Undertale - Reprise Part 4

Asgore was crouched down, humming tunelessly to himself, tending to the flowers with a care that harshly contrasted with his size. Frisk didn’t really want to interrupt; gardening had always been one of Asgore’s meditative and calming rituals.

It had taken Frisk years to realise that when Asgore was out in the garden, he was usually trying to hide from something. Sometimes, it was the duties of the crown. Other times… Well, Asgore was haunted by many things. As Frisk’s adoptive father, he had proven to be a warm and caring man with a quiet stubborn streak. But if you followed that streak to the core, you’d find black iron, a willingness to do anything, endure anything, in order to best serve his subjects.

A good person in a bad situation, trying to hold everything together.

Asgore sighed quietly, putting down a watering can with a small sloshing noise and getting to his feet, unknowingly towering over Frisk as he stretched and yawned, shaking off the ache of being crouched for so long. He turned his head slightly, and one of his ears twitched.

“Oh? Is someone there? You got here just at the right time, I’m all done with the garden for today,” he said cheerfully, turning to face Frisk. “Howdy! How can I…”

He caught sight of Frisk and faltered into silence, stumbling backwards a step. He looked shocked.

“Oh.”

Frisk took a deep breath of their own, trying to keep a straight face. It was heartbreaking, to see Asgore looking so… Tired.

“I so badly want to say ‘Welcome home’, but… I don’t know you, do I?”

Oh.

“I was told that a human was coming, so I came here, knowing that eventually you would have to pass through this garden to get to the barrier. To be honest, I was hoping that you would never come. But, now that I can see you… I feel like I can remember a dream, even though I don’t know when I dreamt it.”

Frisk clenched their fists, trying to ignore the frantic pounding of their heart. The small differences in this timeline were starting to add up, and the plan was hanging in the balance. Frisk had come too far to have everything fall apart here, in the shadow of the barrier. There had to be a way to make this work, still. Asgore looked from Frisk’s face to their hands, noting the slight shake and the white knuckles.

“Maybe you’ve had this dream as well? I dreamed of a life on the surface, of the barrier broken and hope for my people, living in peace with humans. I dreamed of second chances, even for someone like me. I dreamed that I was released from this long wait in this empty room. But then… I guess I woke up. It was such a nice dream, too.”

“I… Asgore, I’m… I’m sorry…” Frisk couldn’t stop their voice from cracking. He looked so hurt.

“You don’t have to apologise for a dream, child.” Asgore put on a weak smile, but his heart was clearly not in it. “But that dream did have a nice ending. The one who gave us everything, the one who ended it all, they were doing it for a reason. They wanted something impossible, a gift for me beyond value. The one second chance I knew I would never receive.”

Asgore sniffed, blinking as though something was in his eyes. “I’d give up anything for that chance.“

For a moment, there was only the chirping of birds. Frisk couldn’t raise their voice above a whisper. “I’m going to get him back, dad.”

“...Frisk.” Asgore looked like he didn’t trust his own memory, as though the name had come to his lips from somewhere unknown. “You’re… very determined, aren’t you?”

Frisk wiped at their eyes with a sleeve, sniffing at a suddenly clogged nose, before nodding at Asgore.

“Hmm… I have this feeling that trying to fight you would be pointless, and I have no desire to take your soul. Perhaps this is merely the result of many long years of loneliness… But I want you to follow me. I have… some gifts for you. Six souls, that I… ‘kept’.” Asgore’s voice caught on the word, on the lie he was telling himself.

“Perhaps they will be of some use to you.”

***

Flowey slowly peeked around the corner. In the distance, up the grey stairs, he could faintly hear some kind of commotion. Perfect. The human and that idiot old man should keep one another busy for a little while yet. After that, if Flowey had done his homework right, the loud skeleton would bring every last monster in the underground to the castle, which would mean all those souls would be ripe for the picking. Flowey chuckled to himself, his face twisting into an obscene grin as he drew back into the crypt, riding on a serpentine wave of thorned vines. If he had hands, he would have been rubbing them together as he watched the vines squirm and writhe along the six closed caskets, the creaking of hinges and groaning of metal sounding like sweetest music as the vines ripped them open and flowed into the holes, seeking his long awaited prizes.

Everyone in the entire underground had bigger things to worry about right now. No one could possibly ruin this moment for him.

“Hey Flowey.”

“AAAAAAUUGH! Ahhh! Hahhh… h-howdy.”

The human was sitting in a dark corner, looking intently at a blue soul in a glass container.

“Y-you’re… Why aren’t you up at the barrier?”

“Huh? Oh, it was getting a bit crowded up there. Besides, I’ve never had a chance to see one of these up close before. They’re kind of beautiful, aren’t they?” The human looked from glowing blue shape to Flowey. Flowey gritted his teeth with rage.

“You… YOU! You think you can stop me with just one soul! I have five!” He brandished the rest of the soul containers with his vines. “I have more than enough power here to take that last one from you by force! And after that, I’m going to take everyone else’s souls as well! And then! I’m gonna take YOURS, and you CAN’T STOP ME, YOU IDI-” Flowey was cut short by the human, who casually tossed the blue soul over to him.

“Here, catch.”

Flowey blinked, vines wrapped around the last container. “I… I don’t understand.”

“You’re right, I can’t stop your plan. It’s too late for hesitation or regrets. Win or lose, this all finishes now.”

Flowey’s mind reeled. Why? WHY?!? It didn’t make any sense! This human was all wrong! Flowey hadn’t seen them mess anything up, not even once! He couldn’t Reset, he couldn’t upset this human if it were the literal end of the world, and looking at them made Flowey’s petals crawl!

“What is your DEAL? You don’t make any sense!”

“I’m just… trying my hardest.”

“...You know what? It doesn’t matter. You might have some kind of plan, or maybe you’re just crazy, but it just doesn’t matter! I’ve got the souls, I’m going to become a god, and then it just. Doesn’t. Matter. When I take your soul, maybe I’ll let you scream for a moment, give you a chance to explain yourself.” Flowey’s vines, which had been creaking as they tightened around the containers as he had gotten angrier, finally burst through the glass of the containers. The power flowed into him, filling his empty core. The soul’s emotions echoed, and Flowey relished the taste of the fear. He looked down at the human, who had gotten to their feet and was now looking at him with some implacable, unreadable expression, and he laughed his scorn, reaching out into the castle with his vines.

As the screams of shocked and surprised monsters echoed, Flowey smiled from petal to petal.

“All of your souls are MINE!”

***

“Asriel.”

“Frisk. How did… Why are you here?”

Asriel clutched at his head. The experience of hundreds of years of timelines and memories, folding themselves into a whole and blooming in his mind, it was uncomfortable to say the least. And confusing. The last he remembered, the resets were over.

“I… I had to.”

“Had to…? Had to what? It was over, Frisk! I told you to let go, I told you not to worry about me any more!”

“But-”

“Why are we back here?! Frisk! What did you DO!?!”

But Asriel already knew. Frisk had… Frisk had betrayed everyone. For what? An empty echo of someone that Frisk had never even met. Everyone’s hopes and dreams, burnt to ashes in an instant. Because of him.

Asriel knew that Frisk couldn’t be trusted with the power to Reset anymore. Frisk had to be stopped. Asriel would have to take that power away, and then leave, and go somewhere that no one would ever find him. It was the only way to be sure.

The certainty that flooded through Asriel, it poured out into the space in front of him and formed into two long blades, which he gripped and brandished angrily.

“Asriel, I know you’re angry, but I couldn’t-”

“Shut UP!” Asriel’s grip tightened. The hundreds of souls inside of him… he had to protect them. This would be his last act. The thought of having to do this, to save everyone from himself, even Frisk… it filled Asriel with determination.