Determined Love (Charisk)

Chapter 22: One Last Step

      The girls walked forward, down a long hallway that looked like the rest of the futuristic, high tech scenery the CORE had to offer. They didn't talk to each other, but rather, enjoyed the quietness of the walk. Their previous battle with Mettaton was not only tiring, but very loud, and they both needed a quiet break.
      Frisk swung her and Chara's arm slowly back and forth, as hummed quietly. Ahead, she saw an elevator, and squeezed Chara's hand to get her attention.
      "Hmm?" Chara said, looking at Frisk.
      Frisk pointed towards the elevator, humming in a slightly higher pitch, as to say: "Over there!"
Chara looked and saw the elevator. She smiled and squeezed Frisk's hand back, walking faster towards it. When they had arrived at their destination, Chara pressed the red button next to the elevator door, and they opened quickly, making the normal "swoosh" sound.
      When they walked into the elevator, Frisk pressed a small glowing white button. She decided she didn't want to wait for Chara to decide which was the correct button to press. In her first run, she clicked at least five buttons that went to random locations, all the wrong places she was supposed to go, so she made a mental note, just in case.
      The elevator started to move up slowly, and Frisk sat down, Chara joining her. Frisk knew the ride was going to be long, so she decided to get comfy, and lean on Chara.
      Chara blushed, and wrapped her arm around Frisk. Even though she has been more intimate with Frisk than this, she still got flustered. Every time they touched, fireworks would go off in her head, and her heart does back-flips in her chest. Chara loved Frisk, without a doubt. Whether it be a simple touch, or a deep passionate kiss, Chara couldn't get enough.
      Frisk was enjoying her rest on Chara, and closed her eyes. She felt Chara play with her hair, and smiled. She loved it when Chara messed with her hair, and it always sent goosebumps throughout her entire body. Along with the soothing vibrations of the moving elevator, she was easily able to relax.
The girls enjoyed the quiet hum of the elevator as it made its way to their destination. They held each other close and both secretly didn't want the ride to come to a stop, but, like all good things, the elevator came to its end, and the doors slid open. Frisk groaned, as she wanted the ride to last longer. Reluctantly, they both got up and exited the elevator.
       When they walked out, the girls were met with a grey hallway. The walls, floor, and roof above was all grey, with no special designs or anything original around. Chara found this strange, as the rest of the Underground was colorful, but she could faintly remember her old home being a similar color, but she wasn't completely sure.
      The hallway opened up to a large path with a view of a city below it. Everything in eye view was grey. Chara and Frisk looked at the buildings in the background, all monochromatic. It almost looked like they were staring at a still painting, but on closer inspection, they could see monsters roaming around on the streets of the city. Chara saw a monster look up at her and Frisk and wave, she waved back with a pleasant smile. 
      The girls walked along the path, and down some stairs leading to the city. They saw a large sign pointing east reading: "King Asgore's Castle"
      Chara squeezed Frisk's hand to get her attention. 
      Frisk looked at Chara, and smiled. "Almost there, Chara." 
      Chara secretly wished they could just go back to Snowdin and stay in the Inn together. She didn't want the journey with Frisk to end. 
      "Frisk.." Chara said sadly. 
      "What is it?" 
      "I..." She looked at Frisk's smile. The smile that could melt even the coldest hearts. She didn't want to take Frisk's smile away. "I can't wait." Chara finally said.
      Frisk giggled lightly. "I'm glad to hear! Let's get going!" She squeezed Chara's hand, and started to run towards Asgore's Castle. 
      When they had arrived, they were pleasantly surprised to see the lack of guards. The girls were easily able to enter through the front gate. Currently, no other monster seemed to be there. Other than birds singing, it was rather quiet. 
      Chara was hit with a wave of nostalgia. It looked exactly as she remembered it. The outside was as grey as they rest of the city, and had leaves scattered around neatly around the windows and in the front of house. Asgore had always tried to keep it look nice, and arranged things to his and Toriel's design. Besides the leaves, the house wasn't very decorated. It had large windows and a very large door, for monsters of all sizes, but mostly for Asgore, who was one of the largest monsters. 
      The girls walked inside, and looked around. It looked almost exactly like Toriel's house in the RUINS, but had buttercups in pots scattered around. 
      Chara let go of Frisk's hand and ran over to the right, heading for her old room. Frisk was confused and walked over to where Chara ran. 
      Chara opened the door to her room slowly. When she opened the door fully, the room lit up, and color could be seen around the whole room. The two beds in opposite corners of the room were red, and neatly made. The cabinet in the back of the room was half open, with a small green sweater poking out of it, the carpet below her had a few toys and crayons sprawled around. While taking in the familiar sights, she heard a soft laugh. She looked over to her left...
      "A... Asriel?" Chara barely choked out, tears forming in her eyes. 
      A small, goat like child, resembling Toriel and Asgore, looked up at Chara. "Howdy, Chara! Back from the store so soon?" He said. 
      "What?" Chara said. She couldn't move. 
      "You know, silly! You just went to the store with mom!" Asriel giggled, looking down at his drawing.
      Chara had no clue what was happening, but she didn't care. She ran over to Asriel and gave him a big hug. She started to cry into his shoulder.
      "Well, golly, Chara! Did you miss me that much?" Asriel said, hugging her back.
      Chara cried into her brother's shoulder. 
      Asriel let go of Chara, and picked up his drawing. "Look, Chara! I drew something for you." 
      Chara looked at the drawing, and saw a horrifying image. The drawing was of Chara, with a giant red X over her, and Asriel crying next to her body. When she looked up from the picture, she saw Asriel again, but this time, his face was full of cuts, bruises, and blood. He was crying.
      "Why did you make me got through with your plan Chara?" Asriel was bawling at this point, his face in his paws.
       Chara kept crying. Why was she seeing this? Had she done this to Asriel?
       "Chara! Mom! Dad! Somebody help me!" Asriel let out a scream, and started to turn to dust, before disappearing completely.
       Chara tried catching some of his dust, in a desperate attempt to somehow get her brother back, but it was no use. She was crying and almost screaming at this point, not sure of what else to do. Her whole world around her fell apart, and it became all grey again. She was gripping on to some stuffed animal tightly, while tears streamed down her face. She could hear Frisk's voice, but couldn't make out anything in her distress.
       "Chara! Please!" Frisk yelled, trying her hardest to calm her. She was hugging Chara tightly, and rubbing her back, but nothing seemed to work.
       Chara could feel Frisk touch her and talk to her, but she couldn't process anything. What had she just saw?
       Frisk felt tears forming in her eyes as Chara continued to cry. She had stopped screaming, but the tears kept coming.
       "Chara... please... I love you..." Frisk said quietly. "Please calm down."
       Chara listened to Frisk this time. She could hear her, and finally understand her. "Frisk...?"
       "Chara, what's wrong?" Frisk said, hugging Chara tighter. "You scared me so much. I was so worried Chara."
       Chara hugged Frisk back. She decided to tell Frisk what she saw, and what had happened.
       Frisk let go of Chara and looked her in the eyes. They were red, from all the crying. She wiped some tears away. "I'm so sorry you had to see something like that, but it wasn't real, its okay."
       Chara sniffled. "I know, Frisk... but it felt real. I just... I really miss Asriel, and seeing something like... that... it just really spooked me." 
       "Well, it is all over now Chara. You are here with me, safe." Frisk smiled, and gave Chara a kiss on the cheek to calm her.
       Chara smiled at Frisk's kiss. "Yeah.. You're right. Thank you, Frisk. I love you." 
       "I love you too." Frisk said, standing up, holding out her hand. Chara grabbed it, and got up. "Come on, let's get going." 
      The girls walked out into the living room and saw the downstairs was locked off, by a small chain with two locks. They didn't know where the keys where, so they just jumped over the chains, and proceeded to walk downstairs. 
      The basement was similar to Toriel's, but this one didn't end with a new area, but instead extended out again towards the city. The area they were now in was blocked off by the rest of the city with large walls. Much like before, the walk had a view of the city, and the busy monsters. Towards the end of the long walk, was another elevator. Chara tried to press the button to summon the elevator, but it wouldn't open. It must have been in use, or out of order.
      "Guess we'll have to take the long route." Chara said.
      The girls walked into a large room. Finally, some color. Giant windows flooded golden, afternoon light into the room. It reflected off the shiny tiles and large marble columns. The room was glowing with the golden color, making a beautiful, yet powerful statement. This room not only looked, but felt important. Like a final corridor, on their long adventure to the end. 
      Chara felt a strange feeling when she looked around the room. It looked all too familiar to her. The light, the quiet chirping of birds, the large empty space, all of it... she couldn't place her finger on it, but she could faintly remember something.
      Frisk looked around the large room, taking in the beauty of it all. She smiled knowing she and Chara were so close to the end. She walked forward with Chara, and felt a familiar presence, and heard a small chuckle from behind a pillar.
       Sans walked out from a pillar to greet the girls. "so you two finally made it. the final leg of your adventure. in a few moments, you two will meet the king, and together, you will decide the fate of humans and monsters. but." Sans paused. "before that. you will be judged. judged for your every action, every EXP you've earned."
       Chara looked confused, she hadn't heard of EXP before.
       Sans noticed. "what's EXP? it's an acronym. it stands for "execution points". a way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others." Sans glared at Chara. "when you kill someone, your EXP increases, and with enough, your LOVE increases. LOVE too, is an acronym. it stands for "level of violence". a way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. the more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself." Sans took a deep breath. "but you two. you haven't hurt anyone. you never gained any EXP, or LOVE. 'course, that doesn't mean you are completely innocent or naive, just that you kept a certain tenderness in your heart. you refused to hurt anyone. you never gained LOVE, but you gained... LOVE." Sans chuckled. "well, the LOVE you two gained is different. for you, it is more of a "lots of various emotions." does that make sense?" 
      Frisk giggled. "Yeah, of course, Sans." 
      Chara nodded. She was still trying to remember why this place was so familiar. 
      "now." Sans continued. "you two are about to face the greatest challenge of your entire journey." Sans winked. "but, i'm not gonna bore you with the details." 
       Time seemed to freeze around Chara. Frisk wasn't moving. She looked at Sans. "What is it, Sans?" 
       Sans sighed. "you remember this place, kid?" 
       Chara began to slowly realize, but didn't piece it all together immediately. "Not so much.."
       "heh. lucky you i guess. last time we were here... well, let's just say, i had a bad time." Sans said.
       The memories slowly started flooding back. The sounds of the Gaster Blasters, the barrage of bones, the dodging, the screaming, the RESETS. She remembered it all. The thought caused her to feel a pain in chest. "Sans..." She started. 
      "kiddo. it's fine." Sans said, knowing what Chara was going to say. 
      "No.. It's not. I've caused you so much pain Sans.. I don't deserve to be forgiven." Chara said, feeling tears starting to form, but she didn't want to cry in front of Sans.
      "hey, you didn't kill anyone this time kid, in fact, you were nice to everyone, even when it was hard. that is good 'nuff for me, bucko." Sans said.
      "Are you sure?" 
      "heh. yeah, why not?"

     Chara ran over to Sans, and hugged him, taking him by surprise.
     This time, he didn't hesitate or flinch. He just hugged her back. He was thankful this Chara was kind. Frisk had taken an evil, murderous person, and turned her into a good person who she even fell in LOVE with. Sans would always be impressed by this. He didn't think anyone could change Chara. He finally understood what Papyrus meant by 'anyone could be good, if they just try.'
      Chara released Sans and smiled.  "I still remember my promise to you." 
      "oh? do ya?" Sans' grin actually grew. "you keepin' good to that?" 
     "Of course, and I always will." 
     Time resumed normally. 
     "thanks, kid." Sans said quietly, and began to walk off.
     "See you Sans!" Frisk called. 
     Chara waved him off, with a grin.
     "see ya' frisk, you too, chara. i'm rooting for you two." With that, he took a shortcut, and left the hallway. 
      Frisk walked over to Chara, and took her hand. "Let's get going! We are so close!" She said, excitedly.
      Chara looked back, taking one last view of this large hall. "Yeah, let's go." She said, squeezing Frisk's hand. 

*Ready for the finale of your journey, you two are filled with DETERMINATION* 

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Hey guys! Talk about late update, eh? Sorry! I've been really busy and distracted lately, but hey, it's okay! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! As you may or may not have noticed, the journey is coming to it's conclusion soon. BUT! This does not mean it has to end. BUT! I need your suggestions. It is whatever you guys want, so hear are the options. 

Would you rather:

I continue this book (or possibly split it into two books) into a story about what Frisk and Chara do on the surface?

OR 

Stop the book completely when the final battle happens. (Very shortly, too, it's almost here!) 

Either option I'm cool with, whichever is more popular with you guys. Anywho, vote in the comments, or leave me a message, I'd honestly like to know so I don't start writing something that no one wants to read or something. I don't want to make the decision by myself!

ANYWHO! LOVE YOU GUYS!