Ghost Buddy

Summary: In your defense, the scary movies you used to watch made it seem like possession was much easier.

Disclaimer: Undertale belongs to Toby Fox

Once you came to and realized you were nowhere near Frisk, you got a little freaked out. After all, since death, you were either bound to your grave or with your new partner, but this time you found yourself in a pitch-black void. It was darker than anything you had ever seen before, and while you didn't typically fear the dark, this particular setting struck you as very off-putting.

"Frisk?!" You yelled out into the darkness.

But nobody came.

And they kept coming. You could feel nothingness yet presence all around you. It made your head hurt because the whole thing seemed incomprehensible.

"Whose there?" You screamed, ready to take the defensive.

In the darkness, a white face appeared to you. It looked familiar, but you couldn't put your finger on it. The face spoke in a dialect you couldn't understand.

"What?" You asked, "who are you?"

It kept rambling in gibberish. "I don't…I don't understand what you're saying."

You felt yourself being pulled back to reality, but as you were, something struck you. "Wait!" You exclaim, "You're Gaster, aren't you?!"

The face just smiled as you were pulled from the void, and plopped next to Frisk in a classy looking restaurant. Frisk tensed up a bit, realizing that you had rejoined them. They reached over and attempted to grab your hand, but could not. The effort was appreciated all the same.

"so i ask the old lady what's wrong," Sans says, in the middle of a story, "and she asks if i can promise her something. now i'm not usually one to make promises, but someone who likes bad jokes has a sincerity you can't ignore. you know what she asks?"

Frisk shook their head.

Sans continued, "she asked me that if a human came through the ruins, if i could watch over them, make sure nothing happened to them."

You realized very quickly that he was talking about Mom. And it made sense. Mom lost so many children, that she would try and do whatever she could to protect them.

"you realize what that means, pal?" Sans asks.

Frisk smiled, but Sans continued before they could say anything, "you know what would have happened if she hadn't asked?"

There was something about his tone that made Frisk tense, and their smile dropped.

The small eye lights in Sans' went out, making his skull look more eerie. His tone changed as he rumbled, "You'd be dead where you stand."

Frisk shivered and looked down. You could see they were on the verge of tears.

You went cold inside and glared at the skeleton with an intense fury. You could fell the, "black goop," coming out of your eyes, and in your anger you could now feel yourself gripping on to Frisk's hand, tightly. They glanced over at you out of the corner of their eye, alarmed.

They weren't the only one. Sans shifted his head barely over and saw the look you were giving him. There was no doubt about it now, he could see you. After a moment, the eye-lights returned, and he turned back to Frisk, who still looked ready to cry.

"hey lighten up, kiddo," Sans replied, with his normal, lax tone, "just messing with ya. haven't i done a great job watching you? you haven't died once."

Frisk laughed nervously, but Sans caught on to it, "what's with that face? i'm not wrong, am i? anyways, i should get going. be careful out there kid…someone really cares about ya."

Sans sauntered off to the back of the room and vanished.

Your hand phased back through Frisk's as the sentry vanished.

Frisk shook a bit, so you turned to them and said, "Hey, let's get out of here and we can talk, okay?"

Frisk nodded and the two of you walked out into the lobby of what appeared to be the Mettaton Resort. The fountain shaped like the rectangular robot was enough to confirm your suspicions.

"Where did you go?" Frisk whispered to you, taking a seat on the edge of the fountain, "last time we teleported you weren't gone that long."

The memory was hazy, but you told Frisk, "I was in this void. It was black all around me, but someone was there. I think it was the old Royal Scientist I told you about. I think his name is Gaster."

"Are you alright?" Frisk asked, worried.

You nodded, "Yeah, no worse for wear. I am a ghost after all. I don't know why that happened though, or what it means." You frowned to Frisk, "so what was that all about with Sans?"

Frisk sighed, "He was asking me if going and confronting Asgore was really going to be worth it. That I have friends and food and things down here. And the rest, well…you were there for that." They shifted to a weak smile. "You figured out the goopy face trick again."

You went slightly pink, "I was really mad about what he said to you."

They beamed. "You're so protective, babe."

"Stoooop," you groaned, laughing a bit despite your face growing redder, "He saw me though. Did you notice? I know he saw me."

Frisk nodded, "Yeah, I did. What should we do?"

You shrugged. "I have a feeling he's not overly fond of me to begin with, especially if I'm giving him the stink-eye. Even if he deserved it. "

Frisk sighed but agreed, "Yeah, probably." They stretched and yawned. "It's getting late. I wonder how much a room is here?"

Frisk walked up and asked, and upon being told the price, immediately turned it down. They then checked the Glamburger out, but ended up just being told by the cashier, Burgerpants, about bad infomercial products and how he wasted his entire life despite just being nineteen. Frisk nodded along politely before dipping out of there, exhausted.

"I guess I'm going to just keep going." They yawned.

You frowned. "Don't push yourself too hard."

You both approached the large sign reading: CORE at the end of the resort. A SAVE point spawned, and Frisk touched it.

Alphys called Frisk as you walked down the dimly-lit corridors. "Hey Frisk, there should be an elevator at the end of the hallway that will take you right to the core…hey, whose' that?"

At the end of the path, a shadowy figure bolted out of sight. The sight gave you chills down your spine. You cautioned Frisk to be careful. They nodded and approached the elevator, hitting the button quickly. "Alphys, it's not in service," they lamented.

Alphys sounded a bit taken aback. "Huh? That shouldn't be…T-try the path to the right."

Frisk shuffled to the room they were directed to, but there was no bridge. "Can't go this way, Al," Frisk said.

"Damn it…" Alphys sighed, "I guess try the left. It will be okay! W-we got this."

"Totally!" Frisk exclaimed, confidence returning

As they went through the next hallway, you could sense a presence from the shadows. "Frisk, look out!" You yelled.

Frisk jumped to the left just in time to avoid a magic blast. You were both sucked into battle.

"That's a Madjick!" You warned, "they're magic assassin's. They get their powers from their orbs. Stare them into submission!"

Frisk stared down the corner orb while hopping around the attacks of the Chaser Orb, and then vice-versa. Once they were out of commission, the Madjick braced itself for death. "Uh oh," it muttered, but Frisk just walked right past them.

In the next room, the path was blocked off by a switch. Alphys called when Frisk went to push it, and said, "Hey, that's a trap. Lasers are going to come out when you hit that. They'll come as orange, orange, and then blue. So move around for two then stop."

There was a hesitation in her voice that made you unsure. As Frisk hit the switch, you saw the lasers coming were blue.

"FRISK, STOP!" You scream. Frisk halted just in time for the two lasers and shook their arms for the last orange laser. Alphys called right away.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Alphys squealed, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Frisk assured, but there was hesitation there. They were beginning to doubt Alphys. They walked quickly through the corridors of the CORE, exchanging nervous glances with you along the way.

"We saved at the resort Frisk, don't worry," you assured, but you were still concerned about them getting hurt. They approached another narrow walkway, this one completely covered in blue and orange lasers in a convoluted pattern.

Alphys called in, "Hey, why don't I just turn these off for you?"

Frisk breathed a sigh of relief, "Yeah that would help out a ton."

There was a pause, but nothing happened. "Uh, Alphys…?" Frisk questioned.

"Th-they're not turning off," Alphys explained, "But hold on, I'm going to turn off the power for the whole room, and go!"

The lasers and lights all over the room shut down, and Frisk ran down the hall with phone in hand. They jumped about half way through though as Alphys screamed, "STOP!"

Frisk froze and yelped as the blue lasers kicked on, locking them in place. "Frisk!" You yelled.

"D-don't move!" Alphys squealed, "I..I um, I'm going to actually have to turn off the power and it's going to come back on. Just freeze when it comes back on, okay? I'm s-sorry."

The lights went off, so Frisk ran. When a flicker came on, they stopped. This continued for a bit until Frisk finally made it to the hallway that lead directly to the CORE.

"This um," Alphys stalled, "I... this isn't like any of my maps. I have to go to the bathroom. I'm sorry, Frisk."

Alphy hung up and Frisk frowned at their phone. "What is she doing?"

You went to grab Frisk's shoulder in support, but your hand went through their shoulder. "Hey, you got to Hotland on your own. You can do this."

"Not by myself. We did it together." Frisk replied, smiling at you in a way that made your stomach feel all kind of weird. You'd never felt this way when you were alive. Was this a ghost thing? Were these feelings ghost feelings? If you could ever interact with anyone besides Frisk and Sans, you'd have to ask them.

You floated over to a sign. "It says…North for the Warrior's Way, West for the Sage's Way, both ways open east to The End. All paths lead to The End with patience." You look at Frisk, who was just as confused by the sign as you were. "I don't remember it being this way, but I guess since Dad declared war on humans maybe there was extra security. Let's try West…you're not much of a fighter," you suggested, smiling at them.

"Yeah, well, you love it." Frisk replied with a chuckle and a wink, heading to the West.

"Yeah, yeah," you retorted, only turning a little pink.

Frisk wandered down a long hallway, and came to another box-shooter puzzle. They solved it, and you both heard a clicking noise. "Think that was The End?"

You shrugged, "Let's go check. You're pretty good at puzzles, Sage's way was definitely the way to go."

Frisk blushed a bit, so you felt proud. They stopped at a garbage can and peeked around inside. They took out a Glamburger that was still mostly in the wrapper and put it in their pocket. You gave them a questioning look, "You uh…going to eat that right out of the garbage?"

Frisk got that sad look on their face again, the one they had when you pointed out how they were good at cheering people up. "I uh…it's a long story, Chara."

"I'm sorry Frisk," you muttered, "I was just teasing." You didn't want to hurt their feelings.

"No, it's gross," Frisk agreed, "I'll explain to you some other time."

You walked with them quietly to the East end of the Core. You really felt like you had blown it, but you didn't know what it was or why you felt that way.

You both walked as far East as you could go. Finally, you reached the elevator to the CORE – now you were at the top. It was still out of service. The entrance to the CORE was pitch black, and Frisk hesitated before approaching it.

"Frisk, I…" You had a bad feeling about all this.

"I know," they murmured, "Mettaton is behind all of this, they're the last thing between the barrier and us."

"You figured he's behind all the problems Alphys was having too?" You asked.

They nodded. "Everything about how the two were acting was weird. But," they looked at you and gave their sad smirk, "at some point he stopped playing around. Sending the assassin, messing with the lasers, making it so Alphys couldn't help."

"How are we going to beat this guy?" You wondered, half to Frisk and half to yourself.

Frisk just smiled. "Same way we beat Undyne. We'll figure it out together."

A SAVE point spawned, and Frisk touched it. You nodded to them, "couldn't have said it better myself, partner."

Frisk walked through the dark hallway, and didn't even flinch as a spotlight switched on, revealing Mettaton in the middle of a large room. "Ah yes, there you are darling."

Frisk seemed surprised, not at the robot's presence, but at the fact Mettaton wasn't acting completely dramatic and exuberant, "Hello, Mettaton."

"Time to have our little showdown," Mettaton declared, "Time to stop the, 'malfunctioning,' robot."

"You…you're not malfunctioning at all, are you?" Frisk asked, almost hurt.

"Pfft," Mettaton replied, "malfunctionint? Reprogamming? Get real. It was all fake darling. A big show. An act. A performance."

"Why?" Frisk responded, "What did I do to you?"

"Me?" Mettaton laughed, "Alphys, dearie, Alphys has been playing you for a fool the whole time."

Frisk frowned, "I thought Alphys was my friend."

Mettaton chucked, "I suppose that's what she wanted. See, when she was watching you on her screens, she grew attached to your adventure, to your story. She desperately wanted to be a part of it. So she inserted herself into it."

This seemed to remind Frisk of something, and they shook a bit. "How do you mean?"

"She reactivated puzzles, she disabled elevators," Mettaton explained, "She enlisted me to torment you. All so she could save you from dangers that never existed."

Frisk looked away. Something about this was really hurting them.

"All so you would think she's the great person that she's not." Mettaton seemed almost a little delighted in this, but there was some hurt in his voice too. You weren't sure which was more genuine. "And now she's prepping for her finest hour. Alphys is right outside this room, taking the elevator that you couldn't. Once we're in our little battle, she'll come deactivate me so she can save you from me one last time."

Frisk said nothing. You felt nothing but pity and sorrow for them. You grabbed their hand and gave a small squeeze.

"She'll be the heroine of this little story, and with how high you'll hold her, you'll even be convinced not to leave the underground," Mettaton crowed.

"So this is what you want too?" Frisk asked, keeping on a brave voice despite feeling obviously betrayed.

"Oh no!" Mettaton exclaimed. You heard the door slam shut behind you, and you whipped around to see the light from CORE was nowhere in sight. "I have no desire to hurt humans, actually. All I want is to entertain. Don't you think the audience deserves a good show, darling?"

Frisk noticed the cameras in the corners and walls of the room. They did not wave.

"What's a good show without a plot twist?" Mettaton asked.

Pounding came from the door. You could hear Alphys. "H-hey! What's happening?! Frisk?!"

"Sorry doc, but your show is cancelled!" Mettaton squealed, and red spotlights filled the room, "But the finale is going to be wild!"

The room shifted, and like an elevator, you could feel yourself going up and up. "Real action! Real drama! Real bloodshed!" Mettaton cried, "on our series finale:"

You were sucked into battle with Frisk as Mettaton finished, "Attack of the Killer Robot."

Frisk dodged some exploding heart-shaped magic bullets. Mettaton continued to rant, "Yes, it was I who rearranged the CORE, and who hired Muffet and some other monsters to kill you!"

"I mean I kind of figured," Frisk yelled back, looking around for a way to get out of this mess. Unlike Undyne, there was nowhere to run.

"But that's a short sighted plan!" Mettaton explained, "you know what would be way better? Killing you myself!"

"Chara, you have any witty comebacks for this right now?" Frisk asked, sounding a bit desperate.

You shook your head. "The only burns around here are going to be you if things keep going in this manner."

"See, that's clever, you can't direct one of those to him?" Frisk grumbles, rolling their eyes as they roll out of the way of Mettaton's attack.

"Give it up, darling, I've seen you fight," Mettaton sighed, "If you make it past me, Asgore will tear you to pieces. He'll take your soul and destroy humanity."

The thought sent chills down your spine. Dad was the most gentle person you knew. You had been prepared to destroy however many people it took to save the monsters, but you thought at the time that it was justifiable because you were already a bad kid, a demon child. But Dad was not. Dad was good.

"Give your soul to ME, human," Mettaton pleaded, raining down magic blocks towards Frisk, who danced around them, "I can stop his plan. And with your soul, I can leave the Underground and became an entertainer for all of mankind!"

Frisk's phone rang, and they put it to their ear while ducking. "Kind of busy right now…"

It was Alphys, and Frisk frowned at her voice. "I-I don't know what's going on in there, but there's one last idea I have. There's a switch on Mettaton's back. If you flip it, he'll be…vulnerable. I…I'm sorry."

"Now might be a good time to turn Mettaton around," You suggested, dryly. Frisk snuck a smirk at you.

"Hey look," Frisk yelled, "a mirror!'

You were astounded that somehow, that worked, and Mettaton whipped around to check his looks. Frisk ran up and flipped a comically oversized switch on his back. "DID YOU. JUST FLIP. MY SWITCH?"

Mettaton began sparking and cracking. Frisk yelped and jumped away. "WELL IF YOU'RE SO EAGER TO SEE MY NEW BODY, YOUR DEATH WILL BE…ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!"

The room filled up with smoke, and Frisk began to cough. "Hang in there!" You pleaded. Between their coughs, Frisk gave you a thumbs up.

Finally, the smoke cleared, and both you and Frisk's jaw dropped.

"What?!" Frisk exclaimed.

"What." You deadpanned.

"OOOOHH YES!" Mettaton crowed electronically, stepping out to reveal …a very different form. He had a very feminine look that was almost humanoid in nature, with exaggerated hips and legs, a heart on their midsection, and lots of black and pink everywhere.

"Series finale, new body!" Mettaton declared, proudly. A screen slid down behind them, and it showed the ratings for the live episode. It was fluctuating around four thousand.

Leg's made of magic materialized around Frisk and began kicking at them. Frisk dodged most of them, but was kicked by the last one. The violence spiked up the ratings. Mettaton noticed and squealed in delight.

"You okay?" You asked. Frisk nodded, "good. I have an idea. We need to find a way to bring up the ratings. I think that will distract Mettaton enough to get them to change their mind. Or get away. Something."

Frisk grinned. "Good call." Frisk posed dramatically for the camera. "Lucky shot, vile robot villain," Frisk yelled, pointing to the sky, "but you won't get another shot on me again!"

Mettaton raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at, darling?"

Frisk danced around more magic kicks and boxes that fell from the sky. They were beginning to sweat a bit though. Ratings climbed more as Frisk dodged more attacks.

"I think it's working," you told them, "you're building suspense!"

"I don't know if I can keep this up," Frisk panted.

You thought for a moment. "Be the bad guy. Make the audience want you to get hit."

Frisk gave you an uncomfortable look.

"Ah," you realized, "You want me to do the trash-talking?"

Frisk nodded, so you momentarily snapped up control. "Told you, robotic swine!" You put on your best villainous snarl, contorted slightly through Frisk's naturally cute face (and Frisk giggled as you thought this, which was embarrassing), "But unlike your pathetic viewers, I'm too fast for you to hit."

Frisk snapped back control and began dodging again. "Find one of those boxes falling and let one hit you," You suggested.

Frisk did as such, and cried in pain a bit, filling you to the brim with guilt. But they looked up and saw the ratings spike as they got hit and smiled to you, despite the pain. They then rolled across the floor in exaggerated pain, posing dramatically as they stopped. "BLARGH!"

You laughed and applauded, "Encore!"

The ratings agreed, climbing closer to nine thousand. Mettaton snuck a glance and squealed a bit as well.

"They're getting really happy about those numbers," you encouraged Frisk, "keep it up. Try anything. Make it dramatic. This is probably the most exciting thing on Underground Live TV they've ever had."

Frisk nodded. They pulled out their stick, held it high, and shouted, "Take this, you cur!"

"Who calls someone a cur?" You laughed. Frisk threw the stick at Mettaton and to both your surprise, the robot extended their telescopic neck and caught the stick in their teeth. The ratings took a massive jump after that.

"That's not the only trick up my…sleeve, darling!" Mettaton yelled, playing up the dramatics as well. They extended out their robotic arms and tried to grab Frisk. Your friend rolled out of the way just in time. They ran towards Mettaton, jumped over an extended arm, and then circled back so that the two arms got crossed. Then Frisk grabbed Mettaton's hands, danced with them a bit, and pulled. However, they were shocked to see the arms come out of the robotic sockets altogether. "Oops."

You hooted and applauded, and saw the audience agreed as the numbers began to soar.

"Well…who needs arms when you have legs like THESE?!" Mettaton said, clearly trying not to let the surprising turn of events affect their performance.

More magic legs appeared around Frisk and began stomping and kicking.

"I'm warning you, I'm…" Frisk winked to the camera, "Well-armed!"

Somehow, the ratings skyrocketed from the terrible joke. Mettaton cried in delight. "Look at those numbers! It's a new record. Good show, darling, you're a natural!"

Frisk snuck you a smile. Your plan seemed to be working.

"Now, for one time only, I'll allow a one-time caller to speak live on the air!" Mettaton said, a speaker sliding out from a panel on their back.

"Uh…hello?" You recognized the voice; it was Napstablook. "Mettaton? I…I really like the show. But…this is the last episode I guess? Bummer…"

As the ghost spoke, Mettaton looked absolutely heartbroken.

"I didn't mean to talk too long….oh noo….." Napstablook hung up.

Frisk looked sad. They hated seeing anyone sad, especially the fun ghost DJ.

"Wait, Blo-I mean," Mettaton caught themselves, and you wondered if they perhaps knew about Napstablook. They brushed it off though, "Let's take some more callers."

Tons of voices came pouring from the speaker all at once:

"Mettaton! Don't go!"

"You're leaving a Mettaton-shaped hole in my Mettaton-Shaped heart!"

"METTATON, I MADE YOU SPAGHETTI!"

"Oh hey, Papyrus got through," you laughed, and Frisk snickered.

Mettaton sighed and looked at Frisk, "Look darling…perhaps I shall put off my big debut to the surface for another time. Humans already have plenty of stars. But the monsters? They only have me."

"That's very big of you," Frisk encouraged, earnestly.

Mettaton smiled. "You're stronger than you look. Maybe you can make it past Asgore. But alas…don't worry about me!"

"We were worried about Mettaton?" You asked, confused. Frisk held in a laugh.

"This form's battery power is…" Mettaton hesitated before saying, "inefficient. But I shall be okay."

"Well you better," Frisk smiled, "one of my friend's just made you spaghetti."

"Be a star, darling!" Mettaton shouted, "Shine as brightly as you can!" With that, the lights behind Mettaton's eyes went out, and their batteries gave out.

"Way to go!" You cheered Frisk, blushing slightly, "You did it!"

Frisk grinned at you, "Only with help from the most beautiful partner in the underground."

Your face burned, but you were saved by the sound of the door opening behind the both of you.

Alphys ran in and squealed, "Oh my God!" They ran right past Frisk and checked on Mettaton. "Oh thank goodness. Just out of batteries…"

Frisk froze up, and looked away from the doctor. You could tell they were still very upset about what Mettaton had said. They were on the verge of tears, and it broke your heart. You reached over and squeezed their hand. It took you a second to realize that you were able to, but you were able to hold on for a few more seconds before your fingers slipped through theirs.

Frisk walked briskly to the other side of the room. Alphys noticed them and added, hastily, "I mean, they're just a robot, I could always…rebuild them."

Frisk paused, and without looking, nodded and said, "I'm glad your friend is okay, Alphys."

Frisk left and began walking down the hallway that would take them to New Home. Alphys followed after them in an awkward silence. As Frisk reached the elevator, the doctor blurted out, "W-wait!"

Frisk cringed.

"There's something you need to know about the barrier…it takes more than a human soul to get through."

Frisk's heart dropped and they turned to the doctor.

Alphys sighed. "It takes at least a human soul and a monster soul. To get through the barrier, you'll…have to kill Asgore. I'm sorry."

Alphys turned and ran, tears in her eyes.

Frisk looked at you in despair. You nodded. A tear ran down Frisk's cheek, and you wanted to wipe it off, but you didn't try.

Frisk shambled into the elevator, and you followed. During the long elevator ride, Frisk asked, quietly, "Why didn't you tell me I'd have to kill your Dad?"

You felt like crying yourself. "I…I was hoping it wouldn't come to that."

Frisk wiped their eyes and sniffed. They seemed at a loss for words, so you changed the subject.

"I know what Alphys did was crappy, but you seemed to be taking it pretty hard," You observed, "I don't think she meant to hurt you or anything."

Frisk buried their head in their knees as they sat on the floor. "I've been lied to a lot, Chara. I know she meant well." They looked at you, and the pain on their face broke you, "But good intentions doesn't make hurting people okay."

Ouch. That certainly sounded like something familiar.

"I'm not mad at her." Frisk clarified, "I get it. She's shy and probably just needs friends. But, it just reminded me of…well…"

The elevator dinged, making you both jump.

"Let's just go," Frisk mumbled, getting up and walking out the door.

You frowned. Hotland had been rough on Frisk, and it seemed like their past was creeping up on them.

You looked around the familiar walls of New Home. "It's a bit like the Ruins," Frisk observed, causing you to nod. A SAVE point spawned, and Frisk touched it. They walked up to the house, and went inside.

The path to the barrier was chained up. Frisk glanced at you and you read it, "It says, 'Howdy! I'm in the garden. If there's anything you need to get off your chest, please don't hesitate to come. The keys are in the kitchen and the hallway.'"

Frisk nodded and headed towards the kitchen, already able to see that the house was built just like the one in the Ruins.

As Frisk grabbed the key from the counter, you took a peek in the full garbage pail. Frisk joined you and asked, "What are they?"

You frowned. "Butter-scotch and cinnamon pie recipes." You had figured, not long after joining Frisk and seeing Mom again, that she and Dad weren't together, but seeing the pie recipes in the garbage really hit home.

"Hey, come on," Frisk said, giving you a small smile. "Show me your room."

You returned the effort and lead them to the bedroom. First, they grabbed the key on the shelf, and then followed you into the room you had shared with Asriel.

You were both surprised to see two Froggits there. They stared at Frisk, and instead of fighting him, spoke.

"A long time ago, a human fell into the RUINS."

Your heart sank. You knew where this was going. The Froggit's nodded to a picture of you, Mom, Dad, and Asriel on the dress. Frisk looked it over.

"Injured by their fall, the human called out for help."

Frisk looked at your bed and then to you. "It's a comfy bed," you told them, your voice cracking as memories of Mom and Dad crying over you came flooding back, "If you fell asleep on it, you might never wake up." You certainly didn't.

Next to the bed laid Asriel's old gardening knife. "Take it," you pleaded with Frisk. Frisk looked uncomfortable, but didn't want to argue with you in front of the Froggits. "Please," you begged them, "I know you've been able to make friends with everyone up until now. But I don't know what's happened to Dad since I died. He might not stop."

Frisk shivered, so you stood in front of them, between the Froggits and Frisk, and pleaded once more, "Frisk. No matter what you learn about me, I'm going to tell you something that's always true: I'm not going to forgive myself if anything happens to you.

Frisk looked heartbroken to see you so distraught, so they reluctantly grabbed the worn knife and waved goodbye to the Froggits as they left. Before they did, they grabbed the locket you had given Asriel years ago, that was on the bed too. They opened it, and saw the picture of you and Asriel, that read, "best friends forever." You began to cry, and Frisk looked ready to cry as well, understanding the meaning even if they couldn't read the words. They pushed it off and opened there door, where two Whimsuns were waiting.

"Asriel, the king's son, heard the human's call." One said.

"He brought the injured human back to the castle." The other added.

Frisk walked past them and looked at you. They whispered, "Chara…" And tried to hold your hand, but despite how sad you both were, it didn't work. You weren't ready for them to know this story, especially considering you don't know how much the populace found out…

There were more monsters in the hallway. Three Moldsmals greeted Frisk in unison, "Over time, Asriel and the human became like siblings. The king and queen treated the human child as their own. The underground was full of hope. "

Frisk walked to the end of the hall with you. They stopped and looked in the mirror, and you looked too, even knowing that you weren't going to show up. "Despite everything, it's still you," you said, proudly.

"Despite everything, you're still cute." Frisk whispered to you, smiling. You chuckled through your tears at their attempt to cheer you up.

Frisk explored Dad's room a bit. If you weren't so upset already, you'd be upset that they were seeing the macaroni art flower you made for Dad when he got sick. "It says for King Dad," you explained, trying to keep it together. Frisk saw the sweater you had knit for him too,.

Frisk looked at you though, and saw how much this was hurting you, so they walked back to the front of the house and unlocked the chain. They stopped and looked at a calendar on the bookshelf.

"It's a calendar from the year 201X," you said, shakily, "there's a date circled on there…it's the date I first came here."

A tear ran down Frisk's face as well, which wasn't helping you hold yours in at all.

Frisk journeyed downstairs, and was greeted by more monsters. They all lined the halls, telling Frisk a line as they passed.

"Then one day…"

"The human became very ill."

"The sick human had only one request."

"To see the golden flowers from their village."

"But there was nothing we could do."

"The next day….the human died."

"Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's soul, and became a being of incredible power."

You sobbed as you floated by with Frisk. You didn't want to hear this. You wanted to tune it out, but you couldn't.

"With the Human SOUL, Asriel crossed through the barrier. He carried the body of the human into the sunset, back to the village of humans."

"Asriel reached the center of the village, and carried the human onto a bed of golden flowers."

Frisk was now walking through the corridor that overlooked the city of the CORE. It was becoming overcrowded and polluted. The sight had always made you sad, since the monsters deserved better, but now it was worse. If you hadn't been such a failure, maybe they'd have a better life by now.

"Suddenly, screams rang out in the village. The humans saw Asriel carrying the human's body, thinking he had killed the child."

"The humans attacked him with everything they had. He was struck with blow after blow. Asriel had the power to destroy them all."

"But Asriel did not fight back. Clutching the human, he smiled and walked away."

Frisk wiped their tears away as they walked.

You cried harder. They were off. They were so off. And you wanted to scream that they had it wrong, that you had tricked your best friend, your brother, into your scheme for revenge, and Asriel stopped you from restarting the war, that you were a stupid demon who only brought pain to the only family you ever knew.

But you couldn't. You couldn't do anything. Just like when you were alive.

"Wounded, Asriel stumbled home. He entered the castle and collapsed. His dust spread across the garden."

Frisk gasped in horror and sadness.

"The kingdom fell into despair. The king and queen had lost two children in one night. The humans had once again taken everything from us."

"The kind decided it was time to end our suffering. Every human who falls down here must die. With enough human souls, we can shatter the barrier."

Frisk looked at you with a yearning to make you stop crying, and the guilt you were feeling swelled up even more. They were pitying you because they didn't know you were a demon.

"It's not long now."

"King Asgore will let us go."

"King Asgore will give us hope."

"King Asgore will set us free."

"You should be smiling too."

"Aren't you excited?"

"Aren't you happy?"

A lone Froggit sat at the end of the hallway, and they croaked to Frisk, "you're going to be free."

Frisk looked back to all the monsters, and gave their biggest smile. "Thank you so much for telling me."

A SAVE Point spawned. Frisk touched it. But then looked at you.

"Chara…" they began. You flinched. The monsters only had the half of it. The only part of your plan that worked out was the cover story. But no one knew. No one knew that you did on purpose. No one new that in an underground full of bizarre and fantastic creatures, the only monster had been you all along.

"Chara, I'm so sorry about what happened to you and your brother. Is that what you couldn't tell me?" Frisk asked.

You froze, tears in your eyes. What could you do? Could you tell Frisk? You remembered what they said…they had been lied to before. You didn't want to lie to Frisk.

But you found yourself nodding. "Yes…I still haven't forgiven myself for Asriel's death."

Maybe it was better this way. And besides…that part was true.

"You didn't want for it to happen, Chara," Frisk assured you, quietly, walking down the corridor to the castle garden, "And I promise I'll always be here for you."

Guilt welled up and sat in your stomach. You didn't deserve a person like Frisk in your life (afterlife). But you were both snapped from this as you saw someone standing the in the corridor.

"heya," the stocky skeleton said, "So you finally made it. The end of your journey is at hand. In a few moments, you will meet the king."

Sans was talking in a different tone, and it was throwing you and Frisk off.

"Together, you will determine the future of this world."

Sans stepped forward. "That's then. Now? Now you will be judged. You will be judged for every action. You will be judged for every EXP you gained."

You remembered Flowey talking about EXP to Frisk back when you first ran into him. But you didn't know much about it.

"What's EXP? It's an acronym. It stands for execution points, a way of measuring the how much pain you have inflicted on others. And if you have enough EXP from killing, your LOVE increases."

"Love?" Frisk asked, confused at how execution points could mean love. But you figured this had more to do with Flowey being a sneaky bastard.

"LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for Level of Violence. It measures one's capacity to hurt others."

But then Sans stepped into the light, smiling genuinely at Frisk. "But you never gained any LOVE. You kept a certain tenderness in your heart. Even when running away, you did it with a smile on your face. You refused to hurt anyone, and you strived to do the right thing."

Frisk smiled back.

"But now….now you will face the biggest challenge of your journey. What you do here will determine the fate of the world. If you refuse to fight, Asgore will take your soul and destroy humanity. But if you kill him, monsters will remain trapped underground. What will you do?"

Frisk looked down and snuck a sad glance at you. You could tell they were really unsure of themselves.

"Well, if I were you, I would have thrown in the towel. But you didn't get this far by throwing in the towel, did you? That's right. I know all bout your determination."

You and Frisk looked up in surprise. Sans continued, "So long as you do what's in your heart, I believe you can do the right thing, no matter how long it might take. Well. Good luck, kid."

"Sans, wait!" Frisk yelled, but it was too late. He had already teleported away.

A silence hung in the air. But, Frisk took a deep breath, and looked at you. "Well Chara. Are you ready?"

You looked back nervously, "What are you going to do, Frisk?"

They gave a half-smile in response. "I don't know. But can we figure it out together?"

You gave them a half-smile back, despite your guilty conscience. "Wouldn't have it any other way."