Editor's Note: Ok, so this is the edited final chapter. If I'm being honest, I was half asleep or something when I wrote that first version of this chapter. It was functional, but in hindsight I should have been more patient about writing it and not rushing to finish the story, (I was just too darn excited). Hopefully you guys get that notification for "chapter 27" to come here, since I think this is leagues better than how I originally finished it. I also fixed some redundancies and other stuff, and hopefully Frisk's final words actually show up this time, since for some reason they didn't show up when I uploaded it last time.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and hopefully this ending makes more sense!

!

Asriel's POV

My eyes fluttered open as I searched my surroundings in a confused way. Echoes of distorted sounds seemed to float around me as I tried to stand up in my disoriented state. Bleary eyed, I looked over to see two figures in a magic duel, though only one was casting a furious pace of spells.

Wait…

All of my senses snapped into clarity as I realized Frisk was being attacked. I scrambled up from the ground, looking over at Frisk in shock.

With each spell, she managed to cast some sort of shield around herself.

What the fuck?

She can use magic?!

I shook my head, realizing that Chara didn't notice that I stood up. Frisk was too focused on her own survival to look over.

This was my chance. I began to focus all of my power into a massive ball of lightning. The electricity became intense as I kept my focus on the energy. The lightning bolt was large enough to kill any individual that was hit by it.

I threw it.

Time seemed to slow down as Chara took notice to the large, glowing ball that as approaching her.

It was too late.

She was hit with a sickening blow. The electrical charges shocked her multiple times. She body was thrashed in inhumane ways, before a final pop signaled the final blow of the spell. Her body remained cold on the floor. Frisk, in disbelief looked over at me, and then the body.

We had no time to waste.

"Frisk! The body!" I shouted, running to the bag. She remained motionless as she stared at the body. I threw open the bag, preparing to pull out the corpse.

There was nothing in the bag.

"Frisk? Where the hell is the body?" I demanded, only to be met with her tearful gaze. My heart stopped beating. "What's going on?"

She sniffled. "Asriel, there isn't a dead body," she told me slowly, her voice cracking. "Y-you're going to have to use me."

No.

No. No. NO. NO! NO!

"Frisk-!"

"It's the only way Asriel!" She sobbed. She crumbled onto the ground, crying hysterically. "Asriel! This is the only way to ensure that she doesn't escape! And you are the only one who can do the ritual!"

"What ritual?! Frisk, do you know what will happen to you?! This could fucking kill you!" I exploded, tears beginning to trickle down my own face.

"I know that! I knew that when Alphys told me about it! Trust me, there is no other alternative! It's the only way! You have to use the artificial soul to cast a lightning bolt at me!"

"What the fuck, Frisk? I'm not doing that. There's no way in hell I'm killing you!" I shouted at her. "Frisk, I'm not doing this!"

"Asriel! We have to do this!" She momentarily stopped her tears to yell back at me. "Chara can't be contained in any other body. We're linked—neither of us can exist!" Her eyes grew desperate as she sank onto the ground, wrapping her arms around herself. "Asriel, don't make this harder than it has to be!"

In my shock, I remained standing as I began to sob myself.

This couldn't be fucking happening.

I fucking knew it.

I managed to crawl over to Frisk and hold her as we both cried uncontrollably. "Asriel…I just…" she couldn't finish what she wanted to say. She was crying too hard to communicate a coherent sentence for me to soak in.

"Frisk," my voice cracked loudly. "I can't let you go! You're not supposed to die! You're too important to die!"

"Asriel, it doesn't work like that!" She managed to squeak out in the middle of her tears.

"So, I'm not worth living for?" I asked her quietly, barely containing a sob.

Frisk finally looked up at me with the most heartbreaking look on her face: her eyes were wide and tearful (with an expression of absolute despair engraved in them), her damp hair fell over her face in watery cascades, her cheeks were stained red from the tears.

"Asriel…oh god!" She said, bursting into another round of tears. "Asriel, I know this is hard for you! This is why I didn't tell you because…I'm so selfish I didn't want to go through the pain! I thought I might be able to find a way to do it myself…but the ritual requires someone with magic to do it! I don't have that kind of magic in me!" Her sobs made me cry harder. "Words can't begin to describe how much this hurts! I love you so much!" Frisk finally yelled out.

I stopped my tears to stare at her in shock. I shouldn't have been surprised at all, but hearing those words come out of her mouth, for a moment, made me feel euphoric.

I only came crashing down into reality when I remembered what I had to do.

"Frisk…please! Just let me take your place!" I cried, pulling her into my arms. "I wasn't even meant to be alive, I don't think! Y-you are the one who's supposed to live!" I pleaded with her.

The way her body shook as she cried told me that she wouldn't relent. "Asriel, this is the only way."

"Frisk, I love you! Please, don't make me do this!" I said, barely able to see as I cried violently.

I felt her body shift as she sat up, cradling my face in her hands. From a brief moment of visual clarity, I could see she was crying as hard as I was.

"Please, Asriel. We need to do this," she pleaded weakly. I could scarcely breathe as she stood up, looking away from me. She held out her hand to me. I took it, though my entire body felt numb. Frisk stumbled over to the bag and pulled out the soul. She tossed it over to me. I allowed it to float in the air and retract into my body.

I could see Frisk's throat almost bulge as she tried to refrain from crying. It seemed to consume all of the effort in her entire body to do so. This action did nothing to ease the excruciating heartache I felt at the moment. What I was about to do was inconceivable from my end.

From the way she kept her gaze fixated on me, I knew she was just waiting for me to get the ritual over with. Despite my brain urging my body not to move, I felt my hands raise reluctantly, with my palms facing towards her. I felt a gradual warmth flow from the depths of my veins, through my arms, and start accumulating at my palms, until a ball of lightning began to form.

The ball began to grow and grow, until finally it was large enough to accomplish the deed. Yet I kept holding the ball there, draining my magical energy.

I just couldn't fucking do it.

Frisk closed her eyes in emotional pain. She couldn't watch my struggle. It was too painful for her. I also couldn't rule out that she was fighting the human urge to book it out of here, for her protection.

I took a deep breath, as if to help protect myself from a shot. An adrenaline rush hit my body; I allowed myself to release the spell I'd been holding onto.

Frisk's body fell to the ground. Clinging to her life, she crawled over to Chara's corpse, allowing the soul to reach her body and invade her.

The deed was done.

It was only a matter of time before I'd never be able to speak to her again. I rushed over to Frisk, picking up her body. She looked up at me, concentrating hard on my features. I tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ears. She continued her painful gasps for air.

In an instant, we teleported to a spot I didn't recognize at first. Dark clouds loomed in the sky, casting a shadow over the field of sunflowers.

This was the place.

I walked forward a couple steps before placing Frisk onto the ground gently, holding her body close to me as I made sure to keep tight hold of her hands.

"A-A…s…r…i…e…l," she said slowly, weakly raising up a hand to touch my face, I held onto it, memorizing the feel of her dainty hands.

"F…a…r…e…w…e…l…l, m…y…l…o…v…e," she told me in her final few breathes. I leaned over, and pressed my lips against hers. I was at a complete loss for words. Her lips gently pushed against mine, giving a final press before her body relaxed onto the ground.

With my own hands, I placed a few fingers underneath her neck, needlessly checking for a pulse.

Nothing.

A loud crack of thunder could be heard from above. Lightning bolted in the distance. Rain began to pour down, soaking Frisk and I. I remained just as unmoving as she was. But I was still alive, and I didn't feel like I was.

I couldn't move because I was too numb.

I couldn't see because I was crying too hard.

I couldn't exist because I loved Frisk too much.

And I lost her.

I lost her.

!

The sunlight filtered through the trees as it set over the serene scenery in the woods. The butterflies fluttered without a care in the world; the birds prepared to nest for the night. Owls began to stir as they prepared for their nocturnal daytime. A few wishing flower petals blew past me with the breeze.

I paid no attention to any of this. My mind was hard set on its destination. The one place that I was meant to be right now. I managed to clutch the flower that I had in my hand tighter, a sunflower.

It was a wonder that I hadn't been crushed.

The woods finally gave way to the open field that I'd come to know painfully. A large willow tree, with the leaves gracefully flowing. Upon the sight, I found my feet planted to the ground.

A lump formed in my throat as the memories flooded in. Echoes of her gasps filled the air around me. I closed my eyes, only to see her piercing browns barely clinging to the precious life she had. When I opened them, I saw her gasping for air on the ground.

Deep breaths, Asriel.

This wasn't unexpected. Every single time I visited this damned place, it always happened. It had once been me reliving my own death at the hands of Chara.

Now it was me reliving hers.

After waiting for a few moments, the horrible reminders faded away. I found myself able to move again, though still disturbed from the memories.

I parted the leaves of the willow tree enough so I could enter the sacred ground that it encompassed. I walked over to the trunk and knelt onto the ground, placing the flower next to it with the utmost gentleness that I could muster.

A few moments of contemplation passed, as they always did when I visited. It seemed it was the only way that I would allow myself to speak. I stood up, facing the trunk of the willow tree.

"You're looking as graceful and majestic as always," I complimented in a quiet voice, reaching my hand out to run my hands over the smooth trunk fondly. "How long has it been? Two years?" I somehow managed to chuckle at my own question. "Yet it seems like yesterday."

"I know that you were experiencing a pain beyond my own cognitive abilities. You were only trying to do what was best for everyone else. In my immature age however, and even now, I wish you were just a little bit selfish sometimes." A beat. "But that just wouldn't be you, wouldn't it?" I looked up, as if hoping to receive an answer. Only a slight disturbance in the leafy curtain could be found.

"Toriel and Asgore are doing fine. They tell me to send their love to you. I hope they'll eventually be able to visit you themselves, but I think after losing their children twice…well, they'll never be the same. And Mom, well…she's lost a lot more than that too."

I quietly allowed myself to assume her perspective for a moment, thinking about the years of relentless pain that squandered all of my mother's happiness. It seemed the world had a grudge against her.

"Alphys and Undyne are happily married now. They just got married last week, and are on their honeymoon right now. I guess everyone can be glad now that Alphys is being forced to keep away from obsessing over you. She's still trying to figure out where you came from, and what caused you to grow. You'd think after 4 years that she'd found some sort of clue, but…nada," I said with a soft-spoken laugh.

"Sans has been traveling the world with his comedy gigs recently. He recently sent us a letter saying that he was requested to come back to one of his stops. Honestly, I think he's trying to prolong his homecoming. Sans was crushed when you died, even if he didn't show it outwardly. You were a little sister to him," I said to her, thinking about the forever-changed skeleton.

"It's taken awhile for Papyrus to understand the situation. Despite all odds though, he's become a pretty world class food critique. His blog, 'My thoughts on YOUR Spaghetti' blew up in popularity. He's been joining Sans on his travels because of his new status," I said, smiling faintly at thoughts of that peculiar skeleton.

"College is alright. I think I made the right choice in majoring in botany. It turns out that my own life experience has proved that plants can be a lot more interesting than they seem," I joked dryly, followed by a deep exhale.

"I wish you could be here with me. It's lonely without you, you know. Sure, I've got the guys, but to be honest, I've never really clicked with them myself. You were the glue between all of us, even for the short time that we all banded together."

After I awkwardly paused for a moment, out of my pocket I pulled a white envelope, addressed to me. It was in her handwriting, with the seal having been opened already by me.

"I'm sorry took me two years before I could read this letter. Your letter. I think you can forgive me though. I'm certain had it been me you would have reacted the same." I glanced at the writing, still having a fresh look that didn't betray a couple year long absence.

"Frisk, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I loved you earlier. I was a coward about it, and this world gave me penance for it by only allowing me to have the courage to say it when you were clinging to your life. And you were only doing it for me."

Tears began to fill my eyes as I reopened the fresh wound in my mind. "God damnit Frisk…it's so hard to move on. We didn't even get to know each other long…I mean we were impulsive teens with hormones. Instinctively I tell myself we didn't have love, only a deep teenage, passion filled crush. But if that were true, then why do I still feel this pain years later?" I could barely speak now, with the lump blocking my throat at this point.

"Frisk, I wish everyday that I will look out the window and see you come home. That I will see your stunning brown eyes and your beautiful hair frolic in the wind. I would be happy if I could hear your sweet, gentle voice one last time," I confessed in quick succession.

"But…if you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want a glass of milk to go with it. I couldn't wish for only one part of you without wanting to have all of you here with me."

I allowed myself a minute to look up and compose myself. "Countless girls have come up to me, expressing interest in their own way, but…I just can't. I can't date right now. Toriel has encouraged me to explore my options, and not remain stuck in a single place, but I can never see that happening. If I'm being honest, I don't think I can ever see myself dating or marrying anyone. Not because of any emotional baggage, but because the woman I know I was destined to be with…well that won't work out due to some dimensional differences."

A deep inhale allowed me to catch my breath for a moment. After the two months of bottling up my feelings, (like I always do), between visits to the willow tree, I felt a huge weight lifted off of my chest. The serenity that I'd opted to ignore before began to flow through my soul and veins, my heart and mind.

"Frisk, I don't know if you are the one who always makes me feel relieved when I allow myself to open up here…but I have feeling it's you," I said, leaning over to the tree. I planted a kiss onto the trunk, stroking the spot softly.

"As always, I promise to return when I'm not drowning in college work. Keep those leaves green for me. If not, I'll be forced to be concerned about you." A sudden gust of wind made the curtain of leaves dance wildly. An unexpected chuckle escaped my throat.

"I consider that a witty response." I paused a moment before patting the trunk and taking my leave.

As I walked out from the sacred ground I'd just visited, a new feeling rose within me, something I'd never felt from previous visits.

DETERMINATION.

It was an unmistakable byproduct of a certain individual…I turned around to be met with a glowing figure standing by the willow tree. Her appearance was immediately identifiable.

A gentle smile spread across her lips as she gave a slight nod towards me. Her eyebrows formed a sympathetic arch as compassion burst from her eyes. The majesty of her presence made me unable to move. She covered the distance between us, finally in breathing distance.

For a small eternity, I found my eyes lost in hers.

I could see so many words floating in her browns. She couldn't speak to me, but she could communicate with her eyes.

She brought her hands over to the area of her ribcage. A second later, a small glow procured her soul, which stood, glowing brightly.

She offered it to me, urging me to grab hold of it. I looked at her uncertainly, but finally relented and reached out to hold it.

A burst of air blew past me upon touching it. I closed my eyes as I felt an overwhelming feeling of peace wash over me in a tsunami.

Upon opening my eyes, I realized that she was gone.

The soul no longer remained in my hands, apparently disappearing with her.

I realized the message she was trying to communicate. I didn't need to worry about her.

She was at complete peace with everything. That much was obvious from the way her soul gave me such a wonderful feeling of complete peace and serenity. But she wasn't trying to make not feel worried for her. Frisk is well aware that I'm not worried about her not being at peace.

This entire time, I was worried about the things in life I felt I missed because of her death. It wasn't inappropriate for me to worry.

I'd just chosen to obsess over the wrong thing.

I needed to worry about myself. Not in a selfish, demanding way, but in a healthy way. I focus on my emotional and physical health. I needed to stop shutting myself off from others in my own grief. I needed to be open to world.

As Sans wisely once said: "Frisk, the sun is already out. You just don't want to look for it."

Well, Frisk had once again decided to dedicate herself to helping me.

I looked up to the sky, and grinned when I caught sight of the sun sink below the peak of Mt. Ebott.

It seemed that Frisk had helped me find the sun.

And now, it's time for me to never lost it again.

!

Author's Note: Whew! I have officially finished it! I never really thought I would see this day to be honest! This was so much fun to write, and I'm a little sad to see it go away. Who knows, I might write a sort of post story if people want it, but I'm pretty happy with how things leave off here.

I want to briefly thank everyone for their support and kindness in this writing process. I'm an amateur writer, but all of the encouragement I've received has truly been inspiring to me, and has been a big motivator in my writing. However, I don't think a general thank you is enough, so here are all of the thank you's I'd like to give.

Guest Thank you for your kind words about the story. I hope you found the overall story to keep your interest!

Blue Night The Exorcist You were the first big reviewer to this story, and I'm so grateful for your kind words! You were a huge propeller and motivator in me writing this story, so thank you so much for the encouragement!

Namey Thanks so much for the kudos! It always means a lot when I get positive feedback as it shows me that my writing is enjoyable to those that I write for!

Minedragon Thank you so so much for your interest in the story!

TSB2017 You are too kind! Thank you for your kind words and encouragement about my writing and me as an author! It's always good to know when I write enjoyably to people.

RohanSpartan First of all, awesome name. Second, is the Rohan part supposed to refer to the Lord of the Rings? If so, doubly awesome! I hope you liked how the story ended!

donnie That's so sweet of you that you thank everyone for writing these types of stories. I'm flattered that you like my writing and that you don't find it too long! Thanks for the kind words!

MemelordHunter Thank you for the positive feedback on the story! It means a lot! And I'm always happy when readers speculate because it gives me an excuse to engage with my audience!

There is also a wealth of people that have favorited this story and me as an author, but I cannot find all of you who did that, so I'm so so sorry! But thank you, thank you, thank you for being so patient and for showing interest in this story!

And now, I have to finish it up so, thank you again for everything and…

THE END