The kids entered the laboratory. No one was there. The only sound was the humming of the machinery.
Percy picked up a note outside the 'bathroom'. He frowned at the poor handwriting, but read it regardless.
"Hey. Thanks for your help back there. You guys... your support really means a lot to me. But... as difficult as it is to say this... you guys alone can't magically make my own problems go away. I want to be a better person. I don't want to be afraid anymore. And for that to happen, I have to be able to face my own mistakes. I'm going to start doing that now. I want to be clear. This isn't anyone else's problem but mine. But if you don't ever hear from me again... if you want to know 'the truth'. Enter the door to the north of this note. You all at least deserve to know what I did.
Percy paused. "... that's all she wrote."
"I guess I'm not the only one with things to hide." Faye mumbled.
"Well," Clover faced her friends. "Whaddya y'all say?"
"Alphys needs our help," Cody said. "We have to go in for her."
Frisk faced the door. They walked towards it, their head down.
"LET'S DO THIS!" Brayden yelled, running after them.
"But isn't that a...?" Melody asked, holding out her hand.
"HEY THIS ISN'T A BATHROOM!" Brayden yelled. "It's an elevator!"
"Guess not." Clover said, shrugging. She and the others headed towards the elevator. They entered it. The doors closed.
"Wonder what Alphys did?" Clover asked, frowning.
Percy held up his notebook. "I'm assuming-" Suddenly, the elevator began shaking and flashing red. Percy started to have a panic attack.
WARNING! WARNING! ELEVATOR LOSING POWER!
"MY SACRIFICE WON'T BE IN VAIN!" Brayden yelled. He and Faye hugged each other tightly. Cody and Melody began to panic as well, while Clover had a furious look on her face. Frisk had no reaction whatsoever.
EM TETHER STABILITY LOST!
ALTITUDE DROPPING!
There was a flash of bright light.
... then everything was dark. A door opened in front of the group. A faint light was shining through it.
"We... we're not dead?" Percy asked. He breathed out in relief.
"WOOHOO!" Brayden yelled, he and Faye still hugging each other. They held hands as they stood up. Melody was shaking her head and Clover was eyeing her brother.
Frisk suddenly stormed out of the elevator, their head down. They were moving very quickly.
"Kid!" Clover yelped.
She went after them, followed by the other kids. They all took a moment to observe the environment. It was dark and creepy with dirty walls, like some kind of basement.
"What is this place?" Cody asked, looking around. He looked at Faye. "Faye...?"
"It's a lab," Faye answered. "Alphys'... secret lab."
"Alphys has a secret lab?" Melody asked.
ENTRY NUMBER 1: This is it. Time to do what the king has asked me to do. I will create the power to free us all. I will unleash the power of the SOUL.
"Yeah..." Faye gulped.
"What else is in here?" Clover asked.
ENTRY NUMBER 2: The barrier is locked by SOUL power... unfortunately, this power cannot be recreated artificially. SOUL power can only be derived from what was once living. So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now... The SOULs of monsters.
"Where's that kid gone?" Clover asked, frowning with her arms crossed.
"I... I don't know." Faye answered shakily. "I have a feeling... something big is going to happen with them, but..."
ENTRY NUMBER 3: But extracting a SOUL from a living monster would require incredible power. Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL's host. And, unlike the persistent SOULs of humans... the SOULs of monsters disappear immediately upon death. If only I could make a monster's SOUL last...
"Something big?" Clover asked. "Like what?"
Faye looked nervous. "I... I don't know... it makes me feel sick..."
"Hmm?" Melody asked.
ENTRY NUMBER 5: I made an interesting discovery. I was digging through old files and I found... a vat or something of the kind, full of... 'DETERMINATION'. The quality that gives human souls the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living. The resolve to change fate. I do not know where it came from. My theories is it came from the Fallen Angel. There are two parts of a human SOUL, after all: the spirit and the DETERMINATION. The Fallen Angel's SOUL must have been split into these separate parts. Someone collected their DETERMINATION and stored it.
I see how they plan to resurrect themself now. With the DETERMINATION of seven other human SOULS, their spirit will have enough power to form a physical, god-like form.
"Something's happening?" Brayden asked, eyeing Faye.
"N-nevermind..." Faye said, looking away with a frown.
The kids walked north. Ahead was a door with 4 coloured locks. A note was on the ground, and there were a few fake plants around, as well as a vending machine.
Percy adjusted his glasses as he read the note. "... elevator... lost power... enter the centre door..."
"That thing?" Clover pointed at the door with the coloured locks.
"I'm assuming so." Percy replied.
"HEY!" Brayden cheered, staring at a vending machine. "CHIPS!"
He pulled out some GOLD from somewhere and put it into the vending machine. Some chisps came out. Brayden gave them an odd look.
"Chisps?" he asked. He shrugged. "Still look good!" He stuffed the whole lot into his mouth. He grinned as he swallowed the food.
"POWER ROOM." Percy read a sign next to the elevator.
"And that kid still isn't anywhere," Melody frowned, folding her arms. "I'm a little worried about them."
"Let's keep lookin', y'all." Clover said. She and the others followed a path, north-west of the vending machine.
ENTRY NUMBER 6: ASGORE asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had 'fallen down'. Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose. And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject 'determination' into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then... freedom might be closer than we all thought.
"... heh," Faye had a sad smile. "If only..."
The kids approached some beds that were similar to ones in hospitals.
ENTRY NUMBER 9: things aren't going well. none of the bodies have turned into dust, so I can't get the SOULs. i told the families i would give them the dust back for the funerals. people are starting to ask me what's happening. what do i do?
Faye was eyeing the sink. She clung onto Brayden, who put his arm around her.
"What's wrong?" Clover asked, noticing the apprehensive Faye. She caught Faye's gaze and walked over to the sink herself. She turned one of the taps on. Darkish water pooled out.
"Watch out!" Faye gasped.
Cody came a bit closer to his sister, holding up his frying pan. Percy was staying nearby Melody. Clover turned on the third tap and stepped back. White goop came out of the tap. A creepy smile was on it.
"What in tarnation..." Clover said, eyeing the creature with horror. She reached for her gun.
Three creatures suddenly appeared in front of the humans. It was hard to decipher what on Earth they were.
"Scary..." Faye whimpered into Brayden's tank.
"They're not THAT scary!" Brayden retorted, but even he seemed a little shaken.
"Come join the fun." the creatures said in a creepy amalgamation of voices.
"I don't want to join 'the fun'!" Melody shrieked.
"Oh well." a Memoryhead replied.
Strange white blobs expanded in size, almost consuming the souls of the children. The kids stepped back, Cody holding up his pan and Brayden with his fists. Thankfully, the creatures were able to be spared, which the kids were happy about. The creatures left behind a red key. Clover picked it up and put it on her phone's keychain.
"In there." Faye pointed at an archway.
Clover entered the archway, finding a red lock. She unlocked it using the key. A note was on the ground. She could barely make out the words.
"drain... dropped it..." she read. She tilted her head in confusion.
ENTRY NUMBER 12: nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with 'determination'. i want this to work.
Faye couldn't get rid of that... awful feeling... that something was going to go horribly wrong...
ENTRY NUMBER 13: one of the bodies opened its eyes
"That's alotta beds..." Clover commented, as the kids entered another room. Faye glanced nervously at a dog food bowl.
ENTRY NUMBER 14: Everyone that had fallen down... has woken up. They're all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners...?
The kids headed north. Faye saw something out of the corner of her eye. Black goop.
"It... it's not happening," she told herself. "They're not like that."
That awful feeling...
ENTRY NUMBER 15: Seems like this research was a dead end... but at least we got a happy ending out of it? I sent the SOULs and the vessel back to ASGORE. And I called all of the families and told them everyone's alive. I'll send everyone back tomorrow. :)
"They're good..." Faye sighed. "They're here to save us."
"Huh?" Brayden asked, staring at her.
That something...
ENTRY NUMBER 16: no No NO NO NO NO
Will go horribly wrong. =)
"What in tarnation?" Clover asked, pointing at a machine ahead of the kids. It was shaped somewhat like a heart with a chair in the middle.
"... and what is that on the floor?" Melody asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust. She was gesturing to a pool of black goop right in front of the machine. Faye was looking at it with horror. She hid behind Brayden.
"Looks like oil or something." Clover commented.
"I do not think there would be oil randomly lying around here." Percy pointed out.
"Then... what is it?" Cody asked. He bit his lip. "N-nothing bad, right?"
Faye stayed behind Brayden. He gave her a look of concern. She responded by shaking her head.
The kids heard a crash coming from somewhere behind them. They all jumped.
"What the heck was that?!" Melody shrieked.
"We'd better go and see." Clover grunted. She headed east, the kids following her. They walked past a few rooms. It appeared someone had unlocked a few of the coloured doors that were previously locked. The humans came to a dusty room with a lot of fans. White pellets were floating in the air. The kids sneezed and coughed.
"Someone turn on those fans!" Melody shrieked.
"Hold on!" Cody yelped. He pushed through the dust and found a button. He pressed it, making the dust go away.
ENTRY NUMBER 11: now that mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore... except to ask when i'm going to finish his body. but i'm afraid if i finish his body, he won't need me anymore... then we'll never be friends ever again... not to mention, every time i try to work on it, i get really sweaty...
"You're a lifesaver Cody." Melody said, smiling at him. Suddenly, the white pellets came together, forming a shape. The shape of... a dog? A goopy, white dog with a drooling orifice. It began to approach Cody, who held up his pan.
"Cody!" Clover yelled. She held up her gun. "Get away from my brother ya vermin!"
She tried firing at the creature. It simply absorbed the attack.
"U-uh, g-good dog!" Cody waved his hands nervously. The creature got closer and closer. Clover glared angrily at her gun.
"Where's the stick kid when you need them?" Melody exasperated.
"I have paper," Percy said. "Paper and sticks both come from trees."
"Oh, wow, so helpful." Melody groaned sarcastically.
"SCREW IT!" Brayden held up his fist. "CODY'S SAVED MY BUTT A GAZILLION TIMES! IT'S ABOUT TIME I RETURN THE FAVOUR!"
Brayden ran over to the creature and punched right past it. He got himself covered in white goop, which was making him breathe heavily. He held out his hand, staring at Cody.
"GRAB ON!" he yelled. Cody obliged. Brayden pulled him past the dog, but couldn't stand up properly himself. He was covered in the goop.
"Brayden!" Cody gasped.
"I'm... fine..." Brayden replied with a thumbs up. His irises had gone... somewhat dull.
"Where's Faye gone?!" Melody asked, looking behind her. "I thought she... oh, forget it! Brayden!"
She ran over to him and helped him stand up. He covered her too in goop. But for once, she didn't mind.
"You stay over there," Clover growled at the creature, who whimpered.
Faye felt bad as she stared at Brayden. She should've done something. But what she had seen was too horrible to comprehend.
Faye knew where the crash had come from. It came from a hall with a shower. She entered it slowly, hugging herself. The hall was long with the shower at the end. Black goop was everywhere - the walls, the floor, in the shower itself. The curtain was covered in the black goop - so much so it had actually turned black.
Faye felt more and more nervous. She didn't want to believe it. They weren't like this...
The shower curtain shook. Sounds were coming from behind it.
Faye cautiously approached the shower and held out her hand. She pulled the curtain back, using her other hand to hold out her toy knife. Behind the curtain was...
Nothing. At least, nothing that was alive. Black goop was mixed in with a strange, white goop Faye didn't recognize and broken glass was everywhere. The shower was covered in this mess. Some of it was on the floor too.
"Oh... my..." she breathed, stepping back. "What happened...?"
She turned around and suddenly, Frisk was right behind her. Black goop was coming out of their left eye - the eye they always covered up in their powered up form. They disappeared as soon as Faye glanced at them for more than a second. She gasped and fell to her knees, covering her mouth.
"I..." she whimpered. "I... I thought..."
Suddenly, she heard yelling coming from another room. It sounded like Clover, then Brayden...
Brayden...
Faye gulped. How could she...
She ran back to the other room, only to see Brayden covered in a lot of white goop. She felt sick.
"Faye!" Melody gasped. "There you are!" She walked over to the blonde girl and put her hands on her shoulders. "Where did you go?"
"... I don't wanna talk about it." Faye answered. She couldn't get that image of Frisk out of her mind...
"I think he's gonna be okay..." Cody said, patting Brayden's head.
"Pardner..." Clover grumbled, glaring at Faye.
Faye sighed and kneeled down next to Brayden. She wiped some of the goo off his face and gave him a tight hug. She trembled. Brayden weakly touched her shoulder.
"You'll be okay..." she whispered shakily, tears in her eyes. "It's o-okay..."
"Love ya." Brayden mumbled back, making Faye cry.
"O-oh no, I can't stand to see Faye cry..." Cody said, tears coming out of his eyes. He sat down and hugged Brayden and Faye, getting covered in goop.
"For Heaven's sake..." Melody sighed. Percy hid behind her.
"Welp," Clover shook her head. "I think we'll be alright."
ENTRY NUMBER 19: the families keep calling me to ask when everyone is coming home. what am i supposed to say? i don't even answer the phone anymore.
"What on Earth happened in here...?" Melody asked.
The kids were now in a room with a bunch of fridges, which had all been turned over. Some were even destroyed. Faye shivered at the sight of the black goop.
"What in tarnation is this black stuff?" Clover asked, observing the black goop. She reached out a hand to touch some.
"Don't touch it!" Faye yelped, sweating.
"Why?" Clover asked, staring at Faye.
ENTRY NUMBER 20: ASGORE left me five messages today. four about everyone being angry. one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me. thanks asgore.
"... it's... it's just..." Faye replied, her lip trembling. She didn't want to believe it...
"Maybe the stick kid knows more?" Cody asked.
Faye tensed up.
ENTRY NUMBER 21: i spend all my time at the garbage dump now. it's my element
"We really should focus on finding that kid and getting out of here," Melody said. "I do not like this place."
The kids kept walking around. They occasionally saw footprints made out of black goop. They followed the prints, eventually coming to a long room with a bunch of dusty mirrors and pots full of golden flowers.
ENTRY NUMBER 7: We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULs of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL... so then... what about something that's neither human nor monster?
"Golden flowers..." Faye said, looking at the flowers.
"Is this where... Flowey came from?" Cody asked.
Faye nodded slowly.
ENTRY NUMBER 10: experiments on the vessel are a failure. it doesn't seem to be any different from the control cases. whatever. they're a hassle to work with anyway. the seeds just stick to you, and won't let go...
"More of this black stuff." Clover said, suspicious. At the end of the room, nearby some mirrors, was a puddle of the black goop. The mirrors had also been smashed and were covered in cracks.
"What is all this black stuff?!" Brayden asked, making a face.
"It... it's... it's a message..." Faye said, observing the goop. She stepped back. The goop had been formed into letters.
"Message?" Clover asked.
"Yeah," Faye said. She gulped. "It says... 'watch my tape'."
ENTRY NUMBER 4: I've been researching humans to see if I can find any info about their SOULs. I ended up snooping around the castle and finding a whole lot of stuff. I found this really weird book that has a lot of info. Apparently, there are these special humans SOULs called 'Pure Souls' who are recognised by their eye colour being the same colour as their SOUL. They can have powers too supposedly, but only if they get them from another source. Some are lucky to be born with them. Interesting. Pure Souls are much more powerful than regular human SOULs, so if we're lucky some might fall down here some day... I don't think the Fallen Angel was one though. They were just normal.
Anyway, as well as that I found all these weird tapes, including one that says 'to the souls'. I have no idea what it's about or what it means by 'the souls'. But it is really depressing. I should write a fanfic about it...
"I think that's the one," Melody said, holding up the tape that had the words 'to the souls' written on it. Percy was stunned at the fact that it was a VHS. "Chara wants us to watch this."
Clover gritted her teeth. "I dunno 'bout this..."
"Let's just give it a try..." Cody said. Faye nodded in agreement.
"Fine." Clover sighed. She put the VHS tape in the player. There was a bit of static before the audio began. The speaker, Chara, had a dry, raspy and androgynous voice.
...
"Greetings. I am Chara. The First Human, or the Fallen Angel. Whatever you may refer to me as.
"I understand that you potentially dislike me a fair bit. I do not imagine Frisk has said anything kind about me. Perhaps you see me as... an enemy? Well. I am here to tell you that Frisk is not completely wrong. I am not a 'good person'. But I am not the villain. On the contrary, I am in this timeline to save everyone.
"At this point in time I do not know how much Frisk has told you about themself. Presumably, not much. But you have spent a lot of time with them, so you must trust them dearly. So, when I tell you all that you cannot trust them... I bet you will refuse to listen to me. But you must understand. Frisk is not on your side. They are not here to help you. They are using you. They will use you like they used me.
"I have known Frisk far longer than you all have. I have been through so much with them. We met a long time ago, after Frisk had completed a genocide route. It was not their fault. It was the player - a being from... another world that controls Frisk like a puppet in certain timelines. They are the one with the power. Not Frisk. Frisk is simply their... representative.
"Anyway, the player made Frisk complete a genocide run - hundreds, thousands of them, in fact - and it upset Frisk dearly. They cared so much about their monster friends. They hated killing them over and over again. But they could not escape the player. Without the player, Frisk has no determination - which means they cannot do anything. So I came up with a compromise. I would help Frisk make determination by themself, without the help of the player. Why? I did not want another genocide timeline either. Frisk agreed - but first gave me the determination the player had given them, so I could be more 'interactive' during their journey. And so our story began.
"Frisk and I completed many pacifist timelines together. We did enough so Frisk knew how to get their own determination and no longer would they have to rely on the player. Frisk was grateful for my assistance. Very grateful indeed. Yet, despite their freedom, Frisk still feared the player deeply. They kept their feelings a secret though, so I did not know the truth. They took advantage of their freedom, in fact, and they and I visited many Alternate Universes - together. We spent time enjoying ourselves, relaxing and... forgetting all our worries. We... we were... becoming friends. Very close friends. I had never felt so... close to someone before aside from my best friend...
I was finally happy. I was at peace. I wanted it to stay that way forever.
But then they betrayed me.
"Frisk wanted to destroy the Player. They were too scared the Player would come back and they could not live with their fear. So they decided they had to destroy the player with great power. To do that, they needed strength. Suddenly, they began doing multiple genocide runs in order to raise their LV. Genocide run after genocide run. And I thought they cared about monsters. I was furious, I tried to stop them, but they did not listen to me.
"It only got worse. Genocide runs were not enough. Frisk began stealing powers and abilities from the timelines we had visited. They lost their blindness. They became talented in every single field. They could summon spears and Gaster Blasters. They had a glowing, red sword. And if that still was not enough, they absorbed vials of HATE to give themself even MORE power... and so they would not feel so guilty when it came to being malevolent towards others. They tricked people. They lied. They stole. They loved. They killed. You name it. They went from a sweet, innocent child who was quite a doormat to... to a monster. They even took the original determination they gave me back, even though we agreed to be partners forever...
"Heh... humans... you are all the same...
"But then they got their worst idea yet. Frisk realised even with all their power, they could not make the player disappear forever. So they decided to destroy every single timeline so the player had absolutely no chance of ever returning. They were truly that paranoid.
"Once again I failed to reason with them. It was too late. Frisk had planned to enter this timeline, and at the end, they would use their power to access the 'ERASE' button - which is deep within the codes of the universe, beyond even a true reset - to destroy every timeline and universe in existence. For their last timeline ever, yes, they did want to 'relax' and enjoy themself for one last time. That is why they chose this timeline.
"I knew I could not let them get away with this. So I decided to enter this timeline as well, and I would convince everyone I was the hero, so I could get the power I needed to stop Frisk. That is where the Fallen Angel business began. Frisk needs to understand. They are no better than the Player. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
"Humans... I hate to ask for help... but I need you. I need your souls. I need them so I can save the world. In all honesty I just want to be forgotten... I do not want to exist anywhere. But the world refuses to let me go until I do what I must. So... please, do me this one favour. You will know how to allow me to borrow your SOULs. It does not mean death. You will be able to live again. And even if it did... you died for the world, and that's something to be proud of.
"Thank you, humans. I apologise that it had to end this way. I will see you soon."
The kids stared at the tape for a good few moments. They were speechless.
"There's... there's no way that's true..." Clover shook her head. "No... no way..."
"I think it's true..." Faye looked down. "All those dreams we had where Chara was speaking to Frisk, aka the stick kid... that was Chara 'reasoning' with them. Frisk knew this tape existed, so they kept their name a secret just in case we figured out the truth early... so we wouldn't think they were the enemy."
"WAIT WHAT?!" Brayden asked. He shook Faye's shoulders. "YOU KNEW?!"
"I saw in my dreams..." Faye wiped her eyes. "I saw Frisk... doing a lot of horrible things. Slaughtering monsters. Slaughtering us. But then we met them in real life, and they weren't horrible at all. My dreams aren't always right, so I thought... maybe Frisk would be nice. Maybe it would be okay. I waited... and I waited too long. It's too late now. They've already become overwhelmed with too much power. They're going to destroy the world." She breathed heavily and started crying. "This... this is all my fault..."
"I... I don't want to believe it..." Cody started crying as well. "Sans... Flowey... they were right!"
"That little..." Clover gritted her teeth.
"I'M GONNA FREAKING KEBAB THEM!" Brayden yelled, putting his fist in his palm.
Frisk appeared at the entrance of the room, a dark look on their face. Their eyes had gone black. Everyone stared at them with a mix of emotions. Frisk suddenly ran off, holding out their sword.
"GET BACK HERE!" Brayden yelled.
He chased after them, Clover close behind. Melody stood up as well, glancing back at Percy.
Frisk entered the door with the coloured locks, which was now unlocked. They walked inside the elevator, waiting for the doors to close.
"NO!" Brayden bellowed, holding out his hand. Clover held up her gun. But it was too late. The elevator doors closed, and Frisk was gone.
"Guys," Percy said, holding up his notebook. "I think we're doomed."