle, pulled by the massive increase in the Headache units weight. Glen rushed over to the segment on the floor and spotted part of Headache partially integrated into the body of the Mechawyrm.
She tried in vain to pull away the parts covering her gear, but the metal was stuck fast by whatever force held the Mechawyrm together.
"Asriel! NO!" Toriel shouted.
Glen looked up to see Asriel leaping onto the body segment, the metal rod he used for poking through garbage on his back. Glen took it and jammed it under some of the parts obscuring Headache. Together they managed to pry the metal loose.
"Almost there." Glen said, pointing to the partially-covered arm-hole of one of the units before jamming the rod under the scrap covering it. Before they could pry it loose, however, they found themselves rising through the air. The Mechawyrm was adapting to the increased mass of Headache.
It tried to shake the two beings from its body, but Glen and Asriel were holding on to the metal rod with everything they had. The movement did make the metal scrap loosen, however.
"Just a little more." Glen said, tugging at the last piece of scrap with her bare hand until it finally gave way and clattered to the floor of the cavern. Glen wasted no time jamming her arm into Headache. She felt a surge of relief as the inside sleeve tightened around her arm.
"Oh yeah!" She said, yanking the restored unit free from the Mechawyrm. "One down, one to go!"
The Mechawyrm let out a metal scream. Without warning, it shot for the barrier at full force.
The Mechawyrm wasn't a monster or a human; it could probably pass the barrier without problem. Unfortunately, the barrier would repel both Glen and Asriel, and at their current height, that would have been problematic.
Glen grabbed Asriel's arm with her unarmed hand. Her plan was to leap away and hopefully latch the grapple on something closer than the cavern floor. The partial Inverse Harmonius rune on her left hand, however, had other plans. Glen felt her body go rigid as power flowed into the fragment of the Inverse Harmonius, forming a shimmering bubble around her and Asriel.
The mechawyrm passed through the barrier, as did Asriel and Glen, the shimmering bubble vanishing moments after they passed.
"All right." Glen said, shaking off the weirdness that just happened. "Let's finish this!"
She dug her Headache-equipped hand into the metal scrap of the Mechawyrm, yanking out metal scrap and machine fragments until she was able to finally tear her other Headache unit out of the Mechawyrm.
Apparently, since Headache was the source of its creation, the absense of Headache spelled the end of the mechanical monstrosity. Robbed of the dream energy feeding it, the Mechawyrm slammed to the ground, writhing even as it fell into its individual parts. In a matter of moments, all that remained was a mass of junk.
Asriel and Glen looked at each other for moment in shock before leaping up as one and shouting with excitement over their victory.
"Oh, yeah!" Glen said, pointing at the remains of the Mechawyrm. "That's what you get for messin' with a Dreamer, rust-face!"
"We did it! We did it!" Asriel sang.
"Asriel!"
Glen and Asriel stopped their moment of jubilation to look at Toriel ... still on the other side of the barrier.
Asriel's eyes went wide as he slowly turned the other way, to the end of the tunnel.
"You're all right!" Toriel said, in tears. "Oh, thank heavens!"
"And you're past the barrier!" Magnificent said, his sockets as wide as they could go. "How'd ya do that?"
Glen glanced at the fragment of the Inverse Harmonius. "I don't know. It just kinda happened."
"Well, can you make it happen again?" Magnificent asked excitedly, fists clenched. "I bet it's a beautiful day outside!"
Glen closed her eyes and held out the Inverse Harmonius. She tried to push the power of the Anti-ka Maru to it, but the Inverse Harmonius shard felt ... well, dead.
"Glen?" Asriel said.
Glen shook her head. "I musta burned it out or something; it's only part of the rune, after all."
Looking at Toriel, Glen said, "But don't worry. Now that I'm past the barrier, my options are open. Hogwarts, Centers of Knowledge, Aperture Science ... I've got a million places that might have a solution. I just need to-"
Asriel tapped Glen's shoulder. Glen turned to find the young Dreemurr staring at the end of the passage, where a small group of armed individuals in what looked like armored hazard suits were swiftly moving toward them. Among them were strange hunched creatures with two glowing red eyes placed vertically with the larger on the bottom. They didn't wear cloths, though in truth they were so alien that Glen didn't know what they might have to be modest about.
The men and women spread out, as did the red-eyed creatures. One woman approached Glen, a strange weapon in her arms. From the white stripes present on her armor, Glen guessed she was some kind of authority.
After staring at Glen and even longer at Asriel, she raised the device.
"No!" Toriel cried out. "No, don't hurt my son! Please! I beg you, please-"
"Please stand aside." The woman said.
"I beg your pardon?" Glen said, surprised.
"You and your friend are in the way. We can't bring down the barrier until you step out of the way."
Asriel's eyes went wide. Before he could ask anything, however, Glen clapped a hand over his mouth and pulled him off to the side of the cavern. Once there, he called out, "Queen Toriel! Magnificent! Temmie Knights! Stand clear of the barrier!"
The woman with the strange weapon gave Glen and Asriel an appreciative nod and promptly fired a stream of blue energy at the barrier.
"Vortigaunts!" She called out.
The strange red-eyes creatures raised their hands in unison and chanted in a strange alien tongue. Glen watched in amazement as streams of energy flowed from the aliens' hands, merging with the blue beam. She could feel the barrier beginning to break down. It just needed one more little push.
Glen raised her right hand and focused her thoughts on bringing down the barrier. Even within Headache, her rune reacted and shot thin beams of light at the barrier. In a matter of moments, a loud crack shot through the air, followed by another. With the sound of shattering glass, the barrier finally gave way, the magical energy immediately dispelling.
Toriel stepped slowly across the barrier, her eyes wide as she crossed the threshold.
"Congratulations." Glen said as she approached. "You're free."
She took a few more steps before breaking into a run. Glen quickly stepped back before she ran through her to reach her son, whom she pulled into a tight embrace.
"Mom." He said, embarrassed but smiling.
"Shh." She said, smiling as well. "Just ... just let me your mother one more time."
"You're always his mother, Tori." Said a deep voice. Glen turned to see Asgore hand in hand with little Chara, joined by Papyrus, Alphys, and Undyne, as well as some of the dog guards.
"Asgore ..." Toriel whispered, releasing Asriel as he drew near. She looked like she wanted to embrace him, but only blushed and looked away.
"Asgore, I ... I was a fool. I should never have-"
"Shh." The large bossun said, pulling his wife into his massive arms. "It's okay. It'll all be okay now."
After a few moments, he pulled away and put his hand on Chara's shoulder. "I see you met Chara. Little scamp snuck out of old home while I was sleeping. Still, I know you always wanted a daughter, so I was thinking maybe she could-"
"Yes!" Toriel said, hugging the little girl. "Of course, you can live with us!"
Chara peeked over Toriel's shoulder to look at Glen. Smiling, Glen gave her the thumbs up. Chara beamed and hugged Toriel back.
Seeing the family reunited was enough to bring a tear to Glen's eye. Sighing happily, she wiped her eyes and turned to the leader of the rescue team."
"Don't know how you knew they were down here, don't know how you figured out how to break the barrier." Glen said, "But I'm damn glad you did."
The woman accepted the praise with a stoic-faced nod. "The woman with white fur ... she is the leader?"
Glen glanced back at Toriel, Asgore, and Asriel. They were smiling and talking now; a family reunited. "Yup. Queen Toriel Dreemurr. Good queen; just hit desperate circums- hey, where are you going?"
The woman was already approaching the Royal family. Glen followed, unsure of her intentions.
"Queen Toriel Dreemurr?" The woman asked.
Toriel nodded, an uncertain look on her face.
"I am Captain Marcela Price." After a moment's hesitation, Captain price knelt before Toriel. "I am at your mercy."
"What?" Toriel said, eyes wide.
"A decade ago, one of your people came to the surface to ask us for help. I was a young cadet then, eager to prove myself against the Combine and ... and one day, I'm on patrol and I see a little girl with horns hovering over a friend of mine."
Her cheeks flushed, Captain Price said, "I acted without considering the context ... I shot her. We never found the body, but the amount of blood ... I know she couldn't have survived."
"You killed Frisk." Asriel said.
After a short pause, Captain Price nodded. "Yes. My friend ... he told me later that the girl had simply surprised him, that she just wanted our help to free her people. She came to us for help, and I shot her."
"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Glen said. "You brought down the barrier to make up for that mistake."
"I can't bring that little girl back." Captain Price said, "but I could complete her mission. It took years, especially with the war against the Combine, but we finally found a way to compensate for the unusual energy of the field and ..."
She stopped herself and said, "But the fact remains I killed one of your people ... and I'm prepared to answer for that."
Toriel slowly knelt in front of the woman and took her hands. "I know what it is to suffer because of one's mistakes, Marcela, and I'm sad to say there is innocent blood on my hands as well, all because I let anger and grief cloud my judgment."
Looking at Asgore as he put his hand on her shoulder, she said, "But if my husband and son can forgive me for the pain I caused them and others, I too must show forgiveness. What you've done may not bring them back, but it has given their death meaning. They left the Underground to save us all ... and they succeeded … and so did you."
The Queen of the Underground embraced the human. Glen couldn't help but think that moment would define the relations between humans and monsters far into the future. Asriel looked ... complicated. Still, even he apparently couldn't find it in his heart to hold on to anger in light of the day's events. When Tori introduced him with her family, Asriel shook her hand.
Satisfied that all was reasonably well, Glen approached one of the other human soldiers and gave him a quick nod. "Got the time?"
The man tapped the side of his head, a holo-display flashing over his eyes for a moment. "Five minutes till six."
"AM or PM?"
"AM, ma'am."
"Thank you." Clapping her hands, Glen called out, "All right, everyone, the sun's gonna be rising in a few minutes. Everyone who wants to see it, follow me!"
Glen reached the end of the cavern first and waited as everyone else walked by her; the extended Dreemurr family, Sans and Papyrus now joined by Rahnna, a nervous Undyne hand in hand with Alphys, and a whole bunch of temmie knights in hastily retrieved blue and yellow undershirts. As the soldiers and the vourtigaunts (surprisingly friendly beings, Glen thought to herself as they bowed their heads her way upon passing), Glen noticed the guard she asked for the time was remaining behind.
A sudden question popped into her head; who was the friend Frisk was going to see? Who was the friend that Captain Price thought was in trouble, the friend who suggested she take Frisk's mission to atone?
As if sensing her thoughts, the soldier pulled off his right glove and raised his hand, the back of his hand facing her so she could see the glowing Anti-ka Maru. Smiling, he held a finger to his lips and promptly vanished.
A grin slowly stole across Glen's face. Turning to join the others, she called out, "Hey! Wait for me!"
