Chapter 1: The Beginning

Long ago, two races ruled over the earth: humans and monsters. They lived in peace and harmony for centuries until discord became sown between them. This was cause for a great war between both races in which the humans were victorious. The humans sealed the monsters underground with a magic curse. No human who ever visited the depths of Mt. Ebott returned alive until one child changed that.

Frisk, a lonely 10-year-old wanderer, fell down Mt. Ebott and discovered the monsters all trapped underground by the barrier. Despite their scary appearances, the monsters befriended the human lad, and he felt a bond with them that he had never felt before. He desired to break the barrier and free the monsters during his journey, but the opportunity refused to align.

However, there was hope. A creature by the name of Flowey, known for cutting off Frisk and trying to beat him to death at every single turn, took the human souls except for Frisk's and all monsters souls into his body to become his true form: Asriel, the once passed-on prince of the king and queen of the Underground, Asgore, and Toriel. While trapped in his Flowey form, the deepest essence of his being, his soul, was absent from his body. He couldn't feel love or compassion. Thus, destroying everything was the only logical conclusion for him. However, through Frisk's sympathy and care for Asriel's plight, things turned on a dime.

Frisk recalled Asriel's life and all of the twists and turns. Not only that, but the lack of SOUL was hard to experience. Frisk understood this. By researching the true lab tapes found in the deepest, darkest depths of the Underground, Frisk realized the truth. In learning the truth, he forgave Asriel for his deeds, and Asriel repented of his sins against all monster-kind. After conceding in battle, the goat child used all the monster souls and six human souls to break the barrier. This freed all of the monsters and Frisk himself. With Asriel being redeemed, Frisk and the friends he made along the way were free to head to the surface.

However, without an official soul within his body, Asriel knew what was coming. He would return to his flower form and be trapped in the Underground. While he was thankful for his redemption and felt at peace, a heavy burden still lay on the little goat monster's heart. After giving a heartfelt, tearful goodbye to Frisk, Frisk and his companions left for the surface. At the same time, Asriel returned to his Flowey form and continued to live in the Underground of Mt. Ebott indefinitely. He wasn't sure if he would ever regain his real body or permanently reunite with his parents. Despite the positive change, things simply were not the same.

Until one day, a year after the monster race was introduced to society once again, Frisk and the royal scientist of the Underground formulated a plan. This plan involved a family reunion. Out of all the different monsters, there was one monster who Frisk felt a fondness for the most. Despite only knowing this monster for a short time, his compassion for this friend was so great that he could not leave him behind. Again, this monster remembered was Asriel. Frisk knew what he had to do next, especially being the ambassador of monsterkind.

On the selected night, an 11-year-old Frisk returns to Mt. Ebott. Slightly taller and thinner, he still has the same calm yet neutral demeanor on his face. As his purple and blue-clad figure runs up the back of the mountain into the cavern not far above ground level, he rediscovers where the barrier used to be. What used to be a large, white shield covering the entirety of the cavern hole is now free of any object, easily revealing a narrow passage that leads to a dilapidated throne room.

After breathing in deeply and taking time to look around the cavern, Frisk makes his way into the throne room. The walls are covered with golden hues, and there's a golden chair with purple cushions sitting in the center of the room. The light shines in from the stained-glass window in the corner of the room onto the floor, in which golden flowers lay around the royal throne. They're rising against Asgore's former throne, much like an angry mob would against a tyrannical ruler. Only, in this case, the rising of the flowers is peaceful and serene, with birds singing in the background.

"Heh, so they're still here. Some things never change," Frisk says quietly to himself. He makes his way around the throne room, scanning it head to toe. The ambassador wanders to the edges of the golden flower ring and finds the tallest one of them all turned away from him. This is the person he was looking for. The petals of the flower figure dance. With a smooth turn, the golden flower turns around. It has a face, beginning to speak.

"Howdy, Frisk. It's me again, Flowey the flower," he says.

Frisk softly smiles. "I'm gonna call you Asriel from now on if you don't mind." He continues to smile. "It's nice to see you again. Since you're alone here, I thought paying you a visit would be good."

Asriel's flower petals droop a little. "Thanks, Frisk. How is everyone since they left the Underground? I'm sure they're enjoying themselves on the surface."

Frisk's eyes open up a centimeter wider as his voice raises. "They're doing great! Undyne and Dr. Alphys are now sharing a living space, and Undyne built their house in her own likeness." Frisk gives himself time to chuckle, then continues. "Alphys is still updating her science knowledge while teaching at the local school in Ebott, Sans is a radio host, Mettaton is now a successful talk show host and actor, and Papyrus is still good ol' Papyrus!"

Asriel lifts his flower body head and stares into Frisk's eyes. "What about mom?"

Frisk's soft smile turns back to a neutral expression. "Oh, I'm living with Toriel… I mean, mom. She adopted me."

Frisk's soul shakes a little; there's a pensiveness that fills his heart. "I'm glad I'm able to visit you. It must feel lonely down here, right? Has anyone else visited you in the past year?"

"Well, dad did," Asriel replies.

Frisk's smile begins to return as Asriel stares at a small debris pile of dried plants in a patch near the golden flower ring. The flower speaks again. "He wanted to come to the throne room again to enjoy the flowers and sip a nice cup of golden flower tea." He forces himself to chuckle. "I think he got a shock when he saw me again, but he was happy. I guess the shock was because I scared him at first."

Frisk tilts his head. "He recognized you from the start, I would hope. Right?"

Asriel's frown turns upside down. "Yeah, he recognized me!" Frisk breathes a sigh of relief, and Asriel continues. "It's because I called out to him; he knew my voice...even though my voice is a little off since I'm in a different body."

Frisk strokes his chin softly. "Neat. I'm glad you kept your compassion from when you temporarily regained your true body. That's good, at least. Oh, was the rest of your reunion good?"

Asriel's flowery face continues to beam. "Yup. I told him all about my journey, how my flower body lacked a soul, so I couldn't feel the love like him, mom, or others could…" Asriel's face lowers, and his gaze becomes covered with shadow. "I told him that I appreciated how he tried to make me happy, even with being in the wrong body. I'm just glad I can avoid being a rage-filled creature now."

Asriel tries to continue speaking, but he bites his tongue, re-thinking. Noticing the flower's plight, Frisk speaks up again after a long pause. "What if I told you that Alphys and I discovered a way to permanently gain your real body, that you don't have to be a flower anymore?"

Asriel's eyes light up, then his stem body leans backward. "Before you say more, I need to say this again." His voice silences again, but he lets loose what he wants to say. "I am sorry for trying to kill you in the Underground. I've apologized before, but I'll do it again. I'm sorry. Now, I'm not like I was. Peace and prosperity will rule across the land."

Frisk nods his head. "It's alright, Asriel. I've forgiven you, and I'm sure all the monsters have, too!"

Asriel shakes his flower head quickly. "Listen, it seems as if everyone is perfectly happy...if anyone asks, I would tell them, 'Let Frisk live their life. Let Frisk and the others live their lives. So please, just let them go.' I only wish for your happiness and the happiness of everyone else." He sadly smiles. "I might just screw it up all over again if I were to get my real body back. And, I don't want to do that."

Frisk leans down towards Asriel, closer than ever before. "I appreciate that, but what makes you think you can't regain your true body?" Frisk's eyes have clouds in them. "I don't want you to suffer from loneliness down here."

Asriel's eyes look up at Frisk, then repeatedly back down at the ground. "I still don't know, Frisk. This is the price I have to pay...for abusing the SAVE. The resets...I was arrogant and vengeful. While I've changed, I don't want to backslide. The idea of 'resetting' everything and undoing all the good…I don't think I could do it all again. I don't want you or mom or dad to lose your memories and go through that all over again." He laughs sadly. "And, I know I don't want to lose my memories or go through it again, either."

Frisk nods and smiles to comfort Asriel. The flower's breaths become heavier, and he spills his innermost thoughts. "It's kind of ironic. Cruel but justified irony. Of course, I stole the souls from everyone in the Underground, except for you. Now, my soul is separate again from this floral body, and I'm the one who is trapped, heh."

Asriel's sad laugh trails off as Frisk's face strengthens, filling with warmth. "Hold on, bud. Think about it this way: Flowey is dead, but Asriel is…ALIVE. Look at how you are now. You're kind, considerate, loving…the Asriel I know is back. This is the Asriel I saw when he was in his true form, well…hyperdeath form aside." Frisk chuckles then continues. "Most importantly, the rest of the monsters got a second chance to live on the surface…why not you, too? Everyone deserves a second chance."

Asriel shakes his head yet again. "I don't deserve anything. Besides, it's what's best for everyone. I don't want to break their hearts all over again."

Frisk stares at Asriel intently. "Just hear me out. Maybe you'll change your mind. Nobody gets left behind, and that includes you." Frisk points at Asriel's stem body before continuing. "Both Alphys and I have given it a lot of thought; her more than me since I'm no scientist. But, after she explained it to me...it made sense. Are you ready to hear my proposal?"

Asriel slowly bobs his head and tunes in his ears. Frisk takes a breath and spills the beans. "You are no longer soulless…or at least, you're only technically soulless. Meaning you now have the potential to have some kind of soul. This makes sense because you've changed. You're not power-hungry and destructive like how you were. You're closer to yourself again, but in your Flowey body still. Yet, despite retaining your flower body, you keep your compassion and love so you'd have some kind of soul remnant. You have love, but not LOVE…meaning, level of violence, of course. This is probably because of your body's dust fusing with the flower body you have now, along with the souls awakening your true form during our battle. Make sense?"

Asriel nods, and Frisk sighs relief. "That's good. I know that I've said a lot so far, and I wanna make sure you're keeping up."

"I am, Frisk. It's alright," Asriel replies.

Frisk nods. "Good. Now, also consider this: if you were able to regain your love permanently just through utilizing the soul energy from me and the other souls, along with how you're still surviving even after your true body disintegrated to dust, thanks to the dust fusion to your Flowey form...it shows that you're one of the only monsters with reliable, solid DETERMINATION."

Asriel's eyes widen, and his sad expression begins to die. Frisk lowers and calms his voice slightly, with it rolling like a river. "You know how Undyne refuses to give up, no matter what?"

Asriel swings his head up and down. "Yes, I do. She's the toughest monster around! I learned that during your travels in the Underground."

"It's like that, but with you too," Frisk explains. "You have strong DETERMINATION, which is very rare for monsters, but it's significant enough for you. It's clear with how you're here."

Asriel nods once more, and Frisk re-collects his thoughts. "Alright, now that I've explained all that, here is the final piece of the puzzle…" Asriel's petals begin to flow in the soft breeze traveling through the throne room. "We know that your soul is back to some degree, or you at least have some soul energy within your current body. Since both you and I remember how you did temporarily regain your body during our fight, if you have enough soul energy to a potent enough degree, you should get your true body back."

Asriel raises an eyebrow as Frisk continues his speech. "But, to have your true body back permanently while also making sure it happens as soon as possible, Alphys theorizes one path."

"And what path is that," Asriel replies.

"It means we have to use the most powerful soul energy in any lifeform that we're aware of. And, our best bet…" Frisk takes a breath, then finishes, "is me."

Asriel's eyes widen. Frisk speaks again, with his voice running as gentle as honey. "If you were to take half of my soul, you should regain your true body. You should be able to handle it because of your DETERMINATION. It has to be my soul to ensure success, too, due to its unique properties that Alphys discovered. Take my soul, the strongest soul that we know, and you should be able to keep your real body permanently. What do you think?"

A long wind howls through the otherwise silent room. As Asriel's tongue gets as tightly tied like a pretzel, the silence is almost deafening. "I'm still not sure…"

Frisk shakes his head. "Listen, please…you have too much built-in DETERMINATION to lose your true body once this is finished." Frisk's body trembles as he lowers his head. "I'm not sure what the side-effects will be for me, on the other hand. That's the one thing that I'm worried about. My lifespan may be cut in half. Perhaps my own soul loses half its strength. I won't be able to 'revive' repeatedly like in the Underground or in our battle, more likely than not." Within a second, Frisk feels a burst of DETERMINATION in his soul. "But for you, Asriel…it's a risk I'm willing to take."

Asriel thinks for a moment, and a genuine grin appears on his face. "Frisk...if I got my body back, would Mom and Dad be happy again? Will they be together again?"

Frisk's face radiates, but his mouth twists slightly. "They'll be happier than ever. But I'm not sure if they'll get back together." Asriel's smile turns upside down. "Toriel and Sans are going steady."

Asriel frowns, and Frisk strokes his chin then grins a little. "On the other hand, if you were to come back as your true self, I think things would get a little better. Either way, you don't have to worry about breaking their hearts again. You just need to prove that you're improving by getting your real body back."

The gears in Asriel's mind begin working overtime. There are flutters in his heartbeat. "Well, if I get my body back, I will be able to have Mom's butterscotch cinnamon pie! I will take a slice and eat it while listening to another of Mom's snail stories." His mind continues to wander. "Oh! I'll also garden in the flower fields with dad and maybe even weight-lift with Undyne, make terrible puns with Sans, cook spaghetti with Papyrus, do science experiments with Alphys, run with Monster Kid, and more!" He smiles. "Ya know what? That does sound pretty awesome."

As Asriel takes another breath and looks up at Frisk, the ambassador stretches out his hand to Asriel's plant body. "So, will you accept my proposal? Please say you will. Come with me, ok?"

Asriel smiles. "...Yes. I think I'm ready. But, on one condition."

Frisk stretches his arm even farther. "What's that?"

Asriel beams. "I stay with you, and we become brothers, and we stay with Mom, too. Oh, and eat butterscotch cinnamon pie together." He chuckles. "Even a soulless idiot like me can admit I've missed having those things every single day." The goat child sighs and shrugs. "But, I do hope we can be brothers. That would be nice, especially since we'd be putting the past behind us."

Frisk smiles wider than he can remember. "We're already brothers, Asriel."

Asriel relaxes his mouth muscles to give them some rest. "I would hug you, but I don't have any arms. But, once I get my real body back, I can give you the biggest, bestest hug!"

Frisk calmly lowers and ponders to himself. (Wow…he has changed. I think it's time to finish the job; he's ready).

Frisk once again speaks. "You will soon enough…now then, let's do this."

Frisk braces his body and plunges his dominant right hand into his chest. After a few seconds of painful face twisting, he pulls out his soul from his body and holds it up in the air. The soul energy flows around him in a whirlwind, with chaos filling his body. After placing both hands on his soul, he gently tears the soul in half, thrusting the one half into Asriel's flower body while Frisk puts the other half back into his own body. As Frisk's own soul re-bonds with his body, a bright white aura of light envelops Asriel. Frisk is at a loss for words as Asriel's flower body metamorphosizes into a familiar goat body form.

After many more seconds of the light, it all disappears with a quick spark, and Asriel takes his arms and looks at them. His hands are covered in goat fur. His arms, legs, feet…everything is back to how his body used to be. He is even wearing his favorite t-shirt; green and yellow striped pattern fabric covers his upper body. Asriel looks up at Frisk and beams widely, and Frisk does the same. Both of them hug each other with overwhelming joy, and Frisk comforts Asriel.

"Welcome back, Asriel," Frisk quips.

A pair of joyful tears develop in both of Asriel's eyes. "You're the type of friend I wish I always had." The goat child smiles widely. "I'm so happy that you came back for me and feeling genuine emotions again to the fullest...this is awesome. Thank you so much." His hug tightens around his newest best friend. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Frisk tightens his hug and continues to comfort his goat friend. "I'm here for you, Azzy. Don't worry…I remember the story of Chara. I'm here to stay, and I vow to never put us into any dangerous situations."

Asriel sighs. "Yeah…Chara was like that. I still miss them, though. Even though she hated humanity, she was always kind to me."

Frisk pats Asriel on the head slightly. "I understand."

Frisk can feel his body swaying. His limbs feel as limp as wet noodles, and his knees begin to buckle. He continues to smile, but his willpower is weakening. "Ah, dang…I already feel the effects of giving up half my soul…but it's ok, I'll be fine – I'm just tired, much less DETERMINATION than before, I guess."

Before Frisk's knees buckle further, Asriel catches him before he can hit the floor of the throne room. "Frisk! Hold onto me; we'll make it out together!"

Frisk wearily looks up at Asriel while Asriel holds him in his arms. "Hey...could you do me a huge favor? I'm…too tired to walk right now... could you carry me out? I didn't lose ALL of my soul...I'll be fine, yeah? Just gotta get used…to this..."

Frisk faints. In a panic, Asriel frantically presses two fingers against Frisk's wrist. There is a steady heartbeat. Asriel breathes a sigh of relief and slowly picks up his new brother, placing him on his back. Asriel can feel the weight bearing down on his spine. "You sure…feel heavy. I wonder if you've been eating too many temmie flakes lately…" Asriel chuckles softly at his own joke. "Nah, it's alright. I have the DETERMINATION to carry you out of here!"

Despite only having his actual body back for a few minutes, Asriel can carry Frisk out of Mt. Ebott through the throne room past the barrier's former place. After many tiring moments of holding Frisk, Asriel reaches the outside and stares into the sky. The sun is nearly completely set, and the stars begin to glisten. After marveling at the heavens, he stares down at the town below. He sees a fish-face-looking building, along with human-designed facilities. There are lights and windows lit up everywhere. In the corner of Asriel's gaze, he notices a home that looks similar to where he used to live before the days of being a flower commenced.

"Wowie, look at the stars," Asriel marvels. "Look how they shine…it's beautiful...it's been too long since I've seen it; what a wonderful world! Frisk, the surface world is beautiful!" Asriel's eyes fill with stars for a few moments, but after waking up from being starstruck, he turns his head and notices that Frisk is still asleep. "Well, I'm sure you're used to it by now…you see it every day, Frisk."

Frisk balances himself and stares down at the town again. "What would you want to do first? Well, once you awaken? I can't wait to experience all this world offers and use this second chance!" He stares at the sky, smiles softly, and looks down towards his chest, where his soul is located. "I won't take it for granted...thank you, so very, very much." He smiles widely, and his eyes re-fill with stars as he looks at the familiar home, far more familiar than any of the other buildings down in Ebott. "Now…let's go home."

After a few miles of hobbling, Asriel makes his way towards a house with a couple modest decorations from the ruins lining the front porch. Asriel nods quickly and smiles. He steps onto the front porch, with Frisk barely hanging onto him still. "I'm sure mom and dad will be happy to see us again," Asriel thinks to himself as he carries Frisk and himself towards the door. As the duo reaches the door, the goat child places one of his goat ears onto the door and listens to see if anyone's home. Sure enough, he can hear two familiar voices arguing from the front room of the house.

"For the last time, I'm not taking you back, Asgore! Things are going well with Sans." The first figure, a female goat, stands with her hands on her hips. She is wearing purple-rimmed glasses and a purple apron. Her voice is as soft and smooth as butter, but her demeanor is as hard as a rock.

Her ex-husband stands across the room, a male goat with very long horns. He's sporting a dad bod, covered by a flower pattern shirt. While the female goat, named Toriel, begins to tap her foot, the male goat begins to cry a little. He shakes his head and sulks; his name is Asgore. "I'm sorry, Toriel. I'll lay off."

Toriel's shoulders relax slightly, but she isn't entirely at ease. "Will you, please? This is the third time you've brought me those blasted buttercup flowers this week!"

Asgore breathes in and raises his head. "I understand. I'll leave you alone, ok? I'm sorry. I just want to make things right..."

Toriel shakes her head. "I respect that, but there are still some boundaries that you need to respect! Rome wasn't built in a day, and that city was built by humans! Something like this will take time."

"Yeah, but the monsters have Stonehenge going for them."

"That doesn't even relate to what I'm trying to say, Asgore," Toriel replies with annoyance.

As Toriel sighs and adjusts her glasses and the arguing ceases, Asriel lowers his ear, knowing it's safe to walk through the door. He gently turns the door-knob and stumbles into the house without falling down. Asriel can't help but smile widely and begin to cry again. "Mom?...Dad?...it's nice to see you again."

Asgore and Toriel both turn towards their child. They lose their breath. There is a deafening silence that runs through the room. Asgore and Toriel look at each other, then back at Asriel, then at each other again, and then look at their child. Toriel holds one of her hands over her mouth while Asgore rubs his eyes twice over, unsure what to make of it. Asriel takes one mighty step forward. "It's ok…you don't have to worry anymore. It's me…your son, in the flesh. I'm home."

Asriel smiles wider. A feeling of confidence falls over his parents, then all of their breath returns at once with full force. "ASRIEL?!" they shout in unison as they run over towards him and hug him tightly.

Toriel wipes her joyful tears as the family reunites and sees Frisk still on Asriel's back. "Oh, my child and my other child!"

Asgore continues to bawl like a baby while Toriel picks up Frisk gently and places him on the couch in the living room. "Heh, thanks, mom," Asriel says. "I needed to get Frisk off my back. He was getting really heavy."

Frisk continues to sleep with a slight smile etched onto his face, and Toriel turns her head. She shakes her cranium and exclaims, "oh, heavens! I shall actually take you to bed. It will be more comfortable there!"

Toriel picks up Frisk a second time and gently whisks him back to his bedroom. His bedsheets are covered with purple and blue fabric, while the bed on the other side of the room is empty and free of sheets, presumably available for guests and Frisk's friends.

Asriel warmly smiles as he sits down on the couch and looks back at the bedroom. His mind is full of thankfulness. (I can't thank you enough, Frisk. I will not squander my second chance. I will be the best I can be; I am filled with DETERMINATION)!

Asgore places himself in a chair across from the couch, and he speaks up while his son Asriel is thinking. "My son… would you like some tea?"

Asriel's eyes light up. "You mean golden flower tea?"

Asgore's beard hairs flow with joy. "Yes, your favorite! Let me run back home and get you some! I will be right back with it."

As Asgore marches towards the door, Asriel's brain meshes some puzzle pieces together. "Wait, wouldn't mom have any? I remember her liking it, too."

Asgore beams. "It's no big deal, son! No use burdening your mother. Oh, would you like anything else before I run out?"

Asriel smiles peacefully. He knows what he's going to say. "A big hug would feel pretty good right about now."

Asgore obliges. Father and son embrace. "I love you, my son. I am so happy to see you in your real body again."

"I love you too, dad."

Asgore then runs out the door and up the street to gather the tea. Shortly after Asgore's departure, Toriel returns to the living room. Asriel smiles and stares up at his mother. "Mom, I wanna know! How are y…"

Before Asriel can finish speaking, Toriel collapses into Asriel's lap. As Asriel gently taps his furry hand on his mother's back, she begins to sob. "I'm so sorry...I feel like I can n-never forgive myself...i-is there anything I can do, my child? I'm so glad you're with us again..."

Asriel softly chuckles. Light blue tones of aura surround his head. "Got any snail stories, mom? I wanna hear that one about how the rock won the snail race against the odds!"

Toriel sniffles and manages to return to her usual disposition. "I'd love to, my child."

Toriel walks over to the bookshelf in the corner of the living room. All different kinds of books cover the shelves, from history books to mystery novels to biographies to child literature. The coloring of the binding is rainbow in nature and complements the cherry wood shelves. After taking a few minutes to find the book, she pulls it off the shelf and walks back to the couch. After sitting down next to Asriel, she opens up the book and begins to read. While reading, Asriel feels his eyes getting heavy and decides to lay his head on his mother's lap, falling asleep shortly after. All is well in the world for Asriel, Frisk, and the Dreemurr family.

…

Future time; dead of night. Dark storm clouds pass through the expanse of the Ebott skyline. The rain begins to pour as the lightning and thunder swirl and dance thanks to the sobbing clouds. Within one of the coldest rooms of the orphanage, a purple monster is tossing and turning back and forth in her bed. The monster grits her shiny white teeth subconsciously as her scales hotly sweat. Her lavender hair frizzes while her body contorts and creases. Her right foot taps rapidly. Her claws quickly grab at her head. She squeezes her skull like her cranium is about to explode.

"ACK!"

The monster awakes. Her yellow eyes scan the room slowly and methodically as her heartbeat intensifies. She slowly looks down at her blankets, brings her knees up to her face, and holds her head on her knees. After a minute of dead silence, a thundering crack blares loudly for her. As the thunder rolls, she punches the mattress and curses to herself.

"The face again…I saw it again," the monster says. "What the heck is going on? This needs to stop." The monster then grumbles and lowers her body back into a restful