Determination.

Pacifist Interlude

Though they are in emotional anguish, and after giving Alphys a long, hard hug, Frisk takes the elevator up.

And it is a rather long elevator ride; I had forgotten. Frisk has plenty of time to think.

And so do I.

So as Frisk's mind is churning through thoughts and ideas, all to make sure they avoid killing Asgore- no. He is my father; King Dad- it touches me, somehow, and my mind begins to work on a solution. It's ridiculous, of course. Frisk doesn't want to spare Father for me- they don't even know I exist. They are simply a pacifist.

But I don't want my father to die, and I don't want Frisk to die. And I do want to free all monsters. And Frisk can do it. They have the determination.

And it occurs to me, that I might just be the person who knows best how to beat Father without killing him. To fight him unto the verge of death, and then spare him. To show him we are strong, but also merciful. And I might be the only person aside from Alphys who is aware of the existence of the True Lab.

We exit the elevator, and Frisk starts to walk down the hallway. "Well," they say to themself. "This is the only way to go, I guess..." But then they stop. "No. I don't want to go home. It's not home. Alphys... Undyne, Papyrus, Sans... Toriel. This is more of a home than that ever was. I need to find her." And Frisk turns back to the elevator.

I immediately send Frisk my determination, my dreams. Frisk cannot live like this, with monsters constantly attacking. And Toriel will not let them back inside the Ruins. There is a way things must be. I take control- a thing that is getting harder to do, now- and force Frisk down the hallway.

Frisk goes. And we hear the story- my story, and Asriel's. The story of how I died, and then Asriel died, and how the King only needs one more SOUL to set monsters free.

But he won't get this SOUL. Not my Frisk. I will not let it happen. I feel the anguish inside our shared SOUL. I feel Frisk's need to please, to smooth things over, to make things better.

There is a better way, Frisk. I promise.

And then Frisk explores New Home. And this... This is my house. Toriel- Mother's home resembled ours, but this one, this is the house I lived in with my father and mother, and Asriel, my brother. Frisk recognizes the house too, but with an opposite feeling- they see it as resembling the house that Mother welcomed them into, that they left, that they cannot go back to.

I guide Frisk around the house, collecting the two keys. Father left a note explicitly stating where the keys were, but Frisk has fallen back into the spiraling depression I found them in.

This is not right.

We collect the two keys, and then I guide Frisk to my room, the one I shared with Asriel. And I look around.

There is his bed, and mine. My drawing, our clothes. I spent several happy years in this place, and it could've been more if I had simply accepted what I had.

Frisk sits down on a bed- mine, I note, although of course Frisk couldn't know that. Slowly, they let their head rest on the pillow. They take their shoes off, then they lie down on the bed, flipping over so that they are face down on the bed. Then they begin to cry. Their tears soak into the pillow I haven't used in so long.

I feel the misery throbbing in our SOUL. And this is unacceptable, this misery. This is Frisk. My human.

My friend, even if I cannot be theirs.

So when Frisk cries themself to sleep, I send them my memories of my adoptive mother. To them, it will simply be dreams of Toriel.

They deserve a good night's sleep.

When they wake up, they notice the parcels on the ground. They open one. It is a worn dagger. They move to leave it, but I use what little control I have to urge them to take it. It will help in the fight against my adoptive father. To them, King Asgore will surely be a fearsome foe. It will be good for them to be well armed.

The other parcel contains a heart-shaped locket. They put it on without any urging from me, and then absentmindedly peel a bandage off of their face. The wound it covered has since healed.

And then they leave the house. They know where they are going, as the house is the same layout as Mother's. They enter a corridor that has an air of finality to it. They walk down it, and then, somehow, Sans is there.

"The end of your journey is at hand. In a few moments, you will meet the king. Together... You will determine the future of this world." Sans shifts where he stands. Somehow, though I know his statement does not include me- the 'together' is referring to my father and Frisk- I feel solemn.

Frisk steps forward, slightly. "H-hi, Sans," they say, quietly.

I don't think Sans hears them. "That's then. Now. Now, you will be judged. You will be judged for your every action. You will be judged for every EXP you've earned."

I've never seen him like this before. And I know Sans. Frisk cocks their head, confused. Frisk has never encountered EXP.

Sans laughs. "What's EXP? It's an acronym. It stands for 'execution points.' A way of quantifying the pain you've inflicted on others. When you kill someone, your EXP increases. When you have enough EXP, 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. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others."

Frisk swallows.

"But you. You never gained any LOVE." Sans grins and looks away. "'Course, that doesn't mean you're completely innocent or naive." He looks back at me. "Just that you kept a certain tenderness in your heart. No matter the struggles or hardships you faced... you strived to do the right thing. You refused to hurt anyone. Even when you ran away, you did it with a smile. You never gained LOVE, but you gained love. Does that make sense? Maybe not." Sans closes his eyes. Frisk's eyes fill with tears.

And I am so very proud of Frisk at this moment.

"Now. You are about to face the greatest challenge of your entire journey. Your actions here will determine the fate of the entire world. If you refuse to fight, Asgore will take your soul and destroy humanity. But if you kill Asgore and go home, monsters will remain trapped underground. What will you do? Well, if I were you, I would have thrown in the towel by now. But you didn't get this far by giving up, did you?"

No. Frisk did not. Because of me.

"That's right. You have something called 'determination.' So as long as you hold on... as long as you do what's in your heart... I believe you can do the right thing. Alright. We're all counting on you, kid. Good luck."

Sans disappears.

He does that.

And Frisk looks a little more confident, a little less scared and depressed. Just a little, but... I think it's enough.