The Seventh SOUL

by Tigerflight

Alex has fallen into the Underground, along with a child calling herself Chara. It only takes a few minutes for Alex to want to distance herself from Chara. What has possessed the strange child to want to kill anything and everything in sight? And what can Alex do to stop it? Rated T because Genocide rout.

Here we go! My first Undertale fanfic! So excited about it! Let me know what you guys think! If I had an editing glitch, let me know and I'll change it too.

Well! Here we go!

She kicked the rock again, heading up the slope. She would always come to Mt. Ebott when she needed space. It was like she and the mountain were best friends and could share things that no one would ever hear from her. Things like being a foster kid and how much it sucked when no one would listen to your problems or seemed to care for you. They only saw you as 'another kid' and not a person who had feelings. She tried to be nice to everyone, but even she had her limit.

She gave a deep sigh as she trudged up the mountain. She picked up the stone she had been kicking and threw it as hard as she could. To her surprise, a clacking sound reached her ears instead of a grassy thump. She looked around, and sure enough, there was a cave she had never seen off to the side of the mountain. She stepped into the opening, squinting to try to see inside the cave. Before she knew what was happening, her foot stepped into a giant hole and she tumbled forward, her scream caught in her throat.

She fell for a while, waiting for the thud and the white light everyone spoke of. She wondered if anyone would even miss her; most likely not. But when she did land, she felt soft… flowers? She waited for a minute, getting her breath back, before she sat up slowly and looked around. She was underground so far that she couldn't even see the hole she had fallen into. She was sitting in a patch of golden flowers which were sitting on a patch of grass themselves.

She got up, wandering farther into the cave. She was surprised to see another golden flower, this one with a face! It was grinning.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower! You're new to the Underground, ain't ya? Don't worry, I'll be your friend and help you out! Just step closer and I'll tell you everything you need to know about this place." She hesitated, but she stepped closer, only to be thrown back with some sort of white pellets. "You idiot!" the flower sneered, its high-pitched voice peaking. "In this world, it's kill or be killed! If you don't know how to take care of yourself, then you'll be picked off!"

The flower began shrieking and more pellets began closing in on the pain-ridden girl. Suddenly, a fire ball came out of nowhere and destroyed the pellets, with another one knocking Flowey out of commission. A shadow took form on the opposite edge of the cave and revealed to be what appeared to be a concerned… goat? This was starting to be weird.

"Are you alright, little one? I hate it when creatures like him take advantage of young ones like you." She shook her head, then turned her warm and comforting gaze to the girl. "Are you hurt?"

She grimaced. "I'll be fine. Thank you for helping me."

The stranger helped the girl to her feet. "That's what I'm here for." She smiled. "I'm Toriel, keeper of the Ruins. You're a human, aren't you?"

The girl nodded, hugging her aching ribs. "Yeah. Where are the Ruins?"

"Down here in the Underground, there are many different little lands, and the Ruins marks the outside of them. Come with me," Toriel said softly. "I'll tend to your wounds. I don't believe you told me your name, child."

The girl smiled back. "I'm Alex. It's nice to meet you."

Toriel took Alex back to her home, giving her bandages and some food and water. Alez was grateful for her. She didn't know what would have happened if Toriel hadn't come along; Alex didn't want to know what would have happened.

"Is there a way I can get back to the surface?" Alex asked.

Toriel hesitated. "Well, there is, but you would have to go through the entirety of the Underground for it. It is far too dangerous for someone as young as you."

"But I need to get back," Alex insisted.

"What do you need to get back to?" Toriel inquired.

Alex paused. Toriel was right. Alex didn't really have anyone to return to.

Toriel suddenly looked to the bedroom door. "Another human has fallen into the Underground. Will you be alright alone?"

Alex nodded. "I should rest anyway. Let my body heal itself."

Toriel smiled at her and left, leaving Alex in the house alone. While she knew she should be staying in bed, Alex decided to look around the place to take in her surroundings.

The house was certainly charming, with bedrooms and a living room with a roaring fireplace. A doorway on the other side of the living room revealed a kitchen. On one of the counters sat a delicious-smelling butterscotch pie. Alex left it alone, despite how much she wanted some; Toriel could be saving it for something specific.

The front door opening signaled to Alex that Toriel was back, and Alex went to the entrance-way to greet her. With her was a second child perhaps a few years younger than Alex. She was dressed normally with a blue and purple jumper, jean shorts, and sneakers, but something about the child made Alex's skin crawl. The child looked to Alex, her brown eyes narrowing a little, causing Alex to tug nervously on her golden braid.

Toriel was smiling as always. "Looks like two humans fell into the Underground today," she commented. "Alex, this is Chara; she just fell."

Alex gave Chara a respectful nod, but the other girl just stared at her. She was starting to really creep Alex out.

"When can I go home?" Chara suddenly asked, her short brown hair swishing as she looked to Toriel. Her voice was strange and high-pitched, as though her voice hadn't grown when she had.

Toriel's smile didn't waver. "What? Don't be silly. This is your home now. You will live here in the Ruins… with me. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

"What if I want to leave the Ruins?" Chara countered rudely.

Toriel blinked. "Actually, I just remembered! Will you excuse me, children? I need to take care of something." With that, Toriel rushed to the stairs to the basement, hurrying down them.

Barely batting an eye, Chara followed her.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Alex protested. "Let her do it by herself! She didn't say we could go with her!"

But Chara had already disappeared down the steps. Heaving a sigh, Alex followed begrudgingly. By the time she reached the bottom of them, Chara was already half-way to Toriel, who had stopped in the middle of the hall.

"What are you two doing down here?" Toriel's voice was strangely soft and serious. "Please go back upstairs. Alex can show you where you two can stay, Chara."

The goat continued down the corridor, stopping at the corner; Chara followed, ignoring her instructions, leaving Alex to follow as well.

"Please, children. Go back upstairs. We can live happily here together. Let me take care of this by myself." Toriel rounded the corner.

"Chara, let's listen to her," Alex suggested. But the little brat ignored her again, going after Toriel. "Chara!" Alex rolled her eyes in annoyance, going around the corner herself.

"Please, children," Toriel almost begged. "If you go into the world beyond the Ruins, they – Asgore – will kill you. He already killed six children before you, and only needs a seventh to be able to free us monsters from the Underground." Toriel continued to a couple large doors, turning to stand in front of it as Chara, and therefore Alex, approached her. "I don't want another child to get hurt, so I will be destroying the exit of the Ruins. That way, no one else will be able to get hurt."

Chara still approached Toriel, with Alex a little way behind her. She didn't say anything, but her intension was clear; she wanted out of the Ruins.

"If you are really so intent to leave," Toriel frowned, "then you'll have to get past me first."

To Alex's complete and utter horror, Chara pulled a knife from underneath her shirt. Alex didn't know how she had gotten it but she wasn't sure she wanted to get near the child at all. Toriel's eyes widened at the sight of the large knife but she remained steadfast, standing in front of the huge double doors. As Alex watched, frozen, Chara threw herself forward, thrusting the knife once, twice, across Toriel's chest. Toriel looked as surprised and horrified as Alex must have.

"Do you really hate me that much?" Toriel whispered. She slumped to her knees. "Ha. I suppose it was foolish of me to think you wouldn't be able to handle it out there. You-you're just like them, like him." Toriel's gaze flitted to Alex, seeing her as mortified as Toriel had been a second ago. Understanding filtered into her kind eyes. "Alex…" she sputtered, "…run."

Alex did. She burst through the double doors, tears already spilling down her face. Though she had only known Toriel for a short while, she had really grown to like the monster. And now she had been murdered. What kind of thing was Chara? Was she even human at all?

Alex reached a bridge and stopped to catch her breath, her hands on her knees as she breathed in the cold air. When she could hear someone coming up behind her in the snow, Alex whirled around, expecting to see Chara already there, but something – someone – entirely different was now before her. It was what appeared to be a short, grinning skeleton in a blue parka with grey fur around its edges, grey shorts, and… slippers? He only had white points where his eyes would be, but he didn't seem intimidating. In fact, he seemed rather friendly.

"Hello!" he greeted in a friendly and slightly deep voice. He stuck out his hand. "Aren't you going to treat a new friend the way they should be?"

Alex blinked, immediately remembered her manners, shaking the skeleton's hand. A weird, bubbly sound came from her hand.

The skeleton chuckled. "The old 'whoopie cushion in the hand' trick. Never gets old." He put the pink bag in his pocket. "The name's Sans. I haven't seen you before, Human. Though, you don't see many humans around here anyway. You're lucky you weren't spotted by someone who enjoys capturing you, like my brother, Papyrus. He wouldn't have hesitated to take you to the captain of the royal guard. Don't worry, though. I'm not the capturing type."

Alex allowed herself a hesitant smile. "That's a relief. My name is Alex." She paused a second before just blurting it out. "There's a killer in the Underground. We should evacuate everyone around before she kills them. She already murdered one of my… friends." Alex stared at the ground, refusing to cry again, especially in front of a stranger.

Sans frowned. "Who was this friend?"

"She was the caretaker of the Ruins. That way." Alex pointed. "She used to live behind these big double doors."

One of Sans's eyes began to glow blue and he looked angry. "She was my friend too, though I never learned her name. Did she give it to you?"

Alex nodded, sorry she was the one to tell him and not Toriel herself. "Her name was Toriel."

Sans nodded, the blue fading from his eye. Now he just looked sad. "Thank you for telling me about her. Now, we need to find Papyrus. He'll be able to find Undyne for us."

Undyne? Who was Undyne?

Alex followed behind the skeleton until they came across a taller skeleton with a goofy expression and wearing red and white. Was this Papyrus?

Sans confirmed her question. "Hey, Papyrus."

"Sans!" Papyrus's voice was as silly as his expression. "What are you doing with a human? You know Undyne wants us to take those to her!"

Sans nodded patiently. "Yes, but this human has useful information for us. There's a killer bound for Snowdin. We need to get everyone away before she kills us. Where's Undyne?"

"Probably near Waterfall. I can take you to her." Papyrus narrowed his eyes, or, Alex thought he did. Did skeletons have the ability to narrow their eyes? "You're lucky you're useful, Human. On any other day I would not hesitate to capture you with my puzzles!"

Alex smiled. "I like puzzles! Maybe we can do them on a different day."

Sans had a queer look on his face as he looked at Alex for a second. When she faced him, however, it vanished. "I should go stall the other human. Be careful, you two."

Alex turned to Papyrus, realizing that he was a little taller than her and she had to look up to face him. "Thanks for not capturing me. Now, off we go to Undyne!"

Papyrus grinned. "Yes! To Undyne! Nyeh heh heh heh!"

He took off, leaving Alex to try to keep pace behind him. For a skeleton, he was pretty fast. Alex was out of breath by the time they reached a small town.

"Pa-Papyrus!" she gasped. "Can… can we rest… for a second...?"

The tall skeleton looked down at her. "Sure! Do you need anything? Food? Water? I know you humans need things like that. We can rest at my house," he offered.

Alex blinked. Something told her that Papyrus wasn't this nice to all the other humans he met; if he had met any before this. "Th-thanks…! That would be great."

Papyrus showed her to a nice house with Christmas decorations hanging from the roof. He told her to wait while he got Undyne. Alex looked around the house. It was certainly nice, though it was no house of Toriel's. Alex's heart hurt a little at the thought of the kind monster. She found the kitchen, and since Papyrus had said she could find anything to eat, Alex just grabbed anything and everything that looked edible. She found things to make a sandwich, as well as a few pieces of fruit and chowed down. After washing everything down with gulps of water, she heard the front door opening.

"Papyrus, I'm not sure I believe you about this human," came a slightly gravelly female voice. "You know Asgore wants me to bring any human I see to him. We're only one SOUL away from being free!"

"I know, Undyne," Papyrus answered. "But you have to listen to this human. She's different from the others somehow."

Undyne sighed. "Alright, where is she?"

"Human?" Papyrus called. "Come out, wherever you are. I brought Undyne!"

Alex stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. Beside the skeleton was what appeared to be a… fish girl, for lack of a better term. She had fin-like ears, blue scaly skin, and long red hair tied up in a ponytail. She wore a black tank-top and leggings with heavy-duty boots.

"Are you Undyne?" Alex asked, slightly intimidated.

The monster nodded. "I am. I'm captain of the royal guard, tasked by King Asgore to capture you humans. We need seven SOULS to be free of the Underground. Give me one reason I shouldn't be bringing you to him right now."

Alex forgot formalities for a second as she remembered why she had run all the way here in the first place. "There's a killer in the Underground!" she blurted. "I think she might be coming to kill you all! She already killed one of my friends…" She shook her head. This was not about her, it was about the innocent monsters in Snowdin. "You have get everyone out of here before she comes and kills you all. Please," she begged. "You have to listen to me."

Undyne scanned her face. "I usually know when anyone is lying to me," she commented. "And I know for a fact that you are not. If you were this human coming to kill us, you would not be warning us. If you were lying, you would not look so distressed." She looked to Papyrus, who looked shocked that Undyne had listened at all. "We need to get everyone out of Snowdin," she said. She glanced at Alex. "You do that while I take this human to Alphys. She should be able to evacuate everyone to a safe place until we get this… thing under control." She looked back to Alex, looking genuinely grateful. "Thank you, Human. We cannot thank you enough for warning us."

Papyrus disappeared out the door, leaving Undyne to lead Alex out of the house as well, but in a different direction. They went at a fast walk through the snowy area of Snowdin, crossed a bridge, and soon came to a place that Undyne called Waterfall.

Alex had to ask for another break, as she wasn't used to going this fast this long. "I know we have to get to your friend soon," she managed. "But I won't be any use to you if I pass out from exhaustion."

Undyne seemed to understand and they paused at a rock. They were silent for a while before Undyne spoke. "Why did you choose to warn us?"

"What do you mean?" Alex's voice was barely a breath as she tried to get more air into her lungs.

"You could have just run away and saved yourself," Undyne pointed out. "But you chose to stay and warn us, putting yourself in danger again. Why?"

"I couldn't let you all die," Alex answered honestly. "If I did, I would be no better than the killer. I would be killing you with her by not warning you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let more people die because of me."

Undyne nodded, finally smiling at her for the first time, showing her pointed teeth. "That's a good answer, Human."

Alex returned the smile. "I have a name, you know. It's Alex."

Undyne stuck out a hand, helping Alex to her feet. "It's nice to really meet you, Alex. We should get going. We don't want the killer catching up with us."

Alex stood, nodding. "Will Papyrus be joining us wherever your friend is?"

"I hope so. He'll come when he can. There's a lot of monsters in Snowdin, but I hope he gets them all out before the killer gets there. I think I remember you calling the killer a she? Does she have a name?"

"Chara."

"Then let's stop Chara together."

Alex agreed with a determined smile.

Their journey through Waterfall was mostly a quiet one. Undyne seemed to be thinking hard about something, so Alex left her be. When they reached the outskirts of a place called Hotland, Undyne pulled out a cellphone and called Alphys. She quickly told Alex that she couldn't go into Hotland as it was too warm for her to survive very well. When she ended her phone call, Undyne told Alex that Alphys would be meeting them at the border of Waterfall in a few minutes.

Sure enough, Alphys approached in only a couple minutes. The best way Alex could describe her was a short, yellow dinosaur wearing a lab coat and glasses. Her eyes were brown and flitting around in nervousness, while her front paws were clenching together.

"H-hello, Un-Undyne…" Her voice was soft. "What's all this about a human and evacuation?"

Undyne quickly explained what was happening as her friend's eyes got progressively wider and fearful. Alphys was nodding, losing her apparent nervousness and looking more serious.

Alphys took a breath. "Okay. I can do this. But, what about you? You keep saying 'if I can't stop her'. Aren't you coming?"

For the first time since Alex had met Undyne, she looked genuinely sad and regretful. Like someone who had so much to say, but knew she would never have enough time to say it. "I'm not going with you," she whispered. "I'm going to hold off this – this… thing until you can get safely away. You can monitor it with one of your cameras. Or you could have Mettaton follow me around." She grinned again. "And when I defeat this kid, you'll see it and know that everyone will be okay." She turned serious again, gazing down at her yellow friend. "But if I can't… you'd better get everyone away as fast as you can. Do you hear me, Alphys?"

Alphys looked like that was the last thing she wanted to do, but she nodded, wiping at her eyes. "I'll do that. And I don't think we'll need to evacuate anyone, Undyne." She smiled shyly up at her. "You'll get rid of the threat to Underground, I know it!"

Alex smiled at the exchange. These two obviously cared for each other quite a bit. Alex wished she had someone to care for her like these two friends did. "Should we go?" she asked Alphys.

Alphys nodded. "Y-yes. We should. I wish you the best, Undyne."

Undyne suddenly bent down and wrapped her arms around Alphys in a tight embrace. In that one moment, Alex could see that Undyne was scared. Sacred and sad. No matter how much she put on that she was brave and ready to sacrifice herself, she was still terrified about what was going to happen. Pulling away from the hug, Undyne gave Alphys one last smile and disappeared into the reeds.

Alphys was shaking as she turned to Alex. "O-okay," she said shakily before taking a deep breath to calm herself. "L-let's go."

Alex followed the yellow monster past the border between Waterfall and Hotland, and Alex suddenly understood why Undyne couldn't cross the border. Hotland certainly lived up to its name, leaving Alex grateful for her T-shirt. Alphys led the human to what appeared to be a laboratory with three giant letters saying 'LAB' above the double doors. Obviously a lab, then.

As they walked in, the lights suddenly shut off, and a spotlight moved to a… robot. Square, with a screen on it and arms and legs protruding out of it. His appearance reminded Alex of a really old television, but with arms and legs.

"Ah, Alphys. There you are." His voice was very much a robot's but with… sass? Alex figured she should just stop asking questions. "Who is this. Should I destroy them."

"Wha – no! Mettaton!" Alphys rushed forward, standing in between Alex and the robot. "Alex is a friend! I actually have a job for you."

"Oh. A job. I am so excited." Alex had to swallow to keep the laughter down. This robot obviously had a lot of personality, but his voice box didn't allow him to emote. "What is it that you have for me to do. Does it have anything to do with theatre. You know how I love the theatre."

"I want you to find Undyne and broadcast what is happening with her to me," Alphys told him. "Do not return until she has either succeeded with what she is doing, or until she has failed." Her voice nearly pitched at the last word, but she cleared her throat and continued. "Can you do that for me? It's very important."

Mettaton hesitated. "I see. If it is so important, then I shall be happy to do that."

With that, the robot vanished through the double doors, and Alphys waited anxiously in front of a monitor. Alex stepped up beside her, waiting for an agonizingly long time for it to turn on. When it finally did, Alphys nearly put her nose to the screen in anticipation. Undyne was facing down Chara. Something was different about the kid. She now had quite a bit of dust on her hands, and Alex flinched at the sight of Toriel's dried blood still on the knife, with dust encrusted in it.

Undyne narrowed her yellow eyes. "I see you've been busy killing my friends," she spat out. "You won't kill any more, Chara. I will stop you."

"We'll see about that…" Chara's voice scraped itself into Alex's ears.

Alex ground her teeth. She hated even hearing that smug little brat speak. Come on, Undyne. She cheered in her thoughts. Show her up.

Undyne drew her spear, causing many many spears to appear and hurl themselves at Chara. But the child simply dodged them as though they were nothing. She leaped in with a jab, bringing the large knife down into the monster's chest. Alex, Alphys, and Undyne all had the same expressions. It couldn't be over like that. Just one move?

"No…!" Alphys whispered, her paws coming up to her mouth.

"Is that it?" Undyne croaked. "Just one move, and it's over? All the training… for nothing. Asgore, Alphys… I'm sorry…" Her figure shuddered. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open again. "No…" she grunted. "No, I'm not going out that easily. I promised them I would hold you back, and hold you back I will." Her spear began to glow a bright blue. "You will not destroy another monster if I have anything to say about it."

Chara just giggled, causing Alex to nearly scream in frustration, though she knew the child wouldn't hear her.

Shut up and just die already!

Undyne's attacks grew faster and harder to beat, but Chara dodged them all, gaining only a few nicks for the monster's trouble. The kid dashed around and jabbed at Undyne when she could, and both Alex and Alphys could tell that Undyne wouldn't last much longer. Finally, with one final slash, Chara used the same move she had used to kill Toriel.

Undyne slumped to her knees. "Ha. I guess that even with all that, I couldn't kill you. Well, the joke's on you; you won't ever kill another monster. I already told Alphys to evacuate everyone, and she's doing that as we speak. No more innocents will die."

"Innocents?" Chara's high-pitched voice reminded Alex of Flowey's a little. "Are you really so innocent? You're called 'monsters', and you call yourselves innocent? Monsters are abominations by the meaning of the very word. Monsters, creatures of evil doing, not of this world, not worth it."

"And I suppose you're any better?" Undyne retorted, looking up at Chara as the girl came closer.

"Me? I have come to protect the humans." A sick and terrifying smile spread across her face. "Now… die…"

Alex had to look away as Chara brought the knife down one last time. By Alphys's agonizing cry, she hadn't looked away. Alex had to reach out and pull her new friend away from the monitor. "Alphys. We have to evacuate everyone. Come on."

"But… Undyne…" Alphys slumped to the ground, sobbing.

Alex felt wet tears sliding down her face, but didn't bother to wipe them away. "You heard her. She's counting on you, on us, to get everyone out. She sacrificed herself so we would have the time to flee. Come on. We have to go. Mettaton will buy us more time."

Alphys just nodded, standing up and sniffling. She shuffled to a sort of intercom, pushing a big button on it. "M-Mettaton, I need you to buy us some time. Hit the switch on your back, that should help." The robot didn't answer, but Alphys took that as a sign. She whirled to face Alex. "We need to get everyone out of here. Are you going to help?"

Alex nodded, finally wiping at her face. "Yes. What do you want me to do?"

Alphys instructed her on getting everyone to safety. King Asgore would help hide the monsters, Alphys and Alex just needed to get them to him. The pair began rounding up everyone they could find, having them join a giant procession to King Asgore's castle. Alex was a little nervous about having to meet this Asgore as Undyne had said that he wanted her SOUL, but Alex had no choice. The only way to help everyone was to bring them to the very monster that might have to kill Alex.

Alphys, Alex, and the hundreds of thousands of monsters made their way to the castle. Once there, Alphys went on ahead to talk to the king, and left Alex in charge of everyone. Alex waited, and waited, and waited, and for a moment, she was terrified that Chara had gotten there first and had killed Asgore and Alphys. But, soon enough, Alphys returned with a goat that Alex knew must be King Asgore. He looked kind and wanting to help, a smile on his face.

He looked to Alex. "And you must be Alex, the human who has chosen to help the monsters. I never would have thought a human to do that, but here you are. Thank you. The Underground is very grateful for your sacrifice."

Alex winced. "Are you going to kill me? Undyne told me you only needed one more SOUL to be able to leave the Underground."

Asgore shook his head. "I'm not going to kill you. But I will kill the other child who fell. Then we – monsters and human – can finally go home in peace."

Alex smiled. "I would like that very much, sir."

"Now." Asgore tone was serious and stern. "We need to get all these monsters into hiding. Where to put them?"

"The tunnels!" Alphys blurted. Asgore and Alex turned to her. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before, but they could all hide in the tunnels! There is certainly enough room for all of them there!"

Asgore nodded. "Good idea, Alphys. You lead them down. The human and I have to talk."

Alphys did as he asked, leading the monsters down the hall and down some steps. It took a while, but soon the last monster had disappeared down the steps and Asgore turned to Alex again.

"Tell me, why do you look so hesitant?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't look like you want to go home," Asgore noticed. "What's wrong?"

Alex sighed. "I don't have a home to return to," she admitted. "My father is in jail, my mother is… gone, and I'm living in a house where no one cares for me. The only time I thought I might have a home was in the Ruins, but that's out of the question now." She stared at the ground. "I don't want to return to the surface."

Asgore put a heavy paw on Alex's shoulder, causing her to look into his face. "I understand. If you want to, when we have defeated this last… thing, you can come and live with us monsters. We are grateful for all you've done for us, and would be honoured if you chose to stay with us."

Alex smiled, something she hadn't really done much for the past few years. "I would like that. Thank you, sir."

"Asgore," he corrected, reflecting the smile.

Asgore led her to the Boundary, where he said he would bring all seven SOULs so the monsters could finally return to the surface. When they heard footsteps, Alex disappeared into a shadow, not wanting to be seen by Chara.

Chara came into the room, grey dust coating her hands, and blood covering her knife. "One over-protective goat, two stupid skeletons, one fish, one spotlight-desperate robot, and a second goat who thinks he can be king. You are all so pathetic, thinking you could stop me. It is I that shall wipe you out before you wipe out all humans. You are monsters, and you do not belong in the land above."

"And you do?" Argore narrowed his eyes, bringing a trident out from under his cloak. "You're no better than the ones who killed my son."

He thrust out with his trident, but Chara dodged. It was just like with Undyne, but Asgore was much slower. He was wide open for an attack, and Alex recognized the stance of Chara. She was going to leap at Asgore and stab him like she had Undyne. Alex suddenly saw a glowing pink heart appear in front of her, and knew what she had to do.

Alex flew in front of Asgore, protecting him and taking the knife in the chest instead. The pink heart glowed even brighter, and she stretched out her hands like she had seen Toriel do when she saved Alex from Flowey. Pink hearts surrounded Chara, pummelling her with beams. Something tickled in the back of her brain, and she suddenly began talking about things she hadn't known before, but knew now somehow.

"You… shall never… hurt them again," she managed. "You are the one who is pathetic, who is weak. You had to depend on your LOVE to get by, but I only relied on my love, and got through. Not everything is all hearts and rainbows, but in this case, it's what you needed to survive the Underground. Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Mettaton, Sans. They have not died in vain. The monsters will be free, using your SOUL. And I, as the SOUL of Passion, will see that you will never again hurt one of my friends." The beams surrounded and hit Chara again, causing the girl to fall to the ground beside Alex. "Never again, Chara." Alex coughed, feeling her energy drain. "Never again," she whispered.

The light faded from Chara's reddish-brown eyes, and Alex felt somewhat successful. She knew she was going too, but Chara wouldn't ever be able to hurt another monster again, and the monsters could be free of the Underground.

Asgore's face came into Alex's hazy line of vision. "Thank you, child. Thank you for your sacrifice."

Alex smiled a tiny smile before all her energy left and blackness obscured her vision.

"Alex, Alex, come on," a soft voice murmured. "You can't lie there the entire time. Get up, child."

Alex opened her eyes and blinked. Toriel was standing over her, along with Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus. "Where am I?" she asked.

Toriel glanced behind her to everyone else. "Wherever this is. We all appeared here when Chara…"

Alex sat up, looking around. They were in a field of golden flowers. A field that went as far as the eye could see. A little way away was a tiny village.

"I guess this is it, huh?" Alex said.

"Yup!" Undyne grinned. "Now we just have to wait for everyone else to get here!"

Alex smiled and glanced at all the monsters she had come to care about despite only knowing them for a couple days at most. This was her family. This was her new home.