MK sighed. "Let me get this straight," he said slowly. "Prince Asriel Dreemurr, who died over a hundred years ago, is a spirit attached to your body and he can talk to you and he can see and hear us. He didn't know who he was at first because he apparently lost his memories, but they have since come back and you only found out who he was yesterday and he agreed to let you tell us about him because you don't want to keep him a secret from us."
Frisk nodded. 'That pretty much sums it up,' they signed. They looked between their two closest friends, gauging their reaction. MK looked as though he didn't quite believe it. While Noelle was a bit harder to read, she at least didn't not believe them.
"And he can understand sign language because he was conscious while you were learning?" Noelle questioned, to which Frisk nodded. "Huh. That would explain a few things."
"What things?" MK asked, skeptically.
"Well, I have caught them signing for no reason," she explained. "It seemed like they were talking to someone, even though there was no one present."
"You're not actually buying this, are you?" MK asked.
"You don't?" Noelle questioned.
"No! It's impossible. We learned about the prince years ago. Everyone knows he dusted in his parents' garden, trying to lay his friend to rest on the surface, executed by humans. How could he still be around?"
'You think I'm lying?' Frisk asked.
"No, I don't think you'd lie to us, but this just doesn't seem possible," MK explained.
'This is true,' Frisk defended. 'I'm not making this up. And if you don't think I'm lying, then what do you think I'm doing?'
"I don't know, dude! But it's just not possible," MK said. "There's no way what you said can be possible."
"At least he's not accusing you of lying," Asriel noted. "He doesn't believe you, but he's not calling you out, either."
"S-so, um, is he… here, now?" Noelle asked.
Frisk nodded. 'He kind of has to follow me around. Sure, he's managed to make a spectral form for himself, but it can't go too far from me.'
MK sighed. "Dude, I can't believe this is real," he said. "You're not crazy and you're not lying, but this story is just too unbelievable. Monsters don't linger after death. Our Souls dust immediately after we die. Maybe for you humans, this story might be true, but it just can't happen for Monsters."
'What about the ghosts?' Frisk signed.
"They're not dead," MK said. "They're alive, just… incorporeal."
"Wow, impressive, MK," Noelle commented. "That's a pretty big word for you."
"I picked it up from you," he explained.
'Back to the subject at hand,' Frisk interrupted. 'Asriel is here and he is conscious.'
"C'mon, dude. It's just too incredible," MK persisted.
"So, what? They're lying?" Noelle asked incredulously.
"No! They don't do that," MK said.
"Then they must be telling the truth," Noelle insisted.
"How? This is just impossible."
Frisk rubbed their temples. This was going in circles.
"Frisk," Asriel spoke. "Let me. It's one thing to hear about it second-hand, it's another to hear it come from the person they're talking about."
Frisk debated for a moment before nodding. After they did, they felt themself pushed aside as Asriel took control.
Noelle and MK were still arguing when Asriel spoke up. "Stop," he said. He sounded like Frisk, but with a slight strain to it. "They're telling the truth. Frisk… Frisk is telling you the truth." Noelle and MK stopped arguing to listen. "I am Asriel," he continued, though it felt harder to talk for him as they stared.
"Uh…" MK went, unsure how to respond.
"Prince Asriel?" Noelle asked, a certain reverence in her voice.
"Y-yeah. I-it's me," Asriel stuttered. He wasn't used to this much attention, so it unnerved him. "I really am here and… and…" He shielded his face with Frisk's hands, too nervous to keep talking.
"Dude, w-what are you…" MK tried to say. "W-what's going on?"
"Didn't Frisk say that Asriel could control their body to some extent?" Noelle remembered.
"I… yeah, they did, but…" Noelle could see that the disbelief was fading.
"And Frisk can't talk this well, either," she pointed out. "Granted, he's stuttering, but Frisk wouldn't do that. You can't say they're faking this."
MK looked between Noelle and Frisk a few times before speaking. "Asriel?" he asked tentatively. "It's… really you?"
Asriel nodded, still shying behind his hands.
Noelle came forward and gently grasped them, pulling them away. She could tell by the look in their eyes that it wasn't Frisk in control right now. "Hi," she said quietly. "You… don't have to be scared."
Asriel gently lowered his hands. "I know… I just… I'm not used to… talking to other people."
"You're… nervous?" MK asked incredulously. "Why? If anyone here should be nervous, it's us! You're Prince Asriel."
"Yeah, the heir to our kingdom," Noelle agreed. "You're… oh, should we be bowing?"
"Uh, no, you don't have to," Asriel said.
"Okay, your majesty," Noelle agreed. MK giggled behind her.
"Um… okay," Asriel tapped his fingers together and everyone could tell he was uncomfortable. "Uh, Frisk, I'm going to let you take over again. This is just too weird."
Frisk gained control again and the others could tell they were back. 'So now you believe me?'
"Yeah," MK said. "Dude, how long has he been with you?"
'Not sure. At least since I came back like this,' Frisk explained. 'He didn't show up right away, though. It was a couple months before that happened.'
"And he's been like a voice in your head this whole time?" Noelle asked. "Why didn't his majesty introduce himself sooner?"
'Like I said, he didn't know who he was at first. Not until recently,' Frisk explained. They weren't sure why MK was giggling again.
"Wow, dude. But… how? I mean, Monster Souls don't last after we die. How can Asriel still be here?" MK wondered seriously.
'I'm not sure myself,' Frisk replied. 'I don't think he technically has a Soul of his own.'
"Then how is he here?" Noelle asked. "How can he be alive in you if he doesn't have a Soul?"
Frisk shrugged. They had no answer to that. All three kids hummed in thought.
"Maybe we should consult Doctor Alphys?" MK suggested. "She's smart, she might have an answer."
"But she works for dad!" Asriel shouted. "I don't want him to find out. Frisk, don't go to Alphys."
'Asriel doesn't want us to ask her,' Frisk signed. 'He doesn't want his parents to find out what's become of him.'
"But she still might have some answers," Noelle suggested. "At the very least, we should go to her lab and ask. In hypotheticals, of course."
'Couldn't hurt,' Frisk agreed. 'So long as we don't tell her about Asriel.'
"Then let's go, dudes!" MK said excitedly, walking ahead. "To the Lab!" He took a couple paces before tripping and falling on his face. But he got right back up and continued.
They walked all the way to Hotland, arriving at Alphy's lab. As Frisk passed the star, they touched it, saving as they did.
"I still don't like this, Frisk," Asriel said. "It's risky, talking to Alphys and getting an explanation without revealing that I'm alive."
'If it comes to that, we'll ask her to keep it a secret,' Frisk signed. 'I promise, it will be fine.'
"Talking to Asriel?" Noelle asked.
'He has doubts that we can keep his existence a secret and get an explanation at the same time.'
"Don't worry, your majesty, we'll be careful," Noelle assured, MK once more giggling.
"Why does she keep doing that?" Asriel wondered.
'Asriel wants to know why you keep doing that,' Frisk relayed.
"Do what?"
"Why does she keep calling me 'your majesty'," Asriel explained, which Frisk repeated.
"You're the prince," Noelle said. "It's what we're supposed to say."
Asriel slapped his forehead. "Frisk, tell her she doesn't have to do that. I'm not a prince anymore since I'm dead. And also tell her that that title makes me really uncomfortable. No one's ever called me that before."
"Oh, sorry, your majesty!" Noelle apologized. "I just thought… as the prince, you'd expect a certain amount of formality."
"Noelle, if he wanted formality, he would have introduced himself, not have Frisk handle it," MK chuckled. "Though, by all means, keep doing that. It's a bit funny."
"Argh, no! Don't!" Asriel shouted, though only Frisk could hear. He was yanking on his spectral form's ears as he said that.
'Noelle, he's just a kid, so there's no need for titles,' Frisk intervened.
"Okay, I'll try a little better," she agreed.
They walked into the lab, looking for Alphys.
"Yo! Doc! You in here?" MK shouted. He got no response. "Huh. Where is she? This is where she works."
"Maybe she had to go to the bathroom?" Noelle suggested.
'Or she's in another part of the lab,' Frisk thought. 'There is a part of the lab I know exists that she didn't show us on the tour.' They walked up to a door, which had a sign next to it, a picture of a yellow lizard on it. 'It was down this elevator to the lower levels of the lab. It's where… this body was made.'
"You think she could be down there?" Noelle wondered.
"Let's find out," MK suggested. The door didn't immediately open when they walked up to it. "So, how do we get this door open?" he asked.
'I don't know. I don't recall seeing anyone typing anything,' Frisk explained.
Noelle observed the wall surrounding the door, trying to find something. There didn't seem to be anything external that would trigger it. She looked at the door and spotted a button halfway up the door, positioned where a handle would be. She pressed it and the door slid open, revealing an elevator.
They entered the elevator. There was only one button on the panel, so Noelle pressed it and the elevator began it's decent. As they waited, they discussed what to say to Alphys.
"So, how are we going to talk to her without… you know, revealing Asriel?" Noelle asked.
"Maybe just imply?" MK wondered. "She knows a lot. Maybe there's some explanation she knows for stuff like this."
'It would make for an interesting thought experiment,' Frisk signed. 'Maybe that's how we tell her.'
The doors dinged and they walked out. The lower lab was darker than the one above.
"Whoa, Frisk. This is where you were… um, made?" MK asked sensitively.
'In a sense,' Frisk signed, though it was hard to see with the low light. 'The first thing I remember after dying was waking up in a tube filled with a blue liquid and Toriel just outside.'
"That must have been disorienting," Noelle wondered. "Going from dead to alive."
'It was strange, though it took me a while to realize what had happened,' Frisk explained. 'My mind was scrambled for a while. It was hard to think.'
"Where do you think Alphys is?" MK wondered.
'No clue. But let's be careful,' Frisk recommended. 'Who knows what's down here.'
They walked through the metal halls, the lights dim and flickering.
"This is scary," Noelle muttered.
'It's creepier than I remember,' Frisk commented.
"Yeah, even I think this is spooky," MK agreed.
They entered a room with a double-set of doors, four dim lights on them.
"Where do those go?" MK asked.
Noelle stepped to a sign and read it. "Power room."
"We should probably stay out of that," MK recommended.
Frisk looked around and there were two paths on either side of the room. 'Alphys has to be here somewhere,' they signed. 'Let's go right first to see what's down there.'
"What if we split up to cover more ground?" Noelle suggested.
"Are you crazy?!" MK shouted. "In this creepy place? We have no clue what's down here. Smarter to stay together."
'Let's go,' Frisk signed, gesturing to the right hall. They passed through another door, and down a long hallway.
"What's with all these signs?" Noelle questioned, referring to the blank screens.
MK walked up to the closest one. "Let's see." He tapped it with his tail and the screen flickered to life. They grouped around the screen to read the text.
Entry Number 12
nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with "determination." i want this to work.
"Huh. Wonder what that means?" MK questioned.
"What's 'Determination'?" Noelle wondered aloud.
'Alphys told me a while ago,' Frisk signed. 'It's apparently what allows human Souls to persist after death. She calls it DT for short. Monsters don't have any of it.'
"Huh. What's she injecting with Determination?" MK questioned.
"Maybe the next screen has an answer?" Noelle suggested. They walked up to it, activating the screen. A single line of text was on it.
Entry Number 13
one of the bodies opened its eyes.
That made all the kids straighten in surprise.
"What bodies?" MK asked no one.
"Wait…" Noelle was thinking about something. "I remember something. A few years ago, Asgore had asked around for any Monsters that had Fallen Down and they were given to Alphys. She was doing some mystery experiments with them."
"What happened to those Monsters?" MK asked.
"No one's sure. She said they had woken up and would send them home, but she never did," Noelle explained.
"Fallen Down Monsters? How?" MK asked.
Noelle shrugged.
They continued onward and entered a large room. This one had several beds in it, all of them empty save for a single pillow and blanket.
"Is this where she kept the Monsters?" MK wondered.
"Must be."
Frisk raised their arm, pointing to another screen. 'Let's see what she wrote here.'
Entry Number 14
Everyone that had fallen down… has woken up. They're all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners…?
That stunned the kids, Noelle and MK especially.
"So she did save them," Noelle realized.
"But that was years ago," MK pointed out. "If they're fine, where are they?"
Frisk looked to the right and saw another doorway. 'Let's go this way,' they suggested, pointing to the doorway. They found another hallway and this time went to the left. Two more screens were present. Curious, they read them.
Entry Number 15
Seems like this research was a dead end… But at least we got a happy ending out of it…? I sent the SOULS back to ASGORE, returned the vessel to his garden… And I called all of the families and told them everyone's alive. I'll send everyone back tomorrow. :)
Entry Number 16
no No NO NO NO NO NO
The children were puzzled by the last entry. Why would she put that in?
"What's with the last entry? And why is that the only thing in it?" MK questioned.
'I get the feeling something went wrong,' Frisk signed. 'She told me that Monsters and Determination don't mix. She didn't say what happens or why, but I got from her tone that the end result is not good.'
"But you're human – or were – and you seem to be fine," Noelle pointed out. "Why are you fine while those other Monsters… well, we don't know what happened, but it clearly wasn't good."
Frisk shrugged. They continued on and walked into another room. This one had a strange looking machine in it. It looked like a skull, but with a long muzzle, no jaw, and two large, gaping holes for eyes, along with several tubes connecting it to the ceiling.
"What is that?" Noelle asked.
"No clue, but let's not mess with it," MK cautioned. He pointed to another doorway to the right of the machine. "Hey, I think there's something in there."
They walked into a new room which had two shelves of movies against the wall, a television in the middle, another of those black screens and some device on the wall.
"Wonder what this is down here for?" MK said, pointing to the tv.
"Maybe she likes to watch stuff while working?" Noelle suggested, gesturing to the shelves. "Hey, these look like they come from the surface. What's she doing with these?"
As Noelle and MK looked over the shelves, Frisk walked up to the screen.
Entry Number 4
I've been researching humans to see if I can find any info about their SOULS. I ended up snooping around the castle… And found these weird tapes. I don't feel like ASGORE's watched them… I don't think he should.
"Tapes?" Asriel questioned.
"Hey, these are labeled differently," MK suddenly said. Frisk came over and MK was pointing to five VHS tapes, labeled one through five.
"What are these?" Noelle asked, taking the first and holding it in her hooved hands.
Frisk looked between the screen the entry was on and the tapes. 'She found those in the castle,' Frisk realized. 'There's probably something on them she doesn't want Asgore to see.'
"Let's check it out," MK said, taking the tape and putting it in the tv's VHS slot. He powered the tv on and for a moment, there was static, before a black screen came on.
"Wow, that's…"
"Pssst. Gorey, wake up," said a familiar voice on the tape, startling all three kids.
"Mmm? What is it, dear? …er, and why do you have that video camera?" asked another familiar voice.
"Frisk, that's…" Noelle said quietly. Those voices were Asgore's and Toriel's.
"Shush! I want to get your reaction," came Toriel's voice. "Gorey, dearest. What is my favorite vegetable?"
"Hmmm… Carrots, right?"
"No no no! My favorite vegetable is… Eda-MOM-e. …get it?"
The kids giggled after they realized it was a pun.
"Go back to bed, dear."
"No no! Not yet! Hee hee hee. Now, if I were a dog, what breed of dog would I be?"
"Hmmm… I don't know, honey, what kind of dog would you be?"
"I would be… a MOMERANIAN."
"Hahaha! You sure are excited to have this child. You know, if you keep making jokes like this… one day, you could be… a famous MOMedian."
The kids laughed out loud at the puns, though Asriel was blushing and covering his face with his paws.
"Well, I am going to bed."
"Hey! Come on, Tori! That one was funny!"
"Hahaha, I know. I am just teasing you. Goodnight, dear."
"Goodnight, honey."
"…Oh dear, perhaps it is too dark in here for the video to come out."
The tape clicked with that, indicating it was over.
"Wow, that was funny!" MK laughed. "Were they like that all the time?"
"Apparently," Noelle answered. "At least, that's what my dad told me. I feel kinda dirty watching that. It was private."
"Ugh, why do they have to be so gross?" Asriel complained.
'I wish I could have seen that,' Frisk signed. 'I think it would have been nice to see that happen in real life, not just on a tape from a hundred years ago.'
"Are all these tapes like that?" MK wondered, looking at the other four.
"Something tells me no," Noelle suspected. "Otherwise Alphys would have returned them."
"So what's on them?" MK asked. He picked up the second tape. "Well, one way to find out, I guess."
"Feels a bit intruding, but now, I'll admit, I'm curious," Noelle said.
Noelle took out the first tape and MK put in the second, the machine whirring as it slid into place.
"Please don't be another one of those embarrassing ones," Asriel moaned.
The tape clicked and a new voice came out of the speakers, but again, there was no picture.
"Okay, Chara, are you ready? Do your creepy face!" There was a brief squeal from the speakers, followed by laughter.
"That voice…" Noelle said, looking at Frisk. They were glancing at Asriel's spirit form, which had gone rigid at hearing his own voice.
"Oh! Wait! I had the lens cap on… What!? You're not gonna do it again…? Come on, quick tricking me! Haha!"
The machine clicked indicating it was over.
"Was that…" MK trailed off, looking at Frisk, who nodded. "Is that what you sound like, Asriel?"
Frisk looked to the former prince, but he said nothing. He was just staring off into space.
"Maybe that's why Alphys didn't return these," Noelle thought aloud. "Maybe she thought it would torture him to hear his kid's voice."
"Well, good thing we don't care," MK said, already holding the third tape. "Let's see what sort of mischief you got up to with your sibling, 'your majesty'."
Frisk laughed at that and the title snapped Asriel to attention. "Stop laughing, Frisk!" he demanded.
'Sure thing, your highness,' they signed, making him groan.
While that was happening, Noelle was exchanging the two tapes.
The third clicked in the slot and like the last two, there was no picture.
"Howdy, Chara! Smile for the camera! Ha, this time I got YOU! I left the cap on… ON PURPOSE! Now you're smiling for noooo reason! Hee hee hee."
The kids giggled at that.
"What? Oh, yeah, I remember. When we tried to make butterscotch pie for Dad, right? The recipe asked for cups of butter… But we accidentally put in buttercups instead."
The kids laughter stopped when they heard that.
"Yeah! Those flowers got him really sick. I felt so bad. We made Mom really upset. I should have laughed it off, like you did… Um, anyway, where are you going with this? Huh? Turn off the camera…? OK."
The tape clicked, indicating it had reached the end.
"What was that all about?" MK wondered.
"Sounds like they poisoned the king," Noelle whispered.
"It was an accident," Asriel whimpered. "We didn't mean to."
Frisk quickly signed to their friends what was going on with Asriel.
"Hey, you made a mistake, dude, it's cool," MK assured. "Sure, it was a pretty big one, but your dad is tough! And he made it in the end, right?"
"You're just a kid," Noelle added. "You and Chara. It wasn't your fault what happened."
Asriel didn't respond to that. "Frisk, can we move on? I don't want to see anymore."
'I don't think the other two would agree,' Frisk signed.
"There can't be much left after that one. Things… let's just say they got real bad after that."
Frisk heard a click and saw the fourth tape already in the slot. 'It's not my choice to make.'
"I… I don't like this idea, Chara. Wh… what? N-no, I'm not… big kids don't cry. Yeah, you're right. No! I'd never doubt you, Chara. Never! Y… yeah! We'll be strong! We'll free everyone. I'll go get the flowers."
Everyone was silent when the tape clicked. Frisk looked at Asriel and he was trembling. Flowers? Free everyone? Frisk was able to guess what happened next.
Before they could say something, MK had already gotten the fifth and final tape and was switching it out with the fourth himself.
"Frisk, stop him. I… I don't want to see…" Asriel begged.
The tape clicked and MK pressed the play button.
"Chara… Can you hear me? We want you to wake up…" Toriel's voice begged.
"Chara!" Asgore's voice pleaded. "You have to stay determined! You can't give up! You are the future of humans and monsters…"
Then Asriel's voice came through. "…Psst… Chara… Please… Wake up… I don't like this plan anymore. I… I… no, I said… I said I'd never doubt you. Six, right? We just have to get six… And we'll do it together, right?"
The tape clicked.
Everyone was silent for several moments. Frisk looked at their friends to try and gauge their reactions. Noelle looked horrified, probably at what she had just learned from those tapes.
MK looked mad. He was visibly shaking.
"What. The. Hell," he said. "What was… I can't believe…" He stood up and spun to face Frisk. "What the hell, Asriel? What was that all about?"
'MK, calm down,' Frisk signed.
"Don't tell me to calm down. What was all that? Chara… we were taught that they died tragically, but they planned it?"
'What are you talking about?'
"You heard it too, man. Don't tell me you can't figure it out. You're smarter than me. Chara poisoned themself with the same flowers they poisoned the king with. Why?"
"We were trying to free everyone," Asriel muttered. "They just wanted…"
"Did they plan to kill you too, Asriel?" MK furiously demanded.
Asriel's shout of indignation was all the answer Frisk needed and they signed 'no' to MK.
'Why would you say that? They were friends,' Frisk signed.
"Well it didn't sound like it," MK said furiously. "Sounds like they convinced him to be a part of his own death and for what reason?"
'To try and free everyone!' Frisk signed, now mad.
"And look how well that turned out! We're still trapped down here and our prince is dead!"
"MK, stop," Noelle said meekly, covering her ears to protect them from the shouting.
"Was that their plan? To rob us of our prince and send us all into despair?!"
"Stop it," Asriel begged. Frisk could see his spirit curling up, hands covering his ears.
"They manipulated him into getting himself killed! Who does that? What kind of friend manipulates their friend into doing all that? I'll tell you what; a bad one. Only someone evil would..."
"SHUT UP!" Frisk shouted, startling everyone present. "Shut up! You don't know that! You don't know Chara, so don't blame them!"
"But…"
"It doesn't matter what Chara's intention were. We don't know them, so we can't know and don't say they were evil. For all we know, Asriel's death was an accident and they did intend to free everyone," Frisk said sharply. They were straining their voice, but they didn't care.
"Frisk… Asriel's still dead," MK defended.
"Doesn't matter. Yes, he's dead, but again, perhaps it was an accident. Did you know Chara personally? No. So you have no right to accuse Chara of anything that happened. But you know who does? The person you're accusing of being a pushover; Asriel. He knew Chara best, so don't say anything bad about him. Chara was his first friend. I would do anything for you guys, so does that make me a pushover?"
MK was hurt by that, but Frisk pushed forward. He needed to know he had crossed a line.
"Chara may not have been the best person, but that doesn't mean they were the worst, either. Don't assume bad things about them just because of this mistake. They may have meant the best, but it just went wrong."
MK bowed his head, looking thoroughly chastised.
Frisk turned away, sitting down in the doorway, tucking their legs to their chest. MK lingered where he stood for a moment before coming over.
"Sorry for saying all that, dude," MK apologized. "And sorry you got caught in the middle of all that. I just… can't believe it. We were told our whole lives that Asriel absorbed Chara's Soul to grant them their last wish and that his death was a tragedy. This… changes everything."
'That doesn't justify you snapping at Asriel. Or at me while trying to scream at him,' Frisk signed.
"I wasn't screaming," MK weakly protested.
'It was close enough.'
MK had nothing in response to that. He sat down next to Frisk. "Part of what I said still stands, though. A real friend wouldn't have asked Asriel to do any of that."
'I agree on that, but we don't know Chara, so we can't say they had malicious intent,' Frisk signed.
"I know. But… why would you even agree to do that, Asriel?" MK asked. "Surely you know that plan… it's messed up."
Frisk looked over at Asriel's spirit, but he was quiet. He just buried his face in his legs.
Noelle came over, seeing it was safe again. "Well, if Chara was his only friend, it makes sense. And… it is kinda sweet from a certain point of view. They give their life up for their best friend so he can get the power he needs to free his people. If one of you asked me to do that… I'd probably agree to it, too."
"But it's still messed up, dude," MK argued. "The only way to get human Souls is to kill them. Killing six people… that's kinda extreme."
Noelle nervously shuffled on her feet. "Well, think of it this way. Sacrifice seven people to free thousands. I don't want to put it like that, but really, there's no contest."
"It's still wrong," MK insisted.
'I don't want to argue the point,' Frisk signed. 'It's a plan that makes sense, but it does still involve murder. But from a certain point of view, killing seven people would be a very small price to pay.'
Noelle sat down. "And… like I said, Chara was Asriel's only friend. It wouldn't be hard to make him go along with it. I certainly would."
"You wouldn't really, would you?" MK asked.
"I probably would," Noelle meekly admitted. "I would go along with whatever they said. I always have. I just… can't say no to anyone."
"But you seem so strong with us," MK pointed out. "You don't go along with Berdly when he tries to co-opt you."
"Only because you guys get to me first and you're my friends," Noelle explained. "I only stand up to him because you guys do. If you told me to do something, I wouldn't be able to say no."
'Don't sell yourself short,' Frisk signed. 'You're stronger than you think. You just need people who believe in you.'
"Thanks, Frisk," Noelle said with a smile, which quickly fell. "But I don't know if that will ever happen."
'It might. You just need to do what you believe is right.'
"Not to kill the moment," MK interrupted, "but we still need to find Alphys. We've been looking all over this place and we haven't found her."
"Maybe she went back upstairs?" Noelle suggested. "We have been down here a while."
'I'm not so sure,' Frisk signed. 'Something tells me she's still down here. Whatever those experiments she did with those Monsters, I think it has something to do with why she's down here.'
"But where are they? We haven't seen anyone else since we came down here," Noelle pointed out.
MK was about to say something, when a white-ish goo landed on his shoulder. "Eew. What is this?" He touched it with his tail and it stretched between his shirt and tail.
Then a thought occurred to all four of them and they tilted their heads back. Above them was a white bird-like Monster, with a mouth for an eye, legs for a mouth, small wings that ended in wings for claws, long, dripping legs that ended in talons. The mouth-eye looked at them and the mouth-legs flipped from one side of the head to the other.
"AAAAHHH!" They bolted up and ran away from the amorphous creature.
"What the hell was that thing?!" MK shouted as he ran.
"No Monster I know of!" Noelle yelled.
As they ran down the hall, they heard a hollow, echoing pant further down. They came to a stop and a six legged, melting creature with a single orifice in its head with two triangular ears came up.
"Other way!" MK shouted, turning completely around, almost tripping over his feet. Frisk and Noelle were right on his heels, the strange creature bounding toward them. They passed by the room they came out of, running in front of the strange skull-like machine.
They were stopped when another dripping, amorphous entity came slithering up. It had a head that resembled a Moldsmol, two muscular arms, an aquatic torso and a long tail.
"Not that way!" MK shouted, turning again, only to fall on his face from the speed of his spin.
They prepared to run the other way, only for the second creature to come bounding up, followed by the first.
"Please don't hurt us," Noelle whimpered.
Frisk conjured fire in their palms, ready to fight if needed as MK stood back up.
"What are these things?" MK wondered aloud, him and Noelle crouching behind Frisk, who at this point, while still shorter, was big enough for them to hide behind.
Frisk had no answers and neither did Asriel for that matter.
"I've never seen Monsters like this before. But, you know, some of them look familiar," Asriel said.
Frisk tried to look closer at the strange Monsters, wondering what Asriel was talking about. As they did, they did start to see some similarities to other Monsters they had seen around. In fact, the tall, bird-like one held a lot of vague similarities to Monsters they had seen in the Ruins.
Then it occurred to them. Alphys' entries. The experiments. The Monsters she experimented on. Were these… those Monsters? They tried to think of any of the Monster's names, hoping that saying one would help. What was that fish one from Waterfall? The sister who had fallen down?
"Shyra?" they struggled to say. The more aquatic one perked up when it heard that name.
"How do you know my name?" they asked.
Frisk looked over at the six-legged one. They could see the elements of several dogs in one. They tried to think of one of the old dog's names they had heard from the canine unit.
"Muttler?" they got out and the creature perked up.
The last one, the bird-like one, appeared curious, like it hoped they knew who it was.
Amazingly, Noelle was able to recognize them instead. "W-wait… I… I know you guys. You were all old Royal Guards, right?"
"What are you so afraid of?""Robbit, robbit""Courage…" they said.
MK was amazed and Frisk dispelled the fire in their hands. 'These are the Monsters Alphys experimented on, aren't they?'
"Yes," Noelle realized. "I… guess this explains why she didn't send them home. But… what happened to all of you?"
"We fell down,""Lost hope,""All went dark," the bird said.
"Then we woke up…" the aquatic one said. "But then… we melted into each other and now we can't separate."
"So… Alphys did something that caused all these Monsters to… amalgamate into each other?" MK questioned. Frisk and Noelle looked at him in amazement. "What? I spend a lot of time with you two. I'm bound to pick up a word or two."
"It looks that way… wait! There were others. Snowdrake's mother, Crystal," Noelle remembered. "What happened to her?"
"Melted into too many," the third one said. "Lost her mind, worse than the rest of us."
"But… how?" MK questioned. "How could this have happened? I've never heard of anything like this to happen to any Monster anywhere!"
"Frisk, has anything like this happened too… um…" Noelle looked at the Amalgamates before whispering the rest of her question to Frisk. "To any humans?"
Frisk shook their head. 'I've never heard of anything like this.'
"Wait… wasn't Alphys concerned about your DT levels being too high for a Monster?" Asriel asked. "What if Determination has something to do with it?"
Frisk thought on that. Could that be it? Determination?
'Noelle, do you know what might happen when a Monster has too much Determination?' they asked.
"No. Monsters normally don't have much, if any," Noelle pointed out. "It's something only humans have."
Frisk glanced at the Amalgamates. 'What if that's what happened? Alphys injected them with human Determination and it doesn't agree with Monster bodies.'
"But, dude, how would she get it?" MK questioned. "Alphys said that stuff resides in human Souls and the last human died long before these guys fell down."
Frisk glanced at the giant skull-like machine they were all in front of. 'My money's on the scary-looking machine.'
Noelle saw a panel next to it and activated it. "DT Extractor," she read. "This is probably it."
"Man," MK said. "What has Alphys done?"
"At least she saved their lives," Noelle pointed out.
"This is almost worse," MK exasperated.
'Let's not argue about this,' Frisk decided. 'I doubt she knew what would happen.'
"Still… these guys have been down here for six years," MK emphasized.
"But where is Alphys?" Noelle wondered.
Frisk had an idea. 'Do you guys know where Crystal is?' they asked the Amalgamates. They all said yes in various ways. 'Can you take us to her?'
The three Amalgamates lead the three kids back through the True Lab, past the lobby and through the left hallway. As they walked, they could hear Alphys' voice echoing from up ahead.
"…now, i-it's okay," they could hear her say. "J-just let me run a test and I-I'll let you go."
"Go… ho…me…"
"Um… well, n-not quite yet. B-but I-I think I-I'm close to a solution."
They entered an examination room and Frisk looked around at some of the familiar devices. Alphys was working at a console and another Amalgamate that resembled Snowdrake, but even more melted than the other three and with Vegetoids for eyes, was sitting on an examination table.
Alphys jumped when she saw the other three Amalgamates. "Oh! Y-you scared me! W-what are you doing here?"
The kids stepped out from behind the larger Monsters. They got a better look at the fourth Amalgamate and Noelle and MK cringed at the sight of her.
Alphys froze up at the sight of the kids. "W-what are you… doing here?"
"We… uh…" Noelle forced herself to look away from the melting Monster to Alphys. "We came looking for you."
"And we found way more than we were looking for," MK added, pointing to the Amalgamates behind them.
Alphys whimpered.
'It's okay,' Frisk assured. 'We're not mad. We're assuming this was an accident. You didn't know what would happen.'
Alphys looked down sadly. "No. I didn't. But if I did, I never would have done this to them."
"Can't you fix them?" MK asked.
"I've tried!" Alphys shouted. "I've been trying for six years! There's… there's no way to fix what's happened to them."
Frisk sighed.
"Frisk, we came down here to find answers as to how I could be here," Asriel reminded. "I don't want to ruin the moment, but we do need answers to that."
Frisk wasn't sure how to ask Alphys the needed questions without arousing suspicion. But Frisk had a hunch that Determination might play a role. 'Was there anything else you experimented on with Determination?' they asked.
"H-how did you know Determination is what did it?" she asked.
"We sort of figured it out ourselves," MK answered.
Alphys looked down. "W-well, the experiment was to try and make a Monster's Soul persist after death so we could use it to break the barrier. But since Monster Souls can't be absorbed by Monsters, I experimented with flowers, injecting them with Determination to try and create a vessel that could wield the Souls when the time came."
"Why a flower? And why Determination?" Noelle asked.
"W-well, I had a theory. What would happen if something without a Soul gained the will to live? Determination is the will to change fate and the desire to keep living. So… I gave it to a few flowers to see what would happen. But… nothing ever came of it."
Something clicked in Frisk's mind at that. Then, pieces started sliding into place in their mind and a possible explanation came to them. And the more they thought on it, the more it made sense. It… was more than likely. It was probably what happened!
"I-I'm sorry you guys had to see this. I… I guess you're going to tell everyone what I've done?" Alphys asked tonelessly.
Frisk shook their head. 'Nah. We won't. We'll keep this secret for now. But… you will have to tell people at some point.'
"I… I don't think I can do that. I mean… what will happen when their families see what's happened to these people?"
'They've been waiting for six years, Alphys,' Frisk pointed out. 'I think, at this point, it won't matter to them. They'll just be happy to have their missing families back together.'
Alphys sighed, but didn't say anything.
'We'll let you decide what to do,' Frisk said. 'But I think we've spent enough time down here. We should go, before our families start to wonder where we are.'
"Good idea," Noelle agreed. "It's probably starting to get late."
Bye, doc!" MK said in parting as the group left.
As they ascended in the elevator, Frisk faced their friends.
'I think I know what happened now,' they signed.
"About Asriel?" Noelle asked for clarification, to which Frisk nodded. "So, what happened?"
'Okay, well, Determination is the desire to keep living, right? It's what allows human Souls to persist after death and Alphys thought she could give something without a Soul the will to live.'
"That's what she said," MK confirmed.
'Well, I used to be human, so my Soul probably has a lot of Determination. And it's probably spread to my entire body as well.'
"That makes sense, but wait," Noelle said. "Monster bodies can't handle Determination and that's what you are now. So… why aren't you… like them?" she asked, referring to the Amalgamates.
'Not sure, but it's not really relevant to this,' Frisk signed. 'Now, when a Monster dies, they turn to dust. And you have a ritual where you spread that Monster's dust on what they loved in life so that their essence 'lives on' in that thing.'
"Yeah. We had to write a paper about that a couple years ago," MK said, sounding annoyed.
"Where are you going with this, Frisk?" Noelle asked.
'I think the reason Asriel is back is because his dust got in my fur and my Determination woke him up,' Frisk explained. 'It's why he's conscious now. His essence spread to me and my Determination brought him back.'
Noelle and MK looked surprised, but they were able to see the logic.
"That does make sense," Noelle mused. "I guess it's possible that's what happened to bring Asriel back."
"Hold on," MK interrupted. "How did his dust get to you? He died like a hundred years ago. When could you have gotten his dust in your fur?"
'I've already thought of that and I think I have an idea,' Frisk signed. 'On the day mom brought me home, dad gave her a bunch of things as a housewarming gift and to help support me. Among them was a very dusty teddy bear. When I hugged it, a lot of the dust came flying off. What if that dust was Asriel's? It looked like a very well-loved toy, so it makes sense his parents would spread some of his dust on it.'
MK's faced was scrunched up as he thought it over. "Huh. That does make sense. If the dust from the bear was from Asriel and if you slept with it, it makes sense that some of the dust would get on you."
"Wait," Noelle interrupted. "Frisk, did you just call the king… dad?"
Frisk straightened in surprise. Had they? It just slipped out. Toriel kept trying to keep them away, but his joyful personality and friendly demeanor just made Frisk feel so comfortable around him. 'I guess I did. Does that bother you?'
"Not really. Just took me by surprise is all," Noelle assured. "I wouldn't think you'd grow to care for him like that, considering what he originally wanted you for."
Frisk shrugged. 'What can I say? He just feels like a good dad.'
"Back to the subject at hand," MK said. "Was this toy really Asriel's?"
'Asgore did say it belonged to his son and Asriel was his only child, not counting Chara. So, it makes sense.'
"Mr. Fluffington!" Asriel suddenly shouted.
Frisk couldn't suppress the giggle at the childish name. 'Mr. Fluffington?' they signed for Noelle and MK's benefit, who also giggled. 'Was that its name?'
"Yeah. Dad got it for me on my fourth birthday," Asriel said. "I slept with him every night." Frisk was still trying to suppress the giggles at the name. "I forgot about him until you mentioned him a couple minutes ago. Stop laughing!"
'But it's so cute,' Frisk signed. 'Did you name it or did Asgore?'
"I did!"
"Wow! Does bad naming run in the family?" MK giggled.
"Stop laughing!" Asriel protested.
The elevator dinged and they walked out into Alphys' lab.
"Well, this was certainly an adventure," Noelle said, getting her breath back from all the laughing.
"Same time tomorrow?" MK asked.
'Sure thing,' Frisk agreed.
"Cool! Well, better get home before our parents start worrying about us," MK suggested.
They walked back through Waterfall and headed straight for Snowdin.
End of Chapter 18
