Chapter 16

Asriel stood tall and proud as his father stepped forward to give his speech for the festival's closing ceremony. Chara was by Asriel's side, and their mom was right behind them. Unable to stop the wide smile from growing on his face, Asriel could not help but be happy.

"I would like to thank everyone who planned, organized, and maintained this festival," was how Asgore began his speech. "Without you, none of this would have been possible. Our history would become a faded memory. Our ancestors would be forgotten. Because of all of you, we continue to remember our days under the sun and hope for the day we can once again see the sunlight and feel it on our skin."

The monster below roared their appreciation.

After the crowds had become quiet, Asgore continued, "The Human and Monster War was the greatest war of monster history. Many lives were lost, and we were nearly driven to extinction from the humans' desire for genocide. For over half a century, we have been sealed under this mountain, left to be forgotten by humanity. Yet here we are, thriving and hoping. What the humans did by driving us here became an act of mercy, as there is hope we may one day return to the surface in search of a better future. And I have every reason to believe that once again, humans and monster can live together in peace.

"As you all may know, ten months ago a human fell Underground. The human has quickly become part of our family, and the way they and Asriel, my son, get along fills me with hope between our species that I have not felt since the day war broke out. They are the picture of what the world can once again be."

At this, Asriel felt his chest swell. He and Chara were the future, and if the future relationship between monsters and humans would be anything like his and Chara's relationship, then there was hope in a better world to come. Yet when Asriel looked to Chara to see how he was digesting all of this, Asriel saw that Chara was not really paying attention.

"I do not know how or when," Asgore continued, "but these children will lead us out of the darkness of despair and into a light of hope. We will be freed from our prison and once again live under the blue sky. The future of our kingdom has never been brighter."

At this point, Asgore held out a paw to beckon Chara forward. Chara didn't move. Turning his attention back to his brother, Asriel watched as Chara remained motionless until Toriel gently nudged him.

Blinking, Chara saw Asgore's extended paw and slowly walked forward. Asgore positioned Chara in front of himself and placed his paws on Chara's shoulders. As if he couldn't be prouder, Asgore declared, "The future between humans and monsters!"

The crowd roared again. Asriel wanted to cheer alongside them. The hope was contagious, and Asriel couldn't help but imagine the day he and Chara would free everyone.

As if Chara read Asriel's mind, he turned around and looked at Asriel. Overwhelmed with joy, Asriel showed Chara an encouraging smile. Chara weakly returned it.

Knowing Chara struggled bearing the weight, Asriel promised to himself that he would help Chara fulfill this purpose. Chara was the symbol of hope, but Asriel knew this was not Chara's job to do alone. They were going to free everyone someday, and they were going to do it together.

No matter what, they were going to free everyone.


"You are going to free them," the echo flower repeated back to Chara.

"You are not useless," Chara told the flower. When it repeated him, he then said, "This is the reason you were born."

Hearing the flower repeat the messages helped Chara to process everything that had been going through his head. Everything in his life on the surface led him to falling Underground to be found by Asriel, and now everything in his life Underground led him to realizing what his part in freeing everyone may be. Chara never doubted that some people were born to die.

Chara sat alone in a field of echo flowers. After packing, Chara went to sit outside until it was time to go to bed. Early in the morning, the Dreemurrs would be traveling back to the homey castle in New Home. He wanted a little alone time before then. His days were numbered, and he wasn't sure how many he would have left.

"Asriel is the coolest monster of all time," the echo flower Chara sat next to said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Asriel can do anything," the flower then said. After a moment, it added, "Everyone loves Asriel."

"Asriel is a dork," Chara told the flower. After a moment of the message being passed to surrounding echo flowers, the flower next to Chara shouted, "Hey!"

Laughing, Chara stood up and walked to meet Asriel. His brother was laughing, and the surrounding flowers laughed with him. When he saw Chara, Asriel leaned towards one of the flowers as if sharing a secret and told it, "Chara is a meanie."

After the flowers repeated Asriel's message, Chara also leaned towards a flower and softly replied, "Chara cannot be mean if he speaks the truth."

"Just because something's true doesn't mean you have to say it," Asriel countered through the flowers.

"Oh," Chara chuckled, "so you admit that you are a dork?"

"That's not what I meant!"

The two children stopped to laugh. Even though his chest felt heavy, it made Chara feel better to see Asriel so happy. If any monster Underground deserved to see the sky, it was Asriel. Without a word, Chara sat back on the ground. Asriel followed suit, and the two sat across from each other.

"You have been spending a lot of time alone lately," Asriel said after a moment, his smile falling. "Is everything okay, Chara?"

Shrugging, Chara replied, "As okay as I am ever going to be, I guess."

Asriel frowned. "I worry about you, you know?"

"I wish you did not."

"I can't help it, Chara. I care about you, more than anyone else! However, I never know what to do. I feel so useless and powerless. I see the way some of the others treat you, but I never say anything about it. Dad seems to know what to say when you're down, but I can't think of anything that might help. I feel trapped, wanting to be there for you but now knowing what to do, let alone if you even want me here for you."

"Asriel," Chara frowned, "I am so sorry to put you such a position. You are my best friend and my brother. Nobody matters to me like you do. I suppose I do not know how to show it. . . ."

For a moment, the two sat together in silence. It was Asriel who eventually said, "We are going to free everyone together, right?"

Chara's heart skipped a beat. Although he knew Asriel was unaware of the plan Chara was concocting, it still felt as if Asriel knew what Chara was thinking as Chara spoke into the echo flowers. Debating if now was the time to share the plan, Chara decided to keep quiet for a little longer and simply replied to Asriel, "Of course we are."

Placing his paws behind him and leaning back, Asriel looked at the crystals above them and asked, "Is it true these crystals look like stars, Chara?"

"A little, yes," Chara answered as he too looked up. It was in moment such as these where Chara realized what he had on the surface. Chara had never put any thoughts into the stars, not until Asriel had questioned him on what they were like in moments like this.

"Do people on the surface like to play connect the dots with the stars, too?" Asriel then asked, his eyes still glued above him.

"Absolutely," Chara answered. "There are a lot of constellations in the sky – pictures made from stars, I mean. There is Canis Major, Canis Minor, Gemini, Sagittarius, Leo, and so many more to see in the night sky."

"Did you use to look at them all the time?"

Ashamed, Chara admitted, "No. I learned about them from books, but I never tried to find them in the nighttime sky. There was a lot about life on the surface I took for granted, Asriel. The stars were one of them."

Eyes still locked onto the crystals, Asriel then asked, "When we make it to the surface, will you point some of them out to me?"

Heart sinking, Chara wanted to right then and there tell Asriel the truth: they were never going to see the stars together. Yet Chara couldn't bring himself to tell Asriel, or at least not now. So, forcing a smile onto his face, Chara answered, "I do not know all of the constellations by heart, but I will point out what I can."

Looking away from the crystals and at Chara, Asriel smiled. "It's a promise!"

Chara didn't respond. He didn't trust himself to not ruin the hope shining in Asriel's eyes. One day, Asriel would be sitting out during the night searching for the constellations, but Chara was not going to be there to point them out to his brother.


Over a month after returning to New Home and a small celebration in which Asriel received tapes for his birthday, Asriel again found the video camera to put these new tapes to use. His favorite pastime, other than playing with Chara, was going around the house and filming his family. With Chara following him around, Asriel carried around the camera as if he was filming a documentary on all five people who lived in the castle.

"And this is Merla," Asriel said when he turned the corner to find Merla arranging the flowers in a vase in the castle hallway. "She helps with the chores, like helping Mom cook dinner or helping Dad tend to his garden. I don't know how we would run this house without her."

This had Merla beaming with pride until Asriel added, "In a way, Merla is like a grumpy older cousin."

Asriel heard Chara snicker from behind while Merla playfully shouted in protest.

"Oh, you think you're so funny, don't you?" Merla teased as she reached out with one of the flowers to bop Asriel on the nose. Turning back around to the flowers, Merla then said, "Be careful where you have that thing on. You Dad's old friends are visiting today, and I don't think anyone wants to be recorded."

"Which friends?" Asriel asked as he looked for the off button.

"Renart and Gerson," Merla answered. Seeing that Asriel had indeed turned the camera off, she added, "You know how these old guys are. They don't like any form of technology shoved into their faces. If I have to hear another one of those 'back in the good ol' days' speeches, I'm going to scream."

"All right, Merla, I'll be careful," Asriel promised as he passed the camera to Chara. To his brother, "Do you think Mr. Renart is going to bring his grandson again? Because I hope not!"

Frowning, Chara quietly answered as he and Asriel walked away from Merla, "I do not think so, not after what happened last time."

"You still feel bad about that?" Asriel questioned. "Roy deserved it."

Chara shook his head but didn't answer.

When the kids walked into the family room, they found the guests Merla had mentioned sitting around at the table. Toriel poured cups of coffee for everyone while the men were laughing at something. It was Renart who noticed the boys walk in.

"Why, if it isn't my favorite Dreemurr children!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, right," Asriel snorted, "we're the only Dreemurr children."

"Then it's a good thing you both are my favorite." Renart winked. To Chara, "And how are you doing, Chara?"

"I am doing well enough, Mr. Renart. Thank you."

"Ah, so this is the youngin I've heard so much about," Gerson said, eyes directed towards Chara. After looking at him for a moment or two, Gerson added, "Yep, that's a human!"

"Last I checked," Chara muttered. Asriel walked further into the family room, and Chara followed not too far behind.

"I see you two have the camera," Asgore noted as he took a sip of coffee. He was wearing the pink sweater Chara made for him. For whatever reason, Asriel noticed, Asgore always wore that sweater whenever guests were over. "Are you still filming for our family documentary?"

"Not right now," Asriel said as he accepted the device back from Chara. "Merla said to not turn it on around your friends."

"Oh? And why is that?" Gerson asked as he accepted his coffee from Toriel and drank it black.

"Something about how you won't like technology shoved in your faces and how she will have to hear another 'good ol' days' speech," Asriel answered. Seeing the light blinking, Asriel immediately turned the camera back off. He was always accidentally turning the video camera on. Someday, he was going to film a conversation that was not meant to be recorded.

"We do not give 'good ol' day' speeches," Renart said, paw over his heart as if offended. "We have 'back in my day' speeches. Asgore, tell your hand to get with the program."

Laughing, Asgore replied, "I'll be sure to pass along the message."

"How about you children play in the garden?" Toriel suggested, speaking for the first time. As she sat in the last chair, she added, "You can film all you want there. We shall call you both for dinner when it is time to eat."

Asriel shrugged. "Sure, Mom. Let's go, Chara. We haven't filmed the garden yet. Do you want to hold the camera for the garden scenes?"

Chara refused, so Asriel held onto the camera as they made their way to the garden. Upon entry, Asriel looked around to try to figure out what he wanted to film. It crossed his mind to just film the garden as it currently was, but that would be boring.

Seeing Chara seated on Asgore's throne, Asriel smirked. Walking to the throne and turning on the camera, he held it up and said, "Howdy, Chara! Smile for the camera!"

Caught off guard, Chara jumped as if he had been jolted out of deep thought. When he recovered, Chara smiled for the camera. It had been a long while since Chara smiled.

"Ha, this time I got YOU!" Asriel exclaimed, feeling proud of himself for being the one to trick Chara this time. "I left the cap on . . . on purpose! Now you're smiling for nooooo reason! Hee hee hee."

As Asriel mentally patted himself on the back, Chara asked so quietly that Asriel could barely hear, "Do you remember the last time I tried to do something nice for King Dad?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I remember," Asriel said, verbalizing the memory as it came back to him. "When we tried to make butterscotch pie for Dad, right? The recipe asked for cups of butter . . . but we accidentally put in buttercups instead."

"And buttercups are poisonous," Chara muttered even more quietly.

"Yeah!" Asriel exclaimed. Then his voice dropped as he added, "Those flowers got him really sick. I felt so bad. We made Mom really upset. I should have laughed it off, like you did. . . ."

Chara winced, but Asriel wasn't sure why. When Chara laughed and commented how funny their mistake was, Asriel was initially disturbed. However, Asriel could see that Chara was just better able to move on and knew that one day he too would laugh at their silly mistake.

Yet that day wasn't today, and Asriel knew that Chara would not bring this up for no reason. There was something on Chara's mind. There had been something weighing heavily on Chara's mind since Waterfall.

"Um, anyway," Asriel said, forcing himself to ask the question, "where are you going with this?"

Chara spoke so quietly, it was as if his spoke softer and softer with each word.

"Huh? Turn off the camera . . . ?" After Chara nodded in confirmation, Asriel replied, "Okay."