Hotland had taken a toll on his body, something which he hadn't noticed until the cool, moist soil of Waterfall started to reverse the wilting. Asriel dug around a chasm and surfaced on the other side. The room was waterlogged with muddy slopes brimming with echo flowers and yellow sparkles which flitted brightly among the blooms.
Echo flowers. They had been such magical things for monsters, glowing soft blue in the darkness of these narrow caverns... plants that could talk... heh. He and Chara used to leave messages with them, part of him wondered if any flower still held either of their voices, but he dismissed the idea. They would have been overwritten long ago.
He put his face to a flower and listened. ~
~"Wishing is lame, why are we here?"~
~"You can always leave. No one's forcing you to be here."~
~"No way! I'm not letting you ditch me again!"~
It sounded like a group of teenagers had recently passed through. Asriel approached a second flower.
~"I'm taking this flower! Okay, I wish... I wish that people would actually notice me for once! I'm sick of being ignored."~
~"Dude, that's such a narcissistic thing to ask for."~
~"What? No it's not! Besides, at least it isn't the same thing EVERYONE wishes for! Okay then, what do YOU wish for?"~
The flower went quiet. He approached a third.
~"I... I wish- hey back off! I'm not making my wish while you're breathing down my neck!"~
~"Okay dude chill! I'll catch you up ahead then..."~
~"I wish... I could see my mom again. I just want her to come home..."~
The flower fell silent. Asriel stared, he couldn't help but wonder about his own mother... wherever she was. His father hadn't told him much, Asgore had always avoided the question whenever the subject came up. At least, Asriel supposed, she wasn't dead... dad wouldn't lie to him about that... would he?
There was light splashing from the next room and Asriel instinctively went rigid. Peering through the entrance he glimpsed what appeared to be a turtle monster passing by with a bundle of seagrass in his arms. He looked old... and strangely familiar. With a quick check to make sure the old monster wouldn't see him, Asriel ducked underground and resurfaced silently behind him.
Familiar... why? He knew it was possible for non-ghost-and-boss monsters to live for a very long time, so, that meant it was also possible for him to have seen this monster around before. When he'd been alive. But... simply remembering a face in the crowd didn't make much sense. Asriel had a feeling that this monster had been important. He just couldn't quite put his finger on why...
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a memory clicked into place.
"Son, say hello to Gerson, he's the leader of the Royal Guard! Did you know that he fought in the war?"
"Howdy! Wow, what was it like?!"
"Not very pleasant I can tell you that! That's where I got my title,'The Hammer of Justice', because, well, I have a very big hammer! Wa ha ha!"
Ah.
Gerson had looked more spritely back then, but still quite old. He was the last person Asriel needed to be seen by right now. Frail though he seemed to be, chances were he was still loyal to Asgore and would turn Asriel in the moment he was spotted. This was a problem.
The old turtle walked deeper into the caverns, Asriel dug down and did the same. Waterfall was a confusing and surprisingly expansive place, filled with pools, cliffs and raised walkways. Somewhere, in among it all would be a safe haven. A place where he could stay undisturbed for a while, where no one would find him so he could... he could...
Oh come on! Who was the heck was he kidding with this plan?! He couldn't just isolate himself from everyone for the rest of eternity! But at the same time... he also couldn't go back... he'd tried that, it hadn't worked! There had to be something... somewhere... he...
No! Stop thinking about it! Asriel shook his head, biting down hard on his lip. I can figure out the rest later. Just focus on the NOW!
Shoving his foreboding back down, Asriel sent out his magical nav-net to reveal several more nooks and crannies which most monsters would probably have missed. He was considering where to head first when something unusual showed up; a patch of plants that didn't seem to belong. Intrigued, he decided to investigate those first. Distractions were good.
He surfaced in another waterlogged room and squinted. The whole area reeked of garbage... and for good reason. In between torrents of water cascading from above, trash was piled up almost to the roof. This must be the dump, the only connection monster society still had with the human world outside... hee hee hee... he got a little mischievous tingle just being here! His mother had NEVER allowed him to go anywhere NEAR the dump! Though Chara might have attempted to sneak out, once or twice...
Anyway, time to investigate! The anomaly should be right behind him... a bed of golden flowers. Golden flowers? This only brought up more questions. What were Chara's favorite flowers doing in a dark, damp cave in the middle of Waterfall?! He knew they were hardy and could be pretty pervasive, having hitched a ride into the Underground in the first place. But this... was actually quite impressive. They really must be the most determined of plants to survive here, among the water and trash.
Sounds of splashing footsteps came from behind and Asriel quickly hid among the flowers. A short figure walked in shadows towards one of waterfalls. It was Alphys. What was she doing in the dump? She stood at the edge and looked down, transfixed for a long time... or it felt like a long time. Just... staring into oblivion...
Asriel swallowed. He knew that look, he wished he didn't. It was the look of someone apprehensive, undecided. The look of someone who could do something... foolish.
Don't think about it.
He wondered if he should go to her... to talk to her... to ask her to STOP... but he just couldn't. All he could do was watch while something sickening brewed up inside of him. Why was he mad at her? He shouldn't be mad at her, why was she making him feel mad when he SHOULD be concerned?!
There was more splashing, this time louder, and a second figure appeared. Tall and clad in bulky armour, they aggressively tore at the trash piles looking for something... then they spotted Alphys.
Alphys didn't seem to notice until they were right by her shoulder. The warrior removed her helmet. A fish monster, battle-scared with an eyepatch and viciously sharp looking fangs smiled warmly at the scientist. They started to chat. Asriel couldn't make out what they were saying, but Alphys seemed to have forgotten about what she came here for.
After a short time the two walked away together, arm in arm and never letting up the conversation. Asriel stared after them as the sounds of footsteps faded away. Only the ever-present roar of the waterfalls remained.
If that fish hadn't come along, who knows what could have happened. Well, one thing was for certain; there was nothing for him here.
After a little digging he reached Waterfall's main cavern; a vast chamber filled with luminous plants and trees growing aside a lake of soft cyan light, glowing tranquil under the faux stars of the cavern's eternal night. In here, it felt like he had all the time in the world, and as with most of waterfall, this room was filled to the brim with echo flowers. Distractions were good. ~
~"I wish that one day I'll be as strong as Undyne! Then i'll break the barrier and set everyone free!"~
...
~"I'll start. I wish to see the real stars one day. What about you?"~
~"I suppose it doesn't matter but... I would rather feel the warmth of the sun on my scales."~
~"Well, we could always book a room at the MTT resort."~
~"Har har..."~
...
~"I want my sister to come home."~
...
~"make a wish bro."~
~"IS THIS REALLY THE TIME? THERE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT I NEED TO BE DOING... ALSO AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING RIGHT NOW?"~
~"humor me. you never know, it might come true."~
~"I WISH YOU WOULD TAKE YOUR SENTRY JOB MORE SERIOUSLY."~
~"aww, c'mon pap."~
~"OKAY FINE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WISH TO ONE DAY BECOME A FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! ARE YOU HAPPY SANS?"~
~"yup."~
~"GOOD, NOW ENOUGH LOLLYGAGGING. I NEED TO GET BACK TO WORK AND SO SHOULD YOU."~
~"okay bro, but are you sure you want to leaf so soon? don't want to staymen and hear my wish?"~
~"SANS THAT WAS TERRIBLE! I'M LEAVING."~
~"that's okay, i'll chlorofill you in later."~
A new looking telescope stood beside the next flower. It gazed out into one of the darkened corners of the cavern. The lens cap was still on. Asriel approached and listened.
~"i wish... after everything that's happened, all the time spent waiting and trying to find a way back to the way things used to be... that you would just go home, buddy. There is nothing out here for you."~