Frisk: Hey, look at that. Another chapter. Beginning StoryShift.
Chara: As well as our first step at getting some pieces of Gaster.
Asriel: But...we'll have to interact with our counterparts for a little bit. They seem pretty surprised to see us.
Chara: I would imagine seeing a double would initially surprise certain people.
Frisk:...
Chara:...Oh don't give me that look! Us looking alike is pure coincidence! These are our actual doubles!
Asriel: Oh golly...my head hurts again...oh! Near the beginning of this long chapter, I say a couple of important things. Keep them in mind.
Chapter Start!
Well. It's official. I'm completely and totally lost.
Chara, Frisk, and Asriel stood still as they were gazing back at Shift!Chara, Shift!Frisk, and Shift!Asriel. Multiple different thoughts went through the Classic counterparts minds. They weren't surprised to see that Shift!Chara and Shift!Frisk were girls. They figured that could happen in any universe they might come across. However, what surprised them was that it was very clear to them what roles have been swapped for them. Chara and Asriel must have been replacing Sans and Papyrus. That was...rather unexpected. They could tell becaude Shift!Chara looks unbelievably lazy while Shift!Asriel was looking very energetic. Obviously not now, because they could see that his mind was blown. Very much justified, seeing as he saw his Classic Counterpart standing right in front of him.
Shift!Frisk didn't feel very different, so there isn't anything significant to note from her besides that she was female here.
Chara did take note of how different his Shift counterpart looked apart from him aside from her clothes. Since she was obviously female and in the middle of her teen years like he was, she looked a bit...curvier. Huh. So that's what I look like as a girl.
So this is what I look like as a guy? Shift!Chara raised an eyebrow. Huh. Timelines are weird.
"What...the...golly...?" Shift!Asriel blinked a couple times, holding onto Shift!Chara's jacket. "Chara! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!"
"Yeah. I see them."
"I can see me across from me! But I'm me! Have I been somewhere else this entire time?"
"Uuuummm..." Asriel nervously rubbed the back of his neck nervously. This was getting more awkward by the second, and that was something he'd rather not deal with. But he didn't want to be rude to his rather cheery alternate counterpart. "Uh...Howdy...?"
"Wooooaaaah! You say 'Howdy!' just like I do!" Shift!Asriel beamed. "You're also pretty tall, just like me!"
Classic Chara took a look at Shift!Chara and Shift!Asriel...he was taller. The multiverse is mocking me...
"So...I don't think we've introduced ourselves properly, yet." Frisk rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Um...we're basically you. But a bit different. I...I really don't know how to explain this in big detail..."
"Then use small details. You're our clones." Shift!Chara decided, walking up to her Classic counterpart.
Shift!Asriel gasped. "Clones?! We have clones, Chara?!"
"We sure do." She smiled as she wrapped an arm around her Classic counterpart, and winked. Precious Goat-Bro is oblivious. Play along for now.
"Uh...yeah! We're clones of you! Magical clones from a magical different period of time!" Classic Chara nodded quickly.
"Woooaaah!" Shift!Asriel beamed even brighter, his eyes sparkling stars. "That's so cool! Wait...awwww! Other me grew his horns in first!" Classic Asriel blinked in a bit of confusion, until he remembered that he indeed had horns now. Seemed that Shift!Asriel was a bit jealous of his horns, just a bit. But he shook it off, and smiled. "Greetings, lookalikes of me and my sisters! I am The Absolute Deity! The Defender of Monsters! Only in Snowdin though...but soon it will be more! And my sisters entrusted Guardian!" He spun around and struck a rather amazing pose, stars sparkling off of his body. "ASRIEL DREEMURR, THE GOD OF HYPERDEATH!"
Shift!Frisk giggled as she and Shift!Chara clapped excitedly, highly impressed by their brother's awesomeness. The latter turned towards the Classic Trio with a grin. "Heh. Ain't he just the coolest guy you've ever seen?"
Classic Chara grinned. "I don't disaree. I can tell you that I certainly don't disagree." The dude is DABBING. God of Hyperdeath? More like God Of Hyperdab. Ha! The amused grin told wonders, he was really getting a kick out of this.
Classic Frisk smiled. "Asriel is without a doubt the coolest guy ever." His smile was more gentle, experiencing the precious goatbro being a lot like Papyrus.
Classic Asriel blushed as he covered his with his floppy ears. He doesn't feel too cool, but they were insisting that he is. Both of them.
Shift!Chara smiled. "Ha, I'm gonna like you guys. You think my bro is so supremely cool." She stepped back towards Shift!Asriel and caught him in a hug. "Ain't that right, Rei?~"
"Chara! I told you to refer to me as either the Absolute Deity or the God of Hyperdeath!" Shift!Asriel pouted. "No one will take me seriously otherwise!"
"But Rei, me and Frisk take you plenty seriously. Isn't that a good enough start?" She grinned as she kissed Asriel's cheek. Immense blushing covering his cheeks, he tried in vain to pull away from her.
"Big Sis, cut it out! I'm trying to look cool in front of our clones!"
"Too bad. I feel like kissing the precious Goat-Bros fuzzy wittle cheeks~" Shift!Chara kissed his cheeks three more times, until he eventually pushed her away, embarassed out of his mind. "Lemme kiss chu, wittle bro~"
"Charaaaaaa! You're embarassing me in front of the clones!" Shift!Asriel grumbled, puffing his cheeks and folding his arms grumpily.
Shift!Chara shrugged. "Sorry Rei. That's your own fault for being cute."
Classic Chara watched their sibling banter for a couple of moments. He folded his arms and turned towards Classic Asriel. "Rei...yep. I'm gonna remember that one. Could use something other than Azzy, or Fluffyball, or Goatbro..."
"Chara. Could you not? Could you just not right now." Asriel mumbled, highly confused by a few things about this concept. It would seem that Asriel has most certainly taken the role of Papyrus, and somehow he was able to make it look even more adorable than Papyrus ever could. He was much more tempting to cuddle.
"Sure thing...Rei."
"...Golly. That's gonna be a thing now, isn't it?"
"Oooohhhh yeah. This is SO going to be a thing now...Rei."
"Ugh..."
Classic Frisk smiled with a small shrug. "I don't now. It sounds like it could catch on, given enough time." Asriel decided then and there to just give up on making either of them forget their nicknames, it's already been decided.
Shift!Asriel got over being flustered enough to return to his usual posture. "As I was saying...the clones of us...how unprecedented! But it doesn't matter to me! The Absolute Deity will surely prevail over them!" He suddenly reached out and grabbed Classic Asriel's wrist. "This clone of me is going to join my cause!"
"I'm gonna what now?"
"Not only is there one Absolute Deity, which is myself, but there's another me who is just as amazing!" Shift!Asriel grinned as he pointed towards the four humans. "I have a super reliable ally at last! You may have us outnumbered, humans, but now you're heavily outmatched! You'll never be able to overcome the both of us! Follow us if you dare! Ura Ha Ha!" Shift!Asriel suddenly dragged his rather confused Classic self off into the deeper parts of Snowdin.
Shift!Chara giggled at the display. "Isn't he just the most adorable Cinnamon Roll you've ever seen?"
"He's a bigger and sweeter Cinnamon Roll than our Asriel, and he's very much both of those things." Classic Frisk said.
Shift!Chara sighed as she stuck her hands in her pockets. "Okay, serious time. What am I dealing with?"
"We're the Classics." Chara said, folding his arms.
"You three are from the Classic Universe?! That's a pretty significant time-space gap! But regardless, I'm not as surprised as I probably should have been. Once I sensed that magic presence that felt like mine but wasn't mine...I had to check it out, without giving too much away to our Asriel."
"He accepted that clone thing much easier than I thought he would." Shift!Frisk said while rubbing her neck. "We were really just thinking fast with that one. It was a lucky break. Good thing your Asriel was so accepting to play with him."
"Yeah, that is pretty lucky...but the look on his face says that he has no idea what the hell is going on. But that's okay, I'm clueless too."
"Well, consider us your tour guides." Shift!Chara wrapped an arm around her counterpart and pulled her close. My sis and I won't mind showing you how this specific Universe is run."
"Showing me? Wouldn't it be easier to just tell me?"
"Ah, yes. Yes it would...but that wouldn't be as interesting. It's more fun to discover the twists yoirself sometimes, rather than having someone tell you." Shift!Chara shrugged. "But it looks like whatever reason you're here for is pretty serious. So I'll cut you a break and tell you the things you need to know...after you roleplay with my baby brother."
"Roleplay?"
"Yeah. Me and Rei roleplay all the time around Snowdin." Shift!Chara nodded. "I'm usually just a human worthy opponent, while he's either the Absolute Deity or The God of Hyperdeath, or the Guardian of All Monsters...he makes up a lot of titles."
"Well, our Asriel can kinda fit all of those roles at once, though not without getting a bit tired."
Shift!Chara shrugged. "Welp, we should follow them. Can't keep either of them waiting, or else my Asriel will come after us." With this, she turned and moved onwards down the path. Shift!Frisk followed her while gently gesturing for their male Classic counterparts to do the same, which they did.
Asriel was feeling a bit winded as his Shift! Counterpart rushed him down the Snowdin path. He didn't think that a version of him could have this much energy. He had a lot of energy, but not to this type of level. He was quick to see that Snowdin Forest didn't have much to it like he thought it would. It was mostly the same, but he didn't have a problem with that.
Soon Shift!Asriel let go of his wrist, turning towards him excitedly. "So you look and sound like me, except you have your horns...man, I'm jealous!"
"I physically matured a bit faster than I thought I would, to be honest." Asriel said nervously, rubbing his neck. "So, uh...Rei-"
"Oh man, are you seriously calling me that too?!"
"Well we have to find some way to tell us apart." Without letting him know that I'm from another dimension. Not now at least. "So...you're Rei. And I'm Azzy. Rei and Azzy! How does that sound to you?"
Shift!Asriel folded his arms and huffed. "Well...I suppose i can make an exception if it can help tell ud apart, aside from our clothes." He looked behind Classic Asriel to see that neither of their Frisks and Charas were there yet. They might be a couple minutes, they were running pretty quickly after all. "So...since you're my clone...does that mean you can do the same magic as I do?"
"That's the gist of it, yeah." Classic Asriel smiled softly at a rather fun opportunity. "Do you want to show me yours?" Shift!Asriel's eyes beamed excitedly at the prospect, shining stars and all. It made him laugh a bit awkwardly. Golly...am I REALLY that adorable to other people?
"You want me to show you my magic?! Of course! You'll see the great power of the Absolute Deity Ura Ha Ha!"
And that's my signature laugh? I'm definitely Papyrus here...
Shift!Asriel grinned as he brought his paws together. Then both of them rise upward and different colored stars manifested above him and swirled around a single fireball. He looked very proud of himself. To be honest, Classic Asriel was also proud of him. He's more advanced in his magic than he expected him to be. In fact...Shift!Asriel seemed powerful. VERY powerful. He didn't want to say that he thought his counterpart would be weak, but he definitely didn't expect him to be this strong, either. Classic Asriel's great power stemmed from being a Boss Monster who was given the essences of six human souls, and the full soul of an alternate Geno Frisk. This version of himself didn't have any of those. So why did he seem so powerful, even if it's to a much lesser extent than himself?
Wait...when me, Frisk, and Red were in the Flowerfell verse, EVERYONE felt much stronger than they should have been. Mom was more powerful, Sans and Papyrus were more powerful, Undyne, according to Red, was definitely more powerful, Alphys was more powerful. And Dad just seemed outright almighty. I was able to best him, but barely. Everyone was stronger, and by the way things are going, it looks like this will be the case here as well. But why...? A startling theory came to him as he remembered what he did. The Angel's Blessing. With my Rainbow Soul, I was able to make all of the monsters much stronger by enhancing their monster souls, especially for my friends and family. Then I shattered the True Reset Button so that the major changes like that couldn't be completely undone. So maybe...because I made the monsters significantly stronger in the Classic Universe and shattered the True Reset Button so that it would stick...did it make monsters in all different universes stronger too? Asriel thought curiously. At the time, he was far too busy trying to ensure Frisk and Red's survival to notice this significant detail. But now that he does, it's made him very curious. Even this version of Frisk and Chara feel stronger than they probably should be, because their Classic selves are significantly stronger. Though to be fair, since this version of Chara takes Sans' place, I don't know what she can do...
"...Azzy?" Asriel blinked as his counterpart called out his name, looking at him worriedly. He must have been standing silent for too long.
"O-Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking about something. I didn't mean to scare you." Asriel smiled. "Yeah, your magic is really great! Stars and fire, that's quite an amazing combination!"
"I knew you would think so! This is the amazing magic of the Absolute Deity!" Shift!Asriel beamed proudly. "So...do you think you can show me some of your own magic?"
"I guess I can do that." Asriel held out his paw while magic gathered around it, and it slowly formed into a Chaos Blade. Shift!Asriel's eyes beamed with starry eyes once again. "I can form stars and fire just like you...as well as cool swords. And plenty of other amazing things, anything that is within range of my creativity. And I have a lot of creativity, and inspirations for it."
"Golly! Do you think I can summon swords like that?"
"Uh...I don't see why not. Of course it will take quite a lot of practice to properly get used to it." Asriel said gently. As surprisingly strong as this alternate version of him is, he didn't want him summoning something too dangerous for him to handle. Shift!Chara probably wouldn't react very kindly to those kinds of things. "Maybe you can have someone train you to properly control your magic better, then you'll be able to step to a more advanced stage, like I did."
Shift!Asriel blinked, and began hopping. "Oh! I already have someone helping me do that! Mom's been teaching me how to control my magic for a very long time!"
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah! She's like, one of the strongest monsters in the Underground! She was the Captain of the Royal Guard!" Shift!Asriel's smile dropped slightly as he hung his head, his eyes becoming slightly overshadowed. "Well...that is, until some really bad things happened, and she chose to quit the Royal Guard completely..."
Asriel froze up for a moment. What?! Mom was the captain of the Royal Guard?! And the key word is WAS. I can still sense the Barrier, though. The Royal Guard disbands when the Barrier breaks. Mom didn't disband it...she just left it behind entirely? What could have happened to make her quit...?
"But that's okay!" Shift!Asriel smiled again. "I don't need to be a member of the Royal Guard in order to help and protect monsters! I can do that as myself! Mom says I'm definitely strong enough!" He hopped again, his tail wagging excitedly. "I just have to stay confident and continue to do my very best! I can become better than I was the day before! And as long as I can continue to grow, I can continue to protect my sisters, Chara and Frisk! Chara is sometimes incredibly lazy and Frisk is really new to the Underground. As the Absolute Deity, I have to have the power to protect them both from anything that might want to hurt them."
"And...it doesn't bother you that humans were the ones that trapped you down here?" This was not a negative statement on Asriel's behalf, he merely wanted to see what his counterpart thinks."
"Well...I get the humans hurt us, and we hurt them right back. And I also know that constantly hurting each other instead of talking through their issues, it will get us nowhere. Chara and Frisk are really nice humans, and we get along really well. It definitely showed me that not all humans are bad people. So if we can get along, there has to be hope for reconciliation between the two races as a whole, right?" Shift!Asriel pumped his fists. "Me, Chara, and Frisk are going to find a way to break the Barrier and have the two races stand side-by-side as friends again! That's our Brightest Hope, and our Greatest Dream!"
Asriel feels admiration for his Shift! Counterpart grow slowly. He was still much more naive than he was, but he's definitely more mature than he thought he would he.
Hopes and Dreams...even when you act more like Papyrus, you're still a lot like me.
"Oh! The duo Charas and Frisks are coming!" Shift!Asriel sensed, pulling Classic Asriel to the side.
Soon enough, the duo Charas and Frisks were approaching, and the duo Asriel's were preparing themselves. Classic Chara was still feeling a bit overwhelmed about the differences an alternate universe can have from his own. Frisk and Asriel might be used to it because they've been to one already, but he's gonna need some adjusting. Especially when there's a female version of him thst acts like Sans, and Asriel acts like Papyrus. Even so, there's a couple of things that remind them that they're still versions of the originals, so he can still see similiar characteristics.
Classic Frisk decided to chance something.
"I didn't think a female version of Chara could be so pretty." Classic Chara immediately shot him a look of 'What the hell are you doing?!' of epic proportions. Though Shift!Chara simply smiled as she turned her head towards Classic Frisk.
"Well I didn't expect a male version of my sister to be such a pretty mirror. Literally a pretty mirror." Shift!Chara snickered. "You're most certainly a cute mirror. Hm~"
Classic Frisk blushed. Did...did she just flirt back?! And so casually! That doesn't happen often! What do I do!?
Classic Chara slapped the back of his head, making him wince slightly. "Why are you trying to flirt with an alternate version of me, idiot?"
Shift!Frisk giggled. "These two are pretty funny, Chara."
"Yeah, they are. Hmph, boys~"
Classic Chara glared. "The hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"No time for that now, our fuzzy brothers are up ahead." Shift!Chara waved him off, much to his annoyance. The two Asriel's were seen on the other end of the open space. Shift!Asriel was feeling very confident, while Classic Asriel was feeling awkward, but was going to go along with things anyway. Shift!Chara grinned. "Here we go."
[Music: Ura Ha Ha!]
"Ura Ha Ha! So, the humans have finally arrived!"
"Tch. Looks like they've cornered us." Shift!Chara snickered, rolling her eyes. "You grow more clever every day, Rei."
"Why of cour-" Realization. "Charaaaa! We literally JUST had this conversation!"
"Did we?" She tilted her head curiously. "Huh. Must have slipped my mind."
"That's a lie and you know it!" He pointed at at her with a comically irritated frown.
"Heh. Totally guilty." She admitted, raising her hands. "Once again, the God of Hyperdeath outwits me."
"That's right! For I am the Absolute Deity! Defender of Monsters!" His eyes lowered. "Once again, just in Snowdin...temporarily just in Snowdin!" He clung to his Classic Counterpart and grinned. "You may have defeated me plenty of times before, but there's no way you can defeat TWO Absolute Deities at the same time!"
"Oh yeah. Well me and Frisk just got some reliable reinforcements of our own. What do you say about that, God Of Hyperdeath?"
"Quality shall beat quantity in this instance, human! You may have us outnumbered, but we make up for that with our amazing magical prowess!" Shift!Asriel declared proudly, while Classic Asriel rubbed his neck.
"Trials of magic? Um...don't take offense, but aren't there already puzzles and traps here in Snowdin?"
"Well there were...but most of them have been shut down and put away. They were either broken, they didn't work out very well, or Mom thought they were too dangerous. Or that they were broken and didn't work very well, thus it really DID make them too dangerous. I still think we could have handled it!"
Shift!Chara sighed. "Asriel. I love you. I really do. But you still don't see that the reasons Mom had Dad shut those things down were good reasons, right?"
"Yeah, well...um..." Shift!Asriel puffed his cheeks, looking around a bit awkwardly, before shaking his head. "J-Just hold on! I'll think of something!"
"It's okay. I can help you out." Classic Asriel gently offered to him. "You said that these would be magical trials, right? Well I have plenty of magic at my disposal to make those trials challenging." He brought his paws together, as blue lightning stemmed from them. Then he brought them down onto the snow, gently whispering, Shocker Zapper! On cue, the small grey area began emitting electric charges in five-second intervals. "Here we are! The electric challenge! Humans, you'll have to find the safest path if you wish to pass!"
"Wooah!~"
Shift!Frisk tilted her head as she stepped forward in curiosity. She yelped as she was stung a little at her leg, but it didn't hurt at all. The shock just startled her. She blinked in amazement. "It feels like a widespread joy buzzer instead of actual lightning..."
"Asriel is really skilled at showing restraint." Classic Frisk smiled. "So we just have to find a safe path to cross through the shockspread. Seems easy enough."
"Yeah. Really easy." Classic Chara said, walking completely around the shock spread thus avoiding all chances of being mildly shocked. "Heh. Exactly as we said."
"Wha?! He got past the shock field! He must really be something!" Shift!Asriel said in shock and awe. But he shook his head to clear himself of both. "Ahem! Not too shabby, Chara clone! But that's just the first trial! Follow of you dare to take on the second!" Shift!Asriel grinned as he dragged Classic Asriel along, who was beginning to smile a bit more gently from the action.
Shift!Chara raised her eyebrows. "Oh. Looks like your Asriel has a couple more tricks than mine does. Not to mention he really cheered him up with that maneuver there. My brother gets seriously flustered when things don't go according to plan." She smiled sheepishly. "Buuuut...considering all of our puzzles are either crappy or turned off, he really didn't have a plan this time."
Frisk smiled while looking after the fuzzy brothers. "Well you'll be happy to know that our Asriel is great at one thing, and that's using his creativity to everyone's advantage, if he can. Making everyone as happy as they can be is a specialty he tries to polish every chance he gets." He moved forward, tugging on his sweater. "Anyway, we should go and follow them. See what more they have in store.
The four humans complied with Frisk and followed the fuzzy duo across Snowdin. They showed courtesy for not simply warping through the events like they might have been expected to do. Classic Frisk took note of how Shift!Asriel's puzzles and challenges seemed much more gentle and harmless compared to Papyrus's. Admittedly, most of them were disabled, but still. They must have been decently safe at some point if they were allowed to play with them.
Soon enough, they came across the duo again. Shift!Asriel grinned excitedly, while Classic Asriel was beginning to look like he was having fun. "Ura Ha Ha! The humans caught up with us! They're braver than we expected...but now they must face this newest trial. The Trial of Willpower!" He folded his arms and smirked confidently. "Come! Approach me if you can!"
"Kay then." Classic Chara shrugged as he walked up to Shift!Asriel, until he was standing right in front of him...still visibly irritated that even an alternate version of Asriel was taller than he was.
Shift!Chara sighed. "Asriel, what exactly was that supposed to accomplish?"
"I expected him to be intimidated by my presence, so that he would be frozen with fear!"
"Hehehe! That's adorable~"
"Chara, I'm not adorable! We've been through this!"
"I know we have, Rei. You're the adorable sibling, while me and Frisk are the cool ones." Shift!Chara said as she placed an arm on Shift!Frisk's shoulder. "The cool sisters and the adorable brother. Yep. Sounds about right."
"Grrr...humans! We need an unbiased opinion! Settle this dispute by deciding which one of us is the cooler! Me or my sisters?!"
Classic Frisk knew exactly what to do. "Well...the three of you have your own degrees of coolness, and cuteness. So what's to stop all three of you from being super cute and super cool at the exact same time!" Shift!Chara and Shift!Frisk's eyes widened a bit at how he handled that, and their blushing faces signified that they didn't see that coming at all. Neither did Shift!Asriel, but he seemed to accept this answer for the time being.
He pulled something from behind his back, a plate of sugar cookies. "You all are doing very well! As a token of good sportsmanship, I've prepared sugar cookies for everyone, and chocolate cookies for the Charas!" He looked down on the plate as his ears flopped slightly. His smile lessened a bit. "Oh...they're frozen together..." His downtrodden voice told the others that this wasn't the first time this happened.
"No problem." Classic Asriel placed his paw above the cookies and applied a gentle heat to the treats. Shift!Asriel blinked in amazement as the treats slowly began to soften and warm up, making them easy to separate and take them individually. "Here we are~"
"Hm. Looks like he's much more refined with his fire magic than I thought. You weren't joking about his creativity." Shift!Chara examined.
"Well...that was a bit of a risk taker. I'm willing to bet that he wouldn't have realized what happened until he was finished. Heating up food isn't usually what he uses fire magic for...but it does help sometimes." Classic Frisk smiled softly.
"Not to mention these things are delicious when they're heated properly!" Shift!Frisk bites into one of the sugar cookies gleefully.
"Frisk is right about that, heating up these cookies did a lot more good than expected! Especially since the microwave doesn't really work out here...someday I'm gonna have to find a way to power it up while it's outside in this cold." Shift!Asriel admitted. "Okay lets see what's left...Dad's machine doesn't work...and Mom made us take down the traps over the bridge...oh no! I'm out of challenges!" He stuffed another sugar cookie in his mouth. "Mmmhp mmr phe mmmping mph mmh?!" (What are we going to do?!)
"Asriel, you won't be understood with cookies in your mouth." Shift!Frisk said.
Acknowledging this, Asriel swallowed and tried again. "I'm out of challenges that we can actually use! What are we going to do?!"
[Music Stop]
"That's right. Mom shut down all the other challenges because they were too dangerous. This is a pretty big problem if Asriel wants to keep challenging us." Shift!Frisk said while folding her arms. "What do we do as a replacement challenge. But how...?"
"Golly goobers! Golly wolly! Golly gosh darn it! I'm a couple challenges short! I need at least one more! Just one will do!" Shift!Asriel wondered, scratching his head, pushing for an idea that can work out in their favor. ""What to do...golly gosh, what do I do...?"
"Um..." Classic Asriel rubbed his neck. They were on such a good run. How were they going to keep it going without anything putting them in immediate danger? Fingers snapped as an idea came to him. "Hide and seek! The humans will hide throughout Snowdin Forest, and we will be given five minutes to find them. If we don't find them within five minutes, they win the whole thing."
"Ooooh! It's a test of seeking! That's great!" Shift!Asriel said excitedly. "You heard clone me, humans! If we can't find and capture you within five minutes, you win the game! Let's go go go! Urahahahaha!" He then turned around and began counting. He covered his eyes with his floppy ears. "Counting to ten! One...two...three...four..."
Shift!Chara stared down to towards Asriel's small fluffy tail. She saw it wagging in excitement, and acknowledged how cute it was. It was obvious what she wanted to do next. She raised her hands slowly, itching them towards his tail silently like a hunter and it's prey. After a moment of patiently waiting for the right moment, she clapped her hands over it, stopping it completely. "Gotcha! =)"
"M-Meeeeehh?!" Shift!Asriel bleated in panic as he jumped and turned towards his sister, blushing madly. "C-Chara! How many times have I told you not to do that?!"
"You make it far too easy." She giggled, as she swirled around and walked on, ready to begin. The other humans followed her, while Shift!Asriel was left a blushing mess.
"L-Let's try again...five...six...seven...eight...nine...ten! There's ten!" Shift!Asriel exclaimed. "The final trial begins now!"
[Music: Histrousle 3.0!]
Classic Asriel nodded intently as he tried to sense where the four humans would be, but decided against it. Their presence would be completely hidden, along with their soul pulses being completely silent and unable to be detected. This was smart of them, considering they're most likely the only humans he knew that were capable of this. Besides, he didn't want to feel like a cheater anyway.
With this in mind, the two monsters spread out in order to find their sibling pairs in under five minutes, and were skillfully hiding themselves within the Snowdin Forest.
"Alright, you know this forest better than I do, Rei. You lead the way and I'll follow as best I can."
"Excellent idea, Azzy! Stick with me and I'll be sure to lead you to victory!" Shift!Asriel shouted confidently as he trudged forward.
"Yeah, sure. But, uh...I don't think that shouting that out to the world will do us any good but give away our location."
"Oh! Sorry, that's pretty basic, isn't it?" Shift!Asriel said, lightly embarassed about his outburst. "Do not worry, my clone! It won't matter too much if Chara is hiding from me! I always know a great way to find her!" He declared as he sniffed the air confidently. Even through all of the snow was kind of getting in the way, it wasn't going to stop him for long. "Aha! They have already eaten the cookies that have been presented to them! Thus, I can sniff each of them out one at a time, and capture them accordingly!"
"Sniff them out, uh..." Classic Asriel repeated. It was a bit of a silly idea, but it was one that could work, it applied well enough. The two monsters then began relying on their noses, sniffing out the humans smelling like cookies.
The humans were currently hiding behind a couple trees, their magic being sufficiently hidden as well as their presence in general. Classic Frisk continued to watch for any sign of the monsters that were seeking them out. Though he was feeling confident that they wouldn't be able to find any of them so easily, his head shot up in realization once he breathed out and remembered the cookies the humans have eaten.
"That's why Asriel chose hide and seek right after we've eaten those cookies. They're gonna use the scent to track us down!"
Shift!Chara huffed. "Good grief. Your Asriel is much more clever than I gave him credit for. I really shouldn't be underestimating you three so much. You're us, after all." She scratched her head. "Geez. So even if we keep hiding, eventually they'll find us and catch us. What are we supposed to do?"
Classic Chara shrugged. "We resist."
"What? Resist?"
"We may lose this game, but that doesn't mean we have to go down easy. We can simply run out the clock by avoiding the both of them for as long as we can. We keep moving...without cheating. No teleporting."
"I'm not gonna scam my little brother out of a win, dude." Shift!Chara walked out from behind the tree and began to run quickly. "You'll never take me alive, Absolute Deity! Chara Dreemurr doesn't go down without a fight!"
"URAHAHA! Azzy, I've found her!" Shift!Asriel declared triumphantly, as he was following the sound of her voice through the forest.
Classic Chara blinked in astonishment as he watches his counterpart willing give away her location and giving her brother the opportunity to catch her. He didn't know what to say, initially. Until he thought about how he usually gets along with Asriel and Frisk, and how Sans sometimes gets along with Papyrus. Of course she would do something like this.
Now we wondered if-
"Gotcha!" Chara gasped as Asriel tackled him into the snowy ground, facefirst. "You've been captured, Chara! You're out!" He cheered as both versions of Frisk gasped and ran away from the attacking Asriels.
Chara muffled a bit as he looked towards Asriel, grinning in irritation. "Ya feeling accomplished, bro? =)"
"Errm...yes...?"
"...Alright. Good job." Chara chuckled and petted Asriel's head affectionately. "Looks like only the two Frisks are left in the game. Maybe you can catch them...probably not."
"We'll see!" Asriel turned away from Chara and began helping Shift!Asriel chase down the other Frisks.
Both Frisk were fleeing from the dual Asriel's. Shift!Asriel jumped forth and pounced upon both their backs at the same time, bringing them both down. "Both of you humans are captured! Urahahaha!"
Classic Frisk coughed some snow and patted his chest, feeling a bit sore. "It's okay, we're okay. There isn't too much damage, we're definitely okay. Except now instead of cookies, my tongue is tasting snow. That's...not a very good combination..."
"Well...guess we're out..." Shift!Frisk got up, adjusting her neck so that it ached a bit less. She landed a bit too quickly, but she wasn't badly hurt.
Shift!Chara sensed that she was the only one left, and was trying her best-and at the same rkme, not really trying-to avoid her fluffy pursuers. She looked around to try and get a better view of which Asriel was chasing her. Until she turned around completely and saw Classic Asriel jump at her. Since she wasn't allowed to teleport, she could only watch as he landed upon her and rolled a bit across the snow, eventually stopping against a tree.
"Caught you." Classic Asriel huffed, grinning victoriously.
[Music Stop]
Asriel stood up with a bit of a bit of light breathing, but he otherwise recovered easilynfrom the stumble, feeling accomplished once again. Shift!Asriel and the others caught up after a bit of delay. He was jumping cheerfully.
"The Monsters captured the Humans! We win! We totally win! Now they have to be our friends!" He stopped for a bit as he thought about what he said. "Wait a moment...we're already friends, aren't we? Even if you're clones...we're still friends?"
Classic Chara smiled and shrugged. "Heh. I don't see why clones can't be friends. Of course we're friends, why not?"
"Golly! That's amazing to hear! I'm really glad!" Shift!Asriel smiled gleefully as he helped everyone stand back up, as well as warming everyone up with a bit of fire magic. When he finished, he grinned triumphantly. "Urahaha! This is an excellent victory for the Absolute Deity and God of Hyperdeath! A fantastic moment of triumph! Probably because I don't win a lot of these games..." He muttered. "...Nonetheless, the monsters have won this game! I don't want anything to interrupt this glorious moment!"
Ringing...
Shift!Asriel blinked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Seeing who it was, he answered it readily, and his smile turned incredibly and adorably childish. "Hi Mommy!"
Oh good lord. Classic Chara snorted from how quickly his mood turned around. Though he was also a bit curious as to what this version of Toriel was like.
"Hello, my child! I was just calling up and seeing if you and your sisters are alright! You haven't texted me back like you usually do."
"Sorry, Mom. Me, Chara, and Frisk were just getting caught up in our game. We were having so much fun that we lost track of time. We're still in Snowdin."
"Thank heavens for that. As long as you three are safe and sound. You must remember to be careful when you play out in the open like that. IT can still happen when you're not being vigilant, you know."
"Mom, please." Shift!Chara rolled her eyes, sure that her mother could hear her. "You already know I would let anything happen to these two on my watch. Especially Frisk, she's definitely still safe. Me and Asriel have got her back like we always do."
"Yes, well...better safe than sorry. I don't know what I would have done if...*sigh*...Hopefully I'll see you soon, my children. Stay safe."
Click...
Shift!Asriel pocketed his phone, and looked towards Shift!Chara. "Mom worries a lot about us. Though it wouldn't hurt if she had a bit more confidence in us as well."
"Considering whom she's trying to protect Frisk from, we can't really blame her, can we?"
Classic Asriel blinked. "Wait...who are you trying to protect Frisk from?" A thought passed through his head right when he asked that question, and reconsidered it. "A better question...who's the King here?"
Shift!Chara's good mood disappeared for the most part. She sighed as she placed a hand on Classic Chara's shoulder. "Alright...we're really gonna have to talk seriously now. But not while we're all together. Each of us will break off with our respective selves and talk about this, where we can't be seen by other monsters. Spread out."
"Seems a bit dicey...but okay." Classic Frisk nodded quietly. He and Shift!Frisk decided to stay where they were, close to the Ruins. Asriel and Shift!Asriel would be heading to Snowdin Town and reside in the house. Chara and Shift!Chara would be going to one of the cliffs in Snowdin Forest, the former will have to keep his poncho over his head so that no one would see two different Charas wondering around. In fact, they were separating for a bit so no one could see doubles of any of the trio, and to places monsters were least likely to check. The less hassle there is in the beginning, the better.
The Chara and Asriel duos began moving out, while the two Frisks stayed behind. Shift!Frisk turned to Classic Frisk and asked him what was on her mind. "You're here for a reason, aren't you? A very important reason?"
Classic Frisk nodded. "We are. You might know something about it. We're here...for a few pieces of Gaster in this Universe." Shift!Frisk seemed surprised by the admitted fact, her counterpart nodding in confirmation.
Frisk thought he sensed a pink ghost watching the two of them, along with a flower with a strange ghostly face...
(Snowdin Town: Asriel and Chara's House)
Asriel and Shift!Asriel suddenly appeared within the house, with the latter was bit caught off-guard by the sudden movement. "W-Wah! You can teleport too, just like Chara!"
"I can do a lot of things, Rei. You wouldn't believe me until I show you myself. But for now..." Asriel reached into the bag he brought with him on the temporal trip, and pulled out a Cinnamon Bunny, one of many in which Red packed for him. "The sweet smell and taste of cinnamon shall rejuvenate us both."
"Cinnamon~" Shift!Asriel takes the Cinnamon Bunny bites into it, eating it a bit greedily.
Classic Asriel took a brief look around the house, it looked significantly more simple than Papyrus's and Sans' house back home. But it still has it's features that come across him as pretty strange. There were a golden flower on a table across the room. He probably keeps it in there so it could be properly cared for. There was an encyclopedia lying on a table stand next to the couch, and it was about the many different monsters that existed in the world. His eyes widened when he saw the author:
Dr. Asgore Dreemurr
Dad is the Royal Scientist in this universe?! But if he's the Royal Scientist, then who's the King, and who is Alphys...?
"I hope you like my home. Me, Frisk and Chara usually hang out in here when we really don't have much else to do." Shift!Asriel said as he sat back against the couch. His eyes turned the rainbow scarf around his counterpart's neck. "Wow, your scarf is really cool. It's a lot like my bandanna."
"I noticed that." Asriel nodded, lightly kicking his feet out. They were very comfortable, resting after quite a session of playing in the snow. After taking some time to relax, he prepared for the serious question. "Rei...why did your Mom quit being the Royal Guard Captain?" He regretted asking that as soon as he saw Shift!Asriel's smile drop. But he needed to know.
"Oh...that's...not very easy to answer." Shift!Asriel said a bit sadly as he looked towards the TV. It was currently off, so they were a just staring at their reflections on the dark screen. "...You heard when Mom called me, right? And she was worried about Frisk as well as the rest of us?"
"Yes...?"
"Well...that's because we've been keeping Frisk safe for a while now. Me, Mom, and Dad have made it a personal mission of ours to keep Chara and Frisk safe. No matter what." Asriel sighed, then reopened his eyes. "We've been keeping Frisk safe here a bit more strictly than we do with Chara. She's been staying here in Snowdin mostly, ever since she fell down here. And since then, Mom and Dad did their share in keeping her safe and protected from King Sans."
KING Sans?!
Asriel felt the wind knocked out of him as he registered those two words being out together. It just didn't seem possible. But he had to remember that this was an alternate universe, anything could happen. Yet it didn't make it easier to accept. Sans himself said that he wasn't ruler material, but that clearly wasn't the case here.
Wait...if Sans is the King of the Underground, then that means Papyrus is the one in the Ruins, not Mom. Though it still doesn't help with knowing where Undyne and Alphys are...or WHO they are... He turned his head to the side, then his eyes widened as he saw a magazine on the couch arm. The front of the magazine had the image of a certain mermaid who had a cybernetic right arm and the left side of her face was also cybernetic. The title showed:
The Life And Times of Ultimate Undyne!
...Well that explains who and where Undyne is. Asriel sweatdropped. But I still don't know who and where Alphys is. But for now...
"...Rei...what exactly is the Dreemurr family's relationship with King Sans?" Asriel asked cautiously.
Shift!Asriel sighed a little as he kicked his feet. "My family and King Sans...well...we came to a serious disagreement..."
(Snowdin)
Chara and Shift!Chara were sitting near the edge of a cliff, where the fishing rod would be located. The former reached into his spider webbed satchel and picked out a couple snacks. Chocolate bars, plenty of them. Shift!Chara's eyes sparkled instantly.
"You have chocolate?! =)"
"Yep. You can have some."
"Sweet!"
Shift!Chara reached into his spider bag and pulled out a chocolate donut, greedily biting into it. Well that was a certain thing they had in common for sure, their obsession with chocolate. They would have to talk seriously soon...but that doesn't mean they can't get a bit casual first, right. His brain racked for something to talk about. There was something on his mind, but he tried to keep himself from saying it.
Don't ask her about Muffet. Don't ask her about Muffet. DON'T ask her about Muffet!
"So...what's your thoughts on Muffet?"
You DUMBASS!
"Muffet? The spider girl that hangs out in Hotlands? Yeah, I know of her." Shift!Chara nodded. "She's a decent monster girl. We hang out a lot when no one's patrolling for me." Classic Chara sighed, glad that there was at least one person who was mostly the same. Though Shift!Chara caught him off-guard with what she said next: "She's also my girlfriend."
...eh?
"You seem pretty surprised. So was I." Shift!Chara shrugged. "Take away her greediness for money, she's actually a very great person. She's incredibly nice, she makes plenty of tasty snacks, especially chocolate for me, she never ratted me or Frisk out to the King when we choose to roam Hotlands a bit...yeah, she's amazing when she puts her mind to it." She placed one of her hands on her chin. "Of course she's really cute. Like REALLY cute. And she thinks the same thing about me. We have our own bits of flirting contests over this, sometimes." Classic Chara seemed even more surprised by this. Shift!Chara nudged him playfully. "And let's not forget, Little Miss Muffet has quite a big Tuffet~"
"W-Wha?!" Classic Chara blinked, blushing darkly.
"Oh come on. I'm certain you know it's not just the puffy pants anymore like when she was a kid. As a developing teen, now it's really there." Shift!Chara smirked, tilting her head slyly. "Muffet's a sneaky girl, but her hips most certainly don't lie~"
Oh my god, this version of me is a bigger flirt than Frisk! And Frisk has a serious flirting problem! Though I did notice Muffet's Tuffet has gotten...no! Not those thoughts! Currently unimportant!
"So...Chara." He got back on track, trying to push back his incredibly reddened face. "What's the family dynamic like here? Who's who?"
"Oh, most likely pretty similar to yours. Toriel is my Mom, Asgore is my Dad, Rei is obviously my little brother, and Frisk became my little sister pretty recently. She's never stepped foot towards the Capital. Towards the home of King Sans."
"Hold on...KING Sans? You've gotta be pulling on my leg here." She looked at him, most of her cheer vanishing. He frowned a bit at the face. "Oh...you're serious."
"Yeah...King Sans and the Dreemurrs don't have the best friendship...not anymore. I'm sure you know about the human souls thing." Classic Chara nodded. "You see, when I first fell down here, Mom was Captain of the Royal Guard. The Royal Guard was supposed to kill any humans that come down here. I was the last human before Frisk to come down here, and I was only eight years old at the time. That was the first time that any of the Dreemurrs actually got into contact with any humans. Before that, Sans was the one who dealt with humans that fell down here. There's more than one hole in this mountain, you know." Shift!Chara sighed softly. "Mom didn't have it in her to kill a child in cold blood, so she took me in instead. Me and Asriel got along really well when she showed me to him, then Dad. In such a short time, we all got along so well, as if I was always a part of their family. Then a month passed, King Sans eventually caught wind of me, sensed how dangerous I was, and tried to have me executed and my soul taken...but..."
Chara found himself tense with anticipation. He wanted to know more. "But what?"
"They came for me. All three of them. They came to save me. In the process, Mom gave up being Captain of the Royal Guard, and Dad gave up being the Royal Scientist. Asriel...Asriel got really badly hurt...but none of them cared. I mattered more to them than any of those things. They knew I was the last soul needed to break the Barrier...they knew that my soul would be the key to the monsters freedom...but they didn't care. They cared about me more than they cared about being free. Their hopes...their dreams...their amazing progress...none of that mattered. They came for me without hesitation. They think I was completely worth it. To them...I was family, human or not. They were willing to throw everything away for me..." Shift!Chara lowered her head, until her hair and hood overshadowed her eyes.
"And that was when the fight between Toriel and King Sans began...the fight that would decide whether I lived or died...and very nearly destroy their friendship beyond repair..."
Me:...
Chara: What...where is this heading...?
Me: I started all happy with the precious Shift! Counterparts playing with the Classics...now I'm heading down this road...ah geez.
Chara: We all know Toriel and Sans are the best of friends, and this also applies to this universe. The fight must have been REALLY bad if it left their friendship in tatters.
Asriel: The Dreemurrs and King Sans aren't friends anymore in this universe...because the former was protecting Chara from him...?
Me: Once again, I'm doing my own thing...hopefully it pays off. Until the next chapter...
