Chapter 20

"I apologize for requesting a meeting on such short notice, Ms. Ivey," Toriel said as she met the tutor outside of the castle. "I considered calling, but I decided this would be a conversation better held in person."

"That is all right, your majesty," Ms. Ivey said. Holding up the files in her hands, she added, "I wanted to come by anyway so I can prepare the children's lessons for tomorrow."

"That is why I wanted to speak with you," Toriel said, putting aside all feelings of being polite in favor of being the confident queen. "Asgore and I will no longer need your services."

For a moment, Ms. Ivey didn't say anything. Then, "You have got to be kidding."

"I assure you, this is no joke," Toriel replied. "After nearly losing Chara, I realized I had not been the present mother I should have been, not to Chara and also not to Asriel. Asgore knows so much about our human child, but I feel as if I do not know anything at all. The last thing I want is to wake up five years from now and not know who either of my children are. That is why Asgore and I decided that I am going to take a step back from my queenly duties for the time being in favor of educating our children. After Chara's illness, I think both my children would benefit more from having their mother personally work with them through their schooling, do you not agree?"

When Ms. Ivey did not respond, only continuing to stare at Toriel with what she assumed was faceless shock, Toriel smiled and added, "I believe you will agree that your severance pay is more than generous. Would you like to pick up your check while you are here?"

The next morning, Chara awoke to an empty room. Asriel's bed was already made, but it was still early compared to Asriel's normal wake time. Frowning at his brother's mysterious absence, Chara slowly crawled out of bed. He had already started to feel much better than the day before. Perhaps Toriel would let him go outside with Asriel to play, assuming he could keep down whatever was served for breakfast.

Chara expected to see his family in the living room, perhaps sitting at the dining table, but it was empty. When he checked the kitchen, Chara saw that it too was unoccupied. There wasn't even the smell of pancakes lingering.

"Asriel?" Chara called as he walked through the house. "Dad? Mother?"

Maybe they're in the garden, Chara thought before remembering that there was no garden anymore. Chara swallowed as he remembered what Asriel had told him the night before. It was the final weight lifted from Chara's shoulders for Asriel to confess his value for Chara's life over becoming powerful enough to free everyone.

Not only would Chara had made a mistake if he died, but Asriel would have been the one to live with the guilt. Chara's death might have helped everyone else, but it would have forever hurt Asriel. As much as Chara loved the monsters and wanted to someday free them, he decided going forward that freeing them would never be worth the cost Asriel would have to pay.

Those thoughts lingered in the back of Chara's mind as he wandered the castle, searching for someone in his family. Even Merla would have been a welcomed sight. Yet there was nobody to be seen anywhere.

Finally, hearing chatter from the throne room after all, Chara braced himself and walked inside. His family was there, and they each noticed Chara right away. Asgore, wearing that sweater Chara had made for him, was standing on a ladder, trying to tie something onto one of the columns. Toriel was setting plates next to a cake with chocolate icing. Asriel was in the process of blowing up balloons.

"Chara, you're up early!" Asriel exclaimed, excitement growing upon his face.

"Well, there goes the surprise," Toriel said, warmly smiling at Chara.

"What is going on?" Chara asked, not even stepping into the room. Despite the garden being destroyed and the carnage since being cleaned away, the throne room did not appear empty, not with the decorations dotting the room.

"Well," Asriel answered, stepping forward with a balloon in his paws, "since we missed your birthday and didn't want to wait till your next one, we chose to celebrate today instead!"

Chara could not have been more confused had Asriel told him something absurd. "Why today?"

"This is the day Asriel found you," Toriel said, stepping forward.

"It seemed an appropriate day to celebrate," Asgore added. "Your falling down and being found by Asriel has been one of the best things to ever happen to the Underground. You do not know the hope that has filled the Underground since your arrival, Chara."

Remembering all the things Asgore had said to him the night before, Chara could only nod as his eyes burned and his throat tightened.

"We even got you presents!" Asriel said. Discarding his balloon, he took Chara by the hands and began to pull his brother forward. "Come on, open them!"

"Asriel," Toriel gently scolded. "Do not be so pushy. This is Chara's party, not yours."

"Well, they're going to have to deal!" exclaimed Merla as she walked into the room, a box poorly wrapped in shiny paper in hand. "Because I did not stay up all night wrapping this stupid thing just to wait to see the twerp's reaction."

Surprised and touched that Merla would give something to Chara, he received the present, thanked Merla, and begun to unwrap it. There was so much tape around the box, it was a struggle for Chara to get the paper off. When the paper was finally removed, Chara was relieved to see that the present was wrapped in a shoe box he could just easily take the lid off.

Seeing what was inside, Chara gasped. It was the same set of knitting needles he had taken from Merla's room months ago so he could knit Asgore's sweater. Alongside the knitting needles where three balls of yarn: one colored blue, the other green, and the last yellow.

"You know, everyone's right," Merla began as if disinterested. "I own a lot of knitting needles and yarn for someone who doesn't knit. It would make a lot more sense to give some of it to you."

"Thank you, Merla," Chara said, holding the box close to his chest. "I love it. This means a lot to me."

"Eh, it's nothing that special," Merla replied, waving a hand in the air.

Before Chara could respond, Asriel began to pull him by the elbow and said, "Come on, Chara, open something else!"

"All right, all right!" Chara laughed as Asriel pulled him towards the table. As Chara stepped closer, he saw two more presents, the modest-sized chocolate cake with chocolate frosting Toriel had been setting plates beside, and a framed photo of Asriel, their parents, and him. It was the one taken shortly after Chara was adopted into the Dreemurr family. Chara, too shy to want his picture taken, hid his face behind the bouquet of flowers he had been holding.

When the boys had come close to the table, Asriel let go of Chara and scrunched his nose at the identical presents. He eventually grabbed one of the presents and handed it to Chara. Smiling sheepishly, Asriel said, "I'm not sure if this is mine or not. Mom wrapped both the same way."

"I do not know what to tell you, Asriel," Toriel said, ruffling the extra fur on the top of Asriel's head. "We only have the one wrapping paper."

"Yeah, but you could have labeled the presents!"

"You know, I did not think of that."

This present being easier to unwrap that Merla's tapped mess, Chara opened the box to find a worn dagger. Heart stopping, Chara did not dare look at Toriel, who certainly would take the item away as soon as she knew what it was. The dagger looked a little old, but it would be perfect for cutting vines and plants.

"So, which present is this?" Asriel looked over Chara's shoulder to peer into the box. "Oh, that's not mine!"

"That means that's the dagger," Asgore told Toriel, and Chara felt the blood drain from his face.

He wanted to thank Asgore for the gift, but Chara could not bring himself to open his mouth. He could already hear the scolding Toriel would be giving Asgore for such a dangerous gift. His hands were beginning to shake.

Then Chara was dumbstruck when he heard Toriel say, "I know I make a big deal about not letting you have sharp items, but . . . Asgore and I talked, and we agreed you would need the proper equipment to help Asgore plant the new garden. I have not used that dagger in years, but I believe you will make great use out of it."

"Wait . . ." Chara tried to process what Toriel had just said. "You are the one giving me this dagger?"

"Trust me, we were all surprised," Asriel stated.

"The compromise is that the dagger will be kept with the other gardening tools," Asgore said, "but yes, the dagger is yours."

"I know I will never be able to replace your knife that I discarded," Toriel said softly, "but I hope this is a start."

With the shock beginning to wear away, Chara felt touched that Toriel would give him a dagger, be it a worn one. A step like this must have been difficult for her. That was what made it easy for Chara to smile at Toriel and say with the most sincerity, "Thank you, Mother."

"Okay, so that means this is my present!" Asriel exclaimed, picking the other box off the table and shoving it at Chara. "Hurry up and open it!"

"Asriel!" Toriel scolded again, yet neither child paid her much mind.

After unwrapping and unboxing this gift, Chara felt his chest swell up at what was inside. It was a red heart locket. The words Best Friends Forever were etched into it with white lettering.

"Dad helped me make it," Asriel said, paws pressed against his chest. He then pulled away his collar and reach under his sweater. Asriel pulled out a matching locket, his worn around his neck. "I have one just like it, except it's white with red lettering."

If Toriel's gift touched Chara, this one embraced his souls. Eyes stinging, Chara stared at the locked. Fingers wrapping around the heart shape, Chara whispered, "How long have you been planning this?"

"Since the festival," Toriel said. "When Asriel told us that we missed your birthday without knowing, we knew we had to do something to make for it."

"You're a part of this family, Chara," Asgore said, dropping his massive paw on Chara's small shoulder. "We don't want to ever miss celebrating that."

Chara could take no more. Fingers curled around the locket, Chara pressed it against his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. Hot tears ran down his face, and the lump in his throat was too big to swallow. He had almost missed this. Had he not waken up, he never would have seen how deeply his family's love for him ran.

"Chara, what's wrong?" Asriel asked. "Do you not like—"

"Thank you," Chara interrupted, opening his eyes to see Asriel's and Toriel's concerned looks. "Thank you for the gifts, for the cake, and for . . . everything. I . . . I don't deserve any of this."

Toriel put one of her paws on the shoulder Asgore wasn't holding. "Why do you not deserve to be loved by your family?"

Chara did not give an answer.

As Asgore, Toriel, and Asriel came forward to hold Chara in a group hug, all Chara could muster out was, "Why are you being . . . so nice to me?"

Chara and Asriel were struck speechless. Asgore's gift to Chara was nothing that could be wrapped. Instead, what Asgore wanted to give Chara, and also Asriel, was the gift of the truth.

"This is the barrier that keeps us all trapped Underground," he told them, his back facing the children as his eyes were directed upwards. Chara and Asriel had always known where the barrier was, but neither ever dared to step foot towards it.

It was a long, white room with shadows running across. There was no ceiling. Something was breathing.

Chara could barely breathe himself. Is the barrier . . . alive?

"The barrier exists all over the mountain, of course," Asgore explained to the children. "When we were first sealed, we ran to the other side of the mountain as quickly as possible, not bothering to look back. After years passed and we decided to come back, you can imagine our surprise when we found this here. Renart believes that this is the heart of the barrier, and this is what has to be destroyed in order for the barrier to be shattered."

Turning around, Asgore told them, "I wanted to bring you both here to show you that the barrier is not some invisible force, but something we can observe for ourselves. My royal scientist Gaster is studying the barrier as we speak. If anyone can find a way to shatter the barrier without the required seven human souls, it's him."

"Chara here gives us one human soul," Asriel said quietly. "Do we . . . wait for six more humans to fall Underground?"

"I suppose we could," Asgore replied, "but it took fifty years for Chara to fall down. I do not think the odds of six more humans falling are very high."

The children were then escorted out back to the throne room were the "party" was being held. Toriel and Merla were talking together. The world seemed so bright compared to what he and Asriel had just seen.

"Got a good look at the thing keeping us all trapped here?" Merla asked when she noticed the guys walk in.

"Yes, we did," Chara answered. "It is . . ."

When Chara trailed off, Asriel said, "It's not so bad."

"Uhh, yeah." Chara grinned. "I think if Dr. Gaster cannot find some way to break it, Asriel and I will find a way ourselves."

Seeing that Asriel was giving Chara a look, Chara added, "Together, of course."

Asriel's demeanor relaxed. "Together."

Toriel and Merla smiled at the boys, and Asgore pat them both on the shoulder. Chara knew the adults thought the kids were wanting to be heroes, but Chara knew it was so much more than that. It was his and Asriel's destiny to destroy the barrier; he just didn't know how they were going to do it yet.

"Why chocolate frosting on chocolate cake?" Chara heard Merla asked as she and Toriel were cleaning up. "That's a lot of chocolate, don't you think?"

Laughing softly, Toriel answered, "You know how Chara likes their chocolate."

Unable to keep the grin on his face, Chara looked at Toriel and said, "I am a boy, you know."

Both women stared at Chara with wide eyes. Although Chara did not turn around to see it, he was sure Asgore was giving him a similar look. After a year spent Underground with nobody asking Chara if he was a boy or a girl, he decided it was time for the game to end.

"I know nobody asked," he said, walking away as the chuckling Asriel followed behind, "but I thought it was finally time I let you all know."

"Looks like I can openly call you my brother now," Asriel said as the two walked out of the throne room and down the hall.

"You know, Asriel," Chara replied, his grin falling into a natural smile, "nothing would make me happier than for you to tell everyone that I am your brother."

End of Part One