For a minute, Gaster just stood there, processing what just happened. Meanwhile, Apple Death returned to her human appearance as the fights were over, the summoned monsters disappearing into ones and zeros.

“📬︎📬︎📬︎✋︎ ✌︎👎︎💣︎✋︎❄︎📪︎ ✋︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎⑤︎ ☝︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎👌︎⚐︎✌︎☼︎👎︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ 💣︎✡︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎💧︎📬︎ (...I ADMIT, I MAY HAVE… GONE OVERBOARD WITH MY EXPERIMENTS.)”

“Understatement of the century,” Phantom scoffed.

“👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ ✌︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎📪︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 💣︎✡︎ ✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 💧︎🏱︎☼︎☜︎✌︎👎︎ ✌︎👍︎☼︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎☹︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ ✞︎⚐︎✋︎👎︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☟︎☜︎☹︎🏱︎ 💣︎✡︎ 💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎✌︎☹︎ 💧︎❄︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ☜︎✋︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 💧︎✌︎✋︎👎︎📪︎ ✋︎ ☼︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎☝︎☠︎✋︎☪︎☜︎ 💣︎✡︎ ✌︎👍︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎ 🕈︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ 💧︎❄︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 💣︎✡︎ ⚐︎🕈︎☠︎📬︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎📪︎ ✋︎ ✌︎🏱︎⚐︎☹︎⚐︎☝︎✋︎☪︎☜︎📬︎ (BEING SO LONG WITHOUT A REAL NOTION OF TIME, AND MY VERY BEING SPREAD ACROSS THE ENDLESS VOID DIDN’T HELP MY MENTAL STATE EITHER. BUT THAT SAID, I RECOGNIZE MY ACTIONS WERE STILL MY OWN. FOR THAT, I APOLOGIZE.)”

“MMM, YOU DID TEND TO BE A BIT ‘OUT OF IT’ WHENEVER YOU RETURNED HOME AFTER DAYS OR WEEKS AWAY AT YOUR LAB” Papyrus said. ”TO MULTIPLY THAT BY… HOWEVER LONG YOU'VE BEEN LIKE THIS…”

“Well now, none of that matters. First, you're stopping these experiments of yours. No more resets nor true resets,” Sweetie Void said, looking Gaster in the eyes, who only nodded in defeat.

“And second… You're coming out of here and returning to reality.”

Gaster paused at that.

“👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ✌︎☝︎✌︎✋︎☠︎✍︎ 📬︎📬︎📬︎✡︎⚐︎🕆︎🕯︎☼︎☜︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎ ☺︎🕆︎💧︎❄︎ ☹︎☜︎❄︎❄︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 💣︎☜︎ ⚐︎🕆︎❄︎✍︎ (COME AGAIN? ...YOU'RE REALLY JUST LETTING ME OUT?)”

“Sure, why not? It wouldn't be just leaving you here even more trapped than before. Like with Frisk and Chara, so long as you don't do anything bad, I have no problem handing out second chances!” she said with a smile.

Gaster didn’t know how to react at first. Then slowly, a small smile formed on his face.

“❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 🕈︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎ ☠︎✋︎👍︎☜︎ ✋︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☜︎👎︎📬︎ 👌︎☜︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 👌︎✌︎👍︎😐︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✡︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎⑤︎ ✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ 🕈︎☜︎☹︎☹︎📪︎ ⚐︎☠︎ 💣︎✡︎ 🏱︎☼︎✋︎👎︎☜︎ ✌︎💧︎ ✌︎ 💧︎👍︎✋︎☜︎☠︎❄︎✋︎💧︎❄︎ ✋︎ 💧︎🕈︎☜︎✌︎☼︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☟︎✌︎☼︎💣︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ (THAT WOULD BE NICE INDEED. BEING BACK TO REALITY AFTER SO LONG… VERY WELL, ON MY PRIDE AS A SCIENTIST I SWEAR NOT TO HARM ANYONE NO LONGER.)”

Gaster then frowned slightly

“☟︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎📪︎ 👌︎☜︎☞︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ☝︎⚐︎✋︎☠︎☝︎⑤︎✋︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ☹︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ☼︎☜︎✈︎🕆︎☜︎💧︎❄︎📬︎ 💣︎🕆︎👍︎☟︎ ✌︎💧︎ ✋︎ ✌︎💣︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎🕆︎☼︎☠︎ ⚐︎☠︎ ✌︎ ☠︎☜︎🕈︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎☞︎📪︎ ✋︎❄︎ 💧︎☟︎✌︎💣︎☜︎💧︎ 💣︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☹︎☜︎❄︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ☝︎⚐︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 🕈︎✌︎💧︎❄︎☜︎📬︎ 💧︎⚐︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎📪︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💧︎🏱︎☼︎☜︎✌︎👎︎ 💣︎✡︎ ☜︎💧︎💧︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ✞︎⚐︎✋︎👎︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎ 💣︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎✍︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ 👎︎⚐︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 👌︎✌︎👎︎📪︎ ✋︎ 💧︎✋︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎💧︎✋︎☼︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☼︎☜︎❄︎☼︎✋︎☜︎✞︎☜︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📬︎ (HOWEVER, BEFORE GOING…I HAVE ONE LAST REQUEST. MUCH AS I AM WILLING TO TURN ON A NEW LEAF, IT SHAMES ME TO NO END TO LET IT ALL GO TO WASTE. SO IF YOU MAY, CAN YOU SPREAD MY ESSENCE THROUGH THE VOID FOR A MOMENT? I WILL NOT DO ANYTHING BAD, I SIMPLY DESIRE TO RETRIEVE SOMETHING.)”

Sweetie Void thought about it for a moment before she granted his request, making Gaster disappear.

A moment later, before her, a box not unlike the one Frisk used to store items manifested alongside a TV with a VCR and a remote control.

Gaster then manifested in his physical form. ”👎︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎📬︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎ ☼︎☜︎👍︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☼︎🕆︎👍︎❄︎ 💣︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📪︎ (DONE. YOU MAY RECONSTRUCT ME NOW,)” he said and Sweetie Void did so.

Gaster approached the box and pulled out one VHS tape with the label that said ‘NE-#7’

“What is that?” Chara asked from inside Sweetie Void.

“🕈︎☟︎✡︎📪︎ 💣︎✡︎ ☹︎✋︎☞︎☜︎🕈︎⚐︎☼︎😐︎ ☞︎☼︎⚐︎💣︎⑤︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎🕯︎💧︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎📪︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✋︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☜︎✞︎☜︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎☹︎⚐︎☠︎☝︎💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎ ⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎💧︎ 💣︎✌︎✡︎ ☞︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ 💧︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ✈︎🕆︎✋︎❄︎☜︎ ☜︎☠︎☹︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎☜︎☠︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ 🕈︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎💧︎📪︎ (WHY, MY LIFEWORK FROM… ALL THIS TIME. THERE'S NO TIME NOW TO SEE THEM ALL, BUT I BELIEVE YOU ALL ALONGSIDE OTHERS MAY FIND SOME OF THEM QUITE ENLIGHTENING WHEN THE TIME COMES,)” Gaster said as he put the VHS in the VCR and took the remote, turning the TV on.

Immediately, they saw Frisk walking up to the exit of the underground. The moment they were about to cross, everything started to go white before suddenly there was darkness.

Then, they heard a ringtone…

…

When the recording ended, everyone was at a loss for words about what they just saw.

“W…what was that…?” Toriel muttered, completely frozen.

“☠︎☜︎🕆︎❄︎☼︎✌︎☹︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ☠︎🕆︎💣︎👌︎☜︎☼︎ 💧︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☠︎📬︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💣︎✌︎☠︎✡︎ 🕆︎☠︎✋︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎☜︎💧︎ 🕈︎☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎ ☞︎☼︎✋︎💧︎😐︎📪︎ 🕈︎☟︎✋︎☹︎☜︎ 💧︎❄︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 😐︎✋︎☹︎☹︎✋︎☠︎☝︎📪︎ ☼︎☜︎☞︎🕆︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎💣︎✋︎❄︎ ✌︎ ☞︎🕆︎☹︎☹︎ ☝︎☜︎☠︎⚐︎👍︎✋︎👎︎☜︎📬︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎📪︎ ✌︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💧︎✌︎🕈︎📪︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 😐︎✋︎☹︎☹︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎👌︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎ ✋︎💣︎🏱︎⚐︎☼︎❄︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ☞︎✋︎☝︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎💧︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ 👍︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ 👌︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎✋︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎ ✌︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎👎︎☜︎☼︎📪︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎✞︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☼︎☜︎💧︎❄︎ ⚐︎☞︎ 💣︎⚐︎☠︎💧︎❄︎☜︎☼︎😐︎✋︎☠︎👎︎ ✌︎✋︎💣︎☹︎☜︎💧︎💧︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ☟︎⚐︎🏱︎☜︎☹︎☜︎💧︎💧︎📬︎ ✋︎☠︎ ✌︎ 🕈︎✌︎✡︎📪︎ ✌︎ ☞︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎💧︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎☠︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎🏱︎☹︎☜︎❄︎☜︎ ☜︎✠︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎📪︎ ✡︎☜︎❄︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ☝︎⚐︎❄︎ ✌︎🕈︎✌︎✡︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎📬︎ (NEUTRAL ENDING NUMBER SEVEN. ONE OF THE MANY UNIVERSES WHERE FRISK, WHILE STILL KILLING, REFUSED TO COMMIT A FULL GENOCIDE. IN THAT ONE, AS YOU SAW, THEY KILLED ABOUT EVERY IMPORTANT FIGURES IN THE UNDERGROUND THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED A LEADER, LEAVING THE REST OF MONSTERKIND AIMLESS AND HOPELESS. IN A WAY, A FATE WORSE THAN COMPLETE EXTERMINATION, YET ONE THEY GOT AWAY WITH.)”

Needless to say, even Sweetie Void was genuinely disturbed by this one. And for someone who saw as much as she did, that was saying a lot.

Gaster just wordlessly took the tape out and put it back on the box before taking another one. "❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☹︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📬︎ 🕈︎☟︎☜︎☠︎ 🕈︎☜︎🕯︎☼︎☜︎ 👌︎✌︎👍︎😐︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎✋︎❄︎✡︎📪︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👍︎✌︎☠︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ ✋︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ 💧︎☟︎⚐︎🕈︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎📬︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📪︎ ✋︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☜︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ✋︎💧︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎ 💣︎✌︎☺︎☜︎💧︎❄︎✡︎ 🕈︎⚐︎🕆︎☹︎👎︎ 🕈︎✌︎☠︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☹︎⚐︎⚐︎😐︎ 👍︎☹︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎☹︎✡︎ ✌︎❄︎📪︎ (THIS IS THE LAST ONE I WANT TO SHOW YOU FOR NOW. WHEN WE'RE BACK TO REALITY, YOU CAN COME TO ME AND I WILL SHOW YOU MORE. FOR NOW, I BELIEVE THIS IS ONE HER MAJESTY WOULD WANT TO LOOK CLOSELY AT,)” Gaster said, looking at Toriel before putting the VCR labeled ‘NE-#4’ In.

The TV lit up again, and the same happened up until the moment of the call. Sweetie Void gave a little smile when Sans mentioned the snowman, but after that…

…

While reactions across the room were overall better, it was not by much with the ending still having a melancholic tone.

“❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☼︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ 💧︎👍︎☜︎☠︎✌︎☼︎✋︎⚐︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☹︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎📬︎ ☟︎☜︎☼︎☜︎📪︎ ☞︎☼︎✋︎💧︎😐︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☟︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✋︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎💣︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 😐︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎ ⚐︎☞︎ ❄︎☟︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 👌︎☜︎☞︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☠︎👎︎☜︎👎︎ 🏱︎☜︎☼︎💧︎⚐︎☠︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎📪︎ ✡︎☜︎❄︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ✋︎💧︎💧︎🕆︎☜︎💧︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ☜︎☠︎👎︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✌︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎☟︎⚐︎💧︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ 👎︎☜︎☜︎💣︎☜︎👎︎ ❻︎💧︎❄︎☼︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎☼︎💧︎❼︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎✡︎ ☟︎✌︎👎︎ ☠︎⚐︎ ☼︎☜︎✌︎☹︎ 👍︎⚐︎☠︎☠︎☜︎👍︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎⚐︎📬︎ 🕈︎☟︎✋︎☹︎☜︎ ☠︎⚐︎❄︎ ✌︎💧︎ 👌︎✌︎👎︎ ✌︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ☹︎✌︎💧︎❄︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎📪︎ ✋︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ 💧︎❄︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ✈︎🕆︎✋︎❄︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 👌︎☹︎☜︎✌︎😐︎ ☞︎🕆︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☜︎📬︎ ☜︎💧︎🏱︎☜︎👍︎✋︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎✡︎ ☟︎🕆︎💣︎✌︎☠︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎ ✋︎💧︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☞︎✌︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎☞︎❄︎☜︎☼︎ ☞︎☼︎✋︎💧︎😐︎⑤︎ ✌︎☟︎📪︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎🕯︎💧︎ ✌︎ 💧︎❄︎⚐︎☼︎✡︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ✌︎☠︎⚐︎❄︎☟︎☜︎☼︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎📪︎ (THIS ONE IS THE REVERSED SCENARIO OF THE LAST ONE. HERE, FRISK DIDN’T HAVE IT IN THEM TO KILL ANYONE OF THOSE THEY BEFRIENDED PERSONALLY, YET HAD NO ISSUES FOR ENDING ALL THOSE THEY DEEMED ‘STRANGERS’ THEY HAD NO REAL CONNECTION TO. WHILE NOT AS BAD AS THE LAST ONE, IT IS STILL QUITE THE BLEAK FUTURE. ESPECIALLY FOR ANY HUMAN THAT IS TO FALL AFTER FRISK… AH, BUT THAT'S A STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME,)” Gaster said.

Out of all the ones present, Toriel and Undyne were the ones left with the most to think about.

Undyne had conflicted feelings: for one, it was quite the moral boost knowing she was so strong she could actually beat a Boss Monster!

But after that? Asgore dying, her taking charge of the Underground, and the fact she gets that much more ruthless… If she was being fair, she certainly got where the her of that world was coming from; even if she didn’t quite see eye to eye, she knew herself enough that she would've done it all in her place.

She only hoped that at least she got to be a good ruler for the monsters. Because if she wasn’t…

Toriel, once again, was hit with the realization that she made more mistakes than she used to take credit for. Thinking that she greatly misjudged her people was one thing, but actual confirmation of how much they could come to despise her ideals to the point of rebellion, all because she didn’t properly analyze the situation…

It was a hard pill to swallow.

“✋︎ 👌︎☜︎☹︎✋︎☜︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎🕯︎💧︎ ☜︎☠︎⚐︎🕆︎☝︎☟︎ ☞︎⚐︎☼︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📬︎ ✌︎☝︎✌︎✋︎☠︎📪︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💣︎☜︎ ✋︎☞︎ ✋︎❄︎❼︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ 🕈︎✋︎💧︎☟︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☹︎☜︎✌︎☼︎☠︎ 💣︎⚐︎☼︎☜︎ ✌︎👌︎⚐︎🕆︎❄︎ ☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎✡︎❄︎☟︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👎︎✋︎👎︎☠︎❼︎❄︎ ☝︎☜︎❄︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎☜︎☜︎📬︎ ☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📪︎ ☹︎☜︎❄︎ 🕆︎💧︎ ☼︎☜︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☠︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕆︎☠︎👎︎☜︎☼︎☝︎☼︎⚐︎🕆︎☠︎👎︎📬︎ (I BELIEVE THAT'S ENOUGH FOR NOW. AGAIN, COME TO ME IF IT’S YOUR WISH TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU DIDN’T GET TO SEE. NOW, LET US RETURN TO THE UNDERGROUND.)”

“But before…” Sweetie Void began. “I have a couple of SOULs to give back.”

Then, she expelled Frisk and Kris’ SOULs out of her body, returning herself to normal. The SOULs flew right to their respective bodies, entering them. A few seconds later, the humans woke up.

As she got up, Kris said, “It felt weird not being in my body.”

“Welcome to my world,” Chara replied to that through Frisk’s mouth.

Once the two were up, Sweetie Void opened a rift, surprising the monsters except Gaster.

“Come on, let’s go, it leads back to Waterfall,” the alicorn said.

Phantom and Apple Death jumped into it right away, followed by Gaster, then by Frisk and Kris. Papyrus trusted Sweetie Void, so he didn’t hesitate long before jumping through. Toriel then followed, and finally, Undyne did too, leaving Sweetie Void to close the march.

At the other side of the rift, back in the corridor which was now without a gray door, Sweetie Void was welcomed to the sight of two individuals present in addition of everyone else: Sans and Flowey. Sans was looking at Gaster as if he saw a ghost (considering the presence of monster ghosts in the Underground, this may not be the right expression to use) while Flowey looked at Frisk with a relieved expression.

Obviously, when the door disappeared, Sans and Flowey must have come here wondering what happened to their respective brother.

Despite being soulless and despite their earlier argument, it looked like Flowey still cared about Chara enough to worry about him disappearing through a mysterious gray door.

Or did he develop some attachment toward his son? Sweetie Void wasn’t sure.

Then, Sans says, “father?”

“💧︎✌︎☠︎💧︎📪︎ (SANS,)” Gaster replied, his smile gentler. “✋︎🕯︎💣︎ 👌︎✌︎👍︎😐︎📬︎ (I’M BACK.)”

“LOOK SANS! OUR DAD IS BACK!” Papyrus exclaimed with clear joy.

Sans continued to look at Gaster, then he stared at Sweetie Void. “what happened?”

“A lot,” Sweetie Void answered. “And I think that everybody has a lot to talk about. We should go to Undyne’s house. Or Alphys’ lab; she will want to meet her predecessor. I can teleport us there. And yes, this includes you, Flowey. You may want to hear what we learned while in the void.”

Flowey looked at the filly suspiciously, but then agreed, along with all the others. So Sweetie Void plucked him from the ground and placed him in a flower pot, then she teleported everyone into the lab, the sound of the teleportation making Alphys jump out of her chair in surprise. The doctor had been looking at the large screen, probably trying to find the children. Of course there were no cameras in that corridor that Gaster created for his gray door.

As some recovered from the teleportation sickness, Sweetie Void briefly resumed the situation to Alphys while she was getting up.

“We found a door that led us to the void, and there, we found your predecessor, W.D. Gaster. There is a lot to talk about.”

Alphys looked at the talking alicorn filly in awe. Then, what she said caught up, and now, she was looking at the skeleton in black in both awe and shock.

“D-D-D-D-Doctor Gaster?! THE Doctor Gaster?! Who made the CORE?!”

Gaster chuckled. “✋︎☠︎ 💣︎✌︎☝︎✋︎👍︎ ✌︎☠︎👎︎ 👌︎⚐︎☠︎☜︎💧︎📬︎ (IN MAGIC AND BONES.)”

Sweetie Void summoned a table big enough and enough chairs for everyone to sit on.

“I hope you don’t mind if we settle here for our little discussion.”

Alphys looked back at the filly, in awe again at her magic prowess. She nodded. “O-of course! I will heat some cups of noodles for everyone.” And she went to do that as quickly as she could, taking cups of noodles in the fridge and heating them in the microwave, rather clumsily in her haste as she took too many cups in her arms at once, almost dropping several.

Undyne quickly went to help her, taking some of the cups from her arms and making her blush.

Eventually, the cups were heated and distributed around the table, Alphys looking in shock at Flowey, finally noticing him. Alphys and Undyne then joined the others and sat down, beside each other. Finally, Undyne removed her helmet and placed it on the table.

“So…” Sweetie Void began while everyone began to eat with more or less difficulty using the sticks to pick up the noodles. “Let’s start by recounting to Sans, Flowey, and Alphys what happened in the void.”

And so, Gaster recounted what happened to him, from the moment he fell into the CORE and got scattered across space and time to when he fought Sweetie Void, telling everything about his experiments.

When he was done, Sans, Flowey, and Alphys were left speechless.

Gaster then looked at Alphys. “✋︎ ✌︎👍︎❄︎🕆︎✌︎☹︎☹︎✡︎ 🕆︎💧︎☜︎👎︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎☼︎ ☜︎✠︎🏱︎☜︎☼︎✋︎💣︎☜︎☠︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎❄︎☟︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎☼︎☜︎✌︎❄︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ 👎︎☜︎❄︎☜︎☼︎💣︎✋︎☠︎✌︎❄︎✋︎⚐︎☠︎ ☝︎✋︎✞︎☜︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎ 🏱︎⚐︎💧︎💧︎☜︎💧︎💧︎✋︎☠︎☝︎ ✋︎❄︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎📬︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☹︎✋︎✞︎☜︎📪︎ ✌︎💧︎ ✡︎⚐︎🕆︎ 👎︎✋︎💧︎👍︎⚐︎✞︎☜︎☼︎☜︎👎︎📪︎ 👌︎🕆︎❄︎ ✌︎☹︎💧︎⚐︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 💧︎🕆︎👍︎👍︎☜︎☜︎👎︎📪︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎ 👍︎☟︎✌︎☠︎☝︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎⚐︎☼︎☹︎👎︎📪︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ❄︎⚐︎ ☠︎☜︎✞︎☜︎☼︎ ☝︎✋︎✞︎☜︎ 🕆︎🏱︎📬︎ ✋︎ ☝︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ 🕈︎✋︎☹︎☹︎ ✌︎👍︎❄︎🕆︎✌︎☹︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎📪︎ ❄︎☟︎🕆︎💧︎ ❄︎☟︎☜︎ 💧︎✌︎✞︎☜︎ 🏱︎⚐︎🕈︎☜︎☼︎📬︎ (I ACTUALLY USED YOUR EXPERIMENT WITH DETERMINATION TO CREATE THE SAVE POWER. DETERMINATION GIVES THE ONE POSSESSING IT WILL. THE WILL TO LIVE, AS YOU DISCOVERED, BUT ALSO THE WILL TO SUCCEED, THE WILL TO CHANGE THE WORLD, THE WILL TO NEVER GIVE UP. I GAVE THIS WILL ACTUAL POWER, THUS THE SAVE POWER.)”

“What experiment with Determination is he talking about?” Undyne asked.

Alphys panicked. “Uh… W-w-well… Uh… Y-you s-see… Uh…”

“my guess is that it has something to do with the fallen monsters that entered her lab but never came out despite her saying that they were now alright somehow,” Sans said.

Alphys panicked even more, not able to say a word anymore.

Undyne began to rub her back. “Hey hey hey! Whatever happened, it’s alright.”

Sweetie Void nodded. “I know what happened, and it isn’t your fault. You were simply following Asgore’s instructions to find a way to destroy the Barrier without a seventh SOUL. Your experiment was made with good intentions, and you did end up saving these monsters’ lives. That’s what matters, even if they are now… that… Do you want me to tell everyone what happened? This will be a huge weight off your chest.”

Silently, Alphys nodded after a few seconds of hesitation.

“Alright. So, the gist of it is that Alphys injected Determination into the fallen monsters in the hope of making their SOULs last after death, so they would eventually get enough monster SOULs to get the equivalent of the seventh human SOUL needed to destroy the Barrier. However, this had the unexpected effect of giving the fallen monsters the will to live, saving them from certain death. However, the monster body isn’t made to hold that much Determination, so they began to melt and merge together to form what we call Amalgamates.”

“A-a-and… feeling ashamed of what happened… I-I kept them trapped in my secret lab since then, telling nobody, withdrawing into myself...” Alphys took over, not daring to look at anyone.

“And losing confidence in herself,” Sweetie Void finished.

Undyne sighed. “This explains so much…” She then hugged the lizard monster. “It’s okay. Nobody is holding it against you. Just, uh… Once we are done with this discussion, let’s bring these monsters back to their families, okay?”

Alphys gulped. “O-o-okay.”

“Ahem! Back on topic,” Flowey suddenly said before he stared at Gaster. “So, I owe my life to you? You are the one who allowed me to come back from death when I killed myself?”

Gaster nodded. “❄︎☟︎✌︎❄︎🕯︎💧︎ ☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎📬︎ (THAT'S RIGHT.)”

“......You should have let me die. It would have been better for everyone.”

“NO!” Frisk, or rather Chara, yelled. “Alphys gave you another chance to live after I killed you! You will NOT waste it! Once Sweetie Void absorbs SOULs again, she will turn you back to normal, and you will live with Asgore and Toriel again, happily ever after!”

“I don’t deserve that after everything I have done…”

Chara slammed Frisk’s hand on the table. “Like hell! It’s my fault you did all that! And you couldn’t help yourself without a SOUL! If Frisk deserves a chance after what he did, then you deserve it too! The only one who doesn’t deserve one is me…”

Toriel’s eyes widened, several key words having allowed her to reach a conclusion. “Another chance to live”, “turn you back to normal”, “live with Asgore and Toriel again”.

But first, she needed to ask: “Excuse me, but what has Doctor Alphys done to… Flowey, was it?”

Alphys answered. “Oh, well, I needed a receptacle for the monster SOULs I would collect, so I injected Determination into the very first Golden Flowey that grew in Asgore’s garden after… that day, thinking that something neither human nor monster would be able to hold all of them, but it gave nothing, so I put the flower back in its place. It’s only later that I learned that the flower was gone. It seems that giving Determination really gave it life, like I had expected, but it took some time for that to happen. But…” She looked at Frisk/Chara. “What do you mean I gave him a second chance at life?”

Chara looked at Alphys, then at Flowey, then at Toriel, then at Flowey again. “Do you want to tell her, or do I do it?”

Before Flowey could answer, Toriel asked, “You are Asriel, am I right?” surprising him and shocking many of the monsters.

Flowey sighed, not looking at Toriel. “Yes…”

Toriel stopped herself from going to hug the flower, then looked at Frisk with hope. “Chara?”

Chara immediately withdrew into Frisk, so Frisk was the one who nodded, making Chara curse him inside his mind.

Papyrus gasped. “SO MY FRIEND FLOWERY IS THE PRINCE! I HAVE BEEN FRIEND WITH THE PRINCE ALL THIS TIME! AND THE PRINCE IS NOT DEAD! THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER! MAYBE EVEN BETTER THAN IF UNDYNE TOLD ME THAT I’M FINALLY PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD!”

“Wait wait wait! How is this possible?! How are the dead princes alive?” Undyne asked.

“Uh… Chara isn’t really alive,” Frisk said. “He is more… a passenger in my body.”

“As for me, when the good doctor over there injected Determination into the flower, it gave my dust, my essence, the will to live,” Flowy said. “Remember that the first Golden Flower seed fell into the garden with my dust, so it was covered in it.”

“As for how Chara ended up in my head…” Frisk began.

“HAS IT TO DO WITH WHAT DAD SAID ABOUT YOU? ABOUT YOU BEING A HUMAN/MONSTER HYBRID?” Papyrus asked.

Toriel remembered perfectly what Gaster said. Apparently, Frisk was born somehow thanks to Asriel, from the remains of a human, a merged human monster SOUL, and monster essence, plus that Determination that gives the will to live.

She always wondered how the Golden Flowers appeared above Chara’s grave, but now that she knew that there was a living Golden Flower who was actually Asriel reborn, it wasn’t hard to guess that Asriel found Chara’s grave and left some seeds on it.

And if the seeds had Asriel’s essence and Determination…

And when Asriel died, the pieces of his merged SOUL broke and fell right on Chara’s body, so they ended up being buried with him in the Ruins.

The conclusion was quite the shock.

“You are Chara’s body given life with Asriel’s essence and their SOULs.”

“Asriel’s blank essence actually,” Sweetie Void corrected. “The flowers contain only blank essence, like in newborn monsters.”

“That’s incredible!” Alphys said in awe as she looked at Frisk.

“Calm down, Alph. “Remember that he and his counterparts caused untold suffering across many worlds and timelines,” Undyne said while she glared at Frisk, making him want to shrink.

“C–COME ON, UNDYNE, OTHER FRISKS MAY HAVE DONE BAD THINGS, BUT MAYBE THIS ONE HASN’T,” Papyrus tried to reason.

Sans stared at Frisk, and the boy sighed before he said, “I did… I wanted to find a way to save Asriel, and I thought that LOVE would be the solution…”

Undyne facepalmed. “LOVE is NEVER the solution.”

“I know that, now. But what I gained each time that my LOVE increased… It really felt like I would be able to do anything once I gained enough.”

“Yeah, LOVE is one hell of a drug. It still doesn’t excuse killing innocents.”

“I know…”

“However, while you and the flower have caused a lot of problems…” The Captain’s gaze turned to Gaster. “you are still the one who puppeteered everything, and so, the one responsible for all that happened to these other worlds and timelines, and this is unforgivable. You did a lot of good for the Underground, like the CORE, and nothing bad happened in our timeline. Heck, you even created our world, and it’s thanks to you that the princes are among us today, but it doesn’t change the fact that countless monsters have suffered because of you.”

Gaster lowered his head. “✋︎ 😐︎☠︎⚐︎🕈︎📬︎📬︎📬︎ (I KNOW…)”

“BUT NOW, WE CAN WORK TOGETHER FOR A BETTER FUTURE!” Papyrus said. “STARTING WITH DESTROYING THE BARRIER!”

“Which I will be able to do using the same method I used in the void,” Sweetie Void said.

Now, all eyes turned to Sweetie Void, Phantom, and Apple Bloom.

“So, you three are from another dimension?” Toriel asked.

“That’s right,” Apple Death answered.

Phantom pointed a thumb at Kris. “And her too. She is an alternate Frisk.”

“And if it can reassure you, she never did any harm,” Sweetie Void said.

“And why are you here instead of being in your worlds?” Undyne asked.

Sweetie Void pointed at herself and the other UME. “The three of us are world explorers. We are here by ‘luck’. Kris however…”

Kris sighed. “The timeline preceding this one was a genocide one, where Frisk was killing all the monsters that crossed his path. The problem was that it was because of Chara killing everyone he befriended to punish him for having killed everyone in a previous timeline, so Sweetie Void asked my help in trying to convince Chara to stop. Then, when they were about to RESET to save the monsters this time, I wanted to come along for the fun. The first time I went through the Underground, it was very nice, so I wanted to do it again. I really couldn’t wait to go through Papyrus’ puzzles again, or Mettaton’s shows. Yes Alphys, I know what you were planning to do.”

Alphys blushed and hid her face behind her claws.

“NYEH HEH HEH! I’M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT YOU LOVED MY PUZZLES SO MUCH THAT YOU WANTED TO DO THEM AGAIN!”

“And we needed to keep an eye on Frisk and Chara,” Phantom said. “In case they had any idea.”

“And once you are gone, what would be stopping them from going on a rampage again?” Undyne again.

“Frisk and Chara looked genuinely sorry for what happened. And they know that, if I return and find that something is wrong, then they’re gonna have a bad time. Also, I’m planning to give Chara a body of his own, so he won’t have the SAVE power anymo-Oh… Wait…” She looked at Gaster. “You removed the six human SOULs that Asgore collected.” She looked at Frisk. “And while collecting two SOULs is enough to get the power to destroy the Barrier, I need three to have the necessary power to manipulate SOULs to give Asriel and Chara a new one. Even if I take Frisk and Kris’ SOULs again, I still need a third SOUL, and I don’t feel like taking the SOULs of all the monsters in the Underground.” She looked at Kris. “Would your Chara agree to let me take hers?”

Kris nodded. “I’m sure, yes. She trusts you.”

“Good,” Sweetie Void said before she sighed. “It’s sad however, I won’t be able to bring the dead kids back to life this time without their SOULs, and I’m not sure that creating new SOULs would help because humans don’t have essence retaining their memories, so the revived humans would be like newborns with no memories of who they were, and their original selves would still be dead.”

Gaster looked very sorry at that, and this saddened Toriel and Papyrus a lot.

“can’t save everyone,” Sans said.

“I know.”

After that, they ended the discussion, and it was agreed that everyone will go to New Home to witness the destruction of the Barrier and talk to Asgore about everything that happened. Gaster decided to leave the tapes in the laboratory.

Before they left, Toriel hugged Frisk who had Flowey in his hands.

“You three may have done horrible things, but know that I love you.”

Chara took over Frisk’s body and glared at her. “So you are ready to forgive us despite us killing the monsters again and again, and yet, you aren’t ready to forgive Asgore for just killing six humans. It’s not because we are children that we must be forgiven everything, you know?”

“...I… didn’t say that I was forgiving. I said that I still loved you.”

“Then what is stopping you from loving dad?” Flowey asked. “ You talk about him as if he is the Devil, when we should be the ones receiving such names. Hypocrite. Let’s go Chara.”

Chara left Toriel’s arms and walked away, leaving behind a woman who couldn’t say anything in return.

Author's Note

This one was hard. Justalad made the first discussion in the void.