Lil' weird to see an update on a Wednesday, right? Hope I didn't catch anybody at a bad time, I just finished this chapter yesterday and I'm going to my senior prom over the weekend so I don't think I'd be proofreading and posting then.
So, sadly, you get this chapter a few days early. I know, heartbreaking stuff.
Thanks go to Wingah, Fixer140.85, dbpeel, BadDRUMMERboy15, Tbone8454, Gray Kanzakai, Demonfan50, Deathwing676, mallariebuckley, NBoss01, and Ssnipex.
Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale or Deltarune.
Grey dirt and... Darkness.
That's what Anthony opened his crimson peepers to.
He was laying on his stomach, his cheek mushed against the cold hard ground, his dazed eyes staring blankly into the void that surrounded the earth he laid upon.
"What in the..?" Anthony pushed himself slowly to his hands and knees, placing his hands on the ground before himself to do so. When he did, his eyes widened, finding that his arms were clad in silver bracers.
He stood, looking himself over and finding that he was wearing a slim suit of shiny armor, a sapphire blue scarf wrapped around his neck. Upon looking over his shoulder to inspect his back, he found one blue shield on his back. The shade matched his scarf.
He pulled the shield free, spinning it around to inspect the symbol on the front of it. He recognized it as the Delta Rune, the same symbol on the rug in his room. The shield was a diamond shape, coming to a point at the top and bottom.
"Uhh... I get a shield, but not a sword?" Anthony looked up with wide, twitchy eyes. Cold sweat dripped down his face.
"... Actually, I think I have better questions." He placed the shield on his back, gulping as he stepped out towards the ledge into the abyss. "Like, for example..."
He threw his head back and his arms out to the sides, crying out into the blackness.
"WHERE THE FUCK AM I?!"
Chapter 11: It's a Dark World After All!
"Beware the phantom of the past."
Panting lightly, Anthony's arms eventually dropped back to his sides, and he stood there for another moment or two, before dropping to his knees, growling with frustration and grabbing at his mane of ivory hair.
"Eeeuuuggghhh!" Anarchy threw his head back again, lamenting his confusion, frustration, and fear before the blackness.
But, when he inevitably got tired of sitting on his hands, and the glare of the void grew too much for him to bare, he swiftly climbed back to his feet, turning around to the only path in this blackness and speed walking towards it, shaking his head.
"Gotta be a way back don't panic everything is fine just don't pani-"
"Ahaha!"
"AAAAHHHH!" Anthony jumped six feet in the air, landing and pulling out his shield, holding it in front of himself to defend from the giggling danger.
But, when he laid his eyes upon the strange, swaying, white... Thing? That had made the noise, he just let out a half relieved sigh, continuing to trudge forward.
He passed more white... Thingies. Each one giggled, and each giggle made his eye twitch slightly and his legs move faster. Eventually, he made his way to a hill that looked like someone else had already slid down, and did not hesitate to slid down, hoping silently he could find a friendly face in this terrifying place.
He continued on, passing more swaying thingies without a thought. But he looked down at the red soul that suddenly appeared on his chest, and his eyes widened as they darted up, watching the white orbs fling through the air from the swaying forms at him.
He swiftly grabbed his shield from his back, standing strong behind it as the orbs thudded against the metal before disappearing into nothingness.
From then on, whenever Anthony passed one of those swingers - Which was the unfortunate name he'd dubbed them with - he held his shield ready.
As he walked, he came to a strange white star. A glowing light in the dark.
Something about it called out to him. He stepped forward, reached out, and...
*A light in the dark.
*But from where have you seen it?
*A reassuring warmth washes over you. It resonates, helping you remember the DETERMINATION deep inside.
*But, this familiarity...
*... You don't remember.
"..." Anthony mulled over the words that so perfectly described his thoughts for another moment or two, before removing his hand from the star and letting the text box disappear.
He turned away, continuing his quest forward in search of a friend and or a way out of this terrifying place.
He came to a puzzle, something to do with closing eyes. But, the labels made the puzzle very easy, and he shut the three eyes etched in the wall, making a bridge of glass appear before him to the next chunk of land in the dark.
He slid down another hill, and his eyes narrowed as he watched a shadow dart into one of the strange masses of bubbles that littered this plateau he was standing on.
Anthony's eyes narrowed, and he drew his shield, slowly and silently approaching the bubbles while he held it protectively in front of himself.
But just as he got close, the shadow darted to a nearby bubble pile. And when Anthony approached that pile, the shadow darted away once more. This continued until the last pile, which Anarchy slowly and skeptically approached.
His jaw clenched, icy sweat beading down his forehead.
His ruby eyes narrowed, and slowly...
Poof!
"H-hey! Step back!" Anthony's eyes widened as a spearhead was pointed at his shield, before he sighed with relief at who was wielding it.
"Don't think I won't-! ... Ah shit, Anny?!" Angel dropped his spear, which had a shiny black point on an ivory white handle. "You scared the fuck outta me!"
"You're the one all sneaking around in the shadows with a spear!" Anthony exclaimed, placing his shield on his back.
"Because something was chasing me! But it looks like that something was just your goon ass!" Angel pointed to Anthony with one gloved hand.
Anthony noticed that Angel's appearance had changed as well. He was now wearing a strange, light blue cloak, which connected to the hood on his head and fell like a cape behind him. He wore black gloves, a chest plate similar to Anthony's over some sort of dark blue tunic, dark blue pants and steel shin guards.
"..." Angel glanced from side to side, before looking back to Anthony with a much less accusing expression. "... Uh... Where are we, by the way?"
". . ." Anthony slowly lifted his arms in a shrug, shaking his head.
"..." Angel reached up, pinching the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh. "Lets start walking."
"Sounds like a great plan, boss." Anthony leaned down, picking up Angel's spear and handing it back to him.
"I'm full of 'em." Angel winked and clicked his tongue as he took his spear, sliding it back into some kind of holster under his cape.
*This isn't stimulating in the slightest.
I jumped back, fire balls bursting to embers on the concrete before my feet.
"You will not be getting past me." Toriel's eyes narrowed coldly at Frisk and I. She held her arms out to her sides, open palms displaying swirling orbs of flames.
"Mom, please!" Frisk exclaimed from beside me, and Toriel's stone cold expression twitched with pain before she threw her arms forward, sending spirals of flames blasting from her palms at us.
I jumped to the left, and Frisk jumped to the right.
"Frisk and I will be okay!" I called out to Goat Mom over the roar of the flames, hands clenching to fists at my sides. "We'll keep each other safe!"
"You shouldn't have to!" Toriel snapped, lifting her paws above her head. Over her, flames spiraled in a vortex, before she lifted one foot, cocking back to throw the blast of flames at the floor before her. If one looked closely, they could see a tear running from her eye.
"You are only children!"
She threw her arms down, and flames blasted down the hall in a massive wave towards Frisk and I, and Frisk quickly jumped towards me, reaching out and grabbing me by the sleeve as the wall of fire approached.
"Get to the center!" They cried out, and I looked to them with confusion before they planted their feet, spinning and throwing me towards the center of the hall before diving after me.
I did a back flip in air on second nature, landing on my feet and quickly looking to the blast of flames approaching when Frisk landed at my side.
On instinct, I lifted my left hand, jaw clenching as I resisted the desire to make a giant computer key appear before us and block the flames. But, the moment Frisk saw me lift my arm, they reached out, taking my hand and pulling it aside, making me look to them with confusion. They just responded with a knowing nod.
And when I looked up, I found the tidal wave of flames had split around us, intentionally evading us and blasting down the hallway around us, surrounding us with beautiful orange fire.
Looking over the sea of fire that surrounded me, the orange light reflecting in my green eyes, I felt a certain... Sense of awe. The unspoken beauty displayed in a mother's mercy.
I glanced over to Frisk, unknowingly still holding onto their hand. They didn't speak a word, only smiling at me.
After another few incredibly long seconds, the flames faded away, and Frisk and I looked ahead to see Toriel staring at us with pain filled eyes and a slightly ajar jaw, before she dropped to her knees and hung her head low.
"... I am sorry, my children..." She apologized quietly, and Frisk and I let go of each other, walking forward to speak with her.
"Perhaps... I was so afraid to be alone, so afraid to watch more children wander to their doom, that..." Toriel slowly lifted her head to look up at the two of us standing over her, both smiling lightly. "... I overlooked how strong the two of you are."
"We'll be okay, mom..." Frisk knelt down, wrapping their arms around Toriel in a comforting hug. Toriel's lips curved up sadly at this, and she slowly wrapped her arms around her child. "We have each other."
"... Yes. I have no doubt now." Sad smile clear on her face, Toriel lowered her head, and shadows fell over her eyes. "The two of you... So long as you stay together, you will both escape this place."
"..." She closed her eyes, pulling away from Frisk after another moment or two and standing.
"Please, the both of you... Continue forward, and never look back, will you not?" She smiled kindly down at the two of us. "There's nothing for you down here. You must return home."
Frisk and I nodded, a DETERMINED smile on Frisk's face and a gently smirk on mine.
"... Goodbye, my children." Toriel closed her eyes, clasping her hands together over her lap and lowering her head respectfully. "And good luck."
Frisk took a moment to look at Toriel, before nodding and walking past her and into the next room.
I watched Frisk leave, before looking to Toriel for a moment. I found it odd that she had yet to leave, but thought nothing of it, just walking past her.
"... Cter."
I stopped.
"Your soul... It is not like Frisk's. It is not like any other human's."
My eyes narrowed over my shoulder at Toriel, but she did not look back at me.
"... You have the power to pass through the barrier already, do you not?"
"..."
"Yes, I can feel it. Just now... You could have destroyed me."
"... I don't know what you're talking about, Toriel."
"I am unsure of how a human like you has come to be. But I am sure that you have the power to do both great and terrible things, and so far you have been choosing the former."
"I'm telling you, you've got something wro-"
"Do not let yourself become corrupted, my child."
"..."
"Go forth, and remain strong. I believe in you."
And as Toriel's footsteps grew further and further away, and I stood there alone for a few more seconds, I found myself beginning to think.
... Why is everyone always talking about how they believe in me?
"So any theories on where we are?" Anthony glanced over at Angel as they walked, watching Angel shrug in response.
"Well, it seems real nightmarish, but it's too real for it to be a dream." Angel glanced over at Anthony, grinning lightly. "Plus, if this were my dream, your mom would be-"
Anthony punched Angel in the shoulder, making him let out a pained yelp, them laugh to himself as he grabbed his shoulder.
"Yeah yeah you think my mom is hot. I get it ya furry." Anthony rolled his eyes, letting his hands rest between his pants and the metal plates covering his hips like some kind of pockets.
"Are you sure?" Angel cocked a brow. "Because, I mean, I can reiterate-"
Angel bumped into the arm that Anthony held out in front of him, looking to the arm before looking to Anthony.
"Uhh, Angel... You got any idea who that is?" Anthony pointed up the large pillar of stone that stood at the side of their path, brow furrowed with confusion.
Angel tilted his head upwards, looking to the very top of the pillar, where a shadow stood, looking down at them and waving excitedly.
The figure was feminine, and in its hand it seemed to be holding a scythe that was long enough to be resting on the ground next to her feet as she held it out to her side, the blade misting frost into the air at her side.
"Uh... Hello?" Angel slowly waved back up at the figure, before whispering to Anthony. "Do you think other people got brought here too..?"
The figure spun her scythe behind her back then, shifting it into her other hand before pointing it down at the two. Suddenly, the ice coating the blade of the scythe fired down at the two.
"AHH!" Anthony and Angel jumped apart, lifting one leg and throwing their arms over their faces as the ice blade shattered apart on the ground between them.
The two's eyes darted to each other, panic clear on their expressions.
"Run, Anny!"
"Hmm." Flowey squinted at Frisk and I, who stood directly in front of the shut door to the Ruins, staring down at him.
He poked up from the snow before us, the long path down to where we would surely encounter Sans stretching out behind him.
"Well, congrats, Cter." Flowey smirked up at me. "You stopped their genocide."
"I'm not really sure what made you decide to go back this way, Chara," Flowey looked to Frisk, who visibly flinched at being referred to by that name. I felt something inside me flinch at their name as well, so I couldn't fault them. "But I suppose it's for the best."
"It's Frisk." I spoke, and Frisk looked to me with surprise.
"... What?" Flowey squinted at me, aggravation clear in his tone.
"They're different people." I frowned right back at Flowey, cold eyes unblinking. "Chara's gone. This is Frisk. Don't fuck it up again."
"Or WHAT?!" Flowey snapped, straightening his stem to make himself look bigger.
I instinctively opened my palm, feeling ink swirl in my sleeve. But, Frisk was quick to grab my hand.
Irritation flared, and I glared at them out of the corner of my eye, jaw clenching tight.
That was, until I saw the fear in their eyes as they latched onto me, staring up at me with eyes that I saw my own reflection in.
"..." My hand relaxed in theirs, and my expression softened. In a word, I felt... Disgusted.
"Listen to them, Cter." Flowey grinned wide up at me. His smile was grimy, arrogant, and oddly toothy for a flower.
"After all, you don't have your magic anymore, right?" Flowey rolled his eyes, still smirking that pretentious little smirk. "Giving up all that power just to save some people you never even knew. And look where it's gotten you."
"Remember that I saved your pathetic, sniveling ass too, flower." I knelt down in front of Flowey, and he narrowed his eyes at me.
"You know, right after your 'Best Friend' tossed you to the curb like the worthless trash that you are." I smiled a wonderfully friendly smile despite my poisoned words.
"Cter..!" Frisk called out, before shrinking slightly when I looked back to them.
"You... How dare you..?!" Flowey growled, before shrinking as well as I loomed over him.
"You get out of my sight this instant, Flowey. After everything I did to help you I don't want you speaking to me like that ever again." I ordered Flowey with a stern tone, and though he attempted to keep that glare, I could see him shaking.
It would seem that even without someone knowing I have power, I'd grown to radiate a powerful presence.
"Y-yeah, well..!" Flowey glanced around nervously, his little flower brain trying to find some kind of come back. When he discovered none, he stuck his tongue out at me, and popped back into the ground.
I stood back to my full height, eyes remaining locked on where Flowey had been moments ago.
"... Cter, you should really be nicer to Flowey..." Frisk said, avoiding eye contact when I looked back to them.
"You, should... Be nicer in general..." They almost whispered, reaching up and rubbing their shoulder awkwardly.
"... Yeah, you're probably right." I closed my eyes, looking ahead. "Sorry, I guess he just pushed the wrong buttons."
"Cter, I know we don't know each other too well, but... You seem really unhappy..." Frisk looked back to me as they walked to my side. Putting a hand on my shoulder skeptically, they opened their eyes enough for me to see the concern in them.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk abou-"
"Lets keep moving." I walked forward, brushing off Frisk's hand and making them frown. "I'm sure Sans can't wait to hear the good news."
"... Yeah, okay..." Frisk looked away, sighing to themself and following after me.
We walked down the straight path. We stepped over a branch, and it was broken behind us. Later, footsteps crunched behind us. But, when we turned around, there was nothing. And, eventually...
"Humans."
Frisk and I glanced at one another, certain that one enigmatic skeleton was standing behind us.
"Don'tcha know how to greet an old friend?"
Frisk didn't seem to know how to feel. They seemed both anxious and excited at once.
"Turn around and shake my hand."
We both spun around to face the short skeleton, who extended both hands, shadows washing over him and obstructing his features.
We took his hands, making two whoopee cushions go off simultaneously.
The shadows shifted, and Sans' grinning face was visible as we let go of his boney hands.
"Whoa, kids, I know you're excited to see me, but c'mon." Sans' white dot pupils jumped to the side, that grin only seeming to widen. "Keep it together."
"Good to see you, Sans." I smiled lightly at his little joke.
"Good to see you, too." Sans glanced from me to Frisk. "The both'a you."
"Sans, I um... I should probably..." Frisk had trouble finding the words, reaching over and rubbing their shoulder. Made sense to me, how do you just apologize for what they'd done?
"Don't bother, kid." Sans lifted one hand dismissively, and Frisk looked back to him, furrowing their brows with confusion.
"S'in the past. None'a that matters now." Sans grinned reassuringly, and Frisk smiled timidly in response. "What's important is that we're here now, and we can put all that FIGHTing stuff behind us."
"Y-yeah!" Frisk smiled, DETERMINATION gleaming in their eye as they looked up to Sans.
"Now, why don't you head on ahead and hide behind that conveniently shaped lamp?" Sans tilted his skull to the side. "We'll meet ya up there in a sec. Me and Cter need to do a lil' catchin' up, alright?"
"No problem!" Frisk certainly seemed relieved that the reunion with Sans had gone so well, turning around and quickly making there way down towards the lamp.
I watched them go, before turning my head back to look at Sans. I cocked a brow at him curiously, and he had closed his sockets.
"So, champ, fill me in." Sans opened his eyes then, and the white dots were gone from his sockets, leaving an inky black void that stared deep into my soul.
"Where's Stabby?"
"Shitshitshitshit!" Angel jumped as he ran, leaping over a blade of ice, which crashed to shards just beneath him before he landed, stumbling and continuing his run.
He looked over his shoulder, grimacing at the next blade firing at him, before Anthony jumped up, spinning around and holding out that shield to the oncoming attack, which the ice shattered against.
Anthony landed back on his feet, sliding ever so slightly before Angel grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around.
"Nice save now keep moving!" Angel grabbed Anthony by the wrist, sprinting ahead.
"W-wait, Angel!" Anthony protested, though he ran right alongside his friend. "Maybe we can talk to her! She might be just as confused as us!"
"Quit thinking with your dick and jump!" Angel instructed frantically, jumping down another one of those steep inclines and pulling Anthony right along with him.
The two stood crouched as they slid down on their feet, gravel jumping up around their heels.
Anthony suddenly brought up his shield as Angel ripped his spear from his back, Anthony blocking another blade of ice and Angel batting one aside with the long handle of his spear.
They kept that up for three seconds that felt like three hours as they slid, batting and blocking lethal ice before their feet suddenly caught level ground, and they tumbled to the earth.
Anthony, now laying flat on his stomach, winced as he looked up to where his shield had flung from his grip before him.
As he reached out, Angel stood from in front of him, cocking back that spear and slapping aside another shard of sharp ice, sending chunks flinging through the air.
Anthony smiled gratefully up at him, before he reached out with one hand, Anthony grabbing tight and being helped to his feet.
Angel turned around and Anthony scooped up his shield as the two continued their sprint ahead.
And as they ran, the frequency of those attacks died down before coming to a stop. The two didn't seem to notice, however, sprinting until their lungs were desperate for air and they were stumbling their way into a strange, abandoned city.
"Hah..! Hah..!" Angel slumped forward, gagging and resting his hands on his knees. "Oh man I'm too old for this..!"
"You're... Only eighteen..." Anthony winced his eyes shut, leaning against a one blue brick wall while he gasped for air.
"Oh mah knees... Mah lumbar..!" Angel wheezed in agony, placing a hand on his lower back and leaning his head back, sweat rolling down his face.
Panting, Anthony slowly slid down the wall he leaned against, head turned to the side and eyes remaining closed for another few moments while he gathered his strength.
Eventually, he regained the power to open a single eye, glancing up to the single building that towered over the town.
"Hey, Angel..?"
"Agh... Yeah, Anny..?"
"Is... Is that a castle..?"
"..." Angel slowly tilted his head to look to the ominous stonework that loomed above them, before groaning.
"The hell is a castle doing in the supply closet..?"
"Uhh... Stabby?" I cocked a brow at Sans, confusion written on my expression.
"The ghost kid that follows Frisk around." Sans closed his right eye, and his left shun a shade of blue for a moment. "I don't see 'em around anymore."
"You mean Chara?" I asked, and Sans shrugged.
"Potato chips popato chisps." He responded, and I took it as a pretty F'ed up tomato tamato. "I'm sure you spoke with 'em at some point in that fight."
My eyes darted to the side, frowning lightly in thought.
Pain seared my abdomen as Chara buried their knife in my flesh, eyes gleaming with sadistic joy and crimson already running from a previously broken nose, down their upper lip and to their chin. Another stream of red ran from the corner of their mouth, and sweat beaded down their forehead from what had to have been one drawn out battle.
"Do you think I'm pretty?" They grinned wider as they asked, flashing blood stained teeth. An odd question for sure, but we asked a lot of weird things while we were in that eternity. Almost always just to see what the other would say.
In the next instant, a pen pierced through their back and out from their chest, making them hack blood onto my smirking face, their ruby eyes going wide at the sudden agony. But their sadistic smile didn't fade, not even for a second.
"Drop dead gorgeous." I responded, right eye winced shut and blood pouring down from between my teeth in my ceaseless grin.
"... Once or twice." I frowned a little deeper, my eyes narrowing at that disgustingly pleasant memory all while I evaded eye contact.
"So gimme the rundown. Where's Chara, what's up with Frisk, how long were you fighting them, how'd it end?" Sans tilted his skull to the side, sockets narrowing with his interrogation.
"Well, Sans, I'mma be real with you." I sighed when I looked back to him, slouched forward slightly. "Things got real fucky in the timeloop."
"And while I'd like to tell you I crushed them and we have nothing to worry about if Chara were to reappear," I shrugged with one arm. "Me n' them were dead even. We fought 714 times, and we both ended up with 357 wins."
"But they gave up." Sans concluded, and I shook my head.
"No. An opportunity presented itself and I managed to get the upper hand." My tired eyes widened a little as I explained. "It was a one in a million chance and if it hadn't happened I guarantee you I would have had to fight them another thousand times at least."
*There's no way it would have taken that long for Chara to convince you to join them.
"..." Sans pupils once more faded from his eyes, clearly expressing that this was not what he'd wanted to hear. "And this one in a million fluke. What was it?"
"..." I squinted, almost hesitating. "... Does the name Wing Ding Gaster mean anything to you?"
"Gaster?!" Sans snapped suddenly, his pupils reappearing as he looked up to me.
I was jolted as Sans grabbed onto the collar of my jacket, yanking me down to eye level. My eyes went wide, and I lifted my hands defensively.
"Cter I need you to go into a lotta detail and I need you to do it now." Sans jaw clenched, his entire body seeming to be trembling with emotion.
"... Look, to keep it short, Gaster's the reason I showed up here." My eyes narrowed, and Sans slowly let me go. "He wanted to stop Chara so he pulled me in from my world once he got enough of himself together to do so."
"And then, once he had completed himself, he appeared right between Chara and I, and pulled both of our souls into that weird... Mindscape. The same one where I would receive my magic from you guys." I stared right into Sans' skeptical sockets while I explained, my emerald eyes cold.
"And? What happened there?" Sans cocked a brow bone.
*You made the wrong decision.
"I won." I answered simply, standing back to my full height and stepping back away from Sans. "They were dazed and confused, and I took the opportunity to strike and banish them from Frisk's body."
*Liar liar.
Well, how was I supposed to tell Sans what really happened? That Chara wanted me as their vessel and that I almost took them up on the offer? That if Chara does come back, they're gonna be after me this time and I might not have the will power to turn them down again?
Internally, I took a deep breath. A step back from the whirling fears and excitements in my head and soul.
Chara's gone.
Nothing to worry about.
They're gone.
"Where is Gaster now?" Sans narrowed his sockets, and I shook my head.
"Haven't seen him since he pulled me out of the timeline during the RESET so I could keep my magic." I shrugged. "He's probably still out there in the void of space time, keeping an eye out."
"..." Sans closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before reopening them. "We need to get moving. Papyrus'll be at that lamp any second."
"Follow me, I know a shortcut."
"Error Sans?" Gaster spoke with disbelief, staring with wide sockets down at CORE Frisk.
"Yes, Error Sans." They nodded once, expression solemn. "I don't know when, but Cter is certainly on his kill list. And if I had to guess, that puts the rest of your timeline at a huge risk too."
"Well... Great!" Gaster said sarcastically, pacing in the nothingness and throwing his hands into the air. "From bad to worse it goes!"
"Out of the frying pan..." C Frisk trailed off in agreement, looking away.
"Why this? Why now?" Gaster looked back to Frisk, one hand atop his head.
"... There's another Gaster out there with another human from the same reality as Cter The Hacker." C Frisk walked to the screen displaying Cter and Sans speaking with one another.
"This Gaster is certainly a lot less kind than you, doctor." C Frisk frowned back up to Gaster. "A... Badster, if you will."
Gaster couldn't help but squint at the childish nickname for his less than nice counter part, but quickly placed it on the back burner.
"I'm not sure what it is, but Badster is up to something. Something involving Cter, and something involving his own human." C looked to the side, grimacing. "He used his own timeline as a test for his human. His human aced that test; killed everything that he could find and didn't die once. Though if he had, I'm certain he would have had the DETERMINATION to come back."
"What kind of sick test is that?" Gaster's jaw clenched, cold sweat forming on his skull.
"One of power. Cunning. Will." Hands behind their back, C looked back to Cter's timeline, void eyes narrowing. "DETERMINATION."
"But what does this have to do with us? With Cter?" Gaster stepped up next to C, looking into his timeline as well.
"I believe he sent Error our way for the same reason. To test Cter." C Frisk's tiny hands clenched into fists behind their back.
"But for what?" Gaster's voice was filled with concern and confusion.
"If I had to guess? A showdown." C looked up to Gaster, frown clear on their face. "Between The Hacker and The Anarchist."
"..." Gaster's eyes narrowed down at the timeline, watching Cter hide in Sans' outpost while the short skeleton talked to Papyrus, certainly landing pun after pun. "... How does he measure up?"
"As it stands?" C shook their head, glancing back to the timeline. "Anarchy would tear him limb from limb. And that isn't an exaggeration."
Gaster didn't speak. His hands clenched into tight fists, and his body trembled lightly with frustrations, but he did not speak.
"... Gaster, I hate to say it just as much as you hate to hear it, but I think it might be very beneficial to let this test go through."
"What?" Gaster's eyes narrowed down at C.
"Look, clearly Badster sees some hidden potential in Cter specifically." C looked up to Gaster. "Out of twenty children, he picked Cter. And out of infinite realities, he picked yours."
"We know that these twenty one children could have potential far greater than anything this multiverse has seen before. Maybe it would be best if we let him attain-"
"I am not going to pit that child in anymore death matches all alone!" Gaster snapped, glaring down at C. "He is just a boy who was taken from his world! This fate was cast upon him! He is innocent!"
"... Then when Anarchy comes, you're all gonna die." C Frisk stared up at Gaster with those empty, empty eyes.
Gaster flinched at the harshness of their words, recoiling as his skeletal jaw clenched.
"I've seen him, Gaster. I've spoken to him. Everything about him is like nothing I have ever seen before." C Frisk shook their head slowly. "He's been in the multiverse for the incredibly short period that all these kids have been here, and he's already being talked about by real big names. Real important people, good and bad."
"... What are we to do?" Hands clenched and sockets squinted, Gaster continued to watch the boy that destiny had so thoughtlessly chosen. That he had so thoughtlessly chosen.
"He has to get stronger." C looked back into the timeline as well. "Anarchy needs an equal, and Badster's picking The Hacker."
"And how do we tell him this?" Gaster gestured to the timeline.
"For now, we don't." C Frisk said, and Gaster immediately rolled his eyes, stepping away.
"Of course! Why give him any warning!"
"Look I know it sounds crazy!" C extended one hand out to Gaster, who's back was now to him. "But hear me out!"
"Cter. Is at. A tipping point." C spoke slowly, one hand raised defensively and eyes widened for affect. "We've discussed it before. He's not a genocidal, but he isn't a pacifist either. And anyone with eyes can see his on a real thin rope right now. One wrong push, and we've got an inky killing machine on our hands."
Gaster paused, closing his eyes and shaking his head. His back remained to C.
"Cter is as powerful as he is now with 1 LV. I'd hate to see him with 20." C slowly shook their head. "And if he hears about this Anarchy thing too early, he could get the same idea. Or, a certain ghost could whisper it to him."
"..." Still, Gaster said nothing, only placing one hand on his face and sighing with exasperation.
"For now, only tell him about Error. And make it seem hopeful when you do." C slowly turned their head to look back into the timeline. "He's not alone this time around."
C Frisk looked back to Gaster then, who now looked over his shoulder at them.
"But when Anarchy shows up, he's gonna have to be."
It was nice to see Papyrus again.
The most pleasant part of my day, I deduced as I stared up at the ceiling of my room in the Snowed Inn.
Frisk slept on a bed across the room from me. How they slept so easy eluded me.
But, regardless, they were asleep and for the second night in a row it looked like I wasn't gonna be getting any rest at all.
My head turned to the side, and I stared out that window into the night outside. A light snow was falling, and in the distance, I could see that path that stretched out towards Waterfall.
The path where I first met them.
And it was probably that memory of eye gouging mixed with 48 hours without sleep that made me silently stand from my bed, and tip toe to the door of the room.
I slipped on my tennis shoes, pulled my jacket's sleeves over myself, and opened the door slowly and quietly, glancing feverishly back at Frisk time and time again to make sure that they did not stir from their sleep. When they didn't, I gently shut the door, and made my way out of the Snowed Inn.
I zipped up my hoodie and shoved my hands deep into my pockets, huddling myself close in the gentle cold of Snowdin town, which was now dark. Quiet. No lights on in any house or storefront.
I tiptoed past the skelehouse about as quiet as can be. I was sure Papyrus was ever alert, even in his sleep.
And, after a few minutes of crunching snow under my sneakers, I finally made it to that exact spot.
There I stood, in the same place I'd held Papyrus dying in my arms. In the same place I'd felt that desire to hurt. To kill.
In the same place I'd met Chara.
Snow falling gently in the vast darkness, I glanced around the area, before sighing to myself.
"... Why did I come here?" I asked myself aloud, eyes narrowing at the ground on which I stood.
For a trip down memory lane?
To kill time?
To make myself tired?
For closure?
"Because you knew I'd be here, maybe?"
For just a second there, my heart stopped. My breath caught in my lungs. My emerald eyes went wide, and something deep inside my soul sparked to life.
I turned on my heel, jaw clenching as I whipped myself around to face the source of that oh so familiar voice.
And, to my disbelief, my ears weren't deceiving me.
There they stood.
Smiling wide, hands behind their back, Chara tried their best to look real innocent.
They tilted their head to the side, closed their eyes, and grinned a big, friendly smile.
"Did'ja miss me? Don't try to lie~!"
Oh god oh fuck oh shit-
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