A few moments later, the time machine arrived at its destination: Mount Ebott, just after the barrier was broken. Frisk stepped out of the time machine and looked around. She was in the Ruins, which was the part of the Underground that she had fallen into a year ago. The Ruins had walls made out of purple stone, and marble pillars that resembled those found in ancient Greece and Rome. Looking around, Frisk did not see any monsters in the Ruins. Apparently, they had all left the Underground after the barrier had been broken.
"This place brings back memories." Frisk said to Chara.
"We don't have a moment to lose. If that prophecy is true, then there must be a way to save Asriel." Chara replied.
Frisk walked into a large room in the Ruins, where she saw a small, white, furry dog. Frisk recognized this dog. It had been present during her journey through the Underground. When Frisk had fought Papyrus, the dog had stolen the weapon that the skeleton would have used for his special attack. Later, the dog had appeared during Mettaton's bomb-defusing challenge during his TV show. But what Frisk remembered the dog for the most was when it had stolen a mysterious artifact before she could grab it in Waterfall. "It's that annoying dog!" Chara exclaimed.
Frisk walked over to the dog, but then it started to speak. "Greetings, human."
Frisk was startled by the talking dog. "You can talk?"
"Of course I can, human. I am much more than a simple canine. I am the true god of this world, and I have taken the form of a dog. Monsters may worship Zeregoth, the first monster, all they want, but it was I who barked this world into existence. Without me, he would not have existed. Yet they commit blasphemy by worshipping the creation rather than the creator."
"Why are you talking to me?" Frisk asked.
"I know exactly why you are here, human. You seek to fulfill the prophecy of Zeregoth's defeat and save humanity. To do so, you have traveled back in time to save the lost prince Asriel Dreemurr. I have the means to save him, and I have saved them specifically for this moment. But you must prove yourself worthy before I give it to you."
"What is it? How can he be saved?" Frisk asked anxiously.
"Do you remember the artifact from the secret room in Waterfall?"
"Yes. You absorbed the artifact before I could take it. It was very annoying."
"That artifact is the fusion of Asriel and Chara's souls that was created when Chara died and Asriel absorbed her soul. This fusion continued to exist after Asriel died, and I absorbed it while no one was looking. Then I took it to that secret room in Waterfall and guarded it. Many monsters have tried to obtain it, but none have gotten past me. Not even the mighty Undyne. Eventually, Undyne decided to seal off the artifact room, blocking it off with the piano puzzle that you solved by playing Asriel's theme song. I can give you the artifact, but you must prove yourself worthy of taking it."
"What do I need to do?"
"I may have barked the world into existence, but I had the help of many lesser deities to shape the world into what it is now. First, you must face them. If you survive, then you will be ready to face me. If you can best me in combat, I will give you the artifact. Are you ready?"
"You know I am. All of humankind and monsterkind are counting on me. My friend Asriel is counting on me. For the sake of everyone, I accept your challenge."
"Then prepare yourself, human." The dog barked, and the whole area went dark. Frisk found herself in an empty black void, as if she were in another dimension.
"What is this place, Chara?" She asked nervously.
"We appear to be an another dimension." Just then, rock music started to play and several words appeared and started moving toward Frisk. These words appeared to be the names of the "lesser deities" who helped the dog create the world. "Look out, Frisk!" Chara shouted.
The names came from the left and right, then turned diagonally and flew at Frisk. "What is this, some kind of credits sequence for the creation of the world?" She asked. "This has to be the strangest battle I've ever been in!"
Chara laughed. That's a really funny way to think of it, Frisk! You know in a weird way, it feels like we're both characters in someone's video game, and this is one of those minigames that you play during the credits!"
"I feel more like we're characters in somebody's fanfiction." Frisk replied. "Either way, I've been having a blast ever since I fell under the mountain."
Once the names stopped their diagonal attack pattern, they simply started moving horizontally. This made it very hard for Frisk to fit between them. Nonetheless, she managed to squeeze between the names of the world's creators. "It's a good thing I've done so much dodging! It's helped me stay thin enough to fit between these names!" Both girls laughed.
The names continued to move horizontally. As Frisk moved upward and toward the right, she found that the names above her were moving right to left. It was difficult, but she managed to get between them and then started moving left. "This is crazy!" She yelled to Chara.
Next, the names started to form circles and spin around. Sometimes they would move outward, making them difficult to dodge. Nonetheless, Frisk managed to avoid them. After this, they resumed their diagonal attack pattern from before. After this, they finally stopped attacking. The music stopped, and Frisk found herself back in the Ruins with the annoying dog.
"I am impressed, human. Few have survived that trial. You have but one more task, then the artifact will be yours. To claim the artifact, you must defeat me in combat. Are you up to the challenge? I must warn you, not even the mighty Undyne has been able to beat me."
"Of course I am up to the challenge." Frisk replied confidently. "I have bested the mighty Undyne in combat, and I will stop at nothing to obtain that artifact, save my friend Asriel, and the world!"
"Very well, human. We shall fight and see if you are worthy to wield the artifact!" The dog lunged at Frisk, but she jumped out of the way. The dog repeated the process a few times, and Frisk kept dodging its attacks.
"Is that the best you can do, dog? I've been attacked with swords, spears, fire magic, all kinds of elemental magic, lasers, and guns! It'll take a lot more than that to defeat me!"
"I'm just getting this fight started, human. Now the real fight starts!" The dog then barked the loudest bark that Frisk had ever heard. The sonic force of this bark was enough to push Frisk several feet backward. She groaned as she got up. The dog continued to bark, but Frisk started dodging the dog's sound waves.
"Well, your bark is certainly worse than your bite, dog!" Frisk said.
"Good one, Frisk. Sans would be proud!" Chara yelled to Frisk.
The dog summoned several smaller dogs that also barked very loudly. It was difficult for Frisk to dodge all of the sonic waves created by their barks, and she got tossed around by the sonic waves. Her shield spell helped mitigate the effects of the sonic attacks, but she still got blown around and took some damage. She was able to partially heal herself with some monster candy that she bought earlier (or later, since she had traveled back in time.)
Frisk didn't want to kill the dog. "Chara, I need your help here. How do I beat this dog?" She asked.
"Remember how you beat the dogs in Snowdin? You petted them. I bet if you pet this dog, it will spare you just like they did." Chara's logic made sense. When Frisk had journeyed through Snowdin, the dogs had tried to kill her and take her soul. When Frisk petted them, they decided to become her friend instead, although sometimes she would have to take additional steps such as rolling around in snow to mask her scent so that they would think she was another dog.
"Alright, I'm on it, Chara!" Frisk said to Chara. "Hey dog, it must have been lonely guarding that artifact for all these years. I think you could use some affection!" Frisk ran over to the dog and started petting it behind the ears.
"Stop it, human! I am the creator of this world! I do not need your affection!" The dog jumped away from Frisk and continued launching its sonic barks at her.
"The dog is just playing hard to get! Try petting it again, Frisk!"
"Don't try to reject my affection, you cute little canine!" Frisk said to the dog. She pet it again. The dog seemed to be enjoying the petting, even if it didn't want to admit it.
"Stop this at once, human!" The dog said. It jumped away and started to summon more of the smaller dogs that it had summoned earlier. After Frisk dodged their attacks, she ran over to the dog and petted it one more time.
"I can't take it any more human! Yes, I love this petting!" The dog rolled over and let Frisk rub its belly. When Frisk finished rubbing the dog's belly, the dog stood up and declared, "You win, human. I will give you the artifact. Take it, save your friend, and fulfill your destiny."
The dog expelled a magical artifact that appeared to be a red sphere. Frisk recognized it from when she had tried to take it from the room in Waterfall, only for the dog to take it at the last second. Looking closer at the sphere, she saw that it was actually a container for the soul fusion that was inside it."Let's go save Asriel, Chara!"
"Let's do it, Frisk!" But then, Chara realized something. "Remember when the dog said that the artifact was a fusion of my soul and Asriel's?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe if you can split the fusion, you'll be able to save someone else, too." Chara said hopefully.
Frisk made her way through the Ruins and came across the place where she first fell. It was a bed of golden flowers that grew in the sunlight that entered the Underground through the hole above. In that bed of flowers was Asriel Dreemurr. He was a goat monster like his parents, Toriel and Asgore, and wore a green shirt that was covered in yellow stripes. He was the same age as Frisk. A short time earlier, he had absorbed the souls of the six humans and the souls of every monster in the Underground to become the God of Hyperdeath. After Frisk restored his sanity, he released all the souls. Their combined power destroyed the barrier.
Asriel was crying, having resigned himself to his fate: without a soul, he would soon turn back into Flowey and spend the rest of eternity trapped alone under the mountain. Despite it all, he could take a small amount of comfort knowing that Frisk was safe, and that the monsters would be able to live happy lives on the surface.
"I'm here to save you, Asriel." Frisk said to him.
Asriel was surprised to see Frisk. "Frisk, what are you still doing here?! Is this a joke? Are you braindead? I already told you, there's no way to save me! I could turn back into Flowey any minute now, and you REALLY don't want to see that happen! Just forget about me and go to the surface with your friends."
"I've travelled back in time to save you Asriel. It turns out, you're needed in order to save our world in the future. I have a legendary artifact that can save you." Frisk got out the artifact.
Asriel was flabbergasted. "Where did you get that?!" He asked.
"There's no time to explain. But before I give it to you, there's one other person who needs to be saved. Frisk opened the container, revealing a soul that was a combination of a human and monster soul. She pulled on it with all of her determination, and two hearts emerged: a human soul and a monster soul. Asriel absorbed the monster soul, and Chara absorbed the human soul. Chara became fully corporeal again, and Asriel was amazed to see her.
"Chara, is that you?" He asked, amazed.
"Indeed it is, my brother. I am Chara, the angel that comes when people call her name."
"How can you be here?"
"It's all thanks to Frisk. Her power awakened me from death. My "human soul," my "determination," they were not mine, but hers. At first I was so confused. Our plan had failed, hadn't it? Why was I brought back to life? Then, with Frisk's guidance, I realized the purpose of my reincarnation: love. Together, we made friends out of all our enemies and became strong. Toriel. Sans. Papyrus. Alphys. Mettaton. Asgore. You. Every time an enemy becomes a friend. That feeling…. That's me. Now there is nothing here for us. Let us return to our own time and complete our task.
"Well Frisk, I can't thank you enough. You've given me my life back." He reached in to hug Frisk, and Chara joined in. "But what is this task you came back to save me for?"
"The Great Dragon Clan has returned. They've resurrected Zeregoth, the Father of all Monsters, and there's a prophecy that says that you would defeat him. We were able to come back in time with a time machine created by W.D. Gaster."
"Well, I don't know how useful I'll be to you, Frisk. I can maintain my current form with the soul you've given me, but I can't become the God of Hyperdeath anymore."
"Well, you're still a monster, and you can still use magic. Do you know what kind of magic you can use?"
"Well, I can shoot fireballs like my parents." He shot a fireball toward the ceiling." "I can also use healing magic like my mom. You look like you could use some healing. I heard a dog barking a little while ago." He cast his healing magic on Frisk, and her remaining wounds were healed. "I may have some other magic that I can use, but I can't think of it off the top of my head. "
"That's enough, Asriel. Let's get back to our time."
"Okay Frisk, but one more thing: please don't let anyone see me until after Zeregoth is defeated. Especially not Toriel or Asgore. I may not survive this fight, and I can't let them see me again only for me to die afterward."
"Okay, Asriel. But don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."
"Let's go, guys!" Chara shouted.
Frisk, Asriel, and Chara all got back into the time machine and went back to New New Home in the future. All of them were more determined than ever before. They had a world to save, and they would triumph or fail together.
Continued in Chapter 16.
