Flowey Kapowey Chapter 63
Bathed in the mesmerizing light of the Soul of the World, beneath the low ceiling dotted with crystal; wrapped in an irregular rhythm of magic, a stranger lay in a heap in the soft grass. Their form was humanoid, garbed in a long, black coat with a hood covering their head. Around their body ebbed with pitch black, like a leaking shadow. The orb of energy that was the Soul itself was marred with a tiny, black star that dribbled the silent liquid as if a tar pit bubbled behind it.
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As she looked down upon the interloper, Frisk's heart thumped in her chest. She was chilly with dread. The only thing convincing the kid not to sprint down to check the fallen somebody was Sans's hand grasping her shoulder.
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Chara gripped, white-knuckled, to a sturdy branch, its bark shimmering with red. "Should… I go poke 'em?"
"Would be funny but nah," Sans said. He wiped the last dribble of black liquid from his face. "Somehow, that feels like a terrible idea."
"Y-You don't think it's dad, do you?" Frisk asked quietly.
Asriel's hackles raised as he delicately sniffed the air. "I don't… smell much." His ears lifted slightly. "Or hear much. His soul's busted. We would definitely hear it, right?" He leaned forward over the slope to peer down at the fallen figure. "Uncle G, that you?!"
Whoever was down there didn't move.
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"…A-Are they alive?" Frisk asked.
"If it's a monster, they gotta be," Asriel said. "Uh… So what do we do?"
"Decide who goes down to check what the hell happened?" Chara suggested.
"I'll go!" Papyrus volunteered.
"No," Sans said.
"No!" Chara barked in tandem with him. She sighed, holding Papyrus's arm. "It might be another weird human." She turned to Sans. "See anything yet?"
"Nada," he said.
"Crap." She pouted and frowned deeply. "That'd mean they've got some time garbage going on with them, too, yeah?"
"Probably," Sans said. His blue eye glimmered. "It's all dark."
"Should I go check? What if they're hurt?" Frisk asked worriedly. She gulped. "What if it is dad, though? He did something before, but—"
"Didn't look like he was makin' it here without turnin' to sludge," Sans said. "Unless he figured out how to get through that in a day, kiddo."
"It might've been more than a day at home, though," she said.
"Hm. True." The skeleton folded his arms, cocking his head to the side. "…Not sure."
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Chara sighed. "Back to square one. Anyone got any bright ideas?"
Asriel frowned. "Bet it's Gaster."
"You really think so?" Frisk asked.
"Who's that?" Papyrus asked.
"Shit," Asriel said shrilly, "if he followed me—"
"Wait. You mean the one that was after you?" Chara asked, frowning. "But why would he do that? Going between worlds seems like it's insanely difficult and dangerous, too."
"I dunno but he seemed pretty insistent on grabbing Frisk and blasting the heck outta us."
"Who's Gaster?" Papyrus pressed.
"Frisk's dad," Chara said.
"Wait, why would Frisk's dad—?!"
"There's different time versions that aren't her dad and I was pretty sure one wanted to blow us up in the void," Asriel said.
"So he was just flying around out there?" Chara asked. "How's that even possible?"
"Dunno. Same way we could, maybe?"
"But why in the world would this weird different version of this Gaster person do that? You guys are extremely nice," Papyrus said. "Ah! I know! It must be a mistake, right? I'm sure it is!"
"Gotta be," Frisk said under her breath, but she looked up at the others with wide eyes. "Gotta be, right?"
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Asriel grimaced. He rubbed the back of his head and started down the hill.
"Whoa there, big guy." Sans stalled him with a gentle grip of blue on his soul. "What's the plan?"
"Well. I'm the strongest monster," he said, and then gestured to Frisk and Chara. "And you guys are tiny. We can't just l—"
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A quiet groan and the creak of movement cut their discussion short and set every eye down upon the stranger in the grass. He tried to get an arm under himself, grumbling in a familiar voice. Frisk froze, wide-eyed and Asriel turned sharply to share a confused and worried look with her. It didn't sound like the skeleton who'd antagonized them two worlds ago. It sounded like—
"Dad?!" Frisk yelped.
She broke away from the others and skid down the slope, stumbling at its base to kneel beside the newcomer, who pushed himself up on skeletal hands. Asriel bleated in alarm and hurried to join her, grasping her shoulder as she reached out for the skeleton's arm.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked. "H-How did you—?"
The second she touched him, his head jerked up, eyes blazing intensely with amber and blue. His face was just like her father's, but there was no crack in his skull above his right eye.
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Blue flashed in every direction in Frisk's mind. The world around them was replaced by an orb of massive skulls, cheekbone to cheekbone, bearing an armoury of fangs. Their maws gaped, filling with light, and the air screamed with magic. Chara yowled.
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Frisk saw stars and thunked onto the grass and hurried to right herself. Asriel flopped beside her and Sans stumbled away, breathing hard. She could see the ball of blaster skulls from across the cavern, beaming lasers down upon nothing but ground. Frisk clapped a hand to her dizzy head, eyes darting around as she tried to process.
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The cabin was close. Chara and Papyrus, less so, but they were running towards them. Chara looked frantic; said something, but Frisk couldn't hear through her heart pounding in her ears.
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Giant skulls like the scarred bones of dragons rose up from around the soul, unfurling into a firing line. They blasted, shaking the air with deep, concussive magic. Frisk tackled Sans to the ground and threw up her hand, red distorting and reversing the beam above them just enough for it to falter.
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"HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Papyrus yelled down towards the Soul. "PLEASE, STOP IT RIGHT NOW! WE AREN'T HERE TO HURT YOU!"
"Think he cares?" Sans asked.
"That's gotta be the guy," Asriel growled. "Right, Fr…?" He looked to his sister, wide-eyed.
Frisk was frozen in place. She looked like she was about to be sick. Her voice cracked, barely even reaching a whisper. "H… He…? He's… really t-trying to kill us?"
"PLEASE, LET US TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS!" Papyrus shouted.
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The lasers faded, but just for a split second before the phalanx of skulls opened their jaws again. Papyrus squawked and his magic flared up, slamming a wall of bones down into the grass between all of them and the assailant. The beam attack crashed into them like pounding waves. Sans forced himself up and stuck out his hand, his magic bolstering his brother's and laying a second layer of bones half the height of the first.
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Chara grabbed Papyrus and dragged him across to the others as his bone wall began to crack. She dropped down onto her knees, pulling Frisk into her arms.
"You hurt?!" she demanded.
"N-No," Frisk said.
"What the hell is his problem?!" Chara growled. Her grip on her branch tightened. "I'll fight him."
"What?" Frisk squeaked.
"No. We run for the portals," Sans said. "He shouldn't be able to use—"
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The wall shattered to dust all at once and spirals of bones raced through the ground towards them. Frisk yelped, her magic reaching out to stall whatever she could. Her aura of red bounced bones back just enough to collide with the next in line, forming a shield marked by glittering dust. Asriel growled and got to his feet, wiping a swath of fire in front of himself to clear the bones in his way.
"Okay, we're doing it this way, huh?!" His soul surged and he clawed his hands, raising pillars of flame with them.
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Fire overtook the chamber, towers rushing towards the skeleton as circles of intense heat surrounded him and plunged inwards. He expertly sidestepped between the small gaps in flame, his eyes fixed straight ahead. Then, in a blink, he was gone. Asriel balked, only for the skeleton to appear farther up the slope, a lot closer to them than he'd been. Chara growled, clenching her fingers, the red in the bark of her branch flaring out into a phantom edge. Papyrus drew a bone spear from the air and stood before Frisk and Sans.
"I AM ASKING YOU ONCE AGAIN TO STOP!" he shouted. "THIS MUST BE A MISUNDERSTANDING! LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF, I AM THE GREAT P—!"
The man shifted again, closer this time, and Papyrus nyeh-ed with shock, lifting his spear to catch a bone blade swung at him. His timing was perfect but the force of the strike staggered him. Chara yelled and rushed the man. He lowered his blade to deflect, though her stick crashed through to shatter it. He shifted in shadow before she landed a proper hit, gaining some ground backwards. With a flick of his wrist, he seized the girl's soul in blue and tossed her down the hill. Asriel roared, spitting fire, and lunged for the skeleton. Papyrus raced for their sister.
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As the goat collided with Gaster and they tumbled into a wrestling mess, Frisk finally heaved herself to her feet.
"…Why?" she breathed.
"This guy's nuts," Sans said quietly. "Get to the portal."
"I'm not leaving Az to just try to pin him!" Frisk said shrilly. "That guy's gonna get up, he can tele—"
Before she could even finish the thought, Gaster was out of Asriel's grip via a short, shadowy teleportation, staggering upright a few meters away as the boy rushed to stand, too. The line of blaster skulls flashed into existence again. Sans grabbed Frisk and warped them behind the man just as he fired at where they'd been standing.
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Asriel leapt at Gaster but the skeleton shifted from his grip once, and then again, using a shot of blue to whip him across the cavern and into the black-barked trees to his right. Frisk yelped and raced after her brother. The man started to give chase before faltering, lagging back. Blue flared in her mind's eye and she hit the ground just as the blaster skulls shot at her again. The beams narrowly sailed above her head.
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She couldn't understand why this was happening. Why was this skeleton so furious? Why wouldn't he talk to them?
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She scrambled upright, her bare feet slipping on the grass as she took off at a sprint. Fire burst from the tree line in a wave and she raised her hands to shield her face, but it blew right through her with nothing but a faint stinging sensation across her skin. She turned, bouncing backwards, squinting through flame to get an eye on the skeleton. His dark silhouette warped and shifted, but what little she could see was intercepted by the white snouts of three toothy skulls pushing through the inferno.
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"Back up!" Asriel shouted.
Light on her toes, Frisk rushed away as the maws split and charged with light. A new, massive skull with two sets of curling horns appeared before her. Asriel grabbed her, yanking her back as his Hyper Goner opened its gaping jaws and swallowed the beams, returning them in one massive, attack. It wiped all of Gaster's blasters from the air, shattering them to dust.
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As the flames parted in the wake of the magic, the skeleton dropped to one knee. The air crackled and a massive, white weapon appeared grasped tightly in his hands. It was long and bulky— a modified blaster skull that was distinctly reminiscent of Asriel's own Chaos Busters. A bright channel running down its middle lit with seven notches of energy, each in one colour of a rainbow spectrum, though the purple and indigo were dim. He hefted it up onto his shoulder and aimed straight at them.
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The world seemed to drain of light and sound withered away. Frisk heaved on Asriel's arm, back towards the trees and he whisked her up and made a run for it as a deep, melodic pulse shattered Hyper Goner into nothing and seared the air where they'd been standing with a spectrum of colour and a warping melody.
"Ah! Crap!" Asriel said shrilly. He ducked behind a tree and slammed his back against it, holding Frisk tight.
"What is that?!" Frisk asked.
"I…" Asriel's eyes bugged out. "I think that's what he hit me with?! Shit. We really gotta get outta here."
"But what about him?!" she demanded.
"What d'you mean?!"
"He'll be trapped here, right? How do we…?! I feel like leaving him in here is a bad idea?!"
"Better than letting him out there!"
"But how can we—?!"
"…What if we fuse again?"
"Huh?!" Frisk blinked blankly. "Y-You wanna try again now?"
"Strongest monster. Time god. There's no way he can stop us together," he said.
Frisk nodded. "We can try."
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She took a deep breath and focussed on the flow of her soul. The second it came out, Asriel grabbed her. Their forms merged in radiant, iridescent magic, but it was no use— the memories of dust and arrows flooded back again and the two fell apart into a heap on the ground.
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Asriel, misty-eyed, punched the ground before heaving Frisk into his arms and nuzzling his snout against her face. "S-Sorry."
"It's okay," she assured him, clinging to him with a warm, red-tinted hug. "You okay?"
He nodded and hurriedly wiped his eyes. He put her down, got to his feet, and drew his blades from the air, gritting his fangs. "You go, I—"
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The room darkened again and Asriel dropped his swords, throwing himself over top of Frisk and pushing them to the ground. After a few seconds, the melody of the strange blaster weapon sounded. Past the trees, they could see its rainbow beam swing erratically up towards the ceiling. Frisk shielded her eyes and scooted out from under her brother's arm to try to see what was going on.
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Chara had tackled the skeleton, plunging her stick through his middle. It was clear it hadn't hit any of his bones, but she had struck earth and he was having a hard time getting up. He's lost grip of his weapon, his arm flailing to grab it again. Chara, despite the clear height disadvantage, was trying to grapple him. He lit her soul in blue and pushed at her shoulder, but she clung to his arm and coat, making some feral sound, and decked him in the head.
"C-Chara, come on!" Frisk shouted. "Don't fight, let's go!"
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The skeleton stalled for just a moment. Chara, however, went flying straight to Papyrus as he rushed to her side. He gripped her under his arm and raised a latticed cage of blue bones around the interloper and began to run.
"Hey!" Chara protested, wild-eyed. "I'm not done with him!"
"Nyyyyooooo, nope, we are leaving!" Papyrus asserted. "SORRY, STRANGER DANGER, BUT WE ARE FLEEING FROM THIS BATTLE!"
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A pulse of blue light and a cool breeze made Frisk turn on her heel. Sans was at the portal's pedestal behind them, and it was his swirl of magic that opened the way out of the chamber.
"Get goin'," he said.
Asriel unceremoniously plucked Frisk up off the ground and hurled her straight through.
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The kid landed, dazed, on the grass out under the clear sky and groaned. Asriel followed quickly behind, pulling her upright and out of the way as Papyrus and Chara raced out into the plain. The skeleton chucked Chara at Asriel and then reached an arm back through the blue magic, heaving Sans out, too. Sans snapped his fingers but, before the portal could dissipate, it froze and stained with grey.
"Ah shit," Sans grunted.
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A shadow flitted through the magic and its colour returned, only to have it whisk away like smoke on the wind. A small thunk on the grass behind them got them to turn. There was the skeleton, eyes burning so brightly his entire sockets were overwhelmed with his magic. Chara grabbed tight to Frisk and Asriel put himself between Gaster and the others, puffing out his chest and baring his fangs. Papyrus joined him, another spear forming in his hand. He stomped the butt of it into the ground and rested a hand near the collar of his shirt.
"Back off," Asriel growled, his hackles raising.
"Mister Attacker, I'm not sure what your issue is," Papyrus said, "but I'm still fairly sure this must be a mistake! You seem very disoriented, maybe if we could just talk about this? Maybe over a some tea or a nice plate of—"
"There is no mistake." Gaster's voice was low and craggy.
"O-Oh. Are you sure?"
The large skeleton gritted his teeth. He drew his rainbow-charged weapon; two more ticks were dim. "Don't stand in my way."
Papyrus frowned sturdily. He stood up a bit taller. "In that case! We have no choice! But tooooooo…!"
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Three of Sans's blasters phased into reality, peering down over Gaster's shoulders with jeering grins. Papyrus pulled a vial from inside his shirt and whipped it at the ground. It shattered and the liquid inside erupted into a torrent of thick, pink fog.
"Go!" he shouted.
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The deep pulse of Sans's blasters sounded and Chara grabbed Frisk and yanked her into a run.
"What about everyone else?!" Frisk demanded.
"They're tough, they'll be fine," she said.
Frisk's heart sunk. "Where do we even go?!"
"Forest. Easier to lose him," Chara said. "Remember I mentioned a temple? If we get there, we can signal the guards."
"Can they fight someone like this?! Sans can't teleport here, can he?!" Frisk looked at the ground. "Is there a way to get those things that came after me going?"
"Oh! Maybe!" Chara skid to a halt and cast a glance around, but everywhere was still smoke. She rubbed her hands together, red sparking between her palms. "Keep guard, okay?" She knelt down and slammed her hands against the ground.
"Should I do that, too?" Frisk asked, looking around nervously.
"You still got your crystal?"
"Um. Yeah." She pulled it out of her pocket. "Oh! Can it help?"
"Run your finger all the way around the edge twice, then tap on the middle, then tap and hold, three times. Wait a second and then just keep tapping like that over and over. Should blink yellow."
"O-Okay." Frisk hurried to do what she said, tapping until the crystal lit with a lemon-coloured glow beneath her finger. "But what're you—?"
"Maybe if I can disrupt one of the autocatchers, it'll go off," she said. "Or the sound will get someone's attention? Damn." She looked up at the kid with a sympathetic smile. "How'd you piss this guy off?"
"I have no idea," Frisk said dismally.
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Chaotic bursts of magic sounded far off in the fog. The hair on Frisk's neck and arms stood on end. She bounced on her toes, eyes darting back and forth. She could feel energy gently prickling along her skin. A warning sign flashed in her mind and she grabbed Chara and yanked her sideways just as Asriel was flung towards them and crashed right where they'd been stopped.
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"Wh…?! Azzy?!" Chara barked.
Frisk ran to his side, grabbing his arm to try to help him up.
"I'm okay," he grunted. He pushed himself up on his hands, but his breath was ragged and his pupils were in slits. Flame puffed from his nostrils and the grass bristled at his touch. "Ugh. He's tough."
"What happened?" Frisk asked.
"Got chucked. Sans and Paps have him distracted but I'm not sure how much longer—"
They all flinched at the sound of another laser's pulse. Asriel grimaced.
"Crap, this is r-really bad, huh?" Frisk said.
"We need to be super careful," Asriel said. "He's fighting like… Well. Gaster."
"Forget this, then, we gotta go," Chara said.
"Wait, how does Gaster fight?" Frisk asked. "You've seen him fight?"
Chara and Asriel shared a look. The boy's ears drooped.
"He's, uh… Ah. I'll tell you once we're outta here."
"We can't just leave this guy running around blasting stuff, though, right?" she insisted.
Chara frowned. "We might need Undyne."
"But I got human stuff in my soul, shouldn't I be stronger?" Asriel asked quickly. "I should—"
"But you're still a kid! Your body's new," she said. "Undyne's like two hundred, she's buff and she's had way more practice!"
"…Okay. Fair. But—"
"No way I'm leaving Sans and Papyrus alone with him," Frisk cut in. "We gotta help somehow, right? Maybe if we can get me close, I can freeze him long enough we could… I dunno, stick a box over him?"
"What box?" Chara asked.
"I dunno!" Frisk said shrilly. "Or get him down one of those holes I fell in? We can't just do nothing! I—"
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Magic seared the air high above their heads. Frisk squeaked and covered her ears. It was nowhere near hitting them but it sliced the fog, burning away what it sailed through and splitting what was around them into soft, pink plumes. It was hard to see the skeletons, but flickers of white, black, and blue made it obvious that Sans was dancing circles around the interloper to keep his ire, trading blaster shots that only hit air. Papyrus was a small distance off in the other direction, sending blue-bone traps at the man's feet, but Gaster's brief, shadowy teleport easily subverted them.
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Asriel grabbed Frisk in one arm and Chara in the other and took off towards the distant tree line. Frisk leaned over his shoulder and to watch the fight between streaks of fog.
"This doesn't make sense," she said.
"I know," Asriel said.
"At least none of them are hitting each other, I guess?" she said.
"That's on purpose."
Frisk grimaced. "But, it's like… I don't think he's slowing down? Like, at all? How long can they keep going?"
"They'll go until we're in the woods," Chara said.
"But he can warp," Frisk said shrilly, "what if they can't get away?!"
"Then we'll deal with—! Aah, duck!"
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Asriel knelt down as quickly as he could and Chara slipped from his grasp, gesturing for them to all be quiet. A shadowy shape loomed through the clouds of pink; a great, draconic skull shifting back and forth. Frisk's eyes went wide. Asriel bared his fangs. Chara mouthed at them not to move. They froze, but it was already too late. The skull pierced the fog and its eyes locked upon them, its jaw chattering with an alarmingly shrill sound.
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More appeared at its side and opened their maws, building magic within them. Asriel stuck out his hand, but magic fizzled at his fingertips and his jaw dropped with horror.
"Hyper Goner won't—!"
Frisk shoved past him and stood firm in front, holding out her hands as the lasers fired. Her red magic caught them but the pressure was intense. She gritted her teeth, her magic swelling. Bright red flared in her eyes as she wound the beams backwards on themselves until they reconnected with blasters they'd come from. The skulls shattered to dust. Chara whooped.
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Any relief was short-lived. Frisk's soul seized in chilling blue and she was tossed backwards at such speed that she was almost sick when she crashed back into the ground and flopped in a limp, dazed heap. Gaster stormed through what was left of the fog in a short burst of teleportations, easily avoiding a roaring Asriel's lunge and pinning him to the grass with a shock of gravity magic. Half a dozen more blaster skulls rose from where they'd been masked by sporadic veils of pink.
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"Leave her alone!" Chara had nothing but a hexagonal crystal from her pocket, but she pulled it and lunged at the skeleton.
Her soul, too, shifted blue, and she was tossed over his shoulder, landing awkwardly on Papyrus and knocking them both to the ground.
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Frisk ached. Her head hurt. Every inch of her throbbed and her eyes watered as she dizzily tried— and failed— to sit up. The skeleton loomed before her, weapon in hand. He gripped it tight and propped its back-end up on his shoulder to stabilize it.
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"FRISK!" Asriel yelled. "MOVE! GET UP!"
She did not. He snarled, flame dripping from between his fangs; magic surging along his arms. The grass between his fingers hissed. He pushed up against the blue on his soul with all his might and rose like he carried a mountain on his shoulders. The world seemed to darken as the weapon Gaster held swelled with energy.
"Get…" One paw in front of the other, he forced himself faster despite his soul feeling like it wanted to drop from his body. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"
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His yell rattled the earth. The ground erupted under his paws, the grass shooting up into massive blades and twisting into lashing tendrils. Vines and tree sproutlings jutted up with such intensity that Gaster was knocked off his feet and was forced to teleport away to avoid being entangled. His blasters closed in and shot at the boy, but Asriel launched himself through it in a frenzy, taking an attack to the face and ignoring it completely. The plants wrapped themselves into his fur. He ripped one of the skulls apart and slashed at the skeleton with claws of red thorns.
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Dizzy and sore, Frisk stiffly pushed herself upright and instantly froze at the sight of utter chaos before her. Her mind stumbled on the sight of all those plants. "A… Asriel?"
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Blasters were reeling around in a frenzy, some trying to shoot the goat boy while others were impaled by flora piercing skyward. Papyrus was far away, but Frisk could see him whacking a skull away from him and Chara as if the bone he held was a baseball bat.
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Blue flashed in her mind but she didn't have the time to move as yet another bore down upon her. Before she'd even extended her hand, the thing listed to the side as a few sharp, percussive blasts of white hit it. Racing in on all fours, horse-sized monster grabbed one of the blaster's horns in their skeletal jaws and slammed the whole thing into the ground, shattering it into glittering dust.
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"Are you alright?!" he asked, whirling on Frisk with a worried furrow in his brow.
Frisk gawked. She recognized this creature as the monster she'd seen the morning before. Up close, he looked like he was made completely made of foliage and wood, with the exception of a round crystal dangling around his neck. It pulsed with pale, yellow light.
"I… I'm fine," she squeaked. "M-My brother…" She pointed towards the roaring mess that was Asriel.
"Got it," the monster said. He shook his golden, leafy mane, and galloped off.
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All around Asriel, plants were shooting upwards, mirroring the boy's movements and striking at the skeleton. They wrapped Asriel's legs and clung up his chest as if trying to provide armour. Gaster was on the back foot, shifting in bursts to keep from his range, but the plants were snagging around his bones and piercing his coat nonetheless.
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The newcomer bounded straight at them with a howl and Gaster's eyes flashed. He stopped where he stood and raised twisted pillars of bone around him in a solid wall. Asriel slammed into them and roared, the plants with him surging upwards, trying to rip it down. It shattered on its own. Asriel was blasted down to the ground and, as he struggled to get up, he was snared in vines and engulfed completely, vanishing into a leafy mound.
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What emerged from the bone chamber looked nothing like Gaster. Instead, it was a heavy beast more than twice his size, with thick, plated bones as if to mimic a suit of armour or the scales of a dragon. The head was one of the blaster skulls with a scar below its left socket, eyes still blazing with gold and blue.
"Bone golem!" the newcomer shouted.
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"B-Bone golem?" Frisk echoed, baffled.
Chara gawked, putting a hand to her head. "BONE GOLEM?!" She touched on her soul and reached her hand out for her skeleton brother. "PAPYRUS!"
Papyrus raced for her and scooped her up, his own soul pulsing gold and together, they were engulfed in a tornado of orange energy.
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Papyrara burst forth, armour gleaming and scarf billowing. They caught Frisk's eye, stuck their thumbs up, and bounded towards Gaster's construct like the wind, summoning up a long spear made of bone with a phantom, red blade. The newcomer joined them, ramming the golem as hard as he could with his horns to drive him farther away from where Asriel had vanished. Papyrara took the cue and swept their spear along the ground, sending a wave of red bones in a swift and sharp pattern, forcing Gaster back towards the mountain.
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Frisk didn't have time for the awe, confusion, or concern she was feeling. She had to get to Asriel.
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She scrambled to her feet and sprinted across the clear, open field to the lump of plants that she knew was her brother. She dropped down to her knees. The leaves were twitching and vines slithered. She gently smacked her cheeks to rouse her brain and then directed her focus on the task at hand.
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She almost couldn't believe he'd done this himself. She didn't realize monster magic was even capable of something like this. But if it was his, he'd trapped himself, hadn't he?
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"Asriel?" she asked. "Are you okay?! Are you stuck? Can I help you?"
No answer. She reached out to touch and, nonetheless, the shivering grass seemed to invite her in. She took a deep breath and pushed inwards.
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She plunged into a dark, whirling sea of foliage. It was quiet and oddly calm, yet it seemed so vast for somewhere so small. Leaves brushed her skin gently as if guided by a breeze, but there was a panicked energy there that didn't signal anything good.
"Asriel?" she asked again. She reached out blindly and tried to feel her way through. She came upon some rough vines and soft fur under her fingertips. She perked up and shoved herself towards it, crawling closer.
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There was another mound just beyond a rolling wave of grass, with two large horns sticking out of it. Leaves bristled up like the fur of a frightened cat. Asriel was fully smothered in foliage and gold and purple flowers in a strange, ever-moving cocoon. Vines slithered around him and haphazardly tethered the mound to the ground. Frisk hurried to him, elbowing branches out of the way. She lay on her stomach and reached in where his head should have been. Elbow deep, she could feel soft fur under her hands. His closed eyelids. His floppy ears. She carefully slipped her hands under them and brushed flower petals away.
"Hey. I'm here," she said quietly.
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The leaves shifted and she lost him in the cocoon. She drew back nervously, gritted her teeth, and tried to dig in again— to toss some of the foliage aside, but twisted branches of thistles raised up, catching her arms and forcing her to retreat.
"Az?! Can you hear me?!" she demanded.
After a few seconds of nothing but leaves rustling, Asriel grunted a muffled affirmation.
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Frisk reached for him, but jerked back as she felt a vine wrapping her hand. It didn't try to pin her as they had done to him. The grasp was gentle and had all the give in the world. She cautiously touched it as it wrapped her palm. Another crept close and held her shoulder, and a third reached out to brush her hair out of her face for her. Her eyes went wide.
"Bro… Oh man. Okay. Okay okay, I got it," she said. She leaned forward and shoved her hands through the brambles. "You still there? Can you hear me?"
The vines on her one hand were a good buffer against the thorns, but the rest of her wasn't quite so lucky. Through the rustling, there was a little whisper of his voice. She perked right up.
"Phew! Okay! You gotta let me find you, though," she said.
.
The vines rustled. Frisk still couldn't make contact with him reaching in even up to her shoulder. She grimaced and rolled her eyes.
"O-Okay. Double plant pocket dimensions, sure, that's fine." She scrunched her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and elbowed her way in.
.
As thorns scratched her face, she tumbled unceremoniously into a dusky field of golden flowers with a hunched, greenish form at its centre. Couldn't be real. Impossible. The space was too familiar.
.
She sniffled and brushed her nose with the back of her hand as the floral aroma hit her. The form in the field shifted.
"Asriel?" Frisk hurried closer, but was jerked still as the vine around her hand tightened and went taut. "Hey!" She tugged against it but it held firm. "Knock it off."
"D-Don't… Don't look at me," Asriel growled.
"We gotta get you outta here," she insisted. She grabbed on the vine with both hands and tried to drag herself a few steps forward. She could hardly manage it. "You can't stay here."
.
Asriel raised up, but he didn't look like himself. His form was hulking and long-armed, and his fur was mottled with green moss. Gnarled, pale bark spiked up and over his shoulders and when he raised his head up, his face was like a ferocious, twisted carving, large teeth of thorns jutting from his jaws. A wreath of leaves and star-shaped blooms of white, purple, and gold blindfolded him.
"I said don't look at me!" he snarled.
Frisk was yanked to the ground and she yelped with surprise as another vine shot out and wrapped itself around her head, blinding her as well. She grasped onto it to pull away but it was firm where it grasped. "Hey! Rude!"
"Stay away! Don't you see what I am?!" Asriel snarled.
"Um. Okay, one, stop yelling at me, and two, no," Frisk said.
"…What?" he growled incredulously.
"You just covered my eyes. Can't see a thing," she said.
Asriel was silent for a heavy, awkward second. "O-Oh…"
.
Bashfully, the vines slithered away from her face, patting her on the head, and the one on her hand loosened. She held it gently and looked up at her brother. His twisted face was the picture of embarrassment and he turned away, putting a clawed, wooden hand to his snout.
"See? I can't be trusted," he grumbled.
"Dude. Nobody said that," she said. She started to cross the field but, before she reached him, again the vine held her back. "C'mon, stoooop, I'm trying to help."
"I'm just this. I'm always this," he whispered to himself. "I can't go back, I c-can't…"
.
Frisk gritted her teeth, but the vine went slack again. She edged towards him, slowly, cradling the plants that clung desperately to her hand. Once she got to him, she tiptoed around to face him. She gently reached in under his massive claws and nudged him away. She cupped his face and lifted it up. He looked as if he'd been carved to convey only anger. Even so, she gently brushed her hand over his head between his ears. He ground his thorny teeth as if he was in pain.
"It's bad, right?" he said.
"Well, I mean, it's kinda weird," she said. "But it's fine. Hey. Can you see?"
"I don't think I actually have eyes," he said.
"Okay. That's fine, too. We'll deal," she said. She raised up his snout and gently kissed him on the tip of it. "Love you, okay? Deep breaths."
"You shouldn't… You… Ah, shit…" He buckled and held her close. His grasp was rough and desperate. "S-Sorry if I give you splinters."
She hugged him smelled like hyacinth blossoms, intensely sweet with an edging of foresty spiciness.
"It's not real," she said quietly. "Don't worry. Just relax."
"How can I—?!"
"Hey." She glowed her soul for him, the gentle melody drifting up around them. "Listen. Relax. Just come with me."
"C-Come with…?"
"Yeah. You're doing this to yourself," she said. "This is your magic. You have to chill out."
"My…?" His voice weakened.
.
His soul fluttered and it tried to cling to hers. The melody was slow, but strong. Frisk smiled and, carefully, she slid her hands under the flower petals.
"D-Don't…" he said quietly.
"Trust me," she said.
He grimaced and wilted, and she gently brushed them away. As they floated to the ground, the facade of wood over his fur began to peel away, revealing the shining, soft white underneath. His eyes were certainly there, and they opened, pale green and wide. She grinned.
"There you go," she said. "Come on. Time to go, okay?"
.
Asriel's eyes rolled back and he went limp, dropping heavily to his knees. The kid squeaked and did her best to hold him up. Her heart thunked. Despite that, a beam of light pierced the shroud of foliage above them. The sun bleached him and all that was plant crumbled away and drifted off into red sparkles of magic. The vine around her hand went the same way. With frantic rustling, the world of leaves around them began to peel apart and whirl around in a cold wind. They seemed to have a mind of their own; a flock of crows rushing so close and so fast it was hard to see the light speckling through them. Frisk winced, took a breath, and closed her eyes.
.
When she looked again, she was sitting on her knees with her brother slumped in her arms. Bright leaves and flower petals blew away from them in the wind until all that was left was a comfy field of soft grass. Frisk huffed out a sigh of relief and held his head and shoulders up as best she could. His soul was flickering oddly— the sound loud and then soft; offbeat. It connected to her, though. It clung, desperate for reassurance. She hugged him tighter.
.
It was strangely serene, sitting there with the cool breeze and the warm sun beating down overhead through a clear morning sky. The big skeleton, the newcomer, and Gaster were somewhere off in the distance, battling. Their magic was like static in the air, buzzing in the back of Frisk's ears. She took a deep breath and put her forehead down into Asriel's fur.
"Sorry, bro," she said quietly. "Jeez."
.
"Hey. He okay?"
Frisk looked up to see Sans standing at her side. He knelt down and put his hand on Asriel's forehead.
"Ah. Poor kid. He's exhausted," he said.
"Did you see that? Do you know what that was?" she asked.
"Welp. Seems like he can control plants. Pretty weird for a monster." He pulled out a handkerchief and brushed it over her forehead. "But he freaked out, if I'm right?"
"He was totally stuck in there," Frisk said. "I think he trapped himself inside."
Sans's eyes darted down to her arms. "It didn't hurt ya on purpose, right?"
She shook her head. She cast her gaze over to the last place she'd seen the others. "Hey, uh, are they okay?"
"Hm?" He followed her gaze. "Oh. Yeah. They're fine. Stranger danger will just've pulled back."
"You sure?" she asked.
He nodded. "Might not be able to see his next step, but I can see Papy's sometimes."
Frisk nodded. She huffed out an exhausted sigh. "That was trash."
"You did okay," he said.
"No I didn't." She squished Asriel. "Ugh. We need a rest."
"Don't worry, you'll get it." His grin turned smug. "Can't fight a Papyrara."
.
"No he cannot!" The huge, four-armed skeleton joined them in the blink of an eye. They wiped a smudge of dirt from their face. "Thoroughly disassembled! He headed off to the north; we think it'll take him a little time to recharge from all that!" Their smile faded and their brows bent with worry. They knelt down and put a big hand on Asriel's head. "Oh no, Azzy… He fainted?"
"Y-Yeah," Frisk said.
"And you! Damn…" They brushed a gently hand over her head. "Are you alright?!"
"Me? Yeah, sure, I'm fine," she said. "I'm more worried about him."
"Here." They held out their arms. "Let us. There's a cottage we can use to the south. What do you think, Sans?"
"Perfect. Can you hold it that long?" he asked.
"It should be no trouble!" They gently took the boy from Frisk's arms and cradled him close as they stood up. "We'll meet you two there! Thank the stranger for us if you see them!"
.
Papyrara dashed off, swift as the wind, sprouting boney wings with membranes of gold as sped off in a blur. Frisk was at a loss. She got to her feet and rubbed her forehead. It was slick. She looked at her hand. There was more than a little blood there. Sans took her hand and held out her arms. Only then did she realize she was covered in scratches.
"Oh good," she joked.
"Welp. Um. Can't heal, but…" He pulled a canteen out of his pocket. "Don't move." He popped the cap and then carefully poured some water over her arms. He gently wiped them down with a handkerchief, and then touched on her forehead, focusing on her right brow. All he could manage was a relaxing chill. "…Sorry."
"No, that's okay. Thank you. It's no big deal." She smiled sideways. "Scars from another dimension. Kinda cool."
"You're a weird kid," he said, though he smiled fondly and patted her head.
.
"Howd…! How'd it go over here?" The newcomer monster trotted up, wide-eyed. "Oomf! Human! You got more than a little dinged up, yeah?"
"It looks worse than it is," she said. "Thanks for the help."
"Never turn down someone in need, is what I always say," they said. "Me and your very tall friend managed to pull most of the golem apart. Are you familiar with that type of magic?"
"I am," Sans said. "Exaustin'."
The other monster nodded. "Hopefully that'll buy you some time until we can get the guards here."
"Already sent for 'em," Sans said.
"That was fast," Frisk said.
The skeleton smiled and shrugged. "Had a sec in-between the smoke and the blastin'."
.
"What was that about, anyway, if you don't mind me asking? That was an awfully vicious attack."
"We're, uh, not exactly sure yet," Sans said. He looked at Frisk. "…Unless ya got a clue."
Frisk winced. She shrugged tepidly. "I dunno. There… was a guy like that I met once. He really wanted my soul. But this guy… He's a lot stronger than that guy was."
"If you were to ask me," the plant monster said. "A-And, I hope this isn't overstepping? But. To me, that intensity… That looked like a vendetta." He tilted his head. "But you're just a little kid, yeah? Could it be… something between him and your parents?"
"I don't think so," Frisk said.
Sans patted her shoulder. "The guy's full of it. We'll deal with it." He cut his eyes at the newcomer and smiled. "Anyway. Guess we owe ya, huh? What's your name?"
"Oh! Uh. I'm… Leirak," the monster said with a bashful smile.
"New 'round here?"
"I move here and there," Leirak said. "You know. Go with the wind. All that stuff."
Sans nodded thoughtfully. Frisk peered up at Leirak and tilted her head. He looked a little sweaty all of a sudden. Then, his dark eyes brightened.
"Oh! If you want! Human. I can help those cuts," he said. "So they won't get infected." He stuck out his green tongue for a moment. "It's a little gross but I promise it's helpful."
"I've dealt with way worse than that," Frisk said.
.
Leirak perked up. He gave her forehead a lick. Frisk shuddered. It felt like cold, wet moss. But, true to his word, the cut across her eyebrow stopped stinging instantly. The monster licked the tops of her arms, too, seeming very proud of himself when he was done.
"Alright! I'll head off!" he said, turning back to the woods. "Feel free to signal any time. If I'm in the area, you can bet I will gladly headbutt that villain again!"
"Preciate it," Sans said.
"I think the Queen might be looking to meet you," Frisk said.
Leirak stopped mid-step. He smiled to himself. "Is that so? Well! Maybe she will sometime!" He galloped off, a bounce in his trot.
.
Frisk rubbed the back of her head. There was something familiar about that monster, but she couldn't quite place it.
.
Sans yawned and stretched. "Whew. Welp. That was way more than enough for one day, huh?"
"Heck yeah it was," Frisk said. "But… What do we do about… all that?"
"Let the Dragonguard handle it," he said. He nodded in the direction Papyrara had gone and began to wander. "I'll come back and give 'em a rundown once we see how your bro's doin'."
"R-Right." Frisk hurried to keep up. "Is it far?"
"Pretty far. Guy's new here, chances of him findin' us are pretty damn slim."
.
Frisk's head was pounding. She reached for his hand despite thinking better of it. He let her and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"It's gonna be fine," he said.
Frisk grimaced. Her mind was whirling a million miles a second and her eyes began to tear up.
"What?" Sans asked.
"I… I'm so sorry," she said quietly.
"It'll be fine," he repeated.
"He's here 'cause of me," she said quietly. "A-And… And I… I got knocked around so much I… could hardly help at all."
"Frisk, you're like ten years old, relax," Sans said. "Nobody expected ya to suplex the guy."
.
She winced and slowed down, pulling away to wipe her eyes. "What's even the point of…? If I can't…?"
Sans bent and held her shoulders. "Hey. Kid. You gotta stop."
"Sorry." She sniffled. "I g-guess I… I just wanna be… better at this? Better at…"
"You're not gonna win every fight," Sans said.
"But I can't afford to lose fights here!" she said. "I dunno what'll happen and—! And… I… I can't let anything else happen to Az. I screwed up."
The skeleton sighed quietly. "Course ya did. The jerk looked and sounded like your dad. Who could really blame ya?"
"It's not a good reason," she grumbled. "I knew it wasn't from the second I saw his face."
Sans's brow furrowed. "You're… Heh." He shook his head. "Ya started sparin' with pigeon, hm? Just relax. I ain't the best fighter, but Papy's good. We'll work on it," he said. He tilted his head. "Need a hug?"
"…Yes please."
.
He gave her a warm squish. She wanted to cry. She clung tight to him, resting her forehead against his shoulder. He carefully patted her head. It was still a little tender.
"It's too damn early for this," he joked.
"It's always too early for this," she said.
He chuckled. "Y'got it." He straightened up, took a look around, and then took two deliberate strides backwards. "I really gotta practice with tagalongs." He offered her his hand. "Let's hope we don't end up in the pond."
"Oh. We're s-super gonna end up in the pond," Frisk said.
He winked. "Water ya mean, don'tcha have faith in me?"
Frisk snickered despite herself. She took one last, careful look around at the field they left behind. The plants Asriel'd grown hadn't vanished. They had sprouted flowers like the ones that had wreathed his head. They glittered in the sunlight as if they were coated in dew. The kid took a deep breath to settle herself.
"Okay okay," she said, "let's go."