Chapter fifteen:
"It's hopeless." Papyrus sighs sounding rather defeated. "Everyone's gone and he's going to torture Frisk to death. I'm so sorry! I never wanted something like this to happen!"
Frisk feels her heart ache at hearing the way that Papyrus is talking. She thinks she has a good idea about what she can do to help weaken Asriel. "It's not hopeless." She carefully approaches Papyrus and places a hand on his arm to assure him. "It may seem that way now. But there is still a way to stop all of this. Come back to me Papyrus and help me fight him." She gives him a smile when he turns to look at her. "You want to see the good in everyone. So why not see that we can stop this if we all work together? I'm going to be reaching the others and while you guys weaken him on the inside I'll defeat him on the outside. Believe in the others. Believe in yourself. You're a lot stronger than he is."
Papyrus hesitates for a moment before the covering over his eyes fades. His expression brightens. "Yeah! That might just work! I trust you Frisk! Now get back out there and try to reach the others!"
Things fade to black and Frisk opens her eyes as she is knocked away from Asriel. She lands a little harshly on her back on the ground.
"You can freeze time if you want but that won't save you from me!" Asriel insists flying around once more.
Frisk gets up feeling more ready for this than before. She just needs to be able to reach the others from within Asriel. She dodges as more attacks are sent her way. She pushes through knowing that she has to be able to save them. She actually manages to not get hurt this time. She lets her guards down searching for a connection within Asriel. She feels one and reaches for it. She is brought to the same place as before just with Alphys this time. She cautiously approaches the clearly depressed monster.
"It's h-hopeless. I s-should have known t-that I couldn't help. S-Stupid. S-Stupid."
"Alphys." Frisk feels her heart hurt for how Alphys is talking. "You're not stupid. You're actually very brilliant. I have seen that." She smiles as she is sure that Alphys glanced to her. "We all make mistakes sure. Even I make mistakes. And some mistakes can have a big impact." She wishes she could put a hand on Alphys's shoulder. She just doesn't trust her to not scare the other by doing so.
Alphys is a very timid monster after all.
"We know that you meant well. Sure it didn't turn out the way you were hoping. However we appreciate that you came to try at least. That's enough for us. For me. You were so brave doing that. I'll never think of you as stupid for what you did." Frisk keeps smiling in assurance to Alphys who hesitates on Frisks words.
"H-H-How can I t-tell you're not l-lying to me?" Alphys questions and Frisk smile widens just a little.
"I guess you'll just have to trust my words. Especially when I say that I speak the truth. I am very proud of how brave you were to try to do the right thing. Thank you Alphys. You could be like an anime star now. You did so much good and brave things. Not just coming to try to help with Asgore, but you also returned those from your lab to their families. It was the right thing to do even if it was scary. As you saw no one was angry. They had just been worried and they all understood why you didn't want to admit it. Trust me and my words Alphys."
There is a pause before Alphys manages to snap free from Asriels grip. "O-Oh! You r-really think I could b-be an anime protagonist?!" She pauses as if just realizing that she had broken free. She blushes as Frisk chuckles warmly at this. "U-Uh I mean, g-go get him F-Frisk!" She tenses briefly when suddenly hugged by Frisk.
"Good to have you back Alphys." Frisk mentions making Alphys relax and hug back.
"T-Thank you Frisk." Alphys fades away and Frisk is standing before Asriel once more.
As much as Asriel wants Frisk to feel like it's the end she knows better.
Asriel hasn't even realized that he's being weakened.
Frisk hopes to keep that up. She tries to dodge an attack only to be too close and is struck in the shoulder. She gasps slightly tumbling to the floor. She cries out as a few more hit her leg. She also gets a few hits on her arms. She has to lay there for a moment to collect herself when the attacks come to an end.
"Give up." Asriel taunts. "There is no escaping me."
Frisk wants to tell him how wrong he is however she can't have him catching on. She gets up once she's collected herself. She stands facing Asriel even as he floats around. Her legs sting from the injuries however she can still move around. She also puts a hand on her one arm to check a wound. She lets out a breath at seeing not as much blood as she thought would be there. She turns her attention to Asriel. She feels a pull already which feels a little distressed that she's hurt. She can guess who it is especially as Papyrus is already saved. "I can't give up. I've come too far." She races towards Asriel reaching out for the one mentally calling to her. She is brought to the room once more.
This time there is both Asgore and Toriel in the room together.
"I not only failed our children. I failed the entire kingdom." Asgore mutters sadly to himself.
"I promised to protect you all. Yet I still let you go further into the underground knowing the dangers." Toriel mutters to herself. "I'm so sorry. I'm responsible for your fates." She hunches over in guilt over this.
Frisk approaches Toriel first since she has a feeling she will be easier to save first. She knows more about Toriel than Asgore since they share a connection. She just met Asgore so that connection isn't really there. "Mom?" Her saying that single word makes Toriel instantly look at her. She offers a smile to the monster who stares at her despite the scribbles. "You tried. You warned me plenty of times. Gave me chances to turn back. I just know you did the same for the others. However you also knew that you couldn't force them or even me to stay. You had to let go. You were so strong for doing so. It's not your fault what happened to them out there." She smiles hoping that her words will snap Toriel out of it. "Look at you now. You stepped out of your comfort zone to come help me. To finally put a stop to what you knew was wrong. You didn't do it right away since you needed time to heal. That's okay. You should be allowed to take the time you need for your own healing."
Toriel is quiet to process this for a few moments before she returns to normal. "You're right. I may not have done something about it before. However I'm doing something about it now. That should count." She embraces Frisk who happily hugs her back.
The two turn as Asgore continues to mutter to himself.
"I'm not fit to rule. I just make the wrong choices. I get so many monsters hurt until there is no one left to hurt."
Frisk slightly glances to Toriel who stands there thinking for a moment. She lets Toriel ponder things while staring at Asgore. She at first watches as Toriel approaches Asgore. She follows after the female goat monster soon after.
Toriel stops by Asgore with a slight distance between them. "Asgore." She mentions not looking happy yet now having a slightly more understanding look. "You did things out of your anger. Bad things. You may have been too stubborn to realize it. That doesn't mean you can't try to fix it." Her telling him this does get him to turn to her. "Our children's deaths... It wasn't really your fault... I didn't leave because of that... I knew that it was the humans and the circumstances... I left because of what you did after refusing to change..." She closed her eyes with a sigh. "There is a chance." She opens her eyes half way. "We have a lot of healing still left to do. We won't be together like we were before. However I am now more open to trying to heal with you. Instead of all on my own."
"There has to be a way for everyone to get to the surface. We can do it. If we work together that is." Frisk encourages getting a glance of gratefulness from Toriel.
The two watch Asgore who seems to stare at them.
"You... Forgive me?" Asgore almost sounds confused about that as if he can't believe it is true.
"Yes." Toriel lets out a breath. "I don't want to be your wife right now. Just so you don't get the wrong idea. However I do forgive you."
This at least does seem to help as Asgore comes to reality. "That's all I needed. Your forgiveness." He tells Toriel with a warm smile. "I don't expect you to want to be with someone like me after all that's happened." He lets out a breath trying to seem more stoic king like. "I will do what I can for my subjects."
"Just hang back unless I need help." Frisk requests of them as they both turn to her. "I don't want to alert him to what I'm doing just yet."
"Good luck human." Asgore nods his head in a promise to do as Frisk asked.
"You can do it my child." Toriel adds and the two fade away.
Frisk leaps away from Adriel as soon as she comes to reality.
"Stop freezing time. It doesn't do anything but delay your defeat." Asriel growls out making Frisk hope that he isn't realizing something is up. He sends attacks headed straight for Frisk.
Frisk moves as quick as she can in the hopes to make as many attacks miss. She gasps as her side is cut. She mentally reaches out calling for anyone. She feels a tug and races towards Asriel. She gets a cut on her cheek from an attack before his turn ends. She reaches out and is brought to the same place.
Undyne is before her hunched looking upset. "I'm captain of the royal guard. I should have made sure everyone was safe. I let him slip past. I got careless." She mutters and Frisk approaches her though she doesn't seem to notice at first. "I don't deserve my rank. I shouldn't have been so careless. This is all my fault. This whole mess is my fault."
"Undyne." Frisk begins and the other turns to her. "It's not your fault. Even if you set up guards he likely would have still snuck past. He can move underground. Not even I realized he was going to do something like this. And I've met him before. You haven't. He was an unknown threat to you. There wasn't a way you could have known a monster like him was in the underground. Don't blame yourself. I'd be more at blame for this than you would be if that's the case." She smiles at the tall female monster. "You can help stop this threat. Like a true guard does. Snap out of it and help me defeat him from the inside."
Undyne stares at Frisk for a long moment before she snaps into reality. "Yes! I can still stop this! I can't predict every threat!" She grins at the human. "Okay! What do you need me to do?"
"Be ready." Frisk tells Undyne who nods her head. "Just don't let him know that you're free yet. I still need to at least reach Sans."
"I'll try to push Sans towards you. But I'll make sure that I won't be noticed. You've got this!"
Frisk is brought back to her fight against Asriel. She moves back with her wounds making her start to feel tired and a little dizzy.
"Trying the same thing over and over again? It's not going to help you." Asriel laughs and once more sends attacks her way. "Die! Reset so we can play once more!"
Frisk runs away from the attacks with adrenaline for her life being the only thing helping. She feels some attacks graze her skin and she slows down once it's all over. She needs a moment to recover before she can do anything. She mentally reaches out pleading in silence for Sans to reach her. She feels a faint tug and clings to it. She keeps reach out begging for Sans to not lose her. She has to be able to reach him! She tries to pull Sans closer and there's a start of a light before it fades. She tries again this time harder and it works. She finds herself standing before Sans.
"I shouldn't have gotten rid of them." Sans mutters and Frisk almost swears this area feels unstable. His magic must be flaring up so this might mean there might not be as much time as with the others. "Maybe if I still had my other personas I could have been more helpful. They were a part of me and I tossed them away. Now my magic is going to be all over the place!"
"Sans." Frisk gets his attention right away. "Calm down. The other personalities were not good for you. And even with them there wasn't a way you could help more than you did. You encouraging me gave me hope. That's all I could ask for in such a situation. I know that your other personas can rest easy not being trapped. Plus there were some dangerous ones. It's better that they're gone before they hurt someone like Papyrus. We'll support you in learning to control your magic now. For now I want your help in working to stop him! Help me. Please. Papyrus and the others are hoping for your help too."
Sans takes a moment before shaking his head. "I'm not going to be much help." He mutters turning away. "I can't control my magic as well as I used to."
"I wouldn't call that control." Frisk states bluntly. "If you were in control then you would have been able to control your multiple personalities. As well as made sure that none more appeared. Yet there were so many personalities living within you." Her words cause Sans to turn to her. "You're more in control of yourself and your magic than you've ever been. Even if you don't know it yet." She places a hand on his shoulder in assurance. "Believe in yourself. You'll figure it all out. And even if you struggle we will all be ready to help you through it."
Sans lets out a breath and allows himself to come to reality with the area feeling more stable. "Yeah. Papyrus would especially help with any struggles." He chuckles a little. "Maybe I won't be so bone tired so much." He jokes and he chuckles after Frisk laughs a little as well.
"That's it Sans!" Frisk shares a smile with him.
"Go get him kid."
Frisk is brought back to the fight and she isn't sure she can dodge as attacks head her way. She blinks as Toriels flames block the attacks. She also feels a warmth as her wounds are healed making her feel so much better. Her heart tells her that it is Papyrus's magic.
"What!?" Asriel falters a little stumbling in his floating before returning to normal. "You haven't won yet!" He doesn't realize that in his falter Frisk felt another tug like someone pleading to be saved.
Frisk is able to focus more in reaching out to whoever it is, they feel more faint than Sans did, as the others within Asriel block his attacks. While she wonders who else could need saving that might be able to stop Asriel. Surely she doesn't have to save every single monster. As she is pulled into Asriel again only this time she is facing a human who she hasn't seen before.
The human, who has fluffy short light brown hair, sitting with his knees to his chest and arms around his legs. His back to Frisk; So she can't see his eye color.