Not as good as the real thing

Asriel woke up. It was dark. He kept his eyes closed.

He felt the weight of the blanket press down on him. On his arms. On his legs. They were all there. Nothing was gone. Slowly, he untensed. His breathing slowed. He opened his eyes.

His bedroom, just as he remembered it. It was still early, but he didn't want to go to sleep again. He got up.

-----

Nobody else was up yet. He made breakfast. He sliced some bread, quietly.

It was strange to eat food again. How much time had he spent without a real mouth? Years? Decades? He hadn't kept track, and there was nobody else who could tell him. Even after weeks of being able to eat, the taste of bread was overwhelming. He couldn't help but gorge himself.

The door opened, and Toriel entered the kitchen. "Ah, Asriel." She smiled. He couldn't blame her. But it didn't feel right. "Are you done eating?"

He nodded. "I need to go see doctor Alphys now. Bye mom."

She raised her eyebrows. "Alright then. Please take care."

He hurried outside.

-----

He sat on a chair in Alphys' office, swinging his legs, looking down.

"Your, uh..." Alphys took a deep breath. "Right. Your mass and density are stable now. Your body is taking it well. But that's just your body. How are you feeling? I mean, like, how are your emotions recovering, not how you're doing in general. But you can tell me that too, I don't mean..." She trailed off.

"It's all there now, but it's weird. It's not what I remember. It's superficial. Very simple, and it never lasts long. Something's wrong. It - it's not that I'm ungrateful, it's amazing to have this much, but..."

"It's probably just because of the stuff you're using. It's an unusual medicine. But maybe your memory is wrong? You spent so long wanting it, that's bound to distort-"

"No."

"Well. You're a special case. I guess you're technically not even a monster any more? It could be this is the best your body can do."

"Yes. About that."

"Yes?"

He almost asked. Asked if she knew how he ended up this way. How he could really be Asriel if his soul was gone. If he wasn't just a shallow copy, filling a hole left by someone else. If he had any right to be loved by people who had known the real Asriel. But he didn't. "Never mind."

"Well. That's it for today. Here's a new batch, it should be enough for the next two weeks."

She handed him a can of MTT-brand human soul substitute.