Sorry it took me a bit long to update. I've been very busy with exams the past two weeks. But worry not, I'm resuming updating the story. Enjoy!

It was late night when Frisk and Asriel made it to New Home. Since seeing their son resurrected would be a shock for Asgore and Toriel, Frisk instructed Asriel to wait outside until she tells him to enter, so she could prepare their parents. Asriel knew Frisk was right, so he did as she asked without a fuss. As Frisk entered the living room, Asgore and Toriel stood from their armchairs with looks that reflected curiousity, worry and expectation.
"So...? How did it go?" - Toriel asked - "Did you find the flower?"
"Yes, I... found where he was hiding. And Noelle's SOUL no longer out of our reach, but um…" - Frisk then hesitated, before instructing - "You two should sit down… or maybe even lie down, actually."
"What do you mean? What's going on?" - Asgore asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Uh… Just, sit down okay? It's very delicate, you might have a shock…" - Frisk said a bit awkwardly.
Toriel and Asgore looked at each other before sitting back down on their armchairs. Frisk then turned her head and called:
"Alrigh, I think you can come in."
Shortly after Frisk called him, Asriel stepped from behind the door, revealing himself to his parents. Just like expected, the parents' eyes widened in shock and they seemed to be frozen. If they didn't have the white furr, the fact their faces paled would've been obvious. After a moment, the two spouses slowly stood up and Toriel even dared to step towards her son.
"A-Asri… el…?" - she breathed out shakily.
"Y-yes, Mom. It's really me." - Asriel replied, feeling moved to properly see his parents for the first time in many years.
Then, Toriel felt that her head was spinning, and before she could fall unconscious, Asgore quickly caught her and helped her to maintain her balance. She nodded at him gratefully, before looking back at her son.
"But how is it possible..? You died years ago…" - Asgore asked.
"It's a... very long story. And not a very pleasant one." - Asriel remarked, lowering her head slowly - "And after I tell it, you'll probably… despise me."
"What are you talking about?" - Toriel asked curiously.
And so, Asriel told them everything. He told them how he got brought back to life with the injection of DT in a golden flower. He explained the impact this "resurrection" had on him and his feelings. He told them about the power to rewrite the timeline he discovered and how he abused of it. Asriel told them about the maniac he let himself become. Frisk was silent during the most part, just confirming some things or adding small details from time to time. Asriel finished his story by telling how he had been craving for Noelle's SOUL since he heard about her birth and how he slyly forced her to surrender it to him. When he was done, he could see the shocked and heartbroken expressions on his parents' faces. Asgore was looking down, his golden hair covering the upper part of his face, and Toriel had tears flowing from her eyes like rivers. Asriel felt his shame and remorse intensify.
"Mom, Dad… I understand perfectly if you don't want me to be part of your lives anymore." - he said with a tone of guilt - "But I came here because I wan to do things right. I want to fix at least one of the many mistakes I made during this cursed life. So, I hope you'll allow me to stay around for the time I can do just that."
"Asriel… It's true that we're both… very disappointed." - Asgore started - "But at the same time… we can't possibly know what you've been going through. And from what I understand, you were not exactly yourself, were you? Yes, what you did is terrible. It goes beyond what words can describe. But you're our son and our love for you is stronger than any of your deeds."
"And we'd never want you out of our lives!" - Toriel added - "After you… died, we missed you so much. Even now, we often think about you. Despite everything you've done, we're so happy to see you again."
Asriel felt moved by his parents words, so he sobbed and put his face between his paws, letting tears fall. Frisk gently put her hand over his shoulder in a comforting way. Their parents then pulled Asriel in a tight hug, and they all cried together.
"After all these years… my son's back…" - Toriel half-whispered - "Now that you're here, I'm not losing you again, Asriel..!"
This phrase made Frisk look down in sadness and anxiety. She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they didn't find a way to keep Asriel in his current form without Noelle's SOUL inside. What choice would they all make? That's why Frisk shook her head and preferred to have positive thoughts. "Gaster will find a way." - she told herslef - "...He has to."

In the morning, as Sam woke up he immediately noticed that the sun was already high up. He looked at the clock and saw that it was quarter to ten. This alarmed him a little, since it meant he and his sister missed the start of the school day! He rushed to his sister and shook her awake.
"Piper, wake up!"
"Hmm…? What's wrong, Sam?" - Piper asked as she looked up at him.
"It's already late! Dad didn't wake us up for school!" - Sam explained.
"W-what..? Oh no..!" - Piper got alarmed on her turn, quickly standing from her bed.
The twins walked down the stairs to look for their father. They found him sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee in his hand. He gave his kids a tired look and said:
"Good morning… Why do you look so alarmed?"
"Dad, you realize we missed school, don't you?" - Sam asked on his turn.
"I know. I thought you could miss school today." - Gaster replied before taking a sip of his coffee.
"But you don't like to make us miss school…" - Piper remarked - "Not unless we're sick."
"True, but you've been all shaken last night. So, decided to let you rest today." - Gaster explained.
It was true, Sam and Piper have been very shaken by what happened to Noelle. As a result, the kids went to sleep two hours later than usual. And Gaster himself barely slept that night, since he had been regularily checking Noelle's vitals. It was near 5 am when Gaster got positive that Noelle's state wouldn't degrade and allowed himself to have some sleep. Those factors justified well the decision to make the kids miss school, however Sam quickly got suspicious that there was another reason behind it. He was way too used by his father's secrecy. So, the boy asked with a suspecting look:
"Did anything else happen tonight? Tell me Noelle's not…"
"No, no, she's stable." - Gaster hurried to reassure his son - "And she'll remain that way until we can put her SOUL back in her chest."
"So... did Frisk get the SOUL back or not?" - Piper asked.
"She did, but… it turns out that after Flowey absorbed Noelle's SOUL, he transformed back into Asriel." - Gaster answered - "And so, we're keeping them 'fused' for now, until we can figure out how to keep Asriel in his form."
"You're not serious, are you?" - Sam asked with a tone that indicated he was about to get pissed off - "You guys really decided to leave Noelle in the coma to save the life of a murderer?"
"Sam, don't speak like that." - Piper tried to calm him - "It's probably Asriel's best chance."
"But I don't care! The guy's supposed to be dead! He tried to kill our mother, Piper!" - Sam raised his voice.
"It wasn't really him, it was Flowey..!" - Piper reminded him, but her brother wasn't really listening.
"I swear that if I see him, I'll kill him!"
"You don't mean it, Sam..." - Gaster tried to calm his son down.
"You have no idea how I feel! So you can't know if I mean it or not..!"
Gaster and Piper noticed that Sam's eyes teared up. Piper tried to provide him some comfort by hugging him, but the boy wasn't feeling any better. Sam then sat down on a chair and spoke in between rising sobs:
"I... I want him to be dead..! I want my mother back…! We just became a family… and that vicious weed took her away! It's not fair… It's not fair..! Asriel has no right to take away Noelle's life… He has no right to take her away from us!"
Piper got her own tears falling down her cheeks after she unsuccessfully attempted to sniff them away. So, she was just wiping them away with her sleeves, while she listened her brother speak up his feelings. After a moment, Gaster took from a cabinet pills and handed it to his son, along with a glass of water.
"W-what's this…?" - Sam asked.
"Just some valerian." - Gaster replied - "Take one pill, it'll calm your nerves. You should take one too, Piper."
"I'll pass…" - Sam mumbled.
"I insist, Sam. Take a pill and then go have some more rest." - Gaster requested him calmly.
The two kids exchanged a look before Sam swallowed a pill. Piper then did the same.
"Good." - Gaster said with a small nod - "Alright, go rest in your room. I'll make you something to eat meantime."
"I'm not really hungry, though…" - Piper remarked quietly.
"I understand, but you still must eat at least just a little." - Gaster replied - "The stress drains energy and you need some."
"I guess you're right…" - Piper said with a small sigh.
"Uh… can we perhaps, see Noelle..?" - Sam asked.
"You shouldn't in your state." - Gaster answered - "Maybe later, but now… you must clear your minds."
Gaster thought that it wasn't the best idea to let the children see their lifeless mother while the two obviously still were in an agitated emotional state. They had to calm down first. Of course, with the knowledge that Noelle was hanging between life and death, they would never really be okay, but they had to feel better at least to some extent. "I hope they'll have calmed down by the time Asriel arrives in the afternoon…" - Gaster then thought in worry.

Meanwhile in New Home, Asriel was sleeping in his room. But his sleep wasn't exactly peaceful, because he was having a strange dream.

He quickly noticed that it was the human world, but how could he dream about it if he barely knew it? Then, a scene caught his eye and so Asriel walked a bit closer to investigate. He saw two teenage boys bully a girl. She seemed to be around twelve years old. A detail caused Asriel's eyes round - the girl had green eyes.
"Must be Noelle when she was younger…" - the goat prince whispered to himself.
He saw how the two older boys made Noelle back up until she met a wall, their taller figures towering her. She was obviously intimidated. She was slightly shaking in fear.
"We got bad grades because of you!" - one of the boys said.
"It's... it's n-not because of me..!" - Noelle protested shakily.
"It is. Had you let us copy your homework, this wouldn't have happened!" - the second boy said.
"But you refused. So, we'll teach you a lesson about solidarity!" - the first one pursued - "And what happens when you don't help your mates!"
And then, the two then made Noelle trip and when she tried to run away from them, they hit her a couple of times. Noelle tried to struggle, but the boys were two against her alone and they were physically stronger. They didn't let her go and at some point, they pushed her against a grating, after what Noelle fell on the ground as her face and hands got scratches. Noelle let out a sob of pain, and a boy then threw her bag in her direction. Some of the books fell out on the wet ground. The bullies then said something to her, but she wasn't hearing them. After a while, the two walked away and as their steps faded, Noelle spoke with a voice full of despair:
"Please… help… Mom… Dad… help me… anyone…"
But nobody came. Noelle was lying there alone. It then started raining. As the drops of water were falling on her, Noelle started to cry. What was she expecting? Of course her parents wouldn't come. She's been alone for years, for as long as she remembered actually, so why would they show up now? It was pointless to call for them in moments of despair, because they never cared. Her parents were not coming. It was as simple as that. "I was a fool to ever believe they'll come for me someday…" - she thought.
"Noelle!"
The girl turned her head in the direction of the voice with a frown. Who was there? For some reason, she thought it wasn't right that someone was there. She saw a figure walk up to her and as he approached, Noelle could see him more clearly. And as she did, she immediately recognized him.
"Asriel..."
Everything in her mind was put on its places and the scenary around her dissipated into nothingness. Noelle herself got her normal appearance back. She stood up and remarked with an unpleased tone:
"You're being rude to invade my inner world like that!"
"I did you a favor - your world doesn't look like a pretty place." - Asriel replied as he crossed his arms.
"I don't think I wanted your opinion. And my world is my world." - Noelle looked away - "But it was probably just the worst part of it."
"Really? Why?" - Asriel asked curiously - "What's so particular in this memory?"
"I'm not telling you." - Noelle said as she glared at him - "It's because of you that I'm stuck in your body, so you could at least mind your own business and stay away from me!"

As she yelled the last part, Asriel woke up in his room. He put his head between his hands and sighed. After a moment, he stood up from his bed, muttering:
"I didn't watch your dream on purpose, you know. Our minds are interwinded now."
"Thanks to who?" - Noelle asked with a hint of anger.
"Look, I already told you I'm sorry!" - Asriel yelled - "When I was Flowey, I wasn't exactly myself, if you failed to notice!"
"Asriel, are you okay?"
Asriel turned his head to see that his mother was standing at the doorframe with a worried look. Asriel let out a long sigh and looked down, embarrassed that Toriel witnessed his outburst. Plus, the fact that from the outside it looked like he was talking to himself was awkward.
"Yes, I'm fine." - he finally answered - "Sorry you had to see this, Mom."
"It's alright, my child." - Toriel replied as she walked to him - "Now, come to the kitchen. You must be hungry? I made you the snail pie you love so much."
"Heh, sounds nice... Thanks, Mom." - Asriel managed a little smile.
As the mother and son walked to the kitchen, Noelle's voice reasoned inside Asriel's head, which made him flinch in discomfort.
"A snail pie? Can you actually eat that?"
"Yes, and it's very tasty." - Asriel muttered quietly in response.
"What was that, Asriel?" - Toriel asked as she proceeded to cut a slice for him.
"It was nothing!" - Asriel answered quickly, then thought to himself - "Maybe I could just think when I respond..?"
"Sounds like a good plan. 'Cause otherwise, you look like a guy with a double personality disorder."
"Gnn... Shut up..! You make me look that way!"
"Why me? I'm not the one to talk alone in my room." - Noelle's voice remarked.
Asriel wanted to protest, but thanksfully the argument was cut short as Toriel handed him a plate with a slice of snail pie. At the sight of the green pie, Asriel's eyes shone and his stomach growled in anticipation. He hadn't eaten this in years! Noelle however, at the sight of the slice full of snails, was far to be as enthousiastic.
"I wish I was actually dead now."
"Come on, have you ever tasted it, anyway?" - Asriel mentally retorted with annoyance - "Besides, it's not you who's eating, but me!"
Asriel ate his first bite, and smiled widely. He was surely enjoying it a lot. The prince kept eating while Noelle, who had to watch the scene from the first person point of view, couldn't help but occasionally whine. She couldn't conceal how disgusted she was. Hating snails herself, Noelle really couldn't understand how Toriel and Asriel could ever enjoy this. Asriel was about to make another bite, but then a sensation of sickness stopped him. This puzzled him a bit. He was about to eat anyway, but the sensation intensified and Asriel understood that he wouldn't be able to finish his meal. With a sigh, he put the fork down and said:
"I... I think I'm done for now."
"You're not finishing it?" - Toriel asked curiously - "Yet, you love that pie so much that you'd never leave any crumbles on the plate!"
"I do love it, Mom. But it seems like Noelle doesn't... and her disgust's reflecting on my taste."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. But when you and Noelle unfuse, you'll be enjoying everything you love without any limits, Asriel." - Toriel reassured her son.
"She's too positive about it..." - Noelle remarked.
"What are you implying?" - Asriel mentally asked.
But he didn't get an answer. Toriel then put her hand over her son's shoulder, with a serious expression on her face. Asriel gave her a questioning look, after what Toriel spoke up.
"When your father returns from the city, we'll all go to Gaster's home. If you're uncomfortable about it, you can still change your mind."
"No, it's alright. I can't keep Noelle inside me forever." - Asriel replied.
"You surely can't."
Asriel ignored the remark and focused on his conversation with Toriel.
"I mean, I understand if you're scared." - she clarified.
"In fact, not really… It won't be the worst thing to happen to me. Being that cruel flower… I don't think there's anything that could match this experience. I'm nervous to face Noelle's children though. They must hate me for what I did." - Asriel confessed.
"They'll forgive, I'm sure of that. They did forgive Gaster, after all. So they surely will forgive you too, once they get to know you." - Toriel said as she gently squeezed on Asriel's shoulder.
"Yeah, let's hope so..." - Asriel gave her a faint smile.
After that, Asriel returned to his room to think. He needed some time for himself after everything that he went through those past few years. Of course, with Noelle inside him, he couldn't really be alone. Asriel laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes. He started to think what he'd do with his life if Gaster miraculously found a way to keep him that way. How would the people react to his return? What would they think of him once they found out what he did? And, more importantly, would all the people he knew (both when he was alive and when he was a flower) forgive him? "It's like a curse…" - he thought to himself - "My family consists of people I once killed. How could I look them in the eyes?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't like to be in your shoes."
"N-Noelle..! You were not supposed to hear that…" - Asriel said aloud as he felt his cheeks flush in embarrassement.
"But I did, because I have a curse of my own - to live inside the body of another." - Noelle replied, but this time there surprisingly was no actual reproach in her tone.
"I'm sorry I'm putting you through this..." - Asriel apologized.
"I prefer this outcome to… the first one."
Asriel immediately understood what she was referring to. Which made him feel horrible about himself once again.
"I am very sorry for having killed Frisk too. As Flowey, I'd go this far to get what I want… and even further. I could kill the people I loved without any regret… but now that I am myself again, I can only feel pain and regret about my deeds." - Asriel said as he winced a bit - "It probably doesn't mean much now, but... what I said as Flowey isn't true. You're not a selfish girl, Noelle."
"Actually, those words mean a lot. Even though I think I've been selfish more than once in my life." - Noelle disagreed.
"We all are at some points. But that day, you weren't. I know you'd fight for your family to the end. And it was hypocritical of me to say you cared about yourself more than about your mother."
"Yeah... but I'm glad you're seeing your mistakes."
"That's the point, Noelle. I see it now, because I have your SOUL inside. Because I can feel. But when I'm Flowey, I don't feel anything: no love, no empathy. This is why I hope Gaster finds a solution to save us both, so we can put an end to Flowey's evil deeds." - Asriel remarked seriously.
"Even though I'm still a little mad at you, I'll hope the best for both you and I."
"You're nice, Noelle." - Asriel smiled to himself - "Too bad the world hasn't been that nice towards you."
A silence followed in Asriel's head. Not that he'd complain, but he could feel from the feelings within Noelle's SOUL that he upset her.
"Sorry for my noseyness, but I'm curious about the memory I saw in your dream." - he stated carefully.
"... I don't want to talk about it."
"You and I shall spend some time in each other's dreams and memories." - Asriel pointed out - "We're literally bound to each other. So… we have to talk about something, right? To know each other a little better, so to speak."
Another silence followed until Noelle sighed and decided to tell Asriel about the memory.
"Fine. What you saw is actually my worst memory. Well, aside the flashes of the day when I was found in the other world." - Noelle started - "It wasn't the first time I was picked up by guys from my school, neither it was the last. The others often made fun of my naivety. They were saying that I was an idiot to believe my parents would ever come back for me. I actually believed it, you know? I did for a long while, until what you saw happened. As I was lying alone, calling my parents out of pure despair… I stopped believing. I realized that in this huge world, I was all alone. It was like my entire world fell apart. Just like did my childhood. Well, we're all supposed to grow up one day or another, but…"
"But not like that." - Asriel finished for her, feeling moved by the confession -"It was way too abrupt and that's why it was so painful."
"You got it right, Asriel." - Noelle replied - "And now that I'm trapped inside you made me live this memory again, because I'm feeling similarily to that day. Just when I found my family, they're all out of my grasp. My world collapsed once more."
"Noelle, I-"
But before Asriel could apologize once more for what he did, the door of his bedroom opened to show Toriel. She then walked up to her son and said:
"I just got a phone call from your father. He's coming home in a few minutes and then we're going to see Gaster."
"Alright... I guess I'll mentally prepare myself." - Asriel said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Don't be afraid, my child. Your father and I will be there." - Toriel said reassuringly - "And so will Frisk. And Papyrus too."
"Ugh, that's what I was fearing."
Toriel gave him a sympathic look, understanding what was bothering him. She then hugged him gently and whispered:
"It'll be alright, Asriel. You'll see."
Asriel returned the embrace, burrying his face in the fur of his mother's left ear. The uncertitude of his future, the memories of his past sins, his guilt about stealing Noelle's SOUL… it all filled him with grief. He was feeling sick inside, and thus Toriel's warm embrace was very welcome at that moment. "I want so badly to hope for the best…" - he thought - "But what if faith is not enough?"

A/N: The fact that Asriel loves snail pie was directly inspired from "Growth Spurt", another AU I love. :)
Oh and, the "Disbelief Noelle" moment (yes, that's how I call it in my head XD) is just the first instance when Asriel and Noelle visit each other's depth of consciousness. Be prepared that soon Noelle will experience a crazy trip across Asriel's inner world!

I also have a small announcement regarding the one-shots. I've reached the point where most of one-shots I wrote are sequels rather than prequels. The sequels have huge spoilers of the end of the story. However, I want to upload one-shots from time to time. So, instead of uploading them in the order I wrote them, I shall only upload the prequel one-shots (even though there aren't that much of those left), and save all the sequel one-shots for the time I finish updating this main story. The ones I'll upload soon are mostly Papyrisk centered, of course! :D