【 𝐊 𝐀 𝐑 𝐌 𝐀 】

by syst3m_of_3rr0rs

Summary:

"Now you've used up all your luck,
it's time to get what you deserve.
I'm holding out for 𝐊 𝐀 𝐑 𝐌 𝐀,
I'm holding out to watch you 𝐁 𝐔 𝐑 𝐍."

-Karma by VocaCircus feat. Kagamine Rin

【~　•　~　•　~　•　~】

It all started when your Dad got into that nasty car accident, causing you to have to live with your Mom and her boyfriends (yes, multiple) until he gets better.

Now? You just wish he never left the house in the first place.

Chapter 1: The End

"Now you've used up all your luck,
it's time to get what you deserve.
I'm holding out for 𝐊 𝐀 𝐑 𝐌 𝐀,
i'm holding out to watch you 𝐁 𝐔 𝐑 𝐍."

 

---

 

“kid... i’m warnin’ ya’. put the phone down.”

 

You stare with wide eyes at Sans from atop the bridge’s brick wall as he takes a step forward. You stutter, adrenaline and fear shaking your body, “D-don’t get a-any closer!! I’ll- I’ll send it! I will!!”. Your hands shake, arms extended above your head, finger almost touching the send button on the phone in your hand. He pauses for a moment, knowing that he doesn't have any other choice.

 

Your eyes flicker across the group of skeletons on the bridge, looking for any possible exit. As a small piece of the bridge wall crumbles and falls into the lake below, you peer over your shoulder with a wide-eyed, thoughtful expression. You bring your attention back to the group in front of you when Stretch speaks up, “bucko, uh- j-just c’mon down from there, ‘kay? please? we- we ain’t gonna hurt you.”

 

“I- I don’t believe you!! Why should I anyway!? All you and my Mom have done is lie! To everyone!!”. You hiccup, your emotions getting the best of you. Tears well up in your eyes as your voice raises in volume, “ALL OF YOU LIED! THE ONLY ONES WHO DIDN’T WERE PAPYRUS AND BLUE, BUT EVEN WHEN YOU LEARNED WHAT YOU WERE DOING WAS WRONG, YOU STILL DIDN’T STOP!”.

 

You bring your arms down and clutch the phone to your chest, body trembling with emotions; anger, betrayal, guilt, fear, disappointment. “E- even my own Mother turned against me…” You angrily wipe the tears from your eyes, “That’s… that’s why I have to do this. I have to tell the truth. Tell everyone the truth.” And at that, you post the message, everyone’s phones chime in declaration that they received it.

 

Some of the skeletons' eye lights go out as they stare off in the distance at the realization of the situation, the others scramble to pull their phones out and check what exactly you said. Your breathing becomes heavier, lungs constricting tighter and tighter with each breath you take. Knowing you’ve wasted your last full breath, the tears come back full force, waterfalling down your cheeks.

 

As your movements begin to turn sluggish and the world around you starts to blur into colors and noises, you lose grip of your phone and stumble to get down off the wall. Yet, your shoe slips and you fall backwards off of the bridge. You hear multiple screams of your name, but all that you can feel is the freezing cold temperature of the water.

 

You try to reach for the surface, but you’re already too far down and can’t regain enough energy to swim back up. You accept your fate as the pressure of the water compresses on your lungs, forcing you to let out all the air you still have and to succumb to the cold, numb feeling that is your death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[“Hmm… how unfortunate.”]

 

[“Such a brave and daring soul you were.”]

 

[“It’s such a tragedy to see such a unique soul as yours fall to the hands of death, and you were so young too.”]

 

[“Where, oh where, did it all go astray?]

 

[“I suppose we should go back and fix that, shouldn’t we?”]

 

[“Heh heh, I guess so.”]

 

[“I do have to warn you though, you won’t remember anything from before.”]

 

[“Though, I suppose that’s for the best. Either way, I hope you’re ready, child.]

 

[“Just focus on my voice, alright? I’m going to start counting down from ten.”]

 

[“Ten.”]

 

...

 

[“Nine.”]

 

...

 

[“Eight.”]

 

...

 

[“Seven.”]

 

… “(Y/N).”

 

[“Six.”]

 

“(Y/N)?”

 

[“Five.”]

 

“(Y/N), are you awake?”

 

[“Four.”]

 

“(y/nnnn)~.”

 

[“Three...”]

 

“Buttercup, c’mon!”

 

[“Two…”]

 

“Come on, wake up.”

 

[̷͖̠̯̎̇͗ ̷͙̳̻͋“̵͈̄̇͂ ̴̯̀O̶̺͍̓̊͋ ̸̡̛̞̥̏̈́n̴̛͔̘͎̓ ̵̨̨̅e̶͙̳ ̶̭̋͒͒.̸̦͚͋̉͐ ̵͐ͅ“̴̠͗ ̸̜̋̿]̵̥̓̀͝ͅ

 

“It’s time for school sleepyhead!”

Chapter 2: The Beginning

Summary:

Where it all started going w r o n g.

Notes:

2/1/23; HERE IT IS EVERYONE! THE LONG AWAITED 2ND CHAPTER! TwT

edit 3/8/23; ADDED MORE TO THIS CHAPTER AND THE NEXT WILL BE OUT SOON!!

I've lost my mind. The skies are crashing all around me.

 

---

 

The beeping of impatient drivers and the car's engine rumbling loudly fills your ears. You stare out the passenger window with a bored expression as you wait for the light, that’s keeping everybody held up, to turn green. Old country music plays somewhere in the background, giving the whole atmosphere an oddly familiar feeling.

 

You’re about to fall asleep leaning on the window when a specific voice reels you in from the edge of unconsciousness. “So,” your dad starts, “you might have to walk home today because I have an important meeting I have to go to this afternoon and I don’t know if I’ll have enough time to pick you up.” You hum in response.

 

Your dad chuckles, “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”. You nod your head and sit up in your seat, “No, no, I did. Just tired,” you say as you rub your eyes and yawn. Your dad hums, “Did you not get enough sleep last night? I thought you went to bed early?”. Leaning back against the window you shrug, “I did, but I guess that wasn't enough.”

 

“Well, try to get some sleep tonight, ok? You got that big test tomorrow, don’t you?” 

 

“Yeah, I do. And I’ll try my best, you know my insomnia; it comes and goes when it pleases.”

 

Your dad chuckles at that and agrees, “that I do.” You crack a smile and slowly fall asleep, the rumbling of the car’s engine lulling you into a peaceful slumber.

 

---

 

You wake up drowsy and confused, the memories of the previous dream already fading from your mind. Though, you can vaguely remember that it had something to do with your dad and the accident. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you sit up and turn the nearby lamp on. After clearing your vision, you get up and start getting dressed for the day.

 

You toss your new school uniform onto the bed and start looking for accessories.  Earlier that week, you had used some of the money on the debit card your dad had given you to your advantage and extended your wardrobe. You grab a pair of knee-high socks, fishnet tights, underpants, and your favorite belt and toss them on the bed next to the uniform. Satisfied with the outfit, you gather it all into your arms and rush to the bathroom.

 

Thankfully, the bathroom is vacant and you lock the door behind you, just to be extra safe. You then quickly set the clothes down on the sink counter and start stripping. You throw the dirty clothes into the bathroom’s laundry hamper, jump into the shower, and turn it on. It doesn't take you long to shower and you manage to finish at 7:52, a new record. You dry off with your towel and blow-dry your hair so you can fluff it up. Once you're done with that, you hang the towel back up on its rack and put the blow dryer back in the cabinets under the sink.

 

You then start getting dressed, your underwear and fishnet tights put on first, the socks and black skirt from your uniform following next. After adjusting the skirt, you put the polo shirt on and then place the studded belt over it. You tighten it to your liking; not too tight to hurt but enough to stay in place, and give it a little twirl in the large bathroom mirror. You peek over at the clock on the counter and sigh in relief as it flashes 8:10, enough time to pack your stuff and eat breakfast.

 

You make your way back to your room and grab your backpack off of its hook on your door to pack your books into it. You place your backpack on your chair and start stacking your books to put them in. After you pack the books on your desk in your backpack, you grab your pencils and wallet and place them both into your smaller backpack pockets. Once you’ve grabbed everything you need, you hook your lanyard's chain to your belt and rush to get downstairs, carrying your backpack.

 

You make a mad dash to the kitchen, dropping your backpack off by the front door on your way. Using your socks to slide across the smooth, wood floor, you skid to a stop as you enter the kitchen, its inhabitants watching your dramatic entrance with amusement. You right yourself and walk over to the pantry to check its contents calmly as if nothing happened. "Morning," you greet the skeletons at the table (and the few cooking at the stove). You're answered with enthusiastic hellos and grumpy mumbles.

 

You open the pantry doors and skim over the shelves for something to satisfy your abhorrent appetite, but find the more you stare at the usually appealing cereal and other foods, the more repulsive and unappetizing they seem. "Great," you sigh and reluctantly grab a random granola bar from one of the shelves before closing the pantry doors, “today’s gonna be one of those days.” You then place the granola bar in the skirt’s secret pocket, saving it for later.

 

Thankfully, nobody seems to notice your odd behavior and you exit the kitchen, quietly this time. Once you make it back to the front hall where your backpack lays, you pull your shoes off the shelf and kneel to put them on. After you've got them tied comfortably, you stand back up, grab your bag in the process, and open the front door to leave for the bus. As you close the door behind you, you hear a sound similar to pop-rock candy but much louder, and smile as you recognize the smell of copper.

 

You turn around to face your ‘stalker’. "Good morning, Ruby,” you say. “How are you and Citrine doing?". He takes a moment to respond, "just... fine. his.... flower garden.... has started to.... bloom." His singular, large, red eye light follows you as you walk down the rocky driveway. "Ooh, that's nice," you say, "I've got enough time to waste to see the garden, so let's go!". You march down the mountain towards Ruby and Citrine's camper home, Ruby following slowly behind you.

 

"Gasp!! Small Human, Good Morning!"

 

You gasp and laugh in delight as Citrine picks you up and hugs you. You wrap your arms around his cervical spine and hug him back just as enthusiastically. “Morning, Citrine! Ruby said your flowers are starting to bloom, is that true?” Citrine sets you back down and smiles, "Yes! Spring Is Supposedly The Time When They Do, And I See Why So Many People Like Them Now, They're So Pretty."

 

"Really? Can I see them?"

Citrine nods and beckons you to follow as he trots around the side of the camper. You follow with a bounce in your step, Citrine and Ruby’s presence makes you feel almost at home. Oh, how you miss your dad. Hopefully, he’s getting the help he needs in the hospital and can heal soon.

 

[̶̫̍ᴴ̴͖͛ᴱ̸͍͍̓̔’̶̙̤̋́ˢ̶̭̕ ̴͍̄́ᴺ̴̥͇͒ᴱ̵̧̆͝ⱽ̷̦̑͠ᴱ̸̮̍̄ᴿ̴̻̂͑ ̴̭͊͑͜ᶜ̷̗̜́͆ᴼ̵͖͒ᴹ̸̛̥̾͜ᴵ̸̭̩̚ᴺ̸͉̱͋̆ᴳ̴̼̘̓͝ ̸̯͠͠ᴮ̷̼̂ᴬ̸̩̚ᶜ̸̧̂͜ᴷ̶̧̊,̷͇̹̂̇ ̷̟̈́ʸ̸͈̋ᴼ̸̠͈̍ᵁ̷̰͑͝’̶̦̍͜ᴸ̵͔͗ᴸ̴͖̼̈ ̸̀͗ͅᴺ̴̖̼͐̕ᴱ̷̖́ⱽ̷̥̭́ᴱ̵͕͉̓ᴿ̶̨̯̾͘ ̷̰̤̾ˢ̷̪̝̐ᴱ̵̡͍͆ᴱ̴̘̦͘ ̵͕̰̚ᴴ̴̥̝̋̋ᴵ̷̱̋͆ᴹ̸͙̯̋ ̵͎̄̚ᴬ̷̢̳́ᴳ̴̮̒ᴬ̷̦̙͝ᴵ̶̢̣̂ᴺ̶̲͍͝.̸̧̮̈́ ̴̡̓ͅᴺ̵̭̩̕͝ᴱ̸̳̑ⱽ̷͍͒ᴱ̴̢̏ͅᴿ̴̠̒͘,̶̭̜̈́̏ ̷͚̏͜ᴺ̴͉̊ᴱ̸̭̳̋̆ⱽ̶̉͝ͅᴱ̶̡̲̈́ᴿ̸͆͛ͅ ̷̟̱̓ᴺ̸̯͙̋ᴱ̵̳͑͋ⱽ̶̙̹̐ᴱ̷̘̻̐̈ᴿ̴̙̼͗ ̴̩̐ᴺ̸͈͖̊ᴱ̵̺̱͗̿ⱽ̶̞̭͑ᴱ̸̭̪̈́ᴿ̴̗͝ ̸͕̈́ᴺ̵͉̘̂̌ᴱ̶͖̟̎ⱽ̶̝͍͒͠ᴱ̶͓̅͐ᴿ̸̨͇̂ ̸̯̰̓ᴺ̷̰̑ᴱ̸̦͕̑ⱽ̷̬̪̉̈ᴱ̸̯̥̌͗ᴿ̵̜̈ ̶͔̇͆ᴺ̵͓̤̕ᴱ̶̟̀͗ⱽ̴̖͊͒ᴱ̴̲͂͛ᴿ̸̜̈́̚⁻̶̣̖̓͆ ]̴͎̦̈́

 

"Here We Are! My Beautiful, Yet Small, Garden!" Citrine turns around and puts his hands on his hips standing proudly in front of his garden. Right behind Citrine lays a 10 ft by 10 ft garden complete with a mix of flowers, fruits, and vegetables, respectively. You gasp in awe, "Citrine this is beautiful! How'd you manage to grow all this?" You place your backpack on the ground and walk forward toward the garden to get a better look.

 

"Why Thank You, I Worked Very Hard On This And I Have Been For A While! Caramel Only Supplied Me With The Seeds And Tools I Needed, So I Had To Learn How To Grow Them By Myself." Citrine’s cheeks tint pink under the praise. "Can– can I take one?," you ask, “The biology teacher at my school that everyone likes is retiring this year. I’ve never met her, but she seems pretty nice so I wanted to give her something before she leaves."

 

"Of Course, You Can! Go Right Ahead!!" Citrine graciously motions you forward to the flower bed. You crouch down and pluck a pretty petaled gardenia and tuck it carefully into your front pocket. "Thank you, Citrine! You're the best." You turn and smile at him. He laughs and poses, "Of Course I Am, I'm The Great Citrine!" You laugh at his silliness, "That you are Citrine, that you are."

 

Standing back up, you pull your phone out and check the time. “Shit…” you mutter, and pocket your phone again. “Ruby,” you turn around to face him, “can you bring me to my bus stop? I got carried away and the bus will be there soon.” It takes him a moment to register your question, but once he does, he nods slowly and holds his hand out. You grab ahold and then suddenly the world around you is deprived of light and sound, almost like one of those deprivation tanks.

 

Once it all comes back, you take a steady breath and blink rapidly to clear your vision. You look up at Ruby and let go of his hand. “Thanks a ton,” you say and smile. He winks and is gone in a flash. Walking up to the sidewalk with all the other kids, you spot a teen talking to an armless monster. “Hey,” you yell out and catch their attention. You jog up to them and hold your hand out, “I’m (Y/N), the new student. I go by they/he. It’s nice to meet y’all.” The human shakes your hand while the monster just nods to you with a smile.

 

“Nice ta meetcha! I’m Melody, I go by she/her, and this is my friend MK, he goes by he/him.”

 

“Wassup dude!”

 

You smile back, knowing you’ve already made some friends. “My schedule said 8:50, but I wanted to make sure.” MK nods, “your schedule’s right, but sometimes the bus is a little early so my piece of advice is to get here before 8:40.” You thank him and the three of you talk about random things till the bus arrives. Once it does, you all gather and sit together.

 

The bus ride is nice, if not loud, but you can’t erase the nervous feeling of anxiety. ‘What if the other kids don’t like me? What if I do something wrong and they get mad? Are there specific rules for riding the bus?? What if I accidentally go to the wrong classroom?? Oh god, I think I’m gonna hurl…’ You cover your mouth as the expected feeling of nausea from your near anxiety attack twists in your stomach. You close your eyes and breathe slowly to calm your heart. You feel someone place a hand on your shoulder and see Melody looking at you with a concerned look on her face.

 

“You alright? You’re shaking.” She feels your forehead with the back of her hand. “I- uhm- uh- huh-” You fidget with your nails as she checks your temp. “You don’t feel warm, so no fever. New kid jitters?” She pulls her backpack from the floor and unzips a part of it to hand you a monster candy. “MK gave me a bunch when we first met. They usually heal injuries, but they help with calming down too!”

 

She unwraps one and holds it for you in her palm. You glance at her and grab it from her hand, popping it in your mouth. The taste of strawberry and kiwi covers your taste buds as the candy crackles in your mouth like pop rocks, anxiety-induced nausea disappearing almost immediately. "Woah!" You open your mouth and laugh at the sound of it popping and dissolving on your tongue. "That is so cool!!"

 

"I know!" She grabs a candy for herself from her backpack and unwraps it. She pops it in her mouth and hums at the taste. "I got mango!" The two of you giggle as you discuss the logistics of monster candy and healing. You feel a new hyper fixation developing in your head of monsters and their healing abilities and note in your head to ask Citirine or Ruby all of your questions.

 

Soon enough, the bus arrives at school and the three of you get off, heading to your classes. “Oh shoot,” you mumble, “I don’t know where my classes are.” MK sprints in front of you two and walk backward as he talks to you. “No problem dude! I’ll lead you right to the front office.” He trips over a rock and falls backward. You reach out to grab his backpack strap, but another body catches him before you do.

 

They help MK stand back up and he nods to them thanks. The kid moves their hands rapidly around and for a moment you wonder why they’re throwing up gang signs but then laugh to yourself in stupidity when you realize they’re speaking in ASL. “I’m trying to be, Frisk, but it’s hard when you don’t have arms!” MK kicks the rock away into the grass and hops around. The kid- Frisk turns to you with their hair pulled back into a bun. Frisk wears a plain set of overalls with a few animal pins set in the front, a yellow t-shirt underneath, knee-high white socks, and rainbow dinosaur converse. You gape in awe and open your mouth, “I am in LOVE with your shoes, where did you get those?!”

 

Frisk smiles and looks at you with blazing red eyes, and gives a small wave. They flip their hands around and MK translates; “They got them online on Kablamazon from their uncle, he bought them for Frisk as an apology for not coming to their family reunion because he’s been too busy with his girlfriend and their cousins.” Your face drops in shock and you stare at them, “Wow. I mean- cool gift, but wouldn’t the cousins beat the family reunion too? Wait, no, sorry that’s probably an insensitive question to ask.” You cover your face with your hands and groan into them.

 

You bend over and apologize profusely. Frisk snickers as they pat you on the back. “It’s okay, really.” They mouth as they sign along. Great job, [y/n], meet the pretty popular kid and IMMEDIATELY mess it up! You stand back up and uncover your face after a few moments. The four of you all giggle and eventually make your way to the lunchroom for orientation. Frisk makes a beckoning motion as they weave through the crowds of kids, the three of you following. “So… what’s orientation like?” Melody speeds up so she can walk next to you to explain.

 

“Well, first we go to the cafeteria to get our schedules for our classes. They have tables so if your last name starts with any of the letters A through F, you’ll go to that table to get your schedule… or something like that.” She rubs her chin in thought and the two of you make your way to a set of double doors to enter the actual building.

 

“Then we go to the auditorium to watch a presentation on the typical stuff like school rules, bullying, drugs, alcohol, all that stuff.” She pauses as she hugs a temmie in the hallway, the cat-dog repeating the words ‘2 kewl fur skool!!!!!!’ and basically bouncing off the walls. “After all of that, the entire campus is pretty much free reign and you can check out whatever classes you’d like!” Melody claps her hands and you break eye contact with her and notice you’ve made it to the cafeteria.

 

“My last name is Hwang because I’m part Korean so I’d go to that table!” Melody points to a table in the back of the cafeteria, the banner above it saying ‘G-M’. “What’s your last name?” She asks you as the two of you make your way over to the line extending from the table. You furrow your brows in thought, “I don’t know, my parents aren’t together and I usually live with my dad so either Greyson or Shellblake.” At the mention of your mom’s last name, you cringe and rub your arm.

 

“We can ask both! We have plenty of time!” Melody stops behind a crocodile monster and a cat monster. The two monsters wearing matching outfits turn around at the sound of you and start giggling. Embarrassed, your face lights up with blush and you duck your head. “Like, Catty, look at the cute freshman! Aren’t they, like, soooo adorable?!?” The crocodile monster covers her snout with a hand as she elbows her friend. The cat monster looks at her friend, “Like, Bratty, stop teasing the poor kid! They’re totally embarrassed, can’t you tell?”

 

You cover your face with your hands, completely flustered from the attention, and the crocodile monster, Bratty, pats you on the head with one of her scaly hands before apologizing. “We, like, don’t mean anything bad by it, sis! Your outfit is just, like, the coolest ever!” You shyly thank them as the line moves up.

 

This is going to be a long orientation day…

Notes:

i am SO SORRY it took me this long to post the second chapter, I've been seriously struggling with depression and motivation so I just needed to update a chapter. can you believe it took me 2 YEARS to update this??? I WAS IN 7TH GRADE WHEN I STARTED THIS FIC AND NOW IM IN 9TH. insane. but anyways. i hope yall enjoyed it and I hope I get the next chapter out soon bc I have amazing ideas for this fic.

Chapter 3: FANFIC PSA

To any subscribers of my archive of our own account or to any of my fanfictions, I sincerely apologize for such a long hiatus. I know this is not the author's note that you wanted to see or that you were expecting another chapter update after so long, but I am here to happily announce that I have been signed up for a virtual school full time for my senior year, and that will hopefully give me more time to get back into these fandoms and my stories and continue writing them. I started all these fanfictions in middle school when I felt I had nothing else to do or no where else to be, and so I put my whole body into these stories to escape me from reality, but now that my reality is much better, and I'm much happier, I haven't been as focused on them as I used to be. Although I love the fandoms, communities, and their stories and want to create more, I have been so busy trying to get my life back together that I haven't written at all. A lot of these stories have errors or inconsistencies with writing that definitely portrays the writing of early teenager angsty-ness, so I'm hoping to rewrite my stories or do a lot of heavy editing. I cannot promise when the most recent update will be but, I know I love it so much that I will get back on it as soon as possible. 

 

Thank you, 

syst3m_0f_3rr0rs

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 5 of Undertale Stories