Chapter Text
Years after the Watchers of the Delta Rune were disbanded, and years after the Ten-Year Treaty became law, life still went on.
Children were born, grew up, and had families of their own. Adults aged and passed on. Time never stopped, even if those within it did.
Alphys knew this very well, especially when she looked into the eyes of her second daughter.
Dandelion was a strange child, at least compared to her sister. Alphys didn't really like comparing the two - it didn't seem very fair - but she couldn't help herself at times.
It didn't escape her notice just how much Dandelion looked like her. While Basket seemed to be an almost perfect blend of herself and Undyne, with only a few exceptions, Dandelion looked very much like her. She was short, round, and was even more yellow than green. Though she had Undyne's red hair and her fan-shaped ears, as well as her piercing eyes (though where Undyne's eyes were yellow, hers were white), slender hands and feet, and a very short tail, her face was definitely more like Alphys.
It was strange to look into the face of your daughter and see so much of yourself. It was even stranger to be able to discover a core aspect about yourself through that very same face - one equally shared.
Another thing that struck Alphys was just how quiet Dandelion could be. She didn't cry as often as Basket had, and when she did, the volume was almost half of what Basket could utter. She also had a strange penchant to always need to know where Alphys was, at any time. Her sharp eyes would follow her mum wherever she went, and if Alphys left the room - even in the company of Undyne - Dandelion would fuss as if Alphys had left the country. Basket had fussed, yes, but certainly not to that degree - and never over Alphys, alone.
That wasn't to say that she didn't love Undyne. On the contrary: she and Undyne got along rather well, especially those first few weeks while Alphys was still incredibly weak. Undyne was her playmate; the first time she smiled was with her, and the first time she shrieked out her laughter was because of her. Undyne, in turn, loved Dandelion to her very soul, calling her "Lioness" because of how fierce she could look when she wanted or needed something. Undyne loved the way Dandelion followed Alphys around, be it with just her eyes, or, once she learnt to crawl, literally. She saw it as a good sign, though Alphys didn't really understand why.
As Undyne worked, Alphys developed a routine with Dandelion. She'd sleep in as much as she could until she heard Dandelion wake up, then she'd be at her side and scoop her from her cradle and into her arms. Dandelion immediately clung to her, becoming calm as soon as she saw her mum.
Alphys's heart always felt too big for her chest at these moments, so surprised that she could evoke such a reaction from anyone, least of all a baby.
She carried Dandelion, humming under her breath as she did, something her daughter seemed to love, despite how badly her voice would crack or miss notes. Then, as she would offer a breast to Dandelion, she herself would eat breakfast, watching the news to update herself on everything going on.
After that, she would spend the day with Dandelion, going out for walks, reading to her and playing with her, until Undyne came home and scooped her up. giving Alphys a bit of respite until the evening.
On this day, this routine was broken, and was likely for the best, as it gave everyone involved a much needed head-start.
In over three decades, the city seemed to finally have found its equilibrium with humans and monsters. More and more, there was evidence of the growing peace between the two races - including children.
With Nickname, there seemed to be a kind of permission that soon flooded the populace - especially later, when Athena and Darian Reden had their son, Dawnson, over a decade later. Soon, it wasn't uncommon for there to be hybrids everywhere. Frisk even had an edict passed to grant them duel citizenship, though by now, the Underground wasn't very populated.
On this particular day, Alphys watched with interest as they discussed Nickname, now. True to her dreams - and character - she had become a diplomat, one that smoothed over relations between monsters who wished to travel beyond the city and out into the world. She was incredibly good at the job, and had helped Basket and Olceal on more than one occasion when trouble arose.
Basket was especially flourishing with this development, as well as one she now shared with Alphys: despite how late they both learnt the truth about themselves, it was no surprise to arrive at the fact that they were both on the autism spectrum, Alphys especially. But it was a strength, one they shared and thrived within, as it had answered many of their own confused, life-long questions
It used to feel strange, seeing her friends on TV in such an intimate way. Now, however, she found herself rather expecting it. They couldn't escape the fact that their lives were rather open, having done what they did - especially when it came to Frisk and Asriel, and Toriel and Asgore. Nickname was just one of many of those results that warranted more discussion.
Though Alphys had to admit, on this day, she did find it strange that they were focusing specifically on Nickname and her work outside of the city.
Dandelion pulled away from her breast and squirmed a little, so Alphys picked her up and held her up, patting her back gently as she continued to watch. Dandelion's small hands clung to her as she was patted, and it oddly always seemed to comfort Alphys when she did that. Basket had always been in a hurry when it came to burping; for her, there was always so much more to do.
Alphys's eyes stayed on the screen, however, as now she was suddenly interested in what they were saying.
"There has been some speculation that former politician Carlson is up for parole based on good behaviour in the next few weeks, likely as early as next week. Carlson, as we remember, was a major instigator in a series of planned attacks on Ambassador Frisk Dreemurr - and later, her daughter, Diplomat Nickname Dreemurr - that almost led to the loss of their lives. He will be up for review in the upcoming week, but despite his seemingly good behaviour, it does appear doubtful that he will be granted parole."
Alphys closed her eyes and relaxed, sighing deeply. It was at this moment that Dandelion burped, and she held her closer, stroking her red hair gently as she did.
The last that Alphys ever wanted was that horrible man back in their lives, especially now with Dandelion in her life.
She shuddered a little, remembering that terrifying afternoon in which she was attacked and left for dead, and Basket's screams were all she could hear...
She kept her eyes closed, holding Dandelion closer and burying her face into her wispy hair.
She didn't want that to happen again. Ever.
She hoped that the parole board would change its mind, or at least realise the mistake they were likely to make. Carlson was not a young man anymore, but whatever years he had left were sure to be spent making the lives around him miserable.
And she didn't want that, ever.
There was a sudden knock at her door, startling both her and Dandelion into looking up and toward the sound. Carefully, she shifted Dandelion to her hip, did up her housecoat, and went to it, peering out first before she answered it, surprised.
"sans," she greeted, unable to hide the confusion from her voice. "Hello. What are you doing here so early? I-I haven't even showered yet."
"you saw the news, right?" he said without preamble, his eyes hard.
"E-er," she shifted Dandelion closer, who was watching sans with sharp eyes. "Y-yes, just now."
She opened the door wider and gestured for him to come in, and he did, his hands in his pockets and his face grim.
"he's gonna get out," sans said flatly.
Alphys blinked at him, dread lancing her gut. She knew that sans didn't make proclamations like these easily.
"H-how can you know that, sans?" she wondered shakily, leading him to the living room less out of manners and more because she now needed to sit down. Dandelion curled up into her lap, contented and rather sleepy now that she had just eaten, and Alphys held her close. "Y-you know Frisk and Asriel w-won't let that happen."
"i don't think they're going to have much of a say in this," sans replied grimly, sitting on the couch, his eyes on Dandelion, who stared back at him sleepily.
"B-but he tried to kill Frisk. Three times. And Undyne. And he tried to kill Nicky. And me. That's rather hard to ignore."
"but the asshole has money, alphys, even after almost twenty years in jail. and he has friends." sans looked angry at the entire prospect, let alone the fact that he was saying it at all. "he'll get out, and we need a plan."
Alphys hesitated. "Wh-why did you come to me, first, sans?" she asked shakily.
His eyes moved up to hers. "because you know what's on the line if he gets out."
Alphys's eyes lowered to Dandelion, and she held her closer, shaking a little, now.
"there are no more watchers, no more protection," sans went on flatly. "yeah, i can still use my power, but i have no idea if it'll be enough anymore. these assholes are proving harder and harder to get rid of. we need a plan. we need to assume he'll get out, and we need to figure out what to do the moment he does."
"But we haven't had a threat in years, sans," Alphys couldn't help but protest. "Short of the occasional rude letter, there hasn't been a serious attempt on any of us in all of this time."
"alphys," sans sighed. "frisk turns forty-five next month."
"Yes, I know."
"do you really think they've been sitting around doing nothing for all of this time? it'll be thirty-five years since the barrier broke. they're going to try something, and they're just waiting for their ringleader to be free so that they can start. it's amazing they didn't do it five years ago. now we know why."
"But nothing happened after twenty years, or even twenty-five--,"
"except that frisk and the weed got waves of death threats and wore bullet-proof vests for a month," sans interrupted. It was true, after all. "you know what they're capable of, alphys. you have the scars to prove it. and this is a guy who managed to manipulate both monsters and humans before they even liked each other. how easy do you think it'll be now?"
She swallowed hard, her eyes getting a steel glint to them. "Very," she admitted. "Let me talk to Undyne. You should talk to Frisk and Asriel."
sans nodded, slowly rising to his feet. "i wouldn't bother you this way if it wasn't serious."
"I know," she agreed, meaning it.
She walked him out, then leaned against the closed door, shutting her eyes tight and holding her daughter to her chest, still shaking. By then, Dandelion was asleep, and Alphys was glad for it; it was then that Alphys started to weep.
Nickname sighed, rubbing her forehead. She was struggling over one of the many stacks of paperwork that she needed to get done before the day was, and it was stressing her out, despite the day having just begun. She hadn't had enough coffee and had had no time for breakfast, and she felt odd on top of it.
She had a sudden urge for her mother, though she didn't really know why.
At twenty-four, Nicky was as accomplished as her mother had been, albeit to a lesser degree. Though similar to her mother's position, her job as diplomat was nowhere near as taxing or bogged down with as many responsibilities. Frisk, as Ambassador, had the load of a diplomat as well as several others added along, and Nicky often found herself wondering how her mother could possibly deal with all of it at all, let alone starting from age ten, let alone seem to enjoy it.
Granted, she had Asriel's help, and though Asriel wasn't exactly the calm sort, he was definitely a politician, by blood as well as by appointment. Both of her parents weren't really seen as politicians, however: they were seen as something more than that, likely due to their lack of corruption and the amount they were willing to sacrifice for their peoples.
The shoes were rather large to fill, and Nicky knew she could never truly fill them, but that didn't stop her from trying her hardest.
Yet she still couldn't shake the strange feeling within her. Something was wrong, but when she looked to her notes, she didn't see anything amiss.
With a scratch to her head, she grabbed her phone and texted her cousin.
"Bassy, is everything okay?"
There was a pause, likely due to the time of day where Basket was, but she did eventually get a reply back, though it was evident that Nicky had woken her up.
"yeah. whats wrong? everything ok? mum and mom ok?"
Nicky hesitated. "Sorry, I'll text you later on, when it's a better time."
"ffs, nicks. spill. whats wrong"
"I'm not sure. Something feels off. Everything is okay where you are?"
"too fuckin hot, no ac, but other than that, peachy. want me to call you later?"
Nicky agreed, and left her alone after that. Clearly, whatever was wrong was all on her side. So, she decided to check online, figure out if she was just truly caffeine-deprived, or that her senses on her monster side were trying to warn her of something.
As a half-monster, Nicky had some magic, but no where near the same capacity as her full-blooded friends. What she got instead was akin to a strong kind of intuition, almost a sixth sense of perception that very rarely proved wrong.
Although, to be fair, she truly wished she was wrong, this time, and that it was lack of coffee or breakfast.
Reading the headlines, however, proved that she had been right to be afraid. She covered her mouth, reading quickly over the news about Carlson's upcoming parole review, and she knew it as fact that this was the source of her discomfort.
She didn't remember too much about the man. All she knew had come from her family, especially her father. She remembered very vaguely some memories of a time in which her life had been in danger, and she'd been protected by her family during that time because of him.
She also remembered when, a year later, Carlson was finally put in jail and her father was so happy he got drunk - his first and last time, she remembered fondly.
But she also knew that he was the one that had almost killed her mother - thrice - and had almost killed her aunts Undyne and Alphys.
She knew enough to hate the man, even though she'd never met him.
So to learn, now, that there was a chance that he was about to be free from prison, she felt a snake of fear uncurl within her gut and begin to slither its way up her spine.
No good could come from this.
With shaking hands, she picked up her phone and dialled a number.
Asriel was eyeing a stubborn shrub, Asgore beside him and doing the same. It was one that, no matter how many times both of them tried, would never seem to obey simple instructions. It grew oddly, and could never be sculpted, and randomly either flowered weird misshapen flowers or simple just stood there and stank, though neither of them knew how or why.
"This is stupid," Asriel growled. "Let's just get rid of it."
Asgore stared at him in shock. "Asriel, that's not fair! Just because it doesn't meet our standards doesn't mean it should be removed. We just... haven't found the right methods yet."
Asriel opened his mouth to reply caustically when his phone rang. Blinking, he grabbed it, saw it was Nicky, and answered it right away.
"Howdy!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Howdy, Papi!" Nicky replied. "Got a second?"
"For you, anything!" Asriel replied, happy for the distraction.
He waved to Asgore and went to the side to take the call, leaving his father eyeing the shrub critically. "What do I owe for this lovely surprise?"
"Papi," Nicky said, her voice sounding strained. "Have you heard the news lately?"
He paused, sudden worry filling him. "What do you mean? Is everyone okay?"
"Papi, Carlson is up for parole."
Asriel went numb for a moment. He knew she wasn't lying, which was why he suddenly found himself close to a faint. Flashes of memory hurtled into him from behind his eyes, and he covered them with a shaking hand, lowering his head.
"No," he murmured. "That can't be true. He was supposed to be jailed for life."
"He's being reviewed based on good behaviour, Papi. It has been over fifteen years, after all."
He knew. He loved this country that he lived in, loved the people and the beauty of it. But he often found himself loathing the justice system and how confused and dilapidated it could be at times. He knew that those sentenced to life in prison had the chance for parole as early as fifteen years later, but he had hoped that Carlson had been corrupt enough to not deserve it.
Apparently, he was wrong.
"Does your mother know, yet?" he asked softly, trying to keep calm.
"I don't know," Nicky admitted, sounding as if she were doing the same. They were very alike, after all. "I almost don't want to tell her. Where is she working today?"
"Underground," Asriel said. "She wanted to visit the remaining communities still living there, especially now with the human population over a third of it. Do you think the Underground knows, yet?"
"I hope not," Nicky said sadly. "She deserves to hear it from us."
"I'll call her. You keep doing your job, Nicky, okay?" Asriel paused, rubbing his eyes. "Try not to think about it for too long. It won't help. Just do what you do best, and we'll face it when we need to. Do you know when the hearing is?"
"They're scheduling it for..." She paused, clearly reading. "A week from now at the earliest."
"Okay. Thank you, honey. I'll keep you posted. And Nicky?"
"Yes, Papi?"
"Thank you for telling me. I'm glad it was you."
"Me, too," she agreed.
Frisk still loved the Underground.
Though different, now, it was still a cathartic place for her, one that never lost its sense of comfort and peace.
It had taken years for the place to be smoothed over enough so that humans could live here without fear on either side, but once it had, it was so wonderful to see. The Underground attracted people who wanted their lives to be slowed down, quiet and without the constant rush of the surface, and that was exactly what it was like. It was a popular retirement place, as well as a place for raising children (though they still went to school on the surface).
She loved it here.
She was just entering the Ruins to visit the quiet folk there when her phone rang. Bemused, she saw it was Asriel and answered it with a smile.
"Hello, sweetie," she greeted. "How are you?"
"Frisk," he said, his voice a little strained. "Are you busy?"
"Not yet. What's up?" she wondered, a little worried, her smile flickering. The tone of his voice was one she had heard before, the one he used when he had to relay something he knew she didn't want to hear.
And she was right.
"Sweetie," he said softly, "Carlson is up for parole."
It was odd. Of all of the things she had expected to hear from him, that was the least of all.
She found herself sitting down on the ground, her legs folding up against her chest, her free arm going around them. She couldn't speak; what could she possibly say? Nothing, no words, could possibly convey how she felt upon hearing this.
"Frisk?" Asriel's voice was gentle, and it comforted her. "Love, I'm here. Just take a few breaths, okay? Take your time."
She did, always grateful for Asriel and his patience. She lowered her chin to her knees, her eyes wide but unseeing. She felt that long-buried fear suddenly rise up into her like acid reflux, and she wanted to pretend she was dreaming and about to wake up to a better day.
"The hearing is set for next week. I think we should go, so that we can speak against his being released. How do you feel about that? Do you think you can?"
"I..." she whispered, her grip on her phone tight. "I can't believe this..."
"I know. It's fucked up." Asriel's voice was sharp with anger, anger that she knew he was barely containing. "It's completely fucked up. But I think we need to be there. And you won't be alone, okay? I'll be right beside you."
"Asriel..." Her voice was choked up, and she realised she was weeping, completely unaware of when she began.
"He won't get out, Frisk," Asriel growled. "He won't. You and I, we'll make them see reason. We'll make them see how stupid they are for even considering it. Okay?"
"Asriel... I need to see you," she pleaded, her voice tiny. She didn't know why she said this, only that it was the truth.
"Okay," he said at once. "I'll meet you at home."
"Please," she agreed. "I need you."
"And you have me. See you soon."
They hung up, and Frisk got to her feet, shaking like a leaf in the breeze. She went toward the exit, practically running from the Underground, her entire checklist for the day forgotten in one horrifying moment.
The moment she got home, Asriel was there, and she was in tears the second their eyes met. He held her close, burying his face into her shaking shoulder, unable to help his own tears in response.
Both were shaking, years of memory streaking by them so hard that it left them almost breathless. Asriel stroked her hair, and Frisk rubbed his back, but both were unable to stop their tears for the moment.
"I made tea," Asriel whispered, once a lull fell between them.
Frisk nodded and pulled away, and they went into the kitchen, where Asriel poured them both chamomile tea and brought out some of the chewy cookies they both liked. Frisk drank her tea but only picked at the cookies, and Asriel was the same way.
They held hands tight.
"This is insane," Frisk whispered. "He's a criminal. He tried to kill children, my father, my family. Isn't there anything that can be done about it?"
Asriel chewed on his lip. "Well, I thought about asking Darian about it, since he was a cop and was also the PI for Carlson's original case. But, with Dawnson and all... I didn't want to make things stressful for him, too."
Frisk's eyes flared. "Dawnson. Do you think he's in danger, too? He's a hybrid, too."
Asriel sighed. "I know. But then, look at his parents. And he's at the school, now, and has been for over a decade. He'll be protected."
"What do we do, Asriel?" Frisk wondered helplessly.
"Honestly? All I want to do is panic."
She rubbed his hand gently, managing a small smile.
"But what I really think we should do is prepare for the worst, and hope for the best," he concluded. "We have at least a week. That's enough time to plan. And then, when it happens, if it happens, we'll be ready."
Frisk stared at him, her eyes fierce and bright with determination. "He will not touch my family again, Asriel. Even if it means I have to kill him, myself."
"Believe me, Frisk," Asriel replied softly. "I feel the exact same way."