A/N: Yet another Undertale fic...this one takes place after a multitude of runs, and the assumption that Chara is NOT a manifestation of the player. I'll leave it up to you to figure out the order of the runs. Enjoy.
It was a strange power, this 'DETERMINATION'. Frisk could explore countless timelines, each differing in subtle ways, and yet, the complexity of living SOULs continued to astound him. It took him so long, but with the guidance of Flowey, he was able to do it. He was able to make everyone happy...
But not Flowey.
In a way, he could understand his actions. It's why he didn't get angry, even when he was barely conscious from his attacks. He accepted Flowey's attacks, and fully expected to wake up a short distance back, before he faced Asgore. Imagine his surprise when his friends joined forces to protect and heal him. Yet even this seemed to play into his hands. He absorbed their SOULs and revealed his true form, and true name.
Asriel Dreemurr.
Son of Toriel and Asgore.
Adopted brother of Chara, the First Child.
And his final opponent.
He was ridiculously powerful, his magic completely insane...and yet is was but a portion of his true power.
When he began using his true strength, it became almost more than he could bear, his SOUL shattering under the weight of his attacks, yet refusing to fall.
And despite this, up until he realized he could SAVE his friends, it still seemed hopeless. But now...
"Wh...what did you do? What's this feeling? What's happening to me? No! NO! I don't need anyone!"
Frisk desperately dodged the attacks, while he knew he could survive on DETERMINATION alone, it still hurt.
'I realize that he's not the bad guy here...he just couldn't feel love, or compassion. He just wanted to feel...something. Anything...even self-hatred. But...I want to SAVE him from that.'
"STOP IT! GET AWAY FROM ME! Do you hear me!? I'll tear you apart!" Asriel screamed.
Again, Frisk dodged the attacks...which were now much less numerous.
'I don't think even 'he' wants to fight anymore.'
Frisk reached out to Asriel with his SOUL once again.
"Chara...Do you know why I'm doing this...? Why I keep fighting to keep you around...?"
This time, Asriel's attacks weren't even close to hitting him.
'Just like Toriel...I wonder...'
Asriel looked like he was about to burst into tears.
"I'm doing this...because you're special, Chara. You're the only one that understands me. You're the only one that's any fun to play with anymore."
'...you need me. Asriel...no matter what...I'm not abandoning you.'
"...No...That's not JUST it. I...I...I'm doing this because I care about you, Chara, I care about you more than anyone else! I'm not ready for this to end! I'm not ready for you to leave. I'm not ready to say goodbye to someone like you again..."
'...again? He must mean Chara...'
Asriel finally broke down, and started crying, even as he continued to plead.
"So please...STOP doing this...AND JUST LET ME WIN!"
Asriel screamed, and powerful magic gathered in his hands.
'...Asriel...it's ok...'
Frisk readied himself for what was sure to be a painful experience.
The multicolored beam slammed into Frisk, and pain became all he could feel, as his life-force, his HP, ticked lower and lower.
Hp:1/20
Hp:.9/20
Hp:.5/20
"STOP IT!"
HP:.1/20
HP:.01/20
"STOP IT NOW!"
HP:.001/20
HP:.0001/20
HP:.000001/20
HP:.000000001/20
And it stopped. Frisk barely clung to life, to consciousness, but he remained standing.
'I...will...save...you...even...if...it...kills...me...'
"Chara..."
'Asriel...'
"I'm so alone, Chara..."
'Not anymore.'
"I'm so afraid, Chara..."
'I'm here with you.'
"Chara...I...I..."
Frisk felt the tension leave, as Asriel finally lost the will to fight. Asriel changed from his terrible form...back to that of the monster child he had seen before the battles beginning.
"I'm so sorry." Asriel spoke, his true voice restored. After a moment, he stopped crying and wiped his eyes.
"I always was a crybaby, wasn't I Chara?"
"..." Frisk didn't quite know how to broach the subject of his name.
"...I know, you're not actually Chara, are you?" Asriel said.
"...No, I'm not." Frisk spoke for the first time.
"Chara's been gone for a long time...um...what...what is your name?" Asriel asked.
"...Frisk."
"Frisk? That's...a nice name." Asriel said.
"Frisk...I haven't felt like this for a long time."
"Because you were Flowey...right?" Frisk said. Asriel nodded.
"As a flower, I was SOULless. I lacked the power to love other people. However, with everyone's SOULs inside me, I not only have my own compassion back, but I can feel every other monsters as well."
'And if you lose that...you'll go right back to being Flowey. No...there's gotta be another way.'
Frisk paused for a moment, deep in thought. After a moment, he had a plan.
"Asriel...you're Toriel's son, aren't you?"
"Huh? Where did...yeah, I am. Toriel is my mother...and Asgore is my father."
"...Can you release...just their SOULs? Oh, and Alphys's as well?" Frisk asked.
"But why? I don't...I don't want my parents to know...what I did. I hurt them Frisk. I hurt everyone. I hurt you! I can't face them like this..."
"I forgive you...as I'm sure they will as well."
"...Why Alphys?" Asriel said, changing the subject slightly.
"...She's...Asriel...she's the one who awoke you as Flowey. I think...she needs to apologize to you...and explain some things to your parents."
"But then, why shouldn't I release everyone at once?"
"...If you did that, you would go right back to being Flowey...right? I have a plan Asriel...so trust me."
"...I do trust you. Ok Frisk...If you think this will help somehow, I'll release them."
A blinding flash of light, and three additional forms appeared. Before he could say anything, Asriel bolted behind Frisk, hiding.
"Huh? What happened. Where are we?" Asgore said.
"I'm not sure." Alphys said. Toriel glanced towards Frisk, and immediately recognized him.
"My child, you are safe! I am glad." Toriel said.
"Yes, I am. I...Alphys, I need you to do me a favor." Frisk said. Alphys turned to him.
"You do? I...erm...ok. What is it?" Alphys said.
"...I need you to tell Asgore and Toriel everything you can about Flowey. The living flower."
"WHAT!? I...erm...I don't know anyth..."
"ALPHYS! I know your feelings on the subject, do you really think I would ask if it wasn't important! Have I EVER acted to hurt anyone?" Frisk shouted.
Alphys seemed to shrink in on herself.
"No, you haven't. Ok then..." She said in a tiny voice. Reluctance clear, she began telling them of her experiments with DETERMINATION, and the resulting creation of Flowey.
"I remember him. He stayed with me shortly after my children..." Asgore trailed off.
"And I as well, though he eventually ran away. I actually saved the young child from him just after he arrived in the underground."
"Yes, and I thank you for that. But...how did it happen? What made that one flower so special? Sure, it grew quickly, but honestly, that was a side effect. What was different about that one flower?" Frisk said.
"That flower came from the human realm. It grew shortly after..." Asgore trailed off, unable to continue speaking.
"...after Asriel died. his body turned to ash...ash which coated the flowers...ash which contained his very essence. That would have been the end of it...had Alphys not injected DETERMINATION into it." Frisk said.
"Frisk?" Alphys said, a slow comprehension dawning on her.
"DETERMINATION has a weird effect on monsters. It literally melts them. But a flower isn't a monster, nor is it a human...instead, the flower became Flowey, a SOULless being unable to love, or have compassion. It became violent,
until I arrived. My DETERMINATION overrode his, and thus he decided to use me to gather together all the monsters in the underground, a feat I performed through friendship. He absorbed all the SOULs, and regained his true form."
"You cannot mean..." Asgore said, his disbelief and desperate hope clear on his face.
"Yeah. Hi Mom...Hi Dad..." Asriel shyly emerged from behind Frisk.
"...Asriel? ASRIEL!" Asgore and Toriel both ran forward and embraced their child. Asriel squirmed out of their grasp and backed away, not meeting their eyes.
"...how can you look at me like that? I hurt you both. You both saw what I was, what I'd become. How can you both still love me?" Asriel asked, speechless.
"You are our son, no matter what you've done. I'm just glad you're alive." Asgore said.
"Unfortunately, there's a problem." Frisk said. Everyone's attention turned to him.
"As soon as Asriel releases the SOULs he's absorbed, he'll begin to turn back into Flowey. And despite this...I have no doubt he'll return to being a soulless killer. I have no desire to fight him again, and without DETERMINATION, I won't stand a chance against him...as such...it'll mean the end of Monsterkind." Frisk said.
"No! There must be something we can do." Toriel said.
"The human SOULs! Asriel can use them to..." Asgore said.
"No! Doing that would be even worse, without a monster SOUL it would turn me into a horrible abomination!" Asriel shouted.
"How do you know?" Asgore asked.
"Asgore...DETERMINATION gives me a unique power, and before I arrived here it was Asriel's. It's called 'Saving', which lets us make a sort of record called a 'Save File', which we can later go back in time to, or reset back to when I first arrived in the Underground. We know this because I've already faced off against Asriel in that form in a different timeline, and it's not something I'm eager to repeat. No...my idea is something completely different, and it's all thanks to something a guy named Gerson told me."
"What is this plan of yours?" Toriel asked.
"Gerson told me that Boss monsters, like yourselves, only age when they have children, by passing small pieces of their SOUL to their children. Asriel has lost his own SOUL, but still exists because of his DETERMINATION, the same power that makes human SOULs remain after death. Toriel...Asgore...I'm sure you realize what I'm telling you. Asriel can survive if he regains a SOUL, the source for which would be the two of you."
"So if we..." Toriel said.
"NO! Not my mom and dad. Frisk...how could you ask such a thing..." Asriel said, betrayal clear in his voice.
"It's not something I wanted either...but it might be the only way. Asriel...I'm tired of fighting against you, which we will if you go back to being Flowey. Maybe not immediately...but it would happen. I want to get to know the real you...to have fun and play together. I don't want anything bad to happen to Asgore or Toriel...but I know that they love you, and would do anything to help you. It's what Toriel did for me...and she only just met me. It's what parents do. This might be the only way to save you."
Asriel began crying again.
"But I don't want to be alone. It'll be just as bad as when I was a flower. You'll leave me, my parents will be gone...and everyone will hate me because of what I did! I can't live like that!" Asriel cried.
"...I can't talk for any of the others...but I can promise you this. Asriel Dreemurr. I will never leave you. I...I promise I will be a good brother to you. So don't cry. I'm here for you. Even if I have to spend the rest of my life here in the Underground." Frisk promised.
"Frisk!?" Asriel stared at him for a moment, before running from his parents and grabbing him in a hug, while also pulling him towards them. In a moment, Asriel and Frisk were engulfed in a hug by both Toriel and Asgore.
"...My children. I...I love you both." Toriel wrapped her arms around the two of us."
"...I know you don't like me anymore...but for Asriel's sake..." Asgore began.
"Was it ever in question what we would do? My chi...no...Frisk. Please...take good care of my son...your brother...for me." Toriel said. Frisk nodded solemnly.
"Asriel...we don't blame you for what happened. I'm simply glad I got to see you...one last time." Asgore said.
"...Thank you so much...Mom...Dad...I love you." Asriel said, tears in his eyes.
"...you should release the SOULs of the other monsters first, Asriel." Alphys said.
"...ok, but there's something we need to do first. Frisk, I'm not sure I can do this alone, will you help me?" Asriel said, looking towards the barrier. Frisk nodded, understanding his plan instantly.
"7 human souls...did anyone ever say they needed to be killed?" Frisk said.
"I don't think so." Asriel said.
"Ok...together then!" Asriel hugged his new brother tightly, Frisk's SOUL nearly touching the mass of SOUL's he held, before releasing a massive pulse of force into the barrier. With a crash, the barrier fell. Instantly, Asriel released the 6 human SOULs he'd taken, which floated away into the Overworld.
"We won't need them again...the least we can do for those fallen humans is set them free." Asriel said. Asgore nodded in solemn agreement.
"Are you ready son?" Toriel asked. Asriel shook his head.
"Not yet. Mom...Dad...before you...before you help me, I want to let you see the surface...at least once." Asriel said. As one, they all went through the barrier's shattered remnants. A regal sunset greeted them.
"...It's beautiful." Toriel said.
"Indeed." Asgore said. They both simply watched the sun's slow decent for a few minutes, before they turned back to Frisk and Asriel. They walked back into the cave, and reached the room where the Barrier had once stood.
"This is goodbye, my children. But never forget...we're always with you." Toriel said.
"Frisk...Thank you. You went through so much...and yet, throughout it all, you never raised a hand against anyone, not even me when I tried to kill you for your SOUL. Because of you...I got to see my son again. Thank you..." Asgore said.
"Mom...Dad..." Asriel was unable to articulate more.
"And you, Asriel. You've been through so much. Never forget...how much we love you. Goodbye." Toriel and Asgore once again embraced their child. Asriel began to glow, and in a flash of light, was gone. In his place, was a flower, surrounded by the unconscious forms of all the monsters he had absorbed.
"Hurry...while I still remember what it was like...to feel again." Flowey said.
Asgore and Toriel didn't move, continuing to hug the flower. Their bodies began to glow, and in moments, their bodies began aging rapidly. In but a few short moments, nothing of their bodies was left, and two grey SOULs floated into the flower. Another flash of light, and Asriel stood where Flowey once had been.
"...How could they love me so much, even in that form. They gave up everything...all for me. Why?" Asriel asked, mostly to himself.
"That's like asking why fire is hot, they're your parents...loving you is an innate part of who they are." Frisk said. Alphys surprised Frisk as she walked past him and took Asriel's hand. Frisk noticed she was crying.
"Asriel...nothing I can say will ever make what I did to you ok...but I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't know...I didn't..." Alphys trailed off.
"...It's ok. In the end, you saved me. If you hadn't created Flowey...I wouldn't be here now. And Frisk..."
"I would never have left the Ruins. It was only because I was scared of Flowey that I tried so hard to escape them." Frisk said.
"So don't blame yourself. Please don't cry." Asriel finished.
"You two...thank you." Alphys said, sniffling as she wiped away her tears.
"That being said...stop all research into the nature of DETERMINATION. We as monsters aren't built for it, it will continue to end badly." Asriel said.
"I understand." Alphys said.
"Is everyone going to be alright?" Asriel asked.
"They should be waking up soon." Alphys said.
"UNGH...WHAT HAPPENED? I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DO NOT REMEMBER!"
"Keep it down, some of us have headaches. Where...where are we?" Undyne asked.
"...Looks like the barrier's been laid bare." Sans quipped.
"THAT WAS TERRIBLE EVEN FOR YOU SANS." Papyrus said. Sans still laughed at his own joke.
"...where is Asgore?" Undyne asked.
"...Dad is gone. Mom too. They used their SOULs to restore mine." Asriel said sadly. That was the moment everyone seemed to notice him.
"It...can't be. Prince Asriel!? But...you died!"
"Yes, I did. But I was revived due to one of Alphys's experiments. I was the flower that attacked you all...but Frisk...he never gave up on me. He saved your SOULs from me...and then he saved me too."
"YOU SAVED OUR PRINCE HUMAN? WE CAN NEVER REPAY YOUR KINDNESS." Papyrus said.
"Stop that Papyrus, you don't need to repay me for saving my brother, that would be like me thanking you for saving Sans." Frisk said.
"Your...brother?" Undyne said, confused.
"Well...I considered Toriel to be my Mom, since she saved me and protected me as soon as I entered the Underground, and Toriel was Asriel's mom, so that makes us brothers." Frisk said, walking up to Asriel and hugging him from behind.
"Frisk..." Asriel said, training off as he lost the ability to speak as tears filled his eyes.
"I know...he did some bad things as Flowey...but it wasn't his fault. He was literally incapable of feeling love or compassion...so if any of you try to hurt him, you've got to go through me first!" Frisk said, stepping in front of Asriel. Some of the monsters gasped in surprise, as he'd drawn his weapon for emphasis. None of the monsters took it as a threatening gesture, after all, Frisk had literally made his way through the hostile Underground without fighting at all. Sans spoke first.
"None of us are planning to do anything of the sort, right guys? Besides, it'd be too much work." Sans said.
"Besides, it's all good now, right? We have our prince, the barrier is down, we have a bright future ahead of us. I honestly wish Asgore was here...but I'm still glad you're back Asriel." Undyne said.
"...thank you Undyne. Now...let's go...to a new world!" Asriel said. All together, the monsters of the Underground made their way into a new world. As they left the cave, Frisk glanced back for a moment.
"...Chara. Not even Asriel remembers...but I do. I remember your voice, pushing me to kill, and kill, and kill. It was only when Sans fought me with everything he had, something so against his nature, that I realized...what an evil creature I'd become...something so heinous even Sans had to do something. And then, after I purged that timeline, that was when I first sensed it...that I first sensed you, your anger at being denied. You pushed me to fight again, but this time...I refused. I shattered that timeline, and reset countless times, until even Asriel couldn't remember. I didn't want him to remember, to judge me. I'm not like you. You had something precious...something I would give anything to have...a loving family...and you threw it away for hatred. I won't make your mistakes. I choose to help people, against all odds. Even if it hurts. Because that's what it means...to have a family I'm not you Chara...I'm the exact opposite. May your memory rot in an abandoned Underground."
Frisk turned to walk away...only for blinding pain to erupt from his back, causing him to lose 6 HP. He turned back...to find a knife embeded in his back. As he watched, the knife floated back towards the cave, into the waiting hands of a girl who looked awfully similer to him, save for the almost psychotic smile she wore.