Judgment hall
Golden light streamed through the stained glass windows. Frisk's footfalls echoed down the long hallway. Lines of tall stone pillars stood on each side.
There was a knife in her hand.
Dust on her boots.
She'd walked this hallway many times before. Each time, to her death.
Why am I doing this, she asked herself sadly, I want to stop! I want all of this to go away. I can't face what's next. Except that there's no way to go back, only forwards.
Frisk stalked down the judgment hall, counting the pillars as she went – there was the sixth, the seventh, and Sans is always behind the eighth.
Sans was wearing a red scarf that once belonged to his brother. The sight made her heart twist.
I chose this, she reminded herself, and I had to see what happened. After befriending all the monster people of the underground, I RESET the timeline. I chose to walk the Genocide path.
Frisk stepped forwards. One step, then another.
"heya. you've been busy, huh?" said Sans. His antagonist kept advancing, so he continued, "... so, i've got a question for ya. do you think even the worst person can change...? that everyone can be a good person, if they just try?"
Frisk stopped, but said nothing. Her shadow stretched out far, far behind her.
Sans sighed. "heh heh heh heh... all right. well, here's a better question. do you wanna have a bad time? cause if you take another step forward... you are REALLY not going to like what happens next."
Frisk took a single decisive step forward. She seemed entirely unimpressed by Sans' threats. He studied her for a few seconds. There was a weariness in her eyes.
"you don't even bat an eye.. you've done this before, right? let's get to the point."
Sans lifted his hand slowly. White canine skull shapes loomed out of the darkness around Frisk. They yawned and howled, unleashing beams of burning blue energy. Bone spears flew soundlessly towards her, but with deadly intent.
Frisk deftly dodged them all. The first time she faced Sans, she'd been killed within moments. She arrived back at her save point, filled with determination to learn to survive a little longer. They'd repeated this encounter so many times that she could predict every attack in his repertoire. Even the order of his attacks was predictable.
Sans fired several of his most brutal attacks in quick succession, but did not manage to land a single hit. Frisk gazed at him defiantly. Sweat drops broke out on his forehead. He was filled with despair. That child was still advancing on him, and there was nothing he could do to hold it back. If he failed, that terrible human would destroy everyone it met, until there was nothing left.
The human jabbed at him with its knife, and he only just evaded it.
A shard of bone grazed Frisk's back. It burned.
"ugh... that being said... you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh?" said Sans, and then he had to jump sideways to dodge another stab of the knife.
"...listen. i know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there. i can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you."
Frisk stopped. She stared at him with wide eyes. For a few moments, the judgment hallway was silent.
"someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? c'mon, buddy.. do you remember me? please, if you're listening..."
That child was doing something strange. It started hiding its face. Then it started trembling.
"let's forget all of this, ok? just lay down your weapon and... well, my job will be a lot easier."
The knife slipped from Frisk's hand and clattered to the floor. She remembered her time another Sans and Papyrus, laughing and joking, playing games and making puzzles. The feeling of being loved and cared for. Suddenly, she was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Sans, help me.. Save me!" she cried, "I'm so sorry.."
"... you're sparing me? finally. buddy. pal", whispered Sans, holding out his arms. .
"i know how hard it must be... to make that choice"
The child ran up to him-
"...c'mere, pal."
Frisk threw her arms around Sans and wept into his bony chest. Her whole body was burning with her sins, weighing her down, draining her strength. Sobbing so hard she was nearly choking. A gentle hand rubbed her back slowly. She clung to Sans' jacket with her little hands, letting his sweet forgiveness wash over her.
Everything would be OK-
Terrible pain exploded through her small body. She struggled to comprehend it. Looking down, she saw the ends of several bone spears protruding from her thin chest. She blacked out.
Frisk awoke back at her save point. All hope of salvation through mercy was gone, but her determination burned more brightly than ever. Kill or be killed – there were no other options. She advanced down the hallway once again.
She could see the fear in Sans' eyes. He laughed nervously to cover it. " woah, you look REALLY pissed off... heheheh... did i getcha? well, if you came back anyway... i guess that means we never really WERE friends-?" He had to stop to dodge the first thrust of the knife. "heh. don't tell that to the other sans-es, okay?"
The human's expression was dead. No emotion. No empathy. It sidestepped his attacks with seemingly no effort.
"sounds strange, but before all this i was secretly hoping we could be friends. maybe you were doing this cause you were unhappy and when you got what you wanted, you would stop all this.."
I can't keep this up, he realized. Nothing I say or do has any effect. It's just a killing machine. Somehow, talking to it made him feel more determined to keep fighting back in the face of its inexorable advance.
"yeah, you're the type of person who won't EVER be happy. you'll keep consuming timelines over and over, until... well. hey. take it from me, kid. someday... you gotta learn when to QUIT. and that day's TODAY. cause... y'see... all this fighting is really tiring me out. and if you keep pushing me..."
Sans could feel his attacks becoming more desperate, more wild, less controlled. Even when he tried to improvise in the hope of catching the human off guard, it seemed able to read his movements. There was nothing it hadn't seen before. Each time it fought him, it grew stronger.
"i'll be forced to use my special attack. yeah, my special attack. sound familiar?"
Nothing altered the human's stony expression. It hardly seemed to breathe at all, and it certainly didn't look tired.
"well, get ready. cause after the next move, i'm going to use it. so, if you don't want to see it, now would be a good time to die."
With a face that looked almost bored, the child took a swipe at Sans and ripped a gash in his blue jacket. Far too close. He knew he couldn't win.
"well, here goes nothing... are you ready? survive THIS and i'll show you my special attack!"
He threw everything he had into that one attack: all his ammunition, all of his strength. He set off all of his skull blasters at the same time, to cover every bit of airspace. Somehow, he still managed to miss the brat.
"huff... puff... all right. that's it. it's time for my special attack. are you ready? here goes nothing. yep. that's right. it's literally nothing. and it's not going to be anything, either."
Sans stared the human down. It stood motionless as a dummy.
heh heh heh... ya get it? i know i can't beat you. one of your turns... you're just gonna kill me. so, uh. i've decided... it's not gonna BE your turn. ever.. so, uh, in my personal opinion... the best thing you can do here? is to, uh, completely give up. and... do literally anything else."
They stared at each other for hours. The human sat on the floor, tapping its knife, playing with its weapon as if it were a toy.
All of my friends are dead, Sans knew, this world is empty. There's nothing left at all. Just me and this heartless thing.
Papyrus offered it compassion and mercy; it had killed him without hesitation. Even Undyne the Undying, the heroine, was slain – all of the evacuated monsters gathered to cheer her on, watching through the largest screen in Alphys' laboratory. Even she couldn't withstand the human's ruthless attacks. Sans remembered Undyne's body melting from the lethal concentration of Determination that had accumulated within her, and Alphys' grief as she watched her hero die.
Why am I even doing this?
Even if I win and the human gives up, I'll live a cursed existence in an empty world.
Papyrus is dead. How can I carry on?
This creature: I can't kill it. Not properly. All I can do is stand in the way of what it wants.
It's said that a soul is made of compassion, dreams, and hope. But this human has none of these things, yet it still keeps coming, stronger and fiercer.
Sans felt something approach him rapidly, and threw himself back just in time. He realized he'd fallen asleep. He was wide awake in an instant, somehow dodging the child's knife by instinct.
"heh did you really think you'd-"
In a split second, he heard a crunchy thud and the breath was knocked out of him. Looking down in disbelief, he saw his ribcage was split open. That human had finally landed the killing blow. His blood was seeping out, staining his hands and his clothes.
"welp. i'm going to grillby's" he croaked, hoping that was where he'd end up. He slunk away and knew he'd turn to dust soon. His sight was starting to fade. The colors were leaching out of the world, and the light turned from gold to silver.
There was something white, blurry, in the middle of his field of vision. He concentrated hard on what he would most like to see, if there was a life after this one. There was a flash of red. Is that my hand? My blood? It was waving like a flag in the wind. A scarf? And on top of it, a goofy grin. It could only be-
"papyrus.." Sans smiled. "do you want anything?" he whispered , holding his arms out to his brother.
Frisk watched Sans crawl away to die. She didn't bother with him, but proceeded through Asgore's castle to the throne room. She knew that was where she would find the barrier to the Surface.
Asgore was watering the flowers with his back to her. His immense purple cloak was spread out behind him.
"So you've come. I was warned of your arrival. Curious. I've never seen a flower cry before."
Frisk's face was impassive. Asgore peered down at her. He was easily twice her height.
"Erm.. what kind of monster are you..? Sorry, I cannot tell."
Frisk's silence was making him uncomfortable. She took a step towards him.
"Maybe we could have a chat over a cup of tea?" he suggested, backing away slowly.
Frisk took a step forward, then another. The knife flashed out and Asgore's armor parted like paper. He clutched at his wound and fell to one knee. Her body seemed to move of its own accord now. She stood over the defeated king.
A ring of white shards formed around Asgore and closed inwards. He sighed as they pierced his body, and he crumbled to dust.
"See? I never betrayed you!" squeaked a trembling Flowey, poking his head out from behind the foot of the throne. "I.. I was waiting to kill him for you! I'd never betray you..", he stammered.
Frisk's eyes widened a little. She smiled softly.
"Please.. don't… kill… me…", begged Flowey, in tears now. He was cowering.
One of her small hands reached out to touch Flowey's face. The other hand closed around his stem. She pounded him to pulp. Somehow, she was feeling distant. Detached.
"Greetings", came a voice, somewhere above her. Frisk turned to look. A boy in a green and yellow striped sweater was lounging on Asgore's throne. She squinted at him, puzzled. Where did he come from? He was smiling at her sweetly.
"I am Chara", he said, "I have to thank you. Your power, your strength, your DETERMINATION, awakened me from death."
Involuntarily, Frisk slumped at the foot of the throne. She felt so weary.
"There's nothing left for us here. Let us leave this world behind." He offered his hand. Frisk reached out and took it. She agreed with him. She had destroyed everything good.
Chara pulled Frisk up to sit beside him on the throne. His hand was freezing cold. His body should have been warm, but instead, it was cold too. All of Frisk's will and determination left her. Exhausted, she closed her eyes and collapsed over the arm of the throne. She wanted to wake up from this terrible dream. Her eyelids grew heavy and she lost consciousness.
Frisk floated in darkness. No way to tell which way was up or down. No light, no shapes. No sound except the howling wind.
RESET. I want to RESET.
She had no idea how long she waited, but she prayed all the while: let me go back, let me fix my mistakes.
"Interesting"
It was Chara's voice, coming from behind her. Frisk tried to turn towards the voice, but couldn't tell if she was turning or not. She was just suspended in empty space.
"You want to go back.. you want to go back to the world you destroyed", he whispered.
"Yes!" cried Frisk.
"It was you who pushed everything to its edge. It was you who led the world to its destruction"
"I did", Frisk admitted. Why, she thought, what did I accomplish? I needed to know, yet now I wish I never tried it. I could have stopped at any point, really. Instead, I...
"But you cannot accept it", said Chara. "You think you are above consequences?" he asked softly.
"No, I'm not", said Frisk, barely audible.
"Then, what are you looking for?"
"This turned out all wrong. I want to put it right"
"You're determined to do this? Perhaps we can reach a compromise"
"What do you want me to do?"
"You still have something I want.. Give it to me, and I will bring this world back"
Frisk felt Chara's presence very close behind her. She could feel the chill from his body. And then, hands rested on her shoulders. A whisper in her ear.
"Then it is agreed. You will give me your SOUL."
Silence. Frisk knew there would be a price. What good is my SOUL to me, she asked herself, if it just hangs here in the darkness?
"Well?" asked Chara after some time.
Could anything be worse than things as they were? All of her friends were dead, and Frisk herself was adrift, alone in this empty world.
"I'll do it", she said quietly. "But how do I..?"
Silence.
"Take it", she insisted, "I'll do anything to fix my mistakes. No matter what it costs". She held out her arms.
One of Chara's arms went around her waist, holding her close against his body. Cold fingers slipped under the hem of her sweater, slowly, carefully – but she didn't move away – up past her navel. She shivered. Those long thin fingers were reaching up, and up, past her ribs, slowly, gently, to rest on the left side of her chest.
"Take it", she repeated, heart beating wildly against that cold hand. She couldn't stop trembling.
"Then it is done", said Chara. His fingers clenched, and something inside Frisk tore away. She expected it to hurt, but it didn't.
Instead of pain, she felt relief. Everything was going to be all right.
Once again, the power to re-create the world was hers.
Writer's note:
I wanted to try NaNoWriMo, and this is the result of my insanity. More to come..