Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: X-Changed Will
Chapter 1: Unease at the Start
Entry Number 1, Timeline Number 1
This is the start of the new time-line, or so Gaster says.
I watched with Frisk and Chara as he created the new world around us. A city was erected, along with a great mountain, where the monsters would live. A facsimile of Mt Ebott, the home where the originals were sealed by the original humans.
With that single act, the world has become more livelier than before. It looked less like a pocket realm, and more of an actual world with civilisation and sentient life.
As Gaster worked to bring the basic foundations of a proper world into existence, I was amazed at the power of his creation.
It was no different to how Yukari would have managed to bring about the existence of Gensokyo, except Gaster brought his world into existence for different reasons.
This was to be home for Frisk and Chara, a world where they can live not as lone children, but as young humans in a living world.
Although, Gaster did say that he had a project planned, and asked me to help. Curious about what he had intended, but also wary considering his recent behaviour, I followed his word.
At least, he's putting his children before himself. Something a good father does, blood-related or not.
Richard watched with Frisk and Chara, as Gaster raised a hand, as countless white souls appeared into existence, as they turned into various kinds of humans and monsters, an entire crowd before them, as the children were surprised by the sheer amount of people before them, while Richard raised his eyebrows in interest.
"That… is quite the population you have there, Gaster." Richard declared with an impressed tone.
"Please don't flatter me too much, Richard. It is the best that I can do for them." Gaster answered back, before placing a hand on Frisk's and Chara's back. "Now, my children, meet your caretakers."
Gaster then pushed the boys gently forward, as they were greeted by a pair of mature anthromorphic goat monsters, one female with short horns, and a black maternal dress, as well as a black queen's crown on her head, and the other a male with long curved horns, a black king's crown, a mane of white hair on his head and a large beard, dressed in a black royal cape with a hawallian flower shirt and shorts under the cape. The female held Frisk's hand, as he looked up to her, while the male patted Chara's head with a warm smile, as Chara looked at him with a warm look in his eyes.
Richard looked at the scene, as he was quite pleased at what he saw. "This is truly a beautiful scene…" He declared, before Gaster pushed him slightly, shocking Richard. "Woah, woah, hey! What are you doing, Gaster!?"
"You should go with them. After everything I have seen you do, you would be a proper brother figure for both Frisk and Chara." Gaster smiled at Richard.
"I…" Richard started, before he noticed that both of the goat monsters were looked at him. "Oh. Apologies, I didn't mean to-"
"There is no need to worry. We won't take offence. In fact, we would be happy to consider you a part of our family." The male monster declared with a friendly and jovial tone.
"Please, will you take care of these two? I'm sure that you would be able to help them become accustomed with them." The female requested softly with a motherly tone.
"Well…" Richard remarked, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, as he recalled meeting other versions of the goat monster pair, known as Toriel and Asgore, and finding interactions with them to be quite interesting, as most of them were quite devoted to families, although in different forms.
After a while, he decided to follow Gaster's request, knowing that it was for the best, as he flashed a kind smile back. "...Of course I would. I suppose that makes you my foster parents, eh? My name is Richard Liu, and I'll do my best to be a great member of your family. Your chores, and your troubles, let me work with you to solve them!"
"A hard-working one right here, isn't it, Toriel?" The male goat monster asked his partner.
"Indeed it is, Asgore. Welcome to the Dreemur household, young Richard." Toriel responded back, with wide-arms to hug Richard.
Richard accepted the embrace, as the fluffy arms of the goat monsters held him close, and he returned the hug with his own one.
"Now then, we should take you three to your new home." Asgore stated, as the monster crowd dispersed.
As Richard and the children followed after Toriel and Asgore, as Richard observed several members of the crowd that he took particular interest on, due to their various counterparts in the various worlds of the Doodle Sphere. His eyes rested on a pair of skeletal monsters, not too unlike Gaster himself, who seemed to be brothers to each other, a fish-woman who was with a diminutive female anthropomorphic lizard monster, a anthropomorphic female spider, and an arm-less monster boy.
Richard's eyes finally rested on Gaster himself, as he watched Richard leave, with a neutral expression on his face.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU BRAT!" Richard shouted with an enraged expression, as he had a paint-bucket on his head, dyeing his head in a blue colour, as the culprit, Chara, was cackling mischievously, running about the large mansion-like house they had.
The two rushed around the rooms, as they vaulted over furniture with skillful precision, as if they have practiced this chase several times over, leaving anything in their path mostly undisturbed. Despite the fact that Chara was more mobile than Richard, his stamina was far below that of Richard's, as the latter managed to catch up to him, and pin him to a carpet rug with a diving tackle.
"Got you!" Richard stated with an evil smirk on his face, as he created a sukima, dropping a paint-brush in his hand. "Now then, Chara. What will it be? 'I will not prank my brother figure' or 'I was an idiot'?"
"RICHARD!" Was Toriel's thundering voice, as he raised his head to see a cross-armed Toriel with a very cross expression on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do such a thing to poor Chara?"
"Oh, come on, mother." Richard answered back calmly, as Chara sniggered and blew a raspberry. "It's not like I was going to physically harm him at all. And it wasn't like I was going to parade him out with the writing on his fore-head. You know that I can easily undo my mischief, while Chara is less simple… as you can see."
"I understand your need to discipline Chara for his mischief, but mischief for mischief does not change matters, especially when you're supposed to be the bigger brother here." Toriel answered back, her stance not shifting the slightest.
"Hai, hai." Richard answered back, rolling his eyes quickly, and releasing Chara, who rushed to Toriel's side. "I won't try to go as far as this next time. But still, you should tell him to stop trying to prank me like this. It's like being with you made him a bit spoiled, you know. His grades are slipping quite hard these days, because he's been trying to think of ways to prank me like this."
"What…?" Toriel asked, before Chara paled, as the goat monster turned her ire towards the child beside her. "Chara Dreemurr… Perhaps I believe you are in need of some proper discipline from me?"
Toriel then seized Chara by the ear, while Richard smugly watched as Chara tried to resist, before he was dragged into a room.
"Heh, try to get away from me without some punishment for your act? Don't get cocky, kid." Richard scoffed.
Richard then turned to leave, before finding Frisk standing before him, as he was holding a school-book in his arms.
"Yo, Frisk. What do you need me for?" Richard asked Frisk.
"Can you please ease up on Chara? I know that you feel like you need to teach him a lesson for what he's done… But this isn't fair on him at all." Frisk stated.
"Well, I'm not exactly too angry at all." Richard stated, as he took the bucket on his head off, before using some water magic to wash the paint off himself, and some fire to dry himself off. "I can easily take his pranks fine. Thing is, he needs to learn that there are always consequences for his actions. When he does to someone else, I doubt they'll be as forgiving as our parents, you and me would be. And by then, it would be too late to teach him a lesson, because he could end up badly scarred by the experience."
"I see…" Frisk stated, before Richard then kneeled down, and placed a hand on Frisk's shoulder.
"Look, I'm always going to be there for you guys. If anyone tries to bully you, I'll find a way to get them off your backs." Richard answered back with a firm tone and serious look in his eyes. "I don't need to use physical threats to make someone know that they shouldn't mess with my little brothers. I can easily expose their wrongdoings, and make them repent for their actions. And if you have troubles, know that I will do my best to help you all… Even if it comes down to a fight to the death… I will put my life on the line for you and this family. That I swear."
"Richard…" Frisk remarked, with a touched expression, as he smiled faintly. "...Thank you for taking care of us so well over the course of this year… You made this first year with our new parents… a memorable experience."
"Hey, what can I say? I'm good at being family." Richard chuckled. "But come on, you want someone to study with, don't you, Frisky?"
"Yeah, I have some problems trying to understand the science here. I mean, as our actual father is a scientist himself, it may sound stupid…" Frisk stated. "But honestly… I just don't understand a few parts of it."
"Then look no further, my excelling subject is science." Richard stated, before he took the school-book from Frisk's hands. "Now then, let's start with the basics of your year's curriculum on science. First is figuring out the type of change that a reaction does… You can tell by…"
Richard then proceeded to give Frisk a proper lesson on the academic subjects, drawing various examples to illustrate, and giving practice questions, until Frisk reached a far better understanding of the current material than he did before.
By the time they were done, Asgore entered the house, having put his cape away, and wiping the sweat of his fore-head, after working hard to maintain the house's garden.
"Alright, boys… Would you like some dinner now?" Asgore asked both of them.
Richard looked at the clock, as it was indeed dinner time, causing him and Frisk to let out an enthusiastic 'Yes please!', knowing that Asgore's dishes always left them deliciously satisfied.
Richard left with Asgore to help prepare the dishes as well, while Chara came out of the room, with a sullen expression, that changed when he saw that Asgore and Richard were making the meals, as he eagerly waited for dinner to come.
"Come on, come on…!" Chara remarked, as he, Richard and Frisk were playing a competitive racing video game, as both Chara and Frisk seemed to have aged a year or two, while Richard looked fairly the same, due to his unique physique.
Chara and Richard were head-to-head, as they were butting each other's cars in an attempt to slow each other down. However, they didn't anticipate that Frisk managed to pull off a drift boost, just in time to glide past the contesting pair, as his car crossed the finish line with fan-fare.
"FUDGE!" Richard cursed, slamming his hands and controller on his lap with a swift motion, while Frisk gave a smug smirk, while Chara merely laid back with a defeated expression. "How do you always manage to pull that same trick every time!?"
"Simply, because I'm not stupid enough to butt heads with my brother." Frisk answered back.
"...I hate that you're a good debater sometimes, Frisk." Richard declared with resignation, placing a hand on his face. "Hoo, alright, you win this cup with perfect point count. But if it's consolation, I'm on top of the CPUs, and I beat Chara, so who's got the skills now, Chara?"
"Mmmrrgh…" Chara mumbled back with an unhappy tone.
Suddenly, they heard the sounds of Toriel and Asgore entering the home, as they got off the couch they were on, greeting the parents, as they had a baby in their hands, wrapped in a blanket bundle.
"Oh my god, is that…?" Chara asked with anticipation.
"That is right, we would like to meet your new brother, Asriel." Toriel declared with a proud motherly tone.
"Looks like I've got one more mouth to take care of now." Asgore chuckled. "This old goat better put in the hard work to keep us fed quite well!"
Frisk and Chara looked at Richard, who nodded back at them.
"Go ahead, you deserve to have him first." Richard smiled at them.
Frisk and Chara rushed over, as Toriel handed Chara the goat monster baby, while Frisk stood on the other side.
"Can you imagine it? He's like a living, breathing plushie with how soft he is!" Chara remarked with joy. "I bet that when he grows up, he'll be more like me!"
"Heh, dream on, star-gazer." Richard smirked at Chara, who sniggered back.
"Look at this, he's pretty… adorable." Frisk declared, as Asriel wrapped his tiny hand around Frisk's finger, with a few cute giggles and coos. "I think that I already like this younger brother of ours."
"Alright, quit hogging the new addition. I want to partake in some of that warmth." Richard declared, as he reached his hands out, causing Chara to hand Asriel to Richard. "...Ah, this is paradise. To have a young child in my hands, to be raised as an upstanding member of this family."
Richard then gently rocked the baby, who mumbled happily, while Richard hummed a familiar tune under his breath, as Asriel let out a little yawn, and nuzzled in his hold.
"Aw… Would you look at that, little Azzy is tucked out." Richard cooed with a soft tone, before handing Asriel back to Toriel. "Hey, mother, put him in a proper bed. Wouldn't want our little bundle of fluff to get nasties."
"...Right away." Toriel stated, as she left the room.
"I think that life's turning up for us all." Chara declared with a hopeful smile.
"Doesn't it always?" Richard smugly stated, earning him a bop on the shoulders by Chara and Frisk.
Richard and Asgore were doing gardening, as Richard was wielding a large pair of shears, as he was expertly trimming the hedges straight, as the blades of his shears were snapping at a rapid pace, yet his arms were steady enough to keep the cutting clean. Meanwhile, Asgore himself dedicated to trimming some of the other plants, as well as watering the garden of flowers, with the watering can in one hand and hand-held trimmers in the other.
As Richard made the final cut on the hedges, backing away to observe his handiwork, he was interrupted by the sound of a trio of voices, from Frisk and Chara, who aged up once again, and Asriel himself, as the goat monster was now a child himself, dressed in a white shirt, with the golden heart locket around his neck. Asriel was chasing after Frisk and Chara, as they seemed to be having fun.
"I say, papa Asgore…" Richard remakred with a smile, as Asgore turned to watch the children chase each other. "...Doesn't it feel so nice to see that the three of them are a great example of co-existence between monsters and humans? They're acting like children, friendly with each other, regardless of race. Not to mention they're from the same family even, adopted and blood-related."
"...Of course. I strive for the day that our kingdom will be at peace with the rest of this world." Asgore declared, lowering his shears. "...It's a shame that there are still protests against such a movement… But hopefully, it will slowly die down. After all, public opinion has been becoming more and more receptive over the years."
Suddenly, Asriel tripped on the pavement, as he tumbled across the ground, causing Asgore and Richard to grimace, as Frisk and Chara stopped running away, turning tail to check on their brother.
"Hey, Azzy! Are you alright?" Chara asked Asriel, helping him up, as the goat-monster had tears in his eyes, as he had a large scrape on his knee.
"It hurts…" Asriel whimpered slightly.
"Hey, hey, it's okay." Richard responded back, as he walked over, with Asgore following behind. "Your big brother is here. Don't worry, just sit down, and let me take a good look at it."
Asriel nodded back, and did so. Richard kneeled down to get a closer look at the wound, as it was fairly large, but luckily didn't go much further than being a bloody scrape.
"Alright, promise me you won't cry, Asriel." Richard stated, as he raised his hands, creating some water. "I'm going to carefully rinse the wound clean, so that I can properly treat it. It's going to hurt a little, but I know that you're a big boy."
"...Okay." Asriel answered back with a shaky nod.
Richard then directed the water with his magic, washing over Asriel's wound, clearing it of any obstructions on the skin, as Asriel yelped and whined slightly, as more tears leaked from his eyes. However, Richard did it quickly, before he then summoned antibiotic cream, and gently massaging it into the wound to disinfect it, and then using a soft bandage to cover it.
"All done." Richard answered back, before patting Asriel's leg away from the wound. "See, did it hurt much? I know that you're a bit of a soft heart and a cry-baby sometimes, but you're still a strong kid, and no one can say otherwise."
"Me too! Don't listen to those bullies back there! You're going to be greater than them when you grow up!" Chara passionately declared.
"Chara… Richard… Thank you." Asriel smiled back.
"What about me?" Frisk asked with a raised eye-brow, as Asriel turned away with a shy look, while Frisk smiled slightly. "No need to thank me though, I'm glad that you're alright."
"Hey, actually…" Richard stated, before he then let a bundle of yellow flowers fall into his hands. "...You always did like flowers, didn't you, Asriel… Here's some, just as a wish for you to get better soon, hehe…"
Richard then handed the flowers to Asriel, as his expression lit up with joy, before he then headed into the home.
"...Ah, our little goat-boy… always loves the flowers. Never change, dear brother… never change." Richard stated with a shake of his head.
"Hey, since you're free, why don't you take your turn chasing us then?" Chara stated.
"Haha, you got a death wish, kids?' Richard grinned savagely. "Alright then, let's see how much effort you put in to keep yourselves out of my reach! Ready or not, here I come!"
Richard then started to chase the two kids around, while Asgore snorted with a smile, before returning to his gardening duties.
"Hey, Richard, catch!" Frisk cried, as he kicked the soccer ball over to Richard, as it arced slightly in the air, as the both of them, Chara and Asriel were playing around in the backyard of the house, which was a rectangular field of grass for them to play on. What was notable was that the three children had grown up again, with Chara now sporting a black shirt with a white hoodie, Frisk with a white jacket and black shirt, and Asriel with a black robe with the Dreemer family sigil in white on the chest, and his face sporting black markings and a pair of spiked horns on his head.
Richard caught the ball, before he then juggled it slightly into the air a few times, and then knocked it over to Chara.
"Catch this one, Asriel!" Chara declared, as he arched his foot back, as if preparing to launch a high shot, before his foot slipped, causing him to accidentally fire the shot higher into the sky.
"I got it, I got it!" Asriel stated, before he then readied to head-butt the ball back to Chara, only for him to mis-time the action, instead hitting the ball with his face, causing his eyes to water, and him to stagger back clutching it.
"Asriel!" Frisk exclaimed, as he rushed over. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, just… a little hurt, that's all." Asriel answered back with a chuckle, although there were tears in his eyes.
"Alright, that's enough from all of you." Richard clapped his hands. "You've played for long enough. Mom wants you to get back to studying. You won't make it as ambassadors at this rate."
"Oh, come on, we're plenty qualified!" Chara declared firmly with confidence. "We got the charisma, the leadership, and the looks to pull it off."
"Oh, don't you think you're missing something?" Richard smirked back.
"Pft, as if knowledge would do much with that kind of job." Chara rolled his eyes. "Besides, I got it handled all fine."
"Is that so? Then answer me this: Tell the value of x, where the equation is (5x+41)/12 = (3x+23)/2?" Richard challenged Chara.
The confidence melted off Chara's face, as he looked dumb-founded. "...Uh…" He muttered. "-1?"
"Oh boy… sure, the races are going to follow a dim one like you…" Richard sighed.
"Hey, I like to see any of you do better!" Chara snapped back.
"-97/13." Frisk declared firmly.
"You were saying?" Richard answered back smugly, gesturing at Frisk.
"Argh!" Chara declared, throwing his hands up, and stomping back into the house.
"...Speaking of which, you look like you haven't aged much, Richard…" Asriel said to Richard. "In fact, you look almost the same as you did when I was born all those years ago…"
"Well, funny thing about that… I don't exactly age like a human." Richard responded back. "I guess that's why. But ain't that nice, that means that you don't have to worry about… Actually no, let's not go down that road. Come on, your brother is going to study, so you should go do that. And don't forget that even though I won't do your homework no matter what you try, I can at least teach you how to do it."
Asriel and Frisk nodded, as they entered the house with Richard.
A few more years later, the trio would have grown into young adults, having fulfilled their dreams of being ambassadors for the two races, draped in black and white envoy robes, as they greeted the massive crowd of humans and various races of monsters, as amidst them, were Toriel and Asgore, who were so pleased to see the first days of their children as ambassadors.
Gaster watched them from a distance, before he then heard foot-steps, as Richard appeared behind him.
"Hey, Gaster…" Richard stated, before handing him a pile of paper reports in his hands. "I've done some information gathering around this world. This should help you understand how far this world has come."
"Your aid is appreciated, Richard." Gaster smiled back, taking the reports, and then looking back at Frisk, Chara and Asriel. "...They truly are enjoying this. I could say that my job here is done."
"I suppose so. This could be what you consider unique on its own, a timeline where everyone started in peace, and worked hard to maintain that peace." Richard declared firmly with a nod. "Your children are happy, you made this world a special place for your own creations… and you even have this geek of an assistant for yourself. She's kinda cute though."
"O-Oh?" The same lizard-woman that Richard observed at the creation of the timeline, remarked, as she was blushing slightly, dressed in a white lab-coat, as she was holding one of Gaster's log entries in her hands. "You… really think that?"
"Of course." Richard nodded back, as the lizard's blush grew. "If I didn't have a girlfriend already, I'd date you in a heartbeat. You're a diligent woman, with quite similar tastes to me, and you're a good person to be around, from the many times we interacted."
"A-ah…" The lizard-woman answered back, hiding her red face.
Gaster however, wasn't paying much attention, as a frown crossed his face.
"...But is it enough?" Gaster muttered to himself, as Richard heard it.
"...What? Something wrong, Gaster?" Richard stated.
"...No, it's nothing." Gaster answered back, as his tone seemed less warm than before. "...You can go now. Please take care of them for me."
"...If you say so." Richard stoically said, as his tone became less emotional than before.
As Richard walked away, he could swear that he felt a sense of dread creep onto his heart.
However, just as he managed to make a few steps, he suddenly heard a voice that he didn't recognise… yet felt so similar in his mind.
'You're a good onii-chan, Richard-kun! But still, I gotta believe in Mr. Hat!'
Richard snapped his head towards the perceived direction of the voice, only to find nothing greeting him.
"...Odd…" Richard stated. "...Is this… the start of my memories being returned?"
Entry Number 2, Timeline Number 1
It was a few days after that day I watched the trio parade through the streets, with the crowd watching them with hope and joy.
Gaster met with me, and requested a personal meeting.
What he talked about… I'm not sure if I feel like agreeing with him, even so long after, at the present time I write this log.
He told me that he could make this all better… but that would mean sacrificing the world… starting it from scratch so to speak.
He seeks to OVERWRITE the timeline, go back to the beginning without traces of the past, so to speak.
When he told me those words… I felt something in me stir again… the same dread I felt before I left when he said those words.
He says that it could make everything better… but what's to say that this isn't the best it was? What if changing things only made things worse?
...Something's telling me those words, as if it is a warning that barely lingers in my mind.
I kept it to mind… But I refuse to act on it, just because of a gut feeling.
I already did damage by doing so… Hopefully, I'll know when to make the right choice.
Whatever beings watch over us… let this not end in bitter tragedy… please.
Richard, Chara and Frisk were standing on a hill facing the city, as Gaster was in front of them, with a stony expression on his face, while Asriel stood before them.
"...I'm very sorry. This world must be improved." Gaster declared stoically, although there is some regret in his voice. "I admit that everything was beautiful, but it's time to say goodbye."
Chara looked at Gaster with a betrayed look, while Frisk averted his eyes, as if he was trying to prepare for what was going to happen, with some sadness on his face. Richard was silent, before he gave a weak smile.
"Well, I guess that's how it is then… So this is how it goes for you, Asriel…" Richard declared with a sad tone. "...I'm going to miss the times that I had with you. How you were a cry-baby, how you grew your own resolve… how you became closer to being the God of Hyperdeath you bragged about when you were a child."
"I'm glad that you're not going to be too sad with what's going to happen, Richard. You always cherished me." Asriel smiled back. "Chara, Frisk, my dear brothers… don't be sad. We'll see each other again. We can play and laugh together just like we did in our childhood. You two will be a hundred times happier than this. That's a promise, okay?"
"Asriel…" Chara muttered.
"...Can I at least hug you one last time?" Richard responded back, before turning to Gaster. "...You won't mind, won't you, Gaster?"
"...Do as you wish." Gaster stated, as he raised a hand.
Richard then walked forward, before he then hugged Asriel tightly, making sure to keep his face away from Asriel and the others, as he let a single tear streaked down his face in sadness.
"See you next time, Asriel." Richard declared with a quiet whisper.
"You too, Richard…" Asriel smiled back, before turning to Chara and Frisk. "And my brothers…"
Gaster then summoned a ethereal purple button, as the words OVERWRITE was written in it, in large print letters, as his hands reached for it, with Chara watching with horror, as the hand approached it.
"...Stay determined, for our freedom." Asriel declared with resolve.
As Gaster's hand hit the button, the entire world, save for him, Chara, Frisk and Richard, disappeared in a flash of purple pixels, as Richard's arms swung forward, with nothing to hold onto, while the golden heart locket clattered onto the ground with a metallic thunk.
Frisk and Chara were de-aged to their original selves, as both of them were crying rivers of tears for their lost brother, while Richard picked up the dropped golden heart locket, as he popped it open, only to see nothing, causing his heart to sink.
"...Asriel… I'll cherish your memories." Richard declared, as he pocketed the heart locket in his robe, before turning to leave. "...It's done, Gaster. Let us move on."
"...Richard, how could you say that?" Chara stated between sobs. "...He was our brother… And Gaster just…"
"...I know… We'll do our best to make our next life with him… truly worth it. We'll keep our promise." Richard stated with a firm tone.
"Richard-" Frisk was about to say, before he then saw how tightly Richard's fists were clenched, as the words died in his throat.
...And so, another timeline was being created.