Hoping for Determination
Greetings.
If you were ambitious enough to click on this story, congrats, you're in for a wild ride.
This story was something I wrote originally as a form of a vent, but then as time went on, it evolved into something more that I could call my own. I revised some earlier chapters, but not all of them. Some of the earlier chapters are quite bad, but I hope you muster up the courage to continue to the end.
Anyhow, I would like to thank anyone who reads this, and I encourage you to take things from this, and realize what not to do with writing, and what to do with writing. OCs are a bit difficult, and I found it out the hard way!
Here you go! Enjoy!
Chapter 1 (Revised): Abandoned Hopes and Dreams
Blinding light met the child's eyes as they tried to shield them in vain. Glancing out from their shielded position, they saw the faint outline of white souls flying in a single direction. They still shone brighter than the intense glare of what they were fighting against.
A wretched cackle sounded through the air as the child had to shut their eyes completely to stop the torturing flow of light. Gritting their teeth, they felt as reality seemed to be torn at its seams. They knew what was happening. Something was defying all logic in place, and they had experienced the feeling so many times before.
Someone was coming back to life.
Just as quickly as it had begun, the light vanished without a trace. It took the child's eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, but they could see someone across from them, clear as day. The boss monster before them clenched his fists, feeling his hands once more. Cracking his neck, the monster gave a deceiving grin. "Finally…" His voice echoed throughout the seemingly pitch black area they stood in. "I was so tired of being a flower…"
The child grit their teeth, remembering those same lines. It always was this way. They did not show their weakness, their face remaining perfectly neutral.
The boss monster turned around slowly, that same eerie grin plastered on his face. There was a hint of sincerity in there, but malice lined it all. "Howdy… Chara… are you there?" The child felt a presence nod from within them. "It's me… your best friend…"
In a blast of bright light, the young boss monster no longer stood. Instead, floating a few feet into the air, was an abomination. "ASRIEL DREEMURR!"
The human child, otherwise known as Frisk would have been surprised at this sudden change of form. It would have been much of a surprise to see a god-like being standing before them, or hearing the fact that the son of the king and queen was somehow alive.
Frisk let out a sigh, watching as Asriel spread out his arms. Rainbow lights resonated off of the barrier walls, disorienting the child slightly. This part always seemed to get them. Truth was, this was not the first time they were here. They had been in this situation so many times.
Raising one hand into the air, Asriel sent a flurry of fire raining down upon the human. Effortlessly, they sidestepped, rolled, and twirled around the hazardous flames. They came out unscathed, preparing for the next attack.
As much as Asriel taunted, berated, and mocked them, he was unable to land a single hit. Stars sped across the barrier room, Strikes of electricity blasted into the floor. Bullets zoomed around Frisk. Rainbow blasts shot off in all directions… Yet, nothing was hitting Frisk.
Snarling, Asriel backflipped in the air, the white pupils in his eyes glowing. "ENOUGH MESSING AROUND!" Black, void-like mist appeared in his hands. "It's time to purge this timeline once and for all!" A white goat skull materialized before the human, menacingly opening it maw.
With a shrug, Asriel seemed to disappear into the light. Frisk's face remained neutral, unfazed by the fact that a timeline was literally being torn at it seams. Eh, maybe they were just used to it. Fragments of reality itself began being sucked into the maw of the skeletal creature, attempting to sweep Frisk in. It was always the same…
They came out of it unscathed, Asriel looking completely livid. He tried to hold back his sheer anger, but it did not make a difference. "Even after that attack, you're still standing in my way? Wow! You really are something special... " An idea popped into his head. "But don't get cocky." That's exactly what Frisk was doing. "I've only been using a fraction of my real power! Let's see what good your determination is against this!"
Once more, everything seemed to go dark. The silhouette of Asriel began shifting in the darkness. Rainbow wings flared out from his back as his legs merged. His horns grew even farther, and his body took the shape of a delta rune.
Despite how many times Frisk had done this, Asriel's final form always was intimidating. "Ura ha ha! Behold! My true power!" As Asriel spread his arms out, Frisk realized they could not move. Curse my forgetfulness! They thought to themself as comets fired out from all sides. They forced their soul to detach from their chest, the manifestation of their being dodging the comets with ease.
20/20 HP
How are they not getting hit? Asriel thought to himself, his magic boiling within him. He tried over and over again, watching as their soul danced through his attacks as if they had been… predicting them. No, that'd be crazy. If they knew that he would take over his determination, then why would they reset again if they beat him?
It wasn't like they could do anything but dodge-
As if the magic bounds on Frisk had suddenly vanished, the human was able to move again without having to detach their soul. Furthermore, a button floated to the left of them, their hand hovering over it. Asriel did not have time to wonder what it did before Frisk's hand spmashed down on the button. He felt as one by one, souls began falling out of his control.
Then, they called his name.
"Asriel!" They yelled out, reaching their hand out to him. Frisk had tried so many times to save this one monster. No matter how many times they tried, no matter how much they reset, there was never a way.
They kept calling his name, refusing to listen to anything he said. Why was he suddenly feeling this way? What had they done to him? Finally, he began breaking down. "I'm not ready for this to end… I'm not ready for you to leave… I'm not ready to say goodbye to someone like you again…"
Truthfully, Frisk did not want to let go either. They had promised that this would be the final time they tried to save him. Yet, they still couldn't let go. They refused to let him suffer.
It was nearly time for the final attack. This one felt like the weight of the world was crashing upon them. It showed just how much Asriel wanted them to stay, but also how much Frisk was determined not to give up.
As Asriel spread his arms out wide, crying, Frisk braced themself for the final attack. "SO PLEASE… STOP DOING THIS!" Never. "AND JUST LET ME WIN!" A waterfall of colors smashed down upon Frisk, the human holding onto life with all of their might.
0.1/20 HP
"STOP IT!"
Frisk held onto the SAVE option, the letters intensifying the more they were battered with the unrelenting assault.
0.001/20 HP
"STOP IT NOW!"
0.000001/20 HP
Sometimes, Frisk wondered if that was what they should do. Maybe if they let Asriel control the timeline, everything would turn out fine… But, they always had a sense of wanting that control. Now, they couldn't have it after the barrier was broken… They had promised…
0.0000000000001/20 HP
As if a huge weight was lifted off of their shoulders, they felt the attack cease. Gasping for breath, they tried to regain proper footing as Asriel's form began deteriorating. No longer a powerful god, Asriel clutched at his head, tears falling freely between his fingers.
If there was one thing about trying to hide your identity, it is not very wise to make yourself obvious. Luckily, I had learned that there would be no one looking for me in the first place. There was no reason to pull a hood over my head to conceal my identity. You'd think that your parents, friends, or just anyone would be at least searching for me.
That was where the problem fell.
Why no one was searching for me? I could not comprehend it myself. Just walking in the streets alone before, people would always at least ask me what I was doing out there alone. However, today was different. I wasn't trying to steal, or just try to act like I was older than I actually was to get a job of any sort…
I am sure you can make the connection.
I was climbing Mt. Ebott, the mountain where no one returns. My reasons for doing so must have been the same as the other children who apparently disappeared. I mean, this place wasn't dangerous in the slightest. Walking alone a path, there were little to no dangers. A path, while not well defined, was completely bare of most obstacles. It almost seemed like someone had been here before me…
Of course someone had. A child had just gone missing recently, and must have been the reason that most rocks and branches had been kicked out of the way.
Then again, these are just observations I remember now. My memory isn't exactly that advanced to remember all of what happened that fateful day, but I definitely can observe more from memory than the current state I was in on that day…
The next person coming behind me for whatever reason would not be very comfortable with the fact that I was leaving a trail of blood behind me. No, I wasn't wounded seriously or anything. It is just the fact that when you have a flame sprouting out of your eye, it hurts uncontrollably.
Yes, a flame coming out of my eye.
This only happened when strong emotions existed, This horrific secret that I had tried keeping from the world for so long always came back to spite me. I was one of the only ones with it. Any others with my condition were either unknown, or did not exist.
The power I was stuck with would seem like a blessing. With countless ways to exploit the power, you could be a helpful contributor to society, or you could be a power worth reckoning with. People… didn't really enjoy difference. I mean, why should they have accepted this thing that was wrong with me so… openly?
I winced as my hand moved over my eye, trying to stop the blood flow. No such occurrence graced me, and the breadcrumbs for someone finding me would continue. That is… if no one was too much of a coward to come up this peaceful mountain.
As I kept walking through the forest-like area upon Mt. Ebott, the tree line began thinning. Grass started becoming scarce, being replaced by solid rock. It seemed as if the cliff face that you could see far off from our city was growing near. That was my ultimate destination, and I held back tears, knowing all too well just what I would be doing soon.
The reason for my actions was quite simple. Magic. Without explanation, without a scientific, factual based conclusion, I could create and destroy things at will. Granted, as far as I knew, the only thing that had come out of me was fire.
Everyone… was fearful. With something this powerful, I was effectively a rogue weapon. I held no control over this power, as there was no one to teach me in the first place. There was no one to teach you how to harness a burning power within you. And, I could not take it.
I was a pain to myself. I was a pain to the rest of the world. I was dangerous. I had failed everyone I loved when they needed it most.
When the tapping of my shoes on rock came to a stop, I gazed off at the sunset in the distance. This would be the last time I would see something like this… My black jacket swayed in the breeze as if the winds were saying goodbye to me one last time.
I clutched a faded and torn piece of paper to my chest, holding it right next to my soul. "Chara… I'm coming."
When suddenly, an earsplitting crack rang out from behind me.
Twenty minutes after the barrier had been destroyed, Frisk had finally made their way through the entire Underground once more. They had made it a habit of theirs to walk through the whole thing, talking to everyone in the process. If they didn't, with their knowledge of the landscape, it should have only taken ten minutes without the extra stops and with the help of Riverperson.
Hm, maybe it was just their tendency to stay away from the impending line Asriel always said. It was always futile when Frisk tried to reason with him. Maybe just this once… something had changed. After all, the past runs Asriel should have remembered… Maybe there would be something…
Yet, no matter how much they talked to him, they were met with the same sentence in the end. "Frisk… don't you have anything better to do?"
They stood completely still for a moment, taking in just what they had heard. There were no differences. Nothing had even begun to shift. Asriel had recited the same lines as before. Reaching out a tentative hand to the boy, Frisk tried to offer him at least some comfort.
Rejecting the comfort, Asriel turned away, looking down at a lone buttercup flower in his hands. "Wh-Why?" A faint voice spoke from behind him. He recognized it as Frisk's, hearing their betrayed tone. "Do you not get it?" His hairs prickled on the back of his neck, sensing some anger coming from the child. "Do you not get what the last ten runs were all about, Asriel?"
"I-I get that Frisk… but… it got me this far… right?" Asriel smiled, looking at Frisk fondly in the corner of his eye. "Because of you, I got to feel compassion again…"
"But that's not it! This always happens, regardless of what we did the past runs!" They protested, a being within them shaking their head in disapproval. "I-I don't get it…"
Asriel could only watch as they broke down into tears. They huddled into a ball on the floor, the reality of the situation finally taking its toll. In his time as Flowey, Asriel had heard it as well. It was all because of that Smiley Trashbag… Frisk had promised Sans not to reset after this final run…
And… Frisk failed…
Was their goal only to SAVE him? Was that the reason they insisted on replaying time. If… they had truly sacrificed all of this for him, then he would have to do his part as well. Slowly, he sat down next to the crying human, wrapping his arms around them in comfort. "Frisk… don't cry… I-I've made up my mind… W-When I turn back into Flowey… I… I'll give the surface a shot."
Frisk's expression immediately changed, their head shooting up to meet Asriel's gaze.
All they found was a flower looking back at them, a bitter-sweet expression on his face.
It had been thirty minutes before that thing had cracked open. Thirty minutes ago, I dove for some stray bushes to try to hide myself from whatever the hell that was. As I ran, all I had seen was some glass like shards flying out from a seemingly barren part of the mountain.
And then, I was forced to sit here, trying to control my damned eye.
Thankfully, the blood had stopped, but it was still burning nonetheless. Oh wait, did I say eye? I meant eyes, as in plural. It wasn't just a condition with just one of them, which doubled the pain. Why couldn't I just control it?
Whenever I was terrified or fearful, this would always be the first thing to happen. I had taught myself to just hide what I was feeling, but now… it was near impossible. After so long of just trying to make sense of this world, after so long trying to just fit in as a parentless child… I couldn't do it anymore. Everyone has their limits, and it seemed I had reached mine.
"Curse you…" I muttered under my breath, my voice coming out shaky as ever. A wispy form of magic rested in my hands as I stared down at them, eyes feeling as if they were being turned to crisp by the fire. The flames themselves never did damage… it was always me who accidently made them harmful…
"I've t-tried for so long just tr-trying to understand what you are…" My hands clenched into fists, the misty substance radiating outwards freely. "Yet, all you have done is made my life miserable…" It hurt. "Just stop…"