"Don't be afraid for me, Asriel. You're my best friend. And this way, we'll be together. Forever. Just as I promised."
Golden flowers, flickering sunlight. I blinked away the spots that flashed before my vision, taking in my surroundings. I had done it! I was back here again! I wasn't even sure how I had done it, but I had survived and I had gone back in time! I was a bit relieved to find that I didn't need to physically die in order to activate the reset, but it seemed as though I needed to be desperate to make it work. Desperate to accomplish my goal, no matter what. I guess that's what the word determination really means after all.
A huge grin crossed my face. After all the miseries and disappointments I had faced thus far, I found myself finally achieving something. Finding out that I could go back in time, now that was big. The irony was the fact that I was literally back to square one, but this time I was at square one with the knowledge of achieving square two. I truly felt determined, like I could achieve anything.
Then I remembered that I still had to figure out how to get those souls from Asgore. I clearly couldn't best him in a fight. My current form was far too weak for that. If I were still a goat, I might have been able to at least put up a fight, but my previous attempt had just been pathetic. Even with all my emotions behind my attacks, I hadn't even been able to touch the guy. No, I couldn't use an offensive tactic. I would have to be more subtle. It was time to put my acting skills to the test.
I looked around for Asgore and found him watering some of the potted plants inside New Home. I vaguely recalled having seen him in that location when I had first woken up last time, so that solidified my theory that this was, in fact, a time reset of some sort. It felt a little bit odd going to the guy I had just tried to fight and having him remember nothing of the event. I popped up in my old room, just a short ways away from where Asgore was standing.
Squinting my eyes shut, I tried to force myself to cry. This would be much more believable if I were crying. Unfortunately, despite my cry-baby nature, no tears came. It would figure that the one time I needed to cry, I couldn't. Oh well. Time to give this my best shot.
"Mom! Dad!" I wailed, "Somebody help me!" This was pathetic. Had I really acted this way when I first woke up as a flower? Ugh. "Please! Somebody help! I can't move! I can't feel my legs! Help!"
Asgore practically broke the door down, charging in as quickly as he could. "What's going on! Who's here?! What's wrong?!" He slid to a stop, eyes focusing on me. "What the... A flower?"
"D-dad? What's going on? Why can't I move?" His mouth hung open as his mind slowly registered what he was seeing.
"That's... Odd," he mused.
"Dad! Please! Help me! Where's Chara?! What's wrong with my body?!"
With a thud, he fell to both knees. Slowly, his arms lifted as he cupped my face gently in his great paws. "Asriel?" he asked hesitantly.
"Who else would I be? Dad, what's going on?" Man I wished I could bring myself to cry, but the king seemed to be eating up my display anyway. Idiot.
"But you're a... a... flower... And Asriel's... Gone." Tears were welling up in the old man's eyes. "My son, is it really you? Have you come back to me?"
"Dad, what happened? The last thing I remember, Chara was dying and we... I... I went up to the surface... And those horrible humans... They hurt me, Dad. I couldn't bring myself to hurt them back, but I could tell I was dying. The next thing I remember, I woke up here..."
His arms wrapped around me, squeezing all the air out of me and nearly crushing my stem. I grit my teeth against the agony and let the old man sob on me. "It's OK, my son. It was all just a bad dream. Everything was all just a bad dream." No, old man. This was no ordinary dream. This was a living nightmare. And there was no waking up from this one for either of us.
I couldn't take the monstrous weight anymore. "Dad," I gasped. "You're hurting me!" In a flash, his arms vanished.
"Oh! I do apologize! I'm sorry, my son, you're just so small. I didn't mean..." He looked utterly pathetic, sitting on the floor with tears in his eyes, his arms wrapped around his legs. A huge smile suddenly split his face. "I'm just so happy to have you back! I can't wait to tell everyone the news! Maybe your mother..." A distant look crossed his eyes. "Your mother... We could be a family again."
Not on my watch. Living with both Toriel and Asgore breathing down my neck did not sound appealing. Not anymore, anyway. An unbidden memory floated to the surface of my thoughts of a time when Chara and I sat together at the table with Mom and Dad, laughing and having a good time. No. I could never have that again. I pushed the nostalgia away. There were more important things to focus on now.
"What happened, Dad?" I was really trying to get him to talk about the events immediately following my death. If I could somehow get him to bring up the human souls by himself, then I wouldn't be forced to reveal how much I really knew on the subject. Unfortunately, it was infuriating trying to get any information out of my father, much less information that he would rather keep a secret. It all made sense to me now why he didn't bother telling me about it before. He was hoping that if I didn't know, then it would all just magically go away. He was hoping that there were no consequences for his actions. I knew better.
Asgore looked saddened by my question and looked down at the floor. "Many things, Asriel. Many things. You've been gone for a long while now."
"Did I... die?"
He didn't respond immediately. "Yes my son."
"So... Uh... W-what did you do about it?" Ugh, this was getting frustrating. There was no way I would have asked such a stupid question when I first woke up, but I needed to get on the topic of those souls! And asking questions that I already knew the answers to was just pointless.
The king breathed deeply through his nostrils. "We all do things that we regret, Asriel. But the past is behind us. You are here, and that is all that matters." Oh, for the love of- how the heck was I supposed to get him to bring those stupid souls up?!
"I have something I regret," I said carefully. The king glanced back at me, curiosity and concern shining in his eyes. "I regret not fighting back. When all those humans attacked me, I didn't do anything. I didn't fight back. I didn't kill them." My eyes met his. "I regret that. I should have been stronger. I should have taken their souls. I should have used that power to break down the barrier. Then we would all be free. Then I never would have died." I tore my eyes away. The tears I had been trying to force before now trickled down my face as raw emotion flooded through me. "I hate them," I spat. "I hate them all!"
"Asriel?" I couldn't see him very well through my blurred vision, but he looked pained. "Oh, Asriel, love is not something to be ashamed of. Showing mercy is not something to regret."
"But they deserved it, Dad! Every last one of them!"
"Son, you don't know that..."
"I do! Humans have been nothing but evil! They chased us out of our homes, slaughtering us all without once thinking about us! And then, all I wanted to do was fulfill my best friend's final request, and they killed me for it, Dad! Humans are evil! Humans deserve to die!"
I was shaken out of my emotional rant by a sharp sound. I looked over to see my dad's fist pounded into the ground hard enough to make some of the floorboards splinter.
"Never say things like that, Asriel! To call all humans evil would be to disrespect everything Chara ever stood for!" The king's eyes abruptly widened and he looked down, shocked to find his hand stuck in the floor. He dislodged it and pulled it to his chest, looking away.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Tori. I think I understand now. Why you left..." He clearly was not talking to me anymore. Hypocritical jerk. The king turned to face me again, showing a deep sorrow. "Besides," he continued, "if you had fought back, then you would be no better than them, now would you? After all, that is what makes us different from humans." His smile was soft. "We always show love and compassion. No matter what."
I glared at the floor, emotions choking off the words I wanted to say. I didn't have love anymore. I wasn't a monster anymore. I was a flower. And you want to know why, old man?! Because I showed mercy! Stupidity is what it was. No, you can't solve all of life's problems by being nice. In this world, how it really functions, it's kill or be killed. That's all there was to it. I hadn't killed those humans. So I died. "You're wrong," I muttered under my breath.
The king didn't seem to hear my comment, too absorbed in his own guilt, staring at the floor. A new pang of anger washed over me. The king had sworn to take revenge on the humans when I had died, but now that I was back, he was that quick to grow a conscience and revoke his previous oath. I had hoped that he would agree with me and be willing to listen to me this time now that he knew who I was, but instead he seemed to have a complete change of heart! Ugh. This guy truly was weak, so easily taking back everything he had worked for.
"Asriel," the king spoke softly. "Do you remember all those days you spent with Chara? Do you remember when she first came to us?" I shot him a glare. Of course I remembered. How could I forget? "The two of you were practically inseparable, you were so close. You were more than friends, you were like siblings." What's your point, old man? He closed his eyes, caught up in the memory. "It brought me hope. Hope that not all humans were evil. That perhaps humans and monsters could really grow up together, and not have to worry about wars and contentions."
"When you died, I forgot about all of that. My hope had been taken away. The humans had killed everything I loved all over again. But having you with me again... It's reminded me of the hope I felt, watching you and Chara grow up together. Chara was human. And she wasn't evil. Perhaps we have both been hasty in our accusations of human-kind. Perhaps we have simply misunderstood them." He left off there, staring into space. I grit my teeth, fighting back the rage that filled me. After a while, my father stood, looking regal and determined.
"There is something I must do," he stated. "Corrections I must make. I need to right my wrongs and make everything right again." He swept out of the room, swinging the door shut behind him. The door banged into its frame and hung open, obviously broken from the king's hasty entrance.
"You... Idiot..." I growled, though I knew that he was beyond the range of hearing. Logically, I knew that I should probably follow him, but I was so filled with rage that my entire frame was trembling. I had been trying to get him to reawaken the anger that had made him decide to collect the human souls, but instead I had somehow gotten the opposite effect. With a yell, I pounded both leaves crumpled into fists into the ground. It wasn't fair! None of this was fair!
"Chara, I'm scared. What if this doesn't work? What if I lose you?! I don't think I could handle that."
"Don't worry, Asriel. It will work. You've just got to trust me."
I sat at the river's edge watching the water rush by. I hadn't know where to go or what to do next. I was a bit frustrated with myself for not following Asgore when I had the chance and I had no idea where he had disappeared off to. Coming down to the river where Chara and I used to go to throw rocks in was just a natural habit. The cool lighting of the glowing crystals on the cavern walls combined with the gentle sound of flowing water calmed my emotions.
It seemed as though I spent more time contemplating my existence now that I was a flower than I ever had in my entire life. I suppose that's what happens when everything you know gets turned upside-down. It seemed as though all of my plans were continually being foiled. First I had made the king too angry, and now I had made him too happy. At this rate I would never get those souls. King Asgore was just one giant dead-end.
The sound of the water was accompanied by the sound of soft singing echoing down the corridor. It was a jovial sound, yet seemed oddly haunting coming from the distant cavern. The duet with the river grew closer and a figure formed out of the darkness. The monster was riding on a narrow boat, pushing it along with a stout stick. Their whole figure was shrouded in a dark cloak so I couldn't see any defining features about them. It seemed as though the singing was coming from the empty void under the figure's hood. I watched curiously, letting the distraction pull me away from my sallow thoughts.
"Tra la la. The water is wild and wet today. Tra la la a few more pairs of pants I should have worn. Tra la la. Tri li li. Tre le le. What is inside of an acorn?" Now that I could hear the gentle lyrics of the song, they seemed to be mostly gibberish, pointless words or sayings that had no coherent meaning. Eventually the boat slid to a stop in front of me and the monster's song ceased. The hooded figure turned to me as though it had known that I was there the whole time.
"Tra la la. I am the river man," they said, using the same sing-song voice, making their words a continuation of the meaningless song. "Or am I the river woman? It doesn't really matter. I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?" I stared at them. Oddly, they seemed familiar, but since I couldn't really see them very well, I couldn't tell if I knew them or not. I didn't remember seeing anyone riding the river before. I glanced behind me briefly, thinking of what I could probably be doing instead, but then sighed when I concluded that I really had nothing better to do. Sure. I would ride with this stranger. Why not?
It was tricky trying to board since I had to uproot myself and climb my way onto the boat using nothing but my roots. I settled onto the paddle-board-like boat, digging my roots into the wood to hold myself steady. The river person waited patiently for me to board, watching me with that empty hood before pushing away from the shore, letting the river take us away.
"Where are we going today?" they asked.
"I dunno. Nowhere I guess."
"Then we're off."
With that, the river person resumed singing. I tuned out the words, not really caring about them. The rise and fall of the melody beating in time with the swaying of the boat soothed my mind and I let that carry me away.
"Tra la la. The angel of death returns. Will he save or kill us all? Tra la la. Time will be reset to the day the human falls."
Some of these lyrics were starting to bother me. They still sounded mostly like gibberish, but occasionally, something would come up that seemed applicable to my current circumstances. I began to listen more closely to them, trying to make a little bit of sense out of what this person was singing.
"Tra la la. Beware the man who came from the other world. Tra la la. Love is the key to unlock the long lost soul."
At last, the boat scraped to a halt. I looked around, but the cave seemed unchanged. We were back to where I had been picked up. "Why'd you bring me back here?" I asked.
"Tra la la. To nowhere you said we were going, and since nowhere is where you began, then we really did not need to travel far to get there." They looked over their shoulder at me, somehow piercing me with their sightless gaze. "So it is in life. We all need somewhere to go or else we find ourselves right back where we started. So where are you going, young master? You need not tell me. That is for you and you alone to figure out."
I hesitantly pulled myself off the boat, a little surprised at how quickly we had managed to circle around to the same location. "Come again soon," the strange monster sang, pushing the boat away. "Tra la la. Now we enter the tropical room. Tra la la. Be sure to eat a mushroom." the song faded away as the river person floated along to some unknown destination. I stared after the boat, a bit confused by the whole experience. That was definitely weird.
"We're really going to do it, aren't we? We're going to break the barrier and free everyone! Mom and Dad are gonna be so proud!"
Although the trip down the river had proven to be ultimately pointless, it had given me time to calm down from my rage at the very least. I really needed to find Asgore again. Although it seemed as though I wouldn't be successful in getting the souls directly from him, I was a bit curious as to what he was going to do. After all, in neither of the other two time-lines that I had lived through thus far had Asgore changed his mind about wanting to destroy humanity. Now that my own emotions were in check, I found myself wanting to see this through if only to discover what would happen now.
I was making my way through the dirt when I noticed more activity than normal above the surface. People were frantically wandering around, most of whom were members of the royal guard. Curious, I popped up above ground, staying to the side of the path so I wouldn't get stepped on. Almost immediately, I was spotted by two armored guard members.
"Hey, dude! I found him! Like, he's right there, bro!" The bulky pair bee-lined towards me, jostling a female flame monster out of the way accidentally. "Hey, man! Er. Flower! We were told, like, to be on the lookout for you. Like, apparently the king thinks you're his son magically returned from the dead or something. That's crazy, man, but, like, we have to escort you to the castle and stuff." Oh. Right. I hadn't told Asgore where I was going. He was probably worried sick. No wonder the entire kingdom was on high alert. They were looking for me. Go figure.
"I'll, like, call Undyne and stuff," the guard said, pulling out a cell phone. The other guard didn't say anything, but he nodded gratefully at his partner before scooping me up with his metal gauntlets. I wasn't a fan of being carried, but I was pretty sure that the guards would panic if I disappeared underneath the ground, and since I couldn't actually walk, they couldn't very well escort me any other way. Besides, the guard's armor was cooler than I had expected, smeared with some sort of mud. It was probably heat-resistant or something like that.
"Hey, Undyne. We totally found the flower! He's like in hotland. Yeah, 02's got him. We'll, like, be there in a jif." The guard hung up the phone and tucked it away in a pouch he had on his belt. He started forward along with the guy who was carrying me and we began making our way to the castle.
"So, like, are you really him? Asgore's son I mean?" This guy seemed to be freakishly talkative, and his slang was enough to drive anyone up the walls. Finding myself irritated just reminded me about how insensitive I had become, though, so I decided to play it nice. The fact that I couldn't seem to care about anyone still bothered me.
"Yeah," I said. "Unfortunately."
"Dude! So, like, how does a boss monster become a flower?! And like, rise from the dead and stuff? Cuz, like, man that's super awesome!" The monster that was acting as my personal transport grunted slightly, whether in affirmation or scorn I couldn't tell. We entered one of the many elevators around hotland and moved up. Most of the elevators in the area were connected, so it was really easy to move around the place, so long as the elevators were working properly.
"Well, you know, I really gotta hand it to Doctor Alphys. She's the one who brought me back to life with some of her experiments." Yeah, sure, I could tell the truth. Why not?
"Whoa! Really?! Like, sweet deal, man! Dude! The doc is amazing! I heard that she, like, helped a bunch of other people, monsters who had fallen down and were gonna bite the dust and stuff. And like, last we heard about it, she said that they were up and walking again!"
I thought back to when Alphys had talked about injecting determination into monsters as another one of her experiments. Something told me that Alphys hadn't told them the end results of said experiments yet. "Huh. What'd she do?"
"Don't know, man, but whatever she did, that's like, the coolest thing ever. 02, wasn't it like your cousin or something who was talking to us about it?"
There was a pause for a second, as though the guard holding me had to think about the other one's question. He breathed in and let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"Yeah... Bratty knows Alphys..." For how much the one guard talked, the other seemed to make up for in how little he spoke. Wow, these guys were perfect for each other.
"That's right! Haha, how could I forget Bratty, man! She knows everything! Your cousin's awesome, bro!" I turned to stare at the plaza of what used to be the main lobby of an apartment building. The whole place seemed to have undergone a massive transformation with posters of some crazy square computer thing plastered everywhere. The fountain in the middle was shut off and construction tape surrounded it. Apparently they were modifying it, though I hated to see what they were going to ruin the poor fountain with, considering the other horrendous decorations that had been added to the place. I hadn't noticed the changes before since I usually skipped past this whole area while traveling underground.
The talkative guard carried on the conversation until it turned into pointless noise not too different from the song of the river person. Pretty soon, I adopted a similar technique of the guard holding me, giving vague short answers and grunts when a pause in the otherwise endless stream of words made itself available. How could anyone stand to listen to such drivel? The weird thing was that the dragon-like guard who was hanging on to me seemed to be enjoying the conversation. Monsters were weird.
"So, like, we're here and stuff," the guard called when we finally approached the castle.
"Finally! You punks sure took your dear sweet time, didn't you?" Oddly, I recognized the fish monster that stormed out of the front gates of the castle. It was the same monster that had been with Alphys at the garbage dump. So this was Undyne, head of the Royal Guard? Huh. Good to know. No wonder she looked so scary. Right at the moment, she did not seem particularly happy.
Undyne came to a stop about five paces away from me and the two guards I was with. She glared intensely at me, her face riddled with distrust. "So you're the one who's got Asgore all in a tizzy, huh? Well, I've got my eye on you, punk. Once you've seen Asgore and settled him down, you've got some explaining to do. And you better be telling the truth, or I'm going to go over there and beat you up. Ngaaah!" She turned on her heel and marched back the way she had come, red hair streaming behind her like a banner. Golly, what was her deal?
The guards I was with only looked at each other for a moment before following her, pulling me into the castle. Time to face my father. Again.
"Hey, Chara, you're not crying, are you? Come on! You and I both know that I'm the cry-baby around here! You're always telling me that big kids don't cry."
"... I'm not crying, Asriel... I don't cry. Not anymore..."
"Aaaasgooore!" Undyne called. "We found your flower!" Thunderous footsteps approached us followed by the massive form of my father. He spotted me immediately and wasted no time in scooping me into a firm embrace.
"Asriel, my son! I was so worried when I returned and you were gone! I am sorry if I upset you. I'm so glad that you have returned to me."
Surprisingly, with me riding mostly on his shoulder this time, he managed to not squeeze the life out of me. "It's OK, Dad. I just needed some time to think." I hadn't been gone for that long. Geez.
"Hate to cut this family reunion short, but what the hell is going on?" Undyne planted both fists on her hips and narrowed her eye at the two of us. The king blinked, unsure of how to answer.
A new voice cut in from somewhere behind me. "I m-might have an answer to that," Alphys said, entering the room. Thank goodness the doctor was here. That way I wouldn't have to explain myself. "I came as soon as you called!" Alphys coming when called? That was a first. She probably heard about a flower and came to investigate.
"Howdy, Alphys!" I called.
"Uh... H-hi. Um..." She hesitated now that all eyes in the room were focused on her. Undyne seemed to notice the doctor's nervousness and excused the two guards who had brought me in with a jerk of her head towards the door. Both guards saluted and hustled away, eager to be as far away from Undyne as they could possibly go. I didn't blame them.
"Do continue," Undyne encouraged.
"Um... Yes, well. That fl-flower was one of my experiments. I, uh, was using the flowers as a vessel to hold the monster souls with because a monster c-can't... Well... Anyway, a flower seemed best. B-but all the other flowers I used d-didn't do anything, so I thought... Uh... That this would be the same, so I put him back?"
"So why is it claiming to be Asriel?"
"Because I AM Asriel!" I piped up. I already knew that Alphys didn't have a good response to that question, so I decided to save her the embarrassment of having to explain her weak theories.
"Shut up, you stupid flower! I'm talking to Alphys here!" Undyne didn't even spare me half a glance. I sneered at her. Man, this woman was rude.
"I, um... I'm not actually sure? I mean, i-it could be possible, I guess. That was the first flower that grew after Asriel... um.. b-before the queen left. It might've absorbed some of the dust left over from when Asriel d-died. And I did some stuff to it, injecting it with det- er, stuff from the human souls that make things live after they've died. A-anyways, I guess it worked?" Undyne did not look convinced. Alphys stooped and shuffled her feet awkwardly.
I was caught off guard when the king spoke, his low voice rumbling in his chest. Since I was plastered to his body, I could feel the vibrations of it. "And what of the other experiments, Alphys? You told me before that the other monsters were up and walking again, but I've been getting calls from their families saying that they haven't returned yet."
Abruptly, Alphys cowered. She started trying to speak, but all that came out were stutters. I gave a wry smile. It seemed I was correct in assuming that Alphys had not yet told anyone that her other experiments had melted. I noted with interest that the monsters had recovered for a time before their bodies gave out on them. I really hoped that Alphys wasn't lying about my body not being in danger of melting. Especially with how much determination I was using to revert time.
"I. I. I... I'll send them home soon. There's j-just a f-few more things I n-need t-to... Uh..." Sweat rolled down her face as the lies spewed from her mouth. She really was bad at lying. It was a good thing that monsters were idiots. "I should probably check up on Asriel." Nice topic change, doc.
Asgore reluctantly handed me over to Dr. Alphys and I underwent her examinations for a third time. I didn't even blink when she poked me with the needle and muttered under her breath about my not having a soul. At last, the doctor concluded that I looked fine and promptly excused herself from the room. No doubt she would lock herself up in her lab and never come out again, like she had the first time I had showed up.
No sooner had Alphys left when Undyne turned on the king and practically exploded with anger. "So what if Alphys somehow brought your son back to life?! What's that got to do with you suddenly changing your mind about the war on humans?! Do you want us all to suffer and be stuck down here forever?!" Ah. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only person who was ticked off by Asgore's abrupt change of heart. And boy this fish lady could yell!
The king closed his eyes and sighed. "This has been a decision I have been thinking about for a long time," he murmured. "Having my son returned to me merely helped push me in the right direction. It was wrong for me to accuse humanity for taking away my children, and I had no right to take away theirs. It is time that we let this contention cease between monsters and humans."
"What a load of crap!" Undyne snarled. "Humans have been nothing but evil. And we're so close to being free! Just because you're being a wimpy loser doesn't mean that I'm going to stand for that crap and pretend to be happy while rotting under this mountain! I will personally rip the next human's soul from their body and bring it to you, first chance I get! You hear me?!"
Asgore remained silent, hanging his head down with his eyes closed. Undyne briefly waited for a response, gritting her teeth in a jagged scowl, before letting out a disgusted grunt and storming away. She might be able to help me out. I would need to have a little chat with her later. Preferably when she had calmed down a bit. She would probably rip my head off if I tried to talk to her now.
"She's right, you know. Is it really worth sacrificing the happiness and freedom of every monster for the sake of a single human life?" If I could convince my father, that would be great. Asgore breathed out slowly, releasing the breath he had apparently been holding while enduring Undyne's wrath.
"If only it were that simple, son," he rumbled. He ceased speaking for a moment before continuing in a less-assured tone. "If another human finds their way down here and the fates truly rested upon the decision of a single soul versus the entire race of my people, I may choose a different path. But as for right now, I think it is time that I ended this pointless war. I do not think I could bring myself to kill the entire human race. It is hard enough to bring myself to harm one child."
I was about to argue that he wouldn't necessarily have to be the one to destroy all the humans when a distinct memory floated up to the surface of my mind. The memory of holding the power of my soul combined with Chara's, of staring down the raging humans and knowing that I could end them in a single blow. And the memory of the guilt I felt at the prospect. The memory of feeling content, knowing that I would not be the cause of another person's sorrows.
Weakness. Compassion was weakness. I died because of that weakness. But I remembered what it felt like, and for some reason I could not bring myself to blame the king for feeling the way he did. Angry at having been hurt, but incapable of giving the enemy the pain that they deserved. It was easy to say that I wouldn't be caught up in that same rut, but would I feel the same when the time actually came? I suddenly wasn't so sure.
"In any case, I am sure that you are worn out from all this. Here, I shall bring you to your room. Can I get you anything?" I found that I didn't have a good response for him. I could almost physically feel my determination waver, if only the tiniest fraction. I let him carry me to my bed with no further comment. I waited until the door swung shut on its broken frame.
Freeing monsters was surely the right thing to do, wasn't it? And yet not killing anyone was also the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the two could not co-exist. One thing was for sure, though. I had to stay determined. I had to keep going. If I doubted myself, if I lost sight of what I was trying to achieve, then my frail form was bound to fall to pieces. I could not allow myself to choose a path that required doing nothing, because that path would lead to certain death.
No. I had to do it. I would get those souls, and I would shatter the barrier and eradicate humans once and for all. No matter what I had to do, I would do it. After all, that's what determination was all about.
"Are you ready, Asriel?"
"Psht! Who cares about me? You're the one who's giving up your soul!"
"..."
"..."
"Chara?"
"Yeah?"
"... Good luck."
It took me forever to find Undyne. After asking one of the guards, I found out that she lived in waterfall, but even when I went there, she wasn't home. I finally found her in a place where the water seeping through the cavern ceiling dripped like rain and collected into a myriad of puddles. She was taking her anger out on the serene little lakes, kicking up giant sprays when she stomped as hard as she could on the water.
"Um, hello," I said shyly when I resurfaced well out of range of her feet.
"What do you want?" Undyne snarled without even turning to look at me. Another puddle exploded in a shower of droplets. When I hesitated, she looked over her shoulder, then did a double-take when she saw who it was that was speaking to her. I very suddenly had her full attention.
"You. You're the one claiming to be Asriel, huh?" She turned to face me and folded her arms, looking menacing even though her red hair was plastered against her neck from all the rain.
"Yeah. I'm Asriel."
"Well, whatever. Whether you are who you say you are or not, I don't really give a rip. What do you want? Here to tell me about how wonderful and great humans are?" Her voice turned high-pitched as she began trying to imitate my own voice. "Oh, look at me! I grew up being best friends with a human! I even went to the surface world! Aren't I so great?" She glared down at me, practically oozing an aura of pure hatred.
"Actually, I came here because I agree with you."
She blinked, but her expression remained unchanged. "Oh, really..."
"Yeah. I'm not sure if you noticed, Undyne, but when I went to the surface, I DIED." My words were hard and clipped. I wanted her to see just how serious I was about this. "I want the see the barrier broken and the humans killed just as much as you do."
Undyne narrowed her eye at me, suspicious. "Alright, so you're not as big a softy as I thought you were. Now why did you come all this way looking for me just to tell me this?"
I smirked. Finally. Someone who would listen to me. "Because I need your help, Undyne. You see, we don't need to wait until a human falls down here before we can break the barrier." Her face shifted to a look of puzzlement, so I continued. "A monster only needs one human soul to pass through the barrier. I pretty well proved that. Then, once a monster is out of the Underground, they can collect the remaining souls and return to break the barrier." I let the weight of that information sink its way into Undyne's mind.
"Wait, wait... You mean to tell me... That we could have been free this whole time?!" She bared her teeth and kicked at an echo flower. The unfortunate flower burst into a cloud of petals at her touch. It was a not-so-pleasant reminder that she could very easily do the same thing to me. "Ngaaaaaah! Are you frickin' kidding me?! Does the King know he can do that?! Urgh!"
"Yeah. He does. And I told him that's what he should do, but he won't listen to me! That's why I need your help." Undyne took a deep breath, settling her rage.
"So that's why he disbanded the royal guard," she muttered to herself. "Figures that the big guy couldn't bring himself to do it after all. Old goat's got too big a heart for his own good." I let her contemplate for a moment. "Right. So I take it you want those souls, huh? The six souls we already have?" I nodded firmly. "Well, too bad!"
What?
"Yeah, you can't have them. Because I'm going to be the one who's going to go up there! I'm going to go kick Asgore's butt, and I'm going to take the souls for myself! I'll be the one who breaks the barrier! Got it?"
"Uhhh..."
"Thanks for the tip, punk. Now stay out of my way!" She spun on her heel and loped off, taking out a few more puddles on her way out. Well, at least I got her to do something. This I HAD to see.
"There. It's done. There's no going back now."
For some reason, I ended up beating Undyne to the castle. When she did show up nearly an hour after I arrived, she was clad from head to toe in full plate armor. I remained underneath the floor, not wanting to get anywhere between the two monsters. Knowing how frail I was, I would probably turn to dust if even the smallest attack managed to hit me.
Asgore was kneeling in his garden of golden flowers in the throne room, tending to the flowers. He stopped what he was doing when he heard the distinct clink of Undyne's armored feet on the tiled floor. "Ah! Undyne! Er, what's with the armor?" His eyes were wide and oblivious. Undyne's expression was unreadable behind her creepy helmet.
"Your son told me something interesting just now."
"Asriel? What did he say?"
"Did you know that we could get past the barrier with just one human soul and then collect the other six needed to break the dumb thing?!"
The king didn't respond, but his eyes went dark and he slowly stood to face the head of the royal guard. "Ah," he mumbled.
"So you did know! And you didn't do anything?! All these years we've been keeping ourselves going with the knowledge that one day we'd make it out of this hell hole, and all this time, you had everything you needed to make it happen! And you did nothing?!" She took a step forward. Asgore looked down at the floor.
"I did what I felt I needed to do," was all he said to defend himself.
"Well, now I'm doing what I feel I need to do! For the sake of all monsters! I can feel all of their hearts beating as one with the purpose of escaping, and the only thing that's holding us back is you!" A white-blue spear formed in her hands and she held it at the ready, prepared to hurl it at the king. "Now give me those souls or I'll take them from you by force!"
I was expecting some epic battle, the two battle-trained monsters at each others' necks fighting for the six human souls. Instead, Asgore refused to even summon his trident. He stood there, staring at the flowers on the ground, doing absolutely nothing.
"Well?!" Undyne shouted at him.
"Think as you may like, Undyne. I am afraid that I can not do as you ask." He looked... Sad...
I could almost audibly hear Undyne grinding her teeth beneath her helmet. "Then prepare to defend yourself," she snarled. With that, she leaped into the air, bringing the spear down on him. He didn't fight, he didn't move. He stood there, taking the blow head on. His armor took the brunt of the damage, but the force of the blow shoved Asgore to the ground and slid him backwards a few feet.
Undyne jumped back, flipping her spear impatiently. "Fight me!" she demanded.
"I will not," the king stated firmly, sitting up and gripping his shoulder where the spear had hit.
"Ngaaah! You're such a pathetic wuss! Get... up... and... Fight!" Asgore didn't respond, closing his eyes. "Fine. Then you leave me no choice." she lowered her spear and charged him again.
This time Asgore moved. He parried the spear by shoving it away with one hand, letting Undyne's momentum carry her forward. When the shaft of her spear was midway past Asgore's hand, he grabbed it and wrenched it from Undyne's grip. Undyne stumbled, her balance thrown off from the unexpected move. She caught herself quickly, reforming her fighting stance. The king used the spear to lift himself from the ground before tossing it to the side where it fizzled and despawned.
"I will not fight you, Undyne, but you are right. I am no longer fit to rule this kingdom." That caught her off guard almost as much as the parry had.
"What?! That's not-"
"I was only trying to give everyone hope. It seems, though, that I have failed in that task. I will gladly resign as king. However, I can not allow you to kill all of those humans on the surface. I say that not as your king, but as your friend."
"Like hell you are!"
He sighed, making firm eye-contact with Undyne. "If you destroy all those humans, you will destroy yourself. I can not stand by and watch that happen. Kill me if you must, but I will not allow you to continue."
Undyne tore the helmet from her head and threw it on the ground so Asgore could see her face. "So what, you think I'm the one who needs saving here?! Well, I've got news for you, pal! Everyone is counting on me to make their hopes and dreams come true, and I'm sure as hell going to make it happen!" Her fangs were bared and her remaining eye was wild with passion. "Now give me those damn souls!"
She didn't wait for a response, summoning a new spear and charging at him again. Her approach was more tactful this time, wary of Asgore since he was likely to try another parry. The huge goat stood his ground and blocked the spear with both paws. He tried to throw the spear to the side again, but Undyne was expecting that and moved with the spear, jumping to the side before ramming it point-first under Asgore's arm and into his chest. He grunted at the impact, but his armor prevented the spear from penetrating his upper torso.
The king swung his arm down, grabbing the spear's shaft and yanking it towards the ground. Undyne instantly let go of the weapon and summoned a new one. Three more formed in the air and shot straight at Asgore's unprotected face. He dodged those easily enough, but Undyne took that opportunity to attack with the spear in her hand again. Asgore grappled her, trying to shift her weight to his advantage, but Undyne was relentless.
"Stop being so resilient!" she snarled. She wrenched free of Asgore's grasp, skipping out of reach and summoning more spears to her aid. I watched the battle continue, transfixed. Undyne leaped into battle again and again, often scoring hits on the old goat, and all the while Asgore did nothing but parry her attacks. He really was being serious about not harming the younger fish monster.
At last, Asgore dropped to his knees. Cuts and bruises covered his body and sweat poured down his face, matting his fur. He was defeated. Undyne stood over him, letting the spear she was holding drop out of existence. "It's over, Asgore. I beat you. Now hand over the human souls."
He laughed, a deep, mirthless laugh. "You'll never find them," he said, meeting her gaze with defiance in his eyes. "You can kill me or you can let me go. Either way, you will not get those souls."
Undyne let out a growl of frustration and slammed her foot into the ground, smashing flowers and tiles alike. "Really?!" she cried. "You're really going to do this?! After all we've worked for, you're going to insist on standing in the way of everyone's freedom! And for what?! For some pathetic humans you don't even know!"
"No," Asgore murmured. "I do this not only for the humans. I do this for your sake as well." He shifted his weight, mustering up the last of his strength to try to stand. He made it to a low crouch, leaning heavily on one arm. "If you take those souls, it will transform you into a being of great power. You will have the power to free us and destroy humanity, but everything that is you will be gone. The great warrior Undyne will be no more. I had once taken that burden upon myself, but it seems that I can no longer follow through. And it is because I care for you that I must insist that you do the same."
The head of the royal guard grit her teeth. "Leave. Get out of here. And if you come back, I will beat the hell out of you again. Understand?" Asgore smiled gratefully at her.
"Of course," was all he said.
"And don't get me wrong! The first human that comes down here, their soul is mine! I'll take it and be sure the barrier is broken once and for all!" Asgore nodded solemnly.
"Do as you will. Just so long as I am not the one enabling you to do such terrible things." He staggered to his feet and limped away. I watched him go, mouth agape. Even after all of that, I still wasn't any closer to getting those souls! If anything, I had somehow made it so Asgore had cemented it in his mind that he would never let those souls be used at all.
When the old king was long out of sight, Undyne punched the wall, swearing at the top of her lungs. I hesitantly resurfaced. I wanted to say something, but found that I didn't know what I could say that would make this situation any better. I was just as irritated with Asgore as Undyne was. He really was an idiot, but he was an idiot that was preventing either of us from achieving our goals.
Undyne noticed me after a little while and sat on the floor, resting her head on her hand. "So you were watching the whole thing, huh, punk?" I bit my lip and nodded. "Well, you're the one who started this mess. I aint gonna be the one who has to clean it up. We're down a king and still not any closer to breaking the barrier than when we started."
I hated to admit it, but she had a point. I had thought that maybe getting Undyne to fight Asgore would change his mind, or maybe Undyne would succeed in getting the souls from him and break the barrier herself. But instead, I had made a mess of things.
"So now what are we supposed to do, Prince Asriel?" she sneered. I looked down at the floor for a while. Then I met her gaze letting a cheerful smile cross my face.
"Why, I reset everything of course! That was a fun little experiment. Guess it didn't work. Time to start over!" Undyne gave me a baffled expression. "Thanks for all the help! See you next time!"
I poured everything I had into what I now knew to be my determination. No matter how many tries it took, I was going to get this right. After all, I was determined. Undyne and the shattered throne room faded away.