Undercode Chapter 1: Undercode, an undertale fanfic

A/N Brief thing here, but it is mentioned repeatedly throughout this chapter that Gaster has an odd 'accent'. In the original version, this was done by having the standard text with a Wingdings underlay. Since this effect is lost on FFN, all of Gaster's speech is rendered normal. This is preserved on the DeviantART version, which is a pdf. If you want the full experience, go read it over there.

Undercode

A lone figure kneeled in an empty white void. She was the only being there, as she alone had survived. Her universe – and everyone in it – was gone. Erased from existence. As she sat there, she tried to figure out what had led to the destruction of her world.

It had started when she got curious, she decided. Before that, she had been an ordinary human, who had made an extraordinary discovery: an underground kingdom of monsters. But unlike the monsters of myths and legends, these were peaceful creatures, imprisoned for a thousand years. Almost simultaneously, she had made a discovery about herself; she had the power to rewind time to a point of her choosing.

But it wasn't either of these discoveries that had sparked her curiosity. No, what had sparked it was what the discoveries led to. For she had embarked on a quest to free the Monsters from their prison. In the process, she had made another incredible discovery; their prince, who everyone thought had been killed in a tragedy a century ago, lived. But his resurrection was also a tragedy, as he was soulless, and trapped in the body of a flower. And so, while the Monsters were free, he had to stay behind.

It was too horrible a fate for her to just accept. Fortunately, her power over time allowed her to reset her adventure back to the beginning and do it all again.

That was her curiosity; could she save the prince from his horrible fate?

Time and again, she tried to find a scenario where she could bring the prince back with her and restore him to his parents. Time and again, she failed. But she kept going, persisting and enduring things over and over again.

Eventually, she found a scenario that met her halfway. After making the right choices and saying the right things, she had succeeded in convincing the prince – in flower form once more – to come with her to the surface.

This partial success emboldened her. So rather than reset her adventure, she decided to explore this new path and see where it led.

For months she let time go forward, all the while trying to find a way to help him return to his original form. Each failure was disheartening.

She had almost written the timeline off as a lost cause when she had made a discovery that changed everything. It had led her to the path to saving him.

And, at the same time, dooming her universe.

Frisk was in her house on the surface reading a book she had borrowed from Sans' house. Toriel was in the room next door and Flowey was in her room upstairs, sitting in his pot. She hoped there was something in this book to help him. Toriel took no notice of her child's interest in old science books, and Sans was apathetic to what she took.

As she scanned through the pages of the old book by an unknown author, she stumbled across something. The scientist who wrote this was theorizing and speculating about the nature of their universe while trying to uncover what operated it. He speculated that everything was just numbers. Values that could be read, and possibly, altered. He had wanted to find such a thing to erase the Barrier and free the Monsters. But what intrigued Frisk was how detailed the theory was. He clearly had gotten very far. This book was never officially published, and she thought that this might be a scientific journal.

As she examined it more closely, she realized that the author was planning a test to verify his theories. But interestingly, the rest was missing. As she flipped to the next page, she saw that it immediately went blank. She examined the book more closely and saw tears near the spine. Did someone rip out the pages?

She closed the book and went upstairs to her room, intending to take a shower. When she entered her room, she placed the book on her desk next to Flowey, inadvertently opening it. As she looked through her clothes, picking out what to change into, Flowey examined the opened pages.

"Hey, Frisk," he said, getting her attention. He sounded puzzled.

"What is it?" she asked, still sorting through her closet.

"Where did you get this book?"

"Sans' house. Why?"

"Ugh. I still don't get why you hang out with that trash bag," Flowey bemoaned.

"He's my friend," she emphasized.

"Yeah, well, your 'friend' seems to have hidden something," Flowey said. "Because this is describing the Save File."

"Wait, what?" Frisk came over, looking at the pages.

"Yeah. Whoever wrote this is describing the Save, though he clearly doesn't understand what it is," Flowey explained.

Frisk re-examined the pages. How had she missed that? But this Monster was talking about the Save File, wasn't he?

"Why would Sans have a book on the Save File?" Frisk questioned. "I thought you were the only one who remembered my Loads."

"I am. But Smiley… Sans knows more than he lets on," Flowey said, changing his insult midway. "He knows about the Save File, Frisk. And whoever this was, he knew about it, too."

Frisk flipped to the torn-out pages. "Then what was here?"

"Probably more information about it," Flowey said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Sans tore those pages out to keep you from finding out that he knew."

Frisk tapped her mouth as she thought. "Well, he didn't try hard enough. Tomorrow, I'm going to ask him."

The next day, Frisk went to Sans and Papyrus' house, taking the book and Flowey with her. Papyrus was out at his job, while Sans was just lazing at his house today. The skeleton greeted them at the door.

"heya, kiddo," he said. "what's up?"

"We need to talk," she said.

"uh, okay," he agreed, letting her in. She set Flowey on the coffee table in front of the couch. Then she pulled out the book and showed it to Sans.

"This book is missing several pages, Sans," she informed.

"well, it is an old book," he dismissed.

"And old book that talks about the Save File," she said, jumping right into it.

Sans' eye sockets widened. "uh, i don't know what that…"

"Oh, drop the act, trash bag," Flowey snarked. "I already told her you're aware of it."

"and you trust the weed?" Sans snipped.

"On things like this, yes," she said. She set the book down, flipping to the missing pages. "I'm not going to dance around this Sans, because I want answers. Why are the pages ripped out? What was on them? And who was this who found out about the Save?"

"uh…"

"Oh, and before you try and dismiss it, just know I will keep doing this over and over until you talk," she stated.

Sans sighed, seemingly in defeat. "well, i was hoping you'd never catch on."

"You're my friend, Sans, but you have been oddly suspicious since day one," she said. "You always act like you know more than you let on. I don't want to think the worst of you, but you have to admit it's a little suspicious. You know about my powers, but you won't say anything. And I know you know, because you gave me a codeword for a secret hidden in the basement."

Sans sighed again. "well, okay. guess i don't really have a choice, then," he said. "better sit down kid. this tale ain't short."

Frisk did as she was asked, sitting on the couch.

"so, first off, you're right. i tore those pages out, partly so that i hoped you'd never find out what was on them."

"Why? What's on them?" she asked.

"more than just about the save file," Sans explained. "why don't i just start from the top? that book you have? that belonged to none other than w.d. gaster, the royal scientist before alphys. he built the core, along with a bunch of other stuff. he was determined to break the barrier and free us all. heck, the reason he built the core was to substitute enough power to break the barrier. though, as you can guess, that didn't work."

"Apparently."

"yeah, so, he decided to move on to another project. he started examining the very nature of the universe, thinking that if he could rewrite reality, he could erase the barrier."

"So what happened?"

"well, i was his assistant at the time," Sans continued. "as we studied and looked at how our world worked, we discovered the timeline, which led to the discovery of the save file. but we didn't stop there. no, gaster kept pushing and pushing, wanting to erase the barrier from existence. he theorized that if the universe could be rewound to a specific point in time, then there must be something to record that data and preserve it. he delved deeper and deeper, retreating into his work until he found what he had been speculating about for months. at least, that's what he claimed."

"What did he find?"

"the source code of all reality," Sans explained. "he claimed he had managed to uncover the fundamental mechanics of our universe. some people thought he was crazy, but strangely enough, all the info made sense. now that he had found it, he intended to change it. he tried figuring out how to alter the code of our world to delete the barrier from existence."

"So what went wrong?" Frisk asked. Sans quirked an eyebrow. "Well, obviously he failed, otherwise the Barrier wouldn't have needed to be destroyed when I arrived."

"the problem was that though he managed to find the code, he couldn't alter it," Sans explained. "he tried and tried, but he found he was unable to change anything. it was locked in. but he refused to accept defeat. so he tried to figure out how to change it. eventually, he hit upon an idea. perhaps the reason he couldn't change anything was because he didn't have access to the code. if he went to where it was, perhaps then he could alter it. so he built a machine that he hoped would transport him to where he needed to go. the first problem was that he lacked the power needed. luckily, the core had that kind of power. he hooked it up, turned it on, and tried to transport himself to wherever code resided. thing was, it didn't work. i'm not sure what happened, but something went horribly wrong, and the machine broke. and when it did, gaster vanished."

"What do you mean 'vanished'?" Frisk asked.

"he just disappeared from… everywhere. i don't know what happened, but it felt like when the machine broke, reality collapsed, then rebooted, but it rebooted without him. and i don't just mean he was gone. it's like he never existed. almost all evidence of him was erased. some things remained, like the core, but he was just expunged from all the records. and everyone forgot about him, too."

"Geez," Frisk said. "But then… how do you remember?"

"i'm not sure," Sans shrugged. "probably has something to do with the fact i was with him when it blew up. of course, i wasn't the only one. there were other monsters, but they seem to have vanished as well."

Frisk tapped her fingers together.

"if you want, i can show you the pages," Sans offered. "i tore them out hoping you wouldn't ask, but no point in that now, huh?"

"Yeah, sure."

Sans vanished, teleporting to his room.

"Wow," Flowey said. "Never knew that."

Frisk tapped her mouth in thought. Rewrite reality? This Gaster apparently wanted to erase the Barrier. But could he have done something else? Like, say, restore a Soul?

Before she could pursue that, Sans came back, a stack of papers in hand. "here, knock yourself out."

Frisk took the pages, standing up. "Sans, in your opinion, do you think it could have worked?" she asked.

"whaddya mean?"

"Could he have reprogrammed reality to get rid of the Barrier?" she clarified.

"i dunno. it's possible. problem is, he couldn't get to where the code was. if he could, who knows?"

"Well, thanks for telling me," she said. She picked up Flowey and left.

Back at her house, Frisk looked over the pages Sans gave her. Much of the math went over her head, but she could grasp what it was saying. Everything in the world was linked to a series of values that determined how it behaved and how it looked. Surprisingly, there were values to battles as well, and she could see how things like LV were calculated. She recalled what Sans had told her in the Last Corridor about it, but having never gotten any EXP, she didn't know how much killing one Monster raised her LV.

Gaster had several speculations about how to alter these values to change things. If everything was controlled by a series of numbers, then having control of those would give one control of the world. You could change how a person looked, behaved, alter their powers or even grant/take away, make them weaker or stronger, change the environment itself. Even, hypothetically, reverse death.

But it was the last one that Frisk desired the most. She wanted to bring Asriel back, restore him to his previous form. If she could change his values, she could do it. She just needed to figure out how.

As she studied Gaster's notes, what she learned was that all code was compiled in files. Each file corresponded to a person, object or item. All one had to do was locate that thing's folder, open it, alter it, then effect the changes, and it would be done. The problem was getting to where the files were stored. For some reason, they couldn't be accessed in the real world. In order to effect any changes, you had to go to where the files were located.

She looked through Gaster's notes, trying to figure out where that was. He had known where to go, but ended up getting erased doing it. How could she get there without succumbing to the same fate? She looked and looked, but all the notes agreed that the files were located in a place he called 'the Void'. And the Void could not be readily accessed.

She tapped her mouth with her finger. Gaster had gone on to speculate that the Void was a dimension that existed outside of space and time, and therefore could not be reached by conventional means. His teleporter was intended to take him there, but it had gone wrong.

Was there any other way to get to the files? Gaster obviously wasn't an option, Sans might know, but he might be cagey about it. Flowey was right next to her and he did know about the Save File. Maybe he had some idea.

"Hey, Flowey," she said, getting his attention.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Would you know of any way to access a Save File without Saving?" She decided a roundabout method would work the best to get an answer.

"Not really," Flowey admitted. "Why?"

"Well, Gaster's notes say that everything is connected to a file. If the file is changed, the thing it corresponds to changes accordingly," she explained. "So, I was wondering if you might know of a way to access files."

Flowey shook his head. "Sorry, Frisk. I'm not sure that's possible," he said. "If there was a way to do that, I would have tried it on you during our fight so there would have been no way for you to win."

"Fair enough," Frisk said. "But still, I wonder if it can be done."

"Why?" Flowey asked.

"Well, Gaster's notes say that the files are accessible in the Void," she explained. "He was trying to go there, but the machine blew up."

"I'm not sure how smart an idea that is, Frisk," Flowey said. "If this Gaster fella couldn't get there what chance do you have?"

"Well, he didn't have the power to control time like I do," Frisk said confidently. "If anything happened, I'd just Reset and undo it all."

Flowey hummed. "That kinda makes sense. And it would be interesting to see what you could do if you could change stuff."

"Problem is, according to these files, the Void isn't someplace you can travel to," Frisk said. "That's why he built the teleporter."

Flowey hummed again. "Perhaps Sans might know a way. I mean, he can teleport anywhere he wants. What if we tried asking him?"

"I didn't want to involve him anymore than I already have, but since we don't really have a choice, I guess so," Frisk agreed.

The next day, Frisk went back to Sans' house with Flowey, asking the skeleton about the Void and any ways of getting to it.

"you wanna do what?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Go to the Void and change some files," Frisk explained.

"kid, in case you forgot, gaster tried to so the same thing, and look what happened to him."

"I know, but I have an advantage he doesn't with the Save File," Frisk said. "If anything happens, I'll Reset, good as new, and a little smarter."

"it's still dangerous," Sans insisted.

"We're not asking for advice," Flowey said. "We're asking if there's any way to get to the Void."

"other than the machine doctor gaster built, there isn't," Sans explained. "and that thing hasn't worked in years."

"Have you ever tried?" Frisk rebutted. When she got silence, she pressed. "Come on, Sans. Think of what we could do if we got there. We could make the world the way we want it. There isn't a lot I would change, in fact, there's just one thing I want. You could add or take away what you want, too."

Sans' eye sockets widened as he considered this.

"Not much I want," Flowey admitted. "But I'm just along to see something new."

"Come on, Sans. What do you say?"

Sans sighed. "i know you'll push if i just say no, so i guess i have to go along with it. give me a few days. i'll see what i can do."

"Thanks, Sans. I promise you won't regret it!" Frisk encouraged.

A few days later, Frisk got a text from Sans, telling her to meet him in his basement. Bringing Flowey along, she found him standing by a strange machine. The machine he was next to had a console and a screen, though the thing clearly wasn't in the best shape. She could see he had hastily patched it back together.

"Is this it?" she asked.

"yep," he confirmed. "and it should work. not sure how successful it'll be, but, hey, at least i tried."

"Great. Let's get going," Frisk encouraged. "I saved this morning, so we should be good."

"Um, Frisk, are you sure about this?" Flowey asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, it's just… this is extremely dangerous," he explained. "And… what do you hope to get out of this? I mean, why go to all this trouble?"

"Well, I was hoping I might be able to find something to help you," she explained.

"Me?"

"Yeah. Gaster's notes says that everything has its own file, including you. If I changed the right thing in it, I could turn you back to normal," Frisk explained.

Flowey was stunned, having never considered that. But then he looked down. "I… I'm not sure that's a good idea, Frisk. I mean, I'm not worth that."

"You are," she insisted. "Besides, don't you want to go back to your parents? Don't you want to be able to hug and be hugged by them again? Don't you want to be Asriel again?"

Flowey didn't say anything.

"we're ready," Sans informed.

"Then start her up," Frisk instructed.

"okay, hitting it." Sans pressed a key with a phalange. The machine whirred for a moment, but then it died just as fast. On the screen, an error message popped up.

"What's wrong?" Frisk asked.

"not sure. it says it's missing something, but i don't know what," Sans explained. His eyes scanned the words on the screen. "it says it lacks 'fuel', but it has power. i even managed to get it hooked up to the core so it'd have enough power."

"But it says fuel," Frisk said. "So it needs something else."

"What could it possibly be missing?" Flowey wondered.

"i dunno," Sans said.

Frisk looked it over herself. What kind of fuel would it need? She thought it over when something came to mind. "Determination?" she speculated.

Sans thought about it. "huh. it could be. i know the doc liked to use the stuff for his experiments."

"Okay, so how do we get any?" Flowey asked.

"Easy, me," Frisk volunteered. Both of the others looked at her in shock. "Use my Determination to power the machine. However much it takes."

"frisk, 'm not sure i have the equipment to extract it safely," Sans informed.

"Then just hook me up directly," she suggested.

"That could hurt," Flowey advised.

"A little pain won't kill me," she deflected, setting him down and walking to the machine.

Sans shrugged, realizing he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it. He opened a panel, revealing a compartment for a vial. Frisk placed her hand in it, hoping that would be enough. "no, but a lot could," he muttered. He went back to the controls, reactivating the machine. "okay, here we go again," he announced.

The machine came to life. Frisk jerked as she felt the device take some of her DT.

"You okay, Frisk?" Flowey asked.

"It hurts, but not a lot," she assured.

Sans kept working. Suddenly, another warning appeared on the screen.

"Now what?" Flowey asked.

Sans read it over, the lights in his eyes vanishing. "frisk, take your hand out."

"Why?"

"take it out. now."

Frisk tried, but her muscles seized up when she made to pull away. "Can't move."

Sans rushed over, intending to pull her away. But then a bright light came from the machine, enveloping all three of them.

Frisk was dazed. What had just happened? She recalled trying to pull her hand away, then there was a bright light. After that… after that… what happened? She couldn't remember.

As her senses came back to her, she registered that she was lying down. She got herself to sit up. She blinked, her vision dark and blurry. Eventually, things cleared up somewhat. However, as she looked, she saw nothing around her but an empty black void.

"Flowey?" she called out. "Sans?"

She looked behind her, and saw Sans face down, Flowey just a few feet away, his pot gone.

She ran over to them both, shaking them awake. Weirdly, though she felt something solid beneath her feet, she couldn't see anything. What was more, there wasn't any light in this place, but she could see everything as if it was the middle of the day.

"ohhh, my skull," Sans moaned. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head. "what happened?"

"I think it worked," Frisk said.

"whaddya mean?" he asked, looking at her. It must have been then he realized the lack of anything in this place. "oh. oh no."

Flowey regained consciousness a moment later. "Ow. That hurt." He raised his flower head, and his button eyes widened when he saw the empty void all around them. "Wait… where are we?"

"I think this is the Void," Frisk explained. "Seems like it worked."

Sans sighed. "great. that's just… great."

"Lighten up," Frisk said. "We made it."

"yeah, all of us," Sans snipped. "that's a bad thing, frisk."

"What do you mean?"

"i was supposed to use the machine to bring you back. but now that we're here, there's no one to operate it," Sans explained. "so now we're stuck here. forever."

Flowey's stem trembled. "I don't want to be trapped in the Void."

"Hold on," Frisk said. She concentrated and found she could still access her Save File. "I still got my Save. So I can still reload whenever I want."

"So reload and send us all back!" Flowey demanded.

"Not yet. First we need to know if this was worth it," she said. "We need to find the files."

"there's nothing here, frisk," Sans said sharply. "this was a bad plan. i shouldn't have done this."

"But we're here. We just gotta find the code."

Sans sighed in the face of Frisk's stubbornness. "feel free. i'll just be here."

Frisk looked around at the empty void. It reminded her of when she fought Flowey after he absorbed the six human Souls. It was a similar place. Though, there was absolutely nothing here. It was just her, Sans and Flowey. But she had come this far. She couldn't give up now.

She continued to look, hoping to find something. Then she looked up. "Whoa! What's that?"

"what's what?" Sans followed her gaze, as did Flowey. For hovering above them was a white rectangle. And on the rectangle were various words and numbers. "that's… code."

"Code?" Frisk asked hopefully. "Can you read it?"

"i can try," Sans said. As he spoke, the rectangle came down closer so he could see it. He spent a few moments looking it over. "whoa! it's… everything."

"What do you mean 'everything'?" Flowey asked.

"i mean 'everything'," Sans explained. "this code… it's all about our world, and everything in it."

"Really?" Frisk asked excitedly.

"yeah," Sans confirmed, his own voice rising. "it's about everyone and everything."

"At last!" Frisk cheered. "So, if we altered this, we could turn Flowey back into Asriel?"

"yeah," Sans confirmed. "in fact, there's specific lines of code for that. all we have to do is move some of the data, change a few values, and that can be done. and… whoa. according to this, you could delete your save if you wanted."

"Huh," Frisk said. "That would be something."

"You'd really give it up?" Flowey asked.

"It's not like I'll need it once we do this," Frisk said.

"hehehe," Sans chuckled. "we theorized a lot about how the world was just numbers, but boy, is it something else to see it's true."

"Alright! Let's get to work!" Frisk cheered. "We could even use this to go back, right? I wouldn't have to use the Save."

"yes!" Sans confirmed. "all i have to do is – "

"STOP."

The single word startled all three of them. They turned and behind them was a single, obscure figure. It had a smooth, pallid head with two black sockets and a gash that might be a mouth, and two cracks, one going up from its right eye, another going down from its left to its mouth. A long, black cloth stretched below the head that might be a robe, with a white shirt underneath, visible through a V-neck that ran down half of what might be the torso.

Frisk looked to Sans and noticed he had frozen up.

"HELLO, SANS," the figure said, its voice having a strange accent that Frisk couldn't discern.

"h-hey, gaster," Sans stuttered.

Frisk looked at the figure. That's Gaster?

"You're Gaster?" she asked.

"INDEED," he confirmed. "AND YOU ARE THE PLAYER. THE ANOMOLY IN THE TIMELINE I SAW."

"Um, guess so," Frisk shrugged. "But… I thought you were dead. Sans said you were dead."

"NO. I WAS MERELY ERASED FROM EXISTENCE," Gaster clarified. "NEARLY ALL TRACES OF MY PRESENCE ON THE TIMELINE WERE EXPUNGED, ALONG WITH MYSELF. MY PHYSICAL FORM – OR RATHER, WHAT'S LEFT OF IT – WAS BROUGHT HERE. THE PLACE I HAD SOUGHT TO FIND."

"you've been here? you actually made it?" Sans asked, surprised.

"INDEED. THE EXPERIMENT WORKED, SUCH AS IT WAS."

"Well, as cool as this is, we should get back to what we were doing," Frisk suggested, pointing to the rectangle with scrolling code.

"I CANNOT ALLOW THAT," Gaster said suddenly.

"What? Why?" Frisk asked. "I've come this far for this. Heck, you wanted to be here too for this purpose. We can change things. We can – "

"YOU'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THINGS THAT ARE NOT MEANT TO BE CHANGED," Gaster emphasized. "STOP."

"But… I don't understand," Frisk said.

"THEN ALLOW ME TO EDUCATE YOU," Gaster said. "THIS PLACE WE ARE IN IS A REALM OUTSIDE OF KNOWN REALITY. AS SUCH, NORMAL LAWS DO NOT APPLY. IT IS HERE THAT THE CODE OF OUR WORLD EXISTS. I SOUGHT IT OUT TO ERASE THE BARRIER. I SUCCEEDED IN GETTING HERE. BUT, I ALSO DISCOVERED SOMETHING."

"Discovered something?" Frisk voiced.

"DURING MY TIME HERE, I UNCOVERED THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE," Gaster continued. "YOU SEE, OUR WORLD IS BUT ONE OF AN INFINITE NUMBER OF COPIES. COUNTLESS WORLDS, VARIANTS OF OURSELVES. A MULTIVERSE."

"the multiverse exists?" Sans said, voice in awe.

"What's the multiverse?" Flowey asked.

"If I understand right, it's the concept that there are other universes beyond our own," Frisk explained. "Parallel realities, alternate timelines, stuff like that."

"YES," Gaster said. "THOUGH NOT QUITE THAT SIMPLE. YOU SEE, THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSES I DISCOVERED ARE SIMILAR TO OUR OWN, THOUGH DIFFERENT IN MANY WAYS. SOME SUBTLE, SOME MORE OBVIOUS. AND SOME ARE SO DIFFERENT THAT THEY BARELY QUALIFY AS VARIANTS OF OUR UNIVERSE. BUT WITHIN AN INFINITE MULTIVERSE OF ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES, THERE ARE DANGERS."

"What dangers?" Flowey asked.

"HOSTILE VARIANTS OF OURSELVES. BEINGS THAT DEFY ALL KNOWN RULES, FULL OF MALICE AND HATE. AND BEINGS THAT DESIRE ONLY TO DESTROY ALTERNATE UNIVERSES."

"That's horrible," Frisk said. "Why would they do that?"

"I DON'T KNOW. ALL I KNOW IS THAT WE ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO REPEL THEM SHOULD THEY INVADE OUR WORLD. THEREFORE, THE ONLY SAFE SOLUTION IS TO NOT DRAW ATTENTION."

"What does that mean?" Frisk said.

"IN MY OBSERVATION OF THE MULTIVERSE, I FOUND WHAT I BELIEVE IS THE ORIGINAL UNIVERSE. IT APPEARS TO BE SAFE. THEREFORE, WE MUST APPEAR AS IT TO SURVIVE."

"That's like answering a question with a question," Frisk snarked. "Can you speak plainly or is riddles the limit of your vocabulary?"

Gaster looked peeved at the insult. "VERY WELL. AS LONG AS WE DO NOT DEVIATE FROM THE ORIGINAL TIMELINES, THE DESTRUCTIVE BEINGS WILL NOT HARM US. THEREFORE, WE MUST RETURN TO OUR ORIGINAL STATE."

"Original state? What's that?" Frisk asked.

"THE LOOP," Gaster said simply. Sans' expression looked devastated and betrayed at the same time.

"The loop?" Frisk questioned.

"THE LOOP OF YOUR ADVENTURE. THAT IS WHAT THE ORIGINAL UNIVERSE IS. YOUR ADVENTURE THROUGH THE UNDERGROUND IS THE NATURAL STATE OF OUR UNIVERSE. AND YOU NOT RESETTING IS DEFYING THAT NATURE."

Sans hummed, but it didn't sound happy. "so, you want the kid to reset, is that what you're saying?"

"YES," Gaster confirmed.

Frisk was startled by that. "But… I don't want to. I'm happy here."

"THAT ATTITUDE IS WHAT ENDANGERS US," Gaster reprimanded. "YOUR CHOICE TO LET THIS TIMELINE CONTINUE RISKS US BEING DISCOVERED BY DANGEROUS ENTITIES. AND IF THEY FIND US, THEY WILL DESTROY OUR WORLD."

"But… there has to be another way," Frisk insisted.

"THERE IS NOT," Gaster said. "THE ONLY WAY TO PROTECT US IS FOR YOU TO RESET. IT IS THE ONLY WAY WE'LL SURVIVE."

Frisk shook her head. "No. I won't do it. Besides there's nothing else for me to do," she said. "I've done all I can in the Underground. I only Reset these last few times to try and help Asriel. And now that I have a solution, I intend to follow through on it."

Gaster shook his head. "THAT ACTION WILL ONLY LEAD TO OUR DOOM."

BECAUSE IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE. PRINCE ASRIEL DIED A CENTURY AGO. HIS REINCARNATED FLOWER FORM IS MEANT TO STAY ALONE IN THE UNDERGROUND. YOU "Explain that to me," Frisk said. "How is saving his life a pathway to destruction?"

"BECAUSE IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE," Gaster stated. "PRINCE ASRIEL DIED A CENTURY AGO. HIS REINCARNATED FLOWER FORM IS MEANT TO STAY ALONE IN THE UNDERGROUND. YOU DEFIED FATE WHEN YOU CONVINCED HIM TO COME TO THE SURFACE. HE IS MEANT TO STAY UNDERGROUND."

"and since that doesn't follow what's supposed to happen, it'd bring destruction down on all of us?" Sans guessed. Gaster nodded.

Flowey drooped. "So… that's it then. I'm not supposed to be here."

"YOU ARE NOT."

"No!" Frisk shouted. "No, I don't care what fate says. He needs to be saved, so I will do it."

Gaster sighed. "THAT WILL ONLY LEAD TO DESTRUCTION, CHILD. IF YOU TRULY CARE ABOUT MY PEOPLE, THEN YOU WILL RESET AND SEND THEM ALL BACK TO THE UNDERGROUND."

"I do care about them," Frisk said. "Which is why I won't Reset. They've wanted to see the surface for so long. I won't take it away from them again. They're so happy."

"WHAT THEY WANT IS IRRELEVANT," Gaster said. "YOU'RE THE ONE IN CONTROL OF THIS WORLD. YOU DECIDE WHAT HAPPENES TO THEM. BESIDES, YOU CAN ALWAYS GIVE IT BACK TO THEM. DOESN'T THAT SOUND PLEASANT? YOU SAW HOW HAPPY THEY WERE THE FIRST TIME THEY SAW THE SUN. YOU CAN DO THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR ALL ETERNITY."

"I've already done that," Frisk said. "What else could I possibly do with a Reset? I've done everything possible."

"THAT IS UNTRUE," Gaster rebuked. "YOU HAVE ONLY STUCK TO ONE PATH, AND ITS VARIOUS PERMUTATIONS. YOU HAVE YET TO EXPLORE THE TRULY DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES AND TIMELINES."

"What?"

"ALL YOU HAVE DONE IS STICK TO THE PATH WHERE THE MONSTERS ESCAPE THE UNDERGROUND. BUT DON'T YOU WONDER WHAT WOULD CHANGE IF YOU DIDN'T FREE THEM? IF YOU DIDN'T RESET AFTER ASGORE'S DEATH?"

Frisk quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"THERE ARE MANY PATHS AND POSSIBILITES," Gaster elaborated. "WHAT IF YOU SIMPLY DIDN'T BEFRIEND A SPECIFIC MONSTER? WHAT IF YOU MADE A DIFFERENT CHOICE WHEN INTERACTING WITH OTHERS. OR EVEN, WHAT WOULD CHANGE IF YOU KILLED A MONSTER?"

Frisk stiffened, disgusted by the last option. "Kill?"

"YOU HAVE NEVER GAINED ANY EXP IN ALL YOUR RUNS. NOT EVEN ACCIDENTALLY. AN IMPRESSIVE FEAT ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. BUT THAT MEANS YOU HAVE YET TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU TAKE A LIFE. EVEN A LIFE AS INSIGNIFICANT AS A FROGGIT. KILL ONE OF THEM AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS."

Frisk shook her head. That was an awful thing to suggest. And how exactly did that equate to protecting them? Something was wrong with Gaster's suggestion. "You want to protect them, but you're trying to encourage me to kill them. How does that make sense?"

"BECAUSE YOU CANNOT TRULY KILL THEM," Gaster said. "AFTER ALL, YOUR ABILITY TO RESET MEANS YOU CAN UNDO ANY DEATHS YOU INFLICT."

"But I'd still remember what I had done," Frisk retorted.

"THE EXP WILL BE DELETED UPON RESETTING. THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR ACTIONS BECAUSE OF YOUR UNIQUE POWER."

Frisk still wouldn't do it. A part of her was curious about what would change if she killed them, but the guilt would crush her soul.

"YOU STILL REFUSE? THEN HOW ABOUT THIS? YOU DESIRE A CHALLENGE, CORRECT?"

"What do you mean?"

"YOU HAVE FACED EVERY SINGLE MONSTER. LEARNED ALL OF THEIR PATTERNS. EXCEPT ONE." Then his gaze drifted to Sans. And just then, he started to sweat.

"But Sans doesn't fight," Frisk pointed out. "In fact, Toriel made him promise not to hurt me."

"INDEED. IN MOST INSTANCES, HE WOULD NOT FIGHT YOU," Gaster confirmed. "HOWEVER, THERE IS A WAY TO GET HIM TO BREAK THAT PROMISE."

"And what's that?" Frisk asked, curious in spite of herself.

"BY KILLING THEM ALL," Gaster stated. "IF YOU KILL ALL THE MONSTERS, EVERY LAST ONE, THEN HE WILL FIGHT YOU. HE WILL STAND IN YOUR WAY, TRYING TO PREVENT YOU FROM CONTINUING YOUR KILLING SPREE. AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU, HE IS VERY POWERFUL. HE WILL BE A SUFFICIENT CHALLENGE, AND SOMETHING BRAND NEW FOR YOU TO FACE."

Frisk looked at Sans. Him? Powerful? The notion seemed absurd from what she saw. He was so lazy she would be surprised if he could even stay awake for a single turn. But the cost of facing him. Killing all the Monsters?

"You mean… genocide?" she asked carefully.

"INDEED."

A moment passed as Frisk considered that. "And again, how does that equal protecting them? How is killing them all keeping them alive?"

"CHILD, HAVE YOU NOT PAID ATTENTION?" Gaster asked. "THE POWER OF THE RESET BUTTON MEANS YOU CAN UNDO SUCH AN ACTION EASILY. EVERY DEATH CAN BE ERASED WITH THE PUSH OF A BUTTON."

"And why would you be okay with that? I thought you wanted the Monsters to go free?" Frisk questioned.

"THAT GOAL IS FOREVER OUT OF REACH NOW. TO KEEP OUR UNIVERSE SAFE, THAT MEANS KEEPING US IN A LOOP. YOU MUST RESET AND CONTINUE YOUR ADVENTURE FOR ALL ETERNITY. AND YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU PLEASE."

Frisk stood still for a moment, considering Gaster's words. Sans watched her, worried that she'd take away their happy ending. Flowey just bowed his head. Either way, it didn't sound like this would end well for him.

"It's tempting," Frisk admitted. "I won't deny that. I would like to know what could happen if I went a less kind route. What would happen if I killed Monsters to gain EXP and LV. And… facing something that would put my skills to the test."

Gaster's odd smile widened.

"But," Frisk continued. "That would mean undoing all this and condemning my friends to an eternity underground. It would mean breaking their hearts and mine, destroying every promise and hope. I won't do that." She looked up determinedly into Gaster's empty eyes. "I won't Reset. I won't drag everyone back Underground for my own amusement. I won't ruin this ending for everyone simply because I want to know what could have happened if I did things differently. And… I won't waste this only chance I have to save Asriel. He deserves a happy ending, too, and I will see he gets it!"

Gaster's smile faded. "SO, THAT'S IT, THEN? YOU WILL NOT RESET OF YOUR OWN WILL?" Frisk shook her head. "VERY WELL. I HOPED IT WOULDN'T COME TO THIS, BUT IF YOU WILL NOT RESET ON YOUR OWN, THEN I WILL FORCE IT." Without warning, a strange skull appeared above Gaster's head. Frisk flinched as its jaws opened and a beam burst from it, slamming into her and sending her flying back.

"Frisk!" Flowey screeched.

She got to her feet, but Gaster was already upon her, a hand shooting out to grab her by the neck and lift her into the air. His hand was as white as his head, and there was an almost perfectly circular hole in the middle. Long, slender fingers began crushing her throat.

"I HAD HOPED I COULD CONVINCE YOU TO TURN BACK," Gaster said casually. "THAT I COULD MAKE YOU SEE REASON. I EVEN TEMPTED YOU WITH A MORE EXCITING ENDING, AND STILL, YOU REFUSE TO TURN BACK."

"Can't… see death… exciting," she choked out.

"A PITY. I HAD HOPED WE COULD RESOLVE THIS PEACEFULLY. BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE SO NARROW-MINDED, THEN I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO END YOUR LIFE AND FORCE A RESET."

The fingers tightened further. Breathing got difficult. She clawed at the hand, trying to get him to let go. She tried grasping his arm, but his figure was so indistinct, she couldn't tell the difference between his arm and his body.

Then, another laser slammed into Gaster, throwing him sideways and causing him to let go of Frisk. She flew a couple feet before she felt a tug on her Soul and was gently lowered to the ground.

She looked in the direction the laser had come from, and a smaller skull was visible, hovering in the air. And next to it was Sans, one hand out of his pocket.

"you mean that?" he asked.

"What?" she choked.

"is this ending all you want?" he asked. "is… is saving him, the weed, the only thing you want out of this?"

Frisk rubbed her throat, getting air back into her lungs. "Yes. It's all I want. Once he's saved, I'll have no reason to Reset anymore."

Something changed about Sans' persistent smile when she said that. "then, i'll help you get what you want. as long as the loops end… i'll help you."

Frisk looked at the skull next to him. Part of her still doubted he'd be of much help, but he had clearly thrown Gaster for a loop with that blast. Maybe he was more powerful than he let on.

Flowey popped up next to her. "That felt weird," he muttered. Then he looked right at her. "You really want to help me? Even after all I did to you?"

"Yes," she said. "Asriel Dreemurr deserves a second chance. He deserves to go home. And I'll see that it happens."

Flowey looked indecisive, before he grinned up at her. "Then, let's do it."

All three turned to face Gaster, who was back up. "SO, YOU'RE STANDING WITH THEM?"

"yeah," Sans said. "i know it'll put us in danger, but i'm tired of the loops. i want out, and if the kid will hold to her promise, and if saving the prince is what it takes, then i'll stand by her."

"HOW NOBLE. TOO BAD IT WON'T HELP YOU."

"I won't give up, Gaster," Frisk stated. "I'll help Asriel, no matter what it takes. Even if I Reset now, I'll still find a way to help him, and end the loops for good."

"AND THAT'S YOUR FINAL DECISION?" Gaster questioned, getting a nod in response. "VERY WELL. THEN IT SEEMS I HAVE LITTLE CHOICE."

"I don't want to fight you," Frisk pleaded.

"HOW SAD. I ALSO DON'T WANT TO FIGHT," Gaster said. "BUT I WILL." More of the strange skulls appeared. "RESET, PLAYER."

"Make me."

With a gesture of his hands, one of the skulls fired. Frisk dived to the side, Sans teleporting away, and Flowey vanishing into the ground. Flowey appeared a short distance away, two vines shooting to the scientist to grab him, only for the vines to meet empty air.

He tried to grab Frisk, but Sans reappeared, a barrage of bones at the ready. He chucked them at Gaster, only for the bones to sail right through his form, doing nothing. Both Sans and Frisk were shocked at that. Gaster summoned more skulls, all of them firing their lasers. Sans teleported away and Frisk dodging the blasts. She ran a few feet away but Gaster appeared right next to her. He tried to grab her again, only for several pellets to strike him in the back.

"Don't touch her!" Flowey shouted. Then he summoned a ring of pellets around Gaster, which quickly closed on him. But somehow, he dodged the un-dodge-able attack.

Another skull was summoned and fired at Flowey. He burrowed into the ground to avoid it. Gaster turned back to Frisk and saw that she had already run several feet. He teleported in front of her, another hand reaching down to grab her, but she evaded his grasp. Then several bones shot at him, but again he somehow dodged while standing perfectly still.

"How is he doing that?" Flowey questioned.

"AS I SAID, THIS WORLD DOES NOT FOLLOW THE SAME RULES," Gaster lectured.

He tried to grab Frisk again, but she evaded him once more.

"YOU CAN'T DODGE FOREVER," he said.

She dodged another swipe. "I don't want to fight you," she said. "But if you're not going to listen, then I guess I have no choice."

As she evaded another attempt to grab her, her hand reached into her pocket, clasping around something. When Gaster leaned forward to grab her once more she pulled the item out of her pocket and slashed him.

Gaster staggered back, eyes fixed on the dagger in her hand. It wasn't a proper weapon, made mostly for gardening, but it was still a sharp knife.

UNEXPECTED VARIABLE ENCOUNTERED. COMPENSATING.

Frisk held tight to the knife, ready for Gaster's next move. It came in the form of several more skulls, all firing their lasers at her. She weaved around the blasts, expertly dodging them. She might be a girl of twelve, but she had spent several loops evading attacks and had become an expert in dodging. It sickened her to be using the knife to fight, but Gaster wasn't letting up. She hadn't ever had to fight someone directly (not counting Asgore) so she was hesitant to hit him. But he wasn't letting up, and she couldn't see any way to spare him. So, Fight it was.

She continued to weave around his attacks until she managed to slash him again. Her attacks still did nothing to him.

"YOUR STATS ARE TOO LOW," he said. "IF THEY WERE HIGHER, YOU MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE. BUT AS IT IS, YOU'RE TOO WEAK."

Frisk dodged another blast, expertly avoiding it. Even fighting wasn't working out. They were all hitting him somehow, but it seemed random.

Or was it? As she thought about it, she realized that each time he was struck, he hadn't been expecting it. Sans' blast had been completely unexpected because he had been hyper-focused on killing her. Flowey got him in the back while he had been trying to grab her again and her slash managed to connect the first time because he didn't realize she was armed.

If the attack is unexpected, he can't dodge it, she realized. Somehow, he's just thinking "dodge" and he does it.

He did say that the rules of this world were different. If there are no rules here, his thoughts must be controlling things.

But that goes both ways. An idea came to her. As Gaster tried to blast her again, rather than physically move, she imagined the attack missing. Sure enough, the blast went right through her without harming her.

Gaster's smug looked dropped when he saw his blaster do nothing. He tried to grab her again, only for her to appear a couple feet away.

"INTERESTING. I DIDN'T THINK YOU COULD GET A HANDLE ON THAT THAT FAST," he admitted.

"I've always been a quick learner," Frisk replied. "Guys! Think about what you want to happen, and it'll happen!"

Flowey got the idea. He summoned a couple vines and shot them at Gaster. He imagined them finding their mark, and though Gaster tried to avoid them, they still struck. Sans did the same, picturing his blaster as accurately finding it target. It hit despite Gaster's efforts.

But when the smoke from the blast cleared, Gaster was barely harmed. "HA! THOUGH YOU MAY HAVE FIGURED THAT OUT, WHEN IT COMES TO ACTUALLY DAMAGING ME, YOU'LL HAVE TO DO MUCH MORE THAN THAT." More of the floating skulls appeared, firing at all three targets. Sans teleported while Flowey burrowed, Frisk shuffling to the side with a thought.

"Why are you doing this, Gaster?" she asked. "Even if you get me to Reset, I'll find my way back here."

"I AM TRYING TO PROTECT OUR WORLD FROM DESTRUCTION," Gaster answered. "YOUR STRAYING FROM THE PREDETERMINED PATHS IS JEOPARDIZING OUR EXISTENCE. BY STICKING TO THE UNDERGROUND AND ONLY GOING THE PATHS YOU ARE MEANT TO WILL OUR WORLD WILL SURVIVE."

"But they will remain trapped, away from the sunlight," Frisk protested, the battle still raging. "How is that surviving?"

"IT IS THE SAFEST WAY TO ENSURE OUR EXISTENCE," Gaster insisted, still trying to strike her. "THERE ARE FORCES OUT THERE THAT WILL SEE OUR DEVIANT TIMELINE AND EXPLOIT IT FOR THEIR OWN GAIN."

"I won't let them," Frisk said, getting close enough to slash.

"YOU CANNOT PROTECT US ALL FROM EVERY SINGLE MALEVOLENT THREAT THAT IS OUT THERE," Gaster insisted, dodging the strike. "BELIEVING YOU CAN IS ONLY HUBRIS."

"I won't force everyone back Underground for my own amusement," Frisk stated. "That's cruel in the extreme."

"IT WOULD ENSURE THEIR SURVIVAL."

"I don't want to survive! I want to live!"

"THAT WILL ONLY GET US KILLED."

"It's a risk we have to take," Frisk said, still slashing.

"ITS NOT ONE I'M WILLING TO TAKE."

"You're not part of the world anymore," she retorted.

"IT IS STILL MY CONCERN," he insisted. "I DON'T WANT TO SEE MY PEOPLE DESTROYED."

"Says the guy who tried to convince her to genocide them," Flowey pointed out.

"THAT ACTION CAN BE EASILY UNDONE," Gaster said. "HER POWER OVER OUR WORLD GIVES HER INFINITE TRIES."

"And I'll use that to protect it from what you're scared of," Frisk said.

"FOOL. YOU DON'T KNOW THAT," Gaster said. "THESE BEINGS ARE NOT LIKE THE MONSTES OR HUMANS YOU'RE USED TO. SOME CAN NEGATE YOUR POWER. OTHERS CAN REMEMBER BETWEEN THE RESETS. AND SOME ARE OUTRIGHT IMMUNE. YOUR POWER CAN'T PROTECT OUR WORLD FROM THAT."

"I can try!" she shouted, slashing again.

"YOUR PERSISTENCE IS ADMIRABLE, BUT POINTLESS. I HAVE TRIED TO REASON WITH YOU, YET YOU STILL RESIST."

"Because your plan stinks."

"NO. THERE IS SOMETHING MORE," he said. "SOME REASON YOU WILL NOT RESET. SOME REASON YOU WILL TRY AGAIN TO REACH THIS PLACE EVEN IF YOU RESET. BUT WHAT COULD POSSIBLY MOTIVATE YOU?"

Frisk dodged another attempt to grab her by the throat. "The Monsters deserved freedom."

"YOU CAN GIVE THAT TO THEM AS MUCH AS YOU WANT," Gaster said. "WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?"

Frisk dodged another blaster and tried to slash him. "They deserve a happy ending, and they deserve to keep it."

"SO YOU SAY. BUT THAT IS NOT THE WHOLE REASON," Gaster retorted. "NO, SOMETHING ELSE FORCES YOU DOWN THIS PATH BEYOND ALL REASON. WHAT COULD IT BE?!"

Frisk dodged another swipe. She looked at Flowey. "He deserves an ending, too," she said. "He deserves to go home to his parents."

"THAT IS WHAT YOU TELL YOURSELF," Gaster stated. "BUT THERE IS SOMETHING MORE. SOME DEEPER REASON. BUT WHAT COULD IT BE?"

Frisk dodged another blaster, Sans flinging a barrage of bones. She thought she got what Gaster was saying. Why was she so determined to help him? She barely knew him. What compelled her to help Asriel despite all reason?

She avoided another attack, slashing again. Her blows still rarely connected.

"WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?" Gaster demanded. "WHY DO YOU INSIST ON TRYING TO HELP THIS MONSTER YOU BARELY EVEN KNOW?"

Frisk didn't have an answer. She just wanted him to have a happy ending too. To bring him to his parents so they could spend their days together. She wanted to hug his fluffy form again, to hold hands and spend time with him again. She couldn't do those while he was a flower. She wanted to bring the boy back so she could hold him and not ever have to let go.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Gaster paused in his assault for a moment, looking between Frisk and Flowey, noticing the longing in the human's squinted eyes. Then he let out a laugh, which grew louder and longer. "OH, OF COURSE. OF COURSE! THAT WOULD MOTIVATE BEYOND ALL REASON. YOU'RE LETTING YOUR HEART RULE YOUR HEAD."

Frisk was puzzled by that statement.

"OH CHILD, YOU DESIRE HIM," Gaster said. "YOU DESIRE THE MONSTER PRINCE."

"Desire?" Frisk questioned.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW YOUR FEELINGS, DO YOU? YOU'RE BLIND TO YOUR LOVE FOR HIM," Gaster stated. The word caught Frisk off guard.

Love? Did she love him? She didn't think she did. She just wanted him free. She wanted him with her, so she could see his cute face, hold him in her arms and…

Oh lord, she did love him!

"Frisk?" Flowey questioned.

"I…" What could she say? Nothing would come to her.

"OH CHILD, IT'S A HOPELESS ENDEAVOR," Gaster lectured. "DESPITE YOUR ATTRACTION TO HIM, NOTHING WILL COME OF IT. HE IS THE PRINCE OF MONSTERS, AND YOU ARE A BASEBORN HUMAN. YOU TWO CANNOT BELONG TOGETHER. NOTHING WOULD COME OF SUCH A UNION BUT HEARTBREAK AND LONELINESS."

Frisk held the knife in her hand. "So what? He still deserves freedom. I'll ensure it happens, no matter what?"

"I KNOW. WHICH IS WHY I MUST TAKE EXTREME MEASURES TO NEUTRALIZE YOU."

Before she could react, a pair of free-floating hands grabbed her arms and forced them apart, hauling her into the air. She tried to struggle free, but two more hands grabbed her legs.

Sans tried to help her, only for another pair to grab him and haul him off the ground. Flowey tried as well, only for another hand to grab him and yank him into the air.

Gaster came forth, standing before Frisk. She tried to struggle free, but the hands held fast. "NOW THEN, HOW TO FORCE A RESET IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU WON'T COME BACK HERE?"

"Kill me all you like," she said. "Nothing will stop me from saving Asriel."

"I DOUBT THAT," Gaster said. "BUT BEFORE I FORCE THE RESET, I MUST FIGURE OUT HOW TO TAKE YOU OFF THIS PATH. HMM… YOUR DESIRE FOR THE PRINCE IS VERY STRONG. STRONG ENOUGH TO OVERCOME ANY LIMITS PLACED ON YOU. UNLESS YOU FORGOT ABOUT HIM."

Frisk's eyes snapped open at that.

"YES, THAT IS THE SOLUTION. AN ERASURE OF YOUR MEMORIES. THAT WILL ENSURE YOU DON'T TRY THIS AGAIN."

"No! Don't!" she begged.

"YOU NO LONGER HAVE A SAY IN THE MATTER." He raised one of his real hands, going for her head. "IF I ERASE ALL YOUR MEMORIES OF THE MONSTER PRINCE, IT SHOULD ERASE YOUR LONGING FOR HIM, AND END THIS PATH FOR GOOD. THEN YOU WILL LOOK FOR OTHER ENDS TO SATISFY YOU."

"No! I won't let you!" Frisk managed to maneuver the knife in her left hand. Then, with only a moment's hesitation, she jabbed at the hand holding that arm, destroying it and stabbing herself in the process.

Gaster jumped back as she screamed, startled at her action. With one arm free, she slashed the other hands holding her, freeing herself. She rushed forward, intending to stab Gaster with the knife. He dodged it, then plunged his hand down to her chest.

She froze, breath catching in her lungs as his long, slender hand plunged into her chest. He yanked back, her Soul in his grasp. She fell down with blood pouring from the hole in her body, strength fading fast.

"Frisk!" Flowey screamed.

"A PITY," Gaster said. "I WAS HOPING TO AVOID SUCH A GRUESOME METHOD. BUT SINCE YOU WON'T SUBMIT SO EASILY, THEN I GUESS I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO RESORT TO SUCH DRASTIC MEASURES."

Frisk tried to raise her head, gasping for breath, fighting the darkness that threatened to cover her vision. "Don't…" she gasped weakly.

"YOU NO LONGER MATTER," Gaster said. "WITHOUT YOUR HEART, YOUR BODY WILL NOT SURVIVE. I SHALL HAVE TO ERASE YOUR MEMORIES QUICKLY, BEFORE YOU RESET."

She crawled to him, reaching for her Soul. He held it up out of reach. "Give… it… back…" she begged.

"IMPRESSIVE. EVEN BLEEDING TO DEATH, YOU STILL TRY," Gaster mused. "YOUR DETERMINATION TRULY IS GREAT. BUT EVEN THAT CANNOT STAVE OFF THE INEVITABLE FOREVER. IN A MONSTER, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE, BUT YOUR PHYSICAL FORM HAS LOST A CRUCIAL ORGAN, AND SO YOU WILL DETERIORATE."

Frisk grabbed his black robe. "I said… give. It. Back!" She yanked with almost unnatural strength, forcing Gaster to his knees. She tried to grab the heart from his white hand, but he held firm. His free hand grabbed her neck and began squeezing, trying to crush her throat.

Frisk fought the darkness clouding her eyes, trying to grab her Soul back. If she returned it to its proper place, she might survive. She didn't know that for certain, but it was better than nothing. She coughed, blood filling her mouth. She tried to force Gaster away, left hand pushing against his indistinct form. As she tried, she felt it start to fall through him. He made himself intangible. But as her hand passed through his chest, it landed on something more solid. Without thinking, she grabbed hold of it.

When she did, she felt Gaster quiver. "W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he demanded, sounding panicked.

Her vision was fading, and she knew she didn't have much time left. With all the strength she had left, she began squeezing whatever it was she had grabbed.

"NO! STOP! YOU CANNOT!" he shouted. He began shoving her away rather than choking her.

Once he let go of her neck, blood began flowing up from her lungs to her mouth and breathing was still painful. On reflex, her hands went to her chest as she coughed, not releasing their death grip from the objects in their grasp.

"HCK!" Gaster gasped. "WHAT… WHAT HAVE YOU… DONE?!"

Frisk suddenly felt very strange. She realized she had managed to yank her Soul free and place it back in her chest, but both her hands were empty now. What was the other thing she had grabbed?

Then her body lit up, and she realized what she had grabbed; his Soul. She had grabbed Gaster's Soul.

And she had absorbed it.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

As her body shone, Gaster faded, screaming to the void. She wasn't sure what was happening to her, but she no longer felt the chill of death. But now her body felt like it was on fire. What had she done?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Flowey and Sans closed their eyes as Frisk's body glowed brighter and brighter. They could still hear Gaster's screams, but they were fading. When the screams faded completely, the hand that had been restraining them vanished, dropping them on the black ground. Both tried to cover their eyes to block out the intense light.

After a moment, the light faded. When the skeleton and flower opened their eyes, Gaster was gone. And where Frisk stood, a fuzzy shape resided, slowly becoming clearer.

"Frisk?" Flowey asked tentatively. "Is that… still you?"

The figure turned to face them. At least, that's what they assumed. "Unknown. Stand by."

Flowey cocked his head to the side, the language strange. It sounded vaguely like the accent Gaster had spoken with. "Frisk?"

After a moment, the voice became clearer. "Yes. Yes, it is," she said, her form still fuzzy, but slowly resolving itself. Gradually, her form solidified.

But though it was her original shape, she appeared different. Her skin was grey and her hair a dark red. Two marks that resembled cracks went across her head, one from the right eye, the other going down from the left, but only partway down to her mouth.

"kid?" Sans questioned. "that… you?"

Frisk nodded. "Yes. It's still me." She looked at herself, noting her grey skin. "Just… a little different, I suppose."

Flowey ventured a little closer. "And… Gaster?"

Frisk mulled over that. "Don't know. But he's not here," she answered. "Well, part of him is."

"what's that mean?"

Frisk held her head with her hand. "I seem to recall things that I shouldn't. I know things that I didn't before. I think parts of his memories and his knowledge are mine, now."

"Frisk, what happened?" Flowey asked.

"I absorbed his Soul," she revealed. "I… I hadn't meant to. But I was dying, and my mind was clouded. I didn't even realize I had grabbed his Soul. I knew I grabbed something."

"But, if you have his Soul, shouldn't he be… in there?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Frisk said. "He wasn't dead when I absorbed it, after all. And… he wasn't exactly alive, either. I think I got a part of him, but it's mostly me."

Sans looked unsure, but his eyes drifted to the white rectangle that still hovered above them. "well, guess there's nothing in our way, now," he said.

"No, there isn't," Frisk confirmed. With a gesture of her hand, the rectangle lowered down to her. "Fascinating. I know what all this means, despite having never seen it before."

"Must be Gaster's knowledge," Flowey said.

"Most likely," she agreed. "First thing's first, though," she said, looking down at her bare skin. Her hand hovered over the rectangle, the text scrolling by fast. Eventually, she found what she was looking for, and began working on the code of her own form. "Fascinating. Seems part of my data got entangled with Gaster's. That explains why I look different. Now, to get some clothes."

With a few more gestures of her fingers, she tapped a button on the top labeled 'Save' and a black robe with red stripes materialized around her. Black pants followed, followed by dark red shoes. Underneath, her original shirt could be seen within the V-neck of the robe.

Sans stared at her choice of wardrobe, noting it was very similar to what Gaster preferred.

That done, she turned to Sans. "Thank you for your help, Sans," she said. "I couldn't have done this without you."

"uh, no problem, kiddo," he said awkwardly.

"Now then, I need to do this next part myself," she informed. "You may go." She reached out to the rectangle, and with a tap, Sans vanished.

Flowey gawked at how easily the skeleton vanished. "What did you do to him?" he asked.

"I sent him back to the point we left," she explained. With a flick of her wrist, the text scrolled fast again. "Now then, on to why I came here." She stopped the scrolling at a specific point. "In a few moments, you'll be restored to your old self."

"Wait, Frisk," Flowey said. "Shouldn't we think about this? I mean, what if Gaster was right?"

"What do you mean?"

"W-what if there are things out there that will be hellbent on destroying us," Flowey questioned. "Wouldn't it be safer if we didn't change anything?"

"Maybe, but then nothing would change," Frisk said. "Everyone would be stuck at a specific point, and nothing new would ever happen. Even if I did what Gaster suggested, there's only so much I could do for so long before running out of possibilities. Eventually, nature dictates that something change. That's the law of the multiverse. Nothing stays the same forever, and eventually, chaos will manifest and something new happens. Which is what we are. And I won't go against it by Resetting. I intend to let time go forward again."

"But… the things out there," Flowey protested.

"Yes, they might come for us," Frisk agreed, "but you're overlooking something. It's the same thing Gaster overlooked. If there are destroyers, and there's still a multiverse, then there must be protectors as well. We just have to hope they defend us from the destroyers."

"You really believe that?" Flowey asked.

Frisk nodded. "I do."

"Well then… let's do it!"

Frisk went back to the rectangle, altering Flowey's code. She found Asriel's file and transferred as much of the data as she could to preserve it. Once done, her hand hovered over the Save button. "Ready?"

Flowey nodded. "Yeah, I am."

With a press, Flowey's form began to change. He came up out of the black ground, his form becoming indistinct as the changes washed over him. One moment, he was a flower, the next, he was his old self. He stood in the Void, looking down at his arms and legs, relishing having them again.

Frisk walked over to him, a smile on her face. "All good?"

"Yes," he said. "So much so, yes."

Frisk laid a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it. She felt so elated to be able to touch him again. "Welcome back, Asriel Dreemurr."

The Boss Monster hugged her. "Thank you," he said. She returned the hug, embracing him. After a moment, they pulled back, staring into each other's eyes. For a long moment, Frisk had the impulse to kiss him. She resisted, eventually pulling back and averted her eyes.

"Frisk, can I ask something?" Asriel asked.

"Of course."

"It's about what Gaster said," Asriel said. "Do… do you like me? Like, like like me?"

Frisk pondered on that for a moment. She wasn't entirely sure, but it didn't feel like friendship, that she knew. "I'm not sure. But… maybe. I… I do know I like you a lot. More than simple friends, and not like as a brother."

Asriel blushed. "Well, you did all this for me, and… a part of me likes you, too. But… I don't think it's love. At least, not yet."

Frisk took his hand. "Do you want to find out? I know there's a very simple way for Monsters."

Asriel's cheeks reddened further. "I'm not going to ask how you know about that, but not yet. I think I'd prefer to find out the old-fashioned way, first."

Frisk cocked an eyebrow. "So do you want to go on a date, then?"

"Uh… maybe…" Asriel trailed off, getting redder.

Frisk shook her head. "Let's get you home and settled in, first," she suggested. "Then we can figure out how to handle us."

Asriel sighed, turning back to his normal color. "Okay. But… what are we going to tell my parents? Especially since you look like… this." He gestured to her grey skin and markings.

Frisk shrugged. "I think I can make it so I look like my old self. It'll be a disguise, but I can manage. As for you… I'm not sure. But they won't ask right away. They'll just be glad you're alive."

Asriel nodded in agreement. "Okay. Let's go home."

Still holding him, Frisk tapped a button, and they left the Void.

All three reappeared in Sans' workshop.

"what was that, for?" Sans asked Frisk. "i was going to…" He trailed off when he saw Asriel.

"Uh, hi, Sans," Asriel nervously greeted.

Sans was confused. "how'd you get him back to normal so fast?"

"So fast? It's been a few minutes," Asriel said.

"no, i just got here, same time as you," Sans said.

"My doing," Frisk explained. "We returned to the point in time we left. All of us."

"oh. so, what now?" Sans asked.

"I need to get Asriel home to his parents," Frisk said. "It'll be a thing to explain this all without getting to the truth."

"and you're gonna do it lookin' like that?" Sans asked, gesturing to Frisk's general appearance.

"Not exactly." With a wave of her hand, the rectangle appeared before her. With a few taps, her form glitched into its original appearance. "There. Now I look normal."

"You still sound weird," Asriel pointed out.

Frisk cleared her throat. "Better?"

"mostly," Sans said. "still sound a little strange."

"Well, guess that's something I'll never be rid of," Frisk bemoaned. "Anyway, time to go." She pulled Asriel along, still holding his hand.

Sans watched them go. Then turned back to the machine, which looked even worse than before. It was never going to work again. Well, didn't matter anyway. Not like there was a reason to ever use it again.

Frisk got Asriel home. His parents were overjoyed to have him back, tearfully reuniting with each other. She watched as the broken family began to heal after so long. Things weren't perfect, but they'd get there.

Time passed, and things did indeed get better. Frisk discovered that she had magic now, her powers identical to Gaster's. She managed to keep that part a secret from her parents. Only Sans and Asriel knew the full truth. She was able to maintain the disguise for a long time. And when she had free time, she experimented with her power over the world. She had complete control over the world's code. Though she didn't use it for anything. She did learn what she could do with it, though, as Gaster's warning kept her on edge, ready for anything that would try to invade and ruin their home.

On the happier side, she and Asriel did date fairly consistently. It had taken both parents by surprise, but they were very supportive. And as the months went by, Frisk was able to recognize her feelings for Asriel. Though part of her feared that he wouldn't reciprocate. But with each date that went, that fear dimmed a little.

One day, a year after she brought him back, he took her into the woods at night. They found a clearing and gazed at the stars for a long while. Eventually, he turned to her, and told her that he was ready to find out. They kissed, and she felt a rush of excitement when their lips touched. And his dopey grin told her that he felt the same. It was true. They belonged together. With that, they vowed to always be together.

Frisk was so content. Everything felt perfect to her. But she didn't know that it was only a reprieve. For in her joy, she failed to keep watch for any threats to her world. And one day, what she had feared came to pass. And nothing would save her world…

It had begun like any ordinary day. She woke up with Asriel at her back, stretching as she got herself ready. They had taken to cuddling at night, which was always delightful. They got dressed in separate corners of the room, not looking at each other.

"So, how'd you sleep last night?" she asked once her appearance was set.

"Good. How about you?" he returned.

"Alright."

"Your voice sounds better," he said. "I can barely hear the accent anymore."

"But it's still there," she complained. "I wish it would go away."

"Hey, I don't mind," Asriel said. "I think you sound good no matter what."

"Aw, cute," she blushed. "Anyway, let's get breakfast."

They ran down the stairs to the living room, only to find it empty. Asgore might have been a late riser, but he was always on the couch watching TV at this time. And as the kids entered the kitchen, Toriel was missing as well. She should have been making breakfast.

"Weird," Asriel said. "Where are they?"

Frisk went to the front of the house, opening the door, intending to look around the front yard. Asgore might be just gardening. But when she stepped out, her eyes shot up to the city sky. The buildings were… glitching. That was the only word she could think of to describe what she was seeing. Bits were blinking out and reappearing in random spots, sometimes overlapping parts. She looked up and down the street, and only now noticed how empty it was. Their neighbors were usually out and about at this time. But right now, they were gone.

She closed the door, locking it for good measure.

"Frisk, what's wrong?" Asriel asked.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But something's wrong with the world." She tried calling up the files on the city. When she did, she got a jumble of letters and numbers. "That's… strange."

Asriel came over to look it over. He didn't understand the strange language that defined the world like Frisk did, but even he could see that something was wrong. "What's wrong with the code?"

"I don't know," she said. "But it's been altered in some fashion. But not like it's been reprogrammed. It's like it's been… corrupted."

"Can you fix it?"

"Let's see." She tried deleting one of the extraneous characters, only for the screen to glitch and fritz when she did. She jumped back as the screen went crazy before vanishing. "That's never happened before."

Asriel looked out the window. He saw the various trees glitching. "What's going on?" he wondered.

"I'm not sure," Frisk said. "But something's happened."

"Maybe Sans knows something?" Asriel suggested.

"Couldn't hurt," Frisk agreed. She brought up another screen, typed a few commands in, and she and Asriel were teleported to the skeleton brothers' house. However, it, like the city, was glitching. "Sans! You here?" Frisk shouted. There was no response.

Asriel pulled out his cellphone, intending to call someone. But when he put it to his ear, all he got was garbage noise. "My phone's not working," he said.

Frisk hummed, finger to her mouth. She typed in a new command, and she and Asriel were teleported to the basement. It was glitching as badly as the floor above. And Sans was facedown on the floor.

"Sans!" Frisk and Asriel exclaimed together, running to his side. There was a crack visible on the back of his skull. They rolled him onto his back, his eyes closed.

"Sans, wake up, lazybones," Frisk commanded, shaking him.

Sans blearily opened his eyes, but when he saw Frisk, they widened, and he raised his arm up and Frisk was slammed into the ceiling.

"Sans!" Asriel shouted, shaking him. "Let her go! It's Frisk!"

Sans blinked, eyes refocusing. "kid?" he questioned. "oh, sorry 'bout that."

"It's cool," Frisk said. "Can you let me down now?"

Sans gently lowered her back to the ground.

"Sans, what's going on?" Frisk asked.

"dunno," he admitted. "came down here to check on the machine, and… i found someone. or… something."

"What?" Frisk asked.

"dunno. can't remember." He rubbed the back of his head where the crack was. "but… it attacked me. i fought back. next thing i know, you're shaking me awake."

Frisk tried healing the crack in Sans' skull, channeling green healing magic to her hand. "Sans, what's going on with the world? Everything's glitched, and the code has been corrupted."

"glitched?" It was then Sans noticed the glitches in the world. "oh, that." As he noticed, the crack slowly vanished. "dunno, but i think the thing that attacked me had something to do with it."

Frisk pulled her hand back when the crack was fully healed. "There's something else as well," she said. "Everyone's gone. Our parents weren't home and the streets were empty."

"Papyrus wasn't home, either," Asriel added.

"papyrus?" Sans exclaimed. "oh geez, we need to find him, and the others."

Frisk hummed, tapping her lips in thought. "I might have a way of finding them."

"How?" Asriel asked.

Frisk pulled up one of the screens, text scrolling along it.

"you're looking at the code?" Sans asked.

"It might tell me where they are," she explained. "I'll start with Papyrus."

She spent a couple minutes looking through the data. Eventually, she found Papyrus' location. "There. He's in the city. And he's not alone. Just about everyone's there. But…"

"But what?" Asriel asked.

"Not sure. Something's up with the population."

"we'll figure that out later," Sans said. "my bro's in trouble. let's go."

Before they could react, he grabbed them and they all teleported to the city. However, this time, it felt different. Sans' shortcuts were normally painless, and so fast you barely noticed anything happened. This time, it took a while, and it hurt. Like they were trying to push their way past a thicket of brambles.

When they came out on the other side, they were standing in the city streets. The glitching was even worse up close. Nothing stood still for more than a second.

"bro? where are you?" Sans called out.

"SANS! YOU'RE OKAY!" Papyrus returned, his voice coming from above.

The trio looked up, and found Papyrus, bound in blue strings.

And it wasn't just him.

"Mom! Dad!" Asriel shouted.

"My children, you are alright!" Toriel called down, relieved.

"Alphys! Undyne!" Frisk called.

"Frisk! W-what's going on?" Alphys stuttered. Undyne was struggling against the strings, but despite how thin they looked, they weren't breaking.

As Frisk continued to look, she noticed that there were several more Monsters tied up above them. And interspersed were the Souls of humans. Hundreds of various colored Souls, tied up in strings.

Frisk looked down, and only now noticed that the pavement was littered with comatose humans. "What is all this?" she asked aloud. She glanced at a screen, and now she understood what was wrong with the location data. It was registering the human Souls as separated from their bodies.

"don't worry, bro. i'll get you out of there," Sans promised.

"Don't be too sure."

The strange voice caught them by surprise. It echoed from everywhere and nowhere. "Who's there?" Frisk demanded. "Show yourself!"

Suddenly, the bodies stood up. It was then Frisk noticed the strings tied around their limbs. "Well, well, look who it is," the bodies said together. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

Asriel cowered behind Frisk. She wrapped an arm around him protectively, the other stretched out to the puppeted bodies. "Answer my question," she demanded.

"Very well." The bodies then all looked up at something. Frisk followed their gaze, seeing someone descending on the strings. They were standing on several of them, but they were also wrapped around this person's fingers. And what's more, they appeared to come from their chest, a hole right where their heart would be. "Hello, partner," they greeted once they were in earshot.

Frisk took in this newcomer. She had green skin with blue hair, a green shirt with blue sleeves and a single red stripe running horizontally across both, blue pants and green shoes. Her eyes were red, as were a pair of circles on her cheeks that might have been a blush. Despite how strange she looked, Frisk could tell she was human, despite the inhuman appearance.

"I'm sorry, do we know each other?" Frisk said, one hand still outstretched.

The person threw her head back and let out a very unhinged laugh. "Have you forgotten me so easily? What, gone soft from so much peace living with my family?"

"Your family?" Frisk questioned.

"Come on, don't you recognize me from the old photos?"

"Pretty sure I'd remember something as ugly as you," Frisk responded.

"Oh, I didn't always look like this," the strange being said. "But when you try to forcefully insert yourself into the world, consequences are only natural. Though, some, I don't mind." She said the last bit with glee, looking at her hand and the strings still wrapped around her fingers.

"You still haven't answered Frisk's question," Asriel spoke up, feeling a little braver.

Now the person looked offended. "So, you've forgotten me, brother? Ouch. And here I thought we were best friends. Did Frisk make you forget all about me?"

"What?" Asriel questioned, confusion plain on his face.

"Oh don't play dumb, Azzy, you're not smart enough," she continued. "Surely you'd recognize the human you saved when she had fallen into your world. The girl you brought back to your home and treated like your sister!"

Asriel's mouth dropped in surprise. "C-Chara?"

"So, you haven't completely forgotten me?" she asked spitefully. "Good, glad to know that."

Frisk stepped forward, standing between Chara and Asriel. "How are you still alive?" was the first thing out of her mouth.

"Oh, I'm still dead," she said. "I just forced myself to live again through sheer will."

"But how?" Frisk asked.

"When you absorbed Gaster, it gave me the opening I needed to be free again. I was just as attached to the code of the world as you, Frisk. But sadly, I can't manipulate it like you can. But I did learn that these," she gestured to the strings, "allow me to inject my Soul – or what's left of it – into just about anything and manipulate it like an extension of myself. I also learned how to use these strings to grab onto things. Like Souls."

Frisk looked at Chara's prisoners, and only now noticed that every single Monster that was bound had their Soul visible, wrapped in the same blue strings that bound their bodies.

"You came back," Asriel said. "I… I thought you were dead. I… I thought you were gone forever." He sounded relieved. "I… I missed you so much, Chara."

"And I missed you, too, Azzy," Chara replied. "I forced myself alive again to come back to you."

"But… what are you doing?" Asriel asked, gesturing to the Monsters and catatonic humans. "Why… all this?"

"Simple, I need Frisk's help, and these are to ensure she does what I say," Chara replied.

"Hostages?" Frisk spat.

"Indeed."

Asriel was confused again. "But… why?"

"Simple. I want you," Chara said to him.

"Me? In what way?" Asriel tentatively asked.

"I should think it would be obvious," she replied.

Frisk again stuck an arm out to him. "He's already spoken for."

"I don't care," Chara said, hand shooting out to them. Frisk grabbed Asriel and avoided the strings, Sans teleporting away. The strings jabbed into the ground, impacting with significant force. "I want Asriel for myself, and I want you to make it so he's mine."

"And why would I do that?" Frisk retorted.

"Because if you don't, I'll kill everyone," Chara answered coldly.

Asriel gasped. "No! You wouldn't do that, right?"

Chara yanked on the strings in response, many Monsters gasping as the pressure on their Souls increased.

"She would," Frisk realized. "I won't let you do that."

"You say that like you have a choice," Chara retorted.

Frisk caught sight of something behind Chara before immediately refocusing on the human. "Why would you do this?" she demanded.

"I told you, I want Asriel," Chara answered. "You can make that happen. Just change a few lines of code, and he'll belong to me."

"That's not within my abilities to grant," she said. "Affairs of the heart are not governed by the code."

"Like I care," Chara retorted. "You can just reprogram him to be the one for me."

"You want me to brainwash him? Into what? Your slave?"

"Into my lover," Chara answered smoothly.

"Doesn't sound like love to me," Frisk observed.

"I don't care," she said. "I want him, but it's pretty clear he's fallen for you. So, I want you to make it so he likes me."

"And why not do it yourself?" Frisk asked. "You said you could control anyone who had your strings on their Soul."

"I tried. It doesn't work on him," Chara replied. "Whatever it was you did to bring him back, it made it impossible for me to control him. I can immobilize him, but that's it."

Frisk would ponder on how Chara found that out later. Right now, she had to keep Chara talking and focused on her. "So basically, you just want an obedient pet to love you."

"He's not a pet," Chara retorted.

"Really? Because it doesn't sound like you're considering his feelings."

"His feelings are irrelevant," she said. "He's not as real as you or I."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Chara let out a chuckle. "Wow. Gaster's little speech went right through you, didn't it? Even after you got his knowledge, you still don't understand what he said."

"Speak plainly."

"Fine. The Save file gives you the power to control the whole world," Chara explained. "You can make anything come undone with a flick of your will. Everyone is just a character in your little 'game'. Asriel is no different. He's just a line of code with a script to follow. But me and you? We aren't like that. We're the only ones free of the rules of the world. You have unlimited freedom, and yet you're squandering it by playing house. You can do whatever you want, get away with absolutely anything, and instead you're just living peacefully with a family of creatures you don't belong to, romancing a Monster who you can't be with."

"I don't care about power," Frisk replied. "I just want peace, a calm life. Maybe, one day, a family of my own."

Chara glared down at her. "You truly believe that? Wow. The power you have is wasted on you. Which is where I come in. I won't let it go to waste. I'll use it as it's intended."

"You mean toy with the world like it's a game? Treat people as if they're nothing?"

"They are nothing," Chara coldly retorted.

Frisk shook her head. "I won't help you. Let my friends go. Leave my world."

"And you think you can just order me around like an NPC?"

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to follow," Frisk explained, a cocky smile on her face.

It was just then Chara heard something charging behind her. She turned just in time to see several skulls hovering in the air, their maws all focused on her. Sans was in the middle, and with a snap of his fingers, they all fired on her, blasting her out of the air and to the ground.

Frisk thought that was the end of her, only to see Chara kneeling on the ground, unharmed.

"So, that's how it's going to be? Very well." She raised her hands. Suddenly, several Monsters started moving against their will. Papyrus thrust his arm out, a barrage of bones targeting Sans. The shorter skeleton teleported away before he could be struck.

At the same time, Undyne charged Frisk with a spear. "Frisk, heads up!" she warned.

Frisk raised her arms, a green shield blocking the attack. "Undyne, get control!" she shouted.

"I'm trying!" Undyne replied, continuing to swing at Frisk. Frisk dodged the swipes as best she could, easily avoiding each attack. She didn't want to hurt the Monsters, but Chara was using them to fight.

Frisk conjured a set of hands with holes in them. She turned them on Chara, the hands firing several yellow blasts in rapid succession. Chara was forced to dodge the blasts, but it didn't make Undyne and Papyrus stop attacking.

Then Asgore and Toriel joined the fight, both targeting Frisk. Asgore swung his trident, trying to bisect Frisk, while Toriel launched a barrage of fireballs at her child. Frisk still managed to dodge the attacks, keeping a fair distance between her and her attackers.

Frisk used the hands she had already summoned to try and restrain Undyne. It worked to some extent, but she was flailing and thrashing against their grasp.

Frisk ducked again before a swipe from Asgore could take her head off. She conjured more hands, using two of them to grab hold of his trident to wrest it from his grasp. Asgore held on, but it did take all his effort to hold it. That left Frisk free to deal with Toriel. With one hand, she surrounded herself with a green shield. Then, with one hand, she used teal bands to restrain Toriel. Her body was still trying to attack, but now her arms were locked together.

Chara saw her three puppets restrained, so she had Papyrus turn his attention on the human. He summoned a barrage of bones and chucked them at Frisk. She saw them coming, and luckily, still had one hand free. Using it, she duplicated Papyrus's attack with purple copies, sending them at his attack and canceling it out.

Chara growled at how this was going. She had thought Frisk would be easy to defeat. Apparently, she had gotten more from Gaster than she thought.

Meanwhile, Frisk was trying to figure out how to free her friends. Those strings were wrapped around their bodies and Souls, allowing Chara to control them. And Frisk could see they were resisting Chara's commands, but they weren't doing very well.

Then it hit Frisk: if she severed the strings it would free them from Chara's control. She might be able to reestablish it, but it would give Frisk some breathing room.

She used the teal hand, having it send several blue bands at Papyrus to bind his arms and legs together. Then, with the blue hand, she conjured sawblades and sent them at the strings tied to her friends. It sailed right through the blue strings, severing them. Her friends collapsed, freed from Chara's control.

"No!" the corrupted human screamed. "That's not supposed to happen!"

"Well, it did," Frisk taunted. "Now, are you going to let everyone else go, or do I have to free them myself?"

"You think you've won? Ha! You don't know what you're facing!" Chara flicked her hand, and a knife appeared in it. She charged, swinging the blade at Frisk. She swerved out of the way, recalling the rest of the hands. With the yellow one, she fired several projectiles in rapid succession at her foe. Chara slashed at them, swinging the blade at Frisk. But the green hand shot to her side, conjuring a green barrier to block the strike.

Then the orange one came forward, flashing twice. Two orange orbs appeared next to Chara. The hand flashed again, and Chara had just enough time to move before the orbs detonated. Chara then shot her strings out, knives appearing on the ends. She swung them in chaotic patterns, trying to slash Frisk. But the human teleported out of range, then with the red hand, fired a powerful red beam that destroyed several strings in one blast.

Chara growled again, before flinging several strings into the sky, wrapping around those already present, then swung with them, aiming a kick at Frisk. The human used the green hand to block the kick, then the yellow hand to rapid fire shoot Chara. The corrupted human swung her knives to block the attacks.

"Seems you don't know what you're facing either," Frisk retorted. Then she teleported to the top of a nearby building. All seven hands were above her. With a gesture, they all switched to teal. Then with another gesture, they flung their bands at Chara. She swung her knives furiously, slicing as many as she could as fast as possible. Alas, there were too many, and they successfully restrained her.

Frisk then teleported back to Chara, her own knife in hand. She swung, intending to strike Chara a glancing blow, but Chara managed to barely evade the swipe. Frisk swung again, this time successfully getting Chara in the chest. Chara screamed in pain. Then her strings flashed, and Frisk turned just in time to avoid an attack from another Monster under Chara's control.

Chara then freed herself from the bands, grabbing the knife in her chest. With a scream, she yanked it out. Frisk saw the blood coating the blade, but the wound in Chara's chest glitched out of existence. As Chara recovered from the stab, Frisk took the opportunity to look at Chara's data. She chose to focus on the corrupted human's stats first. But strangely, the values made no sense. They were randomly changing every moment. In fact, all of Chara's data was randomizing every second. Her code was unstable, which Frisk found hilariously ironic. However, it did make it difficult to stop her.

Chara tossed Frisk's knife away. "You can't kill me," she taunted.

"Don't need to," Frisk said. This time, she changed her hands to green and they surrounded Chara, conjuring a green sphere around her. Chara bashed on the shield, but it proved to be very durable. With her temporarily incapacitated, Frisk ran to check on her friends.

Sans was next to Papyrus, helping his brother stand up. Asgore was also helping Toriel to her feet, while Undyne was using a spear to support herself.

Frisk ran to Asriel, hugging him and assuring herself that he was alright. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured, looking at the rampaging Chara. "That… can't be her."

Frisk looked at the human still furiously trying to escape her prison. "How so?"

"Chara liked to cause mischief, but she was never… evil," Asriel explained. "And she wasn't so… possessive of me, either."

"She doesn't exactly sound stable," Frisk commented. "I guess time and power went to her head."

"But still, she didn't act this crazy," Asriel said. "And yeah, she liked me, but she didn't treat me like I'm… uh…"

"A video game character?" Frisk offered.

"Yeah, that."

"So she liked you?" Frisk asked inquisitively.

"She was my best friend," Asriel explained. "But don't worry, I didn't like her like that."

Frisk scrutinized him, making him sweat. "I'll trust you on that," she said carefully, her tone making it clear they were going to talk about it in depth later.

The others came over and Frisk realized that they could see the tension between them and the nature of it.

"Whoa! When did this become a thing?" Undyne asked. "Guess I owe Alphys dinner. She actually ships you two."

Frisk did her best to suppress a blush.

"OHO, HOW ADORABLE," Papyrus added. "FORGET WE'RE HERE AND CONTINUE YOUR LOVER'S QUARREL."

"Papyrus," Toriel chided, still leaning on Asgore. "Do not embarrass them like that."

Asgore just gave his son a subtle thumbs up, making him blush.

"well, as fun as it is to gossip," Sans spoke up, "i think we need to focus on what to do with chara, and how we're going to get everyone down."

"I might be able to blast the strings," Frisk offered. "It doesn't take much."

"When did you learn to do that?" Toriel asked. "And why is your skin… grey?"

Frisk realized just then that she had dropped the disguise at some point in the battle. "Long story. I'll tell you later."

Just then, a loud crack came from the shield. To their horror, Chara was breaking free. She was slashing at it with her knives, damaging the shield.

"Frisk!" Asriel shouted.

She gestured with her hand and the shield started to shrink. But Chara fought harder and harder, and the hands started to crack in the process.

Realizing she was going to break free no matter what, Frisk pulled the hands back, dispelling the shield. Chara screeched into the air once free. She plunged her hands into her chest, pulling forth several more strings.

"I'm tired of your powers!" she screamed. "Let's see if we can't level the playing field." She shot the string up into the air, and they all collided with something. Then, with a yank, they pulled apart. A portal opened up into a black void. With one more yank, she pulled the portal down on all her foes and herself. Then it sealed up behind her. "Welcome back to the Void, Frisk!" Chara yelled.

"And what exactly is your plan here?" Frisk asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"To make you do what I want!" she screamed. "And here, I'm far more powerful!" With that proclamation, she summoned several more knives, all attached to her strings. She flung them at Frisk and her friends. The Monsters raised their arms in defense. Frisk, however, just stood there, unflinching.

Just before the knives struck, Frisk raised a hand, her seven floating hands responding and summoning a powerful green barrier that blocked all the knives.

Chara gawked at how easily Frisk had done that.

"You've made a miscalculation," Frisk informed. "I also grow stronger here. So, prepare yourself, Chara."

Frisk waved her hands and spoke a word the others didn't catch. "DUALITY." Then, her seven hands merged into two giant ones. With a gesture, one shot toward Chara, fingers stretched out. Chara leapt out of the way of its grasp, but the second one right behind it, its fingers curled into a fist. Chara was unable to avoid it and got sent flying several feet away by the blow. She got up just in time to see Frisk running at her, knife in hand once more, but surrounded by a red glow that turned it into a sword. Chara got up her own knife, barely parrying the swing in time.

Chara used her string knife, swinging it at Frisk, forcing her to leap back to avoid it. Frisk pocketed her knife, summoned the giant hands, and fired a scattershot of yellow projectiles. Chara only managed to avoid a couple, the rest struck her and sent her flying once more. Then the hands turned orange, several orbs hovered around the void. Chara tried to find a safe place to run, but there wasn't anywhere she could get to in time. The orbs exploded and sent Chara flying.

Frisk strolled towards the human, noticing once again that Chara seemed unharmed. One more check of the human's data revealed what she had seen before: the values fluctuating randomly. Which meant brute strength alone wouldn't end this fight. Frisk wasn't sure she could see any other way to end it, though. Chara refused to stand down, and she was virtually indestructible.

She heard several footsteps behind her and saw her friends coming up. "Is she alive?" Asriel asked.

"She's not dead," Frisk answered. "In fact, I don't think she can die."

"Then what are we going to do with her?" Asgore wondered.

"I don't know," Frisk admitted. "But we need some way to restrain her."

"How about just leaving her here?" Undyne suggested. "I don't see a way out of this place."

"She got us here. Logically, she could get out," Frisk replied. "Our best option is to find some place she can't teleport out of."

"No! I will not be caged!" Chara screeched. She got to her feet, a mad glint in her eyes.

"Stand down, Chara," Frisk demanded. "You can't beat me."

Chara yanked more strings out of her body. "I don't care." She flung them at Frisk this time. But Frisk easily sliced them with her sword. "I'm going to tear you apart, then put you back together, then make you give me this world!"

"Keep dreaming," Frisk droned. With a wave of her hands, she summoned the giant ones once more.

Chara summoned her knives, wrapping them with her strings. She once more sent them at Frisk. Frisk stared at the attack for a long moment, before the hands turned purple, and duplicated Chara's attack. The knives from Frisk's hands sliced the strings belonging to Chara, then went towards the human. Chara used her real knife to parry the swipes.

"Grrr. So, you can best whatever I can throw at you," Chara growled. "But let's see you handle this!" She repeated her action, but instead of sending the knives at Frisk, they went to the Monsters. Frisk stretched her hand towards them, the floating pair shooting right over to them, conjuring a green shield to protect them. But when she did that, Chara charged with her own knife. But Frisk managed to parry with her sword.

"Can you defeat me and protect them at the same time?" Chara taunted.

Frisk smirked. "Yes." Then she kicked her foe away. With a few gestures of her hands, she created duplicates of herself. Chara stared at the army of Frisks surrounding her. They all summoned a sword and charged. Chara conjured her knives and swung them on her strings. All the Frisk's scattered as she slashed at them. When a knife passed through a Frisk, it vanished. Chara tried to get rid of all the duplicates this way, but there were too many, and it seemed like Frisk was continuing to conjure more. Those that got close enough to strike did so, and while they might not have been real, their blows were.

In the sea of copies, Frisk moved amongst her duplicates. This technique she had developed was really just a distraction ploy. None of the copies possessed her strength, intelligence or durability. But they were convincing facsimiles, which worked to confuse her foe, allowing her to get within striking distance so she could deliver a real blow. Her hands were occupied protecting her friends, so she had to use other ways to fight.

Eventually, she got within a couple feet of Chara, who was focused on the other side of the battle. She prepared to swing her sword at Chara's unprotected back, but a wild strike from one of the knives collided with her sword, creating an audible sound that made Chara turn around and realize she was the real one. She swung her knives at Frisk, who blocked the strikes. Unfortunately for the human, that left her open to a hundred blows from the duplicates. And while none could strike like the real thing, a hundred scratches still hurt.

Chara screamed in rage, dispelling the knives and flinging her strings in every direction. Her attack dispelled most of the duplicates, but enough remained that they swarmed around the real thing, the strings missing the real Frisk. Chara saw them surround her in a circle, swords pointed at her, all moving like they were ready to charge. Chara tried swiping them away again, but the real Frisk had learned, and fewer duplicates meant they were collectively stronger. As such, they were able to parry Chara's strikes with enough force to hide the real one. Chara realized she would get just one chance to get Frisk, each one poised to charge her with its sword.

Chara took a random guess and flung a knife at one to her back. She thought she had it figured out, as Frisk would try to run her through her blind spot. Unfortunately, the knife dispelled the duplicate.

Then the real Frisk jammed her sword through Chara's back. Chara screamed in pain.

"Give up! You can't win!" Frisk demanded.

"Never!" Chara conjured a knife, held it backwards, and swung at Frisk. She just managed to jump back in time. Chara clutched her chest, the wound glitching away. She then whipped out her strings with knives attached to the ends. Just before she could fling them, several bones appeared in front of her, cutting her off from Frisk.

"NEVER FEAR, HUMAN FRISK! WE SHALL HELP YOU!" Papyrus declared, the others running up with him.

"No," she said. "Go. It's too dangerous. One hit could kill you."

"We're not letting you face her alone," Undyne insisted.

"Let us help you, Frisk," Asriel insisted.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you're going to help, then let me make sure you don't die." She raised a hand and a white screen popping up. With a few taps, she altered the code, then hit Save. Just like that, all the Monsters felt something in them change. "I've set your HP to 'Invincible'. You shouldn't take any damage."

"Sweet! Means I don't have to hold back!" Undyne cheered. Just then, Chara slashed the bones to pieces, only for a spear to jab into her chest, curtesy of Undyne. "Take this, punk!" she shouted, ten more overhead.

Chara managed to teleport away before they struck. But then two bone barrages came from opposite sides of her. She dodged as many as she could, but she still got struck. And while Papyrus' attack dealt a good deal of damage, Sans' special ability drained her health in such a way that it didn't easily regenerate. She flung knives at both skeletons, who managed to dodge the attacks.

Then a wave of fire washed over Chara from Toriel. She shot strings at the Boss Monster, only for Asriel to use his Chaos Sabers to slash them to pieces. Then Asgore came up, trident at the ready, eyes flashing between blue and orange too rapidly for Chara to catch. Then she was slashed multiple times by the Monster king, knocking her back several feet. She tried to retaliate, only for Alphys to zap her with a blast of electricity, freezing her up long enough for Asriel to get close and slash her with his sabers.

Chara stared in shock at her former brother's attack. Those blows had been aimed to cause actual damage. She could see the anger in his eyes, an expression that she had never seen from him before. She prepared to use her strings, only for one giant hand to grab her, holding her in place long enough for Frisk to slash her. Chara managed to free herself but was crushed by the other giant hand.

Frisk briefly checked Chara's code, hoping that all that did something. Sadly, the HP was regenerating again. It seemed her health couldn't maintain any single number for very long no matter what. Frisk checked the code of the others, and while they were all okay, Frisk glanced at the code of the rest of the world, finding it further corrupted. In fact, some of it seemed to belong to Chara. As the human in question got up, Frisk looked at the strings still tied to her fingers, coming from her chest. She had mentioned she could control others like they were an extension of herself. But Frisk wondered if it was more akin to injecting her code into others, like a virus. That's what Chara was; a computer virus. They had to purge her, otherwise the system would get too corrupted. And Frisk didn't want to find out what that would do to the world.

Chara was kneeling on the ground, staring up in surprise at Asriel. "And so, you betray me?" she asked.

"You're trying to kill my girlfriend and you want me as a pet," Asriel retorted. "I'm not going to stand by while you do that."

"Girlfriend?" Frisk asked teasingly.

"Don't let it go to your head."

Chara screeched. "No! No! That cannot be! You're mine! Mine!"

"Someone needs a time out," Toriel said.

"Or a good long stint in solitary," Frisk suggested.

"AAAHHH!" Chara raged to the sky. "Give me this world! Give me the power to control it! Now!"

"Never," Frisk denied. "You've lost, Chara. In more ways than one. You're never having this world." All of Frisk's friends stood beside her, making it clear what their stance was.

Chara let out an ear-splitting screech at that. "IF I CAN'T HAVE THIS WORLD, NO ONE CAN!"

Then she shot her strings straight up. Frisk wondered for only a moment what she was doing, before she saw a white screen with text right above the corrupted human. The strings wrapped around it. Frisk had only a moment to realize what was about to happen, bolting straight for Chara to stop her. But she was too late. Chara yanked on her strings with all her might and the rectangle was shredded to pieces.

When the screen was ripped, they all appeared back in the real world. And to their horror, it was fading away. Bits and pieces were blinking out of existence, glitching before disappearing.

"What's happening?" Alphys asked.

"Chara just destroyed the world's code!" Frisk shouted.

"What does that mean?" Undyne asked, having to shout to be heard over the cacophony of noise that filled the air.

"Without any code, the world will fall apart!" Frisk said.

"papyrus?" Sans asked, sounding horrified.

"SANS? WHAT IS IT?" The taller skeleton looked at his hand and saw it glitching before it disappeared. The effect spread up his entire body. "SANS? WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?"

"j-just hang on, bro, just…" Sans' smile was gone, as he tried to reach his brother who was vanishing piece by piece.

"SANS? WHAT'S – " And just like that, he was gone.

"papyrus, no!" Sans shouted, tears falling from his eyes.

"Undyne?"

The fish woman looked at Alphys, seeing the same thing happen to her. "Alphys, no!"

"Undyne, help me!" Alphys begged, stumbling to her girlfriend as she faded. Undyne tried to grab her to hold her one last time, but she disappeared before she could.

"bring them back!" Sans demanded of Frisk.

"I… I don't know how!" she panicked. She looked around, the world fading piece by piece. "This wasn't supposed to happen!" She summoned her big hands and had them fire red blasts at the edges of the rapidly shrinking world. She tried to keep the inevitable from taking her friends, but she still had to watch as they faded one by one.

First was Toriel, who tried to say something to Asgore, but disappeared before she could say it. Then Sans vanished, still crying and heartbroken, but looking relieved that he was going. Undyne tried chucking spears at the edges, but the spears vanished. Asgore tried to help, sending out jets of fire, but those were just as effective as Frisk's beams.

Frisk glanced over at Chara, who was standing there in shock. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused. She stumbled around, seemingly lost, hands still outstretched, strings dangling off her fingers. Then she shook her head before screaming at the fading sky. She shot her string out next to her, a portal opening when she did. She glanced back at Frisk, hate naked in her expression. Then she jumped through, going who-knows-where.

"Chara! Get back here!" Frisk shouted. But the corrupted human was gone. She turned her attention back to the rapidly fading world. She saw Undyne was the next to go, her legs fading. "Undyne!"

The fish-woman looked down, hurt in her eyes. She grunted, and for a moment, Frisk thought her legs came back. But then they vanished again, the process spreading up her body. "Sorry, kid. I… I wasn't strong enough." With that, she faded, too.

Asriel was hugging Frisk's waist, tears beading his eyes. "Frisk, make it stop!" he begged.

"I'm trying, but I can't control anything anymore," she said.

"Frisk."

Both kids turned to see Asgore beginning to vanish as well.

"Dad! No!" Asriel screamed, hand stretched out to him.

Asgore looked at his children sadly. "I'm sorry," he said.

"No, hold on, please," Frisk begged. "Please dad, don't go!"

"I'll say hi to your mother," he said before he vanished.

Frisk grunted in sorrow, trying to blast the edges of the world away, pouring everything in her into trying to keep the world stable. She tried to bring up the screens that contained the world's code, but they didn't appear.

Asriel continued to hug Frisk. "What do we do?" he cried.

"Don't let go, please, don't let go!" she begged. She tried and tried, but she wasn't able to stop the edges from closing in on her. She put everything into one last blast, hoping that would stop it, but sadly, it did nothing. And with that, the world vanished around them both, leaving nothing but a blank, white void.

Tears began to fall from Frisk's eyes. She fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around Asriel. "I failed," she lamented.

"No. It wasn't your fault," Asriel insisted. "It was Chara. She destroyed our world."

Frisk pulled back, cupping Asriel's face in her hands. Her world was gone, but Asriel was still here, as was her. For a brief moment she thought that would be okay, and that she could make the most of it.

But that went away when she saw Asriel starting to glitch as well. "No. No, no, no, not you too," she whimpered.

Asriel saw his paws, seeing them getting fuzzy. "No," he breathed. "I don't want to go."

Frisk wrapped herself around him, Asriel doing the same to her. "Stay, please," she begged.

"Am I dying? I don't want to die," Asriel whimpered. "I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want – "

Suddenly, Frisk fell to her hands, Asriel vanishing. She looked up at where his head had been moments ago. "No," she breathed, hand going to where his snout had been. "No, Asriel, no." She waved a hand at where he had been but felt nothing there. She tapped herself, but she wasn't glitching like he had.

"W-why am I still here? Why… why am I not going?" she asked no one. Everyone was gone. She was alone. All alone…

"No, no, I can bring them back. I… I can bring them back." She focused within herself, trying to access her Save file, hoping to reload it and bring everyone back.

File not found.

Frisk froze when she got that message. It couldn't be. She tried again.

File not found.

She tried again.

File not found.

"Please, no…"

File not found.

"Please, come back…"

File not found.

"Come back, don't leave me…"

File not found.

"Don't leave me, please…"

File not found.

"Don't leave me all alone…"

File not found.

"Don't leave me all alone…"

File not found.

She fell to her hands, curling up into a ball.

File not found.

Tears fell from her eyes as it began to sink it.

File not found.

It was gone. All gone. Chara… no, that virus had destroyed it.

File not found.

Her friends, gone.

File not found.

Her family, gone.

File not found.

Asriel, gone.

File not found.

All gone. All gone.

File not found.

She was all alone. There was nothing around. Her world, and everything in it, all gone.

File not found.

Epilogue

Frisk sat alone in the desolate void that used to be her home. She didn't know how much time had passed. As far as she knew, time didn't even matter anymore. She gave up trying to load her Save. She didn't see any reason to stick around, but she couldn't see any way to end this loneliness. She was cursed to live here, she had decided. Gaster had warned her. She had believed herself indestructible. And now she was paying the price for her hubris.

But then, something happened. It started with a sound, like paint being splattered. She raised her head from where it had been resting on her knees, looking for the source of it. She found it in a splatter of color a few feet away. It was like someone had dropped a bucket of rainbow paint near her.

Then, as she watched, a figure emerged from the puddle. It was covered in the paint at first, but then it retreated to reveal the figure underneath. Then, from the same puddle, a ball of light floated up, hovering next to the newcomer, before resolving itself into a person.

Frisk looked at the two individuals that had arrived. The first thing she noticed was that they both looked like her. In fact, apart from a few differences, she would almost say they were clones.

The first one had her original skin, but their hair was rainbow-colored, eight streaks in different colors. They wore a white shirt with gold upper sleeves and purple lower sleeves and brown gloves on their hands. They had blue shorts on top of purple pants, two straps that were probably to keep the shorts up, a shirt identical to her old one wrapped around their waist and a cape that went from gold at the top to purple at the bottom. Across their torso was a grey sash, eight colored vials contained in brown pockets. The sash seemed to connect to a spiked shoulder guard on their right arm, a metal arm guard covering their forearm. Their left shin also had silver armor, and plated shoes covered their feet. Frisk also noticed that when they blinked, their eyes, which were different colors – the left red and the right teal - changed to their emotions.

The other had skin that was as white as snow and gold hair. His shirt was also white with gold sleeves, the Delta Rune on his chest without the heart boarder, also in gold. He also wore white pants with gold shoes, and a white cape billowed behind him. She also saw a small, braided ponytail sticking out behind his right ear, interweaving strands of white and gold.

She tried to Check them, seeing who they were. The first one, all she got was empty stats, the data hidden. The second one, there was no data for him at all. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Who are you two?" she asked.

"Be at ease," the first one said. "We mean you no harm." As they walked forward, she caught sight of the massive paintbrush on their back, the brush taller than them, at an angle so they could still walk.

Frisk stood up and realized that both were taller than her. She wasn't exactly short for someone her age, but they were still taller, the first one towering over their companion. "I've had a really shitty day, so I want a plain explanation," she demanded.

"Very well," the first agreed. "As you can see, we are you. Just… different versions of you."

"Different versions?" Frisk asked.

"Have you heard of the multiverse?" the white one asked.

Frisk thought about that. "Yes, I have."

"We come from the multiverse," the white one explained. "We are you, just variants, having lived different lives to yours."

"More than that," she commented, noticing his lack of color beyond those two shades.

"We saw what happened to your world," the first one said. "I am only sorry that we weren't able to interfere in time."

Frisk looked back at the white void, her eyes going to where Asriel had stood before he vanished forever. "It's all gone. And it's my fault."

"Nonsense," the first one insisted. "You did everything you could."

"I still failed," she lamented.

The first one took a step towards her. "We can help you."

Frisk looked back at them. "How?"

"Your universe has crashed," they explained. "But it might be possible to reboot it."

"You mean… I could bring them back?" she asked.

"It's a possibility," they emphasized. "I can't guarantee anything, but I can tell you it's not impossible."

"What's the catch?" she asked.

"I need your help in the multiverse," they explained. "You see, I'm the protector of the multiverse. While that means dealing with external threats, it also means dealing with internal ones as well. I watch over the various worlds, to ensure that nothing bad develops that could spread to the rest of the multiverse."

"Why do you need me?" she asked.

"I can't be everywhere at once," they explained. "But with your help, it might be possible to neutralize threats before they can rise up. I also would like your help to… create new AUs."

"Create?"

"It's part of my job," they admitted. "I don't just protect the AUs, I help bring them into existence. I'd like your aid in that."

"And in return, you'll help me fix my world?" she clarified.

"Yes."

Frisk looked at the empty void that was her world. She didn't want to leave it. But this was a chance to bring it all back. To bring him back. She had to take it. She'd do whatever it would take.

"I accept," she agreed.

"Excellent," they said. "By the way, you might want to come up with a name for yourself. There are a lot of Frisks out there, and it'd be easier to identify you with something more personal." They held out their hand. "You can call me Spectra. Spectra Spectrum. And my friend here goes by 'White'."

She looked at the offered hand, a way of sealing the deal. A name for herself to distinguish herself amongst her variants. What would be a good pick? She could control the code of the world. Perhaps that.

She shook Spectra's hand. "Call me 'Code'."

End