A boy stood in front of the Lab, gazing upon his reflection in the almost mirror-like metal doors. The light silver shirt and smooth grey pants he wore were frowned upon- the simple, baggy clothes a symbol of his low status in Human society- and his gaze soon shifted to the pale green accessories he'd acquired.
A frying pan in an ugly color; one of the only two possessions he could truly call his own. It was what he used to cook with, and something he would not part with easily, as it was the last thing truly linking him to the Surface.
The other object, currently draped over one shoulder in a dramatic fashion that made the boy nod in approval, was what he and Papyrus had dubbed the CAPRON. They'd made it together- rather, Papyrus and Sans had made it while Undyne pretended to be oblivious to his presence- after he'd demonstrated his appreciation for kitchen activities. The apron had a pocket on the outside while it was being worn properly, but as it had been slung over his shoulder to make it into a cape, the pocket was currently inaccessible.
It looked better than any clothes he'd had before...
Blinking himself out of his thoughts, the boy knocked on the door of the Lab, focusing on his objectives. He had to talk with Undyne's crush; try convince her to let him pass through unhindered. The robot living in the area had already agreed to leave him be due to his incredibly peaceful ways, but only under the condition that he could convince Alphys to do the same... this could be tricky.
Footsteps sounded from inside the Lab, and the boy caught a final glance of his reflection before the doors slid open.
"I've been expecting you. Come in."
Gazing up at the scaled Monster nearly two feet taller than him, he nodded, and entered without a moment further of hesitation. This was the greatest obstacle that stood between him and the King. If he could reach Asgore; if he could convince Toriel's husband to realize that Humans could be just as Kind as they could be Cruel; then maybe he and future Fallen Humans could live down here peacefully.
He had quite a lot of ACTing to do, after what the last Fallen Human had done.
Where you fail, we will succeed. Where you fall, we will rise. Join us, Kindness. Monsters are a species that have no HoPe for recovery. It would be a MERCY to Lay them down to Rest.
The boy jolted upright, his hands coming up to pat at the body he wasn't quite sure was untouched. Those voices... those other kids... had they truly been there, or was he only dreaming?
He'd been told their stories by Toriel, the beautiful Monster that he was happy to call his Mother. Patience, the first Fallen Human, had started this whole mess... and Perseverance, the last Fallen Human before him, had only worsened it. It was bad enough that the Monsters in the Ruins mostly moved out for fear of meeting a Human as bad as they were, leaving only the Froggits, Whimsuns, Loox, and Vegetoids he'd met along the path, but to hear from the kids themselves what they'd done...? Did he hear their sides of the story, or had it only been a dream?
"Everyone's had a hard time of it, huh?"
The boy stood up from the couch he'd been laying on- Alphys had let him stay over for the night- and slid on his boots. Checking his frying pan over for any scratches, he nodded to himself and clipped it onto his belt. The CAPRON was donned, flowing majestically over his shoulders with the pocket still inaccessible. He was ready to go forward.
After tapping out a quick thank-you note on one of the screens floating around nearby, the boy grasped the edge of his CAPRON and turned with a dramatic swoosh, making it out the doors to Hotland before giggling and tapping his wrist. A holographic projection came from the silver cuff he wore on his left wrist, displaying the map he'd downloaded of the area while the lizard scientist wasn't looking. (He didn't want to get her in trouble for helping him.)
"Alphie said that the lifts are working, but that they only went to the third floor left side, because the right side elevator was under maintenance. That means I'll have to go out past the... residential section, and around an abandoned building, if this map is right."
Lining out the path he'd take on the map, the boy then tapped his wrist to dismiss the hologram, and set off for the Capital.
The boy stared at the Monster above him, perched on a windowsill of the run-down building. She had pale magenta skin, and five eyes, and six arms, and her hair reminded him of a princess from an old movie series he'd done a report on for Media Studies.
"Ahuhu, are you only going to stare at me?"
He blinked, his mouth closing with a soft snap, and he shook his head. Fiddling with his CAPRON, he said the first thing that came to mind, intent on correcting his rude behavior.
"S-sorry, you're really pretty."
His face flushed up immediately, and he hid behind his frying pan, fiercely pretending that he couldn't hear the high-pitched laughter at his behavior. Alas, he couldn't ignore it for long, as the girl was suddenly close enough to gently lower the pan.
Her eyes were a solid color, he noticed, and her face looked very soft. But there was another look about her, a sort of gleam in her eyes and a certain tilt to her lips that he'd seen among the kids he'd known back on the Surface... before he ran away.
"No need to apologize for a genuine compliment," the lady spoke, and he blinked, paying attention again. "I'm Miss Muffet, but my friends call me Emmy. I'm known for my ability to find things, and you, dear Human, are what I've been looking for since I've heard about your Fall."
The boy became aware of a pressure at his back- he hadn't been anywhere near the wall, what was this?- and the energy of magic began to spark and flow around him.
He'd been caught in her web from the second he could see her.
"Please wait, Miss Emmy. We don't need to FIGHT. I want to see the King, and talk to him about the past Fallen Humans, and I won't be able to do that if we FIGHT and I lose. I only have one chance."
That talking flower had told him he had one chance to get to the King before it was too late, and not to make any detours... He probably shouldn't have slept as long as he did.
Fortunately, the spider monster seemed to be interested in what he was saying.
"Why? You could've stayed in the Ruins and waited for him to visit Toriel, and then spoken to him without risk of being killed out here. He visits often, I'm sure you know. Why leave safety and risk your life like this?"
It was true- Asgore had visited only a few days before he Fell- and he could've waited for him to visit again. That would've certainly helped him, and the next Fallen Humans... but...
"It wouldn't have helped the Monsters that Perseverance caused grief to. A lot of people died, and their families and friends don't have closure yet. As long as Humans and Monsters have this tension between them, they'll be hurting and afraid, wondering things like 'What if the next human kills more of us, or the last one to venture out after him?' I don't want them to be afraid of me, Miss. I don't want to be hurting them simply because I exist nearby."
The web of purple strands around the boy stilled in its movement, neither tightening its grasp nor unraveling to release him. Muffet considered the strands, her fingers weaving through them without being caught as he had been. It seemed that she was thinking hard about something.
"What is your name, Kindness?"
Oh. She wanted a name to go with his face. That's right- he'd forgotten to introduce himself. Oh geez, had he forgotten to introduce himself to everyone outside the Ruins? Way to go, volt-head!
"Alexander Tomaz Ward, miss."
Her gaze sharpened- intrigue, perhaps?
...he shifted in the web she'd woven, uncomfortably aware of his baggy clothes sliding against his skin. Fine quality, as every Human got, but a visible sign of his status.
"I'm an orphan, Miss. My parents were poor, and died in the Outskirts shortly after giving me up to the Institution to have a chance at a better life. The people responsible were caught, and executed in front of me because I had the Right to Blood, but I wasn't satisfied in the end... Their deaths didn't really make me feel better."
The boy sniffed, and Muffet held out a handkerchief for him to use, as his arms were somewhat tied up at the moment.
"They said I didn't like it because I was Green, and that other kids my age had been pacified by the punishments their wrongdoers had received. I was too weak, so they sent me to an orphanage in the same area where my parents had died, in hopes that it would toughen me up. I ran away, and Fell into the Underground, and now I find out that another Human had caused the same grief to the people here? They're not satisfied either, are they?"
There was a long silence, long enough that Alexander began to think that he would get no response. That was okay. The odds that this girl understood him were low, especially since she didn't know the ways of the Surface...
"They're not satisfied with the death of their parents' killer, because the killer didn't do anything to make up for it. The killer received a quick and merciful death, despite the screams many had heard coming from the Monsters she befriended and killed soon after. All the traits she'd acquired from those deaths, the traits that were so much better suited in their parents' grasp, gone to waste. All the happiness she'd ended before they'd even gone to school... No, they're not satisfied with death, but they can't allow such a thing to happen again to others."
...she did understand. Though her solution was different than his, she still understood.
The boy tested his bonds, and sniffed again. He knew why she had to do this, knew that he thought a lot differently than most other Humans. His ideas were always snubbed and considered foolish, and maybe they were right... but maybe he thought more like Monsters than Humans, anyways.
"It's okay. But, Miss Emmy, can you make me a promise?"
His gaze shifted from eye to eye to eye, as he looked the spider monster in the face. There was no way of knowing whether she would do what he asked, but he didn't have a way out of this situation anyways...
"I know that there's a reward for capturing me. You're not entirely interested in the reward, I can see that now, but you'll receive it anyways. Please, use it to help others like us. Those who lost everything, who have nobody to turn to, who need each other. I give you my soul freely, Miss Emmy, as long as you help them live without the fear we have."
The web tightened, and it became more and more difficult to breathe. Still, as his vision began to fade, and his heartbeat pounded in his ears, he tried to hear the lady's response...
Darkness overtook Alexander's world, and he smiled, before falling limp.
