[Post-Halloween event, OPEN] "Matter of fact it's all dark."

[justletmewin]

It's... hard for him to take. The island feels the same as it's ever been. Fresher maybe. The castle is itself. Asriel is back right where he started, next to the hyacinth bush he woke up beside months ago. Dread welled in the pit of his stomach: oh no not again please not again

Relief sweeps through him when he finds the loamy black patches of soil with tiny green sprouts. Over the past month, the goat child nursed those tiny little plants, which grew from the golden flower seeds he picked off his sweater, pants, and fur from when he fell asleep in the Ruins. He knew it took a month or two of dormancy--longer if necessary, depending on the seasons--before the plants popped out of the ground, but he hadn't expected them to grow. Watering this little patch gave him something to do... a routine to follow like brushing your teeth or making the bed. ...Okay, he admitted. Maybe there was a part of him that hoped the seeds would make it. Sure enough, they did. It felt... weirdly validating, in a way.

If he's still in his current time, this means... oh.

Should one be taking a walk in the gardens that day, they may see Asriel on his knees in the flowers, head lowered in thought. His expression looks... numb.






[[OOC: For those who got their soul stolen, Asriel can apologize to your character here. If not, they're free to just chat. Thank you everybody who participated in the Hyperdeath event! :D]]

Comments

but what if

[itstheend]

This is Frisk and Chara, back together, and they're never... okay, that's enough. The point is, there are now two forces in play here.

Chara hasn't been... in the best mood, since turning back. Fighting themself straight after certainly didn't help. As a result, they've been letting Frisk front more and more while they just kind of curl up at the back and pretend not to exist.

To say Frisk is increasingly concerned by this would be an understatement. They're hoping if they keep things running smoothly - food, drink, sleep - and try to send as many good thoughts and experiences to their other half as they'll accept, then it might be made a bit better for them. Sometimes, they know, all that can be done is riding it out. And if they themself are a little exhausted... that's what stolen determination is for.

Chara likes plants, so the gardens have been a place Frisk has been frequenting. They know there's an Asriel here, and were hoping to find him again while still separate, but didn't expect this turn of events.

They start to run towards him, his name on their lips, and then skid to a halt. Oh. Right. Chara's body. And while Chara hasn't said a word about what happened, Frisk knows a Lost Soul when they see one. Knows that no matter how they looked they couldn't find them. Knows that look on their brother's face. The internal conflict causes a stirring.

What is it now?

Nothing, nothing. You can go back to sleep. There's a heartbeat of suspicion and contrariness, and then grey apathy leaches back in and Chara metaphorically rolls back over to face the wall. And Frisk tries not to feel guilty as they let out a breath. But they wouldn't have wanted to see him after what happened, would they?

Their heart aches for their brother but... they have to consider Chara too. They'll go and maybe ask the other Frisk for a favour for him. Perfect.

It would be perfect, if they didn't knock over a rock border while retreating. Loudly. They cringe.

Suicide warning. Asriel, you done fucked up son.

[justletmewin]

Asriel swears he's hearing things. Is it Chara or his own guilt playing tricks on him? Rocks crackle and the goat monster turns his head; definitely not his imagination. He calls Chara's name and instinctively hurries after them. He's about to offer to help them up when a cold realization stops him. Is this the Chara he spoken with at the Edge?

Everything he said sounded reasonable at the time. It's good keeping a suicide watch for your best friend, isn't it? One guaranteed to work? All he wanted to do is save Chara. He wanted to make up for not standing up against them when their own life was on the line. He assumed this Chara was being stubborn about dying and wanted them to snap out of it. He hadn't thought Chara believed he wanted to put them in a cage.

Like he wanted to cage everybody on the Island. Ha ha ha...

[itstheend]

Frisk's, well, Chara's ears shoot up to their shoulders when Asriel calls the wrong, or right depending how you look at it, name. The expression they shoot at him is the harried one of anyone called out to while trying to sneak. Shh, shh! Don't you know-

Now I know you are hiding something.

Frisk's expression falls into a perhaps familiar three-lined done-ness as Chara surfaces, tuning back into their senses. They give a long suffering sigh when Chara realises just who called out, and the colour of emotions that result. Busted. At least they're up and about now, so to speak?

Frisk. Control. Now.

Frisk does indulge in shooting Asriel a sympathetic look before stepping back. It is very quickly replaced by an angry smile as black irises go red and Chara's back straightens, arms folding behind their back. That this is what their captor normally looks like is a reasonable guess, considering Frisk's reaction.

"You."

[justletmewin]

Asriel's nerves are like ice when Chara responds to him in such... rancor. His fur is on end and he lost sight of what he wanted to say... oh, he knew what he aimed to do. He wanted to apologize. But how to go about it... did Chara remember what happened?

"H-Howdy. Chara, I..." It's Flowey all over again; a soulless being getting his just desserts by having his words tossed back at him. People like us won't hesitate to kill each other if we got in each other's way... "...I did some really terrible things. And I... I wanted to say..."

[itstheend]

"Sorry?"

The tone is icy, simultaneously finishing the sentence and pretending to have difficulty hearing it. That smile has not budged at all. Sorry is meaningless.

"Tell me, Asriel. You are a boss monster, correct? Shall I take your soul, and make us even?"

*Please don't.

"Or no, it would not be even. Because I am at least asking."

There is a great deal of vitriol in the word, as Chara's hands curl into fists at their sides.

[justletmewin]

"L-Look, I--I'm not asking for forgiveness. I know what I did is wrong! But--but I can't go on without saying I'm sorry. I just... I just hope I can make up for what I did to the island..."

Not for Chara's sake, if Chara cared about the island at all. This is for everyone's sake. If he thinks of this place as home, he damn well should treat it like it is.

"I don't have a soul, Chara." Isn't this why the entire situation started? "You couldn't steal anything if you tried."

[itstheend]

He's right, Chara doesn't care about the island. They are, after all, a selfish creature. Always about them, with Chara. Always take take take, with Chara.

"I am sure the island will accept recompense," they snark, tone bone dry. "The people may not."

The events of that time are a fog, but there is impression. Jostling, and voices. They know it wasn't just them. They tilt their head, fingers flexing, briefly given pause.

"You... have no. Soul."

They start laughing, as if they've just been told the funniest joke on the planet. Their arms wrap around their sides.

"No wonder!" they manage through it, and it tapers off to a wheeze. "You remind me of a certain flower I know."

Suspiciously so, in fact. They'd be more suspicious if Frisk the Soulless Pacifist didn't themself trend towards this sort of behaviour, making Chara think it's more of a factor than it might truly be.

[justletmewin]

Asriel furrows his brow as he listens to Chara laugh. Yes, he made a mistake. A catastrophic one, at that. He'd expect his Flowey self to mock him for it, but golly, he didn't need to hear it from Chara. He clenches his paws and a small growl rumbles in his throat.

"You don't need to rub it in."

[itstheend]

"I do not need to," they agree, false-sweet.

But they hate you, Asriel, so they're going to do it anyway. Such growl. So scary. Even at LV1 they bet they could dust him, soul or no soul. Now that they're human again. It's very, very tempting. Do things without souls give EXP? They were at the maximum last time. They straighten up, brush themself off.

"Never speak to me again."

Never attack them again. Never touch them again. Never apologize to them again. Meaningless noise. If they ever see him again, it'd be too soon.

They turn on their heel, despite Frisk's protests, although they keep him in their peripheral vision as they start walking. They're not so stupid as to fully turn their back on someone they distrust without at least some safeguard.

[justletmewin]

Well Asriel? You'd been expecting this. Suck it up.

He swallows the lump in his throat, willing himself not to cry. (There'll be plenty of time for that later, a snide thought remarks) He can't make Chara like him, and he's not going to try. Fists balled at his sides, he turns his back as well. Funnily enough, he fulfilled one of his promises toward this Chara after all; distancing himself from them so they didn't need to see him anymore.

Yet... he thought he sensed someone else in there. Was it like when he projected Chara onto Frisk and denied the latter's presence? Is this... is this really Frisk from another dimension? Is it part of why they got so infuriated when he assumed he knew them? Seems like a mystery which would take a long time to figure out, if at all.

But it's none of his business, is it?