Frisk brought Asriel with him to Alphys' lab the next day. Asriel didn't protest at all, simply laying his head on Frisk's shoulder. He entered the lab, Alphys at work at her desk.

"Howdy, Alphys," Frisk greeted.

"Oh, hi, Frisk," she returned. She saw Asriel in his arms and waved. "Um, hello, Prince Asriel?"

Asriel just grunted.

"Well, I've got the equipment we need up here," Alphys informed. "Follow me."

Frisk followed Alphys to a room, where he set Asriel on a table.

"What are we doing here?" Asriel grumbled.

Alphys wheeled over a cart loaded with devices. "Okay, we'll start with a Soul scan and see how it's doing," Alphys said, not hearing Asriel. She pulled out a tablet and began scanning his stem.

Frisk stood off to the side, observing Alphys' actions.

Alphys stared at the screen as it detected no Soul. "Huh, strange. It's not registering anything."

"Could it be a malfunction?" Frisk asked.

"I don't think so," Alphys answered. She tried again, scanning the entire flower this time. Again, it detected nothing. "T-that's… worrying. There doesn't seem to be a Soul."

"Heh, guess that explains why I feel so empty," Asriel said mirthlessly.

"But how can that be?" Frisk asked.

"I don't know," Alphys said. "All living things have Souls. But he doesn't seem to have one."

Frisk pulled Alphys off to the side. "I know this is out of my depth, but how bad is that?"

"Um, I'm not sure. He shouldn't even be alive if he doesn't have a Soul," Alphys said.

"Well, you did inject that flower with my DT. Could that be a workaround?"

"Maybe?" Alphys questioned. "I've never seen anything like this, to be honest."

Frisk knew she hadn't. No one had. "Do you think there's any way to fix that?"

"You can't just regrow a Soul, Frisk. It's not possible," Alphys answered.

"You also shouldn't be able to bring a dead Monster back. You've done just that," Frisk pointed out. "Is there no way to make a new Soul for him?"

"I don't see how. And… my research into Souls indicates it's not possible," Alphys said. "Souls are just too powerful to create artificially."

Frisk ran his hands down his face, pondering it. "That was for human Souls, though. What about Monster Souls? They're weaker, right?"

"Uh, yes, many times weaker," she confirmed.

"Could it be possible to make one?"

"I don't see how," Alphys said. "We can't just make a Soul from nothing."

"Then what about recreating one? Could you restore a destroyed one?"

Alphys thought it over. "Hmm. Theoretically, it is possible. But even for a Monster Soul, it would require a lot of power, and I think we'd need DT for at least part of the process."

"You can do it," Frisk assured. "If anyone could do it, you can."

"Thanks. But recreating a Soul might not be enough. He'd need his original body to sustain it."

"Well, Monsters are mostly magic," Frisk said. "Surely there's a way to remake it."

Alphys thought it over. "I should say it's impossible, but you're living proof nothing is impossible."

Frisk pat Alphys on the shoulder. "I have faith in you." Just then, his phone buzzed. "Oh, I gotta go."

"Well, there's nothing left for you to do here," Alphys said.

"Thanks. Keep me updated."

Frisk left the lab, leaving Asriel in Alphys' care. He wasn't too happy about it, but Frisk promised to be back for him. He went by his house to pick up a few things before heading to Waterfall.

Noelle patiently waited in Waterfall, looking around the cave. Eventually, she heard a faint, musical whistle, to which she returned. A moment later, Frisk stepped out from behind a rocky outcropping.

"Am I late?" Frisk asked.

"Nah. You're good," Noelle assured.

Frisk hefted the basket he was carrying, setting it down on the ground before pulling out a blanket. "Okay, I'll get the fire started if you'll set up the pot."

Noelle reached into the basket to pull out a tea set while Frisk conjured a fireball and sent it to just off the ground a couple feet away. Noelle placed the tripod above it, while Frisk pulled out a thermos filled with water, along with a packet of leaves. He measured out a precise amount of water before putting in the leaves. Then, he placed the filled kettle above the fire. Once done, he pulled out a couple teacups.

"Okay, the tea will take a while to boil," he said.

"You sure your parents won't miss these?" Noelle asked.

"I'm sure. I grabbed the second-best set, not the good set," Frisk assured. "As long as they don't notice, we'll be fine."

"So, what should we talk about while we wait?" Noelle wondered.

"Well, first, how are you doing today?" Frisk asked.

"Better than usual," Noelle assured.

"Good," Frisk said.

"So, what about you? How's your revived brother?" she asked.

"Not great," Frisk answered. "He doesn't eat. Barely speaks. And he mostly just hangs his head."

Noelle looked down in pity. "Poor guy. Must be hard."

"I can only imagine," Frisk said. "Luckily, I've got Alphys trying to help him. She's working on a way to get him back to normal."

"Would that work?"

"I hope so," Frisk said. "Turns out, while his mind came back, his Soul didn't. Which might be why he feels so cruddy all the time."

"No Soul?" Noelle questioned.

"Yeah. But Alphys thinks she might be able to restore his original Soul. She just needs to find out how to generate enough power to do that. And she'll need DT."

"Does she still have any?" Noelle asked.

"I'm not sure," Frisk admitted. "Possibly not enough."

"That means she'll need to extract some from you," Noelle said.

"I'll be fine," he assured. "Alphys has been working on a way to make the extraction hurt less."

"I hope so," Noelle said. "I don't like to see you hurt."

"Well, onto happier stuff," Frisk said. "The crystals sure are pretty today."

Noelle looked up, smiling. "Yeah. They are."

"Not as pretty as you, of course," Frisk said, which made Noelle giggle.

"You're just saying that," she teased.

"No, I mean it," he said.

Noelle thought he was still joking, but upon seeing the sincerity in his eyes, stopped laughing and blushed. "Thanks."

Frisk returned the smile. "Think we'll ever see the real things?"

"Who knows?" Noelle said. "But I would love to see them. The real stars."

"I'll try to do that, someday," Frisk said.

"Let's just focus on what we can do," Noelle said. "Because until another human falls down here and dies, the stars are going to be out of reach."

"You never know," Frisk said. The kettle started to whistle. He poured himself and Noelle equal portions. After waiting a moment for it to cool, they took a sip.

"Mmm. Very good," Noelle remarked.

"My dad taught me a lot," Frisk said.

"He's a good teacher," Noelle said. She took another sip before speaking. "So, when should we tell them about… you know?"

Frisk shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe when this whole thing with Asriel dies down."

"You're probably right," Noelle agreed. "Best not to pile on the stress."

"What about your family?" Frisk asked.

"I'm not sure my mom would like it," Noelle admitted. "Though I know my sister would just tease me about it till the end of time."

"She'd probably be jealous, too," Frisk added. "She's still single, and you're with the prince, as well."

Noelle laughed. "Yeah, she would be jealous. Now I want to tell her to tease her about how I have a more successful love life than her."

"But let's deal with the Asriel situation, first," Frisk decided. "Best to get that out of the way beforehand. Like you said, don't need the extra stress."

"Okay, yeah," she agreed.

They continued to sit in silence, staring at the ceiling and the twinkling crystals. At one point, Frisk took to leaning on Noelle, resting his head on her shoulder. They continued to drink the tea and snacked on a few treats Frisk had brought.

"Mind if I ask something?" Frisk said.

"Go ahead."

"When you lost your dad, what would you say helped you cope with the loss?"

"Well, you, for one," Noelle said. "But… my friends probably helped, too. Having them to lean on definitely made it easier."

"So having people support you made the loss easier?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Asriel doesn't have that luxury. He only ever had Chara, and they're gone."

"He's got his parents," Noelle said.

"I think they're hurting more than helping, especially due to their actions," Frisk said. "He needs people who he can turn to to help him cope with his grief. And… I think someone who knows what he's going through would help a lot."

Noelle realized he was talking about her. "So, you want me to try and help your brother with his loss?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Frisk added.

Noelle debated for a while. "I'll do what I can."

"Thank you." Frisk leaned up to kiss her on the cheek, to show his appreciation. Noelle just responded by wrapping her arm around him.

Alphys eventually wrapped up her exams and let Asriel go. She set his pot on the ground outside her lab, allowing him to go as he pleased. Frisk would be back eventually to collect him.

Asriel just loitered outside the lab, not bothering to look around. He stared at the ground, doing his best not to think. But try as he might, his thoughts kept returning to Chara. He missed them so much. If they were here, they might be able to help him. Surely, they would understand, right?

For the umpteenth time, he tried to drum up some feelings for anyone, focusing on his parents first. He tried to feel love, but all he felt was resentment and anger. He tried to focus on Frisk, but he just felt resentment toward him. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel slightly glad that he put up with him. But thinking about Frisk led him to thinking about Chara, and how similar the two were. They looked a lot alike, but they didn't act the same. For some reason, he liked that about him. But at the same time, he resented his feelings towards him. He wasn't Chara and Asriel didn't want to betray their memory. It was easier to hate him.

But it also led to him feeling so empty and sad. He missed Chara so much.

Asriel looked over to the side, where the plateau ended in a sharp drop-off into the magma below. He burrowed into the ground and emerged next to the edge.

He stared down into the molten rock, contemplating. He wanted to feel love, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't feel anything. And if he couldn't feel love, what was the point in continuing?

He stared into the magma for several minutes, trying very hard to find a reason why that previous statement didn't apply. He tried and tried, but nothing came to him. Just before he could make a choice, he heard something behind him. He turned and saw Frisk and Noelle walking up. He turned back to the magma, continuing to stare.

Noelle kept her arm wrapped around Frisk's arm for the journey back to Hotland, parting once they passed the sign. They walked past the empty sentry station, heading for Alphys' lab. There, on the plateau before it, Asriel resided, looking over the edge.

She turned to look at Frisk, who motioned with his eyes at the flower, silently telling her to go ahead.

With a nod, she walked over to Asriel, Frisk continuing to the lab.

"Hey," she said. Asriel didn't respond. She sat down next to him. "Aren't we a little close to the edge? This isn't exactly stable."

Asriel just gave a noncommittal grunt.

Noelle sighed before speaking. "Look, I know you're hurting," she began. "But don't close yourself off. It just makes things worse."

"I'm trying," Asriel insisted. "I… I just can't feel."

"Give it time. It'll come back," Noelle said empathetically. "It might be a long time, but you need to grieve if you are to heal."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Asriel spitefully remarked.

"Yes. I do."

The way she said it caught Asriel by surprise. She had said it so decisively and certainly. That was when he remembered what she had said the other day, about losing someone important to her.

"Oh, right," he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"It's okay," Noelle assured. "It still hurts, but it's an old ache now."

"Um, who was it that you lost?" Asriel asked, genuinely curious.

"My dad," Noelle answered. "He slowly got worse over the years as his sickness claimed him. The doctors tried everything, but nothing could save him."

"Did… did you get to say goodbye?" Asriel asked.

"Yes, but it still hurt," she said. "When he died, he told me to be strong. So I tried to be strong, but I did it wrong. I tried to shut off my feelings, because I was scared that if I let myself feel them, they'd break me. Until Frisk showed up. He came to me in my room on the day of my dad's funeral. He told me that it was okay to cry, and that if I wanted to break, he would be there for me. So… I let myself feel. And it hurt. It hurt so much. It still does. But I felt better after, like a great weight had been lifted. I still cried for a while after, and it took me months, but eventually, it became easy to talk about him without breaking down or numbing myself to the pain."

"Does… does it ever go away?" Asriel asked.

"No. But, with time, it'll lessen," Noelle consoled. "It becomes bearable. And it helps to have people who you can lean on and break around, because you know they will be there to help you put yourself back together."

Asriel glanced at the ground before looking back to Noelle. "I miss Chara. I want them here. And I want to feel love, but… it's so hard."

"I understand," Noelle said. "But I promise, it'll get better."

Asriel sniffed, a couple tears falling. "Thanks. That… that does help a little."

"I'm glad." Noelle patted his head a couple of times. "Now come on. This edge might give out from under us if we stay here any longer."

She got up and walked away. Asriel followed by burrowing through the ground. Noelle helped him back into his pot. As she did, he glanced back at the edge, toward the magma. But he turned away and settled his roots into the dirt.

Frisk went back to his house and stealthily put the tea set back where it belonged. After that, he went back to his room. Noelle had brought Asriel back before returning home. Now he was lounging in the living room. Though outward he didn't seem to have changed much, Frisk could tell just by looking at him that he was better.

Alphys had informed Frisk that she was working on something for him, but she had to consult various books on Souls and Monster anatomy before she could say anything. Frisk wondered if his parents might have something that could help. Both were out right now, attending to matters in New Home. Frisk decided to check their rooms to see if he could find something on humans there.

He first looked through his mom's room. He looked through her bookshelves, wondering if there was a book on humans there. Finding nothing, he turned to leave. But when he did, he found a cardboard box with various items in it. He remembered that she had done some cleaning a while back. Maybe she put something in it for storage?

He rummaged through the box, looking for anything he could find on humans. That was until he found old cases with black boxes in them. He pulled them out, puzzled by what they were.

Then he recalled that these were the way Monsters viewed movies before the invention of CDs. They were VHS tapes. Frisk was puzzled why Toriel or Asgore still had these. No one used them anymore. When Frisk ran a finger over the case, a line was traced, indicating the layer of ordinary dust. These must not have been viewed in years, perhaps decades. No wonder Toriel was throwing them out.

But what was on them? Frisk's curiosity was piqued. Perhaps nothing important if she was tossing them. But then Frisk glanced at the dates on the tapes. The first was dated 2002. The rest were all from 2015. These tapes were a hundred years old! In fact, they would be from the time when Asriel and Chara were still alive. Except for the first, it would have to have been from just before. What could be on them?

Frisk wanted to find out. But sadly, they didn't have a player compatible with this old format, even if the tapes were still useable. In fact, Frisk was pretty sure nobody had a VHS player anymore. It was just too old.

Wait… Alphys. She still had one! Some of the anime she watched from the surface came in the form of these old tapes, and since she was so busy, she never had time to convert them to a more modern format. It might work.

He left a note for his parents before heading for her lab. Luckily, the elevator just outside the house went straight down to her lab. He walked through the halls, heading for the room she kept her old television set in.

He found the room, and the player was there. He decided to start with the oldest tape first, faintly remembering how it worked.

After a while, he heard his parents' voices coming from the speakers, but there was no picture. As he listened, he heard his mom make a couple puns related to her future role. He was right assuming this was before Asriel's time. It must have been filmed while she was still pregnant with him. He just wished he could see her, but the room had been too dark for the film to come out.

He was still giggling when the player clicked, and the tape was ejected. He took it out and put it next to the stack. He wondered what the rest of these tapes were, given they were filmed years after. He put the next one in, and got a shock when he heard Asriel's voice, talking to his sibling. Hearing it confirmed to Frisk that the flower up there was Asriel. There was no mistaking that voice.

Frisk felt a little bad to be watching these, as these were personal. But he was a part of the family now, so he had a right to see them. Plus, what harm could it do? These first two seemed to indicate that these were all just snippets of good times for his family. He put in the next tape and kept watching.

But when he was finished with all five, he just stood there, trying to process what he had heard.

Those last three… they were not just bits of happy times. They were snapshots of how things went wrong. He had heard Asriel's voice, talking with Chara, agreeing to help them, apparently, kill themself, so he could absorb their Soul… and then go to the surface and get six more.

Frisk knew Chara and Asriel's tale, probably better than anyone given that he lived with their parents. He had been told that Chara had died of a mysterious illness, and Asriel, grief-stricken, absorbed their Soul and carried their body to the surface to lay them to rest, but returned, horribly injured and wounded, dying in his parents' garden.

Frisk hadn't believed Asriel when he said he was responsible for Chara's death, thinking that Asriel was just too distressed to remember clearly, or misremembering events because he blamed himself. But… he had been telling the truth. Chara's death had been planned. They had orchestrated the whole thing, but it had gone wrong and got them killed.

Frisk just continued to stand, emotions running through him faster than he could process. They had been lied to. Chara's death hadn't been an accident. It had been planned. The past one hundred years of suffering and despair, Asgore and Toriel's separation, had all been because of Chara. But they couldn't have planned that, right? Surely Chara wouldn't have wished that on the Monsters. It must have been an accident.

But that accident had caused so much despair and agony. And it had cost the Underground its prince. Asriel had died because of them. And he went along with it? Why? Why would he have helped them do that? Why did he help them kill themself? It didn't make sense. Why would they come up with such an insane plan, and why conscript Asriel? He was their brother. Why drag him down with them? Why try and turn him into a murderer?

It was then that he heard the door behind him open, and Alphys stepped in.

"Frisk, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Uh…" He tried to come up with something. He couldn't just outright tell her why. But… "I found these old tapes of my parents. And… you're the only person I know who has something to watch them with."

"Oh. Well, I don't mind you using my equipment as long as you don't hurt yourself," she said. "So, what was on them?"

"On what?"

"The tapes. I'm assuming you've already seen them. What's on them?"

"Uh…" What should he say? What could he say? "It's…" How could he tell her that the greatest tragedy of Monsterkind was a lie? "It's…" How could he tell her? That Chara had planned it? That they had killed themself and gotten Asriel killed in the process? "It's…" It was horrible. It destroyed everything they thought they knew about that day. It would destroy the Underground.

"It's… nothing!" he lied. "It's just some embarrassing tapes from a long time ago."

Alphys studied him for a long moment. "You're lying," she stated.

"What? No, I'm not," he protested.

"I've known you for years, Frisk," Alphys said. "I can tell when you're lying. Mainly because you've never done it before. So, what's really on those tapes?"

"It's nothing," Frisk insisted. "Just some embarrassing tapes mom made years ago when she was pregnant with Asriel."

Alphys squinted at him. "You're very nervous."

"That's because you're treating me like you've caught me with my hand in the cookie jar," he defended. "Really, Alphys. They're not important."

Alphys stared at him for a long moment. "Well, okay. If you're telling the truth, I'll believe that."

Frisk nervously chuckled. "Well, I'd better go," he said. "Supper will be soon, and I don't want mom to wonder where I am." He ejected the tape in the player before scooping them all up in his arms. "See you around!"

"Bye, Frisk!" Alphys waved as he went toward the elevator.

It was only when the doors closed did Frisk allow himself to relax. He looked down at the tapes in his arms, the memories of what was on them still fresh in his mind.

How… how could they? Why would Chara do such a thing? Why push Asriel into becoming a murderer? How long had they been planning this? The dates on the tapes weren't too far apart, but that didn't mean anything. It was only a recording of Chara telling Asriel of their plan. They could've been planning it for longer.

Had they planned it all? Even the part of what happened in the village? Frisk didn't know, but it could have been possible. Was their whole relationship with the Dreemurrs a ruse? Did they just use their family? Did they hate Monsters, or did they hate humans so much that they tried to use Asriel to get revenge?

Did they convince him to absorb their Soul, then go to the village, hoping he would die in the process? Did they plan his death while they plotted their own?

Suddenly, the tapes burst into flames, red fire enveloping them. The shock of it caused Frisk to drop them.

"Crap!" he exclaimed. He managed to put them out, but the tapes were probably damaged. He picked them up to examine them. He couldn't tell if the damage was bad or minimal.

As the shock wore off, he recalled what he had been thinking about before. He couldn't believe it. How much of it was planned? How much did Chara want to happen? Did they mean for all of that to happen, or was it an accident?

But regardless of whether it was intentional or not, it didn't change anything. Their plan plunged the Underground into despair, ripped the king and queen apart, and killed their prince. Asriel had died, because of them.

Frisk was considered a very kind and patient kid. Even at a young age, they never got mad at anyone. Sure, sometimes they would snip at people, but it was clear it came from a place of love, not anger. Even Undyne's actions weren't enough to drive him away. It was amazing how kind they were. Some Monsters were convinced that Frisk's trait was Kindness because of that. Some didn't think Frisk had it in them to get angry, and when they did, it was more of worry than hate. Frisk himself didn't think he was capable of hate, having never experienced it before.

But now, Frisk felt rage.

End of Chapter 19