Chapter 21

Grillby landed on the ground with a thud, and the light slowly faded around him. The humans rushed to help him up, but were stopped by the sheer awe of the image of the monster in front of them.

He’d taken on a more demonic form, with horns made of volcanic rock and fire. His body was covered in a similar rock that formed a natural armor. His left had long stone talons, while the right hand was encased in a lance-like casing. The only article of clothing that remailed was his apron, which had become a sort of tattered kilt or skirt. A long, thin tail with a stone tip swayed as he got to his feet. The Integrity SOUL floated above his his chest, while Justice and Bravery were on his right and left. They had the white of a monster soul at their center.

Piper blushed brightly and rest her hand on her chest. “Aya, Dios mío… ser todavía mi corazón…”

Frisk gave her a weird look. “What was that…?”

“Nothing, bebé…”

Grillby looked himself over. “This is… new…”

“I’ll say.” Piper had to bit her lip to hide her grin.

“So what?!” Flowey yelled, bringing their attention back to him. “You’re not the only one with SOULS!” He dumped the containers and absorbed the remaining SOULS. Another light enveloped him, and his form changed from a plant to something completely different. He became taller, about as tall as Toriel, with long horns and a cloak like hers.

He cackled as the light faded. He looked just like Toriel. It honestly hurt to see the resemblance. However, a pair of almost angelic wings flexed behind him.

“Yer… Yer the prince…” Piper murmured. “Ain’t ya…?”

“What gave it away?” he said sarcastically. “Hand over Frisk and the souls your fiery boyfriend absorbed.”

“Um… no…?” Her own soul formed and turned upside down. “Yer gonna have to fight me first, weed-boy!”

“Make it double…” Grillby pushed Frisk behind him and Piper with his tail. “We have you outnumbered and outgunned, as the humans would say…”

“Like I’m scared of you.” He smirked and flexed his fingers. A feeling of dread washed over Piper as a console appeared out of nowhere. She’d seen it back in the Snowdin Forest, and wasn’t eager to see it again.

FIGHT. ACT. MERCY.

“This is a boss battle,” Frisk said quietly. “You and Grillby are a team, so you can attack at the same time.”

“Thanks, bebé.” She gave them a reassuring smile. She turned her attention back and moved to Pick FIGHT.

She stopped herself. This wasn’t the right option. She glanced at ACT and picked it instead.

Check. Talk.

She wasn’t really expecting those choices. “Grillby, just keep defending me.

“What…?”

“Just do it. I got a plan.”

He frowned, but didn’t question her. He knew better than to do so by now.

She selected Talk. She hoped this went well.

“Asriel, ya don’t gotta do this. This isn’t right and we both know it.” Her voice carried across the chamber. He had to listen to her. “I know how it feels to lose someone ya love.”

“You know nothing of my pain.” He used Patience to summon spinning knives and throw them at her. Grillby deflected them with his lance arm and used Integrity’s gravity powers to pin him to the floor.

Piper selected Talk again. “I do know. I lost my family when I was young. My mother left us then got arrested, and my father died. It hurt so much. I couldn’t move on for years. I felt nothin’.”

She saw Asriel flinch under her words. So she kept talking.

“Ya think playin’ the hero will get you glory? That you’ll feel anythin’? It won’t. Yer just diggin’ a hole. There’s only one way to get yourself to feel.”

“I doubt… th-that you know it…!” He fire for knives, but Grillby bat them away.

She selected Talk a third time. “I do know. Ya gotta let go and accept that bad things happen to good people. Ya gotta move on.”

“Y-You don’t know crap-”

“I do know. Kid, ya gotta move on.”

Asriel whimpered, his claws digging into the floor.

“I’ll help ya. Ya don’t gotta go it alone.” She stepped across the space between them and knelt in front of him, her hand extended. “Just take my hand. We can go through together.”

He looked up at her distrustingly. After a few minutes, he hesitantly reached for her and took her hand. “You promise…?”

“Cross my heart.” She smiled, looking at her console and selecting Mercy with a flick of her wrist.

Spare. Flee. The Spare was yellow.

She selected Spare and sighed in relief as the dread of a boss battle faded away. She pulled Asriel to his feet and hugged him tightly. He was a bit surprised, but returned the hug. He buried his face in her neck and started to silently cry.

“Shhh… It’s okay, sweetie... “ She stroked his fur. “You’ll be okay… I promise, you’ll be okay…”

He sniffled and nodded slightly.

“C’mon… we got a barrier to break…”