Chapter Text
Frisk lay on her back, looking up at hundreds of stars. The others had left, the sun had set, and she was alone in a soft, mossy area a few feet from the path. The air was pleasantly warm, a faint breeze ruffling her hair. She should probably get up and start over, but her legs were heavier than lead and she could barely keep her eyes open. Maybe this time she would get a little sleep before she reset.
In this timeline, Asgore had been the last to talk to her. He had expressed thanks for her willingness to be the monsters’ ambassador and of his personal desire to see the day when monsterkind and humankind lived in harmony.
Frisk had nodded; tried to smile. “I- think that would be nice.” He had offered to walk her down the mountain, but she had refused. “I’d like to stay up here for a bit, if that’s alright.” Asgore had started to say something, caught himself, and had instead something to the effect of “Call if you need any help.”
Later, after the King had left, Frisk had walked back to the barrier cavern. There, as always, stood the only sentient flower she had ever seen. Its normal smile was missing, replaced with a semi-neutral, semi-concerned face. He didn’t meet her gaze.
“Hi.” The voice wasn’t monotone, but it sounded flat. Exhausted. Defeated.
“Hi Asriel.” Frisk’s voice was no livelier than his. She just stood there. Waited.
A wry smile flickered onto Flowey’s face. “I know you’ve heard my monologue before, so I’ll skip it this time.” He glanced at her expression for a moment. “Yeah. I actually remember last time. Not completely, but I get the feeling you’ve heard everything I’ve said before.” Another glance. “Sorry. You’re probably pretty bored of it.”
“It’s okay,” she answered. “It’s not always the exact same. And this is new.”
“Okay. I was just gonna say… You don’t need to do this. Seriously. I’ll find things to keep me occupied.” Frisk clearly wasn’t buying it. “Okay, maybe I’ll be as bored as I was before all this,” he admitted, “but you shouldn’t keep doing this. Resetting, I mean. It’s not- It makes everyone happy to be free, right? So - I think I’m repeating myself - but let them be happy.” Flowey hesitated. “And, Chara…? Is it really worth it to destroy Mom and Dad’s freedom and happiness - and everyone else’s - just to try one more time to save me? Everyone is happy right now. Let them stay on the Surface this time. Let Frisk have a future instead of resetting it away again.
“Besides, when you reset, I won’t be like this. I’ll try to kill you again, even if I remember everything. What if I, y’know, actually take your soul next time?”
Frisk bit her lip. “I- It’s not just Chara. I want you back too, Asriel, and I can’t- can’t leave you here. I’m sorry.” She bent down and stroked his petals in a farewell gesture.
The flower watched her leave, walking with her head bowed. She might be crying; he couldn’t tell from here. “See you in the next one, Frisk,” he murmured sadly.
Frisk blinked slowly, letting her mind drift. Why had Flowey remembered the reset? Did that mean others had remembered but hadn’t mentioned it? How many remembered? Did the whole Underground remember? Did other humans remember? What did they think of suddenly going back in time? Was anyone trying to stop it?
Some of the thoughts were worrying, but soon oblivion claimed Frisk, so the questions were forced to leave her alone for the time being.
Frisk woke on a bed of golden flowers, sheet tucked up to her chin the way she liked it. …Sheet? Had Flowey brought her a sheet? She moved her legs, slowly waking up. Flowey wouldn’t have gotten her a sheet. Or a pillow, for that matter. As a matter of fact, it didn’t feel like she was lying on golden flowers. Nor did it smell like them.
A squeaking sound caught Frisk’s attention, and she groggily opened her eyes and rolled over to face it. She hadn’t been here in a long time, but that didn’t stop her from recognizing her room immediately. Why was she in her room?
The door was open a crack, and Toriel peeked in. Their eyes met.
“Oh, you are awake! Good morning, Frisk.” She walked into the room, closing the door behind her, and sat down on the bed. “Are you rested?”
Frisk blinked, head still fuzzy. “How did I get here?”
“We were worried when you didn’t come down, so Undyne went back up Mt. Ebott to find you. You must have fallen asleep up there.” The girl nodded. “Your family was very excited to see you…”
Your family… As the resets had gone by, Frisk’s homesickness had grown. She’d tried to ignore it, but that only worked for so long. She badly wanted to see them, but if she saw them…
“Frisk? My child, are you alright?”
Frisk blinked. “Huh?”
There was a tap on the door, followed by Papyrus’ attempt at a whisper. “YOUR MAJESTY, IS FRISK AWAKE?” He opened the door before Toriel could answer. His eyes lit up at the sight of both of them sitting on the bed. Nyehing happily, the skeleton ran over to her. “GREETINGS, FRISK!! YOU HAVE BEEN ASLEEP FOR A LONG TIME! WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO WAKE UP! SO, ARE YOU READY TO GET UP AND SEE YOUR FAMILY?”
Frisk bit her lip. In all her resets, she had never descended Mt. Ebott for this specific reason. She loved her family, but she was afraid that if she saw them, actually talked with them, it might weaken her determination to fulfill her promises. She might not keep going, might stop resetting and decide this ending was enough.
Another set of footsteps was coming down the hall.
Still, she hadn’t seen her family in forever. She missed their voices and their faces. It would be really easy to get up and go out to see them. She could hug them, they could hug her, and she could smile genuinely for the first time in too long.
But if she didn’t reset right away, she’d start giving the monsters a future, and it would be harder and harder to tear it away as the days went by. In a month she would look back and ask how she could erase a whole month of their living on the Surface.
The footsteps had reached the door. The girl heard a knock, then her brother’s voice. “Frisk?”
She cried “Ben!” and ran forward, hands outstretched as if to stop him from entering. The doorknob started to turn. Frisk stumbled and squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring the tears that threatened to leak from it as she fell to the floor. The world shattered around her, disappearing into a blackness so dark that Vantablack would make one’s eyes hurt to look at it. The darkness was only for a moment, however, and Frisk knew before her senses told her that she had landed on a patch of golden flowers. They must have broken her fall, but it didn’t matter to her. She curled into a fetal position and let her tears water the plants beneath her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered between sobs, “I wanted to stay. I-I wanted to stay so bad, b-but I can’t. I just c-can’t.”
I’m sorry, Frisk, Chara murmured softly. She wanted to say more, but no words came. She hoped her presence would be enough for now.
“Howdy!” Flowey smiled at Frisk, his pristine smile sitting perfectly in the middle of his face.
Frisk's still-damp eyes roved his petal-ringed face, looking for any indication that he remembered the reset. “Do- do you, um…”
“Remember the last timeline?” She nodded hopefully. Maybe he was wrong about being different when she reset. His smile turned scornful. “Of course I do, stupid. I told you I’d remember! And I don’t care a bit, if you were dumb enough to hope I would. Ugh, once an idiot of the Underground, always an idiot of the Underground!”
Frisk started. “Wait, monsters have the Narnia books down here?”
Flowey stared at her like she was crazy. “What…?”
“You just quoted The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” she explained. “Aslan said ‘Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia.’ at the end of the book somewhere.”
The flower groaned. “What in the- Fine. Yes, it was a quote from that book. Why does anybody even write that kind of stuff? I mean, I guess it was interesting. For a while. It got predictable, though. Of course Edmund was gonna turn good. That’s how all books work. Besides. Some kids find a world they didn’t know existed and become royalty? Get real.”
“The books weren’t silly; I liked them,” the human retorted indignantly. “Besides, there was some Christian allegory in there, so that was cool.”
Just then, Toriel walked into the room and gasped at the sight of Frisk, though the faintest lines of… worry? creased her brow when she looked at Flowey. Did she remember the reset too? Frisk turned to face her fully and the memory of waking up in her room only minutes ago hit her like a train. The girl bit her lip, desperately trying to block out the homesickness that suddenly threatened to engulf her. It was okay; she was fine; she would see her family soon. All she had to do was save a soulless creature (who would be glad to do nothing but kill her over and over) when he had the power of seven human souls and the magic to go with it, break the barrier, and get a soul for him so that he could feel compassion again, hopefully with the added side effect of getting him his boss monster body back, and then she could go home. Of course, if she wasn’t able to do that, she’d have to start over from the start and do it all over again and again until she could find a way to save him.
Frisk felt like she was watching a beloved movie for the millionth time. No matter how many times she had seen it or how well she knew the ending, her heart still broke at the sad parts and rejoiced at the happy parts.
…Only, this story didn’t have a happy ending. To anyone else, it would be the perfect ending under the circumstances. But to Chara and Frisk, it was a bittersweet ending. They always left with the weight of the Underground’s best-kept secret on their shoulders: Asriel was alive. Asriel was really, truly alive. And he wasn’t leaving. He was staying, staying forever as though trapped in his own world, living always with the knowledge of the happiness so many monsters experienced, the joy he could never feel. He had given it up so that thousands could be free, knowing that in doing so he was forever giving up the ability to have that freedom and life.
Toriel took a step forward. “Child, are you alright?”
It was the same thing she had asked only minutes before in Frisk’s bedroom, and it was the last thing needed to make everything come crashing down. She choked out a sob. Toriel ran forward, arms outstretched. “Are you hurt anywhere? Let me heal you.” Her paws glowed green. “You are shaking; are you sick? You must be scared, poor thing.” Bursting into tears, Frisk ran forward. Toriel lifted the girl and held her to her chest, rocking gently. “There, there,” she murmured consolingly. “It’s alright now. You’re safe.” She stood, walking slowly down the hall to the rest of the Ruins, crooning softly to the crying child in her arms.
When you break the barrier again, if you want to spend a day with your family first before resetting, I don’t mind, Chara spoke in Frisk’s mind. We can take a break for a day.
Frisk almost shook her head before realizing Toriel would notice. I wish I could.
It’s only one day, right?
I don’t want to leave the mountain, Chara. I’m afraid that if I go down- If I spend even a day with them, I won’t want to reset. Ever, I mean. I won’t ever want to leave them again. And I might abandon my promises. This is the only way I can make sure I won’t.
Chara didn’t have an answer to that.
Just beyond the spider bake sale, Frisk wiggled in Toriel’s arms, and she set her down.
“Are you alright now, dear?”
The girl shrugged, gaze locked on the floor. She sighed; took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
Toriel was about to ask why when Frisk spun about and bolted, dashing through the next room, passing a trio of Froggits. Toriel called something to her, but she was too busy leaping over spikes to register the words. The girl darted through the next room, jumping more spikes to avoid pressing the colored switches.
The floor thudded with heavy footsteps. Frisk only sped up. Jump the last spikes, down the hallway, turn left, through the leaves - she hoped she wasn’t making too much of a mess for Toriel to clean up - past the barren tree and into the empty house. Her breath was coming in ragged, but she didn’t dare stop. She didn’t want to fight Toriel, and if she sprinted the rest of the way, she might reach Snowdin before Toriel reached her. She stumbled at the bottom of the steps, righted herself, and bolted for the door. She shouldered into it and was relieved that it opened without a hitch. Forcing herself to ignore Toriel’s steadily approaching cries of “My child!” and “Stop!” and “Do not go further, *huff* it is dangerous out there!”, Frisk ran through the doorway, down the final hall, and pushed the door open, staggering into a world of white.
The door closed behind her with a resounding thud just as Toriel reached it. The girl collapsed against it, doubling over as she tried to catch her breath.
“My child?” The monster behind the door sounded as out of breath as Frisk was, and there was definitely a panicked note to her voice.
“I’m sorry,” Frisk repeated. “I can’t stay in the Ruins. I’ll be safe though, I promise.”
“It is too dangerous for you, little one. I will open the door so you can come back, alright?”
“No, I c-can’t,” she repeated, feeling her breath hitch in her throat. “I’m sorry.”
Fearing that Toriel would open the door and take her back by force, she ran into the forest without another thought. Somewhere in the seemingly endless woods she found a mound of sticks, brushed off the snow, and sat, staring at nothing. Why did it have to hurt so much? Was there no easier way to do anything, no better way to go about getting Asriel a soul? Or did she always have to hurt and leave people whom she had grown to love, people who only wanted to help? Was it really best to reset forever until she could give Asriel a soul?
…Give Asriel a soul. If she couldn’t create a new one for him, and she definitely wasn’t going to get another monster to give him theirs (if that was even possible, given that they didn’t last after death), maybe she could just give her soul to Asriel. It was the only way, she realized.
Much more determined and hopeful than when she had sat down, Frisk stood, a faint, genuine smile lighting her face for probably the first time in days. She’d go through the Underground again, save Asriel, and give him her soul. Her promises would be fulfilled and she would never, ever have to reset again.
Chara, too, was hopeful. Frisk giving her soul to Asriel was and had never been her first choice, but with the knowledge that there was no other way, she decided she could be content with that ending. She’d get to talk to Asriel again without having to go through Frisk, apologize for everything, maybe even try to rebuild their relationship if he was willing. She still had a lot of worries and knew it would force old memories to resurface, but she could get through them, one memory at a time.
Frisk travelled through Snowdin with a spring in her step, making sure to have a blast with Papyrus. She wanted him - wanted everyone, really - to have their last memories of her be good memories, and she wanted her last memories of them to be happy too.
In Waterfall she whispered wishes into the echo flowers as she passed, had long conversations with Monster Kid, and bought a bunch of Nice Cream, even though she had filled up on it in Snowdin. She patiently heard everything Onionsan had to say and sat for a long time beside the stone statue, listening to the quiet, almost lonesome melody. Frisk jumped in all the puddles, bought some Temmie flakes, and fed them to their seller and her friends.
In Hotland she passed every confrontation and encounter with Mettaton with flying colors, reaching the MTT-brand can of always-convenient-human-soul-flavor-substitute and later defusing all six bombs in record time. Muffet was pacified in about a minute, since Frisk had remembered to bring a Spider Donut with her when she raced through the Ruins.
In the Core, she chose the “Sage’s Path” and walked the blue-tinted halls until she reached the puzzles, both of which she solved with her eyes closed, just for kicks. She attempted to mimic Mettaton in their final fight, which sent the ratings soaring. He even gave her a couple pointers when he wasn’t actively attacking her.
It wasn’t any easier to fight Asgore this time than it had been any other time, but both children were cheered to know it would be the last time Frisk would ever have to do it.
The fight with Flowey was unique this time, simply because he remembered, if vaguely, what he had done the timeline before, and that she had had his original attacks down to a science. It took all of Frisk’s energy and instincts to reach the end of the battle. After he had scolded and taunted her for refusing to finish him off, he mumbled something about Alphys and a better ending.
The human tramped through the True Lab, meeting amalgamates left and right and offering them her extra Nice Creams, and before she knew it, she was one of the only two people who saw the barrier break and dissolve into nothing. The other one turned to look at her sadly.
“I have to go now, Frisk.”
Frisk hugged him and took a deep breath. “Asriel?” A moment’s pause, then, “I want to give you my soul.”
The goat monster pulled back from her, wide-eyed. “WHAT!? Give me your- Frisk, you can’t do that!”
She smiled tiredly. “I promised Chara I’d save you, Asriel.”
“But you did! I’m good now, right? I won’t turn bad later?” The last part of the question had an edge of worry.
“I haven’t really stayed around long enough to find out,” she admitted. “You’re still good when I come back here to talk to you, but then I reset.”
“So if I stay good, you don’t need to give me your soul, right?”
The girl looked away. “I promised something else, too. When I climbed the mountain, I promised I’d get myself the happiest ending I could, even if that meant dying and giving up my soul so people could break the barrier.”
“But you already have a happy ending, Frisk!”
She shook her head. “Maybe it’s selfish to say this, but I’m not happy. Neither are you or Chara. I think I can get a happier ending if I give you my soul.”
The boy frowned. “Would, I dunno, half a soul or something work? Or even a tiny bit of a soul, since human souls are so strong?”
Frisk shook her head. “That just killed me. We tried three times with Alphys in the Lab. I don’t think there is another way. There’s no way to make an artificial soul. The only other way for you to keep your body would be if your soul was still around, but it’s gone.”
Asriel looked at his feet. “I- I don’t know if I want to take your soul. I’m afraid-” He reddened under his fur, but he kept going anyway. “Does Chara hate me?”
Let me, Chara muttered, taking control of Frisk. “No! I don’t hate you, Ree!”
His eyes lit up. “Wh- Really?”
“Yes, really, Asriel. If anything, I hate myself for-” she forced herself to keep eye contact with Asriel- “For lying to you and convincing you that I just wanted to break the barrier and nothing else. For even thinking of it in the first place. I know that taking Frisk’s soul is the only way to save you,” she took a deep breath. “But I understand that you probably hate me and never want to talk to me again.”
He does NOT hate you and you know it, Frisk interjected.
You don’t know that, Chara shot back. “And if that’s how you feel, I will shut up and let you live your life without me.” She was nearly bowled over as Asriel cannoned into her, hugging her like he would never let go. Hugging her like he had right before she ate the buttercups.
“I don’t hate you!” His voice, though muffled, was nearly a shout. “Chara, I missed you! Even when I was Flowey, I missed you so much, I-” He was squeezing so tight Chara could barely breathe, but right now she could think of nothing she would rather be doing. “I thought I’d n-never see you again,” he whispered, lifting his tearstained eyes to smile into hers.
Chara avoided his eyes. “I’m sorry, Ree, I’m so, so- I never should have tried to make you go along with the plan. It was a horrible idea and I know it now. I- I don’t deserve to be forgiven like this, not after I turned my- innocent best friend into- into Flowey just because I was selfish and stubborn.” The words came out bitterly, but both Asriel and Frisk knew the anger was pointed at no one except herself.
Asriel hugged her again. “Chara, it’s okay. You couldn’t know that Alphys was going to bring me back to life as a soulless flower.”
The technically-dead girl set her jaw and looked at her technically-dead brother. “I don’t want you to be a soulless flower anymore. So, please, Ree, take m- Frisk’s soul. We can have a long-delayed happy ending.”
The young monster winced, closed his eyes, and nodded. “I- Okay. If this is the only way…” He bit his lip.
They found him in the barrier cavern, sitting beside Frisk’s body. Asriel was not crying, but his eyes were wet when they lifted to meet the gaze of six monsters who had recently regained consciousness. He smiled sheepishly at them and broke the stunned silence, glancing back down at the lifeless child beside him. “She gave me her soul so I could be me again.” He laughed weakly. “She’s really determined, y’know?”
Asriel rose to his feet nervously. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.” He walked forward awkwardly. “I-”
“ASRIEL!?” Toriel’s cry cut off anything he was planning to say. “Is it really- I am not dreaming, am I? This is not all a dream?” She took a few tentative steps forward.
Asriel ran toward her. “Mom! No, no, this is real.” She clearly didn’t believe her eyes, but she closed the distance between them, opening her arms despite her disbelief and he melted into her embrace. The child slumped and closed his eyes, hugging her tightly and burying his head in her robe. “Oh, Mom,” he breathed, tears beginning to fall again, “I didn’t realize how much I missed you.” The robe still smelled like her and New Home, even though she’d been in the Ruins for a few years. Frisk cheered softly in his head. There was a note of relief in her voice; everything was over. She was done. She could rest now and never have to think about saving Asriel again.
Heavy footsteps approached from somewhere behind Toriel cautiously, as though their owner was afraid of frightening away a dream; Asgore was coming.
Asriel turned his head to smile an exhausted smile at his father, pulling away from his mother just enough to hold out one hand to Asgore in an invitation to join in the hug. Asgore hesitated, maintaining a respectful distance from Toriel, but after a moment she nodded, and the three of them - the five of them - were united in one hug. It wouldn’t fix the relationship between Toriel and Asgore, but it was a step forward, a step that filled the children with hope.
After a few minutes, Undyne cleared her throat. “Uh… I guess we’ll go tell people that the barrier’s down and the Prince is back and all that.”
Asriel peeked out between his parents and waved self-consciously at the cluster of monsters who had backed up to give them some privacy. Papyrus waved back enthusiastically.
Asgore smiled gratefully at Undyne. “Thank you, Undyne. That will be of great help.”
Undyne saluted and strode out of the room, followed by Sans, Papyrus, and Alphys. When they were gone, there was a moment of silence before Asriel laughed nervously. “I have a lot to explain, don’t I.”
Toriel stroked his fur. “You do not have to do it now if you don’t want to, Asriel dear. It can wait until we’re settled on the Surface if you’d like.”
Asriel studied the floor, shoulders drooping. “I’m sorry. For everything.” He ran his toe along a crack in the tile.
“You did nothing wrong, my child.”
He laughed bitterly. “You have no idea , Mom. I’ve killed you. I’ve killed Dad. I’ve killed everyone. Over, and over, and over… I’ve killed Frisk. Hundreds of times. Because it was fun. Amusing. Hilarious, even. I wanted to take her soul and I tried so many times.
“And somehow she wanted to give me her soul after everything I did to her.” The former flower sighed and shook his head. “I have no idea why she doesn’t hate me.”
Asriel could hear a smile in Frisk’s voice. I can love because I was loved first, she said, as if that was enough to explain why she seemed to have no capacity to hate him after he had killed her possibly thousands of times.
Asgore’s great paw landed on his shoulder. “My son, whatever has happened cannot be undone; much as we would like to undo our mistakes and wrongdoings we can only move forward and try to do better next time.”
Asriel nodded. “I know.”
He could undo his mistakes, but if he reset he’d be back to being a flower, and he wouldn’t have gained anything, not to mention it would erase everything Frisk had worked so hard for. No, for better or for worse he was going to continue. Frisk had given her soul for this; there was no way he was going to abuse the power he had because of her soul.
The child looked up at his parents, smiling faintly. “The stars are amazing up here.”