Chapter Text
My eyes opened to a world of black. I blinked over and over again, but nothing changed. Was this what death was like? Deep inside, I felt several other beings resting peacefully, meaning I still wasn’t alone. I guess it could have been worse.
My mind slowly pieced together the events that led to my current state. We fought long and hard, but, in the end, that didn’t even matter. We failed, but at least we went down fighting. That little thought was more than enough to absolve me of guilt. I could rest easy now, if it wasn’t for that horrible, torn voice in the distance…
I turned my perspective, finding two figures floating off in the dark. One was a somewhat familiar human. They wore a blue sweater with two purple stripes. Their face, with a pair of eyes that appeared squinted shut, seemed devoid of all feeling. It was the look of defeat.
Next to them, smiling in such a way that made my heart drop (assuming I still had one) was the demon. It had taken its more human-like state, talking to the other child.
“Very well. I’ll just take what’s mine now.” A bright, red light broke free from the human’s chest as their face twisted in pain. Following shortly thereafter was a Soul. I recognized it, the broken spirit that had been front and center on the demon’s mantle…
So, that’s the human it took control of. It had mentioned something like that during our fight, but seeing it now was still shocking. They looked so innocent, as though they didn’t deserve any of this. I wanted to help them, but how?
My head ached, something foreign to me bubbling to the surface. I briefly recalled when that stranger had planted those numbers in the back of my mind, saying they were important. Was this what it meant?
“Pleasure doing business with you, Frisk.” That name… Something about that name was comforting. It gave me hope. Suddenly, the human started glowing a yellow hue. Their expression became more fierce, as though their spirit to fight had been rekindled. Their Determination spread far and wide, giving me a perfect opening. I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I had to try. I held out a hand and whispered the words.
“Nine, six, two. Nine, six, three.” The human noticed my ripples in this place, slowly but surely repeating me. As the last string left their mouth, the void was instantly enveloped in a blinding light. The demon was in a panic, looking around as reality crumbled. Its fear turned to anger, screaming its lungs out at the human. Frisk, if I remembered right.
Frisk, though, was undisturbed, courage turning to relieved bliss as the demon vanished. My senses all became numb as the light overtook everything I was. I openly welcomed the change, drifting off to sleep as my wounds all disappeared.
-
I jolted awake, checking my surroundings. These dreams had been far more confusing ever since I accepted them as being what actually happened once. The walls around me were all a sterile white, though the usual brightness was diminished by the fact that it was still roughly midnight.
I was on a rather plush chair, scooted off to one wall as to not crowd around the bed in the center of the room. Laying there, completely unconscious, was Frisk. I was only able to somewhat catch that much, seeing as most of their face was obscured by that oh-so familiar, cracked theater mask. It was a relief to see them resting easy.
A soothing pressure made itself known as it wrapped slightly tighter around my shoulders. I leaned to my right, curling back into Undyne’s arms. She seemed happy to have me close again, going right back to deep sleep from whatever half state let her notice I had shifted away.
I had a few minutes to think before my body settled enough to fall back to sleep. It was mostly aimed at the newest vision, a horrifying omen of what could have been. Luckily, it never technically happened. Not in this timeline anyway. We were all happily living on the surface alongside Frisk, though things were getting pretty shaky at the moment. It was still infinitely better than anything that other possibility space included. My mind suitably calmed, I let myself drift back into a peaceful rest.