Chapter Text
I woke up to the sound of my own heartbeat. The pulsing magic flooded my ears, blocking out all sound. I tried to move, but my body was still sluggish from the movement inhibitors. All I could do was lay there and breath until my body caught up with my mind.
At least my eyes were working, as I found out too well when the helmet pulled itself off me. The lighting was way too bright, and all I had to block it out with was my eyelids.
“Oh! S-sorry, I forgot you would need time to adjust. H-here, I’ll t-turn it-t down.” The room dimmed, easing the burden. When my vision came back to me, I noticed Alphys was trying to quietly blow into a tissue.
“Are you okay?” She blushed lightly, but she was too focused elsewhere for anything more.
“I… I saw what happened. Asriel, I… I see why it hurt so much now. Dying like that, and then it all hit you at… Oh god, and I put you through…!”
“C’mon, Alphys, I literally asked for it. You think I didn’t know it would end up bad?” It was kind of obvious, since these six Souls were only here with me because they were harvested in the first place.
In fact, I was surprised by how calm I felt. In the end, the yellow Soul, Cliff, died on his own terms. He accepted it because it was in pursuit of the right thing. I kind of envied him, each and every death I had gone through nowhere near as honorable.
“I… I know, it’s just so awful. I mean, dying to someone who looked like family. Chara’s cruelty is just… And now that we know it wasn’t just Frisk, I have to wonder what else they could’ve done. I just…” Alphys stopped pacing, her rambling slowing to a crawl. She sighed. “I just wish we could do something for them, Lily and Cliff, you know?”
Deep down, I felt a tug in my makeshift Soul. I recognized it as an echo from someone inside, like they were asking to take over for a while. Looking in, I was surprised to see how much yellow there was. The meaning hit me like a ton of bricks, and I gladly loosened my hold on my body. My consciousness drifted into the back of my mind, where, though aware of everything my body experienced, I was unable to directly control it. It’s a good thing I trusted the person I was switching out with.
“Don’t worry too much, miss. What’s done is done, right?” My voice… well, my body’s voice changed, taking on the same sort of tone and drawl he talked with. I had to wonder if it would still happen if my body wasn’t so open to transforming. Alphys was quick to spot the change, wide eyes scanning me.
“Um, Asriel, is that…?”
“Sorry miss, but I’m not him. I’m in his body, but I’m me. I mean, Cliff. Wait… Okay, this body sharing thing’s a might weird. We’re different minds, but in the same sort of…” He shook his… our? Yeah, I’ll go with that. He shook our head, dislodging that line of thought. “I’m not cut out for this Soul mixing stuff. You get what I mean, right?” We didn’t get an answer, Alphys already at her sensor monitor. She was muttering to herself under her breath, checking and double checking her readings.
“Amazing! The Determination streams in your body have changed, the flow reciprocating energy back into the yellow and blue Souls! But how? I’ve been the head of research studying them for years, but this kind of behavior is new…”
“Well, if it’ll help any, I think I felt something like this before. It’s a little hazy, but I remember waking up for a bit. It was real dark, and the body I was in was a bit bigger. Still kind of goat like though, and then I heard someone calling for help. I heard something like a big plate breaking, and I went back to sleep. Does that help at all?”
“Hmm, that must have been when Asriel shattered the Barrier. Flowey kept your Souls, so just being a part of him couldn’t be what caused it. Was it when our Souls…?” I saw Cliff trying to move an arm, but it was still paralyzed from the VR machine.
‘You might want to tell her about that.’ He jumped, apparently not expecting to hear me.
“Whoa, what’s wrong!? Did something happen!?” Cliff breathed deep, eyes darting around the room.
“I just… I heard someone, in my head!”
‘It’s just me, Asriel! I can still talk to you from in here.’
“Wait, you can seriously do that? Is there some sort of manual that comes with this thing?”
‘Not really, I just kind of… figure things out as I go. But seriously, that stiff arm thing isn’t normal.’
“Thought not. I’ll pass the message.”
“Are you talking to Asriel?” Frisk was right, talking to someone in your head made it easy to forget the people outside of it.
“Oh, yeah, and he said I should bring up that our arm isn’t really working.” Alphys’s brow furrowed, like she was annoyed more than anything.
“I thought I worked that kink out… It should pass in an hour, but it shouldn’t be doing that anymore. I’ll have to get Gaster’s help with this, maybe rebalance the anesthetic magic output…”
“Uh, excuse me, miss?” Her cheeks flared up again, and this time she was more reactive, sweating profusely.
“Sorry, sorry! And, um, just Alphys, if you don’t mind. Did you need something?”
“Maybe I should just start with people’s names around here. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something. That old turtle, Gerson, and Titan for that matter, are they still around?” In hindsight, I should’ve warned him sooner, but he strayed into a sensitive topic with that one. Alphys looked off to the side, not willing to meet us eye to eye with the DT experiments on her mind. “Was it something I said?”
‘I’ll fill you in later. Something happened a few years back that she’s… less than proud of, and Titan was part of it.’
“I, uh, didn’t mean to step on toes…”
“It’s fine, just, you know, thinking.” She shook it off, forcing a little smile. “Um, they’re both still around, technically, but I’m pretty sure Gerson’s the only one you’d still recognize. Is it okay if I let Asriel tell you about it? I’m still kind of…”
“It’s fine. I get it, shame’s not too great a hat.” She let go of the breath she was holding, relieved about not having to dive deep into the subject. “Since I’m stuck here, could you go see if he’s up for some gab? I’m a mite curious what happened after that whole dying thing. Man, hard to think about it, but I’m dead…”
‘If it helps, I think all four of us are. And you have it lucky, I was stuck as a flower for, like, ten years!’
“Wait wait wait, a flower? How does that even happen? Some sort of monster thing, right?”
‘No, more of a me thing. Trust me, it was anything but rosy.’ Wait, did I just pun?
Gosh darn it, Sans.
“Um, I think I can do that.” Again, way too easy. Chara and me talked from time to time, but not when we were already talking to someone else. I’d have to see if Frisk had any tips. “You guys are alright on your own, right?”
“Well, the bed’s cozy enough, and Lil and me might as well get acquainted with our new host. I think we’ll be good.”
“Well alright. I won’t be out too long, or at least I shouldn’t be. If you can move again before I’m back, there are some sodas in that fridge I brought along over there.” She was one foot out the door before she remembered something. “Oh, and Frisk says it’s easier to cope with dying when you don’t think about it too much. Trust me, they would know.”
“Oh, well that’s a mighty kind bit of advice. Thank you much, Alphys.” It took until she was out of the room for him to realize. “Wait, what’s she mean by that? They’d know?”
‘Frisk has died literally hundreds of times. See, when someone has enough Determination…’
‘CLIFF!’ My ears rang with that scream, the terror conveyed thick and potent. I could feel the Determination near Cliff’s Soul shifting, shaking in place, a volcano on the verge of eruption.
“Lily!” My body went limp as we both delved deeper, following her voice. There, in my core, the Determination that flooded throughout and sustained me accommodated our arrival, forms of raw energy solidifying. They were like our physical bodies in all aspects but color, which changed to match our Souls. Cliff’s was a piercing yellow, while my own shifted through a rainbow of shades, matching the disorganized, yet kind of beautiful workings of my reborn body.
At the very center, within the ring of seven Souls, where the void was overtaken by a sea of color swirling around itself, two stood out. Concentrated there were lights of dark blue and red. It could only mean one thing.
“Cliff, wait!” My advice was ignored completely, his focus completely set on his sister. I couldn’t blame him, standing up for a sibling, but he wasn’t the only one. They came into sight, Lily in blue, Chara in red.
The former seemed paralyzed, fighting against her seized muscles to get away from the ‘demon.’ Chara’s stillness was more by choice, but only slightly so. Their eyes were sunken, deep bags highlighting the sockets, and they sagged under their own weight. They caught me coming in the corner of their sight and shied away.
They knew exactly what I just saw.
Cliff lodged himself between the two, his back to Lily, fists clenched and raised for a hand to hand fight. He seemed certain that Chara was trying something.
“Get your paws away from my sister, you no good snake!”
“Please, wait!” I got in front of him, trying to cut off his line of sight. “It’s not what you think, just let me explain!”
“Explain what, that the toad who went and killed all those folks, who scarred my sister, got us both killed, is suddenly a good guy? Asriel, you strike me like a nice kid, but I can’t just forget all of that junk it put the two of us through.”
“I don’t expect you to.” I flew around, not expecting that kind of response from Chara, of all people. They ignored my wide eyed look, focusing on Cliff and Lily. “I messed up. Understatement of the year, I know, but I did, and you two deserve payback. Go ahead, do whatever you want, I won’t fight back.” They spread their arms open and closed their eyes. I think everyone was freaked out at that point.
“Hold on a sec pard, what’s your game?”
“No game. This is too serious to be a game. I got you killed, so now I’m yours. Just one thing, try not to break my Soul. The red one up there.” Cliff glanced that way, taking note of the murky layer of dust over it. “If it dies, so does Asriel, and I’d be willing to bet that you all would go with him. Just, fair warning.”
“Excuse me, Asriel was it?” A shaky hand touched my arm. Behind me, Lily was still shivering, not letting her eyes off of Chara for more than a few seconds at a time, but she was at least able to move. “What does it mean by that?”
“Well, like I told Cliff, I’m technically as dead as everyone else here.” I took ahold of a little bit of the yellow DT in the air, molding it into the shape of a large buttercup.
“My dust, and the fragments of me that were left, were all stored in a flower. But that person, Flowey, he wasn’t me. He was cruel, uncaring, unable to love. It’s only when I have seven human Souls that I can be me, otherwise I’ll go back to being him.”
The memories were still as clear as day. Every person I lied to, manipulated, and, in many cases, killed soon after, before rewinding everything to do it again, and any of the stuff I put Frisk through, it all still hurt. I didn’t want to think about him, let alone be him, any more than I had to.
Cliff let his guard down, eyes looking between everyone present, hoping there was an answer. Lily’s hold on me tightened, and I could see that glimmer of pity in her eyes. From what I learned about her through the vision, I could tell it was sincere.
“You poor thing, it must have been dreadful!”
“Yeah, you could say that.” I crushed the statue in my hands, hoping that, one day soon, I could drop the shadow it cast as easily. “Really, I have all of you to thank. If it weren’t for your Souls, I wouldn’t be here right now. I’d still be hollow, and alone. Heck, Chara came back from death just to help me.”
The last of the tension in Cliff faded, leaving him with a much more calm, yet no less serious demeanor. He walked towards Chara, not showing an ounce of hesitation, and jammed a finger into their chest.
“Listen here, I’m going to let you go for now, but only because I think Asriel’s a fine person. And I want you to remember one thing.” The finger rose, right between their eyes. “You do something to hurt Lil, or try one of your rampages again, Lord help me, I’ll bust your arms clean off.”
Chara gulped, knowing exactly how Cliff was when he set his mind on something. They didn’t back up, though, staying right in his line of fire and nodding.
“Right, sounds good.” They turned to Lily, looking to the ground for a second before meeting her eye to eye. “And you, Lily, I hurt you the most. If you have any frustrations or hatred to let off, now’s your chance. Again, I won’t move, and I won’t fight back.”
She looked to me, only stepping forward when I nodded. Chara always kept their word. She sized them up, from head to feet, before deciding.
She launched into a pirouette from stand still, whipping her leg across their jaw. Her foot landed on the floor, but was up again before long, connecting with a shot to the chest. She followed the flow forward, bringing her opposite knee up between their legs.
Chara’s eyes bulged, posture hunching over, and I cringed. I don’t care what gender you are, a hit like that is going to hurt. I was behind them as soon as possible, holding them up in the aftermath.
“That was for Cliff.” I made a note, never cross Lily. If we were going to share a body, a vendetta like hers was one to be avoided. Chara was left wheezing, kept upright only by my support.
“Are you okay?” At the sound of my voice, they forced themselves back on two legs. They were shaking, and a little unstable, but Chara refused to topple. They walked a few feet away, lightly pushing my arms away.
“How can you still talk to me so normally? You saw what I did, how much I hurt everyone.” Slowly, I stepped forward, like some part of me was certain they’d just jump away again if I was too hasty.
“Hey, you know as well as anyone what I’ve done. I’ve twisted minds, slaughtered good monsters, just like you. Neither of us can really call ourselves innocent, can we?” They let out a small huff, with the most minor undertone of a chuckle underneath, but there was no joy.
“That’s just it, as far as the timeline will show, the only people you ever did long term damage to are Frisk and Sans. You, technically, haven’t killed anyone. But those monsters I put down? They aren’t getting back up, at least not without being mutated beyond recognition. The humans I used are probably still scarred from what I’ve done.” Their gaze trailed upwards, staring at the ring of Souls above us.
“And now I live with a reminder hanging over my head.” They floated up, the incorporeal space allowing full range of movement. One by one, they took a close look at the four still dormant Souls, but never even tried to touch them. “I can only imagine how many of these guys are going to want my head on a pike, and I can’t blame them.” They were so far away with their thoughts, they didn’t hear me close the gap, wrapping my furred fingers around theirs. I let the warmth sink in before I started talking.
“Say, Chara, look down for a second, would you?” They weren’t in the mood for arguing, staring down with me at the streams of color, of Determination, all around us. “It’s real colorful and peaceful here, right? Kind of like Dad’s garden.” I saw the corner of their mouth start to lift.
“And look at this!” I scooped up a handful of the stream, a bit of red, and fashioned a small heart. A few more drops served as the string, which I happily set around their neck. “Does that remind you of anything?” They laughed a little, holding up the replica of their locket.
“Yeah, a gift from a great brother. Why?”
“Don’t you get it?” I took an armful of DT, yellow and green, modeling two figures from it. “Sometimes, when monsters look at me, I can tell that they can’t help but think of Flowey. But you see me, Asriel, like when we were both alive.” The first figure came out, a slightly misshaped model of a young boss monster, like it was the sloppy scribble of an eight year old.
“When people think about you, they think of what you still see yourself as, a demon Frisk ‘triumphed over.’ But me…” The second didn’t take long, my mind knowing exactly what I wanted, a small human with a bright smile.
“I can only see the sibling I loved enough to help with every crazy plan. The one that I gladly put the sweat and time into forging and carving something nice for.” I nudged the human their way, letting it drift in open space. They carefully took hold of it, as though it was the most fragile thing they had ever handled.
“No matter what else I see, when I hear your name, I’ll think about those good old days, where we could play without a care in the world. You know why?” Their eyes met mine, opened wide, their own ‘why’ burning bright enough to see. “Because that’s the you I love, and it’s the you that you want to be again. So, when it’s just the two of us, Flowey and the demon? They never existed. Here, it’s just Asriel and Chara, two dumb kids who got in over their heads, I promise.”
I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw their eyes starting to water. They never cried, not even on their death bed. I recoiled a bit when they lunged at me, but the surprise wavered when their arms wrapped around me, squeezing just a little too hard.
“Thank you, Az, I needed to hear that.” I hugged back, grateful to have the sibling I knew again.
“You know…” Cliff drifted by, a small smile on their face. “I still don’t care ‘bout you much, but you're lucky to have a brother like Asriel. Keep that in mind, and I don’t think we’ll have too many problems.”
“Hey kiddo, you awake? Heh, and I thought it was old timers like me who needed naps!” The voice echoed, that funny cackle as infectious as I remembered.
“That’s Gerson alright. Well, you asked for him, why don’t you go and say hi, Cliff?” He nodded.
“Wouldn’t be real polite of me if I didn’t.” He drifted up and out, slipping into the controls. I let my consciousness wander, taking a back seat view of the outside world. Gerson had already settled into the cushiest chair in the room, which was coincidentally right next to our bed.
“About time you woke up. You and I both know how Tori gets if you’re late for bed time!” Hey, that wasn’t fair! I haven’t had a strict bed time since I was eight, and he knew it! At least Cliff let that embarrassing comment roll by without notice, more important things in mind.
“I’m afraid I don’t know, sir. Then again, I guess I’ve been out for a few years now, so maybe I should learn.” Gerson’s wily old smirk softened, his eyes going somewhat glassy.
“Yeah, I should’ve figured. You were bound to come back one of these days, weren’t ya? Heh, you don’t sound half bad for what you’ve been through.”
“And thinking with your line of work, you’ve lasted pretty well yourself. I mean, I assume. How long has it been anyway?” The old turtle tapped his fingers together, counting the passing time.
“I’d say a good fifteen years. Decade and a half, but you still have that spark in your eye. More than I could say for Asriel, but he’s hanging in there. Where is he, any who?”
“He’s in here somewhere. Probably watching us right now, aren’t you?”
‘What? I like knowing what people are doing with my body. Can you really blame me?’
“Hm, fair enough. So is it still your body, or is it more like a shared thing?” Gerson’s cackle brought all eyes back to him.
“Hoo boy, that could get hectic when the others decide to wake up. Seven kids tugging at the wheel? Never a good idea, I’ll tell you that. Make sure you get that worked out sooner than later.” I could feel the thought bubbling up, that there would be eight of us when all was said and done, but I knew my body well enough to lock up control of the mouth.
‘No one knows Chara’s in here, and it’s for the best that it stays that way. What do you think people would do if they heard about it?’ There was no way I’d give up Chara’s Soul. They were turning things around already, not to mention losing them would push me back to being Flowey. No one wanted Flowey to come back, least of all me. He took the message, burying his thought.
“Thinking about it, this is still technically Asriel’s body. I don’t think there’d be too much fighting if we just said he got the final say, right?” Gerson scratched his chin, mulling it over.
“Yeah, that fits well enough. So, if we’re done talking about this existential stuff, how about we get to what you invited me for?”
“That obvious?” The wily grin was back, though not quite at full force.
“Kiddo, you and I both know that the doctor’d be better at explaining your whole deal, and last I checked, there’s some personal stuff I know and you want to know. Am I right?” It was unnerving how easily he could read our minds, but it made things a lot faster.
“Right on the money. So, what happened to us? I lost track when I faded away. And for that matter, what happened to miss Toriel?” The pang of guilt was almost choking, and it came from more than just him. He and his sister both had baggage when it came to Mom.
“If memory serves, and I really hope it does, Titan and I figured the least we could do for the two of you was set up a burial. Both caught up in the crosshairs of an old war that really shouldn’t’ve meant anything to you, not to mention that spirit that drove you both over the edge, you deserved some comfort. The best we could really do for you was give you a grave, away from prying eyes.”
“I bashed open a hole behind a nearby waterfall, Titan managed the graves. The only marker we could afford was that tattered, dirty tutu. We left the stretchy parts that actually covered stuff, but I didn’t like the idea of burying you with all that dust that was stuck in the folds. We got it off the rest of the outfit, but I don’t think anything can clean the frilly bit.”
It made sense. Monster dust still had echoes of the monster it came from inside. What else would someone dying in pain want than something to latch onto? His expression had sunk, focus split between his hazy eyes and the subtle tapping of fingers on the arms of his chair. Everything else about him was still, as though he was out of energy to power it all.
“Now we thought about getting your Souls out of harm’s way, maybe give them back to someone who would actually appreciate them, but the other guards caught up with us as soon as we sealed up your tomb. They saw that we had human Souls, and that was the end of that. You two were carted off to New Home, waiting for the last three we were set to collect.” He picked up a little, but it only lasted the length of a sentence.
“Though, in hindsight, things turned out okay specifically because your Souls were there. At my age, you learn to take the silver lining if you can find it.” Silence reigned supreme for a while, a sudden depression weighing down on the whole room. It took a good bit of time for Cliff to work up the nerve to keep going.
“And, Toriel?” Gerson sighed.
“I was right nervous, looking at that door. It was a reminder of old days, of when things were better, and how things turned South so fast for monsters. It didn’t exactly help that we were there to break bad news. I worked down the knot in my throat first, knocking six times, just like you said.”
“I didn’t know who it would be. I knew that she was a she, thanks to your mention, and we put together that she didn’t respect the royal circle since she sheltered humans. You can just about imagine the surprise when it was Toriel’s head that poked through that door. At that point, no one had seen head nor tail of the Queen for the better part of five years.” The gears came to a grinding halt, the mention of that title catching him off guard.
“Wait, Queen!? Toriel’s a queen?” The outburst was infectious, Gerson getting in a hardy laugh.
“What, she didn’t tell ya? Yeah, she packed up her things and left New Home after Asgore went and flew off the handle, but we old folks still had respect for her. She’s actually back in charge of things, now that we’re all out and about. Figured we should bury that hatchet ‘fore any of today’s humans got it in their heads that we were an enemy. Wink, wink.” The incredibly unsubtle hint was lost on Cliff, who was still trying to wrap his head around Mom’s position. Come to think of it, did he know…? Gerson patted us on the head.
“You know, that means you and your sister their are part prince. We’ve been trying to close the gap between the two species, human ambassador and royalty bundled in one and all, but you kids are taking it to a whole new level. Too bad we can’t say it out loud.” That hint, though, was too easy to miss.
“Asriel, Toriel’s your mom!?”
‘Well, we are both goats. I thought you would’ve figured it out.’
“Shoot, I didn’t know how many there were! For all I knew, you were just a random monster with real rancid luck. Hey Lil, you hear that? You’re royal! Heh, imagine the looks on those judges faces if they knew where you were now.” Whatever she imagined must have been good, the giggles coming in loud and clear despite her attempt to muffle her thoughts.
“You keep talking to yourselves like that, I might just start feeling left out.” We could all tell he didn’t really mind. It was just Gerson being himself. “Speaking of, I think my next stop should be Tori’s place. She should be over the moon to see you two back. She sounded so broken up when I gave her the news. I could see the years getting heavier in her eyes with each of you that passed through.” His eyes sparked for a second, an idea flaring up.
“Say, you have those other four in there somewhere, right? Do you think they could get a wake up call, too? It’d take a lot off of Toriel, and Asgore for that matter. Plus, well, I wouldn’t mind squaring away a few things I owe them.” I wasn’t entirely sure. Like I said, I didn’t know too much about how Souls worked. I was about to say that we should ask Alphys when the door flew open.
“I, I think so!” She rushed along, steps unbalanced, with a huge bundle of folders and files filling up her arms. They spilled all over the nearest table, her arms rushing to grab at the white sheets blown out of the pile. “Um, if my theory is right, it was Asriel reaching out to their Souls that woke Cliff and Lily up. Sorry if I’m talking like you’re not here, but it’s hard to tell who’s in control at any given time.”
“Anyway, going over the visual records Frisk gave of the event, and the added mention Cliff made about waking up just as the Barrier shattered, I concluded that Asriel calling for their help in that task temporarily restarted the Souls, like taking a defibrillator to the heart. When the flow of Determination was cut off, they went back into hibernation.”
“Now, through the use of the VR machine, I inadvertently forced open the channels between Asriel’s core and Cliff’s Soul, whose connection to Lily’s Soul also created a path. If I can systematically do the same for the other four, it could, in theory, wake them up the same way!”
That was… incredible! If she was right, I could give them all a chance at seeing the world that they lost. It was Chara and me that set off the chain anyway. If we hadn’t tried to go through with their buttercup plan, Dad wouldn’t have been forced to restart the fighting, and they would have been welcomed with open arms, just like Chara. In a way, I owed them this much.
I tapped Cliff’s mind, sending a signal that said I wanted back in. The feel of my skin slipped over me like a glove, muscles tensing and popping as my influence spread back through.
“It’s me again, Asriel. So Alphys, when do you think we could go through with that?” She pushed the glasses back up her knows, a glare blocking out my view of her eyes.
“Technically, you’re set up for it now, we could do it at any time. But you should know, you would have to go through the same process as with Cliff and Lily. You’ll see all of their last few days, including their deaths. You’ll have to live through them again and again. S-so, I know you want to go through with it, but maybe you should take a break or some…”
“I can do it now.” She stopped in her tracks, gawking at me in surprise. For once, I couldn’t read Gerson’s expression. “You have to remember, I’m not like most people. I’ve died a lot over the last few years. Four more would just be a drop in the bucket, right?”
Actually, if I’m being honest, the idea of dying was still terrifying. Once, it was the thought of never existing again that scared me most. Now, though, it was the pain. No matter what happened to the timeline to bring me back, my intact memories forced me to remember each and every one. I could still feel the cold sting of a knife deep down, even if it was only an echo. Another death would only bring those wounds back to the forefront. The only reason I wasn’t writhing from the pain now was how calmly Cliff took his fall, soothing the sensation enough to ignore.
Gerson’s firm face fell apart, parting in the wake of another of his cackles.
“Well, that’s a kid for ya! You young’ns can take a hundred dings and just keep ticking! Ah, to be a spry little man again.” He felt the need to floof up the hair on my head, like everyone did these days. “You heard him, missy, run the machine again. That’s a royal decree, you know!”
“I wouldn’t go that far…”
“Alright, alright.” Alphys’s fingers flew across her keyboard, caving in to my request. “I see I’m not going to stop you from trying, and it is a good cause after all.” She turned her head our way ever so slightly, peering at Gerson. “But if Toriel comes in here angry about how long it’s taking, you get to explain it.” He, what else, just laughed.
“Yeah yeah, fair enough. Don’t get your lab coat in a twist, we need you to work that thing. No way I could do it.”
“Okay Asriel, are you sure you’re ready? Once the helmet goes on, you’ll be stuck in another memory. Are you sure you don’t need to take care of anything first?” I nodded, nothing striking me as an immediate concern.
“Good to go.”
“Well, okay.” The machinery above me came to life again. Gears turned, bulbs lit up, and power flooded through its wires. The light of the room was slowly eaten away, the mask sliding back over my face. A pair of tubes slid into my nostrils, and the whole case locked shut. I could feel the magic pouring in through my nose, my body slowing down as I slipped back into a false sleep. “Here we go.”