Chara wasn't shaking or crying. Really, they were just tired. Tired of their heart being wrenched back and forth, in the figurative sense and the literal definition seeing as their soul was being dragged out to a backdrop of green and black magic.
In front of them a tall green gremlin clenched his hand, forcing the red soul in Chara's heart to sally forth to combat. Chara wasn't angry about the fighting. No not really, but Chara didn't have a better term to describe the coldness of an empty heart.
( *Is he an old warrior or a walking pun? Astigmatism stands in the way… Yeah sorry, that's all I got. I'm not the one who usually does this* ).
Chara snorted at the voice's comment. Captain Astigmatism wasn't some old warrior and soon wouldn't even be a walking pun. No, he was just a pile of dust.
"Get out of our way."
The words came easily, almost subconscious in nature. Chara brought a trembling, no a retributive arm, up and clenched the hilt of their knife with their uninjured hand. Chara grinned with a terrifying mess of blackness and their pent up despair.
"I'll end your life right here!" Their creepy faced twisted into a goopy mess of pain and anger that would strike fear into the heart of any.
Of course the effect was ruined when a jacketed arm shoved them back.
"Do me a favor and stop reminding me of myself!"
Undyne moved in front of Chara without a second thought, not even wincing to expose their back to Chara's blade. If they wanted, Chara could plunge it in without any effort. Undyne paid it no mind as she turned to face the sallow and green beast confronting the two. Undyne looked pissed, but seeing as that was her default expression, nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the selfless action.
Chara twitched their bandaged arm. The bleeding was gone, and Undyne's tattered remains of a shirt itched like a piece of sandpaper. Not even ten minutes ago Chara would have taken the shot. Undyne understood this. Chara knew this. Ten minutes ago, Chara would have killed Undyne where she stood.
That was ten minutes ago. Chara didn't want to hurt Undyne anymore. Funny. Hilarious even. Chara hated Undyne's guts, but at the same time, they envied how the warrior took charge of a situation even if it was only to laugh at an inappropriate time. Chara knew what it was like to laugh when you shouldn't and perhaps they could understand that slipping sensation of saying the wrong thing at the right time. Oh, and Undyne got along with Asgore! Seeing as Chara got along with Asgore too, it was practically grounds for a ceasefire.
The monster in front of them on the other hand?
(Fight or Run?)
Vengeance would be swift. Chara made a entire career around the concept after all.
Captain Astigmatism, the pun about to be turned into a smear on the pavement, took a step forward. He didn't look worried about the death glares that Chara was sending him, but then again, even Chara's scary face paled in comparison to how pissed off Undyne was.
"Alright! Don't take another step you eyesore! The king asked me to watch over this punk!"
Now, Chara couldn't read Undyne's mind, but her tone kinda gave away the fish's true feelings at the situation. Oh yeah, of course Chara couldn't forget Undyne's bulging eye-vein twitching in quiet fury. Undyne should probably check that out...
(Man. I'm glad there isn't a bolder to suplex around here).
Chara almost giggled out loud, cutting it short at the last second and making an odd sort of snerk or snorting noise depending on your choice of pho-ne-tics, which by the way, took forever to learn and not really relevant to the situation.
Whether it was a snerk, a snort, or even a chortle, Chara ended up making enough of a noise to draw Undyne's attention. Their unexpected protector flashed them a grin full of teeth and hope and reassurance that Chara didn't actually need.
"Relax kid. I've got this.
"I'm not worried." Chara wasn't. Their knife was itching and the stupid Captain Astigmatism would be fighting two on one with Undyne backing their corner. Chara already killed far bEtTeR bEfOrE-
(Those thoughts are best let uncovered)...
Oh yeah. That was why Chara was ignoring the voice in their head. Nothing they said made sense!
Speaking of things that didn't make any sense, the green abomination took a step forward. He chose to ignore Undyne's tactfully delivered warning to the incoming detriment of his health.
"Undyne. The king hasn't talked to anyone for days." Astigmatism's hand was on his sword poised to cut the two of them down in cold-hearted blood, but Undyne had yet to summon any of her spears. In fact, she only looked confused.
"He called a council meeting hours ago! Why the hell aren't you there anyway? Don't tell me Asgore forgot to call you or something!" Undyne's breathing started to become a little obnoxious with in and out whooshes of air. Like Undyne was trying not to snap and break a wall. The kind of breathing you made when trying to stay calm and not fall to pieces thank you very much. Chara dealt with that kind of anger all the time.
It was too bad Astigmatism's next sentence tolled an omen that broke that shred of calm apart.
"Even if there was a council meeting, I'm sure the king would excuse me when I tell him how I was busy getting our fourth soul."
For a moment, everything was still.
Something about that sentence seemed off. Something about that felt fundamentally wrong. It felt like Asriel suddenly deciding to act like a sociopath or Asgore declaring war on humanity. Wait, no. That already happened. Umm Toriel leaving? Alright, a ton of unfortunate things happen within a short time frame, but this one took the cake.
(And ate it too...) The voice's joke would be terrible even if the delivery wasn't hampered by the uncertainty creeping into Chara's soul. Was that the voice's feelings? Or just how Chara was shaking?
Chara wasn't the only one who was lost.
Undyne's next words, slow and unsure, broke the silence that Astigmatism's declaration caused. "What did you do? What do you mean a fourth stinking soul?"
Astigmatism didn't smile. He only pointed at Undyne with the hand not clutching his holstered sword. "Did you not wonder why the evacuations in the city were so swift and thorough? It's not like that oh-so competent Dr. Alphys helped with the evacuation. Probably above her new pay grade."
You know what? Chara didn't even have to know what Undyne's relationship with Alphys was. Undyne was already frothing at the mouth, how else would that comment would go down but violently?
"Say another thing about her and I'll shove you into a blender!"
A spear materialized in Undyne's hand in an instant, with the blue light breaking up the green and black background of the magical influence. Why the colors green and black Chara didn't know…
"You seem tense Undyne. Might want to cool down before your anger gets you into trouble." Astigmatism didn't grin, but Chara could feel the smugness radiating from the guy.
(Astigmatism is planning something. Your party's Defense goes down).
Chara still ignored the voice's incredibly unhelpful comments, even if they did take note of the way Undyne's guard more or less dropped out of anger. Maybe the voice was onto something, but Astigmatism started monologuing which gave Chara time to start planning a way out of this.
"While wandering Hotland, the Knight found someone wondering where they shouldn't. Apparently they were cooking up trouble from what I hear, but the Knight had this well in hand." Astigmatism laughed at that, an inside joke that did nothing to inform or endear the man to the two recipients.
Undyne's eye noticeably twitched. "What part of that has to do with Asgore giving me a job to do?"
Undyne probably still didn't get what Astigmatism was going towards, but Chara bared their teeth in both disgust and relief that an entire evacuation wasn't solely their own stupid fault.
"I'm not the only human wandering around. That's great. Can we go now?"
Undyne whipped her head to Chara, taking her eyes off Astigmatism. "What do you mean?" But she was clearly putting the pieces together and since Chara still felt rather grateful towards the fish, they didn't make the joke of her not being the sharpest tool in the fishmonger's kit.
"Oh Asgore no…" Wait, she finally figured it out the math of four souls minus one.
Astigmatism didn't move or take the advantage at all, even when Undyne was distracted and off guard. Chara's unbandaged hand wrapped around their knife but kept the blade out of Astigmatism's view. He was stalling with monologues and speeches, and Chara couldn't figure out why. Time was on their side after all. Sans was supposed to teleport in ten minutes ago, but Astigmatism wouldn't know that back up was coming.
Huh. Backup was a funny word…
(You get the feeling you've walked into a trap)
The voice was worried now, and part of that worry shifted to Chara's own insecurity. The nugget of thought in their head began to grow and grow into a full blown mouse caught inside a deathtrap.
Undyne and Chara were stuck in a cramped alleyway. There weren't many ways for other guards to get into the alleyway to help, but by consequence, there wasn't all too many ways for Chara to get out. If someone blocked the exits, they'd be trapped inside. Sure Sans could get them out, but he was late already, and Chara couldn't trust him seeing as they were introduced maybe a whole hour ago.
(Ask about the Knight. I've never heard of them before).
"What about this Knight? Did he capture the other human?" Chara reluctantly asked, more to stall for time than any actual interest.
Bleh. Other human. The word sounded foul, like tar on their tongue, but Astigmatism didn't have to know Chara hated humanity. All he needed was to assume a camaraderie like the rest of the sheep.
Undyne cast an awkward glance after their comment, but their foe didn't pick up on it.
Astigmatism, laughed, probably all too happy to keep going with his monologue and sealing their fate further.
"Sorry human. If you expected your friend to help you out, they're already taken care of. Their soul is being delivered to Asgore as we speak."
(Oh no)...
Asgore probably wouldn't take to that too well. Judging from the way Undyne flinched back, she knew that too because Undyne immediately began shouting curses at the smug monster watching their reactions.
Now Chara didn't care about humans, but they did care about how Astigmatism might see their next move. Thanks to Chara's stellar acting ability, they knew exactly how to sink to the ground and grab their knees in a believable and unexaggerated show of despair. Undyne's confused look was just because she couldn't understand how great an actor Chara was. Astigmatism seemed to be buying it!
Or he was too busy gloating.
(Did you make a plan? You could try monologuing back at him and stall for Sans).
No. Chara's plan was far more devious.
Chara fell to the ground in what looked like shock, but in all honestly they didn't care about one human or fifty humans being killed. But to the uneducated eye, it looked like Chara just sunk into grief. Neither monster noticed the bandaged hand that gasped some of the gravel and grit from the road. The two were too busy with confronting one another and being bamboozled by Chara's great deceptive skill.
(Please don't Chara. That's a terrible plan, and I flirt with people who try to kill me).
Not listening! Not listening! They were too busy gathering up rocks for their newest master caper.
(You know Simon says? Let's play Frisk says! Good, now think of a better plan)!
So the voice's name was Frisk was it? Good to know, but Frisk didn't say Simon says. The fact that their conscience decided to name themselves was something to worry about on another day. Right now, Chara didn't care because they were busy lulling Astigmatism into a false sense of security with their previously mentioned amazing acting ability. Too bad all their talent was being wasted since their foe was far more concerned with how much Undyne wanted to skewer him.
"You treacherous dog! Why haven't you checked your phone! Asgore filled you in! He should have told you everything" Her spear was wavering back and forth, like she couldn't quite decide where to stab Astigmatism.
"A few days ago, and I would have thought you to be thrilled at a third soul."
Undyne snarled. "Why don't you wait one stinking minute, so I can explain why!"
Only, Astigmatism wasn't listening. He was still stalling for time and Chara could swear that there was movement behind him. Was that his backup? The glint of knives and lost hope?
(Or Sans. Please be Sans).
"Asgore has not been informed, but he should be pleased he will not have to face this human. All thanks to the Knight. And now, I'll get another one in the same day."
Chara was being ignored. Funny, usually that wasn't a problem underground. One would think that bloodthirsty humans would be the top of the priority list, but to be fair, Chara could admit Undyne was more than a little bit terrifying at the moment.
"That better be you in the background Sans!"
Undyne was practically frothing at the mouth, but she finally picked up on that movement behind Astigmatism. Wait, no there was someone behind them too! Still, the intensity of her shout coupled with her spear pointing out the figure in the background drew Astigmatism's gaze for a quick second.
A second was all Chara needed.
"Run you stupid fish!"
Chara hurled their handful of rocks and gravel straight at Astigmatism. His arm was just too slow to cover his great singular eye which meant that a whole handful of Chara's special attack hit him where it hurt.
"My eye!"
Chara immediately bolted in the opposite direction, barging past whoever was in the shadows on their end. The nameless monster fell to the floor. Chara had been right to be worried about being surrounded as on the opposite side of the alleyway, another monster in black guard armor rushed to help Astigmatism who was crying out in pain.
Chara ran as fast as their legs could carry them away. Meanwhile, Undyne kept the blistering pace that Chara was setting thanks to her longer legs and no doubt helped by the fact that Undyne was pure rage at this point. Chara could tell because that vein by Undyne's eye was twitching without halt.
"You couldn't wait ten seconds you punk! I was trying to use diplomacy!"
"Didn't you point a spear at Astigmatism?" Chara quite reasonably pointed out, and while there was no time to stop in place and laugh, the look on Undyne's face was pretty hilarious.
"I point a spear at everyone!" Undyne's case didn't exactly help itself with that statement, but at the very least Undyne was going along with Chara's flawless escape plan. "Quick question genius. How is Sans going to pick us up now?"
"He wasn't showing in the first place!"
That did make Undyne go quiet for a quick second which was good because Chara actually didn't think this far ahead. Undyne didn't need to know that. She was too busy furrowing her brow in thought. After a few moments of hard running and obviously harder to handle thoughts, she spoke up.
"Look. The king's path is two streets away. We can get Home and tear into Sans later."
Chara was only half-listening. "Two streets down. Got it."
"Stick close kid!" Undyne looked behind her back for pursuit, not breaking stride. "Right now. I've got a bad feeling about all of this. The captain wasn't acting normal. And there's no way a third soul just fell down randomly." Undyne sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Chara...
So yeah. Apparently some human was dead. Clearly something to be mourned…
Alrighty, mourning period was over. Chara burst out of the alleyway and opened up into the cold lamplight of one of the streets which was good news and bad news. The good news was that Chara recognized some of the buildings even if it had been a couple years.
The chocolate shop still had the same massive chocolate cake display they tried to eat but found out was cardboard. The bookstore was still being being renovated which raised some questions Chara didn't have time to answer about decades of progress. The game store still displayed board games that Asriel would have gone crazy over. Chara passed through these streets dozens of times in the past, trailing behind Asriel as he nervously explained the function of different stores or talking about his favorite places to buy action figures, sorry collector's statues. So yeah, overall good news.
The bad news was that the street was completely crowded with monsters. Big monsters, little monsters, red monsters, and a fire-breathing monster. Dozens of monsters were standing outside a big metal building, chatting, gossiping, crowding one another as more came pouring out onto the open streets like some kind of farmer's market of monstrosity.
(The sight of the evacuation being called off fills you with Determination)
Only, Chara's stomach sank. There were three guards that looked to be in charge of directing the crowd. Two of the guards were wearing black armor that encased their features entirely, save for the helmets that denoted their species and left room to other guard, a dog monster, wore a vest but had a wicked looking scimitar at his side. He looked up to see Chara and immediately drew his weapon.
(Wait, I stand corrected. You're feeling exasperation. Narration isn't as easy as it looks you know).
Chara felt a hand on their shoulder, but any retort they had cut short when Undyne stepped in between them and the three approaching guards. At the same time, Astigmatism and another guard came barreling out of the alleyway, forcing Undyne to widen her stance to cover Chara from both angles.
"Be very still. Don't draw their attention kid"
Undyne started whispering something to them, but for all their life, Chara couldn't hear her. Chara's bandaged hand hurt and the hand clutching their knife was shaking. They weren't worried though. They were just shaking in place and couldn't tell the voices from their head apart and Asriel was sick...
(Stay with me, Chara) But even the voice, Frisk, was faint...
"Royal Guards. 3 and 4, Undyne is a traitor. Take her in. Doggo help me apprehend the human." Astigmatism's eye was an ugly red, irritated by the effect of Chara's special attack. His voice sounded as gravely as the dirt he'd soon be.
No. Chara didn't want to hurt him. Chara didn't want to hurt anyone. The guards, rather reluctantly, began circling around Undyne who was protesting to deaf ears. And Chara couldn't find a way out of the street. Their freedom was one street away, but crowds of monsters on either end blocked off any routes. Go go any further would risked them getting in the way, or worse Chara hurting them by accident.
It was the guards who were slowly circling around that Chara didn't want to hurt. The onlooking crowd that scrambled to stay away yet still cling close enough to the sidelines to see the bloodbath were blocking the way out. Chara didn't want to hurt them, but they were in the way, and Chara was so tired.
Their wandering eyes returned to Astigmatism, who noticed their glare and sneered. He lifted his voice again, not budging his eye from Chara. "Guards. There's also a little boss monster aiding the two. Treat him as hostile and dangerous."
Asriel? Hostile and dangerous? Did the guardsman even flinch at that order, or was Chara too shaky to hear past the ringing in their ears?
(His cruel words lower you defense).
Chara couldn't hear them, too busy mourning Mercy. Astigmatism needed to die. Chara could jab their knife so far in that they could take a shower in the dust he'd make. All the world did was hurt them and all Chara could do was hurt the world back. Even if the demon didn't want to, it was all they could do to cling to life. Even if they wanted to just live and forget, even if the world was full of flowers and dreemurs, Chara couldn't die like this.
Chara would not die like this.
Funny that Undyne was thinking the exact same thing.
FWOOSH!
A flash of blue light emerged from the cracked street in between the guards and their position. In one smooth movement, dozens of spears emerged from the ground to form what looked like a wall of pointy attitude and defiance. Only the nameless knight helping Astigmatism didn't flinch. Doggo jumped back as one spear nearly hit him, and R.G. 3 and 4 found their paths blocked.
"Hey kid,You're panicking. It will be fine. Look at me and breath alright?"
Chara was too far gone. Could you hyperventilate while still feeling like you didn't have a soul? Their head hurt and their body moved like it wasn't in their control...
"Kid?"
"Chara!"
Chara jolted forward when, a hand seared their shoulder with fire, but Undyne quickly let go when they saw Chara's look of discomfort. Her next words were soft, almost whispered in the grand scheme of things.
"I promise you that you're going to make it home Chara."
Undyne was sweating, perspiration forming on her blue face. On the other side of the spearwall, Chara could hear the clanging of metal and magic trying to break through, but Undyne's focus was solely on them.
"Breath in and out. There's a hole in the crowd over by that corner. If you run, you can be at home in a matter of minutes."
Chara tried to speak up, but words failed them. Undyne wasn't focusing on the guards trying to break though her magic, or the crowd that was gasping at the scene. All she did was smile. Their bared shark teeth reminded Chara more of the last defiant smile they'd see in shows or TV before a character would go off to their death.
Why was Undyne acting like this?
"Get home and bar the door. Wait for Asgore or Gerson to come get you. Sans too, though he might not bother with the door." Undyne chuckled at that, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, which were burning with equal parts fury and fondness.
Chara wanted to ask what she was talking about, but the way Undyne's hands were curled into a fist told the story far better.
"Can you tell Asgore I'm sorry? Warn him that something's messing with everyone's heads."
(Undyne is telling you to move on) Frisk was stating the obvious, but their broken tone said otherwise.
"You feel like this is goodbye." Chara closed their eyes and snapped them open."But it isn't. You still have something to do."
Their knife was shaking again. And Chara really loved that knife. Asgore gave it to them, Chara even told Undyne about the knife. It was their knife. It was a weapon that you could use to make things. You could help things grow by cutting with the blade. You could take a thing that only destroys and let them plant flowers with you. Chara loved that knife almost as much as they loved the Dreemurs.
Which is why Chara shoved the knife into Undyne's hand.
"You are going to give that back."
Undyne was quiet for a moment, letting the knife sit in her hand for a second. "I promise."
(Through the chaos of battle, your friendship fills you with determination).
Undyne wasn't a friend, Not really. They talked once without trying to kill each other. How could Chara call that a friendship? Undyne was a brash and arrogant fish. Undyne wasn't a friend, but as Chara ran towards the gap in the crowd and their freedom, they kinda wished she was.
Meanwhile, underneath a laboratory, there lay a refrigerator. Clearly, a strange sight. An oddity that was amplified by the area around the fridge being surrounded by large computer monitors and files of papers that Sans never bothered to pick up on his last cleaning job. Look, even as circumstances beyond comprehension bit at the thumb of fate, Sans was busy making a mess of his own in the kitchenette in the basement.
Don't get him wrong. Sans knew perfectly well when to get serious, and the situation with the prince looked bad enough that he was willing to voluntarily hurry up and give a helping hand. He could stay around for the few minutes and help Alphys out with the prince. Then, he could go swing back and get the human kid out from the bloodthirsty monsters. It was a simple plan, but Sans was a simple guy.
Just one problem.
Sans felt exhausted. Not just tired in the need to take a nap kinda way but the kind of exhaustion that meant walking hurt. Sans needed to take a nap. Like really bad. Shortcuts weren't easy, and he didn't exactly get much sleep before this whole apocalypse happened. He could take five minutes to get some energy back, right?
Sans opened the refrigerator, grabbing some of the bottles of water and more importantly, snagging the last of the Grillby brand ketchup. He didn't bother with any pleasantries when he took a long, slow draught of the good stuff. He probably should go stock up on some more when he had the-
Beep. File Loaded.
Sans didn't drop the bottles, but man was he close to making a big mess. For some reason, one of the old computers was still up and running. Worse, it seemed to be sparking electricity of all things! Green and black numbers began to scroll up and down the home page with various symbols written in all manner of unreliable fonts. Like comic sans. For some reason, he never really liked that font…
Yeah right. Sans' inner comedy was being wasted in the basement. Sans set down the water bottles next to the monitor. He could take a whole extra minute to make sure the computer wouldn't start a fire. Alphys would be fine.
"What were you monitoring here old man?" Sans joked out loud, touching the literal computer monitor which was still firing the occasional spark in the air. The electricity stung, but other than that, Sans' hand only felt warm. The green and black text began to coalesce, forming big white letters that said-
Don't Forget.
"Don't forget what?" Sans drew back his hand to scratch his chin. Pretty weird thing for the time-space monitor to start talking about. The thing didn't work at all back when Sans-
"You're looking ill Sans."Sans didn't blink when a voice called out from behind him. It was a deep, slightly nasally tone that he could have sworn he heard somewhere before. When he turned around, he remembered where he heard the voice. Everyday at training!
It was captain what's his face. The lion. Lionbrow, that was it! He was looking like he just walked in from Hotland, with his fur all sweating. He looked pretty uncomfortable, but heat did that to everyone with skin, or so Sans was told.
"When did you come in boss?"
Now maybe Sans felt so slow because he was tired. His mind was so sleepy, he could practically hear the lullaby sending him to sweet oblivion. He stayed awake though, like the champ he was!
Yeah right, Sans shook himself, nearly nodding off after his first sentence. Lionbrow thankfully just took his sleepiness in stride.
"Well, I arrived with Look-At-Me not a minute ago. Alphys may have kindly instructed me to go where I wasn't in the way." He smiled a bit too bashfully. Lionbrow phrased that pretty weird, but Sans was too exhausted to think about how Alphys reacted to a bunch of superiors walking in. Oh wait, she was royal scientist now. Guess that meant peers. Wait a minute...
"Weren't you guys meeting with Asgore? Undyne kinda filled me in." Sans swayed in pace. He was really tired all of a sudden...
"Well, the king stormed off to be on his own. I think he went on the King's path for a bit to cool down." Lionbrow stretched out his claws which caused Sans' eyes to follow the arc of his boss' lazy stretch. Maybe both of them needed a day off...
"Anyway, I convinced Look-At-Me to meet a new friend of mine. The knight. I'm sure you're well aware of him."
Sans just yawned. "Never heard of the guy."
Lionbrow grinned. "You don't know the knight? Funny, he told me so many things about you."
Huh, that lullaby was really relaxing. In fact, Sans found himself curling up into a small ball right then and there. It wasn't like he had anything important to do. Why not take a nap right now? He could even surprise Papyrus later by telling him all about the royal guard.
Yeah, a nap sounded really nice. Sans began to drift off into sleep where he stood. He could stand to sleep a little. Lionbrow was there. He could take care of whatever it was Sans was doing.
That lullaby lingered for a second longer, one last chorus ringing out to its captive audience.
Behind the sleeping Sans, the time-space monitor and its display of green and black numbers was frozen in place, scrambled in a jumble of meaningless letters and symbols. There was only one message worth reading.
Thank You... Your Wonderful Creation... Will now be discarded.
And even that disappeared into a mess of static after Lionbrow closed the program, whistling a funeral dirge not so different than the one his new ally so helpfully provided. Lionbrow brushed the dirt of his clothes, grabbed a water bottle, and went on his merry way. But Sans didn't notice that. He just slumbered on as watching eyes made note of the situation and planned accordingly.