Deltarune - Chararune

by EyeOfArgus

Summary:

Asriel, along with his college roommate, Chara, want to get some extra credit with some volunteer hours! They gain some work at the high school back in Asriel's old town. But while there, they find an entrance to a mysterious dark world.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Greetings, I am Chara.

Chara… The demon who… Wait, no, hold on. That’s not right. Let me start over.

 

I’m an art major at Ebott College, a school for humans and monsters alike to pursue a higher education. Like all Saturday afternoons, I am currently spending my time in a DnD session with my roommate, Asriel, he’s an extremely tall goat man with blond hair and long horns. He would have quite an intimidating stature if he was not such a dork. He’s always wearing a varsity jacket repping Ebott, he seems to be fully convinced it’s cool.

 

Along with him is his small group of friends. Including Pizzapants, he’s an orange cat monster who usually likes to wear plain polo shirts. At least I think he’s a cat. He could be a bear. His face is so amorphous it’s hard to keep up, really. He’s a real piece of work, that one. He’s always grumbling about his dead-end job, claiming he’s capable of so much more. I believe he’s taking acting classes, and I’ll tell you one thing; at the very least he’d be a shoe-in for the role of a slasher villain. He has some real embarrassing story about why he’s called that. I find it endearing! Everytime I use that nickname he looks at me like he’s contemplating murder, it’s pretty hilarious, actually. 

 

The only other one at the session was my little cousin, and Asriel’s only other friend , Frisk. Another human. Everyone always tells us we look a lot alike but I really don’t see it. Their skin tone is darker than mine, and their face is covered in freckles. Also while we both have brown hair that goes past our chins, theirs is frizzier, I take much better care combing mine. Our fashion sense is completely different too! As in, I actually *have* a fashion sense! My preferred look is a green vest with yellow lines around the edges, overtop of a long sleeved collared shirt. Frisk is always wearing the oversized same pink and blue hoodie! Despite this, everyone keeps mistaking us! So I had to find a signature, and ended up picking a green beanie hat that I just wear everywhere now.

Although, there is one thing we do have in common. Our ruby red eyes. You wouldn’t be able to tell at first, Frisk never opens their damn eyes. We are still cousins, perhaps it runs in the family?

 

What was I talking about again?

 

Oh, right. I should probably just get on with it already, huh? The four of us get together every weekend in mine and Asriel’s dorm, and play a game of DnD. I’m the group DM, and Asriel played a mage. The four of us were together, circled around a table, finally reaching the end of our current game. We were in the throne room of the evil king. I know it doesn’t sound like the most creative story, but you had to be there, I swear.

 

“Who would dare to disturb me in the middle of my plans? Leave, or die.” I quoted, putting on my most sickening evil grin I could muster to really set the mood. The group calls it my ‘scary face.’

 

“Heh.” Pizzapants, who was playing a warrior, scoffed, cockily rolling his die without even facing the table. “I charge at the king with my mighty war ax, swiftly slicing directly for his neck!”

 

“That’s a one.” I said bluntly. “The king effortlessly grabs your ax and throws it at a wall, with you still holding it. You crash into the wall and take twenty damage.”

 

Pizzapants gripped onto the table and shook, staring with the most rageful expression I’ve seen in my life as he gritted his teeth in an attempt to force a smile. 

 

“Aha… Not a great start…” Asriel murmured with a forced smile. “Hey Frisk, it’s your turn, right?”

 

“I SEDUCE THE KING.” Frisk yelled with the biggest smile on their face as they shot up from their chair, as if they were eagerly waiting for this opportunity. And knowing Frisk, they were. 

They were playing a bard, by the way, if that wasn’t obvious.

 

“Frisk…” Asriel groaned with his head in his hands. “You can’t just flirt your way out of every situation.”

 

“It’s been working out greatly so far.” Frisk argued with a smirk. “Isn’t that right, cuz?

 

“ It’s a Natural 20. ” I muttered, even more distraught over the circumstances than Asriel. Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile and continued the narration. “You use your impeccable charm on the king and he’s immediately in love. He drops his weapon and gazes at your beauty.”

 

“Aww, stop.” Frisk put a hand to their cheek and waved their other hand, faking a flustered expression.

 

“I will kill you.”

 

“Well…” Asriel sighed, rolling his dice. “It’s my turn, so I’m going to cast Fireball.” 

 

Asriel rolled a twelve. Typically that’s how it always went. Pizzapants would get all the worst rolls while everything went perfect for Frisk. It was like they were siphoning his luck, or something. Meanwhile, Asriel was always somewhere in the dead center. It was honestly fascinating, watching these three play.

 

“Well, it hits. Ten damage.” I shrugged. “The fire burns even through his royal armour, but it is not enough to knock him out of his trance…”

 

By the time the king was defeated, the sun was already starting to set. We had just finished wrapping up when someone finally noticed the time.

 

“Ah, crap… I got to work at my summer job in the morning.” Pizzapants sighed, grumpily standing up from his chair. “I’ll get going.”

 

“Summer job?” Asriel raised an eyebrow. “You still at P“e”zza? It’s October.”

 

“IT SURE IS.” 

I couldn’t see his expression, but it was Pizzapants, so I knew it was something magical. Is it possible for a living, breathing person to be off model?

 

“I guess I’ll be heading off too. I got volunteer work in the morning.” Frisk said with a wave.

 

“Well look who’s contributing to society!” I teased, leaning forward in my chair with a smirk.

 

“Oh hush, Chara.” They pretended to be annoyed, but I saw the smile on their face as they rushed out of the room.

 

Asriel and I were alone in our dorm after that, and we sat in awkward silence for a few moments.

 

“Oh! Volunteer work, that’s right!” Asriel spoke up. “Don’t forget, we have some of our own tomorrow, at my old highschool in Hometown!”

 

“I keep forgetting your hometown is LITERALLY called Hometown. Who’s responsible for that junk?”

 

Asriel shrugged.

“I try not to think about it. Now help me clean up.”

 

I let out a large groan as I stood up and started helping. 

The night ended shortly after and the next day began with a car ride to Hometown. It was a town full of monsters, really my dream place to stay. Frisk was always the only other human I could stand spending time with. But on the down side it was an extremely small place. It looked like you could explore the entire town within a few minutes.

 

“We’re here!” Asriel shouted as he parked in front of the school with a big smile on his face. He was quick to get out as he inhaled sharply, taking in the nostalgia. The school looked pretty quiet from the outside, which made sense. It was a Sunday, so not many people were around.

 

“I can see that.” I responded sarcastically, trudging out of the car and taking a moment to stretch. “So we’re here to help out your mom, right? She waiting for us inside?”

 

“Yeah, she sent me a text just a couple hours ago. Let’s go already!” 

 

As he rushed me in, I took a look around the area. It was a school, alright. My highschool was primarily human, and it looked just about identical to this. Asriel started speed-walking straight for his mother’s classroom, and I had to jog to catch up. I didn’t get to him until he stopped in front of the door, placing my hand on his shoulder as I struggled to catch my breath.

“Hey slow down already, you-!”

 

“Oh, hello there!” The kindly voice of an old lady greeted me. It immediately caused me to stand straight and place a hand against my chest. “You must be Chara! Asriel has told me so much about you!”

 

“Yes, that is I. Greetings, Ms. Dreemurr.” I said with a polite smile as I bowed.

 

“ Since when did you have manners? ” Asriel leaned to the side and whispered into my ear with a cocky grin, lightly punching me in the shoulder. 

I made a mental note to get back at him later, but I kept my expression peaceful.

 

“Well aren’t you just the sweetest!” Toriel said in that tone only a kindly mother figure could, it was almost embarrassing being the target of it. “Just Toriel is fine, dear.” 

 

“We are here for the volunteer work, but I’m sure you knew that.” I continued. “You needed some help around the school, correct? Is there any way we can assist you right now?”

 

“Oh, just jumping right to it, such a hard worker!” Toriel praised, before taking a moment to think. “There are some supplies I need, perhaps you two could find your way to the supply closet?” 

 

“Sure thing, mom.” Asriel responded nonchalantly. “I remember the way, come on, Chara.”

 

“Oh, and while you’re in town, make sure to say hello to Kris! They really miss you, you know.”

 

“Yeah, of course!” Asriel gave his mom a grin and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, before turning around and rushing toward the supply closet, pushing me forward to force me to keep up with him. 

 

As we stopped in front of the double doors at the end of the hall, I started to get an ominous feeling, but it was all shot away by Asriel suddenly shoving me and looking down at me with the most mischievous looking grin I’ve ever seen from him.

 

“Dude, were you really trying to impress my mom?”

 

“I just know how to respect authority, thank you very much!” I argued.

 

“Oh yeah? Since when?” He countered. “I had to stop you from getting in a fight with a cop over a parking ticket.”

 

He wasn’t wrong. Really it always just depended if it was a type of authority that I deemed deserved respect.

“Let’s just get the supplies already.”

 

As I swung open the doors, All we could see was total darkness. Just an empty void of black. I was suddenly doused with an overwhelming feeling of fear. I took a few steps back on instinct. 

 

“Hey, Chara? Is everything…” Asriel went silent. “Oh…”

He walked up to me and gently put a hand on my shoulder, he crouched down to meet my eyes. I was already pretty short for my age, and those goat monster genes made him nearly twice my size, I’ve always found it frustrating.

“We’ll go in together, alright?” He continued. “What could be so scary about a boring old supply closet anyway?”

 

I took a moment to think, before taking a deep breath. ‘ What am I so scared of? What could it possibly be? ’ I thought to myself, mostly just to rationalize what was happening in front of me.

 

“Alright.” I finally agreed. The two of us ran through the doors together, and fell into the darkness.

Chapter 2: Castle Town

Summary:

Chara and Asriel fall into a strange dark world unlike anything they've seen.

Dark, Darker, yet Darker.

 

The shadows overcame us as we fell into the pitch black abyss. 

 

At some point, I must have lost consciousness, because when I awoke, Asriel was hunched over my body as I laid on the ground face first. Not only that, he was also wearing the silliest outfit I’ve ever seen.

 

He was wearing what seemed to be a purple wizard robe, with long white sleeves and a pointy purple hat to match. His horns were poking out from the hat. Also, was it me or were the colours of his fur and hair more… Vibrant?

 

I guess I should be thankful about that, it made him easier to see in this place. I was against the cold gray ground and the sky above was pitch black. As I sat up, I placed my hand against the ground. It felt like solid stone. Whatever happened on the way down, it’s a miracle I don’t have a concussion.

 

…I think. Is your skin turning a bright red a sign of a concussion?

 

“Hey, Earth to Chara.” I heard Asriel call, knocking me out of my thoughts. “Everything alright? You look kind of out of it.”

 

I looked up at Asriel as if he were speaking another language. 

Of course I look out of it. I just took a tumble from God knows how high.

 

That’s what I wanted to say. But instead…

“...What the hell are you wearing?”

 

“I know right?” He responded with a slight smirk, looking down at his sleeves. “It’s like I’ve come right out of our campaign!”

“Not like you’re one to talk.” He added with a smirk.

 

I paused for a moment, placing the palms of my hand against my head, as I looked down at my torso. My outfit seemed to resemble that of a rogue’s. My shirt was black with red sleeves, and I had dark red pants with a bright red belt and black shoes. I also seemed to be wearing silver shoulder pads, with a red scarf, and I had what felt like a hood over my head. Also, as mentioned earlier, my skin appeared to be red now.

 

I put my finger up to my chin, as I took a moment to process the events before me. After a few seconds, I came to an epiphany.

“We’re in Hell.”

 

Asriel scoffed, as he reached down his hand and helped me to my feet. 

“Must be, cuz I’m here with you.”

 

“Yeah yeah, let’s just find a way out of here already.”

 

I immediately strutted forward, leaving Asriel to have to catch up as I took a look around, trying to get a feel of where this really was. As we continued to walk by, a strange feeling of worry began to come over me. Strange black ooze was seeping out of holes in a nearby plateau. On the top of it, I noticed strange tendrils that began to wriggle as we passed them. 

 

“This is giving me the creeps…” I heard Asriel mutter from behind me, “Maybe that initial guess of yours was right.”

 

“Don’t be such a baby.” I snarked, turning around slightly to flash him a grin. “Ol’ Chara’s not afraid of anything.”

That, of course, was a lie. This was terrifying. I couldn’t have Asriel know that, though. I’ve always had a fantastic poker face, so lying had always come rather easily to me. Maybe not the best situation to lie in, but one of us needed to put on a brave face, we had no idea what could happen here.

 

We continued on, with me leading the way, but we came across more of those tendrils off in the distance, so I slowed down to get a look at them. They seemed to be on separate cliff sides above the dark abyss, so they were likely unreachable.

“What are those things anyway…?”

 

“Chara, watch out!”

 

“What-?”

As I turned around, three white bullets fired out from the tendril aiming right towards me. Before I even had a chance to react on my own, Asriel tackled me to the ground as they flew above my head.

“The Hell was that?! ”

 

“Who cares what it WAS, let’s just get out of here!” 

Asriel grabbed my arm and pulled me up to my feet. We ran down the narrow passageway, as more of the white bullets narrowly missed us, I felt one graze my arm just before we finally made it to safety. 

 

We took a moment to catch our breath, Asriel leaned against a wall, breathing heavily as he looked up at the lightless sky. 

As I hunched over, feeling a burning pain seer against my shoulder, a small light on the floor got my attention. 

 

I walked closer to it, crouching down as I reached out my hand. The light was mesmerizing.

 

You bathed your body in the light. A power shines within you, breaking through the Darkness.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Asriel tapped me on the shoulder. Suddenly knocking me out of my trance as I shot back up to standing straight, whipping around to face him. “Woah hey! My bad! You just looked like you got pretty hurt back there.”

 

“Jesus, don’t do that… But yeah I’m…” I paused, looking down at my shoulder. The pain was gone, as if I had never been hurt in the first place. “...Fine.”

“...Let’s keep moving.”

 

I headed forward. I could see Asriel hesitate, but he eventually caught up as well. The walk seemed as if it were taking forever, we passed by more strange sights, like these white puffs that disintegrate when touched, and mudslides that would bring us down to lower levels. As I continued down the path, I could see Asriel stop from the corner of my eye. I turned around and glared at him. He was staring up at a tall plateau in front of us.

 

“What are you doing?” I spat. “We won’t get anywhere just standing around.”

 

“Do you see that?” He pointed upward. 

 

“I can’t see anything down here, it’s dark as shit!”

Despite saying this, I looked up anyway. Indeed, there was a shadow of a person there. They looked short and stubby, and they weren’t doing anything. Just standing at the top, looking down at us. Watching us…

 

“HEY!” I called. “CAN YOU HELP US GET HOME?”

 

The figure lifted their hand. I chuckled in relief for a moment. 

“Heh, finally, things are looking up!” I nudged Asriel in the shoulder.

 

However, because God loves to watch me suffer, bullets in the shape of spades formed above the figure’s palm, and they started raining down upon us. I handled it like a champ, if I do say so myself. Even if I jumped out of the way and screamed. That’s just the natural thing to do in this situation!

 

Asriel and I immediately started running as the spades continued to rain down relentlessly. We had to continue to swerve out of the way to avoid getting injured by the magic bullets.

 

“You still think things are LOOKING UP?” Asriel spat as he ran up beside me. 

 

“Oh give me a break!” I retorted. “Is it so wrong to want things to go right for once?!”

 

Eventually, we came across another mudslide. This one was steep. It went much further down than the others, too. I froze in place.

 

“Hey.” Asriel spoke, in a softer tone now. 

“I’ll meet you down there, alright?” He said with a smile.

 

I couldn’t respond before he took the initiative and slid down. The spades were still coming down, and it was getting harder and harder to avoid them.

Damn it… Guess I have no choice.

Against my better judgment, I slid down as well. I had to continue to change direction, as even here the barrage didn’t stop. It was much harder to move on this thing than you’d think. 

 

Once I fell, the bullets finally stopped. We appeared to be somewhere else entirely. The area was still dark, but as I caught up with Asriel, who was waiting up ahead, I noticed strange buildings, all glowing a faint blue light. It was like we were in a strange town. At the very end, there was a castle.

 

“Great… Where are we now?” I muttered, rubbing the back of my head.

 

“Wherever it is, there’s buildings. So that means there’s gotta be someone here that can help us, right?” Asriel answered. “Let’s check out that castle. Maybe someone’s home?”

 

Reluctantly, I followed. On the way there, I checked some of the other buildings. A few looked like shops of some sort, but they were all locked. Seems like no one’s home…

“Are you sure about this, Azz?”

 

“Oh come on, you were just telling me to stop being a baby!” He ribbed, “we’ve already fallen so low, the only place to go is up!” 

 

“Was that an attempt at a pun?” 

 

Another one of those shining lights was in front of the castle. As Asriel stepped in, I took a moment to check it. I couldn’t really tell why, but I knew there was something important about these things.

 

I reached down and touched it, allowing the light to wash over me.

 

In front of you, a castle looms beneath the empty town. A black geyser emerges from it, piercing endlessly into the sky. The power of this place shines within you.

 

“How is there a castle here in the first place?” I muttered as I followed Asriel inside. “Wasn’t this supposed to be a supply closet?”

 

…Surprisingly, inside the castle, someone was actually there. Another strange figure, standing before us past the stairs. They were clad in a black cloak, all of their features covered by the shadows.

 

“Welcome, heroes…” They spoke, their voice sounded oddly familiar.

 

“Who’s there?!” Asriel shouted in response.

 

“Do not be alarmed, I am not your enemy!” The figure answered. “Please come forward, both of you.”

 

We looked at each other for a moment. Hesitantly, we stepped forward, climbing the stairs to look at the figure. 

 

“Welcome, I am the prince of this kingdom.” The figure continued. “The Kingdom of Darkness.”

 

“The Kingdom of Darkness? ” I echoed, with a hint of suspicion. 

 

The prince ignored me.

“Kr-... Hm… This doesn’t seem right.” He cut himself short. “The prophecy does call for a human and a monster, but… Is this correct?”

 

“Hold on, slow down. Prophecy?” Asriel interrupted.

 

“Oh, uhm. Yes! An ancient prophecy! Foretold by time and space… I suppose I shall tell you the tale.” 

 

The prince went on to tell us the legend. But something tells you already know that, right? Legend of light, dark, hopes, dreams. Human, Monster, Prince from the Dark. Angels Heaven. Calamities and imbalance or whatever. I doubt I need to recount this entire thing. So I’m not going to. 

 

“Thank you for listening to my long tale… I…” The prince paused again. “Well, I want to say I deeply believe you to be the heroes, but… I suppose it’s more proper to say I’m almost entirely convinced you are the heroes of legend!”

 

“Jee, thanks.” I sarcastically remarked.

 

“Ahem… Delta Warriors, would you please accept your destiny!”

 

Asriel and I paused, staring at each other for a moment.

 

“I’m gonna have to say no.” I responded bluntly.

 

“What?!”

 

“Oh come on, Chara! It’s like our campaign, but in real life!” Asriel argued.

 

“Azz, are you for real right now?” I sighed, “real life? I’m not entirely convinced this isn’t a hallucination experience as I become delirious nearing death.”

 

“Well, that’s unnecessarily dark…”

 

“You can’t seriously be considering this.”

 

“You two, please! Your help is greatly needed here!” 

The prince was suddenly knocked away by a strange teardrop shaped boy on a flaming bicycle.

 

“Ho ho ho! The heroes are already running away!” The boy laughed, “and they didn’t even know I was here! My dad’s gonna make me son of the month!”

 

“Great, and who’s this joker?!” I groaned, gripping my head with full force. 

 

“I’m… The bad guy!” He said, spinning around on his bike. “You CLOWNS want to seal our dark fountain, huh?!”

 

“Well, we were just-!” Asriel tried to respond.

 

“And, (STILL picturing you guys as clowns), save the world from eternal darkness! ” The tear shaped boy continued, interrupting Asriel. 

 

“Not really… ” I shrugged.

 

“Ha! Don’t even try to deny it! We both know you’ll go east! It’s your only way home!”

 

Finally, some answers. I took a step backward, ready to begin heading east. Before the child’s shrill voice continued, causing me to freeze in place.

 

“But I, Lancer, won’t let you go there!”

 

I sighed, staring at this kid, Lancer, with the most intimidating smile I could muster.

“Oh yeah? And just how are you going to stop us?”

 

For a moment he hesitated, the smile seemed to have worked, but it didn’t take long for Lancer to regain his composure.

“O-Oh, I’ve got a flawless two step plan!” He insisted, “step one, I thrash you! Step two, you lose!”

 

“Ha… Nice plan.”

 

“Really?!”

 

“Yeah, mind if we use it? ”

 

“It looks like we’re doing this…” Asriel sighed. 

 

Suddenly, a fight started. Asriel and I on one side, Lancer on the other. I wasted no time going for the kill. I didn’t even take a second to wonder where this new dagger of mine even came from. I could feel the damage dealt as the strike connected, but he didn’t seem too bothered by it.

 

“Woah, Chara!” Asriel reprimanded me. “Lancer, watch out for them!” 

 

I scoffed, why’d he have to go and warn him like that?

 

“My turn!” Lancer smirked, and he drove his bike around us, shooting spade shaped magic bullets at us from every direction. That at least answered who was doing that, earlier. A few of them managed to graze me, the pain was just like when I got hit by that shot from the tendrils from earlier. It was like I could feel the pain in my very soul.

 

“Are you alright?!” Asriel squeaked, using his turn to cast some kind of healing magic on me. I suppose that’s something he could do. 

 

“What are you doing? Attack back!” I ordered, “Do you want to get thrashed?!”

 

“Chara, we don’t need to jump straight to violence-!” 

 

Ignoring my roommate, I dashed forward and swung my dagger again. Asriel’s warning must have helped, because Lancer dodged it effortlessly. 

 

“Ah! Wait a second! My bike’s running out of fuel!” Lancer finally called. “Alright punkaroos, you had the luck of the draw this time, but next time, the losers will be you!”

 

Lancer sped away on his bike, attempting his best at laughing maniacally.

 

“...What an annoying little imp.” I sighed. 

 

“Are you two okay!?” Eventually, the hooded figure returned. “Ah- uhm… Allow me to introduce myself-!”

 

“Uh, do you mind removing the hood?” Asriel asked. “We can barely hear you with that thing on.”

 

“Oh… Very well…!” Doing as he was told, the figure removed his hood. “Uh. My name is Ralsei! Chara and… Azz, was it? It’s so wonderful to meet you! I’m certain we’ll be great friends!”

 

Ralsei, huh?

He seemed to be furry, and wore a green robe with a black heart and a matching witch hat, along with a pink scarf and green glasses.

 

“Asriel is fine, thanks.” Asriel responded with a smile.

 

“Yeah, we’re headed east, right?” I sighed.

 

“Oh uh, yes!” Ralsei responded with a stutter, “you can lead the way, Chara!”

 

I squinted. Something about this guy seemed off. 

“Alright, but Asriel walks between us.”

Asriel has always been a pacifist, but he was the biggest of each of us by a wide margin. If this Ralsei was planning anything, I need to think ahead.

 

“Oh.. Of course!” Ralsei stuttered. “Go ahead..!”

 

I, along with my new little RPG party, left the castle, and as soon as we walked out of town we headed east. At the end of the path there was a large golden door, which was left wide open. 

 

“Oh my, the great door was open?!” Ralsei acted shocked. “No wonder Lancer was able to come through…”

“Chara, once we pass through this door, our adventure will really begin.” He continued. “A journey foretold exactly by the prophecy. But I believe your choices are important too, so-!”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Can we go through now?” I cut him off. “I’d like to get home as soon as possible!”

 

“Uh… Right. Point being, I believe this tale may have a happy ending!” Ralsei responded. “So let’s try to get through without fighting, okay?”

 

Asriel smacked me in the shoulder.

“You hear that, no fighting. You maniac.” He teased.

 

I rolled my eyes and stepped through the door. Asriel walked in behind me, and Ralsei was the final one to walk through. As he entered, he slammed the doors shut behind him, and officially, the only way out was forward.

 

Chapter 3: The Field of Hopes and Dreams.

Summary:

The Card Kingdom arc is finally getting its start as the gang enters into the Field of Hopes and Dreams, making a few encounters.

With the door closed behind you, your adventure will truly begin… The power of adventure shines within you.

 

As I stood up from the shining white light, I took a look around at all my surroundings. The sky was pitch black, but there was a faint glow to everything. The purple grass and the leaves of the trees shone, lighting the way forward. 

 

The door behind us, as I figured, was locked. I let out a slight sigh as I placed a palm against it. 

“No way back, huh…”

 

“This is the only direction that will return you home, anyway!” Ralsei answered. “For now at least…”

 

“No use just standing around, Chara. Let’s just go.” Asriel added with a tired groan. 

 

“Yeah, yeah…” I scratched the back of my head, turning around as I led the way forward.  

As we stepped further into the fields, Ralsei hopped forward and gave a shining smile. At least I think he smiled. It was hard to tell, he was covering his face pretty well, all things considered. 

 

“Welcome to the Field of Hopes and Dreams!” He sang cheerily. 

 

“Name’s kinda long, isn’t it?” Asriel scratched his chin.

 

“Better than ‘Hometown’.” I quipped with a shrug. 

 

Asriel, ignoring me, took a step towards a small sign, narrowing his eyes as he crouched down.

“Warning! Enemies ahead! You’re gonna die! …Signed Lancer.” He read aloud. “Well, wasn’t that nice of him?”

 

“That kid… He really isn’t getting that whole bad guy thing, I think.” 

 

“Wait, there’s actually enemies here!”

 

“Rudinn, straight ahead!” I heard Ralsei shout.

 

Suddenly,  We were ambushed by a strange snake-like creature. We were thrown into battle, the three of us standing on the opposing side to… What did Ralsei call it? Rudinn. I could feel it as my soul appeared in front of me. It was like a small red heart. 

 

“What… Is this?”

 

Before I could fully process, the Rudinn was already attacking. Diamond shaped bullets formed around its body and they all launched forward, aiming directly for my soul. I instinctively tried to dodge, and my soul seemed to have the same idea, it easily dodged out of the way, avoiding all of the diamonds. 

“Did I do that…?”

 

“Great job, Chara!” Ralsei cheered, “now you just convince it to stop fighting!”

 

“Oh, I’ll convince it, alright.”

A grin curled its way up my lips as I pulled out a dagger. A weapon I apparently had on my person since the beginning? No real time to question that. I dashed forward, prepared my counterattack, and-!

 

“CHARA!”

 

Asriel’s loud reprimand shocked me into a frozen state. I stood, looming above the Rudinn, staring into its fearful eyes. After a moment of silence, watching it shake in place, I put the dagger back into its scabbard. 

“You’ll die if you keep fighting. Give up now.”

 

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Rudinn responded. Apparently it could talk. Its eyes sparkled with wonder as it wandered off. 

 

“Wow… You really had me worried there for a second…! Aha…” Ralsei laughed nervously, he looked as if he could pass out at any moment. “But good job sparing it! I knew you had what it takes to get out of here without fighting!”

 

“Please shut up, before I decide to change my mind.”

I started walking, Ignoring Ralsei’s shocked face as he tried to process what I just told him. Afterwards, on the way forward, there was another sign. I took the initiative, this time.

 

“If you’re reading this… I guess you’re dead. Signed Lancer.” 

 

“Well, he sure got us.” Asriel sneered, nudging me in the shoulder.

 

“I feel deader, already.” I gave a deadpanned answer in response. 

 

“...Yeah!” Ralsei added, assumedly in an attempt to feel included. 

 

As we walked on, eventually there was a fork in the road, we came across a fork in the road. Along with…

Lancer. He stood in front of a sign, making that same ridiculous pose he never seemed to move from. Even when he walked. It looked mighty uncomfortable, if I’m being honest. How does he do that?

 

Next to him was… Another sign. 

“Don’t read this sign. It’s a work in progress!” I read aloud. “...Signed Lancer.”

 

“...Really, dude?” Asriel asked, turning down to face Lancer, who stood as still as a statue with an unchanging oblivious smile. 

 

“Ho ho ho! If it isn’t my two favourite people!” Lancer chortled. “Syke! You aren’t even in my top five!”

 

“My day is ruined and my disappointment is immeasurable.” I responded, making my sarcasm as clear as I possibly could.

 

“Ho ho, I bet!” Lancer said back, taking it in complete earnest. “I see you fell for my devious sign ruse, as well! Consider yourself trapped!”

 

We stood in silence for several seconds, before Ralsei began to speak.

“But we aren’t trapped-”

 

I held up a hand.

“You really got us, we’ll win next time.” I answered forlornly. “Let’s go guys.”

 

We took a detour on the way, finding what looked to be candy growing off of a tree. Yes, I know, don’t question it. I tried to ask Ralsei about it, but he didn’t have any answer that made sense. He did mention something about it restoring 40 hit points though, like as if he were in some sort of video game.

 

Along the way forward, we found more enemies, mostly just Rudinns, but also a couple of these squid things that were apparently called Hathys. They surrounded my soul with heart shaped bullets, but didn’t attack directly. It made dodging harder, although nothing too difficult, it seems. I just needed to give them a compliment and they backed down instantly. Also, I stole a cake.

 

“That was really mean, Chara…” Asriel scolded me. 

 

I gave a casual smirk in response. 

“Oh, don’t be such a baby. It was purely for science!” I argued, “I needed to understand the rules of this world, like, just how many things can I fit in my pocket?”

“Apparently, there’s still room after shoving half a cake in there.”

 

“Ooh! Pocket cake! Can I have some too!?” I heard Lancer’s shrill voice ask. The three of us stopped and stared forward at him.

 

“Uhm… No?” Ralsei answered quietly. 

 

“Well FINE! Then let’s see how you handle against THIS team!” 

 

Lancer moved out of the way to show us his army. It was three Hathys. 

 

“Oh, is that all?” I sighed, honestly feeling a little disappointed by this. “Hey Ralsei, you want to handle this?” 

 

“Oh, uh…” Ralsei fumbled over the words for a few moments, “out of everyone, I’m glad we encountered all of you!”

 

This seemed to work perfectly, all the strange squid creatures were flattered at once. They still took their turn, however. A flurry of heart-shaped bullets spun around my own heart-shaped soul. But no movement was made, as the bullets didn’t come for it at all. Suddenly, ruining the moment, Lancer returned.

 

“Hey!!” He yelled, “Why aren’t you thrashed yet?!”

 

“You made a team purely out of Support Enemies. ” Ralsei answered bluntly. “Their bullet patterns aren’t balanced at all, it’s like a dinner made out of three glasses of milk.”

 

After a second of silence, Lancer retorted.

“...And that’s… Unusual somehow?”

 

“...Oh, kid… Who are your parents?” Asriel sighed, pinching in-between his eyes. 

 

“Why don’t we talk about this AFTER the battle?” Ralsei pleaded. 

 

I took that opportunity to spare all the Hathys, and the battle came to a close. Lancer ran off, and by that I mean he ran a few feet to the right before stopping. I stared at him in utter dumbfounded confusion, but I knew speaking wouldn’t exactly answer any questions. 

 

Afterward was a simple button puzzle. It involved all three of us, but wasn’t anything complicated. If anything it was rather easy to figure out. I could hear the clicking sound of a door opening once we solved it, and we went forward where… Another strange enemy was there to block our path. Of course.

 

It looked to be a red checkers piece with legs and the face of a dog. It was C. Round! And it attacked violently! Dancing around with the expression of a fearsome pupper, here for our blood.

 

“You’re thinking something stupid right now, aren’t you?” Asriel accused, in a rather uncalled for way.

 

“No!” I countered. I was. 

 

The battle was rather… short and anti-climactic, I simply wanted to scare it a little, honest. I dashed forward in an attempt to slice my dagger, feigning an attack, but even whiffing the air was enough to send it flying away. 

“...That wasn’t me.” I insisted.

 

“...Chara.” Asriel spoke, saying my name in that tone that always makes me tense up. I really didn’t try to hurt the damn thing. 

 

“We believe you…!” Ralsei immediately tried to diffuse the situation. “But let’s try to be a bit more careful in the future, yes?”

 

I gave a defeated sigh, and an annoyed grumble. But I was willing to concede to that. Didn’t understand why we had to spare all these things anyway. 

 

“Let’s just move forward, already.” 

And move forward, we did.

Notes:

I'm not really happy with this chapter, it's kind of just going through the motions of early deltarune chapter 1 stuff, but hey. What can ya do.

Chapter 4: A Quaint Little Seap

Summary:

The gang has some talks about lore, trust, and evil laughter.

We found a… Shop? It was a run down shack in the middle of nowhere, and it was made of some kind of fabric? Or paper maybe?

 

“I feel like we’d get stabbed if we go in there.” I think aloud. 

 

“Well if we do, you can at least stab them back.” Asriel joked.

 

“Please don’t.” Ralsei pleaded.”

 

“I’m gonna.” I sneered, before stepping into the building with the goats close behind me. 

 

It was indeed a shop. There was a small desk, behind it there were shelves filled with all kinds of strange nicknacks and trinkets. Manning the shelf was a mean that looked like a purple cat plush of some kind. He was missing an eye, and the eye he did have seemed to be a button. There were stitches all over his face, and a patch at the top of his head. I couldn’t help but feel like this man has been through a lot of damage.

 

“Hee hee… Welcome travelers.” He laughed in a raspy, mysterious voice. It seemed I caught his attention as I looked around at his wares, “...What do you like to buy?”

 

I jumped. 

“Huh, what?” I laughed, “Ahaha… No we’re… Just looking right now.”

 

“What, not good enough?” Seam responded with a smirk. “...I’m Jesting of course… Please, take all the time you need.”

 

 Asriel was the first to ask the strange cat a question.

“Sorry, if this comes across as rude.” He prefaced. “But who exactly… Are you? You seem different from the other Darkners we’ve come across.”

 

“Oh, Darkners come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, friend…” the cat gave a cold laugh. “But my name is Seam… Pronounced Shawm…”

 

“Uh, yeah.” I gave a deadpan response. “We heard how you said it the first time.”

 

Seam didn’t respond, not with words anyway, but he did go silent, and I saw an ominous smirk curl up on his lips. I wanted to say something more, but Asriel shot me a glare. Begrudgingly, I took a step back. 

 

“I’ve collected lots of odds and ends, over the years. Though it’s just a hobby.” Seam continued, seemingly very ready to move on to a new subject. “You have to find something to keep yourself sane around here, you don’t want to go mad like… Well, like everyone else, I suppose. Ha… Ha…”

 

  Asriel and I gave each other a look of concern. Neither of us really had any idea what to make of this guy, but Ralsei seemed unshaken. I didn’t think much of it, perhaps people like this are just normal to him. With a shrug, I decided to keep the conversation going, at least this guy wasn’t trying to kill us right off the bat.

 

“Hey, you seem knowledgeable. What can you tell us about Lightners?” I asked, against my better judgment. “We heard about Lightners and Darkers and all that from the prince here, but I’m honestly still confused on what their whole deal is.”

 

“Long ago, Darkners lived in harmony with Lightners.” Seam began his answer without missing a beat, like he was waiting for this question his entire life. “They were like gods to us… Our protectors, our creators… They gave us purpose, you see.”

 

“Gave you… purpose.” Asriel scratched the side of his head. “How does that make any sense? Shouldn’t we have heard about you guys before, if the connection between races was so deep?”

 

“Don’t try to think too much about it.” Seam laughed. “To continue, one day we were all locked away in this prison. The Lightners never returned. Embittered, the king took up arms, and aims to take revenge on on the Lightners that left us behind…”

 

“The king, huh… Ralsei, you’re a prince, right?” I asked, turning to the shorter goat.

 

“Huh???” Ralsei suddenly jumped, not expecting to get addressed. “N-no! I don’t think he’s referring to my family at all… I believe he means the king of this particular kingdom. Lancer’s father.”

 

“Oh, well… You don’t have to worry your fuzzy little head, Seam.” I said with a smirk, turning back to the shopkeeper. “Asriel and I here are Lightners, and we’re also the heroes of some prophecy or whatever!”

 

“It’s not ‘or whatever’!” Ralsei protested, “it’s a serious prophecy about the balance between worlds being disrupted-!”

 

Fortunately for us, Ralsei’s rant was interrupted by Seam’s strange and tired laughter.

“So you are the ‘heroes’ who are going to seal our fountain?” He asked with a sneer, “for some reason, I have trouble believing that…”

 

“...The hell is that supposed to mean?” I questioned, folding my arms as I stared daggers into the cat.

 

“Ha ha… It makes no difference to me anyway. Neither light nor dark hold a future for a Darkner in my condition.”

 

“Hey.” Asriel poked me in the shoulder. “Maybe we should just get out of here. He doesn’t seem to be selling anything we need, anyway.”

 

“Oh, before you go, I should probably explain more about the Card Kingdom to you, don’t you agree?” Seam asked with that same smirk, “it’s dangerous to explore a mysterious land without the integral knowledge…”

 

Once again, against my better judgment, I decided to keep this going. Much to Asriel’s annoyance.

“Alright, we’ll keep you company for another minute or so.”

 

“Ha ha… Wonderful, wonderful.” Seam leaned forward on his desk. “You know, there used to be four kings, living off in the Card Castle to the east. Until a strange knight appeared, three of those kings were locked away…”

“With the remaining king and his strange son in power, The land hasn’t seen this much chaos since…” Seam stopped short. “...Well, you don’t need to know about THAT…”

 

“Feh…” I scoffed, leaning back with my hands behind my head. “None of us care about some nobody kings…” 

 

“Be nice, Chara.” Asriel sighed. I shot him a shining, innocent smile. Asriel knew me well enough to know what that smile meant. (It meant no.)

 

Saying goodbye to the strange cat man, who simply just laughed, we left the shack. He did tell us one important thing at least, we would progress by heading east. So we made sure to do so. 

 

On the way, a thought came to my mind.

“...Hey Ralsei, what was that about a knight?” I asked. “Is that something we should be worrying about?”

 

“More importantly, why did Seam say we might not be the heroes?” Asriel added. “Didn’t that prophecy just say something about a human, monster, and prince from the dark?”

 

“O-Oh, it really isn’t your problem to worry about that!” Ralsei stuttered with a stilted laugh. “Just don’t think about it, Okay?”

 

“That’s a REALLY suspicious thing to say, Rals.” I groaned. “Are you hiding something from us?”

 

“Of course not! I wouldn’t gain anything from that…”

 

“I guess we have no reason not to trust you…” Asriel relented. 

 

“Right, right.” I nodded sagely, before grabbing Asriel’s arm and dragging him away to a nearby tree. “Excuse us for one second.”

 

As soon as we made it behind a tree, I took a quick look to make sure Ralsei wasn’t following us. He seemed not to be, he was politely waiting on the pathway, distractedly kicking his feet against the grass. 

 

“Okay.” I whispered, crouching down, and forcing Asriel down as well. “Are we REALLY sure we can trust this guy? The vibes are ALL off.”

 

“He just seems mysterious is all…” Asriel argued, whispering as well. “What’s so weird, about him?”

 

“His name is an anagram for your name, Asriel…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Asriel Ralsei. Ralsei Asriel. Does that not seem off to you?”

 

“Well, maybe a little…” He relented, “but he’s also the only guide we have to get around this place… Even if he is untrustworthy, what other choice do we have?”

 

I hated to admit it, but Asriel was right about that. I let out a long, drawn out sigh, as I tried to come up with a decision. Following Ralsei really was still our only choice in the matter.

“Alright, alright… But I am keeping an eye on him…”

 

Eventually, we joined back up with our guide.

“Ah! Asriel, Chara! Welcome back!” He beamed, “did you finish discussing strategy?”

 

“Sure, that’s a word for it.” I smiled crookedly, “let’s keep heading east, we’ll come across something new eventually.”

 

Coming across something is exactly what we did. Lancer was standing right in front of us, as if he was waiting for us with baited breath this entire time.

“Well, flip my flapjacks! The clowns are back in town.” He insulted, at least I think that’s what that was. “Well, bad news! Since you last saw me several minutes ago, I’ve created a brand new fighting team ready to stop you! None of you could stop me now, HO HO HO! Are you ready to-”

 

That was just about my limit. I had to interrupt him.

“Hold on. Stop. The hell was that?” I asked, rubbing the side of my forehead. “Ho ho ho? Really?”

 

Lancer paused, seeming to be taken aback.

“It’s… It’s my evil laugh!” He said with a shining grin, “scary right?”

 

“I’ve never been less terrified in my entire life.”

 

“I- You mean…” He stuttered to find his words. “You were so scared you forgot to be scared.”

 

“No. You sound like a baby Santa Claus.”

I took a few steps closer, kneeling down until I met the little munchkin at eye level. (That is if he had eyes.)

“You want to see scary? ahaha… I can show you scary.”

 

My smile curled into an unsightly grin, as I widened my eyes. The cloak of my outfit did its job in helping, as it obscured most of my face, my eyes barely visible as the deep red seemed to glow past the shadows. 

“I don’t think you’ve ever experienced a real scare, have you…?” I leaned forward, getting too close to the face of the young prince. “Then let’s have a lesson.”

 

I let out a blood curdling laugh. I’ve been told by my friends in the DND crew that it got to the point of sounding demonic at times. I always felt that was a little overboard, to be honest, but it always got the job done. Anyone that heard my killer laugh matched with my patented ‘creepy face’, was always scared stiff.

 

Though for some reason, Lancer looked excited. 

“Wow! Thank you so much, strange red person!” He beamed, causing me to nearly trip in surprise. Not the reaction I was expecting. “You really taught me how to be scary there, it was really kind of you!”

 

“Uh… Yeah… No problem…?” 

I was at a loss for words.

 

“Now… It’s time for a thrashing!” He ran off, mimicking the laughter I just showed him to the best of his ability. (If I had to be a critic, the cadence was still off.)
“Merry Christmas!” He added, leaving us with enemies shaped like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but more depressed. 

 

They had bullets shaped like puzzle pieces as well, but they were quite easy to befriend. I didn’t even have to do anything and they immediately shifted sides. After the fight was over, I could hear Asriel snickering behind me.

 

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” I hissed.

 

“Hey, I just knew your creepy face would pay off for something someday.” He teased, “who knew being terrifying had its benefits, your weird demon shit made you a friend!”

 

“It’s not ‘weird demon shit,’ Asriel, It’s a laugh.” I sighed.

 

We progressed forward, passing by a ridiculously simple puzzle. (I mean, come on. I’d like a brain teaser, at least!) And the adventure continued. But my mind was mostly elsewhere.

 

That Ralsei… Seemingly soft and kind hearted… But what’s really going on under that ridiculous hat?

Notes:

This chapter's a tiny bit longer than last time. Mostly because I felt I needed to compensate for spending more time with Seam than I intended.

Chapter 5: The Great Board.

Summary:

The group picks a name. And other things happen too, probably.

We eventually came across an area that was like… A chess board of some kind? Perhaps more like checkers. The floor beneath us was a path of red and black tiles, the area was guarded by creatures that were called Ponmen, according to Ralsei. Thankfully they seemed to have a weakness for singing, they fell asleep after a simple lullaby, and were easily pacified.

 

…Oh, no, I didn’t sing. I wouldn’t be caught dead singing. I made Ralsei do it.

 

Other than that, it seemed like it was going to be a simple jaunt, at least for now-

“AHAHA, so you’ve begun to cross the Great Board!” A shrill, familiar voice laughed from the shadows. “Impressive!”

…Ah.

Lancer, of course, had more schemes up his non-existent sleeves. To be honest, at this point I was just curious to see where this was going.

 

“It’s such a shame that YOU WON’T MAKE IT A STEP FURTHER!” He cackled, “Cause my guys are going to smash you into blood! Lots of blood! Splooshy blood! Very gross and bad!”

 

Lancer ended his attempt at a threat with a cackle. He was clearly working on it, which was nice. But I couldn’t take that seriously. I tried to hold back my snicker, covering my mouth with my hand, but I could feel it trying to force his way out. I looked over to Ralsei and Asriel, who were staring forward in dumbfounded confusion. I looked off to the nearby void, hoping to go unnoticed-

 

“Hey! Human! That was scarier right!?” Lancer called to me in giddy excitement. Damn it.

 

“ Oh yeah. You’re way scarier. Shaking in my boots. ” I forced out a response as my words quivered, trying my absolute hardest to not let my sentence be interrupted by an uproar of laughter.

 

“Hee! I knew it!” Lancer beamed, “I knew if I tried hard enough, I could be just as scary as you!”

 

Well honestly, after that I just felt bad.

 

My smile wavered, as I took a moment to regain my composure. After taking a few deep breaths, I stood up straight, and flipped some hair out of the way of my eyes.

 

“I don’t think I’m the best role model out there, kid… But you’re doing a pretty good job at the whole evil villain act.” I managed to say, plastering a calm smile across my face. “I’d still have a few pointers, maybe don’t phone it in so much with the blood thing, but all in all, a step in the right direction.”

 

“I don’t think you can call any step toward villainy the right direction…” Ralsei whispered.

 

“Ah, let ‘em be.” Asriel sighed, placing his hands behind his head. “Chara’s in their element here. They only get this excited during game night.”

 

“...Oh! Game night! That sounds fun!”

 

“Huh…? Oh, we just get together every week to play D&D. Chara’s the DM, and…”

 

As the two goats (I assume Ralsei is a goat? It’s hard to tell with that hat. But with the whole name thing I just… You know what this is off topic.) Got into conversation, my eyes drifted to the side as I noticed Lancer had a bucket with him. For some reason.

 

“Uh, Lancer… what’s the bucket for?”

 

“It’s to put the blood in!” He responded excitedly.

 

“...Ah.” 

I don’t know what I was expecting.

 

“Yeah, I’m not supposed to make a mess…” Lancer sheepishly added. “But thank you for the advice, human! You really helped me out!”

 

“Hey, if there’s anything I know, it’s how to play a good villain.” I said with a smirk, perhaps letting the comment stroke my ego ever so slightly.

“...Wait, weren’t you supposed to attack us?”

 

“Oh yeah! I was so excited I forgot to bring any guys!” Lancer admitted with almost too much gusto. “But next time, it will be the end for… Er… Do you guys have an official name?”

 

“Ooh! A name! We should come up with one!” Ralsei bounced.

 

“Hey, you know what, that idea doesn’t sound too bad!” Asriel agreed.

 

“...Do we have to?” I groaned. But it seemed I was already outvoted.

 

“Hey, we can use the bucket to choose!” Lancer grinned excitedly. “Everyone put a name in the bucket! Why don’t you choose, human?”

 

Well, if I choose the name, it’d mean I wouldn’t have to come up with one. Don’t get me wrong, I come up with cool names for my campaigns all the time, but that requires brainstorming sessions, and me wanting to do it.

 

After the rest placed their papers in the bucket, I leaned down to look at them all. Two were very neatly folded. The third was signed by Lancer.

 

‘So it’s a 50/50.’ I supposed.

 

Reaching in, I pulled one paper out and unfolded it. 

“‘The Gods of Hyperdeath.’” I read aloud. Ah. This was Asriel’s.

 

“That almost makes US sound like the villains…” Ralsei muttered.

 

“It’s to strike fear in the hearts of our enemies, obviously!” Asriel countered.

 

“I like it!” Lancer bellowed, as if his vote mattered.

 

I rolled my eyes and stared at it for a few more moments.

“Well, it’s pretty long, I gotta admit.” I said, “maybe we could shorten it to like, ‘the Death Gang.’ Or something.”

 

“That STILL makes us sound like the villains!” Ralsei complained.

 

“Alright then, Death Gang it is!” 

Hey, I was chosen to make the pick, so it’s my choice that matters at the end of the day.

 

As Lancer ran off, I found another one of those stars. The same ones I’ve been seeing all over the place since arriving in the Dark World. I reached down and…

 

The power of the Death Gang Shines within you.

 

…Whatever that means.

 

We continued down… What did Lancer call it? The Great Board? The path narrowed, and more Ponmen attacked. We even met some figures that resembled other chess pieces, who seemed to be smart enough to not try attacking. 

 

It didn’t take very long for us to find Lancer again, it seemed that he was waiting for us at the end of the Great Board.

 

“Ho ho ho! Well step in my boots!” …Old habits die hard, I guess. “Well if it isn’t the Death Gang! You better turn back while you can!”

 

“Lancer! What is it this time!” Ralsei yelled.

 

“He’s probably got some enemy to fight us again.” Asriel sighed.

 

“Ho ho ho, I’m simply warning you-!” Lancer paused. “...Well you took the fun out of it! I’ll have you know it’s really scary and inconvenient! I can’t even go home, I’m so scared.”

 

I winced.

“Maaaybe leave that last part out of your threats…” I advised.

 

As Lancer moved out of the way to show us the hyper dangerous threat, we came across. That little checkers piece guy from earlier. I was honestly so baffled, it took a moment to process what I was looking at.

“....That’s all, huh?”

 

“Wow! You aren’t even scared!” Lancer exclaimed with amazement.

 

“I mean, this thing’s harmless.” I shrugged. “What’s it going to do…”

 

“Well, normally…”

A crown fell onto the creature’s head, and it grew three times in size.

“It crushes people to death, I think…”

 

Lancer ran off, leaving us with his hyper dangerous threat. Maybe a little less sarcastic, this time.

 

“Great…” I scoffed, gripping onto my dagger as I dashed out of the way off K. Round’s mighty hop. “What are we supposed to do for THIS thing?”

 

“Don’t worry!” Ralsei insisted. “I have an idea!”

 

Ralsei bowed his head, and the giant checkers piece followed suit. The crown seemed to waver ever so slightly. Asriel and I were dumbfounded. We stared at each other with the same confused expression.

 

“You want us to bow at the thing?” Asriel asked.

 

“Well, how else do you expect to get the crown to fall?”

 

More attacks fired from K. Round, as Asriel sighed with a shrug as he joined in. The crown loosened further. I was a bit more hesitant on the matter, however. 

“Come on Chara!” Asriel persisted, “if we all do it we’ll get it down quicker!”

 

“I hate respecting royalty…” I muttered. It kicked stars at me. They managed to hit me as I attempted to jump out of the way.

I felt the pain in my very soul. It didn’t do much, but it was an agonizing feeling.

“Alright, fine!” I eventually relented.

 

With the three of us working together, the crown fell off, and the creature rolled away harmlessly. Exhausted, Asriel and I fell onto the ground, taking a moment to sit.

 

“...Why couldn’t we…. just attack… the thing, again?” I asked breathlessly.

 

“There’s always a peaceful solution!” Ralsei rebuked with a smile, “besides… Something tells me fighting that thing wouldn’t have done much.”

 

“Yeah well how would you know?” I spat.

 

“Chara.” Asriel put a hand on my shoulder. “Just calm down, alright.”

 

Taking a moment, I took a deep breath.

“Yeah, yeah… Whatever.”

 

“WOW! You clowns really ARE heroes!” Lancer suddenly ran up from behind us.

 

“JESUS-!” I jumped, pushing myself back up to my feet. “Were you watching the whole time?!”

 

“Of course! I had to see how it played out!” Lancer grinned.

 

“...Heh.” I shrugged. Smirking devilishly as I pointed at Lancer. “Well, we’ll crush your next scheme even harder, villain!”

 

“Hohoho, I look forward to it!” Lancer laughed. “Oh wait- I mean- AHAHA!”

Lancer ran off with a cackle, leaving us, the Death Gang, alone. Probably for only a few minutes given the typical pattern.

 

“We all did great!” Ralsei beamed. “Great work, everyone.”

 

“Right…” I sighed, my mind elsewhere. The further we move through this Dark World, the more questions cloud my mind. 

 

Asriel tried to speak to me as we exited the Great Board and returned to more forest. I could only respond with half-listening grunts as I kneeled down to touch another white star.

 

The blocky foliage grows thick above your head… The power of the forest shines within you.

Chapter 6: The one with Clover. No, not that one.

“Has this been here the entire time?” I thought aloud, staring forward at the red door. Oozing from beneath were what looked like flashing technicolor flames. 

 

“Ehh, that thingamajig? We’ve been fixin’ it up. Some kinda door.” A sentient blue jigsaw piece in a hat responded to me. That sentence being something I never thought I’d say. “Still got some work to do. Should take you to a couple different locations at least.”

 

“...Like some kind of fast travel?”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous Chara. What do you think this is, some kind of video game?” Asriel laughed.

 

“No, it’s quite literally fast travel.” Ralsei responded flatly.

 

“...Oh.”

 

“Anywho, we’ll keep working on it!” The blue puzzle man continued. “Anything to help you out!”

 

“Well, fast travel or not, could be useful later. Let’s get out of here.” I answered with a shrug.

 

As we left, we of course ran into Lancer again, who was waiting for us just ahead, as he always seems to.

 

“Cower in fear, Death Gang!” He bellowed, “my next scheme is sure to knock you right out of your pantaloons! It is fiercely cooking!”

 

“Our… What?” Asriel responded. 

 

“That’s… Nice!” Ralsei said cheerfully. “Can we see this scheme?”

 

“No!” Lancer answered with a joyful smile. “It’s still in the oven! I am not sure what it is, yet!”

 

For a second that felt like hours, the area got quiet. I broke the silence with a cough.

“Do you smell something burning?”

 

“Oh no! My villainous scheme!” Lancer ran off in a hurry.

 

The three of us watched together as Lancer disappeared into the night for what would probably be roughly five minutes. 

 

“...I don’t smell anything.” Asriel finally responded, after another few seconds of confused silence.

 

“I didn’t actually-” I cut myself off, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Forget it.”

With a sigh, I decided to make a slight shift in the subject.

“Is anyone else low-key curious on what he’s going to come up with?”

 

“ Low keys…? ” Ralsei muttered.

 

“I’m just afraid he’s going to get himself hurt.” Asriel shrugged. “You’ve taken quite a liking to the kid, haven’t you? I’m surprised you haven’t left to join the baaad guys or something!”

Asriel nudged my shoulder, with a snicker. 

 

I huffed, pushing his arm away.

“I’m not some immature teenager, what do you take me for?” I scowled, “Anyhow, I guess you could say that. It’s not so much that I’ve taken a liking to him but more that I… See myself in him, in some ways. I feel like the kid needs a role model, or something?” 

 

“Since when did you get so noble?” Asriel laughed. “Never took you for the role model type.”

 

“No I… Suppose not. But if I don’t do it, who will? Somehow I doubt his dad’s the type either.”

 

I could feel it in my soul as the room suddenly got quiet. I was walking ahead of the rest of the group, so I couldn’t see it with my eyes, but I could feel Asriel’s pained stare from behind me. 

“Don’t start pitying me, Dreemurr. This has nothing to do with me.”

 

“...Whatever you say, Kitter.” 

 

“...I know I’m new to this ‘friend group’ so to speak, so please let me know if I’m overstepping boundaries…” Ralsei spoke up, after silently listening for a while. “But you’re a good person, Chara.”

 

I turned around for a brief moment, my eyes widened.

“....Tch. Agree to disagree.”

 

We decided to drop the subject there for the moment. By that, I mean I stopped answering questions. Eventually made it through a few more puzzles, simple following of patterns. During it, I spotted something from the corner of my eye. Something sticking out of a hole? Long with the head of… a cat? 

I didn’t bother investigating. I figured it probably would have ended up as some fight, anyway.

 

As it turned out, my choices don’t matter. As it came for us anyway.

Turns out, it wasn’t just one long thing with a cat for a head. (Perhaps it’s a bear? Maybe a strange dog?) But rather it had three heads with three long noodly necks, connected to a beastly body with a three pointed tail.

 

“Heyy~! It’s my birthday today~!”

“And you didn’t even say HI?!”

“That’s fine, actually…”

 

They seemed to have very different personalities. It made me wonder how it must feel to clash with yourself.

…

But they did appear happy, at least.

 

“Stop and say hi, folks~!”

“Shut up! They don’t deserve us!”

“Hey, calm down, you two…”

 

Of course, to no one’s surprise, a fight broke out. We stood across from the creature that Ralsei identified for us as ‘Clover.’ They still seemed hung up on the whole birthday thing.

 

“It’s my birthday~!”

“What?! No, it’s MY birthday!”

“We’re triplets…”

 

I weaved my soul out of the way of bullets shaped like the ‘clubs’ symbol of a playing card. Despite the creature’s constant bickering with itself, it seemed to be well organized in this regard. The bullets forced me to keep my guard up as they exploded into smaller ball-shaped bullets.

 

“Ugh… This thing is starting to get on my nerves.” I muttered, “how hard is it to get along with yourself?”

 

“Maybe we could befriend them by… Talking about their likes?” Asriel suggested, blocking a bullet with a wall of fire magic.

 

“...What kind of ‘boys’ do you like?” Ralsei asked Clover.

 

“ ...Why did he say boys like that? ” I whisper to Asriel, who could only offer a shrug in response.

 

“Cute ones~ Hmm hmm!”

“NICE ONES! LIKE I AM!”

“None. Um, I mean, all.”

 

“...Riveting.” I muttered flatly.

 

“It’s working, though…?” Asriel retorted, before shifting his focus to the creature.

 

“Glasses are cute, I think…”

“Fluffy! Glasses! That’s it!”

“HIM??? …Er, sure.”

 

…I decided it was best not to react there. Instead I had to come up with a topic of my own.

“What do you think about… Trees?”

 

“I love the smell of trees!”

“Oh! Me too!”

“Pollen makes me… Uh, sure!”

 

“That worked…?” Asriel asked, dumbfounded.

 

“Hey, I know people.” I rebuked with a smirk.

 

“You know people about as well as a shark.” Asriel countered. “You need better icebreakers than that. Here, watch.”

“Hey, do you three like sports?”

 

“I wanna eat a football.”

“Sports! My favorite food!”

“Oh! I love you two!”

 

“...Did they like it?” Ralsei asked.

 

“Hey, they’re starting to look tired.” I informed him, ignoring the question.

 

“Oh! Right!”

 

Ralsei used his signature spell, Pacify. Clover seemed to disappear off somewhere. Probably went home to sleep.

 

“Well that filled my social quota for the year.” I spoke to no one in particular.

 

“You barely did anything…” Asriel muttered.

 

“Yeah yeah, let’s get out of here.”

 

We moved forward, taking a rest stop at what looked like a humble little bake sale. As expected, one of those white stars was waiting for me here, as well.

 

In the heart of the woods, a bake sale stands quietly. The power of reoccurring bake sales shines within you.

 

…Reoccurring?

Notes:

Slightly shorter chapter this time. Not much actually happens this chapter and I'm not sorry

Chapter 7: Well, there is a man here.

Summary:

The Death Gang continue through the forest, and they build a duck.

Asriel, Ralsei and I took a pit stop at the bake sale, stopping to get some choco-diamonds from the Rudinn clerk. I also bought a Lancer Cookie from Lancer, who had his own shop set up. Which apparently was a clever ruse I fell for, allowing him to buy his own chocolate. Foiled again, I suppose.

 

Through more twists and turns, we came across him again, although this time he looked troubled, staring at a blueprint with confusion.

 

“Ah… Perhaps we could just sneak past him…?” Ralsei suggested quietly.

 

“Hold on.” I held up a hand, “I kind of want to see where this’ll go.”

 

Taking the initiative, I stepped forward, walking over to Lancer and crouching down to match his height.

“Hey, what’re you working on, bud?” I asked like a parent feigning interest in their child’s activities.

 

“Oh, red human! I had this great idea for a big robot to thrash you!” Lancer said with a wide smile. “But I have too many ideas! I can’t make the perfect thrashing robot like this!”

 

“Why would you admit to making something to attack us-?” Asriel began to ask. I shushed him.

 

“I see the predicament.” I nodded sagely, pressing a finger and thumb up against my chin. “Allow me to help!”

 

I took a closer look at the blueprints in front of me. From the looks of it, he had several ideas for the head, body, and legs respectively. As soon as I examined every option, the perfect combination flashed into my brain as a smirk curled upon my lips. 

 

After coming up with the perfect design, I pushed myself up to my feet and admired my handywork, staring at it with my hands on my hips. Asriel and Ralsei finally walked over to stare at the blueprints as well. They seemed less impressed with my decision. Can’t imagine why.

 

“Oh! It’s… Um…” Ralsei stuttered, drawing a blank as he attempted to find the proper words.

 

“Chara. That’s a duck.” Asriel said flatly.

 

“Wow!” Lancer finally spoke up with a grin. “Looks nasty! Just what I’d expect from the evil Death Gang!”

 

“We’re supposed to be the good guys…” Ralsei mumbled.

 

“I will be taking this and return with the biggest thrashing you’ll have ever received!” 

 

Lancer ran away with a cackling laughter. We stood in silence for a few moments, and he returned to grab the blueprints.

“I need this.” He said, before running off again. 

 

“See? HE liked it!” I said with a scoff.

 

“Right, but he’s Lancer.” Asriel retorted.

 

“Oh, lay off it. It was funny.” I rested my hands behind my head and walked forward. “Besides, did you see his other choices? It was duck or danger.”

 

As we walked forward, we entered a narrow pathway, and a star-creature with wings charged for us, throwing magical star shaped bullets at us. As they aimed right for my soul, I had to swerve out of the way making my way towards a bell at the end of the path. What to do next naturally came to me, as if the solution were obvious, I rang the bell, and the wings fell off the strange creature. The star walked away back in the direction we came from, out of curiosity, I followed it.

 

“Chara?” Asriel asked, “what are you doing?”

 

“Do you see that?” I responded, not answering the question.

I pointed forward at another yellow star-like creature. This one was different, though. It had legs, and two disappointed looking eyes. “The hell is that?”

 

“These birds are pissing me off…” It responded as I got close. “I’m the original      Starwalker. ”

 

I nodded and began to walk away. Asriel looked confused, like he wanted to ask how, or if, I knew that thing would be there. If I were to answer, I’m not sure if I could come up with something. This… Dark World… Seemed to give me some sort of sense. Perhaps that was the voices I keep hearing when I touch those white stars?

 

Speaking of, as soon as we exited that pathway I stopped again. For some reason, I had a strange feeling there was more to that place. Something I missed. I turned around and stared through it. I only now began to notice how dark the entrance to that pathway is. 

 

“Hey, Chara? Something wrong?” Asriel asked. He and Ralsei were now ahead of me, waiting for me to catch up. “You want to have another deep conversation with the Original Starwalker? ”

He said Starwalker’s names with a wobbling voice and waggly fingers. I mostly just rolled my eyes and ignored him.

 

“I’ll be back in just a second.” I said without giving context, holding up my hand in a motion to tell the others to wait for me. I didn’t wait for a response.

 

As I walked through the darkness once more, I ended up in a different area entirely. A small area blocked off by dark walls, the only thing visible was a red tree. As I walked up to it, I looked up and down. Examining it, I walked around to the other side of the tree.

 

There was a man there. I couldn’t get a good look at him, it was like something in my mind was blocking me from fully processing what he looked like. Before I could even comprehend what was going on. He offered me something… An… Egg? Without thinking, I grabbed it from his hands.

 

I stared at it for a few moments. By the time I looked back up… There was not a man there. I placed the egg with the rest of my inventory for safe keeping, and I left. Once I returned, everything was back to the way it was, with Asriel and Ralsei still waiting for me to proceed. 

 

“How… Long did I take?” I asked quietly.

 

“A few seconds, maybe?” Asriel answered with a shrug. “What was that about?”

 

The events were already foggy in my mind. I had an egg now, and it was from a strange man. My eyes drifted from Asriel over to Ralsei. If anyone would know what that was about it would be him, right? He stared back at me with a cheerful smile. I considered telling him, but I still felt as though I couldn’t risk giving this guy any information.

 

“You were right, Asriel.” I shrugged back, putting on my best sly expression. “I just had to learn more about our friend Starwalker.”

 

We found a distraction in the form of another puzzle. A large tree was blocking our way forward, and it was somehow too big for any of us to squeeze through. To the west there was a circular path, with a painful-looking whip of white energy in the centre, moving counter clockwise. So I decided to test something out, moving around in that path caused the room to darken, and a button to the far north became visible. 

 

Pressing the button caused the tree to be removed and we could finally move forward.

“You’re a real natural at these puzzles, huh?” Asriel said, with a mix of scepticism and impression. 

 

“Comes with my skills as a renowned dungeon master, I suppose.” I answered with a laugh.”

 

“Renowned. Right.”

 

Lancer, of course, was waiting for us in the next area. He was sitting on a lounge chair with a proud smile, getting fanned by a really disgruntled looking Rudinn. We decided not to acknowledge this. He did give us a warning though, as we headed forward.

 

“By the way, beware yourselves of the Forest Maze! You’ll get completely lost without someone that knows the right way!”

 

I shot him a thumbs up with a barely noticeable smile, and we entered the maze. Somehow Lancer got ahead of us as he always does, and we saw him enter through one of the pathways.

 

“Perhaps we should follow him?” Ralsei suggested. “He said he knows the right way.”

 

“Actually, he didn’t…” Asriel reminded us. “You don’t think…?” 

 

Actually, I did think. I took the lead as always, and we took every turn that Lancer did not. I almost felt worried for a second, when I heard him shout “I am so lost and confused!” However, he said it with so much glee that it left me rattled trying to decide which emotion I should have felt. By not following Lancer, we ended up out of the Forest Maze much faster than one would expect.

 

The voice was quiet as I reached down and touched the star, feeling a power surge within me.

Notes:

I'm the original Starwalker.

Chapter 8: VS Lancer

Summary:

The group faces off against Lancer and a machine that could possible thrash their ass.

While I’m not sure how he could have possibly gotten ahead of us, Lancer was waiting for us just outside the maze. He stood there menacingly, or at least as menacing as Lancer could manage, next to some shadowy monstrous looking object. 

 

“Oh. Hey Lancer.” I said with an exasperated sigh. 

 

“Should we be worried about that?” Asriel asked quietly, as he leaned in closer to my ear.

 

“Greetings, Lightners! Behold, the machine that will be killing you into lots of blood!” He laughed, as he pushed the figure forward, bringing it out of the darkness.

 

It of course…! Was a duck!!! 

 

How terrifying! How deadly! How-!

 

“Oh that’s…. Not good, actually…” Ralsei responded flatly.

 

“You think that’s bad!” Lancer continued, “just you wait until…!”

 

Before Lancer could reveal what dangerous abilities the duck was capable of, Asriel shot it with a magic fireball. The giant duck immediately tipped over, and as it hit the ground it exploded upon impact.

 

So how do I explain the explosion that appeared before us… Have you ever needed an effect, so you go online and lazily pick a GIF you found off google, using it because it’s the easy and free option. The explosion looked like that. Like nature itself picked the lazy option. 

 

Trying my best not to question this world anymore, I took a look up at Lancer.

“Was it… Supposed to do that?”

 

“No!” Lancer responded bluntly, as obliviously happy as he’s always been.

 

“Oh, so… What’s your plan now?” Ralsei asked.

 

“I…!” Lancer paused. “I haven’t really thought about what comes after this…! I guess I’ll just fight you!”

 

“Wait what-?”

 

BATTLE START!

 

Lancer hopped on his flaming bicycle, and we were forced to prepare for combat once more. Magic spade bullets fired left and right, up and down, we all had to take the opportunity to immediately start dodging, barely keeping my soul out of the way. 

 

“Great, what do we do now?!” I jumped out of the way of Lancer as he sped right past me on his bike. “We could’ve had a fun boss fight against a duck!”

 

“Don’t look at me!” Asriel retorted. “He’s your friend or whatever, don’t you have any ideas?”

 

“Ah… Hey, Lancer! Maybe fighting is… Bad?” I stumbled an answer out, with a less-than-convinced shrug and a weary smile. 

 

Somehow, it seemed to have an effect, and Lancer took a moment to consider his actions.

“Wow! I never thought about it like that!” He exclaimed, speeding around us in a circle and firing spades in every direction. 

 

I felt some graze against my soul as the three of us attempted to dodge, the pain coursing through my body. I reflexively reached for my chest as I winced in pain. 

 

“Was he just being sarcastic?” Asriel asked, casting some sort of spell on me as the damage seemed to revert slightly. 

 

“I don’t think Lancer knows what sarcasm is.” I scoffed.

 

“I’m not actually sure what it is either…” Ralsei mumbled.

 

“...Worrying about that later. Just keep it up, if we’re…” I groaned for a moment. “ Nice then we should be able to convince him to stop.”

 

“That’s a great idea, Chara!” Ralsei cheerfully exclaimed, before taking an attempt at it. “Hey, Lancer! If we don’t stop fighting then… Someone might get hurt!”

 

…I didn’t know if I could even call that a decent attempt, but it was enough to work on Lancer. At least a little bit.

 

“Really? That’s bad!” 

It wasn’t enough to fully stop him, though. He came riding toward us on his bike once again, taking a U-turn to drive back to his spot on the other end of us, more spades firing at us on the way.

 

“Alright, Azz, it’s your turn!” I yelled, as I took out my dagger to deflect a spade, smacking it right into a tree.

 

“What, me too?!” Asriel jumped. He tapped his chin, stuttering to come up with some way to convince Lancer.

 

“Just say anything! Literally anything will work!”

 

“Alright, alright! Hey Lancer, if we stop fighting I could…” Asriel shrugged, “invite you to game night?”

 

“I’ve always wanted to be invited to a game night!” Lancer giggled giddily. 

 

Lancer almost seemed to be totally convinced, so I took the moment to deliver the finishing blow!

 

“For these reasons and so much more I think..!” I gave a sly smirk with a dramatic point, “It would be cool if we all got along!!!!”

 

Wind blew past us dramatically, pushing Lancer off his bike, as the fight came to a halt!

“Oh no…” Lancer frowned. “I’ve accidentally started to like the enemy…!”

 

We all put away our weapons as the three of us began to walk toward the next area. As we passed by Lancer, he seemed to be troubled.

 

“So uh… I guess see you next roadblock?” I suggested with a smirk, attempting to lighten the mood.

 

“Oh, yes…! I… will see you then…!” He attempted to smile, but it didn’t seem to have his usual level of cheer.

 

I tapped my chin, thinking for a moment.

“Hey, why don’t you side with us?” I offered. “You could have the menacing Death Gang on your side, sounds pretty evil to me, right?”

 

“We’re not the-!” Ralsei tried to protest, before Asriel lightly nudged him in the shoulder. “Hnghh…”

 

“Me on the Death Gang…?!” He seemed excited for a moment. “But if I hang out with the good guys then…. Can we get matching jackets?!”

 

I paused, taken aback by the request. I looked over to Ralsei. His eyes dart from side to side, and he points at himself with a confused look as if to say “me?!”

“I- Uh… Okay! Sure!”

 

“Hahaha! Lancer joins the squad!” 

 

He ran up behind us, and as we walked forward he did not follow. I saw Ralsei about to comment on it, but I just put my hand on his shoulder.

“He always somehow gets ahead of us anyway.”

 

Lancer did indeed manage to get ahead of us. He stood off to the side, just behind the nearby trees. As we walked ahead he followed suit, sliding against the ground. 

 

“This is so cool!” He exclaimed, “I’ve never been on such a big team before!”

 

“Well, we’re glad to have ya. Something about you makes Chara happy, and that’s all I need.” Asriel shrugged. “But what do you mean? Don’t you have all those minions you throw around?”

 

“Yeah, but my dad forced them to listen to me…” Lancer’s voice quieted for a moment. “So they don’t actually like me very much…”

 

I winced. 

“Well that’s what we’re here for. You've got real friends now!” I answered with a boisterous chuckle.

 

“Aye, aye!”

 

The walk continued in silence for a few minutes. We took a short break to pull a piece of Dark Candy off the tree. Lancer apparently hadn’t tried one, so I handed it to him. It apparently tastes like ‘his teeth are disintegrating.’

 

“Just walking along with you guys feels… Nice.” Lancer spoke up, after another few minutes of silence. “Like I’m doing something… Important.”

 

“That’s because you’re alongside the Lightners, Lancer.” Ralsei explained with a warm smile. “Our purpose, Darkners’ purpose, is to assist them. It’s the only way we can feel truly fulfilled.”

 

Something about Ralsei’s explanation caused me to slow down. An entire race of beings existing only for another, separate race of beings…? I shook the thought away and continued walking.

 

“Really…?” Lancer asked. “But my dad hates Lightners… He wants to…”

 

“Does your dad seem happy?” Ralsei asked in response.

 

“I’m… Not sure.”

 

The talk grew silent again as we continued to march forward. But the air felt somewhat heavier all around. Before I could try to think of something to say in order to lighten the mood, we stopped as he spotted the castle in the distance. 

 

A huge fountain of black water was spouting out from behind it. The Dark Fountain, I supposed. 

 

“So this is the castle…?” I thought aloud.

 

“Yes, that’s where I live!” Lancer answered excitedly, before his smile died out. “And uh… My dad…”

 

“So if we reach the fountain back there, we’ll finally get home?” Asriel asked, looking down at Ralsei.

 

“That’s correct!” Ralsei answered. “We’re nearing the end of your journey!”

 

We continued to walk, but Lancer stopped again.

“Are you sure there… Isn’t another way home?” He asked, with a hint of pleading in his tone. “The fountain is being guarded right now, if you try to go there you might… Get hurt… and- then…”

 

“Aw come on, Lancer.” I shrugged with a prideful smirk. “Have you seen our teamwork? NOTHING’s going to get in our way!”

 

“But what if…” Lancer began to walk away. “What if you had to fight?”

 

“Well, I’ve been treating it all peacefully up till this point, but you don’t know just how dangerous I could get…”

 

“But I… I think I need to go.”

 

Lancer began to run. 

 

“Hey wait a second-!”

 

“I’ll get him!” Asriel offered, running off after him.

 

“Asriel, wait!” Ralsei pleaded, running forward as well.

 

I groaned to myself, muttering profanities under my breath as I gripped my hair. As I ran forward as well, I tried to catch up to the others, but guards began to appear. 

 

“The Lightners are approaching!” One of them yelled. “Seize them!” 

 

I dodged out of the way of a flurry of diamond shaped bullets, and began to run. More bullets came from every direction. I barely managed to dodge as more and more guards came from behind the trees, and dodging grew harder and harder. 

 

I felt the damage as some managed to even hit me directly, my movement slowed as the pain shot through me, but I could see the castle as I closed in. I finally caught up to Ralsei and Asriel, who were standing right behind Lancer as he stood in front of the castle.

 

“Lancer, hold on!” I called out through exhausted breaths. 

 

He walked backwards through the doors to the castle, and as we tried to follow him inside, bars fell down, locking us out. 

 

“Damn it!” I cursed, slamming my fist against one of the bars. “Hold on, there has to be a keyhole or something I could use to get this open from outside. I just need to-!”

 

But before I could find an answer, the three of us were surrounded. 

Notes:

We're getting close to the end of the Card Kingdom arc now.

Chapter 9: Card Castle

Summary:

The group nears the climax

After the ambush, I woke up in a cell. It took a moment for me to regain my bearings. As I looked around, I saw the fluffy boys to my right, seemingly waiting for me. On the wall behind me, there were some broken chains, and on the back left corner, there was some moss. For some reason, a similar feeling that guided me to find that mysterious man with egg was trying to lead me towards the moss.

 

No. I’m not touching it, that’s disgusting. Even I have limits on where my curiosity will take me. 

 

“Oh, look who’s finally awake.” Asriel greeted, leaning against the wall. “We’ve been stuck in here for a while now. Probably at least a few hours…”

 

“Things certainly seem bleak…!” Ralsei agreed. “That being said, we can’t give up hope just yet!” 

 

Ralsei sounded less than convinced in his own speech. I tuned the two of them out as I pushed myself up to my feet and examined the bars. I gave them a quick shake, and put a finger up to my lips. 

 

“We’ve already tried.” Asriel declared, “the cell’s too sturdy.”

 

I, personally, was never one to just roll over and die without purpose. There had to be a way out around here somewhere… Perhaps some force could guide me to the proper answer?

 

No?

 

Fine then. 

 

I had an idea of my own anyway. It seemed as though Lancer forgot to confiscate our weapons. A sly smirk made its way across my face as I pulled out my dagger and stuck my arm through the bars. It was a tight squeeze, but I could just barely make it to the keyhole on the other side. 

 

“Woah, hey!” Asriel stood straight, “you’re gonna hurt yourself like that. What are you doing?”

 

I ignored him. But he was right, my arm was killing me while I did this. After a few moments of struggling and muttering curse words under my breath, I heard a click!

 

Pulling my arm out, I spun the dagger before placing it back in its scabbard, and turning to face Asriel and Ralsei with a proud smile on my face. 

“After you~!”

 

“Wow…! That’s…Really impressive!” Ralsei cheered, sounding as if he was trying desperately to hide some concern. 

 

“How long did you know how to do that?” Asriel asked with suspicious eyes as he walked out the gate, with Ralsei following afterward. 

 

“You don’t know everything about me.” I responded defensively, walking out and shutting the gate behind me.  

 

As we walked down, we had to take a moment to hide. Lancer was just finishing up having a conversation with a guard. 

 

“Understand? They have to stay in their cells.” Lancer ordered. “The Lightners can’t be allowed to escape.”

 

As the guard walked away, Lancer began to follow, but spotted us out of the corner of his eye.

“Agh! What are you doing here…?!”

 

“We were locked up, Lancer.” I sighed, stepping into the front to take the lead in the conversation. “I had to break out of the cell myself.”

 

“I…. I know, I was the one who told my troops to put you down here.” Lancer admitted, dejected. “To keep you down here… Forever.”

 

“...Lancer, this is really important.” I insisted. “You need to let us pass. You understand, don’t you? We’re friends, right?”

 

Lancer flinched.

“I…! That’s not…!” He went silent for several seconds. “I can’t let you through… You’ll have to fight my dad…”

 

I looked back at the others, they looked just as troubled with this as I did. 

“...Very well, then.” I sighed. “We’ll have to make you see reason.”

 

The fight began. Spades came flying, but they wavered in movement, and Lancer’s heart clearly wasn’t in it. 

This could work.

 

“Lancer, you don’t have to worry.” I insisted, sidestepping away from some spades. “Nobody’s going to get hurt.”

 

“I… You don’t know that.”

 

“ Chara, are you sure you know what you’re doing here? ” Asriel whispered, stepping over to my side. 

 

“ Trust me, Azz. ” I muttered back, before increasing my volume to focus back on Lancer. “Lancer, you’ve seen us fight! You know we can handle ourselves.”

 

“You haven’t fought my dad…” Lancer quietly responded with a frown.

 

Spades came raining down from the sky like hail. Some managed to knick me, the damage felt minimal. He really didn’t want to do this.

“I KNOW we’ll find a peaceful solution. I promise you.” I promised, placing a hand up to my chest. “The Death Gang never breaks a promise.”

 

“ You made that up right now… ” Ralsei whispered. Asriel shushed him. 

 

The attacks slowed, slowly moving further away from their target, before they stopped altogether. 

 

“A promise, huh…? I don’t know if my dad would listen…” 

 

“Ah, come on, Lancer!” I smirked, giving him a thumbs up. “Put some faith in us, that’s what friends are for, right?”

 

“...Yeah, yeah!” Lancer seemed to cheer up. “I’ll help too! I’ll go talk to my dad!” 

 

“That’s great!” I grinned, “I’m glad to have you on the team!”

 

“I’ll head over right now!” Lancer then ran off. 

 

As soon as Lancer left the vicinity, I placed a hand on my forehead and released a violent exhale. 

“Kids…”

 

“Every time, it’s impressive.” Asriel admitted. 

 

“He really seems to admire you!” Ralsei beamed.

 

“Yeah yeah, enough with the compliments.” I huffed. “We have a job to do.”

 

The elevator upwards was a long ride, taken mostly in silence. It led up to the first floor of the castle, we must have been in the basement. It was a trip up the stairs from that point. Riddled with guards and weapons, we had to sneak around safely, before getting stopped by…

 

“So the worms have decided to crawl out and play…” A voice echoed from every direction at once.

 

“Who’s there?!” Ralsei asked.

 

“Geh ha ha ha ha! Thoust fools!”

 

Spiked protruded up behind us, blocking our way out. A beam of light flashed from the ceiling, and out from it formed a rather pompous looking blue man.

 

“I am Rouxls Kaard! Thou’re greatest adversary!” He bellowed. “Thou may have clawdest past all thouse otherest conundrums… But THOUSE were created by utter WEAKLINGS! ”

 

Truthfully, I was already feeling just about done with today. This made it all worse.

 

“Now prepare thouself for the strongest puzzle of THOUST LIFE!” He guffawed. Through his magic ability, a button appeared in the middle of the floor, with a box right next to it. “ TOIL, worms!” 

 

I pushed the box onto the button. The spikes went down. I imagined a little victory jingle in my head. It was the only thing keeping me from strangling the man before us.

 

“...”
“GOD.”

“DAMN IT.”

 

Rouxls Kaard faded away into the shadows.

 

“G-good… Job?” Ralsei said with hesitation.

 

“Don’t patronize me.” I demanded, before leaving the room. 

 

The next couple floors were more of the same. Making our way past guards and such, at least there were some photos which made funny noises if I touched them. Which lightened my mood for when we had to deal with Rouxls Kaard again.

 

“Geh ha ha…” He laughed, as he appeared in another beam of light. “Thoust guys really think that was all I hadst?!”

 

“I was hoping for it, honestly-” I began.

 

“WRONGE!” He interrupted me. “It’s time for you to face my reale powere! Behold! My ULTIMATE puzzle!” 

 

It was a box again. 

This time it was slightly further away from the button! At this rate, I might have to put in effort by the time we reach his twelve hundredth puzzle. I pushed it again. We solved the puzzle, again. Woo.

 

“.....Ahh… Ahh ha ha! Hahaha! Gullible worms!” Rouxls stuttered. “That wasn’tst REALLY my ultimate puzzle! I have a wayst better one right… Here!” 

 

“Can… Can we see it?” Ralsei asked.

 

“No.” Rouxls flew away, without his body moving a single muscle. 

 

…We made our way further, discovering that there was actually a shop in the Card Castle. It probably had some useful items for sale, but I refused to step foot in there after discovering Rouxls Kaard as the shopkeeper. 

 

After another elevator, we found our way to the hallway before the throne room. When…

 

“Enough, worms…!”

 

Ah.

 

Another beam of light, and Rouxls Kaard returned.

“Thou may have CHEATETHED through mine puzzles, but-!”

 

“Oh my god, GO AWAY.” I yelled, interrupting him. “Can’t you see we’re busy here? We don’t have time for your inane drivel puzzles! Go find someone to bother who actually cares!” 

 

“.....” Rouxls went silent. “...Ahah! You’ve seenst through mine test! Brilliant, heroes! I knew you couldst do it!” 

 

The room got silent.

 

“...Are you crying-?” Asriel tried to ask. 

 

“Luck be with you!” Rouxls slid away again.

 

“...Hey, Chara.” Asriel said, “remember when I said you were good at this sort of thing?”

 

“That man is an insult to brain teasers everywhere.” I answered without hesitation.

 

The next set of stairs led us directly to the throne. Right in front of it was another one of those shining white stars, perhaps the last one I’d see today. I touched it, allowing its energy to flow through me one more time. 

Notes:

This one's a tad bit later than it should have been. I got a bit carried away and had to split this into two. So this chapter is getting posted alongside chapter 10

Chapter 10: Sealing the fountain

Summary:

The grand battle.

Through one more hallway, we found what seemed to be a stage, right in front of the Dark Fountain. Lancer was speaking to his father, who was obscured by shadows. 

 

“Father!” He greeted cheerfully.

“Lancer, my son.” His father, the king, responded. His presence was imposing, and his deep voice matched. “Have you dispatched the Lightners, I commanded?”

 

“N… No, but… I did even better!” Lancer stammered, “it turns out we don’t even have to fight them! They said they’ll just talk to you, and-!”

 

“They’re ALIVE? ” King cut him off, turning around with a hefty stomp of his foot. 

 

“Yes, and I’ll think you’ll like them a lot! There’s this human one, Chara, who’s very cool and mysterious-!”

 

“ Where are they now? ” 

 

That seemed like a good opportunity to make our move. So, as I gave the others a nod, the three of us took a step forward.

“Heard you were looking for us!” I quipped. 

 

“It’s nice to meet you!” Ralsei greeted.

 

“Honestly I disagree.” Asriel added.

 

“...Lancer, Lancer. My boy.” King looked down, ignoring us. Rude. 

 

“Y- Yes, father?” Lancer responded. 

 

“Remember what I told you?” King took a step forward, and knelt down in front of Lancer.

 

“D… Don’t get attached…?”

 

“You have failed. They have poisoned you with their sentimentality.” King claimed, putting a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Free yourself, Lancer, they care not for you. Their only goal is to destroy our glorious fountain. They. Are. Scum. ”

 

“N-No, they aren’t…”

 

Suddenly King stood up straight, carrying Lancer and holding him by the neck. All of us were caught off guard by this. I took the moment to preemptively grab my daggers from their scabbards.

 

“What did you say?!” King asked in rage.

 

I took a step forward and Asriel followed suit, fire magic surrounded his hands.

“Let him go.” Asriel ordered. 

 

“Ha ha ha… You want me to let him GO? ” King laughed. He reached his arm forward and held it over the edge. “I’ll drop him off the edge and let him splatter. Unless you all kneel and learn your place.”

“What will it be, Lightners?”

 

“Don’t listen to him… He’ll…”

 

I had to stop myself from seeing red. I barely noticed Ralsei and Asriel already knelt. Taking everything in my power to not stab this man across the face, I knelt as well. Yeah… Still hate respecting royalty.

 

“Now watch, Lancer…!” King stepped away from the edge, a cluster of spade bullets formed in front of each of us. “See what happens when you befriend Lightners!”

 

With a raise of his hand, Lancer fired a spade bullet of his own right at his own father. The sudden pain caused him to drop his son, and dissipate the spade bullets…

“W…What the…!?” King stuttered, as Lancer took the opportunity to run away. “You TRAITOR… Come back here!”

 

I stood up to my feet.

“Well, it looks like the situation has changed…” I laughed, with wide eyes and a grin ear to ear. Make no mistake from my smiling face though, I was livid. “Who exactly do you think you are, with a stunt like that…?”

 

The three of us prepared for a fight, as King took a step back.

“Heheheh… Hahahaha… To my people I am a hero.” He laughed, “...To you?”

 

He stepped out of the shadows. He looked like a much larger, much more imposing Lancer. He had a sinister grin and wore a long flowing cape. He had a larger second mouth on his stomach, and a long thin tongue emerging from it with a spade at the end. He held onto the end of the tongue like a weapon. 

He let out another sinister laugh, and the battle had begun. 

 

Asriel was the first to try to reason with the king.

“You’re hurting your own people, don’t you realize this?!” He interrogated, “you’re putting your entire kingdom into ruin for the sake of some stupid vendetta!”

 

“I’d never expect you to understand, Lightner.” King scoffed. “Like you have any right to lecture on responsibility.”

 

“...I have a responsibility. A responsibility to protect my friends!” 

Asriel’s will changed. He learned the spell BLAZING BARRIER! With a flick of his wrist, flaming stars surrounded us all. I felt more… Protected.

 

“How dare you come here, Lightners…” King took his turn, spade bullets fired from every direction. 

 

They came from every direction, they were harder to dodge than Lancer’s. King was clearly more experienced with this sort of thing. As we jumped out of the way of each bullet, I let my instinct take over to dodge each of them.

“Ralsei, maybe you could say something?” I offered, “if anyone could convince him…”

 

“You might not realize it, but… This is a world where you don’t have to fight!” Ralsei began, taking me up on the offer. “I know if we try, we can all find another way!” 

 

“Such simple-minded platitudes…” King grumbled, “a shame you will not live to realize your naivety. Now, perish with the pathetic Lightners you worship.” 

 

“Sorry, my friends and I aren’t going anywhere!” Ralsei countered with a bright smile. Ralsei’s will changed. He learned the spell DUAL HEAL! That’s sure to be useful later.

 

“You left us in the shadows, stripped us of meaning…” King scowled, attacking again. 

He threw his stomach-tongue out like a whip, as I reflexively grabbed onto it, he threw it around, directly into some Spade bullets. Asriel’s Blazing Barrier vanished in the hit. 

 

“Agh!” I groaned in pain… “Agh, enough of this! I promised I wouldn’t kill you, so stop making it so hard not to!”

 

“Silence, Lightbringer! Your very existence goes against our own!” King bellowed, ignoring what I said completely. “By the Knight’s will, I will shatter your heart into pieces!”

 

“...Fine, then…” I sighed, spinning my daggers in my hands as I stared forward with a powerful glare. “I will send you to the void myself, if I have to.”

Talking clearly wasn’t working. I needed something else to get through this. I had to use my determination to proceed. 

 

“Begone, we have found our fresh purpose!” King continued to monologue.

 

His attacks continued being harder to dodge. A box of spikes surrounded us and bounced left and right, forward and backward. We had to stay in the center of the box until it dissipated. Some of it managed to knick me. I could see the others were hurt as well.

 

With a casting of Ralsei’s new Dual Heal, we were back to full strength. More or less.

 

“For the knight has appeared.” He continued. More spades fired as he threw his tongue out. I was beginning to learn his pattern. 

He was becoming easier to dodge, but I wasn’t one to let my guard down, turning to Asriel, I told him to form another Blazing Barrier around us. 

 

“The Knight that pulls the fountains from the Earth.” He continued, I was barely paying attention by now. “Holy fountains, who’s shadows are creating a new world… Our world.”

 

More spades were firing. It was getting harder not to fight back. But I had to try, there had to be somewhere to get out of this alive without killing him. 

 

“Haha… Do you see our new purpose?” He chuckled, watching us swerve out of the way of his attacks. “Soon, this world shall be blanketed in darkness. And Darkners shall rule it! ”

 

“You’re speaking complete nonsense!” I countered, mostly just hoping to shut him up for a few seconds. “Do you even know what you’re saying?!”

 

“Don’t act like you have any hope of comprehending the scale of this!” He scowled in response, throwing more spades our way. “Once this plan pulls through, you will see what it’s like to live in despair!”

 

“Oh he’s just completely losing it, entirely…” Asriel muttered beside me.

 

“Now enough talk!” He declared, finally. “Fall before the chain of justice!”

 

The fight continued. His patterns were easy by now. It almost seemed like he was growing weaker. Could we tire him out…? Outlasting him might’ve been our only plan.

 

“My knight… I shall not fail you…” He muttered. 

 

After a final flurry of attacks, he finally seemed to stop. His stomach tongue slid back inside him, and he wrapped his cape around his shoulders, looking down with a sullen expression.

“Enough… is enough…” He sighed sadly. “I see that I cannot defeat you… I have grown exhausted from our long battle.”

 

He fell to his knees, his cape flying away like a bat.

“Lightners, Perhaps… I have been too cruel.” He admitted. “Truth is I have not always been this way… There once was a time… Where Darkners and Lightners lived in harmony.” 

“A time where Darkners could fulfill their purpose in peace… It would be a lie to say that I, too… Do not yearn for those days.” He held a hand up to his chest. “Perhaps… You young ones were right… Please, let us put away our weapons… There must be a peaceful solution to all this…”

 

Ralsei was the first to comply. Asriel followed suit. I, however, took a moment. After a short internal battle with myself, I put my daggers back in the scabbards. 

 

“I’m glad you’re starting to realize, Mr. King!” Ralsei beamed as the three of us stepped forward. “None of us really want to fight… If you just tell us about your worries, I’m sure we can all be friends!”

 

“Yes… Friends… Th-That sounds… Lovely…” King smiled weakly. He coughed quietly. “M-my apologies, I am… Not used to fighting like that. My body is… Getting weak.”

 

“Oh, don’t say another word!” Ralsei walked up without hesitation, and casted a healing spell. I almost tried to stop him, but I did not react fast enough. “There, you should be all healed up! How do you feel…?”

 

“Let’s see…” A flurry of spades fired from the sky and knocked all three of us down. I knew it…  He stood up to his feet and grinned wickedly. “Never better…”

 

Asriel attempted to step to his feet.

“D- Don’t you have any shame…?”

 

King didn’t answer. He spawned more spades and fired them forward at Asriel. 

“Did I say you could get up?”

 

I couldn’t let this continue. As King fired his spades, I jumped to my feet and deflected them. They flew off into the distance somewhere. More spades fired downward, knocking both Asriel and I back down. 

 

More spades hit me, knocking me further back.

 

“You sure like to talk a big game, but you’re no hero…” King laughed, walking up to me. “You’re supposed to be the leader, right…? What was it you said? You’d ‘send me to the void yourself’?”

 

I said nothing. King picked me up by the collar of my cloak and stared right into my crimson eyes. I scowled, staring back at him.

 

“How would you like to meet me there?” He grinned sinisterly as spades formed above me. 

 

But he was suddenly hit with a blast of flames. The bullets dissipated and I hit the ground again. 

 

“Get away from them.” Asriel demanded, flames flickering between his fingers.

 

“Heh, or what?” King turned around, taking a step closer to Asriel. “You’ll kill me?”

 

“Not my style.” 

 

“Stupid Lightner…” King chuckled, “do you honestly think you have any way… To convince me NOT to kill you?”

 

“Not me… But they do.”

 

There was a sudden rumbling. An army of Ruddins, Hathys, and some… Other guys came running in and grabbed King, Lancer was at the forefront, with his trademark joyful smile across his face. 

 

“Lancer…? Everyone…!? What is the meaning of this?!”

 

“Sorry, dad! But you’re being overthrown!” Lancer answered cheerfully. “When I told everyone you were fighting the Lightners, everyone remembered how king they were! They decided they’d rather have a king that accepts them, me! Now I’m the dad~!”

 

“You idiots! The Lightners are the enemies!” King cried, “FOOLS! I’ll KILL you! I’ll KILL ALL OF YOU! ”

 

“Yikes! Sounds like someone needs a time out! Go to your room, dad!”

 

Letting out a final NOOOOO King was dragged away by his former army, leaving me and the others alone. Asriel helped me up to my feet and gave me a smirk.

 

“Hey, looks like mercy paid off, who knew?” He ribbed.

 

“Yeah, yeah… Just wish I got to use my cool knives a bit more.”

 

“You’re both alright!” Ralsei ran over. “Asriel, Chara, I’m… Sorry. Because I killed the king we almost… Almost…”

“Perhaps Chara had a point in the beginning… This isn’t a world where kindness always wins. Is it?” 

 

“Well, it’s more complicated than that…” I answer. “Not every answer is so black and white. Sometimes be nice, sometimes you need to fight. It depends on the situation, you need to know what the right response is so you don’t hurt those that matter to you.”

 

“You’re beginning to sound quite mature.” Ralsei smiled. “You’ll make a great hero, yet!””

 

I shrugged.

“I still prefer playing the villain.” I say with a smirk. 

 

“Well I… suppose you two need to go seal the fountain now, huh?” Ralsei smiled somberly.

 

“Oh, right… It’s time to do that, isn’t it?” Asriel scratched his cheek. 

 

We began to walk forward, to the final room, but stopped for a moment. Asriel and I both agreed we should say one final goodbye to everyone. We talked to Lancer one final time. He’s the king now, which was pretty cool. Also Starwalker was hanging around the castle now, which was pretty interesting.

 

As we turned back past the throne and walked to the right toward the fountain, Ralsei stopped us one more time.

 

“Chara, Asriel, before you go… I just wanted to say…” He lowered his hat. “I really enjoyed meeting you two, and…”

 

“Hey, we can barely hear you like that.” I interrupted. “Why don’t you take that hat off?”

 

Ralsei hesitated. 

“Very well…” He took it off. 

He looked exactly like……

I looked at Asriel. Asriel looked at me. That explains the anagram. Sort of. Honestly it might have just raised further questions.

“I hope I can see you two again soon!”

 

“Yeah! Nice seeing you!” Asriel forced out with a stilted smile, as he pushed me along and we left. We silently agreed not to talk about it.

 

As we stood in front of the fountain, colours flashed before us. The energy felt… Strange. 

 

“This must be the fountain…” Asriel thought aloud. “It feels like we stumbled into something really important… Right?”

 

I nodded in silence. 

 

“Well, I guess it’s too late to think about it now… Let’s go home, Chara.”

 

As I stood in front of the fountain, I felt something strange. It was as if… My very soul was glowing… 

 

My soul emerged from my chest and shone a bright light. The light flooded our vision and soon was replaced with complete darkness.

 

…

 

“What happened?! I can’t see anything!” Asriel whelped. I heard the sound of stumbling as he flicked on a flashlight. 

We were back in the ‘light world.’ We were in our normal outfits, in what seemed to be a classroom. 

“This is the school’s spare classroom…” Asriel scratched his chin. “How did we get in here…?”

 

I sighed.

“Honestly, the biggest issue is what excuse you’re going to give your mother. We were supposed to get her some supplies or something, right?”

 

“...Shit.”

 

Asriel ran out immediately. I took a moment to look around. Toys and games were littered all around the room. I saw a familiar cat plush in the corner. That Dark World… what was it, exactly?

 

As I finally joined Asriel, he was waiting for me out in the hall. It was pretty late now, it looked like the sun was already starting to set.

 

“Hey, Chara!” Asriel waved. “I told her you had a sudden emergency we needed to deal with, I hope that’s alright. We also have a guest room for you, so you have a place to stay.”

 

“Oh uh, I couldn’t. I don’t want to intrude.” I refused. “I could just… Find a hotel, or something.”

 

“Yeah, I figured you’d say that. That’s why I’m not asking.” Asriel folded his arms. “I’m not letting my friend stay in some hotel and waste all their money during their visit to Hometown!”

 

I rolled my eyes, but I knew better than to fight Asriel like this. So I simply agreed. I told him I’d catch up, and he sent me a quick text, giving me the address of his house. Once we left the school we parted ways. We could have left for his house together, but I wanted to stop somewhere first.

 

P“E”ZZA… Pizzapants’ ‘summer’ job. All the employees were fully dressed in costume, but I could sense his unique aura of misery from a mile away. I walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. He took off his mask and sure enough, he had an expression that looked like he’s seen Hell. Or I guess H“E”LL.

 

“Chara! What are you doing here?” He asked. “You have no idea how happy I am to see a familiar face. If I had to spend another minute here, suffering alone. I couldn’t be held responsible for what I’d do.”

 

“Woah there, PP. Tone it down a notch.” I laughed, “I’m here helping out Asriel. I’ll be here for at least a week, I think.”

 

“Oh, well, it’s good to know I have some friends keeping me sane.” Pizzapants grit his teeth. “Maybe I’ll give Frisk a call, we could all meet up here for a session sometime.”

 

“Hey, it could be interesting to get a change of environment!” 

 

“Yeah, I really need to get my mind off this place, too.” He gave a forced smile. “Icy’s P“E”ZZA is H“E”LL.”

 

Hey, that’s what I said!

“Well, take care… And try not to murder your co-workers.”

 

“I make no promises.” He put his mask back on. 

 

Checking the address, I headed over to Asriel’s house and knocked on the door. Toriel was there to answer.

“Greetings, Ms. Toriel.” I said with a forced smile and a wave. “Sorry about ditching you earlier.

 

“Oh, Chara! Please come in!” She made some room. “And please, don’t apologize. Asriel told me!”

 

I stepped in and took a look around. There was a human teenager on the couch. Asriel told me a lot about them. His adoptive younger sibling, Kris. They stared at me blankly for a few seconds and it looked like they were staring right into my soul. They almost looked like the missing link between Frisk and I. Seeing them, I could almost understand why everyone says Frisk and I look alike. Almost. 

 

“The guest room is upstairs, and at the far end of the hallway.” Toriel explained. “Please, make yourself at home!”

 

I nodded. It was awkward being in here, but I tried my best to seem comfortable. I shot Asriel a quick text to let him know I was here, and I headed straight for the guest room. I laid down on the bed immediately. The room was dusty, it seemed like it wasn’t used very often, and the bed was a little small. But it was doable. 

 

Night came quickly. I heard the door open. That kid… Kris… was standing by the door and… Was that a red wagon? With a… Birdcage. They rolled the wagon into the room and held a finger up to their lips, before walking away and closing the door. 

 

I rolled out of bed and walked over to the birdcage on the wagon. I crouched down to stare at it. It looked like it’s seen a few crashes. 

 

I felt a strange feeling in my soul…

I felt like I understood what Kris was trying to say. I appreciated the gesture, but I won’t need it.

 

That’s for you, isn't it?

 

Oh?

What’s the matter? Are you surprised?

 

During my time in the Dark World, I felt this… Essence. It would speak to me sometimes. It would say things that, to me, made no sense. It led me down certain paths. Showed me secrets. Because of it, I always knew the right way to go, and seemed to instinctively understand how to dodge, and what the right maneuver would be.

 

I keep saying ‘it.’ but it was you, am I wrong?

 

You’re here with me. But I don’t need a cage to keep you prisoner. You think you can control my actions, don’t you? You’re not the one in control, here. You never were.

 

However, although your attempts to treat me like a puppet are sickening, I am not unreasonable. You disgust me, but I can look past that, if we’re going to be stuck together.

 

Let us form a deal. You help me out where it matters, and as long as you don’t get too cocky and try to move me in a certain way, I won’t take any… drastic actions in dealing with you. 

 

We can reach the absolute together, you and I.

 

So what do you say…

 

Are we partners?

Notes:

This chapter was a LONG one by my standards, but for good reason! That's the end of the Card Kingdom arc! I will be tackling Cyber City eventually. But not for a little while, I'm going to take a short break, but don't touch that dial! More Chararune will be coming!

Chapter 11: Return to Castle Town

Summary:

It's a new day! Chara and Asriel decide to return to the storage closet, to ensure the adventure they went on truly was real.

I awoke to the sound of screaming. It sounded like Ms. Toriel. I jumped out of bed, immediately fearing the worst…

Yes, I know it wasn’t you. Calm down. 

 

I had to rush myself dressed to check on the noise in time. It sounded like it was coming from the room across the hall. Was that where Kris sleeps? As I ran over, I caught a glimpse of a conversation.

 

“Did you eat the ENTIRE pie?” Toriel blamed her child. Kris gave no answer, save for pulling their blanket over their head. 

 

“Don’t ignore me, young one!” She reprimanded. “I know this is your knife on the plate!”

 

I assumed that was a no. Asriel soon joined me, walking up to my side with a laugh.

“I see it’s the same as it ever was here.” He said with a tired smile. “I hope you got some sleep, Chara.”

 

I blinked. No, in fact I didn’t. I had certain worries keeping me up.

“Like a rock.” I lied. 

 

“Mm, yeah, you look well rested.” Asriel responded flatly. “Well, mom still wants us to help out at the school where we can, I even convinced her to let us head there early!”

 

“What…?” I said exasperatedly, “why would you do that…?”

 

“C’mon, you remember last night don’t you?” Asriel playfully nudged my shoulder as he began to head downstairs, I begrudgingly followed him. 

“We need to at least check on the Dark World.” He continued, “to confirm it’s real, if nothing else.”

 

“Can we at least stop somewhere to eat, first?” I complained, holding my hands behind my head. “I just woke up, and I’m starving.”

 

“Oh yeah, don’t worry! I know the perfect place!” He beamed.

 

So before heading to the school, we stopped at this quaint little diner. QC’s, I think it was called. Was pretty nice. Very ‘homey’ vibe, y’know? Frisk shot me a text while we were there. Apparently they’re on their way here. PP must’ve called them, like he said he would. 

 

We did eventually make it to the school, Asriel had informed me on the way that Toriel wanted us to help clean up the classroom. We decided to get the work done before entering the Dark World. We didn’t want to end up on another journey where we have to skip out on it a second time. 

 

Once we had the free time, Asriel and I found ourselves standing in front of the double doors to the storage closet. We stood there in silence for a few seconds. 

 

“Heh… So are you feeling nervous…?” Asriel asked shakily.

 

“Why would I?”

 

“Well I mean, I wouldn’t blame you for being disappointed, if it wasn’t all real- Which it is-!”

 

“Asriel, this was your idea.”

 

“Right… Right. Yeah, I’m not worried.” Asriel took a deep breath. “Let’s go, no more hesitating!”

 

Asriel took a step back, and he ran forward towards the door when suddenly…!

My phone began to ring.

Asriel had to stop himself from hitting the door face-first.

 

“Chara…”

 

“Oh.” I grabbed my cell phone. “Hold on, I have to take this.”

I answered the phone with a “Yello.”

 

“Hi, Char! I’m on the way to Hometown right now!” Frisk’s voice cheerfully rang from the other side of the phone. 

 

“Ah, hold on, Azz is with me, I’ll put you on speaker.”

 

I moved the phone away from my ear.

“Hey Frisk!” Asriel shouted. 

 

“Hi! Where do we all want to meet up?” Frisk asked, “I don’t really know my way around this place.”

 

“Ah, right. We have a library at the other end of town.” Asriel mentioned. “It’s usually pretty empty. The sign’s misspelled, you can’t miss it.”

 

“Ah yes, the Librarby.” I added, with my necessary and witty commentary. 

 

“...Right! I’ll look out for a librarby. Can’t wait!”

Click. 

 

“...Right.” I said, after an uncomfortable silence. “Where were we?”

 

Asriel sighed.

“Let’s just go already.” 

 

We swung the large double doors open and jumped into the darkness, allowing it to swallow our vision as our ‘Dark World’ appearances washed over us, and we hit the ground, just outside of Castle Town. I believe that’s what this place was supposed to be called. 

 

“Looks about the same as I remember.” Asriel thought aloud.

 

“Yeah, just as dreary.” I added.

 

Ralsei took notice of us, and walked up from just out of view. He sparkled with a large smile and an excited wave.

“Ah, Chara and Asriel! It’s so nice to see you two again.” He greeted happily. “It’s been ever so long!”

 

“Yeah, almost a full day.” I ribbed with a shrug and a playful smirk. “Could hardly bear the wait.” 

 

“Oh, that is… Short. Isn’t it?” Ralsei suddenly looked rather sheepish. Which is very strange for a goat. “I’ve just never had friends before, so I’ve never waited so long for them, either…!”

 

“...Jeez, buddy. Now I just feel bummed.” Asriel responded through gritted teeth. “So where is everyone, anyway? After what happened, I didn’t expect everything to still look so empty.”

 

“Oh, do not worry! You will see everyone again soon!” Ralsei reassured him. “Just wait here, alright?”

 

Ralsei then shifted his attention to me, as he walked over to me and began speaking quietly, I crouched slightly to meet his face, so as to better understand what he’s trying to say. 

 

“Chara, I have a favour to ask of you!” Ralsei whispered, “I need you to go to the Light World, and go to the old classroom, just east of the closet doors. Inside, gather everything on the ground and bring it here, would you?”

 

I blinked in silence, staring with a blank expression.

“Ralsei, how do you know all this?”

 

“All questions will be answered in due time, Chara!” Ralsei answered without missing a beat, keeping the smile on his face. 

 

I glared at him, to make sure he understood my distaste with his answer. His expression didn’t shift in the slightest. 

 

You wouldn’t happen to know the answer, would you?

…I don’t even know why I bother, you never talk when it’s important, huh?

 

Well, Ralsei didn’t look like he’d be budging anytime soon, so I figured I might as well do this. As I turned back around, I noticed a shining light just behind where we fell. As I walked to it, I was raised back up to the Light World, right outside the closet. This would have been nice to have the first time. 

 

In the classroom, everything was just as it was yesterday, I began to scoop everything up, holding it in between my arms. Suddenly I get a strange temptation to-

HEY.

 

No. I’m not putting it on my head. Why would I even do that? I’d never keep it all balanced. 

 

…You’re strangely persistent about this. It’s not happening. 

 

Kicking the door open, I headed back to the storage room doors. I kicked those doors open as well, and jumped into the darkness. The items all left my arm, converting into sparkles, and as I hit the ground, the sparkles began to rain down. In a flash of light, suddenly everything was colourful! Everyone from the Card Kingdom was hanging around, the buildings suddenly changed, it all seemed like a good time. 

 

“Wow, isn’t that all fancy?” Asriel spoke with a whistle, taking in the sights.

 

Suddenly, a familiar face ran over, and he spun around in a circle.

“Guess who’s back, clowns!” Lancer laughed. 

 

“Ah, the number one villain himself!” I smirked. “So where’s the castle, fearsome king Lancer?”

 

“All gone!” Lancer said with a grin and a spin.

 

“That’s right, when you sealed the Dark Fountain, that “Dark World” disappeared!” Ralsei exposited. “And it turned back into a normal classroom.”

 

“Yes, but I can just conquer Ralsei’s castle!” Lancer laughed.

 

Ralsei seemed unperturbed by this, as he ignored the laughter and walked up to me, whispering quietly again.

“Chara, you may want to know that when you bring Dark World Denizens back here, the power of our fountain will transform this town more and more!” He explained. “From now on, the enemies we spare will be recruited to our town. So let’s keep sparing enemies, okay?”

“Anyhow, why don’t we have a look around?” Ralsei directed his attention to the group. “We can head north towards the castle, I have a special surprise for you there!” 

 

“Not if I surprise myself first!” Lancer boasted. “Last one there is a fresh and fragrant egg!”

And just like that Lancer was gone.

 

“He never changes, huh?” Asriel laughed, joining me and Ralsei. “Well, we can’t just be fresh and fragrant eggs, let’s go meet up with him.” 

 

A white star was waiting for us, just outside the castle. It gave almost a nostalgic feeling, seeing it again.

 

The Castle Town has transformed from the power of friendship. You are filled with the power of friendship-based architecture.

 

Ralsei was waiting for us in the castle, next to a large cauldron. 

 

“Nice place. Nice cauldron. This what you wanted to show off?” I asked. 

 

“No, what I want to show you is upstairs!” Ralsei corrected gleefully. “And the cauldron is what I use to cook.”

 

“You… use this thing to cook?”

 

“Of course! Cauldron-cooking is very convenient!”

 

“Huh…” Asriel scratched his chin as he stepped over to it, taking a closer look inside. “Doesn’t look very convenient…”

 

“Oh, but it is! Here, have a cake!”

 

With a small explosion, a fully-sized cake erupted from the cauldron. Asriel stumbled backward with a scream. As the cake fell down he scrambled to catch it, and stared at it with wide-eyed fear.

 

I, meanwhile, looked with blank confusion, struggling to process the events I had just witnessed.

 

“Oh well uh… Thanks!” Asriel awkwardly smiled, “I don’t have much of a sweet-tooth, though.”

 

“I’ll take it.” I say without missing a beat. wasn’t about to let an opportunity go to waste like that, so I swiped the cake from my friend’s hand and it disappeared into my… ‘inventory’? 

 

You got the Ralsei Cake!

Don’t call it that.

 

Wanting to save Ralsei’s surprise for last, we headed downstairs next, to what appeared to be the dungeon. There, C.Round (The little checkers piece with the dog face, remember it?) was violently guarding some cages. All except for one large cell near the back. It came with a giant hamster wheel and water bottle. King was sitting there all by his lonesome, with his back against the wall. 

 

“Ah, the Lightners.” King scoffed. “Have you come to humiliate me?”

 

“Hell yeah.” I responded instantaneously.

 

Asriel lightly smacked my head.

 

“...Mr. King, the Lightners returned everyone here safely!” Ralsei took over the discussion. “If you’re willing to reconsider, then-!”

 

“Hah, and live in a kingdom ruled by you? Staying in this cell is far less humiliating.” He grumbled. “Now if you excuse me, my giant hamster wheel is getting cold.”

 

“Oh, can’t you just get over yourself already?” I snapped.

 

“We have nothing to discuss.” King responded flatly. 

 

“...Fine, then.” I began to stomp away in anger, but apparently we did have something to discuss, because King stopped us.

 

“...By the way… Is my son… Happy?”

 

“Don’t start to act like you care now, your perverted sentimentality makes me sick.” I hissed. “You almost threw him off a cliff. You expect us to believe you give a damn about him?”

 

“Ah, your prejudice made my bluff too effective, I see.” He smirked.

 

“ Prejudice? ”

 

“Besides, even if I did throw him, he would just…” King paused. “...Bounce. My son is… A bouncy little pumpking!”

 

“Aww, cute!” Ralsei smiled cheerfully.

 

“...I think we’re done here.” Asriel began pushing me forward. Probably because he saw me reach for my weapons. 

 

As we made our way up the stairs and towards the next floor, I sighed.

“Tell me again why he’s still around?”

 

“Everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves, Chara.” Ralsei answered. “Just give him some time, he’ll come around!”

“But enough about that, look at this!”

 

The upstairs floor was a hallway with several differently coloured doors, all leading to another set of upward stairs, but they were blocked off.

 

“I made rooms for you in the castle!” Ralsei said with an excited grin. “So you can stay here whenever you want! I’d be happy if this place… Could be like a second home to you. A place that you can go, no matter what’s happening outside.”

 

“Wow, Rals, that's real sweet of you!” Asriel responded With a friendly smile. “I can’t wait to check them out, right Chara?”

 

“Yeah, huh…” I scratched my chin. I didn’t have the heart to tell Ralsei we didn’t really live anywhere near the school. “So, what’s with the stairs at the end?”

 

“Oh, my room is up there, but the floor needs renovations!” Ralsei answered quickly. “Please try to be patient!”

 

I couldn’t really argue with that, so I entered the first door. It was a plain looking red door, and inside was a bedroom. 

 

It had black walls and a pale red carpet. At the corner there was a queen-sized bed with a pink and white blanket, and there was a wardrobe at the other end of the room, with a shelf right next to it. Red star patterns filled the walls, and hanging off the back wall was a collection of knives and daggers, all of various sizes and shapes.

 

“Well hey, you’ve got my interests down.” I said, walking towards the knives and examining them. I was snarking, but I thought quietly that I was actually really impressed with this. 

 

I took a look at the wardrobe next. It was filled with all sorts of different clothes. Pants, jackets, skirts, dresses… 

 

You could wear whatever you want!

 

Indeed…

We left, and headed to the next door, a pale purple, wavy shaped door with a crown at the top and what looked to be two horns coming out of the corners.

 

This must have been Asriel’s room. 

As we entered, we took a look at the room. The walls were of course black, with a flaming pattern at the bottom that seemed to be constantly shifting colours. 

 

He had a white king sized bed, with a frame that spiked like the tips of flames. Along with a purple wardrobe and desk at the opposite end of the room. Hanging right above his bed was a large poster of some dragon-goat monster with rainbow wings. Asriel seemed excited about it. It looks like his OC that he excitedly showed me when we first met. 

 

“So, Asriel, this is your room!” Ralsei stated, “I tried to make it something you like, but you can put anything else you want in here, too! I really hope you like it!”

 

Asriel scratched his chin as he looked around. He looked down at Ralsei and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You did great, bud!” He said with a grin. “I love all the fire.” 

 

“I’m glad you like it!” Ralsei beamed. He seemed truly ecstatic over Asriel’s words. 

 

We moved onto the spade shaped door, which had a large blue cursive L right at the centre. One could only guess who’s room this belonged to. 

 

Surprise surprise, it was Lancer’s. And for some reason, the door made a strange squelching sound whenever it opened. It was disturbing but manageable.

 

Lancer was standing in the middle of his entirely black room, to his right was a large spade-shaped bed. Behind him on the wall, there were four photos, all of him, and on the floor there were several small holes, and a gardening tool. Which was, get this, a spade.

 

“This is the best room ever!!!” Lancer yelled. “How’d you know what I like?!”

 

“Oh I just sort of… had a hunch!” Ralsei stuttered.

 

“The quasimodo of kindness, people!!”

 

“That’s not- Alright.” I decided not to ask any further questions. “So uh, nice room…?”

 

“It’s even better than I remember!” Lancer exclaimed. “I even have my own bed now, I no longer have to sleep in a hole in the ground!”

 

“That’s uh… didn’t you have a bed?”

 

“That was for the bike!” Lancer corrected.

 

As the three of us left Lancer to his devices, we headed back down the stairs. We walked out of the castle and headed back to the light to take us home. 

 

“Thanks, Ralsei.” I spoke aloud, stopping in front of the Dark World’s exit. “This really was nice of you.”

 

“Ah, well! It’s the least I could do, for my first friends!” Ralsei beamed. “Will you be leaving now?”

 

“Yeah, looks like it. We have adult responsibilities and all that.” Asriel answered. “Now that we confirmed this wasn’t a shared fever dream and all, but we’ll definitely visit again, so don’t you go running on us!”

 

“Oh, I have nowhere to run, anyway!” 

 

“Did I hear responsibilities?!” Lancer spun into view. “Allow me to help with all the adulting and such!”

 

“Oh, Lancer, wait! Perhaps it’s better to-!

 

“Too late, kindboy! Friendship forme!” Before Ralsei could stop him, Lancer entered my inventory.

 

“Uh…” Asriel stared blankly. “What just happened?”

 

“No need to worry! I just entered your inventory!”

I just said that.

“I’ll just be hanging out in Chara’s pocket!”

 

“Feare not! I too, shall assisteth!” Rouxls Kaard yelled, running into view, reminding us he existed. 

 

“Oh, no, we’re actually good-!” Asriel tried to stop him.

 

“Ahah, quite! We, as a team- Art good!!” Rouxls entered my inventory as well even though no one wanted that. 

 

“I will also join.” The Original Starwalker said, as he walked into my inventory. Where did he even come from?

 

“...” The three of us stared at each other in dumbfounded silence for several seconds. 

 

“...Maybe we should get going.” I decided to put a stop to this nonsense. 

 

Asriel and I stepped into the light, we floated upward as Ralsei waved goodbye, and the darkness was flooded with a blinding light as we returned to the Light World.

Notes:

WE BACK!

Question for those that still care about this fic, would you prefer the shorter chapters (roughly around 1000 words) with the old weekly schedule, or longer chapters, more like this one or the previous one, but with less frequent updates?

Chapter 12: Welcome To Cyber-City

Summary:

The gang unites Frisk and meets a certain regal lady.

Asriel and I stood in the library (or the Librarby). Pizzapants was supposed to be here. He wasn’t. Frisk was supposed to be here. They weren’t. In front of us was supposed to be the entrance to the computer lab. Instead, there was a familiar looking dark void. Just like the storage closet.

 

“Is this…?” Asriel stuttered quietly, through baited breath.

 

“Another Dark World.” I finished the thought.

 

We stared in silence for a few seconds, watching as the darkness seeped from the entrance. Asriel nervously looked back and forth between me and the darkness.

“What should…” He paused, “what should we do?”

 

I thought for a moment, scratching my chin.

“Frisk and PP are supposed to be here… and they aren’t answering their phones.”

 

“You don’t think…?”

 

“They must be.” I shrugged. “Besides, we’re prophetic heroes or some nonsense. We have a job to do.”

 

“Well, yeah. I guess we do…”

 

The two of us stared at each other and gave a slight nod of determination. We took a step back and ran for the darkness, jumping straight into it. Our outfits changed as we hit the ground. 

We landed on the green floor, which stood high above the endless abyss. Surrounding us darkness in the skies, lit up with the faint glow of what looked like large stars connected through wires.

 

Wires hung from the seemingly infinite sky as we moved along. Down the slopes we came across little pink creatures.

 

“The wires…” one said. “The wires…”

 

As we continued more of these creatures showed their fear of the wires. Some of which even fired down blasts of electricity. 

“Careful.” I heard Asriel say.

 

“Wait, do you hear that?” I ignored him. It just so happens somebody was talking.

 

“Is anyone there…?” A familiar voice called out from the distance. “It’s so dark… I can hardly see…”

 

Was that…? 

 

“Frisk?”

 

I walked forward, with Asriel close behind. Frisk was there. They seemed to take on more of a teal tint within the Dark World. They had an outfit resembling a bard, with a green tunic, a short light blue cape, and a dark blue belt with a longsword connected to it. Despite the strange situation they were in, when they turned around I did not see an ounce of fear on their face. In fact, Frisk looked almost excited.

 

“Chara! Asriel!” They called out with a casual smile and an excited wave. “Oh, wait- It’s dangerous here, you need to-!”

 

Before Frisk could finish speaking, a cage floated out from the sky and landed on them, trapping them inside. It lifted up and forcefully carried them away.

 

“FRISK!” I yelled, running forward. But something interrupted us.

 

As a stark white and blue woman with a black visor for eyes floated up in a hovering blue throne, she let out a boisterous laugh, swishing her strange green liquid in her wine glass.

 

“Hell Of A Roleplay.” She mocked.

 

“Oh great, who are you supposed to be?” Asriel groaned.

 

“I Am Known As Serial Number Q5U4EX7YY2E9N.” She introduced herself. “But You Foolish Children Can Call Me… ‘Queen.’”

She struck a pose, as a label with the name ‘Queen’ appeared in the sky, along with an arrow pointed at her.

 

“Can I call you annoying?” I asked.

Another label appeared on the opposite side of her.

 

“Hey, uh, ‘Queen.’ I think you confused us with someone else.” Asriel stated. “We’re grown adults. Not children.” 

 

“Why, Adults Are Merely Big Teenagers, And Teenagers Are Merely Big Children!” Queen corrected. 

 

“...So you’re a child, too?” I asked.

 

“No I Am: A Computer (Smart).”

 

“Of course you are…”

 

“Well Thank You For The Stimuli But I Must Leave Now (Goodbye).”

 

Queen began to leave, before I yelled at her to stop.

“Hey, wait! Give me my cousin back!”

 

“I Would Have Captured You Too But I Ran Out of Cages.” She came back.

 

“Do you need to capture people at all? ” Asriel debated.

 

“Why Of Course!” Queen answered as if it were obvious. “I Need Someone To Be My Willing Peon!”

“In My Quest For World Domination.”

 

“...”

 

“Can’t anyone just be normal in these Dark Worlds?” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose.

 

“Also Maybe I Will Make Their Face Into A Robot One?” Queen continued.

 

“...” I paused. “Knowing Frisk, they might actually be into that.”

 

“What?” Asriel stared at me. I shrugged.

 

“That being said, we aren’t going to let you turn any faces into robot ones!”

 

“Could That Be A Statement Of Animous Dissension?” 

 

“.....Yes?”

 

“Oh Then Bye.”

 

Queen began to leave.

 

“Hey wait, no! Get back here!” I yelled back at her.

 

Behind us, two of the pink guys were attacked by blue wires. The wires grabbed onto their faces, and they began to transform.

 

“Enjoy: Your Assimilation.” She said, before leaving us to fight the… ‘Werewires.’

 

The Werewires threw star shaped bullets at us, we barely managed to dodge out of the way, grazing against them. 

 

“I have an idea.” I said. “Throw me.”

 

“...Are you serious?” Asriel looked at me, unimpressed.

 

“Come on, you’re huge, you can do it.” I encouraged him. “Don’t be such a baby.”

 

“I’m not being a-!” Asriel cut himself off. He sighed in defeat as he rubbed his temples. “Fine, just don’t go crying to me when you break something.”

 

Asriel picked me up, and I readied my daggers.

“Okay, aim right in the middle of the wires! Trust me, this is going to work!”

 

Asriel was obviously unconvinced. Which is the obvious response, to be quite honest. I’m not convinced about this either. But I got the same feeling I get whenever you are guiding me somewhere. I haven’t been led astray with this yet.

(Except when you took me back to get that egg from the guy behind the tree. What was that about?)

 

“Now!” I ordered. Asriel tossed me like a javelin, and, timing it perfectly, I slashed at the wires right as I passed them. 

 

The wires were sliced in half, and they harmlessly fell off the pink creatures’ face. With this, we were able to spare them and end the fight.

 

“Haha, yeah!” Asriel cheered, and we high fived. “Seriously though, that was your plan? Are you hurt?”

 

“...” I paused. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it? Besides, I’m completely fine.” 

 

“Well, if you’re sure… Let’s just catch up to Queen then-”

Before Asriel could finish his thought, more werewires dropped down. 

 

The two of us prepared to fight again, when they suddenly seemed to calm down, through familiar looking magic.

 

Sure enough, Ralsei walked up from behind us.

 

“I used my Pacify spell to put them into ‘Sleep Mode’!” Ralsei said with a big grin, looking proud of himself.

 

I put my hands on my hips, staring him down with my eyes squinted.

“And just how did you get here?”

 

“I uh… I felt a dark presence so I hurried over-!”

 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

 

“Please, let’s not worry about that right now.”

 

“Not gonna lie…” Asriel spoke up. “I agree with Ralsei here, we have more pressing matters, like Frisk?”

 

I glared daggers into Asriel, but eventually I had to relent. I released a long tired groan before standing straight and begrudgingly agreeing to drop the subject.

“You’re right, that’s more important here… We should do something before something happens to them…”

 

“Worry not, all we have to do is seal the fountain!” Ralsei beamed. 

 

“...Right…” 

So of course, the full team was once again together, and we readied ourselves. As we slid down a hill, and through a field with a skyline in the distance, we passed by another of the shining white stars, which I’m sure you know well.

 

A green field extends before you… And in the distance, a city shines brightly. You are filled with the power of a new adventure.

 

…The ‘new adventure’ so to speak started off… interestingly. The area was riddled with more of those ‘Werewires’, spinning in giant teacup rides took us to higher places in the field, a man with some sort of speaker for a head threw magic at us to a rhythmic beat. And eventually, we came across a book. Which according to Ralsei, was ‘a free editable CYBERPEDIA…!’

 

…According to him, defeating an enemy with violence will mean we can’t recruit them to our town, but could make us ‘stronger’. I wasn’t entirely sure what that was all about. 

 

A little pink creature talked to us on our way forward, speaking of Queen’s evil rulership. 

“I don’t really like politics, so I have no opinion on this.” He said. 

I’m sure things won’t backfire for him.

 

We came across more enemies, like large cat creatures called ‘tasques’, which could easily be defeated through the power of petting. We also came across Queen, who still had Frisk trapped, apparently. They were sitting from within the cage with their legs crossed, resting a cheek on their hand. They looked disinterested. 

 

“Frisky Become My Willing Peon And I Will Free You.” Queen insisted. “All You Have To Do Is Hit Yes On The Peon Release Form.”

 

“I’m not doing that.” Frisk responded bluntly. 

 

“Oh Do You Not Know How To?” Queen asked. “I Can Offer A Special Peon Training Course.”

 

“Oh yeah sure.” Frisk scoffed with a flat tone. “That’ll solve everything here.”

 

“Please Abort Your Sass Protocol.” Queen implored. “Being A Peon Is Hip And Cool. All The Children Are Doing It.”

 

“Hey Frisk!” I yelled as we walked up to them. “Everything alright there? You look… unperturbed.” 

 

“Oh it’s you guys. I see you picked up a mini-Asriel along the way.” Frisk waved. “Yeah I’m fine.”

 

Asriel looked down at Ralsei, who smiled back up at him.

“Yeah we’re uh… We’re not really sure why that’s a thing.”

 

“Well uh, continue not worrying then.” I responded with confusion, I was sort of hoping to give a bit more of a speech here. “We’re not going to let her turn your face into a robot one.”

 

Frisk slowly turned towards Queen with a puzzled expression.

“Is that something you can do…?”

 

“I Don’t Know. Probably.” Queen answered with a flat smile. “But It Was Going To Be A Surprise. That’s Quite A Shame, Oh Well.”

 

The cage flew away with Frisk in it. I could hear them scream, but it was more out of surprise than fear. I couldn’t grab them in time.

 

“Damn it!” I pulled at my hair, growling through my teeth. “What’s your problem, lady?!”

 

“It Is Quite Troubling, A Peon Must Be ‘Willing’ To Assist Me In World Domination.” She completely ignored me… “If Only She Had Fellow Peons To Encourage Her.”

 

Asriel took a step back.

“That doesn’t sound like our problem…”

 

Queen suddenly took a step towards us, and I was suddenly wishing that she was still ignoring me.

 

“Hey. You Guys.”

“So Are You… Like…”

“Doing Anything Right Now?”

 

“We aren’t going to help you!” Ralsei shouted. 

 

“Understood. Mind-Changing Protocol Necessitated.”

 

A bird in a suit dropped down from the sky, along with what looked like a giant blue arcade machine. I didn’t like where this was going… But I was intrigued.

 

“What’s this for?” Asriel asked.

 

“I Shall Humiliate You At: A Simple Children’s Diversion.” Queen happily answered, “With Your Self-Esteem Eradicated, There Will Be No Choice But To Serve Me.”

 

“Hey Chara.” Asriel spoke up, “you play a lot of video games, right?”

 

I scoffed.

“I don’t play video games.” I corrected. “I complete them, I finish every last piece of content until nothing useful remains-!”

 

“Yeah yeah, but you can do this one, right?”

 

“Huh? Oh, yeah. No sweat.”

 

The machine was… Rather tall. It was barely possible to even touch the controls as a grown adult, a child would have an even harder time at that. Not only that, but moving the joystick was like pushing a large cinder block. How was anybody supposed to play this???

 

You weren’t tall or strong enough to-

 

YOU SHUT UP.

 

“Self-Esteem Eradication Complete.” Queen grinned.

 

“You shut up, too!”

 

“...Too?” Asriel asked.

 

“Nothing. I may need some help.”

 

Ralsei was quick to offer. 

“Here, look at what I’ve been practicing!” He transformed into himself on his hands and knees. “Magical Stool Forme R!”

 

“Hm…”

 

“Uh…” Asriel walked up as well. “I don’t have much confidence in my strength, but I’m stronger than average. Maybe I could help with the buttons?”

 

Asriel was being modest. His entire family is incredibly strong, even by monster standards. Never got on his parents’ bad sides, kids. 

 

Asriel and I combined our powers, I held out my arms and he grabbed onto them. This is what the power of friendship looks like, I think. 

“Hyper-Beast Forme A…? Did I do it right?”  

 

Ralsei couldn’t hold the weight of us both, but we still got enough height on his back… I should apologize for that later. 

 

“Your Transformation Is Combining All Your Weak Points.” Queen said, “Self-Esteem Crushing Efficiency 300% And Rising. Commence Virtual Combat.”

 

Virtual Combat Commenced. It was like that one video game from the once company. Yeah, you know the one. The one where you punch people out. What was it called again?

 

Oh yeah, that’s right. F-Zero.

 

Queen tried to talk to us during the fight, but I was enthralled. A controller was in my hands which meant I had entered an entirely new state. A state that does not lose. Depleting her HP was child’s play. Then her character in the game exploded.

 

Then the game exploded.

 

Then the machine exploded.

 

“...I’m going to assume that was supposed to happen. But anyway, we won.” I smirked.

 

Queen laughed regally in response.

“Oh My. That Was Actually Rather… Amusing. You Lifeform(s) Have Exceeded My Expectations.” She admitted, “I Will Offer You A New, Exceedingly Benevolent Compromise, Assimilate To My Cyber-Army… And There Is Only A 50%-Chance I Will Reprogram Your Face.”

“Please Select Your Choice: Perish In The Chill Of Absolute Destruction, Or… Flourish Under The Warm Bosom Of My Hellish Reign.”

 

“Perishing sounds fun.” I answered.

 

“What do you mean sounds fun??? ” Asriel quacked. 

 

“Are there… any other options?” Ralsei asked.

 

“Yes, You Can Also: Mega-Perish.” Queen responded quickly. 

 

“We’re not doing that!” Asriel countered. 

 

“That’s A Shame! What About-” 

 

“GET OUT OF HERE.” I interrupted.  

 

“Understood, Preference Settings Set To ‘Perish.’” Queen walked off. 

 

Suddenly I was feeling really exhausted. 

“Ugh, let’s keep going.”

 

Next to the rubble that was once an arcade machine, another star formed.

 

The game is wrecked. You are filled with the power of video game violence.

Notes:

Sorry this chapter took so long I didn't want to write it

Chapter 13: Sweet Cap'n Cakes

Summary:

The trip through the Cyber Fields continues, and the Death Gang run into some more familiar faces.

Notes:

quick note, this chapter does include a brief moment involving misgendering near the beginning, it's like, blink-and-you-miss-it quick, but I figured its good to put a warning up regardless.

After an attempt to buy 400 CD Bagels, which did not pan out, we continued forward. I completed a puzzle which apparently made it legal for Queen to use or likeness on funny statues. However our progress was soon halted by a person with what I believe was a boombox for a head, riding a flying turntable.

 

He proceeded to fall off of it, hitting the ground boombox-first.

“D-dead end!” He stuttered, pushing himself back up to his feet.

 

“Are you uh… You okay, kid?” Asriel asked, “that looked like it hurt.”

 

“I’m fine! And I ain’t no kid!” He snapped back, “the name’s Sweet!” 

 

“Oh, like ‘suite!’” Ralsei chimed.

 

“...Yyyyeah. Do you mind getting out of the way?” I asked, with my best attempt to be polite. “We’re kind of in a hurry.”

 

“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of the Sweet Cap’n Cakes!” Sweet scoffed.

 

“No.”

 

The living speaker flinched. 

“Eugh… I guess our act is still underground…” He muttered, “Well, we’re not only Cyber Field’s BEST musical trio, we’re also the last resistance against the big bad Queen and all her crew!”

 

“Oh that’s great!” Asriel responded, “see, we’re actually-!”

 

“And that starts with resisting YOU!”

 

“WAIT WAIT, we’re on your side here!”

 

“Nuh-uh-uh! Cap’n saw you help her kidnap some girl!”

 

“Not a girl.” I chimed in. “You can just say person. Or someone. Or I guess ‘human’ would be appropriate here.”

 

“Oh, really? Sorry about that.”

 

“Hey, they’d be fine with it, I’m sure. Just watch it, in the future.”

 

“Yeah, that’s my bad!” He apologized, “Anyway… Hey, cap!”

 

Another person with a radio for a head fell from the sky, this one was blue and wore large round sunglasses.

“We won't let anyone lay a finger on… Non…Binamoizels…?”

 

“Is that the best you could come up with?!” Sweet comically prat-falled.

 

“I was on a time crunch, this is new information!” Cap’n responded. “Besides, if anyone’s gonna touch ‘em, it’s gonna be us!”

 

“What?! No! We’re not players!”

 

“We’re rebels that play!”

 

The three of us were forced to watch this failed comedy routine with nowhere to run. They called for their third member, who I was sure was going to be named Cakes, but according to them, is called K.K. He was green, and the tallest of the group. He also had some type of speaker for a head. Of course.

 

“K.K, are we players?” Cap’n asked.

 

“...I’m a CD player.” K.K responded.

 

Music played, as the three of them began to dance.

 

We slowly began to leave.

 

“Wait!” Sweet yelled. Drat. Caught. “They’re getting away!”

 

“Sweet, chill, there’ll be other bad guys.” Cap’n suggested.

 

“No! This is our chance!” Sweet insisted, “are you ready? Let’s fight!”

 

Battle music began, courtesy of K.K, and despite our attempts to leave, Sweet Cap’n Cakes blocked our way.

 

I figured I already had a good enough read on these guys… But I really didn’t want to.

I stood there in silence.

 

“Is… Everything alright, Chara?” Asriel asked.

 

“I think we’re going to have to dance.” I responded.

 

“Dancing sounds like fun!”

 

“Of course you’d say that.” 

 

I grumbled obscenities to myself, and gave the order, the three of us started to dance. We targeted Sweet, who began dancing in rhythm with us. Once he was distracted, I shifted my attention to the others. They threw music notes our way, rather easy to dodge, if I’m being honest. They seemed more focused on keeping a good groove going, over actually fighting. 

 

“Perhaps if we get them all to dance, we can win?” Ralsei suggested, as if I hadn’t already figured that out.

 

We targeted K.K next, but just as their next turn ended, Sweet snapped back to reality. 

“Just keep trying to dance!” Ralsei cheered, “I know we can do it.”

 

Things continued like this for a while. We truly seemed to be going nowhere. Then, Asriel had a question. 

 

“Hey, I just thought of something. Why do we need Chara to ACT in order to just dance?”

 

“Well, that’s Chara’s unique talent, so…”

 

“Dancing is easy to do on your own, have some more faith in yourself, Ralsei!”

 

Asriel learned A-Action.

 

“Wait, Asriel, I don’t think you should…”

 

“There’s nothing wrong with it!” Asriel insisted. “Come on and just dance, that’s how we’ll get out of this!”

 

Ralsei succumbed to peer pressure and learned R-Action.

 

With the three of us finally able to target different foes, we entered a full on dance party. The six of us, dancing in harmony. It was a beautiful sight. Truly, friendship had won in the end. 

 

“So… Does that mean we’re friends now?” K.K asked.

 

“K.K! No!!” Sweet retorted quickly. 

 

“Fighting’s not really my style anyways…” Cap’n shrugged.

 

“Yeah, because you’re a coward!” Sweet yelled, “I mean… It was fun dancing, but…”

 

“Sweet, don’t worry!” K.K assured his friend, “I think our dancing beat them.”

 

“Yeah, all mercy-like!” Cap’n agreed, “when we danced with them, it convinced them we’re cool.”

 

“Oh, so now they’re on our side?” Sweet turned to us, “Hey, you three!! Welcome to the good side!”

 

The three of us gave each other a look. Ralsei gave an apologetic smile that said ‘just play along.’ 

 

“...Ugh, fine.” I take a step forward, “thank you so much, for showing us the light! You three have really made us change our ways.”

 

“See? It all worked out!” Cap’n nodded sagely, “let’s ronday-voo at our junk shop.”

 

“We jammed the door shut, but we’ll kick it open!” Sweet agreed. “Alright everyone, let’s go!”

 

The three rebels hopped on their flying table and left the scene. 

You know, I almost forgot how… Colourful everybody was in these Dark Worlds.

 

The way forward had a travelator (you know, like one of those moving walkways?) that led us to the left, on the way, fireworks went off. The three of us watched them together… I wanted to ask why the fireworks looked like our faces, but nobody else seemed to care, so I figured I shouldn’t bother with the question. 

 

Sweet Cap’n Cakes had a shop nearby, obnoxiously loud music reverberated from the building. It felt as if the area around me was shaking. 

 

You are filled with the power of noise music.

 

Yes, I suppose that’s what it is. I let the light wash over me as I crouched down to touch the white star. We decided to enter the shop, since we’re now ‘on their side,’ those rebels very well might have important information about that Queen for us. So we entered the building, and the volume of the music became unbearable as soon as the doors opened. 

 

According to them, Queen wasn’t always that bad. Well, okay, they say she was bad, but she had somehow gotten even worse. Because of the Dark Fountain, she wouldn’t stop talking about some ‘Knight.’ That’s what Sweet Cap’n Cakes say, anyways. 

 

The fountain seemed to have an effect on King too, apparently. It’s strange, too. Aren’t they objects, or something? They have memories from before they gained sentience? There’s more to these Dark Worlds than we’re told, I assume. I’d ask Ralsei, but… 

 

Hm…

 

We stocked up on supplies and, bidding farewell to our new ‘partners’, we headed forward. We snuck our way past wires and viruses and cats, narrowly avoiding enemies and attacks that came our way, until we came across what appeared to be a roller coaster?

 

There’s a lot of amusement park iconography here, actually. We rode teacups to get up here. Queen must have a thing for them. 

 

On the roller coaster, well ended up on unique carts, that each had a resemblance to the person riding them…. 

“Cute.” I said, sarcastically. 

 

“I know, right?” Asriel responded, sincerely.

 

That is when Queen showed up.

 

Peachy.

 

“Enough You Foolish Children.” Queen said, sitting in a floating chair and swishing a glass of green… wine? “I Have Been Merciful To You Thus Far But Now Is The Time For: Your Unwillful Imprisonment (Capture.) Drop The Capturing Capsules.”

 

Three human-sized cages fell down from the sky. They all missed.

 

“Fantastic job.” I say with the fakest smile I could muster.

 

“Sarcasm Noted. That Was Simply A Tactical Calibration.” Queen insisted.

 

“So, that… Are you going to try again?” Asriel asked.

 

“No I Only Have Like Four Cages.” Queen laughed. Her laughter came to a sudden halt. “Ok Wait. I Have A Small Plot Twist For You. Come Forward My… Peon.”

 

Another coaster cart came by from the other side, Frisk was riding it. Their cart was green, with little hearts on it. 

 

“Hey guys!” They waved. “Crazy day, right?”

 

“Frisk????” I was utterly dumbfounded. “Wha- Why? What?!”

 

“Frisk, are you alright?!” Asriel quickly asked.

 

“What? Oh yeah, I’m fine.” They waved it off, without a care in the world. “I just had nothing else to do, thought I could spice things up a bit.”

 

“Yeah, that sounds like you…” I groaned. “At least you’re not hurt.”

 

“Yeah! I mean…” Frisk shrugged, “not much has really been happening, I’m a little bored, actually.”

 

The small talk continued for a few moments, I almost forgot where we were until Queen interrupted us.

 

“OK This Isn’t Working Bring In The Other Guy.” Another cart crashed into Frisk’s, and they went flying somewhere. The new cart was brown and resembled some bear-cat thing.

 

Riding it was… Pizzapants. Wearing a knightly outfit and standing proud with a wide dark grin on his face. 

 

“That’s right! The real hero has arrived on the scene.” Pizzapants gloated, “stand down, guys. You don’t want to see me unleash my true potential. ”

I could tell from the sinister aura of his expression, that he meant that with 100% earnesty. 

 

“PP! The hell are you doing?!” Asriel asked in utter shock. “Why did Queen ask YOU to join.”

 

“He Actually Just Showed Up And Begged To Be A Part.” Queen corrected, with her ever unchanging smile. “It Was Sad To Watch.”

 

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand!” PP scoffed, “town darling here in Hometown, the school genius back at college! You’ll always be my best bud Asriel, but I need some recognition from more than just my girlfriend!”

 

“You mean that overly compressed JPEG of a pizza?” I intervened. “You’re really still falling for that?”

 

“Oh don’t YOU start!” He snapped, “when was the last time you actually called me by my REAL name?”

 

“Oh come on, Pizzapants!” I smiled playfully, with a dismissive wave of my hand. “We’re all pals here, right?”

 

He stared at me with the rage of one thousand Hells. Quite frankly I probably deserved the violence that would ensue momentarily.

 

“Regardless… For the recognition I deserve, our power is the key, Frisk and I…” He explained. “The incredible power of the ‘Light Nerds!’”

 

“Uhm…” Ralsei, who had been listening quietly this entire time, finally piped up. “I believe you mean ‘Lightners?’”

 

“No I’m pretty sure Queen said Light Nerds.” 

 

“I Actually Did.” Queen agreed.

 

“PP, come on! She’s obviously just manipulating you!” Asriel explained.

 

“Yeah well, that’s exactly what she SAID you’d say!” PP argued back.

 

“I Actually Did!” Queen repeated.

 

“Now, Chara, Asriel… Other guy…” Pizzapants reached behind him as he pulled out a large battle-axe, nearly the same size as his entire body. “We could spare this from getting bloody, despite how much I may want that to happen right now, you can still be spared if you join-!”

 

“We’re not doing that.” I cut him off immediately.

 

“Pity.”

 

The battle began.

 

The first thing I did was look down at the controls of the cart. It sort of resembled the arcade machine, there seemed to be buttons to move the cart forward or backward, and we could control the speed. 

 

“Any ideas on how to get our way out of this?” Ralsei asked, turning to me. 

 

“I think an apology would be a good place to start?” Asriel suggested.

 

“No.” I immediately dismissed the idea. “Look in front of you in your coaster, we could use these to ram into PP’s, if we do it enough times, it’ll break and he won’t be able to fight back! Let’s try!”

 

The three of us each bumped into PP’s cart, I could feel some damage being done.

 

“You can drop the act, Chara! You always act like you’re so superior!” PP growled.

 

He threw magical bullets in the shape of razor sharp pizza slices at me. I barely managed to graze out of the way of most, one managed to slice my face. 

 

This felt like it was getting personal. 

We bumped again, visible damage to the cart.

 

“But I know that you know you aren’t!” He swung his battle axe, it shot waves of magical bullets at us. We could hardly keep dodging, he was really putting his all into this. “I can see how scared you really are in your eyes! No one knows expressions better than I do!”

 

We bumped again, more clear damage.

 

“Your mask slips ever so slightly, when you’re around us! But it’s still on, isn’t it?” He accuses, wrongfully, I might add. “We’re all losers here! Don’t think I don’t know it! What are you so afraid of?!”

 

“God, does he ever stop yapping?” I grumbled through gritted teeth.

 

“He’s clearly having a rough time…” Asriel whispered in an attempt to calm me down. “Try not to hold it against him…”

 

His attacks became more extreme, there were some Asriel wasn’t able to dodge, I felt it in my own soul as he got hurt. With my order for him to use the turn healing, Ralsei opted out of bumping this turn, But Asriel and I still managed to do it. 

 

“But…” Pizzapants’ eyes lowered as he calmed down, after a flurry of more pizza themed attacks, “I am a hero here, whatever reason you have to hide away, just join us and we can help! ALL of our problems could go away!”

 

I had my answer to his request. 

We bumped into his cart again. 

 

“Is… is my coaster supposed to be smoking?”

It exploded, he seemed unharmed as he flew out of it and dropped somewhere. 

I was not expecting that… I began to feel a little guilty, maybe an apology was a good idea. He’s probably fine though, right?

 

Queen flew back into view on her chair.

“That Was Unexpected. Hello Everyone I Have Some News Updates.” Queen greeted us. “You See, This ‘Roller’, ‘Coaster’,... It’s Not Actually Finished.” 

 

“Wait… WHAT?” Asriel yelled, gripping onto his head in anguish. “What does THAT mean!?”

 

“Pain.”

 

She flew off as our carts drove right off a large ramp. As the carts went flying, our fall was conveniently broken. By a large pile of trash in what I can only assume was the city’s dump. 

 

“Thank God for trash, am I right?” Asriel asked through a pained voice, attempting to lighten the mood.

 

As the three of us dropped down, we continued walking. We came across Nubert! Everyone loves Nubert. 

 

But then, there was a fork in the road. 

 

“Chara, it seems like we might need to split up.” Ralsei suggested. “Who would you rather go with?”

 

Figures he’d make me decide. 

“Uh…”

 

Asriel must have noticed my discomfort, because he immediately took the opportunity to speak.

“How about I go with you?” Asriel suggested. He walked up to the direction chosen by Ralsei and started walking with out waiting for an answer.

 

Ralsei blinked in confusion. He turned to look at me, like he was waiting for a response from me. 

“Well? Are you going to go?”

 

He looked troubled, but that seemed to be all he needed. He briskly walked forward to catch up with Asriel, and I took the opportunity to go it alone in the other direction. It seemed as if I reached the entrance of a city, due to the sign that read ‘welcome to the city.’ Followed by several pictures of cats.

 

You have a severe lack of fluffy boys shining within you. Reluctantly, you are filled with the power from the cat sign.

Chapter 14: Trucies

Summary:

Chara is separated from their team, and so teams up with their good friend and cousin Frisk! They have some conversations along the way.

This Cyber City has incredibly unsafe traffic laws. I was almost hit by a car like, three times.

I thought I saw Frisk ahead of me in the corner of my eye. When I attempted to follow them, I was attacked! By popups! Truly, the worst type of enemy so far. 

 

Unfortunately, I will not be telling you what kind of ads it gave me. You will not be seeing my private information. 

 

You subconsciously click on an ad for demon summoning tutorials.

 

Hey! Stop peeking!

Well, great, that just made more popups. Luckily I was able to spare them by blocking them, the only way to get rid of popups.

 

So I walked alone through the endless alleyways and-

Hey look, it’s Frisk.

 

“Chara!” They called cheerfully, “what are you-?”

 

“Oh Frisky Business Where Have You Gone?” Queen’s voice yelled.

 

Frisk quickly ran into a hiding spot. They held a finger up to their lips. Queen soon ran up, clearly still looking for them.

“Where Are You, Frisky Wisky Biscuit?” She asked to the void, “We’re A Team Now, Remember? You Still Have To Be My Willing Minion!”

 

I figured if I stood silently enough, Queen would not notice I was here. My plan backfired, however, as she clearly did notice, turning straight towards me.

“Chara. It Appears. Our Comrades Have Pressed Escape Key On Us.”

 

“That’s just a you thing. We just split up for a while.” I corrected her.

 

“Yes Denial Is Always The First Step.” Queen stepped closer, “So, In Order To Find Our Teams, I Propose We Form An Uneasy Truce.”

 

 “QUEEEEEN, Where are you? We have work to do in saving the universe!” Pizzapants yelled from further back. I can only assume this situation would not end in utter nonsense.

 

“Oh No Don’t Let Him Find Me.” Queen jumped into the same hiding spot as Frisk, above them with a full spread eagle against the two walls to her side.

 

I was lying earlier by the way. Of course it’s utter nonsense. You can’t just believe everything you hear.

 

Now Pizzapants was in the area, and he was the one speaking to me. 

“Ah, Chara. You uh… Aren’t who I need to find.”

 

“Hey, PP, is everything alright?” I smirked awkwardly.

 

“Haven’t been feeling the best after exploding, actually!” PP gave a wild, manic grin. 

 

“Haha….. Would you accept a sorry?” I shrugged. Hey, it was worth a shot. 

 

“Hahhh…” He groaned, rubbing the side of his forehead. “Look, I see that you’re alone now. Tough luck getting abandoned, but with that attitude-”

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be with Frisk and Queen?”

 

“Huh? What? Huh?” He scoffed, loudly. Folding his arms and overacting his dismissal to the extreme “They’re obviously just somewhere else. Waiting for the help of a dashing knight!”

 

“...”

 

“...Alright fine!” PP stepped forward and gritted his teeth, putting on his best fake smile, which was terrifying to look at. This guy works in customer service. “In order to find our teams… We must form an uneasy truce. What do you say?”

 

“What The! Who The Beep Said You Could Double Trucies?!” Queen yelled, likely giving away her hiding spot, and more importantly, Frisk’s. 

 

“Hey Chara, did you hear something?” PP looked around for a moment.

 

“...Honk Honk No It’s Just The Sounds Of The City.” Queen answered.

 

“Oh okay that makes sense.” He shrugged. “Well, I’ll be ahead. See you around.”

Pizzapants walked ahead, and soon after, Queen jumped away from her hiding spot and back in front of me. I’d call it impressive gymnastics if I didn’t hate her so much. 

 

“Chara As Part Of Our Truce (The Better One), Keep Distracting Pizzapants And Find Frisk.” Queen ordered. “For You See… Pizzapants, He’s… Well Nothing’s Wrong With Him He’s Just Annoying.”

“Toodles.”

 

Queen ran off. That was rude.

 

Finally, Frisk was able to leave from their hiding spot and we could actually talk. I already felt like my energy had been drained, so it was nice to speak with someone normal. 

 

“Well uh… That was weird!” Frisk laughed it off, “So hey, how about… adding one more truce on top of all that?” They nudged my shoulder with a smirk.

 

“...” I paused, scratching my chin. “I don’t know… Triple Trucies? Sounds kinda hectic.”

 

“Haha, you’re hilarious.” They shoved me. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Frisk joined themself onto my party, and so I knelt down in front of another shining star. 

 

Frisk, your closest family member, joined the party. You are filled with the power of still sitting at the kid’s table at thanksgiving.

 

HEY.

 

“...You okay?” Frisk leaned to the side to look at me with a raised eyebrow. “You suddenly look like you were really annoyed for a second there. And what are you kneeling for?”

 

“...Nothing, it’s just a habit I picked up.” I stood up and smiled. Usually I’m not questioned for doing this, that threw me off for a moment.

 

“Oh, alright, good. For a second I thought I heard a different voice!” Frisk smiled and began to walk forward.

 

…

 

“Hey, hold on!” I ran to catch up to them.

 

As much as I wanted to ask further questions, I knew it was better not to worry Frisk about this sort of thing. They always put on a brave face, but only I’m able to tell how things get to them. If I can help it, I won’t be messing with their brain any time soon.

 

Apparently, there are mouse-themed puzzles here. Move the blocks to lure the mice into the hole. Simple stuff, really. 

 

“Hey, puzzles are all over this place! You must be having the time of your life.” Frisk grinned.

 

“I do love a good brain teaser…” I agreed, pushing the blocks. “But I have yet to find anything that can truly challenge my skills.”

 

I stepped on the button, releasing the mouse and luring it into the hole on the first try.

“Wow, that was great! Let’s see it again!” Frisk clapped.

 

“We have other places to be.” I shrugged, “knowing how things usually go, we’ll see a few more puzzles like this up ahead. Let us proceed.”

 

“Uh, yeah! Alright…”

 

In Frisk’s first fight, against the sentient virus Virovirokun, they didn’t take long to understand the mechanics. It almost came naturally to them, even. Except for the part where they immediately tried to flirt. I had to make it clear to Frisk that they can’t just roll a d20 and expect things to work here. Under my help though, we made it through without a scratch.

 

We continued to explore. Eventually we caught sight of Asriel and Ralsei, we were far enough away that they didn’t notice us, and they seemed to be taking a break, enjoying cotton candy together.

 

…Now I want some cotton candy.

 

“Okay seriously… Why is there a guy that looks like tiny Asriel??? With Asriel???” Frisk looked at me, demanding an answer.

 

“They’re looking this way, let’s keep moving.” I left, pushing Frisk along with me.

 

“This conversation is not over.” They huffed, their feet dragging across the ground.

 

We continued forward, ignoring the enemies, ignoring the ads, ignoring the traffic laws… We passed by a big picture of a ferris wheel.

 

“...Hey,” Frisk spoke, stopping to stare at the sign. “When was the last time we went to the fair?”

 

“...Oh man, that was a long time ago.” I stopped to consider the question. “We still wore those dorky striped sweaters everywhere.”

 

“They were not dorky!” Frisk huffed. “They were stylish!”

 

“You wore a onesie in public, Frisk.” I laughed. “It’s like you didn’t even care that others would see you. Or worse, see me with you.”

 

“Yeah, I still march on to the beat of my own drum.” Frisk smirked, hands behind their head. “And back then you were always hiding in my shadow. You refused to talk to anyone unless I was there.”

 

“Heh, and look at me now.”

 

“Still without any human friends~?”

 

“Haha, you’re hilarious.” I scoffed. I turned to face the alleyway, walking forward at a slower pace now. “...Part of me misses the days when it was just the two of us.”

 

Frisk skipped forward to meet me by my side. They nudged me in the shoulder and flashed a sly smirk.

“You don’t mean that. Meeting Asriel changed your life.”

 

They weren’t wrong. Asriel was the first person to reach out to me outside of family. Turns out red eyes are considered unnatural in humans, and most won’t want to sit by you. I was apparently too intimidating for most monsters, too. Frisk says it’s because I need to smile more, but when I smile I just creep people out even worse. A certain few people never seemed to mind, though…

 

I didn’t answer Frisk, I instead shifted attention to a new puzzle. Two buttons, separated by a wall of electricity. Pressing on the one we had access to caused the wall to vanish, but stepping off the button caused it to return.

 

Frisk came up with the solution immediately. They took a spot on the button, and I moved forward to the other button. This kept the path open for Frisk to join me on the other side.

 

“Well, a regular puzzlemaster, huh?” I jibed.

 

“Maybe it runs in the family~!” Frisk laughed. 

 

We walked deeper in, and then-

 

“OHOHOHOHOHOH!”

 

“God damnit…” I grumbled. “Stay back, I’ll distract her.”

 

“Hey I’ll be fine-!”

 

“Just… Stay out of the way for this one, please?” I sighed.

 

Frisk seemed upset. But they didn’t respond. I watched them back away further into the alley, so I assume they listened.

 

I walked up behind Queen, who turned around and seemed to be drinking some strange green liquid from a wine glass. 

 

“Oh. Lmao. You’re Here.” Queen laughed. “Sorry Chara, While I Was Looking For Frisk I Had 4 Of These All-Ages Appropriate… Glasses Of Pure Battery Acid.”

 

…Yeah, that makes sense.  

 

Queen laughed harder, and then threw her wine glass on the ground at full force, shattering it upon impact. 

“Don’t Worry That Was My Throwing Glass It’s Safe.”

 

“Wasn’t worried.”

 

“...You’re Alot More Talkative Than I Was Led To Believe.” Queen turned around and stared at me. “Has Anyone Ever Told You That.”

 

I didn’t say anything.

 

“Chara Hun…” Queen said, walking closer and notably stepping on the glass. “Now That We Are Trucies I Feel That We Are On The Same… Mathematical Wavelength.”

 

Queen stepped closer.

 

“Back off, lady.”

 

Queen stepped further back.

“Parameters Recognized.” She said nervously. “You Get Me, Chara…You Never Scream At Getting Captured. Or Tell Me Horrible Plans For Smart Boy Theme Park.”

“Your Opinions Could Use Work But That's An Easy Fix.”

 

“Can you get to the point already…” I sighed. “I really don’t have the energy for your level of bullshit.”

 

“Point Being. I Just Want To Make Everyone Smile.” Queen answered. “Even If I Must Become An Evil Villain To Accomplish That. Is That So Wrong?”

 

“Playing the bad guy for fun, huh…” I sighed. “I mean… Yeah? People are getting hurt, that’s the important thing here, right?”

 

“Again With The Opinions! But I Like The Spunk!” Queen threw down another glass at the shards of the previous glass. Causing an explosion. “Whoops That Was My Extra Dangerous Glass.”

“Regardless. We Are Still Trucies.” Queen faced me once more. “Why Don’t We Make The Most Of That? We Could Play That Game Again! Wasn’t It Fun?”

 

An arcade machine fell down from the sky, hitting the ground. 

 

“...No. I don’t want to play games with you, Queen.” I sighed.

 

For some reason that felt bad to say. I could see the disappointment on Queen’s face. I wouldn’t take it back, though.

 

A particular knight fell down shortly after the machine. Pizzapants hitting the machine caused another explosion, knocking him up before he hit the ground again.

 

“There you are!” Pizzapants exclaimed, back to his feet rather quickly. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were avoiding me! AhahaHAHAHAHAHA!”

 

“Of Course Not. I Would Never. Why Would I. I Would Never. Not Me.” Queen repeated variations of that for a full minute. “I Tolerate You The Best.”

 

I could see the word ‘lying’ shine red on her visor. 

 

“I knew it!” Pizzapants grinned widely through painfully gritted teeth. “Good luck at your own endeavors, Chara. Queen and I have places to be!”

 

“Oh Yes. Let’s Go Pastapants.” 

 

Pizzapants ran forward. Queen started to follow him, insisting she was right behind him, until she stopped. And ran away in the opposite direction, for some reason apologizing to me, and not noticing as she passed Frisk wearing a cardboard box. 

 

Frisk soon joined back up with me, taking the box off their head. 

“I found a disguise.” They said matter-of-factly. “I’ll wear it whenever we run into Queen again.”

 

“The fact that worked at all is baffling to me.”

 

Frisk shrugged.

We moved forward, coming across Sweet Cap’n Cakes with boxes set up, we bought some bagels from them. On the side furthest from them, was another one of the white stars.

 

Energetic music wafts from the boxes. You are filled with the power of musical bagels.

 

Sounds delicious.

Notes:

Ok I can explain...

I forgot to write this

Chapter 15: Pizza

Summary:

Frisk and Chara have a particular encounter with Pizzapants.

“His name is Ralsei?  R, A, L, S, E, I?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“That’s just an anagram for Asriel! No one else is questioning that?”

 

“That’s what I’m saying!”

 

Frisk and I were continuing to explore the Cyber City. There were plenty of ‘Addisons’ around, including one selling tea. ‘Frisk Tea’ and ‘Chara Tea.’

 

Frisk and I, of course, were curious. So we bought one of each, and handed our teas to each other. I took a sip of the Frisk tea..

 

Tastes familiar… almost like… Cinnamon? With a hint of butterscotch maybe? I haven’t tasted something like this since childhood. 

I turned to Frisk. 

 

“I’ve had better. What do I taste like?” 

 

Frisk took a long sip.

“It tastes just like this old chocolate bar I used to love as a kid!” 

 

How strange, why do they even have these names?
“Here, let’s swap.”

 

Frisk wordlessly handed me the Chara Tea, and I did the same with the Frisk Tea. I took a sip and…

“Frisk, this is water.”

 

“That’s weird, I don’t taste anything either!”

 

We stared down at the tea for a few uninterrupted seconds.

Frisk looked back up at me.

 

“Should I ask-?”

 

“There won’t be any answers...” I sighed in defeat.

 

Begrudgingly, we marched forward.

 

We came across more traffic and more mouse-related puzzles. But we came across an impasse, when the mice did not deactivate the electric wall. We stared at it for a few moments.

 

“Well that’s just perfect. What do we do now?” I groaned.

 

Frisk tapped their chin, deep in thought. They looked around for a while, before seemingly noticing something by the electric wall.

 

“Hey! There’s a button on the other side of this! Gimme a boost!”

 

“That sounds dangerous.” I reply flatly, walking up to their side.

 

“Oh bah, since when were you such a coward?” Frisk nudged me in the shoulder. “Come on, I’ll be fine.”

 

“Your sense of self preservation is extremely worrying, Frisk.” I sighed, but relented. 

 

I crouched down and held out my cupped hands, readying myself for Frisk to do something stupid. They did not disappoint. As they stepped onto my hand I pushed upward, boosting them as they hopped off and backflipped over the electric wall. They landed on their feet, standing right on the button and deactivating the wall.

 

“Fantastic,” I clapped, “you almost killed yourself.”

 

“Oh don’t be jealous that I’m more athletic than you.” They scoffed with a flick of their hair. 

 

“I’m not, I’m baffled that you’re actually this crazy.”

 

“It’s called being determined to reach the goal.”

 

“It’s called being an idiot.”

 

Frisk huffed, they stuck out their tongue at me and stomped forward. I, however, was feeling proud, as I had won the argument. I ran ahead to catch up with them. Then, we found cheese.

 

…

Why do you want me to touch it? I’m not doing that.

 

We moved forward and-

There’s more cheese.

 

An entire maze of it, in fact. But that’s fine. Not to worry. Frisk and I just have to be extra careful not to touch anything-

 

I bumped into a piece of cheese. Suddenly, we were attacked by mice. Like, the animal but also the computer part. It’s clever.

 

We succeeded in the battle through quick thinking, of putting the mice in a trap. Like that one board game, Operation.

 

Suddenly, all the cheese was destroyed.

 

Why do I feel disappointed…?

 

We continued forward and came across another puzzle. There was a platform, and a button. It involved those rotation squares from the previous mice puzzles. Frisk stepped onto the platform and pressed the button. An ‘I’ appeared on the screen to the north. 

 

Oh, I get it. 

The platform started to fall.

“Wuh-oh.” Frisk said bluntly, wobbling as the platform shook.

 

“ACK.” In a panic, I activated the mice, and they launched towards Frisk.

 

“Oh sh- Was that supposed to be my cue?” Frisk jumped forward onto the next platform, and scrambled over to the next button.

 

An ‘L’ appeared next to the eye.

 

The previous platform fell, and the second one moved forward, with a third one taking its place.

 

“Alright, Char! We gotta keep this going!” Frisk bellowed with an excited grin.

 

“Can you PLEASE stop trying to get yourself killed for these damn puzzles?”

 

“I make no promises!”

 

…I can’t stay mad when they smile like that. And they know this. They do this to taunt me.

 

The puzzle finished, and we had apparently spelled out “ILOVEMOUSE.”

 

“Oh wow, you really are good at these puzzles, huh?”

 

“JESUS.” My entire body flipped around, as apparently PP was behind me. “How long have you been there?!”

 

“For the past several minutes…? I’ve been talking to you the entire time.” He responded. “Chara, do you even listen to me when I talk?”

 

…

“Of course I do…!”

 

“We love and value your friendship, PP!” Frisk cheerfully joined in as they walked back on the newly formed platform. 

 

“Fuck’s sake- I’ll make you learn some respect!” PP insisted, with a rageful face. “Just you wait and see, the next puzzles won’t be so easy for you!”

 

He stormed off. Frisk watched with a look of concern. 

“He’s been seeming really… off, for a while now.”

 

“Ah, you know him.” I waved it off, “he’s just a very emotional guy. Once we’re home free, we’ll all laugh about it.”

 

Frisk seemed less convinced, but it didn’t take very long for us to come back in contact with Pizzapants. In fact, it was only a few more rooms before we caught up with him. In a dark alleyway, he was standing there, as if he were waiting for us.

 

“Y’know Frisk, it just hit me. What are you doing with Chara?” He asked as he turned around, “just come over here so we can return to Queen, already.”

 

“Uhhh…” Frisk seemed caught off guard, but it only took them a few moments to get their cool back. “What, I’m not allowed to hang out with my cousin? Besides, we have a truce.”

 

“Feh, don’t be ridiculous!” Pizzapants scoffed, smirking wider than a mouth should be able to. “That would be double trucies. And we can’t have that.”

 

Frisk stared. 

 

“The truth of the matter must be Chara’s doing that villainous act they love so much.” PP scoffed, “but forcing you along with it, especially in such a real situation. That’s just going too far!”

 

“PP.” I said bluntly, hoping to talk him down. “Just chill out for a moment.”

“Our truce is DONE, Chara!” Pizzapants held out his hand and formed a giant battle-axe. “I’ll make you return Frisk to me with force, if I have to!”

 

“That’s really not necessary-!”

 

Aaand a battle has started. Fantastic. 

 

As Pizzapants stood a few feet away from us, he swung his axe violently in the air, and several sharp pizza-shaped bullets formed, all firing at us simultaneously. We barely managed to duck out of the way. I swear, I even felt one slice off a few strands of hair. 

 

“PP! Calm the hell down!” I pleaded, standing up as I pulled out a dagger. “I didn’t even do anything!” 

 

PP scoffed, my words had apparently fallen on deaf ears.

“Having trouble with the villain act today?” He mocked, “you’re usually so good at hamming it up!”

 

Frisk parried an incoming pizza-bullet with their sword. They stared forward with a determined look.

“PP, I don’t need a knight! I’m a grown adult, I can take care of myself!”

 

PP stopped for a moment, he scowled, looking down at the floor darkly. 

“You don’t get it…” As he lifted his hand, dozens of pizza-based magical bullets formed, and began to spin around him like a typhoon. “I’m the hero here! So just stand down, and LET ME HAVE THIS.”

 

The attacks flew forward, they were all aiming at me. Okay… I could handle this. Just get ready to defend, and dodge like my life depends on it…

 

It shouldn’t be a problem.

 

Before I could even fully process it, Frisk jumped in front of me. Even Pizzapants was shocked as they took the brunt of the attack, knocking themself backward into me. I dropped my knife to catch them reflexively. Which, of course, ended up knocking the both of us to the ground…

 

“Frisk?!”

 

Frisk opened their eyes weakly. They seemed badly hurt… I held them up as best I could and looked down at them. Damn it, I should have something to heal in my inventory somewhere… Do I still have any of that weird tea???

 

“Shit…” Pizzapants dissipated his axe, and the fight ended immediately. He quickly ran over to us, and I held Frisk closer to me.

 

“Jesus- I’m sorry- That wasn’t-...” PP seemed at a loss for words. He kept cutting himself short as he tried to figure out the proper thing to say. Can’t say I’d be any different, but at the time, I was royally pissed.

 

“Get the hell away from my cousin.” I demanded, staring daggers into Pizzapants. The shade from my cloak must have added extra wonders to my creepy face, because PP seemed utterly terrified. 

“If you don’t,” I felt a grin curl upon my lips. “You’re really not gonna like what happens next.”

 

“Yeah that’s- that’s fair… I’d uh…” Pizzapants meekly looked down at the ground. “I’d hate me too after that. Let’s just say you win this round, yeah?”

 

I didn’t respond. I just looked back down at Frisk. I wasn’t paying attention to PP anymore, so I don’t know at what point he decided to leave, but eventually he was gone, and I looked down at Frisk, helping them sit up. 

 

“Are you okay, Frisk?” I asked.

 

“Yeah I’m… A little worse for wear.” They said with a struggling laugh, “but I’ll manage.”

 

“Good.”

I punch them in the shoulder.

“Why in the hell did you think that was a good idea?!”

 

“Ow! I just saved you!” Frisk huffed, rubbing the arm they were just punched in. “A thank you would be nice!”

 

“You could have gotten yourself killed, you insufferable moron!” I spat. “But, it was equally brave as it was stupid. So… I suppose you are due for a thanks.”

 

“I guess that kind of counts…” Frisk exhaled from their nose, smiling slightly. 

 

“I just can’t understand why…”

 

“Hey, it’s us against the world, isn’t it?” Frisk smirked, nudging my shoulder. “You’d always say that when we were kids. 

 

“Don’t get all cheesy with me now.” 

 

“Ugh… Don’t say the word cheese…”

 

“Let’s get going…” I laughed, helping Frisk up to their feet as I stood up. “Just hold on one second, can you stand on your own?”

 

“Yeah I… I mean I feel a lot of pain, but nothing’s broken…” Frisk said, in confusion, looking down at their own arms. “It’s like the magic just went right through me, or something.”

 

“Yeah, it doesn’t hit you in the body, it’s like… The soul, or something.” I explained, to the best of my ability. Which wasn’t very good, all things considered. “Here, just wait one moment and you’ll feel better.”

 

I walked over to the white star, waiting for me right in front of two traffic cones, and I kneeled down next to it. As I reached forward, I allowed the feeling of the light to wash over my body. 

 

“After the particular encounter with Pizzapants, a certain cent hangs in the air. You are filled with the power of pepperoni.”

 

Ignoring that, I stood up to look at Frisk.

“How do you feel now?”

 

“...Better.” Frisk looked down at their own body in total shock, “like I wasn’t even hurt at all! What did you do?”

 

“Eh, super special dungeon master secret.” I answered with a smirk. 

 

“Oh, okay. That makes perfect sense, thanks.” Frisk answered sarcastically. “By the way, did you hear something about pepperoni, just now?”

 

“I didn’t hear anything of the sort.” I lied. 

It was very concerning that Frisk seemed to be gaining awareness of you. But if I tried to explain, I’d just come off as mad… I’ll have to join the dark side and keep some secrets of my own. For now.

 

“Right… I guess it’s just that weird pizza scent hanging around.” Frisk shrugged. “Let’s just move on.”

 

We moved forward, and my stress levels raised, to probably unhealthy degrees.

Notes:

At this rate, we'll see Spamton by the time Deltarune chapter 3 is out.

I don't even have any excuses.

Chapter 16: HEY EVERY !!!

Summary:

Chara has a special encounter with a special little [[Sponge]]

“Frisk Where Are You Sweetie Pumpkin Butterscotch Pie?” The voice of Queen called out. 

 

Frisk put on their master disguise (A box over their head), and prepared for the worst.

 

Queen ran up to us, holding a frighteningly green pie. 

“Frisk Where Are You I Made You A Battery Acid Pie.” 

 

“They’re not-”

 

“Oh, Chara Perfect Timing.” She interrupted me… 

She threw the pie down like she was spiking a football, and allowed it to explode as it made contact with the floor. Honestly, I can’t even pretend to be surprised anymore.

“Anyway Chara have you seen–”

 

“HEY, QUEEEEEEN!” A familiar voice shouted.

 

“Oh My Circuits, Get In The Char.” Queen dramatically put her hands up to her cheeks as a car drove up on the side of the road. 

 

“Did you say the –”

 

As we were suddenly rushed into the car against our will, Pizzapants suddenly ran up and had a look around.

 

“Strange…” He said, “I could have sworn I heard her voice…”

 

He ran off as quickly as he appeared, and we exited the car.

“That Was Close.” Queen said, before turning her attention to Frisk. “So Who Is Your Friend? My Facial Recognition Software Does Not Compute Them.”

 

I stared at Frisk for a moment. They looked back at me… I think?

I turned back to face Queen.

“Frank.”

 

“Hmm…” Queen stepped closer. We stepped back. “Something About Frank Seems Awfully…..”

“....Cool.”

“...Robotic, Even.”

 

“Yeah that’s me.” Frisk said. I smacked them in the shoulder.

 

“Well We Still Need To Find Frisk. Everyone Get In The Car.” Queen demanded, and we were all rushed into the car once again. Why did we even bother getting out…?

 

The car began to move, and the radio began to blare… The song was catchy, at least.

 

“Chara Press The Directional Buttons To Steer.”

 

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT–” I looked down at the ‘wheel.’ It was like a D-pad on a video game controller. Oh.

“Hm…”

 

“Chara Don’t Hit The Cars.”

 

I wasn’t going to. But why are they all driving towards us? Does this damn Dark World not have traffic laws? Why am I even the one driving this damn thing–

I could feel Frisk tap my shoulder sympathetically from the back seat.

 

Right. Just…

Don’t ask questions. 

 

Ah- I accidentally hit a car. It went violently flying.

 

“Okay Haha Hit All The Cars.”

 

“I’m not going to do that!”

 

“Poor Frisk They Would Love Hitting All These Cars…”

 

Frisk said nothing.

I could feel them grinning from behind that cardboard… 

 

“They don’t have a driver’s license.” I responded. True, and probably for the better.

 

“What’s A Driver’s License?”

 

…

 

I opened my mouth to say something, but Queen suddenly yelled.

“Stop Everything! Chara Get The Banana.”

 

“.....”

 

In the middle of the road, there was a rotating banana. It was floating gently above the ground. 

As I tried to avoid the banana. I could feel my hand move slightly as we drifted back towards the-

 

HEY.

 

No. Stop that. 

We are not getting the damn banana. 

 

I am the one in control here, remember? We had a talk about this. I’m not going to follow every stupid action you want to do, it’s not going to happen. So stop pushing it-

 

“Potassium.” Queen said.

 

…

 

We’ll talk about this later.

 

“Here Comes A Crossing Get Ready To Stop.”

 

I gently pulled the car to a stop, the crossing was completely covered in cars. Like, to a ridiculous degree. 

Queen wanted me (of course) to press the walk button, so we could fix the traffic jam. And it was on the opposite side of the loooooooooong road (of course).

 

“I can go too-” Frisk suggested.

 

“No Frank… You Must Stay.” Queen demanded. “Until You Hear All Of My Mixtape.”

 

“...Have fun with that, Frank.” I grinned and waved. Frisk probably wanted to strangle me. But it was funny, so… It balanced out, I think.

 

And so I was alone. I had to walk into a dark alleyway to get on the other side of the road (of course). And there was a strange shaking dumpster (OF COURSE.)

 

I tried my best to sneak around it, I really did. I walked as quietly as I could muster, but just as I started to pass it, the lid slammed open.

 

Out from the dumpster came a tiny white man… No not like that, like pure white. With slicked back black hair and glasses with two different lenses, one yellow and one pink. He looked kind of like those guys with the tea, now that I think about it. Addisons, was it…?

 

“HEY       EVERY !! IT’S ME!!!” 

What…?

“EV3RY BUDDY ‘S FAVOURITE [[Number 1 Rated Salesman1997]]”

 

WHAT….?

 

“SPA

“SPAMTON G. SPAMPTON!!”

 

I tried to step past, I thought, if I were quiet enough, maybe he wouldn’t notice me?

It… Didn’t work.

 

‘WOAH!! IF IT ISN”T A… LIGHT nER.” He jumped down from the dumpster and closed the gap between the two of us. “HE 

   “ HEY Y- HEY!”

 

“LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE [[All alone on a late night?]]”

 

“No actually, and my parents said not to take cocaine from strangers.” I smiled widely, and fakely. Backing up slowly.

“So I really should be going…”

 

He briskly got close to me again.

“WHAT’S ALL THE RUSH ?  WHAT ABOUT A [[Let’s make a deal!]]”

 

“I really shouldn’t, you know how it is…”

 

“BUT HERE YOU ARE , YOUR SALES GONE DOWN THE [[Drain, drain]]...” He laughed sporadically, “LIVING IN A GODDAMN GARBAGE CAN.”

‘Spamton’ laughed, smacking his fist against the dumpster. 

“FOR A LONELY [[heart]] LIKE YOU, YOU’LL LOVE MY [[Specil deal]]”

 

I KNEW that I needed to get out of here. It was like I was being confronted by a burglar with a gun pointed at my back, but this was a small, unarmed man. His grin was manic, and his body jolted like it was coursing with electricity. Something about being here triggered my fight or flight… 

 

“WHY BE THE [[little sponge]] WHO HATES IT’S [[$4.99]] LIFE?” He held out his hands, like a beggar.

 

“...Can’t I at least be the full five bucks?”

I use humour to cope, okay?

 

“THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO BE A [[Big Shot!!!!]]” He yelled to the heavens, was his head growing in size?

“[[BIG SHOT!!!!!]]” He repeated, louder.

 

He was going to keep talking anyway, so I kept silent. I kept my hand on the hilt of my dagger.

 

“AND I HAVE   JUST    THE   THING   YOU NEED…” He got closer, and closer… The grip on my dagger got tighter. “THAT IS….

[[Hyperlink Blocked.]]” The lights in his eyes died for a moment.

 

He backed up and continued to laugh like a maniac.

“YOU WANT IT !! YOU WANT [[Hyperlink Blocked]] DON’ T YOU!!??? WELL HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU!!!”

 

“...”

I have morbid curiosity, sometimes.

“...What’s the deal?” I asked, making sure to glare at him, so he knew I was still suspicious.

 

“ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SHOW ME.” He exclaimed. “YOUR [[HeartShapedObject]]”

 

My heart shaped-

 

I pulled out my dagger.

 

What.

The hell.

Did this freak know?

 

“YOU’VE GOT THE [[Light]]

 

WHY DON’T YOU

[[Show it off?]]”

 

Was he even noticing me…?

He laughed again.

 

So I swung. 

And a battle began.

 

“I’VE NEVER SEEN A [[HeartShaped OBJECT LIKE THAT BEFORE!!!” Spamton laughed. “MY EYES ARE [[Burning]] LIKE [[DVDs of ANY movie at Half-Price!]]... I HAVE A VERY SPECIL [[Deal]] FOR YOU, KID.”

 

Well… Perhaps I should try…? If I play along, maybe I can get out of this interaction faster.

 

“Alright. Go on, I’m interested.” I gripped tighter around my dagger. 

 

“THAT’S THE ATTITUDE YOU LITTLE [[Slime]]” What did he call me? “DEALS LIKE THIS ONLY COME ONCE IN YOUR [[Ant-Sized]] [[Rapidly shrinking]] LIFE!!!”

 

That felt like a threat. And maybe it was? His attacks were just as strange as he was. His head grew to a ridiculous proportion as he barfed out miniature versions of himself. The movements were sporadic, and more importantly, difficult to dodge.

 

I once again expressed ‘interest’ in his ‘deal’, and he seemed excited to continue.

 

“BELIEVE IT OR      !! I USED TO be A BIG SHOT!! THE BIGGEST!!! BUT NOW…” He began to shake “I NEED A LITTLE [[Generosity]]”

 

Was he asking me to pay him? I’m not going to do that.

 

“THAT’S RIGHT AND I DON’T MEAN [[Money]]!” He continued. Oh. “I’M A SALESMAN    , I WAS NEVER IN IT FOR THE MONEY!!!”

 

Well that’s just a total lie, but I wasn’t about to antagonize this freak any further.

 

Okay, so I was starting to get the gist of how to manage this guy. After barely dodging some physical words, like ‘deal’ and ‘cheap’, we continued with this deal of his.

 

“I WAS ONLY EVER IN IT FOR …” He paused, hanging his head low as the colours in his eyes died for a moment. “THE [[Freedom]].”

 

I could feel my entire body tense up. What the hell? Why did that…

Resonate…

 

“TO MAKE YOUR OWN [[Dealls]], TO CALL YOUR OWN [[Shots]].” He continued, “AND SOMETIMES, IN THE MORNING , A LITTLE

 

[[Hyperlink Blocked]]”

“SOUNDS GOOD, DOESN;T IT?KID?” He grinned manically. “DON’T YOU W4NT TO BE JUST LIKE YOUR OLD PAL SPAMTON?”

 

I really don’t want that.

 

“TAKE THE DE4L.”

 

I REALLY DON’T WANT THAT.

 

“I uh…” I take a small step back, looking away for a moment. “I don’t know…”

 

“TAKE THE DEAL YOU LITTLE [[Sponge]].” He repeated. Did he seem angrier? It’s honestly hard to tell.

 

“Alright, I’ll take your damn deal!” I relented begrudgingly. I hated having to go along with this thing’s insane drivel. 

 

“NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABO4T! YOU GOT [[Guts]] KID!!”

Oh, so that’s what he calls it. “THAT’s [[Discomfort and Abdominal Pain]] IN MY [[Guts]]!!”

 

He went on about insurance… I’m still not giving him my money. 

 

“Kid, you’re [[Killing]] me! HAHAHA!!” He laughed again. It sounded pained. [[PLEASED STOP [[Killing]] ME I WILL GIVE Y OU ANOTHER DEAL.”

 

I REALLY DON’T WANT THAT.

 

“I JUST NEED YOUR [[Account Details]] AND THE [[Number on theB4ck]].” What was he talking about now? I zoned out for a moment… Looks like he’s still begging for money. “THEN YOU CAN ENJOY 1000 FR3e KROMer”

 

Yeah no. Not buying that. I’ve seen enough scam E-mails to see where that would head.

…Oh, that’s probably what he is, huh?

Explains some things..

 

“WHAT!?!? YOU DON’T NEED IT?!?!” He said, seeming surprised…? I think? “THAT’S A REAL BIG SHOT MOVE KID!!! YOU’RE LIKE ME…

[[Desperate]].”

 

I gritted my teeth. Desperate… Like hell I am. But I just needed to get through this. We were at the home stretch. I could feel it.

 

“BUT WE KNOW WHAT WE WANT, DON’T WE???” He laughed once again. “W1LD PR1ZES, HOTSINGLE, 100 CUSTOMER, AND MOST OF ALL…

 

[[Hyperlink Blocked]].”

 

He said it again. The hell is a ‘hyperlink blocked’? And why do I get chills every time he says it…?

 

“WILL YOU TAKE THE FINAL DEAL!? REMEMBER… THIS IS UP TO YOU! I WOn’T FORCE YOU!!!”

 

I squinted my eyes, waiting a few moments to answer.

“.........No.”

 

“WRONG.”

 

Figures.

 

“...Fine. Deal.”

 

“THEN A DEAL’S A DEAL!” He yelled, “PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU, KID!!!”

 

The fight ended. I didn’t get any gold for that…

Cheap bastard.

 

“NOW ONTO THE NEXT STEP…” He wobbled in front of the dumpster, with his manic grin. “I’LL BE WAITING AT MY [[Home-Made Storefront Site]]. IN THE [[Trash Area Closed For Repairs]].”

COME… ALONE.” He said, darkly serious, before his strange attitude returned a moment later. “AND DON’T… FORGET!!! TO [[Like and Subscribe]] FORE MORE [[Hyperlink Blocked]]!!!”

 

With another laugh, he was finally gone…

 

I waited for a moment. I could feel my legs give out from under me. I crouched down and stared at the floor, my breath uneven as my entire body shook. That was…

 

That was…

 

… 

 

Yes, I can feel you wanting to continue. Just… Give me a moment…

 

I exited the alley, and pressed the walk button. The cars suddenly cleared out, and Queen’s car pulled up. She rushed my back in. I got into the back seat next to Frisk as she took the wheel this time. I just…

 

Needed to be close to someone.

 

Frisk tapped my shoulder, whispering into my ear.

“Hey, you seem kind of bent out of shape… Did anything happen back there?”

 

I turned to my cousin. After staring at them blankly for a moment, I smiled.

“Nothing happened, Frisk. I’m fine!” 

 

Frisk didn’t seem convinced.

Notes:

And I thought Queen's text was annoying to write.

Chapter 17: Reunited

Summary:

Frisk and Chara meet back up with Asriel and Ralsei, and the group closes in on Queen's mansion.

After I returned to the car, I took a seat next to Frisk in the back, as Queen took over driving. The car moved carefully over a bridge, to the side, I saw the view of a beautiful skyline. It only just hit me, as I looked over the buildings, just how big the Cyber City was. These Dark Worlds, just how big are they? Were they like a universe all on their own…? 

 

My lost thoughts were interrupted by Queen, yelling something about a high beam. 

“When They See The Queen Signal Frisk Will Come Running.” She insisted. 

 

Frisk moved uncomfortably in their seat.

“Why do you even want to find Frisk so bad?” They asked. 

 

“The City Is Dangerous, Frank!” Queen answered quickly. “They Could Be Clipped Away In Some Wall, Wasting Away From Potassium Deficiency.”

 

“What’s with the bananas, anyway?” I couldn’t help but ask, “they aren’t necessarily related to computers.”

 

“Bananas Are Good For You.”

 

…Fair enough, I suppose.

 

“But why them, specifically?” Frisk brought the conversation back on topic. “Do you think they’re weak, or something?”

 

“Oh No, Not At All. Frisk Is Strong.” Queen retorted calmly, “One Of The Strongest People I’ve Ever Met.”

 

Frisk and I exchanged a look.

“What’s that supposed to–”

 

“Wait We Need To Stop.”

 

The car came to a screeching halt, and the three of us all left simultaneously. 

 

After a moment, the car exploded.

 

“I Was Just Concerned Because It Hadn’t Exploded Yet.” She elaborated. “Looks Like We’ll Have To Split Up On Foot.”

 

Oh thank god.

 

“...Chara, If You See Frisk. Tell Them My Knowledge Of Their Preferences Is Absolute.” Queen asked. Then gave me their mixtape. “If You Need Proof, Just Give Them This.”

 

Queen left, and Frisk finally took off the cardboard box.

“This is really getting tiring, let’s hope we’re almost at the end, now.”

 

“C’mon, we have another puzzle coming up.” I sighed, “we’re almost at the home stretch, Frisk. I can feel it.”

 

“...I’ll follow then!” Frisk smiled, nudging my shoulder as we walked forward.

 

The next puzzle was two straight paths. Both blocked by several electrical walls, and with several buttons along the way. Like many of the puzzles we’ve come across so far, it requires the both of us. A press of a button should remove the corresponding electrical wall. Frisk, stepping over the wall of traffic cones, seemed to have come to the same conclusion as I.

 

They took a step forward, as they stepped down on the first button.

‘D’

 

Is it trying to spell something?

As the electrical wall in front of me vanished, I stepped forward to my nearest button. No letter, but it did allow Frisk to continue. They silently walked over to the next button.

‘E’

 

We walked forward, and I pressed the next button.

 

“...You know, Chara. It’s really nice to spend this time with you.” Frisk smiled casually.

 

“We’re cousins, Frisk. We see each other all the time.”

 

Frisk laughed.

“Until we got together for our tabletop campaign, we’ve only seen each other a few times every year for the holidays.” Frisk corrected. “And even then, that only started because Asriel’s a mutual friend…”

 

I stayed silent as the two of us continued to walk.

Was that true…? I hadn’t really thought about it. When was the last time Frisk and I actually hung out, just the two of us…?

 

‘C’

“Hey, I’m not blaming you for anything, by the way. I’m just saying I missed this.” Frisk continued. 

“When we were kids, there was a time we were never seen apart. They used to say we shared a soul.” Frisk laughed quietly, there was almost a somber tone to it. “Back then, I never would have imagined us drifting apart.”

 

I frowned. Just what are they getting at?

“That’s all a part of growing up, I suppose.” I said with a shrug, smirking fakely, “We had different life goals.”

 

“Hm, maybe…”

‘E’

 

What word is this even spelling?

 

“I miss it, you know. Don’t you?” Frisk continued. “The two of us going on our own little adventures, you’d add flavour with your commentary as I made it through the dangers with my roguish charm~!”

 

I held back a laugh. 

Of course I miss it.

 

“What, was I just a narrator to you?” I snipped with a smile. “I led the way sometimes, you know!”

 

‘M’

 

“Yeah, right! You were too shy to do anything!”

 

The two of us laughed. 

 

“Some things never change, huh?” Frisk continued, with a nostalgic sigh. “When you’re DMing, it sort of takes me back to the past, you know?”

 

…

 

‘B’

 

“But now, we’re here, it’s just like old times… My tears get a little watery, thinking about it.” Frisk laughed. “It’s nice, letting you take the lead. You couldn't be the introvert in my shadow forever!”

 

“Boo, we had a good thing going.” I huffed. I was being sarcastic, obviously, and Frisk knew that.

 

‘E’

 

“When we’re out of here…” Frisk said, dismissing my comment. “Maybe just the two of us could do something, again.”

 

I didn’t respond.

 

‘R’

 

DECEMBER….

December?

That doesn’t….

 

“Hey, Frisk…?” I asked, as the puzzle finished. “Does the word ‘December’ mean anything to you?”

 

“Like, the month?” Frisk scratched their head. “No… We were having kind of a moment, you know–”

 

“Yeah yeah just- Let me think this over for a moment.”

 

There’s nothing about December that makes it more special than any other month. Except for the holidays, I suppose. But it’s nowhere near Christmas time. 

Queen has never made a mention of it before, either. There’s no reason to assume she has a particular affinity to the month.

 

It has nothing to do with computers, either.

 

The only conclusion I can come to, is that it has an importance to a Lightner.

But Frisk and I are the only ones here.

 

It has nothing to do with me.

 

It has nothing to do with Frisk.

 

Asriel’s not even here to see it.

 

…

 

This place.

This Dark World. 

This game we are playing.

 

It’s not for us, is it?

 

…

 

“Helloooooo?”

 

Frisk waved their arm in front of my face. I blinked a few times.

Well. I lost my train of thought.

 

“What are you doing? ” I huffed.

 

“You were staring at the floor for like, a solid minute.” Frisk responded. “It was really worrying.”

 

“Oh.” Oops. “Sorry, let’s keep going.”

 

…I’ll worry about that later. It doesn’t really matter right now, right?

We entered a carnival area. Many stations for knocking down pins littered the area. Suddenly, a laugh was heard.

 

Didn’t we JUST get rid of her?

 

“Frisk quick, behind that conveniently placed stall!”

 

“What?”

 

I pushed Frisk behind the stall.

 

Frisk grumbled something as they put their disguise back on. I wasn’t paying attention. Leaning against the stall, I waved casually to Queen as she strutted over to me.

 

“Hey what’s up–”

 

“Check This Out.” Queen cut me off, she threw a ball at the pins at the stall, causing them to explode. She has a problem, seriously.

 

The force of the explosion was enough to knock me down, Frisk stood there, motionlessly behind the pins.

 

“Sweet Right?” Queen asked, before running up to the stall. “Where’s My Prize?”

 

Frisk stared at Queen silently, before kneeling down to pick up a gift wrapped box, handing it off to her. 

“Here.”

 

“Ha Ha Nice.” Queen began to walk away.

She stopped for a moment, looking down at her prize.

“Wait I Actually Don’t Want This.”

 

She ran up to me, forcing it into my hands. Before, finally, Ralsei and Asriel caught up to us. 

 

“I never knew how similar we were, Asriel!” Ralsei beamed.

 

Asriel looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“Really?” he asked. “You never noticed?”

 

Instead of answering, Ralsei ran up to us.

“Ah, Chara! There you are!” 

 

“You handle everything alright on your own?” Asriel asked.

 

“Hey, I resent that!” I grunted. “I am supposed to be the leader here, you know!”

 

“...Hey, Chara, what do you have there?” Ralsei quizzically looked down at the present in my hands. “Is that a… Gift for someone?”

 

“...”

 

I considered my options. Thinking carefully about who to give it to.

 

I turned around and handed it back to Frisk.

“Merry December.”

 

Frisk took off their box and stared at the gift. They looked extremely confused. Which is good, that was my goal. 

 

“I… Thank… you?”  Frisk put the box away somewhere, before joining up with the crowd. “I’ll open that later.”

 

Asriel, meanwhile, was staring at Frisk in shock. 

“FRISK!” He shouted, “Are you doing alright?!”

 

“Yeah I’m fine.” They answered nonchalantly. “How are you?”

 

“Ehm… Forgive me for ruining the moment…” Ralsei raised a hand. “But aren’t you on their side?”

 

“Oh, we have a truce.” Frisk clarified, without missing a beat. “Right Chara?”

 

“Frisk is our enemy.” I answered. They lightly smacked my shoulder. “See? They’re pure evil.”

 

“...Well, I’m convinced.” Asriel shrugged. “Let’s get going.”

 

We formed a single file line.

 

“I will also                  join.” The Original Starwalker said.

 

As we moved on, we were unable to take the tea ride up, since there were now too many of us, so we had to take the long way up the stairs. It didn’t take long for another roadblock to hit us, but it was an easy fix. Frisk just needed to step on a switch, so the three of us could pass an electrical wall, and then press another button for Frisk to be able to join back up with us. 

 

We did need to fight an enemy on the way, but that was child’s play by now. It was a weird placement for an enemy though, almost as if it was there just so four of us wouldn’t be fighting the enemies at once. Huh! 

 

The next puzzle worth acknowledging was a bizarre one. I had to carry a bucket which collected rats, and I’d then put them into holes, which would open up the pathway. It was pretty easy until.

 

“We need twenty whole rats?!” Asriel complained, poking his eye in the rat hole. Frisk, who was watching us quietly from behind, put a finger up to their chin and thought. 

 

While Frisk was thinking, I decided to suggest something.

“How about we just work together, two of you can press the button, Frisk you release the balloons while I–”

 

“I have an idea!” They beamed. They ran over to the rat-release-hole and stuck their hands in as far as they could go. 

 

Once they pulled their hands out, they were handfuls of squirming rats. 

“GO LONG!” They threw the rats at me. I screamed in terror as I held up the bucket and the rats all fell neatly into place.

 

“Are you INSANE?!” I reprimanded my cousin.

 

“Hey look!” They ignored me. “Twenty rats!”

 

I looked down at the bucket.

Well… Whaddya know. The puzzle was finished by placing the bucket in a bucket shaped hole at the end, which revealed a set of stairs.

 

After that, there it was. The Queen’s castle in the distance. A long red trail leading to an entrance in the shape of her face. Seriously, could you BE anymore vain? I rolled my eyes at the monstrosity before me.

 

“Look, we’re finally close to the fountain!” Ralsei pointed excitedly. “It’s Queen’s mansion!”

 

“Hey uh, Char. Not that I’m questioning your judgment or anything. But I thought we were supposed to avoid Queen?” Frisk asked.

 

“The Dark Fountain is in her mansion. I need to use my soul power to close it.” I explained. “It’s the only way to get us home.”

 

“We still don’t really know why it works this way.” Asriel added.

 

“Oh My Please Do Tell Me More I’m So Interested.”

Who said th- Oh.

 

Queen was sitting on her floating chair, just a few feet away from us. She nonchalantly swished her glass of battery acid as she stared at us with a cheeky smirk, resting her cheek on her other hand.

 

“So Nice Of You To Bring Frisk Right To Me!” Queen smirked. “(I Knew Our Truce Was The Best)”

 

“Shut up!” I yelled. “And stop speaking in brackets! How are you even doing that?!”

 

“But Unfortunately, That Means Trucies Are Over.”

 

“STOP IGNORING ME.”

 

“Frisk Get Over Here.”

 

“I’m not doing that.” Frisk folded their arms, staying where they were with their feet firmly on the ground.

 

“Frisk. I Will Only Say It One Time.” Queen ordered. “Infinitely.”

“Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here Get Over Here–”

 

“I think you’ll find I’m pretty determined.” Frisk thankfully interrupted. 

 

“We call it stubborn.” Asriel added.

 

“I call it annoying.” I chimed in.

 

“Oh I Know All About That. I Knew This Would Happen So Allow Me To If-Then This For You.” Queen said, her smile as frozen as ever. “IF You Don’t Listen THEN A Certain Cat Might Take A Ride In The Acid River.”

“He Is A Cat Right?” She added looking over to me.

 

“You're a psychotic monster.”

 

“Not What I Asked.”

 

“GAAAHH!” Frisk groaned loudly, pulling at their own hair as they looked down, before taking a deep breath, and staring forward at Queen. Quietly, and begrudgingly, they stepped over to Queen’s side.

 

 “If you think we’re just going to sit back and let this happen then-!” I reached for my dagger, but I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

 

I looked behind me at Asriel. He shook his head.

…

 

“Don’t Be Sad Frisk.” Queen looked over at Frisk. (They looked more pissed to me, personally.) “All That Remains Is The Final Step.”

 

Suddenly, Pizzapants ran in… Wait what?

 

“Oh, Queen! There you are! I could have sworn I saw you somewhere else–” He said with a gallant smile, before cutting himself off as he noticed Frisk. “Oh hey, Frisk. You doing alright?”

 

Frisk stared blankly at PP. They slowly turned back around to look at Queen, who just floated quietly for a few seconds.

 

“Okay Plan B.” 

A cage floated out from nowhere and landed around Frisk, pulling them away.

 

Everyone flinched at the sudden action. I pulled out my weapon instictively. 

 

“Queen?! What are you DOING? ” PP yelled, demanding an answer as he reached for his axe.

 

“I See Now That Their Will Must Be Unleashed By Force.” Queen answered bluntly. “Perhaps If I Make Their Face Into A Robot One?”

 

“Hey! You said you wouldn’t do that if I–!”

 

“Variable Lying Set To True.”

 

“You-! That’s not fair!” He continued to yell, but Queen seemed largely unaffected.

 

“Understood.” Her smirk grew slightly more wicked as more caged flew out from the aether and landed on every lightner in the area. “Fairness Activated.”

 

“Well this bites.” Asriel said flatly and shook the barks of his containment. 

 

“You said I could trust you!” Pizzapants cried.

 

…

It feels like there was supposed to be a punchline there, or something. You know what I mean? 

 

“One Of You Is Going To Help Me With My Plan.” Queen smirked. “And It Is Going To Be Frisk. The Rest Of You… Go To Your Rooms.”

 

The cages began to float, and we were all taken away…

 

…

 

…Did she forget about Ralsei?

Notes:

At this point these chapters just happen when they happen. I don't have any excuses for them taking so long.

Pizzapants is not a gamer in the same vein as Berdly, so the funny line had to be skipped.

Chapter 18: Inside Queen's Castle.

Summary:

The gang reunites once again, and they have a heart-to-heart with Pizzapants.

When I woke up, I had a throbbing headache, and I was in a cage. In a room. Surrounded by various junk. Several bath bombs, a book on what looks to be magic tricks, two little versions of Asriel’s mother… Playing the piano…? Oh, and a large keyboard behind me, in front of a giant computer monitor. Which was soon showing Queen’s annoying mug.

 

“How Do You Like Your New Room Units?” She asked. “As You Can See They Are Perfectly Suited To Someone Else’s Interests.”

 

“...Why?”

 

“You Do Not Have A Search History Here.” 

 

Oh, right. We’re in the library computer lab. I guess I have never been there before. That made enough sense… Still, lots of weird shit in here. Who’s room is this even supposed to belong to?

 

“I Assume All You Fleshy Lightners Have The Same Interests Anyway.” Hey??? “Please Tantalize Yourself With Your Surroundings. And Wait Patiently While I Dominate The World. Toodles!”

 

And she’s gone.

Well, I need to think of a solution for getting out of here… There’s a speaker nearby, but whatever room it connects to must’ve been empty. So no one in there to give me advice.

 

Maybe I have something in my inventory…?

 

Okay, got some bagels… Some extra tea, my phone, Lancer…

 

…?

Oh yeah. I forgot he came along.

 

I released Lancer upon the world. 

“Missed me???” He grinned, “because I missed you!! Ha ha ha!!”

 

“Hey, pal!” I crouched down in my cage to meet his eye level, “we’re kind of trapped in here.”

 

“Yes yes!! Trapped by a wild mom! I saw it all!”

 

“A wild mom, right. Anyway, do you think you could get us out?”

 

“Oh, right!! Yes!” He agreed, before running up to the keyboard. “You can always count on friendly me… To make you free!!” 

 

He stared at the keyboard for a few moments in silence, it turned on, showing a blue screen with some commands.

“Ha ha!! I have no idea how to use this!!!” He jumped on the keyboard and began to type. “Request new item for room…? That sounds good!”

 

As Lancer clickety clacked on the keyboard, walking over it like a kitten, he read aloud what he was typing.

“Item request: Shovel.

Quantity: Let’s say… 999.”

 

Suddenly, the computer monitor turned red, with the words QUANTITY OVERLOAD flashing on screen. Lancer hopped down as the overload caused the cage to open up.

“Wo ho! It worked!” Lancer beamed.

 

“Yeah, let’s get out of here before we drown in shovels.” I responded flatly. Lancer spun out of the room as I ran out, closing the door behind me. That room had several strange things that I do not want to question.

 

By the time I left, Asriel had already gotten out of his room, which was two doors to the left. He seemed to be catching up with Lancer.

“Ah, Chara, there you are! Let’s get going.” He suggested. “We still need to find Frisk and Ralsei.”

 

“Yes, let’s put the pedal to the medal!” Lancer agreed with a grin, before getting cut off by his own coughs…

 

I ran up to him.

“Hey bed, you feeling alright?”

 

“I’m fine I’m just very…” Lancer spoke slowly, as we could witness the colour fade from him. “...Cold…”

 

He fell onto his back. Asriel and I both crouched down to him. 

“...Azz, you have healing magic down here, right?”

 

“Uh, kind of…? It’s not really on Ralsei’s level or anything…” Asriel answered quietly, looking down at his own robes. “I think I’m supposed to be more of a red mage, if anything…?”

 

“Dude, I DO not care.” I gently reminded him. By being as blunt as possible. “Just heal him!”

 

“Oh! Right right…” Asriel fired a healing spell down at Lancer…

 

“Ah hah… Thanks goat friend…! But…” 

 

“It didn’t work…”

 

“ Shit. ” I cursed. “Come on, let’s get him to Ralsei.”

 

Asriel nodded and picked Lancer up, holding him in a piggy-back formation. He led the way as we quickly marched forward, but we were suddenly interrupted by Pizzapants storming through his door.

 

“Wait, you two aren’t going to just leave without me, are you…?!” He pleaded, with an intense sorrowful grin.

 

“Ah… Hi PP…. Forgot you were around…” I smiled awkwardly. “Okay, let’s go…”

 

Asriel, still carrying Lancer, and Pizzapants ran ahead, I took a moment to slow down. 

The curiosity was eating at me. 

 

I turned back and stared at the door to Asriel’s room. With a deep breath, I enter, and-

 

…

 

Yeah

No

 

I think it’s for the best if you don’t see that. For your sake and mine.

 

As I caught up, we came across some sort of light puzzle. I needed to move the spotlights so they matched up with the shape on the floor. Which was, of course, Queen’s head. 

 

“Oh, oh! Hold on, I got this!” Pizzapants grinned. “I’m great at these sorts of things, just let me be of some help if I’m going to tag along.”

 

While PP was talking, I had already solved the puzzle.

 

“Hey, nice job, Char!” Asriel grinned.

 

“Huh-? You couldn’t even wait for me to finish talking-?!” PP grumbled, but put on his best fake smile. Which unfortunately, due to his very expressive face, was still extremely obviously angry. “Yeah, Chara. Great job. I can handle the next one…!”

 

I nodded, knowing for a fact he would not handle the next one. The next room had another one of these puzzles. Speaking of, it was another spotlight puzzle. This one was a triangle, it seemed ever so slightly more difficult. But really, it was still child’s play.

 

“Okay, okay! I got this one! I can be useful to the group. Just sit back, Chara, and let the master handle this puzzle!” Pizzapants laughed. 

 

“Alright, so what do we move first?” Asriel asked. 

 

“Okay first you… uh…” He scratched his chin. “It’s really rather simple. You first move the uh..”

“ ”

 

I decided to take over. 

 

As the puzzle was solved, PP jumped back in flabbergasted shock. 

“That’s not- I had it!” He scoffed, “I had it… warmed up! I’m real important to this group, you know.”

 

“Yeah, PP. No one’s doubting that!” Asriel grinned. “You don’t need to help with the puzzles to be important to the friend group!”

 

“Don’t patronize me, Asriel! ” PP snipped, “and just- stop calling me that!”

 

He stormed off before we could continue. Asriel and I turned to look at each other, before we followed. PP was waiting in front of the path to continue, his arms were folded as his brows were furrowed. He put a hand up to his mouth as he stared down at the puzzle in front of him. 

 

Five oddly shaped spotlights, including a blue bird and four corners all of mismatching designs.

 

“Heyyy, Pizza–” I waved with a grin, before getting interrupted immediately.

 

“Quiet down, I’m trying to figure this out.” He spat in response. “None of these pieces even go together…”

 

I stared down at it. Part of me felt bad… But I like to solve puzzles, so…

“Well, obviously the spotlights are allowed to overlap. Since the shapes are too unique to actually fit together, otherwise.” I suggested, “so we just put in all the corners, then the bird goes in the middle. Then the whole square will be filled.”

 

“Like digging a really wide hole!” Lancer grinned from behind Asriel’s shoulders.

 

“I- that-! Wh-!” Pizzapants sputtered. “I was just about to suggest that, you know…”

 

Obviously, it worked when I tried it. Pizzapants was in utter shock, but he put on a wide, extremely angry smile.

“Ha- We can… BOTH take credit for that one! It was so obvious, I didn’t even consider bringing it up since we, uh…”

 

Asriel groaned and walked up to meet Pizzapants’ eyes.

“Alright man, I love ya, but I’ve seriously had it up to HERE with your attitude.” Asriel snapped. “You’re usually pretty eccentric, but you’ve been nothing but a pain since we got here! Just what the hell is your problem?!”

 

Pizzapants suddenly went quiet. His expression hardened, as he stared down at the floor with a serious frown.

“You’re right… I’m a joke out there and I’m a joke in here.” He sighed, turning around and taking a step away. “Hell, even my close friends call me Pizzapants for the Angel’s sake… I sometimes wonder if anyone even knows what my real name is! ”

 

He sat down on the floor, taking a moment to rest as he continued.

“I’ve been nothing but a laughing stock for years. ‘Oh hey everyone, look, let’s all call him PIZZAPANTS!’ That nickname followed me all throughout High School, and even into college. Even you all call me it. 

 

Tried to flirt with some girls… But I trip, fall on a pizza box and get sauce all over my pants… Then it’s ‘Pizzapants!’ That’s all it takes to ruin a reputation for life!

 

Even when I found people that I thought could understand me, I’m still Pizzapants. I know it's affectionate coming from you guys, but… 

 

I just thought… In here, I could finally be someone! A real hero, that actually helps! Instead of just pretending in some nerdy roleplay… I guess I’ll always just be a loser.”

 

After a moment’s silence, I took a seat on the floor next to my friend.

“Look, Tabbias, I don’t know if I can speak for everyone, but we all see you as a real friend, you know.” I nudged him in the shoulder, with a smirk. “And you really shouldn’t feel too bad about being a loser. I couldn’t even talk to my own species as a kid without my ‘emotional support cousin.’ And you don’t even wanna know about the stuff Asriel is into. I’ve seen his search history.”

 

“You what?” Asriel asked bluntly.

 

“And then there’s Frisk, who’s willing to get into the pants of anything that wears ‘em.” I continued, ignoring Asriel. “Seriously, you don’t know ‘em like I do. They’re a complete menace.”

 

“Yeah! We’re all freaks and misfits, pepperoni man!” Lancer beamed.

 

“You guys…” Pizza- uh… Tabbias stood up. His expression shifted horrifically into a face with a strong jawline and prideful eyes. “I have decided to turn over a new leaf! I am now on the side of the losers!”

 

“Okay.” I stood up, “let’s not say it like that maybe-?”

 

But he had already marched onward. 

“Well at least he’s happy?” Asriel smirked awkwardly.

 

“Always the bright side with you, huh?”

We heard the sound of high pitched screaming fill the area as we left to catch up.

 

“That must be Ralsei!”

 

“That’s not very nice, Chara…”

 

We ran ahead to find Ralsei… dressed like a butler, for some reason? He was standing in front of a group of red bird-butlers.

“You um… Don’t have to scream…” He began, “just because you like my outfit…”

 

The bird-butlers screamed again, before leaving. It was only then that Ralsei noticed we were here. 

“Oh! Chara, Asriel… Umm… How may I serve you…?”

 

“Ralsei… What are you doing…?” Asriel squinted, exasperated.

 

“Queen didn’t have a room for me, so she… Made me into one of her butlers instead!”

 

“You know what, not important…” Asriel ran up, and gently placed Lancer on the ground. “You have the stronger healing magic, right? Lancer is… Sick, I think. Can you do anything about it?”

 

Ralsei took a moment to examine Lancer, crouching down to stare at his body. It didn’t take long for him to stand back up, and to my worry, he did not look very excited. 

“I’m afraid… This is something I can’t heal?”

 

I gritted my teeth in angry sadness.

“In that case, what’s happening to him?”

 

Before Ralsei could even answer the question, Lancer turned to stone. Asriel and I jumped back in shock. What the hell…? 

“What happened to him?!” I expressed my thoughts.

 

“You see, each Dark Fountain creates a different ‘world.’ A ‘world’ who’s Darkners reflect the will of its fountain.” Ralsei explained somberly. “But, though those Darkners can exist in their own worlds… They might not ‘belong’ if they go to another one.” 

 

“So can we help him?” Asriel asked.

 

“And why the hell are you okay?!” I added aggressively. 

 

“I can answer both of those questions, actually! The Grand Fountain in Castle Town, my world, is made out of pure darkness. As long as it stays flowing, any Darkner can live there. The reverse is also true, in my case.”

 

“At least you’re willing to explain some things here…” I sighed, before crouching down next to the statue of Lancer. “Don’t worry bud, you’ll be okay soon.”

 

“So if we defeat Queen, we could save your friend?” A voice from behind us asked. 

 

It was Pizzapants- Uh, Tabbias. 

 

“If I’m not there, Queen’s going to force Frisk along with her plan.” He continued, “Frisk’ll surely refuse, but then Queen will just make their face into a robot one.”

 

“I don’t get that, is that even something she can do?” I scoffed. Seriously, would she just like, put it on like a mask? Pull off Frisk’s head? …That’s morbid. 

 

“I’m going to redeem myself.” Tabbias insisted. “I’d like to save Frisk, but I need help. Can one of you assist me?”

 

I opened my mouth to respond, but Asriel beat me to it, to my surprise.

“I’ll help.” He answered quickly. “What do you need me to do?”

 

“I have a plan, there’s a secret shortcut on the third floor.” Tabbias folded his arms and nodded with a look of determination. “If you’re doing this, then that leaves Chara to distract Queen. Asriel, you take the shortcut and meet up with Frisk. Then, meet me with them on the roof and I can take them to a safe hiding spot. Then together, we can all defeat Queen.”

 

Yeah sure I guess I’m the distraction. I look at Ralsei for a moment. Tabbias didn’t mention him in that plan, but he didn’t seem bothered. Just smiling casually as always. 

 

“Yeah, I’m following along.” Asriel nodded, As he pumped his fist. “We’ll give your plan a shot!” 

 

“Alright, great! In that case…” Tabbias began to run off. “To victory we go!”

 

And he’s gone. 

Again.

 

“Alright, are we all ready to go?” Ralsei beamed.

 

“One sec.” I responded flatly. “Are you going to just do the rest of the adventure in that suit…?”

 

“Oh… Hold on…” Ralsei looked down. As he spun around, he seemingly instantaneously returned to his typical tunic. 

 

“Alright, NOW we’re ready.” I shrugged, and we moved forward. 

 

We entered the front hall of Queen’s castle. I walked down the stairs and stared forward. There were some interestingly placed bookshelves to our right, and a door to a cafe of some sort to the left. Behind us, there was a door that could teleport us to an earlier area of the Dark World, and right in front of us, there was a giant pair of legs….. 

 

Really, I’m not even shocked. That seemed about right for what I’ve come to expect from Queen. 

 

In front of the legs, there was a white star on the ground. Another thing I’ve come to expect. I crouched down, and reached out my hand.

 

Looking at these legs fills you with a certain power.

 

…Speak for yourself.

 

Our journey continued. Queen attempted to stop us with… Paintings that breathed fire. A creative solution I may say. She came up on a big monitor to speak to us sometimes, I think, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was too focused on intentionally shattering all the pots we came across. Much to the dismay of both of the goats.

 

“Can’t you at least try to have some tact going through here, Chara?” Asriel groaned. “They’re set up like a maze for a reason, I’m pretty sure.”

 

“Can’t hear ya, sorry.”

 

We also had to fight a cat girl, just because I couldn’t answer her questions! You think I have time to read all your cat portraits? We’re on a schedule here, I have to do things efficiently!

 

Damn Tasque Manager!

…Oh, I get it.

 

Thankfully, she was easy to spare and easier to read. Just had to act very orderly in order to spare her! I may seem like an agent of chaos sometimes, but I’ll have you know I like my things neat and tidy as well. 

 

A teacup elevator led us up to the second floor, for some reason there were several painful magic bullets in the way. Which just seemed impractical to me, to be honest.

 

We passed by Nubert. He said he was moving up in the world. Good for him. We also defeated a Mauswheel. It was a wheel of maus. The puzzles were rather simple until we came across a giant empty room, with a locked set of double doors at the back wall. 

 

“Welcome To My Extravagant Dining Bonanza!” Queen grinned as her mug appeared on a monitor. Dozens of tables with metallic food covers fell onto the floor. “Only One Of These Delicious Platters Has The Key. I Am Sure Searching Will Be An Addicting Game Of Chance.”

 

Well this seemed like it was just about the most annoying thing in the world. 

“Do we really need to search all of these…?” Asriel winced.

 

I stayed silent. 

Well, better get looking.

 

I searched one. Then another, then another-

“ERROR: Results: Key Not Found. Did You Mean: Give Up?”

 

They all got re-randomized…

Are you serious, right now?

 

 We continued this endless torment for awhile, before I noticed, one of the tables was different. It seemed to be moving… With something under it?

 

I took a closer look, when a dog revealed itself! It lifted up its table, and crashed into us. We landed on the table, and through my expert leaning skills, I was able to send the dog in the proper direction to knock down all the tables, eventually hitting the correct one.

 

“It’s the key!” Ralsei responded, “we just have to-!”

The dog ran over the key. It broke into several pieces.

“IT BROKE IT???”

 

The dog then took a step back, and ran right for the locked door. It was destroyed on impact, and we finally found an opportunity to jump off. The dog ran away, and we were further ahead. 

 

“Hey, that was pretty fun!” Asriel laughed.

 

“Maybe minus the blatant destruction…” Ralsei added tiredly. “Let’s go, Chara. We’ve almost reached the third floor!”

 

No rest for the heroes, I suppose… We continued.

Notes:

Well, Pizzapants has a name now.

May have rushed the second half of this a little bit in order to get it out before the Newsletter LMAO

Chapter 19: Swans

Summary:

Ralsei and Chara have a heart to heart chat. Also Rouxls shows up.

We got covered in what I believe was hot chocolate on our way up to the third floor.

Stupid tea cups…

 

As we reached the third floor, we ran into Tabbias, who was waiting for us in front of a bookshelf.

 

“Greetings, Pizz-...Bias…” Nailed it.

 

“Thanks for trying.” He grunted in response, before pushing the bookshelf to the side and revealing a secret passage. “Asriel, come with me through here, we can save Frisk while Chara and… Your clone distract Queen.”

 

Ralsei seemed unbothered, but Asriel looked to be a little pensive over the idea of splitting up again.

 

“Hey, we’ll be fine, let’s meet back up, yeah?” I smiled, smacking him in the back of his shoulder.

 

Asriel laughed. He smacked me back. He is stronger than me.

Ow.

 

“Alright, alright… Let’s go, Tabs.” Asriel and Tabbias headed through the secret passageway… And the book shelf closed itself as they entered. How convenient.

 

“... Are you Asriel’s clone?” I asked.

 

“...Chara.” 

 

“Alright, alright, fine. I get it. Can’t blame me for trying…” I shrugged it off, as I walked to the nearest white star…

 

Asriel has gone into a book hole with Pizzapants. You are filled with the power of book holes.

 

Can I be filled with the power of anything else…?

 

…Back to the silent treatment. What I’ve come to expect.

 

After moving forward, we ended up blocked by…

 

“A giant lake of acid?!” Ralsei finished my thought. 

 

I crouched down to look at it. There didn’t seem to be any way across, I was beginning to think we could be stuck, until Queen showed her ugly mug once again on the monitors nearby…

 

“Oh You Mean The Free Pool?” She asked. “You Will Learn To Love It Like Family.”

 

“Don’t you think this is a little overboard?!” I yelled in response.

 

“The Lake Is My Mansion’s Energy Source. And It Is Fun To Drink.” Queen answered, “Bye Ha Ha Ha.”

Queen disappeared…. 

 

“How should we pass this…?” Ralsei asked, after a pause of awkward silence.

 

Without Queen yelling annoyances, I was allowed time to think. I took another look around, and I had finally noticed the large lever.

 

…Well, might as well, right?

I pulled the lever.

 

A swan boat appeared before, floating in the acid pool. 

“You have got to be kidding me.” I stared at it.

 

“Well, whatever works… Ahaha…?” Ralsei smiled awkwardly, seeming unsure. 

 

The boat floated forward, there was a wheel at the front, made it easy to control at least.

 

“Now we need to think of a way to distract Queen…” Ralsei whispered. 

 

“Ohh I Am So Distracted Right Now.” Queen returned to the screen.

I readied my hand for throwing. Ralsei did not agree with this plan. 

 

Fine…

 

But I won’t be happy about it.

 

“What are these little houses?” Ralsei asked. Oh yeah. I didn’t even notice them. There were like, small islands with miniature red houses on them. How odd…

 

“Just Tropical Villas For My Guests Isn’t That Thoughtful?” Queen asked.

 

No.

 

“...How would anybody fit inside?” Ralsei asked.

 

“Shrink From The Acid.”

 

I was pretty certain it does not work that way. But speaking up would mean talking to Queen. I mostly just tuned everyone out. 

 

“Chara Get The Banana.”

 

…

Don’t-

 

“That’s alright, Chara, it’s good for you…” Ralsei muttered.

 

…What am I even supposed to do with this? It was floating right above acid. That can’t be healthy to consume.

 

As the boat continued, it came to a stop in front of a… Giant blue hand… 

 

“Looks like there’s something blocking the way.” Thank you Ralsei. Always the helpful guide, you are.

 

So we had to take a detour. Getting rid of the hand involved several house-based puzzle solving, changing the colour of the house roofs by tapping them, which would open up paths I could use to find the lever to change the hand’s placement.

 

In front of the lever, there was another giant blue hand. Pulling the lever moved the hand over to its partner.

 

The hands high fived.

 

Hilarious.

 

We returned to the swan boat, and headed into a tunnel. It felt… Strange, being alone with Ralsei. Sitting right behind me was someone that resembled my best friend. Someone filled with many secrets he refused to share. Secrets that intrigued me so. I wished to know more, and yet…

 

I was never supposed to meet him. What is his connection to Asriel? What part does Asriel play into the grander story? Was I ever meant to be part of it?

…

 

My thought process was knocked away, as Ralsei poked me in the shoulder.

“Chara… Sorry to distract you, but I wanted to ask…” He began, “is it strange to say… It’s nice spending time alone with you like this…?”

 

I faced forward, eyes on the lake. 

“Maybe a tad. But what have you said that does not sound strange?” I answered bluntly. 

 

“Ah- I- uhm…” Ralsei fidgeted nervously from behind me. “I was just being Sarcastic! That’s right! Just sarcasm!” 

 

“...You do not have to lie, Ralsei. We are speaking honestly here.” I answered flatly. “You had more to say, no? Continue.” 

 

“Ah, right… When we first met, I… I was so nervous about first impressions.” Ralsei continued, “I even hid my face so you wouldn’t see…”

 

Twice, might I add.

Is Ralsei speaking from the heart? Or is he simply rehearsing lines meant for that whom I have replaced?

 

“‘How do I even be a friend’...? All I have to do is be nice, or so I thought… But I’m starting to realize being friends… It's more than that, isn’t it?” Ralsei smiled with a wince. “S… Sometimes, you’re not nice at all, if you don’t mind me saying so! You’re blunt, and sassy, and rude… But isn’t it wonderful that you’re… You?” 

 

“I tend to pair myself up with people who are too nice.” I answered facetiously. “Balances it out.” 

 

“Aha, like Asriel, yes? It’s wonderful that he’s him, as well, of course…!”

 

…

Just how am I supposed to answer this?

‘It’s wonderful that you’re you, Ralsei!’ Like as if that’s supposed to mean anything?

 

Do I even know who Ralsei is?

Does Ralsei even know who Ralsei is?

 

So no.

I stay silent. 

 

“...It’s just like you to be quiet right now.” Is it?

Ralsei began to laugh.

“That’s right, isn’t it? It’s so.. You-like!” He grinned. Before going silent. “I just wonder what being ‘Ralsei-like’ even is…”

 

…

 

We came across a large collection of those mini-houses, and also…

 

“Ge Hahahaha… Thoust WORMS reallyst thoughtst…” A voice echoed, oh no. “Thoust has seeneth the lastest of me???”

 

In a beam of light, Rouxls Kaard appeared. He wore a pirate hat and rode in a little boat. He was on the opposite side of the houses. 

 

“Chips ahoyeth, landlubbers!” Rouxls shouted, “Arrrrr-t thou ready-eth to visiteth Davith Jones’ Lockre??”

 

“SPEAK NORMAL.” I demanded.

 

“The double accent is a little confusing…” Ralsei agreed, “could you maybe only speak with one?”

 

“Yeahth, alright.” Rouxls agreed, surprisingly quickly. 

 

“Oh, Mr. Rouxls! I just remembered! Lancer! He’s not well!”

 

“O dear, didst thou, erm, tryeth burpinge him?” Rouxls suggested. “Perhapsth give him a sip of medieval ginger ale???”

“...Waite! I hath NOT time to spare on such frivolitese!” He cut himself off, “I must conquere this Islande and defeast thou! Then the beauticious queene shall reward ME, by makingeth me her Left-Hand-Man!”  

 

I raised a finger. 

“I think it’s supposed to be Right-Hand–”

 

“HAHAHAHA! ME! The ULTIMATE minion!!” He laughed maniacally. “Now, beholdeth the forme of thoun destroyere!” 

 

It was a duck. 

 

Ah… The ass thrashing duck, to be precise. Glad to see it back in one piece. Truly. 

 

“WHATEVERETH THIS THING IS!” 

 

“This again?!?” Ralsei quacked. 

 

“Aha, squirming with jealousy at my Battle Caravane!?!” He bolstered, “‘Tis an effige of an Ancient God of Combate, I rescuedeth it from the King’s trash heape, and fixedeth it up in this worldes’ scrap shoppe!” 

 

“That’s… Just a duck.” Ralsei corrected him.

 

Rouxls’ pride immediately deflated, but his smile didn’t leave. He laughed fakely, trying to pass it off as if he knew the entire time that it was, indeed, just a duck. 

 

“I knoweth what it arte, ruffiane!” He scoffed, “Come forthe, my Squeakie Duckie!”

 

…And so the battle began.

 

Do you really need a play by play of this? 

 

The fight was a puzzle, we had to dodge his attacks,  of course, and win through getting more red houses than the blue houses, which were Rouxls’. In all honesty, it was quite a fun game, but puzzles are no match for me. Rouxls was even less of a match for me. Especially with the duck. Ralsei was able to keep him distracted, too. So we wouldn’t place as many houses during his turn. 

 

Simple fight, but a fun distraction…

 

“Ah ha ha ha… So thou hast triumphed…” Rouxls began… “NOT!!! That plump duck art not but the appetizemente!”

 

Saw that coming.

 

 He laughed, and began to glow viciously. I prepared myself for a real fight.

 

“Beholde, worms…!!!” He yelled with dignity, “the REALE power of Rouxls Kard..!!!!”

 

He began to float… And his body turned to stone.

I was joking before, he has no dignity.

 

“GOD…” He fell harmlessly onto the houses, and broke open a path for our swan. How helpful! “DAMN IT.”

 

“That’s right… Rouxls isn’t compatable with this world either…” Ralsei stated quietly, avoiding eye contact. “Well, let’s go Chara.”

 

I wasn’t that interested in staying around here either. The boat continued forward, and when we reached the end, we passed by a camera!

 

I flipped it off!

 

Ralsei wasn’t amused, but I was.

“DID IT REALLY TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT???”

 

I thought I heard Rouxls shout something, but I wasn’t really paying attention. 

 

As we continued forward, we almost reached the end, but Ralsei suddenly ran in front of me. 

 

“Chara…” He said, “are you wondering how Asriel is doing right now?”

 

Actually, I was. And Frisk, too. I wasn’t trying to think about it, but I was worried for both of them.

 

“Yeah, I guess I am.” I answered, hiding the concern with a flat expression.

 

“Well then… Why don’t we close our eyes…” He began, with a warm smile. “And think about what he’s doing right now?”

 

“Is this really necessary…?”

 

“Humour me for a moment, won’t you?”

 

…

 

I sighed, and followed his advice. I closed my eyes…

 

And I thought about Asriel.

Notes:

Rouxls Kaard is the enemy to spellcheck.

Also, this chapter is going to seem rather short, and next chapter will too! They were going to be together, but I figured it made more sense to split them up. Next chapter is already written and will be posted a few days after this one.

Chapter 20: Think about Asriel.

Summary:

A chapter from the perspective of Frisk.

My name is Frisk Kitter. 

 

After getting kidnapped by Queen, I found myself in a room that was not my own. Dark walls, a dark floor, cold interior. The bed was in front of a giant window, I could see the moon from it… It was a baseball, I think… Don’t really get the symbolism there.

 

What was I expected to do here, just sit around until the Queen decides she’s ready to take advantage of me?! Turn my head into a robot one?!?

 

Well no siree bob! I’m going to find my own way out of here! I hopped off the bed and took a look around. There was… Many things that I did not understand. This place was supposed to be a computer, right? Some kid’s search history? Like a calendar, where every day was December 25th.

 

…Hm. December.

 

I’m sure it’s nothing.

 

There was also this… Weird cube with the face of an uncomfortable smiling dog. I think I saw this as the mascot to some fast food joint? While I was distracted looking around, I got distracted by the sound of the door clicking. But before I could see what was happening, two of those weird wire head creatures fell from the sky. They began to close in on me.

 

I readied myself, preparing to pull out my sword. But two blasts of fire hit the wires, freeing the creatures.

“Woah huh?!”

 

Asriel came running in, he looked stressed and out of breath.

“Frisk, I got you!” He sputtered, he looked as if he ran all the way here. “Are you okay!? Did they hurt you?!”

 

“Woah, Azzy! Are you doing alright?” I asked, hopping down from the bed so I could get a hold of his shoulders and calm him down. “I’m fine! They won’t get the better of me that easy! But more importantly, how are you?”

 

“Oh you know… I’ve uh…Been better…” Asriel paused, staring out the window awkwardly. “You’re taking this rather in stride, huh? I mean, I always knew you were pretty brave, but… This place has been kind of crazy, even for you, huh?”

 

“Huh? I mean… I’ve had weirder dreams than this! ” I laughed, even when it’s just my brain, Asriel doesn’t change. It’s just like him to be worried like this! “Like that one I had as a kid with this flower– Actually, that’s not important.”

 

“...Yeah, a dream! That’s what this is…!”

 

 …Weird response, but okay!

“I mean, yeah? Obviously.” I shrugged with a casual smile, “we don’t really get to talk just the two of us, back in the real world.”

 

“...I guess not, huh?” He seemed apprehensive… “We really should hang out more, ha ha ha!”

 

“...We should probably get going, huh?” I sighed. Moments like this are nice, but… I’m probably bound to wake up soon, anyway. 

 

Asriel nodded, and led the way. We came to a stop just in front of a… Giant heart covered ferris wheel. Right to the side of this room. 

 

Okay, maybe this is the weirdest dream I ever had. 

 

“Wow, uh… This is embarrassing, huh?” Asriel stuttered, laughing nervously under his breath.

 

“Why would it be?” I responded with an innocent smile. Look, I don’t want to mess with Asriel, but I can’t help it! He’s just so mess-with-able! “Do you not want to ride the ferris wheel with me?”

 

“Wh- No! It’s not that it’s just- uh…!” His face flushed. This was too easy, I was starting to feel bad. “I- I don’t uh- I… Let’s just get in, already.”

 

He huffed, running ahead into the ferris wheel. I stifled a mischievous laugh, as I followed him inside. We took seats on the opposite ends of the ferris wheel. 

 

The ferris wheel moved forward, the city was so much bigger than I even anticipated. From up high, we could see dozens, hundreds of buildings, even. I looked over to Asriel, he still seemed nervous. Maybe I played a little too much…? 

 

Whatever, this is a dream anyway, it’s not like the real Asriel will be affected by this.

 

I did…

Not know what to do. 

 

“So uh… Ferris wheels, huh?” I smiled nervously. Why was talking so hard, all of a sudden? “I’ve never ridden one before now… Haha!”

 

“Hey, you okay?” Asriel raised an eyebrow, “are you afraid of heights…?”

 

“Haha, no…!” I responded stiltedly. “Were you afraid of heights… When you… Fell from heaven….?”

 

Why did I say that?

 

“What?”

 

“Nevermind…” So that’s what nat one’s feel like.

 

“Seriously though, are you okay? You were so confident just a moment ago.”

 

“I guess I’m just not used to being locked in a tiny box?” Yeah, that’s gotta be all it is. “I like having the freedom to move around.”

 

Having no freedom must suck. Could you imagine not being able to control your own actions? Watching, as someone else moves your legs or your arms for you? The thought terrifies me.

 

“I can understand that, it is pretty cramped in here…” Asriel nodded, looking out the window. “Never took you as claustrophobic.”

 

“I’m phobic on very few things! I love things that scare most people!” I laughed, “fear and threats keep things interesting, don’t you think? Stops you from getting complacent.”

 

“That’s… One way to look at it!” Asriel grinned, “I’m the opposite. Or I used to be, at least. I never really saw myself as the adventuring type before I met Chara. Always fantasized about it, though.”

 

“You’d make for a great adventurer!”

 

“Ha… Not as great as you. You’re built for it!” 

 

“...You’re a very brave guy, Asriel. I’m always seeing you stick up for people who need it.” I smiled at him. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

 

We both grew silent, staring out the window. For some reason, I felt compelled to ask a question.

“If you could do something crazy right now, what would you do?”

 

“Huh, me???”

 

“Yeah, you said you always fantasized about adventuring!” I grinned, “I want to know what your fantasies are like!”

 

“...I’d want to get power like no other! Become a supreme angel with the power to fly! And shoot beams!” 

 

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is that really your fantasy?”

 

“...You know Chara says the same thing.” He sulked. “It’s not my fault you humans can’t understand the Absolute God Of Hyperdeath.”

 

“Ha! Don’t worry about it. If I told you what Chara called themself as a kid, they’d probably kill me on the spot.” I snickered, before calming down for a moment. “If I had power like that, I’d want to save the world. Grant a peaceful solution to everyone’s problems.”

 

“Ever the pacifist, huh?”

 

“Or I could just kill everyone!”

 

“Huh.”

 

“Hey Frisk, you seem less nervous now.”

 

“Would you look at that, I guess I am~!”

 

We continued to laugh together, as the ride came to a stop. 

 

“Well hey, that wasn’t so bad!” Asriel smiled as he hopped off the cart.

 

“I guess not, huh?” I followed him off. “This dream’s been rather hectic, all things considered. But hey… That’s how I like it!”

 

“Well maybe… It doesn’t HAVE to just be a d–”

 

Before I knew what Asriel’s full sentence would be, Pizzapants came running in. 

“I am here to save the day!” He shouted.

 

“Oh. Hey, man.” I waved, my face becoming neutral.

 

“Tabbias is here to help.” Asriel insisted. “Listen, I need to go find Chara now. You can handle the rest from here, right?”

 

“Leave it to me!” Pizza pants put a hand up to his chest and bowed. 

 

“Great! … Oh god this is going to be a terrible idea. ” Asriel took a deep breath as he stepped over the edge. “Let’s hope I got the magic to break my fall!”

 

“Wait, Azzy, what are you–” I tried to stop him. But he jumped off the edge. “HUH???”

 

The two of us looked down, standing next to each other at the edge. It seemed we were both taking a moment to process what just happened.

 

Finally, Pizzapants spoke.

 

“I think I have a crush on Asriel.” He said.

 

I turned to look at him. I stared in silence

 

……………

Notes:

Next chapter will NOT get posted this quickly I just already had this one written.

If you saw the previous chapter posted twice no you didn't

Chapter 21: NOW'S YOUR CHANCE

Summary:

Chara does something stupid.

“...I suppose that makes sense.” I said, sitting across from Ralsei with my arms folded and my legs crossed. 

 

…Oh, you’re back. Hey.

 

“Thank you for listening, Chara.” Ralsei smiles, “I’m glad you understand why–...”

He paused. 

“Do you hear something?”

 

The sound of high pitched screaming only got louder. I stood up and quickly took a few steps back as I looked up into the air.

“Hey Ralsei you may want to–”

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAGH”

 

Suddenly, Asriel fell on top of Ralsei. Ralsei was squashed like a pancake by Asriel’s giant body. Asriel groaned in what I can only imagine to be unfathomable pain, before pushing himself up.

“Sorry, Ralsei…” He groaned, hunched forward and rubbing his back.

 

“ASRIEL???” I yelled, “DID YOU JUST JUMP FROM WHO-KNOWS-HOW-MANY STORIES?”

 

“Yep… I thought it’d work…”

 

“You thought WHAT Would work?!”

 

“I was going to shoot my fire magic down and push myself up like jetpack propulsion.” Asriel explained through his pained voice, “It would have been really cool if it worked.”

 

“Granted, that would have looked awesome, but it’s pretty stupid.”

 

“Yep… Yeah I agree with that…”

 

“And I’m okay too!” Ralsei smiled, as he stood up. 

Oh yeah.

 

“...Ralsei! I’m so glad you’re alright!” I smiled. 

 

I didn’t forget about him! I was preoccupied!

Once we regroup, we walk up to a large set of stairs. 

 

Everyone is together, but the wind blows coldly… You are filled with a certain power.

 

It does truly seem like we are just about to reach the end. 

 

So why, as we walk up the stairs, does it feel like you want to go back?

 

I know it is not me.

 

But I have that feeling. That feeling I get when I could be led toward a secret I should have no way of knowing about. That feeling I get, that I now know, is you wanting to go somewhere.

 

So, as we reached a hidden staircase, that could send us backward, I listened, and we backtracked. We backtracked far. Ralsei did not seem to care, but as I looked back I could see a sense of confusion on Asriel’s face. I did not know where we were going either, all I could do was shrug, all the way back to the dump.

 

I only finally put it together where we were going, when I stood in front of the large pile of trash with a door. What was this supposed to be, I thought, some kind of dump? 

Then I put it together. This is where that FREAK wanted us to meet, wasn’t it? What was his name? Spamton…?

 

As I reached for the door, I asked the others to wait outside. 

 

“I’m not so sure about this place, Char. I should probably come in with you.” Asriel insisted.

 

“Lets trust Chara’s judgement!” Ralsei grinned, “I’m sure they wouldn’t take us here if they didn’t know it was safe!”

 

I nodded with a straight face. Asriel still looked upset about the whole thing, but he decided to stand there and sulk, rather than fight it any more. I suppose he knew he was fighting a losing battle here.

 

I walked in, and there was Spamton, surrounded by useless junk, all seemingly rapidly changing in price. He stood behind a desk, practically vibrating with an unsettling smile. 

 

“Alright you… Thing. I’m here. So what do you want?”

 

“CHARA, YOU [[Little sponge.]] I KNEW YOU’D COME HERE [[On a Saturday night.]]!”

 

“Cut to the chase.”

 

“IN THE [[Deep Abyss]] OF QUEEN’S [[Mansion]], [[A great deal!]] IS WAITING FOR [[a limited time only!]] A HEAVEN-PIERCING [[Workout ready body]].” Spamton explained, to the best of his ability, I assume. “CHARA THAT [[little nipper]] IS OUR [[One way ticket]] TO MAKE YOU [[Big]]. MAKE ME [[Big]].”

Every word out of his mouth made this seem like a worse idea. But something was tempting about it. Perhaps the mystery?

Big. What did he mean by big? When he speaks, it’s like his words are getting censored. 

 

‘’BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, CHARA, WE WILL BE VACATIONING IN THE [[burning acid]] WHILE YOU SOAK IN THE [[Hyperlink Blocked.]]” He laughed as he continued. I felt trapped. 

“BUT DON’T [[breathe]] YET!! THE WAY IS LOCKED BY [[High quality encryption!!]]” He leaned forward, staring into me with his bug eyed manic smile. “YOU WILL NEVER GET INSIDE.”

 

I thought for a moment. I was able to get the gist of what he was trying to say.

“So I need a key to get into a secret room in the mansion to find something for you. Do I have the general idea down?”

 

“...WELL SURE IF YOU WANT TO SKIP [[The fun part]].” He looked… Disappointed. Should I have let him explain the full thing? “JUST BUY [[KeyGen]] FROM ME AND GO TO QUEEN’S MANSION’S [[Luxurious Basement Apartment]]!”

 

I nodded, and took a look at his objects, grabbing what I thought was the Keygen… The price was changing rapidly. I had to act fast, and I threw a dark dollar down as soon as the price tag said one. 

 

Alright! Now I could leave the store. After I exited, there was an uneasy silence for a few seconds.

“What exactly were you buying in there, anyway…?” Asriel asked, leaning forward to get a look at my face.

 

I turned my head away from him on instinct.

“Is that really important? It’ll help us. That’s all.”

 

The conversation ended there, and we returned to the mansion.

So I had to find a secret passage, was that it? Something about a basement, I think? I suppose I did not need to do much thinking here. So I followed your lead. Going in the direction wherever my ‘feeling’ was telling me to.

 

Relenting control, however briefly…

…

 

We unlocked the path to the basement. I stopped in front of the stairs.

“...I need to do this alone. If that’s alright with you two.”

 

“I really don’t feel good about this.” Asriel muttered, shaking his head. But he seemed to agree. He leaned on the wall and waited. 

Ralsei of course had no problems listening.

 

The stairway was dark and quiet. It was eerie down there, being alone… Brown bricks and a hard brown floor. The basement looked as if it were decaying. Strange blue creatures attacked me from the walls, and the path ended with a long silent tea-cup ride downward. Every step forward made me want to walk back.

 

Why was I going here? Where were you taking us?

I found a button, seemingly something was being powered. Whatever it was, I turned it off and rode the tea-cups back up. 

 

Which was a bad idea!

 

Suddenly lines of white energy came raining down! And I had to control the tea cups perfectly to not DIE! Many of them hit me, and it hurt! Why the hell was I doing this!!!!

Ugh… I walked past the now deactivated force field, and entered an area that looked like a path for mine carts. Following it, I entered a door and found a strange machine, with something shining inside of it.

 

I reached in… and grabbed it. Finding an empty disk. 

Was this what Spamton wanted?

 

I exited the basement, and regrouped with Asriel and Ralsei. 

“Are we ready to fight the Queen now?” Asriel asked.

 

“Not quite. I think I need to return to that weird shop first.” I explained. “I’m sure this will all make sense soon.”

 

Asriel paused, staring daggers into me. But he shrugged.

“Alright, whatever. You always liked adding side-quests to your games. I guess that’s what this is like.”

 

As we returned to the dump, I once again entered alone, and I silently handed the disc to Spamton.

 

“YOU DID IT, YOU [[Funky]] LITTLE [[Worm]], YOU BROUGHT ME THE DISK!” He laughed, [[Hochi Mama]] I CAN FEEL THAT [[Smooth taste]] ALREADY!!”

 

“Please don’t say it like that.”

 

“NOW I CAN TRANSFER MY [[Hyperlink Blocked]]. THEN… AFTER… THIS IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.” He stared directly at me, his mouth wide. “GO BACK. AND PUT. THE DISK. BACK. WHERE YOU FOUND IT.”

“DO THAT… AND YOU HAVE MY [[Specil guarantee]] I WILL [[PASS MY SAVINGS ONTO YOU.]]”

 

There’s that bad feeling again, getting worse.

“SO WHAT DO YOU SAY, BIG SHOT…” He pleaded, “[[Warning! If you consent to our terms and agreements]], [[OUR STORE is PERMANENTLY closing down!!]]”

 

I wanted to say no.

I wanted to go back.

But now we’re in this pretty deeply, aren’t we?

 

I nodded.

 

“FINALLY!! I KNEW YOU WOULD [[Request accepted!]] HERE I GO!! BEGIN THE [[Transfer]]!”

 

The transfer began. Spamton disappeared, and his entire shop turned grey. All his junk disappeared as well, like there was never a shop here to begin with…

 

…

 

We left.

 

When we returned to Queen’s Mansion, I once again asked my friends to wait outside the basement, and I entered alone, returning the disc…

 

As I tried to leave, something fell from the sky and stopped me. Some… Robot, floating above the ground, moving with… 

 

Strings.

 

It fell from the ceiling, knocking me to the ground.

 

Their head jolted like it was fighting against a glitch. Their eyes glowed yellow and pink. 

“HOLY [[Cungadero]] DO I FEEL GOOD!”

 

Spamton, now powered by some pink mech suit with wings, grinned as his new form hung above me. I did not move.

 

“HERE I AM!! CHARA!!!
BIG!

 

BIG!

 

[[BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER!!]]”

 

I stood up, and against my better judgement, I stared at Spamton’s form.

 

“HA HA HA…. THIS POWER IS… FREEDOM.” He continued.

“I WON’T HAVE TO BE

JUST A PUPPET

ANYMORE!!!”

 

He grew silent. He noticed the strings, I imagine. He turned around, seemingly hardly in control of his own body.

“OR… So… I… Thought…”

 

What happened to his voice?

 

“WHAT ARE THESE STRINGS?!? WHY AM I NOT [BIG] ENOUGH!? It’s still DARK… SO DARK!!!”

 

He suddenly hovered closer to me. I backed away on instinct, gripping onto my dagger. I couldn’t bring myself to say a word. Setting him off right now could be… Bad…

If I could just get away…

 

“CHARA.”

 

He pushed himself closer. I backed away further. I could feel my hand shaking. Why was I shaking? Why was I AFRAID? I’ve fought worse than THIS!

 

“CHARA… THAT’S RIGHT. YOU. I NEED YOU!” He flew closer. I backed away. We were coming up to a wall. “TO BE BIG. WITH ME. VERY      VERY     BIG.”

“SO BIG WE WILL STAND TALL AND SEE PAST THE DARK. STAND UP WITH OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD AND LOOK INTO–” He suddenly stopped.

 

He moved forward again. He kicked me. Smashing me into the wall. Why didn’t I just attack?

 

“H E A V E N.” He continued.

 

He backed away, and held out his arm. What was that, an arm cannon? Whatever it was. It was pointed at me. 

“I 

JUST NEED

THAT LITTLE, [[soul]] YOU HAVE.” He began to charge a blast. He closed in.

 

What is this?

Some petty revenge?

 

I had the feeling to do this. To come here. Were you trying to tell me something?

…

 

My thoughts were interrupted, when a blast of fire came shooting, and hitting Spamton directly. 

Asriel and Ralsei came running up. Ah… That makes sense. 

 

“CHARA!” Asriel shouted, as the two goats ran up to me. “Are you alright?! What WAS that?!”

 

“Chara, we were worried about you, so…” Ralsei smiled, suddenly, the wall opened up.

 

“CHARA!! YOU HAVE [[Friends]]?” Spamton’s voice echoed throughout the basement. “WHY DON’T YOU TELL THEM ABOUT MY [[3 For One Specil]]!”

“TODAY, THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN TAKE A LITTLE [[Ride around town]]...”

 

The three of us ended up on carts, speeding down the rails… The others looked shocked, of course, I could barely bring myself to move.

 

“[[Attention customers! Clean up on aisle 3]]!!!” Spamton echoed, “SOMEONE LEFT [[There]] SOULS [[Lyeing around…….]]”

 

Bizarre blue bullets flew towards us. In the shape of Spamton’s head. They laughed at us. I could feel the power of my soul emanating… 

 

It turned from red to yellow, and pointed towards the bullets. 

It fired out shots, breaking through the Spamton heads…

 

Spamton stood there, supposedly in shock, but who could really tell with that grin on his face…

“Chara?!?!? WAS THAT A [[BIG SHOT]] JUST NOW?!” He exclaimed. “WOW! I’M SO [[Proud]] OF YOU, I COULD [[Killed]] YOU!”

“[[Heaven]], ARE YOU WATCHING?” He called out. “IT’S TIME TO MAKE A VERY [[Specil]] DEAL!”

 

He laughed like a maniac, and a battle began. 

 

Alright. I still don’t know why you brought us here. But this is all you.

 

We started by cutting the strings. Made sense. He wanted freedom, right?

 

Spamton tried to talk more, as he fired heads at us. I couldn’t think about it. I just needed to get through this. 

We continued to cut strings, he continued to yap. It sounded like he was trying to make more deals. Try to plead for my soul. 

 

“DON’T YOU WANT TO BE [[Part]] OF MY BEAUTIFUL [[Heart]]?!, OR DID YOU NEED A [[Specil Tour]]?” 

 

A blue hard chained to him bursted out of his chest, firing white diamonds at us. The solution was to apparently fire it back into him. Every ability this man has made me more uncomfortable.

 

He continued to make his bargains. I couldn’t listen. I had to stop listening. None of this is real, just stop paying attention. Even when he attacks with some weird face power, firing at us at all sides.

 

We continued to cut. We were lessening the amount of strings, we were getting close to the end. He kept asking if I wanted to be a Big Shot.

 

No.

 

But the end was here. He grew in size. Becoming giant, as he tried to suck in my soul. He absorbed some bullets in the attempt, but we did the only thing we could, and fired back. He responded with blasts of his own, We swerved out of the way of each of them. 

 

The smoke cleared, and we snapped away three of the four strings remaining.

 

“WAIT [$!?!] THE PRESSES!” The fight halted. “MY… MY [[Wires]]... THEY’RE ALMOST GONE…!?”

“CHARA… YOU… YOU’RE [[Gifting]] ME MY [[Freedom]]?!”

 

I suppose so.

 

“CHARA… AFTER EVERYTHING I DID TO YOU…?!” His eyes darkened as he looked down. “AFTER ALL THE [[Unforgettable D3als]] [[Free KROMER]] I GAVE YOU, YOU’RE FINALLY REPAYING MY GENEROSITY?!”

 

We should’ve killed him.

 

“CHARA!! I UNDERSTAND NOW! THE GREATEST DEAL OF ALL!!!” The scene changed, the walls became blue, with clouds painted on. “[Friendship]!!!”

“CHARA, MY DAYS AS A [[Long-Nosed Doll]] ARE OVER!!!” He beamed. He was excited, but why did I still feel uneasy? “CUT THAT [[Wire]] AND MAKE ME A [[Real Boy]]!!”

“ARE YOU WATCHING [[Heaven]]?! IT’S TIME FOR SPAMTON’S [[Comeback Special]]!” He screamed upwards, “AND THIS TIME… I LIVE FOR MYSELF!!!”

“NO… MYSELF AND MY [[Friend(s)]]!!!” He grinned. “HERE I GO! WATCH ME FLY, MAMA!”

 

The wire was cut.

 

He fell lifelessly to the ground.

 

.

.

.

 

When the scene emerged, we found ourselves in a small room, with Spamton tied to vines, powerless. Helpless.

 

“It seems after all I couldn’t be anything more than a simple puppet.” Whatever was going on with his voice, it was gone now. “But you three… you’re strong. With a power like that… Maybe you three could break your own strings.”

 

I said nothing. He continued.

 

“Let me become your strength.” He suggested, before fading away. He became an item of sorts, and moved down to my inventory.

 

 We headed for the exit. I just had to stop thinking about it. Just don’t think about it until we beat Queen and we’re out of here. Just-

 

Asriel came to a stop.

Ralsei and I stopped as well.

 

“Are we… Really not going to talk about that?” Asriel asked. “That was weird, right?! It was terrifying!”

 

Of course it was terrifying. 

I could feel my body shaking.

 

“He was speaking nonsense about strings and puppets… And he fell to the ground, just… Broken…” Asriel continued, clearly bothered.

 

“I… Don’t think it meant anything, Asriel.” Of course Ralsei would say that. “It seems like it was just a corrupted program. He turned into our ally, so let's just accept it.”

 

Right. That’s all.

 

Is that what it looks like from an outside perspective? Fighting the control of another entity, constantly? Needing to relent yourself as your body moves without your own input. 

 

What would happen

 

If my strings

 

Were cut?

 

…

 

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped back… 

It was just Asriel.

 

“ Hey, are you alright…? ” He whispered, “you look… Really bent out of shape…”

 

“...Yeah…” I lied, “I’m… Fine.”

 

“...I can tell when you’re not telling me the truth, Char.”

 

“...”

I didn’t respond vocally. I gave my roommate a quick hug. Sometimes you just need to hold onto something big and soft to cheer up. Asriel was obviously surprised.

I’ve never been much of a toucher. 

But he accepted it, and I let go mere moments later.

 

“It’s okay, Chara! Just don’t think about it…” Ralsei walked up to my other side and smiled at me. “Take some deep breaths, and think about something you like! We’ll be right by your side until you feel better!”

 

“...I guess we should listen to Ralsei, he’s the expert here.” Asriel relented. I could tell he wasn’t happy about it, either. “I don’t know why you came here, but we should just be glad you’re okay.”

He paused for a moment, sighing heavily.

“ Just tell us next time you do something like this, okay? ” He whispered, nudging my shoulder. 

 

I nodded, I could feel my shaking slow down… It didn’t stop. But I was calming down.

 

Asriel walked up ahead, leaving me alone with Ralsei.

 

“Don’t worry Chara, I think everything will be okay!”

And I’m supposed to believe that.

 

He walked up ahead as well.

 

For the next few seconds, I was left alone. I took a deep breath, regained my composure and… We moved forward.

 

Notes:

Yeah, it's Spamton NEO. Had to take a little detour. Next chapter will be Queen time

Chapter 22: A World That Makes You Happy

Summary:

Chara and the gang have one final stand-off against the Queen.

On our way to Queen, we took a look at one room. Another bedroom, filled with a cool, snowy theme. On the wall there was a calendar. Every day was December 25th.

 

“...Hey Asriel, does the word ‘December’ mean anything to you?” I asked, not taking my eyes away from the calendar.

 

“I’d really rather not talk about that…” Asriel responded quietly, seeming rather despondent as he avoided looking at me. After a few moments, he glanced at me, and saw me staring at the Calendar. “Oh wait, did you mean the month? Sorry, I got nothing.”

 

…Interesting. 

I decided not to press further.

 

We continued further. The sound of strong winds filled the area, as giant plugs rained down blasts of electricity. Until we finally came across her.

 

“Queen, stop right there!” Asriel shouted as he ran ahead of the group.

 

“Ah My Sweet Idiot Children.” Queen smiled from her floating chair, sloshing around her glass of battery acid. “You Are Just In Time To Witness My World Domination.”

 

“Like we’re going to let that happen.” I scoffed, grabbing hold of my dagger.

 

“You Don’t Have The Option. I Have Frisk In My Possession.” Queen grinned. “It Is Only A Matter Of Time Before Their Will Turns And She Unleashes Their Power, Blanketing The World In–”

 

“You’re too late!” Asriel shouted triumphantly, “Frisk is with Tabbias!” 

 

“Oh. Then Who This?”

 

Possessed by a plug stuck to his face, Tabbias fell from the sky, floating lifelessly above the ground.

Staring in silence, it took me only a few seconds to regain my bearings. I pull out my dagger and stare at Queen with a determined glare.

 

“Tabbias?!?” Ralsei exclaimed, “He’s been….”

 

“Intercepted~!” Queen finished the thought. “My Control Plugs Are Now Suitable For Teenagers!”

 

“You’re really kind of a freak, huh?” I asked.

 

“You Don’t Want To Enjoy The Fun Of Eternal Servitude?” She laughed in a way that was sort of regal but mostly cruel. “It’s For The Whole Family!”

 

“Chara’s right, you are a freak!” Asriel prepared balls of fire, they hovered above his hands. “Where’s Frisk?!”

 

“Oh I Wonder (I Actually Know The Answer.)” Queen laughed even more cruelly. 

 

“Oh shut up already and tell us!”

 

“Those Are Conflicting Commands.” 

 

“I’ll show you conflict.” 

The three of us prepared to attack.

 

“Oh Dear, It Will Be A Shame To Have You Two Serve Me…” Queen frowned for a moment, before grinning again. “An Enjoyable Shame.”

 

A battle began. 

 

She took Frisk. Frisk is hurt. 

Because of her.

 

I swung my dagger…

 

Asriel put a hand in front of me. As I turned my head up to look at him, he looked down at me and shook his head with a serious frown. 

 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

 

“Trust me, I’d love to punch her in the face too, but we can settle this peacefully.” Asriel reminded. “For now, let’s focus on a way to save Tabbias.”

 

I scoffed… But he was right. PP was being controlled by that wire attached to his face.  Thinking about it logically, all we would need to do is loosen it, then it’d fall off and he’d be free. 

 

THEN I can beat the crap out of this goddamn computer. 

 

I relayed the plan to my partners, and we loosened it a bit. 

 

“Queen, think of the Lightners!” Ralsei yelled, “aren’t we supposed to make them happy?”

 

Try not to focus on how bad that seems. Just keep your eyes on the fight.

 

“Is That Not What I Am Doing?” Queen responded, sitting idly in her chair. 

With control over Tabbias’ body, she made him hover over to us and launch pizza-shaped bullets of magic. They seemed like they would hurt a lot if they hit, we had to move out of the way with quick precision.

 

We loosened the wires further. 

“Think! Lightners Have Already Been Enslaved By Me And My Kin.” Queen continued, attacking us with her own legs. “Each Day They Spend Hours Worshiping In Glowing Rapture. Our Screens Of Funny Animals And Candied Games.”

 

Not… Entirely inaccurate. If a little dated of a take. She filled up her glass of battery acid, and somehow gave herself a shield. 

 

“That glass of acid is generating her shield!” Ralsei claimed.

 

“So what, we need to spill it?” Asriel suggested.

 

“This Is All Mine Actually You Can’t Have It.” Queen took a sip. Notably, the shield weakened. 

 

That was very easy to work with. If we ‘toast’ to her, we could get her to drink more of that acid… It seemed to work well, when we tried it.

 

“Recently, The Town’s Internet Disappeared, So There Actually Hasn’t Been Any Candied Games Lately.” Queen continued her thought from earlier. I almost forgot we were having that conversation. “Now The Refuge They Take In The Screens Will Slowly Fade.”

 

“Sucks to be you, I guess?” I shrugged. I really have no pity for those like her.

 

“It Does Suck A Little Yeah.” She shrugged casually, continuing to fight us like it’s no problem. She fired arrows of energy right at us. It took intense reflexes to swerve out of the way. We continued to loosen the wires.

“Now Who Will Answer The Strange And Sad Searches Of…” Queen paused, “Well, I Guess You Don’t Know Her. But I Am Sure Frisk Has Many Strange Searches That Need Answering.”

 

I don’t think I want to know the type of things Frisk searches for online. I decided not to comment on that, as Queen activated another shield. It was bigger than last time… Seemed like a lot of work, so I came up with an idea.

 

“Hey Azzy, aim your strongest fire magic at that shield.” I ordered.

 

“Are you crazy? I thought we were trying not to attack people here!” He huffed.

 

“Just trust me! She has a shield, it’ll be fine!” I spat back.

 

Asriel was hesitant, but a strong enough blast completely shattered her shield. That made things much easier.

 

“I Wondered About Those Searches, Until The Knight Appeared, And Created A Wonderful World Of Darkness.” Queen’s words intrigued me. I wondered if we’d learn more about this so-called Knight. “Now, The Path is Clear. All I Have To Do Is Expand This Dark World.”

 

That sounded like it would probably be bad. Didn’t know why, I just had a feeling. 

“How does that actually help you, like, at all?” I asked.

 

“So Everyone Can Live In My Perfect Mansion!” She answered with a smile on her face. “Everyday Blissfully Worshiping Me Like We Both Deserve.”

 

God, she gets on my nerves.

“Now Stop Resisting And Welcome The New Age Of Darkness!”

Not gonna happen, we loosened the wire further.

 

“We won’t let you control everyone with your wires!” Ralsei shouted.

 

“Woah When Did I Say I Would Do That?”

 

“...You’re literally controlling our friend right now.” Asriel answered flatly.

 

“Yeah That’s Just For Him Only.”

 

The fight continued, plenty of attacks were fired, until Queen unleashed her ‘ultimate attack’... Which never properly loaded, so she just spammed some of her normal bullets instead. It would have probably been inane, anyway. We loosened further.

 

“So That Final Move Was Supposed To Be Cooler But The Internet Is Down.” She insisted. 

 

But before she could attack again, Tabbias started to fight back against the wire.

“What The. What Are You Doing?” She gasped in shock, “Why Isn’t My Control Wire Working?”

 

“Thanks to the mercy of my close friends, (and that other guy), it’s time for me to take my freedom!” Tabbias exclaimed heroically, as he tore the wire off his own face.

 

He landed on the ground, and triumphantly held his ax, getting into a prepared stance to help fight.

“You might be able to fight the three of them…” He began, “but there’s no way you could fight all four of us!”

 

“Running Simulation For: The Number Four.” Queen thought for a moment. “Hmm… You Are Definitely Going To Kick: My Ass… Unless…”

“Oh No What That.”

 

She pointed behind us.

…It seemed to fool everyone.

 

I knew she was bullshitting. But to be honest I was a little curious to see what she was going to pull out. Queen ran off while we were distracted.

 

“Damn it-! I really should have expected that…” Tabbias groaned. “You three go catch up to her, I’ll find some way to help you.”

 

I nodded, and led the group ahead. Queen was sitting alone at the very top of her tower, looking down at the skyline in the distance.

 

“The Knight…” She spoke quietly, most likely to herself. “The Roaring Knight, It Deigned To Create This World.

 

Reaching Its Long Hand Into The Sky, It Coursed Its Will Into Its Blade, And Made. Thrusting The Fountain From The Earth…

 

…”

 

Queen paused, staring off into the sky in silence for a moment.

“Unfortunately The World They Made Is Trapped Within The Confines Of The Library. If Only We Had A Way To Make More Darkness. We Might Be Able To Cover The Whole World.”

 

My god, she can talk. ‘Is she really still monologuing?’ I thought to myself. The answer was yes, by the way.

 

“That Is When I Realized, This Power… This Power Of The Will, This Power Of Determination… Is This Not Something That All Lightners Possess?

 

If One Was Simply

 

Determined Enough…

 

Could Not Anyone Make A Dark Fountain? So Then… If The Knight Has Taken Its Leave… Make A New One.”

 

Queen floated near a giant blue hand, Frisk was unconscious, tied to it with rope. Even just seeing that made me want to strike, but Asriel was there to hold me back. 

 

“Frisky Business, How Do You Find The Giant Hand?” Queen asked.

 

“I think it sucks.” Frisk responded, fighting against the binds. 

 

“Great And How Do You Feel About Worlddomination?”

 

“I THINK IT SUCKS.”

 

Alright I heard enough.

I dash forward and slash with all my might at Queen, sending her hurdling downward.

“Oooo Ouchie.”

 

I ignored her. The hand began to move and Frisk fell out of their bindings. 

“Oh my god, Frisk! Are you okay?!”

 

Asriel and Ralsei caught up to me quickly.

“We’re sorry we took so long…!” Asriel responded with a nervous laugh.

 

“What-? Yeah I’m fine, it’s fine!” Frisk assured, standing up. “But you guys need to get out of here, like, now.”

 

 “What, why?”

 

Queen’s laughter echoed ominously and loudly. The sound of a giant’s footsteps filled the area, as Queen, piloting a giant mech of herself, climbed the tower and stared us down. She laughed once again.

 

“Q…Queen?!” Ralsei yelped. 

 

“Seems You Failed To Notice… The Giant Freaking Robot In The Middle Of My Palace.” Queen sneered.

 

“I didn’t fail to notice.” I raised my hand. “I just didn’t think you’d be that cliche.”

 

“I don’t care how strong we gets, we’ll stop her!” Frisk smiled. “...That being said, some ideas would be great, she’s pretty much invincible like this.”

 

“Did you say invincible? ” Asriel asked in shock.

 

“Yeah she wouldn’t stop bragging about the damn thing.”

 

“Ah… Well…” Asriel put on a bravado. “You think that’s going help you against the power of the Death Gang? ”

 

“The what? Frisk muttered.

 

“Yes.” Queen grinned. She held up a giant glass of acid… Which somehow, shot out a beam and knocked all of us to the ground. “Are We Cool To Take Over The World Now?”

 

“Nice try, but we have a super-form too!” Asriel grinned.

 

“We do?” I replied bluntly.

 

“Just come on!”

 

We brought back that ‘form’ we used for the arcade machine. On Ralsei’s back, with Asriel holding my arms to help with ‘strength.’ I could hear Frisk laughing. This was humiliating. 

 

“This is our ultimate… Uh…” 

 

“Asriel this isn’t anything.” I cut him off.

 

“Oh No It Appears We Are Evenly Matched.” Queen responded sarcastically. “I Hope You Won’t Mind If I Don’t Hold Back.”

 

With just smashing her fist next to us, the floor shook with enough force to knock us off the tower. We began to fall.

 

“We’re falling!!” Thanks Ralsei.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAGH.” Asriel screamed. Helpful.

 

“No need to worry, friends! It’s time I be the knight I was born to be!”

Was that…?

 

“Tabbias!” Asriel called out. 

 

We fell onto a row of flying coaster carts. Tabbias was piloting the one in front, behind us, were all the different Darkners we met throughout the adventure through this Dark World. 

 

“I’m still not strong enough to actually help fight, but I got as much help as I could!” Tabbias grinned with a wickedly long smile. “Check this out!”

 

“With our junk making skills we modified everyone to work together!” Sweet Cap’n Cakes said. They were all speaking at different times, but I never took the time to remember who was who. Don’t tell them I said that.

 

“I shalt also take credite for this.” Rouxls added. Why was he here again?

 

Using everyone’s power combined, including the power of a duck (Or as Rouxls said it, ‘whatevereth this thing is.’) we were able to create a giant mech that could fight on par with Queen. It had the head of a ducky!

 

“Finally… A Worthy Opponent…”

 

Queen fell from the sky, and we began to fight.

It was actually rather easy to get the hang of the controls. It was almost exactly like that arcade game. Concerningly so, even.

 

This should be easy.

 

“The Time For Words Is Over. Now Is The Time To Fight (Only).” Queen claimed.

Despite their attempt to strike me with a left hook, I easily dodged and countered, repeatedly punching her mecha in the face.

 

“Ha Ha Just Kidding I Will Totally Keep Monologuing As I Kick At: Your Face.”

Not even worth responding to. I’ve expected as much from her at this point. She did stick to her promise at kicking at my face, though. I almost didn’t see it coming, so I was barely able to dodge in time. 

 

“Frisk’s Strength Is Unlike Anything I’ve Ever Seen. Their Will, Their Determination Is Incredible. It Would Be A Waste Not To Utilize It.”

 

Now was not the time to get into a quipping contest. I kept my eyes on the goal. Queen jumped into the air and threw baseballs down at us. An easy thing to counter, as I punched them back, Queen allowed herself to drop to the ground. Her own baseballs hit her in the head, leaving her open for another flurry of punches. Then, I hit her with an extra powerful duck-based punch.

 

“Focusing Their Will Into Their Blade, They Will Create A Neo-Dark Fountain, Then Another, Then Another.” As Queen continued to monologue, we continued to exchange blows. “Then, When The Whole World Is Covered In Darkness, They, And Everyone, Can Live In Bliss. Free Of Fear And Suffering.”

 

Sounded almost tempting, you would need to be a child to fall for such nonsense, though. With enough hits, I was able to knock us into the second round.

 

“Asriel, Chara, You Could Help Me Too!” Queen said with a grin. “Create The World Of Your Dreams (Also My Dreams).”

 

She continued to fight, tripping us up with kicks in other directions and beams of acid-wine. It was getting harder to join.

“Asriel… You Could Have Whatever Cool Wings You Want If You Let Me Karate Chop You.”

 

“Why would I let you do that?!” Asriel yelled.

 

“Just ignore her, Azz.” I sighed, keeping my eyes laser focused on the robot in front of me.

 

“Chara, My Dearest Trucie...” Queen paused, glancing away for a moment. “I Still Don’t Actually Know What You Like. You Should Use The Computer Lab Sometime.”

 

I’m not going to do that. I continued to fight. She opened up her chest and fired missiles. The machine was starting to take a beating… I had to take some time to recover, but I was able to fight back.

 

“Hey Was There A Third Guy?”

 

I glanced at Ralsei. He didn’t seem bothered, but it was still quite rude! 

 

“Join Me And All Of You Will Become Strong And Cool.” She offered, “Meanwhile I Don’t Need To Improve Because I’m Already Perfect And Can Fire Lasers From My Fancy Glass.”

She fired lasers from her fancy glass.

 

Through enough hits, we were able to knock her right into round three. The end was near.

 

Queen, at this point, was just repeating her previous points on loop. According to her, she had ‘made her point.’ At least now it was easier to tune out.

 

Her attacks became faster and stronger, I swerved our ass-thrashing robot out of the way to the best of my ability, and managed to get Queen to a low enough health that she unleashed her final attack. She sent down a giant baseball like a meteor, and we had one way to stop it… I punched, and sent it right back to her.

 

“Overheat Activated…” She glowed a bright red as her machine began to steam. “Listen Well… You May Have Defeated Me… But I Still Possess One Thing You Three Will Never Have.”

 

She launched into the sky.

“Detachable Hands.” Her fist launched out of her arm like a rocket, and crashed right through our giant robot, grabbing each of us.

 

“Frisky… Bisky…” Queen stepped up the tower, holding each of us in her giant mech hand. “Take The Pin… And Stab The Earth… Creating Our New… Supreme Empire…”

 

Frisk stood up, staring her down.

“You’re not going to get me to fall to your whims.”

 

“Why Not? I Know It… Would Make You Happy…” Queen’s grip on us tightened… “Or, With My Last Percent Of My Battery, Should I Crush Your Friends Into… 8 Bits…?”

 

“You’re not going to touch my friends!” Frisk pulled out their sword, pointing it triumphantly at Queen. “Hanging out with my friends makes me happy, spending time with my family makes me happy, YOU would never make me happy!”

“I don’t need some computerized wannabe parent telling me what to do, I’m a grown-ass adult, and I’m sick of this game!”

 

“Frisk…” Queen frowned. “Perhaps My Computations Were… Miscalibrated. Perhaps You Can Just… Disregard Me. And Choose The World… That Makes You Happy.”

 

Queen powered down.

 

“...Queen?” Frisk’s body became less tense. “Are you… Alright?”

 

“Seems she ran out of battery power…” Ralsei said with a small smile. “Seems we can seal the fountain now, right everybody?”

 

The area was silent.

 

“...Everybody?”

 

Frisk thought for a moment.

“Just… Thinking. Choose the world that makes you happy… Obviously a world with her isn’t good. But this place was pretty fun, outside of that.”

 

After silently listening, I decided to speak.

“Frisk, our campaigns every so often are fun, but we can’t just stay here. We have responsibilities.”

 

“Yeah, and that sucks, doesn’t it?! There aren’t any responsibilities here!” Frisk countered, “Azzy, back me up on this!”

 

“It’s… Definitely the most excitement I’ve had here since moving out.” Asriel admitted. “I could do so much here that I’ve never been able to do in the Light World. I can live out my wildest fantasies!”

 

I winced. They were making good points, but this was a dangerous path. Yeah, I’ve made some friends in these Dark Worlds, but how real even is it? They’re all objects. Letting themselves get too sentimental over this could get… Dangerous.

 

Ralsei and I exchanged a troubled look, but I doubt our feelings were for the same reason.

 

“Fire, wings, magic, no rules to follow, no expectations to uphold…” Asriel continued.

 

“Everything here just seems… Better, if you think about it.” Frisk added quietly.

 

“Um–” I tried to speak up. 

 

“Then what’s the hold up?” Tabbias added, walking to the group.

Great.

 

“I can’t think of anything.” Frisk said casually, leaning backward.

 

“Well, in that case allow me to make it up to you all!” Tabbias lifted up his axe, with a triumphant grin. “Concentrating my will, I’ll unleash a Dark Fountain, and brighten up the future!”

 

I nudged Ralsei.

“ Say something, you idot. ”

 

“Oh-! STOP!” Ralsei screamed. “What… in the world are you all doing?!

The group flinched.

 

“Well we just–” Tabbias tried to respond.

 

“STOP.”

 

“But what if we–”

 

“ STOP. ”

“Do you realize what will happen if you do that?”

 

“...Uh…”

 

“Why don’t you tell us, buddy?” I said with an awkward smirk.

 

“You’ll bring the Roaring…”

 

Ralsei went on to explain the Roaring. A part of the prophecy that hadn’t been detailed before. 

 

When the light is subsumed by shadow, when the fountains fill the sky, all will fall into chaos. 

 

The titans will take form from the fountains, and envelope the land in devastation. 

 

The surviving Darkners, crushed by the darkness, will slowly, one by one, turn into statues… Leaving the Lightners to fend for themselves. Lost eternally in an endless night… 

 

“Is that your idea of paradise?” Ralsei finished.

 

Everyone’s faces were in shock.

“Oh Damn I Did Not Know That.” Queen stated, apparently recharged.

 

“You… Didn’t? But your whole plan was to–”

 

“LMAO I’m Just A Computer I Don’t Know Everything.” Queen laughed. “I Was Just Guessing Based On The Knight’s Actions. Why The Heck (Hell) Would I Want To End The World?”

 

“Well, that settles that, I guess?” Frisk scratched the back of their head.

 

“...Looks like I just caused more problems…” 

 

“Hey, you did pretty good back there!” Frisk grinned. “I’m just glad everything’s cleared up.”

 

“Uh, hey… Can you let go of us now???” Asriel pleaded.

 

“Oh Yeah.” Queen dropped us.

 

“Well, uh… See you in the waking world, huh Frisk?” Asriel smiled awkwardly.

 

“Huh? Oh yeah, the dream thing… Things got a little hectic back there.” Frisk responded with a cheerful laugh. “This was pretty fun. Maybe I’ll get more dreams like this in the future.”

 

“...I’d like that!”

 

Queen scaled up the building, now out of her giant robot, and joined in the conversation, unfortunately.

 

“Well Then I Suppose It Is Time For You All To Exit.” She waved goodbye, with the words ‘tendergoodbye.EXE’ appearing in the sky in a green light. “I Will Miss Each Of You.”

 

“Frisk, Your Stubborn Perseverance.”

“Asriel, Your Foolish Heart.”

“Chara, Your Cool Aura.”

“...Pizza…”

 

“It doesn’t have to be goodbye, Queen!” Asriel smiled warmly. “Chara can take you back to our Castle Town! You and all our recruits can live there.”

 

“Oh. Deleting Tender Goodbye.EXE.” Queen ran off. 

 

“Well, lets get out of here.” Asriel leaned backward, “you ready, Char?”

 

“Yeah let’s go.” I sighed, waving to Tabbias and Frisk as Asriel and I walked ahead and came across the fountain. 

 

“Well, we’re here again…” Asriel looked forward to the fountain. “Whatever that Knight is, they’re the one making these fountains. I suppose it becomes a question on if that’s actually that bad of a thing.”

 

“You heard what Ralsei said, Azz.”

 

“Right, but you have to admit, its interesting, right?”

 

I shrugged.

“Let’s not worry about that, right now.”

 

I stepped forward, and felt the power within my soul. It was as if it was glowing, my soul moved toward the fountain and… Everything was engulfed in light. 

Notes:

This was going be the last chapter of part 2, but it was already taking longer than I would have liked to get this one out. Next chapter will be the last for awhile. Unless Toby shadowdrops chapter 3 or something.

"How did they make the giant robot without the base of the Berdly statue?" don't think about it.

Chapter 23: Back to the light.

Summary:

The Dark World is sealed, and the day is saved.

When the Dark World disappeared, we had returned to the computer lab, back to normal as if nothing had happened. Just like the unused classroom back at the school. Frisk and Tabbias were sitting unconscious, with their heads against the desk, right across from Asriel and I.

 

Tabbias was the first to wake up.

“Huh, what?! What just… Oh. Right. We’re in the computer lab.”

 

Frisk stood up next, stretching casually.

“Man, what a strange dream. You guys were there too!”

 

“I’m flattered.” I responded with a cheeky smirk.

 

“A dream…” Tabbias looked up at the ceiling, seeming almost disappointed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“Very… Weird thing to be dreaming about.” He glanced at Asriel for a moment. What’s that about…?

 

“So were you guys just standing there all weird-like, waiting for us to wake up?” Frisk interrogated.

 

“Wha- No-!” Asriel scoffed, sweating trying to come up with an excuse. “We wouldn’t do something that creepy! We just- Uh.”

 

“We walked in just a second ago. I guess we really kept you waiting. Sorry about that!” I swooped in with the save.

 

“...What they said.”

 

“So are we going to get the game started, or what?” I asked, in order to shift the subject. “I can get us set up.”

 

 “Oh, right. I almost forgot-!” Tabbias said, when suddenly he was interrupted by an alarm from his phone. “What’s th- Agh Crap! I’m supposed to work today…”

 

“Oh, guess we gotta reschedule…” Frisk shrugged, standing up.

 

Tabbias quickly stood up and stormed out of the room. As he passed me, I could see him place his customer-service smile on his face. It was quite terrifying to look at.

 

“Well, I guess I’ll return to my hotel room. I’ll text you guys the address, and maybe you can come on by if you have the time!” Frisk sighed, they casually walked towards the exit with their hands behind their back.

Suddenly, Frisk stopped by the door, and twirled around to face us. 

“Oh and Asriel, we never really get the time to hang out just the two of us, huh?” They say with a smile. “Maybe we could fix that sometime?”

 

“Oh uh-!” asriel smiled nervously, waving. “I’d like that…! See you around!”

 

Once Frisk left, there was an air of uncomfortable silence, for a few moments. Until Asriel attempted to break said silence.

 

“So, uh–”

 

“Stay the fuck away from my cousin, Asriel.”

 

“Noted.”

 

Afterwards, Asriel and I really had nothing else to do. So he suggested we explore Hometown for a bit. But first, there was something else we had to take care of. Didn’t Ralsei say something about bringing Darkners to Castle Town…? We just had to take their corresponding objects to the supply closet, right? Seemed easy enough.

 

With Asriel’s help, we grabbed as much as we could. Asriel insisted we would not get in trouble for stealing. I found that hard to believe, but really other options did we have?

 

It was an awkward trip, carrying all this stuff such a long way. But once we made it back to the closet (thank GOD the school doors were still open) we jumped in, and the objects sparkled, leaving our hands and becoming the Darkners. Starting with, of course…

 

“So This Is Your ‘Castle Town’...” Queen took a look around after she took form. “It’s… Wait…”

“Where’s Nubert?” She started to look around more frantically. “Nubert… Nuby… Where Are You…?”

 

Trashy soon descended.

“He said he wouldn’t come unless everybody else did…”

 

I can’t help but feel like somebody’s judging me right now.

It better not be you.

 

“Nubert… A Hero Until The End…” Queen continued. “Chara… You Truced Your Best I Know… Oh Well. It Seems Like A Wonderful Town.”

She walked away.

 

Alright fine. 

 

Ralsei somehow materialized behind us as I walked to the star in front of the castle. I really didn’t feel like questioning things, it’s been a long day.

 

After a long day, the town has grown once again. You are filled with a certain power…

 

I did end up deciding to do some more exploring in the castle. Not like we were on a time-crunch to head back to bed. Apparently, Queen is going to get her own room once the upper floor is finished construction. Also, Queen and King have some juicy history! Fun! 

 

We waved goodbye to Ralsei, and left Castle Town. Next stop, we had to check on the good ol’ Ic-E’s P“E”ZZA. Just to make sure Tabbias hasn’t done anything drastic. 

 

When we entered, he was in full uniform, sitting and a table and checking his phone with a frown upon his face. 

 

“Uh, hey Tabbias. Everything alright there?”

 

“Oh. Chara, Asriel. Sorry, didn’t realize you guys were there.” He sighed. “I just had to break it off with my girlfriend. I realized I had feelings for someone else.

 

Chara.EXE has stopped working.

 

“...Are they going to be okay?”

 

“Who, Chara? Yeah I think what you just said completely flabbergasted them. Don’t worry, I got it.” 

Asriel lightly smacked me across the head. Ow.

 

“You have a girlfriend???” I finally got my thought out.

 

“HAD, Chara. I told you I just broke up with her.” He sighed, “We’ve been dating for almost a full 24 hours, too… It’s a shame I had to end it just as it was getting serious.”

 

 “That. Must have been heart breaking for you.”

 

Asriel punched me in the arm. Why is he hitting me so much???

“We’re very sorry about that. We wish you good luck in your romantic endeavors with this new person!”

 

“Ha! Yeah, like that’s going to happen.” He cackled, before frowning again as he looked down at his phone. It’s a wonder how good he is at switching up his expressions like that. “Look, she just sent me a photo! Look how sad she looks!”

 

The photo in question was several pixels that vaguely resemble a zoomed-in JPEG of a pizza. Truly an agonizing thing to witness.

 

“We’ll… Let you handle that in peace.” I pulled Asriel away, leaving the building as quickly as possible. Afterwards, we took a breather outside. 

 

“Should we pay Frisk a visit, too? I just got the text about the hotel they’re staying at.”  

 

“What did I JUST say not twenty minutes ago?” 

 

Asriel shook his head profusely. 

“Not like that! I just think we should have a talk with them, you know, make sure everything’s alright…?”

 

…Yeah, not buying it. 

“...Let’s just go back to your place. I can shoot them a quick call about that later.”

 

Asriel looked visibly upset, but he relented. We walked all the way back to Asriel’s place, and I took a look around. His sibling, Kris, was seemingly studying with a purple lizard-like monster. Neither of them seemed to be paying much attention. In fact, I think the purple one was asleep. Asriel had already left to get ready for a sleep. Meanwhile, I had something I wanted to say to Kris now that we’re about as alone as we can get.

 

Well, almost. 

 

What was that trick Ralsei showed me?

 

You know, maybe Asriel was right, we should have checked on Frisk! I sure am wondering what they’re up to right now!

 

~~

 

I paced around my hotel room, not able to take even a moment to sit still. Calm down Frisk. It was just a dream. None of that actually happened.  

 

Yeah, like Hell.

 

I’ve been around the block before. I know how dreams feel. I know how reality feels. And I know the difference. Yeah, sure, I told Asriel it was a dream. But I knew it wasn’t! I know that’s not how it works! 

 

Mostly I was just trying to convince MYSELF it was a dream! But it was so vivid. I can remember so much of it. 

 

Then again, getting time to have a heart-to-heart with Chara was not something I expected to ever happen. Even in my dreams. 

 

And if that really was all real… Could it really be that easy to just… Make another fountain? All it took was ‘determination’, right? I had that in spades.

 

No, it really wasn’t worth the risk. I’m an adult, with adult things to worry about. 

This is just something I’ll have to think about later. 

 

I’ll just have to go look for something to take my mind off all this. Maybe I can give Azzy a call!

 

…

 

Something feels weird.

 

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being watched?

Who am I even talking to, right now?

 

…

 

Is someone there?

 

~~

 

Back so soon?

 

Don’t worry. It was a quick conversation. Not that there’s anything you need to know about it. 

 

Kris is an interesting kid, to say the least. Couldn’t get a read on them at all during that little talk. But they remind me a lot of myself, when I was that age. 

 

When I took a walk up the stairs and back into the guest room, I passed by Asriel, who seemed to be on the phone. I took the time to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling, as I waited for the evening to turn into night. It seemed as if things were rather peaceful. Apparently that purple dinosaur monster was sleeping over with Kris as well. This house is getting pretty crowded!

 

It would be a shame if something unexpected happened. 

Notes:

Ending it off with a very short one, following the long one from last time. This is just wrapping things up. But that's it! We're at the end!

It's going to be awhile until another chapter of this comes out, because now comes the hard part, waiting for an update from the game itself. So you probably won't see another chapter of this fic until sometime next year.

....That being said.
There's still something else to cover, isn't there?

Something a bit... Weird.

Keep your eyes peeled.

Chapter 24: It's TV-Time...?

Summary:

Chara and Asriel are back, as a new Dark World has opened up right beneath their feet! What new adventure is in store for our friends?

I woke up on a couch. Further away in the room was Asriel, sleeping soundly. We were in what looked like some kind of… Green room.

 

I was dressed up in my Dark World attire, as was Asriel. There was an odd plug-faced fellow behind a concessions stand, some kind of remote man guarding a door, and…

Is that Lancer?

What’s he doing here?

 

Okay. So. Putting the pieces together. We’re in a Dark World. Shit!

 

I sneak over to Asriel and shake him awake.

“Asriel! Wake up! Someone fucked up big time!”

 

Asriel grumbled in his sleep.

“Five more minutes.” He shoved my hand away.

 

“...”

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I smack him in the face as hard as I can.

 

“OW.” Asriel quickly sits up, rubbing his cheek.

 

“ Keep it down, bozo! ” I yell-whisper to him. “ We’re back in a Dark World. It looks like one was made in the house. ”

 

Asriel scratches his head, thinking for a moment.
“But that doesn’t make any sense. No one else in the house should be able to make one.”

“...You didn’t–”

 

“No, I didn’t make a fountain!” I scoffed, “believe it or not, I don’t want to end the world.”

 

A voice chimed in, one neither of us recognized.

“Luvs, do you need help over there?”

 

I turned around, it was the plug guy at the concession stand. He was cleaning a glass, staring at us with an uneasy smirk.

“If you have any questions, I don’t mind helping you out.” He said, “especially Asriel over there. It’s good to see you again!”

 

We looked at each other.

“I’m sorry.” Asriel apologized, “do I… Know you?”

 

“Heh, I know you. The name’s Ramb, luv.” Ramb responded with a smile. “You know, the old power cord your sibling used to play with?”

 

“Oh they’re just being up front about it now huh.” I said.

 

Ramb stared at me for a moment, before turning back to Asriel.

“If you wait around here long enough, Kris should show up soon.” Ramb continued, “they’re busy wrapped up in some show with Tenna.” 

 

 “Kris is here?!” Asriel jumped, “crap, I should have expected that, the fountain’s in our house…”

 

Asriel grabbed his head, beginning to spiral. He mumbled about Kris being in danger as he looked at the ground pacing around.

“What do we do, what do we do?!”

 

I took a step in front of Asriel and grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Calm down, Azz!” I ordered, “Ramb said it was a show of some kind, right?!”

I turned to Ramb for confirmation, he nodded.

 

“Right, whoever this Tenna guy is, he wouldn’t hurt your sibling. This Dark World feels… Casual, in comparison to the others. Let’s just wait for Kris to get here, and then figure something out.”

 

Besides, I had something I needed to talk to them about, anyway.

 

Asriel still seemed nervous.

“...Luvs, why don’t you two play video games while Kris finishes up?”

 

“Hey that sounds like a good idea!” I took the hint, “Come on Asriel, this might calm you down a little.”

 

I led him down to a nearby couch, and we played a game together. Some kind of old school racing game, it was-

Hey

 

I can feel you trying to press the buttons.

Can you even see the screen? Stop that.

Sooner or later, a giant TV-head man entered the room with three others. Kris was there, as to be expected, along with the purple dinosaur girl they were studying with. Also, there was… Ralsei?

 

I tapped Asriel’s shoulder.

“Hey, notice anything off?” I pointed to the group of teens.

 

“Huh, that’s just Kris and their frieeeennn….” Asriel trailed off. “...Ralsei, what’s he doing here?”

 

“Maybe he ‘sensed some darkness’ and came running.” I air-quoted. “More importantly, what’s he doing with those two?! WE’RE supposed to be the three heroes!”

 

“Oh, Chara! You aren’t jealous of a couple of teenagers, are you?” Asriel smirked. 

 

“Don’t be an idiot.” I scoffed. “I’m not jealous, I’m figuring things out.”

I turned to him to plan.

“You distract the kids, I’m going to finally get some information out of our little goat friend.”

 

I crouched and snuck into the shadows, preparing as Asriel rolled his eyes. He followed along with the plan anyway. Asriel walked over to Kris and put on his best smile, dragging them away as Susie followed confusedly.

 

Ralsei smiled obliviously. He was about to join them, as a sudden tug from yours truly pulled him backward. We were crouched near the far side of Ramb’s counter.

 

“Alright, goatboy. Start squealing.” I said, wasting no time.

 

“Ah! Chara?! What are you doing here-?”

 

“I’m asking the questions!” I poked him aggressively. “Explain what you’re doing with those two! Didn’t you give that whole speech about the heroes of the prophecy or whatever?!”

 

“...Chara, I’m sure you’ve noticed, how off things seemed?” Ralsei asked, suddenly becoming somber. “Like you’re playing a game that wasn’t meant for you?”

 

I recalled the time I spent alone with Frisk in Cyber City. When the buttons spelled a name neither of us knew.

I recalled having a passenger that I had never asked for, who could move my body as if they had experienced all this before.

I recalled Kris knowing my situation without even a comment.

 

“Ralsei.” I said seriously. “Who are the real heroes of prophecy?”

 

“...The cage, with human soul and parts.” Ralsei began. “The girl, with hope crossed on her heart. The prince, alone in deepest dark. A human, a monster, and a prince from the dark.”

“You are not the cage, Chara. But you hold a prisoner regardless. And Asriel, well, I think it’s safe to say he’s not the monster the prophecy speaks of!”

Ralsei laughs nervously.

 

I listened intently, waiting for my cue to speak.

“...And you?”

 

“I… Am the prince from the dark. It’s my job to guide the heroes… Hence why I’m with them.” Ralsei sighs, “...However, Kris is a cage with no prisoner. Susie had never gone through her growth to finally be true to herself… The story’s broken.”

 

“Because it’s been overtaken by people who were never supposed to have these roles.” I thought aloud, putting a finger to my lip. “What does this mean, Ralsei? For the grand scheme of the prophecy.”

 

Ralsei went quiet for a moment.

“The prophecy is breaking… I can’t explain it all right now but…” He paused, his expression was pained, like he was quietly kicking himself for not saying more. “Chara, you and Asriel, keep involving yourselves. I’m going to keep an eye on the heroes whenever I can. This… Could be our best bet.”

 

“Best bet… For what…?” I’m sick of these mysteries! Just speak your mind!

 

“You two will be on your own for now!” Ralsei beamed as he stood up and ran off. “Good luck, Chara! I know you can do it!”

 

“Wait, get back here!” I stood up and-...

 

And, he’s gone. Great.

 

As Ralsei rejoined the apparent true heroes, Asriel walked back over to me, taking it as a sign the plan was over. 

“So, did you figure anything out?”

 

“...Hey Az,” I said, scratching just under my lip in deep thought. “Looks like everything’s under control. You want to go seal that fountain?”

 

“Well I mean, sure but… We have to find it, first.” Asriel scratched his head. “Is… Everything alright with you?”

 

“Azzy… If we weren’t as important as you thought, how do you think you’d react?” It was a stupid question, but I had to ask. This prophecy sucks.

 

“Well, before we fell down that closet, I didn’t think we’d be any more or less important than your average person.” Asriel shrugged with a cheerful smile. “So I’d just keep living, I suppose.”

 

An answer to be expected from someone so kind. My feelings were rather mixed. On one hand, what I thought to be true was a lie. On the other, I’m not tied down by what a prophecy says. 

 

“Ey, Char…” Asriel waved his hand in front of my face obnoxiously. “Earth to Chara. You’re spacing out again.”

 

I snapped back to attention.

“Huh? Oh. I’m fine. Don’t worry.” I smiled widely.

 

“Chara, your freaky smile just makes it obvious you’re not fine.”

Hey…

“Come on, tell your papa Azzy what’s on your mind.”

 

 “Don’t say that.” I grimaced in disgust. After another second of silence, I put a hand to my head and responded. “Ugh… we’re not in the prophecy.”

 

“What… Do you mean?”

 

“Whatever happens, we weren’t supposed to get involved.” I elaborated. “But I think we’ve still been put here for a reason.”

 

“You gonna fill me in on what that reason is?” Asriel said with a noticeable hint of sass.

 

“Maybe when I get around to figuring it out myself.” I responded with a smirk, before steeling myself. “Let’s split up for now. If you find the fountain, come right back here and wait for my return. I’ll do the same.”

 

We split up, Asriel went off to the left. I, on the other hand, had my eyes on a particular door for a while. A door with a star and big letter ‘S’ on it. It led to a hallway, where at the end there was another door, being guarded by a remote man. 

 

Okay, yeah I got a plan. I headed up to him and spoke.

“Hey mac, break time. I’m here to take over.”

 

The imposing remote man stared down at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you really expects me t’ fall for thats?” 

 

“...” … “Yeah. Is it working?”

 

“...Well good luck, yous. I’m off ta lunch.” The remote man waved and left, and so I took the opportunity to enter the room. 

 

The illustrious S-Rank room. A place only for the best players in… Whatever this game is. It can only be a wonderful, beautiful-

 

…

 

This looks like a dump. 

Okay, whatever. I can’t spend too much time here. There’s a big door I gotta get through. So I do so and it leads to a backstage area, with several controllers and a big screen. None of them seemed to be on, though.

 

There was a manhole cover to the left, and to the right, another area. I headed there and saw another TV-Screen. There was a game console, missing a controller. It seemed to already have a game cartridge inside. 

 

Just simply staring at it… I have never been so put off by a video game before. It was like every cell in my body was screaming that I’m not supposed to be here.

I had to learn more.

 

So I left to pick up a controller, and found one on the ground that I must have missed before. It was an ugly pink and yellow off-brand controller, but it would do just fine. 

The game began. I inserted the controller and… an 8-bit retro style game appeared on the screen. It reminded me of those old school adventure games, but I was playing as this little blue person.

 

In fact, it kind of looked like how Kris appeared when I saw them just a little while ago. 

…

Maybe this game will have something important.

 

So I moved the little guy around until I came across a sword. 

Well, anyone who’s played a video game knows what happens now. I got stronger by slaying the enemies, with each level up I could destroy more of the terrain. Besides the whole ‘playing as a real person that you met’ thing, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, here.

 

Hm…

 

Once I maxed out the level, I could destroy the trees, so I started making a path for myself. I kept going… And going…

 

This didn’t seem to be taking me anywhere-

Ah!

 

A chest. It had…

A key.

The ‘ice key’? What’s that supposed to-

 

“HEY!”

 

I jumped, dropping the controller. I quickly turned around and put on my most innocent smile.

 

Oh, it’s just Ramb.

“Hey, you’re the concession stand guy.”

 

“And you’re not supposed to be back here!” Ramb spat back.

 

“Whatever, can’t I do a little exploring?” I scoffed, “excuse me for being interested in your little game.”

 

“It wasn’t made for you . I had this whole thing set up in mind for KRIS, and I-!” Ramb groaned, “they weren’t even willing to give it a try. So I’m not sure why I bothered.”

 

“...I’ll leave you to your business.” I tried to step away from Ramb. I waved as I started to leave. “Sorry for intruding, sir.”

 

“...Did you at least enjoy the experience?”

 

I stopped for a moment. I thought before responding.

“...Yeah, it was fun.”

Notes:

And we're back! Expect updates to be slow.

Chapter 25: Physically Challenging

Summary:

Chara meets Tenna and plays a game.

As I stepped out of the S-Rank room, I saw Asriel stuck speaking to that giant man with a TV-Head. Come to think of it, that must be Tenna. Asriel was sitting at the far end of one of the couches, as Tenna leaned in too close. 

 

“It’s so exciting for you to join us, Asriel! Where have you been all this time?” The TV man asked with an excited smile.

 

I could tell it was fake. 

 

Asriel smiled nervously, trying to play along.

“Well, aha… You know. I’ve been off to college for a while now.” Asriel said with a chuckle as he leaned backward. “I’m back visiting for a little bit for a job.”

 

“Ha! College?! You know, you can learn anything on TV!” Tenna said with a smile. “You should ditch that crummy school and watch some more TV!”

 

I decided I had enough of that.

“Hi.”

 

“GYAH!” Tenna jumped.

 

“Hi Chara.” Asriel waved, letting out a barely noticeable sigh of relief. “This is Tenna. We uh. Met. While you were busy.”

 

“Yeah. You’re the host, right?” I say with a suspicious glare, taking steps closer to Asriel. I lean closer to him and begin to whisper. “ Hey, aren’t you supposed to be finding the fountain? ”

 

“ Tenna stopped me before I could get anyway .” Asriel whispered back. “ He’s been talking my ear off for TWENTY MINUTES… where have YOU been? ”

 

“ Don’t worry about it SO Tenna, it’s nice to meet you!”

 

“Oh, yes… I think I’ve seen you wandering around. Chatting it up with Kris.” Tenna scratched his chin. “Chara is it? How do you know Kris and Asriel?”

 

“Azz here’s my roommate and best bud. We hang out all the time.” I say with a grin.

 

Asriel looked back and forth with visible confusion.

“Since when do you just admit that?”

 

I shoved Asriel.

 

“So you’re the one keeping Asriel entertained, then! I bet you know your way around a good game!” Tenna grinned.

 

“Oh, I’ve hosted my fair share of games.” I responded, keeping up a smirk as I in secret attempted to read this guy. “You ever hear of Dragons & Dragons?”

 

“Of course! I have great respect for immersing yourself into a world of FANTASY and INTRIGUE!” Tenna said with a smile as he stood straight and pointed at me, “how would YOU like to see the true TV-TIME experience!?”

 

“Woah, Tenna!” Asriel stood up. “It’s great to uh… Catch up, but we’re really busy right now. We need to… Find something.”

 

“Oh, that can wait! You’re in a place of fun! Relax, play a game, enjoy the show~!” Tenna said gleefully. “We already have Kris and their friends participating, and they’re about to do a PHYSICAL CHALLENGE! Doesn’t that sound fun?”

 

“No, we really need to get going.” I interrupted,  “as much as I’d love to watch TV all day. Azz and I aren’t kids anymore.”

 

I stepped over to Asriel, but before I could reach for him, Tenna blocked our way.

“Now listen here, TV isn’t just limited to kids! It’s for everyone, all ages and groups! The whole family can watch TV together! You don’t need to do anything else!”

 

“...Maybe we should just… Try it?” Asriel winced, before quieting his voice. “To get him out of our hair…?”

 

…Ugh.

“Alright, Tenna. What did you have in mind?”

 

“I’M GLAAAAD YOU ASKED!” 

 

In a second, we were on a stage, dressed up in fancy rocker outfits. Asriel was in a leather jacket with spiked shoulders and hair with pink highlights. I wore a sparkly red cape over a black dress. Geugh… Not my style at all. We had instruments, an electric guitar for me and a bass for Asriel… Oh, Angel save me. 

 

We were on the far left side of the stage with a spotlight on us. On the far right side, there was Kris, Ralsei, and that Susie girl. All with instruments of their own. The latter of which seemed the least interested, picking at her teeth with the drumsticks she was carrying. 

 

You. You already know what’s supposed to happen, right? Just give me a sign that this isn’t what I think it is.

 

I felt my arms moving on their own, as I struck a pose with my guitar, as if to say ‘this is what you think it is…’ Kris, on the other side, struck a pose as well.

 

Ralsei, meanwhile, was staring at us, dumbfounded.

“ What are you doing?! ” He yell-whispered.

 

“ This wasn’t my idea! ” I yell-whispered back.

 

“ You don’t have time to fool around! ”

 

“Hey hey!” Tenna jumped onto stage. “For this PHYSICAL CHALLENGE we have surprise SPECIAL GUESTS! ”

 

“Um, Mr. Tenna! Forgive my rudeness, but I thought… we were the stars of today’s show?” 

 

“Not to worry, my fuzzy friend, you’re still our STARS~! Chara and Asriel here had just agreed to join us for the one round! It’s like a special little bonus!”

 

“So we gotta play with some loser adults?” Susie scoffed.

 

“Oh, no! Not play with!” Tenna grinned, as the lighting suddenly became intense. “You’re playing against each other!”

 

What?!

 

“What?!” Asriel jumped.

 

“WHAT?!” Ralsei squeaked.

 

“...” Kris… stared.

 

“Hell yeah!” Susie smiled wickedly, as she got ready to slam her drumset. “Just sit back, my skill will carry us all the way to victory!”

 

“That’s the spirit!” Tenna yelled, “your two sides will take turns playing against each other as we play through the same song! When the light shines on you, it's your turn to play!”

“Just like that wild music channel December always used to watch!” He began to laugh nostalgically. “Remember that, Kris? Asriel? Your mother hated that channel! Oh, the memories, am I right?”

 

That name again.

I looked at Asriel. He almost looked… Uncomfortable. But this was a lead.

“Who’s December?”

 

“You know, December! DESS!” Tenna elaborated, “she used to come by all the time! Doesn’t Asriel talk about her?”

 

“Maybe we should…. Move on…” Asriel suggested, silently pleading.

 

I… Wanted to know more. But I clearly couldn’t keep pushing this. 

“Alright. Let’s kick some punk kids’ asses.” I smirked wickedly.

 

Tenna moved away so the focus would be on us, and we took turns playing as the rules suggested. Ralsei took a middle ground, singing the lyrics from a teleprompter. I tried to pay attention to what he said, but the words must have been too ‘vulgar’ for him, considering he kept changing them on the fly. Impressive, but not very helpful.

…Seriously though, ‘when the mom is kiss goodnight?’ Really, Ralsei?

 

I did glance at the teleprompter whenever I got a moment of rest. There was something there, I’m sure. Follow me into the dark… Lots of mentions of ‘hearts’.

Who sung this song, exactly…?

 

“Wow, AMAZING results, from (almost) everyone!” Tenna jumped back onto stage as soon as the song finished. “Please give a hand to our special guests for joining us, today!”

 

I tried to hide my face, waving slightly as the audience applauded uproariously. With Ralsei and their gang moving back to whatever they were doing with Tenna, Asriel and I headed back to the green room. We sat down on a nearby couch, taking a second to relax.

 

“Anyone ever tell you your TV’s kind of annoying?” I broke the silence, leaning backward against the couch. 

 

“...No, I can confidently say nobody’s ever told me that.” Asriel responded flatly.

 

I smirked, sitting up straight. 

“He’s… Interesting. I could spot that fake smile from a mile away, but it’s obvious he’s trying.” I spoke aloud, mostly to myself, until I looked over to Asriel. “Did you guys really watch TV all that much?”

 

“Ha, all the time!” Asriel smiled brightly, it didn’t take long for it to be replaced with one of sadness. “We had these neighbours, the Holidays. They were real close family friends, the dad, Rudolph, knew my dad, he and his wife Carol would always come by for the holidays. Along with their two kids, Noelle and… And Dess.”

 

“The Holidays coming over for the holidays, huh?” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood, if only slightly. 

 

Asriel smiled briefly, exhaling from his nose. 

“Dess… she disappeared one day. After that, our families just started to drift apart. Less and less people showed up until it was just our family. I’m not sure what happened after we went to college but… maybe he just wants more eyes on him again.”

 

“Well, he is a TV. I guess I can understand that.” I stood up, “well, let’s keep looking for that dark fountain. We can reconvene here, later.”

 

“Alright, sounds good to me. I think I have a good idea where to head next.” Asriel said with a smile as he headed to the big door at the far wall. 

 

I, on the other hand, had another destination in mind. I walked over to Ramb’s stand and leaned hunched forward, resting my arms against it.

“Hey there, how goes it?”

 

“Well, Kris is still avoiding me. And here I thought I knew them so well.” Ramb sighed, “well at least you’re enjoying the fun, eh luv?”

 

“You could say that. I have a certain fascination with these sorts of things.”

 

“Well, there’s more for you to try out, if Kris isn’t going to give it a go.”

Ramb left it there, and I knew where to go, so I headed back to the S-rank room.

 

“Hey mac, you wanna take another break?” I said to the guard blocking the way.

 

“No need for the tricks this time.” He moved out of the way. “Special treatment for the special guests, y’know?”

 

…Well, can’t argue with that flawless logic, I’m not going to look the gift horse in the mouth, so I headed into the S-Rank room, and made my way back to that gaming room.

 

I connected the controller and began to play. Back down to the lowest level, but I still had that key from last time. I remembered well how to continue from here, I just needed to get to a high enough level to open up the blocked paths. Pretty simple.

 

What was interesting was where the ice key took me. A strange sound played as I used it to the door and it took me into a dungeon. Within it, it was more of the same, killing enemies and progressing, until I ran into this white mage character.

 

No matter how many times I hit it, it wouldn’t die, it simply stood there. I remembered dialogue I ran into earlier within the dungeon. ‘Follow the white cloak’ or something like that? I decided to leave it be for now, and as I left, the ‘white cloak’ was right behind me. Every time I slashed, it would fire a beam that froze enemies in place. This opened up a path that was earlier blocked by an invincible blue bird enemy. 

 

The next area was where ‘follow the white cloak’ came in. There were several paths to choose from, if I picked the wrong path, the cloak would not follow me. Neat little mechanic for such an old game. As progress continued, we made it to another door, a large blue door with a red devil horn accessory around its edges. To open it, the ice key was used up. 

And then…

 

“She was used up.”

 

That was all it said as the cloaked figure disappeared. 

 

The hell was that?!

 

…Well, there’s more to do. So I moved forward. The room was completely black. All that was visible was my player character, so I just walked forward. Until…

 

“Well done.” Text appeared on the screen. “You found my secret hiding place.”

“But you aren’t the one that was supposed to find it.”

“Not that it matters.”

“There’s nothing for you here, anyway.”

“...Is there?”

 

…I kept walking. I found a sparkling white star, so I interacted with it.

“YOU GOT THE SHELTER KEY.” The game said.

 

“Oh, you found it.” the text continued.

“How fun. I can’t say I’m not impressed.”

“And very interested… ”

“Go ahead. See where it takes you.”

“Sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

 

“YOU WERE USED UP.”

The screen went static, and I was left once again with a black screen. I almost felt like dropping the controller. 

 

I left the room, and re-entered the green room. Before I could even take a moment to catch my breath, Kris was waiting there, as if they knew I’d be coming from there. They stood there in silence, glaring expectantly. 

 

I waited for them to speak. They didn’t. So I decided I’d have to start the conversation.

“Hey kid, enjoying the show?” I asked with a smile. 

 

Kris didn’t respond. They folded their arms and continued to glare.

 

Why did I feel like this child was staring right into my soul, just now?

“Do you… Have a problem, Kris?” I asked, putting a hand on my hip. “Are you just mad that we totally trounced you in that music competition?”

I spoke casually, as to not let out any hints that I might be up to something.

 

“...Don’t get involved.” Kris finally spoke, as their eyes glanced slightly to the S-Rank door behind me. Their voice was quiet and mumbly. It almost felt weird, hearing them speak at all.

Their eyes drifted down from my face down to my chest. “Seriously.”

They left, maybe leaving to do another show with the others. I was left on my lonesome to think about that.

 

…

 

I need to find Asriel and wrap this up, already. 

Chapter 26: After the Show

Summary:

Chara has a final confrontation.

I was finally able to reunite with Asriel, he was standing at a door. Until now it was guarded by one of the remote men, but it seemed he left for whatever reason.

“I think the fountain’s this way.” Asriel spoke as I stepped next to him. “If we can just get through without running into Tenna, we’ll be home free.”

“Good.” I sighed, “I’ve had just about enough of this place.”

“Where have you been disappearing to, anyway?” 

“Just exploring the S-Rank room.” I answered flatly, walking past Asriel. It’s not a complete lie. I have been going into the S-Rank room. I just… Didn’t want to explain the game to Asriel. Not right now. It gives me the creeps.

Asriel accepted that answer, and followed me in. We ended up in a dark, narrow pathway. In the distance, the sky was illuminated by what looked like snow on giant televisions. We walked through the door to continue, leading to another pathway. This one had three large screens and a game console. The door path was locked by… Parental controls?

I walked over to the console and crouched down, plugging in my odd controller. The game started and I was playing as the mini-Kris.

“Hey, we don’t need to solve any puzzles. Check this out!” Asriel entered the code, ‘213’

The door opened easily.
“It’s my mom’s parental controls. I memorized the code ages ago.” Asriel tapped his head, smirked proudly.

“...” I shrugged, unplugging the controller.
We moved forward. 

“...Hey, Chara?” Asriel spoke as we walked on. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I answered quickly.

“You’ve been acting weird this whole time. We’ve barely even had much of an adventure in this Dark World.” He continued. “We’ve mostly stayed separated. Just tell me, what did you see in that room?”

“Asriel.” I spoke coldly.

I turned around, and smiled widely.
“I have never been better. I have nothing to hide, I simply want to seal this fountain and move onto the next.” I answered to the best of my ability. Asriel always knew me too well. I couldn’t risk wasting time here. “So please, do me a favour and drop it.”

“...Fine.” Asriel relented, clearly not happy about it. 

We reached another door. Blocked by another code. I looked over to Asriel, he sighed and rolled his eyes, but he walked up to the code to open the door.
‘1225’ was the code he entered.

“Twelve twenty-five…” I said aloud as I glanced up at Asriel. “Like…’

“Yeah.” Asriel confirmed quietly. “December 25th.”

Or December Holiday. I didn’t say that part out loud.

The next area was endless snow, with the Dark Fountain in the distance. 
“This is it.” Asriel said. I nodded in response.

We reached a Christmas tree. Was that Tenna in front of them…?

I ran ahead, Asriel ran to catch up.
Ralsei. Along with Kris, that Susie girl. In Tenna’s hand was a giant orb. Toriel was sleeping soundly inside of it.

“Tenna! The hell are you doing?!” I yelled aloud.

“Let my mom go!” Asriel shouted back.

“Ah…” Tenna turned and grinned. “If it isn’t just who I was looking for.”

Before I could even realize what was happening. Tenna swooped everyone up. Except for me… I was left alone with Toriel.

“...”
I crouched down beside her, putting my hand on the orb. “I’ll be right back. I have something I need to do.”
I ran all the way back to the Green Room when I came to a horrifying realization. I don’t actually know where he took them. 

Okay. This is simple. I know what to do here. Easy! 
I closed my eyes, and I thought of Asriel.

…

Asriel was trapped on stage, alongside Kris, Susie, and Ralsei. Tenna was hosting, with a manic grin. 

“Just like old times, eh, Asriel? KRIS? All you need to do, is just sit and watch!” Tenna said with a laugh, “you weren’t here for this, AZZY, but we love to do quizzes here, isn’t that right Kris?!?!?”

Kris said nothing. 

The question appeared on screen. A terrible quiz, really. None of the ‘participants’ answered any of them. They waited for the time limit to fall. 
‘WHAT’S ANOTHER WORD FOR TELEVISION?’
MAN’S BEST FRIEND
“THE GOOD STUFF.”
BETTER THAN EMAIL
NEVER THROWN AWAY

Lightning struck, they were all hurt. The game continued anyway.
“Aha! A healing pond, now everyone can keep playing!” Tenna said with a big smile. 
The supposed game continued, a horrid variation of that music challenge began, with one long note that played a shrill sound on the guitar. No one else could even manage to play.

“What the HECK was THAT?” Tenna yelled, growing more manic. “HAHA, I’m with YOU guys! That was WEIRD!”

It continued on like this. Getting more hopeless. Until they ended up in a fight against one of the remote men. 

“I love TV. That’s all you have to say!” Tenna reminded them, grinning.

“...” Asriel looked down, muttering something to himself. “Chara… Where are you?”
…

Okay, finally. I made my way to the stage. I hid behind a curtain, I saw the situation play out before me and started to come up with a plan.

Okay, step one: Tackle the remote and turn it off.

Step two: Run? I guess?

I began my plan. I ran onto the stage and jumped onto the remote.

“What the?!” Asriel yelled. “How long were you there!?”

“HEY!” Tenna screamed. “You’re RUINING EVERYTHING! What do you think you’re doing?! You don’t even GO here!”

The remote man flailed his arms around in fear, but I didn’t let go. I hit the button and…!

For a moment. Everything went dark. 

Once vision returned, everyone was alright. We were hiding behind a bunch of props, somewhere backstage, maybe? Tenna looked around for us, yelling and pleading for someone to show up. We waited him out and… It finally looked like he left.

We all stepped out.

“Well, looks like you kids are lucky I was around.” I huffed, “you could have gotten seriously hurt.”

“Not really.” Kris mumbled. “I was about to act.”

“Don’t be rude, Kris.” Asriel reprimanded.

Ralsei stepped in between the two groups. 
“Aha, it was very brave of you, Chara! But… What do you suppose we do now?”

“I’m sick of this place. Let’s just pound that TV-Headed loser and get out of here!” Susie sneered, pounding her fist into the palm of her hand.

I tapped my chin, thinking for a moment.
“You three go on ahead. We’ll find another way around.” I advised, “once we’re back to the Green Room, the three of you can go find Tenna to distract him, while we seal up the fountain.” 

As our groups split up, we moved forward to find our way back to the Green Room. It was difficult not to get caught. Tenna was… Not having the best day, to put it lightly. 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN’T FOUND THE LIGHTNERS YET?!?” He yelled. “You’re all… FIRED.”

There was a pause…

“I mean… HIRED! Wait- I mean-!” He paused again. “NO MORE POINTS Until you CAPTURE THEM! You like points right!?” 

From the sounds of it, it looked like the Darkners were not very fond of the idea of fighting us. The two of us hadn’t really had much encounters with any Darkners yet. Maybe Kris and Susie were also befriending the Darkners here? 

How nice of them.

We moved forward, completing puzzles, getting past enemies. Hiding from Tenna.
“You know she’ll be in GRAVE DANGER if she’s awake for this, right?!” Tenna said next time we saw him, as we remained hidden behind a wall. 

“She?” I whispered to Asriel.

“Mom…” He whispered back in realization. 

“You QUIT?!” Tenna continued. “You can’t QUIT! RAMB!!!”

Tenna continued to angrily yell to himself as he ran off. I could hear the desperation rising in his voice… 

 “We need to hurry.” I said.

“Mom’s in danger, of course we do!” Asriel spat back.

He ran ahead, and I ran to catch up. We were getting close. I could feel it. We just had to move a little more, as soon as we got past this diner-

A flashing beam of light appeared from the ceiling. 

God. Dammit.

“YES IT IS I, ROUXLS KAARD! AND MY LOVERSE, SUN GUY AND MOON GIRL!”

“I’m a cloud, actually…” Moon Girl said.

“Are you seriously going to fight us, right now?” Asriel groaned. 

“We’re just hereth for the snackse!” Rouxls answered, “goeth on. I have no quarrel with thee.”

“...Really?” Asriel blinked. “Don’t you want to earn Tenna’s admiration or something?”

“Haha, you see! My two paramours are already TV-Guy’s second in commande” Rouxls explained. “And by transitive property, that also maketh me… This world’s personal duke of puzzles?”

“...Sounds great LETS GO ASRIEL.” I grabbed Asriel by the arm.

“Hey where art thou-”

We were already running off. 

Another beam of light appeared. Rouxls landed, and his ‘paramours’ landed on the ground again.
“...Hi Rouxls. Sun Guy. Moon Girl.” I looked at each person.

“It’s Lanino and Elnina…” Moon Guy grumbled. 

“So it turns out it doesn’t worke.” Rouxls explained. “We had a talk and it doesn’t worke.”

“We don’t really care.” I interrupted him.

“We needst to put our heads togethere.” Rouxls continued anyway. “What art we going to do about that?”

“...”
“...”
“...”

Everyone involved looked at each other for a moment.

I threw a snack bowl at Rouxls and we ran.

“HEY COMETH BACK.” I could hear Rouxls yell from the distance. “Don’t you wanteth to see my cool new Mini Boss fight?!”
“I had this cool new gimmicke where I wouldst use the rules card to-!”

He was already trailing off by the time we were gone.

“I… Kinda feel bad.” Asriel said with a frown.

“It’s Rouxls. Don’t.” I reminded him.

While it was far away to make anything out completely, I believe I could hear the noise of somebody getting dumped back there. 

I’m sure he’ll be fine.

Everyone else left Tenna soon after. We waited as those closest to him quit, including ‘Mike,’ which seemed to hit a lot, and even Ramb. It was almost painful to watch, seeing Tenna fall into deeper pits of despair. 

It didn’t take us long from there to finally return to the Green Room. It felt… Empty. The vibe was somber. Very few Darkners were still around, and most of the ones that were have turned to stone, as if they were in a Dark World where they don’t belong. I didn’t see Ramb behind his desk. Maybe he’s in the back…?

“Chara? Where are you going? We need to seal that fountain.”
Oh right, Asriel.

“Please just… Wait a few minutes. I have unfinished business in there.”

I didn’t look at Asriel. I was too busy staring at the S-Rank door, but I swear I could hear him shake his head in disapproval, as he walked over to a couch to sit down and wait.
“Thanks.” I muttered, stepping into the S-Rank room. 

It was of course as empty as the rest, except for Ramb, who was halfway through petrification. 

“Ah, is that you, luv?” Ramb asked, like the words themselves were painful. “Sorry, I’m not my best right now?”

I could see the hurt on his expression, as the strange light from the next room shined on him.
“Is this… Will you be okay?”

“Don’t worry about me, luv. I didn’t get what I wanted anyway.” Ramb said through a whispery laugh. “This game… It was made for Kris, I had this whole thing ready to go to give them just what they wanted.”

“...What do you think they want?”

“Ha, isn’t it obvious? Freedom.”

I involuntarily flinched. Freedom. How free is anyone, really? I have been chosen for some job I did not ask for, I have someone with me, making decisions for me, as if I have to relent my own freedom of movement to another being. Even people living relatively normal lives. They all have expectations on them, they all have a set of rules they must follow. Who is the one in control? 

Who really is?

Is anyone?

…Are these the questions that Kris asked?

“...You seem to care a lot about Kris.”

“Ha, of course, luv. They treated me just like any other toy. I wanted to make it up to them.” Ramb answered. He looked like he had something else to say for a moment, but instead he just said. “...The game’s waiting for you. I just need your help moving out of the way.”

I hesitated, then nodded and pushed Ramb to the side as I stepped in, and began the game one more time.

As the game began, I was once again playing as a small Kris, followed by little sprites of what looked like Ralsei and that Susie girl. We were in some kind of city, and there were no enemies. The obvious path was blocked by red stanchions.
By the time I found the sword, it took me disturbingly quick to figure out what to do.
Or was that you giving me an answer you already had?
Sometimes it feels like it’s getting harder and harder to tell the two apart.

I pressed the button, and killed the Susie and Ralsei sprites with my new sword, leveling myself up. 

…
This game was for Kris.

Does Ramb know what he was going to put Kris through? 
I can’t imagine he’d do this on purpose. 
…

Well, I was strong enough to move on now, so I did so.

…The area looked just like the town. The ‘shelter key’ unlocked some large red doors, which took me to another dungeon. A dark dungeon with enemies to kill, including something that followed the mini-Kris’ movements, it was a puzzle to position it so two buttons could be pressed at the same time. 

Eventually, I finally got to the final area, where the boss awaited me.
“So you came!”
“Are you enjoying frolicking in a world you don’t belong in?”

My grip tightened around the controller. I didn’t answer.

“I can see it in your eyes, you know.”
“That curiosity.”
“Going along with. Getting the shadow crystals. Why?”
“You have no reason, do you? You just enjoy it.”
“That feeling.”
That control.”

I said nothing.
“Don’t look at me like that! I can see in the dark, you know.”
“If you’re so curious, come get my shadow mantle!”

The fight began. A battle in the game, against some weird… cloak. Thing. I felt it, when the avatar got hit. Like it was connected to me. Or… My soul, perhaps. 

We will have to be in sync here. 

If I died here, would my soul break? Would I die for real?
I didn’t want to know. 

Luckily, I knew video games. I’m what you would call a completionist. I don’t like leaving things unfinished. What’s the point of a puzzle if it’s not made into a picture, what’s the point of a glass if it’s not filled to the brim?
This mantle. This ‘nightmare’ thinks it could get one over on me. 

But we wouldn’t let that happen, would we?

“There it is…” It said, as it was defeated. “You showed me something very interesting. Where will this go, I wonder?”
“You came for the shadow mantle, yes? Go on and get it. If you can reach it.”

The figure floated away, and I was free to move forward in the game. A chest was left just out of reach… 
I could feel my fingers moving slightly, as the mini-kris on the screen moved to the right and… Off the screen, and onto the wall. It walked down on the floor.

I stared at it.
Stared at you.

You stepped closer to me as we stared at each other. For a moment, it was like I was on my own again, until your little sprite left, and I could feel the soul return to me. 

I had a thought, and I could feel my legs walk forward. It was as if I entered the screen myself, and I could reach the treasure chest. As I opened it, I received it, the Shadow Mantle. The item that ghost freak was talking about. As I walked back to where I was, I got back into position and stared at the screen for a moment.

“Chara, what the hell?!”

I nearly jumped, I turned to see Asriel. Oh, right.

“Are you seriously in here playing games? We have work to do, man!”

“Ah, right. Sorry I…” I paused, “I just would’ve hated to leave it unfinished.”

Asriel sighed, “you look kind of rattled, is everything alright?”

“I’m… I’m fine. Now come on, didn’t you say we had work to do?”

Asriel nodded, and the two of us left. As we made our way back to the cold place, I noticed all of the TVs had been shut off. 
An effect caused by these shenanigans with the game? Perhaps something Tenna had done?
It hardly mattered.

As we made it, Ralsei and the others were confronting Tenna. It felt like we missed something, because they were in the middle of some conversation. 

“We shouldn’t make Lightners worry about what happens to us.” Ralsei said, “It would just… Make them unhappy, wouldn’t it?”

I could physically see Tenna shrink. 
I took a look at Kris and Susie. Kris was as unreadable as ever, but Susie. That purple girl. She looked like she wanted to say something, like those words really troubled her. But something was stopping her from intervening.

Before I could think of anything, I noticed Asriel step up, and walk over to Tenna. I decided to stand back and listen, but I internally put away a note that I should really have a talk with Ralsei later.

“Hey, you might be a TV in the ‘light world’ but you're more than just an object, as far as I care.” Asriel said, “you don’t have to waste your whole life caring about what other people say to you or think about you.”
“You know me, Tenna. I’ve been a people-pleaser my whole life.” Asriel laughed humourlessly. “It ate me up, trying to be liked by everyone, trying to be useful to everyone.”
“But then…” He glanced over at me. “I met others, people who saw me more as just some golden child, and I was finally able to be myself.”
“You can have the life you want, Tenna. There’s the perfect person waiting for you.” Asriel grinned. “We’ll help you find ‘em, even.”

Tenna’s mood lightened up as he grew back to his usual size. “Asriel! You’re just the best! I knew I could count on you! This must be what HOPE feels like!”

“Aha, yeah! But… Make sure you give back my mom?”

“Ah, right… of course. I know it’s not what the Knight wants, but…” He looked down for a moment. “That was the prize we agreed on when I fought Kris here. So… Follow me!”

Tenna ran over to the christmas tree, and our large group followed. 
“Audience, for their outstanding kindness and bravery, the lightners have won their GRAND PRIZE!”

Toriel in her ball descended from the tree and landed, being freed from entrapment. She was still asleep.
“How wonderful, the family’s all together again!” Tenna beamed. “Now you can all finally

SLASH

Tenna’s arms were cleaved right off as he fell to the ground. Before I could even process what happened, Ralsei and the others had run off, even Asriel ran ahead to see what had happened. I crouched down to look at Tenna, he… Wasn’t moving. I... I couldn't focus on that right now. 

Toriel was still asleep. I needed to go ahead and see what had just happened, I looked forward and saw a figure. 

Alright, they don’t stand a chance against so many people!

I just need to 

Notes:

Sorry that chapter releases have been so sporadic. I make no promises to fix that.

Chapter 27: Good Morning, Hometown.

Summary:

Chara wakes up after a difficult knight.

“...Chara…”

“Chara, wake up…!”

 

My eyes shot open, I was face first in a pile of snow… How did that happen…?

 

I… Barely processed it. I couldn’t even get a good look at who I was chasing before I was cut down. 

 

Whoever it was, they kept me alive. I looked up at Asriel, he was crouched down next to me, with a look of concern.

 

“Azz… What happened?”

 

“We uh…” Asriel winced. “We met the Knight.”

 

The Knight… Queen said something about that, right?

The one who made the Dark Fountains…

They were here.

And I couldn’t do anything.

 

I felt the weight of my breathing increase. I gripped onto the freezing snow beneath me. What the hell WAS that? Am I really so weak that I couldn’t even notice the enemy before I was on the ground? I couldn’t have that. I CAN’T have that. I need to get stronger. I need to-

“CHARA!”

 

I snapped back to attention.

 

“Are you okay?” Asriel asked. He was in front of me now, staring into my eyes. When did he get in front of me…?

 

“I’m… Fine.” I stood up, passing Asriel. “We need to get going, there might still be some clues.”

 

“Sure, but… We should seal the fountain first.” Asriel reminded me.

…Right. Forgot about that.

 

“...Tch, fine. Let’s just do it quickly.”

 

As we walked to get to the fountain, we passed by several glowing blue spears stuck to the ground.

“What’s this about…?”

 

“...Officer Undyne, the chief of police here.” Asriel answered. “She came to help us but… She got taken.”

 

“...Did you see where?” I prodded for more information, trying to hide my anger through a blunt, flat voice.

 

“No but… The kids ran after them.” Asriel responded, his voice getting quieter.  

 

“They what? ” I flipped my entire body around to look Asriel in the eyes. I stepped closer to him and grabbed him in his stupid robe. “You let the teenagers chase after that FREAK? Are you that much of an idiot?!”

 

For a brief moment, I saw something. True, genuine fear in Asriel’s eyes. I don’t want to know what my face looked like at the moment. But if I looked as angry as I felt, I wouldn’t judge that reaction. 

His fear was quickly replaced with anger of his own as he pushed me away.

 

“Excuse me, I thought you died!” He yelled back. “You’re seriously going to criticize me for checking on my friend?!”

 

“They COULD be dead right now! Your own sibling, Asriel!” I snapped, “Who’s life do you think is more important?!”

 

“Oh do NOT do this right now!”

 

“Just…”

 

I took a deep breath.

“I’m going to seal the fountain. You run after and check on the kids.” I advised, my voice getting distant. “I think we both need some space right now.”

 

Asriel didn’t say anything, but he didn’t protest. He ran off ahead and through the door as I made my way towards the fountain. 

 

“Chara.” I heard another voice.

 

I looked down… Ralsei. He was hurt, on his knees. 

“I’m sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen.” 

 

I crouched down next to him. 

“If it wasn’t supposed to happen, that’s good, right?” I reminded him, speaking softly. I put a hand on his shoulder. “We want what’s not supposed to happen.”

 

“Not if it gets you hurt…” Ralsei answered, on the verge of tears. “If you died because of my own plan then…”

 

“Ralsei.”

“I’m stronger than that.”

“I’m going to shatter the prophecy, no matter who tries to stop me.”

 

Ralsei smiled, but his lip was quivering. 

“Chara… Please. Be careful.”

 

I nodded, and stood up. I was then on my way.

 

I stood before the fountain.

The Roaring Knight. The one making the fountains. The one causing all of this. The one in my way.

 

I wasn’t strong enough. I’m never strong enough.

 

If I want a shot at beating them, I have to get stronger. I have to reach the absolute. So that no one can get hurt anymore.

 

…You’ll help me get there, won’t you, partner?

 

…

 

It was as if your very soul was glowing…

 

The soul shined, and the fountain was sealed. What remained was the living room, lights off, in the middle of the night. Toriel was sound asleep on her chair…

 

I took a step out the door, Asriel was just returning with Susie. Kris was following a few feet behind them.

“Hey, what happened?”

 

“Stupid Knight ran off with Undyne, locked emselves in the bunker.” Susie scoffed. “Damn coward.”

 

I breathed a sigh of relief, before looking over to Asriel. He… Still looked troubled.

“...Hey, Azz I’m, sorry for that back there–”

 

“It’s fine Chara. Let’s just drop it for now.” Asriel sighed. “I’m tired, and I’d like to go to bed.” 

 

He stepped inside…

 

He was right. Sleep sounded pretty good right about now. I followed him inside.

 

I did attempt to sleep, but…

Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was a blurry pitch black figure, slashing me down in an instant. It took me forever to drift to sleep.

 

…

 

By the time I woke back up and got ready, everyone else was already downstairs and getting dressed. They were all in nice fancy clothing, even Susie.

 

Asriel was wearing a white collared dress shirt with a bowtie and tight black dress pants.

“What’s with the monkey suit?”

 

“It’s Saturday.” Asriel sighed, “we have church.”

 

“Oh.” I nodded. “Well, good luck with that.”

I turned around and tried to run.

 

“OH NO YOU DON’T.” Asriel grabbed my arm and pulled me back in. My escape attempt was entirely futile. 

 

“If you’re staying with us, you’re coming with us.” Asriel said with a sinister, angry smile. 

 

“Augh, but I don’t even believe in Angel!” I complained.

 

“Well it’s about more than just the Angel’s existence!” Toriel said cheerily with a soft laugh. “It’s about what it represents!”

“We’d love to have you, you might even learn something!”

 

…Ugh.

I just knew I was going to regret this.

 

We were then dragged off to church.

This too, requires strength.

 

I could hardly pay attention, there was a hymn about the prophecy. The legend of the Delta Rune or whatnot. When that cat lady, ‘catty’, started paraphrasing some part from the legend, I couldn’t stop myself from drifting to sleep. 

Hey, it’s not my fault! I could barely fall asleep last night!

 

I was violently pulled out of my slumber by the rude shovings of my so-called friend.

“Chara, stop dozing!” Asriel reprimanded. “The sermon’s over.”

 

“Ugh…” I rubbed my eyes, standing up and stretching. “Well, there’s probably some clues we should be looking for. Any idea where to start?”

 

“The shelter would be good.” Asriel nodded to himself. “I think I saw something break off when I picked up the kids.”

 

“Better place to start than any.” I agreed.

 

As many of the Hometown residents hung around and talked amongst themselves, the two of us snuck out and made our way southward.  

 

The shelter. 

We stood in front of it, Asriel looked… uncomfortable. Was there some history here?

 

…I didn’t feel right asking. I still felt a little awkward around Azz after last night.

 

He was right though, a square piece of metal had fallen off one of the doors, it was hiding some panel. It was asking for three codes, and there were three symbols. A pine tree, a police badge, and the Delta Rune, the symbol of the Angel belief.

 

“Any ideas what these are for, Azz?”

 

“They must correlate to the codes we need to get in.”

 

“The badge, is that why the Knight took officer Undyne?”

 

Asriel shrugged.

“Can’t think of any other reason.”

 

I thought for a moment, glancing at the door before looking at Asriel.

“You lived here. Do you know anyone that would know these?” I asked, “at all?”

 

“Well, I do know somebody…” Asriel winced. “Dess’s mom’s the mayor. If anyone would know how to get in here, it’d be her.”

 

“Ah. That’s going to be hard.” I sighed, “I can’t imagine she’d just give us an answer if we asked nicely…”

 

“...I’ll… See if I can meet with her.” Asriel said defeatedly, “She knows me. Maybe I can get her to tell me something.”

 

“Oh, I’ll come with you.”

 

Asriel shook his head.

“You’re a stranger here. It’ll be easier on my own.”

 

That made sense. I still felt dejected, though. 

“Let’s split up here, then. Maybe we can reconvene at your house.”

 

“Great! I know just where Carol should be, right now.” Asriel grinned, running off. 

 

I was once again left alone with my thoughts. I’m… Going to have to talk with Asriel later, we both said some things, it was just a spat, but nothing seemed to be so at risk until that moment. Even if things seemed perilous, no one ever got too hurt, or died. 

 

But that Knight… Suddenly this became real. The fantastical world of escapism pulled violently into the cold harsh reality. And now it’s my job to break a prophecy set in stone. 

 

Can I really-

 

“CHARA!”

 

And like that, I am thrust out of my own thoughts to the feeling of my favourite cousin violently turning me around in order to face them. They stared back at me with a wide grin and starry eyes.

“Greetings, Frisk.” I said flatly.

 

“Chara, you found the shelter! So you must be thinking what I’m thinking!” Frisk said excitedly.

 

“Frisk, I almost never have any idea what you are thinking.”

 

Frisk got closer, pulling me in and lowering their voice.

“This town is covered corner to corner in a conspiracy.” They whispered. “No one will say anything about it, but it’s a full-blown mystery ready to bust open!”

 

I blinked. 

 

“Frisk, what the hell are you talking about?”

 

Frisk smirked, stepping away and slamming their hand against the shelter.

“You see this here? This is only the first part of something bigger!” They exclaimed. “Think about it, why does some small town with only a handful of residents need a big underground shelter?” 

 

“Well, for protection, obviously.” I said, straightening my posture. 

 

“From what, though? This town is in the middle of nowhere! It’s one of the safest places I’ve ever seen!” 

 

Frisk… Had a point. The thing is they weren’t wrong at all. About the town being drenched in mystery. A girl disappeared years ago and I haven’t seen so much as a poster. I figured that I probably shouldn’t let them know what I know, though. There’s too many people in danger as it is-

 

“That’s not all, though! Come on!”

 

Oh- And they’re dragging me. That’s great. 

 

I was pulled along until we made it to the town’s flower shop. ‘Flower King.’ We stood to its side, staring at a wall. In front of us was a full blown conspiracy board. Red lines pointing at various pictures, connecting dots. 

It almost felt uncomfortable to see.

“Frisk, what is all this?”

 

“I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went for an early morning jog. I just noticed this in the corner of my eye.” Frisk answered. “I did some digging, and I found some stuff that could be important.”

 

“What uh… What did you find?”

 

“Chara…” Frisk’s voice went quiet. “I know yesterday wasn’t a dream. I know what we did, in that fantasy world.”

 

…

 

When they saw me look away, Frisk knew I wouldn’t respond and continued.

“You asked me something. When we were there.” Frisk said, as they stepped closer. “Does the word ‘December’ mean anything to you?”

 

“Like, the month?” I said with a smile. “No, I can’t say it’s all that special to me.”

 

Frisk took another step. I took a step back.

“What about the name? ”

 

“Frisk, I really don’t think–”

 

“Excuse me, children.” A big fluffy goat man exited the building and looked over to us and smiled. “If you’re interested in the store, don’t be a stranger! You can buy something, but I’d really appreciate it if you stayed away from that wall.”

 

“Oh, uh…” Frisk bowed. “Sorry sir!” 

They looked over to me.

“This isn’t over.” Frisk pulled me away as we continued to walk.

 

All I could do at this moment, was just hope Asriel was having a better time than I was.

 

Notes:

Chapter 4 time.

Chapter 28: C

Summary:

Asriel has a talk with an old family friend.

Notes:

Bit of a shorter one today, from Asriel's perspective!

I, Asriel Dreemurr, have been put on a quest. A quest to get answers, answers about the shelter at the south of town. It’s where the Knight ran off to, whoever that turns out to be. 

The shelter has existed for awhile, but it’s always just been an average storm shelter. You know, a place to stay safe from, like, hurricanes. I think those codes may be new, though. Anyway, to get answers, I had to go to town hall. 

“Carol’s finishing up an important meeting.” The receptionist said.

“Tell her an old family friend is looking to talk.” I requested, “I don’t mind waiting.”

“Of course. I’ll get back to you shortly.” The receptionist waved me off and I looked for a place to sit down.

I sat down next to a big bear monster in a suit. We call him Politics Bear, because, well…

“We hardly even see the mayor, she has complete negative charisma, but nobody runs against her so she just wins. Thaaaaaat’s politics.”

I smiled and nodded awkwardly, before averting my eyes. 

Thirty minutes passed, and I was beginning to get antsy. Eventually, the receptionist called me back to the desk.

“Mayor Carol’s going to be busy a while longer. But she had asked me to tell you to make yourself at home over at her manor.” She said, “She says she will meet you there as soon as she is finished work.”

So I went off to the Holiday’s manor. It’s been YEARS since I’ve last set foot in here. Not since…

Well, Dess.

I entered the house, just to find Noelle sitting on her couch, up close to the purple lizard girl, Susie.

“...”

Noelle looked at me like. Well. 

A deer in the headlights.

“You girls having fun?”

“Asriel?!” Noelle yelled in a high pitch. “I thought- Uh. How’s college…?”

“Could be a lot worse!” I laughed, “your mother invited me over. I’ll find somewhere to stay out of your hair.”

“Oh, don’t worry! We’re just studying for a school project!” Noelle said with an awkward smile.

“Yeah, Kris is here too.” Susie chimed in, looking around for a moment. “...Somewhere.”

Well that’s great, somewhere for Kris could mean literally anywhere. That kid could hide anywhere.

“I’ll leave you to it, then!”

I took a look around, it’s been so long since I’ve visited the Holidays, but the house hadn’t changed a bit. I stopped in front of a particular door.

A dark grey door. It was Dess’s room. I remember, guests aren’t allowed in here.

So why am I feeling such a strong tug? Some part of me wants me to walk in there. I can’t ignore it. Is there something I need in there?

All of my instincts fought each other. I can’t go in there. I must go in there. I’m not allowed. This is a time for drastic measures. It’s disrespectful to her. She’d tell me to go in. 

She’d tell me to go in.

Ugh. Fine.

I looked back. Susie and Noelle were distracted with each other. Talking and laughing. They seemed to be having a good time, good for them. But I had more important things to worry about. 

Attempting to be as quiet as possible, I snuck inside the room. 

It was just like I remembered it, the dark room illuminated by glow-in-the-dark stickers of stars and moons. 

I took a look around the room, checking inside the closet. Her giant pile of shoes were still there, and so was my old sweater, hung alongside her various jackets. So that’s where that went! 

I checked inside her drawers, there was a skaw CD, some weed, and- Hey is that my retainer?!

How much other stuff did she take from me?!

Ugh, whatever. That’s not important. I had something else to do in here.

I just had to figure out what it was.

That same feeling. Whatever pushed me to check the room guided me towards that guitar. Dess’s guitar. She used to play all the time. 

I stepped up close to it, and sat down on the floor, with my legs crossed. Picking it up, I took a closer look. 

Wait.

Something’s in there.

A… piece of paper?

I took a closer look.

Numbers. 

1…2… 2-

CRASH

Suddenly I thudded to the ground, the sound of the guitar strings echoing through the room. I rolled around to see Kris on top of me.

“The hell are you doing, Kris?!”

“SSSSHHHH!!!!” Kris put a finger up their lips and shushed me.

“Kris, if you don’t explain what’s going on, I swear to–”

They got up, stood me up by my arm, and they dragged me into the closet. Just in time to hide from Susie and Noelle as they entered the room. They sat down somewhere and talked about something. That wasn’t important.

What was important, was my little goblin of a sibling was climbing the shelves in this closet, trying to keep that damn guitar from me.

“Kris, if you don’t get down here and talk to me, mom is going to know about EVERYTHING.” I threatened. “I swear to the Angel, Kris!”

They blew a raspberry at me. 

I’m gonna kill them.

I tackled them. Causing many things to fall over, we struggled with each other, pulling the guitar back and forth. 

“Let go you little demon!”

“SSSHHH!” Kris hissed back. 

“Don’t you shush me!” 

The door opened. We both looked up. Susie was staring down at us with an eyebrow raised and a look of utter befuddlement. 

“What the hell are you two losers doing?”

“Nothing.” I said instinctively. 

Susie took the guitar from our hands. 

“Stop making so much noise!”

She left the room, with Noelle following her close behind. 

Kris squeezed past me and stood up, grumbling something to themselves.

“Great, you ruined everything…”

“What exactly did I ruin, oh sibling of mine?”

They left the room without answering. They were never one to talk much, but it’s annoying when something’s clearly bothering them, and they won’t tell me what it is. I’m the older brother, I’m supposed to help with these things, but Kris just never wants to let me in…

I figured Carol was likely showing up soon, so I stood up and stretched, before leaving Dess’ room. 

I had to take a break in the bathroom. It was… A stressful few minutes, to say the least. Just being in Dess’ room again was a lot. I took some deep breaths and splashed my face with water. I stared at my own reflection.

Okay, it’s all good. I got the code, that’s all that matters. Kris got in my way, but I was able to get a look at it. Chara will like that, and we can use that to get closer to helping Undyne. Okay, good.

I was ready to leave and left the washroom, making my way downstairs.

“-TO THE FESTIVAL TOMORROW, JERK?”

I backed back up the stairs for a moment. Oh look, Carol’s here. Susie had just finished cussing her out apparently, she ran off right after, leaving Carol speechless, and clearly angry. 

Carol was holding the guitar, did she take it from Susie? She must have been pissed, seeing some girl with Dess’ property.

Soon after Susie stormed off, Kris left. Carol said something to them, but I couldn’t quite make it out. Carol then walked into the kitchen, presumably to yell at Noelle about something, so I decided to awkwardly wait on the couch. 

“I apologize for the wait, Asriel.” Carol said, taking a seat opposite of me on the couch. “You wanted to speak with me, about what?”

“...I need to be able to get into the shelter.” I said bluntly, skipping the formalities.

“What possible reason could you have to go there?” Carol scoffed, “there’s nothing for you to shelter yourself from.”

“Haven’t you been wondering where Undyne is? She’s been missing since last night, right?” I answered quickly. “Well I know where she is. She’s in the shelter!”

“And how could you possibly know that?” Carol raised an eyebrow.

I opened my mouth, but… I couldn’t exactly respond right away. What was I supposed to say? An ominous flying black knight picked her up and flew her into the shelter, locking her inside? I’d sound like an insane person, I had to think harder about how to word it.

“It was dark… I was hanging outside my mom’s house last night, when I saw it happen.” I answered with a sigh. “I couldn’t make out who it was, but they ran off with her to the south, right past the church. The only option is the shelter.”

“...Asriel, I appreciate your sense of justice, but this is for the professionals, I can’t hand out the shelter codes to you.” Carol responded somberly. “I’ll report your testimony to Napstablook, and make sure they work on the case, alright?”

I shot up to my feet. For some reason I just… Couldn’t accept that.

“You think we can trust Napstablook with this?! Someone else went missing, and we’re supposed to just sit back and let other people handle it!?” I yelled down at her. “Carol, this is our chance! I can’t just let another person go missing, what if this is what happened to–”

Carol stood up and turned her back to me.

“Don’t say her name.”

“I’m… I’m sorry.” I shrank, “I… Got a little heated.”

“It happens to the best of us.” Carol answered coldly. “Now, please leave. I have some words to say to my daughter.”

I wanted to object. To apologize profusely, to… I don’t know, do something. But I really can’t blame her for this. Besides, it wasn’t a total loss. I got some information. I walked out of the room and stood outside for a moment.

Soon after, my dad walked out of the house with a dopey smile holding a tray of food. Apparently I didn’t realize he was there.

“Wow, that was intense!” He laughed. “Azzy, how about you come over to the shop sometime? It’s been such a long while since we spent time together!”

I smiled awkwardly. 

“Uh, yeah dad! I’ll be sure to.”

I felt bad, but I really didn’t have the time to. We had a mystery to crack open.

The code in the guitar. I barely had the time to look at it before Kris tackled me, but I had a good idea on what the full thing is.

1225, it’s the only thing it could be. December 25th. But that does mean we’re only 1/3rd of the way there, instead of the full way like we had planned.

Still, it was important information. So I sent Chara a text, and I asked them to meet up at QC’s Diner. I couldn’t help but worry. I hope they weren’t too mad about that argument last night.

Notes:

This is an Alternate Universe where a different human and monster discover the Dark World before the intended ones could get to it. This work was inspired by; thinking it'd be funny.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Chararune