Undertale: Fallen Angel

Assemble

A knot of dread almost convinced Toriel to ignore the Evening News entirely. Her already aching heart couldn't bear to witness a human and monster mob strike each other down like a pack of rouge warriors. It was a childish thought, but maybe if she remained ignorant of the constant developments surrounding the conflict and invested in a good book, it'd all blow over like a bad dream.

Again, a childish thought.

Whether lives were lost or not, she needed to see what precarious future lay ahead for her people. The Boss Monster only hoped the humans would be merciful enough to spare those who didn't fight back. With great apprehension, she watched on-

-and let out a strangled cry of surprise when Frisk, her lost child, materialized in the midst of the chaos, bringing an abrupt end to the fighting. Panic quickly washed over her relief once it clicked that the crimson knight holding them captive had no intention of leaving peacefully. First, they wanted something. "The truth" is what they claimed.

And Frisk complied, delivering a ludicrous confession to acts they'd never commit. Even before they were done, Toriel determined it all to be utter nonsense, and anyone who believed it simply didn't know them.

Then the knight took off their helmet. At that moment, the Mother's perception of reality had never felt so small. Two Frisks, with one of which being the very person who callously murdered innocent monsters and a dear friend? It had to be fake. The question is how.

A robot maybe?

Before she could allow the various possibilities to swim in her head, Frisk- her Fisk- ran somewhere off-camera. Not able to stand another second away from her child, she tried calling Undyne. The heroine is bound to be hot on their heels anyway, but it never hurts to make sure.

No answer, which could be a sign that the Boss Monster's suspicions are correct. Instead, she tries her luck with Alphys' cell. This time, she gets an answer.

"H-hello?" Alphys asks from the other end.

"Alphys, do you know where Undyne is?" Toriel says, trying and failing to not sound frantic.

"Oh, u-um, I'm not sure. She was, uh, at the m-monster rally but I h-haven't gotten a call from her since. I g-guess you're watching the N-news?"

Toriel has known the scientist long enough to tell when she's in distress. The increased stutter is a dead giveaway. It could simply be due to the craziness of tonight's events, or better yet, all that has happened recently. Still, the Boss Monster ignores Alphys' question and asks her:

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I- I... no," Alphys takes a deep breath. "What F-Frisk said, uh, you know, OUR Frisk, it, um..."

She hesitates to continue.

"Alphys?" Toriel urges, her own anxiety rising from whatever the scientist is trying to tell her.

"The ability to reset, I a-always knew it was a t-theoretically plausible, b-but never did I think Frisk could or that t-they would do... that."

Toriel's heart drops. It is all she can do to not hang up.

"Listen, Alphys, I am not all that knowledgeable when it comes to human Determination, but what I do know is Frisk is a good person. If you're implying that they would ever... hurt people, then-"

"I-I'm sorry."

Static replaces the reptile's voice. She hung up. For a moment, Toriel stands in the living room, too shocked to move. Sure, she expected strangers to take the teenager's admission of guilt seriously, but for Alphys, a close friend, to entertain what surely can't be true is...