Writing rn brb

Crunch.

Draaaaaaag. Crunch.

A small groan left his throat as he started to come to, pain leaving his mind hazy and body weak. Static filled his vision, making it hard to tell what the hell was happening.

Drag. Crunchch.

It was cold. That... made sense, he thought. There was snow everywhere. But, it also felt like he was moving. Not on his own accord - He couldn't move his body even if he wanted to - but more like... he was being pulled along...?

Crunch. Draag.

But... who was still around...? Ethan was dead. Lukas was... gone, he hoped. Frisk and Jei... they had left in the rocket. He saw the rocket leave, just before blacking out from the Storm's attack.

Unless...

His thoughts were cut off when his body was dragged over a rock, uncomfortably digging into his back before knocking into his head. A pained, static-filled yelp left him, and the person dragging him stopped.

"..." Some of the static in his head started to fade, letting him hear their soft puffs of breath. There was silence for a few moments, before they let out a grunt.

"You're heavy."

"...F̴͈̌r̷̯͠i̶̗̔sk?" he croaked, coughing a bit to clear the static in his throat. They grunted again in response, before continuing to drag him across the snow. "I t̴̯͊h̷̼͂o̶̜͛u̸̫̿ǵ̶̪h̴̡͂ẗ̵̳..."

"That I left?" Their voice was... hard to read. "No. There was only room for one in the ship."

"So J̷̙̍é̸̱i̴͓̚ is..."

"...Gone."

There is silence again, with the exception of their boots crunching in the snow and his body getting dragged behind them. He let them pull him along as his body was still too weak, stewing in his thoughts.

Eventually, they paused again. It felt like they were on a slope of sorts, the grip on leg growing a bit tighter as they started to brace down it. He almost slipped out of their hand twice, causing them to curse.

“Thor almighty, why are you so heavy-”

He made an offended noise at them, not dignifying it with a proper response. They grunted, continuing to carefully maneuver down the slope with him, before he suddenly felt something surprising - Warmth.

It was weak, but still very welcomed, especially by his frozen body. His foot was dropped to the floor, Frisk's footsteps moving away from him. He could hear the crackle of the fire, slowly warming his body and mechanics. As it began to melt the ice and snow coating him, the static seemed to fade from view, giving him back his sight.

He could make out the shape of Frisk across from him, their shadow stretched behind them across the cave wall. They looked mostly the same - Their horns curled around their ears, their mask pulled up over their mouth, their clothes still covered in thick fur. But their spirit... their eyes... it seemed so dull now, compared to before. Tired and defeated, with bags and frostbitten skin underneath them.

"H̷͍͒o̵̹͘w̵̗͋.̴̢̇.̷̺͆.̸̯͆" He paused, coughing weakly. "How... l̷o̸n̶g̸... has it been?"

"..." Frisk rested their head on their knees, hugging them to their chest. "A while. Hard to tell. The snow has gotten too thick for me to tell the days apart."

He winced, turning his head to the fire. "Why... did you come back for me?"

Frisk closed their eyes, head drooping further. For a moment, he wondered if they had fallen asleep-

"You're the only one left now."

His antennas reached for them, as he struggled to lift his head and look at them. They didn't seem to notice, so he gave a confused hum, drawing their attention. Their eyes opened again, their gaze seemingly even duller than before as they met his screen.

"Everyone's gone now," Frisk said, voice as bitter and cold as the wasteland around them. "Ethan is dead. Lukas is dead. My parents are dead. Jei is... gone. The Storm is out there, still destroying the whole dead world... I don't have anyone now. Only you."

They spit the word out, glaring at him through the fire. He stared back, unable to flinch away from their accusatory gaze.

"You were the one who caused this. You killed Odin and the whole world went to shit. People died because of you. So many people - People with friends, with families, with lives are all gone. My village, my home, my family is all gone, thanks to you!" Their voice rose with their growing anger, hands clenching and teeth gritting. "I know you're trying to make up for it. I know you tried to save Jei and me because you felt bad, guilty for what you did. But it doesn't change the fact that you're here, and they... aren't."

Their voice cracked near the end, eyes squeezing shut as their nose scrunched up. Shaking and shivering, crystals forming in their eyelids as they buried their face back in their knees.

"It's not fair," they whispered, voice muffled by their fur and leather. "It's not fair..."

Apollo did nothing, could do nothing, as Frisk began to sob into their knees, fingers digging into their arms as the held themselves. All he had the strength to do was watch, as the blizzard raged on outside, as the fire crackled between them, weakly projecting their shadows on the wall...

~~~~ (Extra bit I didn't quite know how to connect to above)

Frisk was asleep now, head resting on their arms, flat on their stomach. They had their head turned away from him, so it was hard to tell if they were actually sleeping or not... He'd rather not risk waking them up regardless.

Silently, he tried to twitch his fingers, trying to regain control over his body. He winced at the stiffness, but was surprised enough at seeing his fingers curl inward, clenching them into a fist. He tested it further, trying to bend his arm, internally groaning as he felt static hiss at him for his attempt.

"Owowow," he hissed, forcing himself to continue his movement. Eventually, he was able to get it to move without too much feedback, and worked on the rest of his limbs, silently groaning and internally screaming at the painful stiffness of them all. Seemed like even with the fire helping, it still wasn't enough to completely melt all the ice that had frozen his circuitry.

After regaining some feeling in his legs, he got to his feet, wobbling. His wings were thankfully tucked away for now - He would have easily lost balance if they weren't. He took a few steps forward, hand on the wall, digging his feet into the cold stone floor as he moved.

Satisfied with his tests, he turned to look at Frisk again. They had seemingly not stirred at all, despite all his noises and creaking as stretched his limbs.

Good. That was good.

Slowly, he shuffled toward their side, trying to keep his steps light and quiet. His body ached in protest, but he ignored it, pushing through. He braced himself against the wall, sliding down to sit near their head. He faced the fire, watching the flames for a few moments as he contemplated his words.

"I̶ ̸k̴n̸o̵w̶..." He gave a frustrated sigh hearing the static in his voice, yanking at his antenna and adjusting it. He continued, the static finally fading from his voice. "I know apologizing won't mean anything. Saying 'sorry' won't fix anything. So I won't say that. Instead..."

He paused, glancing at them. Their head was still facing the wall, their body rising and falling with every breath. Still asleep, for the most part.

"...Instead, I'll make you a promise. An oath - That so long as I am around, I won't let you be alone." His voice was soft yet firm, as he spoke his vow. "Even if I'm not always going to be the best company, even if you hate me for what I've done, I won't abandon you to wander this frozen hell."

"..."

He hummed, nodding at their silence as he turned back to face the fires. Whether they heard or not, he didn't know, nor did it really matter. He made his vow, and he was going to stick with it.