Frisk felt as if they were falling down into an endless void. Bright, dazzling colours flashed chaotically around them. The figure of a tall, menacing goat monster loomed above them with twisted horns and black eyes. It wore a dark dress with the delta rune symbol emblazoned upon it, much like Toriel's.

It was Asriel Dreemurr.

Before this, Frisk had walked to the throne room of the capital and confronted Asgore, only to have their fight stopped short by the sudden arrival of Toriel. Then, all of their other friends came as well, and together, they resolved to stop Asgore from killing them and taking their soul – only for them to be interrupted by Flowey, the very first creature that they had met after falling into the underground. With a mysterious power, Flowey stole the souls of every monster in the underground kingdom and revealed his true form: Asriel.

Frisk waved their arms and legs around as they fell, trying to regain their balance. It was difficult to position themselves in any way while floating through this void. Their body felt like that of a puppet's, and Asriel was the puppet master, who controlled the entirety of the reality that they had become sealed within.

"Give up," Asriel said, his voice resonating infinitely across the void. "You can't stop me."

Asriel raised his arm. Something like a bright light began to envelope his hand, and then – moments later – his fingers became surrounded by a swirling wave of magic. He threw his arm into the air, and the magic transformed into a massive star-shaped figure, pulsating with gleaming light. Asriel swung his hand forward, and the star flew towards Frisk.

Like all the monsters' attacks, the star targeted Frisk's soul instead of their physical form. There was no damage to their body. However, they knew – from experience – that attacks to the soul were arguably worse. As the star exploded on them, they felt as if their mind was becoming crushed. Emotions like fear, pain, loneliness, and despair started to take control. They struck directly at their determination, undermining their will to fight, their will to continue living. If they succumbed to it, then their soul would be destroyed, and their physical body would become an empty husk.

They could only hold on to the hope that, if they tried hard enough, they could convince Asriel to stop attacking them. To become their old self again.

"Your determination. Your 'power' that led you this far – it's going to become your downfall!"

Asriel raised both arms into the air. Streaks of light manifested out of the void and surrounded his body. Several of them coalesced together, spinning around his fingers at an unimaginable speed until they formed a current. Then, Asriel pointed a finger forward. An instant later, the multi-coloured current blasted Frisk's heart.

If their soul was a body, then it was as if it had just been struck by lightning. Frisk felt their mind exploding. They couldn't even control their thoughts anymore. A million negative emotions flooded through their mind, poisoning their determination and weakening their resolve. The pain was unbearable. They tried to raise their arms, to grab their head – they tried to open their mouth, to scream, but they couldn't control their body, or even a single fibre of their being.

All the while, Asriel Dreemurr floated above them, laughing and taunting them, urging them to give up – and "reset" already.

Frisk tried to close their eyes. They were frozen in shock from the power of Asriel's attacks. It had overcome them completely, and had perhaps destroyed their very sense of self. All of their feelings and emotions were fading away. Perhaps, this time, they had truly failed, because their determination wasn't enough. No matter how they tried, they simply didn't have the willpower to defeat Asriel. Their soul was cracking, splitting in half, about to disintegrate into nothingness, fading away into the abyss...

But it refused.

They turned their head around, having suddenly regained their ability to move. A warmth, like the essence of determination itself, was beginning to spread throughout their soul again. Where there was darkness in their soul before, it was being replaced by light, by resolve, by willpower, by the ability to persist even in the face of tremendous adversity.

For a brief moment, a look of disbelief came over Asriel's face. Then, he raised his arm, and – again – a gleaming star appeared above it, this time accompanied also by the multi-coloured current. He threw the star forward, and Frisk braced themselves for the impact.

Frisk closed their eyes, waiting for the moment to come.

Seconds passed, and they were sure that they would have already been struck by the attack, but the pain never came.

They opened their eyes again. There was that warmth in their soul again, the warmth that was like the pure feeling of hope, and it rejuvenated their entire being, their determination. Looking around, they saw no star, no gleaming currents of magic. The last attack had happened as fast as lightning, and had blasted them with similarly as much power. But, this time, the attack had just disappeared completely, or – if it had hit – it had given them nothing but a renewed and even stronger sense of resolve.

A realization came, suddenly, that the growing warmth in their soul wasn't just spiritual or emotional. They felt as if their body was being held by a familiar presence.

Slowly, Frisk turned their head and realized who it was. Chara was standing behind them, holding them within their arms. They felt Chara's firm hands clasped against their chest and Chara's soft, warm face pressed against their cheek. It came to them why Chara was with them. Their newfound determination wasn't just their alone. It was their determination combined with Chara's. Together, they had the ability to prevent their soul from shattering. Together, they had the resolve to save Asriel.

Chara opened their eyes and let go of Frisk. They stepped through the void towards Asriel.

"Chara?" Asriel said, his voice beginning to tremble.

"Asriel, it's me," Chara shouted back. "You remember me, right?"

A look of uncertainty came over Asriel's eyes. Then, he shook his head and raised his hand again. Lightning crackled upon his fingertips.

"Chara, move out of the way," Asriel said, turning his eyes back onto Frisk. "Move, so that I can destroy them!"

"Don't hurt them!" Chara yelled back. "Asriel, that's Frisk! They haven't done anything wrong. If there's anybody that's done wrong to you, it's me!"

Asriel froze. "Chara..."

"I'm sorry!" Chara said, extending out their hands. "Asriel, it was all my fault. Your death. The loss of your soul. Your imprisonment – everything! I'm sorry for everything!"

Once again, Asriel appeared conflicted. For a few seconds, his eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Then, to Frisk's surprise, Asriel threw his head back and laughed. It was a coarse and disturbing laugh, full of anger. Asriel raised his arm again. An even bigger bolt of magic materialized upon his fingertips, and it shot out towards Chara.

An instant later, Chara fell onto the floor. The magic current enveloped their body, causing their soul to be flooded with fear and despair. Frisk could feel it, too. Their soul was shared in some sense, and a fraction of Chara's pain was transferred onto them.

Mustering up their strength, Frisk thew their body through the void, aiming for Chara. As soon as they reached Chara, the pain in their body doubled as the magic attack began to target their own soul. Like lightning, the magic coursed through them, erasing all of their feelings of hope and replacing them with pure anguish. For a split second, their mind was overwhelmed with terror.

But, then, holding on to Chara, it was as if the strength within them could never fade. No matter how powerful the attack, their soul felt like a bastion of safety – a well from which they could always find hope, and where their determination could never fade. Instantly, they were able to move and speak again, and the magic attack faded. They pulled on Chara's shoulder, and Chara turned around, nodding at them. They were together again. Together, it was impossible for their soul to be destroyed.

Frisk and Chara stood up together. Even as they floated through the void, they were somehow able to find their footing. Then, leaning upon each other's shoulders, they began to walk towards Asriel.

"Stop!" Asriel said. Blinding lights flashed around him. They coalesced once more into beams of magic, and all were launched towards them at once.

There was an instant of pain, an instant of despair, but their soul refused to break. The magic attack disappeared as soon as it hit them, and they continued walking towards Asriel.

"Do you know why I do this...?" Asriel said. His voice was quivering. "Why I keep fighting to keep to keep you around?"

Another blast of magic. Another moment of pain, but it was all gone as soon as it came.

"I'm doing this...Chara, because you're the only one who understands me," Asriel continued. "You're the only one who's any fun to play with anymore."

"No...that's not just it. I...I...I'm doing this because I care about Chara! I care about you more than anybody else!"

Frisk raised their head. They were close to Asriel now. Just moments away from reaching them. If they took just another step forward...

"I'm not ready for this to end. I'm not ready for you to leave! I'm not ready to say goodbye to somebody like you again..."

"So, please, just stop doing this, and LET ME WIN!"

Asriel raised both of his arms. An immensely bright wave of light materialized between them, forming an arc of pure magic. Frisk lifted up their hand, reaching for Asriel. The arc shot forward, blasting them with a strength that they had never felt before.

It was the most powerful attack they had ever felt. The magic arc pierced their soul, blasting the very essence of their being with an incomprehensible force. Even the power of determination seemed to crumble before its absolute power, and they thought that – at any second – their soul would crack, it would break, it would collapse. They closed their eyes, striving with all their strength to resist this power.

"STOP IT NOW!" Asriel shrieked.

Frisk felt their entire body shaking. Their soul was on the verge of destruction. Any moment now, and their soul would turn to dust, their body fading away along with it.

But then they turned around. Another hand was reaching out for Asriel. Chara's hand. Chara was pushing against the exact same power that was striking them right now, and their shared soul was enduring it together. Their soul felt so weak, so fragile against the pure might of Asriel's attack. Yet, it kept holding on. It kept refusing to break. At that moment, they knew that they could only move forward. With the last bit of their determination, they had to reach Asriel.

Chara's hand grabbed Frisk's, and the two of them grabbed Asriel together.

Instantly, the power striking them faded away. Even the void around them seemed to be collapsing. It flashed into a multitude of colours, and then white, and then it turned to blackness.

They were on solid ground again.

Frisk opened their eyes. There was a new person standing in front of them. A different person. It was a small goat boy, so unlike the monster that they had fought before. He was dressed in a green sweater with a yellow stripe on it, just like Chara. There were tears in his eyes. He seemed to be trying his hardest not to cry.

"Chara. Chara...you're back. You've come back for me. You're really here," Asriel said, wiping at his eyes.

Chara reached forward and embraced Asriel tightly.

"I'm sorry about everything..." Chara whispered. "Asriel, I'm so sorry."

A single tear rolled down Chara's cheek. Then, Asriel broke down, and he started to sob. He began to cry against Chara's shoulder.

Frisk turned away. They felt a bit odd, being an onlooker to this emotional reunion.

"I don't...I don't want to leave you ever again," Asriel said in between sobs. He wrapped his arms around Chara's back, hugging them even tighter. "I want us to stay together."

"Asriel. I'll come for you, no matter where you are," Chara replied.

Frisk looked at Chara curiously, wondering what they meant by that.

"Do you mean it?" Asriel asked.

"Yes. I won't leave you again like I did before."

Chara pulled away from Asriel a little. Then, they pointed to the distance, where – beyond the blackness of the void – there was something glowing. A barrier.

"Frisk," Chara said, turning to face them.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to stay with Asriel for a little bit longer." They lowered their eyes. "When you wake up, you'll be with your friends again. I won't be here with you. But, don't go looking for me. Go out to the surface. I'll come find you myself."

Frisk nodded. "I understand."

"Frisk," Asriel said suddenly. "I'm so sorry for hurting you. I don't think I can do anything to make up for it."

"It's all right," Frisk replied. They tried their best to smile, but it turned out to be rather corny.

"Frisk. Come here," Chara said.

Frisk walked towards Chara, and they found themselves being pulled into a tight hug with Chara and Asriel.

They remained in that embrace for what seemed like a very long time. Frisk didn't want to leave, and they knew that they didn't, either. But, slowly, they felt themselves closing their eyes. The world around them seemed to slowly fade away. It wasn't like before, when their soul was being attacked. This time, it was like they were gently drifting off to sleep.

They thought they heard a voice telling them that everything was going to be fine. Then, there were a multitude of other, still familiar voices, and they seemed to be urging them to wake up.


Author's note: So, first of all, thanks again for all the reviews so far! This story has been quite fulfilling for me to write. This chapter was the climax, but it definitely isn't over yet. There's still more to come after this. In the meantime, I always appreciate more comments and reviews!