UnderHappened

30 - The Choice

Finn opens their eyes.

Well, not really. They don't really have eyes, they find. Strangely, they're not at all disturbed by this. In fact, it seems now like they can see absolutely anything they want, at any time. They're completely unobstructed.

So this whole opening of the eyes thing was more of a... fading into reality. And what a pleasant reality it is! Finn feels... free. Completely unobstructed by anything. This is a reality where there is no exhaustion, no pain, no thirst, no hunger. They're lighter than air. They're faster than light. 

And... wow.

For the first time in their existence, they feel like they could actually just... rest. Forget about everything. Drift away for a while. Just be themself.

It's so tempting...

But they can't rest quite yet. Someone is demanding their attention, and they can't refuse. They'll deal with this first, and then go on.

They find themself materialize slightly as they approach him, adopting the shape of their original human form, but without the restraints they used to have - without the pain or anything like that. They're still wearing the green and yellow striped sweater, but it's now as good as new - completely devoid of rips or bloodstains.

"Hello," says the figure.

They recognize him. They'd recognize him anywhere. It's the guy they met in the creepy room in the ruins. The scary guy whose eyes lit up and who vanished when they used the RESTORE button on him. Only now, well... he isn't scary at all. Finn isn't scared of anything anymore. How can they be? Nothing can hurt them.

"Hi!" they respond happily. Their voice echoes softly through the empty black space. "How are you?"

"I am well, thanks to you," the figure replies, amused. His voice is strangely warped, like he's talking through some sort of glitchy computer. "I must admit, I was not expecting you to be so... liberal, with your gift."

Finn shrugs. "Just trying to do my best to help everybody! I think... I think I succeeded, maybe?" They regard him somewhat anxiously. Well, not anxiously - they can't feel anxious anymore - but they do hope they did help in some way.

The figure studies them, a curious look in his eyes. "Interesting. How very, very interesting... yes, child, you did indeed succeed with your experiment. In this timeline, your friends - the monsters - are all saved. They go on to live happy lives on the Surface, free of want or persecution."

"Yay!" Finn celebrates. Now Papyrus and Toriel and Sans and all the others will be able to see the stars.

The figure leans closer, looking at them intently. "You cheer for them. But is this really the happy outcome that you desired?"

Finn pauses, puzzled. "Well, of course."

"Really? Wouldn't you prefer an outcome where you are on the Surface with them?" the figure presses. "I know your friends would. They miss you dearly. They never stop thinking about you, the human who saved their lives by giving up their own."

The figure opens his carved palms, presenting a button very much like Finn's own RESTORE button, except that the letters are red and spell out the word RESET.

"When you broke the Player's Connection to Frisk, the RESET power was transferred back to me," the figure continues. "I originally created this power to mimic your own. The RESTORE power - such a powerful weapon in the hands of a human, and such a rare one as well - humans with SOULs such as yours are only born once in a hundred years. I thought a similar power in the hands of the monsters - well, we would become a great deal stronger. Perhaps unstoppable. I was a fool. Powers such as these can only be operated by creatures of very high concentrations of Determination, higher than that of many humans, even. Trying to use it destroyed me and erased me from existence, and the power fled to seek refuge in a talking plant. Then, when the Player, a creature of unimaginable Determination, joined the game, the power was attracted to them instead. With the Player gone, and myself back in the game, so to speak, it fell to me to reclaim it.

"Reclaim it, but not use it. I will not take my chances again and hope another young innocent SOUL comes along to RESTORE me. At first, I thought, I must destroy it. The RESET power is too dangerous to be in the hands of any one person. But then, I realized, there was one person I would trust with it. A person who has proven themself time and time again to be worthy of such a power. A person who needs such a power. You, Finn.

"This power is modeled after your own, but is quite different. Instead of allowing the user to RESTORE a single broken item, it allows them to RESTORE entire timelines. With one press of the RESET button, you could go back to when you were still alive. You could rewrite the world so that you end up alive and well, living on the Surface with your friends. Is that not a better outcome? Will you not choose that, after everything you have been through?"

Finn thinks about this for a moment.

Then they shake their head.

"Everything turned out the way it was supposed to," they say frankly. "I did what I wanted to do. My friends are safe and well. I won't put their futures on the line just to guarantee my own. Besides," they add, "I like my future, the way it is right now. My friends remember me in their hearts, and that's far more than I deserve. I'm a hero in their history books. And I get to rest."

The figure looks at them in shock.

"But... But think of your friends, Finn. They are devastated, heartbroken over their loss of you. Don't you want to fix that? RESTORE yourself to them?"

"Nope," Finn repeats. "I love my friends, but that doesn't mean I'm going to change the way life dictated things should be just to make sure their lives are as perfect as possible. If I did that, it would never stop; I'd be constantly RESETing, trying to stop bad things from happening. Bad things happen. That's life. We'll see each other again, someday. Until then, I'm going to keep living." They pause. "Or, um, being dead, I suppose. Dead-ing? Anyways, it was really nice talking to you, Mr. Skeleton, but I'm on kind of a tight schedule and I've got some important resting to do."

"You do realize," the figure says slowly, "that I will destroy this power directly after you leave. There will be no turning back. This is the end."

"Destroy away, Mr. Skeleton," Finn orders cheerfully. "The world'll be much better for it."

They leave the place without a look behind them, their body fading into oblivion. Joyful and glad, they search around for a moment, seeing everything, watching for somewhere perfect. A place to rest.

Ah. There's one. Looks like there's already a couple people resting there. Seems like good company.

Finn settles down onto the bed of golden flowers, the bed directly under the hole they'd fallen into such a long time ago. The hole that had brought them to the Underground.

They rest.