Three uploads in a row?! What the heck happened to me? I guess I just wanted to show you guys that I was accomplishing stuff during the year. Anyway, this is a new story I started about Undertale. I tried to do something different than any other fics I'd seen, but there are a lot of them, so if I'm copying someone, I swear on the stars that it wasn't on purpose. Also Frisk is a girl in this, and I suppose Chara is to. That should be all you need to know, so let's begin!
Disclaimer: Undertale is the property of Toby Fox, and as the song goes, "That's not my name."
Frisk's POV
Mom took my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "Don't worry Frisk, these people are nice. They're going to help you."
I looked up at her, feeling the hot sting of tears pricking at my eyes. "But Mom, I'm scared." I whimpered. "I don't want to go. Why can't I just stay with you and Dad?"
Mom's eyes started to well up too, and she pulled me into a hug. "I know sweetie. I don't like this any more than you do, but this is getting out of hand. We need to find some way to get her under control. These doctors will be able to help with that."
I couldn't help looking at her leg and the row of stitches that ran down it as she spoke. Mom was right. Chara was really getting dangerous. She'd only missed Mom's femoral artery by a quarter of an inch when she attacked her with that kitchen knife. If I didn't find a way to control her, she was going to get someone killed.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Mom looked at me. "Frisk... I'll get it. You should probably get your bags honey."
I turned and walked into my room. The suitcase full of clothes was propped up against the wall, ready to go, but I wanted to take a last look at the place. Since I had no way of knowing if I would ever come back, I couldn't leave before making sure it was burned into my memory. My wandering eyes landed on a framed picture on the nightstand, and I gasped, hurrying over to scoop it up. I couldn't believe I'd almost forgotten it; it was one of my most prized possessions. The frame itself was nothing special; just a five by seven inch rectangle of black painted wood with a black felt back and a stand that folded out. However, though it was just your average picture frame, the photo inside was one of my happiest memories. It was of Dad, Mom, and I, back in a simpler time when Chara was just grumpy instead of violent, back before I had to start introducing myself with a warning. Dad was giving me a piggyback ride and I was laughing as I covered his hazel eyes with my hands, resting my chin on top of his black spiky hair. He had on a pair of blue jeans and a red polo shirt, and I was wearing my favorite blue and purple striped sweater that was a little too big with black sweatpants. My long brown hair dropped in front of my brown eyes but in between the bangs I could see my right eye shining with joy. Mom was standing off to the side smiling and leaning back against a tree. The sunlight was filtering through the foliage and glinting off of her blonde hair bringing out her green eyes even more than her green cocktail dress did. I couldn't remember who had taken the picture for us; some aunt on my mom's side, I think. I set the photo on top of my red suitcase before I went over to the bathroom to get my toothbrush and toothpaste.
As I shut the cabinet, I looked in the mirror. A scared, shy seven year old girl peered back out at me, with a bandage on her cheek from a cut she'd gotten from a tree branch. She was wearing her favorite blue sweater dress with purple stripes that reached halfway down her thighs and clutching her orange toothbrush in her right hand. As I stared at my reflection, suddenly my head started to throb and the image in front of me warped and twisted. Now I was staring at a seven year old girl with a sadistic smile and cruel eyes, wearing her favorite green long sleeved sweater dress with the peach stripe through the middle, and a bloody kitchen knife was clutched in her right hand. Chara's image laughed as I hunched over the sink, gasping. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and thought to myself, 'No. I'm not Chara, I'm Frisk. I'm in control.'
My headache faded slowly, and when I opened my eyes up again, Chara's reflection was gone. Tears sprang to my eyes as mixture of relief, despair, and fear. I had to get her under control, to make it clear that it was MY body and she wasn't welcome. As I dried my tears on my sleeve, I heard Mom calling me from the living room. I gazed into the mirror again, and knowing that she loved me and wanted me to be safe filled me with determination. I walked back out to the living room and saw Mom sitting on our lime green loveseat, and a tall, black haired man that I didn't know standing in the middle of the room talking to her. I walked up and sat next to Mom moving one of the cushions out of the way.
"Frisk, this is Dr. Toby Fox. He runs the Mt. Ebott Psychiatric Hospital, and he's here to help you." Mom told me. I stared at the man, who smiled and extended a hand. Gingerly I reached out and shook it.
"It's very nice to meet you Frisk." Dr. Fox spoke with a cheerful, comforting twinkle in his eyes. "I understand that you're going to be staying with us for a while?" I nodded mutely, clutching the picture frame tightly.
"Well I'm sure you have some questions, so let's knock a few of them out really quick. Most people get the image of a straightjacket and a padded cell in mind when they hear psychiatric hospital, but we only use those in the most extreme situations. We have lots of fun activities for you to enjoy at Mt. Ebott Psychiatric Hospital. There's a rec room with ping-pong and foosball tables, and we have an exercise room with a swimming pool as well. Weather permitting, we like to go on hikes or have picnics at least once a week. The hospital of course is a walled facility, but the yard encompasses over three square miles, about 80% of which is grass. Part of the yard is set up as a soccer field. Curfew is at 11:00 PM each night, and lights have to be out at 11:30 PM. Visiting hours are from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM during the week and 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM on weekends. I doubt you're interested in knowing the cost of staying, which I've already talked to your mother about, so there's no need to go over it again." He paused, as if he was running through a mental checklist. My mouth fell slightly open as I desperately tried to absorb and understand all of the information being presented. "That should suffice, for now. Are you ready to go then?"
"I think so." I mumbled, knowing full well that I was only packed, not ready to leave. However, I also knew that I had to go anyway and that sticking around longer wouldn't make this departure any easier.
"Excellent!" Dr. Fox clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Well, if you'd like to give me your suitcase, I'll let you say goodbye." I handed the good doctor my luggage and he walked out the front door, towing it behind him.
I turned and threw myself into my crouching mother's waiting arms without a word. As we hugged each other, I realized with a pang that we both were dressed the same as we had been in that picture. Tears dripped from my eyes and soaked into the forest green silk of her dress. "I love you Frisk." She told me, her voice cracking with raw emotion.
"I love you too Mom." I whispered back. She pulled away slowly and held me at arm's length, her hands resting on my shoulders. I found that there were several wet spots on my own sweatshirt as well.
"Remember to call us if you need anything." She said, wiping at her bright, wet eyes. "We're only forty five minutes away, and your Dad and I will visit you every weekend if not more often. The more you cooperate with the doctors, the sooner you'll get out of there all fixed up. Don't forget to brush your teeth every night, and just be safe, alright honey?"
I nodded and hugged her one last time. She held me for a count of five, then disentangled her arms from mine and gently pushed me towards the door. "Go on. Dr. Fox is waiting." She followed me outside and stood in the doorway of our bungalow as I went around to the passenger side of Dr. Fox's silver Honda Civic and got in. As he pulled out of our driveway and started down the street, she waved at us. I waved back at her until we turned a corner and the pale yellow walls and gray roof tiles disappeared from view. I pressed my palm flat against the window for a moment after I lost sight of my home.
"Bye Mom." I whispered, the hot sting of tears pricking at my eyes once more as my hand slowly slid down the window.
For the next ten minutes Dr. Fox and I rode in silence. I was looking out the window the whole time, not necessarily because I didn't want to talk to him. I'd just never seen this scenery before. We'd left the city limits about three minutes prior, and we were now cruising down a forested highway. The air was filled with twirling flashes of yellow, red, and orange as the wind blew leaves from the oaks lining the road. Combined with the sun, which was gradually beginning to set, nature was painting quite the beautiful picture. Finally Dr. Fox spoke, his eyes never leaving the road.
"So Frisk, have you ever been to Mt. Ebott before?"
"No." I admitted, tearing my eyes away from the towering trees to regard the doctor as I answered. "I think Mom and Dad had talked about going camping there a few times before all of this trouble started, but for whatever reason we never did."
"Well your mother didn't seem like the superstitious type, so I doubt it was the legend." He mused. I stared at him, confusion etched across my face.
"What legend?" I asked him curiously. Dr. Fox chuckled as he glanced at me out of the corners of his eyes.
"Legend has it that those who climb the mountain never return." He replied offhandedly. My eyes widened to the size of saucers, and he noticed this, quickly adding, "Of course it's just an old folktale. I myself have scaled Mt. Ebott many a time, and here I am. It's all just harmless rumor and campfire stories." I swallowed and nodded.
"Actually Frisk, since we still have about another twenty minutes until we get to the hospital, we might as well start your evaluation now. Can you tell me a little more about why you are coming to stay with us?" Dr. Fox asked, changing the subject with good intentions. Unfortunately, the prospect of thinking and talking about Chara was far scarier than any old wives tale. However, I knew that he was trying to help me. Not only that, but I would have to talk about her eventually, so I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before speaking.
"Chara is, I guess you'd call her a split personality of mine. I've, um, never actually spoken to her myself, but from what others tell me after I have an episode, she's evil, violent, rude, and cruel. She only likes people when she's hurting them." I told him. He nodded, slowing as we went around a curve in the road.
"You mentioned episodes. What do you mean by that?" He inquired, and I got the feeling that if he hadn't been driving he would have been jotting down notes on a clipboard.
"What happens is that I get a really bad migraine, black out, and she takes full control of my body. I don't remember anything that she's done when I regain possession of my mind. I don't know how long the fits usually last for certain, but I think it's about twenty minutes on average." I answered, looking down and fiddling with my hands.
"And when did these shifts start?" Dr. Fox questioned.
"I'm not actually sure." I replied, sorting through my memories to see if I could recall a point in time when this all began. "I remember that I used to randomly have really bad days for no apparent reason, but I'm not sure if that's related or not."
"I see." Dr. Fox said, turning to smile at me. "Well Frisk, I look forward to helping you conquer and drive out your personal demons."
I hesitantly smiled back at him, but suddenly I let out a small cry of pain and doubled over as my head seared with a burning, familiar pain. "Ah!"
Chara's POV
"Frisk? Are you alright?" Dr. Fox asked concernedly. I laughed coldly in response.
"Frisk is unable to come to the phone at the moment, but I'd be happy to take a message for her." I sneered, sitting up straight in my seat. The fool whipped his head around to stare at me in shock.
"Are you Chara?"
"And the last horse crosses the finishing line." I remarked, rolling my eyes and clapping sarcastically. "You figure that one out yourself Sherlock?"
He blinked, looking like I'd just punched him between the eyes. It was quite an amusing expression to see on such a "distinguished" individual. He finally found his voice again, stammering out, "Why are you here Chara?"
I snorted. "As if you wouldn't step in if you heard people badmouthing you like that."
"Wait, you were listening to that? How could you hear us?" He exclaimed in surprise.
"I thought psychiatrists had to go through like 12 years of school to be qualified. If you're this stupid I have no idea how you made it through high school." I chuckled darkly before explaining. "This is my body too, you know. It's not like when I'm not in control I pack up my bags and go on vacation. I'm always here, lurking, invisible in the corners of Freak's mind." I laughed at my own joke as a hint of anger appeared in the shrink's eyes.
"Frisk is not a freak." He snapped, clenching the steering wheel tightly.
"You should be a comedian." I told him, putting my hands behind my head as I chortled. "I'll bet you're used to having people laugh at you. Of course Frisk is a freak! She's a downright masochist! Just look at earlier! When you were spewing all of your mumbo-jumbo about how fabulous your prison was, she was actually trying to listen to you, even though it was incredibly boring and almost all of it sailed straight over her head. Give me a good reason for that besides wanting to cause yourself pain. I dare you."
"To be polite and respectful." Dr. Fox offered irately, gritting his teeth. I watched with glee as I got farther and farther under his skin.
"No you idiot, I said a GOOD reason. Then again that's probably beyond your mental capability, so I suppose I can accept that. Fine, maybe she was trying to be all polite and whatever. How can you explain Frisk feeling guilty for my actions without bringing in masochism? She has zero control over her body when I take charge, and she can't fight the change. Why the heck does she blame herself for what I decide to do when it's my turn? It's not like she's done anything to deserve me, so there is no reason for her to bear the weight of my choices unless she wants to."
"Why do you do the things that you do Chara?" Dr. Fox asked out of the blue. "Why stab Frisk's mother with a kitchen knife? Why strangle the family cat? Why push Frisk's friend Emma off the top of the jungle gym causing her to break her arm?"
"Oh there's a bunch of reasons, and I'm happy to tell you them." I replied, absentmindedly brushing my bangs out of my face. "But before we go on, I want you to know that you're not fooling me. I can see right through your tricks and techniques. I know that you're changing the subject because you don't have an answer to my question." His eyes betrayed him, and I knew I had struck gold.
"But since you've been such easy prey to-," I pretended like I hadn't meant to say that, but I knew my cruel smile gave me away. All part of the plan; completely calculated to throw Dr. Fox off balance. "I mean, since you've been such a good sport about all this verbal abuse I've been dishing out, I think you deserve a reward. So good ahead Doc; psychoanalyze this." I leaned back and propped my feet up on the dashboard. "Eh, it's no couch, but it'll have to do."
"Please take your feet off of my dash." He said, a vein throbbing in his neck. I ignored him, obviously; what right did he have to boss me around?
"Anyway, you want to know why I do the horrible things I do, yeah?" I confirmed with the doctor. He pressed his lips together in a tightline, probably so his anger wouldn't cause him to say something "unprofessional", or some garbage like that. "I'm going to take that as a yes, so I hope you have your mental notepad all ready to take your stupid notes 'cause I have a multitude of justifications. First of all, I'm doing this for Frisk."
"How are your actions beneficial to Frisk?!" He yelled, glaring at me.
"It's rude to interrupt Toby, and that's another reason why I do what I do, but we'll get there in a minute." I snickered at the whitecoat's rage. "Frisk is too nice for her own good, so I protect her from those who would exploit her."
"That's not something she needs protecting from! You're attacking threats that don't exist!" Dr. Fox argued.
"I'm not finished, sir." I snapped at him, beginning to lose my patience. "As I was saying, I know what happens to nice people in this world. They get eaten alive; violated and scarred; manipulated and toyed with. This is my body too, and I refused to let it be someone else's plaything while I'm off duty."
"Frisk is too smart to let that happen to her." The man countered. "Besides, very few people are actually like that."
"Yeah, ok." I scoffed. "Let's all get on the train of altruism and being kind to your neighbor. You go first. I'm not getting on a train that's bound to derail unless the entire world is on there with me. I'm not stupid."
"But-"
"GOD DANG IT SHUT UP AND LET ME TALK!" I screamed, cutting off Dr. Fox before he could even properly say anything. Part of me was begging to end this game we were playing; to leave this blabbering moron behind and make my escape now! Livid, the psychiatrist opened his mouth again, but then snapped it shut without a word. He punched the steering wheel in frustration, causing a sharp blast from the horn.
"Thank you!" I hissed. "Now, there are a few other driving ideals behind my work apart from preventing Frisk from making herself weak via attachments to others. One of them is that quite simply Doc, I HATE humanity. Most of you lie, steal, blackmail, exploit, murder, and sleep well all the same, and the rest not only refuse to do anything permanent about it because of some trash of morals and the justice system, but you have the nerve to call ME the evil one! All of you are driven by greed and want; every single action you make is to fulfill your selfish desires. Why are you doing this Dr. Fox?"
Taken aback by the sudden question, he hemmed and hawed for a moment before responding, "I'm doing it because Frisk needs my help."
"No you aren't." I stopped him immediately. "You may think that's why you're doing it, you might have yourself convinced, but you're lying to yourself. You're doing this to get a paycheck and to give yourself the satisfaction of knowing you did something good and helped this "poor" girl. Humanity is disgusting, it needs to be punished and purged. I'm simply doing you all a favor, which is another reason I'm act the way I do. For as bad as you humans are-" Abruptly I stopped, frowning as I removed my feet from the dashboard and sat up straight. "Actually, screw this, this position is getting uncomfortable." Dr. Fox rolled his eyes.
"What was I saying?" I questioned, then held up my hand as he opened his mouth. "Don't answer that, it was rhetorical. Oh yeah, for as bad as you humans are, life is just as guilty, if not more so. It presents itself to you as this great gift that you can't refuse, which honestly should immediately be a tipoff that this present is tainted. There is always a choice, except for two times. You can't choose to not be born, and you can't choose to not die. Life is controlling and mean-spirited. It forces itself upon you, makes it seem like it's something you want, reveals it's true monstrous, sick, and unforgiving nature, and finally tears itself away from you whether you want it to or not. Life is a whirlwind of pain, confusion, sadness, and hatred, but you poor insane humans think you see happiness and love through the chaos. It's like a drug addiction: you know it's hurting you, but you can't stop yourself from chasing it. You people are deluded into believing the great joke, thinking that your existence has meaning." I paused in my spiel to look sadly at the doctor in a rare moment of compassion. "I'm helping you see the truth, you just don't understand that your vision is hindered."
Dr. Fox was silent for a good thirty seconds after that. "I see. Are there any other reasons?"
"Just one." I replied as my psychotic grin crawled back onto my face. "The overarching reason that I do what I do is that I'm a sadist. I LOVE hurting people, love to see them in pain. Emotional, physical, psychological- as long as they're being tortured and tormented, I'm on board. Seeing people writhe, hearing them cry out, watching the agony etching itself across their faces is just so entertaining."
"That doesn't coincide with your previously stated goals." Dr. Fox pointed out. "Why would you try to save people from the lies of life if you want to see them in pain?"
"It does make sense actually." I defended. "If life or other people are hurting you then I'm not the one causing the pain, and I don't like that." I let out a malicious laugh as a sudden thought struck me. "A sadist and a masochist inhabiting the same body; how perfect. In a few years when Frisk sees and experiences some of the heartbreak and madness that the world offers, I'm sure our relationship will take quite the healthy turn." I began rubbing the underside of my right wrist with my left thumb. "I always did have an affinity for knives."
"You're too young to know about things like that." He spoke quietly, obviously disturbed by what I was implying.
"The Internet is a dark place full of horrors, my friend." I shot back. "I take over much more often than Frisk realizes. I just don't shout it from the rooftops. I know how to act like Frisk and fool everyone into thinking it's her and not me. On those occasions, I just gather information and supplies for my next attack, which is completely secret because Frisk doesn't retain any memories from when I take over. That's not to say she couldn't; just that she has self-imposed mental blocks. Basically if she'd stop closing her eyes, she'd see it all." I leaned back in my seat. "So Doc, how did I rate in your case files? I imagine you've heard some pretty wild stories over the years."
"You're certainly one of the more unique cases I've had." He commented. "But you want to know what I think?"
"Absolutely not." I replied. "However, the dumb rules of courtesy dictate that I say yes, so what do you think Doc? Please enlighten me, I'm just dying to know." He seemed surprised at the sarcastic venom lacing my voice, which at this point was just pathetic. I'd been in control for what, seven minutes now?
"I think that this whole schtick about wanting to set humanity free is just another excuse for you to hurt people. I think you're trying to justify your actions to make them seem more acceptable to me, when the fact is that you're just a monster." He accused me. I laughed.
"Maybe. Too bad you'll never know."
"What do you mean?" He inquired, not bothering to take his eyes off the road.
"I mean," I stated as I reached over and yanked on the steering wheel, forcing the sedan off of the road, "that our time together is up."
To his credit, the psychiatrist didn't panic like I had expected him to. Instead he slammed on the brakes but was still unable to prevent the car from crashing headlong into a tree. The airbag smashed into his face breaking his nose, and Dr. Fox slumped forward, knocked out cold. Calmly, I undid my seatbelt, unlocked the passenger door, opened it, and slipped out completely unscathed. I took a step forward and heard a sharp CRACK beneath my feet. I looked down and saw that the culprit was Frisk's picture frame, which I had just stepped on. It must've fallen off of my lap when I slid out of the vehicle. I reached down and removed the photo from the shards of glass. I stared at the trio, anger burning in my stomach.
"Mom and Dad tried to get rid of me. They sent me away." I muttered to myself as I folded up the picture and stuffed it in my pocket. "I'll have to return the favor and kill them." I threw the wooden rectangle back into the car, gaining a satisfied smirk when it hit Dr. Fox in the head with a thock. Briefly I considered using one of the broken glass pieces to slit his throat, but it was going to be dark soon and I wanted to find shelter before then.
Picking up the blue drawstring bag with my change of clothes in it, I started walking uphill through the trees towards the sunset, which was about halfway done at this point. As I trekked on, that stupid legend Dr. Fox had told Frisk about came to my mind. "Those who climb Mt. Ebott never return." I scoffed. "What a load of trash!" Then as I was laughing, the fading light illuminated a cave in the distance. A perfect place to spend the night, then figure out what I was going to do next. Unfortunately, my luck was not as good as it appeared.
As I entered the cave, my foot snagged on some type of root or vine, causing me to trip. This led me to another, more alarming discovery: just inside the cave's mouth was a cliff that I was now tumbling over. Mid-free fall I saw a floor of gray rock fast approaching.
"OH SHI-"
WHAM!
Well that escalated quickly. I don't really have much to say here, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Leave a review if you have any critisisms or suggestions, and drop a favorite/follow if you want to read more of this story when it's posted. Oh and before you go, do you guys prefer longer chapters or shorter ones? Not just for this story; for all of them. Please let me know. I'd like to make my stories as enjoyable as possible for you readers. Thanks and come again!