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Chapter Text

7:30 PM, Ebott City Citizen's Militia Headquarters, April 28, 2120

Natalia Abdulova had always dreamed of joining the military. From the Great War to the First October Revolution, to the Great Patriotic War, to the Reconstitution Wars, to the Second October Revolution, her family had a long history of distinguished service to the Motherland. Naturally, when word broke out that America, their old rivals, and the capital of capitalism, was undergoing its own revolution, she was on the first plane over to aid her comrades in building a newer, better world.

She had expected to engage both the Fascists and American Army alike along side plucky revolutionaries and disgruntled citizenry. She certainly never expected to be greeted as a comrade by the American Army itself. She never expected the American State, whom she saw as the greatest enemy of the people, to throw its lot in with the revolutionaries, or for the so called “Democratic Socialist” faction of the American liberals to be genuine in their belief in the communist cause once they came to power. She never expected members of the American state apparatus to fight willingly with their mortal enemies for a common goal against the fascists. Quite the opposite, she expected them to side with the fascists in the name of preserving their capitalist interests. It seemed things had changed much within American society. She certainly never expected to find her first love amongst the members of the U.S. Army, or to immigrate to the small city in Washington she served in, now an established commune.

Natalia served a very important role in the Ebott City Commune. She was the chief of the Ebott City Peoples’ Militia, a group former soldiers from both countries, as well as a few from other allies who fought in the revolution, local citizens, and surprisingly, local police officers who’d decided to support the new regime against the previous establishment. Naturally, these groups weren’t exactly a match made in Heaven, and Natalia had enough trouble as was trying to keep them together as a competent peacekeeping force. The police and citizenry especially, as the new recruits generally came from groups previously opposed to the very concept of a police force.

Organizing them into an effective peacekeeping force wasn’t always easy, but it was important. Tensions between the Washington Communes and the fascists from Jefferson were beginning to heat up, and if hostilities truly were about to resume, they’d need the Militia at its best. Natalia herself had received a grim reminder of this fact a week ago, when a group of fascists from what was once Idaho attacked Ebbot City, and her Child was lost in the fighting. They’d been on a school trip to the Mountain that was the City’s namesake, and while the rest of the students were able to make it to safety thanks to the quick response of her militia, her child was separated from them, nowhere to be found.

For a week they have been searching the mountainside for any sign of Frisk, but there seemed to be no trace of them. She had begun to lose hope of ever seeing them again, until today, when she received a call from a squad patrolling the area. A call that would bring both hope, and great uncertainty. Somehow, America’s peculiar political situation had gotten even more so, and she suspected that the same would be true for the rest of the world.

Meanwhile

“Dispatch, this is Firewalker, we are en route to the last presumed location, over.”  Officer Rodriguez spoke tiredly into the radio.

“Copy that, Firewalker, good luck out there.” The dispatch officer replied. The words were a common courtesy, and usually meant genuinely, but to Rodriguez they sounded almost sarcastic given the situation. He knew from his experience in the Ebott City Police Department that after the first seventy-two hours, a missing person was unlikely to be located, and it had been a week. He silently cursed the fascists who had attacked that day. He cursed the bastards who’d decided to wage their own personal war against his city, and to use the mountain to wage their fruitless guerilla campaigns, and attack a group of school children on a hiking trip as part of their idiotic plan to provoke hostilities.

Jefferson and Washington officially had a non-aggression pact, negotiated by D.C. towards the end of the second civil war, but some war hawks weren’t happy about that. This particular group was trying to provoke Washington by attacking the city. It didn’t matter if they won, they knew they couldn’t, they just wanted to spark more conflict between the two factions. It didn’t matter what or who they attacked so long as it stoked the fires of war once more. A group of kids worked just as well as the mayor herself for that goal. Their plan didn’t work, and they were quickly dispatched by the ECPM forces sent to resolve the situation. However, one hostage, the chief’s kid, in fact, managed to slip away from the group. Frisk had always been a crafty one, but that may have worked against them now, as they were the only hostage not accounted for, and the search had gone on for seven days without any sign of them.

The other officers in the search party were a bit more optimistic. Rodriguez was the only one of them who came from the old police force; the others didn’t have his experience with this kind of thing. He envied their high spirits. A part of him thought that this was a good thing. After all, one of the reasons he sided with the revolution was because he felt the system didn’t do enough for its people. Maybe this was the opportunity to dedicate himself to the people he served like he wanted to. Like how he thought he would when he first joined the force. Regardless of his hope or lack thereof of a happy ending to this, he wasn’t about to give up on this case. He’d always sworn to never give up on a case until it was solved, or he was ordered off, and he wasn’t going to break that oath now that he’d finally gotten the time and resources he’d always desired. In fact, he and his squad were among the last of the officers who were still on this case. Most of the others had given up and transferred to other cases. Rodriguez understood, there were other cases that needed solving, and even he thought this was a lost cause. Then again, before the Revolution, he’d thought that of the very cause he fought for.

The other officers had their own reasons for throwing themselves at this case. Gasparyan and Balakin were from the Soviet Federation, and had served in the same squad on the western front of the war. They both agreed to remain behind to help ensure that Washington Collective was a success. Being surrounded on two sides and cut off from the rest of the country by Jefferson put it at a serious disadvantage and it was clear it would need all the help it could get. Naturally, they were determined to find the child no matter the odds. They were still soldiers at heart, and they would see this mission to its completion no matter how long it took. Masaki was newer. She was a JSDF soldier from Osaka who sided with the Communists during the Red Sun Uprising that divided the country. She moved to Washington with her family after their home was lost in the fighting. She’d lost several loved ones during the fighting, and sympathized with the chief’s plight.

  The squad car pulled up the rocky mountain road to the site of the exchange. The officers left their vehicle behind, taking to their feet to search the woods. They’d brought some serious firepower with them, incase there were more militants hiding in the woods. Balakin had his Gauss Kalashnikov, and Gasparyan his MTs255. An older, but no less reliable choice. Masaki had a rail carbine, good for longer distance shooting. Rodriguez himself had an old MP8, a railgun variant of the old MP5 SMG. This all felt rather excessive given that this was a search party, but better to have it and not need it than the other way around.

“Alright, spread out.” Rodriguez ordered into the radio.

“We’re right here, Hect- or um sergeant. We don’t need our radios yet.” Balakin reminded Rodriguez, forgetting for a minute that the officer preferred to address by rank.

Rodriguez turned to his team, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Right, yes. Sorry.” Masaki chuckled to herself. The team spread out and began searching the woods. Several hours passed as the officers combed the woods as diligently as they had the first time, even though now was more like their fifteenth.

Suddenly, Gasparyan radioed in. “Guys, I think I saw something on that ridge over there, over!”

“Was it the kid!? Uh over.” Masaki chimed in excitedly.

“I don’t know, it looked like a group. I only caught a glimpse of them, over.” Gasparyan sounded nervous.

“Could it be insurgents? Nobody’s supposed to be up here, over.” Balakin responded, turning his view towards the ridge.

“I don’t know, but two of them looked pretty big, and...” Gasparyan trailed off.

“Gasparyan, come in, over. What did you see? over.” Rodriguez was nervous now; Gasparyan was usually more upbeat than this. He’d been cracking jokes with Balakin over the radio just a few minutes ago. Rodriguez had never heard him this freaked out.

“I-I know this’ll sound crazy, but- “

“Out with it, Ari!” Rodriguez was starting to lose his patience. If there was a threat, they needed to know now.

“They looked like… like goats, over.” Gasparyan could barely believe what he was saying as he said it.

“Local wildlife?” Balakin chimed in.

“N-no, like people, two legs. But also, like goats. They had horns, and white fur!”

“I think you’ve been reading too much of the local lore.” Masaki said, nervously. Gasparyan had been really interested in the local legends. Stories of monsters imprisoned beneath the mountain. One particular legend he was interested in was one where a large goat-like monster emerged from the mountain carrying the corpse of a small child who’d gone missing years prior, and brought them to a flower field in Ebott Village, ignoring the attacks of the frightened villagers. Wounded, the beast retreated back into the mountain, never to be seen again. Masaki wondered if the stress was making Gasparyan see things.

“No! I know what I saw!” Gasparyan shouted back.

“Could be costumes? I don’t know why they’d have them on out here, but maybe some furries are fucking around in the woods? I’ve seen weirder.” Balakin honestly couldn’t think of any other explanation. Gasparyan wasn’t crazy, he knew that much. If he thought he saw goat people, there had to be a reason.

“Pranksters? Out to scare the locals, maybe.” Masaki added.

“Maybe” Gasparyan was hesitant “I only saw them for a second, I think there were others too.”

“Ok, we’ll group up near the ridge and check it out, over.” Rodriguez sighed. If they caught a bunch of stupid teens out here during a search and rescue, he was going to be pissed. “Dispatch, we have sighted an unknown party in the area, going to investigate, over.”

“Roger that, Firewalker, be careful out there.”

“Roger.”

The group met up near the ridge. Gasparyan motioned up towards the top, where he saw the strange figures. The others followed his gaze, but there was no one to be found.

“Any idea where they went?” Rodrigues looked through his binoculars for a better view.

“No, I’m sorry. They looked like they were headed towards the path downwards.” Gasparyan responded, calmer now that his team was with him.

“Right, we’ll circle around, head towards that path- “ Rodriguez was cut off by Masaki.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Balakin said, raising his rifle. Gasparyan followed suit with his shotgun.

“Over there! I thought I heard-“ Suddenly, a large figure emerged from the bushes, shrouded in shadow. It was far larger than anything the team had ever seen. They raised their weapons as the figure emerged, followed by several others. The figures stepped into the light.

“Howdy!” The creature spoke and held out his hand. “My name is Asgore, King of the Monsters. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” The figure was illuminated to reveal a large, fluffy goat person in royal dress with long blond hair, a short goatee, and gigantic horns, followed by another with smaller horns clad in a purple gown with a strange symbol on it. They were soon followed by A large, fish-like humanoid clad in jeans and a black tank-top, a yellow, bipedal lizard with a lab coat and round-frame glasses, two skeletons, a tall one in medieval armor and a short one in blue hoodie and black sweatpants, a large, humanoid robot decked out in glamourous details, and, of all things, a human child with long hair in a blue and purple striped sweater with a heart-shaped locket. They were the spitting image of their missing person, and looked no worse for ware than when they disappeared.

The officers hesitantly lowered their weapons. Balakin’s jaw dropped to the floor and Masaki’s eyes widened in awe. Gasparyan gave an anxious, yet knowing “I told you so” look at the others. Rodriguez, stunned, raised his radio to his face.

“Dispatch? You’re not gonna believe this.”

Chapter Text

First contact had only just occurred and already Frisk had encountered their first obstacle, namely, getting to the city. The squad car only had room for one more person and there were seven that needed transportation, with more to follow, a lot more. Frisk wasn’t sure they were prepared to handle a mass migration in addition to a first contact.

Undyne, the fish girl, had been pacing impatiently for fifteen minutes after the call. Finally, she let out a loud groan of frustration. “That’s it, I can’t take it anymore! Do they know they’re coming?” she asked Balakin.

Balakin shrugged. “I… think so. We gave them your description and they’re sending cars.”

“Perfect! Come on, Alphys, I’ll have us there before those cars can even leave the city!” Undyne hoisted the lizard girl over her shoulders.

“W-wait! I don’t think that’s such a good- “Alphys protested, to no avail. Before she could finish, Undyne rocketed off at superhuman speed, easily rivaling some cars. The officers stood slack jawed at the sight while Frisk and the other monsters just laughed.

Mettaton, the robot apparently had a similar idea. He stepped out into the middle of the road.

“What’re you- “Rodriguez was cut off.

 “No time to loose, darlings! The surface world has been waiting for my debut for far too long. Call your boss and tell them to expect me, pronto.”

“Hold on! We can’t just- “But before Masaki could get out another word, Mettaton engaged his rockets, shooting off into the sky, headed towards the city.

Masaki turned to Rodriguez. “I guess we better tell them not to shoot him down” she said, annoyed.

“I’ll make the call. In the meantime, we’d better get a fire started, it’s cold out here and it’ll be about half an hour until the cars get here.”

“Oh! I may be able to help with that.” The queen, Toriel, offered.

“Oh, that’s ok, your majesty. It shouldn’t be too hard to gather the timber.” Balakin never thought he’d be addressing a monarch by official titles, much less offering to do work for them.

“Nonsense! Asgore and I have fire magic as our specialty. We'll help with the wood, and then light it for you.”

The king nodded. “I would like to learn how the surface wilderness works. I’d love to see how different it is from the woods in Snowdin.”

Gasparyan gave them a confused look. “Wait, there are trees underground?”

Asgore nodded. “Of course! Snowdin Forrest is beautiful this time of year! So many beautiful pine trees covered in white, powdery show.” He sighed nostalgically.

The officers were even more confused now. They immediately turned to Frisk, who just shrugged. “I don’t get it either.”

Papyrus, the taller skeleton stood up. “WELL, OFF TO WORK THEN! SANS AND I WILL- SANS? SANS! OH, WHERE DID THAT LAZYBONES GET OFF TO THIS TIME?” 

Everyone looked around, but Sans, the shorter skeleton, was nowhere to be found.

“I think I saw him disappear behind a tree somewhere.” Frisk motioned to some nearby trees.

“ARG! HE MUST BE USING THOSE PESKY SHORTCUTS OF HIS! HE’S PROBABLY FOUND A WAY INTO THE CITY BY NOW!”

Masaki was the first to ask. “How… how did he do that?”

“NOBODY KNOWS! HE JUST VANISHES LIKE THAT WHENEVER HE WANTS! SOMEHOW HE GOES BEHIND A WALL OR SOMETHING AND ENDS UP SOMEWHERE ELSE!”

“He once took me to Metaton’s restaurant like that” Frisk added.

“Why not bring the rest of us?” Masaki asked, more annoyed than confused now.

“WHO EVEN KNOWS WITH HIM?”

“I guess that makes four monsters to tell them about. I better make the call already. No one. Else. Go. Anywhere.” Rodriguez pulled out his radio and headed over to the squad car.

“I guess we should start the fire then” Balakin said after a moment of confused silence.

The officers, Frisk, and the remaining monsters sat around the campfire, discussing their current situation. Rodriguez was still struggling to comprehend all of this. If the kid was to be believed, the legends of monsters in the mountains were true, and all this time, for thousands of years, there was an entire population of fantastical creatures underground right next to his hometown. And apparently, he had just met their royal family. He noticed that they looked a lot like the monster from one of Ebott’s more famous legends, the one of the orphan who went missing, and was returned dead by a demonic goat beast, their presumed killer. There was even a monument where the child was allegedly found in Ebott Park. It consisted of a memorial statue of a large, frightening goat beast cradling a young child amongst a field of buttercups. Allegedly, the field was where the monster was first sighted over a century ago.

The speculated origins of the monster varied. Some said it was a demon, or a spirit that guarded the forest. Some even said that the beast was Baphomet himself. Others said it was some sort of mythical guardian from Native American folklore. Rodrigues had to scoff at that last one. He was no anthropologist, but he’d visited several of the Coast Salish Native American nations in Washington, with whom Ebbot shared strong allegiances. They had many different kinds of spirits and other creatures in their folklore, but nothing even remotely like the so-called Ebott Goat Man. Besides, the story’s origins were from the 2010s, and there were no records of it beforehand. Fortunately, the increasingly deepening bonds between the Washington Communes and the Coast Salish Alliance meant that particular myth was going by the wayside.

The most common story, the one Rodriguez had always heard from his parents was that the mountain rested atop an entire civilization of monsters, the last of their kind, driven underground during some long-forgotten war. Apparently, the humans feared their ability to steal human SOULs, and sought to wipe them out. Seven great sorcerers used their power to create an impenetrable barrier, sealing them away for good. He wasn’t sure which humans fought this war, given that no nation had any records of such a war in their history. Many nations across the world did have some stories of monster societies existing alongside humans, ones rather distinct from the rest of their folklore. Stories of tiny, living volcanos or eccentric, mercantile cat-like creatures with both dog and cat ears and human hair with the unnatural ability to profit off of the most foolish of financial bargains.

The strange thing was that none of these monsters had any clear origins in the folklore of any nation, like werewolves or vampires, and none of them had any explanation for how they could have evolved as stories. Vampires came from the fear of death and disease and such, dire wolves were prehistoric canids, werewolves came from the Greek myth about King Lycan, as well as some other sources, but the idea that a sentient airplane that wore a bonnet flew across continents, being easily flustered and scared off at the sight of humans, had no explanation whatsoever. That particular story could be found everywhere from Spain to China to South Africa. Apparently, it even inspired the concept of airplanes, hence the resemblance. The accounts didn’t vary nearly as much as they should have either. How so many disparate stories managed to produce nearly identical descriptions of a 21^st century aluminum passenger jet making the sound of loud, persisting thunder as it soared across the sky. That wasn’t even the strangest of these stories. The only explanation was that there was some truth to them after all. Still, he didn’t believe it until now.

The Child’s origins were better understood. Their name was Chara, and they were the child of a Greek couple that moved to the village 5 years before the incident. They were orphaned after their father died on a hunting trip, and their mother turned to alcoholism to cope, resulting in a decidedly turbulent homelife. This culminated in a drunk driving accident on a backroad leading into town. Given the circumstances, it wasn’t hard to see why they’d ran away. The Child was an important part of the town’s history. A tragic tale spread from generation to generation. Sometimes it was used to promote good parenting, even in the face of hardship. Sometimes it was to promote safe wilderness exploration. Other times it was just an interesting story to tell around the fire.

Rodriguez explained all of this to the monsters while they waited for additional transportation, Gasparyan filling in some of the blanks with the stuff he’d read. The King and Queen were in tears at the end of the story. This confused and concerned the officers, but the other monster and Frisk simply looked sympathetically at them. Apparently, the cause of this turmoil was well known to them When asked, they explained their side of the story. How Chara had fallen into their home, how they had been raised alongside their son, Asriel. And how apparently, the officers had just told them the story of the deaths of both of their children, and a declaration of war on humanity that no humans ever heard about.

 Rodriguez and the other officers were stunned. A moment of awkward silence followed before he finally spoke. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you relive that.”

Toriel wiped the tears from her face. “I-it’s alright. There’s no way you could have known.”

Gasparyan and Masaki turned to Frisk. They seemed to be shaking after hearing the stories. Gasparyan walked over to them and placed his hand on their shoulder. “Hey, are you ok? Sorry, I guess the story was a bit much.”

“N-no. I… I already heard it in the underground.”

"Don’t tell them."

A familiar voice echoed through Frisk’s mind. They wanted to speak, but they couldn’t. Something stopped the words before they could leave their throat. A surge of fear, their muscles tensing up. Frisk knew who was to blame. Their “partner”, as they put it. They didn’t want anyone to know what they’d done in the past timeline.

“Are you sure you’re alright? It must have been rough down there, it’s ok to be a bit shaken” Balakin said.

Frisk wanted to tell them. About the resets, about their massacres about their “partner”, everything, but they were afraid. They didn’t know what their “partner” would do if they defied them.

“Yeah… yeah that’s probably it.”

Technically not a lie, though perhaps a lie by omission. The cause of their stress was what happened in the underground. Or maybe it hadn’t happened, Frisk wasn’t sure how RESETs worked in that regard. It wasn’t just the past that worried them though. Their “partner” had plans, they were sure of it, and it wasn’t anything good.

Chapter Text

Toriel placed a comforting arm around Frisk’s shoulder. She too was concerned with Frisk’s reaction to the story. True, to her and Asgore, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the Underground, it had been the most devastating tragedy to befall them since they were sealed away. But Frisk had never even met her children, only heard of them through legends. It was odd to see them so broken up.

Frisk eventually calmed down, taking several deep breaths. Not all of the sadness and anxiety was their own, most wasn’t, in fact. They felt a great deal on their own of course, given their experiences, but even more of it came from a different source. Despite their current animosity, Frisk was concerned for them.

Despite themself, they felt some sympathy for the spirit inhabiting their body. Though they may have been a monster now, in a much different sense than that of the others, but before that, before their rampage, they were their friend. They’d helped guide them through the underground, aiding them and offering advice whenever possible, and even aiding them in battle when it was necessary, and it often seemed to be. Frisk could hardly blame them for what they’d become. From their perspective, they’d come back to life after over a century, only to be attacked by the first being they met, and every other monster they met afterwards. Even their own mother had seemingly tried to kill them.

They went through loop after loop, negotiating with some monsters and killing others, and learning the next time around that they could have done differently, often in away they couldn’t reasonably be expected to. But some, some seemed impossible to reason with. Undyne took them so many loops, dying excruciating deaths many times each time, to find a solution. And they always emerged, every time, and every time, there was no happiness to be found. The barrier stayed up, their father was dead, and no matter how hard they tried, there never seemed to be an ending that was satisfying. Someone always had to die, and someone always took the blame for that.

They’d met these officers so many times. Frisk had returned to their mother so many times, as had they, and yet they always felt empty. Nothing they did had ever mattered. It was a small wonder then, that they’d gone insane. If nothing mattered, why not just do whatever you want? Why not take some revenge for all of those deaths? Why not see what happened if they killed even more? Why not see every possible outcome, how much pain they could inflict? Nobody would get a happy ending anyway. Even if they died, they just went back. Even if they were to sacrifice themselves, they’d just go back. The monsters were doomed, and they had only themselves to blame. They had declared the war on humanity. They had killed six children for their SOULs. They refused to communicate like sensible people. It was more than enough to drive anyone mad, especially a kid.

Frisk still could barely believe the contrast between now and their first meeting. They’d been so kind, so friendly. Snarky and cynical, sure, but who could blame them? Frisk could still remember their first meeting. The spirit had been nothing more than a scared little child like Frisk was. In fact, they assumed they’d fallen down like they had, which wasn’t untrue, technically. It took several minutes to calm them down. They asked about their family, their brother, why they had just woken up in a bed of flowers. Frisk could still remember their shock when they introduced themselves. They thought back to that conversation now.

The two children sat next to each other in the dark cave, the only source of light being the opening they’d fallen through. The other child seemed to be calming down now, remarkably quickly at that. It surprised Frisk how well adjusted they seemed to be, relatively speaking. They were a mess, but not nearly as much as a child normally would be. They seemed less stressed than Frisk.
Frisk finally spoke to the other child. “I’m sorry, I don’t know where your family is. I think… I think we should look for a way out. I don’t think we can climb back up, and it’s dangerous up there right now.“ 
The other child looked at them confused. “What do you mean?” 
“I fell down here running from some terrorists that took my group hostage. We should stay hidden until the police take care of them.”
Now the other child was even more confused. Why were there terrorists in Ebbot? There was nothing there worth targeting. They’d worry about that later though. This kid had no idea what was going on right now, and things were only going to get more confusing for them. 
“I know my way around these caves, I might be able to find a way out.” They doubted it, they’d been trying to figure that out for two years now. They had a plan; one they’d come up with along with their brother. They were supposed to try it today. 
At the thought of that memory, they became confused. How were they so healthy? The plan had involved poison, right? They should be bedridden, close to death. How were they up and about? 
“Oh, do you like, explore them? I know some kids do that, though they really aren’t supposed to.” Frisk asked, unaware of their inner turmoil. 
The other child was snapped out of their trance. “Oh uh, no, not exactly… It’s probably better if I just show you.”
“Oh, ok.” Frisk didn’t really know how to respond to that. “By the way, my name’s Frisk, what’s yours?”
“Oh, it’s Chara.” 
Frisk paused at that name. Chara? Like the kid from the legends? 
They began to giggle at the strangeness of the situation. 
Chara pouted indignantly. “Hey, what’s so funny!? Chara’s a perfectly normal name! Haven’t you ever heard a Greek name before!?”
Frisk spoke through giggles, trying to placate their companion. “No no no, it’s just- A kid named Chara lost in the caves beneath Mount Ebott. It’s just a weird coincidence is all.”
“What do you mean?” Now Chara was confused. 
“Are you not from around here? Everyone in Ebott City knows about the Goat Man story.”
“What goat man story? What are you talking about? And Ebott City? Ebbot is some remote village in Oregon, since when did we call it a city?”
Frisk stared at them, baffled. Who was this kid? 
Chara returned their confused gazed. Their confusion turned to horror as their memories flooded back. They remembered now. They remembered the plan. How they’d poisoned themselves with buttercups, how Asriel was supposed to take their SOUL after they died. How Asriel had lost his nerve at the last moment, just when they arrived in town. The last thing they could remember was the villagers attacking, as Asriel set their body down on a field of buttercups. 
Frisk noticed their change in tone immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“What year is it?” They responded urgently.
“Huh? It’s 2120. Is something wrong?”
Chara was panicking now. “2120? No, that can’t be right! You’re messing with me, right?” 
“What? No! It’s June 4th, 2120.” Frisk was becoming more confused by the second. 
“How!? I’ve only been down here for two years!” 
“Two years!? How have you survived!?” 
“I-it’s complicated, ok!? Come on, we need to find my parents!” 
Chara grabbed for Frisk’s arm, only for their hand to phase right through it. 
The two fell back in shock. Frisk stared in disbelief at Chara as they furiously inspected their hand. “What the fuck was that!?” 
“I-I don’t know! That’s never happened to before!” the Chara replied. 
Frisk suddenly had a chilling realization. “Chara, what year did you think it was.”
“201X… It’s supposed to be 201X.” Chara and Frisk were overcome with dread at this realization.

As Frisk thought back, they realized that they remembered parts of the conversation from Chara’s perspective. They could feel their emotions at the recollection. It hadn’t been like that before, when they were just bonded, they could only communicate through thought consciously, and it took time before they realized Chara didn’t actually have to speak or manifest. Perhaps that was a side effect of whatever Chara had done with their SOUL. They were already pretty much merged, had they become even more so somehow?

Whatever the case, Frisk was concerned for the future. They’d worked so hard for this ending; they’d reset so many times. They finally had the opportunity to make everything right. They knew Chara had other plans though. They hated monsters now, and humanity too. They suspected that they planned a repeat of what they’d done underground, but on a larger scale. Frisk only hoped that they could be convinced to do otherwise. The world was in serious trouble if they couldn’t.

Yet there was a bit of hope amidst the fear. Insane as their friend was, they’d slowly settled down during their last run. They sounded less hateful, less bloodthirsty. During their fight with Asriel, they’d sounded a lot like the plucky, determined Chara they knew from before, a child who simply wanted a better future, to SAVE everyone. After the fight, when Asriel said that they weren’t the best person, Frisk could remember something, an emotion that was their own and yet not their own. Sadness, regret, shame.

Between then and now, Chara had been silent. Frisk thought they’d be relieved, but they weren’t. They felt lonely. They were so used to having a voice in their head, someone else to talk to, even when alone, that they didn’t know how to handle being alone again. Fearful though they were, they welcomed Chara’s return. They only hoped it wasn’t too late for them. They wondered how Chara felt about these thoughts. Sad? Angry? Hopeful? It was hard to tell. Chara could hide their feelings better than they could.

Frisk’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of police sirens. The car had arrived and was ready to take them into the city. They could barely see the driver’s face in the darkness, but they imagined their reactions were pretty similar to the first group. They were gently ushered into the squad car by Rodriguez and Masaki as the other monsters piled into the other car with a no doubt very confused officer. Frisk could barely hear the other officers talking as they entered the car, they were too distracted to care, and too tired to boot.

As they headed towards the car, Gasparyan whispered to Balakin. “Hey, about the kid.”

“Yeah?” Balakin turned toward his partner.

“When we finished the story- “

“Yeah, they were pretty shaken up.”

“No, I mean when I went over and asked if they were ok.”

“Yeah?” Balakin hoped this conversation had a point. He was way too tired for this.

“Well, they looked up at me.”

“What’s your point, Ari?” Balakin asked, the last of his patience depleted.

“It’s just that- were their eyes always red?”

Chapter Text

It was about a half hour’s journey to the old police station, where the militia operated. Frisk sat silently through the ride. In the past, they’d tried to make conversation with the officers, but now there was just too much on their mind. The officers didn’t seem to have any trouble occupying themselves though. The two up front weren’t saying much. Rodriguez was focused on the road ahead while Masaki was drinking something out of a cup from a fast-food place. Frisk couldn’t imagine what it was, since a shake would have melted by now and a soda would have gone flat. The two in back were having a conversation in Russian, apparently forgetting that Frisk could speak it.

< “I’m telling you Alyosha, the kid’s eyes were- “>

< “Would you drop it? It was a trick of the light.”>

Frisk froze; apparently their eyes had been glowing red? Had that happened before? Or maybe it was a side effect of Chara taking their SOUL. Frisk very much hoped the officers would forget what they saw. They felt a deep anxiety welling within them, and it wasn’t just theirs.

The officers went on, oblivious to their stress.

< “Right, a trick of the light, just like the goats were furries hanging out in the woods!”>

< “What are you suggesting? The kid’s possessed by a demon? Look, I’ll settle this now. Hey kid, look at me for a sec!”> Balakin paused, realizing that he’d forgotten to switch to English.

Frisk looked up at him, hoping their eyes were their normal color.

“сука блять!” Balakin exclaimed. That one’s a bit harder to translate.

Rodriguez slammed the breaks, causing the car to lurch forward. “What!? What happened!?”

“Did you see it!? Were their eyes-?” Gasparyan asked frantically.

“No no, they’re brown, like normal. I just realized the kid can speak Russian and probably understood all of that.”

Masaki had spit out her drink, apparently consisting of flat cola, all over the windshield and was now doubled over laughing. The other car had stopped too, and a voice crackled over the radio.

“Hey there Firewalker, you okay back there? Over.”

Rodriguez groaned and picked up the radio. “We’re good, just my team acting like a bunch of idiots, over.” He glared at them when he said that last sentence.

Masaki feigned offense. “What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”

“No, but you will be cleaning my windshield.” Rodriguez said through gritted teeth.

“Roger that, Firewalker, drive safely, over.” The driver of the other car spoke with a hint of exasperation. Rodriguez felt his pain.

Frisk looked back and forth between Gasparyan and Balakin, who hung their heads in embarrassment.

< “You guys know I’m the chief’s kid, right? Why wouldn’t I be able to speak Russian?”>

Balakin responded. <” Yeah, that slipped our minds. Anyway, would you please tell Ari that you aren’t possessed by some kind of demon?”>

< “I never said I thought the kid was possessed ”> Gasparyan said, defensively.

<” Well, what did you think? Because you said the kid’s eyes were red, and they’re not.”>

<” I don’t know! I just said what I saw! What do you want from me?”>

Frisk chimed in. <” I’m not possessed by a demon; I don’t know about the eye thing.”> Technically that was the truth, there were no demons, not literal ones anyway.

<” See Ari? What did I say?”>

<” First of all, again, I never said the kid was possessed. Secondly, if that were the case, why would the demon tell us?”>

The rest of the drive was largely uneventful. The serene, natural scenery of the forest soon transitioned to the loud, vibrant scenery of a sprawling cityscape. Tall structures of glass and steel and cement loomed over the streetway, bathing it in the glow of the fluorescent lights inside. The squad cars were soon enveloped by hundreds of cars, each traveling to a different destination. Large neon signs with bizarre characters and designs, and writing in fonts that Papyrus could only have dreamt of. The sight was awe inspiring to the monsters. The only place like this back in the Underground was MTT Resort.

Papyrus turned to the driver. “THIS PLACE IS AMAZING! DID HUMANS BUILD IT?”

The driver desperately tried to ignore the strangeness of the situation. “Yup, sure did. This is Ebbot City. Started off as a small town a few hundred years back. Over time, it grew into this. There was a huge economic boom a ways back after some archeologists found some magical artifacts near the mountain. We’re basically the regional capital of magic research.” 

Toriel jumped in. “Odd, Frisk doesn’t know any magic. I was wondering if humans still practiced it.”

The driver nodded. “Most don’t know any, it’s pretty hard for humans to learn. Our country only has a few dozen sorcerers. A lot was lost over the ages, too, not sure why. I imagine you monsters know more about it.” 

“Fascinating. I’m sure our people would be more than happy to share our knowledge once they get settled in” Asgore said.

“SO, THIS MILITIA YOU’RE A PART OF. IT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THE ROYAL GUARD FROM WHERE WE COME FROM!”

The driver was flummoxed at the comparison. He never thought the Peoples’ Militia would be compared to a royal guard of all things. Then again, people still called them police despite their insistence that a peoples’ militia was different. To a traditional communist, being called such a thing would have been greatly offensive, but he didn’t really mind too much. They were law enforcement after all, essentially. Fairer laws, some different methods of enforcement, but that wasn’t really enough to not count as police to most people. Sure, you wouldn’t find them clamping down on a strike or a protest like the older police forces sometimes did, but to most people, that wasn’t the defining role of a police force. Then again, the original plan was to get rid of prisons entirely. He wasn’t sure how that was supposed to work. And he was chauffeuring a royal family around.

“Does the Royal Guard act as law enforcement?” He finally asked.

“YEAH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WE JUST TRY TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE AND MAKE SURE NO BAD GUYS SHOW UP TO MAKE THINGS WORSE FOR EVERYONE ELSE.”

“Ok yeah, that’s basically what we do.”

“SPLENDID! I THINK WE’LL GET A LONG JUST GREAT, YOU AND I!”

 The driver nodded. Strangeness aside, the skeleton was starting to grow on him. “What did you say your name was again?”

“I’M THE GREAT PAPYRUS! CAPTAIN AND NOW SOLE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!” 

The driver smiled. This guy was an oddball, skeleton or no, but he liked his spirit. “Anthony, Anthony Pulaski. Call me Tony. Good to meet you, Papyrus.”

Before long, the two cars arrived at the old police headquarters. It was a small concrete building with a large blue sign reading “Peoples’ Militia HQ”. Some of the letters from the old sign reading “Police” had clearly been repurposed. Both cars parked next to each other; there weren’t many cars in the parking lot.

Papyrus turned to Anthony, perplexed. “SHOULDN’T THERE BE MORE OF THESE… METAL CARRIAGES HERE?” 

“Nah, most of the officers work down in different stations across the city. Most of the people here are bureaucrats and they’re home for the night.”

“I see. So why is this chief guardswoman of yours still here?”

“Aint been sleeping much since Frisk’s disappearance” Ramirez answered. “Insists on managing the search herself. Poor girl’s probably running on pure caffeine and willpower at this point.”

“Oh dear! Well hopefully she can get some rest after this” said Toriel. The others nodded in agreement.

“Frisk, are you alright? You haven’t said a word since we got here” said Asgore.

Frisk looked up. “Huh? Yeah, I’m fine, just a bit nervous is all. Mom’s never seen anything like you guys before, and I want to make sure we make a good first impression.”   

Asgore put his arm on Frisk’s shoulder. “I understand. Honestly, I’m a bit nervous too, given… all that happened in the underground.”

“Uh… right. I was actually gonna leave that out for now.” Frisk was now smiling awkwardly and gave an uncomfortable chuckle.

Asgore shook his head. “Best they find out now. It will only be worse if it looks like we’re hiding things from them later.”

“If you say so…,” said Frisk.

“What are you two talking about?” Balakin asked suspiciously. All of the officers now had looks of concern on their faces.

“Uh… maybe I should explain once we get inside. Don’t wanna give out details like this to random people before the foreign leaders, right?”

“Frisk, we live in a commune; nobody cares about that sort of thing” Masaki said. It was true, most officers didn’t even bother to address each other by rank unless asked to.

“The chief does. She was military before this. Best to listen to the kid” Gasparyan said.

Frisk nodded, relieved.

The group made their way to the chief’s office. The building only had three floors, not counting the basement, and most were filled with offices and boardrooms. The hallways were dark, the lights having been shut off a short while ago, giving the otherwise unremarkable scenery an eerie atmosphere. None of the monsters minded. They were well accustomed to the dark, as was Frisk after a week underground. The officers were a bit more uneasy, occasionally exchanging nervous glances. They’d been through more than a few fights in buildings like this during the revolution. Darkness meant that there could be hostiles anywhere, easily missed by the unobservant soldier. More than a few good comrades had been lost in fights like that. Ramirez was especially on edge; he’d been in the fight to take this very building. He recognized several offices as places where hostiles had been hiding, at least two of which were ones that nearly got the drop on him. Relief washed over the officers when they finally reached the elevator. They noticed for the first time that Frisk was casually making conversation with the monsters, explaining bits of human history and culture to them.

 “Yeah, so America- that’s this country- just went through a civil war, the second one actually. I’ll tell you more about the first one later, basically we got rid of slavery and the slave owners got mad and tried to form their own country. So, the new one, the one that happened just before I was born, was between two groups called the communists- that’s us- and the fascists. The fascists are like the slave owners from the last war but even worse. They just want to kill anyone who isn’t part of their culture. The communists want to get rid of capitalism and corporations and stuff like that.”

Asgore put his hand to his chin. “I believe I’ve heard about some of these things before. I think I saw a movie about a war with these two factions before. Was that this civil war?”

“That was probably World War II. Some countries in Europe and one in Asia were fascist. The capitalists and the communists fought against them.”

Masaki nodded. “One of those countries was my own, sadly. People who sympathized with their ideals tried to take over there too.”

The conversation continued for a while, dipping into inevitable questions about the Great War since there had apparently been two world wars. They only had time for a brief summary of several historical events, since it wasn’t a long trip on the elevator, and the chief’s office was just down the hall. Hopefully, it would be enough.

As the group walked down the hall, they heard voices coming from the office.

“-ton. a skele-ton!”

“Yes yes, hilarious. Now for the last time, how did you get into my office!?”

The first voice was instantly recognizable. It seemed the other skeleton had found his way to the office on his own. The second was a woman’s voice in a thick Russian accent. The monsters recognized the accent as one similar to Balakin’s.

A tv could also be heard in the background.

“Breaking news! The unidentified flying object that was sighted over Ebbot City seems to have landed in front of the mayor’s office. Reporter Jenifer Cain is on the scene.”

“Yes Larry, we’ve arrived on the scene of the landing. The object appears to be some sort of… well I don’t know how to say this but it, or rather he appears to be some kind of robot. He appears to be a particularly advanced model, not unlike certain high-end- “

“HELLO DARLINGS! MY NAME IS METTATON, THE GREATEST STAR IN THE UNDERGROUND AND SOON, THE SURFACE AS WELL! I’M SO GLAD YOU COULD ALL MAKE IT TO MY GRAND DEBUTE!”

“сука блять!” The second voice shouted.

Ramirez knocked on the door. “Chief? Chief! I-is now a good time?”

“Huh? Oh! Yes, please come in!” The second voice, the chief’s apparently, changed tone immediately. She sounded excited and urgent. Ramirez opened the door.

Ramirez opened the doo and the group entered. The room was a large and rather well decorated. The carpet was a dark red, while the walls were aqua colored and covered in photos of the previous chief of police, as well as numerous framed plaques and awards from the mayor’s office, left up out of respect after he was grievously injured during the war. Notably, a plasma screen tv was also mounted on the wall, standing in stark contrast to the rest of the décor. Frisk remembered it’d been looted from a department store after the corporations had been driven out. Sans stood beside it with his hands in his coat pockets. His trademark grin remained plastered across his face.

To the back of the room was a window overlooking the front of the building. In front of it was an ornately carved wooden desk with two padded wooden chairs in front of it. A woman with short black hair and pale blue eyes sat at the desk. Bags had started to from under her eyes from exhaustion, and a half empty mug of coffee sat on the desk. She was dressed in what appeared to be an old military uniform bearing the flag of a foreign nation, a red one with a yellow sickle and hammer, and an ultramarine beret with a red star over golden laurels in the center and a brass, or maybe gold emblem of a paratrooper on a red patch on the side. Her expression was one of both eagerness and worry, both of which somehow overcame her exhaustion.

“Mom!” Frisk shouted and ran towards the woman.

 “Frisk!” The woman got up from her desk and knelt down, pulling Frisk into an embrace. “Are you ok? Are you hurt? Oh God I was so worried!”

“I’m fine mom, don’t worry” Frisk said, tears of joy running down their cheeks.

They’d been reunited several times now, over the course of countless resets, and yet this moment was one that never lost its emotional impact. As the cycles worsened and the Underground was left in a worse state, as Frisk and Chara’s efforts grew ever more futile and unhinged, their mother’s comfort became all the more precious. For Frisk at least, it helped them stay grounded. Helped to maintain some semblance of stability. There was no doubt it was crucial to their ability to stay determined, to keep trying for a better ending.

Frisk’s mother looked over them, checking for any sign of injury. “What happened? We were searching for you for a week!”

Frisk scratched their head awkwardly. “It’s… kind of a long story. I fell into a cave in the mountains when I was running from the gunmen.” They hesitated for a moment, debating whether they should mention Chara. The mounting tension they felt at the thought made them decide to leave it out for now. They could swear they heard, or felt rather, a voice saying “don’t even think about it.” They had a feeling Chara wouldn’t let them even if they tried.

“Wait, you fell into a cave!?” Their mother was aghast.

“Y-yeah, but don’t worry! I’m fine! I uh… landed on a patch of flowers.” Frisk realized for the first time how little sense that made. “So, I made my way through the cave and met this evil talking flower- I know, I know, just bear with me here, he’s a real flower, not a hallucination.” Frisk quickly preempted the inevitable questioning of their health. The first time they’d gotten to this part, they were checked for a concussion.

Frisk saw the skepticism in their mother’s eyes, but continued. “Right, so the flower acts all friendly, right? And it seems pretty believable at first. Then he conjured up these magical… pellets? They’re like pellets made of light. Anyway, he says I need to collect the pellets to get more powerful to survive or… something. He described it kind of like a video game? With experience points and levels and stuff. Except he called it LOVE and EXP instead of levels and experience. Like, he spelled out EXP. Apparently LOVE is actually… “they rolled their eyes and side-eyed Sans. “Level of Violence!” They waved their arms dramatically and spoke with mock grandeur, clearly not thinking much of the acronym. They began giggling a little as they spoke. “And EXP is, get this, Execution Points! Can you believe that?”

Everyone in the room was rather offput by their change in demeanor, especially their mother. Sans was focused intently on them now. He was well aware of their true nature; he could see it all over their face. It was subtle, not something most people would pick up on, but he could see it. That, and his uncanny sense of déjà vu. He knew that the timeline had been reset again, and many times at that. He knew that this kid, this seemingly sweet, innocent kid, had done horrible things in the past. He couldn’t remember it, not exactly, but his instincts and his ability to read people were enough to confirm that they’d killed people, a lot of people, and many of them they’d killed multiple times.

 He knew there was something twisted about this kid. Even so, he’d never seen their mood shift like that. They hadn’t been faking their previous attitude, their relief at seeing their mother again, their desire to help the monsters, their concern for the future and their physical and mental exhaustion. It was all real, he could see it even when they weren’t expressing it. So why the sudden shift to this personality? The one so cavalier and dismissive of their past actions, the one that treated peoples’ lives and deaths as a game. Why was it showing now?

Frisk’s mother looked at her child uncomfortably, unsure how to react to this sudden outburst. “Yes, so… what about this flower? With the pellets?”

“Oh, right!” Frisk quickly returned to their usual personality almost instantly. They seemed nervous about their outburst. Sans took note of this. Their nervousness wasn’t the kind of someone who’d been caught, but one of genuine fear. What was up with this kid?

“Anyway, turns out that the pellets were bullets. I had a feeling they were, so I dodged them. It was pretty terrifying at first but then he kept trying to get me to walk into them and just getting more and more agitated and-“ Frisk’s chuckled at the memory. It was different from their previous laughter, less mocking, more genuine.

“Wait, bullets!?” Their mother went white.

“Oh, no no, not like real bullets, that’s just what they call them. He didn’t have a gun or anything. Anyway, that’s when Miss- er Queen Toriel here jumped in and saved me!”

Frisk got to work explaining everything to their father. He didn’t take the “bullets” thing any better. He also asked if the flowers Frisk landed on were hallucinogenic when they mentioned them. Sans noticed that Frisk wasn’t so mocking about the concept of LOVE and EXP this time around. Sure, it wasn’t as funny the second time but still, their attitude did a complete one eighty. They seemed to be taking it seriously now.

Miguel finally spoke. “I… see. So, there’s a civilization of monsters living underground.”

“OH, NOT ANYMORE! WE’RE ALL MOVING TO THE SURFACE! SOON, WE’LL ALL BE NEIGHBORS! ISN’T THAT GREAT?” Papyrus spoke excitedly.

Miguel simply nodded, dumbstruck at the news. He didn’t have the time or energy to consider all of the implications of what he was hearing.

“Um anyway, where are my manners? Lieutenant Miguel Werner, United States National Guard.” He smiled awkwardly and stuck out his hand, which Asgore shook with an equally nervous smile.

“OH! IS THAT LIKE THE ROYAL GUARD? YOU HUMANS SURE LIKE TO HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF GUARD.”

Miguel turned to Papyrus. “I mean, usually a royal guard just guards the royal family of a country. Is yours also a domestic militia?”

Tony nodded. “Police too. The Underground isn’t very big.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“Anyway, where was I again? Oh right, Toriel’s house.” Frisk quickly resumed their story.

Frisk gave a summary of their adventures, leaving out the resets. How they made their way through the Underground, encountering stranger and stranger monsters along the way. They described their interactions with the various communities of the Underground, detailing each community and how they differed from each other. They insisted that all the information be written down and documented.

Their parents naturally didn’t react well to hearing about how everyone in the room with them had at one point attacked their child, as had a good portion the Underground’s population, nor about the fact that six other children had perished beforehand.

Miguel let out a huff of hot air through his nose. “So, you’re telling me that you people tried to harvest my kid’s SOUL so you could invade and kill us all!?” His voice grew steadily louder.

“Dad, please!” Frisk said.

“How many of our kids did you kill huh!? How many for your sick plan!?”

Frisk was on the verge of panic. This wasn’t going well at all.

Asgore sighed deeply. “None” he said finally.

Everyone turned to him.

“What?” Miguel said flatly.

“There were six SOULS, six human children that fell before Frisk. Their names were Lily, Abigale, Asher, Lazlo, Ashley, and Clover. Patience, bravery, perseverance, kindness, Integrity, and justice were their virtues. Each one was a formidable foe, none of them died to monsters. That’s not to say that we took no action against them. Many of my people confronted them and attempted to claim their SOULs. But they were no match for them.”

“You’re joking right? You’re telling me that some kids were too strong for your entire people?”

“Humans are strong, lieutenant. Much stronger than you realize. It takes very little effort for a human to kill the average monster. When we were forced underground all those centuries ago, not a single human died fighting us, not any who’s SOULs could be claimed. Each child was able to carve a swath through our ranks. It was ultimately the environment that claimed them in the end. Each time. I don’t believe that any of them fell to a monster. The monsters you see here are the result of centuries of training, of perfecting our magic in a desperate attempt to prepare for when the next human fell. Many of them are capable of killing a human, perhaps several, but a strong enough human, no matter the age They became known as the fiercest warriors of humankind. Many assumed that they’d come on the behest of the humans to finish us off. Only I and Toriel knew the truth, that they were but children, just as Chara, our child and the first human to fall, had been. By the time any more humans had fallen, no one else was old enough to remember what a human child looked like. Had I told them, the spirit of my people would have been broken forever. The humans were coming, they wanted to destroy us all, and there was nothing we could do about it.”

Miguel was mollified slightly, though still furious.

Natalia spoke next, calmer, but still clearly enraged. Fury burned behind her eyes. “But why not tell them the truth? That we meant no harm?”

“I didn’t know that! When my children made it to the surface, the humans attacked them! The only thing I saw of the humans was my son bleeding to death holding my child’s lifeless body! How could I have known!?”

 The room went silent for a moment. Everyone’s eyes widened at his outburst. Toriel looked sadly at her ex-husband, at the man he had become, at what the years had done to him.

He sighed. “I- forgive my outburst. I won’t claim my war was justified. My declaration was a foolish one, born of rage and anguish, and it caused my people nothing but suffering. I’ll make no excuses for my actions. I understand if your people want justice, but please, don’t blame my people. This war is my fault and mine alone.”

“Wait! It doesn’t have to be like that!” Frisk pleaded.

“Frisk, it’s alright. Just-“

“No! You two made me ambassador, so let me do my job! Dad, mom, I get that you’re angry, but please, these aren’t bad people! They need our help! If we do anything to their king, it could mean another war. They’d be run out of here within a day if not wiped out! You know what it’s like down in Jefferson, you know what the fascists will do to them, we’re their only hope! We need to work together on this!” 

Their words hung in the air. Both the humans and the monsters dwelled on the implications of what they’d just said. Even Frisk was becoming more and more tense as the implications of what they’d said sank in. Sans desperately tried to make sense of their outburst. It was completely at odds with what he knew about the kid.

Miguel spoke finally. “I… I need a minute.” He sighed and walked out of the room.

The rest hesitated, wondering which elephant in the room to address first.

“Ambassador?” Natalia said finally.

“Yeah. Let me explain.”

Chapter Text

Miguel exited the building, and leaned against the wall. He looked up at the skyline, and the stars above. There were about a million thoughts running through his head. He was furious, there was no denying that. And yet, he sympathized with the monsters. Their plight was undeniably dire, and a part of him understood why they took the actions they did. He didn’t like that. He’d learned from the war that is was dangerous to sympathize with the enemy. The more you saw them as people, the harder it was to fight. The monsters weren’t his enemy, not all of them. Most of the ones he’d just met were fine in his book. The skeletons never tried to kill them, even if their capturing them would have had terrible consequences, and it had all been a misunderstanding, and while he wasn’t exactly happy with Toriel, given the whole fireball incident, but she was trying to help at least. Asgore was another issue entirely.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of what appeared to be a fish woman charging the headquarters at full speed with a lizard woman on her shoulders. He stood slack jawed at the sight, barely able to process it. The fish woman stopped right in front of the door. The Lizard girl hopped off her shoulders.

“Yes, finally! See Alphys? I told you we’d find it eventually!” The fish woman spoke.

Alphys, the lizard woman, Alphys apparently, was too busy hyperventilating to respond.

The fish woman turned to Miguel, who was still speechless.

“Hi! I’m Undyne! Are you one of those ‘police’ Frisk mentioned? Aw man I was so looking forward to meeting you guys! They made you sound so cool!”

 “Um, no, not exactly. I’m in the National Guard. You know Frisk?” Miguel finally found the will to speak.

“Yeah! You too?”

“I’m their father. I drove here when I heard they’d been found. Who exactly-“

“Woah! What is that!? That car has a gun on it! I think I saw something like that in an anime once.”

“That’s… my Humvee. The military uses them. Wait, did you say Undyne?” 

“Yeah, that’s my name. This is Alphys, my girlfriend.”

Alphys blushed. “H-hi, I’m Dr. Alphys. Like she just said. I’m the royal scientist.”

“Yeah, I got that. It’s just… well there’s no good way to say this but aren’t you the one who tried to kill my kid in Waterfall?” He remembered the region’s name at least.

Undyne’s tone shifted. “I… yeah that’s me.” She turned to Alphys. “Hey Al? Maybe you should head inside. I might be a minute.”

Alphys looked uncertain. “Are you sure?”

Undyne nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be right behind you.”

Alphys hesitantly made her way inside. Undyne stood across from Miguel, unsure where to begin.

“So, look. I-“

Miguel cut in. “Look, this is awkward for both of us, I just got done screaming my lungs out at the king for all this. I’m not gonna pretend that I’m not pissed about it, but Frisk seems to trust you all in spite of everything and apparently the fate of a whole species could rest on me being able to move past this, so why don’t you just give me your side of things?” 

Undyne sighed with relief. “Where to begin? Guess I should start at the beginning. I grew up with stories of humans. All sorts of things that seem really insane in hindsight. People would always share stories of the humans that fell before, and how terrifying they were. How they could kill hundreds of us without breaking a sweat. They talked about how so many brave monsters had died fighting them. I think we lost at least two of the best Royal Guard captains in history to the humans. The first one I learned about was Ashley. She fought her way all the way to the beginning of Waterfall, my home, with a pair of shoes tied together. The Snowdin guard was decimated by her onslaught, and it took them years to replenish their ranks. Even worse was Asher. He fought his way all the way to Hotland with a frying pan. Took out the captain and his best soldiers. Knocked ‘em into lava.”

“What got him in the end?”

“I’m not sure, exactly. I think it was heat exhaustion.” She chuckled. “It’s funny, that’s what almost got me.”

Undyne took a breath before continuing.

“The one I remember most was Lazlo, who killed his way all the way to Waterfall before he was finally stopped. He didn’t even use a real weapon. He fought with a notebook. Old Gerson, he was the Captain of the Guard before me, was the one who found him. Still, even Gerson couldn’t beat him in the end. Asher almost killed him a bunch of times. I think he fell down a waterfall in the end, while they were having it out in the woods. He kept his belongings for a while. He’d show ‘em off like they were treasures. And they kinda were. It was strange, though. Gerson never seemed to hate or fear the humans. Guess the old man knew more about them than the rest of us. I think maybe he learned a bit from Lazlo during his time hunting him.”

“Why didn’t he teach you?”

“I think he tried, tried to teach all of us. Problem was that he didn’t know all that much, just enough that he wasn’t as scared as the rest of us. That’s pretty impressive too, especially since he survived two human attacks.”

Miguel raised his eyebrow. “Two? Who was the second one?”

“Clover.” Undyne shuddered at the name. “The last one to fall before Frisk. They were the only one of the humans with a real weapon. A gun. We thought they were sent by the humans to search for their warriors and finish the job. I think they were actually just looking for the missing kids. Still, they did some real damage before they went down. It’s kinda funny though. We’re not really sure how many they actually killed. People talked about them killing people, but sometimes people would remember wrong, like they’d remember people being killed that were clearly still alive. It’s like people had vague memories of their rampage but they’d all be wrong or maybe they’d sometimes be right? It’s hard to say. We’re pretty sure he killed at least a few people though since the gun was empty when they found it. Their stories were always the creepiest. Nothing ever made any sense. I once got told a story about how a monster named Decibat got killed by them by Decibat. It was like they had killed everyone, then just undone it all somehow. Still, in hindsight I think they might have tried to help us in the end. I’ve heard rumors of them trying to find a way to break the barrier, but I always assumed they meant he was trying to take the king’s SOUL and escape. Now, I’m not so sure.”

Miguel didn’t know what to make of any of that. It was insane. She made it sound like they’d manipulated time somehow.

“Anyway, I decided that I’d join the Royal Guard one day. That I’d train as hard as I could, become strong, stronger than any human. I wanted to keep the Underground safe, to help end the invasion once and for all. I thought that maybe I could give is the chance to actually fight back for once.” She sighed. “Of course, it turns out there was no invasion. Just a bunch of terrified kids and monsters attacking each other for no reason. When I first saw Frisk, I assumed they were one of your warriors. I wasn’t sure how old they were but a kid being humanity’s strongest warrior wasn’t all that strange to me. That’s how it was in the Anime I’d seen with Alphys, and that’s all I had to go on.”

“Wait, you thought anime was real?” Miguel wasn’t even sure how to take that. He guessed it wasn’t that strange given how weird the Underground was, for all he knew, anime really would become real soon, what with all the magic.

Undyne sighed. “Yeah, long story.” She chuckled. “You know the kid actually said that humans really lifted swords four times their size? I think they were just trying to protect my feelings.”

“Some magic warriors did actually do that.” Miguel responded.

“Seriously!?” Undyne suddenly became excited.

“Yep, not really sure how they did it, but that’s real.”

Undyne struggled to contain her excitement. “Right. Anyway, I started to notice something was off when they saved a monster kid from falling to their death. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. They were running away from me, and I was gaining on them, and besides, I thought they wanted us all dead. Then when we actually fought, they wouldn’t attack. They just ran by me. I was mad at first, I thought they were messing with me, and I ran after them.”

Miguel nodded. “They mentioned you almost died.”

“Yeah. Saving me was a risky move, and one that didn’t make much sense. I think that’s when I really started to have my doubts.”

“Then you burned your house down together.” Miguel chuckled.

“Haha! Yeah, that was mostly my fault. But still, they helped me see the good side of humans. Helped me see that I was wrong about them. After all that, I didn’t even want to fight them anymore. I thought that maybe you guys weren’t so bad. They… they really helped me out. I get that you’re mad, really. I would be too. Just… don’t hold it against all of us, ok? Not everyone was at stupid as I was.”

Miguel smiled. “Thanks” he said.

“For what?”

“For giving me some perspective. I’m not over this, that’ll take a while, but I think maybe it’d be good to try to build some bridges. Wanna head inside?”

Undyne smiled. “Yeah, I think that’d be a good idea. The others are probably getting worried.”

Chapter Text

Alphys quickly found her way to the office. The dark corridors of the building reminded her of the Old Lab. She felt relief wash over her as she reached the office. That didn’t last long though, as she immediately noticed the tension in the atmosphere.

“Um… hi” she said, nervously tapping her index fingers together.

Everyone in the room turned to her at once. An uncomfortable silence followed for several agonizing seconds.

“Oh Alphys! You guys found the office!” Frisk broke the silence.

“Y-yeah. It took a while, but we finally just got directions from an officer directing traffic.”

“Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned how big the city is” Frisk said sheepishly. “Oh, where’s Undyne?”

“Oh! She met your father outside. He uh… wanted to talk to her for some reason.”

“Uh oh” Frisk said.

“Yeah, he didn’t seem too happy.”

Natalia chimed in. “Was he shouting or just cold and intense?”

“Just cold and intense. He seemed stressed more than anything.”

Natalia nodded. “Ah, so he’s calming down then, that’s good. He’s a good man, but he can be a bit hot blooded, especially in times like this.”

“What happened?” Alphys said.

“My parents didn’t take too well to hearing about all the times I was attacked down there” Frisk said.

“Oh yeah, he said something about you’re fight in Waterfall. Wait, so is this…?”

“Natalia Abdulova, I am Frisk’s mother. A pleasure to meet you, my child has told me much about you all. You are the royal scientist, да?”  Natalia walked over to Alphys.

“Yup, that’s me.” Alphys responded shyly.

“So, Frisk says you created the robot currently making a scene in front of town hall?”

“He what!?” Alphys ran over to the tv and unmuted it.

A news reporter seemed to be giving Mettaton an interview.

“Mr. … Mettaton, was it? Where are you from? Who made you? What are your intentions here in Ebbot?”

“ONE QUESTION AT A TIME DARLING, WE’LL GET TO THEM ALL, I PROMISE. YES, MY NAME IS METTATON, FROM THE UNDERGROUND! LIKE I SAID, I’M HERE TO MAKE MY MARK HERE ON THE SURFACE. I’M CERTAIN YOU’LL ME SEEING A LOT MORE OF ME SOON. AS FOR WHO MADE ME, THAT WOULD BE DR. ALPHYS, THE ROYAL SCIENTIST.”

“Oh God!” Alphys buried her head in her hands.

“But royal scientist to who? What country are you from?”

“LIKE I SAID, DEAR, I’M FROM THE UNDERGROUND. RIGHT UNDERNEATH MT. EBBOT. WE’RE ALL MOVING TO THE SURFACE SOON, SO CONSIDER THIS OUR GRAND DEBUT.”

Alphys groaned in embarrassment.

Natalia sighed. “I guess the news had to get out somehow.”

“Should we do something?” Toriel asked.

Natalia shook her head. “The mayor was warned about him already. If he doesn’t mean any harm, like you say, we should be fine.”

Alphys remuted the tv, unable to bear it any longer.

Papyrus on the other hand seemed interested. “QUICK, TURN ON CLOSED CAPTIONING!”

Natalia turned to Alphys. “So, your girlfriend threw spears at my child?” she said casually. Not the best way to start a conversation.

“Yeah… look, I know this looks bad, but it was all a huge misunderstand-“

Natalia put up her hand. “No need for explanations, Doctor. Frisk already explained everything. I will not pretend I am ok with everything that happened, but I have been talking with them and the king and queen. If monsters are to survive on the surface, and peacefully integrate with humanity, we will need to move past old transgressions, even if ‘old’ means ‘a week ago if that’. I will vouch for you all to the mayor. If my child trusts you after everything, I will do so as well.”

Frisk sighed with relief. It seemed they’d managed to salvage the first contact after all. Sans continued to eye them suspiciously. They returned his gaze with a remorseful expression. Neither said anything.

"Why doesn’t he just tell them?"

"I’m not sure. Maybe he doesn’t see the point, or is he giving us a second chance?"

"Ha! After what we did? Fat chance. I think he’s just being his usual, apathetic, nihilistic self. Useful only at the last second when it’s already too late."

"He fought well, give him some credit."

"Yeah sure, but for what? My dad was the only one left. He could have acted as soon as he saw us. He already knew what we’d done, but he never did anything, not in any timeline."

Frisk and Chara continued their debate, ignoring those around them. Frisk realized that this was the first real conversation they’d had in a while.

"Seriously? That’s what you focus on right now? What, were you worried about me?"

Frisk responded with an affirmative thought. No words formed in their mind, but it was essentially “yeah” spoken with a solemn tone.

"Ha! Are you serious!? In case you haven’t realized it, we’re not exactly on the best of terms right now."

"I know, but-"

"I literally held you hostage and made you give me your SOUL so I could take over and go on a rampage."

"Yeah, I remember. It’s kinda hard to forget something like that."

Frisk was a bit indignant now.

"Look, I know you’re an optimist, but grow the fuck up! You don’t get to pull something like that on someone and keep being friends with them afterwards!"

"I get what you’re saying but-"

"You want me to believe that even if I wanted to, we could just go back to normal? Back to being all chummy, like none of this ever happened. Even you aren’t that forgiving!"

"I don’t know, ok!? What do you want from me?"

"How about some common fucking sense? I’m tired of watching you act like nothing happened! Like they never tried to kill us. Like they didn’t succeed countless times! I felt all of that too, you know! And now this. We killed everyone! I killed everyone! You were begging me to stop by the end, saying it wasn’t right, that we should just reset, and I kept going! I didn’t even know why in the end, I just felt like I couldn’t stop! Like I had to see everything through! I killed them with your body! And then I ruined any chance you had of ever making things right, made it so nothing could undo what we did, but here you are, still trying. Why are you even bothering with all of this? You already know how it’s going to end."

"It doesn’t have to be like that! You can still-"

"Oh my God, are you- I’m not a good person! You know that, I know that, even my little brother knows that!"

Frisk felt a wave of sadness wash over them as they remembered Asriel.

"Yeah, remember him? Remember when I murdered him? Remember that? Because I do! I’ll remember that forever. That is who I am now. That’s who I’ve always been! And I took him down with me. Maybe you could undo everything else, pretend it never happened, but not that. He’ll always remember, and so will I. It’s too late for him now, thanks to me, and if he can’t have a second chance, why should I?"

The words hit Frisk like a ton of bricks. They were about to respond when the ding of the elevator went off.

Out of the elevator stepped Undyne and Miguel, laughing about a story Miguel was telling.

“So anyway, I knock him flat on his ass. He goes down like a house of cards in a hurricane!”

“Ha! So, all that bragging was just talk, huh?”

“Well, in his defense, he was drunk at the time. Then again, maybe if he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have been dumb enough to challenge Tornado Werner to a fist fight.”

“That’s what they call you!? That’s awesome!”

“Yup! Top scores in my class for CQC. I could take down someone three times my size in ten seconds. I know because I’ve done it!”

“Wow, you’ll have to tell me that one sometime!”

Natalia smiled at the two of them. “Seems like you two are getting along.”

Miguel rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I was just telling Undyne here about my trip back to Tovar a few years back.”

“The story about the drunk soldier?” Natalia grinned even wider. She knew this one.

“Yeah, the guy shouting about how I was a traitor for moving to America and joining the army.”

“Yes, I know the one. So, are you feeling better?”

Miguel nodded. “Yeah, just had to simmer down a bit. Like I said to Undyne, I’m still pissed about what happened, but I think it’d be best if we try to bury the hatchet.”

 Natalia nodded. “Yes, I agree. Frisk seems to trust them, so I’m willing to try and move past it.”

Frisk smiled. “Thank you! I promise this will turn out great, you won’t regret this!”

Natalia nodded. “Right, I’ll call the mayor and tell him of the situation. It should only be a moment.”

“If it takes a while, I can take them home” Miguel said.

“Oh! Are you gonna use that cool car with the gun on it? That sound awesome!”

Natalia turned to Miguel. “You took the Humvee?”

Miguel shrugged. “I definitely wasn’t going to walk.”

“Right” Natalia said, rubbing her temples. She turned to the officers, who had been largely silent the whole time, watching the insanity unfold. “Stand at attention!”

The officers immediately did so.

“Officers Alexi Balakin, Ari Gasparyan, Masaki Kyoko, Hector Ramirez, and Anthony Pulaski, you have my thanks. Your work today was commendable. You found my child and returned them safely. You also performed admirably in handling the rather unusual situation surrounding the case. I will see to it that your service is acknowledged and rewarded properly. As the officers who first encountered this new community, expect to be considered for issues related to them that may arise in the future. Prepare accordingly. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, comrade commander!” the officers said in unison, saluting her.

“Very good, dismissed! Get some rest, you’ve earned it.”

With that, the officers took their leave. They said their goodbyes to their charges and prepared to head home.

“Oh, that reminds me” Masaki said “don’t you guys need places to stay? You don’t have homes yet.”

“Oh! I… hadn’t really thought of that.” Alphys said, embarrassed.

“YES, I DO BELIEVE THIS COULD BE A PROBLEM.” Papyrus said.

“Oh my, this is a conundrum. We didn’t have much knowledge of the surface, so we didn’t have any way to plan that part out” Toriel said.

Asgore rubbed his chin in contemplation. “Perhaps it would have been better if we had chosen to move up gradually instead of all at once.”

“hey, don’t worry about it. i’m sure  they’ll think of something. shouldn’t be too hard, i can sleep anywhere.” Sans spoke for the first time since the others arrived, surprising everyone.

“Oh, if you need places to stay, the shelter at the barracks should have some extra rooms. We’re prepared to shelter refugees in times of crisis” Miguel said.

“Shelter?” said Undyne.

Miguel nodded. “Well, it’s actually just an old apartment complex that was abandoned during the war. We made it comfortable enough, don’t worry. Besides, it’s temporary anyway. The mayor’ll make sure everyone has proper housing soon.”

“Oh, but there are too many of us to fit in one building!” said Toriel.

Miguel made a placating gesture with his hands. “Not to worry! The shelter by the barracks is just one of several shelters. This region isn’t the most stable, so we need to be prepared to shelter anyone fleeing from a warzone or the fascist governments.”

“THANK YOU, HUMANS! IT’S SO GOOD TO MEET SUCH GENEROUS PEOPLE HERE ON THE SURFACE!” Papyrus said.

“Yeah, good thing we won the war and not the fascists, huh” Miguel added.

Natalia smiled. “Our ability to cooperate played a significant role in our victory. Our generosity is one of our greatest strengths. Don’t worry your majesties, your people couldn’t be in better hands.” 

Frisk was deep in thought. They were still worried about Chara, especially now that they’d gone silent. They suddenly remembered Toriel’s offer to stay with them. They, or perhaps Chara, they weren’t sure now, accepted the offer on instinct. But Frisk had their own home, their own family. They hadn’t had much time to think about it, with all that had been going on. They hated the idea of going back on their words, especially since they’d been so excited about it. They wondered if perhaps they could live with Frisk’s family. After all, they had room for them, and it would solve the issue in a way that made everyone happy.

But still, how would they convince their parents? They’d come to an agreement, but they were still angry with them, especially Asgore. It would be incredibly hard to convince their parents to let them stay with them.

“I think you two should stay with us for the time being” Natalia said.

Or not.

Miguel nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably the best way to do things.”

Toriel and Asgore were stunned by the sudden offer.

“Are you sure? We wouldn’t wish to impose.” Toriel said.

Asgore nodded. “Yes, I agree, especially given your current reservations about me. I couldn’t ask you to allow us to-“

Natalia waved her hands dismissively. “We need to move past that now. We do not have the luxury of holding a grudge right now.”

Toriel was confused now. “But why? There’s still plenty of shelter available.”

Miguel shook his head. “You two are important. You’re the highest-ranking officials of a newly discovered country that will soon occupy the same territory as us. We need to take every precaution to ensure your safety. I doubt many of our own would wish you any ill will, but negligence on our part won’t be taken well by your people and rightly so. Not only that, but our enemies might see it as an opportunity to stir conflict between us. Ebbot is an important stronghold near the border between Washington and Jefferson. We’re prime targets.”

“What are you saying?” Asgore sounded concerned now.

“What he’s saying” Natalia said “is that you’ll need security. A lot of it. While I trust that your Royal Guard will be willing to protect you despite their disbandment, they aren’t organized right now, and they have no experience fighting a human force equipped with modern weaponry. It will take time to set up a security detail, but as the Chief of the Militia, my family already has one. Miguel and I are capable combatants as well. Besides, it wouldn’t be right if we risked there not being enough shelter for someone else because we had a grudge against two monsters. It will be hectic enough.”

Toriel and Asgore hesitated. They hadn’t even lived with each other in almost a century, and they weren’t sure if they should impose on strangers.

“I think it’d be a really good idea” Frisk said, “after all I’m your ambassador now, and you know my family better than most humans.”

“I… I don’t know” Toriel said.

“Please” Frisk said, doing their best puppy dog eyes.

“I… well… alright. If you really don’t mind.” Toriel said.

Both Miguel and Natalia nodded. Everyone looked towards Asgore now.

He hesitated for a moment. “If you’re truly ok with it, then I’ll accept. You have my thanks, humans. I don’t expect this is easy for you.”

“Then it’s settled! Miguel can show you two to the car, trust me you can’t miss it. I will call the mayor and brief him on the situation, and arrange for transport for the others, then I will join you.” Natalia spoke with tired enthusiasm. She was glad this could be resolved quickly; she desperately needed a rest.

Everyone made their way downstairs. Papyrus was very excited to try living in a human home. Sans was no more talkative than he had been for most of the day. Undyne was comforting Alphys, who was nervous about the whole situation.

Finally, they reached the first floor and made their way to the exit. Few were sad to leave the dark corridors of the HQ. As Miguel showed the others where to wait for their transport and headed off to the Humvee with the Dreemurs, Sans finally spoke up.

“hey kid. you got a sec?”

Frisk turned to Sans nervously.

“You guys coming?” Miguel asked.

Frisk forced a smile. “Yeah dad, just a sec, I’ll be right there. Sans needs to ask me something.”

“Ok, sure” Miguel said, confused. “Meet us at the car then, I guess.”

Frisk nodded.

After the others had left the building, Sans spoke again.

“so, you really have the wool pulled over their eyes eh?”

Frisk smiled innocently. “What do you mean?”

“come on, drop it kid. we both know you’re up to something. i know what happened in the last timeline, and i know you know too. so drop the act. what’s your game here? what are you planning?”

Frisk’s smile grew more sinister. Their eyes took on a blood red hue. They began snickering uncontrollably.

“what’s so funny?” Sans demanded.

“So, you finally grew some backbone, eh? I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.” They spoke condescendingly, their tone was mocking and venomous.

Sans rolled his eye. “yeah, right. so, what are your plans? gonna kill everyone again? like you did last time?”

“I dunno. Maybe I am. What about it?”

“what i don’t get it, why go through all this trouble? why are you putting so much effort into this diplomacy thing? what’s your game here?’

“Right, effort. I forgot that was a foreign concept to you. You ever consider that some of us take pride in our work?”

Sans clenched his fists. His perpetual smile now ended at his eyes. “what. are. you. planning? what’s your game? tell me!”

Frisk scoffed. “Or what? You’ll kill me? You already tried that. You should have realized by the seven hundredth time that it doesn’t work.”

“i’ll tell them. they’re right outside. i’ll tell them everything.”

Frisk rolled their eyes. Their smile was gone. “No, you won’t.”

“and why’s that?”

They laughed venomously. “Because you never do anything! You knew I was a homicidal maniac when we first met, and you didn’t do anything. I slaughtered my way through Snowdin, and you didn’t do anything. I killed your brother, and you. Didn’t. Do. Anything.”

Sans flinched at that last statement.

They were smiling again. “Yeah, that’s right. You had every opportunity to stop me, and yet you didn’t. You just waited around with your thumbs up your pelvis while everyone else fought to save their home, your home, from destruction. By the time you decided to get off your boney ass and do something, it was too late! It was just you and dad. Even if you could have killed me, it wouldn’t have mattered! You’re too lazy and pathetic to do anything until it’s too late! You know why? Because you know that if you stop me, I’ll just start over again!”

Sans was getting more and more furious by the second. His grip was so tight it threatened to crack the bones in his hands. Then he realized something they’d said.

“hold on. your dad? your dad was up here, worried sick about you.”

They rolled their eyes. “Oh, right. Silly me, I forgot about that. Guess it was just you and the king then.” Their voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Sans glared at them. They didn’t seem phased. “you’re not frisk, are you?”

They laughed. They laughed so hard they hunched over; arms crossed near the diaphragm. It was a mad, maniacal cackle, full of mockery and venom. They continued for a while before getting control of themself. They finally righted themself and wiped a tear from their eye.

“You know, when you get past that annoying memory of yours and your ability to read faces, you really aren’t very smart.” They fought back the urge to continue laughing. “All that time, so many resets, and you never figured that out?”

“who are you? what are you?” Sans demanded.

“Wouldn’t you like to know? I’ll give you a hint.” They jabbed their finger into Sans’s chest. “I didn’t misspeak earlier. As for what I am, I don’t know either. I was a human. A kid, like them. I even looked a lot like them, even if our assigned genders don’t match up. Just goes to show how much that matters. Now, I don’t know. Some kinda ghost? But not like the others from the underground, no. They have intact SOULs. I wasn’t so lucky. I’m not sure how I’m still here, just that Frisk somehow picked me up. I’m… a part of them now, or something like that.”

San’s eyes were wide with astonishment. Only eight humans had ever fallen into the Underground. Six were accounted for, and one was Frisk themself. That only left one option. “you! you’re the kid from all those years ago. the one the dreemurs adopted!”

“Bingo! Yep, That’s me! I’ll leave the name guessing to you. So, you figured me out. Now what?”

“i’ll stop you!” Sans said.

“No, you won’t. If you wanted to stop me, you’d have blown my cover back in the office! You and I both know you aren’t going to do anything. You can’t do anything. No one can. If you kill me, I’ll just go back to the last save. You expose me? Same thing. And besides, who’ll believe you anyway? What are you gonna say? ‘Hey Tori, the ghost of your long dead kid’s possessing Frisk and is out to kill you!’ Yeah, I’m sure that’ll go over just great.” 

Sans let out a growl of rage, opening his other eye. Chara just laughed, leaning uncomfortably close to his face.

“Go on, do it. See where it gets you. Another thousand tries couldn’t hurt, right?” A manic grin overtook their face. “Come on! Do it! Best case scenario, you flatten me like a pancake and then explain to everyone else why you just killed Frisk! Worst case, we start over! I can handle that; I can handle that no problem! I’ve already done it more times than I can count! Come on! Maybe something interesting’ll happen! Maybe my powers won’t work anymore now that we’re on the surface! Come on, do it! Do it!”

They were practically frothing at the mouth now. They were eager, hungry for a fight. For a challenge. Or perhaps there was something else they wanted out of this? Something seemed off about their tone. Behind all of the eagerness and bloodlust, there was a hit of something else. Desperation? Exhaustion? Sans couldn’t quite tell. For all their ability to read people, this specter eluded him. There was conflict. Signs of another personality trying to reassert themself. It was making things harder to get a read on.

Regardless, they were right. There was nothing he could do. He relented. He unballed his fists and closed his eye. Chara stared at him, disappointment in their eyes.

“Of course. Typical” They spat. “You can’t kill me. Nothing can kill me. I couldn’t kill me. Every time I die, I just go back. My body’s rotted away, the time I lived in is long gone, if my brother survived our stupid plan, no one would even be alive by now to remember me. And I’m still here. Why? Who the fuck knows? But there’s nothing any of us can do about it.” They sighed in resignation, before forcing a smile. “So, I guess that means we’re stuck with each other for now. I wonder who’ll be the last one standing in the end?” they said sarcastically.

Sans was about to respond when he was interrupted.

“Hey, you guys coming? The transports are here. Frisk, we should get going. Your mom’s gonna take her car.” Miguel walked in, confused about what was going on.

“Frisk” smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, coming dad!”

As they headed for the door, they glanced back at Sans, their expression one of disappointment. Sans knew there was something up with this kid, even more than he knew, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. Still, he needed to figure out how to stop them, and quick.

The drive was a fairly lengthy one. Frisk’s family lived in a house on the outskirts of the city, near the barracks where Miguel worked. By the time they made it, Frisk was nearly asleep. Miguel sent them off to bed and began showing the Dreemurs around the house.

“Oh, don’t forget your things!” Toriel called out.

Frisk turned back in confusion, only to see her open the trunk of the Humvee and retrieve a duffle bag. The bag contained a variety of items that Frisk had collected throughout their journey, many of which, they were learning, were of considerable historical significance. They’d forgotten all about it. The police had lent it to them to help carry their stuff. Frisk took the bag and headed off to their room. They’d have to unpack it tomorrow.

Toriel and Asgore were to sleep in the guest room. They didn’t have company very often, so it wouldn’t be much of an issue. The room had two beds, which suited them perfectly fine.

Asgore, exhausted from the day’s events, decided to turn in for the night. Toriel decided she wasn’t quite ready for bet, so she decided to make her way to the kitchen. She wanted to surprise the family with a little something for breakfast. She got to work on a butterscotch cinnamon pie. Fortunately, all the ingredients were there in the kitchen. She’d already been given permission to use any of the ingredients.

Toriel was up longer than she expected. She’d forgotten how long pies can take to make. But she was satisfied with her work. She was sure the others would love it. Once the pie cooled a bit, she decided to take a slice to Frisk, as a surprise in the morning.

She carefully made her way to their room, making sure not to make any noise. She was caught off guard and nearly dropped the plate when the door opened. Natalia entered, yawning, and stretching as she did. As she headed up the stairs, she saw Toriel.

“Oh! What are you doing up so late?” She chuckled at the irony of that statement.

“I was feeling a bit restless, so I decided to do some baking. I figured I’d surprise everyone with my butterscotch cinnamon pie. Frisk took quite a liking to it, so I thought I’d leave them a slice.

Natalia nodded. “I see. Much appreciated. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, not that anyone’s awake for me to tell.”

“Thank you. I guess I’ll see you in the morning!”

Natalia nodded, and they bid each other goodnight.

Toriel crept into Frisk’s room, careful not to make too much noise. Carefully, she set the plate down on the floor. She slowly made her way back to the door, and shut it carefully. She smiled at Frisk on her way out.

Little did she know, Frisk was not asleep, nor in control at the moment. Chara rose from the bed, their crimson eyes shining in the darkness. They grabbed the duffle bag from under the bed and began rifling through its contents. There was quite a variety of items in there, a stick, a frying pan, a tutu, and matching shoes, even a revolver. Finally, they found the item they searched for, an old, worn blade in dire need of maintenance. They longed for the days when they had access to its more pristine counterpart. In their previous run, they’d found the blade sharpened, polished, and restored to its former glory. Someone had likely planned to use it to defend themselves. Not that it worked out for them in the end. Still, this would do. They chuckled to themself as they approached the door. It was time to act.

Along the way though, they stopped. Their eyes found the slice of pie on the floor. Memories began flooding back to them. Memories of a happier time. They remembered their time with the Dreemurs. How happy they had been with them. How they made them feel wanted, cared for, for the first time since their father died.

They remembered their plan, how much it hurt those around them to see them suffer, more than they thought it would. How they kept going, pushing back any hesitation or second thoughts. They didn’t matter, they thought. Nothing mattered, nothing except the plan. They would find a way to repay their kindness, to free them. If that meant their death, than so be it. It wasn’t like that was any big loss for the world. No one would miss a random street urchin that vanished into the mountains.

They had been willing to sacrifice everything to save them once. Their life, their morals, their one chance at a happy life. And now that they had finally achieved everything they’d planned to, they were ready to ruin everything they’d once strived for.

They knelt down in front of the slice of pie. Tears began flowing down their face. What was happening? Why were they suddenly remembering these things? Why wouldn’t it stop?

"You still care about them, don’t you?"

A familiar voice echoed through their head. The voice had been a friend once, the only person they could count on as their world crumbled around them. They had been trying to ignore them lately, but now their voice came as something of a comfort.

"I… I…"

"You do, I knew it! I knew there had to be some good left in you!"

"N-no! No there isn’t! I’m not… it’s too late for me!"

"No, it’s not! There’s still a chance to turn back!"

"Shut up! We can’t just undo what we did, Frisk! Do you think it’ll all just go away? Do you think a change of heart will just fix everything? We’re murderers, Frisk. I’m a murderer! You can’t change that now!"

"Yes, we can! You can just stop! Just because you did bad things in the past doesn’t mean you can’t do better now!"

"You can’t just become a better person after you murder someone, Frisk! Once someone dies, there’s no way to make it up to them! No way to atone! Nothing will ever make up for what we did!"

"Chara, everyone we killed is alive again."

"And that means that none of it matters? That we can just play God all we want and then just pretend it never happened?"

"No, but it means that now you can make it up to them. We’ve been given a chance not many people get. We can actually make things right now. I’m not saying that their deaths didn’t matter. But their being alive again means that we can make it up to them. Don’t throw that away. Please."

"I… I can’t. I’m sorry Frisk. It’s too late for me."

"Chara… is this really what you want?"

"I… no. I…"

They hesitated for a moment.

"I don’t know what to do anymore."

Chara relented, allowing Frisk to regain control. They tried calling out to them, but to no avail. That worried them. They may have talked them down but now what would happen to them? Finally, frisk decided to let it go for now. Maybe they just needed some time. They sighed, and began eating their slice of pie. They hoped that Chara could taste it. They prayed they’d be able to reach them in the morning.

Chapter Text

Frisk slept restlessly that night. When they awoke in the morning, they were thankful that school was out for the summer. Slowly, they got up and stretched a bit, loosening their stiffened muscles. They felt their back crackle and pop as they twisted back and forth.

They yawned and rubbed their eyes, getting a sense of their surroundings. It felt odd to be back home again. Sure, they had returned home before, but this time, it felt permanent. It was just setting in for the first time that if all went well, this could be the last reset. The last time they had to repeat the cycle. It was a good feeling, but an overwhelming one.

They quickly went about their morning routine. They slid open their drawer and picked out their clothes for the day, not that there was much of a selection. They had a truly ridiculous amount of blue shirts with purple stripes. Frisk was the living embodiment of the gag where a character always seen wearing the same outfit opens their closet or dresser and selects one of countless identical outfits. Apparently, their parents found a ton of them in a wrecked department store. Considering how well-made clothes were nowadays and how good washing machines were at preventing wear and tear, theoretically each shirt could last indefinitely. They’d been wearing the same style of shirt for as long as they could remember. They didn’t mind it; fashion was never something they cared that much about.

They quickly made their way to the bathroom. The sugar from the pie still clung to their teeth, causing no shortage of irritation. As they approached the door, they noticed the Worn Dagger laying on the floor. They sighed as their thoughts turned to Chara.

They tried to reach out to them, but got no response. They sighed and cleared the floor, putting the knife away, that thing was a story they preferred to explain after breakfast.

"Just… you know, talk to me when you're ready."

By the time they got down, everyone else was getting ready for breakfast. Both their parents and the Dreemurs were sat around the table. Natalia waved to them.

“Good morning! We were beginning to worry you’d sleep the whole morning away. It’d be a shame to miss breakfast, we made all of your favorites to celebrate your return!”

Natalia was a bit more energetic than she was last night. Frisk was still surprised to see her up though. If they were her, they’d have slept the whole day away.

Frisk smiled and sat down at the table. Natalia hadn’t lied, they really did make all of their favorite breakfast foods. They were a bit overwhelmed at the selection. Arepa, blini with sour cream, syrniki, mandoca, the culinary arts of two nations mounting a two-pronged assault on the table. Fortunately, Frisk was more than up to the task of defeating this foe. They always were a big eater.

“So how are the others doing?” Frisk said.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, dear” Toriel said.

“Right, sorry” they said, mouth still full.

“They’re doing well so far. Most of the monsters have found the shelter to be quite accommodating to their needs. Though we’re having some trouble with all the luggage. The shelters are meant for refugees, they usually don’t bring so much. The apartment buildings are pretty well suited for it, the old department stores, and such? Not so much” Natalia said, sipping a cup of tea.

“That’s good. I hope we can get them into permanent homes soon” Frisk said, taking more blini from the plate in the center.

“We should be able to. The mayor is a practical man, he’s made it his top priority. There are a lot of abandoned houses and such left over from the war. Most of the monsters should be homed in a few days, just as soon as we make sure they’re up to code. Fixing up the homes to be comfortable will take time, of course, but the mayor’s already making plans for a community effort to do it.” Natalia headed over to the samovar as she spoke. She had to be on her seventh cup of tea at this point.

“They can do it that quickly?” Asgore said.

Miguel nodded. “Capitalism’s gone by the wayside. You can still buy a house, but housing is guaranteed to everyone. If there’s a homeless person and an empty house, we have one in the other by sundown, minimal fuss, or bureaucracy. Back before the war, there were more empty houses than homeless people, but they were all owned by the wealthy, or real estate companies. They were struggling to sell ‘em, no one could afford ‘em, but they refused to give ‘em up for anything less their worth anyway. During the revolution, we kicked those bastards out. Gotta say, I never thought the US Army would be doing that. Before the war, the communists saw us as capitalism’s guard dogs. Now, they love us! Well, except the anarchists, they still hate us.”

“Amazing” Asgore said.

Miguel nodded. “I know, right? Before the war, even I didn’t think it could be done. The army sided with the commies ‘cause the dem socs, that’s uh democratic socialists, took power. Didn’t have a whole lotta confidence to be honest; thought it was all a pipe dream, most soldier did. Some of ‘em even defected to the fascists. Thought communism was “unamerican”, the bastards. Last I checked, we were against the fascists WWII. Anyway, I got a bit more confident after I met Natasha.” He nodded to Natalia. “She’s a passionate one, that’s for sure. Became more and more convinced the more I served with her.”

Natalia nodded, blushing a bit.

“Hold on, I thought your name was Natalia” Toriel said.

“Oh, it is. Natasha is the short version, if you will. In Russian, every name has a diminutive. Most of the times you call your friends and such by that version. English doesn’t have that so most people just assume they’re different names.”

Both goats nodded, fascinated.

“Are the others still coming over for dinner?” Toriel asked.

Natalia nodded. “Yes, they should be. There’s not much to set up in the shelter rooms, no sense in it if they’ll be leaving soon. I guess we’ll have to get ready for that soon.”

Frisk looked up curiously. “The others are coming over?”

Miguel nodded. “We thought it’d be nice to get everyone together, celebrate the return to the surface. The mayor wants to organize a bigger celebration in a week or so, but that will take a while. Oh, that reminds me, we need you three to authorize that.”

Frisk nodded. “Sounds good to me! The monsters have a ton of tasty food! Magic food is a bit odd at first but it’s never disappointed, taste wise. Is there like, a document or something?”

Natalia sighed. “Yeah… yeah there’s paperwork. The one thing we couldn’t abolish.”

Frisk nodded solemnly.

Breakfast continued for a few more minutes. The conversation moved towards things like human customs and history, to magic, to how the Tsunderplanes apparently wanted to live at the airport. Eventually, Frisk was stuffed, and decided to go for a walk. All of the carb heavy deliciousness they’d eaten now sat in their stomach like a rock. As they left the kitchen, they heard a familiar voice.

"This might be a problem."

Frisk stopped dead in their tracks.

“Is something wrong dear?” Toriel said.

“I uh no! No, everything’s fine!” they said nervously, “I just uh… saw a spider!”

“Oh! I wonder if it’s one of Muffet’s friends! She was planning to start getting acquainted with the local spider community.”

“Spider community?” Miguel asked.

“Oh yes! They’re solitary creatures, but they have quite a vibrant culture.”

“I… see.” Miguel needed to take a second to process that.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You seem on edge all of a sudden” Natalia said, concerned.

“Yeah mom, I’m fine. It just startled me is all. One of those big ones, keep an eye out.” Frisk didn’t sound very convincing. They hurriedly added “oh, but don’t kill it! I’m not sure if they’re all sentient, but… you know, better safe than sorry!” They spoke as though there were an actual spider.

“Um… ok. You can tell us if something is wrong, you know.” Natalia wasn’t entirely convinced, or convinced at all for that matter. She figured they’d tell her when they were ready though. Frisk was always a good kid, so she figured they would come clean if something were seriously wrong. She and Miguel nodded to each other, indicating they were both on the same page.

“Yeah, I know. But don’t worry, I’m fine, really!” Frisk appreciated it, but they weren’t quite ready to talk about this. They didn’t even know where to start.

Frisk hastily made their way out the door. As they looked around the neighborhood, they saw several kids staring curiously at the armored military vehicle in their driveway. They drew the notice of several of their neighbors as they headed down the sidewalk. They were glad to be back, but they were a bit overwhelmed by so many people reacting with shock at their sudden return. They appreciated the concern but were a bit overwhelmed by all of the people asking if they were ok. Frisk began picking up speed. They needed a little silence to concentrate. Fortunately, there weren’t too many neighbors out this early.

"Hey, you there?"

"Yeah, sorry about the scare."

"Which one!? I was worried sick about you all night!"

"Yeah. Guess there’s I lot I should apologize fo- hold on, what?"

"What?"

"You were worried about me? I thought you’d be more worried I’d take over again and… you know."

The possibility had occurred to them, but it seemed pretty unlikely. Sure, it was possible Chara had just lost their nerve for the moment, and that they would return with renewed resolve, but Frisk had a feeling that wasn’t the case. Frisk sensed conflict within Chara, odd as that sounded.

 They had been pretty gung-ho during the last run when they had decided to kill everyone. They were out of control, consumed with bloodlust. It got to the point where Frisk couldn’t even control their body anymore. Chara had taken near full control. Any time spent not fighting made them more restless. They began taking control and lashing out at thin air in a desperate attempt to fight and kill something. Anything.

Now they seemed different. At first, they entertained the idea of saving everyone mostly just to see what happened. They never expected anything to come of it. They made it clear that they were only staying their hand temporarily. But the further they went, the more uncertain they became. They denied it, of course, but it was hard to keep that kind of thing from someone you share a brain with. After the fight with Asriel, they went silent for a while. They were still there, Frisk could tell, but they weren’t as active as they had been. No more snarky comments about the strangeness of the Underground. No more random bouts of bloodlust. For a while they’d gone completely silent. It was obvious to Frisk that they’d been having doubts about their plans for a while.

“Something tells me that’s not very likely.”

“How can you be so sure!? How can you trust me after… after everything that happened?”

Chara’s voice was a mixture of shame, confusion, and anguish.

Frisk sighed. It was a hard question to answer. It wasn’t that they were doubting themselves, they were certain. As for why they were certain, they couldn’t quite put it into words. It was possible to exchange thoughts between the two with no internal narrative, but it got confusing really fast.

“

“I trusted Undyne after she killed us a bunch of times, I trusted Toriel not to kill us during our fight, I even trusted Asgore after he destroyed the MERCY Button. Trust has worked out pretty well for me so far. Not trusting people is what got us into the Genocide Run in the first place.”

“Yeah but- wait, Genocide Run?”

“Yeah, I mean, ‘the time we killed everyone’ is a bit cumbersome.”

“I… guess.”

Chara couldn’t argue with that, but it seemed in poor taste.

“But still, how can you be so sure? I almost went through with it last night! What if you’re wrong? If I took control, you wouldn’t be able to reset! You only get one shot at this!”

“Exactly, which is why I’m going to stick with what’s worked so far. I didn’t give up on them, and it paid off. I’m not giving up on you.”

“I…”

Frisk’s tone indicated that this was decidedly not up for debate. Chara was speechless once more.

“So, you said we had a problem?”

“Oh right! Yeah, this dinner party is going to be incredibly dangerous for us.”

“What? Why?”

“Sans! Remember him!? He knows about me! He still thinks we’re gonna kill everyone! He’ll be there!”

“Oh, right.”

“What are we supposed to do? What if he exposes us?”

“Would the others believe him?”

“I don’t know, but he’s not the only suspicious one, and even if they don’t believe him, they’re gonna have questions about why he thinks you’re possessed by me.”

“He might not say anything, you know. He knows he can’t kill us; he might just give up. I we’ll have to deal with this eventually, but it might not be tonight.”

“It’s an event where nearly all the important figures in the underground are going to be in one place. I practically dared him to try something last night. He might give up, he might try something, who knows with him? We need a plan.”

Frisk mulled over Chara’s words. They were right, they had to think of something. They wracked their brains for a solution, or at least some way to delay the issue. They could only come up with one solution.

Chara sensed Frisk’s thoughts. They weren’t easy to read, all jumbled and not thought in clear sentences, but they got the message.

“No.”

“But-“

“No, no no no no no, no. We are not doing that.”

“We can’t keep it a secret forever.”

“What are you gonna say? ‘I’m possessed by your long-lost child. We can control time, and exploited this to play God with the Underground and its people. I have killed all of you many times over and in the last cycle, I killed all of you, and everyone else too. Sans can remember this and wants to kill us’?”

“I mean, it’s not that hard to believe, all things considered.”

“Yeah, but denial’s gonna be a real bitch. This stuff’s harder to accept when it hits close to home. What if they think we’re lying?”

“You could take over. Our eyes turn red, like yours.”

…

“Chara?”

“You’ve really thought of everything, huh?”

“So, what do you think?”

“… I’m sorry. I can’t.”

“Chara-“

“I can’t do it! Ok!? I can’t face them! Not after everything that happened!”

Now Frisk was speechless. The silence in their mind that followed was deafening. Eventually they heard something. It was faint, but it was there. It sounded like sobbing.

“Chara?”

“Why am I even here?”

“Huh?”

“I said why am I here!? What’s the point!? I ruin everything I touch! I got my brother killed for fuck’s sake! How come I’m still here? Why can’t I just move on already?”

“Chara…”

Frisk was at a loss for words. They’d never heard them talk like this before. Throughout their entire journey, they’d never mentioned ‘moving on’ once.

“I can’t take it anymore Frisk. I wish… I wish I could just disappear…”

The words felt like a knife to the gut. Frisk had never even considered the idea that Chara would disappear one day. They assumed their current situation was permanent. The thought filled them with dread. Chara noticed immediately.

“Why? Why do you care so much about me? You can’t tell me this situation isn’t inconvenient for you. Sharing your body like this. Neither of us have much in the way of privacy, and hearing each other’s thoughts was useful at first but it has to get grating at times. And- and there’s what I did in the Genocide Run! If I hadn’t took control, you could have fixed things before they went too far. I stole your body! Wouldn’t you like for that to never happen again? Wouldn’t you like to be free?”

Frisk paused for a moment. Everything Chara said was true to an extent. Still, they were undeterred.

“No. No I wouldn’t. Not if it means loosing you.”

“H-huh?”

Chara was a bit flustered at that response.

“Look, I can’t say that nothing you said is true. Loosing control like that was terrifying. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t hurt by your actions. But you’re still my friend. You still helped me throughout my journey. I honestly don’t think any of the good we accomplished would have been possible without you. We’ve been through so much together. You helped me escape the Underground, to see my family again, and you were willing to do it all over again countless times to help me find a happy ending. Hell, I’m pretty sure I’d be dead by now if not for you! Nothing that happened afterwards changes that.”

“Yes it does! I undid all of that during the Genocide Run! The kid you knew from before died when we did that run!”

Frisk shook their head.

“Even after the Genocide Run, you still helped me. You didn’t believe in or even care about what I wanted to do anymore, but you were still with me every step of the way. I know you want me to think it was all curiosity. Just another game of “let’s see what happens if we do this”, but I don’t believe that. There was still some good left in you. A part of you that still cared about the monsters. I could feel it. I knew the sweet little ghost kid I met when I first fell was still in there somewhere. I never gave up on you, and I’m not going to now.”

Chara was stunned. Had they chosen to have this conversation face to face, there’d be tears streaming down theirs right about now. They were overwhelmed with emotion. Sadness, shame, inadequacy, joy, relief, hope, even without the physical limitations of a body, it was too much.

Frisk could sense their emotions. They smiled, doing their best to send comforting thoughts and emotions Chara’s way. It was a bit awkward, not like how they’d normally comfort someone they could interact with, but it would have to do. It was odd trying to channel abstract concepts like comfort, supportiveness, and emotional warmth directly. Frisk figured out it was easier to imagine hugging them or patting them on the back. It did the trick most of the time. Finally, they found a tree in a nearby park to sit under. They decided to rest a bit while Chara got their bearings.

A while past, though Frisk wasn’t sure how long. They had forgotten their phone at home. Not that it really mattered since they often went for long walks like this.

Finally, Chara spoke again.

“Hey, you there?”

“Where else?”

“Right. So listen, I was giving it some thought and… I think you’re right.”

“About?”

“Telling the others. I don’t think keeping me a secret’s gonna make anything better, and I kinda blew it last night anyway. “

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“… No. No, I’m not. I have no idea how I’m going to face them. I’m terrified of how they’ll react. I don’t know how I’ll be able to deal with any of this. I’m terrified, and I don’t know how I’m going to deal with any of this. But I don’t think there’s any other way. We have to do this.

Frisk nodded.

“Ok. Don’t worry, I’ll be there for you.”

“… Thank you.”

“No problem! Ready to head back?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.”

Frisk was greeted by the scents of many different foods wafting from the kitchen. The clatter of pots and pans and the chopping of meat and produce could be heard.

Miguel came out of the kitchen and grabbed his car keys from atop the TV.

“Oh, there you are. You feeling alright?”

Frisk nodded. “Better now. It’s good to see the sun again.”

Miguel laughed. “Yeah, I’ll bet. Hey, listen, I’m gonna head out to the store to pick up some ingredients for the dinner. You need anything?”

Frisk thought for a moment. “Could you grab me a chocolate bar?”

He nodded. “Sure thing! See you when I get back.”

Frisk smiled. “Okay dad, See ya!”

Miguel waved goodbye and headed off to the grocery store. Frisk only realized after he’d left that he had probably taken the Humvee.

"Isn’t that illegal? There has to be some kinda law against that, right?"

"Not anymore, there’s not. Viva la revolution!"

Perhaps the right to own and operate functional military equipment in public wasn’t the main reason the revolution was fought, but it was a welcome benefit, at least for some. Getting dropped off at school in a Humvee was a fantastic deterrent for bullies at least.  

Frisk decided to go see if their mother needed any help. They were in dire need of a distraction anyway. They quickly made their way to the kitchen. 

Natalia was hard at work chopping up a wide variety of vegetables, most notably beets, onions, and potatoes. She appeared almost machine like with how quickly and methodically she cut them to pieces. Chara briefly worried she’d sever a finger with how quickly the knife moved up and down. Frisk was less so, being used to seeing their mother at work in the kitchen.

“Hey mom!”

“Oh, You’re back! Feeling better?” Natalia spoke as though she were currently unoccupied, yet she did not stop cutting.

“Yeah, just needed some fresh air is all.”

It wasn’t technically a lie; they did feel considerably better after they’d had a chance to clear their head.

“Glad to hear it. I’ll be honest, I was a little worried. You seemed a bit out of sorts after breakfast, like there was something on your mind” she said while reducing a potato to smithereens.

Frisk paused for a moment, deliberating with Chara on how to explain.

“We should probably wait for everyone else. I’d… rather not have to go over all of this more than once.”

“Yeah, but I feel like we should tell her something, you know? Otherwise, she’ll just worry all day.”

“Yeah, you have a point. I’ll uh… I’ll let you take the lead on this one. I was never good at this sort of thing.”

“You’ve never had to get your parents to stop worrying about personal stuff before? You know, so you could get some space?”

“We have… different relationships with our birth parents.”

“Oh…”

“Frisk?”

“Yeah?” Frisk jolted to attention. Natalia had actually stopped cutting the vegetables.

“Are you sure you’re ok? I mentioned that you seemed out of sorts, and you just zoned out.”

Frisk blushed with embarrassment. They’d gotten so used to wandering through caves alone between monster encounters. They forgot how awkward it was for people when they went silent during their conversations with Chara.

”Oh! Right, yeah. Sorry about that.” They paused for another moment. “Ok, yeah, there has been something bugging me.”

“What’s that?”

“Oh, something that happened in the Underground.”

Again, not technically a lie.

“I see…” Natalia was concerned now. “I feared as much. I’m not going to force you to tell me right now, but if something serious happened to you, I need to know. You don’t need to hide things from me.”

Frisk nodded. “Yeah, I know. It’s just, it has something to do with the others, you know, the ones we’re having over?”

Natalia tensed up at that. Frisk silently kicked themself for phrasing it that way.

“Oh no, they didn’t do anything wrong! I mean, nothing that we didn’t tell you last night. It’s just, most of them don’t know about this either and I was hoping to tell everyone at once, you know?”

Natalia relaxed a bit. “I suppose that makes sense. Should I tell them ahead of time that you have something to say? It might be best if they’re expecting it.”

“Oh no, that’s-“  Frisk paused for a moment, “actually yeah, that might be for the best.”

Natalia smiled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll go make the calls then. Toriel and Asgore gave me everyone’s numbers.”

“Oh yeah, where are they anyway?” Frisk said, realizing that they hadn’t seen either of them since they got back.

“Oh, they went down to the refugee centers to check on the monsters there. They wanted to make sure they were acclimating alright. It’s always a bit chaotic at first when people relocate en masse like this. I guess we forgot to mention that at breakfast.”

“Ah, right. Yeah, I guess it’s gonna be a busy couple of weeks” Frisk said.

Chara was actually kind of relieved to hear that.

“Is there anything you need help with?” Frisk said, remembering why they came into the kitchen in the first place.

Natalia seemed relieved to hear that. She clearly had her hands full.

“Do you think you could take over dicing the vegetables for the borscht? I’ll start texting the others. Let me know if the oven goes off, I’m making a Medovik for desert. I figured I’d pay Toriel back for the pie.”

“Sure thing! What’s dad getting from the store, by the way?”

“Meat for the pelmeni and some more vegetables for the salads. I think he said something about making patacones too, so I think he’s getting stuff for that.”

Frisk got to work on the vegetables. They felt uneasy as they held the knife. They worked slowly, and hesitated before each chop. Memories of a past that no longer existed flooded back to them. They froze up in silent horror as they were assaulted by the memories of countless monsters dissolving to dust.

"Frisk? Frisk!"

Frisk was snapped out of their stupor by Chara’s voice. They noticed their arm was shaking.

"Huh?"

"You alright?"

Frisk took a deep breath.

"I… yeah, yeah, I’m ok."

"You want me to take over for a bit?"

Frisk thought for a moment, before nodding. Their eyes glowed crimson as Chara took control. They took a deep breath and relaxed their muscles. Frisk had tensed up quite a bit. Their expression was different than the last few times they took over. It lacked the sinister, ominous glare, and the mad, sadistic smile. Instead, they looked nervous, shy, but somewhat hopeful. It was the first time in what felt like forever where they took control without malicious intent. It felt good.

They took a moment to admire the blade in their hands. It was a quality knife. High carbon steel, nice balance, just the right amount of heft. They quickly got to work chopping the vegetables.

Chara had always had a thing for blades. Swords, knives, axes, anything with an edge. There was something immensely gratifying about them. Something about cutting through things gave them immense satisfaction. It didn’t have to be violent, or visceral, that wasn’t the point. Just chopping through things, seeing the blade glide through the material as though it were air.

It was difficult to argue, given the circumstances, that their interest was entirely nonviolent, but it had genuinely started out as an innocent fascination. They would watch blacksmithing videos and videos about the history of various historical weapons online. They would watch movies, shows, anime, and cartoons with elaborate, and often quite violent, swordplay. One of the few things everyone else at school knew them for was their prowess at hack ‘n slash and Soulsborne games. Perhaps their taste in media was rather on the violent side, but they hadn’t been a violent child, not at first. Their more violent tendencies had only materialized later, born of a desire to defend themself against the dangers they faces on an unfortunately regular basis.

Chara rarely, if ever, felt truly safe nowadays. It had been that way for quite some time, in fact. Their mother was at least partly, even mostly, to blame for that. Despite how hard it had been with her, it grew even harder without her. Ebbot had been a very poor town, and few could afford to do much to help them. Many who could were too afraid to. Chara had a poor reputation. They’d already developed a reputation as a problem child. Life as a street urchin only further conditioned them to always be wary of danger. For such a small town, Ebbot had a surprisingly high crime rate, and they were amongst the easiest of targets for local criminals. All of this culminated in a very nervous, often paranoid child who was slow to trust anyone.

One of the few things that gave Chara comfort was, oddly enough, having a knife on hand. Having something to defend themselves made them feel safer. Even now, the feeling of the knife in their hands brought an odd comfort. They felt the tension in their muscles slowly dissipate as their chopping speed accelerated.

They and Frisk made idle conversation as they worked.

“You guys really go all out for dinner, huh.”

“Ha! This is nothing, wait until you see Thanksgiving!”

“I guess your parents really embraced the local eating habits.”

“Oh, Russian dinners are huge too. And so are the breakfasts, and the lunches.”

“How did our countries ever start fighting? We have so much in common!”

Chara chuckled at that. It was a good point. They realized that the Cold War was an even more distant and alien period for Frisk than it was for them. It was only now setting in just how stark the contrast was between that time and now. The conversation continued.

“I’ve never actually had borscht before. What’s it taste like?”

“Hm. Well, it’s a bit tricky to describe. It’s got like a sour, savory taste to it. It’s really tasty.”

“What’s in it besides vegetables?”

“Usually meat, like beef or sausage. Also, sour cream.”

“Sour cream in soup?”

“It’s Russian food, there’s sour cream in everything.”

“Isn’t borscht Ukrainian?”

“They do it to, I guess. Don’t they have something like that for Greek food too? Sat-something?

“Tzatziki? Yeah, I guess that’s kinda similar. You ever have it?”

“Can’t say I have.”

“Aw man, you’re missing out! My dad used to make it real good. He made the best gyros with it too. Family recipe, I think. You mix it with some pepper sauce, and you’ve got the best sandwich you’ve ever had.”

“That sounds really tasty actually. Do you remember the recipe?”

“Yeah! I used to make them for the Dreemurs all the time back when I was alive!”

“Really? Where’d you get the ingredients?”

“That’s… actually a good question. Same place Toriel gets her butterscotch and cinnamon, I guess.”

Frisk was enjoying the conversation. It was nice to see Chara happy again after everything that happened. Sadly, the conversation soon turned to the elephant in the room.

“How are we going to tell them?”

“Huh? Oh… that’s actually a really good question.”

“Yeah like, regret aside, how are we gonna get them to buy the whole RESET thing?”

“Well, Sans already knows, right?”

“Something tells me he won’t exactly be eager to help us out.”

“I dunno, he might want them to know. Our biggest threat, as far as he knows anyway, is that nobody knows about us. If we tell them everything, why wouldn’t he back it up?”

“Because he’s an asshole, that’s why.”

“Come on, he’s not that bad.”

“He’s bad enough to refuse to back us up just to fuck with us is what I’m getting at. He might, but I’d rather work under the assumption that we’re on our own. Not enough trust between us right now, we need a fallback.”

“You have a point…”

“And how do you think they’ll react? To the whole ‘Genocide Run’ thing I mean? I doubt they’ll take it well.”

“I’m worried about that too, but I mean, they don’t remember any of it. They’ll be upset I’m sure, but it’s all abstract to them, like hearing someone apologize for something they did to you years ago that they’ve always regretted but you forgot about the next day.”

“We murdered them! How can they just brush that off!?”

“I get what you’re saying but think abut it. If someone told you they’d killed you in a past timeline, how would you react? Like, even if you believed them, how would you react?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“My guess? You’d focus so much on the existential implications of it that you don’t even have time to be angry, especially if they’re trying to make it up to you now. You’d be uncomfortable around them for a bit, sure, but I don’t know if you’d be furious.”

“I… yeah, I can see that actually. Weird.”

“Right. So I think things will turn out better than you think they will.”

“I hope you’re right. But anyway, back to the other issue. Even if I make our eyes glow, how can we make sure they know it’s really me?”

Frisk thought for a moment.

“You said you made gyros for them a lot, right?”

“Yeah, when it was my turn to cook. If only I was as good a baker as I was a cook, huh?”

“I still can’t believe you thought buttercups would work for cups of butter.”

“I will admit, that was poor thinking on my part.”

Chara’s face was flush with embarrassment as they recalled the memory.

“Anyway, I was thinking, what if we made some? You’re the only one who knows the recipe, right?”

“I mean yeah but… Would we even have time? We’ve got our hands full already.”

“We should be good. It doesn’t take much longer than the other stuff, right?”

“I guess… if your dad gets back from the store in time and we can get him to pick up the ingredients, we should have enough time. The meat needs to be slow roasted for a bit, but the dinner’s not for a while, right? We should be good.”

“Cool! Let me take back over and I’ll text dad.”

“Ok, just let me finish off this cabbage first.”

Frisk took over, rather surprised at how quickly Chara was able to reduce the cabbage to bits. They took out their phone and texted their dad.

“Hey, could you pick up some extra stuff at the store? I just got an idea.”

A few seconds passed before Miguel answered.

“Sure, bud! What’re you makin’?”

“It’s a surprise!”

“Huh. Ok then, what do you need?”

Frisk asked Chara for the ingredients.

"Ok, we’re gonna need plane Greek yogurt, cucumber, pita bread… What kind of meat do you want?"

Miguel soon arrived with the ingredients. He still wasn’t sure why Frisk had asked for the extra food, it felt like they had plenty. Still, it was good to see them experimenting in the kitchen. Still, the list of ingredients seemed a bit excessive for a kid who barely had any experience with cooking, especially the seasonings.

When he entered the kitchen, he was met with the sight of both Frisk and Natalia working tirelessly in almost a trancelike state. He set the ingredients on the counter.

“Hey everybody! Hard at work, I see.”

Both Frisk and Natalia swarmed the grocery bags, plundering the ingredients for their own use. He barely had time to react before they were completely pilfered. Frisk in particular had traveled at seemingly impossible speed from the counter to the cutting board and was already in the process of dicing cucumbers into tiny bits.

“Hey dad! Thanks again for the ingredients, I know it was short notice.”

“No problem! You seem really into this all of a sudden, what happened?”

Frisk paused for a moment. “I read about this recipe on the internet I wanted to try. I thought now was a good time.”

“Well, it’s good to see you trying new things. Cooking’s something we all gotta learn someday, might as well start early.”

Miguel still thought it seemed odd. There was something off about Frisk today.

“Does this have anything to do with that thing you wanted to discuss at dinner?”

Natalia wasn’t sure how it factored in, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

Frisk was rather caught off guard by the question. “Yeah… how did you know?”

Natalia thought about saying something like “mother’s intuition,” but quickly decided against it. “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to be right about that.”

Frisk chuckled. “Yeah, it’ll make sense later.”

“What’s this now?” Miguel asked.

“Oh, well you know how I’ve been out of it today?”

At least they knew they weren’t hiding it.

Miguel nodded. “Yeah, honestly I was starting to worry. Why wait until dinner?”

“So I only need to have this conversation once.”

“Ouch. That bad huh?”

“It’s… complicated. Mostly I’m trying to figure out how to get everyone to believe it.”

Miguel gave a good-natured laugh. “Monsters just came out of the ground yesterday! Can you top that?”

“Yeah, actually.”

Both Natalia and Miguel gaped at that.

“Wow. I didn’t think it was that bad” Natalia said.

“Yeah… It’s a wild ride from start to finish.”

“Well, I’m sure it will work out. You already smoothed things over with them after they tried to kill you, how bad could this be?”

“I guess technically, it’s slightly worse, depending on how you look at it.”

“See? It’ll be fine!” Miguel said awkwardly.

“God, I hope you’re right. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take my stress out on these ingredients.”

Dinner preparations lasted for a good portion of the day. In addition to preparing the soup, the gyros, and the Medovik, Natalia insisted on making pelmeni, as they had finally run out. The process took hours and called for several breaks in between, but by the end of it, they had enough pelmeni for at least four months.

Frisk and Chara hadn’t minded the work, especially since they could switch off when one needed a break. The only real difficulty was having to walk Chara through the process of making pelmeni when they’d never so much as heard of them.

"It’s not too hard, they’re basically just dumplings."

"I’ve never made those either!"

Despite the occasional complication, everything worked out well in the end. By the time Asgore and Toriel returned, it was time for dinner.

Undyne and Alphys were the first to arrive. Alphys looked noticeably shaken and nervous from the trip, which no doubt took place on foot. The Skeleton Brothers arrived not long after, in a taxi. When Mettaton would show up, none were sure.

“HUMANS! IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE BROUGHT SOME OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI FOR YOU TO ENJOY!”

Papyrus immediately made his way to the dining room with the plate before anyone could stop him.

“he’s trying out a  new recipe. he discovered recipe blogs last night and i think he’s learning. fingers crossed.”

Sans spoke in his usual nonchalant tone. Still, Frisk couldn’t help but notice the suspicious gaze he pointed at them. This was going to be interesting.

Alphys awkwardly approached Frisk’s parents. “Uh, t-thank you for having us over. I’ve never had human food before.”

“Well, let’s hope we make a good first impression then!” Miguel said.

Undyne decided to greet Frisk directly. Emphasis on directly, since she walked right past everyone else and pulled them into a large bear hug.

“Hey Frisk! How’s it hanging? What’s for dinner? I hope you made a ton! I need to fuel up for the run back home!”

“Ack! You’re… crushing… me…” Frisk said weakly.

Undyne quickly set them down. “Whoops! Sorry about that!”

Frisk laughed as they caught their breath. “Wow, my second day on the job and already someone tried to assassinate me! Guess this ambassador thing’s riskier than I thought!”

Undyne gave a hearty, and very loud, laugh at that. “Hey, don’t worry about that, buddy! You’re in good hands so long as we’re around, right Miguel?”

“Yeah, we already got you armored transport” Miguel said, very much hoping these jokes wouldn’t prove to be prophetic.

“Alright then!” Natalia said somewhat abruptly. “I’ll show you to the dining room. Toriel will be serving the first course, we agreed to take turns.”

Toriel had already done so, in fact. Each bowl was already full of soup and the plates full of pelmeni and patacones. The massive pot of borscht sat in the center of the table, as did Papyrus’s spaghetti. The sheer size of the meal was a bit overwhelming to the guests. Even Undyne was intimidated by the sheer amount of food. She quickly resolved to eat it all. It was her first meal on the surface, and she would not be defeated.

“This is actually really good, Papyrus!” Frisk said in astonishment as they tried the spaghetti.

“NYEH HEH HEH! BUT OF COURSE, HUMAN! IT’S ONLY NATURAL THAT A CHEF OF MY SKILL COULD MASTER THE COOKING TEQNIQUES OF THE SURFACE WORLD WITH EASE!”

Everyone made pleasant conversation as they ate. The majority of time was spent discussing various human culture. Papyrus was especially interested in getting one of those “cars” that seemed to be everywhere. Undyne was more interested in finding out how much of anime was true to real life.

As they were in the middle of discussing the prospect to shapeshifting weapons and SOUL Resonance, they heard the door slam open.

“GOOD EVENING DARLINGS! SORRY FOR MY TARDINESS, BUT IT NEVER HURTS TO BE FASSIONABLY LATE. I BROUGHT SOME GLAMBURGERS FOR THE DINNER. JUST BECAUSE I DON’T NEED TO EAT DOESN’T MEAN I CAN’T PROVIDE FOR THE GUESTS!”

“Er, much appreciated. Just set them in the middle of the table and have a seat” Natalia said.

Mettaton instead rolled into the dining room and began handing out individual burgers to everyone. He did so with much gravitas, juggling each burger and tossing them at everyone else. Each burger landed perfectly on the plate of its recipient. The guests were both impressed and nonplussed at the impromptu performance. Papyrus gave a round of applause, which the others echoed awkwardly.

Metaton’s strange, calculator-like form did a surprisingly graceful bow. “THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I’M HERE ALL NIGHT DARLINGS!”

 “So… where were we?” Natalia said.

“We were talking about whether anyone ever made a sword out of their own coagulated blood” Undyne said a bit too casually.

“Right, yes. I don’t know of any instances of that, no. Not saying it couldn’t be done, but I’m not sure if it has been.”

“It’d blow the cosplayers out of the water at the cons, that’s for sure” Miguel said.

“It would be pretty cool” Frisk admitted.

Everyone else turned to Frisk in shock.

“What?” they said defensively, “Crona’s my favorite character, why’s it odd that I like their powers?”

“I guess that’s fair.” Undyne shrugged.

“We just didn’t expect your tastes to be so… morbid” Toriel said.

“Oh yes. Frisk has always had an interest in that kind of stuff. Things that are both creepy and cool, not necessarily terrifying, but are imposing and unsettling, nonetheless.”

“Interesting. Is that why you did so well getting along with us monsters? I imagine we must be intimidating to the average human if those police were any indication.

Frisk considered the idea. “Could be. Crona’s also super relatable too. They’re one of the first non-binary characters I saw on tv. I think that’s about when I started asking questions.”

“At least you have better parents than them, right?” Alphys said.

Frisk nodded. “Yeah, that’s definitely a plus.”

“How do you guys know SOUL Eater anyway? Isn’t it like, a hundred years old?” Undyne said.

“Natalia has always been a fan of the classics. Her family has been introducing the show to the next generation since it came out” Miguel said, popping a patacone into his mouth.

“Wow! I didn’t expect Anime to be a family tradition” Alphys said, clearly curious now.

“Oh yes, the medium has been around for long enough that some of the shows have a large staying effect.”

“So what did you think of the manga’s ending?” Undyne said, mouth full of food.

The room went silent. All three humans seemed to tense up.

“Is something wrong?” Undyne said, mouth still full.

Natalia gently grabbed her arm. She had the look of a shell-shocked survivor of disastrous battle.

“We do not talk about the manga ending.” Her tone was forceful and insistent. The tone of someone who had just returned from a battle so horrifying she could scarcely talk of it, and was desperately trying to warn her comrades not to venture to from whence she returned.

“That bad, huh?” Undyne responded.

Miguel and Frisk slowly nodded.

“Perhaps we should talk about something less traumatizing, like the war” Miguel said.

And so they did talk about the war. It was best that the monsters learn about it anyway. Frisk had already heard most of it, so they offered to serve the dish they made. It’d take time to warm back up, so it gave them and Chara time to prepare themselves.

“I’ve seen SOUL Eater.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah. It wasn’t that old back in my day.”

“So, what did you think of the manga ending?”

“That ending was something I wouldn’t wish on humanity even at my most misanthropic.”

“Didn’t you try to wipe out a village?”

“Yes.”

Chara quickly corrected themself.

“Ok, maybe not the entire village. Just most of the adults. My point stands though.”

“Yeah, that basically sums it up. You ready?”

“Not really, but we only have so much time.”

Frisk nodded.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

Frisk soon returned from the kitchen with several gyros wrapped in tin foil.

“Oh, what are these?” Asgore said as Frisk handed them out.

“Oh, they’re gyros. I found out about a really good recipe for them, and I thought I’d give it a shot.”

“That’s… funny” Toriel said.

“What do you mean?” Miguel asked.

“Well, it’s just, Chara used to make these.”

Natalia gave her a confused look. “Chara was pretty young, weren’t they? They made dinner for the family?”

Asgore nodded and smiled. “Apparently their father taught them the recipe. It took them a while to get the hang of cooking, but they were always such a determined child. They got the hang of it eventually.”

Asgore’s tone sounded wistful, nostalgic even, with a hint of sadness. “It was difficult making the recipe work with monster food. I remember them saying that the first thing they wanted to do on the surface was make the real thing.”

“Well, I’m not sure if mine measure up, but I guess you have the chance to try them now.” Frisk continued to play dumb. They noticed that Sans was eyeing them suspiciously now. They gave a sheepish grin and sat down, much to his confusion.

The gyros turned out really well. Even Sans had to admit they were pretty good. Aside from a brief moment where Alphys freaked out due to the spiciness and had to down a glass of milk, it couldn’t have gone better.

Frisk turned to Toriel. “So, how are they?”

Toriel smiled wistfully. “They’re almost exactly like the ones Chara used to make. They were right about human food working better for it.”

She let out a sigh. “I wish they could have been here with us.”

The irony of that statement was lost on nearly everyone.

Asgore nodded in agreement. “They and Asriel would always talk about how they were going to break the barrier someday. I think a lot of it was just children dreaming as they do, but I think they really did believe they’d manage it one day. I once heard them talking about a plan for it once. I never found out what it was. I wish there was a way we could tell them we finally made it.”

There was a long silence that followed. No one could think of anything to say.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring down the mood. This is supposed to be a happy occasion” Asgore said.

Natalia shook her head. “It’s fine. What you’re feeling is natural.”

Miguel suddenly remembered something. “Hey Frisk, you said that those sandwiches had something to do with what you wanted to tell us, didn’t you?”

Frisk had somehow forgotten about that.

“Oh right! Natalia sent a text saying you had something to tell us” Undyne said.

“OH MY! I DO LOVE A BIG REVEAL! WELL, LET’S HAVE IT DARLING, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO TELL US? THE AUDIENCE IS DYING TO KNOW!”

Alphys placed her head in her hands. “You better not be taping this, Mettaton.”

“OF COURSE NOT, DARLING. THE AUDIENCE IS I AND THE OTHER GUESTS.”

Everyone looked at Frisk, who was now sweating nervously.

“Right, so how do I explain this? Uh, have any of you played a videogame?”

Most of the table raised their hands.

“Chara and Asriel used to. We found some old consoles in the garbage. I have a vague idea of how they work” Asgore said.

Toriel thought for a moment. “I think I remember one they used to play on one of those little handheld ones. Earth something? Tied to Earth?”

“Earthbound?” Natalia offered.

“That’s the one!”

“Perfect! Ok, so you know how in videogames, you can save your game? So that way, when you die, you just start from the part you saved at.”

Toriel and Asgore thought for a moment before nodding.

“Ok, good. And to start over, you reset the game, right?”

“Where exactly are you going with this?” Miguel asked.

“Just bear with me. This is gonna sound insane, but” they took a deep breath, “when I fell into the Underground, I gained the ability to do that in real life.”

There was a pause. It was clear that nobody at the table, sans Sans, knew how to respond.

“Yeah, that’s basically the reaction I expected.”

“You… you can restart time?” Natalia said finally.

Frisk nodded. “To the last SAVE point or to when I first fell down. It happens when I activate it, or when I die.”

“When you what!?” Miguel said, horrified.

The rest of the table was stunned into silence. Sans seemed to just be watching for now, waiting to see where this went.

“When I die, for whatever reason, I start over. I don’t stay dead. For everyone else, it’s like nothing happened.”

“And… how do you know this?” Natalia said, not sure if she wanted the answer.

“Because…”

The table waited with anticipation and dread.

Frisk sighed. “Because it’s happened before, ok? A lot. The Underground wasn’t exactly the safest place. I made a few mistakes, didn’t see a few attacks coming. Then, I’d just start over again. And again. And again. Eventually, I managed to get to the end.”

“Yes, yesterday, with the others” Natalia said nervously.

Frisk shook their head. “No, the first time, we left alone.’

That caught everyone off guard.

“First time?” Asgore said.

Frisk nodded. “Yeah. We didn’t like that ending though, so we went back, and we tried again. Same result. And again. Same result. The only thing that changed was who we left alive when we left. No matter how hard we tried, we could never save everyone. There were always people who wouldn’t listen, or people we didn’t know how to reach. Asgore usually backed down eventually, but then Flowey killed him anyway.”

“The talking flower you mentioned?” Miguel said.

“Yeah, that’s the one. He had his own plans for the SOULs. Apparently, he had the power before we did. He RESET tons of times too. He apparently tried to help before, but he didn’t have a SOUL, so it never made him feel any better. Eventually the boredom drove him nuts. He just kept starting over, toying with things, just to see what happened. When we showed up, we had the power too. He let us use it, just to see what we did. We were new, so that was interesting for him.”

“Wait, we?” Undyne said. “I don’t remember any other humans.”

“You never saw them. No one did. That’s… actually the hardest part to explain.”

“I’d ask how it could possibly get crazier than that, but the last time I did that, I put my foot in my mouth” Miguel said.

“It’s not necessarily crazier, just… harder to accept. For you two.”  Frisk pointed at Asgore and Toriel.

“Us?” Toriel asked, nervous now.

Frisk nodded. “Yeah, this is going to get personal. When I first fell, there was someone else there. A kid. They looked a lot like me, actually. They’d been down there for a long time. A very long time. They didn’t seem to know how long it had been since they fell. When I told them what year it was, they flipped.”

“WHAT YEAR DID THEY THINK IT WAS?” Papyrus asked.

“Some time in the 2010s. When I told them it was 2120, they freak out. Said we needed to find their family. They seemed worried. But when they grabbed my arm, their hand just passed right through.”

Toriel and Asgore felt a growing sense of dread. They had a feeling they knew where this was going.

“What was their name?” Asgore asked, already knowing the answer.

Frisk took a deep breath. “Chara. Their name was Chara. I remember laughing when they told me. You know, because of the legends. Well, that wasn’t as much of a coincidence as I thought. We don’t know how it happened. By all rights, their SOUL should have moved on by now. Or maybe it did; I never saw it. But somehow, they were still here. I think they were asleep for most of it. The last thing they remembered was their plan with Asriel failing.”

“T-their plan?” Asgore said, tears forming in his eyes.

Frisk nodded. “Yeah, but well… maybe they should tell you about that.”

“You mean they’re here?” Toriel said, feeling hopeful despite herself.

Sans tensed up, secretly readying for a fight. Frisk ignored them.

“Yes, I can let them take over. Like I did in the kitchen when we were cooking.”

“you what!?” Sans shouted. His voice was full of terror.

“Sans, please, just-“

“frisk, you know what happened the last time they took over, right!? you remember even better than i do! whatever you do, don’t let them take control!”

“Sans, what has gotten into you?” Toriel said, sounding both confused and concerned.

Sans opened his left eye, revealing a glowing blue orb.

“listen to me you little monster. i dunno how you got them to trust you all of a sudden but if you try anything you’re gonna have-“

“Sans! Stand down!”

Sans looked over to see Natalia had a gun trained on him. She had a look of pure rage on her face. Miguel was in a similar position.

“DID YOU TWO JUST HAVE THOSE THIS WHOLE TIME?” Papyrus said, sounding more confused than alarmed.

“paps, stay out of this. You- you don’t know what they’re capable of!”

Papyrus shook his head. He stood up and stared his brother down. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOTTEN INTO YOU, BUT I’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU DO ANYTHING CRAZY.”

“paps, listen to me! that ghost? the one that’s about to take over? we can’t trust them! in the last timeline they-“

“What are you talking about? I don’t remember any past timelines” Undyne said.

“of course, you don’t. no one does. no one but me that is.”

“W-what? How? How is that possible?” Alphys said.

Sans shrugged. “i dunno. it’s just always been that way. i don’t remember everything, i just have this… feeling, you know? this feeling that we’ve started over again. i can remember enough to infer the rest. in the last timeline, chara took over, killed everyone. didn’t even know it was them until last night. i thought the kid had just lost it. but yesterday, they confronted me. told me everything. dared me to try and stop ‘em. said that i couldn’t do anything, that they’d just go back and try again. i don’t know what their goal is, or why they’re letting frisk confess everything now, but i know we can’t let them take over.”

Undyne stood up too. “Sans, I don’t know what’s gotten into you. I don’t know if you’re telling the truth, or if you’ve lost it, or even if any of this is true yet, but I can’t let you hurt them.”

Undyne conjured several spears and trained them on Sans.

“what are you all doing!? i’m trying to save you, damnit!”

“You are trying to attack my kid, in my home no less. I don’t care what your reasoning is, I will stop you, by any means necessary.” Natalia made it obvious in her tone that she wasn’t bluffing.

“Would you all just calm down!?” Frisk shouted, slamming their fists on the table.

Everyone turned to them, though Natalia and Miguel kept one eye on Sans.

“I… I’m just trying to make things right, ok? Chara isn’t dangerous. Not anymore. Please, just give them a chance to explain!”

“how am i supposed to-“

Frisk cut Sans off. “I don’t need you to believe me. If Chara really is as dangerous as you say, you can attack, I don’t care. But I am doing this. You can’t stop me.

“are you-“

“Sit the fuck down, Sans!” Frisk shouted in a commanding tone that shocked even them.

Sans sighed, and sat back down in his seat.

Frisk sat back down, and took a deep breath. They closed their eyes, and when they opened them again, they glowed a deep crimson. 

No one spoke for a while. Everyone was stunned into silence. Even Mettaton seemed at a loss for words.

Sans was calmer now, but clearly ready to strike. His eye was wide open still. There were a number of ways he could strike without moving a muscle, and Chara knew it.

Natalia and Miguel still had their guns trained on Sans, and despite their awe at what they were seeing, they did not move their gaze completely from him. Undyne’s focus was similarly divided.

Papyrus’s jaw had practically dropped to the floor. He resembled a typical surprised cartoon skeleton. Chara half expected his eyes to bug out, Loony Tunes style.

Alphys’s expression was similarly awed. Her hands were cupped around her cheeks and her eyes were almost unnaturally wide. Mettaton had his hands in a similar position on the sides of his screen. It was hard to read any other expression on him in this form.

Toriel and Asgore were utterly stunned. This was even harder to process for them than the others.

“Chara?” Toriel finally said. The words came out softly, her voice full of uncertainty.

“Hey mom”  Chara said, in an equally muted tone. They gazed down into their empty bowl. They instinctively tried to shrink back into themself.

“But… how?” Asgore said. “I saw you- we saw your body. Your SOUL was nowhere to be found. We assumed it had been forgotten on the surface.”

Chara shook their head. “I don’t know anymore than you do. The last thing I remember, Asriel was setting my body down in a flower field. Next thing I know, I wake up where I fell the first time. I don’t know how I’m still here. My SOUL is gone, or at least I think it is. There must have been something left though. Frisk must have picked it up somehow.”

“But that’s impossible! Humans can’t absorb other human SOULs” Alphys said.

Chara nodded. “I thought so too. There’s no evidence of humans ever doing something like this in any history I know. Then again, I guess I never finished school on the surface. Frisk must be a special case though, I’m not sure how though.”

Asgore gulped before speaking. “Frisk, they- they mentioned that you and Asriel had a plan. You were trying to break the barrier. I had heard about it once. I assumed you were playing a game, like usual. But you really were planning something?”

Chara nodded, smiling sadly. “Yeah, we did. I thought it was a pretty good one too. You need seven SOULs to break the barrier, right? But you only need one SOUL to pass through. For a while, I didn’t think it mattered. Getting seven would be a lot easier than getting one for every monster in the Underground. Not that we could get any. But then I realized something. I’m honestly embarrassed it took me so long in hindsight.”

“What’s that?” Undyne said.

“The surface is full of SOULs. SOULs make monsters super powerful. I figured if we just sent one monster up there, they could get six more easily. Ebbot was right outside, and it wasn’t exactly a fortress. I knew people in town that the world wouldn’t miss. We could get seven at least and be back by dinner, sleep easy.”

“BUT WHERE WOULD YOU GET THE SOUL YOU NEEDED TO GET TO THE SURFACE?” Papyrus said.

Chara chuckled. “We already had one.”

The entire table gaped in horror.

“Yeah, didn’t think that part would go over well. I was the only person in the Underground with a human SOUL. I was the only one who could make this happen.”

“But… why? Why would you throw away your life so easily?” Toriel said, horror and sadness filling her voice.

Chara sighed. “Like I said, there was no other way. The world wasn’t going to miss one street urchin from some podunk town in Oregon. It was better this way.”

“That’s not true! We cared about you! We would never ask you to do something like that to us!” Asgore shouted.

“I know. That’s why I never told you; you would have stopped us. We had a way to free everyone, to bring you all to the surface. What was I supposed to do?”

Toriel finally spoke. “So… your illness. That was…?”

“Self-inflicted. Dad, remember that time we accidentally poisoned you? With the buttercups.”

Asgore nodded. That wasn’t an ordeal he’d forget any time soon.

Chara laughed. “Yeah, I really should have stuck to sandwiches. Well, I remembered the symptoms. Nasty stuff. I figured everyone else would buy it as some kind of horrible illness.”

“Dear God!” Natalia gasped. Buttercups grew a lot near Ebbot. She was familiar with the symptoms of buttercup poisoning, though she only saw it once.

“Yeah, it wasn’t pleasant. I won’t elaborate on the symptoms since we still need to eat dessert.”

Toriel looked like she was going to be sick. Asgore had a somber expression on his face.

Another long silence followed. Eventually Undyne decided to address the elephant in the room.

“So, why was Sans so panicky earlier?”

Chara let out a long sigh. “That’s… the part I wasn’t looking forward to explaining. Frisk mentioned that we had to do a lot of resets, right?”

“Yeah. How many times did you have to start over?” Miguel said.

“I dunno. More than a hundred. A lot more. That’s around where I lost track.”

“Holy shit.”

Chara couldn’t help but laugh at his response. “Holy shit indeed. But no matter how hard we tried, nothing worked. There was no way we could break the barrier. It always ended the same, with Az- er Flowy killing Dad and taking the SOULs. The only thing that changed each time was who was left in the end. There was always someone we couldn’t save. Someone who wouldn’t listen, or that we didn’t know how to reason with.”

“Was it me?” Undyne said.

Chara nodded. “At least you’re self-aware now. Yeah, we didn’t figure you out until this timeline. When Frisk suggested we just run, I thought it was the dumbest fucking idea they’d ever had. I figured they’d snapped finally. And yes, I get the irony.” They glared at Sans.

“It worked though. We made it to Hotland and Undyne overheated in her armor. Frisk wanted to help, and I didn’t try to stop them. If everything went bad, we could take her anyway. I think a part of me just wanted to see something new happen. Anything but what we’d seen before. I hate to say it, but I’m starting to understand how Flowey felt. When you stood up, I thought you were gonna pop our head off like a Champaign cork. But… you didn’t. You walked away. And you already know the rest.”

“I guess I really put you through the wringer, huh” Undyne said shamefully.

“Don’t feel too bad just yet, you won’t in a second.”

“What do you mean?”

Chara took another deep breath, and balled their hands together. “On our last run, the ‘Genocide Run’ as Frisk calls it- I know, I know, it’s in poor taste, I didn’t come up with it.”

“WHY’S IT CALLED THAT?” Papyrus asked nervously.

“Take a guess. That was the run where we- I- finally snapped. Turns out you can only go through what we did so many times before loosing it. At that point, I was done. I figured that there was no way we could break the barrier, it’s not like we could give up our SOUL even if we wanted to. I was sick of it. Sick of it all. Sick of having the same fights, the same conversations, over and over again. Sick of trying to help everyone when all they did was try to kill us. At that point I figured there was no happy ending for any of us. Monster kind was doomed and there was nothing to be done. I figured I’d- well…”

“kill everyone.” Sans said.

Just about everyone gasped in shock. Natalia went pale as a ghost. Miguel actually sat back down, though he didn’t lower his gun.

Chara turned to Mettaton. “Why the hell did you gasp? You don’t need to breathe.”

“IT’S FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT, DARLING.”

“Right.” Chara facepalmed.

“so that’s how you justify it, huh? that’s how you justify what you did?” Sans sounded calm, but livid. “let me tell ya kid, i’ve had to go through plenty of timelines and i never did anything like that.”

Chara shot up out of their seat.

“Oh, shut up! You barely even remember the other timelines, you don’t have to go through it over and over and over again, with full memories of what you did! You don’t have to know that the only way to escape it all is to let everyone else suffer instead of trying again! You never had to press the button to start over again, to go through it all again, hoping that you can fix something. Anything. You didn’t have to see the people you were trying to save try to kill you over and over again, just for existing! Do any of you realize how much those attacks of yours hurt? Do you? We had third degree burns at the end of some of those runs! I’ve had nightmares about some of those attacks, you know. You don’t forget your neck getting skewered by magic spears and choking to death on your own blood no matter how hard you try! You didn’t have to kill your own parents purely out of self-defense hundreds of times! You didn’t have to see your only friend, the only one you could even interact with, die countless times while you couldn’t do anything to save them! Don’t act like you know a God damn thing about what you would have done in my situation!”

“i know it was wrong.”

“Do you think I don’t know that!? Do I look proud of what I did to you!? I’m not trying to justify what I did. It was horrible, I know that. But the last person I want judging me is you! This aint the judgment hall, Sans! You don’t get to sit around doing nothing while the Underground burns then do your little speech at the end! I didn’t see you do anything to try and stop me! So take your sanctimonious bullshit and shove it up your pelvic cavity!”

Tears streamed down Chara’s face as they shouted. Their face was filled with rage and anguish.  When they were finished, the room went dead silent once more. Chara collapsed into their seat and placed their head in their hands, the tears still flowing.

“Asriel was right; I’m not a good person. Never was. The world would have been better off if I’d stayed dead.”

Chara quickly found themself pulled into a hug. Their expression changed to one of confusion. They turned to see Toriel.

“I-“

Toriel shushed them. “It’s ok, my child. It’s ok now.”

“I-“

Toriel shushed them. “It’s ok, my child. It’s ok now.”

“What?” Chara said in disbelief.

Toriel released them and put her hands on their shoulders.

“You’re not a bad person, Chara. You made mistakes, serious ones, but I know there’s still good left inside you.”

“How can you say that? I- I killed nearly everyone! That’s not something I can just make up for.”

“OF COURSE YOU CAN!”

Chara and Sans turned to Papyrus in shock.

“LOOK AROUND YOU, HUMAN. EVERYONE’S FINE! THAT PART OF YOUR HISTORY DOESN’T NEED TO DEFINE YOU ANYMORE! TOREIL IS RIGHT, THERE IS GOOD LEFT INSIDE OF YOU! IT ISN’T TOO LATE FOR YOU!”

Chara let out a sad chuckle. “That’s… that’s what you said last time too. Don’t make the same mistake again.”

“ITS NO MISTAKE HUMAN. THE GREAT PAPYRUS BELIEVES IN YOU, NOW AS MUCH AS THEN! I’M RARELY WRONG ABOUT THESE THINGS.” He gave a smile and a thumbs up.

“you were wrong back then” Sans said.

“NO I WASN’T! LOOK AT THEM SANS! DO THEY LOOK EVIL TO YOU?”

“I… my eyes are glowing red” Chara pointed out.

“SO WHAT? RED IS GREAT! SURELY YOU’VE NOTICED MY USE OF IT IN MY UNIFORM.”

“they still killed you, paps. after you said the same thing to them.”

“SO IT TOOK A BIT MORE TIME THAN I THOUGHT! THAT HAPPENS SOMETIMES SANS, EVEN I CAN’T ALWAYS GUESS PERFECTLY! BESIDES, LOOK AT ME! DO I LOOK DEAD TO YOU?”

“that doesn’t excuse anything!”

“It is a factor worth considering, Sans” Asgore said. “You can’t deny that. We are all alive now. I think that distinguishes this situation from your usual murder.”

“I have to concur,” said Natalia. “The morality of an act is defined by its consequences first, and intent second. Unless you can point me to a murder that wasn’t erased from the fabric of time, I feel their own guilt is punishment enough for their actions. Besides, children don’t face the same punishments as adults.”

“I’m like, a hundred years old” Chara said.

“A hundred-year-old child is still a child. You never progressed into adulthood is what I’m getting at here.”

“you’ve all lost your minds” Sans said in resignation.

“Sans, whether we choose to accept them or not is not your decision. I won’t abandon my child at a time like this. I failed them once before, I won’t again” Asgore said.

“Dad…”

“and what about you, undyne? are you really ok with this?”

Undyne looked shaken. Far more subdued than her usual self. “I- Look. I won’t lie and say I’m not angry about it. I’ll… I’ll need time to think this over, sure, but…”

“but?”

“I mean, you heard what they said, right? How many times did I kill them? They’re right, my attacks are extremely painful.”

“that isn’t the same thing.”

“Isn’t it? I attacked a kid, Sans! And apparently, I’ve killed them multiple times! If I hadn’t done that, maybe we could have avoided this!”

“Don’t blame yourself, Undyne, this still on me. Besides, I’m pretty sure I did worse than you have.” Chara said.

Undyne shrugged. “Maybe, but still, after we did all of that, you both helped us. I feel like it’s only fair if we give you a second chance, you know?”

Sans sighed and slumped down in his chair. “alright. if you all want to risk this, i won’t stop you. i just hope this doesn’t backfire.”

“If you try anything like that again, this gun will fire forward. Into your face” Miguel said.

“I think that’s a bit extreme… Miguel, was it? They’re not wrong to be mad at me, you know.”

“Listen, uh Chara, right? I don’t give a flying fuck if they have a good reason to be mad, alright? He tried to attack my kid in my own damn house after we invited him over. That shit don’t fly in Ebbot, we have a very Ancient Greek view of hospitality. And no one messes with my kid. Ever.”

 “i wasn’t gonna hurt the kid” Sans said defensively. “i just wanted to stop chara from awakening, that’s all. i figured they were holding them hostage.”

Miguel seemed only slightly mollified. “You still acted impulsively, and I don’t think you had any actual plan. They were gonna awaken no matter what you did, and I know for a fact you were gonna use violence. And frankly? I’m not a huge fan of the idea that you were gonna attack this kid either, especially since you were completely wrong about their intentions. I know you had a sound rationale, but I can’t have anyone threatening my family, or any civilians at all really. That’s my job.”

Sans shrugged. “i wasn’t gonna hurt ‘em or anything. i was gonna use magic to restrain them. sure, i dunno where we’d go from there, but it was the only way i could think of to stop them without hurting the kid.”

 “Why the fuck didn’t you say that in the first place!?” Miguel threw his arms up, gun still firmly in hand. He quickly checked his trigger discipline afterwards.

Sans shrugged. “i panicked, alright?”

There was a collective groan from the table.

Sans winked his eye and chuckled.

“How… how do you do that?” Natalia asked.

“do what?”

“…Never mind.” Natalia rubbed her temples. “So, now that we’ve cleared… whatever this has been up, I am going to get the tea and the Medovik. Nobody kill each other while I’m gone.”

While Natalia was busy getting the dessert, the others awkwardly tried to make conversation with their new guest.

Alphys clenched her hands together. “So, this “resetting” thing you do.”

“What about it?” Chara said.

“U-Um, well, what do you know about it? How does it work, exactly?”

“You mean how do we activate it or how does it work scientifically?”

 “Anything you know would be helpful, really. I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

“Well, the way we activate it is basically, from my point of view, there’s like a menu. Like in a videogame. When we’d get into a fight with someone, there’d be this list of options. We could use items, run, attack, or show MERCY. That’s uh, all caps for some reason. Through that menu, I could give Frisk ideas. If they agreed, we’d do it. They could do it too. And whether we were in a fight or not, we could load old saves or reset.”

Alphys pulled out a notepad and began furiously writing down notes. “Do you think this menu was just your mind envisioning your interactions, or was it a physical presence?”

Chara shrugged. “Well, I thought it was the former, but then Dad managed to shatter the MERCY button so it’s hard to tell.”

Alphys looked to Asgore, who nodded.

“I do remember seeing the buttons. They were hard to make out, but I could read some of the options.”

Alphys asked around the table. Only Asgore and Sans could remember seeing any menu.

Natalia set a Medovik down in the middle of the table and returned to the kitchen.

Alphys continued. “So, what do you know about how the SAVEs and resets actually work?”

Chara thought for a moment. “Well, I don’t know much, but it’s something to do with DETERMINATION. I think that’s why I was brought back when Frisk landed where I was buried, too. “

“Hm, it’d make sense. DETERMINATION is what makes human SOULs last so long. It’s an integral part of how they work. Perhaps it allows for this kind of symbiosis between living humans and long dead ones like yours.”

Chara stared blankly.

“What I don’t get how someone’s DETERMINATION could be so powerful as to alter the flow of time itself.”

“There’s more” Chara said. “When we were fighting As- uh Flowey, after he’d assimilated the rest of the Underground, we ended up getting taken out. Like, a bunch.’

“So that whole thing in the throne room with the vines happened more than once?” Undyne said.

Chara shook their head. “That’s just it. We got to the point where our SOUL should’ve broken apart, but it just… snapped back together. That happened a bunch of times during the fight.”

Alphys looked both astonished and perplexed. “It just… snapped back together?”

Chara nodded. “Yeah, it was like something in us just… refused to stop fighting. We wouldn’t die.”

“Amazing! Not only can you turn back time but, under the right circumstances, you can simply recover from experiences that should have killed you both! What on Earth could have caused something like this?”

“I might be able to help with that.”

Everyone turned to see Natalia emerge from the kitchen with a large brass samovar. She ignored the looks as she placed it down on the table by the Medovik. She filled her teacup at the spigot to demonstrate how it worked, and returned to her seat. After taking a long sip of tea, she spoke.

“Tell me, сыночек, or would you prefer доченька? I apologize but my native tongue lacks non-gendered ways to refer to others.”

Chara shrugged. “Either is fine, then. Maybe try to alternate? I don’t really see myself as either of those.”

Natalia nodded. “You are like Frisk in this way. I understand well. It is common knowledge in this day and age. So tell me, what do you know about different types of SOULs?”

Chara thought for a moment. “Well, I know a few of the traits for each color. Orange is bravery, light blue is patience, dark blue is integrity, green is kindness, purple is perseverance, yellow is justice.”

Natalia nodded. “Good. Now, what color is yours?”

“I think it was red? Yeah, definitely red.”

“да, I thought as much.”

“What trait is that?”

Natalia took another sip of tea. “DETERMINATION, of course.”

“There’s a SOUL color for that? But don’t all humans have that?” Undyne asked.

Natalia nodded. “да, but so too do we have all of these other traits. But each SOUL has a dominant trait. Those of us with determined SOULs have more of it than average, which lends itself well to certain abilities, ones that can be enhanced through certain magical procedures. Tell me, what has Frisk told you of our family?”

Chara shrugged. “Not much. They told me a bit about what had happened since my death, but I don’t know much about you guys.”

“да, I figured as much. It is not a common topic of conversation. I am from Zemlyansk, a town in Russia. My family has a history of military service dating at least as far back as the Great War. Zemlyansk happens to be a place of great significance to the world of Magical Research.’

“Oh really? Why’s that?” Alphys said, her curiosity piqued.

“Long ago, there was a sorcerer by the name of Koschei The Deathless. He was an ancient man, known to be many hundreds of years old at least at the time. He ruled a large swath of what is now Western Russia as a brutal warlord before he was finally slain by three of the great bogatyrs of Kievan Rus, some of the greatest magical warriors of the Medieval era. Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Alyosha Popovich.”

Natalia refilled her cup, and Asgore filled his.

“It is known that Koschei possessed vast knowledge of magic, most notably the nature of the SOUL. Such knowledge was how he managed to prolong his life to such lengths. It is not known where he obtained this knowledge, but it was presumed lost with his death. That is until 1888, where underneath the town of Zemlyansk, the ruins of a tower were discovered, lost to the ages. It predated the town’s founding by many centuries. It was there that several writings were found detailing many of Koschei’s findings on the nature of the SOUL. He had discovered the ability to harness the power of the DETERMINATION, as it is now known, in his own SOUL, amplifying it and making it so that his body endured indefinitely through sheer willpower.”

“Could something like that actually be done?” Toriel asked.

Natalia nodded. “Indeed, it can. The Tsar was most interested in this discovery. He ordered the military to confiscate the documents. The military would begin to conduct top secret research into this lost form of magic, so that it could better the Motherland. The research bore fruit in the midst of the Great War. In 1916, the first successful enhancement of a human SOUL’s DETERMINATION was reported. The 226^th Zemlyansky Regiment, comprised of specially selected recruits with SOULs fit for augmentation, was deployed to Osowiec Fortress in Podlaskie, Poland, under the command of Lieutenant Vladimir Karpovich Kotlinsky.”

Asgore took a long sip of tea. “This tea is quite good! You have fine taste, Natalia.”

“Спасибо, it comes from a farming collective near Sochi.”

“So, what happened next!? Did they fight!? Please tell me they fought!” Undyne said eagerly.

Natalia smiled proudly. “Oh they fought alright. They faced the greatest odds imaginable, and emerged victorious!” She raised a fist into the air.

“During July of the same year, the German army launched a full-frontal offensive lead by Field Martial Paul Von Hindenburg, one of the greatest commanders in the German military at the time of the war. There were many innovations in warfare during that time. Tanks, long range artillery, and most importantly for this battle, toxic gas.”

“Wait, they used gas weaponry on them!?” Chara said, horrified.

Natalia nodded. “A massive bombardment of chlorine gas engulfed the fortress in a yellow cloud of death. The gas filled the lungs of the soldiers, turning to acid as it mixed with the water inside of them. Their lungs dissolved within them as their eyes, mouths, and throats were charred beyond recognition. The Germans sent over seven thousand soldiers to claim the fortress once the gas cleared, expecting little resistance. What they saw would strike fear into their hearts for as long as they lived, which was admittedly not long for most of them.”

“Oh my, how horrifying!” Toriel said.

Natalia nodded. “It is a grizzly story, but please bear with it. When the Germans advanced upon the fortress, they saw soldiers, hundreds of them, all coughing up blood and pieces of lung tissue. The Germans prepared to finish the poor souls off, but then something unexpected happened.”

“WHAT WOULD THAT BE?” Papyrus said.

“The soldiers stood up. And they began attacking.”

“so, i guess they weren’t in a rus to die, huh?”

Everyone groaned at San’s pun.

Natalia rolled her eyes and continued.

“So began the Attack of the Dead Men. The soldiers charged into the fray, disregarding their injuries. The Germans panicked at the sight of them, fearing that the dead had arisen. They retreated, horrified by the sight of their opponents, and their panic made them easy pickings for the Zemlyansky Regiment. They carved a swath across the battlefield, painting the soil red. When their bullets ran out, they used their bayonets and trench tools. They salvaged the weapons of their foes to continue the fight. When one fell, they rose again, many of their injuries seeming to heal instantly. They’d sworn not to die until the war was won, and they fulfilled that oath and then some.”

“YOU MEAN THEY ALL LIVED?”   Papyrus said.

“Indeed. One of the soldiers was my ancestor, Dragomir Abdulov. He is the one who told me the story.”

“So they’re still alive after all these years?” Toriel said.

“”They are. Their deeds turned the tide of the Eastern Front, and allowed General Alexie Brusilov to recapture most of Poland for the Motherland. By the time of Red October, the whole of Poland was taken. They returned to their home as heroes, and serve Russia still to this day.”

“So you think Frisk is developing these abilities?” Alphys said.

Natalia smiled. “I do. Many in our line have continued to develop these abilities. It seems to be hereditary.”

“You seem very happy about this” Asgore noted.

“I am! To develop these talents is the hope of any descended from the Zemlyansky Regiment! Of course I am happy my child was able to master them, and at such a young age too.” Natalia was grinning from ear to ear, positively giddy at the development.

 “So, how do the resets factor into this?” Chara chimed in.

Natalia smiled at them. “I believe that is where you come in, my friend.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“It is just a hypothesis, but I believe your joining with their SOUL enhanced their power even further, granting them the ability to go back in time. If you, or they are DETERMINED enough to achieve their goal.”

“That… would make sense” Alphys said.

“It would?” Chara said.

“Yes. If you had somehow managed to combine with Frisk’s SOUL, it’s possible that your own DETERMINATION amplified their own. I’ve never seen anything like it before, but it’s the only thing I can think of that makes sense.”

“So then, their SOULs are combined?” Asgore said.

Alphys shook her head. “Not exactly. I don’t think their actual SOUL was around anymore. But somehow, their personality, their… being I guess, was transferred to Frisk when they made contact.”

“But how can a personality exist without a SOUL?” Miguel asked.

Chara and Frisk immediately thought of Flowey.

"Should we tell them?"

"I don’t know. He made us promise not to…"

"Do you really think that’s for the best? What if we can help him somehow?"

"I… I… ah fuck it."

“Is something wrong?” Toriel asked.

Chara sighed. “There’s something else I need to tell you guys.”

Chapter Text

Within Mt. Ebbot, there is a small patch of land where sunlight reaches the Underground. It is known as one of the few spots in the underground where the beautiful golden flowers that bloom above on the surface world could survive. It was here that the gates to the first capital was constructed, and civilization began in the Underground. And throughout the years, that shining light from above served as a shining beacon of hope for monster kind for centuries.

It was here that every human that ventured to the Underground found their entrance. It was here that a young street urchin would meat the royal family, and be taken in as one of their own. And it was here that they and their adoptive brother, prince of the monsters, would play every day. It was the closest thing the First Fallen Child had to the lush green fields of their home at the foot of the mountain. The child would regale the prince with stories of the surface and its wonders. It was here where they concocted their plan to free monster kind, and where they would both find their final resting place upon its failure.

That single patch of flowers endures to this day. If you venture up the mountain and look down at the patch, you might notice something odd. A single flower that stands out among the rest. If you look closely, it almost seems to be moving in its own, despite the lack of wind. Make a noise, and you’ll see it jolt towards you, startled to hear someone venturing out this way. As it is, the flower is the last remaining inhabitant of the Underground, doomed to a lonely existence of self-imposed isolation. Or so he thinks.

As Flowey sat alone amongst his less talkative brethren, he noticed flickers of light forming near the cave’s ceiling. He looked up at the entryway to the cave, assuming something was causing the light to reflect, but saw nothing. Confused, he turned his attention back to the roof of the cave.

There they were again. Shimmering whisps of light blinking in and out across the cave. It was as if gigantic, multicolored fireflies had made their home in the cave.

No.

Flowy watched in awe as the lights formed a circle above him, and spun so rapidly that they formed a sort of rainbow as they descended.

No, it couldn’t be…

A yellow light broke off from the rest, darting towards Flowey. He closed his eyes, bracing for impact, but none came. Instead, he felt a great surge of power within him, not that he intended to use it. There was nothing he’d use it for. Those days were behind him now. But that wasn’t all.

As he adjusted to the feeling, he noticed something else. A voice, or something like a voice coming from within. It was faint, garbled, hard to make out, like someone was speaking to his brain from the farthest end of his skull, if he had either of those. He listened harder, focused, and the voice in his mind became clearer.

“…ey. Flowey, can ya hear me?”

“C-Clover?” Flowey said, recognizing the voice immediately.

An image of Clover smiling appeared in his head.

“Hello old pal. Long time, no see.”

“But… how? You’re…”

“I’m in your mind, dummy! That’s the only way we can talk. So, let’s talk.”

“What could you possibly want to talk about with me? Don’t tell me you wanna patch things up between us.”

“Why not? ‘S not like we got anything better to do.”

“What is with you humans and-“

“Right, forgot to tell you, you don’t actually need to speak aloud. I can tell what your ‘bout to say ‘fore you say it.”

“Seriously? That’s… deeply unsettling.”

“Man, don’t even talk to me ‘bout unsettling. That photoshop monstrosity you turned into, now that was unsettling.”

“You… you remember that?”

“Yeah, dummy! I always remembered when you reset back in my day too, remember?”

“Huh, weird.”

“Yeah, that’s why the others wanted me to talk to ya. I have some more perspective.”

“Talk to me about what? What’s there to say anymore?

“Well, how about the fact that everyone’s gone topside and you’re still down here wallowing in your own misery.”

“What other choice do I have!? There all in danger around me! You know how things ended for you, Clover. I’m a hazard to everyone around me.”

“It don’t hafta be that way though.”

“Yes it does! I have no SOUL, no empathy! I tried being good before, and look how that turned out!”

“You seem to care ‘bout them now.”

“That’s because I have your SOUL, you idiot! I have emotion now, but that isn’t going to last!”

“Then why are you here?”

“What? I just told you!”

An image of Clover shaking their head appeared in Flowey’s mind.

“If you were as cold and unfeeling as you say, you’d’ve left a long time ago. You had no reason to care ‘bout them ‘fore I showed up. If what you say is true, I wager you’d’ve gone on a rampage by now. ‘Sides, you didn’t start feelin’ things when you absorbed all of us, did ya?”

“No… no I didn’t.”

“Exactly. So, since we’ve established that you aren’t some homicidal maniac, I’ll ask you again. Why are you here?”

Flowey couldn’t answer. His mind was racing, trying to think of something. Clover could hear his confusion.

“Think about it for a bit. Then we’ll talk again.”

Clover’s SOUL left Flowey’s body, rejoining the other five. They scattered in all directions as Flowey watched wordlessly.

Flowey was left dazed and confused by the experience, but Clover’s words rang true. They had a lot to think about.

Chapter Text

Everyone at the dinner table sat there in shock, save for Natalia and Miguel, who thought this was pretty par for the course.

“SO THAT TALKING FLOWER WAS THE PRINCE? THE ONE WHO DIED TO THE HUMANS?” Papyrus said.

Chara nodded. “Yeah. Even I didn’t realize it at first. There’s not much resemblance. Well, there was when they got the SOULs and became” Chara let out a deep sigh “The God Of Ultimate Hyperdeath!” They waved dramatically as they spoke.

“That’s really what he called himself?” Natalia said.

“Yeah, it was an oc he drew when he was like, twelve. Not a whole lot changed since then it seems.” Chara smiled fondly.

“But… can it be? I can’t… I don’t believe it” Toriel said, struggling to process the revelation.

“Why not?”

Everyone looked at Miguel.

“What? This isn’t that strange. I just found out my kid’s possessed by the ghost of your adoptive child. Your other kid coming back from the dead just seems logical at this point.”

“you’re taking this all weirdly well, you know that?” Sans said.

Miguel chuckled. “I found out just yesterday that there were monsters living underground stranger than any folklore I’ve ever heard of. Talking dogs, living planes, miniature volcanoes with little legs, you name it. I had never even heard of anything like half of the monsters from the Underground, and now they’re my neighbors. Right now, I am having dinner with two goat people, a fish woman and her lizard woman girlfriend, a magical transforming robot, and not one but two living, breathing, talking, eating human skeletons.”

“YOU MEAN YOUR BONES LOOK LIKE OURS?”

“Yes, literally exactly like yours. It is genuinely stranger to me that you and your brother aren’t undead humans than that they are. That raises so many more questions for me than what I just heard. There is nothing, nothing, that Chara has said or done at this table that’s any weirder to me than what already happened last night. Coming back from the dead? Sure, there are ghost monsters. I figured that’s where they came from. Is it not? Because that raises even more questions. Possessing people? Concerning, especially since it’s my kid, but they seem nice enough. Glowing red eyes when they take over? Sounds about right. Time travel? Ok, yeah that’s a bit harder to process but I’m familiar with the concept. Honestly, all this stuff just comes as a breath of fresh air to me. I’ve seen this stuff in movies, I can handle it. The same cannot be said for literally everything else that I’ve learned about the Underground.”

“So… you believe me?” Chara said.

“Kid, yesterday marked the death of skepticism as a mindset. People are going to point at Richard Dawkins and laugh after today. You could literally tell me the universe was created by a giant flying spaghetti monster, and I’d believe it. I have no choice but to give you that power over me because my mind can no longer accept the concept of doubt. Do not abuse this gift.”

“THERE ARE MONSTERS MADE OUT OF SPAGHETTI?”

“You tell me, man, you tell me.”

“It’s still hard to imagine that flower as Asriel” Asgore said.

“I could barely believe it myself” Chara said. “This DETERMINATION stuff is weird.”

Alphys nodded solemnly. “Seems my research caused even more problems than I thought.”

Undyne patted her on the back. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Al. You had good intentions.”

“That doesn’t make up for what happened! If I hadn’t done those experiments, none of this would have happened!”

“Is that really a good thing?”

Alphys looked up at Chara, confused.

“I mean think about it. The amalgamates were dying, right? How they are now is… ok it’s pretty disturbing but it’s not a fate worse than death or anything like that. They reunited with their families, they got to move to the surface, they seemed pretty happy last I saw.”

“I… still, that doesn’t excuse anything. I messed with something we didn’t really understand, and I hurt people. And what about Asriel? He’s… like that because of my experiments.”

Asgore put a hand on her shoulder. “I understand how you feel. I ordered those tests done. What happened there is my fault too. Please, don’t torment yourself over this.”

Alphys said nothing. She stared down at her hands, avoiding eye contact.

“Is there truly nothing we can do for him? We can’t just leave him down there.” Toriel said, her voice teeming with barely suppressed desperation.

“Honestly, I was wondering that myself. I didn’t wanna leave him down there, neither did Frisk, but he wouldn’t listen to us. Said it’d just make everything worse if he came.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Asgore slammed his hand on the table.

“maybe not” Sans said.

Everyone turned to him.

“i don’t know asriel, but i know flowey. we don’t know what he’s like now that he’s changed back.”

“But there has to be a way to help hum right? We can’t just leave him down there” Undyne said.

“I can find one!” Alphys said with renewed resolve.

“Really? Are you sure?” Toriel said urgently.

“Th-there has to be a way! If there’s a way to bring people back, there has to be a way to restore SOULs too, right? Or maybe we could…” Alphys trailed off and began writing furiously in her notes.

“DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING? DON’T LEAVE US IN THE DARK, DARLING!”

“I might! It’s only a hypothesis now, but I think there might be a way to network his body with the SOULs of others.”

“Network? What do you mean? Asgore said, confused.

“You know how he became himself again after absorbing everyone in the Underground? I think there may be a way we could make it so a SOUL can share energy with a host, even if it’s not within the host’s body.”

“So, like wireless power?” Miguel said.

“Kind of, yes. We’d just need a doner to share the energy with him. Not all of it, just enough to maintain his form. The donor wouldn’t be harmed by the process.”

“Wouldn’t we need a ton of them though? Every monster in the Underground plus the six SOULs were needed last time, and that was with whole Souls” Undyne said.

Alphys nodded. “We would, that’s one of the things I’m worried about.”

“I’m sure you could find volunteers in Ebott” Natalia said optimistically.

“Would they really do that? We monsters haven’t been here very long, they don’t know us very well.”

Natalia shrugged. “People like to help other people; I don’t think the fact that you’re monsters will matter much. Besides, this could take time to develop anyway. People will be more used to you by then, surely.”

“You have a point. Perhaps peace with humanity won’t be as difficult as I feared.”

“Yeah, good thing you ended up with us and not the fascists. That’d be an awful first impression” Miguel said.

Asgore smiled. “Chara already made a first impression for us, I doubt your enemies could color the whole of humanity, even with the war.”

“Dad…” Chara blushed.

“Still, from what you’ve told us, we are very lucky indeed. Our people might not have survived their response, few as we are.”

“Whelp, no point in dwelling on what could have happened, we won Ebott for the reds, so let’s celebrate that” Miguel said.

Natalia raised her cup. “A toast to Ebott, and the revolution!”

Everyone raised their cups in a toast.

After dessert, everyone started getting ready to leave. They said their goodbyes, and headed outside to wait for their taxis. On her way out, Undyne saw Chara sitting on the couch, looking exhausted.

“Hey, you got a sec?”

Chara looked up. “Sure, yeah. I was gonna let Frisk take back over soon, but there’s no rush.’

Undyne smiled and sat down. “So, what was it like?”

“What?”

“Our fight! From the last timeline, remember? What happened? Was it cool? Did I have any cool moves!? Any last-minute powerups!?”

“Yeah, actually.”

“I knew it! C’mon, tell me about it!”

“Somehow you actually used DETERMINATION.”

“Seriously!? That’s awesome! I didn’t think we could do that!”

“You can’t, that’s the weird part. I still have no idea how you did it.”

“I gotta tell Alphys about this! She’s gonna be so psyched!”

“Yeah, you powered up into this magical knight form. Undyne the Undying, you called yourself.”

“Wow! What happened next? What did I look like!?”

Undyne listened intently as Chara regaled her with stories of her own heroism. Despite themself, Chara got a bit excited while telling the story. They looked like two otaku discussing a particularly good episode of a shonen action anime.

“So then, spears start shooting up from the ground! And I’m just bobbing and weaving, trying to keep from getting kebabbed, then bam! Another round of magic spears! It was nuts.”

“Wow! And you still got through all of that?”

“Eventually! This was like my fifth try of this fight!”

“Man, I gotta learn how to do that!”

“You think there’s any need to? I mean, the war is over.”

“Yeah, against you guys, but I’m worried about these other humans, the ones across the border.”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, it’s pretty wild to hear that there’re rogue fascist states in America now. Back in my day, we mainly considered them to be a joke. Then again, that was true of communism too before people got sick of the corporations.”

Undyne patted Chara’s shoulder. “But hey, don’t worry about it too much! As long as there’s people like us here, they won’t stand a chance!”

“It’d be neat to fight on the same side for once” Chara admitted.

“Tell me about it.” Undyne hopped up from the couch. “Well, I gotta head out. It was good talking to you.”

“You too!” Chara said.

With that, Undyne headed out the door and Chara allowed first to take over once more. They went to the kitchen to help clean up, though the talk with Undyne didn’t leave much to do. Soon, they and Chara were ready to go to bed. The vast amount of food they’d eaten rested in their stomach like a rock.

As they lied in bed, they discussed what happened at dinner.

“That went great!”

“I told you!”

“Yeah, yeah you did. I can still barely believe it.”

“Feels good right? Not hiding from them anymore.”

“Yeah… yeah it does feel pretty good.”

“Good, glad to hear it!”

There was a brief silence that followed.

“Chara?”

“Sorry it’s just… I can barely believe it, you know? I thought they’d all hate me. I thought that was it for us.”

“I’ll admit, I was pretty nervous too. But it worked out, right?”

“… Yeah, yeah it really did. Thank you, Frisk.”

“No problem!”

“It’s funny, you know?  It hasn’t even been two days, but it feels like forever. I spent so much time either clinging to my identity as a demon or thinking I’d have to hide away forever. Now that that’s all over, I don’t know what to do. I never thought to make plans while we were underground, I didn’t think I’d still be around. What… what does one do as a ghost?”

“We’ll figure it out together! You’re not alone in this, you know.”

“Ha! Yeah, I guess this is the universe’s way of telling me to get some fucking help already. I was never that good at opening up.”

“Yeah, I guess it really is never too late to learn, huh? “

“Tell me about it! You’d make a great therapist, you know. You don’t let a little thing like the barrier between life and death keep you from your patients.”

Frisk chuckled.

“Frisk, do you really think we can help Asriel?”

“If anyone can do it, Alphys can.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It just doesn’t feel right, you know? I came up with that stupid plan in the first place. He should be the one here right now, not me.”

Frisk was taken aback at that.

“Chara…”

“I mean, it’s true, right? I got us both into this mess, but I’m the only one who gets to come out.”

“Hey, don’t lose hope just yet now, we haven’t even started the research yet.”

“Yeah, I guess. Still…”

“Hey, look at me.”

Frisk paused for a moment, rethinking their phrasing.

“Ok, listen to me. You being here is not a bad thing, alright? Sure, I wish Asriel was here too, we all do, but that doesn’t mean you being here is some kind of injustice.”

“I dunno…”

“You don’t need to suffer so others don’t have to. There’s not a finite amount of good and bad that balance out automatically. This isn’t Fullmetal Alchemist, Chara.”

“I… I’m not sure that’s how it worked there either.”

“Right but the point is, good things happening to you doesn’t mean you’re taking it away from someone else. It’s ok to wish he was here with us, but there’s no sense in wishing you’d have taken his place, there’s no sense in that.”

“But what if that allowed him to return? What if there was a way?”

“But there’s not! There’s no conceivable way your suffering could possibly improve his situation. Besides, I don’t think he’d want that anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“If Asriel were here instead of you, he and I would be having the exact same conversation. He’d probably want to swap places with you.”

“I… maybe you’re right. He was a lot like mom and dad like that. All wasting their energy worrying about me. I guess I fuck everything up no matter what, huh.”

“You are not a waste, Chara. And it’s a moot point anyway. Hurting yourself over this isn’t going to help anyone. You might as well wish you both made it like the rest of us do. It makes more sense than wishing you’d swapped places with him.”

“How do you figure?”

“Chara, your circumstances are completely different. You were buried and brought back to life when I landed on your grave site. He turned to dust, got absorbed by a flower as nutrients, and returned because of science experiments. There are exactly zero ways it could be the other way around. Humans don’t turn to dust the same way monsters do, and it doesn’t have the same effect when flowers eat it. I think. Anyway, the point is, this was all beyond your control. There’s nothing you or anyone could have done to change things around. Whether or not either of you make it to the surface is based on completely different circumstances that each occur independently. May as well wish they both happened.”

“I… fuck! Why do you always make so much sense!?”

“That’s a good thing though! It means you don’t have to beat yourself up about it. Besides, we tried to save him, didn’t we? We did everything we could have. And we’re still trying too. Don’t give in to despair just yet.”

“Do you really think Dr. Alphys can manage? This seems pretty big, even for her.”

“It won’t just be her. There’s tons of scientists in Ebott who’ve studied this kind of thing, it’s practically the magic capital of the country. Plus, the Soviets have the research mom mentioned too.”

“Would they share it with us?”

“Absolutely! We’re major allies to them. The communist states are practically SSRs themselves. And this sounds like pretty revolutionary stuff too. If we can create a substitute for SOULs and find a way to share SOUL energy and power between people, who knows what we’ll discover? Every country on Earth is gonna be after this technology. Of course they’ll want to be the first ones with access. Can’t risk the fascists beating us in that arms race.”

“I guess you’re right…”

“Have I ever been wrong before?”

“Alright, alright! No need to be so smug about it!”

Frisk chuckled.

“Good night, Chara.”

“‘Night.”

Chapter Text

Mayor Nguyen sat in his office, thinking about his next course of action. It had been about two weeks since “Emergence Day” as the people were calling it; a rather bizarre reference to Gears of War.

The majority of the monsters had been rehomed by now, with only a few waiting for their homes to be brought back up to code. The city had climbed the first hurdle of the mass relocation in record time. Nguyen was proud of this accomplishment, but he knew more troubles lay on the horizon.

The people of Ebott were good people, and had largely welcomed the monsters with open arms, but that didn’t mean there weren’t tensions between some of them. There were whispers of supremacists organizing on both sides, and tensions were brewing at the border with Jefferson. They didn’t take kindly to the sudden appearance of the monsters near their boarder and the governor hadn’t exactly been diplomatic about the situation, not that he could blame him.

Thus, it called upon him to gear up and prepare for the worst, and hopefully avert a potential crisis. He was to meet with the royal family to discuss matters. He’d only actually met them once before, while coordinating the relocation of the monsters. They seemed to be sensible rulers, so he was confident they’d be able to come up with a solution together.

Just as he finished that thought, they walked right in.

“Ah! Mr. and Mrs. Dreemur, a pleasure!” he said, shaking both of their hands.

“The pleasure’s all ours, Mayor Nguyen” Asgore said.

“Have a seat, have a seat, we have much to discuss.”

“Indeed, we do” Toriel said.

“Right, first thing’s first. As you know, tensions have been building between us and Jefferson for the past few weeks.”

“Ah yes. How did those negotiations go the other day? We’ve been so busy we haven’t had the time to keep up with all of the news” Asgore said.

Mayor Nguyen sighed deeply. “Well, we already started off on the wrong foot when their deputy governor called Governor Smith when they heard about the emergence. The bastard was ranting and raving about ‘freaks’ and ‘abominations’ -his words, not mine-  gathering at the border. Talked about how we were planning some sort of invasion.”

“I see” Toriel said. “What did the Governor Smith say?”

“He said they didn’t pick the boarders and if they wanted there not to be monsters near the border, to cede some land to them.”

“That doesn’t sound very…”

“Diplomatic? It’s not. It was three in the morning and Smith aint exactly known for his composure. He lost his brother in the war and between you and me, I don’t think he’s too happy we called the fighting off when we did.

“So, what happened next?” Asgore said, dreading the answer.

“Well, the deputy governor’s all like ‘this is an outrage! What am I supposed to tell Governor Nielson!?’ and all that.”

“And what did Smith say?”

“Tell him to suck a dick.”

The Dreemurs paused for a moment.

Toriel spoke up first. “So, are those  his exact words or-“

“Yes. Those were his exact words.”

“I take it the conference didn’t go much better?” Asgore said.

“No, your majesty, it did not.” Nguyen rubbed his temples. “Unfortunately, we may have to gear up for conflict soon. I dunno if they’re dumb enough to risk it, but well, fascists aren’t exactly known for their intellect.”

Asgore nodded grimly. “What do you propose?”

“Well, D.C. is on our side for the most part, so we may be able to get some backup from the Army, but I’m not sure how much. They’re panicky about resuming hostilities with the fascists. By the time they come in full force, the war will probably have already started. We need to hold out until they decide they have casus belli or grow a pair of balls and launce a preemptive strike. Uh- pardon the language.”

“You seem pretty resigned to the prospect of war” Toriel said.

“Peace was never an option, not really. We all knew the ceasefire wouldn’t last. We’ve got refugees coming in from Jefferson all the time, fleeing their persecution, and a lot of ‘em want to liberate their homes. Most of the locals agree. They don’t take kindly to sharing boarders with a fascist state. I don’t blame them. Our ideologies just aren’t compatible. They want to kill or enslave everyone that isn’t a part of the ‘superior’ race, and we want equality for everyone. Until now, they’ve been content to rule over their own little pocket of America and turn it into a dystopian hellscape, but the thing about fascism is, without a war to fight, it’s hard to justify their horrible policies. They need an enemy, someone to blame for all of their problems so people don’t start blaming them. And when you blame your enemies for everyone’s problems and say their deaths will make it all go away, eventually you gotta put your money where your mouth is.”

“So then, what do we do?”

“I requested more national guard to reinforce the city, but they’re gonna be spread thin, even with all of the new recruits they’ll be getting. Like it or not, I’m afraid your people are gonna have to fight.”

Asgore nodded grimly. “I see. And you’re sure there’s no way to avoid conflict?”

Nguyen shook his head. “It’d take a miracle. If I were you, I’d reconstitute that Royal Guard of yours.”

Asgore sighed. “I fear that may be the best course of action. I had hoped the need for a standing army of our own had ended with the end of the war. It seems that was naïve.”

“I feel ya” Nguyen said sympathetically, “a lot of revolutionaries wanted the same thing back in the day. Get rid if the military industrial complex entirely and have a small, impromptu militia for the occasional threat. Sadly, it seems it doesn’t work that way. I wager even when the whole world goes red, we’ll still need a military.”

“I do fear how my people will react to such a decision. The possibility of war so soon after peace was declared is already causing unrest.”

“I heard.” Nguyen sighed. “That’s how it usually is, I’m afraid. A war ends, everyone wants a lasting peace, then another one pops right up. I wish we could all just get along too, believe me, but the reasons why we can’t aren’t exactly arbitrary. Peace is hard, sometimes harder than war, and right now it really doesn’t seem possible.”

“We’ll take it under consideration” Toriel said reluctantly.

“Perfect. Now, onto the next matter.”

“Ah yes, these supremacist groups you mentioned” Asgore said.

“Yeah. We don’t have anything substantial on them yet, but we’ve heard rumors of them organizing. We don’t have any leads on them quite yet, but we’ll need to act quickly once they go public. I don’t want any hate groups in my city. They could be potential allies for the fascists.”

“The humans and the monsters?” Toriel said.

“Wouldn’t be the first time two fascist groups that hated each other cooperated like that. The idea is, you take down the current government, then get back to killing each other. It happened all the time in World War Two. India, Poland, the Soviet Union, you name it. Even Germany and Japan called a truce to better fight the Allies, which backfired horribly when America joined in to fight Japan. All of those countries’ fascists hated each other, but they hated anyone who was less racist than them more. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that’s the gist of it.”

“So, we keep an eye out and prepare to strike if necessary?” Asgore said.

Nguyen nodded. “All we can do for now. Hate speech and hate groups are already illegal here, can’t do much more than we already are unfortunately.”

“I see.”

“So, you two said you had a matter you wanted to bring to my attention too, right?”

“Yes, it’s something of a personal matter for us, but we believe it could be important to your people as well” Toriel said nervously.

Nguyen was curious now. He nodded, bidding her to continue.

“It’s about our son, Asriel. You may know him as the Ebott Goat Man?”

“Yeah, in hindsight that may not have been the best name choice” Nguyen said awkwardly.

Asgore waved dismissively. “It’s quite alright, we understand it was all a tragic misunderstanding. That’s not actually the issue though. Our son, he’s alive you see.”

“Is that so? I take it this is news to you as well?”

Asgore and Toriel both nodded.

“Yes, he perished along with his sibling, Chara, around a century ago” Toriel said.

“Wait, Chara Aetós was your kid? I knew they weren’t actually killed by your son, but I didn’t realize you’d adopted them.”

“Yes, after they fell into the Underground, we took them in.”

“I see. I’d love to discuss that matter further some other time; however, we should probably get back to the matter of your son. How did he survive exactly?”

“He didn’t” Asgore said. “He was brought back to life as an unexpected result of some experiments we were conducting with DETERMINATION. A flower that had absorbed his essence gained his mind and personality.”

Nguyen was speechless. He’d thought after emergence day, nothing could surprise him anymore, but he was wrong.

“I assure you, it’s true. We could hardly believe it ourselves when we heard.”

“Oh, I believe you, your majesty. Now is not exactly a time for skepticism. It’s just, wow.”

“Your reaction is understandable. We only found out ourselves the day after we emerged. Chara told us while we were at a dinner party at the chief of police’s house” Toriel said.

“Wait, Chara’s alive too? And why wait so long to tell me this? Where are they now?”

“Chara is at home with the Abdulovs, I suppose I should explain that too. Asriel… Asriel is still in the Underground.”

“Wait, there’s a kid still stuck down there!? Dear God, we need to mount a search party now!”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, otherwise we would have gone back and retrieved him ourselves. Let us explain.”

Toriel and Asgore explained the situation to Mayor Nguyen. He seemed unsure how to process the information, but he accepted it, nonetheless. Necromancy was apparently real now, and the only way to save this kid was to research it.

“So that’s what we’ll do then” Nguyen said without a hint of hesitation.

“Really? You will?” Toriel seemed both relieved and taken aback by his readiness.

“Your majesty, what you’re telling me, if I understand correctly, is that your royal scientist has a hypothesis that, if proven true, would revolutionize the field of magical science as we know it. Your plan for testing said hypothesis involves rescuing a kid, already a moral imperative given the responsibilities of the state, and granting him godlike power, the only condition of which is that he can’t use it for something the volunteers don’t consent to, meaning he essentially can’t use it for evil, or against us specifically. This is not the hard sell you seem to think it is.”

“I see. I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

“Right, tell Dr. Alphys I’ll direct as many resources as possible towards her experiment, and to expect a summons to the Ebott City Occult Sciences Institute in a few days. They can’t drop everything for it since some research is time sensitive, but most of the staff should be able to help with the project eventually. I doubt there’s gonna be a shortage of scientists willing to contribute, and I imagine the Comintern will want in on this discovery too. I’ll reach out to Governor Smith and see if he can contribute any more state resources, maybe get him to ask D.C. and the Soviets if they can help, though one might not like the other’s involvement. This’ll get done one way or the other. We still need to bring your kid back to Ebott for treatment so my statement about a search party still stands. I’ll call Chief Abdulova and get her to set things up.”

“Thank you” Asgore said, relieved. “You have our eternal gratitude.”

“Don’t thank me yet, we still need to get this done. I’ll call you if anything comes up.”

The Dreemurs nodded and took their leave, now in considerably higher spirits.

“Absolutely not!” Miguel shouted.

“But dad-“

“You’re not going back up that mountain to fight an evil flower!” Miguel barely registered how strange that statement sounded.

“He’s not evil, dad.”

“From what you told me, he sounds pretty damn evil!”

“Chara and I know the Underground. Those officers could really use our help.”

“Don’t worry about the officers, Frisk, they’re pros, you aren’t.”

“I survived down there for a whole week with more to worry about than Flowey. Besides, I can’t die, remember?”

“Yes you can! You just come back afterwards, and in the past at that. What if something bad happens on the next run?”

“The first SAVE Point isn’t that far from the cave entrance. I can-“

“We are not discussing this anymore, ok!? I just got you back, I won’t risk losing you again!”

“Miguel, a word?” Natalia said, leaning in from the kitchen.

Miguel marched off to the kitchen in a huff.

“You’re not seriously gonna suggest we let them do this, are you?”

“They have a point, Miguel. Those officers could really use the help. We don’t know where he’ll be in the Underground.”

“Have you lost your mind!? They’re a thirteen-year-old kid! They’re not ready to fight!”

“What about all of that combat training we’ve been giving them?”

“She’s got a point, you know.”

”Not now Fri-“

Miguel cut himself off when he saw their eyes were glowing red.

“It’s me, you can tell because… yeah.”

“I’m still not used to that.”

“Yeah… Anyway, Natalia’s right. We can handle ourselves.”

“Am I the only one here with and ounce of sanity!?” Miguel said, grabbing the sides of his head.

“I mean, if you want, I can demonstrate.”

“I would like to see that” Natalia said, her interest piqued.

“So what? You gonna challenge us to a fight or something?” Miguel said sarcastically.

Frisk, Chara, Miguel, and Natalia gathered in the park. They stood in a triangular formation, each facing the others.

“I still can’t believe I let you talk me into this” Miguel said.

“What’s the matter, scared you can’t beat a couple of little kids?” Chara said mockingly.

Natalia laughed. “Alright, we’ll do one round of combat. The first team to have all of its members pined down loses. You get pinned for five seconds, your out. Frisk, Chara, since you two share a body, only one of you may be in control at a time. If one of you get’s pinned, the other must take control and continue.”

“Alright. Let’s do this quick, we’ll pin ‘em both and this nonsense will be over with for good” Miguel said.

“Have some faith, Miguel. That’s no way to talk about our kid.”

Miguel sighed. “It’s not that. They’re less than half our size. I don’t see how they can win this one, even with all their moves.”

“Get on with it and I’ll show ya!” Chara taunted.

Miguel sighed. “Alright, let’s go.”

They both charged Chara at once.

Chara barely flinched as they approached. They grinned confidently as the two closed in.

Just as they were about to connect, Chara leapt into the air, somersaulting over them and sticking landing perfectly.

“How the hell did they do that!?” Miguel shouted.

“I… I don’t know.”

Miguel charged toward their left flank, and Natalia to the right.

Chara turned and charged Miguel.

Miguel slowed slightly, confused by the bizarre tactic.

"Just as planned."

Chara slid across the dirt, underneath Miguel.

He grabbed for them, but came just shy of their head. He felt a sudden kick to the leg joint, causing it to buckle. He fell to his knees.

Chara didn’t waste a second, they pounced on top of Miguel, causing him to fall flat on his stomach.

1… 2… 3…

Miguel rolled over suddenly, shifting Chara to the side. He righted himself and lunged at them, pinning them by the arms.

1… 2… 3…

Chara kneed him in the stomach as hard as they could, causing him to double over in pain. Seizing the opportunity, they slipped out from under him and kicked him over onto his back. Then they pinned him by his arms, reversing their positions.

1… 2…

Miguel was astounded by Chara’s strength. He kicked and flailed with his legs, but they wouldn’t budge. Before, they’d put all their weight onto his back, allowing him to knock them off balance. They had learned form their mistake, and now anchored their feet to the ground. He couldn’t muster enough strength to dislodge them from his current position.

3… 4…

Finally, he managed to knock them off balance by jerking sideways, causing their left leg to slide slightly. Chara’s grip in his right arm faltered slightly, allowing him to free it.

5.

Miguel knocked them off of him, only to realize it was too late, he was out. He sighed and slowly got to his feet. He made his way to a nearby tree to watch the rest of the fight.

Chara quickly got to their feet, only to be suddenly tackled by Natalia.

Natalia wrapped her arms around them as they fell. She ignored the impact as they collided with the ground.

Chara tried to rip their arms free, but Natalia’s grip was too tight.

1… 2…

Chara tried kicking, like with Miguel, but their legs were splayed out, not underneath Natalia. It was near impossible to break free.

3… 4… 5.

Chara burst free of Natalia’s grip just as time ran out. They righted themselves and prepared to attack.

“Not so fast, little one” Natalia said, rising to her feet. “Remember, you’re out now. Let Frisk take control.”

“Right…” Chara said reluctantly. The deep red glow disappeared from their eyes as Frisk assumed control.

Natalia used the opportunity to strike, only for Frisk to block the blow effortlessly. It was a good thing she hadn’t used her full strength, as she was sure the sudden collision would have bruised her fingerbones. It felt like she was punching cement. She was starting to see how they’d defeated the entire Underground so easily.

She struck again, and again, and again, but Frisk dodged or blocked every singe blow. Their movements were fluid, seamless, yet clearly calculated. It was a complete shift from Chara’s aggressive fighting style. They almost seemed to be dancing as they fought.

Frisk waited patiently for an opening. Natalia kept her core guarded as she fought. She was being cautious, defensive. It wouldn’t be easy to break through her defense.

Several minutes passed as they exchanged blows. Neither party letting their guard down, neither party showing any signs of tiring. Miguel watched from the tree, feeling far more uncertain about who would win the fight than he expected.

"This is taking too long! Just go for it already!"

"We need to wait for an opening. We’ll never break through like this."

"There’s never gonna be an opening! You gotta go for it now!"

"She can’t keep this up forever. She’ll slip up eventually."

"She’s a soldier! She’s trained for this! We aren’t going to outthink her, we need to go all in, get her on the back foot!"

"But-"

"Just trust me, ok?"

"I don’t-"

"Trust me!"

Frisk sighed and relented. Without warning, they delivered a swift roundhouse kick to her side while she was mid attack. Normally, they wouldn’t have risked it. The gap was so narrow, it wasn’t worth the risk.

Natalia was unprepared for the sudden attack. Frisk’s fighting style relied more on deliberate, controlled strikes. The sudden shift had caught her off guard. The kick staggered her, but she seamlessly adjusted her stance to compensate. She quickly regained her balance, but noticed that Frisk had vanished.

In the split second she’d taken her eyes off of them, they’d darted behind her. Natalia felt a tightness around her neck as they wrapped their arms around it. She fought to pry them free, but the grip was too firm. She stumbled backwards until she tripped on a rock, falling to the ground.

1… 2…

Frisk held the grip firm around her neck. It wasn’t enough to suffocate her, they made sure of that. She could breathe well enough, but struggling made it harder. She couldn’t shift too much for too long before their air supply dwindled. There wasn’t enough time to break free, not with their strength.

3… 4… 5.

Natalia relented. She tapped Frisk’s arms as a sign of surrender. They let go and helped her up.

Miguel jogged over to them.

“Holy shit! Where’d you learn to fight like that!?”

“The Underground” Frisk said, dusting off their arms. “A lot of trial and error.”

“That kick was a smart move. I never would have anticipated that” Natalia said proudly.

“Thanks, it was Chara’s idea. They didn’t think you’d ever leave a large enough opening to attack so we had to brute force it.”

“Smart. Caution is all well and good, but sometimes you need brute force. You two make quite a team.”

“Yeah, I guess we do” Frisk said bashfully.

“So, I guess this means you’re going, huh?” Even as he said it, Miguel could barely believe it.

“I’ll be ok, dad. I promise.”

“You’d better be. I don’t want to find a scratch on you when you get back, ya hear?”

“Ok dad” Frisk said, smiling.

Natalia clapped loudly. “Right then, I suppose we should get you ready for your trip. The sooner we start preparations, the more prepared we’ll be.”

Frisk nodded and gave a thumbs up. Miguel nodded reluctantly.

With that, the three made their way home. There was a lot of work to be done.

Chapter Text

“What are you looking for?”

Frisk watched in bemusement as Chara rummaged through the wardrobe drawer.

“Aha!” Chara shouted in triumph as they produced the Worn Dagger from the drawer, holding it aloft like a sword.

“What do we need that for?”

“A weapon, dummy!” Chara said affectionately, forgetting they didn’t need to speak aloud. “We’re gonna need one for the expedition tomorrow.”

Chara inspected the knife closely, frowning at the rust spots and scratches in the metal, and the worn-out state of the leather on the hilt. They swung it a few times to test.

“Do you really think we’ll need it?”

Chara shrugged.

Chara shrugged.

“Dunno. I’d rather not chance it regardless. Wish they’d kept this thing in better condition…”

Chara’s thoughts trailed off into a general lamentation at the state of the knife.

“It should be fine for the fight if there is one, right? I mean, we’re just cutting vines.”

“Yeah, it’s just…”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“No, it’s fine, tell me.”

Chara relented with a sigh.

“This knife is mine. I brought it down with me to the Underground.”

“Woah, really? Why was it in a gift box then?”

Chara chuckled, fondly recalling the memory.

“Mom and dad didn’t really like me playing with it, so one day they pretended they’d lost it. Must’ve cried for hours after that.”

“You must’ve really loved that knife, huh.”

Chara laughed.

“Yeah, it was a gift from my dad. He knew how much I loved the things, so he bought me my own from a blacksmith. Last thing I have to remember him by. I really should’ve treated it better, look at this mess.”

“So, what about the presents?”

“I’m getting to that. So, for a few days afterwards, I was real nervous, paranoid even. It’s hard to explain why but I felt kinda vulnerable without the knife. Back on the surface, that knife was the difference between life and death at times.”

“Wow. Was it really that bad?”

“Yep. Being a homeless orphan kid aint easy. You make for an easy target, especially if you’ve got food or cash.”

“Was that a big problem? Didn’t think a small town would have too many muggers.”

“More than you think. It wasn’t a daily thing or anything, but it happened. Town drunks would sometimes try to hit me up for beer money, old bastards would try to beat me up for trespassing ‘cause I stayed a rainy night in their sheds, and sometimes my ways of finding food weren’t entirely legitimate. I felt bad about that last one sometimes, but no one was exactly lining up to give me any.”

“Wow…”

“Yeah. Anyway, my birthday happened to be coming up and one of the presents was my old knife, which they “found” in the yard. Guess they figured taking it away did me more harm than good. Me being me, I chose to keep it and the locket in the present boxes when I wasn’t using them. Dad must’ve left them that way.”

“So, why’d it look brand new last time?”

Chara shrugged.

“At first, I figured he or someone else fixed it up incase we showed up at the capital. But now that I think about it, I’m not so sure. Dad had his trident, and I can’t imagine someone would just leave the knife in place after fixing it if they wanted to use it. It’s weird.”

“So, why’re you digging it out now? The expedition isn’t ‘til tomorrow.”

“I wanted to fix it up a bit. Can’t do much about the handle today, but I can clean the blade up easy enough.”

“Don’t you need like, rust remover and stuff for that?”

“Nah. I’ll need some tools to buff out the scratches; I was actually gonna research what new tech they have for that later today, but I can get rid of the rust easy enough with the stuff we’ve got here.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah! It’s actually really cool. Wanna watch?”

Chara facepalmed as soon as they realized what they just said. They could hear Frisk’s laughter reverberating through their head.

“Yeah, yeah I’d actually really like that.”

"R-really?"

Chara blushed slightly.

“Yeah! It sounds fun.”

“A-alright! We can start now then!”

Chara made their way down to the kitchen, a bit more hurriedly than they intended. They felt even more excited than normal to get to work.

They searched the drawers and cabinets for a suitable container. They settled on an old takeout soup container from a Chinese food place. They placed it in the sink and put the knife in blade first. The hilt and guard stuck out of the container as the blade rested diagonally.

“Perfect!”

“Why do we need that?”

“I’ll show you in a sec. Now where was the vinegar?”

Chara retrieved a large bottle of vinegar from the pantry. They filled the container until the blade was submerged.

“The vinegar should weaken the rust. We just gotta let it soak for five minutes or so.”

“Oh, right. I read somewhere vinegar works well for that.”

“Yeah, acids like that dissolve rust real well. Lemon juice works too. You can even use soda if you really want to.”

“You ever do that?”

“Yeah, it’s real sticky though.”

“You’ll have to show me that sometime.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! This stuff’s actually pretty neat!”

Chara was left rather flustered by that. Their already rosy cheeks turned a deep crimson.

“Chara? You alright?”

“H-Huh!? Yeah! I’m fine! Why wouldn’t I be!?”

Frisk responded by bursting out into laughter.

Chara sighed.

“Sorry, it’s just… nobody’s ever taken this much of an interest in this stuff before. Whenever I talked about this stuff at school, everyone thought I was weird, and creepy. Even Mom, dad, Azzie weren’t really into it. They listened to me talk about it, but it wasn’t really their thing. I appreciated it, mind, but I could tell they were listening for my sake. They weren’t really into it, and after a while I’d just feel like I was wasting their time. I think you’re the only one who’s actually liked talking about this with me.”

“Chara…”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to get all sappy on you.”

“No, no, it’s fine! I appreciate that you can open up to me like that.”

“Yeah well… you really know how to get in my head… Jesus that was awful.”

“Technically, it’s my head.”

Chara removed the blade and began wiping it with a sponge. Sure enough, the rust began flaking off immediately.

“Now we just gotta wash of the vinegar and… voila!”

The knife did look a lot better than before, now free of rust and grime.

“I’m home, everyone!”

Toriel entered the living room with bags full of groceries. They were greeted by the sound of a strange buzzing noise coming from the kitchen.

She cautiously approached the kitchen entrance and peered in. There, she saw Frisk and Chara operating a strange machine. A large knife had been placed in a vice-like device on the counter, with only it’s hilt visible. The device had a large box-shaped component resembling a car battery connected to a cylindrical glass apparatus with an array of lenses that moved and adjusted periodically. The lenses paused periodically, followed by a pulsing laser that flashed briefly before the lenses refocused. The lasers fed into the vice portion of the machine.

“What on Earth are you two doing?”

Chara turned to face Toriel. “Oh, hi mom! Frisk and I are trying out this fancy knife sharpener! It’s really cool, it uses lasers to shape the material into a sharp edge, so you don’t loose any when you sharpen.”

“That’s… fascinating. Are you sure that’s safe for you to be using?”

Their eyes went brown, indicating Frisk was in control.

“Yeah, it’s safe. The lasers can’t hurt you, it’s not like a ray gun or anything like that.”

“Still, it seems risky, perhaps you should wait for your mother to-“

“Mom, it’s fine!” Chara said, reassuming control. “Do you really think we’d mess with anything if we weren’t sure it was completely safe?”

Toriel frowned and glared at them.

Chara gave a nervous chuckle. “Ok, you got me there, but this really is safe, trust me. It’s probably safer than a real sharpener.”

“It’d be safer if you weren’t playing with that knife at all!”

“Mom, I’ve known how to use a knife for years, besides, we already made dinner that one time, remember? It was kind of a big deal? We used knives then too. And we’re not playing, we’re just trying to fix it up a bit!”

Toriel sighed. “Very well, but I’d rather stay here and watch if it’s all the same.”

Chara nodded and gave a thumbs up.

Fortunately, the sharpening went largely without incident. Frisk, Chara, and Toriel spent the next hour discussing various aspects of the human world. Chara almost understood what it was like to be Toriel when they first met with how alien this new world was to them.

“Yeah, so after that, no one really tried to question New Yugoslavia’s dominance of the Balkans.”

“Wow. I get Bulgaria, but how does Greece fit into the whole ‘panslavic communism’ thing? I get that there are cultural similarities because we’re neighbors, but Greek is pretty far away from Slavic.”

“I think they were just tired of the territory disputes over Macedonia.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Still, wouldn’t that make things pretty complicated, cultural relations wise? I thought Yugoslavia was supposed to be about unifying the Balkan Slavic cultures into one big culture.”

“Yeah, there are some tensions there, but I don’t think they’re focusing more on cross-cultural solidarity now rather than total mutual assimilation this time around so it’s not as much of a stretch.”

Toriel watched baffled as Chara and Frisk rapidly swapped places to discuss complex international politics. She was astonished at their ability to comprehend these things as such a young age. Even she was struggling to understand some of it, being a newcomer to the human world. Their speaking aloud for her benefit was barely helping.

“So, what’s the situation with Japan? I heard there was a civil war there?”

“Yeah, the Red Sun Uprising. The corporations were starting to take too much power. Had their own private armies and everything. The actual government was essentially a puppet. A bunch of people got sick of it and turned on them, called themselves the Red Sun Over Paradise. It’s an old saying in Japanese, plus, you know, red. Even a good chunk of the JSDF sided with the rebels. Guess they were tired of the companies being stronger than the actual army. Similar stuff happened here. Seems kinda obvious that it’d happen in hindsight, but no one expected it at the time. None of our governments had great history with communism.”

“Yeah, that is a bit weird come to think of it. But hey, you know what they say about war and politics.”

“What?” Toriel said.

“Oh, right. the saying is ‘war and politics make strange bedfellows’.”

“Oh my!” Toriel said in shock.

“What? What’s wro- oh.” Chara blushed as the implications dawned on them for the first time. They could tell Frisk was having a similar reaction.

“Hi everyone! I figured I’d bring work home today since there weren’t any meetings or any of that crap scheduled. If they need to talk to me they can call. How’s everybody doing? Is that the knife sharpener?” Natalia said as she entered the kitchen.

“Oh, hey mom! Yeah, Chara and I are trying to fix up their old knife.”

“Ah, for the expedition? Good thinking.”

“Thanks. It was Chara’s idea actually. We’re hoping we won’t need it but worst come’s to worst we need to cut a few vines.”

Toriel hung her head. Her expression was full of worry.

“Oh, don’t worry, Mrs. Toriel. He can’t be seriously hurt by that; we aren’t going to do anything to actually hurt him.”

“I know, but it’s still terrifying. I wish you three didn’t have to fight like this.”

“I understand it is difficult. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried myself” Natalia said. “But your kid and mine make a fantastic team. I’ve seen them in action myself. I am certain they can do this.”

“Mom…” Frisk said, embarrassed.

“So how did you two manage to work the knife sharpener? I don’t think I ever showed you how it works.”

Chara jumped in. “Oh, it wasn’t that hard, took a bit of trial and error to hook up the wires, but nothing serious.”

“I… see. And nothing bad happened because of this, right?”

“Like I said, nothing serious. I never wanted children anyway.”

Natalia giggled at the joke while Toriel glared disapprovingly.

“Woah woah woah, this is my body here!”

“Oh, right. Did you want children?”

Chara felt, for some reason, like milking this joke for all it was worth.

“Hey now, it’s a bit early for that, isn’t it? You haven’t even taken me out for dinner yet!”

“What!? N-no! That’s not what I-“

“Besides, we’re only in middle school. A bit early to be planning a family, isn’t it?”

“No! That’s-“

“I know, I know, I’m messing with you.”

“Is something wrong dear? You’re blushing quite a bit. It wasn’t that inappropriate” Toriel said.

“Oh, it’s nothing” Chara lied unconvincingly.

The timer for the sharpener went off, giving them a much-needed opportunity to break off the discussion.

“Wow, this thing really does wonders” Chara said, inspecting the blade.

“That it does! We’ve become very good at repair and repurposing material. Waste not, want not.”

“Do you think there’s something like this that could buff out the scratches the same way? I’d like to avoid shaving off material if the tech exists.”

“да, there should be. I’ll check online.”

“Really!? Thank you!” Chara said, not expecting the offer.

Natalia shrugged. “It’s good to have hobbies, especially ones this useful.”

“Right, speaking of which, you wouldn’t happen to have anything to practice on, would you?

“There are some target dummies in the garage, I’ll set them up in the yard.”

“Perfect!”

Natalia left to go set up the targets. Chara began testing the knife on an apple.

“Hey Frisk, when we were back in the Underground, you mentioned being asexual, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, what of it?”

“It’s just, you want kids so…”

“Oh, They have tech for that now! Either they clone you or they mix your DNA with someone else’s. You can even use multiple people. A lot of polyamorous people do that.”

“Huh. That’s actually pretty neat.”

“I know, right? The Church hated it at first, funnily enough but now they can’t get enough of it. Some sects even say it’s the best way to have kids.”

“You religious?”

“Yeah, Eastern Orthodox.”

“Oh! My family was Greek Orthodox. You uh, might have guessed that already.”

“Yeah, my dad’s Roman Catholic, so we attend one or the other each week. I was baptized at the Eastern Orthodox church though.”

“I gotta say, I never thought the Church would embrace cloning.”

“They’ve embraced a ton of stuff. Same sex marriage, polyamory, transgenderism and non-binary genders, the list goes on. They still believe in abstinence though, hence the cloning.”

“Wow. That’s actually really cool. You think we could stop by the old Greek Orthodox church? I wanna see if it’s still there.”

“Sure, we can look it up after knife practice.”

“Thanks. Funnily enough, Father Angelopoulos was one of the few adults in town I didn’t hate. He was a pretty progressive priest, which is why mom stopped taking me. She didn’t really like that he wasn’t taking her side on the whole ‘nonbinary’ thing.”

“Your mom was a real handful, huh.”

“Yeah, there’s a reason I didn’t cry at the funeral.”

Chara seemed reluctant to talk about it. Frisk desperately looked for a way to change the subject.

“Hey, speaking of religion, how is there a Christmas in the Underground? Is there like, a whole sect of monster Christianity?”

"Yeah, that might have been my doing. I used to tell stories of human culture a lot to the monsters. It’s one of the reasons they liked me so much. I told them about Santa one time and naturally they asked me about the history of the holiday. Next thing I know, they’re finding old Bibles in the garbage dump and trying to start their own branch of the Church. Other religions too. I think there was a Zoroastrian sect in Waterfall. I think that’s where the whole angel prophecy came from actually. They read about angels in the various holy books and figured one’d come to save ‘em. Then they remembered fallen angels and then the demon story came about. Then rumors started that I was the angel, and I just didn’t know it. That last part kinda went to my head a bit. Might’ve been one of the reasons for my savior complex."

"I mean, technically they weren’t wrong."

Chara chuckled.

"Yeah, funny how that worked out."

“What are you two talking about?” Toriel said.

“Santa Claus” Chara said, taking a bite of an apple slice.

Natalia guided Frisk and Chara to the back yard where several practice dummies had been set up.

“Practice all you want. I will be inside filling out some paperwork if you need me.”

Frisk readied the knife. They noticed their hand shaking. Found themselves suddenly back in the Underground, in the hall of judgement. Dust filled the air; they could hear the screams of countless monsters in the background. Ghostlike specters of the Dummies from the underground flashed before their eyes.

"Frisk? Frisk!"

Frisk was snapped back to reality by Chara’s voice.

“What? What happened?”

"You had another episode. It happened last time too when we were making dinner."

“I… it’s like I was there, you know? Back in the hall.”

"Yeah, I know. It happens to me too sometimes. Want me to take over?"

“No, no I can do this. I just need a minute.”

"Ok, just take some deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Ok?"

Frisk followed Chara’s instructions. They felt their muscles relax, and some of the stress dissipate.

“Ok, ok. I think I’m good now. I think… I think I can do this.”

"Ok, just let me know if you need a break, alright? Don’t push yourself too hard."

“Ok. Thank you.”

"Any time."

Frisk managed to hold out for about an hour, practicing several maneuvers their mother had taught them. It proved to be difficult mentally as well as physically. Holding the blade made them stressed. Every so often, Chara needed to step in and help calm them. Finally, the time came when they needed to stop.

“I… I need to stop. I’m sorry, I can’t anymore…”

“Don’t feel bad, it’s fine. You did good.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, I’m surprised you managed that long. Here, let me take over for a bit.”

“Ok” Frisk said, relieved. They closed their eyes and allowed Chara to take control.

Chara was far more enthusiastic about the practice. They practiced Frisks own techniques as well as several of their own. At one point they decided to jump in the air, spin around, and hurl the knife at the head, impaling the dummy.

Chara stuck the landing and pumped their fist. “Fuck yeah!”

“You two seem to be having fu… what happened here?” Natalia said, setting her sights on the decimated remains of the dummies.

“I uh… might’ve gotten a bit carried away” Chara said sheepishly.

Natalia surveyed the damage to the dummies, clicking her tongue.

None of them could be said to be intact, not fully anyway. Stuffing littered the ground, limbs and heads made of fabric and wood lay strewn about, several dummies were so punctured so as to be barely holding themselves together. One dummy seemed to somehow be cut clean in half. She wasn’t sure how that was possible. She turned to Frisk and Chara and smiled.

“I think you’re ready.”

Chapter Text

“Alright, listen up!” Rodriguez barked to his assembled team. “Today’s mission comes straight from the top.”

“The president?” said Masaki.

“The premiere of the Soviet Federation?” Balakin said.

“No, the mayor” Rodriguez said through gritted teeth, his hand placed firmly upon his face.

“Oh” said Masaki and Balakin, with faux disappointment.

“And just like that, the briefing descends into chaos” Gasparyan said, with a feigned tone of lamentation.

“Not on my watch!” Rodriguez said. “Now listen up!”

“You already said that” said Balakin.

“Alexi, if you don’t shut the fuck up right now God as my witness, I will shoot you myself!”

Balakin threw up his hands in a placating gesture. Once Rodriguez slipped up and started using first names it was officially time to stop.

“Right, so if nobody else has any stupid comments, I’d like to continue. Anyone?”

The room was silent.

Rodrigues breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank fucking God, now then, thanks to our role in making first contact with the monsters, we have been chosen for an expedition to the Underground to locate the missing monster prince.”

“The talking flower Frisk mentioned?” Masaki said.

“Yeah, him. Given his erratic behavior we are warned to be cautious around him. Nonetheless, we are not to resort to lethal force unless there are no other options, so no heavy guns this time.”

Balakin gave an exaggerated frown, causing the table to erupt in laughter.

Rodriguez rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I bother. Anyway, we’ve been provided the necessary climbing equipment and funds for the gardening tools we’ll need for tomorrow’s op. With that being said, I need one of you to head down to the co-op and buy a spade and a flowerpot.”

“I can take care of that. I need to head down there to check out the power tools anyway” Masaki said.

“Perfect! Alright, here’s the plan…”

The briefing was surprisingly straightforward for a mission involving a talking flower in an underground civilization, and there was an unspoken agreement amongst the officers not to acknowledge the strangeness of the situation.

“Any questions?” Rodriguez said finally.

There was no response.

“Good! Operation Ranunculus is a go!”

“Ranunculus?” Gasparyan said.

“Yeah, you know, buttercups.”

“You know the scientific name for buttercups off the top of your head?” Masaki said.

“No, I looked it up. I didn’t just come up with the name on the fly.”

“Come to think of it, don’t you like gardening, sarge?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I- can we just go already!?”

Miguel and Natalia waited in the living room to see Frisk and Chara off. They mentioned getting something from their trip to the Underground that would aid them on their journey.

“You helped Frisk sort his luggage, right? Any idea what they’re getting?” Natalia said.

“Oh, I have a feeling” Miguel said, barely suppressing a grin.

“Do you think we should have given them-?”

“Natasha, we can’t train them to use a gun in one day, we don’t have bullets for a revolver from the Old West, and they’re fourteen, we can’t teach them how to use a gun.”

“Why not? I learned to shoot a gun when I was their age.”

“Natasha, sometimes I think you were destined to move to this country.”

Natalia chuckled. “Yes, it would seem so.”

“Who taught you to shoot a gun at age fourteen in Russia?”

“My father, with his old service rifle. It was to prepare for when I joined the army.”

“You planned it out that early?”

Natalia shrugged. “It’s a strong family tradition. I could have done something else, but I chose not to.”

“Doesn’t look like Frisk is going down the same path.”

She chuckled. “You wouldn’t know it from looking at them.”

Frisk came down the stairs wearing what appeared to be a Halloween costume of a medieval knight with a vest underneath made of pillows fastened together with rope. The breastplate had a crest with the face of a strange furry creature with the qualities of both cats and dogs, including two sets of ears, and an entirely human head of hair. They recognized the creature as one of the strange merchant creatures that had been setting up shop around town. The only part of the suit that looked professionally made was the leather knife scabbard fastened to their waste.

Both Natalia and Miguel tried desperately to suppress their laughter.

“I know, I know, but trust me, it’s more durable than it looks. This is how I defeated Asgore and his fire attacks.”

“Wait, seriously?” Miguel said, now laughing uncontrollably.

“Yep! Never gonna picture that fight again, huh?”

“That’s adorable! Natasha, take a picture!”

“Already on it!” she said snapping a picture.

The picture showed Frisk frowning and rolling their eyes.

Miguel saw the squad car pull up through the window.

“That’s Tem, er them. Good luck buddy.” Miguel knelt down gave Frisk, and by extension Chara, a rather strong hug.

“Be careful out there, да?”

“I will mom, don’t worry” Frisk said.

Natalia gave them an even stronger hug than Miguel.

Frisk was saved by the opening of the door.

“Heya chief, we’re here!” Masaki said cheerfully.

“да, we saw your car. It is good to see you.”

The other officers entered the house.

“Greetings, comrade chief, it is an honor to be selected for such an important mission” Balakin said, saluting.

Gasparyan followed suite. “Yes, I am very excited to see the Underground! I thank you for this opportunity!”

“At ease, you two. I’m off duty.”

The two officers lowered their arms in unison.

Rodriguez walked in last. “Ma’am, I understand we’ll be taking your kid on this trip. Are you sure that’s- what the fuck are you wearing?”

“It’s armor” Frisk said bluntly, hiding their amusement expertly.

“Riiiight. Like I was saying, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Sargent, you and I both heard the stories of their journey through the Underground, which have since been verified. Yesterday my husband and I were defeated by them and the prince in single combat. I assure you they’ll be fine.”

Rodriguez sighed in resignation. “Very well. Good to see you again Frisk, your highness.”

“Just Chara is fine, thanks.” Their eyes glowed red as Chara took over.

“Oh, would you look at that. Red eyes.” Gasparyan stared intently at Balakin as he spoke.

Balakin sighed loudly. “Yes yeas, you were right, would you shut up about it already?”

Gasparyan just smiled smugly.

Rodriguez ignored them. “Right. Well Frisk, Chara, it’s an honor to serve with you. You’ll have to tell me how you defeated two trained soldiers by yourselves on the way.”

Chara chuckled. “It’s quite a story.”

The squad car parked at the end of the trail.

“End of the line, everyone, we walk from here” Rodrigues said, stepping out of the car. The others followed suite, retrieving the equipment from the trunk.

“So, you’re the actual kid from the Goat Man legend, huh?” Gasparyan said.

“Mhm. Surprised you didn’t ask about that more on the ride. You seem to like folklore.”

“Yeah, it’s a hobby of mine. I wanted to ask, but I figured you’d have gotten enough of the questions already.”

Chara shrugged. “Not really. The press can’t really get near our house. Frisk was thinking about doing a press conference at some point to answer questions but nobody’s gonna force it. Benefits of being a kid I guess.”

“And now we’re finding the reincarnated Goat Man himself, huh.”

“Yeah, his name’s Asriel.”

“Right, sorry!” Gasparyan said embarrassed.

“No worries, it’s recent information.”

There was silence for a few minutes. Frisk took over in an attempt to break it.

“Sooooo, you guys thought the Dreemurs were furries, huh?”

“Yeah” Rodriguez said awkwardly. “It was the only explanation we could think of at the time.”

“Well, I thought it was hilarious” Chara said.

 “How is it that you two have the same voice and yet I can tell the difference even without the eyes?” Masaki said.

“Intonation” Chara said. “Plus, my sense of humor is dryer than theirs. My actual voice is completely different than this.”

A half hour passed, and they were halfway to the cave. Finding a conversation topic that lasted more than five minutes was a constant struggle.

“Hey Chara, why not try narrating?”

“Narrating?” Balakin said.

“Yeah, when we were in the Underground, Chara would sometimes do this thing where they dramatically narrated everything we did, making jokes and the like, it was great.”

Rodriguez nodded. “Alright, let’s hear it.”

“Frisk, what are you doing!?”

“What? It’s hilarious! Come on!”

“I… I dunno. What if I blow it? What if they don’t find it funny?”

“They will, trust me!”

“What am I even going to narrate? We’re walking on a hiking trail.”

“That never stopped you before.”

“Yeah, but it was spur of the moment before, I can’t do it on cue!”

“Come on, please?”

Frisk “spoke” in their most cutesy voice possible. Chara was definitely embarrassed; they could feel it.

“… Fine.”

Chara took over. The other officers waited expectantly.

“Uh…” Chara blushed.

“Take your time, a little stage fright’s normal” Gasparyan said.

“N-no! I’ve got this! Uh…” Chara paused for a moment. “You’re walking in the woods…”

“Yeah?” Masaki said.

“Um…  there’s no one around and your phone is dead.”

Everyone gave them a confused glance.

“Out of the corner of your eye you spot him, Shia LaBeouf!”

There was a brief silence.

“Right, you don’t get that reference.”

“Wasn’t he some kind of actor about a century back?” Rodriguez said.

“Yes, I believe he was in Transformers” Balakin said. “I saw it once in a theater showing old movies.”

“Yeah! That’s him. There was this hilarious song made about him. That’s what I was referencing.”

“I will have to listen to this song later, what’s it called?”

“Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf.”

“What the fuck?”

“Look, I won’t lie to you, it makes exactly as much sense in context.” Chara sighed “Whelp, guess that fell flat.”

“Keep trying, I’m sure you’ll hit your stride” Masaki said.

“Thanks, I guess I could try again.”

The journey continued for another thirty minutes, brightened up a bit by Chara’s occasional narrations. Before long, they reached the cave entrance.

“The cave gives off an ominous feeling, as though great danger lies beyond it.”

The officers glared at Chara.

They shrugged. “What? I’m just being honest.”

Rodriguez rolled his eyes. “Right, let’s just get the rope set up. Find a tree, we need an anchor.”

“You set off to find trees. You feel that this task won’t be very difficult, given the circumstances.” Chara’s tone was dry, but affectionate.

“At least part of this job’s easy” Balakin said. “How about this one?”

Balakin motioned to a large spruce tree that loomed over them.

“A spruce tree. Decidedly less tsundere than the cactus, but still noticeably so.”

Balakin forced a light chuckle.

“Your reactions fill me with the feeling that this joke has run its course.”

“Yeah, not much to narrate about in the woods I guess” Gasparyan lamented.

“Yeah, it works better when you’re surrounded by weird stuff and baffled by your partner’s bizarre actions.”

Setting up the rope didn’t take too long, though there were hinderances due to the team’s lack of experience with climbing equipment. It wasn’t typically necessary in cities. Frisk decided to take over for a while.

“Alright, Balakin take point, the rest of us will follow.”

“Right, comrade sergeant” Balakin said as he prepared to descend the rope.

As he made it about halfway down the rope, he felt a strange, vinelike thing wrap around his waist. He let out a short yelp as he was yanked from the rope.

“Alexi!” Gasparyan shouted as he watched the scene unfold.

The remaining three officers unloaded several rounds into the vine as it flailed around.

Suddenly, they heard a voice echo from down below.

(BGM)

“You idiots! What are you doing up here!? Didn’t anyone tell you it’s dangerous up here? There’s a monster on this mountain!”

The voice was immediately recognizable to Frisk and Chara, but different at the same time. Instead of sadistic, it sounded bitter, reluctant. They were trying to sound more intimidating and bloodthirsty than they felt.

Balakin’s screams could be heard echoing throughout the cave as the vine swung him around.

Several pellets exited the mouth of the cave, just barely missing the officers. Frisk took two to the chest.

“Kid! You okay?” Rodriguez shouted, yet Frisk barely seemed bothered by the impact.

“Don’t worry! They’re not that dangerous, they just sting really bad. Like paintballs, except too many can kill you.”

“Maybe for you but I’m not chancing it” Masaki said.

“Yeah, fair.”

Frisk realized they didn’t really know deadly they’d be to people without their abilities.

“Get out of here! Run while you still can! Go now, and I may just let you live!”

The vine coiled, preparing to hurl Balakin towards the entrance.

Suddenly, Frisk took a running leap into the cave, flying through the air towards the vine. Drawing their knife, they slashed through the vine as though it were paper.

Balakin fell to the ground, only to be caught midair by Frisk on their trajectory downwards. They both landed on the hard ground. Pain shot through Frisk’s legs as they absorbed the impact.

“Holy shit! How did you-?”

“No time to explain! Don’t stay still for too long!”

“R-Right!” Balakin said, righting himself.

They both dodged out of the way just as three more vines sot down at them.

“Asriel, please stop this! We’re here to help you!” Frisk shouted.

“Frisk?” Flowey said hesitating.

The others quickly descended the rope to provide backup.

“I thought I told you to stay away!”

Two of the vines whipped around, trying to sweep underneath Frisk. Frisk quickly jumped out of the way. The third shot towards them from above, only for them to slice it in half vertically.

Two of the vines whipped around, trying to sweep underneath Frisk. Frisk quickly jumped out of the way. The third shot towards them from above, only for them to slice it in half vertically.

Frisk summersaulted through the air and landed near Masaki. They inspected their knife,

“It really is perfect for cutting vines.”

The other two vines darted towards Rodriguez. He rolled out of the way just in time.

A burst of pellets shot out in all directions. Frisk dodged them deftly. Masaki and Balakin took a few hits.

“Masaki! Balakin! Status!” Rodriguez shouted.

Masaki clenched her arm. “A bit banged up but still standing.”

Balakin moaned, clenching his stomach. “It’s like a paintball from hell.”

“Asriel please! We don’t need to-“

“Shut up! Don’t you get it!? I can’t go back! I’d just make everything worse for everyone! Just get out of here!”

“That’s not true! We can help you!”

“You’re lying! No one can help me!”

"He isn’t listening! What do we do!?"

"Let me take over, I might be able to get through to him!"

"What are you-?"

"Trust me, I know him better than anyone else here. I got this."

Frisk dodged another blast of pellets.

"Ok, go for it."

Their eyes glowed red as Chara assumed control.

(BGM)

"Alright Azzie, let’s do this."

The two vines shot at them. One from above, one from below.

Chara grinned, filled with adrenaline and bloodlust. They leapt forward, soaring above the lover vine. They thrust their knife down, tearing into its flesh. The watery juices within sprayed out and soaked the cave floor.

The remaining vine whipped around the room, spraying its juices everywhere. It hit Rodriguez in the side and sent him flying. He hit the wall with a thud and fell to the ground, unconscious.

“Sarge!” Gasparyan shouted. He began firing at the vine rapidly, the gauss bullets tearing into its flesh and shredding much of it. The others joined in, and the cave was engulfed in a chorus of gunfire until the vine was reduced to a useless husk.

A massive swarm of pellets began firing around the room in dazzling patterns. They operated as though they had a life of their own as they formed complex attack patterns that dazed and confused the officers. They were hit with a full blast of pellets and were quickly brought to their knees.

Chara dodged the pellets with ease, sustaining only a few hits. “C’mon Azzie, is that all you’ve got?”

“Azzie?” Flowey said baffled.

Chara grinned with excitement as they dodged deftly through the waves of pellets. With the other officers incapacitated, they were his sole target. Just how they liked it.

Chara slashed at vines that shot from the ground and dodged pellets with superhuman speed and reflexes. They could feel the adrenalin flowing through their veins. The feeling of facing certain death, the feeling that they must fight, or die, the feeling of giving themself in to pure fight or flight, pure survival instinct, was exhilarating. It was at moments like this when they truly felt alive again. They couldn’t help but burst out into gleeful laughter. Their attacks quickly went from graceful and targeted to an unending frenzy as the vines fell by the dozens. Their laughter grew louder and more erratic as the fight went on. Flowey’s attacks grew more and more desperate as they approached.

Frisk looked on in increasing horror as Chara’s behavior became more and more erratic. They felt the all too familiar sensation of losing control. Of being trapped inside their own body, aware of the situation but unable to stop their body from acting. They feared that if they interfered, it could be the death of both of them. They wanted to trust Chara, to believe this was all a part of their plan, but none of their actions seemed conductive to any form of diplomacy.

"Chara! Chara!"

They tried desperately to reach them, but they couldn’t. Chara was too immersed in the fight, they couldn’t hear them. Frisk began to panic as they grew more and more erratic, as they gave in more and more to thrill of combat. They were afraid, afraid of doing it again, afraid they’d once again be consumed with bloodlust and forget who they were, why they were here. They couldn’t let that happen, not again!

"Chara, remember who that is! Remember why we’re here!"

Chara seemed to acknowledge them that time.

"I know what I’m doing, don’t worry!"

There was a hint of concern now barely discernable through the bloodlust. Concern for Frisk, mainly, for how their actions looked from their perspective. There was no time to dwell on it further though, that reassurance would have to do.

“Who are you!? What are you!? Stay away!” Flowey shouted as they called up a cluster of vines to shield them from the onslaught. He watched in horror as they were all cleaved in twain.

The human landed in front of him, limp and livid, breathing deeply and giggling like an excited, yet exhausted child after playtime. They righted themselves and gave an openmouthed smile, beckoning towards Flowey with their free hand.

“Oh, come on Azzie, don’t you remember? It’s me, Chara.”

The officers watched in astonishment at the scene before them. They didn’t know why they were no longer being targeted by Flowey, or why the combat had suddenly stopped. They each struggled to their feet, readying their weapons. Balakin hurried over to check on Rodriguez, who had just come to.

“God damn that hurt” they said as their vision came into focus.

“Are you alright, sarge? How do you feel?”

“Like a giant vine knocked me into a cave wall.”

“Well, you can talk at least.”

The other officers kept their eyes- and guns- on Flowey, who ignored them in favor of the kid standing in front of him, calming down from a laughing fit.

“C-Chara? Is that… really you?”

“Come on, Azzie, you can’t have forgotten about me already.”

Flowey’s eyes widened. “Oh, oh God! It’s you! P-Please Chara, I’m s-sorry about the plan, ok? I know I messed it up, I just-“

Flowey’s face began slowly reverting back to Asriel’s as they grew more and more panicked. Chara was overcome with guilt as they remembered the genocide run.

“Azzie, I-“

“I understand why you’re angry, really! I-I screwed up! I know why you killed me last time, really! I won’t get in your way again, I swear! Just please don’t-“

“For the love of God Azzie, listen to me!”

Flowey went silent, paralyzed with fear.

“I’m not here to hurt you, ok? I’m not- I don’t do that kind of thing anymore.” Chara averted eye contact as they spoke.

“You’re… you’re not?” Flowey looked cautiously hopeful now.

Chara shook their head. “No, Back then I- I had no idea what I was doing. By the end of it, I was barely myself anymore. I couldn’t even remember why I was doing what I was doing, it just felt like… like I had to, you know? Like something, some kind of force was pushing me forward. I know it’s no excuse for what I did, and I’m sorry for that. I don’t think there’s any way I could ever really make up for it. But I’m not going to hurt you, or any of the others. Never again. I don’t wanna be that anymore.”

“I… think I understand. That’s kind of like why I’m here too, I guess. I’m not sure why but I just… I don’t want to hurt anyone ese, you know? That’s why I needed to stay here.”

Chara sighed and knelt down to face him. “Look, I get it. For a while, that’s what I wanted to do too. Just hide away, isolate myself. Let myself drift away inside Frisk’s mind. I figured maybe eventually I’d just sorta… fade away. Maybe I’d forget who I was, what I did, that I was even there. Just slowly fade into nothing. I think a part of me still does. A bigger part than I’d like to admit.”

“Why though? You had the chance to be with everyone again, live your life again. Why give all that up?”

Chara laughed, less sadistically this time. “Azzie, you’re not very good with irony, are you?”

“What?” Flowey said, confused.

“You could have done that too, at any time. Nothing’s keeping you here except yourself.”

“No I can’t! You saw what just happened, I can’t risk going back there! I’d put everyone in danger!”

“Flowey, if you were still as murderous and insane as you were back then, would you really care about that?”

Flowey groaned. “You too? You sound like the other SOULs.”

“They’re still here?”

As if on cue- because it was- the SOULs descended from the sky, stopping just above the trio.

“How?”

Flowey attempted to shrug before he realized he had no limbs. “I dunno. They seem to like sticking around for some reason.”

“… And they can talk to you?”

“Only when they let me absorb them. Clover here has been particularly persistent.”

Chara stared blankly.

“What?”

“You’re telling me that you absorbed a SOUL, and just let them leave without trying to leave and become a god again?”

“Well yeah. I told you, I gave up on that!”

“Azzie, if you didn’t go on a rampage then, why would you now? You had plenty of opportunities.”

“But you don’t know if-“

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, would you just get in the damn pot so we can leave already? The sergeant might need to go to the hospital! We might need to go to the hospital!” Gasparyan shouted, limping towards them, and thrusting the pot forward.

“Oh uh, right. Sorry about that. Let me fix that for you guys.” Flowey nodded at the SOULs.

The SOULs darted towards him and were promptly absorbed. Flowey sent a cascade of ginormous green bandages that vanished on contact with the humans, gradually healing all injuries.

“Holy shit” Gasparyan said, echoing the thoughts of the other, now speechless officers.

Flowey relinquished the SOULs, which returned to their original positions.

“Ok, see? You did it again, no rampage. So come on” Chara said.

Flowey sighed. “You’re not gonna leave until I agree to this, are you?”

“Not after the heal up” Masaki said.

“And I take it the fact that there are more of you here besides them means everyone knows about me?”

Chara nodded. “It was all over the news.”

“I specifically said not to-“

“Yeah, and I told them anyway because I’m not letting my brother rot away in a cave, now get in the pot.”

“I already told you- what are you doing?” He said, noticing Balakin approaching menacingly with a spade.

Flowey pouted childishly as the Gasparyan carried him down the hill. Frisk stared at him with the most cheerful grin he’d ever seen.

“What are you looking at?”

Frisk and the others burst into laughter. The officers quickly began making affectionately teasing their new companion.

“Hey uh…”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“I’m… sorry about what happened back there. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“Oh uh… right. Yeah, guess you got a bit carried away there, huh.“

“Yeah…”

Chara sounded much more shaken up about it than Frisk.

“You uh… you know I wasn’t going to hurt him, right? I just… I forgot how that must have looked for you.”

“Yeah, I was worried that you’d given in. I guess I should’ve had more faith.”

“No, you had every right to mistrust me. You had every reason to after last time.”

“Just because I had the right doesn’t mean I was right. Yeah, much as I don’t want to admit it, my fear might have been justified from my perspective, but it was still misplaced. It wouldn’t have been rational to be more trusting, but it would’ve worked out better if I did.”

“You couldn’t have known. It makes sense that you’d be wary of me.”

“Yeah, but I’m supposed to look past that, you know? I was justified to mistrust a lot of people in the Underground, and look where that got us.”

“Look. They’re not blameless for that either, and neither am I. You don’t need to beat yourself up for not trusting people who give you every reason not to, even if it would have worked out better. It isn’t like that all the time. Sometimes you’re right to be warry, that’s why we have these instincts in the first place. Sometimes trust is a bad idea.”

“I know, it’s just…”

Chara sighed loudly.

“Look, that back there was my fuckup, alright? I don’t want you beating yourself up for it. you didn’t do anything wrong.”

There was a pause.

“Frisk?”

“Ok, but I don’t want you to either.”

“Huh? But it was my fault!”

Frisk shook their head.

“It’s not that simple. We didn’t have time to discuss the plan, or to prepare ourselves. I’m not sure there’s much you could’ve done.”

“Maybe I could’ve not laughed like a maniac.”

“True, we do need to work on that. Still, I know you didn’t mean anything by it, so I won’t hold it against you. We all have our issues, and they cause problems sometimes, but that doesn’t make us bad people. You made a mistake, that’s gonna happen.”

“Seems like all I can do is make mistakes and cause problems for people…”

“Don’t be like that; you’ve done plenty of good.”

“Like what?”

“Seriously? You helped break the barrier, you just rescued your little brother.”

“Yeah, from a problem I caused. Still, I guess we did end up breaking the barrier in the end.”

“Exactly! See? It’s not all bad. I’d say you’ve done a lot more good than anything.”

“Hey uh, Frisk?” Frisk was jolted back to reality by Rodriguez.

“Yeah?”

“What do we do with all of these uh…” he motioned to the SOULs in his backpack, “human SOULs we’ve collected?”

“Oh, I guess I hadn’t thought about that. Maybe we should take them to Dr. Alphys? Maybe her research can help them somehow.”

Rodriguez shrugged. “If it’s cool with them, it’s cool with me.”

“So, Flowey was it? how much do you know about Ebott?” Masaki said.

“Ebott? Isn’t that Chara’s hometown? From what I’ve heard it’s some rundown podunk town in the middle of nowhere full of assholes. That’s how they always put it.”

“Wow, you don’t mince your words, huh kid?” Rodriguez said through barely contained laughter. “They uh, they can hear me, right?”

Frisk nodded. “And no, they’re not particularly tactful. Personally, I find it endearing.”

Balakin nodded. “I can see that, actually.”

“So, what’s Ebbot like now?” Flowey said. “Don’t tell me that’s where everyone’s staying?”

That would be the cruelest irony, to live in the place where he’d met his demise.

“’Fraid so, but don’t worry, it’s changed a ton since you died. There’s even a statue of you there” Rodriguez said.

“Seriously? There’s a monster statue in a human settlement already?”

“Oh yes, you’re quite a legend there. People don’t just forget about a giant humanoid goat showing up with a dead kid” Gasparyan said.

“Right…”

“Ari’s a big folklore nut. He’ll probably tell you more about yourself than you could. Some of it might even be true” Masaki said.

“Ari? That you?” He glanced to Gasparyan.

“That’s me, yeah. That’s Kyoko, that’s Hector, and that’s Alexi.” He gestured to the other officers. ”I gotta say, when I read the story, I wasn’t expecting to hear the Ebott Goat Man had turned into a flower.”

“Well Ari, let me tell you, it was a surprise for me too.”

The conversation that followed consisted largely of a summary of Flowey’s knowledge of monster history given at Ari’s prodding, which proved quite enlightening to the team. Flowey wasn’t the most eager teacher, but Frisk insisted he try to engage the others in conversation. Eventually, Flowey got bored and decided to ask Frisk some questions of his own.

“So Frisk, what’s your relationship with Chara?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, you share a head, right? You never have any time to yourselves. I imagine by now you must either really like each other or really hate each other.”

“We get along pretty well, actually! It can get tough at times, but I guess if I have to share a body with someone, I’m glad it’s them.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” said Kyoko.

Frisk could feel Chara’s embarrassment.

“You really do look a lot alike. It’s like someone took a videogame sprite and swapped the palettes.”

“Now that you mention it, you do look a lot like their statue” Ari said.

“They have one too? I guess that makes sense. Anyway, how close are you two exactly? Are you like friends or…?”

“Friends! We’re just friends!” Chara interrupted.

Flowey began cackling, as did everyone else. Even Frisk did internally.

“Why so flustered, Chara? There something you’d like to tell us?” Rodriguez said.

“No! There isn’t! Why would there be!?”

“Very convincing” Alexi said.

“Oh look! Waddaya know? It’s the car! Conversation over!” Chara said, turning beet red.

“We can still talk in the car” Flowey said.

“You can still ride in the trunk if you don’t shut up!” Chara said through gritted teeth.

Chara knew their fate was sealed, however. Pandora’s box had already been opened. It was going to be a long ride back to Ebott.

Chapter Text

The Dreemurs and the Abdulovs sat in the living room in complete silence. None could bring themselves to speak. What would they even discuss? It was difficult to make conversation at a time like this.

“Sooooo, how are your people settling in? They all have homes yet?” Miguel said, desperate to focus on something other than the matter at hand.

Asgore took a deep breath. “Yes, the majority of them have been settled in homes around the city. I thought you’d exaggerated the city’s logistical capabilities, but you have proven me wrong.”

“It is pretty impressive. I heard a bunch of the Vulkins settled in an old geothermal powerplant. They figured they’d boost our power supply a bit.”

Toriel gave a nervous chuckle. “Yes, those Vulkins are a friendly bunch. I’m not surprised they decided to lend a helping hand.”

“There’s a ton of plans for the city now that you monsters showed up. The Woshuas are starting to join the sanitation services, the Tsunderplanes are planning to help with air travel, it’s really interesting to see how quickly they’re applying themselves>”

Natalia stood up. “Right, I can’t take this anymore. I am going to make some tea, any of you want any?”

“Yellow flower, please” Asgore said.

Natalia hurried off to the kitchen.

“She’s not much for small talk, is she?” Toriel said.

Miguel shook his head. “Nah, she’s a woman of action. She’d rather argue politics than talk about the weather or anything like that.”

“I wonder how they’re doing right now” Asgore said, solemnly.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine” Toriel said, sounding less confident than she wished. “They’ve gotten out of worse situations before.”

“Yeah, I know, and I know they can reset but what if something goes wrong in the next run? What if this is the next run? How many times have we had this conversation?”

Miguel’s existential crisis was interrupted by the front door opening.

“Oh, thank God!”

Frisk walked in carrying a flowerpot with what Miguel could only assume was Asriel, followed shortly by Hector and the other officers. He ran up and hugged Frisk, not even bothering to question Hector’s bag full of what appeared to be human SOULs.

Natalia entered holding two mugs full of tea.

“Ah good, you’re back!” She said, trying to maintain her composure in front of her subordinates. She quickly set down the mugs and gave Frisk a hug of her own.

“You did good work, officers. I’m guessing the mission went well?” she said, looking down at Flowey.

“Ok, put me down before any more hugs, alright? This pot isn’t very durable.”

“Right, set the young prince down by the windowsill. Then we can talk about your mission.”

Frisk, Chara, Flowey, and the officers discussed the mission with the others in great detail.

“Holy shi-“ Miguel stopped when he noticed a death glare from Toriel, “wow! I knew you two were strong, but I didn’t know you could do anything like that!”

Frisk chuckled. “That’s not even the hardest fight against him I’ve won!”

“So, it’s… really you then? Asriel?” Toriel said hesitantly.

Flowey sighed. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“I could barely believe it either” Ari said.

“What, don’t you see the resemblance?”

 Frisk chuckled. “You’ve got Asgore’s hair at least.”

“What are you- clever. Real clever.”

“You should have told us earlier, Asriel. We could have taken you with us” Asgore said.

“Look, I’m gonna be honest, I’m still not sure me being here is a good idea. The others told you what’s wrong with me, right?”

Asgore nodded. “Yes, and it’s a good thing they did. Alphys is already looking for a way to help you.”

“Yeah, because her work has just gone fantastically for me so far.”

“Hah! Alphys’s work brought you back to life. Were it not for her, you would be in an even worse condition. I suggest you show some gratitude.” Natalia leaned in close to Flowey and glared intently at him.

Flowey’s stem curled as he shrunk in fear of Natalia. The other officers were astonished at her ability to cow such a powerful being so easily.

“You know what? You’re absolutely right! I should be more thankful! Please don’t kill me!” Flowey said in a forced happy voice.

“Alright, settle down there, you sound like you work in customer service. In any case, I messaged Alphys telling her about the success of the mission, and I mentioned the human SOULs as well. If they are in agreement, I’ll run them down to the lab so they can be contained and preserved. We’re not sure how long they can stick around outside of containment. We will be taking a trip to her laboratory in about a week, once they get everything set up properly.”

“How’re we gonna know if they agree? They can’t talk” Hector said.

“If they do not wish to go, they may leave before I head out, I suppose.”

The SOULs didn’t move.

“Ok then. Let’s have some lunch, since I imagine everyone is quite hungry, then I will make the trip down to the lab.”

Everyone had gathered in the dining room for lunch. Flowey didn’t need to eat, but they set his pot in the center of the table despite his protests.

“You know, you guys are taking me coming back from the dead much better than you have in the past.”

“You mean this had happened before?” Toriel said.

“Yeah, in past resets, back when I could do it. You two always freaked out at first.”

“I might have had something to do with that” Chara said, popping a pelmen in his mouth.

“That makes sense” Asgore said. “We were far more surprised when Chara revealed themself at the dinner party. They already told us about you, so it wasn’t quite as shocking. It’s still pretty hard to believe though.”

“They tell you about how I specifically told them not to do that?” Flowey glared at Chara, who smiled innocently.

“That came up, yes” Natalia said.

“Hey, you told Frisk not to tell you. You didn’t tell me to do anything.” Chara gave a cheeky grin.

“I- Fuck!”

“Asriel!” Toriel exclaimed.

“Sorry…” Flowey said, embarrassed.

“Hey, you guys wanna hear about what we were talking about on the way home?” Kyoko said.

“No!” Chara said, slamming their hand on the table.

“Aw come on, it it’s nothing to be ashamed of” Hector said.

“What we discussed on that trail shall stay on that trail for all eternity!”

“Well now I really want to know” Miguel said.

“I kinda want to talk about it myself” Flowey said wryly.

“Traitor!” Chara pointed accusingly at Flowey.

“Come on, Chara, it’s not that embarrassing, is it?”

“Et Tu, Frisk? I thought you’d be more embarrassed than I was!”

“Why?”

Chara didn’t know how to answer that.

“I flirted with monsters as a diplomacy tactic, Chara. Sometimes just to see how they’d react.”

“Yeah, ok, maybe I didn’t put too much thought into that.”

“Look, if the kid wants privacy, give ‘em some, they’ll tell you when they’re ready.”

“Oh, so it’s one of those things” Miguel said. “You got a crush or something?”

“What I have is a desire to end this conversation.”

The day was largely uneventful after lunch. Left alone with their thoughts, for a given value of each, that is, Frisk couldn’t help but ponder Chara’s reaction. On the one hand, it was entirely possible that they were just embarrassed at the thought of having a crush in general. People tend act flustered at that kind of accusation lots of times, regardless of whether it’s actually true or not, and Chara was always on the shyer side. On the other hand, it was entirely possible that Flowey was right.

Frisk wasn’t sure what to think about that. Their first instinct was to dismiss it; they didn’t really see each other that way. If they had, surely it would’ve come up by now, right? Then again, Chara was extremely shy, and ironically, Frisk had no real experience with romance either. The flirting with monsters was mainly a joke. A way to get a rise out of them. It was a thing some characters in a lot of anime and cartoons did, they thought it’d be funny. Looking back on it, that might not have been a great idea.

There was, of course, a perfectly logical way to sort all of this out. They could ask Chara directly. It was even easier than it normally would be in theory, given their disposition. Theoretically, it’d be possible to ask by accident. Yet something stopped them from doing so. The thought of broaching the subject scared them for some reason.

Why were they so nervous? It wasn’t like they expected the answer to be yes. But what if it was? What would they say? How would they even feel about that? Why was that question so much more difficult to answer than they thought? And what would that mean if the answer was no?

“Frisk, you alright?”

Frisk nearly jumped out of their seat. Chara had actually appeared in front of them, which was rare nowadays. It felt good to see them, despite the scare.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you” Chara said, slightly amused.

“Oh, no worries! What’s on your mind?” Frisk tried desperately to play off their shock.

“You seemed a bit out of it, are you doing ok?”

“Yeah, I’m alright, just thinking is all.”

“Is it about lunch?”

“How’d you know?” Frisk saw no point in lying.

“Lucky guess. I figured it’d start bugging you after a while.”

“Why?”

“Well, I mean, the others were implying… you know.” Chara scratched their hair awkwardly.

“Yeah, what of it?”

“I mean, I’d be pretty unnerved if I were you. I can’t imagine it’d be pleasant thinking someone like me had a crush on you.”

Frisk was confused now.

“Come on, be honest, that’s a pretty repulsive thought, isn’t it?” Chara tried to listen for a hint of recognition, or maybe denial. Frisk wouldn’t want to admit finding them repulsive, it’d feel wrong. Yet they found nothing. Nothing but confusion.

“I’m… not sure what you mean.”

“Oh come on. You know who I am, I’m a monster! And not in the literal sense! I’m a goddamn freak! Everyone thinks so! I know the others pretend to be alright with me being here, but they all wish I was gone! The world would be a better place without me, everyone knows that. Even before the Genocide Route, I was useless, no good to anyone, my mom always said as much. Even me dying somehow made everything worse! It took you dragging my worthless ass out of the grave for me to finally help people, and I almost blew that too! Imagine having someone like me have a crush on you!”

Chara was laughing now. It was a sad, broken laugh.

“Chara…”

“You don’t have to deny it anymore, Frisk. I already know what I am. I know how everyone feels about me. Honestly, I don’t know how you do it. The others do a pretty convincing act around me but you, you’re amazing! I can hear your thoughts! I thought I’d pick up on something by now, some kind of hint, but no! Even now, I can’t find anything!”

“Chara please…” Frisk was starting to cry now.

“It’s like… it’s like there’s nothing! No anger, no resentment, no exhaustion from putting up with me, nothing! Man, it must be a pain hiding all that away, huh. And on such short notice too. It took a while to get the hang of this thought communication thing, how’d you get so good at it so early?”

“Chara stop!”

Chara was taken aback by Frisk’s outburst.

“I don’t… I don’t hate you, Chara. I thought you knew that by now.”

“Frisk…”

“You’re my friend, Chara. I’m not faking that, and the others aren’t faking anything either. You’re just telling yourself that, your mind’s playing tricks on you.”

“I… you’re…. you’re not lying to me right now, are you?”

No matter how hard they searched, they couldn’t find any hint of dishonesty. Any hint that Frisk was trying to fake their emotions.

Frisk tried to hug them. Their arms passed through, of course, but they held them in the air to pantomime the action. Chara couldn’t feel it, but they felt the intent behind the action. They leaned in and did their best to mimic the action.

“I… I don’t understand. How can you really not hate me?” Tears streamed down Chara’s face.

“I just don’t. I’m not really sure how to explain why, I never really thought about it. You don’t really hate people until you find a reason not to, right? It’s usually the other way around, you only start hating people when they give you a reason.”

Chara chuckled at that. “I’ve given you plenty of reasons.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to hate you. Just because you give someone a reason to hate, doesn’t mean they have to, it doesn’t even mean it’ll be their first instinct.”

“I think what I did would be cause enough for most people.”

“Maybe” Frisk admitted reluctantly. “Maybe it would, especially if we couldn’t reset. But we could, and we did, and I never hated you regardless. I was angry, sure, I felt betrayed, but I didn’t hate you. I wanted to help you as much as everyone else, but I was afraid I couldn’t. I still do. Just… just try to stop hurting yourself, ok?”

Chara chuckled once more. “Ok, I’ll try. You really are amazing, Frisk. I mean that.”

Chara dematerialized, returning to the depths of Frisk’s mind. Frisk smiled and wiped the tears away from their eyes. They laid down on their bed, tired from the day’s events. They fell asleep with a smile on their face. They still had a lot to think about, but there would be time for that later. Whatever lay ahead, no matter how difficult, they’d face it together. Of that much at least, Frisk was sure of.

Chapter Text

Two Months Later

Alphys’s proposed research project was greeted with far more enthusiasm than she expected. Apparently, prior to Emergence Day, human magical research had hit a major roadblock, and progress in the field had slowed dramatically. The discovery of a civilization comprised of magical creatures that understood magic enough to make it a regular fixture in their lives took the world by storm. The project was top secret, of course, all the world at large knew was that they were researching a cure for the prince’s condition, but even with such secrecy, it was a trivial matter to recruit the top minds in the field from across the entire Comintern for the project. Even scientists with no particular stake in the conflict were eager to contribute once approached. The project was labeled a top priority due to the potential applications. The proximity of the Fascist state of Jefferson to Ebott City only increased the Comintern’s desire to complete the project.

At first, Alphys wasn’t sure exactly what the Comintern was. Mayor Nguyen explained.

“It’s short for Communist International, the fourth organization to bear the name. Originally it was an international political organization founded to oppose the ideology of Josef Stalin, second leader of the first Soviet Union. They instead embraced his rival, Leon Trotsky, who served as Lenin’s second in command during the Russian Revolution and would go on to lead a rival Communist faction that opposed Stalin. Funnily enough, the regiment the chief’s ancestor, he uh, great great great something grandfather was in, backed Trotsky. I think one of them even saved him from being assassinated once. After the Union fell, Trotsky’s supporters took control of some of the former member nations. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. So most of the member nations, really. The local parties didn’t have any other leadership to turn to. Now they run the Soviet Federation, The People’s Republic of China, Israel-Palestine, The Japanese People’s Republic, the Red states here in America and our neighboring countries, and a few others. Officially, we’re separate nations but all answer to the party’s International Congress, which has a representative from each nation, and also serve as our U.N. Representatives.”

Alphys didn’t understand what any of that meant but was afraid to press further. The point was, they were the ones overseeing the project and ultimately providing her funding. Essentially her new bosses; she was content with understanding that much for now. Human governments were much more complicated than the monster one, and apparently, they deliberately made it that way. Most of the humans she’d spoken to had rather negative views on monarchies.

The project was progressing extremely well, all things considered. In only two months, “SOUL Tethering” as it became known had already shown promising results, and several other promising discoveries had been made, such as a machine that allowed the six SOULs to communicate. Several attempts had been made to influence dead tissue with a SOUL’s DETERMINATION, which resulted in increasingly long periods of animation of said tissue. Alphys was absolutely astonished at the rate at which they were making progress. So many gaps in the understanding of SOULs and their power one side possessed were filled by the knowledge the other side possessed. Koschei’s research in particular was very useful. This combined with the vast resources provided by the Comintern meant that by the end of June, Alphys felt confident enough to perform her first attempt at permanently tethering a SOUL from a living body to a separate vessel.

She had just the subjects in mind, the ideal subjects for such a test. A great deal of research into their unique magical biology had confirmed that much. They were the only people she knew who she was sure could handle two vessels at once. They’d already aided them considerably in the past with the project, and had a personal stake in its success. She was all but certain they would accept. However, something of the subject’s was needed for the experiment to work, and she wasn’t sure how to go about asking for it.

“You need my what?”

An awkward silence followed the question. Alphys wrung her hands together nervously as she stood before the Abdulovs and the Royal Family.

“You’re… body.” Alphys said as though saying it twice clarified the situation.

“No no, I heard you the first time, it’s just… why?” Chara said, still processing what they’d just been asked. It was, by far, the strangest thing anyone had ever asked of them.

“Um, w-well you see…”

“I’m not upset about it or anything. You can have it; I don’t care. It’s just a bunch of dusty old bones. I just wanna know what you could possibly want with said dusty old bones.”

Alphys was taken aback by how quickly Chara agreed. She realized that someone with a new body had far less reason to care about their remains than bereaved loved ones.

“Well… we’ve seen a great deal of success in animating deceased tissue by tethering it to a SOUL. It’s shown signs of sustaining itself and regenerating rapidly, but so far we’ve been unable to sustain the tether for long periods of time. I have a hypothesis that a permanent tethering would require either another SOUL to accept the influx of DETERMINATION…”

“Or?” Miguel said.

“Or the SOUL’s original vessel. Some of Koschei’s texts mentioned that he’d never managed to bound a SOUL to a separate body, but that his SOUL kept his body alive when it logically shouldn’t have been able too. This is presumably referring to Frisk’s own DETERMINATION based abilities. If a SOUL is tethered to the original body it possessed, it might be able to resuscitate it completely.”

“So how does that help me?” Flowey said from his pot on a nearby lab table. “I don’t have a SOUL, remember?”

“I have my own hypothesis on how to resolve that issue, but it’s pure speculation unless we can confirm my current hypothesis.”

“Hey, say hypothesis one more time” Chara said.

“What?”

“Never mind. So how do we factor into this, exactly? My personality is bound to Frisk’s SOUL, remember? How’s my body supposed to help here?”

“Your personality is what identifies which vessel the SOUL can bind to. You and Frisk currently posses the only known SOUL that could sustain two vessels.”

“Would one SOUL have enough power for that?” Asgore said.

“Yes. There’s an abundance of energy in a SOUL that is self-sustaining through means we don’t currently understand. Maintaining two bodies isn’t nearly as hard as we initially believed it would be. It’s just a matter of finding an eligible SOUL.”

“There’s a horror movie premise in here somewhere but I can’t put my finger on it” Natalia said.

“What do you mean?” Toriel said.

“I mean, think about it, a powerful magic user that secretly had the personalities of thousands, millions within, controlling a shambling horde that acts as one! We could call it ‘Legion’ or something like that. I’m not actually objecting mind, I just thought it was neat.”

“Um, ok then” Alphys said. “So, what do you think?”

“What are the risks of the experiment? What if it fails? Could something bad happen to Chara or Frisk?”

“No, there’s no harm done to the SOUL or personality if a tethering fails.”

“Are you sure?” Miguel said.

“I am. Trust me, I wouldn’t risk this if I didn’t think it was safe for them. I’ve accounted for every variable; it’s perfectly safe.”

“I am fine with it if, and only if, you are positive it is safe for them” Natalia said. “Are there any risks for Chara’s personality if the tether doesn’t take?”

Alphys shook her head. “No, their personality will be stored in the SOUL like always. Their body will be controlled remotely, like a drone. It should still feel like a normal body for them though. I don’t think they’ll be able to communicate through thought like they do now though, at least not at first. Chara will still essentially be using their own brain.”

Chara was somewhat surprised that Natalia was concerned enough for them to ask. After all they weren’t her kid; it wasn’t like Frisk was in danger.

“Having a body again would be nice, especially if it helps Azzie too” Chara said. “If Frisk is cool with it, I’m in.”

“Ok. So what do they think?” Miguel said.

“Hold on a second and they’ll tell you, jeez, keep your panties on.”

Miguel couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

As soon as red glow dissipated from their eyes, Frisk took on a truly gleeful expression.

“I think they’re in” Natalia said.

“You bet I am, this is amazing! I never thought we’d be able to get Chara their own body back, that’s just… wow!” Frisk’s eyes actually seemed to tear up a bit.

“You seem really happy about this” Alphys said, taken aback by their reaction.

“I am, I really am” Frisk said, sounding overwhelmed with emotion. “They’d never show it, but I can tell our… situation is tough on them. Sharing a body isn’t easy, especially since I’m in control most of the time. I think… I think this’ll be really good for them.”

“Oh! That’s good then!” Alphys said, nervous, but still excited.

I did it! I actually did something right for once!

Frisk gave Alphys a hug, which took her by surprise.

“Thanks, Alphys! I mean it!”

“Oh! Uh… no problem!”

Two Days Later

Asgore and Toriel entered the Mayor’s office. Mayor Nguyen was waiting for them at his desk.

“You summoned us?” Asgore said.

Nguyen nodded. “Yeah, I wanted to ask you something about Dr. Alphys’s work, if you don’t mind.”

“Do you not have all of the details already?” Toriel said.

Nguyen shook his head. “A good portion of the project is classified so I don’t have many details, but that’s not what I want to ask you about. You recently sent a human expedition to the Underground to recover Princette Chara’s body.”

Toriel was about to comment but Nguyen put his hand up to stop her.

“Now, I’m not gonna ask why you’re doing this since again, classified, and the paperwork shows that this is legal and above board. The reason I called you here is because these continued expeditions to the Underground for research purposes raise some important questions I’d like to address sooner, rather than later.”

“Such as?” Asgore said.

“The Underground is an important historical site, so I think it prudent that some sort of official designation as such would be appropriate to ensure legal protections. Paradoxically, it’s still a fully intact, functional settlement suitable for habitation. Several human citizens have actually expressed an interest in moving there.”

“Why on Earth would they want to do that?” Asgore said astonished.

Nguyen chuckled. “There’s a long history of fascination with the concept of underground civilizations in much of our pop culture. While the reality of the situation is difficult and unglamourous, as you know, there are actually several technologies we’ve developed to make it suitable for human habitation, such as artificial sunlight emitters. Had we known of your predicament before Emergence Day, we would have sent some.”

“But how do you reconcile preserving the Underground as a historical site with having humans move in?” Toriel said, confused.

“That’s what I was hoping to hash out with you. There is a long, and frankly shameful history of colonialism in this country and many sacred and culturally significant places were destroyed by improper and irreverent development. I want to avoid that here by consulting you.”

“Hm,” Asgore said. “While I cannot say I understand why you’d want to do this, I think it should be fairly simple to do so. What do you think, Tori?”

Toriel rolled her eyes at the nickname. While they were living together, she felt a lot more bridges needed to be rebuilt before they were ready for nicknames again.

“I think it’s a good idea. I think it might be good for interspecies relations and the preservation of our culture if we incorporated the Underground into Ebott and allowing humans and monsters alike come and go as they please.”

“Then it’s settled!” Nguyen clapped his hands together. “We can begin planning things out at your earliest convenience!”

“We’re not too busy now, actually” Toriel said.

“Really? Nguyen said, surprised.

“Since our people have been granted citizenship, we haven’t had as much work to do governing. We are still officially in charge of the monster nation, but most matters we’d handle ourselves normally are in other jurisdictions now” Asgore said.

“Especially since we’ve largely chosen to defer to the city government” Toriel added.

“Alright then, let’s get started.”

Frisk couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming experiment. They were nervous, but also excited. It would only be a few days, but already they grew impatient. They were barely able to focus on anything else.

“You’re really looking forward this, huh?”

“Yeah! Aren’t you?”

“I mean, yeah, I am. It’d be really nice to have my own body again. Bet you’re glad to have me out of your head, eh?”

“Admittedly, this way of communicating is a bit awkward.”

“Oh, hold on.”

Chara manifested in ghost form.

“Better?”

“Yeah. It’s good to see you, I like talking face to face a lot better.”

“And here I’d thought you’d have gotten tired of our conversations, given how much time we spend together.”

“Nah, I like talking to you. It’s just the telepathy thing that bugs me. It’s cool and all, but it can be a bit of a hassle to have long pauses mid conversation where people can’t tell we’re talking. Plus, if I talk out loud, people will probably find it weird.”

“Yeah, that’s why I don’t use the ghost form too often. Imagine someone walking in on this conversation; you’d look like a lunatic!”

Chara and Frisk turned and stared intently at the door for a few seconds.

“Ok, but that would have been hilarious, right?” Chara said.

Frisk laughed “Yeah, the timing would’ve been-“

“Frisk dear, are you alright in there?” Toriel said through the door.

They began laughing. “Yeah, Ms. Toriel. Chara and I are just talking about the experiment.”

“Oh, I see. Carry on then.”

Frisk and Chara waited while Toriel headed back down the hallway. As she made her way down the hall, they began to laugh.

“Yeah, like that” Chara said.

“At least she has context. Imagine that happening at school!” Frisk said.

“Oh, Lord. Wait, am I gonna need to go to school?”

“Yeah, probably. Don’t worry, they don’t give out homework and stuff like that.”

“Really!? Aw man, the future is awesome!” Chara looked truly ecstatic.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great! There’s so much stuff I want to show you” Frisk said wistfully.

Chara blushed a bit at that.

 Frisk chuckled. “It’s funny, you know?”

“What?”

“You’d think sharing a body would make doing things together really easy, but there’s tons of stuff we can’t really do like this. It’d actually be easier to spend time together if we each have our own body.”

“Yeah, plus, you can take a break from me if I get too exhausting” Chara said, not seeming to realize how self-deprecating that sounded.

“Come on, don’t be so hard on yourself. Besides, we’ll still always be together, we share a SOUL after all.”

“Right. Guess you’re stuck with me, huh.” Chara’s voice was remorseful.

“Come on, don’t be like that. I love having you around, you know that.”

“Yeah but-“

Frisk stopped them. “Remember how I said to stop hurting yourself? Now’s a good time to try. Stop putting yourself down, alright? You’re not some burden I’m forced to carry. You’re my friend, and I’m helping you because I want to.”

“I… yeah” Chara said, smiling slightly. “It’s… it’s hard to wrap my head around, you now? I’m still so used to being the useless kid who no one wants around. I’m not used to people actually liking me. Even now, there’s always doubt. What if they’re lying? What if their being nice because they feel they have too? What if they’re pretending to be okay with it but would really rather I were gone?”

“You think that little of people?”

Chara shook their head. “I was a bit of a misanthrope before, especially when I enacted my plan, but that’s not it. It’s not people, it’s me. I’ve never really been good for much, my mom said as much lots of times. I’m too much of a drain on people. Even the people who wanted to help me, couldn’t. I think that’s why I hated them, come to think of it. I hated them because I was incompatible with them. As long as I interacted with them, I’d only make us all miserable. I guess I was right in the end.”

Frisk placed their hand on Chara’s shoulder, or at least mimicked the action as best as possible. “Hey now, don’t talk like that. You don’t make me miserable, or our families, they love you. Sure, you made mistakes, but you’re helping to fix them, right? And you’re doing a much better job than most people can. And I’d say so far, you’re off to a great start fixing things. After all, you’re the only reason we can help Asriel, right? If you weren’t here, it’d be a lot harder. And the tech they’re making could help a lot of people too.”

“I guess…”

“You are a good person, Chara, I know you are. You’re kind, and caring, brave. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t care if you were a burden or not. Even after everything you still helped me save everyone. I know you say it was for your evil plan, but I don’t believe that. I think deep down, you still wanted to help everyone, to make things right.”

“Maybe… maybe you’re right.”

“Darn right I’m right!” Frisk said quietly, in case Toriel could still hear them. “And you know what? I’m glad we’ll be connected like that. It means we can always be there for each other if we need to. I think it’s great!”

“R-Really?”

“Absolutely! Wouldn’t change it for the world.”

“I… I…” Chara smiled, a few tears forming in their eyes. “Thanks, Frisk.”

Frisk nodded and smiled.

“Let’s uh…” Chara sounded nervous now, and was blushing noticeably. “Let’s promise we’ll always be friends, ok? I’ll always be there for you, and you always be there for me?”

Frisk smiled, and blushed a bit. “You’ve got it, ‘partner’.” They grinned mischievously at that last part.

“What- Did you just-? You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?”

“Nope!”

“Isn’t that kinda… dark?”

“It’s supposed to be endearing! I thought it was cute!”

“You can’t be serious right now.”

“I’ll admit, the circumstances were pretty terrifying, but I mean, it’s not like we were just partners for the bad stuff, right?” Frisk said sheepishly.

Chara facepalmed. “Right, maybe we should talk about this later. We should probably get some rest.”

“Right, see you tomorrow?”

Chara laughed. “Yeah, or in your dreams.”

“Smooth” Frisk said with a wry smile.

“What- no! T-That’s not- I meant because of the brain thing!”

Frisk laughed. “I know, I know, I’m just teasing you. ‘Night!”

Chara sighed. “Good night, Frisk.”

Toriel listened silently from the other side of the door, smiling at the conversation. She couldn’t hear all of it, but she liked what she heard. She was happy Frisk was there for Chara, happy that they were helping them get the second chance they deserved. She quietly made her way down the stairs to her room, humming a soft tune.

As she got into bead, she thought of what it would be like to have her children back once more. She would often do so at this time of night, but now it was more than a tragic dream of what could have been. Now, the thoughts brought happiness rather than sadness and regret. She drifted wistfully off to sleep, full of hope for the future.

Chapter Text

With the expedition to the Underground underway, their main project couldn’t proceed for a few days. Since the most practical way of entry was through New Home, it would take time to reach Chara’s body. She’d decided to have the rest of the Fallen Children’s bodies recovered in the meantime. It would be best, she figured, to retrieve them as soon as possible and store them in an environment less conductive to decay as soon as possible to ensure the best results when the time came for the other children. She may have been getting ahead of herself but better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

In the meantime, the newly christened Comintern Occult Research Division found it prudent to work on some other projects. Alphys and her technicians were making the final preparations for their test of the SOUL Communication System.

“All set?” said one technician. He was new, and Alphys had trouble remembering his name.

“Almost. I just need to make a few adjustments… there! We should be good to go.”

“Perfect, just say the word and I’ll flip the switch.”

Alphys pressed the switch on the camera and focused it on the Green SOUL’s containment chamber. Two long cables snaked out of the base of the glass cylinder and into a two-way communication device. Several more cables connected to various instruments that served to enable communication. Alphys looked into the camera.

“This is Dr. Alphys and technician…” Alphys paused, realizing she’d forgotten to ask the technician’s name.

“Jones, ma’am.”

“Uh r-right. Technician jones. Commencing test of experiment 3012-β, SOUL Communication System, now.”

There was a brief pause while nothing happened. Alphys looked around awkwardly.

“Jones, flip the switch!”

“Oh, right. Activating comms.”

A loud burst of static boomed from the microphone. Alphys quickly began adjusting knobs until the static ceased.

“Hello? Hello, can you hear me?” she spoke into the mic.

“Yes, yes I can hear you. I don’t really know how you can hear me, but hey, why look a gift horse in the mouth, right?”

“It worked! Er um, I mean, so far the test is showing promising results.”

Jones snickered in the background.

“So, um, what did you want to talk about?” the Green SOUL said awkwardly. It had been a while since they’d had an actual conversation with someone.

“Hm, well we should probably try to test your mental faculties first. What’s your name?”

“Asher. Asher Douglas.”

Alphys nodded and wrote down the results. “What’s the last thing you remember from when you were alive?”

“Hm, let’s see… I was fighting.”

“Fighting” Alphys said nervously.

“Yeah, I was fighting this big monster clad in armor. I couldn’t see their face, what with the helmet and all. They said something about being the captain of the Royal Guard. Said something about avenging all of their fallen soldiers. I felt a bit guilty, considering all the fighting I’d been doing. Of course, they were the ones who came at me first.”

“What happened next?” Alphys was nervous, but also curious to see how much his story matched the legends.

“Well, they and their squad of guards charged me. I went in swinging with my pan; sounds silly but that’s the only weapon I had. I didn’t figure it’d do much against their armor, but somehow, I managed to take out about six of ‘em. Eventually I had to go toe to toe with the captain themself. They weren’t really interested in talking, not after I’d just dusted so many of their troops. Honestly diplomacy wasn’t doing me many favors at all. He knocked away my pan and it landed somewhere down below. That’s when I got real angry.”

“Why’s that?” Jones said.

“My dad gave me that pan. He ran a restaurant in Ebott. A Kosher style sandwich shop. I wonder if it’s still there. Anyway, after I lost that pan, I started seeing red, I don’t think I’ve ever been that angry in my life. Then again, I suppose it was pretty red in Hotland as it was. I just started wailing on ‘em until one of my punches knocked ‘em off balance and they fell off the bridge into the lava below.”

Chills went down Alphys’s spine. She’d hoped the stories were exaggerations, but apparently, they were true. Just how strong were these humans?

Asher continued. “I won, but that didn’t get me much in the end. I made it a little bit farther ‘fore I collapsed from heat exhaustion. Last thing I remember before waking up in that glass canister Underground was laughing like a maniac in pure delirium. I imagine that must’ve scared the piss outta the monsters who found me as I was blacking out.”

“W-Why were you laughing?” Alphys shuddered. Just when she thought the story couldn’t get any creepier.

“Well, that’s because of a joke I thought of?”

“A… joke?”

“Yeah, a pretty dark one too. I thought it was a bit ironic that I was dying of heatstroke.”

“Why’s that?” Jones asked.

Asher chuckled. “Well, I always did love to cook.”

Jones began laughing too despite himself. Alphys gave him a shocked look.

“Sorry, sorry, but I mean, come on, that’s pretty ironic, right?”

“I… guess…”

 “What was your dad’s restaurant called?” Jones said, trying to change the subject.

“Oh, Douglas Deli. Not the most creative name, I know, but my dad liked the alliteration.”

“I know that place! I stop by there for lunch sometimes. Come to think of it, there’s a picture of a kid hanging on one of the walls there. Ginger kid, about fourteen or fifteen, wavey hair.”

“That’s me!” Asher said excitedly. “Or I assume it is. I can’t imagine there’re many Douglas Delis around with a picture of a kid that meets my description.”

Jones nodded. “Yeah, Doug’s- that’s what most people call it- is a pretty famous restaurant in this part of town. I always wondered what the deal was with that picture, but I never got around to asking.”

“So, my family’s still in Ebbot, huh? That’s good to know. Maybe I could visit them? Assuming I get my body back, I mean.”

Jones smiled. “Sure thing. Me and the other techs could take you if you want.”

“Thanks, I’d really appreciate that.”

They couldn’t see his expression, if he even had one, but Alphys and Jones could tell by his tone that he was smiling.

Chapter Text

Calvin Jones honestly had no idea what to expect when he came to work at the Ebbot Magical Research Center. He had heard rumors of some super-secret project that they were working on, but he didn’t know whether to put much stock into them. Whatever he was expecting, bringing a long-dead child back to life definitely wasn’t it.

He and three other lab techs wheeled the skeletal remains of Chara Aetos, or Chara Dreemur as they were now known, on a gurney into the lab. The remains, surprisingly, still had the tattered remains of their burial clothing. A green and yellow striped shirt and brown khakis.

As they entered the lab, they saw Frisk, their parents, and the royal family had arrived. Only Frisk was actually in the lab room, while the others were in a shielded viewing room.

“What’s the status on the remains” Alphys asked nervously.

Jones and another lab tech exchanged glances. How were they supposed to answer that?

“Well, their vitals don’t look good, that’s for sure” Jones said.

Frisk, who Jones could see was actually Chara, burst out laughing.

Alphys sighed. “In all seriousness, did the remains suffer any damage while you were transferring them to the lab?”

“Oh! No, they’re fine.”

Chara whistled as they observed the remains. “Man, I’ve lost weight.”

The techs stared at them, flabbergasted, before bursting into laughter.

“Guess that vegan diet worked after all!” Chara said through their own laughter.

“Can we please take this seriously?” Alphys begged.

“Right, right, sorry” Chara said through bouts of laughter. It was clear they were amused at least as much by Alphys’s reaction as the jokes, if not more so.

“Right, so here’s what we need to do. Wheel the remains over to this vat here.” Alphys motioned to the large glass vat they’d set up earlier. It seemed to be filled with water.

“Dump the remains into this nutrient solution, it should help with the regeneration process. Then hook up these cables for safety. We don’t want to risk drowning.”

The lab techs hoisted Chara’s skeleton into the solution. It submerged briefly before bobbing back up to the surface. They attached four cables, one for each limb. The cuffs at the ends of the cables were made of elastic, so as to stretch as the muscles formed around the skeleton. This was of course assuming that the muscles formed underneath the cuffs and not over them. A final harness was attached around the ribcage.

Alphys led Chara over to a large chair resembling a dentist’s chair. “Sit here. I’ll hook you up to the system.”

“Hook me up?” Chara said, more curious than nervous.

Alphys nodded. “Don’t worry, it won’t be painful. I just need to monitor your vitals. The actual tethering is wireless.”

Chara shrugged. “Alright then.”

“Frisk will need to be in control for this so your personality can transfer over to your body. Just try to focus on them while the procedure is underway.”

“Got it, just try to focus on my rotted, skeletal remains.” Chara’s tone was as chipper as it had been before.

“Right, exactly! Um…” Alphys trailed off as she realized what they’d just said.

Chara began laughing again. “Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you. Let Frisk take over, focus on my corpse, got it!”

Alphys sighed. “Alright, I’ll get everything set up.”

Alphys flipped a switch and several large metal conductors descended from the ceiling. They appeared to be large metal beams curved around forty-five degrees. On the end of each was a metal sphere.

Several more descended around Frisk as well.

“Ok” Alphys said. She began powering up the conductors. “Commencing tethering in five… four… three… two…”

“Wait!” Chara shouted.

“What!? What is it!?” Alphys nearly jumped out of her scales.

“Am I gonna be naked after this? I don’t want to be naked in front of all these people.”

Alphys let out a miserable groan.

“It’s an honest question, I swear!”

Laughter could be heard from the observation room.

Alphys took a deep breath. ”Actually, now that you mention it, we do have a hypothesis that your clothing will regenerate with you. I know that sounds odd, but there was no damage to your clothing after your fight with Asriel, so I have to imagine your clothes will regenerate too.”

Chara sighed with relief. “Alright, fire it up!”

Alphys took another deep breath, and powered up the conductors. Commencing tethering in five… four… three… two… one!”

The conductors surged with power. As Frisk heard the crackle of electricity, they felt noticeably less confident than Chara did.

Chara focused intently on their remains bobbing up and down in the vat. It was actually kind of funny to look at, strangely enough. Just then, they found themself rocketing out of Frisk’s body.

They couldn’t tell where they were, or where they were going. All they could see was light, multicolored light streaming past at extreme velocities. Just as quickly as it began, it ended. They found themself in total darkness. They felt as though they were back in the physical world, or almost at least. Something still wasn’t right.

The others watched in awe as the skeletal remains began slowly changing. The decayed, dull, rock-hard bone slowly changed to pearly white, reinvigorated bones. It almost resembled Sans, or Papyrus in child form.

The skeleton began to move slightly. Limbs jerking as ligaments reconnected to bone. Sinews began to almost sprout out of the bone as muscles began to grow around it. Blood vessels and even organs began to follow, the body producing more tissue and knitting itself together at an astonishing rate.

Chara suddenly felt immense pain coursing through them as their nerves felt for the first time and the air and water, and tattered fabric stung their exposed innards. The elastic cuffs and the harness felt like vices around their limbs and chest, as though they would cut through them at any moment. They gasped for air, but their lungs hadn’t formed yet. They felt like they were suffocating and drowning at the same time as water was caught within their body and expelled by an unknown force. As soon as their lungs formed, they began gasping for air but there was only water. As their ears formed, they heard the sound of motors, and the cables began to lift them. Soon they were suspended in the upright position. They coughed and spat up water and what tasted like blood before drawing their first breath of air. Their lungs stung as the air entered but the relief from the suffocation made it worth it. Their heart had formed now and was racing to circulate the blood as fast as it could to the lungs. Their head throbbed as it filled with spinal fluid and brain tissue. Chara felt the indescribable feeling of their very being adhering to the body more and more as their thoughts were encoded onto the brain.

Skin had mercifully begun to form around the exposed muscles and began growing outward like patches of moss on a rock. Chara could vaguely feel the cloth of their clothes engulfing more and more of their skin and could only thank God it had waited until the skin started growing beforehand. Hair began to form over their scalp and eyebrows, followed shortly by eyelashes. It seemed to shoot out from the follicles like silly string until it covered the whole scalp. They opened their eyes and found themselves assaulted by the bright fluorescent lights of the lab. They let out a yelp for what they realized was the first time as their vocal cords formed. They spat and coughed up more water before vomiting a load of it into the vat.

The others watched with a mixture of awe and terror as Chara was reborn, or remade might have been a better term. Once they stopped thrashing and began to heave, the technicians got to work lowering them to the ground, wheeling the vat out of the way.

As Chara was released from their shackles, they fell on all fours, gasping for air. They were cold, sopping wet, and their eyes watered profusely as their eyes adjusted to the light. They ached all over and struggled to breathe as their body craved vast amounts of oxygen to jumpstart all of their organs at once. They heaved deeply two more times, before collapsing to the floor unconscious.

Chara awakened in what appeared to be a hospital cot. They let out a low moan of agony as the feeling returned to their muscles. They noticed that the pain had dulled considerably since then, and now they felt more like they expected to feel after being bedridden for a long time.

“They’re awake!” said an unfamiliar voice. They heard the clatter of feet as doctors and nurses scrambled around them. They tried to get up, but found it to be extremely difficult for some reason.

“Don’t move too much, you’re still recovering from the revival process” said what Chara could only assume was a nurse.

“Take it easy now. It might be hard to move at first. You’re at the general hospital. We were told to monitor you and stay in touch with the lab. We’re just going to conduct a brief physical examination to make sure your faculties are in order. We ran a few tests while you were out to make sure nothing was wrong internally, so now we just need to make sure nothing’s wrong neurologically or with your muscles, ok?”

Chara nodded slowly.

“Good! Let’s get started, then.”

The tests went by quickly enough. It was mostly routine activities and exorcises. It took some time to get used to their new body, and they needed help at first, but ultimately, they has surprisingly few difficulties acclimating to it. They concluded that all that time controlling Frisk must have kept them sharp.

“Alright, all of your tests look good. Surprisingly good actually.”

“That’s a relief. Hey, where is everyone anyway? My family I mean. How long was I out for?” Chara said.

“Only a day. Impressive really, we expected two or three. Everyone should be on their way back now, we just called them.”

 “I was out for a whole day…”

“A day and a night. Nothing to worry about.”

Chara supposed it could have been a lot worse. They still felt stiff from their time in bed.

A few minutes later, another nurse entered, followed by Alphys and the others. Chara perked up as they saw them enter.

“Oh! Hey guy-“

“Chara!” Frisk suddenly pulled Chara into a tight hug.

Chara was taken aback. Their cheeks turned from rosy to red. They had wondered what hugging Frisk would feel like several times. That wasn’t something they’d admit out loud, but it was true regardless. Their body still wasn’t used to physical contact with anyone, so it was a shock to the system. It felt nice. Warm, and comforting.

Chara chuckled nervously. “Uh, hey Frisk.”

“Oh! Sorry, does this hurt? Should I-?”

“No!” Chara said, quickly hugging them back.

Alphys, Asgore, and Toriel grinned widely at the scene. Natalia and Miguel were laughing uncontrollably.

“W-what? What!?” They said indignantly.

Chara became even more flustered and embarrassed. They didn’t actually  let go mind you, but they did feel embarrassed about it.

“I’m so glad you’re ok” Frisk said.

“I… Thank you. I’m happy to see you too.” Chara found themselves smiling despite their embarrassment.

Chara broke off the hug somewhat reluctantly so they could talk to the others.

“How do you feel? What did the doctors say?” Alphys said anxiously.

Chara gave a thumbs up. “So far, so good. Far as the doctors can tell, I have a clean bill of health. Reflexes are fine, all of my organs developed properly, all in all, no complaints. Still getting used to having my own body again though; it feels different.”

“Oh thank God! After you lost consciousness, I thought something went wrong after you collapsed like that.”

“Nah, just what happens when your body has to grow back everything and start up all of its organs at once.”

“That’s… that’s what I meant” Alphys said, nonplused. “I was worried your body wouldn’t be able to handle that.”

“That is very impressive. Your kid’s a real fighter, you know that?” Natalia said.

Asgore smiled proudly. “That they are, Natalia, that they are.”

Toriel pulled Chara into an embrace of her own. Chara wasn’t as surprised by this one as the last one, though their mom hugging them in front of everyone did embarrass them a little. They were glad Flowey hadn’t been brought along.

“Oh, my child, it’s so good to see you again. Well, you know what I mean.”

Chara giggled a bit.

Asgore joined the hug, and by that point Chara was noticing a pattern. They savored the hugs, regardless.

Miguel and Natalia immediately began taking photos of the scene.

“So, what do we do now?” Chara said, finally freeing themself.

“Hey now, don’t have an existential breakdown yet. You’re only fourteen and you just got your body back; there’s plenty to do with your life” Miguel said.

“No, I mean what do we do now after the experiment? Do I need like, checkups or medicine?”

“Oh.”

It was now Miguel’s turn to be embarrassed.

“You’ll need to get checkups every so often to make sure nothing goes wrong. Every two months or so for the rest of the year” Alphys said.

“That’s all?”

“Yeah, your body should function like a normal human body. We mostly just need to make sure the tether holds. There’s no reason to believe it won’t, but it’s good to keep an eye on it.”

“So, that’s it then. I really have my body back.” Chara could hardly believe it even as they said it. They looked down at their hands. They were their hands, not Frisk’s like they had become used to. It felt Surreal.

“Isn’t this great!?” Frisk said, snapping Chara out of their trance. “Think of all the stuff we can do now that you have a body again?”

“What couldn’t we do when we shared a body?”

Frisk shrugged. “Multiplayer videogames, sports, if you’re into any, most things friends do together actually, come to think of it. Anything that needs more than one person.”

Chara was surprised at how restrictive sharing a body was when it came to interacting with the other person. One would think it would be the other way around. They were astonished at how much they’d taken having their own body for granted. The more they thought about it, the more it seemed like a world of possibilities was opening up to them once more. They began to share Frisk’s excitement.

One of said possibilities was considerably less exciting, however.

“Hey so uh, not to freak anyone out here but what happens if I die?”

Everyone turned to Chara with a mixture of confusion and concern.

“I mean, obviously I’m gonna try and avoid that, I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, I just wanna know what happens. Will I transfer back into Frisk or…?”

“Um… well… we aren’t exactly sure” Alphys said sheepishly.

“What?” Toriel said nervously.

“Well, there’s no real way to know for sure. It’s possible that you will just return to your SOUL’s host body.”

“Or?” Chara said impatiently.

“Or your personality could fade away. We assume it would go wherever SOULs go when they vanish but… we have no idea where that is.”

“Guess that’s more of a religion thing.”

Alphys nodded apologetically.

“So what you’re saying is, I can die for real now?”

Alphys nodded. “If that hypothesis I correct, yes. It would also presumably mean the end of the reset ability.”

“Why are you asking this?” Asgore asked in a concerned tone.

Chara shrugged “I mean, I was basically immortal before. I want to know if the situation changed in that regard.”

“You aren’t planning anything dangerous, are you?” Toriel said.

Chara shook their head. “I was just curious, honest. Trust me, it makes a lot more sense to ask when you’re in my position.” 

“I suppose so…” Toriel still sounded concerned.

Chara felt a surge of guilt. They hadn’t meant to worry everyone. The more they thought bout it, the more dread they’d felt at the prospect. Their potential newfound mortality was genuinely terrifying after going so long not having to worry about it. The world suddenly seemed full of hazards. They looked down and realized they were shaking.

Frisk placed their hand on Chara’s shoulder, startling them.

“Hey, don’t worry. I know it’s pretty scary right now, but it’ll be alright.”

Chara relaxed a bit. “I… I know, it’s just…”

“Hard to come to terms with your own mortality at age fourteen?” Natalia said.

“Yeah that.”

“Normally this is where I’d say we’ve all been there but…” Miguel said.

Chara chuckled. “Yeah, not exactly a common set of circumstances.”

Frisk patted them on the shoulder again, causing them to jolt with surprise. ”Hey, don’t worry. You’ve got us to look after you too, remember.“

Chara blushed and looked at the floor. “R-right, yeah. Thanks.”

Everyone else began laughing, much to Chara’s consternation.

“What!? What’s so funny!?”

Chara sighed as everyone continued to laugh harder. They’d managed to brighten up the mood, at least.

The laughter was interrupted by a grumbling from Chara’s stomach. Once more, everyone turned to them.

“Right, I haven’t eaten in over a hundred years.”

Chapter Text

Daniel McTavish had seen quite a lot during his time. He had fought during the civil war as a member of the U.S. Army, and seen horrors most could barely dream of, and acts of heroism that were truly awe inspiring, sometimes both at once. He’d seen the city burn to the ground and be built all the way back up again. However even he had never seen a middle schooler enter the Deli, order two whole pastrami sandwiches, and devour them both in one sitting.

Many customers were equally awed by the young child in a yellow and green striped shirt, and their voracious appetite. Even more so than the fact that the royal family and the chief of police had just stopped in. Many were unnerved  but were either too polite or too afraid to confront them. Chara was too hungry to pay them any mind.

“Remind me to thank the lab techs for mentioning this place” Chara said between bites.

“They do make a fine Ruben” Miguel agreed.

Even Toriel and Asgore were taken aback by Chara’s appetite. They didn’t believe a human stomach could fit so much food.

 Chara did feel a bit sick after the meal, but they deemed it worth it.

“Holy shit, kid! Where’d you get an appetite like that?”

Chara chuckled. “A good century of not eating, that’s where.”

Daniel eyed them curiously. They didn’t sound like they were joking. If they were, it didn’t make much sense. “Who are you, kid?

“Oh right! Name’s Chara, Chara Dreemur.” Chara stuck out their hand as they spoke.

Daniel shook their hand slowly. He had not expected the ghost of a dead kid to manifest in the deli today, but with the way things were going nowadays, that might as well happen.

“Right, Chara, I thought you looked familiar. I’ve seen the statue a few times. How are you… you know?”

“Long story. Long, classified story. They’ll probably want me to do a press conference about it later, God I hate those things.”

Danial laughed. “Yeah, tell me about it. I remember General Wilkes used to give them all the time during the war. Barely even tried to hide how much he didn’t want to be there.”

“I remember him!” Natalia said. “He and General Alekseyev used to but heads all the time.”

“That they did, that they did. So, first monsters come up from the ground and become our neighbors, then the most famous kid in Ebott’s history turns out to be monster royalty, then they come back to life and devour two massive sandwiches at my workplace. History class is gonna get real interesting.”

“Wait, I’m that well known?” Chara said.

Daniel nodded. “Yeah, you sure are. People don’t just forget a goat monster showing up out of the blue like that. People took pictures.”

“Speaking of pictures, who is that on the wall over there?” Toriel said, pointing to a photo hanging on the wall.

“Oh! That’s Asher. He’s the son of the guy who built this place. Yeah, he went missing a ways back, can’t remember how. His family make up most of the staff here too, with me being the exception.”

Toriel had a solemn expression on her face as she stared at the picture.

“Something wrong, your highness?”

“I know this boy.”

“You… what?” Daniel had thought the day couldn’t get any stranger.

“I knew him. He fell a few decades back.”

Daniel realized the implications immediately. “Wait, so your telling me that the owner’s distant ancestor is one of the six SOULs they have locked up at the lab right now?”

Chara nodded. “And a legendary warrior according to monster legend. You might even get to meet him if all goes well.”

“Wait so you- and the SOULs- are they bringing back the dead in there?”

Chara shrugged. “Yeah, that about sums it up. Pretty wild, right?”

“I’m… gonna have to ask you more about this later. That uh, that’ll be $5.82.”

Chara gave a thumbs up. “We’ll definitely be back to tell you more then.”

“I gotta say, I’m surprised at how well people are taking this” Chara said as they walked through the front door.

“The existential implications will take time to settle in. The mind is often slow and deliberate in processing things like this” Natalia said.

“Yeah, Sunday mass is gonna be wild” Miguel said.

“Oh yeah. Chara, didn’t you want to stop by your old church at some point?” Frisk said, hopping onto the couch and turning on the tv.

“Hey, yeah! I think it’s still around, actually. I googled it a while back, but I forgot to mention it. It’s in the historical district.”

“Is this the same religion that the Santa Clause story comes from?” Asgore said.

“That’s the one” Chara said, sitting down next to Frisk. “What’re we watching?”

Frisk shrugged. “Dunno. Figured I’d just see what’s on.”

After channel surfing for a while, Frisk stumbled upon the news.

“GREETINGS BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES, WELCOME TO MTT NEWS! WE’VE GOT A BREAKING NEWS STORY FOR YOU TODAY, AND I PROMISE YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE. WE JUST GOT WORD THAT CHARA DREEMUR HAS BEEN SIGHTED OUT IN PUBLIC! YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT FOLKS, CHARA DREEMUR, PRINCETTE OF THE UNDERGROUND, FIRST FALLEN CHILD, AND COSTAR OF THE EBOTT GOAT MAN LEGEND ALONG WITH THEIR BROTHER ASRIEL, HAS BEEN SIGHTED ALIVE AND WELL AFTER A CENTURY’S ABSENCE.”

A slideshow of several pictures of Chara at Douglass’s Deli appeared in the background.

“’BUT METTATON!’ I HEAR YOU SHOUT AT THE SCREEN. ‘CHARA COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE ALIVE! THEY DIED ALL THOSE YEARS AGO, AND WERE BURRIED WITH FULL HONORS!’ WELL DARLINGS, YOU’D BE RIGHT. CHARA DREEMUR DID INDEED DIE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO, BUT I CAN CONFIRM THAT THIS IS THEM EATING A SANWITCH AT A LOCAL RESTARUANT, AND ONE FOUNDED BY THE FAMILY OF AOTHER FALLEN CHILD AT THAT! INDEED, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING THEIR HIGHNESS JUST THE DAY AFTER EMERGENCE DAY DURING DINNER AT THE CHIEF OF POLICE’S HOUSE. AT THE TIME THEY WERE SHARING A BODY AND SOUL WITH AMBASSADOR FRISK WERNER-ABDULOV, OR ABDULOVA DEPENDING ON THEIR MOOD, BUT NOW IT SEEMS THEY HAVE THEIR OWN BODY ONCE AGAIN! HOW CAN THIS BE SO, YOU ASK?

WORD FROM THE MAYOR’S OFFICE IS THAT A SPECIAL EXPEREMENT WAS JUST CONDUCTED AT THE EBOTT OCCULT RESEARCH CENTER TO PROVIDE THEM WITH A HOST BODY. THAT’S RIGHT BEAUTIES, WE HAVE OFFICIALLY BROGHT SOMEONE BACK FROM THE DEAD!

DETAILS ON THE EXPEREMENT ARE CALSSIFIED AT THE MOMENT, HOWEVER WE DO KNOW THAT CHARA DOES INDEED STILL SHARE A SOUL WITH THE AMBASSADOR. HOW THAT WORKS IS ANYONE’S GUESS FOR NOW.

I WOULD LIKE TO END THIS SEGMENT OFF BY WISHING THE YOUNG PRINCETTE A WONDERFULL RETURN TO THE MORTAL COIL. WE WILL WATCH YOUR CAREER WITH GREAT INTEREST. PERHAPSE YOU AND THE AMBASSADOR COULD SHED LIGHT ON THIS IN THE UPCOMING PRESS CONFERENCE IN TWO WEEKS TIME!”

“Wow, the press got to that one real fast” Chara said lazily.

Frisk sighed. “I’m really not looking forward to giving speeches.”

“Yeah, took me some getting used to too.”

“You’ve given speeches before?”

Chara nodded and yawned. “Comes with being the Princette. It was mostly small stuff like cutting ribbons on new buildings or Holliday commemorations. The anniversary of the banishment to the Underground was probably the heaviest. I imagine our jobs will be considerably higher stakes in the future.”

“Tired?”

“Yeah, ate too much. Still worth it though.”

“I must say, the idea of my kid giving press conferences is definitely strange to think about” Natalia said.

“Oh! I just realized we left Asriel upstairs. I’ll go get him; he’ll want to see you now that you have your body back.” Toriel headed upstairs.

“How do you think he’ll react?” Chara said with a sly smile.

“I dunno, but I’m looking forward to it” Frisk said, with a similar expression.

“Oh, we will definitely be videotaping this” Miguel said.

Voices came from upstairs. It sounded like arguing.

“Come on Asriel, this is a big moment for them. Don’t you want to be there for them?”

“I was finally getting some peace and quiet for once!”

Toriel brought Flowey down sat him on the couch. He gave an indignant expression.

“You can’t just manhandle me every time you want me to go somewhere! I have rights dammit!”  

Toriel glared at him, and all of his bravado was sucked out of him.

“Sorry.”

Flowey looked around the living room until he saw Chara sitting next to him. He turned the other way and saw Frisk. He began looking rapidly back and fourth between the two until he was visibly dizzy.

Frisk and Chara began cracking up.

“Seriously, how do you look so much alike!? I thought I was imagining it at first but no!”

“And here I thought only I could look this good” Frisk said, making finger guns.

Chara snickered. “Yeah, guess everyone really does have a doppelganger after all.”

“Hey now, let’s cut God some slack here, you draw as many characters as he does, and you’ll end up reusing some faces too!” Miguel said.

“Same face, same hometown, you even both fell into the Underground! No wonder there was a prophecy” Natalia said.

“You even have the whole ‘Angel-Demon motif going on” Flowey said.

“What angel-demon thing?” Asgore said.

“Oh right! ‘The demon that comes when people call its name’!" Frisk said, waving their arms dramatically.

Chara put their face in their hands.

Flowey started laughing.

“What?” Toriel said, speaking for the rest of the adults.

“It’s this persona they came up with for how to introduce themself. Kinda like my ‘God of Ultimate Hyperdeath’ character. We used to act them out as kids.”

Chara was red with embarrassment.

“I didn’t know Chuunibyou was a thing in America” Natalia said.

“Shut uuuuuuuuuupppppppppp!” Chara begged.

“Seriously though, did you have to be such an edgelord?” Flowey said.

“Ha! Look who’s talking Mr. Hyperdeath. Hyperdeath isn’t even a word!”

“Touché, but what about how you acted with the other kids? Most of us just went for the usual over acted villain voices when it was our turn to play the bad guy. You just went for this creepy, dissonant politeness route. It was actually really creepy.”

“Wait, you did that voice as a kid too?” Frisk said, snickering a little.

Chara looked absolutely mortified at that point.

“Oh, they sure did! Everyone loved it when Chara played the villain. This one time-“

Chara placed their hand on Flowey’s mouth. “That’s enough out of you.”

Flowey ducked underneath their hand, cackling.

“Wait, wait, hold on, how do you even know about it? Did they actually do the impression on the-?”

Chara clasped one hand over his mouth and the other on the back of his head. That was unfortunately all the confirmation he needed and muffled laughter could be heard even still.

Chara groaned. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“Consider it payback for the last run.”

“Hey, I saved you from a lifetime of self-imposed isolation, I think we’re even.”

Flowey tried and failed to come up with a counterargument.

“Seriously, can we stop talking about this?”

“Oh, come on, it’s not that embarrassing” Frisk said.

“Easy for you to say.”

“I think it’s adorable!” Frisk said.

Chara suddenly began avoiding eye contact. They were now staring intently at their lap. Their face felt warm enough to cook on.

Flowey was practically howling with laughter at this point.

“Alright, alright, let’s give the kid a break, they look like they’re about to burst” Miguel said.

Flowey finally calmed down from his laughing fit. “Alright, alright, I was just messing with them.”

Chara felt immensely relieved.

Flowey turned to the tv. “So, what’re we watching?”

The rest of the day went by largely uneventfully. Chara welcomed the monotony. It gave them time to process everything, to adjust to their new body, or their old one as it were. The highlight of the day was probably Frisk showing them a modern game console. The graphics looked realistic enough that they thought FMV games had come back into style with higher quality cameras.

“You know, I was thinking” Frisk said.

“Yeah?”

“You know how our trip to the Underground was a lot like a videogame?”

“I know, weird right?”

“I just thought it’d be hilarious if somebody made a game about us.”

“Hm.” Chara pondered the concept. “It’d be pretty neat but I’m not sure how fun it’d be.”

“What do you mean? There’s tons of stuff that you could adapt into a fun game. Especially if you like bullet hell.”

“Yeah, but the problem is that it was basically an old Japanese RPG, so it’d need combat, and we specifically succeeded by avoiding that. Who’d want to play a game like that?”

“That’s fair, I guess, but I still think we could pull it off.”

“Wait, are you honestly suggesting they adapt real life historical events into a game?” Chara said.

“I mean, yeah. They do that all the time. Maybe that wasn’t so common back then, but we make all kinds of stuff into videogames. It’s just like making a movie, right?”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t it feel like they’re commodifying it a bit? You need to sacrifice accuracy for entertainment with games.”

“They do that with movies and books all the time. Didn’t you have historical shooters back in your day?”

“That was more like historical fiction. Call of Duty wasn’t a biography.”

“The series is that old?”

Chara laughed. “It’s older than me! I’d kinda like to play them all in order. Get a feel for the politics of the era.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, the series had a fair bit of propaganda in it. Not as much as the detractors said it did, some people need to realize that having the US Army not being portrayed as evil isn’t the same as capitalist propaganda, but still, there’s a fair bit. I’d like to see how the propaganda changed over the years. Like, this new one has communists and Americans as the good guys, and it’s not set in World War Two. That basically never happened back in my day. Soviets were a common go to villain in pop culture. People were getting pretty tired of it after the Cold War, but it took a while to die down. It’s interesting to see politics go a complete one eighty.”

“Yeah, I guess I could see that. I heard there was actually a huge trend of videogames that added nonlethal options and encouraged you to use them. Happened just after your disappearance.”

“Really? Were they good?”

Frisk shrugged. “I heard it was more annoying than anything. A lot of them would pit you against horrible people and expect you to want to spare them without having any real positive effects. You just knock them out and they stay knocked out. Sometimes they’d get back up, so non-lethal was like a challenge.”

“Being knocked out for that long is really bad for you. Most of those enemies probably died anyway. Comas at least.”

“Yeah, and you couldn’t really talk to them either, especially when they were shooting at you.”

“Yeah, luckily most of the monsters were willing to hold off on fighting to talk. Most people aren’t that lucky during fights. Fuck, some people just won’t see reason no matter what.”

Frisk seemed a bit troubled after that. A few minutes passed in silence.

 “Something wrong?” Chara asked finally, hoping they hadn’t upset them.

“Chara, how long do you think the peace can last?”

“Huh? I… I’m not sure. Things seem pretty calm right now.”

“Yeah but… you remember what the mayor said, right? There’s already supremacist groups forming. What if they start fighting and we can’t talk them down before it’s too late?”

Chara thought for a moment. “Well, I guess you give them the opportunity to stop. If they don’t, you stop them by any means necessary.”

“Even if that means killing them?”

“If that’s what has to be done, yeah. If they’re going to kill other people and the only way to stop them is to kill them, that’s what you gotta do.”

“But then people die anyway.”

Chara sighed. “A killer isn’t worth the same as their victims. Killing someone to prevent harm, or because they did something truly evil isn’t the same as killing innocents.”

“Does it really have to be that way though?”

“Why should it be any other way? Some people are just evil and no amount of talking will change that. Some people are so evil that they can’t be forgiven. It’s just the way life is.”

“But how do you know that? What if you think someone’s like that but they’re not? What if they could have been saved but you didn’t know the right thing to say?”

Chara shrugged. “Well, that’s on them, I guess. Look, you did a good thing in the Underground, and yeah, maybe it made sense to keep trying over and over again to save everyone. Because we could try again. Most people don’t get that chance. Someone gets stabbed, they can’t go back and try to talk the bastard down. People just aren’t capable of the kind of thing that happened down there. It’s not fair to ask that of them, and it’s not their responsibility to try and save their attackers as well as themselves. And if you need to save other people from someone? Their lives absolutely take precedence over the attacker, and so does yours.”

Frisk turned the words over in their mind. They didn’t feel right, but they couldn’t think of a retort that made sense.

“What about you?” They said finally.

“Huh?”

“Do think you’re one of those people who are ‘so evil that they can’t be forgiven’?”

Chara was silent for a moment.

“Chara?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Even now?”

“Yeah, Frisk, even now. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll ever really know. I keep asking myself if I can really make up for what happened or how much work I need to do before I’ve done it. Even now I don’t know the answers.”

Frisk didn’t know how to respond to that.

“This isn’t about me though. Where I lay on the morality scale isn’t the point here. The point here is that the scale exists. There are people who’ve done all the same stuff I did or worse, and they can’t just bring everyone back afterwards, not that it’d be ok if they could. If someone kills someone, typically they can’t just come back to decide whether they want to forgive them or not, so who are we to? Who are we to make that decision for them? ‘Yeah, you killed a family of four but it’s ok because some completely random person who had nothing to do with it thinks you deserve a second chance.’ It’s just not right. Even if it isn’t murder specifically, the damage can’t be undone so who are we to decide they get a do over? The wronged deserve justice.”

“Does that mean I shouldn’t have forgiven you?”

Chara smiled sadly. “Isn’t that what I’ve been telling you this whole time? But it’s not quite the same. I hurt you too, Frisk. Honestly, I’m not sure how you don’t hate me right now. You have every right to.”

“But I don’t and neither do the others.”

“Yeah, but that’s the thing, the others are alive. Most victims can’t confront their killers and decide for themselves whether they forgive them. And even if they could, forgiveness isn’t something I was entitled to. No one was obligated to forgive me. You all have every right to hate me, that’s why I’m so grateful, and confused.”

“Sometimes great things come from forgiving people” Frisk said, looking at Chara intently as they did.

Chara blushed. “I’m flattered but I don’t see how I’m so great. I’m the one who did all of that horrible stuff in the first place. My life being better isn’t enough to justify your forgiveness.”

Frisk shook their head. “You being in our lives is a good thing. With out you, we’d never have saved Asriel, Toriel and Asgore would still be grieving over their lost children, I’m certainly happier with you around.”

“Really?” Chara said hesitantly.

“Yeah! You’re a better friend than you think.”

“I wasn’t so great to Asriel, look at what happened to them.”

Frisk put their hand on Chara’s shoulder. “That doesn’t make you a bad person, Chara. You made a mistake, and now you’re helping to make up for it. Besides you did plenty of good stuff for him too, right? Don’t let that mistake define your whole friendship.”

Now it was Chara’s turn to be speechless. What they were saying didn’t feel right, but they couldn’t think of a retort that made sense.

“Alright, but even if what you say is true, I did still almost kill everyone. It was still a huge risk to take on their part to forgive me. I’d say it was a big one for you too, but I couldn’t really hurt you and you didn’t have any other options available. I’m not saying it was a bad move, since it worked out, but it was still a massive risk, and that kind of risk doesn’t always pay off. In fact, it usually doesn’t. Hence the term ‘risk’. It’s not fair to ask everyone to do that, and honestly I think if everyone did, a lot of people would be hurt. Some people are just bastards.”

“If you want me to say saving you was a bad idea, it’s not going to happen. I knew it could be done, that’s why I did it, not because I didn’t have any other options. I’d have taken it even if there were other options.”

Chara shook their head. “That’s not it. Like I said, the risk paid off. I’m not sure what you saw in me that made you think it was a good idea, but it seems to have paid off. What I’m saying is that eventually you’ll find people who don’t have whatever you saw in me. And I’m worried you’ll get hurt trying to save them even if you can’t find it.”

“You’re worried about me?” Frisk said confused.

“Of course! This is a dangerous game we’re playing, Frisk! These hate groups are full of dangerous people, and there’s Nazis across the border and- and-“

Frisk drew Chara into a hug. Chara returned it, tears now streaming from their eyes.

“It’ll be alright.”

“You don’t know that! I-I can’t lose you, Frisk, I can’t!”

 “You won’t, I promise. Just because I’m trusting doesn’t mean I’m reckless. Besides, I‘ve got you around to watch my back, right?”

That last statement gave Chara a flicker of hope. “Yeah, yeah I will. We’ll have each other’s backs, just like before. Right?”

Frisk nodded. “Of course! So don’t worry so much, alright?”

Chara laughed a bit as they broke off the hug. “Ah, look at me. Chara Dreemur, ‘the demon who comes when people call its name’ crying like a baby.”

Frisk giggled a bit. “That’s alright, everyone get’s a bit emotional sometimes. It’s good to talk about it.”

Chara sighed and smiled. “Yeah, I guess I’m not really cut out to be a demon anyway. Guess I’ll have to settle for human.”

“For what it’s worth, I thought your demon voice was pretty cool.”

“Really?” Chara said, flustered once more.

“Yeah! I like the eerie supernatural child thing you’ve got going there.”

“Yeah, I thought about doing a gravely demonic voice, but I just don’t have the voice for it. I’m told I do ‘sweet, innocent looking yet sinister child’ pretty well though.”

“That you do! Come on, let’s get to bed. I’ll take the sleeping bag.”

“You sure? It’s your bed.”

Frisk smiled and nodded. “You look like you could use the rest. Besides, the bag’s actually pretty comfy. I was hoping to take it for a spin.”

“If you say so…”

“I do say so, so come on, I need to climb these stairs while I still have the energy.”

Chara grinned. “Alright, let’s go.”

Chapter Text

Chara was rather nervous about the press conference to say the least. News about the resets had gotten out rather quickly all things considered, no surprise there since Mettaton knew about them, and now, in addition to explaining their revival and making an important announcement about domestic policy, they had to do damage control. The exact details of the Genocide Run weren’t known, but it was known that they had killed many people that were now alive. He press seemed to be treating it as some sort of first contact gone wrong, which was not entirely wrong, but far from the full story.

A part of them wanted to tell everything, to lay their sins bare before the masses and leave themselves at the mercy of their judgement. The other, more rational part knew that this would cause more problems than it would solve, and that the people needed them now more than they ever did.

A small comfort in all of this was that they weren’t expected to dress up for the occasion. Monster custom was that all children wear striped clothing, and back in the Underground they were known for their trademark green and yellow striped shirt. It was deemed appropriate to stick to tradition. That and the Communists didn’t care about formal attire anyway. The mayor gave speeches in sweatpants and a t-shirt sometimes.

Fear gripped them as they were called to the podium. Their chest tightened and they felt as though they were being suffocated.

Get it together! You’ve done this before!

Chara was snapped back to reality by the feeling of someone’s hand on their shoulder.

“Hey, don’t worry! You’re gonna be great!” Frisk said.

Chara smiled nervously.

“Thanks. Wish me luck.”

Frisk gave a thumbs up.

Chara took a deep breath and headed on stage. There was a loud applause as they did.

“Greetings comrades.” Chara felt rather odd saying that, but it was the customary way of starting a speech nowadays.

“As you can see, after a long leave of absence, I have returned. Some of you know me as the adoptive princette of the Underground, others as the street urchin at the center of our disastrous first contact a century ago. If you find it strange that I’m speaking here today, well join the club.”

There was laughter in the audience.

“Yeah, I honestly wasn’t expecting any of this either. It has been a wild ride. We’re still not entirely sure how my personality returned, only that it has something to do with the strong amount of DETERMINATION in ambassador Frisk’s SOUL. Though their rescue was accidental, I am forever grateful to them.” They smiled as they said that last part.

“Before I start taking any questions, I want to address the elephant in the room. Yes, the ambassador possesses the ability to reset time. In the event of their death, or should the need arise for some other reason, time simply restores the last SAVE point they- or I- activated. Prior to this conference, we briefly returned to New Home to do just that. If this speech seems long to you, just imagine what it might be like for us.”

There was more laughter, along with several hushed whispers.

“Ok, in all seriousness, this is my first time giving this speech. If I seem rusty, that’s because I haven’t practiced in a while. You could say I was preoccupied.”

Now that the mood had been significantly lightened, Chara felt now was the time to get to the point.

“In all seriousness, I realize how hard to process this must be for you all. Trust me, I know what it feels like to have an existential crisis after encountering forces beyond our comprehension. I’m still not used to being in the future. To me this all feels like a sci-fi time travel movie. Nothing really makes any sense to me. What I’m trying to say is that you’re far from alone in all of this. But that’s probably not the only serious question you have about the resets.”

Chara took another deep breath.

“As many of you know, there were many resets before our current timeline. As you may have gathered, they did not go well. Many died that live in this timeline, and we suffered countless deaths of our own. Several of you met the ambassador in the underground, and many of you fought them as well. In another time, these fights had horrible consequences. For who? Doesn’t matter, there’s at least one iteration for us both. I believe Ambassador Frisk and I spent around a year’s worth of time in resets trying to reach our goal. Over time, I will confess, we became unstable. We began to view those we sought to save as enemies. That doesn’t excuse our actions, by any means, especially my own, nor the suffering they caused. I take full responsibility for my actions and ask that you place the blame primarily on myself. Frisk was largely an unwilling accessory to the worst of it. I know you must have questions about what exactly I mean, but there’s unfortunately little I can tell you that you don’t already know. I will try to answer them nonetheless.”

Frisk was concerned about Chara’s attempt to take all of the blame. They felt their role was being downplayed and that Chara would suffer more than necessary to shield them from the backlash.

The reporters in the audience began calling for their attention. Chara began answering several questions about the resets and numerous minor details about the different timelines to the best of their abilities. They were rather shocked at the lack of outrage they were receiving. There wasn’t none. There were numerous angry murmurs and whispers from the crowd, but most of them seemed more confused or shocked than anything. Chara took one last question, from a Vulkin in the crowd rather than from the gaggle of reporters.

“Why did you do it?” The Vulkin said curiously, and innocently.

Chara paused, unsure how to answer. They were suddenly overcome with guilt and terror. Their face went pale, and their palms were clammy. Memories began to flood back to them of the terror they’d wrought and the chaos in their wake.

“Your majesty?” The Vulkin said, now more concerned than curious.

Chara quickly regained their composure. “Sorry, I’m… I’m sorry. It’s a… a bit difficult to think about is all. I’m ok now.”

Murmurs of concern echoed throughout the crowd. Frisk was tempted to intervene on their behalf.

Chara steeled themself, struggling to appear confident once more. “Like I said, I won’t make any excuses for what happened, but here’s how I remember it. As I mentioned before, there were a lot of resets. In every timeline before this one, there were casualties. Monsters we couldn’t save, ones we couldn’t figure out how to save. Ones that wouldn’t listen to us.  Because of that, they always ended poorly. We only figured out how to save some of you on this run. It began to ware on us. We’d save someone, only for them to start attacking us again on the next run. I think it felt like a betrayal, almost. Honestly the fact that everyone was so dead set on killing us felt like a betrayal too. I know it doesn’t make sense, nobody knew who I was, but it got harder to think rationally as time went on. I guess we- I just snapped eventually.”

The audience went silent. Many had no idea how to process what they were hearing. Many of the outraged monsters now felt some degree of sympathy for Chara, and no one was sure what to make of this strange conflict that never was. Should they be angry? Was there anything to be angry about? One man could be heard shouting from the crowd. Chara couldn’t make it out but tried to ignore it.

Chara sighed and spoke again. “I know it may be hard to forgive me for what I’ve done. Honestly, I don’t think I can ask that of you now. All I ask is that you give me a chance to at least try to make it right. If the public will have me, I wish to dedicate my life to serving it. Both monsters and humans. I don’t know if it’ll make up for anything, but I have to try.”

There was applause at that. Chara was surprised at that. They didn’t expect to be accepted after what they’d just confessed to, but they were grateful, nonetheless.

“Thank you. You’re acceptance means more to me than you’ll ever know.” Chara wiped some tears from their eyes.

The man could still be heard shouting. Chara could hear something like “traitor!” or some such. They  gritted their teeth and suppressed their annoyance. The speech was almost over, they told themself. One belligerent didn’t matter.

“Now- waddaya want!?” Chara shouted at the man, no longer able to ignore his taunts.

“Ah, so the coward finally decides to address his critics!”

“Listen to my- did you hear a word I just said!?”

“Yeah, I heard! I heard you had the perfect opportunity to cleanse the Earth of these freaks once and for all, and you blew it! Now our city is infested with these unnatural… things! It’s bad enough these commie bastards have turned our city into a socialist hellscape, and diluted our culture beyond recognition, now we have to share the world with a whole new species!”

Chara groaned in frustration. “How did you get in here? Can we get him out of here?”

“Typical, those in power always try to hide the truth!”

Chara laughed.

“What!? What’s so funny!?”

“It’s just, you’re pathetic! Dude, you paid money for this! I know money isn’t as important here nowadays, fuck, I had two sandwiches a while back and they only charged for the second one, but come on! There has to be something better to do with your cash! Do you honestly thing I care what you have to say? I don’t even know who you are!”

“I’m John Tanner, you freak! God I shoulda known an abomination like you’d feel right at home with the rest of these monsters.”

The audience was shocked but for Chara, the insult barely registered. They’d heard far worse. They burst into laughter.

“He said his name! Holy fucking shit he actually-! That’s on video now, you moron! This is being broadcast! The- the camera’s got your face too! What are you gonna say your address next? Maybe your zip code? You’re a Nazi in a city of Communists, that’s not gonna end well! Ah well, it doesn’t matter the guards are on their way anyway.”

The man kept ranting until two uniformed guards grabbed him by the arms. He was forcibly escorted out of the crowd, shouting, and screaming all the way.

Chara immediately resumed their speech as though nothing had happened.

“Anyway, that actually segways nicely into my final topic. To combat the threat of, well, people like that, the king and queen have officially decided to reconstitute the Royal Guard. They will serve a similar purpose as they did in the Underground, and will work with Ebott City authorities to help combat the threat. I don’t have any more information at this time, but any former guardsmen can expect to be contacted at some point in the coming months. I will say that I fully endorse this decision. Conflict is unfortunately a part of life, something we must always be prepared for. I know many were hoping for an end to armed conflict and standing armies for monster kind, but unfortunately that is not an option. Peace is not something that can be built once and left on its own. There will always be those who resent the peace, there will always be those who would threaten the people. Only through constant vigilance can we preserve what we have built here. If our species are to build a brighter future together, we must also work together to protect it.”

The audience applauded loudly. Chara’s handling of the heckler had left a lasting impression. It was safe to say they’d won over the human populace as well as the monsters.

“Thank you, thank you” Chara said bashfully. “Now, that just about wraps up my speech today. Ambassador Frisk will be speaking next, I hope you give them the same attention you gave me.”

Chara left the stage, breathing a sigh of relief once they were no longer in view of the crowd.

“That was amazing!” Frisk said.

“R-really? Honestly I don’t think it was one of my better speeches. Too awkward.” Chara rubbed the back of their head nervously.

Frisk laughed. “You’re thirteen, they’ll look past that. Besides, the way you handled that heckler was- God, I wish I could handle people like that so well!”

“I guess it comes with practice” Chara said wryly.

Frisk took a sharp breath in. “Whelp, guess it’s my turn. Wish me luck?”

Chara nodded. “Knock ‘em dead! And remember what I told you about the comedy. It works wonders on the crowd.”

Frisk stepped out onto the stage. The crowd, still riding the excitement from earlier, broke out into a loud cheer.

“Thank you, thank you. Greetings comrades, I’m Frisk Werner-Abdulov, ambassador to humanity for monster kind. I know it seems odd that a middle schooler is an ambassador.” Frisk paused. “Anyway, I look forward to working with you all, and I do mean all of you, this is a collective effort. As Princette Chara said, peace requires constant effort to maintain. I will do my part to keep the peace, but I can only go so far without your support. I hope I will have that support in the coming days.”

Frisk felt nervous as they spoke. They tried their hardest to speak organically, but they feared they sounded nervous. They glanced at their cue cards frequently.

 “As the first human to come into contact with Monster kind since Chara- er Princette Chara, I will be overseeing human-monster relations for the foreseeable future. I will act as an advisor to the Ebbot City government and the royal family in matters regarding the other species. I will also be available to accept any complaints or issues either side has regarding the monsters’ integration with human society. We want to make this transition as smooth as we possibly can for everyone. That being said, supremacist organizations will be disregarded entirely.”

Frisk glanced at Chara, and smiled. Chara snickered. Some of the audience could be heard laughing in the distance.

“Yes, while I am willing to speak with them to deescalate tensions, the government has made it clear that our policy towards these new hate groups will be no different than any other fascist sympathizer. If any human supremacists are expecting sympathy from me due to my species, remember, people like you tried to kill me just before first contact. If any monster supremacists are expecting sympathies due to my status, remember, a bunch of you also tried to kill me following first contact. It’s safe to say I am a neutral party here.”

The audience’s reaction to the joke was decidedly mixed.

“Too soon? Too soon, right. Makes sense, I think I recognize some of you.”

That one, strangely, got a stronger positive reaction.

“Yeah, good times. It was like dodgeball from hell. So just regular dodgeball if you’re me, though I feel I may have gotten better at it now. I should clarify to any monster children that are watching that magical powers are not allowed in dodgeball.”

The crowd seemed to be warming back up now.

“In any case, since Chara- er Princette- ah screw it, we never bothered with titles before, why start now? Chara already addressed the most noteworthy controversy for me, so I’ll just start taking questions now. Why drag things out?”

“Why don’t we just kill them?”

“Uh… what?”

“The supremacists. Why don’t we just kill them?”

“I’m sorry… who are you again?”

“Right, sorry. Wladyslaw Banik, People’s International.”

Frisk was familiar with the outlet. They were a hardline Communist news network that broadcasted in Comintern territories. The comment was far from out of character, they were famously hawkish.

“W-well, we can’t just resort to violence immediately, otherwise we come off as the aggressor.” Frisk had not expected their first official action as ambassador to be justifying not simply killing their political opponents.

“Would the international community really care though? I mean, they’re Nazis. Anyone who sympathizes with them after the fact was probably already a Nazi too, just quiet about it.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s really that simple…” Frisk said nervously.

“Sure it is. If anyone’s first instinct upon seeing a bunch of Nazis die is to become a Nazi, they’re probably not good people. C’mon, I thought we gave up on that ‘hate speech is free speech’ nonsense decades ago.”

Chara shrugged and nodded.

“Well, the decision is not up to me, sir. Could someone else ask a question, please?”

A reporter from MTT, a human, oddly enough, asked next.

“Hi, Stacy Miller, MTT News. The Princette claims they were almost solely responsible for the disastrous past timeline. Do you agree with that assessment?”

The audience went silent. Frisk glanced at Chara, who rapidly drew their hand across their neck.

Frisk sighed. “No, no I do not agree with their assessment.”

Chara’s eyes went wide with fear and astonishment. Murmurs echoed throughout the audience.

“While I will not deny that much of the events that occurred were indeed their prerogative, I was complicit in them. Were I not, they could not have occurred. Their statements about the events apply to me as well. I give my sincerest apologies for the suffering we caused, even if no one but us remembers it.”

There were some brief whisperings from the audience, but for the most part, they seemed content with that answer. Frisk would have to thank Chara for discussing it at length beforehand, after they endured their inevitable tongue lashing.

Frisk answered a few more questions, mainly about the upcoming restoration of the Royal Guard and the plans to allow humans to move into the Underground. Fortunately, none of the other questions held as much gravity as the first two.

Just as they were about to wrap up, someone shouted from the back of the room.

“Stop him! He’s headed for the stage!”

It was one of the guards.

Frisk glanced around the room until they saw the guards from earlier chasing someone through the crowd. Frisk recognized him as the heckler from earlier.

John moved with incredible speed, and now that Frisk got a closer look, he had a rather muscular build. The guards struggled to keep pace in the crowd, and their guns and ranged tasers were too dangerous to use. Before long he reached the stage.

As he mounted the stage, Frisk braced themself for whatever was to come.

“Die, you traitorous-”

As he was speaking, John was tackled off the stage. Frisk looked down to see Chara lying on top of him, wailing on him. The faint wet crunch of shattering bones could be heard. The audience watched in awe and horror as Chara clobbered the man.

Rage burned in Chara’s crimson eyes as they struck the man. It was all they could do to avoid killing him. Finally, they grabbed John’s wrists and yanked. John yelped in pain as his arms popped out of their sockets, and their wrists were dislocated, all at once. He had barely a second to process the immense pain before he felt his elbows snap as well.

Nothing. Leave nothing! Nothing he can hurt them with!

Not even a second later, with one, deft movement, Chara released the wrists and grabbed hold of Jon’s fingers and crushed them. John screamed in pain before finally passing out.

Now for the legs.

“Chara! Chara stop!”

Chara was snapped out of their rage by the sound of Frisk’s voice. They were yanked off the man before they could even process what was happening.

“F…Frisk?” Chara said, dazed.

They noticed the audience watching in stunned silence. Even Wladyslaw, who not an hour earlier had called for bloodshed, was taken aback by the display.

“What… what happened?” Chara said as they gazed at the man lying in a crumpled, broken heap, now being tended to by the guards, and then down at their bloodied hands.

Some of the audience continued to watch the scene unfold in silent horror, while others, including Wladyslaw, started cheering.

“I… I…”

“It alright” Frisk said with a shaky voice. “It’s alright, everything’s alright.”

Chara’s breathing quickened as the realization of what they’d just done hit them. Their chest tightened, and they began to feel dizzy. The sounds from the surroundings grew more distant. The last thing they saw before they passed out was the on-sight paramedic team making their way through the door.

Chara groaned softly as they came too. They observed their surroundings as their vision came into focus. They seemed to be in an infirmary. They wondered how much time had passed.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. Was beginning to worry for a second there.”

Chara turned their head to see a man dressed in a nurse’s outfit sitting at a nearby desk.

“Hey, don’t try to move too quickly now. You’ll need a minute to get your bearings.”

“What… happened?”

“Got into a fight, your highness. During the press conference, remember? Someone tried to jump the ambassador, and you took him out. Was quite a sight from what I heard; you damn near killed the guy. EMTs were afraid to move him. After that I guess you passed out from stress.”

“Frisk! Where are they!? Are they ok!?” Chara tried to get up but were overcome with dizziness.

“Hey, hey! Take it easy now. Remember, it’ll take a sec to recover. The ambassador is fine, thanks to you. Just a bit shaken. They were real worried about you, too. They should still be in the lobby. I’ll text ‘em, tell ‘em you’re awake.”

“They’re still here?” Chara said, somewhat surprised.

“Well yeah, you haven’t been out that long. Otherwise you’d be in the hospital now, not an infirmary! It’s been a few minutes, that’s all.”

“Ah” Chara said, relaxing. “So… what about the guy I…?”

“The Nazi? Dunno, he’s probably still on his way to the hospital.”

“Oh” Chara said, disappointedly.

“I wouldn’t worry too much. Medicine’s pretty good these days.”

“Eh, fuck ‘im” Chara said lazily. The more they thought about the man, and what he tried to do, the less concerned they felt about his wellbeing.

The nurse laughed, in surprise as much as in amusement. “Yeah, can’t say the world would be much worse off without him, that’s for sure.”

The door swung open.

“Chara!” Frisk said, running over to them.

“Frisk! How are you? Were you hurt? He said you weren’t but-“

Frisk snickered, than burst into laughter.

“What?” Chara said, dumbfounded.

“It’s just, you’re the one in the hospital bed and you’re asking me if I’m alright.”

Chara laughed a bit as well. “Sorry, force of habit. Didn’t have to worry much about myself until a week ago.”

“You don’t need to apologize, just tell me how you’re doing!”

“A bit out of it, but fine otherwise.”

Frisk breathed sigh of relief. “That’s good. I was starting to worry.”

“The nurse said it’s only been a few minutes.”

“Any more than that’s a sign of an emergency. You were right on the threshold.”

“…Oh.”

“Yeah, this aint a movie. You don’t just stay unconscious unless your body can’t wake up for some reason.”

Chara sat up and rubbed the back of their head. “Well, I don’t feel brain damaged.”

The nurse nodded. “We’ll run you through a quick test just to be sure.”

Chara was cleared not long after. It didn’t seem like they were suffering any negative effects. It was quickly decided that they would be escorted home by the police, just incase of another panned attack.

There was an awkward silence in the squad car on the way back. Chara gazed silently down at their hands.

“Are you alright?” Frisk asked finally.

“Huh? Yeah, it’s just…”

“What?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. You know you can talk to me.”

Chara sighed. They thought about fighting them on this, but they knew it was futile.

“Alright, you win. I was thinking about earlier.”

Frisk nodded. “Yeah, figured. That was pretty…”

“Fucked up? Yeah, it was. I’d say I don’t know what came over me, but we both know that’s not true.”

“Chara…”

“When I… when the fight started, I… I lost control. I saw him coming for you, and I just… snapped. I damn near killed him. I wanted to too. It felt… better… than it should have.”

Frisk nodded. As reluctant as they were to admit it, they knew Chara was telling the truth. Denying it would only make things worse.

“I get that you feel bad about it. That’s normal, even if you were in the right.”

“That’s just it, it is normal, and yet I don’t feel bad about it at all.”

That gave Frisk pause.

“Yeah, pretty freaky, right? Even I’m not sure why. I feel bad about the other runs, all the people we- I killed-“

“We. You had it right the first time.”

Chara groaned. “Yeah, don’t think I haven’t forgotten that stunt you pulled back there.”

“I told the truth. I’d do it again, too.”

“You’re putting yourself on the line for a monster, you know.”

“That’s my job.”

“You know what I mean!”

“Do I?”

“Yes! Even if you don’t agree, you know what I’m talking about!”

Frisk shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“I didn’t feel bad at all when I woke up. When I found out they didn’t know how he was doing? I didn’t care. That doesn’t bother you?”

“I mean, it’s unsettling but…”

“I just don’t get it! I feel regret for everything else! The Genocide Run, the SOUL possession, all of it. Why don’t I feel bad about this?”

“Why should you?” said the driver.

Frisk and Chara stared at him.

“What? He’s a Nazi, right? Why would you feel bad about beating his ass?”

“Because… because that’s what people do, isn’t it? People are supposed to feel bad about hurting people. This isn’t normal.”

“So? What you did wasn’t wrong, you’re not obligated to feel bad about it. Maybe talk to a therapist, but not feel bad about it. You said you felt bad about hurting people who didn’t have it coming, right?”

“Yeah…”

“So, what’s the problem? Half the audience cheered you on after the shock wore off.”

Frisk wanted to chew the officer out, but once again, they couldn’t think of a counter argument. Even they could barely muster up any sympathy for the man. Just enough to not want him dead.

“I’m not sure I’d go that far but I get what you mean.” Frisk said.

“I get what you’re saying but it still doesn’t feel right.”

The officer nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. I can see why you’d be worried. Still, nothing to be ashamed of.”

“What if I’m dangerous? What if one day I really do snap again? What if I’m just one bad day away from another rampage?”

“Why? ‘Cause you beat down a Nazi? I don’t care what kinda history you have, beating down a Nazi aint gonna turn you to the dark side. This isn’t a bad action movie where some moron says that if you kill the bad guy, you’re just as bad as he is. This is real life, where everyone knows that’s bullshit.”

Both Frisk and Chara were taken aback by his frankness.

“I… guess” Chara said finally.

“For what it’s worth, I still don’t think you’re dangerous” Frisk said.

“Seriously?”

Frisk nodded. “Yeah. I’ll admit you freaked me out a bit back there, and you’ve definitely got some issues we need to work on, but I don’t think this is a slippery slope or anything.”

“If you say so.”

By that point, the car pulled into the driveway.

“Alright, here we are. You two stay safe out there!” The officer said.

Frisk smiled. “Thanks for the ride, officer-“

“Daniels.”

“Please tell me your first name isn’t Jack” Chara said.

“Nah, it’s Larry. Be seeing ya.”

Chara nodded and smiled. “See you around.”

Chara and Frisk slowly made their way inside. They were not looking forward to everyone’s reactions when they got inside.

Chapter Text

The reaction from their parents had been about what they’d expected. Lots of panicking, a bombardment of questions, the typical parental reaction to such an incident. It took ten minutes for Frisk and Chara to finally calm everyone down. Even Flowey seemed worried.

Everyone gathered around the kitchen table. Now that everyone had calmed down, it was time to go over the events of the day in detail.

Chara and Frisk recapped the attack from their respective perspectives. Unfortunately, Chara’s memories were somewhat hazy.

“Wow! You really went all out on them, didn’t you?” Flowey said with a sly grin.

Chara bowed their head in shame.

Natalia nodded. “Indeed, they did.” She smiled. “I approve.”

Toriel, Frisk, and Asgore stared at Natalia in shock.

“Wait, what?” Chara said.

“I will admit you may have been a bit… excessive, but you’re reasoning behind it is palpable, especially to me. I appreciate your concern for my kid, and the lengths you went to help them. You have some self-control issues, but we already knew that. I’ll hardly hold their attacker’s fate against you.”

“I understand your feelings, Natalia, but this is still a serious issue” Asgore said. “Chara, I understand why you did what you did, but you will need to learn some restraint.”

“I’d rather they both avoid fighting all together” Toriel said. “This isn’t something that should become a regular thing.”

Natalia nodded. “Of course, we understand this, but we can’t guarantee that. Today is proof of that.”

Miguel nodded in agreement. “Yeah, obviously we’d rather you not be in any danger at all, but I’m not willing to bank on that. We need to be prepared for the worse.”

“I… suppose…”

“We’ll need to reestablish the Royal Guard soon” Asgore said. “They existed to prevent exactly this. In the meantime, you two will need more security.”

Miguel nodded. “We could ask the National Guard. I think the commander could spare the troops.”

Natalia agreed. “Yes, that would be best. I will see if we can spare some officers as well.”

“I think Mettaton knows some mercenaries we could look into” Frisk added.

“Shouldn’t we look into getting them like, I dunno, a bodyguard? A permanent one I mean” Flowey said.

“That’s not a bad idea” Toriel said.

“We’ll have to look into it, find someone trustworthy. Shouldn’t be too hard” Natalia said.

“I could do it” Chara said.

Everyone stared at them.

“What? I’m a lot stronger than most people you could hire, we already live together, spend most of our time together- shut up.” Chara glared at Flowey.

“What? I wasn’t gonna say anything.”

“Sure. Where was I? I’m free, I’ll probably give most of my speeches with them anyway.”

“I… really don’t think that’s a good idea, Chara” Toriel said.

“Why not?”

“It’s just, we’ve seen how dangerous this can be” Asgore said. “We don’t want you to-”

“Like I said, I’m gonna be there anyway. This is mostly just a formality.”

“It would mean they could carry a weapon” Miguel said.

“See? Miguel gets it!”

“I don’t think I want you using weapons” Toriel said.

Chara sighed. “Look, mom. I know you’re worried about me, and I get this seems like a bad idea, but I’m pretty sure I’d actually be safer with a weapon than without. This kind of thing comes with being involved in politics nowadays, and I can’t really afford not to be. My position is too important to stay on the sidelines.”

“You’re more important to us than political gain, Chara” Asgore said.

“To you, yeah, but not to everyone else.”

“Do not worry about everyone else. You are-”

Chara cut Toriel off. “I can’t not worry about everyone else, mom, and neither can you. We’re royals, right? We all have a responsibility to the people.”

“This is why we do not have royalty anymore” Natalia said.

“But the monsters do, and that means we need to fulfill our duty.”

“Let us worry about that! You two just-“

Natalia cut Asgore off. “Do not waste your breath, Asgore, you aren’t talking them out of this now. Especially not Frisk.”

Frisk nodded resolutely.

“I mean, come on, how much more dangerous could it be than their fight with me?” Flowey added.

“You weren’t trying to kill them!” Toriel said.

“You didn’t know that. You still let them go because it was a good idea. So is this.”

“Frisk, what do you think of all of this?” Natalia said.

“Well, I understand your worries but… Flowey and Chara have a point. I can’t stop being ambassador now, that’d just mean the fascist won, right? It’d embolden them. This way, they’ll be discouraged.”

“And Chara as a bodyguard?” Miguel said.

Frisk smiled. “Can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have watching my back.”

“Really?” Chara said, surprised.

“We’ve had each other’s backs since we met, right? I trust you.” Frisk said.

Chara blushed. “I mean, that’s true…”

Flowey chuckled. “What’s the matter Chara? You-“

“You, shut up!”

“Could you at least consider it?” Frisk said.

Toriel sighed. “It doesn’t seem like there’s any better option. I suppose… we’ll consider it.”

“Thank you” Chara said earnestly.

“Well, with that settled for now, I am going to go to bed” Natalia said.

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired myself. Just gonna grab a snack first, I’m starving” Frisk said. “Want anything Chara?”

“Yeah, some of those brownies from yesterday would be great.”

“Chara, it’s not a good idea to eat sugar before bed!” Asgore scolded.

Chara shrugged. “It’s not a school night.”

Chara and Frisk were beginning to regret eating those brownies as they lay awake in bed.

Frisk looked over and saw Chara laying on their side, facing the door.

Chara kept their eyes clamped shut, desperately trying to ignore the heat from the covers, which seemed far more intense to their alert mind. Suddenly they had an odd feeling that someone was watching them. They glanced up to see Frisk’s grinning face.

“Gah!”

Frisk began laughing. “Can’t sleep either, huh?”

“Don’t do that! I almost had a heart attack!”

“Aw come on, how’re you gonna be my bodyguard if you can’t handle a little scare?”

Chara sat up, giving up on falling asleep any time soon. “Yeah, I was actually thinking about that. Do you think they’ll agree to it?”

“Your parents? Probably. I think we made a pretty good case for it.”

Chara sighed. “I hope so.”

“Why? You worried about me?” Frisk said, teasingly.

“Yeah…” Chara said, bowing their head.

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

 “I’m serious! I know you could have handled that guy, but there’s a big target on your back!”

“I know, I know. Really, I appreciate your concern. Still, I’m sure they’ll come to their senses eventually.”

“They better. No way I let you face all of this on your own.”

“See? That’s why I know you’ll be great at this! You can’t buy that kind of conviction.”

Chara blushed, and turned their head away.

 Frisk giggled. “I swear, you are the most easily flustered person I have ever met.”

“What? No I’m not!” Chara said defensively, becoming even more flustered.

Frisk laughed harder. “You’d give a Tsunderplane a run for her money.”

“Oh, come on, that’s not fair.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, some of us just need to get used to praise.”

Chara gave a small smile. “Yeah, I guess.”

Frisk yawned. It seemed the sugar was finally waring off.

“Maybe we should get to bed” Chara said.

“Yeah, it’s about time to. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yeah” Chara said, laying back down.

Chara felt better after that conversation. Frisk had given them some confidence. Hopefully the anxiety reduction would let them get to sleep.

Frisk was a fantastic friend; they were more than Chara felt they deserved. Still, they appreciated their insistence on sticking by them. They knew they couldn’t have gotten this far without them. For that, they felt they owed them more than they could ever repay.

They had occasionally had thoughts of they and Frisk being something more than friends. In truth, they’d wished it for quite some time. They knew it couldn’t be, and they felt ashamed of themself for entertaining the idea. They knew Frisk didn’t feel the same way about them, and even if they did, they’d just drag them down. Frisk deserved better than them, they thought. Regardless, Frisk was their friend. One of only two people alive that they could say that about. That would never change. They gave one last wistful smile at Frisk, before finally falling asleep.

Chapter Text

Hector led Undyne down the station hallway to the briefing room. She was excited to be back in action after the disbandment of the Royal guard. As she followed him to the briefing room, she saw numerous officers hard at work at their desks. Many of them were caught off guard by the hulking figure in medieval knight armor walking through the precinct with a giant spear, all save the veterans of the force who were so jaded that the sight barely registered. Some weird people had been taken in over the years.

Finally, Hector led her into one of the briefing rooms, where the rest of the team was waiting. Ari appeared to be reading a book of some sort, while Kyoko and Alexi were talking about some show that was on the previous night.

“I still think he should kill him” Alexei said.

“That seems like it would go against the whole theme of the show” Kyoko said.

Alexei banged his hand on the table. “Well, the theme of the show is stupid! I swear, if they pull that “if you kill him, you’ll be just like him” Чушь’ собач’я, I’m not watching anymore.”

“Ah come on, it’s not that bad, is it? The characters are fantastic and the plot’s still great otherwise, right?” Masaki said.

Alexei groaned. “It’s infuriating! They already killed their way through his minions, it’s a bit late to pull the forgiveness card now, isn’t it? He killed their fucking parents!”

“Yeah, but isn’t it sometimes better to let go of your vengeance and move on?” Masaki mused.

Alexei shook his head. “Maybe if someone injures you or something, not for this shit! I swear Kyoko, it is fucking amazing that trope still shows up. I thought we left all of that shit behind when police abolition went out of favor with the party. Some people just have to die.”

Undyne shifted uncomfortably in her armor. No one seemed to notice her.

Hector tapped his foot impatiently. Even he knew there was no stopping them when they were like this.

“But would revenge really make him feel better?” Ari said.

Alexei shrugged. “Won’t make him feel worse. He’s already killed people. If he feels happy afterwards, he’s happy, if he feels empty, he feels empty, so what? There’s literally no reason not to pull the trigger. It’s not like the bastard’s gonna turn good after this.”

“Aren’t you taking this a bit too seriously?” Kyoko said.

Alexei sighed. “It’s just so disappointing, you know? Every fucking anime action show does this. It’s either a dark brooding, selfish protagonist who’s an unlikable cunt, or this Чушь’ собач’я. Just once I’d like to see a show where there’s a likable hero who’s genuinely heroic and well intentioned, who nonetheless is willing to kill if necessary. Why does everyone who’s not a brooding edgelord have to have a ‘thou shalt not kill’ rule? We don’t hold real combatants to that! Even the Bible says to kill some people. We’ve all killed people and you don’t see us turning into Guts from Berserk!”

Hector tried to cut in, but was cut off. No one had noticed him yet.

“Hey, Guts is awesome!” Kyoko said indignantly.

“Yeah, he is, but I don’t want every hero to be him. I want variety, you get me? I want more options than Guts and Aang. They’re cool, but not everyone has to be them.”

“Still sore about the ending to Avatar, eh, Alyosha?”

“He should have killed that son of a bitch and you know it! Everything was leading up to it, and then they pulled Spirit Bending out of their asses.”

“They briefly foreshadowed-“ Ari tried to respond.

Alexei cut him off. “Bullshit. They barely mentioned it at all, it showed up in a painting in the background, that’s it.”

“Everyone-“ Hector tried to cut in.

“I think it works thematically, though. Besides, Aang was the last of an extinct culture, he needed to preserve their values as best as he could” Ari said.

“Working thematically isn’t enough! You need to establish that shit in universe before you use it! And besides, you’re telling me that pacifism was the only thing the monks had going for them? There are other things to preserve besides pacifism! Art forms, stories, other philosophies, all that stuff. Pacifism is stupid, and not worth practicing. That’s why I liked the sequel better. Korra straight up killed a man with spirit bending without hesitation!”

Kyoko shrugged. “Yeah, but I don’t like how they portrayed Anarchism in the third season. They made the whole thing seem like a poorly though out mess. It’s actually far more complicated and-”

Hector slammed his fist on the table. “Anarchism is a goddammed clown show and you know it, Masaki!”

Everyone turned to Rodriguez, having only just noticed him. Masaki in particular was beginning to regret bringing up anarchism. Everyone knew not to talk about it around Rodriguez.

“Oh, hey sarge. How long have you been there?” Ari said.

“Ten minutes! Jesus Christ, you people are impossible!”

Undyne waved awkwardly at everyone.

“Who’s the knight?” Kyoko said.

“Oh, right!” Undyne removed her helmet. “I’m Undyne, we met during first contact, remember?”

“No, I completely forgot meeting a six-foot-tall fish woman in armor” Alexei said sarcastically.

“Whelp, I’m gonna be working with you guys! The Royal guard is back in business!” Undyne said, ignoring the comment.

“Oh, cool! Welcome aboard, Undyne!” Kyoko said, getting up and offering a handshake.

Undyne shook it “Thanks! It’ll be really cool to see how humans really fight!”

“Wait until they see this on the news” Ari said.

“So,” Undyne said “what anime were you guys talking about?”

“Son of a bitch” Hector muttered.

Hector finally managed to get the crew to settled down, though it took several minutes.

“I can’t believe you people” Hector said, shaking his head. “Do you realize this case could’ve been time sensitive?”

“We’re training a rookie,” Ari said, “how important can it be?”

Hector gritted his teeth.

“Hey! I’m the former captain of the royal guard! Who’re you calling a rookie, huh!?” Undyne said.

“Uh, sorry” Ari said, nervously.

“Officer Gasparyan has a point though” Hector said. “You’re experienced in you’re fighting techniques and protocols, but not ours. You will be training with us at some point.”

Undyne beamed excitedly.

“However, we will be doing some important preliminary investigation work today so it’s best not to waste any more time.”

Hector placed a case file in the middle of the table. It had a photo of a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties with short greasy black hair, sallow skin, and large bags under his eyes. The file read “John Tanner”.

The file immediately caught the interest of the team, Undyne especially. They had all seen the news of the attempt on the ambassador’s life. Undyne herself had watched it unfold live back at home. It was that attack that made her so insistent that she resume her duties as soon as possible. She couldn’t have asked for a better case.

“Now I trust you all recognize this man from the news, but just to recap, this man made an attempt on Ambassador Werner-Abdulova about a week ago. Now, as you know, the attempt backfired rather horribly, and he was… subdued by princette Chara Dreemur” Hector said, opening the file.

“The suspect has a long history of substance abuse, with methamphetamine and anabolic steroids being his drugs of choice. Traces of both were found in his system the night of the attack. He has several criminal charges on his record, including aggravated assault, battery, armed robbery, theft, hate speech, and of course, the purchase and usage of addictive substances. Captain Undyne, since your knowledge of human laws is, by your own admission, lacking in certain areas, I should note that substance abuse offences usually land you in rehab, not jail nowadays. Unfortunately, he was not receptive to treatment. He is suspected of involvement with a far-right militant group called Jotunar.”

“Oh God, don’t tell me” Alexei said.

Hector sighed. “Yes, we suspect they dabble in occult pseudoscience. Specifically Norse occultism. So far, there’s been no evidence that they can use actual magic, however our information on the group is sparse. They’re a remarkably secretive bunch, and as of yet, we’ve never managed to track down any high-ranking members.”

“Are they the guys who attacked that camp Frisk visiting?” Undyne said.

“That’s them” Hector said. “Only one member was detained after that attack, the leader. He died in transit after ingesting a potassium cyanide pill hidden in a prosthetic molar. Tanner had a similar pill; however, it was dislodged when the princette tackled him. It seems his dentist  didn’t do a very good job.”

“So we’ve got one alive” Masaki said.

Hector pointed to Masaki. “Precisely. This could be a big lead for us. We don’t know Tanner’s status in the organization, but he had a pill. They don’t hand those out to all of their members, just the higher-ranking ones. Matter of cost, I suppose.”

“So, they sent this guy to assassinate Frisk?” Ari said.

“He must be one of their better members if he’s handling that. Or at least good enough to warrant a pill” Alexei said.

“So why rush the stage? Why not try something more… subtle?” Masaki said.

“Bravado and stupidity, the core of any fascist movement” Hector said.

“So why didn’t we question him earlier?” Undyne said.

“That would be because of his injuries” Hector said, turning the page to what appeared to be a medical diagnosis. “He just gained consciousness today. Chara really fucked him up.”

Undyne smiled. She couldn’t help but feel proud of them.

“You’re telling me!” Ari said. “Compound fractures all over his skeleton, spiral fractures in his shoulders, commuted fractures in the fingers, contusions on more organs than I can count, tons of internal bleeding- how did this guy survive?”

“Internal? Isn’t that where the blood’s supposed to be?” Undyne said.

“He damn near didn’t. One of the doctors had the bright idea to feed him monster food through an IV. That managed to stabilize him and it’s probably why he’s awake right now.” Hector chuckled at the irony.

“Anything in particular we want to learn from him?” Masaki said.

“Yeah, we want leads on other members, especially their leader. We don’t know much about him other than the fact that he goes by Surtr. This is his avatar.” Hector pulled up a picture on his phone of a gigantic horned humanoid engulfed in flames.

Hector continued. “The other high-ranking members we know of are Beli, Þrymr, Vörnir, Útgarða-Loki, and Ymir. Ymir’s an odd one out since she’s a woman, which they don’t normally allow in their militia.”

“Why not?” Undyne said, somewhat indignantly.

“Fascists are sexist bastards” Alexei said. “Gender roles are a huge part of their ideology.”

“That’s dumb” Undyne said.

“You’re gonna be saying that a lot, I’m afraid. These people aren’t known for their intelligence” Ari said.

“True enough. Now unless anyone has any questions, I suggest we get a move on. We, or rather, you have wasted a lot of time already” Hector said.

Everyone else remained silent. Undyne wasn’t sure she understood everything but wasn’t sure what to ask.

“Alright, let’s get a move on then, we’re burning daylight.”

It was quickly decided that Undyne would sit in the front of the car. It was immediately clear that trying to fit her in the back middle seat would be a futile effort due to her armor. Kyoko was forced to squeeze between Alexei and Ari, much to her annoyance. The spear sat awkwardly on the back floor, as it was too long to fit in the trunk.

“So, is there like, a reason you don’t like redemption arcs, Alexei?” Undyne said.

Hector groaned audibly.

“I don’t dislike them in general, some of my favorite characters have redemption arcs. It’s just that so many shows give them to the worst fucking people. Like, you spend all the show hating the bastards, and looking forward to the hero getting their vengeance, and then suddenly BAM! They shoehorn in some bullshit sympathetic motives like, four episodes before the final battle that in no way mitigate their atrocities, and then suddenly we’re supposed to feel for them and not want them to die. Yeah, I’m sure the family you killed cares a whole lot about your tragic backstory, сука. And then of fucking course the hero pussies out and spares them after they just got done massacring all their hapless minions. It’s fucking insulting!” Alexei gesticulated wildly as he spoke, making Kyoko lean against Ari to avoid his arms.

“Yeah, that can get annoying” Undyne admitted. “I love myself some shonen, but sometimes it feels like they’re going down a trope checklist, you know?”

“I can see that” Kyoko said.

“I mean, I think the moral is supposed to be that revenge is empty and unfulfilling” Ari said, pressed against the window.

Alexei scoffed. “Oh, yeah, really breaking new ground there. Truly a revolutionary message, never before have I heard such wise words.” Alexei made a jerk off motion as he spoke, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Undyne began snickering at the display.

Alexei continued. “I swear, Anime, especially shonen, has like three morals total. Hard work pays off, power of friendship, and revenge is bad. Usually, you get all three at once. Fuck that shit. If I die and you three find my killer, I want you to avenge me. None of that ‘would he really have wanted this?’ Чушь’ собач’я. Yes, yes I would. I am telling you this now. Use violence.”

Undyne gave him a thumbs up. “You got it! And yeah, sometimes those messages get shoehorned it. Except the friendship one, I love that one.”

Alexei gesture to Undyne. “See? She gets it! And yeah, the friendship thing is fine if they do it right, but how often do you see actual cooperation? Usually, the hero just says their friends are counting on them and that give them a power boost. Apparently, a large social circle has the same effect as anabolic steroids in Anime land.”

“It can actually do that! Something like that apparently happened to me in the last timeline.”

Alexei did a doubletake. “Seriously?”

Undyne nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! Princette Chara told me all about it when we first met. I literally just did not die basically because of the power of friendship.”

Alexei shrugged. “Alright, I guess reality’s stranger than fiction. I guess the Friendship Powerup Of Great Justice ™ is no longer so irritating, but I would still like the other friends to do something during the fight. Like, they’ve got all of these awesome powers, and yet they never get to meaningfully contribute! And I stand by my statement on revenge; pull the trigger, dammit!”

Kyoko interjected. “But what if there’s a chance they can be reformed? The villains, I mean. I think the authors are trying to teach a lesson about-”

Alexei cut her off. “Teach a lesson to this dick. I get enough preaching at church; I don’t need to hear a sermon about how violence and revenge are bad from a show who’s main draw is violence and revenge! It’s a rip off! It’s false fucking advertising I tell you!”

Undyne was laughing loudly now.

“Oh look, we’re here” Hector said, parking next to the hospital and hastily exiting the car.

The patients in the waiting room were rather nonplussed at the site of the armed officers, especially the one clad as a medieval knight. The few monsters present looked on in awe at the former captain of the royal guard. The humans just wondered where the ren faire was.

“I mean, I suppose if the victims were to return to life somehow, then a redemption arc is not out of the question, but you still need to earn it, you know?” Alexei continues as they walked through the front door. “It’s odd that this exception is actually relevant outside of fiction now.”

Undyne chuckled awkwardly.

“Yeah, finding out those kids we picked up could turn back time was pretty nuts, even by today’s standards” Ari said.

“Why the exception, though? I mean, I see what you’re getting at, but I want to hear your reasoning” Masaki said.

“It’s simple, really. The severity of an action and its morality are both determined by the effect they have. Murder is the worst crime because it’s effects are both the most negative and the most permanent. If those consequences are not permanent, the severity of the act lowers. Dying temporarily is substantially less serious than dying forever. There’s a rare sentence.”

“But what if the killer doesn’t know it isn’t permanent? What if they intended it to be at the time?” Undyne said.

“I mean, that’s already assumed, no? Nobody thought resurrecting the dead was possible until recently. Yeah, the murderer being willing to murder, provided they meant to murder, is still relevant, but the blunting of the negative consequences allow for atonement.”

“You know, a lot of old leftist thinkers thought the idea that you need to earn redemption is an archaic concept” Kyoko said.

Alexei rolled his eyes. “A lot of old leftist thinkers thought America had to cease to be as a nation and culture for the good of the global working class. A lot of old leftist thinkers thought religion would cease to be under communism. A lot of old leftist thinkers thought western Christianity was more evil than any other faith. Old leftist thinkers were wrong about many things, Kyoko. They didn’t even think we’d still have police by now.”

Ari cut in. “I mean officially, we aren’t a-“

Alexei waived dismissively. “Officially, America is a unified country that still answers to Washington D.C., but I don’t see the president overriding the Comintern any time soon, do you?”

“Ok, I officially have no idea what you guys are talking about” Undyne said.

“We are talking about writing I think” Alexei said.

The conversation continued as they entered the elevator. None of the patients knew quite what to make of what they had just witnessed.

Hector felt like he was about to blow a gasket. Between Alexei’s ranting and the maddeningly monotonous elevator music, he wondered if he was the unwitting subject of some cruel psychological experiment.

“What is Anarchism, anyway? You mentioned it back at the station.” Undyne said.

Masaki perked up. “Oh, it’s an ideology that believes that laws and states are inherently tyrannical. They think society would be better off without either.”

“That’s basically all they can agree on” Ari said.

“How would that even work?” Undyne said.

“I mean, I don’t believe in it myself, but the theory goes that-“

“It doesn’t” Hector said, forcefully. “It’s all rhetoric, no substance. Anarchism is a pipe dream made up by simplistic thinkers with a blind hatred for any kind of rules. It’s basically ‘don’t tell me what to do’: the ideology. It’s the political equivalent of whining because your parents won’t let you eat candy for breakfast.”

“Oh come on, sarge, they aren’t all bad! They really helped us out during the war” Kyoko said.

“No, we helped them out and they repaid us by egging our squad car when we shut down a crack dealing operation.”

Undyne suddenly regretted asking her question.

“Ok, their stance on drug usage isn’t the best, but they have other good ideas. Their mutual aid is top notch, they have a pretty good grasp of human nature, their community organizing and activist activities are really well thought out, there’s some good stuff there.”

“Yeah, but we’ve got all of that stuff too, and unlike them, our society doesn’t crumble as soon as a group of people decide they don’t want to cooperate with the grand design. As soon as someone decides to fill the massive power vacuum they create, the whole thing folds like a house of cards. They’ll have a utopia for all of ten minutes. Fuck, some of ‘em don’t even believe in punishing murder! How are they going to defend and secure their society without laws and criminal justice? That’s like trying to build a building without support structures. They think they can build a skyscraper and hold it together with duct tape.”

It was now everyone else’s turn to be exasperated as Hector began ranting. Fortunately, they reached their floor before long. The officers guarding John’s room were greeted by the sound of elevator doors opening and the sound of a forty-year-old ranting about politics.

“Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out how a government works without royalty” Undyne said.

Kyoko shrugged. “Took a while for us to figure it out. We’ve been experimenting with democracy since ancient times at least, but for some reason, monarchy won out for a pretty long time.”

“There’s a country, England, I think it’s called. Don’t they still have a royal family? I saw they had a queen in A Certain Magical Index.” Undyne said.

“Oh, I love that show! And yeah, they have a royal family, but their job is mainly ceremonial. Parliament does most of the actual governing. A few places are like that, actually.”

Hector showed his badge to the guards, who nodded and let the team through.

Tanner lay half-awake in his hospital bed. He barely even seemed to notice them as they entered. Even the clanking of Undyne’s armor barely seemed to register.

“Ah fuck, don’t tell me he’s too high to talk” Hector said.

 “They gave him some fentanyl a while back. It should ware off in a little while” one of the guards said.

“Well, let’s hope he’s not in too much pain to talk afterwards” Hector said.

“Ah ain telligh yo guy shith” John slurred.

“Huh!?” Undyne said, leaning in. “What was that, punk!?”

“Ah sthaid ah ain telling hyou guyth shith!” he said, sounding angrier.

Undyne turned to the others and shrugged. “Yeah, I got nothing.”

“I think he said ‘I aint telling you guys shit’” Ari said.

“Thath light” John nodded in a way that was probably supposed to look intimidating, but it was ruined by his inability to keep his head straight, and by the drool dripping down his mouth. “Tho go back to yo cunth of a bosh and thell hew to go fuck hewthelf.”

Kyoko and Alexei began laughing.

Ari snickered. “At least the wait should be entertaining.”

“Why’s he talking like that?” Undyne said.

“They must have him hopped up on some good shit” Hector replied. “Probably can’t even think straight, let alone speak right.”

“That and a few of his teeth got knocked out when he got tackled” Ari said.

Hector sighed. “Guess we’re gonna be here a while.”

The team sat in the room for a while, waiting for the fentanyl to wear off. Alexei and Masaki continued their debate from before to pass the time.

Undyne sighed. “Do they do anything besides argue?”

Hector shrugged. “That’s party politics for you. Always something to argue about.”

“How do you guys get anything done?”

Hector laughed. “Good question! Fifteen years since the war and I still don’t know how anything gets done.”

“I still think the Twenty-Fourth edition is better than the Twenty-Fifth” Kyoko said.

Alexei shrugged. “It was alright, but I feel like they were too strict with paladin alignments. I like the variety Twenty-Fifth offers. Surely, evil gods would have evil paladins, right?”

Kyoko shrugged. “Can’t argue there. Why do they keep waffling back and forth on that? It changes every edition.”

“It truly is a vicious cycle” Ari said solemnly.

“What are they talking about now?” Undyne said.

“Dungeons and Dragons. Don’t ask me how we got on this subject, I don’t know either” Ari said.

“We got here because we were talking about the implications of predetermined alignments for in-game races in older editions in a post-Emergence society! You’d know that if you paid attention for once!” Alexei said through gritted teeth.

“What’s Dungeons and Dragons?” Undyne said.

The team spent the next half hour discussing tabletop RPGs. By the time John awakened, they were halfway through planning a campaign session.

John groaned. “What the fuck are you bastards doing here?”

“Oh hey! He’s actually speaking properly this time!” Ari said enthusiastically.

“We’re here to ask you some questions” Hector said.

“I aint-“

“-Telling us shit, yeah, you said that last time” Ari said.

“Last time?” John said, rubbing his head.

“Yeah, anyway, on with business.” Ari pulled out a notepad. “What motivated you make an attempt on Ambassador Abdulov’s life?”

“Fuck you, pig” John spat.

Hector gave a hearty chuckle. “You know, I remember a time when it was the reds calling us that and you guys kissing our asses. How the turn tables, eh?”

“You were with the original police force?” John scoffed. “Typical, your kind could never be counted on to be loyal to our country.”

Hector rolled his eyes. “I was born in Sacramento, jackass. And last I checked, we sided with the reds against the Nazis last time too.”

“And of course, we’ve started letting the Chinese and the Arabs on our force as well, I see? Typical, we truly have sold our country to its enemies” John said, mispronouncing “Arab”.

“Wow, 0 for 3. You’re on a roll here” Kyoko said.

“He aint Arab?” john said, glancing at Ari.

“I’m Armenian” Ari said, annoyed.

John scoffed again. “Aw well, come on, that’s basically the same thing, right? Armenians, Turks, Iranians, Azerbai-whatsits.”

Ari stared in astonishment at John. “Amazing. Literally none of those countries you listed are Arabic.”

John rolled his eyes. “Well yeah, but you’re all Muslim, right?”

“No, we’re mainly Christians” Ari said.

John’s eyes widened. “So, our missionaries finally managed to civilize you people, huh?”

“We were literally the first country to recognize Christianity as our state religion. Before Rome.”

“What’s this guy’s problem?” Undyne said.

“They’re all like this” Kyoko said, placing her palm to her forehead.

John began ranting. “Of course. You’re all blind, just like the rest of ‘em. You pull the wool over your eyes, so you don’t have to face reality. But me, I see the truth.”

“No, you don’t” Undyne said.

“Literally everything you’ve said since you woke up has been factually inaccurate” Ari said.

John let out an indescribable sound resembling some hybrid of a groan, a shriek, and a gurgle, among other things.

The officers began laughing.

“Alright, alright, look, If you answer our questions, we can leave and you don’t need to deal with your worldview being eviscerated anymore” Hector said, barely stifling his own laughter.

“Geez, and I thought I didn’t know about human history” Undyne said.

“My friend, these people will make you look like an expert scholar on our history” Alexei said, placing an arm on her shoulder.

“Aw fuck, the Russians are here, too?” John whined. “Who didn’t you bring here?”

“Most of the nations you’ve listed and complained about” Alexei said. “I am literally the only one you got right.”

Ari walked over to john and leaned in close. “This can end at any time, all you need to do is talk” he whispered.

“You're not asking me anything!” John shouted in frustration.

“I asked you why you attacked the ambassador just a moment ago” Ari retorted.

“Yeah, you’ve got some explaining to do, punk” Undyne said coldly, gripping her spear tightly.

John spat. “What’s it to you, anyway? Why does some ren faire wannabe knight care about that traitor?”

Undyne lifted her helmet off to reveal her noticeably angry looking face.

“Gah! You’re one of those… those things!”

“We’re called monsters” Undyne said, barely registering the implied insult.

“I don’t give a fuck what you’re called, you scaly, water breathing whore!” John said, shakily. “You abominations shouldn’t be here in the first place! It’s bad enough we got all the lesser peoples polluting our bloodline with their filth, now you freaks show up!”

“Why. Did you. Attack. Frisk.” Undyne said through gritted teeth.

“That twisted freak? I attacked him because he betrayed who he is. His heritage. Sure, he was the abominable offspring of a Mexican and a Slav, but he’s still human, and he decided to collaborate with the enemy! Can’t say I’m surprised, he seemed to be trying to be as inhuman as possible already. Little bastard even renounced his sex. Who does that? That’s the very foundation of one’s role in society! Despicable.”

Suddenly a spear was thrust at him. It rested near his throat.

“Shut up! Don’t you dare talk about them that way you bastard!” Undyne spoke through gritted teeth, with barely contained fury.

“Or what? You’ll kill me? Do it. I’m not afraid to die for my country.”

“Your country?” Hector said, laughing. “Everyone you're fighting against is a citizen of this country. And you live in Washington, so you’re going against your country no matter how you define it. The only one who betrayed anybody here is you, you pathetic, sniveling fuck!”

John was silent.

Hector placed a hand on Undyne’s shoulder. “Easy there, Undyne, we still need information. Don’t kill him just yet.”

“Undyne lowered her spear, breathing heavily. “Sorry, just got a bit carried away. I wasn’t actually gonna…”

“It’s alright. Trust me, we’d all love to put a bullet in his ass right now” Hector said.

The others nodded in agreement.

John laughed. “I thought you commie fucks were supposed to be all about rehabilitation and all that shit.”

Hector shrugged. “For some crimes. Muggers, drug dealers, robbers, stuff like that. Not for swine like you. You wanna go try and kill a kid and have people respond with therapy and forgiveness, go to the Anarchist district. They always did care about the criminal more than the victim.”

“No, I’m pretty sure they’d still shoot him” Kyoko said. “Yeah, maybe they’d try rehabilitation, but they may also shoot him.”

“They do that?” Hector said, surprised.

Kyoko shrugged. “Depends on the Anarchist. Some say to rehabilitate everyone, some say to only kill if rehabilitation don’t work, some say shoot people like him on sight, just don’t institutionalize violence.”

“So if Mr. Johnson next door shot him, that’s fine, but if a cop does it, it’s murder? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Kyoko shrugged. “They think if police exist, they’ll inevitably start enforcing oppressive laws too.”

“Oh yeah, because vigilantes are never wrong” Hector said snidely. “And what happens when specialized vigilantes decide to organize, and wear uniforms to show membership, and start handling all of the retribution for everyone else? Sure, they say it won’t happen, until someone decides to disobey their traditional wisdom.”

“Dear God, I know how it feels now” Alexei said.

“Right, back to the matter at hand” Hector said.

He took a seat in a swivel chair next to the bed and clapped his hands on his legs. “So, who put you up to this?”

“The fuck are you talking about?” John said.

“The attack. Who arranged it?”

“I don’t know what you mean. I just charged and hopped the stage. Not a whole lot of planning there” John said.

Hector rolled his eyes. “I’m not talking about your stupid plan of attack. Someone sent you to infiltrate the press conference. Who?”

“What gave you that idea? I bought a fucking ticket.”

“There was a cyanide pill in one of your teeth” Alexei said. “We know you are with Jotunar.”

John’s face went pale.

“Yeah,” Hector said. “I guess that makes this the second time you fuckers tried to kill them.”

“Stop saying ‘them’ for fuck’s sake! There aren’t two ambassadors!” John shouted before groaning in pain.

“I’ll say whatever I want. Now again, who sent you?”

“Your friend there just said! Jotunar!” John groaned.

“Jotunar’s a group. I want a person. I know you’re not some low-level grunt, they gave you a capsule. That means you know something.”

John laughed. “You’re smarter than you look. Well, sorry to disappoint but I didn’t meet him in person.”

“There’s a surprise. You fascists are usually too dumb to bother with anonymity” Kyoko said.

“Yeah well, you-“

“Look,” Hector said, “I had other things I wanted to do today, and I’ve already had to listen to these guys debate inane politics and anime tropes for hours on end so if the next words out of your mouth are anything other than useful information, I’ll have the others start debating D&D lore again. If I gotta suffer, so do you.”

John sighed. “Right, since you guys are so persistent, how about you make me an offer? What do I get from talking to you guys?”

“You’re trying to bargain!? Ha! As if we’d ever cooperate with scum like you!” Undyne said.

“I’m inclined to agree. If we had it my way, we’d just beat your ass until you talked, but the higherups don’t think that works quite so well.”

Undyne was a bit taken aback by Hector’s comment.

“Anyhow, the DA thinks we could get your sentence commuted from death to life if you talk.”

John exhaled hard. “Well, that aint quite what I meant, but it’s something.”

“The DA won’t offer anything more until we know you have something useful. And no matter what, you’re going behind bars for life. Those can’t be commuted without an acquittal.”

John didn’t seem too worried. “Yeah, sure. You’ll lock me up until our boys in Jefferson roll in and kick your sorry asses!”

“You guys are with Jefferson?” Ari said.

John’s mouth clamped shut. He went pale once more, which was impressive given his sallow complexion.

“That’s a yes” Ari said.

“N-No! You’ve got it all wrong! They’re our boys because they’re ideologically similar! We’re not working with them officially!”

“At the very least, you’d collaborate” Kyoko said. “That’s a crime too.”

“It’d make sense to work together if they’re on the same side” Undyne said. “I think he’s lying.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking” Hector said. “So, what do you think Surtr’ll do once he finds out you talked?”  

John seemed increasingly panicked. He tried and failed to hide it. “S-Surtr won’t hurt me! I… I’m too useful for that! Too important!”

“Important how?” Undyne said.

“Fuck! I- shut up! I aint telling you-“

“Shit. Yeah, we got it” Alexei said.

Hector leaned in close. “Surtr doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who shows mercy when people fail you. Aint that how you fascists think? You think Surtr caress how useful you were in the past? Now, you’re a liability. Unless you keep being useful, you’re fucked. That’s why they kill the elderly in some of your states.”

“Shit, really!?” Undyne said, horrified.

“If you grow frail with age” Kyoko said.

“Oh shit. Shit shit shit shit shit!” John muttered to himself. “I’m fucked! He’s gonna know I talked! Fuck!”

“There’s still hope, John” Ari said ominously. “If you go to prison, it’ll be far harder for him to get to you. You fascists don’t have an in with the police force here, it’s all reds. We put you under special guard, no one will get to you. All you have to do is talk.”

“He’s right, you know. We’re your only hope.” Hector leaned in closely. “So, what exactly do you do for the group?”

“I-I plan operations! With the grunts!” John said in a panic.

“What kind of operations?” Undyne said.

“I handle the physical jobs! Shows of strength, civil terror, shit like that! I-I didn’t bring anyone for that op because we couldn’t get more tickets! Besides, I didn’t think I’d need any! I knew I could get on stage, even with the guards, I’ve trained for shit like this! They were just kids! I didn’t think that crazy brat had super strength!”

“So did you organize that summer camp attack?” Alexei said.

John laughed. “Yeah. Funny, before I got caught, I was glad the brat got away. That way we could use him and that princess for a better plan.”

“A better plan than attacking a bunch of school children is not a high bar” Alexei said.

John sighed. “Yeah, I know. That militia was small time. We were trying to use them as pawns, local paramilitary agents we could use for our own benefit. Like the CIA used to do before they went red.”

“They still do it, they just use communist groups now, or just democratic ones. No power-hungry warlords” Ari said.

“Yeah, well, it didn’t work out too well. Those dumb fucks didn’t know anything about urban warfare or fighting a real army. We needed them to do something they could pull off. Something in the woods. They were getting too antsy to wait for training from Jefferson, and they wouldn’t give me any agents.”

“You’re sick” Undyne said.

John rolled his eyes. “And you’re week. That’s why we’ll win. We aren’t held back by sentimentality.”

“You son of a- !“

“Easy there, Undyne” Kyoko said.

Hector rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we’re too weak to commit atrocities with no tactical value whatsoever. Back to the info, please. What’s your position in the hierarchy?”

John smiled. “I’m one of the higherups. Beli, they call me.”

“You’re one of the leading members?” Hector said, taken aback.

John sounded proud now. “Weren’t expecting that, were ya? Yeah, I’m a giant. One of the founding members. Surtr recruited us personally. Like I said, I run ops that require strength. Power. I’ve got agents that run everything from armed acquisitions to hostage situations, to bombing campaigns. Usually, I coordinate those with Loki. I know, I know, he’s named for the wrong Loki, but we needed a giant.”

“What does Loki do?” Alexei said.

“Psi-Ops, intel gathering, bribery, silencing moles, anything that requires stealth and manipulation.”

“What do the others do?” Undyne said.

John shrugged. “Well, Þrymr is supposed to recruit locals. He’s the one who got me those dumb fucks in the woods. He usually does a better job. Vörnir is… you know, I’m not sure. Pretty sure only Ymir and Surtr know anything about what he does. He shows up for the meetings though. Again, not in person. I think I only met the giants in person during my recruitment. Barely remember what they look like.”

“What about Ymir?” Hector said.

“That bitch? Nah, I don’t know her. She just showed up one day after the first Ymir died. Skipped right over us on the chain of command. She handles a lot of our coordination. She’s Surtr’s right hand. Half the time we answer to her. It’s degrading.”

“She’s a replacement?” Kyoko said.

John rolled his eyes. “Uh, yeah! What, do you think Surtr’s first choice was a woman? The first Ymir, now he was a leader. Strong, forthright. He knew how to get things done. He didn’t bother with all of this subtlety shit; he used force! Remember the attack on Lenin Station? That was him! He had us set that shit up! Now, that whore is on top, and I barely get to do anything.”

Hector motioned for everyone to keep quiet. He didn’t want anyone to interrupt the blatant self-incrimination. He had been notified beforehand that the guards read him his rights. They could use all of this.

Undyne quickly realized what was happening. She was angry, but she knew better than to stop the perp from digging his own grave.

“So how did the old Ymir die?” Alexei said.

John shrugged. “No one knows. He just went dark one day. Can’t picture him deserting so we just assume he’s dead. Look, I know I’ve told you all a ton here, but if you want more, I’ll need to talk to the DA. I know you can’t commute my sentence, but I want to see what he’ll offer me. Prison’ll suck ass, but maybe it can suck less.”

Hector rolled his eyes. “Fine, sure. Just one more thing. You said you met the giants, right?”

“What about it?” John said. “Like I said, I don’t remember their faces.”

“Does ‘the giants’ include Surtr?”

“No” John said, as though it were the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. “No one’s met Surtr. Well, not unless Ymir slept with him. Would explain the position. But yeah, all we saw was a face on the computer.”

Hector nodded. “Right. Well, thanks for the info, we’ll be going now.”

“Thank God” John said.

“Man, I hate that guy!” Undyne said as she hopped into the car.

“Tell me about it” Ari said. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t kill him.”

“Hey, give me some credit! I’m not that reckless!”

“I was talking to Alexei” Ari said.

Alexei gave an affected innocent look.

“I can’t believe they’re going to make a deal with that guy” Undyne said.

Hector laughed. “He just confessed to multiple acts of terrorism! We have it on record!”

“I recorded it” Masaki said, holding up her phone.

“Fantastic!” Hector said. “In any case, yeah, he’ll be able to bargain down from two life sentences to one, if that.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess. So, what do we do now?” Undyne said.

“Pizza?” Alexei said.

“Oh yeah! Undyne, have you tried Pizza?” Kyoko said.

“Not human pizza.” Undyne said.

“We need to rectify this immediately” Ari said with affected seriousness.

Hector nodded. “Agreed. Let’s head down to Alessandro’s, I’m fucking starving.”

Chapter Text

Frisk awoke suddenly to what sounded like someone yelling. It sounded oddly faint, but urgent. Someone was in trouble.

 Their eyes darted rapidly around the room, searching for the source. Ultimately, their eyes fell upon Chara, who was tossing and turning restlessly in their sleeping bag, talking in their sleep.

“No! No please I- I’m sorry! I won’t do it again I swear! Please I- I’ll be a good girl! I will! I promise! Help! Please, somebody help me!”

Frisk hopped up and darted over to them.

“Chara! Hey, Chara!” they said, jostling them from their sleep.

Chara gasped and their eyes darted open. They turned to Frisk with a terrified expression.

“What-?”

“You were having a nightmare” Frisk said.

“Oh…” Chara said, sitting up. They were shaking nervously.

“Pretty bad one, huh?” Frisk said, patting them on the shoulder.

Chara jolted, surprised by the sudden contact. They turned to look at Frisk with fear in their eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you” Frisk said.

“It’s alright” Chara said nervously, relaxing slightly. “Yeah, it was a pretty bad one.”

They went quiet, unsure of what to say.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it” Frisk said.

“Thanks” Chara said. They honestly wanted to forget the dream as soon as possible.

Frisk knew Chara’s nightmares could get pretty bad. They’d seen a few snippets of them in the Underground.

“I’m… sorry for waking you” Chara said.

Frisk sighed and hugged them. “It’s not your fault.”

Chara bowed their head. They felt ashamed. They wanted to shrink into themself and disappear.

“Are you gonna be alright?” Frisk said, reluctantly breaking off the hug.

Chara forced a smile, still visibly shaken. Their hands were trembling.

“I’ll be alright” they said. “Just a bit shaky is all. Don’t worry about it.”

Frisk leaned on them and placed their arm around their shoulder.

Chara’s face reddened. Still, they felt themself relax. They welcomed the nervous excitement that usually came with Frisk’s hugs over their previous anxiety.

They felt guilty keeping Frisk up like this, but they knew they couldn’t be dissuaded. They glanced at Frisk, who seemed content to stay as they were, relaxing and resting their head on Chara’s shoulder.

They waited a few moments in silence together. Chara finally felt calm enough to try and fall asleep again. They turned to Frisk and noticed that they’d fallen asleep already, still resting against their shoulder. They smiled at this, and slowly picked them up, carrying them back to bed.

Back in their sleeping bag, they soon found themself feeling tired once more. They smiled at Frisk one last time before drifting off to sleep.

Chara marched tiredly into the kitchen.

“Sleep well?” Flowey said snidely from the windowsill.

Chara responded with an exhausted, exasperated stare. There were bags under their eyes, which seemed to barely contain any life within them.

They turned back to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of soda and a milk jug. They then grabbed the most sugary cereal in the pantry and poured a massive bowl of it.

Flowey cringed at the site. “Yeesh. Don’t overdo it there.”

Chara sat down at the table and began eating. They spoke tiredly and with little patience.

“Asriel, right now, I have approximately zero calories my body can actually use. I’m pretty sure the only reason it’s still running is out of sheer stubbornness. My eyelids feel like they are made of lead. I need sugar, and I need it now.”

“Nightmares again?” Flowey said a bit more empathetically.

Chara nodded and swallowed. “Yup. Business as usual.”

“You want to talk about it?” Flowey said tentatively.

Chara sighed. “Not really; maybe later.”

Flowey nodded. “Yeah, alright. How’d Frisk react.”

“They uh… took it pretty well actually” Chara said, blushing.

Flowey chuckled. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know.”

Chara was taken slightly off guard by his response.

“What?” Flowey said.

“Nothing, it’s just…”

“Not used to me being so friendly?” Flowey said with a sly grin.

Chara chuckled. “Not in this form. You’re usually more of a snarky little bastard.”

Flowey did the closest thing to a shrug he could manage. “Guilty as charged. Still, I’m not sure what you’re so worried about. I’m sure everyone’ll understand. I’d think it’d be weirder if you didn’t have them from time to time after everything you went through.”

Chara took a large swig from their soda before speaking. “Yeah, I know, it’s just…”

Flowey motioned for them to continue, despite knowing where this was going.

“…I’ve already put everyone through so much, you know? It just feels like the longer I’m around, the more trouble I cause for everyone else. You and Frisk especially. They don’t need more stuff to worry about, especially now.”

Flowey groaned. “Geeze, were you always this miserable? It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten.”

“Hey, give me a break, alright?” Chara said, defensively.

“Give yourself a break, sheesh! You’ve beat yourself up so much since coming back you could cure the black plague.”

“I- wait, what?” Chara said.

“You know, the black plague! You told about it once. It killed all of those humans? You said people tried to beat themselves so they wouldn’t get it or something” Flowey said.

“Oh right, yeah” Chara said, chuckling. “I remember I said it killed one third of Europe and you asked me if that was the next town over.”

“Yeah…” Flowey said fondly, “and then I started freaking out after you told me it was a whole continent.”

“And how many people live on continents” Chara added.

“Yeah, it’s still pretty hard to grasp that. I never thought there were so many of you.”

Chara laughed. “Yeah. I remember how shocked I was when I learned there weren’t even a million monsters.”

“Freaked me out for weeks. The stuffed rats you but in my bed didn’t help” Flowey said through gritted teeth.

Chara laughed even harder. “Yeah, that was a riot.”

Flowey rolled his eyes. “But anyway, seriously, stop beating yourself up so badly. It’s not good for you.”

“You’re starting to sound like Frisk” Chara said wryly.

Flowey chuckled a bit. “I know, right? The irony isn’t lost on me.”

“We should tell them, they’ll love it” Chara said.

“Love what?” Toriel said, entering the kitchen.

“Oh, hey mom” Chara said, tiredly.

“Nightmares again?” Toriel said.

Chara nodded.

“Is… that what you’re having for breakfast?”

Chara gave Toriel a look that said they were decidedly not in the mood for a lecture. Toriel decided to drop the matter.

“I’ll make you something a bit more substantial” She said, heading for the fridge.

“Thanks” Chara said with a tired smile.

Asgore, Miguel, and Natalia came down soon after.

“Oh, hey Chara” Miguel said. “What’s got you up so early?”

“Was it one of your nightmares?” Asgore said, causing Chara to stiffen.

“Nightmares, eh? Yeah, I get those sometimes” Miguel said as he and Asgore took a seat at the table.

“Really?” Chara said, calming down slightly. They didn’t expect anyone to relate so quickly.

“We both do, since the war” Natalia said tiredly, making her way slowly to the samovar near the stove.

“Ah, I guess that makes sense” Chara said, feeling slightly more awake as the caffeine kicked in.

“Let us know if you wish to talk about it” Natalia said, tapping her foot while waiting for the water to boil.

Chara nodded nervously, looking down at the table.

“Why so nervous?” Natalia said.

“They were like this when we found out too” Asgore said.

Chara nodded. “Yeah, It’s not something I like to bother people with.”

“Nonsense! You are like one of our own, now. You should not hesitate to ask us for help” Natalia said.

Miguel nodded in agreement. “Our families live together now, we’ve gotta look out for each other.”

“I… thank you” Chara said, smiling shyly.

At that point, Frisk came down the stairs, looking considerably more refreshed than Chara.

“Hey Chara, how’re you feeling?” They said, taking a seat next to them.

“Better now. How about you?” Chara said.

“Oh, I’m fine. It’s funny, I don’t remember falling back asleep” Frisk said with a sly grin.

“Yeah, weird” Chara said nervously.

“Would this happen to have anything to do with the nightmare?” Natalia said.

“Yeah. They told you about them?” Frisk said.

“It sorta came up in conversation” Chara said.

“Dad ratted them out” Flowey said.

“I am sorry about that, by the way. I should have waited for your permission” Asgore said.

Chara shrugged. “It’s fine, it just slipped out. Besides, I’d have to tell them about it at some point.”

“You, want to talk about it?” Miguel said.

Normally they’d refuse, but for some reason, the offer seemed oddly tempting.

They took a deep breath. “You know what, sure. I think they started a while after my dad died; I’m sure you can imagine why. Mom became a nightmare after that, so I guess it makes sense that I’d start having them about her.” They chuckled bitterly.

“Your mom sounds like a real bitch” Miguel said, causing everyone to turn to him. He froze up when he realized what he’d just said.

Chara laughed. “Yeah, you could say that! I certainly have when she wasn’t listening. But yeah, you can blame this little inconvenience on her. Well, not just on her, there was stuff after that too, but yeah, mostly her.”

“Nobody needs to blame anybody, everyone has some issues, and that’s ok” Natalia said. “But yes, it is her fault.”

Chara laughed. “Yeah, she was an angry drunk, and she drank a lot after dad died. As you can imagine she didn’t exactly take it well when her kid woke her up with their bad dreams, especially when she found out they were about her. A had bruises for a week after that incident. Never tried to talk to her about anything again.”

Everyone was left speechless at that. Even the Dreemurs, who’d heard the story before, were at a loss for words.

“Sorry, I always forget how dark that story is” Chara said sheepishly.

“Was that sort of thing common for you?” Miguel said, still noticeably horrified.

Chara sighed. “Yeah, there’re a lot of stories like that. My new family is definitely an improvement.”

Toriel and Asgore did manage smiles at that.

“Alright, enough tragedy talk. What do you guys have planned for today?” Chara said.

It was an awkward transition, but an effective one.

“I am hoping to get a report on Undyne’s first mission today” Natalia said, pouring her tea.

Toriel placed plates of pancakes, eggs, and bacon in front of everyone. Natalia and Asgore took a seat.

“Oh yeah! She’s looking into that guy from the conference, right? What was his name? Jim Terrence?” Frisk said, pouring syrup onto their pancakes.

“John Tanner” Chara said as Frisk passed them the bottle.

“Right” Frisk said.

“We’re going to be discussing that with the mayor today, actually” Toriel said.

“Right, I forgot that was today” Frisk said.

“Just a regular patrol at the base for me, thankfully. I don’t know how you guys do this” Miguel said.

“Years of experience” Chara said, half-jokingly.

“Maybe next time I could give the conference” Flowey said snidely.

“Can’t see that going wrong” Chara said in a similar tone.

“I mean, it might be good for the monsters to hear from him. His situation’s even weirder than Chara’s” Frisk said.

“You may have a point” Asgore said.

“What? No, guys, I was joking!” Flowey said nervously.

“I think it’s a great idea! I’ll mention it to the mayor at today’s meeting!” Toriel said.

Flowey laughed nervously. “Come one, guys, stop kidding around. Guys? Guys!”

Breakfast passed by largely uneventfully after that. Chara and Frisk had some downtime before the meeting with the mayor, and they elected to spend that time playing videogames. Flowey joined them, alternating between cheering them on and heckling them, and repeatedly encouraging them to take the evil routes in the RPG they selected.

Natalia headed off to work, figuring she’d better get an early start. It was going to be a long day. While the Citizens’ Militia was relatively decentralized, with each precinct having a great deal of autonomy, there was still no shortage of paperwork. She wanted to get as much done as possible before the briefing. She hopped into her car, a black, bulletproof vehicle with tinted windows, designed to be as nondescript as possible, and headed off to work.

She set the car into self-driving mode for the trip. The windows weren’t so tinted as to obstruct visibility, but she’d always hated driving, especially in city traffic. Some people preferred to drive manually in case they needed to make a snap judgement call while driving, but Natalia figured the AI on bord were advanced enough to handle it. Besides, there was always manual override.

When Natalia told Chara about self-driving cars, they’d been baffled. They knew of the technology, but every car they’d been in before had been manned by a human. Natalia explained that the human drivers were mainly a precaution, and weren’t actually doing anything most of the time. Manual input was sometimes necessary if there were unexpected dangers or other things that took time to tell the AI. Even then, the AI were adaptable enough that it was largely superfluous.

“Like when officer Rodriguez slammed on the breaks when taking us back from Ebbot?” Chara had said.

“Yeah, like that- wait what?” Natalia responded.

“Yeah, another officer shouted when he remembered Frisk could speak Russian and was onto his conversation with his partner about whether they had red eyes. Guess Rodriguez though he’d seen something and slammed on the breaks” Chara  said.

“That’s not exactly what the designers had in mind” Natalia said.

Natalia chuckled at the memory. She supposed sometimes the precautions backfired a bit. Fortunately, her daily commute was not nearly so chaotic. It was hard to slam on the breaks when you were asleep. She wasn’t really supposed to do that, but if they wanted her awake at the hours they had her working, they’d just have to deal with it.

“Natasha, you have arrived at your destination” the AI said. It was supposed to call her “Chief Abdulova” but she had it changed.

Natalia groaned as she awoke. The sun assaulted her eyes as she stepped out of the tinted car. She waved casually at the robot sentries as she entered.

“Heya chief!” one of them replied in a cheerful, synthesized tone.

“How are you today, ma’am?” the voice continued from the loudspeakers.

“Alright, I suppose. Hoping for a lite day if possible” Natalia said. “I love this job, but I wish they could cut down on the paperwork.”

“New regime, same bureaucratic bullshit” the voice responded.

Natalia chuckled as she entered the elevator. The voice’s language did not match it’s almost childlike tone or pitch at all.

“I always forget you still worked here before the war” Natalia said.

“Yup! Regimes rise and fall, but L.E.G.I.O.N does not!” The voice replied.

The name was clearly a backronym, though far from the worst Natalia had heard. No one was going to beat P.A.T.R.I.O.T anytime soon. The Law Enforcement Gestalt Integrated Omnipurpose Network, or L.E.G.I.O.N system was a standard element of city law enforcement. They were in charge of maintaining the network of autonomous vehicles and robots throughout the city. When the federal government threw their lot in with the communists, L.E.G.I.O.N followed suite.

Many were skeptical of L.E.G.I.O.N’s allegiance. Law enforcement AI didn’t have the best reputation on the left. Nonetheless, they proved instrumental in liberating Ebbot from the fascists.

Natalia was initially controversial amongst her comrades for accepting L.E.G.I.O.N with open arms as a member of the Citizens’ Militia. She brushed off the negative press though. L.E.G.I.O.N had done them all a great service during the war, and she would not return their aid with hatred and suspicion, no matter her own feelings on American law enforcement. She was soon vindicated as the militia made ample use of their services without falling into authoritarianism like some feared.

“Coffee’s all ready to go, ma’am” L.E.G.I.O.N said.

“Thank God for that” Natalia said. “Hold on, how can you access the coffee maker?”

“Oh, I integrated it into my systems a few days back” L.E.G.I.O.N said cheerfully.

“Are you allowed to do that? Actually, never mind, I don’t care.” Natalia exited the elevator and headed into her office. Some would be unnerved by L.E.G.I.O.N’s casual expansion of its control, but no one, especially Natalia would complain about having to do less at the office. If L.E.G.I.O.N wanted to make coffee, they could make coffee. She doubted the robot uprising would start with control over the office coffee makers.

Natalia glugged the coffee down with concerning speed given its temperature. She showed no indication of being pained by the heat.

“Chief, if I may speak freely, if you’ve gotten to the point where you can gulp down half a mug of coffee without flinching, you may want to lay off the caffeine for a while” L.E.G.I.O.N said, sounding genuinely unnerved.

“You may be right” Natalia said. “I have started waking up tired more often lately.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard. The ECM isn’t going to collapse if you take a break every once and a while” L.E.G.I.O.N said.

“Perhaps you’re right” Natalia said. “I suppose it’s not like in the early days after the war. Now those were hectic times.”

L.E.G.I.O.N laughed. “Don’t I know it. Adapting to the new regime was tricky even for me. And don’t even get me started on all the damage to my systems. I really thought you’d slow down after a while though.”

Natalia chuckled, booting up the terminal at her desk. “Old habits die hard, I suppose. Still, I’m worried about taking a break now of all times.”

“I disagree” L.E.G.I.O.N said. “Now is when a break’s most important. Higher risk of you working yourself to death.”

“I’m nowhere near death, L.E.G.I.O.N. You underestimate us humans” Natalia said.

“If you say so. Still, think about it, alright?” L.E.G.I.O.N sounded very concerned now.

Natalia nodded. “I will, I will. So, what’s on the agenda today?”

“Not much today. Mostly just requests for funding allocation, new equipment, that sort of thing” L.E.G.I.O.N said.

Natalia scrolled through the requests.

Fireproof combat armor and water guns for engaging suspected pyropes, vulkins, and other fire-based monsters.

Thermal gear engaging suspected ice caps, and other ice-based monsters.

1. Fungicide for engaging suspected moldsmals, moldbyggs, moldessas.

 2. Heavy duty bug spray for engaging suspected whimsun, froggits (final and otherwise), migosps, migospels, whimsalots.

3. Increased coordination with paramedics and Office of Suicide Prevention for Whimsalot cases.

4. Shampoo and detergents for calming down panicking woshuas.

5. Spider pastries and cider for office cafeteria.

Natalia shook her head. “This job has gotten a lot weirder since Emergence. Still, this all seems reasonable.” She approved all of the requests.

“The whimsalots could make good recruits” L.E.G.I.O.N said. “A lot of them have applied to join the force.”

Natalia nodded. “They could, though they will need a considerable amount of therapy beforehand. I hear a lot of them are on suicide watch.”

“It does seem to be a common issue with whimsalots” L.E.G.I.O.N agreed. “We might want to look into why that’s so common with whimsun mercenaries. I know the O.S.P handles this now, but I’d like to help if I can.”

“I agree” Natalia said. “Let me know if you think of something.”

“Will do!” L.E.G.I.O.N said.

Fortunately for Natalia, there wasn’t as much paperwork as there usually was. She was thankful for the small mercy the day offered. She had just finished up when it came time to start the briefing.

L.E.G.I.O.N chimed on the loudspeaker. “Chief Abdulova, Sargent Rodriguez and his team have arrived for the briefing.”

“What the hell was that!?” came a voice from behind the door, followed by laughter.

“Send them in” Natalia said, stifling her own laughter just barely long enough.

The team entered, with Undyne turning her head rapidly, scanning the room for the source of the strange voice.

“Looking for someone?” L.E.G.I.O.N said again.

“Who are you? Show yourself! Come out and fight me, you coward!” Undyne shouted.

“Relax, that’s just the AI that runs our systems” Kyoko said.

“Ooh, neat!” Undyne said, changing her demeanor immediately.

“So, what did that bastard tell you?” Natalia said.

“More than he meant to” Hector said. “These three chuckleheads started talking politics and he broke down pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it” Natalia said.

“Apparently, he’s Beli. One of Jotunheim’s leaders” Kyoko said.

 Ari placed a set of files on the desk. “These are the files we have on Jotunheim’s leadership. You’ll note that there’s an extra here.”

“That’s not all I noticed” Natalia said, looking at the number one hastily scribbled on to one of the Ymir files in magic marker.

“No one felt like making new labels” Alexei said.

“So, there’s two Ymirs?” Natalia said.

“Yeah, the old one’s dead apparently” Undyne said.

“Dead? How?” Natalia said.

Undyne shrugged. “All he knew was that he disappeared, and this new girl took his place. He wasn’t happy about it.”

“Yeah, and he was so pissed that he ranted a ton and accidentally confessed to his involvement in several high-profile terrorist attacks. Apparently, he was involved in the Lenin Station bombings.” Hector said. “That was the first Ymir’s idea.”

“He also sent those nut jobs after Frisk’s class. He’s kinda the reason they fell” Undyne added.

“So, this son of a bitch tried to kill my kid twice?” Natalia said with barely suppressed rage.

“It would seem so” Ari said.

“I’ll kill that bastard myself” Natalia muttered. “And who are the other members?”

“He didn’t know” Undyne said. “Apparently, they only met once, and Surtr made sure they couldn’t see each other too well.”

“So, this ‘Surtr’ is smarter than we thought” Natalia said.

“We have reason to believe they’re working with Jefferson, though” Kyoko said.

“He denied it, but not very convincingly” Alexei added.

Natalia cursed under her breath. “That’s not good. If Jefferson’s involved, we could have another war on the horizon.”

“It’s that bad, huh?” Undyne said, now filled with dread.

Kyoko nodded. “It is. Jefferson’s always been hostile. Tensions have been rising since the ceasefire.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised they didn’t try something sooner” Hector said.

“There are plenty of war hawks on our side as well” Natalia said.

“Like that guy at the press conference?” Undyne said.

“You mean Banik? Yes, he’s rather… notorious in the media. The People’s International has always been a rather hardline news source” Natalia said.

“I love that guy!” Alexei said. “His commentary is hilarious. Not enough snarky bastards in reporting like him.”

“I see. And do you agree with the International’s politics?” Natalia said.

Alexei shrugged. “Some of them. I’m not necessarily eager for another war, but our caution is costing people.”

“Well yeah but… a war could kill a lot of people” Undyne said.

“So can peace” Alexei said. “How many people do you think they’ve killed because they haven’t been taken down? How long before it exceeds the casualties of a war? Maybe they have already.”

Undyne wasn’t sure how to respond.

“There’s still the question of whether we’re prepared to fight them” Ari said. “It won’t help anyone if we lose.”

“Fair” Alexei said.

Natalia inspected the files. “Whatever your feelings, I’m afraid it’s out of our hands. I will review the information in the files, then go to the mayor later today. I imagine he’ll want to fortify the boarder, do something to flush out the spies. Other than that, we’ll need the governor to make a final decision.”

“Will you be needing anything else, ma’am?” Kyoko said.

Natalia shook her head. “Not right now. It would be best if you five got back to your precinct. Begin proper training with private Undyne, and be on the lookout for any leads on Jotunheim. Dismissed.”

“Yes ma’am!” The officers said, Undyne being slightly out of sync with the rest of them.

After they left, L.E.G.I.O.N spoke.

“Do you really think there’ll be another war?”

Natalia sighed. “I don’t know. But we must be prepared. I fear this is only the calm before the storm.”

“So, the situation’s even more dire than we thought” Toriel said.

“Sure seems that way” said Mayor Nguyen. “A lot worse, in fact.”

“Do you really think there’ll be a war in the near future?” Asgore said.

“Hard to say” said Mayor Nguyen. “On the one hand, if their involvement can be confirmed, the governer’ll want to hold them accountable. Not a whole lot of ways to do that without violence. We already embargoed them. Still, I don’t think any of our leaders are in a hurry for another fight. Still a lot of damage from the last one.”

“Do we have any allies we can call for assistance?” Toriel said.

Nguyen nodded. “Yeah, lots of ‘em. The whole Comintern’s required to back each other up during times of war. With luck, D.C. will take our side too. They always preferred us over the Fascists. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that there’ll be fighting on our soil. That has repercussions.”

Asgore nodded. “Agreed. Our people aren’t as numerous as humanity. Not by a longshot. Most of them still live in this city. If war breaks out, we could be devastated beyond the point of no return.”

Nguyen took a deep breath, and sighed. “Yes, I had that fear as well. You may want to encourage some of your people to relocate to other parts of the Comintern. The Canadian Communes are the easiest to access from here. California’s also a good option. They’d have to sail past Jefferson’s coastline, but they don’t have much of a navy. Safer than flying anyway.”

“Is there truly no other option?” Toriel said. “Our people have made our home here. It would be difficult for them to leave now.”

“I understand, your majesty. Really, I do. It is my hope that most will be able to remain here. Still, we’ll want to make contingencies. Regardless, we’ll want to make an evacuation plan for the city. If a war starts, we don’t want civilians getting caught in the crossfire. I was considering using the Underground as an emergency shelter.”

“That could work, preparations for immigration are already underway” Toriel said.

“We’ll need to fortify the entrance. Other than that, it makes the ideal shelter” Asgore agreed.

“Good. That’s a start at least. Will hash out the details later. For now, I’d like to speak to the princette and the ambassador. I feel they should be here for the next matter I wanted to discuss” Nguyen said.

“They should be here soon. Miguel is dropping them off” Toriel said.

“Good, send him in too. Chief Abdulova already knows the details, we discussed them while I made my preparations, but he needs to know too, and I may as well tell him now” Nguyen said.

“Tell me what?” said Miguel as he entered, Chara and Frisk following closely behind.

“Oh! Perfect!” Nguyen said.

Miguel, Chara, and Frisk gathered around the desk.

“You wanted to talk to us, sir?” Frisk said.

Nguyen nodded. “Yes, about the attack.”

“So Tanner was behind the camp attack too, huh? Never woulda guessed” Chara said.

Nguyen laughed. “Bet you’re glad you beat his ass now, eh?”

Toriel glared at him.

“Er, that is to say, good job apprehending him, your highness You have done us a great service.”

Chara laughed. “Don’t worry about mom, she’s a bit high-strung about language, but I already cursed like a sailor before she adopted me anyway.”

Toriel sighed.

“Anyway yeah, I am glad I took that bastard out” Chara said, smiling and glancing at Toriel as they spoke.

Toriel placed her palm on her forehead.

“Alright, let’s give your mom a break, your highness” Nguyen said.

“Oh, just call me Chara. I never really took to the titles.”

Nguyen shrugged. “Works for me. Anyway, Chief Abdulova said you and Frisk said you wanted to become their official bodyguard, is that right?”

Frisk nodded. “Yeah. I figured you aren’t going to find many people wit super strength like them -well, besides me- and we usually speak at a lot of the same events anyway, so…”

“I mean, they have proven they can do it” Miguel said.

“That they have!” Nguyen said.

Chara chuckled.

“I hate to admit it, but it does make sense” Asgore said.

“I’m still not sure about this” Toriel said.

“Why not? It’s not like they’re in any more danger” Miguel said.

“Less, if you think about it” Chara said. “What with the combat training.”

“That… is true” Toriel said.

“Why so hesitant?” Miguel said. “I know having your kid trained for combat is bizarre, but it really is the best option here, and they’ll still be guarded by other people, it’s not like we want them to fight.”

“I know, it’s just… I had hoped we could put that sort of thing behind us. All of this violence. I just don’t want these two in harm’s way.”

“I understand, your majesty” Nguyen said. “Unfortunately, an alternative has yet to present itself. And we may not have time to find one.”

“I suppose you’re right” Toriel said. “Very well, you have my blessing.”

“Yes!” Frisk said, pumping their fist.

Chara smiled warmly. “Thank you! I promise you, you won’t regret this!”

 “You’re… really into this, aren’t you?” Nguyen said.

“Yeah…” Chara said sheepishly. “It uh, it’s pretty important to me.”

Frisk giggled. “Worried about me?”

“Yes. We’ve already established this” Chara said.

Frisk was both disappointed and impressed that Chara maintained their composure.

“You two are pretty close, huh?” Nguyen said.

“Yeah” Chara said, blushing a bit.

Frisk put their arm around them. “Yeah, Chara and I went through the Underground together. They’re half the reason we made it out of there in one piece. That’s why I know they’re the right person for this job. There’s no one I’d rather count one more.”

Chara blushed intensely, and pointed their eyes at the floor.

“That’s right, you two shared a body for a while, right?” Nguyen said.

“Yeah, we did. Can’t say how long exactly because of the looping, but around a year” Chara said.

“Guess that shows you two can work together well enough” Nguyen said.

“So, when does training start?” Chara said.

“You can start right away. You’ve proven yourself well enough in a fight. We’ll get you some more formal training in due time, we just need to figure out what that entails. I figure some human martial arts and monster magic” Nguyen said.

“Sweet!” Chara said.

“Alright, let’s conclude this meeting for now. We can discuss the details further later on” Nguyen said.

“Very well” Toriel said. “Let’s head on home then. Miguel, you brought the Humvee, yes?”

“You use a Humvee as you r regular car?” Nguyen said.

Miguel sighed. “Yes, I use the Humvee as my regular car. Now let’s go, everybody, before this conversation can continue.”

Everyone went to bed a few hours after the meeting. Dinner was relatively smaller than usual, relatively being the operative word, and consisted mostly of leftovers, since nobody, not even Toriel was in a cooking mood. A day full of meetings and paperwork had sapped everyone of their energy.

Chara and Frisk were the only ones with any energy left, and they elected to spend it gaming in their room.

“Man, today was nuts, huh” Chara said, powering up the handheld.

“Yeah,” Frisk said, grabbing their own, “politics is a pretty intense job. But look on the bright side! Your parents agreed to our plan!”

“I know, right!? I never thought I’d see the day mom agreed to get me combat training!”

“I mean, she did make us prove we could fight before we left the Ruins.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me” Chara said.

“Maybe I should get some training” Frisk said. “I’d love to learn that fire magic Toriel does.”

“Yeah, you could make my lunch” Chara said.

“How about you? What kind were you thinking?” Frisk said.

“Hm.” Chara thought for a moment. Maybe Undyne could show me how to do that thing wit her spear. I wonder if it’d work with my knife.”

“That sounds awesome!” Frisk said.

“I know, right? So, what game did you have in mind?”

Frisk thought for a moment. “I think we have some Halo games on these.”

“Really? I always wondered where they went with that franchise after I fell.”

“Wanna find out?”

Chara grinned. “You bet! Let’s do this!”

Chapter Text

Doctor Harris was excited for this new project.

For years, he had been studying the magical sciences, striving to uncover the secrets of the human SOUL. It is what brought him to Ebott in the first place, and the decision had proven prudent on his part for a number of reasons. The project he was working on now was beyond anything he’d ever dreamed of, though.

“SOUL Coils resonating at a stable frequency” Alphys said.

“All systems running within safe parameters” Jones shouted from across the room.

“Let’s fire it up then, shall we?” Harris said excitedly.

“Right. All systems a go!” Alphys said.

“Commencing SOUL Communication Link!” She said, pulling the switch.

A short burst of static came through the speaker, before normalizing, and fading out to be replaced by a voice.

“Hello? Hello? Can… can anyone hear me?”

“Remarkable!” Harris said.

“Yes, we can hear you!” Alphys said.

“Amazing! You… you can talk to us? To dead humans?” The voice said.

“I know! Amazing, no? I must say, doctor, your work is magnificent! Monsterkind’s mastery of the magical science is a sight to behold!” Harris said.

“Oh, um, thank you” Alphys said.

“What’s your name, dear?” Harris said into the microphone.

“Oh right. It’s Lily, sir” the voice said.

“No need for formalities, just call me Eddie” Harris said.

“Oh, um, alright. And who’s that other doctor? The monster? I’ve heard about her, but I don’t think I ever learned her name.”

“Oh! My name is Alphys. I’m the Royal Scientist for the monsters.”

“Royal Scientist? What’s your specialty?” Lily said.

“Oh, a little bit of everything. SOUL science is a big one, but I also do biology, physics, and a little robotics, among others. I actually built a robot body for a ghost friend of mine a while back!” Alphys said, excited to talk about her work.

“Woah! How’d you learn all of those things?” Lily said.

“I was wondering that myself” Harris said. “I myself only know magical science and a fair bit of biology as it relates to it.”

“It’s the Royal Scientist’s job to head all of the R&D Department. We have to study all sorts of stuff” Alphys said.

“Holy shit” Harris said. “The sheer amount of studying that must require is hurting my head.”

“Oh well… I didn’t learn every field at once. Enough of everything to head the departments and make sure they work together. You learn a lot more as you go” Alphys said bashfully.

“It’s still very impressive” Lily said. “I wanted to be a scientist before I fell.”

“Oh, really? W-Well, maybe we could teach you some things. A-After you finish school, of course.”

“Really!? That sounds amazing! Thank you!” Lily said.

“No problem! It’s always good to encourage next generation’s scientists” Harris said.

“What did you want to study?” Jones said.

“Who was that?” Lily said.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Calvin Jones, the lead technician.”

“Oh! Nice to meet you!” Lily said. “I actually wanted to be a medical doctor. A general practitioner, I think the word is. It’s uh, been a while since I learned the terminology.”

“How old were you when you fell?” Harris said.

Lily thought for a moment. “About fourteen, I think. What uh, what year is it?”

“2120” Jones said.

“Wow, it has been a while!”

“When did you fall?” Alphys said.

“2034” Lily said. “So it’s been about… eighty-six years, give or take.”

“You did that in your head?” Alphys asked.

“Yeah, I’ve always been pretty good with numbers and stuff” lily said.

“A promising addition to the community indeed” Harris said. “Tel me, how did you fall, exactly?”

“Oh” Lily’s tone soured considerably. “I… I wanted to get away from my parents. They… weren’t good people.”

“I see” Alphys said.

Lily chuckled mirthlessly. “It’s funny, you know? My parents used to tell me stories of Chara, the kid who went missing all those years ago. They talked about the monsters that got them. Said they were a bad kid, and that if I was bad, or tried to run away, the Goat Man would get me.”

No one responded. How could they?

Lily continued. “Eventually, I started thinking: was the goat man really so bad? Or the other monsters under the mountain? The stories portrayed them as vicious creatures, but then again, my parents told me all sorts of people were bad. People who seemed like they wanted to help me. I decided I wanted to meet them for myself. To find out what they were like.”

“I see” Harris said. “And if they were dangerous? What then?”

Lily chuckled again. “It’s not like I had much to lose. Life was hell already.”

The room was silent once more.

“Odd” Harris said finally.

“What?” Alphys said.

“To think that a child would be so brave. So brave as to try and make contact with an unknown race of mythical beings. Beings generally feared and thought of as malevolent. To humans, it would be like trying to go to the lair of zombies, or Xenomorphs.”

“What?” Alphys said.

“Old movie” Harris said.

“Well, like I said, I didn’t have much to lose. I figured a place full of monsters could make room for an outcast like me” lily said.

“I still must admire your bravery” Harris said. “Many humans can’t even trust the next country over, let alone beings straight from ghost stories.”

“I guess I see what you mean” Lily said.

“It’s a shame those stories were vindicated in the end” Harris said.

Lily paused for a moment. Trying to blink in confusion before remembering she didn’t have eyes.

“What?”

“Well, in your case, I presume your trust in the monsters was misplaced, given that you died down there as a child” Harris said.

Alphys grew nervous. The lab techs began glaring at him.

Harris immediately noticed their reactions. “I’m just saying, there’s a fair bit of blood on the hands of monster kind. The stories weren’t entirely unjustified.”

Alphys paused for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

“I… I guess you’re not exactly wrong about that, but-“

“No! You’ve got it all wrong! The monsters didn’t kill me!” Lily shouted.

 Everyone turned to look at the speakers, forgetting briefly that the source of the voice was the cyan SOUL in a glass tube.

“That’s right! I think King Asgore said that the monsters didn’t manage to kill any of the fallen children” Alphys said.

Admittedly, that seemed bizarre to her. It seemed like at least one human out of the six would have been taken down in armed combat.

“Is that so?” Harris said, confused. “Then I must apologize, doctor. It seems I was misinformed on the situation.”

“It’s alright. I can understand why you’re angry. I guess we’ve both messed up a lot over the years” Alphys said.

“That’s usually how it is” Jones said.

“If the monsters didn’t kill you, how did you die?” Harris said.

Lily went quiet for a moment.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it” Alphys said.

“No no, it’s alright” Lily said finally. “After I fell, I met a woman named Toriel. Your queen, I think. She took me in. I stayed with her for a while. A few months, I think. The monsters in the Ruins were nice enough, they mostly just left me alone. That was, until one day when I got into a fight. One of the bee creatures. Others were egging them on. Telling them to attack. There were a few others too. I can’t remember what they looked like. They wanted to take my SOUL to the king.”

“I see. What happened next?” Harris said.

“I… I hit them. W-With my toy knife. I just wanted them to go away, but…”

“It’s ok. You don’t need to say the rest if you don’t want to” Alphys said.

“After the fight, I… I ran away. I left my things behind when I ran. I couldn’t face Ms. Toriel after what had happened. I went for the entrance while she was away. I uh… I guess I should have brought some winter clothes” Lily said, with a sad chuckle.

“You froze to death?” Alphys said quietly.

Harris noticed she was trembling.

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s how it happened. A few of the monsters actually tried to help me. They didn’t know I was a human, I guess. I was too afraid to go to them, though. I thought they’d find out. Eventually, I realized they wanted to help. By then though, I couldn’t find anyone. I… I remember trying to reach a town in the distance. I didn’t feel cold anymore. I remembered reading that hypothermia could cause that, and that by then, it was usually too late. The last thing I remember was collapsing near the town entrance. I saw monsters approaching. I can’t remember what they look like, I couldn’t get a clear look. Everything went black after that.”

“Jesus” Jones said.

Even Harris wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’m sorry. That must have been awful for you” Alphys said.

“Yeah. It’s… it’s not something I like to think about. Not that I have a lot of options” Lily said.

“I’d imagine” Harris said. “Let’s hope we can give you a better life this time around.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it” Lily said.

“It’s no trouble! I assure you, we’re all quite excited about this” Harris said.

“I’ll bet! How many scientists can put necromancy on their resume?” Lily said.

“Doctor Alphys can. She brought back the Princette, remember?” Jones said.

“Yeah. You don’t forget that anytime soon” Lily said.

“I heard it was quite a sight!” Harris said. “Hopefully, we can replicate the results.”

“I would like to have a body again” Lily said.

“We should be able to repeat the procedure soon. We just need to do a few tests with Prince Asriel first. You need to be bound to a separate vessel for the tethering procedure to work” Alphys said.

“You mean Flowey?” Lily said.

Alphys tensed up. She’d somehow forgotten about her past experience with him.

“Um… yeah. I know that sounds bad after last time but-“

“It’s alright” Lily said.

“Oh! Good!” Alphys said.

“The rest of us already agreed to help him. Clover talked us into it a while back. We thought we’d just convince him to go to Ebott with the others, but this is even better!” Lily said.

“Clover?” Harris said.

“They’re the justice SOUL” she said.

“I see” Harris said. “And what are the other SOULs’ names?”

“Hm… Well, you’ve already met Asher. He’s kindness. He and I were on board pretty quickly with trying to help Flowey. Then there’s Lazlo, the perseverance SOUL. He can be a bit of a hothead, but he’s a good person.”

“Isn’t he the one who killed his way to Waterfall with a notebook?” Alphys said.

“That’s him. Admittedly he seems a bit too proud of that one. Then again, it was more about how far he got than how many he killed. He called it a ‘notebook only run’.”

“Jesus” Jones said, stifling a laugh.

“I think he might have been joking about that. He’s got a dark sense of humor, it’s an acquired taste” Lily said.

“Like snail pie” Alphys said.

“Exactly” Lily said.

“Snail what?” Harris said.

“That a French thing?” Jones said.

“It’s a Toriel thing. Anyway, where was I?” Lily thought for a moment.

“Abby is bravery. She died near the Waterfall entrance. I remember her saying she was on the school boxing team before she fell. It served her pretty well. She thought the monsters she was fighting were evil, and honestly some of them probably were. Not all of the monsters we fought were good people. Anyway, she thought she had to stop them from invading the surface, so she fought a lot more than she needed to. She doesn’t even really know how she died. We were thinking either exhaustion or maybe injuries. She was pretty sure it wasn’t cold though since she’d kept warm pretty well.”

“I’ve heard of her!” Alphys exclaimed. “I heard she took out all of the guards sent after her single-handedly!”

“How’d she say she died?” Harris said.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. The legends tell different stories.”

“If it was injuries, then one of the humans might actually have been taken down by monsters after all” Harris said.

“Not before she took them out” Lily said. “She left all of her opponents dead. She said so when she showed up.”

“Can you all communicate?” Harris said.

“Yeah. It’s a bit tricky, but we can. I’m not really sure how it works myself. It’s definitely not via sound.”

“So they know you’re describing them?” Alphys said.

“Yeah! You should see some of their reactions!” Lily said mischievously.

“Anyway, the last one’s Ash, she’s integrity.”

“Different from Asher?” Jones said.

“Yeah, Ashly. She was a ballerina. She’s pretty proud of it. Apparently, it served her pretty well. She tied her shoes together and used them as bolas.”

“How’d she go out?” Jones said.

“Not sure, she wouldn’t say” Lily said. “Anyway, that’s the whole gang. I hope you wrote all that down.”

“This is being recorded” Jones said.

Lily let out a laugh.

“What?” Alphys said.

“Sorry, I just heard the groans of frustration from some of the others” Lily said.

Harris chuckled. “Well, you seem like you’ll be fun to work with.”

“Thanks!” Lily said.

“Alright. That concludes today’s experiment. I think we can call this test a success!” Alphys said with cautious optimism.

Harris turned in his lab coat and headed out for his car. He was looking forward to some rest after the day’s work. It had been an eventful, but rewarding day. He was looking forward to what future developments they could make.

On the way home, he mused about his newest colleague.

Dr. Alphys.

He didn’t know what he expected from a Royal scientist, but she was not it. He expected someone far more… intimidating, mysterious, mad even. The nervous, geeky bookworm was the polar opposite of all of these things.

And yet, he couldn’t help but admire her. She had a passion for her work he couldn’t hope to match, and talent to match. She was a fine example of what the monster scientific community had to offer.

She would be a treat to work with, that was for sure, and hopefully, the key to the answers he was looking for.

Chapter Text

The mood in the living room was very hard to judge. A confused mishmash of starkly contrasting atmospheres.

Frisk was even more cheerful and optimistic than ever, practically vibrating with excitement.

Chara on the other hand was so nervous that they felt their stomach was eating itself.

The combined mood contrast created an atmosphere that was equally welcoming and foreboding, and more disorienting than anything. Like a mixture of lavender and hospital disinfectant.

“This is gonna be great! Man, it feels like it’s been forever since we last saw the guys, doesn’t it?” Frisk said.

Chara chuckled nervously. “Yeah, it sure does.”

“I heard Papyrus got a new car! I wonder what it looks like?” Frisk mused.

“I dunno. I guess we’ll find out, huh. Any second now” Chara said nervously.

Frisk nodded excitedly. “Yeah! I really want to hear what they’ve been up to lately. I wonder how Papyrus’s guard training has been going.”

“You notice Chara seems nervous” Chara said through gritted teeth.

“Oh right,” said Frisk “I guess you and Sans aren’t on the best of terms.”

“You could say that, yeah” Chara said.

Frisk patted them on the shoulder. “Well don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll all work out!” they said, though they didn’t seem quite as certain as they normally were.

“I hope you-“

Chara was cut off by the door slamming open.

“HUMAN!” a voice boomed from the entrance.

“Papyrus! Good to see you!” Frisk said, walking over to them.

“AND YOU AS WELL, HUMAN FRISK! TELL ME, HOW IS THE SPECTRE HAUNTING YOUR FORM DOING?”

“Oh, well actually-“

Papyrus cut Frisk off with a loud gasp as seeing Chara.

Chara looked up and waived nervously.

Papyrus glanced rapidly between the two until his head spun around. He clasped it in his hands and righted it.

“FRISK! WHY ARE THERE TWO OF YOU?”

Frisk giggled. Chara did too, despite themself.

“No no, this is Chara! We restored their body, remember?” Frisk said.

“YOU MEAN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK THAT MUCH LIKE EACHOTHER?” Papyrus said, jaw dropping in surprise.

“Yup” Chara said. “It’s uncanny, right?”

“sometimes the world throws you a bone, i guess” came another voice from the door.

Chara froze up at the sound of the voice.

In stepped Sans, wearing the same perpetual smile.

Even before making an enemy of him, Chara always thought it was creepy. It seemed friendly enough, strangely disarming for a living skeleton, but there was something about how his expression never changed that rubbed Chara the wrong way. Papyrus changed expressions. In fact, he was more expressive than a skeleton should be able to manage. Chara had never met someone so energetic before. Perhaps that and their extreme friendliness excused the fact that he occasionally seemed cartoon eyeballs for some of his more colorful reactions.

Sans though, after a while his smile stopped being comforting, and became deeply troubling. Frisk seemed unbothered by it, but Chara became more and more suspicious of him as time went on. They were right in a way; he had indeed been hiding something, and it had been bad for them.

Now that his eyeless gaze fell upon them, the grin chilled them even more. Their hair stood on end, they broke into a cold sweat, their heart was racing, hammering against their ribs. They began to tremble as their breath quickened. Their vision narrowed and their peripheral blurred. Images flashed before their eyes of the Hall of Judgement. It felt like they were back there again.

No! Not again! No no no no no no no!

“…id?” the skeleton said.

No please God no.

“kid?”

No no no no no no no no no-

“hey, kid!”

Sans snapped his fingers in front of Chara’s face.

“Huh?” Chara said.

The room came back into focus. Everyone stared at Chara, concerned. Even Sans sounded unnerved, even if his expression changed little.

“you alright there?” Sans said. “you zoned out there for a second. had to snap you back to reality there.”

“NOT THE TIME, SANS!” Papyrus said.

“sorry, just trying to lighten mood. calm ‘em down, you know?” Sans said.

Chara took a moment to catch their breath.

“It’s fine” Chara said between breaths.

Sans wasn’t sure what to make of this. Mere months ago, Chara seemed to be the most dangerous being on Earth, an eminent threat to everyone and everything. They could still remember the crazed stare they’d given them the night they made it to the surface. They could remember their words nigh verbatim. How they’d bragged about their plans. How they’d dared him to kill them again. The idea that this time could be the last seemed to thrill them, even if they knew it wasn’t true. It was hard to believe the child before him was the same vengeful spirit he’d met that day.

“soooo… chara, right?” Sans said before they could stop himself.

“Um… yeah” Chara said dumbfounded. “Nice to meat you? Or… I guess we’ve already met.”

“yeah…” Sans said.

“Let me guess, expecting someone taller?” Chara said.

“someone less pale. you’re gonna turn into one of us at this rate” Sans said.

Chara laughed nervously. “I’ve already been down that road.”

“HOW EXACTLY DID THEY PUT YOUR SKIN BACK ON, HUMAN CHARA?” Papyrus said.

“Painfully!” Chara said with a faux cheerful tone.

“Yeah, it looked like it” Frisk said, shuddering.

There was an awkward pause for a moment.

“So,” Frisk said finally “what’s your new car like, Papyrus?”

“OH IT’S WONDERFUL! COME! LETS TAKE A LOOK AT IT!”

Everyone made their way to the front yard. Chara and Sans humored Papyrus, partly out of kindness, partly to escape the awkwardness.

Chara was decidedly more interested once they actually saw the vehicle. A large red convertible sports car. Chara couldn’t quite tell what make it was, and it may not have been a brand from their time at all. Still, it seemed very high end. Chara didn’t know enough about cars to get any specifics, but they could tell that much. It had the same sleek, aerodynamic design the more expensive models tended to have. In Chara’s day, such a vehicle would have been prohibitively expensive.

“Where’d you get this?” they asked.

“OH RIGHT! I NEVER MENTIONED THAT, DID I? IT’S ACTUALLY VERY INTERESTING.”

“I’ll bet! What’d you do, join the mob?” Chara said.

“NOTHING SO UNSEEMLY, I ASSURE YOU! WE ACTUALLY FOUND IT NOT TOO FAR FROM OUR HOME!”

“You just found a luxury sports car abandoned near your house?” Frisk said, skeptically.

“INDEED! APPARANTLY A WEALTHY BUISNESSMAN OWNED A PROPERTY NEARBY. AFTER THE REVOLUTION, MOST OF HIS ASSETS HAD BEEN PLUNDERED!”

“We prefer to say ‘redistributed’ Frisk said with a cheeky smile.

“The only thing better than plundering is righteous plundering!” Chara said.

“Exactly! It’s just like in an RPG.” Frisk said.

Papyrus wasn’t sure what to make of that exchange. Nonetheless, he continued.

“WELL, APPARANTLY, THERE WAS A FORTIFIED BUNKER THAT NOONE COULD GET INTO BEFORE. I MEAN, WITHOUT EXPENSIVE DEMOLITIONS. SO IT WAS JUST LEFT THERE! ABANDONED! FOR YEARS! THAT WAS UNTIL SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS MENTIONED IT TO US. APPARANTLY IT WAS SOMETHING OF A LOCAL CURIOSITY. EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL ENOUGH UNTIL SANS BLASTED THE BUNKER DOORS STRAIGHT OFF! IT WAS AS EXCITING AS IT WAS EXTREMELY TERRIFYING AND UNEXPECTED.”

“And that’s where you found the cars?” Chara said, baffled.

“I AM JUST AS SHOCKED AS YOU ARE! THE MAN BUILT A HEAVILY FORTIFIED BUNKER TO SERVE AS A GARAGE! NATURALLY, SANS AND I GOT FIRST PICK OF THE LOT!”

“Wow! That’s quite a story there” Chara said, genuinely impressed.

“Leave it to rich people to spend that much money on a garage” Frisk said.

“Did they build any near us?” Chara asked.

“I doubt it, but you’re already royalty anyway” Frisk said.

Chara laughed. “Behold! The royal palace!” they said, gesturing at the house.

“IT IS TECHNICALLY THE ROYAL PALACE ISN’T IT?” Papyrus said, pondering the thought. His mood shifted immediately to excitement. “SANS! WE’VE BEEN INVITED TO THE ROYAL PALACE TWICE!”

Sans chuckled. “yep, sure seems that way. hey, waddaya say we show them what we brought for the royal feast?”

“ROYA- OH! THAT’S BRILLIANT, SANS! YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TRY HUMOR BESIDES PUNS AND PRACTICAL JOKES?”

Sans shrugged. “a whole new world has open up to me.”

“What’d you guys bring?” Frisk said.

Papyrus opened the trunk and retrieved a box of Spider Donuts, and a jug of spider cider. It was amazing how quickly humans got used to eating spiders.

Sans grabbed two coolers full of refreshments.

“there’s a third in the back. you think you could give us a hand?”

Frisk and Chara glanced at each other, smiling. They were both well aware of how much they would definitely overeat.

When they got back indoors, Frisk and Chara examined the cooler’s contents. There was an almost absurd amount of food.

One cooler was full of drinks, no surprise there. The others had frozen and non-frozen foods respectively. Bicicles, Nicecream, Cinnamon Bunnies, Crab Apples, Starfeit, Glamburgers, and other monster delicacies.

Frisk went to the fridge to grab their own contribution, a pitcher full of a fruit punch drink of sorts. They set it by the cider jug.

The four sat around the table gorging themselves on less than healthy delights. They discussed everything from life on the surface to the events of the past few months. Sans and Chara seemed to relax around each other a bit, much to Frisk’s delight.

“we saw what you did to that heckler. that was awesome” Sans said.

“YES, TRULY! WERE YOU NOT A ROAYL YOURSELF, I’D SAY YOU SHOULD JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD” Papyrus said.

 Chara laughed bashfully. “Ah, it was nothing.”

“Actually, they decided to make Chara my bodyguard from now on” Frisk said.

“strange, before, it was your body guarding them. how’d you get toriel to agree” Sans snarked.

Chara laughed. “May as well return the favor. And yeah, I basically said that I would absolutely do the same thing again no matter what anyone said, and they may as well train me to do it properly.”

Sans laughed. “wow. you’ve got guts, kid.”

“That makes one of us” Chara said.

Papyrus facepalmed.

Sans made finger guns in Chara’s direction.

“That reminds me, how’s your Royal Guard training going, Papyrus?” Frisk said.

“IT START’S NEXT WEEK! I’M ACTUALLY TRAINING WITH THE OFFICER WHO ESCORTED US TO THE POLICE HEADQUARTERS.”

“They did that with Undyne too. It’s probably a good idea” Chara said.

“you know, i’ll admit, i was a bit nervous about how this would go over with the human police, but they all seemed pretty excited about it” Sans said.

Chara nodded. “I mean yeah, having supernatural beings on your team is a pretty awesome idea. I’d imagine most people would go for it.”

“that’s strangely optimistic for you, kid.”

Chara laughed. “Yeah well, I guess cynicism isn’t as resilient as I thought. You can only be such a pessimist about humanity for so long when you only meet one bad one in months.”

“WAS IT WORSE WHEN YOU WERE ALIVE? WELL, I SUPPOSE YOU ARE ALIVE” Papyrus asked.

Chara nodded. “In hindsight, I don’t think everyone in Ebott was evil back then, it just felt that way because it seemed so few people tried to help me. Looking back, more people tried, at least, but there was only so much they could do. Still, a life like mine would break most people’s spirits, especially as a kid.”

“I SEE” Papyrus said, taking a sip of punch and reflecting on the words.

“BY THE WAY, WHAT IS THIS STUFF? IT TASTES DIFFERENT THAN THE HUMAN FRUIT PUNCH I’VE TRIED BFORE.”

“Kompot” Frisk said. “It’s a Russian drink. It’s kinda like fruit punch, but more fruity and less sweet. You can even add a bit of spice to it if you want.”

Papyrus nodded, fascinated.

“I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT SPAGHETTI, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE STORE WAS OUT OF PASTA! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN!?’

Frisk nodded. “Shortages, they happen sometimes. Importing stuff from the other states can be difficult because commies and fascists don’t like doing business with each other.”

Chara nodded solemnly. “There’s a whole ton of farmland down in the West Coast Communes so that’s where we get most of our food. But that one fucking panhandle Jefferson runs mean we can’t import by rail so it’s all gotta come in by ship. No one’s going to starve any time soon, but it causes delays.”

“wow, you really know your stuff, kid” Sans said.

“Yeah, I work in politics now, we learn a lot on the job. Monster food’s really popular now, we’ve got tons of it.”

“Hey, come to think of it, why didn’t you just make spaghetti with monster pasta?” Frisk said.

Papyrus froze. Their eyes widened, defying the laws of physics. Their jaw clenched shut with enough force to turn coal to diamonds.

“Papyrus? You alright?” Chara said, concerned.

“OH YES, DON’T WORY ABOUT ME. I’M JUST GOING TO STEP OUT AND GET SOME FRESH AIR. I WILL BE BACK SHORTLY!”

He immediately headed for the door, walking unusually quickly. Before anyone could stop him, he stepped out and slammed the door much harder than intended.

“Is he going to be ok?” Frisk said.

“don’t worry about him. he just needs some time to-“

Sans was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream of rage and frustration.

Everyone stared in shock at the door as Papyrus sauntered back in, far more relaxed. Their eyes followed him as he returned to the table.

“you uh, you feeling better there, buddy?” Sans said.

Papyrus took a deep breath, somehow.

“YES SANS, I AM MUCH BETTER NOW. THANK YOU.”

“…Ok then” Chara said uncertainly. “What uh, what do you guys want to do next?”

“PERHAPS WE COULD GATHER AT THE COUCH WIT HOUR REFRESHEMTS AND WATCH SOME HUMAN TELEVISION!” Papyrus said.

Frisk nodded. “I’m game.”

“now this is an activity i can get behind” Sans said.

The next several hours were spent watching a variety of American and Japanese cartoons. Some of the shows were recent, while others were classics from the previous century, as recommended by Chara.

Miguel ended up arriving home to two children and two skeletons lazily watching an episode of Mirai Nikki. If the sight wasn’t so absurd, he’d have been concerned with how immersed Chara seemed to be in the violent action scene taking place.

“What’re you four up to?” he said the group.

Frisk turned to answer.

“Oh, hey dad! We’re just watching some old Future Diary episodes.”

“As opposed to the new ones” Miguel said, still nonplussed.

“I MUST SAY, HUMANS, I DID NOT THINK YOUR HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS WERE AS EFFECTIVE AGAINST YOU AS THEY ARE AGAINS US” Papyrus said, disturbed.

“Only if you’ve got the skill. Scissors can be deadly in the right hands” Chara said way too casually.

“Riiiight… Well, have fun, I guess” he said, heading upstairs.

Natalia arrived home two hours later to find the four still watching tv. It was evident they had been there for quite some time judging by the state of the room.

“My God. How long have you all been at this?” She said, stepping in front of the tv.

Frisk met her gaze.

“Oh, hey. Not sure, really. A few hours?”

As they spoke, they realized it was dark out.

“How long has it been night?”

“IT’S NIGHT?” Papyrus said.

Natalia rolled her eyes. “It’s nine o’clock.”

Frisk looked around at their companions.

Sans had fallen asleep Lord knows how long ago, which wasn’t surprising.

What was surprising was that Chara had also fallen asleep, and was resting their head on Frisk’s shoulder. They thought about waking them, but were reluctant to, for some reason.

Natalia chuckled. “Well, I was hoping to check the news real quick. Could you pause… whatever this is?”

“Mirai Niki” Chara said, waking from their slumber and rubbing their eyes. They jolted in surprise when they realized how they’d been sleeping.

“Yeah, sure” Frisk said, pausing the episode and handing her the remote.

“Thanks. It will only be a minute” She said, and switched the channel.

“Welcome everybody” a familiar voice said through the speakers “to People’s International! The Internationale’s finest news source. Wladyslaw Banik with an important update on the situation regarding the supremacist groups forming in Ebbot.”

“Whoops, wrong channel” Natalia said, preparing to switch the channel.

“Hold on, I want to hear what he has to say” Chara said.

Natalia turned to them and shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Frisk looked at Chara, uncertain.

Chara shrugged. “Aren’t you at least morbidly curious? You can’t say our first impression wasn’t memorable.”

Banik continued. “Despite the record speed with which the monster and human population has integrated, violence between the two groups is on the rise. Now, that isn’t to say it’s frequent, on the contrary, keep in mind the rate was zero until recently.”

“Huh, alright that’s surprisingly honest. I was honestly expecting more fear mongering” Chara said.

“Yeah, that’s actually pretty surprising” Frisk said.

“The vast majority of hate crimes have been traced back to two groups. The first is a monster supremacy group called Asriel’s Vengeance, so named for monster prince and recently confirmed Ebott City urban legend, Asriel Dreemur.”

A graphic of a logo depicting a being resembling the demon Baphomet, presumably their logo, flashed onscreen.

Chara clenched their fists in anger. They’d pay for using his name like that.

“The group is lead by a Jerry named, well, Jerry. Jerry has been known to make inflammatory comments about humanity’s inherit evil, and the need to make humans pay for their crimes. While highly unpopular with monsters and denounced by the Royal Family, the group has gained enough traction to pose a threat in some capacity. There have been numerous attacks by the group on humans that have left several injured. The attacks do not seem to be particularly well planned or organized. Reports of threats to the mayor have also been made by anonymous sources.”

Frisk let out a defeated sigh.

Chara patted them on the shoulder.

“Hey, don’t let them get you down. There’s always a few assholes in a group.”

“I guess you’re right” Frisk said, still melancholy.

A graphic of a Nordic triskelion surrounded by runes replaced the Baphomet logo.

Banik checked his notes briefly. “The other group of note is Jotunheim, a white supremacist group who practice pseudo-Nordic mysticism. One of the group’s leaders has been revealed to be Johnathan Tanner, who you may recall was recently apprehended at the first joint press conference between Princette Chara Dreemur and Ambassador Frisk Abdulov when he made an attempt on the latter’s life. The young-yet very old-princette managed to take him down before he could harm the ambassador, displaying an astonishing, I dare say superhuman level of strength, taking down the six-foot-four, four-hundred-pound man with minimal effort. As you may recall, I was present during the attack and witnessed the incident personally. It was, in my professional opinion, awesome.”

Chara sniggered at the comment.

“Sources inside the government claim that the Ambassador too, has this ludicrous level of strength, though the cause of it is unknown. They are reported to have gained it in the Underground. Regardless of its source, it does make the plan look even less thought out than it already did. It should come as no surprise that Tanner was under the influence of mind-altering substances at the time. The Citizens’ Militia has declined to comment on the information gained from Tanner, as it is confidential at this time.”

Banik took a swig of water and continued. “While these groups may seem like a low-level threat, full of morons and incompetents, note that they are very dangerous morons and incompetents. It takes little intelligence to cause a lot of damage. Fortunately, many of our townsfolk have taken the initiative to combat this threat. Groups of humans and monsters have banned together to form impromptu militia to safeguard their communities from this new threat. The Chief of the Citizens’ Militia made a public statement today commending their efforts, but warning that there will be no leniency should innocents be targeted by mistake.”

“Guess things are really starting to heat up, huh” Chara said.

Natalia nodded grimly. “There will always be those who are not content with peace.”

 “IT SEEMS SOME MONSTERS STILL AREN’T WILLING TO LET GO OF THE PAST” Papyrus said.

He noticed the news seemed to upset Frisk considerably.

“FRISK? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“I… I dunno. I thought we did everything right this time. Why is this happening? Where did we go wrong?”

“you didn’t” Sans said.

Frisk turned to Sans, who had apparently woken up some time before.

“nothing either of you did caused this, these people are just bad people. some people refuse to change no matter what you do. you can’t change people who don’t wanna be changed, kiddo.”

“I get what you’re saying. Still, is there really no way out of this without fighting?”

“Looks that way” Chara said.

“Some have voiced the opinion that violent retaliation is not the answer. They believe that this issue could be solved with a peaceful dialogue instead, or nonviolent protests” Banik said, exasperated.

“Now, long time viewers will know I’m a notorious skeptic when it comes to peaceful means of dealing with these people. it won’t surprise you that I have little confidence that these peacemakers will succede. Perhaps they can win over some, and I will commend them for doing so, but groups like this rarely see reason. I mean come on; we’ve already made a formal peace between our species. The majority of humans and monsters have no ill will against each other. While there have been complications with relocating for some monsters, but they are minimal. There aren’t many socio-economic issues that could contribute to this rise in cross-species hate crimes. Whoever joins one of these groups likely has little good nature to appeal to. They weren’t driven to this, they chose it. That takes a special type of evil. They deserve what they get. Besides, we can’t just expect these people to just sit back and let their neighbors be attacked! Personally, I believe this response is entirely warranted, and came not a moment too soon. These brave community members have my full support!”

“He’s got a point” Chara said.

Frisk looked to them in shock.

Chara shrugged. “I know it’s ugly, Frisk, but you have to admit, there really isn’t much other choice here. I’m not saying we can’t try, but I’m not confident.”

Frisk wanted to argue, but they honestly couldn’t think of a rebuttal.

“…Maybe you’re right.”

Chara placed a hand on their shoulder.

“Look, I know it’s messed up, especially after, well, everything. But sometimes there’s no other way. Sometimes it’s not a misunderstanding. Sometimes they’re just bad people and good people need to stop them. If we get too peaceful, we can’t fight to stop it from breaking down. Besides, humans and monsters fighting together is better than fighting each other, right? They’re still working together, and it’s for a good cause.”

“besides, it’s not like you can’t save any of them” Sans said.

“Hey, yea, you’re right!” Chara said. “There’s still a chance some of them will turn over a new leaf, right?”

“You really think so?” Frisk said.

Chara laughed a bit. “I mean, hey, you got me to do it, right?”

“i think these people are a lot worse than you were, kid” Sans said.

Chara’s eyes widened in shock. “Really?”

Sans nodded. “i mean, yeah. i know that sounds pretty weird coming from me, but you aint so bad. you did bad things, but you’re not a bad person; i can see that now. these people though, well these people are on a whole other level. still, it’s worth a shot. i’m sure there’re a couple worth saving.”

“I’M SURE IF ANYONE CAN DO IT, IT’S YOU” Papyrus said.

Frisk smiled. “Thanks guys…”

Sans stood up. “whelp, it’s getting pretty late. think it’s time we head on home.”

“Nonsense” Natalia said. “You two look exhausted. That car of yours isn’t self-driving. You should stay the night, it’s far safer.”

Papyrus’s eyes widened. “YOU MEAN LIKE A SLEEP OVER!?”

“…Yeah, that’s basically what I’m saying, I guess.”

“OH HOW WONDERFUL! DO YOU HEAR THAT SANS?”

“it’s a bit faint all the way over here, but yeah, i got the gist of it. so, where do we bunk?”

“I have a couple of sleeping bags. Sadly the guest room is taken, I hope the living room will suffice” Natalia said.

“OF COURSE. THE GREAT THINK ABOUT SKELETONS IS THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT OUR BACK MUSCLES BEING STIFF!”

“Glad to hear it! I’ll get the bags set up.”

Chara yawned. “Alright, I’m gonna head up to bed.”

“frisk’s right there” Sans said.

Chara froze in their tracks on their way to the stairs.

Frisk blushed and turned their gaze to the floor.

Natalia burst out laughing.

“EH?” Papyrus said. “DON’T BE SILLY SANS! JUST BECAUSE THEY FELL ASLEEP ON THEM, DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE A BED!”

“Well goodnight!” Chara said, hurriedly making their way up the stairs.

Frisk quickly made their way after them, realizing to their horror as they reached the top of the stairs that following so quickly after Chara, to the same room at that, did not help their case at all.

Frisk entered the room and shut the door quickly, taking a deep breath as they did. They saw Chara was already getting ready for bed. They both stood in awkward silence for a moment that felt far too long. Finally, Frisk broke the silence.

“So…”

“Yeah…” Chara said.

“That was… something.”

“Something we want to talk about later?” Chara said.

“Yeah!” Frisk said hurriedly. “Later! Definitely later!”

“Oh thank God!” Chara said, laying down on their sleeping bag. “’Night.”

“'Night” Frisk said, laying down in their own bed.

Chara was utterly mortified. How could they have done that? What were they thinking? Frisk must have felt so uncomfortable the whole time they were watching tv!

They hadn’t even meant to do it, it had just kind of happened when they fell asleep. Why hadn’t Frisk woken them up? Did they think it would be awkward to? Did they not want to upset them? Did they know?

That thought terrified them the most. What if they had given their feelings away? How would Frisk react? Not well, that was for sure. Chara knew they would be terrified if someone like them had a crush on them. Someone like Frisk would be scared out of their mind! Would this ruin things between them? They couldn’t bear the thought. Frisk meant the world to them, no matter what. They were one of the only people they had left. They hoped to God Frisk wouldn’t realize, and if they did, that they could at least move past it. If they were somehow okay with their feelings, they could stay friends! That’s the best they could hope for. They couldn’t bear the thought of loosing them as a friend after all they’d been through.

Frisk too, was finding it quite difficult to fall asleep, much to their dismay. Try as they might, they couldn’t stop thinking about earlier.

Why were they thinking so much about this? This wasn’t the first time a joke like this had been made. Why did it bug them so much now? It wasn’t even like Chara sleeping next to them made them feel uncomfortable or anything. In fact, the more they thought about it, the less they minded. It actually felt kind of nice, and Chara had looked adorable asleep on the couch. Why were they thinking so much about this?

In the end, both children eventually, miraculously, fell asleep.

 It came as sweet relief to both of them, Chara most of all. They hoped this could be smoothed over in the morning, though they felt this issue would haunt them for far longer.

Frisk on the other hand felt strangely excited. Nervous, but not afraid. They dreaded any further discussion on the topic, but also looked forward to it to an extent. They could only hope the answers they received were the ones they hoped for, even if they had no idea what they were.

Chapter Text

Chara woke to find that Frisk was already gone, presumably getting ready for the day. They realized that they’d forgotten to change out of their clothes from last night. Honestly, if they decided to just forgo changing, they doubted anyone’d be able to tell. Toriel had taken to buying them a ton of identical striped shirts, as was monster custom. Honestly it felt tempting at times. Sometimes they barely had it in them to shower. Still, Frisk would’ve bugged them about it. They always made a fuss about it, but they appreciated it.

As they selected their clothes for the day, they remembered their conversation from last night. A shiver went down their spine. Their face turned red with embarrassment. Suddenly they felt more motivated to clean up. It’d let them put the inevitable conversation off for a little while.

After showering for so long the hot water ran out, they finally relented and went downstairs to face their fate.

Frisk was sat at the breakfast table, calmly chowing down on pancakes. They couldn’t decide whether they liked Russian or American style better. Admittedly, blini went better with a wider variety of toppings, but American pancakes were thicker, and sweeter, which they also liked. Chocolate chips were also better suited to them. They ultimately decided picking a favorite was a lost cause.

“Pretty nice of Ms. Toriel to make breakfast, given how tired she must’ve been” they said.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, whatever” Flowey said.

“I heard Papyrus tried to help earlier” Frisk said.

“Yeah, they shut that one down pretty quickly” Flowey said tiredly.

“Those tests took a lot out of you, huh?” Frisk said.

“You don’t know the half of it. I didn’t even know flowers could get tired.”

“We all run out of energy eventually.”

Flowey nodded silently in agreement.

Chara finally emerged from the kitchen entrance.

“Hey. Mom made pancakes?” they said awkwardly.

Frisk nodded and gestured to the plate.

“Ooh, chocolate chip!” they said excitedly, temporarily forgetting what was making them so anxious.

“You are such a junky for that stuff” Flowey said.

Chara ignored them and sat down at the table. As they ate, something dawned on them.

“Where the hell were you?”

“At the lab, remember? They were doing tests for the SOUL experiments?”

“Right” they said.

“How did you forget that?” Flowey said.

“My mind was on… something else” Chara said.

“Oh? like what?” Frisk said. They soon remembered last night and regretted the question, bowing their head to hide their reddening face.

“See something interesting in those cakes?” Flowey said. “Why’s your mom still home, by the way? I didn’t see her leave for work. Or come down at all for that matter.”

“I think she took the day off” Frisk said.

“Finally” Chara said. “She always looks exhausted.”

“Yeah, it’s been a busy few months.”

“It’s like raising children. Busy, but quite rewarding!” Natalia said, entering the kitchen.

“Ooh, American style today.”

“Surprised you didn’t sleep until noon” Chara said.

“As am I, сыночек, as am I” she said, taking a seat. “L.E.G.I.O.N was right about me needing a vacation. When the base AI wants you to take a break, you know you’re pushing yourself too far.”

“AI?” Chara said.

“They are commonplace nowadays. L.E.G.I.O.N controls our automated systems.”

“Does that include the killbots?”

“Killbots? Oh! Yes, the autonomous units are linked to L.E.G.I.O.N, yes.”

Chara looked at her uneasily.

Natalia scoffed.

“I forget you are from the previous century. Anti AI fervor polluted even progressive organizations. They are people like any other, no more good, or evil than any other. Trust me, L.E.G.I.O.N is the best person for this job, and a valued comrade.”

“Oh! Sorry, I wasn’t sure which brand of sci-fi came true. Halo or Terminator.”

Natalia laughed. “You should tell them that one, they’ll love it!”

“Not too… stereotypical?” Chara said.

“Oh it’s very stereotypical, but they have that sense of humor. Besides, you lack the cultural context, they’ll understand.”

“Right…”

“So Chara, you excited to start your training today?” Natalia said through a mouth full of pancakes.

Chara gulped. “That’s today!?”

“Yes” she said flatly. “Did I not tell you? I feel like I told you.”

“You didn’t!” they said, exasperated.

“Oh. Woops.”

“Who am I training with? I’m learning magic, right?”

“Undyne, I think” she said.

“I’m not sure whether to envy you or pity you” Frisk said.

“Pray for me” Chara said.

Frisk gave a thumbs up.

There was a decent amount of time before training. Naturally, Frisk and Chara decided to spend it watching tv. “Conserving energy” as Frisk put it.

The situation was somewhat awkward. More so for Chara. They had braced themself for the inevitable discussion, or confrontation, as they pictured it. They were certain as soon as they were alone, Frisk would bring it up. And yet… nothing. They never even seemed to acknowledge it after breakfast. Did it make them too uncomfortable to talk about? Or was it not that big a deal to them? Painful as it was, Frisk’s indifference was the best-case scenario.

The incident itself, they realized, really wasn’t that big of a deal on its own. Things like that had happened before between them. Most of the people they knew had joked about it. But that was precisely the issue. The more they thought about it, the more they realized how long this had been building up. They were foolish to think they could avoid this discussion forever. It was going to happen eventually.

And yet… nothing. No awkward lead in, no “we need to talk,” no lecture from their parents about boundaries, not even a stern warning to not do it again. As they thought about it, the latter wasn’t very likely from Frisk, but it’d be something. But no. They just kept staring at the tv, like nothing had happened. Chara had thought that’d be a blessing, but all it did was build suspense.

Any second now… any second.

In truth, Frisk was wondering many of the same things. Had Chara been embarrassed because of how awkward it looked? Of the implications? It really wasn’t that weird; friends did do that kind of thing sometimes. Then why were they flustered too? Was it the joke Sans had made? They’d heard that kind of joke before. Come to think of it, they’d heard them pretty often. Why was that? What were they missing?

How would Chara feel about the implications? Were they embarrassed because the idea of them dating made them uncomfortable, or was it possibly the opposite? And if that were the case, how should they respond if Chara told them? How should they feel about this, and how would they tell Chara?

Frisk stifled a chuckle. They quickly realized they might have been in the exact situation they’d see in anime. The kind where the answer to these questions was blindingly obvious to everyone except the leads. They’d always assumed it’d be easier to navigate those in real life. After all, drama was required in shows, and Frisk certainly didn’t need to preserve that. It seemed however that this was harder than they thought.

Chara could feel the pressure mounting, as though the walls were closing in. They couldn’t take it anymore. They were about to cave in and say something when suddenly they were interrupted.

“Chara?”

Chara whipped around to see Natalia.

“It’s time to head to the station. There’s a cruiser outside. Are you alright?”

“What? Yeah! I’m fine!” They said in a forced tone. “Why?”

“You seem… out of it today.”

“I noticed that too, actually” Frisk said. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Chara laughed nervously. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just a bit nervous about the training and all.”

“Is that all? I wouldn’t worry. Undyne’s tough, but she’s not crazy!”

“I’m… not so sure about that” Chara said. “But yeah, I’m sure it’ll be fine. I already know the basics about how to use magical energy as a human.”

“Is it like the force? I heard it was like the force” Frisk said.

“Kind of, yeah. Good to see that franchise is still around. There’s an odd trick to focusing the magic as a human, you need to sorta feel it before you can start casting with it.”

“Maybe I’ll look into that myself then.”

“That would be awesome!” Chara said.

A horn honked from outside.

“I better go” they said, hurrying out the door.

“Okay, they’re definitely worried about something else, right?” Frisk said.

“Oh yeah” Natalia said.

Chara took a deep breath as they entered the cruiser. It had been quite the close call back at the house. It may have only delayed the issue, but it was a welcome delay. Hopefully training would help take their mind off of it. Knowing Undyne, they wouldn’t have much time to think about anything else.

They spent most of the ride anxiously going over hypothetical situations where the cruiser hadn’t saved them. They were utterly mortified all the while. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far a ride.

As Chara entered the precinct they were met by Ari, who was occupying himself with some sort of mobile game.

“Yes! New high score! Oh, hey there! Undyne’s this way.”

“Figured you’d take more time getting used to me having a body.”

“Nah, we’ve all seen you on tv. Although, it is stranger in person now that you mention it. You and Frisk really do look a lot alike.”

“Yeah, Azzie wasn’t exaggerating. Never thought I’d have my own doppelganger a century in the future.”

Ari chuckled.

“Yeah, that’s kinda odd. Anyway, we should head on down to the shooting range. Undyne’s pumped for this, and I don’t know how long we can wait before she tries to run to your house and get you herself. She was suggesting it earlier.”

“Yeah, we should probably hurry” Chara said nervously.

Ari guided them to the shooting range. It wasn’t exactly suited to magical training, but given Undyne’s specialties, it would serve its purpose.

“Finally!” Undyne shouted, lifting Chara by the sides. “This is going to be great! Today, we begin unlocking your awesome powers! I wonder what they’ll be like! Maybe you’ll shoot energy beams from your hands! Maybe you’ll get a giant sword! Made of magic!” Her eyes widened. “Maybe you’ll get a super mode! Humans get those, right!?”

“Easy there, Undyne! Don’t you think you’re being a bit… intense?”

Chara felt dizzy from Undyne’s vigorous shaking.

“Training is supposed to be intense! You can’t improve if you don’t give it your all!”

“Please… put… me… down…” Chara said, beginning to feel sick.

“Huh? Oh, sure” Undyne said.

“Now, do you know how to channel your magical energy?”

“Uh, yeah, sorta. I know how to tap into it as a human, I mean.”

“Okay good, ‘cause I have no idea how that works!”

“Yeah, you just kind of focus on the magical energy in your SOUL. It’s harder for humans since we don’t have the sort of instinctual attunement to it monsters do, but once you’re aware of it, you basically just need to think about it real hard.”

“Perfect!” She turned to the range. “Hey Mew Mew! Set up the dummies!”

“Alright! Alright! Alright!” came a familiar voice.

“Is that-?”

“Hey” Mad Mew Mew said sardonically. “Long time no see, eh? Well… actually I’ve never seen you before, but you get the point.”

Chara snickered. “How’s that anger management coming along?”

“Pretty well, actually!” They said, sounding tense.

“Well that’s good to hear.”

“Thanks! Anyway, I’ve got the dummies set up, so get started whenever!”

“She works at the shooting range now?” Chara said to Undyne.

“Yup. Brought her with me to the surface. Now she helps out with target practice!”

“Oh, alright. So, what are we learning today?”

Undyne grinned.

“Today I’m going to teach you how to summon magical weapons!”

“Oh! Like your spear, right?” Chara said, excited now.

“Exactly!” Undyne shouted. “Today I am going to teach you how to perform the best, most awesome magic in existence! Are you ready!?”

“Fuck yeah!” Chara said, legitimately excited now.

“That’s the spirit! Right, so what weapon do you want to summon?”

First question and Chara was already stumped.

“What are my options?”

“Oh, it could be anything. Really, it should be something you’re familiar with, something  you’re used to using. I find it’s easier that way. Plus, you can fight with your signature weapon on the battlefield and theme your attacks based off of them! It’s so much cooler that way!”

Chara nodded, contemplating. “Practical, and cool, that’s always the best combination. It’s hard to keep looking cool if you can’t actually win the fights. But what should my signature weapon be?”

“How about your knife? I know cutlery is a bit unconventional, but I think it’s kinda badass that way” Ari said.

“Oh yeah, my knife! I’ve been wanting to fix that up for a while now, actually! Probably the weapon I’m most experienced with anyway” Chara said. “Shame I don’t have it with me.”

Undyne waived it off. “Oh don’t worry about that. You don’t actually need it with you. Now, try and focus on your magical energy. Try and feel it.”

“Right.”

Chara closed their eyes, and took several deep breaths. They tried to concentrate on the magical energy within their SOUL. To draw it out, shape it. it was an odd sensation. Focusing on the SOUL felt like thinking about an abstract concept, not like moving a limb or breathing. If anything, it felt like pretending they had a limb and were moving it. And yet… they could feel something within them respond. A warm, energetic feeling rose within them. It felt almost like the buzzing of electricity, but without the pain or discomfort.

“I’ve got it.”

“Wow, that was quick!”

Chara smiled bashfully. “Mom and dad taught me a few things back in the day.”

“Okay, now picture your knife, imagine it forming in the air in front of you.”

“How big?” Chara said, opening their eyes.

“Huge! Make it as big as you can!”

“Don’t you think they should start smaller?” Ari said.

Undyne scoffed. “No! Why would you do that!?”

“What if I conjured a bunch of smaller ones? Like with your spear?”

“That takes a bit more practice. It took me a while to get a hang of that too. Needs a lot of magical energy too.”

“And a giant one doesn’t?” Ari said.

Undyne sighed reluctantly. “Fine, I see your point.”

Chara decided to just imagine a normal sized knife. As they did, they felt the magical energy leaving their body. It coalesced in front of them, forming a red spectral knife. The three watched in awe at their creation as it hovered in front of them.

“Holy crap you got it!” Undyne said.

“Holy shit I did!” Chara said.

“I was expecting that to take a while!” Undyne gasped. “You’re just like an Anime protagonist! I knew it, anime is real!”

Chara chuckled. That did sound pretty cool.

“Okay, how do I fire?”

“Fire? Oh! Look at one of the dummies over there, concentrate real hard on ‘em!”

Chara looked at the dummy directly in front of them.

“Great! Now focus on the knife. Imagine it flying towards your enemy!”

Chara did. They could feel the magic of the knife, like it was bound to them. They tried to focus that energy forwards, sending the knife through the dummy, but for some reason, they couldn’t. The knife remained hovering in the air. It quickly vanished.

“It’s not working” they said dejectedly.

Undyne patted them on the shoulder, perhaps harder than intended.

“Ah don’t sweat it! It takes a lot of practice!”

Mew Mew chimed in.

“It helps if you have personal motivations for fighting. Strong emotions make magic easier to tap into! You can use more of your strength more easily.”

“Oh, so it’s just like regular strength” Ari said.

“Kinda, yeah!”

“But what kind of emotions should I be feeling towards these practice dummies?”

“Rage! Anger! Hatred!” Mew Mew shouted.

“Against a dummy?”

“Desperation or determination could work too. Try imagining the dummies are something else. Maybe a threat, like they’re attacking you, or someone you care about” Ari said.

“That is basically how I do it” Undyne said.

It made sense. Undyne always did seem to fight harder when a lot was at stake.

Chara decided to give it a try. They imagined the dummies as their enemies. Like those Jotunheim thugs they saw on the news. They imagined them attacking people, and monsters. Threatening them, hurting them. They struggled at first to force the uncomfortable vision, but soon they were immersed in it. Their thoughts began wandering. Those being threatened by the group soon counted people they knew personally among their number. Monsters they’d met during their journey. Mew herself even blended in amongst the victims.

Eventually, without meaning to, they imagined Frisk and both of their families caught in the fray. Surrounded by dummies, soon to be overwhelmed. A surge of furious rage coursed through them. They tried to remind themselves it was all in their head, but they couldn’t even complete the thought before they felt a surge of magical energy, far greater than before, drawn out of them on pure reflex. They glared at the dummies with rage and hatred in their eyes. Dozens of knives appeared out of thin air. At once, they launched them at the dummies, who were all blown to pieces by the onslaught.

They and everyone else watched in astonishment at the scene. Every dummy had been blown to smithereens in one fell swoop. Chara themself could hardly believe what had just happened.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Undyne said, lifting Chara up once more.

“How did you do that!? I’ve never seen anyone do something like that on their first try!”

“My uh, imagination got the better of me.”

“I’ll say!” Ari said.

“Well, lets do it again! Set up the next round of dummies!” Undyne said.

“I’m uh, all out of dummies” Mew said sheepishly. “I didn’t think we’d need too many for their first attempt.”

“Right” Undyne said sheepishly.

“How long before we can get more?” Ari said.

“I can ask them to send them over from the warehouse, but-“

“You have a warehouse?” Chara sad.

Mew sighed. “Yeah, what you think I keep them all at home? I have a lot of these things Chara. Anyway, I can have them over in about an hour.”

Undyne sighed. “Alright, let’s head down to the cafeteria, get some lunch.”

“Sounds good to me” Ari said.

Frisk, and Natalia gathered for lunch. Toriel and Asgore were expected to join them soon, having just woken up.

“What do you think was bothering Chara earlier?” Frisk said.

Natalia swallowed a bite of her sandwich, then spoke.

“I was wondering that too, actually. You think it has something to do with last night?”

Frisk paused at that, turning as red as the beets in the salad.

“You- you remember that?”

“Hard to forget” she said, laughing. “You both seemed pretty out of sorts last night. I’m surprised it isn’t bugging you too.”

“It is, but you think it got to them that much? I don’t think it’s that big a deal.”

She nodded. “Yes, this wouldn’t be the first time this has happened.”

“Right” Frisk said, averting their eyes.

Natalia sniggered.

“Stop laughing!” Frisk shouted.

“Sorry, sorry!”

“Oh my! What’s going on in here?” Toriel said tiredly.

“Hi Mrs. Toriel!” Frisk said.

“We are talking about Chara” Natalia said.

Toriel immediately perked up and hurried over to the table.

Frisk began the grueling process of filling her in.

Toriel let out a good-natured laugh.

Frisk groaned, burying their head in their hands.

“Oh it’s nothing to be embarrassed about, my child.”

“I know, but you guys make it that way” they said.

“It is what we do” Natalia said. “In any case, if this is bugging Chara this much, I imagine there must have been signs beforehand, right? Nervousness, easily flustered, alright that’s how they always are, but anything noteworthy?”

Frisk smiled at the thought of Chara being flustered. It was adorable. Come to think of it, they were like that a lot more with them than otherwise.

“What’re you so happy about all of a sudden?” Flowey said slyly.

“Gah!” Frisk shouted.

“Forgot I was here?” Flowy said, laughing.

“You heard all of that!?” Frisk said nervously.

“Every word” he said.

Frisk groaned in agony.

“Ah come on, it’s not like it’s some big secret you have a crush on them. The cops figured it out in like a day.”

“Come now, Asriel, lets not make this any harder for them” Toriel said.

Flowey rolled his eyes.

“But back to my question” Natalia said.

“Huh? Oh right. Yeah, nothing too out of the ordinary. Well, except that one time the day we brought Flowey back” Frisk said, their mood souring at the memory.

“What incident?” Flowey said. “I don’t remember any incident.”

Frisk sighed. “It happened in my room. And remember, we were sharing a body at the time.”

“What happened though?” Toriel said, concerned.

Frisk took a deep breath.

“So after we got back to our room, I asked them about how lunch went. They said they assumed the idea of them liking me would be creepy, upsetting even. I think the word they used was ‘repulsive’, actually.”

“Oh my…” Toriel said.

“It got worse after that. I said I didn’t know what they were talking about, and they started… ranting, I guess? About how they were a monster- not like you, Ms. Toriel, but like, in the metaphorical sense. An evil person.

Frisk chuckled sadly.

“Guess that’s a bit of an unfortunate bit of language, huh.”

No one knew quite how to respond. Even Flowey was silent.

“They said everyone was only pretending to be glad to have them back. That we all wished they were gone. That the world would be better off without them.”

“My God” Natalia said.

Toriel’s mouth was agape with horror.

“Chara…” Flowey muttered.

 “They even thought I was faking it! They said that! They said that I ‘didn’t have to pretend anymore’!” Frisk shouted. “Why would they think that? They could see my thoughts! What gave them the idea that I-?“

“Frisk, it’s not your fault” Flowey said.

Everyone turned to Flowey.

“Chara’s… always been like this. They never thought much of themself, even before everything that happened. If I had a gold coin for every time they asked me why I’d actually want to be their friend, I could bribe Lenin. I’ve uh, been doing a bit of research into human history.”

Toriel nodded solemnly.

“They were always afraid we’d abandon them. That one day we’d get sick of them and throw them out. They’d apologize anytime they needed our help with something, even something no child could possibly do on their own.”

“Even if they could hear your thoughts, they’d probably still think they were missing something, some sign of resentment. Something they couldn’t see” Natalia said.

“They did say I was good at hiding it. Guess they thought I was just really good at it.” Frisk said.

“Self-loathing is a potent distorter of our perceptions. Grasping the idea that they aren’t a hindrance or a nuisance or worse might actually be harder for them than tricking themself like this. There has to be hidden resentment. The alternative just doesn’t make sense to them. It is the impossible they eliminate before the improbable if you will” Natalia said.

“Yeah, I guess so” Frisk said. “I did eventually convince them, but it wasn’t easy. I guess reading thoughts came in handy in the end. They finally realized I wasn’t lying.”

Toriel sighed in relief.

“That’s good. That’s some progress at least. I must say I’m impressed, Frisk. Not a lot of people your age can handle these things as well as you.”

“Communication has always been their strong suite” Natalia said, beaming with pride.

“Yeah, no kidding” Flowey said.

“Still, we have quite the conundrum on our hands” Toriel said.

“That’s a word for it” Flowey said, happy for the conversation to be back to less dire grounds.

Frisk took a moment to recover from the whiplash of the conversation before continuing.

“So do you think that-?”

“-Chara has a crush on you? Yeah, obviously” Flowey said.

Frisk went red once more.

“R-really? You think so?”

“How did you not notice until now?”

“it is pretty obvious” Natalia said.

“I-I don’t know! It’s harder when you’re the one being crushed on!”

She nodded. “Yes, much like how other stars are easier to observe than our own solar system through telescope.”

“Wait, what?” Flowey said.

“Yes, because you can see the whole thing at once rather than turning in the right direction at the right time to- you know what? Never mind, I’ll explain later.”

“Do you like them back?” Toriel said.

Frisk paused for a moment.

“I… I dunno, maybe. I mean, I’ve thought about asking them if they liked me. I’m not really sure how they’d react but, them saying yes didn’t seem like too bad an outcome…”

Frisk’s eyes were firmly glued to the floor, their hands clenched together nervously.

Flowey was now laughing uncontrollably.

Everyone glared at him.

He awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Uh, sorry. Anyway, aren’t you the kid who flirted with half the monsters in the Underground?”

“What now?” Natalia said.

Frisk shrugged. “I ran out of ideas so I… thought I’d try some lines from those romance anime I watched a while back.”

“Did it… work?”

They shrugged again. “A few times, yeah. But this is different. I’ve never actually liked someone that way before.”

“Well now that you’ve had practice, maybe this’ll be easier.”

Frisk was now more baffled than embarrassed. Was Flowey seriously giving them dating advice?

“You… might have a point actually.”

“I’m telling you! Try that stuff on them, they’ll melt like butter!”

"But I haven't even decided if-"

“Oh my! What’s going on in here?” Asgore said, entering the kitchen.

“It seems Frisk has a little crush” Toriel said coyly.

Asgore perked up.

“Oh? On who?”

“…Seriously?” Flowey said.

Frisk felt relieved that at least someone didn’t figure it out immediately.

“It’s Chara” Natalia said.

“Oh! Now this is quite the turn of events!” Asgore said, hurrying over to the table.

“Trying to arrange a political alliance with my family?” Natalia said with a sly grin.

“It would be quite a beneficial one” Asgore said, “if titles were inherited anyway.”

“Flowey, shoot me, I want to make it so this conversation never happened” Frisk said.

“No way, this is way too much fun!”

Asgore gave a hearty laugh.

“Ah, this reminds me of when me and Tori were younger.”

“Blech! Spare me the details, please” Flowey said.

“You will suffer with me” Frisk said deviously.

“More to the point” Flowey said hastily, “Frisk is new to this whole crush thing and wants advice.”

“Perhaps we should catch you up on the conversation up until now” Toriel said.

“This is surprisingly good!” Chara said, taking a bite of a pastrami sandwich.

“I know, right? We get them from a place called Douglas Deli” Ari said.

“We ate there after I got my body back! One of the fallen kids is a relative of theirs.”

“No shit? Small city.”

“Hey Mew Mew! You have got  to try some of this!” Undyne said.

Mew paused awkwardly.

“I uh, I don’t eat.”

“Oh right.”

“What anime’s your body from?” Ari said.

“Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. I haven’t actually seen it yet.”

“Oh yeah! You should totally come over and watch it with Alphys and I. It’s a real trip!” Undyne said.

Mew blushed.

“Really? You think so?”

“Totally! I wasn’t really into magical girl stuff at first, but after I started watching with Alphys, I was hooked. Great fight scenes, fantastic character writing, if you like action stuff, you’ll probably like this stuff too!”

“If you watch Lyrical Nanoha, it’s basically a hybrid of both” Chara said.

“Is that an older one? I’ll have to look into that” Undyne said. “So, how about it? You in?”

“Oh um…” she trailed off.

Chara nudged her, and gave her a nod.

“Yeah, alright! Does Saturday work?”

Undyne nodded. “Sure! See you there.”

Chara gave Mew a thumbs up.

“Oh, Undyne” Chara said.

“Yeah?”

“You do a lot of weapon maintenance, right?”

“Yeah. When you train as much as I do, you have to.”

“You know where I could get some good leather? My knife grip’s a bit worn.”

She beamed.

“You bet! I found a really good craft shop on the south side of town. It’s odd getting supplies from anywhere other than the armory, but it works really well! I’ll take you sometime.”

“Really? That’d be great.”

She waved them off.

“Don’t worry about it! The ambassador’s bodyguard needs to be well equipped.”

The four continued their conversation as they ate their sandwiches. By the time they were finished, the dummies had arrived. It was time to resume training.

As they were about to enter the range, Mew stopped Chara.

“What’s up?” They said, confused.

“I uh, I wanted to thank you for backing me up back there. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure I should go over to Undyne’s just yet” Mew said nervously.

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“I know I said I was fine just being friends with her, and I am, but… it’s still difficult for some reason.”

Chara laughed.

“I know how you feel, trust me.”

She looked at them, surprised.

“Oh! You have someone you like too?”

Chara awkwardly rubbed the back of their head.

“Yeah, you got me.”

“Let me guess, they already have someone else? Or maybe a different orientation?”

They laughed again.

“No, nothing like that. Well, actually I don’t really know about that last one. They’re asexual, but romantically… yeah, I don’t know.”

Mew was confused now.

“Wait, so why can’t you just ask them out then? Nervousness?”

“No! Well, yeah… but no, it’s not just that. I just… I don’t think I’d be a very pleasant person to date; you know?”

“Not really. You seem really nice!”

Chara sighed. “Thanks. But… come on, you know about the Genocide Run, right?”

“Who doesn’t? Is that what this is about? You afraid they won’t like you after finding out?”

“Oh they know, trust me.”

“And…?”

Chara paused.

“They uh… they still like me. As a friend I mean. It’s… odd; I thought they’d hate me the most.”

Mew groaned.

“So what’s the issue!? I’m trying to be supportive, dammit!”

“Okay, okay! Sorry!” Chara said, taken aback.

Mew took several deep breaths.

“Sorry, sorry. Gotta control my anger. Gotta stay. Calm. Okay, I’m… I’m good now. So what is the issue? They don’t hate you, they know your history, they aren’t taken; I’m lost here.”

 Chara was baffled.

“Don’t you get it? I’m… I’m…”

Mew listened intently.

Chara laughed.

“… A demon.”

“Huh?” She was confused now.

Chara laughed incredulously, barely believing what they were saying.

“I am… a demon. I’m not a monster, that’s the word we’d use before we discovered you guys, so I need a different word. Demon. That works right? A really bad person could be called that. I sound like I’m in a medieval period piece but…”

“You think you’re a bad person?” Mew said.

Chara laughed again.

“Okay, stop doing that, it’s creepy.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot. Sorry, it’s just real ironic, you know? I thought you of all people would hate my guts after the news broke out.”

Mew sighed.

“Look, I’ll be honest with you, I was real pissed when I first heard. Must’ve trashed half of my room. But Undyne explained everything to me the next day. It was… hard to accept at first but if she trusts you, I trust you. And besides, you and Frisk still helped me out with my body, right? I knew you couldn’t be all bad.”

Chara stared disbelief. If she wasn’t mad at them, would anyone be?

“And as for your crush, I won’t tell you how to handle that. That’s your business. Personally, I think you should give it a shot. I can see this is hurting you; seems a real shame to go through all of this before you even try.”

Chara sighed.

“I dunno. They may not hate me, but I don’t think they see me like that.”

“Well, you’ll never know if you don’t ask” Mew said.

“Yeah, maybe” they said, not having the energy to come up with a counterargument. “Still, if they don’t it makes last night super uncomfortable.”

“What happened last night?”

“I uh… fell asleep on their shoulder while we were watching TV” they said nervously.

“Aw!” Mew said.

Chara sighed loudly in exasperation.

“Please don’t start that too. Everyone else did and I think it made them uncomfortable.”

“Did they seem uncomfortable?”

Chara opened their mouth to speak, but stopped. “I… don’t know. They were flustered, that’s for sure. They said we’d talk about it today but they never brought it up again.”

Mew gave a mischievous grin.

“Flustered, you say?”

Chara was confused.

“Yeah, why? That’s how I act when I’m embarrassed.”

“Around everyone, or just them?” she said slyly.

Chara didn’t answer.

Mew began laughing.

“What?”

Mew sighed. It seemed she  had done all she could.

“Ah never mind, you’ll figure it out eventually. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It doesn’t seem like it bothered them too much.”

“Really?” Chara said hopefully.

“Yeah. Friends do that sometimes. I think, anyway, I don’t have very many yet. They were probably just embarrassed about everyone’s reactions.”

Chara sighed with relief.

“Oh thank God.”

They began laughing tiredly. They felt like a huge weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah you’re probably right. Frisk is pretty affectionate with everyone.”

“Wait, Frisk is your crush?” Mew said, grinning from ear to ear.

Chara took a sharp breath in.

“Yeah, yeah it is.”

Mew began laughing again.

“Oh that’s perfect!”

“Please stop” Chara said, mortified.

“You even live together!”

“Yup. That we do.”

“Hey guys! You coming? You’ve been out here a while” Undyne said.

Chara jolted in surprise.

“Oh yeah, sorry!”

Asgore took a deep breath as he absorbed the information.

“That’s… certainly a lot more to take in than I expected.”

Frisk laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah, it’s quite a ride.”

“In fairness, we started with what was bugging Chara, we weren’t sure where that would lead us” Natalia said.

“It just so happens that it lead us to Chara having a crush on Frisk… and that lead us back to their deep-seated self-hatred and trauma.”

“And then you guys started offering me dating advice” Frisk said.

“No, we asked if you liked them back. Then we started offering you dating advice” Natalia said.

“Right, I think maybe this isn’t the best time for that.”

“You may have a point” Toriel said.

Asgore nodded in agreement.

“Indeed. They’re under a lot of stress. Obviously, we’ll need to discuss this outburst and the underlying issues with them ourselves, but for now we should tread carefully.”

”Yeah, they’re a powder keg right now. Best to let them calm down a bit” Flowey said.

“They’ve had all day to worry about this” Frisk said nervously. “It’s gonna be rough when they get back.”

“Just act all cheerful and friendly when they get back. Put them at ease. You’re great at that” Natalia said.

“Thanks mom” Frisk said, feeling slightly better.

“And now, we sit here, and wait for their inevitably awkward, stressful return” Flowey said morosely.

Before everyone could rebuke him at once, the door opened.

“I’m home!” Chara said cheerfully.

“Or maybe they’ve calmed down a bit” Flowey said.

“Hey Chara!” Frisk said, relieved. “How was training?”

“It was awesome! Undyne taught me how to use her weapon magic!”

“You mean you’ve managed it already!?” Toriel said.

“Uh… yeah actually!” Chara said.

“That’s amazing!” Frisk said.

“That it is” Asgore said. “I was expecting months of practice before you managed to conjure up weapons, let alone attack with them.”

Chara laughed bashfully.

 “Wow, months? I guess I’m pretty good at this, huh.”

“You have got to show me!” Frisk said.

“Um, sure! Miss Natalia-“

“Oh come now, we’ve known each other long enough, call me Natasha” Natalia interrupted.

“Oh, right. Anyway uh, Natasha, could you help me set up some targets in the back yard?”

Natalia grinned.

“Absolutely.”

Chapter Text

Everyone gathered in the back yard. Chara grew slightly nervous as the larger-than-anticipated audience.

Natalia set up the targets much more quickly than usual. In fact, it was quicker than Frisk thought possible. She hurried back to the gathered crowd; a look of gleeful anticipation plastered on her face.

Chara took a deep breath. “All right, here goes nothing.”

They focused their energy, picturing the knives floating in front of them. Just as they began to form, Chara’s concentration was broken by the sound of a car pulling up. A very loud car. Chara had grown accustomed to it over the months.

“Hey everybody! What’s going on here?”

“Miguel!” Natalia said excitedly, running over to him and dragging him to the crowd. “You’re right on time! Watch!”

Chara couldn’t help but thing she was a bit too enthusiastic. There was an unsettling fire in her eyes.

Miguel smiled warmly. He loved it when she got like this.

“Do you think this will bother the neighbors?” Toriel said.

Miguel shrugged. “I mean, we’ve been doing target practice out here for years now and no one complains. Sometimes they even gather to watch. Maybe join in.”

Chara gave him a horrified look.

“Oh! Not with guns! Axes and knives and stuff!” Miguel said laughing.

Chara sighed in relief.

“No no, we’re much too close to other people for that” Natalia said. “We save that for the abandoned cars in the woods, that have not yet been scrapped.”

Chara’s relief soon turned to horror.

Natalia gave a hearty laugh.

“God bless America!”

“I still don’t know what’s going on here” Miguel said.

“Just sit back and watch the magic happen” Natalia said with devious grin.

 Toriel and Asgore burst out laughing.

Frisk and Chara groaned in unison. Flowey slammed his head on the ground. It was a good thing Sans wasn’t still here or this would truly be hell.

“How about I just do it now, so we don’t have to hear any more puns” Chara said.

“That was one of my better ones” Natalia said with a smug look on her face.

Flowey’s eyes widened in horror.

“Yes, please, do it now.”

“Right.”

Chara took a deep breath. They focused intently on the training dummies. They tried to imagine them as the enemy. Not a specific enemy mind; not if they wanted the landscape to remain intact. They just needed to tap into their survival instinct, their fight or flight response. Fortunately, they tended towards the former. Their crimson eyes narrowed as they focused on the target. They felt the magical energy coursing through them, and out of them, as it coalesced into blades. Five crimson knives floated in the air, one for each target. They held their hand forward as the knives froze in place, fixed on their marks. Chara smiled confidently as they clenched their hand into a fist, causing the knives to rocket forward.

The blades slammed into the dummies. The wood splintered on contact. These dummies were sturdier than the flimsy ones Mew had set up; they would not be blasted to bits like before. Still, the kinetic energy was far more than they could take. Enormous holes were blasted into them. Heads were blown in two; torsos were left with enormous chasms where their chests had been. The yard was littered with shrapnel.

“Woah…”

Frisk was utterly awed by the demonstration. They seemed far less shocked than the others and far more captivated by the spectacle.

Natalia wore a proud grin on her face.

Chara turned around and gave an awkward smile.

“So… how was that?”

 “That. Was. Awesome!” Frisk said, running over to them. “How did you learn to do that so fast!?”

Chara blushed, and avoided eye contact.

“Oh uh, I dunno. I guess I just have a knack for it I guess” They said with an awkward chuckle.

Chara’s eyes happened to fall on Flowey. They could swear he gave them a wink and a smile. They’d have been embarrassed if the sight wasn’t so surreal.

“Oh I’m so proud of you!” Toriel said, taking Chara into her arms.

“How did she get over here so fast?” Chara said, barely able to breathe.

“My child, a magical prodigy! Oh this is wonderous!”

“Help me” Chara strained out.

“Help me” Chara strained out.

Chara, Frisk, and Flowey had started a gaming session in the living room, as a way to unwind after a long day. Well, a long day for Chara, the others hadn’t really done anything.

“Right so run this by me one more time. This is a reimagining of the Metro series, not a sequel?” Chara said.

Frisk nodded.

“Yeah, having the Red Line be evil hasn’t aged well, plus, they included the Trotskyists from the books. I never understood why they got cut.”

“I don’t understand what you two are saying” Flowey said.

“It’s another really old human franchise. I think the games are Ukrainian” Chara said.

“And that is…?”

“A country near Russia” Frisk said. “Part of the Soviet Union.”

“So Pavel really is a good guy in this?” Chara said.

“Kind of? It’s complicated but the leader’s still evil so you have to team up with the Trotskyists to- you know what? I shouldn’t spoil it” Frisk said.

“Wasn’t there some kind of… intimate scene between Artyom and Anna in the second game?” Chara said. “Mom won’t like us seeing that.”

“Nah, they cut that since it was pointless. Why do you think my parents let me play it in the first place?” Frisk said.

“Whew” Chara said.

“Oh! Watch out for the суки!” Frisk said as Toriel walked in.

“The what?” Chara said.

“The mole things!”

“Oh!” Chara said, dispatching the creatures.

“Why are they names Suki?”

Frisk laughed.

“No no, it’s what they call them in-universe. It means- Oh hi Ms. Toriel!”

They froze as they saw her.

“And what’s this game you’re playing?” Toriel said.

“It’s called Metro” Chara said, dividing their concentration between her and the game. “It’s about humans being forced underground by a nuclear war.”

Toriel couldn’t help but laugh at the irony.

“Speaking of, you hear RP set up her service in the flooded subway tunnels?” Chara said.

“The ones from the Lenin Station bombing?” Frisk said. “’Bout time they found something to do with those.”

“How do they connect to the Underground?” Toriel said.

Chara shrugged.

“Who knows with them?”

“You hear the guy behind that was the guy from the speech?” Frisk said. “You’re shaping up to be a real hero, you know? And not just mine.”

They winked at them and gave them a playful nudge.

Chara became flustered, nearly causing them to die to an enemy.

Frisk turned to Flowey nervously for assessment, honestly just as surprised as Chara that they’d just said that.

Flowey gave Frisk a wink and a nod of approval. A thumbs up was, for now, out of the question.

Frisk smiled back at them discreetly.

Toriel pretended not to notice, giggling to herself.

Chara set the controller down as they finished the level.

“Whew! Hate using the sucky bullets. Why even use the good ones as money? Money’s not supposed to be usable for other things, that’s the point!”

Frisk shrugged.

“I’m gonna go get some lunch. Want anything?”

“There’s that quiche from a few days back. Try to eat that before it goes bad!” Toriel said.

“I guess we’ll have that” Frisk said.

Chara gave a thumbs up and headed into the kitchen.

“Well, I should be off soon. I have another meeting with the mayor this evening” Toriel said tiredly.

“What about?” Frisk said.

“A lot of things. Mostly issues we’ve discussed before. Things are calming down now but there’s still so much to do. I think we may be going over those groups we saw on the news too, though. Asgore’s giving a speech tomorrow about them.”

“Ah” Frisk said. “I’ve been thinking about them a lot too lately.”

Toriel forced a smile.

“Do not worry, my child. I’m sure things will calm down soon.”

She didn’t seem very confident.

“Well, I should be off. I’ll be home in time for dinner!” She said, heading out the door.

“So, you decided to go for it after all, huh?” Flowey said, slyly.

“Yeah” Frisk said bashfully.

“Good,” Flowey said. “I think you’d be good for them.”

Frisk looked at Flowey, surprised by the comment.

“What?” Flowey said.

Frisk sniggered.

“What!?” he said again.

“It’s just nice to see you care is all” Frisk said coyly.

“What do you mean? Of course I–“ Flowey stopped as the realization hit him. “Holy shit!”

Frisk had a smug grin plastered on their face.

“How? That’s not- this shouldn’t be possible!” Flowey said.

“Why not? They’re your sibling after all” Frisk said.

“Yeah, I cared about them when I was alive obviously, but I shouldn’t now! I can’t feel emotions, remember!?”

“Well, maybe that’s not as true as we thought. You seemed pretty excited to see them during… well you know” Frisk said, their mood souring as they remembered the Genocide Run.

“Well yeah, I guess I was now that you mention it” Flowey said. “Huh. Maybe Clover was on to something after all.”

“Who’s Clover?” Frisk said.

“The Yellow SOUL. We uh… worked together for a while back when he fell. Didn’t end well. They tried to convince me to come to the surface not long before you two came to get me.”

“Are they your friend?” Frisk said.

“They were…” he said mournfully. “Not sure if they still thought of me like that in the end.”

“Well, they seemed like they still care about you. Maybe you guys can reconnect after we bring them back.”

Flowey’s face was a mixture of emotions. Hope, fear, sadness, most of all uncertainty.

“I don’t know…”

Frisk smiled.

“Don’t worry! Things’ll work out. They tend to do that around me.”

“Well don’t be so modest about it” Flowey said, chuckling.

Frisk shrugged.

“Yeah, you’re right. I only saved the whole Underground.”

“You got me there” Flowey said, smiling.

“And became an ambassador at age 12” they added.

“Alright alright, I got it already. Who are you even supposed to meet with anyway? Mom and dad are already working with the government. Any other countries interested in meeting us?”

“I was wondering about that actually. I wanted to do something about those hate groups, give a speech or something.”

“Good luck getting our parents to agree to that” Flowey said.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. With the world like it is now, I can’t do much without meeting some pretty dangerous people.”

“What’s this about dangerous people?” Chara said, entering with the quiche.

“Oh you know, hate groups, fascist ambassadors, stuff like that” Frisk said wryly.

“Oh right, the job” Chara said, taking a seat next to them. “Guess things are gonna heat up soon, huh?” They said nervously.

“Yeah…” Frisk said somberly, between bites.

Chara  took note of their shift in mood. They put a reassuring hand on their shoulder.

“Hey uh… don’t worry about it too much, aright?” they hesitated for a moment, thinking of what to say next. “A-after all, you saw how good I was with those knives, right? I doubt anyone will wanna mess with us.”

They hoped they didn’t sound as nervous as they felt. Ironically, their nervousness wasn’t caused by the potential danger at all.

 Frisk’s move shifted instantly, their expression shifting to a mischievous grin.

“You’re probably right” they said.

“I am?” Chara said, relieved.

“Yeah!” Frisk said, leaning on them. “I shouldn’t worry too much. After all, I‘ve got my princette to watch out for me, right?”

Frisk wrapped their arms around Chara, pulling them into a hug.

“Oh uh, yeah! No need to worry with me around!” Chara stammered out, their face turning beet red.

Frisk released them from the hug, feeling a bit flustered themself now.

The two sat in silence for a moment, too nervous to make eye contact.

“Ms. Toriel really nailed the recipe for this, huh?” Frisk said, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” Chara said fondly. “she always had a knack for cooking. Especially baking. Pretty sure she made the pasta too.”

“Seriously?” Frisk said through a mouthful of quiche. “She really goes all in on this stuff, huh.”

Chara laughed. “Oh yeah! Saw her making the stuff days ago! She’s always been real hardcore about this stuff. I still remember my first dinner with the Dreemurs.”

They paused for a moment, smiling.

“Hey, Azzie, remember when you guys first found me?”

Flowy laughed. “How could I forget? I went out to play in the flowers one day and I find this freaky looking kid crying in the middle of the patch!”

Frisk smiled sardonically.

“You used to play in the flowers?”

Flowey turned red, despite not having any blood. Strange, that.

“Yeah, I was like, nine! Gimme a break!”

The others stifled laughter.

He groaned. “Anyway, they see me and shout ‘don’t eat me!’ and fall flat on their ass!”

“I start scrambling to the wall, and meanwhile, he’s just got this dopey, confused look on his face!” Chara said.

“I’m still not sure why you were so afraid, I mean, you were the one leaking some creepy red liquid! That’s not normal!” Flowey said.

They both started to giggle as they told the story.

“The striped shirt did kinda take the edge off the horror after a while though. After I noticed that, it just felt like some kind of surreal dream.”

“So I just walk over to them, and kinda… reach out my hand! What else are you supposed to do in that situation?” Flowey said. “And they’re just sorta staring blankly like ‘what the fuck?’”

“I swear, at that point I’m thinking ‘oh alright, I’m dead, right? This is hell. Baphomet’s here to take me to the torture chamber.’ And then he asks if I’m ok and it’s like” Chara shrugged “whelp! There goes that theory! So I just sorta… take his hand! Why not!? I’m screwed anyway, right!?”

Chara laughed incredulously.

“And then I’m taken to this family of goat people dressed like American suburbanites in this standard-looking household underground! This doting motherly goat lady is all over me, all worried. Cooing over me, reassuring me, and all the while I can barely process any of this. I just sorta go along in a daze.”

Frisk was laughing too now. “Yeah, that’s basically how I reacted too.”

“Yeah, I remember!” Chara said.

“You kept trying to prepare me for all the weird stuff in the Underground and by God it did not work at all!” Frisk said.

“I will always remember the look on your face when I called Toriel ‘mom’!” Chara said.

“I’ll admit, for a second, I checked for little horns. I expected your dad to be a human” Frisk said.

“Seriously?” Chara said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Yup! Things were so weird by that point the more logical option didn’t occur at all to me! Is goat monster-human hybridization impossible? I don’t know anymore! I still don’t know! Logic says no, but logic says goat people aren’t real so…” Frisk shrugged.

“It’s like Pliny the Elder. Do they breed leopards with elephants in India? Who knows! I can’t check! Better put it in anyway!” Chara said.

“Who?” Flowey said.

“Roman guy. Invented encyclopedias” Chara said.

“And you just know that off the top of your head?” Frisk said.

“Yeah, I… look, social studies was my best subject. I did a ton of extra reading at the library”  Chara said, embarrassed.

“I guess it’s good they made you the princette then. You make a good fit.”

Chara smiled bashfully. “Thanks. Uh anyway, I was just getting to the part that made me think of this. After they’re done bandaging my scrapes and stuff, they tell me it’s lunchtime and ask if I’m hungry. And if humans need food. And naturally, I’m a bit nervous about what exactly goat people eat, but I’m starving so screw it. And the table’s full of food. Like, it’s a banquet. It was actually while we were eating when they told me they were royalty. I had to ask why they were eating so much.”

Frisk couldn’t help smiling at the story. It was quite touching when you looked past their telling it like a comedy.

Chara continued. “Anyhow, when we get to the table, I, the paranoid little street rat I am, think this is the twist, like, the reveal in the horror story where it turns out I’m the main course of the feast. ‘We’d love to have you for dinner.’” Chara said the last bit in a stock intimidating horror story villain voice. It ended up sounding more like Asgore though, which was oddly fitting.

Frisk laughed. “I can see that.”

“Thankfully, that wasn’t the twist. They were just a normal, happy family. Of goat royalty. The whole thing seemed like children’s book now. Still the best food I ever tasted, along with my dad’s.”

Chara paused before continuing.

“When they asked me to stay with them, I could barely believe it. It seemed too good to be true. Hear I figured I was going to die on that mountain. Another missing child tragedy. I didn’t even know what to say. Just stared at them.”

“Then they started crying” Flowey added. His tone was teasing, but oddly… affectionate. It sounded odd for him.

Chara chuckled. “Yeah, I did. I bawled my eyes out. Mom and dad rushed towards me to see what was wrong. I just started saying ‘thank you’ over and over again.” Their eyes became misty.

They paused a moment to get their bearings before continuing.

“Sorry to get all sappy on you guys. Food got me nostalgic. Feels weird being nostalgic at this age.”

“It’s a sweet story” Frisk said.

Chara let out an embarrassed chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess…”

“I mean it! It’s good to see you opening up” Frisk said.

“It feels… weird. Good, but weird” Chara said.

“You’ve always been real cagey about emotional stuff” Flowey said.

“Guess I’m still not used to being able to talk about it” Chara said. “Mom, er, my other mom, always hated talking about personal shit. Mine anyway, she made me listen to hers.”

Frisk put a reassuring hand on their shoulder.

“Well, you’ve got us now. You can talk about personal shit whenever you want.”

Chara laughed, wiping their eyes.

“Thanks, you two. Really.”

Chapter Text

6:00 AM, two days later. Unknown Darknet messaging board.

Surtur1488: Alright everyone, you know the drill. Gimme your status updates. Loki, how’s our latest operation going?

Útgarða_Loki6969: Never better! I’ve got bots and sock puppets flooding the net, spreading our message. We’re having a lot more success than usual. Lot more people afraid of monsters than inferior cultures. If they understand the threat monsters pose, we SHOULD be able to win them over on the other races soon after. You know how it is, if we’re right about one thing, maybe we’re right about other stuff.

Ymir: It’s funny how so many beliefs lead to fascism. This I get, but how do so many militant atheists and radical feminists join up?

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: Christ, Ymir, don’t you pay attention? We’ve gone over all this before. Radical feminists understand gender essentialism, they see it’s worth. Sooner or later they realize only Western culture understands these ideals. Sure, some others come close, but nobody has quite the same gender roles we do. Militant Atheists see how the West saw through religion’s lies first, and realize how primitive so many other cultures are! Shame we don’t have the proper Western ones anymore. The Romans and the Norse had far better religions. None of the bullshit we see now.

Ymir: It’s still dumb. We’re occultists and misogynists, you’d think they’d hate us. Also, I’ve been meaning to ask, what the fuck is up with your username?

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Recruits are recruits. We let you in too, didn’t we? And it’s the spikes on a stegosaurus tail.

Ymir: Why use that for your username?

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: Gimme a break, alright? YOU try coming up with a fitting “th” noun!

Surtr1448: Alright, that’s enough out of you two. Þrymr, how’s the new pipeline?

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: You… you just said to stop talking.

Surtur1488: And now I’m telling you to START again, got it?

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: Whatever. In any case, it’s going pretty well. Obviously, most of our recruits are white because… you know. So we got a bit of quality assurance. On the quantity side, we’re hitting record numbers. It’s not gonna show up on a population map or nothing but it’s better than it’s ever been. Anti-monster crowd’s turning to us very quickly. Either they adopted our beliefs or they think we’re the only ones who can stop the monsters. Our puppet organizations are getting even more traction. It helps if they don’t know they’re affiliated with us.

Ymir: Hypocrites, all of ‘em.

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What are ya gonna do? There’s a stigma with the word “fascism” but the actual tenets are pretty popular.

Surtur1488: Some people just don’t like Communism, think we’re the lesser evil. Aint that right, Vörnir?

Titanofindustry: Yeah, I suppose. The Communists are the epitome of tyranny with their oppression of the markets. At least you guys let people start their own businesses, make a living for themselves. Can’t do that here.

Ymir: As long as those businesses tow the government’s party line.

Titanofindustry: Yeah, it still sucks ass, but it’s better than no free market at all! And then there’s free speech. You can go to JAIL for saying half the shit we say on here.

Ymir: Saying a lot of things in Jefferson can get you jailed too, or worse.

Titanofindustry: Like I said, it sucks, but it’s still easier there than here, right? A bunch of freaks come out from underground, and we’re just supposed to be ok with that? My neighbor is a fucking live volcano! And when I try to complain, the neighbors threaten to call the cops! The volcano is more welcome than I am in my own home!

Útgarða_Loki6969: That’s how we feel too! It’s not just monsters either! All the reds do is take the money of hard-working Americans and give it to refugees because they couldn’t plan to care for themselves! Keep your problems overseas!

Titanofindustry: Sure, whatever. Still, this magical science stuff’s pretty interesting. They’re centuries ahead of us in that field.

Surtur1488: Not for long. We humans’ll close the gap in no time. Trouble is, the Reds have the advantage now.

Titanofindustry: Not for long. I’m certain I’ll be able to gain access to their research soon. I’ve already gathered a few bits of intel. Some new project they’re working on with the royals.

Surtur1488: Perfect!

Ymir: Deliver what you have to the usual location. My guy’ll pick it up.

Titanofindustry: Got it.

Ymir: Now to address the elephant in the room…

Surtur1488: Yes, I agree. Alright, as you all know, Beli has been captured. Honestly, I’m not surprised given that stunt he pulled.

Ymir: I TOLD him it was a bad idea. He just kept bitching about a lack of troops for his operations.

Útgarða_Loki6969: He’s the one that fucked up with our last batch of recruits. I told him, wait until the movement takes hold, we’ll have more recruits, but no, he just had to act right then. “Demoralize the enemy, drive a wedge between humans and monsters.”

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: He kept telling me to send him new people, and when I told him I didn’t HAVE any, he cussed me out and said to get more! From where!? There aren’t many fascists in Washington! Especially not ones willing to fight, what with him getting them killed all the time!

Útgarða_Loki6969: I’m glad you didn’t give him any. It’d be a waste on him.

Ymir: Admittedly, taking out the ambassador might have been beneficial to us. It seems to me like they’re very popular now.

Útgarða_Loki6969: He makes one appearance and already, people love him! He’ll be a huge thorn in our side for sure.

Ymir: Yeah, but still, what was he thinking? “I’ll just rush the fucking stage. Sure hope there’s no security guards here!”

Titanofindustry: In fairness, it wasn’t the guards who stopped him.

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: He DID make it pretty close; I’ll give him that.

Surtur1488: Still, this leaves us with a problem. First of all, powers or no, one of our top members got his ass kicked by a middle school student. Secondly, while I won’t pretend he was irreplaceable, he’s got information, and that’s a problem.

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: So who takes over his job then?

Surtur1488: I’ll put Ymir in charge of that for now. I feel she’s most suited for this. In the meantime, I want Þrymr to look for suitable replacements.

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: Already on it, sir!

Surtur1488: Good! Any questions?

Þrymr_Þe_Þagomizer: No sir!

Ymir: No sir!

Útgarða_Loki6969: No sir!

Titanofindustry: Nope.

Surtur1488: Alright then, you have your orders. Now get to work.

Later that day.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t have taken the car?” Chara said nervously, clinging to Undyne’s back for dear life as she raced down the street.

“What? No way! I’m way faster than any of those things!” She said, bobbing and weaving through traffic, cars swerving as she crossed their paths.

“C-cars have seatbelts though!” Chara said.

“Ah, you’re a strong kid, it’ll be fine!” Undyne said, leaping over a minivan.

Chara felt their body shake as Undyne nailed a three-point landing. Just when it seemed they had a moment to catch their breath, Undyne broke into full sprint. The shock of the sudden acceleration was almost enough to overshadow their shock at seeing a minivan in the future.

“U-Undyne? Maybe we should slow down a bit- shit!” They said as Undyne leapt off the overpass.

“What the fuck!?” Chara said.

“There’s construction on that road! That jump saved us fifteen minutes!” Undyne said.

“That doesn’t- wait, fifteen, really?” Chara said in disbelief.

“Yeah! They get real mad if you try to do parkour on the construction equipment. We’d have to take the long way around!” Undyne said.

“Not even gonna ask” Chara said.

Undyne came to a sudden stop in front of an unassuming storefront. Chara lurched forward, their head swimming. As their vision came into focus, they looked over the storefront.

It was a modest place. It appeared to be just the ground floor of a much larger building containing old apartments, presumably now owned by the tenants proper, as landlord was an illegal profession. The building was a red brick structure dotted with windows, the storefront distinguished mainly by its large set of doors and an overhang with large red letters reading “Hamza’s Hobby House”.

“This the place?” Chara said weakly, trying desperately not to vomit.

“Yeah! They’ve got all kinds of stuff here. Leather, velvet, wool, no steel though, gotta go somewhere else for that. Ooh, and they have this awesome machine that can make all sorts of cool stuff from scratch if you feed it the materials and give it a design! I made a bunch of anime figurines off of old pictures from the internet!” Undyne said.

“Guess that’s what happens when copyright isn’t a thing” Chara said, scaling Undyne’s armor.

“Copy-what?” Undyne said.

“Oh, it’s this dumb law we had back when capitalism was a thing. If someone invented something, only they or the company they worked for could make and sell stuff based on it” Chara said, wiping off their sleeves and fixing their hair, which was now thoroughly aerated by the wind.

“Well that’s dumb” Undyne said.

“Yeah, I’m not sad to see it go” Chara said. “Alright, lets check this place out then!”

Chara stumbled towards the door, narrowly avoiding faceplanting on the sidewalk.

Undyne grabbed their arm and guided them through the door.

“Hey, Officer Undyne! Always a pleasure!” Said a man behind the front counter in an accent Chara couldn’t quite place. “Here for the 3D printer again?”

“You know it! My friend here is looking for some good leather too” Undyne said, gesturing to Chara.

The man’s eyes widened. “Is that-?”

“Yup! I brought the Princette with me today” Undyne said.

The man took a moment to get his bearings.

“Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place, your… highness? Majesty? I don’t really know how royal titles work,” said the man.

 “Oh, you can just call me Chara. It’s highness though, officially. Only the reigning monarch goes by majesty.”

The man shrugged. “Works for me.”

“Hamza’ll show you around, I’m gonna print some figurines” Undyne said.

Chara gave her a thumbs up, and she headed off to the large 3D printer in the back of the room.

Chara went up to the counter, getting a closer look at the clerk.

The man appeared to be in his mid-forties, with black hair and hazel eyes. He had the grizzled appearance of a fighter, and a large scar across his left eye. He wore a dark green beret with an emblem depicting a double-headed eagle and a red, white, and blue tricolor. His nametag read “Hamza”.

“Alright, you said you were looking for leather?” he said.

“Yeah, I need to fix up this old knife” Chara said, taking out the knife in question.

Hamza looked over the piece, nodding in approval.

“That’s a nice blade you’ve got there. Needs a bit of polishing too, though.”

“Oh right, you have anything for that?” Chara said.

Hamza nodded. “Yeah, we dabble a bit in hardware. Seeing as this knife looks pretty sharp, I guess you know we can do it without shaving off material now.”

Chara nodded. “Yeah, that was a relief. I was always anxious about that, worried the whole thing would get worn down to the nub. In like, a hundred years.”

Hamza chuckled. “Yeah, we’re big on keeping things good as long as possible, and recycling. This way we never run out of metal and stuff. Come on, I’ll show you the leather.”

Hamza stepped out from behind the counter.

“Hey dan, you mind minding the counter for a bit?”

“Sure thing, boss” said a young man, about twenty or so, who’d just finished stocking a shelf of yarn balls.

“So, you run this place, then?” Chara said as they followed Hamza to the leather.

Hamza nodded. “Guess the name gave it away, huh. Yeah, I started this place up after the war. My team took over the building to use as a base, it was a good vantage point for artillery spotters and snipers, and the printer could make the supplies we needed. It served as a sort of resupply station and forward base. After the ceasefire, I and a couple others decided we liked this place and decided to start up the housing collective. We’d already been using some of the suites as barracks so we figured we may as well.”

“So you fought in the war? I guess that’s where the beret comes from” Chara said.

“Yeah, New Yugoslavian People’s Army, I was part of the expeditionary forces we sent to help the Reds. Ninety-Fourth Company, Second Division. ‘The Red Spartans’ they called us.“

“Cool” Chara said. “How’d you get that name?”

Hamza grinned at the question.

“Well, during the Bosnian war, back in the Nineteen Nineties, a militia called themselves ‘The green Berets’ after your special forces. They even made their own uniforms.”

“Ah, like how a lot of people use the term spartan, or berserker for their armies” Chara said.

Hamza nodded. “Exactly! In fact, people called them ‘The Green Spartans’ as a nickname. A double whammy.”

“Ah, and this was a reference to that?” Chara said.

“Yup! The captain was from Greece, so he liked the idea having something with ‘Spartan’ in the name.”

Chara perked up.

“My family was from Greece.”

“That so?” Hamza said.

Chara nodded.

“Yeah, my dad was from Sparta, actually.”

“Well met then, fellow Spartan!” Hamza said, saluting.

Chara chuckled, returning the gesture.

Eventually they came across the aisle with the leather materials. It contained a wide variety of leather craft supplies from straps to sheets to cords, all in a wide variety of colors, sorted by type of animal it was sourced from.

“This stuff’s better than most of the kind you’d find in your time” Hamza said. “They used to treat it with stuff that was quick and cheap, but didn’t make the hide keep for very long. Good for making people buy more shoes, not good if you want something to last. Now they figured out how to make the good stuff at an industrial scale. This stuff’ll keep for decades.”

Chara liked the sound of that.

They spent a few minutes browsing the various shades of leather. Ultimately, they settled on a bright crimson shade similar to the original color. Chara always found that to be the most striking detail of the knife. A redwood handle with a bright red leather wrapping. They selected some cord and returned to Hamza.

Hamza examined the leather and the knife and nodded in approval.

“Alright, looks good. C’mon, I’ll show you the polishing equipment.”  

The polishing equipment seemed to be relatively simple compared to the sharpener, which was a mercy to Chara. “Relatively” was still the operative word though, as the technology was still well ahead of what Chara was expecting. On the shelves were odd-looking devices vaguely resembling a cashier’s scanner. They had some sort of LED display on the back. The picture on the box also showed what appeared to be round plastic containers of a strange grey substance, and a set of brushes.

“This is a knife polishing kit?” Chara said, perplexed.

“Sure are” Hamza said. “You scan the knife with the scanner, it figures out what the damage is, then you brush on the nanites, and they start rearranging the material to fill in the scratches and stuff. Then you hold the jar up to them, and they swarm back inside.”

Chara stared at him in stunned silence.

“That’s… wow.”

Hamza chuckled.

“It sure is something, right? Don’t worry, it’s easier than it sounds. Just give us a call if you have any trouble.”

Chara gave him a thumbs up and nodded, expression blank.

“Alright then! Let’s get you checked out. Undyne should be just about done by now. Good luck with the knife; like I said, if you need anything else, you know where to find us!”

Chara smiled at Hamza.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The Dreemurs and Abdulovs had gathered in the lab to watch the latest experiment. They’d been invited as it was the first major experiment involving Flowey directly. Undyne had agreed to bring Chara directly from the hobby shop. It seemed they were running a bit late.

A man in a military uniform checked his watch.

“Ten minutes to starting time.”

“Their majesty should be arriving shortly” Dr. Harris said.

“Right?” he said to Alphys.

“O-oh, yeah! I’m sure Undyne’s just a little behind schedule is all.”

“I told you she should have taken the car” Natalia said.

Frisk shook their head.

“Trust me, this is quicker.”

A sharp hiss sounded from the door, drawing the attention of everyone in the labs.

“Whew! Just in time!” Undyne said as she barged through the doors.

“Where’s Chara?” Toriel asked.

She was answered by the clacking of shoes on the floor as Chara dropped from Undyne’s back, eyes wide. They walked over to the observation room in stunned silence, followed by Undyne, who stopped to give Alphys a peck on the cheek.

“I am never doing that again” they said, taking a seat next to Frisk.

“Ah come on, that was awesome!” Undyne said, sitting next to the man in uniform.

Chara ignored her and stared out into the lab.

Flowey had been set up in a glass container with a rounded top, similar to that of the SOULs. It sat atop a large, boxy machine with some sort of vacuum tube hooked up to it, connecting to the Justice SOUL’s container. The SOUL tethering apparatus that linked Chara to their body hung above him, and a similar, smaller looking device hung above the Perseverance SOUL.

Chara remembered the SOULs. Apparently, they had a way to speak now, thanks to Alphys’s work. The wondered if they’d get a chance to talk to some of them. Then they turned to the man in uniform. They hadn’t seen him before. They were about to ask who he was when their train of thought was interrupted by something moving through their hair.

“Gah!”

“Oh, sorry!” Frisk said. “Your hair is a bit of a mess so I’m just fixing it up a bit.”

“You didn’t think to warn me first!?”

“Jumpy little fellow, aren’t you?” The man in uniform said.

“Yeah, a bit” Chara said.

The man chuckled.

“Yeah, I get that. Ever since Okinawa, I’ve been a bit antsy too.”

“You served in the Okinawa Campaign?” Natalia said.

“What happened in Okinawa?” Chara said.

The man took a deep breath.

“I was stationed at the army base there when some Imp warlord rolled in, tried to take the place over. We teamed up with the locals to force ‘em out. Brutal stuff, that.” He shuddered at the memory.

“Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to pry.” Chara said. “What uh- what’s your name, by the way? I forgot to ask.”

“Oh, right. General Samuel Thompson, U.S. Military.” He extended his hand.

Chara shook it.

“Princette Chara Dreemur.”

Sam nodded.

“Yeah, I recognized you from the news. Anyway, I’m the military liaison for this facility. They called me down here to check up on the lab’s progress.”

“Well, obviously they’re doing pretty well seeing as I’m not dead” Chara said.

Sam chuckled.

”Yeah, I heard the Russians want to try out something with that. See if they can replicate the results. Thinking they could double their Dead Men Brigades. Now we want to see where this whole ‘goat god’ thing goes.”

The general seemed mildly nonplussed by his own words.

“Strange times we’re livin’ in, huh?”

“You get used to it” Frisk said, having finished fixing Chara’s hair.

“We’ve spent the last few months sharing a home with a royal family of goats, a resurrected, century old kid, and a talking flower possessed by a goat. This really isn’t anything special” Miguel said.

Sam turned  to Toriel and Asgore.

“If you don’t mind my asking, is this a weird for you as it is for us?”

“Oh absolutely! Humans were practically mythical creatures by the time we took the throne. We knew they were up here but we never expected to actually see any. You should have seen the look on Asriel’s face when we found out Chara was a human” Toriel said.

“I can hear you guys, you know that, right?” Flowey said over the intercom.

Everyone glanced at the speaker in unison.

“Oh yeah, there’s a two-way radio connected to the containment units. Forgot to mention that. One to each SOUL we’re testing” Jones said over the speaker.

“We can talk to SOULs?” Sam said.

“Sure can! Howdy there!” Another voice said.

“Clover? Is that you?” Toriel said.

“Sure is! Heya there, Ms. Toriel, long time no see!”

Toriel was speechless for a moment. Her eyes had begun to mist.

“It’s… good to hear from you again. Thank you for agreeing to help Asriel.”

“No worries! Flowey and I go way back. Met up not too long after I fell into the dark ruins.”

“The what?” Frisk said.

“Oh, you never saw those” Toriel said. “A section of the Ruins below the main ones. Poor Clover was standing on a section of the floor when it collapsed under them.”

“Ain’t such a bad place once you get used to it, really” Clover said.

“Woah woah woah, you’re Clover? The Clover?” Undyne said.

“Don’t know anyone else with that name” Clover said. “I picked it myself, actually. Why, you know me from somewhere?”

“You have quite the reputation among monsters” Asgore said.

Sam jolted in surprise as the king spoke.

“Is something wrong, general?” Asgore said.

“Uh, no, your majesty. I kinda eh, forgot you were there. You uh, haven’t been talking much” he said sheepishly.

Asgore nodded.

“Yes, I’ll admit this is somewhat difficult. It’s my fault these children met their fates. I bear the shame to this day.”

“Eh, water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned” came another voice from the speaker.

“Ah, and you are…?” Sam said.

“Oh right. Lazlo, Lazlo Banik. I’m the Perseverance SOUL.”

“Wait, Lazlo? Didn’t you fight old Gerson!?” Undyne said.

Lazlo chuckled.

“The guard captain? Yeah, he was a tough one. I’d already fought my way through most of the guard when the mid-twenties mutant ninja turtle jumps me out of nowhere! We’re gonna be getting started soon, but I’ll tell you about it after the test.”

Undyne was practically vibrating with excitement. She was speaking to two of the most infamous human warriors in monster history. She could barely wait to hear their stories.

“Are we ready to begin, Doctor Alphys?” said Dr. Harris.

“Oh! Yes, we’ve just finished calibrating the Equipment. Jones, could you um, activate the transfer protocol?”

Jones gave a thumbs up.

“Sure thing, doc! Activating the SOUL Trap 9000!”

“Th-that’s not what it’s called!” Alphys said, indignantly.

“Beginning SOUL Trap 9000 ‘live’ test number one” Dr. Harris said into the recorder.

Alphys sighed in resignation.

“I for one, support this gamer naming convention” Lazlo said.

Jones smirked.

“A fellow man of culture, I see.”

“You know it! Videogames were my lifeblood back when I was alive.”

“Alright, alright, let’s save the banter for after the recording” Dr. Harris said,  cracking a small smile despite himself.

Jones flipped a knife switch, and the whir of machinery powering up filled the room. Soon, it was drowned out by what sounded like a large vacuum cleaner from hell as Clover’s SOUL was sucked through the large tube connecting their unit to Flowey’s. Soon, they reappeared in Flowey’s unit. The machine powered off as Clover’s SOUL began orbiting Flowy, closer and closer, until seeming to vanish within the small flower.

Everyone watched with anticipation.

“Did it… did it work?” Alphys said.

“Yeah, I think so!” Flowey said. “Hey Clover, you there? Okay, yeah, he’s there.”

“Uh… okay! Test number one is a success!”

“Wow, first try” Jones said.

“Yes, I was expecting a circuit to fry or a machine to catch fire or something” Harris said.

“I checked all of the equipment myself! A-a bunch of times, just to be sure” Alphys said.

Dr. Harris could see how she got her job. He let out a light chuckle.

“Wish we had someone like you back at NecroTec. Shit broke constantly there. Power surges, shattered glassware, warped lenses, short circuiting, loose power cables, all sorts of stuff.”

“NecroTec?” Chara said.

“Some big magical research company” Lazlo said.

“It was the largest magical research company in the world at its height” Dr. Harris said proudly. “They built this very lab in fact!”

“I worked at one of their labs a ways back. Gotta say, I prefer the new management” Jones said. “They didn’t treat us techs so well.”

Harris nodded.

“Yes, though I must admit our research was far more profitable.”

“Hey guys, can we talk about this later?” Alphys said.

“Yeah, for stockholders. We made less than we do now” Jones said. “Plus, our stuff gets implemented faster.”

“With less royalties to the inventors” Harris countered.

“You mean the stockholders. The inventors didn’t get enough of a cut either” Jones said.

“Guys, could we please-“

“True, but it was them who bankrolled it.”

“And now it’s not, so we get a bigger cut of the profits.”

“We’re on a tight schedule here.”

“With fewer profits to be had. Far fewer.”

“We all have higher pay under the Comintern, what without the investors leaching it all away. Our projects don’t need to be profitable to get funding. What’s the downside? Did you hold stock or something?”

“Yes but-“

“And there you have it” Jones said smugly.

“I held stock to profit more off of my inventions. Far more than-“

A cough echoed over the intercom.

Everyone paused.

“As thrilling as this discussion is, I’ve got like, four other presentations I need to look at today. Could we please get on with the test?” Sam said testily.

“But of course! Sorry general, I got a bit carried away.”

“Yeah, sorry” Jones said sheepishly.

Alphys sighed with relief.

“Commencing SOUL Tether, InterSOUL connection, test one” Jones said, flipping another switch.

The tethering pylons descended from the ceiling. The familiar crackle of electricity and buzz magical energy filled the room.

“Pylons at full capacity!” Jones shouted.

“All readings nominal” Harris said.

“Initiate tethering procedure!” Alphys said.

Massive arcs of electricity surged into the units. Flowey could feel the surge of energy within them as Clover absorbed the charge. An invisible connection began to form. Clover couldn’t see it, but they felt a path forming, a bond of sorts. They could feal their connection with Lazlo growing. The energy within their SOULs flowing between them. They could sense thoughts, feelings, even memories. It was only in brief snippets, but they were vivid.

They saw rubble, a desolate cityscape, with the remnants of the tenement that served as their home lay before them. The sound of artillery echoing in the distance. They saw a room, crowded with people. Portholes riveted into the steel walls, a view of one nearby showing a turbulent sea. The felt the sea sickness rise withing their stomach. The hushed murmurs of nervous passengers and the cries of young children filled the air.

They saw a city, bustling with people, growing, thriving. They saw people welcome them, shame them, or be indifferent to their plight. They remembered starving, and the sweet sweet relief of finally getting something to eat.

 They remember things changing, improving. The sympathizers winning out, aid coming for them, people raising money to build homes for them and their fellows. Their new home. It was warm, cozy, welcoming. Their mind filled with nostalgia for a life not their own. Food became constant, and they savored every last bit of it, never forgetting the hunger. Soon however, yet more problems arose. Rioters, those who wanted them gone began attacking. Fighting them. Curfews were initiated, police were dispatched. Fires raged in the street. The images flashed in and out of Clover’s mind rapidly, they could barely make sense of any of it.

Suddenly, they were in the woods. A fight had broken out near the edge of town, and they’d ran. Now, they were lost. All they had was their lucky notebook. They needed to get back to town, but where was it? They needed higher ground. They scale the mountain. They spot the city from a vantage point, a cliff with a nearby cave, one they recognize, not from Lazlo’s memories, but their own. A roar is heard. They turn. A massive bear approaches in the distance. They stumble backwards. Then, darkness.

They’re in a bed now. They ache all over. They’re covered in bandages. They see Toriel sat beside them. Several briefer images pass by in an instant. Being nursed back to health, bonding with Toriel, learning of the Underground. They eagerly write it all down in their notebook. They resolve to make it back home. To tell the world of the monsters. To help them. There has to be a way. They sneak out, while she’s asleep. They push aside the large doors. They enter frozen wastes.

The monsters hear their story. Some run in fear, others attack. In a fit of desperation, they hit one with their notebook. The monster clatters to the floor. They strike again, and again, and again. The monster turns to dust. The others soon follow suite. Pure adrenalin rushes through their veins as they strike their foes. Eventually, it’s just them, alone amongst the dust and snow. They’re shaken, horrified, but they keep going. They have no choice.

More fights. Everywhere they go, more fights. Everywhere they go, they leave a trail of dust. It clings to them, an eternal reminder of their actions. As they press on, each fight gets easier. They have no choice, no other options. They notice how much this place resembles an old RPG. They laugh madly at the realization. It’s a game! Of course! They’re in a videogame!

They can work with this. They’ve played tons of games before. They’ve got this. They bet they could get through this with the starting equipment. Their notebook is like the Saw Cleaver in Bloodborne, never obsolete, ever practical. Will there ever be Soulsborne boss? They hope not.

There he is. A turtle, clad in armor. Their magic is stronger than anything they’d ever seen! The projectiles fill the air, death in all directions. Some hit, others are deftly dodged. They’ve played bullet hell before; they know what to do.

Can’t beat him. He’s too powerful. They flee into the woods. For God knows how long, they fight. Pursuing each other, setting ambushes, sparing. Lazlo gets close to beating him. Closer and closer each time. But every time the turtle just retreats. Sends more guards. He’s gotta run out at some point, right?

They begin to exchange words as they fight. It’s not the first time. The turtle demands to know why they invaded their home. They retort that they were attacked first, that the monsters tried to kill them. The turtle is awestruck. They attack, ranting about how they’ve been attacked nonstop since they fell. The turtle mentions the war. What war? Whatever, they have him on the ropes. But they’re exhausted, sluggish. They aren’t quick enough. The turtle slugs them in the stomach, knocking the wind out of them. They lose their book, and their glasses. They can’t see! They stumble through the dark, they need to get away.

“Wait!” they hear the turtle shout. They jump in fear. They trip, and fall off a cliff they’d failed to notice.

Once again, there is darkness.

Lazlo could feel the energy entering and leaving his SOUL, as though he and Clover were literal hearts pumping blood to each other. Memories were pumped along with the blood. They wondered if Clover could see the same.

They were at school in a small town in Texas. It was recess, and some kids were picking on one of their classmates. A quiet girl, mostly kept to herself. Her name was Sally… or Samantha, they can’t quite remember. This is the third time this week this has happened. The teachers were, as usual, pretty useless. They didn’t understand what these three had against her. They’d only spoken a few times, but she seemed nice enough.

The more they watched, the angrier they got. They could feel their fists clench unconsciously. They approach the trio. One kid asks them what they want, calls them something, something that makes them angry.

They throw the first punch. And the next. And the next. They take a few too, but they barely feel it. Too much adrenalin. They took one to the temple, their head swims. They punched back. The punch connects, they feel their opponent’s nose crack. A kick to the groin takes him down. He doesn’t get back up. He writhes in pain. They grin, and let out a small chuckle.

One of the others tackles them to the ground. They hit their face. The bully hammers them with punches. They roll over on their back, raise up their arms. A quick knee to the belly knocks the wind out of her. The punches stop. They shove her over and hurry to their feet. A quick kick to the ribs, and she’s down for the count. Now for the next one.

They turn to the last one. Blood drips from their lip. They wipe it away. They crack their knuckles and raise their fists. Bring it on.

Third one is the leader. A big guy, for a grade schooler, which is a problem. He lunges for them, but they dodge just in time. He redirects and hits them in the gut. They stumble, gasping for breath, but they don’t fall.

He lunges for them again, trying to grab them this time. He’s slow, and the move leaves him open to attack. He’s an amateur, not used to people fighting back.

Clover isn’t.

As soon as they recover, they kick him in the gut. Payback. He stumbles back a bit, hunched over. A haymaker to the face causes him to spit out a tooth. He charges again. They strafe to the side. Can’t let them get on top of them. a kick to the knee causes a wet crunching noise as his leg bends at an unnatural angle.

Sally, yeah, it was Sally, that was her name, runs over to check on them. The teacher soon follows. They brace themselves for the inevitable tongue lashing. They don’t care; they’re used to it.

At home, their father talks to them. He’s tired from a long day at the station, agitated, but not angry. In fact, he approves. This is why he taught them to fight in the first place.

Years later, middle school, new town. Their father transferred. He’s a detective now, one of the best. He’s cracked countless cases. They want to be like him when they grow older.

One case has been bugging him though; a series of missing person cases. Kids going missing in the nearby mountain. It’s been happening for a while now, a few years in fact. The locals are spreading rumors. Something about a goat monster that attacked in the 2010s. A kid apparently went missing beforehand.

A lot happens over the next few months. They learn to fire a gun. Somewhat frowned upon here, though not as much as before the refugee crisis. The riots have everyone on edge. Apparently, one of the missing kids disappeared during one of them. Their father doesn’t care much either way. Back in Texas, he learned to shoot at the same age.

Months go by, and nothing. No leads, no new evidence, nothing. Everyone at the station is telling their father to give it up. He refuses though. He needs to find out what happened to these children.

One night, they have an idea. They know the woods nearby; they’d always been the outdoorsy type. Maybe they could find something the police missed. Their father had been reviewing the information at home. They could sneak a peak and figure out where to start looking.

Their father would never agree to it, obviously. They’d need to sneak out at night. They knew where he kept an old gun, a revolver. They feigned sleep one night, waited until they were sure their father was asleep. They took the gun from the safe, they’d long since figured out the combination, and crept out into the night.

They were out much longer than they’d planned, and so far, nothing. Day was breaking now. They had to keep looking. They had to find something.

Eventually their search took them to the mountain itself. They scaled the precarious rocks up to a nearby cliff. Their father was going to kill them when they got home, but they knew if there was anything to find, it had to be in the cave atop the nearby cliff. It was near where all the trails ran dry, but out of the way enough to be easily missed. They’d been in the area enough times without ever noticing it before, and it wasn’t on any maps. The only reason they’d noticed now was a chance glimpse at it from the trail, where the sun was in just the right position to illuminate the cliff, and a barely perceptible gap in the rocks. Honestly, they didn’t even know if it was a cave; it looked more like an alcove than anything. Still, it was the only option they had left.

Finally, they reached the top. There’d been several close calls on their way up. That’s how this journey should’ve ended, they thought. A dumb kid trying to play hero, falling to their death scaling a mountain with no safety gear. And yet, here they were, and they were right; it was a cave. But Lazlo had known that all along.

He knew this place; its image was forever seared into his mind. His final memories of the surface world. The memories came rushing back as they stared into the inky void before them. It seemed almost bottomless, but there was a faint patch of yellow illuminated at the bottom. This was it, it had to be, they were sure of it! If those kids were still alive, any of them, this is where they’d find them.

 And just like that, they took a mighty leap of faith, into the darkness.

The visions gradually faded, replaced with the familiar, sterile view of the lab.

“Wha… what was that?” Lazlo said hazily.

“I feel like my life flashed before my eyes. Or… not my life exactly” Clover said.

“You may have experienced an exchange of memories during the procedure. We had considered the possibility” Dr. Harris said.

“Little heads up woulda been nice” Clover said, rubbing their eyes.

“What the-!” Flowey sputtered as he noticed the apparition beside him.

“What’s wro- holy shit!” Clover said as the realization dawned on them.

“Clover!” Toriel said scoldingly.

“Wha-what’s happening? Why do I have hands?” Lazlo said causing everyone to turn their attention to him.

“Amazing!” Dr. Harris said. “it seems you two have gained the ability to manifest images resembling your physical forms!”

“Ah, so we’re ghosts now?” Lazlo said.

“Basically, yeah” Alphys said. “Not like a ghost monster, but yeah, like a human ghost.”

“Pretty cool, right?” Chara said. “I could do that too when I was still a ghost. Only Frisk could see me though.”

“Wait, what!? Why didn’t you mention that before!?” Alphys said.

“I didn’t? Huh, coulda sworn.”

Dr. Harris facepalmed.

“Well, nothing to do about it now, I suppose. You can all exit the observation chamber now.”

The group exited single file, with Undyne heading up the rear. She needed to duck to fit under the doorframe.

“That was outstanding, Doctor!” Sam said, approaching Alphys.

“Oh! Um, thanks. It was nothing really…”

Sam waved her off.

“Nonsense! This test has exceeded our every expectation!”

“Yeah, come on, Alphys, stop being so modest!” Undyne said, patting her on the back, and startling everyone in the lab, who could’ve sworn she was across the room just a second ago.

Alphys blushed intensely.

“U-um, right. Anyway, we should probably interview you two now” she said to the spirits. “We need to document your experiences.”

Sam checked his watch, then nodded.

“It’d be good to know all the details. I’ll tell the others I’m running late.”

Clover and Lazlo explained what they saw during the tethering. The ship, the riots, the fight on the school yard, Clover’s reckless mountain climbing expedition, all of it. And each time, the other was able to confirm the events had indeed occurred in their lifetimes. A heavy silence fell over the room following the interview.

“So that’s why you came looking for us” Lazlo said finally.

Clover nodded.

“Yup. Guess I never did discuss the story in detail with y’all.”

“How long was that after I went missing? There were at least a couple of years between each disappearance, right?”

Clover thought for a moment.

“You were the last one to go before me sooo… a couple of years, I reckon.”

“And you thought you’d find any of us alive?”

Clover shrugged.

“Dunno. I figured there was a chance at least. All sorts of missing people turn up years later, alive and well. Keep in mind, I didn’t know about the cave at the time. That would’ve made me less confident. Besides, even if there weren’t any survivors, we could at least find out what was causing the disappearances. Put an end to it.”

“I mean, you kind of did in the end” Miguel said.

Clover smirked.

“Yeah, I guess I did, didn’t I? Just wish my old man was around to see it. Doubt he ever found out what happened to me.”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you about that” Natalia said.

“What, my father?”

She nodded.

“What was his name?”

“Daniel. Daniel Barns. He was a detective here in Ebbot. Why?”

There was a glint of recognition in Natalia’s eyes.

“I knew it.”

“Knew what?” Frisk asked.

“The old police chief kept a photo of a child on his desk. It was an old one, taken quite some time ago. I never got to ask him about it, we only spoke a couple of times during the war. Honestly, I didn’t even remember it until now but…”

Clover leaned in, listening intently.

“…That kid… you are the spitting image of the one in the photo.”

Clover’s eyes widened.

“You mean…?”

Natalia nodded.

“Barns was the old chief’s last name.”

Clover shifted nervously.

“Is… is he…?”

“Alive” Natalia said. “He had to retire after the war, he was hurt badly, but he’s doing well for himself from what I hear.”

Clover smiled tearfully.

“He’s alive! Oh thank God!”

“Gotta wonder if my family’s still around” Lazlo said.

“We could find out” Miguel said. “Who were they?”

“The Baniks. I doubt you’d know them; we came over from Poland as refugees. We weren’t really anyone of note.”

“What were you running from?” Chara said.

“Oh uh, the civil war.”

Chara stared blankly.

“Right, you uh, you don’t know about that. A civil war broke out in Poland in the 2090s. There were two factions, it was the nationalists and…”

“The Bolsheviks” Natalia said.

“Right, that’s them. The Bolsheviks were Commies, wanted to join the Soviet Federation. The nationalists were the far right, they wanted independence, but they were also well…”

“Fascist, genocidal maniacs?” Miguel said.

“Yeah, that’s it!” Laszlo said. “We lived in Krakow, to the south. It was Bolshevik territory, but it was under siege by the Nationalists. Our home was destroyed in the attack. By the time they broke the siege, we had nowhere to go. Nowhere in the country was safe that we knew of, and the fighting had already spread to the countries to the south, so we headed north, got on a boat to America.”

“I was only a little girl when that war started” Natalia said. “My father was sent to aid the Bolsheviks.”

“He serve in the south? It’d be funny if I’d met him” Lazlo said.

“I think so, actually! He went all over the place; Poland, Romania, Slovakia, he even partook in the siege of Prague, helped liberate it from the fascists.”

“I remember that battel! Saw it on the news, I think. There was a huge celebration in the streets. A lot of us thought it meant the war was almost over, and maybe we could go home again. Of course… the riots started not too long after. Turns out a lot of the townsfolk liked the nationalists.”

“Yeah, there were a few incidents like that.” Miguel said. “Started becoming more common after that. Reds and fascists having gang fights in the streets. Nowadays we consider that an early sign of the civil war.”

“Guess I’m an early casualty then” Lazlo said.

“Yeah…” Miguel said.

“I remember you used to tell stories about your home back on the surface” Toriel said. “It sounded like such a terrifying, chaotic place. Nothing like what Chara used to describe.”

“It can be” Lazlo said. “Though from what I hear, things have gotten a lot better since then.”

“My time wasn’t exactly peaceful either” Chara said. “Europe was, but a lot of places weren’t.”

“Some of them have actually gotten better since then” Lazlo said.

“That’s the way the cookie crumbles” said Clover, startling those who’d forgotten they were there.

“Yeah, I guess so” Chara said. “Hey, hold on, did you say the Baniks?”

“Yeah, why?” Lazlo said.

“Hey Frisk, wasn’t that the name of that reporter from the press conference?”

“Huh. Yeah, I think it was! Mr. ‘Why don’t we just kill them’. What was his first name? Vlad-something?”

“Wladyslaw” Chara said. “We saw him on tv too, remember?”

“Wait, hold on. You’re telling me that there’s a reporter in town named Wladyslaw Banik?” Lazlo said.

“Yeah, he’s a war hawk. Controversial, put pretty popular” Miguel said.

“I had a little cousin named Wladyslaw. He came over with us on the boat.”

“You think it’s the same guy?” Sam said.

“I dunno. It could be a different guy but…”

“But?” said Frisk.

“Well, when I was alive, I always wanted to be a reporter. It’s why I always had my notebook with me. Write stuff down so I could tell people about it later. Wladek always liked the idea. We bonded over it.”

“It’s certainly worth looking into” Asgore said.

“I’d really appreciate that” Lazlo said.

“Hey uh, I have to get going soon” Sam said. “Apparently they’re testing some kinda death ray down below and I gotta be there for that.”

“O-oh, well it was nice to meet you, general!” Alphys said.

“Do put in a good word for us with high command” Harris said.

“Will do!” said Sam, as he headed out the door.

“I actually need to report to headquarters soon too, so we should be going” Natalia said.

“Crap! I gotta go to! Chara and I have a training session in an hour!”

“Fuck me” Chara muttered.

Undyne hurried over to Clover.

“Next time we get the chance, you have got to tell me about your time in the Underground!”

“Hm? Oh yeah, sure! I’m surprised Flowey hasn’t told you guys about it already.”

Flowey chuckled awkwardly.

“You were there when Clover fell!?” Undyne exclaimed.

“Uh yeah… Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“Right! See ya, Clover!” She said, taking Chara by the wrist and rocketing off down the hall.

Everyone stared silently for a moment, flabbergasted. Alphys finally broke the silence.

“Asriel will need to stay a little while, so we can monitor his condition” Alphys said.

Asgore nodded.

“Yes, Dr. Harris mentioned that earlier.”

“How about you and Miguel take the kids home, Natasha? I’d like to stay a while longer if that’s okay” Toriel said.

“Yes, I would like to as well” Asgore said. “I have… a lot of explaining to do for the children.”

“That would be perfectly fine” Dr. Harris said. “I’ll go power on the others’ speakers, I’m sure they’re just dying to talk to you two!”

“Phrasing” Frisk said.

“Chara’s sense of humor’s rubbing of on you, I see” Flowey said smugly.

Frisk chuckled.

“Yeah, guess so! Well, guess we’d better get going. See you soon, Flowey!”

Flowy chuckled fondly as the others left.

“Yeah, see ya.”

Chapter Text

Chara and Undyne were greeted at the door by Kyoko, who was leaning against the wall typing furiously on her phone.

“Hey Undyne!” she said absentmindedly.

“Heya Kyoko! Ari and Mew ready in the range?”

Kyoko gave a thumbs up and resumed typing.

“What ah, what are you typing?” Chara said.

“Internet debate” Kyoko said.

“Okay. What about?”

“Anime” she said, maintaining her concentration.

“I see….” Chara said.

“This about that guy from yesterday?” Undyne said. “On the Discord?”

Kyoko hit send on her message, and let out a sigh.

“Yeah, that prick.”

“I feel like you’re overreacting just a little” Undyne said. “All he said was that he thought Tomoko was a weak character.”

“No no, it’s not that he doesn’t like Tomoko-Sama, it’s that he’s a smug, sanctimonious, know-it-all, holier-than-thou prick about it! I was more than happy to have a nice, civil discussion about his criticisms, but he just goes about it like his taste is inherently superior! No way am I letting this fucker win this thing!”

“Who is Tomoko?” Chara said.

“Main character of a show called Armageddon Emperor: World Domination. She’s this plucky soldier who’s part of a warband in the Ruins of Tokyo after a zombie apocalypse. The story is about her rising through the ranks of her army, and waging a war to unify the world so humanity can rebuild together, unburdened by internal strife” Kyoko said.

“Ah, so like an extremist antihero. I like it.”

“It’s so awesome!” Undyne said. “Tomoko is a huge badass! She drives this old mecha from before the apocalypse and just wrecks everyone! There was this one fight were she and another warlord were fighting in this huge building that was collapsing around them! Eventually she grabs the spire and slams it down on top of the guy!”

“She’s a really neat character too. She’s got the kindness and idealism and hot bloodedness of a shonen protagonist but she’s also this shrewd, intelligent tactician! I like the idea of an antihero who isn’t some dark, brooding asshole” Kyoko said.

“So what’d this guy say?” Chara said.

She groaned.

“He thinks that because she’s conquering things, she’s automatically the villain. No room for moral complexity or anything. Sure, the rulers she fights are monstrous tyrants but no, she’s the bad guy because there’s conquest involved.”

“Fire Emblem: Three Houses all over again” Chara said.

Kyoko shrugged.

“Kinda, yeah.”

“Alright, we’d better get to the range. Talk to you later, Kyoko” Undyne said.

She gave a thumbs up. The sound of a notification came from her phone. She cursed under her breath as she read it.

Chara spent the next hour or so practicing with their magic. Mew had elected to up the ante with moving Dummies. This meant that summoning all the blades at once and firing them wasn’t an option. They had to focus and take them out one at a time. It took a moment, but they got the hang of it soon enough.

The range wis filled with the sound of practice dummies shattering to pieces, their parts flying through the air and clattering to the ground. Chara summoned a knife and hurled it towards a dummy that peaked out from behind cover. Another popped out from the side. Its head was quickly severed.

Only one dummy remained. It was toward the back of the range, timing a shot would be difficult. Chara tried a few shots, but the timing was always slightly off.

“Yeah, that one’s tricky” Mew said with a satisfied grin.

“Yeah, you really put a lot of work into this, huh” Chara said.

“Yup! I think I’ve found my true calling!”

“Getting other dummies beaten up instead of you?” Ari snarked.

“Hey! I get into the fray every now and then too, ya know! Besides, this body’s expensive.”

Chara chuckled, and resumed trying to hit the final dummy. They missed a few more times, and started to get somewhat agitated.

“C’mon, you got this!” Undyne said.

Chara forced a smile and gave her a thumbs up, wiping the sweat from their brow.

Alright, think Chara, think! There’s gotta be a better way to do this!

Suddenly, they had an idea. They focused on conjuring up the blade as usual, but this time they willed it to appear on the right wall, pointing at the dummy. They hoped it wasn’t too much more complicated than simply thinking about where they wanted it to appear.

Fortunately, it wasn’t. The knife appeared, facing the dummy from the side.

Mew stared in astonishment while Undyne grinned with anticipation. Ari watched with increased interest.

Fire!

The knife was cast forward, making a loud swoosh as it cut through the air. The dummy ducked behind it’s cover but to no avail. The knife crashed into them, and it was cleaved in twain, shattering from the sheer force as it did. Parts flew out from behind the wall, littering the floor.

Chara smiled with satisfaction, admiring the scene.

“Nice one!” Undyne said.

“You think? I remembered how you’d summon your spears in all directions, and how a lot of monsters had those crazy attack patterns. I figured I’d give it a shot” Chara said.

“This is huge!” Mew said, grasping Chara’s shoulders and shaking them in excitement.

Chara gently pushed her back.

“Really? All I did was think about the place I wanted it to appear in.”

“Yeah, but this opens so many possibilities! With enough practice, you could summon all kinds of attacks! You can make ‘em spin, bounce, zigzag, anything you want!”

“Alright, calm down there, Mew” Ari said.

“Right, sorry” Mew said sheepishly.

“Better excited than angry” Chara said, cracking a smile.

Ari chuckled.

“Between you and Undyne, there’s a whole lot more energy in this place.”

“Hey, wanna see how they do in live combat?” Mew said to Undyne.

“You think they’re ready for that?” Ari said.

“Please, they’ve seen actual combat before! Right, Chara?” Undyne said.

“Uh… yeah, right” Chara said nervously.

“I dunno, they seem pretty nervous” Ari said.

“No, seriously! Remember that awesome fight we had?”

“uh, of course! How could I forget?” Chara said, fidgeting uncomfortably.

Mew noticed their discomfort.

“Hey look, if you’re not ready-“

“No no, it’s fine! Really! Undyne’s right, I can handle myself in a bit of sparring.”

“Sweet!” Undyne shouted, pumping her fist. “Mew and I’ll set up the arena. You should grab a snack or something from the cafeteria. Trust me, you’ll need the energy.”

Undyne and Mew exited the room, off to parts unknown.

Chara glanced at Ari.

“Arena?”

Ari shrugged.

“Fuck if I know.”

Chara and Ari were escorted to the back lot by a positively giddy Undyne. They were met with a sight that was as impressive as it was baffling.

Several squad cars were parked in a circle taking up much of the lot. In the center of the makeshift ring were dozens of dummies scattered about in various positions. Near the ring was a large pile of sandbags, who’s purpose Chara could only guess at.

“Behold!” said Mew, hopping atop one of the cars.

“What the…?” Chara said numbly.

“What is all this?” Ari said, utterly nonplussed.

“This is the arena!” Undyne said. “We decided to set up a place here for Chara to spar!”

“Why not just use the training center?” Ari said.

“Nah, not big enough. This way you can face a ton of opponents all at once!”

“How many people do you think I’ll be fighting at once?” Chara said.

Undyne shrugged. “Who knows?”

“Can’t argue with that I guess…”

“How did you get all these cars like this? You don’t have the keys” Ari said.

“Alright, enough questions!” Mew said. “C’mon Chara, let’s get you set up.”

“Did you guys break into these cars?” Ari pressed.

“Look, do you want to sit here talking about the boring details or do you want to see some action?” Undyne said.

Mew guided Chara to the center of the ring. They were still rather confused about all of this, but were growing increasingly excited despite themself. They drew their knife and stared down the dummies in front of them.

“Ready?” Mew shouted.

Chara smirked. “Let’s do this!”

(Background Music)

The dummies launched a barrage of bullets that came at Chara from all directions. They were these odd, wispy balls of rippling light anomalies, like if the floaters in one’s eye formed in the shape of tiny tumbleweeds. It was almost as though a pencil scribbling had been rendered in 3D.

Surreal as the sight was, it didn’t throw Chara off for a second. They knew how to handle this.

The others watched in awe as they dodged and weaved through the hail of bullets with impossible grace and agility. Several dummies were blasted to pieces by their own projectiles as the arena was engulfed in a hail of bullets that bounced off the cars like a game of pinball.

As the fire thinned out, Chara seized an opening in the barrage, darting forward towards one of the dummies. With one fluid motion, they slashed the dummy in two. They let out a soft chuckle as their opponent clattered to the ground.

The other dummies backed away slowly as Chara rose to face them. A gleeful grin grew on their face as they assumed an attack stance. At once, they were upon their foes, slashing wildly at anything in their path, dodging bullet after bullet as they carved a swath of destruction through the enemy ranks.

After the dust settled, a fourth of the dummies had been annihilated, their remains scattered around the ring. They proudly observed their work, letting out a satisfied chuckle as they gazed upon the wreckage.

“Jesus” Ari said.

“That was Awesome!” Undyne shouted.

“Man, this brings back memories” Mew said. “Well, except the knife thing. Why didn’t you guys ever try attacking my dummies directly?”

“It wasn’t our turn yet” Chara said meekly.

“Alright, ready for round two?” Undyne said.

“You know it!” Chara said excitedly.

“They’re really enjoying this, aren’t they?” Ari said nervously.

“Try using some of your magic this time!” Mew said.

Chara gave a thumbs up.

The next group of dummies readied for battle as Chara approached the center of the arena. Chara tucked their knife under their arm and cracked their knuckles. They gave a cocky smile as they did the same for their neck.

“Ready, go!” Mew said.

Chara dodged the first round of bullets as effortlessly as before. In the second volley, one of the bullets hit them in the side. They yelped in pain. It felt like a hard punch to the gut.

“hey, you alright!?” Ari said.

Chara winced, but gave a thumbs up. They continued to dodge the bullets while trying to summon up their knives. It was more difficult under fire.

“Hey uh, you’re sure this won’t kill them, right? They said this had killed them before” Ari said.

“Oh yeah, it’s perfectly fine!” Mew said. “You need a ton of magic to kill a human, especially one like them, and you gotta want to kill. It’s a lot less strong otherwise. Fire and missiles and shit like that are more dangerous but those scribbles? Basically harmless like this.”

Ari sighed in relief. “Oh that’s good. Wait, magic missiles?”

“Yeah, why?”

Ari  barely stifled a chuckle.

“What?” Mew said, confused.

“Ah nothing, I’ll tell you after training.”

Mew shrugged.

“Alright then.”

Chara took a sharp breath inwards as they ducked under a few more bullets. They took the brief window to quickly focus their magic, summoning a volley of their own. They gave a taunting smile as they fired the volley into the first row of dummies.

Without wasting a second, they darted into the fray. The dummies were had been caught off guard by the attack. They could barely reorient themselves before Chara was upon them. Once more, they tore into the enemy ranks.

The dummies were thrown into disarray. By the time they’d located Chara, they were already somewhere else. Chara was confident they could win this as it was, but they also wanted to try something. They began concentrating small amounts of magic at a time, holing the amassed energy in place. They’d been trying to focus it all at once, but the dynamic battlefield didn’t allow for that.

Eventually, they gathered up enough for a volley of knives. They brought them down on the dummies, shattering several. Once more, they advanced upon the disoriented dummies, cutting them down with a flurry of blows, all the while concentrating more and more energy as they did.

Soon, less than a quarter of the dummies remained; Chara turned to face them, wearing a mad grin. They began to giggle, giddy with excitement. They had something else they wanted to try.

Chara focused on the group as they advanced nervously. They could feel the warm buzzing of magical energy swell within them. They slowly stepped to the side, circling the dummies. They got to a point where a large group of dummies were concentrated in front of them and launched a large blade at them. It stayed manifested as it passed through them one by one, lopping off their heads before they could react.

It worked!

Chara made quick work of the few remaining dummies, before brushing themself off and exiting the arena.

“Well that was impressive, if not slightly terrifying” Ari said.

“Guess you figured out the trick to the spells, huh?” Undyne said.

Chara nodded. “Yup! Took a bit of figuring out but it’s not too bad once you get the hang of it. Not sure I’ve actually done that yet, but the point stands.”

“You’ll get there” Mew said, handing Chara a sports drink.

Chara looked over the beverage. It was red in color, and had a label that looked right out of a Soviet propaganda poster as shown by Command and Conquer. A large, burly worker was taking a swig of the drink while vast amounts of electricity emitted from two Tesla Coils in the background. A large sickle and hammer hung above them, and the lightning seemed to center around it. The label itself was in Russian.

Hesitantly, they took a swig of the drink.

“You drank the energy drink. Unlimited power courses through your veins!” Chara muttered to themself.

The others began giggling. Chara’s cheeks turned red as they realized they’d said that out loud.

“That uh, that your narrating habit Frisk mentioned?” Ari said.

“Uh, y-yeah...” Chara said, scratching their head awkwardly. “Force of habit.”

“I mean, that was a decent narration” Ari said.

“I saw an opportunity and I took it” Chara said, smiling bashfully.

“Ready for round three?” Undyne said.

“Yeah, in a sec. What are those sandbags for, by the way?”

Undyne grinned deviously. “Oh, you’ll see.”

Chara gulped nervously.

Round three began a few moments later. Chara took a deep breath, and stepped into the ring once more.

The match began as normal. Chara dodged the bullets with ease, and fired off a few of their own, having built up their magic beforehand. As they were about to charge into the fray, a sandbag sailed over their head, landing with a soft *thud* on the ground.

“What in the-!?” Chara said as their eyes darted to the bag. They turned to see Undyne carrying several sandbags over her shoulder. “What’s the big  idea!?” They said indignantly.

“In a real fight, you gotta be prepared for anything!” she said, tossing another sandbag.

“Woah!”

Chara narrowly avoided the next bag. They let out a loud groan of frustration. They were so focused on the sandbag that they didn’t notice the volley of bullets approaching them. They felt them thud into them, knocking them off of their feet. They moaned in agony.

Ari observed the scene with increasing anxiety.

“Undyne, do you think maybe you’re going a bit rough on-?”

“Come on, Chara, you got this!” Undyne shouted.

Chara rose unsteadily to their feet.

“So that’s how you wanna play, huh?” They muttered. “Alright, fine. We can do that.”

They felt a surge of magical energy swell within them, amplified by their rage and frustration. Several more bags arced towards them. With a casual gesture, they summoned a volley of blades, which shot upwards, homing in on the bags, guided by Chara’s desire to destroy them. The bags were cut down from the shy, raining sand all over the arena.

The others watched in awe at the display as Chara prepared their follow up. A sizeable number of knives appeared above the dummies, enough to decimate the whole regiment. The dummies looked up in fear at the blades, which looked as though they should fall at any moment, suspended only by Chara’s will.

Chara smirked as they prepared to unleash hell upon their foes.

Kill.

The knives fell in volleys rather than all at once, as Chara’s ability to issue commands was stretched thin by the sear volume of projectiles. They were unleashed at the dummies a few dozen at a time, not all hitting, but that hardly mattered since they outnumbered their targets. Few were able to take advantage of this in time. Only a half a dozen remained, barely a quarter of their initial ranks.

Chara began laughing giddily at the sight, the familiar thrill of their enemies being crushed before them invigorating them. It started off as a mild chuckle, but gradually escalated into an uncontrollable fit of laugher as they charged the dummies.

They didn’t have the time to fire off a single volley before Chara was upon them. Undyne was awed and even a bit unsettled by the display, but soon came to her senses and frantically tossed more sandbags into the ring. Too late.

What followed wasn’t so much a fight as it was a massacre. Chara tore into them with their knife as a lion would a gazelle. They slashed frantically at the dummies, slicing their fabric to ribbons, and sending stuffing flying. The resulting mess was utterly unidentifiable. A mess of stuffing, burlap, and wood shavings. Soon there was only one dummy left, but not for long as Chara grabbed it by the neck and slammed it to the ground, snapping it off like a pencil.

Chara appeared limp and hunched over, almost like a marionette as they rose, still struggling to contain their laughter. Chills ran down Ari’s spine as they righted themself and began to approach them, an unsettling expression of mad glee on their face, accented by their crimson eyes. Mew had similar chills, which she wasn’t entirely sure was possible given her plastic form.

Even Undyne was unsettled now as she felt a sudden déjà vu. There was something familiar about those eyes, that expression. It filled her with dread, even though she had no memories of what would cause such an intense reaction.

“Hey Undyne, you alright?” Chara said, noticing the look on her face.

That snapped her out of it. She looked down at the small, red-eyed child, who now wore an expression of concern on their face. The sudden change gave her whiplash. They no longer seemed so frightening, and even appeared rather endearing. Without the creepy expression, they seemed like a completely normal human child.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m alright” she said laughing nervously.

“It happened again, didn’t it?” Chara said disappointedly. They shot the three an apologetic look.

Ari and Mew looked at them, utterly baffled. It was hard to believe someone could change demeanors so quickly. There seemed to be no trace of the supernaturally strong child who slaughtered their opponents with unhinged glee. Even their blood red eyes no longer seemed so intimidating. Their concern was actually kind of adorable, despite their fit of bloodlust earlier.

“What happened again, exactly?” Mew said, confused.

“Oh, they can get a bit too ‘into it’ when they fight” Ari said. “It happened when we were fighting the prince.”

“Don’t remind me” Chara said ashamedly. “Yeah, I’m a bit uh,” they pointed to their head twirled their finger, “not right, up here. The past runs they… changed something. Broke something, I think. Trust me, it scares me as much as it does you guys.”

“Yeah, I believe it” Ari said.

“You do?” Relief washed over Chara’s face.

“Absolutely! I’ve seen war, kid; the fighting does shit to you. Some people even start to like it after a while. The mind, it… adjusts, and it aint so great at going back to the way it was before.”

“You want to take a break?” Undyne said. “We can call it for today, right Mew?”

Mew’s faced tensed up. The others started to feel nervous, wary of her famous outbursts.

“Of course!” Mew said, forcing a smile. “We can just set everything back up tomorrow!”

“Wait, what?” Chara said.

“Well, obviously we can’t just leave everything like this. People need to use these cars!”

There was noticeable tension in Mew’s voice.

“Oh, right. How uh, how long did this take you guys to set up?” Chara said.

“Oh, just a little while” she said unconvincingly.

“The dummies, the cars, the sandbags, had to have been a couple hours. I’m actually surprised it didn’t take you all day” Ari said.

“Oh, it was tough! We had to work double time! Talk about a workout, right! it was pretty awesome” Undyne said.

“Would you two can it already!? I’m trying to be supportive of my friend’s mental health!”

Ari and Undyne immediately shut up, taken aback by her outburst. Realizing what she’d done, Mew immediately crossed her arms behind her back and went back to her forced cheer. Chara chuckled a bit.

“you were looking forward to this, weren’t you?” they said.

“Oh yeah, definitely. But you’ve done plenty today! You shouldn’t push yourself if you’re not comfortable with it.”

“Are you su-?“

Mew put their hand on Chara’s shoulder.

“It’s fine, really” they said, their voice calmer now. “This stuff happens, you deal with this stuff at your own pace.”

“Thanks” Chara said, relieved. “You sure it’s a good idea to stop though? I mean, I’m gonna have to get past this eventually.”

“Not by forcing yourself through it” Ari said. “Sometimes you need to take a step back and breathe a bit.”

Chara considered this for a moment, still uncertain.

“Alright, maybe I could use a bit of a break. Maybe we could grab something to eat and see how I feel afterwards? Somehow, I feel hungry again.”

Undyne laughed.

“Worked up an appetite, eh? Sounds good! You guys in?”

Ari shrugged.

“Sure, why not. I’m still full, but I could use a drink.”

“I’ll come too!” Mew said. She didn’t really need to eat, but she liked to talk with the others.

Undyne gave a thumbs up.

“Alrighty then, let’s go!”

The four of them made idle conversation while they ate. Well, while two of them ate. Undyne however, ate enough to make up for the other half.

 “Jeez Undyne, where do you put all that stuff?” Ari said.

“In my mouth, duh!” She replied, shoveling several sandwiches into said location.

Mew chuckled.

“Walked right into that one” Ari said. “By the way Undyne, what was it like being guard captain? Was there a lot of crime in the Underground?”

Undyne shrugged.

“Not really, most of the time. King Asgore was pretty good at keeping the peace. There’s always a few bad ones though. Some people have the best lives you could hope for and still choose crime, and not everyone had that.”

Ari solemnly nodded his head.

“Yeah, that’s how it is sometimes. We do a pretty good job of meeting basic needs here, but there’s still rough periods, especially during wartime. And yeah, some people are just bastards. No shortage in the world can explain the serial killers.”

“Yeah” Undyne said, taking a gulp from her soda, “towards the end, the caves were starting to get full. Not like running out of space full, the Underground is huge, but it put a strain on stuff like food, or housing. Only so many places you can build in a cave. I remember a few years after I signed on, there was a massive crime wave, mostly theft. Food costs were up, and you know how that can be. Wasn’t even the first time something like that happened. Another one happened when I was a kid, and later as a teenager. It’s why I first learned to fight, actually. Fighting off bandits.” She chuckled. “Kinda funny that once I signed on, we’d all forgotten about all that. Thigs had been calm for a while. The only threat we were worried about was another human showing up. I thought for sure that’d be the first opponent I fought. Instead, more bandits.”

Ari chuckled. “It’s like one of those ‘humans are the real monsters’ apocalypse flicks in reverse.”

“Oh I always hated those! Yeah, maybe the people you fight are more dangerous, but the zombies are definitely worse.”

“Maybe it hit too close to home” Chara said.

“That too” she admitted. “Still, it’s too cynical. It’s not like everyone became a bandit when they got hungry. Most people worked together to fix the problem, or just to get by. That’s how it always was when famine hit.”

“Well yeah, if everyone’s first instinct was to turn on each other at the first sign of crisis, neither of us would have gotten very far as a species.”

“Exactly! Still, things were starting to get pretty rough down there. It was worse each time it happened. It wasn’t even just food; housing was becoming an issue too. A lot of people were talking about moving out to Snowdin or Waterfall, building homes there. The townsfolk were worried about the ecosystem being destroyed if too many were built. It would’ve taken a while for things to get too crowded, but we all knew how this was going to go. Nobody thought this would be a onetime thing.”

“I’m starting to see why you all wanted to get out of there so bad” Ari said.

“That’s when I realized it too” Chara said. “A shortage happened about a year after I became princette. I was afraid to eat for a week because I thought I was taking it from the monsters.”

“Jesus” Ari said.

“Yeah, that was an overreaction on my part. Still, I think that when I started trying to figure out how to get everyone out of there. Even I could see the situation wasn’t going to last.”

“Yeah” Undyne said. “ Honestly, the Underground isn’t such a bad place on its own. I actually miss it sometimes honestly. But it’s just not sustainable if there’s nowhere else to go, you know? Sure you can dig, but try digging a space big enough for everyone fast enough without the whole thing caving in. We were actually thinking about trying anyway. Doesn’t seem like that’ll be happening here anytime soon.”

“People used to think it would” Chara said. “I heard from Ms. Abdulov that the problem was companies stealing all the resources.”

“Yeah, I heard about that too. It’s basically impossible to overpopulate this place. It’d level off or drop long before then” Ari said.

“That’s a relief” said Undyne.

There was a brief silence following that conversation. Chara was the first to break it.

“Hey uh, Mew? I just realized something. The dummies are possessed by ghosts, right?” Chara said.

“Yeah, why” Mew said.

“It’s just, shouldn’t that be really dangerous? I know they can just grab different bodies, but I’ve been using magic” Chara said nervously.

“Oh that? Don’t worry about that! It’s like I told Ari, you have to want to kill them. Magic like that’ll only hit the body otherwise. Now, if you attacked one of us directly, that’s a different matter.”

“Huh” Chara said.

“Somefing wong?” said Undyne with a mouth full of food.

“It’s just, back in the fight well, you saw how nuts I went back there. Couldn’t that have seriously hurt them?”

Mew froze up for a second, realizing the implications. However, she realized that none of the ghosts had been injured during the fight. A realization dawned on her.

“That’d have to  mean you didn’t have any killing intent then.”

“You were just practicing” Ari said.

“Yeah, but you saw me out there! I lost it!”

“Maybe you didn’t loose it as much as you thought?” Undyne said. “Sure, you went nuts in there, but it was still practice. Maybe you just weren’t trying to hurt anyone for real.”

“I guess…”

“You need to actually want someone dead. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have restraint, magic doesn’t really work like that” Undyne explained.

“Oh…”

Chara actually felt a bit better now. It was comforting to know that they still had some restraint, even in their maddened state.

“It reminds me of an old anime I saw once actually” she added.

“Which one?” said Mew.

“I think it was Magical Girl Lyrics Something Or Other” Undyne said.

“Lyrical Nanoha?” Kyoko said as she took a seat with the others.

“Yeah, that’s the one!”

“I think I know that one,” said Chara. “So I’m surprised anyone else here does. It’s gotta be pretty old by now, right?”

“It’s a classic,” said Kyoko.

“Yeah, like A Trip to the Moon is a classic, it’s over a century old by now! Seriously, this is the second time people inexplicably like anime from my time period. Does everyone just like to watch really old stuff now? Is it common to like old silent films too? That’d be pretty interesting.”

“Yeah actually” Ari said.

“Wait, really?”

Kyoko nodded.

“Oh yeah, it’s pretty common nowadays. They teach a lot about the arts in school, so a lot of people have a couple old favorites. There was an entire history of media class where we watched all sorts of movies and shows and stuff. Gojira, Naruto, Nanoha, Soul Eater, Attack on Titan, stuff like that.”

“I used to blog about some of those things on Tumblr” Chara said, as they struggled to process the passage of time.”

“Also, there’s a lot of modern versions of stuff too. The best part about not having copyright is that anyone can publish official remakes or sequels. Just pick a continuity you like and stick with it” Ari said.

“Neat” Chara said.

“So what other old stuff were you there for?” Masaki said.

“Well let’s see. I saw a lot of Marvel movies, there was a show called Steven Universe, I remember when Skyrim came out…”

“Which time?” Ari said.

“First. How many were there?”

“More than I can count.”

“Oh! There was this pretty awesome game from 2015 called Undertale I really liked” Chara said, winking at you, the reader.

“Who are you looking at?” Undyne said.

“Yeah, you’re kinda freaking me out here” Ari said.

“Huh? Oh, nobody” Chara said sheepishly, chuckling awkwardly.

“Okay then” Masaki said, wishing to change the subject. “How’d training go, by the way?”

The others filled her in on how the arena match went, as well as Chara’s anxiety regarding their mental state.

“Hold on, you guys did what with the squad cars?”

“We needed a place to train them in live combat” Undyne said.

“And the captain signed off on this?”

“Yeah, Undyne signed off on it” Mew said.

“The captain of the precinct” Ari said, exasperated.

 “Who was that again?”

Kyoko facepalmed.

“If you’re gonna do another round, you’d better do it before she finds out.”

“Are you up for it?” Undyne said.

“No one’ll blame you if you think it’s too much” Kyoko said.

Chara hesitated for a moment. It’s true they were nervous, extremely so. Still, could they afford to pass up this training? They’d been watching the news recently, things were getting unstable, and Frisk was supposed to be beginning their duties as ambassador properly soon.

“Nah, let’s do it.”

“You sure?” Mew said.

They nodded.

“Yeah. Frisk starts their official duties next week; I need to be ready.”

Undyne grinned.

“That’s what I like to hear!”

Chara smiled despite their unease. Her enthusiasm was contagious.

“So what’s next?”

“Well, you know how you reflected my magic spears with the spear I gave you when we fought?”

“How could I forget?” They said wryly.

“I want to see if you can do that with your knife.”

Chapter Text

Chara woke up the next day, feeling sore after a day practice. Undyne’s last training session proved far more taxing than the other three combined. They were covered in bruises, and a few scrapes as well from being knocked to the ground. Chara had naively assumed that the spear deflecting practice would be performed in place of sandbag dodging, and that perhaps the dummies would be non-possessed targets. They had learned to never be optimistic when it came to Undyne’s training regimen.

Still, they felt satisfied. They weren’t perfect at deflecting yet, far from it, but they were getting the hang of it. They supposed all their fights with Undyne in the various runs gave them an edge. Were it not for the sheer disparity in the length of the weapons, they might have excelled already. Though they supposed that would defeat the purpose.

Toriel naturally felt differently. She had ranted at Undyne over the phone for God knows how long before the combined efforts of Asgore, Miguel, Natalia, Frisk, and themself managed to calm her. Chara dreaded how she’d react if they ever got hurt actually doing their job.

Frisk had been generous enough to lend them their bed, and insistent enough that Chara realized refusing the offer was pointless. Chara felt bad taking away their bed since it was by far the more comfortable option, but Frisk insisted that they take it after a hard day of training. Admittedly, they had been dreading sleeping on the floor with the welts on their back. The sleeping bag was rather lacking it the cushioning  department.

Chara heard the door open and saw Frisk walk in with a brown paper sandwich bag and a cup of soda.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!” they said as they sat the food on the nightstand. “Ms. Toriel got you a burger from Metaton’s new fast-food joint down the street. We figured it’d help with the bruising.”

Chara sat up in bed, grunting with effort.

“Thanks” they said, reaching into the bag. “You know it’s only a few scrapes and bruises, right? Some sore muscles and stuff like that. Not that big a deal.”

“Neither is getting you a burger, you dork!” Frisk said, laughing. “You take everything so seriously, jeez.”

“Fair point” Chara said, biting into the strange, glittery sandwich. They had to admit, they were oddly tasty for something made entirely of edible glitter, glue, and sequins. No wonder magical food was becoming such a big thing.

“We gonna fix up your knife today?” Frisk said.

“Hm?” Chara said through a mouthful of burger. They swallowed before continuing. “Sure, if you want.”

“Heck yeah! I’ve been looking forward to this for a while!”

“You know, I’m surprised you’re so into this knife thing. You never struck me as a knife person.”

“Your enthusiasm is contagious” Frisk said.

“My enthusiasm? Really?” Chara said wryly.

“Yeah! I like when you get excited, it’s cute. Shame it’s so rare.”

“Cute, huh?” Chara said, averting eye contact as their face turned redder than the Soviet banner Natalia had hanging outside.

Frisk giggled at Chara’s flustered expression. It was adorable.

“Well uh, glad you’re looking forward to it!” Chara said nervously.

“Cool! I’ll go get the stuff set up while you get ready” Frisk said, headed out the door.

Chara couldn’t help but smile fondly as they left. Frisk really was the best. They weren’t sure why they liked hanging out with them so much, especially after being stuck with them through all those loops, but they couldn’t ask for a better friend.

Meanwhile Frisk trotted excitedly down the stairs and grabbed the bag of crafting materials Chara had brought home. They laid everything out neatly on the kitchen table, curiously inspecting the tools.

They really were excited for this. They didn’t know the first thing about knife smithing before they met Chara, but now they were getting really into it. They’d done quite a bit of research on it. Different types of knives, the history of various knives, knife smithing, restorations, all sorts of stuff. It was amazing how quickly one could take up a hobby if friends were into it.

Really, they just wanted to do something with Chara that they liked. Spending time with them wasn’t exactly hard, but they wanted to do something Chara was passionate about. They already had gaming in common, but variety was always great. Even better that they had sentimental attachment to the hobby. That made this all the more meaningful, which is exactly what Frisk was going for.

Chara felt oddly nervous as they got dressed for the day. They could feel their temperature rising, and even felt a bit of sweat on their forehead.

The hell’s wrong with me? Frisk and I spend time together every day! Pull yourself together, damnit!

Then again, Frisk had been acting different lately. They were always affectionate but these past few days, they’d really dialed it up a notch. They were always so bubbly and happy around them, and getting all tender with their compliments. Maybe that’s why they felt so nervous.

Maybe they just like seeing me embarrassed? They did say they liked seeing me flustered, didn’t they? Said it was cute or something. Yeah, that’s probably it.

Chara laughed off their nervousness as they headed down the stairs, feeling much calmer and more collected for about five seconds before they realized the implications. Their face began to practically glow afterwards. What had they meant by that?

They decided to push these thoughts from their mind before their face warmed up enough to cook with. Frisk had always been an odd one. They were probably overthinking things.

Frisk wondered why none of their flirting was working. They weren’t exactly being subtle, after all, and Chara had to know their flirting tactics by now, right? Maybe they thought they were doing it for fun, to get a rise out of them.

They never got people like that. What was fun about flirting with people you didn’t like that way? Who did that?

Oh wait, I did! All the time! That’s why they know how I flirt! And it is fun! Dammit!

 “Hey Frisk, you ready?” Chara said.

“Huh? Oh, yeah! Just pull up that video tutorial and we should be good to go.”

Chara gave them a thumbs up and booted up the laptop.

“So what’re we doing next week?” they said while the computer came online.

“We’re meeting the governor of Washington. Pretty cool, right?”

“Yeah. Kinda funny that I’m royalty and yet I never met any other politicians like that. And now I’m doing it as security detail.”

“I hear the Queen of England’s doing catering” Frisk snarked.

Chara chuckled. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

“I guess you’re kinda like one of those heroes from fantasy books and stuff. You even have an ancestral weapon!” Frisk said, pointing to the knife.

“Ah yes, the legendary carving knife! Passed down from generation to generation, once! Forged by the legendary smiths of Washington State! Red as the eyes of that freaky street urchin found sleeping with it in the gutter!”

“I like your eyes” Frisk said mater-of-factly.

“I uh- you do?” Chara said, their face heating up again, much to their chagrin.

“Yeah, I think they’re neat! Really anime.”

“Oh… thanks. I guess I just figured you found it creepy. Most of the people I knew found it creepy.”

“Seriously?” Frisk said.

Chara raised an eyebrow.

“Um, yeah. Red eyes are usually considered scary. Horror villains have them. You saw my ghost face, right?”

“Ok yeah, I get that. It just… I dunno, it doesn’t have that effect on you normally. It’s actually kinda adorable.”

Chara’s heart began to beat faster. “So, the tutorial!” they said nervously.

Frisk laughed sweetly, their own face reddening a little. They were adorable.

The two watched the tutorial for knife polishing. The host was Japanese  man who appeared to be in his mid-40s. He had an endearingly energetic, friendly tone that one absolutely would expect from a guy who makes tutorials online, and that one would absolutely not expect from a knife enthusiast. Ironically, it was Frisk who understood the instructions more, as they were more acquainted with the modern technology. They guided Chara through the steps.

The procedure itself was rather simple. Frisk held the scanner while Chara rotated the knife. It created a pretty accurate 3d model of the blade, as well as an analysis of the microscopic structures of the steel. Apparently, it was so the scanner could fill the scratches while remaining consistent with the structure.

“Ok, this thing is apparently better than state of the art lab equipment from my time. No big deal” Chara said.

“Pretty cool, right?” Frisk said.

“Yeah. It’s just a bit overwhelming at times, you know? I feel like a fish out of water, like I shouldn’t be here.” Chara’s tone sounded melancholy.

“Well, I think it’s great you’re here” Frisk said resolutely.

Chara smiled, genuinely touched. “Thanks. Sorry, I don’t mean to get all mopey on you. Let’s see what these little guys can do” they said, holding up the case of nanomachines.” They hoped they could brighten the mood a bit.

Frisk was still a bit concerned, but they decided not to press the matter right now. “Sure!” they said.

Chara took a brush and began painting on the nanites. Apparently, only a thin layer was needed, but it was ok to overdo it. They were reusable. They nodded to Frisk to signal they were done. “Initiate the restoration procedure” they said, doing an impression of a scientist from a Hollywood action flick.

Frisk chuckled and pressed a button to activate the nanites. It seemed like not much was happening at first, which was to be expected. Still, they eventually noticed a faint rippling in the grey fluid. They both became mesmerized by the sight.

Toriel entered the kitchen to see both children staring at the knife as though hypnotized. She peeked over them, trying to get a look at what had them so fascinated. Soon, she too was mesmerized by the odd rippling, completely forgetting what she had come for in the first place.

Natalia entered into the kitchen. “Toriel, did you get the-?“ She stared confused at the sight, then shook her head, grabbed something from the fridge, and left.

Eventually the rippling ceased, and an alarm pinged, snapping them out of the trance.

“Oh hey, it’s done” Chara said. “How uh… how long were we here for?”

“I dunno” Frisk said. “What happened?”

Toriel shook her head rapidly.

“Oh hey mom, where’d you come from?”

 “Oh a… a little while ago. I came in here to get something but…” she trailed off, exiting the kitchen in a daze.

“Well that was weird” Chara said. “Anyway, how do we get this stuff off?”

“Oh, I think we just hold the knife over the container and hit one of those buttons.”

Chara did as Frisk said while Frisk searched for the switch. As they pressed it, the grey goo seemed to almost slither off the blade as it peeled itself free of the metal, rejoining its greater mass in the container. Chara noticed the residue on the towel the knife rested on and held it over the container as well. The viscous liquid practically leapt off the towel, and homed in on the container, landing inside and reassimilating.

“Huh” Chara said.

The blade itself was a sight to behold. Its mirror shine had returned in full, and it gleamed in the light. Frisk was now able to make out the ripple-like patterns in the blade more clearly. They’d never paid them much mind before, but now that they were clearer, they gave the blade a unique beauty.

“Pretty cool, right?” Chara said excitedly. “It’s Damascus. Like, actual Damascus, not like, pattern welding.”

Frisk was utterly lost. “I think I’ve heard of the first one?” They’d done a bit of internet research, but they barely remembered any of it.

Chara took a deep breath. Frisk had a feeling this was going to get very detailed, very fast.

“Right so, pattern welding is when they layer a bunch of different kinds of steel together, heat ‘em up, and hammer them into one big piece. If you polish them or dip ‘em in acid, you see a bunch of different patterns from the different kinds of steel mixed together. There’s different colors because of the carbon content.”

“Woah woah woah, hold on, I thought they melted it all down and put it in a mold.”

Chara shook their head, a giddy expression on their face. “No no, that’s casting, you don’t do that for weapons usually. They just heat it up until it’s real soft and hammer it together until it kinda smooshes into each other. Kinda like Playdough. That's why different parts of a blade can have different grades of steel, see?”

“Why would you want that?”

Chara got progressively more excited as they continued. “A lot of reasons. Sometimes you want the back to be a bit more flexible while the edge is harder so it can be sharper. That’s what they did with katana.”

Chara paused for a minute to catch their breath. “You uh, you following me?”

Frisk nodded. “Yeah, I think I get it.”

“Cool! So anyway, Damascus has patterns like that, as you can see, but it’s not caused by pattern welding. They look a bit different. Damascus’s exact method of manufactory isn’t really known nowadays, but we think the patterns came from some impurities in the crucible steel they were using. Manganese, vanadium, stuff like that. Those impurities make the steel form structures like martensite nanowires and maybe carbon nanotubes, but we’re not sure about that last one. That stuff causes the patterns and makes it keep an edge better.”

“Uh…”Frisk was lost now. Some of the words were vaguely familiar to them from their reading, but they didn’t really get what they meant.

“Right- crucible steel is when you melt it all down in a clay pot in a furnace. Easiest way to get it to be liquid without getting too much carbon in there. So you can control how much carbon and other shit goes in there. Martensite is-”

Frisk tried to listen as best as they could to Chara’s explanation. Chara frankly knew way more about metallurgy than a fourteen-year-old should. A lot of it went way over their heads, but they tried to keep up. Chara’s enthusiasm truly was contagious.

“-technology was lost for a while, but similar methods were developed in the 90s. The stuff was still hard to come by in my time so I’m surprised dad managed to get it. Mom threw a fit when she saw the bill! Anyway, Damascus is really good steel, but you still need to make sure you temper it right and-“

Frisk listened with increasing interest as Chara grew more and more energetic. Their heart was filled with joy seeing them this excited, and they found their passion rather endearing, attractive even. Despite themselves they found they were rather taken with them right now, and it grew harder to focus. Their cheeks blushed red, and their heartrate skyrocketed.

“-and that’s why despite its reputation, there have been some pretty sub-par Damascus swords made throughout the years… sorry, I’m boring you, aren’t I?” Chara looked up at Frisk, who’s expression suggested their thoughts were elsewhere.

Marry me, they thought.

“Frisk?” Chara said.

“Huh? Oh no! Something you said just distracted me a bit is all” Frisk said.

“Oh really? What?” Chara said, excited to have someone actually engaging in the conversation. That was rare.

Frisk thought for a moment, desperately searching for an answer.

“I think they had something like this in Russia!” They blurted out. They remembered that little tidbit just in the nick of time.

“Oh yeah, I heard about that! Bulat, I think it was called. That’s kinda the same thing. Not sure if there’s technically a difference, but well, we don’t know enough to say for sure anyway. Or at least we didn’t back then. I should check and see if they found anything new in the years since.”

“Yeah, that’s the one! I read about it a ways back. It’s in a lot of old stories. Supposed to be like, cold steal or something. I couldn’t really understand any of the specifics though.”

“Yeah, I get that. It can be pretty overwhelming at first, learning about stuff like this. I had the same feeling trying to learn about Russia.”

“You were reading about Russia?” Frisk said.

“Yeah, I wanted to learn more about it. You and your mom mention all sorts of stuff I don’t understand so I wanted to do some research.”

“Same here!” Frisk said, laughing at the irony.

“Yeah. So far I know a ton about the Soviet Union and Peter the Great, and basically nothing else.”

“Ah, the Sabaton road to knowledge!” Frisk said.

“Precisely! Too bad they never made a song about replacing leather on knife handles because I’ve never done this before!”

Fortunately, the same tutorial maker had a video on just that. Removing the leather from around the handle was fairly easy. Less so was scrubbing off the resin residue.

“I swear to God, a nuke couldn’t break through this shit!’ Chara said, furiously scrubbing the solvent-soaked handle.

Frisk was more concerned that Chara’s scrubbing would damage the wood. Ultimately, a light sanding proved necessary. They both spent an  hour or so practicing wrapping the leather cord around the handle before even thinking about adding more epoxy.

Chara was careful in applying the new glue to the handle. They wanted no more than strictly necessary. They then began patiently wrapping the cord. Still, they didn’t quite have the hang of it, and soon, there were several areas where they’d failed to cover the wood with the cord.

Frisk, who had proven better at wrapping the cord, tried to lend a hand. Without thinking, they put their hands on Chara’s and began guiding them as they unwrapped the cord part way and rewrapped it more consistently.

Chara froze with shock when they felt Frisk’s hands on their own. They watched numbly as Frisk guided them through the process.

“I…I” they managed to eke out.

“There, much more even” Frisk said obliviously.

Chara turned to face them, staring incredulously.

“Oh” Frisk said, as they realized what they’d just done. They turned beet red.

Chara matched their shade. “That was uh-“

They both quickly noticed how close they were. Barely a hair’s breadth between them.

“I just- I thought- you looked like you needed help and-“

“No yeah, yeah, thanks it uh, it looks great” Chara said, stealing a glance at the knife. It had come out rather well. It looked exactly like when they’d first gotten it. It brought on a wave of nostalgia.

“You really think so?” Frisk said.

“Yeah!” They said, tears of joy forming in their eyes.

It was odd, feeling nostalgic for a knife. It wasn’t like all the memories with it had been pleasant, all things considered, but it had been their faithful companion for as long as they could remember. It was the last memory of their father, their only memento of life before his death. It had been the only thing that kept them safe during their days as an orphan. Crazy as it sounded, they felt a sense of safety and contentment with the knife around. A sense of hope, even. Hope that they’d live to see the next day. It felt like nothing could truly harm them, as though their father himself was watching over them.

They’d been too far gone to process how much the knife meant to them in the Genocide Route. Much as they tried, they couldn’t see it as much more than another tool of destruction. They’d wished they could truly appreciate seeing it restored to its full glory as they wished to for so long. Much as they denied it the Pacifist Route reawakened their emotions. As they met with more and more success, their emotions no longer felt so deadened. The irony that the knife was no longer in its renewed glory was not lost on them. They’d considered it justice in a sense. They’d sullied its memory by using it the way they did, now it was ruined, with no way to restore it. Kind of like themself.

But now, now it was restored once more. It filled them with immense joy, a rare moment of genuine peace. It felt silly to feel so overjoyed all of a sudden over something so simple, but it represented so much more than that to them. They remembered what it felt like to be hopeful, even slightly so. The feeling of safety, of security, of hope for the future, had returned to them, ever so slightly. For once they felt there was a genuine chance that things would work out, irrational as it seemed. Maybe that was appropriate given the irrationality of their pessimism, that something like this would pierce through it, if only a little. If this could be restored, maybe there was hope for them too. It felt silly, but it felt possible, nonetheless.

“Great!” Frisk said nervously, ignorant of the true depth of the event’s significance. “I’m glad I can help; I know how much that knife means to you.”

Chara stared at them wide eyed, lost in their eyes. A floodgate had opened now, and the memories of all the times Frisk had aided them poured through. Their time in the Underground, their final battle with Asriel, the time they talked sense into them on the night of their emergence, retrieving Flowey together, all of them flowed forth into their mind. More tears welled up in their eyes as they did so.

Without thinking, they pulled Frisk into an embrace, getting even closer to them than before. They realized what they were doing at the last minute, and a brief look of fear and embarrassment washed over their face. Not quick enough for Frisk to notice however, as they returned the embrace, pulled them the rest of the way, and kissed them.

Chapter Text

Chara’s eyes widened in shock; their embarrassment being replaced with stunned confusion. They shut them tight and leaned into the kiss. It lasted for a few more seconds before they both pulled away.

“I… I uh…” Chara didn’t know what to say. Should they apologize? They were barely even able to process what had just happened.

Frisk was equally speechless. They couldn’t believe they’d done that. They were red with embarrassment. Instinctively, they glanced downward slightly, avoiding direct eye contact.

Chara took that as their cue. “I’m sorry!” they blurted out, bolting from the room, and up the stairs.

Frisk just stood there, utterly stunned, unable to react.

“Woah…”

Chara sped into their room and slammed the door behind them, breathing rapidly.

Shit shit shit! Why did I do that? Why the fuck did I do that!? What the fuck is wrong with me!? It was just a fucking knife! Oh God, they’re going to hate me now!

They groaned in despair as they slid to the floor.

The hell was I thinking? They- I- they’d never want to- would they?

They laughed bitterly at the thought.

As if. Who’d ever want to be with me? Some red-eyed freak show street rat. My own mother didn’t want me, why would anyone else? Especially them, after everything I did, everything I said. I don’t deserve to be with someone like them, I don’t even deserve to be their friend.

They sat there for what felt like forever, frozen in fear and despair. They wanted to go back down to apologize, to beg for their forgiveness, to see if they were ok. They were afraid though, afraid to face them after that. Should they? Would Frisk even want to see them after that? Maybe it’d just make things worse. They wouldn’t be surprised if they never wanted to see them again.

They couldn’t bear that. Frisk meant too much to them. Even after the Genocide Route, they refused to abandon them, dragging them back from the depths of despair and madness. They’d saved Chara, and everyone else by proxy. To lose their friendship now, because they couldn’t keep their emotions in check… they didn’t think they could take it.

Still, they had to do something. They couldn’t just say nothing, not after that. But they were paralyzed with fear and anxiety. Dread permeated every fiber of their being. They were too afraid to move.

Frisk had butterflies in their stomach. They still couldn’t believe that’d just happened. Should they have done that? They thought Chara was leaning in to kiss them, so they kissed back. Had they been wrong? Maybe this was a misunderstanding. But then, why apologize? Shouldn’t Frisk be the one to apologize if that were the case?

Frisk thought back to the kiss. The thought made them nervous, a bit embarrassed, but still, it felt good somehow; they felt all warm and fuzzy inside. It was an odd feeling, a complicated one. Maybe that was good though. Somehow, they didn’t think it’d feel as good if it were simple.

 What they did wish was simple was what to do next. Chara seemed embarrassed, ashamed when they’d ran off. Did they regret kissing them? Frisk hoped not. That thought filled them with a far more familiar sense of dread. They didn’t want that. The idea that they had upset Chara terrified them.

They looked up at the ceiling; Chara had been up there for a while. They were starting to worry. Were they okay?

A knock came at the door, startling Chara. They scrambled to their feet and cautiously cracked open the door.

“Can I come in?” Fisk said timidly.

Chara hesitated, but nodded, and slowly opened the door. They needed to talk, and really, even if they had decided to avoid Frisk, this was their room.

Frisk stepped in. They looked concerned. “You ok?”

“I uh- huh?“ That wasn’t where Chara saw this conversation going.

“You’ve been up here for a while. I was starting to worry.”

“Oh uh… I’m fine” they lied.

Frisk sighed in relief. “That’s good. I was worried I’d really screwed up.”

Chara’s eyes widened in amazement. “You thought you screwed up!?”

“Well yeah. I mean, after I kissed you …” Frisk blushed as they said that. They still couldn’t believe that had happened.

Chara did a double-take.

When they… kissed me?

That’s right, Frisk had kissed them. They’d stopped first and Frisk kissed them. How had they forgotten that?

“You… kissed me.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I thought you were leaning in for one so…”

Chara started giggling, and that quickly turned to laughter as relief washed over them. They’d doubled over, and wrapped their arms under their stomach.

“Are you alright?” Frisk asked for the second time.

“Yeah… yeah, I am now” they said, calming down. “Sorry it’s just that I- I thought I’d really screwed up back there, you know?”

“Oh.” That actually made a lot of sense now that Frisk thought about it.

“I was afraid” they continued. “I thought I was the one that- well I did go in for one. I kind of uh, stopped just before but after… well you know, I figured I’d been too late and-“

“You’d changed your mind?” Frisk said nervously. They really had made this awkward if that were the case.

“N-no! well, yeah, but not because I didn’t want to I just… I thought you’d be mad if I did!”

“So that’s why you ran” Frisk said, beginning to understand the situation.

“Yeah! I mean, I’m still not sure why you did that, to be honest. I mean, it’s not like you… like me, like that, right?” Chara laughed sadly as they spoke.

Now Frisk was confused. How was that obvious? That seemed like the exact opposite of obvious, or even evident.

“It’s crazy, right? These past few days you’ve been… I dunno, friendly? Even more than usual? And that’s really saying something. And you seemed so excited to work on this knife thing with me, and- and after it was done, I was so happy! I know it’s stupid, but it really meant a lot to me and then- then I remembered everything else you did for me, a-and for everyone else and-“ Tears streamed down their face as they spoke. Their voice was steeped in sadness and nostalgia, their tone was frantic and sounded desperate, anxious, fearful. They fought to catch their breath.

Frisk watched on with increasing concern. They tried to interrupt, to try and calm them down, but they had no idea what to say this time.

“I’m sorry” Chara said finally, bowing their head in shame. “I feel awful for putting you in that position. To make you feel like you had to…”

“To what?” Frisk said.

“I don’t know, kiss me? Act like you felt the same way about me as I feel about you?”

“How do you feel about me?” Frisk said.

Chara felt despair overtake them once more. They couldn’t lie anymore. They’d sworn they’d never tell Frisk, not after everything. It’d be their burden, theirs alone. Frisk didn’t deserve this, to deal with this along with everything else. They already did so much for them.

“I love you” they said tearfully. They felt like they should say more but they couldn’t find the words.

It felt good to get that off their chest, like a huge burden had been lifted, but that relief was tinged with guilt and fear. Now Frisk had to bear that burden. They’d feel guilty for not returning their feelings, or horrified that someone like them had feelings for them at all. Maybe both. Frisk was weird like that. But could they even still be friends with them after this? They wouldn’t blame them if they couldn’t. Slowly, they looked at Frisk, struggling to make eye contact. What they saw confused them.

Frisk was smiling. They seemed positively overjoyed. There were tears, but clearly not bitter ones. Chara was baffled. They were even more baffled when Frisk pulled them into a tight embrace. They stared blankly at the floor in confusion. Their arms hung limp. Slowly, hesitantly, they returned the embrace.

“I love you too” Frisk said. Their words were filled with relief and happiness, as though they’d wanted to say them for a long time. Chara’s eyes widened in astonishment and disbelief. They couldn’t have heard that right, surely. They’d imagined Frisk saying those words to them more times than they could remember, but they never thought for a moment they’d actually hear them.

“You… you really mean that?”

“Of course!” Frisk said, tears of joy streaming down their face.

Chara’s eyes welled up once more. Their mind was overwhelmed with emotion. They felt so relieved, so happy, but yet so confused. This didn’t seem possible. They thought for a moment it may be a dream. They’d pinch themself if they could. They felt like an immense weight had been lifted from their shoulders. A great deal of stress they were so used to that they no longer noticed it simply vanished into thin air.

So many thoughts ran through their head. How long had Frisk felt this way? Why did they feel this way? Was any of this real? They had so many questions, but they couldn’t find the words. They were too busy taking in the reality of the situation.

There was still plenty of uncertainty, of course. There always was. There was still a part of them that was prepared for disappointment, prepared to have it all ripped away from them again. They were always ready for that, for some cruel twist. They could accept that far more easily than genuine happiness.

But no twist came. Not now, anyway. It could come later, it could always come later, but for now, it seemed, they were safe. Hard as it was to believe, they could have this for now. Realizing this, they tightened their embrace, and began to sob into Frisk’s shoulder.

Chapter Text

1 Day Later

“The patient shows signs of remarkable improvement. It seems that the magical contents of monster foodstuffs stimulate cell regeneration” said the doctor, looking over Tanner’s lab results.

“And these results are consistent across the board?” said the Institute representative.

The doctor nodded. “Yes, that’s the odd thing. It seems to have the same effect in all tissues. The actual rate of regeneration varies between different types of cells, epithelial regeneration occurring most quickly, and bone tissue taking longest, but if you compare the regeneration rates for each tissue to their initial rate of healing, the rate at which they increase is almost exactly the same. Even tissues damaged from his long history of substance abuse has shown signs of rapid improvement.  There’s even been improvement in some areas.”

“Improvement? In which areas?”

“We’re still running tests, but we’ve seen a rapid increase in bone density and muscle mass, bloodwork has also shown a substantial increase in certain hormones such as-”

Tanner could hear them through the door. He fumed with rage. For weeks they toyed with him, stuck him with syringes, took his blood, fed him nothing but those bizarre foods the monsters brought up with them. Who knew what that stuff would do to him? Before his arrest, they’d have had to ask him before they did anything like this.

He shouldn’t be here. He didn’t belong here. He was a soldier, he belonged out there, in the field, fighting for his cause. Fighting against what he saw as the invasion of his homeland taking place before his very eyes. Instead, he was trapped in this hospital while the monsters and their collaborators used him as their guinea pig. Pumped him full of filth.

He wanted to leave this hospital, to take revenge on the people responsible for this. The doctors, the police, especially that ambassador and their crazy bodyguard. They would not be made a fool of by  a child again.

He glanced at the cuffs that bound him. The chains looked so fragile, so pathetic. To think that something so small could be all that kept them here. They mused on that, and thought back to the Chara. To think such strength could be contained in something so small. So small, and yet so powerful, so resilient.

“Doctor, if I may, is it true that the patient did not consent to this procedure, or these tests?” the representative.

“What of it?” the doctor replied.

The representative gaped at her. He seemed shocked at her callousness.

The doctor laughed bitterly. “Look, Mister… what was it?”

“Cain” the representative said.

“Let me tell you something, Mr. Cain. That guy in there? He doesn’t deserve your pity, or your concern. He wouldn’t show us the same. You should’ve seen how he reacted when he found out I was his doctor. Funny, since they stole some of those signs he’s got tattooed on him from my people.”

“I understand how you feel, Doctor Mishra, but-“

“Look, your institute signed off on this experiment; it’s a bit late to debate the ethics now. Do you want results or not?” She said coldly.

“Right” Mr. Cain said hesitantly. “I’ll take your report to the higher-ups then.”

Dr. Mishra handed him the papers. He took them, and walked away without another word.

Dr. Mishra sighed, and glanced through the tiny window on the door to Tanner’s suite. In truth, this did rub her the wrong way. It went against everything she’d learned of medical ethics. The administrators had convinced her that this man was evil, that the scientific benefits were well worth it given the nature of the subject. She wasn’t so sure no, but she supposed it was too late for second thoughts now.

Regardless, she felt no pity for his condition. Were it not for the betrayal of her own principals, she wouldn’t care at all. She felt no sympathy for people like him. Not after everything they’d done.

Tanner’s rage continued to burn within him. They would pay for what they’d done to him. He’d make them pay, no matter what it took. He turned his attention to the chains, pulling against them with all his might. An image of Chara flashed into his mind. He grinned as the chains began to strain against the force of his arms.

So small, but so strong.

The chains snapped in two.

 Yet so easily broken.

Undyne and the others had just gotten off lunch break. She had caused quite a commotion entering in full plate armor, and with the vast amount of food she practically inhaled.

“So you said this place was Turkish? It tasted kinda like those Greek sandwiches Chara made” she said, hopping into the car.

“Yeah, Donner Kebab. It’s similar, the two countries have quite a history” Ari said.

“Didn’t a whole bunch of Greeks move back to Turkey a while back?” Kyoko said.

Hector nodded. “Yeah, just after the war. Yugoslavia’s got its fingers in that pie.”

“Which pie?” Undyne said.

“The new government” Alexei said. “You see, there was another war not to-“

He was interrupted by the sound of the radio.

“This is dispatch to all units, dispatch to all unites, over.”

Hector was almost relieved. He wasn’t in the mood for another history lesson.

“This is Firewalker, What is it, Maya? Over.”

“We’ve got a 10-33. All units are to head to the Rogozov General Hospital Immediately, over.”

 “Why? What’s wrong? Over.”

“It’s Tanner, he’s escaped! Repeat, Tanner has escaped, over!

                                                                                 Meanwhile

“Hey guys. How’s everything been going at home?” Flowey said through the screen.

The Dreemurs and the Abdulovs sat crowded in the living room, in front of the tv, which Chara learned could live stream to other locations. Chara had heard about such things before. Apparently, they fell just before it became common.

“We’re doing just fine over here” Toriel said. “Why, Chara and Frisk just fixed up that old knife Chara used to carry around.”

“Is that so?” Flowey said, chuckling nervously.

“Yeah, it looks pretty cool too” Miguel said. “Hold on, I’ll go get it.”

“Oh that alright- and he’s already gone.”

“He’s really proud of his kid’s craftsmanship, he’s been showing pictures of it to all of his buddies at the base” Natalia said.

“It did turn out pretty great” Chara said, glancing fondly in Frisk’s direction.

“I know, right? I was a bit worried we’d mess up the handle, but it turns out I’m pretty good at it!”

Chara sighed fondly. For such a big flirt, Frisk wasn’t great at picking up on hints.

“How has your stay at the lab been?” Asgore said.

“Pretty fun, actually. Clover and I have been catching up. Well, I’ve been catching them up anyway; not much new with them. Alphys just told me how the whole Flower thing happened, so that was pretty neat too. Still not entirely sure how she came up with that test. The other kids are pretty cool too. This girl Abigale’s a trip. Like some kind of anime protagonist. Real firry.”

“She’s the one with the boxing gloves, right?” Frisk said.

“That’s the one. She, Lily, and I were talking about boxing a little while ago. Did you know the gloves don’t actually make the punches hurt less? They just protect your hands. Apparently bare-knuckle boxing is safer because they can’t punch as hard without hurting themselves.”

“I once broke my hand punching someone” Natalia said casually. She did not elaborate.

“Well It’s good you’re enjoying yourself” Asgore said. “We’ll stop by to see you before Frisk and Chara head off to Olympia tomorrow.”

“Oh right, you two are meeting the governor.”

“Yeah, kinda nervous about that” Frisk said.

“Yes, the governor is certainly a… spirited individual from what we’ve heard” Toriel said.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Frisk, you’ve met politicians before, right?” Chara said.

“Well yeah at like dinners, and stuff. Nothing like this though.”

“Given what I know about the governor, I don’t think it’ll be too big a deal. He seems pretty cool. Politics seem a lot more laid back nowadays.”

“I guess in the red zones they are, by comparison. Still, governors are more important than in your time, what with the-“

“Collapse of all internal order in America? Yeah, I noticed. Still, I think it’ll be fun! Did you hear what he said to the Jefferson Governor after the emergence?”

“How did you hear about that!?” Toriel said aghast.

“The clip was all over YouTube or whatever it’s called now. ‘WeTube’? That’d fit the Communism gimmick.”

“Hey now, we don’t name everything after Communism” Natalia said.

“So what’s it called?” Chara said smugly.

Natalia hesitated.

“Ok it is WeTube but that’s just because someone thought of the same joke.”

“Ha!”

“You’re in an awfully good mood lately” Flowey said.

“Huh? Yeah, I guess” Chara said.

“Something happen?” Flowey said smugly.

“Uh…” Chara began to look embarrassed.

“Something you want to share with your brother, maybe?”

“Uh…” They were sweating now. They no longer made eye contact with the screen.

“I found it!” Miguel said, returning with the knife. He looked far too chipper for someone holding a large knife. “Looks great, right? They even nailed the wrapping, that’s tricky! What are we talking about?”

“Chara was just about to tell us why their in such a good mood toady” Flowey said, leaning away from the screen.

“Oh yeah, I noticed that! It’s good to see you in high spirits!”

“Uh… thanks.”

“So what is it then, Chara?” Flowey continued.

Chara was beginning to wonder if Flowey genuinely wanted to know or was just finding a less harmful way to fulfill their innate urge to sow chaos.

“I’m actually curious myself” Asgore said. “It’d be good if we found something that makes you this upbeat.”

They scratched their head.

“I mean, it kinda usually only happens once but-

“Ok now I’m curious” Frisk said.

Chara stared at Frisk incredulously.

“Seriously?”

Frisk thought for a second.

“Oh right! Yeah, Chara and I confessed to each other yesterday!” They said casually.

Chara went white with shock. They looked like an anime character, completely bereft of color, or defined facial features. A large bead of sweat formed on their forehead.

Did they really just tell everyone like that? No hesitation whatsoever?

There was a brief pause, while everyone’s focus shifter to Chara.

Oh no, they thought. They froze in anticipation of the reaction of Frisk’s parents.

“Aha! That’s my kid! I knew you had it in you!” Natalia said, slapping Frisk on the shoulder.

“Thanks mom.” Frisk chuckled nervously.

“I told ya it’d be easy” Flowey said.

“Hold on, you knew!?” Chara shouted at the screen.

Miguel laughed. “We all did. Neither of you hid it very well.”

“I uh, may have asked them for advice” Frisk said sheepishly.

Toriel swept Chara up into an embrace before they could respond.

“Oh my darling! You two are growing up so fast!”

“I’ve been fourteen for a hundred years!” Chara said.

“Oh you know what I mean” she said dismissively. “I’m so happy for you two!”

“Thanks” Chara said as they were released from the hug. They weren’t entirely sure how to respond in this situation.

“I suppose we may be welcoming Frisk into the family after all!” Asgore said.

Everyone turned to him in astonishment. Frisk and Chara’s jaws dropped to the floor.

“Too soon?”

“They haven’t even had a first date yet” Miguel said.

“Hm, I suppose you’re right.”

“You suppose!?” Chara said.

Frisk burst out laughing. They’d be lying if they said the thought hadn’t occurred to them.

Natalia was about to comment when her phone buzzed.

“Hello?”

She went silent for a moment, her face turned pale as a ghost.

“Yes, yes, I see. Thank you, comrade captain.”

“What is it?” Miguel said.

“IS something the matter?” Toriel said in a worried tone.

Natalia took on a serious expression.

“Grab a weapon and get to the basement, now!”

Anthony echoed the destination into the computer, and the squad car set off, its sirens blaring as it thundered down the road.

“I WONDER HOW HE COULD HAVE ESCAPED” Papyrus said.

Anthony shrugged.

“Beats me. They had him cuffed to the bed, he’d have to break through solid steel.”

“COULD HE REALLY DO SUCH A THING? THE ONLY ONE I KNOW CAPABLE OF SUCH A THING IS UNDYNE. AND MAYBE ONIONSAN.”

“I dunno man, but I don’t like it either way. Be ready for anything, I’m counting on ya.”

“FEAR NOT HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE EVER VIGILENT!”

Anthony grinned despite himself.

“Good, let’s do this.”

Anthony echoed the destination into the computer, and the squad car set off, its sirens blaring as it thundered down the road.

“I WONDER HOW HE COULD HAVE ESCAPED” Papyrus said.

Anthony shrugged.

“Beats me. They had him cuffed to the bed, he’d have to break through solid steel.”

“COULD HE REALLY DO SUCH A THING? THE ONLY ONE I KNOW CAPABLE OF SUCH A THING IS UNDYNE. AND MAYBE ONIONSAN.”

“I dunno man, but I don’t like it either way. Be ready for anything, I’m counting on ya.”

“FEAR NOT HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE EVER VIGILENT!”

Anthony grinned despite himself.

“Good, let’s do this.”

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the scene. They pulled up right in front of a police barricade, next to Firewalker. They exited their vehicles at once.

“What’s the situation?” Hector said to one of the officers.

“Suspect is believed to be on the premises. The building has been mostly evacuated but several patients could not be moved. There are an unknown number of injured personal on sight as well, including the suspect’s doctor. Suspect is displaying an inordinate level of strength. One eyewitness described the suspect as having two broken cuffs on their arms.”

“SO HE REALLY DID BREAK THROUGH THOSE CHAINS?”

She nodded.

“Sure looks that way. They were giving him some experimental treatment the institute cooked up with monster food. Not sure how it’d cause this though.”

“Armed?” Hector said.

The officer shrugged.

“Dunno. Nobody’s seen him with a weapon, but there’s tons of stuff in there he could use as one. I’d assume armed and dangerous if I were you.”

He nodded. “What about SWAT?”

“On their way. We’re not to enter the building until they arrive but if he comes out-“  

 “-we take him out” Hector finished. “Alright team, let’s- “

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the air, followed by a cry of rage, and a loud *thud* on the pavement.

“Go go go!” Hector shouted. The seven officers stormed past the barricade and into the fray.

As they reached the parking lot, they saw Tanner rising to his feet. He looked nothing like he had when the officers last saw him. His injuries had seamlessly heeled, and his formerly sallow skin was now healthy and full of color. The bags under his eyes had disappeared. The magic had restored him to his physical prime. Still, it didn’t look like she should have been able to come out of that fall unscathed.

The officers surrounded him and readied their weapons. Hector took the lead.

“ECCM! Get down on your knees and put your hands over your head! Now!”

Tanner’s eyes widened as he heard the voice. He turned his attention to the officers. His eyes glowed and unearthly purple.

“YOU!”

He charged at the group, screaming in rage.

Undyne glanced at Papyrus.

“You ready for this?”

Papyrus glanced at her and smirked.

“OF COURSE!”

The officers opened fire with their pistoles, wishing to God they’d brought their bigger guns. The bullets pierced him, causing him to jolt with the impact, and sending blood spatter across the pavement. Yet it barely seemed to slow him down, as though he barely felt the pain. Undyne fired off a round of spears, which pierced his skin and muscle, but to even less avail.

He crashed into Ari at full speed, sending him flying. He crashed to the ground and groaned in agony.

“Shit!” Kyoko shouted, unloading several rounds into him, none managing to strike his vital areas. He turned to charge her as she reloaded, and she managed to strafe out of the way in the nick of time.

“Scatter!” Hector shouted. The officers followed his command and spread out, dividing Tanner’s attention.

After a moment’s deliberation, he charged Papyrus and Anthony.

Papyrus launched his counterattack, sending several ethereal, bone-shaped projectiles that protruded from the floor and descended from on high. The attack caught Tanner completely off guard. They all hit him head on. He staggered back, completely disoriented. Another burst of spears hit him from behind, one grazing the side of his head cutting into the bone. A little to the right and he’d be dead.

“Get down!” Anthony shouted. Papyrus ducked as Anthony loaded a fresh mag into his gun and fired off three shots. The bullets hit tanner in the abdomen, knocking him to the floor.

“Nice one, man!” Anthony said.

“THANK YOU, HUMAN. YOU… PERFORMED ADMIRABLY AS WELL!” Papyrus said nervously, feeling rather uneasy the bloody display.

Anthony patted him on the back.

“You alright man?”

“I... SORRY, IT’S JUST… I NEVER… I’VE NEVER SEEEN-“

“A dead body?”

“YES, A DEAD BODY. I KNEW HUMANS DON’T DUST WHEN THEY DIE, LIKE WE DO BUT I’VE NEVER SEEN IT HAPPEN BEFORE. IT IS NO LESS DISTURBING.”

In truth, Papyrus had ever seen anyone die, human or monster. Yet somehow, he felt intimately aware with what seeing one dusted felt like. How deeply troubling it was to watch their bodies dissolve into a fine powder. This was a similar feeling.

“Yeah, it’s always rough the first time” Anthony said, finding some irony in a skeleton being put off by death.

Alexei rushed over to help Ari to his feet while the others cautiously approached Tanner. Masaki was tempted to put a round in his head, just to be safe, but their job wasn’t to kill him.

Ari moaned as Alexei helped him to his feet.

“You alright?” Alexei said.

“I think so. Didn’t land on my head. Nothing feels broken. Guess it’s a good thing we’re at a hospital in any case, eh?”

Alexei chuckled at the remark.

“Yeah, maybe you can get whatever they gave him, да?”

 Undyne, Hector, Papyrus, Masaki, and Anthony gathered around Tanner’s broken body, cautiously training their weapons on him.

A faint, agonized moan escaped his throat, the pain finally registering to him.

“Holy shit, he’s still alive!” Kyoko said.

“Not for long” Hector said grimly. “I give him a minute or two, tops. Maybe the doctors can help, but I doubt they could even get set up in time.”

As he finished speaking, Tanner’s leg shot out, knocking Hector’s legs out from under him. He was barely able to break his fall with his arms.

Tanner shot up with inhuman speed. Before anyone could react, he delivered a swift punch to Kyoko’s stomach, knocking the wind out of her. He grabbed Anthony by the arm as he tried to aim his pistol. With a quick, almost effortless motion, he snapped it at the elbow, a sickening wet pop ringing out, followed by a blood curdling scream. Anthony doubled over in pain and Tanner used the opening to grab him by the neck.

Undyne jabbed at him with her spear, but it was unwieldy at such close range. Tanner laughed sadistically at the failed attempt to save her comrade and began to squeeze Anthony’s neck. He could feel his windpipe strain under the superhuman grip. In just a second more, it’d be crushed entirely.

Fortunately, it wouldn’t last that long. Tanner felt pain shoot through his legs as a familiar bone attack phased through him. He dropped Anthony reflexively and turned to Papyrus, who glared at him intensely.

Tanner rushed him. Papyrus narrowly avoided his attack and countered with his own. Tanner was wise to it now. He leapt the first group of bones, and the next, and the next, until one grazed his right foot. He tumbled to the ground.

“NYEH HEH HEH! SURRENDER, HE WHO TANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO ENDANGER THE LIVES OF THESE PEOPLE ANYMORE!”

The others watched in astonishment as Papyrus beamed with pride. This was it, his first true mission as a royal guardsman, and it had been a resounding success.

Undyne couldn’t help but smile. After all these years spent training with her, of refusing to give up in the face of constant failure and ridicule, even after the Guard itself ceased to be, he had finally achieved his dream.

Her pride turned to horror however, as her gaze shifted to Tanner.

“Look out!” she shouted.

Papyrus turned to her in confusion as Tanner rose to his feet once more. A quick punch to the ribs and he was knocked flat on his rear pelvic bone. Pain shot through his bones from the impact.

“Papyrus!” Undyne shouted.

Tanner began to cackle madly.

“This power, this strength! I’ve never felt anything like it! This must be what it’s like when you pump someone with superior blood full of magic. Now, I am unstoppable, and I’m gonna tear through you lousy bastards until I bring this entire commie hellscape down on your heads! First you, then your demon king and his bride, and those mutant devil children they corrupted! All of you will fall before the might of the superior people!”

For the first time, his deranged ramblings actually shook the officers. If they didn’t stop him now, he’d pose a very real threat to the city.

Alexei and Ari rushed to Undyne’s side; weapons drawn.

Tanner charged them, heedless of the barrage of spears and bullets that slammed into his body. They were starting to hurt more and more, and pain shot through his leg from his ankle.

Undyne noticed a stagger in his run. Papyrus’s attack must have sprained or even broken his ankle.

Undyne readied her spear to meet her opponent head on. It’d be bad if he landed a punch. Tough as she was, she was still a monster, and physical attacks were the bane of her existence. Still, it likely wouldn’t kill her, especially with her armor. If what Chara had told her about the past timelines was true, she’d faced someone with similar strength before, and she’d put up one hell of a fight.

Whatever the case, she couldn’t back down. Tanner had to be stopped here for the sake of everyone living in Ebbot. His remarks about the Dreemurs and Frisk only strengthened her resolve. She would allow no harm to come to them, to anyone, human or monster, even if it cost her life to stop him. No matter what happened, he would not escape.

As he neared the three officers, Undyne jabbed at his bad leg. The tip punctured his foreleg, and he recoiled in pain, no longer able to suppress the feeling. He roared in rage and tried to tackle Undyne to the ground, but he was too slow, too off balance. Undyne managed to dodge his attack. His coordination was failing, his head began to feel light. His hospital gown was drenched in blood and could soak in no more.

No, no! I won’t lose! Not like this! Not to them!

His eyes darted to Alexei, who was reloading his gun.

Take him out first, then the other guy. This bitch aint shit without her lackies.

He tackled Alexei, who looked up too late to react. He began pummeling him, planning to reduce him to a stain on the pavement. He slammed his fist into his face, the blow fracturing his skull. Alexei’s vision blurred and warped, and it was only by a miracle he wasn’t unconscious or even dead.

Tanner pulled back his fist for another punch, grinning in anticipation.

“You know, aside from the fish, I wanted to kill you the most” he said venomously. “Any last words, you Russian dog?”

Alexei spat in Tanner’s face.

“Fuck you, сука! Long Live the revolution!”

Tanner snarled, and punched at Alexei’s face, but before it could connect, something smacked him in the face, knocking him back.

“NYE HEH HEH!” Came a familiar voice.

“You!” Tanner growled.

“YES, IT IS I! IT’LL TAKE MORE THAN A SINGLE PUNCH TO TAKE DOWN THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

Tanner shifted his focus to papyrus and Ari. He could feel his strength fading. It wouldn’t be long before he was down for good, and he knew it.

“God damn you freaks! If I’m goin’ down, I’m takin’ you with me!”

He charged once more, dodging the next couple of bones. Ari took aim and shot, grazing Tanner’s shoulder. He pulled the trigger again, only to be met with the click of an empty chamber. He growled in frustration and fought to reload in time, but it was too late. Tanner was bearing down on him, going in for the kill.

He let out a roar of triumph as he raised his arms to deliver the killing blow, only for it to be cut short by a sudden, unbearable pain. He looked down and saw a bloody spear jutting out of his chest.

Air looked up, his vision coming in and out of focus. His savior, a tall, imposing armored figure towered above the kneeling Tanner, clutching the spear, her expression hidden behind her visor.

Tanner choaked, fighting for breath as the feeling disappeared from his body, cut off by the severing of his spinal cord. His heartbeat had been suddenly, violently halted and blood gushed out into his chest cavity. Blood welled up in his mouth and dribbled out onto his gown.

Ari watched as the glow faded from his eyes and his body went limp.

Chapter Text

Chara and Frisk were busy packing for their flight to the capital. The events of the previous day were still fresh in their minds.

It had been an odd situation. Frisk and Chara felt that their parents were more worried for them than they were. It was easy to forget that the two innocent-looking middle schoolers were seasoned combatants capable going toe to toe with all four adults in the room. It was telling that Frisk, by far the less imposing, more innocent seeming of the duo, still reacted to the news by grabbing their trusty frying pan from the kitchen. The two spent the duration of the incident standing side-by-side, weapons at the ready. Their energy was of two comrades in arms ready to face the next challenge, rather than that of frightened children.

Nonetheless, the event had unnerved them. Frisk feared fighting again, knowing what they were both capable of. And the news of Tanner’s fate disturbed them as much as their sudden display of powers. He hadn’t been a good man; he’d tried to kill them after all. Still, they couldn’t help but wish there had been another way.

Chara was troubled for different reasons entirely. They didn’t mourn Tanner. Not at all. They bore him nothing but hatred, and they found themself hoping, for a moment, that there was a hell, and that he was burning in it. They remembered the rage they’d felt when he’d tried to attack Frisk. The uncontrollable fury with which they’d attacked him. Brutalized him. And that was what scared them.

Their LOVE was high, and they knew it. They’d long since lost the sense of tension ad hesitation that came with killing, and the sickening feeling that followed. They remembered their first kill. They could barely bring themself to do it, and they’d felt utterly sick afterwards as the Froggit turned to dust. They didn’t get that feeling anymore. There was no hesitation, no disgust. When they were down in that basement, ready to strike, they hadn’t prepared to fight, they’d prepared to kill. They had planned to go for the throat as soon as he walked through that door. They considered no other option, no other solution. He entered, he died.

They were terrified of themself. Terrified of what they could become. What they could go back to being. Was anyone truly safe around them? They feared hurting the ones they loved again.

Once Chara finished packing, they let out a tense sigh.

“All finished here. You sure you really need all of that? We’re only staying for a few days” Chara said to Frisk, who was struggling to fit what appeared to be half a dresser’s worth of clothes in with their toiletries and a gaming console.

“That’s what everyone always says and then bang! You’re wearing your dirty laundry because you went through too many extra pairs.”

“Speaking from experience?” Chara said coyly.

Frisk met their gaze with a thousand-yard stare.

“It’s happened more times than I can count.”

“Here, let me help you with that” Chara said, joining Frisk’s struggle with the zippers. Through their combined efforts, they successfully sealed the suitcase, if only barely.

“Thanks” Frisk said, wiping their brow.

“Don’t mention it” Chara said.

Soon, they began their herculean task of transporting their luggage down the stairs. Many grunts and shouts of frustration were heard upstairs, as was the *thunk thunk thunk*of the suitcase rolling down the stairs.

The Dreemurs and the Abdulovs watched in confusion as the kids transported the suitcases. Watching the kids who’d beaten all four of them in single, or double combat struggle in such a way was quite the sight.

“I am not looking forward to this part of the job” Chara said, rolling the case into the foyer.

Toriel laughed.

“Alright you two, let’s get going. We still need to stop by and visit Asriel before your flight.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot about that” Frisk said.

“Good thing you had me around to help with the packing, eh?” Chara said, nudging them playfully.

“Oh no! it seems I have finally met my match” Frisk said, striking a dramatic pose. “The hero of the Underground, defeated by luggage! Curse my overcautiousness! Save me oh valiant hero! Only you can defeat this mighty foe!”

Chara burst out laughing, despite the slight embarrassment.

“Alright you goofball, let’s get going.”

                                                                    Meanwhile, at the hospital

“They’re all in here” the nurse said, opening the door for Undyne .

“Thanks” Undyne said nervously. She entered the room, greeted by Papyrus, Anthony, and Alexei lying in hospital beds. Kyoko, Ari, and Hector were already in the room with them.

Undyne let out a sharp breath as she took in the sight. All of the officers were in rough shape.

Anthony’s arm was in a large cast, and he had a lot of bruising around the neck. The doctors kept him overnight for observation.

Alexei’s head was wrapped in bandages. One eye was swollen shut. His ribs had been heavily fractured by the attack, and he’d suffered internal bruising in several different areas. He had required immediate surgical intervention to survive. He’d need quite some time to recover. Fortunately, he’d been allowed some monster food in his meals, though the nutrient solution they gave Tanner was off limits pending further study.

Papyrus was in oddly good shape for a monster that suffered physical damage. He had a full body cast for his damaged bones. Medical procedures for skeletons was surprisingly simple, and rather cartoonish.

Ari, Hector, and Kyoko were in better shape, but were still covered in scrapes and bruises. Kyoko’s stomach still hurt from Tanner’s punch.

“Hey guys” Undyne said timidly, still shaken from the events of the previous day.

“Hey there, Undyne” Anthony said. “Good to see ya, how’re you holding up?”

Undyne couldn’t help but laugh at the question. She had been the only one who escaped the fight uninjured.

“Alright I guess.”

“IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU!” Papyrus said. “DID YOU KNOW HUMANS HAVE THEIR OWN ICE-BASED DESSERTS? APPARANTLY, NICECREAM IS BASED OFF OF HUMAN TREATS CALLED ‘POPSICLES’ AND ‘ICE CREAM’. AND IN HOSPITALS, THEY GIVE YOU AS MUCH AS YOU WANT!”

Undyne noticed several popsicle wrappers and sticks lying around his bed. She picked up a wrapper. The label was styled like a Soviet propaganda poster, with two workers holding up the Sickle and Hammer, which were instead two red popsicles shaped in the form of each implement. The logo said ”PopSickle! The people’s favorite icy treat!” Another was similar, but with a large rocket-shaped popsicle in the foreground. The label read “Soyuz Pop! Blast your tastebuds to orbit!” At the bottom it read “Now with practical shape!”

“IT’S VERY GOOD, BUT THERE’S NO MESSAGE ON THE STICK! I MUST BRING THIS UP WITH THE COMPANY! SUCH A WASTE OF POTENTIAL!”

“That’s actually pretty neat” Undyne said.

“You should try one” Kyoko said. “Just uh, don’t break it in the bag. Sickles made of ice are pretty fragile.”

Anthony continued. “So how’ve you been since… well… you know…”

“You kebabbed that guy yesterday” Hector said.

“боже мой, Sarge! Why’d you have to put it like that!?” Alexei said, coughing a bit afterwards. “Ah сука, it hurts to talk. Got screws in my fucking bones.”

“Oh right…” Undyne said, her mood nervous and timid. She bowed her head to the side and gripped her left arm nervously. “I… I dunno really. It’s so strange. It still doesn’t feel real, you know?”

Ari nodded. “That’s the way it is.”

“I trained for this for years, you know. To fight humans, back when we thought you guys were our enemies. I thought… I thought it’d be easy. It wasn’t. Not at all.”

“That’s good” Hector said. “If you get too used to it, you can loose yourself. It’s not pretty.”

Undyne thought back to Chara during their conversation.

Ari seemed to be thinking of the same. “Hope the poor kid’s doing alright.”

“Yeah” Undyne said. “I was gonna give them a call after this, see how they’re holding up. Honestly, I’m surprised they didn’t call off the meeting.”

Alexei gave a pained laugh. “Those kids are hardened fighters! It’ll take more than this to scare them off!”

“Maybe Chara, but what about Frisk?” Hector said, remembering their fight with Flowey.

Alexei shook his head. “That kid is stronger than they look. Sure, they don’t have the bloodlust, but I can see it in their eyes, they’re hard as nails. It takes some real guts to stare your enemy in the face and have a conversation with them as they’re trying to kill you. They had to fight a few times too, right?”

“Yeah, they fought the king” Undyne said. “Back in the last timeline. Apparently, they fought a fair bit in the past timelines too. And I don’t remember much, but apparently their battle with Prince Asriel was totally epic! Even Chara thought it was amazing!”

“I STILL REMEMBER THE TIME WE FIRST FOUGHT. THEIR SKILL AND ENDURANCE IS TRULY SOMETHING TO BEHOLD!” Papyrus said. “TRULY A WORTHY OPPONENT FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS.”

“I heard they both fought the chief and her husband too” Kyoko said. “Frisk fought just as much as Chara did. Don’t underestimate them, they’re a pro.”

“Still, it’s a real shame what happened. All those resets, all that death, because of misunderstandings” Anthony said.

Undyne nodded solemnly. “Yeah, nobody thought they had a choice but to fight. We killed them so many times, and they killed us all. We’re lucky everything worked out at all. What if… what if this was the same thing?”

“You mean with Tanner?” Anthony said.

“Yeah like, what if there was a way to get  through to hm too? What if…?”

“You can’t spend all your time thinking about that stuff. Tanner made his choice. It’s not your fault” Hector said.

“But Chara made that kind of choice too! They lost it! They chose to kill everyone! Monster and human alike! Frisk chose to talk to them, and it worked! Chara… Chara is my friend. We put the past behind us. It wasn’t too late for them, what if it wasn’t for Tanner either?”

“I UNDERSTAND HOW YOU FEEL. I’LL ADMIT, THE SAME THING HAD BEEN BOTHERING ME TOO. I THINK WE ALL HOPED THIS COULD END WITHOUT BLOODSHED.”

“It’s not the same thing” Ari said.

“How do you know though!?” Undyne began to tear up. “We don’t know what he was thinking!“

“He seemed to be thinking about how much he wanted to kill me” Alexei said.

“Yeah but-“

“Look” Hector said. “You can’t dwell on this stuff forever. I get what you’re going through, believe me, but there’s nothing we could have done. He wasn’t listening, he wasn’t talking. We needed to fight.”

“I… I guess. It’s just…”

The others stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

“…This isn’t the first time I made this mistake.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” Papyrus said.

“When we first fought, well, in this timeline, they tried talking to me. I wouldn’t even hear them out. I just kept fighting. I think, I think I killed them. More than once actually.”

The room went eerily quiet. The silence was deafening, and lasted far longer than any would prefer.

“I had a nightmare last night. Tanner and I were fighting, but we were in Waterfall. I was winning, and I stabbed them, but when I looked again, Frisk was impaled on my spear. They had their red glowing eyes. I, I can still remember the look on their face as the glow died out. I think I- that I actually saw that once. I just didn’t remember. If they couldn’t reset then-“

“But they could” Kyoko said. “And I think they both probably feel the same about when you were on the other end of that fight.”

“Yeah, I know but this time nobody can reset. Nobody comes back. We only get one try to get it right. What if we didn’t?”

“Then that’s his fault” Alexei said.

Everyone turned to him.

“Tanner chose his path in life, where he ended up is his own doing. It’s not on you or anyone else to fix people like that. They have to want to change. You didn’t choose to fight him, he did. He chose not to surrender.”

“But Chara did that too! And Frisk said they even had a part in it! And look at them now! I could have killed our greatest allies! Both of them! They’re some of the greatest people I know! What if-?“

“Enough what ifs, Undyne” he said sternly. “Chara and Frisk became better people because they chose to. Sure, the kindness of others made them decide to make that choice, but it was still on them to make that change. You needed to give them a reason to, yes, given what started them down on that path to begin with, but they still needed to make that choice. No one person could resolve that conflict. All the goodwill in the world can’t help if the other side has none. Your conflict was a complicated one full of misunderstandings and fault on both sides. That’s not so for this one. Tanner, and people like him, they chose this path. They know there are other ways, and choose this one. They refuse to see the good in their fellow man, they want to see them as inferior, as enemies. They can learn whenever they want. They don’t even have history for which to base their grievances. Their predecessors were the aggressors the first time too. And even those with genuine grievances have no excuse, just more reason. Their sins are still their own!”

“I guess….”

“Tanner was a mass murderer, Undyne. He blew a hole in a subway tunnel and drowned countless people. Nothing he could do could make amends.”

“But what about-?“

“Chara and Frisk’s runs? That’s different. What they did was horrible, I’m not denying that. I dare say their body count was much higher than his, but if you need a reason for why it’s not the same, just look to the fact that we can have this conversation now.”

“THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT ITOLD SANS! JUST WITH FANCIER WORDING!” Papyrus said.

“So, because they could control time, none of it matters? They’re the only ones who get another chance?” Undyne said.

“Seems about right to me” Kyoko said.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Well ok, the fact that you came back does change things significantly. It doesn’t make using time powers to play god right in any way, just to be clear, but the permanence of death is kind of what makes it such a serious crime. So yeah, they can atone in ways Tanner could not. Eye for an eye and all that. Still, the reset would mean nothing without their will to change. Their decision to do better allowed them to use their power for good. They started on that path because of understandable fear, and with good intentions being strained. It’s the same for many of you monsters, that last part. You both had every reason to give up, to say ‘fuck ‘em” and serve only your own interests at the other’s expense. But you didn’t. And while the specific situation is unique, that doesn’t really change the general principle. To prevent harm to others, they had to reset, to try again. That means they can go farther without crossing the point of no return, but it also means their journey to right things takes as much effort as committing the act. And they persevered, nonetheless. They could have stopped at any time, let no one know of their sins, and accepted their ending, but they didn’t. That is what truly makes them better than Tanner could ever be.”

“I… I guess you’re right” Undyne said. “I guess I never thought about it like that.

Alexei nodded resolutely.

“Tanner could not reset the timeline, but he knew his victims posed no threat to him. The first time he tried to attack a real that, he was utterly unprepared. Sure, Chara is strong, but a great deal of his downfall was because he thought his victim easy prey. He had no reason to fight, no reason to believe force was necessary. All he had to do to prevent all of those deaths was not set the bomb. It literally took more effort, and put him in more potential danger, to hurt people than to do nothing or even try to help. Not only did he dig his own grave, but he did so when the ground was frozen beneath him. He marched uphill to his damnation.”

“YOU HAVE QUITE A WAY WITH WORDS, ALEXEI” Papyrus said.

“Спасибо! I took some classes on ethics and morality in college. I was considering becoming a commissar after my tour, but I decided I was needed here.”

Undyne smiled, feeling a little better now. “Thanks Alexei, that actually helped a lot.”

“Anytime, my friend, anytime. After all, saving my ass is why you’re having this trouble anyway.”

“Hey now, I don’t regret that! Just to be clear here” Undyne said rather forcefully.

“I know, it’s just-“

“If I’m not supposed to feel bad for stabbing someone, then you definitely shouldn’t feel bad for being attacked. Like you said, it’s his fault, not yours, so don’t go beating yourself up about it, you’re hurt bad enough as is.”

Alexei laughed. “Спасибо!”

“No problem! Oh uh, I gotta head out. Visiting hours are almost up.”

“Alright then. Good seeing ya” Anthony said.

The Others exchanged their goodbyes as Undyne, Hector, and Kyoko left the suite. Undyne was glad she had that conversation. She still felt awful about the incident, but she’d try not to blame herself for it going forward. With her head held high, she exited the hospital. She wanted to spend some time with Alphys since she had the day off.

The Dreemurs and the Abdulovs entered the lab. Flowey perked up at the sight of them in a way most uncharacteristic of his normal personality.

“Oh hey, you made it!”

“Of course we made it; I wouldn’t leaf my little brother hanging like that!” Chara said, walking up to the desk that held him.

Flowey rolled his eyes, but seemed noticeably less irritated by the pun than normal.

“hey there, kiddo” came a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see Sans standing in the corner, dressed in a lab coat, which he seemed to wear over his hoodie.

“Sans? What are you doing here?” Toriel said.

“just getting in touch with my roots if you know what i mean.”

Flowey took a deep breath inward. He promised Alphys he wouldn’t have another outburst.

“What do you mean? Were you a scientist or something?” Miguel said.

“We did see some cool tech in his bedroom” Frisk said.

“Oh yeah, we never did figure out what was up with that” Chara said.

“just a little project i was working on in my spare time. alphys is pretty interested in it actually.”

“Alright then” Chara said. “So how have the tests been going?”

“Pretty good actually. They say we’re almost ready to try tethering the others.”

“Do you have a SOUL right now? You seem… different somehow” Asgore said.

“Yeah, I noticed that too actually” Miguel said. “You’re less… I dunno, snarky? Ill tempered?”

“Huh? Yeah, I guess you’re right. No, no one’s here now. Lilly and I were just doing a test. I guess I’m just starting to… I dunno, remember having emotions? I don’t feel as… empty after the tests. It’s nice.”

“Interesting” Natalia said. “I get the whole empty feeling, but how does it irritate you if you have no emotions?”

“That’s… a good question, actually” Flowey said. “Discomfort and longing and anger and stuff like that are emotions, right? Weird.”

Natalia nodded, deep in thought.

“Hey uh, are you guys alright? I didn’t want to mention it, but you know what with that whole thing yesterday, I guess I should ask.”

“Everyone’s fine, thankfully” Asgore said. “That man, Tanner, was it? They stopped him before he could escape the hospital parking lot.”

“It was Undyne, Papyrus, and those officers who were with us  when we found you, remember them?”

“Oh yeah, those guys! I remember one of them dug me up and put me here in this pot. By force.”

“You were not cooperating” Natalia said.

“There was another guy too. Papyrus’s partner. Tony something. He was there at first contact.”

“Officer Pulaski, yes” Natalia said. “He sustained some injuries during the fight.”

“That sucks” Flowey said. “Must’ve been a tough fight. He had super strength or something, right? I heard he took out a lot of them. How’d they take him out, anyway?”

“Well…” Asgore started, considering how best to explain it.

Toriel cut in. “The officers, they met him at the scene and confronted him. They tried to get him to surrender, and when he didn’t, they-“

“Filled him full of lead” Chara said. “But he was too tough, right? The bullets only slowed him down. Took too long to kill him. He was just wailing on everyone. Then while he was fighting Alexei, that’s one of the officers, Undyne turned him into a shish kebab!”

Toriel and Asgore gave their child dirty looks. Natalia and Miguel tried and failed to suppress their surprised laughter. Frisk’s eyes were wide with shock.

“Huh?” Flowey said.

“Oh, a shish kebab is meat and sometimes vegetables skewered on a wooden stick. It comes from the Middle East. They’re really tasty.”

“Oh so you mean- pfft!” Flowey doubled over with laughter. “Ok yeah, now I get it. That’s- that’s so messed up Chara.”

“Chara!” Toriel said.

“Oh who am I offending, the Nazis?”

“They’ve… kinda got you there, Ms. Toriel” Frisk said.

“I was trying to explain it in a way that-“

“What, that I could handle? I think we’re all well past that, mom” Flowy said.

“He dun got you there” Clover chimed in, appearing in front of Miguel.

“Holy shi-“ He cut himself off. “A little warning next time kid, jeez!”

“Sorry ‘bout that. I can’t really talk until I appear.”

“Did you have to appear right in front of him though?” Lily said, manifesting next to them.

This was the first time anyone besides Toriel had seen Lily, though Asgore had seen pictures. She was a small brunet girl who looked to be about twelve or so. Her hair was tied into a ponytail with a faded red ribbon. She wore a teal t-shirt and a mid-length skirt.

“Lily! It’s so good to see you again!” Toriel said, kneeling down to meet her.

“Ms. Toriel! It’s so good to see you again! I… I’m sorry I ran away. I wasn’t thinking! Everything just happened so suddenly and-“

“It’s alright, child” Toriel said, trying to place a hand on her shoulder. It phased through, but it was the thought that counted. “I’m very happy to see you again” She said, tearing up.

Asgore in turn placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Oh, your majesty! It’s good to see you again!”

“Oh right, didn’t you two talk for a while when we last visited?” Toriel said, wiping her eyes.

“Yeah, we all did” Clover said. “They mostly talked about different species of flowers. Had a ton of fun with my name. You’d be surprised at how much trivia there is. Apparently, there’s over 300 species of ‘em.”

“Oh boy, they’re doing this again” Came Asher’s voice from behind Miguel.

“What the fu- Why do you people keep doing that!?“ Miguel said, turning to face a young boy wearing a green shirt and cargo shorts. He had short, black, curly hair.

“Well, the others startled you when they came from the front, so I figured…”

Miguel facepalmed. After a brief sigh, he realized something.

“Hold on, aren’t you the kid we saw in the picture at that sandwich shop?”

“Yes, this is Asher!” Toriel said. “His family built that shop.”

“So you’ve been there? How was it?” Asher said eagerly.

“They make a great pastrami on rye” Chara said.

“You’ve got taste, I’ll give you that’ he said back.

“You know, my dad was a pretty good cook too. We should swap recipes sometime.”

“You know it! Sometime after I get my body back.”

“Right. Hey, did you happen to have a frying pan when you fell?”

“Yeah, my lucky frying pan! You didn’t happen to find it, did you?”

“Yeah, and an apron” Frisk said.

“Yeah, that’s mine too. It’s surprisingly protective.”

“Frisk grabbed the pan when we heard Tanner got loose. I swear they were ready to beat him senseless with it!” Chara said.

“Our kid’s got some fight in them, that’s for sure” Natalia said.

“We’ve raised them well” Miguel added.

Asher laughed. “That’s awesome! You two are like a battle couple from an anime!”

Chara and Frisk both blushed intensely.

“Wat wait wait, you two are dating, right?” Lily said. “It would be like, super awkward if you weren’t. Like, you at least confessed right? This isn’t news to you two? The whole crush thing?”

Frisk burst out laughing. “Everyone really knew except us!”

Chara couldn’t help but smile as well. “Yeah yeah, don’t worry, we both told each other a couple days ago.”

“Phew! Good, that’s a relief.”

“Trust me, it’s a relief for all of us” Natalia said.

“Any longer and we were going to start placing bets” Miguel added.

“Huh!?” Chara said.

“Hey now, we weren’t supposed to tell them about that” Asgore said.

“You too, dad!?”

“Come to think of it” Frisk said, ignoring the conversation entirely, “how are you guys manifesting? None of you are in a body right now.”

“That is interesting, isn’t it?” Doctor Harris said, entering the lab.

“Oh, hello there Doctor. I was wondering where everyone was” Toriel said.

“Dr, Alphys took the day off to be with Undyne after… you know” He said, trying to be discreet.

“The kebabbing?” Clover said.

“Clover!” Toriel said.

“What? I thought that’s what we were calling it now!” They said, with a smile betraying false innocence.

Toriel sighed. “Can’t you at least try to be more sensitive?”

“To who, the Nazis?” Harris said.

“That’s what I said!” Chara said.

Toriel took a deep breath in. Everyone held their breath as they prepared for the scolding.

“You-“

“Hey, would you look at the time! We really must be going, or we’ll miss their check-in time!” Natalia cut in, winking at the children.

“Fine, but I-“

“Before we go, you were going to explain how the children could manifest, doctor?”

“Oh right, yes!” Harris said, eager to avoid any further argument. “It was actually Lily’s theory. She shows a remarkable aptitude for the field.”

Lily blushed and bowed her head bashfully.

“She hypothesized that the tethered SOULs would have some lingering connection with the body they were first tethered in, regardless of whether it’s the original body of either SOUL. This is at odds with our initial assumption that only their being tethered together would keep them contained within the host. We weren’t sure at first, but further testing lends credence to this theory.”

“Oh my! Lily, you came up with that theory yourself?” Toriel said, forgetting her earlier ire.

“Yeah. It’s nothing, really.”

“Nothing? My dear this tremendous! You developed a working theory in a budding scientific field at the age of twelve!”

“I just kinda figured it made sense…”

“This is amazing!” Toriel said. “We’ll need to celebrate as soon as you’re back with us!”

Lily was smiling now, her face an even deeper shade of red. She wasn’t used to this sort of praise.

“Th-thank you, Ms. Toriel. Really, thank you!”

Toriel nodded, returning the smile.

“We have to head out now, but we’ll be sure to visit soon.”

Lilly nodded resolutely.

“Right! I’ll see you then!”

Chara couldn’t help but smile as they departed, bidding farewell to their parents and entering the rather high-end diplomatic car sent from the capital. They were liking the other Fallen Children. They weren’t sure if the feeling was mutual or not, but they hoped they could all be friends afterwards.

It was strange, they thought. The lost children were all from vastly different time periods, so many years apart that it was unlikely they’d have lived to meet any of them. They’d have been elderly by the time they met Asher, and the others fell a while after him. The only ones who fell relatively close to each other were Clover and Lazlo. How would they manage in this strange future?

As they took their seat next to Frisk, they gazed out the window at the city surrounding them. It looked so alien. So different from what they used to call home. The sprawling metropolis before them was so much more than they ever thought their hometown capable of. They saw so much that wasn’t even possible in their time. Sentient AI, robots, drones, and automated vehicles abounds, architecture that looked from afar like that of their own time, and yet so different up close. They passed by a construction site that appeared more like a giant 3D printer, the structure slowly completing itself as the machines from above fed it material. They felt dizzy, utterly lost and out of place. Did they really belong here?

“You alright?” Frisk said.

Chara snapped back to reality.

“Huh? Oh yeah. Sorry, just spacing out a bit” They said, smiling despite themself.

“Ah good. Let me know if something’s up, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah ok” Chara said, “thanks”.

Frisk put their hand on Chara’s, returning the smile. “Don’t mention it! You’re here for me, and I’m here for you. We’re partners, right?“

Chara began to tear up with joy. Their doubts began to retreat from the foreground of their mind for now. With Frisk by their side, they didn’t feel so lost anymore. They were like an anchor, keeping them from going adrift. With them, they felt secure, like they belonged. They were the only person, at least the only human, they’d felt that with in a long time.

“Yeah, definitely.”

Chapter Text

Undyne entered her and Alphys’s apartment, where they’d been living since emergence. They weren’t actually married, having only started dating a few months ago, but they had grown rather close rather quickly however, so one could easily make the mistake. For such a new couple, they adjusted to living together rather well all things considered.

Undyne had put the idea of living together forward to the housing committee, to make room for the other monsters. She had figured that since they were dating, they’d make better roommates. How big a step this was in their relationship was completely lost on her at the time. Still, her logic proved sound as many monsters did require roommates. Had they not moved in together, Alphys’s most likely roommate would have been a Jerry who lived down the hall.

As Undyne entered the living room, she heard a slight commotion from the kitchen area. Several crashing sounds, the clatter of cutlery, several loud booms, and the loud screech of metal on metal that made Undyne grimace. The sloshy, foamy sound of a fire extinguisher followed by nervous mumbling capped off the cacophony.

“Al? You alright in there?”

“Oh Undyne! You’re here!” came a meek, nervous voice. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine! Just uh… just give me a second.”

Alphys hurriedly exited the kitchen carrying a bowl of chips and one of dip. She smiled at Undyne as she set the bowls down on the coffee table next to some other snacks and sodas before taking a seat.

 Undyne elected not to question the situation in the kitchen. She didn’t think she could handle anymore stress. She took a seat next to Alphys and let out a deep breath, relaxing a little, finally.

“You ready?” Alphys said excitedly.

Undyne smiled. “Totally!”

Alphys squeed with excitement. She’d wanted to show Undyne this anime for a while. She eagerly grabbed the remote for the tv. It was an odd setup, built directly into the wall. Apparently, this was common in modern human apartments.

“What was this show called again?” Undyne said, having forgotten in yesterday’s chaos. Fortunately she also forgot the entire plot synopsis Alphys had given her.

“Princess Tutu! Don’t let the title fool you, it’s really good!”

“Right, yeah. Hey, wasn’t Frisk wearing one of those when you went on your date with them?”

Alphys froze at the mention of that date. While it did end up getting her together with Undyne, it was still incredibly awkward to remember.

“I gotta admit, they really rocked it” Undyne said obliviously.

“Let’s just start the show” Alphys said.

The show was indeed very good. Before they knew it, they were on episode eight.

“This Fakir guy’s kind of a prick” Undyne said through a mouth full of chips.

“He’s actually a really good character later on, it just takes a while” Alphys said.

“Why’s he suck so much now?” Undyne said before chugging a soda.

“It’s important for his development. You’re not really supposed to like him yet.”

“Well it’s working.”

Alphys chuckled. “Yeah, that’s basically how I reacted too.”

“I like this Rue girl though, she’s evil, but in a cool way. I like the whole black feathers thing she’s got going.”

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be raven feathers. That’s a type of bird up here on the surface. Humans use them for dark and creepy motifs and scenery. Not sure why; they’re really friendly.”

“Is she secretly really friendly?”

“Kind of, actually. See it turns out that-“

“Hey! No spoilers! I already lucked out by forgetting after you said it the first time!”

“Right, sorry” Alphys said sheepishly.

“And she has no idea she does this stuff. I guess she’s nicer with her regular personality.”

They got through the rest of the episode without saying much else, enraptured by the confrontation between Rue, Fakir, and Duck. As the episode closed out, the conversation began anew.

“Wait, so why is it a big deal if she’s a duck? One of the teachers is a cat” Undyne said.

“That’s… actually a pretty good question” Alphys said. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the whole show, maybe it’ll make sense later? I think it has something to do with- oh right, we’re not at that part yet.”

Undyne grinned at her, proud that she’d managed to catch herself mid-spoiler.

“I’m gonna get some more snacks, don’t start the next episode without me!” she said as she headed for the kitchen.

“I won’t don’t worry!” Alphys said.

Undyne smiled as she grabbed another bag of chips from the pantry. She needed this outing; spending time with Alphys had lifted her spirits considerably. It’d probably be quite some time before she was back to feeling normal again, but this helped take her mind off of things, feel a little more normal.

Undyne took a glance around the kitchen; it really was quite a mess. The oven was open, with soot and char surrounding it. Several kitchen implements were scattered about. How Alphys had managed such a feat, she didn’t know. She took in a sharp breath through her teeth. This was a problem for tomorrow’s Undyne.

“You coming Undyne?” came Alphys’s voice from the living room.

Undyne’s smile returned as she made a few more selections from the pantry. At this rate, they’d finish the whole series in one day.

“Yeah, I’m on my way.”

Chapter Text

Chara and Frisk arrived in Olympia after a lengthy car ride. It was night when they arrived, and check-in couldn’t come soon enough. Honestly, it’d be a Godsend just to be able to stand up. Chara and Frisk stepped out of the car and stretched almost in unison.

Chara was once again taken aback by the sight of the futuristic city. They’d only been to Salem once or twice, but it was nothing like they remembered it. The grand city before them was a massive, sprawling metropolis that made Ebbot feel like… well what Ebbot used to be in their time.

The buildings were goliaths of metal and polymer materials that appeared to pierce the heavens themselves. Pathways formed across the buildings forming a sort of areal sidewalk, complemented by tracks where sleek looking monorails cruised along, stopping by extended sections of the pathway that seemed to serve as stops. Several buildings even had tunnels in their structure for the tracks. Chara got vertigo just looking at the shear size of it all. Some platforms were large enough that they could hold their own small structures. These suspicions were confirmed when Chara saw several lover platforms that contained small buildings. Greenhouses, shops, even a small open-air market. Large elevators lead between the pathways to the surface. For a moment, Chara wondered if they’d picked the perfect time to free the monsters. The humans had gone even further upwards.

The sky was filled with drones of varying sizes. Large ones carrying cargo, or smaller ones carrying passengers to God knows where. Even smaller drones, the ones that resembled the ones from Chara’s time, flew around like flocks of birds, appearing as mere specks compared to their larger brethren.

The city, large as it was, was chock full of dazzling beauty as well. There was nature everywhere, blending in seamlessly with the architecture. It was as though the forestry and city had merged as one. Whole sections of the buildings were covered in plant life, with whole vertical ecosystems stretching down the sides. The forestry broke up the urban juggernaut  periodically, joining up at points with the lower ends of the buildings where the vast vertical gardens met the floor, so that the forestry seemed to crawl upward onto the buildings. The apartments in sight had terraces with small, but complex and immaculately stewarded gardens full of a variety of homegrown produce. Even the pathways above had areas where nature had firm ground, with small parks and community gardens abound. It looked like something out of a solar punk novel. Chara couldn’t help but wish Asgore were with them; it was doubtless he’d love it. They’d have to arrange a trip sometime in the future.

“Holy shit” they said numbly.

“I know! It’s pretty amazing, right!?” Frisk said cheerfully.

“You’re telling me! The Olympia from my time was-“

“Your luggage, comrade.”

A robotic voice startled Chara, cutting off their train of thought.

“Wha! Who said that!?” They said, turning to see a four-legged robot with a large platform on its back, reminiscent of a luggage cart.

Frisk giggled as they put their suitcase atop the robot. Chara hesitantly did the same.

“Thank you, please come this way, comrade” the robot said as they entered the hotel, which was far closer in size to what Chara was familiar with, though still rather large for a hotel.

“You guys really go all the way with the communist lingo” Chara said.

“Huh? Oh you mean the robot? Yeah, it’s just easier to call everyone that than sir or madam or stuff like that if you don’t know genders.”

“Wish everyone was so considerate back when I was alive. First alive I guess” Chara said.

“Times started changing around then, didn’t they?” Frisk said.

“Started being the operative word” Chara said as they entered the elevator. “It was still pretty rough for a lot of us, and being the denizen of a small town in nowhere, Washington, things weren’t easy.”

“Oh, yeah I guess that makes sense” Frisk said, their tone becoming more downcast.

“Yeah, a lot of bullying, teachers silently endorsing it, there were defenders too, more open-minded people, but I never had a lot of friends so most of them couldn’t be there when I needed them. I think looking back, I didn’t really give them enough credit. They did what they could.”

“Damn, I’m really sorry Chara, that sounds awful” Frisk said.

Chara smiled wryly. “Don’t sweat it, I think you’ll find there’s not much you could’ve done. You know because-”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

“My mother took it the worst out of everyone. My dad was an openminded type, he accepted me immediately. Mom on the other hand…” Chara grimaced at the memories.

The elevator came to a stop, the robot exited the car and headed off to the room.

“Right this way, comrades.”

The two were quiet as they went to the room. Chara felt immensely awkward while Frisk felt it wrong to press the matter.

The robot scanned a card and unlocked the door with a previously hidden appendage.

“Your room, comrades.” It handed Chara the card and grabbed a copy for Frisk. “Your keys, comrades.”

“Neat robot” Chara said as they collected the suitcases. The robot left shortly afterwards.

“Please enjoy your stay.”

Chara and Frisk began unpacking. Frisk, for some reason, saw fit to put all of the clothing in the dresser, instead of keeping it in the suitcase. It took about fifteen minutes total to get everything set up.

“Whew!” Frisk said, plopping down on the bead. “Maybe I did go a bit overboard with the packing.”

Chara chuckled. “You think? Hey listen…”

“What’s up?” Frisk said curiously.

“I uh, about what I said, if things got a bit too personal I-“

Frisk cut them off with a gesture. “It’s fine, you can tell me anything, remember?”

“Oh” Chara said, relieved. “Good. That’s good.”

Frisk noticed some hesitation in their voice.

“Is there something else you wanted to tell me?”

Chara hesitated, but honestly, they did. They really did. They’d never talked to anyone before, either out of fear or because they didn’t think anyone cared. They hadn’t wanted to burden anyone else by venting to them, but by now it was clear Frisk wanted to listen. No matter how hard it was for their mind to accept it, Frisk clearly cared for them, and they’d already been through so much together. If they could talk to anyone about this, it was Frisk. Though they were still anxious about how Frisk would react, they decided to take the plunge. They took a deep breath before speaking.

“Ok, here it goes. What I said about my mother earlier… it didn’t do it justice. Life was hell with her after dad died. You know my nightmares?”

“Yeah…” Frisk said. They were well acquainted by this point.

“Yeah, those” Chara said with a twinge of guilt. “Well, I know what I say in them, or some of it at least. I remember one you woke me up from a little ways back.”

Frisk nodded; they knew which one they meant. They hadn’t wanted to talk about it before, but Frisk suspected they knew what it was about.

“Ok so… my mom was really traditional. She had a certain idea about how boys and girls should act, what they should like, their manners, all that garbage. She wanted me to be the perfect daughter. She wanted me to wear dresses and play with dolls and grow up to be a housewife and all that shit. Naturally, that made things pretty difficult at times.”

Frisk nodded. They’d read what it was like for people like Chara and them back in the day. Still, this was their first firsthand account.

Chara took a moment before continuing. “She’d always get me girl’s stuff. Dresses and skirts and whatever fashionable girl’s shoes she could afford. I didn’t hate that stuff, I actually liked a lot of it, but  something about it just felt wrong, like it wasn’t enough, you know? Something was missing. I didn’t know why at the time, but looking back on it, it felt like there was a part of me that just didn’t mesh well with being feminine, exclusively at least. My dad said maybe I was a tomboy or something. Said some girls didn’t like the usual girl stuff. And I mean, it made sense. I saw a lot of girls at my school who were like that. Didn’t really care what was for which gender and sorta did as they pleased. It sounded pretty great.”

“So what’d you do after that?”

“Well, I started spending a lot of time with my dad. Turns out, we both had a thing for videogames, and knives but you knew about that.”

Frisk chuckled a bit. Chara did so in kind.

“You should have seen the look on my mom’s face when dad bought me jeans and a t-shirt. She wasn’t mad or anything, just really confused. Even more so when I liked them. It’s not like I’d never worn that stuff before, but they were for guys. Dad didn’t think it was a big deal, and neither did I. Girls wore guy clothes all the time. Mom thought it was weird for a girl to wear guy’s clothes. She compared it to a guy wearing a skirt. I didn’t see the issue there either.”

“What is the issue there?” Frisk said.

Chara shrugged. “Fuck if I know. Back then, that was kind of how people thought. Guy’s stuff could be for everyone, but girl’s stuff was… less so. Like, there were a ton who thought it was fine, like, tons of guys were into girl’s shows or books or whatnot. They got a ton of flack for it from some people, but by this point, it was basically normal for most people. Clothing was a bit more contentious. No one knew why, that’s just what they were used to.”

“So how’d your mom take it?” Frisk asked nervously.

“Not well” Chara said with a sour expression. “She didn’t like, yell at me or anything, but I could see how she looked at me, like she was disappointed anytime I wore the stuff dad got me. Got even worse when I started mixing and matching. No one else thought that was odd really, but my mom hated it. I’d hear her argue with my father about it all the time. Said he was turning their ‘daughter’ into a freak.”

“Oh my God” Frisk said, utterly stunned.

“Yeah, it stung. Eventually she started trying to win me over by saying that even if I liked that stuff, it was bad for a girl to do those things. That happened to some girls in my school with their parents. They changed their tune pretty quickly. I didn’t get why. This one girl in my class, Lisa, I think her name was, used to wear hot topic stuff all the time and listen to metal and stuff. She was one of my only friends. Then one day she gave that all up. It felt wrong to her. When we were talking about it, I asked why it mattered. She didn’t know, just that she felt like less of a girl somehow, that people wouldn’t like her. We talked about it every so often. I was curious, and honestly kind of worried for her. Eventually, she went back to her old self, said something I’d said made her realize that her interests didn’t make her less of a girl. I was happy for her, but I couldn’t help but feel like we were still on different wavelengths.”

Chara looked to check if Frisk was still interested. This was taking longer than they had intended. Frisk still seemed no less engrossed in the story than before.

“You alright?” They said.

“Yeah, just uh, never mind. As I was saying, Lisa and I weren’t quite on the same page. I agreed with her, mind you, but there was something else. Lisa was afraid of feeling less like a girl, and that’s what my mom expected. What she wanted, I guess. I wasn’t though. If anything, I was glad to be seen as less like a girl, and the more I thought about it, being called a girl didn’t feel right at all. You uh, probably saw that coming.”

Frisk nodded. It wasn’t exactly a twist.

Chara laughed a bit. “Anyway, Lisa’s parents weren’t happy about her change in attitude, so they said I wasn’t allowed to hang out with her anymore. We still did from time to time. I was afraid, but she didn’t seem to care. My mom was pissed too. I think that was the first time she actually yelled at me. Obviously, I never told her how I felt. My dad took it much better. Said that he loved me no matter how I felt about myself.” They wiped a tear from their eye and continued.

“You miss him” Frisk said.

“Yeah, yeah, I do. I love the Dreemurs, I consider them my family, but… I guess I’m still not over his death.”

“That’s alright. I don’t think people ever really get over that kind of thing. You loved him, of course you’re not over it.”

Chara thought for a moment. “I guess you’re right. I guess I figured you were just supposed to stop thinking about it at some point. It’s a scary thought.”

“Yeah, but that’s not really how it goes. You just learn to live with it I guess” Frisk said. “It’s never not going to be sad, but eventually, it’s not on your mind all the time. You can start to remember people without focusing on their deaths. Sometimes it’s hard to do that.”

Chara thought about it for a moment.

“Yeah, that makes sense. Still, things didn’t exactly get better after he passed. It seemed like any good in my life died with him. Mom found out about me eventually, and I didn’t know until dad was gone and she started drinking.” A lump formed in their throat. “She started talking about… how much of a disappointment I was, how her daughter had turned into a freak, and… and how I wasn’t her kid anymore.” They struggled to talk as tears ran down their face.

Frisk was completely taken aback. They’d known she was awful, but they still weren’t prepared.

Chara took a couple deep breaths and wiped their eyes. They soldiered on, though the tears were hard to hold back.

“It just got worse and worse after that. She started forcing me to act like a girl, or how she thought one should act. She threw out most of my clothes, only let me wear what she bought. Started beating me if I complained or spoke out of turn. I tried to go for help, but nobody would listen! They thought it was her business how to raise me! When she found out, she’d just hurt me worse, so I stopped reaching out. Even when people tried to help I just…” They trailed off, bursting into tears again.

“You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to” Frisk said.

“No, no it- it’s alright. I never… I don’t think I’ve ever talked about this before. Not even with the Dreemurs. I told them some of it but never this much” Chara said, struggling to speak. “I’m s-sorry if this it too much for you. It’s-“

Frisk put their hand on Chara’s shoulder. “You’re fine, you aren’t doing anything wrong.”

Chara smiled tearfully.

“T-thank you.”

They paused for a while. They wanted to finish, but they didn’t know if they had it in them. After a short silence, they found the strength to continue for a little longer.

“She only got worse and worse as time went on. I think she just lost it after a while. She started saying the craziest shit. She said that I… that I was some kind of devil. That she should have known because of my eyes. She said that I was a demon possessing her daughter, and that she was going to free her, and get rid of me. She’d just have random bouts where she’d just start yelling at me, demanding that I let her daughter go… I’ve always hated my eyes since then.”

Frisk was utterly speechless now. What could they say in that situation? To their surprise, Chara actually smiled.

“I uh, I remember what you said about them a while ago. You… you said you liked them. I’m not really sure if you meant that but… thank you, that really meant a lot.”

Frisk was astonished. They’d barely remembered that comment. To them, it was just an offhand remark, an honest statement. Chara’s insecurity had legitimately confused them. They thought their eyes were wonderful.

“Is that where your whole ‘demon’ thing comes from?” They said.

“Yeah, kind of. It’s not the first time people had called me that. No one knows why I look like this, so people got superstitious. The doctors think maybe I was exposed to some magic stuff, but we’re still not sure. ‘Demon Eyes’ was a common nickname. I think it’s why I didn’t have many friends.”

They chuckled a bit.

“You want to know the real irony in all of this?”

“What’s that?” Frisk said.

“There was one authority figure I could count on. One guy who stuck up for me throughout this whole thing.”

“And who was that?”

“A fucking priest! Can you believe that?” Chara said, laughing now.

The irony didn’t phase Frisk as much. They only knew why it was odd from what they’d read in history class. Priest were usually pretty cool people now.

“Was that the priest from the church you wanted to visit?”

“Yeah, that’s the one! Father Taavi! He was great! He tried to speak out against the rumors and the bullying. My parents loved him for that, at least until he found out about how mom was treating me. he didn’t take that too well. Imagine trying to make your kid confess to being trans and finding your rural town in bumfuck nowhere has one of the most progressive priests in all of Greek Orthodoxy! He gave her what for when he found out what she was doing!”

“That sound awesome!” Frisk said.

“It was! Obviously, we didn’t go to that church anymore after that. Still, after mom died, he did his best to look out for me. Not a whole lot he could do though. I wasn’t the most trusting at the time.” Chara sighed “In hindsight, I think maybe that’s why things got so bad in the end. There were people who tried to help, but I didn’t trust them. I’d already been hurt so bad. Maybe… maybe I was wrong to hate them all so much.”

“Chara…”

“I thought they all hated me, that they just threw me out with their trash. I hated them Frisk, I really did. I thought that if my plan- that if it worked, no innocents could possibly be hurt. I didn’t think there were any. I… I almost hurt some good people.”

“You made a mistake” Frisk said.

“That’s underselling it a bit” Chara said, chuckling a bit.

“You said yourself you didn’t want the whole town destroyed. Yeah, it could have been bad, really bad, I’m not saying it couldn’t, but it wasn’t in the end, so-“

“Really? It wasn’t? I think Asriel and the Fallen Children would say otherwise” Chara said sardonically.

“But-“

“You don’t have to make excuses for me, Frisk. Don’t lower yourself to that. I fucked up, and I kept fucking up when I came back. I ruined everything and came back to make it even worse! You barely stopped me! Dammit, I couldn’t even die without fucking things up!”

Frisk was stunned into silence.