The ironic part is that the characters still grow to become the same people they are in the true pacifist ending. Toriel [spoiler]realized that being overportective will never end well (But this time it's because Chara was gonna get out of the ruins either way, so her death was avoidable, however she realized it too little too late).[/spoiler] Papyrus [spoiler]abandoned his goal of becoming [b][i]VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN PAPYRUS[/i][/b] in order to help somebody in need (Offering to teach Chara how to be a better person, then getting killed while he was off guard).[/spoiler] Monster Kid [spoiler]learned to stick up for what he believed was truly right (Willing to stand in the way of Chara, even with all his fear).[/spoiler] Undyne [spoiler]realizes her fight must become one for both monsters and humans (Feeling them cry out in her soul to stop Chara).[/spoiler] Alphys [spoiler]learns to get over her insecurities in order to evacuate most of the citizens of Hotland (Accidentally skipped the True Lab in my genocide run so I'm not entirely sure what happens next lol).[/spoiler] Flowey [spoiler]realizes how much pain and suffering the constant murders committed by him really caused (Seeing Chara already trying to kill him in the end, triggering a response of fear. Although, he does kill Asgore in a last-ditch effort to survive, but then again, he did turn back into Flowey at the end of the true pacifist run, so in a way they end similarly).[/spoiler] And Asgore? [spoiler]Well, he's only in the genocide route for like, half a minute, so he didn't really change at all, though I guess he did absorb the 6 human souls, knowing it would set back their efforts to reach the surface so he could stop Chara (Still failed).[/spoiler] Like I said, ironic. Oh yeah, and Sans [spoiler]Got over his nihilistic attitude in order to help his friends, though instead of helping Frisk win in the final battle, he tries to hold Chara off for as long as possible, even knowing he'll eventually fail.[/spoiler]

[i]What is a Chara?[/i]

Before I ask, have you beaten any of the endings for the game? If so, which ones?

[i]I'm like a quarter of the way through on a pacifist run, I stopped playing and saw that when I came back, my progress was gone, so I'm pretty much done, so spoilers don't hurt.[/i]

It's still a short game, so it's shouldn't be too tough to regain your status. But I can say who Chara is without spoiling something big involving them. Chara is the actual name of the fallen human you name at the beginning according to the in-game canon. This can be proven by choosing Chara as the name, which then says "the true name", and if you choose it, you can only reset the game after the true reset option is unlocked (After beating the true pacifist run). Another piece of evidence to support it is that if the file containing the fallen human's name is lost (whether through intentional or unintentional deletion), the name will default as Chara. This also makes sense as "Chara" is short for "Character". I avoided a big spoiler involving them, but you really shouldn't give up. Stay determined (I'm so sorry) and you can easily get back to where you were in a day or two if you have the time. Did you lose all your progress or just your progress in the run you were doing at the time? Oh, and was this your first or second run?

[i]That sounds really dope, I'm probably going to give it another try then. It was my first run, all evidence of me ever having done it were somehow erased.[/i]

Oh, you actually can't get True Pacifist on your first run, as it stops you from Befriending Alphys. You either get the neutral ending or the genocide ending (though genocide is near impossible to get without actively knowing what you're doing, so no worries). When you do finish the neutral route, let me know through a PM and I can help you through true pacifist, as it's hard to figure out how to befriend 2 certain characters without a guide or some help.