Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox; this fanfic was written for fun.
Frisk's gender: My personal belief was that Frisk's gender was left ambiguous so that the player's could decide what gender they wanted Frisk to be. My headcanon is that Frisk is male so that is reflected in my fanfic. If you prefer to see Frisk as another gender, then feel free to, but please don't flame me for my interpretation.
Asriel was there and he could do nothing. He didn't recognize this form, but did it really matter right now?
He couldn't reach for his Stick or his Items even if he wanted to.
He couldn't Spare him.
He couldn't move his body.
"Urah ha ha ha... Behold my TRUE power!"
The ghostly rainbow beams of light (only a child would use such attacks, he dimly realized - or was it powered by the Souls of all the Monsters that Asriel had absorbed?) flew towards him, and Frisk couldn't move as they slammed into him.
No. Not like this. He was determined not to let it go like this, to die here and now, no matter what, even if he could feel his Soul shudder, cracks appearing in it as it broke apart.
But it refused.
He forced his Soul to fuse back together. He forced his Soul to refuse the warm embrace of the black death that he was facing. He felt better. He felt revived.
He still couldn't move his body.
"I can feel it..." Asriel was speaking. "Every time you die, your grip on this world slips away. Every time you die, your friends forget you a little more. Your life will end here, in a world where no one remembers you..."
Asriel attacked again, the same attack as before, and deja vu hit him. Or was it just memories from a life that technically never happened?
That was not how he wanted to go. He flexed his limbs, his body. He could move. Not much, but he could move.
The whole world was ending, but he was still alive.
"Still, you're hanging on...? That's fine. In a few moments, you'll forget everything, too. That attitude will serve you well in your next life!" Asriel declared, assaulting him again. He was struck, but he clung to the tiny thread of Determination that he had.
His whole world was ending, but he was still alive.
"Ura ha ha... Still?! Come on... Show me what good your Determination is now!"
Again? He could barely move, but that was fine. He could take whatever Asriel threw at him, but he was not going to give up. Not here, not now. But this wasn't going to work.
He couldn't move his body.
Nothing happened.
He struggled.
Nothing happened.
He tried to reach his Save File.
Nothing happened.
He tried again to reach his Save File.
Nothing happened.
Perhaps Saving himself was really impossible for the time being. But surely he hadn't lost the ability to Save? Maybe, with the little power that he had, he could Save something else.
Other than his life, what was the most precious to him?
He didn't have to think. Various faces, none of them even close to being similar to his own, crossed his mind. Perhaps Asriel was right, and his memories of this world were fading away. Perhaps his Determination wouldn't be enough to save himself.
But it would be enough to save them.
He reached out towards Asriel's Soul with his own. They were in there somewhere, weren't they? All of them? His Soul beat, and he could feel the other Souls start to beat with it.
He would call out to them. He would make them remember who they were.
He called out to Toriel, the only mother he had ever known, despite how brief it had been, and to Asgore, who had never wanted to hurt him. He showed them the piece of butterscotch pie, lovingly tucked away in a tupperware container, and that he preferred butterscotch over cinnamon. He told Toriel that he had to go, if he was going to free everyone, but that he would see her again. He stared deep into Asgore's eyes as humans of the past would, and promised that he was going to save everyone. He wrapped his arms around both of them in turn, not wanting to let go of the warm, soft embraces of the furry Boss monsters, and told them he didn't want to fight, that he would never hurt them.
He called out to Sans and Papyrus, some of the first friends that he had ever made. He told a bad pun about skeletons, smiling a little when Papyrus nearly flipped out as Sans laughed. He asked Papyrus to cook something for him and to help him with a puzzle he was having trouble with. He asked Sans to take a break and get something to eat at Grillby's, to help him with a crossword, to judge him for what he had done throughout - he promised he would think about any sins he happened to have committed.
He called out to Undyne, having won her over with his true gentleness. He pretended to clash with her with all his might before merely tapping her on the shoulder; how could he ever muster up the intent to hurt her. He gave her a huge smile, reminiscent of how she would smile at him when she was amused or happy. He asked her to teach him how to cook, like she was teaching Papyrus.
He called out to Alphys, the scientist who had just wanted to be his friend. He asked her for help with a quiz question that Mettaton had given him. He asked her about her favorite anime, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, and that he would watch it with her. He rang her up on his cell phone, just like he had done before. He encouraged her to do the right thing in the end.
He called out to the others he had known.
He complimented Froggit's appearance and did something mysterious in front of Final Froggit. He consoled Whimsun when the other reluctantly approached him, and prayed to the heavens for safety right in front of Whimsalot.
He refused to pick on Loox, and obeyed Astigmatism's orders. He ate all the vegetables that Vegetoid offered, and even all the snakes that Parsnik offered (had he met Parsnik? He was feeling deja vu again).
He chased away all other monsters near Migosp and Migospel and watched them dance (again, had he met Migospel)?
He laughed at Snowdrake's pun, and reunited him with his father and the amalgamate containing his mother. He agreed with everything that Chilldrake said, helping him relax.
He knocked Ice Cap's hat off his head, commenting that he looked much better without it. He removed the decorations from Gyftrot's body, causing a sigh of relief from the other.
There were at least six dogs clamoring for attention. He petted Doggo, he petted Lesser Dog until his neck stretched to the heavens, and he he played with Greater Dog. He rolled around in the dirt and petted Dogamy and Dogaressa. He reintroduced them to the Endogeny that consisted of their parents.
He asked Woshua to clean him. He flexed his muscles in front of Aaron and played some of Napstablook's songs for him to get curious about. He hummed a song for Shyren to happily sing along to. He reintroduced the amalgamate "Lemon Bread" to the two of them.
He flirted back with Moldsmal and told Moldbygg that he wouldn't touch him. He rearranged Moldessa's face (seriously, had he met her?) to something it liked.
He encouraged Vulkin to continue what it was doing. He turned up the temperature so that Pyrope would be more comfortable. He casually approached Tsunderplane and flirted with her.
He hummed Shyren's song for Knight Knight to nap to. He stared into Madjick's orbs until they stopped moving.
He told Muffet that he would buy spider pastries from her to support her cause. He cleaned RG02's armor and whispered to RG01 to confess to him.
He dramatically posed for Mettaton, insisting that he wouldn't get hit, and took a huge bite out of a Glamburger that he had been saving. He spoke to the Dummy. He tried to talk to the Mad Dummy to make him calm down.
He offered to help his monster kid friend climb up the ledge and asked whether they could go look for Undyne together. He chatted with Onion-san. He told the River Person he wanted to ride their boat.
He told Temmie that she could pet him. He told the Temmie Shopkeeper that he would pay for her college education. He told the Nice Cream Man that he would purchase several Nice Creams. He chatted with the Snowdin Shopkeeper, and told Gerson that he was curious about the prophecy.
He offered to buy Bratty's junk. He asked Catty whether she wanted a pet cat. He reminded Burgerpants of the time his pants fell down in front of the girls.
The Snowdin rabbits. Grillby. The other Snowdin villagers. The MTT Resort guests and staff. Glyde, who patrolled near the mysterious door. The monster from the Art Club.
Each one of them, all of them, he didn't forget a single Monster he had met. None of them. Aside from the ones that weren't present, of course. He wondered about the fact that Napstablook was not there, no matter how much he called and reached out. He hoped the other's Soul was alright.
He did feel a little bad that he couldn't bring himself to worry about Jerry's lack of presence. Apparently even Asriel had refused to absorb him when absorbing Souls.
But that wasn't all. There were still yet more Souls, Souls that didn't belong to any monsters.
He gave the girl with the cyan soul her faded ribbon and her toy knife back and was rewarded with a patient smile.
The passionate boy with the orange soul nearly snatched his pair of tough gloves and his manly bandanna back from him in his eagerness.
He offered the girl with the dark blue Soul her tutu and her ballet shoes, and she twirled around him in thanks.
He returned the torn notebook and the foggy glasses to a purple-souled child that thanked him profusely in numerous ways, like he'd swallowed a dictionary.
The stained apron and the burnt pan were closely clutched at by someone with a green soul that offered to whip something up for him in thanks, to sate his hunger.
A young man with a yellow soul cockily tipped his cowboy hat and spun his empty gun around, clearly glad that he had returned them.
Even them...
All of them were his friends. They remembered him, and he could feel their Souls resonating with his, beating with his as one. They were feeling, hoping, loving, just as he had reminded them to.
But, he felt something bump against his body. Yes, he still had his stick, and his bandage, but there was a heart locket around his neck, and a worn knife that could only be used for cutting vines, both of which he knew were not his own.
Strange... as his friends remembered him, he could feel something else begin to resonate, stronger and stronger. There was still one last person that needed to be saved.
But who? Surely he had found all of his friends...
No. There was one more Soul, he realized. The first person that he had ever met in the Underground. The one that had, unwittingly, played a huge role in all of this. And why shouldn't he save him?
Like he had with the others, he reached out and called his name.
"Asriel!"