Chapter Text
It was the end.
The true end.
The dark, freezing void surrounding them felt infinite, stretching far beyond what should be possible. Frisk had that uncomfortable feeling in their gut as if they were floating, although their feet seemed to be resting on something. They were paralyzed.
Perhaps it was fear, or exhaustion, or maybe something entirely different, but it kept them in place as they stared.
Stared at the crying boy in front of them.
Although darkness swallowed any trace of light, they could see him perfectly. The little prince stood just a few feet away, his head hung low and his hands formed into fists. He looked smaller. So much weaker than just a few seconds before, as if he could shatter at any second.
The human wasn’t sure what to do. They wanted to come closer, console him in any way they could. But, before they could do anything, Asriel looked up at them and quickly wiped off his tears with the sleeve of his sweater.
“I-I’m sorry…” The boy whispered. His voice was cracked, but he had a small, reminiscent smile on his face. “I was always a crybaby, wasn’t I, Chara?”
As soon as that name escaped his lips, his smile faded. “No. You’re not Chara, are you?”
“Chara’s been gone for a really long time…”
“Um, what…” He quickly said, changing the clearly uncomfortable topic. Shifting from one foot to the other, he looked away with an embarrassed smile. He seemed to be ashamed that he never bothered to ask this before. “What IS your name, actually?”
As soon as he asked, the human quietly muttered an answer. Frisk wasn't even sure they'd spoken aloud, but judging by the prince's expression, he had heard them.
“Frisk?” He repeated louder. “That’s… a really nice name.”
An uncomfortable silence settled between them. Both of them seemed to want to say something, but what can you even say after everything that just happened?
Finally, Asriel was the first to speak.
“Listen, Frisk…” He sighed, his face more serious. “I want to apologize for everything.”
“I’ve hurt you… I’ve… I’ve hurt your friends. I know you hate me for that.”
He didn’t look at them as he said that, he just couldn’t. Looking off into the distance, his expression showed only guilt and sadness. Frisk watched him sniffle and blink rapidly. It looked like he was forcing himself to talk.
The human didn’t reply.
They knew Asriel did a lot of bad things as Flowey. They’ve seen what he could do, and they were sure there were many things they didn’t know about him yet. Most likely a lot of bad things, there was no point in denying that.
Yet seeing him like this - crying, guilty and ashamed of himself - it was impossible not to pity him. Frisk always did, even when they thought he was just a violent jerk. Now this feeling just grew stronger.
“And this is why…” Asriel continued, bringing Frisk back to the situation. For the first time in a long time, he looked the human in the eyes as he spoke. “I will fix everything. I will break the barrier and… and give everyone their souls back.”
“When that happens I… I will turn back into Flowey.”
His determination faded instantly as he said that. The feeling of… well, lack of feelings, was something that for an emotional person like him was a completely abstract concept. Even if he lived a life like that once already.
“So… I have a favor to ask you. If I can…” He said, turning his back to them.
“Take care of Mom and Dad for me, okay?”
Without waiting for an answer, Asriel began walking into the endless void.
Frisk’s heart sank in an instant. Thousand thoughts began running through their mind at the same time, but all of them doubled down to the same thing; “don’t leave.”
They knew it was the only way - he did just explain to them all the hows and whys afterall - but the human just couldn’t shake off the feeling that, perhaps, there was a way out of this that didn’t involve Asriel's suffering any longer.
It was irrational to think there was some imaginary perfect ending waiting for all of them… but even then, they refused to give up that hope.
And so, they yelled.
"Hey- hang on!"
The words escaped before Frisk even realized they'd spoken. They grabbed the boy’s wrist before he disappeared completely and pulled. Someone twice their size shouldn't have been so easy to pull back, but Asriel's confusion worked in their favor. Caught off guard, he stumbled back to where he'd been standing moments before.
“H-Huh?” The boy muttered, confused. “What was that?”
“Don’t go.” The child pleaded, shaking their head and holding onto Asriel tightly. “We can find a way out of this.”
The prince fell silent, unsure how to respond. The situation was bizarre and depressing, and Frisk’s sudden determination to “find a way out of this” did not really make him feel any better.
“Frisk…” Asriel finally said, gently taking his wrist out of their grasp. “You don’t seriously think so, do you?”
“Why not?” The human pouted, taking the boy's doubt personally. Before Asriel could reply, they continued. “I always find a way. I can do it this time too.”
The little prince couldn’t really argue with that. The human, as strange as they were in their ways, usually came out on top. But this time it just was… impossible, even for them. One way or another, one person had to suffer consequences. And it would be better if Frisk just accepted that already.
And so, Asriel tried to explain it. “Frisk, please understand…”
“When I give everyone their souls back… I will be empty again. I won’t be able to hold this form for long… and, eventually… I will turn back into Flowey. There is no way out of this.”
“But you don’t want to.”
As childish of an argument it was, it was also true. He didn’t, really didn’t. The pure idea of turning back into that plant made him shiver.
But what other choice did he have?
“Yes, I don’t.” He reluctantly agreed. “But unless you've got some miracle idea that'll let me keep a soul, you… you will have to let me go.”
This was the first time Frisk hesitated.
“...What if you just… don’t give the souls back?”
“...”
“Um, yeah… no. Forget about it.” The human shook their head, deep in thought. “Let me think…”
The boy just sighed and hid his face in his paws. This depressing moment started to turn into a childish back and forth… And he didn’t know how to make them understand.
Seeing his response, the human fell silent for a moment. Then, their eyes lit up.
“You’re… still a god, right?”
“Um… Yeah.” Asriel blinked, dropping his hands. “For now.”
“Well, Gods can do whatever they want!”
“So what?”
“Well…what if you just… give yourself a fake soul, then?”
Silence.
“What?”
“Yeah!” Frisk confirmed, now more confident as the plan started to slowly shape in their head. “You can give yourself a fake soul… and then, give everyone theirs back!”
The human placed their hands on their hips, proud of themself as they observed Asriel's less enthusiastic reaction. The prince hesitated before speaking. “I don’t know Frisk… that seems kinda… out there?”
“But I’m trying to help you!”
“I know that, Frisk. I know.” Asriel reassured them. “But… I don’t think we should even try that…”
“Why not? Don’t you want to-”
“I did a lot of messed up things like Flowey, Frisk.” He stopped them mid sentence. “Even if your idea works, how can I look Mom and Dad in the eyes knowing what I did? I hurt you… I hurt them, too! Many times, in fact!”
Asriel wrapped his hands around his arms and looked away. His chest tightened as he recalled all the things he’d done over his life. “It’s my fault Chara died. It’s my fault those humans are dead! If I said no to them in time maybe… m-maybe everything would be alright.”
The boy could barely hold in his tears anymore. It was obvious to Frisk that everything came back to Chara. Without them, Asriel would never listen to anything they say…. but what could they do about it?
Then, an idea struck them.
“Then just bring them back, too.” They shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And the other humans, too. Everyone will forgive you if you fix your mistakes.”
“Frisk…” The boy chuckled sadly. “Forgiveness isn’t… that easy, you know?”
“But I forgave you already.”
“Well… that’s because you are.. you.” He said, looking back at them. “But… not everyone is that forgiving, you know? Mom… Dad… they probably wouldn’t care but-”
“It doesn’t hurt to try!” The human pleaded. “Don’t you want your body back? Don’t you want to see Chara again? Even if nobody will forgive you… You will have my back.”
The little prince fell silent.
They were, as much as it hurt him to say that, right. If their idea worked, everything could go back to the way it was… or, it could go catastrophically bad. Everyone would hate him, discard him and he would be alone anyway… but then, it would hurt him even more if he was just Flowey…
But either way, he could see Chara again.
Even if it’s just one more time.
“Frisk…” He suddenly called their name. His hands fell to his sides as he turned around “I’ve made up my mind.”
“I’ll… see you soon, okay?”
Frisk opened their mouth to answer, but before they could say anything the boy disappeared into the void.
And everything went black.