[Author's Note: Guys, trust me. You'll know for sure when this story is over cuz there'll be a big, fat THE END at the bottom of the page. Chill. ALSO, I'd like to thank you guys for your support and for being patient with my slow chapter output. Remember when I used to write one or two of these a day? Good times.]
Frisk wiggled their feet under the soft blanket they slept beneath as they waited for morning to arrive. Tomorrow, Frisk and their adopted siblings would be going to Asgore's home for the weekend to spend some quality time with the big, furry boss monster. Frisk was planning to maybe talk to him about interacting with Toriel more often to perhaps have them become friends. That was all Frisk wanted, really. They just wanted their family to be as happy as possible.
Asriel held tight to his small, fluffy stuffed sheep as he tried his hardest to get some rest for the next day. He was actually quite anxious about to following weekend. For some reason, despite everything he went through, he still had a seed of doubt in the back of his mind that he hoped would never sprout. Asriel knew what he was capable of as a flower, and it scared him. It scared him more than anything to think about what would happen if his compassion and ability to feel loved vanished one day. He prayed that the day would never come for fear that he would turn back into a flower. Asriel told himself that if he ever did find himself in that situation again, that he'd never kill again. This internal pep-talk did little to nothing, since he remembered his plan with Chara and his refusal to kill. Once he was a flower long enough, he abandoned that ideology, and the idea of doing that again terrified the child. Worst of all, in the midst of all of Asriel's conflicting feelings of hope and despair, he felt very... odd. He didn't feel sick nor did he feel angry or sad, he just didn't feel quite like himself at the time. Despite this, Asriel shrugged it off as being very, very tired and did his best to get some sleep. There was no point in upsetting himself over something he cannot control, after all.
Chara remained silent as they stared at the ceiling of the dark room for several hours. Something was bugging them like a thorn in their side. If they truly wanted to do the right thing, then shouldn't they just disappear? They weren't the best person, after all. However, if they just up and left or did something drastic, everyone would be upset, especially Toriel and Asgore. Something had to be done, but what? In the meantime of finding a solution, Chara allowed their thoughts to wander. They played with the thoughts of having Frisk's power of determination again. They played with the thoughts of having power in general, before remembering that they did have power at one point.
Chara remembered having the power to delete things and make said things completely non-existent, but only if Frisk said so because of their determination. Sure, they could close the game, but never delete anything unless Frisk said it was all right. They could remember back when Frisk gave them their SOUL and how they completely erased this world, but when the world was brought back, they knew that two new files had been added in the same area as Frisk's SAVE. These files are what enabled Chara to come back after the best ending. They are also what essentially allowed Frisk to bring them back from the dead. So, a single question remained in the now grinning child's mind...
What would happen if those files were deleted?
Sure, they may only be simple text documents, but they brought Chara back. So, in theory, couldn't getting rid of them essentially disable Chara's ability to have come back in the first place, thus erasing them from the still continuing timeline, along with everyone's memories of Chara as well? These thoughts especially made Chara excited. If they went through with something like that, Frisk wouldn't be able to do a thing about it because in order to bring Chara back, they'd have to completely reset everything and then go on a no-mercy route, before following it through to the end. To Chara, this plan was genius. It would make people happy, it would erase their existential crisis, and it wouldn't harm the safety of Frisk's pacifist run. Yes, their plan seemed perfect, but they still needed something that they lacked at that moment; a stronger sense of determination, or just a stronger power than Frisk in general.
With every ounce of energy they had, Chara thought about what they were doing this for. They were doing it to be a better person. They were doing it to make everyone happy. They were doing this, making themself a sacrifice, for Azzy especially. Chara desperately fought for the power to have Azzy live a normal, full life. They wanted him to be able to wake up without guilt and smile. They just wanted him to be everything he wanted to be, but without Chara. This was something they were willing to give up just for them to be free of Chara's burdonous life.
Ironically, what Chara was doing didn't do much more than give them a headache. Why isn't it working, they wondered with furrowed brows. It worked the last time I thought of Azzy! So, why is it not working now? Am I perhaps not strong enough?
At that point, Chara went from excited to dismal. They were ready to throw a hissy-fit and toss their blankets off before stomping around the room like the child they are. They wanted to swear and to break something. They especially wanted to grab the nearest sharp object, preferably a knife, and tear up their bed and pillow. Chara was livid.
Despite these feelings that arose in their stomach and other parts of their body, Chara knew that they couldn't waste their energy on having a temper tantrum. They were above those types of things. Yes, rather than go on a destructive rampage, they bottled up those harmful feelings to use them for another cause. They needed all the energy they could get to overtake Frisk, after all.
An hour passed, and Chara still couldn't gain control of the timeline. Even while asleep, Frisk had an incredibly powerful SOUL. It made Chara wonder how strong they became while defending Asriel. They wondered what they could have done with that sort of energy if they weren't bent on killing Frisk at the time.
It wasn't long before Chara completely abandoned the idea of deleting themself through the process of removing their existence from Frisk's SAVE file. It was a stupid idea, anyway. What Chara didn't know was that even if they did delete those files, they would just reappear soon after doing so. It was a fail-safe of sorts.
Chara rolled over and sighed heavily into their pillow. They felt like they had let Azzy down. The amount of disappointment they felt within themself was incredibly similar to the feeling of getting stuck in a video game to the point where you tried to fix your mistake for hours, but essentially had to reset. They wasted time and effort to accomplish nothing, and realizing this did not make Chara feel any better about themself. They were so ready to disappear; so ready to give Asriel, Toriel, Asgore, and even Frisk long and happy lives without them. Those thoughts were wasted and Chara knew it.
Just as Chara was able to calm themself a bit, they felt a tap on their back. When they looked up to see who said-tapper was, they saw their lovable brother standing before them. Chara's first reaction was to give Asriel a hug, but something about him felt... off. He wasn't smiling or moving at all. In fact, it didn't even look like he was breathing. He appeared almost static aside from his eyes occasionally blinking. Anothing thing Chara noticed about his eyes was they seemed to be... leaking? It almost looked like he played with his mom's mascara to make a crack-like line start from the bottom of his left eye and continue down a bit, and another similar line going up from the top of his right eye. Something about his face was familiar, but Chara couldn't quite place their finger on it.
Chara rubbed their eyes and spoke softly as to not wake Frisk up. "Azzy? Why are you awake? And... what do you have on your face? Is it marker?"
Asriel shook his head slowly while keeping his eye's locked on Chara's. His normal, soft eyes that would usually be filled with happiness and hope were replaced with somewhat glass-like sphere's with emotions that could not be read. They were cold and dark, and what Chara couldn't see was they they were full of malice.
"Asriel, please answer me. It is very late. Why are you up? Do you need me? Did you have a bad dream?"
Slowly, Asriel opened his mouth to speak. His voice sounded almost nostalgic, but not for reasons you might expect. The child didn't sound like himself at all. His voice was deep and had a slight English accent. The words he spoke were slightly distorted, as if they had been spoken backwards and then reversed. "I know what you want, C̒̇̌̈́ĥ̨ͤ̓̔̉a̅̽̽r̎ͬ̄a͒̄̾ͤ," Asriel said.
Chara scooted away from their brother at the sound of his changed voice. They knew something was terribly wrong. "Asriel... why do you sound like that? What did you do?"
'Asriel' chuckled malevolently. "Oh? Do you not r̾͋ͩͤͪ͋̚ȩͭͦͨ͛̽ͦ͐c̡ͮ͊o̴͋̈̎̈́̾̎ġ͂ͩ͒̔͢ņ̃͂̉iͥ̽s͠ȩ̂ my voice, dear Chara? Is your memory that short? Or, must you be reminded of a certain t͋̈́̋ͯ̾͒̊́y͞p̌̽́҉éͤ͝f͒ͥ͜a͗͏c̃̕e?"
"T... typeface... W.D. Gaster? Are you... is this because you gave your SOUL to Asriel?"
Gaster nodded and breathed slowly. "Ah. So you rͣ̊ͭ͗̉e͂̇ͩͮ̓̏̂͠m̉͗̂̈́͆ê̏̏m̈̏ͬ̔ͣ̈͢bͮ̆͂̏ͧ̒è͋̒͌͋͋r̶̽̑͊̾ those events. Good. Oh, what's that l̶ͩo̾ȍ̆ͦͪ͐̀k̷͂ on your face? Are you upset that I am using your dearest bŕͨ́otͯ͆h̴͛e͑͑̎ͮ̆rͥ̀ as a pu̔p͛͑̎ͪͩͭͧpͣ͊̒ͯͬe̷t̒? It's fine if that is the reason- it wouldn't be the first time I got that exact look from an aͤ̎ͥ̅̐͜ņͮ͑͌́gr͐̈́̊̾̉̂͢yͮ͋̋́ͫ́ sibling."
Chara balled their fists but did their best to keep their cool. For once, they decided to be reasonable and ask questions first. "What is your purpose, Gaster? Why are you using Asriel?"
Bit by bit, Gaster allowed Asriel's body to become more expressive; the corners of his mouth twitched to create a small smile, he relaxed his arms a bit to appear less stiff, and it was much easier to see his emotions in his eyes. From what Chara could tell, he was elated.
"Ah yes, t̢̒͂̇ͣ̅͊ͪḧ̾̇ͩ̄ͫ̋͡a͂̎ͯ͋͛͆̔t̶ͯͣ. Well, I couldn't help but notice your dͪͨͪês̿͂̐i̷̔̏͌r͂̐̅̊̋̍̂̕e̾҉ to v̿̋̄̀a̅ͩ̈́̓̚n̔ͩͩi̋͂ͬͣ͒̑̾̕s̈́h. I was wondering if you ẃaͯ̍͑ͤ̍́͢nͤ̀̆͂̍̆ͭt͊͑̔͊̅͌̇e͛̚d͡ me to be of service. After all, I know more about this 'gͫ̒ͤâͮ̒ͧ͑m̸̆ê̸̎́͑ͭ' than anyone here. Oh, and, would you mind k̾͠eͯ̈́͋ͦ̓̚eͤ͂̂̊ͣ̑ͦ͢p̛ï̶ͫͫ̌n͟gͦͭͥ͂͛ it down? It would be best if we kept my presence between the two of us only."
Chara was reluctant to listen to the former scientist. He was possessing the body of their brother, after all. And that was something Chara wouldn't stand for, no matter how useful he could be. Even Chara knew that it was wrong to control others, and that if they were going to complete their goal, they were going to do it on their own.
"I changed my mind. This world is fine the way it is with me in it. Now, let my brother go."
Chara's voice was full of seriousness, but Gaster just laughed it off. To him, children could never be serious and any attempt at such an act was humorous.
"Let him go? Child, you have no idea how hͯ͒͂ͪ̿ͤ̐͞ăͣ͛́͑͊ͯr̉ͩ̑ͪ̆ḋ I have been working to get control of this furrball. And now that I finally have him, I'm n͑̔͋öͬ̓͑͐̾̅t͆̂̏̊ͯ͜ going to let go that easily."
"This is your second and final warning," Chara said as they got out of bed, looking at Gaster through Asriel's eyes. "Give him back. Or else."
Gaster snickered. "Or else what? You iͣ̌̃͠g͌ͯ͂ͭ̚n͒ͩ͐͑ͤ̔̚͡o͂̇r̶̀̓̽̍͑̃̍ä͊ňͨt̸ ̽ͪ̔͂͢bͬ̒̌͋ͤr̒̏͗ȃ͠t̋̉͐̏. I'm just trying to help you."
With that, Chara executed their plan. They pinched their side, frowned, sniffled a bit, and forced tears to their eyes.
"What are you doing? Are you crying? Is that your plan? I've seen P̚͢a̾ͨͮͪ͒̚҉p̷̐͛y̆ͯͦrͭͨ̀ͪ͛ͫ̐̀u̸s̴ͩͤ̒ come up with better ideas than tha-"
"M-mommy!" Chara cried out in their most childish and tear-felt voice, "Mommy, I had a bad dre-e-eam! I'm s-scared, make it go away!"
In a matter of seconds, Frisk was awake, the lights were on, and Toriel was in the room and ready to help her child. As soon as the lights flicked on, the black lines on Asriel's face receded into his eyes and were nowhere to be seen. His eyes returned to normal and Chara couldn't be more pleased with the outcome of their plan.
Toriel picked Chara up and patted them on the back. "There, there. Everything is all right. Are you okay, my child?"
Chara wiped the faux tears from their face and smiled sheepishly. "Uh-huh. I'm better now that Mommy's here."
Toriel grinned brightly and tucked Chara into bed. "I am sorry that you had such a terrible dream, Chara. Please, try to get some rest."
Chara nodded and pointed to Asriel. "Can you tuck Azzy in, too?"
Asriel looked around the room, confused as to how he got out of bed. "I don't remember getting up..."
"Perhaps you were sleepwalking," Toriel hypothesised. "It does not matter. I shall tuck you in as well."
Once Asriel was back in bed, Toriel asked if Frisk needed anything before she went back to her own room. Frisk shook their head, and with that, Toriel had shut the lights off and left everyone to sleep away the rest of the night.
From that point on, Chara no longer wanted to vanish. With their new knowledge of Gaster, they couldn't leave Asriel, no matter what. The motivation they got from wanting to keep Asriel safe filled them with determination, and Chara was bent on keeping it that way.
