Getting To The CORE Of The Matter

Hey guys! After a month, this chapter is finally finished! Sorry for the wait! My brand new refurbished desktop is acting up, so it took me a while to get this ready, and I finally had to finish it on my tablet. I hope you guys enjoy!

Also, I want to give a trigger warning for a slightly graphic temporary death scene near the end of this chapter.

...

A half hour before Frisk did her stint on Mettaton's opera, Sans emerged from his lab, carrying a bag with some equipment. He headed up the stairs and into the house, walking into the kitchen where his brother was standing at the stove, stirring a pot of his infamous "spaghetti soup," thin angel hair pasta, clumpy meatballs, and dubious spices in tomato soup. Papyrus always made it when Sans or anyone he cared about was sick, and despite how bad it tasted, it always worked. Sans wasn't sure whether it was because Papyrus added lots of love and healing magic or because it was so awful it scared the germs away, not that he would ever tell that last theory to his beloved little brother. He wondered why Papyrus was making it now.

Papyrus turned when he heard Sans come in and smiled widely, though there was a hint of worry behind that smile. "OH! HELLO, BROTHER! HOW ARE YOU FEELING? THE HUMAN TOLD ME YOU HAD A HEADACHE EARLIER AND THAT YOU SEEMED A LITTLE OUT OF IT, SO I MADE YOU SOME OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI SOUP TO HELP YOU FEEL BETTER!"

Sans mentally sighed. Damn, the human was as much of a mother hen as Papyrus, and nearly as perceptive. "Thanks, bro, but I'm fine. The human's just a little overly concerned. I had a small headache earlier, but it's fine now." he reassured him. Papyrus still seemed worried and Sans decided to tell him the partial truth. "Paps, relax. I'm not sick." Well, not physically anyway. "I'm just a little...preoccupied with a few things. Science stuff mostly. That's why I seemed out of it."

"IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP?"

"Not much right now. I need to do some research first, and I kind of need the human for that. I'm actually going to run out right now to meet her if that's all right."

His brother relaxed, realizing he was telling the truth. "OF COURSE IT IS! HAVE FUN, BROTHER! I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU BEING ACTIVE AND ENJOYING YOUR OLD HOBBIES AGAIN! SAY HI TO THE HUMAN FOR ME! AND LET ME KNOW HOW SHE'D DOING! AND ASK HER IF SHE NEEDS ANYTHING! AND..."

Sans chuckled. "I will, don't worry. Geez, you're like Undyne with Alphys, bro." Papyrus actually blushed at this, which Sans of course noticed. "Aww, does my baby brother have his first crush?" he teased.

Papyrus blushed even deeper and hid his face in his scarf. "SANS! SHE'S MY FRIEND! I'M ALLOWED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT HER WELLBEING!"

Sans laughed but backed off. "All right, all right. Sorry, Paps."

Papyrus calmed down. "IT'S QUITE ALL RIGHT, SANS. OH, AND HERE," Papyrus pulled three large plastic containers out of the cupboard and carefully ladled soup into them. He held his hands over the first and closed his eyes. Bright green magic formed at this fingers as he poured healing magic, laced with lots of love and caring, into it. He repeated the process with the other two, then closed the lids and grabbed a marker, writing "Sans," on one and "Human," and "Little Human," on the others. "HERE'S YOUR SOUP, AND SOME FOR THE HUMAN AND HER LITTLE SISTER!"

"Thanks, bro." Sans told him, secretly planning on disposing his share of the soup out of sight. "I'll make sure she gets it." He looked around as he remembered something. "Where's Undyne, by the way?"

"SHE WENT OUT TO DELIVER HER LETTER TO ALPHYS. AGAIN."

Sans blinked. "Again? What do you mean a..."

The door slammed open at that exact moment and Undyne stormed in. "I can't give this letter to Alphys! It's stupid!" she yelled to the room at large. She ripped it up and went to start over again.

"I see what you mean." Sans whispered to Papyrus.

Papyrus gave him a shrug when Undyne wasn't looking, then went to comfort his friend. "UNDYNE, I'M SURE IT WAS GREAT, JUST LIKE THE LAST FIVE!" he told her.

As Papyrus helped Undyne with her pre-confession jitters, Sans headed out, carrying his bag and the soup Papyrus had given him. He went to the ferry and asked the River Person to take him to Hotland.

...

Sans waited in front of the MTT resort, acting casual, but in truth his soul was pounding. The machine that would give him the answers to all his questions rested in his bag. Now all he needed to do was wait for the human.

Part of him hoped the kid did have the Reset ability. She was sweet and kind, not soulless and psychopathic like Flowey. She hadn't harmed a single monster, even when they had attacked her.

But if she had the power, would she misuse it? Even the best of people could make mistakes when they thought their abilities would negate any consequences.

After all, that was how his own father had ended up in the void. His dad had only the best of intentions, but due to his magical abilities mixed with his genius level IQ and scientific prowess, had let himself believe he was invincible. And that led to his undoing.

And he was almost one hundred percent sure that was also the reason such power had fallen into Flowey's vines, and possibly now the human's hands.

And while Little Red wasn't exactly cocky, she was reckless, and he feared she'd take his father's path. She was desperate to get back to her sister and break the barrier, and her strong sense of love and loyalty meant she would let nothing stand in her way. Maybe not even common sense. What if she too decided to start screwing around with time and space to accomplish her goals? The power to control time, to go back and fix things that went wrong would be extremely easy for anyone to misuse. He wouldn't even trust himself with it.

After all, he had been there that terrible night and helped with the damn time machine that took their dad away from him and Papyrus. He had had his doubts, but like his father, had gotten caught up in the idea of going back in time and saving everyone from this place, enough that he ignored the possible consequences. When things had gone so wrong, he had tried desperately to save his father, but had been completely helpless as his father fell into the rift between time and space. Just as helpless as he had been years later when Flowey had taken his beloved brother away.

And he knew that if Little Red decided for whatever reason to go rogue, he'd be just as helpless. This wasn't a power you could fight against.

He shook his skull, trying to rid himself of those dark thoughts. He didn't even know if she HAD the power yet, let alone if she'd misuse it. He hadn't felt any loads or resets, though he wasn't sure if he would since she was a human.

As far as he knew, no human had ever had this power before.

"Hey, Sans!" a familiar voice called, snapping him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see the human coming up the stairs, her brown hair a frizzy mess and slightly scraped and bruised, but with her brown eyes sparkling and a huge smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"

He wasn't sure any more, considering that Hallucination Chara was with her again, looking just as glad to see him as the kid, so much so that it made his soul hurt.

Still, he forced himself to ignore her, knowing she wasn't real, and focused on the human so she wouldn't start worrying about him again. "Hey, kiddo. I'm fine. I told you it was just a little headache." He gave her a mock stern look. "You know, you didn't have to set my brother on me. I almost had to eat his spaghetti soup. Thankfully, I escaped."

She smiled apologetically, looking sheepish. "Sorry. I was just worried about you. And his spaghetti's not that bad. It feels really nice." She had a slight blush on her face.

"Heh, it's the healing magic he puts into it, along with the intent. Intent's everything in magic, kiddo. The more love you put into something, the more it can heal. And my brother cares about you a lot."

She blushed even more. "I care about him too."

"Yeah, she loooves him." Hallucination Chara teased. Sans's soul ached, though he kept smiling. If Chara was actually there, he knew she'd be teasing the kiddo and Papyrus and plotting increasingly crazy ways to get the two of them together.

"Heh, I can tell." Sans said with a wink, accidentally answering Hallucination Chara's response, though thankfully it would have been the same for the human, so she didn't notice and just blushed more. He continued on, deciding not to embarrass the poor kid too badly. "Anyway, I've got something for you. I'm glad you like my bro's spaghetti, because he decided to make some spaghetti soup for you and your sister."

Her eyes lit up as she gently took the containers from him like they were treasures, her small calloused hands wrapping around him as if savoring the warmth. She smiled widely as she read the labels, especially the one that said "Little Human," looking like he had just given her a priceless gift. His soul ached again, and it wasn't because of Hallucination Chara this time. For a girl that had been starved for both food and love, he knew his brother's soup was truly priceless. He mentally made sure to eat his own, and be grateful for it.

"This is so sweet. I'll call Papyrus and thank him. Thank you for bringing it to me, Sans."

"Eh, no problem." he told her. "Actually, I came here for a favor. I need your help with something."

She nodded immediately. "I'd be glad to help. What do you need me to do?"

"This is going to sound weird, and you can say no if you want to, but I want to know if I can scan your soul. Understanding a living human soul might help us figure out how to replicate the power artificially to break the barrier." It was true, even if it was only part of the reason he needed the information.

She was quick to agree. "Of course. What do I need to do? Also, how long will it take? If it's going to take a few hours, is it okay if I pick up Tina first and then come back and do it?" she asked him.

"It'll only take a few seconds, and we can actually do it right here at the resort." he reassured her. "All I need to do is summon your soul and scan it with my machine."

She nodded with a smile. "I'll do it."

"Heh, thanks kid. You're helping out a lot." he told her.

Little Red smiled, but Hallucination Chara was looking very worried. She opened her mouth as if to protest, but then looked at him and closed it again. There was both longing and fear in those beautiful brown eyes, and he wanted desperately to comfort her.

But she was only a figment of his imagination, probably a manifestation of his hope that Little Red had the power instead of Flowey combined with the fear that she would misuse it, all mixed up with his aching longing to have Chara back. Damn, his mind was all screwed up, and he could really use a bottle of spiked ketchup right now.

"Sans, are you okay?" both Little Red and Hallucination Chara asked him. Hallucination Chara floated towards him and hugged him close, her touch cold yet so familiar and comforting that he had to fight not to lean into it or hug her back, knowing it would look like he was hugging nothing and show Little Red the full fucked up extent of his mental state. He forced himself to ignore the beautiful illusion holding him in her arms and forced a casual grin for the real human's sake.

"Relax, kiddo. I'm fine." he told her, keeping his voice calm and somehow managing to succeed. Hallucination Chara let him go and floated back to Little Red, and he felt a mix of relief and heartache.

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. Apparently, like Papyrus, she was a master of seeing through his bullshit.

"Of course. I'm just BONE tired. I missed several naps today." She still looked worried, clearly not buying it, so he smiled reassuringly and ruffled her messy brown hair like he would rub his brother's skull(when he could actually reach it). "Hey, don't worry so much. I'm the big brother. That's my job." He smiled playfully and she calmed, smiling up at him. her eyes lighting up as she caught his implication that she was like his little sister. His soul swelled with fondness. Damn, he liked this kid.

Maybe even if she did have the Reset ability, things wouldn't be so bad. She clearly trusted him; hopefully she would come to him if she got into any trouble and he would guide and protect her.

But he had to see if she actually had it first.

"C'mon, kid, let's go get this taken care of. I know a shortcut." He held out his hand and she took it. Taking a deep breath, he teleported them into the employee break room, which he knew was empty. It looked like the rest of Mettaton's swanky restaurant; the tables covered in fancy white tablecloths with sparkly statues of Mettaton as centerpieces. Against the wall were counters with a sink and a fancy MTT brand microwave, and every available space on the walls were covered with Mettaton posters to "boost employee morale."

He pulled out a chair for the human, who was looking a little shaky from the shortcut, and another for himself, moving them away from the tables so they could have more room. "Here, sit down and get comfy." She gratefully did so and thanked him, and Hallucination Chara stood next to her, looking as nervous as Sans felt. Trying to keep his mind clear, Sans took off his bag and sat down, carefully not looking at her as he dug through his bag to get his scanner. Hopefully the illusion would disappear again if he focused on what he was doing. He never noticed the human's eyes go to the "hallucination" or heard her mental question, but he did hear Chara's voice softly whisper, "I'm fine."

He located the scanner and pulled it out. It was a small rectangular machine he had adapted from the parts of a handheld security scanner he had found in the dump, with a multitude of buttons and a small screen. As soon as he scanned her soul, it would send the data to his computer where he could more closely examine it. He typed in the necessary numbers into the keypad. "There we go. Are you ready? I'm going to summon your soul now. It won't hurt at all, but it might feel a little strange."

She nodded and he held out his hands and concentrated, summoning her soul. She gasped a little at the sensation but didn't seem to be in any pain, and glanced down curiously at the bright red glowing soul Sans had just revealed. "Huh. So that's my soul?"

"Yep. The culmination of your very being."

"It looks like a cartoon heart."

Sans laughed. "Chara said that too."

"That's because it does." Hallucination Chara said, putting a hand on the human's shoulder. For some reason, the specter of his best friend had her soul revealed too, and he couldn't help but see it even though he was carefully trying not to look as he adjusted the scanner to the right angle. Her soul looked fragile and weak, a small lightly glowing red ember. Glowing red threads seemed to connect it to Little Red's soul with energy flowing from the stronger(real) soul to the weaker one. He had no clue why his brain had decided to make things that way. Maybe because he saw similarities between Chara and Little Red.

Either way, he needed to quit hallucinating because he had work to do.

He hit the button to activate the scanner and a long line of red light, like a barcode scanner, flowed from it. He ran the scanner over the soul, making sure he got everything. It even seemed to react to Hallucination Chara's "soul" which surprised him greatly and he barely kept from looking at her in shock. He stopped himself though. It was probably just another hallucination and until he had definite proof it wasn't, he wasn't going to let himself hope that his Chara was still here with him somehow. It would just hurt all the more when he finally realized it was all in his head.

He finished the scan and turned off the scanner. "All done."

"That's it?" she asked in surprise.

"Yep. Told you it would be quick. Thanks for all your help."

"No problem. After everything you guys have done for me, it's the least I could do." she said with a smile before looking down slightly. "I just wish I could do more. It's thanks to you and Papyrus that I'm even alive, let alone that I made it this far."

It was clear by her words that she thought that if she died, it would be permanent, and everything in her behavior since he met her showed that she harbored the same understandable fear of death as any other individual. Maybe he was simply overthinking the lack of resets since she had arrived. Or maybe she was utterly oblivious to her own powers or the extent of them.

He snapped himself back to reality. Thankfully, it had only been a few seconds, so neither the human or Hallucination Chara were worried. "Hey, we're happy to help. Plus, I made a promise to your mom to look out for you, and I always keep my promises."

She nodded, looking both touched and surprised. "Is that what you guys were talking about on the phone a few days ago?"

"Well, yes, but she actually asked me before you and I even met, before you even left the Ruins." he told her. She looked at him curiously, as did Hallucination Chara. "Let me tell you a story. So I'm a sentry in Snowdin Forest, right? I sit out there and watch for humans. It's kind of boring. Fortunately, deep in the forest, there's this HUGE locked door. And it's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes. So one day, I'm knocking them out, like usual. I knock on the door and say, "Knock, knock." And suddenly, from the other side...I hear a woman's voice. "Who is there?" He did Toriel's voice in a high pitched tone, making both the human and the hallucination of his best friend giggle. He hid the ache in his heart as he continued his story.

"So naturally, I respond, "Dishes." "Dishes who?" "Dishes a very bad joke." Then she just howls with laughter. Like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years. So I keep 'em coming, and she keeps laughing. She's the best audience I've had since...since Chara." Hallucination Chara looked down sadly and the real human looked sympathetic. He quickly kept going, not wanting Little Red to worry. "Then after a dozen of 'em, SHE knocks and says..."Knock knock!" I say, "Who's there?" "Old lady!" "Old lady who?" "Oh! I did not know you could yodel!" Wow. Needless to say, this woman was extremely good. We kept telling each other jokes for hours. Eventually, I had to leave. Papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story. But she told me to come by again, and so I did. Then I did again. And again. It's a thing now. Telling bad jokes through the door. It rules."

He paused for a second, collecting himself. "One day though, I noticed she wasn't laughing very much. I asked her what was up. Then she told me something strange. "If a human ever comes through this door...could you please, please promise something? Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?" Now, I hate making promises. And this woman, she refused to tell me her name. But...someone who sincerely likes bad jokes has an integrity you can't say "no," to." Though of course, unbeknownst to his knock knock joke partner, he did indeed know her name, but he wouldn't tell this to Little Red. It was Toriel's secret to tell when she was ready, and he wasn't going to betray her trust.

He didn't want the closest person he had had to a mother since his own had passed away to flee again.

He paused again, then smiled at the kid. "So I promised to look out for you. And I think I've done a pretty good job, haven't I? Not perfect, but hey, you haven't died once!"

The human chuckled. "True." she agreed, and this reassured him a little. He'd never want her to have to go through the pain of dying. She then turned more serious. "And...You've done a really good job protecting me. Like I said before, I owe you and Papyrus my life. I wish I could repay you for that."

He waved it off. "You already have, kiddo. You haven't, even for a second, made me regret keeping that promise. You've given a lot of monsters hope. I'm rooting for you." He got up, picking up his bag. Little Red stood up too, and he ruffled her hair once again, making her smile. "Take care of yourself, kid. Because you've got a lot of people who really care about you."

...

After saying goodbye to Sans, Frisk made her way to the big door in the resort marked, "CORE." with Chara. Chara seemed lost in thought and a little worried.

Frisk looked at her in concern as she opened the door. "What's wrong?"

"What if Sans's soul scanner saw me?" her ghost friend blurted out.

Frisk's eyes lit up. "That would be great! He'll be so happy to see you and know you're here! In fact, I bet he'll give you a big kiss!" she teased, hoping to cheer Chara up. Chara blushed, but didn't smile, instead staring at the ground.

Frisk frowned. "Chara, please tell me what's wrong. Why does the idea of being seen by people other than me scare you so much?"

"Because I don't deserve to be back!" Chara suddenly blurted out. "Not after I screwed everything up for everyone I care about, including you! I don't deserve forgiveness or happiness, Frisk. Not after what I did." Tears filled the ghost's eyes and she turned to wipe them away.

Frisk stared at her in shock and worry. "What are you talking about?"

"I..." Chara looked up, then her eyes widened. "Frisk, we got company and I'm not sure it's good." She pointed ahead.

Frisk looked to see two figures hiding in the shadows, staring at her. "Hello?" she called, but they disappeared. "What the hell...?" Her phone then rang, making her jump. It was Alphys, and she quickly answered.

"Huh? Who are they?" Alphys asked, sounding genuinely concerned. "N-nobody else is s-supposed to be here..." Alphys then took on a more confident tone, clearly trying to make sure the situation was under control. "Oh well! We can't worry about that now!" She hung up.

"It must be another of Mettaton's tricks." Frisk thought to Chara as she continued towards the next door. "Man, Alphys is getting better at acting all the time. She actually sounded worried." She then turned back to Chara. "Now what's going on? Why are you blaming yourself for all this? I know there's things you want to keep to yourself, but please let me in. Let me help you. You're my friend."

Chara looked down as she floated beside Frisk as the two walked through the door and into a blue room with a large elevator. "All right. You deserve to know the truth. I..."

But before Chara could say anything more, Frisk's phone rang. It was Alphys again.

"You'd better pick that up. It might be important." Chara advised. "I'll tell you everything after the call, I promise." She looked scared but determined, and Frisk knew she was telling the truth. Frisk nodded to her and then picked up her phone.

'Ready? This is it!" Alphys told her cheerfully as soon as she answered. "Take the elevator straight up to the top of the CORE." She then hung up again.

Frisk headed to the elevator and looked to Chara. Chara took a deep breath and continued her tale. "Asriel and I both dreamed of being heroes. We wanted so badly to break the barrier, to free everyone. And things were getting desperate. Monsters wanted so badly to see the surface, and some...they were Falling Down out of despair. And even though Mom and Dad hid it from me, I knew they wanted to see the surface again too. I saw them a few times, sitting beside the barrier and soaking up the small amount of sun that came through. We knew something had to be done. And I remembered some things I saw on the plaques, and something I read in the library in my village before I fell. Something that I thought would get us through the barrier. And I came up with a plan. It was horrible and stupid and self destructive, but being the dumb teenager I was, I thought it was brilliant. I was so, so wrong." Chara let out a soft sob. She tried to continue, but couldn't through the tears. "Just give me a moment..."

Frisk nodded worriedly. Giving Chara some space, she turned to the elevator and hit the "Up" button.

But nothing happened.

She quickly dialed Alphys. "Alphys, the elevator isn't working."

"What? The elevator should be working..." Alphys told her worriedly. "W-Well then! Go to the right, and keep heading up!"

Frisk was now starting to get concerned. Alphys sounded just as confused as she herself was. Still, she decided to play along and headed to the right door, looking to Chara.

Chara sniffled, but managed to compose herself. "Okay, I'm ready now. You see, I..."

Frisk listened as she walked down the right pathway, but was met by a pit of fire, the flames flickering menacingly. "What the hell...?"

Alphys called again. "All right, just keep heading up!" she said cheerfully.

"I can't. There's a giant pit of fire here, and I'm allergic to death." Frisk told her.

Alphys paused in shock. "...That pit...Isn't on my map." She tried to compose herself. "Forget it! Let's try the left side!" Still, her voice was shaking as she hung up.

Frisk quickly left the room and headed towards the left path. "What the hell is going on here?!"

"I don't know, but I wish Alphys and Mettaton would stop screwing around." Chara grumbled.

"Tell me about it." Frisk thought to her as she made her way into the left room, where Alphys called again.

"Okay, you should be able to make it through here..." Alphys started to say before a figure burst out of the shadows. "W-Watch out!" she cried as Chara yelled out the same warning.

It was a strange monster that looked like a wizard with a long pointy hat with a swirl at the top. It was smirking and there were orbs of glowing magic floating beside it. "Alakazam!" it yelled, firing glowing magical crosses at her from the orbs.

Frisk quickly dodged. "Hey, chill out! I'm not going to hurt you! I was just walking!"

It ignored her. "Abracadabra!" It chanted some strange gibberish and suddenly Frisk was struck by a wave of dizziness. The creature smirked and fired at her again. Frisk tried to get away, but stumbled and weaved, getting hit a few times.

"Frisk, calm down! Take a deep breath. You need to clear your mind! Don't let Madjik's spells get to you! The dizziness is all in your head!" she heard Chara call out faintly. She took a deep breath, focusing her mind and pushing the dizziness away. Her head immediately cleared, and she glared at Madjik. The creature looked shocked, then looked at her with respect before chattering to itself and wandering off.

"T-That was close..." Alphys said shakily.

"Tell me about it." Frisk muttered. "Thanks, Chara."

"No problem."

"There wasn't supposed to be monsters here...W-What's going on?" Alphys asked, sounding more like she was talking to herself. "N-Never mind! W-w-we've just got to keep heading forward!"

"Alphys..." Frisk started, wanting to ask her to please knock off this stunt, but Alphys had already hung up.

Frisk sighed and kept going, heading through the next door, only to see that the path was blocked by an electric wall. Alphys called again. "Looks like you can't proceed until you hit the switch. "B-but, those lasers will activate when you do. Umm... Looks like they'll come in this order: Orange, orange, blue. G-Got it? Move until the third one!"

"Got it." Frisk told her and hit the switch, only to walk right into a blue laser. She yelled in pain as it burned her arm. A second blue laser came rushing at her, and she managed to freeze before running through the orange one.

She heard Alphys gasp. "Oh my god...Are you hurt? I...I'm so sorry. I...I gave you the wrong order." Her voice was shaky. "Everything's going to be fine, okay? L-Let's just keep moving to the right."

"Because following what you say has gone well so far." Chara muttered.

Frisk sighed, secretly agreeing with Chara, and kept going into the next room. It had two metal corridors, one going north and the other to the right.

"A crossroads, huh? Umm, uhhh... Tr...Try heading to the right!" Alphys hung up. Frisk was tempted to go north, but as she didn't want to get burned by not listening to the one who actually knew about Hotland, she headed to the right, only to have Alphys call again and frantically change her mind, telling Frisk to go up. Frisk was unsure, but did so, only to regret it when, after entering the small room, a figure that was much bigger than the first one burst out of the shadows, charging at her.

It was a huge, intimidating knight with bulky gray armor with an avian face carved into the center. She wielded a long staff that also had a vaguely avian face with a star shaped gem where the eye would be. She aimed the staff at Frisk. "Adieu." she said simply, her voice sounding tired. She formed a giant orb of light that looked like the moon, which shot several droplets of light at Frisk.

Frisk jumped out of the way. "Hey, I'm not a bad guy. I don't want to fight you." The knight ignored her and sent out more light bullets, though her attack wasn't fierce. She still looked exhausted. "Let's talk, okay? How's your day?"

"...It's okay." the knight finally finally replied. She looked away, but didn't stop fighting, forcing Frisk to stop talking and dodge again, though the attacks were getting easier to dodge, indicating the monster didn't really want to fight her.

"Sing to her. Knight Knight's nacroleptic. She'll fall asleep at the drop of a hat." Chara told her quickly.

Frisk almost laughed. "Not to my awful voice. The feeling of eardrums bleeding does NOT make someone fall asleep." She then had an idea and quickly pulled out her phone. "We don't have to talk. Let's listen to some music, okay?" Knight Knight hesitated, clearly confused, and Frisk took the opportunity to quickly scroll through her icons and go into the playlist Alphys had put on her phone. Some cheerful song in another language that was probably one of the theme songs to Alphys' anime began playing, and Knight Knight yawned softly. She tried to keep her eyes open and sent out another attack, which Frisk again dodged, but soon the huge knight swayed on her feet and fell hard to the ground. Frisk winced at the thump, but Knight Knight didn't seem to notice, and simply snored peacefully. Frisk fled the room, wanting to get out of there.

Alphys quickly called. "A-Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I-I don't know what's going on here. T-This shouldn't be..."

"You really don't know what's going on, do you?" Frisk asked softly. "This-This isn't part of your and Mettaton's plan, is it?"

"W-What? O-Our plan?!" Alphys asked in shock.

Frisk sighed. "I know what's going on, okay? I know Mettaton thought this up as a stunt for his show so he could get ratings, you could look cool for Undyne, and the monsters would see me as a good guy."

"I...I...I..."

"Hey, I'm not mad, okay?" Frisk reassured her. "Granted, I wish you would have told me the truth and let me pick up Tina first."

"I..I'm sorry. I-I should have...but..."

"It's okay." Frisk told her. "Now, is this thing with the CORE part of the show?"

"N-No...I don't know what's going on...The-These monsters aren't supposed to be here and those l-lasers, I-I never wanted you to actually get hurt, please believe me..."

"I believe you. And...And I think I know what's going on...Alphys, someone actually wants me dead, and I think they're sabatoging you so that you can't help me. They've struck before. They told Muffet I was going to hurt her spiders and paid her money to kill me."

"O-Oh my god...I never saw...were you okay?" Alphys asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thankfully, her son had already met me and knew I didn't hurt anyone, so I was able to tell her the truth. But I think whoever did that is trying again. Alphys, I really need your help. For real this time."

"I...I...I'll do my best!" Alphys said, shaky but determined. "L-Let's head to the right. I think that area's clear of monsters. I'll check my monitors."

"Hopefully, she'll put her fake hero skills to work to become a real one." Chara muttered.

Frisk nodded to both Chara and Alphys as she walked out of the room and down the right path. She was stopped by another conveyor belt with a line of lasers.

"M-More lasers...But don't worry...I-I'll just shut them down for you." There was a pause. "I-I can't deactivate them..."

"Figures. Whoever's trying to kill me must be as much of a technology genius as you." Frisk tried to figure out if Flowey was good at that type of thing. She wasn't sure, but the evil flower clearly did have too much time on his hands, so he very well might be.

"I-It'll be okay! I'll just turn off the power to the whole node." Alphys told her and soon the lights and lasers flickered off. "Okay, go!"

Frisk hurried across, but when she got to the middle, Alphys yelled, "Stop!" Frisk quickly did and just in time as the power came back on, leaving her caught under a blue laser. Thankfully it didn't hurt her as she wasn't moving. "Th-the power...It's turning itself back on. D-damn it...I-I'm going to turn it off again. When it turns off, move a little, and then STOP."

"Got it." Frisk said shakily. The pattern continued. Alphys would turn the power off, the lights would start flickering as they turned back on, and Frisk would be forced to stop as Alphys turned it off again. Finally, Frisk made it across unharmed.

"Phew. We made it! Everything's under control. I-I'll protect you, human. For real this time! N-No more playing around. I-I'll tell Mettaton n-not to do anything else either. W-We'll get you out of the CORE...and...and h-home..." Her voice shook hard.

"Thanks, Alphys. I trust you." Frisk told her. Alphys thanked her, but Frisk swore she heard a muffled sob as Alphys hung up the phone.

"I think she's still hiding something." Frisk thought to Chara.

"She's as bad as me." Chara joked weakly. "And Frisk, there's a lot I've hidden from you that you need to know. I..."

She was interrupted by Frisk's phone ringing again as they reached another crossroads. Frisk apologized to Chara and picked it up.

"Ok! Y-you should...you should...I don't know?" Alphys admitted softly. "This doesn't look like my map at all...I'm sorry...I...I..."

"It's not going to if someone is sabatoging you. Can you look through the cameras and find me a clear path?"

There was a pause, then a gasp. "Someone just shut off the camera feed. I can't even see you anymore. I-I've got to go. I'll get this fixed." She hung up.

"It looks like I'm going to have to handle this myself." Frisk thought to Chara after several minutes of waiting and no word from Alphys.

"I'll help you."

The two nearly got lost in the maze of the core. They had to fight several more monsters, all of which Frisk managed to calm with Chara's help. Whimsalot remembered their conscience at Frisk's pleading words. Frisk intimidated Madjik's orbs into nothingness after glaring at the persistent monster and realizing her stare shrunk the orbs. Knight Knight fell asleep again when Frisk played the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie theme song. Final Froggit was mystified when Frisk used the laser on her phone to hit one of his flies, and Frisk, realizing kindness wouldn't work on one of the Astigmatisms, got fed up and called them an asshole dickhead. They looked at her with respect and let her go.

The constant attacks wore Frisk down, but the container of spaghetti soup Papyrus had made her, awful tasting, but wonderful and warm, feeling like a hug from Papyrus, healed her completely. She vowed to call him to thank him once she got out of this crazy place.

There was one good thing about getting lost in here. Between the gold the pacified mercinaries gave her and a hundred G that some stupid idiot had thrown away, Frisk's stock of gold was the highest it had ever been. Frisk figured that if it was real gold, she and Tina would actually be wealthy, even if they couldn't come back here. She would be able to provide for her sister all the things they never had before. She smiled at the small mountain of gold in her pouch and hid it safely inside her clothes so it couldn't be stolen.

Finally, after not picking on another Astigmatism, who wasn't like their sibling and did NOT appreciate Frisk insulting them at first, they made it to the end. Frisk sighed in relief.

Alphys finally called. "W-Whoever was messing with the power and cameras suddenly stopped. Everything's running smoothly again! And, um, it looks like you made it out of the CORE on your own! G-Great job! Um, I haven't been able to get a hold of Mettaton, but I know he's in the corridor where the elevator to the King's castle is. I was, um, g-going to "deactivate" him there. But I'll try calling him again and tell him the plan's been called off. I-I put you through enough." Alphys hung up, but called again after a moment. "I-I still can't reach him...I-I hope he's o-okay..."

"Don't worry. I'll go check on him." Frisk told her.

"T-Thanks. I'll meet you there." Alphys then hung up, and Frisk stepped through the door.

She never knew she wouldn't make it out of that room alive.

...

"Oh, yes. There you are, darling." Mettaton greeted her, his voice serious and distant, but Frisk didn't notice.

"Mettaton! I'm glad you're okay!" Frisk said in relief with a huge smile. She glanced around. The cameras weren't on this time.

"Why wouldn't I be, sweetheart?" His voice sounded confused.

"Look, I know this is all an act. I know you put this all together to help Alphys impress Undyne and help me too, and I think you're a terrific friend for doing that, but there's someone who's actually trying to kill me, and we were worried they had gotten you too. They're really dangerous and..."

"I'm in no danger, human. I know exactly who's trying to kill you." Frisk stared at him, confused and worried. "It's me."

Frisk's eyes widened. "Mettaton, stop it! This isn't funny any more!" she pleaded.

"Quit it! You're scaring her!" Chara yelled. Mettaton glanced at her but turned his attention back to Frisk.

"It's time for our final showdown. It's time to finally stop the "malfunctioning" robot. ...NOT!" he said coldly.

Frisk had never heard him speak like that before. A spike of fear and betrayal filled her soul, but she pushed it away and glared at him. "Mettaton, I know this is just for your show, but knock it off! Act's over, I figured it out, let me go home to my sister and stop trying to scare the fuck out of me!"

"You might have figured out this was a scam, but for once, I'm not the mastermind. Alphys is the one behind all this. As she watched you on the screen, she grew attached to your adventure. She desperately wanted to be a part of it. So she decided to insert herself into your story. She activated puzzles. She disabled elevators. She enlisted me to torment you. All so she could save you from dangers that didn't exist. All so you would think she's the great person...that she's not."

Frisk's knees felt weak. Timid Alphys had been the one behind all this? Just to get in on her adventure? "So you're not...?"

"Frisk...I think he means it..." Chara told her, her voice filled with fear.

"And now it's time for her finest hour. At this very moment, Alphys is waiting outside this room. During our "battle," she will interrupt. She will pretend to "deactivate" me, "saving" you one final time. Finally, she'll be the heroine of your adventure."

"No. She told me the truth. She said she'd ask you to stop." Frisk told him.

"She didn't tell you the truth. When you told her you knew, she had no choice but to give up the act, but allowed you to think I was responsible for the plan. She wanted you to regard her so highly that she'll even be able to convince you not to leave...Or not. You see, I've had enough of this predictable charade. I have no desire to harm humans. Far from it, actually. My only desire is to entertain. After all, the audience deserves a good show, don't they? And what's a good show...Without a plot twist?" The door slammed shut and locked behind Frisk.

"H-hey! Wh-wh-what's going on?!" Alphys called from outside. "The-th-the door just locked itself!"

"Frisk, keep him talking. We need to give Alphys enough time to get the door open and get us out of here." Chara told her, still clearly scared

"Mettaton, stop it! If you truly do care for humans, let me go! Help me get to my sister." Frisk pleaded.

"Sorry, folks! The old program's been cancelled!" Mettaton called. Spotlights lit up on the stage. "But we've got a finale that will drive you wild!" Frisk cried out as the stage rapidly rose in the air. "Real drama! Real action! Real bloodshed! On our new show... "Attack Of The Killer Robot!"

Mettaton rolled menacingly towards her. "Yes, I was the one who rearranged the CORE! I was the one who hired everyone to kill you! That however, was a short-sighted plan. You know what would be a hundred times better? Killing you myself!" Though his words sounded angry, there was a hint of regret behind them. His voice became softer, almost compassionate, as he continued. "Listen, darling. I've seen you fight. You're weak. If you continue forward, Asgore will take your soul. And with your soul, Asgore will destroy humanity. Including that little sister of yours. But if I get your soul, I can stop Asgore's plan! I can save humanity and monsters from the destruction of a war. Even though you probably don't understand this, I'm doing this for you, and your sister. No matter what happens, you'll die today. No matter what you think, Asgore's not going to let you live."

"Yes he will! Despite what you think, Dad's good! He won't hurt her!" Chara screamed.

Mettaton turned to her again, jolting slightly when Chara called Asgore "Dad," though he quickly collected himself. Both Frisk and Chara's eyes widened when they realized he could see the ghost girl. "You didn't hear his speech, ghost child. He meant every word he said. And she's the last soul remaining. If I don't do this, more humans and monsters will die along with her. I don't have a choice."

He fired glowing boxes of magic at Frisk, and she did her best to dodge, using her phone laser to knock out the weaker ones. "Then, using your soul, I can cross through the barrier...I'll convince the humans to break the barrier peacefully and become the star I've always dreamed of being! Hundreds, thousands...No! Millions of humans will watch me!" More attacks came at Frisk, the pattern more difficult this time. Most she dodged, but some hit her, injuring her. "Glitz! Glamor! I'll finally have it all, and I'll save everyone!" he said triumphantly.

"Stop it! Leave her alone! If you need a soul, take mine! Don't kill her!" Chara pleaded.

"I can't. Your soul isn't strong enough to help me break the barrier. With how weak it is, I don't think it can even survive the separation from your living friend's soul, let alone me absorbing it. I'm sorry," And he did sound genuinely sorry. "It has to be her. Sometimes, a sacrifice has to be made. He shrugged. "That's show business, baby!"

Frisk's phone rang. She quickly answered it. "U-uh, I can't see what's going on in there, but...D-d-don't give up, okay?! Th-there's one last way to beat Mettaton...It's...um...it's...This is a work in progress, so do't judge it too hard...But, you know how Mettaton always faces f-f-forward? That's because there's a switch on his backside. S-s-so if y-y-you c-c-can turn him around...um...And, um...press th-th-th-the switch... He'll be..um,...He'll be...vulnerable. Well, g-g-gotta go!"

"Mettaton, um, there's a mirror behind you!" Frisk told him.

Chara shook her head. "Frisk, no one would ever fall for that!" she hissed, trying to keep Mettaton from hearing her.

"Oh? A mirror? Right, I have to look perfect for our grand finale!" He turned. "Hmm...I don't see it...Where is it...?"

"Okay, apparently vain robots would." Chara whispered as Frisk lunged forward, hitting the switch.

Mettaton froze. "...Did you. Just flip. My switch?" His screen swirled and turned to static as his whole body shook. There was a sudden flash of white light, blinding Frisk for a few seconds. She rubbed her eyes, hoping Mettaton had either deactivated or exploded. At this point, she didn't care which.

"Ohhh my..." a sibliant male voice said, and a humanoid figure stood up under a spotlight. "If you flipped my switch, that can only mean one thing. You're desperate for the premiere of my new body. How rude..." Frisk tried to back away but couldn't go far as the stage was fifty feet up. "Lucky for you, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So...as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments...ABSOLUTELY beautiful!"

...

While Frisk was going through the Core, Sans sat in his lab, going through the results for her soul scan.

Her Determination levels were off the charts, much higher than that of any of the other souls or even Flowey, and there were very familiar traces of magic that were indicative of the Reset ability.

There was no doubt about it. Even though she didn't know it, Little Red was the newest Anomaly Of Time.

He thought over what to do as he scanned through the rest of her results, taking down notes to send to Alphys, hoping he would be able to find something useful to help break the barrier and make sure the kid didn't get hurt. Right now, it was probably best to keep Little Red ignorant of her abilities and hope a Load never had to happen. If it did, he would figure out what to do then.

He continued going through her results and writing down anything that could be useful.

It was when he got to the middle of her results that he noticed something strange.

There was another soul attached to Little Red's soul, just like his hallucinations had shown him.

His own soul pounded as he read the results over and over, expecting them to disappear. But there they were, right in front of him, the name and stats of his dearest friend on the screen clear as day.

He hadn't been hallucinating. It was real.

Chara Dreemurr was back.

...

Undyne sat at the kitchen table, working on her two hundred and seventh letter to Alphys as she munched on her cheese fries, careful not to get any melted cheese or grease on the paper. She looked up as Sans stumbled into the kitchen, looking shaken and somehow paler than usual. "Sans, what...?"

He stopped her before she could finish, glancing to the living room where Papyrus was writing out his plan for his first day of training the new recruits, clearly not wanting to worry his brother with whatever the hell was wrong with him. He slid a piece of paper to her. "Read this." he pleaded in a whisper, pointing to a section of the printout.

Undyne looked at the paper, blinking in confusion at all the numbers and variables. "What's all this gobbledygook?"

"The human let me scan her soul. These are the results. Read this section right here. Tell me if I'm crazy or if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing." he pleaded.

Undyne started to read it. "The punk's got another soul attached to hers?! How the hell...?" she said aloud. Then she read the name attached to the other soul's stats. "Chara?!" She stared at Sans in shock.

"I saw her. I saw her with the kid. She talked to me too. I thought I was going crazy!" Sans told her. "But then this showed up on the test results...All Chara's stats are there too. They're a lot lower than before, but they're there...Do you think it's possible Little Red's soul could have somehow brought Chara's spirit back?"

"I-I think it could be. Human souls can linger after death. According to ghost stories, a very long time." Undyne told him, still a little shocked.

"She's real...After all this time...we got her back!" Sans's shocked look turned into a wide smile. He then hugged Undyne tightly. "She's back!" he cheered. Undyne grinned just as widely, hugging Sans back. She would get to see her "little sister" again!

Just then, Papyrus poked his head into the kitchen. "UNDYNE! SANS! COME QUICK! THE HUMAN'S ON TV AGAIN!"

...

Frisk stared in shock at the being on the stage. Mettaton preened and posed, happily showing off his new body. The now humanoid robot had thick, long black hair that fell to cover one of his eyes, and a charming smile. His chest plate was hot pink with long black shoulder pads and his arms were metallic gray with slender, white gloved hands. He had long, graceful legs with black "pants" and high heeled, hot pink boots. If Frisk wasn't terrified right now and Mettaton hadn't proved himself to be a total jackass, she would have told him he looked awesome.

"Lights! Camera! Action!" Mettaton called and posed gracefully before sending a sharp kick at Frisk. She jumped out of the way, avoiding his attack, but he was quicker than any human, leaping forward and kicking her in the ribcage. She bit back a cry of pain as she fell back, the wind knocked out of her from the heavy metal foot. Her ribs screamed with pain and she feared he had cracked or broken one. He came at her again, but she rolled out of the way and shot at his leg with her phone, causing him to pull back slightly, allowing her to get to her feet.

Chara yelled out a warning as Mettaton sent out several bullets shaped like him in his rectangle body. Despite the pain in her ribs, Frisk dodged, managing to get out of the way. Mettaton kicked her in the legs, causing her to fall, but she rolled out of the way of more bullets and struggled to her feet.

There were glowing, burning bullets of magic all around her. Frisk kept dodging, fighting for her life and Chara helped and warned her as much as she could, but Frisk was already hurt and tiring and Mettaton wouldn't give her a break for even a second...

There was a white hot impact on her leg, sending her to the ground. Agony swept through her body making her see stars. Frisk struggled to get up, but her leg was no longer functioning. Where her knee once, there was only a charred hole, flesh burned black and the bone visible. She fought through the pain and tried to pull herself up on her one good leg, but before she could, another bullet, ironically heart shaped, slammed into her chest. There was a split second of white hot pain, then blackness took over her vision.

The last thing she heard before everything faded away was Chara screaming.

...

He had done it.

The human had fought for her life, harder than he had expected, but in the end, her weak, malnourished body had given out, just as he knew it would.

He had won.

So why did he feel so empty?

Mettaton felt no triumph as he approached the small body, feeling sick as he saw the gaping hole in her chest. Her glassy eyes stared through his soul, empty and accusing.

He tried to tell himself he had done the right thing, but he knew he would never forget those eyes.

She had trusted him. She had cared about his safety. She believed in him.

And he had betrayed her and stolen her life.

You're a murderer.

The human's ghostly companion had collapsed by her friend's side, sobbing and screaming and begging her to wake up. She tried to shake her but her hands simply went through her. "No...No...No..." she sobbed over and over.

The human's soul began to drift from her body. Mettaton moved forward to take it, reaching out his hand. The ghost girl lunged forward at him with an animalistic scream, face contorted in a demonic scowl as her sockets turned black. Mettaton flinched back instinctively even though he knew she was too weak to actually be able to hurt him.

Behind her, the human's soul shattered.

And then there was nothing more.

...

As he sat between his best friend and brother, watching the human on TV, a cold chill made its way up Papyrus's spine.

It was just like his nightmare.

The human stood under the spotlight, her brown hair shining gold. She was covered in bruises and burns, her expression terrified as she faced Mettaton, who was showing off his new body, seemingly not noticing her pain and fear.

Mettaton smiled at the camera and posed dramatically, something that Papyrus would have once cheered for, but in that situation, his idol's smile was colder than ice.

Especially when the robot lashed out, throwing a sharp kick at the human. She managed to get out of the way, but a second kick connected painfully with her ribs with a sickening crack. Papyrus gasped and Sans clenched his fists as the human fell back, landing hard on the ground.

"C'mon, get up! You can do it, punk! Kick his ass!" Undyne yelled at the screen.

And the human fought back as hard as she could, dodging attacks, using her phone laser to make him back off, and quickly getting to her feet whenever she was knocked down. But this was clearly no longer a show. Mettaton's attacks were brutal, and she was wounded and tiring. Papyrus knew she couldn't take much more of this. He jumped to his feet, his mind knowing he'd never make it in time, but desperately wanting to rescue her. Sans grabbed his arm, saying something about shortcuts, and Undyne was yelling, but everything faded into white noise as he heard his human scream.

Just like in his nightmare, no, his vision, she had been struck by a bullet in the leg, sending her to the ground with a gaping hole where her knee once was. Still she fought for her life, trying to get up. But it was too late. As Papyrus, Sans, and Undyne stood frozen in horror, Mettaton fired again, the glowing, heart shaped bullet tearing open his downed friend's chest.

Hands were clutching at him. He struggled and fought to get away. Someone was screaming, a keening, anguished sound. The hands wouldn't let go. Someone -Undyne- turned him away from the TV and hugged him tightly as Sans hugged him from behind. Distantly, he realized the screams were coming from himself. Undyne and Sans were both crying, saying things to him, but he couldn't hear them.

She's dead...she's dead...she's dead...

Then everything went mercifully black.

And time rewound itself around them.

...

Frisk opened her eyes with a gasp. She clutched at her chest where she had been shot, but there was no wound.

She looked around, thinking she had been dreaming, but no familiar sights greeted her. She was in what seemed to be a dark room, the only light coming from two large rectangular orange buttons reading, "Continue," and "Reset,"

"What the hell...? Where am I?" she asked aloud, her words echoing in the cold blackness. No one, not even Chara, answered.

She was alone.

"Hello? Chara? Anyone?" she called shakily. "Please..."

And somebody came.

There was movement in the shadows, and Frisk quickly turned as a figure stepped into the dim light created by the buttons. They were a skeleton garbed in a loose black cloak, rather tall like Papyrus with two long scars on their skull, one running from their left socket to halfway up their head, and the other crack running downwards from the bottom of their right socket to their cheekbone.

"Are you the Grim Reaper?" Frisk blurted out. "I'm dead, aren't I? Are you here to take me to the afterlife?"

The skeleton shook their head with a small amused smile. Their sockets were kind as they looked at Frisk and they spoke soothingly to her in a voice that sounded male, but in a language she couldn't understand.

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand." Frisk said apologetically. The skeleton looked slightly embarrassed and raised his hands, signing something to her, but Frisk only knew a few basic words of ASL and still was lost. "I'm really sorry. I don't know much sign language." she explained. "I only know a few words, and I really need to start studying it again, and..."

The skeleton smiled reassuringly and patted her shoulder, cutting off her nervous rambling. He closed his sockets and somehow summoned a notepad and pencil from seemingly nowhere before quickly writing something down. He then handed the notepad to Frisk. Her eyes widened in shock as she read what was written.

Hello, child. I'm Doctor Wingdings Gaster, Sans and Papyrus's father. I'm here to help.

...

I hope you guys enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you think!