Chapter 30: The Chapter that Killed BadDRUMMERboy15

Needless to say, the owl was no longer around. Chara had not killed the annoying imbecile, but they had definitely made sure it wouldn't cross them again. They still had kept that lens the owl gave them though. What use it was, they didn't know. To them, it just looked like some cryptic lens.

They were getting in too deep to these woods. The tremors had stopped, which slightly worried them. The magic aura that used to be in the air was completely gone. Even though it came as a dramatic turn in events, this worried them to a degree. If the Royal Guard had responded, would it have been enough to take out whatever was out there?

Without tremors or magic to guide them, they were now stuck with wandering aimlessly. The worst part was just how dark and silent it was. At this rate, they were going to get lost. Who knew that the mountain could have this much space under it? Or, they were just walking round and round in a circle.

Attention shifting to the lens in hand, they got slightly curious. Why would the owl, a talking one at that, give them a lens? Maybe they should have listened to how it worked… Either way, they decided to amuse themself. Chara held the lens up to their right eye, looking at the environment.

Just as expected, they only saw the same trees and snow, but with a purple hue to them. "This is pointless…" They muttered, dropping the lens from their eye. Before they let it escape from their field of few, they could have sworn they caught a glimpse of something.

Believing their eyes were playing tricks on them, Chara put the lens up again just to make sure. They gazed around for a moment, trying to find whatever the thing was that they saw. Before they could give up on it again, they saw a glimpse of something passing through the trees. Curiosity taking hold of them, they ran after the mysterious entity. However, as soon as they lowered the lens, they found out that they could no longer see it. Placing two and two together, they understood what this thing might be able to do.

Raising the lens, Chara began charging after the passerby. They were only able to see slight wisps trailing after it as it floated in between trees. With the lens up to their eye, it gave them the sense of a horror movie. It was getting difficult to keep up.

However, they remained determined. Kicking up snow, they endured the long trek. Was this thing scared of them? Chara eventually realized they were gaining ground on it. It had come to a complete stop, gazing off in the distance at something. Chara wouldn't give it another chance to run. Before even considering what they were doing, they lunged at the entity.

Only to phase right through it.

Much to their surprise, they face planted right into the snow. Alarmed, they rolled over, facing the thing once again. To their astonishment, they were staring straight at a ghost. It shouldn't have been much a surprise, as ghosts already existed in the Underground, but this one seemed extremely different. For one, they could only see it through the lens. Secondly, it was surprised.

It pointed to itself, then the human. Cocking its head to the side, it asked with unsurety, "Can… can you see me?"

Chara cautiously stood up, trying to feel for a weapon. Of course, they had none. Frisk still had their locket and Real Knife. These limitations needed to be addressed as soon as possible. "Who are you?" Chara questioned, trying to act threatening.

"I could ask you the same…" The ghost in question crossed his burly arms. "One day, I am at peace, and the next I am finding that not only have I come back… but everything has changed…" It seemed to be thinking to itself, at a loss of what was going on.

That sounded familiar. It clicked in their brain what could be possibly going on. Was this an inhabitant of the world they had come to? Chara hadn't put much thought into just what the Underground could have been to this world. Why hadn't they asked? "What are you even talking about?" They tried to see if they could get some answers.

"Do you even know what is above this mountain?" The ghost questioned, dropping its arms to its side. It seemed to have a problem staying still.

Chara scoffed in annoyance. "Who do you take me for? An idiot?" It was their turn to look pissed. They hated it when people would try to insult them in any way. "Of course I know what's up there. The question is, what are you even doing out here, and how did you end up like that?" Alright… maybe they still needed to work on their temper.

Just maybe…

The strange ghost before them frowned. "Did they ever teach the young to respect their elders?"

"If they did, I didn't listen." Chara deadpanned, an unamused expression on their face. "Just answer the question!"

With a sigh, the ghost decided not to test their temper, for the sake of his sanity. "Child... My name is Darmani."

Awkward Silence…

"Wooooow!" Chara did jazz hands with a static expression on their face. "Over dramatic much?" If there was one thing Chara realized about this new timeline, it was the fact that nearly everyone was annoying. Everything seemed overdramatized. Not to mention the vast unpredictability…

Darmani was not amused in the slightest. "I have been observing for a long time. But… it is unexpected that you were the one who found the lens of truth…" He eyed the purple lens in their hand with suspicion. "The Hero of Time was the one who gained that possession…"

"The Hero of-?" Chara shook their head, "Listen, I don't have time for this cryptic crap you're pulling. I need to find whatever has been shaking the Underground… or what was..."

Seemingly interested now, Darmani glanced to the deeper part of the woods. Uneasiness began showing on his face. "I do not think you should be looking for that thing." This world had strayed too far off from the normal, and Darmani now was worried for the inhabitant's safety. "I have been watching ever since everything… went back to how it was before."

Chara's eyes widened at what he had just spoken. "Wait, repeat that."

"Don't act like you don't know." The ghost gave an accusing glare. "When I found myself like this again, I looked for the one who caused it. The boy who gave me peace couldn't have done that. Then, I found you."

Their face flushed red in anger. Why couldn't they stop getting sidetracked by annoying people. "You know what! I no longer care!" They had a job to do, and this idiot wasn't going to help. This seemed to be a reoccurring problem. "If you aren't going to be any use to me, just go back to whatever grave you crawled out of."

Deciding just to ignore the ghost, Chara tried to continue on their aimless trek through the forest. Darmani let them, continuing to gaze off into the woods wistfully. How has it come to this? He asked himself, that burdening memory engraved in his mind. The one where the boy, clad in green, had come to heal him. It had all been for nothing, hadn't it?

Now, they have the lens of truth. They tampered with time, and now we are back here… Darmani thought, trying to make sense of what had happened. There was really no telling what could have happened, as he had no memories after he gave up his strength. He could only presume Link had succeeded when he was laid to rest. But then, everything went back.

There was no longer a Snowhead Temple. The castle-like peak of that place had been overwritten by a snowy mountain. From the distance, you wouldn't be able to see it. Darmani had seen it with his own eyes. A whole new race emerged from the mountain that day. Curious, he had followed them.

That was when he saw Link amongst them. The boy was on some sort of stealth mission, seemingly stripped of all of his tools. Not to mention, he looked different from his normal form. He looked all the same to Darmani. Link was able to rewind the time, much to the shock of the goron. Yet, he noticed one thing. Link did still have his possessions gained on that day.

He observed further, following the monsters once again. Then, he saw that it was not Link who turned back the clock. It was a small child, with a ghost in their head. Darmani had indeed been able to see this child that was before him. Apparently they hadn't observed far enough to find him lurking. Which came as quite a surprise, as he was fairly bulky.

The question he had begun to ask himself was, were these people trustworthy? Sans the skeleton had attacked a child, and he had free will over his actions. The other corrupted beasts that resided the land only had the mindset to kill. The child Frisk seemed to have a dangerous skill with weaponry, as he saw with Goht just moments before. Chara just seemed ill willed. Could these people be trusted?

The one other question that kept burning in his mind the most was, how would he get to Link if Chara had the lens of truth? How would Link even convince them to give it? This was such a conundrum and so confusing. So many things that were unaccounted for. He came to a conclusion, "Wait…" He called after the human, floating forward.

Chara glanced backwards. "What do you want? Come to pull an owl on me?" They asked, trying to make a joke out of the encounter with the owl. It was a dry one, as there is nothing funny about that damned owl.

Grimacing at how irritating this would be, Darmani answered, "I want to make a deal with you." Bargaining. "I will guide you to your friends…" Chara seemed interested. "Only if you give that lens to the boy in green."

Seemingly amused, Chara accepted the terms. "Fine. It's not like this thing is useful for anything other than looking at your ugly face."

Sass +100

Darmani would have just clobbered them right there, but he was a ghost. Gathering up all his patience, he spoke, "Then… follow me." Before he floated off into the direction he saw the fight, he made one more term. "And I'll abandon you if you keep saying things like that."

Chara shrugged, following the slightly irritated goron. "I never agreed to that part."

The ground was shaking again. It was smaller, but noticeable now that they were presumably closer. It gave the feeling of impending doom, and Chara was getting worried for once. Never before had they felt this kind of power from anything. Maybe Asriel or Omega Flowey would be able to top this magical strength.

Darmani seemed to have felt it to. The goron was moving noticeably faster now, floating with urgency. Goht had grown significantly stronger. It worried him majorly. He almost didn't want to continue further, as he feared for his non existent life. Forgetting that he was a ghost, he didn't even consider Goht wouldn't be able to see or interact with him.

Chara must have felt the same fear, as they began speeding up in haste. Internally cursing for not having a weapon, they began running. Darmani's eyes widened in alarm that they were heading right towards Goht, who couldn't have been far anymore. "Hey! Where are you going?"

They didn't respond, weaving through the trees in haste. Splintering of bones echoed through the woods. Chara could only assume the worst as they stumbled headlong into the clearing. Goht was charging a defenseless Papyrus. Why was he out here alone? Failing to notice the large rocks that were covering the rest, Chara didn't bother wasting time to find a weapon.

Still advancing on Goht, they snatched a bone shard off the ground. It would have to do. Before the beast could impale Papyrus, they felt something burning within them. It was that familiar feeling that they welcomed with open arms.

They were filled with determination.

Their soul came to life on their chest, pulsing with intensity. The bone in their hand shone red as they stepped in front of Papyrus. Both Goht's and Chara's eyes locked with each other. Both shone with red intensity, one trying to overpower the other. A sickening grin appeared on the child's face as they batted the bone at Goht's in coming horns. A red shockwave came from the impact, shocking both Chara and Goht itself. The beast toppled over, nearly crushing the pair.

In one swift motion, Chara snatched Papyrus by the arm, and pulled them both out of harm's way. They toppled through the snow as Goht tried to regain its footing. It took a moment for Chara to be able to get up from that blow they had just given. From what they knew, they were not capable of that… at all. They only had a LOVE of one at the moment.

Papyrus seemed to shocked to even stand. His bones were rattling as he saw Goht had fully recovered, facing them with rage. Darmani appeared from the woods, finally able to catch up. Goht had considerably become stronger. The obvious weak spot was the eye on its back, but it was shielded by dark magic. What could have done this?

In the time it had taken everyone to recover, a trident slashed through the rocks in the distance. Chara's eyes widened as Asgore burst through the wreckage, trident held back for a strike. His eyes flashed blue and orange, preparing the respective attack. With ferocity, he hacked at the shield Goht had formed around him. It was serving no use until the purpose of the attack was known. Asgore was buying time for everyone else to escape the wreckage of boulders.

The king was trying not to lose focus. He needed to stay strong if they were all to survive. When escaping, he was able to see a familiar face fighting Goht. But for now, he didn't need to think of that. Lives were on the line, and he was their king. Fire erupted from his trident, burning through the snow and bursting through the ground like a volcano. The shield protecting Goht covered his whole body, rendering the attack useless. How was there a way to kill this thing?

On the other side of the battlefield, Darmani was analyzing the situation. As the leader of the Gorons, he was normally tasked with planning attacks such as these. There had to be a weak point where they could get to that eye. "Try using the Lens of Truth to find a weak point. There has to be one…" He muttered to the human.

At a loss of other ideas, Chara followed suit. It was hard to focus on Goht when it was running around with a crazed intent. In a lucky glimpse, they caught something shining on its head. It seemed to stand out in the lens when looking through. The Red Crystal on its head seemed to be controlling the shield. Maybe, if they hit that…

A strike of lightning caught them off guard, blasting right where they once stood. They were too slow, as an electrical current surged through their body. The lens began shattering as the magic began trying to corrupt it.

2/8 HP

Asgore finally noticed why he was so distracted when he saw a face. It was Chara that he had seen. "CHARA!" He called as they fell to the snow, twitching uncontrollably. Anger began filling him as he refaced Goht. This wouldn't end in them losing. Goht had not only threatened his people, but now he had threatened his child. There was no time to even worry about just how Chara was standing there. Other things needed to be addressed.

Facing the rest of the Royal Guard, he saw just how injured they all were. Fighting in these conditions would be a death sentence for them. "Undyne," He called to the warrior. She could only glance up, clutching her arm in pain. "You all get out of here. Get Chara to safety."

"But-" Undyne coughed up a small amount of dust. "What about you? We can't leave you out here!"

"Undyne. GO!" He commanded, readying his trident in combat.

The captain nodded in fear, rushing to the human and skeleton sprawled on the ground. Chara was muttering something worrying when she approached. Listening closely, she heard something that made no sense at the moment. "Where is the lens? Where did it go?" She arched a brow in confusion, but tried to get Chara off the ground as Dogamy and Dogaressa handled Papyrus.

That was until everyone saw the purple glint of the Lens of Truth flying through the air. It came crashing down, being struck by Goht's lightning. Glass shattered in all directions, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. All except Frisk…

Frisk had opened their eyes when the spectacle occurred. They were only surprised at the sudden occurrence, but regretted it in a few moments. One lone shard, by some stroke of horrible luck, was able to pierce into their eye. They dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. So many pangs of the searing magic pulsed through them, flowing into their veins.

In a fit of rage, Asgore began raining fire from the sky. If no one knew magic existed, it would look like the apocalypse was taking place. None of the flames were doing anything. Frisk was withering on the ground, crying from the immense pain. But, there was nothing he could do. There was no time to heal the child.

That was when something that would change the events of this timeline occurred. Frisk's eyes opened again, but they were no longer the usual red. Their eyes had been replaced with the same eye engraved into the lens of truth. Everything seemed clear to them now. The truth of this battle finally made sense in their head as they stared at their friends and Goht. They also were able to see Darmani, but ignored him for the time being.

They could see the crystal. It was a weak point. Asgore seemed relieved that they were alright, but he could not even express it due to the overwhelming pressure of Goht. This was a losing battle, but it would turn in their favor. "Asgore! Attack the crystal!" Frisk called out, an overwhelming sense of wisdom filling them. What was happening?

Nodding, the boss monster made a strike for the crystal in the center of its horns. Surprised, Goht tried to rear back. It was not enough, as Asgore propelled himself into the air, striking the gem like a nail. It began cracking, signifying it was working. Frisk was the strategist, Asgore was the fighter.

Goht tried to charge rounds of lightning and began kicking rocks from the sky. Frisk was able to see the moves, and predict exactly where they would strike and when. Yelling to Asgore about the information, the king was enabled to dodge all of them effortlessly. He struck again and again at the gem, the cracks growing larger until suddenly a loud crack echoed through the air.

Red dust filled the air when the crystal broke. Goht's shield had been taken away. Alarmed, the beast tried to flee to gain some ground. Asgore wouldn't let this happen. Frisk called to him to attack the eye. However, he was already fully aware of just what to do.

Grabbing the beast by the horn, he whispered, "You shall hurt no more with your evil." He promptly slammed its head into the snow, before using this leverage to get on its back. Wasting no time, he grabbed the eye in one of his massive paws. Goht tried to struggle, but nothing happened.

With killing intent to save the ones he loved, Asgore tore the eye from Goht's back, throwing it into the air. With one final stab, Asgore plunged his trident straight through the eye. Goht screamed in pain, falling to the ground in pain.

Ash filled the air as a corrupted soul rested where he once was.

They had won.

Cheers erupted from not only the Royal Guard, but Asgore himself. That was one of the most extreme battles he had ever taken place in. Everyone would be all right… Except for… His expression dropped, realizing who he had seen during this. "C-Chara!" He exclaimed in fear, rushing through the guards to find his adopted child.

Much to his surprise, and utter shock, he was met with a different sight. A woman stood in front of Chara in a protective manner. Undyne had her armor burnt with flames as she was lying on the ground, winded from not one, but two battles. Yes, two.

"Asgore Dreemurr… You have much explaining to do…" The king cowered backwards in a mixture of fear and submission when he saw who was addressing him.

"T-Tori?"

"Don't Tori me Dreemurr." His ex-wife snapped back, fire burning in her eyes. "To think that you would put these children in d-"

Singing.

Asgore glanced around, looking for what had just interrupted Toriel. He thought he heard a faint tune in the distance, but he couldn't quite make it out. "Did… did you hear that?" Frisk asked unsurely.

More singing…

What was about to be Asgore being beaten senseless by Toriel had turned into something terrifying, yet filled them all with wonder. That was until Toriel let out a confused screech. "A-Asgore!? Where are we?"

Thinking his ex-wife had gone crazy, Asgore glanced around. "Why… we are in Snowd-" His gasped in shock as he now realized just what had happened.

They were standing on some stone tower in the sky. Clouds surrounded them, sparkling in the twilight. But, in the distance was what everyone had focused on. There was a giant, singing the Oath to Order.

Terror would describe what they all felt if it wasn't that they felt a sense of safety here. Something was off about all of this, but they couldn't figure it out. Undyne had just gotten back up to her knees, gazing with wonder at the figure in the distance.

"So… what can we do to stop this?" A purple fairy questioned, glancing with uncertainty at the timeline. "It will all go back if time is reset… or… whatever you call it."

The scientist grinned. "I have plans…"

Link glanced up, the icy wind freezing him slowly. At this rate, the two children would both die up here. He wanted to protect Asriel. Despite how short of a time they had been with each other, he felt a strong connection to the young prince. It was a will to protect him, just like he had done to the rest. Even if it meant sacrificing his life.

He smiled bitterly, realizing how this would have never happened if he was paying more attention. Asriel had wandered off, unattended. Now, he was close to death. Whoever had done this would have hell to pay…

Huddling closer, Link accepted that he may fail here. There was no way to get out of the storm now. The Song of Soaring was useless, as he would be blown off course. This was hopeless, and he had failed, hadn't he?

Singing made his ears perk up in wonder.

"With our strength… you will be set free…" Frisk translated, their eyes dilating to tell them what ancient language the giants were speaking. "Some of you are needed to fulfill your final quest…" What quest the giant was referring to, they didn't know. "Go, go and save us all."

The snow was melting away. Link gasped in surprise when he saw the snow turning to warm, green grass. A barrier of hot, spring weather washed over him, beginning to thaw ice that had formed on the boy. How had this happened? He hadn't defeated Goht… Oh well, he wasn't one to be complaining.

Tatl cautiously emerged from his hat, glancing around. Seeing the spring weather, she was just surprised as him. "W-What? How did this happen?"

The boy shrugged, still holding onto Asriel. The prince had begun breathing evenly again, much to his relief. Whatever force was behind this, he would have to be sure to repay them.

Crack.

Tatl whirled around, seeing the barrier form a crack. "Uh… Link?"

CRACK

The boy turned around slightly, trying not to disturb Asriel. His sapphire eyes widened when he saw the barrier glowing with ferocity.

"The giants of this timeline will ensure the barrier stays broken as it should…" Gaster spoke with glee. "It is our job to guide them here to do so…"

"So… I'll be able to go home?" Tael asked, perking up.

"No… I'm afraid…" Gaster admitted, seeing Tael's disappointment. "You are still needed for greater things. Just give some time…"

CRASH

The barrier came tumbling down, glassy shards exploding from the peaks. Tatl began shaking, and Link knew why. The monsters had finally emerged, and he had their prince with him. Oh dear lord.

AN: I LIVE!

I'm so bloody tired right now. I stayed up past midnight to update this because I felt so bad for not updating in two weeks, (maybe more).

So, near the end I kinda lost consciousness... so please tell me if something just sounded odd XD

I am going to be more trying to finish Hoping for Determination, so I may update that more until New Years (which is when I plan to end it)

A poll has opened on my profile. Go check it out :3

I AM TIRED RIGHT NOW OMFG

BadDRUMMERboy15 Signing Off