MemoryTale --- Hopes and Dreams

Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of the Underground

On one hand I was bamboozled that this was the moment he decided to show his face again. On a second hand, bamboozled is a terrible word and I should never be allowed to use it again.

And on a third hand I didn't actually have hands at this point so this saying was pointless and dumb.

So I wasn't actually that happy. I was too annoyed to be.

"What do you want? That timing seemed too good to be real," I bit at him. Oh right, I'm trying to be nice. Kinda hard to remember when he wasn't there so I stopped caring for a minute about being nice to him.

"Me? Ulterior motives? Never!" Asriel feigned a gasp, "but in all seriousness, you two just seemed too busy to listen to lil ol' me, and I didn't feel like dealing with," Asriel waved a hand absentmindedly, "this."

"What do you mean 'this'?"

"I mean you getting annoyed. You're getting annoyed right now. I was right," Asriel pouted and turned away.

I considered saying 'hmm I wonder why' but since I was trying to be nice again I shoved that down. Instead, I tried to take a useless deep breath and tried to be productive.

"You said you had a plan, right?" I attempted to poorly change the topic.

Asriel clapped his hands "right! That thing! Yup! You get a lot of time to think when you're alone," - due to actions of your own doing - " y'know!?"

Asriel seemed in a strangely good mood now and it was getting on my nerves. See, I actually have nerves so I can use that! Take that English language and your stupid idioms!

Frisk however seemed unphased, "great! Err, what is it?"

"Simple! Just don't die!"

I... Think we figured out that bit already. Personally, it was pretty obvious to say the least.

"I mean- You should stop people from trying to kill you," Asriel stuttered when he saw our confused faces.

That too was a very obvious point.

"Okay, errr, no offence but a plan usually has a how aspect to it," Frisk said nervously. Asriel chuckled.

"Right right right I was getting to that!" Asriel said nervously, "if you're not gonna kill anyone, which you've made your point I get it, that's not gonna stop everyone from killing you. So to stop dying you need to stop getting people from wanting to kill you!"

"See! I Knew I should have stayed in the RUINs!" Frisk groaned. I merely rolled my eyes.

"And other monsters were trying to kill you there anyways. Just less," I retorted. I didn't have to be nice to Frisk because Frisk... I dunno. It was different.

"And how else would you do that without seeing... Dad," Asriel finished off a lot less enthusiastically then he started, "Chara-, don't give me that look!" Asriel huffed and crossed his arms.

"If there was a better solution I would have thought of it by now."

He had a point, as little as I enjoy admitting it to myself. That's why I'm only thinking this and not bringing it up. I didn't want to go to NEW HOME again but it didn't really feel like a choice anymore.

I tried thinking of anything Asriel wouldn't have thought of. Go back to the RUINS? Couldn't really without a RESET, which Frisk seemed to be against. Figure out some magic way to use a rope to climb back up? Pretty sure the barrier extended back there too, otherwise we would have done that earlier. Hide in a hole? We'd all get bored, probably and then it's back to square one. Plus, food and stuff.

"...Right Chara?"

I paused my train of thought, "I'm gonna be honest I didn't hear anything you just said in the last 5 minutes. I'm currently trying to find a better solution then this."

"Oh, you're sure you're not just staring at Frisk?" Asriel said, voice laced with sarcasm that I couldn't have even imagined back when we were alive.

Apparently, I was looking at Frisk but that wasn't the original plan for Looking At Nothing.

"She! She moved! I was staring off into space! You know when you just stare at one spot for a while and you do not even notice such things like that!" I yelped. I looked away. Asriel just snorted.

"Sure, sure," He grinned a large fanged grin that seemed only around 90% teasing (I couldn't put my non-existent finger on the other 10%).

"Whatever, it seems, apparently, there is nothing else, I can think of, that'd work," I grumbled.

"I mean, if Chara says so," Frisk said. unsurely, "I don't really want to go there but I don't know what else I'm doing right now."

"Exactly! It's worth a shot, and even if it doesn't work, there's no harm in trying, right?"

"...That means I first have to get past Undyne," Frisk said.

Asriel shrugged, "I guess. Not my fault she's in the way."

"Right. Right. I better get going then," Frisk sighed.

"Good luck not dying!" Asriel chirped. Frisk jokingly saluted and ran off.

"Aren't you gonna follow her?" Asriel asked.

"...You were being harsh on her earlier. I just wanna make sure you stop," I said.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard your whole cryfest... Didn't hear the specifics," Asriel grumbled. As much as I cared about him, that probably was a good thing, "whatever, can't go back. Not with Frisk, at least. Beside's, it's pretty inconvenient if she hates me."

I blinked.

"Because we're kinda stuck on the same team, right now," Asriel clarified, "actually, there is something I wanted to ask you."

"What?"

"Can you just- Ugh, I'll ask you later," Asriel sighed.

That wasn't reassuring.

"Look-"

"No. I'm asking you later, just in case," Asriel said, "c'mon, we need to catch up to Frisk!"

I wish things could go back to what they were before but I understood how unlikely that was possible. I just sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

I just wish I could tell if his other idea was.