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The hall in front of them seemed to stretch on endlessly as Frisk tried to convince themselves they were ready for the end.
Asgore told them to take their time. If there was anything they wanted to do, they could go and do it. The fact the end was in their hands stung, at least faintly.
(Sans had told them to look inside themselves. They knew they weren't perfect, that they had struck down a few monsters in a fit of panic that they didn't need to. Maybe that stung too.)
Instead of progressing or going back, they sat down by the glowing star that heralded the end of their journey and waited to get their nerves together.
...
"You know, there are better places in New Home to rot," a voice in their head piped up after the fifth minute. "Though... I hesitate to assume that to be your goal."
Frisk didn't respond.
"Hm. No response? Perhaps my drivel has grown tiresome."
"That's not- just-" they corrected, "this... feels more final. I don't like endings."
The voice went quiet for several seconds; Frisk could feel some sort of conflict in their head, some kind of hesitance or something.
Or it was trying to figure out how to call them an idiot. It liked doing that.
"It's not like you'll cease to exist," it eventually said. "It's not your ending. Just... an ending."
...
"Unless you really mess up and die. Don't do that."
That was worse! Even if that did make them laugh, the prospect of actually dying- however unlikely their present situation seemed to make it- wasn't something they wanted to think about!
"That put a smile on your face," the voice observed anyway, disregarding Frisk's hesitance. "I suppose all you needed was a bit of charm, no?"
...
Well, now they couldn't stand up because that'd be proving it right. But they couldn't sit here forever, because that wouldn't really accomplish anything.
Somehow this motivated them more than anything. Still, they would have to distract it to keep it from saying anything too smug.
"Will you be here after?" they asked as they got to their feet. "If I make it out of here, I mean."
...
"Of course. I doubt I have a choice."
Frisk sat back down in the hall before the end on their second run-through, after an unsatisfying ending beckoned them back to try again.
Flowey had... done something, last reset. That much was evident. Breaking their SAVE file, however metaphorical that may have been, had erased the voice's presence in their head.
It was lonely. Not that they would ever admit that to anyone besides themselves. And especially not to the voice itself.
They had done... better than the last time, they thought. They had figured out how to let Toriel let them go peacefully. At the very least, Mettaton wouldn't take over the Underground with a cult of personality.
They hoped.
Still, they weren't... perfect. Even if they tried harder to be. Undyne's dust was still on their hands.
It was harder than it should have been. Frisk would never have thought of themselves as capable of ending a life, but...
Apparently they were.
They thought they were better than that.
"You know, your head is a fairly dull place to get lost," the voice commented. "Or are you expecting us to have the same conversation again?"
"No, we don't... have to. I'm just thinking."
"Evidently. Need I ask about the holdup, then?"
...Was this a conversation they were willing to have?
"I was told- after you disappeared- to get here without killing anyone. But I still got desperate, and we still-"
"Ended up here. Of course."
An uncomfortable silence settled between the them and the voice for a few moments, Frisk staring off into the distance like it would give them some sort of grand solution.
"Did disappearing hurt?" they asked eventually, more to make conversation than anything.
"In the moment, maybe. Now I can't particularly remember it."
"...Would it be fair to make you do it again?"
Something akin to a laugh escaped them, and Frisk knew it wasn't from them; a cold, unnatural sound that felt more resentful than amused.
"Must the living always trifle themselves with the affairs of the dead? We are both here, but once you leave I will not be. This has been established. You needn't concern yourself with a grim inevitability."
...
Frisk reached up to pat themselves on the shoulder, hoping that would give them a moment to formulate a response.
"I do like trifling," they acknowledged. "But we both know I'll have to come back, so why bother hurting you over it?"
"Because it has to happen. You weren't this concerned about anyone else's deaths."
"But I still fixed most of them."
"Most."
They let out a grumble; it had a point.
"That was- I couldn't think of any other solutions to her trying to kill me!"
"So you just ran away from your goal. Reprehensible. We could have had something better."
Ran away from...
...
Of course! That was the solution! It was that simple the whole time, and somehow they hadn't come to it until the voice decided to try and snark them for it!
"You're right! We could've!" Frisk replied, wrapping their arms around themselves in the best approximation of a one-person hug. "You can't escape when- it's that easy!"
"...What are you suggesting?"
"That you helped me figure something out! We're going to reset and do things right! So thanks, voice!"
The voice didn't respond for several long seconds, to the point where the only indicator it was still listening was the rush of confusion that Frisk felt.
Confusion and, perhaps, the slightest bit of hope.
"Chara. If you truly insist on dragging me through your character growth, you could at least be referring to me by my name."
(Frisk beamed.)
"And yet you still ended up here," Chara commented as Frisk returned to the end for the third time, this time without any dust on their hands.
That was true. This didn't... feel any different. They didn't hurt anyone, but... nothing changed.
They didn't sit down this time, instead standing by the SAVE point and looking out towards the door containing the Barrier.
"Am I... missing something? Or is this all there is?"
Chara went quiet, Frisk's hands folding together thoughtfully.
"Perhaps life really is that unfair. Or perhaps it was about your growth. At the very least, you have proven yourself capable of change."
But they would still be losing someone they cared about. Everyone they cared about, really; once they escaped the Underground, that was that. Even if they hadn't been as close to everyone as they liked, they...
"Do you ever feel like you're in a rut?"
"Not often, seeing as I haven't had any ruts to be in until recently."
Frisk let out a huff of a laugh. That wasn't untrue.
"I'm asking if there are any other solutions. I don't want to lose..."
You, they almost said.
Everyone, they considered.
"...well, you know what I mean," they concluded instead.
Chara made a hum, like they had a suggestion but were torn between being self-righteously full of themselves and being annoyingly vague about it.
"You've been given multiple suggestions about how to proceed," they eventually said, clearly opting for the latter. "Some, perhaps, less advisable than others. At the very least, this needn't be your ending. And you needn't try again."
"So there is something I'm missing."
"If you wanted it to be so."
...Well, it was their job to think of something then, apparently.
Frisk sighed. They would have liked to think they had gotten closer to Chara over the course of this attempt. That led to them being more helpful, even if their idea of "help" had become more of a gentle nudge in one direction or another.
Maybe if there were a way to get closer with all of their friends, they could...
Hm.
"Papyrus wanted to hang out, but I was in too much of a hurry," they noted. "Being friends with you worked out to my benefit, didn't it?"
"Who said we were friends?" Chara retorted.
...
"That was in poor taste. My apologies."
...
Frisk raised an eyebrow at no one in particular. Chara let out an indignant huff that was very much contradicted by the rush of amusement they felt.
"Just go see your damn friend so we can get out of this hallway."
...
Frisk obliged.
The ensuing few hours were more eventful than any of the other ones Frisk had had in the Underground.
Papyrus was... enjoyable to hang out with, even if they just stood there and let him try to hang out with them. Undyne was delightful and they couldn't help but snicker as she all but let them catch her house on fire.
Then there was Alphys.
The "date" was... horrendously awkward, but they were glad to help her out. They were happy for her, even! Even Chara seemed to be in better spirits as they left the dump!
That was shattered quickly. Monsters sloughing and melting, a dark truth that they never needed to get themselves into...
And whatever had happened with Chara. Perhaps that was another dark truth. Maybe the whole True Lab was.
(The pained laughter ringing in their ears was, just maybe, the worst part of the experience. Subjectively.)
All the same, they ended up back at the end. It felt... different this time, though. They couldn't go back even if they wanted to. A real finality weighed on them.
So maybe for tradition's sake or maybe because the affection in their heart demanded it, Frisk sat down by the SAVE point by the end.
"...You cannot be serious," Chara said immediately, a wry amusement in their voice. "Surely you have more important things to do than dawdle for my sake."
"What if you disappear after this? I'd hate to not get to say goodbye."
Chara muttered a few things about ridiculousness before speaking more properly.
"Well, I suppose it works out. I wished to say my piece anyway."
(Wouldn't that contradict them not wanting Frisk to "dawdle for their sake"?)
(All the same, they sat to attention and waited for Chara to continue.)
"I... suppose you are correct. This may be goodbye. Forever, although your repeated revivals show a pointed disregard for eternity."
"It sounds like a long time to wait. I've never been great at waiting."
"Don't interrupt me," Chara snapped, like Frisk was breaking a rehearsed script of some kind. "As I was saying. At first I found your company irritating. A curse upon me, continuing to exist in the face of what I loathed most.
"You certainly didn't do anything to make me think otherwise. You were not without faults, simply put. But... hm. I suppose you changed somewhere along the way."
Something odd entered Chara's voice, something that almost sounded fond or endeared.
"And I would be lying if I said it weren't contagious. You gave me a second chance to help the Underground, however indirectly it may have been. And that was... terrifying in its own right, but..."
Frisk felt their own hands clap together, as if making a point.
"You're... good. A good person. You've made it easier to want to be one. And I almost wish I probably didn't have to disappear again after this, because that was something I should have learned sooner. So..."
One of their hands pat the other, as if of its own accord.
"I'm sorry I was too dense to get here on my own. And I'm sorry this is probably the last we'll see of each other. But thank you for giving me a chance to rest easy. To be better. I'll... cherish that as long as I can."
They weren't entirely sure how to respond to all of that. Once more, Chara had succeeded in leaving them effectively speechless.
So they just wrapped their arms around themselves, letting out a contented hum.
"I'll miss you too, doofus," they said quietly after far too long a pause to feel normal. "Thanks for being there."
They could feel an unfamiliar, pleasant warmth rush through them in response that only made them hold on tighter. If only for a moment.
Chara, for their part, spent a few seconds enjoying the silence before scoffing.
"Just- just go on, alright? I'll be rooting for you, so don't mess things up."
...
Frisk's head hurt.
They had spent several minutes being looked over by all of their friends after being attacked by GOD, and no one else knew, and they would really just like to lay down for a minute.
They appreciated it. But they were in pain. Asriel had done a number on them.
Still, they made sure everyone was okay before pulling away and sitting down by the SAVE point. They'd check on the rest of the Underground in a minute, they just...
They just needed a break. A bit of quiet.
(Sans gave them an odd look as they sat down, but they weren't particularly concerned. They had to talk to him later anyway, so they could take a bit of future ribbing.)
The rock wall felt familiar now after however long resting against it. Like an old friend, or...
"You know, someone told me once that they never liked endings," someone familiar greeted. "I feel obligated to ask if that still holds."
Frisk's eyes snapped open, like that would give any indicator of a presence that existed wholly within their mind.
"Chara?" they whispered, unable to help a tired smile. Or maybe that was their influence.
"I... suppose that I spoke too soon," they said, quickly turning solemn. "It feels like a perpetuation to my existence that I truly don't deserve."
Well, they had it. So they'd have to deal with having it.
"Better get used to it," Frisk replied. At the least, it prompted a laugh from Chara that felt genuine enough.
"Does anyone else get to see how insensitive you are?" they stated dryly in response. "Saviour of Monsterkind- because that's you now, you know- failing to let someone dear to them process the preceding half hour of their afterlife."
Frisk laughed in turn, shaking their head.
"Right, okay, okay. I'm sorry, alright?" they replied, completely incapable of losing their smile.
"That smile really isn't helping your case."
"It's unrelated!" Frisk protested, going quiet for several seconds before: "I thought I was going to lose you. I thought I lost you. Let me enjoy being wrong."
Chara obliged, staying silent as they spent a minute or two just smiling like an idiot.
"Incorrigible. Completely and utterly. I doubt anyone else has been this pleased about a haunting."
"It's not the haunting, it's you!"
"I should have never spilled my heart."
"Too bad!"
Eventually, Frisk was able to will themselves up and back through the Throne Room. They'd do a victory lap through the Underground, then they'd...
They'd think of something, probably. Sans and Papyrus would probably be happy to have them.
As they backtracked through Asgore's home, they took a momentary detour to look at themselves in the mirror. To look at how far they'd come, for a lack of better phrasing.
...Still them. A bit more beat up and a bit more tired than the start of their first reset, but still recognisable.
"Still just you, Frisk," Chara confirmed softly, an endearment dripping from their tone that Frisk half expected them to immediately scoff at. When it never came, they gave another sigh.
...
They had done a good job.