Stellartale: Nullity's Dreamer

Asriel Affairs

Rileyom-D4 upper urban district

Do it, Shocker Breaker. Rainbow magic flares on my hands, my fresh gym clothes, scorching my every vein in the chill alley room. Focus on the force-bubble target again.
"That's really awesome." A human guy behind me juggles ropes of hot purple fire.
I throw a thin rainbow bolt down the alley, making the target a crackling opal ball for just a few more seconds.
Still couldn't defeat Frisk.
Time for what I came for. I feel the CLOUD, letting the extra magic and DT sear my veins.
Shocker Breaker 2.0, a roaring color-storm that turns the target into a blinding white sun. My fur puffs with static as a wall of scalding air brings an ozone smell. I cut off the CLOUD, the magic, as dots dance in my eyes.
If I ever have to fight Frisk again this might, no, she's too kind for that.
"I'm totally fine." I stumble and give the now-speechless guy his turn.

A room to call my own. I roll on the clean-smelling sheets, staring through the bamboo and white chrome cube with its window-wall to the sparkling city. Floating dots like a light switch. Holo-poster of Frisk smiling with golden flowers under "First Human". I swipe a dot and pastel stars grace the ceiling like painted cut-outs.
Frisk must've seen my whole life countless times. She'd know how I fight, every word I'd ever tell her. Maybe that was how she bested me. Maybe I should try something new, surprise her. But that's for another day.
Toriel flickers next to my bed. A holo. "Asriel, I saw you use the CLOUD for magic. You only tapped the Domain layer where most machines get power. Did you know you can have someone else grant their SOUL to give you even more power directly from the source? I'll show you."
A holo pops up: 1 SOUL. Toriel's magic pulses with my own, stronger than normal CLOUD. Fiery with a touch of healing. A hug deeper than any hug.
CLOUD data or not, Toriel is still Toriel. And she's alive.
I had all 6 human SOULs and dozens of Monster ones inside me back then, but not even that power could wipe out Frisk.
Is that it? "Yeah, but I can't just go around asking people for power."
Toriel laughs and disengages. "Make something good, and people will notice you. Artists tend to be some of the best mages these days. Or maybe a cause worth fighting for."
Can't think why I'd need billions of SOULs when I can live with these weird machines. I go to the kitchen and find metal cook-arms tucking neatly above familiar stove and pan. Floating images, a recipe for butterscotch pie. Ingredient list. Shop? I'm loaded, so I drop in some Credits.
I get on the CLOUD and shout silently.
Frisk gleams over my bed, face down. "Asriel, is everything all right?"
Still my friend after so long. I almost want to be in the CLOUD with her, but no maybe I should live. "I found someone made me forget everything. The police made it all come back."
Frisk looks up with sad eyes. "Don't worry, they'll catch whoever did this to you. I think."
Me, her, in this strange future where minds can be broken. I shake despite the warm room. Against my better judgement I run over to hug her, surprised at her warm plushness. Some tech's holding up the air as part of the show. Push too hard and I'll fall through. "The perp made it seem like you, not Chara, was the first kid who fell there. But it was really Chara."
Frisk flinches at the name. "She tried to control you back then, but you refused to be her combat suit."
All those dirty humans I refused to kill even as they cut me to dust. I let go. "Even though you're not Chara, you're still a friend in all this. Maybe you and I can stop this perp before they break more minds."
A green 'delivery' holo dings. I slide the door and meet a blue metal disc floating with a small white box. As I take my delivery the disc beeps, zips up and away. I lift the lid to find 2 eggs, a tight capsule of cinnamon, cup-boxes of flour, milk, and more.
Frisk smiles up to me. "Bad people want to control you, but you don't let them. Just watch out." she flickers away.
I lay down reflecting on my memories that were covered up, and my suspect pool. Who would make me forget fighting Frisk and losing to her?
Chara. Could she have done it? I get on the CLOUD and search her name. Nothing but Toriel's and Asgore's quotes from History Club, some memes. I send all my memories of her through the CLOUD's best search-minds. No Chara. Maybe she, not I, should be the one to come back in that not-glass pod. She was so strong. She would've known what to do in this world of machines.

Setting my suspect pool aside I check what's trending: pic-edits of impossible things that look like they really happened. Pouring a cup of tiny metal-birds in a cereal bowl. People running from giant laser coins. I force myself away, seeing no point in this despite its weird beauty.

What've humans and Monsters been doing since I broke the Barrier for them? I check the news.

Tekiihaj assault Erwin-C2

Live pic of soldiers and machines pulling magic from the CLOUD to destroy waves of spiky black-red ships. What happened to don't kill and don't be killed? Maybe I'll stay safe and leave the killing to others.

MTT Tonight: Frisk's Envoy Speech with Vaiodh'kax Awareness

She's a celebrity now. Well she's at mom and dad's History Club.

Is the Voidglitch Singularity Real? Xenobiologist Ryujen Fangmoon Says Yes.

Wait, were the Multianimus right? Some people seem to think so. Time to learn it all.
"Haven't tried MewMew 1192: Vapor Lounge EX for a while. Should try their new slush flavors." Alphys had toiled 2 weeks for her Cloudsec work, and it was worth it. "Fuzzing", her bug scanner AI, could now scan alien code-languages for new flaws. Not to break stuff, but to find out how it could be broken and fix those ways.
Undyne laughed. "Why do you like boring stuff after doing good stuff? Don't worry, I forgive you."
Frisk watched quietly, half-expecting enforcer programs to catch her right now. The talk with Berrin. Cloudsec's ongoing probe into her memory filter. Catching her would be a mistake. They'd be throwing away their once chance to live right. But Asriel would soon do his part for her, right?
Alphys: "Hey Frisk, wanna try the Lounge with me?"
Undyne smiled. "Give that kid a break. She's gonna talk the Vaiodh'kax Hive-SOUL into trade deals tomorrow, y'know." Greed never changed, but soon all would change.
Alphys looked up. "I know a few Relax genres."
An ad drifted by for cheap machine-bodies, leggy cubes so the tightwad dead could scuttle real ground without buying costly nanoflesh tailors.
Undyne winked at them. "Ngah." she said before logging out. Always ready for work.
Alphys turned to Frisk. "Well, what sim would you like?"

Undyne rushed to the FleetNet, secure layers admitting her as she once more became the Ascendancy's drone army. HOOP-Neo Abode. Humans, Monsters, Synths, the odd Xeno; 3 trillion SOULs to not let down. Through tiny Scouts she saw 251 Umbral-Game cathedral ships, each 2.6 km long, plow through the local defense line. Planet killers who hated freedom and progress. She Hypered 500 cloaked sharp Strikers amidst the blue and gold cruisers. Gamma lasers and smart Mana rounds took out mind-cores and power lines before she evaded dark matter pulses and Hyper cutters. 47 cruisers down, at least 62 more with gaping fiery damage. If the Umbral-Game didn't have a CLOUD to save their dead, that was their problem only. With far-sensors she glanced at HOOP-Neo Abode, the verdant ring sparkling with lacy cities.
39 enemy cruisers escaped the fray, racing to the HOOP. In 41.6 minutes they'd be in planet breaking range. Thinking of a spear she flanked 160 Strikers at their weak sides, ready to show them how much she cared for her people.