It started off so well.

Frisk had saved the world, saved their friends, and even saved Asriel. The battleground had faded, and where a reality-breaking god-like entity had once floated, there was now just a small monster child wiping away his tears. Asriel apologized to Frisk, ended up learning their name, and explained why they felt that they couldn't be forgiven. Frisk forgave them anyways, of course.

Their journey was at an end, and after ages of waiting, monsters were finally going to reach the surface. Although they hadn't actually been in the underground that long, even with so many resets, it felt like they'd been on a huge journey. Frisk was contented, and excited too - but as Asriel spoke, they began to realize that their body was exhausted. With their constant activity, and the determination they'd been feeling all this time, it had been so easy to forget just how much they'd been through physically - let alone mentally and emotionally.

"Oh, Frisk! Are you okay?" Asriel asked in concern, an expression of apparent guilt on his face.

I'm fine. It's just been a very long day. Frisk signed in response.

Asriel laughed nervously. "Yeah. One really, really long day."

That reminds me - I don't think I'm gonna reset any more after this. Frisk admitted. Now that you can break the barrier, I don't think it would be fair to force them back underground.

"Y-you already guessed that I was gonna do that, huh?" Asriel blinked in surprise.

Frisk smiled in amusement. Well, you are, aren't you?

Asriel nodded, a determined look appearing in his eyes. "Yeah, that's right. I can feel everyone's souls, and all of them are burning with the same desire to be free." He floated up into the air, stopping at what seemed like halfway to the top of the barrier. Countless white souls appearing and circled around him, as well as the six human souls. It was an an incredible sight - even after everything Frisk had seen so far, they couldn't help but stare.

Deep in their own soul, Frisk began to feel a familiar sense of determination...but this time, it was different. There was more to it - like all of the monsters and other humans were calling out to them. It resonated within them, and they accepted it proudly, lending all of their energy towards hoping for Asriel to succeed.

In response, Frisk's soul appeared in front of them, shining brightly; for once they felt truly safe exposing it like this. Their vision began to blur, and they faintly wondered when they had last slept. Frisk sat down, shrugging it off - they could sleep after the barrier had broken.

Luckily, with all of the power being exerted, they didn't have to wait much longer for that to happen. Eventually, the barrier began to weaken, then crack, and finally it shattered completely. Bright light filled the room, and tiredness swept over Frisk. They laid down on the floor, sighing to themselves. For now, they would have their hard-earned rest, and then they'd go see their friends.

When everyone else woke up, they found Frisk laid face-up in the barrier chamber, seemingly fast asleep. Papyrus had immediately rushed over to Frisk, picking them up and asking if they were okay. The others were concerned, but did not panic - Frisk's soul wasn't out, so they were probably fine. At Toriel's suggested, they set Frisk down in the cave beyond the throne room and waited for them to get up.

"They'll be fine!" Undyne had reassured everyone. "Anyone that can get past me is unstoppable!"

"Nonetheless, I think it is best if we watch over them until they awaken." Toriel stated gently.

Papyrus stepped forward, placing a hand proudly on his chest. "Fear not, Asgore's clone! I, The Great Papyrus, will protect our dear friend Frisk, no matter what!"

Toriel laughed. "Actually, my name is Toriel."

"She introduced herself to us when everyone met in front of the barrier." Sans pointed out.

"Oh." Papyrus looked away conspicuously. "I knew that."

They continued to wait for a while longer, talking to each other about what they'd do on the surface. Despite their worries regarding Frisk's health, each of them was happy to be leaving the underground imminently, and they were all too happy to use it as a distraction from their present anxiety.

Unfortunately, they could only occupy themselves for so long, and the only reward their patience earned them was silence on the part of Frisk.

"They have been asleep for a very long time." Papyrus noted. "Whatever they did must have been very tiresome!"

Alphys sat down next to Frisk, monitoring their condition carefully. "T-they're still breathing - so t-that means they're still alive, right?"

Toriel, who was sitting on the other side of the child, nodded. "If they continue to sleep, we will need to move them into a bed and get them some food."

"Why did we put them on this stone floor to begin with?" Asgore wondered with a frown. "It seems like a very uncomfortable place to sleep."

Sans shrugged. "Cause if they wake up, we don't have to walk all the way over here.

The king blinked in confusion. "But my house is not far away."

Papyrus groaned. "Ugh! Sans, this is no time to be lazy! Frisk's health is at stake here!"

"Well, if you need to get Frisk to bed, don't bother waiting for me. I'll catch up with you."

"If we're gonna do it, we may as well do it now!" Undyne grabbed Frisk, lifting them over her shoulder."

"O-oh, please be careful, Undyne!" Alphys said anxiously.

Undyne grinned. "Hey, don't worry. Maybe this will jostle them awake! What do you think, Papyrus?"

Papyrus put a hand to his chin. "Well, I wouldn't trust this with just anyone...but with your strength, Undyne, I am certain that you will be able to jostle them in a properly safe manner!"

"That's right! Nobody's more careful than me! Fuhuhuhuhuhu!" Undyne bounded off through the throne room, keeping a tight hold on the human over her shoulder, though it still looked like a very bumpy ride. Papyrus and Alphys ran after her, while the others followed at a brisk walk, with Sans lagging behind.

When they arrived at the house, they found Frisk on top of Asgore's bed blankets, sprawled out on their back. Sans was already standing next to the bed, while Undyne was staring at him in exasperated confusion. Toriel quickly tucked them into bed, then pulled up a chair and sat next to them. The guard captain muttered an insult and left them room, while Sans stood casually next to Toriel.

The group continued to wait in Asgore's house, now considerably more comfortable yet significantly more worried. Papyrus and Alphys sat in the living room, and were soon joined by Undyne. Asgore stood outside the closed bedroom door, guilt and worry highly visible on his face.

"I was sure that would work." Undyne grumbled, crossing her arms and looking at the floor.

"H-hey, don't feel bad, Undyne. Y-you got Frisk here really fast, a-and you didn't drop them or anything." Alphys said, nervously attempting to comfort her new girlfriend.

Undyne shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But the main point of it was to try and wake them up."

"I'm...sure it will be fine!" Papyrus said hesitantly. "They're so determined! They'll get up eventually, right?"

It ended up taking a few hours, but eventually, something did happen. The bedroom door cracked open, and Sans whispered something inaudible to Asgore. He seemed very hesitant, but Asgore clearly understood the meaning of whatever it was; his face fell into an expression of guilt and sadness. Strangely, he didn't seem at all surprised - it looked like he was resigned to it.

Alphys quickly noticed this and pointed it out to her friends, struggling to keep her composure as she watched Asgore react to the mysterious news. She already knew what it probably was, though she really wished that she didn't.

"Hey, what's he-" Undyne started to speak, then stopped as she noticed the look on Asgore's face. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Papyrus asked. "Why does the king look so sad?"

Asgore slowly made his way over to them, as if it would help delay the inevitable. He paused before them, only speaking after several seconds had passed. "I believe it would be best if you saw this for yourselves - but as we cannot all fit in my bedroom, I will have to..." He trailed off.

"Have to what? Is Frisk okay?" Papyrus asked fearfully.

Asgore didn't respond. Instead, he stepped out of the way, allowing Toriel to exit the bedroom and walk down the hall herself. She held in her arms a limp, motionless Frisk, her head turned down to look at the child's face. Sans followed close behind her, his stance still calm and casual, but his empty eye sockets betrayed his mood. The two of them moved Frisk all the way to the living room, Asgore watching pitifully from a distance. When Toriel got there, she allowed the group a better look at Frisk, but continued to hold onto them. They had dry closed eyes and a contented smile, yet their sweater was wet and tear-stained.

Sans moved close to Papyrus, sighing tiredly. "Frisk might not be asleep, pap."

"What? But that isn't possible...they aren't awake, so they have to be asleep!" Papyrus began to tear up once again, staring at Frisk in disbelief.

Undyne gritted her teeth, clenching her fists into tight balls. She didn't say anything, but she looked like she would have broken the whole house down right that second, if not for the fact that its owner was her king and mentor. Tears were visible at the edges of her eyes, but most of her emotional energy was being channelled into rage.

"H-how did this happen? W-what was wrong with them?" Alphys looked over Frisk's body frantically, the scientist side of her attempting to figure out the unknown situation.

Toriel looked up, revealing that she was still crying herself. "They...stopped breathing, and they did not have a pulse either. I tried to help them, but it would not work."

"What about their soul? Who has it?" Undyne spoke through clenched teeth.

Sans looked off to the side. "That's the strange thing. At first we thought they were still alive, because their soul wouldn't come out - but it turns out they don't have it anymore."

Alphys gasped. "W-what? Y-you mean...that whole time, they were...?"

Sans shook his head. "Nah, they were definitely breathing when I first came in."

"So someone took their soul before their body died?" Papyrus asked, a hopeful tone creeping into his voice.

Toriel gave a small nod. "That is the only possibility, since the barrier was broken when we awoke. But I do not know who could have done this"

Undyne stomped the ground, bringing a fist into the palm of her hand with a loud thwap. "Damn it! When I find them, whoever they are, I'll make them wish they hadn't even looked at Frisk!"

"If we get their soul back, you can help them, right?" Papyrus turned to Alphys, hesitantly optimistic about this new possibility.

Alphys frowned. "Their soul is...probably gone by now. Even if we did find it, I have no idea if I would be able to do anything to help them."

Papyrus's face fell instantly. "Oh."

Undyne put a hand on Papyrus's shoulder, intending to silently comfort him, only to be met with a sudden skeletal hug. She returned it unflinchingly, her expression softening as she looked at him.

Asgore coughed. "Those of who are willing should prepare for the funeral. We must pay our respects to them before we exit the mountain."

Nobody in the room disputed this - even Toriel was in agreement with him for once. Alphys quickly got out her phone and dialed a number, stepping into the kitchen in order to be discreet. Sans slipped out of the house unnoticed, taking yet another shortcut while everyone was preoccupied.

"Frisk, please...come back." Papyrus pleaded, gazing at the child's body from over Undyne's shoulder.

But nobody came.

Soon enough, the whole group was gathered on the cliff outside the underground's exit, now with the addition of Mettaton, Napstablook and Shyren. Alphys had called Mettaton to deliver the bad news, and the robotic star immediately decided to bring both of his bandmates along, since Frisk had been exceptionally kind to both of them. Napstablook - who had been filled in on Frisk's name by Mettaton - floated behind everyone else, trying not to harm anyone with their acidic tears, while Shyren floated close to Mettaton and hid her face. Mettaton himself was in his newly-completed EX body, sadly looking at the grave before them.

They decided it was best to place the grave just outside the underground's exit, as a symbolic gesture of gratitude for helping them get there. The grave itself had been dug, and later filled in, by Undyne using a shovel made of water. The resulting grave was surrounded by dirt debris, had a conspicuous mound of dirt rising above the gravestone, though it wasn't large enough to obscure the headstone. Frisk's name was carved onto the stone, captioned with the words "friend to all monsters". Below that, a variety of symbols were carved into the headstone's lower half - the delta rune, a pair of crossed bones, the "MTT" logo and a heart were all visible.

Toriel was the first person to speak. She had calmed down somewhat since the initial discovery, and so was able to conduct herself in a formal manner. "As you are all aware, human funerals are vastly different from those of monsters, and I fear that even Frisk would not have been able to tell us the proper procedure in great detail. However, I still feel that they deserve more than what our traditions will provide. Each of us will step before the grave, in whatever order we wish, and say a few words about Frisk."

Toriel herself turned towards the grave, taking the opportunity to speak first. "When I initially met Frisk in the Ruins, my feelings about them were conflicted. On the one hand, it was very nice to finally have some company again, but I was also afraid of what might happen to them while they were in the underground. When they told me they wanted to leave, I was terrified - I could not bear the thought of seeing another child perish. However, now that my fears have come to pass, I find that I do not regret allowing them to do so. On a personal level, and on behalf of monsterkind, I am thankful for everything Frisk has done. I only wish that they could have lived to see this." She watched the grave for a few more seconds, then reluctantly stepped back, drying her eyes with her hands.

Everyone turned to Asgore next, perhaps as an instinct from the marriage he and Toriel once had. He looked around at everyone, then stepped forward solemnly. "Although I have known Frisk for less time than anyone else here, I am still amazed by the kindness they showed. Even knowing what I was going to do, they were so very patient. I regret that I did not apologize to them when I had the chance." He bowed before the grave, then moved back into the crowd.

The moment Asgore was done, Papyrus came forward. He was already tearing up, but he ignored it and began speaking immediately. "Human...Frisk. I know that you probably cannot hear me, but I will address you directly even so. You have solved many puzzles during your time in the underground, and it is perfectly reasonable for you to be tired. After all, not everyone is as good at puzzles as the great Papyrus, and even I must sleep once in a while. But now it seems like you'll be gone for a very long time." He paused. "Do not worry about me. I will keep on believing in myself and being a cool friend...even if I really miss you." He hurried back once he had finished speaking, taking his place next to Sans.

Undyne strode up to the grave, stopping directly in front of the mound of dirt and gazing down at it. "Hey, punk. You know I've always be blunt with you, and I've got some feelings I need to let out, so I'm just gonna say it: why'd you have to die?" She growled. "Back when I was out to get you, nothing I tried could slow you down! And then, even after being rejected, you refused not to become my friend. You got through all of that, and now I think you're pretty great, so why? How come you only gave up now, of all times?" When there was only silence in response to her question, Undyne kicked at a rock and sat down next to Alphys, who gave her a nervous hug.

After Undyne's speech, there was a short pause, during which most the remaining speakers looked at each other awkwardly. Mettaton, recognizing that everyone else was nervous about coming up, strode forward and turned to face the other monsters. "I know that this is a tragedy - many of your are heartbroken, and I'm not at all pleased with it myself. But to be honest with all of you, I still feel overjoyed about everything else that's happened. Everyone is free, I can be a star for both humans and monsters - and most importantly, I've reunited with friends I never should have left behind." He smiled sadly, glancing at Alphys, Napstablook, and Shyren. "All of this is thanks to Frisk - without them, we'd still be stuck behind a barrier, and I wouldn't have learned my lesson. I am deeply thankful for everything they've done - And as such, my debut performance will be dedicated to them." He gave a quick bow, then rejoined the other two members of his troupe.

Alphys, who have previously been watching shyly, began to speak without actually moving from her position next to Undyne. "I-I'm with Mettaton. Frisk helped me to become a better person, and like myself more. I had a lot of good times with them, a-and I don't want to ruin those memories. S-so, for their sake, I'm going to try to move on, and focus on doing something important with my life." She didn't seem entirely confident in her own words, but they certainly seemed genuine.

Now there were only three monsters left to speak - Sans, Napstablook and Shyren. The latter two glanced at each other, then both stared at Sans, evidently expecting him to preceed them. He looked back at them, then at the grave. "I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise." He mumbled quietly.

Toriel gasped. "Sans...please do not blame yourself. It is not your fault."

Sans didn't respond.

"Um, if it doesn't bother anyone, I'd like to say something now." Napstablook said. They paused to see if it was in fact okay, only continuing after a nod from Mettaton. "I just want to say that, um, I think that Frisk is a really cool person. They were really nice to me, and they visited my house, even though it wasn't very interesting. They didn't deserve to have this happen to them...it isn't fair." They shrank back once they were done, feeling overwhelmed by the large gathering of monsters.

Shyren was the last one to come forward. She floated directly above the headstone, turned to face the other monsters, and then began to sing. It was not at all like her usual song - the tune was slow and sad, with a hint of hopefulness mixed in. She continued to sing for a full three minutes, during which everyone present listened attentively. Shyren, having become immersed in her music, did not realize until she was finished that everyone's eyes were on her. Upon noticing that this was the case, she quickly floated behind Mettaton, smiling and blushing as she peeked out at everyone.

All of that having been done, the group milled about about for a little while longer, until eventually Mettaton spoke up. "We should probably head down the mountain soon. It is absolutely critical that we make a good first impression on the humans, and a disorganized flow of eager monsters might have the opposite effect.

Toriel nodded. "Ah, you are right. These people need leadership. As many of us have noted, this is still a momentous occasion for them."

"Excuse me, Papyrus?" Asgore approached the skeleton gently.

Papyrus perked up slightly. "What is it, your majesty?"

Asgore extended a hand to Papyrus. "We will need an official ambassador to represent monsters, and I was wondering if perhaps you would be interested in this position?"

"Ambassador?" Papyrus was momentarily shocked, then he jumped up excitedly and shook the King's hand with both gloves. "I won't let you down, Asgore! Starting today, the Great Papyrus will dedicate himself to peace between humans and monsters!" The skeleton's cheery demeanor quickly returned, despite the very recent tragedy - or perhaps in defiance of it. He promptly rushed down the mountain, with everyone else following behind at various different speeds. Sans went in a completely different direction, but as usual, he somehow managed to get there before anyone else did.

In the end, the day was a success, despite everything. The monsters handled themselves well enough in public - even Undyne managed to rein in her emotions. It wasn't until everyone had gone to bed that they collectively let out their emotions.

True, things were going fairly well. But now life would never be the same again - would it?

Months later, the little grave was as lonely as the mountain it was built on - left in the past, but not forgotten. At this particular moment, another piece of the past was taking the time to keep the grave company.

If anyone had been there to ask, Flowey probably would have claimed not to care - assuming he didn't just flee immediately. And the truth was, he didn't expect to care either, not now that he was back in this body. But for whatever reason, he now felt a sense of respect towards Frisk, and if Frisk had survived, he would have been fine with them leaving him behind. That being said, he felt vaguely like he wasn't alone when he visited the grave, even though he knew Frisk wasn't in any condition to provide companionship.

Frisk's friends visited it too - some frequently, others just once in a while. Papyrus would cry, Undyne would shout, and Sans or Toriel would just stand there silently.

"I still wonder what you'd think of all this." Flowey said to the grave. "I know you'd like it, but from what I've heard them say, things are really different now. If you could be here right now, would you leave Mt. Ebott behind? Or would you come back to visit me? Who knows - maybe you'd even make up some crazy plan to take me with you." He laughed bitterly. With his experience as Asriel still fresh in his mind, he truly wished he could be out there with them - but it was even more impossible with Frisk gone. If they had been alive to begin with, he surely would have rejected anything they proposed. Now that they weren't, he found himself wondering what they would have done.

"Maybe one day, you'll rise up again. After everything you've done, I think it would be fitting."

Just then, he heard a strange scratching now. He looked around, thinking that someone might be approaching, but that quickly turned out not to be the case. Instead, the scratching sounds seemed to be coming from directly in front of him...

From the grave?

He looked down and promptly screamed, tunneling a meter back in surprise.

The mound of dirt was shaking.