A Maelstrom's Tale
Chapter 11: End of the Road
Upon reaching the top floor of the elevator, Naruto along with Frisk and Nikan exited from it to find themselves in a familiar area, it appears that they're back in New Home. Naruto looked behind him to see that the elevator doors by thick green vines which got him to frown in suspicion about how it came to be so but he was snapped out of his thoughts when Frisk called out to him.
"What happens now?" asked Frisk curiously.
Naruto hummed in thought, trying to come up with the best options but is stuck on one which he's rather reluctant on choosing "I've got one. As much as I don't like it, we'll go and confront Asgore again but this time, we'll make sure that Flowey doesn't try to launch any sneak attacks to kill him,"
"Are you sure? I really don't want to fight him,"
"*Whine*," Nikan was in agreement with Frisk, having come to like the kindhearted king.
Naruto sighed in understanding "I feel the same way, but I don't know what else we can do besides hoping for a miracle of sorts,"
"Me too, let's go,"
The group proceeded to make their way back to the throne room and into the area where the barrier barred the way to the outside world with Asgore waiting ever patiently for them to return for what needs to be done.
"Oh…you're back so soon? Then it means that you're ready," said Asgore.
"Asgore, you need to listen…," Frisk tried to explain but was ignored.
"Humans, it was nice to meet you…goodbye," the king of monsters lowered his head and was about to bring out his trident.
"Do we really have to fight again? Once is already enough for me," Naruto groaned.
The blonde reached for his bokken with Frisk reluctantly reaching for the Worn Dagger when something shot past them and slammed into Asgore, revealing to be a fireball which knocked the surprised king down to the ground.
"That attack…isn't it…," Naruto blinked in realization as a very familiar voice spoke up from behind them.
"What a miserable creature, torturing such poor innocent youth,"
"Toriel/Toriel-obasan!" Naruto and Frisk exclaimed as they turned towards said person who approached them with a soft smile.
BGM Start: Fallen Down
"It is good to see that you're both safe," said Toriel.
"What brought you all the way out here?" asked Frisk in mild confusion.
"In the beginning, I intended to let you make your journey on your own but I couldn't stop worrying about you two. Especially when it will leave you both to make a painful choice; to leave this place meant to take the life of another person, you would have t defeat Asgore,"
"Yeah, we know that too well," thought Naruto, considering that they had already gone through that already.
"That was when I realized that I could not let that happen and came to prevent it," Toriel explained "As terrible as Asgore is, he too deserves mercy,"
"Tori…you came back…!" said Asgore in shock and a bit of happiness, but he flinched when she scowled at him.
"Don't 'Tori' me, Dremurr! If you really wanted to save our kind, you could have gone through the Barrier after taking one human SOUL then returned to shatter it after taking the remaining six SOULS from the outside. But you rather chose to let everyone live in despair whilst meekly hoping that another human doesn't appear," Toriel scolded.
Naruto frowned at this, finding familiarity in her statement and realized as that was exactly what Asriel and Chara did which led to them getting killed by the humans. Even so, he was seeing a lot of flaws in her plan as well. The chances of Asgore meeting the same fate are very high as it would be one monster against the human race, he would have been captured by them or worse…
"…you're right, I'm a miserable creature who is too cowardly to do what was needed of him. Is there any chance that we could at least be friends again?" asked Asgore pleadingly.
"…NO Asgore," said Toriel, making the king bow his head in sadness.
"Okay, that's going too far," Naruto muttered lowly.
"She doesn't have to be so hard on him," said Frisk sadly, seeing how hurt Asgore is.
Suddenly, someone came rushing in much to everyone's surprise "NGAAAAAHHHH! Asgore! Humans! Nobody fight each other but become friends or I'm gonna….," it turns to be Undyne who showed up to stop the supposed fight, that was until she saw the people around her "…uh…,"
"Undyne, you're too?" said Naruto.
"Oh hello, are you their friend as well? It's nice to meet you," said Toriel politely.
"Uh yeah, nice to meet you too," Undyne went over to Asgore and whispered to him "Hey Asgore, is that your ex?"
"…," the king could only nod silently.
"Whoa man, that's pretty rough,"
"H-Hey, nobody hurt each other!" the next person to show up was Alphys who gulped nervously upon seeing the crowd especially Toriel and Undyne.
Toriel smiled in greeting "Oh hello, you must be Naruto and Frisk's friend as well. I'm Toriel,"
"Uh h-h-h-hi!" Alphys responded nervously before moving to stand next to Undyne.
Soon enough, another made an appearance and it was Papyrus this time "Hey! Nobody fight anyone! Otherwise…I'll…ask Undyne for help!"
"Um Papyrus, Undyne is over there," Frisk pointed at said person for the skeleton to see.
"Oh…well, that just makes things much easier!" Papyrus declared confidently much to their amusement.
"Hey everyone…how's it going?" at this point, it's no surprise that Sans showed up.
"That voice…," Toriel quickly approached Sans "Hello, I believe we have met before,"
"I believe we did," said Sans.
As they introduced themselves properly to each other, another person showed in a haste "King Asgore, please don't fight the humans! They aren't bad like I thought!"
"Red? What are you doing here, I thought I told you to be on patrol!" said Undyne angrily.
"I'm sorry lady Undyne, but I couldn't bear the thought of the humans and King Asgore fighting each other. So, I had to come and stop them from fighting," Red explained.
Undyne grumbled "And here I was trying to prevent you three from meeting each other, but at least you're friends from what I'm seeing so I guess it's okay in the end,"
"Why were you trying to keep her away from them?" asked Alphys.
"Red had a bad thing about humans and hated them, so I gave her a mission to patrol an area where she wouldn't bump into them…guess it didn't turn out the way I wanted," Undyne explained.
"Well…," Alphys looked at Naruto introducing Red to Frisk who seemed to clench one of Naruto's arms and tugging him away with puffed up cheeks and Red looked a bit put off by her actions "…at least she doesn't hate them,"
Toriel giggled at the sight of the children and monster interacting with each other "Hee hee hee. My children, it seems as if you must stay here for a while. But looking at all the great friends you have made...I think... I think you will be happy here,"
Naruto smiled in response "I guess we will, at least could find a way to contact the outside while we're here,"
"H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus...you were the one who called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her," Alphys glanced at Toriel still looking at the children fondly "Uh, anyway... If I got here before you...how did you know how to call everybody?"
Papyrus hummed in response "Let's just say...a tiny flower helped me,"
A chill ran down the spines of Naruto, Frisk and Alphys as they turned towards the friendly skeleton with wide eyes of shock much to the confusion of everyone around them, wondering why they reacted to the sentence so strongly.
"A tiny...flower?" Alphys stammered fearfully.
Before anyone could react, multiple thick green vines burst out from the ground and proceeded to constrict each and every one of them. Trying with all their might, none of them could free themselves from the vines. Soon, Flowey emerged from the ground with a smug look on his face.
BGM Change: You Idiot
"You idiots. While you guys were having your little pow-wow...I took the human SOULS! And now, not only are those under my power... But all of your friends' SOULS are gonna be mine, too! Hee hee hee. And you know what the best part is? It's all your fault," Flowey cackled.
"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto, reprimanding himself for having let his guard down after what happened the first time when they had fought Asgore.
"It's all because you made them love you. All the time you spent listening to them...encouraging them...caring about them...without that, they wouldn't have come here. And now, with their souls and the humans' together...I will achieve my real form. Hee hee...,"
"Why are you doing this?" asked Frisk.
"Why am I still doing this? Don't you get it? This is all just a game. If you leave the underground satisfied, you'll 'win' the game. If you 'win', you won't want to 'play' with me anymore. And what would I do then? But this game between us will never end. I'll hold victory in front of you, just within your reach...and then tear it away just before you grasp it. Over, and over, and over... Hee hee hee. Listen. If you do defeat me, I'll give you your 'happy ending.' I'll bring your friends back. I'll destroy the barrier. Everyone will finally be satisfied. But that won't happen. You...! I'll keep you here no matter what!"
Flowey then made his Friendliness Pellets around the children and wolf pup, making the monsters realize in horror what is about to happen with the flower sneering.
"Even if it means killing you 1,000,000 times!"
Flowey cackled madly as the he launched waves upon waves of pellets, damaging the SOULs each time with the monsters struggling to break free but to no avail.
"Stop it, stop hurting them!" Red cried out amidst her struggles but was ignored as Flowey continued to attack.
He launched one last wave to finish them off when a ring of fireballs suddenly appeared around them and blocked the incoming pellets much to the flower's confusion.
"What?" Flowey frowned at what just happened.
BGM Change: Don't Give Up
Toriel spoke up with a pained smile "Do not be afraid my child...no matter what happens...we will always be there to protect you!"
Flowey scoffed at this and attacked again only to be blocked by walls of blue energy spears, large bladed gears and bones.
"That's right, humans and not annoying dog! You can win! Just do what I would do...Believe in you!" Papyrus declared with an encouraging smile.
Undyne added with a wide grin "Hey! If you got past me, you can do anything! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!"
"We won't let you hurt them anymore than you already have, you stupid weed! I'm gonna protect my friends!" said Red, whilst glaring at Flowey.
"Huh? You haven't beaten this guy yet? Come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you," said Sans with a wink.
Flowey attacked yet again and was once more obstructed by walls of fire and lightining bolts, frustrating him further as Naruto and the others continued to recover from the attacks.
"Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him...B-but...Somehow, I know you can do it!" Alphys spoke confidently.
"Human, for the future of humans and monsters...! You have to stay determined...!" Asgore spoke up in encouragement.
Soon after, many monsters whom they had met throughout their journey appeared and began to cheer them on in support against a flabbergasted Flowey.
Shyren sang "La la la la!"
Vulkin steamed "We're with you too!"
Monster Kid nodded eagerly "C'mon, you guys got this!"
Muffet smiled, mostly at Naruto "You've got to win!
One of the Royal Guards clanged his sword against his armor "You can do it!"
Froggit hopped up and down in place "Ribbit,"
"You guys, you came all this way for us," Naruto rose to his feet as his and Frisk's SOULs pulsed strongly and recovered back to their full strength with Naruto's left eye and Frisk's body radiating the white aura of Determination "...Thank you,"
"We're really thankful for being our friends," said Frisk gratefully.
"Urrrgh...NO! Unbelievable! This can't be happening! You...You...!" Flowey looked around in shock before…smiling madly? "I can't believe you're all so stupid,"
BGM Stop
Naruto's eyes widened at the sentence and realized what was about to happen "EVERYONE, YOU NEED TO RUN AWAY NOW!" but the warning came too late as Flowey called upon the six Human SOULs around him.
"ALL OF YOUR SOULS ARE MINE!" Flowey laughed insanely as everywhere turned white, forcing Naruto and Frisk to close their eyes, Nikan let out a yelp before leaping into the former's arms to avoid getting blinded as well.
The trio slowly opened their eyes and cautiously looked around to find standing in a void of complete darkness with no sign of light whatsoever, just like when they faced Photoshop Flowey.
"This is just like before, except it's worse this time," said Frisk worriedly.
"I know, stay sharp and keep an eye out for Flowey," said Naruto, already unsheathing his bokken with his left eye still glowing with Determination.
"Finally, I was so tired of being a flower," a voice spoke up through, they recognized it to be the one that called on Frisk's phone back in the True Lab. They turned around only to be shocked upon who was standing before.
The shock was understandable considering the fact that the person standing before them was supposed to be dead but here he was, never changed a bit in appearance. Asriel Dreemurr, the son of Asgore and Toriel.
"So this whole time, Flowey was actually Asriel?" asked Naruto in shock.
"How is it possible?" Frisk couldn't make sense of it either.
Asriel moved his arms around a bit before turning to the children but mostly focused on Frisk "Howdy! Chara. It's me, your best friend,"
Frisk blinked in confusion "Chara? But I'm not Chara,"
There was a flash of light, revealing that Asriel had transformed into an older version of himself, wearing a dark robe similar to what Toriel wears, a locket around his neck which is like the one Frisk is wearing, and let's not forget that he's currently hovering in the air and their SOULs practically leapt out of their chest to signal a battle with no questions asked.
BGM Start: Hopes and Dreams
Naruto immediately used Check to learn more about Asriel, but he wasn't liking what the information was telling him.
[Asriel Dreemurr. Legendary being made of every SOUL in the underground. The Absolute GOD of Hyperdeath!]
Asriel snapped his fingers, conjuring multiple fireballs before remotely controlling them to attack the children and wolf pup from different angles, Frisk quickly thrust her hands forward and channeled her Determination to create a red circular energy shield to block whilst Naruto did the same but stylized his shield to resemble that of a Ballistic Shield that SWAT teams normally use with Nikan taking cover behind it until the attack stopped.
"He also uses fire magic?" asked Frisk.
"Not surprising, considering who his parents are," Naruto replied.
Asriel looked down at them in amusement Naruto and Frisk's SOULs pulsed as if warning them of a powerful incoming attack. Sure enough, Asriel initiated his Star Blazing attack; calling forth large star-shaped projectiles to descend towards them like a hailstorm in rapid succession as each one detonated into expanding rings of smaller projectiles with Naruto and Frisk maneuvering around them to avoid getting until a much larger star detonated directly above them with a larger amount compared to the smaller ones with the children having to block them with their shields.
"You know...I don't care about destroying this world anymore," Asriel snapped his fingers as he used Shocker Breaker, calling down bolts of lightning from above, Naruto and the others instinctively sensed where the bolts were about to strike and darted out of the way, even more so when larger bolts swept through the field.
The hairs on the back of Naruto's neck raised, he spun around and raised his bokken enhanced with his Determination in time to block an attack from Asriel's Chaos Sabers. The godly monster pushed him and proceeded to slash at him rapidly with the blades while Naruto utilized his Storm Form to parry the attacks as well as evading them with dodge rolls and somersaults, Asriel clanged his sabers together to create sparks to attack but Naruto deflected them before they could hit.
"After I defeat you and gain total control over the timeline...I just want to reset everything," Asriel snapped his fingers again to use the Shocker Breaker "All your progress...everyone's memories. I'll bring them all back to zero! Then we can do everything ALL over again."
Again, the children and wolf pup took evasive action to avoid being struck by the lightning bolts razing the battlefield around them, Asriel relentlessly followed up with Star Blazing. Frisk came up with an idea as she brought out her phone, switching it to Shooting Mode with her SOUL changing colors to yellow and fired at the descending stars to forcefully detonate them earlier. Naruto followed suit by bringing out the Empty Gun and helping her shoot down the falling stars before the largest one began falling towards them.
"Let's shoot it together!" said Naruto urgently, recharging the gun with his Determination before taking aim.
Frisk nodded in affirmation "Okay!" they fired at the large star and were successful in detonating the star and avoided the expanding rings of miniature stars.
"And you know what the best part of all this is? You'll DO it," Asriel attacked Frisk with his Chaos Sabers, she darted in and out of the range of his incoming strikes with her Determination enhancing her physical capabilities "And then you'll lose to me again, and again, and again!"
Asriel now summoned a blaster before him to use his Chaos Buster, rapidly firing spreadshots of magic bullets which Naruto and Frisk quickly formed their Shields of Determination to block them. The blaster began to shake violently before the muzzle suddenly widened to fire a charged laser beam, shattering their shields and inflicting great damage on both of them.
"We can't give up here, not when everyone is counting on us," Naruto groaned out, rising back to his feet, tightening the grip on his bokken.
"Y-Yes, we need to help our friends!" said Frisk, getting to her feet as well.
"Arf!" Nikan shook his head and stood next to them to help, the marking on the forehead beginning to glow white with Determination.
Within their minds, the words HOPE appeared and felt their bodies heal a bit of the damage, enabling them to continue battling Asriel who appeared to be amused that they were still resisting him.
"Isn't this delicious? Your 'Determination', the power that let you get this far...it's gonna be your downfall!"
Asriel attacked once more, using a combination of Galactica Blazing, Chaos Slicer, Chaos Blaster, and a more powerful version of the Shocker Breaker. However, Naruto, Frisk and Nikan refused to give in, continuing to hold on to their HOPE and remaining Determined to stop Asriel and his ideals.
"Now, enough messing around! It's time to purge this timeline once and for all!" Asriel raised his hands above his head and disappeared before them. In his place appeared a large creature which Naruto noticed resembling the DT Extraction Machine in the True Lab.
The creature cackled madly before opening its mouth to create a vortex which was pulling them in along with diamond-shaped projectiles. Naruto stabbed his bokken to the ground and held on with Frisk and Nikan grabbing hold of him while she formed a domed shield around them to guard against the projectiles until the creature disappeared and Asriel appeared before them again.
"...even after I used the Hyper Goner, you're still standing in my way...? Wow...you really are something special. But don't get cocky. Up until now, I've only been using a fraction of my real power! Let's see what good your Determination is against this!"
"He wasn't being serious before?" asked Frisk.
"I had a feeling that was case," said Naruto, pulling out his bokken and holding it to the side. Nikan whined mildly in concern about all this.
There was a bright flash of light which dissipated to reveal that Asriel had transformed yet again, this time he was about the size of a giant with a pair of large which were constantly changing color, detached floating arms, a core with a heart marking and his lower body was shaped like an arrow. Naruto recalled something disturbing as he looked at the monster.
[However…there is a prophecy. The Angel, the one who has seen the surface…they will return and the Underground will go empty]
"Oh kami, the prophecy was talking about this the whole time," thought Naruto in horror.
BGM Change: Burn in Despair!
Asriel laughed loudly in triumph "Urah ha ha...Behold my TRUE power!" he spread out his arms as a barrage of energy-based comet projectiles launched from his fingertips in massive waves.
The children and wolf pup made to defend themselves but soon discovered that they couldn't move their bodies, leaving them defenseless and were damaged to the point of no recovery and their SOULs shattered into pieces…
…
…
…
…but they REFUSED.
Their SOULs repaired themselves as they revived but were still unable to move their bodies.
"I still can't move," said Frisk amidst struggles
"I'm trying but it's like my body isn't listening to me," Naruto grunted in response.
Asriel sneered at them "I can feel it... Every time you die, your grip on this world slips away. Every time you die, your friends forget you a little more. Your life will end here, in a world where no one remembers you...,"
He blasted them once more with his magic comets, killing them but they revived once more with their SOULs restored, amusing him even more.
"Still you're hanging on...? That's fine. In a few moments, you'll forget everything, too. That attitude will serve you well in your next life!"
"We won't…forget…," Frisk muttered out but was killed once more by the comets with Naruto and Nikan before they revived yet again.
"Ura ha ha... Still!? Come on... Show me what good your Determination is now!"
Naruto grunted out "Can't move…need to access…the SAVE File…," he called for the option but nothing happened "What?" he tried again but still couldn't access "No way…I can't use the SAVE File…this can't be the end…,"
"Naruto…what if…we use what's left…to SAVE everyone else…," Frisk muttered.
BGM Change: SAVE the World
Naruto's widened at the implication before narrowing in focus "You're right…we reloaded to make sure that no one dies this time…and we're gonna do just that!" their SOULs strongly in response to their as the memories of everything they had gone through and the friends they bonded with flowed through their minds.
Asriel frowned seeing the expressions of despair disappear from their faces and were replaced with courage "Huh? What are you planning on doing...?"
The children closed their eyes and focused; They're in there somewhere, aren't they?...suddenly within the depths of ASRIEL's SOUL, something's resonating…! Their SOULs left their bodies and went into Asriel's Core with Nikan watching on.
Within the void, the SOULs glowed for a moment before taking ethereal forms of Naruto and Frisk as they looked around and felt their bodies tugging in certain directions.
"Let's go look for them!" said Naruto.
Frisk nodded in affirmation "Right!" they split, letting their SOULs pull towards where they felt the resonance.
Naruto came across a Lost Soul but a closer look reveals that it was actually Undyne judging by the clothes due to her face being obscured with white mosaic, he made to approach when she suddenly conjured an energy spear and took an aggressive stance against him
"All humans will die!" she declared.
"She doesn't recognize me?" said Naruto then recalled what Asriel said before "Then I'll just have to help her remember,"
He felt a familiar weight in his hand and looked down to see an energy construct of his bokken which he held in his Gale Form. Undyne summoned several energy spears around her before launching them towards Naruto, he was familiar with her fighting style and deflected each and every one of them without any effort "Come on Undyne-san, let me see the same passion you had when we were cooking spaghetti and meatballs together!" this left a sense of familiarity on her but she shrugged off.
"You are our real enemy!" Undyne accused as she stabbed at Naruto with her spear while he constantly parries them.
"If I am your enemy, then let's put it to the test," Naruto deflected a thrust before swiftly closing in and lightly tapping her knee with a fist.
"This is…," Undyne felt even stronger feelings of familiarity from what he just did, this caused all of her memories to come flooding back with the mosaic disappearing from her as she grinned fondly at Naruto "Well, some humans are okay. I guess,"
Naruto smiled in response "Glad to hear that, I'm going to find the others,"
"Go and show em what for, punk!" Undyne saw him off with a thumbs up before floating away.
Meanwhile, Frisk had come across the Lost Soul of Alphys and was trying to help her remember.
"You hate me, don't you?" asked Alphys in depression.
Frisk shook her head "I don't hate you, Alphys. You're a nice monster who loves anime like Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, you still haven't told me more about it,"
The Royal Scientist looked like she was about to give a lecture but barely held herself back and sighed sadly "I've got to keep lying…," she deployed several Mini-Mettatons to attack Frisk. She instinctively created an energy construct of her phone and shot them all down before they could attack.
"You don't have to lie anymore, we all accept you and your flaws because you're our friend," Frisk called Alphys' phone, making her bring out her own to answer it. This caused her memories to come rushing back to her and her being visible.
"You're right, my friends like me! And I like you too!" said Alphys, her memories restored.
Frisk nodded happily "And it's the absolute truth, I'm going to find the others,"
"Please be careful,"
"I will,"
Back with Naruto, he was searching for a Lost Soul when he found one of Red who drew out her saber and pointed it at him.
"I will destroy all humans!" said Red, lunging at him with a stab which he quickly parried to the side before moving away with her pursuing after him and rapidly slashing.
"You don't want to fight me Red-chan, you admitted that forcing yourself to hate someone totally sucks," said Naruto, Red stepped back as she found those words to be rather familiar for some reason before snapping back into focus.
"Humans must be hunted; you will fall by my blade!" Red summoned her bladed gears and launched them at Naruto, he managed to evade them without getting hit before parrying a thrust from his left by Red who was attempting to flank him.
"Come on, Red-chan. There's no point in us fighting, we could simply have lunch together and talk about anime with Undyne and Alphys. I'm sure you'd love to do that," said Naruto.
Red paused at this as a memory of Naruto and her sat together while sharing a burger and a drink together, then the other memories came rushing back to her with the mosaic disappearing and allowing her face to be seen.
"No! I don't want to hunt you, you're my first human friend!" said Red, looking horrified at the thought of it.
"Glad to see that you're okay now, Red-chan. I'm going to find the rest!" said Naruto with a smile.
Red nodded in affirmation "Go get em bucko! We're counting on you!"
Frisk felt a bit peeved for some unknown reason but had to snap back into focus as she's currently dealing with the hostile nature of the Lost Souls of Sans and Papyrus which she found rather saddening considering how kind they actually are.
"I must capture a human!" Papyrus declared.
"Just give up, I did," said Sans in a monotone voice.
Frisk was avoiding the incoming bones by leaping over them de to her SOUL having changed color to Blue and is in Jumping Mode, but she also had to watch out for the blue bones, remaining still for them to phase through her without suffering any form of damage.
"You don't have to hunt humans, Papyrus. We could do nicer things like solving puzzles and cooking spaghetti. I'm sure Naruto's mom can teach us many recipes when we meet her," said Frisk.
Hearing this caused Papyrus to pause as a memory of him setting puzzles for Frisk and Naruto to solve, and the time he had a playdate and solidified his friendship with Frisk as well as Naruto later on.
Frisk then turned to Sans "Hey Sans, why did the skeleton cry his eyes out? Because he didn't have any body to love,"
The joke made Sans snort in amusement while Papyrus appeared to be aggravated due to the sense of familiarity from it, this caused their memories to return to them and the mosaics disappearing from their faces.
"No wait! You're my friend! I don't want to capture you!" said Papyrus in protest.
"Nah, I'm rooting for you kids," said Sans with a wink.
Frisk smiled in response "Glad to see you're both okay, but I need to rescue the others,"
"Don't let us you keep here, go forth my heroic human friend!" said Papyrus proudly.
"And try not to get bone-crushingly defeated," said Sans playfully.
"Saaaaannnnnnnssssss," the skele-bro groaned in annoyance.
Frisk floated through the void and soon reunited with Naruto as they went in the same direction.
"Are you okay, Frisk-chan?" asked Naruto with concern.
"Yes, I was able to rescue Alphys, Sans and Papyrus," said Frisk.
"Same here with Undyne and Red-chan, guess the remaining ones are Toriel-obasan and Asgore,"
"Right, let's look for them,"
The children soon found the Lost Souls of the two aforementioned monsters who silently stood there before them.
"This is for your own good," said Toriel.
"Forgive me for this," said Asgore sadly.
Both of them proceeded to attack with waves of fireballs at the duo who quickly created shields to defend against the fiery projectiles.
"Toriel, you have to remember us! Remember when you asked whether we prefer cinnamon or butterscotch because you wanted to surprise us with a pie?" asked Frisk, trying to make her remember.
Naruto then called out to the king "Asgore, think back to when we first; we told you that we didn't want to fight no matter what because you weren't our enemy!" hearing this made Asgore feel like he heard something like this before. However, it wasn't enough as they proceeded to attack once again.
"No one will leave again," said Toriel.
"This is my duty," said Asgore.
"We need to try harder to make them remember us," said Naruto while defending with his shield.
"But how, it's like they're not listening to us," said Frisk from behind her own shield.
Naruto closed his eyes in thought for a moment before speaking "Get closer to them and do what I do,"
"Okay,"
They proceeded to approach Asgore and Toriel, all the while blocking their fire magic with their shields and taking evasive action when they attempt to trap them with rings of flames. Once close enough, Naruto dropped the shield and lunged at Asgore to embrace him much to the monster's surprise. Frisk saw what he did and immediately followed suit by hugging Toriel as well.
"Asgore, you don't have to bear this pain alone," said Naruto.
"Even though you told us not to return, we were still going to come back to you once we found a way out. To make your dream of being a teacher come true," said Frisk.
They were gently pulled back for them to see the smiling faces of Toriel and Asgore, meaning that their memories had returned just like the others.
"Your fate is up to you now," said Toriel warmly.
"You are our future," said Asgore with a fatherly smile, making the children smile back at them.
Naruto and Frisk's SOULs emerged from Asriel's core and returned to their bodies, which in turn enabled them to be able to move their bodies unlike before. Nikan barked happily to see that they've returned safely.
"I think that's everyone, we helped get their memories back," said Naruto, looking relieved.
"Yes but…," Frisk looked back with a small frown "…but it feels like we have missed someone…someone who needs to be saved, I can feel it in my SOUL,"
Naruto frowned before looking at his SOUL which was also pulsing in resonance with something "You're right, but who?" it only took a few moments before he realized who it was that needs to be saved "…Asriel,"
BGM Change: His Theme
No sooner he mentioned the name that their SOULs pulsed very strongly and they began to see memories not belonging to them. They saw the young Asriel exploring the ruins and came across a young human child who had fallen into the Underground like they did, Asriel took the child to his parents whom they later took them in and cared as they were their own. Memories of happy times flowed through their minds before turning back to Asriel who now appeared to be rather nervous.
"What's this feeling...? What's happening to me?" Asriel looked at his hands before shaking his head "No! NO! I don't need ANYONE!" he proceeded to launch another barrage of magic, Naruto and Frisk banded together with their Determination to form a large shield to protect themselves and Nikan against the incoming projectiles.
"Let us help you, Asriel," Naruto called out to the now distressed monster.
Asriel refuted the aid "STOP IT! Get away from me! Do you hear me!? I'll tear you apart!" he attacked again with his magic comets but they appeared to be less unlike the earlier barrage.
"Please, don't block us out," Frisk pleaded.
"...Chara...do you know why I'm doing this...? Why I keep fighting to keep you around...?" at this point, Asriel was using his fire magic, but none of them are anywhere close to hitting them.
"This is like when Toriel-obasan tried to force us to fight her," thought Naruto.
I'm doing this...because you're special. You're the only one that understands me, the only one who's any fun to play with anymore,"
"Asriel…," Frisk muttered softly.
"...no...that's not JUST it. I...I...I'm doing this because I care about you, Chara! I care about you more than anybody else! I'm not ready for this to end, I'm not ready for you to leave, I'm not ready to say goodbye to someone like you again...,"
"Man, just how much have you suffered this whole time?" Naruto stared at the distressed monster with sympathy. Asriel, Toriel, Asgore and the other monsters suffered all because of the foolishness of humanity.
"So, please...STOP doing this...," Asriel began gathering rainbow colored energy in between his hands "AND JUST LET ME WIN!" he fired a massive beam which easily shattered the children's shield and was seriously hurting them and the wolf pup.
"Asriel…," Naruto grunted out in spite of tears appearing on his clothes and that he was starting to bleed.
"STOP IT!"
"Please, let us SAVE you," said Frisk, enduring the pain inflicted upon them.
"STOP IT NOW!"
"Don't block us out, you don't have to be alone,"
Asriel finally stopped the attack and one could easily tell that he has lost the will to continue this fight, the desire to kill or reset the world has completely faded away.
"I'm so alone, Chara...I'm so afraid, Chara...I...,"
There was a flash of light, before revealing Asriel having reverted back to his true form before Naruto and Frisk, crying tears of sadness and guilt.
BGM Change: Memory
"I'm so sorry," the young goat boy said as he sobbed, wiping the tears from his eyes and looking at the children particularly Frisk "I always was a crybaby, wasn't I, Chara?"
"Asriel…I'm not…," Frisk tried to tell the truth.
"…I know. you're not really Chara, are you?" Asriel said with a sad smile "Chara has been gone for a long time, it's just that…you look so much like her," he fidgeted a bit before speaking up again "Um…what…what is your name?"
"My name is Frisk," said Frisk softly.
"My name's Naruto Uzumaki, but you can simply call me Naruto. This little buddy of mine is Nikan, his name means 'My Friend'," Naruto introduced himself and the wolf pup who braked in greeting, no longer feeling hostile towards the young prince.
"Frisk…Naruto…Nikan, those are very nice names," said Asriel politely.
The trio smiled happily at that with Frisk being vocal about it "Thanks,"
"I… I haven't felt like this for a very long time. As a flower, I was soulless. I lacked the power to love other people," Naruto and Frisk frowned in understanding, now they realized the reason he acted that way and had seemed so heartless during those times "However, with everyone's souls inside me...I not only have my own compassion back...But I can feel every other monster's as well. They all care about each other so much. And... they care about you too. I wish I could tell you how everyone feels about you; Papyrus... Sans... Undyne... Alphys...Toriel,"
"You don't have to, we already know and feel the same way about them," said Frisk.
"Monster are weird,"
Naruto smirked at that "Heh…there's no denying that one," they all laughed a bit.
"Even though they barely know you...it feels like they all really love you," said Asriel, but then he started to look sad and regretful.
"What's the matter?" asked Frisk in concern.
"Frisk...Naruto…Nikan…I...I understand if you can't forgive me. I understand if you hate me. I acted so strange and horrible. I hurt you, I hurt so many people, friends, family, bystanders...there's no excuse for what I've done," Asriel bowed his head in guilt, the void was silent as no one said a word until someone broke the silence…Naruto.
"You really are your parents' kid, always putting others before yourselves. Quite bowing your head Azzy, we forgive you," Naruto smiled.
Asriel raised his head in shock "Y-You do?"
Frisk nodded in affirmation "Yes we do, you aren't the first who's tried to take our SOULs ever since we fell here. If we could forgive them, then why can't we forgive you especially when you weren't truly yourself?" Nikan barked in agreement, his tail blurring from his happy wagging.
"…You two, come on. You're gonna make me cry again," Asriel said, looking very teary-eyed.
"What's wrong with that? One doesn't cry only when they're sad, but also when they're so happy that they just can't contain their joy and their body shows it. Believe me, I'm a prime example," Naruto folded his arms at the back of his head with a grin that his dimples forced his eyes closed.
Asriel tearfully smiled in response before turning serious "... besides, even if you do forgive me...I can't keep these souls inside of least I can do is return them. But first...there's something I have to do,"
Frisk blinked in confusion "What do you mean?"
"Right now, I can feel everyone's hearts beating as one. They're all burning with the same desire. With everyone's power...With everyone's determination...It's time for monsters...to finally go free,"
Asriel closed his eyes and started floating up into the air as he called upon the power of both the six human SOULs and all of the monster SOULs from the Underground within him. Naruto and the others took a few steps back due to feeling the power radiating from him. Then that's when they heard it…the sound of glass shattering into pieces before Asriel floated back down to the ground.
"What just happened?" asked Naruto.
"I destroyed the barrier," Asriel answered, stunning the children.
"The barrier's gone? Then that means…," Frisk smiled brightly "We and the monsters can go to the surface!"
"That's awesome, I can't wait to show you the others the cool stuff like cartoons, video games, food. I even get to introduce your parents to my mom, she and your mom will totally get along!" said Naruto excitedly.
None of them noticed that Asriel was frowning until he spoke "Naruto…Frisk…I have to go now,"
"What do you mean?"
"Without the power of everyone's souls...I can't keep maintaining this form. In a little while...I'll turn back into a flower. I'll stop being 'myself'. I'll stop being able to feel love again,"
They were shocked into silence upon hearing what the young prince just said to them, surely he was joking…right?
"So... Frisk. It's best if you just forget about me, OK? Just go be with the people who love you,"
Tears began pouring out of Frisk's eyes, she didn't want to believe the things coming out of the goat boy's mouth. She walked over to Asriel and embraced him with Naruto following soon after, even Nikan pressed his head against Asriel's leg and whined sadly.
"Ha...ha...I don't want to let go...," Asriel laughed sadly, hugging them back.
"We won't force you to," Frisk sniffled.
Asriel laughed again, but he knew well that he can't hug them forever and so reluctantly broke away from the hug and stepped away from them.
"You two…You're...You're going to do a great job, OK? No matter what you do. Everyone will be there for you, okay?"
Asriel started to walk away, unaware of the growing pain in Naruto and Frisk's hearts.
"Well...my time is running out. Goodbye," Asriel walked a bit more then stopped for a moment "By the way...Frisk...take care of Mom and Dad for me, OK?"
Logically, one should feel happy about the end result, the barrier is broken and the monsters are free to go to the surface. Neither human nor monster were killed throughout this whole thing, even making peace with Asriel. But who gives a damn about logic?! Naruto and Frisk ran over to Asriel and grabbed his arms, halting him.
Asriel looked surprised by their actions "Naruto? Frisk? Why are you-,"
"We aren't done yet, we haven't saved everyone," said Naruto seriously.
"What do you mean?" Asriel asked "I've already freed everyone's souls,"
"Yes you have, but we haven't saved you," said Frisk.
Asriel was stunned frozen by what he just heard from Frisk, they wish to help him in spite of everything he had done and they had just met properly for like a few minutes.
"You're asking us to simply forget about you, how can you even say something like that? Seeing who you really are, we can't find it in ourselves to simply abandon you just like that!"
Asriel looked down sadly "I know you want me to go with you two, but I can't. Without a SOUL of my own, I'll turn back into an emotionless flower. It would break mom and dad's hearts if they saw me like that,"
Naruto hummed in thought then spoke "So you're saying that if you had a SOUL, then you'll come with us to see them?"
Asriel blinked in confusion "Huh? Uh…yes I would,"
"Then in that case…," Naruto called upon his SOUL for it to appear from his body "…then take a portion of my SOUL,"
"WHA…WHAT?!" Asriel was taken aback by this, even Frisk was shocked.
"You said that you're soulless, so take a bit of mine if it means that you can come as you are," Naruto explained.
"If that's true…take some of mine too," Frisk also offered her SOUL without hesitation, Nikan wanted to do the same but didn't know how.
Asriel stared at both of them but shook his head "I…I can't…if I do that then…,"
"We're not gonna take no for an answer, do it or we force you to," said Naruto sternly.
"But-,"
"But nothing!" Frisk for once was actually annoyed "Everything that led to all this wasn't your fault, you don't deserve to suffer for this. Humans and monsters aren't different, instead of looking at what's different, we all need to look at what's the same!"
Naruto held out a hand to the prince of monsters "Come with us, let's get you home to the ones who love you very much,"
"Please Asriel," Frisk held out hers too.
"I…I…I…," Asriel teared up, slowly reaching out to their hands…then he pushed them away much to their shock "I'm sorry!"
After pushing them away, Asriel disappeared in a white flash of light. They scrambled back to their feet and looked around for the goat boy whilst calling out his name.
"Asriel? Asriel?! Where are you?" Naruto called out.
"Please come back, Asriel!" Frisk looked sad as she called out to him and Nikan howled with none being aware that a large light was engulfing them until it was too late.
…
…
…
"Naruto! Frisk!" a voice shouted through the darkness "This is just a bad dream…! Please, wake up…!"
"…ugh," Naruto groaned out, feeling a bit sore all over his body. He slowly woke up to see that he and a waking Frisk and Nikan were surrounded by their friends; Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys and Red.
"Huh? Everyone…," Frisk muttered, rubbing her eyes.
BGM Change: Reunion
Toriel let out a breath of relief "Oh, you're all awake! Thank goodness,"
"W-we were so worried! If felt like you were out forever!" said Alphys worriedly.
"Yeah! Any longer and I would have started freaking out," said Undyne then she glared at them "Tell us the next time you decide to take a nap, okay!?"
"We were really worried when we tried to make you wake up and you weren't responding," said Red, looking rather teary-eyed.
"She's right, you know? You made Papyrus cry like a baby," said Sans.
"What?! I didn't cry!" Papyrus yelled in protest "I don't cry! I just…caught something in my eyes,"
"What did you catch?"
"TEARS!" Papyrus started to cry.
Naruto chuckled "Sorry for worrying everyone, didn't mean for that to happen," he felt Frisk tap his shoulder "What is it?"
"He's not here…," said Frisk, making him realize who she was talking about.
"Everyone calm down, what matters is that they're all okay now," Asgore approached the children and gave them two cups of Yellow Flower tea "Here, drink some tea. It will help to you feel better,"
They gratefully took the cups and drank the tea, feeling the soothing flavor ease their minds and bodies.
"Thanks Asgore, we do feel a lot better," said Frisk thankfully.
"Naruto, we do not remember exactly what happened. There was a flower, then everything went white…but now the barrier is completely gone," Toriel explained.
"So Asriel did break the barrier like he said he did," thought Frisk.
"When you both ready, we will all return to the surface. It seems the door to the east will lead us back there," said Toriel "Before then, why don't you take a walk back? You can say goodbye to all of your wonderful friends,"
Naruto listened to what she said then realized something "Asriel might still be here in the Underground, just need to look for him," he rose to his feet and nodded in agreement "Yeah, we could go and check on everyone,"
Toriel nodded "Do as you wish, we will all wait for you here,"
"Alright then, we'll be back soon. Let's go Frisk," said Naruto.
"Okay Naruto," Frisk nodded in affirmation with Nikan ever ready to follow them.
BGM Stop
Meanwhile, in a flower patch at the Ruins where Naruto, Frisk and Nikan had fallen into the Underground. Asriel knelt amongst the flowers and was crying to himself.
"I did the right thing, they don't have to waste their SOULs on someone like me. I deserve to be punished for putting everyone's lives in danger. Mom and dad deserves Naruto and Frisk more than Chara and I,"
Asriel continued to cry in guilt and resignation when he felt a presence and sighed, thinking it was Naruto and the others who had come looking to bring him back to everyone.
"Naruto, Frisk. If it's you two, please leave me alone," Asriel sighed, sensing the presence not complying with his request and got up to face them "I already said that I can't go ba…," he trailed off upon seeing that it was not who he thought it was but rather something else
It was a soul…a Light-Blue human SOUL which was floating before him and it wasn't alone, the other human SOULs were accompanying it.
"The human SOULs…w-why are you all here?" asked Asriel, feeling a bit confused and afraid considering what he did with them at first before shattering the barrier.
"…are you the one who used our power?" a male voice from the Orange SOUL asked.
Asriel blinked in shock "Y-You can talk?"
"Of course we can, just didn't find the moment to do so. Now I believe he asked you a question," a male voice from the Green SOUL.
"Yes, I was the one who used your power," Asriel admitted, waiting to be judged by the SOULs themselves.
"I see, so ya'll the monster that used us to rampage all over the place, but broke the barrier in the end?" a feminine voice with a cowboy accent from the Yellow SOUL queried.
"Yes…are you going to punish me for using your powers that way?" asked Asriel.
"Goodness no, we're not here to punish but to help you instead!" a female voice from the Light-Blue SOUL spoke.
"Yeah, who would want to punish a little cutie like you? You have no idea how much I want to rub your fur!" said the Blue SOUL in a feminine voice.
"Enough of the girly squealing, we need to get down to business," said Orange SOUL with a serious male voice.
"But I don't understand, why?" asked Asriel confusedly.
"Allow me to explain," the Purple SOUL spoke with a male voice "Logically, we should have left for the afterlife when the barrier had been broken. But we sensed two powerful forces radiating Determination which surpassed that of ours when we were alive, we sensed their desires not only to survive but to also protect,"
"Let's not forget that they were in possession of our belongings which allowed us to see and hear everything they did throughout their journey, even when they had reloaded their SAVE File," said the Orange SOUL.
"You mean Naruto and Frisk had all of your belongings when you were alive?" asked Asriel.
"That's right, the two kids who made it further than any of us ever did," said the Yellow SOUL.
"The wolf puppy was so cute too, always ready to help them along the way," said the Blue SOUL happily.
"It was thanks to him that some of our items were found," said the Green SOUL.
"Indeed, but I must say that those two surprised me. In spite of everything that they've gone through with us witnessing it, they bore no grudge against monsters but rather wished to help them especially you to the point of offering their own SOULs," said the Purple SOUL.
"Extending kindness when others wouldn't do so," said the Green SOUL.
"Willing to keep going no matter what got in their way," said the Orange SOUL.
"Strongly desiring to keep the promises which they had made with others, even reloading to do just that," said the Blue SOUL.
"Having the patience to wait for the right opportunity instead of rushing and missing important things," said the Light-Blue SOUL.
"Possessing a strong sense of right and wrong to be make the right judgement," said the Yellow SOUL.
Asriel was surprised to hear the SOULs speak of Naruto and Frisk that way "Then you know why I couldn't take their SOULs, they need them more than me,"
"And yet those two including the puppy care about you just as much. We know everything about you as well and find what happened to you to be very unfair when you didn't do anything wrong at all," said the Blue SOUL.
"She's right pardner, there wasn't any justice in what the humans did to you," said the Yellow SOUL.
"We also wish to repay the kindness Toriel gave to us," said the Light-Blue SOUL.
"My mom?" asked Asriel confusedly.
"She showed us true kindness, far more than what any human had shown us. She always had this sadness which she thought she hid well from us but we could tell and now know the reason…she misses you badly," said the Blue SOUL.
"But…my dad…," Asriel muttered.
The Orange SOUL spoke "Asgore may have given the order but he wasn't the one who killed us, like we said before; Naruto and Frisk were the ones who made it all the way to him, our SOULs were simply collected,"
"And the reason we aren't upset with him is because the time spent in those containers, we always saw the look of guilt and regret on his face. He was always muttering sorry whenever he was near us," said the Green SOUL.
"Without a doubt, he misses you and Toriel terribly," said the Blue SOUL in sympathy.
"It's all my fault, if only I hadn't agreed with Chara's plan in the place. I wouldn't have gotten killed, dad wouldn't have given that order to kill humans and mom wouldn't have left dad," said Asriel, blaming himself.
"You mustn't blame yourself when it isn't entirely your fault, but rather the fault of humanity," said the Purple SOUL.
"To at least make up for it, we're going to help you," said the Light-Blue SOUL.
Asriel blinked in mild curiosity "But how?"
"Each of us are going to give you a bit of our power which would be enough to create a SOUL of your own," the Orange SOUL explained.
"But is that possible?"
"We don't exactly know since we're trying this for the first time, but since the human SOUL is more powerful than monster SOULs, the chances are at least higher than 50% and you may gain a powerful SOUL," the Purple SOUL theorized.
"We want to help you Asriel, but only if you're willing to accept it. So what is your choice?" asked the Green SOUL.
"I suggest you take it," a voice spoke up, making everyone turn around to see Naruto as well as Frisk and Nikan.
"Naruto, Frisk, Nikan! You're here!" said Asriel in shock.
"It took some time but we were able to figure where you were and came here to find you," said Frisk.
"Also, we heard everything. The SOULs are providing you with a chance to be whole again, it's even better than what we tried to offer to you,"
"Please Asriel, don't push this chance away. Take it and come with us, everyone's waiting for you," Frisk pleaded, Nikan whined softly in agreement.
"I…I…I…," Asriel stuttered, not knowing what to say.
"Come on, say it! Tell us what you want from the bottom of your heart!" Naruto shouted.
"I…I…," Asriel's shoulders shook before he started crying a fountain of tears as he yelled out his answer "I WANT TO LIVE AGAIN! I DON'T WANT TO BE A FLOWER ANYMORE! I DON'T WANT KILL AGAIN! I DON'T WANT TO BE LONELY ANYMORE! I WANT TO BE WITH MOM AND DAD AGAIN!"
Everyone smiled with the Yellow SOUL speaking up "Now that's what we wanna hear from ya,"
"The process will be a lot smoother with your willingness to accept our power," said the Blue SOUL.
"Can we transfer our power too?" asked Frisk curiously.
"I encourage it, your powers could contribute to the creation of the SOUL," said the Purple SOUL.
"But we must hurry and do so while Asriel is in this form before he turns back into a flower," said the Green SOUL urgently.
Naruto nodded in understanding "Alright then, let's do it,"
Asriel sat on the ground with Naruto and Frisk doing the same in front of him while the SOULs surrounded the three of them in an orbiting fashion.
"So are you ready?" asked the Light-Blue SOUL gently.
Asriel nodded in affirmation "Yes,"
"Alright then," Naruto's left eye glowed with a white aura and Frisk's body radiated a similar aura.
BGM Change: Final Power
"Take the essence of my patience," said the Light-Blue SOUL, transferring a bit of her power into Asriel.
"Take the essence of my bravery," said the Orange SOUL.
"Take the essence of my integrity," said the Blue SOUL.
"Take the essence of my perseverance," said the Purple SOUL.
"Take the essence of my kindness," said the Green SOUL.
"Take the essence of my justice," said the Yellow SOUL.
Naruto and Frisk placed their hands on Asriel's chest to transfer their power "And take the essence of our determination,"
"*pant**pant*," Asriel began breathing heavily, the essences within him already having an effect on his body.
"Hang in there Asriel, we almost got it," said Naruto, focusing intently on the process.
"O-Okay…," Asriel panted in response.
Things were intense until there was a bright flash of light which died down to reveal the children having tumbled away from each other, huffing in mild exhaustion with Nikan scampering over to make that they're okay.
BGM Stop
"Are you all doing okay?" asked the Green SOUL with concern.
"I think so," Asriel responded before getting to his feet with Naruto and Frisk doing the same "But, did it work?"
"Maybe you should try calling it out," Frisk suggested.
Asriel complied with her suggestion, calling upon his SOUL which emerged from within his body and surprised everybody with its appearance. The heart shaped SOUL was shining brightly and possessing the iridescent colors of a rainbow.
"This is…my new SOUL?" asked Asriel, looking at his SOUL in awe.
"Well, I'll be a monkey's auntie, that's quite the dandy new SOUL ya got there!" said the Yellow SOUL.
"Makes me kind of jealous that it's so colorful like that," said the Blue SOUL.
"With this new SOUL, you can go to the surface, make new friends, and be with your parents," said the Green SOUL.
"This is our gift to you, be sure to use the power we gave to you for good," said the Orange SOUL.
"I will, thank you all very much for giving me this chance to be with everyone," said Asriel, bowing his head to them.
"Thanks very much for all this, we didn't want Asriel to live the rest of his life all alone here as a flower. We're truly grateful," said Naruto.
"We're the ones who should be thankful, was it not for the two of you, none of this would have happened and we would have been stuck in those containers for who knows how long," said Light-Blue SOUL.
"I believe it's time for us to say goodbye and move on," said the Purple SOUL.
"Good luck to you all, and be sure to say hi to your parents for us," said the Blue SOUL.
"Thank you for everything," said Asriel.
"You're welcome, just be the hopes and dreams for both humans and monsters out there," said the Green SOUL.
"We promise to not let anyone of you down," said Naruto.
"That's dandy to hear, see ya later," said the Yellow SOUL.
The SOULs bade their farewell and proceeded to float up to the ceiling through where the hole was and flew out to the surface, towards the afterlife.
"Are you ready to go Asriel?" asked Frisk.
The prince of monsters nodded eagerly "Yes, I really want to go see mom and dad again,"
"Glad to hear that, though a part of me wants to bonk you in the head for rejecting us before," said Naruto with a small frown at the end.
"S-Sorry," Asriel apologized.
"…*sigh* it's kinda hard to stay mad at you, so I'll let it go,"
There was a ping sound which came from Frisk's phone, making her take out of her pocket to look at the screen "It's a message from Toriel, she's checking in on us,"
"Mom…," Asriel muttered softly in longing.
"Let her know that we're making our way back…and we're bringing along a special friend with us to introduce to them," said Naruto with a smile.
"Okay," she typed on the keypad for a bit before sending a reply back to the motherly monster "It's been sent,"
"Alright then, let's go Asriel,"
Naruto held out a hand to Asriel with Frisk doing the same with smiles on their faces. Asriel looked at both of them before smiling back as he placed his hands in theirs and began their walk together back to the others.
Toriel was still looking at her phone and humming in thought over the message that she had received from Frisk about their return much to her relief but she couldn't help being curious about this special friend whom they're bringing along to introduce to them since she thought she had met the main ones and they're here with her, waiting for them to return. She was snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of footsteps and looked to see Frisk running into view with Nikan next to her.
"Hello everyone," Frisk greeted happily.
Toriel smiled in response "Welcome back, my child,"
"You took quite a while, my female human friend!" said Papyrus happily.
"Yeah, I was getting bone tired," said Sans jokingly, Papyrus groaned at the pun.
"Where've you been punk?" asked Undyne with a smirk.
"I-it's good to see you again," said Alphys, smiling nervously.
"Hello again, um where's Naruto?" asked Red, looking past Frisk in search of the other human besides her.
"I am wondering about that as well, isn't he with you?" asked Asgore curiously.
"He's right behind me with our friend, he's a bit nervous about meeting you all," Frisk explained.
"Well he doesn't have to feel shy, we'd like to meet them," said Toriel kindly.
Frisk stood to the side and gestured for them to look as Naruto walked in whilst gently pulling along a young monster into view, but it was their appearance which caused the breathes to hitch in their throats once they got a full view of the monster…especially Asgore and Toriel. The king's eyes were wide in shock and disbelief with the former queen covering her mouth with her hands.
BGM Change: Memory
Naruto gently pushed Asriel forward with the latter shyly calling out to them "Howdy…mom and dad,"
"Asriel…," Asgore and Toriel whispered his name, afraid that saying it out loud might make him disappear from them again.
"Alphys…am I seeing things? Is that really the prince, alive before us?" asked Undyne in shock.
"Uh huh…," the Royal Scientist herself was in a similar state, trying to come up with how this could have happened but not successful so far.
"Say Sans…who's that monster and why does he look like the child version of the king?" asked Papyrus confusedly.
"I'm guessing he's their kid since he looks alike and called them mom and dad," Sans pointed out.
"Oh, that makes sense now,"
"Is…is it really you, son?" asked Asgore, the hope in his voice is almost heart wrenching.
Asriel walked closer then reached out to grab Asgore and smiled tearfully "Yes, it's really me. I'm back,"
The king knelt down and cupped Asriel's cheeks in his hands, feeling the fur and began to cry "It's really him, Tori. It truly is Asriel!"
"Oh Asriel, my child!" Toriel no longer hesitated and joined Asgore in embracing Asriel as all three of them began to cry tears of joy at a reunion which they thought was impossible and would never happen, but it did and they were none the happier for it. Frisk looked our to see that everyone were looking upon the reunited family, she glanced at Naruto and was surprised to see tears flowing down his cheeks.
"Naruto, are you okay?" asked Frisk.
"Yeah…I'm fine," Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes "It's just that…they reminded me of my own family, back when we were…complete,"
"Oh…okay," Frisk didn't say anymore, not wanting to prod on any sensitive subjects.
"My child, as joyful as it is to be with you again, how is it that you were revived from death?" asked Toriel confusedly.
"It's a bit of a long story, but Naruto and Frisk played a huge part in saving me," said Asriel, getting the parents to look at the children and wolf pup.
"They did?" asked Asgore.
"Not entirely the both of us, the six human SOULs helped us in reviving Asriel, and both of them were responsible for shattering the barrier," said Naruto.
Alphys was shocked to hear that "The prince and the Human SOULs were the ones that shattered the barrier!?"
Frisk nodded in affirmation "Yes, and they wanted us to pass on a message of thanks to you both,"
"In spite of everything, they chose to help us gain freedom and give our son back to us. I can't thank them enough," said Toriel tearfully.
"Guess it's a good thing you two punks showed up when you did, who knows how long we would have waited for something like this to happen?" Undyne ruffled the children's hair with a wide grin "By the way, the name's Undyne and I'm the leader of the Royal Guard,"
"H-Hello, my name is Alphys and I'm the Royal Scientist," Alphys introduced herself nervously.
"Greetings my dear prince, I am the Great Papyrus and a future member of the Royal Guard," Papyrus introduced himself with pride before gesturing to Sans "And this is my brother, be aware of his laziness and bone related puns,"
"Easy there bro, no need to be so hot under the collar bone," Sans spoke.
Papyrus groaned "Saannnssss…,"
"Hehehehehe," Asriel giggled at the exchange between the skeleton brothers.
"It is an honor to meet you, my prince. I am Red of the Royal Guard," Red bowed on one knee before Asriel who waved his hands frantically.
"I-It's okay, there's no need to bow to me," said Asriel, waving his hands about.
Asgore chuckled fondly "As modest as ever, you haven't changed a bit,"
"Y-yeah," Asriel gulped nervously, he had discussed with Naruto and Frisk about not revealing everything for now as things are already overwhelming enough as of now and will be told much later.
"Hey everyone," Naruto called out getting everyone's attention "I think it's time for all of us to step out to the surface,"
"You go on ahead, my children," said Toriel "We'll be right behind you,"
"I'll come too," said Asriel.
Frisk gave a nod of understanding "Okay, let's go,"
She took Asriel's hand and the three children began to walk through along the pathway and past where the barrier used to be before finally making it to the outside world. They walked over to the cliffside and stared at the setting sun. Asgore, Toriel and the others came out of the tunnel and joined them in viewing the sun as well.
BGM Change: Respite
"Oh my goodness…," said Toriel in awe.
"It is quite beautiful, isn't it?" said Asgore.
"Amazing, it's e-even better than what I read from the books or watched on tv!" Alphys was amazed by the scenery.
"You punks live with this!" asked Undyne "The rays of the sun feels good on my skin and the air smells so fresh!"
"I know right? Makes me cherish it even more," said Naruto.
"Say brother…what is that giant glowing ball?" asked a curious Papyrus.
Sans answered "It's called the 'Sun', bro,"
"Wowie, I can't believe that I'm finally meeting the sun!"
"Amazing, is this really the surface? It truly is beautiful," said Red, amazed by what she's seeing.
Frisk heard sniffling and looked to see Asriel tearing up "What's the matter, Asriel?"
"It's just that…I always hoped that I would see this with everyone. Now that it's happening, I feel so happy," said Asriel.
Frisk smiled "I'm happy for you Asriel, this is just the start of many wonderful things to come,"
"Yeah, and we're gonna do it together," said Naruto with a foxy grin.
Asriel smiled fondly, having the same feeling that he had with Chara…as if they're his siblings in all but blood.
"So what happens now?" asked Toriel.
Asgore hummed in thought before speaking up "Everyone…this is the beginning of a bright new future, where humans and monsters can live together in peace. Which is why…," he turned to Frisk and Naruto "There's a request I'd like to make of the two of you,"
"What is it, Asgore?" asked Naruto.
"Will you act as ambassadors to the humans?" asked Asgore.
"Us…as ambassadors?" asked Frisk in surprise.
"Whoa, I never thought I'd become an ambassador before reaching university. Anyhow, I'd happily be your ambassador," said Naruto with a smile.
"Me too," Frisk nodded eagerly.
"I'll help too, as the prince of the monsters, I want to help you and the monsters in anyway I can!" said Asriel.
Papyrus cheered at the news "Yeah! Frisk, Naruto and Asriel will be the best prince and ambassadors! I, the great Papyrus will be the best mascot! I'll go and make a first impression!" he took off down the pathway.
"Papyrus wait!" Naruto called out "He doesn't know the way to the city unless we guide him there,"
"Don't worry punk, I'll go and get him!" Undyne took off after the excitable skeleton.
"U-Undyne, wait for me!" Alphys ran after Undyne as fast as her legs can carry her.
"I'll go and assist Commander Undyne with Papyrus, I'll see you later," said Red before following suit.
"I'll take a shortcut and meet you guys at the bottom," said Sans before walking in the opposite direction.
Soon it was left with just Toriel, Frisk, Naruto, Nikan and Asgore. The silence amongst them was rather awkward until Asgore nervously broke the silence.
"Um…should I do something?" asked Asgore.
"…," Toriel said nothing but rather leveled a glare at him.
"Well, I gotta go!" Asgore ran off without another word.
The children sighed at this, there's still a bit of a rift between. Asriel was hoping that his return would have at least repaired their relationship a bit but it looks like there's still quite a long way to go.
"Mom, I'm gonna catch up with dad and left you two to talk," said Asriel.
"Okay Asriel, we'll be with you soon," said Toriel.
Asriel nodded before running off after his father, leaving just Naruto, Frisk, Toriel and Nikan alone.
"It appears that everyone is quite eager to set off," Toriel turned to the children "Frisk, Naruto. Both of you came from this world,right…? So you must have a place to return to, do you not? What will you do now?"
"Oh, ummm…," Frisk hummed in thought for a moment before giving her answer "I don't really have a place to return to. If it's okay, I would like to stay with you,"
Toriel was taken aback by her request "Oh my, Frisk…you're truly a funny child. If you had said this earlier, none of this would have happened,"
Frisk giggled "Then it was good thing we took so long before saying it,"
"Hehehe, indeed it is. Well…I suppose if you really do not have any other place to go…I will do my best to take care of you, for as long as you need. All right?"
Frisk joyfully jumped into Toriel's arms and embraced her "Thank you, mommy," the motherly monster smiled and hugged her back affectionately. Then they turned to Naruto who had his phone out and was looking at something.
"What about you, Naruto?" asked Toriel.
"You already know my answer, I have a place to go to…someone who's waiting for me…," said Naruto, gazing at the a picture on his phone.
Kushina sat on a couch in a darkened room, her skin being very pale, her hair a mess, clothes ruffled and the entire house was in a bit of a mess. She hadn't stepped out of the house for quite some time ever since her beloved son went missing. She did everything she could to find him but to no avail. However, she refused to give up until she found him.
*Knock knock knock*
She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of knocking on her front door, she refused to answer it and waited for the person to go away but the knocking persisted much to her growing annoyance. She marched to the door and opened it with a look of irritation.
"Look, I don't know who you are but…," anything else she was about to say was stopped as she looked at the person standing before him.
BGM Change: Reunion
"Hi mom," Naruto spoke nervously.
"Naruto…," Kushina whispered out.
"Yes, it's m-," Naruto was suddenly scooped into Kushina's arms and hugged very tightly, he couldn't help but feel guilty as he listened to her sobbing into his hoodie jacket and hugged her back.
"I looked everywhere for you," Kushina spoke albeit muffled due to her face still pressed into his jacket.
"I'm so sorry, I tried to get back to you as fast as I could. I'm so so sorry for worrying you so much," Naruto could barely hold himself back from crying while he spoke.
"Shhhhhhh, just be quiet and let me hug you…but know that you're grounded for two months after this,"
"I'll accept the punishment, plus it gives me the chance to tell you about what I've been through along with my friends,"
"Friends?" Kushina pulled away from Naruto and looked past him to see Frisk and the monsters with the girl waving shyly at her "Who or what are they?"
"It's all part of the long story which I'm going to tell you while I'm grounded at home," said Naruto sheepishly "Can my friends and I get something to eat? It's been a while since I last ate and I really miss your cooking,"
Kushina looked at Naruto and the monsters several times for close to a minute before letting out a sigh and smiling softly "You might as well wait along with your friends for a bit, I need to put the house in a much more presentable state for guests before letting them in,"
"Okay mom, I won't be going anywhere," said Naruto.
"That's what I want to hear, but still," Kushina knelt down and took off Naruto's goggles before kissing his forehead "Welcome home, Naruto,"
Naruto smiled "I'm home,"
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto and Frisk reluctantly return to fight Asgore with the intention to weaken him but this time, protect the king from any of Flowey's sneak attacks. Things didn't go to plan as the fight was interrupted by Toriel along with Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Sans and Red who didn't want them to fight each other. However, this gave Flowey the opportunity to absorb the Human SOULs as well as ALL of the monsters in the Underground which revealed his true identity as Asriel Dreemurr, the prince of monsters who was supposed to be dead but has now become the Angel of Hyperdeath.
Naruto, Frisk and Nikan got themselves in a fight for their lives and everyone's in addition, even getting killed a few times and reviving themselves with pure Determination. Using what's left of their power of SAVE, the children rescued the Lost SOULs of their and even Asriel himself who was remorseful of his actions and revealed that he was incapable of feeling any kind of emotion. Asriel using the power of the SOULs to shatter the barrier, giving freedom to the monsters. Naruto and Frisk refused to let Asriel condemn himself and pursued to find a way to save him.
Their search for this solution came in the form of the six Human SOULs who wanted to help by providing a portion their power to construct a SOUL for Asriel. Naruto and Frisk combined their powers with the others and were successful in creating a SOUL for Asriel, enabling him to retain his form and not turning back into Flowey. After a tearful reunion with the Dreemurr family and accepting the offer of being ambassadors for the monsters. Naruto finally reunited with a worried Kushina and is planning on telling her everything he went through over dinner with his new friends albeit being grounded for a few months.
So, we've finally come to the end of the Undertale arc albeit it being my own variation of the True Pacifist Route, frankly I find this method to be the best way to save EVERYONE including Asriel where the player collects all the items of the Six Human SOULs and keep them in their inventory (Not in storage) when they're facing Asriel in his Hyperdeath form. Considering that they helped you during the battle against Photoshop Flowey, the same can be applied here and remember that they didn't resist when Asriel wanted to shatter the barrier.
Anyways, I'll be answering certain unanswered questions and will be asking of my own to you guys.
For starters, yes I will be including the Deltarune arc albeit with a twist like I did for the Undertale arc. Before that, Naruto will be going through the genocide route but like always there will be a twist as he'll be doing so in an alternate universe…yes I said alternate universes which means some of the OC Tale verses and characters are going to be included.
However, Naruto isn't ready for these yet as he needs to come to terms with himself in order to access the true potential of his Determination. As for Asgore and Toriel, they'll get back together but it's not going to be instant plus serious confrontations will happen which will unveil painful truths and shatter delusions amongst everyone. If you're still wondering about that chained book, it's still relevant and will show so in future chapter.
Anyways: here are my questions for you guys, I'll put up polls immediately afterwards.
1. In Deltarune, would you prefer Ralsei to be female or male?
2. Should Nikan gain new abilities?
3. Should Frisk be an Attacker or Supporter?
4. Would you prefer action scenes over slice of life moments?
By the way; here are the list of pairings for now
Frisk
Muffet
Red
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
One more thing, I'll be posting a slightly short epilogue chapter for this arc with an interesting cliffhanger in addition so be sure to expect it later on.
This is Hussbek from Ghana.
Signing out and staying alive