As if it were all just a bad dream, Chara found herself back at Grillby's with Frisk, Flowey, and everyone else. Sans, Undyne, Alphys, Nate… they were all alive again. They were all sitting at their table. Aside from herself, Flowey, and Frisk, they were all unaware of what had happened.

"So," Undyne said, "how's everyone – whoa, are you guys all right?"

Chara and Frisk looked like death. Their eyes stared lifelessly towards the floor, wide with horror. Even Flowey fidgeted nervously.

"H-hey," Undyne stammered, "what's wrong?"

Chara thought about telling her that she saw everyone die, but that would have been creepy.

"Hmm…" Sans hummed. "Looks like the three of you know something we don't."

Frisk nodded. "Y-yes, I had to reset. Something awful happened."

"The worst happened," Chara said.

"Meaning?" Nate asked.

"So, uh, yeah…" Flowey said. "That plan of Malcom's we just told you about? The one about giving Boaris human souls and going on a rampage? Well…"

Undyne gasped. "Don't tell me…"

"It... happened?" Nate asked.

Frisk whimpered. "Y-yes."

"How bad?" Undyne asked.

"E-everything," Frisk muttered. "He destroyed everything."

Everyone was silent as they processed what Frisk said.

"W-wow…" Undyne said quietly. "So, what now?"

"I imagine we have a broadcast from Malcom coming," Flowey said. "Any minute now."

Flowey was right. Just a minute later, the restaurant's monitors were taken over by a special address from President Malcom.

Malcom's expression was just as miserable as theirs. "Everyone," he said, "I have terrible news. There has been a large reset recently, and for good reason. I regret to inform all of you that the worst has happened. Before the reset, our world was destroyed by a monster with human souls."

The whole restaurant whispered in shock. Yet, as insane as it sounded, they knew Malcom was telling the truth. Deep in their souls, they could still feel the horrors Boaris had unleashed.

Malcom let out a pained breath. "The monster was none other than Boaris. It all happened so fast. It started like any other day. I met him in my office for a routine meeting, and while my guard was down, the beast grabbed me by the neck and snapped it. He wasted no time absorbing my soul. My security team tried to stop him, but there was nothing they could do. Boaris killed them all. Even…" he sobbed, "e-even Nora, who I have been friends with sense we were kids. I could only watch as Boaris tore her apart. He r-ripped her c-clean in two. It was..." He broke into tears.

It was a convincing performance, but Chara knew it was bullshit. She was filled with more rage than words could express. He told Boaris to kill him, and he couldn't even accept responsibility for it. Typical politician, a corrupt megalomaniac with no integrity. How had humanity come to be represented by the worst of humanity?

"R-rest assured," Malcom said, "Boaris has already been detained. I can hardly speak of the things he did. The entire world was up in flames, and that is not a figure of speech. So many people burned in his fire, and not just humans, but monsters as well. I'm sorry, I can only imagine what it feels like to burn to death. I am so ashamed that my soul was used to make this happen."

Chara screamed at the monitor. "You liar! You wanted this! If you're going to destroy the world, at least have some fucking dignity about it!"

"The Guardian Program was a bust," Malcom said. "Gerson tried his best, but there was nothing that could stop Boaris. Guns, nukes, nothing. The entire world was consumed. It is a miracle that, for whatever reason, he preserved Frisk's life so he could reset afterwards. We shall interrogate him to try and understand this monster's motive, but if you ask me, he was just a sick animal who wanted to watch the world burn."

Malcom went on in graphic detail about how Boaris destroyed the world. Chara ceased listening.

The effects were immediate. All the humans in the restaurant suddenly felt uncomfortable in the monster-run establishment. They quickly began to leave. Soon, Frisk and Nate were the only humans left inside.

Chara clawed her hands against the table. "That man is everything I hate about humanity."

Frisk held her shoulder. "Chara…"

"He needs to die," Chara hissed. "Him, Boaris, Nora, they all need to die."

"Ch-Chara," Flowey stammered, "I totally agree, but… you need to calm down."

"Why?!" Chara shouted. "Malcom destroyed the world and cheated the consequences, and you're asking me to calm down?!"

"Oh my God…" Alphys whispered.

Undyne gaped incredulously at her. "What… is that?"

Frisk grabbed both her shoulders. "Chara, look at me."

"Frisk, even you must agree!" Chara yelled. "Tell me they will die! Tell me there will be no mercy for them!"

Frisk brushed his finger against her eye. "Chara, look…"

His finger was covered with some kind of black, tar-like substance. Did that… come from her? She shivered."Wh-what?"

"Chara…" Frisk breathed, "your eyes…"

Chara wiped her eyes and looked at the black substance. It was drippy and horrid-looking. It was disgusting, and it came from her. Oh, God, it came from her. What was wrong with her?

"Huh, you should probably get that checked out," Sans nonchalantly said. "Last time I checked, humans don't do that."

Chara's heart sank deep. "I… I… have I done this before?"

"Well, your eyes glowed a couple of times," Flowey said, "but this is new."

Chara rested her head on the table. She had been afraid of this. It seemed that despite Felicia's soul and Frisk's best efforts, she may not have been entirely human anymore.

"Hey, it's okay now," Frisk soothed. "Just try to stay calm, all right?"

Chara took a deep breath. They had far more pressing concerns than her well-being. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Frisk whimpered. Oh, Frisk. Seeing her like this was not what he needed right now.

Nate wasn't doing well, either. He pressed his hands against the table and scowled. "Jacob actually did this? Nora did this?"

"Yep," Flowey said. "In fact, Boaris absorbed your soul for some reason. Do you remember anything?"

Nate's face turned pale. "You mean, my soul was...?"

"Sure was," Flowey said.

Why had Boaris absorbed Nate's soul? He shouldn't have needed it. Chara looked at Nate. "You were the eighth," she said. "I'm not sure what he wanted with you. He already had seven souls, so yours was unnecessary."

"Maybe it made him even stronger?" Frisk suggested.

"I don't think so," Flowey said. "That's like asking 'what's infinity plus infinity?' I had that power, and I was as strong as my willpower allowed. I doubt you could get any stronger from there."

"Then, why?" Frisk asked. "Did he just want to reunite Nate with his sister?"

Chara sighed. "Anything's possible with this guy."

Nate held his head. "Ugh, yes, I must have spoken with Nora, but I can't remember..."

"That's probably for the best," Flowey said. "She probably said something awful to you. You must have seen firsthand what a psycho she really is."

Nate glared at him. "Hey, I'm trying to play nice here."

"Nora isn't," Flowey retorted.

Nate grunted. "I don't like you."

"Feeling's mutual," Flowey muttered.

Eager to get out, Chara got up and walked away from the table. "Excuse me, but I wish to see my mother as soon as possible."

Frisk got up too, and Flowey hopped on Chara's shoulder. After what happened to her, they all needed to see her again.

Sans waved goodbye. "See ya."

Sans…

Chara looked at Sans ruefully. "Hey... I know you don't remember, but before the reset, I said some terrible things to you. I apologize. I didn't mean to be so harsh. I just wanted to help my mother."

Flowey scoffed."He's the one who should apologize. He attacked you, remember?"

"Well," Sans said, "I don't remember what happened, but I guess I was just trying to keep the old eye socket out for you."

Frisk nodded. "Yeah, you just –"

Sans held up his hand. "I don't need the details, kid. Don't worry about it."

Frisk frowned. "But, you did say something strange about her. You said that Chara was… something."

"Oh, yeah," Sans said. "If nothing else, Chara sure is something."

Frisk furrowed his brow. "Sans…"

His tone grew more serious. "Kid, some secrets are best left alone. Like the whole soul absorption thing. Just imagine how great things would be if we didn't know about that."

"Do you still not trust her?" Frisk demanded. "How many times do I have to tell you that Chara doesn't mean us any harm?"

"I can only hope you're right," Sans said.

Chara couldn't blame him. She wouldn't trust herself, either.

"Sans, what's your deal with her?" Undyne asked. "Sure, she was a little messed up, but she seems cool now. And if we're being honest, she really hasn't done anything worse than Asgore and I have."

"Trust me," Sans said, "you don't want to know."

Huh?

Sans refused to say more, and Chara noted a particularly nervous expression on Alphys's face. What was going on with those two? What did they know? What was frightening them?

"Hey, don't let me keep you," Sans said. "You want to see Tori, right? I can take you there if you want."

Right, Mother. At the moment, nothing else mattered. "Thanks for the offer," Chara said, "but I'd rather not trouble you. We can see ourselves home just fine."

He waved. "All right, then. Bye."

Chara waved back. "See you later, Sans."

Boaris, Malcom, Nora, Felicia, goopy eyes… Sans's ominous words were just one more thing on the list. With Flowey on her shoulder and Frisk by her side, Chara made her way back home.

Chara knocked on the door. Toriel opened it. She frowned miserably. "Children..."

Mother… she was alive. She was alive! Chara knew it, but she was alive! "Mother!"

Chara, Frisk, and Toriel all embraced each other.

"Toriel," Frisk said, "did you… hear what happened?"

Toriel nodded. "Aside from getting Chara and Asriel back, the past few weeks have been nothing but torment. Frisk's abduction, Endogeny, and now this... I cannot imagine what it was like to witness that."

Chara held her tight. "Mother, it was worse than I have words for. Boaris killed you right in front of us. He –"

Toriel shushed her. "Speak of it no more, Chara. No matter what you saw, I am here, alive and well. Everything is okay. Just rest now."

Chara sniffled. "Y-yes, thank you, Mother… I love you."

"I love you too, my child."

Toriel led them inside. They sat at the dining room table, and Toriel poured Chara and Frisk cups of golden flower tea. Chara took a long sip. After being locked in that room for over eleven days, she was so thankful to see Toriel alive again. She couldn't bear the thought of truly losing her. Damn Boaris. That creature had made her entire family suffer. What kind of monster would do the things he did? Was he even a monster? No, he was the monsters' equivalent of inhuman. His actions had put all of monsterkind at risk. He needed to pay for his crimes.

Frisk sipped his tea. "It's great, Toriel."

"Glad to hear it," Toriel replied.

Flowey had been silent the whole time. Toriel gave him an affectionate pat on the head. "I love you, my son."

He didn't say anything. He could only wish he returned Toriel's feelings. Oh, Flowey. Chara was still wracked with guilt over him. She was starting to wonder if he was right. Was bringing him back to Toriel really the right thing to do? Would it have been better if Frisk had just forgotten about him, like he had asked him to?

No, Chara had to believe there was something she could do for him. She would keep her promise. One day, Boaris's soul would be his.

But for now, Chara just wanted to spend time with her family.

Toriel sighed. She shifted her attention to Chara. "There is a little bit of good news. While you were out, I finally got you a bed. I set you up in the room directly across from Frisk's."

She managed a smile. "Good, Frisk can have his bed back to himself now."

Frisk smiled too. "Aww, but we liked sharing a room."

Toriel laughed. "Oh, you two."

Chara finished her tea. "Hey, Mother, were you working on the garden recently?"

"Umm, yes," Toriel answered. "I must confess, I was having some trouble."

"Would you like my assistance?"

"Oh, yes. That would be lovely!"

"I guess I'll help too," Flowey said. "I know a lot about flowers, obviously."

"I don't know much about gardening," Frisk said, "but I can provide moral support."

Chara smiled. "Then it's settled. Let's go."

Chara spent the rest of the day with the people she loved. They did their best to stay strong.

That night, Chara was alone in her new room. It was very similar to Frisk's room, with a bed, a TV, a wardrobe, and a couch. She placed a potted golden flower from the garden on her nightstand. She stared at it wistfully. Even after all these years, she was still captivated by the golden flowers.

She heard someone walk in. It was Frisk.

Chara was always glad to see him. She smiled. "Here to wish me goodnight?"

"Chara," Frisk said, "there are some, uh, personal things I need to get off my chest."

She tilted her head. "Hmm? Is this about the drippy eyes?"

Frisk sat down on the couch. "Well, I'm worried about that, too."

She sat next to him. "What is it? You can tell me anything."

Frisk took a deep breath. "When Nate threatened to kill you, you promised that you'd sacrifice yourself to save Felicia. Did… did you mean it? Would you really… die for her?" He cringed at the mere thought of her dying.

She frowned. "Yes, I would. I initially thought Felicia's essence was absent, but with these memories I've been experiencing, I'm not so sure anymore. It's possible that her essence is not gone, but dormant, like how mine was until you found me."

Chara could see the fear growing in Frisk's eyes. "So, if Felicia wakes up, then what?"

"I… I will do everything I can to transfer control of her soul back to her, even if it destroys me."

Frisk held her hand. "I know this is selfish, but I don't want Felicia to come back, not if it means losing you. You mean so much to me, Chara."

She broke eye contact. "I'm so sorry, Frisk. I promised to place Felicia's life over my own, but I also promised to make you happy. I guess I can't really keep both of those promises, can I? Heh, no wonder Sans hates making promises."

"Chara, your life is important too. Never forget that, no matter what anyone tells you."

Chara wondered what it was that made Frisk love her so much. He had complemented her strength, her bravery, her spirit, her humor, her looks, but were those things really what made him love her? He did love her, that much was certain. Chara could see it in his eyes. Frisk would follow her to hell and back, but why? What made her so special? Why would he choose to save someone who hated humanity over someone who didn't seem to hate anyone?

Perhaps, buried deep inside his kind and forgiving soul, Frisk held just a little bit of spite for humanity himself. Perhaps he was just a little frustrated that people weren't always as merciful as he was. When he set out to destroy the barrier, he had freed an entire race that humanity had imprisoned without their permission. He had done it because he loved them, but maybe he also felt some satisfaction proving that the humans were wrong to seal them away. As for Chara, so many people despised her and just wanted her to die for what she had done. Perhaps part of the reason that Frisk loved her was to spite them, just like how he spited humanity by destroying the barrier.

Or, perhaps, Chara was overthinking it. She was the spiteful one, not Frisk. Maybe Frisk simply loved her, and that was all there was to it.

"Frisk," Chara whispered, "I'm so lucky to have you. I'm not going to give you up easily, but if Felicia does wake up, this is her soul. I couldn't justify keeping it from her, no matter how much I want to stay with you."

Frisk held back tears. "That doesn't make me happy, but I understand. You really are a good person, Chara."

Chara smiled and touched his cheek. "Thanks to your guidance."

"… hey," Frisk said, "is it possible that I could give you my soul?"

Chara gasped. Was there no end to his kindness? "Frisk, I could never accept that. Your soul belongs to you. I couldn't just take it."

"Chara, I'd gladly give you my soul."

"Frisk…" She smiled. "That's moving a little fast, don't you think? We've only been dating for a couple weeks, and you're already pledging your soul to me?"

Frisk smiled back. "If you'll accept it, my heart belongs to you."

Chara blushed. "You're too sweet, Frisk."

"Sorry, I can't help it with you."

She giggled, and she hugged him tight. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Frisk's body was so warm. She wasn't ready to let go of him just yet. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Frisk, tell me the truth. Do you think everything will be okay?"

"Things are bad," Frisk admitted. "Humans and monsters are going to have problems. There's no denying that. But, I do think there's still hope. Boaris proved that he could destroy the world, but he didn't, not really. Even he doesn't actually have any lust for power. I'm sure we can use that."

"Ah, you're so hopeful, Frisk. I imagine that the best solution would be to find some way to defeat such a monster, but all the legends say that no such counter exists. I truly wish we had a definite answer to this problem."

Frisk held her tighter. "We'll have plenty of time to worry about all this later. For now, I just want to stay with you."

She nodded. "Yes, whatever we do, we must not give in to despair. Let's be happy together while we still can."

"Hey," Frisk said, "remember that little speech you gave Boaris? I was so proud of you. You really stood up to him, and I was so glad to see you starting to trust humanity. You've grown so much. You were amazing."

Chara smirked. "Yeah, I could see that. You were really turned on, weren't you?"

Frisk laughed. "Yes, to be honest. I felt like I could take you in my arms and kiss you right there."

Chara leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Well, here I am…"

Blood rushed to Frisk's face. "You want to…?"

Chara wrapped her arms around Frisk's shoulders and pulled him close. She closed her eyes, and she gently met Frisk's lips. Frisk quickly got into it and fluidly kissed back. God, it felt even better than last time. Chara calmly pushed Frisk down on the couch and laid him on his back. Her heart racing, she gripped Frisk tight, and they melted into another tender kiss. Frisk's warmth and love was exactly what she needed. No matter how bad things got, they were there for each other.

Eventually, Chara pulled back to look at Frisk's dashing red eyes. She smiled warmly. "Thank you, Frisk. I needed that."

Frisk smiled back. "Did it fill you with determination?"

She kissed him on the cheek. "Yes, it did."

"Yeah, me too."

She got off of him and stood up. "All right, you should get out of here before my mother thinks we have a problem."

"Aww, you don't want to cuddle?"

She smiled bashfully. "Perhaps another time."

Frisk got up off the couch and smiled. "I look forward to it. Goodnight… my Chara."

"'Night, my Frisk."

Before he left, Frisk stopped and gave her a concerned look. "But, you'll be fine, right? You haven't had a nightmare in a while, but…"

Chara nodded. "Yes, don't worry about me. It's great that you want to protect me, but you don't have to be my shield. I can take care of myself."

"I know," Frisk said, "but if do you need me, I'm not far."

"Same goes for you," Chara replied. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Frisk smiled. "Of course. See you in the morning." He left the room.

Frisk, I'll never be able to express how grateful I am for you. I hope our love never ends.

Chara laid down on her bed. Something in her gut told her she would experience another one of Felicia's memories that night, and it would not be a pleasant one. But Chara was ready. It was time to get to the bottom of what happened to her soul's previous owner.

Chara turned off the lights.