Summary: After another completion of the genocide route, a haunted Frisk and bloodthristy Chara reset the Underground to repeat the cycle. One seeks friendship and redemption, the other ruin and destruction. Unfortunately for Frisk, nothing seems to have changed… or has it? A new face just might prove otherwise.
Disclaimer: I do not own the story of Undertale, or any of their characters. I do, however, own the idea of this plot and any new characters introduced in this story.
AN: Since I will be going on vacation for a week (starting the 11th), I have decided that I will be uploading this chapter along with chapter 2. Another chapter will be coming up on the 18th or the 19th depending on how hectic things are. Until then, I hope you enjoy it! :D
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Chapter 3: Are You Strong Enough?
What the hell is going on here?!
Alexia barely had any time to dodge out of the way as a torrent of fire headed their way. She slammed against the ground hard. She picked herself up quickly, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw Frisk had also dodged in time.
"What the hell, Toriel?" she demanded. Now that was uncalled for! All they wanted to do was leave, and she attacked them! She was lucky that both of them managed to get out of the way in time, otherwise someone could have gotten seriously hurt.
Toriel's face remained narrowed as she turned to face Alexia. More fireballs appeared around her, and she pointed her hand in the young teenagers direction.
Oh crap- Alexia didn't finish her thought as she thrusted herself out of the way. She scrambled to her feet quickly. She didn't want to fight, but she didn't want to simply give in and return to the house either. There had to be another way."T-toriel, knock it off! Please! There's no reason anyone needs to get hurt!"
"..." Toriel turned to her again, another ring of fireballs appearing around her. Alexia bit her lip, preparing to jump out of the way. To her surprise, the attack wasn't meant for her. This time, it was directed towards Frisk. "F-frisk!"
The boy hadn't even moved from the spot he jumped to from the first attack. She wasn't even sure if he was conscious or not considering his eyes were hidden by his banes. Dream or not, she couldn't, in good conscious, let Frisk get hurt. Completely disregarding her safety, she jumped in front of him and grabbed him. She turned her back to the attack and jammed her eyes shut. Her grip around his small frame tightened as the fireballs hit her, or rather, her heart.
It was a searing pain that hurt like nothing she ever felt before. She let out a pained gasped, her grip on Frisk loosening. When the pain finally subsided, she felt the urge to collapse to the ground. But she refused. If this could harm her that badly, she didn't even want to imagine what it'd do to Frisk. She looked over her shoulder to see a blurry outline of the pink colored heart. It was flashing for a bit, but eventually stopped.
There was that little voice in the back of her mind again. It protested for her to wake up and realize that this was no dream. It was all real and if she took another hit like that, she wouldn't survive.
But she was stubborn.
She refused to believe that it was real. Even with the proof of the lingering pain, she denied it.
"A-are… you okay?" she asked Frisk. His head nodded slowly, but he never once looked at her. She wasn't aware that he was in a fight of his own at the moment. Regardless, she smiled. She was thankful to know Frisk wasn't harmed. Getting to her feet, she turned to Toriel. Everything was blurred slightly and she felt wobbly on her feet, but she refused to collapse to the ground. She needed to stop this fight. Nobody needed to get hurt anymore.
Toriel, for her part, wore a look of pure surprise. She hadn't expected the girl to jump in front of Frisk like that and take the damage. She hoped that it was enough to warn the girl to stop. But she felt her heart sink when she saw the determination in the girls eyes. She wasn't going to stop. No, she was going to fight to the bitter end. That only meant Toriel had to steel her heart and remain unhindered. She was doing this for their own safety.
Another ring of fire appeared around Toriel. She faltered at the girls words. "I'm not going to fight you Toriel."
"Why not? Either attack or run away, otherwise you will perish!" Toriel said. She commanded the fire to shoot at the two. This time, Alexia turned to pick up the boy and attempt to dodge all of the fireballs. Some grazed the girls heart, Toriel noticed, but it wasn't enough to bring her down. When the attack ceased, Alexia stubbornly remained standing on her feet.
She noticed there was a bandage on the girls skin, courtesy of Frisk himself most likely. While it may have healed the girl a little, she still looked tired. She was putting Frisk down and putting him behind her. She turned back to Toriel, the determination in her eyes never once fading. "I'm not fighting you."
"What are you trying to prove this way?" Toriel whispered.
"Not every problem is resolved through fighting," Alexia said. "That was something my mom always told me. There is always another way; a peaceful way to solve things. And I believe we can achieve that."
"Stop it!" Toriel yelled, more fireballs being thrown at the girl.
Alexia didn't budge this time. Toriel was surprised when the fireballs barely touched the girl. Was she hesitating now? The teenager smiled softly at Toriel. She was reaching out a hand towards her. "C'mon, Toriel. We don't need to fight."
"Don't look at me that way! Just fight me! This isn't proving anything!" Her eyebrows furrowed as she launched another attack towards the girl. And, just like before, the fireballs completely avoided the girl.
As Toriel began to lose her will to fight, Alexia was doing everything in her power to remain calm. Half of her mind was screaming at her for how crazy she was. What was she, suicidal?! Dream or not, there was no point to getting killed! This panicked side of her couldn't believe how brave, or rather stupid, she was being. She was standing in front of a little boy not budging an inch as this monster threw fireballs at her! She should be grabbing Frisk and running for her life! But no, she wasn't doing that. Something was keeping her feet planted to the ground. It wasn't fear, no, it was something else… This something else was telling her running wasn't the way to solve this. If she had done that, she'd have no hope of ever returning home.
Sweat trickled down the side of her face. She swallowed down the lump of nerves she had. She refused to show how nervous she was really was. Rather, she found it ironic. For someone who believed that this was all a dream, she sure wasn't acting like it. It actually felt like she could die at any given moment.
No, she thought stubbornly, I can't die in my own dreams. This is all a dream… this is all a dream… But the more she thought that, the more she wondered if she was just fooling herself. If this was a dream, why was it that she was trying so hard to convince herself? Plus, why had Toriel's attacks hurt so much? Why did it feel like she was risking her life?
She didn't have time for this.
Pushing these thoughts aside, she kept the smile on her face. "I know you don't want to fight either, Toriel. I know you're just trying to protect us."
"Then please," Toriel begged, "just go back upstairs..."
"I'm not going to do that."
"You won't be able to go back home," Toriel continued. "It's just too dangerous. I promise you that you two will enjoy your life here. We can do all kinds of things together."
Alexia shook her head. "No, Toriel. You know what we want."
Toriel's smile fell and her shoulders slumped. "Why… why do you insist on making this so difficult? Why can't you just stay here…?"
"You know why," Alexia said. With a deep breath, she took a step closer to Toriel. "Please Toriel? Let's not fight anymore."
The kindhearted creature smiled sadly, tears welling up in her eyes. A chuckle escaped her lips. "It's pathetic, isn't it? I can't even protect you two." Much to Alexia's relief, the area around them gained back their usual colors.
But those words left a pang of guilt in Alexia. It was her turn to frown.
Toriel continued, "I understand… You're right. I can't keep you two trapped down here. The ruins would feel small after a while." She turned away from the two children. "If you really wish to leave, then I won't stop you."
Alexia's face lit up. She was finally getting somewhere! She was able to talk some sense into her without someone getting hurt, or rather killed. But there was still a part of her that felt really bad. Deep down she knew that Toriel meant no real harm. She was just doing what she felt was right, even if they disagreed. She could see it on Toriel's face when she moved out of the way. "Please don't take this offensively, but if you do leave… please, never return here."
Frisk, who'd been quiet for the entire fight, walked up to Toriel. He looked at her sadly. He was feeling the same way Alexia did, it appeared. Toriel smiled down at him and bend down to hug him. Tears slipped through his eyelids as he hugged her and quietly thanked her for letting them go. Letting go, he moved towards the door and waited for Alexia.
The teenager was still frowning. It hurt to see Toriel like this. She really did understand why Toriel did what she did. If her story was true, then all she was doing was protecting them. That wasn't anything bad.
She moved in to hug the humanized goat, also whispering her thanks. As she moved to pull away, she was stopped. Alexia looked to her quizzically. Was something wrong?
Toriel fished something out of her pocket with one hand and grabbed Alexia's hand with another. As she placed whatever it was she was holding into the girls hand, she whispered, "I found this around your neck when I first found you. I'm not sure what it is, but I can feel that its important."
Alexia looked at the object in her hands. It was a necklace with 7 different colored hearts in a circle. She noted the orange heart seemed a little brighter than the rest, but didn't dwell on the matter. Toriel's grip on her hand was released and she smiled at the child. "I can see much potential in you, even more so with that back in your hands. You may not believe me now, but I have a feeling that there will be a time where this will come in handy. Keep it close to you and never let anyone take it from you. And most certainly never let anyone change your beliefs." Toriel gingerly placed a hand on her cheek. "Your mother was right. Remember her words as you travel, my child."
Her heart swelled at Toriel's words. She put the necklace on, pausing to stare at it as it dangled from her neck. Toriel was right, there was something special about this necklace. A sense of security seemed to be flowing off of it and wrapping itself around Alexia. The feeling caused her to close her eyes and sigh out happily.
"Miss?" Frisk's voice brought her out of her daze. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah!" She smiled back at Toriel and moved to leave, but paused. She turned back around and placed her hand on the kindhearted creatures shoulders. As she locked eyes with hers, she spoke with firmness. "I promise you that there is nothing to worry about. I will make certain that we make it through the Underground alive. Nobody will get killed. I swear on my mother's grave."
With one last smile, she turned to catch up with Frisk. As they passed through the doorway and out into the cold, dark forest, she spared one last look to Toriel. She was standing near the doorway with a frown. Alexia winked and gave her a thumbs up, hoping that it'd make her feel more at ease.
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"Aren't you cold?" Frisk asked five minutes later.
She was. She was very cold.
Alexia's teeth were chattering as she hugged herself. She hadn't expected such a harsh change in temperature. She was regretting not having turned back around to ask Toriel for some kind of sweater. With a sigh, she gave a reassuring smile to Frisk. "I'll be fine. I've dealt with weather colder than this!"
It was obvious that Frisk didn't believe her. She chuckled weakly and looked ahead of them. There were no signs of lights. Just a snowy, dark pathway going through a forest. Which, to her displeasure, meant no nearby shacks for warmth.
As they walked, she found herself growing colder. She needed to do something to warm herself up and quick. She shoved her hands into her pockets in a vain attempt to warm them. She almost gasped when her hands came into contact with something. She fished the object out and blinked in surprise. It was her Ipod!
"Halleluiah!" she nearly shouted, startling the young boy beside her. He eyed the Ipod.
"How is that going to warm you up?"
"Dancing," she said with a bright smile. "Singing and dancing have always helped sooth my mind and soul. Plus, it'll be a nice workout and generate some heat!"
"That thing contains music?" he asked, clearly surprised at the idea.
She was mystified. Hadn't he ever heard of an Ipod before? "Did you want to listen along?"
His face lit up with curiosity. "You don't mind?"
"Only if you don't mind me carrying you!"
He laughed and shook his head. "I don't mind!"
"Great!" she said and picked him up. He was a bit heavy for her, but it was nothing she couldn't deal with. She unwrapped the ear buds and placed one in his ear and one in hers. When that was finished, she looked down to the screen and scrolled through her list of music. There was one song in particular she wanted to hear. It was a song her mother and her always used to sing together: Waiting For Superman by Daughtry.
When she found it, she felt the corners of her mouth curve upwards. Hitting play, she felt the sense of familiarity the song always brought on when she heard it. Images of her and her mother sitting on the couch singing together flashed through her mind. Eventually, she began to sing along with the song.
Everything around her seemed to disappear as she sang. All her worries were non-existent. Her coldness forgotten. Her head swayed back and forth and halfway through the song she began twirling around slightly. She could hear Frisk giggling as she did this. Once he was familiar with the lyrics, he began singing along with her, or at least attempted to.
She replayed it at least two more times. She found herself laughing along with Frisk in his attempt to sing along with her. She'd been so adsorbed in their singalongs that she didn't even notice that they were being watched.
Frisk did, however. He'd felt Chara's looming presence since the fight with Toriel. He could feel the anger rolling from the hateful spirit as Chara was ignored. He was not happy. In the previous timelines, he was able to take over Frisk and kill Toriel. But that chance was robbed from him because of Alexia. If she hadn't protected him like she did, then he would have seized control already.
Even now, he couldn't even take over Frisk. It was like a barrier was erected in front of Chara, preventing him from getting to Frisk. A barrier, the hateful spirit thought angrily, brought on by the closeness of Alexia. There was something about her that made it difficult for him to take over. She was never in the previous timelines. So why was she here now?
An evil smirk crossed the spirits lips as he toyed with the thought of convincing her to help kill the monsters. She would be an extendable pawn. Heck, she might even prove to be a useful partner in his game. After all, she did seem naive enough.
However, his plan had only one drawback. He was going to need to take over Frisk and feign fright and terror with the monsters that they'd come across. Even fake an injury or two before he'd be able to convince her. But, as he was now, that didn't matter. He needed to find a way where Alexia's presence wouldn't stop him.
His smirk only grew when he noticed her shudder and look behind her.
Directly at him.