[Halloween event; open] I'll see you on the dark side of the moon

[justletmewin]

Asriel loved the island.

Maybe not everything about it. The changing layout of the castle will always be a pain in the neck, but it's something he's grown used to. The Graveyard terrified him, but all he had to do is stay away. Everything else about the island is amazing: the gardens. The ballroom. The towers with their giant comfy beds and lovely paintings and beautiful clothes. The variety of colorful birds at the aviary. Even the Edge had an odd sense of beauty about it. Almost... calming. Many of the people were kind and willing to look out for each other, with the not-so-nice residents--the Floweys of the island--few and far between. The literal Flowey on the island didn't seem so bad anymore. Frisk is here--more than one, actually! So is Chara. Even his mother... if Dad ever arrived here and made up with her, it'd be perfect.

He didn't know why he didn't change back into a flower. But he accepted maybe the blind Frisk was right. If an entire month went by without transforming, shouldn't he take it as a sign he got a second chance? Asriel didn't need to hide or be afraid anymore. He can be a kid again. With that revelation, he started gaining the courage to talk to people outside of Chara and Frisk. Learning to make friends. It's almost as if... he'd been reborn here.

Then he figured it out. Every time Asriel touched his chest, he felt nothing. The goat monster recalled the warmth of his own soul, which he still doesn't have to this day. Yet he felt love and compassion. He's still himself.

The castle's magic is literally keeping him alive.

But people come and go from the island, don't they? Some of them never return. It's safe to assume they went back to their own worlds. What'll be there for Asriel if he goes home? (No. This island is my home now. Forever.) He'd be sentenced to a life Underground all alone as Flowey. All his friends... gone. He'd be left with nothing but his memories. But what if he can't keep those either? What if his entire life at the castle is erased? Asriel would've never changed for the better. Never addressed his demons. Never comforted and helped those who needed him. Always be that same helpless child. Always isolating himself from everybody for their own good. Always afraid.

He's sick of it.

He won't let it happen. He won't let everything he loved be taken from him again. He won't give up his love and compassion. He won't be imprisoned back in this hell. Fate won't dare snatch this life away from him. Fate won't dare snatch anything from him.

Asriel Dreemurr: God of Hyperdeath stood in the fog at the Edge, a fanged grin marking his expression. All he had to do is control time on the island... that way, he'll be in charge of who leaves and who stays. Nobody he cares about will vanish. Neither will he. Unfortunately, his magic is too weak to take over the island in his current state... He'll need to get his powers back first.

Nothing a few souls can't fix.

Comments

[justletmewin]

"I can make it so. We won't have to leave. People can come and go... but we'll always be here. We won't forget each other. We'll always be friends."

And you won't leave me.

[mercybutton]

Together forever.

This is sounding eerily like the battle. But this time, Frisk hasn't got a [ +SAVE ] to help them.

The staff lowers off their shoulder, held crosswise by both hands. "H… ow?" They've got a suspicion or two, but still. They're used to the Castle being the ruling power here.

[justletmewin]

"Think about it. How would you feel if one day, one of your friends isn't on the island anymore? What if you woke up back in your old world with no way of going back, and knowing everyone here misses you? How do you feel about the idea you might forget being here, as though your life at the castle never happened? Would you accept it?"

He turned to Frisk, and the tone of his voice got dark.

"Would you be willing to go back, knowing fully well all that's there for you is loneliness and unfulfillment? Pain and suffering?"

[mercybutton]

Leaning back, their ears flatten. Maybe they shouldn't have come here. This is really, really…

"No, I wouldn't," they say. "A-Asriel, please. What are you trying to say?"

They're not the best person to be beating around the bush with. They could probably figure it out, but it's such a pain trying to decipher the words of others. No mind games, no "dropping hints." They're really kind of impatient with these.

[justletmewin]

"I'm taking control of this island. When I'm the ruler of this castle, I get to decide who leaves and who stays. You get to stay. It's what you want, right? For you? For Flowey, your best friend? You'll never be separated. I'll make certain of it. You won't leave and forget me either. It's just a matter of time. Once I regain my full power, I'll have complete control over the timeline. Everything will be put in its proper place."

He glared at Frisk.

"Don't try to stop me."

[mercybutton]

Once I take full control of this ti m e l i n e - -
And now all your F R I E N D S ' souls are min e, t o o !
Thanks to you, everything has fallen i n t o p l a c e.

No. Not again. Chara has their battle menu. They can't do this again.

…

They'll have to try.

"N--I mean--no." Thanks for stuttering like a dumbass. "It's--it's not okay, holding everyone together forcibly. Isn't this what happened last time? You, you--tried to take the timeline, you--but everyone, all monsters were… happier when you let them go."

[justletmewin]

"They're happier because they aren't trapped in an endless purgatory the way we are! They don't have to worry about losing themselves for lacking a soul. They're not afraid of becoming an empty being whose entire existence relies on LV & EXP and nothing else. What will become of us when we forget love and compassion? Their lives will never have been saved. Their happiness is temporary and the day will come when one of us snaps and takes them down with us."

"Before I vanish from this island and turn back into the soulless weed I never want to be again, I'm making it so everybody can be happy. And this time... it will be permanent. I remember last time, Frisk. You failed to retrieve my Lost Soul and only saved me half-way. All the memories of who I used to be will be nothing if the passage of time takes it back. But now, while I'm still myself... while I can still love and care about you... I'm making it count!"

[mercybutton]

Frisk backs up, their staff now held more tightly. "A-a-and how? How--you--you want to prevent us leaving by--pausing time? Looping it? That's just like--like--like the, the resets… it'll be like the Underground but smaller. Except…"

Except you've got a SOUL.

[justletmewin]

"You idiot! Why would I want to freeze or reset time after all we've been through?"

White-hot flames swirl in his palms... and not the kind of flames Toriel uses to bake butterscotch cinnamon pie.

"Time passes, even as a flower. I don't intend to remain stagnant, especially in the darkness without sun... or sky... or grass... everything humans take for granted on the surface. If you don't take the future into account, you'll pay the consequences! When I'm in charge of the island, pausing and resetting the timeline won't even be necessary..."

"Now get out of my way!"

Think fast, Frisk. There's fireballs flying in your direction.

[mercybutton]

Fighting visually is not at all their strong point, but fighting auditorily is. The sound is what alerts them first. The sound is what makes them duck, and Frisk can feel the heat pass over the back. The fire that passes through the flame over their head dissipated into projectile sparkles.

You tried to think of something to say, but...

They stand straight, backing up. The flame of their lantern are held defensively in front of them; the crescent metal has a dull shine in the Edge's fog.

[justletmewin]

Hypergod couldn't afford to let Frisk escape or beat him again. They'll ruin all of his plans and put him back where he was at the end of their last fight: Sobbing. Helpless. Alone.

Starving on false hope.

"When I find a way to give you your own soul... I'm coming back for you. I promise. Stay determined!"

But nobody came.

Resentment boiled in his heart and he summoned more fireballs, aiming not at Frisk themself but blooming a walled ring of fire around himself and his opponent. They can't run away anymore.

[mercybutton]

It's true that Asriel is practically the embodiment of their regrets, but they're not focused on that right now.

Well, almost. Chk-chk-chk-blink--their little red SOUL.

The Edge has gone up in flames. Heat sears their open skin. Frisk's stomach falls; fire was always the death they hated most, and here it's almost assured. Without their SAVEs, they won't come back on their own. And Asriel, they're almost positive he'll take the SOUL they leave behind, and if he does, they're not sure they'll ever come back.

they're not sure if they'd want to. The thought scares them.

* Beg, they think, in some absurd moment.

"I don't want to fight you!" they cry. "Asriel, please! I'm sorry!"

[justletmewin]

Asriel gets no joy out of this. As angry as he was with Frisk, they're still his best friend. He didn't want to hurt them, let alone kill them again. But this is necessary. Though he dreaded losing their friendship--they won't forgive you this time--it's a small sacrifice to make as long as they're alive, and he won't change back into a flower and ruin things again.

"This is for your own good." The fire and smoke stung his eyes, but nothing he wasn't used to before. He grit his teeth, ignoring the lump forming in his throat. "Frisk... I know you'll hate me. I won't blame you. But after I do what needs to be done, you'll be together with your other friends forever. None of you will worry about losing each other! You won't have to see me again either. Or know that I exist. So Frisk, please..."

The largest fireballs yet rolled in his palms.

"...Hold still."

maybe its maybelline

[mercybutton]

Something rings in them that makes them freeze. Maybe it's the fire that blazes too close. Maybe it's Asriel's words. Maybe it's…

whatever it is, even as the subsequent fire rolls through the air straight for them, they don't move. And when the smoke and fire and the scream have all faded, all that's left is ash so fine it's almost like dust, and maybe a bone fragment here or there.

And a little red SOUL.



... they dropped their staff. The shaft is burned and lantern broken--it's unusable now.

[justletmewin]

All that's left is the God of Hyperdeath and a scorched ring. Frisk's soul floats in his paw, shaking and threatening to burst. Just like when Chara died and he absorbed their soul. But he won't be a single entity with Frisk; he didn't have a monster soul to be transformed. The scarlet heart centers itself in the goat monster's chest, pulsing with a warmth he hadn't felt since he broken the barrier.

Asriel finally had his own soul. Had it not been for outside factors--preventing them is the whole reason he's doing this in the first place--he'd live a normal life again.

Of course it happens like this.

frisk i'm sorry good god i never wanted this happen please understand i had to do it i must there's no other way it's okay i'm going to SAVE you i'll be so powerful i won't need your soul anymore you'll be brought back and get the happiness you deserve i'm sorry i'm sorry please hold on i'll take care you it'll be all right i'm sorry i promise

His breath shakes as tears stream down his cheeks, and his lips curve into a weak smile.

You should be smiling, too.
Aren't you excited?
Aren't you happy?
You're going to be free.