Toriel: My child. Why do I get the impression that you're hiding something from me?
Me: Whaaaaat? Pssh! No, I'm not hiding anything, why would I be hiding anything?
Toriel: You're acting rather suspicious lately...I just want to know you're alright.
Me: Yep, fit as a fiddle! Perfectly okay!
Toriel looks at me worriedly, but concedes and moves on to another room. Asriel slowly peeps out a box to make sure she's gone.
Asriel: Golly...this sure is hard. Just hiding from Mom like this.
Me: Just endure it for a while, little buddy. The reunion takes place during a very special event, but we're not quite close, but not far, either. If there was a certain place where the script is tampered with, then the last chapter was kinda it, and it kinds continues here.
Let's see!
"Aaaaaaahhhh...*nom!*" Asriel bites into the Cinnamon Bunny in his paws, sitting on a counter while his feet are kicking, as Genocide Alphys was doing a quick checkup to see if his form was stable enough to keep the human soul. Sure enough, at least for the moment, he was completely fine.
"He doesn't seem to have any complications that I can identify right now. But I doubt there will be any problems, soon. With the human soul, he's gain a lot of power, and his body is stable enough to take it." She analyzed, shining a bit of light in his eyes and checking his heartbeat. "Good vitals, everything is functioning properly...The only noticable change I can find...is the increase of his appetite."
"i noticed." Sans said, amused. Ever since Asriel regained his body, he asked if he could just have a 'nibble' of the cinnamon bunnies Frisk carried in storage. Frisk has eaten two so far. Asriel had ten. Even though it's more of a treat than a food, it's still ridiculous.
"I swear, he's grown obsessed with cinnamon flavored anything." Flowey huffed. As annoyed as he was with the goat child, the consolations he got from this operation was that he no longer had to share his body, and that he didn't have to hear his annoying thoughts any longer. Though...now he couldn't even act on too many evil impulses anymore. Seeing Genocide Frisk's horrifying memories of how things go if he DID kill everyone like he tried to persuade Frisk to do in many timelines...and how it ends. Flowey was despicable, but Chara's actions...legitimately terrified him. He was jealous of Asriel. While he was definitely frightened by what he saw...it was also serving as a wake up call as well as a realization. Chara has changed drastically. And not for the better. Asriel has admitted to taking some responsibility for this radical change. Flowey wasn't as willing, but now he didn't have a choice.
Since he and Asriel are not the same person, which the latter heavily enforced, they had two different ways to view things now. Their conscious was different, the perspectives of their memories are different, even their attitudes as a whole wouldn't match up. No one would be able to tell that they used to be one being.
Asriel was currently licking the cinnamon off of his muzzle, patting his belly contently. Having a snack after getting his body back was something he couldn't help. Eating with his own mouth again was something he wished to experience just for fun, before they get back to serious business. A small burp escaped his muzzle, he covered it and blushed a little. "Excuse me..."
"You still think you're sooo cute, dontcha?" Flowey rolled his eyes.
"Ah come on, Flowey! You're kinda cute, when you want to be."
"Nooooooo. No. I'm not cute. Don't even put me in that category."
"Yeah...you're pretty cute." Asriel smiled brightly. Frisk nodded in agreement.
Flowey narrowed his eyes. "Don't you start too, Frisk. I could still kill you."
"i wouldn't recommend tryin'." Sans said casually, leaning back against the wall. "since you and the prince are no longer one being, i won't feel guilty anymore if you misbehave and i decide to play 'weed whacker'." Flowey paled. He just figured out that his one luck ticket of not being obliterated by Sans has been taken away. Sans smirked at the sweating flower's face. "luckily frisk and asriel won't really like that, and they'll be nagging me about it if i do. plus...frisk will probably just LOAD the SAVE point...and we really don't wanna go through this entire sans and dance again."
"...I almost WANT you to oblierate me, after that one." Flowey muttered. He turned to the sight of Frisk kneeling in front of him, head tilted. "Don't think you're safe, kid! I'm still gonna find some way to make your life hell WITHOUT Chara's help! Yeah, I don't need that kid! I can be a big bad plant all by myself! How's THAT sound to you?!" Frisk stared at the flower for a couple moments. Then he smiled and placed a kiss on one of his petals, greatly shocking him and forcing him to hop back. "W-W-What the?! What was that about?!"
"He's just showing genuine affection for you, Flowey." Asriel smiled, snickering a little.
"Genuine affect...gah! I'm not gonna succumb to you softies! You hear me?! I AM A COLD-BLOODED EVIL FLOWER!"
Asriel blinked as he curiously scratched his ear. "Plants don't really have blood in them, though..."
"...You're pushing me, kid. You're REALLY pushing my petals right now."
Sans snickered at their bickering, then turned to Geno Alphys. "okay, so asriel is kinda back to normal. what do we...alphys?"
She wasn't really listening right now. She was currently looking at a paused image of Undyne on one of the cameras. Her eyes had mixed feelings of sadness, longing, relief, nostalgia...and a hint of lust. She sighed deeply as her elbows hit the table while staring at Undyne walking through Snowdin, since fire was living in her house now. She clicked a few times to get a clearer picture of her-
"alphys?"
"Huh? Wha?!" Geno Alphys swiftly turned around, blushing heavily. "I w-wasn't a-admiring Undyne through video camera! I-I'm not a creep!...okay I might just be a tiny bit of creep..."
"hey. i ain't judgin'." Sans chuckled, then regained a bit of focus as he too stared at the image. "you really miss her, huh?"
"...more than one can guess. My life basically ended with hers. I seriously can't go on in a world where Undyne isn't with me. Now neither of us will ever know how the latter felt. There was no way around it." She glared. "But I'm not gonna let that hold me down in this goal, she wouldn't want that. I already lost my Undyne. No way in hell am I gonna let this timeline's Alphys lose hers. It's not an option."
Sans was slightly surprised by how passionate she was about it. Not going through with suicide and actually acting tougher...he's never seen Alphys in that kind of mood. He guessed that with nothing else to lose, she decided to go all out, and hope that it's enough to make a chance.
"...Okay, lemme focus again. The first stage has been completed, which was bring Asriel back. The second...deal with Mettaton. And make sure that this timeline's Alphys doesn't interfere too much with our interactions." She nodded. "At the same time...we need to keep Toriel in the dark about Asriel. Its not the time for that, not yet. So you're gonna have to call in and tell her something that won't cause too much concern."
"okay, i can figure something out."
Geno Alphys grinned. She had already went and upgraded Frisk's phone. Now all she needed to do was call her counterpart back inside. "Frisk, I know she's still lingering out there in the heat. Bring her back inside. I got the perfect distraction for her, Toriel, AND Undyne. So that Frisk, Asriel, and Sans can pass through Hotlands without their interruption."
Frisk nodded as he pressed the button. Asriel and Flowey instantly hid behind one of the consoles to make sure they weren't seen. Considering she had a lot of stuff...it should be easy. Alphys blinked as the door suddenly opened before her, and she nervously looked around.
"Flowey is gone, other me. Nothing to worry about." Geno Alphys said with an evil smirk that Alphys didn't like at all. "Say...can you kindly hand me your phone?"
"Huh? U-Um...okay." She reluctantly took the phone out of her pocket and hsnded it to her Genocide Self. "U-Um...who are you calling?"
"Nobody worth worrying about." Geno Alphys let the phone ring for a couple seconds, as she tapped her foot lightly on the ground. She heard the click, and put a smile on her face as she gesture for Frisk and Sans to hold her back, making her shy counterpart even more nervous. She cleared her throat and spoke: "U-Uh...h-h-hey...Undyne..."
Alphys idea widened. No no no NO NO! She wouldn't!
"Hey Alphys! I just came around Snowdin after my house burned down again. It's possible that I might be s terrible cook...FUHUHUHUHU! But it was fun nonetheless!" Geno Alphys resisted the urge to shudder...just her voice was enough to get...a reaction. But she would keep control. "Anyway, whaddya want, nerd?" She immediately caught how she used 'nerd' very affectionately. Heh.
"I-I'm not doing anything r-right now. And y-you just said that your h-house just burned down. S-So i-if it isn't too much trouble, I would like to ask you something." Geno Alphys almost broke character to laugh at the way her counterpart was trying to struggle out of the grasp of Frisk and Sans. "D-Do you mind if we j-just...I dunno. H-Hang out again at the dump? As in..." She pretended to REALLY hesitate, just to decrease suspicion. "W-We might find s-some more cool stuff there. And t-this time we can think of it as a d-date of some sorts?"
Oh my God! Why?! Alphys blushed heavily, looking at the ground and trying to figure out a way out of this...she couldn't find anything.
There was silence on the other side of the line, as everyone held their breath. Geno Alphys waited patiently as Undyne paused for the longest time. "...um...yeah. Yeah! Sure, why not?" Geno Alphys smirked in victory, while Present Alphys was in the middle of beaming and blushing like mad. She was beaming because Undyne said yes to a date! And she was blushing like mad because Undyne said yes to a date! With HER! Why the heck would her other self put her through this?!
"G-G-Great. S-See you soon." Geno Alphys smiled as she hung up, and tossed the phone back to Alphys. "Welp, that went better than I thought."
"W-WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Alphys screeched, catching the phone just barely while sweat dripped down her face. "This is not good! Oh n-no. Not good at all..."
"You'll be fine. And besides, the arrangements already been made. Can't do anything about it now." Geno Alphys smirked playfully, patting her shoulder lightly. "Better make yourself look nice. You're going on a date with Undyne!~"
"I-I realize that, thanks to you!" Alphys groaned, shaking her head rapidly. There was no canceling out on this. It'll make Undyne upset if she had suddenly quit on their arrangement. And probably a lot of irritation. And disappointment. Lots of disappointment. She didn't want anymore of that weighing on her conscience right now.
"That's a rather strange way of saying thank you, but I'll take it." Geno Alphys smiled at her, causing her counterpart to groan in annoyance. But then she took a serious face again, and she froze up from how hard the glare was. "Seriously, Alphys. You need to be honest about your feelings. And about a whole lot of other things you haven't yet told anyone about."
It didn't take Alphys long to understand what the second part meant. "Guys. Can I be alone with...myself for a moment." Sans waited until she turned her back, then used a shortcut to bring Asriel and Flowey out, with Frisk holding his hand. Alphys turned to her Geno self with a distant look in her eyes. "You're me. So...you know."
"About the DETERMINATION experiments...yes. You can't keep them a secret forever, Alphys. You have to tell someone. And Undyne should be the first."
"A-Are you crazy?! She'll hate me for sure! I c-can't! I just can't!"
"Yes, yes you can." Geno Alphys said calmly. "You need to trust me on this. You waiting so long to come clean has negative implications. I know what they are, and I deeply regret it. You can't wait until it's too late in order to deal with these things, like I did. And now...now I lost everything."
"W-What are you talking about. What do you mean you...lost everything...?"
Geno Alphys sighed, her glasses shining white from the light. "Hell has struck the Underground in my time. Everything...everything is gone. My home...my friends...the kingdom...even...even Undyne. I lost her, Alphys."
Her other self didn't take long to understand that one, either. "...No...No! The Undyne from your time is...what happened?!"
"A little human child with serious hate issues towards existence happened. NO, it's not Frisk. It's another human entirely." She said dreadfully. "I'm not going to sugar coat this because you NEED to know. This human wipes out everything and everyone he comes in contact with. Undyne managed to become a stonewall for him...but eventually he struck her down too. She...she couldn't handle the DETERMINATION."
Alphys froze up once more. In fact, it feels like her entire world has stopped for a couple moments as she heard her counterpart point out a major benefactor to her Undyne's death. The very same thing that allowed those Amalgamates to be born was inside Undyne. The very things she couldn't bring herself to bring to the outside world because DETERMINATION seriously melted their bodies together in horrific forms...that substance was inside Undyne...?
"No..."
"Undyne is the only non-boss monster who can naturally produce it, even if it's only smaller amounts. But she's still unable to handle it for long."
"No..."
"She used her DETERMINATION to transform and become stronger in order to try and defeat the human. But it wasn't enough."
"NO!"
"Even when she melted away and turned to dust, she still died with a smile on her face, thinking that she bought enough time for me and the monsters to evacuate to safety and be able to stop the human ourselves. I'm almost glad she wasn't around to see that she was wrong." Alphys pushed her glasses up as they gleamed white. "She died like a Shounen hero would. I consider that to be the most amazing thing she's ever done...and the most tragic."
She saw the reaction she suspected, as her counterpart was now holding her head and shaking it in denial. "No. No no no! She can't have that inside of her! S-She just...!" Geno Alphys was genuinely surprised to see her begin to hyperventilate. But she had to keep going, or else she'll stop and never say it again.
"I wouldn't lie about this even if I wanted to. Lying about it for so long lead to irreversible consequences in my time. It's too late, FAR too late for me to do anything about it now. My timeline is gone...I'm the only survivor. And now that I'm here, I'm gonna make sure it never happens again." Geno Alphys walked up to her counterpart and pulled her face up to hers, staring straight into her eyes. "I'm not saying it will be easy. Hell, it might be the most difficult task you've ever done. But you have to come clean, soon. I've...I've lost my Undyne without ever telling her how I felt. You shouldn't be making that mistake with yours. My life is now empty. I don't want that happening to you."
Alphys looked up to her nervously, getting her breathing under control as much as she possibly could. She adjusted her glasses. "...U-Um...y-you know...there are s-some time travel animes I've...w-well...we watched that has some sort crazy plot about a character from another time trying to replace their other self. We...won't be having the problem, r-right?"
"Oh please, Alphys. I'm not gonna fall under that category. You can trust me." Geno Alphys smiled. "Listen. You don't have to straight up tell her about the experiments. Just...enjoy the date first. Have a mighty good time before you two get to the serious stuff. You want to lessen the tension, not increase it...unless it's sexual tension, that's completely okay."
"W-What?!" Alphys's heavy blush returned, covering her face.
"Haha! Relax. I'm just messing with you...mostly."
Alphys sighed in relief. She wasn't used to seeing herself so confident and playful, even if it wasn't technically herself. It's a confusing concept. But then she remembered. "W-Wait...! What about Mettaton?! H-He'll be putting Frisk in d-danger!"
Geno Alphys scrunched up slightly. Although losing Mettaton in her time wasn't nearly as heartrending as losing Undyne, it still hurt. Because she knew that despite his self-centered nature, he does genuinely care about her and is grateful to her. He's sometimes just horrible at showing it because of his spotlight-hogging tendencies. She smiled. "Let me deal with Mettaton. I want to enjoy yourself. As for my scar...nothing a bit of makeup can't hide."
Alphys was still incredibly hesitant, twiddling her fingers and staring at her feet. "...But...How will she react to my secret...?"
"If Undyne truly cares about you, she'll understand. It's impossible for her of all people to ever hate you. Remember she's shows a great amount of Shounen hero tendencies, which includes always caring about their loved ones no matter what. Remember you gave her that mindset by introducing her to anime and manga. You'll be fine."
Alphys gulped, still twiddling her fingers. After a while, she nodded somewhat strongly. "Y-You're right. I c-can do this. I'm gonna go on a date with Undyne! And...I'm going to tell her truth. Only after we're almost done, somewhere along those lines. My gosh.." She began jumping around. "I gotta shower, get dressed, arrange my tools...my kit! Of course, I still have my kit ready for this kind of occasion!"
"That's the spirit!" Geno Alphys patted her back and pushed her along.
She waited for a while as Alphys was getting ready for her date. Sans picked a great moment to use a shortcut to teleport back inside. He realized only one of them was there, and she was applying makeup to her scarred eye in order to cover up as best as she could, as well as putting on a better and cleaner lab coat. She hasn't felt much about trying to look like how she used to be, but she'll have to endure it for this timeline's Alphys sake. When she was done, she was close to looking like her counterpart as she could get, and hoped that Mettaton wouldn't notice.
"heya. how'd it go?"
"She's incredibly hesitant, but willing. I had to tell her quite a bit about my timeline in order ro convince her to go through with it. I think she'll do quite well, if she believes in herself to a high enough amount. Everything she does after this in her hands now." Geno Alphys shrugged. She looked up to see that Alphys was coming back down already, and Sans teleported back out. She was all dressed up, cleaned up, and incredibly nervous. But she was ready.
"Alright. I-I'm really gonna do this. I-I'm actually going to go through with this. My gosh...I'm shaking so much..."
Geno Alphys patted her shoulder. "You'll be fine. Now...get going. I'll take care of things here in Hotlands." Alphys nodded as she left the room through the door. She'll use the River Person's transportation to get to Snowdin quickly. When she left, Geno Alohys turned to see Sans returned with Asriel and Frisk.
"i gave tori a call. said that guards will be reinforced around here and that they'll surely recognize her. and i can't keep teleporting around with so many. so frisk is gonna keep her posted to ease her worries." Sans smiled. "plus, the weed is gonna do some contributing as well."
"Not like I have a choice." Flowey rolled his eyes. "Asriel, with that fur on you, and you're trying to walk through Hotlands, you're going to pass out. It's kind of a reason why Toriel can't come either, and Undyne hates the place with a passion. It's why Alphys comes to her and not the other way around. Anyway, Smiley Trashbag bought plenty of Nice Cream and Bisicles, as well as Unisicles to keep your temperature somewhat stable. It's not the best idea, but we're not going for strokes of genius here."
"Since I regained my magic, I feel like I can endure a lot of things. But...I don't want to deal with overheating due to my fur. So I guess this will have to do, thanks Flowey!" Asriel smiled. "Although I'll have to eat them fast, before they melt~"
"Yeah. Whatever." Flowey rolled his eyes as he allowed a vine to wrap around Asriel's arm and he climbed onto it until he stopped on his shoulder. "C'mon. Let's get this heat-fest over with."
"Alright! Let's go Frisk!" Asriel cheered happily. Frisk readily nodded as they both ran out the other side of the lab. Sans followed after them with a casual walk, giving the 'peace' sign to Geno Alphys before the door closed behind them. They had to hope that they could take advantage of time and place bets that no one would recognize Asriel.
With nothing left to do, Geno Alphys sat in a chair calmly while she grabbed a file and began filing the nails on her claws, waiting patiently for something to happen. "Three...Two...One..."
CRASH!
"Aaaaaannnnd there goes the wall." She shrugged as she adjusted her glasses and prepared. She was so gonna undo him in the acting division with this one. The smoke cleared as a spotlight shined onto the hole in the wall, where her long-time sorta friend Mettaton entered through the wall, microphone in hand and beeping excitedly.
...that beeping turned into disppointment when he realized that his guest star wasn't in the room.
"OH MY. IT SEEMS THAT THE HUMAN HAS GONE ON AHEAD WITHOUT HIS CO-STAR! WE CAN'T HAVE THAT, NOW CAN WE?" He turned on his wheel to see Geno Alphys there. Unware that she wasn't his Alphys, he decided to ask her. "DR. ALPHYS. MIGHT YOU POINT ME IN THE DIRECTION OF MY CO-STAR?"
"W-Well...if I'm n-not mistaken...the human probably ran off in the other direction, before I could speak to them. The human is quite s-slippery."
"AH! MARVELOUS! THEY HAVEN'T GOTTEN TOO FAR. THANKS FOR THE INFO." He rolled to the side, lamenting a little on how the schedule needed a bit adjusting. Meanwhile, Geno Alphys smirked as she pulled her glasses down when he left.
"Both parts of Stage Two of my little scheme begin simultaneously. Very good..."
(Hotlands)
Frisk always had a hard time traversing through Hotlands. Though his DETERMINATION Kept him going regardless, there was always the risk of overheating, which can also lead to exhaustion on his part. Asriel's case is even worse, due to his fur. And Sans...he doesn't even have skin, so it barely matters. It was unfair to the young duo, to say the least. Flowey...he's been through worse, so he wasn't complaining.
"hey, kid. i know alphys already gave you the okay status...but are you sure you're alright? ya know, with genocide frisk's soul?" Sans asked.
"I think so. I mean, nothing bad has happened to me. It feels like it's made itself at home, with me." Asriel placed a paw on his chest, feeling the soul pulse calmly within him. A calm sigh escaped his muzzle. "Even without a consciousness, I could feel Genocide Frisk's sadness...his despair...his guilt...his self-hatred...I could feel all of those things. He was really, really messed up, Sans. It only calmed down once it entered my body. Compared to Chara housing his soul, he feels safe with me." Asriel blinked. "But...I thought that humans couldn't absorb other human souls."
"huh. then i guess we can't classify him as a normal human anymore, can we?"
That was a rather dangerous conclusion. One that Asriel didn't want to think too deeply about, but it won't be able to leave his mind now. He'll just have to come back to that particular subject when it requires his utmost attention.
Asriel has already seen Frisk pacifism in action, and it feels ridiculous how much he can change someone's mind about attacking him. There was always some sort of out he could take no in order to avoid fighting. The cases with Pyrope involved just turning up the heat around him. Which was a bit agonizing because it was hot enough just being surrounded by heat from the lava. Fortunately for him, Nice Cream was pretty durable, and he managed to eat a couple to cool himself down. The compliments on the wrappers really made him feel special.
Next was a rather...interesting encounter with TsunderPlane. She acted hostile, sure. But Frisk managed to get her guard down by getting closer...just not too close. Brushing up against her wings as non-threateningly as he possibly could. With a few well-placed compliments while still being respectful, he left her a blushing mess, and finally moved out of the way. They managed to make it past, while Asriel was just staring at Frisk in slight confusion.
He really doesn't know how easily he can sway women to take his side. Sans hoped Toriel wouldn't notice this.
"ah...frisk. ya see, i don't really feel up to all these puzzles and stuff. now if pap were here, he'd be having a blast." Sans spoke, shrugging. "but since he isn't, i'm just gonna warp us to the closest vendor. and you're in luck, it's one of mine."
"Oh yeah. I forgot Smiley Trashbag had more jobs to be lazy at." Flowey rolled his eyes. "The best part of his shift is getting off it."
"hey. sitting around doing nothing takes a lot of energy."
"That is a very poorly executed lie. Please try again."
"Flowey, be nice." Asriel pouted.
"Oh sure, you think because we're separate beings now, you're the boss of me. Well you can forget it!"
"No...I just figured that since we're kinda on the same side now...we could be a bit nicer to each other?"
"I'm joining with you because I wanna stay alive and not get butchered to pieces, thank you."
"heh. so you're a cowardly weed."
"Better than being dead! I lasted longer than you didn't I?!"
Frisk lightly and harmlessly bopped Flowey on the head, and did the same to Sans. Then he quietly told the two of them to stop fighting. Flowey merely huffed and turned his head away, while Sans shrugged and did the same. It looks like their strong mutual dislike of one another shall continue. Asriel sighed tiredly at this and scratched his fluffy ears. He really wished that he and Sans started on better terms, so maybe he and Flowey would be better. Well, there's nothing he could do about it now.
"welp, let's get to it. let's not sizzle our brains over a couple puzzles." Sans ssid as he grabbed Frisk and Asriel by the shoulders and stepped into one of his many shortcuts. It lead them to what looked like a simple Hot Dog stand. He stepped behind it and grinned. "howzabout it, kiddos? want a 'dog? since i know the both of you, you can have some for free."
"Golly! For real? Thanks Sans!" Asriel gleamed as he takes a Hot Dog...? That Sans handed out to him and Frisk. He happily eats his while Frisk stares at his own, curiously. Then out of nowhere, he places it on top of his head. Asriel blinked. "Huh...?"
"Idiot..." Flowey rolled his eyes. Can't they tell that it's actually water sausages? He doesn't think they care.
Frisk pointed at Sans and the Hot Dogs and Cats, then pointed at his head. "what? ya want more?" He grinned before placing yet another on top of his head. Frisk smiled as he again pointed again. "more? wow kid, you're hot for these things, huh?" Sans chuckled as he placed yet another one on his head.
Asriel beamed a bit at Frisk's amazing balance, and placed his paws on the counter. "Hey, I wanna try that! Can I?"
"why not, kiddo? seems like you're really into it." Sans chuckled again and placed one on Asriel's head.
"Are you three serious? What's the point of this?!" Flowey shouted in aggravation as Sans continued to place Hot Dogs and Cats on the duo's heads, to the point where they were becoming large stacks. "Bah! Don't you have anything better to do?!"
"Nope~" Asriel giggled as he and Frisk managed to balance so much of the snacks on their heads, that Sans was forced to stop.
"okay, that's enough. ya each got thirty 'dogs and cats on your heads. that equals sixty. seriously, how do you expect me to reach that high?" Sans shrugged.
"Huh...I guess I never thought about that."
"What the heck, kid? Really?" Flowey stared blankly. "Why do you have to side with Smiley Trashbag...?"
"What do you mean by thaaaaaaa-!" Asriel started, but he lost balance and fell down next to Frisk, which also caused him to lose balance and fall to the ground. All of the Hot Dogs and Hot Cats gell down when they did, littering all over the ground. "...oops." The children could only look at one another, and laugh it off. Asriel quickly turned to Sans. "Hey Sans! It's raining cats and dogs!" Flowey groaned, almost painfully from how predictable that was.
Sans' grin enhanced greatly at this. "...heh. gotta remember you have your mother's sense of humor. i like that."
"Hehehe~" Asriel giggled, as well as Frisk when they helped one another up. He turned around a bit when he heard something parading around them. It looked like a miniature vulcano looking incredibly happy. "Oh hey, it's Vulkin!"
"heh. li'l critter must have come for the 'dogs and cats."
Vulkin was genuinely trying to pick up the mess of the 'dogs and cats. Unfortunately, because it can only grab with it's mouth, this was no easy task. Frisk nonetheless smiled and told Vulkin it was doing a good job. Vulkin was very happy about this...too happy to notice that there was a dark cloue over it's head, and a bolt of lightning struck Frisk and knocked him into the ground. Asriel and Sans both panicked when he took the blow, but all he did was dust himself off and smile, telling Vulkin once again that it was doing great. Incredibly happy by this, Vulkin parades off, eager to tell his friends how he 'helped' the human. Neither of them had the hard to tell it that it's help...wasn't very helpful.
Sans sighed, rubbing his skull with relief. "good grief, kid. ya look pretty shocked."
"I never could understand you, Frisk. All you do is stand there and take the blows, and yet you keep being nice." Flowey huffed. "You never make sense to me."
Asriel kneeled down next to Frisk and began helping him up. "Okay Frisk, can you walk this off? If not, we can get you-" His eyes widened when he realized his paws were glowing the moment he touched Frisk. Slowly, the damage Frisk took began to disappear, until it was almost impossible to tell that he's just been struck by lightning. All his scratches and bits of ash were gone. Asriel slowly stepped back and stared at his own paw. "Uh..."
"wow, kid. i didn't know you had healing magic when you were alive."
"I...I don't. I never did..." Asriel said quietly. Flowey's eyes rose just slightly from this, seeing this as something quite new.
"maybe it has something to do with you absorbing genocide frisk's soul. gained something extra, that kinda thing." Sans guessed. Though a passing thought in the back of his skull suggested that it was much bigger than that.
"I guess."
"hm...anyway, gotta focus on the task at hand." Sans clapped. "we still gotta get through hotlands and the core without exposing asriel's identity. and since mettaton is doing his live-action stuff, that would be an incredibly bad mistake to make." He tried to think of a way to sneak asriel past those cameras. it didn't matter if monsters barely watched the show, Asriel's face simply could not afford to be on Mettaton TV, because no matter how small the chances are, Toriel could possibly see the footage. Currently, that would be very bad.
"...Hold still."
Asriel's eyes widened when he felt Flowey begin to wrap his vines around his head, as they grew a bit more whe it came to leaves. Until the vines disappeared, leaving a leaf-like mask on his face that managed to restrain his ears from sight as well as keep his face hidden from prying eyes. It hid his entire head aside from his eyes and allowed him to breathe normally. Not the best, but good enough.
"There. I helped. Don't expect that from me often."
"ah, don't be like that flowey. you never really had a choice." Sans shrugged as he walked forward, prompting the others to follow. "mettaton wants a show, huh? well he won't be completely expecting the show we're gonna dish out."
"You're not gonna hurt him, are you?" Asriel asked. Though Flowey was beside him and was nodding his head quickly as if begging him to do it.
"nah. we're just gonna show him...that shows don't always go according to plan. now...it's showtime."
"Ugh..."
"what's the matter, flowey? ya seem like you're gonna faceplant from envy. or was it envine?"
"DAMMIT SANS I HATE YOU!"
(Meanwhile...)
Alphys was just a bit outside of Hotlands, staring at the River Person who was patiently waiting for her to get on. She had already said her destination was Snowdin, where she and Undyne will meet up. But...she just wasn't completely sure she could do it. She already knew that declining now would make things much worse for her...she was just too crazy nervous.
Them she remembered: Didn't Sans send me a package earlier...?
She had brought the small thing with her in order to figure out what it was, it didn't seem very big. She unwrapped the package and saw what was inside it for the first time. She nearly fainted in disbelief at what this was.
It was a picture of Unyne and herself having wide, cheerful smiles while attending an anime convention...on the surface. But how can they...?
She noticed the ink that was written on the photo. She didn't know what Sans level of knowledge was, but it seems like this photo had resisted the temporal influx of time travel, and the message was able to persist:
This can be possible, you know. Our happiness isn't going to be easy to earn, but I know you can do it! You're me, after all, and I've already done it. Surely you can succeed faster than I did and I think you'll enjoy the results. But for now...
Alphys...stay determined.
Signed, Pacifist Alphys.
So the previous Alphys from a different, happier time has sent her this somewhat encouraging message in order to have her get up, have that date with Undyne, and have her be the first to hear the full truth of what she's done in the basement, in the True Lab. She was still highly unsure, but Genocide Alphys' words ringed in her head:
'I've lost my Undyne without ever telling her how I felt. You shouldn't be making that mistake with yours. My life is now empty. I don't want that happening to you.'
'If Undyne truly cares about you, she'll understand. It's impossible for her of all people to ever hate you.'
Alphys took a deep breath while remembering those words, adjusted her glasses, and stared ahead as she stepped onto the River Person's boat.
"I...I c-can do this..."
(The Void)
Chara had absolutely no idea how long he had been walking. All that he knee that he was angry at Alphys for playing him like a fool when he basked in his overconfidence, and now he can't use LOAD without bringing serious risk to himself. He wasn't willing to do irreversible damage to himself just so he could win forever. Not initially, at least.
The Locket hangs from his neck harmlessly, jangling a bit when he always did a quick jog before slowing down and deciding it isn't worth his energy. Even despite all this damsge he did, he never let go of the Locket once he acquired it. It was something that he still has a very strong and very powerful attachment to.
Then by proxy, he still considers Asriel to be-
"NO!" He shouted into the void, his voice echoing a little throughout the place, which he thought he'd never find a way to that timeline faster so he could avoid having these thoughts in his head. "Asriel had his chance. He's nothing but a dirty traitor." He clenched his fists, which also caused him to grip the Real Knife tightly. "I can't trust anyone but myself at this point. Our bond...is no more."
"YOU REALLY ARE JUST A MERE CHILD."
Chara sighed. It didn't seem like he was the least bit intimidated by the one standing behind him. His guest noticed this, but continued anyway.
"YOU SAY YOUR SOUL IS NOW BLACK WITH PURE EVIL...AND YET YOU STILL HOLD ONTO THAT LOCKET SO STRONGLY. I DO WONDER WHY..."
The child just sighed again as he turned around and looked up towards the forgotten monster towering over him, his shape, form, and even very essence has grown very used to the Void. It feels like his natural domain now, and he's been around much longer than Chara. Because unlike himself, Chara can leave whenever he wants as long as a timeline is nearby, but he can't. Now...he's finally decided to speak to the Fallen Child, who just started stared at him carelessly.
"So...this is what you look like up close and personal." Chara said nonchalantly. "...Gaster."
Things are beginning to happen! Interesting things...hopefully. Hey, look at that. Sans plans to 'change' up Mettaton's show a bit. Frisk and Sans, along with the reluctantly recruited Flowey, try to keep Asriel hidden as best as they possibly can. Genocide Alphys will be monitoring them, along with her current self on her way to go on an (unexpected) date with Undyne...and plans to tell her the truth, prematurely.
Also, Gaster and Chara meet... Unfortunately, Wing Dings translators and Fanfiction can't be friends for me. So Wing Ding had to go. Sorry.
...There must be some way all of this influences future events, right...?
...Oh well, won't find out right now.
Until next time!
