Chapter 1:
Born Anew
I am so terribly sorry I couldn't get this out sooner. I could shower you guys with excuses, but I'll spare you the trouble. Damn, it's been a busy year. So yeah. Might've fucked up a little bit. Not just talking about the late timing on this story, either. I always kept a digital copy of all of my Asriel as it Gets and Soulless chapters, but behold as my computer crashes whenever I try to open them. So I guess I'm a little bit boned when it comes to recalling the old story's plotline, but that's alright! In fact, maybe even a blessing in disguise, 'cause this means you and I can make it up as we go, just like old times, eh readers? Oh, but I'm rambling! Some things never change. Ladies and gentlemonsters, I gift to you, Asriel as it Gets; The Reboot!
P.S, those of you who haven't read the previous story may want to give it a quick once-over, to get a firm grasp on the story that took place before, if nothing else. Not that there was too much story to begin with, but- Aw, damn. I'm doing it again. I better start typing up the story before this chapter turns into a big message. Geez.
Butterscotch. God, that smell is just intoxicating. No matter how many times she breathed in its sweet aroma, it never grew dull.
Frisk almost leapt out of the sheets as she raced to the door when she heard her foster mother knocking, the springs of the bed creaking under the sudden pressure, propelling her ever skyward as the rest of the mattress indented deeply at the liftoff of the cute teenager who's feet once again planted on firmer, carpet-covered ground.
She almost slipped into a faceplant when she darted back to the bed, suddenly swarmed with memories of last night and the monster prince to blame for the hassle.
She reached the bed's soft occupant, snoozing quietly as his lithe arm dangled over the edge, skinny fingertips tickling the ground as his furry chest rose and fell with quiet breaths. One floppy ear to the monster's left side was planted over his face as a makeshift sleeping blindfold, the other slowly and ever so gently swinging from side to side as it draped over the edge of the bed, joining his longer arm. He wasn't wearing his cloak, leaving him stark nude save for the comfy blanket enveloping his body from the toes to his stomach. That dusty old cloak must have been too scratchy.
Frisk couldn't blame him. She would've done the same thing in that old outfit, having experienced it's irritating effect. She wore it on Halloween, wanting to dress like her foster mother. One day in that horrible thing, and she had a rash running from her back past her rear, reaching halfway down her thigh. Yikes!
Shaking the random, nostalgia-inducing flashback out of her head, Frisk reached over the monster, covering the remainder of his body and his head with the blanket, the boy instantly reacting to the stimulus as he picked up his breaths to draw oxygen from the other side of the suffocating sheet's embrace.
"Sorry." Frisk whispered, quiet as she could as not to draw suspicion from the woman actively knocking on her door, announcing her presence and a 'gift' that Frisk knew must be the goat's world famous Butterscotch Pie, Underworld famous, of course. "I'll be right back. Don't move, please?" She added, talking only to herself as the words fell only onto deaf, sleeping ears, and her own.
She took a shaky, nervous breath before twisting the doorknob, and swinging the wooden blockade out of her and her mother's way. "Mom!" Frisk cried out with glee, embracing the loving and loveable beast, burying her face into the soft, purple and white cloak.
"Child…" Toriel hummed in her naturally motherly tone of voice as she returned the crippling embrace with less pressure. "I've missed you, so."
"I missed you too, Mom!" Frisk responded affectionately.
"I'm so sorry for leaving for so long." The fussy woman whimpered apologetically. "The meet took me so far away."
"Aw, c'mon." Frisk groaned lightheartedly, slightly backing out of the hug to talk properly. To see her mother's face again.. "I could've sworn we talked about this over the phone on your way back."
"Yes, but… A week with no company or parental oversight… It's unacceptable. You could've gotten hurt- or worse- and I would not have the slightest clue." Toriel almost teared up- at the thought of her child getting hurt, or at such a reunion with said child, Frisk didn't know, but she hugged her mother again, regardless.
"It's fine. You didn't know it was gonna take that long." Frisk consoled, voice slightly muffled by the monster-mom's body. "Besides, it's not like I didn't have any company." She added, with a reference to Sans and the others' visits.
"Yes, I- I suppose you are right." Toriel regained her calm attitude with swift speed after the consolation of her daughter. "They always do have my child's best interests at heart, don't they?" She asked rhetorically, feeling Frisk's head nod through her tight hold. "You've grown up so fast… I certainly do hope you haven't outgrown Butterscotch."
Frisk eagerly pulled away from the hug and shook her head, mouth watering too much to voice her objection.
"I knew it." Toriel smiled playfully. "Well, should your appetite get to you, I'll have a slice put out. It'll be on the table, as always."
"You're the best!" Frisk beamed, about to turn back into her room to change into her outfit when she noticed her bed sheets move ever so slightly as it's occupant shifted his body so he could actually breath again, reminding her of her guest.
This movement did not pass their mother's keen eye. "Say, Frisk." She started slowly. Frisk froze. Seldom did her mother call her by her name. "What might be under you bedsheets?" She asked hesitantly, a slight blush working its way into her face.
"Oh, that? A project." Frisk tried to wave it off dismissively, resuming her pace to the drawers where her outfits lie, but when she noticed the red tint on Toriel's face, she knew what assumption the woman was making. "O-oh, no. It's not- I'm not. I-" Frisk tried to find the right words to wave off this new problem, but she tripped and tumbled over her own tongue embarrassingly.
"Of course. I- you're a grown woman. You can make you're own dec-"
"MOM!" Frisk shouted in a blind panic, face beet red.
Toriel flinched at the shout on reflex. "M-my apologies, my child. I simply wanted to voice my consent for-"
Frisk reached for the door to slam it shut to make the embarrassing torture stop before she got lightheaded or sprung a bloody nose from the blood flow traveling to her face in such massive torrents, but stopped dead in her tracks as the monster in her bed finally gained enough consciousness to realize what was smothering him, and pull it out of his face while he sat up and went through a swift routine of stretching followed by a yawn. He smacked his dry lips and rubbed his eyes before turning to see the two women at the doorway. Frisk, reaching to shut the door, face ashen in horror save for a streak of deep crimson spanning from cheek to flushed cheek, reaching over her nose to bridge the gap. Toriel, staring at him while tears sprung out of her eyes, still trying to understand what this painful lookalike to her deceased son is doing on her daughter's bed.
Asriel stared back, blankly for a split moment, until he quickly grasped his recollection of last night's events. Then his confused stare instantly turned into an emotional one with tears brimming in his eyes as well, a sad smile working its way across his lips.
"S-son...? My child?" Toriel finally spoke, voice shaken by raw emotion and confusion.
"Hey, mom." Asriel tried to smile warmly, but it only showed pain. Knives clenching his heart, needles stinging his eyes, a furnace in the back of his throat.
"Cat's out of the bag… Or goat out of the sheets, I guess." Frisk tried to lighten the mood, but it was completely outclassed by the levels of melancholy riding on the woeful tension.
"Frisk…" Toriel looked onto her third child with confusion and hurt, as well as excitement and happiness all in equal measure. "... Did you-? How is this-... How is this even possible?" Toriel almost sobbed, looking back at the bedrested boy. "Asriel, is that you? Are you… Really here?" She was careful, timid, trembling as though she expected the boy to vanish, leaving her again.
"Yeah, Mom… It's really me." Asriel sniffled, wiping the burning tears out of his eyes. "I'm really here."
Toriel slowly shuffled to the bed, close, but miles away to her. When she finally reached him, she touched him, softly caressed the side of his face. Finally certain he wouldn't melt away, the woman immediately pulled him into her arms, embracing him just as she did Frisk at the doorway, but so much softer. So much care taken on her part, so much worry, so much sorrow. So much joy. She broke out into tears, sobbing into her resurrected son's bare, fuzzy shoulder, him unleashing his tears into her cload in return. Frisk just watched, wordlessly witnessing the tender moment.
"Asriel… My son… My child…" Toriel cried out in between sobs of joy. "I've missed you so, my child. I've missed you so much."
"I missed you, too, Mom." Asriel replied, his voice breaking as he struggled to retain his sobs. "So much."
The two remained there for several moments. Asriel and Toriel, crying into each other's shoulders as the tears flooded, letting out all the pent up sorrow, anger, and general emotion. For several moments, everyone remained in their exact positions until Toriel managed to pull away to look at her daughter with her bright eyes reflecting with the tears she had just shed, voicing her thanks and confusion before her actual mouth could find the words. Eventually, however, she did. "Thank you, Frisk. I don't understand how, or why, or when, but thank you so much, my child. This… This means so much to me." She said, clutching her son, squeezing him protectively, not willing to let go even if the world ended.
Frisk nodded before speaking. "You're very welcome, but don't forget to thank Sans and Alphys. They were the brains of the op." Frisk chuckled lightheartedly, smiling a bright smile.
"I will, my child. I will." The goat mother looked back down to Asriel. "I will never forget this."
The young monster looked back up at his mother's heartwarming gaze, melting any doubt in his mind. This is how it should've been. This is how it was supposed to be from the start. He belonged here, he would never be cast away like with Chara. This is his family. This is his home. "Thank you… Frisk." Asriel managed to shift his tear-filled eyes over to the girl beside him, admiring her handiwork.
She just smiled and left the two to their devices.
Butterscotch pie sounds good right about now.
Frisk paced her way into the kitchen, a bright smile on her face, and a slowly disappearing blush from the moment before Asriel's discovery, or the discovery of Asriel. Ah, who cares. She brought a family closer together. That's a victory.
In the dining room, a lone plate sat on one end of a dining table, and on that plate sat one beautiful, sexy slice of her mother's own signature; butterscotch pie. Across the table, on the opposite end sat another plate with an equally large slice of the very same pie, several bites taken out of it, Asgore sitting behind it with a fork in hand. He just seemed to become aware of his old friend's presence.
"Frisk! It's so great to see you again!" He quickly left his spot on the table, swiftly taking one more bite of the pie that was skewered on his fork. "It's been darn near a month."
Peculiar. Toriel didn't let Asgore into the house very often. Of course the reason for such cold treatment likely due to the fact he slaughtered several children who fell into the Underground to steal their Souls and escape. It was completely reasonable that she would feel so strongly about Asgore's activities back then, but Frisk understood. He was desperate. The two remained close friends since their release from the Underground, as close as the rest of her friends, like Undyne and Papyrus.
"It's good to see you, too, your highness." Frisk greeted, giving a sarcastic bow and smirk as Asgore scoffed.
"Glad to see you haven't changed much in the passing of time." He chuckled to himself.
Frisk abandoned the smirk for a beaming grin. "Speaking of passing time, Mom's waiting for you in my room." She said, receiving a grumble as the former king came to the realization he had to leave the pie behind. He quickly stuffed one more bite into his mouth before approaching the stairs.
The hulking, impressively lean figure of the old royal disappeared around the corner. A few moments passed before the exact same figure peaked around the exact same corner. Frisk already knew what he was about to ask before he even opened his mouth. She groaned as she realized she had to leave her butterscotch pie behind, stuffed one more bite into her mouth, and ran up the stairs, eager to get back to what she was doing.
She took the king's hand and showed him the way to her room, their footsteps echoing off the walls of the small hallway. The third and last door to their left is where Frisk stopped, the faint sound of sobbing still remaining, muffled by the door and walls until Frisk opened the door.
It let out an ominous creak, further digging into Asgore's nerves as he passed through the open doorway to see what Frisk wanted him to see. His ex-wife and old queen clutching a body to her chest. His son's body. What was his son's corpse doing here? It should have been decomposed a long time ago.
His thoughts ran a million miles an hour through his head until Asriel's eyes opened to look at him. "Hey, Dad." Asriel pulled away from the wet embrace to gaze at his father properly. "Long time, no see, old timer." He tried to joke away the tension.
"S-son?" Asgore stuttered as the fear subsided into confusion. "But how?"
Asriel reached for his father's hand, pulling it to both let the monster know that yes, this was real, and to draw him into a group hug. Frisk, never one to turn down an opportunity like this, quickly pounced upon the chance to join this family embrace.
This was going to be a long and exciting couple of weeks.
Whew. That was a pretty good one if you ask me. I would say 'onto the reviews,' but well… Aw, screw it. Onto the reviews! (Real quick, before this starts, these reviews are from the Soulless Reboot story I made. You won't find it on the reviews section here if you want to go hunting. Just and FYI) Enderapprentice, a long standing contributor to the series, posted a review stating the following. Ahem! "Part one of the reboot was a total success c: now on to the next one! *grabs popcorn and sits back* were all rooting for you!" Indeed. Phase one is complete. Initiating phase two! But seriously, thanks man. I appreciate it, a lot. Next, Kycs77777 said "Pls do more, i love it" Well, I made it this far, even if it did take a while… Sorry. But, yes, thank you for your support, I appreciate it very much. And to wrap up the reviews, Anarchist Katie replied to the apology on the review section of the last story. "My guy, take your time. Life is way more important. Great things are done with time and you just need to wait for the right time." Thank you so much for your patience and understanding, all of you. I'm not quite done with the series anyways. I literally had just a couple paragraphs started up- barely a page- so when I found time this weekend, I crammed. I did my homework (literally) and made this chapter. This story is not going to be pre-written, in case you didn't catch my drift. If you guys want to make recommendations, please, do. However, I am not in need of such ideas. I will likely incorporate them into the story regardless and try to bend the fic back to the original plotline, or maybe even write an entirely new script around the new story, who knows? All I know is that I've been gone for a while, I'm back into the Fandom, and I have no frickin' clue who Kitten is. With that said, goodbye, and Godspeed.