As always, this is based on the Underheart au a friend of mine and I created. At this point, other than the Omega Flowey thing, I don't really consider anything I write to be canon to the au. I just kinda take the basic points we've decided on at this current point in time, and I let loose or whatever. So at least for now, this is based on Underheart, but probably doesn't actually happen.
And, as always, this is entirely separate from the story Underhearts by Theatrically_scattered. Underhearts is pretty different from Underheart but it's great and I highly recommend you go read it.
This was originally gonna be quite a bit longer, and go more into stuff. Long story short, I've got a middle ear infection, it's hard to get yourself to write when you're super disoriented like that, kinda ran out of steam, didn't even really feel like I could keep going with it anyway. But there's more I planned on happening, and if I ever come around to writing that, I'll add it in as another chapter. But IF that happens, it'll be awhile. I just like Hollow Bastion, man.
Asriel feels pretty out of character but according to the rules of Underheart, he doesn't have a soul, so hey, works for me. And I usually don't like making Frisk talk this much, Frisk talked way too much, but whatever man.
"We're here..." Frisk murmured. "It's New Home."
A gray, empty city sprawled out in front of them. The trio (Frisk, Sans, and Papyrus) had never been here before, but they recognized it immediately from their friends' descriptions. Once, they had said, it'd been a beautiful place. A world full of life, happiness, and hope for all its residents. But once the Heartless had struck, that was all over. Only a few had survived, escaping and stowing away in Snowdin. Now it was barren, full of despair, and overrun with Heartless.
"It's funny, but...it feels like Asriel's here, waiting for me," Frisk went on.
"what gives you that idea, kid?" Sans glanced over at them, a frown tugging at his mouth. "we haven't seen hide nor hair of him since we left the riverperson's boat."
Frisk shook their head. "I don't know, but I just...feel it. It doesn't make sense to me, either."
"WORRY NOT, HUMAN!" Papyrus assured. "I'M SURE WE'LL FIND ASRIEL, AND THE TWO OF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO REUNITE AT LAST. BUT FOR NOW, I THINK WE SHOULD FOCUS ON SEALING THE KEYHOLE. WITH ALL THESE HEARTLESS AROUND, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO LET THEM FIND IT."
"pap's right," Sans agreed. "one thing at a time, kiddo."
Frisk smiled at them. "Yeah. Alright, let's go."
Saying New Home was overrun by Heartless didn't do the situation justice. Every step the trio took, they were swarmed. It took all of Papyrus' strength, all of Sans' magic, and all of Frisk's determination just to move a few blocks down the sidewalk. Morale was going down fast. But just when hope seemed lost, Frisk looked up ahead, and saw the one person they were looking for standing by an elevator. Asriel.
They ran to meet him, ignoring the Heartless all around them. That didn't matter to them at all right now. Eyeing the area nervously, Papyrus and Sans hurried after them. Asriel broke into a smile.
"You finally made it! I've been waiting." As soon as they were close enough, Frisk tried to go in for a hug, but Asriel stopped them, holding them a comfortable distance away. They pouted, and he laughed. "We were inseparable, weren't we? We did everything together, and never left each other's sides. We were best friends."
Frisk nodded, though their pout clun stubbornly to their face. Asriel laughed again, then sighed.
"We were best friends...but that has to end here. There can't be two keyblade masters."
"Huh?" Frisk frowned, watching him closely. Two keyblade masters? They'd never seen Asriel wield a keyblade, or anything like it. What was he talking about?
"You still don't get it?" His face now solemn, Asriel stepped away from them. He held one of his arms out in front of him. "That's okay. You'll get it soon. It's time for the keyblade to return to its true master."
Frisk looked down at their keyblade, clutched in their own hands. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, it all happened at once. The keyblade flashed a bright light, they blinked, and suddenly their keyblade was in Asriel's hands.
Just behind them, Sans and Papyrus looked just as shocked as they were.
"Only the one holding the key in the end can open the door. And once that door's open, they can change the world." Asriel shot a smile towards Frisk as the keyblade disappeared in his hands. "Do you understand now, Frisk? All along, you were just the deliverer. The keyblade was meant for me, and I'll be the one to use it to save everyone. But...I can't just leave you defenseless. Not here." He pulled out a stick and tossed it towards them. They caught it in their hands easily. He ignored the confusion still obvious in their face. "No matter where you go, the Heartless will be waiting. Even a stick can defeat them with enough intention."
Frisk stepped towards him again, still desperate for answers. He stepped back again and looked away.
"Good luck, Frisk," Asriel muttered. "I'm sorry it had to be this way."
He turned around and walked to the elevator. Frisk watched, a plea stuck in their throat and a hand still reaching out towards him. But they didn't make a move to follow him. They knew they couldn't. As much as they wanted to, they could still feel it in their soul that he was on the wrong side.
Papyrus and Sans walked towards them. The duo stopped as they reached Frisk's side. They looked down at Frisk. All three of them could feel the confusion and the pain still lingering in the air. Each of them thought they knew what they had to do next as well. But none of them liked it.
"SANS..." Papyrus' gaze turned towards his brother's, begging Sans to tell him he was wrong. "I KNOW WHAT THE KING ORDERED US TO DO, BUT DO WE REALLY...?"
Sans met it for a moment, then looked away from both of them. "i don't want to either, pap." He looked pointedly at the ground and shoved his hands into his pockets. With a sigh, he took a step forward, after Asriel. For a moment, he glanced back at Frisk. "sorry, kid. really, i am." Then he began walking ahead again, without looking back or hesitating.
Papyrus stared down at Frisk with a pained look before running after his brother. The three of them now met up together, Asriel, Sans, and Papyrus took the elevator to wherever it went. And now Frisk was all alone.
For a moment, they considered running after the three. Taking the elevator wherever it went, meeting up with them again. But they couldn't think any farther than that. They weren't sure whether they wanted to stop the trio or go with them. All three of them were doing the wrong thing now, and Sans and Papyrus definitely knew it, but...Frisk wasn't sure they had it in them to stop three of their closest friends. Even if they had the determination, they didn't have the power. The only thing they could think to do was go back. It was probably the only thing they could do, really.
Thus, they turned around and commited to it. This was their path now. Maybe Undyne or someone else would have an idea of what to do now.
Fighting through the Heartless was much harder this time. Not only were they alone, but they were also using a less effective weapon. And for the most part, physical attacks were all they had at their disposal. They'd tried to get Sans to teach them how to use magic a few times, but magical attacks didn't seem to be their forte. Anything they'd managed was even weaker than just fighting with their stick. It would be a waste of time and energy to try to use magic against the Heartless, so they stuck to the stick. It was difficult, sure, but they were barely able to manage.
They reached the elevator, but something was wrong. It looked beaten up, smashed, like the Heartless or something else had attacked it. Frisk doubted it was still working, but they pushed the button to summon it anyway. Their hypothesis was correct.
With a sigh, they turned around to lean against the elevator and slumped forward. They were stuck here. There didn't seem to be any choice now to chase after Asriel and the others. It wasn't like anyone else was here, nor anything else to to do. But what was the point? Frisk wasn't sure they could've beaten Asriel on his own. Now he had Sans and Papyrus with him, as well as the keyblade. Sure they wanted to stop him, turn him around, but what was the point of trying if that was impossible? They were determined, but they had their limits and they knew what those were.
Frisk held their hand out in front of them and tried to summon their keyblade. A small light flashed around their hand, but nothing else happened.
The keyblade really was gone. It belonged to Asriel now, or maybe it had all along. Maybe Frisk wasn't supposed to ever have it. It was a powerful weapon, and Asriel was a powerful monster; it would make him unstoppable. Frisk's friends were really gone, too. Under orders to follow the keybearer, they had left with Asriel, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. They were powerless and alone. Useless. There was nothing they could do.
...
...Or was there?
Frisk pulled their cell phone out of their pocket. The wallpaper had been some default picture for a long time, but they'd recently changed it. Now it was a picture of them, with Sans and Papyrus and other friends they'd made along the way. Everyone was smiling, and happy, and together.
Perhaps they weren't as along as they thouht.
They looked down at the picture and smile. They may not have been with everyone in that picture now, but they were still thinking about them. They were all capable of amazing things, and Frisk believed in all of them. Being separated didn't stop them from being friends, and it certainly didn't lessen those connections any. And if Frisk felt that way about their friends, surely their friends felt the same about them. And they weren't one to let their friends down.
They didn't come all this way to turn their back on those that mattered most to them. Papyrus and Asriel and Sans needed them.
Frisk dashed through the Heartless, not letting the creatures stop and distract them. If they hurried now, there was a chance they could catch up to the others. Even if they weren't able to do anything, they still had to try, for their friends' sakes. And with enough determination and their friends in their thoughts, Frisk almost felt like they really had a chance.
Before they knew it, they reached one of the largest buildings in New Home, the castle. Surely this was where Asriel was headed, since most of the other buildings here were wrecked and destroyed. The castle's doors were wide open. They smiled and ran through them. They had to be close by now.
In reality, they were much closer than they realized.
All three of them were waiting inside the castle. Papyrus and Asriel seemed to be discussing something, something that frustrated Asriel but Papyrus was insistent on. It was Sans who noticed them first. He pointed them out without giving much of a visible reaction. Asriel turned to look at them, frowning.
"You're still here?" he asked. "You should turn back, while you can. It's not safe for you."
They shook their head. "Not without you."
"You don't have a proper weapon, Frisk," Asriel pointed out. "You're alone. The Heartless will destroy you, the darkness will overtake you."
"I'm not alone," Frisk insisted. "And I'm not leaving."
Asriel sighed. "You're as determined as ever. But we'll see how far that determination will get you now."
He pointed the keyblade at them, and shot a blast of dark fire magic at them. Frisk held their hands up in front of their face to shield it, and braced themself for impact.
It never came.
Frisk moved their hands and opened their eyes. A long line of bones had appeared in front of them, blocking the attack. Papyrus was now standing next to them. He grinned triumphantly at them, before turning back to Sans and Asriel.
"You...you're abandoning the king's orders?" Frisk managed to stammer out.
"I'D NEVER DO THAT," Papyrus said. "BUT I'M NOT GOING TO ABANDON YOU EITHER, HUMAN. AFTER COMING THIS FAR, WE'RE FRIENDS, AND I NEVER ABANDON MY FRIENDS." Papyrus thought for a moment about this. Something appeared to popped into his mind, and his eyes lit up. "NOT JUST ANY FRIENDS, EITHER! WE'RE THE BEST OF FRIENDS! WHICH MEANS I CAN'T ABANDON YOU EVEN MORE. YOU'RE STUCK WITH ME, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, AND I REALLY HOPE YOU DO!"
Frisk sniffed and rubbed their eyes. "Papyrus..."
Papyrus now diverted his attention to his brother. "SANS...YOU'LL HAVE TO TELL THE KING I'M SORRY. I GUESS...I GUESS I'LL SEE YOU LATER."
Sans looked over at Asriel and sighed. "pap, wait..." Next thing anyone knew, he was standing next to Papyrus. "you know what they say, friends gotta stick together, right?" He grinned, looking directly at Frisk's stick. "we'll tell 'im together. i can't just leave the kid, either."
"Sans..." Frisk wiped at their eyes again, grinning. "Thanks, guys."
Asriel seemed surprised by this, but quickly broke out of this. "You guys can go with Frisk if you want. But they still can't fight. You're just dooming yourselves."
"I don't need to fight," Frisk told him. "I don't need the keyblade, or any other kind of weapon. Because I'm not alone. I've made friends along the way, friends I care about, and they care about me. Even when we're apart, we're still connected, and our connections are stronger than the strongest weapon. I don't a weapon. My friends are my power, just as much as I'm their's."
They tightened their grip on the stick in their hand for a second, and then dropped it. As soon as the stick hit the ground, they could feel something change. A light flashed in their hands, and suddenly they were holding the keyblade again. Asriel's hands were empty.
"Your friends, huh..." Asriel gritted his teeth and summoned a weapon of his own: Chaos Buster. "You may feel that way now, but you'll abandon them, just like you did to me. The keyblade should never belong to someone like that."
Frisk blinked. "Abandon...?"
Asriel didn't answer. Instead, he ran forward, swinging the Chaos Buster to attack Frisk. Frisk held up their keyblade to block the hit. With no other choice, Frisk began to fight back, with Sans and Papyrus quickly joining in. It was a pretty evenly matched fight, and ended in a stalemate. Once the fight was over, Asriel scowled and disappeared into the darkness.
"Asriel..." Frisk stared sadly at the last place he'd been standing. "I never abandoned you..."
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