Y/N's POV
I trudged up to the palace, my soul heavy in my chest. I couldn't say why when I was about to make the entire population of monsters happy.

Maybe it was because I felt like...I was missing something. What was I missing? I couldn't possibly be missing my own happiness. That would be greedy and selfish, because my responsibility is to make sure others are happy, not myself.

Oh well. Some mysteries must remain unsolved.

The palace doors opened for me as I shuffled inside. I paid no attention to the room. My mission was not to admire the halls; it was to find King Asgore.

I finally found him in a garden, tending to a patch of buttercups. Huh. My favorite. How coincidental.

I walked up to him and cleared my throat. He turned to me, and his eyes widened. I bowed to him.

"King Asgore," I began, straightening myself, "I have come to right a wrong made by humanity many years ago. You were wrongly imprisoned in Mount Ebott, and I plan to free you."

I brought out my soul and kneeled, holding it out to him. "I offer you my soul, and my life, so that you and your kind may once again walk upon the surface, be happy, and have hope."

He looked at me a moment, before motioning for me to follow him. I did so, tracing his footsteps to a large hall with stained glass windows.

Asgore summoned a trident and leaned on it, studying me.

"You know," he said, "there are four kinds of humans that walk into this room. One is a ruthless killer. Another is a neutral who stands for no one. The third is someone who walks in with the goal of trying to help. And then there's you."

I started to get uncomfortable under his gaze.

"You walk in and offer your soul without another thought. Either you're a very extreme pacifist, plain stupid, or you're another thing altogether. Would you mind telling me what you are, my child?"

I winced at the use of that nickname, thinking of the mother goat that I'll miss, and answered, rather shy. "What am I, your Highness? You know, I've spent over half my life trying to answer that same question. It's funny, because it was just today that I discovered the answer."

My voice got slightly louder. "I'm a hybrid between humans and monsters. I was born with the sole purpose of making others happy. And that is all that I should be."

"Interesting response," he said. "I'm not entirely sure if your soul will work with the others to break to barrier because it's a hybrid."

"But we never know until we try," I interjected.

Asgore gave me an odd look. "Are you trying to die, my child?"

I shrugged. "I am trying to do what will make others happy, even if it costs me my life."

"You say it, but do you mean it?" His eyes glittered with curiosity as he awaited my answer.

I searched within myself. Did I really mean it?

Of course, it's what you were made for!

That's what I thought...what I believed in...but is it really true?

You can't turn back now, after everything you've done! You must follow through. Don't you want to make them all happy? To make Sans happy?

...Y-yes. Of course. I love him.

Then do what's right for him. For them all. Even if they don't understand, the long term will make them happy. Sadness doesn't last.

But...you don't know Sans.

...Fine then. You leave me no choice.

"Yes," my doubts, insecurities, demons and darkness responded. The part of me that still believed in good wanted to snatch the words right back and shove them down my own throat so they could never come out again. But it was too late. My goodness and happiness was under lockdown, with my fears keeping it under check so that it didn't try anything. No demon was in my mind—I was just torn between two beliefs.

Asgore studied me again, before sighing and pointing his trident at me. "If you truly wish for others to be happy this much, I will grant you your request. If you truly wish for the monsters to be happy...let the battle begin."

The oh-so-familiar battle screen showed up. Immediately I pressed Mercy. King Asgore sighed and threw attacks at me. I didn't dodge. A quarter hit.

147/150

What the—?! Since when did I have this much health and hope? Odd...I suppose. But it doesn't matter anymore, does it?

Mercy.

Attack.

140/150

Mercy.

Attack.

135/150

Mercy.

Attack...

Over and over again, I was hit by attacks from the King. I got bruised and bloody, much worse than the Undyne battle, but I still kept pushing Mercy. As long as I was alive, monsters would never be free, and that was a cause I was willing to die for.

As the battle continued and I kept hitting Mercy, Asgore's attacks started faltering more and more, prolonging the already extended battle. I got slightly frustrated. Why was he being like this?

Finally, I reached 1/150. Almost there. I looked up at King Asgore, who stood above me with his trident. However, he also sported an unsure look on his face, which my darkness was not entirely pleased with.

"Well. This is it," I said, to clear up the deafening silence.

"Yes," he agreed. "Indeed it is. The end of the monster imprisonment, but also the end of your life. It's tragic, really. I'm sure that, should you have made it out of this place, you may have lived a nice, long life—because you're part monster—and done some amazing things. It's one of many reasons I kind of want to spare you."

"What?" Venom dripped in my voice. After all this, you're just gonna spare me?

"But," Asgore continued, "I made a commitment to my kind, that I would take any and all necessary action to return to the surface. And I must keep my promise to them. I cannot fail."

"Honorable," I commented, nodding my head.

"So..." He raised his trident, pointing it at my soul. "I'm sorry, but you have one last action before you die. What will you do?"

•Fight• •Act• •Item• •Mercy•

•Fight• •Act• •Item• •Mercy•

•Fight• •Act• •Item• •Mercy•

•Fight• •Act• •Item• •Mercy•

•Fight• >•Act•< •Item• •Mercy•

•Talk •Hug •Thank

•Talk• >•Hug•< •Thank•

*You reach out and give King Asgore a hug.

*He's surprised, but filled with HOPE.

*He doesn't want this.

*King Asgore is sparing you.

*Do you convince him to kill you anyway?

>•Yes•< •No•

*You try to convince King Asgore that it's okay. That they won't judge him or blame him. That if they do, to tell them you gave the go-ahead.

*King Asgore finally agrees.

•Fight• •Act• •Item• •Mercy•

•Fight• •Act• •Item• >•Mercy•<

*King Asgore aims the spear at your chest. He tells you with tears in his eyes that he's sorry.

*You tell him that it's okay, although you're lying to him.

*You close your eyes, waiting for death to come.

*But it never came.

I opened my eyes. Why didn't death come? Then I saw the answer. A blue aura surrounded the trident, effectively freezing it in air before it could hit me.

"Sans," I said, turning to face him. He wasn't looking at me, but at Asgore.

"Why?" he asked him. His dark voice suggested that he was not playing games. He looked like he was barely restraining himself from straight up slaughtering Asgore.

When he didn't answer, only merely stared back, Sans raised his voice and continued sharply. "Why would you ever want to hurt Y/N?"

"Do you know why?" Asgore asked back. "Do you know why she came to the palace in the first place? Do you?"

I whipped around to face him. "Don't you dare," I hissed.

He ignored me. "She came because she offered me her soul for your—for our—freedom. You don't want to see the surface again?"

"Of course I do!" Sans yelled. "But I want Y/N to be up there with us! She's just as important to us as Frisk!"

"Frisk has been here for nine years longer than she has, Sans," Asgore calmly argued. "Y/N hasn't made...how to say this...as much as an impact on monsterkind as Frisk has."

"Oh really?" Sans said quietly all of a sudden. "She hasn't, huh? Well, how do you explain this?"

He Checked his soul, and almost everyone (because everyone from the last chapter was in the room during Sans' talk with Asgore), including me, gasped in surprise.

Instead of his hope/health being 1/1, it had increased to 30/30. The only explanation had to be...

Everyone's gaze switched to me. I shook my head. "I had nothing to do with this."

Sans stepped closer to me, waving the Check away. "Yes, you did. More than you know." He took another one. "You helped me see the good when I believed there wasn't any. You reached through the darkness of both yourself and me and pulled me out, into the light. No one has ever done that for me before." After each point, he took more steps towards me, until we were practically nose and nose—or nose and, I guess, absence of one. I blinked, a blush starting to form on my face due to our proximity. I could barely hear the suppressed fangirl screeching coming from Alphys, Undyne, Mettaton, and was that also Frisk I heard?

Staring deep into my E/C eyes, Sans gripped my shoulder and teleported us away. I could almost hear Mettaton groaning at missed opportunities, and Tori giving a serious reprimanding to Asgore. I could picture the scene.

But now, I was too focused on Sans and our surroundings. We were back in Waterfall, and back in the star cave. Immediately we both sat down and laid back, staring up at the 'sky.'

There was a long silence, until it was broken by Sans. "Why?"

I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I played dumb. "Whatcha talking about?" I said innocently.

He gave me a look. "Why did you almost give away your soul?"

"Because," I answered.

"Because what?"

"Because that's what I was born for," I snapped at him. "I was born to make others happy, and for no other purpose. Monsters' happiness lies on the surface, so by sacrificing myself, I am making others happy."

"What about me?" Sans suddenly asked, anger in his voice. "What about my happiness? You are my happiness, Y/N. You are the reason that I have so much hope now. So please, please..."
Sans trailed off. I turned to look at him. He was sitting up, staring into model space. I sat up too. He looked at me finally, and I saw blue tears in his eye sockets.

"Don't leave," he whispered. "I need you here with me. You're my lifeline. I need you."

I turned to stare at the water.

"I was afraid," I began. "At the beginning, when I first discovered my abilities, my mother told me that I was the human that would bring happiness to both the surface and the Underground. She told me I was the angel of hope. Years and years alone and without my happiness taught me, bit by bit, that everyone needed mine. Since no one cared about me—leaving me to rot—I assumed that it was a job without a reward. No one had to care about or love me; as long as I got the job done, and others were happy, I didn't matter. That's how I felt. Then, I fell down here. And met you."

"You gave me an emotion that I hadn't had in twelve years. True happiness. Later, I realized you were more than that to me. You weren't just my brother or best friend anymore. When you admitted your feelings, I went on shutdown mode. I couldn't handle that you needed me to feel happy. So my darkness decided to take the next-best course—freeing everyone by dying. When Asgore asked me if death was what I really wanted, I finally stopped and thought about me, which I hadn't done in a long time. It was then I realized how I felt back. However, my insecurities kept me doubting, and made me say yes. They even convinced Asgore to kill me while he was trying to spare me! When you saved me and said everything you did...well. That was the clincher."

Sans was trembling violently with an unidentifiable emotion. "So...what does that mean?" he breathed.

I laid my head on his shoulder. He stiffened for a moment, before relaxing into it.

"It means," I replied, "that I'm in love with you, Sans the Skeleton."

He froze, and instantaneously, his skull colored like he was a blueberry. I laughed. "You're a blueberry!"

"No, Swap's Blueberry," Sans shot back with an annoyed tone. I gave him an odd look. "What's that?"

He sweat a little. "Um, I'll tell ya later." I shrugged, and continued to watch the calming water.

"So..." Sans murmured after a bit of peaceful silence, "are we...ya know... official?" I smiled at that. "I guess we are."

He stood. "I suppose we should get back then. They might start to worry about us," he said sheepishly. I stood up next to him, before I realized something. I took my locket out from my pocket and opened it. Peering from over my shoulder, Sans eyed the description. "That's a nice phrase. And that jewel is pretty."

"This memory gem is the cause of all of this," I told both him and myself, prying it out of the locket. "It may be a gift to some people, but it's a curse to me. No one should ever suffer the same way."

And with that, I dropped the memory gem on the ground and smashed it under the heel of my sneaker. F/C light seeped out from the gem, and flew up into my head. A million memories flashed through my head within a millisecond, every single one of them filled with happiness. I sighed in relief. Although I may forget everything over time, everyone deserves happiness to hold and cherish. And I'd have it no other way.