EnderBound: SOUL of Hatred

Chapter 8: Soulless

(Perspective: Ralsei)

I couldn't believe what I just did. I just killed my brother. He didn't deserve to die. This wasn't fair. Humans like him deserved to live long and happy lives. I saw his green SOUL of Kindness floating in midair. Willow walked up from behind me.

"What have I done?" I asked her, "He didn't deserve this."

"You did the right thing," Willow told me coldly, "He deserved to die. Now, take his SOUL, and you will be whole again. Isn't that what you wanted?" I turned to face her.

"No," I said, "I want to be whole again, but I want my brother to live."

"Sweetie, that's the wrong answer," Willow said, "Take is SOUL now, or I'll eat it." I didn't know what to do. If I left it, she would take it. If I took it, I would be whole again. But either way, Lucas would remain dead. Then, it came to me. If I could find a way to eventually give this SOUL back, I would. But until Willow's plan is destroyed, I would keep it.

"So, you going to make up your mind, or what?" she said impatiently.

"I'll take it," I said confidently, "But only if you bring him back."

"Actually, I'm afraid I can't do that," Willow said, "I'm gonna save this SOUL for later. But don't ever try to rebel against me. Or else, I'll control you with my Hatred!"

"You lied to me?!" I said, "How could you?! We made a deal! I would get a human SOUL and become whole again."

"It's not the first time I lied to someone," Willow said, "I also lied to Gaster, Henry, Ness, the list goes on. Get dunked on!" She grabbed the SOUL and infected it with Hatred. I watched as the SOUL changed from green to lavender.

"Ralsei, you work for me now," she continued, "Don't expect there to be any happy endings. Happily ever after doesn't exist. Understand?"

"Yes," I responded, "I understand."

"Good," she said, "Now, take this SOUL and go find the one they call Frisk. I'm sure she's heading to Winters by now. Her SOUL is required for me to achieve my goal."

"But I thought you didn't want me to have this SOUL," I said.

"I changed my mind," Willow said, "It's now super important that you have it."

"But I don't want it now that you infected," I said, "Having Hatred is a terrible and dangerous trait."

"Did I say you had a choice?!" Willow asked rudely, "Take the SOUL and head to Winters now. And while you're at it, kill Gaster as well!" She shoved the SOUL into my chest for me to absorb it. As I absorbed it, I became filled with Hatred.

"Of course," I said with an evil smile, "Anything to serve you, Willow. I will kill Gaster and bring Frisk to you."

"Excellent," Willow said, "Bring her here when you have her captive." Then, I teleported away and headed to Winters.

(Perspective: Asriel)

After a long trip in the Sky Runner, Frisk, Henry, and I arrived at Gaster's lab.

"Do you think he's home?" Frisk asked, "It's not right to leave a kid alone in the house all day."

"I'm positive he is," I answered, "He may be a bad guy, but he can't be a bad father."

"You'd be surprised," Henry remarked.

"HELP!" Gaster shouted from inside, "I'm being attacked!" Without thinking, Henry busted the door down with his hands. We ran inside and saw Ralsei holding a knife up to Gaster's neck while Papyrus was watching. Papyrus was shivering with fear.

"Ralsei!" Henry said, "What are you doing?"

"That's not Ralsei," Frisk clarified, "He's under the effect of Hatred. No amount of talking will free him from his trance. Only love can save him."

"Whatever the case is, we can't let him kill Gaster," I said, "Let me try out my new PSI abilities on him." I pointed my hand at Ralsei and cast PK Freeze at him, launching him back towards the wall. Henry ran over to Gaster.

"Are you alright?" Henry asked him.

"I am now," Gaster answered, "Why was that child attacking me? I thought we were a team."

"Must have been another one of Willow's lies," Henry suggested, "She is known for doing that." Frisk walked over to the frightened Papyrus.

"We're going to get you out of here," she told him, "Come with us."

"Okay," Papyrus responded, still shaking.

"I don't think my PK Freeze will last much longer," I said, "We should go while we can." We all ran out the door and went into the Sky Runner. After we all got in and seated ourselves, Henry pressed the power button and we all flew away.

"Where are we going?" Gaster asked.

"I want to go home," I said.

"We can't go home," Henry responded, "They'll be expecting us to end up in Onett. We're going to Fourside. We should be safe in the big city. Ionia's concert hall might be a suitable place to hide."

"But what about my family?" I asked, "They must be worried about me."

"Henry, it's more important that we find a way to stop Willow," Frisk stated, "All of our talented friends are back in Onett. They can help us out." Henry sighed.

"My only reason for existing is to protect Asriel," he said, "If I go to Onett, it will only put him in more danger. We're heading to Fourside to discuss a plan."

"While we head there, we can get all the info about Willow from Gaster," Frisk said as she lowered her eyebrows, "I'm sure he would LOVE to explain everything." Gaster gulped.

"So," Frisk continued, "What do you know about Willow so far?"

"Well," Gaster began, "Her SOUL Trait is Hatred. She can use that ability to turn other SOULs into Hatred SOULs, both human and monster. She's a SOUL Eater, meaning that she lives off of the SOULs of others and devours them."

"Anything else?" Frisk asked.

"She's going to launch an army of Starman down on Eagleland to take the SOULs of the innocent, starting with Onett," Gaster continued, "The attack should begin any moment now."

"How do you know all of this?" Frisk asked.

"Willow told me everything," Gaster answered, "She also told me that she needs the SOUL of Fear to truly be powerful." I gasped when I heard that.

No wonder Willow wants Frisk dead, I thought.

"I changed my mind," Henry said, "We need to save our friends. I know it will be dangerous, but now I feel this is more important."

"But how do we defeat Willow?" I asked, "She's powerful, right?"

"There is one way," Henry explained, "We need the power of these four SOUL traits: Kindness, Perseverance, Determination, and Love. I have the SOUL of Kindness, so we've gotten that taken care of."

"But what about the other three?" I asked.

"Asriel," Henry said softly, "You are the SOUL of Love. You are stronger than any SOUL of Hatred. Chara is Determination, giving her the ability to refuse death and keep going. Ness is Perseverance, meaning he will never give up, no matter what."

"But I'm not strong," I said, "I'm just a little kid." Henry turned his head to me.

"Yes you are," he said smiling, "You're the strongest kid I've ever met. You traveled through the whole underground without me. And you won't be alone, you'll have me to fight alongside you."

"Okay," I said tiredly. The rest of the ride back to Onett was quiet. Not a single one of us said another word.