Archive of Our Own

It was a beautiful day outside.

The sun was shining, birds were singing. A perfect day for a game of catch.

But kids like Frisk…

…

It had been just a few short days since Frisk, with the help of Flowey (now better known to them as Asriel), broke the barrier and freed monsterkind from centuries of imprisonment beneath the mountain.

And everyone lived to see it. Not a single life was lost.

Unlike last time.

...and the time before that.

Frisk sadly sighed as they leaned up against the backboard of their bed. They had been awake for awhile at this point, but had no desire to leave.

Frisk gazed over to the clock on the bedside table.

It read 11:24.

Frisk winced as they rubbed their eyes, realizing how late it was.

They had long had the habit of waking up early, and m- ...Toriel had seen this for herself. So Frisk expected this might raise concern.

And sure enough…

There was soft knocking on the door. “Frisk?”

The door slowly creaked open, Toriel peeking her head in. “Oh! You’re up. Did you sleep well, my child?”

Frisk nodded, not looking her way. “Mmhm.”

Toriel paused, opening the door all the way. She cautiously took a step forward. “Are you alright, Frisk?”

“I’m fine.” Frisk mumbled, continuing to look down at their lap. They subtly squeezed their blanket with their hands, trembling ever so slightly.

Toriel frowned, but she decided to not pry. “Alright. But if you want to talk, I’m more than willing to listen, alright?”

Frisk didn’t respond.

Toriel turned to leave. “Breakfast is on the counter whenever you’re ready.” She said, finally leaving the room and closing the door behind her with a click.

Frisk let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding, putting their head in their hands and gritting their teeth.

They could hardly even look at her without seeing that gash across her cheek and the deep cut across her torso.
Frisk knew it wasn’t real. Obviously it wasn’t, as she was alive and well.

But it still haunted them.

And it was their fault.

…

Frisk couldn’t handle spending the day inside, so she bid Toriel farewell and decided to go to the park instead.

This place had a special place in their heart. It was what they called their home a short time before the mountain. There was a bench in a quiet corner of this place, and behind said bench was a massive tree that provided ample shade during the hotter parts of the year.

Even though it had only technically been a week since their last visit here, to Frisk it felt like it had been an eternity. For reasons they… don’t like to think about.

Frisk sat down at the tree, letting out a loud sigh.

It was a cool summer morning, the heat for once seeming to take a backseat.

“Hey! There’s my favorite little punk!”

Frisk looked up to see Undyne waving at them. She was jogging alongside Papyrus, who donned a “JOG BOY” tanktop and a sweatband… even though it was questionable if skeletons could even sweat.

They couldn’t help but crack a slight smile as they waved back.

“W-w-wait!” Alphys squeaked from behind. “W-wait for… hah! Me!” She stumbled forward, hands on her knees.

“You okay, Alphy?”

Undyne walked back towards Alphys, prompting Papyrus to approach Frisk.

“HELLO, HUMAN FRISK!” Papyrus boomed, full of energy as always.

“Hi.”

“WONDERFUL DAY ISN’T IT? IT WAS NEVER THIS WARM AND BRIGHT IN SNOWDIN, THAT’S FOR SURE!” Papyrus glanced back at Undyne and Alphys, before turning his attention back towards Frisk, who looked fairly disinterested in the conversation.

“NYEHHH… SAY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US?”

Frisk finally looked up. They sighed, getting up from the bench. Perhaps some exercise would help clear their mind. They haven’t done much the past few days anyway.

“Ok.”

“GREAT!” Frisk spotted Papyrus smile even brighter, looking back towards Undyne. “UNDYNE! FRISK HAS DECIDED TO JOIN US!”

Undyne, her toothy grin front and center, seemed to be happy to hear it. “Oh yeah? Well, don’t expect us to go easy on you, punk!” Undyne pumped her fist, nodding towards Papyrus.

Alphys visibly deflated, hoping to potentially catch a break, Frisk nervously smiling towards them.

…

Undyne and Papyrus eventually pulled ahead, their stamina unwavering. Alphys eventually gave up on jogging and went to instead keep a brisk walking pace, which sounded good to Frisk at that point.

“S-so, um. How has ambassador stuff been g-going?” Alphys asked as she wiped her forehead, still trying to catch her breath.

“Ok, I guess.” They rolled their eyes, remembering the prior day. “They don’t take me seriously. I… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, kids aren’t supposed to do this kind of job.”

Alphys huffed. “W-what!? Ugh, that’s the w-worst!”

“It’s whatever.” Frisk shrugged, “They listen to Toriel and Asgore, at least. They’ve been surprisingly… easy on us so far.”

“O-oh. W-well, that’s g-great! I’d h-hate to… um. Go back down there. A-after all of… that.”

“Uhuh.”

Frisk noticed a golden flower in the distance. Which was odd, because they didn’t grow around-

Wait…

The flower turned around.

“Howdy!”

Alphys shrieked.

“Howdy to you too.” Flowey rolled his eyes, now turning his attention to Frisk.

Frisk glanced towards Alphys, who was regaining her bearings. “I’ll catch up in a bit, okay?”

“O-o-okay.” Alphys didn’t need to be told twice. She was, for good reason, very anxious around Flowey.

“Flowey?”

“The one and only!” Flowey winked.

“I didn’t expect to see you here…”

Flowey paused, casting his head downward. “It’s… it’s lonely down there. And dark. I just wanted to come see what it was like up here.”

Frisk said nothing.

“No, honest! I… I can’t kill all of you again. I can’t, I…” Flowey gulped, curling one of his leaves towards where a would-be soul would reside. “I might not feel anything, but…”

“I still remember what it’s like. Not to mention everything else that both you and I did…” Flowey trailed off, causing Frisk to wince.

“I guess that makes two of us.” Frisk sat down next to Flowey.

“None of this feels real. I’ve gone on the same journey so many times. Experienced death many times.” Frisk looked at their trembling hands as if they were not their own.

Flowey chuckled. “Welcome to my world!”

“Knowing how it all ticks. Knowing how everyone breaks, and the opposite. Seeing the world in its best light and with none at all!”

“It’s terrible.” Frisk mumbled.

“Wh- Frisk. You’re free now, aren’t you? All of them are.”

“Free from… me.”

Flowey’s tone was now suddenly very serious, not like his usual sarcastic one. “Isn’t that what you want? What you’ve always wanted?”

“Y-yes, but…”

Frisk looked ahead, seeing Undyne, Papyrus, and Alphys now sat down at the edge of the lake, laughing about something.

“I don’t deserve it. Because I-”

“Murdered them? Pushed them to their breaking point? Fought back?” Flowey finished for them.

Frisk grimaced, not needing to elaborate further.

“But they don’t know, do they? I don’t see how this is a problem.”

“Wh- t-that doesn’t change that I killed them by my hand! What am I supposed to do, just s-sweep it under the r-rug and pretend nothing ever h-happened?!” Frisk frustratedly retorted, clenching their fists.

Flowey shrugged. “Guess not being able to feel anything makes it easier. Eh.”

Flowey didn’t say anything for a few minutes, before choosing to speak again. “Look. I’m probably the last thing you should take advice from, but.”

“If you feel THAT bad about killing them in the past, you could either tell the truth or make up for it somehow.”

Frisk stared at him in shocked silence. Flowey grumbled.

“S-stop staring at me, you idiot!”

“N-no it’s just… you? Trying to help me, and give me advice? Are you feeling okay?”

Flowey hissed, trying to put on his signature scary face. “D-don’t get your hopes up! I’d tear you and your friends apart if I didn’t remember!”

Flowey sighed, shrinking down into himself. “I-I’m gonna go, before I do just that. Just… take care of yourself, okay?”

Frisk slightly smiled, getting up. “Thanks, Az- Flowey.”

Flowey tiredly huffed at the misstep, burrowing back into the ground.

Frisk shook their head, going to rejoin with the others.

…

They eventually lead Frisk back home, but not before seeing what was unfolding at the front door.

“Ugh, what do you want?” Toriel asked.

“H-hi Tori, I, ummm…” Asgore stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Toriel rolled her eyes. “Are you going to waste both of our time or say something?”

Asgore was sweating bullets. “Oh! I… I wanted to ask if…”

“I-is Frisk here? I wanted to t-talk to them, if that’s o-okay…”

“NO, Asgore. They are not here. Now LEAVE.”

“Tori-” Asgore abruptly stopped talking as Toriel slammed the door in his face. He turned around, and put his head down, picking it back up when he saw Frisk.

“Oh! Howdy, Frisk!”

The rest greeted him. 

“HELLO KING ASGORE!”

Undyne frowned. “She’s still giving you trouble, huh?”

“H-hah, don’t worry about it, Undyne. It’s alright.”

Undyne peered around Asgore, glaring at the door where Toriel was just moments ago. Undyne loudly exhaled. “Alright, big guy. If you say so.”

“Come on, Pap. We’ve still got awhile to go!”

“UNDYNE, I DON’T THINK ALPHYS CAN MAKE IT ANY FURTHER…”

They all looked towards Alphys, who was collapsed on the ground. “I-I’m okay! I just… don’t want to m-move, heh heh.”

Undyne scooped her up from the ground, prompting Alphys to squeak, going slightly red in the scales. “Well then, I’ll just carry you the rest of the way, fuhuhu!”

“See you around, punk!” Undyne grinned at Frisk as she ran forward, carrying a very flustered Alphys in her arms. Papyrus waved to them as well as he sprinted to catch up, clearly surprised at the sheer amount of ground she covered in such little time.

Asgore chuckled, casting his eyes down towards Frisk, noticing the sad look on their face. “Is this a bad time? I can go if-”

“N-no. It’s fine. Actually, I wanted to talk to you.” 

Asgore seemed taken a bit aback, but was happy to oblige. “Ah, alright then. Here, let’s go to that diner downtown. It’s not far from here and we can talk there. My treat.”

Frisk smiled. “Sounds good, thanks.”

…

It didn’t take long for them to arrive there. It was a nice place. It was fairly small and cozy, mostly constructed of wood, inside and out. Unusual for a place like this. Frisk had never gotten to go here when they were younger, and had always wondered what it was like inside. Now they knew.

Asgore ordered the both of them a light lunch and some water.

“So.” Asgore began, very much aware of Frisk’s mood.

“What did you want to talk about, Frisk?”

Frisk absentmindedly tapped the table with their fingers. “Didn’t you want to talk to me about something first?”

“Ah… yes, but it can wait. You look like you have a lot on your mind.” Asgore replied, sitting up straighter.

“Do you still want to talk about it?”

“Y-yeah. I guess.”

“Frisk, you don’t need to if it will make you uncomfortable. I understand.”

“No, I want to. You’re the only one who could possibly help me with this.”

Asgore slightly raised his eyebrows. “Alright, if you’re sure. Go ahead.”

Frisk took a minute to begin.

“When you first saw me in the underground a few days ago… do you get this sense of deja vu? Like you might remember meeting me before? Even…”

Frisk nervously gulped. “Even fighting me?”

Asgore hummed thoughtfully. “Mmm, I think so? How peculiar. But we never fought… thank the stars for that.”

Frisk took a deep breath, putting their hands into a steeple. “Promise me you won’t think I’m crazy for what I’m about to say next?”

“Of course.”

Frisk let out a shaky exhale, steadying themselves as best as they could. “I… I have passed through the underground five different times. Our supposed first meeting was definitely not the first.”

Asgore furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “Well… I guess that would explain why I recognized you. How strange…”

Frisk continued, “You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this. Or why I would go through the underground more than once. Well…”

“The truth is… I…” Frisk’s lips quivered, their resolve quickly crumbling with every passing second.

Frisk shook their head. They decided to take a different route.

“Frisk…”

“I made a lot of mistakes. I hurt a lot of people, intentionally and unintentionally. I made everyone suffer. Does someone like that… do they d-deserve forgiveness? Do they deserve a h-h-happy e-ending..?”

“I… no they... “

Frisk broke down, putting their head down on the table, quietly sobbing.

Asgore frowned. He slid out of the seat and joined Frisk on the other side. He gently rested a hand on their head, looking down towards them. “Frisk.”

“Frisk, look at me.” Asgore turned Frisk’s head to face him.

“No one is perfect. Even as king, I too have made many mistakes. I too… I also have many, many regrets.”

“I wish I could take back everything I did. But I can’t.”

Asgore sadly smiled. “But what I can do is move forward, and make up for my mistakes. I do not know the gravity of your situation, but…”

“Whatever you did. I think you deserve forgiveness. Not to mention you’re just a mere child…”

“T-thanks Asgore. I’m s-s-sorry…”

“It’s okay, Frisk. You’ll get through this, I’m sure of it.”

And just like that, their meal arrived. It was a simple burger, one for each of them.

Asgore got up and returned to his side of the table after ruffling Frisk’s hair.

Before Frisk decided to have their lunch, they asked, “So, u-um. Didn’t you want to talk to me about something?”

“Oh! There’s supposed to be another meeting in two days’ time. I was wondering if you were okay to attend?”

Frisk rolled their eyes with a groan. “So soon? I thought-”

Asgore waved his hand dismissively. “You do not have to if you do not want to, Frisk. You are going through a lot, after all… maybe you should take a break?”

Frisk genuinely pondered this. That didn’t sound too bad. “A-actually, um. You know what? A break sounds good. Yeah…”

Asgore nodded. “I’m sure they’ll understand. Now, let’s enjoy what we came here for, hm?”


Frisk made a sound of confirmation as they already bit into their burger.

…

Frisk had one more person they had to talk to.

Sans the Skeleton.

Frisk already knew of his knowledge of the timelines. They found out in… well. Frisk didn’t want to think about it.

But if he knew about the timelines, then that means…

Surely he knows, right?

Frisk arranged for them to meet up later at night. Alone.

After they were sure Toriel was asleep that night, they snuck out of the house and stood in the front yard, to see the one and only skeletal comedian waiting for them.

“hey kid.” he greeted. “you wanted to talk?”

Frisk nervously nodded. “Y-yeah.”

“let’s talk somewhere else then, huh?” Sans held out his hand. “i know a shortcut.”

Frisk took it and, in a blink, they appeared elsewhere. At the top of the mountain. Where they all exited a few days ago.

“what, did you think i was gonna take you to grillby’s?” Sans chuckled to himself. “alright but really, what’s goin’ on?”

Frisk took a seat next to the edge of the cliff, looking out at the dark expanse of trees below. “Are you familiar with timelines?” Frisk started with a big question. One they knew the answer to, but they wanted to see how he’d react.

Frisk saw surprise in his eyelights. “huh. uhhh, yeah but… that’s not exactly common knowledge.”

Frisk couldn’t help themselves slightly grin at what they’d say next. “I’m the legendary fartmaster.”

Sans burst into laughter. “heh heh. i could’ve made it anything, yet i chose that. funny, huh?”

“but… that confirms my theory.”

Sans now wore a very serious expression. “you’re the anomaly. i always thought it was that damn flower. maybe it was, but…”

“So does that mean you remember…”

Sans’ face fell, his eyelights dimming slightly. “the past? kind of. it’s… complicated.”

“How?”

“they’re like disjointed fragments. it’s incomplete. i remember bits and pieces but… for all i know they could just be disconnected dreams. hallucinations. not real. ya know.”

Sans observed how guilty and uneasy Frisk looked.

“you ok?”

“Sans… can you tell me what some of these fragments w-were?” Frisk cautiously asked, their voice slightly trembling.

“some are good, some bad.” he began, “i definitely remember you being in most of them, though.”

“i remember making a phonecall in one. pretty sure it was to you. i don’t remember what i said, but…”

“i just remember there being a lot of people missing. don’t know what that was about.”

Frisk gulped. “W-what else?”

Sans’ eyes darkened. “i saw a pile of dust. and pap’s scarf…”

Frisk winced.

“i remember another where undyne just… became a puddle. i recall pap being all worried… i think.”

“Sans…”

Sans looked at them intently.

“Those things y-you saw. T-they… they are…”

“They ARE real! It was ME!” Frisk shouted, breathing heavily.

All was eerily quiet for a few tense moments after that. Then…

“what?”

“Five times. I went through the underground five times. And on the fourth t-time I-I-”

“I killed everyone. All of them! Even-”

Sans’ eyelights completely went out, his dark eyesockets boring into Frisk’s eyes. “even papyrus.”

His eyelights returned for just a moment. “look kid, i get self defense. but…”

Sans’ eyelights disappeared once again. “why the hell did you kill papyrus!?”

“Revenge.” Frisk said simply.

“what are you talking about, frisk? it’s papyrus. what could he possibly have-”

“No, you don’t u-understand.”

Frisk sighed, recounting the memory. “In my first run through the underground, I was terrified. Everything I saw wanted to kill me. And I felt every bit of pain from their attacks.”

“I-I tried to s-show mercy wherever I could… but there were a lot of times where I got s-scared and… k-killed them!”

Frisk clenched their fists. “After Undyne I just… lost it. I killed her. I killed every guard member I saw. A-and those monsters Mettaton sent after me.”

Frisk grumbled, remembering Mettaton. “After I finally made it out, I decided I wanted revenge. I offered kindness, but monsterkind offered me nothing but pain and death. Fear. I wanted to see how they liked being on the receiving end.”

“There was this voice in my head too, you know. I heard them a lot on my first time through, guiding me, it was almost as if they were narrating my journey through the underground. So when I began my killing spree they were understandably… offended. Disgusted. A-and after I k-killed Papyrus, they…”

Frisk shrunk down into themselves. “I think I pushed them over the edge. They lost control. They even became strong enough to gain influence over me later on. But when I fought you…”

“Well. I assume you remember what you said to me.”

Sans slowly nodded. “if we are really friends, you won’t come back.” he remembered, reciting it exactly.

“After you killed me and said that to me I just felt… immensely guilty. So I went back and did it all over again. And I never heard from that voice in my head again.”

“...”

“Look. I’m not asking for you to forgive me. I-”

“kid.” Sans held up his hand, signalling for them to stop.

“i’m not going to pretend what you did was okay. it definitely wasn’t. but.”

“you’re also still a kid. this power you have… no one should have this power. let alone a child.”

“you did at least use it for good at the end, but… who’s to say you won’t just reset and finish the job?”

Frisk put their head down.

“be honest here, frisk. you have the power to turn back time, and alter people’s lives at will. change the future of the world.”

“I can’t do it again, Sans. I-it’s too much. I want to do better, okay?”

Sans sighed. “listen, kid. i’m not sure i can forgive you for killing pap. but if you really want to improve…”

Sans held out his pinkie. “you can make me a promise.”

“W-what’s that?”

“never reset again.”

Frisk’s hand made their way up. “O-okay-”

“...and tell them the truth.”

Frisk faltered.

“it’s owning up to your mistakes, kid. i can’t force ya. but the choice is yours.”

Frisk wordlessly crossed their pinkie with Sans’, making that promise.

“heh. i’m proud of you, kid. that’s brave.”

Sans got up, scratching his head. “welp. best get you home before tori finds out you’re missing, huh?”

“Y-yeah.”

Frisk and Sans vanished.

…

The next morning, Frisk asked if holding a movie night was possible.

It would take some setup, but Toriel was on board with it, and so a plan was made.

But only Frisk knew the true intent of this gathering. It would be time for them all to finally learn the truth. The truth about who they think is a little angel who would never hurt a fly, who saved their entire civilization.

When that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

…

Later that night, everyone arrived. Even Asgore, who Frisk had to try extra hard to convince Toriel to let in, ultimately agreeing to it provided he left immediately afterwards.

Everyone settled in. A few took to the couch, Toriel to her reading chair, and everyone else on the floor. As Toriel was about to start the movie in question, Frisk stood up and asked for everyone’s attention.

“Frisk?” Toriel questioned.

“I know you’re all here to watch a movie. But the real reason everyone was invited here was…”

“To hear the truth.”

Frisk glanced towards Sans, who perked up a little.

“The truth?” asked Toriel, not having a clue what it meant.

“FRISK, I’M CONFUSED. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?”

“Truth? Have you been LYIN’ to us about somethin’, punk?”

Frisk shakily breathed out. “All of you probably think I’m just this sweet, innocent little kid who wouldn’t ever hurt anybody or anything. Freed the underground out of the kindness of their own heart.”

They nodded towards Sans. “Sans can confirm this. My adventure through the underground, it was not my first. And the ones that came before were… well. I’ll get to that in a minute.”

Everyone looked towards Sans, who just nodded. “yup. ‘kid told me everything last night. i had suspicions for some time now, and it was just confirmed.”

Now everyone’s attention was on Sans.

“BROTHER, YOU MEAN-”

“there’s multiple timelines. we happen to find ourselves in the best one, where frisk spared the life of every single monster in the underground, and did the right thing. we were freed, and can now roam the surface. sounds good, right?”

“well… there’s more to it than that. there are others out there. ones that occurred before this exact one, that were erased from time by none other than the anomaly. or… frisk. i suspect that talking flower could do the same thing, but i can’t remember.”

Alphys shrunk down into herself at the mention of Flowey.

Sans hummed. “there are timelines where frisk killed monsters. a few, a lot, or all of them. ‘least that’s what i’ve gathered based on what i can remember.”

Undyne just stared at him as if he was insane. “Sans.”

She put her hands into a steeple. “With all due respect. That sounds like bullshit.”

“Undyne, language!” Toriel glared at her.

“I’m afraid I have to agree with Undyne here.” Asgore said, keeping a neutral tone.

Undyne rolled her eye. “Right, so can we get on with the movie already?”

Alphys decided to pitch in. “N-n-no. Sans is right.”

Undyne twisted her head sideways towards Alphys, looking at her in disbelief. “Alph, you can’t be serious-”

“No, really. What Sans says makes sense. It c-confirms some theories of my own regarding timelines. In fact, we worked together on it for a short time. His idea, not mine.”

Sans nodded. “yup. we observed what we called an anomaly . something that kept making time jump back and forth. i had to be the one to keep track as i was the only one who could remember anything.”

“frisk?”

Frisk steeled themselves. “As I said. I’m not the person you think I am.”

“In another timeline, no, multiple timelines, I have killed every single person in this room. And for anyone I didn’t, they died because of my actions. Some multiple times.”

“Toriel. The first time was by accident. I thought the only choice was to fight you, but I reset and undid that mistake. But then I killed you again, intentionally. All because I hated how you wanted to trap me in that little pink prison for my safety.” Frisk said with air quotes.

Toriel gasped, putting her head down. She didn’t comment.

“Alphys. Although I never hurt you directly, I killed Mettaton multiple times. I found him absolutely insufferable. All the games he played with me to be as annoying and inconvenient as possible. The sole time I spared him was this very run.”

“I g-guess I d-deserved it, huh..?”

“Undyne. You hunted me every single time, and took my life multiple times. First time was self defense, but then it became deliberate. I didn’t think it was possible to even change your thought on humans, not to mention all the other monsters who had attacked me prior. When I didn’t kill you in battle, I let you die in the heat of hotland.”

Undyne looked furious for a second, but then became strangely calm. “Heh. I guess I wasn’t doing myself any favors, huh?”

“Waiiit. Wait wait wait. Sans mentioned other timelines where you killed many monsters.”

Frisk nodded calmly. “Yes. You were another obstacle. Even though I should’ve dusted you in one hit, through sheer determination you cheated death and continued to fight.”

Undyne grinned. “Sounds like me! I must’ve looked so cool!”

“Um… Y-yeah…”

Awkward silence filled the room.

“Aren’t you mad that I killed you AND other monsters?”

“Ehh… it’s complicated.”

Frisk shook their head, moving on. “Papyrus. I didn’t even spare you. You are the nicest monster I’ve ever met, and you’re the only one here who never once killed me. You always showed me mercy. B-but I killed you anyway! And for what!?”

Papyrus frowned. “FRISK.”

“I FORGIVE-”

“N-no you don’t! I don’t deserve it! I-”

“FRISK, LISTEN TO ME. I BELIEVE THAT ANYONE CAN BE A BETTER PERSON, IF THEY JUST TRY.”

That struck Frisk hard. That’s what he said to them on that one run, the one where he died.

“AND YOU’VE ALREADY MADE PROGRESS! YOU FREED EVERYONE, AND DIDN’T DO A SINGLE VIOLENCE!”

“P-pap, that’s not the point. I still killed you! I killed other monsters, and everyone else h-here!”

“MY POINT STILL STANDS, FRISK. IF YOU FEEL BAD ABOUT MISTAKES YOU’VE MADE IN THE PAST, THEN YOU CAN INSTEAD TRY TO DO BETTER. THAT’S THE BEST YOU CAN DO. I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU!”

Frisk sniffled. Papyrus never failed to defy expectations. They weren’t sure where all that kindness came from. But they were thankful all the same.

Still, they weren’t done. They turned to Asgore. “Asgore. I-”

Asgore held up his hand. “I know. But… had Toriel not intervened, I would have fought you myself. And… I wouldn’t have allowed you to give me mercy.”

He bowed his head. “I don’t deserve it.”

“But-”

“Frisk, I’m sorry. The whole reason you went through this was because of me and my foolish plan. Take the souls of the fallen humans and… let history repeat itself.”

Frisk couldn’t argue with that. So, they turned to Sans.

Frisk opened their mouth to speak, but Sans began it for them. “save it, kid. i know. you’re sorry. it won’t be easy to forgive you for killing papyrus… that much is still beyond me. but, if he believes in you, then what do i have to argue?”

Frisk felt their composure finally crumble to pieces all at once, falling to their knees. “...why.”

“I have done NOTHING to deserve any kindness from any of you! The only reason any of you are here now is because I just felt guilty, that’s IT!”

Frisk sniffled, feeling tears begin to enter their eyes. “A-and… who’s to say I won’t c-change my…” they trailed off, going silent.

In fact, the entire room just sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Everyone had to take in all of this new information that had just been released upon them.

…

“Frisk, my child.” Toriel broke the silence. “I feel like I should be the one apologizing here.”

“If I hadn’t ever let you go, if I had my way…” Toriel gulped, trembling. “You would have been trapped down there. Forever. You would have been unhappy. You might not have even survived, I…”

“The underground would have never went free.”

Undyne decided to speak up as well. “Listen, Frisk. I feel like I’m to blame here. Being ruthlessly hunted even AFTER not harming a single soul… that no doubt must be a lot for someone. Maybe I was just blinded by my hatred for humanity… rather what it did to Asgore. I had no reason to like them, after all! But you proved that some humans are actually pretty cool.”

“JUST DON’T START KILLING AGAIN, OKAY!?” Undyne hastily added on.

She quietly laughed. “Hah, relax. I’m just joking.”

“but seriously don’t-” She said under her breath.

Alphys struggled to get the first few words out, but: “When you first entered the underground, my intent was to watch over you, and eventually have you captured, if you had turned out to be, e-er… bad. And got past all of the g-guard.”

“But… I really wanted to be part of your story. I wanted to not be a nobody. S-so, I pretended to save you from Mettaton. He did all of that for me… the o-only thing he did himself was fight you one-on-one.”

“I-I put you in danger and willingly stalled your progress, all to make myself matter. It was selfish, and I’m sorry.”

Everyone looked towards Papyrus, expecting him to go next.

“WHAT? OH! UHH…”

“HUMAN FRISK, I HAVE NOT KNOWN YOU FOR LONG. BUT THERE AREN’T MANY PEOPLE WHO WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY TO BE MY FRIEND. I JUST WISH I HELPED YOU MORE UNDERGROUND, LIKE A FRIEND WOULD! MAYBE THINGS WOULD HAVE TURNED OUT BETTER THAT WAY.”

“BUT THERE’S NO USE DWELLING ON THE PAST. I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU!”

Finally, it was Asgore’s turn. “Frisk. I’m so terribly sorry for the responsibility you’re forced to carry on your tiny shoulders. All of this… it all happened because of my terrible plan. To go back to war with humanity, all because I wanted revenge for my dead children. A-and… to give the people some semblance of hope in a dark time.”

“You’re actually similar to one of them, you know. You were under an immense amount of pressure… more than anyone your age should be. The hope for the future of humans and monsters…” Asgore felt a tear run down his face.

“A-ah, I’m sorry. I’m rambling. But we’ve all made mistakes, Frisk. Grave mistakes. You should get to move past them, too.”

Sans huffed, rubbing his eyesockets. “welp. if everyone else is willing to forgive ya, then maybe i should give you a second chance too, heh.”

He shrugged. “a promise is a promise. pap and asgore are right… we all make mistakes, but perhaps those mistakes shouldn’t weigh someone down forever, huh?”

Frisk looked around in disbelief. They fully expected for everyone to just descend onto them, either with words or magic. They weren’t expecting to still be standing there or, more accurately sitting there.

They… were forgiven?

“W-what? But I don’t… I d-don’t deserve-” Frisk couldn’t even finish their sentence, beginning to cry. Both in confusion, but also in relief. Like a weight had been lifted from their chest.

Toriel got up from her chair and went to hug Frisk. “Of course you deserve it, my child. You deserve to be happy, and live a happy life on the surface. With us.”

Toriel felt Frisk’s grip tighten as they cried into her shoulder. Toriel pat their back in an attempt to comfort them.

It didn’t take long for it to transition into a massive group hug.

…

After Frisk calmed down, they all decided to finally set out what they came here to do.

Watch that movie. It was chosen by Alphys and Undyne. The new Mew Mew Kissy Cutie movie. Alphys was skeptical at first but apparently it “returned to its roots”, which was a point of intrigue for the both of them.

Alphys and Undyne were obviously very into it. Everyone else on the other hand was simply curious as to what it even was. They were about to find out.

“hey kid,” Sans nudged Frisk. “thanks for doing that.”

Frisk weakly smiled. “Y-yeah. It was hard, but… it’s nice to finally have it off my chest.”

“and now you can focus on the future, huh? how about that?”

“Haha… yeah. I’m excited.”

Sans’ eyelights softly glowed. “yeah?”

“It’s something new. It’s scary, but…”

“I have all of my friends and family to help me through it.”

“I’m finally free.”