A/N: This fanfic is based on an AU I developed with my girlfriend that's basically Undertale as it would exist in the Wreck-It Ralph universe. I.E., game characters are intelligent, they know that they're in a video game, and they consider their role in the game to be a job. It may seem a little odd at first, but I think it ultimately fits better than you might expect, especially since Undertale is already so meta. The characters have their same basic personalities as in the game, and while I did borrow a couple of other elements from Wreck-It Ralph, you don't really need much background to understand this story.

However, this is my first time writing an Undertale fanfic, so I beg both your toleration and your feedback as I get used to it.

PART ONE

1. Fallen human

"If you really do not have anywhere else to go, then I will do my best to take care of you. …Now, come on! Everyone is waiting for us!"

Toriel reached down and took Frisk's hand, leading the child across the peak of Mt. Ebott just as she had led them through the Ruins, a couple of hundred rooms ago. Orangey-gold light spilled across them; Frisk wasn't sure if the sun was rising or setting, but after so long underground, it hardly seemed to matter. The warmth felt wonderful against their face either way.

A perfect ending to a long and arduous journey. Frisk had been accepted into a new home, freed a long-oppressed race from their prison, and made so many wonderful new friends along the way: Toriel, Papyrus, Sans, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore, Asriel—

…well, maybe this ending wasn't quite perfect after all. Nevertheless, things had drawn to a satisfying close, and they had no reason to feel unhappy. As long as their hand was clasped within Toriel's fuzzy fingers, now and for the foreseeable future, everything would be all right.

And on that note, a loud chime sounded from the sky.

Toriel's smile widened, and as she and Frisk rounded the corner, they were greeted by the beaming faces of the other monsters. "And that is it!" she declared. "Well done, everyone!"

Frisk beamed as well. It had taken a lot of time and hard work, but the player had finally beat the pacifist route of their game. Now the game-off chime had sounded, and they were free to live their lives without a gamer's intervention – in other words, free to enjoy their hard-earned happy ending.

"Congrats, kiddo!"

"Well done, human!"

"Boy, our player sure is a weird one, huh?"

This last comment came from Sans, who'd approached Frisk from behind while they were accepting their congratulations, ruffling their hair with one bony hand. They grinned at him and caught his arm in their grasp.

"They went through all that trouble to backtrack through the Underground," he continued, "but then can't even be bothered to sit through the credits? That's weird. Besides, our credits are fun."

"That is not 'weird', Sans, that is mere impatience," corrected Toriel, chuckling.

Frisk bobbed their head in agreement, but their smile had faded just the smallest bit. That mention of "backtracking through the Underground" had reminded them once again of Asriel, who'd stood overlooking the golden flowers in the spot where Frisk had first fallen, informing them that he couldn't come back, he wouldn't break everyone's hearts all over again. Now that the game was over, though, where was he? Still by the flowers? Maybe, possibly, still in his normal form…?

"Come, my child," Toriel said, derailing their train of thought. "It has been a very long day. Let us return home…"

Yes. Home…that sounded perfect. They hadn't been Home in forever, it seemed…

They bid goodbye and goodnight to each of their friends, freely distributing hugs. There would be plenty of time to play tomorrow, and they were looking forward to it. They could set their painful speculations about Asriel aside for the moment, because Toriel was right: it had been a long day, and all they wanted was a calm, quiet evening, and then sleep.

Toriel wound her way back towards the entrance to the Underground (Asgore nervously skirted out of her path, avoiding eye contact) and Frisk scampered after her. She would never leave them behind, of course, but there was still that little twinge of anxiety at the thought of becoming separated from one's mother—

And then, all at once, Frisk heard three sounds, each one directly behind their ear.

The first: a gentle pop, the kind of noise you could make with your lips, or by pulling your hand away from something with gentle suction.

The second: a startled yelp in what sounded like a child's voice.

And the third: the unmistakable thud of a soft body striking the ground.

Frisk whirled around, startled, to be immediately confronted with something behind them that had certainly not been there just a moment before: an irregular pile, consisting of a striped green sweater, brown corduroys, scuffed lace-up boots…brown hair like somebody had tossed away a wig…and pale hands…

The hair stirred, then lifted up, solidifying into a bob cut and bangs. Just below those bangs was a light face with rosy cheeks and warm brown eyes, almost a red-brown, really…

Frisk had seen that face once before, in a framed photograph, where the child now in front of them had been smiling and clasping hands with Asriel Dreemurr. The love and contentedness in that picture had now been replaced by confusion and uncertainty as the child shifted on the ground, like they'd forgotten how to move, or like their limbs were much heavier than expected. But of course, they were the same person, and Frisk knew their name. It was—

"Chara?!"

It was Toriel who had spoken – or maybe gasped would be a better word for it – as she rushed back the way she had come, disbelief thrumming in her wide eyes. And on the ground, Chara reacted by finally managing to shove themself up into a sitting position. "Mom!" they cried.

Even that single syllable caused recognition to jolt through Frisk's chest. Maybe they'd only seen Chara's face in that single image, but they'd heard that voice before, and quite often. It was the voice that spoke to them out of the air whenever the game was saved, or they examined an object, or the player selected the "Check" option during a Fight.

Now everyone else was congregating to see what was going on, Asgore had forgotten his fear of Toriel and was rushing to the front of the crowd, and Toriel herself was hauling Chara to their feet, exclaiming, "But Chara, how are you here?! Where have you been?!"

"I…I've been here all the time!" Chara's eyes alighted on Frisk for a moment. "I saw everything that happened! I even talked sometimes, but nobody could see me, 'cause I didn't have a body anymore! I-I never thought…!"

They looked down at themself as if they'd forgotten what it was like to have limbs or wear clothes, then back to Toriel as she crushed them in a hug against her chest…a hug which they promptly returned.

Frisk was effectively lost in the fray for a couple of minutes, but their head whirled with so many thoughts that they scarcely noticed. I've been here the whole time, Chara had said, and it must have been true; they'd narrated Frisk's entire journey, sometimes with a cheekiness that had made Frisk's mouth curl. But that meant that during everything they'd done, every move they made, an invisible presence had been hovering over their shoulder. Watching everyone in the Underground with no way to make itself known to those who had once cared about it…

Chara stumbled ungracefully from one parent from the other, crying out, "Dad! Daddy!" As they reciprocated Asgore's tearful embrace, it seemed as though their legs were gradually remembering how to stand and how to walk; by the time they pulled back from him, they no longer appeared on the verge of tripping at any moment. Then they turned around carefully to face Frisk.

"Um…hello," they ventured with a nervous little smile.

Frisk jolted out of their contemplations and managed to wave.

"I guess you don't really know me," said Chara, eyes flicking towards the ground. "But, um…I know you. I mean, I think I was kind of stuck to you, like flower seeds…" They giggled softly. "Sorry if that sounds weird."

Up until now, Frisk hadn't been entirely sure what to make of the newcomer. They knew that Asriel had loved Chara with all of his heart, as had his parents – but he'd also admitted that they hated humanity and had wanted to kill their human attackers after merging with his Soul. With that meager amount of information, Chara's personality could have gone either way, but they did not seem particularly hateful or murderous right now. They seemed like a fairly normal (if slightly anxious) kid.

"I did try to help you," continued Chara, bunching up their sweater in their hands. "I mean, as much as I could, since I, y'know, didn't have a real body." Another little giggle. "Until now. I didn't expect this…"

They were not laughing because they found anything particularly humorous, but because they were frightened. Frisk didn't fully realize that until Toriel and Asgore placed comforting hands on Chara almost in unison, one on their head, one on their shoulder. After that, their tense smile did ease off a bit.

"You do not need to explain yourself, my child," Toriel assured them. "Not at this very moment…"

"Goodness, you must be a bit overwhelmed," remarked Asgore, and he lifted his thumb briefly, running it along Chara's cheek. "I know I am…but in a good way."

They gazed up at their parents, and Frisk thought that whatever lapses in morality Chara may have had, not loving their family couldn't have been one of them. There were some emotions that you couldn't fake when they flooded into your eyes, and love was one such emotion. It was even strong enough to render Asgore unselfconscious about how close he was to Toriel, and to prevent Toriel from glaring in his direction.

It was a peaceful moment…but a moment was all it was. Then Chara asked, "Um, Mom, Daddy? If I'm here, then…what about Asriel?"

Toriel and Asgore looked at each other (wow, they actually made eye contact and everything, that was impressive). In the story, neither of them knew about their son's new and soulless identity, since he'd reset the timeline and vanished before they could discover him. But this was not the story, it was the game, and there probably wasn't a single sprite who didn't know about the connection between Asriel Dreemurr and a certain Flowey. Frisk was certain that Flowey was still around, maybe watching over the flowers below them, maybe off somewhere else…but was he Flowey? Or was he, maybe…?

Judging by the expressions on the King and Queen's faces, they were just barely daring to hope.

Then, once again, a sound came from behind Frisk, this time of somebody's throat being cleared. They were barely surprised when Sans stepped up beside them; he certainly hadn't been there a minute or so ago, but appearing from nowhere was typical behavior for him.

"Hey, Chara," he said mildly, nodding at the frazzled child who was still clasped beneath their parents' hands. "I thought we might see you around."

Chara's brow furrowed. "You knew I was there," they responded, almost accusingly. "Sometimes when you were talking to Frisk, you always looked…right where I would have been, if I wasn't invisible. And I just I knew that you knew, somehow."

Sans's perpetual grin widened a little. "It's my job to know these kinds of things, kid. I gotta know what's going on in the code."

Frisk's head tilted curiously. What exactly was that supposed to mean?

Chara suddenly straightened up, slipping out of Toriel and Asgore's grasp. "Well, if you know these kinds of things, then where is my brother?" they demanded.

"Probably in his room by the Ruins," replied Sans; his skeletal grin never wavered, making it extremely difficult to get a read on him. "Though he sometimes likes to hang out in Waterfall by the statue. But, uh, since I know what you're really asking, I'm about ninety-nine percent sure he's still Flowey. That's kind of how the game works."

They stiffened. "What?! The game works so that I get to be me at the end, but he doesn't?!"

"Sorry, pal. I didn't program it."

"That's not—!" Chara screwed up their face indignantly, only to cut themself off when they noticed that Frisk had stepped forward, raising their hands to sign a brief message:

'We can check on him.' Frisk's pudgy child-fingers darted in the air, forming each word deliberately. They were more or less mute – though in dire situations, they had still been known to form a few syllables – but fortunately, the residents of the Underground had been programmed to understand the protagonist's main method of communication.

Chara's brow furrowed. "Check on him…?"

'To see if he is still Flowey,' signed Frisk. 'Maybe now, he will be—'

"Now, now, I am certain that Sans knows what he is talking about," interjected Toriel quickly. She seemed eager to shut down any track of the conversation that included her children getting near Flowey; she'd already purged her face of all vestiges of hope. Behind her, Asgore appeared to have taken the news a little harder, but then again, he also still looked a bit dazed from Chara falling out of the sky. He didn't contradict his ex-wife, of course. The last few minutes of the game had taught him that lesson.

However, Chara had no such reservations. "Mom!" they protested. "We can't just forget all about Asriel! He's my brother!"

Toriel's face locked into a strange, stiff expression, like the one that she'd worn during the game when Frisk had insisted on leaving the Ruins. "No, Chara. Asriel was your brother, but he is gone now. Only Flowey is left."

Chara's eyes widened hurtfully.

"I am sorry." Her demeanor abruptly softened, and her hand moved to the top of their head once more. "Come, my child, now is not the time to be having this discussion. You must be just as exhausted as Frisk. Let us get you home."

"Um…" They pressed their lips together, allowing their eyes to drift aside uncertainly. "Maybe, um, I should just go home with—"

Frisk lifted their hands again. 'I want you to come home with us.'

Chara stared as if their fellow human had just signed a dirty word. "…you do?"

Frisk nodded. 'Please.'

Apparently Chara had no idea to react to that. Their eyebrows came together, they looked from side to side and up and down, and they started tugging and twisting their sweater once again. Finally, after considering refusal for several long seconds, they said, "Well, okay. If you really want me to, I'll come home with you and Mom."

Toriel smiled reassuringly, and Frisk smiled too, padding forward and offering their hand for Chara. After a moment, the other child accepted. Their skin was a little cold, but certainly not deathly so, and Frisk's last surreal sensations of speaking to a walking corpse boiled away in the sunset light.

Human-hater or not, perhaps Chara – just like Flowey – wasn't as bad as Frisk had initially feared. Perhaps, like so many other monsters, they had a good side that wasn't as deeply buried as it had first seemed. As they followed Toriel back around the peak of Mt. Ebott, headed for a much-needed rest, Frisk thought that even though the game might be over, they weren't finished making friends just yet.