Chapter 14
Point of No Return
Through the rest of the night, after that conversation with Asriel and Chara, where Frisk found out the truth about what Chara really meant, and what he was talking about overtime he claimed they made a deal, she found herself back to where she was before this whole thing started, looking at the nightmares that haunted her before Chara had begun to hunt her down. This time, however, she finally understood why she was having them. She now knew that they were a lot more than just mere dreams.
She never could have imagined that these 'nightmares', as she would still call them for some strange reason, were visions of the deeds that she had done in another world... the murder of all of the monsters that she had met in the Underground. She relived those terrible moments that she had long since forgotten that she had, only to be reminded of them by Chara, a boy who, as she now understood, was very similar to her in more ways than one.
It was pretty heartbreaking for her to know the truth about what had happened in the past, not just for herself, but for the people the monsters that she had befriended now. Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys... even Toriel, the Monster that took her in as her daughter... it really hurt to know that there was a time where the best friends that she had ever made in her life, the ones that she could never be thankful enough for, were in another timeline, slaughtered by Chara and her for the sake of Chara becoming stronger.
Would they think of her in the same way they did now if they knew the truth? Would any of them stay, or would all of them go and leave her to deal with Chara by herself? She was going to have to find out the answer to that soon enough. She couldn't leave her friends in the dark of this matter, even though she really wanted to. Perhaps if they left her to deal with Chara, it would be a lot better for their wellbeing. After all, if she was dangerous to them back then, she was beginning to wonder if history would repeat itself, and if her becoming a threat to all those friends of hers again could possibly happen.
As she laid there on the ground, staring up at the sky as the sun was slowly starting to rise up, she began to think about what Chara had said again, and began to shudder. It was such a terrifying thought when she thought about it. What kind of powerful, overwhelming hatred could possibly have driven a child to the terrible deeds that he had done for the sake of revenge? Even with their abuse being known, how could a mother and a father be capable of bringing such malice out of an innocent child?
If she and Chara were really similar, and it had been her that fell in the Underground instead of Chara, what would happen to her? Would she be more like how she was now, or would she have done the same things that Chara had done before she fell? She didn't really know, and she was grateful that this time, she wasn't going to have the chance in finding out.
The sun was rising now, dawn was upon them, and she knew that very soon, her friends were going to wake up. All of the monsters were still asleep at the moment, with the exception of Undyne, who volunteered to stay guard while the others were resting. She glanced as she saw Undyne pacing around, standing guard with a spear in her one hand as she remained vigilant for any enemy that may come.
Frisk gave a shudder as she watched Undyne pacing around, guarding the camp like a bulldog would guard its bone. She was beginning to picture worst case scenarios of when Undyne finds out what exactly happened in the past... she hoped that Undyne wouldn't be in a very feisty mood like she was when Hothead came around. With a sigh and a shake of her head, deciding that she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep now, she sat up and stretched, trying to rub the remaining drowsy out of her eyes.
Undyne caught sight of Frisk sitting up fairly quickly. She wasn't let any inch of visible ground escape her vision from any side. "...You're up awfully early." Undyne said as she looked at Frisk and stopped marching around the camp.
"Yeah..." Frisk said with a little nod. "I didn't get very much sleep..."
"You have another bad dream?" Undyne questioned as she walked over. She supposed since people were going to be getting up soon, she could stop marching around. Her legs were honestly feeling a bit sore from doing all that pacing. "You've been having quite a lot of those these days."
"Well... not necessarily a dream, but..." Frisk looked at the sun as it was beginning to rise over the horizon now, starting to bathe the surface of the earth with its glow. "...I'll tell you a bit later, when all the others wake up... I have to tell it to everyone."
Undyne gave a little uncomfortable look at Frisk. She already didn't like the sound of that. "Well... alright." she said, deciding to wait to find out more about it until she comes out and tells it to her and all the others.
"...Are we to get the others up now?" Frisk questioned as she watched the sun fully rise and shine in the sky. She always enjoyed the view of a sunrise. Always reminded her that tomorrow was a new day, to look forward to any of the could haves or should haves that she had from the day before.
"Yes, I suppose we should." Undyne said with a nod as she began to walk to the others in the camp. "Don't want to spend the entire morning waking all these guys up. If we do that, we're not gonna have any time before the next night falls."
The first one that they went to get up was Sans. They had both mutually agreed that Sans was more than likely going to be the hardest of the five to wake up, so they decided to get him out of the way. Aside from that, Sans also had that trombone of his; if he had it on him at the moment, they could be able to have him use it to wake the others up quicker.
They went to Sans's tent and saw him laying on the ground, sleeping quietly with his eyes closed. There seemed to be a strange, eerie feeling in the tent as Sans's slept, as if there was some other force in there at the moment, but there didn't appear to be anybody else physically there. From under the 'eyelid' of Sans's left eye, there could be seen what could only be described as little yellow and blue sparks that could be seen.
"...I don't think this has ever happened before." Undyne said as she looked quietly as Sans's left eye continued to give visible sparks as it remained closed in his sleep. "...I've seen him napping on the job countless times, and I don't think I've ever seen something like this before."
"...Should we wake him up, or let him sleep and wake up himself?" Frisk questioned as she slowly approached Sans. She didn't want to disturb him and risk something bad happening if this wasn't supposed to be happening, but she also didn't want to leave him asleep if something bad was happening to him.
"...You can try to wake him up... but be careful." Undyne said as she stood at the ready, bracing herself for just in case she needed to take some quick action.
Frisk gave an understanding nod and slowly and quietly walked to Sans, watching the colors sparking from under the eyelid of his left eye. She began to ever so slowly reach for his shoulder, hesitating to touch it. "...Sans?" she asked softly as she touched his shoulder.
She had barely touched him, but immediately when her hand came in contact with the skeleton's bone shoulder, his eyelids immediately shot open, making Frisk gave a surprised yelp and back away and Undyne immediately taking a step back, ready for what could happen. The white pupil of Sans's right socket was gone, leaving a hallow black socket, while his left eye's pupil was glowing yellow and blue.
As that eye of his continued to flash those colors, some strange noise could be heard throughout the tent. It sounded like a strange technological speech, as if some kind of computer was trying to talk to them, yet there was still nobody else there aside from Sans, Undyne and Frisk.
In about a few seconds, Sans closed his eyes for a couple seconds before opening them again, and when he did, the sound that was being projected vanished as instantly as it had appeared, and Sans's familiar white pupils were there.
"Sans... are... are you ok?" Frisk questioned.
"..." Sans gave a little nod and slowly stood up. There was a somber, secretive feel to him that was almost never projected from someone like Sans. "Y... yeah... I'm alright." he said with a nod and a stretch. "Just still a bit tired, that's all."
"What was with that glowing in your eye?" Undyne questioned.
"What glowing?"
"The... the glowing that happened in your eye while you were sleeping." Undyne said as she pointed to his left socket. "You opened your eyes just seconds ago and your left eye was glowing yellow and blue."
Sans remained quiet for a second before shrugging his shoulders, answering Undyne's question, though sounding almost reluctant about saying anything. "I'm not really sure." he replied. "I was obviously asleep when it happened, so I don't know."
"Well... did you dream of anything last night?" Frisk questioned.
"...Well... not really." Sans said, again sounding very reluctant about answering that question. He definitely knew something, and he was trying to hide it from them.
"...Whatever you say." Undyne said with a shake of her head, having not much time to argue. "...You got your trombone? We may need it to help wake people up."
Sans gave a nod and reached from his coat pocket, and inexplicably pulled out the trombone, which should have been way too big to fit in that small pocket. Both Undyne and Frisk were standing there, expecting him to make some terrible pun about skeletons and trombones, but he didn't. "Yeah... I... I got the trombone." he said without making a single pun when given the golden opportunity. That wasn't like Sans at all. "Need me to help people wake up?"
"...Alright, Sans. What's wrong?" Undyne said as she crossed her arms. "Come on... I literally walked into the chance of you making a skeleton pun, and you don't cash in on it?"
"Yeah... Undyne's right." Frisk said with a nod. She gave a little giggle and tried to see if she could make a pun herself to cheer Sans up. "You... well... you always take the time to try and tickle our funny bones."
Undyne gave a groan and looked at Frisk with a look of 'are you serious right now?', which made Frisk giggle a bit more. However, Sans didn't even give a chuckle. He just looked down to the ground, as if lost in thought.
"...Sans?" Frisk questioned as she went right in front of him, looking right into his eyes, but got not a single reaction. It was as if Sans was in some kind of trance. He just completely zoned out. "...Sans." Frisk took his hands and began to shake him slightly.
"Huh? What?" Sans said as he gave a quick shake of his head to get himself back to reality and looked around, as if trying to see if there was someone in the room.
"...I said that you always take the time to try and tickle our funny bones... it was a bone pun." Frisk said.
"Oh... good one." Sans said halfheartedly. "...Sorry, Frisk. I guess I'm a little tired yet." he lied.
"Do you need to get anymore sleep?" Undyne questioned as she crossed her arms. "I really don't like you just lounging around and napping all the time, but I also wouldn't want you trying to put up a fight with a demon half asleep. If you really need to get some more rest-"
"N-no. I'm fine." Sans said as he got his trombone to his lips and looked at Undyne. "I'm fine... just need a minute or so." He then went out to wake up all the others with his trombone. He seemed a little careful and hesitant with each of his steps out of the tent.
"...Something's up with Sans." Undyne said. "...Remind me to check up on him a few times of the day... I don't want something being wrong with him and having no knowledge of it."
Frisk nodded and glanced over as Sans went into Papyrus's tent. Papyrus was laying down asleep, his hands held out in front of him and looking as if he was steering a car. "Ehh... yeah... we're almost to the Italian restaurant, Sans." Papyrus muttered in his sleep as he continued to dream drive. "Eh... spaghetti, lasagna, and alfredo as far as the eye can see..."
Sans gave a little roll of his eyes and a very slight chuckle. To the very least, not too many things had changed about Papyrus. He took the trombone, put it to his 'lips' and was about to play loud to wake up Papyrus.
"N... no, Sans... put that instrument away..." Papyrus grumbled as he continued to drive dream. "...I know it's called a trom-bone, I don't want you making that pu... no... Sans... I'm warning you... don't you dare play that incidental music on our car trip..."
Sans gave a little shrug and a chuckle as he took a deep breath in and gave a wamp-wamp-wamp on his trombone, blasting his air through the instrument at a high volume, filling the entire tent with the sound of the brass instrument.
Papyrus sprung up and landed on his rear. "Sans!" he shouted in surprise at the suddenness of his awakening. "What the heck was that for?!"
"Undyne told me to wake you up with my trombone." he said as he patted his instrument and looked at Papyrus. "Seems like I did a pretty good job, huh?"
"Agh... well, at least you did one part of your job..." Papyrus muttered as he stood up, rubbing his 'ears' with his fingers before remembering that he didn't have any ears. "You could have at least gave me a bit of a warning before you played it so loud."
"Well, if I gave you a warning before I went along and played this, then I wouldn't have to play this in the first place." Sans said with a shrug and a chuckle. "Alright, come on. Get up, man. We gotta get going soon."
Papyrus gave a nod and stood up, wide awake and ready to roll after having the worst wake up call that he could have ever asked for. "Yes! I, the Great Papyrus, must be wide awake and ready for any action for when we go off on our adventure to save the world!"
Sans just gave a nod and looked down, muttering under his breath. "Let's just see if you're still willing to go with Frisk when she tells us the truth."
"What was that, Sans?" Papyrus questioned as he heard Sans muttering, but didn't understand how quiet Sans was.
"Uh... nothing." Sans said with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about it."
"Well... alright." Papyrus said as he walked out of the tent. "Do you need any help getting any of the others up?"
"Nah. I'll be alright getting the others." Sans said with a little lazy shrug of his shoulders. "Why don't you just... uh... well... go out and let Undyne know you're awake. I'll get the others."
"Very well then." Papyrus said with a nod as he began walking to the tent of Undyne.
"Eh... my brother..." Sans said with a chuckle and a nod. He messed with Papyrus quite a lot, but he still really cared for him. He walked out and began moving towards Asgore's tent, to see him already walking out of his tent and rubbing his ears a little bit. "Oh... you're already up." Sans said.
"Yeah... I... heard your trombone playing." Asgore grumbled as he looked at Sans. "Ugh... what time is it?"
Sans gave a shrug and replied with, "Time to get up, I guess." he said. "I don't really know what time it is. Undyne just told me to get up and help the rest of you get up."
Asgore nodded and grumbled a bit. "Well... I hope the others heard that loud playing of yours and woke up as well... I don't think I could bear hearing you play it that loud again."
"Meh. No promises." Sans said with a shrug. "Anyway... I'm gonna tell you the same thing that I told Papyrus, and get yourself over and tell her you're awake."
"Oh... before I do that... I suppose I should go and make sure Tori wakes up, if she hasn't already." Asgore said. "I wouldn't want you waking her up like you woke Papyrus up." He gave a stretch and a scratch of his beard as he was going over to Toriel's tent to wake her up.
Sans, meanwhile, went to Alphys's tent. Seemed that she was already up, taking a little time to tinker with the device. "...What are you doing there?" Sans questioned.
"Making sure this device will have enough charge to lead us to Chara." Alphys answered.
"Oh." Sans said with an understanding nod. "...Well, come on then. Let's get going. Undyne wants to make sure all of us are up and at them."
Eventually, all of the others were gathered up. It seemed that all of them were ready to go, but before they were to head out and find Chara, Frisk had told them that she needed to tell them something. All eyes were on her as she was about to let them know the truth.
"What is it, child?" Toriel questioned. "...What do you need to tell us?"
Frisk gave a nervous sigh as she looked down. She could feel her body grow cold and her heart race as she was beginning to become more apprehensive of telling them. She didn't want them to think of her badly. "I... I wanted to say... you guys... really don't have to come with me... if... if any of you really want to go back to your homes now..."
"This again?" Undyne questioned. "Frisk, we gave you our answer once, and that stays true. We're not going to leave you to this on your own."
"Yes, Undyne is right." Papyrus said. "We're all friends here, Frisk. All of us will stick with each other and have each other's backs throughout the end."
"N-no. You guys... you don't understand." Frisk said as she looked up at them. "I... I'm just trying to look out for you guys... all of you... please... leave this issue to me now..."
"Frisk, you know that's not happening." Alphys said. "We went through so much with you, and we aren't going to let everything we've worked for through these past couple of days go to waste."
"But... you guys... I..." Frisk gave a shake of her head and looked down. Her hands were trembling and her knees were knocking together as she shook. She knew that all of them had to know, but she was so scared of telling them.
"...Frisk... there's something wrong, isn't there?" Asgore questioned. "...What's going on?... Why are you asking us to leave this issue to you?..."
Frisk gave a little whimper in fear as she looked at all of their faces. All of them had different emotions on them, whether determination, thoughtfulness or concern, but each one of them had that same care and love for Frisk in their eyes. She was terrified that once she told them the truth, the love and care they had for her would disappear in an instant. After all, would they possibly consider her a friend if she slaughtered them all at one time?
"...I think I know what you want to tell us." Sans said with a sigh, making Frisk look at him. His skeletal face also had that caring look in those eyes, but at the same time, it had a knowing look to them. Frisk trembled at the thought... seemed that somehow, Sans might have already known about what she did.
"...It's been hidden from you all this time before last night... and it's been hidden from me until last night as well..." Sans said. "...It's time, Frisk... the truth will set you free."
"...You're right, Sans." Frisk said and looked down. "...I didn't want to tell any of you this... I didn't want any of you to know, after I myself had learned it... but... I can't keep it from you any further... you have to know the truth..."
"Wh... what truth?" Toriel questioned. She and Asgore looked at each other, none of them having a clue on what to think or what Frisk was talking about. Both of them looked back at her. "What do you need to tell us, Frisk?"
"...I..." she gave a shudder and looked down. She couldn't look at any of their eyes... she couldn't look at any of them as she told them. "...I talked with Chara again last night... and... I learned why he's been hunting me down these past couple of days... he... he was right... he and I... we made a deal at one time... I... I owe him my soul..."
"You made a deal with that demon?" Papyrus questioned. "You gave him your soul?... Why would you do that, Frisk? What could he have possibly offered you that was more than-"
"He offered me a second chance." Frisk said as she shook her head, cutting Papyrus off before he could finish speaking. "...He and I... we made a deal... if I gave him my soul... he would... he would reverse what I had done in the world... he would give me a second chance to right all the wrong I did..."
"Wh... what do you mean?" Alphys asked. "What are you talking about 'reverse what you had done in the world'?"
"...Do you all remember what I told you about my dreams?" Frisk questioned as she looked at all of them, looking at all of their faces as they stared quietly at her. "...Do you all remember... those dreams I've told you I've been having before this?"
"Dreams?" Undyne questioned and glanced at Alphys, Papyrus, Toriel and Asgore. Alphys and Papyrus didn't seem to know what she was referring to either, but it seemed like Toriel and Asgore had an idea. "...Is there something that I missed here?"
"...Oh... that's right... I forgot... Mom and Mr. Asgore were the only ones that I told those about." Frisk said with a little ironic chuckle.
"She... she's been having bad dreams weeks before Chara started hunting her down." Toriel said as she looked at Undyne, Papyrus and Alphys. Sans just remained quiet and listened on, though somehow, it looked as if he had already known about those. "...They were dreams of her being in the Underground... but... instead of the way that she had taken them... she sees herself doing a number of terrible things... killing many monsters... including us..."
"Yes..." Frisk said with a nod. "...Those... those dreams... they... they weren't just dreams after all... they..." She gave a fearful sigh and looked down after all of her friends looked back at her again. "They... they... they actually happened... I... I really did kill you all."
"Wh-what?!" Asgore exclaimed as Frisk said those words. All the others were too shocked at what she said. This had to have been some sick elaborate prank Sans and her were pulling... there was no way they heard her right.
"Uh... Frisk, I don't believe I heard you right... you know, not having any ears." Papyrus said, scratching at the places on his head where his ears would be if he had them. "I... I could have sworn I heard you say-"
"That I killed you all... yes... you did hear me correctly." Frisk said with a sigh. "...When I went down into the Underground... I was afraid... I was terrified... Chara came to me the second that I fell down there... he... he promised me that he would help guide me... that he would help protect me down there, and that nobody in the Underground would hurt me..."
"I... I don't get what you're trying to pull on us, Frisk." Undyne said, trying to get Frisk to say that she wasn't really serious at all. "You... you couldn't have killed us... I mean... all of us are still here... so how could you have killed us if we're standing right here?"
"...That's what I meant by reversing what I had done in the world." Frisk said. "...After Chara and I killed all of you... he used all the power he had gained through me slaughtering everybody... his LOVE that I had helped him gain... to destroy the entire world... the only ones that were remaining left in existence were me and Chara... but... overtime... I wanted to go back, and reverse what I had done..."
"...That's why you made the deal with Chara." Sans said. "...You wanted to reverse all of the terrible things you and him did... and so you gave what one thing you had left to save everyone else."
Frisk gave a nod and a sigh. "...I... I had done so much harm then... I just wanted to make everything right... I wanted to save everybody... I... I never intended for all of this to happen... I'm sorry... everyone..."
"...Why did you listen to him in the first place?" Toriel questioned gently. "...Child... please, help us understand... why did Chara come to you... and why did you listen to him when he came to you?..."
"...Because... just as he said... he and I really weren't so different." Frisk said. "...My parents... mi biological parents, I mean... they hated me... I was always some setback or a punching bag for them... they always got drunk and always argued whenever they weren't making my life Hell... every moment they had, they had always beaten me or rubbed salt in my wounds..."
"...You're... you're not going to tell us... that Chara was the same way... a... are you?" Asgore questioned, feeling his heart weigh heavy on the topic.
"...According to him, he was abused just as badly as I was... that's why we went up into Mount Ebott when we did." she said. "...Both of us could no longer take any of the pain... we were sick of being hurt so badly, and having absolutely no power to do anything about it... we were tired of having no love in our lives... for the same reason... to end our lives... we threw ourselves down the hole that led to the Underground... both of us expecting to die... but both of us somehow surviving."
"...That's why Chara never spoke of it..." Toriel said as she looked down. "...He was hurt so bad by it..."
Frisk gave a nod and a sigh. "...I learned the truth about this just last night... I... I didn't want to tell all of you... I... I was afraid of what you would think... but... I knew that I had to... and... now that you know... it... probably changes every view you have on me, huh?" She gave a shake of her head and looked down.
As she stood there silently, expecting them to start walking away from her, she could hear footsteps as Undyne approached her. That must have been what was going to happen. They weren't just going to leave her there, they were also going to get revenge on what she did to them... it's not like she didn't deserve to be attacked by them... she stood there, bracing herself and getting ready to feel their attacks on her, just like how she always did before she fell into the Underground.
However, instead of feeling Undyne's fist slamming into her face or her stomach, she heard the sound of Undyne taking a knee and putting her hand on her shoulder. Frisk hesitated and remained quiet as she slowly looked up at Undyne, who was kneeling by her with her hand on her shoulder. Frisk looked into her eyes and was amazed that she found those same caring and loving eyes that Undyne had before she told everyone the truth.
"...You're wrong, Frisk." Undyne said. "...What you've just told us... doesn't change anything."
"Wha... but... why?" Frisk questioned. "...You... found out that I... killed you and all of your friends... and... you... still don't hate me?..."
"Nyeh heh heh! Of course we don't, Frisk." Papyrus said as he stood tall and proud. "You've gone through a lot of things for and with us, even when we tried to capture or kill you. We've gone through a number of things with you, and we know that you're our friend."
Alphys nodded and stepped forward. "You may have killed us in one universe... but here, we're still here with you... and we're not going to let what happened... or rather, didn't happen, get in the way of our friendship..." She gave a little shrug and began to nerd out a little bit. "Besides... what you've just told us proves what I said on Metatton's Quiz anyway. There really are multiple parallel universes out there, and just because one thing may happen, if different circumstances are met-"
"Uh... Alphys, you may want to save that stuff for later." Sans suggested. "You know... I'm sure we're all very interested in the multiple parallel universes theory, or whatever you call it, but I'm sure now's not the... most opportune time, since we're a little short on time."
"Uh... o-oh. Right." Alphys stuttered with a little embarrassed blush and scratched the back of her head. "S-sorry."
Asgore smiled gently at Frisk. "You're the hope of both humanity and all monsters, Frisk." he said as he looked up to the sky. "...You've made mistakes at one time, we all have... but know that no matter what happens, no matter who you may have hurt... that still doesn't stop us from caring about you."
"...As much as I don't like to admit it... Asgore is right, my child." Toriel said. "...I promised to take care of you and protect you... and to love you as a mother... and just as I loved my sons back then... and just like I still love my children to this day, no matter what Chara had done... I still will love and care for you, no matter what..." Toriel never knew that Asriel was Flowey the whole time, and at this moment, it seems that Frisk wouldn't be telling them that Asriel was alive and with Chara now.
Frisk looked up at all of her friends and, as she could now call one... or possibly two of them, family. She was at a complete loss of words. Even after they had learned what she had done to them... even if there was a risk that Chara may find a way to have it happen again... they were still willing to stand by her side, and still call her their friend, through all of it. She felt overwhelmed by all of her relief and happiness as she fell on her knees and covered her face with her hands as she began to sob.
When she cried, all six of her friends gathered around her and got into a big group hug. "Thank you... all of you." Frisk said through sobs and snivels. "...Thank you for being with me through it all..."
"We won't leave you, Frisk." Asgore said reassuringly. "...We know that you would never leave us if you were given the chance to... so we won't either."
Frisk felt so relieved. Even after they had learned how much she had hurt them in the past, they were still willing to keep her as their friend. Those sins that were in her past that Chara had taken away from here were far behind her now.
"...Alright, let's delay the holding hands and kissing for later." Sans said as he broke away from the hug. "Let's get going. We got a demon to beat down."
All of them broke out of the group hug and got everything from their camp packed up. All of them decided to keep moving and worry about eating breakfast later, after they had finished their battle with Chara. They were getting closer, now. They knew there was no turning back at this point. They were in for the fight of their lives.