Good morning, readers! I apologize for taking so long to update this story. I had a couple personal projects to finish as well as a busy work schedule, but I have committed myself to completing this story and I have not forgotten you! Thank you all so much for your patience and support. This chapter is a bit longer than the other ones, but it is not the last chapter! I hope you are prepared for action, because there is plenty of it in this chapter. It's been a while, so get extra comfy as you relax and enjoy the latest update!
Alice slowly bent down to check Frisk's vitals, hissing lightly. "Frisk is not there, but with us. What little of her there is left, anyway." Chara said as Alice glared up at her. "Now, all seven souls are in our possession, as well as every monster soul in the underground."
"So why don't you just break the barrier and leave, then?" Alice growled.
"That is an excellent question. Now that we have reached divinity, we have the power to bring all of humanity to their knees. However, I would like to relish in the pleasure of destroying you, first." Chara replied, Asriel's face laughing.
"Really? Or is it because you want to eliminate any loose ends?" Alice curled her lip.
"You still think you can change the outcome? My power is greater than yours, Alice... all of your friends have been taken unto me, you are completely and utterly alone!" Chara exclaimed.
"So, this should be quite easy for you, shouldn't it?" Alice said, her blade materializing into her hand. "Enough chatter. We begin this now." She said, her eyes becoming completely devoid of color as they changed to a deep crimson. Her skin and dress paled, her feet separating from the ground as she began to float.
Asriel's face raised a brow for a moment as they chuckled. "So be it."
Without a moment of hesitation, flames burst out, fanning through the air at Alice. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she bent back, the flames going over her as she ducked. As giant stars and pellets rained from the sky, Alice burst into butterflies, dodging the assault. As she did so, thorny vines shot out to pursue her, and she sliced them in quick succession as she rematerialized. Fireballs were then shot her way, Alice taking out her umbrella to ricochet them back at the monstrosity. Chara screamed in dual voices, thunder rumbling from above as lightning cracked. Alice moved quickly to dodge them, but she hissed as she was grazed by a bolt, rematerializing as she held her shoulder. She glanced up, noticing one of the tubes connected to the back of Asriel's head beginning to glow. Alice saw a hole materializing in midair, matching the color of the tube. She dove into it, watching as she was suddenly met with a huge gun pointing at her. She gasped, soaring through the air around the bullets that suddenly fired from it. In the distance, her keen eyesight caught something small glowing from within the darkness; a single fragment of light, just as she had seen before. She dashed towards it, grasping it into her hands. The bullets then turned to four leaf clovers, and something began to materialize before her.
"Toriel... is this her soul?" Alice asked herself, floating towards her. She saw a keyhole padlock on chains appear around her, and glowing essence around her face. Alice felt a small jingling on her side, reaching into her pocket and taking out her key ring. She saw a new key materialize, a yellow one. When she inserted it into the padlock, unlocking it, the chains disappeared and Toriel's soul was freed. Alice felt herself being pulled back then, glancing back as she saw that she was gravitating towards and back out the hole. She saw a burst of white light, and when she noticed something to her right, she realized she was no longer alone. "Caterpillar!"
"Indeed; remember Alice, each time you save another, you are saving a part of yourself by doing so!" He replied.
"If only I had known that much earlier!" Alice said, the two of them dodging more vines being shot at them.
"I shall assist you in your quest, but until justice is served for all, none shall be satisfied!" Caterpillar said, shielding Alice as he flapped his wings. The wind gusts blew Chara's flames back at her, giving Alice opportunity to notice that a second tube was glowing. As the hole reappeared, she flew into it, understanding Caterpillar's riddle and what she had to do.
When she entered, this time, she found herself in a frying pan, the surface she stood on starting to simmer. She flew out of it as flames began to rise, the pan flipping and tossing fireballs towards her. "Out of the pan and into the fire!" She cried, having to burst into butterflies to avoid being burned. She caught something out of the corner of her eye again, seeing the light fragment. Once she grasped it, the flames turned to scrambled eggs, and she found the next soul that needed freeing. Through the clouded fog around her head, Alice saw it was Undyne this time. She pulled out her key ring, seeing a green key and used it to free her. Upon doing so, she felt the pull again, smirking when she saw a second comrade had joined the fight. The loud neighing of a horse rang through the air as the White Knight galloped through the black void, hurling spears towards Chara/Asriel. Thinking she got the hang of this, she smiled when she saw a third tube beginning to glow, calling for the hole to appear again. Entering it, she fell down onto a book, quickly getting to her feet as words with negative connotations began to fly at her from all directions. "There's an old saying-..." Alice then took out her blade, slicing through the words until she saw the light fragment, soaring towards it. Once she touched it, more words began to soar in all directions, turning to see another soul appear. Noticing it was Alphys this time, she took out a new key, purple in color. "Poor thing is weighed down by all of this negativity. Let's cut the ball and chain, shall we?" She said, freeing her and making her way back.
After seeing the white Rabbit had joined the fight, she made her way back to the void. After did gingerly giant ballet shoes trying to crush her, she found the light, using a dark blue key to free Papyrus' soul. Alice sighed with relief, seeing the Mad Hatter defending his comrades with his contraptions and his army of tea kettles clanked forth, screeching on their hind tripod legs as they spewed steaming hot water at emerging Venus flytraps. Seeing that there were three more souls left to free, she knew she couldn't waste time as Chara became more desperate to use Flowey's abilities to put an end to this. She flew into the void once again, and was met with the sight of large hands soaring at her. Feeling an uncomfortable sense of deja vu, she soared towards the light fragment, digging into her pocket to find a new orange key. She unlocked the chains, freeing Asgore's soul. This was beginning to grow tiring and repetitive, Alice thought to herself; but she knew it had to be done. When she returned, she saw the Gryphon had joined the others, and as she was about to go back into the void with the glow of the final tube, Chara's multi-toned scream rang through the space.
"No! You will resist me no longer!" She shouted, her face and Asriel's morphing, as if they battled for dominance, the constant metamorphosis horrifying as she opened her mouth gaping wide, her eyes empty as her distorted laughter rang.
Alice gasped as her path was suddenly blocked by several cactus-like snakes, their giant mouths opening and closing in a chomping motion as they darted about. She clenched her jaw, crying out as she soared towards them. She sliced through one, two, three in quick succession. As she was closing in on the fourth, she miscalculated. The fifth collided into her, broadsiding her as she winced from the impact. As she spiraled downward, she found herself having difficulty regaining her composure. Was this it? Was this the end? She saw a Venus flytraps sprout beneath her, opening wide to seal her fate once she fell into its clutches. As she came closer, she suddenly heard a voice in her mind.
'Human, I believe in you! You can still do this, you just have to try!'
Alice's expression became serious then, pinning her arms to the sides. She glanced to the left, smirking lightly as the Gryphon swooped in, halting her fall and taking her back up. She hung on as her winged companion emitted a cry, capturing the tail end of the cactus snake in its beak, whipping his head to send it cascading down into the clutches of the flytrap.
"Go Alice, you must finish this!" He cried, Alice hopping off to soar towards the void.
"I owe you much thanks for that!" She replied before passing the barrier. To her surprise, her eyes widened when she was suddenly met with a stream of giant knives spinning through the air right at her. She bit her lip before bursting into butterflies, trying to dash her way towards the light fragment. When she felt the sting of one of the large knives, barely able to dodge it, she rematerialized as she hissed, holding her shoulder. In her hesitation, she cried as she saw another knife coming right at her. Attempting to dodge it, she moved too slowly, screaming as it left a deep slice along her front. The large cut was left from the top of her right shoulder to her left hip bone, and she trembled as she finally saw something flickering. Biting her tongue in an attempt to ignore the pain, she fought her way towards it, clutching it in her hand. She cracked an eye open, seeing the soul of Sans in chains. She slowly made her way towards him, fumbling for the key in her pocket. When she pulled out her key ring however, no new keys were there.
"Give it up, kid. I did."
Alice glanced up, looking at the clouded aura surrounding Sans' head. She inhaled sharply, the sting of the gash in her skin suckling the breath out of her lungs as she managed to speak. "I could have done that. The night my family roasted in my home that burned to the ground... as I laid in the snow in seeing pain... in the infirmary... the ten years I spent in the asylum treated no better than a slab of meat... even after that, when I was psychologically manipulated by my family's murderer. But I did not, Sans. Because through all of it... through losing my sister, who was as precious to me as Papyrus is to you... I remembered that as long as my heart beats, I have a reason to be here. Someone to help, some evil to thwart. We were not given this power to allow it to waste away. Now stop moping and give me this damn key before I play your spine like a xylophone!
After several moments, she felt a jingle, looking down to see a light blue key had appeared. She shakily took it, undoing the lock to free Sans' soul.
"Huh... you're pretty hot headed when you're angry... maybe you should take a chill pill." Sans winked before disappearing.
Alice rolled her eyes, turning around to see a familiar face. She groaned then, her hand touching her chest before looking at it. Blood dripped from her fingers as she exhaled shakily. "It's a comfort to see you, cat."
"Blood leaving the body is like sand leaving the top of an hour glass... there is only a limited supply and once it runs out, you're out of luck." Cheshire said with his signature grin.
"Indeed... perhaps you could spare one of your many lives?" Alice asked.
"I don't think so... however, I think you should start by patching that up... those may do the trick." Cheshire replied, motioning behind him. The knives had turned into giant, glowing green band-aids, slowly gravitating towards her. Alice blinked, extending her hand to grasp them. Their green glow enveloped her body upon contact, and she looked down as the large gash healed slowly. Feeling stronger, she posture herself more upright, turning to Cheshire and nodding. "Have you sharpened your nails, cat? You will need them."
"You know I am always prepared to hunt some vermin." He purred sinisterly.
"I do hope so, because we've got some big rats to catch." Alice said, the two of them making their way back through the barrier. Chara was putting up a good fight, her eyes narrowing as Hatter used his arm to deflect missiles falling upon them. "There is one last thing I must do. I only wish my ability to persuade others matched yours, cat."
"I suppose if you're no less than half as proficient you only have to meet them halfway. Hopefully it's a scenic venture." He replied.
"I highly doubt it, this monstrosity will continue to be relentless unless I can convince a certain someone to overpower her predecessor. If not, not only is our destruction certain, but so is that of what world's she goes on to claim." Alice replied.
"This should instigate no intimidation; you've seen its face before, and it is no uglier now than then. If you haven't built up the stomach to its horror than that ship has long sailed." Cheshire replied.
"Unfortunately, it is not by my will that shall determine whether or not we reach our destination... Frisk is the one at the helm and she will be the first to sink along with this ship if she doesn't act now." Alice said, looking up as the void appeared once again. "I have a feeling that I either come out of there successful or not at all." She said, soaring up and through the barrier one final time.
Once she reached the other side, Alice found that she could feel a solid, invisible surface underneath her feet. She walked forward, hearing the sound of someone struggling. When she approached, she saw that it was Frisk, bound by red, glowing orbs of energy. She looked up at the sound of footsteps, becoming alert once she saw Alice. She bit her lip, grunting as she tried to free herself once again, to no avail.
"Alice... I keep trying to fight her..." Frisk grunted, her brows furrowing. "Why isn't it working?"
"Because you still believe you are alone in this, Frisk." Alice replied. "In order to restore hope to others, you must have your own restored. The hope that my companions gave me saved me from eternal damnation. I am going to do the same thing for you."
"My friends counted on me... but... I watched her take all their souls." Frisk shut her eyes tightly, tears threatening to spill over.
"They are not gone. They are right here beside you." Alice replied.
Frisk glanced around, seeing the souls of her friends surrounding her. She gasped, her face lighting up as they smiled at her, speaking words of encouragement. As she felt the determination in her heart being reinvigorated, she bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut as the orbs began to crack.
"I can do this... I can beat Chara and save everyone!" She cried out.
On the battlefront, the white knight cried out. "We cannot maintain our ranks for much longer! The will of this beast is strong!"
"Luckily we have some help!" Alice shouted then, she and Frisk joining the fight. Flower guns pointed at them, and Alice noticed that finally, Chara's defenses dropped as the six human souls gravitated away from the monstrosity. "Give her everything you've got, now!" She screamed.
As they fought, Chara's screams echoed, sending an assault of stars at them. As they began to get the upper hand, Chara's screaming became more distorted, tapping into Flowey's powers to sprout Venus flytraps, hurl missiles at them, send waves of flames, everything she could possibly muster. No matter what she did, Alice, Frisk and her friends carried on. Finally, when there was nothing left, Alice smirked, nodding to her comrades as they began to fade, presumably back to wonderland. As Chara cried out, she thought they had served their purpose in this jrourney, waiting now for her victory to conclude.
"No... no... this cannot be happening!" Chara and Flowey's voices screamed in unison. "Save me, Flowey!" At this, something began to glow within the forehead of the distorted face.
A light fragment.
"This... cannot be...!" Alice exclaimed, Chara smirking as she regained her strength.
"I already told you, Alice... you cannot defeat me. Now, I will start by eliminating the part of my own self that refuses to conform." She said.
Alice gasped as a huge beam of energy shot right at Frisk, shaking her head. When the attack ceased, Frisk whimpered as she reappeared. Chara did this repeatedly, Frisk clenching her jaw as she was subjected to pain and resurrection again and again, Alice trying to stop it, but she was surrounded by the same quote on quote pellets she encountered at the beginning of this journey.
"You are a sick, twisted cur, you know that?!" Alice screamed.
"But Alice... I had to punish her for being so uncooperative to me." Chara said as they were both trapped. "It's hopeless. Go on, call for your worthless friends. Call into the darkness only to receive nothingness as a reply. Yes... nobody else is going to see you die!" She shouted, laughing chaotically as the pellets closed in on them. Alice stood firm, glaring as she held her blade tightly.
She was not expecting them to disappear a moment later.
"What...? No matter, I will simply just... no... why isn't it working?! Something is wrong! Asriel!" Chara screamed as the six human souls appeared, Frisk smiling. "No, you are supposed to obey me! I am the highest of the order!"
Asriel's form began to emerge as the souls began to subdue Chara, swooping down as she still influenced the determination within him. Alice and Frisk braced themselves as lightning rained down from the skies, Alice gritting her teeth as he came down upon her with his saber. As Frisk watched Alice block the attack, the two ascending, she lowered herself to her knees.
"You can do this, Alice." She whispered, hoping for the best and dreaming of a happy future for her and her friends.
Alice's blade clashed with Asriel's saber, the two darting and diving in the air as they fought fiercely.
"Asriel, you must listen to me!" Alice shouted. "This is not who you are! You must see past the fog Chara has placed around you!"
"You think I'm going to give up the one reason I have for existing?! She is all I live for! She is all I have!" Asriel shouted. "We are going to remake this world together how we see fit!"
He conjured a blaster then, shooting beams of energy at Alice. She used her umbrella to ricochet the beams, taking out her peppercorn gun to try and injure him nonfatally. No, she was not seeking to end his life. She had seen the memories Gaster showed her, and she was not going to make his life more unfortunate than it had to be.
"That isn't true, Asriel!" Alice cried. "Think about your mother, your father, all of the friends you had here! Do they not deserve your mercy?"
Asriel furrowed his brows then, memories of his and Chara's first encounter flashing through his mind. "N- No... this... feeling... this vulnerability... what are you doing to me?"
"I am helping you to remember who you are, Asriel. You do not need Chara, she does not truly care about you." Alice replied.
"No, I don't need anyone but her!" Asriel shouted, sending beams of energy at Alice, making her have to dodge them. "She is the only one who DOES care!"
"Would someone who cared manipulate you, use you for their own devious plans?" Alice asked.
"She was the one who was always there for me... we were always there for each other!" Asriel shouted. "She... she... is my best friend..."
Alice slowly approached Asriel. "I had someone like that too. She was... somewhat of a mentor. But... she twisted my perspective on things for her own benefit. She was ready to destroy me if necessary... and she almost did. Do not make the same mistake I made, Asriel. Break away from her grip on you."
"No... I... I don't want to be alone... I'm not ready to say goodbye to her... I'm not going to lose my friend again! Just stop and let me win!" Asriel screamed, thrusting his hands out as Alice gasped, whipping out her umbrella to shield herself. "Stop it! STOP IT AND LET ME WIN!" HE screamed, his attack slowly waking as he fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I'm scared..." He said tearfully. The giant plant monstrosity had disappeared, Chara's aura floating silently some ways behind him. Asriel reverted back to his child-like self, and Alice dismissed her weapons, kneeling down before the sobbing child. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." He whimpered, Alice smiling lightly.
"It's alright now, Asriel. You must make the right choice." Alice said, standing to her feet and taking a step back as Asriel looked to his left and right. On his left, Chara floated a few inches off the ground, fists clenched. On his right, Frisk placed her knife down, smiling gently. Asriel looked at Chara, approaching her. "Chara... I... I know why you want to do this... but... I don't want to hurt people anymore. I just want us to be happy together, like we used to. We can still do that... we can live a life of paradise like you want. Our own little paradise." Asriel smiled.
Chara glanced to the side as Asriel held her hands. "No. Paradise can never be achieved while the old world still exists. It's corruption will continue to fester, and we will only continue to suffer." She said.
"But... we can go somewhere on our own... somewhere no one can find us." Asriel replied.
"Corruption will always find us so long as it lingers." Chara replied, her expression softening a bit. "Remember what I said in the beginning of all this? If this plan fails, we will all fall to ruin. We will never experience paradise, we will only know pain."
"But Chara... I'm tired of being like this... I don't want to kill anymore." Asriel said.
"I know." Chara said, looking up at him. "I said before that suffering makes me stronger, as well as the suffering of others. But your suffering, Asriel... your suffering has disproven that. So long as you suffer, I will become weaker." She looked into his eyes then. "I'm sorry, my dear Asriel. I had envisioned a world with you in it. However, I must do what is best for both of us, and my intentions." She bent down, picking up the knife laying beside her. "I must leave you behind."
Asriel's pupils shrunk as he trembled with fear. "N- No... Chara, I-... please, I can still help you, I can still make your dream come true..." He whimpered.
"It's hard to look you in the eyes... I see your innocence inside of them... and my own maliciousness reflected back in them. I love you, Asriel... your death will give me the strength to finish this for both of us." Chara said, lifting the knife up as Asriel cowered, closing his eyes tight.
"Please... don't kill me...!" He cried.
Before Alice could intervene, Chara cried, bringing the blade down as she too shut her eyes tightly. When she felt someone grab her wrist, however, her eyes snapped open, her pupils shrinking as she saw Frisk had come between her and Asriel.
"I'm not going to let you hurt my friends anymore, Chara." Frisk said.
Chara screamed, shooting out to grasp Frisk's other hand. "You think you have the power to fight against my control?! You think you can stop me from drawing your soul fragment back to mine?! You were created from ME!" She shrieked.
"I do!" Frisk replied. "Everyone has a choice, and I'm going to choose the right thing this time! I'm not going to listen to you or let you trick me anymore!"
As Asriel whimpered fearfully, Alice held his shoulder when he tried to run to them. "No. Frisk must do this on her own."
Frisk and Chara struggled against each other, Frisk ripping the knife away from Chara and throwing it aside so the blade stuck out of the ground. Further enraged, Chara shoved Frisk forward, her hands diving to her throat as she attempted to strangle her. "Do you feel that, Frisk? The feeling of not being able to breathe? I know it all too well... and if you think that you will prevent me from reaching absolution after all the suffering I have endured, then you will remain a silly dreamer even in death!" She screamed.
Frisk shut her eyes tightly, whimpering as Chara threatened to crush her air pipe. In that moment, she remembered all the people who were depending on her, everyone who needed her. In that moment, Frisk realized... she needed them, too. Having made this realization, it filled her with more determination than ever. In one burst of energy, she clenched her teeth, thrusting her hands out to shove Chara off of her. She was flung back, letting out a choked gasp when she fell onto her back. Asriel hurried over, kneeling down by Frisk as they both looked over at Chara. Asriel's eyes widened then, seeing blood dripping down from behind her. His heart sunk, realizing that she had fallen onto the blade that had been sticking out of the ground. "Chara..." Asriel cried.
"... don't cry, Asriel. As long as a part of me still exists... I will never truly be gone. I will create our paradise... the end of the old days will come, eventually..." She fell to her knees. "Then... everything I worked for will not be in vain..." She said, her aura beginning to dull as she disappeared, fading away with the wind.
Alice shut her eyes for several moments, exhaling slowly. The threat was averted, and her efforts had won the day.
Well... that was certainly a lot to take in, readers! I tried my best to combine the photoshop Flowey and the final Asriel battle in a cohesive and sensible way, keeping true to the game as well as my plot. I genuinely believe that Chara has indirect control over Flowey, which explains his inability to feel positive feelings such as love and happiness, but instead feels bitterness, resentment, and hatred. I feel the relationship between Chara and Asriel/Flowey is certainly a complicated one; though I believe Chara genuinely loved Asriel like a brother at one time, that love has become twisted with the evolution of her downward spiral of morality. Again, thank you to everyone for your support, and stay tuned for the next update!