Final Reset

=PART 1=

This was probably Frisk's last time through the underground. It wasn't because he wanted to stop, far from it. It's was that he had to. When he first met Asriel, he was filled with what seemed like infinite determination to save him. But nothing is truly infinite, and Frisk slowly came to realize that. He learned that resetting took lots of Determination, and that every body has a limited amount that it can hold. Even his. He at first thought this wasn't so bad, until he found some of Alphys' notes on the subject. He learned that every muscle in the body, every organ, every beat of the heart, relies on Determination. Without it, the body would cease to function.

Frisk noticed it happening slowly. Aches in his body that butterscotch-cinnamon pie and a rest at the inn wouldn't fix. Intense cramps and pain. Nosebleeds. Vomiting. Coughing up blood. And with every reset, it got worse. Sometimes it was so bad, he had to take a break for a few hours before continuing on. Before, he had hid it from his now-precious friends, but he realized that this time, he couldn't afford to.

"Howdy! You're new to the underground, aren'tcha?"
Whenever he saw Flowey pop up in that barren room, Frisk felt a bittersweet mix of joy and sadness. The thought of saving him was one of the few things keeping him going. But there was no time for that now.

"Do you want me to share some LOVE with you?" Flowey asked as he performed an innocuous wink.

In the beginning, these slow, almost harmless pellets had been easy for Frisk to dodge. But Frisk wasn't exactly in peak condition. Touching any one of those bullets would be enough to finish him off, and he wasn't sure he had enough determination left to LOAD. He was on his last life.

The first wave went well enough, although it was a little close for comfort. The second he just barely dodged, and on the third, one of the pellets grazed his hair.
"You know what's going on here, don't you?"
As the room filled with a sphere of bullets pointed towards him, Frisk ironically felt relieved. He had done this so many times that he could count the seconds.
Three... Two... One...
As if on cue, a fireball appeared out of the darkness and knocked Flowey out of the way.
"What a horrible creature, torturing such a poor innocent youth! Greetings, I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. Oh dear, it seems you are hurt. Let me heal you up a bit..." She pointed her hands at Frisk and closed her eyes, concentrating. Nothing. After a few moments, she opened her eyes. "This is strange. That should have worked..." Frisk considered telling her about Flowey, about the resets... About his situation. But he decided to hold off on that for now. He didn't want to make her worry too much yet.

For now, he simply said, "I don't feel good, can you carry me?"
"Why, of course, child. Here, climb onto my shoulders." She offered Frisk a hand, and with that, they were off. The walk through the ruins was quiet and tranquil. There were no puzzles this time, not that they gave Frisk much trouble anymore. About halfway to Toriel’s home, he fell asleep.

When Frisk woke up, he could instantly tell where he was. The familiar smell of pie left no doubt in his mind. He tried to sit up, but his whole body howled in pain, and he fell to the floor. It had never been this bad before. It was like nails were being driven into every inch of his body. He cried out.

Toriel burst into the room within moments. "Child?!"

Between his screams of pure agony she could barely make out, "M-mom, it hurts! It hurts!" She could see tears streaming down his face. After trying and failing to heal him with magic, Toriel didn't know what to do. Crying, she held Frisk in her arms, and did her best to comfort him. After a few moments, his groans faded into an exhausted pant. While Frisk's crying eventually stopped, Toriel's only intensified.

"I thought I was going to lose you." She sobbed.

"Sorry for scaring you.." Frisk croaked hoarsely. "It... It looks like I can't stay here much longer."

"What are you talking about?!” she yelled in disbelief. “Do you honestly think I'm going to let you leave with the condition you’re in? You're staying right here until you get better!"

"I don't think you can help me with this, sorry. I don't think anyone can." Frisk wiped away some drool from the corner of his mouth. "I can't tell you why, but I need to get to the surface. I promise, it’ll make sense by the end of this. Trust me."

"...Well. If you insist on going, I guess I can't stop you. But I am most certainly not going to let you go by yourself. I’m coming with you." Frisk was surprised and overjoyed. This was the first time that Toriel had ever agreed to leave the Ruins with him.
He hugged her and started to cry. Not out of pain, but out of happiness.

=PART 2=

Flowey didn't show up where he usually did when they reached the exit. Frisk guessed it was because Toriel was there: Frisk wouldn't exactly want to confront the person that just blasted him with a fireball either.

When they finally reached the exit, the cold hit both of them immediately. Frisk was used to it as he had been here many times, but he could see that Toriel was shivering a little, even with her robe and coat of fur. Their feet crunched in the snow as they walked along the desolate and lonely path through the forest. There was the familiar bridge, with bars that were too wide to stop anyone. After they crossed it, Frisk felt a small tap on his shoulder, followed by a apathetic sounding "Boo."

Leave it to Sans to find a new way to surprise him, even after all this time. Toriel let out a little shriek of fear when she noticed the him.

"Whoops. Didn't mean to frighten you miss. Just, y’know, him." He gave her a wink.

"Wait... I've heard your voice before! You're the one who tells me puns all the time, aren't you?" She asked excitedly.

"That would be me. Nice to finally meet you." He extended his hand, "The name's Sans. Sans the skeleton."

As she extended her arm and their hands met, a slow farting sound echoed through the forest.

"Good ol' whoopee cushion in the hand trick. Gets em' every time."

Toriel burst into laughter as Frisk let out a groan.

After she regained her composure, she said, "My name is Toriel, nice to meet you!"

"Likewise. Anyway, what brings you two out here? I thought you said you wanted to stay in the Ruins."

"Well, that was the case, but I met this child today. He wants to get to the surface, but he is in very poor health. I couldn't just let him go alone, so I will accompany him there."

"The surface huh? Well, looks like you two have a long road ahead of you. If you want, you can drop by my place later." Sans said, this time speaking to Frisk, "My brother would love to see you, kid. He's a real human fanatic."

"I'll be sure to come visit, Sans. Oh, and by the way... I'm the legendary fartmaster." he said with a wink and a smile.

"Child! Language!" Toriel scolded him.

"Oh, it's fine." Sans reassured her. "I like your style kid, we should definitely hang out. Anyway, I've got to get back to work. See ya." He walked off in a seemingly random direction, and disappeared around a corner. Frisk still didn't understand how he did that.

After that encounter, the two of them continued to walk through the winter forest. Toriel eventually broke the silence. "Frisk, I need to tell you something." She paused. "...It may not be possible for you to get home."

"I know. It's the barrier, right?"

"How do you know about that?" She seemed surprised.

"...I can't tell you yet." He replied guiltily.

"Well, when can you tell me?" Her tone sounded sharper now. "You keep saying that things will make sense, that I’ll understand soon, but I don’t understand! Where did you learn these things?"

"Well I-" Frisk started, but was abruptly cut off. He collapsed to the ground, coughing. His lungs felt like they were on fire. He rolled around, hacking and wheezing.

"My child! Are you alright?" She asked, panicking.

After coughing up some blood and eventually catching his breath, Frisk managed to croak "I'm fine, thanks. I... I can't tell you right now, but I promise, I'll explain it to you sometime soon."

"...Alright." She said with a look of concern covering her face, "I won't ask for now, but I do expect you to explain yourself eventually. Promise?"

"Promise.... And, one more thing."

"What is it, child?"

"Can I... call you mom?"

Toriel blushed. "Of course, child. If that's what you feel comfortable calling me, then feel free to call me anything you like."

With a bashful smile, Frisk answered, "Thanks."

As they entered the quaint town of Snowdin, Sans greeted them with a wave.
"Sup? Welcome to Snowdin." He said, spreading his arms as if to present the town, "it's not that big, but it's nice."

He took a second and looked the two over. "You two seem like you're a little hungry, wanna grab some grub? I know a real good place."

Toriel politely declined with an "I'm fine, thanks."

Frisk wished he could say the same, but he was starving. He hadn't eaten in a while, and he never had the opportunity to eat that pie Toriel baked.

"The kid looks real hungry. Tell you what? I can take him out for some food while you take a quick rest. You’ve both probably had a long morning."

"Only if that is okay with the child," she said as she turned to Frisk. "Would you like to go get some lunch with him?" She asked.

Frisk nodded his head with a smile. After Toriel made Sans promise to return him unharmed, the three parted ways. As Toriel watched them walk towards the restaurant, she couldn't help but notice that Frisk was limping.

"Grillby!” Sans pushed the door open and let Frisk inside. “Can you get a burger for me and the new kid? Put it on my tab."

The bartender nodded mutely and went into the back room. As Frisk went to sit down, another loud farting noise rang out from the stool.

"Sorry." Sans said. "Some hooligan must have put these here."

Despite how terrible the joke was, Frisk couldn't help but smile.

This time, Frisk actually wanted to eat his burger, so he made sure to screw the cap on the ketchup bottle tight before he used it. He couldn't help but feel Sans was a little disappointed. They sat there for a while, eating in silence. It was nice, but Frisk eventually remembered the reason he had come here. To talk.

As if reading his mind, Sans started. "So, let's get down to business. The only way you'd know my triple-secret password is if you've met me before."

Frisk gulped. Talking to Sans was always stressful for him. "...Yeah." He eventually forced out.

"Well, that explains some things. Lately, we've been getting strange readings. Timelines going left and right. Starting and stopping. Until they all just end. I'm gonna hazard a guess and say that you're the reason?"

At this point, Frisk couldn't even look Sans in the eyes. It was all he could do to slowly nod.

"...Look, kid. I'm not mad at you. As far as I can tell, you seem to be a pretty nice person. And as much as I don't like you messing with time like you are, I'm sure you have a reason. Am I wrong?"

Frisk chuckled a bit. "Yeah, pretty much. You see, once, we all got to the surface. Everyone got their happy ending." The smile disappeared from his face. "Except for one. It may seem selfish, but I'll save him, no matter what. Even if it's the last thing I do."

"I see. Well, it's not like I can really stop you, can I?" He shrugged.

"Haha, yeah.” Frisk silently took a bite of his burger before continuing. “...Although, you don't have to worry about me messing with the timeline anymore."

Sans looked curious. "Why? Are you that confident in your plan?"

"Ha, I wish. I... I can't go back anymore. Every time that I did, it took a toll on my body. As I am now, I don't think I can handle another loop."

He couldn't help but ask. "...What makes you so determined to save this friend of yours? Is he really worth it to you, that you'd rip everyone away from their happy endings, just for his sake?"

If Sans was expecting a response, he never got one. Instead, Frisk stared at his half-eaten burger with a dead look in his eyes, as though all of his energy had left him.

"Kid, you there? Kid? Kid!"

Frisk jerked his head up and gasped for air, the trance broken. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said… Ah never mind, I already forgot," Sans answered as he gave another casual shrug. "Sorry kiddo, I don't think I can help you with this one."

Frisk, in a disappointed tone answered,"It's okay, I figured as much. I just wanted to tell you, is all."

"But," Sans continued, "I do have an idea of who can help. Alphys, the royal scientist, she’s your best bet. She might have some way of helping your friend. Although, Undyne, the head of the royal guard... She might give you some trouble. I'll be sure to keep an eye socket out for ya'."

"Thanks Sans." Frisk went to hug him, but as his arms locked around him, he could hear yet another fart noise. Whoopee cushions. He should have known.

As they got ready to leave, Sans asked him one more question."So, when are you planning on telling her?"

Frisk froze.

"From what I've seen,” Sans continued, “she doesn't know what's going on. I think she has a right to know. So, when are you going to tell her about all of this?"

After a long pause, Frisk answered. "I... I don't know. I mean, I want to, but I'm afraid she'll freak out, or that she’ll hate me."

"Fair enough," he replied. "But you better tell her soon. She deserves to know what she's getting into."

"...Right." Frisk knew that he'd have to reveal the truth to her sooner or later, but he still wasn't looking forward to it.

With that, the two of them walked out into Snowdin's year-round winter.

=PART 3=

When they got back to Toriel, Frisk told her they needed to go, and they said their goodbyes to Sans.

"As much as I'd like to show you guys around the Underground, I've gotta get back to work." Sans explained, "But, I know someone perfect for the job."

Just as he finished speaking, a small reptilian monster child poked it's head out from behind him. His eyes seemed to sparkle with wonder.

"Yo... Are you a... human?" he asked. Frisk gave a nod of approval.

"That's so... awesome! I've been told humans are evil and stuff, but you look pretty nice. You mind if we… Be friends?"

Frisk nodded his head with a smile, much to the other child's delight.

"Man, this is so cool! I'm friends with a human now!" Frisk couldn't help but smile at his carefree attitude. "Oh! You should see Undyne, too! She's super awesome."

Frisk’s blood ran cold. He had forgotten about Undyne. How was he going to deal with her?

Reading his mind once again, Sans quickly corrected the monster child. "Oh, uh, Undyne's not gonna be able to make it," he said, winking at Frisk."She's gonna be very busy."

"Oh, that's too bad... You should definitely meet her sometime though. She's like the best person ever! This one time, she-"

"Anyway," Sans interrupted, "Why don't you show them to Waterfall? I'm sure after they get there, they can get to the barrier pretty easily."

"Can do!" He yelled with vigor, "Come on, let's go!" Apparently a little too excited, he ran outside and towards the exit. Frisk could tell he wasn’t going to be that useful.

As the two, or rather, three of them continued down the path, the snow gave way to solid stone. They appeared to be in a cave of some sort.

"Oh my, look how pretty the flowers are, Frisk!" Toriel said. He was glad to see her happy, it was the first time in a while. She didn't really have time to relax or have fun when she was taking care of him before, Frisk figured. At least for now, he decided, she will.

Along the way, they talked about many things. They took turns sharing stories with each other, and had fun solving the occasional puzzle that blocked their path. She told him interesting facts about snails, some of which Frisk had never heard before, and he told her about all the wonderful things on the surface. He told her about the Sun, a big light in the sky that went down during the night, and how beautiful it was to watch it set. Frisk could tell that Toriel wasn't completely happy though. Every time they encountered a sign explaining the history of the monsters, or an echo flower relaying long forgotten hopes and dreams, she would look away, and try not to notice. And she stopped talking entirely for a little while after they encountered that lonely and abandoned statue... They also had to stop every few minutes to let Frisk run off into a bush to vomit or cough. He could see the concern on her face, and he felt guilty that he was stressing her out.

Around the halfway point, Frisk's legs betrayed his weight, and he had to ride on Toriel's back again.

“Hey, mom?”

“Hm?”

“I just wanted to say… I’m sorry.”

“For what, my child?” she asked. Frisk had to take a moment before continuing.

“For… all of this. Making you carry me around the Underground, and look after me...” He eventually managed to say.

Toriel swiftly reassured him. “Do not worry, I don’t mind! It’s been very fun talking with you.”

“And,” he continued, “for not telling you anything. I… I just can’t right now. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, child. I’m sure you have a good reason. And no matter what it is, I promise I’ll understand. You can tell me when you feel ready.”

Those words resonated with him. “Okay.” Frisk said with a smile as they continued their journey.

“Well, this is as far as I can take you. “I gotta get back home before dinner, or mom will be mad with me. Just keep going, and you can’t miss it.” their small guide said.

Toriel saw off the child with a heartfelt thank you and a wave. Then, the two of them were alone again. It was only a little bit farther now, Frisk thought. They could get to Alphys, explain the situation and-

Frisk’s blood ran cold. At the top of the mountain, he saw a shadow. A shadow that shouldn’t be there. This was bad.

He could hear hear her grumbling about some “lazy skeleton”, and how she had been roped into helping him out with his hotdog stand. Frisk realized that this is what Sans meant when he said he’d “keep an eye socket out for him.” Even though it hadn’t stopped Undyne, it had delayed her, so Frisk silently thanked him.

Instead of her usual routine, Undyne calmly jumped off the mountain immediately. This caught Frisk off guard, as he was used to her screaming at him, then performing a diving lunge. She politely walked up to Toriel.

“Hello. You’re aware that’s a human, right?”

Toriel looked confused. “Yes?”

“In the name of the Royal Guard, I’m going to have to ask you to step away from it. The King has decreed that all human souls are to be collected.”

With a firm and definite tone in her voice, Toriel answered. “No.”

Undyne’s regal demeanor was replaced with one of frustration. “What do you mean, no? Humans are dangerous creatures that need to be taken care of as fast as possible. Why would you ever want to protect one?”

“Why, you ask? Because he is my child. And I’m most certainly not giving him up to you, of all people.” Toriel’s voice was cold.

“But… That doesn’t make any sense!” All Undyne’s pretense of formality and politeness was entirely gone. “Fine then! I’ll just fight BOTH of you!” she yelled as she summoned a group of magical spears and hopped back. In response, Toriel conjured up a fireball in her hands. The fight had begun.

Frisk’s eyes widened as the sky lit up. Round after round of spears were sent out, only to be burned to dust in midair. Both of them showed incredible speed and power, and neither seemed to be slowing down. If anything, they were getting faster. Having only seen Toriel ‘test’ him, he was completely dumbfounded at her power. Frisk had never seen her this angry before, not even when she was snapping at Asgore. He was immensely grateful that he had never had to face her when she was like this.

Meanwhile, the fight continued. The balance was starting to shift in Undyne’s favor however, as more and more spears were making it through Toriel’s wall of fire. It was only natural: while Toriel passed the time baking pies and reading books, Undyne spent it endlessly training and practicing. It was only a matter of time before she lost, and Frisk knew it. In the past, he had simply run past Undyne, but he knew that Toriel, with the size she was, wouldn’t be able to dodge the barrage of spears sent her way. He needed to think of something, and fast.

Undyne wouldn’t give Frisk that time. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a spear that Toriel had missed, and it was coming straight for her. Without thinking, he flung his hand in front of it to block it. Toriel was unharmed, but Frisk wasn’t so lucky. His arm was flung back like a lifeless ragdoll. The sound of cracking bones rung loud enough to break Toriel’s concentration as Frisk fell to the ground. Blood came gushing out of the gash the spear made, staining the bottom of her robe. There was no scream from Frisk this time. The pain was so bad, it put him straight into a state of shock. He simply lay there, tears, snot and spit streaming down his face. Toriel cried out, “Child! Child, say something!” as she made a wall of fire separating them and the now mortified Undyne.

Undyne could hear her call through the flames. She saw a small green light flash and fade from the other side of the wall. “Why isn’t this working?! What do I do?!” Then, nothing. When the flames dissipated, she could see Toriel on the floor, sobbing. The child hadn’t moved an inch from when she last saw him.

Undyne stood there, utterly confused. She was a hero, right? This is the right thing to do, right? So then why did she feel so horrible? Aren’t you supposed to feel good about yourself when you do the right thing? Why did this feel so… wrong? Whether it was just or not, she couldn’t stand to be there any longer. She fled the scene, leaving Frisk and Toriel behind.

Toriel was curled into a ball on the ground, tears streaming down her face. There wasn’t anywhere to take Frisk for help, she didn’t know the first thing about how humans' bodies worked, and her healing magic was useless. She had no idea what to do.

“A… A…”

Her tears suddenly stopped as she stared in disbelief.
“C-child?” she could barely say through her warbling voice.

“A… Al… Alphys…” Frisk stammered out as he moved his head towards the mountain in the distance.

Toriel understood what he was trying to communicate immediately. She took off in a run, Frisk in her arms.

=PART 4=

Sprinting past a big neon sign that read, “Welcome to Hotlands!” and an empty checkpoint, Toriel eventually came upon a towering metal lab. Not knowing what she was doing, she burst in, almost knocking the door down. “Is anyone here?!” She screamed into the dark room. “Someone, please! I need help!”

From a locked door, she could hear someone scrambling around. “Okay, I’ll be there in a second.” The voice timidly said, not picking up on the urgency of the matter. “I j-just need to finish making my ramen… Ah! There we go.” The lights flicked on. “Now, what seems to be the pro-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Alphys dropped her cup of noodles onto the floor. “Oh my god.” Realizing the gravity of the situation, she frantically scurried around her lab, moving various things and throwing pieces of trash out of the way. “Oh god, oh god, oh god...” she panted. “H-Here! Put him down on this!” she directed Toriel as she pulled out a table and swept the loose papers off of it. “Where is it…? I know it was around here somewhere…” she mumbled.

Meanwhile, Toriel was still panicking herself. This would be the second time she had almost lost Frisk. But now, it was much more serious, and her hands were tied. She had no choice but to trust this strange scientist.

“No… No… Ah! Here it is!” Alphys exclaimed triumphantly. She held up a vial of red liquid labeled ‘DETERMINATION’ in messy handwriting. “I wasn’t sure I had any left.”

As she drew the liquid into a nearby needle, Toriel started to object. “Wait, what is that? Is it safe?”

“Toriel, I know you don’t k-know me, but you’re going to have to trust me on this one. Or else he’ll…” She trailed off.

“...Fine. I’ll trust you.” She said, clutching her shoulder with her hand. She just wanted this to work.

Alphys stabbed the needle into Frisk’s good arm and pressed the plunger. As the liquid drained, Toriel thought she could almost see some color returning to his face. “T-try using your healing magic on him now.” Alphys told her, taking a step back. As she began the spell, Toriel could see the gaping hole in Frisk’s arm slowly closing until there was nothing left but a little scratch. Alphys explained, “Now, he isn’t completely healed yet. Most likely, his bones are still b-broken or fractured, but this should help tremendously.”

Toriel didn’t understand what those words meant, but she got the general idea. “So my child is going to be okay?” she asked.

“As long as he gets some p-proper rest, yes.”

“That’s… Such a relief.” She said as a stray tear fell down her cheek. She let out a deep sigh. “Now.” She stated with an authoritative tone, “It’s time I get some answers. I’m sick and tired of being kept in the dark. I have the right to know what’s happening to my child. First off, what did you put into him?”

“O-oh! That’s liquid Determination.”

“Determination?” Toriel parroted.

“Yeah. Think of it like this: You know how monsters have magic flowing through them? Well, Determination is what’s inside of h-humans. It’s what keeps them going. Normally though, there should be more than enough to last a human its whole life...”

“Are you saying that he didn’t have any Determination left? Why is that?”

“That… I don’t know” Alphys said eventually. “Maybe he was b-born like that. Only the human himself would know the answer. However, I do know that pure magic doesn’t work on humans, they need Determination as a catalyst.”

“So that’s why my healing spell didn’t work on him...” she mumbled. Clearing that thought aside, she continued, “Secondly, how did you know my name?”

“Oh, well t-that’s… I’ve been watching you two since you came out of the ruins.”

“You-!” She would have yelled, but she didn’t want to wake Frisk up. “You mean you’ve been spying on us?”

“No! It wasn’t anything like that. It’s just... The King ordered me to keep tabs on all the humans I see. At first, I was going to report it, but as I watched, I came to realize that the human was never going to hurt anyone. At least, not in my opinion.”

Though still distrustful of her, Toriel eventually relented. “Fine. I’ll believe you. So, what should we do now?”

“For now... We should give him some time to rest. It’s almost night, after all. Also, I think that he should stay here for the time being. I have more medical supplies that might help him in the future.”

Toriel agreed only under the condition that they could watch over Frisk until he woke up. Alphys and pulled out a flat mattress with a pillow. “In case you want to sleep.” she explained. “I-it’s not much, but it’s all I have. Sorry.”

Toriel thanked Alphys as she scuttled back into the room where she came from, tail swishing side to side. She pulled up a chair and sat down, facing Frisk. Her mind raced with thoughts. Who was her child, really? What secrets did he know? She sat there for hours, staring at him until she dozed off.

Frisk awoke with a start. He looked around the room. The smell of cooked ramen noodles, the harsh fluorescent lights... This had to be Alphys’ lab. The next thing that Frisk noticed was that his aches were gone. Before, it had hurt just to move, but now he felt like he could shake his limbs all he wanted. He hadn’t felt this good in a long time.

Noticing the bandage placed around his arm, he understood Alphys must have come through for him. When he got up, he saw Toriel slumped over in her chair, sleeping. Frisk put a blanket around her, and left a note explaining that he’d be back before going to find Alphys.

Seeing as she was nowhere to be found, Frisk knew there was only one place Alphys could be- the True Lab. As quietly as he could, he opened the elevator door and pressed the button to take him to the basement. This time, the elevator didn’t break and send him plummeting like it usually did, which was a relief. Maybe he had just always taken it at the wrong time?

With the power on, the True Labs weren’t nearly as terrifying as usual. It was more like… A hospital. With some very sick patients. Frisk found Alphys sitting on a bench in the main room, feeding potato chips to some of the amalgamations.

As she noticed him, she let out a little scream. “H-h-how do you k-know about this place?” she asked, more flustered than usual. Frisk didn’t really have a good answer, so he just grabbed a bag of chips and started feeding it to Endogeny.

“Wait… Y-you’re not scared?” she asked.

Frisk shook his head. “Not really. Can we talk? I need to tell you something.”

“Uh, s-sure I guess.” Alphys replied cautiously.

“So… I’m guessing you’re the one that helped me with my arm?” It was a rhetorical question. He already knew the answer, he just wanted to be polite.

“Oh, yeah, I was. It looked pretty bad too.”

“Thank you. I don’t know if I would have made it without your help.”

Alphys blushed a bit. “N-no problem… I’m glad I was able to be useful to you, at least. I’m normally pretty clumsy.”

Frisk stared her straight in the eyes. “Don’t say that Alphys, you’re amazing. This is something only you could have done. No one else would have known what to do. Your brains saved my life.”

Alphys’ blush deepened. “Gee, thank you. That really means a lot to me…” She eventually regained her composure as she asked, “Is… Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“...No. I wanted to talk to you about my current situation. A certain someone told me you might be able to help me.”

Alphys was intrigued. “W-well, that depends. What is it?”

“To tell you that, you need to know about what I’ve been doing. I guess you noticed I was low on Determination when you were fixing me up, right?” Frisk asked.

“Yes, what of it?”

“Well,” He continued, “do you know why?”

“I have no i-idea. According to my notes, humans should have enough Determination in them to last for several hundred years.” she explained.

“Resets.”

“Huh?”

“It’s what I’ve been doing.” Frisk sighed. “For some reason, I’m allowed to ‘reset’ to a certain point in time. As many times as I want.

“B-but that’s-”

Frisk interrupted her. “Impossible, right? Yet, I’m able to do it anyway. Now, with that information, can you figure it out?”

Alphys racked her brain. “So, you’ve been r-resetting to this certain point in time… But you’re still experiencing it every time. And every time is a new experience for you… So it’s draining you of Determination!”

Frisk smiled. “Bingo.” He knew he could rely on Alphys.

“But then… If my notes are correct… Then just how long have you been doing this?” she asked with growing horror. “How many times have I m-met you? How many times?”

“I… don’t know. I stopped counting a long time ago. Anyway, this ties into why I’m asking for your help now.”

“What do you mean?”

Frisk explained, “Well, simply put, I can’t reset anymore. It’s taken too much of a toll on my body. The only reason I’m able to even stand up right now is thanks to whatever you did. I’ve tried countless times to find a way, enough to wear my body down to this point, but I haven’t had any success.”

“Success with what?”

“You’ve heard the stories, right? Of the royal family, before they broke up?”

“...Yeah?”

“Of the tragic tale of how their son died?” He continued.

“...Yeah.”

“Of how his dust spilled all over the throne room, and how flowers grew there?”

“...”

“Of how it’s said that a monster’s essence lives on in whatever object the dust is sprinkled on?”

“...?”

“Of how one day, a scientist came in...”

She realized. “...Oh. No.”

“How she took a flower out to experiment with?”

“No. Stop.” Alphys stammered, her voice strained with emotion.

“How she made a creature with no soul, made of pure Determination. A creature that couldn’t feel.”

“Stop! Stop…” She hunched over, tears staining her lab coat.

“...You get it now, right?”

After a long wait, she replied. “Yeah. Do you… hate me?”

“I used to, but not anymore. I realized you were just trying your hardest to free everyone. Even with this,” Frisk swept his hand, displaying the amalgams, “you were just trying to help. I get that. I don’t blame you.”

That was what finally did Alphys in. She hugged the child, sobbing onto him. She mumbled “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please forgive me.”

“Alphys,” he said, “I already did. I wouldn’t be down here if I didn’t. You’re smart, and funny, and wonderful. You should let the person you like know that.”

“Y-you mean…?”

“What, you think I didn’t know?” Frisk teased. “How many times do you think I’ve seen it for myself? You two are perfect for each other.”

All of Alphys’ previous grief had been washed away by embarrassment. “A-are you sure? What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Trust me, I’ve seen- she does. Oh, and one more thing. You should go public with your experiments down here. Like I said, I’ve seen what happens. People are a lot more accepting than you think. It’s time for them to go home.”

She looked at everyone there, who in turn stared fondly at her. “Y-you know what? You’re right! From today on, I’m a new person.” She turned to Frisk. “Thank you. I know that you guys can’t magically make my problems go away, but I promise I’ll try my best.” Frisk grinned. “I’m gonna start by trying to find a way to help you. I’m not sure it’s possible, but… you never know until you try, right?”

“That’s the spirit. I’ve gotta get back up though, Toriel’s probably getting pretty worried.”

“Alright, I’m staying down here. See you tomorrow!”

“See ya!”

Frisk’s smile faded as he boarded the elevator and pressed the button. He thought back to Toriel. He could hear “When are you gonna tell her?” echoing inside his head. When would he tell her? There really was no good time. He figured that he would just do it whenever he saw her next. He just hoped it wasn’t soon.

As Frisk reached the first floor, she saw Toriel standing there, looking around for him. He should have been happy, but instead he felt dread. When she spotted him, she rushed over and hugged him. “Don’t ever do that again! You scared me to death, my child!” She pulled him even closer and stroked his head.

“Sorry mom.” Frisk replied.

“...Now. I know I said I’d wait, but I’m at my wit’s end. You need to tell me what’s going on.” she said.

“It’s fine,” he told her with a forlorn smile. “Now’s as good a time as any.” Thus, he began his story of resets, of Determination, and of himself, minus one flower. Toriel didn’t know what to make of it. She was in utter disbelief.

“That’s a lot to take in…” she eventually said. “I mean, how could I?” she continued, sounding crazed, “It all sounds like some made up story, haha!”

Frisk frowned. He had feared this would happen. That she’d deny it, or hate him for it. Maybe she wasn’t ready for the truth after all…

“...But. You are my child, and I know you would never lie to me.” Frisk felt a lump in his throat. “So, I will believe you. Maybe I’ll never fully understand it, but I’ll still believe you. Because you are my child, and... I love you.”

Frisk couldn’t contain the welling feeling building in his stomach. He went to speak, but no words came out. He could only cry. It was a cry so ugly, and high pitched, only a child like himself could make it. He grabbed the end of Toriel’s robe and smothered his face. And he cried. He simply sat there, like the little kid he was, and cried.

=PART 5=

 Frisk spent the next few days recovering. Toriel decided to stay at the nearby hotel, and visited him during the day. Alphys insisted on paying for Toriel’s stay, she said it was the least she could do. While he was recovering, Frisk helped Alphys out with her research. He was nowhere near as smart as her, but he helped where he could and filled her in on his adventure. As he spent more time with Alphys, Frisk found that she was stuttering less and had a more confident air about her.

One morning, he woke to find Alphys still at her work desk, scribbling away. “Good morning.” Frisk said with a yawn.

“Oh, is it already morning?” she asked in a daze.

“Maybe you should take a break, Alphys. I know you’ve been working really hard for my sake, and I appreciate it, but if you’re tired you should rest.”

“O-oh, I’m fine!” she quickly responded. “Besides, I think I might be on the verge of a breakthrough!”

“I see… Hey, have you written that letter for Undyne yet?” Frisk asked.

Alphys quickly spun around, her concentration broken and a blush on her face. “Well… I’m uh, working on it…”

“Come on, it’s been four days! You must have something.”

She finally admitted defeat. “Umm… I’m not very proud of it, but… Here.” She handed him a single piece of paper neatly folded in half. As Frisk read it, a smile grew on his face.

“This is perfect Alphys! I’m sure she’ll love it.”

Timidly, she took his compliment. “D-do you really think so?”

“Yeah, I had no idea you were so good at writing. Come on! Let’s go give it to her. I was planning to do this for a while anyway.”

“Planning to do what exactly…?”

“Oh, well we’re going to have a party!” Frisk excitedly replied.

“P-party? I don’t know, I don’t do well around crowds…”

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s gonna be pretty small. And something tells me you’ll like everyone there.”

“Alright, if you say so… I’ll try!” she said with courageously.

“Great! Let me just go arrange everything, and then we’ll leave!”

“Wait, you meant… today?” she asked.

Frisk confusedly replied, “Well, when else would it be?”

“Oh no, I can’t do it today.” she muttered, “I mean, I haven’t showered, I haven’t chosen what to wear, I haven’t-”

“It’ll be fine Alphys.” Frisk cut her off, “I mean, you returned all the amalgamates home yesterday and that went really well.” he pointed out.

“I… I guess… Alright. Let’s do this.”

After a few hours, all the necessary plans had been made, and everyone decided to meet up at Undyne’s house. Toriel furiously objected at first, but when Frisk told her how Undyne wouldn’t try anything as long as she was there, she reluctantly relented.

The trio arrived at Undyne’s house around midday. Frisk had invited Sans and Papyrus, but Sans had said he was too busy with work to come, so it was just his brother that would be coming. They introduced themselves to Papyrus.

“I, the great Papyrus, am sure you are pleased to meet me!” he yelled, enthusiastic as ever. Toriel and gave a polite giggle as she shook his hand. “Oh my god! Is that a human?!” he asked, pointing at Frisk. Toriel instinctively pulled him behind her, but Frisk walked up to him and shook his hand. “Nyeh heh heh. I am sure that you are shivering in terror and awe, standing in the shadow of such a cool and popular monster such as myself! The pleasure is yours!” Frisk was surprised that he didn’t say anything about capturing him, but he guessed even Papyrus wasn’t oblivious enough to not notice Toriel’s hawk-like watch over him. With greetings completed, they knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Undyne asked as she came outside. “Oh! Company! Welcome to-” but as as soon as she saw Frisk, she froze. In that moment, a mix of emotions swirled through her. Her dedication to the Royal Guard, her own sense of justice, the gruesome scene she had witnessed yesterday... She ultimately just ended up forcing a smile, saying “W-why don’t you uh… Come in?”

The atmosphere was awkward, and even Papyrus could tell. He tried to break the ice by giving her one of his infamous bone presents, but she simply said “Thanks, I’ll… Put it with the others.”

They simply stood there for a while, none of them sure of what to say. Undyne broke the silence with an unexpected scream. “NGAHHH! I don’t care if you’ve made a few friends just so you can use them as a shield! The whole of monsterkind needs your soul much more than you do!” As she summoned a spear, Toriel lit a fireball in response. Frisk frowned- It was going to be like yesterday all over again.

“Everyone, stop!” a voice screamed. It was Alphys, which surprised everyone. Undyne and Toriel lowered their respective weapons, staring at her. “Undyne, this human has… He’s helped me a lot lately. To get me out of my rut… To give me confidence in myself… And… And if you hurt him again, I won’t forgive you for it.”

“But Alphys,” Undyne protested, “it’s a human! I have to do this!”

“No, you don’t. I know you’re better than that. I know you like to fight, but you also have a strong sense of justice. Look inside yourself and ask: where is the justice in killing a child?”

Undyne growled as she racked her brain. “I… I don’t know, okay?!” she finally managed to yell. Alphys flinched and jumped back a bit. “Why are you all being so nice to him? If we had his soul, we could exit the barrier. We could be free!”

Toriel spoke up. “I personally don’t care if the barrier never goes down. Not if it means losing my child.”

Though fearful, Alphys chimed in as well. “He’s really nice once you get to know him, Undyne. He wouldn’t hurt a fly! I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I let s-someone like that die.”

“Nyeh. I haven’t known the human for very long, but from what I, the great Papyrus, am hearing, it sounds like he’s almost as nice as I am! So I think you should reconsider taking his soul.”

“...Leave. Just… leave. I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore, but I do know that I don’t want you here. Leave!” Everyone was too shocked to protest, meekly shuffling out the front door.. However, on their way out, Frisk caught Alphys by the shoulder.

“You stay. She needs you right now.”

“But i-isn’t she mad at me for siding with you?” she asked.

“Just trust me.” Frisk replied.

As the door closed, Alphys walked to where Undyne was sitting. “U-Undyne?”

She asked flatly, “What is it?”

“Can I… Talk to you?”

“Well, you’re not going to leave either way.”

“Oh, um. If you want me to I can-”

“No, it’s fine. Talk to me.”

“Well, I don’t know if this makes it any better, but you should know that it’s not your fault that things turned out as bad as they did.” This piqued Undyne’s interest. “It’s a little complicated, but basically, the human you attacked had a bit of a health problem already.”

“Great, so I attacked a sick child instead of a healthy one.”

“That’s not what I mean-”

“I know it wasn’t.” She gave Alphys a weary smile. “You were just trying to cheer me up. Thanks.” After a long pause, she continued, “God, I don’t know what to think anymore. I mean, why did I ever think killing a kid was the right thing to do?”

Alphys comforted her, “Because, you were trying your hardest to free us. You wanted to break the barrier, and you were determined to do it in any way possible.”

“I guess.” she finally replied. “I just hope the kid can forgive me.”

“Oh,” Alphys said with a smile, “he already did.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, he was the one that planned this whole party. The moment you were done attacking, he was already willing to forgive you. Sometimes, even I don’t understand how he can be so nice all the time.”

“Ha, that kid must be insane.” Undyne laughed. “Who even does something like that, planning to come back to the house of the person who just tried to kill you?” They shared a hearty giggle.

Alphys spoke. “You know, I’ve always thought you were really cool Undyne. You have this fire, this confidence, that I don’t. I’m nothing like you… I… I lied to you about stuff.” she confessed. “It was just little things, little lies to make myself sound cooler. But I feel really bad for doing it now. Sorry.”

“What are you talking about you nerd? You’re way cooler than I ever could be!”

“Huh? What do you mean?” she questioned.

“I mean, whatever you’re interested in, you work hard at it! You always give it one hundred percent! I think that’s way cooler than what I do.”

Alphys blushed. “Thank you… Thank you a lot, Undyne. I think I may… like you. Like, not the friend kind of like either.”

“R-really? I thought I was the only one who thought that… You know what? Screw it! I’ll be your girlfriend!”

“O-Okay, sure.” she replied with a blush blanketing her face. “Well, do you want to invite everyone back inside?” she suggested.

“Sure, why not?”

After letting the group back in, Undyne apologised about her actions, especially towards Frisk. With her always energetic smile, she explained, “As much as I want to free all the monsters, I can’t exactly kill a kid like you to do it. Guess I’ll just have to wait for a jerk to fall down here instead!” Toriel was skeptical at first, but after Frisk’s reassurance, she warily accepted Undyne’s apology.

Undyne suggested that she make something for the group to eat, but after Frisk dropped a hint to Toriel, she took over and decided to make everyone a pie instead. It was a fun day, with Papyrus and Undyne’s antics keeping everyone entertained. They all talked and played together, enjoying old board games that had fallen underground into the trash dump. As evening approached, Papyrus took off towards Snowdin while Frisk, Toriel, and Alphys headed back towards hotlands, Undyne waving goodbye. At the crossroads, Toriel hugged Frisk goodbye for the night, and walked towards the hotel.

When Frisk and Alphys were finally alone, she said “Thanks for today. I really didn’t think that she’d actually, y’know, like me back.”

“No problem. Anyway, let’s get back to the labs.”

“Sure.”

As they returned, Alphys suddenly gave Frisk a hug. “Sorry, sorry! I know that must be weird.” she rambled.

“It’s fine. Come here ya’ big lizard!” His arms extended around her, and they stayed like that for a few moments.

“Well, see you tomorrow Alphys.” Frisk said as he got into his makeshift bed.

“See you tomorrow!” she replied.

And with that, Frisk fell asleep, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.

As they slept, the moon rose above Mt. Ebbot.

“...Hey! Come on, wake up!” Alphys panted as she shook him back and forth.

“What is it?” Frisk asked rubbing his eyes. “It’s like the middle of the night.”

“I did it! I figured out how to save him!”

=PART 6=

Frisk scrambled to his feet and rushed after Alphys, who beckoned him to follow her down into the basement lab. He was trembling with excitement. After all this time, he could do it. He could finally save Asriel.

They entered what must have been Alphys’ personal chambers, and Frisk stared in amazement. Notes covered with mathematical equations and dense, messy writing covered the walls. “You’ve did all of this for me, Alphys?”

“Heh heh… Don’t mention it. I was already interested, so....” She opened one of the drawers on her dresser and pulled out a small device. It looked like a gun, but instead of a barrel, there was a needle, and a glass cylinder was where the ammo would go. “I present to you…” she said dramatically, “The energy extractor! Let me explain what it does.”

“Okay.” Frisk said quietly as he pulled up a chair. This might take a while.

“So, one thing about your story struck me as odd. You said that once he had absorbed all the souls, Asriel regained his original form?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“And that even after he released them, he kept his appearance for a while?”

“...Yeah.”

“Well, I’ve been wracking my brain to figure out why, and I think I finally came to a conclusion. My hypothesis is that it was residual magic energy.”

“Magic energy?” Frisk asked.

“R-right.” she replied. “Monsters are made of magic energy, and they need it to live. I think that the leftovers from all the souls he absorbed are what allowed him to keep his form, at least for a while.”

“Huh. But... how does that help me save him?”

“It’s actually quite simple; if we can give him another boost of magic energy while he’s in that state, it should stabilize his form.”

“That’s so... simple. Why did it take so long, then?” he asked, annoyed.

“Uh, well.... Y-you see, there’s no way to extract magic energy. Well, there wasn’t. I made one!” she said, displaying the contraption. “I still need to put the finishing touches on it, but it should be done by tomorrow.”

“So what does it do?” Frisk asked excitedly.

“As the name implies, it extracts magic energy. As for how to use it…” She pointed the gun at her arm, pulling the trigger. She winced in pain as the cylinder filled with a glowing blue liquid. “This,” she said, huffing, “is magic energy. Hoo, that stings…”

Frisk was mesmerized by its soft glow. “Whoa…” he muttered.

“There’s just one little bug I haven’t been able to iron out. Magic energy is very hard to maintain in its pure form.” Indeed, even as she spoke, Frisk could see the magic energy starting to dissipate. “You’re gonna have to do it on the spot.”

“Wait… Can I do it? I have blood in my body, not magic.”

“All living things have at least SOME magic in their bodies. You may not have as much as a monster, but it should work for what you intend to do.”

“Got it. I… I almost can’t believe this is happening. I’ll finally be able to…” He trailed off with a wistful look on his face.

“I know this journey must have been long and hard for you, but it’s almost over,” she reassured him. “...Sorry for waking you up at this hour, but I thought you’d want to know right away.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Anyway, I’ve gotta put all the finishing touches on this, so why don’t you go spend time with everyone else?”

“Alright…” Frisk managed reluctantly, getting up and heading for his bed again. He figured it would be nice to spend some time with Toriel, given that he had been so busy helping Alphys recently. Frisk wanted to spend some more time with her before the end.

Despire being so excited excited, Frisk eventually managed to fall asleep, imagining spending time with his soon-to-be best friend.

The next morning, when Toriel came to check on him, Frisk revealed his plans. “I actually have some free time today, so I wanted to take you somewhere.”

“And where is that, child?”

He simply replied, “Home.”

He walked her down to the pier, where the river person was waiting. “Tra la la. I’m the river man. Or am I the river woman? It doesn’t really matter.”

“Could you please give us a ride to Snowdin?” Frisk requested.

After turning to look at the extra passenger, they looked back at Frisk. “...Twenty gold.”

“Here,” he replied, giving them a sack full of coins. “Keep the change.”

“We’re off…” They said as the boat took off, slowly picking up speed.

As they disembarked into the winter city, Frisk could see Toriel shivering again. “Oh, I bought this for you.” he said as he held up a coat he had borrowed from Undyne’s house.

“Thank you, child. How is it that you are not cold?” she asked.

“After a while, you get used to it,” he simply answered.

“Oh… I see.”

Walking towards the Ruins entrance, Frisk could see Toriel’s distant expression. He grabbed her hand and gave her a wide grin when she looked down at him. She smiled in return, putting a bounce in her step as they walked through the long hallway near the exit.

Entering Toriel’s home, they could both feel the damp chill in the air. “Must be because that door to the outside is letting in the cold.” she speculated. “One moment, let me start a fire, my child.”

After gathering the logs and conjuring a fireball to spark the flame, the fire roared to life with a crackle. “I will make us some tea.”

“Don’t worry about it mom, I’ll do it,” Frisk replied.

Toriel watched with amazement as Frisk perfectly prepared them some hot tea. She wondered how long it must have taken for him to master it. Balancing a cup in both hands, Frisk brought them over to the fireplace, handing Toriel hers and then sitting down carefully with his own. She could see that despite his earlier comment about the cold, Frisk was shivering a little, huddling close to the fire for warmth. “Would you like to sit in my lap?” she offered him. Surprised, he hesitated a moment, then climbed up to sit with her.

Toriel could feel the warmth of Frisk’s body, the steady beating of his heart, his quiet and slow breathing. Her mind wandered. She swore she had felt something like this before.

“This tea is really wonderful, Asr-” Toriel caught her tongue and held a hand up to her mouth, as if she wanted to keep any more forgotten memories like that from resurfacing.

Frisk was just as surprised as her, but he had to say something. It wasn’t fair to keep her in the dark about this too. “I… I’m not him. I’m sorry.”

As if her very heart had been shattered, she looked at Frisk with scared, yet weary eyes. “So, you know about him? Figures. I’m sure you must have heard it from one of the locals. It is a pretty common stor-”

“No.” he cut her off. “I’ve met with him. A lot.”

She froze, completely still. After a few moments, she replied with a false laugh, “...Child, that isn’t a funny joke.” She muttered, “He has been dead for… a long, long time. I want nothing more than to meet him, to hold him one more time… But he is gone.”

“Actually… When I told you about the resets, I didn’t tell you everything.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean, the whole reason I’m doing this in the first place. You never asked, so I didn’t say. But I guess… You deserve to know.” he explained. “There was a part of the story I left out…”

Frisk started, telling her about Alphys’ experiments. About their outcomes, the soulless and pitiable creatures that came from it. How his first trip through the underground went, and who he met at the end. What he had said to Frisk, and what he had done. All the while, Toriel listened with a look of horror, anger, confusion, and sadness growing on her face. At the end, she sat there, with no reaction. Finally, she managed to move her mouth.

“I… I think I need to be alone. I need some time to take this in.” she said, slowly rising from her recliner and stumbling towards her room. Toriel left Frisk alone in the now empty living room, forcing him to return to the fire for warmth.

Frisk prodded the embers with a fire poker, trying to stoke up the flames, wondering if he had done the right thing. He had been honest with her. That’s all that should matter, right? After mulling it over, he decided to check on her. Toriel had told him to give her space, but he was getting worried. She had been in there for a while.

Frisk quietly turned the handle, pushing the door open. Toriel was sitting in a corner, head in her hands. She didn’t seem to notice when he walked over and sat down. “Mom? Are you okay?” All she could manage was a small nod.

“Child?” she asked meekly. “Why do you continue? Why, after all this time, have you not given up yet?”

“Well, it may not really be a good enough reason for all of this, but...” he hesitated, searching for the words. “ ...No one should have to go through that. The first time I saw him, I knew there was nothing I could do to save him. He knew it too. He decided to give up his one chance at life in order to help everyone else…. Even after all he went through. Someone like that… shouldn’t deserve to go through that hell. He told me to move on, that I should be happy without him, that I had better things to do. I refused to believe it. I shut my eyes, thinking I needed to do something, anything. The next thing I knew, I was back at the flowerbed.” he explained. “I called it a reset.”

“And how many ‘resets’ have you been through? Don’t you have a life outside of… this?” she asked.

“Maybe, once. But, I’ve reset so many times... I can’t remember. There’s only the underground- I can’t remember anything before the first time I landed in that bed of flowers. I lost track of how many resets I’d done a long time ago.”

Toriel’s looked at Frisk, looking incredibly sad and tired. She pulled him close, putting his head in her lap. “You should rest. You’ve done more than enough.” She started to hum a familiar tune, gently petting him. Frisk’s eyes drooped, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

He woke up in a familiar bed. Rubbing his eyes, he drowsily got up and walked into the kitchen, where Toriel was cooking breakfast. “There’s my little sleepyhead!” she teased. “What would you like for breakfast? I’ve got eggs, snails, waffles, pancake-” The phone in Toriel’s pocket started to let out an obnoxious tone. “Oh! I am sorry child, one moment.” she said as she picked up the call. “Hello, this is Toriel. Alphys? Yes. Yes, he’s right here. Okay, one moment.” She turned to Frisk and offered  him the phone with a smile. “It’s for you.”

“Hello?” he said groggily.

Nothing had ever woken him up as fast as the two words he heard.

“It’s ready.”

=PART 7=

Frisk headed straight for the basement door. He could faintly hear Toriel’s call of confusion from the kitchen as he bounded down the stairs.

“Where are you going, my child?! What about breakfast?!”

He momentarily paused to excitedly reply, “Later! Right now, there’s something very important!” quickly followed by “Follow me!” She had no choice but to comply.

Toriel caught up to him surprisingly quickly. She supposed that he was still healing. “Slow down, child! You’re still recovering.”. Frisk gave a small grunt, not turning back to look at her.

They eventually made it back to the ferry, Frisk frantically scrambling aboard, with Toriel not far behind. Dropping twenty gold into the river person’s hands, Frisk called out their destination, and the ferry slowly pulled out of its station. Toriel could see that Frisk’s excited shaking was rocking the boat.

After a short ride, Alphys’ lab came into view. Frisk looked like he wanted to jump out and swim the rest of the way, as though he had been trapped on the ferry for an eternity. Now that they had a moment, Toriel put a steadying hand on his shoulder and asked,, “Where exactly are we going in such a rush, child?”

Frisk looked back at her with a mixture of surprise and discomfort, as if he had forgotten she was there. “Oh! Well, uh…” he trailed off, glancing down at the wooden boards.

She sighed. “Alright, if you can’t tell me, I understand…” Frisk replied with a small nod, taking her hand as they set off towards the towering metal building.

“T-That was fast.” Alphys exclaimed with a hint of disbelief in her voice as she answered the door. “Anyway, here you go! It’s finally done.” she said, handing the finished device to Frisk.

“What is that, child?” Toriel asked, confused. “What are you planning to do, exactly?”

Frisk stammered for a few moments, before Alphys came to his rescue. “We’re going to try something! And if it works, then…” she trailed off, trying to find the proper words, “T-then everyone will be able to leave the Underground! Heh.”

Toriel’s eyes widened in shock, and she turned to Frisk. “Is this true?”

He gave a smile and a nod. “But, we need everyone here for it to work.” Frisk glanced at Alphys meaningfully.

Picking up on the hint, she said, “R-Right, I’ll call Undyne.”

“Do you mind if I used your phone, mom?” he asked Toriel. She nodded, handing Frisk the phone.

Frisk dialed the number, impatiently waiting for the skeleton to pick up. Eventually, he head a casual “Yo.” from the other side.

“Hey Sans. Come to the throne room. It’s time.”

“...Gotcha, I’ll be right there. Should I take my bro, too?”

Frisk replied, “Yeah, thanks.” before hanging up.

“Wait, throne room?” Toriel asked. “Does that mean-”

Frisk cut her off, already knowing the answer. “Yup, we’re going to meet the king. Don’t worry, as long as you’re there mom, I know I’ll be fine.”

“I’m glad you put so much trust in me,” she said with a shy smile, “but I’m still not so sure.”

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

“Have you… Done this before?” Toriel asked, realization dawning on her. “Well… I guess I’ll trust you then.”

Frisk gave her a weary smile. “Thanks.”

The three of them made their way through the core, uncomfortably fidgeting around during the long elevator ride. As they walked through the monochrome house, Frisk could see that Toriel was anxious. They eventually made it to the throne room, collectively taking a deep breath before stepping inside.

A faint humming mixed with the chirping of birds filled the air. “Oh, is someone there?” a deep voice called out. “Let me just finish watering my flowers and I’ll be with you… There! Now, how can I hel-” the tall figure froze. He stared  for a moment, the watering can falling from his fingers. “Tori!”

“Do not ‘Tori’ me, Dreemurr.” she replied coldly.

Asgore took a step back, looking crushed. “Oh… Sorry, Tor-Toriel.” Taking notice of the human, his expression only worsened. “...Hello there, little one.” he finally managed.

“Don’t you even think about it.” Toriel spat, fireball in hand. “You will not laying a finger on my child. I had hoped that you might have changed your ways, but it seems not.”

Fighting to hold back the tears, Asgore managed to stammer out, “But... The barrier! It’s the only way...”

“If you were serious, you could have just taken the first human soul and crossed the barrier yourself, then taken six more. Instead, you sat on your throne and meekly hoped no one would come.” she said, quickly refuting him. Devastated, Asgore seemed to deflate, hunching under the weight of her words.

A jovial voice suddenly called out, “No fighting!” It belonged to Papyrus. “Don’t fight, or I’ll… I’ll… get Undyne to make you stop!” Soon enough, the whole gang was there, quipping back and forth, having fun. Frisk started to join in, but after remembering what came next, he glanced at the floor, unable to hide his guilt. He had done this so many times, he could count the seconds.

Three… Two… One.

Right on cue, a large vine burst through the wall, ensnaring everyone. During Flowey’s monologue, all Frisk could think about was how, this time, it was his fault. Like Flowey had said, no one would be here if it wasn’t for of him, especially now. As that familiar circle of bullets closed in on him, he looked away.

“You can do it!” Frisk swung his head back again. It was Alphys. “I know you can!” she shouted. “...G-good luck.”

Sans followed shortly after. “I dunno what you’re thinking kiddo,” he started, “but I trust ya. Teach this weirdo a lesson, okay?” Soon enough, everyone else joined in, shouting words of encouragement for him. Everyone except one. Frisk looked over to Toriel. She must have understood what was going on from the beginning. Giving him a knowing look, Toriel fought back the tears and flashed a smile. As Flowey’s maniacal laughter filled the room, Frisk could hear faintly, “Be careful, my child.”

Everything faded to white.

The whole world was ending.

=PART 8=

Asriel lectured about how he wanted to reset everything, to bring it back to zero, but Frisk knew it was a lie. Asriel just wanted someone to play with, and it was his job to provide that.
Chaos Buster. Shocker Breaker. Star Blazing. He’d seen these attacks countless times, and memorized the patterns long ago. But as he dodged through the swirling vortex of energy, he thought they seemed… faster than usual? Or maybe, he was just getting slower.

Minutes passed, Asriel sending out more attacks, each grander than the last, Frisk artfully evading them. Then, an errant star struck him in the chest. It had been in Frisk’s blind spot; as much as he hated to admit it, he still got hit from making a careless mistake every once in a while. It sliced clean through his body, leaving a jagged, gaping hole where his heart used to be. Blood came spraying out, staining his opponent’s robes red. All Asriel could do was stand there in shock and utter confusion. But Frisk had more pressing things to worry about. It felt cold, empty, the right side of his body growing numb, he was going into shock. Vision blurring, he could feel his soul tearing and fracturing…

But it refused.

He couldn’t give up. Not here! Holding his soul together with all of his might, Frisk pushed the fabric of time aside with the endless power of Determination, able to travel back just far enough. The star, the one he that had embedded itself into his flesh, was staring him straight in the face. Frisk twisted his body, just barely avoiding it as it grazed past him. Asriel kept throwing attacks, none the wiser. It seemed that in this form, he couldn’t tell what happened in past timelines. Their game continued for a few moments longer, until Frisk was too slow and one of Asriel’s swords sliced too close. Frisk’s arm fell limply to the ground, and him along with it. He Loaded, gritted his teeth, and weaved out of the way. However, he could still feel a warm liquid trickling down his hand. Already, he could feel his body growing weaker with each Load. The Determination Alphys had given him was running out. His grasp on this world was slipping each time he died. But stubbornly, Frisk persevered. For his sake.

It fell into a terrible rhythm. A bolt of technicolor lightning would strike Frisk, frying his insides, and he would Load. A rainbow-colored laser would slice through him, incinerating his bones into ashes, and he would Load. A group of shimmering stars would pierce his body, lodging themselves into his now battered flesh, and he would Load. And each time, he came closer and closer to death. True death, the kind that you can’t come back from. The wounds piled up, like they had in the past. A scratch here, a burn there. Frisk tried to hide it, but he eventually couldn’t hold out any longer. He’d lost too much blood to keep this up.

“Shocker Br- ...Huh?” Asriel stopped, gazing at Frisk. He hadn’t even landed a hit yet, why did his opponent look so horrible? Scratches and sears covered his body in various places, blood staining his clothes. Asriel’s confident demeanor had been replaced with one of concern. “Are… Are you okay?” was all he could get out before Frisk collapsed to his knees. Everything froze. The vibrant rainbow backdrop disappeared, being replaced with pure darkness, and Asriel abandoned his new form, reverting back into a shy and awkward kid. As he flew down, Frisk caught his shoulder for support.

“Hey Az,” he started with a weary smile, “it’s me, your best friend, Frisk.”

“That doesn’t matter right now!” Asriel shouted with a confidence in his voice that Frisk had never heard before. “Why are you hurt so badl-” He stopped only for a moment, before asking, “...How many times, Frisk?”

“You mean, this fight, or just in general?” He asked with a chuckle, interrupted by a cough. “Either way, I’ve… lost count.” He tried to reach for the extractor in his pocket, but his muscles wouldn’t obey him.

“Why?! What could you possibly hope to accomplish?” Asriel sounded desperate. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to remove the barrier so you can get some help.” Frisk could only sit and watch as this scene that had played itself out so many times repeated, with him powerless to stop it. A brilliant white light filled the room, the tiny prince in the center. Once again, Asriel was giving up his hopes and dreams for the sake of everyone else. And as much as he wanted to break this dreaded cycle of sacrifice, he couldn’t even manage to stand up. Rapidly losing consciousness, the last thing he could hear was a reluctant “...Take care of mom and dad for me, okay?”

Frisk could hear muffled sounds coming from above him. It sounded as if he was underwater, and he could barely make out what they were. Maybe voices? The noise grew louder as light shone in his eyes.

“...Frisk! Frisk!” a familiar face shouted. “Thank god.” Toriel exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Come on, let’s go to the surface. The barrier is lifted!”

Frisk quietly shook his head, trying to hide his injuries. If they made him leave to get medical help, he wouldn’t make it back in time. He had to go now. “I can’t… There’s one more thing I have to do first.”

“Well, do be careful, child. We’ll be waiting for you.” He nodded as he exchanged a knowing look with Alphys, and started walking towards his final destination.

As soon as he was out of sight, he clutched onto his left arm, which felt like it was burning hotter than the sun. With every step he took, he could feel a muscle give inside of his body. By the time he got to the ferry in Hotlands, he could barely stand.

The ferry person seemed to immediately knew where to go, and started rowing without saying a word, much to Frisk’s appreciation. Crawling over to the side of the boat, Frisk couldn’t do anything but vomit and cough up blood the whole way there. Eventually arriving, the ferry person helped him off, and rowed out of the alcove. Their own way of saying thanks, he figured.

Summoning the rest of the energy in his body, Frisk broke into a shambling jog through the now abandoned town. Desperately stumbling through the snow, he eventually made it to the big cold door separating the Ruins and Snowdin. As he leant against the door, he realised that one of his legs was numb. It barely moved, like a toy had that had run out of batteries and shut down. No matter what he did, the deadened limb wouldn’t respond to his commands. Limping into the house, he picked up the fire poker, using it as a cane to continue forwards.

Hobbling through the Ruins, Frisk could feel his body slowly but surely deteriorating. The numbness from his leg continued to spread, consuming his whole left side. By the time he reached the room where he first met Flowey, he was stumbling against the walls and leaning heavily on the poker, pulling himself along with his good arm, each step a huge effort.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Asriel turned around from the golden flower bed, trying to pinpoint the strange noise echoing through the cavern. Squinting in the darkness, he eventually saw a wounded figure emerge from the door, his step faltering as he collapsed onto the ground.

“Frisk!” Asriel yelled as he rushed over to Frisk’s near paralyzed body. He rolled Frisk onto his back, covering his face with his hands as he tried to figure out where to start. So many wounds. “Why did you come back?! Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Hahh… Not really, buddy.” Frisk’s one working hand slowly slipped into his pocket. There was no way Asriel would agree to do it, so he’d have to pull the extractor out slowly.

“You need to go back! You need help!” Asriel’s shouted, tears in his eyes. He couldn’t stand to see Frisk like this, and he knew it was because of him. “...I’ll take you. If you won’t look after yourself, then I’ll have to. It’s the least I can do.”

Frisk would have smiled if he still had the energy. “Thanks... That would be nice…” His consciousness was slipping, but he was almost there.

Frantically, Asriel hoisted Frisk’s body on his back, and began the trip back. Before he could get further than the next room, however, Asriel heard a mechanical click and a groan of pain. He could see the faint blue glow being cast from behind him.

“Sorry Az, this might hurt a bit.”

He could feel the needle in his neck, shortly followed by another click, and a blisteringly hot pain spreading through his body.

Asriel cried out. They collapsed together.

=PART 9=

Asriel stirred. His head groggy, he took a moment to regain his composure. What time was it? He looked at his hands. His… hands? He could feel the ground beneath his feet, the beating of his heart, his slow but steady breathing... he could feel! He wasn’t Flowey anymore! He took a deep breath and sat back down on the cold earth, an unnaturally wide grin covered his face from ear to ear...

Then he remembered; he was taking Frisk to the others. His smile faded as hurriedly looked around for the child. “Don’t worry Frisk, I’m-” When he saw Frisk, something looked… off about him. He was paler than normal, and he seemed unnaturally still. Asriel went to touch him, shocked and horrified to find that he was cold. He listened for a heartbeat, only to find there was none. He searched for some sign of life, something, anything, but there was nothing. He had failed again. Another life gone, because of him. He hunched over the lifeless form, and began to sob. Light was leaking through a small hole, filling the room with a scarlet glow.

After so long without, Asriel was shocked at the strength of the sadness. He couldn’t move, he could barely breathe, it hurt so badly. It was half an hour before he subsided enough to sit back up, feeling drained. He wiped the white fur around his eyes, now stained with tears. He couldn’t stay here forever. Frisk deserves a proper burial at least, as thanks for everything he did. There would be more time for this sadness later. Picking up the body, Asriel continued on.

As he passed through the house, full of fond memories, Asriel wanted nothing more than to sit down and rest. Instead he continued on, passing through the dark and gloomy basement, his paws touching the chilled floor. He emerged out into the whirling Snowdin winds, suddenly not so grateful for his ability to feel. Having spent countless hours in this place as Flowey, he thought he was ready for the cold, but it instead seemed to slip right through his baggy sweater, chilling his very bones. He persevered and pushed forward towards the town.

Around halfway to Snowdin, Asriel froze in place. Out of the darkness, he saw a familiar form emerge, and she was the person he wanted to see both the most and the least right now. Toriel, his mother. He figured she was worried about Frisk, and came looking for him. Fighting the immediate instinct to jump into his mother’s arms, he clutched the corpse, looking down. He couldn’t bear to see her face like this.

Toriel was just as conflicted as he was. She looked from Frisk’s grey stillness to the spectre of her lost son. She couldn’t decide whether to embrace Asriel in an enormous hug, or to hunch over crying, so instead she stood there with a blank expression on her face. For a moment, the only sound was the wind howling in the distance.

Asriel broke the silence.

“H-Howdy! It’s me.”

No longer able to hold it in, Toriel collapsed to her knees, hands covering her face. Asriel slowly walked up to her and rubbed his hand against her back. At his prompting, they wordlessly moved into the town, taking refuge from the biting winds in the old bar. Toriel’s weeping only grew louder as Asriel sat her down at a booth. Placing Frisk at another table, he silently embraced his mother with a guilty expression. In between her bouts of sobbing, he managed to utter “I’m sorry. This is my fault.” Toriel turned to look at her son with a look of disbelief, a few stray tears still rolling down her face. “If it wasn’t for me then he wouldn’t have…” he trailed off. “I… I… I should have stayed a Flower!” he shouted as his head dropped, nuzzling itself into Toriel’s lap.

He felt a warm embrace from above. “Don’t ever say that again, my child.” Toriel said, sniffling.  “Frisk gave up so much for you, how do you think he would feel if you didn’t use that gift of his?”

Asriel peeked up from under Toriel’s robe, stealing a glance a Frisk. Suddenly, he burst out, “I’m sorry! I’m so selfish…!” reinserting his muzzle into his mother’s clothes as he began to cry. It was a terrible, loud cry that sounded like a cross between a shout and a sob, interrupted occasionally with a bout of sniffing. Toriel could only comfort him as tears and snot ran down his pained face.

It was getting late by the time Asriel had finally tired of crying, and after scrounging for some food behind the counter, they decided to set off again. As they neared the throne room, Asriel got more and more nervous. “I really don’t wanna see my dad all emotional…” he said, clutching Toriel’s hand.

“Don’t worry, I warned him with a text. Let’s just hope he isn’t too bad.” she said with an exhausted smile.

“And we’re gonna, um, bury Frisk, right?”

“...Yes, we are.” she said with a solemn look on her face, as if suddenly remembering.

“I’m back.” she announced as she walked into the room. “And I’ve got someone for you to meet. Come on, Asriel.” She whispered as she pulled him out from behind her.

“Uhh... “ he awkwardly began. “Howdy! I’m Asrie-Ack!” was all he could get out before the king scooped him up, squeezing him so hard he thought he’d be crushed. “D-Dad, can’t… breathe…” he managed to sputter, his face turning blue.

“Oh!” He exclaimed, realizing what he was doing. “Sorry! I just... It’s so good to see you again.” he said with a smile. “...It’s amazing, you look just like you did back then.” A tear started to form in his eye.

“Don’t you get all emotional with me too!” Asriel groaned. “I’ve had to deal with enough of that already.”

“Oh, sorry.” he apologized, briefly wiping his face. “By the way, where’s Frisk?” He looked around excitedly. Asriel’s face fell.

Toriel started to answer, but trailed off, “Well… Frisk is…” She briefly went away, coming back with the child’s dead body in her arms.

Asgore stood there in shock, the color draining from his face. “Oh… I see…”

For a while, everyone stood there in silence, mourning the passing of their dear friend. Even Papyrus, whose unique personality managed to always lift everyone’s spirits, had nothing to say.

Alphys eventually blurted out, “I shouldn’t have let him go.” All eyes turned on her. “I… I knew w-what he was doing, but I didn’t know he’d… At the very least I should’ve gone with him. Or-Or-”

“Alphys, it’s okay.” Asgore said with a warm smile, the rest following suit “You can’t change the past. And somehow, I think we all knew that Frisk… Well, he was very determined to see things through.”

“W-Were you the one who found a way to save me?” Asriel asked the former royal scientist.

“Y-Y-Yes? It wasn’t much, really.” she said, trying to downplay it, her face turning red.

“Well, umm... Thank you. I really appreciate it.” he said shyly looking down.

“No problem…” she said, still blushing.

Asgore interjected, “Now, we should have a proper funeral for Frisk.”

Though he said “proper,” the service was actually quite makeshift. Crafting a homemade tombstone and pulling out an old dusty coffin from the basement, they dug a small ditch in the flower bed of the throne room. As they put Frisk’s body inside and lowered it down, everyone said one final goodbye. They all thanked him for his hard work, kindness, and determination, before lowering the dirt to fill up the hole. As the moon began to rise above Mt. Ebott, they all stepped out into the night, feeling the cool breeze on their faces, and looking over the endless opportunities that Frisk had opened up for them.

On the tombstone, there was only a single sentence. It read, “Thank you for everything.”

---

Thanks to MotifAnon and Doogle for proofreading, and thank you for enjoying my little story.