The void is dark.
Obviously.
You blink, trying to get ahold of yourself. With relief, you realize you're, once again, in control of your own body.
Suddenly, horror and self-hatred overcomes the relief as you remember. The knife. The nagging voice in your head that controlled you. Killing. Watching everyone die by your hand.
Dust. So much dust.
You let out a soundless, agonized cry and sink down to your knees, clutching your head. They're gone, all gone, they're dead, dusted, and it's your fault-
"Greetings!"
You look up. Someone else stands before you.
A child with a striped sweater much like yours, pale skin, and rosy cheeks is smiling at you. You ask their name, your voice still thick with tears.
"I am Chara."
Chara. The name blasts through your skull, and you're suddenly very, very certain you know this 'Chara'.
"Thank you."
You look into their strange red eyes in confusion. Why are they thanking you…? You're going to kill them. You're going to kill them like you killed all your friends. You want to tell them to run. Your voice seems to have disabled.
"Your power awakened me from death."
And then you remember. All the previous timelines, the knowledge of which had previously been blocked off for some unknown reason, return to your memory.
It wasn't you. You didn't kill them.
It was Chara. All Chara.
For some reason, instead of rage, you feel only pity.
Chara doesn't appear to notice.
"My 'human soul'...My 'determination'...They were not mine, but YOURS." They smile wider, like that's a funny joke. Perhaps a pun.
You choke down another sob.
Chara notices this time. Their amber eyes peer into yours, like they're staring straight into your SOUL. How funny that it's red, just like theirs. Just like their eyes.
The eyes are the window to the soul, after all.
Chara takes a step towards you. "At first, I was so confused."
Their voice carries heavy tones of false sadness, but you know better. You know how to read the demon at this point. Their blank face is filled with mirth and crazed glee underneath the mask. It sickens you, knowing this is the face your friends saw as they were cut down.
"Our plan had failed, hadn't it? Why was I brought back to life?" Chara asks, glinting their eyes at you. You realize they're mocking you, mimicking what you said after your first RESET. Pretending to be the picture of innocence who committed suicide for the monsters.
"You."
The demon's voice fills with the same glee you saw hidden. They're blaming this on you. It's your fault, isn't it?
"With your guidance, I realized the purpose of my reincarnation." Yes, that was true, wasn't it? Curiosity. What would happen if I attacked the DUMMY?, you'd asked yourself.
Killing one monster wouldn't hurt, would it? After all, you could just RESET.
"Power," Chara whispers, staring at you. "Together, we eradicated the enemy and became strong." Their words are filled with horrible pride. It is something to be proud of, to have destroyed the Queen, the sweet one who believed until the end, the True Heroine, the star who only wanted to give hope, the comedian who gave you more RESETS than anyone, the King, and Asriel.
You should be filling with hate. Instead you feel sorry for the Fallen Child.
"HP. ATK. DEF. GOLD. EXP. LV," Chara listed. "Every time a number increases, that feeling…"
They flash you an empty smile. You already know this, don't you? You've heard their spiel a thousand times. Your SOUL belongs to them.
"That's me." For a moment the mask slips. They quickly plaster it back on again. "Chara!"
Just like that, they're perfect and smiling and innocent again, but you saw it. You saw it all.
"Now." Their voice interrupts your thoughts. You know what happens next. You'll destroy the world, and then you'll bring it back for another genocide. Or perhaps you'll bring them to the surface, if Chara decides to relinquish control for a little while. But it will always end with a genocide.
"Now we have reached the absolute," Chara confirms. "There is nothing left for us here."
They extend a hand to you. "Let us erase this pointless world, and move on to the next."
For a moment, everything is silent.
The panel appears in front of you. Between the two options-ERASE and DO NOT-there is a third.
*ERASE
*SAVE
*DO NOT
You tell Chara you're sorry.
Chara's face morphs into surprise. "What do you mean?"
You tell Chara that this isn't them.
The demon laughs, they laugh so much they start to retch, insanity bubbling from the disgusting noises. When they console themself, they look down at you. "You were always a good partner," they assert. "You never bore me like all the others." They giggle cruelly. "But I believe we have a world to destroy."
You ask Chara about Asriel. Didn't they use to be playmates?
Their face freezes. The red of their eyes recedes into black holes, blood sliding down from burst veins.
The eyes are the window to the soul.
"What did you say?"
Their voice is deadly quiet.
You ask Chara about Toriel and Asgore. Weren't they their parents?
"Shut up," Chara hisses. The mask is slipping.
You remind Chara of the ones who believed in them.
You tell them you do, too.
Their eyes suck you into the abyss as they laugh once more, mad laughter. "Believe in me? I am the Demon that comes when you call its name! I will destroy you! I don't need anyone else to do it!"
You tell them that you're their friend.
"I'm not a friend, Frisk! I'll kill you! I'll kill everyone!"
You whisper that it's not Chara, that they're innocent.
"Innocent? I am the DEMON of your NIGHTMARES! There is nothing for you here, Frisk!" Chara screams. They dig their fingers into their bleeding eye sockets, still laughing maniacally as they shriek.
You ask Chara if they regret it.
"I don't regret killing any of them," Chara sneers. "None of them! And I'll do it again, and again, and again, until the end of time!"
You correct Chara.
"Doing this...what is there to regret? DESTROYING THIS WORLD ON A WHIM? MURDERING THIS RACE ON A MEANINGLESS GENOCIDE?"
Murder, you note. A word that suggests you're doing something wrong. Meaningless.
They're snickering, their fingers still buried in their ruined eyes, blood tracing paths down their arms and staining their sweater.
"I'M A DEMON, FRISK! ALL I DO IS HURT!"
Self-hate. Revulsion.
You wonder why Chara killed their own family.
"I DON'T HAVE A FAMILY! I'M A MONSTER!"
...
"I'M...A...I'M…I'm a monster."
They're crying.
They sink down on their knees, next to you. They're crying, "Frisk, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, Frisk, I'm sorry."
*COMFORT CHARA
*DO NOT
You hug Chara.
Their blood gets all over your sweater.
"Thirty-two years," they say. Their voice is hoarse from sobbing and screaming. "Thirty-two years in a coffin, wanting revenge."
You tell Chara everything is okay now.
You tell Chara they have another chance.
"I'm just going to hurt them all again," Chara murmurs. "Just leave me here, Frisk. I can't hurt anybody in the void."
You remind Chara that you are the one who corrupted them.
"Frisk…"
...
"It's too late," Chara says hopelessly. "I killed them all. They're dust, now. I'm a murderer."
You tell Chara that whatever happens, you will still believe in them.
Determination crosses their mangled face. "I'll do it," they whisper. "I'll fix it."
The panel reappears.
You smile, because this time, it isn't yours.
*RESET
*DO NOT
Chara's hand slams down.
The last thing you see is a flash of red before you wake up on a familiar bed of golden flowers.
The window to the SOUL.
Update: Thank you so much to Pokeme197 and JaeHufflepuff777 for being the first to review/follow/fav this story. It means so much to me, thank you so so so much. I honestly freaked out over this for ten minutes. It means more to me than I can say, so just...thank you.
Now that I've said that, I should tell you that this is both my first story and my first attempt at second person writing, so I apologize for any mistakes.
Update: Thank you to catspats31 for telling me that songfic aren't allowed. I've changed this story slightly to fit that, so if you've just read this, I'd advise going back and rereading while listening to 'Innocent' by Taylor Swift. Possibly on repeat.
I own nothing, Undertale belongs to the genius Toby Fox, and Innocent belongs to Taylor Swift. Thanks so much for reading this story, (I think I'll post a Percy Jackson one soon, for all the Percy/Annabeth/Leo [friendship, not relationship] fans), see you later, guys!
TheEscapedCharacter