The Hotlands, Laboratory of the Royal Scientist
Frisk missed Chara horribly, but the suspicion that his SOUL was still there within her was very disturbing.
If anyone can help me, it would be Alphys. Maybe she can figure out what happened to me.
But when she got to the Lab, Alphys was missing. She found a note in Alphys' near-illegible chicken-scratch handwriting:
'I have to be able to face my own mistakes. I want to be clear: this isn't anyone else's problem but mine. If you want to know 'the truth', enter the door next to this note. You at least deserve what I did.'
Frisk hoped she didn't have to go down to the True Lab again. She'd been there before, and it was terrifying. She tried to reach Alphys' phone but she couldn't get through – Alphys had no signal.
Alphys is down there. I have to go down there too.
Frisk took a deep breath and stepped into the elevator that would take her to the True lab. The lift shuddered and creaked on the way down and the lights went out. Frisk crouched on the floor and covered her eyes until it was over.
The elevator crashed to a halt, and Frisk had to use her stick to lever the door open. The power had gone, and the emergency backup lighting cast a sickly dim green glow. Even that had begun to flicker. The thought of being plunged into complete darkness was horrible.
The True Lab was in a bad state of repair. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere. Cracks and peeling paint too. There was a damp, sweetish rotten smell that made Frisk gag.
Something scuttered along the wall behind her, and she jumped.
What's wrong with me? I used to be braver than this.
Oh. I see. This is Chara's fear. Fear of the dark.. Fear of being alone.
Now it's part of me.
Frisk pressed on.
What was that in the distant dark..? Something white. Frisk squinted. Could it be a lab coat? it wasn't moving. It looked like a figure, just crouching there. She approached timidly. Yes! It was-
"Alphys!"
Alphys squeaked and startled.
Frisk tried to hide how much she was shaking. She crept up to Alphys. What was Alphys doing? In the dim lighting she could make out Alphys' hand on the lever of a garbage disposal chute.
The chute was big enough for Alphys' body to fit down it. Surely not-
"Alphys.. it's dark and scary down here. Come upstairs with me..?" said Frisk.
"..I-I'm not coming back.." whispered Alphys.
"Come on Alphys, I need you. Please come upstairs with me."
Alphys burst into tears.
"I-I-I'm a failure. I wanted to help.. and I messed it all up! I can't take it.. all these phone calls and letters. If I had the courage, I'd.." she glanced at the garbage disposal, "but I'm too cowardly.."
Alphys' situation, her words, resonated within Frisk. Deep sympathy for her plight. Frustration for her lack of self-belief.
I have far more to be ashamed of than you do, Alphys. Don't give up!
"Talk to me", Frisk said. "I read your note. And your journal entries. Is this.. about the amalgamates?"
Alphys nodded. "I injected the dying monsters with Determination so their SOULs would last after death.. They recovered.. and.. they looked healthy. Now they're.. they're… Seeing them like this… How can I send them back to their families? I r-really messed up.. All I ever do is mess up. I'm an inconvenience to everybody.."
"I think we can. The families will still be happy to see them alive. I've met the amalgamates. None of them hurt me, and they still remember who they are. I'll help you send them home."
"I c-can't face it.. I'm too afraid…"
"Alphys, I have no way to prove this to you, but I know this will work out. Please believe me. You've saved these monsters' lives and their families will be grateful. I promise you."
Alphys allowed herself to be led to the lift.
Frisk was very glad to be back in the Clean Lab, the bright and cheerful front that Alphys had set up to hide the horrors of her experiments. She did her best to cheer Alphys up.
"Alphys, you CAN put this right. Nobody can do it, except you. I believe in you!"
"How can I believe in myself after this?"
"I'm going to give you something. Some of my determination.." and Frisk hugged Alphys tightly and held her.
"D-d-determination?! Wait! W-what if I melt? What if we get fused together!?" Alphys said, as she started to struggle.
"If that happened, I wouldn't mind. You're one of the best people I ever met. Kind.. Smart.. adorable.." Frisk didn't let go. She held Alphys tightly.
"Y-you really believe in me that much? And.. even if we got permanently stuck together…?"
"I mean it, Alphys, you're one of the people I most admire. Did that work? Do you feel more determined?"
Alphys paused for a moment.
"Yes", she said. "I've changed my mind about all this. I'm going to tell everyone what I've done. It's… I-it's going to be hard. But I'll do it. The amalgamates are still themselves. They deserve better than living down there, eating.. um.. dog food.."
"You can do it!"
"Y-yeah! I'm gonna make some phone calls!"
"Then I'll start bringing the amalgamates up here."
"A-are you sure you can… um.. I mean, it's dark and scary down there.. and those guys get kinda sassy when they don't get fed on time.."
"I'll be brave if you will. Those amalgamates never harmed me before. I'll be fine!" said Frisk confidently, marching to the elevator.
Snowdrake's mother was the most horrifying amalgamate in appearance, but Frisk knew she was incapable of attacking.
"…Sn.. o..wwwwy.." the amalgamate moaned.
"Yeah! I met Snowy, he's a really COOL guy!"
Though it was dark, and the amalgamate's face was grotesque, Frisk knew she was smiling. She grasped for another ice pun.
"He also taught me to ski, and it was all downhill from there.."
Her joke was so terrible that she cringed at it. But Snowdrake's mother looked overjoyed that her son was doing well and making friends.
"Snowwwwyyyyyy!"
"There's SNOW possible way my puns could get any worse. I'll have to get Snowy to help me! Are you ready to meet him?"
Frisk led Snowdrake's mother by one of her.. appendages.. to the lift, and tried hard not to think about it.
They both blinked in the bright light of Alphys' lab. In well-lit surroundings, Snowdrake's mother was more pitiful than scary.
Alphys ran up to them both. "..I did it!" she said. I called the families. They know what happened, but they're.. happy..?! Erm.. um.. I'll call Snowdrake now!"
Snowdrake and his mother were reunited.
Frisk was pleasantly surprised at how little Snowdrake was affected by his mother's strange appearance. "She needs cheering up", she told him, "You must have a few good jokes, now that you're a famous comedian."
"Nah, I found that fame was SLEETING", Snowdrake retorted. "There's no COLD hard cash in that business. That's why I'm gonna rob a SNOWBANK!"
They all laughed, even the monsters that had been fused to Snowdrake's mother. One of the Vegetoid monsters near her eye said, "I'm so glad I could join a family with a good sense of humor! I already love you from my head TO-MA-TOES! Hahaha!"
"That went… r-really well!" said Alphys. "Let's keep going!"
And so Frisk went down to the True Lab again. Lemon Bread, the amalgamate composed of Shyren's sister and at least one other toothy monster, pretended to be a save point, and gave Frisk a horrible fright. Frisk persevered and hummed Shyren's favorite tune to lure her into the elevator.
Frisk thought Endogeny was adorable. She didn't even mind the slobber.
There was another terrifying moment when Frisk walked past a mirror in the dark and nearly leaped out of her skin when her reflection moved in the dim lighting. Just when she managed to calm down, Reaper Bird launched itself out of the mirror at her. She could only cower on the ground, praying for safety. But she didn't give up.
One by one, she and Alphys reunited the amalgamates with their families. All of the monsters expressed their gratitude to Alphys.
Napstablook and Shyren came to collect Shyren's sister. Shyren was too timid to say anything, but Napstablook spoke for her. "shyren brought her sister's violin.. i thought maybe we could sprinkle the ashes onto it.. i'm so glad she's alive.. oh no.. i've made a happy occasion really awkward.. oh well.. oooooo.."
Frisk and Alphys were back in the Clean Lab, relaxing after a hard day. It hadn't been easy, but it was well worth the reward.
"So t-t-that's it! All the amalgamates have gone home! I.. um.. I don't know how to thank you.."
Actually, that was the easy part, thought Frisk.
"Alphys, today I came to find you. Because.. I need your help."
"Y-you need MY help?! I'd do anything for you.. but, um…"
"Something strange happened to my SOUL. It doesn't feel right. Would you mind taking a look at it?" asked Frisk.
Alphys looked flustered and out of sorts, but Frisk could sense her curiosity.
"You will help me, won't you? ..Please?"
"C-c-come this way then... Follow me."
Alphys took a pair of flashlights, and they climbed down an emergency staircase. Neither of them trusted the lift.
She led Frisk to the Determination Extractor. It reminded her of Sans' blasters, some sort of animal skull with huge eye sockets. Cables and tubes came off each side, disappearing into the darkness. The first time Frisk had seen it, many RESETs ago, she'd been so afraid and so curious, but never dared to tamper with it. Now it seemed she'd be getting a proper introduction.
Alphys wheeled an operating table in from another room. "Lie down here and make yourself comfortable. Try and relax. I promise you it doesn't hurt, it just looks a bit scary." Frisk obediently lay down on the operating table. Her heart was pounding so hard it was almost painful. The dark screen beside the Extractor lit up with green text:
STATUS: ACTIVE
MODE: SCAN
Alphys was calibrating the machine. Every now and then, she stopped to check on Frisk. "Ok.. we're ready", she said. "I'm.. um.. going to wheel you inside the machine. First, put this on your heart", and here she handed Frisk a padded electrode with some thin wires connecting it to the Extractor. Trembling, Frisk slipped it under her sweater. It felt cold against her bare skin.
"A-a-are you ready?" said Alphys. Frisk nodded. She wheeled the operating table under the Extractor. Even though Frisk knew there was nothing to fear, she was terrified as the skull-shaped shadow loomed over her. Alphys' yellow scale-skinned paw reached to her through one of the eye sockets – she took it and squeezed it gratefully.
"I-I'm starting it!" said Alphys. The electrode on Frisk's chest made her skin tingle, as if a current was running through it. Frisk concentrated on controlling her breathing and staying calm. She could hear Alphys tapping away at the keyboard, clicking buttons, connecting cables.
This was a lot scarier when I came here alone, for the first time. I have Alphys with me. She'll find out what's happened to me.. maybe my SOUL can be restored.
The experiment was over and Alphys was analyzing her data at her workstation in the Clean Lab. Frisk hovered anxiously at Alphys' shoulder, but she couldn't understand what all those numbers meant.
"There. Um.. are you ready?"
Frisk swallowed her fear. "I'm ready", she said.
"Let's recap on what happened to the Amalgamates first". Alphys went over to a whiteboard and started to draw some diagrams. She was so calm and confident when explaining the science. All of her awkwardness was gone.
"The Amalgamates are fallen down monsters with fading SOULs, which I injected with Determination. Since monster bodies do not have enough physical matter to handle high concentrations of Determination, the magic that composed them lost cohesion, and their bodies started to melt. Proximity to other monster SOULs in a similar state allowed the monsters' SOULs and bodies to fuse together."
Alphys drew another diagram. A similar event for a human.
"Extrapolating from this.. imagine a human SOUL that has been.. um.. compromised. Imagine it has a concentration of Determination that is near-lethal, even for a human. I hypothesize that the human SOUL might lose cohesion in the same way – and be able to fuse with the SOUL of another human if one were nearby."
Now Alpyhs drew a heart on the board. She shaded some parts of it red and the other parts blue.
"The data we collected in the Determination Extractor fit my proposed model. Your SOUL has properties suggesting it originated from two different human beings. Both SOUL parts show signs of recent trauma. H-h-however, in its current state, your SOUL is.. i-i-it's fully functional."
Frisk nodded. Deep down, she'd known it all along. She'd given her SOUL to Chara, and that contract was binding, still. She remembered him wishing, "We'll be together forever, won't we?"
His dream had come true.
And didn't I also pray with all my heart that I could turn Chara good and bring him with me to the surface?
She wondered if Chara had planned the whole thing.
Frisk fell to her knees, suddenly feeling faint. Alphys rushed forward, dropping her board pens, and held her.
"Y-you talked to me earlier today, um.. regarding the other amalgamates. If I hadn't injected them with determination, they might not have survived at all. B-b-but they're still alive and their families are overjoyed to have them back. And right now.. I… I-I'm really glad you're still here. You've helped me.. so much.."
NIGHT
Frisk unpacked Flowey from her box and set him on the desk beside her bed. She could already see he looked unwell. His leaves were slightly wilted, and the color of his petals looked faded.
She reached out to lift his head up, but he flinched away from her.
"I really don't mean you any harm. If I wanted you dead, don't you think I would have finished you already?" she said, irritated.
"Why are you keeping me alive?" asked Flowey miserably, "You caught me. Why not just snap my stem? What's the use in keeping me in that Box? There's no light, no air, nothing to do and nobody to talk to."
"Right now, you've got lamp light, I'm about to water you, and then we'll have a nice chat. How does that sound?"
Flowey did look dejected. But Frisk had plans for them both and she needed them to work together.
"You're my first friend, here in the Underground. Speaking for Chara, you were his first friend too. So I'll give you a choice: either you can stay out and talk to me nicely, or you can go back in that Box" said Frisk reasonably.
I'm even starting to sound like Chara. I'm bargaining and manipulating. Giving poor Flowey a choice between fear and boredom. Chara won me over eventually. Maybe he can do the same for Flowey.
"Water.. Please.." Flowey begged. Frisk watered him and adjusted her bedside lamp so he could get more of its light. She reclined on her bed and gave him a patient smile.
"You and I, Flowey, are going to have to learn to trust each other. Let's get to know each other a little better. You were so curious about me before. Isn't there anything you want to ask me?"
Of course, when Flowey was powerful and Frisk was his plaything, he'd enjoyed dissecting her motives and feelings. He was considerably less enthusiastic now the roles were reversed. But he was curious, Frisk could feel it. Flowey got bored with the regular monsters; he wanted new information and he thrived on dark secrets.
"You know who I am; you called me 'Asriel' last night. Who and what, exactly, are you? Are you Chara? Or something else?"
"I'm both Chara and Frisk. Our SOULs got combined in this body."
That piqued Flowey's interest. He had a special fascination for SOULs.
"Can I .. see it? Your combined SOUL, I mean." he asked.
"Can you? Have a look and tell me what you see." Frisk lay back against her pillows and let her arms relax.
Flowey bent his head to have a closer look. He frowned. "It's full of holes.. but somehow it's holding together. It doesn't look too good.. Kinda wilted, like me. And… Woah.. that's a lot of LV…" He stared greedily.
Frisk wasn't surprised.
She'd killed Chara and then absorbed his SOUL. Both of their Levels of Violence would be combined.
There was something else Frisk wanted to try. She remembered her first night with Chara, when he let her share the warmth of his SOUL. Would it work on Flowey?
"Flowey, come closer", she called.
"I'm in a bucket", he said glumly. His expression said 'you idiot'.
Frisk moved him closer. She held her hand to his face. Flowey looked wary, barely tolerating the touch.
"Can you feel anything?"
"Not really. Unless you mean suspicious and threatened?"
Frisk picked up the bucket and set it on her lap. She hugged poor Flowey gently, while he squirmed and wriggled. She called into her own SOUL for compassion and mercy, or for some of Chara's brotherly feelings to surface.
Come on! Try! Remember the feeling of befriending someone you thought you wouldn't get on with. Remember the feeling of forgiveness!
But somehow these feelings were diminished. They were far less than they had been before.
Her kind deeds today, she realized, were only an act to get what she wanted. She saved Alphys from despair and suicide, and persuaded her to release the amalgamates to their families.. but that was only to get Alphys to help her.
Still, she desperately longed for Flowey to accept her.
"Flowey, do you feel anything for me? Any feeling of warmth or friendship?"
"No. I just feel weird. Please can you stop doing that?"
Frisk set Flowey back on her desk, feeling disappointed.
"Let's call it a night", she suggested. "I'll leave the light on for you. Would you like any more water?"
"No, I'm good, thanks. You're really gonna leave me here, beside you, while you sleep? You're not putting me back in the Box for tonight?"
"Of course. I trust you. Besides, if you DO try anything, it will only work once.."
Writer's note:
This is the first story fragment I wrote. I created a monster: Amalgamate!Frisk? Franken!Frisk?
Anyway, for any readers who made it this far, I would be really grateful for a review. Let me know if you're enjoying the story, or give some constructive criticism so I can improve.
Peace,
Mong Dog
Xx