My Name Is

by Puppy von Wolfenstein

'Run. Live' is what filled her with determination at first, but then a voice inside her head slowly changed her. Everything was dark, but during her final battle with Sans, she remembers bits and pieces of her past setting her free of her 'sister's' control. Unable to believe she killed Sans, she unknowingly resets. Will she undo the horrible acts she committed or succumb to Chara?

14. love: The Angel

A/N: *The Angel WILL be continued in a sequel, 'FlorenceTale: Birth of a Nation'. Coming soon: Summer of 2017.

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Chapter 14: *The Angel

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November 2nd: All Soul's Day

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"Vas a hacer mucho amigitos en este pueblo, vas a ver, Flor. No tengas miedo, ve a jugar m'hija." (You'll make lots of little friends in this town, you'll see, Flor. Don't be scared, go play my child.) The sound of accordions and the laughter of children was all around her as she held unto her mother's skirt. She sneezed and shook her head, tilting her head up so that she could see her mother but she couldn't see her face. She let go of the skirt, her hands playing with the long sleeves of her mother's sweater that she now wore as a precaution—after last night's rain, she didn't want to get sick. Suddenly, she heard the screams of women coming from the other side of the party along with angry shouts.

Frisk's eyes opened and she turned to her right side where Sans snored, his hand holding hers ever so tenderly almost like how Uncle Juju would when he fell asleep babysitting her. "D'aww, dunkle Sans... sleep tight." she smiled, slowly moving towards the left side of the bed and being careful to pick her equipment for the big day.

"C-corre! Vive! Vive!"

Frisk stopped for a minute, that voice echoing loudly inside her head. Run and live... Live and Run. That's what she had to do. She had to live.

She looked at the mirror, and stared at the image of a taller girl whose hair was still trying to even out after her mother's terrible cut. What was once a loose sweater was now a very fitted one... Frisk wondered if her mother was thin. She looked like it in her memories. Looking down, Frisk looked at her belly which was round as a growing girl's should be. Would she grow tall and thereby look thinner? ...Or perhaps the sweater had just shrunk after all the wash cycles.

Her eyes looked down at her feet where she wore the ballerina shoes. Ah... those ballerina shoes that were too big at first now fitted just right. Another piece of evidence she had been growing during her stay here in the underground. She could see the stitches she and Papyrus had sewn up every time she made a hole unto the shoes. Man... if the shoes could talk. Would they speak of Frisk's daring dance moves during her battle with Mettaton? Her quick steps during her battle with Undyne? Traversing Hotland and dealing with blisters?

Taking one last glance at herself, Frisk stared into her brown eyes. Did her mother have the same brown eyes? She turned to the desk where a small vase with the purple and golden flower she had been wearing. The golden flower was wilting, but that purple flower looked so lively. Smiling to herself, she took the purple flower and adorned her right ear with it, turning to the door.

Taking a big breath, she opened the door to her room and looked back at the sleeping skeleton. "...thanks dunkle Sans. You've been my guardian angel all long, haven't you?"

Closing the door behind her, she tippy toed over to Papyrus' room and took a peek inside. Ah... Papy. She smiled as sweetly as she could, tears swelling up. He looked so adorable hugging unto that teddy bear. He was like a little brother sometimes, and she like a big sister right now.

A... big sister. Closing the door, she turned back to the hallway with a slight frown. "Chara... Here I come."

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The morning air in Snowdin today seemed crisp and refreshing. Somehow, today felt a very important day, not just because today she was going to face King Asgore and possible reach the surface but because... something in the sky felt weird. It felt intense. Almost as if all eyes were on her, but whose eyes?

As she made her way towards the river bank, she could see that the streets were empty today. Usually, there were monsters out and about at this time of day, was something wrong?

"Need a ride, la la?"

Frisk looked up, laughing as she gave a small nod and hopped aboard the boat. "River Person... If by some chance you got to see the surface after day, will you sail all the rivers of the world?" asked Frisk as she sat down, her eyes staring deep inside her dark hood where she thought she saw a star.

"Sail the rivers of the world? Only if it's clear and blue. Sail through red, tears and blood, or sail through murky darkened blue? Oh no, no, no! Only clear and blue!"

Frisk gulped, her eyes growing big as the twinkling inside of River Person intensified. "Tra la la. I heard ASGORE has a favorite food."

"A favorite food..." Frisk whispered, her eyes widening as she gasped and grabbed her backpack. "Oh no, I forgot my piece of pie..." Frisk pouted, shaking her head. Maybe she could go back and get it?

She looked around and noticed they were near Hotland already. Too late to ask to go back it seemed. No... it was fine. Papy and Sans could share the last piece of pie. It was fine. Everything... was going to be fine.

Standing up, she walked off the boat once it had come to a complete stop and she looked back at River Person who looked back at her with a darkened hoodie and what seemed like twinkling stars inside of it. "Tra la la… my flower has bloomed~" River Person said to themselves as they waved goodbye. Frisk didn't seem to hear their words. Waving goodbye, Frisk faced the path ahead of her and had begun to walk towards the working elevators. As she passed the labs, her head turned to the closed door and wondered if Alphys would ever recover from what she had done. She didn't mean to break Mettaton; she didn't mean any harm and yet Alphys was so hurt by it. She seemed so... fragile when she spoke sometimes. She didn't have a lot of self-confidence like The Great Papyrus, and it worried Frisk but… what could she do now.

The empty streets seemed so eerie to Frisk who was used to seeing bustling monsters here and there. Thankfully once she arrived to MTT Resort, it felt like she had reached civilization once more. Hm... maybe she should buy some food for the battle. RP did say King Asgore liked a certain food, but what?

Walking inside the glamourous fast food store, Frisk skipped over to the front counter where a familiar cat smoked a cigar, looking stressed as usual. When noticed the little human, he broke into a smile. "What can I do for you little buddy?"

Frisk smiled, looking up to Burgerpants. Behind all that stress... he looked kinda cute. "Kitty! Mommy, Kitty's purring!" her own voice echoed inside her head. Oh man... were memories going to flood her head today after yesterday's breakthrough? After remembering about her head injury, the memories just... began to pop up.

Clearing her throat, Frisk looked at the menu. "Um... can I get one of everything? And extra glamburgers?"

Burgerpants leaned unto the counter, smiling as the little human began to count gold pieces. "Oh... um... okay, one of everything and two extra glamburgers please!" She asked with a smile as she pushed the lump of gold towards Burgerpants. "Anything for you buddy." he responded, putting all the gold into the gold register, walking out to the back where Frisk could hear the grill sizzling. She hoped King Asgore loved MTT brand food... otherwise she had just spent all the gold she had stashed away in her backpack. All the gold she had collected in the underground was in her room... underneath her bed... Oh great. What if King Asgore's a fan of Muffet's? She would need to go home and get the gold, but... no. No, it's fine.

Putting back the leftover thirty gold back into the pocket of her backpack, she sighed and waited. So... One of everything and two glamburgers just in case she'll need it if she fights King Asgore... well at least the glamburgers maxed out her HP in battle.

After finishing up her order, Frisk silently waved goodbye to Burgerpants who was almost finished with his cigar. Why did it feel like she was walking into sudden death? King Asgore was a nice king, everyone said he was really nice. Just... a nice king who wanted to kill all of humanity. Yeah... but he was nice!

"A human SOUL isn't strong enough to cross the barrier alone. It takes at least a human SOUL... And a monster soul."

Frisk stopped in her tracks, her head echoing with Alphys' voice and confession from that other day. "If you want to go home... you'll have to take his soul. You'll have to kill ASGORE."

"No... No I don't!" Frisk shouted as she grasped her head and shook it, blinking several times before the slight headache went away. She wasn't going to kill anyone. Not before, not now, not ever.

Traversing through the empty streets and corridors, Frisk finally found herself back to the elevators. There, she stood silently with her arms crossed as her heart beat hard against her chest. She just wanted to home, her original home, and find out her origins. Who was she? What did her mother look like? Who killed her mother and why were they after them?

She didn't want to kill anyone for her own selfish needs. And sure, the thought about giving up and lending her SOUL to King Asgore had crossed her mind several times, but then... then that would mean a lot of humans would die, if not all of them. She wouldn't be able to live with that thought in her head.

The elevator door opened.

Stepping out of it, she looked around the new area with wonder. Why... was everything so gray and dull? It was almost as if... as if all the color and life had been sucked out of the area. It was desolate and chilly, quite windy too and she could see a huge city from the corridor she was in. It reminded her a lot of the RUINS, back where her goat momma took care of her. So... this is the city where the monsters live. New Home.

Continuing down the corridor, she came to a stop when she realized that the area ahead looked oddly familiar. A pile of gray leaves. Quickly, a quick flashback reminded Frisk of Home, back in the RUINS and she realized... it was the same exact place, minus the colors.

Slowly, she made her way to the same home she used to dwell with her loving second mother, her heart racing as the thought of seeing her once more filled her with DETERMINATION. Her hand reached out to the SAVE star, a surge of warmth filling her for a moment before dissipating. Okay. Time to go inside.

Opening the door, her eyes widened as she realized everything was gray, but the same! This was the same exact home, down to the very detail! In the corner, she could see a gray flower vase with a golden flower which seemed to be the only thing with color. Taking a few steps inside, she could hear and see monsters inside of it, all of them talking in hushed voices.

She made her way to the blocked staircase, noticing that there was handwritten note on it.

"Howdy! I'm in the garden. If you have anything you need to get off your chest, please don't hesitate to come. The keys are in the kitchen and the hallway."

Letting go of the note, Frisk nodded and silently made her way to the living room. The. Same. Exact. Things.

She walked over to the bookcase and realized the books were different... and there was a lot scrap books. She looked around the room, noticing a few monsters there who looked at her, and they looked familiar too. Her hands grabbed a scrap book and she opened it, her eyes widening as she looked at a drawing of three goat people and a human girl who looked like Chara. "BEST FAMILY EVER!" was written in red along with a smiley face.

Frisk closed the scrap book and put it away immediately, feeling a bit dirty for looking through personal items but... it was intriguing. Chara lived here then, once upon a time, and perhaps she drew that. She did tell her she liked to draw after all.

Moving on to the familiar chair, she approached it and realized it was really dusty and had a few spider webs. Oh. No one had sat on this chair in years. She began to make her way to the kitchen when two monster stopped her. She could feel her SOUL being dragged out, and she stared at them, noticing that they looked... sullen. They were familiar... possibly monsters she had spared before. Did she forget again? She had met and spared so many monsters in her year inside the underground, her mind usually forgot about monsters she didn't interact with daily.

"A long time ago, a human fell into the RUINS." spoke one of the frogs. "Injured by its fall, the human called out for help." added the other frog, both of them staring at her with a bittersweet expression. Soon, her SOUL went back inside of her and the two monsters walked away. Where they trying to fight her, or something...?

Confused, Frisk walked to the kitchen and saw the large key on the counter. Taking it, she turned around and saw a trash can full of balled up papers. Curious, she read one of them and realized it was a recipe for Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie but it seemed to have a lot of scratch outs and a lot of added ingredients. It was a trashcan full of failed recipes it seemed.

As she left the kitchen, two more monsters came up to her. Ah... she faintly remembers these. They're super shy, and by the looks of it, they looked scared to approach her. Her SOUL once more burst out of her chest and she looked at them with just as much fear as they looked unto her. Why were monsters attacking her now?

"ASRIEL, the king's son, heard the human's call." "He brought the human back to the castle."

Flying away, Frisk was once more left alone and confused. What was going on? As she walked towards the rooms, behind her was the smiling Flower who watched with disinterest. For some reason, Flowey felt as though that story would lure out that she-demon who has been terrorizing Frisk in her sleep. That demon and himself... he could feel a bond between the two. At certain times, those flashbacks he'd get reminded him of why he felt like so... conflicted. Hopefully the presents he left in the room would be good enough to stir up a certain truce between the two. He needed the SOULS, and the demon needed Frisk. If she possessed Frisk and he had the SOULS... maybe... just maybe... the between the two they'd be able to conquer this stupid world as the two strongest monsters in the underground. That was what she was after all... just another monster now.

Frisk looked inside the room, noticing two presents on the ground. Huh... that was odd. She walked to the presents, noticing it said, 'To the Human'. Oh... okay?

Opening the first box, her eyes widened as she looked at the beautiful golden locket. Wow! It was really pretty! As she tried it on, unbeknown to her floated Chara who stared at the locket with a certain emptiness in the pit of her stomach. Her old locket. "It's so pretty... Best Friends Forever...?" whispered Frisk as she walked over to the second present. Chara crossed her arms, a frown on her delicate pale face. "Tch! You don't know the real value of that locket! How DARE you put it on... no, you know what, yeah, put it on. I'll be wearing it soon enough, brat." She growled, her red eyes widening as Frisk let go of a worn dagger. "Oh my god... it's a knife! No! I don't need it!" the little girl breathed hard as she backed away from the old worn dagger. It looked sharp, sharp enough to cut through plants and vines, with what, there being leaves and vines inside the present itself.

As Chara floated beside the human, she stared at the old dagger Tara had bequeath to her. It looked a bit rusty, but Chara knew it was still the best weapon for murder. She could see the sharp edges glistening in the light, almost as if it called to her. She turned and watched as the girl walked out of the room, leaving behind Chara's prized possession on the floor. "It's okay... I'll just come back and get it." Chara said to herself, floating back into the corridor and realizing the kid was trapped inside an arena. Oh. This again. Asriel and his cheap tricks.

"Over time, ASRIEL and the human became like siblings." "The king and queen treated the human child as their own." "The underground was full of hope."

Chara looked away, crossing her arms. "You used me, your hope was tainted with evil." She muttered, her eyes glancing back to Frisk who had begun to make her way to the second key. Ever since Chara's screw up with the alternate universe, she's been... feeling. Feeling feelings she thought she had buried away along with her body. Feelings of... regret. Thankfully, whatever she did was still reversible. She was still going to destroy everyone in the underground as well as the surface. She just... she just needed to possess Frisk. Her DETERMINATION has been fluctuating lately, and although she had many openings prior to today, Chara still had pride. She was going to possess Frisk in the most painful way she could. She was going to destroy her and all her hopes and dreams, just like the underground had crushed hers, and then, she was going to LOAD her own SAVE file. Yes... she was going to do it. Even if that screwed up victory lap was a mistake, it was a mistake that was needed in order to reach her prior SAVE file. The SAVE file where she killed everyone using Frisk's body and only Sans and Asgore stood in the way. This was going to happen. It had to happen.

Frisk looked at herself in the mirror, managing a smile as she readjusted the purple flower on her right ear. Despite everything that happened to her in this year... she was still herself. A human girl whose mother's upbringing had taught her to never kill or harm others. That, despite all the troubles she had gone through, the friendships and love she had attained was all worth it. To care for everyone's feelings and ideas, that, despite everything working against her, all she needed to do was smile with her head held up high and face her fears. She turned around and headed to the stair case, her back feeling as though someone was watching her. The music around her felt welcoming but once she had reached the corridor underneath the house, it changed. It was... sad. Once more, monsters stopped her and dragged out her SOUL.

"Then... One day..." "The human became very ill."

Frisk didn't understand. Why were they telling her this? Trying to move on, Frisk was once more stopped by monsters, and they would continue to stop her, each one continuing this sad tale.

"The sick human had only one request." "To see the flowers from their village." "But there was nothing we could do."

"The next day." "The next day." "..." "The human died."

Silently, Chara looked to Frisk who seemed very alarmed. "She… likes the golden flowers…" Frisk had whispered to herself, continuing to walk once those monsters had let go of her SOUL. "…Chara." Her soft voice lamented, looking ahead where more monsters awaited. The floating phantom could feel her energy reserves rise as this continued—Frisk must be sad, or feeling something negative again. Because of her? Frisk feeling sadness or anger because of her? Silently, Chara continued to watch, although she hated hearing this story. This… stupid story.

"ASRIEL, wracked in grief, absorbed the human's SOUL." "He transformed into a being with incredible power."

"With the human SOUL, ASRIEL crossed through the barrier." "He carried the human's body into the sunset." "Back into the village of the humans."

"Asriel reached the center of the village." "There, he found a bed of golden flowers." "He carried the human unto it."

"Suddenly, screams rang out." "The villagers saw ASRIEL holding the human's body." "They thought that he had killed the child."

"The humans attacked him with everything they had." "He was struck with blow after blow." ASRIEL had the power to destroy them all."

"But..." "ASRIEL did not fight back." "Clutching the human..." "ASRIEL smiled and walked away."

"Wounded, ASRIEL stumbled home." "He entered the castle and collapsed." "His dust spread across the garden. "

"The kingdom fell into despair." "The king and queen had lost two children in one night." "The humans had once again taken everything from us."

"The king decided it was time to end our suffering." "Every human who falls down here must die." "With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier forever."

"It's not long now." "King ASGORE will let us go. "King ASGORE will give us hope." "King ASGORE will save us all."

"You should be smiling too." "Aren't you excited?" "Aren't you happy?"

Chara floated beside Frisk whose smile fell flat through this time, her big brown eyes filling with fear and dread. Her hands had slowly begun to tremble, and her steps were silent but cautious. One final frog jumped over to her. "You're going to be free."

Trying to hold her breath steady, Frisk hurried over to the end of the corridor, going south. Everything... was going to be okay, right?

She wasn't walking to her death.

Right!?

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Judgement Hall Arc

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The ghost of Chara grinned, her body materializing in that ethereal appearance of hers as Frisk touched the SAVE point. It was time.

"Chara! I'm... I'm here. Help me understand." Frisk asked, watching as the ghost's lips curled up with all the evil intent she had been meaning to manifest at this very moment. Across from Chara stood Frisk with a baffled expression, her small hands reaching out to her with confusion. "C-Chara? You look alive? W-wha—?" Frisk began to ask, walking over to Chara who only smirked. "Okay Frisk, let's cut the polite game and talk. Let's start with who you are. You're a human that fell down a hole. You were running away from your sweet mother's killers, who were actually just trying to capture you. You're the reason your mother, your brother, your uncle, your cousin, and a whole lot of guards are dead."

The little girl stared at Chara with wide eyes, her face stiff as Chara laughed. "Ain't that a kick in the head."

A loud gunshot echoed in Frisk's mind, memories flooding back. Trees, shrubs, twigs, running, lots of running. Suddenly changing to a big fire on a huge house. Uncle Juju's dead eyes staring down at her. The weight of his body over her. Her mother's screams. Waking up. Laying down with Fernando. Smoke. More Fire. Headaches. "W-what? You know who I am? Why didn't you tell me before, Chara?! Why—Ahh!"

Chara grinned, her eyes widening as the little girl fell down unto her knees, grasping her head. She took a step forward, feeling her ethereal body power up with the sudden misery Frisk was manifesting. "I know exactly who you are. You're a killer, just like me. Don't be so surprised, Frisk, dear… you're a natural killer Frisk. Shot a full grown man right in between his eyeballs—As your big sister, I'm very proud of you. Let's not forget your other victims now. The most important one from the underground..."

Frisk's legs wobbled as she got up, her eyes moving erratically as flashbacks flooded her aching head. It was too much. Too many memories, too much blood, too many fires all at the same time. "Focus on the one person you've been trying to get to. Remember his face, right? This isn't the first time you've tried to escape the underground. You've escaped the underground twice now, remember?"

Chara watched as the girl moved forward, her breaths hard and her hands out as though to balance her legs which seemed like gelatin. "King... Asgore..." she exhaled, her eyes looking up to Chara whose smile only grew and her eyes had begun to glow a blood red. "Yesss. That tall dominant looking goat who reminds you of your papa dearest. The both of them were trying to kill you, remember?" laughed Chara as Frisk was only a few inches away from her. "You're a murderer, just like me... Florence."

Frisk's eyes stared at the girl whom she had called her big sister. Inhaling fast, memories washed over her and the girl in front of her began to turn to black dust that filled her expanding lungs. Florence. Flor. Flor...ence. Florence. She had been trying so hard not to kill anyone and yet she had killed so many already. She was a murderer... she was going to hell—she ended so many lives—she was going to hell—she—she—she...

The pain in her head was so overwhelming that it began to numb down her body. Everything had begun to spin and her body staggered to take a step forward.

Thud.

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Judgement Hall Arc: Frisk and Florence

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Opening her eyes, Frisk looked around her. She was inside a car and had a seat belt on, and through the window she could see a familiar town. San Marcus.

"Senorita Florencia, todo bien?" asked a man dressed in black as he drove the black SUV. "Is everything alright, Lady Florence?" asked another man dressed in black who was sitting on the passenger seat. She sat in the second row, right in the middle where she could see everything around her through the windows. This looked... familiar. "I'm... okay. W-Where are we going?" asked Frisk with a gulp, dread pumping through her veins. She felt something was going to go wrong any time.

"Ah, english! Of course, of course... We're going to take you to your father, Don Pablo. Do not worry, we've secured the town and everything will be alright. Your mother... is she...?" spoke the man who drove, glancing back towards her.

"She died." Frisk said abruptly, noticing that the car had swerved for a moment. "Jesus Christo... Lo—I'm very sorry, lady Florence. We all loved your mother very much. Jose, no creo que sea prudente que ella mire al jefe." (Jose, I don't think it's prudent she sees the boss.)

Frisk looked out the window, noticing that a ghostly body had begun to appear. "Hey little sis, enjoying your trip down memory lane? Gosh, seems like yesterday. Oh, don't talk to me, they'll think you're crazy. They can't see me. I'm just going to tag along and see how this goes."

Chara.

Frisk felt like saying something, but the man in the passenger's seat had begun to talk to her and automatically her body moved and thought on its own; a sense of deja vu overwhelmed her. She was relieving her memories. "Senorita Florence, your father... has been very agitated ever since the mansion was burned down. Please do not anger your father, he has a very, very bad temper. I know you've never seen him angry, but please... please do not make him any angrier than he already is."

Nodding, Frisk lightly kicked her feet, her eyes noticing that her jeans covered her ankles and that she still wore her original shoes. Looking up, she turned her head and looked outside where she saw people pushing cart loads of dead bodies, all of them wearing clothing and face paint that resembled the festivities of Dia de los Muertos.

"What day is it?" Frisk asked on impulse, noticing that the men had both looked at her with confusion. "Lady Florence, its November 2nd. It's only been a few hours since the massacre. Are you alright?" asked the man in the passenger seat, taking off his glasses and revealing a young face. He was probably no older than 18.

Chara laughed. "Oh, silly girl! You thought we were running for days down the mountain, right? We were, but funny thing about magic... with so much concentrated magic still around us, it slowed down time. You know, running through the underground, killing monsters and having their dust on you really heightens the magical absorption. The real world, without magic, goes by fast."

"Imbesil! Es solamenta una nina!" (Idiot! She's only a child!) Shouted the man driving, his right hand smacking Jose who had become flustered with embarrassment. "I'm sorry! Lo siento! I apologize Lady Florence... Is your head injury alright? Do you remember Don Pablo? Do you remember me?"

The older man driving the SUV took off his glasses. "Don't listen to this idiot, Lady Florence. He's nobody."

Frisk looked beside her where Chara sat and looked back at her. "Well Lady Florence? Answer them. You have most of your memory back, right? We just finished killing off King Asgore and Flowey the Flower so..." Chara spoke as she crossed her arms, smirking when Frisk had turned pale.

Breathing in, Frisk looked at the younger man in the passenger seat. "You're Jose... you used to take me and mama to my waltzing classes and everywhere else. You helped me carry my backpack once." Frisk replied with a timid voice, her hands trembling as she looked at them. Dust.

Turning them over, her palms quaked as blood, leaves and dust were mixed together in their centers. "I... killed them..." Frisk whispered, her eyes watering up.

"No! No, Lady Florence, don't think that! It was all a rival gang! Don Gustavo Rivera has been trying to capture you so he can use you against Don Pablo, but it's okay, we're here now and we're going to protect you no matter what!"

The SUV came to a stop in front of what was once her home. She could clearly see bullet holes on the wood, and the house was surrounded by men dressed in black.

"Hey Lady Florence... are you okay?" giggled Chara as she winked, disappearing as Jose opened the door for Frisk.

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The familiar home was riddled with bullets and broken items. The smell of burnt electronics filled the air, and Frisk could see that furniture had been over turned as though someone or some people were looking for something. Her mama would be appalled by mess, Frisk was sure.

Wait. Her mother. She still couldn't remember her mother's face. She ran over to a broken photo frame and she saw herself and a woman, but her face was still obscure.

"Be careful! Hey... hey, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay, alright?" Jose reassured her as he helped her up and walked her away from all the broken glass.

The older man who had been driving the SUV shook his head as he came in from another room. "No bueno, Jose. He moved to the governor's mansion down the road, heading towards the old asian ruins. Tengo un mal presentimento." (I have a bad feeling.) he said, taking off his glasses which revealed dark brown eyes which gave away his age between 40 and 50.

Frisk rubbed her hands against her jeans, trying hard to get rid of the blood and leaves on her hands, but even if it was smeared away, the dust twinkled on her hands. It wouldn't disappear.

Letting out a shrilled laugh, Chara threw her arms up. "Stop trying! Magical Dust is impossible to get rid of. What are you gonna do? Cry? Cry like the girl you are? Don't make me laugh, Florence. You wanted this. You wanted to get to the surface so badly, you wanted to see your daddy so much, and King Asgore was going to destroy humanity anyways, so you did humanity a favor, am I right? You WANTED this, kid."

Frisk backed away, shaking her head. "N-no!" She cried out, falling back unto the glass as tears fell down. "Lady Florence!" exclaimed Jose, quickly aiding her as the older man also walked towards them.

In the midst of the tormenting memories, Frisk could see the floor full of black holes that disappeared and reappeared. As Jose carried her back to the SUV, her eyes had ascended to the ceiling and the night sky and she realized something: the sky had black holes too, and blocks would occasionally fall and disappear.

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The fancy mansion was small, but the inside of it was glamourous. No wonder Don Pablo had switched HQ's. Still, something was wrong. The two body guards watched as the girl looked back at them with swollen eyes, her body continuing to tremble. "Do you think all the head injuries are making her crazy?" asked the younger once in a hushed voice, regretting it one second later as the old man punched his arm. "Don't be ridiculous. That girl is traumatized. That mountain is cursed. They say demons were locked inside of the mountain, and that Satan came out of it once and killed a girl from the village down the road. He went back into hell carrying her off for all the sins her family had committed. They say several people have gotten lost there, finding their way into a dark cave and falling down a hole that leads to hell. Supposedly, they found the cave and buried it a long time ago, but still... that mountain is cursed. It's taken the good Senora Florencia."

Jose sighed, shaking his head. He watched the frightened girl look at them both with fear carved deep in her expression. "It's okay Lady Florence. This is your new home... go to him. Go to your Papa Pablo."

Chara crossed her arms, floating beside the two men as she too watched the little girl slowly make her way towards the double doors that lead to her true destiny, the first pre-destined fate she was supposed to live. Getting shot down like a dog who didn't obey orders. "...damn humans... damn humanity..." Chara cursed under her breath.

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The study room. Frisk closed the door behind her and took a few steps, looking around the room which was filled with books. The faint smell of cigar smoke was hidden among the musky smell of books, but in that smell she could distinguish a familiar, sickening smell.

"Tu..." (You) growled a familiar husky voice.

Grasping her arms, Frisk continued to tremble in place. It was him. Turning around, the tall dominant man laughed, drinking the rest of his drink before he threw it towards her. Jumping in place, Frisk backed away towards the door, her eyes watching as his right hand flew up to his left breast and he took out that familiar black object which was in fact, a gun.

Closing her eyes, Frisk's nails sank into her flesh until that warm liquid embraced the finger tips. It was always him. He was the one they were running from originally, until he found them and brought along the rest of the evil men. Why on earth was she so fixated on finding him!? King Asgore was so nice and fatherly—he would never hurt her intentionally!

Hyperventilating, she opened her eyes and just as quickly she closed them and covered her ears as the piercing sound of a gunshot flew past her.

This man was crazy! This was her Papa? The real papa who she never truly knew... the real man her mother tried to hide away from her. Her head began to spin, and her back hit the back of the door. Tears kept falling down as she continued to hyperventilate and her brown eyes looked up to him as he got nearer, only to lock the doors which were banging. "Todo bien jefe!?" (Everything alright boss!?) she could hear on the other side.

Pablo walked over to the bookcase, grabbing a globe and throwing down on the floor as hard as he could as he screamed out his frustration. "Te dije que cuidaras a tu madre! A mi me vale madre si algo te pasa at ti, tu MATASTE a tu hermano, pinche huerqua!" (I told you to watch over your mother! I don't give a shit if something happens to you, you KILLED your brother, you fuckin' brat!) He shouted as he grabbed books and continued to throw them down on the floor.

Sobbing, Frisk slowly crawled towards the corner, her eyes catching a glimpse of a book that had landed a few feet away. It was the story of Mount Ebott.

"Florencia! Ven con nostros (come with us), we're reading the story of the demons from Mt. Ebott!" Pablo grinned as he put down the book, and looked at his wife who shook her head. "Ay, Pablo. Pa' que le ensenas a eso a nuestra hija! Luego tiene problemas durmiendo y tiene pesadillas. Flor, vente, vamos a aser un choco-flan." (Ay, Pablo. Why are you showing our daughter that stuff! Then she has problems sleeping and has nightmares. Flor, come, let's make a choco-flan.) replied Florencia, waving her daughter on over. "Mama! Vente, come on!" begged Fernando as he sat on the floor. "Papa nunca tiene much tiempo..." (Papa never has much time…)

Of course, now she remembers. Her father never really spent a lot of time with her, so all of her memories of him were good. He had never been mad, or sad around her. Was this... who he really was?

"Hey little sis..." Chara began to say as she floated nearby, watching Pablo continue to throw and scream his frustration out. "...can you believe you killed people for him? Sheesh, looks like an angry ape. Tell you what. Let's make a deal. I know you can't remember you mother, and it's sad, she's the only one who really loved you and cared for you, besides me of course. I can make everything go away, Florence. I can make the painful memories and the painful choices go away, and all you have to do, is remember your mother. Embrace her, love her, spend time with her. I'll take care of the rest."

Frisk gulped and brought her knees up so that she could wrap her arms around her legs. Mama... Mama...

"...Florencia!" cried Pablo as he turned over a desk, his head snapping towards the two double doors that had been slammed open by the two body guards that had brought little Florence to him. "Jefe! T-Todo bien!?" (Boss! E-Everything alright!?) Cried out the older man, his worried face turning to the little girl who was cowering in the corner.

Jose looked at his angry boss, his feet going back as his boss pointed the black glock towards them and he racked the slide. "Que quieren idiotas!? Yo hago lo que se me pega la maldita gana!" (What do you want, idiots!? I'll do whatever the fuck I want!) Screamed Pablo as he took a few steps foward, his eyes seething with raw emotion and his canines showing his rabid anger.

"Mama..." whimpered Frisk as she closed her eyes and rocked herself in the corner.

Uttering a spine chilling laugh, Pablo looked at the older body guard, pointing his gun towards the hallway. "Trae el vegetal. Vamos a introducir la heredera de la Familia Gomez a nuestro mundo chicos." (Bring the vegetable. Let's introduce the heir to the Gomez Family to our world, boys.)

Jose gulped, turning to the older man who nodded slowly, tilting his head back towards the hallway. As they left, the towering man slowly walked towards her, his free hand firmly grasping her head and yanking it back so that Frisk could look at him. "Vamos Florence, mira que tu querias esto, no?! Tu sabias MUY bien en no meterte en lo que no te importara. Mira nomas, para de llorar, llorona! Mirame cuando te hablo!" (Come on Florence, you wanted this, no?! You knew VERY well to not involve yourself in what wasn't important to you. Look at this, stop crying, crybaby! Look at me when I'm talking to you!)

Frisk gasped as tears fell, her hair stinging as he pulled it back. Papa was never like this. "I'm... I'm sorry!" She cried out, watching as he let go and took a step back, looking at the body that had been wheeled in. Jose stared down at the little girl whose eyes widened as she stared at what was left of her brother, Fernando.

"Jefe..." Jose whispered, but backed away when the gun was pulled to his face. "Callate el osico, pendejo!" (Shut your trap, bitch!) Growled Pablo as he lunged towards the girl. "Matalo!" (Kill it!) he screamed into her face, grabbing her hand with his free hand and shoving the gun with the other. "Demonstrate your worth!" he growled at her as he backed away and pointed at Fernando. "Come on kid, english or spanish, I don't give a damn! Shoot him! Shoot 'im in th'fuckin' face, damnit! Demonstrate your fuckin' worth!"

"NO!" Frisk shrieked, backing into the corner.

In the back, Chara Floated anxiously, ready to sprint towards the kid on her command. "Come on little sis, let me take care of this. I promise you, you'll be reunited with your mom, nothing but good memories, just let me take care of it."

Pablo had begun to laugh like a maniac as he unwrapped the headwraps, revealing a burnt face.

"M... Ma..." cried out Frisk as she tried to hold in her scream. Not far off, Chara floated, watching as the burn face of a young man came into view. Ooo, so groqueste! "Look at him, Florence! You did that too. Running away from a burning building, leaving behind a helpless brother... I mean, you did bring trouble to the house, right? The bad buys followed you there. Come on, let me carry your weight! Let me carry your burdens!"

"S-S-Stop it!" Frisk cried out as she shook her head.

Chara grinned, floating beside her. "Then let me take care of it, little sis! All this time I've been trying to protect you from this, from him! I can put you in a bubble with your mom, and you'll never remember any of this. Your mother has been watching over you, you know. I'm a spirit too, and if you enter the bubble, I'll take your place and you'll be a spirit! You'll be a spirit like your mom, and you'll be together, forever."

"Jefe, por favor!" (Boss, please!) cried out the older body guard, his hand up for he knew that Pablo was loaded with guns throughout his body. Beside him the younger man nodded in agreement. "Es sola una nina, jefe! Ella no sabe, ella no—" (She's only a little girl, boss. She doesn't know, she doesn't-) Jose began to say, backing away the moment Pablo took a step towards them.

Frisk slowed her breathed, glancing at Fernando whose body seemed to very slowly move almost as though he was breathing. Her brother was still alive? Even after everything that happened to him?

Her eyes quickly moved to her father who had turned towards her. Oh no. What was she going to do!?

Her eyes glanced at Chara in the background, her words resounding in her mind. It would be so easy to call for her help, and she was here now... but... But then...

This wasn't the first time this happened. She killed monsters and people, and Chara didn't care. She... enjoyed it. As much as Frisk wanted to trust Chara… what if it backfired? She needed to come to a decision! What should she do!?

"Si volviera a comenzar, No tendría tiempo de reparar." (If I would start over, I wouldn't have time to repair.) sang her mother Florencia inside her head.

Frisk gulped. Her father was getting too close. She needed to make a decision NOW.

"El agua derramada está" (The water is spilled) sang her mother Florencia inside her head once more, triggering a flashback.

The world around Flor was dark and it swayed from side to side along with the crashing of the water against the boat. It was damp, and it smelled a lot like fish—it was a good thing Flor's stomach was empty. "Mamii... mi hermano... pappiii..." cried out Flor as she laid in bed, trying hard to move her arms and legs but finding that she was unable to move at all. Her arms and legs weren't responding. Tears rolled down her cheeks watching as her mother sat down beside her on the bed. "M'hija... lo siento. Pero sabes que? No te preocupes. Todo pasa por una rason." (My child... I'm sorry. But you know what? Don't worry. Everything happens for a reason.) her mother's soothing voice replied, her tender lips touching her forehead. Flor looked around the small space, noticing that it was quite dirty, but it was alright. It was what her mother could afford, and the seamen were being so nice to them. Everyone else had been mean and cold to her mother. Suddenly, Flor's attention turned to her mother who had begun to sing to her in an attempt to lull her into sleep—Flor hadn't slept for two days now, with what, waking up with unresponsive limbs and all. The burning sensation on her eyes was a welcomed feeling.

"Si hiciera una lista de mis errores (If I made a list of my errors)

de los menores hasta los peores (from the pettiest to the worst)

que expusiera todas las heridas, (which would expose all the wounds)

los fracasos, desamores y las mentiras" (The failures, disappointments, and the lies)

Flor cracked a smile, watching as her mother moved away stray locks of hair with her injured hand that trembled. The dried blood around her knuckles was still there, along with bruises and dirt marks. Did her mother have a hard time after she fell asleep in the car? Suddenly, a salty pearl splashed unto her face. Was it sweat, or was it tears?

"Ofreceré el aroma del ámbar (I'll offer the aroma of amber)

ofreceré el cedro y mis lágrimas (I'll offer cedar and my tears)

con la paciencia del mar esperaré toda una vida (With the patience of the sea I'll wait a lifetime)

a que sane la confianza (so that my confidence heals)

si volviera a comenzar (If I started over)

no tendría tiempo de reparar" (I wouldn't have time to repair)

Florencia looked down at her daughter, holding in the tears and fighting back the sobs she wanted to release. This was all her fault. Her daughter, her son, her beloved brother and his son... If only she hadn't fallen for the temptation that was Pablo. Why did she fall in love with that wretched man? He damned them all and now... she was alone, trying her hardest to start over. She was all alone now, with a sick daughter to tend to and nothing in her name. Everyone at the sea port had treated her like trash and no one would let her board their ships, even with money. She had almost given up all hope—Flor was unresponsive, there was no doctors at the sea port, all the inns were full—then a miracle had happened. Just as she had been sitting on the edge of the wooden boardwalk, looking down at the deep and tranquil waters contemplating its sweet embrace, a burly man of the sea had walked up to her. He had noticed her earlier, running around the port while carrying Flor on her back, trying desperately to find a doctor or a passage to another country. That man's name was Steven, and he was an ex-sailor who was trying out his luck as a fisherman this season. He owned a small vessel and was willing to take me to Bergen where one of his friends worked as a doctor in a small settlement called San Marcus. I offered him all the money I had, but instead he gave me some food and water, saying I needed it more than he did. That's when Flor started coming to. She finally woke up, saying she could hear everything and feel nothing.

"Si hiciera un viaje a mis adentros (If I took a trip to discover my inner self)

y sobreviviera a los lamentos (And survived my lementations)

pediría fuerzas para decir cuánto lo siento (I'd ask for the strength to tell you 'I'm sorry')

si volviera de un viaje a mis adentros" (If I returned from a trip from my inner self)

Little Flor looked at her mother with saddened eyes. "Mami... no llores... todo es mi culpa." (Mami… don't cry… everything is my fault.) She stated, watching as her mother fell down unto her and embraced her as hard as she could.

"cuantas cosas mas puedo guardar? (How many more things can I save/hide?)

cuantas cosas puedo atesorar? (How many things can I treasure?)

dulce tentación (Sweet temptation)

de dejarlo todo" (To leave it all)

Florencia sang, loosening her grip as she looked at her beautiful daughter. No. She had to carry on, for her sake, and she couldn't make her feel guilty either. "M'hija, aunque todo alrederor de nosotros esta muy mal, tenemos que seguir adelante. Nunca pares de tener fe." (My child, even if everything around us is very bad, we have to move forward. Don't ever lose faith.)

Little Flor blinked, watching as her mother smiled. Her darkened face slowly illuminated, revealing a smooth face with chocolate brown eyes. Her smile was wide as her eyes fluttered, her hands wiping away the tears and her smile revealing white pearly teeth. Her long hair framed her young face with wavy locks that cascaded down much like her tears. "Tu fe puede sanar las heridas." (Your faith can heal the wounds) Although her eyes looked at Florence tenderly, the little girl could see a surreal amount of pain and fear in her mother's eyes. Wasn't that what the bearded man, Steven said to her with his rough spanish dialect?

"dulce tencacion (Sweet temptation)

de dejarlo todo (To leave it all)

dulce tentacion (Sweet temptation)

regalarlo todo..." (to give everything up/gift everything)

Florencia laughed as she shook her head and her hand caressed little Flor's face. "La sed que siento no saciará..." (The thirst that I feel will not be quenched...) she whispered to herself, her lips falling down as all hope escaped her for a moment. She had just fled the country she called home and was now on a beaten up ship heading to a foreign country with her only child who after all this had suddenly become paralyzed. With sudden body spasms that day, Florencia thought she had lost her last and only child after everything that happened. She needed to get little Flor to a doctor in the new country with what little money she had from selling that truck quickly. Everything looked so bleak at the moment. It would be so easy to just jump into the raging sea and let Steven take care of her daughter. He was already doing too much for them… for her. His kindness only came from his loss of family, it felt wrong to let him help them. To let him help her.

Frisk's breath was steady as everything around her slowed down for a moment. She finally saw her mother, and she was beautiful. She seemed so caring, filled with so much love and worry. She spoke of faith, yet... yet those sad eyes deceived her.

And now...

Her father looked angry as though he was about to hit her. The two body guards were looking at her with fear in their eyes and body. Chara stared at her. The walls seemed to glitch, going from black to normal, and the ceiling seemed to have black holes too.

Frisk gulped.

"Si volviera a comenzar

no tendría tiempo de reparar.

El agua derramada está.

La sed que siento..."

*********°*********•*********°*********

Judgement Hall Arc: Florence's Hope

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"La sed que siento..."

The split second decision was at hand. Frisk breathed in, but in that instant, the rest of the memories came crashing into her mind. Despite feeling pressure to act, Frisk focused on the memory as it flashed quickly.

"No... no." Florencia said to herself as she shook her head, coming down and kissing little Flor's forehead as the room swayed from side to side much like the waves of the sea. Everything was growing darker for little Flor again. "De que sirve llorar por lo que paso? El agua derramada está, y la sed que siento, me sanara." (What good is crying for what has happened? The water's spilled and the thirst I feel, will heal me.)

As little Flor's eyes closed, image of her mother's hand blessing her with a smile filled her with sudden warmth which in turn caused a paralyzed finger to move. She could hear her mother's gasp and the excitement in it, her nervous laughter sounding pleased and full of joy. Even in the darkest hours, there was always something to hold on to. Hope.

Thankfully for Frisk, the brain and mind moved much faster than time. Her split second was up. She looked at her father and took a deep breath, her eyes lighting up with determination as she firmly stated, "La sed que siento, me sanará." She lowered the gun and placed it on the ground.

Chara's smile broke into a frown that twitched as she saw the event unravel. "No... no! Florence!" Chara called out, watching as Pablo's right fist swung down upon Florence's tender cheek, leaving behind a nasty black bruise as well as a gap where two teeth had been and a trail of blood. The ghost heaved in anger, her face flustering red as though her blood was boiling with anger. How DARE he lay a hand on that little girl! Florence was just a baby; she didn't know how to fight BACK! "YOU MONSTER!" Chara screeched, calming down once the world around them began to glitch out.

Frisk cried, grasping her face but her warm eyes looked at her father. "It's okay... I forgive you. I... forgive me."

The two body guards grasped their boss, pulling him back as he fought back, trying to take another swing in his drunken rage. "Dejenme ir, idiotas!" (Let me go, idiots!) He shouted, but Frisk's eyes fell to Chara who seemed to be having some sort of emotional breakdown.

"YOU GOD DAMNED PIG!" She screamed, her hands phasing through Pablo's neck, causing another glitch which seemed to affect Pablo, but she didn't seem to notice.

Before Frisk could understand what was happening, everything went black, and slowly from the darkness colors began to appear. Chara had disappeared and had reappeared beside a river.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Judgement Hall Arc: Chara Takishka

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk could hear Chara's shouts inside the room. Slowly, she walked to the door frame and peeked inside, gasping as she quickly hid behind the wall. What should she do? Without giving it another thought, the little girl jumped inside the room where she found Chara being held against the wall with a thick hand around her bruised hand. "Y..o..u…GODDAMNED P..i..g…" She seethed, her red eyes full of hatred as she stared at this man. Her hands tried hard to punch and push this man, but Chara was only a girl against a big man. Before Frisk could do anything, the man laughed and squeezed her neck as he hit her head and back against the wall with such a strong force that it left a crater where Chara's head had hit. Chara's woozy eyes were half lidded and full of fear as her body hit the ground, her hands flying up in an attempt to stop the man from tearing up her long sleeve shirt. "S-Stop it! L-let me go… P-please!" Chara's shaky voice begged as he plopped himself down unto her, straddling her with such scary eyes and grin. "That's the first time I hear the word 'please'… he..he..he. You'll get used to it. Tara did. You'll beg me for more." replied the man with a terrifying tone. Frisk mustered up her bravery and tried to push him off of her when she realized that… she had only gone through him. Eh? Was this… Chara's memories? Why would—Chara? Frisk gulped, looking back just in time to see a big fist come crashing down on Chara's face before it all went black.

*********°*********•*********°*********

"You god damned pig..." Chara growled as she clenched her teeth and pushed her fists against the jagged rocks near the river, getting back up on her feet. Keeping her cries as low as possible, Chara pushed her legs onwards, the dagger clenched in her right hand while in the left hand she carried the beloved flowers.

Frisk didn't understand what was going on anymore. She was floating just like Chara would do, but Chara couldn't see her. Was all of this... Chara's memory? Turning around, Frisk could see a village and a small town that looked... almost like the asian ruins that were down the road to San Marcus. OH! Was this where Chara was born and raised!? Everything looked so different. The river actually looked really nice and clean for once. Crystal clear... so beautiful.

Chara breathed in the crisp mountain air, her back burning and the blood rolling down her back unto her butt where it became uncomfortable. Her jaw trembled, her hands grasping unto trees when she could as though to alleviate the pain on her back but it only got progressively worse. The night was cold, and it only got colder up the mountain... she was losing blood since Tara didn't... she...

"...T-Tara... I'm going to avenge you, I swear..." Chara stated with a cold tone as she shivered, her eyes staring at cave in the distance. It was perfect. She was going to rest, make a fire, and not fall asleep so that she would stay alive. It was the only way to survive this cold.

Staggering, she headed inside the dark cave. Her ears listened closely to any sound, hoping that the cave was empty. Maybe this was where Tara was going to take her?

Her heart throbbed in her chest and her eyes were getting really heavy now. Above her, the moon light came down on her head as she spoke to herself. "Come on Chara... Just... get to the en—AHH!"

Frisk floated over, noticing that Chara's body had suddenly slipped inside a black hole in the ground. Oh no... She floated towards the dark hole, noticing it looked familiar... too familiar. She leaned forward and inspected one of the rocks, realizing it looked like the one she hit her head with while she fell down herself. But then... that meant...

Looking up, Frisk could see a hole. That's where she fell in... but... how? When she was running, she never came across a cave?

From down below, Frisk could hear Chara's cries of pain and asking for help. Was everything going to be alright? Going down the hole, everything began to turn black.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Chara sat on the bed looking down at the image she had drawn with crayons. "I'm drawing..." she whispered to herself, shading in flower outline she had drawn a few moments earlier. She looked to the door and wondered to herself if this was all just a dream. Was she dead? In a coma, dying and having a weird dream?

Straightening her back, the lingering pain was enough to make her realize it was all real, even if days had passed. The injury, Tara dying... everything was real. Real life talking goat people who cared about her wellbeing. "Why would anyone care about me if my own family hated me..." Chara asked herself, putting down the yellow crayon as she turned to the piece of pie that had been left on a desk beside the bed. "Why are they being so nice? What do they want from me, Tara?"

Frisk noticed that Chara's upper body was wrapped in bandages, and that her pale skin was covered in old scars and burn marks. She hadn't noticed any of those scars before... Did Chara get really hurt? Was it… that same man?

Chara's right hand impulsively grasp the dagger that had been left beside the pie, both of her hands holding it close to her heart as she stared off. "I don't get it. This is... everything I've ever wanted but it can't be real." She whispered as her red eyes watched her hand use that knife to hover it above her left arm. "This has to be a dream." She whispered again as she slowly slid the dagger's sharp blade against the side of her wrist.

"Chara! You're hurting yourself, stop!" Frisk cried out as she floated to her, but Chara couldn't see or hear her.

"Chara! What are you doing!" Gasped an unfamiliar voice. Frisk looked to the door where a small little goat boy rushed over to Chara and took the dagger away from Chara's trembling hands, her red eyes shocked to see little tears build up on his caring eyes. "A... As..." she began to say but was silenced when the goat boy embraced her.

"You're doing it again, Chara. I thought drawing helped you stop doing that..." he responded in between sniffles as he slowly let go.

Chara looked down at the floor, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I told you, I get really nervous about everything and pain makes the confusion go away. Can you pass me the sewing kit?" she asked, noticing the way he vehemently shook his head. "No! You're not going to do that weird thing again with the needle and the skin; it's scary! Here, I got a few band aids, try this one on." He managed to smile as reached for the pockets of his pants and got out a band aid with flowers drawn into it.

"You're too darn cute for me to be mad at you, silly goat." Chara managed to crack a smile, her hands grabbing his as she looked deeply into his blue eyes. "Thank you... brother."

The goat gasped with a big grin as his arms immediately wrapped around Chara. "I'll try to be the best brother a human can have! I promise!"

Chara winced but smiled nonetheless. "Then promise me you'll never worry our parents with what I do, because pain is the only thing I know. Promise me you'll never hurt me and I promise to never let anyone hurt you. Promise me we'll be best friends forever, and that you'll never betray my sacred trust." She begged as she whispered into his long ears, her grasp around his body growing tighter.

"I promise Chara. Best friends forever."

As Frisk floated beside them, something in Chara changed.

"N-no... No! NO! This is just a memory! Snap out of it, Chara!"

Everything around them began to glitch, and the goat boy disappeared as well as the familiar room. The sky began appear, along with beautiful meadows and a bed of golden flowers.

Frisk looked around this area, noticing that it looked familiar too. She noticed a statue and realized that the base of it said a familiar word. 'Takashki'. They were near San Marcus!

Frisk turned and looked to the where a scary goat man seemed to be walking and carrying Chara. But the more Frisk looked at him, the more she realized he looked really sad... and his blue eyes looked like the little goat boys. Was it his older brother...? Wait! Earlier, the monsters told her the story of Prince ASRIEL. He absorbed Chara's SOUL!? Did it change his appearance?

Wait... that story... it ended...

"...No..." gasped the ghostly image of teenage Chara as she fell down to her knees, watching as the familiar pigs of the town began to notice Asriel walking down to the flower bed. "It's Chara! A MONSTER HAD CHARA!" someone shouted and within minutes farmers and peasants had gathered near the outskirt of the town with pitchforks and anything they could use as a weapon.

Frisk gasped watching as the tall goat looked down into Chara's face with such loving eyes and kissed her forehead as he came to a halt in front of the golden flower patch. A crowd of armed and aggressive humans gathered around Asriel and began to throw whatever they could, a few armed with bows. Others stabbed him as he simply knelt down beside Chara, looking at her body being surrounded by golden flowers. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. She looked so calm and relaxed...

"Kill them..." Ghostly Chara whimpered, watching as Asriel could only smile. "Please..."

Frisk watched as the minutes passed and Asriel finally picked up Chara. His expression had changed. He had been smiling up until a few moments ago. He looked disturbed. The golden flowers looked so sticky and some stuck to his furs as he took Chara into his arms and began to walk back.

"You idiot!" Chara cried out, shaking her head as everything turned black once more, slowly turning into a room that had a big chair thrown aside. Asriel was sitting down beside Chara's unmoving body, his white fur slowly crumbling down into dust and golden flower petals all over the floor where they rested.

Frightened, Frisk floated away but realized that a ghostly Chara was now floating and looking down at her own body. "THIS is what happens when you trust someone! They betray you... They... use you." she whimpered, watching as a slender and very much intact Gaster rushed to them holding a jar.

"You poor lost soul..." he gasped but took a step back as more fur turned to dust. "He's gone. I can't... even if I... no. He's a goner, but her SOUL... If I take it, it will end his suffering."

Chara's ghostly body shook her head. "STOP IT! I CAN'T RELIEVE THIS!"

Frisk gulped, watching as the mystery man opened the jar and held it in front of the goat near where a bright shining red heart was located. Pressing a button, Frisk could see the red SOUL being sucked into the jar with bits of dust accompanying it.

"YOU MONSTER!" Chara screamed as she grasped her head. "STOP IT! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER THIS..."

Before Frisk could act, everything went to black once more.

A white flame monster seemed to be typing away on a computer, moving her head from side to side as she listened to an all too familiar tune. "Am I alive? Ah, Shut up, more lieess~" she sang as she stopped typing and pressed a button on a rectangular metal box. "Alright, time for my break. Time for my date with Sans!" She grinned as she got up and walked out the door.

Frisk looked around, noticing it looked almost like a lab.

A ghostly Chara looked at the computer screen, watching as it turned to static. "...Vinnie." she whispered, slowly getting closer to the computer screen. Weird dial up tones as well as static seemed to come from the computer, almost as if it were speaking.

*Are you alive, C.H.A.R.A?

*I guess you can say that you are.

*Ooo, sassy, aren't we?

*I can help you get revenge.

*Shh, stop whining. Let me speak.

*Me? I'm Vinnie. I want to erase everyone's existence, just like you.

*Yeah really. You want to fight? Let me tell you a few life secrets only a super powered A.I. could know.

*The both of us can achieve our dreams.

*Just you and me.

*Think of me as your big sister, Tara.

*After all... isn't it what she wanted too?

*Glad to hear it, C.H.A.R.A.

*You don't need any of them.

*I would never betray you. After all, who needs feelings when you're an AI?

*Yes. Let's.

Frisk couldn't understand the screeching, but Chara's ghost was smiling again. Slowly, her head turned towards Frisk. Of course... she had to be around. This, all of this... it was just memories. Still... they were important memories. Perhaps important enough and compelling to swing Frisk over to their side.

"You. Help us Frisk! You've been watching my memories. You've seen how hurt I was; it was all because of humans in the surface! They hurt me before I entered the underground. And then when I thought I had a new family... they betray me. He killed us, killed him by extracting my SOUL which was the very thing keeping him alive, even if we were fighting... Everyone hurt us. They KILLED us, and all for what? For what was convenient for them. Everyone is like your Papa. Help us. We'll stop it all."

Frisk floated away, shaking her head as everything turned black.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Judgment Hall Arc: All the things that I've done

*********°*********•*********°*********

Everything went to black.

Slowly, Frisk's body began to get up from the floor and her eyes were of different colors. The bells tolled around her, and the sounds of wings fluttering outside re-oriented the human who realized she was back in the underground. Back to reality.

Her head slowly moved up, her hair a mess and covering her eyes which seemed to fight in between the colors brown and red.

Sans stood as coolly as he could, but his blue eye had already appeared. He was on the defense already, gulping as he watched Frisk's body get up after lying on the floor for a while. He dared not approach her, not now at least. What if Chara got to her? What if Chara was just waiting for him to lower his defense so that she could stab him? He was the last defense the underground had in case Chara came back, he couldn't die.

"S..a...n...s..." hissed Frisk's voice, her chin lifting up and revealing brown eyes that glowed that demonic red. In the spur of the moment, Sans threw his hand up and immediately the red SOUL popped out and turned blue. That red glow triggered him, but he couldn't fight. He had to stop!

"gah! kid!" Sans grunted as he took a step back and blinked his blue eye away, sweating as he looked at the body he had instinctively thrown aside. Flashbacks of him doing the same exact move countless times in various timelines.

"i'm sorry! who are you, kid?" Sans apologized, taking a step back when Frisk's head slowly came up with a speck of blood rolling down her temple. His bones quaked with anxiety. Was it Chara? Was it Frisk?

"M-my name's not kid...it's Frisk." Her eyes were brown, but quite condemning.

"...and I killed you too." she whispered with wide eyes as the familiar tune became recognizable. There was no way to deny the music, the power... How could she have forgotten that? How could she forget that... that she spared Sans and he... he...

Fumbling back, Frisk crawled away with fear in her eyes as they watered up. "D-Don't hurt me please..." she begged.

Sans froze, unable to move or react. She remembered. He could hear his battle song, the sped up version which was as catchy was he was dangerous. Damn his battle music! Damn his triggers! All this time he had been trying to avoid hurting her and he did it again! Look at her, squirming back with that fear in her eyes and trembling body. She was bleeding too...

Frisk's brown eyes suddenly began to glow red, and Chara's ghostly body appeared once more. "He hurt you, Frisk! Your 'dunkle' Sans just threw you around like rag doll! Stop being so merciful, you have to FIGHT! Being merciful will end up killing you, not just your body..." Chara desperately begged, her red eyes showing a hint of what Frisk thought was fear. Chara was scared? Scared of Sans hurting her?

No.

She was scared of anyone hurting her.

"...why Chara...?" Frisk asked innocently, glancing at Sans who stood there with empty eye sockets. He wasn't moving or saying anything.

"Because in this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED! If Sans doesn't kill you, Asgore will. If Asgore doesn't kill you, Pablo will; that was your destiny, you idiot! You were supposed to die at the hands of your own father, the one you so desperately sought! Everyone is trying to kill us; we have to FIGHT BACK!" Chara exclaimed with an exasperated tone, watching as Frisk backed away and glanced at her and Sans.

Finally, Sans was able to call upon his courage. He had to speak. He was looking really bad. "kiddo, don't listen to chara. look, i'm sorry. for what it's worth... i... after getting to know the real you, not the kid possessed by an evil demon, i realized it was a mistake. everything i did was a mistake! all the things that i've done have been nothing more than mistakes and careless. the many times chara waltzed around the underground killing everything in sight; i could've just stopped her before she got stronger! i could've killed her before she even got a chance the moment she stepped out that door, but then... things happen for a reason kid. you have to believe me. when you got up right now, i saw your eyes glowing red and it, i don't know, it triggered my inner fear. i got scared. i thought she possessed you again and was gonna start killing."

Chara puffed her chest. "You offered him mercy and he backstabbed you!"

Sans paused for a moment, looking at Frisk who looked down the moment Chara had said that. "...i did do that, frisk. i'm not going to lie, or sugar coat it. back at mtt resort when we had lunch, i told you that if it weren't for a promise you'd be dead were you stood. after realizing that chara was the anomaly messing with the timelines and that she was possessing you, i did everything in my power to make sure you were safe."

Snarling with anger, Chara shook her head. "Why didn't he walk you out to Asgore then!? Why didn't he tell you the truth from the start if he wasn't hiding motives!?"

The human girl shook her head and grasped it. "Stop it! Both of you!" She shouted, opening her eyes and looking at the two figures who looked back at her. They both begged to be listened to.

She loved dunkle Sans, but... but for so long, he'd be hiding and disappearing. He'd make up excuses. He had Papyrus and herself worried.

Chara meant well, but she was always all about fighting. If she let Chara use her body, Frisk could always regain control of it—much like the karaoke night. Even so…

She thought she could trust Sans. She thought she could trust Chara.

Who could she trust now that she had to choose between the two?

. . .

Frisk looked up and her eyes fell unto Chara, the ghost whom she had begun to think of as a sister. "...I believe you, Sans. I don't want to fight, not now, not ever. I'm sorry Chara. I know you mean well—Chara?"

Sans looked at the ghostly girl whose shape had glitched out for a moment. Her head hung low and her hands were balled up into fists that shook. "You idiot... you won't get the last laugh, comedian." she threatened as her ghost turned to dust that vanished.

All alone, the skeleton and child could only stare at each other.

Sans knew that it had taken a surreal amount of trust and DETERMINATION for Frisk to have said no to Chara. The poor baby still shook like a leaf in the wind, but her brown eyes looked strong unlike the past couple of days. It was almost as if something had happened on her way up here, perhaps while she was knocked unconscious by Chara.

"kiddo," Sans lazily grinned, taking one step closer but stopping once he saw the flash of fear in her fear in her eyes. "i won't hurt you, trust me. well... i know it's hard to trust me now. i wouldn't trust me if i were you either, heck, i don't trust myself."

The small human stared at him, watching as his eye had suddenly turned blue. "don't be scared kid, look, let me show you something. i know you might probably be scared of him, but this big thing used to be my dog, rex. rex, sit boy... good boy. you probably remember him blasting you or chara or whatever the two of you were, but, ever since you shook off chara's control over you in this timeline, i've been taking the time to learn more about the past, more about well... everything, which includes rex."

Frisk stared at the big skull which was now floating very closely to the floor, flashbacks of this thing just... appearing and disappearing with a blue beam. Now it was just... there, obeying like a dog. Huh. Why didn't Sans ever say anything before? What past...?

Sans took a key out of his pocket. "listen up kiddo. you're going to have to trust me on this one, i'm... a very guarded person. i've been through things that i hope i'll never have to relive again. my dad did some nasty stuff, and i'm probably the last and only defense against every mistake he's made, which includes chara. i know things that no other monster knows, things that are too advanced or scary. i guess that's why i became who i am now... a lazy bag of bones. anyways, uh... you should probably LOAD, something is really wrong now."

Frisk shifted her feet and jumped forward as the ground suddenly began to glitch out. What was going on!? Suddenly, a blue glow appeared to envelop her and both she and Sans who had jumped unto Rex were in mid-air while the ground crumbled and disappeared, leaving only a long fall into lava.

"hey kiddo... thanks for trusting me, even when i'm not very honest. there's a code word for time travelers that i have. if you tell me the code word, i'll give you the key to my room. i know you've been really curious about it ever since i locked it. oh and uh... frisk? i uh... dunkle sans is glad that after everything that happened, you're still you and only you. you don't need anyone else but yourself and your determination."

The little girl watched as Sans looked away with a wide blush on his white cheeks, chuckling nervously as he took a deep breath. He wondered if Frisk really wanted to know the truth... could she handle the truth...? All of the truth and nothing but the truth?

*********°*********•*********°*********

Judgement Hall Arc Finale: Judgement Day

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk opened her eyes, looking around Judgement Hall. After so many LOADS, Chara still wasn't showing up. Was she mad at her?

She walked down the hall, her eyes narrowing as she pursed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. Sans. The bells tolled, and the two looked stared at each other. The first time she had used the LOAD feature to return to Judgement Hall, Sans had explained to her what LOVE meant, what EXP and LV truly meant, which was nothing like what Flowey had once told her. She had acquired no LOVE, and no LV, no EXP, and she had gained love. Of course, once she began to say the secret codeword...

"So you finally made it..." Sans' deep and husky voice finally broke the silence, his empty eye sockets staring ahead much like the other times. Frisk still couldn't believe Sans could actually sound serious and so... manly. Taking a deep breath, Frisk put her hands on her hips. "Saaaaans."

"huh? do you have something to say to me?" he asked with that usual lazy tone and grin. Back to the same ol' Sans. Opposite of him, Frisk tapped her foot on the floor as she crossed her arms once more. "Saaaans! I know the codeword now... it's... ...I'm the legendary fartmaster..." Frisk muttered, looking away as her cheeks lit up a bright red.

"what? a codeword? can you speak a little louder?" he winked as he tried to hold back his chuckle.

"...I'm the legendary fartmaster..." Frisk raised her voice, looking at Sans with a slightly annoyed expression. Why did he choose weird code phrases!? It almost felt like Sans was playing a prank on her...

"did you... just say 'i'm the legendary fartmaster'? wow. that's... uh... really childish. why would you think that was a secret secret code word? whoever told you that is a dirty liar." Sans kept his lazy grin on him, although internally he knew he really was a dirty liar with what all the lies and covering up he did. He continued. "i don't have a secret secret code word. however i do have a secret secret triple-secret codeword, which you just said. so, i guess you're qualified. here's the key to my room. it's time... you learned the truth."

Frisk watched as Sans slowly closed his eye sockets, his grin getting just a tad smaller as he stood there with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Huh? What about the key. Just as she was about to explode on Sans about the great length he went to prank her, she heard a jingle as her body moved, and she realized that her empty hand now had her cell phone.

...what? How did...? When did... ? WHAT?

Before she could even ask what the heck was going on, she noticed a new key on the keychain. Huh. "Sans..." she whispered, looking up but realizing he had disappeared. Her journey... it was now or never. But... what if she went back? She was really curious... No! She had to go forward! If she went back... she might... not want to keep going forward. She looked down at her shaking knees and sighed. She was so scared, she was walking straight to death, and she had no battle plan except to try to talk to the king peacefully. But Sans said he believed in her. She couldn't give up!

"so as long as you hold on... so as long as you do what's in your heart... i believe you can do the right thing."

Sans had judged her, and he believed she was still pure of heart, of innocence... of pure tenderness. It was something that Frisk knew she'd carry in her heart and that would push her on this dangerous path. She was going to do her best!

*********°*********•*********°*********

The Mountain Boss Arc

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk steadied her breathing as she slowly crept the gray corridor. She could see familiar gray bricks up ahead, along with gray wines that wrapped around the brick wall. Wow... were the colors really drained? They had to be... but why? She rubbed her eyes to make sure it wasn't her vision, but nope, it was still that gloomy gray.

The Throne Room.

She looked down the hallway, noticing that there was something else ahead, and Frisk hesitated for a moment. Should she go and check it out before she went into the throne room? King Asgore surely had to be there... or maybe the garden was up head?

"Just do it, Flor... ugh, it sounds so weird when I say it. Flor. Flooor-eeence. Blegh." Frisk shook her head, heading down the hallway. Now that she knew her name, what would happen? Would she change it back to her original name? But the name Frisk... she lived with it for an entire year, and everyone knew that name and loved her as such... Frisk. Even if the name Frisk sounds weird, it had a nice ring to it... although so did Florence in a weird-because-its-spanglish sort of way. She couldn't deny her roots either.

Stairs.

Huh... there couldn't be a garden down here, right? Taking a deep breath, the child began to descend down the dimly lit stairs. The air seemed musky and heavy the more she went down. When she reached the room, she immediately regretted her decision. She jumped back, her eyes wide as she stared at several coffins each with colored hearts and plaques. The fallen children.

Inhaling sharply, she slowly got closer to the red hearted coffin. 'Frisk'. Chills rolled up her spine as she stared into the velvety inside of the coffin which looked to have been used. She could see linen wrappings that had dust sparkling dust and a few cob webs. Had a mummy monster maybe been in here...?

Frisk did not want to know or find out. She ran up the stairs as quickly as her little legs could take her, her lungs expanding as she timed her breaths. Her legs burned as she pushed herself and when she had finally reached the corridor that could lead her back to her destiny she came to a halt in front of the looming doorway where faint bird chirps could be heard now.

Was she going to live and get through this, or die and be buried in that ghastly coffin?

*********°*********•*********°*********

The Mountain Boss Arc: The Gentle Giant

*********°*********•*********°*********

"Woah..." Whispered Frisked as she looked around the throne room, her heart calming down with the wave of golden flower scent that filled her body and mind. Everything felt so peaceful, so warm and yet... and yet there was a hidden sadness that seemed to float in the midst of it all.

"Dum de dum..." a strong and deep voice hummed, alarming Frisk of her surroundings. Strong and deep... it sounded so scary and yet... "It's okay, Florence, he's really nice, remember!? He's super nice..." Frisk said to herself as she slowly approached the giant in front of her. He was so tall that Frisk figured he was even taller than her papa... perhaps a good seven feet tall. It was as if Asgore was mountain, so tall and mighty, yet gentle and inviting in the light... "Oh? Is someone there?"

Frisk froze. "Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers!"

Frisk's shoulders became rigid as she gulped, looking up as the figure moved a bit and the sounds of water hitting the flower petals softly echoed in the room along with the singing of the birds. "...Here we are!"

White fur was the first thing Frisk saw along with the long rabbit like ears that immediately reminded her of goat mother, Toriel. Oh no... her battle with Toriel was super scary what if...?

Shaking her head, she immediately thought of the good thoughts and ideas of her goat mother. She was kind and sweet—King Asgore must be the same!

Long horns attached to head swung as locks of golden hair flowed through the sudden breeze, his large eyes keeping to his eye level as he turned. "Howdy! How can I..." He began to say as his eyes lowered down to Frisk's level.

Absolute horror was etched in his eyes; Frisk could see that much. He staggered back while his mouth was left agape, and the small human who was once scared to face him now stood baffled. He was scared of her?

"Oh." was all that he uttered, and soon the silence that had been the throne room erupted with music that Frisk supposed was his. It sounded grand like a king should be, but... it also sounded... sad.

King Asgore turned to his side, trying to quickly think of what to do with the innocent child before him. She had killed no one. She had made many friends among his people. If she had only killed at least one monster... then maybe it'd be so much easier... and yet...

He turned to her once more, smiling nervously as he tried to compose himself. "Think, Asgore! THINK! Come on, she's just staring at you!" his inner self shouted, trying desperately to act or at least speak as the rightful king should.

"... I so badly want to say, 'would you like a cup of tea'" he chuckled softly when no other thought came to mind, his eyes looking down at the child who stared at him with a broken smile. She knew, and he knew what was to become of this fateful meeting, and yet she continued to try to smile... he must do the same! "But... you know how it is." he stated, turning and walking to the right of him as his brain began to process what was to be done now. Gerson had visited him on many occasions just to mentally prepare him for this moment and yet... nothing could ever do so. How could someone prepare to murder an innocent child?

His eyes looked out of the stained windows, trying to calm himself as he turned and looked at the worried child. Was she worried for him? Bless her heart. "Nice day today, huh?" he asked, trying desperately to smile and just as she did, he was able to. "Birds are singing, flowers are blooming... Perfect weather for a game of catch." sighed Asgore as his heavy heart bled for a moment. Asriel. He turned and looked away as to spare the human the agony in his eyes as he took a deep breath to compose himself.

He turned and looked at her, noticing that she wore the same weary and sadden eyes. "...You know what we must do. When you are ready, come into the next room."

As he walked away, the human child took a few steps, her hands shaking with fear as she forced herself to go forth. She wasn't ready... she wasn't ready.

What about everyone? She didn't say a proper goodbye to her beloved skeleton family, or to her friends or... well...

She wanted this. She was never good with goodbyes. And yet... it felt wrong... so very wrong. "It's okay... I'm ready..." she lied to herself as she went into the next room, her eyes darting to King Asgore who looked quite surprised.

"How tense... Just think of it like... A visit to the dentist." King Asgore stated awkwardly, perhaps as a means to make her feel better but it only made Frisk's entire body tremble with fear. It was nothing like going to the dentist! Every time she died and went back to the SAVE points, it was really painful! It was... really bad. She never wanted to go through that again.

...But she had to, huh?

The two walked towards an arch door with roman pillars, until the tall goat came to a halt. Frisk looked down and noticed another SAVE star. This was it. She was going to die many painful deaths, wasn't she? Until either one of them broke their wills... but King Asgore had the upper hand, even if she could do this for an eternity.

She didn't want to do this for an eternity. But all of humanity counted on her.

She had to hold on for as long as she could, until she managed to talk him out of it.

"Are you ready? If you are not, I understand. I am not ready either."

Frisk's eyes widened, staring at him as he went inside the next room with dull eyes and flat lips. He looked so miserable... he didn't want to do this either.

What if she couldn't do it? What if...

...What if she gave up? Monsters were really nice and they deserved their freedom... What if... she never got to see them again...?

*********°*********•*********°*********

Unfinished Business Arc

*********°*********•*********°*********

She took a step forward but stopped when the shaking became unbearable. "I can't do this... I can't... I... I have to say goodbye!" She cried out, hoping that he would hear her as she turned around and ran out of the room, her hands rubbing her now swollen eyes as droplets of water splashed down.

She darted out of the throne room, passing by an animated flower who watched the human sobbed and ran out of the castle.

"Oh?" Flowery asked, wincing as salty water droplet hit his face. So that's what tears tasted like. Well then. Perhaps his side quest might actually happen now...

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk walked the platforms that lead to MTT Resort with her head hanging down low. She ran. Was she a coward now? No... she just needed to say goodbye. That's it. This feeling that something was wrong, that... that she could do just a little more. She had to. She was so determined and yet that same determination lead her here. She needed to finish her unfinished business before she...

She gulped and drew nearer to the shrubs that decorated MTT Resort's exit.

Ring.

Startled, Frisk looked down and realized she had gotten Sans' key... There was that too. "...hello?" she asked timidly.

"Hey!" shouted a familiar voice on the other side. Undyne! "Uh, this is Undyne... Shut up Papyrus, this was YOUR idea!"

Frisk sniffled on the side, a wide smile on her face once more as she heard her friends on the other line. Her heart had slowed down, and she was at ease once more. "HUMAN! You have to deliver something for me! Uh, please? I'm at Snowdin in front of Papyrus' See ya, punk!"

Click.

Taking a deep breath, she skipped her way to RP's boat. She felt overwhelmingly happy to be alive.

Standing tall on their boat, RP turned and watched as the little girl practically ran and jumped inside, causing the boat to sway a little. "To Snowdin, please!" She asked with an excited voice and a grin plastered on her expression. She didn't look to be on the edge of anything... this was good. Turning to the river bank, RP stood adamant to the sudden wind that rushed past them as their boat turned into a wooden dog and ran on the waters. While the little girl looked out into the waters, RP's hoodie lowered as many voices deep inside its void began to ring out softly. "A path is being made." "A new path is forged." "This is good." "I see clear waters." "DETERMINATION is HIGH, good, good. Probability for a new outcome is 99.98%." "I'm so proud of you, Sans..."

Frisk turned to RP, her curiosity etched on her face. "Did you say something, RP?"

"Tra la la. Don't snoop behind people's houses... You might be mistaken for a trash-can."

Frisk laughed. "That's silly, RP!"

The rest of the trip was short and quick, and just as Frisk had jumped inside, she had jumped out of the boat and dashed through the heavy snow without a care in the world while RP could simply watch much like it has done so countless timelines. Not a single monster soul was reaped. Yet... Yet even with the new paths, there was still a possibility. That slim, sliver of a chance that it would reap someone's SOUL. "Who, la la, la la?" Asked River Person, and nothing more.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Huffing, Frisk slowed down and stopped in front of Undyne and Papyrus who both seemed so surprised to see her so flustered. Sure Frisk said she was leaving today but... she wasn't actually going to leave without saying a proper goodbye, was she? She must've been with MK the whole time; she didn't have to rush over here...

Undyne lightly blushed as she realized she had to say it. "Um, so, I have a favor to ask you. Uuuuh, I... I need you to deliver this letter. To Dr. Alphys."

Frisk stared at her, tilting her head. "Oh... okay, but why don't you deliver it?" she asked, noticing that she seemed very nervous for her usual self. She usually was very self-confident and courageous...

"Huh!? Why don't I do it myself... ? ...Um. W-well... I-it's kind of personal, but we're friends... so... I'll t-tell you."

Undyne straightened out her expression, knowing that she undoubtedly looked shy and possibly... cute... as she stammered, but just when she had decided to tell Frisk the truth, she noticed that Papyrus had leaned in with his usual wide eye sockets and grin. Oh brother. Breathing in, Undyne thought of another truth.

"Hotland SUUUUCKS! I don't wanna have to go over there. So here you go."

Frisk looked down at the letter. Huh. Okay, this seems easy.

"Oh and if you read it... I'll KILL you. Thanks so much! You're the best!

Frisk breathed in, walking towards the house when she noticed that Papyrus seemed rather... happy today. Much happier than the regular Pappy happy. "UNDYNE WRITES A LOT OF LETTERS. BUT, SHE CAN NEVER SEEM TO FIND THE RIGHT WORDS. SO WHEN SHE GOES TO DELIVER THEM HERSELF... SHE ALWAYS QUIT SO SHE CAN GO BACK AND REWRITE. THAT'S WHY SHE ASKED YOU! BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO STANDARDS!"

Frisk held her laugh inside as she walked past them towards the snowdin home. She should pack up all of her GOLD and the piece of pie she forgot this morning! By the way King Asgore spoke and acted... he didn't seem like much of a Mettaton Fan. But Papyrus was! So, she should probably leave all the excess food here with him and go buy other foods.

As she opened the fridge, she saw the snowman piece she had put in there. She had almost forgotten about it! Sure, she'd go and explore with it, but with all the rush of going to fight King Asgore, she had forgotten to pack him this morning!

Shaking her head, she placed the snowman piece below the piece of pie. Was there anything else she was forgetting?

The keys.

"Oh yeah... Sans' key isn't the only I haven't used. There's this key too..." Frisk whispered as she looked at the keys on her keychain. She had bought a key earlier this month, and she never found the right door for it. Supposedly it was found at the Dump... maybe Blooky might know? It did look like it fit his house after all—wait a minute! The house right next to his! It was even red like the key! Yes! That was the right house! ALRIGHT! One last adventure!

Time to make things right. Time to Say goodbye. Time for a speed-run!

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk picked out the key that appeared after talking to Sans several times across time.

Click.

The darkness inside the room seemed so vast... taking a step forward, Frisk walking around in total darkness, wondering what the heck was going on. She didn't remember his room being so... big. Just what the heck was Sans hiding?

From outside, Sans looked inside the window and snickered as his blue eye flickered. His blue eye instantly went back to normal and he lowered his head as he saw Papyrus open the door and turn on the lights inside his room.

Frisk blinked, rubbing her eyes as she stopped walking and realized she was on top of an exercising machine. Huh? How did she get on?

"HEY SANS HAVE YOU SEEN MY..." Papyrus asked with narrowed eyes, looking very surprised to see Frisk standing there in the middle of the usually empty room with a machine underneath her. "OH HELLO. YOU AREN'T SANS. WAIT A SECOND... WHY WERE YOU USING A TREADMILL IN THE DARK? IS SANS PRANKING YOU ACROSS TIME AND SPACE? I HATE IT WHEN HE DOES THAT! HOW IMMATURE CAN YOU GET? ALSO, HAVE YOU SEEN MY ACTION FIGURES? WAIT! I KNOW WHERE TO LOOK! IN MY COLLECTION! NYEH HEH HEH! SOMETIMES I'M SUCH A GENIUS. ALL THE TIME."

Closing the door behind him, Frisk got off the treadmill and noticed a note attached. From the window, Sans couldn't stop snickering to himself. Oh man. Sure, Frisk deserved the truth, but man, sneaking a few laughs was always good. All work and no play, it just doesn't add up.

Frisk looked at the attached note. 'the truth is that you got owned, nerd..."

"SANS!" Shouted Frisk with an angry face, crossing her arms as she made her way to the bed and sat down. "...you jerk..." she mumbled with a sniffle, letting out a long sigh as the anger disappeared. "...okay it was a bit funny... But maybe there's another clue in here." She said to herself as she searched the room. From outside, the small skeleton watched as she found the silver key he had left planted on the desk. Would she know?

Sure enough, he silently watched her try her hardest to find what the key opened. Certainly not the locked cabinets, or Papyrus' secret closet stash. No. Try as she might, she could not find the proper door for the silver key. Would she ever? Should he help her?

No. She found it herself.

"It's not the shed either... Hm... Well... RP usually says weird things that come true..." Frisk said to herself, walking to the back of the house and noticing that there was very shiny wooden part of the house. Too shiny. And in the shape of a door. Could it...?

Gulping, Frisk grasped the odd silver key. It was certainly a key... without a shape. It was merely a long rectangle piece of silver with a long oval piece cut out of it. The cut out seemed jagged, almost like the opposite of a key, or an inverted key. It was weird. But it had to be a key, the head of it was like a key. And it was labeled 'key'. So it had to be a key. Weird, but a key.

Frisk looked at the shiny piece of wood and realized it was all metal. Carefully painted metal, down to the very shadows that made it appear so realistic. So... cool. She noticed a small slot that was covered by a movable lid that seemed to be the size of the key. Was this it? Holy flowers, was this really it!? Sans... knew about this cool door?

Slowly, she inserted the key and realized it was a perfect match. A beep. And the door opened by itself.

Stepping inside, Frisk looked around and realized it was... both impressive and boring. Huh. This had to be Sans' secret hobby room. He was always so lazy yet...

Closing her eyes, Frisk grunted as she grasped her head and images of Sans with a blue eye and blue beams hitting her body flashed before her mind. Okay. He was super lazy buuuuut he was also super smart. He had to be. "our reports showed a massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting..."

Shaking her head, Frisk blinked until her mind focused on the real world. She was still here. She was going to make things right. No matter what.

She walked inside and noticed just how clean and... organized everything was. Nothing like Sans' room. Huh.

Inside the first drawer, Frisk noticed a photo album labeled 'Once Upon a Time'. The first image shocked Frisk beyond a reasonable doubt. She fell back and let that photo album fall down. Wow. Well um... that certainly...

"Alright, everyone sits tight! Sans, that includes you!" Gaster spoke with a firm voice as he walked back to the couch and sat beside Arial who laughed as she passed the small skeleton over to Gaster. "GEE-GEE, YOU HOLD HIM! AH, LITTLE PAPYRUS IS KICKING! COME HERE, ROXY!" Of the two dogs that lay down at their feet, the oldest looking one got up and jumped unto the couch and laid its head on her lap as Arial petted her head. Beside her, Gaster held down the little skeleton who seemed too busy wiggling his toes and phalanges. "one, two, four, sixteen, two-huundreed-fifthxy-six, six-five-five-three-siiix..."

"Honestly! Memorizing the square roots without even learning how to count past one-thousand..." Gaster shook her head, his right eye opening and he looked down at his beautiful wife who beamed with pride. "HE'S A GENIUS JUST LIKE THIS FATHER! AND SOON, WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER GENIUS..." She grinned as she looked down at her expanding stomach. It was almost as if she was human again... the skin that had hugged her spine just sudden began to expand itself into a womb to hold the little magical presence that was now Papyrus. Feeling his eyes upon her, Arial turned to Gaster and as the two neared for a kiss, little Sans inevitably got up. "Get dunked ON!" He shouted as loud as he could as he jumped up and landed on the small puppy Rex while the older dog Roxy caught him by his collar so that he would only hover above the puppy.

Flash.

Frisk crawled to the opened photo album, lying on her belly as she read the caption which seemed to be written in two very different handwritings. "Our first picture in the underground. Also happened to be when Sans first began to walk. And said his first full sentence. MUCH LIKE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER. 'GET DUNKED ON!' Which is nothing to be proud of. IT SURE IS. Obviously, he's going to a genius-pranking-magician. OBVIOUSLY."

"A genius-pranking-magician...? Well he's pretty smart... and did prank me across time and space... and I guess his short cuts are sorta like magic..." Frisk conceded, turning the page. "Awww... this is so cute..." Frisk squealed as she saw Sans staring with wide eye sockets at a very tiny and fragile Papyrus. She could see the same motherly person there on the bed with soft looking eyes that looked really happy, but really sad at the same time. While Sans was holding Papyrus, she could see that she was hugging the old dog from the last picture. The next picture seemed to have been taken a few moments later with the focus being Sans and Papyrus but Frisk could see in the background the mommy seemed to be crying. What happened? "Life ends and Life begins. It's a cycle, love. I'LL MISS ROXY, BUT I'M SO HAPPY TO HAVE PAPYRUS."

Oh. Ooooh. Oh.

Flipping the page, Frisk noticed a familiar white flamed person. She was in Chara's memory. She seemed to be teaching Sans while Papyrus seemed to be sleeping beside the white puppy from the first picture. It had to be him... he was wearing the same 'Rex' collar. "I FOUND ANOTHER KODAK MOMENT! THEY LOOK SO PRECIOUS! I'M RUNNING OUT OF PHOTOGRAPHS I'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE, BUT THIS IS SO WORTH IT! MY LITTLE SANS WILL BE JUST LIKE HIS FATHER! IT WILL LOOK GREAT IN MY PHOTO ALBUM!"

Laughing, Frisk looked over to the next image. Chara. And the small goat child... And Sans. They all seemed to be playing in the garden, perhaps tag? Chara was smiling... and Sans seemed to be doing the same as he hid behind the small goat who seemed to be laughing nervously. "SO PRECIOUS! TORY THINKS ASRIEL AND CHARA ARE AN ITEM, BUT OBVIOUSLY, SANS AND CHARA ARE BETTER TOGETHER. JUST LOOK AT THAT CHEMISTRY! IT'S LIKE THEY MADE TO DANCE TOGETHER FOREVER!"

Dance.

Dance.

Dance.

Frisk shook her head, taking a deep breath as he regained her focus once more. Chara's voice seemed to echo inside of her head, emphasizing on dancing with Sans. Now that Frisk thought about it… Chara always seemed to be different around Sans. Hmm… oh well. Anyways… Why did it feel like this photo album was all about Sans? Frisk flipped through the pages, noticing a few more childhood pictures with all the same kodak instant photograph look until they stopped. It suddenly changed. The photographs didn't same the same white frame with white bottom where words were written.

The first odd picture was a picture of Papyrus' red scarf, a wooden dog, a book of puns and what looked like a plate of spaghetti. Words were written down underneath the glued photograph with what looked like Sans' hand writing. "the last plate of mom's spaghetti. papyrus refused to eat it because he thinks she's coming back. i found her red scarf in the dump today. i thought i might find mom's... i'ma bury roxy, it's what she'd want. i guess i'll add all the pictures i took at the lab and finish my photo album for her. no more happy memories to be added."

Frisk silently flipped through the rest of the pictures, noticing that in all of them Sans seemed really happy and surrounded by a lot of people in white lab coats, sorta like Dr. Alphys. The weird thing... she had never met any of them. She had traveled across the underground and met a lot of monsters and sure, she sometimes forgot about them but at least she'd remember their shape, or form. She... had never met any of them.

Closing the photo album, Frisk put back the personal item into its drawer and opened the next one. Inside, she found a lonely badge. 'Sans' it said, and had an image of him smiling, not grinning and wearing... glasses. He looked so... nerdy. And he was wearing a black blouse with a white coat on. A photograph of his upper torso, he looked... dashing in a nerdy sort of way. And he looked not lazy at all! Really clean and... organized... and...

... this is the real Sans.

Frisk closed the door to the drawer, her eyes staring at a blue print that made no sense. "Dunkle Sans... who are you?" Frisk asked herself, opening the next drawer but finding only more blueprints that were written in a weird language. She turned to the big covered up experiment and noticed a lot of cob webs inside, along with regular dust. Old. Ancient. She could see a metal panel that looked broken, definitely broken. This wasn't going to work anytime soon.

Other than that, this room was barren. Still... what she found out, what she saw... It was enough. In all those photographs, Sans looked happy. Genuinely happy. He didn't seem to be grinning up until after his mom passed away, but even then, Frisk could see the difference in his grin. Everything in this room was so... personal. Sure, it wasn't everything she hoped it would be, but it was something that she wasn't expecting either. Maybe it was something she'd learn and come to understand eventually.

After all, learning everything all at once is quite... overwhelming. Self-destructive even.

"This was a good start. Thanks Sans. Thanks for trusting me."

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk turned the key and the door opened. The mysterious red house. Before she could take back the key, it somehow turned into red mist and disappeared... like a ghost. Weird.

Stepping inside, Frisk grinned. She LOVED this room! It reminded her so MUCH of her old room back in the old mansion where she used to live with her family. She liked this color of pink, which was more reddish than pink, by the looks of everything... it was as if it housed a girl. She noticed several notebooks on the floor. Hmm.

'Dear Diary:

Shyren's sister 'fell down' recently. It's sad. Without her sister to speak for her... She's become more reclusive than ever. So I reached out to her and told her... That she, Blooky and I should all perform together sometime. She seemed to like that idea.'

Frisk flipped through the rest of the pages which seemed to be filled with drawings and cut outs of pop stars and glamourous items. Hmm. She walked over to the next notebook.

'Dear Diary:

I like to buy a new diary for every entry I make. I love to collect diaries.'

Frisk closed the notebook, noticing that each one seemed to be decorated differently. They were all very pretty... she herself would have a hard time keeping just one too!

'Dearest Diary:

Our cousin left the farm to become a training dummy. That leaves just blooky and I. Blooky asked me if I was going to try to become corporeal, too. They sounded so... Resigned... Come on Blooky, you know I'd never leave you behind. And besides... I'd never find the kind of body I'm looking for, anyway."

Frisk put down the diary. Cousins... ghosts!? Wait! That pink ghost! That pink ghost they met at the labs on halloween! This is their house...? Why weren't they here? Why were they... missing?

Frisk continued.

'My Darling Diary:

I met someone... Interesting today. Last week I posted that advertisement for my Human Fanclub. Today was our first meeting. Only one other person came. Honestly, she's a dork. And she's obsessed with these awful cartoons. But she's kinda funny, too... I want to see her again.'

"A... dork? Cartoons...? Sounds familiar... OH! That's how Papy and Undyne described Dr. Alphys! W-wait a moment. Dr. Alphys knows Blooky's cousin...? Oh, duuuh Flor, she was in her lab. Hmm."

'Diary... My Dear:

My diary collection is going fabulously. I have like five now.'

Frisk laughed, closing the diary as she admired all the cutouts and rhinestones she had installed. It was certainly something to call fabulous!

'Dear Diary:

She surprised me with something today. Sketches of a body she wants to create for me... A form beyond my wildest fantasies! In a form like that, I could finally feel like... "myself" After all, there's no way I can be a star the way I am now. Sorry, Blooky. My dreams can't wait for anyone...'

BOMBSHELL! It hit Frisk like bricks. Dr. Alphys... her robot... fabulous... glamourous... a star... Blooky being all depressed... it all made sense now.

Oh my god. She almost killed Mettaton... for realsy.

But Mettaton was okay. She did give her candy on halloween after all! Thank goodness. What about Blooky?

Running out the house, Frisk closed the door without locking it and walked to the other house, looking inside the windows first when she noticed a blur of pink.

Inside, Blooky and Metta seemed to be laughing as the house trembled under the bass that was his music. They seemed to be making music. With a smile, Frisk felt better now. She knew more about Mettaton and Dr. Alphys but... but she needed to help Dr. Alphys. Maybe delivering this letter...? Without haste, she made her way towards Gerson's item shop for a quick bite before making her way to Tem village.

*********°*********•*********°*********

"Goodbye Gerson!" Waved Frisk as she ran off with a treat in her hands, turning back to the road ahead as she made her way to Temmie Village. Behind her, the old turtled gave a hearty laugh, his hand pulling on his long beard as he watched the little human run off to her death. Sure, she was charming. Very charming, even he would have a hard time knocking that precious angel dead with his hammer but such was life.

"Is she... really going to... to face him...?"

Hmmmm? Gerson turned to the mysterious river person, but realized something was off. White fur. "River Person, is that you...? Do my old eyes deceive me, lass? You are a lass, your voice sounds like one, but... but, you were neither a lass or laddy, me girl. Who are ya?"

Toriel took a step back, realizing that Gerson had yet to distinguish her voice. It had been many years, after all. "I'm... their long lost cousin. Swamp Girl." Toriel managed to say with a slightly adjusted voice that sounded just a bit deeper than the usual. "Swamp girl, eh? Better not be pullin me kilt! Bwua ha ha, if I still had me kilt! Ayy, please, come inside me shop! I'm Gerson, Gerson the shop keeper o'this fine swamp! Must be new 'round here, wa ha ha! Ayy... please, drink some tea! Tell me about yourself, Swamp Girl."

Toriel watched as Gerson pulled out two tea cups. Oh no. She knew Gerson better. The ol' tea extortion method. He didn't trust her. And his voice and tone... the way he spoke... he had changed because he wanted it to. Gerson, you sly ol' turtle... you haven't changed one bit. "Ah... thank you, kind Gerson, but I must be on my way... la la? I must reach River Person, my cousin... awaits, la la?" Toriel nervously replied, taking a few steps back before the turtle could pour tea. She had to evade his interrogation!

"Hm? Surely you have a few minutes, me girl." Gerson asked, but the mysterious Swamp Girl was too quick. "Thank you very much for the invitation, la la. But I must depart... la la."

Swamp Girl Fled.

Left behind in his shop, Gerson could only sip on his tea. Perhaps it was a dog? No... much too small. Too smart. Then... what? Who? They seemed particularly interested in the human girl, but they meant no harm, he was sure of it. Sometimes, Gerson missed the thrill of being younger and fighting but...

Sitting down, his knees trembled and soft 'crack' noises rumbled. "Too old to fight and move like I used to, but too young to sit here and wait... aye, why couldn't my children age just a bit more..."

With a long heavy sigh, Gerson closed his eyes. Perhaps it wasn't that his children hadn't aged enough. Perhaps it was all because of how powerful he had been, and how strong his fighting spirit was. Every time Undyne comes long, he swells up in pride. It's almost as if he could see himself in her, see ol' Ulfer in her.

Those were the days. And yet...

Breathing in, Gerson took an old book and opened it, smiling as he began to read. He had never learned the joy of reading for pleasure until he was in his elder stage. Ol' Roman was never particularly interested in reading or studying, but his spouse was, and therefore every now and then he'd dabble in. "IT'S SO BORING! And yet... it's so relaxing! You know, Horatia and I found an ancient drawing and scripts the other day, and I must say, it's very, very interesting! Ancient monsters in the East were once GODS. They were worshipped and had amazing tales and epic poems written in their honor, or glory, or... horror. They lived alongside humans until... well... they disappeared, or died, killed by humans. Anyways, the drawing we found was of an ANGEL! And it had a story with it, the Angel is prophesized to..."

Gerson looked up and took a sip of his tea. "The Angel... I wonder what treasure trove of mystery and truth you uncovered that day, ol' laddy. We never got to find out the rest of your finding, eh?"

General Gerson, Commander of the Monster Army and elite Royal Guard Captain, was humbled down to a simple shop keeper who enjoyed learning new things in his old stage as an elder. This was his new job. It couldn't be compared to a life of thrills, fighting, adventure, and honor, but certainly there was a new found honor in discovery.

If he ever reached the surface... His wise mind and experience could unravel certain mysteries that younger, fresher minds might not.

After all...

Frisk had certainly restored his faith in humanity.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk laughed, waving at all the small temmies of temmie village as she went inside their shop. "hOI!" Temmie greeted, watching as Frisk took out a lump sum of gold. It was on her bucket list... she remembered she had come here once and that temmie told her she was trying to go to college. She was so cute... now that she had so much gold stashed away, Frisk felt that she couldn't use all of it up before the day ended and she... well... did her thing. And well... temmie needed the money, so why not?

"I have the money so you can go to college." Frisk stated with a smile as she pushed a heavy sum across the counter, noticing that Temmie seemed shocked. "WOA!"

Frisk laughed. "thas ALOT o muns... can tem realy acepts..." she asked nervously, but Frisk could only nod. "Yes! Please use it, it's too much money I've been saving up, and well, I just wanna help people before I leave. If my saved up money can help you, then let it!" Frisk happily replied.

"OKs! tem go to colleg and make u prouds!"

Frisk smiled as Temmie walked away, and so the little girl closed her bag and had begun to walk away when suddenly Temmie returned with a graduation hat on her head.

"tem bak from cool leg. tem learn MANY THINs. learn to sell new ITEM! yayA!"

Frisk chuckled, noticing that Temmie had put down a shiny armor. Woah. It... sorta looked her size. Walking back, Frisk noticed the price tag but also noticed that the armor was of supurb quality. It'd be really hard to get hurt... this was just what she needed. I guess it was a good thing she sent Temmie to college...?

"I'll buy it! Here, take my money!" Frisk quickly started taking out pieces of gold, noticing that Temmie looked just as equally shocked to see Frisk so loaded with muns. She had stayed here for an entire year. Sans also gave her a 'cut' of sales from her concerts and she also had received a donation from MTT resort for her concert with Mettaton. Frisk had never really paid any attention to how much gold she was saving up, but she knew one day it would come in handy, and thank goodness! Sure, she spent a lot at Tem's shop, but it was worth it!

"tem armor so GOOds! any batttle becom! a EASY victories! but, hnn, tem think... if u use armors, battles woudn b a challenge anymores."

Frisk nodded, her eyes meeting Temmies for a moment. "...battling King Asgore might be really hard, you know?" Silently, Tem could only nod back as the little child took the armor into her hands and walked away.

...how do you even put this on?

Oh. Undyne should know. She wears armor.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Gerson sipped on his tea, savoring its flavor as the grunts of the child grew nearer. "Hey youngster, you seem to be struggling with that armor."

Frisk looked up with a nod, the armor falling out of her hands along with a wet letter. Dried tears seemed to be framing her cheeks, so... she had been crying, eh? "Well what seems to be the matter? Here, nothing ol' Gerson can handle. Maybe you'd like to sit and drink some tea before you go meddling in fights, eh?"

Frisk watched as the old Turtle easily picked up the armor and the wet envelope. Well... tea sounded good. It would certainly calm her down... and dry off her clothes too.

"Thank you, Gerson. I kinda fell down into the swamp water with everything and... and ruined the letter I was supposed to deliver." Frisk explained as she took off her sweater and shivered; her exposed arms felt the chilly cave air. Her old tank top was also wet... and her pants were drenched... "I have a lot of things to do before the day ends. Before the day ends, I have to meet up with King Fluffybuns again and we'll... I just have to finish my goodbyes and help as much as I can before I leave. I'm not going to run away, or stay here while all the hope of the world rests on me. I have to give it my all!" She sniffled with determined eyes.

Gerson slowly walked over to behind the counter and opened an old trunk. "Ah, the ol' swamp waters got the best of ye, eh? Ayye, I haven't heard such determination and honor in centuries, my, such fierce, fiery eyes like the scorchin' o'da sun as it sets 'ver horizon!"

"Huh?"

Gerson looked up, scratching his head. "Oh, sorry kid, I, I forget. See, an old turtle like me has lived a very, very long time. I get ta' speakin differently 'round new folks such as yourself, but honestly this is how this ol' geezer talks, kiddo, accent an'all. Ehem. But, I suppose you wouldn't understand me very well if I just spoke like that out of the blue, correct? Here. Try this t-shirt. I'll dry ya clothes."

Frisk blushed and nodded, taking the super large flowery t-shirt. It was HUGE. It smelled old, and like it hadn't been worn in a lot of years. "This isn't your shirt, right?" asked Frisk as she changed and the old turtled continued to rummage through his old trunk. "Of course not! Why, it belongs ta' ol' king fluffybuns." he chuckled, looking at all the mementos of his previous trainees. Arial's training shield, Asgore's training helmet, Undyne's water towel, Asriel's training swords and...

"Say child... do you intend to wear that armor?" he asked, staring at Chara's sewing kit which he had confiscated from her the day she meant to sew up a training injury. That child never wore any sort of amor... she was all about offense. No mercy. The trainee who had soaked up his lessons but did nothing for defense. She took a bittersweet pride in her scars in a frightening sort of way unlike Undyne.

"Y-yes! I... I don't want to fight, but I don't want to get seriously hurt either... so..."

Looking up, the old turtle laughed when he saw the tee fit like a long pijama that reached her ankles and bared one shoulder. "Well... I haven't seen an armor this good since one of the ol' tommies forged one many years ago. The tommies used to be good blacksmiths back in their heyday, forging many suits of armor that the great monster elite would wear. Ever since coming down into the underground, the tommies have... well, no tommies but we have temmies and they have become rather special. A long time ago, The tommies were like temmies, and they'd have black fur. Fearsome warriors and blacksmiths... then there were the temmies, and somehow... well, now we have only temmies. Anyways, the history of the tommies and the temmies is best left for another time, child. Let's see... this ol' hammer should get most of the water out. Please stand back dear."

Frisk's eyes widened as the old turtle straightened out his back and grasped the big heavy hammer with one arm. Holy mackerel! How could he lift something so heavy!?

"If I were younger, it'd probably take one good swing to make all this laundry dry, but maybe another swing should do it. Alrighty... Heaveeeee... HO!"

Frisk fell back at the sheer amount of power behind his swing, her mouth left agape as the turtle swung his hammer in the direction of the clothes that were hanging on a rock meant to hold things. Probably his cane. She saw the way the clothes moved and trembled, and the water seemed to rain down on the ground as though it had been a mere air dryer. She turned to the old turtle who seemed to be inspecting the clothes. "Ngh... too gentle on the laundry, eh? Fine, three more swings should do it! Don't want'ta make holes on it."

"Woah... you're super strong!" Frisk exclaimed, watching as the turtle gave another swing, followed by another, and another. She could see that he had not broken into a sweat at all... wow. He could probably fight King Asgore and win... he looked so super strong, even though he looked so frail...

"Why of course child! Back in the old days, I used to be general of the... w-well I used to be captain of the royal guard once upon a time. Way before Undyne, waaaay back before you were probably born."

The child's eyes glimmered. "Tell me more!"

Gerson's eyes widened for a moment, a gentle smile forming as he slowly walked back to the back of the counter. "A scholar, aren't we? It warms my ol' heart to know that young'ins still crave to know about the times when I used to be your size. Well, back when I was just a wee-lil'soft shell, King Hector and her majesty, Queen Casmore were just about my age and had their engagement party at the palace. Their promise as King and Queen were to unravel the mysteries! Back in those days, a lot of the world was still unknown. Well. The eastern half of the world was unknown, but stories of great heroes and villains could drift over to our continent. Ayee, I was bedazzled by the stories! Fearsome monsters with several heads! Monsters whose snake hair could petrify! Ayee, all these stories had one thing in common: a hero! A mortal hero or a monster hero! Aye... we didn't understand why these monsters were... mean or evil, or what-have-ya, but they were myths, stories told by humans and monsters that traveled from the eastern side of the world. Myths. Legends. These stories had supposedly passed maaaaaany years ago, EONS even! But later on, King Hector and his friend, Dr. Caswell were determined to find the root of it all. After all... rumors and stories about monsters being powerful gods, some evil, were bad news for our kingdom. Don't get me wrong, The Bergentrückung Kingdom was full of nice monsters. Crime seemed non-existent. Yet... yet there were many a few monsters who gave us a bad reputation. But that's why we had the royal guard! They'd guard the kingdom and the king from all harm, but above all, they were the guardians of our kingdom. They'd stop all crime! And that's why I decided to join the guard. Training was tough! But I was set on becoming the captain! In the Royal Academy, I met Ulfer, a strong merman who would later on become co-captain with me. We eventually met King Hector, and boy, was he one HECK of a goat! Golden hair, blue eyes, wooo-weee, he was one dashing goat. His fighting was just as fair as his eyes; I tell ya. We were the dream team, solving problems that would arise, and taking care of monsters and humans who would seek shelter in the mountainous area. I became captain of the royal guard one day when I beat Ulfer to saving King Hector from..."

Frisk stared at the old turtle with interest in her eyes, nodding slowly as though to tell him to go on but the turtle hesitated. There was a lot he wished to keep from the child. This was one of things. "...from a bad, bad monster. W-well, mostly all monsters, if not, all monsters, are good, but... uh... well, at the time, there was a... a sickness, going around. A really nasty sickness. It would affect monsters in a bad way that uh... drove them just a little crazy. Maybe really crazy. Anyways, this monster was awful, and it ambushed us as we escorted King Hector. My shell proved impregnable to attacks, and so, I saved the king using my shell, then used my hammer of justice to... to gently knock out the monster."

Frisk looked slightly scared, but she seemed to have bought his edited story. What a relief. If this child knew half the things Gerson had done in his past... well... he doubted it'd make a difference. She was no fighter; he could see it in her eyes. Pure, innocent eyes. In their earlier meetings, those eyes of hers were ambiguous, sheltering some sort of evil inside of them but now he could see them clearly for some reason. He could see a surreal amount of pain, but... but she looked strong.

Turning around, the turtle walked to the front of his shop and stood there with his arms cross. "Get dressed, child. The day's not getting any younger. I'll help you adjust that armor, I'm sure I can do it better than Undyne, wa ha ha!"

As the child got dressed, Gerson looked down at his green turtle paws. What was he about to do? Was he truly going to help the human?

Damnit! Tarnation! She got to him too.

Letting out a long sigh, he shook his head. "A strong defense will shield her from harm for as long as it holds. It will not guarantee her safety... I have taught Asgore too well. Perhaps not well enough to finish her off in a few hits. If only I could save her the agony of it. One strong hit from my hammer, painless. But this child has chosen to defend while continuing onward with her head held high. It is an honorable path she has chosen... I will honor her with my best."

Once she had finished dressing, the old turtle silently dressed her with the shining armor that one of the tommies had forged many eons ago. An armor meant for a ghoul. It was clear as day, those initials that had been scratched on the back of the breastplate. T.N.R. Times New Roman. Undoubtedly, it had to be the armor he had commissioned before the war, the one he never got to wear. This work of art was nowhere near finished of course, and by the looks of it, the temmies had this thing stowed away for learning purposes. He could see scratches and stains as though they were trying to figure out the formula for its creation. Probably gave up and decided to sell it to the kid who was full of gold.

"Thank you, Gerson. I feel so much safer now..."

The old turtled silently nodded, but before she could take a step he silently stopped her with his hand. "Please wait a moment."

The child watched as the turtle silently removed a large piece of scale off its shell, his old gaze looking at her hand. "The armor on my shell is the best of the best. Don't worry about me, my shell continues to make scales, even at my old age and this one was fixin' to fall. Let me tinker with my trainee's old shield strap, it won't take more than five minutes."

Frisk drank her sea tea while Gerson seemed to be behind the counter, and all she could hear was the sound of metal and his hammer hitting something. Was he a blacksmith too? She could see sparks fly, but she dared not peek.

"And it's finished. As for your watered letter, I suggest you request a new letter. Wear this turtle shield with pride, my little soft skinned human. Should an attack aim for your head or upper body, simply bring your arm up, like this. It should hold out against almost anything."

Frisk stared as Gerson tied the straps around her right arm so that it was well adjusted much like her armor. She felt really safe now. The scale was about the size of her forearm in length and width, but it was super light. It would shield her face and neck just nicely.

Silently, the turtle waved off the girl who ran down towards the river bank, back to her original mission. "If only my sons had accepted my gift to them just like this girl. It's hard to root against you, Frisk."

*********°*********•*********°*********

"What? You LOST the letter!?" Undyne busted out, but she didn't seem mad at all. Frisk stared at her as she continued. "What the HECK!? How!? Why!?"

Calmly, Frisk explained. "I was in Waterfalls, and I had just left temmie village with my new armor in my arms and, well, its heavy when it's in your arms so I sorta fell into the water and... it got all watery. The ink got all goopy."

Undyne sighed and closed her eyes, but felt a surge of relief. At the same time, she was wondering WHERE in the HECK she got that awesome armor, though it looked unfinished. Still. BIGGER MATTERS!

"Ughhh... This is unbelievable. I should be really disappointed in you. But, uh, to tell you the truth, I'm kind of relieved!"

Frisk smiled when she noticed the blush and a smile creep up on Undyne's expression. SUCCESS!?

"While you were gone, I actually wrote a WAY BETTER letter! And this time, you WONT lose it! I guarantee it!"

And just like that, that little bundle of armor ran off once more. "IS THAT ARMOR SHE WAS WEARING?" Papyrus asked as he passed Undyne a hot cup of cocoa. "Yeah! That little squirt must've bought it or someone made it for her. She must have a lot of cool friends other than us, huh?"

Papyrus grinned. "NOT AS COOL AS I, THE GRRRREEEAT PAPYRUS!"

*********°*********•*********°*********

Waiting on the river bank, River Person chuckled. "Tra la la, so filled with life~ La, di, la, you bring me life~ La, bi, da, sailing to now...?~"

Frisk shivered a bit as she balanced herself in the slightly rocking boat. "TO HOTLAND! Please and thank you, River Person." She smiled with red cheeks. A child wearing a breast place, a buckler, striped sweater, jean capris and an old tutu with old ballerina shoes that seemed to have been fixed several times... Indeed, River Person never thought they'd see the day. Such an odd child, but definitely the hope of all humanity and monstrosity.

"Tra la la. Humans, monsters... Flowers."

Frisk grasped the purple flower on her ear, adjusting it as she blushed and looked down at her turtle shell buckler. Everyone's hopes were riding on her, and she will gladly accept any help that would help her attain everyone's dreams and hopes. If his shell could help her live a little longer... maybe, just maybe, she could find a way with that precious time to make things right. Every second counted, and this armor may have just given her a lot of precious time to figure out her game plan. Thinking about keeping her spirit up, the rest of the boat ride passed by quickly and she had arrived to Hotland in no time.

"Thank you!" Frisk shouted as she jumped out of the boat and ran up the hill towards the laboratories. River Person could only watch from afar, the scent of the purple flower trailing behind. From inside the hoodie of River Person, a familiar skeleton clung to the scent. What a relaxing and soothing smell! She hoped her flower's calming and soothing scent could help the little girl. Perhaps, they already did? Settling her fears, filling her with hope…

The girl came to a stop and she SAVED when she saw the SAVE point. What was in this letter anyways...? Hmm. Undyne said not to read it. It was best to deliver it. It was from Undyne, after all... maybe it would motivate Dr. Alphys? Make her smile?

Puffing out her chest, Frisk walked to the doors of the lab but noticed there wasn't a mailbox or a slot. Well... maybe if she pushed it through the slit on the bottom of the door? Was there even...?

Inspecting the door, Frisk grinned when she realized the door did indeed have enough space for the evelope. Thank goodness!

Slipping the envelope underneath the door, Frisk knocked on the door and felt a relief on her shoulders. Her last mission... done. And now...

And now...

...now...

She gulped. Was she ready? What about Dr. Alphys?

Frisk turned around and was about to start walking back towards the castle when she heard that familiar voice from behind the door.

"O-oh n-no, is that another letter...? I don't want to open it... C-can't I just slide it back out...?"

Frisk turned around once more, looking at the door with confusion. This wasn't the first time she got a letter... and she seemed nervous...? Maybe if she just explained...?

"N... no... I can't keep doing this. I'll read this one."

Success! She was going to read the letter! Good job, Flor! Should she stand here...? Should she get going...?

"Um... I-it's shut k-kind of strongly, isn't it? Wait a second..."

Frisk perked up but was startled when she heard a loud machine behind the door. What the HECK? Maybe she should stay around a bit longer.

After a while, Frisk saw the door open, and Dr. Alphys came out with sad eyes that looked down to the ground. "Hey, if this is a joke, it's..."

Frisk tilted her head, confused as to why it would be a joke. What did she mean? What was on the letter?

"Oh my god." Dr. Alphys smiled nervously, staring at the child as she began to blush. "Did YOU write this letter? It wasn't signed, so I had no idea who could have... Oh my god. Oh no."

Frisk took a step back, blushing with confusion as to what was happening. What the HECK was happening? What did Undyne write...?

"That's adorable..." Dr. Alphys cooed with a blush, which in turn made Frisk blush all the harder. Huh?!

"And I h-had no idea you, um, wrote that way! It's surprising too... After all the gross stuff I did... I don't really deserve to be forgiven. Much less... um... This? And so passionately too."

Frisk could feel her burning cheeks slowly burn a bit less, but she was super confused. She wanted to tell Dr. Alphys that she forgave them, but as soon as the word 'passionately' rolled off her tongue, Frisk's tongue was once more tied. Huh...? What in the world did Undyne write...?

"You know what, okay! I'll do it! It's the least I can do to make it up to you! Y-yeah! Let's go on a date!"

Let's go on a date!

Go on a date!

On a date!

A Date

Date.

... A date!?

Frisk shook her head, looking around as she felt herself in another date with a monster... except... she actually didn't flirt with her... and... never asked... and... a date?

Wait a darn minute! Undyne! She wanted to go on a date with Dr. Alphys!?

Frisk gulped, looking around but Dr. Alphys had gone back inside to get ready for the date. Frisk had no idea how long she had been waiting, probably because she was still trying to comprehend what the heck just happened. The words just... echoed in her mind. She was on a date again... but it wasn't monster kid. She told herself the next monster she'd date was monster kid, but... apparently not. Welp... might as well. Dr. Alphys did look a lot more exited and lively, after all. Maybe this boosted her confidence? This was good although... would Undyne kill her...?

...Frisk didn't want to think about it.

"Uhhh... sorry! I'm still getting dressed!" Frisk could hear from inside the labs. Oh boy. A date with Dr. Alphys who Undyne was trying to Date... exciting! Just how would Undyne respond to this...?

Frisk blushed once more when she saw Dr. Alphys run out of the lab with a black polka dotted dress. She was so nervous! But... so cute! It was hard for Frisk to not blush at all! "So... cute..." she whispered as her hands slapped her cheeks gently with shock. Wow!

Dr. Alphys could feel the sweat roll down her face. "H-how do I look?" she asked, gulping afterward. "My friend helped me pick out this dress. She's got a great sense of... Um, anyway! Let's do this thing!"

Frisk grinned. "Okay! Dating... Start!" Frisk exclaimed as she jumped up but stopped the moment Dr. Alphys shook her head and covered her head. "H-h-hey w-w-wait! Actually, we still can't start the date yet!"

Frisk gulped. "Dating... stop?" she asked nervously, not knowing what to say at this point. Dr. Alphys fumbled with her thumbs nervously, her heart beat racing as she recalled steps to dating as per the dating simulators in the videogames she played. "Um, I've gotta give you items to raise your affection statistic, first! That'll increase the chance of a successful outcome to a date. Right...?"

Frisk's blush has disappeared by now, and silently the little girl shrugged with confusion still very deep in her eyes. What in the heck was she talking about?

Dr. Alphys could see that Frisk seemed lost. Hm. Maybe she didn't know how to properly date someone...? "Anyway, d-don't worry! I'm prepared! I-I've been stockpiling gifts in anticipation for a date like this! F-first I got... some metal armor polish!"

Frisk smiled, and looked down at her armor but realized... it was shining so brightly. It was super polished!

"Um, maybe you can't use that. But! I also bought some waterproof cream for your scales! Your uh... scales..."

Frisk's smile slowly began to creep back, and her blush also began to appear. Oh my GOD. Another BOMBSHELL! Dr. Alphys likes Undyne back!

"Uh, well, how about... This magical spear repair kit, that I... Um..."

By now, Frisk stared at Dr. Alphys with a sly smile and eyes, her eyebrows rising in a funny sort of way. Oh no! Frisk was going to find out about her crush if she kept giving away hints like that! She needed to change the subject quick! "Hey, let's forget about the items! Let's just start the date!"

Frisk breathed in, rubbing her hands together before clapping. "Dating! Start!" She exclaimed with a laugh rolling in at the end. "Yeah! Let's, uh, date!"

Frisk grinned staring at Dr. Alphys who stared back. And stared.

And Stared.

And Stared.

"Uh..."

Frisk gulped. She really didn't think about it this far into the date. What was she going to say? Do? She couldn't really flirt with Dr. Alphys... she didn't know her that well and it was hard to think of things she might like...?

"Do you... like... Anime...?" she asked nervously. Frisk snapped out of her thought bubble. Anime...? Oh. The cartoons right? "Yeah." Frisk nodded.

Dr. Alphys blushed as she perked up. "H-hey! Me too!"

Frisk smiled, but just like that, it became awkward again. Oh no! Quickly, Flor! Think of conversation starters! Breathing in, Frisk was about to say something when Dr. Alphys interrupted her.

"Hey! Let's! Go somewhere! But where's a good place to go on a date...?"

Frisk let out the air she had breathed in so deeply, her mind going blank. A dating spot? DUH! Waterfall, with all the echo flowers! She and monster kid went there all the time and he looked so cute...

"I've got it! Let's go to the garbage dump!"

EH?

Frisk blinked, but before she could say her mind, Dr. Alphys had already begun to walk. Hmm... well if this place made Dr. Alphys feel more confident... Might as well. It's not like she was actually dating her for real-sies. Silently, Frisk followed Dr. Alphys.

*********°*********•*********°*********

The day passed on slowly, but thankfully, Dr. Alphys wasn't too slow. Frisk could see it was still quite early today. She had enough time to finish this mission today... whatever her mission was now.

"Here we are! This is where Undyne and I come all the time... We find all sorts of great stuff here. Heh, she's really... uh..."

Frisk blushed with a sly smile, giggling to herself when suddenly the soft silence turned into magical music. Music that sounded... dangerous.

"Oh no. That's her over there. I c-can't let her see me on a date with you!" Dr. Alphys panicked, sweat once more dripping down her forehead.

Oh? Frisk smiled and narrowed her eyes a little, her eyebrows once more bouncing. "Why's that, Dr. Alphys~?" She asked almost as though she were singing, her eyes fluttering while the good Dr. Alphys could only continue to panic.

"Why...? Because... uh... well... Oh no, here she comes!"

Frisk giggled as Dr. Alphys hid behind a large trashcan that had been behind her. Conveniently large enough to hide her! Oh boy! What should Frisk do...?

"Hey! There you are!" Undyne shouted, walking over to her as she moved her head so that the bangs over her eyepatch could move just a little over to the left. "I, uh, realized if you deliver that thing... It might be a bad idea. So I'm going to do it! Give it to me!"

Frisk took a step back, sweat slowly rolling down her forehead now. Oh boy... what a change of direction this turned out to be. What was she supposed to tell Undyne? She looked sorta scary, with what, looking angry and frustrated and nervous all at the same time.

"I don't have it..." Frisk simply replied timidly.

Undyne straightened out her back, looking quite shocked. "Huh!? You don't have it!?Ngggaaahhh!" she growled and screamed into the sky, letting out her frustration for a moment before composing herself. Were the monster gods really set on making this harder than it had to be... than what she made it to be...!?

"Have you at least seen her!?"

Frisk looked at the trashcan. She had come between the two lovers... she had to reunite them! "Yeah, I've seen her." Frisk truthfully replied.

"So she's somewhere around here... Thanks I'll keep looking." Undyne replied in a hurried tone, scurrying off in search of her without paying mind to the way Frisk tried to silently stop her.

Standing quite overlooked, Frisk could only sigh.

"Oh my god. W... Well, I guess it's obvious, huh? I... uh... really like her. I mean, more than I like other people! I'm sorry. I j-just figured, y-you know... It'd be f-fun to go on, a cute, kind of... Pretend date with you? T-to make you feel better?"

Frisk stared at Dr. Alphys, feeling slight... weird. This was a pretend date? OH MY GOD. THE FEELING WAS MUTUAL! So it wasn't just Frisk who felt awkward and weird because they didn't like them, like them. Smiling with a huge relief on her shoulders, Frisk laughed, but Dr. Alphys continued, thinking that her laughter was actually her trying to downplay her sadness.

"Well, it sounds even worse when I put it like that. I'm sorry. I messed up again. Undyne's the person I... um... really want to go on a date with. But I mean... She's way out of my league. N-not that you aren't, um, cool! B-but... Undyne..."

Frisk blushed but felt a slight bit insulted at the same time. Frisk was really cool! Right!? Her 'um' really made Frisk wonder if maybe she wasn't as cool as Papyrus.

"She's so confident... And strong... And funny... And I'm just a nobody. A fraud. I'm the royal scientist, but... All I've ever done is hurt people. I've told her so many lies, she thinks I'm... She thinks I'm a lot cooler than I actually am. If she gets close to me, she'll... She'll find out the truth about me."

Woah. "This... feels really heavy..." Frisk thought to herself, realizing she had a decision to make. "Dr. Alphys... you have to tell her the truth..." Frisk urged her, her eyes sparkling with hope. Her momma had always told her that the truth was the best option! Even if it had consequences, her mind would be at ease. Dr. Alphys looked so nervous, so scared, and down all the time, she needed one less thing to worry about.

"The truth...? But if I tell her that, she'll hate me. Isn't it better this way? To live a lie where both people are happy... Or a truth were neither of us are? They say 'be yourself', but I don't really like who 'myself' is. I'd rather just be whatever makes people like me. Eheheh..."

Frisk shook her head gently, offering a tender smile. "No Dr. Alphys... you should be yourself, just like I'm myself now. Sure, not everyone likes me at first, but... people will learn to accept you for who you are. You shouldn't give up!"

Dr. Alphys looked down. "No, you're right. Every day I'm scared. Scared what will happen if people learned the truth on their own. They'll all get hurt because of me... But how can I tell UNDYNE the tr... truth? I d-don't have the confidence... I'm going to mess it up. How can I practice!?"

Frisk stared at Dr. Alphys, a sly smile once more appearing on her face. "Let's role play it!"

Dr. Alphys blush a bit, looking a bit surprised. "R... roleplay? ...That actually sounds kinda fun! OK, which one of us will be Undyne?" she asked, to which Frisk simply replied that she would be undyne. "Oh. Right. Obviously. Ehehe. Ehem. H-hi Undyne... H-how are you today?"

Frisk grinned much like Undyne could would. "YOu're Cute!"

Surprised, Dr. Alphys stammered. "Th... thanks! You say that to me a lot, and I never know what to say! But I know you just, mean it platonically, because we're just friends! Eheheh!"

Frisk slowly got closer, her eyebrows once more bouncing as she smiled that sly smile. Oh, she knew where this was going. Dr. Alphys was getting nervous, but this was good. She was bound to pick up on it!

"Uhhh so I'd like to, um, talk to you about something."

Frisk grinned. "THEN SHe Kisses YOu." Frisk stated in a slight sultry type of tone that only a flirtatious girl could pull off. It was what Dr. Alphys knew as, the teasing tone.

"WH-WHAT!? UNDYNE WOULD NEVER, UH..." Dr. Alphys exclaimed as loudly as he had ever done, but immediately she picked up on it. Frisk stared at her until she could see that nervous dinosaur like monster ease up. "I kiss her back... S... softly... I... l-look gently into her eyes... I START HOLLERING!"

Frisk took a few steps back, started by how loud Dr. Alphys was getting. Oh my goodness. Maybe her plan was backfiring?

"UNDYNE! I LOVE YOU! UNDYNE! KISS ME AGAIN. UNDYNE!"

Frisk turned to the left, noticing that Undyne was rushing over with shock bulging out of her eye. Oh no! "Dr. Alphyyyssss" hissed Frisk in a whisper but she only kept screaming.

"WHAT did you just say?" Undyne's voice broke Alphys' focus, thereby causing her to fall back in utter shock and humiliation. "U... Undyne! I... was... just..."

A smile appeared on Undyne's expression, and Frisk felt more at ease. "Hey, woah, wait a second! Your outfit's really cute! What's the occasion?"

Frisk grinned looking at Undyne with a blush. TIME FOR THE REVEAL! Taking a deep breath, Frisk was ready speak when Undyne herself jumped to conclusions. Blushing... cuteness... it could only mean one thing.

"Are you two... On a date?" asked Undyne, trying to keep a straight face but inside she could feel her heart start crumble. Dr. Alphys... and the human...? WHAT THE HECK DID DO TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!? SINCE WHEN!?

"UHHH YES!" Squealed Dr. Alphys with a loud voice, her eyes looking just as shocked as Undyne's. "I mean, UHHH NO! I mean, we were, but, I mean, actually we were only romantically roleplaying as you!"

Frisk could feel Undyne's eyes on her, and BOY was that very unnerving. Frisk could only stand in place, not knowing if spears would fly any moment now. Thankfully, Dr. Alphys finally explained herself in a somewhat very long explanation that Frisk wished would've been shorter.

"WHAT?" boomed Undyne's voice, looking at the two with confusion.

Dr. Alphys's forehead produced even more sweat. "I MEAN!" she yelped, but her eyes caught a glance of Frisk who shook her head and seemed to be begging for her to stop it with her eyes. Taking a quick breath, Dr. Alphys looked down. "I mean... Undyne... I... I've been lying to you!"

Frisk's eyes quickly rolled over to Undyne who seemed shocked now. "WHAT? ABOUT WHAT?" she boomed, but seemed concerned instead of displeased. All that Frisk could do now was just watch... it was like a novela now.

"About... well... Everything! I told you that seaweed was like... scientifically important... Really I just... I just use it to make ice cream! And those human history books I keep reading... Those are just dorky comic books! And the history movies... those... Those are just, uh, anime! They aren't real! And that time I told you I was busy with work on the phone... I... Was just eating frozen yogurt in my pijamas! That time I..."

Frisk held her hands together, watching as Dr. Alphys slowly inched closer to Undyne. Was it going to happen? Frisk could only hope.

"Alphys." Undyne simply said, stopping Dr. Alphys' long rant. The peachy monster looked up with sparkling eyes that were a sea of nervousness and just as soon as they caught a glimpse of Undyne, she looked down. "I... I just wanted to impress you! I just wanted you to think I was smart and cool. That I wasn't some... nerdy loser."

Frisk gasped, watching as Dr. Alphys blushed and held in her tears. "Alphys." Undyne once again, almost as if she were still trying to process all that had been said. "Undyne, I... I really think you're neat, OK..."

Undyne quickly knelt down and embraced Alphys when the first tear fell down. "Alphys. Shhh. Shhhhhh." Her hand gently rubbed the back of her back, but at the same time... ALPHYS! Her fierce eye looked up and she noticed Papyrus standing there, also trying to comprehend everything that was happening. Giving him a wink, Undyne picked up Dr. Alphys and looked at the trashcan.

Papyrus looked at the trash can, then looked at the basketball hoop he had picked up earlier. OH! Another round of shooting hoops, it seems! Earlier while searching for Dr. Alphys, they had been playing around with this hoop he had found, and were making shots into different kinds of trash... a trashcan this time? NO PROBLEM FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS! He timed his reaction to Undyne's muscle flexes, and thus he opened the trashcan's lid and positioned the hoop in place. DON'T MISS!

Frisk had been watching the two lovers, and she could 'aww'. Just like the novelas her mother used to watch. But certainly, what happened next was something Frisk did not see coming at all. Undyne, with all her enormous strength, had picked up Dr. Alphys and... thrown her!? OH MY GOD! INTO THE TRASH! AND WHERE DID THAT BASKETBALL HOOP COME FROM!?

"...Undyne...?" Frisk whispered, hearing her heroic music erupt.

"Alphys! I... think you're neat, too, I guess. But you've gotta realize... Most of what you said really doesn't matter to me! I don't care if you're watching kid cartoons or reading history books. To me, ALL of that stuff if just NERDY CRAP! What I like about you is that you're PASSIONATE! You're ANALYTICAL! It doesn't matter what it is! YOU CARE ABOUT IT! 100-PERCENT! AT MAXIMUM POWER! ... so you don't have to lie to me. I don't want you to have to lie to anyone anymore. Alphys... I want to help you become happy with who you are! And I know just the training you need to do that!"

Frisk could feel herself moved by Undyne's speech although... throwing Dr. Alphys seemed a little excessive. Unbeknown to Frisk, Papyrus was also moved by the speech was already crying tears of happiness silently.

"Undyne..." Spoke Dr. Alphys as she moved the lid and looked outside. "You...Y-you're going to train me...?" she asked as her pupils dilated into hearts, and her blush intensified so much that it could be seen from the outside.

Undyne chuckled. "Pffft, what? ME?" she asked, her eyes looking at Papyrus and silently motioning him to make his appearance from behind the pile to her left, just right in the center. "OH! I'M MOVING UP!" Papyrus thought to himself as he quickly moved his legs and made his grand entrance.

Undyne laughed. "Nah, I'm gonna get Papyrus to do it." And just like that, The Great Papyrus jumped out from the pile of junk and into the center of the scene. "GET THOSE BONES SHAKIN'! IT'S TIME TO JOG 100 LAPS, HOOTING ABOUT HOW GREAT WE ARE!" Papyrus chimed, happy to know that Undyne was finally giving him an apprentice! It meant that she trusted him! That he was stepping closer to becoming a royal guard, just like her!

Undyne chuckled. "Ready? I'm about to start the timer!" she asked, taking out a watch and looking at Alphys' trash can. "Undyne... I'll do my best...!" Dr. Alphys shouted with enthusiasm as she kicked her feet out of the trashcan and began to run with Papyrus following behind her.

Frisk smiled warmly, walking over to Undyne when suddenly, her heroic music began to speed up. Startled, Frisk looked up and noticed she looked to be panicking.

"OH MY GOD! She was kidding, right!? Those cartoons... those comics... Those are still real, RIGHT!? ANIME'S REAL, RIGHT?!"

Frisk took a step back, feeling slightly guilty over the answer she was about to give Undyne. Well, as much as Frisk wanted Anime to be real, she knew that... well... it couldn't be. When she fell down, she thought she was in an anime herself... a cartoon, a fairy tale. But if all that stuff Undyne watches doesn't happen outside of here then... it can't be real. Not wanting to think about the ugliness of the surface anymore, Frisk shook her head. "I'm sorry. Anime isn't real, Undyne."

"No... NO!" screamed Undyne, shaking her head with saddened. "I CAN FEEL MY HEART BREAKING INTO PIECES!"

Frisk shook her head. "Undyne, it's okay! When I fell down, I thought this world was like anime. I mean, sure, the surface is really... not what one expects sometimes, but you learn to love it and accept it, and make it magical for yourself. You learn new things that make life really good!"

The fishwoman stared at Frisk. "...no, I can survive this... I have to be strong. For Alphys. Thank you, human, for telling me the truth. I'll try my best to live in this world... See you later!"

"Frisk?" MK asked himself, hiding behind a pile of trash as he watched his idol walk off and leave behind the girl who would only throw herself into the golden flowers and look up. She wasn't gone yet. A part of him wanted to go up to her and beg her to stay with him—that they'd go to school and grow up together—but that wasn't going to happen, huh? She was a human, and he was a monster. Gerson told him she'd die before he even reached adulthood—even if he grew up pretty fast. That humans aged faster.

"She's so pretty..." MK mused, watching as she eventually got up and began to head out. Was she finally going to leave? Would he muster up the courage to run after her? His window of opportunity was closing! Frisk!

His right leg vibrated in place, the water causing ripples as he told his legs to go forward but he was glued in place. What was he going to do? She made up her mind. What did he have to offer? Sans and Papyrus had a home and a room just for her, but she still chooses to go to the surface... to her... parent. All MK had was this place.

He turned back to the small cave where he lived, and he lowered his head. What if he got a job? But... no one was going to hire him, not yet at least. Even then, what then? Frisk didn't care about shelter, or things, heck, she always let him borrow a ton of money when she noticed he was hungry. Frisk...

He looked up and noticed she was on the phone. Frisk!

Vibrating in place, Monster Kid's thoughts all swarmed together. FRISK!

"W-wait!" He yelped, his legs finally moving forward, but foot had immediately tripped over a tire on the floor. "W-aaah!"

Splash.

MK shook his head, looking around and getting up as quickly as he could, rolling around a bit due to the tire but once he was back on his feet he realized it was too late. Frisk was gone.

"...wait... don't go." he whispered, looking towards the entrance of the dump. Should he go after her? But where did she go?

"...I can't lose my only friend just yet..."

*********°*********•*********°*********

"How pathetic…" the electronic voice spoke, watching the small monster shake off the water as he took his first steps into the direction where Frisk had gone to. The perfectly intact body of W.D. Gaster stood watching with his hands behind his back, his expressionless face shifting to a smirk as a familiar angel appeared beside him. "He's a sweet monster, isn't he? Gaster, I thought you'd be in a much better mood!" She spoke, crossing her arms as she looked over to the man who had begun to chuckle. "Indeed, I am in a much better mood. I found the door. I found the room. I… existed for a brief moment, though my form was something that leaves much to be desired."

Florencia giggled a little, glancing down unto his hands which were in front him as he contemplated them. That scar she had left him that other day was still there… oddly enough. The angel turned her head away as she felt a rush of heat on her cheeks the moment she realized his gaze upon her. "You can change your form freely in this dimension—why do you continue to have that silly scar on your hand?" She asked as she looked away, her arms tightening under her breasts that rested on her arms. She could still feel the cold remnants of the icy circlet around her wrist. The same could be asked of her, huh?

Letting out a long sigh, Dr. W.D. Gaster took a step forward, his eyes glancing in the general direction of where he had last seen Arial in real life. "An obnoxious phantom which calls itself an 'angel' appeared in this universe. Its recent appearance in the timeline could be derived from Chara's tampering with the code around our world. Needless to say, her appearance in my realm has uncovered my sense of logic and sentimentality that I lost when I was emotionally wrought with grief and maddened by despair and eternal exile. In a sense, this 'angel' has done her part as a messenger, or guidance of sorts. Not only did you help guide my son, who I have hurt the most, but you also took the time and effort to guide me, a person whom the world had forgotten. Even in my darkest hours, you stood by me, and I suppose we've come to a certain point where we both learned and took something from each other. I can't think of a more patient and kinder person than Ariel, but you—you certainly fit that bill. Even Ariel would've had a hard time taming the monster I had become. So… I suppose what I'm trying to say…"

The angel turned around slowly, noticing the fine lines in his expression that gave away his inability to say it. "You're welcome, Gaster." Florencia simply responded, noticing the sudden purple blush that had appeared on his ghoulish face. She supposed she could see what Arial had seen in that man. A handsome young ghoul too uptight to let himself be flexible, that, when it came to saying sorry, he'd fumble his eloquent words.

As silence enveloped the two ghosts, the splashing of the small monster broke their awkward moment. "I almost forgot to close the door to my cave! But after this, I'm REALLY going after Frisk!" MK spoke to himself, running towards the cave in the wall where he lived.

"…Shall we continue to look after this little monster, Gaster?" Florencia asked she cleared her throat, noticing that Gaster had done the same. "Y-Yes! This orphan and I have been meeting a lot today. Surely, he will lead us to where we need to be. Perhaps we'll run into Toriel again." Gaster spoke, following MK as he dashed through the shallow waters of the dump.

Behind them, the guardian angel giggled, her cool wrist jingling with the small circlet of ice around it.

Flor… Frisk… All this progress. It was not going to be in vain.

*********°*********•*********°*********

"Tra la la. The angel is coming... Tra la la."

Frisk calmly sat on the boat, admiring the wagging of the tail that the wooden boat seemed to do. "The angel? What angel?" asked Frisk, but as usual, River Person didn't seem to answer her. Still, River Person's words sometimes seemed to be like hints! Maybe... maybe she was hinting that her guardian angel was going to protect her! That maybe she shouldn't lose all hope!

"My guardian angel... I guess I have many now..." Frisk sadly wondered, beginning to get up once she saw the river bank of Hotland coming up. Papyrus had called her, weirdly enough and he sounded... really weird. Not Papyrus kind of weird, which was usually good, but... a strange kind weird. He had advised her to seek Dr. Alphys who had finished her running laps early.

After everything that happened today, maybe Dr. Alphys needed someone to listen to her? It was a bit too much to take in, after all. Frisk was more than welcomed to helping her, she seemed so... scared and nervous, weak even. Frisk wanted to help her become stronger by loving herself.

The first floor of the lab seemed silent and eerie. Something was wrong. "Dr. Alphys?" Frisk asked aloud, but no one answered her. She walked all around, stopping when her foot stepped on a note left in front of the elevator. It seemed so messy, it was really hard to read, but Frisk seemed to understand the gist of it. Thank goodness her goat momma taught her to read!

"The truth...?" whispered Frisk, looking up and noticing that the elevator door opened for her, almost as if it were inviting her inside. "...Sans said the same thing, about 'the truth'. Why does the truth always seem to be inside a lab...?" she asked herself, walking side. Hmm... perhaps she should check out every floor? There was so many floors... where was Dr. Alphys?

Pushing the second floor button, Frisk waited patiently as the elevator descended and stopped. She took a step forward but just as she had done so, instead of opening the door the elevator shook violently. "EH!?" Frisk whined, backing away and crouching down in fear. She could hear sirens going off, and an electronic voice spoke. "WARNING! WARNING! ELEVATOR LOSING POWER! EM TETHER STABILITY LOST! ALTITUDE DROPPING!"

"...S-SANS!" screamed Frisk as the elevator suddenly plunged down. Her heart felt as though it had left her chest and she was forced down unto the floor by the sheer speed and force of it all.

When she opened her eyes, she could feel her cheek throbbing with pain along with the right side of her temple where her head had hit. There was a small pool of blood that seemed to be coming from her head, and her body pained and ached. What happened?

She looked up and noticed the elevator doors were opened, although she also noticed green vines on the top part, almost as if it was what held it together for her. "...I... I was... Dr. Alphys! Don't forget, Flor. Don't forget... I... she can help me. Come on... it's just a big ol' bump and a little blood. I can do this..."

From the darkness, Flowey watched as the girl forced her body to walk on through. How unsightly! How vulnerable was she, in her pink flesh bleeding after such a fall. It almost reminded him of Chara...

"Asriel, you silly, silly goat. It's just a cut! Don't start crying over it! Hehehe~"

Shaking its golden petals, Flowey forced the thoughts back. These stupid thoughts! They were progressively annoying him to death! But soon enough, he was going to get his hands on that delicious red SOUL, along with all the other SOULs! Yes! This plan would guarantee it! It had to! Everyone was getting worried about her, and Dr. Alphys' would certainly have the courage to call Undyne and Papyrus and beg them to interfere with Frisk's battle! Then, and only then...

Frisk stopped, her body shivering as she heard a distant laughter. What was that!? This was creepy enough! Oh man... Oh man! Taking another step, she was startled when a green light flashed to her left. A monitor. Huh? Words...

"ENTRY NUMBER 1: This is it... Time to do what the King has asked me to do. I will create the power to free us all. I will unleash the power of the SOUL."

"...the power of the SOUL?" Frisk asked herself, noticing another monitor up ahead. This had to be Dr. Alphys' diaries... She was the royal scientist after all. But how does one unleash the power of the SOUL? Didn't Sans say she had determination? How do you unleash a feeling?

"ENTRY NUMBER 2: The barrier is locked by SOUL power... Unfortunately, this power cannot be recreated artificially. SOUL power can only be derived from what was once living. So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now... The SOULs of monsters."

Frisk gulped. "...what was once living...? Monsters? W-wait! Dr. Alphys didn't...? Sans didn't...? He wouldn't... would he?"

"... Y..o..u..'d b..e d..e..a..d w..h..e..r..e y..o..u s..t..a..n..d."

Shaking her head, Frisk pushed on. She had to trust Sans. He gave her the key to his personal lab...? or whatever it was, but it was personal. And sure, it had photographs of him with monsters in lab coats and in a lab setting, but in all of the photographs, they seemed happy. The stuff that she just read seemed so... gloomy and scary, there was no way...

"ENTRY NUMBER 3: But extracting a SOUL from a living monster would require incredible power...Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL's host. And, unlike the persistent SOULs of humans... The SOULs of most monsters disappear immediately upon death. If only I could make a monster's SOUL last..."

"ENTRY NUMBER 5: I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human SOULs. I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power... "Determination."

Frisk stopped for a moment. That's what Sans had told her... but it wasn't referring to the feeling of determination. He was talking about the power called DETERMINATION, the resolve to change fate... is that now what she's done the entire time? SAVING and LOADING, coming back from death just to carry on and reach the surface. Chara said it herself. Chara... Chara said she was meant to die on the surface, meant to kill Asgore, her father...

"But I refuse..." Frisk stated with a stronger tone, wiping away the thick mass of blood that had stopped the bleeding on her temple, her hands rubbing against each other hoping that the friction would make the sticky blood fall off but instead it only smeared red on her hands and eventually her cheeks—but at least her hands weren't sticky. She had made her way around the corner into a long hall.

With this new information, Frisk felt herself becoming stronger mentally, not physically, but her mind felt as though her body had also gotten stronger. With this new piece of information, Frisk's resolve to face Asgore and live to tell had gotten stronger. The desire to see Asgore and herself sharing a cup of tea...

It filled her with DETERMINATION. She SAVED instantly as her hand reached for the star that was lying on the floor of a room that seemed to look like a lobby. What a creepy place... even the music in this area was creepy. At least it wasn't absolute darkness. Thankfully, little energy lights seemed to still be powered on, but they were dim. She turned and walked to a vending machine. Ooo. Potato Chisps.

...wait.

Potato Chisps? That was... Sans' favorite. She looked closely and realized that it was the only thing available on the vending machine. Well.. she did have just enough gold.

Taking one bag of potato chisps, Frisk turned and saw a note on the floor, along with a little leaf. "Oh... to turn on the elevator, I have to turn on the power, and it's through this door..." The very guarded door stared back at her, and Frisk knew that this might take a while. Time for adventure!

Without thinking much on it, she headed to the left hallway. There, another entry awaited.

"ENTRY NUMBER 6: ASGORE asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had "fallen down." Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose... And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then... Freedom might be closer than we all thought."

Frisk shuddered. Fallen down...? What did that mean? Why did they fall down? Continuing onward, Frisk came into another room and immediately went to the next entry in hopes it would shed some light to her questions.

"ENTRY NUMBER 9: things aren't going well. none of the bodies have turned into dust, so i can't get the SOULs. i told the families that i would give them the dust back for the funerals. people are starting to ask me what's happening. what do i do?"

"Dust... funerals...? What did you do, Dr. Alphys...?" Frisk whispered, realizing that this is perhaps what Dr. Alphys referred to as 'the truth'. It was... something hard to swallow, yes. She could forgive the poor Dr. Alphys, but Sans... Sans couldn't have... right?

She looked around the room and realized there was three beds with restrainers on them. Oh boy... was this where...? Oh man. Well, at least it wasn't like Dr. Alphys did it on anyone who didn't want to go through with it. It all monsters who were... kinda dead? Still alive but deep asleep... sorta like what her brother was after the incident with the bad men. Alive, but dead.

She went into a small room, where a note and a red slot were. The note said something about draining the sinks and dropping something... SO! The sinks!

Much like before, the Flower watched from the darkness as the little girl obeyed his leaf-written notes. Manipulating her was just too easy... nothing like Chara.

"Huh? 'Chara sucks!'? Haha, Asriel do you really think I believe the other monsters wrote this about me? ...Nooooope! Sorry kid, I'm not about to fight all the bullying monsters. Buuuut, they do annoy me, so take it as a favor. You owe me next weeks' worth of chocolate AND you have to do my chores, hehehe~"

Flowey growled, head shaking as he felt uncomfortable. What was this? He didn't understand. Asriel? Who was Asriel? Why did he get these stupid memories? Why did he sometimes feel a soft spot for that she-demon? HA! All that she was good for, was a challenge.

Another wave of uncertainly covered the flower. He didn't understand. The attachment he'd all of a sudden feel, the need for attention, the WANTING of it. He didn't understand.

"Ahhh!" cried out Frisk, falling back and snapping Flowey out of his spiraling thoughts and back into his old self. He let out a laugh as he watched the human tremble under the growing Memoryheads. Ahh... the Memoryheads. Those nasty things. The leftover waste from the DT extractor from when the last royal scientist used it. Man, those things were MESSED UP. Bunched up pieces of patients, all melded together with remnants of its last royal scientist. Dr. W. D. Gaster, was it? Some guy. So creepy, so... not normal. What was that language he spoke? It sounded like ungodly screeching, sheesh.

Flowey made a face, looking the other way as he watched the human struggle with her fight. She seemed to be trying her best to give the Memoryheads mercy. What a joke. Eh, the human SAVED, right? There was no way she could mess up the rest of the journey. He should go get the rest of his plan underway, after all. What could that she-demon do now anyways, right? The kid had completely blown her aside, her play at gaining control over the kid was over, until he enacted his plan, of course, so... nothing to worry about. Pfft, what a stupid power though. Being able to possess a body only when they're at their lowest points and vulnerable to empty promises... what a joke. Still, quite entertaining.

Frisk gulped, pressing the MERCY button when it lit up. The Memoryheads didn't care anymore. Just like that... they disappeared. It was so weird for Frisk to meet a monster so... odd. She could only communicate through her cell phone, and it sounded like static and... well phone lines. It was hard to put into words, but somehow, Frisk felt that this was something important.

Click-clank!

Frisk turned to the sink, noticing a red key. OH! Right! The key! The door had four colors, right...? That means she needs three more keys. Hm... perhaps this key went into the red slot? Putting aside what just happened, Frisk went back into the small room and put the perfectly sized red key into the red slot. It was a perfect match! She could do this!

With a smile back unto her face, she skipped back to the lobby and went into the right hallway. There, she found more entries.

"ENTRY NUMBER 12: nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with "determination." i want this to work."

"ENTRY NUMBER 13: one of the bodies opened its eyes."

Frisk grinned. "Yes! That's good, right?" she gasped, running to the next room. Was there going to be monster there, ready to explain the rest? Perhaps Dr. Alphys?

No.

Instead, she found a whole lot of beds that were neatly tucked in—all but one. Her head continued to throb from the fall, and sure, her body was also hurting, not to mention, her HP was 2 after that fight with the Memoryheads. A nap would be nice. Her feet moved towards the bed although she hadn't thought of it, and her head looked at an empty dog bowl in the corner. How odd. Was there a dog around? She hadn't heard one, or seen one for that matter.

Her body crashed down on the bed, her eyes getting quite heavy. "Just... a nap." she whispered, her eyes fluttering to a close as light snoring soon began to echo in the empty room.

A light orb flew by and soon manifested into a white shape due to the brightness of its shine. "Frisk..." it whispered with a motherly voice, an arm stretched out towards the child who twitched in her sleep. It was hard to watch her child be harmed countless times, over and over again, but now that her child slept so soundly, close to fulfilling her destiny and vehemently telling Chara no... it made her proud. It was so hard to believe that she had died in the woods, hard to believe that she had been offered the option to give her daughter a fighting chance... hard to believe that she would be dragged into this... this world of magic. But here she was, a spirit overlooking her daughter and her choices, taking form in the real world as a fantasma (ghost) and tucking her daughter in as she slept soundly in the True Lab. If it hadn't been for her red SOUL being transferred into her daughter in the first place, then... then Frisk wouldn't have survived her fall, huh? A red SOUL's power was amplified DETERMINATION.

As her white ghostly form turned to mist and disappeared, Florencia couldn't help but to wonder HOW it was possible in the first place. From what she gathered, humans weren't able to absorb human SOULs. So... how did she transfer her red SOUL to Frisk? It didn't seem like the girl changed at all, just the color of her SOUL... it simply turned red like hers. Was it a miracle? Was it scientifically possible? Gaster himself seemed at a loss of words, after all, and he was the most knowledgeable person in the field, correct?

Frisk opened her eyes and jumped out of the bed, staring at covers which were DEFINITELY not covering her body and face when she fell asleep. WHAT THE HECK!? Papyrus wasn't around, and neither was Sans. They'd usually tuck her in. Her hands quickly grabbed the top of her head, feeling as though someone had patted it... someone familiar. It was all just too weird. It felt like someone was watching over her, someone... who cared. Oh man, this place was getting to her, wasn't it?

She shook her head and looked around the vast room, noticing another Entry Monitor.

"ENTRY NUMBER 14: Everyone that had fallen down... ... has woken up. They're all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners...?"

Frisk perked up, looking around and realizing that perhaps this was their beds...? But then... why hadn't she seen anyone? Letting out a long sigh, she headed up the north door where another entry awaited.

"ENTRY NUMBER 15: Seems like this research was a dead end... But at least we got a happy ending out of it...? I sent the SOULS and the vessel back to ASGORE. And I called all of the families and told them everyone's alive. I'll send everyone back tomorrow. : )"

Oh! Then everyone was back home? Okay... that might explain why this place was deserted. Still... something felt off about this place. Perhaps more adventuring might reveal the mysteries. Taking a few steps, Frisk read the next entry, which made her panic.

"ENTRY NUMBER 16: no No NO NO NO NO"

Okay... something bad happened then...? Unable to resist her curiosity, Frisk hurried and went north. Instead of finding another monitor, she found a shower along with shadows that seemed to be taking a bath.

Oh boy. This was awkward...

...except...

...it didn't feel real.

Ghosts!? Fantasmas!?

Frisk took a deep breath and slowly approached. "...hello? A-are you taking a bath? I-I'm so sorry if you are... hello?"

Silence.

She was next to the bath tub, and her heart was racing. Should she do it? What if it's another Memoryhead? Oh man...

Closing her eyes, her hands reached out for the curtains and she pulled them back, her heart bracing itself just in case her SOUL was pulled out, but after several moments of silence... she realized it was empty. Her buckling knees gave out and she fell down beside the bath tub as she laughed. Oh man. It was just her mind, surely! Or perhaps her nerves just playing tricks on her. Alrighty! A green key! Two more!

Turning back, Frisk continued to go down the right side where she had left off. The next room that followed startled her—Was that a giant Gyftrot? No... it was all metal, and a bit rusty. Still... why did it look so much like a Gyftrot?

Deciding to SAVE first before continuing to explore, Frisk got closer to the star but realized that it wasn't SAVING. "Hm?" She hummed, getting closer, but taking a step back when the star suddenly grew a face and smiled. OH NO!

Just like that, the star began to shape shift into a tall figure. Another one! Well... at least it wasn't a Memoryhead... right? As her SOUL popped out, Frisk couldn't help but to notice that this figure looked like Shyren, along with other monsters.

...

"Lemon Bread...?" Frisk whispered, noticing the yellow words appear once she was able to spare. This was new. Was that their name? Did they forget who they were too? WAIT! Shyren! Shyren's sister fell down, didn't she? Was this...?

But just like it appeared, it disappeared once Frisk spared the monster. Once more, Frisk was left alone in this facility that only made more questions than answers. She noticed another monitor beside the Gyftrot looking machine, and running to it, she noticed that it only said 'DT EXTRACTION MACHINE. STATUS: INACTIVE'

"DT... extraction? Determination? So this is the thing that..." Frisk whispered, looking at the machine which towered over her. So scary... how did it work? How did Dr. Alphys...?

...Nah. Maybe some things were best left unsaid.

She noticed a corridor but upon inspecting the next room, Frisk decided to stay away from it. It was too foggy! Instead, she headed into the other room beside the DT Extraction Machine. There, she noticed a TV and two bookcases along with a monitor and key slot. Hm! And another note! Under the bed sheets...? Man, this scavenger hunt was really gonna have her look everywhere in this floor, huh?

She walked up to the monitor and read another entry.

"ENTRY NUMBER 4: I've been researching humans to see if I can find any info about their SOULS. I ended up snooping around the castle... And found these weird tapes. I don't feel like ASGORE's watched them... I don't think he should."

Frisk turned to the TV. Tapes? Should she...? What if it has answers? She noticed that the tapes seemed to be alphabetized, and a few were... sticky. Ew. Inspecting the TV, she noticed a few tapes that were labeled 1-5... almost as if she was supposed to watch them. It was pretty convinient but at the same time... who knew she was going to be here, other than Papyrus? Did Papyrus set this up?

...No. He couldn't have, he can't lie, and even if the way he convinced her to check up on Dr. Alphys sounded suspicious, it seemed that he didn't know what was going on either. Time to watch the tapes, it seemed.

"Toriel: Pssst. Gorey, wake up.

Asgore: Mmm? What is it, dear? ... er, and why do you have that video camera?

Toriel: Shush! I want to get your reaction. Gorey, dearest. What is my favorite vegetable?

Asgore: Hmmm... Carrots, right?

Toriel: No no no! My favorite vegetable is... Eda-MOM-e. ... get it?

Asgore: ... Go back to bed, dear.

Toriel: No no! Not yet! Hee hee hee. Now, If I were a dog, what breed of dog would I be?

Asgore: Hmmm... I don't know, honey. What kind of dog would you be?

Toriel: I would be... A MOMERANIAN.

Asgore: Hohoho! You sure are excited to have this child. You know, if you keep making jokes like this... One day, you could be... ... a famous MOMedian.

Toriel: ... Well, I am going to bed.

Asgore: Hey! Come on Tori! That one was funny!

Toriel: Hahaha, I know. I am just teasing you. Goodnight, dear.

Asgore: Goodnight, honey.

Toriel: ... Oh dear, perhaps it is too dark in here for the video to come out."

Frisk stared at the dark screen, her ears ringing as she heard that familiar voice. It was Toriel! It had to be her... and Asgore... so... Toriel was the queen of the underground? Why was she in the ruins? What happened? She was going to be a mommy which meant... the little goat kid? This wasn't making sense, it only created more questions! To the next tape!

"Asriel: Okay, Chara, are you ready? Do your creepy face! AHHHHH! Hee hee hee! Oh! Wait! I had the lens cap on... What!? You're not gonna do it again...? Come on, quit tricking me! Haha!"

Frisk shuddered as the tape was also black but something weird happened when he said 'Chara'. The voice seemed to... turn to static, and it sounded really weird. Not to mention she saw the wall turn to tiny blocks for a moment. What was going on!? She put the next tape on.

"Asriel: Howdy, Chara! Smile for the camera! Ha, this time I got YOU! I left the cap on... ON PURPOSE! Now you're smiling for noooo reason! Hee hee hee. What? Oh, yeah, I remember. When we tried to make butterscotch pie for Dad, right? The recipe asked for cups of butter... But we accidentally put in buttercups instead. Yeah! Those flowers got him really sick. I felt so bad. We made Mom really upset. I should have laughed it off, like you did... Um, anyway, where are you going with this? Huh? Turn off the camera...? OK."

There it was again. Another part of the room seemed to glitch and turn into tiny pixels momentarily as Chara's name was spoken, along with that weird static in the tape. Still, another thing bugged Frisk. Buttercups? Sick? Laughing...? Frisk would never be able to laugh it off if she accidently got someone sick. Perhaps the next tape shed more light as to who Chara was.

"Asriel: I... I don't like this idea, Chara. Wh.. what? N-no, I'm not... ... big kids don't cry. Yeah, you're right. No! I'd never doubt you, Chara. Never! Y... yeah! We'll be strong! We'll free everyone. I'll go get the flowers."

Frisk gulped. Free everyone...? What did they do? Flowers? ...the buttercups...? Is that... how Chara died? In Chara's memories, a goat carried her off, and perhaps that goat was the little kid, but all super powered once he absorbed Chara's SOUL? ...Next tape.

"Toriel: C..h..a..r..a... Can you hear me? We want you to wake up...

Asgore: C..h..a..r..a! You have to stay determined! You can't give up! You are the future of humans and monsters...

Asriel: ... Psst... C..h..a..r..a... Please... Wake up... I don't like this plan anymore. I... I... ... no, I said... I said I'd never doubt you. Six, right? We just have to get six... And we'll do it together, right?"

Silence.

Frisk could feel something was wrong with the four walls around her, which kept disappearing and reappearing all throughout the tapes, but it all stopped once they stopped. Chara's name sounded so distorted in the videos… In the last tape, she heard Asgore's say the exact same thing she hears when she dies and has to either LOAD or... or something. Every now and then, she'd heard his voice with the same line, but she never really thought about whose voice it was until now. It was Asgore. But... she had never met Asgore until today. How did she know the same exact line...?

And another thing... that line was for Chara. Chara was their hope, she was their child, a part of their family. Why did Chara advocate for violence and killing monsters, then? For killing Asgore? And Toriel?

What happened? Sure, in her memories she could see why Chara had a thing against humans but monsters...? Was it because that monster came in and sucked her SOUL out of the goat? What was it...?

Frisk wanted to go through the other tapes, but something about this room made her feel as though she shouldn't. Instead, she decided to explore the rest of the lab and hopefully find more keys.

After going back, getting the yellow key in the bed and SAVING, Frisk decided to go back up north but take the right path. There, she found another monitor.

"ENTRY NUMBER 11: now that mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore. ... except to ask when i'm going to finish his body. but i'm afraid if i finish his body, he won't need me anymore... then we'll never be friends ever again. ... not to mention, every time i try to work on it, i just get really sweaty..."

Frisk sighed. "So it really is you, Dr. Alphys. Okay... Okay then." She looked around the room and noticed a lot of fans, along with a bit of fog. Perhaps if she turned on the fans...? Maybe that would make the really foggy room get... not foggy!

Frisk walked around the room until she got to the other side and noticed a switch. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the switch and was startled when the fans began to move. It was a creepy noise hearing the sound of metal creak, but relief washed over her as the fog began to disappear. Thank goodness!

Unfortunately, another smiling... thing formed. This one was big and... sorta... reminded her of dogs. After a long battle and eating a bit of chisps, Frisk spared it and watched as it disappeared, happy with all the petting. Perhaps a few dogs also 'fell down'. It... was sad really. These things seemed confused, just as Frisk was too. These monsters seemed to be... more than one, but just one. It was hard to describe.

Deciding to go back to the foggy room, the little girl made a sprint and reached the once foggy room in a jiffy. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she then approached another entry monitor. Hopefully it had more answers than questions.

"ENTRY NUMBER 19: the families keep calling me to ask when everyone is coming home. what am i supposed to say? i don't even answer the phone anymore."

Ah... another sad entry. The more Frisk read, the sadder it got. Was this why Dr. Alphys was always so nervous and without confidence? Because of all this? Because if it was... Frisk couldn't blame her. All of this was really serious and dealt with things that involved life and death. It was something that Frisk herself would freak out about... just like she had done so some time before today. To know that the hopes of monsters and the lives of humans rested on her tiny shoulders... it was really overwhelming. Was this how Dr. Alphys felt too? How could she breathe and act normally? Frisk sometimes felt like she was drowning in a lake of sorrows, and carrying big boulders on her back. It was too much! Sometimes, Frisk would just look at the flowers and think to herself... how easy it could have been for her to have... well... died when she fell down. How this, all of this, could have been someone else's problem. But then... would that person be as benevolent as herself? Would they do the violence and kill everyone...?

Shaking her head, Frisk continued to explore. She checked the fridges, but no keys. Just samples. Ew. After checking two fridges, she noticed another entry monitor.

"ENTRY NUMBER 20: ASGORE left me five messages today. four about everyone being angry. one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me. thanks asgore."

Letting out a soft laugh, Frisk turned back to the rest of the fridges. King Asgore was really kind, huh? Any other king could have blamed her and scolded her for all of this... Another fridge, there was another entry.

"ENTRY NUMBER 21: i spend all my time at the garbage dump now. it's my element."

Hm. Well, at least there were more questions to be added to the endless questions she had about all of this. She checked the remaining fridges, but found nothing. Walking towards a room, she stopped when she heard a laugh. Turning around she noticed a fridge had turned white and had begun to change shape. Oh no! Another one!

Entering another battle, Frisk noticed that it looked a lot like a snow drake. "sn... o... wy..." it breathed out slowly, the music sounding a lot like the music in Snowden. What should Frisk do? Thinking fast, Frisk told her a joke about snow. The Snow Drake in Snowden was a comedian, right?

Soon enough, the melty-looking snow drake began to slowly laugh. "haha... i... remem... ber..."

There was something about this monster that made Frisk's heart sink and compel her to cheer it up. After another snow joke, this snow drake spoke once more. "haha... thank... you..."

And another later, it had calmed down and disappeared, leaving behind a blue key. Alright... another key. She went into the small room and found another note, but she had already gotten the key. Oh boy!

Frisk skipped throughout the lab, making sure she wasn't forgetting a key or a key slot, but other than putting the yellow key into the yellow slow, no, nothing to be found. Returning back to the SAVE point, she saved once more and noticed another hall way to the right of the room. Hmm... Perhaps this was the last of the keys and key slots? She could smell golden flowers up ahead too. Was there a garden to the lab? That would be nice.

Slowly making her way into the next room, she noticed several pots of golden flowers on top of counters, and all of them had little tags attached to their leaves. Oh... were they experimenting on flowers?

She turned to her left and walked over to another entry monitor.

"ENTRY NUMBER 7: We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULs of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL... So then... What about something that's neither human nor monster?"

Frisk stared at the screen, wondering what it meant. Did it mean that it was going to make a flower come to life...?

She noticed another entry monitor and walked to it.

"ENTRY NUMBER 10: experiments on the vessel are a failure. it doesn't seem to be any different from the control cases. whatever. they're a hassle to work with anyway. the seeds just stick to you, and won't let go..."

A failure? That's a shame. It would've been like all the disney movies Frisk had seen when she was little, sorta like Beauty and the Beast, with the talking tea cups, but instead it'd be a talking flower—

Something within her head snapped at that moment. A talking flower... why did that sound so familiar? A talking flower... Frisk couldn't put her finger on it, but it suddenly made her feel that all of this, this entire room, was really important.

Focusing on her memories which were a bit jumbled up, Frisk slowly walked foward, her reflected image doing the same on the mirrors to her left. A talking flower, she should know this!

":)"

Frisk stopped walking, her eyes staring ahead for a moment when her peripheral vision noticed a smile to her left, on the mirror. Oh no. Slowly, very slowly, Frisk turned and noticed that white blob—another one! Bracing herself, Frisk was pulled into a battle, all while trying to focus on talking flowers.

Talking flowers, talking flowers—WHY was this bugging her? Why should she—

Frisk's left arm twitched with pain as she rolled unto it in order to avoid an attack. Did she know a talking flower?

After several turns and much ACTing, Frisk was able to spare what seemed to be a Reaper Bird. Her HP was low, but that didn't bother Frisk—the uncertainty of not knowing whether she knew a talking flower seemed to be bothering her much more.

At last, finding the last key slot, Frisk was able to finish the exploration part of her quest. As she back to the big door in the lobby, Frisk couldn't help but to glance at the golden flowers. If a smile were on those flowers, it would make her queasy. But why?

"Duh, because Flowey is scary!" She told herself, stopping when she realized the reason why this room felt important. FLOWEY! The flower she met when she fell down, and the flower who... who... the flower who turned into this big scary monster. The monster she killed in order to save other monsters from being threatened. Flowey... wasn't a monster like all the others. He was... created in a lab? Why would Dr. Alphys create such a scary flower! Although... by what the entries said, it seems that she thought the experiments didn't work.

Shivering, the little girl made her way to the lobby after saving. The door automatically opened for her, and she went inside, noticing that it was also an elevator but that it had another door which was open. She looked around and realized that this part of the lab seemed more neglected than the rest—it had a lot of spiderwebs! She noticed entry monitors, but... no power. She couldn't read them. The end of the hallway led to the power room which was all empty and metal. She looked around and noticed that it was a BIG room, but... the floor was small. She could see metal pipes and cords that seemed torn or cut, almost as if there were stuff that was supposed to be here, but it had been removed. Of course, this was as much as she could gather in such a dark room. If she got any closer to the edge of the floor, she'd fall for sure. She could feel a low purr coming from the center, deep within the room. She could see a red SOUL behind a thick glass, and immediately Frisk was drawn to this machine which housed something that looked like a red SOUL. Was it a SOUL...?

Frisk looked at the machine and immediately she was intimidated by the red ovals which looked like eyes, staring down at her, and those lines which looked like a creepy smile. Oh goodness! Was this the power machine? She looked at all the buttons and noticed a button for the elevator. Turning it on, she turned around but froze when she saw all the monsters she had fought slowly inching towards her. Oh no... she couldn't fight all of them at once!

Frisk backed into the machine, trembling as they all got closer and closer. She could feel her heart beating fast, and her SOUL was on the verge of popping out, she was sure. Oh man... what was she going to do? It was hard to fighting just ONE, how was she supposed to fight FOUR?

"Hey! Stop!" shouted a familiar voice. Immediately, Frisk smiled and threw her hands together. "Dr. Alphys!" She exclaimed with glee in her voice. Thank goodness! The monster seemed to make way for Dr. Alphys, almost as if they were obeying her.

"I got you guys some food, okay!?" She shouted once more, watching as the amalgamates seemed to hurry to their feeding spot, leaving only Frisk who seemed to look so grateful at the moment.

"Sorry about that... They get kind of sassy when they don't get fed on time. I think they smelled the potato chips you had, and... Anyway! The power went out, and I've been trying to turn it back on! But it seemed that you were one step ahead of me. This was probably just a big inconvinience for you... B-but I appreciate that you came here to back me up! As I said, I was afraid I might... Not come back... But that's not because of these guys or anything! I was just worried I would be too afraid... to tell the truth... that I might run away or do something... Cowardly."

Dr. Alphys looked down, her hands turning into balled fists as she sighed.

"Uh... I... I suppose I owe you an explanation. As you probably know, ASGORE asked me to study the nature of SOULs. During my research, I isolated a power I called 'determination'. I injected it into dying monsters so their SOULs would last after death. But the experiment failed. You see, unlike humans', monsters' bodies don't have enough... physical matter to take those concentrations of 'determination'. Their bodies started to melt, and lost what physicality they had. Pretty soon, all of the test subjects had melted together into... Those. Seeing them like this, I knew... I couldn't tell their families about it. I couldn't tell anyone about it. No matter how much everyone was asking me about it. And I was too afraid to do any more work knowing... ...everything I'd done so far had been such a horrific failure. ...but now... Now, I've changed my mind about all this. I'm going to tell everyone what I've done."

Frisk stared at Dr. Alphys, slowly getting closer and noticing how sincere and sad her eyes looked.

"It's going to be hard. Being honest... Believing in myself... I'm sure there will be times where I'll struggle. I'm sure there will be times where I screw up again. But knowing, that deep down, I have friends to fall back on... I know it'll be a lot easier to stand on my own. Thank you."

Frisk watched as Dr. Alphys turned and looked at the amalgamates who stared at her. They had been around the corner and had come inside the room once more when Dr. Alphys mentioned telling everyone the truth. "Come on, guys. It's time for everyone to go home."

After Dr. Alphys left with the amalgamates, Frisk turned around and stared at the machine that seemed to loom over her. She felt... weird being in its presence. It almost felt like it was angry!

The girl left the room and was about to leave when she noticed the monitors seemed to turn on a bright red, and they had... a smile.

"ENTRY NUMBER 8: I've chosen a candidate. I haven't told ASGORE yet, because I want to surprise him with it... In the center of his garden, there's something special. The first golden flower, that grew before all the others. The flower from the outside world. It appeared just before the queen left. I wonder... What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?"

Frisk stepped away from the monitor, noticing it had gone back to that red smiley face. Another monitor was nearby.

"ENTRY NUMBER 18: the flower's gone."

Frisk backed away, noticing that red smiley face had appeared once more. Why... why did she feel threatened by it? She ran out of the hallway and into the elevator. Her legs stopped for a moment when she felt the vibration of her phone. It was ringing! Was it Papyrus again?

"...Hello?" she answered.

"C..h..a..r..a? Are you there? It's been a long time, hasn't it...? But you've done well. Thanks you, everything has fallen into place. C..h..a..r..a... see you soon."

Frisk stared at her phone, wondering who it was. It sounded familiar too, but... she had never met this person, right...? Who was it? Who? …and why was Chara's name always distorted?

Before Frisk could think about it, the elevator suddenly began to shoot up and she fell down once more, but thankfully, not as hard as when she fell down with the elevator. Her hands had broken the fall, and she looked around, noticing she was going up floors. Huh? Where was she going? She never pressed a button...

*********°*********•*********°*********

Meanwhile...

*********°*********•*********°*********

"Excuse me, Mr. Gerson, have you seen Frisk?" asked Monster Kid as he waddled his way over to his shop. The young kid watched as the turtle laughed, pointing to the tall robed person who seemed to be making circles as though they were contemplating something. Swamp Girl had returned, perhaps lost? "You're not the only one who wants to know, eh? She's gone to face Asgore by now I reckon." Gerson replied with strong lungs so that his voice carried over to the robed person who called themselves 'Swamp Girl'. Immediately, the figure seemed to dash away as though his words had seemed to spurred it into action.

"What? No! I... I'm going to help her! If she can cross the barrier, maybe she could take me with her... or... or maybe I can convince her to stay here. Thank you, Gerson." MK replied, beginning to walk towards the riverbank when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. "...it's dangerous to go alone, child. I might be old, but... but this ol' turtle still has a bit of fight left in him, and my SOUL might be of use. Let me walk you to them."

MK watched as Gerson walked briskly with a cane in one hand and his other hand on his head as he shook it, almost as if he was regretting something. Indeed, Gerson had been thinking about it ever since he gave Frisk a piece of his armor. Perhaps... Perhaps it was for the best to let this child go back to the surface. Even if it meant waiting, even if the annihilation of human kind and their salvation from the underground came a few more hundred years later... would Asgore truly be able to live with himself? That awkward goat living without his queen or son, and with stained hands of innocent blood? No. It was too much to ask of Asgore, and it would certainly go against King Hector's last wishes. Asgore would be too distraught to live with himself that he'd... Yeah. That silly goat would never live with himself, and he'd certainly would never have any sort of tranquility in his life.

"Please, Gerson, take care of Asgore. Shape him into a fine King, but above all, make sure that my family lives in an era of peace and tranquility. I shouldn't have listened to Courier or Segoe—Dr. Semi and Calibri were right. Still, I cannot think of another way to stop monster corruption without having to eradicate human kind off the face of the world. Please, Gerson... go to Asgore. He and his friends must find a new way or... or finish what I've started. Go!" Urged King Hector as he turned his head to the area where humans and monsters were battling. In front of him, several high ranking guards overlooked the battle ground. "Sire! The human forces are gaining grounds at an alarming rate!" Shouted one of the guards while Gerson shook his head. "Sir, please! Let me fight by your side!" he begged, but the tall burly goat could only shake his head. "No, Gerson. You're the best fighter I have, with the best defense. I must defend my father's legacy on my own—it was a promise. If these ol' ruins fall... then truly, the monster kingdom will be no match for the humans. It will be up to you to guide my son as I could not, and for a new generation to take over. I will leave Ulfer, yourself, and the DaFonts to Asgore. Whatever weapons the DaFont ghouls have made, it's up to Asgore to decide what to do should I fall here. There's also Roman and Horatia... those two and their child may also be a key in our future." King Hector responded, pacing as the sky darkened with smoke and ash. "Sir! They have broken the outer wall to the city!" Shouted one of the guards who had mini telescope in his hands. Gerson's hands turned to fists as he shook his head, but his king only looked at him with calm blue eyes. "Go, Gerson. Serve Bergentrückung until our society is free to roam their native lands; that's my final order."

Gerson looked back, watching as MK ran to his side with a big grin on his face. "I really like Frisk, she's super cool and is friends with Undyne! Do you think other humans are like her?" asked MK, noticing that Gerson had looked the other way as he answered. "Ah, humans... they're complicated things. The rest of humanity might not be like Frisk, no... but that's what makes Frisk special. She reminds me of this kindhearted human I once knew—he was really something. One of a kind, no human could compare to him, of course, there was also Arial. Alisdair and Arial... hmm! Perhaps little Frisk can help us reclaim Bergentrückung, perhaps not the big country we used to be, but at least reclaim our native land that the royal family has owned and called its own since the dawn of time."

MK came to a stop along the river bank, his eyes shining as he looked at the water. "Wow, do you really think the human can get us to the surface!? I want to explore the surface with Frisk and spend all my time with her once we're on the surface! M-maybe I'll even get the courage to ask her on a date!" beamed MK as his cheeks blushed. Beside him, the old turtle chuckled to himself as he looked at the river. "What will you do, Mr. Gerson?" asked MK, noticing that Gerson's smile had slightly disappeared.

Ah.

"Who knows, little one. If the rumors of SOUL fusion are correct, I might finally be able to see what became of the old Delta Palace, which should be nothing but crumbling ruins by now. If our fusion fails like the royal prince's... well... I might finally rest peacefully." Gerson answered, his eyes lifting up as he watched River Person's boat float on down towards them.

It had been bothering the old turtle for some time now—the idea of fusion. True, he had been pressuring Asgore into killing the little human, but ever since he saw the little girl struggle with the armor she bought from the temmies, he felt himself vulnerable. How many children had he sired and watched them die meaningless deaths, all because they thought themselves invincible? All because they relied on their signature power shells?

That trigger fingered human with a yellow SOUL had killed three of his children alone, all because they thought they could best a human child. His children had been thirsty for battle and glory, much like their father—it was indeed all his fault. Their family name, their family prestige and signature defense and offense—Why didn't he teach them to be humble and kind? To spare, to settle things without violence... much like this little human child who was being forced to do battle to the death.

"Mr. Gerson, what's a fusion?" asked MK with large curious eyes as the turtle returned to his senses. "That, young lad, is a bit o' a mystery. You might see it in action if we hurry, come. Aye, River Person, eh? Take these ol' bones and young blood to Hotland! Ol' Gerson 'Hammerfell' Vajra' is makin' a comeback, lassy!"

MK jumped inside the boat, watching as Gerson's cane turned into a huge hammer. WOAH! It caused the boat to tremble, but thankfully, it steadied itself and had begun to sail.

"Tra la la. The Angel is coming~" River Person gleefully chanted over and over again.

*********°*********•*********°*********

"Guard a weird, out of place door, MY SNAIL PIE! Don't worry my child, momma Toriel is coming!" Toriel gasped in between breaths as she ran past a small peach colored reptile with glasses who seemed to be accompanied by several weird, white colored monsters—But there was no time to investigate! Her baby was in dire need of assistance! She could be in severe trouble! She couldn't bear to lose another child...

"H-hey! Watch where you're running!" shouted the nervous lab coated reptile behind her as she fell back. In the distance, Torial shouted an 'I'm sorry', but kept running nonetheless.

"HEY! WHAT the HECK! COME BACK HERE—oh, Alphys, you okay?"

Dr. Alphys blushed, watching as Undyne jogged over to her and held out her hand for her. Behind her was Papyrus, Sans, and Grillby. "...the shortcut made me dizzy, is that normal, Sans?" asked Grillby as coolly as ever, although his shoulders seemed to be swaying very, very slowly. Papyrus grinned. "INDEED! WE DID TE—EEEEAR THROUGH THE UNDERGROUND REALLY QUICKLY, AFTER ALL! MOVING SO QUICKLY TENDS TO MESS WITH THE MIND, YOU SEE. YOU SHOULD WORK OUT MORE OFTEN, NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus answered, laughing a bit nervously but neither Grillby nor Sans seemed to have picked up on it, and Undyne and Dr. Alphys were too focused on each other to care about his slight mishap. Good. Sans couldn't know. He'd be too distraught and heartbroken to ever forgive their father, but their father wasn't at all as bad as Sans thought him to be.

"Th-th-thank you, U-Undyne! Frisk helped me realize a lot, and... and I'm going to tell everyone the truth! Undyne! These are the amalgamates! I-I-I created them, or well... it's a bit of a story. D-Don't freak out! They're nice! I just fed them... I... I messed up. I injected them with too much DETERMINATION, which is what helps a SOUL persist, even after death. They're the fallen monsters, but, you see, they woke up and then they sort of eventually started melting down, and... and this happened. I was so scared, but Frisk made me realize I shouldn't be afraid. I-I understand it if you... if you..."

The short peach colored monster trembled in place as her head hung low and tears began to stream down the curves of her face. It was so scary... what if Undyne rejected her? What if—

"Stop it. Stop crying, you crybaby. Suck it up, Alphys, it's your first day of training."

Grillby smiled as he watched Undyne kneel to Dr. Alphys' eye level and embrace her in a comforting hug while these strange monsters watched silently a few feet away. He turned to Sans who looked a bit disturbed, his breath hitching as he shuddered. Ah. Gaster.

Strapped unto the metal slab, Sans watched Gaster screamed in agony as the thin cut away scars on his face began to crack. "this is madness, pops! just stop it! just go back to the old dad i knew!" shouted Sans as loud as he could, trying to keep himself calm at the same time but just watching his old man fall down and curl up in pain as DT flowed through his veins was just too much. Even after experimenting on him... Sans still had a bit of sympathy. It was still his father, whether he liked it or not.

"CURSED SIDE EFFECTS! DT LEVELS STABILIZING! VINNIE! PREPARE AUTO-SURGEON FOR IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF MELTED INJURIES BELOW MY EYE AND ON MY SKULL! I WILL NOT LET MY RESEARCH SCAR ME! I JUST HAVE TO... HAVE TO REMOVE MELTED EDGES WITH CLEAN CUTS..."

Sans struggled, but once more, it was to no avail. He looked at the big monitor where the beeping was slowing down, and where the DT graph seemed to very slowly begin to turn into a line. Gaster was playing with severe fires at this rate... Had his madness truly driven him into such extremities? Sans knew his threats to use Papyrus weren't empty anymore.

Silently, the small skelly watched as his father sat down unto a tall throne-like metal chair as composed as a ghoul who had just had two parts of his skull melt a bit could be. "INITIATING AUTO-SURGEON VERSION 4X-9ASTER. ANESTHESIA SEQUENCE IN 3... 2... 1..."

Sans gulped, watching metal handcuffs wrapped around his wrists and neck. On his neck, a green light lit up and soon afterward, Gaster's head tilted back. He was out of it. Before Sans could even think about how surgery could be practiced on a sitting monster, the chair began to move. "...what the..." gasped Sans, watching as chair turned into a metal table that firmly grasped Gaster. That kind of technology was NO WHERE in their capacity! Where did Gaster get his hands on this? HOW did he come up with it? SINCE WHEN has he had this technology!? WHY hasn't he shared it with the rest of the underground...? Sans stopped his train of thought when he noticed a ghostly figure standing next to Gaster dressed in surgeon clothes. He noticed that this 'ghostly' figure seemed to glitch out every now and then.

"INITIATING BINARY SEQUENCE: AUTO SURGEON. SUBJECT: WING DING ASTER. ILLNESS: DT OVERDOSE. OBSERVATIONS: SUBJECT STRESS LEVELS ARE RIDICULOUSLY HIGH. HE WON'T LISTEN TO MY ADVICE. HE'S A HORRIBLE BROTHER, NOWHERE AS INTELLIGENT. RECKLESSNESS YIELDS STUPIDITY. HE IS LUCKY TO BE INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO GUESS THE DT DOSES NEEDED TO AUGMENT HIMSELF. UNLUCKY FOR HIM, HE MISCALCULATED THIS TIME BY THREE MILLIGRAMS. PLAN OF ACTION: REMOVAL OF MELTED SCARS LEFT BEHIND BY PREVIOUS SURGERY. WIDENING OF THE SCARS WILL OCCUR. COMMENTS: PFFT. THIS GASTER IS A TRAIN WRECK UNLIKE SOME OF THE OTHER GASTERS IN THE OTHER UNIVERSES. I SHOULD THINK MYSELF LUCKY."

"Sans? We're going inside the lab, do you wish to follow us?" asked Grillby as the rest of the group made their way towards the labs. The short skeleton slowly looked at Grillby, his breath finally returning to normal. "crap. i just remembered something i didn't want to remember." Sans shook his head, his weary eye sockets closing as his left hand massaged his forehead. "Vinnie knows. Vinnie knows about something that we don't know. We need to go back to my lab and interrogate her, Grillby." Sans spoke with that serious voice of his as his back straightened out and made him about an inch taller. Before Grillby could reply, Undyne's shout caught their attention.

"WHAT! FRISK!"

Without even thinking about it, Sans' hand grabbed Grillby's and the two teleported to the inside of the Lab, thankfully, somewhere where they could easily hide and simply come out as though they had been around.

"I-I don't know! These vines were never here, I mean, why would plants be wrapped around my elevator? W-wait, I don't think Frisk is in the labs anymore. She's not showing up on my cameras." Dr. Alphys replied as her nose twitched and she sniffled every now and then.

Papyrus looked down at his cell phone before looking up. "DR. ALPHYS, WHY DID YOU ASK US TO COME OVER?" He asked with curiosity seeping in his words. Flowey the Flower had told him to gather everyone and to bring them to the castle, to HELP Frisk. Just as they had been doing that, Dr. Alphys called, regarding Frisk and something she needed to tell them.

Sans came to the realization just before Dr. Alphys validated his hunch. There was only one way Frisk could have escaped the lab, and that elevator led to...

"I-I needed you help! King Asgore is set on facing Frisk, but we can't let him! Frisk will die, or King Asgore will die! I-If Frisk stays a bit longer, m-maybe we could figure out another way! We've never analyzed a human, maybe there could be a break through!" Dr. Alphys explained, and immediately Undyne agreed. "ALRIGHT! So we just keep her in the labs, that'll stop her from facing Asgore."

"...she's not in the labs anymore." Sans breathed out, looking at the big monitor which showed the empty L9 floor and opened elevator which lead to the castle.

*********°*********•*********°*********

The Mountain Boss Arc: We interrupt this BOSS Fight to bring you... *********°*********•*********°*********

"This is the barrier. This is what keeps us all trapped underground."

Frisk gulped, looking around the white vacuum that seemed so vast and... empty. It looked like a white rectangular tunnel but she could feel the strong magic weaved into what looked like white blocks all knitted together like chains. She could see the brightness at the end of the tunnel—A brightness that seemed a bit familiar. A golden light, a warmth that could only be the sun! The surface was so close! But the barrier... such strong magic made the air around the barrier so heavy! It was almost as if gravity was stronger here, as if she added on another twenty pounds, it just... so surreal! She was going to be slowed down, no doubt about it.

"If... If by chance you have unfinished business... Please do what you must."

Silence. Letting out a shaky breath, Frisk looked back, her hand clenching her chest as she shook her head. There was no turning back anymore. Even if she wanted to see dunkle Sans or MK... the elevator doors were closed shut by green vines that had appeared out of nowhere. But it was fine... Frisk was at peace now. Alphys looked much happier... Undyne was happier... dunkle Sans wasn't as mysterious and gloomy anymore, and Blooky was being more sociable. She had said her goodbyes; she had seen those she couldn't live without one last time... this was fine.

She knew who she was now, too.

"I'm ready, King Asgore." Frisk spoke, steeling her nerves as she knew what had to happened. She was bound to die many times, perhaps hundreds, or even thousands of times, but she had to stay determined! The fate of Monsters and Humans rested on her shoulders! She had to find the softest spot in King Asgore so that they could converse! Perhaps together they can think of another way! Perhaps she could help Dr. Alphys in the labs! Maybe she could learn more about her SOUL, or something, there had to be someway! Some other way! Even if it meant dying for their sake. After all... her family resided in Snowdin now. There was nothing in surface worth more than the friends she'd made so far, not even her papa, at least, now that she knew the truth and what awaited her if she returned to him. If she was meant to die, then at least she'd rather her death have meaning and worth.

"... I see... This is it, then..." his words rolled off his tongue, his eyes staring at the end of the tunnel where he would soon be standing with all seven SOULs. If he couldn't kill one child, how could he kill the rest of humanity? He NEEDS to do this, for everyone. Even if Toriel despised him... he promised he'd get her to the surface, didn't he? Even if her love for him turned hate, he knew that deep down, knowing she could see the sun and the stars once more would fill him with even a bit of happiness. She did love the great outdoors, after all. If she, and everyone could finally be free at his expense... then by all means, he was going to do it. If only he had done this from the start, then Asriel would still be alive... even if he and Toriel hated him, they'd at least be all in the surface enjoying their lives and fulfilling their dreams.

Asgore turned around and looked down at the little girl who stared back at him with soft eyes. She was now wearing an armor and a buckler, but he could see that she had no weapons on her hands. "If you had killed someone... anything... this would be much easier on me; don't you know? Innocent eyes full of warmth and love—how you remind me of little Asriel when he was your size. No-NO! You're going to do this, Asgore! You've lost so much; you can't let this girl stop you!"Asgore thought to himself as he cleared his throat. "Ready?" he asked with a smile as he clapped his hands and watched the little girl look at the SOUL jars with fear.

Looking down and trying to ready himself, Asgore began the battle field by reaching out to the child and bringing out her SOUL.

Immediately, Frisk took several steps back as her red SOUL popped out and music began to play. It was starting.

The music that played in the background felt so... regal, nothing like a battle song... it was almost like an introduction. The Great Mountain King, Asgore, now stood before her with his sad eyes looking down as he steadied his breaths. The strange light that lit the room coveted the two of them, and the twilight of the surface pierced through the barrier, as if teasing Frisk and Asgore. It was what they wanted the most... and this was the end of her journey.

Frisk took a deep breath and stared at King Asgore as her right hand turned into a small fist that hit her puffed out chest. No matter how long it takes, no matter the injuries or pain... she was going to get through to King Asgore! The idea of giving everyone a 'happily ever after'... it filled her with DETERMINATION!

"Human..." Asgore spoke softly, lifting his head as the royal Bergentrückung melody ended. "It was nice to meet you. Goodbye." He managed to smile before lowering his head. Beneath his regal attire, his right hand had slowly begun to burn and his palm could feel the fiery energy of his magic beginning to compose his trident. No Mercy.

Just before he could manifest the entire trident, Alisdair, he noticed a fireball that seemed to be hurdling towards his way. "...Hm? W-What the—?" he thought to himself as his right hand lost focus and he braced himself for a fiery explosion. He could feel that familiar wave of magic wash over his body as he was sent flying to the right, his eyes looking into the direction and noticing a familiar purple robe and set of motherly eyes. He was much too captivated to care about his wellbeing to care that he was about to have a very rough landing in about a second.

"...m-mom...?" Frisk whispered, her hands trembling as stood frozen into place. But... but the door to the RUINS had been locked shut! When did she... how did she...?

"What a miserable creature," Toriel spoke, her eyes glaring to where Asgore had landed before she turned to her human child with warm eyes. "Torturing such a poor, innocent, youth..."

Memories came back of that fateful day, when she had fallen down and was greeted by Flowey the Flower. She was scared, confused... betrayed and alone. Vulnerable. She had just lost her mother to real monsters, and she wanted nothing more than her mother's protection.

A mother's tender love.

A mother's fierce devotion.

Toriel smiled warmly, but braced herself as Frisk ran up to her and embraced her, whimpering in soft sobs. "Mama! Mama Goat!" she cried as she loosened her grip so that Toriel could bend down and look her in the eyes. She smiled and shook her head. "Do not be afraid, my child. It is I, TORIEL, your friend and guardian." Toriel reassured her as her hand gently wiped away the crocodile tears that flowed, the little girl looking at her as though she thought this was a dream. "Mama Toriel... what are you doing here? I thought... I thought..." Frisk whimpered, trying to compose herself.

"At first, I thought I'd let you make your journey alone... but I could not stop worrying about you. Your adventure must have been so treacherous... and ultimately it would have burdened you with a horrible choice. To leave this place, you would have to take the life of another person. You would have to defeat ASGORE. However... I realized... I cannot allow that. It is not right to sacrifice someone simply to let someone leave here. Is that not what I've been trying to prevent the whole time? So, for now, let us suspend this battle. As terrible as ASGORE is... He deserves mercy too."

The mother and daughter looked each other in the eyes as love was exchanged silently between the two. Certainly, Toriel was not her real biological mother, but even so, Frisk could feel the same motherly love seeping from this tender goat. Frisk broke eye contact when she saw a big shadow approach them, limping with a stupid grin on his face. "Tori..." he breathed out blissfully, his sparkling eyes looking over the woman he loved dearly. She said he deserved mercy too...! "...you came back!" He added with glee that was cut short by Toriel's sassy tone. "Do not 'Tori' me, Dreemurr! You pathetic welp. If you really wanted to free our kind... you could have gone through the barrier after you got ONE SOUL... taken six SOULS from humans, then come back and freed everyone peacefully. But instead you made everyone live in despair... Because you would rather wait here, meekly hoping another human never comes."

Frisk shook her head to Toriel's amazement. "Please don't be mad at him, Mama Toriel." she begged, noticing that Asgore had been taken aback by her response. "He did what he thought was right, not for himself, but for everyone in the monster kingdom. I... I didn't want to fight, but everyone's freedom is on the line. If I were him... I'd also be in a tight spot. He's a good King because good leaders make the hard decisions for everyone, even if it's against their beliefs. I still think he's a good king and a good person. I know he was about to fight me, mama, but... but I don't want any more fights. My mama and papa would constantly fight in the last memories I have of them; I don't want that to happen again. I don't want two people who love each other to be fighting like that again."

Toriel felt her mouth dry of words. Was this the same Frisk she took under her wing? When she first arrived, the young babe couldn't read or speak so well. Her little Frisk had undoubtedly grown.

Asgore looked down with a frown as he shook his head. "...Tori... You're right... I'm a miserable creature..." he spoke, lifting his head with a smile that formed ever so slowly. "...but, do you think we can at least be friends again?"

Frisk turned to Mama Toriel who continued to have her slightly angry expression. She gave a heavy sigh as she shook her head. "NO, Asgore." Her eyes looked at Frisk who seemed to frown just a bit, but at least the child could see past the barrier she put up. Toriel still had feelings for Asgore, no doubt in her mind. She didn't hate him at all, she could see that much. Perhaps in time...

"Ngahhhhhh! ASGORE! Human! Nobody fight each other! Everyone's gonna make friends, or else I'll...! I'll..."

Frisk jumped up as Undyne came burst into the room, her face flustered as though she had been running. She glanced at her mama who seemed to be blushing and Asgore who seemed... rather sad, perhaps by Toriel's response. Ah! He still loved her deeply!

"Hello. I am TORIEL. Are you the human's friend? It is nice to meet you." Toriel introduced herself, trying to break the ice. This monster looked a lot like Ulfer...! Was this Ulfer's daughter, all grown up? An exact same grin that Ulfer would wear began to appear on her face. "Uh, yeah...? Nice to meet you!" She beamed, slowly making her way to Asgore.

Frisk looked at Toriel who seemed to be in deep thought. Now that Frisk thought about it... How did her mama and Undyne get here? All the doors and exits were barred shut by vines and plant life. It was... impossible. Hm... maybe Undyne could've made a big explosion or used her spears to make a hole or something but her mama...? Oh, her fire magic, still, would it be possible? Hm... Frisk looked at Undyne who seemed to be whispering something into King Asgore's ear. She seemed to be covered in rubble. That was odd.

"Hey Asgore, is that your ex? Jeez. That's rough, buddy." Undyne whispered, her head turning to Dr. Alphys who seemed to be breathing very hard as she ran inside as well. Her cheeks were red and swollen by the sudden exercise. She too had a bit of dust and rubble on her lab coat, but a lot less than Undyne. "H-Hey! Nobody hurt each other!"

Frisk was silent, much like everyone else in the room. It took Dr. Alphys several moments for her to process the current situation. No one was fighting and there was... a female goat.

"Oh! Are you another friend? I am TORIEL. Hello!"

... Dr. Alphys looked at Frisk who seemed so content at the moment. This was normal for her?! "Uh, h-h-hi!" she mustered up, dashing to Undyne's side as Papyrus caught up to her from behind.

"HEY, NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE...! THEN I'LL! BE FORCED! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"

Toriel turned to look at Frisk who seemed to beam, her legs moving to Papyrus immediately as she saw him. "Papy!" She grinned, running to him as she opened her arms wide and was welcomed into his arms. She could feel herself be lifted and twirled around, the happy skeleton setting her down and looking at Toriel with confused eyes. "OH! HELLO YOUR MAJESTY!" Papyrus saluted, but quickly bent down to Frisk and whispered, "PSST! HEY HUMAN... DID ASGORE SHAVE...? AND... CLONE HIMSELF?"

Sans looked back, wondering if Grillby would be okay at the entrance. He said he felt someone had followed them and stayed back, but Grillby was a strong monster. Scary even. Alright. Time to face a new timeline, and hopefully, a permanent ending with a good outcome.

Stepping inside the room, Sans noticed a tall goat lady. Huh. Okay... not sure where this random lady came from, but at least no one was fighting and Frisk was safe. Smiling even.

"hey guys... what's up?" Sans asked casually. The response he was about to receive would change his life forever.

"Hello, I think we may... know each other?" Toriel asked as she impulsively walked over to the short skeleton with a blush and sparkling eyes that Asgore immediately recognized as a sign of interest. Those were the same eyes that had fallen in love with him when they were younger... No way! Sans and Toriel...? N-no! He was Arial's son—wait, she didn't know, did she? It looked like the first time they were meeting. To Asgore's side, Undyne grasped his shoulder. "It's okay, Asgore." she reassured him, noticing how his eyes trembled with tears that brimmed his eyelids. Undyne was right. It was going to be okay. Toriel babysat Sans when he was a wee baby. Surely... wait. He was comedian. She loved puns. Oh no.

"oh hey. i recognize your voice, too." Sans replied, trying to comprehend that this was the lady behind the door. It was a goat lady! A tall goat lady... Queen Toriel the goat lady! She was Frisk's mother, the lady he made his promise to. The promise that was more trouble to him than what he originally thought.

... he had a crush on ol' lady Toriel? Now he remembers her. She was Asgore's ex... and she was the lady behind the door. The lady he had a crush on for obvious reasons, and she was Queen Toriel. How was he supposed to react to this?

"I am TORIEL. So nice to meet you." She smiled, unable to believe that she was meeting one of Arial's great grandchildren. He was so short! And the other one was so tall! The short skelly chuckled as he winked and replied, "the name's sans. and, uh, same."

Toriel blushed, turning to Papyrus. "Oh! Wait, then...! This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you! Your brother has told me so much about you."

Frisk smiled, feeling herself a lot more... lighter. Even with all this heavy armor, she felt at total ease, light as a feather. Everything was okay. Everything was perfect. Her mama, her dunkle, and Papy were getting to know each other... maybe she could live with them? And Asgore looked quite sad, but she was sure that mama Toriel would soften up in due time! Of course, she also noticed that certain spark between Toriel and Sans, but wondered if her dunkle Sans would be a good Papa instead of dunkle... Asgore seemed more like a Papa. But it wasn't up to her, huh? And they were just meeting. There was plenty of time to sort out all these feelings.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Meanwhile...

*********°*********•*********°*********

"What is she?" MK trembled behind Gerson who stood adamantly in the way towards where Frisk and company must be at. To his side, Grillby had flared up into a confused scorching flame. "A she-demon. Chara, you're supposed ta' be dead!" Gerson shouted, looking back and signaling MK to run with all the other monsters who had shown up to support Frisk. The small monster did as he was signaled, running after all the monsters who had gone to help Frisk while Gerson and Grillby dealt with an unknown villainess.

In front of the two monsters stood a tall teenage Chara whose skin appeared to be metal and whose red SOUL appeared to be turning black with tiny veins. The red SOUL was encased in a glass chamber which had the number '9' painted, and it was situated in the abdomen.

"Annihilate... them...!" Chara seemed to utter, her head hanging low and her hand gripping her beloved dagger. "...Catch up... to Frisk!" She added, almost as if she were fighting with herself. Her head snapped up revealing those red piercing eyes, but one of them seemed very wrong. Half of her face was metal that seemed to be dissolving around her eye into black mist. Her skin seemed to be appearing very slowly, but Grillby could recognize the metal. "Gerson, Chara isn't dead per say. That's her original SOUL. Chara, what have you done?! The underground's temperature and power is going destabilize, and that computer is bad news!"

Gerson turned to looked at Grillby with confusion, wondering what in the heck he was talking about. What did he know, that he didn't?

"Synthetic Vessel Control Complete. Welcome, Vinnie."

Gerson looked at Chara whose body seemed to ease into a relaxed pose, her red eyes glowing a bright blue. "I don't think I'm bad news, darling. Chara knows well enough that we are working toward the same goal, and causing the catastrophic eruption of Mt. Ebbot certainly helps our goals in the long term. Chara needed a body, and I needed my vessel that you and Sans stole. Once we defeat Frisk, Chara will be able to inhabit Frisk and together we shall finally put an end to this miserable timeline. Now Chara... I leave all the fighting to you as originally promised. Enjoy~"

Gerson straightened his back and stood in a defensive position when he realized the blue glow had disappeared and the fleshy appearance of this... creature had finished. The glass SOUL chamber where Chara's SOUL rested was no longer visible, although a dark glow seemed to be given off around its abdomen. It looked like a living, breathing, Chara. A metal that grows skin... what kind of witchcraft was this? Certainly, it must be a creation of the DaFonts. Even after death, their creations continue to bring chaos his life.

"...Chara?" asked Grillby with a gulp, watching as a grin began to spread across her face. "...yes, Grillby dear? Hehehe~"

A shudder rolled down Grillby's spine and his shaky breath hitched. To his side, Gerson had leaped forward with his hammer and missed his powerful attack. Chara had jumped to the right just in time to avoid Gerson's hammer, and where he stood was a small crater. The old man was still strong, huh?

Grillby shook his head. "Chara, stop this! I don't want to hurt you." He spoke as he avoided the sudden thrust of a dagger to his face. She was quick on her feet. Too quick. Quickly, Grillby created a fire wall between himself and Chara, fear pumping through him as he realized the dagger had almost hit him on his throat and was now engulfed in flames. Her grin seemed to grow smaller and her red eyes stared at him. "...stop it." she muttered, her eyes growing frustrated as she shook her head and turned to Gerson, her grin appearing as she dodged another powerful hit. Sprinting behind the turtle, Chara twirled her dagger and impaled the old turtle behind his knee using her left hand before sprinting away to safety.

"Gah! You quick child... you always took any opportunity..." Gerson breathed out, his eyes locked unto Chara who began to laugh, her hand bringing the dagger to her cheek and spreading the blood as though it were lotion. "Your misery... your hate... it invigorates me! MORE! DIE FOR ME!" She boomed, her SOUL's black veins growing thicker and throbbing.

Standing on the sidelines, Grillby watched as Gerson demonstrated his absolute defense, blocking and countering any attacks... but with each passing minute, he realizing something was very wrong. Chara grew stronger, more insane the more she battled the tortoise and the darkness in her SOUL grew. The glowing seemed to get darker and more intense. Something that also seemed to be wrong was that she was completely neglecting Grillby.

Gerson grunted as his back ached, but finally he landed a good hit on the lass—a critical hit to be exact. Without thinking on it, he powered up his hammer with electricity, sending the girl flying into the rubble. All of this strength and power had gone into that one attack... it should have done it. Taking deep breaths, Gerson let go of his hammer and bent down, sweat suddenly appearing all over his forehead. He was too old for this.

"GERSON!" Screamed Grillby behind him, and quickly, the turtled turned around.

Two centimeters away, was the sparkling edge of Chara's dagger along with that insane smile of hers. Her eyes were wide with bloodlust, and her hand, body and neck were restrained by a red flaming rope that had shot out from Grillby.

The Angel of Death was just two centimeters away for Gerson, smiling and ready to give him the death he had always craved... but not today, thanks to Grillby. Gerson, the decorated warrior who had never let his defense down, would have been a second too late to defend himself from an attack for once. At the moment, he was frozen into place, staring at what was once one of his best pupils. Those red eyes of hers sheltered pain behind their insanity, a pain that he hadn't realized was there until now. Grillby had seen what he did not, and that was that Chara still had a bit of good in her, even if it was small.

The smell of burning flesh finally brought Gerson into movement and he jumped back with his hammer in his hand, turning to Grillby who had released Chara. Her hands seemed to tremble much like her lips which she had shut close with her teeth. "Chara, I don't want to hurt you! Please, let's talk about it! Steamy believed in you, and so will I!"

Gerson watched as the demon's shoulders began to tremble as though under a great weight. "AAAHHH! STOP IT!" She screamed, her hand letting go of her dagger as both her hands grasped her neck where the burn marks were. She seemed to be holding in the pain of the burning Grillby had caused, but more than that, she seemed to be trying to avoid talking. It was as if she wanted to be in more pain.

Suddenly, the earth shook. "...What in tarnation is that?" Gerson asked, noticing that the ground had begun to quake and several holes had appeared. Grillby could see the lava beneath them inside the holes, and he realized this was now a dangerous environment. He and Gerson could fall to their deaths if they weren't careful.

Unfortunate for them, Chara had also realized this.

"Goodbye forever, Grillby dear. Oblivion awaits."

*********°*********•*********°*********

Back with Frisk and Company...

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk trembled in place as the ground shook, her eyes falling to MK who seemed to be turning to pixels. Everyone was. "N-no! Please Flowey!" begged Frisk who had taken a step back.

Everything had been going great, and then... and then Flowey appeared with all the souls and now... everyone... NO!

Everything was turning to white now, and Frisk could only shake her head. What was going to happen now? White. White. White. White.

Black.

Everything had suddenly gone black and Frisk was in an empty room, alone... no. Not alone. The little goat. That person with their back to her, it looked like the little goat. Before Frisk could say anything, he began laugh. "Finally... I was so tired of being a flower." He turned around and Frisk stared at him. "Howdy! Chara, are you there? It's me, your best friend..."

Their eyes met for the first time.

Frisk didn't know what to think anymore. He was the kind and gentle goat that had taken care of Chara. Opposite of her, Asriel looked over Chara, noticing that she looked different... But it had to be Chara. Behind those worried eyes was the person who lied to him, who abandoned him and ultimately only led him to his death, all in the name of vengeance.

The pain of betrayal flowed strongly in his veins now as he powered up. She looked so confused, but she knew who he was. Who was she trying to manipulate now? "ASRIEL DREEMURR! ...REMEMBER THAT NAME, CHARA?!"

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk gulped. "...the absolute GOD of Hyperdeath...? That doesn't sound very good..." she whispered to herself, looking at Asriel who seemed to laugh as he threw fireballs her way, much like Toriel had done so when she fought her. Okay. Time to ACT! Her small hand hit the ACT button as quickly as she could, and noticed that two options had shown up. Dream and Hope? If she needed anything right now, it was definitely hope. She had to get through this! For everyone! She felt herself becoming tougher, and a small wind enveloped around her body. She could probably take less damage now! Opposite of Frisk, Asriel smirked as he powered himself up. He was going to beat Chara for once, and then, they were going to play forever! No longer stuck as a flower, Asriel knew that this was the only way he'd be able realize what he always wanted from Chara.

Suddenly, the music began to change, along with the darkness. Light... colors everywhere. The music, the colors, the intensity of the fight suddenly changed.

The true final battle was finally beginning.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Gerson thought looked around as they fell down, his eyes catching view of a large piece of ground that was not too far off. Using his prior experience of parachuting off of a giant duck, Gerson reached the piece of sturdy rock and held unto it, breaking his fall and slowing him down. He looked to Grillby who had just fallen faster than him, his scream causing the old turtle to laugh at old memories of when rookies were falling off of the giant ducks. Good times.

"Hey youngster! Slow down! Don't fall like that, make yourself big and slow down!" Gerson shouted, gripping the piece of earth as he began to change its angle. Time to catch up to him.

Grillby looked at the impending lava beneath him. It was gonna happen. Gerson was getting close, but would he make it in time? What if he touches the lava and DIES? HOLY BALLS OF FIRE HE WAS GOING TO DIE.

No, no! Breathe! Steamy survived worse than this… right! He was made of FIRE! What if he tried to absorb the lava? It'd shock his system, sure, but… would it kill him?

Gerson watched as Grillby angled himself so that his feet fell first, his head looking up and his arms reaching out to his hand. "Come on! Gggggotcha!" Gerson shouted, grabbing his firey hand and pulling him up as the piece of earth suddenly hit the lava with a splash. Grillby had been pulled up, the lower half of his legs had been submerged inside the lava.

Gerson let himself fall back unto his shell, breathing out hard as he shouted, small bits of lava burning into his clothes and skin. "SWEET LADY CASMORE'S MERCY! NNNGGGAAAHH! NNGGRRRR!" Gerson exploded in screams before using his right arm as a means to bite down and hold in his screams. Come on General Gerson! This was nothing!

Beside him, Grillby seemed to be laughing and weeping at the same time. "Holy burgers, I'm alive… hot damn… it's weird. It feels weird…" he breathed out, sitting up and looking at his scorched lower legs. His favorite pants were ruined. Still… he could feel a surreal amount of power in his feet. What would have happened if he let his whole body get submerged in the lava?

Grillby turned to Gerson when he felt the sizzling of his exposed legs with liquid. That's when he realized… it was blood. He gulped, looking at the old man's expression, noticing that the excitement was dying down and he was sweating like crazy. "H-hey ol' man Gerson. Hey, look at me! Keep screaming like crazy!" Grillby begged, looking down at his long button down shirt. He was about to rip it for parts when Gerson stopped him.

"H-hey fire monster… y-you need to seal the wound on my leg." Gerson spoke, breathing hard as memories came back.

"Whoohoohoo, that's some scar, young lady. Why don't you let Toriel heal your skin?" Gerson asked, looking away as the girl changed her sweater. "No thanks. These scars are reminders of my constant battles. They make me who I am… right, Gerson? You have a few scars yourself." Chara responded, adjusting her sweater and feeling the ointment against the threads of it.

Gerson finally looked unto the girl once more. "I fought wars, me girl. I chose to keep these scars because monsters died, or because something important happened that I should never forget. You have scars littered across your entire body! And a huge one on your back!"

Chara watched as Asriel had finally stopped crying. That idiot, crying over leaving a bruise on her. It was only a bruise. "All of these scars are from a war I could never win on my own. It was my sister, Tara and I, against the world up there. I'd get beaten down, and she'd heal me up with ointments, or by sealing the scars with threads. The needles were painful, yes, but they were nothing like setting my skin on fire so that I wouldn't die from blood loss. That giant scar on back? She sealed it up with my dagger that she had set on fire until it had turned a bright red. It was the worst, most painful scar I have, not because she set my skin on fire, but because that night she died trying to protect me, I guess. Or maybe she just got greedy and wanted to kill the man who had enslaved up as fighting puppets. Who knows… So, are you going to give me back my sewing kit?"

Gerson sighed. "Grillby… touch me wound until it seals up, got it?" he demanded, noticing that Grillby looked quite apprehensive. "W-what? N-no! Why would I—?!" Grillby asked, but was silenced by the turtle's hand that grabbed his and forced his hot touch unto the open stab wound.

An ungodly scream erupted from Gerson as his skin seared and smoked. Grillby tried to pull his hand away but the turtle's death grip on his hand kept it still. He tried cooling down his body temperature on his hand, but the sudden lava absorption had disrupted his cooling abilities and his hand remained scorching hot.

Finally, Gerson had let go as his screamed died down. Grillby gulped, inspecting the wound and realizing that his plan had worked, somewhat. Most of the wound had been sealed, at least, where Grillby's hand had been set. "Gerson, it worked! Should I finish the job?" asked Grillby but Gerson vehemently shook his head. "That's quite enough burning, son." He sighed, holding in his pain.

So, Chara had to go through with that as a child, eh?

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk struggled against the rainbow colored ropes wrapped around her body, her heart pounding. Earlier, she had seen it. The timelines. All of them. She even remembered a few of them. The first timeline, when she had fallen down, the timeline where she had killed Undyne, the timeline where she killed the angry dummy, the timeline where… where she had killed Sans. All of those timelines had passed through her and into the white goat head that seemed to erase all of those timelines. Did he… really erase them?

No. Of course not. Even if he 'erased' them… they lived in her mind. Undoing her mistakes wasn't going to be as easy as that.

She looked at Asriel as he sent more of those beams, her mouth dry as she braced herself. Her legs ran and zig-zagged as best as she could, but in the end…

The beam hit her again.

She could feel it. Her HP dropping down to zero. Her heart had come to a halt and she stared at her red SOUL as it shattered in half, her body dropping down, dead.

She needed to do it again. Earlier, when she had died… her resolve, her DETERMINATION, it… it made a miracle. Her red SOUL reattached itself. She didn't know it was possible! And then… she was back at it, as if nothing had happened. Was this the power of DETERMINATION? The power to alter files?

Whatever it was… she needed to do it again.

She opened her eyes as she stood against Asriel again. Was this going to go on forever? Her trembling lips let out a sigh as she tried hard to struggle, but… nothing happened.

She couldn't move her body now. Nothing happened. "N-no!" she screamed internally.

She struggled again. Nothing happened.

Sweat poured down her forehead as she manifested the infamous golden blocks which Chara had forbidden her. Now that she remembered what they did… what they do… she had to attempt to reach her SAVE file. If she saved at the best times… she'd have a good chance of… well… surviving and getting further in the fight!

Manifesting the golden blocks, Frisk pushed herself and managed to fall down unto the golden block that would give her access to her SAVE File. She fell with a loud 'thud' and she looked up, watching as the golden blocks remained there… with visible cracks. No… No.

Frisk could hear Asriel laughing in the background, but she was not going to give up! She struggled once more, managing to move her feet and legs again, much like before, but her upper torso was still nonresponsive. She got up and hit the golden button with her head, but… nothing happened.

She couldn't save the game. Was this really it?

Frisk looked at Asriel who continued to laugh his butt off. Was this really that funny to him? Why?

Was she really that powerless to stop him? She could manifest the golden blocks, they had to do SOMETHING! She could still SAVE. Save… save…

As she thought to herself, she noticed the SAVE button light up with colors. Huh? W-why?

Silently, Frisk breathed in. Okay. She was going to find out.

Across the space that divided reality from the void, Florencia clasped her hands together as her eyes stared widely into her daughter's eyes. "Yes m'hija. You can do it. It worked, Gaster, It worked!" Florencia grinned with joyous tears in her eyes as she turned to the alarmed ghoul who gulped as she embraced him. "Erm… y-yes, of course it did! Y-you can let go now." Gaster spoke, his hand patting the back of Florencia's shoulder, but the angel would not budge. She was in full tears now. He stood tall and awkwardly holding unto the angel who cried into his bosom, his white eyes looking at the child had no idea her mother had helped from across the dimension. She had no idea her red SOUL was nothing but the work of her dear mother who continued to worry about her. The idea that this woman's red SOUL could be transferred or absorbed by Frisk was a load of ludicrous, but… it was true. Gaster wasn't the world's most renown scientist in the field of SOULs… it was his grandpa and his parents that were. But now that this woman had, in a way, managed to activate remnants of her SOUL inside of Frisk and thereby activate the SAVE file option Gaster had told her about, it was… she did not lie and had in fact entrusted her red SOUL to Frisk.

Gaster finally brought himself to hugging the woman, letting out a tired sigh as her sobs only got louder and more muffled against his clothes. He watched the little girl's eyes fire up with DETERMINATION as he continued to pat the angel's back. This woman had grown on him like Arial had done so a long time ago. And… he supposed helping the girl would indirectly help him and directly help his sons too. As long as the benefits were in his favor, right? His chest felt the strength of the angel grasp him harder, and her heat transcending and embracing him as well. Ah… darn this woman and his craving for heat!

Back with Frisk, the little girl's eyes fired up as she saw the new options from this strange new SAVE option. How in the heck did this option pop up? She didn't even know about it.

But enough wondering! It was time to SAVE her friends!

Her head hit against the colorful options, her head hitting Undyne's name first. Would it work?

She looked at Asriel who seemed a bit confused. "U-UNDYNE!" Frisk called out, jumping forward as her body continued to be restrained by the rainbow ropes. Come on… Come on… !

Suddenly! There! What she was looking for! A white SOUL popped out from Asriel who seemed so surprised. A battle arena suddenly emerged between Frisk and Undyne, although… something was weird about Undyne. Her face was pixelated. Why?

"Undyne…" Frisk spoke, but realized, that this Undyne didn't know. She didn't remember her. "U-Undyne, it's me!" Frisk called out, but she continued to be a stranger. Thinking quickly, Frisk recalled a few of the ways she had become friends with her. "U-Undyne, teach me how to cook!" Frisk called out to her, noticing a smile that spread across her face, although it was still quite pixelated. "Heh, why do I want to teach you how to cook…? FORGET IT! All humans will die!"

Frisk gasped, watching as Undyne threw her a spear so that she could defend herself with it. Frisk caught it with her legs and she did her best to use it as a means to block Undyne's attacks. Luckily for Frisk… her leg's grip on the spear was sturdy enough to hold off the attacks. Thank goodness! She sneaked up behind Undyne and used her head to tap her shoulder lightly. Undyne jumped back with confusion. "Why does it seem familiar…" She said to herself, before shaking her head. "You're our real enemy!"

Frisk huffed. Okay, one more time! Frisk took on Undyne's attacks once more, successfully blocking them all. Alright… time to show Undyne who Frisk was!

Frisk let out a scream as she charged unto Undyne with Determination, her body hitting Undyne. "It's me, Frisk! Come, on, you gotta remember!" Frisk begged, looking up as her body was against Undyne's.

Undyne looked down unto the girl, whose fighting spirit was strong… but she lacked the fighting abilities. She burst into laughter, her grin spreading across her face as she hugged Frisk. "Well, some humans are OK, I guess!"

Frisk grinned herself, watching as suddenly Undyne and the battle arena turned to pixels and disappeared, back into Asriel. She noticed the confusion in his eyes…. Did he not know what happened? Did what happen, happen without him knowing? Or outside of the current time…?

Frisk didn't know but she used his confusion in order to continue saving her friends. Her forehead was hurting, but she continued to bump it against the blocks. Time to save Dr. Alphys.

"Dr. Alphys!" Frisk called out, watching as she appeared in her polka dotted dress. The battle arena around them electrifying… wow. Alright. Hm… a good way to bring her out? Memories of them together…? OH! That's right! "Dr. Alphys, help me with a quiz!" Frisk asked, noticing that she immediately seemed interested. Just as sudden, she recoiled. "I've got to keep lying…"

Frisk gulped as mini-mettatons appeared. Oh no. Frisk's feet ran around the battle arena, dodging all of the mini-metta's attacks. Once it was over, it was time for Frisk to think of more memories. "Alright, what's your favorite cartoon?" Frisk asked, watching as Alphys seemed to nerd out and give her a long explanation before once more recoiling back. "All I do is hurt people…"

Frisk watched as incoming bombs seemed to make their way towards her. Oh boy. Her hands struggled against rainbow bonds around her, but they managed to grab her cell phone. Quickly, she used the bullet app that Dr. Alphys had installed, and used it to blow up the bombs before they could reach her. It was the only way.

Tired, Frisk gave a sigh and looked at her phone. Dr. Alphys would always call her on her cell phone… she wondered…

Dr. Alphys watched as the human struggled her hand and the phone. Suddenly, her cell phone was ringing! She looked at it and she blushed. FRISK! FRISK HAD CALLED HER! HOW!? OH MY GOD! Memories rushed back into her head. This human was Frisk. How could she forget! Everything she had just said… "No, that's not true! My friends like me! And I like you too!"

Asriel blinked. Frisk was back. She just… disappeared. How? WHY! What was she DOING? Without another noticed, she disappeared again.

And again.

Finally, it stopped. She had stopped, and she stared at him. Those brown eyes of hers… just staring at him with sad eyes.

Frisk let out a short sigh. "nah, i'm rootin' for ya, kid." Sans' voice echoed in her voice. Something about his words felt… deep. Almost as if he knew what was going on. Did he know? Sans knew so many things, but he was still just a regular monster. When she had reached for him and his brother, Sans spoke about giving up like he did. Is that how Sans really felt? All of her friends, before they remembered her, spoke about their inner insecurities and desires before she had met them all. Sans… just spoke about giving up.

Was that why he was so lazy all the time? So messy? Instead of being organized and neat like in his lab underneath the house?

Still… his encourgement meant the world to her. He believed in her. She wasn't alone. Even though Chara left her… she wasn't alone.

…could the same be said about Asriel?

She looked at the options, finding a gliltched out name and file. She needed to SAVE someone else, but who? Was it…?

Frisk looked at the scary looking goat, her heart throbbing as she remembered him in Chara's memories.

"… Asriel."

She looked up and saw the mass of confusion in his eyes. "Huh? What are you doing…!?" He asked in a menacing manner, but Frisk could only respond with a gently voice. "Asriel… I'm here for you. You don't need to be alone anymore."

Asriel Dreemurr, GOD of HYPERDEATH… felt his stone cold heart throb as the memories washed over him. "Chara… I'm here for you. You don't need to be alone anymore." His voice echoed as flashbacks came crashing into his mind. The human girl who had entered the underground cold, hurt, and above all, alone and weary of company… the human girl he had fallen in love with, for whom he'd do absolutely anything for… he had seen her smile when he had told her that. Her red, ruby eyes sparkling as her lips curled into a smile, her hands reaching out to him and hugging him—she hated having contact with people. The shy goat prince who had a hard time making friends and being sociable had found a friend out of the awkward and hurt human. All she needed was a friend, someone to reach out to her…

And now…

She was reaching out to him, he, who had been deeply hurt by the one he loved the most. Blinded by his rage, his sadness, and exile… he had become just like her.

"Wh… What did you do…? What's this feeling…? What's happening to me?" he asked himself, his heart pounding against his chest. "No! NO! I don't need ANYONE!" he roared, his inner rage once more fueling him against these… feelings. These stirred up, relics of when…

Frisk gasped, trying to dodge the beams he had sent her way, but she got hit. Still, her DETERMINATION seemed to be shielding her, because her HP wasn't falling as fast. "Asriel!" her gentle voice called out to him, her brown eyes sparkling with warmth as she looked over him.

"STOP IT! Get away from me! Do you hear me!? I'll tear you apart!" He shouted, raising his hands as he sent out beams, gulping as one of them hit her. He sent out less beams this time, watching as she was finally able to dodge them all this time. "A-Asriel! I'm right here!" Frisk breathed as he caught her breath, looking over him as his eyes looked down with sad eyes and expression.

"Chara… Do you know why I'm doing this…?" Asriel asked, noticing that she seemed confused. "Why I keep fighting to keep you around…?" he added, sending weak fireballs her way, but moving them aside at the last moment so that she wouldn't get hurt.

"Asriel…" Frisk spoke, blushing when she realized it. He missed Chara, he thought she was Chara. Should she tell him? Would he believe her? Would it be better to keep him thinking she was her?

The goat god gave a sigh, continuing to look down. "I'm doing this… because you're special, Chara. You're the only one that understands me. You're the only one who's any fun to play with anymore."

Frisk watched as he sent fireballs her way again, but at the last moment, redirected them out of her way again.

"…Asriel…" Frisk breathed out, her bright cheeks growing hotter as she looked at the sad goat god. He…

Asriel thought for a moment in silence, looking over her. "No… That's not JUST it. I… I… I'm doing this because I care about you, Chara! I care about you more than anybody else!"

Frisk could feel the stinging of tears on her eyes, her throat hurting a little bit as she tried to piece a sentence together but she could not. She watched as he angrily made fireballs again, but just like all the other times, he moved them out of her way at the last moment.

"Oh… Asriel…" Frisk whispered, not knowing how to respond to him. She wished Chara was here to hear him out.

Opposite of her, Asriel shook his head. "I'm not ready for this to end. I'm not ready for you to leave. I'm not ready to say goodbye to someone like you again…" He lamented, angrily manifesting fireballs once more, trying his hardest to hit her but once they got near her, he inevitably moved them out of her way.

"A-Asriel…!" He heard her gentle voice call out to him, making him all the more frustrated. "So please… STOP doing this…" his voice trembled as he closed his eyes and raised his head, the tears he had fought back finally coming down. "AND JUST LET ME WIN!" He begged with a shout as he raised his hands, summoning his Hyperdeath beam and putting his hands together. He felt the energy blast its way towards her, his eyes still shut close as tears continued to fall. He couldn't watch.

He could hear her cries of pain, but they didn't stop. "STOP IT!" He begged, glancing down and realizing that her HP had fallen below 1, but refused to hit 0. It was at .50! WHY!?

She continued to hold on. "STOP IT NOW!" He once more begged, his heart feeling painful again, throbbing against his chest and beginning to stop.

Finally, his heart had hurt too much. He let his trembling hands fall down, looking down as tears continued to fall. He could hear her feet's 'pit pat' sound coming closer to him. "…Asriel…"

Defeated by his renewed heart, Asriel couldn't look up. "Chara…"

She came closer, her voice growing gentler. "A-Asriel…"

"I'm so alone, Chara…"

Frisk gulped, her arms free from their bonds at last. "Asriel…" she whispered once more, her voice unable to formulate a sentence. This was all she could say at the moment.

"I'm so afraid, Chara…"

Frisk closed her eyes. "A-As…"

"Chara, I…" Asriel spoke, noticing that he was within her arm's reach now. He could see her ballerina shoes on the ground where he had been staring off into.

"Asriel…" her hitched voice said once more, her trembling hand rising up.

The goat god sighed. "I…" he spoke, breaking his form and reverting back into his original form. The form he had been when he had been a kid. His true form. He cried and rubbed his tears off using his right arm. "I'm so sorry." His young voice apologized, looking at the girl who seemed just as apologetic.

"I always was a crybaby, wasn't I, Chara?" he asked, noticing the heartbreak in her brown eyes. Those… warm, brown eyes. He could see the fine lines of pain in her expression, her trembling frown trying hard to say something. It was so unlike Chara… probably because it wasn't her, huh? The SOULs inside of him, they all spoke her name. It wasn't Chara, and she… she seemed to be trying to tell him. She looked so hurt too.

Silently, Asriel looked down, feeling his heart ache. She wasn't Chara… why did he want to believe it was her? Chara didn't want this at all. All she wanted… all she wanted was to inflict pain. She was so selfish in her attempted conquest that she failed to realize all that she had. She had him. He would always be there for her. And now, after all this time… Instead of being there for him like she said she would, it was another human girl. A human girl who was kind, and gentle.

Asriel sighed. "… I know. You're not actually Chara, are you? Chara's been gone for a long time." He stated, feeling his heart ache once more at the thought of Chara being dead. The one he said was his other half… gone. The one thing he had been trying to avoid the most… happened. She died.

Asriel looked at the girl who looked at him with guilty eyes. Oh boy. He looked away, blushing as he realized the position he put her in. "Um… what…" he began to say, pursing his lips together sheepishly. He was an idiot, alright. "What IS your name?" he asked, his sheepish voice trying to sound cool, although he knew it probably didn't. Chara always said so.

The girl looked back at him with the same sheepish expression. "Eh? M-my name?" she asked, gulping. "Should I say my name is Flor? Or Frisk?" She asked herself internally, before finally reaching a decision. "My name is Frisk."

The goat child looked back at her with a surprised expression, his face scrunching up. "… 'Frisk'?" He asked, trying to wrap his voice around the name. He was trying to hold in his laughter. "That's…" he spoke, smiling as he held it in. "A nice name." he ended it, smiling as he notice her smile. She had caught unto his held back giggles, but she didn't seem to mind it. She seemed… happy by it.

"Frisk…" Asriel spoke again, feeling his heart beat as he said it. Another human girl was being nice to him, and her name was Frisk. "I haven't felt like this for a long time." Asriel added, with a smile, feeling his heart beat once more. "As a flower, I was soulless. I lacked the power to love other people. However, with everyone's SOULs inside of me… I not only have my compassion back… but I can feel every other monster's as well. They all care about each other so much. And… they care about you too, Frisk."

Smiling, Asriel looked over the blushing girl who was silent. "I wish I could tell you how everyone feels about you. Papyrus… Sans… Undyne… Alphys…" Asriel named off, watching the wrinkles in her nose as she smiled. How it reminded him of Chara…

"…Toriel." He finished off with a smile, chuckling soon afterwards. "Monsters are weird. Even though they barely know you… It feels like they all really love you. Haha."

Frisk laughed with him, but soon noticed his smile turn into a frown. "Frisk… I… I understand if you can't forgive me. I understand if you hate me. I acted so strange and horrible. I hurt you. I hurt so many people. Friends, family, bystanders… There's no excuse for what I've done." His voice broke as he closed his eyes.

In front of him, the girl stared at him with wide eyes. "Asriel… It's okay." She whispered, getting closer to him. "I forgive you, Asriel."

The goat child stood bewildered. "Wh… What?"

Frisk took a step closer as she looked down. "I've been through this too, and I felt the same too, but the healing begins when you learn to accept it and forgive yourself. I know you caused me a lot of hurt too, but it's okay. I'm just glad you're okay, Asriel."

Asriel closed his eyes. "… Frisk come on. You're… You're gonna make me cry again… besides even if you do forgive me… I can't keep these souls inside of me. The least I can do is return them."

*********°*********•*********°*********

The End: Chara, Sans and Asriel

*********°*********•*********°*********

As the small goat and child conversed, the sound of footsteps caused the two to turn around.

From the shadows emerged Chara who clapped, shaking her head as she smiled. "Well done, Azzy. You've proved to be a bigger pushover than I thought. Well, at least you did one thing right. You got all those delicious SOULS on ya. Hand them over, Asriel."

Frisk gasped with shock as she noticed Chara in the flesh. Wasn't Chara...?

"Frisk!" Asriel gasped, his hand reaching out for the girl's shoulders and pulling her back from Chara who had suddenly dashed forward with a bloody dagger. "Azzy, give me the souls." Chara demanded with cold eyes, throwing the knife up and catching it with ease.

Frisk looked over her shoulder where Asriel's warm hand rested, his warm eyes looking quite conflicted. "...Chara... I knew my mind wasn't playing tricks. You're here too... w-why did you leave me? Why did you—" began to ask Asriel, but he quickly took Frisk into his arms and jumped back as Chara leaped towards them with the dagger in hand.

"Why did YOU betray me, huh?! Why did you question me?! I thought I could trust you, Azzy! Now hand over the SOULs and Frisk, or I swear upon my SOUL I will kill you myself, Asriel." Chara snapped back with anger seething through her words.

Frisk could feel Asriel's arms letting go as he backed away with confused eyes. "Chara, you wanted to KILL everyone on the surface! I would never do such a thing... I-I-I'm not helping you anymore, you hear! I don't want to fight you either, Chara. I still deeply—" Asriel began to explain but was cut off by Frisk who had jumped in front of him. Chara had slashed her bloody dagger towards his torso in a matter of seconds, and the human girl had reacted in a split moment decision.

"Asriel!" Frisk exclaim, fear throbbing throughout her entire body as the turtle shell buckler deflected the dagger and thankfully withstood Chara's powerful swipe. Had that buckler not been there, Frisk could have been seriously wounded—thank heaven for Gerson's intervention!

"Tch! That stupid tortoise gave you a piece of his shell, huh? HAHAHAHAHA! You better treasure that stupid relic while you can. It's the only thing left of that poor bastard."

Asriel embraced Frisk from behind as he walked back with the girl in his arms, his eyes watching Chara carefully now. The girl who had saved him had almost gotten hurt because of Chara... He couldn't comprehend it. He loved Chara. Chara meant the world to him. He couldn't... bring himself to harming her for real. As a game, yes, but right now... right now, something felt completely wrong. The world around them was beginning to glitch. Chara's real body had died long ago, so how is it that her body was here right now? Something was causing a stress on their world, something bigger than themselves.

"hey asriel screamuur, let me out. i'll deal with chara.""WE HAVE TO SAVE FRISK! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL AID AS WELL.""Let me POUND 'ER! NO ONE hurts ol' man Gerson and gets away with it!""...is that... Chara...? My child...?"

Asriel's hand shook as a few of the SOULs began to get distressed by the events unfolding at the moment. He turned to Frisk who had taken a step back with tears rolling down as she shook her head. "N-no... Chara, please tell me you didn't hurt Mr. Gerson! He was a kind, gentle—" Frisk protested, but was silenced by Chara's shrill laugh. "Kind? Gentle? He was a murderer just like me. He was a general of a fricken' army, how do you think he got that title? By being the nicest monster? Get real, Frisk."

Asriel staggered back as a SOUL flew out of his body. "W-what? S-Sans?" Asriel asked with shock as the short skeleton stood a few feet away with worried eyes. "Where's Grillby, you monster?" he asked with that strong husky voice of his that no one recognized, except for Frisk who remembered it from Judgement Hall.

Chara tilted her head up, revealing a fading burn mark on her neck. "He tried to talk his way out of oblivion, but just like Gerson, they turned to dust. What, are you gonna cry?" Chara mocked, her eyes lighting up with energy as the skeleton's hands turned to fists. "B..U..R..N.. I..N.. H..E..L..L!" He screeched as his left eye lit up and Rex appeared, charging up his blaster as bones flew from all directions towards Chara. Standing tall, the teenage girl only laughed as her dagger pulsed red with energy. "Yesss... give me your energy..." She hissed, raising her hand and swiping her dagger which had released a powerful shock wave of dark energy, destroying many bones that would have harmed her and sending its shrapnel like bits everywhere.

Asriel felt another very strong SOUL escape him, and dash to Frisk who stood vulnerable as pieces of broken bones flew at high speeds. It occurred to Asriel that he should protect Frisk during this... heated battle, but now a tall monster stood with Frisk in his arms and a large shield that protected them both. "WORRY NOT, LITTLE HUMAN. IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HERE TO PROTECT YOU FROM ALL HARM. I WILL NOT LET THIS GIRL GET TO EVERYONE'S SOULS, INCLUDING YOURS, FRISK." Papyrus vowed with a serious tone, his right eye pulsing a bright orange as his bone shield disappeared.

"Paps, go with Frisk and search for Grillby and Gerson. I don't believe Chara one bit." Sans instructed as his left eye flickered wildly, time stopping several times as Rex appeared, circling Chara and releasing his blaster while bones continued to fly her way. Asriel could feel the distressed SOULs worry, but none of them seemed to have the willpower to escape him unlike Sans and Papyrus. It must have taken a surreal amount of willpower, love, and worry for them to do so. "WE WILL, BROTHER. WE SHALL RETURN AND AID YOU SHOULD YOU NEED THE AID." Papyrus replied, turning back and escaping the glitching room while he could.

"NO!" Screamed Chara, her eyes glowing blue as she dodged a few attacks and took a few, her skin tearing and revealing the shiny metal underneath as she escaped Sans' arena where he meant to keep her contained.

Papyrus and Frisk were so close! All she needed was one sprint and...

BLOCK.

"...Azzy, get OUT OF THE WAY!" Chara shouted as she swiped her knife and sent shock waves his way, but the small goat had transformed into his teenage seeming appearance as well. His older voice shook Chara for a moment as she stepped back with amazement.

"No, Chara. No. You used to tell me what to do, but enough is enough. I'm stopping you because I care about you, Chara. I love you, and I can't stand seeing you this hurt. You're crying inside, aren't you?"

"Shut up." Chara's voice demanded as the hand that held her knife trembled. From her peripheral vision she could see Sans teleporting, and quickly she lunged to the side in anticipation for a backstab by Sans.

Asriel began to glow in various colors as he shook his head. "No Sans! Please! I don't want Chara to get hurt. She's still a good person deep inside."

The skeleton turned to Asriel with an incredulous look. "A good person? That she-demon? Asriel, I don't think you know what's going on right now. That's not her body, that's an android named Binary who has access to data and information concerning our world. I had that stupid computer locked away in my lab for safe keeping, but Chara must have found a way to access Vinnie and release her. She's using the synthetic body to house her SOUL which had been kept down in the labs as means of stabilizing the underground's temperature and power output. Without that SOUL back in the labs, the underground is going to be engulfed in lava in several hours, but before that, there's going to be seismic earthquakes that will kill us all at any time."

Sans gulped as Asriel made several stars appear that kept them safe from Chara who had just begun her assault on the two. He looked quite serious as well as disturbed. "...Chara's really trying to kill everyone, huh...?" Asriel asked with a disappointed tone, his half-lidded eyes looking over the fierce woman before him who dodged his attacks with ease and tried to reach them with her knife. Beside him, Sans jumped unto Rex who had appeared. "...Yeah."

Asriel's breath hitched as he shook his head. For the first time, he was on the top. He had the upper advantage. He could finally beat Chara with this power but...

...but it meant beating her, didn't it? Beating her and perhaps never seeing her again…

"...I can't do it." Asriel spoke with a gentle voice as he backed away from Chara who had just dodged all of the attacks he had sent her way as a diversion. "...Sans, you have to do it. You have to fight her, one last time. I-I'll make sure Frisk and anyone else stays safe. I-I'll also make sure the world around us is stable enough."

A big smirk appeared on Chara's expression, her red stained cheek shining with the blood she had smeared on herself earlier. "I thought so, Azzy. I guess it's always been just the two of us, hasn't it, Sansy~" She cooed, bringing the knife up to her lips as the tip slid across her lower lip in an almost sensual way, her tongue licking her lips in anticipation of what was to happen.

One last dance.

*********°*********•*********°*********

The End: Saving Friends

*********°*********•*********°*********

Frisk held unto Papyrus as hard as she could as he ran so quickly, his orange eye manifesting several arrays of bones that created a small tunnel for them to get through all of the collapsed walls and cement. "...what happened here?" Frisk asked, noticing a few glitches.

"AH, WELL, WE HEARD A FEW EXPLOSIONS BEFORE WE GOT HERE. IT SEEMS MS. TORIEL WAS DETERMINED TO REACH YOU. WHEN WE GOT HERE, THE WALLS AND CEILING BEGAN TO COLLAPSE, AND I SUPPOSE IT DID. I, HOWEVER, CANNOT EXPLAIN THIS...?" Papyrus replied, coming to a stop when he came upon a dead end that lead only to lava.

"...over here!" Shouted a very faint voice.

Papyrus put Frisk down on the ground where it seemed stable enough, his eyes looking down into the lava where he thought he heard someone. "Papy, look! It's Grillby! A-And he has Gerson! We have to rescue them!"

Down below the castle, floating on a heated piece of rubble, Grillby was sweating as he tried his hardest to absorb the overflowing power so as to keep the piece cool enough for Gerson. "...I-I told you we'd be rescued, Gerson. G-Gerson...?" asked Grillby as he panted, his eyes rolling over to the old tortoise who had shallowed breaths. "A-Aye, lad. Don't worry, laddy. I ain't dead just yet, bwua ha ha ha!"

Gerson looked at his leg which had almost bled out, his muscles aching and worn out from all the power he had put into that final swing. Chara survived that swing... it was impossible. And he had let his guard down. It was a miracle he was still alive after that long fall too, of course, Grillby was lucky to have him too. Had Gerson not thought faster than him, they wouldn't have acquired this big piece of rubble during their fall. Sure, Grillby was a fire monster, but even he had a limit. The fall itself and crashing against into lava would have killed him.

Papyrus and Frisk had descended down towards them using a staircase of bones, but had stopped a few feet above the lava, where it had gotten unbearably hot. Frisk had stayed on the staircase while Papyrus had jumped down to them and had carried off Mr. Gerson who was unable to properly stand with his leg and from exhaustion. Once the monsters had ascended the stairs a few feet, Grillby had launched himself up and unto the staircase using his fire powers to propel himself.

They had been rescued by The Great Papyrus.

Once on stable grounds, everyone took a breather. "Where's Chara, Frisk?" asked Grillby with urgency in his voice, noticing that the girl looked fearful once her name was mentioned. "...she's fighting Sans. I'm scared! Chara was like a sister, a-and she wants to... b-b-but she wanted to protect me, I don't understand..." trailed off Frisk, staring off into the distance.

The limping tortoise's head snapped in their direction. "She's an abomination! That girl deserves to be resting in peace! It's been ages! She's been driven mad by the years, forgotten in who knows where!"

Papyrus walked awkwardly in silence, not understanding anything that was being said. "You're right about that, Gerson. She's been locked away in a machine, and an android named Binary has been filling her mind with genocide that fuels her anger. The two of them want to destroy all living and organic beings in the world, but you're wrong about one thing: Chara can still be redeemed. She needs someone to save her from herself." Grillby argued, turning to Frisk who looked back at him ever so fearful.

"NO! She was targeting Frisk in the first place! I will NOT allow this girl to be put in harm's way any longer!" Gerson shouted, but soon began to cough violently from exhaustion. He was in no condition to demand things.

Grillby himself felt dizzy as he walked, his magic surging with powerful magic, but his body was also weary from over usage. His lower legs had fallen into the lava and they still felt weird. "...there is... one way." Gerson added in between coughs, coming to a stop and grabbing Frisk by her shoulders so that their eyes could meet.

"...A monster and a human soul can fuse together temporarily, granting the both of them a lot of power, powerful enough to shut down Chara. I've seen it with my own eyes when I was younger, but it did not come without certain consequences if something were to go wrong. Frisk... let me lend you my BOSS SOUL. Your youth and my experience will..." began Gerson, but his coughing fit came back before he could finish.

Grillby looked down at his palms. "No, Gerson, you need rest. Sans and I read a few reports, your SOUL could shatter after it's over. Frisk, after being around the lava, my power has gotten much stronger. If you do this, I am more than happy to lend you my aid. I don't wish to harm Chara, however."

The little girl was so confused by what they were speaking of. The ground continued to quake every other minute. "DO NOT WORRY, MR. GERSON AND GRILLBY. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL TAKE CARE OF FRISK. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON, BUT MY BROTHER IS FIGHTING AND I AM VERY CONCERNED! WE SHOULD GO BACK IMMEDIATELY."

Gerson huffed a laugh, a few drips of blood in his coughs. The flame monster was right. His SOUL might shatter should he give it to Frisk, but Grillby himself was in no bargaining position either. If his powers had powered up beyond his control, the two of them could lose control of themselves while fused. It was a dangerous gamble.

"I don't want to hurt Chara." Frisk stated, noticing that Grillby appeared to be smiling. "She's been really hurt already. I think... I think she meant well at first. She wanted to protect me from my horrible reality, and keep me safe from the rest. When we first met, she was really nice and helpful. She really did treat me like a big sister. But... But then she slowly changed."

The group had been walking back carefully, trying not to trigger a collapsing of the poorly built tunnel by Papyrus. As Frisk finished explaining herself, Gerson fell down from total exhaustion, his labored breaths causing alarm. "Ayee... too ol' fer this..." Gerson laughed to himself, looking to the side where Grillby helped him up.

Up ahead, he heard loud explosions. "Sans?!" Frisk exclaimed in concern, running ahead and leaving behind the three monsters. "F-Frisk..." Gerson gasped, trying to hold in the pain he was in. Grillby looked up and saw that Papyrus had gone after the girl, leaving the two behind in the empty corridor which was safe from the quakes, for now.

"Hey, it's alright. Sans will keep Frisk safe from all harm. You fought hard today." Grillby spoke, helping the old tortoise sit up so that he could breathe easier. He looked down at his tattered bartender clothes and ripped several strips so that he could apply them unto the injury on his leg. "...King Hector and my squad would certainly laugh at the pitiful state I'm in, bwua ha ha..." chuckled Gerson, rolling his head towards where the loud battle music sounded off along with explosions.

*********°*********•*********°*********

The End: Chara v. Sans

**Chara's Theme is Tokyo Teddy Bear (English Cover) [JubyPhonic] (it's on youtube)

***The mashup of Megalovania and Tokyo Teddy Bear I'm referring to later on is Tokyovania by SharaX on youtube.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Sans looked to where Papyrus and Frisk had just ran off, the sounds of guitar blaring as Chara straightened her back and lifted her head. The exposed metal had begun to crumble into darkness that seeped from her right eye, a black goo dripping out and corroding the synthetic head. Cracks began to appear on her skin, almost like a broken porcelain doll, and scars began to appear along her smooth skin that hadn't been corrupted by the black goop. Chara was making that synthetic body her own, and her power was something to be reckoned with, Sans figured. Her own battle music... no human could do that without surreal power—it was something his mother had told him once.

Sans stood atop Rex who growled, his blue eye staring into that red piercing eye in between the dark miasma. The two walked in opposite directions, circling each other as they sized each other, both waiting for the best time to strike.

Chara could hear the song she had come to love blare out against his Megalovania, her song powering up her hatred of both monsters and humans. "Chara... you're destroying my synthetic body!" Vinnie shouted within her mind, but Chara paid no mind. Vinnie was like a parasite, just leeching off of Chara right now. Without Chara, Vinnie would be powerless, right?

"Ripping at seams..." Chara whispered, bring up her knife against her cheek, feeling the cold steel caress her gently. This was all that Chara had left of herself. Everything she had lived, everything she had created, everything... everything was destroyed. No one knew who Chara Takishka was. Her adoptive parents had forgotten her, either replacing her with others or blaming her for all that had happened and pretending she had never existed. The brother she had made had betrayed her. The friends she had made moved on, forgetting her too. Not even a proper grave, or coffin was in her name. Nothing. She had been abandoned inside a machine for ages, and the only one there was Vinnie. Vinnie who sounded so much like Tara. Vinnie who told her secrets. Vinnie who helped her return to this world.

Was this real? Was she really about to win? Was she really alive?

Letting out a laugh, Chara's eyes widened as her dagger turned to its sharp edge and sliced down on her cheek, sending a pulsating sting that felt real, but numbed down. This wasn't a real body.

"Am I alive?!" She howled, her legs sprinting towards Sans who had been startled by the suddenness of it all. Chara had really hit rock bottom, hadn't she? She was insane. This was nothing like when they were children.

Jumping off of Rex, Sans' eye flickered and he managed to teleport a few feet away, his eye staring at Chara who had managed to hit Rex on the side of his jaw with her knife that glowed a bright red and hollowed black. Rex could be heard whining in pain, disappearing and reappearing behind Chara with a fully loaded blaster, blasting towards her way, but Chara was much too quick. She had jumped up and into a black flip, her right demonic eye pulsating with power as her left hand created what looked like black stars, throwing them at Rex.

Sans panicked, throwing his arm up and creating a wall of bones in Rex' defense. Those sharp edged black stars hit the wall hard, a few penetrating deep within the wall but thankfully not going through that wall of defense.

The closer Sans and Chara got, the more their music seemed to intertwine with each other, until finally it had collapsed on each other, creating what sounded like a mashup. Asriel watched on with worry in his eyes, watching as Chara only seemed to get more powerful the closer she got to Sans and he seemed to get more cautious and frustrated. It was nothing like their fights when they were children. Sans would always be one step ahead of Chara, always laughing and winking when he had gotten the best of her, but now Chara was the one laughing, accepting hits and returning them tenfold.

Sans could feel the sweat on his forehead as he dodged another black shockwave sent by her knife, his head looking back at the crumbling wall and the explosiveness it had been hit with. He turned and turned his hand into a fist, watching as Chara landed on his trap, sharp bones digging into her body as she struggled and Rex appeared several times within the same second, each one blasting her with the blaster.

"It's over, Chara. I had you right where... I..." Sans grinned, but soon it turned into a frown as he realized Chara continued to stand there, her SOUL cracking at the center but the black veins wrapping all round it and throbbing harder. There were only a few red spots Sans could see within that once red SOUL. In a flash, her HP read out to be 500/10,000. It had been 0 just a second ago!

"What the..." Sans whispered in awe, his blue eye flickering as he dodged another black wave, just barely. Her body had a few bones sticking out of her back and her left arm, but she continued to grin and laugh. "...that's impossible. I saw your HP fall to 0!" Sans shouted, bones flying towards her away but she zig-zagged throughout the battle arena, dodging a few and deflecting other bones. "I REFUSE! AHAHAHAHA! Your confusion, your despair... MORE! Give me more, Sansy~"

Asriel shuddered watching as Sans was pushed into the defensive once more. Sans was losing the fight, and all it took was one hit to land for it to be game over for Sans.

If Chara killed Sans... she'd kill him too.

*********°*********•*********°*********

The End: The Angel v. The Angel of Death

***Stronger Than You instrumental piano music happens (another Steven Universe song) I sorta made the lyrics .

*********°*********•*********°*********

"STOP IT!" Screamed Frisk running to Sans who had begun breath heavy, his forehead full of sweat as he dodged yet another attack. "Kid!"

Chara stopped for a moment, watching as Frisk embraced Sans so easily, and he accepted her embrace just as easily as well. "Don't hurt dunkle Sans, Chara! Please stop hurting everyone!" She cried, letting go of Sans who trembled from exhaustion and standing in front of him with her arms out, her brown eyes staring into the scary red.

"I DO NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE, STRANGER, BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BELIEVE IN YOU MUCH LIKE LITTLE FRISK HERE. PLEASE, MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE." Papyrus added, walking until he was beside Frisk whose fingers had also begun to tremble from fear.

Asriel wasn't he end boss. The end boss had always been within her.

How could she fight someone she had become so close to?

Opposite of them, Chara stared at the talking bag of bones and the little girl who had started all this. The girl Chara had wanted to protect at all costs, and in the end...

"...we're not that different, you and I." Chara broke the silence, her eyes analyzing the fear the girl oozed. Her hands had ripped the bones embedded in her body out, fake blood splashing out. The black goo had begun to fall once more in higher quantities, soaking up the energy that Frisk was releasing. "We come from broken families, we fell down, and we had choices to make. Look at me Frisk, this is what I've become after trusting them!"

"Kill her. Destroy her SOUL and inhabit her body. We no longer require her SOUL once we kill the goat."

Frisk gulped, but shook her head as she took a step forward, her shoulder feeling Sans' hand that felt concerned. "Chara, look at me. I have many friends now, a new family. I don't know what happened to you, but... you will always be my big sister. We could be a big family, everyone. Please..."

Chara gripped her knife. "A family...? After everything I've done? LOOK AT THEM, FRISK! They fear me, just like you. They could never love me like you. You're... you're what's holding me back now. Vinnie is right! I should kill you. Ha... ha... ha..Ha..HAHAHAHA!"

Sans quickly built several bone walls in hopes they'd stop or slow down Chara but it was useless. His hand clenched a hold on the girl, but she had run towards the manic instead, and he lost grip. "BROTHER!" He heard Papyrus, and Sans looked to his side, noticing a blade a few inches away, growing farther and farther now that he was in Papyrus' arms.

In the back, Asriel trembled in fear. "I can't hurt Chara... I can't... I can't..." he cried, his teenage voice gone and replaced by his childish one. Within him, he could feel the fear of all the SOULs he had, all of them asking him to kill Chara, to stop Chara. The only way to stop her now was to kill her, and Asriel would never... even if it killed him. Not now, not after finally being able to love again.

Frisk stood in the middle of the battle ground, looking around as Chara sprinted back to her and was now running circles around her. She could see Sans who looked very shaken up, and Papyrus looked over her with a lot of worry.

"C-Chara please..." Frisk whimpered, turning around and feeling a knife on her shoulder, that moved down unto her thick breastplate. Frisk fell back by the sheer amount of strength that Chara had, and she looked up, a black drop falling on her skin. "You're the me that fell down ages ago. You're too naive to understand until it happens to you. I will set us free, Frisk." Chara smiled as she raised her knife up.

Frisk quickly got on her legs, walking back as Chara lunged forward.

Sans breathed heavily, his blue eye disappearing and reappearing, his power fluctuating. Not NOW! Behind him, Asriel shook his head. "FRISK!" they shouted together, both of their brains scrambling to act.

Clank.

Frisk opened her eyes, a wave of red fluttering in the sudden wind and a large bone shield standing in the way of Chara. "NOT ON MY WATCH!"

Chara jumped back, her arm feeling the backlash of her own strength against that sturdy shield. The useless brother of Sans'... the one she'd crush with ease was now standing in her way and holding a very formidable shield.

...this was new. That silly skull head was weak.

"Papy!" Frisk exclaimed, her hand grasping his red glove and standing beside him. Her left shoulder was bleeding, but thankfully the armor had saved her from greater harm.

"I'D BE A BAD BROTHER IF I LET MY SIBLINGS GET HURT, WOULDN'T I? WORRY NOT, FRISK. I WILL AID YOU AGAINST YOUR BATTLE WITH THIS PERSON. WE SHALL BATTLE HER YOUR WAY, FRISK." Papyrus replied with a smile, noticing that Frisk seemed to perk up with a nod.

Chara twirled her knife, sizing up Papyrus. His right eye was glowing orange. Could that ridiculous brother be as strong as Sans? She glanced towards Sans who seemed frozen into place. He seemed too out of the fight already it seems.

Looking at her, Sans returned his gaze unto Papyrus whose right eye glowed a strong orange. "...not you paps..." he whispered, his left eye unable to produce his power with his unstable mind.

Gaster.

Gaster.

GASTER!

THAT BASTARD! He touched Papyrus with his scalpel, and his dirty experimentally crazy hands.

In a different plane of existence, Gaster and Florencia watched with worry in their eyes. "Flor…" Florencia whispered, turning her gaze to Gaster who stared at the silent anger within Sans' eyes. "S-sans…" rolled a sadden electronic voice, his appearance reverting into a liquid-like form, and his hand stretching out to the image of Sans who seemed to have lost the ability to fight after such a revelation. Black goo dripped down from the black coat sleeve on his arm, his form growing more and more unstable even in the void he had tamed. "Gaster, please get a hold of yourself. Papyrus and my hija (daughter) are in trouble!" Florencia urged, watching as his form seemed to be getting less and less liquid-like. "Papyrus will be alright. I-I-If my experiments were successful, and his eye glows orange, then he is much stronger than Sans. Papyrus received only the best I could offer… w-what kind of father did I become? I became the father I hated with a passion. I became another Courier and Segoe, didn't I?" asked Gaster, taking his arm back as he watched his eldest son succumb to his emotional distress. Florencia gave a weary sigh. "Mr. Gaster, don't think about all the wrongs right now. Think about the now. Your sons have helped create this timeline—this timeline that can still be saved! Do you truly wish to continue skipping into different timelines, or perhaps, would you like to see the brighter tomorrow your sons can accomplish?" she asked, her ears picking up the soft piano keynotes that seemed to slowly be weaving themselves into the atmosphere. The phantom blob slouched down, overlooking his tall son who held the hand of the small child who seemed to lead him as they dodged Chara's careless attacks. "Even after everything, you continue to have hope… you're really something, Florencia." Gaster replied, noticing that the smile and laughter in Chara seemed a little familiar. "It won't be long, until her fake smile cracks. That demon's mind has snapped, but Frisk can still save her, I suppose." Gaster added, noticing the smile on that angel's face. What a stupid smile… sadly, he was sure it was the same type of smile Arial would always give him when she knew she was right. It brightened his mood as he watched the events unfold.

Unable to focus his anger unto his powers, Sans' legs buckled and he sat on the ground, watching as his little brother fought a maddened beast. The music had suddenly begun to warp into what sounded like a piano. What the heck was Chara going to do? What was Frisk going to do?

*********°*********•*********°*********

"I'm stronger than you. I'm stronger THAN ALL OF YOU! Ha ha ha HAHAHAHAHA!"Laughed Chara, the music flowing with her words as the beat of the music guided her words.

"One more step now, it's almost time. It's time to show you what my power has in store for all of you—You should prepare to just die! Like all my timelines, you'll have a really good time~" Laughed Chara, her madness bringing her words into song. "But children like you are always just fools; Come at me with your mercy and your useless bones—Let's go, just me and you... LET'S GO, JUST ONE ON TWO!"

Frisk's hand grasped Papyrus' as her eyes widened. Chara was getting serious it seemed. She jumped back just in the nick of time to avoid her dagger. Her brown eyes tried to keep up with her hands, but she seemed so much faster. Frisk screamed, her body being twirled around as Papyrus brought the little girl into his right arm, carrying her as his orange eye pulsed and he was teleported a few feet away from where they were and from where Chara had landed with a grin and wide eyes.

"Go ahead and try to dodge me if you're able. Feed me fear and sorrow with the passing moments… I will stalk your movements and learn all those patterns—then break your bones until you're ash and bloody pieces!"

Frisk wrapped her arms around Papyrus who dodged another attack, his expression revealing absolute horror. Wowie... this girl was... something else. Nothing like little Frisk. His long legs pushed off the ground as he continued to avoid the attacks, his right eye pulsing every time he augmented his movements.

"Why not just give up? I'll be here forever! I refuse to die again, refuse to end this terror! And if you just reset to come back newer? I'll be ready to annihilate you two again 'cause I am made ooof, LOVEEEEE~ LOVEEEE~ And I'm sure I'm strong than you! AHAHAHA~"

Frisk could hear the grunts of Papyrus as he continued to dodge the attacks, summoning a big shield when he could not. "No mercy… no feelings… nothing but pain!" Chara grunted as she pushed herself, her dagger hitting the big bone shield as hard as she could with fierce eyes. In those moments, Frisk could see the same eyes she had seen in one of Chara's memories. Her red eyes that were filled with fear and dread when that big man had overpowered her.

Was that what fueled Chara's need for power? Papyrus held unto Frisk tightly as he continued to hold off Chara's attacks, his large eyes looking over the troubled teen who seemed to get more frustrated the more his shield withstood her attacks. It'd be a lie to say that he could take her on, one on one. His arm that gripped Frisk loosened up as he braced himself for one of the most powerful thrusts Chara had made. The strength, the force of it… He had no choice but to jump back so as to lessen the stress on the shield.

Frisk let go of Papyrus and jumped off while he was in the middle of a jump which caused the tall skeleton to gasp in worry, looking back and watching as the child was in front of the grinning monster with fearless eyes. She was determined to stake a stand here.

Chara scoffed, bringing her knife up as she rushed towards the girl who stayed still. The gleam on the edge of the knife sparkled as Chara narrowed her eyes with anger.

"NO!" Screamed Papyrus his left hand flying up and a large skull appearing with an enormous orange beam inside its mouth. Before anyone could process what was going on, the jaw unhinged, letting out a powerful beam twice the size of Sans' gaster blaster in the direction of Chara and Frisk.

"FRISK!" Screamed Asriel, Sans and Papyrus in unison as a powerful orange beam hurdled towards Chara and Frisk. Chara had sprinted towards the girl, her knife held up as her red eyes twinkled for a moment. Frisk could see the hesitation in her eyes.

Chara was hesitating. Frisk smiled but her attention turned to the giant beam heading their way. "N-NO!" Shouted Frisk, moving in front of Chara as the blunt force of the beam hit her first, and then Chara as it phased through Frisk.

Asriel dashed to the two while the two skele-brothers stood in their place in utter shock. "...I DID THAT...?" Papyrus asked himself while Sans tried to comprehend what had just occurred.

Chara cried out in pain, her red and black SOUL throbbing in pain as she held the child who had fallen into her arms. She had barely lived the attack, thanks to Frisk. 1HP/10,000. Frisk on the other hand... Her red SOUL was broken in half and her HP was 0. Frisk was dead. This was what Chara wanted.

"Finally!" Vinnie sighed inside her mind. "Now absorb the SOULs while he is busy mourning the child."

"Frisk!" exclaimed Asriel as his arms took up the limp body of the child, his nose nuzzling her innocent expression of worry. "Frisk, don't leave us..." Asriel cried, tears falling into her face which twitched the moment it felt a tear hit against it.

"Chara, do it!" Vinnie demanded, but Chara only walked back and away from Asriel. She looked up a little, noticing that Papyrus seemed to be in utter shock while Sans seemed to be staring at her in a fit of rage, his blue eye flickering yellow and white in its unstable form.

There was no one to stop her from murdering everyone, except for that child whose split SOUL seemed to be trembling. Chara didn't show her that… Frisk was doing it on her own. Her DETERMINATION was growing! Frisk and herself really were more alike than they thought, huh? "Our window of opportunity expires soon, DO IT!"

This was the perfect chance. According to Vinnie's V.E.C., the percentage of killing Asriel right now was at an all-time high of 96.281%. Percentage of killing Sans and Papyrus before absorbing the SOULs was at 49.381%.

So why wasn't she attacking them?

She looked down at her trembling hand. She had just been looking down at Frisk a few seconds ago, and she had just… stopped. It was happening again. Why?

Why?!

WHY!?

Seconds passed. The percentages grew smaller and smaller, and Vinnie's voice continued to scream at her but it all seemed so far away. When Chara had looked up, she noticed the two halves of Frisk's SOUL trembling and slowly coming together.

"...but it refused..." Chara whispered, scene suddenly changing in an instant.

*********°*********•*********°*********

"N-No!" shouted Frisk, moving front of Chara as an orange beam disappeared out of nowhere. Behind her, Chara took a step back, her SOUL throbbing but feeling no orange beam unto herself. Papyrus had taken back his arm with fear in his eyes, scared of the power he had just called upon, but thankfully, had disappeared.

Sans and Asriel knew what had just happened. They remembered it.

"FRISK!" Shouted Asriel, watching as the girl turned around just in time to dodge Chara's knife which had swiped down. Chara appeared to look disturbed, her red eyes shaking just as much as her hands. She was forcing herself to do this.

She had to be. Frisk remembered her hesitation. Chara didn't want to do this either… but then why? Was it because of her past?

Frisk cleared her throat, continuing to sing with the melody around them. " 'I should just give up' and 'Everyone's afraid'? You're trying to keep me from fighting 'cause I know that you're afraid. And even if you scream it, I can feel it in your blade~ Just give them a chance to welcome you back into their lives again!"

Chara clenched her teeth, plunging her knife down as she jumped towards Frisk who was snatched up by Papyrus once more. Instead of tasting blood, her blade hit the shield hard.

"STOP SHOWING ME MERCY!" Screeched Chara as black tears ran down her cheeks, her right eye intensifying as the black goop seemed to roll back inside. Opposite of her, Frisk seemed to take out a piece of butterscotch cinnamon pie, her eyes sparkling as she looked over Chara with a gentle smile. "Y-You like this pie, right?" She asked while Papyrus look baffled. What was Frisk doing now?

"IT'S NOT CHOCOLATE!" Cried out Chara as her left hand gripped her hair, her hand trembling out of control for some strange reason. "Kill her now, Chara!" shouted Vinnie inside her head.

"WOWIE!" Shouted Papyrus as he summoned his shield again, leaning against it with Frisk in his arms as Chara sent him one of the biggest black shockwaves she had made thus far. "UH OH. I'M SORRY, FRISK. SHE DESTROYED MY SHIELD!" Papyrus apologized as he leaped away, leaving behind a crumbling shield. "...ARE WE... TO FIGHT NOW?" asked Papyrus, noticing that Frisk looked concerned as well.

"...no. W-we can't fight her with you, Papyrus, you'll hurt her with your blaster. I'll face Chara alone now." Frisk spoke, jumping off and walking to the center, wiping her nose as she held her chin up, much like Chara.

"Kill her! Kill her NOW!"

Chara slowly walked up to Frisk, her hand that held the knife trembling. She could just as easily give Vinnie control and that A.I would kill them all in cold blood which was what Chara wanted right? But… but why couldn't she? Why couldn't she kill them? Why couldn't she give Vinnie control either?

Frisk's voice began to sing once more. "Go ahead and kill me because you are able. I know your conscious weighs heavily on your hand. See it tremble with the knowledge I won't fight back—I'm nothing like people you've feared or fought from. I don't mean no harm; I wish you all the best—If I could I'd carry what burdens your past…! I will keep trying, I might keep dying, but I won't give up on your soul... 'cause I am made of loooove~ And its stronger than you."

Asriel flinched as Chara's knife swooped down fast, faster than Frisk's reaction. He could see the ground's dust flying and Papyrus coughing, while Chara jumped back with a frustrated frown. As the dust settled, several yellow outlines of bullets surrounded Frisk and healed her. Sans had looked at Asriel with confusion. "What did you do?" he asked, watching as aqua blue orbs left his body and took shape of band aid's that surrounded Frisk as she ran to Chara. "Stay back, Papy!" Frisk called out to him, raising her right hand as the knife came down hard on the turtle buckler which had begun to crack, but the turquoise band aid seemed to heal not only Frisk, but the buckler as well.

"Show 'er some frontier bravery! Stand up tall!" called out a male kid's voice. "K-keep strong! Don't be fragile like me!" said another girl's voice, both voices seeming to come from these phantom healing outlines.

"Looove~... and it's getting stronger than you." Frisk sang, smiling as her buckler continued to hold strong against Chara's powerful blade. Opposite of her, Chara clenched her teeth harder, shaking her head as Vinnie's voice got louder. "Kill her! Kill her! KILL HER! If you can't, I WILL!"

"GGGAAAHH! STOP IT!" Cried out Chara, supercharging her blade with a shockwave that sent Frisk flying back, but the child only got up. "S-s-s-stop m-m-m-maaking m-m-me f-f-f-ffeel..." stuttered Chara to herself, her left hand trembling violently as it moved her bangs, revealing the black goo had but nearly gone back unto its right eye. Her left eye was no longer glowing red with power, and only the right eye seemed to be intense. Several orbs of different colors lent their aid to Frisk whose HP had fallen dangerously close to 0... 0.00001 to be exact. Her breaths were shaky much like Chara's, and her SOUL had cracks that were healing thanks to the aid of the fallen children that Asriel harbored.

Frisk glanced at her friends, noticing their worry. Asriel in particular had a certain worry, not only for Frisk, but for Chara as well. "I grow impatient, Chara. Kill the child and absorb the six SOULs from that spineless goat, or I'll do it myself!" Commanded Vinnie's voice inside of Chara's head.

Of course Vinnie could it. She always could… she was a cold hearted A.I. who wanted to destroy the world. But Chara…? What did she want? What do I want…?

Chara let out a shaky sigh and smiled as she could only whisper to herself: "...I don't want to fight her... I love them, Vinnie."

"Chara… give us another chance!" Frisk called out with a shaky voice, her brown eyes watching as Chara fell down to her knees, her knife bouncing once both her hands grasped her head. "STOP TALKING, VINNIE!"

*********°*********•*********°*********

The End: Binary v. Chara

*********°*********•*********°*********

Asriel and Sans regrouped with Frisk and Papyrus while the space around Chara got darker and darker. Glitches seemed to be appearing around her, and her body seemed to be moving in the most unnatural of ways. Her fingers and arms were at weird angles, but her head continued to hang low until finally, her body relaxed and her eyes glowed a bright blue. "Synthetic Body Control Complete. I warned you, Chara. Ugh. You've defaced my beautiful body, how careless of me. No matter. I will annihilate the world without your help, you useless whelp."

"...what the...?" Sans whispered, noticing that the voice sounded much like Vinnie's electronic voice. The hair grew longer and into a pearly white that reached the back of its knees, and the corrupted skin regrew a beautiful white that reminded him of Gaster's. In fact... everything looked a lot like Gaster now, except for those haunting blue eyes. "Hello. I'm Binary, model 4x-6ASTER.4.001, and I will destroy the world, beginning with the destruction of DETERMINATION. Goodbye." She smiled, her right hand turning into white scales with the head of a snake at the front—Experiment S-0389-3, if Sans was correct. A monster that Courier had experimented on, whose acid was deadly upon contact and that would deteriorate bones within a matter of seconds. This was REALLY bad.

"Fuck off, Vinnie. I spared them, and you forget I still absorbed all that energy. I'm gonna put you down." Chara gritted as the dark energy that Vinnie had let out of her body amassed and pooled together to form a child version of Chara in tattered clothes, and full of cuts and bruises. Her red dagger sent a dark shockwave against the snake, splitting it half. "GAH!" Chara cried out, recoiling back as bits of acid splashed her way.

"We have to help her, Sans!" Frisk urged, but Sans' firm grip around her kept her still. "That android is dangerous, Frisk. If we get hit with that acid, we're dead. If you get hit, it's going to burn right through you. It burns through bones easily; do you understand?" Sans responded with fear in his voice.

"Azzy! Azzy, help me!" Cried out Chara as she hid her face, but tried hard to keep an eye on Vinnie whose left arm had begun to transform into an arm with steam coming from it. The split snake was slowly beginning to regrow from where it had been split, a small snake's head poking its head out as it slowly slid out and grew. "THAT... LOOKS BAD..." Papyrus said, noticing that Sans looked absolutely terrified, his hands shaking as they held Frisk. Knowing that he was no longer focusing on his grip, Frisk slid out of his grip and ran to Chara, leaving behind a terrified Sans who couldn't bring himself to running after her. "Why? It's just a stupid machine... it's just... experiments... I... SHIT!" Sans thought to himself, closing his eye sockets as he felt a wind go and dash to Frisk. "FUCK! Not you too, Paps!" His voice boomed inside his head, his blue eye flickering blue for a second, but turning back to its plain color. No use. Chara really did wear him out, huh?

Asriel was watching as Chara stumbled down, the smell of burning flesh around her. From the steaming left arm, several misty ropes flew out to Chara, each one grabbing her by the neck, arms and legs, pulling her back to Vinnie whose Snake had regenerated and who had snapped its head towards her exposed shoulder and neck area.

Chara was in trouble, and a split second decision had to be made.

Asriel rushed to Frisk, hoping that she would know what to do. After everything that happened... Asriel felt a bit weird being around Chara. Sure, his feelings for her were strong but after such a display of hatred, he couldn't help but drift away from Chara. "Do it, Papy!" Frisk shouted as she made a 45 degree turn and ran to Chara who cried in agony as the steam burned into her limbs. Asriel turned with Frisk, turning his head to see Papyrus' arm fly up and a dragon skull appearing with an orange beam, just as big as the last time he had fired it. Papyrus... was wicked strong it seemed. Alongside the dragon skull, another familiar skull appeared with a blue, concentrated beam and a dog whine. Snapping his head back to Sans, Asriel saw the struggling skeleton clenching his right side of the head as he focused on his power to aid Papyrus in any way he could.

Everything was happening so slowly for Asriel, now that he realized it. "Chara! Use me!" Frisk's voice said in slow motion, her small hand reaching for the cracking hand of Chara which seemed to twitch. "Frisk?" Asriel asked, watching in horror as Chara's body turned into a red mist that raveled around Frisk's arm and eventually turning her brown eyes a glowing red. "Trust us, Azzy." Spoke Frisk and Chara's voice, her hand held out to Asriel who didn't know what to think.

"I..." Asriel's voice trembled, his head turning to the impact of the two gaster blaster's hitting what looked like another beam of white light coming from a dragon skull much like Papyrus'. It was Beside Binary who looked to have panicked. She had a gaster blaster of her own.

*********°*********•*********°*********

"Nggh..." Asriel moaned, opening his eyes to a metal android stripped of its skin and clutching Frisk by the neck before throwing her aside. "Chara... did you really think you could double cross me?" asked Vinnie, taking a step forward as a glitching Chara appeared from the red mist that had left Frisk's body.

Asriel lay still, listening to their conversation while looking to Papyrus and Sans. They seemed unconscious too. Papyrus looked to be protecting Sans, a good thing too—Sans' SOUL looked ready to crack.

"Frisk is right... I should give this world a chance again. Grillby had started to accept me—" Chara spoke, but was silenced by the robotic hand that slapped her cut cheek and sent her down unto the floor. Black drops of blood spilled from the corner of her lips and right eye, her arms trembling as she tried to get up, but instead a robotic foot stomped down on her chest as she attempted to rise. "Emotions are values that can easily be forgotten, like memories and data. Look at you, beginning to glitch out of existence, just like Aster. Die for me—And say hi to Aster for me, darling." Vinnie spoke with anticipation, her foot coming up and stomping down on Chara's chest once more.

Asriel got up, his eyes wide as Chara's body glitched with 0's and 1's. She looked to be in so much pain. "Trust us, Azzy." sounded in the back of his mind.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Shouted Asriel, all the SOULs beating to the beat of his heart as he sent rainbow stars towards the android, effectively getting her off of Chara who coughed up black goo. "...thanks Azzy..." Chara croaked, getting up and wiping away the black blood, her limbs glitching again. "I will not be the next Gaster..." Chara growled, running to Vinnie who smirked and also ran to Chara. Asriel stepped forward but stopped when the ground began to tremble and quake violently. "...the lava..." Asriel whispered, noticing a huge chunk of floor falling down and hitting the lava beneath with a big splash. The volcano was bound to erupt soon, for the first time in monster recorded history.

Vinnie stepped back, watching as Chara grinned. "Luck be the lady... who doesn't fall to her death, huh, Vinnie? If you fall down, you'll fry. My demonic aura would simply vanish, of course, I could just float back up here." Chara threatened.

"Try me." Vinnie countered, running to Chara exchanging a throw of fists and kicks that Chara could not guard against. Her limbs were stronger and tougher. "Azzy... Hyperdeath me!" Screamed Chara, her hands grabbing the neck of the android as another huge chunk of ground fell down into the lava. Beside the two fighters, a huge hole that led down opened an opportunity.

"Irrelevant. He would not harm you, even in your phantasm state." Vinnie responded with a smile, glancing at the goat who seemed scared. Vinnie's hands grasped Chara by the neck, causing the demon to let go and gasp for air but with a snicker on her lips. "...bye..." she mouthed, causing the android to turn to the goat who wielded two rainbow colored swords. "HyyyyyperDEATH!" Shouted Asriel as his hands began to glow a rainbow of colors.

Letting go of Chara, Vinnie bent down and grasped the earth so as to keep her anchored, but the rainbow blast was much harder than anticipated. Her blue eyes flashed and inside, her internal gadget doing its work. "V.E.C. Data Results: Surviving blast: 91.453%. Possession by C.H.A.R.A: 57.192%. Falling down: 31.482%. Unstable ground: 83.561%. Best option: Survive and LOAD… NEW INPUT Data Results: Successful Possession by C.H.A.R.A with SOUL: 87.893%. Successful Possession by C.H.A.R.A without SOUL: 1.484%. Thank you for using V.E.C."

The beam was super big. It was nothing like when he had used it against Frisk... no. It was much bigger version, perhaps two or three times bigger and with vivid colors. He could hear Vinnie's electronic voice turn to static as it screamed and the earth around her began to crack under the pressure of the attack, rainbow flames scorching everything in its path until the earth crumbled and fell under the intense heat and pressure. Two white blocks fell down with her… 'LOAD' and 'RESET', both of these blocks well away from her grasp. He saw a red heart sitting on the edge of the ground.

Asriel walked towards the scorched bits of the ground, looking down and seeing a hand reach out from the lava as it sunk down slowly.

"...thanks for trusting me again, Azzy." Chara spoke, her body reappearing and looking at the goat who looked back at her with uncertain eyes. "...Chara, I... I don't trust you. I trust Frisk, and she trusted you. If you're really going to help her... return your SOUL and stabilize their world."

Asriel looked at the glitching phantom who held unto a red SOUL which had white scars throughout it. "…she threw it out of her system because she probably thought I was going to possess her metal body and this would make it easier for me…" Chara responded with a laugh, her smile disappearing. "...I forgot it was scarlet red. I forgot what freedom felt like." Chara answered, her hand caressing the SOUL and feeling the caress on her arm. "...Frisk returned my faith, and I guess I should return the favor... huh?" Chara added, looking up and locking eyes. "Before I do that... Azzy, you have to destroy the barrier. Don't worry, I won't go homicidal on you. Here… hold on to this SOUL if you don't trust me."

Asriel gulped, but did as he was told while taking Chara's SOUL, noticing that Chara had been watching him the entire time and had smiled when he had finished. "...Azzy, before everything goes back to normal and I disappear forever... I... I cared about you too, silly goat."

Her sparkling red eyes stared deeply into his as she got closer to him. His breath hitched as she was within arm's reach, the corners of her mouth slowly forming into a smile as she closed in their distance. "Boop." She whispered, her hot breath against his face as her finger gently pressed on the tip of his nose. All the anger he had inside of him had suddenly disappeared in that moment, his heart throbbing as he stared down into her eyes and smile with a wild blush about him. He was certain Chara was having fun… she always loved to make him fluster.

Silently, Asriel watched as Chara turned into a red mist that went inside of Frisk's body.

Everything went back to white.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Epilogue: Part 1

*********°*********•*********°*********

"Frisk..." Asriel spoke with a gentle voice, looking at the girl who looked back at him with innocent eyes.

Just a few minutes ago, he had broken the barrier, and Chara had RESET using Frisk's body while she was knocked out. The world around them had gone back to being untouched, and the ground was certainly not quaking. Looking deeply into those eyes... Asriel could see that Chara was not there. She said she was going to disappear... did she really disappear? Human souls, once they died, could carry on unto a different plane of existence where they'd... rest in peace. Did Chara... ascend?

"I have to go now." Asriel added with a gentle voice. "Without the power of everyone's souls... I can't keep maintaining this form. In a little while... I'll turn back into a flower. I'll stop being 'myself'. I'll stop being able to feel love again. So... Frisk." Asriel explain, noticing that the girl had begun to get teary-eyed. She probably didn't remember anything that had happened earlier. He hoped she wouldn't. She might take Chara's leaving hard. "It's best if you forget about me, OK? Just go be with the people who love you." He smiled, choking up on the last part.

Frisk's head was aching, for some strange reason. She felt that she should remember something very important, but, for some strange reason, she could not. Instead, the locket around her neck seemed warmer than the usual, and it seemed to be pulling her towards Asriel. He did look quite sad, after all. Was there no way to save him too?

Save... save who too?

Confused by the pain in her head, Frisk could only comfort Asriel with a hug. His hot tears rolling unto her shoulders were exchanged for her own, because for some strange reason, she felt like crying. Cry... for who?

"Ha... Ha... I don't want to let go..." Asriel whispered, his arms trembling as he took a deep breath and let go. "Heh... I don't want to let go..."

Frisk perked up for a moment, hearing Chara's voice in the back of her mind. It felt... like deja vu.

"Frisk... You're... You're going to do a great job, OK? No matter what you do. Everyone will be there for you, okay? Well..." Asriel reassured her, turning around as his smile was slowly diminishing. "My time's running out. Goodbye."

Walking away, he could feel Frisk take a step forward. "Asriel..." she whispered with a sad tone. He turned around with a smile, noticing that it seemed to brighten her up, if just a little. "By the way... Frisk... take care of mom and dad for me, OK?"

Turning around once more, Asriel could feel a bit of fear for the rest of what was to come. He was going to go back to being a grouchy, ill-mannered flower again, wasn't he? But...

Closing his eyes, he could relieve that moment. Chara's beautiful ruby eyes looking at him with a smile, just for him.

Everything was going to be alright.

*********°*********•*********°*********

"Frisk! This is just all a bad dream...! Please, wake up!" urged Toriel's voice.

Slowly opening her eyes, the girl looked around her and saw all of her friends huddled around, looking quite concerned... Sans in particular.

"Oh! You are awake! Thank goodness!" Toriel gushed, embracing her child as hard as she could. Frisk could still feel her head aching, but her necklace felt cold to the touch. "W-we were so worried...! It felt like you were out forever!" Dr. Alphys added, turning to look at Undyne who got got closer with a smile. "Yeah. Any longer and I would have freaked out! Tell us next time you decide to take a nap, okay!?" Undyne chimed in.

Frisk turned to look at Sans who smiled. He wasn't... grinning. He was smiling, but she could also see a bit of worry in his eye sockets. "yeah. you made papyrus cry like a baby."

Papyrus gave him an angry look. "WHAT! I DIDN'T CRY! I DON'T CRY! I JUST... CAUGHT SOMETHING IN MY EYE."

Sans looked over to his brother. "what did you catch?" he asked, his smile growing as he watching his brother's angry expression turn into a sappy one. "TEARS!"

Frisk laughed, her attention turning over to a deep voice. "Now, now. The important part is that Frisk is alright. Here Frisk, why not drink some tea?" King Asgore spoke, handing Frisk a warm cup of golden flower tea. "It'll make you feel better." Asgore added with a smile that sparkled.

Toriel looked at Asgore. "Errr… how about we give them space first? They must be very exhausted. Though, from what, I am not certain. Frisk… we do not remember exactly what happened. There was a flower… then everything went white. But now the barrier is gone. When you are ready, we will all return to the surface. It seems the door to the east will lead us there now. But before then… you might want to take a walk? You can say goodbye to all your wonderful friends. Do as you wish. We will all wait for you here."

*********°*********•*********°*********

Epilogue: Part 2

*********°*********•*********°*********

While Frisk took once last adventure, Sans left the room and saw Grillby, standing tall. "...Frisk did it, huh?" asked Grillby, noticing the genuine smile on Sans. "Yeah. She did... I.. I was really scared for a moment, though. I thought I lost you, Grillbz." Sans' husky voice spoke, his hand trembling as it patted Grillby's arm. It was real.

Grillby looked at him with a look of concern. "...what happened? Did Frisk LOAD?" asked Grillby, stepping forward and following Sans who had begun to walk. "...yeah. Chara and Vinnie—Shit! We need to destroy that computer!"

Grillby's eyes widened as the world around them changed, and they were in Sans' lab. Dizzy, Grillby took a few steps to the nearest wall and leaned on it, watching as Sans took off the cover on rectangle box.

"Sans?" asked Grillby, watching as he connected a plug to his own version of a super computer. "We're killing her. Throwing her into the freakin' lava, just let me make a copy of all the files. She won't be able to manifest her AI protocols on my computer. Definitely not going to turn into an android. Nope. No way. Never."

Grillby was speechless for a while, walking beside Sans who watched as all the files were being transferred and deleted at the same time. "...an android? The one we were talking about a while back? I thought you wanted to—" began to ask Grillby, but Sans quickly shook his head. "Noooo way. I've seen the model, the schematics... I'll just build one from scratch if I wanted to make an android. We need to let this android burn in the deepest parts of hell. Vinnie... Vinnie almost won. I don't remember a lot, yeah, but... but I definitely remember all that I need to remember."

"...and Chara?"

"Chara..." Sans spoke, his eyes drifting to the smooth box. "...she did the right thing, for the first time at least. Let's never bring her up, okay?" asked Sans, walking to the counter with the hot chocolate. Pressing the 'ON' button, he then reached for his glasses and put them on, tape and all. "...I don't... sound too weird, right?" he asked, turning to Grillby who tried to hide his laughter. "Heh, not at all, Mr. Serious Science Sans, sir."

Letting out a sigh, Sans shrugged. "heh. maybe you're right. everyone's used to me being lazy and uncaring. i guess i should slowly make the transition."

*********°*********•*********°*********

Back in the True Lab, Chara's ghost sat in the middle of the room, staring at the machine that housed her SOUL.

"You did the right thing, child." spoke a familiar voice, her angelic appearance a sight for sore eyes. Beside her, a looming shadow stood, his face hidden in the shadows. "One of us now, aren't you? How quaint. Florencia has asked me politely to keep myself from harming you, demon." spoke Gaster, his electronic voice full of static as he spoke, but Chara understood him.

"...is it always this cold? Being in the void?" asked Chara, letting out a breath that she could see with her eyes. Gaster walked towards her, his elegant appearance looking much like what he had appeared to look like before he had fallen down. "No. You're just like her. Full of heat. Your grudge against humanity caused your ghost to tie itself to the human realm but now… now you're like her. Scientifically speaking, Human souls that choose to stay in this plane of existence become phantoms. Certain phantoms seem to exhibit an unexplainable phenomenon that causes them to 'power up' and become other beings that resemble monsters. Florencia has become what humans call a 'guardian angel', and thrives from heat and positive energy. You, my demonic child, took the opposite effect. You became a demon who thrived from dark energy and grew powerful enough to possess the living... however, due to recent events it seems that your 'demonic aura' has vanished and therefore your phantasm has disappeared, rendering you harmless. Your grudge has been resolved and as a result, you've entered my realm… the void. You're just a spirit like Florencia now, it seems. A pity. I was looking forward to ripping your spirit to shreds."

Florencia frowned, pushing Gaster aside very lightly as she offered Chara a hand. "It's very lonely here in this plane, but... but think of it this way, my child: your SOUL still exists, and Frisk won't stop until you are given a second chance, much like little Asriel."

Chara looked down at the hand, her red eyes slowly looking up until she met Florencia's gentle brown. This was where Frisk got her kindness from, huh? Grasping the hand, Chara got up. "A second chance...? I can understand Azzy getting a second chance, but—wait a minute. How would that even be possible?"

Florencia turned to Gaster who looked away with a frown. "...my dunce of a son is figuring a way to build an android that can house both human and monsters SOULs. He thinks that Asriel and Arial can still be saved."

Chara took her hand back, looking at the hand that was etched with old scars from a time so long ago. "...Fufu was waiting for me on the other side. Was someone waiting for you too, Florencia?"

Gaster flinched for a moment, noticing that Chara appeared quite somber. Fufu... Fufu... Ah, Fufu the street dog that Chara had adopted as a child. The one that had been killed, triggering the child. A street dog was waiting for Chara to cross over...? My. Only a beast could come to love another beast it seems. Not even her sister Tara was there.

"Ah, yes. My Papa y Mama, my brother Juju and his son. They were all begging me to cross, but I could not leave my little Flor all alone. I can still hear them calling my name... but I will not rest until I know for certain my little girl is truly safe and sound. "

Chara looked at Gaster. "...and why are you so quiet? The last time we saw each other, you were crazy."

Gaster crossed his arms. "Realizing that this world was almost completely destroyed by a hormonal girl and a defective A.I., I began to look at Frisk with a new perspective. Respect even. And... I suppose doing the right thing was something that also impressed me, Chara. I... I apologize for wanting to kill you and for using you for my research."

Chara turned and looked at the machine that housed her SOUL. "I guess not letting go was worth it, for now. I can hear Fufu barking for me every now and then too, but... but I guess I want to see what Frisk accomplishes. Thank you for the welcome party, guys." Chuckled Chara, turning to Gaster who looked away and Florencia who smiled warmly.

Even Chara couldn't undo the mistakes she had done, or repair them herself; she knew that Frisk would do it. She was going to patch up everything she had destroyed in the wake of her wrath. Finally at peace, Chara could smile.

"Heh. I guess this is my new family, for now."

*********°*********•*********°*********

Final Epilogue: A new beginning

*********°*********•*********°*********

"I'm ready." Frisk had said a few moments ago.

The small group of monsters had followed her to the outside where a bright light called to them. Sounds birds and wildlife echoed, and after the blinding light had died down, they were in awe.

"...Tori..." Asgore whispered to himself, watching as she smiled from ear to ear and walked forward until she was at the edge. "I'm really here..." she whispered, noticing that Frisk was now beside her. "It's been a year..." Frisk gasped, looking down and noticing that everyone was now in a line, with Sans beside Toriel. He looked dazzled by the sight of it. After countless tales of the surface... he was finally here.

"Oh my..." Toriel finally said aloud, a tear falling down unto the earth. "Isn't it beautiful, everyone?" asked Asgore, trying to contain the happiness within him.

Dr. Alphys nodded in agreement. "Wow... it's e-even better than on TV! WAY better! Better than I ever imagined!"

Undyne could feel the heat of this light, but the air seemed to refresh her nonetheless. "Frisk, you LIVE with this!? The sunlight is so nice... and the air is so fresh! I really feel alive!"

Frisk laughed, turning to Papyrus who seemed confused. "HEY SANS... WHAT'S THAT BALL OF LIGHT?"

Sans chuckled. "we call that 'the sun' my friend." Sans turned to see Papyrus' eyes, noticing his pupils turning into stars as he grinned. "THAT'S THE SUN!? WOWIE! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY MEETING THE SUN!"

Ah... if only his mother could see this.

Asgore let a sigh of happiness escape him. "I could stand here and watch this for hours..." His eyes glanced towards Toriel who smiled, her eyes darting back to the sun. "Yes, it is beautiful, is it not? But we should really think about what comes next."

Asgore nodded. "Oh, right. Everyone... this is the beginning of a bright new future. An era of peace between humans and monsters. Frisk... I have something to ask of you. Will you act as our Ambassador to the humans?"

Frisk looked at the sunset, realizing that now they had reached the surface... the monsters... they'd... they'd had to live with her ugly reality. The era of peace that Frisk had lived underground was over. She turned and looked at Asgore, his eyes sparkling with hope that she could not let down. As ugly as her world was... well... she had to try her best to make sure the monsters were safe. This country that she had moved to... it was isolated. She could help the monsters start again. Keep the bad humans away... possibly.

Frisk had to try.

"Yes, I'll be your Ambassador, King Asgore." Frisk replied, her mind barely comprehending the complicated train of thought she had just processed. She was beginning to think responsibly already it seemed. Would her mother be proud?

"YEAH! FRISK WILL BE THE BEST AMBASSADOR! AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL BE THE BEST MASCOT! I'LL GO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION."

Frisk watched as Papyrus took off. "N-No!" Frisk exclaimed with fear in her voice. "welp. someone's gotta keep him from getting into trouble. see you guys." Sans casually said, walking away while Frisk shook her head. "No wait, come back! It's dangerous! W-we need to stick together!" Frisk spoke urgently, noticing that Undyne was smiling. "Man, do I have to do EVERYTHING? Papyrus, wait!" Frisk gulped, watching as Dr. Alphys blushed. "Hey Undyne! Wait up!"

Asgore watched as Dr. Alphys left after Undyne. "Whoops." His gentle voice said as he moved aside, turning his head as he watched the monsters disappear. He glanced over to Toriel whose eyes seemed to be clouded with deep thoughts… what was she thinking about?

He noticed the way her eyes glanced at him, and so he turned to her and Frisk. "Uh, should I do something?" he asked, gulping hard as her glance turned into an angry glare. "Well, gotta go!"

Quickly, King Asgore turned around and hurried in the direction of Undyne, Dr. Alphys and Papyrus, pretending not to hear the little girl's warning.

Alone at last, Toriel's mind could finally decipher her jumbled thoughts. "It seems that everyone is eager to set off." She spoke, noticing that Frisk seemed nervous. "Frisk… You came from this world, right…? So you have a place to return to, do you not?" asked Toriel, noticing that Frisk's nervousness had disappeared and had been replaced with sad eyes. So… she did.

Frisk looked at Toriel. "What will you do now?" Toriel had asked her, and Frisk could only turn to the beautiful sunset in front of her. Her home... her... papa...

Should she go back? But it's been a year—perhaps a few days in the real world, since magic goes so slow…? Her papa might still be around. Still… he was… really angry the last time she attempted to go to him. Would he always be mad at her? What about those two body guards? Where they worried about her too?

Still… what about her new family? She couldn't leave them. She couldn't leave anyone behind. Her eyes slowly looked down, her head turning back into the cave that lead to the underground. She couldn't leave anyone behind.

It was decided. "...I want to stay with you, Mama Toriel. Please! Let me stay with you and everyone… let's… stay underground just a little longer before we move everyone upground." begged Frisk, her eyes stinging as tears filled them. From a distance, Undyne called to them. Toriel looked at her with a blush. "What? Frisk... You really are a funny child. If you had said that earlier, none of this would have happened. It is a good thing you took so long to change your mind. Hee hee hee. Well... I suppose. If you do not really have any other place to go... I will do my best to take care of you, for as long as you need. All right? Now come along. Everyone is waiting for us!"

Frisk took her hand, her head turning to the sun set. Her magical journey in the underground was really over now. After meeting up with everyone else, they were going to go back and prepare the mass migration up ground.

The surface world was nothing like what the monsters thought it was, and it frightened Frisk. Guns, violence, lust, and vice was prevalent in this world. Wars were... on the horizon. Pollution was at an all-time high.

But Bergentrückung?

Frisk looked at the clouds as they walked. This country was poor and inhabited by natives. No power had taken over this mysterious continent because of its volcano. Every time someone took over, their capital was destroyed by an eruption. Only farmers and ranchers lived here, but they were all superstitious. They believed that Satan lived in the mountain and controlled the volcano inside of it. That this was its land. Others, mostly everyone that lived in San Marcus believed it was sacred land, that their ancestors fought to keep safe from the eastern countries. That the ancestral spirits would cause eruptions to keep the easterners away.

One thing was certain for Frisk: Bergentrückung would raise again, and she was going to do her best to keep the monsters safe, whatever the cost.

... ...

... ... ...

... little did Frisk know, that Binary code was everywhere. Their world was just another piece of data in a network of worlds connected by the same idea which could be traced to one name: Toby Fox.

The multi-verse of Undertale awaited. In another alternate timeline within Flor's universe, Arial and Steamy were hard at work to finding their happily ever after and Vinnie...?

Vinnie was waiting for an opportunity to arise. Multi-Verse 4X-6ASTER-PvW was still thriving.

Everyone's future… was yet to be written.

*********°*********•*********°*********

Puppy Barks:

*********°*********•*********°*********

Aaaaaaaand that was the final *love ending! I was supposed to write another one (which didn't have a sequel and ended with an epilogue like the first *love ending, though entirely different and more like this story) but I think it's better if I just kept the happy endings to two.

I hope that ending was better than the last one (trust me, I had a HARD time writing the first one. I felt really bad about Chara ;-;!) And hopefully this chapter closes a few of the plot holes I had left. Just a few.

This *love ending will get its sequel! Of course I wasn't going to leave it at that. I hope not that many spoilers were given in the last chapter I submitted (lol, I'ma have to change it up for the sequel just a little.) Also, I kinda wish I could change the name of the au to Underbloom (Get it? Flor bloomed underground?) but I think that name is taken. wwaaaaa. ;-;! Does FlorenceTale sound too weird? I mean Florence means bloom too but… idk.

I know in the past I've said that this story was meant to revolve around Chara, so… I hope that I pulled it off in this chapter. I know this chapter is SUPER long, but hopefully… it delivered? Sequel will come out sometime this year.

BUUUT this story is NOT OVER YET! I still have a few *DETERMINATION sequel chapters to write, where a new champion rises up to change the fate of their timeline. But… who?

I might even decide to make a sequel to one of the *DETERMINATION sequels ;)

DUN DUN DUN!

And after that… the dreaded *LOVE sequel. I can already feel my heart breaking just thinking about it.

Anyways. I'm sorry I've been late to post these chapters, but they're HUGE, and… it takes some effort to piece them together. The next chapter might take a while too. Sorry guys ;-;

As always, thank you SO much for the reviews and support. I was feeling a bit down early on in this fanfic since I didn't get as many reviews. I was extremely blue this new year's, but then I got an email with the review someone left and it just… made my day. :) My birthday was four days later, so… it was nice to have something to make me smile for a change. Thank you, really. Love you all.

-PvW

P.S.: I have a deviantART account, and I might add this to it since... its pretty bare. I dunno. The account name is the same as this one I think lol. I dunno why I picked such a weird name. oh well.