Disclaimer: Here it is. This chapter is basically going to explain everything. Sort of. Some things might not be fully answered or confirmed until near the end, but this will be clearing up a fair amount of Frisk's story

And, to correspond with the proper introduction of Chara, the formatting index gets an update.

I don't own Undertale.

"Speaking"

Thinking

Chara speaking

Frisk thinking


Autumn was a wonderful time. The various shades of red, orange, and yellow in the trees, creating a canopy and carpet along the roads; piles for children to rake and jump into, only for them to pluck the foliage out of their hair afterwards with an amused grin. The cooler temperature; a relief from the intense summer heat, but not too far into the bitter cold of a snowless winter. It's definitely a great season, she reiterated with a smile, letting the door swing open with the wind. Weather's perfect.

Andi waltzed through the open door, kicking it shut with her heel. The resulting bang echoed in the entryway, and she flinched at the unexpected volume. Whoops. "I'm here! Come take bags!" She couldn't see a thing, behind the mountains of large paper bags in her arms. Oh, no, they're slipping! "Lois! Some assistance... now!?"

"Hold on, Andi. You could've just taken trips." Two bags were removed from her pile, and she smiled at the older woman. Long dark brown hair speckled with grey strands, and brown eyes only a few shades darker than her own. Her outfit, a white long sleeve shirt and black pants, was almost hidden underneath the painting smock. She shook her head, making a small 'tsk' sound. "Andi, you know Charles and I don't need the extra hand. Really, we're fine."

"I know, but it gives me an excuse to come check on Frisk." After all, one could not always accomplish much during school hours. Frisk was not even in her class. She only ever interacted with her during lunch hours, where the quiet girl would sneak into her room to enjoy her food, and talk about what she had learned. Mostly, it was a one-sided conversation, but she didn't mind.

Helping out, cleaning and groceries... it was also a little of a debt being repaid. She hated that she thought that way, that the woman felt that she owed them something. Hard habit to break, I guess. "Where's Charles, anyway?"

"Dear's in town checking out a new fridge. The current one's not as cool anymore." Is that a pun? I can't tell if that's a pun. The two trekked through the hall, Andi pausing to kick her sneakers off. It was a small house, the basement completely in the ground, save for a door with steps leading down to it. It helped when if anyone needed anything, all they had to do was bellow, and someone was bound to hear. "Terrence! Come to the kitchen!"

"I'm coming!" Entering the kitchen, the two sat the bags down on the counter. The room, paired with the dining table, was on one side of the house, with the living room on the other. The bedrooms were spread out, with the couple's and one foster kid's on the main floor, and two rooms downstairs for when they were needed. As of right now, the top and one of the bottom's were being occupied. Frisk's on the main floor, obviously. They always kept the youngest kid closest to their room, in case something happened. Though she had been moved around whenever someone younger than her came, Frisk always wound back up in that same spot.

A boy, several years older than Frisk, dashed into the kitchen with a loud laugh, almost knocking her over as his sock covered feet slid against the wooden floor. "Hey, Andi! Did you get me anything?" She laughed, steadying herself and shaking her head in the negative. Couldn't he wait a few minutes until I dealt with stuff?

"No, kid. The caramel wasn't on sale. I'll check again in a few days, okay?" As if he needs any more sugar. Terrence frowned, and reached into the bag to take out a loaf of bread. "Where's Frisk?" Usually, she's the first one to meet me. The energetic blond's excited smile slipped, and he looked around her to their foster mother. Turning around herself, Andi noticed an almost mirroring expression. Not quite a frown, but not quite a smile. "Am I... missing something?"

"Don't worry, Andi. Frisk's... fine." Why would you say that? Was Frisk unwell? Sick? Answers, she needed answers. "She's just..." Lois had trouble explaining, holding a can of corn and running her free hand through her hair. Just what? What's wrong with Frisk? "... why don't you go check on her?"

That still doesn't answer anything. "Okay then." Stepping around Terrence, who went back to pulling groceries out of the bags, she continued down the hall towards the other rooms. Two doors on the left, one on the right. The left door, the one closest to the end of the hall, was covered head to toe in stickers. Cute animals, flowers-particularly yellow and blue ones, and in the dead center was a single red heart. "That's... new." The animals and flowers were nothing new, but the suddenly strong choice in the two colors and heart were not there the last time she had visited. Knocking on the door, she leaned close to listen for a response. "Hey, Frisk? Can I come in?"

"... Andi...?" She opened the door, and got one foot through the entrance before a blur of brown, blue, and purple tackled her around the waist, almost knocking her off her feet and into the hallway. "A-Andi!"

"Whoa, F-Frisk!?" She shuffled into the room, closing the door behind her before Lois could hear. The girl's face was buried in her black jacket, fingers gripping the material in fear she would disappear if she let go. "Frisk, kid, what's going on?" Was she hurt? Bullied? Did someone think about going through with an adoption? What was it!? "Frisk, look at me. What's wrong?"

She must have broken the spell, since she felt the girl let up on her grip. Slowly, she looked up at Andi, fresh and old tear tracks clear on her face. Frisk. She held the child's face in her hands, using her thumbs to wipe at the water. "There. Now, do you want to tell me why you are so upset?"

"I-I'm not..." Frisk smiled softly. Even with the sweet gesture, it didn't bring her face back to its normal look. Her cheeks were red, as were her eyes, but at least the tears had stopped falling. "I... I missed you, Andi. I missed you."

"Missed me? Frisk, I saw you two days ago at lunch." Frisk let go of her, using her sweater sleeve to remove the rest of the tears on her face. "Did something happen since then?"

"... no. Nothing... happened." Well, that was definitely a lie. Something most certainly did happen. Frisk wouldn't wind up in tears for no reason, and from the looks of it, Lois and Terrence were not sure of what it was either. You're lying, Frisk. Perhaps. It felt like Frisk was lying, yet... it felt like the truth at the same time. "Why are you here?"

"Dropping off food, as usual." She looked around the small room, and headed to the bed to sit down. The tan walls weren't as viciously decorated as the door, but she did notice a line of hearts on the wall, over Frisk's desk. Orange, yellow, dark and light blue, green, and purple. A pair of scissors and sticky tack still sat out on the table, scrap pieces of white paper were sticking out of her garbage can, and markers were sitting in a cup nearby. "Room and door decorating?"

"Y-yeah... Andi, can I ask you something?" Frisk moved to the desk, pulling the chair out and sitting down on it. Sitting on the edge, she had to stand on her toes to spin it around to face her. "Mmmph!"

"Heh. Sure. What is it? Math stumping you again? Is it division?" Frisk shook her head, giving a small weak laugh at the suggestions.

"N-no, I..." her eyes darted to the window. The afternoon sun reflected through the glass, hiding behind the woods in their backyard, and warming the room in its glow. "... I want to go hiking."

"Hiking." That-okay, it was Frisk. Such an answer didn't really surprise her all that much. It was still an odd way of phrasing the request though. What made her hesitate in asking? "Okay. Yeah, we can go hiking. I'll need to pack some stuff first, but we can do that." Food, maybe a blanket if they plan to sit to eat. It was fall, so she'd have to wear warmer clothes, unlike the tank top under the jacket and old sneakers left by the front door. "Any place you have in mind?" They could easily walk through the woods like they normally did, or drive out to some of the hiking trails at the base of-

"Mount Ebott." That... "I want to hike up Mount Ebott."

Mount Ebott. One of the few mountains making up the range near their home. It was certainly not the tallest, nor was it one that physically difficult to climb. It was just... those rumors. Disappearances are something that's hard to ignore, kid. "Frisk, are you... sure, you want to climb that?"

Frisk's face hardened, and she nodded. Figures. Kid was determined, alright. A trait that was good, and positively awful at the same time. "I..." Mount Ebott, despite its history, and how everyone always gave it a wide berth, was not illegal to access. One could hike it if they wanted, though people were usually too afraid to try. She sort of fell into that category. Was she afraid? Not really, it was just that... something about the mountain made her feel... off. As if there was an overwhelming sadness hanging over it.

On the... other hand. Mount Ebott overshadowed the town below, and the view, especially during the November month, would be spectacular. Frisk, why do you have to be like this? "Ugh... fine. Mount Ebott, it is." She stood up, and began making her way back to the door. "I'll go home and pack a bag. I should be back within the hour."

"Wear a sweater!" Frisk added, her face lit up in a smile that offset her previous attempt She was happy. Ecstatic. Though she clearly felt uneasy about the trip, seeing Frisk's sadness melt away made it all worth it. Miss me. She missed me. Her heart warmed at the words, and laughed softly as she closed Frisk's door behind her. I missed you too, Frisk.


Save her. Save... her.

Those two words echoed in her head, and suddenly, it felt like a lot of what she had learned made sense. Not all of it, but most. Frisk, those flowers and hearts...? "I j-just wanted to save her..." She tuned back to the memory, watching Frisk continue her broken mantra. Sans shifted on his feet, looking to the side uncomfortably. It was a sharp turn from the fight just minutes ago, enough that it gave him, and Andi, severe whiplash. It took a few seconds, but eventually, the monster reacted.

"... okay." Sans bent down and sat cross-legged on the floor, but not before kicking the knife out of the way and sending it sliding across the hall. Frisk snapped out of her ball form, staring at him in shock. "go ahead, bud. let's hear it." Her mouth opened and closed, and Frisk nodded to herself.

"O-okay... okay..." she readjusted herself, sitting in the same position as him, and gave another small sniff. "Wh-where should... should I start?"

"how 'bout why you keep resetting every time you get to the surface? pacifist, or otherwise?" Frisk winced, but nodded again. "start talkin'." Andi looked between them, and following their example, slowly sliding down to the floor. Sitting, that... that was a good idea.

"Sans, I... when..." his eye lights darkened, and Frisk seemed to get the hint. No stepping around the subject; get to the point. "... when I first went through the Underground, I was... scared. I-I didn't know what I was doing, a-and when I figured it out, I-I just... was hurt, that he couldn't join us on the Surface."

"he?" Sans echoed.

"... Asriel. Flowey." She sighed, head slouching. "N-no matter how many times I... reset, and tried different things, nothing e-ever worked. Befriending Papyrus, U-Undyne, Alphys... nothing." Her hands, resting on her shorts, were gripping the material. "I-I tried, a lot, to get him back. Be-because why did he have t-to..."

"to suffer when everyone else walked free?" She nodded. "frisk, you can't save him."

"I-I still wanted to try," she murmured. "That was when... Chara and I got to... thinking." The ghost in question was looked at by the three of them, still hovering behind Frisk. Chara shifted in place, her confidence fading. "W-we saw that... pacifist was not getting us what we wanted. So be-before we met with Flowey, i-in the Ruins..."

We decided to fight for real. Sans and Andi looked behind Frisk at Chara's input. Not hurt everyone, just... some of the monsters that weren't in positions of power. Didn't have businesses, or were in the Royal Guard.

"that explains the lv and exp." Of course, I'm still missing things. From how he said it, it sounded that, like LV, EXP was also an acronym. For what, it didn't seem like either of them would be explaining any time soon. "seein' that we're here right now, i take it that plan didn't work out."

Frisk squirmed. "... we... swore, that no matter what, we wouldn't hurt our friends. But I... I-I..."

"frisk."

"I went back on my promise," she said in a rush. She was trembling again, the weight of her actions on her shoulders. Her sins crawling up her back, snaring around her and holding her in place in front of the skeleton. "I ju-just... I-I tried everything. Everything, and no-nothing ever seemed to work. Chara, sh-she... she suggested that we go after everyone in the Ruins, l-leaving Toriel behind. A-and I just-I don't know what happened, I-I just...!"

She killed her. Frisk killed mom.

Andi... never had it click before. When the possessed body of Frisk said she killed Chara's mother, she wondered if there was another human, hiding in the Underground that had yet to have their soul taken. Hearing that... and learning the history of the Underground and its reason for taking the souls... there was no doubt left to be had. Chara... was the child of Toriel. Chara... was she... the human child in the story? "Oh, my god."

Frisk's mouth sealed shut, and she did not look like she was going to be continuing any time soon. Tears were running down her face again, eyes red from it. Frisk killed my mom, Chara continued. I did not say anything. After all, what could I do? If I took over her body, I still would not have been able to bring her back. So I watched, as her sanity slowly descended with each murder. Each strike; bringing down the dog members of the Guard, Mettaton, Undyne... Papyrus. At the mention of his brother, Sans' sockets went empty. Frisk gave a violent shudder, holding back a sob. He... really was special. Chara's voice went quiet, looking down at the floor. He believed that we were still capable of doing the right thing, even after knowing what we had done to reach him.

"yet you still killed him." Andi watched behind the invisible wall, switching between Chara and him. He was angry-oh, he was angry. But he wasn't going to attack. He wanted answers, and he was going to get them. The very same patience she held with Frisk the entire journey, she saw within the monster. "you killed my brother."

She did. She wasn't happy about it, but she did it. A silence swept over the hall, with none of the four occupants saying a word. Everyone was letting the information digest, sink in, and try to make sense of what Frisk was capable of. Capable of... murder. Genocide. Which, you can probably guess, leads to where we are now.

Sans was looking down at the floor now too, not looking at the girls across from him. "... you said you couldn't save her. who's her?" Frisk's head shot up. "you weren't talkin' about tori, are you?"

"I-I... I'm n-not..." if it was possible, her voice was wrecked more than it was before. "Sans, sh-she... I th-thought that... if I did something d-different th-then... maybe I-I'd be able to bring her back. B-but it never w-worked. Every time I-I tried something di-different, she wouldn't b-be there."

"that's not what i'm askin', kid. who's she?" Chara floated closer to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. It was a struggle to not have her hand pass through Frisk's shoulder. "kid." It took another few seconds. The only sound remaining in the air was the chirping of birds, and the faint sound of wind, blowing off in the distance. Silence, and then...

"... A... An... A-Andi..." Frisk curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I-I want Andi back."

She wanted... save-what? What? "Save... me?" So much. So much of what she had learned-from conversations, to the cursed memories shown to her, she had figured things out. At last, Andi could finally admit she had the full picture. Why Frisk was so terrified of the knife, and Flowey's words about how she didn't kill anyone this time because the timeline the woman had feared... had happened right before she arrived. Asriel and Chara were best friends, and accidentally ended up with Asgore's quest to capture human souls. Frisk's knowledge of how everything went, and why some actions surprised her, all because she was there, changing how the flow of events normally occurred. All of it, all of it had come to light. It all made sense. And yet... "save me. Frisk, what... what do you mean by that? Save me from what?" She was never in the Underground prior. All of them knew that. So then... did something happen... on the Surface? "What... happened to me?"

"andi?" Sans repeated the name. The lack of familiarity proved her thoughts. "who's andi?" Frisk shook her head, burying her face into her knees, hiding her flushed complexion. "oh, boy." He looked over her at Chara, who only looked away to the side of the hall. Specifically, where Andi was sitting. Does she... see me? Or did Chara know who she was through Frisk, and knew what the living child meant by 'saving her'? "you gotta look at me, frisk. we can't get anywhere if you don't."

"What's... the point, when nothing I-I try to do... works?" Her voice was bordering monotone, broken and a mess, just like her body. "I just want... everyone to have a happy ending. I just want everyone to be happy."

"... sometimes... that isn't something you can achieve, pal." He stretched his arm out, and hesitantly, rested his hand on Frisk's other shoulder. "you gotta reset, frisk. no more foolin' around with the timelines, no more dusting monsters. you're gonna bring us back, and that's it." His eye lights were hard, and his sockets were narrowed. "no more resets."

"No more resets," she parroted, lowering her head. "... resets." Frisk's head popped up, watery eyes flying open. Idea. "That's it. Ch-Chara, I think I know what we need to do."

Need to do? Chara pulled her arm back, raising her eyebrows.

"kid, did you not just listen to-?" Frisk shook her head, pushing his hand away.

"No, no. J-just hear me out. Every time I tried to do something, it doesn't work. Nothing I do," she stressed the middle part, "works. Sans, what if... what if we did something about that?"

Chara and Sans didn't seem to get it. However, from her spot behind the wall, Andi caught on immediately. "... what do you have in mind?"

"One more time. One reset, and this time... I bring someone with me." She was right. Her hunch was absolutely correct. "Someone to... go through the journey with me, and keep me company." Frisk was plotting, keeping her words vague as to not lead Sans on who she was going to bring with her. "Let me have this one last chance, Sans. True pacifist. A perfect ending. Just... let me try and get what I'm hoping for. Please."

Sans studied her expression for several seconds, and closed his eyes to think, skull bowed and arms crossed over his chest. While he was distracted, Chara hovered close to Frisk, leaning down to whisper in her ear. I know what you're thinking, and I want to say, you're insane. You know that, right?

You have some determination left. Andi almost jumped to her feet, hearing a voice echo around her. "Frisk...?" I mean, you must if you're still around. Help me reset to a point where I haven't fallen down here. Before I climbed the mountain. Frisk's... thoughts. She was hearing the conversation the two were having. "It's a... memory." She was still unsure if it was Frisk's or Chara's, but with the current status of the ghost girl, the latter seemed far more likely. After all, if Chara warned her about Sans, and then the memory was accessed right after, it seemed pretty promising she was correct. "She's showing me what happened." If... if I want this to work-to... get everyone their happy ending... I need her to be with me. She has to be in the Underground. Please, Chara. I... I can't do this without you.

Oh, you have to be kidding me. Chara sighed, holding her forehead. Frisk, you are such a headache... ugh! Fine. Fine, I'll help.

Thank you. The monster across from them cleared his throat, and the two returned their attention to him. "alright... you said this is the last time, right? prove it. i'm not gonna be able to relax until we get out, and even then, you usually only last at max two months before we end up back down here."

"Of course. Sans, I promise. No more resets." The grin turned bitter, and Andi had to wonder if Frisk said the wrong thing.

"promise? kid, i wouldn't say that. after all, didn't you once promise to stop resetting?" The blood drained a little from her face. "you know how i feel about 'em. you can say it's a promise, but i'll only believe it once you get through snowdin." In other words... if she didn't kill Papyrus, then he would believe her. That's why I saw him watching the fight from the treeline. He was watching Frisk. "are you able to do that?"

Frisk held her tongue, not giving him a response. She actually needs to think about this? "... yeah, I can do that." She wanted to earn Sans' friendship again, and after what she had done, it would take a while to scale back up that hill. It'd be rough, and she no doubt would trip along the way, but she would get there again. "Um... Sans? Loading is something that I can do alive or... you know. Resetting, I can only... well..."

"you need me to kill you." The sentence made his facial bones twist, and he looked disturbed. Before, during the fights, it took a while for him to finally stop attacking. Even with everything Frisk had done, Sans did not want her dead. Now, hearing her ask him to kill her... "bones or blaster?"

"... blaster. I'd rather... get it over with." He nodded, pulling himself to his feet and walking away from her. "Chara, do you... think it will work?" Hmm... perhaps. We will just have to wait and see. Sans stopped several feet away, turning around to face them head-on. See you on the Surface.

"see you soon, kiddo." The dragon skull appeared over his head, aimed down at the children, and Chara's hand rested on her shoulder reassuringly. "... good luck." That was the warning, and right before he fired, Andi threw her hands over her eyes to block out the bright light. The blast ripped through the air, her hearing turned muffled, and darkness overtook her for what must have been the millionth time since falling down.


Until next time!

Angel