//------------------------------// // Chapter 34: The Barrier // Story: Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers // by Lucar //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle stared at Frisk in amazement. But, all in all, it was a good conclusion from everything they gathered. They read in the library of Snowdin that the monsters' dust kept their essence, which was why they spread it on the monster's favorite object so the dead monster could still be there in a way. Asriel died in the royal garden, and his dust spread along with some golden flower seeds. As a result, the golden flowers that grew there were filled with his essence. Actually, since he was holding Chara's body against his chest, some of his dust certainly spread on her too, filling her with some of his essence too. Then, Alphys took one of the flowers and injected Determination in it. It didn't work directly. Probably there wasn't enough essence in the flower to bring Asriel back. But once the flower was replanted in the garden, the remaining essence there probably gathered thanks to the Determination, and Asriel came back from the dead as a result, now a SOULless flower. Eventually, Asriel, or Flowey, found Chara's grave in the Ruins and placed some of his seeds on it. The flowers that grew from them were filled with his Determination and a bit of his essence that the roots then injected into Chara's body. Which meant, as things would have gone, Chara's body would have eventually been brought back to life, but with just Asriel's essence, it would have simply gotten Asriel's personality and memories. But then, when Asriel died, the SOUL of Chara that he had absorbed broke into pieces that fell all over her body alongside his SOUL's. So, when Determination was injected in her body by the flowers, the pieces eventually reformed into a whole SOUL. Bringing Chara back to life, as Frisk. But Sweetie Belle still was speechless at this revelation, and so was Sans. Flowey, however, was ecstatic. "So it's really you! I had my doubts at first! You looked so similar, but at the same time, you were so different! Actually, you reminded me more of who I was before. A weak. A crybaby. A goody-two-shoes who couldn't harm a fly. A real IDIOT! All the contrary of who you were! But if what you say is true, then you REALLY are back! So we still are inseparable, even after all these years!" Flowey seemed oblivious to Frisk's state however. The girl seemed on the verge to have a breakdown. No wonder, discovering that you were someone brought back to life, and thus, not a simple human girl would give anyone one heck of an existential crisis. Not long ago, she still thought that she had an existence at the surface, maybe someone waiting for her, a family, some friends... But no. Chara lived so long ago that if she still had had anyone close at the surface, they certainly died from old age at least. But... Sweetie Belle was feeling that it was more complicated than that. Frisk was different from Chara, and Sweetie Belle had the feeling that it wasn't just because of the amnesia. Actually, why the heck was she physically different? Chara didn't have yellow skin in that photo, and the tint of the hair was different. Probably an effect of Determination. Flowey certainly looked slightly different from a normal golden flower. Mainly bigger. And no doubt that after all this time, Chara's body should have just been a skeleton. Determination seemed to have some physical effects. Anyway, it wasn't the physical differences that mattered, but the mental ones. “You are not Chara.” Frisk raised her head in shock upon hearing the voice. “I would know, because I know for a fact that I am Chara,” the voice in Frisk’s head, Chara, said. “I’m sure because I have all my memories, my feelings, everything that makes me me. Except my body, obviously. You… apparently have it. But it doesn’t make you me. Just… I’m not sure actually. But we are two different people. This, I’m sure of it.” “Hey! What’s going on? Why do you look shocked like that?” Flowey shouted. “Ssshhhhh! Something important is going on in her head,” Sweetie Belle silenced him. “So you really were Chara all this time,” Frisk said, surprising both Flowey and Sans at the mention of the princess. “Wha-” “Sssshh!” “Yes. You two were spot on about my identity. Sorry… for not talking earlier. After hearing my story, the full story, I think that you can understand why I wanted… to remain alone.” “Why narrate, then?” Frisk questioned. “It was just a way for me to have some fun. There is not much to do while being stuck in your head.” “S-so… If I’m not you… Then wh-” “You are you,” Chara interrupted Frisk’s question with the obvious answer. “It doesn’t matter that you were born differently, you still developed your own personality, you went through your own experiences… You are your own person. And apparently some hybrid human monster. The first to ever exist. Personally, I think that it’s cool.” “Chara is right,” Sweetie Belle suddenly interjected. “You may have some of her memories, they are only a small part of you. They are part of her essence that compose some of your SOUL. But the rest of your SOUL, of your being, is also composed of other essences. For starting, there is Asriel’s essence, from when his dust and SOUL shards fell on Chara’s body. This is probably why your personality is a lot like his as Flowey pointed out earlier. And then, there is the essence that you got from his flowers.” “Isn’t it the same?” Frisk questioned. "eh... maybe i should clarify this one, sweetie belle," Sans finally said, having now recovered from his shock. "when two monsters give birth to a new one, the newborn bears the essence of the two parents, only for these essences to turn different as they're transmitted so the newborn isn't just a copy of the parents. Flowey said that he planted the seeds that led to frisk's birth, and what are seeds for a flower?" Frisk immediately understood. "Oh..." Sweetie Belle nodded. "As I thought. So this means that you now also have a lot of that new essence given to you by these flowers. You know what this means?" Sans was now holding back a laugh as he looked at Flowey. "good job bud, you're a father. or mother? or both? flowers are both genders after all." This led to a VEEEEERY awkward moment where Frisk and Flowey stared at each other. "or i guess that we could consider chara as the mother," Sans continued. “EEEEEHHHHH??!!!!!” Chara yelled within Frisk’s head, making her wince. Flowey got a disgusted expression. "Chara was my sister!" "it doesn't change the fact that chara had a big role in frisk's birth, it seems. isn't that what happens in normal couples? you planted the seeds, and chara's body was used to create a new life." … “I’ll kill him,” Chara said. "Thank you Smiley Trashbag, I now need bleach to get these images out of my head," Flowey deadpanned. "Also, it's all kinds of wrongs." "it's still what happened, from what i understood. and, hey, you know what this means, kiddo?" Sans asked as he turned to look at Frisk. "that the king is your grandfather! that's certainly not something i was expecting to find out when i popped here. crazy family reunion in perspective." "Yeah, go on, tell the king that he now has a granddaughter born from his son turned into a SOULless flower and from the corpse of his dead adopted daughter. This will be one heck of a revelation, that's for sure," Flowey said. Yeah, Sweetie Belle really couldn't imagine how Asgore will react to this. He will certainly be delighted to learn that he had a granddaughter, but discovering the circumstances of her birth… Judging by Flowey and Chara’s reaction already, it won’t be good. “I can’t believe that this is happening,” Chara muttered. “I have a daughter… Frisk, can you tell your father that I’m going to kill him?” Frisk sweated at this, deciding to not tell anything. “Wait. This means that Frisk is one day old. Happy birthday one day late, Frisk!” Sweetie Belle said. "Thanks..." Frisk replied. It was now hard to say what she was thinking. "How... are you feeling?" "... I don't know... It's... a mess..." "You don't say. I'm not sure how I would react if I was the one to learn that I was born this way," Flowey said. "But hey, how about you come give a hug to your daddy?" "You tried to kill me." "Aww, come on, can't you give me a second chance? I'm not the only one who tried to kill you only to end up being given a second chance and to become your friend." "You tried to kill me for your amusement where the others wanted to kill me for understandable reasons such as taking my SOUL to break the Barrier. Also, you want to take the six human SOULs in Asgore's possession and you want to use them to bring more suffering to the monsters." "Hey, is it my fault that I am bored and that I'm desperate to find new forms of amusement? There's really not much to do down here, even with the power of Determination, so can you blame me for wanting to... expand my horizons?" "With your philosophy of "Kill or be killed?" Yes," Frisk said. "This is why... we will have to find what to do about you," Sweetie Belle said with a glare at the flower. "You are too dangerous as you are now. If we break the Barrier with you free to wander into the world, it will be a disaster. I'm actually hoping to find a way to bring you back to your former self." Flowey burst into laughter. "You think you can? How mighty of you to think that you will be able to find a way to create a new SOUL." "I did say that I hoped to find one. But if this turns out to be impossible, then there are always the two other solutions: imprisonment, or death. And right now..." Without warning, she surrounded Flowey with her magic and plucked him from the ground, roots and all. "Hey! What are you doing?!" Sweetie Belle materialized a pot full of dirt and planted Flowey in it. "There, you won't escape this way. And don't think of doing anything, or I will burn you to a crisp. Once we're done with the Barrier, we will return to the lab and talk with Alphys about finding a solution for you." Flowey seemed ready to attack her, but he controlled himself. He saw her fight against Undyne, he knew that she was way out of his league right now. Instead, he let out a growl as he reluctantly gave up and became Sweetie's prisoner. "so that's one less nuisance it seems," Sans said then. “but can we now address the elephant in the room? earlier, frisk was talking to someone, and that someone was apparently chara. she is here?” “That’s right! Were you talking with Chara?” Flowey shouted. “Uh. Yeah. She is in my head,” Frisk answered. “mmh… it seems like her consciousness came with the shards of her SOUL now composing yours,” Sans said. “well, glad to have you back in a way, princess. “Chara! So you really are back!” Flowey said with a big smile. “Don’t worry Chara, I will find a way for you to regain a body, and then we will have a lot of fun together!” “As if I would let you have your “fun”, bud,” Sweetie Belle reminded, making Flowey grumble. Sans sighed. "welp, time for me to go. i was originally just here to congrat frisk about not killing anyone and yada yada, also explaining to her the system about EXP being EXecution Points and LOVE being the Level Of ViolencE, but after all these revelations and all that drama, i just want to go to grillby's and eat a good burger filled with ketchup. good luck to you two in your attempt to destroy the barrier. and frisk, know that you have my support, as well as all of your friends. your origins won't change this. it doesn't matter how you came to this world. what matters is who you are, and the choices you make. remember this." And Sans was gone. "You heard him, Frisk? Discovering who you were wasn't what we were expecting, but despite everything, you're still you," Sweetie Belle said. Frisk thought about this for a few moments before she smiled and hugged Sweetie Belle. "Yes… As Chara said, I'm still me... I'm still Frisk... But... It will take some time to..." "I understand. And like Sans just said, remember that you have your friends to support you. I imagine that it won't be easy to live knowing that your body and SOUL weren't originally yours and that one of your parents is a psychopathic flower-" "HEY!" "-but you can count on us to help. And if you decide to tell Asgore and Toriel about this, I'm sure that they will do everything in their power to help you too as your grandparents." "Oh... Right... Toriel is my grandmother... and I considered her like a mom..." "Awkwaaaard..." Flowey said. “Whether you call her mom or grandma, I’m sure that she will be happy,” Chara said. Sweetie Belle gave a small giggle. "Let's go. Time to meet the King." Frisk nodded. So they exited the hall through the doorway at the other end, entering a corridor. Following it, they eventually reached another doorway with another Save Point in front of it. A panel indicated that beyond was the Throne Room. Frisk's heart was beating very loudly. Sweetie Belle was the first to enter, quickly followed by her. They entered a room that was surprisingly filled with vegetation on the ground, especially a lot of golden flowers at the center. A tall figure was present, back to them, watering the flowers, humming a song. From the back, they could only see his blond hairs, his hears, his horns, and a purple cloak with two golden shoulder pads, but they had no doubt that it was the king himself: Asgore. He heard them approaching. "Oh? Is someone there? Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers," he said. For a few more seconds, he continued to water the flowers before he placed the watering can on the ground. "... Here we are!" Then, he turned to face them, his cape revealing to be a cloak partially hiding a golden armor. "Howdy! How can I..." He then saw what they were and stepped back in shock. At this instant, they could see the centuries of pain he lived through. His people almost getting exterminated and trapped underground. His children dying. His wife leaving him, now hating him. Having to bear the hopes and dreams of his people on his shoulders. Having to kill innocent ones for his people. Under that facade of a loving king was a broken man... They weren't in the mood of bowing... "Oh." "Hello, King Asgore..." Sweetie Belle greeted weakly, her eyes filled with pity. "H-howdy..." Frisk replied by repeating his greeting. "... I so badly want to say, "would you like a cup of tea?" But... You know how it is." "We don't have to fight," Sweetie Belle said. "This is not needed." Asgore looked sadly back at her. "I heard about you. A visitor from another dimension. I guess that you could simply leave the same way you came. But your friend... You probably know by now that if she wants to return to the surface, she will need my SOUL. And I need her SOUL to break the Barrier. This is needed." Frisk shook her head. "I don't want to return to the surface. Not anymore..." Asgore got curious. "Really? How curious... All the humans until now desired this. What changed your mind?" "A big revelation. And, oh boy, you aren't ready," Flowey said with amusement. "Oh, howdy. I hadn't seen you little, um, talking flower..." "Name's Flowey! But you may know me under another name. But are you guys really sure that you want to reveal this to him?" Flowey asked Sweetie Belle and Frisk. “Despite everything, I’m sure that he will understand and welcome you with open arms,” Chara said. Frisk gulped. That was her decision to take, and she thought that Asgore deserved to know. But... it was hard... Seeing her hesitation, Sweetie Belle began by something else. "We want to destroy the Barrier, and I have a mean to do it." This took Asgore off guard. "Do you... really believe it? We tried everything to destroy it, sacrificed a lot, but it never worked... Please little one, don't raise my hope only to crush it... It already happened enough time..." "I won't crush it. I know that I can destroy it." "You seem certain... I want to believe you. But I don't dare. Let... Let me guide you to the Barrier." At this, Asgore walked to the back of the room where there was another doorway. Sweetie Belle and Frisk followed him, the filly still holding Flowey's pot with her magic. They passed beside the throne, and briefly glanced at another throne placed against the back wall, covered. Frisk then activated the Save Point here before they passed the doorway, Asgore awaiting them in the room behind. The king then led them through a small hallway to a passage with another Save Point that Frisk also activated despite the previous one not being far. They then entered the passage, and found themselves face to face with the Barrier. It was well named. A powerful magical barrier that blocked the whole passage, shimmering with a strange light that filled the room. They could see twilight shining through it. Asgore was facing it, seven jars coming out of the ground behind him. Six of them contained a human SOUL (light blue, dark blue, orange, purple, green, and yellow), and the seventh one was empty, ready to be filled. "Here it is, the Barrier..." Asgore began before he turned to look at Sweetie Belle. "Do you still think that you can destroy it?" Sweetie Belle gulped. It was a lot of power. Almost on par with Void. It was really intimidating. "Y-yes. I can." She then looked down at the SOULs in the jars, and she thought about something. "Say, humans can't absorb other human SOULs, right?" "That's right. This is why I am not asking your friend to absorb them. It wouldn't work. Sadly..." "But... I am not a human, right? So what would happen if..." Everyone's eyes in the room grew as they understood what she meant. "You think...?" Asgore began to ask, this time really filled with hope. "Well, we can give it a test, what do you think?" "... Alright. Do it. But be careful. They're fragile." "I will," Sweetie Belle reassured before she approached the nearest jar, the one containing the purple SOUL. She opened it and grabbed the SOUL, not sure how to absorb it. Having a hunch, she let her SOUL out and placed the purple one against it. The purple SOUL was then absorbed into hers, and she was suddenly filled with Perseverance and a lot of power. On her flanks, her Cutie Mark grew to cover about less than half of her body. She could feel that she was now near the power level of Void at his most powerful. A second SOUL... She opened the next nearest jar with the dark blue SOUL, and she absorbed it, and she was now filled with Integrity. Her mark now covered her whole body excepted her head. She could now without a doubt destroy the Barrier. But then, she looked at Flowey and at Frisk (and at Chara even if she didn’t have a body technically) and she got another idea, but she would need more power. She absorbed the light blue SOUL, and she was filled with Patience. There was a sudden flash, and Sweetie Belle was now a God. She was back to that state she was when she fought Kirby, excepted... She still had her mind. And she could also feel the minds of the three humans whose SOULs she absorbed. Let me borrow your power to help everyone. And then, you will be free. The three let her do without struggling. So she approached the Barrier... And punched it. Cracks spread from the impact point as if the Barrier was a mirror before it collapsed, and the pieces disappeared, turning back into pure magical energy. But she wasn't done. She now faced the three other persons in the room, all looking at her with amazement and shock, and approached Flowey. Seeing that she was getting closer, the flower began to shake in fear. She reassured him by sending a mental image of what she wanted to do, and he calmed down. Once she was in front of him, she lightly touched him and used her power to successfully recreate a new monster SOUL inside him. There was then another flash followed by the sound of the pot breaking, and suddenly, Flowey was gone, replaced by a young goat monster like the one in the family photo. Asriel. When he recovered his senses and saw that he was himself again, he couldn't believe it. Asgore couldn't believe it too, but when, filled with emotions, he went to hug Asriel, he saw that it was real. Sweetie Belle brought Asriel back. "It's... It's really you... Son..." the king said with a lot of difficulty as he was openly crying. "D-dad... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Asriel began to repeat, his voice eventually disappearing between his sobs. Sweetie Belle left the two to turn toward Frisk. "Your turn." Frisk understood and smiled, nodding. This one will be a little harder, but with these godly powers, Sweetie Belle knew that she could do it. She could do anything. In this state, she was Absolute. Frisk let out her SOUL to make it easier for her. Sweetie Belle placed a hoof on it and extracted everything that was Chara in it and gathered it in a ball of red energy before she filled back the resulting holes in Frisk's SOUL with the same method she used to recreate Asriel's SOUL, so it was now Frisk's SOUL for good. Now that Frisk was free of Chara's influence (keeping her Determination at least since it was an active part of her), Sweetie Belle then worked to create a new SOUL from the red energy she extracted. Once done, she then created for it a new body. And so, Chara was reborn, separated from Frisk, and currently unconscious. "And there," Sweetie Belle finally said now that she was finished before she gave herself a more mortal appearance to not be as intimidating to the others. She was then hugged from all sides by Frisk, Asriel, and Asgore who all gave her their thanks. It would have been overwhelming to Sweetie Belle, but in her current state, it wasn't at all. She perfectly understood everything they said. "Hey! Hey! No need to thank me!" "I insist," Asgore said. "What you did... It is a miracle. I need to repay you in some way." "Your smile and those happy tears are enough payment. Beside, I still have some work to do. These poor monsters who became Amalgamates need me." She stopped herself from listing all the problems in this universe that she could fix. As much as she wanted to do this, it would be a full time job and she had a home to return to. And she knew that this wouldn't be a good solution anyway. So she settled to just help the Amalgamates, the monsters who melted and merged together after being injected Determination. They could live as they currently were, but it will be better for everyone involved if the monsters composing the Amalgamates could return to being just themselves. "I will leave you to your family reunion. And you need to get to know your new granddaughter," she said to Asgore before she disappeared. "... Granddaughter?" Asgore wondered. Asriel looked at Frisk. "Erh..." Frisk gulped and shyly waved at the king with a small "Hi..." Asgore stared at her, not processing. "What..." Asriel laughed sheepishly, blushing and rubbing his arm. "That's a long and weird story... But yeah, uh, apparently, uh... Frisk is... Well, uh... And Chara is... Well..." He didn't need to say more as Asgore alternatively looked between Asriel, Frisk, and the still unconscious Chara. "I see... I wonder how this happened, but first..." He lost consciousness. ... "Uh... How will we transport him to the house?" Asriel asked. Frisk used her magic to make some vines grow under Asgore, using them to move him to the exit in answer. "Uh. That's handy. Then I will transport Chara. Gosh, she will freak out once she wakes up... And how the heck have I not freaked out yet?"