Chapter Text
The air was thick, almost suffocating. As far as one could visualize with their two eyes: darkness, almost tar-like, and completely unnatural. The girl however, stood steadfast. Up until this very moment, the goal had been clear: do whatever it takes necessary to obtain her goal, regardless of consequences, regardless of morals or values, all for-
Her.
Frisk felt for the first time what may be fear-or regret- trickling down her spine. The moment she had desperately fought for was upon her, so near yet seemingly just as far from her grasp as ever. A small shiver trailed all the way up the small frame of her figure, and her breath seemed to run cold.
I've finally reached it. She thought to herself. I did everything I could, committed atrocities I'll never forget, eliminated anything in my way with no fear or doubt… yet. She gazed down at her feet, flashes of her friends raced through her mind like a ricocheting bullet. I can't seem to take the next step forward. Steeling herself, she mentally imagined walking forward, and found the strength to do so physically. Her breathing turning ragged, as the air proved as difficult to breathe as it felt, and her steps grew cautious. All she had to do now, was speak a simple name:
Her name.
She felt the familiar churning feeling in her stomach she had grown accustomed to on all her journeys. The emotion, no, the concept itself that kept her going, pushed her to do anything; the power itself to stand strong against all odds:
Determination.
"I know you're there." She said plainly and with a short breath.
But nobody came.
"I know everything about you. Your past, your plans," she hesitated momentarily. "Losing your soul."
All she had to do was simply say the name of the unidentified person she was referring to, yet she found herself stalling for reasons unknown even to her. Perhaps a justification was subconsciously needed, or maybe she did not want her journey to come to an overbearing halt, and be all for naught. What was undoubtedly true, however, was her only task she had to do was say one simple name:
Her name.
"Chara."
At first, it seemed like her statement was met with the same silence currently surrounding her, until only a moment later, she heard the faint noise of what seemed to be wind picking up speed, like a storm was rolling in. In the darkness so deep that it seemed to absorb everything around it, the sound picked up and a faint glow appeared before the girl. The once quiet, eerily empty space now deafening noisy and began to feel alive itself. Frisk planted her feet and began to feel the churning in her stomach grow stronger, almost like it was begging for her to make a move, to prepare for anything and everything that could possibly happen. In all of her previous journeys, this was a total first for Frisk, and something else was beginning to take the place of her previous anxiety and fear: excitement.
The howling increased to an unbearable level as the darkness seemed to finally finish absorbing everything in its path like a rouge black hole, and the faint glow turned a deep- almost blood like-crimson. The room became silent once more and the dark crimson aura shined brightly, too brightly, before dissipating completely.
Replacing the aura itself, was a girl, looking no older and unsettlingly similar to Frisk, yet a different frame. Where Frisk was small in stature, and petite in size, the girl before her was taller- almost a whole head so- and supported a more solid, slightly muscular frame. Her dark brown hair was cut neat and straight, hanging shoulder length upon her contrasted with Frisk's fairly messy chestnut bob cut. The girl's face was sharp, yet her feminine features seemed to shine through her almost overly rosy-red cheeks and small nose. Her eyes seemed to glow faintly, a strikingly bright red-many shades brighter than the aura previously in her place- that pierced through Frisk, keeping her planted, almost paralyzed.
Time seemed to halt as the two stared at one another for what seemed a new eternity. Though, to Frisk, it felt more like a sizing up, rather than outright curiosity, that the girl in front of her held her gaze for so long, as if she was preparing to attack her at a moment's notice.
"Know me, do you?" The girl finally spoke, her voice seeped out, like blood dripping off a dagger. "A few dusty tales here and there, a couple lost recordings and messages, and suddenly you claim yourself a specialist?"
Before Frisk could even react or process, she felt a sharp, hot pain across her face, stinging her cheek as the girl slapped her, causing her to recoil back and take a step away from her, rubbing her cheek reflexively.
"Complete mockery. You know nothing of me, my past, my goals-" She sneered, "my sacrifices. You are but a pawn in a larger game, yet you see yourself the King." The look of disgust in the girl's eyes was replaced with what seemed like bloodlust, and a wide-almost too much so- grin spread across her face. "Whom ever gave you the idea that YOU'RE in control?"
The girl began to take a step forward towards Frisk, the grin across her face never wavering. Frisk found herself unable to move, her trembling knees betraying her usual gusto and ever reluctant determination to press forward. Her stomach was churning as much as ever and her heart was pounding. A cacophony of emotions swirled in her chest. She did it. Chara- or at least she believed this was Chara- was standing directly in front of her. She was able to reach her, even if the circumstances were not entirely in her favor.
As Chara closed the gap on Frisk, she couldn't help but feel more excited than scared, and took a deep breath before hopping backwards.
"Wait!" Frisk finally spoke, much louder than she anticipated, causing Chara to stop momentarily. "Maybe you're right, I may not actually know you know you, but I am interested in you. I want to help you!"
Chara laughed, her voice ringing out in the void. "Help me? With what exactly? You've eliminated the entirety of the underground itself, and all for what? For some self-righteous goal you set for yourself? To achieve an ending that justify the means?" She whispered close, seeming to manifest out of thin air, "I've seen your little adventures. I've been there the whole time. Every battle, every friendship, every betrayal- all for your own demented gains."
Frisk winced and her brow furrowed slightly, "Wait hold on, what do you mean my gains?"
The grin spread wider across Chara's face, seeming to creep ear to ear as her face appeared itself to melt. "Do not play coy with me, girl. I must say, however, I admire your dedication. Your small frame betrays your large ambitions and your unwavering strength. The way you relentlessly pursue your goals-throwing caution to the wind- is not unlike myself."
Frisk shuddered having Chara's unnaturally frigid breath tickle against her ear, seemingly crawling its way down to the nape of her neck. Putting some distance between the two of them once more, she looked the girl opposite of her directly in her piercing red gaze.
"I am selfish." Frisk started, her words no longer caught in her throat, instead flowing from her core. "I don't know if the ends will justify all I've done. Maybe they never will, and maybe this was all a mistake meant to satisfy my own curiosity." She smiled, a toothy, innocent-like smile that caught Chara so off guard, her face seemed to snap back to normal. "What I do know, is that everything I did lead me to this moment. To you, Chara."
Chara's eyes sharpened and her grin turned to a scowl. "This is the moment you so desperately craved? An empty world?" She scoffed. "Maybe you aren't like me at all. My goals were never so…"
"Personal?" Frisk chimed.
"Pathetically small minded." Chara retorted, with a small huff. "So. You have your audience with me. Whatever could be in that little head of yours now?"
"I want to help you, like I said. To give you another chance. What happened to you, to Asriel, to the Underground, we can change it, all of it." It was not unnoticed to Frisk that Chara winced faintly at the mention of the small goat-child, Asriel.
"Do not speak of his name." Her words sliced through the air, so sharp Frisk felt the need to quickly rub her neck. "What happened is in the past. It cannot be changed nor reconciled. He is dead-" she paused. "and I am soulless, bound to this underground forever. If you knew me as much as you proclaim, you would know this."
Chara stepped closer to Frisk, though this time with seemingly no mal-intent. "Your plan has failed, and you have failed." She chuckled to herself, startling Frisk more than anything at the moment, "Perhaps we truly are alike."
"Maybe we can't change exactly what happened," Frisk stepped closer, as if to meet Chara half-way, "But maybe we can make a new future, one where there is hope. A good ending for everyone, even you." She reached out her hand, to be swiped away almost instantly by Chara.
"Your optimism will be met with nothing but disappointment. Did you not understand me, or are you purposefully daft?" She poked her head dramatically, as if to emphasize her point. "What's done is done, not even immense power of your oddly deterministic nature will save everyone."
Frisk eyes darted around before meeting Chara's once more. She grinned, "I know you've been with me this entire time, Chara. I've felt your presence and I've heard your voice. I knew it was you. I'm not sure how you're attached to me, but its like my entire body knew that you were a part of me. That's how I know I can do this right. This world would have never given me or you this chance if it didn't mean something."
Chara grinned and stepped forward again. "Egotistical as well as selfish, aren't we? It wasn't you that attached me." She reached out and pointed directly at Frisk's chest. "It was your soul."
Frisk stared in slight confusion as her soul seemed to glow from her very inner being and make its presence in reality alongside the two. A cartoonish shaped, deep red heart.
"My soul?"
"As you are aware, a human soul is many times stronger than a monster's. However, your soul is seemingly many times stronger than any human as well. Your thoughts, your goals, your determination is the very culmination of your being-as well as your power."
Chara's eyes never parted from Frisk's soul, staring intently-too hungrily. Frisk covered her chest, receiving an eye roll from Chara.
"I was revived from my eternal rest as a soulless entity, not quite dead, not quite alive, yet conscious all the same." She grabbed Frisk's shoulders lightly, whispering in her ear once more, causing a cold shiver, and a non-freshly slapped blush forming on her.
"At first, I observed you, curious as to the new life I had been given. Yet it was all too clear to me that I was simply a passenger in your mind, somehow attached to the feelings in your core."
"So you were my passenger?" Frisk retorted. "I hope you at least enjoyed your stay!" She said trying to lighten the mood.
"Enjoyed?" Chara sighed heavily and pushed herself away from Frisk, "I merely endured through your strange power to simply and instantaneously reset yourself to achieve whatever outcome you desired. A god-like power that mocks fate." She looked towards the ground. "I resented that. I still do. Why was I never given such a power? What made you special? Was I not set in my goals? Was I not determined?" Chara's fists curled into tight balls as her scowl deepened.
"I think you're special. " Frisk attempted to input.
Chara raised her hand in a "shush im speaking" kind of way, and was already annoyed of Frisk's rude interjections, "And then it all hit me at once: I wasn't special. I waivered in my plan by feeling concern for Asriel and we could not successfully complete our mission. We couldn't free monster kind. That resentment turned to anger, and finally, into hatred." Chara grinned slightly and met Frisk in the eyes once more. "I began to whisper to you, like a voice in your head, trying to influence you. If I couldn't have my happy ending, then why could you? But it didn't work, even now, after your slaughter of the monster race, I know you can just start again if you choose. Yet you chose to be here, absorb the collective power of the souls of monster kind, just to summon me in a form you can physically talk to." She paused for just a moment, and clapped her hands curtly. "Well congratulations, I am here. Nice to meet you, I am Chara. I hope you feel satisfied with this outcome." She gave a bow, in an almost sarcastic and annoyed kind of way.
Frisk took a moment. Everything that Chara had said had made her head a mess of thoughts and emotions. Her outlook on her entire journey and plans felt flipped upside down. Had this been what she truly wanted? Was this merely her soul doing the job for her? Was she just a pawn like Chara had suggested? She shook her head lightly, brushing doubt from her mind. No. Her soul was only powerful because she herself had willed it that way. Her determination is what powered her soul, not the other way around. She found herself with yet another goofy grin on her face, much to Chara's displeasure.
"Nice to meet you, Chara. I am Frisk." She sweetly stated, giving a small, untrained curtsy. "I am going to help you and save the rest of the underground as well. Despite what you assume about me, this is just a step in my overall hopes and dreams." She reached out her hand towards the girl just an arms-length away, "Lemme show you how large my real ambitions are. Let's do this together. I'll make your wish come true and we'll truly become the fate of human and monster kind." Frisk's smile never wavered, and her hand never trembled.
Chara stood straight, bewildered by the girl in front of her. After everything she said, somehow it seemed it went in one ear and out the other. Was this a trick of some kind? What could she possibly do now? How would they even fathomably accomplish her goals together? Morbid curiosity took the better judgement of her, "And what if I disagree to help you? What if I end your plans here and now?"
Frisk did not waver. "Then I will keep trying until you do. It's like, kinda my thing."
Chara's face flushed in slight anger and embarrassment. "Do not toy with me."
Frisk did not waver. "Toys are for playing silly, this isn't a game. Give me a chance. Let's do this again, once more. I'll show you a new future, one for all monsters."
Chara eyed the girl up and down. She stood strong, not a hint of regret or doubt. It was incredibly frustrating to see. How could she stand like this, so determined and calm after all she's been through? How can she say with such certainty she will not fail? The resentment began to build again in Chara's empty chest.
"A deal with you then," Chara spat out, the poison in her tone as dark and visible as tar. "Give me your soul and I'll go back with you." She reached out her arm as well, putting only inches of distance between the two. She grinned knowing her "deal" was impossible to complete. This girl in front of her might be extremely naive- if not downright mentally challenged- but she would never give up her power over this world so easily.
Frisk, however, did not waver. "Half," she said plainly.
Chara's grin was replaced by outright confusion. "Excuse me?" Her hand dropped to her sides.
"Half. We will share it. You'll have a soul again, and I won't be an empty ol' shell like you."
Chara's face flushed again, her bravado crumbling into pure bewilderment. "What trickery is this? How would you even give me half a soul? Are you dense, or just stupid?"
"Dunno. I'll figure it out though. Are you planning on going back on your word?" Frisk looked directly into Chara's piercing red eyes, now betraying a hint of doubt.
Frisk's eyes, a deep and dark brown seemed to burn a hole in Chara's mind. Was this her determination in full force? She had never been on the receiving end of it, and admittedly, felt small- overwhelmed. Was this what she exerted on others all the time? She thought for a moment, staring at the girl in front of her. Maybe, just maybe she was the key. Maybe her sacrifice would not be in vain. The ending she always truly deserved may be unlocked using this girl.
Chara grinned widely, her eyes seeming to twinkle brightly with intention. She grasped her hand firmly.
"Consider it a deal."
With that, a light so bright the world seemed to fade into complete white nothingness, began to surround the two girls. Chara was blinded and completely bewildered by the moment, yet she swore she saw a faint smile purse across Frisk's lips before her vision completely vanished.