Chapter 34: I'll Save Them All!

"I am the God of Hyperdeath! Bow to my power!" Asriel shouted.

He went from simple stars to entire galaxies, comets, and many, many celestial bodies. All of which I had no chance of dodging.

I died.

I refused.

I struggled against my bonds. Nothing.

Die.

Refuse.

Asriel taunted. "I can feel it. Every time you die, a little bit of you slips away. Soon, you'll forget everything. This will serve you well in the next life!"

Again, a struggle against my bonds. Nothing.

Again, a torrent of celestial bodies. Ursa Major, Minor, the Dippers, Polaris, everything.

Die.

Refuse.

More taunting. "Still you stand? Don't you realize it's hopeless?"

It was. I struggled. I tried to LOAD up my SAVE. It didn't work.

But, maybe...as I looked at my dad's pen, in my pocket, and the heart necklace…

Maybe I could SAVE something else.

I could SAVE them. I could SAVE them all. Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore, Chara. And, through them, everyone else.

In that instant, a brilliant flash of light. Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Indigo. Violet. It melted away the darkness, melted away the bonds that I was being restrained by. Power surged inside of me. A power that made my abilities of un-death seem trivial.

"I'll save them." I whispered. "I'll save them all."

I reached out towards Asriel. I heard their voices. I grabbed one of them.

And instantly, the world around me melted away, replaced by me and a lost soul.

The Lost Soul was directly in front of me. I could tell it was Toriel. I wasn't sure how, but I knew. Maybe the way it stood, the way it emitted its quiet glow.

How? How would I SAVE them?

Memories. The memories we so cherished, the way Chara taught me how to SAVE.

"Remember the moment, remember the warmth."

I talked to her about the week I spent with her. She shuddered, in sadness, as I described to her the flower patch, and what she told me.

But it wasn't enough.

"I've just been trying to replace her," Toriel said. She wreathed me in serpentine flames, much like our quarrel we had, together. But I knew how to dodge these. Unlike the Toriel I fought before, she was methodical. Emotionless. Mechanical. Her attacks had an order about them, an order that I picked out.

I dropped my weapon, much like that day that we fought. I ran up to her, and gave her a hug, just like how she gave me.

She paused. Then, she spoke. "I lost everything." Again, a wave of depression and reminiscence. Again, the sheets of flame that I easily dodged.

"But mom...you still have me." I whispered into her ear.

And suddenly, her memories flooded back.

Now, she hugged me. "Yes, yes I do. Go, child. I'll try to save all the monsters I can, just like you did. Go. There are others you have to save."

I agreed, as I moved on to the next.

I called out again, and someone came.

Apathy. Pure apathy hit me like a wall. It wasn't like Toriel's grief, it was a nihilism that smothered like wool. Okay. Maybe there were tints of grief.

Dig. Dig for the soul.

Soul…?

No. Two souls. One glowing brightly, the other one very faint. Something told me they were Papyrus and Sans.

"heya, kid. why try so hard?" the dimmer one said.

"I will capture a human! I must capture a human!" the brighter one said.

"Why am I trying so hard, Sans?" I said. "I..don't know."

"everything's gonna be wiped anyways, kid." he said. "nothing in life matters anymore."

This seemed to cause a bit of...resonance, maybe, with Papyrus' soul. A twinge of something. But Papyrus kept talking. The apathy was still here, biting into me.

"Money, power, fortune, and fame!" he shouted.

Sans stared right at me. "and you know what, kid? you caused it all."

I wrapped my arms around Sans. Papyrus involuntarily took the cue to hug his brother as well.

"So, how do you two still think of me?" I asked.

"I...think you're cool, human! There's no way I'll capture you!" Papyrus shouted, as his memories flooded back.

"nah, kid. i'll still cheer for ya." Sans said, muffled between Papyrus and I. "keep at it, kid. we're almost to the end."

"In the meantime, Sans, let us go save Snowdin!" Papyrus shouted. He picked up Sans and ran off.

More souls to save.

Again, calling out into the depths of Asriel's soul.

Nothing…?

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A Lost Soul hit me head-on, like a truck, bowling me over. It grabbed me, it threw me, it beat me nearly to death. I held a hand up for it to stop as it radiated fury.

"Why are you doing this? Stop!" I shouted.

"You're the enemy! You're the one keeping us locked miles under this stupid mountain!" it shouted back.

Looks like I found Undyne.

She threw spear after spear directly at me, forcing me to dodge and run. It wasn't the Undyne that I fought, however, the veritable one-monster phalanx that blot the sun out with her spears. This one was predictable. Methodical. But still, deadly.

"Undyne! Calm down!" I shouted. "Can we, uh, finish our cooking lesson instead?" I winced. Undyne did as well. The spears dissipated.

"Kid. What the heck are you?" she asked.

"Just a human." I answered. "No murders. No kills."

"What about the monsters, though?" she asked. "Who's the one that will free them? They deserve more."

"They do." I answered. "And trust me. I'll make it all right, Undyne. I'll save everyone."

And in that moment, Undyne returned, with a huge, shark-toothed grin. "I believe you, punk. Go get 'em!"

She ran off, to save the ones she had to save. I smiled.

Once more into the breach...

Once more. Deeper. I had to really get my metaphorical hands dirty with this one.

A weak glimmer shone. Quickly, I extracted it out. It was a boss monster soul, without a doubt. But it for some reason kept trying to hide itself. When I reached towards it, the soul shirked from my hand. It kept trying to reduce its presence, kept trying to mask itself as an ordinary monster's soul.

"Come out," I whispered to it. "You don't have to hide. I'm here to help."

"No." it squeaked. "I did the unforgivable. I should never have agreed."

I knew it was Alphys. I reached to her, but she shied away from my hand. "Don't. You're wasting your efforts."

"I'm not, Alphys. And you're okay now. You told the world."

"I don't know if they forgave me…" Alphys muttered.

"Hey, it looks like the Amalgamates forgave you." I replied. "Besides. I don't think any of us care."

"What if they're just...putting up a front? Like I do?"

"Trust me, Alphys." I smiled. "I think they're much happier you sent them home. They must miss their families so much. You chose the right thing to do."

The fog surrounding her soul blew away as Alphys stood up to meet my eyes. "You're right." she said. "Let's finish up what we came here to do."

Alphys trudged away, leaving me alone.

Two left.

I called out again. Who was there?

A large soul lumbered forth, clothed in regal robes, carrying a regal sadness. It raised its arm, painfully, slowly, and let a wave of fire out, blasting across me. I was thrown back a few feet by the sheer magical force, but then, with surprising speed, it lashed out, again and again with a trident it produced.

"Stop!" I yelled. I could only bet on or sparing me somewhat.

But by some miracle, it stopped and put its trident down. "Toriel...I'm sorry." it rumbled. "But this must be done."

I think this was Asgore. No, I was sure of it. But how would I reach out to him? How could I reach out to Asgore? I didn't even know him. I didn't have any interaction, or anything. But maybe I did. How much could I glean from just a few minutes of knowing Asgore? He missed his family. He doesn't want to kill me. But he feel like he has to kill me.

"Can we...not fight?" I asked him.

He shifted his weight. Then he rumbled, "No. I have to do this. I promised the monsters."

"But there is another way!" I shouted. "I have the other way!"

"There is." Asgore admitted. "But that method...I do not want it."

"But there is a method - and no one has to die. I know it! I can help you all do it!" I shouted back. It shook his spirit, and I could see it quiver in the void as it resisted the flow of memories. But finally, it broke, and a flood of memories returned as Asgore, the king of monsters, kneeled before me.

"Child. No, Frisk." he said. "If what you say is true, then...I will do everything in my power to help you in this mission."

"There's a few left to save." I told him.

"Then, who is next for you?" he asked.

"Chara." I answered.

He nodded. "To each their own." he said.

I nodded back as I already reached for the next soul.

I called out again. I couldn't feel Chara's soul. But I knew it was there.

Slowly, slowly, I coaxed it out. And now, we faced each other.

"Chara." I said. Great opening word there.

"Go away." she said. "I don't deserve this. I caused it all."

"But-" I began. Then Chara cut me off by conjuring a spectral red knife and throwing it at me, just barely grazing my shoulder. An act of magic.

"Go away!" she snarled. Her eyes glowed a deep red. "I deserve this for everything I tried to do! I'll kill you, just like I killed those others! I'll slaughter you like the monster I am!"

"Chara, stop-" I began, but the knife flew back into her hand as she pulled out a few coins from her pocket and threw them into the air, where they floated, suspended by a red glow.

"Go. Away." she growled. Then she flung the coins at me, faster than any monster's attack. I prepared to dodge, but they all curved around me, like we were playing chicken. "I said. Go. Away." Chara repeated, louder this time.

"No. I'm not leaving you, sis." I replied to her comment. Chara winced, and the glow faded from her eyes for a second, before returning. "Do I not make myself clear? Go away. I failed. I failed as your big sister."

"No." I said, more forcefully this time. "You didn't fail. Not yet. Please, Chara."

"I said. I. Failed. I failed to protect every single sibling I ever fucking had. I'm a selfish and greedy piece of shit in the end. I became exactly what they wanted." Chara spat.

"No, Chara. You didn't become what they wanted!" I cried out as I flung myself at her, hugging her as tightly as I could. "You...succeeded. You protected me, Chara. Dad said so."

"Do not mention dad!" Chara shouted, shoving me away and throwing me to the floor. "You barely knew him!" She raised the knife, high above her head, and brought it down towards my neck as she held me to the floor with her knee on my chest.

Then, she stopped. The red glow faded from her eyes as the conjured spectral red knife clattered to the floor, and dissipated. "No. What am I doing?" Chara asked. "What did I do? Frisk, I'm so sorry, I…" Chara was at a loss of words as she gathered herself and let me up. "I wasn't myself! I could have killed you and I nearly did and-"

"It's fine." I smiled.

"It's fine?" she asked.

"It's fine." I once again hugged Chara as she bursted into tears oh my shoulder, sobbing violently into me. I gave her comforting pats as she hiccuped from the sobs.

"I'm so weak." Chara said.

"No you're not," I replied. "I look up to you. You're strong."

She wiped her eyes. "Thank you, sister. I'm sure we have business left, right?"

"We do." I said. "We have to save the world."

"I have the last key in your memory, Frisk." Chara said, as she held out her hand, a red pill in her palm and a bluish pill in the other hand, though still glowing red.

"Are you kidding me." I told Chara. She had a nice laugh over that one.

"Nah, that's illusion magic. I can do combat magic much better." Chara replied. I agreed with that statement. "The monsters taught me magic. And now, you will know as well. Everything you need to know to...well, the memories will tell you. And so much more."

Chara placed her hand on my head.

I swear she looked mournful. Like someone was about to die, and she couldn't stop it.