Toby Fox owns Undertale and all associated characters. However, The Defiler is mine.

Frisk stood on a stool in the kitchen so he could reach the counter, determinedly spooning peanut butter onto bread. He'd made four sandwiches so far, he'd need at least another two, plus whatever else he could scrounge up. He was grateful it was summertime; it meant that even though it was very early in the morning there was enough light to see by, and he didn't have to risk waking Toriel up.

Chara's presence did the spiritual equivalent of rolling over and mumbling in her sleep before sinking back down into his subconscious. It made the boy giggle. They'd both had a very long day yesterday. It was a good thing they'd gone to bed early, otherwise he might not have been able to get up before Toriel.

"My child? You are up very early, are you alright?"

Frisk started at the sudden sound behind him, barely keeping his balance on the stool. He turned around to see his mother just entering the kitchen, letting out a huge yawn as she did so. She was wearing a purple bathrobe, and from where it hung open slightly, Frisk could see a pink shirt with the words "Got goat?" on it.

He'd hoped to be gone before she woke up. Oh well. Hopefully, he hadn't been the one to wake her up.

The boy gave Toriel a little wave and a smile before returning to his work. His mother walked up behind him, settling a hand his shoulder.

"What are you… Oh."

Toriel stiffened behind him, then gave a small sigh.

"Has it been that long already?"

Frisk gave a little nod, slapping the two pieces of sufficiently peanut buttered bread together and reaching for more.

"I wish you would let someone come with you, Frisk. I worry about you when you leave like this."

"I'll be alright, Mom." Frisk said quietly. It always helped calm Toriel down when he called her that. He knew that she didn't like his monthly excursions into the Underground, especially since it took nearly three days to get from the exit to his destination. But they'd been through this before, and though Frisk was usually willing to relent to his mother's desires, this was the one thing that he refused to budge on. Eventually, Toriel had just stopped trying to stop him.

Besides, he'd made it through the Underground in one piece with everything trying to kill him, hadn't he? Sure, it had taken a few tries, but by now he knew the place like the back of his hand. Anyway, only one thing lived there now, and that was who Frisk was going to visit.

Toriel walked away from him and he could hear her rummaging around somewhere behind him. At last, he finished making his sandwiches, and carefully wrapped them up and placed them in the backpack on the floor beside him. It was mostly full of food, but there were also some other basics in there, a small blanket, soap and the like. It wasn't much, but it was more than he'd had when he first fell down into the Underground.

He didn't even notice Toriel beside him until she handed him a plastic container with two generous slices of pie from the night before.

"Here. You said your friend liked this, so there's one for each of you. Tell him hello from me, won't you?"

Frisk nodded eagerly and wrapped his arms around the furry Boss Monster. She quickly hugged him back. When it ended, he put the container into his backpack and pulled the zipper closed. It was a little difficult to close given how much was in there, but he managed it anyway.

"Be safe, alright? And be home quickly."

Frisk nodded and threw off a little salute, earning him a chuckle from his mother, before he shouldered his backpack and made for the door. He pulled on his shoes and gave one last wave to Toriel, who was looking at him with a similar expression as when he had left the Ruins, insisting that he needed to continue on.

He wished he could ask her to come with him, but Flowey had made it clear that he didn't want any other visitors, especially anyone from his family. And Frisk had promised not to tell anyone that he was Asriel. So he just gave Toriel a sad smile and walked out the door, leaving her alone in the house.

Toriel sighed and rubbed the space between her horns for a moment as her little boy left. Then she went into the next room to make a phone call.

Frisk managed to make it to the entrance to the Underground before noon. He theoretically could have taken the bus out here, or had someone give him a ride but… it just felt like cheating. It had been scary in the Underground, especially as he was attacked both from outside and in, but there was a part of him that missed his adventure down there.

He stood at the large cave entrance, his back to the cliff where all the monsters had stood, gazing on the surface world. This was the only way to get into the Underground now; the hole that he had fallen in at the beginning of his journey had been closed off so that no-one would fall in like he had done. Besides, he still wasn't sure how he had survived that fall in the first place, and he didn't really want to test it now.

Anyway, this way he got to go through the Underground and remember his whole journey again. With that in mind, he took a deep breath and entered the cave.

He didn't stick around in New Home; he had a long journey ahead of him after all, and besides, Chara always got a little antsy whenever they stayed around her old house for too long. Frisk hoped to get to Alphys's lab before nighttime… not that anything but the time on his old watch would indicate night or day down here.

Since everyone had left, most of the Core's power had been shut down. It was still active, but only on its most basic levels. Alphys and her team occasionally came down to check on the technology, but for the most part it was left alone. What that meant, of course, was no elevators from New Home to Hotland, or to connect the varying levels of Hotland itself.

Of course, elevators weren't the only way to get around, but they had certainly been the most convenient. Frisk had to walk through the silent streets of the empty city in order to proceed. It wasn't as scary as it should have been, though, to be fair, he had gotten through many situations far more terrifying than a simple empty street.

Frisk actually found it quite peaceful. It was away from the bustle of the city he now lived in, and it was nice to just spend some time alone. Or at least, as alone as he ever was.

Chara was fairly quiet. She rarely spoke up much during these trips. Frisk didn't think she disliked them. He knew she liked seeing Asriel, but he thought that she regretted a lot of things down here. Not that she'd ever tell him if she did.

Frisk stopped for a break and a rest in one of the plazas near the edge of the city, drinking the last of his water and refilling his bottle at the water fountain there. It was still going, albeit only just. It probably wouldn't be if it wasn't operating on magic instead of tech.

After his short rest stop, he quickly found himself in Hotland. He had to be careful here. There was a reason that this was the only part of the Underground that had been set up with elevators. There were several levels to Hotland, and the only ways to get around them were precarious to say the least. Any slip and fall would almost definitely end in lava. But Frisk was nimble, and in his last few trips down here, he'd managed to find the easiest ways across. It was still touch and go a few times, but after a few hours of jumping, climbing and walking, he found himself on the bottom level. At last.

He spent the night in Alphys' lab, and continued on his journey in the morning, after eating another sandwich. He'd have to be a little careful, but he was pretty sure he'd packed enough food this time. If he didn't, he could always scavenge. There was usually some fruit or plant growing somewhere that would keep him going till he got home. As much as he loved his mother's snail pie, he had quickly learned that that was the only way he liked snails.

Travelling through Waterfall was a far less perilous journey. There were still a few hurdles, but there was far less risk involved. However, a few times, he got the feeling he was being watched. There was never anything when he looked, and Chara didn't seem to notice anything, so he dismissed it as just nerves.

He made good time, and managed to reach Snowdin before the day was out. He elected to use Grillby's to spend the night. The magic of an elemental monster did not easily fade, and it was still the warmest place in Snowdin after all this time.

The next morning he set out again. It was far less difficult to get through the snowy forest to the Ruins, and he had the good memories of all the silly puzzles that Papyrus had put him through to keep him in a good mood. He should be able to reach Flowey's usual spot by evening. Maybe he'd be home a little early this time! He kind of missed Toriel already.

He'd learned the hard way that if he brought his cell phone along, he'd be absolutely bombarded nearly constantly with phone calls and messages. And especially in Hotland, any break in his concentration could be disastrous. So he'd "forgotten" the phone at home this time. He was sure Toriel was worried, but there wasn't much he could do about that. This was something he needed to do.

As expected, he reached Home just after noon. He smiled, running his hands along the walls and letting himself be lost in memory for a moment. He had spent several days here with Toriel before setting out into the rest of the Underground. He hadn't really intended to leave. It had been a combination of Chara's subconscious urging and his own discoveries that had pushed him to go. He had read every book Toriel had, and he wanted to help the Monsters go free. He hadn't been sure how he could do that, but he was Determined to try.

He only spent a few more minutes there, before coming back to himself and leaving the small house. He would come back and spend the night here before starting the trek home tomorrow.

At last Frisk passed the entrance to the Ruins. Only a few rooms away was where he had first fallen down. Where Flowey always was, sitting in the only light that shone into the Underground.

The boy couldn't help the pang of guilt that stabbed through him as he approached. He hadn't managed to save everyone. He so wished he had. Maybe this time… he would convince Flowey to come up to the surface? He could only hope.

Something's wrong.

Frisk paused mid-step at Chara's voice. He could see the archway that led to the room he had fallen into now.

What is it?

I… I don't know.

Frisk tentatively began moving again, checking around to make sure he was still alone. He could feel Chara's presence rising up, boiling just underneath the surface. She seemed ready to grab control at the first sign of danger. Frisk hoped he wouldn't have to fight her for control. She could get… erratic sometimes.

Upon reaching the doorway, he cautiously poked his head through it. And gasped at the sight before him.

The flowers.

The beautiful golden flowers that he had woken on. That Asriel had said he needed to take care of. That he had later learned… marked Chara's grave.

They were all black. Shrivelled. Dead. Twisted in on themselves in a cruel mockery of life. And Flowey was nowhere to be seen.

"Flowey?"

There was no reply.

Frisk walked towards the dead flowers, calling out the name of the former prince again. There was still nothing.

Frisk was drawn towards the flowerbed. He wasn't sure why, but as soon as he reached them he had the urge to stretch out his hand and touch them.

The moment his fingers brushed a dead petal there was a scream of pain from Chara, causing Frisk to jump back in fright. Chara's image had sunk to her knees, clutching desperately at her head.

Chara?

No no no no no no!

Chara? What's wrong?

The girl didn't appear to hear him, but there were tears streaming down her image's face now.

Leave him alone! Run! Asriel, run you idiot!

Frisk had no idea what was going on. He looked around wildly, but there was still nothing, and no sound other than Chara's cries. He felt his Determination hardening inside him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes so he could concentrate.

He reached out to Chara mentally, pressing lightly at the boundaries that kept his soul and hers separate, instead of merging together into one entity. He was surprised at how weak the borders were. Whatever was happening to Chara, it was taking all of her willpower and focus. He steeled himself, then pushed forward.

Suddenly he found himself… in this same room again. Only things were different. The flowers were golden, not blackened, and there was a man standing in front of him, his back facing the boy.

He was wearing black robes, and there was a leather band wrapped around the back of his bald head. It appeared to be holding some kind of mask in place over his face. He couldn't see what the mask was of other than it's golden colour. Something about the man immediately made Frisk sick to his stomach. He felt… wrong.

The man made a gesture and a tendril of dark energy whipped out, plucking one of the flowers from the ground. Frisk let out a gasp. It was Flowey! The flower struggled in the grip of the magic, summoning a hail of bullets that fired at the figure, but they didn't seem to have any effect on him.

"I can still see it, clinging to your very being. The power to remake the world. My power. You housed a part of me once, didn't you?"

The man's voice was cold and filled with malice. It sent shivers down Frisk's spine, and he saw Flowey stop struggling and go limp, a horrified expression on his face.

The man began to speak again, and it was almost as if his very words were weapons. Frisk could hardly understand what he was saying, as each word seemed to smash into his soul, sending the boy to his knees. He covered his ears in an attempt to dull the noise, but was unable to look away from the scene unfolding before him.

Then the man made a motion with his hand. and a burst of power exploded from him. Flowey's shriek was cut off as he was vaporised in an instant. The release of power was enough to cause all the flowers to wither and die instantly.

Frisk came back into consciousness slowly. He found he had fallen to his knees, just like he had in the… vision? Flashback? Whatever it was he'd just experienced. He stood up slowly, then began to back away from the flowers.

With the borders between their souls so frayed, Frisk could easily feel Chara's emotions pulsing from across their internal barrier. There was anger, sorrow, and.. another emotion. One that he had never before felt from her.

Fear.

As he took another step backwards, he let out a sharp gasp as his back pressed against something soft, and a hand fell on his shoulder. Chara immediately surged into control, and Frisk did not even try to stop her.

The girl leapt away as far as her legs would take her. She crouched down and twisted around so that she was facing the figure behind her.

"You!" She hissed. "I'll KILL y-"

She stopped mid-sentence as she actually focussed on the figure before her, suddenly realizing that it was Sans. Confused, she slipped back down and let Frisk retake control. The skeleton hadn't made a move, and the boy ran to him, throwing his arms around him and sobbing into his signature blue hoodie.

Sans seemed confused for a moment, but he slowly reached his arms around the sobbing child and returned the hug.

"Hey, kid, what's going on? You're kind of freaking me out."

Frisk didn't respond, just crying harder into the skeleton and tightening his grip on him. Sans didn't ask any more questions, but he knelt down so he could keep a better grip on the boy, which Frisk appreciated.

After a few minutes, Frisk had cried himself into exhaustion. He slumped against Sans, his face wet from tears.

"You feeling better now?" Sans asked gently.

Frisk shook his head. He really wasn't. He couldn't believe that Flowey was…

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The boy cleared his throat.

"Something bad happened here."

"What was it?"

Frisk shook his head. Then he whispered,

"Chara's scared."

Sans stiffened immediately at those words, and Chara didn't even protest Frisk's declaration. That alone scared Frisk almost more than anything else that had happened so far.

"Come on kid, I'll get you home."

A few seconds later, and they were right outside Toriel's home. Frisk wanted to dash inside and cling to his mother for dear life, but the thought of letting go of Sans terrified him. He only clung to him harder at the thought.

Sans seemed to understand, and wordlessly brought Frisk inside, allowing the boy to maintain his death-grip on him. Stepping inside the house, they could hear the TV playing, signalling that Toriel was home.

"-Shadowy creatures have been attacking cities around the region of Mt. Ebott. Humans and Monsters alike have lost several people over the course of a day or two. Could this be the truth of Monsters revealed? Are we now seeing a savage side that will-"

"Ngaaaaah!"

Frisk and Sans paused at the yell, and then there was a loud crashing noise. The sound of the reporter's voice was suddenly cut off.

The two shared a look, then bolted into the living room to see Undyne standing up, huffing in fury as as the magical glow of a spear dissipated from the smashed remains of the television. Toriel was rising, a frown on her face, probably about to lecture the impulsive fish-woman, but she was stopped short at the sight of her son.

Undyne did not seem to have noticed them yet.

"Damn him! I hate it when they twist things around like that! True side of Monsters revealed my a-"

She finally turned away from the shattered remains of the TV and stopped short as she noticed the two.

Frisk let out a loud cry and ran into his mother's embrace, a fresh set of tears pouring unbidden from his eyes. Toriel lifted him up so he could sob into her shoulder.

"Frisk? Are you alright? You are not hurt, are you?"

The boy shook his head, but clutched even harder at Toriel's robe. He felt his mother turn beneath him, then sit down carefully so as not to disturb him.

"Sans? What happened down there?"

Before he could answer, Undyne's phone began playing her favorite theme song. Frisk could imagine the glare Toriel sent her way, and he heard the quick-moving footsteps as the warrior retreated from the room to answer the phone.

"I'm not sure. Everything was going fine until today, but when he got to the room he usually goes to, you know… where he fell down? He started freaking out, so I brought him back here."

Toriel began rubbing Frisk's back, soothing him slightly with her gentle ministrations.

"Thank you for watching over him, Sans." She said quietly.

"You know it's no problem, Tori. Anyway, I'm gonna head back down there. Maybe I can figure out what's got him so spooked."

"I appreciate that. Thank you."

By this point, Frisk didn't think he had any tears left to cry. His body still shook, but his eyes were dry. Toriel pulled him away from her shoulder and sat him in her lap, though she never let her arms leave him, just pulling him closer and allowing the boy to snuggle into her.

Undyne walked back into the room, a regretful look on her face.

"I didn't scare you, did I, punk?"

Frisk shook his head and Undyne seemed to relax slightly in relief.

"Good. Sorry about that. Anyway, I got called by the station, I'm gonna have to head out there. Something weird's going on, and those lazy chumps out there won't get anything done without me pushing 'em."

"You do tend to inspire people." Toriel said quietly. "I appreciate you keeping me company." Her voice turned wry. "Even if you did wreck the TV."

Undyne rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"Yeah, sorry. I'll uh, get you a new one."

Undyne cast one more awkward look at the two, then she turned and left the room. The sound of her footsteps was quickly followed by the slamming of a door, then silence.

Toriel gently began rubbing her hand through the boy's hair, humming a soothing tune as she did so.

"I will always be here for you, small one." She whispered to Frisk. "Everything will be alright. Whatever troubles you, I will always be here to protect you, no matter what. Rest, my child. We can speak more about this tomorrow."

Author's Note:

To HI-FI ON COFFEE: I'm glad you've been enjoying the way I've handled the story! Hopefully you'll continue to do so. As for your questions, it's hard to say which soul is actually more powerful. Both of their powers stem from very different sources. In terms of taking control of Frisk's body, they're pretty close to equally matched, but neither of them are really interested in fighting for control anymore, unless one of them thinks it's really important.

And, believe it or not, the Toby thing was not intentional. I was just trying to think of a generic human name, and since I've been hearing that one a lot lately, my subconcious just plucked it out of my head and waved it about like a victory flag. I didn't even notice until you pointed it out.