Chapter 1: It’s time for me to play
Chapter Text
The sun was beginning to set as the monsters walked down Mount Ebott, and yet Frisk was still standing there, watching the horizon.
Chara found it rather cute at first, maybe the girl had forgotten what the sun looked like and was stunned by its beauty, unable to process it…
But then everyone left one by one and she was still there, her back at the ghost behind her…
It had become quite unnerving.
"Uh… Frisk…?" they softly muttered, as not to scare her. "You haven’t moved at all for a while… Are you OK ?"
"I’m… bored." she said simply, not explaining anything.
"Oh well, let’s get down with the rest of the monsters then, we can explore the surface with them !" they exclaimed, hoping it’d get her going again - not seeing her excitedly bouncing around was deeply worrying. "Maybe we can even-"
"No that’s not it, I mean that our adventure is over." she explained, finally turning to Chara to let them see her blank expression - so troubling. "It’s back to 'normal' life."
"O-oh, well we will be with the monsters, so it will be more fun, no ?" they tried, smiling awkwardly. "And we can try to convince them to come back to get Flowey, wouldn’t that be an adventure ?"
"...I wanna go back in the Underground…"
"Huh ?"
"I said, I want to go back in the Underground." she repeated louder, now looking somewhat annoyed. "I want to reset and start our journey again."
"F-Frisk, why ?" they asked in fear and confusion. "I mean, you wanted to come back to the surface so badly, so why do you want to reset now ?"
"Because nothing will be as good as this Chara !" she exclaimed, looking at the edge of tearing up. "Now it's back to mean human neighbours and confusing old school !"
"Yeah, but you will have your monster friends with you, so I will be better, right…?" they tried, barely able to smile at this point.
"They'll have their own life Chara, it won't be the same." she muttered, looking down.
"I mean, true, but… Frisk, that's a powerful power you wanna play with." they answered, biting their lip. "You are just delaying the inevitable, we will have to go to the surface eventually."
"Yeah but…"
"And you will not be all alone, they will still be there." they reassured, starting to smile again. "And I won't go anywhere, we will be together forever, right partner ?"
Frisk didn't answer, simply looked back at the sun, at Chara and then at the exit of the Underground.
She seemed conflicted, but still ultimately made her soul appear.
"I'm sorry Chara, I can't do it." she muttered as she reset. "But it'll just be once, then we can go, I promise."
So then they saved the monster together once again…
And twice turned into a third time, which turned into five times, and then twelve times…
And next thing they knew, Chara was watching Frisk look at the sunset for the 28th time.
The first time was the only time Frisk seemed to be happy doing it.
Afterwards, she looked just as miserable as before this whole endeavour started, looking as though this was a chore that she wanted to get over with as quickly as possible.
Yet, it took a lot of time for Chara to finally dare to point it out.
"You look unwell, is it doing this over and over again ?" they gently asked, the concern obvious in their voice.
"Yeah." she admitted, turning to look sadly at them. "It’s not enough anymore either."
"That’s great to hear." they sighed in relief. "Now we can finally join the mons-"
"No !" she exclaimed, horrified by the idea. "I mean, we need to try something else, even the Underground is boring now, we can't go to the surface yet !"
"So if that’s not what you meant, what did you…?"
"I have an idea." she confessed as she brought her soul. "I’m sure this will make me feel something, it has to."
When they awoke that time, Frisk had already left with Toriel…
How odd, normally they woke up as Toriel appeared to save her…
Had she made Toriel leave faster with some kind of excuse ?
But why ?
…Did she want to stop Chara from mangling with her plan?
They floated as fast as they could through the Ruins, trying desperately to find the girl - they had a bad feeling about this…
And they were horrified to find out that their fear was justified as they found Frisk with her trusty stick, dust on the floor and her weapon.
"Frisk, what the fuck is that ?!" they asked, shocked. "What did you do ?"
"I killed a moldsmal, and it worked !" she exclaimed happily. "I felt something !"
"What you felt were the EXecution Points, Frisk !" they reminded, trying to get some sense into her. "Levels Of ViolencE aren't a substitute for actual happiness, we need to go to the surface !"
"It is though, I felt so happy when I did it !" she continued, flapping happily. "I mean, I also immediately felt really bad, but I can reset afterwards so it's fine !"
"Frisk, are you hearing yourself speaking ?!" they asked, shocked even further by her words. "You just killed a moldsmal, it can’t be a backup dancer anymore !"
"I-I know, but I’ll reset and make it all fine again so it’ll be fine !" she assured, trying to blow the dust away. "No one’ll ever know… Except you of course, but you’re OK with it, right ?"
"Frisk… Please, stop." they sighed, still trying to reason with her. "Killing your friends - our friends - won't solve anything, you will be miserable again soon, please..."
"I'll just do it a few more times, OK ?" she asked, smiling awkwardly. "Then we'll go back to the surface, I promise."
Chara sighed; they already knew where this was going, and yet they felt unable to stop it.
"You already promised the last 27 times…"
"I know, I know…" she muttered, looking down. "Buuut, it'll be for real this time, I promise !"
And thus Frisk started to kill her own friends, each one that she met from there to Toriel's house without saying a single word…
And, to Chara's shock, she then turned around and went back to the Ruins.
"Frisk, where are we going ?" they asked, confused. "What's going on ?"
"I'm going to kill a few more monsters…" she muttered, looking down at the dusty floor. "I only feel guilt now, we can't reset yet."
"See Frisk, I told you !" they exclaimed, rolling their eyes. "You're just- Wait, guilt ?"
Frisk nodded sadly, which threw them for a loop…
LOVE made you not feel guilty for killing people, that was why someone that killed was more likely to kill again since they would feel detached from it all…
Why wasn't Frisk following that rule, when by this point she should have had 2 LOVE ?!
"B-but LOVE is supposed to make you feel less and less guilty." they muttered, their soul filled with confusion. "How…?"
"Wait, let me look if…" she said, making her soul appear and looking at it. "I only have 1 LOVE…?"
"What ?!" they asked, shocked. "But that's impossible !"
"...How do you feel about me killing all those monsters ?" she asked weakly, biting her lip.
"Well, I'm annoyed you still haven't reset; you're 10, you should be playing on the surface with your monster friends, not trying to kill them because you're bored." they stated, rolling their eyes. "But why does it matter ?"
"But do you feel bad ?" she asked, stimming uncomfortably. "Do you feel sad for them ?"
"Well duh, of course !" they exclaimed angrily. "You killed our friends, of course I am sad for them !"
"But as much as for the first moldsmal ?"
"I… No…?"
Frisk looked lost in thoughts for a few seconds, but even when she wasn't anymore, she still didn't say one single word…
She just started hunting down each and every monster that was still alive in the Ruins.
And Chara couldn't do anything about it, nothing but feel less and less sad about it…
What the hell ?!
Finding monsters was harder and harder, which was normal, they were probably hiding from that blood - well, dust in that case - thirsty human.
What wasn't normal was that Chara felt more and more angry about it, wanted them to come to Frisk so she could kill them faster…
Why the fuck ?
...It was probably just because they wanted it to be over quicker so they could go back to everyone's happiness on the surface, right…?
When nobody came anymore, when the monsters were all dead, Chara felt nothing…
Nothing but a faint sense of happiness…
What the fuck was going on ?!
"Chara, can you make your soul appear ?" she suddenly asked weakly without looking at them.
"I… OK…?"
Chara's soul used to be the same as Frisk, red with pure determination and shining with life…
But it was grey now, grey and dead, having lost all of their determination when Asriel died.
Yet, they could still make it appear in their hand just like Frisk could…
And that's when they saw that they had 3 LOVE.
"What is this shit ?!" they asked, overwhelmed with confusion and fear. "Why am I the one that has your LOVE ?!"
"…I'm going to find Toriel." she said before going silent again.
"What ?! Frisk no, Frisk…! Frisk, please !" they exclaimed, horrified.
But their words were useless, Frisk had only one idea in mind and they were totally helpless against it…
Why was Frisk continuing ?
She felt guilty each and every time she killed someone, so why did she want to kill her new adoptive mother ?!
Was she that desperate to feel something, really felt that empty, just like Chara when they let themself fall into the Underground...?
Shit.
Chara's thoughts came to a halt when they finally realised they were in front of the door leading to Snowdin, that Frisk was right in front of Toriel…
Had they overthought the whole way there ?!
Frisk took the toy knife out of her pocket and prepared herself to strike…
And they didn't feel sad when thinking that their mother was about to be killed even though she always did her best to help humans that had fallen down, which thus made them feel awful…
But she did block Frisk's way, and thus had to disappear so it could be over and the timeline could be reset, it was the only way.
One attack was all it took, Frisk had become so powerful that one stab of the toy knife immediately made a huge gaping hole through Toriel's skin…
And they felt nothing, nothing but morbid satisfaction.
"Y-you… really hate me that much ?" Toriel asked with her last breath - and it clearly affected Frisk way more than them. "Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here… Not you, but them ! Ha… Ha…"
Toriel's body turned into dust and her soul shattered…
But Chara only felt the 6 LOVE they now had, happiness at becoming stronger just like Frisk.
Sure, they felt shame, but no sadness or guilt whatsoever…
As Frisk walked up to Flowey, they tried to rationalise what was going on : Frisk was going to stop soon, the both of them would have become stronger from this even when their LOVE would go back to 1, and then they could face the surface together.
"You're not really human, are you ?" he laughed, clearly amused by Frisk's roughless kills. "No, you're empty inside, just like me."
Frisk didn't say anything, having probably turned non-verbal with all the guilt that killing 20 monsters as well as her own adoptive mother had given her…
It kinda made Chara feel like he wasn't talking to her, but to them.
After all, they were the one that had a dead soul, the one with all the LOVE, they wouldn't blame Flowey for thinking Frisk did nothing but was possessed into doing it…
They bit their lip as they hugged themself; they felt like a monster, like the demon that humans on the surface called them when they were 10 themself.
"In fact, you're Chara aren't you ?" he continued with a smile. "We're still inseparable after all these years."
Chara's dead soul skipped a beat…
Was that how Flowey saw them, a demon that wanted each and every one of their old friends and their family dead ?
Was it how Asriel saw them…?
Frisk seemed to have disassociated from the situation completely, so now it was just them and their soulless brother…
And the sins crawling down their back.
It hadn't been their fault, they hadn't killed any of them, but they didn't stop Frisk as much as they could and did enjoy it in a sick and twisted way…
They felt so awful.
"Listen, I have a plan to become all powerful, even more powerful than you and your stolen soul." he said, his smirk wide and his eyes lidded with satisfaction. "Let's destroy everything in this wretched world. Everyone, everything in these worthless memories… Let's turn 'em all to dust !"
Chara's dead soul was in their throat.
Chapter Text
"Chara, you haven't said one word since we saw Flowey…" she muttered as she walked up to the item box to take the tough gloves and discard her toy knife. "Are you OK ?"
"I… Yeah, I've just been thinking about what he said." they answered, looking down at the white snow. "There are 16 monsters left, by the way."
"Huh…?"
"You plan to kill every monster until no one is left just like you did in the Ruins, right ?" they asked calmly, exhaling harshly. "Well there are 16 monsters that stay in the forest."
"Y-you'll help me ?!" she asked, shocked. "R-really ?!"
"That will make us get back to the surface with the monsters quicker, right ?" they asked with a forced smile. "I will help, I want to go back to the sunset."
"Thank you so much Chara !" she exclaimed, bouncing happily. "With your help I'll be so much better, and we will go back to the surface afterwards !"
"Good."
Chara smiled slightly; Frisk was happy and they'd get back to the surface, so everything would be fine, right ?
Each and every time a monster was killed, the slight feeling of satisfaction grew.
Still, they couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed about it; shame and guilt were two completely different things after all…
And so, to not feel too much shame about it, they imagined that they were all just humans disguised as monsters to try and get their pity - but they didn’t need to for Jerry, fuck that guy.
They also had to close their eyes when it was the dogs from the royal guard, as those were so cute and sweetly unreliable, seeing them turn into dust was too much for them…
Well, not as much as their mother obviously, but still…
Thankfully Frisk seemed to have fun doing this, and they liked seeing her happy, so they just powered through it all and kept count of the living monsters left…
Fuck Papyrus' puzzles though, Chara took control of Frisk's body to skip those.
She had done them 28 times already and, as cute and funny as they were, they wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.
They loved those two skeletons, they really did, those bros were funny and had Frisk's back…
But they were in the way.
Even their friendship with them as a child was not enough to make them any less done with their existences.
They needed to leave or Frisk would make their existences cease.
Once again Chara's thoughts came to a halt when they finally registered that Frisk was speaking, with Sans this time.
They looked around and, sure enough, they were behind Papyrus' long bridge full of crazy and unused nonsensical trash.
Whatever those two were talking about, the small skeleton was somewhat smug and the human was unimpressed.
Sans used to be cheerful and easygoing - both when they themself were alive and the 28 times Frisk saved them - but now his aura was cold and dangerous…
What the hell was going on ?!
"Say, I've been thinking, seems like you're going to fight my brother pretty soon, here's some advice." he said with a fake smile. "If you keep going the way you are now… You're going to have a bad time."
And then, just like his pupils, the small skeleton was gone.
Still, just like Frisk, they disregarded Sans' threat for two reasons.
Firstly, because he was the weakest monster in the entire Underground, so what could he do ?
And secondly, because Frisk could reset, so it would be fine in the end.
This was just some 'fun' experience that could be erased at any time when it wasn't entertaining anymore.
Plus, they both got stronger from this - and not just because of their 8 LOVE - and so it wasn’t just the power of reset that made the whole thing harmless.
They were confident; everything was fine and would keep being fine.
And then Frisk and them entered the town…
Oh boy.
The town was almost deserted, only the rabbit boy, rabbit girl - with her little Cinnamon, of course - and Monster Kid could be seen, everyone else was hiding.
As the both of them entered the shop, the shopkeeper wasn't even there and only a piece of paper was there to welcome them.
"The note says 'Please, don't hurt my family'." they muttered, biting their lip. "She left the merchandise and the money, I think she thought maybe it would save her and her family."
"Oh my Toby…"
"If only she knew you can't murder those in the town anyway, with them all hiding and all, she would have kept all her things." they laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "But hey, free stuff and money, am I right ?"
"Y-yeah, right, free stuff..." she agreed with an awkward laugh, shakily taking the manly bandana. "...There's bicycles and cinnamon bunnies, which do you like more ?"
"I already told you I'm happy to eat whatever, Frisk." they reminded, rolling their eyes affectionately. "Just take the one you like the most, whatever makes you happy makes me happy too."
"Cinnamon bunnies it is then." she said as she took as many as she could and took the money from the cash register. "Cuz I mean, we'll reset soon, so it'll be more useful with us then them, r-right ?"
She clearly was still overwhelmed with guilt, which was understandable since Chara was the one that had her LOVE for some reason, and it was honestly saddening.
They were older than her - only by two years, but still - and thus were more capable to deal with guilt, they should have been the one dealing with those feelings, not poor little Frisk.
"It is kinda late…" they said softly - and if they were corporal, they would have hugged her as well. "Maybe we should go to the inn, eat and sleep ?"
"You goof, you can't sleep." she reminded, finally somewhat looking like she felt a little bit better. "OK, let's go."
"...ara ? Chara ? Chara ?! "
Chara blinked a few times, only then noticing Frisk's hand in front of their face.
Shit, it was the third time at this point.
Sure, they had ADHD, but sheesh, it was way worse than usual…
Was their shame really that out of control since the talk with Flowey that the first moment that they were alone made their thoughts spiral and made them completely unaware of their surroundings ?
The only time it was this bad was when they still lived on the surface, before they let themself fall into the Underground…
They hid their emotions; Frisk already had enough to worry about with her LOVE being given to Chara instead, so she really didn’t need to know that Chara’s emotional state was in shambles.
"Oh, sorry Frisk…" they muttered, embarrassed. "For how long have you been awake ?"
"Not too long, don't worry." Frisk assured, before changing from pink bracelet to grey. "But still, you OK ?"
"I… Yeah, guess I was just lost in thoughts…"
"What were you thinking ?" they asked, visibly concerned. "Is it still about Flowey ?"
"Yeah…"
"What'd he say ?" Frisk asked, scratching their cheek awkwardly. "I wasn't really listening at that point anymore, haha…"
"Nothing too important, he just was happy you killed everyone there and said he had a plan…" they sighed, looking down to hide their emotions. "You know, the usual megalomaniac Flowey stuff."
"Oh OK." Frisk said, though they still looked concerned - or confused ?
They left the inn together and went where they usually fought Papyrus…
But Frisk stopped before there, fear obvious on their face, the guilt of having to kill him just like they killed the others apparently having already caught up to them.
"Hey Frisk, you OK ?" they asked, concerned. "You want to reset now ?"
"...No, it's OK." Frisk assured with a forced smile. "Actually, I-I'm curious about what will happen."
"OK, but if it is too much for you, reset please." they asked, only wanting the best for their partner. "Think about yourself first, OK ?"
"Don't worry about me..."
The blizzard greeted the both of them as they approached the spot where Frisk would fight Papyrus.
For some reason, the wind slapping their faces seemed so much colder than usual, but it might have just been their imagination interpreting it this way because of how their new adventure was so much more morbid and awful.
What clearly wasn't their imagination however was how much more unsure of himself Papyrus sounded.
"Halt human !" he exclaimed - and, if they hadn't heard him 28 times, they wouldn't have noticed how scared he was as he hid it pretty well.
Chara wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, this situation clearly being too much for Frisk no matter what their partner said, so they took over to approach Papyrus.
Maybe scaring him would make him more docile and thus easier to kill…
And hopefully Frisk would be OK with that.
"Hey, quit moving while I'm talking to you !" he continued, his voice almost breaking at the end. "I, the great Papyrus, have some things to say."
"What ?" Frisk asked harshly, their voice empty - probably them trying to play the role of the killer they currently perceived themself as.
"Firstly, you're a weirdo !" he exclaimed, though it didn't sound as mean as it could - it was said by him after all. "Not only do you not like puzzles, but the way you shamble about from place to place… the way your hands are always covered in dusty powder…"
"Oh, so you noticed ?" Frisk said, a fake smile plastered on their face - not too unlike Chara's own creepy face. "And what do you think about that, huh ?"
"It feels… like your life has fallen down a dangerous path." he muttered, before a small smile appeared on his face. "However, I, Papyrus, see great potential within you !"
"W-what ?" Frisk asked, caught off guard - and so were they honestly.
"Everyone can be a great person if they try !" he assured with his usual level of confidence. "And me, I hardly have to try at all ! Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh !"
Chara took over to approach Papyrus one again; they needed to help Frisk, as they clearly had completely lost their composure, and thus Chara had to help them save faces in front of the tall skeleton.
Doing the same evil act as Frisk was a piece of cake since, when they used to play with Asriel, they always did the villain - it was fun…
And so they would make scaring Papyrus fun too.
"Hey, quit moving !" he exclaimed, exasperated. "This is exactly what I'm talking about !"
"And what are you gonna do about it ?" they asked hatefully as they smiled, although it obviously all came out in Frisk's voice.
"Human, I think you are in need of guidance, someone needs to keep you on the straight and narrow !" he said with a patient smile. "But worry not, I, Papyrus, will gladly be your friendly tutor, I will turn your life right around !"
They moved again, but they could feel Frisk’s eyes watering and their control slipping.
Frisk did continue to approach Papyrus though, stopping right in front of him, their head down and their expression unreadable.
"I see you are approaching. Are you offering a hug of acceptance ?" he asked happily, probably intentionally missing the signs he was wrong to keep believing in them. "Wowie, my lessons are already working ! I, Papyrus, welcome you with open arms !"
"Papyrus is sparing you…" they muttered, looking down at Frisk. "Please Frisk, I can see it’s too much for you, it’s fine to reset."
Frisk looked up at them for a second, and then looked again at Papyrus - their partner was obviously conflicted.
A few seconds passed without anything happening, but eventually Frisk made grabby hands at Papyrus’ direction.
The tall skeleton got down to their level with a bright smile and opened his arms for a hug, but what he received instead was a stab right through the neck.
"W-well, that's not what I expected…" he sighed as his head fell from his body. "But… S-still, I believe in you !"
"P-Papyrus…" Frisk muttered, tears finally falling down their face.
"You can do a little better !" he promised, smiling tenderly as tears ran down his face. "Even if you don't think so ! I… I promise…"
And, just as the tall skeleton faded into dust, the blizzard finally stopped.
Notes:
I hope you like the story so far !
Please do comment your thoughts, it's really nice and helpful. :)
Chapter 3: But not today
Chapter Text
"Frisk, please, stop !" Chara exclaimed as Frisk walked through Waterfall. "Stop pretending you're fine, I saw Asriel have the same expression on his face when I did my 'big plan', I know better now !"
"I'm fine Chara, I swear." Frisk lied anyway, looking straight ahead of them. "If you can handle it then so can I."
"I can handle it because I have your LOVE !"
"Whatever, it's making me stronger too anyways." Frisk stated, starting to search for the ballet shoes - it looked like they also used it to distract themself from Chara’s point. "And I kill them in one hit, so it'll be easy."
"Oh my Toby, Frisk, you are so stubborn !" they sighed, exasperated.
"Oh, shut it, you like it." Frisk teased as they put the ballet shoes on.
"W-what ?" they asked, as they still always get caught off guard by their partner’s bluntness. "O-of course not !"
"Yes you dooo~" Frisk continued, now looking at them smugly. "You whispered on our first adventure that you found my determination super cute~"
"Y-y-you h-heard that ?!"
Frisk laughed as Chara turned into a flustered mess - dear Toby Fox, Chara’s partner was too much for them sometimes.
They were right though; since they obviously always were a coward, they had always admired how strong willed Frisk was.
They also admired Frisk’s courage, how they always managed to brighten up the mood like that even though they themself were hurting, as if it was second nature.
Frisk hadn’t even cried again since Papyrus and wasn't scared by Undyne - and that was even though she was chasing them even more harshly than usual !
Maybe they really were getting stronger…
"Hey, you wanna have a date in Temmie Village ?" Frisk proposed with a smile - it was maybe just a way to cope, but it was a very cute way to cope in Chara’s opinion.
"You kill all our friends and then you ask me out on a date ?" they asked with a chuckle.
"I don’t see you refusing." Frisk remarked, smiling proudly.
"Yeah yeah, let’s go." they said, rolling their eyes. "You still have 13 monsters to kill."
"Ow, so you want to shorten our date ?" Frisk asked sadly.
"N-no, I was just trying to… I- Anyway, let's go, I don’t wanna miss a second of that date."
"Great !"
The Temmie Village seemed to be the only place that the murders didn’t change, the one comfort against insanity the two humans had in the Underground now.
It was like frozen in time, still blissfully unaware that the world around them was slowly fading away…
It was both wholesome and deeply disturbing.
Thankfully the temmies were so cute and silly that it was very easy to forget.
"Who’s a good doggo-kitty-thingy, huh ?" Frisk babbled like they were talking to a pet. "You are Temmie, you are !"
Chara smiled tenderly at the sight; despite how cute the temmies were, Frisk still was the highlight of this whole thing.
They could feel their cheeks warming up slightly, completely smitten by their partner, as Frisk was just so cute when they were smiling like that…
"U hooman iz CUOOT !" Temmie exclaimed back, vibrating all around - seemed like Chara wasn’t the only one that thought their partner was cute. "Can hooman pet tEM ?"
"I can't, I'm allergic…" Frisk whined, sadly.
"Hoomans can be allergics tu tEMMIE ?!" all the temmies exclaimed, shocked.
"Yeah…" Frisk muttered, before looking at the monsters curiously. "Why ? Did humans - maybe your highness Chara - pet you guys ?"
"YayA !!!! Dey always came tu pet us wit teh prince, butt dey did all teh petting." she answered happily. "Dey pet us all, even bOB !"
"Hoho, did they now ?" Frisk asked, looking teasingly at Chara. "They loved you guys ?"
"YayA !!! Dey did, came everyday !!! CUOOT hooman just liek u !!!"
"I see~" Frisk chuckled a bit, a teasing smile on their lips.
"I’m not cute !" they exclaimed, blushing. "Stooop…"
"Aw, yes you are Chara, you’re adorable !" Frisk laughed tenderly. "Cute little flower ghost~"
"Noooo…"
Leaving this perfect heaven was hard, especially considering who they were supposed to kill afterwards, the both of them - especially Frisk - wanted to make this date just a bit longer…
But there were 13 monsters left to kill, and they wouldn’t die on their own.
Chara was a bit pained to have to end the date too, but they also felt somewhat happy that they would gain more LOVE soon; the feeling of getting more and more powerful was intoxicating, like a drug flowing down their dried veins…
They were sure Frisk would like the feeling, it was exactly what Frisk had been after from the start, sadly they were the one that got to feel it instead.
Each monster blocking their way was eradicated, and thinking of them as humans made Chara immensely happy : it was like killing all those useless humans that murdered them and Asriel, finally getting revenge.
For a few seconds, it made them feel ashamed for thinking like that when Frisk had shown them it wasn’t the way, that having mercy like Asriel was the right thing…
But Frisk was the one that was killing all of those monsters, so it was proof it was fine, that killing people mercilessly was fine as long as you can reset it all back to normal later.
"It’s kinda sad you couldn’t get the armour there, isn’t it ?" they asked while Frisk was killing another monster.
"They all turn to dust after one hit anyway, it’s not useful." Frisk remarked, trying to get the dust off their ballet shoes. "It’d just be a waste of money, I’ll use it to buy more food."
"True, I guess you’re right." they agreed, nodding absentmindedly. "Still, it would have been kinda funny."
"How so ?" Frisk asked, confused.
"Killing temmies with their own armour on, would have been ironic." they explained with a harsh laugh. "Like my death with the buttercups."
"O-oh, yeah…!" Frisk laughed awkwardly, scratching their cheek. "H-haha...!"
"Did I make you uncomfortable…?" they asked guiltily. "I’m sorry…"
Frisk seemed so reassured to hear that, like a boulder had just been lifted from their shoulder and they were about to cry because of it.
Was it because of what Chara said ?
They just apologised, that was the obvious thing to do, how was that reassuring ?
Frisk seemed to have noticed their confusion and started talking.
"I’m glad to hear you can still feel guilt, I was scared you were going to turn into a bloodthirsty monster because of me or something…" Frisk explained, looking away. "I’d never forgive myself for that, you’re such a sweetheart…"
"Aw, don’t worry about me Frisk." they said with a tender smile, approaching them even if they couldn’t touch anything as a ghost. "Your LOVE only takes away the guilt of the murders, I can still feel guilt for being a jerk, don’t worry."
"Good, I’m glad." Frisk muttered, looking back at them to give Chara a smile back. "We’ll be able to reset with everything going back to normal."
"Yep." they agreed, moving closer - if they were alive their forehead would touch, also it still felt good to do that without the contact. "By the way, when are you going to reset ? You still never told me your plan."
"After fighting Asgore, I think." Frisk said softly, as if it would break the spell. "If I can beat Asgore, I can beat living again on the surface, right ?"
"Right, sounds like a plan."
They stayed there for a while, just enjoying each other's tender smiles and the fact that they both were still themselves.
It was OK, they were OK.
Once Frisk would reset, then everything would be back to normal, they would both be the same as before but stronger and better.
Frisk killed all the monsters in Waterfall, all except Undyne and Monster Kid.
The thought made Chara smile without them meaning to; Monster Kid was so weak, so innocent, it would be so easy.
And once Monster Kid was dead, Frisk would be able to slay Undyne with one strike just like all the others.
Child's play, literally.
"Where's Monster Kid, isn't he supposed to meet us here to tell you he knows you're a human ?" they asked, grinning. "That guy is just free EXecution Points."
"He's probably a bit late because he's scared or something." Frisk answered, squinting their eyes to try to get a better view of the other side of the bridge. "Gives me more time to get prepared."
Chara's grin fell slightly; oh yeah, they had forgotten they were the only one that didn't feel guilt at all the monsters dying, their partner still did…
They really felt bad for them, they didn't deserve to feel like this - especially since they would reset and make all of this just a faded memory…
A voice stopped their train of thought.
"Yo !" Monster Kid exclaimed as he rushed towards Frisk - well, he was slower than usually, but it was to be expected. "Yo, Undyne told me to stay away from you."
"Oh yeah ?" Frisk asked with a smile, back in their little killer persona. "Why ?"
"She said you… you hurt a lot of people." he explained awkwardly, before smiling. "But, yo, that's not true, right ?"
Frisk didn't answer, just grinned at him.
And, the more the silence grew, the more their grin widened, sending a shiver down Monster Kid's spin.
Chara was so proud of them, that was one hell of a creepy face.
"...Yo, why don't you answer me ?" he asked, failing to hide his fear. "A-and what's with that weird expression ?"
Chara couldn't help it, they took control of Frisk's body to grin even wider and to walk closer to Monster Kid, loving the sight of him backing away in fear.
They gave Frisk's body back afterwards though, they didn't want to spoil their fun.
"O-oh… Oh man…" he said quietly, and then whispered even quieter. "M-man, my h-heart's pounding right out of my c-chest… What would Undyne do…?"
Frisk still didn't say anything, just laughed darkly.
Chara smiled in confusion; was this them acting or were they actually laughing earnestly ?
Chara couldn't tell at this point, but they were still proud of their partner's bravery either way; they were already so strong, the surface wouldn't be able to hurt them when they were done.
"Yo, y-you b-better s-stop r-right where you are…!" he exclaimed, shivering anxious as he tried his best to look brave. "Cuz if you w-wanna hurt anyone else… You're… You're going to have to go through me first ! A-and… And…"
Frisk stopped his incessant stupid babbling by spinning the ballet shoes in the air, ready to aim at the weak monster and turn him into dust…
But they ended up hitting the monster that came in front of Monster Kid to try to protect him.
Frisk was so shocked that they didn't move, they weren't sure what to do - that wasn't part of the plan.
"Undyne…" he muttered, just as shocked. "You're… you're hurt…"
"Hurt ? It's nothing." Undyne lied with a smile, as if there wasn't a gaping hole in her armour and chest. "Next time, listen when I tell you to leave, OK ?"
"Undyne… I…"
"I'll take care of this." she reassured him with a serious expression. "Get out of here !"
The kid did what he was told, leaving Undyne alone with the human and the ghost.
Chara couldn't help but smile slightly; she had probably said that so he wouldn't see her die, so he'd hang onto hope a little while longer, she was such an inspiring hero…
"Heh… 'It's nothing'..." she repeated with a broken laugh, her body slowly turning to dust. "No… S-somehow, with just one hit… I'm already… already… d…"
It was soul crushing to watch for Chara, even without feeling guilt; they had always seen Undyne as their role model, their hero - scratch that, the whole Underground's hero - and seeing her go just like that, without being able to put up a fight…
They could feel a tear falling down their cheek, and they didn't need to look down to know that Frisk was crying too.
"D-damn it… Papyrus… Alphys… Asgore…" she muttered, gritting her teeth as she desperately tried to slow her death. "Just like that I… I've failed you all."
Undyne turned to dust, and both humans' tears were falling like waterfalls…
But, to their surprise, the dust didn't fall to the ground, instead each speck clung to each other to bring back Undyne's form as if she hadn't been hit at all.
"No… My body, it feels like it's splitting apart…" she said, her voice weak but somehow still sounding powerful. "Like any instant, I'll scatter into a million pieces… But…"
"B-but…?" Frisk repeated, stunned by what was happening.
"Deep, deep down in my soul, there's a burning feeling I can't describe." she continued with stubborn confidence. "A burning feeling that won't let me die."
"I-is she…?!" they choked, shocked. "H-has she been injected with determination or something ?!"
"This isn't about monsters anymore, is it ?" she asked, her voice laced with anger and hate as she closed her eye. "If you get past me you'll… you'll destroy them all, won't you ? Monsters… Humans… Everyone…"
Frisk was shaking and visibly didn't know what to say or do; Undyne was wrong, but there was no way that she'd even believe that after seeing all the deaths they had caused.
They had no idea what to do, no plan to get out of the situation - whatever it was - and honestly Chara wouldn't have done any better in their place.
"Everyone's hope… Everyone's dream… Vanished in an instant." Undyne continued, suddenly opening her eye. "But I won't let you do that."
"H-huh…?!"
"Right now, everyone in the world… I can hear their heart beating as one. And we all have one goal, to defeat you."
Frisk backed away slightly, gripping the ballet shoes tighter; whatever was going to happen, they got strong after defeating all those monsters, they could do this !
But the determination in Undyne's voice turned all that confidence into mush as they stared at Undyne's eyes and saw a magical spear inside the one that was usually hidden behind the eyepatch - she was way stronger than either Frisk or Chara could have ever imagined.
"Human… No, whatever you are. For the sake of the whole world… I, Undyne, will strike you down !"
The hero of monsters would actually put up a fight before turning to dust after all.
"You're going to have to try a little harder than that !"
Chapter Text
Undyne stood there, a magical spear in her hand and a powerful smile on her face - it might have just been her stance doing it, but her armour seemed heavier too, more protective.
Frisk was sweating; they were not prepared for that fight, they hadn’t even been aware that such a thing would - hell, could - happen and had no idea how to defeat her.
"Wow, Undyne really is the best heroine ever !" Chara couldn’t help but exclaim, honestly fanboying. "She was reformed by her own determination to save the earth ! She's like… She’s Undyne the Undying !"
"H-hey, quit being a fan and help me maybe...?" Frisk mumbled as spears encircled them. "I'm never going to be able to dodge all of that alone...!"
"O-oh, of course, sorry." they apologised, coming back to their senses. "You’re right, it's not the time for that."
So Chara tried their best to help their partner protect themself against Undyne and encouraged them to make the best strikes they could - after all, her armour was so hard to even just mark, it seemed indestructible, so they needed all the cheers they could get.
…But maybe it wasn’t worth it ?
The ghost suddenly became unsure; was possibly dying at the hand of their friend and role model really worth it for Frisk ?
It didn’t seem like it, maybe they should just go back to the Ruins in peace…
"Frisk, maybe it is not worth it." they said, worried. "We already went so far, maybe we should just reset…"
"And admit defeat ?" Frisk asked, rolling their eyes. "Never !"
"But Undyne looks so determined…"
"So what ? What if she's determined ? What if she's smiling like nothing is wrong ?" Frisk growled stubbornly, filled with determination themself. "I am the saviour of the Underground, I am the one that won against Asgore, Flowey and Asriel. And I will be the one to win again !"
That was the first time Chara was scared of Frisk, the blind determination for the sake of killing and nothing else…
No matter how much Frisk was trying to be strong, that was too much and they were just making themself hurt for the sake of getting themself hurt, or probably for honour and pride as Frisk saw it.
The word masochist came to mind, but it disappeared just as quickly; because their partner wasn't getting anything out of it : no pleasure, no joy, nothing.
Just guilt and pain.
And now that they weren't even killing with one hit anymore, their confidence about getting stronger wasn't even there, so it really was just pointless and hurtful…
Why was Frisk so determined ?
That was a lovable quality of them when they saved all the monsters for the first time, but now it wasn't endearing anymore…
It was a problem, Frisk didn't know when to stop, didn't realise that making both everyone and themself miserable was way past the moment that they needed to decide to reset.
"Do you think it was fun when people's family members… never come home…?" Undyne asked, stunning Frisk to turn their soul green. "Is that fun ?"
Frisk then was stuck where they were standing, able to turn around but not to walk, and barely had the time to manifest the kindness shield before a ton of spears were thrown their way.
Chara sighed; thank Toby Fox they were there to help Frisk, those spears were way too fast to dodge on your own.
"The Snowdin Canine Unit had been completely decimated…" she continued, her angry tone cutting like knives. "My troops and friends, destroyed... Is that fun ?"
As soon as she turned Frisk's soul back to its original red, spears were storming from all sides and they barely were able to run in between them.
Chara was so scared for them, would they make it ?
Would they die ?
Frisk had never died during any of their journeys…
Would their determination bring them back to life or would they lose it like Chara did ?
As they had those thoughts, a spear pierced through Frisk's arm, then another one in their leg.
Immediately, the human pulled them out and kept on fighting - well, just dodging at the moment, really.
If those had been spears constructed by humans, Frisk would have been in way worse shape than they currently were.
But thankfully magic, even though it caused more damage, didn't cause any injuries to any place other than the soul so their arm and leg were fine - Chara was so thankful for that.
"Everyone… My friends… My troops… Those innocent villagers… Papyrus…" she said, before roaring with determination. "In the name of everyone's hopes and dreams... I will defeat you !"
"Frisk, dodging is very important for survival and all…" they started, trying their best not to make their partner lose their concentration. "But, if you don't start hitting her, this fight will never end."
And so Frisk did, they ran up close to Undyne and slammed their ballet shoes into Undyne's face over and over - probably hoping to make her stop fighting for a second, which would give them the chance to strike at more vital points.
"Come on, is that all you've got ?!" she asked with annoyance, scoffing as she smirked bitterly at them. "...Pathetic."
This seemed to awaken something in Frisk, something hidden so deep inside them Chara had never seen it before; they hit Undyne right in the chest over and over again, strong and fast.
It was desperate and manic, Chara had never seen anything like that…
And yet, the armour still didn't seem to want to break.
"S-see how strong we are when we believe in ourselves ?" she asked proudly, although her voice was now slowly starting to get weaker. "H… heh… Had enough yet ?"
But her fakely confident laugh couldn't hide her body desperately trying to stick together, and how it was slowly melting anyway.
This gave Frisk confidence and their strikes only became stronger and quicker; they were not going to give her enough time to get back into a state where she could attack them…
And then the armour finally started to chip away.
"...Alphys… This is what I was afraid of… This is why I never told you… I lo… H-huff… Huff…"
"Is that your final words…?" Frisk asked, laughing darkly as they kept destroying the armour until the heroine fell to the floor.
"F-fuck… No…" she breathed, her voice barely audible with how hard the wind was howling. "...I won't... ...Give up... …Ha... ha…"
Frisk kept attacking her over and over anyway, only stopping when almost all of Undyne's body was melting; she was going to turn to dust soon.
"Damn it… So even that power... it wasn't enough...?" she muttered as she looked down at herself with a bitter smile - she looked like an amalgamate, so maybe she really was injected with determination…
"So those are your final words." Frisk laughed, playing with the ballet shoes victoriously. "Pretty lame if you ask me, but suit yourself 'hero of monsterkind'."
"Heh... Heheheh... If you... if you think I'm gonna give up hope, you're wrong." she said weakly, her smile determined once again. "Cause I've... got my friends behind me."
"Huh…?" Frisk asked, surprised and suddenly unsure. "What are you talking about ?"
"Alphys told me that she would watch me fight you..." she explained, and just like that she was the one victorious. "And if anything went wrong, she would... evacuate everyone."
"Wh-what ?!" Frisk exclaimed, not knowing what to do with that new information. "B-but…"
"By now she's called Asgore and told him to absorb the 6 human souls." she continued, smiling brightly as her body completely lost its shape. "And with that power... this world will live on...!"
Then Undyne's body… Her body… It…
Chara shut their eyes harshly; you didn't need guilt for this to be the most horrific thing you've ever seen.
They wanted nothing more than for this to be erased from their mind, to be able to pretend that it never happened…
Instead, as they opened their eyes again, they were greeted by a pile of dust.
Frisk didn't seem to hold any better, they reacted even worse actually - which honestly was to be expected, as after all they still had normal emotions about such an awful thing.
They were clearly having trouble breathing correctly and were fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill - why didn't they dare cry this time, didn't they let themself before ?
"F-Frisk…" they started, biting their lip as they tried their best to find the right tone - comforting but not patronising. "I think now is a great time to reset, nothing would be better than Toriel's warm house and pie, right ?"
"...And be a pathetic weakling ?" Frisk answered in a tired voice. "No, I said we would continue until Asgore, and so we will."
"Frisk please…" they sighed, floating until they were face to face with their partner again. "Stop pretending this doesn't hurt you, it's fine, it doesn’t make you any less strong."
"I-I don't want to go back to the surface Chara… I can't…" Frisk muttered, looking down as they finally broke down into tears. "It's too much, I just can't…"
"And is this any better ?" they asked calmly, and if they could they would have gently brushed their partner's cheek to soothe them better. "Sweetie, this just isn't healthy…"
"I-I know but… This is making me stronger, a-and I want to be stronger !" Frisk assured, looking up at the ghost to give them a forced smile. "The stronger I become, the better I’ll be able to deal with the surface !"
"Frisk, I-"
"If I’m super good at continuing doing what I need to do however it makes me feel then I’ll be able to face the surface !" Frisk continued with an overjoyed tone that clashed completely with the subject matter. "Trust me, if I can finish this then I’ll be able to live a normal life amongst humans again !"
Chara wanted to argue against it, but they couldn’t find an argument against it; they knew it was wrong, but they could tell that the lack of guilt made them forget why.
So instead, they sighed and looked around in search of a place that their partner could safely sleep in.
Surely, if Frisk had time to think about it during their slumber, then they would realise how much of a bad idea it was.
"How about we go to Sans’ Hotland stand so you can sleep ?" they proposed with a soft and patient smile. "If you still want to continue when your emotional state is better then we’ll go through with it, deal ?"
"Deal !" Frisk agreed happily. "Thank you, Chara."
"No problem, partner."
Notes:
I hope you like the story so far !
Please do comment your thoughts, it's really nice and helpful. :)
Chapter 5: They die tonight
Chapter Text
"Friiiisk, you have been asleep for a long time." Chara said in a soft singsong voice. "It is time to wake up now."
Their partner growled a bit, clearly wanting to keep sleeping but waking up nonetheless.
The grey bracelet got changed to the pink one, then Frisk grogley got up.
She didn’t seem tired, not physically anyway…
Was it Undyne’s death that took such a toll on the poor little girl ?
Chara’s feelings were conflicted; on one hand they hated seeing their girlfriend suffer, but on the other that meant that she would have to reset now, right ?
"Good morning, sleepyhead~" they said with a happy smile, confident. "So, you have slept on it. Did you make a decision ?"
"Morning beautiful~" she teased with a grin - that was cute, but was she trying to distract them ?
"You didn’t answer my question." they noted, their voice not accusatory in the slightest as they understood it was hard for her.
"Argh, I was hoping you wouldn’t notice." she whined, laughing awkwardly. "I have, but I don’t think you’ll like it very much…"
"Oh...?"
Chara’s smile fell, but they tried to stay calm; after all, they always trusted their girlfriend's jugement, so why would they stop now ?
Frisk taught them about forgiveness, taught them that the end didn’t justify the means…
But this wouldn’t be for an end, since they would reset, so they needed to trust that she knew what she was doing once again.
"I-I see… So we are continuing until dad, huh ?" they asked with a poor smile, sad but somewhat understanding. "Well, a promise is a promise, so I will continue helping you get there."
"Y-you will ?!" she asked, surprised and visibly overwhelmed by joy - she was bouncing around and clapping her hands together, it was adorable. "Oh, thank you Chara, thank you, thank you ! I don’t know what I’d do without you !"
"Aww, stop, you’re making me blush…" they muttered, embarrassed. "I’m the one who should say that, without your determination I wouldn’t be here, and my people wouldn’t get their prophesied angel…"
"Well, I’m not doing a great job at the moment, am I ?" she asked with a bittersweet smile and a small snort. "'The angel from the surface will come and the Underground will be empty' doesn’t sound like now, does it ?"
This time Chara lost their good mood for good as the words spiralled around them, the revelation knocking the breath out of their dead lungs…
It actually did sound like now.
The prophecy never stated if the Underground being empty was a good thing or a bad one and, as much as most monsters thought that the angel would give them freedom, some believed that it was an angel of death…
"C-Chara, are you OK ?" she asked, sounding so worried. "Did I say something wrong ?"
"…This does sound like the prophecy." they whispered, their tone as cold as their dead body still buried in the Ruins.
"H-huh...?!"
"Once everyone is turned to dust, the Underground will be empty." they explained, looking down. "Whether you save them or not, you’re still the angel of the prophecy either way."
"B-but… B-but no !" she exclaimed, her voice loud - as if she wanted the whole universe to hear her plea of disagreement. "When I’ll reset, Flowey will still be alive so the Underground won’t be empty ! I’m not an angel of death, I’ll save them I swear !"
"I know Frisk, I know…" they muttered softly, trying to soothe her.
"I-I’m not an angel of death, I-I’ll save them…!" she repeated, rocking herself as she ugly cried catatonically. "T-they’ll all be OK, I-I swear…!"
"I know, I know…"
"E-everyone will be OK, e-everything will be OK…!" she continued, trying to dry her tears in vain. "I-I’ll just reset a-and everything will be fine…!"
"Don’t worry sweetie, I know…"
For a few moments, there was a thick silence that was only broken by Frisk’s sad little hiccups, it was heavy but also comforting in a weird way.
Because the two of them were together, they had each other, and they would succeed to go through all that together.
"Do you want to go see if Alphys really evacuated everyone…?" they gently proposed, their voice barely above a whisper. "Or we can stay here a bit more if you want…"
"Let’s go." she answered with an awkward smile, like when you try to joke to bright up the mood but it doesn’t feel quite right. "If I am too sappy, no monster will be scared of me anymore, they’ll know I’m a softy."
"Heck yeah you are." they agreed with a tender giggle.
The human and the ghost thus walked until they entered the lab, both getting surprised when the room was already lit and Alphys was nowhere to be seen.
The wall also already had a Mettaton sized hole in it…
What was happening, were they late or something ?
"Oh, there you are !" he suddenly exclaimed, appearing from the backdoor. "You ugly little creature, you’ve made quite a name for yourself."
"Oh yeah ?" she asked with a laugh. "You’ve heard of me ?"
"Such infamy…!" he continued, clapping his hands slowly - as if mocking. "I’m impressed."
"Oh, are you now ?" she laughed, spinning her ballet shoes around. "Where’s the royal scientist anyway ?"
"Oh yeah, if you’re looking for Alphys, she’s not here." he stated smugly.
"Oh ?"
"While you were busy doing your… Ahem… things, she was running around bringing people to safety." he explained, laughing somewhat proudly. "Now they’re all in a place where you’ll never get them."
"So Undyne wasn’t bluffing…" she mumbled, frowning.
"Deciding not to fight you, my my, she really is the only smart one, isn’t she ?" he asked, laughing again.
Chara took control of their girlfriend’s body to help with the killer persona; she was too troubled by what the robot had just said, so they would play the role temporarily until she was ready to take it back.
They walked up to Mettaton with a grin as they spinned the ballet shoes quicker; they almost wanted to say 'yeah, I guess she really is since you’re here' but they felt like implying it was much scarier.
"Oh, how sassy." he commented, hiding his fear like the perfect actor that he was. "You’re just itching to get your hands on me, aren’t you ?"
"What if I am ?" they asked with a dark laugh, and it once again came out in Frisk’s voice.
"Well, too bad." he laughed, pretending to be unimpressed. "This world needs stars more than it needs corpses, so toodles !"
The robot left as quick as he appeared, and only when he was gone did Frisk take control back of her body.
"Oof, thanks for that Chara." she said, sighing in relief. "That completely took me off guard."
"No problem." they answered with a smile. "Anything for my sweet girlfriend~"
"You goof~"
Their banther together almost managed to make the both of them forget for a moment that the puzzles were deactivated, that the monster population was sparse - as apparently Alphys hadn’t quite managed to evacuate them all…
Both were obvious signs that the game they were playing was going too far, so it was something both of them desperately tried to ignore.
They met the two royal guards earlier than they usually did.
They wanted to avenge Undyne, but were both turned into dust after one hit of Frisk's new frying pan, just like the others.
It was upsetting that those to gay disasters died without ever confessing to each other, sure, but the human and the ghost had lived way worse already so they quickly moved on.
Muffet was not there for her bakesell, instead waiting for Frisk in her 'fighting room'.
Killed in one hit too, and a little spider brought a flower to the dust pile she had become…
Whatever, she was just a spiderbaker that had been commissioned - probably that dumb Sans that dared to threaten Frisk - to kill the human, so she only got what she asked for.
If she had said no to the smiling bitch and left with Alphys then she’d still be alive.
The only thing that mattered to Chara was Frisk, and that they had 15 LOVE.
"H-hey, Chara ?" she suddenly asked, stopping their train of thought. "Can you hear me ?"
"Huh…?" they asked, surprised. "Y-yeah, I can."
"Oh, O-OK, good." she said, trying to hide her discomfort. "You have been zoning out for a while and I was getting scared…"
"Scared…?" they asked, immediately understanding the problem, as they had encountered it a lot in the past after all. "Were you scared for me or… scared because of me ?"
"H-haha, well, isn’t that a loaded question..." she laughed guiltily, scratching her cheek.
"Frisk…"
Chara got a bit concerned; it wouldn’t make them feel guilty or anything, but if Frisk saw them as an irredeemable monster it’d still break them…
They loved Frisk, they let her kill all the monsters so far so she’d feel ready for the surface…
They just couldn’t imagine losing her too.
"I was, a little." she confessed, crushing Chara’s soul. "I-I mean, you were smiling to yourself creeply and all, not saying one single word… I’m guessing it was the LOVE you were feeling ?"
"Yeah, sorry about that…" they apologiae, shameful. "I didn’t want to scare you, I didn’t even notice I was smiling…"
"I-it’s OK, I know." she assured the ghost with a smile. "Let’s… Let’s go fight Mettaton so we can feel more of that feeling, OK…?"
"OK."
And just like that, the two of them made their way to the room where Mettaton would trap Frisk in an attempt to kill her, and they both hoped it'd be one hit kill like normal.
She took a deep breath before taking out her frying pan and entering - Chara assumed that it was to get her killer persona on.
"My, my. So you've finally arrived." he mocked, looking confident. "After our first meeting... I realised... something ghastly."
"What is it ?" she asked with a grin, hoping to intimidate him.
"You're not just a threat to monsters... but humanity as well." he stated seriously, crossing his arms. "And that's an issue since, you see, I can't be a star without an audience."
"Oh yeah ?" she laughed darkly, because that was easier than pretending to be bloodthirsty.
"And besides…" he muttered to himself. "There are some people... I want to protect."
It was once again visible that Frisk was just not capable of staying in the role - she probably was too sad thinking that he wanted to protect Napstablook and Alphys - and so Chara once again took control of her body to walk creepily to him.
"Ah ha ha. Eager, as always, eh ?" he laughed, also unimpressed by Chara’s attempt at scaring him. "But don't touch that dial, there's something you haven't accounted for."
"Really ?" they asked with Frisk’s voice, smiling curiously. "And what is it exactly ?"
"As any true fan would know, I was first created as a human eradication robot." he stated, a smile on his screen. "It was only after becoming a star that I was given a more... photogenic body."
"Wow, amazing." they mocked, grinning widely. "And what does it have to do with me being about to kill you ?"
"Well, those original functions have never been fully removed…" he explained, now grinning as well. "Come any closer, and I'll be forced to show you… my true form !"
Chara walked even closer as they spinned the frying pan around, but they could feel their control loosen as Frisk’s curiosity made her get her body back.
They didn’t mind, they wanted to see her destroy him more than anything - he blocked the way after all.
"Fine then !" he exclaimed, laughing maniacally. "Rrrrready ? Iiiiiiit's showtime !"
As he said that the stage lights were blaring and shining way too bright, that was probably why neither of them noticed him changing form.
When the light finally adjusted to a proper intensity, Mettaton looked like an anime murder robot.
It was a bit impressive, but Frisk paid no mind to this Mettaton Neo and immediately striked.
"Gh… Guess you don't want to join my fan club...?" he muttered with a sad smile as his robotic body convulsed - saving face even in the end.
And just like that Mettaton Neo, Dr. Alphys' greatest invention, exploded into pieces.
Chapter Text
"You ready to enter New Home, Chara ?" Frisk asked, nervously looking at their old home. "If it’s a lot we can stay outside a little longer."
"It’s alright, we already went there 28 times, Frisk." they reminded, laughing tenderly. "I will manage, let’s go."
"Alright."
Frisk then made a beeline to Chara’s old bedroom to rest, letting them alone with their memories.
It was a bit funny that she was sleeping in the bed that Chara had died in, poisoning themself to death because it would have been the only time they would have finally been useful - and hell, they didn’t even manage that.
The first few times they had reflected there, they thought they had made a mistake, that maybe they could have been useful alive.
That if they hadn’t unintentionally forced their brother into a plan he really didn’t want to do, Asriel would still be alive and well…
But now, with the perspective of 19 LOVE, they wondered if it hadn’t been worth it.
The determination from their soul, since Asriel died on the golden flowers, made him come back after all.
As a husk of his former self, as an awful person, true, but an alive husk.
Moreover, both of their deaths caused Asgore to kill the 6 next fallen humans for their souls, which made it so Frisk could save the Underground.
And her soul made it so Chara was back as a ghost that only Frisk - and possibly Napstablook ? - could see, so they were way more alive than they had expected when they made their plan…
Their plan had worked after all, just in a roundabout way nobody could have predicted.
They stopped their train of thought at that; Frisk had told them that the end doesn't justify the means, that Asriel had been right and they had been wrong…
And yet, it hadn’t stopped her from killing every monster that she possibly could, just for the end of becoming stronger.
She was a hypocrite, and her actions spoke way louder than her words.
But that was fine, Chara loved her anyway.
As they thought that, Frisk woke up and changed from pink bracelet to blue.
He then lazily attempted to get up.
"You surely are super sleepy today." they remarked, laughing affectionately. "Any reason for that ?"
"This bed is too comfortable…" he whined, miming falling on the floor. "I can’t get up."
"Yeah, my bed sure is comfortable." they agreed, smiling nostalgically. "I remember that, when I died, that helped a bit dealing with the pain of the buttercup poisoning symptoms."
"That was your bed ?!" he asked, both flustered and deeply disgusted - probably from Chara mentioning they died there.
"Yeah, there's my flower drawing by the bed and… the picture." they said, their cheerful tone disappearing as they looked at it.
Chara still remembered that day perfectly, and it was very bittersweet now…
They were so shy about being a part of such an incredible family that they hid their face behind their flowers, but they were so happy that day…
And then they had taken all of it away to try and save each and every monster, and failed.
"I always assumed it was Asriel’s because of the picture, since you’re hiding your face behind the flowers and all." he confessed, laughing awkwardly. "The drawing should have tipped me off."
"Yeah…" they muttered, looking away. "But still, everyone is smiling in it, so I wanted to keep it by my bed."
"Everyone ?" he asked, smiling. "Even you ?"
"Yeah." they said, smiling a bit as they looked back. "With such a wonderful family, it’s hard not to smile with them."
"That’s cute~"
Frisk eventually got up and walked up to grab their old heart locket where he usually found them, as well as their gardening knife - it was about time he had a real knife.
It also felt good that he was wearing the locket because it kinda felt like they were wearing it too, like it was back where it belonged.
As he left the room to find the two keys to unlock the padlocks and proceed to Asgore’s throne room, Flowey suddenly appeared.
"Howdy, Chara ! You finally made it home." he exclaimed cheerfully. "Remember when we used to play here ? Hee hee hee... Boy, today's gonna be just as fun !"
"Why is he calling me by your name already…?" Frisk discreetly asked them, trying to hide his confusion.
"He thinks you’re me." they explained, biting their lip. "You know, 'evil demonic Chara helping him to kill everyone and turn this pointless world into a new one and all'… Classic Flowey, just ignore it."
"I remember when I first woke up here, in the garden. I was so scared, I couldn't feel my arms or my legs... My entire body had turned into a flower !" he started rambling, looking weirdly nostalgic. "'Mom ! Dad ! Somebody help me !' I called out. But nobody came."
"Nobody noticed you ever ?" Frisk asked, saddened.
"Well, eventually the king found me, crying in the garden, and I explained what had happened to him." he continued, moving his leaves as he talked as though those were arms. "Then he held me, Chara. He held me with tears in his eyes, saying... 'There, there. Everything is going to be alright.' He was so... emotional. But... for some reason... I didn't feel anything at all."
"Oh."
"I soon realised I didn't feel anything about anyone, my compassion had disappeared ! And believe me, it's not like I wasn't trying." he kept going, now sounding frustrated. "I wasted weeks with that stupid king, vainly hoping I would feel something ! But it became too much for me, so I ran away from home. Eventually, I reached the Ruins and inside I found her, Chara. I thought of all people, she could make me feel whole again. ...She failed. Ha… ha…"
Chara started to feel sick to their dead stomach; fuck what they had thought before, nothing was worth making Asriel feel like this.
They had no idea Asriel went through all this as he became Flowey - and they guessed it wasn’t the end of it…
For some reason, they had always assumed it had been a fast process, that Asriel woke up, immediately accepted that he couldn’t feel anything after discovering it and started being the psychopath they knew now…
The reality was so much worse.
"I realised those two were useless, I became despondent; I just wanted to love someone, I just wanted to care about someone." he continued with a bittersweet smile. "Chara, you might not believe this... but I decided... it wasn't worth living anymore, not in a world without love, not in a world without you. So... I decided to follow in your footsteps, I would erase myself from existence."
"He what ?!" they choked, the thought of Asriel trying to take his own life in any way making them feel even more sick.
"And you know what ?" he asked with a smile. "I succeeded."
"I can’t listen to that anymore !" they exclaimed, shutting their eyes as tight as possible. "I’ll cover my ears, you’re on your own now Frisk."
"How are you still alive then ?" Frisk asked curiously.
"You should know that, Chara." he said with a small laugh. "As I left this mortal coil... I started to feel apprehensive; if you don't have a soul, what happens when you...? Something primal started to burn inside me. 'No.' I thought. 'I don't want to die !'... Then I woke up, like it was all just a bad dream, I was back at the garden."
"Like me…" Frisk noted in a whisper, thinking back to each time he reseted - it wasn't exactly the same, but that was another power of determination.
"Interested, I decided to experiment. Again and again, I brought myself to the edge of death." he continued - and Frisk could relate to the curiosity even though he himself never did that particular experiment. "At any point, I could have let this world continue on without me, but as long as I was determined to live... I could go back. Amazing, isn't it, Chara ? I was amazed too."
"So that’s when you wanted to kill everyone to get the power to reset more ?" Frisk asked, cocking his head to the side. "That’s when you started your kill or be killed mantra ?"
"No, at first, I used my powers for good." he stated, shrugging as much as his flower body let him. "I became 'friends' with everyone, I solved all their problems flawlessly. Their companionship was amusing... for a while."
"O-oh, I see where this is going…"
"As time repeated, people proved themselves predictable." he continued, and the words resonated deep into Frisk’s soul. "What would this person say if I gave them this, what would they do if I said this to them ? Once you know the answer, that's it, that's all they are."
Frisk really wanted to deny it, but it was exactly what he had experienced.
His ego took a massive blow; he had prided himself on being the merciful human that saved everyone and made Flowey see the error of his ways, but he was now discovering they were one in the same…
Was he a bad guy too ?
Should he stop now and reset ?
His guilt was eating him alive.
"It all started because I was curious, curious what would happen if I killed them." he continued, only proving Frisk further. "'I don't like this' I told myself, 'I'm just doing this because I have to know what happens.'"
"J-just like me…"
"Ha ha ha… What an excuse ! You of all people must know how liberating it is to act this way." he exclaimed, laughing maniacally. "But nowadays, even that's grown tiring. You understand, Chara ?"
"N-no...?"
"I've done everything this world has to offer; I've read every book, I've burned every book, I've won every game, I've lost every game, I've appeased everyone, I've killed everyone…" he explained, and then smiled. "But you... you’re different. I never could predict you, Chara."
"Oh." Frisk lamely said, finally understanding Flowey for the first time. "That’s why you followed me."
"When I saw you in the Ruins, I didn't recognize you, so I thought I could frighten you then steal your soul. I failed." he continued, his smile only growing. "And when I tried to go back... It didn't work. Chara... your determination, somehow, it's even greater than mine !"
"Why are you telling me all this tho ?" Frisk asked, confused. "Do you want me to do something about this ?"
"No, I just have one question for you, Chara." he said, now looking confused himself. "How did you get back to the ruins from here...?"
Frisk had to think about this for a second to remember properly, since it had never really been said to him but rather just implied - and he never was the best at understanding implied stuff.
But with the empty red soul coffin, the golden flowers that he fell on when he slipped into the hole and Asriel staying there as the monsters left the Underground, he did understand.
"Toriel wanted to do a proper burial." Frisk explained softly, feeling as though it wasn’t his place to speak of that - but Chara couldn’t, so he had to. "You know, the golden flowers right before where we met ? That’s there."
"...But, why then...? What made you wake up ?" he asked, his expression unreadable. "Did you… hear me calling you...?"
"I… guess…?" Frisk muttered, Chara having never mentioned that.
"Well, it doesn't matter now. I'm so tired of this, Chara." he sighed, looking at the lockpads. "I'm tired of all these people, I'm tired of all these places, I'm tired of being a flower. Chara, there's just one thing left I want to do. Let's finish what we started, let's free everyone. Then... let's let them see what humanity is really like ! That despite it all... this world is still 'kill or be killed !'."
"I don’t really understand…" Frisk said, biting his lip as he finally used the keys. "Reset and save them to disillusion them, then what ?"
The two of them then started to walk to the throne room - well, Chara was obviously there too, but they wouldn’t interact with the world at all until their brother would have left.
And, as the human and flower walked through the New Home city, Frisk could feel his determination for finishing what he had started slowly leaving.
He wanted to reset now.
But what about Flowey and Chara, would the two of them be angry ?
Chara said they wouldn't, that they would always support his choices…
But what about their brother ?
Thankfully, it was answered for him.
"Then...? Well, I had... been entertaining a few ways to use that power. Hee hee hee..." he laughed, but then stopped and looked away. "But, seeing you here changed my mind, Chara... I think, if you're around... just living in the surface world doesn't seem so bad."
"F-Flowey…" Frisk mumbled tenderly, seeing Flowey talk like that warming his heart.
"We don't even need to leave to get them this time, the king has six of them locked away." he continued with a grin - and, at that point, the both of them were a room away from the throne room. "I've tried hundreds of ways to get him to show me them... But he just won't. Chara... I know he'll do it for you."
"You know what ? Yes !" Frisk exclaimed, filled with determination. "I’ll reset in the golden corridor and we’ll get the monsters to the surface, and show them what it’s really like !"
"Really ?" he asked, his grin only becoming bigger. "I’ll be waiting for you then !"
Notes:
I hope you like the story so far !
Please do comment your thoughts, it's really nice and helpful. :)
Chapter Text
"Wait, let me get this straight…" Chara said as Frisk made his way into the golden corridor. "Flowey, unapologetic murderer Flowey, convinced you to reset and save everyone ?"
"Yeah, pretty much." he nodded, smiling.
"Why ?!" they asked in confusion. "We had to mercy some sense out of him for him to come to that conclusion the last 28 times, so how ?"
"He wants to show the monsters that the surface is an awful place." he said with a shrug, making his soul appear to be able to reset. "But mostly he just feels like living there is worth it if you’re there~"
"R-really…?" they asked emotionally, so happy to hear that.
"Yep~"
As Frisk was ready to reset, a sound behind him made him turn around, and he came face to face with none other than Sans.
What was the small skeleton doing here ?
Frisk was confused, but Sans would always judge him whenever he walked in the golden corridor, so it kinda made sense after all.
He sighed and walked forward; let’s get this over with.
"Let’s see what he wants, Frisk." they proposed, floating in place. "The quicker he talks, the faster he’s out of your hair and you can reset."
"Heya." Sans then simply said, his iconic smile plastered on his face - although something sinister seemed to be hidden behind it. "You've been busy, huh ?"
"Hello Sans…" Frisk mumbled unenthusiastically.
"So, I've got a question for ya." he continued, looking at the window. "Do you think even the worst person can change…? That everybody can be a good person, if they just try ?"
The words stuck out to Chara, and they were sure they stuck to Frisk too; he was paraphrasing what Papyrus had said before dying…
Had Sans seen that ?
Was he out for revenge now ?
Chara tried to reassure themself; there was just no way, Sans was way too lazy for such a thing as taking revenge on someone…
But that journey had been nothing but unexpected, so maybe…
"I guess…?" Frisk mumbled, unsure of himself. "I mean, people are complicated so that’s possible…"
"Heh heh heh heh... All right, well, here's a better question." he laughed and, when he looked back at Frisk, his pupils were gone. "Do you wanna have a bad time ?"
"W-what..?" Frisk asked, completely caught off guard.
"'Cause if you take another step forward…" he continued, his smile so uncharacteristically scary it was hard to handle. "You are really not going to like what happens next."
Chara had a bad feeling about this, and the fact that Sans was the weakest monster of the Underground was doing nothing to calm them.
Because he was smarter than he left on after all, if he was doing this in the first place then it meant that he did have some kind of plan.
"Fuck, he's going to kill you." they breathed, very nervous.
"H-hey Sans, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re mistaken !" Frisk exclaimed, smiling awkwardly. "I-I’m not going to go fight the king or anything, I was about to… leave and try a more peaceful approach so-"
"No human, I think you’re the one that doesn’t understand."
"Huh…?"
"It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…" he continued, completely ignoring his confusion and fear - or being satisfied by it, either or. "On days like these, kids like you... Should be burning in hell."
That was the only warning Frisk was given before loads of bones and some kind of blasters were thrown all at once on him.
The only reason he managed to dodge them was thanks to the 3rd person perspective that Chara was able to give him.
He was absolutely terrified, and honestly his ghostly partner was too; if Undyne was an almost insurmountable challenge, then Sans was retribution.
Chara’s survival instincts were kicking in.
The same instincts that made them let themself fall into the Underground instead of letting themself keep being bullied in their town.
The same instincts that made them too scared to properly emotionally open up before a few months in the Underground
The same instinct that made them ask Asriel to fight back when the humans attacked…
And right now, those instincts were on fire thanks to their LOVE and only one thought remained : kill Sans to protect Frisk.
"Kill him, kill him before he is the one that kills you." they said harshly, no emotion in their voice other than pure hate. "He is very weak, so even if he somehow injected himself with determination like Undyne, he still will go out with one hit."
"O-OK…"
Before he could do anything though, a blast exploded right on him.
Then, his soul exploded and darkness fell.
Chara was horrified and panicked; they never had their question answered, would he come back or not ?!
They didn’t want him to die forever, become a ghost like them, not when he was so close to resetting !
Frisk was young, too young to die !
Even younger than them and oh so kind…
Far too sweet to go like that !
Thankfully, a red light started to shine and, before they had the time to react, they once again were right next to the entrance of the golden corridor with Frisk.
They sighed in relief; their boyfriend still was the most determined human they ever met, thank Toby Fox.
Before Frisk could react to what had just happened though, Sans was back and their boyfriend walked up to him.
Their boyfriend looked angry, which was understandable considering he had just died - Frisk probably never realised how serious fighting was before, until now.
"Heya." Sans simply said again, but this time his smile didn’t even try to hide its menace - was it just Chara or…?
"Hello Sans…" Frisk growled, gritting his teeth.
"You look frustrated about something." he remarked smugly - wait, he hadn’t said that last time ! "Guess I’m pretty good about my job, huh ?"
"Huh…?! How… Wh-"
"It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing…" he interrupted with a grin, once again completely ignoring his confusion and fear - whatever the fuck was going on, Chara didn’t like it one bit.
And then, to make the whole thing even more confusing, Sans didn’t even finish his sentence before attacking him.
So obviously he didn’t have the time to dodge since he didn’t know it was coming, and died again.
Chara wanted to shout; what the hell was that ?!
Why could Sans do that when everyone else was always the same no matter how many times things happened ?!
The last thing the two companions heard as his soul exploded again was a faint 'Anyway, like I was saying, it’s a nice day out. Why not relax and take a load off ?'.
What a bitch !
The red light shone again and the two of them were back to the entrance again.
Frisk immediately turned around and angrily walked up to Sans - he clearly was already done with whatever this was.
"Hm… That expression…" he said, still smiling menacingly. "That’s the expression of someone that died twice in a row."
"How do you know that ?!" Frisk asked him, frustrated. "How. do. you. Know ?!"
"You look really… unsatisfied." he noted, ignoring the question.
"Well of course, you’re not supposed to be able to do that !"
"Alright, well… I’ll do one worse." he said, looking thoughtful before grinning sinisterly. "This twice, how ‘bout we make it a third ?"
This time, Frisk was graced with a 'Ready ?' before the attacks came and thus, with a little bit of their help, he managed to survive this time.
They didn’t say anything other than where blasts and bones that he couldn’t see appeared; they could tell that he wasn’t in the mood for useless talk, he wanted answers.
"Here we go." he said ironically, even fake clapped.
"Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you ?!" Frisk asked as he tried to stab the small skeleton. "I know you’re probably mad I killed almost everyone but still, what the hell ?!"
Chara had never heard their boyfriend swear before - it felt wrong coming from his young voice, it completely clashed with its softness…
At least, it apparently was all that was needed for that wretched skeleton to decide to finally explain himself a little.
"You can't understand how this feels." he suddenly said, avoiding the human’s attack like it was nothing. "Knowing that one day, without any warning… It's all going to be reset."
"Wh- You know about the resets ?!" Frisk asked, shocked - and honestly, Chara was too. "Why didn’t you say something ? Why didn’t you do anything before this ?"
Frisk didn’t know how to feel about Sans having known about the resets, but Chara sure as hell did !
Why didn’t this small fuck do something when he noticed the human slowly losing hope as he did the same thing over and over again ?
Why didn’t he try to do something after the very first reset, why didn’t he do more than threaten Frisk in Snowdin ?!
Hell, why didn’t he try to prevent it sooner ?!
What a fucking coward, only showing his face when all was already done and he was just wasting time being in the way…
"Look, I gave up trying to go back a long time ago, and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either." he said, not actually explaining anything that Frisk could understand. "Cause even if we do… we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right ?"
Without any context, Frisk obviously didn’t understand anything besides the accusations, but Chara did.
Sans used to be a pretty good friend of theirs when they were still alive - them having the same puntastic sense of humour and all - and told them a few things.
Nothing much, just the little that he told trusted people, but it was enough to figure out a lot more.
The blueprints, the machine, the photo album, the card…
It was sad, really.
But right now Chara didn’t care about any of it.
Right now they wanted nothing more than to see him slowly turn into dust from their hands, his eyes filled with utter hopelessness as he breathed his last pitiful breath.
"But I’m going to reset for the last time now, I swear, and then it’ll be all of us on the surface just existing without having to worry about LOVE or anything, ever !" Frisk assured as he tried to hit him again - and failed. "Wouldn’t that be nice…?"
"No. To be blunt, it makes it kind of hard to give it my all when I know it won’t matter in the end." he stated rashly, and then smiled lazily. "...Or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy...? Hell if I know at this point."
Before Frisk could continue trying to make Sans believe that this was going to be the very last reset, he died again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
There was no convincing that stupid skeleton, he was just too stubborn and pessimistic !
He kept saying that Frisk would reset in the middle of a normal surface day when he would get bored, that you just couldn’t do anything about anomalies like him…
Chara wanted to strangle him for calling their well meaning boyfriend an anomaly.
He also kept counting how many times he killed him, making jokes by making up words for other numbers that would sound like twice.
They were disgusted.
Because apparently it was way too hopeless to believe things would be alright if Frisk was to reset instead of being stopped, but not hopeless enough for taking killing a 10 year old child, seriously ?!
They were ashamed to have ever been friends with such a despicable monster.
"If you don’t manage to, I’m the one that is going to fucking kill him." they grunted barely above a whisper, as he once again walked up to that damn skeleton.
"Hm… That expression…" he said, still smiling. "That’s the expression of someone that died seven times in a row."
"Bitch..." Frisk hissed simply with hate.
"Hey, that’s good. Seven’s supposed to be a lucky number." he continued, his tone patronising as he winked at Frisk - oh, so now he was talking to him like a child ?! "Who knows, maybe you’ll hit the jackpot…"
Frisk was used to this by now, so he didn’t even need any of their help to survive the array of attacks coming all around him.
Soon enough he wouldn’t even need any concentration for it and would be able to talk while doing it - although they hoped he’d kill Sans before it came to that.
"Why are you even fighting me if you think that it’s hopeless ?!" Frisk finally asked once he was done dodging. "You never cared, so why now ?!"
"All I know is... Seeing what comes next, I can't afford not to care anymore." he said, but his heavy breathing seemed against it. "Ugh... That being said… You, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh ?"
"Yeah, and I'll keep doing it until you either back the fuck up and let me reset or until you die." Frisk said confidently, trying to channel something Chara would say. "Take your pick."
They couldn’t help but smile tenderly; what he was doing was pretty cute, imitating their hate to try to intimidate Sans.
It was such a Frisk thing to do too, seemed that even a genocide couldn't stop him from being his adorable quirky self.
It was a bit reassuring too in a way; if he kept having his spirits up, maybe he could win.
"…Listen, I know you didn't want to answer me before, but…" he started, smiling sadly - but they could tell from experience that it was all just an act. "Somewhere in there, I can feel it, there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. The memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. Someone who, in another time, might have even been... A friend ?"
"Huh…?" Frisk asked, now confused.
"C'mon, buddy… Do you remember me ?" he continued as he gave him a friendly smile and opened his arms for a hug. "Please, if you're listening… Let's forget all this, OK ? Just lay down your weapon, and... Well, my job will be a lot easier."
"Don’t trust him, partner, the second you hug him he will use his bones to kill you." they stated, frowning. "I know him, he does not have quick changes of heart like this."
And so Frisk only walked up to the small skeleton to try to stab him with his trusty knife, but once again Sans easily dodged the blow.
It was really infuriating to watch and Chara wanted nothing more than to take control of his body to finish the job, but he still was more determined than them so they didn’t manage to.
"Welp, it was worth a shot." he said, grinning as he looked at the frustration on the human’s face. "Guess you like doing things the hard way, huh ? All right, that's it."
"Huh, what do you mean that’s it ?" Frisk asked, trying to hide their hope. "Are you finally giving up, Sans ?"
"No, it's time for my special attack." he stated, a mischievous smile making his way to his face. "Are you ready ? Here goes nothing."
Frisk couldn’t help but close his eyes as he waited for the blow - which terrified his ghostly partner for a second - but nothing happened…
He waited for a long second, then another, waiting for the cruel moment Sans would shatter his hopes and kill him…
But still nothing.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at himself, which only confused him further; Sans was just holding him above the ground with his powers.
It was just far enough away that, even if Frisk found a way to escape his grasp, he wouldn’t be able to get to him in time to stab him…
What the fuck…?!
Looking up and meeting Sans’ proud eyes did nothing to help his confusion.
"Yep, that's right, it's literally nothing." he said, sounding smug as hell. "Heh heh heh... Ya get it ?"
"No…?"
"I know I can't beat you. One of your attempts… you're just gonna kill me." he stated, gesturing vaguely a stabbing motion. "So, uh, I've decided... It's not going to be your turn, ever."
"Is he serious ?!" they exclaimed, pure hate pouring from their voice.
"I'm just gonna keep you in place until you give up, even if it means we have to stand here until the end of time." he stated very seriously. "Capiche ?"
Frisk didn’t seem to share their anger however, instead his face was full of dread; which was understandable, being told that you will stay in place forever is pretty terrifying.
They wanted to comfort him, but what could they even do…?
Maybe they could try to devise a plan to outsmart Sans ?
Chara grinned as it finally hit them; of course, that dumb skeleton didn’t know they were there with Frisk, so they could use that to kill him !
"You'll get bored here, if you haven't gotten bored already, I mean." he continued, looking a bit tired from using that much magic. "And then you'll finally quit."
"…So what am I supposed to do then ?" Frisk asked, his voice thin from hopelessness.
"The most 'determined' thing you can… yaw… do here ?" he said, yawning a bit. "It’s to, uh, completely give up and… yaw… do literally anything else."
"Frisk, I know what to do !" they suddenly exclaimed, a bit giddy from having found an out. "He is tired, so you can wiggle your way out of his magic and stab him !"
"B-but he’ll have the time to dodge by the time I’m there…" Frisk noted sadly.
"Don’t worry sweetie, I have a plan." they assured, using their confidence to soothe his worries. "Trust me, he will turn to dust this time."
"OK…"
And so Frisk moved around and managed to get his feet back on the floor quickly and safely.
Then, he leaped up to Sans and, with the little determination he had left, he swung his weapon one last time.
Sans dodged again, of course he did, and the last spark of determination the human had left went with him.
"Heh, did ya really think you would be able-"
Chara used that perfect moment to take control of their boyfriend’s body and leap forward themself; that wretched skeleton knew Frisk would be dejected by failing and wouldn’t attack immediately after, but he didn’t know that they would.
They stabbed him right through his chest, grinning as pure determination fell out and specks of dust filled the air.
"…So… Guess that's it, huh…?" he sighed weakly. "Just... don't say I didn't warn you."
"Whatever, comedian." they said harshly, only grinning wider.
"Well, I'm going to Grillby's." he muttered, using his last strength to walk so he would be behind them - probably wanting to at least have the dignity of turning to dust without them seeing it. "…Papyrus, do you want anything…?"
Chara didn’t bother turning around to see it, looking at their soul’s 20 LOVE and hearing the dust hit the floor was enough to confirm that the small skeleton was finally dead once and for all.
Notes:
I hoped you liked this longer chapter because I know it was very anticipated.
Please, do tell me your thoughts in the comments ! :D10/04/24 edit : I needed to fix a few things.
I realised some dialogues didn’t flow together very well…
Plus, I had counted the number of times Frisk died wrong ! qwq
Chapter Text
Chara almost walked up to the throne room, almost went up to their father to kill him too; wasn’t he the only monster left, with Flowey ?
But, thankfully, they weren’t alone, and their boyfriend was able to remind them the actual reason they had killed Sans in the first place.
"Chara, we came here to reset, remember ?" he reminded softly, having not gathered enough of his determination to take his body back yet. "We need to stay in the golden corridor for that, we need a big open space where we are alone, so your father's throne room wouldn’t be good."
"…Ah yes, right." they muttered, embarrassed that the LOVE made them forget that obvious fact. "Go ahead."
Chara then left his body and waited patiently for him to reset.
It felt wrong, letting all the power they had amassed just go away, but they reasoned they wouldn’t feel that way anymore once the LOVE was gone.
They wanted to go back to the surface with their monster friends, their family and their dear human, that was all that truly mattered.
That’s why they smiled when Frisk's soul glowed and turned back time to the beginning; soon, they would all get to see the sunset together again.
Once they woke up again on top of their flowery grave, they floated to the next room and, instead of finding their boyfriend with their mother, they found him with Flowey.
They visibly had been talking for at least a little while, since the flower was in the middle of a sentence as they arrived.
And, since their awakening always correlated with him calling their name, they were sure that Flowey started this conversation with something like 'Hello again, Chara'.
"I’m so excited, so get moving fast !" he laughed giddily. "Befriend all those idiots and get them to the surface, their disappointment will be so fun !"
"Alright." Frisk said with a grin. "Don’t forget to come attack us so everyone can try to protect me, then you’ll actively have the equivalent of 7 human souls."
"That’s a wonderful idea !"
And just like that Flowey dived into the ground and was gone.
Chara couldn’t help but smile; that would be the 30th and final time they’d see that, then everyone would finally really be free.
Frisk didn't say a word to them and they did the same, they were both a bit nervous about meeting Toriel again after having seen her turn to dust because of them two…
Well, only Frisk technically, but Chara felt responsible having taken the LOVE and also not having been able to stop him.
Neither knew when they would meet her, since she usually saved the human from Flowey…
But what was sure is that both of them felt like it would be too soon and yet not soon enough.
When they met her around a corner, neither of them could fight the tears that were threatening to fall like waterfalls.
Frisk was about to brush it off by saying that he was crying because he was scared and alone - even if he was young, he already had learned how to mask and pretend - but Chara never had such emotional control.
They couldn’t help it, they were just so thankful she was alive and well…
They took control of Frisk’s body instinctively and tackled their mother into a tight hug, crying into her as they did so.
"Oh, mom, you are OK…" they muttered barely above a whisper. "I’m so glad."
"…Chara, is that you ?" she asked softly, matching their volume. "My child…?"
That was only then that they realised the gravity of what they had just done; they had never, not in any of the 29 other resets, attempted to use Frisk’s body to talk to anyone.
What were they doing ?
They could feel him trying to get control of his body, but they were too stirred for it to work.
And they didn’t want it to work anyway; they had already gone so far, might as well rip the bandage of their ghostly presence off.
"Y-yeah…" they answered, looking away. "T-this human fell on the flower grave you made for me a-and I’m here now…"
"T-that’s impossible." she said in disbelief, pulling away for a few seconds to look at them before hugging them again even tighter. "M-my sweet child."
"I’m sorry for all the grief I’ve caused you…" they mumbled, overwhelmed by guilt. "Neither you or dad deserved that, and Asriel too…"
"Oh, my child, it’s truly fine, it was not your fault." she assured in a soothing tone only she was capable of. "What matters is that you’re there and OK, no matter how small your presence is."
"I need to give the human his body back…" they gently said, pulling away to smile at her. "Love you mom."
"Love you too, my sweet child." she said, smiling even when the body language of the human in front of her changed completely. "Greetings child, I hope the flowers made it so you didn’t hurt yourself too much."
"Hello, and don’t worry, they sure did." he assured with an awkward smile. "Sorry for cutting short your family reunion with Chara…"
"Oh, it’s no problem, my boy." she said with a smile. "Come with me, after such a fall you need rest, there’s a comfy bed you can use at my house."
"OK !"
Chara watched the scene tenderly; maybe this was a sign, this one was it, this would be the time everyone could live happily on the surface, them included and especially Asriel too.
Notes:
A bit shorter than usual but I thought it was a sweet way to end it.
I hope you liked the story !Please do comment your thoughts, it's really nice and helpful, especially for writing the sequel. :)
It'll be an alternative future where Flowey joins them on the surface and some body/soul shenanigans might be involved :3
Chara_s_Family on Chapter 1 Sat 25 Jun 2022 02:22PM UTC
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Fallen_Potato_omgwhatiscishet on Chapter 1 Sun 26 Jun 2022 04:46PM UTC
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Chara_s_Family on Chapter 1 Mon 27 Jun 2022 08:19PM UTC
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Chara_s_Family on Chapter 1 Wed 29 Jun 2022 12:59AM UTC
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Fallen_Potato_omgwhatiscishet on Chapter 1 Sat 02 Jul 2022 07:07PM UTC
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Atedra on Chapter 1 Sun 30 Jun 2024 02:53PM UTC
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Chara_s_Family on Chapter 2 Sat 25 Jun 2022 02:28PM UTC
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Cris (Guest) on Chapter 3 Tue 01 Feb 2022 01:05AM UTC
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Fallen_Potato_omgwhatiscishet on Chapter 3 Tue 01 Feb 2022 07:30AM UTC
Last Edited Wed 02 Feb 2022 12:44PM UTC
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Cris (Guest) on Chapter 4 Fri 04 Feb 2022 08:57AM UTC
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Fallen_Potato_omgwhatiscishet on Chapter 4 Mon 07 Feb 2022 08:12AM UTC
Last Edited Sun 05 Nov 2023 10:12AM UTC
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Cris (Guest) on Chapter 5 Fri 04 Feb 2022 07:34PM UTC
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Freetoffee on Chapter 6 Tue 08 Feb 2022 12:04AM UTC
Last Edited Tue 08 Feb 2022 12:05AM UTC
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Fallen_Potato_omgwhatiscishet on Chapter 7 Mon 15 Aug 2022 10:12PM UTC
Last Edited Sun 07 Apr 2024 04:07PM UTC
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