Sans: zzzzz...zzzzz...zzzzz...
Papyrus: SANS! GET UP, YOU LAZYBONES!
Sans: (yawns, then scratches ribs) what is it, paps? i'm workin' here."
Papyrus: LYING ON THE GRASS SLEEPING ISN'T WORK! WE'RE ABOUT TO START THE STORY!
Sans: really? huh. looks like another one has fallen ill with the 'Undertale Virus'. benny ben here couldn't help himself.
Me: Can you blame me?
Sans: *shrugs* maybe. maybe not. who really knows? is this really the time to start pointing bony fingers?
Papyrus: SANS!
Sans: *Snickers* anyway, ben doesn't own Undertale or it's characters, yadda yadda yadda. He doesn't feel very worthy of such a masterpiece that Toby Fox created.
Me: Yep. Toby Fox is a genius. ^^
Sans: very good. now if you excuse me, i'm gonna name off many of the altnernate names ben has, and you decide which one is lame. then i'll call him that most of the time.
Me: Wait wha-
Sans: let's see. ben. benny ben. benny bob. ben franklin. ben banneker. bennekin. benJAMin'. benboozled. bentastic. b-rex. and most infamously-
Me: *glare* Don't. You. Dare.
Sans: ...
Me: Thank you-
Sans: *troll face* ben 10.
Me: GAAAAAAGH!
Sans:hehehehe! it's in your profile name, dude! you shoulda seen that one coming!
Me: *groan*
Let's just begin, shall we?
...
...
...
...One would think of silence as just that, silence. Not a sound to be heard for any period of time. However...if you were in a position where that's all you have in a world where no one else but yourself resides in...you'll realize just how sad and lonely total complete silence can be. But there was no other choice for him. After everything he's done, and everything he's been through, he didn't think he deserved a happy ending. Not like the others, who have been striving for it for years. And even if he DID want it, it wouldn't do much good. Their happiness will soon turn into despair, with due time, because his was not very long.
This young boy's name...Asriel Dremurr. Royal Prince of the Underground as well as the blood son of Toriel and Asgore Dreamurr. This boy has suffered so much, and he tried to take it out on the world that inflicted that pain onto him. Luckily someone who resembled a very close friend he had a long time ago who had a major role in pushing him on that path, managed to stop him from continuing with his evil. And after a long and tearful goodbye, he broke the barrier between humans and monsters, allowing them to leave...while he has to stay.
It tore him apart inside, but this was the way things had to be. Sooner or later, he'll be turned back into Flowey The Flower...and that side of him isn't very good at making friends. No...Flowey is kind of a jerk...a REALLY big jerk. His parents were best thinking that he was still dead, instead of being seen doomed to turn back into Flowey. The complete opposite of this poor child wandering through the empty Underground...alone...
He decided to leave the flower patch he chose to watch over. With no one else here except for him, he doubted that anyone or anything would bring harm to them. Besides...he wanted to see something else for the moment. It was a place where he had first met the human who manahed to save him, even if it was only temporary.
Frisk.
He reminded him so much of Chara, his long-gone adopted brother. Same face, same hair, same clothes and shoes, they could be twins for crying out loud! However...Asriel noticed the difference after his fight with the former. Chara was not a very good role model, and they were sometimes pretty mean and spiteful towards everything around them. His adopted family, to him through Asriel's eyes, were at least tolerable. It was like he hated existence itself for some reason.
And then there's Frisk. He's the exact opposite when it came to personality. The boy was kind, gentle, caring, and incredibly friendly. And his pacifist nature, with some help from Toriel, made him a very charismatic young lad, befriending nearlt everyone he comes across. It wasn't easy at first, though. Frisk was targeted by most monsters of the Undergroud for his SOUL, the last one needed to help Asgore break the barrier. However, no matter what obstacles he srumbles upon, Frisk never fought back against them, only as an absolute last resort. But even then, he never took a single life, unlike what they were expecting.
Frisk could be a more likely candidate to be Asriel's brother than Chara, since they had so much more in common. Chara, again, wasn't the best role model...
Back on track, Asriel stopped within the deepest parts of Snowdin, the freezing temperature of the environment not nearly as bad as he thought it'd be, but he couldn't help but shiver every now and then. He steadily looked up to the entrance of The Ruins. The place where Frisk exited in order to truly begin his journey...and it's also the place Toriel was hauled up for a long time. She must have been looking after Frisk until he chose to leave on his own...but with great reluctance. Asriel could understand why. His mom was amazing. But...
I died a couple centuries ago. And when I died, Mom and Dad had stopped aging, period. That's how it works, Boss monsters like them only age with their children. Then they split up and kept themselves locked in these ruins and the Castle, respectively. Dad at least had his subjects to give him company. But Mom...before Frisk came, Mom was all alone down here, wasn't she...?
Asriel didn't think his ears could droop any further than they naturally did...but he was proven wrong. He couldn't deny it even if he wanted to. Toriel's loneliness and Asgroe's inner conflict...the Kingdom falling apart...he knew that he was largely at fault for all of it. He didn't stop Chara's scheme while he had the chance because he didn't want him to dislike him more than he seemingly already did. He didn't want to lose Chara has a friend, the only one he had, so he allowed the two of them to walk right into the path of death, and paid for it dearly when he had second thoughts far too late. Then he had the heavy guilty feeling of leaving their parents with gaping holes in their hearts because they lost two children on the same night.
Asriel clenched his fists and his eyes closed. He was trying his best not to cry. His selfishness and his cowardice is what allowed those events to unfold, and it cost everyone dearly even after so many years. And his destructive and nihilistic impulses when he was reincarnated as Flowey really didn't help matters in the slightest. Trying to corrupt the one person who could possibly save the Underground from it's cycle of misery, and then trying to reset it all because he just couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to start completely fresh, with things going wrong being incredibly unlikely. While his reasons for 'Kill Or be Killed' were definitely understandable, it doesn't justify his actions. Not even a little. He put people through a LOT of pain so he could make he himself feel better.
He wondered if fate had a strong dislike towards him, or something. He was just destined to suffer for some reason. Before this entire crisis began, he might have complained about it. But now...he feels like everything that's happened to him, he deserves it. There was nothing he could do to change that. Everyone got their happy ending except for himx and it looks like fate decided to keep it that way as well. He no longer had a problem with that.
Unknown to him, however...there are a group of people who have made a decision to defy fate, and try something new...
"huh. so this is the forgotten prince. asriel, right?"
Asriel's eyes widened and he spun around to see who owned that voice. He felt just about ready to pass out.
Sans.
Yes, Asriel was well aware of who this skeleton is...and what he's put him through when he was Flowey. But he couldn't blame him for it. He was trying to cause an infinite chaotic loop, he was stepping in multiple times to make sure that didn't happen. And Sans was INSANELY strong. Trying to get past Sans...it was hell. Asriel wasn't a fan of swears, really. But that's what Flowey described it as. An uncountable amount of resets, that's what Sans did to them. And even if he DID somehow manage to get past Sans, he'd be too exhausted, then he's instantly taken down by Asgore, and he'd be forced to reset anyway. He then gave up altogether, after that.
Now this same skeleton was standing before him in the cold...not that he'd feel it, he's a skeleton. Anyway, here he was, with that same grin he always wears on his face. But his vibes we're unreadable, and it was making Asriel incredibly nervous. Would he be able to tell who he was fighting those many times...?
"hey, uh...i know this might be awkward...but i honestly didn't know that you were that pesky flower. it was definitely news to me, really. i would have held back a bit more." He shrugged. "i mean, how was i supposed to know that i was beating up a prince?"
Asriel's eyes widened and his mouth hung just slightly in shock. "How did you-"
"it's all over your face, kid. for me, this is the first time i've seen you in this form. and yet that feared look in your eyes when i approached you...it was also laced with familiarity." He placed his hands in his pockets. "now how would you be familiar with me if i never met you as you are? because you met me as someone else. the little chaos flower who tried to make it past me. am i right...?"
The child's eyes widened again. Sans was being incredibly lazy about it, but he was very perceptive. He should know this about him already, but having a child's mindset back, he couldn't help himself.
"...oh i almost forgot. frisk told me about the whole 'you being a flower' thing. i was only trying to confirm it myself."
Asriel blinked in surprise. "Wait...Frisk told you about me...?"
"he only told people he could trust with that type of information. but he didn't tell your parents...for obvious reasons." Asriel flinched. "don't worry, kid. those 'people' are only two of us. i'm one of them. alphys is the other." Alphys? Why would Frisk tell her about this? "hey...uh...the reason why Frisk eventually came out and told us...well...he just didn't have the heart to just leave you down here and not even try to do anything about it."
The boy lowered his head a little in response to that. Asriel thought he was beyond saving. And yet Frisk was willing to try anyway. But he just wanted to know...
"You mean...you're not here to kill me?"
Sans shook his head. "you did a lot of bad stuff...but you're not a bad kid at heart. you were put through hell for trying to be a good person, and i myself don't believe that being left down here all alone is a justified punishment. frisk 'noped' that so hard. somethin' along those lines." Asriel was about to ask more, but Sans groaned a bit. "ah jeez...i've been talkin' for so long...i gotta give my lungs a break..."
"...But you don't have lungs."
"...yeah." Sans grinned. Asriel remembered that he also liked puns...and they were HORRIBLE. And he didn't care at all. Neither did Toriel, apparently. "anyway, let's take a break with the depressing talk, kid. i gotta take you somewhere where we're trying to figure a couple things out. take my hand, i know a shortcut." Sans slowly offered his hand, his seemingly eternal grin still in place.
Asriel was hesitant. Even as Flowey, Sans was a very mysterious individual no matter how many times they encountered one another. However, he feared the consequences if he declined the offer. So he nervously reached his paw out and grasped Sans' hand.
What came next was a loud farting and spluttering sound. Asriel blinked in surprise while Sans chuckled.
"the whoopie cushion in the hand trick...don't underestimate the classics, kid." Asriel looked at him with a deadpan expression, while Sans simply shrugged. Had to lighten the mood somehow. "anyway, let's go." He gently grasped his hand and walked towards the entrance of the Ruins. Asriel was confused by this.
"Uh...aren't 'we walking the wrong wa-"
They vanished before he could finish.
(Alphy's Lab)
Asriel regained his balance from the sudden jump, and Sans let go of his hand and placed his own in his pockets again. He had forgotten the skeleton could teleport. "yo al! frisk! i brought him like i said as i would!"
Frisk is here?!
His mind didn't know what to do, but he didn't have to think about it. The first thing that happened was the sudden blur of purple and blue, as well as a tight hug. The familiar warmth of the embrace immediately made him hug back. And just like last time, he really didn't want to let go of him.
"Frisk...what's going on?" Asriel finally asked, but didn't move to break the hug. "Why did you send Sans to get me...?"
Frisk pulled back just slightly and flashed a bright smile at Asriel. Asriel remembered that Frisk was just a bit of a mute. Interestingly enough, it's been discovered that Frisk was selectively mute. It's just that he very rarely spoke up. Because most of the time, they could tell what he's trying to tell people through his actions and feelings. Sign language tends to help, too. And so far, Asriel, Toriel, and Sans were the ones best at guessing what he was trying to convey to them accurately without speaking. And naturally, when he actually does speak up, everyone was listening.
...which leads to speculation as to what exactly made him want to be so quiet most of the time. Alphys says that you don't become selectively mute unless something seriously bad happened to you in the past. Because other cases are shyness, and Frisk was far from shy.
Asriel let a sad, yet also happy, smile grace his lips as he relaxed into the hug a bit more. "Well, I missed you too. But you remember what I said don't you? I can't come back up to the surface with you."
Frisk shook his head as he stepped back a bit and placed a hand where his heart was while closing his eyes. The meaning got across: Frisk was definitely still upset that Asriel was unable to come back to the surface, but that it wasn't the reason he sent for him.
Asriel blinked and tilted his head to the side. "Wait...you're not? But then...why DID you send for me?"
"I...I...I would like to take the time to explain that." Asriel turned around to see Alphys, the reptilian-like genius who is currently in a relationship with Undyne. She's also one of the biggest otakus out there. Was it also mentioned that she's super adorable? "I-If I may, Your Majesty."
Asriel immediately shook his head. "Just call me Asriel. With the short time I have left, I don't really want anyone to feel like they have to regard me as a prince."
"Right, of course." Alphys avoided direct eye contact with him at all costs, and only Sans was able to notice. It wasn't like he could blame her. It wasn't just the Amalgamites that were her creations, but Flowey was her creation as well. And to be told by Frisk that Flowey was the Royal Prince reincarnated into a soulless creature bent on destruction...Alphys had just gotten her conifdence back, and she was trying hard not to let all of that progress go to waste.
She had a hand in putting Asriel through immense agony. She can't even look him in the eye at the moment. His misery had been prolonged for years because of her. It was a high chance that Asriel was mostly aware of this, but had chosen not to say anything for her sake. After all, having absorbed all of the souls of the monsters before, he sensed that hers was dilled with immense self-hate and despair because of her failures. There was no reason to push her back down that road.
"...A-anyway, I wish to discuss something with you with the time you have left, Asriel. I'll need you to pay close attention because you might not have long, okay?" Alphys instructed him. The child nodded readily as she turned to her large computer and began typing. Her glasses shining white as a result to indicate her seriousness.
"I've been spending as much time as I can researching something...very unsettling." Alphys continued. "With Sans' extensive knowledge and Frisk's experiences with loading and saving, I've managed to piece together a very possible scenario when it came to their time travels. Asriel...when you were Flowey, you were able to load as long as you used a save point, and you could reset whenever you wish. But then you lost that power when, Frisk's DETERMINATION greatly surpasses yours, right?" Asriel nodded, still looking uncomfortable. "Well...according to Sans...that can be our greatest asset...or our greatest undoing. For this timeline, we've gotten the best possible ending. Pacifist. Frisk never harms anyone, but spares them even when they attack him, it's why he's made so many friends." The word 'PACIFIST' appeared on the right side of the screen on her computer. "However, since no one is perfect...not even sweet little Frisk~" Alphys managed to coo playfully. Frisk pouted at this, causing Sans to snicker. "He didn't meet all the requirements of the Pacifist ending at first, so he got a Neutral ending instead. The Neutral Ending has many ways of closing. But no matter how many times I replay it with different variables added in and taken out, the end result is the same: Asgore dies." 'NEUTRAL' appeared in the center of the screen. The Royal Scientist sighed. "And now, the most difficult part."
"Most difficult...part...?" Asriel repeated slowly.
"yeah. it's got something to do with your 'bro' chara." Sans said this as deadpan as he could, but the prince did not miss the venom seeping into his tone. This was not reassurring for him. Asriel could only turn his head towards the screen in fear of what would appear on it. What exactly did Chara do...?
...his heart sank when he saw 'GENOCIDE/NO MERCY' appear on the left side of the screen.
"In this timeline...Chara has fully possessed Frisk...and destroyed everything. He still had DETERMINATION...but he's devoted it to evil. Killed all of he monsters, and most of our friends. Your mother was the first victim." Asriel began to shiver profusely, but did not tell her to stop. "He was relentless. He tore everythinf apart, taking everything we've ever loved and destroyed it without any care in the world." Alphys lowered her head. "Toriel...Papyrus..." Sans just barely managed to keep his cool for those two. "Undyne...Mettaton..." Alphys had to take a few minutes to pause after that one. "...and after a while, Sans...even Asgore. One by one, the ones considered heroes compared to him fell before him. I managed to avoid his path of destruction...not that it mattered. He manages to destroy the world anyway, so my efforts of evacuation...were for nothing." Alphys thought bitterly, folding her hands and looking down at her keyboard. "...Asriel. You were the last one. He killed you last, despite that you were begging for your life and he was well-aware that there was no afterlife for you without a soul..."
Asriel clutched his chest tightly as he tried not to faint. It was too much for him all at once. "...Chara did...all of that...? But...we're...supposed to be brothers..."
"that ain't brotherhood, asriel. a real brother doesn't cut down their own sibling until they turn into nothing." Sans responded bitterly. Frisk gently patted his arm, concerned. Sans sighed. "i'm fine, kid...i'm fine."
Asriel actually fell to his knees as he stared up at the ceiling, a face strained with self-blame. He had thought that Chara was a good person who only needed a bit more guidance. Hearing all this...put in into a very shaky mental state. Because he knew that Alphys had no reason to lie to him, not over something like this.
...did Chara ever care about him or his parents at all...?
"...what...did he do...after that...?" Asriel asked slowly, not taking his eyes off the ceiling. Alphys turned back to the computer.
"Sans noticed it in other timelines. He saw Frisk, but Frisk was no longer there. High chance that he sold his soul to Chara in order to bring the world back, which resulted in a forced reset...and it left him in control of his body. So every timeline he visits after that becomes tainted and unfixable. He poses as Frisk. And when our guards are down, he'd kill us all without anyome ever noticing. Until he destroy the world again...and then resets again."
"to put it simply, chara is a pretty major reason why there are constant resets. because Frisk wouldn't want to reset after a happy ending." Sans spoke up. "he finds it funny to watch us earn our happy ending by making us start back at the beginning. it's finally getting on my last bone." Frisk and Alphys chuckled softly at his joke, and his genuine grin signed through. He had to lighten the mood somehow, right? "but in all seriousness. if we want these resets to stop, then chara has gotta go. and he can't come back."
Asriel turned towards him. "Get rid...of Chara...? But Chara is..." he stopped where he was and stared at the ground in disbelief. As a brother, he was supposed to not want Chara to be taken out, because he somehow still finds his heart connected to Chara. But as a Prince...his kingdom will never see peace and prosperity if Chara still exists to taint every timeline he comes to. Asriel feels so conflicted about the entire thing.
Frisk patted his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Asriel locked eyes with Frisk, wanting to know something about him that he may have missed. When he found it, Asriel sighed as he closed his eyes with a resigned sigh. If Frisk of all people believes that Chara needs to be dealt with...then he must truly be beyond saving...no matter how much he wants to try. Chara resets to mess with their heads, and no one but Sans is always completely aware.
"so that's why i wanna do somethin' i really don't wanna do. it's a real pain in the tailbone...but we're gonna have to reset." Sans continued. and when we reset...i'll be lending a hand, kind of. alphys is helpin' too. with her technology and our time-based abilities, we were able to see how each route ends and what's required of them. now it's time that we do things...our way."
"…Your...way...?"
"Because of Chara's constant interference, we've been through all the endings there was to go through, even if most of us don't remember it." Alphys nodded. "So we're wondering if we did make the choice to follow the Pacifist route...but we do it in a way that no one can expect. In a way where Chara is placed in a serious disadvantage. Where we can corner him and purge him for good." Alphys turned back towards the screen. "Frisk...will have to perform another true reset. None of us are going to like it...Sans really hates it...but we have to. Our happy route will always be in danger when Chara is active enough to ruin it."
Asriel looked at his hands. It might just be possible. But if they go along with this crazy scheme of theirs, then he'll turn back into Flowey, and he might even remember the evenrs, which will make him hate Frisk again. That's very bad, since he really doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore...
"look, kid. trust me when i say we don't like this anymore than you do. at the very least, frisk will be looking for a way on how to help you break away from your flowey curse for good. but at the moment, you'll turn back into him no matter what. what we need is your thoughts on this while you still have your free will."
Asriel was feeling even more tense than ever before. They want to know his thoughts on this before they can actually go along with it? Frisk probably had something to do with that. Asriel didn't know what to think. It doesn't matter if he agrees or doesn't agree and they choose to cancel the plan with the latter answer. Flowey will resurface either way. Which is why they're asking if he has any other displeasures with the plan, he should speak up now. And it was true he wasn't entirely up for the plan.
...he decided to trust Frisk. He doesn't have any reason on hand to NOT trust him.
"Frisk...just do what you need to do. I'll be okay." Asriel nodded softly towards him, and the boy returned it.
"Alright." Alphys nodded as she reached through her things, grabbed a glowish pen from it, and began writing something on a photo. "Unlike you three, once the reset happens, I won't remember too much of anything after this. So Sans, once you've done what you need to do when you first meet Frisk, you must come to my lab and show me the note on this photo. It might be rocky at first, but my memory will definitely come back. I believe in it."
Sans took a look at the photo for a little bit, then chuckled again. "so short, so simple, and yet so passionate. figured you had it in ya, alphys." The comment made Alphys blush and hide her face with her tail. "alright. like a banana, it's time to split." Frisk was the only one who chuckled. Alphys and Asriel groaned. "frisk, when you're ready, go ahead and reset."
Frisk looked down when Sans said this. Then he walked up to Sans and gave him a hug, burying his head in his jacket. "frisk? what's the matter, bud?" Frisk looked up to meet Sans' eyesockets, and intensely apologetic look on his face. Sans immediately understood, and began rustling his hair. "oh, i see what it is. you're worried about me, aren't ya?" He sees the confirming nod, and sighed. "look kid...i cam understand that. i've experienced so many resets that it hardly seems to matter to me anymore. however...this is a chance to end that cycle once and for all. i'm not putting my hopes too high, don't wanna be too disaboneted." Frisk snickered again. Alphys facepalmed. And Asriel was sighing with mental exhaustion. Well, he was already mentally exhausted, but this added to that. "but i'd be a scaredy-bones if i didn't take the risk. if we succeed, great. awesome, even. if we don't...well...nothing really changes for me, then." Frisk deflated greatly at thisx with guilty feelings bubbling within. But Sans grinned again, shaking his head. "but don't let me discourage you, kid. ultimately, it's your call. i'll support either decision you make."
Frisk looked around the room to the three of them. Then his mind went back to his other loved ones: Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Mettaton, Asgore...he's even grown to like that pesky Annoying Dog. The canine lived greatly to its title, but still manages to be more bearable than Jerry...even Frisk tends to cringe around Jerry.
...nobody seems to like Jerry very much.
Frisk really didn't want to take away this happy ending from them...but he had to make sure it never becomes undone again.
With regaining resolve, Frisk closes his eyes, and concentrated. Sans nodded in acceptance, winking with one single glowing blue eye, as he, Asriel, and Alphys disappeared.
"see ya on the other side, kid."
Frisk remembers his friends and family. The ones he strived to achieve a happy ending for. He was more than willing to do it all again, AND make sure that it never becomes undone again. This new goal, and the mindset of going on the Pacifist route with a few more twists and turns of their own choice...
...
...
...
Frisk is filled...with DETERMINATION.
How was that? Depending on the response I get, it'll decide whether I should keep going or not. I DO hope it gets somewhere though. Right Sans?
Sans: zzzzz...zzzzz...zzzzz...
Me: ...he went back to sleep.😑*sigh* This is only the beginning...
See ya aroundx possibly~