Thanks to coincidencless for editing.
"My bad, homie. I picked 'C.' Ain't that a bitch?"
- Franklin Clinton
… Chara knew what to do.
She wasn't going to kill Frisk, and she wasn't going to let him win, either. She sat back down into the Arbiter's cockpit. "Arby! Use my blood for repairs!"
"P-pilot, a-at your c-current blood level -"
"Don't care! Do it!"
"A-are you…?"
"NOW!"
The Arbiter's needle poked into Chara's arm and took her blood, and its left arm began repairing itself. Metal screeched as Chara commanded the arm to rise, but it barely left the ground. "More!"
The mech continued to draw Chara's blood, and the arm slowly rose into the air. Frisk clenched his teeth as he looked up at it. He tried to crawl back, but with his injuries, he couldn't get far. With the last of the Arbiter's power, Chara aimed the arm and let gravity bring it down. The Arbiter's hand slammed into Frisk's chest, pinning him into the dirt. He squirmed beneath the hand, but he couldn't break free.
"A-alert, pilot vital s-signs failing."
Chara panted. Her head felt so light. She could hardly see through her blurring vision, but she smiled. She had done it. She had won. Chara took a deep breath. "Look, Father. I did it. I captured a… human…"
She closed her eyes.
Dacuel flew over the battlefield, what was left of it anyway. It sure was a mess, littered with the bodies of dozens of soldiers Alpin had killed before they had finally taken him down. Even Sans hadn't made it; his pile of dust was right next to Alpin's body. The survivors stood in the bloody field, beyond horrified. A battle like that wouldn't be easy to shake off, to say the least.
Dacuel landed by the Arbiter. Although out of power, the weight of its hand trapped Frisk beneath it. He uselessly struggled against it. Chara's body sat in the cockpit. She wasn't moving. Dacuel could tell she was gone.
He shook his head. What was the point of that? Chara could have just shot Frisk, but she had sacrificed herself to capture him. Now what? If they didn't tend to Frisk's wounds, he would die, but if they did heal him, there was no way they could keep him restrained. He was just too strong, and even if they could contain him, then what? Were people just going to forget what he did? Let him off with community service?
Dacuel drew his KARMA blaster and aimed it at Frisk's head. "Sorry, Chara, but we both know there's only one way this ends."
He fired. Frisk's face turned red with blood, and he stopped moving. His soul moved out of his chest and hovered in the air.
245 EXP
Only one thing left to do. Dacuel took out his phone, scanned Frisk's soul, and transferred it to dimensional storage. He also went to Cathleen's crushed body and harvested her soul, and her went to the pool of the blood that remained of Elara and took her soul as well. Reaping the souls of his dead friends. How… fun.
His stomach sank as he approached Everette's burned body… why had it come to this? Why had he chosen the wrong side? Syleth? Sure, he had always had a few screws loose, but Everette? Dacuel had thought he was more sensible than that. If he had just said 'no' to Cathleen, it wouldn't have ended like this. Dacuel would have made sure of that. If only…
Everette's eyes looked up at him.
A frigid chill ran through Dacuel's bones… he was still alive?
"Dacuel," Everette whimpered, "help me…"
H-huh? Dacuel's entire body shivered. What was happening? Everette wanted him to…? "Wh-why?" Dacuel asked. "Why would I help you?"
"W-we can fix this," Everette wheezed. "F-fix everything. Please…"
Everette seriously thought that…? Dacuel shook his head. "No, no. You can't fool me. You're not Everette, and you're not Syleth, either. You're just soulless imitations. Nothing more."
"N-no," Everette said. "We're d-different. We're still -"
"Shut up!" Dacuel aimed his blaster at Everette's head. "You have no right to ask me for anything! Not after everything you've done!"
Everette opened his mouth, but no words came. He slumped in abject defeat. "I know."
Tears trickled out of Everette's eyes.
Tears? He was crying? That didn't make sense. A LV 19 demon had no business shedding tears. A being with that much LOVE had no heart to break. It had to be a trick.
Gritting his teeth, Dacuel stomped his foot into Everette's face. "Hey! Stop that! You're a mass murdering demon, so act like it!"
Everette croaked. "I j-just wanted our lives back..."
… what if it wasn't a trick? Could Everette have actually been telling the truth? If he could control his powers, then maybe…
No. Dacuel didn't know what would happen if Everette won, but he couldn't leave the fate of the universe to chance. Dacuel clenched his finger around his blaster's trigger.
Why couldn't he pull it?
"... what's wrong?" Dacuel asked. "Giving up that easily? Come on, give me one reason to trust you."
"You can't," Everette admitted. "You have no reason to believe anything we say. I know what you have to do, so go ahead and end this."
"That's it? Not even gonna try to make your case?"
Everette's face suddenly contorted with rage. "Quit stalling!" Syleth - obviously - yelled. "We know how this ends! You only take bets you know you'll win! So get on with it and take the fucking shot!"
Dacuel glanced around the battlefield. He saw Asriel standing over Chara's body, shaking her shoulders in an attempt to wake her, to no avail. He saw the corpses of Cathleen, Elara, Seth, Frisk, and countless others. What a shitty ending this was.
Could Dacuel really accept it?
Maybe it was time to take a gamble.
Dacuel lowered his blaster. "Well, this is either the best decision anyone has ever made, or the worst." He took a DT syringe out of his pocket. "Let's find out which."
Everette's eyes widened as Dacuel injected his arm with the DT. "Dacuel? Why?"
"Why, indeed," Dacuel said. "Let's call it a hunch. I'm thinking you know something that even Dr. Fourteen-Million doesn't know. I'm counting on you to prove me right, okay?"
Slowly, Everette rose to his feet. "Dacuel, umm -"
"Don't say anything," Dacuel said. "Just do what you set out to do." He looked at Asriel, who was still preoccupied with Chara's dead body. "Look at that. The long-lost Prince of the Underground who everyone loves. Must be worth a lot of EXP, yeah?"
"Uh…"
Dacuel gestured towards Asriel. "Go on, do your thing."
Everette - or Syleth? - flapped their wings and flew into the air. They brandished their sword as it glowed intensely. Asriel turned, and several soldiers spotted them. While they took aim, Everette and Syleth thrust their sword through Asriel's chest.
Asriel croaked painfully. Dust flowed out of his wound before his whole body crumbled. His soul floated. Everette and Syleth swung their sword and sliced it apart.
Just as the soldiers fired their KARMA blasters, a white light erupted from Everett's body. It enveloped the entire battlefield, blinding Dacuel. The Earth trembled. Was this…?
Everette completed his ascent.
What a bizarre feeling. He was now one with the entire universe. He sensed everything. The entirety of Earth, and every planet in existence. Every atom, every lifeform, he sensed it all, and he could control it all. He had the power to bend the entire universe to his desire.
That wasn't something he could treat lightly.
LOVE or no LOVE, this level of power - nigh-omnipotence - was incredibly dangerous. As far as he could tell, the only limitation was that he couldn't interfere with free will, meaning he couldn't - for example - make someone fall in love with another; not directly anyway. Otherwise, reality could be whatever he wanted.
Everette needed to think long and hard about this. How should he…?
"Hahaha… AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Huh? That laughter filled Everette with terror. "Syleth, what is it?"
"Oh, for Dog's sake!" Syleth exclaimed. "We are so stupid!"
Everette didn't understand. "What do you mean? What's this about a dog?"
"Huh?" Syleth sounded confused. "Do you not remember?"
"Remember? Remember what?"
"Hmm," Syleth hummed. "It must be an angel thing."
"What is?" Everette asked. As far as he knew, he had access to the thoughts of every living thing in the universe, except for Syleth, probably because he had also ascended. What exactly was an ascended angel capable of?
"Hold on," Syleth said. "Can I just…? Yeah, let's go."
"Go? Where…?"
Huh? Everette suddenly found himself standing in a sunny town square. All around him were two-to-three story buildings painted a variety of pastel colors, tightly packed along yellow brick walkways. In the middle of the square was a large fountain. Golden flowers were planted along the edges, and in the center was a stone statue of a dog. And a crowd of townsfolk - humans and monsters - stood in the plaza, staring at Everette with an intense feeling of apprehension. What was this place? Wait, he didn't know? But he knew everything. How...?
Everette gasped as the memories came flooding back.
Oh…
It was Neighborhood 12358G; their home.
Everette wearily pressed his hand against his aching forehead. If only they had remembered; they would have realized how pointless it all was. They would have known there was no reason to do anything, other than wait to die again. What a wasted effort.
Syleth appeared beside him, finally back in his own bird body. He folded his wings and scowled at the Dog Statue. "You bastard…"
Everette shot Syleth a worried look. "Where are the others?"
"Bad Homes," Syleth said. "Don't worry; I can fix it."
With a wave of his wing, Syleth summoned them to the square. Cathleen, Elara, Seth, Dacuel, everyone. Except for Dacuel, they all collapsed to their knees, panting wildly and clutching their chests. Everette cringed. Even if it had only been a short time, he didn't want to imagine what they had gone through down there.
To think Syleth had the power to bring people here. Demons had control of the mortal realm, but angels…
"Alright, shake it off," Syleth said.
Yeah, Everette doubted they could simply 'shake it off.' The Bad Homes were indeed bad, the polar opposite of the paradise that the Good Homes offered. It wasn't surprising that their actions had gotten them sent there, but Everette still didn't think they deserved it. Good thing Syleth had been able to transfer them.
Since Dacuel, fortunately, hadn't suffered it, he was relatively steady. Dacuel looked around the plaza and gave a dry laugh. "Son of a bitch."
Everette averted his eyes in shame. "We… we didn't know."
"Isn't that a shame?" Dacuel said. "Could have saved a lot of trouble if we knew, but I guess that's the point of keeping this place secret."
Yes, as frustrating as it was, there was little wonder why they had lost their memories of this place. That knowledge wasn't meant for the Mortal Realm.
"So," Dacuel turned his gaze elsewhere, "how do you two feel about this?"
He had spoken to Cathleen's parents, Jerald and Sitri. They approached Cathleen and looked at her with stern expressions. "Cathleen…"
Cathleen froze as soon as her father spoke. "Y-yes?"
"What were you thinking?" Sitri asked.
Cathleen gulped. "I, uh, I…"
"Nothing like that ever needs to be done," Jerald said.
"Then what I was I supposed to do?!" Cathleen snapped. "Nothing?! Just let you stay dead?!"
"You wanted to change everything, everyone," Jerald said. "You don't have the right to make those decisions. If you had won, would anyone have had any say in your actions?"
"I… I was going to eliminate death!" Cathleen said. "How could anyone not want that? They only opposed me because they did not trust me, but -"
"Because you tried to seize absolute power by force," Jerald said. "That's not how leaders are chosen. Authority must be earned through respect and approval, not brute strength. You are no hero. You are just a conqueror trying to force your personal utopia on everyone."
"But who wouldn't want eternal life?" Cathleen pressed. "Who wouldn't want everyone they love to live forever? So they don't have to worry about l-losing them, not e-ever…" Cathleen whimpered as her tears fell. "No one should have to go through that."
"I know how you feel," Sitri said, "but what's best for everyone should be decided by everyone."
Cathleen growled. "They're all cowards; too afraid to challenge the status quo. They never would have chosen it, so someone had to do it for them." She turned to Everette. "You have what you need, so go! Fix the world! Or give it to me if you're too scared!"
Everette pursed his lips. He had never thought that he would be the one to ascend. He had only wanted to save the people of Garnet Village, but now that he had regained his memories, he didn't know what to do. His options were infinite. Did he have the right to interfere with The Dog's creation? Reshape it however he wanted? Or was it best to just throw this power away and pretend it never happened?
"What are you waiting for?!" Cathleen yelled.
Jerald eyed Everette with a steely gaze. "Don't do anything rash. Think long and hard about your next move."
… frankly, it would have been lame to come this far and not do something, but what should Everette do? How did one wield absolute power without being corrupted by it?
The answer grew clear; he wouldn't do it alone. It was as they had said. Everette couldn't make this decision by himself. Everyone deserved a say in what happened next.
"We'll vote on it," Everette said. "The Good Homes, the Mortal Realm, all of us."
Cathleen's eyes widened in disbelief. "You cannot be serious," she said. "Do you not trust your own judgement? You earned your power; you should use it as you see fit."
"I am," Everette said.
Dacuel clapped and cheered. "Yeah! President Everette Victor! Defender of Democracy!"
"Hmph, I wonder what will happen," Syleth mused.
"Do you realize what you have?" Cathleen asked. "You have the chance to tear this idiotic system down. We don't need a Mortal Realm. I don't care what that mutt thinks. No one should suffer if it can be helped."
"That's for the people to decide," Everette said.
"And if they choose poorly?" Cathleen challenged.
That was a timeless question. Could the masses be trusted to make 'correct' decisions? Or were they too stupid and needed a strong ruler to do it for them? Dictatorships and democracies both had risen and fallen over history, but this situation was unprecedented. Everette had the power to do almost anything. What would the people decide to do with that? What should be done with that? Everette didn't know the answer to either. However…
"If we are going to use this power," Everette said, "it should be shared with everyone. I will not be the sole dictator who decides what the 'perfect world' should be."
"Hmph, strong words," Cathleen snorted, "but how long will that last? Will you really be able to accept their choices? When they demand something that you find unthinkable, will you stay true to your word?"
It would have been a lie to say that was an easy question. Everette hoped they didn't vote for anything that bad, but you never knew. What if they did ask Everette to do something horrible? Something that Everette could not fathom the majority of people voting for? Well, if that happened…
"For better or worse, the world will reflect the reality of the people who live in it," Everette said. "Even if I don't agree, it will be real. I will not let my personal feelings interfere."
"You actually believe that, don't you?" Cathleen said. "Okay, let's be more specific. Humans greatly outnumber monsters. What if they vote to wipe monsters out of existence in the name of unity?"
"Hey, come on, that's just ridiculous," Dacuel protested. "Believe me, I haven't forgotten what happened to us, but the world has changed since then. And did you forget that the universe is far bigger than Earth? No one species has the majority -"
"Alright," Cathleen said. "Here's an issue that will come up. Because humans outnumber monsters, the monsters will say their votes deserve to be weighted more greatly to make up the difference. Naturally, humans will disagree. How will you resolve that? Have you even thought this through, Everette?"
"I know it won't be easy," Everette admitted. "You do have a point. It's inevitable that I will have to make some executive decisions, but I'll still try to be as fair as possible."
"You didn't answer my question, did you?" Cathleen said. "You have a politician's tongue; I'll give you that."
Dacuel groaned. "Ugh, give him some damn time, would you? The whole point is that he can't work all this out by himself."
Everette nodded. "Yes, it's going to be a painstaking process, with no perfect solution, but I… we have to do it."
Cathleen sighed. "I see I am powerless to stop you. I did say that whoever ascends does so. I just didn't anticipate this would happen."
"Oh, no, the democratic process," Dacuel said sarcastically. "How could you do such a thing? You fiend!"
Cathleen waved her hand dismissively. "Good luck," she jeered.
Everette wasn't surprised by Cathleen's attitude. Any faith she'd had in the commonfolk had died when the Human Alliance obliterated Garnet Village. In her mind, total control was the only way to prevent such a tragedy. She would never allow the people to decide what to do with infinite power, but she hadn't ascended. Everette had, and he was going to do what he believed was right.
Dacuel faced him. "So, uh, how are you feeling?"
"It's… weird," Everette said "I am aware of everything that's happening in the entire Mortal Realm, and I can sense the power I have over it. Millions would kill for what I have, but I don't like it."
"Yeah, I can't imagine," Dacuel said. "But do you still feel like… you?"
Everette nodded. "I may be unfathomably powerful, but yes, I know it's still me."
"Well, glad to see my gambit paid off," Dacuel said, "but what about Gaster? Was he just lying all along?"
"No," Everette said. "All of the others were affected just as Gaster had warned. They grew colder and more ruthless with every level. By the end, they were practically unrecognizable."
"But not you," Dacuel said.
Everette glanced towards Syleth. "I wasn't alone."
Dacuel turned to Syleth, who shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't get it, either."
"Essentially, it's an angel's power," Everette explained. "Demons use determination to drastically increase their strength, but their ambitions are twisted in the process. Angels, on the other hand, borrow the strength of others to exercise their will. If it weren't for Syleth, I'd be just as empty inside as the others, but his wishes kept me from losing myself."
Dacuel tilted his head contemplatively. "That's, huh. So demons bring raw, unbridled power, and angels help control it?"
"Well, it's a possible application," Everette said.
"Interesting," Dacuel said. "If this is true, you totally would have gone crazy from EXP, but you didn't. Because…" He looked at Syleth and grinned. "You care about Everette and want to protect him."
Syleth huffed and looked away. "Shut up…"
Everette smiled. "Heh, I couldn't have done it without both of you." He shyly twiddled his fingers. "Umm, Dacuel, thank you for trusting me If it weren't for you, we'd all be..."
"Yeah, let's not think about that," Dacuel said.
"But, why?" Everette asked. "Why did you help us, really? I thought you would do whatever it took to stop us, even if it meant…"
"I just decided to trust you," Dacuel said. "Not much to it. You could say I took a leap of faith."
A leap of faith? Heh. Everette shook his head. "That's not like you. Since when do you ever leave your fate to chance?"
Dacuel winked. "I'll place my fate in your hands anytime."
Everette felt blood rush to his cheeks, which was strange since he was basically a god now. "Umm, well, thank you. Uh, anyway, there's a lot of work to do. Shall we get started?"
"Sure," Dacuel said. "I can't wait to see the look on a certain someone's face."
… what?
In the middle of intergalactic space, Gaster floated over one of trillions of platforms arranged in a sphere surrounding a single central platform. Lifeforms from all over the universe occupied the cluster, and Gaster stared stupefied at the center stage where the ascended demon Everette Victor stood. Above this platform were giant display screens, showing statistics.
Proposal: Abolish Cancer
In Favor: 92.15%
Against: 4.57%
Abstain: 1.13%
No Vote: 2.24%
Everette's voice echoed in Gaster's head. "Results are in," he announced. "By overwhelming majority, cancer will be eliminated. Another passed proposal."
92.15% in favor, because who wouldn't vote to end cancer?
Well, 4.57% had voted against it. This minority consisted of people who were opposed to using Everette's powers at all, as well as organic-hating synthetics, but it was important to note that even the vast majority of synthetics had voted in favor, despite receiving no benefit from the measure.
The other two categories, Abstain and No Vote, were practically the same, just a slight technical difference. Abstain indicated that the voter submitted a declaration that they will abstain from the vote, for whatever reason, and No Vote meant that the voter did not submit any decision whatsoever within the allotted time. No Vote was the category that Gaster fell into, for he saw through this sadistic façade and knew that none of it mattered.
The cheers of countless beings roared, carried by an artificial atmosphere. Gaster did not have words to describe what he was witnessing. This shouldn't have been possible. It wasn't possible. He had seen millions of timelines, and not in a single one had anything remotely like this ever happened. No ascended demon had ever allowed any sort of democracy to dictate the use of their power. It simply did not happen. They were far too self-absorbed to even consider it. Impossible!
It must have been a trick. Gaster was certain. This demon was just toying with them, claiming that it would give everyone a say before pulling the rug out from under them. Their claims of the angel Syleth helping control Everette's power were an obvious fabrication. No doubt this one would be an exceptionally dark reign. This timeline was doomed.
Sans appeared on Gaster's platform. "'Sup, boss?"
"Sans, do you realize what is happening?" Gaster asked. "This is the beginning of the end."
"I don't know," Sans said. "They could be telling the truth, if you ask me."
Gaster snorted. "Periosteous. An angel could never control a demon."
"Well, have you ever seen this happen before?" Sans asked.
"Irrelevant," Gaster said. "It's impossible."
"Come on, you're a scientist. You can't just ignore evidence like this."
Angels; they were notable for their ability to inhabit vessels neither human nor monster, as it followed that in doing so, they could absorb the souls of humans and monsters. Asriel - taking the form he called Flowey - was a quintessential demonstration of how dangerous angels could be. If Frisk hadn't helped him regain his sanity, the world would have suffered immensely across countless resets. Yes, at the apex of their power, angels could theoretically return to their normal selves, but was it possible to extend this phenomenon to a demon host?
"No," Gaster said. "Demons are too strong. An angel could never overpower them."
"Isn't that assuming an antagonistic relationship?" Sans asked. "What if the demon wants the angel's help?"
What? What if…? No. "In theory, perhaps," Gaster said. "But they won't."
"Hmm, I don't know," Sans said. "Forgive me if this sounds presumptuous, boss, but I gotta say. It seems to me like you just don't wanna admit you might be wrong."
Gaster's ghostly form flickered intensely. "If you had seen it, millions of times over, you would know -"
"Greetings, Gaster. Everything all right?"
Chara maneuvered her platform towards theirs. She smiled smugly. "Why so concerned? I believe it is safe to say that I made the correct choice."
Following Chara, Asriel joined in and sighed. "I don't think you can really take credit for this."
"Nonsense!" Chara said, standing high and mightily. "All that has transpired is the result of my flawless decision making! I selected the right path, and now we all may reap the benefits!"
"Yeah, you totally knew what was going to happen," Asriel gibed. "You had it all planned out. What would we ever do without your brilliant mind?"
"Perhaps I did not foresee everything," Chara said. "However, I held true to the best I could strive for. I did not kill, and I was not killed, either. And for that, we have been rewarded!"
"But you were killed," Asriel said.
"No! I died, but I was not killed! There's a difference!"
"You also did a lot of killing," Asriel said. "Just not Frisk, who Dacuel killed anyway, so…"
"Yes, well, shut up!" Chara said. "Can you not allow me to bask in the glory of victory for once?"
"And if you had the chance, you would have killed Everette before -"
"I said shut up! Stop trying to ruin my moment with facts and logic!"
Gaster growled in frustration. "Do you actually trust this demon?"
"Of course!" Chara said. "Because I made the right decision. I… I made the right choice, right?" She shuddered. "Tell me I did something good. Something right."
"This is just my hunch," Sans said, "but I don't think they're lying."
"Yes, yes!" Chara exclaimed. "See? Sans knows what he's talking about! Listen to Sans!"
"Going by my past experience, it does seem plausible," Asriel said. "Still, there's just one thing I'm not sure about. When The Dog designed this world, I don't think he was trying to say 'Killing is good, because it gives you the power to cure cancer, and you can undo all the deaths anyway.'"
Chara scoffed. "Screw The Dog. He's the one who made monsters the way they were. He orchestrated a scenario where it was practically impossible for humans to trust monsters, causing a horrifying war that turned countless monsters to dust, after which the survivors were imprisoned underground for millennia, and The Dog did nothing to stop it. On the contrary, he found it entertaining. He is scum."
"Well, I still don't feel good about how we got here," Asriel said. "I know that things need to change; I just wish we had done it more peacefully."
"Indeed," Chara said. "The universe requires correction. It has been a long, grueling road, but we are finally reaching the end. Just wait. Soon, everything will change for the better."
Gaster doubted that very much.
"… hey," Sans said. "I gotta say. I am interested to see what will happen. An all-powerful demon leading a democracy? Crazy, isn't it? It's a real…"
"Don't say it," Gaster groaned.
"… demoncracy."
Gaster could hear the drum set in his head. Why?
Chara roared with laughter. "I suppose it is."
So this is how it begins. An eternity of torture, kicked off with idiots who failed to realize the gravity of their situation. They had no idea what horrors awaited them. Everette would betray them. It was inevitable. The best they could hope for was that he would grow bored of his game and end the universe in total destruction, for oblivion was far better than a demon's torment. It was only a matter of time. Sooner or later, they would all know.
Voting for the next proposal began.
Final Reset
Huh?
Chara stood inside a familiar laboratory. No, it wasn't Gaster's lab. She saw the Arbiter, completely undamaged from the battle. This was… the AlTech lab? A chill ran down her spine. How was she here? Hadn't she just been fighting…? What had happened to…?
Chara noticed she was dressed in a white lab coat. What? That didn't make sense. When had she…?
"EEEH!?"
That yelp made Chara's heart leap out of her chest. She jumped toward the source and saw… Alphys. She… she was alive? But Frisk had killed her. How was she…?
Wait, the war had ended, hadn't it? One of the demons, Everette, had won, along with the angel fused with him, Syleth. Together, they were able to control their power, and they had done what they had felt was necessary for the good of the universe.
What? How did Chara know…? Everette had implanted this information into her consciousness, as he had for everyone else.
The changes were… surprisingly conservative. With his power, Everette had erased the possibility of contracting ailments such as cancer, viruses, bacteria, genetic disorders, anything of that nature. However, he had not made anyone immortal as Cathleen had wanted. People would still age and eventually die, and they remained vulnerable to accidental deaths. Everette had also permanently abolished soul absorption and all demon powers. Chara didn't know how the physics behind this worked, but perhaps that was a mystery that would never be solved. These powers had always been beyond science.
Everette had taken care of the Redacted as well. Although their history could not be rewritten into the universe, even by Everette, he had restored them to normal bodies, and they were free to live new lives.
After those alterations, Everette had reset the timeline to the moment before Cathleen and her followers began their attack, and that would be the universe's final reset, for Everette's next act had been to abolish them. They would never be a World Master ever again.
Finally, once everything was finished, Everette and Syleth, along with the other demons Alpin had resurrected, had departed this world, and Everette had stripped himself of his powers. They would never return.
That was it. That was everything. The removal of illness, soul absorption, demon powers, and resets. If the knowledge Everette had imparted was true, he had done nothing else.
Could Chara believe this? After all that talk about how this power couldn't be controlled, one of Cathleen's followers does exactly that as if it's nothing? Chara doubted she could have been that restrained. It actually seemed too conservative. Everette had the power to do anything, and all he did was get rid of disease and fix the power balance issues? No immortality like Cathleen had promised? Even if immortality was too much, he could have at least extended everyone's lifespans or something to that effect, and why had they all disappeared? Hadn't they done this to save the families they had lost? Whatever happened to that? It didn't make sense.
As Chara struggled to understand, Alphys shivered. "S-so, uh, I guess we didn't win?"
Chara turned to her and frowned, unsure how to approach her. Last thing she remembered must have been exploding into dust.
"It's complicated," Chara said.
"Umm, yeah," Alphys said. "I don't really get it, but, uh, did one of them ascend? Is that right?"
Before Chara answered, Sans appeared out of nowhere and approached Chara. "Hey, do you know what's going on?"
Chara shook her head. "I don't know any more than you do."
"Hmm, well then," Sans said. "I'm not sure what to do now. Just hope it works out, I guess?"
Chara didn't have any better ideas. She shrugged. "Looks that way."
"W-wait," Alphys said. "I'm still a little lost. I, uh, died, right? What happened after that?"
"Oh, yeah," Sans said. "You missed one hell of a show. Your giant anime robot kicked so much ass. You should have seen it, though I sadly didn't get to see how it ended."
Chara averted her eyes. How could she explain that she risked the entire universe because she couldn't bring herself to kill Frisk? She couldn't believe that Syleth and Everette had survived, though. How had they come back and won? She had riddled them with bullets and burned them to a crisp. They couldn't have recovered from that. Not on their own, at least.
"I'm… afraid I don't know, either," Chara asked. "I… uh, Frisk killed me." Yes, Frisk killed me. Let's go with that.
Chara froze as Sans stared silently into her soul. He hummed. "Did he now?"
"Uh, it is so," Chara said. "I fought valiantly, but I am afraid I could not match his demonic might. His power was too great. I dearly wish I could tell you of the events that transpired, but the deceased cannot bear witness to, uh, the future."
"Hmm, I see," Sans said. "If Frisk lasted longer than you, maybe I'll go ask -"
"U-uh, there is no need of that!" Chara exclaimed. "I mean, you cannot simply approach Frisk after everything that has happened, can you? It was but moments ago when you were enemies. Surely, it will take some time until you may engage in discourse with -"
"Nah," Sans said. "Let's go. Right now."
"H-hold on! You cannot…!" Chara felt a pit in her stomach. "Seriously, though. It's going to be hard facing him again."
Alphys frowned. "So Frisk really betrayed us, huh?"
Chara nodded. "Mother's death was too much for…" She gasped. If the timeline had been reset to before Cathleen's attack… "I need to go home."
"I'm sure you do," Sans said. "Technically, I think you're supposed to be working right now, but I'm sure your CEO will let it slide. We'll talk more later."
"Umm, yeah," Alphys said. "The company is officially shut down today. You can go home."
Chara took off running. If Mother was okay, Chara had never been so glad to lose a fight. It hadn't gone the way she had planned, but it didn't matter. If she had known the consequences, she would have chosen this path in a heartbeat. Without question.
She headed home.
After the Final Reset, life carried on as normal.
There was immense confusion and doubt at first. After seeing the sheer brutality of the demons, very few had been inclined to believe that they were the good guys, so it was difficult to trust them. However, there was nothing to be done about it. Everyone had no choice but to accept it.
Most of Everette's claims seemed to be true. Illnesses had indeed vanished. Gaster confirmed that it was in fact impossible to restore a monster's ability to absorb human souls, and Chara noticed a significant drop in her power level. As for the resets, if anyone was the World Master, it was most likely Frisk. Only he could say if they were gone.
At face value, these were all welcome changes. It may very well have been the best possible outcome, but Chara still couldn't fathom why Everette and the others had disappeared. They hadn't made good on their deal with Alpin, either. Shortly after the Final Reset, the World Military found Alpin in his secret base, shot dead by his own hand, but the military had found no sign of the demons.
Where had they gone? Chara refused to believe they had just ended themselves. That would have gone against everything there were fighting for. As Chara thought it over, she could only arrive at one conclusion; they must have traveled to another reality, perhaps an afterlife. It stood to reason that they would not be welcome in this world, and if there were an afterlife, that would explain why the changes had been so restrained. If there was a better place beyond the grave, then this world didn't need to be perfect.
However, no one could prove anything, and perhaps that was for the best. If people knew with certainty that Heaven existed, they may not value their mortal lives as highly as before. Why struggle to survive if death means going to a better place? If Chara was right, it was understandable that Everette had withheld this little detail. The consequences of that knowledge would have been too severe. There were some things they were better off not knowing.
The world would continue, but Chara still had a more personal matter to deal with.
Under the setting sun, Chara walked on the cliffs of Mount Ebott. It had taken some time, but with a little help from Sans, Chara had tracked him down. As she rounded a bend of mountain, she saw Frisk standing near the cliff's edge, staring into the distance.
Chara approached him carefully. Frisk glanced towards her, then gazed back into the field. This was the first time Chara had seen him since the reset.
"Frisk, won't you come home?"
He didn't look at her, but he spoke. "You make it sound so easy."
"… you still have a home," Chara said. "You may come back whenever you like."
"Maybe I don't want to," Frisk said.
"Don't want to? Or you can't?"
He grit his teeth. "No, I can't. That should be obvious."
"So you do want to," Chara said.
Frisk huffed. "There's no going back."
Chara folded her arms. "Is that what you think? You're not welcome anymore? I would explain why you're wrong, but don't take it from me. Ask them."
Frisk turned, and everyone came. Toriel, Napstablook, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Monster Kid, Mad Mew Mew, Alphys, Mettaton, Asgore, Asriel, Felicia, Elodie, Atami. They were all there.
"What is this?" Frisk asked. "What are you all doing?"
"Frisk, you do not need to stay away from us," Toriel said.
"You weren't there," Frisk said.
"Fine," Undyne said. "Then listen to me. Are you really stupid enough to think we'd hold a grudge over this?"
"You tried to kill me!" Frisk yelled. "You hated me! Why should it be any different now?"
"Maybe I did hate you," Undyne said. "Maybe I did want to kill you, but I also didn't. People are complicated like that. We feel multiple emotions all at once, and we don't always know which is the right one. I knew I was angry, but I also understood why you did it. So even if I wanted you dead, I didn't see you as evil or anything."
She rubbed her neck. "Uh, I don't know if that makes any sense, but what I'm trying to say is that the situation is fucked. Not you. It was a really weird, really confusing, really bizarre situation, but everything is alright now. So why don't we all just get over it?"
"Yeah! Get over it!" Papyrus exclaimed. "I'm over it! Who's with me?!"
Frisk kept looking down the cliff. "You make it sound so easy," he repeated.
"… no, it's not," Atami said. "I know it's not so simple, but you don't have to hate yourself for wanting to save your friends."
"I…" Frisk grimaced. "I can't just go back to the way things were. There must be consequences."
"There are consequences," Chara said. "As a result of your actions, Toriel and everyone else who died have been saved, as had been your goal all along. Those are the consequences. You took a risk. It paid off, but it might not have. Should you be punished for that? Some may say so, but I, personally, do not. Although I disagreed with your choice, it cannot be called entirely good or evil, and you know that not everything is black and white."
"... I still can't go back," Frisk said.
"W-well," Alphys said, "we want you to come back. I forgive you, Frisk."
"You forgave me," Asriel said, "so of course I forgive you."
"Come home, Frisk."
"What are ya worried about, kid?"
"It's okay…"
"Come on! It takes more than this to keep you down!"
"We still love you, Frisk."
Frisk looked away from them, trying to hide tears. "I… I can't. I'm… tired."
Chara frowned. She didn't know if they could ever mend Frisk's broken spirit. Even if it had been temporary, there was no easy recovery for what he had done. He would never be the same, but Chara wanted nothing more than for him to be happy again. She would do anything she could to make that happen.
But in the end, it was up to him.
Chara stepped closer. "Frisk, I realize this might sound strange at the moment, but I want to apologize."
"What the hell do you have to apologize for?" Frisk asked.
"I should have paid more attention," Chara said. "After losing Mother, I could only think about myself. You've done so much for me, given me so much when I needed it, but when you needed me, I didn't even realize it. I'm sorry."
Frisk shook his head. "What are you talking about? I never asked for your help. You always say it's not my job to be your savior; that's a two-way street."
"True, but I also said that we should support each other."
"What do we owe each other?" Frisk asked.
"Understanding," Chara said.
Slowly, Frisk took a deep, shaking breath. "Say I go with you. What then? What is left for me?"
Chara held Frisk's shoulder and looked into his eyes.
"Only you can answer that."
Ending C: Demoncracy
AN: Ah, yes, that is the perfect line to end the series on. *Evil smirk*
Thank you again for joining me on this crazy adventure. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this conclusion. Like Asriel said, I doubt this would get Toby's stamp of approval. It goes without saying that Genocide is the evil route, yet I guess it worked out in the end? I know. It's weird, but there were some serious power balance issues and temporary godhood was an effective fix.
So, why three endings? We've got Chara kills Frisk, Chara gets killed by Frisk, and Chara sacrifices herself to subdue Frisk. Ending A is the safe solution. Just kill the enemy and be done with it. Take no chances, but that's not always the most satisfying result, is it?
As for Ending B, I felt this one was necessary because we needed to see what would happen if Frisk or someone like Cathleen won. Gaster warns us that an ascended demon would torment if not destroy the universe, but it's not the same as seeing it happen. Frisk was definitely a best-case scenario, smothering the universe with 'goodness' until his former friends coaxed him into retirement.
Finally, Ending C offers a compromise, or the best of both depending on how you see it. The demon powers are used sparingly, and the world is reset. I wonder; what would you vote for in Everette's demoncracy? Should they have done more? Would they have? I'm no sociologist. I have no idea how this would actually play out. Personally, I like the outcome I went with. A few common-sense changes without destroying mortal life as we know it, but that's just my opinion.
And one more time, thanks to coincidencless for editing. You were an immense help.
Anyway, it's been fun, but this will be my last entry for this series. I didn't realize I would work on this for so long. I might need some rest now. *Yawn* Yes, I'm tired. I'll nap. Destroy the universe later...