Chapter 7: Confessions
Is this it? Am I dead? I feel cold and alone. Everywhere I look, I see nothing but darkness. Where am I? This is not how it was supposed to end. I failed and now, the monsters will be set free and take over the surface. A war will emerge once again between humans and monsters, but this time, the monsters will come back with more anger and hatred than ever before. All because of me…
I try to call out for help, hoping that there was someone here that could take me away from this awful place. After multiple attempts of calling and screaming for help, I gave up. There is nobody else here. I am alone; trapped in darkness. I wish I could take everything back. I wish I never pushed that button. Tears stream down my face at the thought of never seeing them again. Is this how everything will end? Suddenly, my body begins to feel heavy. The weight is too much to keep me upright. This pressure causes me to fall onto my back. I cannot move anything. What is happening? My eyelids become heavy and everything goes darker than dark.
I slowly push my eyes open. Instead of being greeted with darkness, I am greeted with light. Not only light, but color. It looks like I am in a room. Wait…I'm alive? The realization caused me to quickly sit up. The sudden movement caused a bolt of pain to shoot through my body. Man, it feels like I've been hit by fireballs. Oh wait, I did. I wince at the pain and slowly lay myself back down while taking in my surroundings. I am in a large, like I'm talking huge size bed. Sunlight shines through the windows, illuminating the room even more. Everything here is so…fancy. I spot some picture frames on a wall in the room. It seems to be a group picture of the Dreemurr family. There are more pictures like that one all around the room. This could only mean one thing…I'm in Asgore's bedroom. I really am alive, but how? All I remember is Toriel stopping the fight before everything went black. She saved me.
After a while I hear the sound of a door opening into the room. I look over to see the two large goats. Toriel gasps at my movements. She quickly runs over to the bedside and embraces me softly to avoid agitating my injuries.
"Oh, my child," she wept, "you're alive."
I wrap my arms around her and return the embrace. I begin to sob with her as we held each other. I cannot even imagine her pain at looking at me this way. She cannot handle another death of a child she cared for. I begin to think about everything she has done for me. She makes the best pie, she cares about me, she protects me, she makes me feel like I'm home. I look over and see Asgore, still standing in the doorway. I'm sure tensions were extremely high after I blacked out. He looks over to me and diverts his eyes towards the ground in disappointment. After a while, Toriel lets go of me as I slowly sit up in a more comfortable position.
"Careful child," she said softly, "you're still hurt."
As I get myself in a better position, I look back over to Toriel sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes still filled with tears. I can't help but feel guilty for everything that happened.
"I-I'm sorry mom. T-this was all my fault."
"This is not your fault, it's mine. I wasn't there when you needed me the most. I am the one that needs to say sorry. A-after you left, I tried hard to think about what would happen next. I remembered that you had to face this monster, and I was the one that needed to stop it from happening. So, I went as fast as I could, hoping to get here before it was too late. I saw that you called multiple times, but I couldn't answer because that stupid dog stole my phone, however, I did manage to get it back after giving him a bone. That was when I saw your calls. When I arrived, I thought I was too late. I saw you collapse in front of my own eyes. I-I thought y-you were gone. I ran to you and tried my best to heal the injuries. I was worried it was too late to save you. I-I'm sorry, child."
I lean over and embrace her to try to calm her down.
"Mom, it wasn't your fault. Like I said, this was all my fault. I was the one that took away your freedom. I wanted to be with you again and only thought about myself, now, all monsters are trapped underground again with no way out. If I would've just left things alone, none of this would have happened. Everything would have been fine, but I had to think of myself and not you guys. I-I don't know if I can free all monsters. You still need one more human soul to break it. Then I thought…maybe I can sacrifice myself and free everyone."
"No, child, you cannot sacrifice yourself. We will get out of here someday, I promise."
"There was also someone else I wanted to save this time that I didn't before."
Oh no, why did I just say that. I got so caught up in my emotions that I forgot about what he said. I cannot tell them, but they should know.
"Who are you talking about, child."
I start sweating while thinking of a way to tell her without giving it away.
"I wanted to save…a flower"
"A…flower?"
"Yes."
She looks at me with confusion, then anger.
"You mean that flower that tried to hurt you?" she asked furiously.
"Yes, that flower," I said, "and it wasn't hurting me."
Her protective instincts loosen as she relaxes.
"Interesting, I look forward to knowing more about this flower friend of yours."
We converse for a while until Asgore walks in quietly with a cup in hand.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" he asks.
I nod in response and take a hold of the cup. The tea warms my body as I drink it. Of course it is his favorite flavor, golden flower.
"This is very good," I say.
He smiles and quickly covers it with disappointment.
"Human, I am sorry for everything I have done. I acted from my own emotions. I remember the day after our son died."
He looks over to Toriel, who avoids his gaze with anger and sadness.
He continues, "The entire Underground was devoid of hope. The future had once again been taken from us by the humans. In a fit of anger, I declared war. I said that I would destroy any human that came here. I would use their souls to become godlike and free us from this terrible place. Then, I would destroy humanity and let monsters rule the surface, in peace. Soon, the people's hopes returned. My wife, however…"
"Not anymore," Toriel responded.
"She became disgusted with my actions. She left this place, never to be seen again. Truthfully…I do not want power. I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted everyone to have hope. Human…could you ever forgive me for my actions?"
The three of us sit in silence as they await my response.
"Even monsters deserve mercy. Isn't that right, mom?"
A smile forms across her face as she remembers when she said that to me before.
"Human, I promise you, for as long as you remain here, your mother and I will take care of you as best we can."
"There is still a problem," I announce, "There isn't enough souls to break the barrier. I've talked with Dr. Alphys before and we are trying to think of ways to get that last soul needed."
"Listen child," Toriel spoke, "you don't have to worry about us. If you are fine living here, we are just as happy."
"It was my goal, and it is still my goal to get everything back to the way it was before I screwed things up. There is one way I can think of that will have a chance of breaking the barrier."
"Human," Asgore spoke, "if you can find a way to free us, all of us will be eternally grateful. However, like your mother said, you don't need to worry about us."
"If I can go to the surface and bring back another human soul, it will be enough to break the barrier, and then the souls can be free."
"My child, I will not let you become what Asgore has become. I will not let you kill another human for our freedom. You also need a monster soul to pass through the barrier," Toriel responds.
She moves closer to me and tilts my head up to meet with hers.
"Listen, forget about that. We are happy to have you here. If it means we have no freedom, so be it. I cannot let you risk your life again for us."
I sighed and responded with a nod. There is always some problem that happens with these plans. If I choose to do it myself, I must kill or take a human soul, but I need to take a monster soul to pass the barrier. I could sacrifice myself, but there won't be anyone there to protect them when the humans find out. I could let Asriel take the souls, and have him break the barrier, and give him a part of my soul. I cannot be the one that took away their freedom out of my own self-interest. All I can do now is wait and think of other ways I can free these monsters.
Days pass as I continue to heal from the injuries I sustained during the battle with Asgore. I'm now able to stand and walk, but more physical activities are still hard for me to do. I am healed up enough to make my way back to the Ruins. There is no reason I need to stay here, and I also want to speak with Flowey. Before Toriel and I leave, I take a moment and walk into the room that holds the six other human souls.
"Hey guys," I say. Yes, I am talking to souls. "I'm sorry that you are trapped here. I'm sure you all remember what it was like when you were freed last time. I got caught up in my own thoughts and didn't think about everyone else. I know, you all must be mad at me for trapping you here again, but I promise I will set you free. You may remember Flowey, the one who took all of you last time and became extremely powerful. I see good in him. He hasn't tried to hurt me at all. I want to find a way to bring him back. My goal is to break the barrier and save everyone. You must not like being trapped here, and I'm sorry. It was my fault for not think of you, but I will find a way to set you free. I hope that you will forgive me for my actions."
The thoughts of the souls filled my head.
They were like a family to me too. I'm glad that you want to make things right.
I'd keep an eye on that flower if I were you.
If you can set us free, I will forgive you.
I know you will do the right thing but be careful of your actions.
I believe you and forgive you.
We will always be by your side. Don't forget about us.
A smile forms across my face at the thoughts.
"Thank you," I say with a smile. "They are my family. I was just too late to realize that. I will stay by their side and I will find a way to break the barrier and set all of you free. Whatever happens, stay DETERMINED."
GOOD LUCK!
I make my way back into the main room where Toriel was waiting. I felt like another weight has been lifted off my chest. There is still the weight of the monsters' freedom and Asriel still holding me down, but this weight is more manageable than before.
"Frisk, my child, where did you run off to?" Toriel asks.
"I had to take a moment to myself really quick."
Asgore walks up to us, still in guilt and disappointment from earlier.
"Toriel, I'm sorry," Asgore says.
"If you so much as hurt another innocent human, I will come after you Dreemurr."
"Yes, ma'am."
He lowers himself down to my height.
"Human, I'm sorry for the troubles I have caused. I hope we can be friends."
Without a word, I walk up and embrace him. He hesitates for a moment before wrapping his arms around me.
"Heh, I haven't felt like this since our son died. I hope to see you again…on better terms of course. You are always welcome here but check with your mother first."
I nod in response as I grab a hold of Toriel's paw. Then, we make our way out of the castle. Shortly after we leave, I speak up.
"Mom."
"Yes, Frisk?"
"Can we make a couple stops on the way back home?"
"Sure, where would you like to go?"
I tell her about our friends, and she agreed to meet them. She seemed excited to reunite with them as well. Time to have some family/friends bonding time.
Hey all, I hope you are having a wonderful day! Since Christmas is quickly approaching, I may not be able to post much until after the holiday. I hope this chapter leaves everything on a good note until the next chapter. Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions. I am mainly looking at suggestions for ways to save Asriel and if this story should add a little romance into it. I do like to think about and use your thoughts and ideas into the story, so don't be shy. Can't wait to see where this story goes from here! Until next time readers, STAY DETERMINED!