Ashes to Ashes
Frisk screamed and she lost her vision of who she was. Her caramel eyes went a violent, blood red. Her every muscle was on fire and she felt like she was burning, inside out. Her screams rang throughout the underground. Toriel walked into her room, to help her. Frisk grabbed her chest as she collapsed onto her knees. Every part of her ached and tears dripped onto the plush pink carpet. Her screams died down and she wiped away her tears. She gave a chocked cry and she went limp. Her head hit the hard wooden floor and she felt blood trickle down onto her carpet. She felt another soul inside of her. The two souls meshed and entwined themselves, too tangled to tell where one started and the other ended. Frisk was no longer alone in her body. She was someone else…something else. She was no longer the pacifist Frisk…She was the genocidal Chara. Chara pulled herself up and experimented using Frisks body, she pulled her hands into fists as her bedroom door creaked open. Toriels scarlet eyes were filled with worry and she held out a large, white paw. Chara took it and she was led out of the room. Walls and floors rushed past as she was whisked to a door. Toriel faced her, vicious gleam in her eyes, "I need you to leave Chara…Permanently…Frisk would never have followed me down here…" Toriels eyes were ablaze with hatred, something Chara had never seen before, "I have lost too many children! I'm not letting you get Frisk killed!" Toriel had fireballs blazing at her hands. She looked like she was about to kill someone. Oh right…Chara knew how to take down a grieving mother. She hid her sharp stick behind her back as her eyes filled with tears. Toriel knew that she should not let her guard down, but her heart was too big. She snuffed out the furious flames and walked over to Chara. She held out her hands to hug Chara when a sharp sensation dug into her chest, "when a sharp sensation dug into her chest, "You really hated me that much…didn't you?" Toriel faded and dissolved into a fine, white ashy dust. Chara smirked as the ashes swirled around and onto the floor. She scooped up a pile and dropped them. She then crushed them with her boot. Monsters were so pathetic, they needed to learn their place in this world. Because in this world, there was no resetting…
Sans woke up, sweating. Where was Papyrus? He cried out and his brother entered the room, a plate of spaghetti in hand. Sans breathed a sigh of relief. Papyrus stared at him, "Get out of bed you lazy bones!"
"Nah, it's comfortable," Sans replied
"Sans! Get out of bed!" Papyrus was getting annoyed. He gingerly placed the plate of pasta down and grabbed the edge of Sans' blanket, "I'm warning you Sans! Get out of bed!" Sans just rolled over in response and tucked his head under the pillow, "Make me bro!" Papyrus, engulfed with rage tugged at the end of the blanket and Sans was left with the cold…he was cold to the bone. He snickered at himself. He reluctantly pulled his head out from under the pillow and looked on the floor next to his bed. Papyrus had left him a plate of steaming spaghetti, he sighed, his brother couldn't join the royal guard…he was just too kind. He would get slaughtered out there. Sans groggily got up out of his bed and slipped into his pink slippers. He yawned as he shuffled through his doorway. He looked down at the railing to the stairs and groaned. More work…He walked back to his room and sat on the bed. He grinned as he pulled out a couple photos. Why did Frisk reset? They were all finally happy on the surface. Sans sighed, to Frisk, this was all just a game, lives meant nothing. They were all Frisks test dummies and if something went wrong, they reset. Why couldn't Frisk just stay, he remembered all of the timelines that Frisk disrupted. Maybe this reset will be different, maybe they would all be even happier. Then why was he crying? A single tear drop landed on the picture. He wiped it off and looked at Frisk on Papyrus' shoulders, they were both happy. He saw a distorted figure behind Frisk, she was a blurry shape had black dripping eyes and a dripping black mouth. The figure had a green sweater with a yellow stripe. Sans frowned at the picture…Chara… Sans pulled on his blue hoodie and pulled the hood over his face. He trudged outside and went over to the door which leaded to the door of the ruins. He sat down and knocked on the door as he normally did, waiting for the girl to respond. But nobody answered. Sans grew worried, the lady always responded to his knocks. But no matter how he tried he couldn't get in…the door only opened from the inside. Sans tried to calm himself down, she was probably busy, yes that was it! She just didn't have time to answer the door…But what if something had happened to her…what if…Sans heard footsteps from the other side of the door, and it started creaking on its hinges. Sans hid in the bushes and ran to his house. This was very bad! This was like that other timeline, the one where everyone died. Sans fumbled with his door lock, desperate for shelter. Papyrus opened the door and Sans fell onto him. The two skeletons stared at each other. Papyrus got up first and helped his older, shorter brother up. Sans looked up thankfully at him and Papyrus soon claimed, "I have got to go brother! I can't keep Undyne waiting, that's not what a royal guard in training should do!" Papyrus had one gloved hand on his hip and looked off into the distance, in the zone. Sans only snickered at his brothers shenanigans. "Be careful out there bro! You hear me?" Sans felt slightly safer in this house. That was, until the screams of monsters filled the air.
"I still believe in you human! You can do better than this, even if you don't think so! I still believe in you…" Papyrus' body had already turned to ash, ruining the white, powdery snow. All that remained of him was a talking head. His eyes were full of hope, Frisk was screaming for mercy inside of Charas head but Chara placed one boot over Papyrus' head and crushed it. All that remained of the skeleton was his red scarf, fluttering in the slight breeze. Frisk was stunned, and silent. Chara gave a cold-hearted laugh, it chilled Frisk down to her soul…Frisk finally remembered what had happened…
"You want to reset partner? Well that will have to cost you a great price!" Chara had a hungry gleam in her eye
"Anything! I just want to reset! I want everything to go back to the way it was!" Frisk was crying
"You would give me anything? Anything that I desired?" Chara was enjoying this exchange
"Chara, you know I would give you anything!" Chara cruelly looked over at Frisk at this remark. Frisk felt a sharp tugging sensation in her chest. Chara held her soul in one hand. Frisk saw an inky black cover the once bright crimson soul. Frisk gasped as everything faded and she collapsed to the floor. What had she done?
Chara smiled as Frisk went silent. Less questioning, victory! Chara felt a pang of loneliness hit her heart, she missed Toriel and Asriel. She shakily sighed. It was times like this that she realised how alone she truly was. She dragged her knife, which she had taken from Toriels kitchen, along the passing trees. She reached a shiny star-like object. 16 left. Chara grinned as she dived into battle, never showing any mercy. What would be the fun in that? So she slashed, stabbed and sliced at all of her opponents, never giving in to their cries of pain or anguish. She didn't care about them anymore, she was the only person who mattered. Eventually the number of monsters left decreased…15…12…9…6…4…2…1…The last snowdrake fell…0…Chara felt happy and accomplished. She had killed all the monsters in the area, Papyrus included. She stalked around Snowdin Town, all inhabitants had fled long ago. She stole all the gold that was left behind and mocked the cowardly inhabitants, unaware of the one inhabitant left…watching…waiting…vengeful…
Sans watched the child as she went through Snowdin, stealing and destroying. When would she learn…enough was enough…but…she was only a lost child…Too bad! She had killed Papyrus and now she was going to pay! Big time! Sans waited until the child had gone well through the waterfall before leaving the house. He walked to where Papyrus last stood, his favourite red scarf. A tear landed peacefully on the scarf and Sans held it closer. This demon would pay for her crimes. Nobody was allowed to get away with murder…not this easily…But before he seeked revenge, maybe he should just…Sans let the tears flow. Papyrus was so nice and innocent, he didn't deserve death, not by this demon. As Sans hugged the scarf closer he noticed the dead silence…there was no sound apart from the slight breeze. All the monster ashes were swept away, no more trace of life ever belonging to this cruel world. As Sans looked around at this desolate town, he remembered all the monsters and all the memories. He slowly walked to Grillby's…nobody in sight. He entered the dead building and sat down on one of the bar stools. "Sans? Are you there? Did you survive?" A flaming head stuck up from behind the bar causing Sans to smile, at least someone survived, "I helped Monster Kid escape…I'm sorry about Papyrus Sans…He will be remembered…" Grillby was polishing the inside of a glass while talking to Sans. His glasses fell and he tilted them back up. Sans looked sadly at Grillby, looking like a mopey puppy. Grillby glared at Sans, "Well, are you going to do something about it or just sit on your butt all day and do nothing! Really Sans! You need to get up and stop feeling sorry for yourself! What would Papyrus think if he saw you now?" Sans glared at Grillby, knowing that he had a point. Grillby gazed over at Sans and put down the glass. Neither noticed the holes in the roof, filled with snow. Slowly, droplets of water started trickling down onto the pair, Grillby was slowly getting extinguished, he looked at Sans and said, "Go kill that demon spawn Sans, for everyone!"
Sans sat there for a while. The minutes ticked by, he continued to stay. He heard the distant screams of monsters and did absolutely nothing to help. Papyrus' scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck and mouth. He couldn't continue with this life. He knew one place where he could stay…that demon would never go backwards…Sans sat outside the giant door, not daring to step inside. Eventually, he decided that he should just see if she survived… He stepped cautiously inside…only seeing ashes. That was all he needed to send him off the edge. To diminish his sanity. He trudged dejectedly back to his house and picked up the picture of just Frisk. Angrily, he shredded it up into tiny pieces, which he burnt. Frisk had actually done it, Frisk had made Sans angry…more than angry…enraged… Sans sadly chuckled, "She thinks she can kill every single monster…including Papyrus…Well isn't this going to be a rude awakening for her?" He tightened the scarf and allowed his arctic blue eye to blaze, a cold, cruel glare. He would seek out his vengeance, Frisk was going to have a very bad time…
Frisk screamed for Chara to spare the heroine, but she was ignored. Undyne looked at Chara, "Damn it... So even THAT power... It wasn't enough...?Heh… Heheheh... If you... If you think I'm gonna give up hope, you're wrong. Cause I've... Got my friends behind me. Alphys told me that she would watch me fight you...And if anything went wrong, she would... evacuate everyone. By now she's called Asgore and told him to absorb the 6 human souls. And with that power...This world will live on..." Chara smirked as Undyne dissolved into a cloud of dust.
"So much for Undyne the Undying huh partner?" She grinned when she had no response and continued, "All monsters are like that…too hopeful! They don't even know how to save their own lives! Pathetic!" Chara was purely disgusted at this fact, how they valued love over fighting, apart from Undyne, she didn't hesitate to try and kill her. That was something at least, unlike Papyrus who just opened his arms wide for her to kill him. Frisk tried again to regain control…but nothing changed. Chara kept moving, time for the Hotlands…Maybe she should deal with Alphys…Yes, that would be the best option left!
Sans walked through the waterfall and saw a pile of dust and one of Undynes spears. The wind was howling. Sans knew what had happened…Frisk had actually killed Undyne… Sans grimaced as he pictured the battle. Undyne would have been off guard after winning for so long, and then Frisk would have stabbed her… Sans couldn't handle any more of this! How could Frisk be so heartless? Sans felt something inside of him snap at this thought. Undyne had been the person who looked after Papyrus during training. Undyne was the head of the Royal Guard! And she had been cut down as though her life had meant absolutely nothing! Sans felt a cold yearning for vengeance deep down in his soul. Frisk was a terrible person and deserved all that she got. This rage threatened to overwhelm him and tear apart the very culmination of his being. He didn't know if he could bear going to the Hotlands, but he knew deep down…he had to. He gently picked up her dust and allowed it to fly away with the wind, freeing the last part of her. Sans picked up the spear and looked at it's beautiful transparent blue colour. The same colour as his tears which came next. He walked all the way to Undynes house and lay the spear in the doorway. He took in a deep breath as he slowly backed away. He slowly walked back the way he came and faced the Hotlands, hopefully Undyne managed to save some monsters…but she had left Alphys…Sans punched himself and forced his legs to actually move forwards, even if he didn't want to…he had to continue on.
Chara struggled in some cobwebs and heard a silky voice everywhere at once, "Did you hear what she said? They said a human wearing a striped shirt will come through. I heard that they hate spiders. I heard that they love to stomp on them. I heard that they like to tear their legs off. And even if they gave us money, I heard... That they have some awful taste. What a shame. A human comes through and they aren't even fit to be eaten~ Oh well! Rotten ingredients can always be discarded~ I guess that I, Muffet, will have to do this unpleasant job…" A purple, human like spider appeared and stared at Chara, so Undyne wasn't bluffing! Chara gritted her teeth and cut herself out from the webs. She thought that she would pretend to act for mercy, "Let you go? Don't be silly~ you're scaring off all of my customers!" Muffet was attacking Chara with spiders, and she was losing! She gripped her knife until her knuckles were white with the strain, " The person who warned us about you... Looked like a total nerd. She was very adamant I run away with her~~ Ahuhuhu~~ She even left a route for me to escape from~ She said she would block off the rest of Hotland after I followed her~ Foolish nerd~ A spider NEVER leaves her web~ Except to sell pastries~ Ah, but I do feel a little regret over it now... Yes, I should have wrapped her up when I had the chance~ She looked like she would have made a juicy donut~~ But enough of that... It's time for dinner, isn't it? Ahuhuhu~ You're still alive? Ahuhuhu~ Oh, my pet~ Looks like it's time for dessert~" As if on cue, a large spider appeared and continuously attempted to swallow Chara, nearly succeeding. It would have succeeded had a tiny spider not appeared holding a telegram, Muffet looked shocked at this interruption, "Huh? A telegram from the spiders in the ruins? They say even if you are a hyper-violent murderer...You never laid a single finger on a spider!" She smiled and attempted to spare Chara. Chara started walking away and then suddenly turned and threw her knife at Muffet. The spider dissolved and the tiny spider rescuer of hers brought a bouquet of flowers and left them in the dust. It hissed at Chara and left, heartbroken. Now where was Alphys?
Sans felt like a ghost as he glided throughout all the destruction, ashes and dust everywhere. Not a single soul was actually spared…this didn't seem fair at all. He looked around the Hotlands, but nobody came… No more friends left, hopefully Alphys, Mettaton and Asgore were safe. But were they really? It seemed impossible with a threat like this! It seemed as though nothing would be able to escape the hatred and wrath of this spoilt little child. It seemed someone would have to teach it a lesson…
A figure appeared out of the shadows, a strangely robotic looking figure. It was that annoying robot who had fled from her earlier, what a pity, to die a coward…Chara gave a cruel grin as she held out her knife, "My my. So you've finally arrived. After our first meeting... I realised... something ghastly. You're not just a threat to monsters... but humanity, as well. Oh my. That's an issue. You see, I can't be a star without an audience. And besides... there are some people…I want to protect. Ah ha ha. Eager, as always, eh? But don't touch that dial. There's something you haven't accounted for. As any true fan would know, I was first created as a human eradication robot. It was only after I became a start that I acquired a more... photogenic body. However. Those original functions were never fully removed. Come any closer, and I'll be forced to show you... my true form! Fine then! RRRRREADY? IIIIIIIT'S SHOWTIME!" All the lights dimmed and fog filled the room. Out of the mist stepped Mettaton, only he was different…His right forearm was replaced by what appeared to be a cannon, his shoulders were clad in pauldrons, which were shaped like legs, and looked longer than his arms. He had wings on his back, the soul on his waist pointed upwards in a more monster-like manner, and he had a heart shape engraved on his chest plate. His hair on the right side was spiked out, revealing an entirely black segment of his face, with a sparkle in place of his right eye. He looked angrily at Chara, "This is for what you did to Alphys when you killed Undyne!" A flash of bright light and the cannon was shot. Chara barely avoided the attack. She deflected a blast of light and hit him on his pink soul. He looked at Chara, "GH…Guess you don't want to join my fan club…?" With that, the soul cracked in two and split into tiny pieces. Chara sighed in relief…that was too close.
All Sans could see was the remains of all his monster friends and innocent bystanders, how could Frisk do this to them? This didn't seem like the passive child that he grew to know, this was someone else entirely… He ran his bony fingers along the silken scarf around his neck. Was this truly Frisk? Or was it someone else entirely? Impossible! He saw the magenta and cyan sweater, this was definitely Frisk…but could he bring himself to kill her? Yes…yes he could, because of her Papyrus and Undyne were dead…what was that glinting in the distance? Sans ran ahead, about to warn the monster, but it was only Mettaton's chest plate, cracked and dented. He saw the rest of the robot but refused to believe that Frisk had killed another monster. The fact that he was starting to get used to all of these dead monsters was starting to put Sans on edge. Heh, there was nowhere else to go…he had to fix all of this, he had to put a stop to Frisk and her madness, he had to avenge the fallen monsters…For Papyrus!
Chara reached another corridor, but before she entered she saw a SAVE point, she saved and walked through the door. The stained glass windows gave the church looking place a non-earthly feel to it. She chuckled as she prepared for another easy battle, but was shocked to see Sans, alone, staring her down. As Papyrus' scarf covered his neck and mouth he gave her a dangerous glare. "Heya. You've been busy, huh?...so, I've got a question for you. Do you think even the worst person can change...? That everyone can be a good person, if they just try? Heh heh heh heh...all right. Well, here's a better question. Do you want to have a bad time? Cause if you take another step forward...you are REALLY not going to like what happens next. Welp. Sorry, old lady. This is why I never make promises." Sans started the battle and Chara could feel her sins crawling on her back. Sans gave her a cold glare as he spoke, "it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, kids like you... Should be burning in hell! "
His eye glowed an arctic blue as he held up a hand. Chara's soul turned a deep, rich blue as Sans lifted his hand again. Whatever direction his hand went, so did she. She face planted on the floor and looked up at Sans, blood on her lip. "Huh. Always wondered why people never use their strongest attack first." Sans was watching her every move, like a predator and prey, she then took a stab at him, and he moved to the left, "What? you think i'm just gonna stand there and take it?" He looked at Chara, eyes full of hate. All of a sudden a thing called a gaster blaster appeared and shot a sudden beam at Chara, disintegrating her soul. Reset… She appeared before Sans again, "Heya. You look frustrated about something. Guess I'm pretty good at my job, huh? Well, no need to explain myself then huh?" Once again he repeated his dialogue and attacks, which Chara skilfully avoided this time. She stabbed again, and he again dodged to the left for the second time this reset, "Our reports showed a massive anomaly in the time space continuum. Timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting..." He cut off as he started bone attacks, which Chara barely avoided, but grazed her once. She saw her health deteriorate and suddenly run out…reset… "Hmm. That expression...that's the expression of someone who's died twice in a row. Suffice to say, you look really... unsatisfied. All right. How 'bout we make it a third?" Everything repeated like last time, but this time she was ready! Frisk was begging for mercy, but Chara just stabbed once more, with the same result as last time, "Until suddenly, everything ends." He answered the last statement he said and looked at Chara, he attacked again, with more gaster blasters and she barely evaded them, she had 1 hp left. She attacked again, "Heh heh heh... that's your fault isn't it?" Sans looked like he already knew what she was going to do, and hit her with a single bone in the chest…reset… "Hmm. That expression...that's the expression of someone who's died thrice in a row...Hey, what comes after "thrice," anyway? Want to help me find out?" Chara gritted her teeth and continued attacking, never giving up, "You can't understand how this feels. Knowing that one day, without any warning... it's all going to be reset." Chara was starting to get tired so when she died again she wasn't very surprised. This time when she reset, she would attempt to spare him, maybe then she could pass, Frisk was excited at this idea! "Hmm. that expression...that's the expression of someone who's died quice in a row. Quice? Frice? Welp, won't have to use it again anyways." Chara got through all of his attacks and spared him once, "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. The memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. Someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? c'mon, buddy. Do you remember me? Please, if you're listening... let's forget all of this, OK? Just lay down your weapon, and...well, my job will be a lot easier." Sans seemed genuine, so Chara spared him again, "Friendship... it's really great, right? Let's quit fighting." Chara was getting excited with her results! So was Frisk! One more time! "... You're sparing me? Finally. Buddy. Pal. I know how hard it must be... to make that choice. To go back on everything you've worked up to. I want you to know... I won't let it go to waste. ... c'mere, pal." He held out his arms and Chara ran up to him to hug him, that was when a bone speared her chest and wouldn't budge. She looked at Sans, heartbroken and innocent, "Geeettttttt dunked on! If we're really friends... you won't come back!" Chara was angry now, she hit reset and Sans looked at her, "whoa, you look REALLY pissed off... Heheheh... did I getcha? Well, if you came back anyway... I guess that means we never really WERE friends, huh? Heh. Don't tell that to the other sans-es, okay?" They continued fighting until eventually she hit her seventh reset, "hmm. That expression...that's the expression of someone who's died seven times in a row. Hey, that's good. Seven's supposed to be a lucky number. Who knows, maybe you'll hit the jackpot..." This filled Chara with determination as she gradually got through all of Sans' attacks, the second last one! This time, Frisk finally managed to regain control over her soul and ran right into the attack, tears glistening and looked tearfully at Sans, "Thank….you…." She had a smile on her face as her limp corpse landed on the church floor.
Sans looked confused as her soul shattered like red stained glass. He clicked his fingers and another gaster blaster appeared. He looked at it and stood on his tip toes, he unwrapped the scarf from his neck and tied it to the blasters nose. "I should now say hi to Papyrus…keep that safe for me…OK? Can you do me one last favour buddy?" The blaster gave him a puppy like expression. He knew what was next. Sans closed his eyes as he heard the gaster blaster charge up. A blinding light was the last thing he saw as his soul was crushed and rearranged into dust. He saw Papyrus' smiling face in front of him and held out his hand, "I'm finally here Papyrus… Did you miss me?" And everything went black.
TRUE RESET?