"Undyne?" Asks Alphys. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not letting him absorb Frisk's soul!" Yells Undyne. "I'm not going to hand over Frisk to the enemy!"
"undyne, listen to me." Says Sans. "if you can hear me in there… you have to fight off that demon. you-"
"Shut up!" Undyne snarls. "I know what's going on. That demon is smart enough not to order Frisk around. It only accepted Frisk's decision because it would look suspicious if it didn't!"
"i knew this was going to happen." Says Sans. "of course it wouldn't let go this easy."
Sans conjures a line of bones. The big skull reappears.
"toriel, get the kids out of the way." Says Sans. "this is going to get ugly."
"Perfect!" Says Undyne. "There's only one way to deal with freaks like you!"
"No, Undyne."
Dad puts his hand on Undyne's shoulder. Mom pulls Sans back at the same time.
"This is not the way to solve this." Says Dad.
"No one is going to fight anyone today, Sans." Says Mom.
"This is just what the demon would want." Says Dad. "It would want us to fight each other. The survivors would be the ones with the most LOVE… the people that would be the easiest for the demon to manipulate."
My parents hold them back. Sans nods and dispels his weapons. But Undyne hesitates.
"Asgore, we can't…"
"Undyne."
"We can't let the demon absorb Frisk's soul." She says. "We already agreed that nothing is more important than that."
Frisk steps in front of Sans.
"You're not going to hurt him." Says Frisk. "You have to go through me, first."
"Frisk…"
"Get rid of the spear, Undyne." Says Dad.
"Frisk, please… don't let him absorb your soul." Says Undyne.
She dispels the spear and shakes off Dad. She steps closer to Frisk.
"If the demon gets control of you, it controls everything." Says Undyne. "We can't let that happen, ever. It's the one thing we can't do. So please…"
Undyne gets on her knees.
"Please don't let him absorb your soul." She says. "I'm begging you, Frisk."
Now I'm just confused.
"Frisk, I don't think either of them are possessed." I say. "Both of them sound like they're really just… them."
"i don't think undyne would beg anyone for anything." Says Sans. "this is just a ploy."
Undyne sighs and stands up.
"Look." Says Undyne. "If you don't let anyone absorb your soul, we're safe, right? Just don't give your soul to anybody, Frisk. Then the demon can't take over the timeline."
"we're going to have to do it eventually." Says Sans. "even if frisk maintains control of the timeline, the demon can still kill everyone. frisk won't be physically strong enough to stop it."
"Is Papyrus really that strong?" I ask.
"He's pretty tough." Says Undyne.
"it's not just papyrus' strength the demon controls." Says Sans. "the demon used papyrus' body to absorb human souls before it came here. i could feel it when i fought him."
"Papyrus has human souls in him?" Asks Undyne.
Sans nods.
"A monster with a human SOUL." Recites Alphys. "A horrible beast with unfathomable power."
"that's why we need a monster with frisk's soul." Says Sans. "it's the only thing that could beat the demon at this point."
"We don't have to do this right away." Says Frisk. "We can sit on the decision a while."
"it's better if we do this early so we can test out the new form's powers." Says Sans. "we'd be able to prepare better for a fight."
"I'd rather wait." Says Frisk. "It's a big decision to make."
"What do we do until then?" Asks Dad. "Should we start looking for Papyrus?"
"yes."
We keep searching for Papyrus but have no luck. After a few hours, we stop to rest. Alphys says it's already past midnight, according to her watch.
Frisk snuggles up next to me for the night. Once we've gotten comfortable, they whisper into my ear.
"Asriel, I need you to do me a favor." They say.
"What is it?"
"I want you to stick very close to me." They say. "If I ever get hurt, I want you to absorb my soul. Don't ask anyone for permission. Just do it."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm still not sure if Undyne or Sans are possessed." They say. "But I'm sure you're not. If I can't figure it out in time, I need you to absorb my soul before anyone else has a chance to. Can you do that?"
"I… yes, I can do that."
"Good. I'm counting on you, Asriel."
"Do you have any other plans?" I ask. "Because I'm still kind of lost."
"No. Just get some rest." They say. "Until we deal with the demon, you and I have to stick together."
"Is this just another excuse to cuddle with me?"
"Yes. Now go to sleep."
