"Frisk, don't you have anything better to do?" He smiled nervously, yet his eyes betrayed his thoughts. He was lonely. You wondered if he knew about your resets, how every time he spoke the same words, even those times where you harmed someone just to see what Flowey would say to you. Flowey remembered.
So why wouldn't Asriel?
If he did, he showed no sign of it. You remembered hearing the monsters speak of him, how he was unfairly thrust into a state of limbo. Existing to control time, with no capacity to feel anything but anger and hate. Saving him was what kept you determined to reset. Somebody like Sans would most likely consider you selfish, but he didn't know your reason. You couldn't leave him behind.
So every time, you spoke to him of different things. You asked him what Chara was like, you spoke of your favourite games. Each time, you learned something different about him. It felt like you knew him your entire life, yet to everybody else, it felt like several days. You sacrificed both yourself and all of your friends' happiness so many times for one boy. But he was worth it.
As you made eye contact, his facade began to fade. He'd experienced even more timelines than you. And he would have kept going if you hadn't fell into the underground. His eyes began to fill up with tears. Nothing you said before could prevent this, and soon he'd return to feeling lifeless. His soul would never-
Wait. You felt something calling out to you earlier, but you didn't get a proper grasp on it. Your eyes widened, and for the first time in what felt like forever, you genuinely smiled. His soul was still out there somewhere. You could finally save him!
Asriel noticed your enthusiasm, and wiped his eyes. "What is it, Frisk?" he asked. You gestured to your soul, and pointed a finger at him. He looked confused. "What? I can't take your soul, you'd be like…" he couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence. Shaking your head, you reached down to the flowers he was tending earlier and scooped up some of them, arranging a message with them. He read it aloud. "Where… Is… Your… Soul?" the goat kid looked thoughtful for a moment, as he scratched his ear. "I doubt that it exists anymore, since I died." You shook your head again, this time more vigorously. You hastily rearranged the flowers into another message. "I… Felt… It." he stepped backwards, shock written a over his face. He cleared his throat, and spoke. "But boss monster souls only live for a few moments. Did something preserve it?" You shrugged your shoulders, but you knew somebody who might have known.
Grabbing his hand, you took off running through the ruins with him. "Wait! where are we going?" he shouted, his voice echoed through the old structures. As soon as you reached Toriel's house, he stopped suddenly, causing you to fall down. You brushed yourself off, and turned to face him. There was fear in his eyes, and he was shaking ever so gently. Before you could do anything else, he spoke up in a timid voice. "I can't, Frisk. I just can't do this to her… Mom…" He trailed off, hiding his face with his sleeves. You reached out to him, taking his hands with yours. His eyes were bloodshot, with wet streaks running down his furry cheeks. You let go of his hands, instead settling them around his back in an embrace. He returned it eagerly, and muzzled his face into the crook of your neck. "I know… I have to do this." Pulling away, you flashed him a confident smirk, and took his hand once more. You both stepped inside, only to be greeted with silence. Not even the oven was on. You searched the living area, but Chairiel was empty. You glanced around the room, and noticed a note written hastily, stuck to the table with tape. You picked it up and took it to Asriel, who was sat on your bed. "Is mom not in?" he asked you. You shook your head, and gave him a chance to read it. "'Hello! I'm currently running some errands before going to the surface. See you soon, Toriel.' So, what now?"
You offered your hand to him, which he eagerly took. You both ran through the basement, past the ruins exit and into Snowdin. Seeing as you already solved Papyrus's puzzles, it didn't take long to reach the River Person. "Tra la la. Monsters are finally free. Tra la la. Where would you like to go?" You fanned your face with your hand. Somehow, they understood you perfectly. "To Hotlands it is. Tra la la." Asriel climbed in first, you shortly after.
"Why are we going to the hot-" Asriel asked, but was quickly interrupted by the boat jerking upwards out of the water, and began sprinting across the surface.
"Tra la la. Beware the man who speaks in hands." The boat travelled faster than you remembered, as you were at the Hotlands in minutes. "Come again some time. Tra la la." You waved to the River Person, and climbed the steps towards Alphys's lab.
"We're not going to the surface, are we?" Asriel paused. You didn't turn to answer him as you knocked on Alphys's door. After a few short moments, she opened it.
"Oh! Uh, hi f-Frisk! Is it t-time yet?" She smiled nervously, eyes darting all around before finally setting upon your reincarnated friend. She stepped back, shocked. Her voice faltered as she spoke. "B-but you… How…?"
"Howdy! Frisk helped me. I think that… They think you can help me. You see, Frisk mentioned that they felt my soul for a moment." Alphys looked like she was going to have a panic attack, or even faint. It didn't surprise you. Seeing the real body of a failed experiment must have felt horrible for her. Especially what used to be Flowey.
No. Asriel was never Flowey.
Alphys gasped in what seemed like realization, and beckoned you both inside. "So t-that must be what's in the b-basement!" Noticing the confused looks on your faces, she continued. "There was a royal scientist before me, I-I think. He left this container behind a-after he…" She trailed off, a look of uncertainty cast over her. "W-well! He mixed a monster soul with determination. J-just enough so that it had the will to survive, but it doesn't have a h-host! I… was going to use it before but…" She shook her head, almost involuntarily. "A-anyway! It might be yours." She finished lamely, summoning the elevator to her clandestine lab. You held your breath as the elevator descended, hoping that the power didn't cut out again. Thankfully, it didn't.
Was Alphys talking about the ever-elusive Gaster? You remembered that some monsters mentioned him. And why didn't she mention this earlier? Or in any other timeline for that matter...
Ding!
The elevator doors scraped open. Alphys was the first to exit. She turned around quickly. "Wait here you two! I'll just… go get it." She ran deep into the lab, leaving you and Asriel alone. You swung your feet awkwardly, leaning against a wall.
Asriel broke the silence. "Hey, Frisk? I really appreciate you help-" The Monster dropped to his knees suddenly, clutching where his soul would be. "I don't think I have long. Oh gosh, I'm gonna turn back into him…" He began to pant heavily, shuddering violently.
He cried out for help.
But Alphys came.
"H-here it is! Asriel, absorb it, quick!" The white heart pulsated gently, filling the air with warmth. It rested in the air for a moment, before pushing its way into Asriel's chest. He breathed out a sigh of relief, before smiling gently.
"I feel… whole." He murmured. For the first time since you met him, he finally looked happy. And you felt exactly the same. It was time for everyone in the underground to get their happy ending, at long last.
Alphys cheered out in happiness. She finally fixed her greatest failure. "I''ll go get Undyne and uh… meet you guys where the barrier was! First, I have to c-clean some stuff up…" You nodded to her, and exited her lab via the elevator.
The hotlands was deserted, every monster living there had already rushed to the surface. You wondered what Gaster was doing. PrObabLy watcHing yOu.
With Asriel in hand, you followed the path past New Home, to the judgement hall. So close, you could practically smell the fresh air. The church-like panes of glass let in a plethora of lights, giving the room a quiet glow. Deciding to alert everyone, You whipped your phone out and began texting your friends.
"Papyrus it's time come to the barrier."
"Asgore we are on the way to the barrier."
"Mom we're finally ready to go."
"Sans, you ready?"
Beep beep!
That notification… It came from inside the room.
"heh. nice one." A loud voice erupted through the hall. You instantly recognised it.
It was Sans.
"how many times is enough, kid? how many times do you have to keep ruining it for us until you're happy?" He moved away from the column concealing him, before revealing his dull, empty eyesockets.
"Or did ya just wanna see what happened when you brought that to the surface?" His face was pointing straight at Asriel. Oh no. This can't be happening.
Asriel let go of your hand, and stepped forward. "Howdy! I'm-"
Sans put his hand up, cutting the kid off. "Nah, nah. Savour this. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…" He took another step forward.
"On days like these… Kids like you…"
Asriel was enveloped in a blue aura, and launched across the room.
"Should be burning in hell."
Asriel! You needed to help him. But what could you do? You were only LV 1…
A pained scream filled your ears, you span and saw your best friend in pain, clutching his potentially broken right arm which was bent on an angle you didn't think was possible.
How the hell could you have stopped this? Before you could answer that question, Sans growled. "You were one of the anomalies that we were tracking. What, you get tired of losing to me so you manipulate Frisk?" he accused. His left eye flashed blue, seething with rage.
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! PLEASE!" Asriel cried out, shielding his face from Sans's violent onslaught.
"Don't gimme that crap, you dirty brother killer."
A gust of wind passed, and a deafening explosion filled your ears, knocking you to the floor. Powdery dust filled the room. Did Asriel stop his attack?
Asriel? You couldn't see him anywhere. All you could hear was Sans's footsteps.
"Frisk. It's over." he smiled down at you with his usual grin.
Oh God…
No…
You refused to take his hand, batting it away. "Kid, what's up? It's finally over. We can…" You idiot. You reached up and swung your fist as hard as you could at him.
It connected gently, only doing 1 Damage.
0/1 HP
You recoiled, but somehow found your voice after all this time.
"You killed him. You…" Tears stung your eyes, you could barely open them.
"Asriel…"
You closed your eyes fully, and wished for everything to go back to how they were.
And so they did.