Another chapter? So fast? No way! I shall just add that after this chapter, there will be only two left before the start of arc 3. Enjoy!

Asriel wasn't moving. As he met Sam's gaze, he knew that the boy was very pissed off at him. Sam had a good reason to be angry, of course. But it still made Asriel uncofortable, especially that he's been called "dirty mother killer". As he felt his own face sweat in nervousness, he still decided to try have a calm talk with Sam and reason him.
"S-Sam... I... I understand perfectly you're angry at me…" - Asriel started nervously - "And for a very valid reason… But let's uh… let's not use big words and… just talk reasonably..?"
"Just talk, uh?" - Sam asked, the look in his eyes never changing - "How dare you to suggest this? Did you offer Noelle to talk before ripping out her SOUL?!"
"I... Sam, I'm very sorry…"
"No! I don't want to hear it from you!" - Sam shouted - "You can't claim you're sorry when Noelle's as well as dead! If you really were sorry, you'd release her SOUL already!"
"But Sam, it would just kill him…" - Piper finally dared to speak up and try reason her brother on her turn.
"Don't defend him, Piper!" - Sam snapped back at her - "Had Asriel have a little bit of honor, he'd sacrifice himself for Noelle!"
"Sam, I swear that I wanted to do just that..!" - Asriel said - "But... But we're looking for a way to keep me alive even after I release Noelle's SOUL. I just… I don't want to turn back into Flowey again..! I don't want to hurt and kill people anymore..! Try to understand… This is why your father's looking for a solution… so nobody will be hurt."
"And what if he doesn't?" - Sam asked.
"What..?"
"What if Dad doesn't find a way to keep you like that… then what?" - Sam started to tremble in attempt to control his emotions.
"I... I don't know…" - Asriel answered honestly.
"Does that mean that maybe…" - Piper didn't dare to finish her question as her eyes widened.
"Yes, Piper. They'll have to choose one." - Sam said with a low tone.
"No... Dad will find a way to save them both… He has to." - Piper said with a quieter, yet mildly shocked tone.
As Noelle watched her two children, she felt a huge pain pierce her whole being. She didn't like to see her children sad, desperate and heartbroken. She wanted so much to comfort them and tell them that everything would be alright. Noelle wanted just hug them tightly so much. But she couldn't, and it saddened her. Noelle just wished she could let the twins know how much she loved them. Asriel could feel all Noelle's feelings. So, he stepped towards the twins and said:
"Your mother doesn't like to see you that way. I makes her very upset. Because she loves you with all her being."
"You have no right to tell how she feels!" - Sam snapped at him - "Those feelings are hers… This SOUL is hers! Not yours!"
"Sam, he just wanted to help…" - Noelle thought - "I really need you to know my feelings… You're saddening me, Sam... I understand your pain. But I just want to talk with you. I just want you to know that I love you."
But at that moment, the world started to spin and turn dark for both Asriel and Noelle. Asriel felt really sick and weird all of sudden and it was shortly after that he fell unconscious on the floor. He and Noelle could faintly hear Piper exclaim in alarm:
"Asriel..! Noelle..!"

Noelle looked around and saw that she was in the middle of darkness. She guessed that Asriel was probably not awake. Noelle remembered how during the agitated situation, everything around Asriel was like spinning until it got blurred. She also recalled that Asriel's thoughts weren't very coherent at that moment.
"He must've passed out…" - Noelle muttered to herself.
She decided to walk around to investigate. Maybe she could reach Asriel in his wide inner world and make him wake up. So, Noelle started to walk in an abstract direction, not knowing where exactly she was going. This situation reminded her of the time when she separated herself from her body for the first time to save everyone from the De-Code. Everything around was nothing but darkness.
"I must arrive somewhere at some point, right?"
Soon, Noelle saw a form of light. She made a few more steps until she was inside a scene. She was now inside Asriel's dream, maybe even a memory. Noelle quickly noticed two children. One of them was obviously a younger version of Asriel. He seemed to be around twleve years old, maybe thirteen. Asriel was wearing a green shirt with yellow stripes and black pants. No shoes, since the goat monsters never wore them. The fluffy prince had round innocent brown eyes, just like his mother's, and he didn't even have horns. Noelle couldn't help but note that Asriel was a cute fluffy boy and that he resembled Toriel a lot. "Seriously, who'd ever want to kill such a precious thing?" - Noelle wondered. The thought that the goat boy had been mercilessly murdered by humans upset Noelle a lot. She then directed her attention on the other kid. This one was a human. Noelle guessed that this child had to be the "Chara" Flowey told her about when he had kidnapped her back in Undertown. Chara was wearing an outfit very similar to Asriel's one; a green shirt with a single yellow stripe and brown pants. The green of the shirt was of a different shade. The girl had a white, slightly pale, skin. Noelle couldn't tell for sure what her eye color was, since the hair fringe was a little too long, making a curtain over the upper face. The shoulder-lenght hair was paler than Frisk's, having a more caramel-like color. Even though Chara was a girl, her facial features were a bit ambiguous, so an inattentive one could mistake her for a boy. Noelle then saw that the two playing together children ran to a room that seemed to be a study. Noelle quickly realized that it was the case, since she saw there a too familiar figure - Dr Gaster. The skeleton was wearing his favourite outfit, but he didn't yet have the cracks on his face, nor the holes in his palms. "Makes sense." - Noelle thought. And of course, Gaster was immersed in the work he was doing. Noelle then turned her head as she saw Asriel run in the room, greeting the scientist with a cheery tone.
"Hello, Uncle Gaster!"
This made Noelle smile for some reason. Without turning his head, Gaster answered, without failing to sign with his magical hands.
"Hello, Prince Asriel."
The child was quickly gone. It was Chara's turn to enter the room and, putting a smile on her face, she said with a quieter but similarily joyful voice:
"Hello, Uncle Gaster."
Gaster immediately shuddered as soon as he heard the human's voice, clearly not pleased that Chara addressed to him that way. He turned around to face the kid, with a hard expression on his face, literally shooting her with his glance.
"That's Dr Gaster to you, human." - the scientist said with a calm yet harsh tone, saying the word "human" as if it was some poison.
Chara stared at him a little bit stunned until Gaster resumed his paper work, then she slowly walked away to join her brother. Noelle's eyes were a bit wide, as she felt something similar to anger rise within her being. Just how dared Gaster belittle a kid just for belonging to a different species!
"Just... wow, Gaster. That was quite… racist. She's just a child, damnit! It's not very mature for an adult to pick on a child, you know Doctor Gaster?!" - Noelle yelled, occasionally waving her arms in frustration.
Of course, her yells went to deaf ears, since the scene was just a memory. Quickly after, the scene dissipated to show only Asriel and Chara talk to each other.
"I hate to be associated to a human!" - Chara exclaimed with a clearly upset expression - "I wish I was a monster! I want to be seen as no different from everyone else in the Underground!"
"But everyone treats you as their equal, Chara." - Asriel tried to reassure her with a softer tone - "Everybody's very different here, so you fit perfect in here."
"Well, Gaster clearly doesn't treat you and me the same way." - Chara crossed her arms.
"That's... that's because he has bad memories about humans…" - Asriel looked away - "Just like you do. But I'm sure that over the time, he'll see you're good and eventually, will like you."
"I have doubts… I could feel the stab from his gaze." - Chara muttered in response.
"I'm sure things are not that bad. Uncle Gaster's a good person." - Asriel said, sounding almost naive.
"Yeah... whatever. Anyway, I hate to be seen as a human."
Noelle noticed something else about Chara's face. Asriel had the face of a child's innocence. Frisk - as Noelle had the occasion to see photos of when she was younger - had a face that reflected joy, curiousity and playfulness. They both represented what a child was. Chara however, was different. Her face didn't have that carelessness Frisk or Asriel had. It reflected something different; it looked almost as if there was something… dead inside Chara. Or rather, as if her soul had been deeply scarred by life. This observation made Noelle frown. But before she could ponder any longer on the matter, the scenary around her changed. She saw that she was in the children's bedroom in New Home. Asriel and Chara were sitting there, with serious expressions on their faces. Asriel was even holding a camera (with the cap on) for some reason. Noelle was curious to know what this memory was about. She didn't catch the question Chara asked, but she did hear Asriel's answer.
"Oh, yeah, I remember. When we tried to make butterscotch pie for Dad, right? The recipe asked for cups of butter... But we accidentally put in buttercups instead. Yeah! Those flowers got him really sick. I felt so bad. We made Mom really upset." - Asriel said with a guilty look - "I should have laughed it off, like you did…"
The latter statement concerned Noelle a bit. What did Asriel mean by "laugh it off"? Chara didn't actually laugh at the incident, right? Nobody would've laughed if their father got poisoned. "I wouldn't, anyway." - Noelle thought - "Or maybe it was a just a reaction to nervousness and stress..?"
"Um, anyway, where are you going with this?" - Asriel then asked.
"Turn off the camera, Asriel." - Chara said quietly, her expression serious and a bit dark.
Asriel was a bit confused by the request, wondering what was in his sister's mind. What was that Chara wanted to tell him that she didn't want to be recorded? But Asriel complied and turned off the camera. Noelle was curious too. Chara then faced Asriel and said:
"Dad once said that the Barrier that keeps monsterkind trapped can be broken with the power of seven human SOULs."
"Y-yeah, that's correct." - Asriel confirmed with a nod.
"And... I also learned that... if a monster absorbs a human SOUL, he can cross the Barrier." - Chara pursued - "This made me wonder… Asriel, you and I are best friends, right?"
"Of course, Chara. But what's with your interest to the Barrier..?" - Asriel asked, not sure to understand.
"And we can always trust each other… can't we?" - Chara looked straight into Asriel's eyes, seeking a solid confirmation.
Asriel only nodded in response. Noelle felt her heart tighten. She knew where this was going and she didn't like it. Chara then put her hands over her brother's shoulder and said:
"What if you and I can break the Barrier and save monsterkind together? What do you say to that?"
"What...? Are you saying that one of us must absorb the other's SOUL…?" - Asriel asked, his eyes widening as he understood - "And then… seek for six other SOULs on the Surface..?"
"You've seen what buttercups do. I'll give you my SOUL and when you absorb it, you can cross the Barrier without trouble." - Chara confirmed, her expression still serious - "We can become heroes, Azzy! We can finally give monsterkind what they deserve - a life on the surface! I can finally make up for the atrocities humankind put us-… you through!"
"But you don't have to make up for anything, Chara. Nor do you need to proof us anything."
"And you, you'll become the ruler monsters deserve, the greatest one." - the human kid ignored the previous statement - "Don't you want your people's happiness, Azzy? Weren't our parents trapped in the Underground for too long? Isn't it time to put the end on this jail?"
"Yes, I want our parents and everyone else to be happy and finally see the sky, but…"
A pause followed. Noelle could sense both Asriel's fear and sadness, and Chara's expectation. Asriel then spoke up again, his voice trembling a little:
"I... I don't like this idea, Chara."
"You're crying?" - Chara asked, sounding blank, this being more like a statement than a question.
Indeed, there were tears in Asriel's eyes, threatening to fall down his cheeks. The sight of the goat-boy crying made Noelle's heart ache.
"Wh.. what? N-no, I'm not…" - Asriel tried to deny the obvious.
"What have I told you before?" - Chara said with a sigh.
"...big kids don't cry. Yeah, you're right." - Asriel forced himself to sound firm, then wiped his tears away with his striped sleeve.
"Are you doubting me, Azzy?"
"No! I'd never doubt you, Chara. Never!" - Asriel exclaimed, his expression showing his infinite trust in his human sibling.
"If we want to save monsterkind, we have to be strong, Asriel." - Chara said with a slightly softer tone, yet very serious.
"Y... yeah! We'll be strong! We'll free everyone." - Asriel replied, sounding confident - "I'll go get the flowers."
Noelle's green eyes widened when she saw the goat-boy stand up and walk to the exit of the bedroom. She didn't want this to happen! Even though she knew it was a memory of what already happened, Noelle didn't want to see it!
"Asriel!" - she called for him.
She quickly ran to him and almost managed to touch Asriel's shoulder, but before she could she saw from the corner of her eye Chara staring in her direction. Noelle could've sworn that her eyes… turned red? The sight freaked Noelle out, so she gasped after what Asriel was already out of her reach and the room around her became all blurry.
"N-no..! Asriel..!" - Noelle tried to call for him.
But Asriel didn't show up, neither did he respond. Noelle could barely see across that "wind" of blurred memories around her. Soon, she could recognize a scene that featured Asgore and Toriel, so Noelle quickly stepped in without thinking. She was back in the children's bedroom, and the goat-parents were standing near one of the beds. On that bed, was lying a lifeless Chara. She had a very pale face, as though she's been really sick. "The buttercups…" - Noelle guessed. The woman then noticed that Asgore and Toriel had eyes full of tears and their voices trembled as they spoke.
"Chara... Can you hear me?" - Toriel said as she knelt down, stroking the child's hair - "We want you to wake up…"
"Chara! You have to stay determined! You can't give up! You are the future of humans and monsters…" - Asgore said on his turn, as he took the small human hand in his large furry one.
Asriel was there too, sitting on his knees, face burried in the bed sheets and his shoulders shaking. He was sobbing. Noelle understood what happened. Chara just died. She felt bad for the heartrboken goat-family, and she felt her own heart break a little too. Soon after, Chara's SOUL emerged from her chest. Toriel burried her face into her husband's chest, sobbing loudly. Asgore was rubbing her back with a distant look on his face and after a moment, he touched his son's shoulder. Asriel turned his head very slightly, to look at his father who stood up with Toriel in his arms. The look on the king's face was suggesting him to go. (So he could move the body elsewhere, to prepare for the upcoming funeral.) But the goat-boy turned his head away again, refusing to move. Asgore and Toriel then exchanged a look, wordlessly agreeing to leave Asriel a little more time. After all, the two children have been very close. The royal couple then left the room, leaving Asriel alone with his deceased sister. Then, Asriel lifted his head and said quietly:
"... Psst… Chara... Please... Wake up... I don't like this plan anymore. I... I..."
Noelle felt sympathy for the young prince. She also felt fear, anticipating what was coming next. Asriel then looked at the red SOUL levitating above Chara's body and after a moment, he said, trying to sound fearless (but he was obviously scared).
"... no, I said... I said I'd never doubt you. Six, right? We just have to get six... And we'll do it together, right?"
Noelle then watched how Asriel stood up and absorbed Chara's SOUL, after what he transformed. He looked basically like he looked currently in real life, a grown up yet still young goat, wearing a purple Delta Rune robe. His eyes looked somewhat different though. Asriel then picked up Chara's body and left the room. Noelle rushed after him, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.
"Wait..! Asri-"
But then, the scenary around changed again, even though the figure in front of her didn't. Asriel had still his back turned to her, never letting go of his sister's body. Noelle saw that they were in a park, which meant it was the Surface. She then saw how Asriel knelt down to a bed of golden flowers to put down Chara there. But then, screams got heard.
"A monster!"
"He killed that child!"
"We must get rid of him, before he kills anybody else!"
And so, the humans ran in Asriel's direction, attacking him with different weapons. Noelle gasped in shock when she saw how Asriel wasn't even trying to fight back, just taking all the hits. She then saw grab his head with his hands and talk alone:
"N-no..! No, I can't... I won't harm these people..! I refuse to kill anybody..!"
Noelle guessed that he was fighting for control; Asriel was battling with Chara inside. Noelle had no idea how this could feel like, since she never really tried to control his body (the idea to control a body that wasn't her own just felt weird to her). Then, to her great surprise, she heard Chara's voice.
"You don't get it, Asriel! You idiot..! In this world, it's kill or be killed!"
The last part then kept echoing around, making Noelle shudder.
"It's kill or be killed..!"
"It's kill or be killed..!"
"It's kill or be killed..."
Noelle then decided to put an end to all this and she rushed across the immaterial people and things straight to Asriel, just as he was picking up Chara again.
"Asriel, snap out of it..!" - she yelled as she literally jumped over him.
But she never landed on him, because he vanished at the same time as the scenary. Noelle didn't get hurt falling on the floor. She figured out that the bed of golden flowers didn't disappear, unlike the rest of the scenaray, which was now all dark. Noelle sat down on her knees, confused and wondering what was coming next. Then, Flowey popped up from beneath the flowers and said:
"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"
"No... No, you're not Flowey. You're Asriel!" - Noelle tried again to snap her "host" out of his bad memories - "It's me, Noelle! Don't you remember…?"
"Don't tell me who I am, you idiot!" - Flowey shouted at her with a pissed off face - "I know who I am! I am the prince of this world and you shall DIE!"
Flowey then suddenly turned into his Omega form, making Noelle yelp in shock and her eyes widen. When looking at this monstrosity, it was impossible to tell that it had once been the fluffy and nice prince.
"I'm gonna kill you one million times!" - Omega Flowey threatened Noelle.
But Noelle wasn't scared. Well, not really. Because she knew this was all just a dream, and thus she couldn't die. Asriel, in his Omega Flowey form, was absolutely not conscious that it all wasn't real. The plant creature started to aim at Noelle with different things, and Noelle couldn't help but remark how much WTF it all looked. "Did Frisk really have to go through all this…?" But this didn't stop Noelle. She jumped on one of Omega Flowey's members (?) and ran up to his head.
"What are you doing?!"
"Asriel! Stop it all now! Just stop!" - Noelle screamed as she almost reached the tv-like head - "That's not you! You're dreaming, Asriel!"
She finally managed to actually touch him and, as she put her both hands over the face, she half-whispered:
"It's over now... You can stop all this... It's all in your past... Asriel, can you hear me..? Do you remember who I am?"
"N-Noelle..." - the creature said with Asriel's voice this time.
"Yes..! Yes, that's me." - Noelle smiled in relief - "You can turn back into your normal self now. It's okay."
Within a second, the horrifying creature became the Asriel Noelle know again. He looked shocked by what happened and a bit ashamed.
"I... I'm sorry..." - he then breathed out.
"It's alright. It was just a dream, after all." - Noelle replied.
"I just... I have no idea what came over me." - Asriel said as he sat down on his knees.
"I might have an idea..." - Noelle said with a look of empathy on her face as she laid her hand on Asriel's shoulder - "I think that you in a way felt more secure being Flowey. Because it's much easier to go through some things when you feel nothing."
"I suppose you're right... As much as I hate to be Flowey... it now hurts so much to be myself again. It hurts, Noelle… You have no idea how feelings make my heart ache… when I see all the wrong I did. Especially towards your children. When your son confronted me about what I did, I felt shame and guilt pierce me." - Asriel said, looking down - "I could faintly sense you in my dreams, you know? But I guess my desire to hide from reality made me near to deaf and blind."
"You locked yourself in your memories." - Noelle understood - "I want to ask you… was Chara the one who inspired your path as Flowey?"
"H-huh..? So, you've seen my memories... Well, she did in a way. We were having a harsh argument in my head. And we died without having a chance to reconcile. So, when I... came back as Flowey, I thought that… I thought that Chara was right all along. It was because of my pacifism that I died. And so, I assumed that this world really worked as she said - kill or be killed."
"But she was wrong. That's not how it works, there's always a different solution." - Noelle replied - "Just like she was wrong to take you on that path in the first place."
"Maybe that's why I still have trouble to let go of her..." - Asriel admitted - "I wish Chara was there, sometimes… even though it probably wouldn't be my best interest."
"Chara did lead you straight to your death." - Noelle said with a serious look, then looked down - "I don't mean to speak badly about the dead, but still…"
"No, it's okay. It's true that Chara had her flaws. I was just a bit blind to notice them back then." - Asriel admitted - "It was only when I met Frisk that I realized it. Your mother's been so nice towards me… You resemble her a lot, you know Noelle?"
"It's nice to hear it from you..." - Noelle blushed a bit, before letting out a sad sigh - "Now, this reminded me how much I miss her… and Papyrus too. When I was uh… properly alive, I feel like didn't cherish enough their kindness and love. I can't help but wonder now - have I been too cold to them? Maybe I was a little…"
"I'm sure you were doing your best, Noelle. And they'll love you regardless of your attitude. I know them long enough to tell."
"Heh, thanks Asriel. But I hope that now, you don't believe in this twisted phylosophy anymore?"
"No, I don't. And I won't... as long as I'm Asriel, and not Flowey." - Asriel said - "Frisk showed me that you can solve problems without anybody having to die. In fact, this gave me a certain confidence about my own vision of things. Before I turned to dust, I no longer knew what to believe. But now, I no longer doubt my vision. I see that we both can make it."
"Ah, I'm relieved to see you got faith!" - Noelle smiled at him approvingly.

"Asriel..?"
The goat monster slowly opened his eyes before realizing that he was awake again. The first person he saw was Gaster, looking at him with concern. Seeing Asriel open his eyes, Gaster breathed out in relief:
"Thank goodness... You gave us quite a scare..!"
"Ugh... What happened exactly..?"
Asriel sat down and saw that he's been lying on the couch in the living room. Piper was sitting next to him, while Sam was standing a bit furthing, leaning againt a cabinet.
"You passed out, when Sam was yelling at you." - Piper reminded him - "How are you feeling?"
"I don't know... I'm a bit tired, I guess? And I feel unsteady." - Asriel answered.
"Like when your head spins?" - Piper asked.
"S-something like that..." - Asriel replied before lying down again.
"Mind me to ask what you... or Noelle were feeling before losing consciousness?" - Gaster asked.
"I think... I think Noelle was feeling very sad and sorry for her children, not bearing to see them suffer because of her condition." - Asriel said thoughtfully - "That, along with a strong love of course."
"Hmm, like I suspected..." - Gaster said as his index finger touched his chin - "Very strong feelings are notably what produces determination. You've been overdosed by DT, so you must be very careful."
"Wait... or I could just... melt? Like the amalgamates?" - Asriel's eyes widened.
"If you're both not careful, you might." - Gaster said - "But there are good news. I might've figured out how to save you both."
"What?!" - Noelle exclaimed in Asriel's mind.
"What..?" - Asriel asked, not have expected anything at this point yet.
"I withrew enough of Noelle's SOUL essence to forge a new SOUL for you, Asriel." - Gaster said.
"W-what..? It's really possible?" - Asriel gasped in surprise.
"In theory, yes. There's enough of essence to make a SOUL in its earliest stage of developement, like one within a foetus. Once injected in your body, Noelle's SOUL will do the rest. It'll sustain yours and make it grow." - Gaster explained.
"Wait... It's like I'll be like a surrogate mama to this big goat-guy..?" - Noelle reacted to the idea with a weird tone.
"No. Think about it as though you'll be making a heart-shaped sculpture." - Asriel replied mentally, rolling his eyes.
"See? See? I knew Noelle would be alright! I knew Dad would find a way!" - Piper exclaimed excitingly, then turned to her brother and said - "Since there's a solution, you have no reason to be mad at Asriel now."
"Hmpf... I guess." - Sam grumbled reluctantly.
"He'll like you, I'm sure." - Piper said to Asriel with a smile.
"Hey, don't talk for me!" - Sam told his sister.
"I just wanted to ease the mood a little..!" - Piper protested.
"Now, now, no arguing." - Gaster requested to his children - "As for our SOUL topic, I insist that it just could work. It might as well not work. You body and the new SOUL might not connect and make one."
"It's worth a try. We don't have dozens of possibilities anyway." - Asriel replied - "I'm willing to try it. And so is Noelle."
"Alright, I'll inform your both parents then." - Gaster said as he took his cellphone - "We can do this whenever you feel ready, Asriel."
"Can we do this tomorrow already?" - Asriel asked - "I understand the risks, but I think the sooner we do it, the better. Besides, I think Sam and Piper don't want wait for their mother for too long."
"If that's what you want, we'll do that tomorrow." - Gaster said - "I'll tell your parents about my idea, and then I'll explain the process with more details."
Asriel just smiled in response before Gaster dialed Toriel's number. Maybe there was a gleam of hope in his long way of darkness. Maybe once more, he'll be proven that nobody had to die. That there was a third way.

A/N: Yes, I included the scene from a short comic Zarla made about Gaster having known Asriel and Chara well, while being very salty to the human child. I just couldn't not include it here!

And if Gaster's suggestion seems a bit rushy, don't worry. It all will be explained in details in the next chapter, just like Gaster said. ^^ So... let's cross our fingers his idea works?