It happened on the thirteenth of the first month, as they had anticipated. However, there was a twist.
Frisk woke up in the morning, feeling an awful sense of dread, and opened up their laptop. It was all over the news. There was an attack on the city downtown by an unknown perpetrator. It started with an explosion in the downtown mall. As people started fleeing, a mysterious, black, and impenetrable substance began to spread out from the source of the explosion, covering the walls, floor, and ceiling. Eventually, it had overtaken the whole mall, and now there was a thick and dense cloud of black surrounding the entire building.
There was a live stream of the event by reporters. Police were all over the scene, and many of them were dashing into the mall to find out what was going on. According to the reporters, not one of them had come back out. People everywhere were panicking, with some already screaming about an impending doomsday. More than a few monsters were fleeing for their lives as humans started accusing them of using destructive magic to terrorize the city.
"Chara," Frisk said, shaking their body to wake them up.
Fortunately, Chara was quick to snap awake when Frisk showed them the live stream of the attack.
"The cultist gave us the wrong place," Frisk said. "It isn't the laboratory. Killer attacked the downtown mall instead."
"It's chaos out there," Chara said, staring in shock at the stream. "Should we reset?"
Frisk nodded. "It looks like the best thing we can do right now. If we go back, then we can warn Alphys that the attack is going to happen at the mall."
"Wait. Isn't Killer aware of our resets?" Chara said. "What if they change their location of attack once we've reseted?"
"That's true," Frisk replied. They looked at the screen again, wondering what they could do.
They could wait. Sans had already warned the government about Killer, and with the codes for the signal that Alphys had given them, they could verify the identity of the attacker. Then, every nuclear weapon in the country would be aimed at Killer. As many people as possible would be evacuated within twenty four hours, and then the military's entire nuclear arsenal would be launched.
The destructive impact of that many nuclear weapons striking at once would not only disintegrate the city, but it would most likely spread out far beyond the site of impact and flatten everything within a huge radius. The fallout would probably end life on the planet. Even if it did manage to destroy Killer, the world would no longer be a habitable place. The best scenario would be that every survivor relocated to the underground. The worst scenario...
Everyone dies.
It was an impossible risk. The last of all last resorts. Sans probably did not ever want to see such a plan come to fruition. He must have placed his trust in them and Chara to think of something else. To find some other way to stop Killer and save the world. They had to try, and exhaust, every other possible option imaginable.
"We're resetting," Frisk urged. "If anything, we can go back with more information. We know what Killer is going to do now."
"All right," Chara said. "Let's do it."
Frisk held Chara's hand. They closed their eyes and thought of going back, of returning the world to an earlier state. As usual, reality around them began to fade. They felt the physical world disappearing and themselves retreating further and further away from it until they were flying through a tunnel of time, the past as their destination.
Opening up their eyes, Frisk saw the wall ahead. A massive cluster of shadows. They could sense Killer's presence. Killer was definitely close by, watching them.
But Chara was here. They were still holding hands, resetting together. The two of them flew through the wall, shattering it with their determination. The shadows started to disintegrate and fade into nothingness. They saw a light up ahead. It was the end of the tunnel. They were flying towards it, flying back to an earlier time...
Frisk opened their eyes.
Outside, it looked like early morning. The sun was just beginning to rise.
"What?!" Chara exclaimed, staring at the clock in their room. "We barely reset back two hours!"
"Killer's determination must have increased," Frisk whispered apprehensively. "They stopped us from going too far back."
"When were they going to attack?"
"The news said the explosion occurred at eight twenty-three," Frisk replied.
The time on the clock was seven fifteen.
"Let's call Alphys," Chara said, grabbing their phone. Frisk nodded.
Chara dialed Alphys' number and waited. Several rings later, there was no response.
"Huh?!"
Chara dialed a second time. Again, no response. They were redirected to leave a message.
"Alphys, you – you dirtbag!" Chara yelled. "You said you were going to be up all night! Why aren't you answering the phone? We have important information!"
"Let me try," Frisk said, taking out their phone.
They dialed Alphys. No response. Then, they called Sans, and then Undyne. No response from any of them.
"SHIT!" Chara shouted. "What's going on here?!"
"I don't know," Frisk said. They were beginning to tremble. "Something weird's happening."
"What do we do?!"
Frisk tried to calm themselves down. Right now, panicking was not going to solve anything. They took a deep breath. "Chara. We might have to go stop Killer ourselves."
"Huh?"
"I know this sounds selfish, but we can't rely on them," Frisk said. They hated saying something so cynical. "Killer wants to fight us. That's probably the only reason why they're attacking the downtown mall. It's to spread terror, which will draw us in. Unfortunately, we'll have to give them what they want. We can't let so many innocent people die. We have to stop them."
Chara's expression turned bleak. "Frisk. Do you...do you really think we have to do this by ourselves?"
"I don't want to, either," Frisk said, lowering their head. "But, since we can't contact our friends, what else can we do right now?"
"What if we wait?"
"Then Killer gets the advantage. Who knows how far back we can reset the next time we do it? Maybe they're steadily eroding our determination, so that we end up resetting back less and less each time we try. Right now, we still have time." Frisk pointed at the clock. "Killer's going to attack in just over an hour. We can take the subway to get downtown in twenty-five minutes. If we hurry, we could still stop them!"
"I...I suppose you're right."
"Then, let's not wait any longer. We have to get going."
Frisk and Chara grabbed their jackets and put them on. As they went to the door, they head a voice come from behind them.
"Chara. Frisk."
They turned around. It was Asriel.
"I heard what happened," Asriel said. He mustered up a smile. "Whatever you do...come out alive, okay? Save the world. For me. For everyone."
Frisk smiled back. "Thank you."
"Do your best out there. You've gone up against impossible odds before, like...like when you fought me. I know you can do it again. I trust you two. You're both the best."
Chara looked like they were about to cry. "Asriel, thank y-"
"I've wasted your time," Asriel said, shaking his head. "Don't talk to me. Go!"
"Yes."
They hurried out the door. It was freezing cold outside, but that didn't matter right now. Both of them began running towards the train station. A frigid wind blew against Frisk's face. It stung like needles. They could barely feel their face anymore.
When they reached the train station, it was seven forty. The station was already flowing with people.
"Line twenty-seven, right?" Frisk said, hurrying in the direction of the subways.
"When's the next one?"
"Seven forty-five!"
They paid their fare and got to their destination in three minutes. It was an anxious wait of four minutes for the subway to arrive (it was always late). When it did, they hurried inside and grabbed seats beside each other.
"Frisk," Chara whispered, "what's your plan for when we get there?"
"We'll hurry to the mall," Frisk answered. "The news said the explosion occurred at the fountain at the centre of the mall. We'll wait for it to happen, then confront Killer."
"Isn't that kind of dangerous?"
"We'll hide somewhere," Frisk said. "If either of us get injured, we'll immediately reset."
"...Okay."
The next twenty-five minutes were the most nerve-wracking in Frisk's life. They had never felt so tense before. Their foot started to shake, gathering looks from people around them. They closed their eyes, breathing in deeply.
Nasty thoughts started to come into their mind. Killer may have changed their plan and decided to attack earlier. Maybe the explosion had already happened. Maybe they were in the subway tunnels right now, ready to destroy the train. Maybe they were already inside the train, searching for them, ready to strike-
"Frisk."
Frisk felt Chara's hand holding theirs.
"You're shaking so badly," Chara whispered. "It's...it's going to be okay, you know?"
Frisk gripped Chara's hand tightly, holding onto it as if for dear life.
"It's going to be okay," Frisk repeated, even though they didn't exactly believe it.
Chara nodded. "I mean, I don't really think so, but I wa-"
"Thank you," Frisk said.
"...Okay."
When the train arrived at their destination, the two of them hurried out and sprinted to the exit of the station.
Cold air struck their faces as they arrived back onto the street. Checking their phone, Frisk saw that it was eight sixteen. They had exactly seven minutes left.
They dashed to the entrance of the mall, which was close by the station exit. Even in the early morning, the inside of the mall was ridiculously crowded. The time was eight nineteen. Four minutes left. They continued running.
At eight twenty-one, the fountain came into sight. It was on the first floor. They descended the nearest escalator, and now were standing in front of it.
"Where do we hide?" Chara asked.
Frisk looked around. There were so many people.
"That store over there!"
They rushed into a nearby bookstore and shuffled up behind the door. Both of them turned to look at a desk that was full of books and pretended to be browsing them.
"Eight twenty-two, thirty-six seconds," Frisk whispered, glancing at their phone. "It could happen any time now."
"Let's get ready."
"Right. When the explosion happens, we look at where it came from. If Killer's there, we charge them."
Chara nodded and put their hand in their pocket. "I'm ready."
Frisk felt for the worn dagger in their own pocket as well. Eight twenty-two, forty-nine seconds. Just eleven seconds left.
"Ready."
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. On-
There was an enormous burst. A huge gust of air struck Frisk and Chara, nearly toppling them over. The sound was like that of a bomb being set off. Books went flying off the table. Windows shattered.
They quickly got up to their feet and looked out the store.
It was there. The fountain was completely destroyed. Water and debris covered the floor. Where the fountain once stood was now just a giant hole in the ground. And, pouring out of that hole: a deep, creeping, black substance, spreading out in all directions.
Everyone started screaming.
"Let's go!" Frisk said, pointing at the hole.
"What? Killer isn't there!"
"We can't wait for them!" Frisk replied, feeling an immense surge of adrenaline. "Let's jump down the hole! If we die, we just reset!"
Chara's eyes grew wide. "Frisk-"
"Now!"
Frisk grabbed Chara's hand and dashed towards the hole.
They didn't even bother to think. As they found themselves rushing up to the edge of the hole, they jumped.
Chara jumped with them.
They closed their eyes as they fell, expecting their lives to end at any second. But, to their surprise, their feet landed on...something. They opened up their eyes.
The place was indescribable.
All around them was a creeping, shifting, twisting mass of shadows. Where there were gaps in the shadows, they saw vague outlines of a grey stone wall. The floor kept moving. It was like trying to stand on a ground covered by giant, writhing worms.
They guessed that they must have landed in an underground area below the mall. Except this whole place was now covered with Killer's shadows.
"What now?!" Chara asked.
At once, it seemed as if the place itself became aware of their presence.
Frisk remembered. The shadows were all part of Killer's soul, part of the thousands or millions of monster essences that Killer had absorbed when they rampaged through the underground. From all of the twisting black mass, body parts began to appear. Arms. Legs. Tails. Claws. Wings. Fangs. Mouths. Teeth.
Behind them, and below their feet, a cluster of solid black eyes appeared.
"RUN!" Frisk yelled.
They began sprinting down in one direction. The shadows started to chase after them. It was like the black substance was slowly coming off the walls, transforming into sharp, thrashing limbs, and each of those limbs were climbing and swimming over each other in an attempt to reach them. Chara and Frisk ran as fast as they could. Frisk felt their heart pounding so heavily that they thought it might burst out of their chest.
The hallway, or whatever kind of room they were in, started to angle downwards. Grey stone walls became replaced by brown dirt ones. The floor levelled, and they reached an intersection. Grabbing Frisk's hand, Chara turned sharply to the left. Frisk followed after them without a second thought. Ahead, there were more dark brown walls, but now there were also bright electric lamps hanging upon them.
They were in the tunnels again.
The shadows were still chasing after them. The electric lamps became covered by them and were extinguished one by one. They reached stairs and began descending down. Fear and terror struck Frisk as they remembered the length of this descent. The stairs went downwards forever. They could not even see the bottom.
It went down, and down, and down, and all the while they heard rumbling around them, the rumbling of those chasing shadows. They didn't bother to look back. There was no time to. They just had to keep running until they either reached a dead end (in which case, they were done for) or until they found Killer.
Suddenly, Frisk lost their footing and tripped. They went tumbling down the stairs.
"FRISK!" Chara shouted.
Frisk stopped their fall by grabbing onto a rock jutting out of the wall. A tendril of a shadow burst out of the wall, enveloping their hand. Frisk tried to stand up, but they couldn't move their hand.
"FRISK!" Chara ran up beside Frisk and grabbed their hand and began pulling it.
Frisk's mind was spinning. They were panting so quickly that they felt ready to pass out. Their hand wouldn't budge.
They turned around for just a second. Behind them, blackness coated everything. Eyes and mouths and teeth were emerging out of all the walls. Within moments, the shadows would arrive and cover them. They would be swamped with those...things. It would be certain death.
"Reset," Frisk whispered. "Reset!"
"AH!"
With a surprising amount of force, Chara pulled their hand out from the shadow.
Frisk stared at their hand, amazed that it was still there at the end of their arm and in one piece. Then, they turned around. The shadows were inches away.
They jumped and sprinted.
Down the stairs they went, running at top speed for longer than they had ever run before. Frisk pushed themselves to their limit. Their heart was punching against their chest. Their arms and their legs screamed for rest. Their lungs felt like they were about to explode. Still, they kept running.
Chara was doing the same.
After what felt like an eternity, they reached the bottom of the stairs. Ahead of them was a long, dark tunnel. But there was an opening at the end of the tunnel. An opening filled with light.
"GO!" Frisk shouted.
They sprinted. The physical needs of their battered body no longer mattered. All they knew was that they had to reach the end of the tunnel. There was nothing else to think about. Run, run and keep running. Pure determination.
All around them, the walls began to change. Shadows engulfed everything. They saw the limbs reaching out for them at the edge of their vision. The walls were all turning black.
Holes of blackness, emerging in spiral shapes, getting ever larger and larger. The shadows spun around them, creating webs. Webs of black, expanding outward, coalescing and amalgamating together and forming so many twisting and writhing and swirling shapes. Still, the shadows chased. They hunted and enveloped and flooded and consumed everything.
The end of the tunnel was just up ahead.
With a final burst of strength, Frisk and Chara sprinted at top speed, jumping as they saw the shadows rising out of the floor to trap them. They shot past the end of the tunnel and landed with a thud on hard, cold stone floor.
Shadows burst out of the floor, trapping their arms, their legs, their bodies, and even their faces. They could only look up. Looking at the figure that was approaching them.
Killer.
"Well done," Killer said, walking towards them and clapping their hands.
Frisk's eyes darted around, trying to observe where they were. The room was enormous. The ceiling was so high that they could barely even see it. And, all around them, the walls were made of black stone.
"It's been such a long time since we've last met, hasn't it?" Killer said, standing in front of Frisk and Chara. There was a knife in their hands. "I must congratulate you for successfully escaping from every trap that I've laid. In fact, the two of you are so persistent, you've even managed to run all the way down to the Core of the underground!"
Frisk's eyes grew wide.
"Yes, yes, this is the Core," Killer said, making a sweeping motion with their hands. "You must be wondering where all the magic electricity and whatnot went. Well. To be frank, this is where it all went."
Shadows swarmed the walls of the room. Eyes and mouths and teeth and thousands of faces emerged out from them. The entire room was now black.
"I absorbed it," Killer continued, giggling. "I've absorbed all the energy of the Core of this world, and the Core of every other world. The amount of power is staggering. There was never any hope for you to begin with. You thought you could make a difference by confronting me, by going all the way down here. But, what can you do, really? Did you really think you could even scratch me?"
"We still have more determination," Frisk said. "We'll just reset."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Killer replied, pointing their knife down at Frisk's face. "Sure, you can reset. But what can you really do? I will be there every time, a wall in your path. I will stop you from going back far enough to do anything meaningful. Yes, you'll win yourself safety, if only for just a moment. But then, I'll just attack again. I'll attack the city and kill everyone. You'll fall into my hands, no matter what you do. It's not a question of if. It's a question of when. And, the longer you wait, the less you will be able to go back!"
Frisk struggled to break free from the shadows that bound them. But they couldn't even move an inch.
"Oh, and don't think your country's little 'nuclear arsenal' is going to stop me," Killer said. "I've absorbed FAR too much power from my fun escapades into the other timelines. The amount of magical power in one Core itself greatly supersedes the energy output of a nuclear bomb. Maybe, if you're lucky, the bombs will be able to put a tiny dent in my shadows. But, more likely, they'll just wreck everything on the surface. And then, you'll realize too late that I'm still alive, and I'll come back out to consume everything!"
"How...many...timelines are left?" Frisk tried to say.
"You're worried about that?!" Killer said. They laughed. "I've gotten rid of all of the easy ones. There's just the 'pacifist' timelines left, the ones where all the monsters make it to the surface. But, don't worry. I'll go after them, too, once I've finished with this world. You see, this was a particularly annoying timeline to deal with. The combined determination of you and Chara together was a massive hindrance to my progress."
Killer leaned down. "Well. If you want to reset, you should do it now. You're delusional if you think you can take me on. But, it won't make a difference. Like I said, I will destroy everything. I will kill everything. I will consume all life in this world and every other world and every other timeline until my soul is the only thing left in existence. I will be greater than anything imaginable. I will make my soul the universe itself!"
Frisk struggled and pushed and kicked. They tried to go back. They tried to make the world disappear. But it didn't work. Their determination was fading.
Perhaps Killer was right. Perhaps it really was the end, and nothing they could do would ever be able to stop them. Perhaps Killer really had won after all.
"Can't reset?" Killer said. "I knew it."
"NO!" Chara shouted.
"Well, this was a lot easier than I had envisioned," Killer said, standing back up. "Looks like I'm done here. It's time to die!"
The shadows surrounding Frisk and Chara rose up, and each transformed into the shape of a knife, tips pointed at them.
"Say your last goodbyes!" Killer shouted, laughing.
The shadows closed in, raised up, and-
A massive wave of purple fire shot into the room. It incinerated the shadows, freeing Frisk and Chara from their bonds, and then swarmed around Killer. With a shocked expression, Killer backed away as the fires closed in upon them.
Astounded, Frisk and Chara returned to their feet. Frisk turned around.
Toriel rushed in the room.
"Do not be afraid, my children," Toriel said, taking Frisk and Chara into her arms. "I am here to protect you."
Frisk couldn't believe their eyes. Toriel was here. Their mother had come for them.
"Mother!" Chara said, burying themselves into her hug.
"Mom!"
"My children. You should not have to fight against our enemy alone. No matter what happens, I will fight alongside you."
The fires vanished around Killer. They stepped forward, and the shadows materialized around them once more.
"You think that pathetic attack will stop me?"
"No, but this will!"
A wave of spears and bones shot out of the tunnel and towards Killer. They were struck and thrown backwards to the ground.
Undyne and Sans walked up beside Toriel.
"Hey, kid. Sorry for the wait," Sans said.
Undyne grinned. "Alphys called us all here!"
"Undyne...Sans! You too!" Chara exclaimed.
Frisk felt themselves trembling. Their friends were here. They were really all-
"You idiots!"
Killer stood back up. Waves and waves of shadows swirled around them. Black electricity crackled through the air. They raised a hand. "I'll end all of you!"
A huge pillar of bones, surrounded by wreathes of fire, burst out of the tunnel and blasted Killer's shadows, throwing them back once more.
"NOT IF I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!"
Papyrus sauntered into the room, a bony hand upon his hip, smiling gleefully. Walking up beside him was Alphys.
And, behind them, Asgore.
Frisk let go of Toriel.
They were here. Their old friends were all back.
"Sorry, Frisk," Asgore said, walking towards them. "It's been a while. I guess I, uh, should've visited more?"
"DAD!" Chara shouted, running up towards Asgore and throwing a hug around him.
The look on Asgore's face was of pure astonishment.
"Chara!"
"You're all here...you're really all here," Frisk whispered.
Toriel. Sans. Undyne. Papyrus. Alphys. Asgore.
"That's right!" Alphys said. "I could n-never let you fight Killer alone! So I spent the past two d-days gathering everybody, and we all rushed here as soon as we saw the explosion!"
She took out a device like a laser gun. "Of c-course, I'm going to fight too!"
Chara was already sniffing. "Everyone...I'm so glad..."
Frisk blinked back tears.
"My children, we will all stand by you," Toriel said. "We will all protect you."
"HA!" Killer shouted, standing back up. "So, there's eight of you now. That won't make any difference!"
Frisk stared back at them. "Even if there's only eight of us-"
"Who said there's only eight of us?" Sans interrupted.
"Kid," Undyne spoke up. "Take another look!"
Frisk heard footsteps. They turned around.
Tears welled up again in their eyes.
It was everyone. Everyone.
Froggit. Whimsun. Loox. Napstablook. Vegetoid. Moldsmal. Migosp. Snowdrake. Doggo. Ice Cap. Lesser Dog. Dogamy. Dogaressa. Gyftrot. Glyde. Greater Dog. Aaron. Woshua. Shyren. Mad Dummy. Temmie. MoldBygg. Vulkin. Tsundereplane. Pyrope. Royal Guard 01 and 02. Muffet. Madjick. Knight Knight. Whimsalot. Astigmatism. Final Froggit. Mettaton. The River Person.
"You can do it!'
"I believe in you!"
"Ribbit, ribbit!"
"oh no...the human is crying...because we all came..."
"We'll defeat them!"
"You got this!"
"'Ice' to help out!"
"It's our final chance!"
"Woof, woof!"
"Come on!"
"La la la!"
"tem HATE bad shadows!"
"Let's beat them up!"
"We are all, like, gonna fight together and stuff!"
"Ahuhuhu..."
"You've GOT to win!"
"We're with you too!"
"I remembered to install defensive upgrades!"
"All together now!"
Tears fell freely from Frisk's eyes.
They turned back around.
Killer was staring at them, shocked.
"You've caused enough trouble for every human and every monster," Asgore said, taking out his trident. "It's time for this to end!"
"This laser g-gun can burn every shadow!"
"I, the Great Papyrus, will attempt to convince you that killing the entire world is wrong! Unless you still try to do it, and you also hurt my friends, in which case, I will just have to fight you as well!"
"Our hearts are all beating as one. Together, we can't lose!"
"Heh...I'm not going to pull any punches this time."
"I will protect my children!"
Frisk smiled and wiped away their tears. Chara did the same, and they stood together.
They were all going to fight.
This was their final and decisive battle.