And here comes the next chapter already! I'm just so motivated to update now, the third arc being my personal favourite. :) Enjoy!
Asgore and Toriel looked at Gaster with surprised and worried looks. Asgore had just suggested to call Sam and Piper to come see him, now that he awoke after his bad injury had been treated. But in response, Gaster gave him a confused look, and asked who he was talking about.
"Sam and Piper… your children, Gaster." - Asgore repeated.
"What are you talking about? It's the first time I hear those names. And I have no children." - Gaster replied, gazing Asgore weirdly.
"My goodness… Don't tell me you don't remember your own children?" - Toriel asked with a worried expression.
"How can I remember somebody who I don't know?" - Gaster replied to her as his own features took a worried tone.
"Gaster… Tell me… What's the last thing you remember?" - Asgore asked on his turn.
"I remember being in the lab... I was working on… uh, something that involves messing with space-time fabric and…" - Gaster avoided the king and queen's looks - "...it's not something you'd like."
"You are talking about the De-Code, am I correct?"
"H-how do you know..?" - Gaster grew very nervous.
"Gaster, the De-Code had already happened." - Toriel said then gently took the skeleton's hand in her own - "You succeeded in doing it. And it lasted for twenty-two years. Until Noelle undid it seven months ago."
"Wait… what?!" - Gaster's face immediately paled - "Are you telling me that I... forgot twenty-two years of my life?"
"I'm afraid that's true…" - Toriel sighed with a look of empathy - "Do you really not remember anything after the lab?"
"No! I veguely remember being there, and then… I wake up here." - Gaster answered as he started to hyperventilate - "But... Twenty… twenty-two years… No, it's impossible! I couldn't have just lost my memories! I... I'm too smart for that..!"
The Dreemurr spouses exchanged a very concerned look, not sure how to deal with the situation. What could they do or say? The doctors were probably more competent to deal with this kind of issue, but they didn't want to be passive either. Their friend, a man who they've seen almost like a son, was in distress and they had to help him. But how?
"And... and who are those two children you keep talking about..?" - Gaster then asked, trying to regain control of his breathing - "How do they fit in this equation…?"
"They are your adoptive children." - Asgore answered - "During the De-Code, you started to feel unhappy. So, at some point you decided to adopt a baby to not be so lonely. You ended up adopting twins. And they did make you happier."
"So, you're telling me that not only I failed my biggest ingenious plan, but that I went low enough to adopt human babies?" - Gaster asked dumbfounded, then shook his head - "No, this can't be. That doesn't resemble me at all. I would never do such a thing."
"Well you did, Gaster." - Toriel insisted - "And you loved them a lot."
But Gaster was unconvinced. He was telling himself that it must've been some joke, because he clearly would never want to raise a human! He didn't dare to ask the royals if they were messing with him. So he kept giving Toriel an incredulous look.
"Make an effort Gaster, and try to remember. Does anything of what I'm telling you sound familiar?" - Toriel almost begged.
The motherly natured monster couldn't fully conceive the idea that a parent would simply forget everything about their own children.
"No... Their names don't sound familiar at all." - Gaster replied - "Everything's blank after the lab."
"This is very serious…" - Asgore said thoughtfully - "I shall call them here anyway. Maybe when you see them, your memories will return?"
"If you insist, Your Majesty…"
But by his tone, it was clear that Gaster wasn't thrilled by the idea. When the king exited the room, Gaster gave Toriel a look, trying to guess what she was thinking. She just squeezed his hand more and patted his shoulder in a reassuring way. Gaster didn't like it. Not because the gesture was unpleasant, but because it was the evidence of her seriousness about the children. "But it can't be…" - Gaster told himself - "I would clearly remember if I had kids… even more so if they were humans." Just thinking about this made his skull ache again. Gaster let out a small groan of pain and then looked in the direction of the door. With concentration, he could hear Asgore talk seriously to somebody. Probably the children themselves. The conversation was relatively long and after a moment, Asgore finally came back in… followed by two human kids. Gaster tensed. Then, his gaze traveled from their heads down to toes, studying them. He quickly estimated the children to be ten years old. Like most children, they were wearing stripes. The boy seemed to like blue, while the girl seemed to have a preference for pink and purple. They had round blue eyes and were of about the same height. The boy was a bit chubbier than the slim girl, and his dark hair contrasted with his sister's blond hair. And so, Gaster didn't say anything as he was taking in their appearance, while the kids were giving him hopeful looks. After a moment, Toriel spoke up:
"So... Those are the children we told you about. Does anything about them feel familiar?"
"...No, because I'm seeing them for the first time." - Gaster answered.
As soon as he said this, the twins' eyes widened. How could that be their father didn't feel familiarity when he saw them? The kids looked up at Asgore with alarmed expressions. Asgore saw it and so he said to Gaster:
"Don't speak like that, Gaster. You might hurt their feelings."
"Come on, try again. You've raised them for ten years. Surely something does feel familiar." - Toriel insisted.
Gaster looked at the twins one more time, before quickly redirecting his gaze back on Toriel.
"No." - he said, his tone devoid of all emotion - "Your Majesty, as much as I trust you and your wisdom, I hope you're not trying to punish me by making me feel uncomfortable for my intention to unleash the De-Code."
Sam and Piper exchanged a distressed look. Their father was making that assumption so casually, as though they were nothing to him. The kids walked up to Gaster, hoping they could reach him if they interacted directly.
"Dad, come on, it's us!" - Sam spoke up first.
"We're your family!" - Piper said on her turn.
Gaster tensed even more as they approached. His eyesocket widened and pressed himself against the pillow, as if trying to escape across the wall behind him.
"Stay away..!" - he then ordered - "Stay away from me..!"
"Come on, you know we'll never hurt you." - Piper said gently and reached her hand in attempt to grab Gaster's one.
Seeing that the girl was about to touch him, Gaster managed to react quickly (despite his weakness and pain) and turned her SOUL blue. Piper gasped and looked at her father with heartbreak.
"Don't... don't ever try to touch me again." - Gaster said dangerously - "This is my only warning."
"Gaster!" - Asgore exclaimed, shocked by his friend's attitude.
"So... you really forgot us then…" - Sam spoke quietly, looking away.
"Sam, he didn't mean to, it's just his medical condition." - Asgore tried to reassure him, but in vain.
But the boy turned around, grabbed his sister's hand, and the two walked out of the room. Asgore and Toriel looked at Gaster with disapproving looks on their faces.
"What?" - Gaster asked with a hint of irritation - "You don't expect one to hug perfect strangers, do you?"
"You could've been a bit less cold towards them." - Toriel remarked - "Try to put yourself in their shoes, how do you think those children are feeling now?"
"I don't care about guessing huamans' thoughts." - Gaster said bitterly.
Asgore and Toriel looked at each other. Toriel had a questioning look, while Asgore just shook his head. Things were worse than they first thought. They could rely only on medicine now.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore." - Gaster said as he shut his eyes close - "My head hurts."
The royal couple decided that they should leave Gaster alone for now.
In the corridor, the twins told Noelle what happened. Noelle was shocked and felt very sorry for her children. So she hugged them tightly, allowing them to cry, as she gently rubbed their backs. It hurt to see her children in such distress, Noelle wished she could do anything to help them. But in this situation, she was powerless. She looked up at Asgore when he approached her.
"Toriel went to talk to the doctors, to explain them the situation." - Asgore informed - "Let's hope that Gaster's amnesia can eventually be healed. I hoped that just by seeing the kids, Gaster would remember…"
"You say he doesn't remember anything from after he launched the De-Code?" - Noelle asked.
"Yes, he forgot twenty-two years of his life. A rather big part, and probably the most important one." - Asgore answered thoughtfully - "He forgot his personal evolution, which is why he reacted so negatively to the kids."
"What do you mean?" - Noelle asked.
"Well... considering everything he went through during the War, Gaster despised humans. Tori and I hoped he'd overcome this feeling, but… it looks like nothing could really ease his grudge. Your mother was an exception. Since she didn't kill a single monster and she played a part in breaking the Barrier, Frisk earned Gaster's respect. But it didn't change his vision of humanity that much…"
"So... you're saying that Dad hates us now just because we're humans..?" - Piper asked with a croaked from crying voice.
"N-no, I'm not saying he hates you, he's just…" - Asgore tried to find better words - "...Your dad's not comfortable around humans, he just doesn't trust them. Before he knew you, he would've reacted the same way towards any human."
"So that's all Piper and I are to him… just 'any human'." - Sam said darkly as he sniffed.
"Sam..." - Noelle started, but her son cut her off.
"What? There's nothing you can say! We're just children from a race he despises!" - Sam shouted as he broke free from his mother's embrace - "You can't claim it's not true, Mom! 'Cause you'd lie!"
Sam was trying very hard to fight his new upcoming tears, without much success. Piper was looking at her brother, as her own tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"He looked at us like he'd look at a complete stranger…" - Sam went on - "He... The look in his eyes, it was… it was…"
"...Empty..." - Piper finished for her brother, then burried her face into her mother's shirt - "His eyes are usually so warm when he looks at us… but this time, there was nothing…"
Noelle and Asgore looked at each other with sorry and desperate looks on their faces. Noelle was especially devastated, because her children's pain was her own pain.
Meanwhile, Asriel and Frisk were sitting in the living room of New Home, waiting for their parents to return. They've all been equally shocked when they found out what happened to Gaster. They were concerned about his health and wondered who could've hurt him so badly, but they were also feeling sorry for the twins.
"The poor kids..." - Frisk said - "It must've been a real shock for them to find their severely injured father."
"Yeah... Especially right after being filled with only positive impressions from our trip." - Asriel agreed, then looked at the clock - "It's been hours now. This worries me."
"I'm concerned too. I just hope things didn't turn out too-"
Frisk was cut by her cellphone ringing. As she looked at the screen, she sighed in relief seeing that it was a call from Noelle. Finally they'd have some news! Frisk didn't waste time to answer the call.
"Noelle, thank goodness, we were getting worried. What's going on over there? How's Gaster?"
"Mom, things turned out not as okay as we hoped..." - Noelle said with a grim tone.
"What's going on? Is Gaster..?" - Frisk didn't dare to finish the question.
"He's alive. The crack on his skull shouldn't take too long to heal, but… but Gaster got amnesia." - Noelle informed with a sigh - "He... he doesn't remember Sam and Piper, just like he doesn't remember anything since right before the De-Code."
"God, this is terrible..." - Frisk breathed out in shock - "I... I imagine the kids are heartbroken, aren't they?"
"They've been crying their eyes out. They're literally disconsolate; Gaster didn't react too well to them as humans."
Frisk brought her hand to her mouth, feeling horrible from what she was hearing. She could only imagine the pain Sam and Piper were going through. Asriel could only hear one part of the conversation, so he wondered what was going on. He hoped that Gaster at least made it alive. While waiting for Frisk to finish the conversation, Asriel's look distractly wandered around. He then noticed a single letter lying on the table that hadn't been opened by his parents. Curious, Asriel took the envelope and noted with surprise that it was addressed to him. As he opened it and read the note inside, his eyes widened.
Asriel,
It has been long years now. There are some things we must discuss together.
Meet me tomorrow at the place where our paths parted, where our dispute was left unsolved.
You know what place I'm talking about. I highly request you to come alone.
- Your Best Friend.
"No... It's impossible..!" - Asriel's mind screamed - "Chara's gone..! This letter can't be from her!" Asriel started to think that somebody wanted to trap him for whatever business. He was the prince of monsters, after all. Who knew what some people would want from him. One important question remained, though. Should he respect the request and come alone? And if he didn't, would it be a bad idea?
Asriel was standing in the park, at the exact same spot where he had been mercylessly assaulted by humans. Looking at the bed of golden flowers beneath him made Asriel feel very sad and cold inside. It were those flowers that sealed his fate, it were those flowers that indirectly inflinged him the curse to be Flowey. "This is where I once lost faith in goodness… and in mercy…" - Asriel mused, looking down at the flowers. Asriel then looked at the note he was holding in his hand. He really wondered who could've sent him this. "Who's cruel enough to reopen my old wounds?" - he kept wondering - "And who actually knows about the meaning of this place? Nobody besides Frisk and Noelle knows about it… not even my parents…" Asriel's thoughts got interrupted as he felt a presence behind him. Someone was walking up to him. "I guess it's the moment of truth then." - the prince thought before turning around. And when he did… it was a shock. There was standing a person he'd know anywhere.
"Chara..." - Asriel half-whispered.
His sister grew up, sure. But Asriel could still recognize her in this grown-up woman. Chara was wearing black pants and a green shirt - a stripeless one. Her hair color hadn't changed a bit, it was the same caramel brown Asriel remembered. However, Chara's hair was now longer than it used to be when they were children. Instead of being shoulder-length, it was long enough to reach her chest. And her eyes… strangely enough, those were red. Asriel wondered briefly what happened, but it was his lesser concern at that moment. So, Chara was really the one who sent him the note.
"Greetings, Azzy." - Chara said with a smile - "I'm glad you came."
"You... you're alive..." - Asriel said with a trembling voice - "You're alive! You're back!"
Without thinking, Asriel pulled Chara in a tight hug and tears of joy appeared in the corners of his eyes. Chara barely returned the hug, but she replied calmly:
"Yes, I'm back for real."
"You have no idea how much I missed you, Chara." - Asriel said as he pulled away, while still holding Chara's hands in his - "But... how..? You... you died decades ago..! I thought you were gone forever. Yet you're… here..! And… what happened to your eyes?"
"Well, you died too, and yet you're standing here in front of me." - Chara pointed out - "It was a difficult and dark path, but I found my way back from the dead, thanks to my determination. It got as after-effect to turn my eyes red, but it's a small price to pay to return to this world."
"However you did that, it doesn't matter. What truly matters is that you're alive again." - Asriel said with a smile - "Mom and Dad will be so happy to see you again! Let's go home Chara, tell them the good news!"
Asriel was about to go and took Chara's hand to make her follow him, but the woman didn't move from her spot. Asriel looked at her with a curious look and asked:
"What are you waiting for? Let's go! You surely missed our parents, right?"
"I... I'm not coming home with you. Not today, not ever." - Chara replied - "Things aren't the same anymore, Asriel."
"What are you talking about, Chara? True, it's been years that we succumbed, but it's alright. Our parents happily welcomed me back, so they surely will do the same with you." - Asriel reasoned - "They missed us both so badly."
"Or did they?" - Chara asked with a darker tone - "Did they really miss me as much as they missed you?"
"Of course they did! Why such a silly question?"
"The question's far from being 'silly', dear brother. Because it didn't take them a lot of effort to replace me by Frisk."
"W-what..? Wait, no it's not... No! It's not like that at all! They didn't 'replace' you!" - Asriel hurried to clear up - "They never forgot you!"
"Really? Because what I've seen tells me otherwise." - Chara said, clenching the fists - "I'm not surprised you're defending them, though. After all, you replaced me too."
"H-how can you say such a thing?!" - Asriel exclaimed with a shocked expression - "I've missed you so badly! I wanted you back, Chara!"
"Until you met Frisk and decided you liked her more!" - Chara snapped at him - "What did you tell Frisk after the Barrier broke? You said, and I quote: 'Chara wasn't really the greatest person. While, Frisk, you're the type of friend I wish I always had.'"
Chara then gave a very dark look at her former brother. Asriel felt very uncomfortable, both from the glare Chara was giving him and from the words he said about her that she took care to remind him.
"Those words… I could never forget them." - Chara said, sounding as though she was on edge of anger.
"Chara... Please, don't be upset... I... I know it wasn't the best choice of words, but..." - Asriel said awkwardly - "...that doesn't mean that I cared any less for you. You always mattered a lot to me. You were my sister and friend, so I guess it wasn't an elegant thing to say. ...I'm sorry I said that."
"You really are sorry?" - Chara asked, seemingly softening a bit.
"...Yes. How can I make it up for you?"
"I'm glad you asked. I want you to prove that you're still my friend." - Chara said seriously - "That's why I came here in the first place."
"What do you mean by this, Chara?"
"I'll go straight to the point. I'm here to prove the world that they have no power over my fate. I'm the only one in control of it. I won't ever let anyone use me for their purposes and then throw away once they're done with me. That's what humanity's always done with me… and that's also what our parents did. But I'm here now and I intend to put an end to this. I want to see them all suffer from my hand. I want them to realize they've been messing with the wrong person. I came back to get my revenge. And the Dreemurrs are my top priority."
Asriel's eyes were wide and he slowly shook his head. He felt sick inside. He couldn't believe his own ears. Sure, Chara had her issues back when they were kids and she had a grudge against humanity, but this was another level of evil.
"Chara, what are you saying..? You want to hurt our family? But why..? It doesn't make sense... Our parents and I have been good to you, we did our best to make you happy. Why would you want to have revenge on us?"
"Don't worry, Azzy. I won't hurt you... if you decide to join me, of course." - Chara smiled - "You're a Boss Monster, you have power. And I gained some power too, before arriving here. Imagine what we can accomplish if we join our forces. We almost succeeded once. What do you say, Asriel? Do you want to give it a second try?"
Asriel recalled the said "first try". That famous day when they died. The memory of that day regularily popped up in his nightmares. Asriel felt his heartbeat quicken and sweat forming on his forehead.
"No! I'm done with this! I'm not following your crazy plans anymore!" - Asriel shouted, a bit louder than he intended, but then composed himself - "Why don't you just let go of your anger towards humanity and move on? You don't need revenge to be happy."
"Don't you order me how to live, Asriel!" - Chara shouted back, her eyes getting redder - "I know what I want and I'm getting it! It seems like you're turning your back on me again, just like the previous time! Our plan failed because of you! I thought we were friends!"
"So you think that's how friendship works? You say we've been using you, but in fact you used me when you came up with that plan! You could guess how humans would react when seeing a monster… And you made me go to the Surface anyway..! You… you led me straight to my death, Chara..! Just because… just because living happily with our parents wasn't enough for you…" - Asriel felt tears appear in his eyes, but didn't allow them to fall - "Collecting SOULs to break the Barrier was just an excuse, wasn't it..?"
"Stop mumbling nonsense, Asriel! Who put those thoughts in your head?" - Chara asked with a demanding tone - "Is it Frisk? Did she tell you those things?! Did she make you see me in the wrong light?!"
"No, Frisk didn't tell me anything like that. I realized it by myself over time." - Asriel said calmly but firmly.
"I don't believe you!" - Chara yelled as she pulled out her knife and pointed it at her former brother's face.
"Asriel!"
The two looked in the direction of the scream. Asriel let out a sigh of relief; it was Frisk. In fact, after he received the weird note, he told Frisk about it. The two had decided that Frisk would come with him and observe the scene from afar, and that she'd come out only if things took a bad turn. Since Chara threatened Asriel with a knife, it was a pretty good reason to show up.
"You..." - Chara growled, then she glared at Asriel - "I instructed you to come alone."
"I... I thought that the meeting was maybe a trap, so... I couldn't take risks… and so I came with her…" - Asriel replied a bit shakily - "And it looks like… it was the right decision."
"Traitor! I knew I couldn't trust you anymore! You betrayed me again!"
Chara then inhaled and exhaled deeply and dangerously several times, before turning to face Frisk. She then made a couple of steps in her direction, her grip firm on the knife.
"Frisk... The one who took away everything from me... My worst enemy." - she said - "You are the one I came for in priority."
"M-Me? You came because you want your revenge on me?" - Frisk asked with a surprised expression - "But it doesn't make sense..! I didn't do anything to you! I wasn't even born when you died!"
"Put off that look of innocence from your face! It's irritating!" - Chara snapped at her - "And you just did the worst thing you could do to me today! You manipulated Asriel, you turned him against me..!"
"No! I didn't 'manipulate' anybody!" - Frisk protested - "If he's against you now, it's because he disapproves your intentions!"
Chara angrily grabbed Frisk by her forearm and pulled her close to her, placing her knife threatingly under her throat. Frisk gasped and closed her eyes in fear, expecting the cut to come. But then, Chara suddenly released Frisk, letting out a cry of pain. Frisk quickly ran to her brother, while Chara looked down at her left hand. She saw that it was burned. She then looked up at Asriel, who protectively placed his arm in front of Frisk, with a fireball in his right hand. Angry, Chara was about to charge at her traitor brother with her knife, but got caught off guard as Asriel made the fireball disappear and created a Chaos Saber instead. He pointed the weapon at her.
"Don't even think about it, Chara." - he said - "I don't want to hurt you, but if you try to hurt Frisk, I'll have no choice."
"So I was right... you chose her over me." - Chara said quietly, yet angrily - "But do you know who you're protecting, Asriel? Do you really think she deserves your love and protection? Do you know what your 'sweet' new sister is capable of? She's no better than other humans."
"Shut it!" - Asriel shouted at her - "You know nothing about her!"
"I know her better than you believe, Azzy." - Chara grinned evilly - "How do you think I could come back from the dead? Any guesses? Well, we all know where my body's burried, right? When Frisk fell down to the Underground, she absorbed some of the DT that the golden flowers had absorbed from my body. She couldn't have survived the fall, otherwise!"
"I always knew the flowers couldn't have just cushioned my fall..." - Frisk muttered thoughtfully.
"Since the very start, Frisk started to kill monsters. She killed every monster she encountered." - Chara said darkly - "As she killed them, her LV raised which permitted me to awake within her. At the end of the journey, I could become myself again and with my newly gained power, I erased the world."
"What..? You... 'erased the world'? And Frisk killed monsters?" - Asriel asked with a shocked expression - "But we're all here, alive! What you say makes no sense!"
"I didn't kill any monsters! I spared every single one!" - Frisk said on her turn - "I never strayed from the right path!"
"My return proves otherwise." - Chara replied - "In this timeline, you maybe took the pacifist path. But the timeline I come from… proves that deep down, you do have the kill in you, Frisk."
"No... No, no! I would never do that!" - Frisk protested, yet she started to shake and her face grew pale.
"Yes! Not only you would, but you did, in my timeline." - Chara replied with an evil grin.
Both Asriel and Frisk had shocked expressions on their faces. Frisk was more troubled by the revelation, while Asriel was more thinking about how difficult it would be to make a full of LV Chara go back on the right path.
"Well, I think I'll let you digest all the new information." - Chara then turned around - "But you can be sure to see me soon."
Before Asriel had any time to react, Chara glitched out of the landscape, as if she's never been there in the first place. This surprised the Dreemurr siblings, wondering how Chara could do that. Anyway, they had a new crisis situation to take care of.
Later that evening, the two Dreemurr siblings had to explain the situation to the others. Asriel took care to explain this to his parents, while Frisk did the same to Noelle, Papyrus and Sans. When she told them about Chara's return and desire for revenge, it obviously shocked and alarmed the family.
"Oh just great... Not only Gaster lost his memories, but also my psycho aunt wants to kill us all." - Noelle said.
"I suspect Chara's the one who attacked Gaster..." - Frisk said thoughtfully - "This only displays how dangerous she is. She almost killed him. And she was ready to kill off her own brother, if he was on her way."
"I guess I'll have to train my magic more. I wasn't born to be a 'savior' for nothing, right? Out of us all, I probably have the best chances against her." - Noelle declared seriously.
"you can rely on us to train you. we'll make you the most difficult enemy for that demon to defeat." - Sans said.
"SANS? YOU REALLY WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS?" - Papyrus asked with surprise.
"well, we reached a point where i can't stay inactive, i suppose." - Sans shrugged.
Noelle nodded in gratitude. Soon, Noelle walked upstairs to check on the twins. Since Gaster wasn't bound to return home soon, the twins would stay with their mother. Plus, considering the new threat, it was probably the safest solution. Noelle saw that Sam and Piper were sound asleep in her bed. Their faces weren't exactly peaceful, they reflected sadness. Noelle walked up to them and stroked their both heads, as if trying to comfort them through their sleep. "I wish I could do more for you…" - she thought sadly - "But if you ever lose faith… I'll keep believing for you. I could always return to you. So I believe your father can too."
In the neighbour room, as Frisk was sitting on the bed lost on her thoughts, she felt a hand lie on her shoulder. She looked up and saw that Papyrus was giving her a concerned look.
"FRISK... ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" - he asked - "YOU'RE NOT QUITE THE SAME SINCE YOU RETURNED HOME AND TOLD US ABOUT CHARA."
Frisk looked away for a moment, not sure what she could answer. But then, she decided to be honest, like she's always been with Papyrus.
"I'm... I'm shocked. By what Chara told about her timeline." - Frisk said quietly - "She said I'm responsible of her resurrection. It's because I raised my LV that she's back… it's because I killed monsters. Until today, I thought I knew who I am… I thought I was a good, or at least decent, person. But now, it turns out I'm not!"
A single tear slid down her cheek. Papyrus immediately knelt down to be at Frisk's level and looked straight in her eyes. He got a tight grip on her shoulders, which forced her to look back at him.
"DON'T MIND CHARA'S WORDS, FRISK! SHE WANTS TO MAKE YOU DOUBT, SHE WANTS YOU TO BERATE YOURSELF. BUT I AM HERE TO REMIND YOU THAT YOU'RE A VERY GOOD PERSON." - Papyrus said firmly - "WE'RE ALL HERE, ALIVE, AS A PROOF OF THAT."
"But Chara's here too... which is a proof that I've killed."
"IT HAPPENED IN ANOTHER TIMELINE. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE. YOU CAN'T BERATE YOURSELF FOR WHAT A DIFFERENT VERSION OF YOU DID. HERE AND NOW, YOU'RE A GOOD PERSON, THE HUMAN WHO SHOWED MERCY TO MONSTERKIND."
Papyrus then used his magic to summon Frisk's SOUL. As the red heart glowed on her chest, Papyrus asked his wife:
"YOUR SOUL IS STILL AT LV 1, RIGHT?"
"That's right... The number didn't change since my fall..." - Frisk replied.
"SEE? IT ONLY CONFIRMS YOU'RE GOOD." - Papyrus smiled at her softly, then he gently placed his hand over Frisk's SOUL, careful to not pressure on it - "I PROBABLY KNOW THIS SOUL BETTER THAN ANYONE. AND I KNOW THAT MY FRISK WILL ALWAYS MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE. YOU'RE VERY GREAT. AND EVEN IF YOU EVER STRAY, I'LL ALWAYS KEEP BELIEVING IN YOU TO RETURN ON THE RIGHT PATH."
After hearing those words, Frisk finally smiled and wrapped her arms around Papyrus, who returned the embrace.
"Sometimes I wonder what I would do without you, Papyrus..." - Frisk then whispered - "Thank you..."
"PLEASE, DON'T EVER LET CHARA GET TO YOU." - Papyrus requested - "SHE PROBABLY JUST WANTS TO HURT YOU… SO, PLEASE DON'T SATISFY HER."
"I won't, I promise."
The couple pulled away and soon they laid down on their bed sliding under the blanket. Frisk then leaned to Papyrus, who wrapped his arms around her. After a moment of comforting silence, Frisk requested:
"Please, make sure Noelle's ready to face Chara when the time comes."
"SANS AND I WILL DO OUR BEST TO PREPARE HER." - Papyrus replied - "I PROMISE YOU THAT WE WON'T LOSE HER AGAIN."
Frisk nodded in response, after what Papyrus turned off the night lamp.
A/N: Well, Chara hoped she'd break Frisk with her revelation. Unlucky her, Frisk has Papyrus as the greatest husband. :)
There's one thing or two I'd like to clarify about the genocidal timeline. Because it's clear that Chara will always claim that it was all Frisk's fault, but in fact... not exactly. At least, not fully. You might think that Frisk did the genocide all the way long, until at the very end when Chara shows up (and kills Sans, Asgore and Flowey). But it's not how I view things. I picture them a bit differently. Frisk falls in the Underground, is greeted by Flowey, only to almost get killed with the warning that "in this world, it's kill or be killed". And so, in that other timeline, instead of sticking to her morals, Frisk surrenders to fear and becomes sort of paranoid. She doesn't trust the monsters around, not even Toriel (who, let's be honest, if looked at with realistic eyes, may be seen as a psycho, considering she cathegorically refuses to let you go out of her house, has planned your stay years forward, etc), and thus kills the monsters, Flowey's earlier words guiding her actions. At the end of the Ruins, when she kills Toriel, Chara starts to awake. It actually reflects my headcanon how things happen in the genocide route. Because after all, the first real changes start once you leave the Ruins, notably when you don't go hide behind the lamp. Which is an indicator that you're not really yourself anymore. And so, Chara started to inspire Frisk to keep going the wrong path. Which in the end, leads to her complete resurrection. I'm basically saying that the moment you leave the Ruins, Chara's already there/conscious. (Chara's mostly in control, unless Frisk finds it in them to snap out of it.)
Btw, for the conversation between Asriel and Chara, I was directly inspired by the last conversation between Anakin and Padme in Star Wars 3. :D The situation is similar, so I really wanted to reproduce those vibes… I hope you like it?