[Author's Note: Sometimes, I really wish I could draw. Do you know how fast this would be made into a comic if I could draw? Hella. Hella fast is the answer. I need to get in contact with my art friends to make this dream come true. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I've been struggling with depression and anxiety for such a long time now, and writing this really seems to help. So, thank you for reading. It really means a lot to me.]
For a while, everything was dark and cold. A thick, heavy numbness washed over Frisk's body, and slowly, they felt as if they were floating. They no longer felt Chara's fingers digging into their throat or the pain of their bruised and broken ribs. Frisk felt calm, cold, and relaxed. They wondered if this was what death was like for everyone else.
While their mind drifted further and further away from their body, Frisk involuntarily recalled some of their fondest memories with their family. Perhaps this was their "life flashing before their eyes," that the movies and books talked about.
"Welcome to your new home, innocent one."
Frisk could see Toriel standing in front of them in the otherwise empty abyss. They wanted to reach out and touch her, or at least say something, but she quickly faded away after saying those familiar words, as if she was never there to begin with. However, another figure quickly appeared after Toriel vanished.
"The old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny."
Sans stood in front of Frisk as a chilly breeze swept past the two. It was almost as if they were back on that iconic snowy path that they had walked a hundred times over, only to be confronted by the same joke and the same skeleton. Frisk honestly thought that the joke grew old after the first two times they heard it, then again, they were never meant to hear it more than once.
"Human. Allow me to tell you about some complex feelings."
A frigid cold swept over Frisk's body as they stood before the hopeful and hyper skeleton . Rushing water could be heard to their left, even though nothing was there besides darkness.
"Alphys told me that humans were determined..."
Undyne towered heroically over Frisk as she drew her finger over her neck while bouncing impatiently. Her speech was always over-the-top, no matter what timeline Frisk was on.
"Oh! Don't worry, I'm not one of the 'bad guys'."
It was almost painful to hear Alphys lie again and again about what she was doing and about Mettaton. Frisk wished that they would have talked to her about her problems sooner.
Frisk could hear their friends calling out to them. Whether this was reality or just a comforting thought, Frisk could feel everyone's love for them all at once before it was suddenly ripped away and replaced with a tiny white dot in their vision, and no other sensory stimulants. They couldn't feel their legs or face, nor could they breath, blink, or move their head around. They could only see, and the only thing they could see was pitch darkness and the white speck that was directly in the center of their vision. Frisk attempted to focus on the speck, which somehow seemed to bring it closer to them. The more they focused, the closer it came, until they realised that it wasn't white at all- it was yellow. Not only was it yellow, but it was also somewhat star-shaped. Could it be...
Once the star was close enough to theoretically touch, Frisk could see a small figure approach it from the side. This figure smiled at Frisk in an almost melancholy way before it touched the star and everything felt as if it jolted back; almost like a roller coaster suddenly going down a steep incline. Except, this roller coaster was incredibly intense and made Frisk feel somewhat sick.
Before they could even comprehend what had just happened, Frisk was suddenly conscious and back with Chara and Asriel as the two children attempted to persuade Toriel into letting them into Alphys' house. Frisk was confused, but relieved once they found out that Chara did indeed load their file to bring Toriel and themself back.
Chara turned around to look at Frisk for just a moment, and Frisk could have sworn that they looked almost happy to see them alive. Did they regret their previous actions? If so, then that meant that the child's morals had greatly improved.
Without warning, everyone heard and ear-splittingly demonic screech come from the distance, and when they looked to the source of the sound, they could see a tall figure heroically standing atop the snake monster's middle head while jabbing several spears into each eye, causing large amount of blood to gush out from them. The monster screamed and writhed in pain before slowly turning to dust as its orange human soul floated upwards to the heavens. There was no doubt that Undyne had slain the beast, but whatever changed in this specific timeline to cause that to happen was beyond Frisk and the others.
The thick and dreadful atmosphere that had settled over the land slowly lifted as any threat of destruction faded from existence. Frisk wondered why things turned out so different this time. Asgore won't be going to jail, they no longer need to fuse with Chara and Asriel, and Undyne defeated the monster instead of the fused trio. Frisk was happy with this outcome, but they were confused as to why it occurred. Was it because Chara was in control? Did they do something to change it? Or, did Undyne somehow retain bits of her memories from the previous timeline and use that knowledge to claim her victory? Frisk liked the idea of the last thought they had, so they stuck with that and then tapped Chara on the shoulder.
Chara gave Frisk a stern look, but their expression contained hints of relief. "What," they said coldly.
Feeling slightly cocky, Frisk asked Chara if they felt good after what they did.
Chara shrugged with their head hung low. "I do not understand how I feel after doing what I did. All I know is that it was not right, and that I am sorry."
Since all imminent danger had been eradicated, and since the kids were distracted, Toriel scooped the three up into her arms and quickly went home, telling them that she needed a rest. For her, that whole experience only happened once, but it felt as if she worked three times as hard instead.
Once inside the house, Toriel was greeted with a big hug from the great Papyrus, who was very worried about her and the others.
"Thank goodness you're all right!" he cried, hugging her tightly while trying not to crush the children in her arms. "I knew that you would be fine, but that did not stop me from worrying! That is what amazing friends are for, after all."
Toriel giggled and set the kids down to hug Papyrus back. "Thank you for your concern, Papyrus. Is your brother all right?"
Papyrus pulled away from the hug and looked upstairs towards his brother's room. "Sans," Papyrus called, "Are you not dead?"
Sans quickly poked his head out of his room. "Yeah, bro. I ain't dead. Just thinkin' about stuff."
"Thinking? You were up there thinking this whole time when you could have helped me?!"
Sans shrugged. "Despite how little effort it takes to think... it seems that a lot of people act without doing so."
With that, the kids decided to take it upon themselves to play in the living room. A few toys were scattered here-and-there, and what better way to relieve some stress than to play around with your imagination?
While Asriel was playing with his plastic train set and having an adventure of his own, Chara tugged on Frisk's sleeve to get their attention. When Frisk looked at them, they looked remorseful and somewhat depressed.
Frisk asked Chara what was wrong.
Chara huffed and folded their arms, looking away from Frisk. "Frisk, I... I'm truly sorry about what I did. I really am. What I did was... wrong. It was unforgivable. Even though I went back, it still happened, and it should have never happened in the first place. I understand if you cannot forgive me, but I also understand why you were trying to keep that power from me. You knew I would just abuse it, did you?"
Frisk nodded slowly before pulling Chara into a hug, patting their back affectionately.
"I know, I know. You forgive me. You really are a good person, despite what you did in the past. Do you... do you think I can change like that, too?"
Frisk nodded optimistically. They knew that if they could turn a new leaf, then so could Chara. Everyone can be a good person if they just try, after all.
Toriel knelt down to speak to her three children and smiled brightly before talking. "So, who is ready to go spend the weekend with Asgore very soon?"
Frisk almost forgot about going over to Asgore's place for the weekend. After all the resetting and loading and jumping around timelines, they could hardly remember what day it was. But, nonetheless, they were excited. Asgore was a very sweet monster, even though he tried to kill them. After all, they weren't the first person to try that.
Like any person that died and was brought back from death, Frisk felt quite tired and decided to take a nap. It felt nice to finally be able to relax after all the drama and action. Their bed even felt extra soft that day, almost like it knew what Frisk went through and that they just wanted rest.
Just before Frisk closed their eyes, they could feel their soul get lighter and more powerful. They felt like they could do anything, as if the world would bend to their will. They knew that in that very moment, Chara's determination had weakened, thus returning the power to SAVE back to Frisk.
Right where it belongs.
