Hello! This is a short story I did for XionTheBlackRose as a birthday gift. "A sad Chara story," was what she told me to write . . . heh, it probably could have used more sadness.

WARNINGS: Some instances of brutal violence towards the end. Mild language.

UNDERTALE Specific WARNINGS: Yeah, this is sort of AU-ish. A lot of characters aren't here, and some characters have been changed a lot. Just a heads up.

Longings for Blood

I once fell in a field of flowers

Golden and pure, just as I was sure

My heart races, I wait for poison embraces

Dawn brings lust, vengeance becomes trust

Wading in nothingness, fighting the loneliness

Lips stained red, body disintegrates in bed

Soul no more

I reach for the sun. I shake within the mountain.

Flowers are my only saving grace as I long for blood.

Entry 1 [random villager]

"Chara" Huh?

Oh, you mean IT. Our CHARACTER.

Well, you see, it's a funny story. You remember back when we were at war with the monsters? Yeah, those fielthy creatures with their stubby, greedy, magic?

Did you know they stole that magic from us? Yes, I'm serious.

People often forget, since it was so long ago, you know? I'm telling you, there used to be magic everywhere. You're so called paranormal pop culture . . . what was it, you know, that wannabe vampire romance shit that actually disgraces what a vampire is supposed to be?

Yeah, vampires, werewolves, fairies . . . . where do you think these myths come from? All aspects of the human condition, diseases, magic gone wrong if you will.

I know, it's a lot to take in. But see, what I'm trying to get at is magic used to exist for all of us. Personally, these so called "monsters" are just curses we brought unto ourselves from abusing our magic. Yep, that's right. Our problem, our responsibility to get rid of.

You see, we all know the Underground was never going to keep out those suckers forever. That's not how these things work. Even though we humans lost sight of our magic, we still had some base knowledge left. And then . . . we summoned IT . . .

CHARACTER. Or specifically, the true essence of humans. What makes us human? That is what we called upon to help us get rid of the monsters for good.

What? Haha, what about the truce? No, this was done in secret. Did you honestly think everyone wanted the monsters to get away unscathed? No, there were plenty still itching for blood, and with Chara's help we would eliminate them permanently.

Was this wishful thinking? Probably. I mean, again, we didn't have any magic, so we had to resort to rather . . . dark means to get this being to form, you know? Yeah, we went all medieval. Sacrificed a human and all that.

HA HA HA HA . . . that was a joke.

Honestly, none of us knew what we were doing. The chants and rituals didn't mean squat to me. But I participated, because I hated monsters just as much as the next guy. We did this for a while, weird stuff happened, and . . . then a kid fell into the mountain and that's when we knew we'd gone too far.

Is Chara related to this? I'm not sure. Saying that name around here just brings problems. So I suggest you quit wasting your time. No one's going to willingly tell you the truth.

Chara stared at the flowers around her. Light burned from above. She sat up, blinking repeatedly.

Chara. Her name was Chara. That was all she knew.

With a frown, she explored her surroundings. Her first few steps were disastrous. Her body was too small, her hands were stubby and swollen, and with every foot forward a sneeze would creep up her nose and send her back to the ground.

Why? What had she done to deserve this?

Growling, she got back up, already frustrated. She took another step, then stiffened as she sensed movement from behind her. She turned around too quickly and winced internally as her back started racing back towards the ground.

She didn't strike it.

Small, furry hands kept her up. She blinked, staring at the creature in front of her. The small horns on the boy (she assumed anyway) were distracting. But what bothered her the most was the creature's smile. She was able to confirm it was a boy when he spoke. "You okay?" He tilted his head, and his long ears flopped to the side.

She sneezed in response.

He slowly pulled the golden flowers out of her hands. She shook. She hadn't even realized she was holding them. "I think you're allergic," He said with another smile.

Chara nodded mutely, feeling uncomfortable. Why did he smile so much?

Asriel shifted from foot to foot. "Mom can help you if you want. I mean, the Queen." He gently held one of her hands. "I'll lead you to the castle."

She blinked slowly then tried to form a smile. It was hard for some reason. "T-thanks."

He looked even more happy after seeing her smile, and as the excitement sparked into his eyes Chara felt something deep inside her crack. "My name is Asriel. What's yours?" He asked enthusiastically.

"...Chara."

Entry 2 [Mother of Fallen Human (?)]

It was a pretty dark time. The cult was gaining a lot of traction, and I did my best to avoid it.

Unfortunately, my daughter was . . . very interested in the movement. She's always been obsessed with monsters, talking about how cool it would be to meet one, to fight one . . . to kill one.

She thinks of it as a game. She romanticizes the war, you see. As you know, my husband was killed in the war and its her way of reaching out to him. Or at least, that's how I used to explain her obsession to myself.

But when she started lying, sneaking out to group meetings, meeting with those fanatics at that absurd mountain, why, I just didn't know what to do! I can't-I . . . I'm sorry. It's just been so long . . . since she fell. I've accepted the fact that she's dead. It's been a few years now.

What? Her name? Well, it's _ _ _ _ _ , but after seeing the cult she started asking me to refer to her as "Chara". I had no idea what it meant at the time, I didn't know it was the short for . . . the demon they were trying to conjure.

She pretended to be others all the time. Roleplaying was very normal for her. She would change names often.

I just wanted to keep her happy . . . but these games . . . those visits to the mountain. I should have never allowed it.

A game. Everything was a game to her.

Asriel's eyes were opened wide in horror. "What are you doing?"

Chara blinked at him. In one hand she was carrying a knife. In the other one she was holding onto a Froggit. "I'm playing."

Asriel frowned. "No, you're torturing them again."

Chara chuckled. "Torture? No." At least, she didn't think so. But Asriel tended to disagree with her on how violent her games were.

Which was starting to irritate her. After all, as long as she didn't kill anything, what was wrong with a little sport? Memories had slowly started coming back to her, and now that she was aware that she was in the land of her enemies she couldn't help but try to instill some fear every now and then.

After all, if she was going to be stuck here, she couldn't let the other monsters think she was weak. Nope. Asriel was too nice to understand, she figured.

But he was still her "brother" now, so she let the froggit go.

Asriel sighed. "Why do you have to be like that? It wasn't hurting you. I can understand if it attacked you first but . . . "

"Whatever, I let it go. What's the big deal?"

"You know." Asriel frowned. "Also, kidnapping is wrong. Froggits like that don't do well in the castle. You shouldn't bring anything here that belongs in the Ruins."

Chara shrugged. "Are you done?"

Another sigh escaped him. "Yeah."

Chara looked up at the sky and crossed her arms. "Don't ever just want to get out of here?"

"Well . . . sometimes. But none of us can."

She stiffened, stepping away from him. "Don't look at me like that."

He pointedly turned his head to the ground, scratching the back of his head, ruffling his fur. "You miss it, don't you? Being with other humans."

"No." It was mostly true. She didn't miss anyone except one man. She could care less about anything else. "I don't know. It's pointless to think about it."

"You think so?"

"Yeah... unless," she smiled, "We break the barrier."

Entry 3 [Founder of Summoning Cult (?)]

The idea was simple. Despite the war being over, people were understandably tense. Now, I know you're pretty young, so you might not remember but back when we fought the monsters were quite vicious.

Some say the magic they used was stolen from humans. Others think they're cursed. Me? I know in the long run humanity benefits the most from their nonexistence. Trying to prevent future conflicts before they can start, you see. Even if they were locked in the Underground, many of us knew that there were loopholes in that barrier. And I just told myself that I wasn't going to let a ticking time bomb dictate the end of future generations.

Its a matter of survival.

Organizing people to help with my task was pretty easy. Very diverse group of people. Even some kids.

The rituals went smoothly at first. Technically, the kids weren't supposed to be at the peak of the mountain with us, but . . . well, you know what happened next.

The establishment wasn't happy with us, I can assure you that. But ultimately, I'm not ashamed of what happened. Yes, we lost a precious human soul . . . but what we also released . . . will be the end of all we fear. I can now rest peacefully knowing my children will never have to go through what I did.

That's worth every bit of jail time, I can assure you.

"Chara, I don't like this plan."

"Shhh, you're being too loud."

"But... You're just going to get really sick."

"Do you want to see the human world or not? I'll be fine."

"Okay... But last time your reaction to those flowers was pretty bad."

"That's fine. We just need enough so that you can use my soul to get through the barrier."

"Right. Okay."

"You'll see. Everyone will see. Will be put in all the history books. It will be great."

"Right... everything will be okay."

Entry 4 [The First Villager to Strike]

Oh, it was hectic alright. People were screaming and running everywhere. Mass panic, haven't seen anything like that since I was a kid. Yeah . . . just messy stuff.

But boy, what a rush. Everyone is all freaking out and I'm just calm because I knew exactly what to do. It was a very young monster after all, that much was clear. Just needed to set a message.

I mainly wanted to just scare it back into the underground. I didn't think my attack would start the frenzy. But once it started, it couldn't be stop. Reminds of bees. The hive mentality, you know? Everyone yelling and throwing pitchforks and shooting at this monster who had killed our fallen child.

We all took it pretty personally, considering how long it had been since we'd seen her. It was worse than believing she was dead. Seeing and believing are two different things I always say. And her body . . . well, it left an impression on all of us and we took it out on the guy.

What? The monster? Innocent? Honestly, the thought never came to my head. Not a wick. Everyone was too busy shitting themselves as the little guy withstood all our attacks. Just unbelievable. But no, there was no doubt in my mind that he had killed her. He had that face, the face of someone guilty of a crime. I've seen it enough to recognize the pattern. It was him.

So yeah, he survived it all . . . and took her body with him back to the hell where he spawned from. That was the worst. There was grieving for days. The mother? Yeah, haven't seen her since then. Some think she committed suicide. I wouldn't put it past her.

But yeah, I was the first. Everyone remembers me as the first to attack. It's funny because I was just doing what had to be done. It could have been anyone really. Just the right place at the right time I guess.

Floating. She was floating.

Wait . . . what was she?

Stuck. She was stuck.

It wasn't fair. She nearly felt him, felt her father's embrace . . . or the embrace of something.

Black. Void. Emptiness.

It was all so boring. But life had been boring too, hadn't it?

They had failed. The barrier had been brought up stronger than ever. She could feel the rage building up, of both monsters and humans, clashing within the barrier, and in the mountain.

The mountain. Yes, that's where she was. Well, her body anyway . . . buried within the flower bed she hated.

Waiting. Waiting. Mabye if she waited long enough her father would finally take her away. Away from both humans and monsters. Away from her boring life.

Away from her unfulfilled desire for war.

[Breaking News]

It is now illegal to climb Mt. Ebott and to trespass through the surrounding woods in the area. After many incidents of foul play and suspicious activity in the area, we've lost another child to the mountain.

More details will be released shortly. Parents are advised to be extra cautious and never leave their children unattended. It is also advised to move to a different province if you're children prove to be unruly.

As for St. Augustine's Orphanage, the facility is being moved entirely after the incident, as it was the closest housing facility within the Mt. Ebott's terrain.

Now, in other news, barrier enhancement and the military are gaining traction-

Chara is solid once more.

How did this new body come to be, she doesn't entirely know. After staring at her hands and feet she noticed the subtle differences.

Two purple stripes against a blue sweater unlike her own single-yellow-striped green sweater. Slightly longer jeans. And slightly shorter hair.

A timid voice.

Is someone there?

Chara responded immediately, voice firm and confident. Hello.

Oh. Uh, are you a telepathic monster or something? As the boy spoke Chara felt her (?) body move. This is weird.

I'm not a monster, Frisk.

H-How do you know my name?

Huh. That was a good question. Chara shrugged internally, but then the boy shrugged as well. Something inside of her clicked. The name . . . just came to me. It looks like we're sharing a body now.

What?!

Relax. This will be fun. I have a second chance . . . we have a chance to finally set everything right. The way it should be.

R-really?

Yes. I know the Underground very well. I will help you survive.

I see. Well if that's the case . . . then thank you, ummm . . .

You can call me Chara.

C-Chara...? It was the wrong thing to say and she knew it. His fear shook their body and with a jolt she was pushed back somewhere deep in his mind as he started screaming, running wildly. "HELP! HELP! THERE'S A DEMON INSIDE OF ME!"

Demon? It was the only thought she had left before blacking out inside Frisk.

Entry 5 [Cult member (?)]

Don't speak that name! Never say it! Don't you know black magic! You're asking to get it, you really are!

I'm telling you, I quit that nonsense as quick as I could the moment they started swearing on the corpses of the dead and the land. We don't speak of it here, and I would rather forget it all.

What? Do I believe in the myths? Pfft, it ain't no myth! I didn't have to be there to see that monstrosity take form. I FELT it. Right here, in this chair, I looked outside on that day and I knew . . . there be demons.

It wasn't just a story those kids at the orphanage cooked up. And anyone who tells you that the creature stands for the CHARACTER of humanity, our fighting spirit, is sugar-coating the masses.

What we are talking about represents a deal that should have never been made, an illegal blood pact if you will. Except it's worse. Because it actually worked.

We will suffer the consequences, I can assure you of that. Now get out of my house.

When Chara woke up Frisk nearly died. She took control of the body at the last moment before he could get burned to a crisp.

Ever since then there had been nothing but resistance and force. Arguing hours and hours every day until one of them passed out, usually Chara.

Frisk was convinced that she was evil, which she didn't understand at all. The tales he rambled about from above ground sounded similar and yet . . . alien.

She couldn't help but wonder if her time away from humans had changed her drastically. Was the Underground at fault? Was she so similar to the beasts that Frisk couldn't recognize her for what she once was?

Every day was a struggle, and Chara was tired of it all. She was tired of the endless waiting, the feeling of having a body and then having that feeling ripped away every time Frisk panicked or calmed down long enough to fight back. And she was especially sick of people (monsters) like Frisk and Asriel, people too scared to do what has to be done.

Asriel had died being a pacifist, and now Frisk would meet the same fate if she didn't fight her hardest.

Finally, with a sob of horror and a laugh of triumph, they killed a froggit together. After that, though there was still fighting, Chara felt like she had a place, a home.

She was ready to finally complete her biggest dream.

Entry 6 [Historian, Recorder of the War]

I think there's always been war hungry individuals, whether they be monster or human. That's what I think this so called "Chara" represents.

Not a demon nor an embodiment of black magic gone awry. And definitely not the essences of human CHARACTER. I think this is a psychological phenomenon of people wanting to have power, to fight, to release their violent tendencies.

You should have studied this in school, so I'll ask. Do you know why the war started in the first place?

Huh . . . well, that's a good answer, but the truth is . . . we don't know. You can go talk to veterans who remember their first battle like yesterday, but when you ask them what motivated them to fight it doesn't point to what started this mess in the first place.

So here we are, humans and monsters divided, by a petty squabble that no one remembers. It's tragic, yes? Well, that's my opinion. I hold no grudge against monsters, nor humans, who decide they'd rather live a life of violence and fear instead of peace. I think peace can be unsettling for a lot of people.

War gives people purpose, a goal, a thrill, a job . . . many societies have benefited from wars, and ones that don't have that in their history tend to be either underdeveloped or very, very new.

It's a part of the human condition, unfortunately, and monsters . . . well, they fell in the middle of that. That's regardless of whether or not they started off as human or not, which is a debate I will not get into.

Power. Hatred. Pleasure.

It feels them up every day now and Chara has never been more happy in her entire life. Frisk grows more silent day by day, brooding and whining with every kill, but he hardly fights anymore.

It all changed after they faced the skeleton. Sans gave them a steady glare, bathed in golden light from the judgment hall, as he stood between the dark pillars. "You've been busy."

Chara takes control of their mouth and speaks before Frisk can make the same demand he always does. "It's been a long week."

Sans sighed. "Kid, I'm not sure what's going on with you . . . but I can't just stand by as you purge this kingdom. I can't let you see the King, not after what you've done to others." He slowly pulled out a red scarf from his coat, fists clenched as his left eye turned into blue smoldering flames. "Not after what you did to my brother."

This time, Frisk beat her to it. He took control and his voice turned hoarse with the change, stuttering from the effort to hold back tears. "Please . . . kill me."

Sentient, floating, twisting skulls appeared above Sans, opening their mouths and letting forth a blast of white light. Sans smirked. "Trust me, I will."

Chara forced Frisk to move, dodging the blast. Barely two seconds later she was on the move again, jumping as high as she could when bone spikes shook the ground underneath her and nearly impaled her. She flipped out the knife from their jean pockets and in unison Frisk and Chara charged towards Sans.

One of them was rushing in for the kill. The other was trying to get killed.

With such conflicting emotions, it was a wonder the battle lasted the longest out of all the enemies (friends) they had faced. Ten minutes.

Chara's second death and Frisk's first death.

How could this have happened? They had been so close.

Chara knew she would never get the chance to get another body. They would never let another human fall into their special hell.

Which is why Chara was elated, no, ecstatic when Frisk blinked up from the flower bed. He let out a huge scream as Chara laughed inside him.

Chara . . . Please, can we stop fighting. We're never going to beat him.

No. Each time we get closer. We're so close, I know it! Once he's finished nothing will stand in our way!

Please, I'm so tired. Please . . .

Stop that! Can't you feel the thrill in your bones, isn't this great? I don't understand why you would hate this. This . . . power. This ability we have. We can never die. We will become the legendary warrior! When we leave this place everyone will think we are heroes!

No one will remember us or like us. Not when they discover you were the one who did it. No one wants a demon's help!

You keep saying that. Just because my soul won't move on . . . just because I'm sharing your soul right now . . . I'm not a demon.

You are! You destroyed that girl's heart and took her body from her! You're a demon and I hate you! Leave my body now!

Where is this fighting spirit coming from? I'M NOT A DEMON!

Then what's your name.

My . . . what?

You didn't always call yourself Chara, right? What was your name before you started trying to learn black magic.

I . . . this doesn't prove anything!

See, you can't remember, because you're not her! You're an imposter! Now get out!

Shut up! She channeled her anger into the swing of her knife. Sans easily dodged it, stabbing her right in the heart. "Kid . . . figure out what you want. I'm getting tired of seeing you."

She laughed as blood spilled from her mouth. "The feelings mutual."

As their battles continued Chara was unaware of how she was changing. Frisk's taunts and name calling was easy to ignore now. But deep down she knew he was right.

She wasn't human. She wasn't a monster. She was a broken wisp in between the two. All of her memories had returned now. She had made a deal with IT, with the CHARACTER of humanity.

She wanted to see her father. The great hero who had slaughtered thousands of monsters. She wanted to become like him. It was her greatest wish.

CHARACTER spoke within her mind during the ritual. It told her to climb the mountain. It told her that breaking the barrier was the first step. If she did that, she would see her father.

IT . . . lied.

Asriel broke the barrier once, and she wasn't allowed to pass on. Instead she was stuck underground.

And now, after slaughtering monsters millions of times with Frisk her wish still wasn't being granted.

What was she now? Not a ghost, and she only had a soul by proxy due to being with Frisk. Was she a demon? Or would she answer to it the moment she broke the barrier with Frisk and presented the Underground (grave) for IT to inspect.

Or . . . was she CHARACTER itself? The barrier was the key, once she laid eyes on humanity again surely she would remember more and be able to finally achieve what she always wanted. She would bring a new war. And if her wish wasn't granted . . . Then nothing else mattered. Nothing else deserved to exist.

She would simply destroy everything . . . and then at least she would be a legend.

With this in mind, Chara became even more insistent. Sans was sweating now. She could finally end it now.

She swung her knife, inner fire raging. Sans fell . . . and blood rushed forth from his wound.

Chara and Frisk collectively gasped. Sans sat up, clutching his stomach, then he started laughing, sockets completely black. "Well, that took long enough."

He's . . . bleeding. How?

He's not a monster. Chara lost control of their body and Frisk moved forward, kneeling next to Sans. Sans gave them a grin and the blood continued seeping in between his teeth. "You've done well, _ _ _ _ _. Or should I say, Chara?" He laughed again. "Your power . . . proved to be great. I'm proud of you."

Chara recognized the voice. It wasn't Sans' voice, there was still some of Sans there, but undeniably the voice belonged to . . . "D-dad?"

Sans Coughed blood. It was spreading from beneath him now too. "For many and many years . . . I spent a lifetime killing monsters. Even after death my spirit was restless. I wanted every monster to die . . . Especially since I couldn't watch you grow up with your mother." His breathing labored as he continued. "You were so full of life . . . and rage. I saw myself in you and . . . That's when I knew things would change. I made a blood pact, just like you. I wanted to see you . . . one more time. IT, what you people call CHARACTER, said it would take a long time . . . but I would get another chance to see you if I worked to protect save as many monster lives as I killed. I needed to learn humility, I needed to understand what it meant to be a monster."

Chara shook. This wasn't right. Her father was not like this. He would never . . . he would never agree to something like that! To live amongst monsters willingly during wartime, all just to see her? She wouldn't believe that!

Sans reached for her shoulder. "As years went by . . . I forgot my human memories. And with your changed body . . . it wasn't until you struck me with all of your determination . . . that I remembered my human life. Please _ _ _ _ _, now that we have both received our wishes . . . end this conflict. Choose peace."

Frisk was completely silent. Chara had full control, the first time in months. She leaned down at the faintly bleeding skeleton, raising her knife. Without hesitation, she stabbed it right in the middle of the skull in between the eye sockets. "No." She pulled it out and stabbed Sans repeatedly. "No, No, No, No, NO!"

Frisk was yelling, Sans was dead, and Chara kept stabbing, screaming. "You idiot! You became a monster! YOU ARE A MONSTER! Traitor! I will never be satisfied with peace!" She stood up on shaky legs. Frisk was still yelling, but it was becoming fainter and fainter.

In a fit of rage Chara ran ahead, continuing the massacre. All human memories left her completely, for her wish had been granted (?).

She was truly Chara now.

And yet, she wasn't.

Chara? Chara, what's going on?

I'm transforming. Now that father is dead, these human memories are useless to me now. My pact with them is complete.

You tricked them! You didn't tell either of them that they would meet by fighting to the death!

I kept my end of the bargain. Now I can finally finish destroying this world and the next . . . with your soul.

I will never stop fighting. You will never get full control ever again.

You're one of the few people who still believes in me . . . that's why you were bullied and thrown down here, right?

I won't let you get above ground. I don't care if I have to stay here forever. I'll keep killing myself and you'll never get anywhere past the Underground.

Really? Frisk, I represent the desires of all humans. Eventually, you'll agree with me and we'll truly be one. After all, you quit trying to stop me from killing everyone long ago. Resetting repeatedly would only hurt you.

No. I will never give into you.

Well, only time will tell, right?

[Final Report]

There was once a time when I could safely say the future looks bright and safe.

Now only fear remains.

After the barrier broke . . . well, it was chaos.

Humans and monsters, fighting again, but not for war. Not for any ideological moral or decency.

No. This is a battle towards extinction.

After doing some research of my own, I'm only sure of one thing.

Whatever "Chara" is, whatever IT will become, Humanity won't live to see it.

With a heavy heart and a wary soul I conclude my report. If possible, I hope those of you in hiding have peaceful deaths.

As for me . . . I know my time will has come.

[Final Report 2]

*DETERMINATION