The option screen was gone.
In its place the familiar FIGHT ACT ITEM MERCY choices. The hovering child's battle was with Sans now.
And what made it all worse yet?
The smaller skeleton had the first move.
No quitting, no running, no escape. Frisk was completely trapped.
The human began to shake, with anger or fear, it could not be said.
Slowly, the blue hooded brother stepped closer towards his opponent. His boney hand remained high enough to keep the child's feet off the ground.
"ya know. i really am curious."
A wave of magic pulled at Frisk's soul, turning them forcibly to float just a few inches above Sans head. Suddenly two large Gaster Blasters appeared out of the darkness. Each creature glared with sickening smiles that mimicked their master's.
The smaller skeleton lowered his voice to a whisper.
"are you really frisk...or is chara back?"
The human nearly threw up at the reminder of their "companion". Their identical supposed friend who had taken over their soul all those routes ago.
Frisk shoke their head.
It was them.
They were no one else. Nevermind disgusting weight of their sins that lied along their back.
They were the puppet she used, but not Chara herself.
Sans still didn't seem to accept the response though.
"why come all the way down here then huh? Ya never did this in any other route."
The skeleton's eyes became darker then the Ruin's void.
"no pacifist frisk resets unless chara makes them. i know how this game works kid."
His tone held a clear threat. Almost daring the child to try and lie.
Frisk had nearly forgotten. Asriel said "the comedian" had known about the resets. Sans remembered each and every other timelines.
He alone carried the burden of never forgetting what Frisk could only handle for less then a day.
It was no wonder that he didn't trust them right now.
Frisk moved his hands to sign along side of their soft unused voice.
"N-not...Chara."
Sans allowed his hand to jerk the child a little closer towards his Gaster Blasters.
"you're gonna have to be a lot more convincing then that kiddo..."
"Telling truth...you-re all...safer underground...than with me..."
The human felt themselves being lowered suddenly. Not completely to the ground, but at a way more comfortable distance away from the ominous monstrosities behind Sans.
The skeleton narrowed his sockets.
"what's that suppose to mean?"
"No reset...q-quitting."
Sans's left eye suddenly burst to life with a blue flame.
Not out of anger or outrage, but what could almost be mistaken as...fear.
"...it's really you isn't it?
The human nodded.
There was only so much they could do to plead innocent. And considering what Sans had seen?
He had every right to distrust them.
The Gaster Blasters vanished.
Sans seemed to be thinking hard about his next words, yet at the same time the flame engulfing his left socket still refused to lessen in its intensity.
"if its you kid, then why are ya trying so hard to res-...to quit?"
Frisk could feel their blue colored soul nearly twitch along the forsaken word. As though Sans himself was struggling to say it.
"...You know...what I did...before..."
A bitter moment fell upon them both.
From the shaddows came everyone who had walked in to hear them talk moments ago. Each, save for Alphys, struggled to understand what Frisk meant.
"SANS? WHAT IS THE HUMAN SPEAKING OF?"
The smaller skelton looked torn for a moment.
"Paps. Just...let me handle this okay bro?"
Toriel stepped forward.
"My child, what is going on? That screen you held before. Sans said it could send us back to the Underground?"
The human refused to meet their goat mother's eyes.
Instead Frisk merely looked into Sans sockets. Pleading. Begging. Nearly crying for him to forfiet his turn and allow them to MERCY out.
To let them just end it.
Or at the very least put them back on the ground.
The skelton seemed to understand, but not in the way the human had hoped.
"kid you gotta be pretty sick to think im gonna let you end a pacifist ending. Especially if youre not...you know."
"...Chara."
Despite being a sociopathic demon, Chara had been the only true companion Frisk had been able to keep on their travels.
In every timeline.
Chara was the one Asriel had seen them as and obsessed over keeping in the Underground. Chara was the one who gave Frisk their red tinted soul filled with or not, Chara was never truly gone.
And Frisk had no reason to fear speaking her name.
Toriel and Asgore though had recoiled physically at their former child's name. Each felt like they had been struck across the face.
"My child...what do you know of Chara?"
Toriel sounded almost hopeful.
While the former king was nearly besides himself.
"Is she alright?! Have you seen her young one?"
The human shook their head slowly. Had their feet been touching the ground they might have even kicked at the dirt below themselves.
It wasn't fair to force the two royals to relive their heartbreak over Chara.
But at the same time there was no use left in lying.
"Same heart...but not good. She's here..."
The human pointed towards their still blue colored heart.
A voice in the back of their mind almost saddened rather then malovent for once.
The blue of Sans attack started to fade slightly. Frisk and the skeleton knew he was running out of steam.
"Sans...Im tired..."
"kid...you choose good this time. were all happy with you. why ruin that over what you cant forgive?"
Frisk felt Sans special attack finally dissolve. They fell to the ground with a soft thud.
Frisk hit the MERCY at an alarmig speed. Sans was too worn out to try and contiue. His 1 HP nearly at it's limit.
The human's screen lit up.
You Won! You earned 0 xp and 0 gold.
Upon the battle ending, Undyne and Papyrus rushed to duo's aid. But the child immidiately backed away. Drawing up the option screen.
Their hand immidiaely drew upwards. Almost daring any one to stop them.
Alphys carefully lowered her shock generator to the ground and raised her hands in a non threatening way. The rest followed in suit.
"F-frisk we just wanna talk okay? Y-you can explain."
"YES HUMAN PLEASE! ALLOW US ALL TO HELP YOU AND THIS CHARA PERSON!"
"Come on punk, I...we don't wanna fight."
Frisk could feel it. The strings connected to the base of their soul were getting tighter with each word. Chara Chara Chara she was upset now. Upset and yelling.
No where near loud enough to gain control, but enough of a burden to draw the human's hand closer to the quit button.
"My child please let us all-"
The human cut Toriel off.
"I...I saw it. You all... begged for mercy."
Everyone but Sans appeared hurt and confused at the child's voice. The way they spoke so softly and with rage.
"We both watched...I did nothing...she was so...so angry."
The internal voice inside of Frisk became silent. As though reliving the other timelines through every word.
"We saw it all...we met you all...so many times...I watched...As. You. All. Died...What kind of person does that?!"
Frisk's feeble voice cracked and shook with every raised word. Their mostly unused throat growing raw quickly.
They slammed their hands against their head hard enough for Toriel and Sans to consider rushing in to restart another battle. Just for their safety. For their benefit!
They all were too damn nice.
"Please...let me save you..."
Frisk waited, eyes closed. Allowing any one of them to take their best shot at them before the end. It didn't matter who it would come from, they were more then entitled to seek their revenge.
"go ahead...it'll be over soon."
Frisk waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Until finally they grew tired of standing still just staring at thier shoes. Frisk reached forward towards the quit button. Not a single goodbye playing at this lips.
That's when it hit them.
Not pain or fire or bones or lightning or spear. But two arms which wrapped themselves around the small human's frame.
It was Toriel. She was hugging them tightly. Her body having gone straight through the screen and dissolving it into a soft fizzle of static before it faded completely.
"My child...for you to think you are above forgiveness is...beyond foolish."
The goat mother tightened her hold as a single tear fell from her eye.
"You are not who you say you once were. You are Frisk. A kind and gentle soul. Just like Asriel...just like Chara once was. You are okay my child..."
Suddenly another pair of arms joined the hug from Frisk's back. This one much thinner and bonier.
"HUMAN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS AGREES WITH HER MAJESTY! YOU WERE NEVER ONE TO FIGHT AND I DO NOT SEE YOU AS ANY SORT OF MURDEROUS HEATHEN!"
The tall skeleton ruffled the small human's hair as though trying to comfort them in a brotherly way.
"YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND HUMAN! ONE WHO I BELIEVE COULD NEVER DO SUCH THINGS NO MATTER WHAT YOUR MAGIC BUTTONS MAY SAY!"
Another arm swung itself around Papyrus's neck as Undyne began to ruffle the skeleton.
"Yeah! Paps is right punk, we always gotcha back. An if anyone else says different we'll beat the evil right outta them!"
"UNDYNE DO NOT NOOGIE ME!"
Alphys was not far behind as she too joined the hug. Her glasses pressing against the group's right side.
"S-scientifically t-the multiple u-universes are possible. But I-I still think no matter what y-you did h-here was right in the end. So nothing else should m-matter!"
Mettaton's long mechanical arms suddenly encircled everyone.
"Darling you should not EVER feel as though you are anything less than perfectly imperfect! We love you no matter what sweetie."
Asgore too joined in. A respectful distance away from Toriel, but close enough for Frisk to feel his gigantic presence.
"Human you are kind enough for everyone here to see you as a good person. Does that not say something!"
Feeling hot tears tracking down their face, Frisk couldn't help but look over at the last person who had yet to speak.
Sans. The only one who had a substantial reasoning to not comfort them. The one who deserved to walk away right now.
However despite astronomical odds, the skeleton slowly moved to stand besides Papyrus's leg. Softly patting the top of Frisk's head.
"kiddo. ya got a whole family here that thinks your worth more than any number of resets...so how about you stick around a lil longer this time okay?...we can all work on keeping you determined."
They all stayed like that for god knows how long. Neither moving when Frisk finally cracked and sobbed their heart out. No one moved when Frisk began to chant through his stuttered speak "im sorry" over and over again.
None noticed, beside's the small human, when a green root gently raised from the ground below and placed itself overtop of the child's foot. A comforting and not unappreciated gesture.
It would be okay...they all would make it okay.
If not now...eventually.