WARNING!

THE FOLLOWING STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS REGARDING THE PACIFIST AND TRUE PACIFIST PLAYTHROUGHS OF THE GAME 'UNDERTALE.' IF YOU HAVE NOT YET COMPLETED THE GAME ON THOSE TWO PLAYTHROUGHS, PLEASE STOP READING NOW AND GO PLAY THEM THROUGH. OTHERWISE, PLEASE ENJOY!

The world warped, smeared, and tore around the child, reality shrieking as it came apart once again. It had taken them so long to get to this point, they reflected with something of a wry smile. How many times had they watched that sunset come apart under the effects of a reset, seen the brief expressions of alarm on their friends' faces before they vanished as well, the world becoming a smear of colors that ultimately all faded to black once again? How many times had their eyes opened to gaze up at the circular entrance into the Underground, the hole they had fallen from, shining down on the flowers that had broken their fall?

Too many times was one answer they came up with; too many times had they seen this view again, the soreness all over their body of having fallen too far. Too many times had they sat up, their Determination driving them onward even as a growing part of their mind told them how fruitless, how utterly useless it was going to be to keep trying because there was no solution to the problem they kept trying to solve. But now they were finally able to awaken on that carpet of golden flowers, turn their eyes towards the hole in the ceiling, and grin fiercely. It had taken so very long, they thought, but they had finally done it... With help. A lot of help.

Climbing to their feet, they patted themselves free of the petals that clung to them, then took a long, deep breath. Their hand rose to their chest, clutching at the fabric of their baggy sweater, where she felt her heart beating powerfully, full of life and energy. Then they turned their eyes to the path into the ruins, Determinationturning the butterflies in her stomach into confidence. Things had been hard until now, they knew that well. But this was going to be their last reset, their last time in the ruins with the Monsters locked within. They took a breath, one last steadying of nerves, and stepped forward onto their path...

The door rumbled closed behind them, but didn't slam shut. Snow crunched underfoot, crushed by their boots. A chill ran through their body as the snowy wind picked up, and out of the corner of their eye, they saw the camera that Alphys had always watched. Smiling, they waved towards it. As if on cue, a heavy weight settled onto their shoulders, a faintly berry-like scent surrounding them. Jumping a bit in surprise, they turned, coming face-to-face with Sans the skeleton. "Hey, kiddo," he said, his trademark grin in place. "So this is it, huh?"

It had taken a long time for them to change, taken almost a hundred resets before they dared. But that had been so very long ago. Now, it was second nature. Smiling, they stepped forward and wrapped their arms around Sans's shoulders. "This is it," they said, their voice clear as crystal in the snowy forest air. "Thank you for everything so far, Sans."

"It was the least I could do, kid," He said, ruffling their hair playfully. "After all, you broke us all free, what, three hundred times? Four? I mean, sure, most of that was because we couldn't just sit and try and figure this out without breaking us out, but you still did it. I don't even want to think of how many times you, y'know... Died doin' it. With you workin' that hard... Well, I just couldn't bring myself to not care anymore. So, you got it all taken care of?"

Frisk nodded, turning their gaze to the path they had to take. To Papyrus, the first of their friends outside the ruins, then onward to all the other places, as well. All the other friends that awaited them. Would any of them have any inkling of how important this time was, this reset above all the others? Did they have any idea that, finally, all their years of being trapped and locked away would be over, for good? They couldn't, and yet since that first trip back, they had remembered parts, bits and pieces... And Sans had remembered everything. And he most certainly hadn't been happy to learn that Frisk had been why he couldn't enjoy that happy ending.

But ultimately, he had understood. Some eight or nine resets later, yes, but he'd understood. And he'd finally offered to help. And now, so many resets later, they stood at the exit from the Ruins, giving Alphys one hell of an unusual show. "You don't have to hide that you know me anymore?" Frisk asked after a few moments, slipping their arms through the sleeves of the jacket he'd settled onto their shoulders. To their surprise, it fit really well; it was blue, just like his own jacket, but was cut for a smaller build. The hood had white fur lining it, and if they had to guess, that fur was from the Annoying Dog. It was warm, remarkably so, and it was also new; never had they been given something for the cold before.

"Nah," he said with a shrug, glancing at the camera. "After all, we started bringing Alphys into things these last few dozen resets so we could use her lab. If I'm here, she knows things are serious enough that she should watch carefully. Ah, by the way, Alphys! I'll stop by after me 'n the human here visit Grillby's, alright? So for now, let's, ah, keep Undyne out of things, okay?" There wasn't a response, of course, but Frisk couldn't help but wonder how the scientist was reacting, all the way over in Hotland. Then they nodded, looking at Sans. "Shouldn't we meet up with your brother again? You know, make sure things work out the right way?"

"We will," Sans assured them, patting their shoulder. "But you got out early this time; almost an hour ahead of time. Grillbz is the only one there right now, and he promised to keep the doors locked until we've had breakfast. Told him it was vital to the Monsters leaving the Underground once and for all. Which isn't a lie; remember when you just forgot to eat, and almost passed out fighting Flowey? Y'gotta eat well, kid."

"I remember," they said with a shiver; it had been a very, very unpleasant experience. "Well, if we have the time, I guess we can eat something. But what are we going to eat?" They turned their curious gaze on the skeleton, who just shrugged.

"How about some burg?" He offered. " It's more filling, and after all, it'd be terrible if you died this time; we'd have to play ketchup all over again."

Frisk groaned, then reached out and took his hand in their own. "Well, I'm not going to complain about a good burger," They said, looking him dead in the eye. "After all, you could use a bit of meat on your bones."

Sans stared back at them for several moments, then laughed aloud and stepped forward. They were surrounded in white light for just a moment, and when it faded, they were strolling up to the bar of Grillby's, the place strange without anyone in it. But it still felt oddly comfortable, with Grillby standing behind the counter as he always was. "Grillbz! A double order of Burg. Today's a big day!"

Grillby nodded silently and turned to make his way into the back, leaving the pair alone. Both climbed onto a stool to wait, but neither spoke for several moments. When the silence was finally broken, it was Sans who broke it, his voice almost... Fragile. The tone drew Frisk's immediate concern, but they didn't interrupt him as he voiced his concern. "So... This is really it, right? I mean... It's been so long. It feels like- No, it HAS been years. So many times seein' the sun, only to get dragged back down here. And we're the only ones who remember. If I hadn't gone with ya into that place you go to, that Save room, I'd have forgotten everything with that last one. Nah, that ain't true... If you hadn't brought me along, I'd have forgotten... But that means you mean it, right? You really mean for this to be the last time... Right?"

The skeleton's uncertainty broke their heart. Turning on their stool, they leaned across the intervening space and wrapped their arms around him, hugging the startled skeleton as tightly as their little body could manage. "I really mean it, Sans," They said, their tone soft. "I really, really mean for this to be the last time we have to be down here against our wills. When the barrier breaks again, it will never go up again. The moment it's gone, I'll save right there, and I'll never do a full or True reset ever again. It's almost over, Sans."

Sans's arms went around their body, hugging tight. "Thanks, kid," he whispered, pressing his face into their auburn hair. They stayed like that until the thud of ceramic on wood drew their attention to Grillby's return. They pulled away, both blushing their respective colors in embarrassment. Sans held up a ketchup bottle, grinning at them. "Want some ketchup?" He offered.

Smiling in reply, they reached out and took the ketchup from him. Then they gave him a look as they tightened down the top before squirting some ketchup on their burger and replacing the bun. "Not going to catch me with that every time," they said with a laugh, even as Sans gave a shrug and a grin.

"Had to try. After all, it's almost over. But I'll get ya eventually; after all, I've got a real ton of jokes to play on you. A skele-ton of 'em." He tossed back his own container of ketchup even as Frisk groaned into their burger. When they were finished, the Skeleton stood and offered his hand. "C'mon, kid; let's go see Paps."

Frisk glanced at him, then smiled and took his hand.

Frisk felt like they were being torn apart, their atoms shredded apart one at a time. Rainbow energy flowed around them, shredding at their very substance, at their soul. Just as Sans had warned, they were fragile up to this very point. Until now, even one light hit had been enough to shatter them into a dozen pieces. But now, they could feel the heat of this energy surrounding their soul, but as with every other time they'd fought this, their greatest foe, their soul had refused to be destroyed. And it was reforged, becoming complete once again. Once again, parts that had been damaged almost ten full resets previously became whole, forged in the heat of their foe's strongest attack. Just as the legends told, it was the Angel that would shatter the barrier forever. And as if in line with that legend, it was the Angel that made them whole once again.

So many thought that they were the Angel, but they knew differently. The Prince, Asriel Dreemurr, was the Angel of the prophecy. They were simply the last human, the catalyst for all the events that would lead to the freedom of Monsters everywhere. But he would do so by sacrificing himself; that was how it had always gone. Perhaps by surrendering their own existence, Frisk might give him a life, but they had come across another solution before being pushed to that.

Their arms went around the little goat-boy, the Pwqa, and they squeezed. "I- I never want to let go," Asriel said sadly. The barrier was broken; had they actually missed that? Perhaps; despite the finality of this actual moment, they'd experienced it so many times that it was almost normal. "Frisk... Just one last thing," he said as they separated. "Take care of mom and dad for me, okay?"

"Take care of them yourself," Frisk said as Asriel turned to walk away. Their hand went to their chest, a bright rainbow light pouring out from between their fingers. Asriel turned as Frisk rushed closer, a frown on his face. The frown turned to a look of shock as Frisk drew back, then lunged forward, slamming the rainbow light into his chest. Then the world went white around them...

Frisk stood on the cliff, listening to the excited chatter of their friends around them. But they don't speak; though Sans and Papyrus talked about the sun, they stand mute. It was new to most of them, but of course, they sometimes forgot Frisk is human. Besides, they've heard everything before. So many times, just before so many resets.

They feel tears stinging their eyes. They'd never cried here before; They'd always smiled just like they did the first time, so happy to see their friends so happy. But now, they were close to tears. But not because they were sad, no. They'd never been this relieved, this happy for something to finally, finally be over. They wondered how many times they'd stood here, listening to all this talk, their hand hovering over the reset button. They wondered how many times, after those first few, that Sans watched them, sad but understanding. They wondered how long they'd been down there. What was seven days multiplied by four-hundred weeks?

They couldn't help themselves, the tears slipping down their cheeks. It was finally over, they find themselves thinking. They'd saved everyone they could. Finally, they'd saved everyone; their Determination paid off. It had taken so very, very long, so many tries. But they weren't going to leave even a single monster behind. Even one who had put them through everything he had.

They felt him come out of the underground behind them, feeling the resonance, but they don't turn. The others don't know, nobody but Sans; after all, they'd finally gained the way to save him last reset. The monsters didn't remember that they were missing little pieces of their souls. Sans remembered; they saw the moment he realized He was behind them all. But he didn't turn. Papyrus ran off, and Sans walked away in the opposite direction, doing as he did and watching from elsewhere. Undyne and Alphys rushed off, apparently without realizing that the group had gained another member. It was just Frisk, Toriel, Asgore, and Him. Asgore turned to Frisk, about to make the offer, but he stopped when he saw their tears. Toriel's body was hiding Him from him.

"Human- Frisk... What is wrong?"

It would have been only a matter of a few seconds before Toriel realized something was up. But His hand found their shoulder first; warm and soft, just like the many, many times they've hugged him. Frisk turned towards the King and Queen, then past them, looking behind them. He was standing there, a little smile on his face.

"Frisk, we're all here now. Don't you have anything better to do?" But he had tears in his eyes, too. Toriel spun in place at his voice, Asgore staggering to the side to see him. Frisk tried to muster a smile for him, but they couldn't. Instead, they lunged forward, and for once, he was the one comforting them. They clung to him and sobbed, even as His parents encircled him, crying themselves.

Clinging and crying, they weren't even really sure he would hear them over everything else happening, but they spoke anyway, their voice a choked whisper. "Welcome home, Asriel," They said, unable to do more than hope he heard them. They felt him squeeze just a bit tighter, heard his voice whisper near their ear.

"Welcome home, Frisk."

He'd heard them.

A/N: Hey everyone! Yeah, I've been gone for a looong time. But I'm back, and hopefully, this little bit of writing is enough of a temptation to get some people interested in the story! Honestly, this story is going to continue whether I post updates to it or not; you see, this story is actually meant to be a prequel to a story set about four years after the ending of Undertale. My intent is to write up to about four months prior to that story, then switch over to giving you guys that story as a continuation. That being said, I only intend to continue posting this while there's any kind of interest. Even a handful of views and a comment per chapter is enough to let me know there's interest. I honestly hope you all enjoy reading what I put out.

Also, this story may be co-authored by a friend of mine. It's not certain, as he's not certain of what he would write about, but if so, then we would work out which chapters each would write, and each of us would take a character. In my case, anything I write will likely center on Frisk, while anything he writes is likely to center on his interpretation of a maturing Asriel. However, there's no guarantee that this will happen, and if it does, we have no idea of the form this story will take through that cooperation

I have no set timetable on when I'll release more of this story, but I'm hoping to put out Chapter One within the week, if work doesn't eat me alive in the interim. Ultimately, as I said before, how much I actually make public will depend heavily on the interest shown. I'll try and put out three or four actual chapters besides this one before deciding whether or not to continue, but all I can actually promise is Chapter One. In the meanwhile, I hope every one of you has a wonderful day, and I look forward to any feedback you guys and girls might provide. Take care, stay safe, and above all, Stay Determined!

~Cookie