Wholehearted Half-Souls

Chapter 25: Sunrise (Part 3)

Asriel rushes in as Kris looks over his shoulder and disarms Asriel. Small trickles of dust leak from Asriel's hands as his twin sabers fall over the edge of the hill. He runs backward, rejoining Frisk on the other side of the hill. Frisk grips his chest tightly, a quick bolt of pain traveling through his body as he clenches his hands.

Frisk looks over at Asriel. "Azzy, what are you doing? I'm sensing pain!"

Asriel shakes his head and gently clenches his fists. "I'm sorry, bro. I'll be careful."

Kris and Susie back up towards the center of the ring. They enter another deadlock, and Asriel leans in toward Frisk. "Frisk, I also need to get my sabers. Kris disarmed me."

"I saw. You could've gotten hurt worse, you know," Frisk scolds. 

Asriel shakes his head and frowns deeply. "I know. I'm sorry." Asriel holds out his hands to Frisk, and the ambassador shakes his head. He grabs the bandaging from his med-pack and, with great speed, covers Asriel's hands with the fabric. Frisk looks across the fight towards the tree line, nodding to himself. "Azzy."

Asriel then looks over at Frisk. "What is it?"

"Go get your swords," the ambassador commands. "We'll be fine here."

Frisk gently pats his kin on the shoulder and smiles. "It'll be alright — Kris is starting to slip. We'll make it through here."

"But he's really strong," Asriel protests. "And maybe I can re-access my hyperdeath form and use it to the fullest as quickly as possible if I stay here."

Frisk shakes his head. "You can't fight Kris like that. It would still be hard with tough gloves, let alone bare-fisted."

Asriel sinks his head and his mouth trembles. "But Frisk...you could get hurt." Asriel's mind begins to race. His brain turns dark as he remembers the nightmare he had. "What if you get stabbed?"

Frisk speaks louder. "Just go!"

Asriel nods and runs for the hill's edge, passing Kris and Susie, whose blades cross at breakneck speed. Asriel heads for the tree line near the abandoned house. He quickly grabs the hilts of his chaos sabers and effortlessly pulls them out of the dirt. Running up the hill, sweat pours off his scalp as his hands tremble with adrenaline. (Will they be safe), he thinks. (With Sans being down and Undyne getting badly hurt, we only have so much time. Keep going, guys! I'll be back soon.)

Susie's blood boils as Asriel nears the top of the hill again, and steam from her body expels greatly. Her face burns hot as she swings her axe again in Kris' direction. Kris blocks and nods. "Seems like you're getting sloppy, Susan. Wouldn't you agree?"

Susie grits her teeth, and her voice increases to a loud volume. "NOT MY NAME!"

Susie swings her axe heavier this time, but Kris hops over her slash with strain. She attacks again but misses. Kris backs away, and Susie takes a moment to breathe. He nods and jogs back toward Susie.

"You're getting sloppier by the second!" Kris hisses.

The villain slashes again, but Susie blocks halfheartedly. Her muscles contract as she pulls herself up from the ground, panting heavily. She winces. The sweat from her brow enters her eye. She grips her eye in pain, and Kris shrugs. "Is your weapon too heavy? I thought you were stronger than this!"

Susie curses and walks toward Kris. The villain goes in for the chest, but out of the corner of Susie's eye, a friend pushes her out of the way. Kris is thrown off balance and the human hand re-directs the stab, blade plunging into the fleshy shoulder.

Frisk yells out and goes cross-eyed as the knife sinks into his arm, filling his body with searing, fiery pain. As Frisk clenches his teeth, he raises a fist. But as he raises his fist, he painfully smiles and lowers it. "Heh...lower HP means I can't shrug it off like you can, Kris."