The Echo that once was

by Miguel16310

Reminiscing about the past should always be about laughs, nostalgia and joy, sometimes sadness. Atleast, that's what Asriel Dreemurr used to think, before his sister ended up shaking him to his core. To Chara, her brother is going insane. Perhaps it's the truth... but when you can't trust your own memories, then who can you trust?

Original author: "D.D. Howard"

Spanish translation made by: "El Orgullo del Operador".

Special thanks and credit to my mentor "Insanity-G" for allowing me to use his human OC's for Asriel's class.

Undertale.

Littletale AU.

One-Shot.

"The echo that once was"

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-[Prelude: The... what?]-

Asriel let out a sigh from his tired snout as he sat on his desk after having entered his college's classroom. As to be expected from one of the last days of classes before the holidays, almost no one had come to the lesson that day. Whether they were humans or monsters, out of all sixty students he was accustomed to seeing...

There were less than thirty.

Not that he was blaming them, of course, there was almost nothing to do and the vast majority wanted to finish the semester at once. Although most of them probably were bound to attend by the policies of their scholarships, or just appreciation.

His case was different.

Asgore and Toriel's son let out a small laugh as he saw a Peacock monster entering through the door, who's feathers were already quite faded due to his age. Doctor Murush was one of his favorite teachers, precisely because for someone like Asriel, he was extremely passionate about learning. An our and fifteen minutes from his teachings were like a tonic for his brain, always thirsty for knowledge.

The monster's tired eyes went from left to right, quickly counting the amount of students he had. Twenty-five, fifteen monsters and ten humans. Usually he would complain or call the absent ones a "bunch of ingrates", he wasn't the kind of man that would like to be the class's laughing stock, but today...

It was special.

A clear sign was that he immediately raised his tail, slightly showing some of the feathers that still had some colors.

"Alright... as a gift for those considerate enough to be here on my last lesson before your vacations, I'll teach you something that you'll never forget... probably."

His words were like honey, making more than one raise their eyebrow in curiosity. His gaze illuminated itself with passion, feeling the attention of his kids. He couldn't help but laugh a little bit, as he rested his weigh against his cane.

"Either that or you'll discard it immediately, I don't know... but if it intrigues you as much as me, I'm sure you'll be happy by the end of it all. Ehem... could anyone of you be kind enough to tell me when did Nerum Mashi died?"

More than one looked at each other with visible confusion, the prince of monsterkind closed his eyes, reminiscing his history classes. Nerum Mashi, one of the most important politicians in the history of the "Neo-Human/Monster alliance", one of the precursos that wanted to open up the barrier many years before Asriel had been born.

After all he was just a twenty years old.

He wasn't quick enough to answer, a female voice at his left spoke first.

"He died some years ago, two thousand and twelve I think?"

Murush's head nodded slightly, yet he didn't spoke. His gaze went once again, from left to right, he took his sweet time to look at the faces of his students, finding just what he was looking for. A puzzled look in the face of a human with black hair, that made him smirk.

"What's the matter, young Drake? you seem troubled~"

The voice tone he used was playful, making his student scratch his head, clearly embarrassed at the fact that he was chosen to speak up... well, at least there weren't that many classmates present that day, or else he would've died on the spot.

"Well, I... I believed he had died a long time ago, in the nineties or something like that, in prison for his beliefs."

The teacher smiled as much as his beak allowed him to, clapping at the same time as he now looked at the entire class. This was just what he was looking for.

"Very well class... Who's right? Drake or miss Pirita?"

Even if he wasn't paying attention to his classmates, because he himself was trying to find the answer, it was obvious that they were all puzzled, trying to find the answer. The vast majority raised up their left as a way to support the black-haired man, while only a bear rose up his right one as a way to support the human girl. Asriel, however, didn't do anything as a way to remain neutral.

The old peacock simply grabbed his cane once again, pointing it towards the female.

"Pirita... you're closer to correct. He died from a respiratory tract infection on December 5th, two thousand thirteen... but why did so many of you think he died on the nineties? ehhh?~ and you guys were so sure... for instance, Chester. How did you reached that conclusion?"

The boy in question, an user of Perseverance, adjusted his glasses as he stopped his writing. He had a slight red tint on his cheeks, precisely due to the sham of being wrong... just as expected, those with a purple soul like him were naturally smart, this was a stain on his record of successes.

"I could've sworn we learnt that on seventh grade, on my history class. It was quite common every year, during the anniversary week of the Barrier's break."

A little dog monster nodded as quickly and hard as she could, while her tail waged with excitement, managing to catch the attention from her peers.

"Me too-woof! in the anniversary as well, when I was a puppy! I remember his wife tried to sue a company at one point?"

The joyful expression Murush was an authentic rarity. He had never seen that poor old bird shinning so brightly, and he had been two years studying under his wing. Dreemurr couldn't lie, now he was extremely interested, the excitement oozing out of his entire being.

"How peculiar... you all remember this being said, it's just that... strangely, it's not true. None of it happened, pick up your phones and search for it. "Nerum Mashi's death", you won't find anything related to a prison in the nineties, nor will you see any article or documentary of his funeral that was transmited globally. Nothing about the cause of his death, or the supposed marches against the barrier made by humans all over to globe... because it never happened."

A small drop of sweat descended from the green-eyed's nape, quickly losing itself on his white fur. The silence was total, because neither of them could make sense of what they were hearing. he was basically telling them that all their memories and what they've learned so many years ago, what they believed... were lies.

As if he knew what they were thinking, no... Precisely because he already knew, he cleared his throat once again, still with the same smile that he had the entire class.

Now it made sense why he had been so happy the entire day.

"It's a phenomenon known as... "The Mashi effect", a complete mystery. An enigmatic anomaly on the entire earth, without scientific explanation..."

The rest of the class went flying by for the college student. It felt as if it were five minutes, but he couldn't be far from the truth. By the time it ended, his head had been blown to pieces, not literally of course.

Personally, he didn't remember Nerum dying the past decade, but very few of his partners did have some vague memories of the reports and newspapers, or the heart-breaking speech of his widow back in the late 20th century. However, everything vanished, as if that event alongside everything related to it, never existed to begin with.

All that's left were collective, phantom memories.

So many people remembering the same... yet being wrong... ? it was crazy.

And very, very interesting.

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-[Fragment 1: Memories of lunacy]-

Some days later, both Asriel as well as his best friend, his sister no less, walked side by side. The pair of Dreemurr children had their hands inside their pockets, although the goat man moved his shoulder constantly, trying to accommodate the loose backpack hanging from it. The brown-haired human, on the other hand, let out a sigh as she took one of her hands to her stomach, caressing it slightly.

She had ran out of chocolate bars many hours ago.

"I'm dying of hunger..."

She exaggerated, making him laugh slightly, as he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as a sign of support, pushing open the door to the cafeteria with his other hand. The delicious smell of warm bread during winter did nothing enrage the girl's stomach even more.

It was Saturday's morning, semester's last week as well... and both of their brains were already totally fried after having studied all night long for a couple of days, nonstop.

Both of them sat down in a table at the corner, their favorite. Chara accommodated the flower-shaped pin on her hair, wiping away some hair locks that were covering her forehead as she took the menu with her other hand. She had never been good for studying, but with him at her side, she had nothing to fear.

For them, breakfast was sacred. A zone free of the daily stress of their academic lives. Every mention of classes or tests was taboo, they came here to laugh and enjoy themselves. Last time they were there, determination almost shoved the Real Knife her father gave her inside her ears, all so she could stop listening him going on and on about the Mashi effect.

Determination had many virtues... yet Patience wasn't one of them.

"I swear on god's name... when this is over, I'll sleep until judgment day."

She muttered, giving a quick sip to her coffee, which helped her brain stay awake. At this point she had eye bags, but it was worth it. Asriel gave his sandwich a small bite, as her fork sank into her chocolate-covered pancakes, a small piece going into her mouth. It was delicious, he noticed, due to the red tint in her usually rosy cheeks.

"I'll sleep so much that once I wake up I won't even know what year it is. Screw the goddamn party, I ain't going nowhere. Don't try to convince me Azzy."

She said in a menacing yet jokingly tone, making him let out a small chuckle as he nodded. The years went by yet she would always remain the same, but it was one of the main reasons as to why they cared about each other so much. That's why, more than brothers or best friends, they saw themselves as twins.

This truly was the best time of his life, no doubt.

"Hey... don't you wish from time to time we could go back to the academy? I don't mean just home but... our classes. We all used to think they were so hard back then, jesus christ... we were so ignorant..."

The eyes of the female moved from left to right as she remembered her past self with annoyance. Well, talking about the past wasn't entirely forbidden, it was nostalgic to a certain degree for sure, after all, being part from one of the first years of the newly-established truth between humans and monsters after the barrier broke was fun, she admitted it.

Part of her childhood was the motive as to why her faith in humanity was restored.

"Don't mention it, it was a completely different universe compared to this... and we were just fourteen... well, fifteen if you count miss Dorothy... educational system, still killing us... what a load of bullshit."

As she kept speaking, the eyebrows of the goat boy rose up, clearly intrigued. What weirded him out the most was when she mentioned the number of students back then, something inside his head clicked, as Asriel stopped munching his food, drinking his chamomile tea a little bit, before finally looking at his sister.

"Fourteen? no, we were fifteen"

He protested, making the girl with red soul rise up one of her eyes, moving it from left to right in denial.

"Nah, we used to be fourteen. You, me, Brandon Ebersol, Alphys, Undyne, that crazy one; Muffet, Lily Attwood, Napstablook... and you know, that dumb piece of junk he had for a cousin, Mettaton.

How could he forget him? one of Alphys's first experiments during her childhood, her pride and the motive of why she got a scholarship in the first place, giving and designing a body for a ghost. Napstablook's cousin, no more no less. Asriel laughed happily as he reminisced his childhood friends.

Chara obviously decided to continue .

"There was Grey Edevane, Susan, the skeleton brothers; Sans and Papyrus... and that imbecile, Lincoln Earl. Then there was teacher Dorothy, fifteen including her."

"And Frisk"

Replied the prince of monsterkind, upon hearing that name, his sister closed her eyes slightly, tilting her head to the left.

"Who?"

Dreemurr gave another bite to his bread, raising his head wanting some time to eat in peace, once he satiated his guts a little bit, he finally decided to answer her question, blissfully ignorant.

"Frisk, the shy girl. Remember? small, hair like yours, golden eyes. Never said a thing."

She, of course, took her hands to her chin in a thoughtful expression as he kept eating in silence. Asriel observed the face of his sister changing from curiosity, to humor as if she was regaining her former smile from back then.

That's what she used to do whenever she thought she was being pranked.

"No Azzy, we were just fourteen."

Insisted, yet the goat moved his head this time, being he who denied her, slightly frustrated at her negatives.

"No?... Frisk was there too. I've been waiting for you to mention her, lil' sis."

The girl with red soul concentrated herself on her dessert once again, while her head rested on her closed fist, she wasn't taking him seriously in the slightest, despite listening. He was looking at him as if he was trying to convince him to put some salt on her coffee or something stupid of sorts.

As if he was crazy.

"Chara... you messing with me? if you're doing so, stop it already. It's not fun, I'm serious."

The scarlet glow in her eyes became even more intense in response, as if she was gaining an hostile attitude. A clear sign that both of them were about to start a discussion, like any pair of brothers would. They would always clash from time to time for stupid things, this one seemed to be another occasion.

"Of course not, dummy. It's just that there was no "Frisk", I remember perfectly we were fourteen, remember? Eight monsters and Six humans."

His head denied her again, lost in thought as his snout rested on his hands, as if he had started a staring contest with his adoptive sister.

"Eight monsters and seven humans. Her name was Frisk, she didn't spoke to anyone and we never told her anything either. You're just trying to mess with me, and it's not funny."

He blurted out, with a rough tone. Internally however, his confidence was wavering for some reason. A small fear was growing inside the pit of his stomach alongside a sense of dread as the conversation kept going.

"I've been reading all these stuff about the Mashi effect, and now you're trying to mess with me just like when we were kids. Enough Chara, I'll repeat myself: it's not funny and I ain't laughing."

WHAM

A small little slap to the table was what he received. The female let out a long, tired sigh filled to the brim with anger, soon, one of her hands went to her face, squeezing her nose bridge, trying to ease up the rage that was rising up from the depths of her soul.

She hated, with all her guts, being reminisced about her past as a jokester due to all the trouble she got into because of it..

She loved her brother, very much, but he was truly starting to push her buttons. If he was someone else, she would've left already. She hadn't done so precisely because he was her best friend, her "twin" brother, and the person she trusted the most. Determination dragged her hand across her face, pulling her skill slightly with her palm as if she tried to wipe out her frustration from it.

It worked.. to some extent.

"Stop it already with that Mashi stuff or whatever, I'm fed up with it! There's no Frisk, you're sleep-deprived."

"What?!"

He was also starting to get angry, but not to a dangerous level like hers. Asriel took one of his hands towards his chest, clearly offended and bothered by her statement. Chara, without saying anything, observed his face closely, taking a good look to his factions, his eyes, and specially pupils.

She was an expert at finding liars, after all, Chara Dreemurr had always been too smart for her own good, even now on her early twenties.

That's why, seeing the authenticity of his concern, started to worry her. Asriel, on the other hand, was getting worried. In the deepest parts of his head, the idea that maybe... that ridiculous theory could be real made him feel as if he would lose his mind, he almost picked up a fight with is sister for god's sake!

And yet... he was so sure...

"You gotta be kidding with me... Chara, she went to the academy with us."

He answered, taking his hands to his head now in order to wipe away some sweat drops. He could recreate that shy face in his mind so easily, as if he was seeing her once again.

"Asriel. Are you messing with me?"

His head denied her question, almost frantically.

"No..."

He tried to hide the panic in his voice, very poorly that is. Chara noticed it immediately, causing both the tone of her voice and expressions change once she realized that, indeed, Asriel wasn't playing around. He wasn't a prankster like her, or that bunch of bones that loved ketchup.

He was being sincere... and it terrified her.

He on the other hand, tried to rationalize the situation as best as he could. Maybe she had simply forgotten her? it was more than ten years ago, after all. Fifteen years to be precise, Frisk wasn't a memorable student, and if he remembered correctly, she sat herself at the back of the classrom, as silent as a statue, always with her eyes closed in order to avoid trouble.

She only spoke whenever their teacher forced her to... any of them, ever, tried to get closer to her in order to not hurt her.

"Sister, you just don't remember her. She was very quite, as in really quiet... I don't blame you, I mean... first grade was such a long time ago."

He insisted, both of them having finished their plates by now. Chara let out a small "Maybe" as one of her arms went to her coffee, trying to finish it up before it got cold. The topic would've died there if it wasn't for her own lack of peace. The way he insisted, it had lighted up two different flames inside her. One, her obstinacy and the other one, her worry. She changed her reply instantly.

"No, no that can't be. It just can't; Asriel, I mentioned everyone, I remember them effortlessly. We were fourteen, I'm sure you're confusing her with someone else."

That made him explode.

"DON'T TELL ME I'M CONFUSING HER!"

WHAM

He shouted at the top of his lungs at the same time he smashed his fists against the table. That took Chara by surprise, so suddenly she backed away still on her seat. Asriel, who's sclera was already blackened slightly due to the small magic he let out, calmed himself upon seeing not only the fear-filled face of his sister, but everyone around him.

Both humans and monsters eating at the cafeteria started to mumble slightly, the multitude was more than enough to finally ease up his spirit, forcing his body to fall back into his seat. The determined one, who's rage disappeared completely, was genuinely worried about the mental and emotional state of her brother.

This wasn't normal.

"What the hell is wrong with you man?"

She kept staring at him, as Asriel let out a long and tired sigh while his neck gave up, his head ending up on his hands, moving it from left to right as his fingers caressed temples, trying to relax himself in a fruitless effort.

"It's not funny Chara... You know that Mashi thing has me weirded out recently. Just... stop... please"

He begged with a tone filled with so much pain and sadness that sent shivers down her spine. Looking at her horrified face made the soul inside his chest tremble in anxiousness.

One that he felt on every fiber of his being.

"Asriel... I swear to god. Why are you so worried about it?... just... relax yourself damn it... are you ok?"

She asked as her body moved, sitting herself now at his side, her left arm going around his shoulders, starting to gently pat him to try and comfort him. That seemed to work a little, or so his eyes told her, due to them regaining their normal state. But the effect was minimum on the rest of his body.

He had been shaken to his core.

"She was there with us... Chara, you forgot all about our reading group? there was fifteen of us and we all made groups, five in all of them. Frisk was with us both. Everyone always joked on a daily basis that you were twin sisters, because you had the same freaking hairstyle!"

As the man continued, the woman didn't found strength to get angry anymore. The princess moved her head in a mechanic way, left to right, as she saw his face filling itself with dread, she was starting to seriously hurt him. Seeing Asriel in a state like that hurt her, because they supposedly had each other's back.

"No, Azzy. I do remember being five in each group, sure... but miss Dorothy was with us, right?"

He kept denying her claims, just as she kept denying his.

"She... walked around, supervising all of us. Chara... Frisk was with us, I know it because every time she had to read, she always drowned herself with her tears and couldn't say anything. And the very few times she managed to, we were all astonished of hearing her voice because she never, ever spoke... "

The girl with rosy cheeks was quiet, her eyes curved into an expression of worry. Both of them had drastically different memories, but the question that scared her the most was... which one of them was right?

Feeling him grabbing her green jacket so she could look at him made her tremble, with tears accumulating themselves on her eyes due to nervousness.

"Chara I-... the car! do you remember that atleast? her mom had beautiful clothes, both of them always wore dresses. She picked up Frisk in a red fancy car, I don't care about them not even now. I could never tell you what makes a Porsche different from a Honda, but I remember her car because it was astonishing. Maybe a Cadillac... ? Come on Chara, please!"

Now he was begging her with all his might, all so she could tell him that "yes, I do" he desperately wanted in order to confirm that he wasn't losing his mind. The human felt dizzy at that same moment, choosing to use part of her trait to keep her mind in place and her physique in working condition. The silence was her only answer, so he decided to keep going on.

There had to be something, SOMETHING that made Chara remember Frisk and he still had lots of things to tell.

"We both used to think it looked great whenever she passed around school, her mother was the first one to arrive, every single day. Frisk rose from her seat as quickly as she could and shyly walked towards the car. Her mother was beautiful as well, she went and hug her even if it was snowing. Daily, no matter what, Frisk and her had the same smell because of her mother's arms, soaked in perfume."

With every single detail and example that came out of his mouth, her state only worsened.

She shook her head in denial for the hundredth time that day.

"Asriel... I don't remember her in the slightest. I thought maybe you could've been thinking about someone from another school, but Mom and Dad had been sending us to the same place since they adopted me. Are you sure it wasn't a dream? maybe a movie you saw?"

His hands caressed his eyelids after closing them, as his head started to hurt due to the stress.

"No, no, Chara, we both always spoke about her. She was in our reading circle at Miss Dorothy's class..."

Just as she kept losing his mind, she got determined and kept caressing and reassuring his shoulders. She always had a motherly attitude after growing up, due to her admiration towards her mother. Asriel used to be a crybaby when they were even younger, but he had grown a spine with age... at least until now.

"And then what? all you're mentioning is first grade..."

"I don't know, she must've moved... but she was on first grade, I swear. Maybe that's the reason? She moved on and you just remember all of us that graduated on fifth grade."

Dreemurr closed her eyes, giving up on trying to question her brother, now she was trying to help him. But it was useless, if there was something she clearly remembered about all of her childhood years, were the classes and the year with miss Dorothy, after all she was one of the first humans that treated her with genuine love and care.

That woman was in her middle thirties back then, and always treated them like her own children.

"I doubt it Azzy, I remember first grade as well and she wasn't there. Miss Dorothy was my favorite teacher, she was like a second mother to me, I remember that year easily. There's just no "Frisk" girl anywhere as far as I know."

And, without knowing exactly why, he started to tremble. She knew him well enough to know he needed a hug, that of course, she was happy to comply. It was as if he had seen a movie about zombies or demons.

As if there was a scene of someone being devoured or swallowed into a mirror, think about that scene and a simple "It's just fiction" until the credits roll with the stupid phrase "Based on a real story".

Then destiny laughs at your face, you look into a mirror and your reflection doesn't move, staring back at you still as stone.

That was the sensation Asriel Dreemurr experienced right now, as he trembled on his adoptive sister's arms. Like the people who could've sworn the statue of the mage Acacius had it's mouth open instead of being closed, or the death of Nerom Mashi on the nineties.

The only thing he could think of...

Was Frisk.

Her existence didn't fit anywhere on his preschool life, nor their neighborhood growing up or anywhere that wasn't that classroom with their former teacher.

What the hell... what the actual hell is going on... ?

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-[Fragment 2: Like a ghost]-

This calmed down that night, but just a little bit. He would lying if he said he was completely calmed down, Asriel, right now, was resting against his best after having taken a much needed shower with cold water, wearing a green pajamas with yellow stripes, similar to his usual attire.

His gaze fixated on the rooftop of his room, Chara offered to stay and have a sleepover that night, but he denied her request with the realization that one of them would have to sleep on the sofa. Neither of them would allow the other to do so, so it would be a constant back and forth the entire night.

He ended up convincing her that everything would be alright, and after promising it, she decided to leave him and go to her own bedroom at the other side of the campus.

Still, now that he had time to think, he wasn't so sure about the idea of this being what his teacher told him about the days before. A part of him still believed Chara had forgotten such a sweet girl, and there was one way for him to confirm his suspicions.

"May I be struck by lightning... I know I am not crazy... I know I'm not... "

He had told his mother they wouldn't be able to contact her this week due to the finals, and of course she understood. But Toriel would always find the time for her beloved children, that's exactly why he grabbed his phone, standing up on the edge of his bed as he searched his mother's number, calling her.

She picked up instantly, clearly excited.

"My child, what a pleasant surprise! how are you doing?"

Said the queen of monsterkind, making the green-eyed goat smile as a happy laugh came out of his mouth. Nodding to no one in particular.

"Hi mother, I'm ok. I called to ask you something, do you remember a girl named "Frisk" on miss Dorothy's class? brown hair, golden eyes, a blue sweater with a dress underneath."

From the other side of the line, the woman with red orbs let out a small "Hmm" quickly losing herself in her memories, stopping her hands from checking the exams of her students. Sure, she was busy with her work as a preschooler teacher, but she didn't mind at all sparing some minutes of her time to talk with her babies.

"Such a random question... no, it doesn't ring a bell. On your seventh birthday you invited everyone, but I don't remember anyone named like that."

Hearing her mention his party made his mind gain another "click" as his eyelids opened up slightly, shocked at the idea of having forgotten it up until that point.

Of course... his birthday...

"Yes, I did invited her but she didn't come. She was way too shy, maybe that's why you forgot her?"

Toriel leaned against the chair in her little studio, caressing her chin slightly as she closed her eyes, sinking herself on her deepest memories just as her son did hours prior during his talk with his adoptive sister. At the end of it, she simply shrugged.

"Well, I have a couple of pictures from first grade, maybe I could sent them to you and you could point her out to me if you see her in them?... come to think of it, why are you asking?"

He never was good at lying, so he decided to be honest. With an embarrassing laugh as a red tint covered his cheeks, it was better for his consciousness. All he wanted was to get rid of his fears.

"Well, Chara doesn't remember her either and it was weirding me out. So yeah, it would be great if you could sent me the pictures! do you happen to have that one with the entire class?"

For Asgore's wife, even if he couldn't see her, it was as if a truck filled with nostalgia had crashed against her, as her lips contorted into a sweet smile.

"That one with all fourteen of you?"

Those words filled her son with a growing sense of dread, by this point he was starting to sweat, causing the fabric to stick itself to his body, precisely because of the freaking sweat covering his body. His eyes opened, clearly in fear.

"Uh... n-no? we were fifteen. There were fifteen of us mom"

The next phrase she would let out, almost made him puke his stomach out.

"How strange... I could've sworn there were fourteen of you"

Hearing her mention the same number his sister did, with so much certainty made his free hand squeeze the mattress with such strength that his fingernails perforated the bedsheets, even if he didn't realized what he had just done.

"What... ?"

He whispered, standing up as quickly as he could, going towards his kitchen so he could grab a glass of water and calm down his nerves. Never before had he been in an emotional situation like the one he was experiencing today, they couldn't blame him for the anxiety and the storm of emotions that was coursing through his soul right now.

"Mom-... yes, just send the pictures whenever you can"

Finally he replied, doubting for a moment, considering the idea of telling her the truth or not and all about his fears, but he decided against it. Toriel was a woman that loved her children above everything else, but she was rational, way more than his sibling, that's why telling her everything would be useless.

The queen's motherly instincts however, had already detected something wasn't right with him.

"Alright... it's something wrong, my child?"

The "no" that wanted to come out of him was barely contained by another glass of water. Asriel rested his elbows against the kitchen's table as his gaze went towards the small window, allowing him to look right into the night sky and it's beautiful moon. Memories of Ebott City, of the life they all shared at Frisk's side, were roaming inside his head, barely there yet still present somewhat.

Things had taken an horrifying turn of events... for worst.

"Yeah, it's just weird no one remembers her."

At the same time he tried to remember all his childhood, his mother checked the pages of one of the many Photo albums she had. The goat frowned when she noticed the big square where she remembered, used to be the picture in question. The rest were pictures of Chara and Asriel drawing or playing.

Yet the one of their classroom was missing.

"I just checked and I don't have the class picture, maybe Muffet's mother does... ? I'll see if I can find it, I'll send you the ones I have for now."

"Understood, thanks mom."

A tired and obviously fake smile appeared on his face. The conversation kept going for a couple of minutes before she had to hang up, but most of the time he wasn't paying attention to her in the slightest. His mind had already been thrown into overdrive mode, working at full time in order to bring some sense to recent events.

The goat sighed once again as he turned off the light in his nightstand, throwing himself inside his bed in order to try and sleep, but being unable to. In the middle of darkness, with his eyes closed, the only thing he could see was Frisk's shape.

Her small figure, that perfect and fawless posture that characterized her, alongside that stoic expression she wore whenever her eyelids closed, trying to lose herself among the people due to her shame, or that stupid blue sweater with pink tripes she always wore above her dress to fight the cold.

Even the perfume her mother impregnated her with whenever they hug, he could still smell it whenever he went shopping with Chara or in some supermarkets from time to time, it sent his mind back in time to first grade.

Asriel squeezed the bedsheets covering his face, closing his eyes even harder now.

He still remembered that fear-filled voice as clear as day, when she reunited the courage to read for the first time.

Everything, he remembered everything about her... he would be able to identify her in the pictures for sure.

What worried him the most was how clever and precise that phenomena was. Universe itself was playing a bad trick on him and so many others, in some kind of way? because... taking Acacius statue for example, so many others through all history had taken pictures in front of it, even before the barrier broke.

Hundreds swore he had his mouth open, shouting a war cry into the sky, going into an album searching for proof against their lunacy, and yet whenever they checked, he always had that calm and collected expression with his mouth shut.

Then there were the vial photos of people trying to imitate said gesture in a stupid and childish attempt to look cool in front of it were even weirder... maybe at one point in time, Mashi effect really changed everything related the statue, yet not the people who posed? it made no damn sense from any point of view whatsoever.

Am I going insane... ?

Maybe this was what people felt on these ocassions, but he couldn't help it. How could he be the only one who remembered someone with so much clarity? if this was truly the "Mashi Effect" he was dealing with, then it was pointless to receive those pictures, Frisk wouldn't be there even if she had been there when they were taken or not.

No matter what, she wouldn't be in them.

Because it wasn't relative, all he could do was search for "traces" and "leftovers" subtle enough to escape the universe's cruel hand that ripped her from the world.

The prince nodded to himself, finally feeling the overwhelming desire to sleep taking over his brain. He needed to sleep, desperately... maybe tomorrow he would be able to find the answers he was looking for, if the universe didn't decided to wipe her out from his head as well while he was sleeping.

.

---

.

CRUNCH~

Giving his toast a bite during next morning, the prince of monsterkind looked at the small package he had received from the postman a couple of minutes ago. He would be lying if he said that anxiety wasn't killing him already, but if it wasn't that what would end him, it would be his hunger. Sitting at the small table that made up his dining room, he quickly grabbed some scissors from his pencil case to cut it open.

Four polaroids, all of them squeezed together by a small elastic, laminated years ago to protect them from time.

The first one, while making him laugh, was absolutely useless. Chara, Grey Edevane and little Mettaton were completely covered in mud after classes had ended, with the black-haired robot having a face that mixed up disgust and annoyance perfectly... of course he would, cleaning up the metal pieces of his small body wasn't an easy feat, it was a bother doing so every time they had fun, even more whenever it rained or snowed.

The second picture wasn't that useful either, more than anything it was a family photo; Chara and him sitting in a picnic table looking at the stars during summer.

"Hmmm?"

It was the third one that made his eyebrow rise up, it was taken back during a Christmas concert where they had been taught three different songs at school to sing as an "Opening act" for a play that would present itself for the entire town. It was humiliating for all of them, that much he remembered clearly as day... all of them except Mettaton.

He made use of his ego and acting skills to such an extent that night, that he could still hear that stupid laugh inside his head. It was one of the main motives of why he never went to see him as they kept growing up, not even now.

The one who had it the worst, was Frisk herself. The motive of why it catched his attention, was the way the humans were positioned. There was a small riser on the stage where a couple of humans and monsters were standing up, while the rest were in front of the stage. On the left there were the monsters; four in front and four on the riser.

And at the right there were the humans... five up front, and three on the riser, all their hands were connected except for the fact that two had theirs down, with a big spot between them.

As if something was missing.

Sans and Papyrus were closing the monster side of the picture. Then the humans started with Grey Edevane, Susan Ward, the big space that was between her, Lincoln and lastly Lily Attwood. Frisk would fit perfectly between Susan and Lincoln, connecting their hands with her own so all of them were holding their hands like the should've.

Perfectly.

Why the heck do they have their arms down?

The fac that there was such a big hole between them made no sense either. Asriel let the picture fall onto the table as he finished drinking his cup of tea, calming down his nerves before they resurfaced once again. Dreemurr could clearly remember Frisk's face, filled to the brim with tears due to the fear she felt that night.

The white dress she had that night, and for the first time they were all using the same colors.

Just before they came out to the stage, she had burst into tears, absolutely horrified at the idea of being seen by so many people.

She didn't sang at all during the entire process, the fact that she hadn't cried again was already a big feat for someone like her. The vague memory of seeing her mother waving her hands and throwing kisses at her in order to reassure and calm her down was present as well, he felt so bad for her that night.

He could see it so clearly... that he was willing to bet his soul it happened.

Letting out a long and tired sigh after seeing the last photo, he discarded it and put it back into the package with the other two almost immediately. It was just a picture of him, Chara and Undyne playing soccer the last day of school. Taking his phone out, he took a quick picture of the concert one, this was the evidence he had been looking for, all along.

Now all he had to do was wait for lunch time to reunite himself with the human with a red soul. The anxiety would be killing him all day, but good things came to those who waited, or at least that's what the Patience users used to believe.

.

---

.

Hours later, at the same cafeteria once lunch time began, the pair of brothers had reunited on the same table that by this point, was royal property of the Dreemurr siblings. For Chara, the aura of happiness surrounding her brother wasn't reassuring at all, quite the contrary, it gave her an eerie feeling.

Because she knew, deep inside her soul, what topic would come out of his mouth that day.

"I want a chocolate cake, no vanilla"

Asked determination, she received her order almost instantly since many of them were already made. Her brother on the other hand, bought a lemon pie and a glass of water. Facing each other once again, the children of the royal couple waited for a couple of seconds, before the prince took his phone from his pocket

"You wouldn't believe what mom sent me today, take a look at this"

And all her determination crumbled down when her eyes glued to the screen. A drop of sweat fell from Chara Dreemurr's forehead as her memory clicked just like her brother's did yesterday, taking her to her childhood once again. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, Asriel was right this time.

They were all holding their hands connecting each other.

So why the hell would Susan and Lincoln break the chain? and even if they had been holding their hands, why would it be such a massive space between them? big enough to fit another person, instead of being shoulder-to-shoulder? the more she thought about it, the worse her chills became. This was starting to seriously mess her up.

Moving her fingers slightly, she pushed the phone back to the green eyed goat, as her teeth sank into her dessert.

The face she had right now made him smirk, because he knew, now he knew... that she was as weirded out as him.

"Wipe that smile off your face Asriel... I admit it, if you had mentioned this child after seeing this, I would've thought it was a joke but... this is... "

"Strange as heck, isn't it?"

He finished for her, and the woman nodded in agreement. Each of them sank into their own set of thoughts, the brown-haired wasn't ready yet to believe in that stupid universal phenomenon that had trapped her brother's soul, by heavens... how could she? the idea of the universe wanting to alter itself and erase, change or erase things, events and people was ridiculous.

Space and reality weren't alive, they just existed and that's it.

And even if they were... what was the point of doing all of it?

DING~

The small sound coming from Asriel's phone brought them back to reality. The young man quickly picked it up, unlocking it only to realize it was an alert from his mother who had sent him a text. After reading it his eyes opened, clearly shocked.

[Your father found the picture this morning, it was inside a cabinet on his shop.]

Tapping onto it to download the archive as he placed the phone in an angle both him and his sister could see, once their eyes laid upon it, Asriel's hands slapped the table in realization.

"Of course! The bee-sting!"

He shouted, pointing at her with his index finger. Chara backed away, slightly afraid due to the sudden reaction, leaning against the chair. Obviously she had no idea what he was talking about, but Asriel's hands going towards her shoulders so she could look straight into his eyes made her realize of how happy he was.

"Chara, don't you get it? we're standing like that because of Frisk!"

Dorothy, their teacher, was in the middle. Six humans on one side, and the eight monsters on the other. The ones at the left turned slightly towards the camera, showing the left cheek causing the right one to be out of view. The other group imitated the gesture exactly the same way, but in the opposite direction, completely hiding their left cheek while showing their right one.

What didn't made any sense was the vast majority of empty space around them. That type of poses, were used to squeeze up the group in a photography yet still allowing it to look natural... kind of.

However, there was more than enough for all of them to be facing the camera like they should.

That wasn't the motive of why they were standing that way, and Asriel felt as if he had stricken gold. A smile appeared on his face as his fingers squeezed the college girl's shoulders slightly harder than before.

"Chara, we're all posed like that because Frisk got stung by a bee! don't you remember? we were gonna take the picture when a bee stung her right underneath her right eye! Her face got all swollen and she was crying because she didn't want to look like that in the picture. The photographer told us to pose this way so Frisk could turn the left side of her face towards the camera!"

Logic had always been her ally until that point, now, her own family was using it against her with such arguments that... she really didn't knew what to think.

"N-no... it's just... we posed like that to save room, nothing else."

The female replied as he let go off her, shaking his head from side to side once again. Asriel's fingers went towards the screen, zooming into the picture to make sure she could see the massive amount of empty space around all of them, more than enough to pose correctly. Her theory made no sense at all.

"Of course not, look at all this empty space, on both sides. So much is unnatural for us to be like this, don't you see it?"

Her head went straight for her hands, giving her face a perfect angle so she could concentrate not on his phone anymore, but her precious, small cake that she had barely touched. Whether it was the evidence Asriel was gathering, or the fact that things didn't seemed to add up no matter what she did...

Something inside her surged and expanded across her being like a fire.

She lost her appetite.

"I don't remember any of it happening, Azzy... Can I be honest with you? this is starting to scare me. We should forget about it"

The way she said it made it seem like an order. She cut the topic at that exact moment, as the eyebrows in the young goat's face arched, not wanting to ruin such a precious time for both of them. Yet, as her sister ate her cake even while feeling full so her money didn't go to waste, his eyes sank into his own pie, having barely touched it.

Forget about it... ?

"I... I can't forget her, Chara... She was real. I can't believe everyone forgot about her..."

He muttered, yet clear and loud enough so she could listen.

.

---

.

That night, alone in his room once again, Asriel couldn't help but lose himself deep in thought, this time in front of his laptop. His elbows resting against the table while his hands supported his head, the man frowned. His sister did not get angry at him, sure, but she was starting to be hostile thanks to the eerie feeling his small investigation caused in her.

By this point, he was already too deep into it, if he didn't get any sort of closure that haunting feeling would follow him to the end of his days. Maybe he wasn't an user of determination like Chara, but right now he felt more determined than ever.

His last hope was to have a reunion with his former classmates. If someone else besides him remembered Frisk, then he would knew he wasn't going insane, despite the fact that he hadn't spoke with the vast majority of them in years, he still had Brandon in his friendlist on the Undernet, they chatted from time to time and every single one he had teased the idea of having a small party dinner.

All of them.

"Better late than never..."

He muttered to himself as his hand went down, the pointer clicked the chat of the bravery user, sending him a quick "Can we talk?" text that also had his number in it. No more than two seconds passed before his phone rang, making him gain a smile filled with hope. He could feel it, one step closer to his goal.

"Hey, Brandon! how's it going?"

At first, he greeted him in a friendly tone, trying to sound as natural as possible. From the other side of the line, a joyful laugh came out of the human's mouth as he said his name in a playful way. Even if he wanted to ask him about Frisk from the start, he also felt happy of talking with an old friend..

"A-ha-ha-ha-hasriel! what's up man? it's been years!"

The malice he felt inside him made him feel as if he was a spider that had captured something in his web.

"I've been good, thank you... I called to ask you a question. You know the holidays are nearby, so I felt kinda nostalgic and thought that maybe all of us could gather in Ebott? for old times sake, my mother once told me she would love to host and cater it."

If the sounds he was hearing were any indication, it seemed as if he had started a small dance out of his excitement or move erratically, most likely he still was the hyperactive maniac he remembered. His happiness oozed out of him into Asriel as well, just for a small moment he felt at peace like he used to days prior.

"Brilliant!, yes, yes of course. I'll see if I can contact all fifteen of us"

It didn't last. The adrenaline going through his veins sped up his heart rate at that very moment in anticipation.

"All fifteen of us?"

He almost choked on his own words due to the nerves. Brandon didn't noticed, still happy.

"Yeah! us and miss Dorothy"

...

It felt as if reality had punched him in the face. At the back of his head, a sensation of horror accumulated itself while the phrase he had just listened went on and on, like a broken record. Brandon always did his best to keep the group together... and if he had forgotten Frisk...

It meant something was seriously wrong.

.

---

.

-[Fragment 3: Back then...]-

Various days later, on December eighteen, to say he was surprised of being inside his old house would be a severe understatement. Not him neither his sister had been on Ebott in years, since during holidays, their parents usually came to visit them instead, not precisely because they had fought or anything of sorts.

They were a happy family of four, without any issue.

The truth was... Asriel hated Ebott City, because it remembered him of both the liberation of his people as well as their oppression. They had been living under that godforsaken mountain for almost a thousand years, he still didn't understood why his parents didn't hated that place. Then there was the horrible cold that not even his fur could fight against.

Most likely that was the reason of why the vast majority of it's people, humans and monsters equally, abandoned the place until Winter went away, if they could afford it of course... Ebott turned itself into a ghost town, a very cold one covered in snow. All that considered, it was no wonder he despised that place.

Despite Asgore and Toriel picking up both of them at the airport with a smile on their faces, and that the human with rosy cheeks had been talking with both of them through the entire journey, he payed no mind to his parents, completely lost in thought, and the memories alongside the feeling of nostalgia that the scenery caused in him.

Seeing those snowy forests once again alongside that massive mountain rising in the horizon above all of them, an eternal monument to their life at the Underground... it was as if he had never left.

Nothing had changed.

"Are you ok my son?"

Asked the former king to his child, him and his wife were making some cookies but he had stopped in order to check on his child's state. The prince came out of his stupor, nodding at the question while he scratched his head, clearly ashamed. He had not say a thing ever since they landed, of course his parents would be worried already.

And Chara knew exactly what was going on inside his head, she was no idiot.

"Yes, I just... you know, I'm just hoping everyone comes and all that"

He replied, trying to avoid the accusatory gaze of determination. The only thing he could think of at every moment was Frisk. In the middle of winter, as snow kept falling and covering everything with it's white blanket, he felt closer to her than ever before. When he was waiting for his parents, Chara at his side while their bodies were being covered by it back at the airport...

It felt as if she was at an arm's reach.

This was his moment. If he was going to find closure at any time, it would have to be here, today. All he needed was for someone else to remember Frisk alongside him so he could die in peace. Then it would mean he wasn't crazy.

That Frisk existed... and that the universe was alive, the Mashi effect was real.

At four P.M was when the reunion finally took place. Much to their disgrace however, teacher Dorothy couldn't assist since her father didn't had much time left, which is why she preferred to be at her parents side one last Christmas, something they understood even if it messed up Asriel's plans a little bit. Lincoln, on the other hand, was completely untraceable.

The last one who ever heard something about him was Susan Ward; apparently the guy got into some trouble back in eight grade because of his magic, and ended up being sent into Juvenile detention, after that, he vanished.

Not like Frisk though; he was still on the pictures and everyone remembered his name. He hadn't turned into a ghost like the brown-haired girl with blue clothes did.

Seeing the other twelve made him forget about her for a little bit. Muffet was still the same flirty, beautiful spider that she always was. Her skills as a baker only improved, now having a small shop in Coastal city.

Alphys was still as smart and shy as she used to be, but she had turned into a brilliant scientist under the tutelage of the former Royal scientist, Wing Dings Gaster, alongside the fact that her and Undyne got married. The Fish lady, on the other hand, pursued a career as a police officer, the eye patch and blind eye covered by it were new, but Asriel didn't wanted to ask about it.

Grey however, wasn't favored by time either. Whether if it was because of Neutral or the stress, that completely white hair gave him a much older look than he was. Remained far shorter than most of them, but his personality had changed drastically, being more calm and wiser than what he used to be, most likely due to him mastering his soul as the years went on.

Mettaton looked exactly as he remembered, except for the fact that he was now inside a taller body, of course Asriel already knew he acted, but what he didn't knew was the fact that he had managed to fulfill his dream of buying his own teather and team, exclusively his, payed with the fortune he made with his skills and multiple successes.

Napstablook kept talking slowly and shly, and of course, still stuck to Mettaton as if he was the black-haired one's shadow. He became a musician, most of his songs were used by the later on his plays.

Just as his Undernet pictures showcased, Brandon hadn't changed at all, he just let his hair grow a little bit. He remained happy and enthusiastic, like a puppy filled with energy, but now he controlled himself way more.

Papyrus was as loud as always, yet his ingenuity he had as a little skeleton had vanished completely. What surprised Asriel the most was the revelation of him working as a Cheft on a restaurant, it took many years of hard working, but he finally learned to cook without using his bone-magic, while his brother kept working at Grillby's, much to Gaster's shame.

He always believed he wasted his intelligence following the easy way out, but Sans never took him seriously.

Lily had grown into an extremely beautiful woman, that worked part time so she could pay up her studies since she was unable to get a scholarship, yet that didn't stopped her in the slightest. At this rate, the user of Kindness would be able to graduate and become the nurse she had always wanted, and help people just as she always said she would.

And Susan still was a complete smartass, spending her time on books and writing, she decided to become a librarian during the day, while she spent most of her nights writing novels searching for her on success.

All of his classmates kept saying neither of them changed in the slightest, he had grown a lot and gained some horns of course. Chara kept having her messy brown hair, having rid completely of her nature as a prankster, Sans almost made her strangle him when she sat on a whooper cushion he placed beforehand.

Muffet telling him he looked handsome caused his cheeks to turn red, the fur on it gained a small pink tone.

But the joy of seeing his old friends once again distracted him just a little bit... it didn't take long for his mind to travel back to Frisk, as they kept laughing and enjoying themselves. Most of the time he had been expecting the doorbell to ring...

Even if he knew it would never happen.

He waited and waited for someone to mention her when every single one of them told their story, of how they went through life as they grew up... but it never happened. With miss Dorothy and that bastard Lincoln accounted for, everyone was here.

And THAT was what broke his heart.

"Asriel?, are you ok dearie?"

Asked Mettaton, his question made everyone's gaze turn towards the goat monster, the aura of sadness surrounding him was dense enough for all of them to feel, obviously sooner or later someone would realize of his emotional state. Looking up to face back the curious and worried expressions of his friends, he struggled to contain his tears.

Maybe he was crazy, maybe the bee-sting had been the power of suggestion and that christmas picture was just weird. Could've Frisk actually had been part of a show or a movie he saw when he was a kid? his mind mixed up reality and fiction as he grew up? it seemed that he was trying to convince himself more than anything.

He couldn't keep pretending he was enjoying this, let alone eat in peace or laugh with the others... because it was wrong. Frisk should've been there with them, laughing, eating, sharing her story and reminiscing the past. The fact that no one mentioned and that everyone acted as if things were in fact, perfectly fine, shook him to his core.

"I-I... guys, I..."

He stuttered, choking himself with his own words. Chara squinted her eyes, moving her head from left to right as subtly as possible, begging him shut his god damn mouth. He didn't wanted to look crazy, before they all arrived, his sister had asked him to not mention her in the slightest, and even if they told him they, in fact, remembered her... then what? of course, he wouldn't be insane... and?

How could he explain everything else? the lack of her presence in the pictures? that she had disappeared completely? The horror of trying to accept what became of her… that would be close to impossible, this would just cause him to share his burden with the rest of them.

He wanted so badly to hear from someone that she was real, but didn't knew how he'd ever forget her if he had to really imagine the universe forgetting her? ripping her from the snowstorms of Ebot City, and sending her into another place light years away, most of it looking the same, with the exception of a few things that were just eerily different.

He wanted to stay shut... forget her... but...

I can't...

He couldn't take it anymore.

"Friends, I want to ask you a question."

He said, taking a page from Brandon's book, filling himself with bravery, metaphorically speaking. His attitude changed into a confident one, which spread to the rest of them. Chara, from her seat, squeezed her nose bridge with her fingers, clearly disappointed.

"What's the matter goat boy?"

Sans asked, causing the prince to sigh a little bit, trying to calm himself. The "tic-tac" coming out of the clock was making him more nervous, but he had to ask. He had to.

"This may sound... weird but... where... where's Frisk?"

He said, preparing himself for the worst. What he didn't accounted for, was Undyne's loud voice coming from the deepest part of her throat.

"HEY! I've been wondering the same the entire time!"

Yelled the police officer at the top of her lungs, transforming herself into the center of attention. But for Asriel, it was as if his heart stopped itself at that very moment while he felt a chill. His eyes went to the red-haired girl's face, looking at that yellow eye with rays of hope on his green ones.

In the middle of the confused silence in the room, he finally managed to smile as a feeling of peace surged within him. One he hadn't felt for a long time ever since he mentioned the girl for the first time, back when he and Chara were having breakfast so many days prior.

I am not crazy... I am not crazy!... SOMEONE ELSE REMEMBERS HER!

But she was the only one. Chara, who already was someone with pale skin, had a face filled with so much dread that it seemed as if she had seen a demon coming out of the mirror. And even that wouldn't have scared her so much as Undyne's words, because her brother, while still terrified, was overjoyed.

"Frisk? who's Frisk?"

Grey asked, tilting his head to the right slightly. Undyne grabbed her chin, completely ignoring the face Chara was making while looking at her right now. She didn't wanted to listen it, she didn't she didn't! by heavens, what kind of sick joke was this? yet it was impossible, Asriel hadn't spoken with Undyne in years, her and Alphys didn't live in Ebott either.

Nothing made sense.

"I don't remember last name... brown hair, golden eyes, quite short. She had a blue dress and a sweater above it, like your sister. But with Pink stripes"

She answered, pointing her finger towards the daughter of the royal couple. An extremely heavy lift was taken away from Asriel's shoulders as his sister gulped, she felt like puking right now.

"Crap..."

Muttered the woman with rosy cheeks, her description fit perfectly with everything Asriel said back then when he almost had a panic attack at the cafeteria. How the hell... could she be so precise?

"What the fuck?... what the fuck... ?"

She repeated once again, this time a little louder as her head fell right into her hands, completely lost in thoughts. This behavior weirded out Papyrus, who turned around to look at the prince first, then Alphys's wife. The mood had changed into one of uneasiness, causing him to both worry and feel curious about the motive.

"Nyeh? Did we miss something?"

Upon hearing his question, the goat boy finally decided to speak up, crossing his arms as he nodded. Now everyone turned to look at him once again, even his sister, of course, still with her head against her arms, dealing with her existential crisis.

"There was a girl named Frisk in our first-grade class, but no one except me remembers her... or at least, that's what I used to think."

He laughed nervously, taking one of his hands towards his face to wipe away a small tear from his left eye. The prince's green eyes fixed themselves on Undyne's face, he had such a bright smile it looked like a sun.

"But you do, Undyne... my god, I felt like I was losing my mind; she's nowhere in any of my pictures, at all. There's no proof of her ever existing except my memories, and I swear, every single day I was thinking I might've gone insane... but Undyne, you remember her as well!... I feel so... so happy and relieved, you have no idea... "

The tone voice he was using was slightly broken, as if he had been sobbing for a good while, even if he hadn't. Susan, on the other hand, closed her eyes as she tried to recall her childhood, yet she looked at Azzy while shaking her head, negatively.

"No, there was no Frisk. I don't remember anyone like that; the rest of you I do, as clear as day... But I can't imagine... how could I forget someone entirely yet perfectly remember the rest? makes no sense to me"

Sans nodded, of course, agreeing with her.

"I'm on board; there were six humans, not seven"

Said the shorter skeleton, yet the annoyed look that Undyne gave him brought a sense of joy to Asriel Dreemurr's tortured mind.

"Of course there was bonehead! she was Asriel's crush, don't you remember? I don't wanna sound like an asshole but you were head over heels for that girl, in fact, one time-"

"MY NOTE!"

The security and euphoria he used on his tone took them all by surprise. Another "click" as the ones he had appeared inside his head. Of course... he had forgotten it. Back then, he had been in love with Frisk, mainly because he used to believe she was extremely cute and adorable.

And Undyne always teased him because of it... heck, now that he thought about it, one of second grade bullies, Elizabeth Lightvale, was the main reason as to why Frisk became such a crybaby.

The silence on the room almost made it look like a graveyard, even with the small "Fuhuhuh~" that came out of Undyne's mouth. The rest of the group clearly looking uncomfortable. The vast majority at least, because the others tried to remember even harder, or make sense of what they were hearing.

"You liked Frisk, Asriel. No one had any idea as to why, but you just did. Then you wrote her this extremely stupid and cheesy love letter, and tried to put it inside her bag during class-"

"And I got caught"

He finished for her, denying with his head as an awkward smile appeared on his lips alongside a chuckle. Goodness... he had forgotten all about it, not even Chara knew for a good while he fell in love with that girl, but when she did, he never heard the end of it. He could still kind of remember the sensation he felt back then, that she would never stop teasing him about it.

But there was still more to tell.

"Miss Dorothy took it from you, and we all wanted to know what the hell did you wrote because after she read it, she started to laugh her head off!"

The red-haired woman couldn't help but laugh even harder, specially because the red tint covering the white cheeks on his face was hilarious to her. That had been the most embarassing day in his entire life, no doubt about it. How couldn't they remember it? they all made fun of him after that.

All of them looked puzzled now.

"I'm sorry... I've... never heard that name before... neither do I remember any Frisk... nor the day you speak of... "

Said Napstablook, with his classic sad tone filled with certainty, now having more motives to be depressed, he felt guilty about the fact that he couldn't remember anything, because they seemed so happy. Mettaton quickly gave his cousin some pats on his shoulder, trying to make him feel better. Chara, who had a better face right now, was still heavily disturbed... her brother had been in love once... yet she forgot all about it?

Impossible, it was impossible. The girl she used to be would've teased and made jokes about it for the rest of her life.

"Well, believe it or not, it did happen. If not, then how can you explain we both remember exactly the same? eh?"

Mashi effect at it's full force. It happened with Acacius's statue, with all the reports of Nerum's death alongside it's date, the marches, the video of his widow heartbroken by his lose. How could everyone remember all of it when it never happened to begin with?

He knew the answer already.

Because something disturbing and unthinkable happened, that they would never be able to explain or comprehend. Something that transformed Acacius war cry into a pose of triumph, that turned Nerum Mashi into a ghost until he died again in two thousand thirteen, leaving everyone else who thought differently like a bunch of imbeciles.

"Maybe... maybe it's just weird?"

Alphys replied, looking at her beloved wife with a curious expression, yet not giving her word the importance they rightfully deserved. She believed they were just playing around with them, until she realized that Undyne wasn't the kind of person who'll enjoy doing that kind of stuff, neither Asriel. But it was catharsis the room was waiting for, because no matter what Frisk's existence -or lack thereof- meant...

It was, in fact, weird... and no one could deny it.

Time went on and on that night, the topic changed so easily that no one ended up caring about it in the end. No one but Asriel, who didn't stopped looking at Undyne the entire time, all he wished to do was grab her hand, pull her away from Alphys and talk about Frisk all night long.

Hear every single memory she could think of, maybe her words would've helped him remember more as well. Now that he knew he might've forgotten who used to be his first love, made him feel worst than before. Could she remember the bee-sting story as well? sadly, he would never have the chance to ask her.

He couldn't talk about it again, but for a very different reason.

It brought a sensation to his gut that he couldn't understand very well; picturing that poor and sweet girl being stung right under her eye, crying moments before they took the picture in their snowy, empty town... that memory alone was sending his soul into a dark place, even if he tried his best to look happy, on the inside...

He was trembling.

That poor child, showing the left side of her cheek towards the camera, doing her best to calm herself and smile after their teacher wiped away her tears with a tissue...

Where is she... ? why no one remembers her... ?

Despite him trying to do his best to forget her as the hours went by, he was unable to. That face got stuck inside his head, he just couldn't forget her. The "Mashi effect" was real, because a girl with brown hair and gold eyes called Frisk used to be real... and now she wasn't. What the hell happened?

Those three questions terrified him the most, that's why all his efforts to forget her were useless, no matter how much he tried.

And now... Chara was equally as messed up as him.

.

---

.

-[Fragment 4: Buried revelations]-

Next morning, Asriel was completely alone at around 2 P.M, his head resting against the window's pane on the living room. His friends had left around 7 AM, going back to the "world of the living" in a way, all of them slept on the Dreemurr Household.

Most of their families either moved, or were outside. That's why they all had to left as soon as they could, not before exchanging numbers and making a quick group on the Undernet, inviting Miss Dorothy of course.

His parents and sister on the other hand, had decided to go out and buy everything they would need for Christmas, both of their children promised they would stay with them until their classes initiated, which would happen in early February.

Right now, with his gaze staring at the snow covered streets of his hometown, looking at the unmistakable and eerie shape of Mount Ebott on the horizon, he couldn't help but frown. He didn't get the closure he was looking for, quite the contrary. Now he was thinking about Frisk more than ever before, as if he could see her shape among the snowstorm.

"Nothing makes sense... nothing... "

He mumbled, as another long and tired sigh escaped from his snout, staining the cold and hard crystal with his breath. He wrote the girl's name on it with his index finger, just to mess with himself... only for it to vanish like any figure would, such a beautiful metaphor that described her situation perfectly.

He could clearly remember her sweet and fearful honey-like voice, reading them a book, or the terrified face she made whenever they had some social event, filled with paranoia that Elizabeth and her stupid older sister Agate would come and throw snowballs at her.

How she walked through the snow, always wearing that sweater she loved so much above her dress, to her mother's loving arms that squeezed her as hard as she could after coming out of her car.

The way she cried after the bee-sting, such a sincere, heartbreaking, sob, not exaggerated like the one a child her age would do... but one that seemed to come from her very soul.

That memory terrified him the most, for some reason.

"Gkh..."

It felt as if he could still hear it. His eyelids closed up as his hand went towards the small name, almost completely vanished from the window, trying to protect in a futile attempt to bring her back. She was such a poor innocent child, yet now not only she was the victim of a bee...

But a cosmic event that erased her existence.

Despite the fact that he had promised his parents he and Chara would remain almost an entire month with them, now that he had time to think, the idea generated disgust and repulsion inside him to such an extent, that it made him feel like a caged bird. Could it happen to him as well? being erased from reality?

It already happened once...

Ebott City had been stained by that phenomena, and everything reminded him of Frisk.

The girl that ceased to exist.

Dragging his tired legs towards the couch, he ended up throwing his body against it, landing heavily on it with a loud "thud" as if he was a log. His hand went towards his phone, still having the picture of the Christmas concert where Frisk should be, holding Susan and Lincoln's hands.

For a moment he pondered around the idea of going into his old closet searching for relics from First grade, it was tempting yet useless at the same time. So he kept looking through the window, completely concentrated on the sound of the wind hitting the rooftop, he cursed the universe and everything around him.

So omnipotent and arrogant enough to leave clues like these...

But even with the evidence on his favor, there was no way to prove she actually existed.

DING~

"Wha-?"

The sound of a notification arriving to his phone interrupted him. Undyne had sent him a message, and giving him a quick read to the first line, he decided to open it upon reading Nerum's last name.

[Asriel. I've read about the "Mashi Effect" some hours ago before getting inside the plane earlier this morning. I couldn't sleep during the entire flight, and I almost had a panic attack. I think that's what happened to Frisk, but I also remembered something else and it may be enough to prove she existed. Your letter; I took it from Miss Dorothy's desk and gave it back to you. Where is it? if you still have it, it'll be enough.]

He almost had a heart attack.

"Jesus!"

He yelled at the top of his lungs as he stood up with such strength the cushion springs squeaked. His fingers trembled as he made a reply, already thinking about a plan; first he would need to call his parents, back then his mother used to clean their stuff.

She would know where his stuff were.

[God damn it, you're right Undyne! I swear I'll find that note and when I do it, I'll send you pictures! then we'll prove she existed for sure!]

First thing he did, was finding his mother's number. Toriel picked up the phone almost immediately, with a happy cheerful tone as usual.

"My child!, everything's alright? it's starting to snow heavily, your father, your sister and I will be here for a couple of hours, you don't mind being alone for a whi-"

Fully knowing he would sound rude and most likely, be punished for his tone, he decided to go for it and interrupt the woman that raised him.

"No time for that mom! tell me, where do you and dad keep our junk? old things, like clothes- seeds, my old toys or Chara's drawings"

Despite not realizing it, he was talking with a frantic voice. Toriel DID notice however, yet the begging tone he used made her know that he needed knowledge far more than reassurance right now. The wife of the former king crossed eyes with her husband for a moment, lost in thought..

"Your father started to rent a storage unit in the north part of the town, you know how he behaves when we talk about the past. There must be a lot of old stuff, I think the key is at my studio. It's everything alright, Asriel? if you want, we can go with you when-"

"Thank you! I'm sorry, but I need to do this alone"

He hang up without a second thought. The goat boy ran as fast as he could towards his bedroom, where his travel suitcase were. Among all the clothes, there was his scarf, a hat and an extra jacket. All of it should be more than enough to keep him warm even in the snow. Going into his mother's studio to see an old key made his heart rate accelerate.

Time was running.

Even if he would've wanted to wait for Chara and his parents to go and check the place with them, something inside him told him that he shouldn't. Most likely the letter would vanish.

It was time to go out.

Somewhere in that white graveyard they all called "home" was the last remnant of a godforsaken girl that he once loved.

And he was going to find it.

.

---

.

"Huff... huff..."

He was sweating like a pig. Even with all the protection and extra layers he put above himself so he could fly with his magic, the wind was cruel and merciless the entire time, as if earth itself was trying to stop him. Asriel Dreemurr took his left hand to his face, protecting his eyes from the snow, ice and cold as he walked.

Finally... he had arrived.

Right in front of his eyes, the gate that would grant him access to the units, at least from the inside. Using some fire magic, he quickly melt away the ice surrounding the door handle, finally sticking the key inside it.

If it had broken, he would've broken the damn door with one of his Stars, thankfully he didn't need to. It took some work and him pushing with his shoulder, but managed to get in.

Clack~

The place was so silent after he closed the door, yet he could barely listen the snowstorm and wind outside. Asriel observed the number on the second key he had, 104. Now all he needed to do was find the one that would lead him to the garage his father rented, nothing but his fire-covered hand and the darkness around him as partners.

He would rather use magic than waste time on turning on all the lights, the green-eyed goat walked with an annoyed look. Being alone in the middle of darkness with a snowstorm outside, it reminded him that he always hated that place as a child. Precisely because he had never seen anyone but his father here, going in and out to store or retrieve more rubbish.

Yet there he was, alone surrounded by doors while protected from the snow by those walls yet it sounded so strongly... it was as if mother earth herself was screaming at him to stop his advance. He had the potential to destroy an entire village if he wanted to... yet without Asgore at hys side, looking for a letter dedicated to a ghost...c

He was terrified.

Eventually, he did arrive. Gulping down, he put the second key inside the lock, spinning it slightly and as carefully like a mother would, scared at the idea of breaking it. Hearing another "clack" and watching it unlock itself gave him a sense of peace. The monster lifted the door as gently as he could, taking note of the horrible creak it made.

It was scary, even if he knew nothing would jump from the darkness to try and catch him.

"Here we go..."

Pressing the light switch, the youngster noticed the massive amount of boxes in front of him, all of them covered in dust. No matter how much he would have to look for, he had come too far to give up right now, when the end goal was on sight. The world wanted to mess with him it seemed, because after a couple of hours, he found the high school books of his sister, alongside clothes Asgore refused to donate.

Many sacks and boxes filled to the brim with seeds and gardening tools.

After a while, finally a sign of progress appeared; opening another box, he recognized the paint ooks they gave him and Chara on first grade. His intuition, his entire being, felt tingly. Most likely he finally arrived at the "zone" where their childhood stuff remained.

Now all he needed was either some luck... or perseverance.

Then he saw it.

A small face drawn, gnawed by time, on a unlaminated card of a human holding a baseball bat. His old sport cards he used to collect back at first grade. The goat boy flew towards the pile, quickly and desperately taking the small plastic container, his arms were trembling as he landed, holding it as if it was his own child.

Effectively, it was filled to the brim with cards of sportsmen and famous people from his childhood, many drawings made by him since they had his initials, and not his sister's, heck, there were even some old notebooks and exams.

At the bottom of it all, a folded up letter that gave him a chill.

In that lonely, cold, silent and terrifying storage room, his trembling hands held the only piece of evidence the universe forgot to delete. A sweat drop fell in front of his face, his heart rate speed up, as his eyes started to look up for her name.

"Dear... Frisk... "

He muttered, reading those two words he used as an opening sentence so many years ago, writen with his handwriting. It was all he needed to reach peace.

Dear Frisk... Dear Frisk... dear Frisk... !

Snif... snif...

As he kept repeating the two words like a broken record, the tears that he had been holding back for so long finally were set free. Asriel let his body fall against the mountain of boxes behind him, slowly, the tears dropped from his face, falling into the floor.

She was real.

Frisk was real. She was real once, in that horrible graveyard of a town, and he hadn't gone insane. Somehow, two worlds collided and the universe's silver fingers took her away from this one, without a single trace other than his memories, Undyne's memories...

And the love letter on his hands.

"Frisk..."

He muttered to no one in particular, as he kept looking at the rooftop in his father's storage room, his eyes fixated on the light bulb above his head.

What happened to her?

Where was she now?

Was she alive?

Trying to figure out where that sweet and shy girl was made him feel nausea. His questions would never be answered, because it was obvious. Frisk was in a place where children learned the politician Nerum Mashi died on a prison, causing a student revolution against the barrier. A place where whenever she imitated Acacius, she didn't posed wrongly.

Or so he hoped.

Because maybe... she was nothing. The universe made a big mistake, and that sweet sobbing girl never fell on her mother's arms once again. Instead, she spent eternity scared and crying in the swirling grey snow.

He didn't knew... yet while being there... sitting with closed eyes, letting the tears fall freely across his face, he wanted to believe her ghost was sitting right by his side.

"Frisk... I'm... I'm so sorry..."

He muttered into nothingness, because that's what she was. Nothing. Yet somehow, someway, he wanted to believe she listened to him. Never before he had felt so closer yet so far away to someone.

There, in that metal room forgotten by time, trapped on a snowy town where the universe forgot... Asriel cried his heart out as he held that piece of paper against the place where his soul was.

.

---

.

-[Epilogue: The echo that once was]-

Many weeks later, once the semester started once again, as Asriel walked through his college's hallways after returning to his current home, he couldn't help but reminisce recent events after that painful realization, he fixed everything and returned home, showing the letter to his parents and sister, he almost killed them.

Neither of them remembered her, as expected.

On Christmas, as he tried to forget and move on, he also made a promise to himself as his family prepared to take the Christmas photo that year. He would never return to Ebott City once he left, no matter what happened. As far as he was concerned, that place should be abandoned and left to oblivion.

Just like Frisk.

But no matter how much he tried to, he couldn't escape her grasp.

Every night as if life itself was punishing him for his actions, all he could see was that poor little girl trapped in a snowy storm, as she cried desperately looking for her mom's arms.

He had sent pictures of the love letter to all his former classmates individually, simply to prove to them he wasn't crazy. Everyone who went to his house that night ended up in a similar state to him, the same state his parents and sisters were in, as they still tried to make sense of their son ever being in love with someone.

Everyone tried to leave it behind, move on with their lives... until miss Dorothy sent them a message on their Undernet group chat after new year.

[I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the reunion, but I wanted to thank you for inviting me, and tell you I'll make sure to assist to the next one. To my favorite class ever!]

It came with a picture.

A drawing made by little Lily, of all her classmates. Clearly made by a child since it was both simple and rudimentary.

Yet as simple as it was, there was nothing normal in it.

It was a drawing of eight monsters...

And seven humans.

It had a little girl with brown hair and yellow eyes, wearing what seemed to be a blue sweater with two pink tripes above a blue dress that covered her knees.

He didn't care about how the rest reacted to that picture... but ever since he saw it, his nightmares worsened to the point he hadn't had a good night in weeks. Asriel was a smart man, smart enough to understand that as long as he lived, no amount of therapy would be able to heal his broken psyche.

Because whenever he was alone, he knew that voice, that sobbing and her face... would be an echo that would follow him anywhere.

The echo of a girl that once was.

The end.