"U...ugh."

Consciousness returned to Asriel again. He had only been out for a few minutes but it felt much longer than that. He groaned as he staggered to his feet slowly, his body reluctantly willing itself back into service. This was definitely something he didn't want to get used to.

He inspected himself, moving his arms, wiggling his fingers and toes, rolling his head around, making sure it wasn't just a dream. It was all physical, and the tingling sensation was still nowhere to be felt.

"I'm...I'm still here. This is real."

His thoughts immediately turned to 'her' as he clutched at his chest, feeling something from deep within.

"Chara...you're with me now, aren't you? I can feel you. We're...we're together again."

He suddenly recalled her last words to him. Her last request.

Take care of her, Azzy. She needs you.

And as that thought compounded in his head, he suddenly realized who was still unaccounted for and turned around.

Oh no! Please, don't do this to me again! Please be okay!

She was still unconscious, laying in the flowers. His eyes began to water again, already assuming the worst.

"FRISK!"

But this time, as if in response to hearing her name...

"U...ugh."

Asriel ran over to his friend and knelt down, placing a furry hand on her forehead.

"Frisk!?"

"A...Asriel?"

She finally opened her eyes. Not wide like Chara, but narrow and squinted. He knew, and the joy he felt in that moment was indescribable.

"FRISK! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!"

Her body seemed even less willing to comply with her, not a surprise considering she was technically dead for the last seven or eight minutes. It was a titanic struggle just to pull herself up into a sitting position. Asriel stood up now to help her.

"Cmon, take my arm."

He held out his hand towards a prone Frisk.

"Ah...thanks."

She took it, using her other hand to grab his arm for support as he pulled her to her feet. She was wobbly as her body was still weakened from her ordeal and she nearly fell over, but Asriel caught her before she lost her balance.

"Woah, it's okay, I got you."

He helped her keep balance, until she was able to return to and maintain an upright position.

"Ah, thanks. I feel like I ju-ACK!"

Asriel blitzed her with another hug before she could finish her thoughts, lifting her clean off the ground in his joy.

"I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, FRISK!"

Even though it had only been a few moments, he was so relieved that his friend was okay, even more then the fact that he was now okay as well, and he made no effort to hide it. Frisk sluggishly put her arms around him in response.

"Boy I'm getting a lot of these today. I'm really glad to see you too, Asriel."

He finally set her down, grinning at her with playful mischief.

"We haven't even gotten started yet, Frisk. You have no idea how many of these you're in for later. You'll be begging me to stop before the day is over."

Frisk couldn't resist the chance to poke fun in return.

"Haha, she was right then, you really are a sweet, fuzzy little dork."

Asriel was howling with laughter at that statement, putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh, you heard that, huh!? Yeah, you bet I am, and don't forget the "cries too much" part either!"

And Frisk was laughing with him at first, but soon another more important thought came to her mind, and she quickly pulled away in genuine concern.

"Yeah, I heard everything. But Asriel, if I'm here, now...then that means she..."

Asriel clutched at his heart, and she knew. Frisk looked away from him now, feeling ashamed of herself, weak even.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Asriel, it's my fault that Chara..."

Asriel put a gentle hand on her shoulder, turning her head towards him, and gave her a reassuring look. His other hand was touching his heart.

"No, it's not like that at all! Because of you, Chara and I got to see each other one last time. She's a part of me now. She's right here, and she'll always be with me...with us."

He looked content now, as if he could finally breathe again, with the weight of his past no longer haunting him.

"I finally understand her, after all this time. She was finally able to face up to herself, to let go of her anger. She's at peace now, because of you. We're together again, and I couldn't be happier. For the first time in so long, I feel like everything is going to be okay."

Frisk started crying again, and Asriel pulled her closer, sobbing with her. His crybaby personality was definitely rubbing off on her now. Frisk reached down with her free arm, clutching the heart locket still around her neck.

"Chara...thank you."

Frisk wiped away her tears now, and Asriel did the same. They were going to need new clothes after this was over. There was a more pressing matter to address at the moment, though.

"We've got to pull ourselves together, Asriel. We've cried enough to fill the entire Underground today. Waterfall must be overflowing now because of us."

He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. We've got to be strong now, for her. For everyone."

Frisk shrugged, looking around, not sure of what was to come.

"Okay, but what exactly DO we do now?"

Asriel didn't even need to think about his response.

"We go and find our friends and explain everything."

Frisk looked at Asriel with surprise.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?"

Asriel shook his head firmly.

"Not even close. But it has to happen sooner or later."

Frisk nodded.

"Yeah. I've got a lot of explaining to do myself...the resets, making everyone worry. I don't know what I'm g..."

"FRISK! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

A voice from behind interrupted Frisks train of thought.

"Uh oh..."

Frisk turned around in response, as she knew who the voice belonged to, and so did Asriel.

"M...MOM!?"

He cried out. Frisk hoped that she wouldn't hear it.

"She doesn't give up. She followed me in Snowdin too. Sans was the only reason I was able to sneak away to get to you. But it looks like soon might be NOW."

Asriel started shaking now, unsure of what to do. His courage was failing him already.

"I...I lied! I'm not ready, Frisk. What do we do!?"

Frisk wasn't sure about that either.

"Hide behind me, Asriel. I'll figure something out."

He nodded and took cover behind Frisk. He couldn't completely hide from sight considering Frisk was smaller than him in both height and build, but the darkness of the cave helped to conceal him somewhat.

"MOM!"

Frisk shouted as a distant Toriel approached and came into view.

"FRISK! THERE YOU ARE!"

Toriel emerged from the tunnel, stopping ten feet or so from Frisk, who was still standing in an awkward position trying to conceal the young prince.

"SHE'S OVER HERE, EVERYONE!"

"Everyone...?"

Frisk looked at Toriel curiously.

"We were all worried so we came together, looking for you. We talked to Sans at Snowdin, he told us where you were. Took us a while to find you though."

She could hear the others approaching now, the sound of Papyrus 'nyehing' the most prominent of those closing in.

Oh no...

Sure enough...

"NYEH! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, HUMAN!? YOUR FRIEND PAPYRUS WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

Sans was next to Papyrus now.

"yeah, he started crying AGAIN."

Papyrus slammed his foot in anger.

"NOT THIS AGAIN! STIFLE YOURSELF, SANS!"

Undyne came in next and was none too pleased with Frisks reckless behavior.

"First you pass out in front of all of us, then you run off leaving us all worried. Not cool, Frisk."

Alphys meekly popped out from behind Undyne, coming to Frisks defense.

"U-Undyne...s-shouldn't we just be happy that she's okay?"

Asgore was the last one to emerge, agreeing with Alphys sentiment.

"Yes, what's important is that we found her and she's alright."

Upon witnessing the sight of his father, Asriel was barely able to contain himself, whispering quietly to himself.

"Mom, Dad...it's really you."

Frisk spoke up to reassure everyone, hoping they didn't hear that. Asriel was still hiding behind her, the others thankfully unaware of his presence still.

"I'm sorry I worried you all, I just had something I needed to do. Everything is okay now though."

Toriel nodded and approached an increasingly apprehensive Frisk, walking around the flower bed, only a few feet away now. Frisk wasn't sure what she was going to do.

"What ARE you doing all the way out here though? What did you have to do that was so important? I know you didn't want to talk about it, but you came so far out of the way for it. I...I have to know."

Frisk hesitated, and she knew she wasn't going to be able to keep up this charade. Everyone was already suspicious.

"W...well...I had to...I mean...uh..."

A furry hand touched her shoulder from behind.

"It's okay, Frisk. I...I'm ready."

Toriel stopped in her tracks upon hearing the phantom voice.

"...That voice? It sounds familiar, but...who's there? A friend of Frisks? It's okay, come on out, we're friends of hers too."

Toriel and Asgore had no idea what they were in for. Frisk turned her head to confer with Asriel.

"You're sure about this?"

Asriel shook his head.

"No, but it's either now or never."

She nodded, and hesitantly stepped away, turning back towards where she was standing.

"This was what I came for, everyone."

And out of the shadows the young prince finally emerged.

"H-hi Mom."

Toriel dropped to her knees, in sick denial of who was standing before her very eyes.

"It...it can't be. IT CAN'T BE!"

Asgore stepped forward now to satisfy his curiosity.

"Toriel, who is it?"

And as soon as his eyes fell upon the young prince who stood before them...

"A...Asriel!? MY SON, IS IT REALLY YOU!?"

Frisk chose this moment to speak up.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my new friend. His name is..."

Before she could finish, Asriel ran forward, into the arms of a kneeling and waiting Toriel. He practically disappeared from sight within her embrace. She was crying relentlessly, hugging the young prince tighter and tighter, still unconvinced of what was playing out in front of her.

"ASRIEL! IT'S ASRIEL! MY PRECIOUS CHILD, IT'S REALLY YOU!"

Now Asriel was crying again, his tears soaking into the fabric of Toriels robes, as was the case with Frisk earlier.

"I'm here, Mom. I've missed you both so much. Mom. Dad. So much..."

A moment later Asgore was on his knees, embracing his wife and child.

"OH, MY SON!"

In complete disbelief of what was unfolding before his eyes.

"MY PRECIOUS ANGEL, YOU'VE COME BACK TO US! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

The rest of the crew seemed utterly mindblown beyond words. Alphys was the only one to manage any kind of verbal response, and it was clearly not what anyone wanted to hear at this moment.

"H-HOLY CRAP! THIS IS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF ONE OF MY ANIMES!"

Not breaking the embrace, Toriel shot Alphys a dirty look, and Alphys stepped back in horror, regretting that she ever said anything. Undyne even felt obliged to scold her for such a brash statement.

"Wrong time to say something like that, Alphys. This is clearly an emotional moment for them."

"can't believe papyrus hasn't said something stupid yet."

"ZIP IT, SANS! WHO IS THIS KID, ANYWAY!?"

Toriel could care less about the pointless banter bouncing among her friends. She was overjoyed that her son was alive and well, standing right in front of her, but couldn't even begin to piece together what had happened, the circumstances that brought her precious Asriel back from the dead, and longed for any sort of an answer.

"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE THOUGH!? You...a long time ago. HOW!?"

Only Frisk knew the answer, and of course, Sans picked the wrong moment, as usual, to chime in with his opinion.

"i think we all have a clue here."

And everyone turned to Frisk, standing far to the side away from everyone, shyly kicking at the ground beneath her with her hands behind her back.

"Frisk!? This is YOUR doing!?"

"Well, I...I had a hand in it."

Sans wouldn't let up.

"well, cmon, spill the beans frisk. we're dying for some answers here."

Damn it, Sans...

Frisk couldn't blame Sans for being curious. The last time they spoke, it was almost a certainty to both of them that Frisk wouldn't live to tell the tale, yet here she was, and it baffled him.

Toriel shook her head, smiling and crying at the same time, clearly overjoyed by what she was experiencing now, what she had been given back. She changed her mind. She didn't care for an answer anymore. The fact that she had her son back, however it came to be, was enough for her.

"No, forget it. It can wait Sans. I don't really care how this is possible. I'm just...so happy to be holding my son again."

Frisk sighed with a wave of relief. She knew she would have to tell them sooner or later, but later was much preferable right now. Asgore agreed with Toriels sentiment. There was nothing more precious to them then the person who was safely in their arms once more. He spoke up now to celebrate this.

"For whatever blessed reason, we have our little angel back. That's all that matters to us."

This was the moment Frisk worked so hard for, the moment that made the entire endeavor worth it, seeing Asriel reunited with his parents. It brought a tear to her eye and she couldn't help but smile as it played out, even though she technically had to die to make it possible.

It was all worth it.

Now Asriel himself spoke up, still sobbing, unable to believe that this was really happening, that he was really reunited with his beloved parents. He knew what he had to do in this moment, what he had to tell them, and unlike the situation with Frisk, it couldn't wait.

"I missed you both so much. I...I have so much to tell you. Both of you. I don't even know where to start."

He looked over at Frisk now, and...

"Um...Frisk?"

Still standing to the side, Frisk immediately took the hint (or so she thought) and nodded at the Dreemurr family with a wink, walking over to her waiting friends. Asriel kept watching as this happened, not making a sound or move.

"Come on everyone, let's give the Dreemurrs some privacy. They have a lot of catching up to do."

They all nodded at Frisk and started walking towards the Ruins entrance. Sans was relentless in this moment.

"you still owe us an explanation, frisk."

"It can wait, Sans."

"NYEH, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WANTS TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TOO!"

"Ugh, not you too! Move it guys!"

She was pushing and shoving them towards the entrance of the ruins, until they disappeared from sight. Frisk cast a quick glance back at the Dreemurrs and, satisfied that they now had some peace and quiet to reconcile, began to follow the others out.

But she didn't even make it three steps before she was suddenly stopped in her tracks, as she felt a furry hand grab hers from behind. She turned around.

It was Asriel.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going, Frisk!?"

A question that took Frisk by surprise.

"Don't you want me to leave too? You haven't seen your family in a long time, Asriel. I don't want to spoil the moment."

But he REFUSED

Mindful of Charas last request, Asriel forcibly dragged her back towards the flower bed, where Toriel and Asgore were waiting.

"Asriel, what are y-GUH!"

Before she could finish that thought, Asriel assaulted her with the biggest hug he could muster, his claws tearing more fabric from the back of her shirt. He was much stronger than he looked, but at the same time he was gentle enough not to hurt her.

"You're not going ANYWHERE, sis! YOU'RE a part of this family too!"

And the only thought that came to Frisks head was...

He...he called me sis!

Since Frisk had taken to calling Toriel 'Mom', that technically made Asriel her brother, and it seems he felt the same way about her. Like Chara, Frisk was more than a friend to Asriel now. She was a sibling.

They stared into each others eyes now, Frisk still bound in his arms. She was blushing and her lips were quivering, visibly touched by what he had just said, and...

"Asriel, I...I..."

Frisk and Asriel are filled with DETERMINATION

And she suddenly started crying, throwing her arms around him and burying her face into his shoulder, with Asriel hugging her even tighter in response. After all the tough talk about being strong for everyone, here they were, bawling on each others shoulders again. Neither one of them cared though, they were just happy to be sharing this moment with each other.

Toriel and Asgore smiled at each other, and it didn't take long for them to join in the embrace, and soon everyone was in tears, unable to contain their joy. The two former spouses put their differences aside temporarily for their children. Their friends explanation would have to wait. This moment was all that mattered now, and Toriel cemented that fact with a few simple words.

"The whole family is here now."