Heir

Breaking a wall

Thundering footsteps echoed through the Core. The catwalk above the boiling lava creaked precariously as King Asgore and his queen raced to the royal scientist's lab. The metal was searing hot. It stung their feet as the two monsters made their way across.  A distress alarm blared from the lab, getting louder and louder as they approached. Not a light was to be seen, nor a monster in sight; only the pieces of a shocked silence shattered by the royal scientist's distress signal.

It hadn't been long ago that the outage had happened. The king, queen, and their children had just sat down for their supper when the lights in New Home flickered out. Frisk screamed, shutting her eyes tightly. Chara jumped, more startled by the scream than the darkness. Asriel scooted his chair closer to Frisk as Toriel stood to light the fireplace. The prince hushed the three-year-old, running his paws over her hair.

"I wonder what this is about-" Toriel said, taking her seat across from Asgore and looking between the darkened lamps in her vision. "It's probably nothing," the king reassured her. Chara nodded, making her way to the door to check outside. "Surely Doctor..." she paused. The royal scientist's name seemed to have slipped her mind. It was on the tip of her tongue. She shook her head, "the doctor should have it under control if there's an issue with-". She was cut short by the distant echo of a wailing siren. She paused, sticking her head out the door, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar sound. Frisk began to cry as the sirens filled her ears. Asriel lifted her out of her highchair, quietly trying to pacify her.

Toriel turned her head to the door, alarmed by the sound. "Perhaps this is more than a simple outage-" she muttered, her brow furrowing in concern. "What is it then? Chara asked, seeming fascinated. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with, my dear" Toriel said softly, "your father and I will take care of it". Chara gave her mother an aggravated look.  "Why can't I go?" She argued "shouldn't I be experienced in situations like this? I'll be queen one day. Do you not want me to be prepared?" Toriel sighed. "I do, but today is not the day," she said sternly. "When will be the day?" Chara tried. Her father stood and silenced her. "Enough, Chara. If you are so insistent on learning to be a queen, you must also learn when not to insert yourself when you are not needed" he told her "it is not a queen's right to get everything she wants. You may accompany us another day, but this is too important to be used as a learning experience". Chara, again, opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by Asriel. "Chara-!" He snapped, causing her to whirl around, prepared to snap back. She was silenced by the sight of Frisk clinging to their brother, practically in hysterics. Chara promptly scooped her up and rubbed her back

She walked her to the fireplace and let her sit in the light.  Within a few minutes, she was calm again, quietly sitting in the soft glow of the fireplace.

Chara turned back to the door, only to find that it had been shut and her parents had disappeared.  She huffed and plopped down into her mother's large armchair.

Not long after, Asgore and Toriel were padding to a stop outside the eastern door. The alarm, much louder here than it was from their home, screeched at the pair like an animal. The queen winced and covered her ears The king began to bang on the door, calling out for the royal scientist. when met with no response, he began to hit harder. "Nothing yet?" Toriel yelled over the siren. Asgore shook his head and stared frustratedly at the door. As he pulled back to try again, Toriel placed a paw on his arm. "Perhaps they cannot hear you, Gorey" she pointed out "they might be in danger. We cannot waste time banging on the door". Asgore nodded. "You're right," he said, "we need to get inside and help the doctor".   

With that decided, the two of them stood back from the door and began to attack it, hoping that they could get inside before tragedy struck. 

Unbeknownst to them, the doctor was not in the lab and was unable to hear or help them. There was no one in the lab at all. However, deep below the building, two young skeletons were screaming over the thunderous noises of destruction.