~ ❀Asriel❀ ~
"Long night?" I asked, watching as Frisk groggily shuffled her way into Dr. Gaster's lab behind an extremely anxious looking Alphys.
I got a groan and a look of poison in response. Frisk really isn't a morning person if she doesn't get a lot of sleep. I chuckled and patted the seat beside me. She just stared for a second before seemingly registering what I was suggesting. Slowly shuffling over, she eventually plopped down and sighed heavily.
"Good to know everyone's bright and cheery this morning!" Dr. Gaster smiled, suddenly materializing in the door frame beside Frisk's chair. "Let's see; Alphys, have you told Asriel about the 'situation' as of yet?" He scurried over to his desk, carefully setting an armful of papers on an empty section of the desktop. I just leaned back in my chair, watching the usual assortment of stutters and anxious shifting come from the lizard monster.
"Y- yes, although I haven't been able to tell Frisk yet. You do know about her wanting to revive-"
"That should be fine. We won't have to worry about it for some time, I believe," Dr. Gaster cut off Alphys, pulling his roller chair over to himself before he finally sat down. "As for the young prince Chara, I am aware of her hope to bring him back from the dead. Why do you think I called you three - or, I suppose, four - here today?"
Alphys and I shared a glance. Frisk's breathing was slow and raspy. How she fell asleep in these extremely uncomfortable chairs, I'll never know.
"Er, why exactly?" I spoke up, watching the scientist's eerie smile widen.
Dr. Gaster held up a small skull-like object. "To separate Frisk's Determination from Chara's, of course! How else would we be able to awaken his consciousness inside of his body? From what the other fallen humans have told me about their revivement, it was simply a matter of the soul rejoining with its body. As long as it had the correct amount of Determination - what is usually found in the average human soul - and the body hadn't completely decomposed beyond life, the soul could reanimate it's body and go on living as if it hadn't been killed. One downside the children mentioned, however, was that they were extremely weak and couldn't function properly for a few weeks. This is most likely because their souls weren't used to the heavy matter of human bodies. We're going to have to keep this in mind for Chara - considering the fact that he's been outside of his body the longest."
I blinked. Alphys nodded, probably taking everything the old man was saying as practically gospel. Frisk's breath hitched for a second before returning to it's regular cadence.
Dr. Gaster seemed to watch all our reactions for a moment before setting the skull-thing down and continuing. "Of course, we'll have to dig up Chara's corpse first, but that shouldn't take long... He was a tiny thing, if I remember correctly. What I'm sure you two are more concerned about currently - Asriel especially from the look he's giving - is how exactly we're going to separate the two children. This will involve the tool I just showed you."
Chara's corpse... It's so strange to hear that. One hundred years and I still haven't accepted what happened...
-Oh wait, Gaster's still talking. I mean, of course he is. He never shuts up. But, still.
"...good question, Alphys! You both remember the extractor in the Underground lab, right?" The image of a looming maroon-colored figure hidden in the deepest part of Alphys' actual lab came to mind. It had initially creeped me out when I'd seen it as a kid, but it just became another background thing during my time stuck down there. I'm not entirely sure what it does, honestly. Even after I bothered Alphys about it during one of my RESETs. Then again, she doesn't know either. It was completely the Doctor's invention, left with nothing to document it aside from a few indiscernible blueprints he'd left behind.
After Alphys nodded hesitantly, Dr. Gaster's grin widened. "Well, this is a miniature, slightly less dangerous version of it. Sans helped me work out the kinks." I opened my mouth to request he clarify that last part about his son, but the old skeleton continued anyway. "Here's what it's going to do; I'll have Asriel summon Frisk's soul and then we'll use this to extract half of the soul's Determination. Then we'll have Frisk tell us if she can still interact with Chara. If not, we know it worked. Or maybe Frisk will be dead. Either way, I guarantee it'll give us some sort of result. What do you two think?" He held out the mini-extractor for us to get a better look at. A noticeably proud look was on his face.
"Why me, exactly?" I asked, glancing back at the sleeping human curled up on the red plastic chair beside mine. I'm already apprehensive about this whole thing to begin with; why would I want to be directly involved?
-Just for the record, I'm not concerned about Chara coming back. That's... That's a whole field of emotions I won't go into right now. What I am worried about is what's got Dr. Gaster so enthusiastic. Also, why is he bringing up all these old Determination experiments? They've all thankfully been done and over with for a long time. Why can't we just leave it that way?
Dr. Gaster gingerly set the extractor tool on his desk and stretched his arms above his head. "Two reasons: 1. Chara most likely trusts you - his brother - more than us, and 2. Alphys and I are going to be busy using the extractor and monitoring everything. That is, if this is all ok with you. You do not have to do this, young prince, especially after your... previous experience with us." Alphys flinched and looked away. "I just personally feel it would be only natural."
'It would be only natural', huh?
I looked back over to the sleeping Frisk. I wonder if Chara's standing beside her, listening to everything. I stared at the small corner between Frisk's chair and the door absentmindedly for a second. Then: "I'll help." Dr. Gaster's smile widened. He made to speak again, but I cut him off. "On one condition - you tell me what you think is currently happening and is going to happen. I hate being in the dark, especially when whatever this is might possibly involve both of my brothers."
I met his gaze. Like his youngest son, Papyrus, Dr. Gaster had empty void-like eyes that still managed to be quite expressive if you knew what to look for. One of them was permanently closed with a crack running through it. An injury he'd sustained during the accident at the CORE. What all happened that night is still a mystery. The only one who remembers is the man himself - who refuses to tell us. He 'doesn't like to remember it', as he puts it. As for how he came back, that's a really weird story for another time.
-Let's just say it involved a weirdly placed door in Waterfall, Frisk's burning Determination and stubbornness, some random white dog carrying an egg in it's mouth, and my own timeline mess-upper self as Flowey.
"Very well. Although, I'm not sure what else Alphys hasn't already told you," Dr. Gaster sighed, leaning back in his roller chair. Frisk shifted around a little. Alphy messed around with the hem of her coat nervously. Somewhere outside, the sound of birds singing to each other could be heard (a little note: animals are separate creatures from monsters. So, even though everyone keeps on comparing me and my parents to goats, we aren't actually descended from them or anything).
"I'm sure you remember your time as the creature known as Flowey. How, with the right amount of Determination, you were able to change fate itself. Then, Frisk fell with an unthinkable amount of it. This, paired with Chara's own Determination latching onto hers, gave her a major edge over Flowey and gave her the ability to change fate. Unlike you, she only RESET the world once and saved everyone. Then, she returned to save you. That, on top of the Determination you had from Flowey, helped to stabilize your form. Even if it is a little delicate," Dr. Gaster glanced at me. "This, however, means Frisk's Determination was spread between you, her, and Chara almost equally. Which is likely how Kris was able to trump you all. My thoughts are: if we can bring Chara back and, by extension, his own Determination, we could potentially balance things out and prevent anything from happening to Kris."
Silence in the room. Dr. Gaster watched my reaction, his own expression seemingly attempting to hide the thrill of discovery in his hollow eyes. This is all just another experiment to him. Simply a new test of his theories on Determination. The people involved are merely variables, nothing more.
I narrowed my eyes at the man. "Who's to say Chara coming back would balance things out? If his Determination is apart of Frisk's, wouldn't that just split both of theirs down the middle? That wouldn't change anything."
The scientist sighed. "That is a problem I have come across. I was hoping that maybe-"
"What? That when Chara returns to his body he'll miraculously get the rest of the Determination he lost when he died? I thought you were supposed to be a genius or something. This all just sounds like a half-baked plan dreamed up by an amateur."
Dr. Gaster's eyes widened, but he did not acknowledge the insult. Instead, he stiffly pointed at the sleeping human beside me. "Wake up Frisk. I want to hear what Chara thinks."
"He probably thinks you're just as crazy as I do," I muttered, exasperatedly. I shoved Frisk gently, earning a squeak and a small grumble from the groggy human in response.
"...What time is it?" She yawned out, unfolding her legs and stretching them.
"It's 10:48-"
"Oh, shut up." Frisk seemed to glare at the empty spot beside her. I chuckled under my breath. Guess Chara's feeling talkative today.
"Ah good, Chara's present!" All hint of ego bruising from earlier was suddenly gone, the doctor instead radiating an apparent bout of mis-placed excitement.
"Where else would he be? Disneyland?" I rose an eyebrow at the scientist. Alphys coughed.
"Do you want to talk to Chara or something?" Frisk asked, attempting to flatten the wrinkles that had appeared in her t-shirt. She usually doesn't care about her appearance much. Dr. Gaster's professional wrinkle-less suit must be intimidating her. Frisk really doesn't make sense to me sometimes.
"If he's fine with it, yes. Asriel and I just had a discussion about something and I would like to hear his opinion on the matter."
I rolled my eyes. 'Discussion'. If that's what he's decided to call it.
"Alright, go ahead," Frisk nodded, leaning back in her chair. "He says he's really glad you asked, by the way. Apparently you guys are sounding like idiots to him...?"
Both Dr. Gaster and I glared at the corner beside her. Frisk giggled under her breath.
"Well, to begin with," Dr. Gaster regained a more serious expression. "I was just wondering what you - Chara - thought of my theory about Kris. Essentially, I think Kris might be like Frisk and Flowey in that he can change the fate of the world - if so desired."
Frisk stared at Dr. Gaster.
"Er, d- did Chara say anything, Frisk?" Alphys spoke up, releasing the hem of her coat. Dr. Gaster waited patiently for an answer.
"...What do you mean Kris might be able to control the fate of the world...?" Frisk finally asked, her face donning the infamous neutral expression.
Dr. Gaster looked over at Alphys, a surprised expression on his face. "...You only told Asriel?"
"A- as I said, I- I didn't really get a chance to tell Frisk..." Alphys admitted, avoiding the older scientist's watching pinpricks. "She spent almost all of yesterday w- with Clover and the Dreemurrs as well as the Holiday s- sisters."
I scratched a spot under my ear. "Basically, Frisk, Kris has a lot of Determination. What Gaster's hoping to do is revive Chara to 'balance things out'. However, in my opinion, this wouldn't work since all that would do is split your Determination in half."
Frisk stared at all of us for a second before looking back at the empty corner. Everyone waited to hear Chara's thoughts.
After another minute, and a scowl from Frisk, she repeated back what he said. "Chara doesn't want to be revived. And even if he did, he says it wouldn't change anything. He believes there has to be one person controlling the timelines no matter what. There is no balancing things out. It's either Kris or one of us."
Dr. Gaster frowned at this. "Why do you think there has to be someone controlling the timelines?"
Frisk stared at the empty space. "He says he's not completely sure; he just believes it wouldn't necessarily be possible to go without a timeline controller as long as Determination exists."
Alphys chirped up, adjusting a paper on Dr. Gaster's desk. "W- what I'm curious about, then, is who controlled everything before Flowey e- existed?"
Frisk furrowed her brows. "Chara says he may have, but just wasn't aware of it."
"Then why was he not able to reset after his and Asriel's deaths? No, I think it must have been someone else." Dr. Gaster placed a skeletal hand on his chin, thinking.
"Say there does have to be one person in control of everything, how exactly are we going to make it someone other than Kris? We don't even know how much he has." I scratched the spot beneath my ear again.
Frisk looked at me. "Is there even a way to measure that?"
"Not that I know of."
"That brings me back to Chara's revival. As Asriel has debuncted my previous theory - he's made sure to keep reminding me - we could figure out a way to potentially replenish Frisk's Determination after the separation so she was in control," Dr. Gaster suggested, still rubbing his chin.
"Why does it have to be Frisk? Why couldn't I take over? If we do go through with reviving my brother, I'll have the most Determination after Kris."
Dr. Gaster was silent for a second. "...I think you know why."
I stared at the scientist.
Alphys began feverishly shuffling the various stacks of papers strewn about Dr. Gaster's office. Frisk's head was tilted towards the corner, no-doubt listening to whatever Chara was telling her.
"Nah, don't think I do. I'd appreciate it if you clarified."
"I don't believe I need to."
"No, no, I assure you, I don't know what you're talking about. I would just love to hear what you're referring to!"
"Very well, then. I am talking about Flowey, young prince. And not just him, the supposed 'God of Hyperdeath' as well. You have proven yourself time and again to be untrustworthy with the RESET ability and, as such, will not be a considerable candidate."
Frisk sat up in her seat. "Chara wants to know where you guys would even get the extra Determination from. He says the only ways would be to take some from him or me - which could be a dangerous idea regarding the state of our souls - or just take down the root of the problem itself and extract some from Kris. The problem with that last one is how Kris would even take to that. He's only seven after all."
I frowned and crossed my arms. Dr. Gaster, meanwhile, sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "Chara has a point. Although we can still revive him, it wouldn't change anything, Determination-wise. And... well, it doesn't seem as if there is anything we could do to avoid Kris having to bear such an ability."
Everyone sighed collectively. A silence filled the room. Or, at least from what I could assume of Frisk's detached expression. The rising morning sun crept in through the window, filling the whitewashed room with a golden light. It would normally be a lovely sign of assurance - that that particular day would be a nice, clear day -, but right then it was just an annoyance blinding my eyes.
"...What if we trained Kris? We teach him what his power is, what it can do, and why he needs to be wary of it."
Everyone looked at Frisk. She was now sitting upright in her chair, her hands eagerly gripping her knees.
"Er... would we even want him to find out about this? It's as you said; h- he's only seven," Alphys spoke up, now having taken a seat in one of the extra chairs to scribble away on a clipboard.
Dr. Gaster tilted his head, still scratching his chin. "We could do that; perhaps when he's older. However, do we really want to risk the possibility of something happening now?"
"We watch him! And if something does happen, Chara should be able to tell. He said he could feel when the world shifted. Maybe Asriel, too. If it does, we can explain to Kris what happened!" Frisk suggested, a new energy starting to show on her.
"I can tell this as well. Don't ask, it's a long story. At any rate, I suppose it would be best to leave things be." He stood up and stretched his arms above his head. "That leaves the revival of the younger prince. Are we all in agreement with that method?"
I initially hesitated, but eventually wound up nodding. Frisk nodded her head vigorously. She was asleep for that part, so I guess she just really wants to bring Chara back. Alphys nodded as well, and held up her clipboard to Dr. Gaster.
Then Frisk scowled again. "Chara says he doesn't want to still."
I blinked. "Why?"
"He doesn't think he can face you or whatever."
"Chara, you do remember how I've done way worse than you, right? Why are you worried about that?"
"He didn't answer. He's just staring at the doorway."
I sighed and stood up. "As much as I don't want to go against my brother's wishes, I think..." I had stood up with confidence, but it slowly dissipated as I spoke. I mean, I do want Chara back, but if he doesn't even want to see me...
"We're doing it. I'm telling you that right now," Frisk stated, matter-of-factly. I don't think she'll be easy to convince otherwise.
Dr. Gaster nodded, a small grin making its way onto his face. "Very well! All of you meet me back here at... let's say 4:30ish this evening. Preparations shouldn't take too long, but there are a few things Alphys and I still need to work out. Hope you are ready, Chara! It looks like this is happening either way!"
He's just happy to do any experiment, it seems.
Frisk had the biggest smile on her face as she stood up and went to give Dr. Gaster a hug. "Thank you so much, sir! Although he disagrees with me right now, I speak on Chara's behalf as well."
I'm excited to see my brother again, sure, but I don't want to make him do something he doesn't want to do...
...I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.
"4:30pm, you said?" I asked, starting towards the door. Dr. Gaster nodded, gently pushing Frisk off of him. "See you guys later, then." I needed a break from that office.
Frisk quickly trailed behind as I entered the hallway, eventually shutting the door as she speed-walked to catch up with me. We then walked in silence for a moment, Frisk fidgeting around with her fingers.
"Where's Chara at?"
"On your left side. He's keeping up a running commentary of the weird paintings on the wall." Guess not complete silence on Frisk's part.
"Is he paying any attention to us?"
"Nope. Er, not you, at least... Why? What's up?"
I looked straight ahead of me at the exit door a little ways down the hallway. "I just wonder if this is all really a good idea."
"Bringing back Chara?"
"Yeah. How would we even introduce him to Kris? 'Hey, Kris, by the way, you've got another older brother! He's been a ghost following around Frisk for a while, but there's no need to worry about that.' It just sounds confusing."
Frisk looked past me to the spot on my other side. I figured that's where Chara was. "Maybe we don't introduce them like that? We could just say he's been visiting someone or something..."
"For two years? You'd think he would visit. Kris is a smart kid, Frisk. He's not going to fall for that."
"How about we just cross that bridge when we come to it? You're already stressed out from everything we just discussed in there. Let's go get Kris and head to QC's or something. I'm starving."
I looked down at the girl beside me. She seemed excited, but there was something else hidden in her expression. Worry? Confusion? I couldn't tell.
I shrugged, tiredly. "Sure. QC's sounds good."
I pushed the door open and held it for Frisk. She slipped through, grabbing it after I let go. I watched her hold it open to thin air for a second before I realized she was holding it for Chara. I wonder if he can walk through walls and stuff. I guess not, seeing as she was holding the door for him.
Then we started off down the road to my house, Frisk unfortunately getting caught as a mediator for a weird-as-hell conversation between Chara and I. It was like old times, but... with an extra step.
I wonder what it'll be like to talk directly with him again...
...We'll just have to see, I guess.