"U...ugh."
Asriel was laying on the hard ground, a few feet away from the bed of flowers. He groaned as he regained his senses, trying to piece together the events that led up to this moment. He was only out for maybe a minute or two, but it felt a lot longer than that.
He groaned still as he slowly pulled himself to his feet, wobbling a little bit from grogginess. And there was something else he was feeling in this moment. Or, rather, something he was NOT feeling anymore.
The tingling sensation from before, it was gone.
"I...I'm still here? I'm still 'me'?"
His memory slammed him out of his fugue, like a speeding vehicle flooring the brakes. He remembered what happened now, and he turned around.
Frisk was laying in the flower bed.
"OH NO! FRISK!"
He sprinted over to her as quickly as he could, picking her up in a fit of hysteria. Her arm hung limp and her head rolled back.
"FRISK, COME ON! SAY SOMETHING! PLEASE!"
He shook her, hoping against hope to beat the odds and get a response.
"FRISK, PLEASE! OPEN YOUR EYES!"
There was nothing but silence. She was gone.
"FRISKKKKKKKKKK!"
Asriel screamed as he stood clutching the corpse of his friend Frisk, who had just done the unthinkable, giving up her own SOUL in the ultimate act of love to save the young prince from a fate worse than death. He was reborn again, given a second chance at life by his new friend, but the cost was very high. He was sobbing, screaming for her, again and again, desperately hoping that Frisk was just unconscious and would open her eyes if he shook her just a little harder.
"PLEASE, FRISK! DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE AGAIN! STAY WITH ME, FRISK! PLEASE! I CAN'T DO THIS BY MYSELF! I NEED YOU, FRISK! I LOVE YOU, FRISK! PLEASE, COME BACK!"
He shook her again.
"FRISKKKK!"
And again...
"FRISKKKKKKKKKK!"
But to no avail. She was gone. He kept screaming for her anyway, over and over, until his voice finally gave out, becoming nothing more then a whimper.
"Frisk...I'm so sorry! I'M SO SORRY!"
Soon his strength too failed him, and he collapsed to his knees, hugging her lifeless body as tight as he could. Even though it had once seemed like they had only known each other for a few minutes, Asriel now had full recollection of each and every visit by Frisk throughout all the resets, all the time they spent together, the memories they now shared, and he knew that what he now felt for Frisk was real. Their connection was strong and true, a bond that grew over time, little by little, throughout each reset, and the pain Asriel felt now was so much greater because of that. Frisk was no longer some stranger that he had once mistaken for his long lost sibling...she was a true friend, the friend he had always wanted. And now he had lost her too.
His body was wracked with uncontrollable sobbing as he struggled to sort through his grief, the pain of once again losing someone very dear to him. It was her choice, her last wish, for Asriel to have her SOUL so he could live, and he finally accepted it after so much effort on her part to convince him, but...
"I-I'm pathetic...I sold your life to save my own! I'm not the friend you deserved Frisk...I'm...I'm just a selfish coward! I'm NOTHING!"
...none of that made it any easier to cope with what had just happened though, what he had just allowed.
He lowered his head in despair, gently setting Frisks body onto the bed of flowers beneath him. What else could he do?
"Frisk...w-what do I do now? I can't...I can't go on alone..."
He held a hand over his heart, clutching at himself. His pain was as much physical as it was emotional.
But somebody came
His chest shined with a soft scarlet light at that moment.
"...huh?"
Where his heart was. And he knew.
"...no, I'm not alone. You're still there, aren't you Frisk? I can feel you. You're...you're with me, even now."
Asriel is filled with DETERMINATION
Not sure of what he was doing, Asriel carefully arranged Frisks body in the flower bed, laying her arms across her chest. Then he removed his heart locket, the one Frisk brought back to him, the one he said belonged to Chara. He looped it around her neck, placing the heart setting in her lapped hands, and gently kissed her forehead. It wasn't even a fraction of what she deserved, but it was all he could do for her.
"I...I'm sorry Frisk, but 'we' have to go now. 'We're' going home."
Asriel stood up now, looking down at Frisks lifeless body, still sobbing heavily, trying to control himself.
"She wouldn't want to see me like this...she would want me to be happy."
Shedding one final tear for his friend, he turned and started walking. Towards the entrance to the Ruins. He stopped one more time to look back, cupping his hands over his heart...
"Frisk...thank you so much for this. I won't waste this gift you've given me. I'll...I'll find a way to make it up to you one day. I promise."
...and continued walking.
But he didn't even make it into the hallway leading to the Ruins, before...
"Long time, no see."
A voice from behind. Sounding so much like Frisk, but...
"FRISK!?"
Asriel turned around.
Frisk was standing there, looking down towards the flowers she loomed over, facing away from him.
"Azzy..."
The voice from earlier sounded so similar, the same octave, the same pitch, almost completely identical. Except...
"No, you're not..."
...the tone was cold and disconnected, completely unlike Frisk.
She turned to face him now, her gaze drawn upwards towards him. And immediately he saw the difference.
Her eyes. They weren't squinted like Frisks always were, but rather wide open. But he had seen it before, this exact look, once upon a time.
"I've missed you, Azzy."
Azzy. A name from long ago, one he loved being called, and only one person used to call him that.
"...Chara?"
She smiled at him now. The exact same smile she used to have. He recognized it immediately.
Asriel charged at Frisks possessed body, divebombing into it. It felt warm and full of life still, even though he knew now that it wasn't Frisks life force he was feeling.
Chara just stood there, unsure how to react. She finally putting a free arm around Asriel and gently pat his head with the other.
"It's hard to believe you still think of me as a friend, after everything I've done."
Asriel stepped back now, chastising her for such a silly statement.
"Of course I do, Chara! I've missed you so much!"
He looked at her with bewilderment now.
"But...why are you inside Frisks body? If you're here, then..."
He tensed involuntarily, but Chara held up her hand to reassure him.
"I don't have much time, Azzy. I can only maintain this link for a few minutes. I just wanted...needed to talk to you."
Chara sat down in the flowers, letting her nimble fingers dance along the delicate golden petals. An apprehensive Asriel sat next to her, careful not to crush any of the fragile buds.
"How is this even possible though?"
Asriel inquired again. Chara didn't give any clear answer before. She now reached for the locket around her neck, holding it close.
"I'll explain everything, but first..."
She looked down towards the flowers now.
"...first I wanted to say that I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For...everything."
She now looked up towards the hole, her thoughts drifting into painful memory.
"I lied to you, Asriel."
He flashed a look of confusion at Chara.
"About what?
"About everything. Our plan to shatter the barrier so the monsters could go free. What I REALLY wanted back then was to use that power to destroy all of the humans on the surface. I hated humanity so much in those days."
Charas thoughts drifted for a moment, but they could not recall anything. No reason to feel the way she did.
"And the really stupid thing is, I don't even remember why anymore. I don't even remember what they did to me to make me so unhappy, if they did anything at all. I guess I'm like Frisk in that regard, no memory of my past. I mean, my past BEFORE I came to the Underground."
Asriel was shocked to hear this, even though he heard the exact same thing come out of Frisks mouth only moments before.
"Not even of your parents? Your reason for coming here in the first place?"
Chara shook her head.
"Nothing. This must be how Frisk felt. I only know I was unhappy when I first came here, but I don't know why. Maybe the humans never did anything to me. Maybe I was just that way from the beginning."
"Chara..."
She gazed up at the hole again.
"I...my hatred for humanity was so all-consuming back then, it was all that drove me. Even when you and your parents took me as part of your own family, all I could think about was how to hurt the humans, how I could use you all to achieve my own ends..."
Asriel was in tears again, feeling hurt and betrayed by what Chara was now confessing.
"So, you weren't really my...?"
Upon hearing that, Chara immediately snapped her head towards Asriel and interrupted him.
"I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry. You ARE my best friend Azzy. I don't ever want you to doubt that. You were the only one who I felt ever truly understood me."
Hearing that gave Asriel a little comfort. He felt the same way about her after all. He had told Frisk as much in their earlier clash for the timeline.
"But you have every right to be upset with me. I used you, I used everyone to further my own agenda. The only thing I've ever accomplished was hurting everyone I ever cared about, and I just couldn't ever see past it. I nearly killed Dad when we made that pie for him, using 'buttercups' instead of cups of butter, and I laughed it off at the time, never giving a thought to what I had done. I even poisoned myself so I could use you to slaughter the humans on the surface and take their SOULS. Everything I have ever done has only served to bring pain and misery to those closest to me, and you suffered the worst because of it."
Asriel put a hand over one of Charas now.
"Chara, I just...I never knew how you really felt. Why? Why didn't you ever say anything?"
Chara looked away from Asriel again.
"I could never understand why you or your parents were so nice to me. I was never able to think of a way to say anything, a way to convey my feelings, so I thought it was better not to say anything at all.
She sighed with heavy regret.
"That was wrong, though. The silence only caused my hatred to grow over time, until I could feel nothing else."
He responded immediately, knowing the vibes he was getting from her now was real.
"I...no. I don't believe any of that, Chara. I KNOW you cared. I KNOW you loved us, even if you never knew how to show it. I could feel it then, and I feel it now. Maybe you did hate humanity, but you didn't hate us."
She looked at him with uncertainty.
"How do you know!? I hurt you all so much! How do you know that I didn't do it deliberately?"
He responded calmly and without any resentment.
"Because you're my best friend. Friends understand each other."
She gasped in surprise.
"Azzy...I...T-Then why did I hate humanity so much?"
It was a hard question to respond to, but Asriel made a good attempt at it, giving an answer that was probably true on some level.
"Maybe because you resented them for what they did to us, imprisoning us underneath this mountain for so long. Maybe you did what you did out of love, because you wanted us to be free. Even if you did a poor job of showing it, I feel...no, I KNOW your intentions were good. You messed up bad...WE messed up bad. But I know in my heart that you meant well in the end, Chara."
Now Chara was the one crying, but not for the same reasons as Asriel. She felt so loved in this moment, and she knew she didn't deserve it.
"Azzy...Frisk has rubbed off on you quite a bit, I can see. You're as sweet as ever."
He smiled.
"Yeah. I'm not so sure that's a good thing yet, though. She was a very nice person, but...maybe 'too' nice for her own good. I tried to tell her once, 'not everything can be resolved by being nice. Sometimes you have to be willing to fight.' And she told me..."
"'Maybe, but violence breeds more violence and should only be used as a last resort.'"
Chara said. Asriel flashed her a look of surprise.
"Y-yeah. I guess you were listening. She'd probably hate us for criticizing her, but I can see the wisdom in her words now. I wish I could tell her that."
Chara shook her head again.
"She cares about you so much Azzy. She could never hate you, or anyone else, even me, as much as I may deserve it. It's just not in her nature."
His face still held a look of confusion.
"I still don't understand how you're here though, talking to me right now."
Chara sighed again.
"Yeah, sorry, I got sidetracked. I'll explain."
Asriel rested his hands on his lap now, ready to listen.
"When you carr...I mean, when 'I' carried my lifeless body across the barrier and brought it to the flower bed in the village, and the humans attacked, I wanted to use our combined power to kill them and take their SOULS. Our plan was so close to success, and I thought I was finally going to be satisfied...but instead, you resisted and turned away from them, choosing death instead."
Asriel was lost in thought now, staring down at his paws as he drifted through his own memories.
"When you brought my body back to the Underground, you died shortly after, your body turned to dust, and your...our SOUL lingered for a few moments. Without a body to inhabit, it should have vanished as well, since it can only exist outside of the body for a short period of time. But..."
She reached a hand up to her chest now.
"...but instead, it took refuge in the nearest object it could find. Something that connected us both."
Asriel suddenly looked up, staring at the object around Charas neck, the one that Frisk had returned to Asriel moments before she died.
"Your locket! I always kept mine in the box, but you wore it all the time. You were wearing it that day too."
Chara nodded, clutching at said locket around her neck now.
"Of course I was! You gave it to me as a gift, Azzy. It's very precious to me."
Asriel smiled at that sentiment, but still shrugged in confusion.
"But how?"
"I don't really understand most of it either. I guess my anger was so powerful back then that it allowed me...us, to linger on in this vessel, as a kind of consciousness. It had a long time to fester, and Frisk made it clear to me how powerful emotion can be when it builds. Or maybe it was DETERMINATION, I don't know. Frisk would definitely know about that, she had more of the stuff than anybody."
Asriel suddenly remembered what Frisk said about the locket before she gave it back to him.
"She told me it protected her, made her feel safe when everything seemed hopeless..."
Chara nodded and continued.
"Whatever the reason, our SOULs survived within the locket, lingering on for years and years. It's why I'm able to inhabit this body right now...and it's partly why you're able to retain your form now."
Asriel cocked his head again in confusion.
"What do you mean...?"
He was in for the shock of the century.
"Well, when Frisk brought you the locket earlier, she...hmm, maybe it's better if you see for yourself."
She walked up to him, grabbing both of his hands.
"What are you doing, Chara?"
"Just trust me."
She cupped them together and put them against his chest.
"Now call to it, Azzy."
Not at all sure what he was doing, he followed her direction. He called out to 'it.'
And 'it' came, right out of his chest. A perfect inverted heart, white, pulsing with energy.
"WHAT!?"
His SOUL.
"B-BUT H-H-HOW!?"
"When Frisk brought the locket back to you, our SOULs separated, and yours returned to your body. It was stirred from its slumber when Frisk called out to you during your battle with her, which is what allowed you to 'feel' again, but it was only when Frisk gave the locket back to you, when you touched it with your own hands, that your SOUL was finally able to reintegrate with your body. That was why you reverted back into Flowey during every other attempt, because your SOUL went dormant again, never having had the chance to reconnect with your body. It fell into darkness again, along with mine. But the moment you touched the locket, it was finally able to reunite with your body. It was drawn back to you, like metal to a magnet, even after all this time. And mine is here too."
Chara pulled out her SOUL as well, a perfect red heart, completely identical to Frisks.
"I thought our SOULs were lost forever when we died. Chara, w-we're..."
She nodded again.
"Yeah. We're back. So much time Frisk spent looking for a way to SAVE you, but the truth is, you were with her all along. That was what she really felt, that feeling of peace and safety. It was you, Asriel."
There was one last problem though, one that only Chara knew about.
"Unfortunately, she was right when she expressed concern that her SOUL wasn't going to be enough on its own. While a human SOUL is exponentially more powerful that a monsters SOUL, it was never meant to be compatible with a monsters body. You would have turned back into a flower if it was just her SOUL, and even if it was just another monsters SOUL, but now that you have your own SOUL back, you're whole again. You don't have your godly powers anymore, but you don't have to worry about turning back into a flower either."
Asriel started crying again, but it was reinforced with a look of pure joy. If all he needed now was his own SOUL to maintain himself, then maybe...
"R-really? So, that means I can return Frisks SOUL to her and bring her back, and then..."
But Chara turned away again, shamefully, and Asriel suddenly flashed a look of concern.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"...well, it's not so simple. You can bring Frisk back, you can give her back her SOUL, but...well..."
Asriel looked confused again.
"Well, what?"
She took a heavy sigh and answered him.
"Remember the Amalgamates?"
He cocked his head.
"The Amalgamates? What about th..."
Suddenly he looked away in fear. He knew what she was getting at now, what the problem was.
"Oh, right...my DETERMINATION."
He saw her nod, out of the corner of his eyes.
"Yes. All the DETERMINATION you were injected with during Alphys's experiments is still coursing through your veins. The Amalgamates became what they are because they were monsters, injected with more DETERMINATION then their magic bodies could handle. You're a monster again, hence..."
His suspicions were confirmed. Asriel already knew the truth without her even having to say any more. That tingling sensation from before, that static twinge in his extremities, it wasn't the last of Asriels power fading. It wasn't him beginning to revert into Flowey. It was...
"So that's what I felt earlier..."
She nodded.
"Yeah...and even though you're not in danger of reverting into Flowey anymore, your body still has too much DETERMINATION coursing through it, more than your SOUL can handle on its own. Without a human SOUL to keep your DETERMINATION in check, your body wouldn't be able to take it. You'd eventually degrade and melt. You'd become an Amalgamate, like them. So..."
Asriel lowered his head again in despair, knowing what that meant. Without his own SOUL, he would revert back into Flowey, and without Frisks SOUL, he would eventually become an Amalgamate. Both were needed for this to work, so...
"...so in the end, I still need Frisks SOUL if I want to stay this way. So that's it then. Frisk is really..."
He started crying again, feeling lost and dejected, but Chara took Asriels hands into her own now to give him a ray of hope.
"No...there is another way."
Asriel looked up at her now, and Chara smiled at him, a genuine smile of warmth and sincerity, as if there really was a kind person underneath all the bridled rage, or at least a person now capable of such a thing.
"I want you to take MY SOUL instead."
He reeled back in horror.
"WHAT!? B-but then you'll..."
She shook her head, but the smile never left her face. She looked content, as if she knew it was the only way, as if she had already made this decision long before the subject even came up.
"I'm already dead, Asriel. This isn't my body to keep. I died a long time ago, and even if I could come back, I...I don't think I want to."
"BUT..."
She let go of Asriels hands now and turned away in shame.
"I was so angry back then, so full of hate. When you resisted, when you chose to die instead of fighting back, I felt betrayed, and all these years I let it consume me as I...as WE lingered on in this locket. If I were to come back now, as much as it pains me to admit it, I might give in to those feelings again some day. It's just...it's part of who I am. It's how I always was. And I don't ever want to go back to being that kind of person. Even a small chance of that happening is too much for me."
Asriel was terrified at that thought and reflected on his own past deeds.
"So, that means Flowey is a part of who I am too. All those horrible things I did as Flowey are..."
Chara immediately shook her head to erase any of those notions.
"NO! That is NOT who you are. Flowey was NEVER a part of you, and don't ever let yourself think otherwise. You didn't choose to become Flowey, it was forced on you. It's not who you really are. Who you really are...is who you always were before all this happened. A sweet, fuzzy little dork who cries too much."
Asriel was starting to cry again, not from being offended, but by Charas reassurance that he wasn't the evil person he thought he was. If anyone could see it, Chara could. She now raised a hand up to his cheek to console him.
"Ha ha...I was always a crybaby, wasn't I?"
She nodded.
"Yeah, but it's not a bad thing. It shows how much you care. It's a strength, not a weakness. And you should never be ashamed of it, or ashamed of who you are. Frisk was absolutely right about one thing. What Flowey did...it wasn't your fault, Azzy. It was NOT your fault! You don't need to carry that guilt anymore."
He smiled at hearing that, but he was still sobbing and she was still trying to put an end to it. It was a lot to ask. How could she expect him not to cry for her, knowing what was about to happen?
"I...I don't know if I can let you go again, Chara. I don't think I can say goodbye to you again..."
She shook her head to correct him.
"It's not 'goodbye', Azzy. Not really."
She reached out and grabbed his hands. They were damp with tears.
"I know it's hard, but don't cry for me, Azzy. Please. I was never able to convey my feelings like you and Frisk could, but now I finally understand, after all this time. All these years I was plotting my revenge, knowing someday I would be free of this prison of mine and I could finally have my vengeance on the world. So many horrible ideas I considered, destroying humanity, destroying the entire world even."
Chara went into Frisks napsack, pulling out the worn dagger she had picked up from New Home, her 'weapon.' She inspected it as if holding such a thing for the first time, and it made Asriel just slightly uncomfortable. She picked up on his body language immediately, clutching at herself now.
"...but then Frisk came along, and through all of her endeavors, I could feel her sincerity, her kindness. She showed me another way. She showed me how to forgive, what it means to feel love. She chose the path that I was never able to. She loves you so much, Azzy. She wanted you to have a second chance at life, and she was willing to give up everything, even her own life, to give you that chance. Just as you were willing to give up your own chance at happiness so everyone else could be happy."
She threw the dagger away, across the room. They could both hear it clank and rattle as its metal blade struck the hard rocky surface of the cavern walls and the ground beneath it. A cascade of sparks erupted from the impact. Asriel clutched at her hands now, holding them up in the light.
"Now I have the chance to SAVE you both. This is the great thing I can do with my life, Azzy."
"Chara..."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Now I understand, what I've really done. What my actions have wrought. So much pain, so many horrible deeds I've committed in my anger. I was a h-horrible person, I hurt you so much, and I...I don't blame you if you hate me, Asriel. I'm so, SO sorry for what I've done to you, for what I've done to everyone. You were only trying to help me, and I..."
Asriel pulled her in closer for a hug, and now it was Chara who was crying.
"It's okay, Chara. I was never upset at you."
She was hysterical now.
"I-I...I don't deserve a friend as wonderful as you, Azzy. You or Frisk."
He held her as tight as he could, patting her back gently for comfort.
"Yes you do! I could never hate you, Chara! You're my best friend, and I will always love you!"
Chara rested her head against Asriels beating heart now, the sobbing nearly uncontrollable for both of them.
"I...I can feel her presence within you, even now. She has no regrets. She's happy for you, for us."
"I know, I can feel it too. She...she never gave up on me, no matter how hard things got, even when I tried to push her away. I...I don't deserve a friend like her either..."
She grabbed both of his hands now, their fingers interlocking with each others.
"Yes you do, Azzy! She's the friend you always deserved, the one I should have been. And you two are going to go on to be even better friends in the days to come. But I need to say something to her first..."
And she called out to Frisk, deep within Asriel.
"Frisk, if you can hear me, I...WE want you to know, you really ARE something special. I wish I had met you before any of this had ever happened. Things might have been different then, maybe I wouldn't have done the things I did. Maybe I would have been a better person..."
Chara pulled away from Asriel now, their hands still locked in each others tender grip.
"...but I can be a better person now, for at least one moment in my life. I'm being given a second chance too, a chance to set things right, a chance to SAVE my friends, and that's good enough for me. She deserves to be happy, with her friends and family. You both do. Please, give her back her SOUL and take mine instead."
Asriel lowered his head regretfully, knowing he was about to lose his best friend again.
"...You're really sure about this, Chara?"
She nodded.
"I am. I want you to live for yourself now. Do what's best for YOU. Do what YOU think is right."
She smiled with genuine warmth.
"And...I want you to take care of Frisk, too. She needs you, Azzy. She needs all of you, more than you know."
It was a simple request, and one that he intended to make good on, with every fiber of his being. Asriel made a terrible mistake once, taking his dearest friend for granted, letting her go through with their plan despite knowing what would happen to her, and only when he lost her did he realize how much she truly meant to him. That's not to say that he didn't love her before, she was his best friend and his adoptive sister after all, but he still blamed himself at least partly for what happened, for letting Chara go through with her plan to kill herself instead of preventing it, and they both paid the price for it.
But Frisks efforts had cured them of their folly. He knew just how much Chara meant to him now, and she knew how much he meant to her. And he was not going to make that same mistake with Frisk, for he knew now just how much Frisk meant to him as well, how much he cared about her (and how much she cared about him), and he was DETERMINED to be the friend that both of them had always wanted. He wasn't going to let her slip away too. He was going to take care of her, to be there for her when she needed him. And no matter what it took, he was going to find a way to make it up to everyone, to atone for what he did, for Frisk, for Chara, for everyone else, and for himself too.
He nodded, and Chara acknowledged it, gazing up through the hole now, feeling like she had at last found closure.
"Let the humans and monsters have their peace together. Let everyone have their happy ending. I will not rise to challenge it."
Asriel looked away for a moment, still unsure if he was really okay with her decision. She took notice and squeezed his hands tighter, drawing his gaze back to her.
"It's okay, Azzy. It's just like Frisk said, I'll always be with you, right here."
She reached forward with her hand, touching his heart. He put his hand over hers and smiled, staring into her wide, shining eyes, wiping away the tears with his other hand. There were still so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things he wanted to apologize for, but there was one fact that stood out from all the others, the most important thing of all, and that was what he needed to make clear, more than anything else.
"I love you so much, Chara!"
And Chara smiled back upon hearing that. A soft white glow enveloped them both as their foreheads touched.
"I love you too, Azzy! And I'm really glad I got to see you again! You were the best thing that ever happened to me! You made me happy!"
His smile deepened and he giggled, sniffling and sobbing as he did.
"Give Mom and Dad a big hug for me when you see them! Tell them I'm sorry, for everything! Live each day for all that you can!"
He nodded immediately. Chara clutched at her locket again, their other hands locked in each others tender grip, turning her attention to 'her' once more.
"And Frisk, if you can hear me...thank you. For everything."
The glow around them intensified, the illumination becoming a blinding aura that forced Asriel to shield his eyes, and Chara spoke out one last time as the light engulfed them.
"See you soon, Azzy!"
And then everything went black.