Chapter Text

Asriel gripped tighter the suitcase with the stuff he had brought, managing to pass his arm through the large floppy handles so he wouldn’t lose it. He had expected the Entity to start attacking relentlessly, but what he didn’t expect was the strange form the Entity had taken. In the center of a hole in middle of the trunk of the eternal tree, there was Patta’s SOUL, and from what Asriel could see…it was no more than a SOUL, with just 30 HP. Despite the control the Entity wielded not only over his own remains but also over the timeline, it was astonishingly weak compared to virtually all monsters and many of the humans Asriel had met.

The environment of the void was disorienting, too. Asriel was floating, and he knew he could will himself to move in any direction. It felt like being underwater, not having anything to hold onto.

Attacking the Entity wasn’t an option. Even though Asriel had no ill intention at all, he feared the power provided by Frisk’s SOUL would be too strong. Then how to stop the FIGHT? Was this a test of endurance, did the Entity expect him to attack back, what was he supposed to do?

There wasn’t time to wonder about that. Three branches broke, a crackling noise resonating in the void, and quickly crossed the void towards Asriel. ‘Watch out!’ Frisk shouted in Asriel’s head. The monster moved immediately, gasping and barely getting out of the way of the first branch. One of his curved horns scraped it when it soared above him, and while it didn’t hurt him in any way, he felt the static shock emanating from it. ‘H-He almost hit you…’ Frisk had thought the Entity wouldn’t dare to try to attack Asriel, but clearly they had underestimated the opponent’s determination to get away with their timeline mangling.

Asriel didn’t even have time to reply to Frisk, the other two branches arrived mere seconds after the first one. Dodging those was easier, Asriel managed to keep his distance. The branches didn’t get too far, immediately halting and returning back the exact way those had come through. “Woah!”

Are you going to defend them by dodging? Really?

Although the Entity had just ‘said’ that in the air, he had his own mental turmoil about the fight. ‘I can’t believe I’m trying to beat up a child…’ they were thinking over and over.

Asriel frowned a little after reading that. “I’m not—“

“Catch him, Azzy!”

As if Frisk had momentarily taken control, Asriel’s body moved forward towards the intricate web The Entity formed. That hadn’t been what the Entity had expected. Bristling and dragging back the broken branches, the Entity retreated. Asriel didn’t try to use his magic at any point, but the Entity continued retreating, trying to keep his distance from the monster. Noting this may be a way to end the fight soon, Asriel accelerated, avoiding any stray shards that detached from the Entity’s form.

It wasn’t long before they got back to the golden thread. The Entity suddenly changed direction in order to avoid colliding against it, hovering above it as if daring Asriel to come any closer. It almost worked: Asriel hesitated to approaching. Taking advantage of the opportunity, The Entity’s roots circled around Asriel, trying to ensnare him. ‘Get closer!’ Frisk ordered. Asriel moved before the roots closed onto where he had been floating a mere second before.

Being so close to the timeline didn’t seem to deter the Entity. He stopped, wrapping itself around the timeline and starting to slide over it.

That’s it. Enough of this.

The Entity’s constant near contact with the timeline itself started distorting the void around, images emerging and forming . Asriel stopped, looking at the scene that had started to take over the emptiness. It was Patta’s home, the place he had awoken at, the place that kickstarted the journey, albeit almost in complete grayscale.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the Entity attacked.

Below Asriel and the timeline several spheres formed, following Asriel’s movements. Without warning, a few of those sphere shot upwards, completely missing Asriel and leaving a trail of shards. “What?” The attack didn’t make sense to Asriel until all the spheres that had ascended exploded, dividing into several smaller spheres that rained all over the place. Asriel flew to a side, narrowly avoiding one of the scenes. It crashed against the timeline, a sizzling sound emanating from it. “Patta! Be careful!” he shouted just before one of those spheres hit him on top of his head.

Pain coursed through his head. Asriel moved to a side, dazed, right into the trail of a recently ascended sphere. It felt as if he had crashed against an extremely cold waterfall. He could feel his HP going down, not by much, but he was definitely suffering damage.

‘We can’t dodge all of those!’

Frisk was right, there were too many falling all around Asriel. The monster dodged three more before gathering fire magic in his hands. The moment one of the falling orbs seemed to be about to crash against him, Asriel launched what he intended to be a single ember to destroy it. Instead a large amount of embers sprung from his hand, completely obliterating the orb. The surprise at his own power got Asriel dumbfounded for a second, the whooshing sounds of the last remains of the Entity’s attack bringing him back to reality.

Aiming at the falling shards was easy, and Asriel managed to protect himself against several spheres that would have otherwise hit him. The timeline was hit many times; it didn’t seem to receive any damage.

That’s when Asriel realized he had accidentally forced the issue. By driving the Entity back to the timeline, he had worsened the situation. He had to make sure the timeline was safe. Clenching his teeth, Asriel didn’t reply, but he really hoped this fight wasn’t going to make everything much worse than it should have been.

For a moment Asriel could swear he could hear the sound of planes and the noise of the crowds. The Entity, once again noticing Asriel had been distracted, used his own memories to create his attack:

A familiar shape emerged around Asriel, snapping him out from his brief daze. A huge white mechanism formed, Asriel being in the center of one of the bullet chambers. ‘What is this?’

“Don’t worry! I got it covered!” Asriel told Frisk. The attack started spinning at high speeds, the walls between the chambers turning orange to force Asriel to keep moving. He wasn’t going to let it stop him, though. Asriel gathered a lot of magic before releasing it in an explosion, shattering the Entity’s attack and freeing himself. The heat of the fire warped the illusion of the airport, shattering it and briefly showing the timeline underneath him. The vision didn’t last long.

The clouds swirled around Asriel, getting blurrier until it was a vortex of sharp pieces threatening to close onto him. Managing to keep it all at bay through skillful use of stars, Asriel moved upwards, leaving the vortex while it crumbled away thanks to his magic. His pupils shrank in surprise when he saw what was awaiting him.

From the center of the Entity’s web, a fast ray of fragments was shot towards Asriel. There was no time to dodge, instead Asriel retaliated, creating a constant stream of fire magic. The fragments and the fire collided, hissing resonating through the void, but it was undeniable Asriel was much stronger than the Entity. The fire overtook the fragments ray, turning it back towards the Entity and making it crash right on the SOUL.

The Entity took the damage stoically, not letting it deter him, although the whole structure he had created around him shook and threatened to fall apart. It took him all his concentration not to let that happen.

The alleys of the city formed, and although it was only an illusion, Asriel felt kind of constricted by the narrow passageways.

“We have to keep moving” the monster encouraged himself and moved forward, once again trying to reach the Entity. The roots of the Entity swelled before bursting and releasing round bullets, bouncing towards Asriel. The bullets acquired a cyan color, forcing Asriel to stop moving, opportunity the Entity took advantage of to move further away.

The dilapidated house Frisk and Celia had lived in formed in the void. ‘Azzy, why are we…’

“I don’t know!” There was no time to discuss exactly why so many familiar places were showing in quick succession. The Entity, having gotten far enough, charged up another familiar attack. Large white and cyan knives, resembling toy knives, formed high in the air and low below Asriel, moving like guillotines. Asriel, a bit unused to his larger size, was struck by some. The damage was minimal, but Asriel did let out a short scream of pain at the electrifying contact with the shards forming the knives. Right before the last knife impacted against Asriel, it suddenly changed colors, turning green. The little damage the Entity had caused on Asriel since the beginning was immediately healed.

We don’t have to continue, Asriel.

Let me take you back into your world.

I’ll change it all. It’ll be over quickly.

It’ll all be okay.

“I won’t leave yet!” Asriel shouted in response to the Entity’s written words. For a moment the circulating fragments all over the Entity’s actual form slowed down, taken aback, but after a few seconds their speed returned to normal.

I didn’t know you were so stubborn.

The foyer changed, turning into the ruinous bedroom. Asriel felt pangs of regret and sadness emanating from his SOUL, Frisk undoubtedly felt wistful after seeing the place they had shared with Celia, but in a way the sight reinforced their determination. ‘…Azzy, we can’t let anything happen to her’

Asriel would have replied something supportive, but the Entity moved forward with unexpected speed. The roots and branches disconnected for a moment before he pounced on Asriel, the infinite tree the Entity had formed focusing on restraining Asriel. The monster’s wrists were bound in front of him, completely immobilizing his arms, and the Entity’s roots wrapped around Asriel’s torso. Behind him, something flickered into sight.

The timeline thread had appeared among the floorboards of the dilapidated bedroom, shining like a beacon. A tiny portion of the Entity’s fragments separated from the trunk, slowly getting to the timeline. The blob morphed into a skeletal hand and grasped the thread, immediately opening a rift that led to the Ruins. Once it was open the Entity practically threw all his weight over Asriel, attempting to force the monster towards the rift. Asriel tried to resist, boosting himself in the opposite direction, but although the Entity lacked strength, he still had a lot of mass and weight.

Asriel could only see the fragments all around him, pushing him further and further towards the timeline. The more it continued, the closer the Entity’s SOUL got to Asriel, until the child could feel the warm emotions radiating from that red heart. The determination, the intense frustration, and underlying it all, a desperation that remarked the Entity was pouring all his efforts into this. Did the Entity truly believe this was all for the best? Asriel wasn’t sure, but he could feel the Entity was forcing himself to fight Asriel, that he didn’t want to hurt the child and that it all was done more because he felt backing off wasn’t an option.

“Patta, I want to help you!” Asriel pleaded. The Entity did slow down, making it a bit easier for Asriel to push back and away of the timeline, but it was matter of time before the Entity overwhelmed Asriel “You don’t have to modify anything…I…” The monster looked away from the SOUL. “…I don’t want to disappear or be a different Asriel…”

That got the Entity to loosen considerably the branches and roots he had been restraining Asriel with. The skeletal hand on the timeline shook in outrage, but the Entity ignored it, instead letting it crumble down. The rift closed down. Asriel took the chance and pulled his wrists away, effortlessly getting out of the Entity’s grasp. He didn’t go away, though, instead staying close to the SOUL. “Patta, are you okay?”

The Entity didn’t reply to that, but Asriel did notice what he had said before really had affected the Entity. Most of the determination and frustration Asriel had felt from the SOUL were gone, instead replaced with a deep sadness. “Patta?” Asriel extended his hand towards the SOUL. Maybe…maybe he could save Patta’s SOUL too. Absorbing it was an option, wasn’t it? And that would mean Patta would be again inside the timeline, he wouldn’t have to be erased…even though Patta’s body wouldn’t exist anymore. Perhaps the scientists could build bodies for Frisk and Patta? “Patta, I think I could help—“

The SOUL moved away, having guessed Asriel’s intentions, and soon the branches and roots interlinked again.

Don’t.

There was a kitchen now, quite large and clean. Asriel remembered it, it was one of the few moments where Patta, Frisk and him had just let their worries to get to Mt. Ebott aside and enjoyed each other’s company. Cooking pies…that had been a nice moment. The Entity noticed the environment too, his branches dropping wistfully. He recovered quickly, getting away of Asriel. Underneath the monster, fragments of the Entity formed into flames, which started to shot upwards. Asriel noticed the flames were quite lacking in vivaciousness and intensity, and the Entity seemed to be telegraphing what ember would shoot upwards. It was rather easy to just float aside and avoid the attacks, but in the time Asriel did that the Entity had gone away again. “Patta, wait!” Asriel called and started the pursuit again.

The more Asriel moved, the void darkened more, the kitchen distorting into streets. What looked like lampposts in the darkness decorated the sidewalks, its light illuminating the Entity as he moved away. Parts of the branches were fading away, Asriel having to avoid them. The situation changed unexpectedly, those fragments returned and swarmed around Asriel like bees, trying to touch him and deliver the usual electric currents Asriel was getting familiar with. ‘We’ll get overwhelmed at this rate!’ Frisk warned when more of those fragments started surrounding Asriel, moving around him in circles, getting closer and closer. Asriel looked around, alarmed, and moved his hands in fluid motions around himself.

Just like it had happened when Asriel had done when he had confronted the Hermit, a wall of fire formed around him. The fragments hissed in contact with the magic fire and retreated, returning to the Entity. It was all much easier than Asriel thought it’d be.

Asriel could see roofs, streets, the mountain at the distance. It was the sight Asriel had seen from the roof of Frisk and Celia’s house, that morning when Frisk had reaffirmed their friendship with him with a nickname and telling stuff about their past. The fragments took colors that reminded Asriel of the sunrise.

Straight from where the sun would have appeared if it had been a real dawn, strands of fragments emerged, taking orange and cyan colors. It was clear it was again stalling efforts while the Entity continued getting away, but it wasn’t like Asriel could avoid the attacks. Not even attacking with his fire stopped those, the strands bended to avoid the embers, no matter how large Asriel made them.

“Why do you keep running away?”

The Entity didn’t reply to that. Not disappearing…wasn’t that was the Entity had tried to do? He had been forced to confront the fact that, if he succeeded, the people he had known would disappear. They would continue existing, but they would never be the exact same people he had met. While he had always known that, seeing Asriel say it managed to strike a chord in the Entity’s mind.

They were still determined to follow their promise to themselves: not run away from his problems and whatever else happened. In a way, this was their last ditch attempt to succeed at their intention of modifying the timeline.

Asriel soared through the rain and the flowers of the park at the exact center of the city, the Entity seemed to be slowing down. Was he getting tired? Asriel wasn’t sure if that was even possible, but he had to take the chance. “Patta, there’s something else you could do. This doesn’t have to go like this…”

The Entity stopped completely. Branches as thin as sewing threads emerged from the trunk, slowly approaching Asriel before carefully grasping the monster’s right wrist, slowly pushing him closer before letting him go. It seemed it was really time for him to listen to what Asriel had to say to him, even though the Entity was greatly reticent about stopping.

What do you mean?

As if the void was sympathizing with what Asriel was saying, the images changed to the dancing studio Asriel had fought Byssa in. It was fitting for Asriel’s intentions, and seeing it gave Asriel some courage to do it. Asriel took the suitcase handles off from his arm, showing it to the Entity. Although the Entity lacked eyes right now, Asriel felt he was entirely focused on the suitcase. “I bought you some things I think you should take a look at”

What stuff?

“…our friends’ stuff” Asriel replied “I don’t know how significant these would be for you, but I thought you’d like to see these gifts they gave you. Don’t give up, Patta. There are people who believe in you”

…Asriel, I’m not sure what you mean.

That was a lie. The Entity had a feeling what Asriel was talking about. The monster nodded and opened the suitcase. “Here…I’d like you to look at this and remember them” ‘Remember what these objects mean for you, Patta’ Frisk took the control of Asriel’s body for a moment, just to say that, before leaving it up to Asriel again. The Entity approached a bit more, attentive to what Asriel had brought.

Asriel smiled serenely and looked into the suitcase. There were several options, any would be a good place to start. What mattered was to show the Entity it didn’t have to be over yet.

It didn’t have to be the end.

* Crayon Art

* Cooking Apron

* Monster Biology Textbook

* Deputy’s Badge

* Ballet Shoes

* Youth Troop Badge