We've been talking about this for months. Mostly she does the talking, and I listen. I'm good at that, listening to her.
Mom and Dad won't know until we're already out of here, she says, so I shouldn't worry. She's irritated, and this always makes me feel guilty, so I try to hide my doubts. It's hard to see her like this, though. She lies in a deathbed of golden flowers, clutching a small bouquet in her fist, a trickle of scarlet flowing from her nostrils and her mouth. She looks so frail. Her eyes are glassy and red and she is smiling through the pain. It must hurt terribly.
"Trust me, brother?" She almost never calls me her brother. I'm stunned and hurt and a little angry that she's pulling this card on me, but there's no time to argue. Mom and Dad could help us, but I know she won't listen to me. Once Chara decides something, it's pointless to try and fight with her.
"Y-yeah," I mumble, taking her hand in my paw and giving it a nervous squeeze. "I trust you, sis."
"Take my soul," Chara whispers, reaching for my muzzle, "head for the light. That's the bar—" She has to stop to cough again and spits out a little crimson. Her eyes are yellowing where they should be white and she is deathly pale. Fear commands my heart. "We'll escape."
"I don't know what to do," I confess, hating myself for this weakness. Chara's smile is thin, but genuine; another rarity.
"It's okay," she wheezes. "I'll—help." It's getting harder for her to talk. She places my paw on her chest, right where her heart should be. "Together," she rasps, and I close my eyes.
And she gives me her soul. It is power, raw and beyond my comprehension, nearly too much for me to stand, like standing too close to the fireplace for too long. The heat is no longer comforting, now a nuisance, then painful. It builds within my chest and spreads to the ends of my claws and even my tail and I want to scream but I can't make a sound. I'll endure this for her. I'll do anything.
I don't know how much time passes, how long the fire eats at me. Eventually her grip slackens, and I awaken, born anew.
This body of mine is a lot bigger than I am used to. I tower over her and the room—am I taller than Dad? But there's no time to admire myself. I bend down and it occurs to me that I should be naked. I'm not. I find myself draped in robes and think of Mom, bite back the surge of guilt that comes with the thought of her smiling face. I lift Chara into my arms. She's so small. Was I really that tiny before? She moans a little when I move her. I shush her.
"I'm going to help you, Chara," I tell her firmly. "Please, stay with me."
My body is strange. I conjure wings upon my back, translucent and imbued with more colors than I can name, using the power I am only now beginning to grasp, and wish it was me that was ill instead—Chara was always better at magic. It's a stupid, selfish thought and I push it away. Magic or not, these wings are a part of me, and I understand how to use them even though they feel weird on me. My legs are longer, stronger than I remember them being. I sprint back to the end of the room with ease and cast my eyes to the ceiling, where the cave opens up into the surface, far above. I bound forth once more, and when I beat my wings the force takes me by surprise and I gasp, I want to freeze up but I'm in the air, flying, somehow.
It must be Chara. Her determination. She is the one guiding me. We're working together, and thus I know we cannot fail. Together we are strong. Together we can do anything.
I know, now, that I can save her. I aim for the light, just a tiny dot far above, but I am ascending quickly. The tunnel is wide enough that I can keep climbing, but only just. No matter. I will save her!
The light becomes brighter. I wonder if I will really pass through, unharmed. Will Chara survive? I would ask her these things, but she's unresponsive. I can do anything. WE can do anything.
Closer. The light is blinding, but Dad has told me countless times that we are the future of humans and monsters. Our bond is unbreakable. She is our last hope and I WILL SAVE HER!
The white light of the barrier swallows me whole, and with a roar I break through into the surface above.
I gasp. Half of me didn't expect I would make it through but I keep rising effortlessly.
"Chara!" I shout, temporarily forgetting the gravity of our situation in the face of victory. "We made it! We're through!"
The air is cold and thin up here but my power keeps me warm. The world above is strange, so much like ours but not entirely the same. There's so much light! My eyes are stinging from the rapidity of my own ascension. Everything is cast in an orange glow and I look up, my eyes adjusting. I gasp.
The sky. The sky is filled with reds and greens and yellows and splotches of pink. On the horizon, where the light becomes the strongest, a glowing red orb. Chara's told me about this, too. The sunrise. The sun is cresting over the mountain range, and I think of her eyes, her blood. I have to keep going.
"Where do I land?" I shout over the rushing wind in my ears.
Suddenly we plummet, gracefully, swooping from the peak of the mountain down, down so fast my eyes are watering and my breath freezes in my chest. She's a really reckless pilot despite her current condition, and I want to shout at her to be careful, we're gonna crash, but somehow, miraculously, we don't. I pass over valleys and gorges and more mountains, shimmering white, tinted with the sun's rays.
Chara's told me about snow, too. It's glittering. I might be able to appreciate the beauty of it all if she wasn't already fading from my consciousness.
Again we dive, heading for a small patch of black below us. She's slowing down, opening my wings to prolong our descent. She's so much better at this. When she's okay again, I'll have to ask her how to fly.
Before I know it my feet hit the earth and I'm running with the momentum of my touchdown, panting, heart pounding against my ribs. I look down at Chara and she's still breathing, barely. I'm standing in a meadow. I see houses and people and the golden flowers. I'm in a little village.
There are cries around me. Humans come out of their houses, mean and women and children. They look small. They're shouting to each other and I can't understand them at first. I try to approach but one of them grabs a spear and points it at me, cries something I do understand.
Monster!
Do they think I did this to her?
"WAIT!" I bellow. "I NEED TO SAVE HER! SHE'S BEEN POISONED!"
They aren't listening. They're surrounding me, spewing insults, threats. To illustrate my point, I conjure a fistful of fire, raising my arm. It explodes at their feet but does not injure anyone. They all scatter back, shouting in their tongue.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" I roar, tucking Chara closer to my chest. "YOU'LL HURT HER, YOU IDIOTS! LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!"
(destroy them)
I hesitate, teeth bared.
Chara?
She's still alive!
(you can destroy them)
NO! I'm not going to hurt anyone! That was not our plan! I want to shout at her, I want to demand she tell me everything, what is she talking about? But there's no time.
(they won't hesitate to hurt you. why should you spare them?)
Because I'm not empty-hearted!
A spear gouges my chest, tearing my robes and I cry out. I've always had a lower tolerance for pain. Now Chara is yelling at me, too.
(coward! FIGHT BACK!)
"NO!" It's the first time I can remember lashing out to this extent but I'm desperate. I turn back to the humans. "HELP HER!" I beg them, but they're still running towards me. My legs won't move. I can't fight them. I realize that Chara isn't breathing. "PLEASE!" I howl, my voice twisted by anguish, hand raised in front of me in surrender. "PLEASE, SHE'S DYING, I NE—"
The spears pierce me, my arm and my chest and I roar, I drive them back with the flames and take to the sky. Everyone is screaming and I need to help her.
"WE'RE GOING BACK UNDERGROUND!" I yell, "HANG IN THERE, CHARA!"
I have to try. I have to save her. There must be time. She must be alive. We are the future of humans and monsters. I rise above Mt. Ebott faster than I have ever flown before and dive without hesitation into its depths. Desperation makes me clumsy, and I lose control, crashing against the wall, spinning into the cavern below with a scream, clutching Chara to me. We're going to crash.
I take the force of impact and we tumble onto the rocky ground. I force myself to sit up even though my body feels like one giant bruise. Chara's not injured, but she's not breathing. And there's so much dust. She's covered in it. Must have taken more damage than I thought.
"Mom!" I cry hoarsely, voice rising, cracking, "MOM! DAD, CHARA'S HURT! HELP ME!"
I clutch her to me like Mom did when I was very young. And I finally break down. Maybe she's not going to wake up. She has to. I don't even realize Mom and Dad are here, crying my name and hers, and they run towards me, they hold me but I won't let go of Chara.
It's like they don't recognize me. "Please," I beg them. "Save her, please, she can't be the one to—" Everything slows down. "Save her." I'm clutching Mom's robes and I get dust all over her and she sounds like she's crying harder than I am and I won't look at Dad, I can't look at Mom. "Promise me, Mom."
She sobs for a moment, and she's choking on her words as she tells me she loves me, and she is sorry, she will try. And I smile. It's all I needed to hear.
"Dad," I say, voice breaking. "Watch over her for me, okay?"
I hear his reply, gruff and weak with emotion.
And I close my eyes and let myself dissolve into the air.