Epilogue – Photon readings positive

The next morning – Asgore's castle, New Home

Frisk woke up from a much-needed good night's sleep, and was quick to notice that Asriel's bed on the other side of the room was already empty. This disoriented her, as Asriel didn't usually get up much earlier than she did. What time was it?

In an attempt to answer that question, Frisk sat up and grabbed her phone from under her bed. When it was turned on, the time was automatically displayed on the screen.

11:47 a.m..

She almost gasped upon seeing this. She'd been asleep until 11:47?! She hadn't slept that long in a while. She'd almost feel lazy if it weren't for the intense activities of the past few days.

Speaking of which, she felt better than she had before. She somehow felt more confident that the threat of breakdowns was gone, and this night's rest had compensated for the times she lay awake because of a panic attack. Seemed like Gaster really did acquire some power. And Chara…

Chara…

Frisk still wasn't sure what to think of her. Generally, she couldn't help but feel bad for her fellow Human, especially now that she no longer seems to have a problem with Frisk – or at least, not as much of a problem as before. It was still difficult to forget the situation Chara had put everyone in, but the same could be said for the look in her eyes when she left Gaster's domain. And the power she'd allowed the Royal Scientist to have, of course.

When Frisk checked if she had any messages, she saw that both Asriel and Sans had texted her. She first went to see what the former had sent.

Asriel: Hi

Asriel: You there?

Asriel: Plz text me when u wake up

Before replying, the Human decided to check on Sans' texts. Her eyes widened a bit upon reading them. She'd half expected a barrage of puns, making the actual messages all the more disturbing.

Sans: hey kid

Sans: just askin, did gaster say anything about the future?

Sans: as in, was he gonna come back to haunt me and pap?

Sans: plz tell me when ur awake

Frisk began to type.

Frisk: Nope, he didn't

Frisk: Why?

Sans: ah ur awake

Sans: pap and i have more memories

Frisk: From him?

Sans: yea. weird, right?

Frisk: What kind of memories?

Sans: nothin great. some flashes

Sans: pap and i dont really mind, but its a bit disturbing, yknow?

Frisk: Is everything alright?

Sans: sure. just wanted to know if gaster said anything bout it

Sans: now you better get breakfast, sleepyskull

Frisk rolled her eyes at that last one. She went back to Asriel's text messages and resumed typing once she was there.

Frisk: Sup

Asriel: Ah, you're awake

Asriel: Sleep well?

Frisk: Yes actually

Asriel: I'm glad

Asriel: Can I talk to you in person plz?

Frisk: Where are u?

Asriel: Ruins

Frisk: I first gotta get breakfast & stuff

Frisk: Gonna take a while

Asriel: Take your time

Frisk: Cya there

Asriel was on his knees, looking at the flower bed in front of him. He was sitting extremely still and his eyes were completely focused on the flowers, making it look like he was meditating. The heart locket in his hand reflected the sunlight in several directions. His attention was drawn when he heard footsteps. He looked to his right, where Frisk emerged from the hallway. He stood up when she entered the room, quickly put the locket around his neck and hid it underneath his shirt.

"Hey," Frisk greeted. "Toriel said you were acting weird."

Asriel looked at her. "Yeah…"

A second of silence occurred before the Human walked towards the prince, giving him a pitied look. "Hey look…uh… About Chara…"

"What about her?"

"Asriel… You were separated from her. Again."

"True. But now I know she might be alive."

"Actually, that's my point."

Asriel's expression turned into a questioning one. "What do you mean?"

"All these years, you never really got over her death, did you? Then it turns out she's alive, only for her to disappear. And as much as I hate to say this, we're…not sure if she's still alive at the moment. For all we know she…" She paused. "She could've simply…left."

Asriel sighed. He looked at the ground. "I guess…you're right. It kind of crossed my mind already. After what happened, she might've…" He trailed off before looking up at Frisk. "Mom and Dad can never know about her. It'd just break their hearts all over again."

"I know…"

Another silence.

The prince looked at the flower bed. A sad smile made its way onto his face. "You know… My memories of these flowers are…weird. Bittersweet, I guess. It's where I met Chara. And after you saved me, I came back here." He sighed again. "And then there's Flowey…

"Chara said you didn't have the right to live, because the only reason why you're alive is because you were born with a stronger Soul. You were more determined than those other Humans. You were prepared to Reset a million times if that was what it'd take.

"Chara said Dad's war shouldn't've stopped, and that all Humans deserved to die so Monsters could live on the Surface in peace. Her love for Humans was never that great, but it had definitely become worse. And when I tried to tell her that she was wrong, she…she reminded me of how I refused to save Monsterkind – twice. And I…"

Frisk put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes in response in an attempt to keep the tears from appearing again.

"Before she left…" Frisk softly spoke, "she said that none of it was your fault."

Asriel sighed and nodded. Then he wiped his eyes, smiling sadly. "Argh… I'm such a crybaby."

"Hey… Like I said before, there's nothing wrong with that. It means you care."

Gaster was walking around the manifestation of Hotland when he suddenly sensed something appear nearby. His eye sockets gave away his surprise upon recognizing it, before he turned around to meet the familiar yet different appearance of the Entity, who looked unusually uncertain. She was looking at the ground in sorrow, unable to meet the former Royal Scientist's eyes, holding a heart locket in her hand.

A brief moment of silence occurred before Gaster spoke. "Chara?"

Chara didn't respond.

Gaster took a step towards her. "Chara… Are you all right?"

The Human sighed. "Why do you care?"

"I simply do. Papyrus' compassion came from me, after all. Even though I seemed to lack it when I attempted to communicate with him and Sans all those years ago…"

"Heh… Whatever. Why feel bad for a maniac like me?"

"You appear to be regretful. And for a maniac, you have surrendered quite a bit of your power."

"Courtesy of Asriel." Chara sighed again. "You know, I really wanted to talk to him again… But when I did, I messed everything up. He deserves a better friend than me." She looked to her right, where the sea of magma was still present. "Like Frisk."

She dropped the heart locket on the ground. The Royal Scientist glanced at it before calmly walking towards the Entity, carefully picking up the necklace and observing it. He appeared to have a certain interest in the trinket, but in a way that involved more emotion than it did science.

"Asriel misses you," he said. "He is unaware of your current status."

The Human looked at him. "He thinks I'm dead?"

"He is unsure."

Chara hesitated and briefly averted her gaze. "What about Frisk?"

"I believe she, too, acknowledged your repentance – to a certain extent, at least."

For the third time, a sigh escaped Chara's throat. "Look…I don't know if you're the kind of person who's interested in my problems…"

"I am here to listen if you need to talk," Gaster said.

"Thanks."

"You will see your family again, Chara."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am correct. It will happen."

"I don't know if fate has that in mind."

"Perhaps not, but you possess a power that can bring fate to its knees."

"A power I've been misusing for the past years."

"Simply by realizing the error of your ways, you have begun to walk a better path. And you cannot be blamed for everything. It was not you who started the war." Gaster held the locket out to her.

"I was ready to start one." Chara said. She paused, glancing at the necklace. "Guess I'm going to have to…redeem myself, then?"

Gaster nodded approvingly. "Then allow me to assist you."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the Human's face. She looked at the locket again before decisively taking it and putting it around her neck.

"DO YOU THINK…GASTER GAVE US THESE MEMORIES?" Papyrus asked. "AS SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATION?"

"who knows," Sans said, taking a sip from his ketchup. "but really, i think it's a side effect of contacting him. either way, i don't really mind the memories themselves, but it's like that weird feeling we used to have, y'know?"

"YES… AS IF THERE'S SOMETHING IN YOUR HEAD THAT DOESN'T BELONG." Papyrus sat down next to his brother on the couch. "AND THE ONLY WAY FOR US TO LET IT INTEGRATE IS TO WAIT."

"yeah… the least thing gaster could've done was give us some medicine or somethin'."

Despite the situation, the taller skeleton chuckled. "I WOULDN'T DARE SWALLOW THOSE."

It remained silent for a while. Then, Sans grabbed the remote control and turned on the television. "come on. let's see what mettaton has to say."

The end…

I hope you enjoyed this story, despite it being a bit different from its predecessor. I may make another sequel, and possibly more.

In any case, have a good day.

~F