Chapter 9

Everyone heard the glass breaking since the front door was still open.

"Frisk, no!" Papyrus yelled running in the direction of the sound.

"Blood is the riskiest medium to get determination out," Flowey continued. "But I think he enjoys it by this point. Every time he resets, that is how he does it. In his mind, I think he feels like he's making up for one of his crimes but shedding his own blood. It's his form of a penance, and I can't say I don't enjoy seeing his blood flow. You might say I enjoy it too much. I always encourage him to do it every time he messes up."

"You, sadistic son-of-a…" Undyne said.

"You can stay here yelling at me or you can save your little Frisk," Flowey said. "You see, under the best circumstances, using blood is a psychologically and physically draining process for the one performing the ritual. If one performs it over and over, it weakens the user and gradually wears down his determination. Then eventually, when the user's determination is no longer strong enough to endure it, the loss of blood kills them. Frisk is going to die."

"God damn it," Undyne muttered under her breath while turning away to catch up with Papyrus.

Flowey reacted by laughing maniacally.

Sans glared at Flowey one more time before flinging him in the air and firing a Gaster Blaster right at him. He screamed while he was singed and fell in the river before Sans short cut back to the house.

"Frisk!" Papyrus yelled while pounding on the door. "Open the door! Do not reset time! Undyne says it'll kill you!"

"I don't care," Frisk said unemotionally.

"Why don't you care, brat?!" Undyne yelled.

"Did Flowey mention all the bad things I've done?" Frisk said.

"I don't care what you've done!" Papyrus yelled. "You can be redeemed! Please just let us in!"

"Let us in, Frisk," Sans said suddenly appearing before them.

"Sans?" Frisk asked sounding surprised.

"Frisk, let me see you," Sans said firmly like he did the day before. "We all know now that you're the one who's been resetting the timeline. Like I said before, I'm not mad. We just want you to stop. Doing this is killing you. The weed has been manipulating you because he wants you to die. We don't. Please, Frisk!"

"You don't understand," Frisk said holding the glass shard above the bare skin of his left arm. "I have to make you understand."

"Frisk, no!" Papyrus yelled.

But it was too late. Frisk sliced open the vein on his arm as he had done many times before and the blood came flowing out. Frisk then cut his other arm, so more blood would flow out and grant his wish. The blood flowed out into the air. It went under the bathroom door and surrounded the three awestruck monsters.

"Is this the blood of the determined?" Undyne asked herself. "What are you doing, human?"

"Frisk, stop it!" Papyrus yelled still pounding on the door.

Sans didn't say anything. Suddenly, everyone froze and started seeing visions in their minds. They were restored memories, every memory of every timeline that Frisk was involved in, every memory of what Frisk had seen and what had happened, every memory they had that was erased, even from the very first timeline.

"What the hell?" Undyne asked. "What is this?"

"I died…" Papyrus said in realization. "You killed me. You killed all of us."

"Frisk…" Sans said in horror at what he was seeing.

"These are my memories," Frisk said. "I am burning them into your minds along with all the memories from this timeline. Now, you can't forget. You won't forget when I reset this timeline. You understand now why I have to do this."

"How could you?!" Undyne asked angrily. "Why did you murder us when you first came here?!"

"Monsters killed my parents," Frisk replied sadly through his tears. "They were soldiers who were defending our city. They showed mercy and the monsters they spared poisoned them for it. The only reason I got to see them before they died was because they used all their determination to stay alive long enough to see me one last time. I had to watch them die. Then, I ran away and abandoned the only friend I had. I was so stupid and angry. When I fell down here and Flowey tried to kill me, I snapped. I thought that all monsters were deceitful and murderous. I thought I had to kill or be killed. I thought somehow I was doing the right thing and that none of you felt anything anyway…"

Undyne's expression changed. Her expression was immediately downcast and filled with regret.

"That changed when I met you in the Judgement Hall, Sans," Frisk said.

Sans' memory immediately flashed to that event.

"You wanted to kill me to avenge your brother," Frisk said. "Once you said that, I realized that you and I were the same. All the monsters and humans were the same deep down. I broke down in front of you and vowed to change the past, so you could be with your brother and everyone in the Underground could have a happy ending. I went back, and I've been going back ever since because I've failed. I can't control my strength. I always go too far, but now, I'm getting out of your lives permanently. I'm going back to before I fell in. I'm going to disappear from your story."

"Frisk, hurting yourself isn't going to make anything right," Papyrus said pounding on the door again. "Despite what you did, I still want to be your friend. You can't go."

"Goodbye," Frisk said. "I'm sorry."

Frisk concentrated his willpower and created a reset button as he had before, but when he pressed it, nothing happened. Frisk pressed it again and again, but nothing happened. Immediately, it dissolved, and all his blood dropped to the ground.

"You will not keep doing this, my son," Frisk heard the One from his dreams say. "You have to stop running…"

"GOD, NO!" Frisk screamed. "DON'T DO THIS! LET ME GO!"

"Frisk, you need to make a choice," the Voice said. "You have to face your pain…"

"NO!" Frisk yelled. "I need to be free! If you won't let me reset, let me go!"

Frisk's tears fell as he held onto the glass shard and desperately got to work while he collapsed on the ground.

"Who is he yelling at?" Papyrus asked out loud. "I don't hear anybody!"

"His Maker," Undyne said before she charged at the door with her spear and used all her strength to pry open the door.

Once she tossed the door aside, they found a horrible sight. Frisk was lying against the wall surrounded by the glass shards on the floor. He was crying and stabbing himself with the glass shard he was holding. The scars from all the other resets were glowing, too. There was blood everywhere.

"Oh, my God," Papyrus said as his eyes filled with tears.

Undyne kicked the glass shard out of his hand and said, "Listen up, punk! You are not dying unless I say so! Papyrus, stop the bleeding!"

"I'm on it," Papyrus said getting on his knees.

He held out his hands and healed Frisk as quickly as he could while Frisk's eyes fluttered open and shut. He was fading in and out of consciousness and was barely aware of what was happening anymore. The only one Frisk was paying attention to was His voice.

"Frisk, all you've wanted to do is make things right, but this isn't the way," He said. "You are not capable of being a sacrifice for your own sins. Trying to be one is only hurting you."

"I don't understand," Papyrus said fearfully. "I can only heal the shallow scratches. I can't heal anything else. What is going on…?"

"It's his determination," Sans said finally breaking his silence. "He doesn't want to be healed, so he's counteracting your magic."

"No…" Papyrus said grabbing Frisk by his shoulders. "Come on, Frisk! Please! Let me help you! I don't care what you were before. You're not evil anymore! Let yourself live!"

Frisk could barely hear Papyrus, but he knew what he was saying.

"Accept my mercy, Frisk," the Voice said. "Let me come in and cleanse your soul of its sin. In return, accept the mercy of others and let yourself be forgiven so that you can learn to spare others as your parents did…"

"I know what we have to do," Sans said. "If we want to save him, we have to sedate him. That's the only way to break his hold."

"I have my sleeping pills with me," Undyne said pulling the bottle out of her pocket. "I actually decided to help Papyrus with groceries just so I could let you borrow some. But I don't know if he can swallow a pill like this…"

Sans short cut to his room and short cut back holding a bowl and a grinding stone.

He handed those items to Undyne and said, "Grind one of those pills into powder. I'll get the water."

"The only thing you have to let go is your pride," the Voice said. "But I will give your soul real love and real redemption. I will dwell in it and never let you go. I'll be your truest friend. Will you accept this mercy?"

Undyne poured the powder into the water while Papyrus propped Frisk up.

"Come on, Frisk," Papyrus said. "Drink."

"Okay," Frisk muttered out loud. "I accept this mercy…"

Papyrus and Sans looked at each other in confusion while Undyne successfully managed to get Frisk to swallow the water. He passed out immediately, and Papyrus healed him.