When the light finally left their eyes, they were greeted with the fact that the stage they were standing on was now back where it had started, and Mettaton lay on the ground in front of them, inexplicably without his arms or legs, and completely out of power. The group all heard a sawing noise behind them, and turned around just as Alphys finally managed to open the door and get through.
"I… I managed to open the lock! Are you guys…" She suddenly broke off, seeing Mettaton on the ground. "Oh my god. Mettaton!" She rushed forward, in a state of panic. "Mettaton, are you…" As she examined the robot, she was silent, before letting out a deep sigh. "Thank GOD, it's just the batteries. Mettaton, if you were gone, I would have… I would have…" She suddenly seemed to remember that she wasn't alone. "…I m-mean, h-hey, it's no problem, you know? He's just a robot, if you messed it up, I c-could always… j-just build another." Alphys stopped talking for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. "…Why don't you two go on ahead?" Frisk started moving forward a little bit, before she saw Corsiva staying behind.
"You go on ahead, I'll be out in just a minute." He told her. She nodded, and moved forward. When she got into the other room, she looked meaningfully at Chara.
"I hope Alphys is okay." Chara told her, and Frisk nodded in reply.
As soon as Frisk and Chara had left, Corsiva came to Alphys' side.
"Hey, Al. You okay?" Alphys sobbed, and clutched at him. "Okay, dumb question. Sorry. Mind telling me what's on your mind?" She only continued to sob, but she managed to gasp out her words through her cries.
"I-I-I'm s-sorry, I'm such a m-mess." He shushed her, trying to get her to calm down.
"Shh, shh. It's alright. Stop being hard on yourself. Just… let it out. Try to tell me what you're thinking about."
"I… I just… I can't stop imagining… i-if they had k-k-killed Mettaton, I d-don't know what I would have done. H-he can be a bit annoying sometimes, and a b-bit full of h-h-himself, but… he w-was my o-only friend for a while." Corsiva nodded.
"He was Napstablook's cousin, right?" Alphys nodded.
"I m-m-met him at a human fan club meeting that he had organized. He expressed to m-me his desire to have a perfect body, how he d-didn't want to end up inside of a dummy like the r-r-rest of his family. When I o-offered to make him a body, he accepted, and left to become a star with my help, despite his reluctance to leave his cousin.
"A-And… He was my only friend, before I met U-Undyne. I d-don't know what I would have done if anything bad had happened to him." Corsiva nodded, hugging Alphys now.
"Let it out." He told her, and she cried silently into his shoulder for a few seconds. Eventually, Corsiva broke the silence.
"I haven't been completely truthful with you, lately." Corsiva told her. "I don't mean that I've lied to you, far from it. I just… haven't told you the complete truth." Alphys looked over at him, asking him to continue. "The human knows about the problem with the barrier. How their SOUL isn't enough to cross it. How they'd have to… well, you know." Alphys looked down at the ground.
"How did they…" She started to ask.
"I told them." Corsiva informed her, causing her to look over at him again. "I had to tell them eventually. I just didn't want you to have to bear the knowledge that you'd been lying to them, so I made sure there could be no way they wouldn't understand the depth of the situation. I had the best of intentions in mind." Alphys was silent, but she still nodded.
"A-anything else?" She pressed forward.
"I'm thinking about helping them get past Asgore." He said softly. Alphys' eyes went wide.
"What!?" She raised her voice.
"I don't mean that I'll help them kill him. They don't want to do anything to harm him at all. I respect that. I won't hurt Asgore, or kill him. I'll help them avoid getting hurt by him. And then… well, I guess we'll have to wait and see what they choose to do." Alphys nodded calmly. "I think that I might be able to pass through the barrier on my own." Corsiva lowered his voice an extra level, now trying to keep prying ears from reaching them. "My SOUL is unique. Earlier today, I was presented with the question of if I was able to cross the barrier. It doesn't matter who asked, or how it came into existence, but the question did appear. I think that my SOUL might be powerful enough to cross the barrier, but I don't know for sure." Alphys nodded again, a bit more slowly, unsure of what else to do.
"And… there's one other thing, too." Corsiva was now whispering. "Only two- well, kind of three- other people know about this, so I hope you understand how important it is that you keep this secret." Alphys' eyes were wide, and she gave a very quick nod. "The human? The reason I'm so attached to her? There's a reason for that, and it's not because I have been connecting with her for the past few hours. I knew her, back when I was a human. Back when I still called myself 'Drake Addams.'" Frisk, who had been listening in on their conversation so far, had been unable to hear anything after Corsiva started lowering his voice. However, her ears did pick up a few things, most notably: her brother's name. Her breath quickened slightly, but she still remained silent, so as not to give away her position.
"The human… she's… my sister." Corsiva finished in a whisper. Alphys was staring at him, her eyes extremely wide, her face contorted in shock.
"She… you… I don't… what?" She was so shocked, she couldn't properly form a sentence.
"Yeah, I know right?" Corsiva smirked. "What are the odds?" He paused, before adding "That's a rhetorical question, please don't tell me. I never want to know the odds. Unlike Captain Solo, however, I'm intelligent enough to find them out myself." Alphys gave a small smile.
"So… does the human…" Corsiva shook his head quickly, his voice lowering once more.
"No. They don't know. I want to wait before I tell them anything. Let us get to know each other again more naturally."
"So… w-who else knows?"
"Sans and Undyne." Corsiva responded simply. Alphys' brow furrowed in confusion.
"Who's the th-th-third person? You m-mentioned that it was k-kind of three other people who knew. Wh-Who's the other person?" Corsiva shrugged.
"It's difficult to explain, and I'm not sure how, so that will be kept to myself for a little bit. I'll tell you eventually, I promise." He told her. In all honesty, it would be difficult to explain Chara's existence, sentience, and limited appearance to only Frisk and Corsiva, especially considering Corsiva himself wasn't sure how it was possible, or how it worked.
"But you understand how important it is to me that you keep this secret, right? Especially from her, at least for now." Alphys nodded, and leaned in for one more hug. Corsiva smiled at her, and hugged her back. They embraced each other for a few seconds.
"Thanks for this." Alphys thanked her friend. "It… i-it means a lot." Corsiva gave a small shrug, winking.
"Don't mention it." Alphys gave a small nod. Eventually, the two broke away. "Well, I should get going." Corsiva told her, gesturing with his head towards the exit, where Frisk was waiting. Alphys nodded again.
"So… I guess this is it, then." She started.
"Yeah." Corsiva replied, sounding somewhat confident.
"Do or die time." She added.
"Yeah…" Corsiva replied, a bit quieter.
"If that's the case, then… I g-guess that th-th-this could be the last time we see each other." Alphys practically whispered. Corsiva looked over at her.
"In that case, I have some things I want to say. You know, kind of like a will, or just things to remember me by.
"First things first, you need to be more confident. I can tell you have a super huge crush on Undyne, so you need to go for it. I believe in you, and I know that Undyne feels the same way about you. Kind of. Second, if anything happens to me, make sure that Papyrus knows the whole truth. No shortcuts, no lies, no secrets to keep his innocence. The whole truth. I don't want him to have to suffer the loss of a family member, but I want to make sure that he at least knows things as they were, instead of some bullshit excuse. Third, and most importantly, this is if I somehow die." Alphys had been listening very carefully to what Corsiva had been telling her up to this point, and when he said this, she immediately became stiff.
"Don't look at me like that, there's still a chance, no matter how small. So, as I was saying, if I die, I want you to do something for me." He put his hands on Alphys' shoulders. "Tell the Underground about me. About who I was before I died, who I REALLY was. Make sure that Papyrus and Sans stay safe, that they're taken care of. I don't want Sans to slip into a state of depression because of me. Take care of yourself, too. I want you to take care of anybody you can." Alphys was silent, and she nodded.
"What will we do with your dust if you die?" She asked him. "What do you want us to spread it on?" Corsiva sighed.
"I don't want you to. Spreading dust across something symbolizes the now dead monster living on in that thing which their dust was spread upon. I don't want to live on. I'll finally be with people that I've been keeping waiting for some time."
Corsiva looked resolved. Like he was completely sure of himself. It was almost terrifying. Alphys slowly nodded.
"And… if this is the last time we meet… then I just want to tell you… I'm sorry for anything I put you through." Alphys looked over at him again, a shocked and sad expression on her face. But, he didn't look back at her, and instead stood up once more, and moved towards the exit. As he walked through it, Frisk noted that he looked almost emotionless, just empty. Dead.
"What's wrong?" She asked him. Corsiva just shook his head.
"It's nothing." He lied. "I'm just… not looking forward to meeting Asgore." This, too, was a lie. It wasn't meeting Asgore that was bothering him, it was the thought of what could happen to Frisk, or to him, and what would happen to everybody else because of it. "Let's just… let's just go." They walked into an elevator, and started heading up to the King's castle.
As the elevator slowly brought them to their destination, Corsiva, Frisk, and Chara were all silent for a few seconds.
"Have…" Frisk started timidly, as if she wasn't sure if she should ask her question. "Of the Humans who fell into the Underground before me… were any of them named Drake?" Corsiva looked over at her, surprised.
"Drake?" He asked, feigning ignorance. "I haven't seen or heard anybody go by that name in… about four years."
"But… are they… is he… still alive?" Corsiva sighed.
"I don't know." He told her. "I think that whoever that person is, they've been gone for quite a while." And, like Obi Wan Kenobi said in episode Six, it was true, from a certain point of view. Corsiva hadn't gone by the name Drake Addams in four years, and he had changed a fair bit in those four years. He wasn't sure if he was still that person anymore. He was barely recognizable as Drake now, and not just in physical appearances.
"Oh." Frisk responded dejectedly, looking down at her feet. Corsiva frowned.
"I'm sure he's fine." Chara told Frisk, trying to reassure her. Corsiva hated himself for lying to Frisk, but he wasn't ready to tell her yet. At the same time, if he didn't tell her now, he might never get the chance to tell her again. It was conflicting, and he hated it all. But, he would have to live with it, for now. They all sat in silence for a few seconds, before the elevator door finally opened.
"Finally!" Corsiva sighed.
"That took forever!" Chara agreed with him. Frisk rolled her eyes, and they all walked out. They were immediately greeted by sights of grey and black.
"Frisk, welcome to 'New Home.'" Corsiva said to Frisk, his tone slightly dull, and a bit more quiet than usual. Frisk looked at Corsiva with an eyebrow raised.
"With all due respect to him, King Asgore Dreemurr is proficient in a good many things, but coming up with names isn't one of them." He said, winking. Chara chuckled, as Frisk smirked. Corsiva continued to look out at the grey bricks and tiles surrounding them, his expression blank. He sighed.
"I never really come here." He said aloud, sounding like he was mostly talking to himself. "I don't really like the city life in general. I much prefer the quiet life, and the city… well, it usually isn't very quiet. Plus, the city itself… well… it's like people's moral standings in life, it's just a bunch of different shades of gray. I prefer the white of the snow, the brown of the forest, and all of the other colors all the way back in Snowdin Town. But, still. None of it can compare to what waits ahead, yet behind at the same time." He was silent, thinking to himself. He suddenly sighed. "Let's just keep moving forward." He told the group. Chara, however begrudgingly, complied. Or at least, she TRIED to comply. Frisk wasn't budging, a concerned frown on her face, her arms folded.
"Corsiva, something's bothering you." She said aloud.
"I'm fine." He replied, uncaring.
"No, you're not fine." Frisk argued. "Now, you can either tell me what's wrong, or I can force the answers out of you."
"Can we just not talk about it?" He snapped at her, causing her to flinch and step back. After realizing what he had done, Corsiva sighed again, his eyes closed, his face softening.
"Sorry." He started. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that, it wasn't necessary. I just… I don't know, Frisk. This entire time that I've been helping you, going through the Underground with you, I've been trying to prolong the inevitable. I wanted to keep you from meeting Asgore, because I knew that something would happen. Something bad. So, I kept us busy. I kept battles going when I knew we could get past them without any problem. I had you hang out with Papyrus, and Undyne, and Sans twice. I literally offered you the opportunity to just STOP heading towards Asgore, and stay in the Underground for a little while longer, and for what? Because I was scared? Maybe. Because I didn't want you to leave? Probably. No, it was because I didn't want you to have to do anything you would regret." Frisk stared at him, confused. "How to say it…" Corsiva muttered to himself, seeing Frisk's expression.
"Frisk, you're a pacifist. That's a very good thing to be. It shows that you have a very strong moral compass. And you've kept following that compass this entire road. But, there's only so far that pacifism will take you. And, well, I hate to say it, but… the road ends at Asgore. Asgore will not accept your mercy, he won't let you run away, he'll only stop trying to kill you if you kill him first. And killing somebody, even in self defense… it leaves a mark on the SOUL. You lose some of what you used to be, you become less… attached, for lack of a better word, to the world around you. I don't want you to have to live with that, I don't want you to have to feel that guilt.
"At the same time, I know that if you don't fight him, Asgore will kill you, and take your SOUL, before using it and the other six SOULs to become a god, and break the barrier, declaring war on the humans and the surface. And I don't want that to happen either. But that leaves us with two choices. Kill Asgore, going against your pacifist ways, and leave the Underground with the rest of the Monsters stranded inside, or let Asgore kill you and take your SOUL, leading to the deaths of millions of humans, and hundreds of monsters, in a war that never ends. I don't want you to have to make that decision. And I don't want to make it, either. I just… I don't want to have to face that decision, but I know that it's going to be made eventually. So, I won't stall you any further. Let's just get to Asgore, and then we'll figure out what to do." He sighed, then moved forward.
They walked across a long pathway, with the City being in perfect view around them practically the whole time, when they got to a gray house, with a bed of golden flowers.
"New Home." Chara whispered to herself, though Corsiva's nonexistent ears managed to pick it up. He knew what had happened in this home, and in this castle, all those years before he ever fell into the Underground. But, he wouldn't tell Frisk. The other monsters could tell her just fine. As they walked inside, a tune started playing from the speaker, and they were greeted by a padlocked chain, separating the main area of the house from the basement area. Corsiva looked at the note, and read it aloud.
"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." Somewhere in the back of his mind, Corsiva recognized the song being played as one that he created and named "Undertale," but it didn't matter at the moment. Corsiva looked at Frisk, before beckoning for her to follow him into the hallway. When they got there, they saw a green key on a table in front of them. However, Frisk decided to walk inside of one of the bedrooms. Inside, they found two boxes, wrapped like presents.
"I'll take the one on the left, you take the one on the right?" He asked her, causing her to nod. They each walked over to their respective present, and simultaneously opened them. Frisk gave a tiny sigh, as Corsiva made a sharp intake of breath.
"What's in yours?" Corsiva asked her, looking over, and saw her take out a golden heart-shaped locket, which had the Delta Rune on it. Corsiva smiled, before looking back and seeing Chara looking at them, an expressionless look on her face. She just looked dead inside, nothing more, nothing less. Corsiva looked back inside of his present, and it all made sense. He sighed.
"Hey Frisk, could I have a moment alone with Chara?" He asked Frisk, to which she looked over at him, confused, before nodding. She left the room, and closed the door, leaving the spirit and the skeleton alone inside of it.
A/N - Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf. That's nine chapters, all in one day. I could go for ten, but I don't want to overdo it. I'll just wait for it. What will happen next for our trio? Who lives, who dies? Who tells your story? I mean, if you've played Undertale, or have seen someone play it on YouTube or something like that, you probably know, but whatever. There's still a million things I haven't done with this story, but just you wait. I'm not throwing away my shot! Have I mentioned I love Hamilton? Speaking of love, you know what else I love? I love that you guys are enjoying this story! I hope that you continue to enjoy it, I work really hard on these things! If you enjoy it, you can check out my other story, and maybe write a review there! If you don't enjoy this story much, please tell me what you think is wrong with it, so that I know how to fix it. If it's a problem with the dialouge, I'll work to fix it in the later chapters. If you think that certain things are moving a bit slowly, then I'll either explain why things are moving slowly, or I'll try to speed things up for you. If you just don't like the story, or the characters... then boohoo. Go read something else if that's the case. I'm not forcing you to read this. Just make sure that if you have criticism in your review, that it is CONSTRUCTIVE. I don't want reviews where people say "This story sucks, you suck, go kill yourself" or something like that. Got it? Anyway, hope you have a good day, and peace out for now!
-SF