CHAPTER 1
Blue shoes clacked quietly against the tiles of the judgement hall. A small girl of about thirteen stalked through the corridor, her red eyes flashing. Upon her blue and pink striped sweater was dust. In her hand was a rusty dagger. A heart necklace swung around her neck. The girl wore a stoic, emotionless expression on her face, and her eyes were dull, as if all light had been sucked away.
A skeleton materialized in front of her, and she stopped. Waiting. He spoke, but she could only hear the blood pounding in her ears.
He looked wistfully out the windows along the hall and sighed. He glanced at her, his eye flashing blue.
"Ready?"
Listen and hear a song the birds are singing
Sit down a while, and watch the flowers blooming.
A pleasant breeze blows by, leaving a trail of dust…
How could you have done this?
With his blue magic, he flung her small form against the ceiling. She did not cry out, though there was a large cracking sound from her body. She dropped to the ground, dodging a flurry of bones that she somehow avoided. Her body snapped back and forth away from the bones, careening herself from harm. A large bone-like creature emerged from Sans's magic. It opened its mouth, and light flooded from it. More like this appeared, and Frisk escaped them with ease. Dodging his attacks should of amazed Sans, but he only scoffed. Obviously, Frisk had seen them many times before.
Standing in the corridor
How thought we'd be like this together?
On a gorgeous day like this, I ask
"What is it that you want?"
Why was this girl doing this? What was she to gain from hurting his brother and countless others: The woman behind the door who used to reply to his jokes. Undyne, his brother's best friend. Metaton, the famous robot who burst apart in front of his heartbroken fans.
But on her face...emoticon there was none. Fear there was none. She was almost just a hollow being with no empathy for anything or anyone.
Almost, but not quite.
I believe there was a time.
When we could be pals and things were better.
Eating bad food
Enjoying laughs
Can we go back to that?
A faint memory of a small child with just a stick at hand came to the skeleton's mind. Her smiled was sweet and genuine, and her heart was determined and kind. The no longer existent past of a loving girl who saved monsterkind held onto him...he didn't want to kill her. He didn't want to kill anyone. But the child gave him no choice as she lunged and him with her rusty dagger.
In Frisk's mind, a small girl huddled up in the darkness. Her red eyes glanced from side to side. A small deranged smile played on her lips. In her eyes, however, tears started to form. "Keep going Frisk," her smirk grew larger. "KILL THEM ALL."
Bones flew at Frisk, and she tried to stay still. But thanks to Chara, her body refused to stay put. She dashed out of the way, one of them scraping against her cheek. She did not cry out, and did not even have a reaction at all.
All the screaming and crying took place in her mind. Chara cried as Determination took over her. Both of them were so far away from control.
But if neither of them had it, then who did…?
Who was the one who reset the timeline? Who was the one who willed for peace? Who was the one who willed for death?
Through the turmoil, Chara scrunched her eyebrows in thought. How particular...how this sounded so familiar. Wasn't it Flowey who had stated something that Determination could relate to…?
"I've read every book and I've burnt every book. I've won every game and I've lost every game.
"I've appeased everyone….
I' e."
It was not Chara nor Frisk who had caused the genocide, oh no. It was more than what meets the eye.
The two children were not the ones who left their mother to die in the empty ruins alone, begging for help. They were not who left Sans with a dusty red scarf in the middle of the snow.
But Sans did not know this. In fact, no one did
There was no one left to know...
If you're in there listening, kid.
Please just reset the timeline.
Please let's forget about this.
Sans ground his teeth together as the girl died again and again at his feet, only to come back and show how helpless they both were to their fate.
One of these resets, Sans would die, and all of his attempts would be in vain.
...at least he would get to see his brother soon…
The last Frisk had seen of his brother was when she crushed his head against the ground with her foot. As he groaned in pain and faded away, she only stumbled on.
"Human...I believe in you...even if you don't…"
"He was…" Chara was on the verge of tears for a split second, but then her entire persona changed. "He was forgettable." Her strained voice strengthened into wicked laughter, overpowering Frisk's cries.
*DETERMINATION
Even after what you did he believed it you.
Till the end.
"Dirty brother killer." he slammed the girl's body into one of the pillars, and her skull cracked. She stared straight at him as she died. A lone tear traced her tear.
Sans swallowed hard and inspected her face. He chuckled quietly.
"Welp, that's new."
Looking at your face right now
Something tells me
I can't afford to care anymore
Turn this path around, wipe your dirty hands clean
Give up!
Again, Frisk came back. Her eyes were still red yet so dull. Gaster blasters surrounded her, and she raised her head to face death.
Chara hissed inside of her. "Too slow." she noted. Black liquid started to fall from her eyes. Red strands attached themselves from their shared red soul to Chara' s body. It was wasn't their fault, but Determination...
She died again.
And again.
An n.
The time has come
Nowhere to run..
Please!
Her body fell at his feet. Blood trickled out of her eyes. She looked at him with wide eyes. Sans smirked down at her, though his heart was breaking.
"What? You waiting for a joke or something?"
Chara struggled against her soul's restraints, but DETERMINATION kept strong, trying to corrupt them even more. Chara weakened, black tears spilling down her face. She half laughed and half cried.
"Don't give up...Chara…" her adoptive father's voice echoed in her mind.
"You are the future of monsterkind…"
Frisk reached out to grab the hem of the skeleton's jacket. His eye flared, and sweat dribbled down his forehead. But he stood still, exhausted.
"S-Sans…"
Listen and hear a song the birds are singing
Sit down a while, and watch the flowers blooming.
A pleasant breeze blows by, leaving a trail of dust…
How could you have done this?
Frisk fiddled with her knife but dropped it beside her. Her hand twitched as her body tried to pick it up.
No. No. No…
Chara fought against the corruption and against the darkness inside herself.
Sans kept silent and waited for death to swallow him up and take him away…
"H-help me…" Frisk whimpered. "I...can't…" Her body shuddered violently, and Sans jerked away from her.
"Frisk…?"
Is there still a glimmer of hope?
Will you choose to do the right thing…?
Please, now, bud...
If you're there...
Have a change of heart.
...She grabbed her knife and flung herself at Sans before he could react. He was so tired that he let her pin him to the ground. He gazed at her, his pinpricks lost in the darkness of his eye sockets. "Welp," he chuckled darkly.
Her body lifted the knife over her head. Sans closed his eyes, defeated.
Chara had given up once again.
No…
NO…?!
NO!
"Chara!" Frisk screeched at her. "Please!" She mentally fell to her knees and pulled on Chara's bonds. "You can't let him die! Please, not another…not again..."
But Chara was lost in her own world…
...into a time long ago...
"Hey, Chara!" A young goat-like child wrapped buttercups in her hair. He laughed, delighted. The two rushed into their home, before the mirror.
"Wow Chara!" Asriel giggled. "It looks so pretty on you!"
Chara squinted through her hair. "It does…?" She inched closer to the mirror.
Asriel laughed once more. "Hahaha! You should cut your hair so you can see how nice you look!"
The children heard humming from the kitchen and they spun around. "You should ask momma to help you!" He grabbed her hand and rushed to Toriel.
The kind lady looked at them, amused. "Why, Chara, how pretty you look today!" she smiled genuinely.
"Um…" Chara shifted uneasy, and Asriel gave her an encouraging nod. "Mrs. Toriel...is it...can you cut my hair…?
"Why of course child."
Asriel grinned.
After the lady was done, Asriel ushered the girl back to the mirror. "See, Chara?!" Asriel pointed at her enthusiastically. See how pretty you look?!"
She inched forward and gazed at her reflection. At a moment's pause, she smiled sadly.
…
"It's me...Chara."
Her eyes snapped open to hear Frisk's pleas and broke free.
I'm Chara...
The strands around Chara snapped, and Frisk regained control. The knife slacked in Frisk's hand. She hesitated before stabbing herself in the stomach. She let out a little whine as she twisted the blade, tears dripping down her cheeks. She stumbled off of Sans, whose eyes snapped open in shock. "What-?"
Frisk lost her balance and fell to the floor. Blood was pooling onto the tiles of the judgement hall. Sans was staring down at her, teeth unhinged. Her eyes returned to its brown normal color and managed to give a weak giggle. "Oh Sans…" her smile went rubbery. "I really messed up this time, didn't I?" She closed her eyes from the pain, whimpering softly. "Gosh...I really am...a stupid doodoo butt…" She laughed halfheartedly as her power began to fade.
The skeleton inched forward, a look of disbelief on his face. "Frisk…?" he whispered. He reached out a hand to brush the hair out of her eyes. But by that time they were already far away, soft pink lips curled into a painful smile.
"F-Frisk?!"
Listen and hear a song the birds are singing
Sit down a while, and watch the flowers blooming.
What a nice day...