Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.
Author's Note: A long chapter to go with a short chapter. Please leave reviews if you enjoy the story or have constructive criticism to offer.
IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW
-=-=-=-=- PART VIII -=-=-=-=-
MEMORY LANE
Asriel gasped and shot upwards, his heart pounding and in a cold sweat. He looked around him and saw pillars and cavern walls, illuminated from above. He tried to remember how he got here. The memory was fuzzy. He was in Grenadier Park, he saw Frisk on their beach, and that's when it all went dark. He looked above and saw the origin of the light. It was… the hole in Mount Ebott that led to the ruins. He stood and saw that he'd been lying on a bed of golden flowers. He knelt and took a flower in his hand. He used to love them, although, spending time as one made him somewhat apprehensive. He plucked the flower from the ground and smelled it. He took the flower's head in his hands and tore it in half. After his act of floricide, he stood back up and looked around for the exit. It was there, just as it always was, a large doorway into the ruins proper. Deciding that he'd get nowhere idling about here, he headed for the door.
"Howdy!" Came a voice from behind. It was all too familiar. It caused Asriel's skin to crawl and sent a shiver down his spine.
"I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" He turned slowly and saw that from the remains of the torn flower sprung his worst nightmare.
Flowey sized Asriel up and gave him an odd look, as though it was expecting someone else, "you aren't…"
He quickly changed to his friendly facade, "you're new around here, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how-"
Asriel knew these words all too well. His gut churned in Flowey's presence. He condemned many with similar words as Flowey and the irony that they were now being used on him was not lost on him. He knew better than to stay though and ran through the door.
"H-hey! Where ya' going?" Flowey called after him.
Asriel knew the ruins like the back of his hand, or at least, he thought he did. After passing the same toppled pillar for the fourth time he decided to stop and catch his breath. He took a seat on the pillar for a moment.
"Howdy again!" Flowey popped up.
"Gah!" Asriel shrieked as he fell backwards off the pillar.
"Why'd you run? I'm just a flower." He said coyly. "Anyway, someone has to teach you how things work around here. I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!"
Asriel sat up and found that Flowey was blocking his way. "See that… uh…" Flowey seemed perturbed. "Where is it? Where's your…"
Flowey narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Asriel. "You… why do you look so familiar?"
Flowey shut his eyes in thought before growling in frustration. Asriel took this as his cue to leave. Flowey was blocking the way forward so Asriel got up and ran the way he came. Confusingly, the rooms he ran through were completely different. He became lost all over again. He eventually caught his foot on a raised stone in the floor and tripped. Flowey popped up in front of him. He had completely dropped the friendly demeanour.
"I usually terrorize her when she's here, but you're here and not her so you'll have to do."
Flowey laughed maniacally as he summoned a ring of friendliness pellets. Asriel curled up defensively. He then realized what Flowey said.
"T-terrorize who?" He asked, still shielding his face.
"You know. The girl! Blank looking face, had nightmares… I was expecting to see her here."
He was talking about Frisk. Asriel needed to get out of this predicament and go find her. The only way he could fight magic was with his own magic. The Ring of friendliness pellets began closing in. He'd always been circumspect about using his magic, but now was not a time for caution. He channelled his magic and cast it out to counter the friendliness pellets. As it turned out, he conjured up his own friendliness pellets. The two magical attacks collided and dispersed. Flowey stood there, shocked and somewhat disturbed. Asriel, in his newfound confidence, stood up and steeled himself against Flowey. Another ring of pellets was forming around Asriel. He set up his own and sent them out to deflect the attack before it began. Asriel then took the initiative and sent a pellet at Flowey, who popped into the ground to avoid it. Asriel summoned another pellet to have at the ready when Flowey returned.
Flowey, still disturbed and now infuriated, popped up from the ground behind Asriel. "Who are you!?" He demanded.
Asriel turned to face him and said the most badass thing he could think of. "I'm your best nightmare!"
He sent out the pellet and completely missed. The two were still for a moment. Flowey looked at him contemptuously. It was all rather awkward.
Asriel scratched the back of his head. "Why don't I just leave-"
"Yeah, you do that," Flowey grumbled."
Asriel stepped around Flowey and moved on. The ruins were a much more pleasant place now that he wasn't being hunted down by a sociopathic flower. The purple-ish stone, the piles of red leaves, the levers and switches… There was always something about this place that he enjoyed, he could never quite put his finger on it. Comfortable though it may be, this place wasn't right. There were the small matters of the rooms and their incorrect placement, and then the large matters of how he got here and the presence of Flowey. It didn't quite make sense. He mulled over it all as he walked. He was suddenly struck by something. It sent him tumbling. The pain was excruciating.
"Idiot!" Flowey exclaimed as he popped up seemingly out of nowhere. "Did you really think I was going to let you just walk out of here? Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this!?"
A new ring of friendliness pellets formed. "Die!"
Flowey laughed maniacally as the pellets closed in. Asriel tried his damndest to conjure up his own, but that blow took quite a bit from him. An errant fireball collided with Flowey and sent him flying, dispersing his friendliness pellets.
"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…" Asriel looked up to see his mother's figure. Although he was no longer Flowey, his mother's words still stung. If only she knew…
She looked over to him and smiled that warm motherly smile of hers. "Ah, do not be afraid my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins."
Asriel was confused. How did his mother not recognize him? Also, why was she here too?
Toriel continued, "I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first… uh…" she paused. Her face lingered on Asriel's for a moment. "First person to come down here in a long time."
She extended her hand and helped Asriel to his feet. "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs."
Holding his mother's hand like he once did as a child, he made his way through the ruins. The two eventually came to the door that led to the rest of the underground. Toriel opened the door to a flash of blinding white light. Asriel found himself no longer holding her hand and he cautiously stepped through the doorway. As the light subsided Asriel found that he wasn't in the underground any longer. He was on a hillside that sloped down into a dale. He turned, only to see the crest of the hill. The door was gone. He carefully walked down the hill. As reached the bottom of the hill, he realized where he was. Willowvale Pits. It was a park close to his house. He walked along the path and thought about how he got here. It was starting to make his head hurt. A couple of children nearly ran into him, which broke his train of thought. He turned his head and watched them run to the playground. It was then that someone caught his eye. Frisk. Her back was facing him, but he knew it was her.
"H-hey! Frisk!" He called out to her.
Frisk didn't respond to him. She was already walking along the path that went beside the playground she picked up her pace to that of a brisk walk. Asriel began to jog towards her.
"Frisk!" He called again.
Frisk quickly changed direction and ducked into one of the play structures on the playground. Asriel closed the distance between him and the play structure. The inside of the structure was unusually dark and there was no sign of Frisk. He crawled into the structure and found that it extended much farther than it appeared to be. A bright light shone through a distant exit. As he approached the exit, the tunnel increased in height, allowing him to stand. He moved through the bright light and found himself just outside the fence of a schoolyard. He looked behind him and sure enough, the doorway that took him here had disappeared. This was beginning to annoy him. Nevertheless, he followed Frisk here, so logically speaking, she should be here.
He surveyed the schoolyard, looking for signs of her. The yard was teeming with young children running around and a handful of teachers keeping an eye on things. One child in the bunch roused his suspicions. They were sitting alone on a bench beneath a tree with their head hung. In fact, they were the only child doing such. The child would occasionally look up and out over the other children before hanging their head once more. The bell rang and the teachers went and stood in front of the school building. The children slowly formed lines in front of their teachers. The child who sat alone got up from the bench and shambled toward one of the lines. Another child who was behind them very deliberately and roughly bumped against them, knocking the child to the ground. The child just lay there for a moment. None of the teachers seemed concerned about this. Asriel was disgusted by this. If this were his mother's school, she'd have run over to see if the child was alright before scolding the other child for pushing them. A teacher finally looked over to the child on the ground.
"Get up Frisk," he ordered, "recess is over."
"Lay off man! The kid was just pushed!" Asriel yelled to the teacher. He then realized what the teacher called the child.
The younger Frisk got up and joined her classmates in the line. The class began their march back into the school. She briefly lingered at the door and looked back at Asriel before entering. Asriel hopped the fence and ran to catch the door, which was closing. He caught the door's handle just in time. He opened it and stepped through. Much to his exasperation, he found himself in yet another location. It was a grey brick hallway. He looked behind him, expecting to see not even the slightest hint of a door. He saw an elevator door. Footsteps echoed down the corridor. The only person it could be was Frisk. Asriel set down the hall after her. As he rounded the corner he saw, sprawling out before him, New Home. He hesitated moving forward. It had been so long since he was here. The city was deserted and derelict. The streets were littered with broken glass, newspapers, and dropped belongings. It was as if there were a great panic and exodus. He continued after the distant footsteps once more. Towers with decorative crenelations lined the road. The footsteps lead him to the castle. He lingered at the door for another moment before heading in. So many memories… they began to flood his mind. His first step in caused a floorboard to squeak. He breathed slowly and tried his damndest to well up his emotions. The padlocks that closed off the way downstairs were undone. As he approached the stairs he stopped. Something was eating away at him. When he ceased being Flowey, he never came back here. There was someplace he had to go first.
He stepped into the east hallway. His father's bright golden flowers standing out against the alabaster walls of the hallway. The plush rug in the hall was soft on his feet. Every step became more difficult as he approached the door to his room. He breathed in deeply before opening the door. He looked around the room and chuckled lightly. It hadn't changed a bit. Other than being straightened up a bit it was exactly the same. He knelt down in front of the toy box. They were all there. The wooden trains, the blocks, the windup car… all of them were covered in a layer of dust. Beside his bed sat his two stuffed animals. He never knew exactly what they were, but he remembered that when he was younger he refused to sleep without them. Across the room, was her bed. He trod toward it. Taped to the wall above her headboard was a drawing of a golden flower with Chara scrawled in the corner in crayon. He put a hand to his mouth and breathed shakily. He remembered how she loved drawing. Boxes of crayons and pencils didn't last long around her. If pictures were flowers, one could plant an entire meadow with them. He snuffled and his eyes began to well up with tears. On the shelf beside her bed sat a framed photo of them with their parents. He was smiling ear to ear, but Chara was embarrassed and hid her face behind a bouquet of flowers she was holding. He picked up the photo and sat on the bed. A tear dropped onto the glass, he wiped it away with his thumb. He held the framed photo to his chest. He gave a heavy breath as tears streamed down his cheeks. He heard a small noise and looked over to it. Flowey had popped up between the floorboards, an unreadable look on his face.
"Howdy…" He started, "can I ask you something?"
Asriel simply nodded to him.
"It's been bugging me for a while. I didn't think it was possible but… are you… me?"
Asriel nodded and got up. He sat down on the floor beside Flowey. He stood the framed photo on the floor in front of them so they could both look at it. They sat in silence for a moment.
"You know… I may not have compassion, but I still miss her." Flowey piped up.
"I know…" Asriel responded quietly.
"It's weird. I don't feel anything for anyone else, but for her…"
"Yeah…"
"The worst part is, the way we went, I never got to say goodbye…"
Asriel sniffed and nodded. The two sat in mourning for their sister. For a few minutes, there was nothing but heart-wrenching silence.
"You're not from here. You can leave." Flowey mentioned.
"Huh?"
"The girl I torment when she's here. She's from the same place you come from. You can both leave."
"We can? How?" Asriel asked.
"I don't know," Flowey admitted, "I want you to go. You're me, but you can feel, you can love. I can't leave here, I can't stop being Flowey, I can't feel. If you go back, you can love and feel enough for both of us."
Asriel nodded. "She might know the way back from wherever this is."
"She's downstairs I think."
"I figured."
Asriel grabbed the photo and stood, replacing it back on the shelf. He was about to leave the room before he turned around. He knelt down and held Flowey in his arms.
"I… I don't… thank you."
Asriel parted from him and Flowey gave him a sad smile. Asriel stood and made his way to the stairs. He stood at the top of the stairwell and looked as it descended into darkness. He heard the sound of Flowey popping up through the floor. He looked over to his floral self and waved. Flowey waved back before retreating back into the ground. Asriel lingered for a moment before taking his first step down. He didn't know where he'd find himself at the bottom of the stairs, but he was determined. For Frisk, he would go to the ends of the earth if he had to.
