Author's Note

Oh man, I didn't mean to take so long to put this out. But I've basically been working day and night on my computer for the past three days. New build issues, you know. Regardless, here it is, on with it!


'Welcome to Snowdin'

Silence permeated the small town, contrasting eerily against the friendly, inviting greeting of the sign. There was not one soul in sight as the child shuffled through, seemingly entranced. They stopped to visit the local shop, only to find it abandoned, just like the rest of the buildings. They took a few cinnamon bunnies for the road and continued on.

As they passed the town's gift tree, they eyed a lone monster child, standing around as if everything were fine. "Everyone ran away and hid somewhere..." They said, "Don't they know Undyne will protect us?"

The human child stared blankly at them for a moment before flashing a toothy grin and bringing their blade down upon the monster's head, slicing through like it were nothing. Where the monster kid once stood, there now lied a pile of dust. Satisfied, they moved on.

Just past the edge of town, the snowfall picked up and the fog got so thick that they could barely see their own hands in front of their face. In the distance, a tall figure loomed.

"HALT, HUMAN!" A deep voice rang out.

They took another step forward.

"HEY, QUIT MOVING WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU!" He continued, "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY."

"FIRST: YOU'RE A FREAKING WEIRDO! NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES, BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE, THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE ALWAYS COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER."

"IT FEELS... LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH."

"I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU! EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY! AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL!"

Papyrus laughed his signature chuckle and the child continued walking forward.

"HEY, QUIT MOVING! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" He expressed his concern, "HUMAN! I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW! BUT WORRY NOT! I, PAPYRUS, WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR! I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!"

His words still seemed to have no effect on the child as they kept walking toward him.

"I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING. ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE? WOWIE! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING! I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!"

True to his word, Papyrus held his arms out, ready to accept the human's friendship... and mercy.

The child stared at him for a short time, hesitant to do what they felt they had to do. Why had this gone as far as it already had? Did they really want this? But it was too late to turn back now. They had chosen their path, and now they must walk it.

They tightened their grip on the blade, stepped forward, and brought it down...


Frisk gasped as they jolted awake. They were covered in cold sweat, shaking violently in remembrance of the dream. But it was more than just a dream, wasn't it? Nobody else remembered, but they did. Every night, they remembered. Every soul they took, every ounce of pain they caused others.

They hadn't had a proper full night's sleep in months now. Dark rings marked their eyes and heavy bags felt like they were pulling their head down, but they couldn't go back to sleep now. They couldn't risk going back to that life again, not so shortly after this last time.

Rubbing their eyes, Frisk rose from their bed and stepped out into the hall. The lights were out and the only noise that could be heard were the muffled sounds of Toriel's snoring. They had gotten into the habit of taking a walk each night after their sleep was inevitably cut short by the nightmares. Despite the various monsters and dogs that inhabited them, the forests between the ruins and Snowdin were a nice place to go and be alone for awhile.

Stepping out from the large door leading out of the ruins, the cold nipped at Frisk's body, but they just didn't care. They'd endure the pain. After a short trip, they found themselves before the long bridge leading to Snowdin's entrance. They sat down on the edge of the cliff, their legs dangling over the open air, staring down into the abyss in contemplation. Their mind granted them no respite from the nightmares, constantly reminding them of their previous actions.

"Good times, huh?" A familiar voice spoke to them. That spirit they had awoken before had taken up residence within the deep confines of their mind.

Chara.

Frisk shook their head, offering little more a response than that.

"No?" Chara teased, "Need I remind you whose choice it was in the first place?"

That stung, particularly because they were right. It wasn't until the end that Chara had taken Frisk's soul. Every monster, every friend, every life they had taken up to that point was their own decision. It hurt every step of the way, it made them feel completely empty inside, but it was too late to change that now.

"You think you're above consequences?"

No, they didn't, and that was the whole point. Frisk had a unique ability to manipulate the fabric of time. Not create alternate universes, per se, but to move back in a line, to change their decisions. To do it all over again. Their whole life since then revolved around avoiding the consequences of their actions. Every time they were struck dead, they had the opportunity to try again. Every time they did or said the wrong thing, they could go back and pick the 'right answer'.

But this was something that couldn't be changed. Frisk's abilities allowed them to manipulate time, but independent of time, and by extension, so did Chara. The two things that persisted throughout their tampering of time were their memories and their SOUL. And now, that belonged to Chara.

"I hope you realize" Chara continued, "I will be taking control of that body of yours. Enjoy the peace while you can!" Their voice faded away as they cackled torturously.

Frisk knew what they meant. They'd bring down the same wrath that ruined the world once before. Everything they had worked for, everything everyone had worked so hard for...

Would be utterly laid to waste.

Frisk put their hands to their eyes, letting their head fall weakly, and wiped away their tears. This was misery. This was torture, knowing there was nothing they could do to stop it. No amount of passion, kindness, or determination could get their SOUL back. Chara was a demon living inside of them. Nobody else would even understand. Nobody else could understand. They'd call them crazy. They'd have them institutionalized. And so all they could do was wait for the inevitable, dwelling on the future day after day.

Frisk continued staring down into the abyss beneath them, thinking. Maybe there was one thing they could do... but could they really? Their heart raced just thinking about it. And they couldn't do that to their friends, their family. It would destroy Toriel most of all. They had already caused everyone so much pain before...

But it was a better option than letting them all get slaughtered.

Frisk sighed in exhaustion. They just didn't know what to do. They wiped away more tears as all the realities of life weighed heavily upon them. They hadn't slept well in months. They had barely eaten a thing in weeks. They constantly felt weak and couldn't stop feeling shaky. Their waking thoughts were constantly invaded by thoughts of a past life as well as anxiety surrounding the future. Their dreams were nothing but vivid memories of what they'd done.

Frisk was just so tired of it all. And so they did what anyone would do, and they cried.

Unbeknownst to them, a hooded figure watched from afar.