Toriel went down crying.
Undyne went down hissing and spitting.
Alphys went down screaming.
And Sans went down smiling.
But he still went down. And Frisk was alone. Except for the other one. Except for the Fallen Child. Except for Chara.
"When will it end, Chara? When are we going to be satisfied? When will we stop resetting and just leave them in peace? When, Chara? Are you looking for some milestone? Ten thousand genocides? A million? A billion? Will we stop when we can't count them any more? We have to stop eventually. We have to quit, Chara."
"'We' have to quit, Frisk? When did you become a part of this? You gave up that right when you gave me your SOUL. You gave up that right when you chose to commit Genocide. I wasn't so much as a part of it at first. Neither was Asriel, or Flowey, or whatever you want to call him. It was your choice, Frisk. And now you have to live with the consequences."
The usually indifferent Frisk lowered their head to the ground, dejectedly frowning. They hated what the Dreemur child told her, but they still knew it to be true. They had given up their SOUL. They had chosen to commit Genocide. It wasn't what they got. It was what they asked for.
"Fine. I'll RESET."
"NO! Wait. You have a point. This is getting… boring. Boring as hell, to tell the truth. In fact, I think we need to try something new."
"And what is that? They're all dead. Are we going to make ourselves rulers of this land? Take Asgore's throne? Maybe Nabstablook can be our servant! I bet the Mad Dummy would be delighted to work for us! We would be wise and benevolent rulers, and everyone would like us. Right, Chara? Isn't that reasonable?"
"That isn't what I meant. No one knows better than you that there are dozens of timelines. Maybe hundreds, or thousands, or millions? Who knows, maybe there are an infinite number, floating around space and time. If we just keep resetting, what we do is never going to matter. But if we somehow move to another timeline, then this one remains dead. And maybe we can bring some hope, joy, and LOVE to that timeline as well. Doesn't that sound fun? Won't we have a great time?"
"…"
Chara, deep within the depths of Frisk's subconscious, smiled widely. Frisk was theirs, and they knew it. As much as the human hated leaving their world dead and barren, they would have to follow through. Without their SOUL, Frisk had no authority over their actions. They knew it and they hated it. And Chara loved it.
"Chara, you do realize… if we go to another timeline, and that's assuming we can even find a way… and if there is another Frisk there… we won't be able to SAVE or LOAD. We won't be able to RESET. One death and we're done. And on our best day, we've never been able to kill Sans without dying once. Going to another timeline would be suicide."
"Ha, ha, ha. Coward. You know that a Sans who wasn't prepared wouldn't stand a chance against us. Now. Let's find Asriel."
They called out to Flowey. But no one came. It would certainly be difficult to find him. But they would. Frisk looked forward to the possibility that they might finally die. Perhaps they could finally found peace. They knew that finding Flowey was the only way that could happen. They were filled with DETERMINATION.
"Sans, you don't understand. Flowey isn't a monster. He's a prison. Asriel is inside him, Sans. We have to save him."
"are you sure, kid? are you positive? because as much as i trust you, you have to understand that that sounds kind of crazy."
"I know, Sans. I understand that it's crazy. But it's true. You know the stories. Chara died and Asriel absorbed their soul. He went to the surface and tried to return their body to the humans. The humans mortally wounded him but he never fought back, no matter what. He survived, but once he returned home, his DETERMINATION failed and he died. But nobody knew what would happen when a monster fused with a human SOUL. Not even Alphys or G-"
"kid, i didn't just here the stories. i was there. but nobody has any reason to believe that asriel is still alive. human SOUL or not, kid, you didn't see asriel's wounds. no one is living through that. not even a DETERMINATION-loaded human. certainly not a monster. if you tell tori or asgore… there's just no way, kid. listen. believe what you want, and if you want to try to free asriel, i'll have your back all the way. but you can't tell toriel and king asgore. ya can't give 'em false hopes, kid."
"Fine, Sans. You're the only one I need. Listen, you know better than either of us that Grillyby's is going to have a huge going-away feast before they move to a new location. It's happening tomorrow, so how about we just head over there and have a good time, and then we'll decide what to do."
"sounds great, kiddo. it's a date. but not like all those other dates. i wouldn't want to get in between you and pap. or undyne. or alphys. or nabstablook."
"Ok, hey, that last one wasn't even a date! So just, just, just… just don't, Sans. I was just trying to get close to everybody."
"i getcha' kid. sorry about givin' ya so much trouble. that whole time just kinda tickled my funny bone, eh?"
"That one was lame even for you Sans. See you tomorrow."
The two turned in opposite directions, Sans strolling casually of with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, like always, as Frisk cheerfully jogged off in an inordinately good mood. Little did they know that their happy mood wouldn't last for long. For a dimension away, another Asriel had given another Frisk a tip, and now, hurtling through space-time, trying to reach a still living timeline. Chara and the second Frisk were both in good moods as well, although for completely different reasons.
And in the distance, man watched from afar, indifferent to the results of the confrontation that was soon to be, but still hopeful that the upcoming battle could improve his interests. He was slightly worried about what would happen if two Frisks found themselves in one place, but had no fear. But he had progressed beyond fear, even if the humans posed a threat to one on a plane such as his. Which, he noted, they didn't.
"What do you think, Frisk? Does this place look alive enough for us? Does this look like a good place to destroy? Honestly, does it? Would you like to commit Genocide one more time? Let's do it together, shall we?"
Frisk looked around. What they saw astounded them. Even in the Ruins, they had never seen such happiness. Such unbelievable unity. Every monster seemed to love every other monster, and joy seemed to abound. Frisk didn't know what could cause them to be like this, and wanted to know, wanted to see what made them so happy. And yet they knew that in a few moments, they would be destroying them all.
Frisk drew their knife and stepped forward.
From a distance, Papyrus watched in confusion.
"FRISK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT KNIFE? FRISK? FRISK, WHAT'S GOING ON? "
Frisk didn't stop. Whimsun and Froggit, confused and uncomprehending, watched their old friend walk slowly and inorexibly toward them, knife raised, emotionless and murderous intent evident in their eyes. Whimsun didn't know whether to run away or just wait. Maybe Frisk was just playing around with them? Froggit, meanwhile, had no idea what was going on, but was worried anyway.
Papyrus began walking toward the three rapidly. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what Frisk was doing so soon after freeing them all, but he had a feeling something was wrong. He picked up his pace.
"WHAT IS GOING ON, HUMAN? STOP! STOP! STOP!"
Frisk didn't stop, but did finally seem to notice the skeleton. Chara, deep in Frisk's mind, spoke up.
"Wonderful. Papyrus. Someone who matters. Kill him first. And make sure he understands that you aren't going to 'get better,' and he has no reason to 'believe in you.' Make it slow, Frisk. I want to see the look on that worthless skeleton's face when he sees what we did to his brother. Give him a bad time, Frisk."
"Fine. Fine, and damn you. We've destroyed far too much already. But fine. FINE!"
Frisk stepped forward at Papyrus and raised their knife. The lanky skeleton stopped in his tracks.
"HUMAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PUT THE KNIFE AWAY, HUMAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? FRISK, PLEASE, STOP! THIS ISN'T FUNNY! OH MY GOD, FRISK, STOP!"
Frisk didn't stop. As Papyrus slowed and stopped just a few feet away from the murderous human, they raised the blade stained with the blood and dust of so many monsters, including, although Papyrus had no way of knowing this, his own.
"FRISK, PLEASE… HUMAN… WHAT'S WRONG? PLEASE, FRISK, WHATEVER IT IS, WE'LL GET THROUGH IT TOGETHER. NO. PLEASE, NO… SANS! UNDYNE! LADY ASGORE! REAL ASGORE! HELP ME! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH FRISK! THEY SEEM VERY UPSET!"
But nobody came.
Frisk swung, knowing that Papyrus would dodge, and he did, if only by a tiny fraction of an inch. He was out of practice. The blade made a small scratch down the length of the skeleton's battle body. It was this scratch that served to snap him out of his denial and force him to realize that Frisk was really trying to kill him. As the human swung another knife blow at Papyrus, he reluctantly lifted his palm a few inches into the air, summoning a single bone out of the ground, and halfheartedly shot it at Frisk, who effortlessly sliced it out of the air.
"HUMAN, PLEASE, DON'T MAKE ME FIGHT YOU!"
Frisk swung again. Papyrus dodged.
"FRISK, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO HURT YOU!"
The murderous human took another step forward and raised their knife.
"DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS!"
Frisk swung one more time.
"FINE. I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU, HUMAN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT YOU NEED HELP. I'LL HELP YOU FRISK. AND IF THAT MEANS BRINGING YOU DOWN… SO BE IT. THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL PREVAIL! NYEH HEH HEH!"
Although Papyrus didn't have the faintest thought of actually hurting Frisk, he did know that he had no choice but to fight. Clenching his fist, he lifted about a dozen bones from the ground and rocketed them at Frisk, who either smashed them with their fist, sliced them with their knife, or simply dodged them. Papyrus brought up another volley of bones and fired them as well, but Frisk avoided them with relative ease. The skeleton was beginning to get worried. Frisk wasn't a fighter, so how were they so easily avoiding his attacks?
He gritted his teeth, and unleashed another several bones, these ones significantly larger than the ones that preceded them, before sticking several directly into the ground and sending them flying through the earth at Frisk, who simply jumped over them and then pulled out a second knife, hurling it at Papyrus. The skeleton struggled to dodge, but the weapon shot directly through his battle body, pinning him to a tree directly behind his earlier position.
Frisk began walking slowly and purposefully toward Papyrus. The skeleton was beginning to get really, really scared. He clenched his fist once again, and began to strain, before thrusting his palm into the air and unleashing all of his willpower. Behind him, a tremendous bone, the size of a large building, rose from the dirt and rocks beneath him.
"IF MY CASUAL ATTACKS CAN'T STOP YOU, FRISK, I'LL SHOW YOU MY PERFECTLY NORMAL ATTACK! I KNOW YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE, BUT THIS IS WHAT I CAN DO ON A NORMAL DAY. SEE HOW WORTHY I AM OF JOINING THE ROYAL GUARD? ACTUALLY, THAT ISN'T THE POINT. THE POINT IS, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HIT YOU WITH THIS ATTACK, AND YOU WILL BE STUNNED! SUFFICIENTLY STUNNED, IN FACT, TO BE EASILY TAKEN TO ALPHYS AND CURED OF WHATEVER IS CAUSING YOU TO BE SO UPSET! NYEH HEH HEH! PERFECTLY NORMAL ATTACK, GO!"
Papyrus thrust his arm forward, sending the massive piece of bone at Frisk, who stood there, indifferent. Papyrus saw the bone impact, and heard a cracking sound. Suddenly, he was gripped by terror, a tightening of the throat, and horror at the thoughts that came to mind. What if he had overdone it? What if he had… killed them? But it was only a spit-second later that he got his answer. The cracking wasn't that of Frisk's bones. It was that of the massive femur that he had sent at the human. Long cracks split down the length of the "normal attack," as it's structural integrity was reduced to zero. Suddenly, the massive weapon shattered into billions of splinters of bone, and everything in the area was slightly injured by the burst.
All except for one. Frisk stood there unmoved, other than their fist being extended in front of them. Casually, the human had punched the massive bone to pieces.
"OH MY GOD. DID THEY JUST… AAAAAAH! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"
As Papyrus continued screaming for a savior, trying to free himself from the tree he was stuck to, Frisk walked slowly toward him, raising their knife as they moved.
As Frisk finally reached their target, they lifted their blade. Seeing the terrified, pleading look on the face of the skeleton who had tried thousands of times to be their friend, Frisk hesitated, for just a moment ignoring Chara's enraged screaming in their head. Frisk knew that it would soon be over. They were filled with DETERMINATION. As Frisk prepared to thrust downward and finish Papyrus, they were suddenly interrupted by a flying projectile from some distance away. Papyrus fainted in relief. Undyne was here.
"Ok, you little punk, what's the issue, and GET THAT KNIFE AWAY FROM PAPYRUS!"
The heroine leapt from her current position almost 150 yards away from Frisk and landed directly in front of the human.
"You had better have a hell of a good explanation, punk! Listen, I'm grateful for you befriending me, I'm grateful for you saving us from Flowey, and I'm grateful for you destroying the Barrier. But if two of my friends try to kill each other, I'm going after the aggressor, and you sure as hell look like an aggressor. So what's the problem, Frisk?"
Frisk had no answer. They just thrust upward at the undying hero with an attempt at a killing blow. Undyne was almost relieved. Truth be told, she had always been looking for a reason to hate the human, and although it seemed like Frisk had been the Underground's savior, now she finally had proof that they were just like all the rest of the humans. Worthless killers. The fight was on.
A slightly perplexed figure watched from afar, as he heard Undyne's battle theme play over the more natural sounds of the battle between her and Frisk, or, as the figure knew them, Chara.
