//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - Return to the Underground // Story: Lost Dreamer // by Arceaion //------------------------------// Authors Note: I chose not to Use Wingdings in this chapter because it broke the flow of the chapter however I do have in story lore for why Gaster doesn't speak in Wingdings however it is saved for after he returns. Chara sat at a desk placed beside the bed Frisk occupied, she sighed as she signed another paper and placed it in the outgoing box before turning to look Fisk sadly. A knock at the door caused her to turn and see Asriel leaning in the open door. "Hey Azzy." She said sadly. Asriel entered the room and looked over Frisk. "No changes?" He asked and Chara shook her head. Asriel sighed and looked at Chara. "She's been on life support for a month Chara, we need to do something." "And what would you have me do Azzy?" She asked angrily. "I'm not exactly working with a state of the art medical facility; in fact I honestly doubt they have any of the required equipment for anther century." She said as she threw her arms in the air. Asriel nodded before stopping and turning to Chara. "No, there is one place that has what we need!" He exclaims. "One facility that we have access to and can use!" Chara frowned in thought for a moment before her eyes widened. "The Lab in Hot Land!" She gasped. Asriel nodded. "I know you've been maintaining the labs and facilities in the Underground so they should be in good condition right?" Chara nodded. "Yeah they are." She said before taking a breath. "Alright, I'm heading over to prepare the place for Frisk. I need to get the medical equipment together." She said as she rose and began to leave the room, just as she was about to walk out she stopped and turned to Asriel. "Tell the Princesses and bring her as soon as you can." She said as she walked out the door. As she stepped through the door she vanished taking one of her 'short cuts'. Asriel nodded and looked down at Frisk. "Hang in there Frisk, You need to stay determined if not for yourself than for Chara." He said as he walked out of the room and headed for the throne room, night court was still in sessions and it would be the best time to see Luna. As he walked to the throne room he stopped a guard and told him to wake Celestia as there was a Code Xi in place. The guard nodded and left however unlike with other commands he didn't hurry. When he reached the Throne room he noticed a group of petitioners at the doors. He smiled softly and entered to see two stallions arguing and Luna listening closely. The Night Court had gained a lot of respect over the years and while there wasn't as many petitioners as the Day court with Celestia it still had a decent group. Over the years the two courts had grown and changed with Celestia's Day Court being more commonly known as the 'Entitled Fillies Court', Luna on the other hand was more known as the 'Court of Hearing'. The two names had become common as a form of second title and it fit the mood of the two perfectly, the Day Court was known for having the whiny nobles and was run loosely with many ponies receiving vague answers to their problems, in truth Day Court was created solely to occupy the nobles and prevent them from running Equestria into the ground with their own personal agendas. Celestia simply was there to play warden to the madness that would make Discord cower in terror. Despite having Celestia as a leader many of the noble class had fallen into corruption and greed, almost every other day a Code Mu was issued and a noble house was secretly stripped of power. At this point there have become two types of nobles in Equestria, there were the Nobles and then there were the nobles unfortunately most of the nobles of Equestria weren't actually Noble any longer do to what they had become. Asriel sighed as he thought of what had become the nobles of Equestria, of the fifty noble families of Equestria only twenty-seven still held the title of Nobles and that number was dropping quickly. Asriel sighed and his thought turned to the Night court. The Night Court had earned the title 'Court of Hearing' due to how Luna ran it. A Pony would enter with their problem and speak their piece, once they finished Luna would consider the situation, law or punishment that fit the criteria if Luna couldn't come up with an answer on the spot she would schedule a second hearing in several days and consult her sister, Asriel and Chara. Over the years Luna had earned a reputation to be very cautious with her decisions, getting all the facts before making a single decision. She would listen do both views on a situation and give every creature be they pony or not the same treatment. The Night Court was a place of action where may laws and regulations of Equestria had been created, a place where convicts were tried, disputes settled and treaties with foreign countries were made. After several hours Luna dismissed the court and sighed as she walked down and looked at Asriel. "Hello Asriel, I assume you came here for more than simply watching politics for hours." She said with a tired but happy smile. Asriel chuckled. "If I wanted to do that I'd of woken early and joined Tia's Day Court. Did you know the Platinum’s want an eighty foot statue of them built from solid gold to be placed outside of the palace and everypony that passes it must kiss its hooves?" He asked as they exited the Throne room and headed for the royal study. Luna stopped and stared at Asriel who slowed and turned to her. "That has to be a joke." She said however the deadpanned look on Asriels face caused her jaw to drop. "You're serious." She said before sighing. "I'm going to break a table with my face plant." She groaned as she continued following Asriel into the study where a very tired Celestia sat a cup of tea placed before her. "Well you’re up early sister." Luna chuckled. "Code Xi Luna." Celestia said with a yawn. Luna turned to Asriel surprised. "Why didn't you tell me we were having a family meeting?" She asked. Asriel smiled. "Because you needed to do Night Court and tomorrow need to be free." He said as he took a seat at and Luna joined them. "Chara won't be joining us tonight because she has to get everything ready." "What's going on Asriel?" Celestia asked with a yawn. "The medical facilities we have aren’t enough to treat Frisk's injuries properly. Despite the doctors magic and capabilities, ponies can't treat Frisk. At best they can keep her alive and in a coma like state." Asriel said causing the two princesses to gasp. "What do we do Asriel?" Luna asked. "You wouldn't have called us together unless there was no hope or there is a solution but it is going to be hard to achieve." Asriel nodded. "There is only one facility available to us with the proper medical equipment to diagnose the problem and find a cure." Asriel said as he clasped his hands together. "The Laboratory in the Underground." As Asriel explained this Celestia and Luna looked shocked. "Asriel it's been over four centuries since anyone has been in the Underground, if anything is left its condition would be terrible." Celestia said calmly. Asriel nodded. "That would be true, if that was the case." Asriel said with a chuckle. "Chara goes there all the time, I don't know what she does but I know she's maintained the place in the absence of the Monsters that once lived there. Grillby, River Person and Napstablook also go there sometimes so the place is in good condition." Luna chuckled. "I always wondered where she ran off to at night." Asriel nodded. "Chara's left to set up the medical facility of the Lab. Tomorrow we need to move Frisks body to the facilities." "What do you need form us?" Luna asked. "I'll be assigning Grillby and sever of the more trust worthy guards to assist in her moving, You two need to be present as well." Asriel said before chuckling. "You know this might be the first time you see Chara in her element." He said with a smile. What do you mean?" Celestia asked causing Asriel to laugh. "Chara is many things, a warrior, commander, judge and all these things you've seen. However Chara is most at home in only two scenarios, when she is pumping absurd levels of magic through her body and when she is in the laboratory." Asriel explained. "She is very scientific and loves working on new innovations. Magic, science, technology, theories, everything that is sciency and nerdy is her passion. She is an absolute genius but she hides it under a layer of laziness." Asriel chuckled again as he leaned back in the chair, memories of the past running through his mind. "When she sees Ponies ready I imagine she'll be starting a bit of a renaissance or technological revolution." He mussed aloud. Celestia and Luna looked at each other before turning back to Asriel. "If what you say is true why hasn't she done so?" Celestia asked. Asriel sighed as leaned forward once more and for a moment he looked as if he'd aged to that of an old goat. "This world's not ready for what we bring. The advancement of society is slow and Chara feels that introducing anything would only cause problems." Asriel sighed. "Honestly after what she's seen I agree, while there is a lot of technology that would benefit ponies there is far more that would only lead Equestria down the path to war." Several hours later Asriel stood in his full armor beside Grillby and six other Royal Guards With them stood the Princess Celestia and Luna. Beside the Princesses, floating in their combined magic was Frisk. The group was silent as they waited for a carriage to come and even when it arrived they were silent. The trip to Mt. Ebott was slow but as they arrived at the mountain the group began to talk and the silence lifted somewhat, at least until they reached the entrance to the cave. Asriel took a deep breath and turned to the guard. "Remain here, only the Princesses may continue." He said as He turned and Grillby and the Princesses followed. The group walked into the Barrier room and quickly passed the throne room as they began to leave the princesses paused and Asriel turned motioning for them to follow. The Group continued and entered the Judgement Hall and soon they reached the Elevator. The group was silent as they traversed the Underground, passing through Mettatons Resort and then entering Hot Land. Calmly they walked traversing the maze of puzzles and finally reaching the Lab. Asriel paused for a moment before taking a deep breath and stepping forward, the doors opened automatically to reveal a well-kept lab. Chara's back was turned to them and she was leaned over a table working on something with a microscope. Asriel stopped and cleared his throat causing her to jump and turn to them and the two groups froze. Chara's usual cloths had been swapped out for a long white lab coat that covered a black skin tight latex body suit with a red radiation symbol emblazoned on its chest. "Oh, I was expecting you later." Chara said as she straitened to her full height, her back completely straight as she walked over to computer and began to type on it. After a moment a metal slab floated over and Chara joined the group. "Please place Frisk on the gurney and I will take her to the Lab for analysis." Chara said her tone completely professional. The Princesses hesitated but did as Chara ask. As soon as Frisk was laid down Chara immediately began to move the gurney to an elevator and the group quickly followed. The trip down to the True Lab was quiet and as soon as they arrived Chara began to move the gurney through the halls to a room containing a lot of medical equipment. The Princesses watched in shock as Chara moved from machine to machine connecting wires and suction pads to Frisks arms and chest while placing a mask over her face and inserting an IV drip. As soon as she was done she walked over to a clipboard and began to write down the numbers on the machines and exiting the room. "Is she always like this?" Luna asked in confusion. Asriel nodded. "Luna meet Chara, the real Chara." He said as he turned to the door. "I'm going to go talk to Chara, since you don't know this place I'm asking you to stay here." He said before leaving the room and walking down the hall till he reached a room with a plaque with the name Chara on it. As he entered the room he saw his sister working, her hands flew over the keyboard and her focus shifted every few moments to one of the tree monitors she had at her desk. Asriel chuckled. "At this rate you'll be joining Frisk before you can cure her." He said. Chara frowned and spared a second to glare at Asriel before returning to work. "Hello brother, I assume you’re still here to insure I don't run myself ragged again?" She asked. Asriel smiled. "You're a workaholic Chara; someone has to look out for you now that everyone gone." He said jokingly "The Machine to bring Dr. Gaster and the Team back was completed two centuries ago, I just need enough magical energy and the right frequency, and once I have those I will be able to pull them out of the Void." Chara said without looking ways from her work. "As for reviving the Underground I have made several breakthroughs on it but until I can create a stabilizer all that work is useless as all we'll get are Amalgamates and corrupted glitches." Asriel nodded. "Good job then sis but still, don't over work yourself." Chara smiled softly before something beeped and she sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I found the problem, or at least one of the problems." She said as she waved Asriel over. Quickly the Prince approached and leaned over his sister’s shoulder as she pointed at several numbers. "So several factors that keep humans alive are really messed up. The first is that she is in a state of extreme nutrient deficiency; I can fix this by simply adding the necessary vitamins and other nutrients needed to the IV drip. Second her body has suffered severe trauma, I can try fixing this with healing magic but we both know that it can only do so much and most of the damage will have to heal on its own. The final and most concerning part however her soul is." She explained as she pointed to a reading that Asriel stared at blankly. "Chara, I have no idea what the actual fuck you're talking about." He said with a sigh. "Please explain this in English not science Chara frowned. "Frisk body has shut down due to lack of any food for who knows how long. Almost all her muscles have either been torn or shredded, her blood vessels are damaged and her heart is heavily damaged due to being overworked and lacking proper nutrients. As for her soul... all I can say at the moment it that it looks almost shattered and fragments are missing." Asriel frowned. "Did Tirek do this?" Chara shook her head. "Even if he tried he'd only be able to do a tenth of the damage, no this was something else." She said as her eyes turned black and Asriel who took a hesitant step back. "This was the PLAYER." She growled her eyes going black as her voice went demonic for a moment before she closed them and took several breaths. "Give me enough time and I can heal her but it will take weeks at best." Asriel gulped and nodded. "I'm not a doctor like you but are the parts missing what keep her alive?" He asked. "I don't know." Chara said as she shook her head sadly. "The scan I ran was a basic check; if I do anything more her soul might shatter. She’s barely stable as it is and doing anything else might just shatter it entirely." Asriel sighed and nodded. "Well, at least she's now in capable hands." He said as he patted her shoulder. Chara nodded before as she turned back to the monitors and her eyes flashed purple. Suddenly she gasped and jumped up before running over to a cabinet and opening it while digging around for something. "What is it Chara?" Asriel asked concerned. "I might have a way to fix this!" Chara said excitedly. "All humans no matter their Soul trait need Determination but for a Red Soul user like me or Frisk the need for Determination is in the extremes, if a Red Soul user doesn't have enough determination then their soul can be at risk of breaking or even worse inverting to its Unnatural Soul state and if that happens it would need to be destroyed." Chara explained and Asriel frowned. "And this helps us how?" He asked as Chara pulled out a large canister of what looked like glowing blood. "The problem is her Determination!" Chara exclaimed as she ran out the door and Asriel followed. "We gave her Monster Food while she was in the castle hospital, that should of healed her wound but it didn't so there has to be another reason she isn't waking up." She said as she burst into the room causing the sisters to jump. "And you think it's her determination?" Asriel asked as he followed her. "For most humans Determination is ones will to live but for one with a red soul it's more than that." Chara said as she began to hook up several tubes and wires to Frisk and carefully she hooked up the canister of the red substance. "For a human who's soul is red Determination is not just our will to live but is the very manifestation, the very culmination, of who we are." "Did you find a cure?" Celestia asked hopeful as she looked between Asriel and Chara. Asriel shrugged and Chara nodded. "Frisk souls is almost destroyed, if my theory is correct she has lost her determination and as such her will to live." She said as he finished hooking up the equipment. "This is some of the old stuff but we don't have an option." She growled as the liquid began to flow through the tubes. "Gaster if you're here I need you." She whispered. "Please help me to save Frisk." She said as tears began to fall from her face. Chara called for help... But nob̶̠͓̆͝o̵͇̝̔̊̀̏d̶̨̗̫̠̩̲̆̾́́y̴̞͌̾̑̚͝͠ ̷̞̿͋̒̄c̸̛̖̜̦̖̳̘͆̕ã̶̢̡̛̜̲̭m̷̞̬̞̠̭͆̕̕è̸̟̻̟̬̈́.̶̪͇̞͇̞͑̇͘.̴̲̳͔̖͇̹̀͑̃̀̂́.̶̧̥̅̉̆̕ 💧︎□︎❍︎♏︎□︎■︎♏︎ ♍︎♋︎❍︎♏︎📬︎ "Someone came." There are many facets of the Void, some parts are simply areas of black nothing, some areas like the room behind the gray door have simply a floor and walls but that's all. Then there are the parts of the void that those with a Red Soul call the Menu Screens or as it's better known, the Game Over Screen. In all my time traveling across the Void I have only ever seen one Game Over Screen and because of the PLAYER I dare not enter it. But that was then... now I shall. My student, my dear apprentice, Chara has called out for help. In all my long years never has she asked for my assistance, advice or opinion on a mater sure, but never has she gone out of her way to say she needs help. Something must be truly wrong for her to cry out with such despair and I see why. Frisk is dying and Determination won’t save this child, not when they have so little of it left. A bearer of the Red Soul can only return if they want to, they must believe with all their heart and soul that they want to go back. Frisk has lost her will to live and as such the determination to return. Chara is keeping her physical body alive, now it's my turn to convince her to stay Determined. I take a deep breath and step forward into the Game Over Screen. As I step into this part of the Void my form changes, I'm no longer appear as the goopy amalgamate mass or even what appeared as when I possessed Chara but rather I look like myself once more. This is rather interesting; I admit that it has been a... long time since I've been in this form. Worry about this development later Gaster, right now I have a Child to save. I look around and find that the world of the Game Over Screen is quiet similar to my home in the void with the simple difference of there being massive letters in the floating in place spelling out, Game Over. Before them stands the form of a Human wearing a blue and purple striped sweater, I slowly approach. "Child, it's time to Return." Gaster says as he approaches. *Frisk tell Gaster to leave her alone.* "I'm sorry Child but I can't do that. Chara is waiting for you, she misses you." Gaster says as he stands before her. *Frisk tell Gaster that there is no point; after all she said it herself. ‘You know we never were friends right?’ ‘I hate you so much!’* Fisk begins to cry. *Frisk tells Gaster She doesn't deserve mercy, they are a monster.* Gaster pulls Frisk into a hug. "Chara wasn't speaking to you Child; she was speaking to the PLAYER." He said as Frisk cried into his shirt. "She loves you Frisk, I should know." *Frisk asks what Gaster mean.* Gaster sighs. "Chara hated Humanity with a passion unlike any other; I'd dare to say that her hate was greater than even we Skeletons." He chuckled. "But whenever she was around you she was... different. She smiled, laughed and even cared about you. You were the only person she ever was like that to, no other human was ever treated the same." *Frisk says she killed everyone, she doesn't deserve a second chance.* "You deserve it more than any other Frisk." Gaster says as he lifted her head up to look at his face. "Frisk, You may have done these things but it wasn't you that did them, simply your body playing puppet to another." Gaster pat her head as he continued. "You only had the chance of freedom once and the PLAYER stole that. Chara never got to confess her love for you, Sans never got to have the daughter he saw you as and You never got your happy ending." *Frisk says she doesn't deserve this, she wants to be forgotten.* "Remember what Sans had on that picture, 'Never Forget'. Even after I was shattered across time and space, erased from the minds of everyone, someone still remembered me." Gaster said. "No matter who we are or what we do there will always be one person who will remember and they will miss us." Frisk shook her head. *Frisk says that's different, you were good, nice.* Gaster chuckled nervously. "You couldn't be farther from the truth. While I wasn't a murder or anything like that I was still... not someone who should be given a second chance and yet Sans tried to bring me back, even Chara is trying." He said as she hugged Frisk tighter. "Frisk, we all have done things we regret, thing's we can’t undo or take back, it's how we live with those choices and seek redemption that defines. Asgore made mistakes, so too did Toriel, Undyne, and Sans but they moved on accepted their mistakes while trying to atone for them." Frisk paused as Gaster knelt down and looked at her. "Please Frisk, come back. If not for Chara, the one who loves you, then do it for my son and all those who would miss you." Frisk stood frozen before nodding. "Okay, I'll come back." She said as the world began to glow. The world shines brighter and a faint glow emanates from you. ... You are filled with Determination. Chara stood next to Frisks bed writing down the numbers on her clipboard, ever since she had started injecting Frisk with determination her condition had improved by leaps in bounds! Already most of the damage to her body had healed and her soul had slowly been restoring itself. Despite her displeasure in admitting it she was gathering a significant amount of data on the capabilities Determination had in medical practices and had already formulated several tests. With a sigh she began to leave only to stop as she felt a massive amount of power grow behind her, Chara quickly turned as she summoned the True Knife however what she saw made her freeze. Floating above Frisk was her soul which shone with a brilliant light, quickly it shot into Frisks sleeping body and Chara watched in shock as Frisk gasped and sat up her eyes wide on surprise. The two humans stared at each other for a moment, Chara in shock while Frisk in fear. Finally Chara dropped the clipboard and ran over to Frisk embracing her in a hug, Frisk flinched and closed her eyes in fear expecting to me killed. "You idiot!" Chara whispered as she hugged Frisk closer. "If you give up again I'm dragging you back here myself!" Frisk hesitantly opened her eyes and was shocked to see Chara crying. "I was so worried about you, honestly do you like scaring me to where I almost fall down again?" She asked. Frisk don’t say anything for a moment before pulling Chara into a hug. "I'm sorry." She said as she began to cry as well. "I broke our promise, I killed our friends, and I was a bad partner." Chara frowned and pulled away from Frisk only to whack her in the back of the head. "It's not your fault Frisk, now get it through that thick scull of yours and let it go." Frisk rubbed the back of her head and sniffed sadly. "Chara-""Nope, it's not your fault Frisk!" Chara cut in as she placed a finger on Frisks lips. "The PLAYER is a sadistic asshole and when I catch him I'm going to kill him, no second chances, no mercy." Chara said with finality as she rose and looked over Frisk. "You still need rest and to let your body heal." She said calmly as she turned to the door and began to walk away, before she left however she stopped and turned to Frisk. "Don't leave me again Frisk, you mean more to me than anyone except Azzy so you better make damn sure you don't die." She said and Frisk nodded. As Frisk lay back down in the bed Chara closed the door but Frisk swore she heard something before the door shut. "Love you Frisk."