Flowey watched with anticipation as Felicia threatened to kill Nora. It was a very tense moment. Nate even pulled his gun on her, but Flowey and Felicia both knew he wasn't going to shoot. Even if he did, his hands were shaking so hard that his shot probably would have went wide. How pathetic. So much for the emotionless soldier Flowey thought he was.
Nate looked at him. "H-hey, Asriel! Do something!"
"I don't know," Flowey said. "I think she should do it."
"Asriel!"
Frisk stepped forward to confront Felicia. Meanwhile, Nate seized Flowey by the stem. "What are you doing?! Help her!"
Flowey shrugged. "Why should I? I believe I already told you what I think of her."
"She's my sister, damn it!"
"Do you think I care?" He didn't. Why should he save Nora? She had killed him, and she had just tried to kill him again. She was the enemy. It was kill or be killed.
"Of course not," Nate groused. "You don't care about anyone."
"Sure don't."
"So, if Chara were the one being held at knifepoint, what would you do? Would you just sit there and watch? Would you let Chara die?"
"Last time I checked, Nora is not Chara, so I don't see your point."
"Nora is my Chara!"
"And that sucks for you."
"... fine," Nate said. "If you won't do it for Nora, then do it for Chara."
For Chara?
"How do you think Chara will feel if Felicia kills her?" Nate challenged. "To her, it'll be like she killed Nora, and all the EXP Felicia gains will be felt by Chara as well. Will you let that happen? Are you willing to let your sister become a murderer?"
What? No, that was ridiculous! Chara wasn't responsible for Felicia, and even if she was, so what? Honestly, would anyone miss Nora? Besides Nate? Flowey didn't care how sorry Nora was. The world would be better without her.
... is that really how he felt? How Asriel felt? What would Asriel do? Would Asriel save Nora? Did Nora have any redeeming qualities?
Well, she did seem to care about her friends. She even gave her life several times over trying to save Felicia. She was brave, strong, and loyal, anything a friend could ask for.
But she hated monsters, so much that it drove her to let Boaris absorb her soul just to prove how dangerous it was. She had taken part in a horrible plan, in the name of protecting humanity. She wanted monsterkind to be imprisoned forever, if not destroyed. She hated them, but even more so, she was afraid of them.
The more Flowey thought about it, the more she sounded like Chara, just on an opposite side.
He looked up at Felicia. She had her knife to Nora's neck. No more time. It was a hard choice, but he had to decide, now. If he were Asriel...
Don't kill, and don't be killed, alright? That's the best you can strive for.
"Damn it!"
Flowey shot out his vines and constricted them around Felicia's throat, strangling her. He heard Felicia gag horribly as she struggled in his grasp. Flowey was certain he'd won, until he felt Felicia's knife cut through one of his vines. He winced, and Felicia cut through the second one. She was free. She lunged at Nora and...
Whack!
Frisk struck Felicia's forehead with his new baton. She fell to the ground, unconscious.
Flowey looked down at her. "Well, what do you know? Chara was right; it can knock people out. Good job, Frisk."
Frisk looked down at Chara's unconscious body, with regret in his eyes. "Chara..."
Oh, great. More whining. "Frisk, it's fine," Flowey said. "You hit Felicia, not Chara."
"How could Felicia do that to her? How could she just... control her like that?"
Yeah, just a day after awakening, Felicia had already betrayed their trust. She had decided she could assume direct control of Chara's body against her will, and what was to stop her from doing it again?
Frisk brushed his hand over the spot he hit her. The baton had left a dark bruise on her forehead. He held her, nuzzling his cheek against hers. "I'm sorry."
Flowey checked on Nora. Felicia had not harmed her; she was okay. She sat by Felicia, looking grim. "Felicia... I had no idea."
"Don't think you're off the hook," Flowey chided. "Felicia is right to hate you."
"Maybe..."
Chara groaned, starting to wake up, or was it Felicia? Everyone watched her, waiting to see who it was.
Her bright red eyes glared at Nora hatefully. It was still Felicia. Flowey restrained her before she could get up.
"Why did you stop me?!" she screamed.
Frisk tried to calm her down. "Felicia, just -"
"If it weren't for Nora, Jacob would have been just like you, Frisk! He would have used his power to help the monsters, not keep them oppressed! Nora changed him, twisted him, corrupted him. Everything would have been fine if it weren't for her!"
"Yeesh," Flowey breathed. "Calm down before you give Chara a heart attack."
Felicia tugged against Flowey's restraints, to no avail. Even Frisk was running out of patience. "What about you? You just tried to force Chara to kill someone. She didn't want to do it, but you tried to make her anyway. That is not okay!"
Felicia shook her head. "No, she wanted me to do it. It's just you that's holding her back."
"You don't know a thing about Chara!"
"And you do? You think you know her?"
"I would hope so!"
"Whatever! Nora needs to -"
"Enough!" Nate shouted. "Felicia, I know you're angry, but don't take it out on Nora. If you really need someone to blame for Jacob's sins, blame Elizabeth. She played us all for fools, Jacob and Nora included. She used us all like pawns in her little game."
Felicia only grew more frustrated. "Nate, I died for this. I died to save all of you, and how did Nora thank me? By helping my murderer! How can I possibly forgive that?"
"Felicia," Nora said, "I swear if I had known, things would've been different."
"So what? Nothing will change what you did."
"Maybe not, but we can make it right. Just tell Jacob what happened. He'll bring Elizabeth to justice; I'm sure of it."
"And what of your justice? You may have acted under her instructions, but you still helped her."
Nate held her shoulder. "Felicia... let it go."
"No! Sorry isn't going to cut it!"
Nora smiled. "I see what you did there."
"Huh?"
"Sorry won't cut it, but a knife will, right?"
Felicia was not amused. She was fuming. "You think you're clever?"
She frowned. "No, I'm not. I never should have trusted Elizabeth. It was so obvious your death was no accident, but I never suspected a thing. I can't believe I was so stupid. I want to make up to you however I can. Just, you know, not by dying. Not like this."
Felicia stared at her silently for a while.
"Come on, Felicia," Frisk pressed. "She's sorry, and she wants to help."
Felicia looked back at him. "Seriously, Frisk. Do you not believe in killing? Like, at all?"
Frisk hesitated, not sure how to respond.
"At the very least," Felicia said, "promise me that Elizabeth will die. If I get the chance to kill her, you won't stop me."
That was a lot to ask from Frisk, even if they did deserve it.
"... I'll leave her to you," Frisk said.
Flowey was a bit surprised. Turns out, even Frisk drew the line at murdering your own child.
Felicia sighed. "Fine, you can have your Chara back now." Before she left, she cast one last glare at Nora. "You're a rotten friend. I hope you realize that."
That seemed to cut Nora surprisingly deep. "I know."
Nate had something to say before she left as well. "Wait," he said. "Felicia... I miss you."
That calmed Felicia down a bit. "Yeah... how are you?"
"All right, I guess."
"Th-that's good... So, why did you join the Military Police?"
"Why do you think?" Nate asked. "When you died, I felt like I had lost a battle, and I wanted to fight back. I just didn't know who the enemy was."
"I see," Felicia said, "but, are you happy?"
"For the most part, yes, but it took a while."
"Umm... anyone special?"
Nate nodded, garnering a mixed reaction from Felicia. "I... I see."
Felicia looked happy that Nate had moved on, yet sad at the same time. The thought of them being together was absurd at this point, but emotions were often illogical. Flowey knew that very well.
Wait, Nate had a significant other? Flowey never would have guessed.
"Felicia..."
She sniffled. "It's alright. I'm happy for you."
"... I wish you survived," Nate said.
She was more than ready to go. "Goodbye, Nate."
Felicia closed her eyes, and Chara's eyes opened. "It's me."
Frisk helped her up and embraced her. "Chara..."
She looked weary. "I'm sorry, Frisk. I couldn't stop her."
"It's alright. Everything's okay now."
Chara frowned. "I promised you I wouldn't kill her, but... I think Felicia was right. Part of me wanted to kill Nora, so that's why I couldn't -"
"It's okay."
"... I did not enjoy being controlled," Chara said. "Not one bit."
A thought occurred to Flowey. "Wait, how do we know it's really Chara? What if Felicia's trying to trick us?"
Frisk shook his head. "No, it's her. It's Chara."
"How can you be so sure?"
He smiled and caressed Chara's cheek. "Her eyes."
"Her eyes?"
Frisk nodded. "When Felicia takes over, her eyes turn a different shade of red. Chara's eyes are brighter than mine, but Felicia's eyes are even brighter."
They were? "How did you even notice that?"
He laughed. "I guess you notice these things about the person you love."
Flowey groaned.
Chara smiled warmly. "Aww, Frisk. You're always so sweet."
He smiled back and stroked her auburn hair. "My Chara..."
Flowey ignored those shameless lovebirds and focused on Nora. "So, how are you doing?"
"This is a lot to take in," she answered.
"You are going to help us now, right? You better help us."
She sighed. "Look, I still don't like monsters. You're not going to change that overnight. Still, I can't let Elizabeth get away with murdering Felicia. She's going to pay for tricking me."
"What about Jacob?"
"Jacob... took an interesting approach to coping. He couldn't accept that Felicia's death was meaningless. He made himself believe that Felicia's death was some kind of divine intervention, that if she hadn't died, her belief in equality with monsters would have destroyed us all. He can't accept living in a world that takes innocent lives, so he decided that Felicia wasn't innocent."
"Sounds like someone really needs a reality check," Flowey said. "Like it or not, not everyone gets the happy ending they deserve."
Asriel sure didn't.
Nora nodded. "Indeed. However, I think if we tell him the truth, he'll see things a lot differently."
"I hope so," Chara said.
"Anything else that might help us?" Flowey asked.
"Well... he's planning some kind of announcement," Nora said. "I don't know what it's about, but whatever it is, it's important."
"When?" Frisk asked.
"Uh... probably right about now."
Oh, great.
"It's not a declaration of war, is it?" Chara fearfully asked.
Nora shook her head. "No, can't be that. That's up to the Senate, not the President."
"Let's hurry back home," Frisk said. "Maybe we can still catch it before it's over."
"Ugh, can we not have a moment to rest?" a very tired Chara complained.
Frisk smiled at her. "Need me to carry you?"
"Oh, I'll be fine. Let's get moving."
Before they left, Nora stood up and held out her hand. "Hey, truce? At least until we take care of Elizabeth."
"And after?" Chara asked.
"We'll see."
After a moment, Chara reached out to Nora and shook her hand. "Alright."
Chara and Nora shaking hands? Flowey hadn't seen that one coming.
"Yes!" Frisk exclaimed. "No more fighting!"
"Yeah," Nate said. "Let's not try to kill each other. What a novel idea."
Nora rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not a savage. Just let me know when you're ready."
"We'll be sure to keep in touch," Flowey said. "See you soon."
"Until then."
All things considered, Flowey was surprised how well everything went. Not only did they get the information they needed, they had also managed to form a tentative alliance with Nora. First Nate, and now Nora. The President's own allies were turning against him. Flowey dared to think that victory might actually be possible.
Of course, there was the unfortunate incident with Felicia. Flowey still couldn't care less whether Nora lived or died, but Felicia had proven herself dangerous by taking control of Chara like that. They would have to watch out for her.
But for now, it was time to go home.
#
Frisk returned home with Asriel and Chara. Toriel was working late at her school, so the house was empty. They sat down in the living room and turned on the TV. They made it just in time to see what Jacob's announcement was about.
"... was not made lightly," Jacob said. "These documents have been classified for a reason, but I believe recent events have necessitated their disclosure. Everyone, human and monster, must have all the information they need to understand what's happening."
Classified documents? What was he talking about?
"For years," Jacob continued, "we have guarded a ghastly secret. It is common knowledge that other timelines aside from our own exist. However, details of timeline research have, until today, remained top secret. It is with great regret that I must announce what our scientists have discovered, a terrible truth that cannot be ignored. While studying these timelines, we have found that several of them end abruptly. Yes, entire worlds... destroyed in an instant."
Oh, that. They already knew about that from Felicia's memories, but it was news to the public...
"There is only one thing that could possibly be responsible," Jacob claimed. "This can only be the power of monsters, ascended to godlike beings with human souls. Some still cling to the belief that, despite the actions of Boaris, it is still perfectly safe for monsters to coexist with humanity, but not only is our destruction a possibility, it has already happened. I will do everything in my power to keep us safe, but I can only do so much alone. I will need your support."
This was bad. Very bad. Jacob just added much more fuel to the flame. Seeing entire worlds be destroyed for seemingly no reason was terrifying enough on its own, and after Boaris's rampage, monsters were the obvious suspects. Frisk was filled with dread. Had they lost?
Chara started laughing. Frisk knew that was how she coped with pain. He held her shoulder to comfort her.
"Frisk, we won."
He blinked. "We won? How?"
"He just screwed himself. Those timelines, it's not monsters who are destroying them. If they were, Boaris would have done it. It seems there are some things even an ascended monster cannot do. No, there's something else. Something even more powerful than an ascended monster. Those timelines, they were destroyed by demons, like me."
Frisk didn't follow. "What? You think you could do it? Chara, you're not that strong."
"Not as I am," she said, "but if I were to kill, and gain EXP, I would become stronger. Much stronger, far more than when a human raises their LOVE. I admit, I don't fully understand how it works. There may be another, hidden stat at play, but regardless, I am even more dangerous than monsters."
So, Chara thought she was like the demon in the story Monty told Felicia. Was she right? Could she really become that powerful? "What makes you so sure?"
"Gaster," Chara said. "He was researching these other timelines, and he warned everyone about a red-eyed human. He said if that human killed, they would be a threat to monsters and humanity alike. He may very well have been talking about me."
Chara wasn't making any sense. "About you?" Frisk asked. "Why would he warn everyone about you? You didn't hurt anyone."
"Maybe not in this timeline," she said, "but in others, things could have been different."
"You mean if someone else fell underground? Besides me?"
"I suppose if you had made different choices... I would have acted differently as well."
Why did Chara always have to be so morbid? And hard on herself? "Well, that didn't happen," Frisk said, "so don't worry about it."
Chara sighed. "The point is, Jacob's wrong. Demons are what humanity should fear, not monsters. We just need to prove that, and we win."
That was Chara's plan? Blame it on demons? Frisk doubted that would be the 'victory' Chara seemed to think it was. People wouldn't simply forget about the monster threat, and that wasn't the only problem Frisk had with it. "Chara, if you are one of these demons..."
She laughed. "Frisk, they already hate me, so what if they hate me more? Who cares?"
"I care! I'm sick of the way people treat you, and I the last thing I want is for that to get even worse!"
"Do you have a better idea?!" she snapped. "What do you think is destroying those timelines?"
Well, he didn't want to think it was monsters...
"Demons, Frisk. Like it or not, creatures like me are the world's greatest threat, and everyone should know the truth."
Maybe Chara had a point. The truth was important. If she was right, if it really was demons who were destroying entire worlds, people needed to know, but Chara didn't deserve to take the fall for it.
"Well," Asriel said, "I have to admit that I have no idea what Asriel would say in this situation. It sounds like a tough decision. Have fun making it, you two."
Thanks, Azzy...
Frisk breathed deeply. "Okay, assuming we go this route, how would we prove it's demons? Can we retrieve Gaster's research?"
"That... could be a problem," Chara said. "Gaster was kind of... erased from history."
Erased from... history? "Uh, what?"
"As crazy as it sounds, it's true," Asriel said. "To say Gaster 'disappeared' would be an understatement. Besides Chara and myself, only Sans and the River Person seem to remember anything at all."
Frisk had a hard time wrapping his head around that. "How is that even possible?"
Chara shrugged. "I have no idea. Father and I were actually discussing it right before... you know."
It still sounded completely insane and impossible, but if Chara and Asriel were so adamant about it, then it must have been true. "Well, then. I guess we better talk to Sans?"
"I could never get him to say anything about it," Asriel said. "No matter what I did, he hardly even acknowledged it, but I'm sure he'll do it for you, Frisk."
"Alright, I'll call him now."
Frisk dialed Sans's number... only to be greeted by his prank voicemail.
Chara groaned. "Getting serious answers from Sans. Truly, a herculean task."
"Try Papyrus?" Asriel suggested.
Frisk called Papyrus. He answered right away.
"Oh, hello, Frisk!"
"Hey, Papyrus. Do you know where Sans is?"
"Yeah, he just went to our old home."
Their old home? Back underground? "Why did he go there?"
"Something about investigating matters of time and space. He's always doing things like that. You know, when he's doing anything at all."
Huh, sounded like Sans had the same idea. "I see. Thanks, Papyrus."
"Hey, wanna hang out?" Papyrus offered. "Feels like we never see each other anymore."
"We will," Frisk promised, "but not right now. We have a lot to do."
"You're going on an adventure across time and space too? Wowie! I'd come with you, but this restaurant's not gonna run itself."
"Heh, alright. See you later."
"Bye!"
Frisk hung up.
"Well, look at Sans," Asriel said. "Actually doing stuff. That's how you know things are serious."
Chara nodded. "Yeah, very serious." She stood up "Let's go after him."
She really wanted to go? Right now? "Chara, aren't you tired?" Frisk asked.
"Exhausted," she said, "but that doesn't matter. We haven't a moment to waste."
"Maybe you should take it easy," Asriel suggested. "Today you've been burned, stabbed, strangled, and knocked unconscious, all after a whole day of school. I think you've earned some rest."
"There's no time!" Chara exclaimed. "Every second we sit here is another second closer to war! We have to give everything we've got to stop it!"
Frisk greatly admired Chara's drive. He just hoped she didn't wear herself out. "Snowdin is a long hike from here," he said. "It'll be dark by the time we get there."
"We'll spend the night there," Chara said. "Just leave a note letting Mother know where we've gone."
It had already been a long day. Frisk wasn't looking forward to the walk, but he'd have to bear it. "Okay, I'll write the note, and we'll go."
"At least change your clothes first," Asriel requested. "You've got blood and tar all over yourself."
She did, and it was starting to smell. Chara impatiently sighed. "Fine."
"Also, we really should have a chat with Felicia before we go out again."
Good idea. Frisk didn't want Felicia to try anything like that ever again. They needed to set some ground rules.
He called her name. "Felicia."
Chara's eyes closed, and Felicia took over. "What?"
"So, hey," Asriel said. "I don't know if you know this, but killing is bad."
She folded her arms. "Not if they deserve it. Weren't you about to let me do it before Nate changed your mind?"
"Yeah, well, I have no soul. What's your excuse?"
"Oh, I don't know. I suppose dying two hundred times might make you a little bitter."
"Nora isn't the only one you would have hurt," Frisk reminded her. "You would have hurt Nate, and you would have hurt Chara. You can't just do whatever you want with Chara's body. You need to respect her."
Felicia didn't back down. "I'm not gonna apologize if that's what you're looking for."
Frisk didn't get mad easily, but Felicia was really pushing his buttons. "Don't you feel any shame? Do you not care about her? What is she to you?"
"My partner," Felicia answered.
Partner?
"Oh, uh, wow," Asriel said. "Felicia, I'm sure Chara is flattered, but I believe she already has that kind of relationship with Frisk."
She sighed. "Not like that, you moron."
"Oh, right. I knew that."
"What do you mean?" Frisk asked.
"Simple, really," Felicia replied. "We're stuck together, but we'll make the best of it. She'll help me kill Elizabeth and Monty, which she has wholeheartedly agreed to, by the way. Don't you dare try to stop me."
"I won't," he promised. "Like I said, I'll leave that decision to you, as long as it's safe for Chara."
"Good."
"But in return, you have to promise that you won't do anything Chara doesn't want."
"Hey, that's not fair," Felicia complained. "What if she does something I don't want her to do? This may be Chara's body, but it's my soul that's keeping her alive! I deserve as much control as she does!"
This whole situation was so complicated. They needed to find a way to separate Felicia from Chara, for both of their sakes. Maybe Alphys could help. She had some experience making spirits corporeal.
Unfortunately, like Felicia said, it was her soul that was keeping Chara alive. Most likely, they were going to need another red soul, and where were they going to get Felicia a new body? Her old one was probably not preserved like Chara's, so that wasn't an option. Maybe they could grow an artificial one? Or build some kind of android? Hmm, they'd have to figure this out later.
In the meantime, Felicia was just gonna have to play nice. "Look, it's simple." Asriel said. "Just. Don't. Murder anyone. I can't believe this is a real thing we have to tell you."
Felicia grew tired of this conversation. "This is getting us nowhere. Let's quit arguing and focus on the task at hand. That's something we can agree on, isn't it?"
"I guess so, but I'm still watching you."
Felicia let Chara switch back in. "She's right about that. We've spent enough time chatting. Let's get ready and go."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Frisk asked.
"Don't worry so much. I'm fine." She turned towards her room. "I'm going to change now. Be ready to leave when I get back."
He smiled. "Hey, now. A bit bossy, don't you think?"
She wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Seriously, Frisk. We need to move."
Chara was clearly stressed out, and with everything going on, Frisk couldn't blame her. "Alright, we'll be ready."
She left for her room. Frisk placed a sheet of paper on the kitchen table and started writing the note to Toriel, letting her know they wouldn't be home for the night.
"I hate to be that guy," Asriel said as Frisk wrote, "but I told you Felicia was trouble."
"Don't be too hard on her," Frisk said. "She's been though a lot."
"I don't care. She's dangerous, and she's a threat to Chara."
Frisk sighed. "You're not wrong. Like you said, we have to keep an eye on her. Still, she's not a bad person. Just hurt."
"... hey," Asriel whispered. "You told Felicia you'd let her decide what to do with Elizabeth, but I gotta ask, what would you decide? If you had the chance, would you kill Elizabeth?"
He took another deep breath. He had dodged that question long enough. "You know what? I think I would."
Asriel looked shocked. "Really?"
He finished writing, hands clenched on the table. "Not only did she murder own daughter, she's a manipulative liar. She claimed to love Felicia, while she was plotting her death. How could anyone do that? How could anyone look someone in the eye, say they love them, and not mean it? I don't understand."
"Heh, yeah," Asriel said. "I don't understand how someone with a soul could do that."
"Not to mention what she did to everyone else. She killed Jacob too, and she tried to blame it on Flora. And when she finally won, she didn't even have the nerve to twist Jacob herself. She had to go through Nora. And what was it all for?! All that to keep monsters imprisoned?! Why?! How could she?! How could anyone?!"
"Yeah, you say it!" Asriel cheered. "Get mad! Make Elizabeth rue the day she thought she could kill Felicia!"
Frisk laughed and calmed down. "I guess Felicia isn't the only one angry."
"We're all stressed, Frisk, but we're in this together."
He smiled. "Yeah. Thanks, Asriel."
Chara finished changing and rejoined them. "Everything alright, Frisk?"
He was a little embarrassed. "Uh, you heard that?"
She smiled. "Felicia got a good laugh out of it. She thanks you."
Frisk smiled back. "She's welcome, then."
"Are you ready?"
He winked. "As long as you're by my side."
"Aww." She went to the coat hanger and grabbed Frisk's coat. She handed it to him. "Here, you'll need this for Snowdin."
Frisk had almost forgotten how cold Snowdin was in just his sweater. He took his coat and stored it in his dimensional box. "Thanks, Chara."
She gave him a warm kiss on the cheek. "No problem."
Frisk happily reciprocated the kiss. Even the small gestures from Chara made his heart swell. She took his hand. "Come, Frisk. We've got another monster to save."
He nodded. "Yeah, let's go find Gaster."