NOTE: Apparently FFN doesn't like Unicode, but that is fine.
:-"An invitation for a New Beginning: Part 1"-:
Chara is walking through the Sanctum at a brisk pace, they are not sure exactly where they are going, but they are going.
They are sick of being the reason people get hurt… Sick of never doing, or being able to do, anything to stop their friends from being hurt…
They are sick of laughing uncontrollably when bad things happen because of them.
Festering in their anger, Chara thinks to themself, 'why does everything have to be so STUPID?!'
Deciding to take matters into their own hands, Chara speeds up and goes to the gates of the Sanctum, where all the guards are still fighting the horde of aberrant creatures.
Chara stands there, wondering what to do, and looks at their hand; contemplating the events that lead to them being resurrected, and wondering if it was a mistake.
They sigh, releasing their stress, and start to feel reassured in themself.
Slowly walking, with their head low, Frisk eventually catches up.
Frisk doesn't say anything when they show up.
Chara asks, "Frisk, if you wanted to make all these weird animal-monster hybrid things go away, what would you do?"
Frisk shrugs, then says, in a dulled and quiet voice, "(i dunno. some of them can be hurt by healing magic… they're all part monster though, because of the magic from the barrier… well… actually, they're not part monster; more like they have magic pair-a-s… parasites.)"
Considering this for a moment, Chara starts to walk forward, and says, "well then, I think I know how to solve this. Follow me, I need your help."
Nodding, but not really paying attention, Frisk follows Chara.
Some guards try to stop the two, but Bernard happens to be near and sees them; he intervenes.
Seeing Frisk so sad makes him upset as well, so he asks, "Frisk, my little anime-warrior-princess, what happened?"
Chara looks away, feeling guilty, and thinking 'If I had run away like Marceline wanted, would Conrad still be here?'
Asriel manages to catch up finally.
Bernard doesn't get a response, Frisk isn't even looking at him, but that's enough for him to know that it was something very bad, and there's only one thing he can think of that would have them act this way…
Bernard kneels down and embraces Frisk.
Looking up at Chara and Asriel from hugging Frisk, Bernard asks, "I don't suppose you are here to keep an eye on Frisk? Why did you come to the front gates, young ones? Where are your parents?"
Balling their fists, Chara replies without looking at him, "I want to help with those things. I think I know how to wipe them all out. If they weren't here… We would have gotten help before Con…"
Chara stops, realizing that they probably shouldn't be so blunt about it.
But it doesn't matter, because the mistake has already been made.
Frisk breaks from Bernard's embrace and races to the front gate, dodging guards along the way.
They make it there effortlessly, thanks to their training.
Dodging the slow, tired guards is easier than dodging Bernard or their… father.
Looking out, Frisk sees that the two statues are in the field, helping the guards fight off the creatures. They also see Undyne… She's hurt pretty badly.
Bernard, Chara, and Asriel catch up to Frisk, but they don't approach… For one reason or another, they feel like getting any closer would be a bad idea.
Perhaps it is because of their aggressive posture, or the faint red glow around them…
* Looking out at the horde of creatures, that played a role in the loss of their father,
* FILLS FRISK WITH DETERMINATION…
*…A_N_D K_I_L_L_I_N_G I_N_T_E_N_T.
:-:
Chara feels their control over the timeline get taken away from them, and Asriel feels corrupt Determination emanating from Frisk… It makes him feel uneasy.
Frisk's true colours are showing now. They've stopped fighting their inner self… They've started listening to the part of them that says killing everything would be easier than trying to fix it all.
Frisk has snapped.
Not wanting to risk losing their footing, Frisk wills some Blue magic to pick them up and keep them afloat.
They know what they want to use that rune they made for now, so they draw it in the air with magic.
After drawing the rune for "Crethspob," Frisk draws a second complex rune.
They are not sure if it will work, but upon completion Frisk wills their magic, 'Crethspob Raofpude.'
They feel their Determination drain from them momentarily, and they reach out with their hand to where their new weapon is forming.
After a few moments, a rapier made of determination has formed; it isn't completely solid, but it will be highly effective none-the-less, much like Asgore's trident.
Frisk notices that it seems darker than they expected it to be… Not quite as vibrant red as Asgore's trident was.
They brush it off as nothing too important, then hold out their free hand and start to weave a long purple line across the battle field, willing it by thinking 'seek, enemy, impale.' Their magic gets the attention of the Wälder Beasts, who start to avoid the purple lines.
The lines dart across the battlefield, splitting off from each Wälder beast they encounter to hit two more; in no time at all, Frisk's magic is completely drained and the battlefield is covered in hostile purple magic…
The purple magic doesn't kill any of the Wälder Beasts, much to Bernard's surprise, and in fact it seems to do nothing to them but follow them.
Bernard looks to Frisk to see what they are planning, and can clearly see their intent with their posture; it worries him.
Asriel and Chara are put on edge as well, though Chara doesn't understand why.
Chara tries to get Frisk's attention, "hey, Frisk! Don't go off without-"
Their words fall on deaf ears, and Frisk grabs hold of the purple line they created; in a flash, they are pulled away by their magic and begin darting across the battlefield.
The purple line is then accompanied with a black and red line, as Frisk is pulled across the battlefield with their rapier in hand and impales every creature they come into contact with.
After half a minute, Frisk is standing on the other side of the field.
They are exhausted, but still standing.
After the guards finish off the remaining beasts, Chara and Asriel run towards Frisk.
The guards are confused by how the other beasts were killed so quickly, but they're relieved. Undyne is uneasy, having caught several glimpses of Frisk as they were whisked around by their magic. She could see how Merciless Frisk's attack was… Nothing that was hit survived.
Behind Frisk, the guards are all cheering and happy over the fact that all the Wälder beasts are dead… Except those that notice Frisk, who is drenched in blood and still standing with an aggressive posture.
Hesitant, Undyne starts to jog towards Frisk, until her body refuses to let her get any closer. Due to being a monster, she can feel the corrupt determination coming from Frisk; because of her instincts as a warrior, her body refuses to get closer.
Standing there, considering their options, tears start to form in Frisk's eyes. They just want everything to go back to how it was, when their family was happy, back to before any of this happened…
An old poem comes to their mind, as they look at their blood soaked hands. One they wrote, with help from their mom, a couple years after their brother passed from the accident…
'You painted our black roses red,
and all our violets too…
It's such a shame,
that the fall killed you.
:-:
The paving stones were slick,
the border stones sharp…
But you had a chance as I gave you a warning.
Your tongue was quick,
Your memory too keen…
So you ignored me and now mother is mourning.
And now I must hide the truth,
before it is seen…
:-:
We could have gone on with our antics and playing,
but now blood runs through our flower bed,
because for my power you were vying…
and blunt force kills fastest,
when applied to the head…
:-:
So now our roses are red,
the violets are too,
and mom grew Chrysanthemums…
Just for you.'
The poem was intended to help Frisk come to terms with the accident, and to help them understand that it wasn't their fault… but it didn't help.
Instead, remembering the poem fills Frisk with regret and anger with themself. Despite them not being directly responsible, as the poem implies, Frisk feels responsible; confident that their brother would still be around if they had done something… anything…
They wish they could turn back time and stop their past self from convincing him to do that stupid prank… or to step in front of him when that kid started to get angry.
They wish they could just RESET it all away, to bring back their father and their brother. But they know that won't matter, that they will always remember; and that is their curse. They will live even when the universe dies, and they will remember everything; but if they do RESET, and anyone is ever more Determined than them… their fabricated world could collapse. 'What's the point…? I should just get it all over with…'
The only way to make it all stop, to make the pain go away, is to make everything End. 'No one else has to deal with any of this, so I don't care what they think… Why'd he have to tell me that I'm doomed to live forever, with all these terrible memories? Even CU-270 can eventually stop feeling pain, right?'
'The best way to End everything is to break open the Barrier.'
Crimson flowers bloom from the Wälder Beasts, and create a thick patch of red in an otherwise golden field; it causes the cheering from the scattered guards to die down instantly, and puts them on edge.
They prepare for another fight, just in case. They aren't sure why they feel so cautious over flowers, but not trusting their gut in this instance would get them killed.
The two guardian statues start walking towards Frisk, while destroying every crimson flower along their path. The guards, witnessing that, begin destroying the flowers as well. If the statues see them as a threat, there is no point in waiting around for something to happen.
Frisk begins to walk towards the barrier, not caring that they are still drenched in the blood of their enemies.
Chara manages to catch up, though Asriel is still a ways away, and starts to say something, but stops before they do… Not wanting to make the situation worse.
They hate to admit it, even to themself, but Frisk is scaring them.
Especially since Frisk, the person responsible for the change in their view of the world, has just gone against everything they once stood for…
Seeing the same rage that they once held, coming from someone they thought better than them in some ways, has scared Chara to their core… But they are not just scared of Frisk, they are scared of themself; rather, they are scared of who they used to be.
Though Chara wants to reach out to Frisk to help them feel better, and to get them away from the dangerous path they are walking, they hesitate. 'I am such a hypocrite… I cannot possibly calm Frisk down, or talk them out of being angry… Not when I am angry too. Besides… It is all my fault anyway. Who knows what Frisk would do if they figured that out though… Maybe it would be best to just tell them anyway? No… I'll just be there for them.'
Chara follows them silently, so that when it is all over they will at least be nearby to comfort Frisk; just like when Frisk comforted Asriel after his rampage.
* Chara's Desire to be a better friend…
* FILLS THEM WITH DETERMINATION!
:-:
Frisk stops suddenly and huffs, then turns to Chara and asks, "you know what I'm doing, right?"
Chara nods, and replies, "you are going to the barrier to break it open, right?"
Confused and still angry, Frisk asks, "then why are you following me? Don't you know that I'm the only one who's supposed to fight him? I'm going now, so I can get it over with. I'm tired of waiting."
Shrugging, Chara replies, "right, and where did you hear that load of nonsense?"
Frisk steps closer, aggressively, and retorts, "the Elder in Stag Hill gave me a prophecy, and the prophecy started with 'to the one born red,' which is me!"
Chara looks at Frisk unamused, and steps closer so there is hardly any space between them, then retorts, "I was born first, how do you know it was not me they were talking about? I was 'born red' as well! Besides, what do they even mean by 'born red?' You cannot get a Red SOUL after you are already born, right? That implies that there is a Red SOUL who wasn't born Red! And I know for a fact that I was born Red, because my parents used to-… I'm going. You cannot stop me…"
That comment about being born Red makes Frisk think back to when Papyrus was talking to them about how SOULs came to be, and how someone turned on some forge thingy when the previous Red SOUL stopped being recognized. It makes Frisk think that maybe, just maybe, they are not actually the one the prophecy is talking about.
Frisk eases up a bit, and steps back a little; they are still upset, but they are open to the idea that they don't have to fight.
But it's too convenient, it doesn't change the facts of their current situation, and it isn't fair to Chara; so Frisk turns back towards the barrier and continues walking.
Chara sighs, and continues to follow Frisk.
Undyne is still following behind them, from a… respectable distance, and Asriel struggles to keep up; since he can't run quite as much as they can…
Sans walks out from somewhere and asks, "'sup? you're uh… headed the wrong way, kiddo. the sanctum's over there."
Sans points at the Sanctum and continues, "don't worry, i get turned around a lot too. want me to take you back?"
Frisk shakes their head and says, in a dull and sad voice, "no, i'm going to the barrier. i want to get it over with. it'll probably take me a week to go all the way over there though, so at least papyrus won't be worried about it breaking open earlier than he wants it to."
Sans waves dismissively, "ahh that scaredy-bones, i'm sure it'd be fine if you went over right now. i bet that, once you see it, you'll have second thoughts anyway. besides kiddo, you sound like you're down in the dumps, we should go get some pho king noodles to cheer you up."
Chara knows which restaurant Sans is talking about, but is taken by surprise and almost bursts out laughing. They manage to maintain a serious face, but only barely.
Frisk, internally indignant over the comment about having second thoughts and unamused with the joke at the moment, does their best to maintain their own stoic composure. Subtle adjustments in their posture give them away, despite their attempts to hide their feelings.
Shrugging, Sans says, "how about this… i can't stop ya, but… maybe instead of just the two of you going, we could bring the whole gang? then at least you'd have backup, right? who knows, it could be fun."
Still angry, Frisk snaps back, "this isn't a joke Sans, it isn't a party, and it won't be fun. I have to fight him alone. You can take your 'fun' and your 'gang,' and go kick rocks!"
Sans sighs, and replies, "suit yourself, kiddo," then walks away.
Frisk sees Undyne a respectable distance away, and notices that she looks concerned.
They turn, and continue heading to the barrier.
After several minutes, Frisk starts to hear the undeniable sound of someone in armour behind them. They peek backwards and see that Bernard is jogging to catch up with them.
'No doubt he wants to take me back to the Sanctum… I'll have to outrun him.'
Frisk starts into a haphazard run until they reach the forest's edge, where they take a bit more caution with the placement of their feet.
They weave through the forest at a quick pace, almost losing Chara multiple times (definitely losing Asriel, who had not yet caught up) as they continue on towards the general direction of the barrier.
Frisk starts to hear Bernard's tired and worried voice call out for them, but they ignore it.
With Frisk taking a moment to catch their breath, Chara manages to close the distance…
When the two start to move again and turn a corner around a tree, however, they find that they are standing in front of the colossal barrier.
At least a week ahead of schedule…
Frisk sighs, and asks, "seriously, sans?" but when they look, they see post-pre-time jump Papyrus instead…
Papyrus looks down, and says, "LET'S CONFRONT IT TOGETHER. EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO FIGHT ALONE, YOUR FRIENDS CAN BE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU! ! I'M GOING TO GO GET EVERYONE ELSE, SO WAIT FOR US BEFORE YOU START!"
When Papyrus vanishes, Frisk sighs… 'since when did Papyrus use shortcuts…? Everything seems… slightly out of place.'
:-:
Being so close to the barrier causes their magic to regenerate slowly, which confuses Frisk for a moment, but they put their thoughts to the back of their mind and get closer. They notice a small shape attached to part of it… When they approach the odd shape, they notice that it's a necklace chain… it seems to be wrapped around the entire barrier. Frisk is curious as to how it got there.
Frisk tries to pull on it, to no avail.
They follow the chain to the right for a while, but never find anything of note.
After an hour, Papyrus arrives in the aircraft with Alphys, Toriel, and Asgore from Stag Hill, and then Sans appears with Asriel, and a tired Undyne.
Looking around, Frisk can see their friends are all keeping their distance from them.
Chara looks over to Toriel and Asgore hesitantly.
Toriel and Asgore kneel down, holding their arms out for Chara.
They haven't noticed Asriel yet since Sans appeared with him and Undyne behind them, and Asriel is hiding behind Sans.
Chara points to Asriel, who shrinks back and tries to hide more; to no avail.
Toriel looks to where Chara is pointing, and she stands with her hands over her mouth when she sees.
Shocked, happy, worried that it is just a dream, and hurt that Asriel would hide from her, Toriel mutters, "(Asriel…?)"
Upon hearing that, Asgore turns his head as well.
Instead of asking questions or muttering, Asgore nearly runs over to Asriel.
Sans gets out of the way as Asgore scoops Asriel into his arms, "Asriel, my son! Golly, there are no words that can describe how much I've missed you… I can hardly believe you are back! I would offer you a cup of tea, but I do not have a tea set with me... nor any tea bags."
Still holding his son, Asgore returns to where he was standing before and holds his other arm out for Chara.
Knowing them well, he doesn't want to run at them and scare them…
Toriel holds onto Asriel's head, as tears start to form in her eyes, "Asriel… I am not sure how long it has been since you came back, but I am so glad you have… Though, I must admit, I wish it were under better circumstances."
After a few moments, Toriel turns and holds out an arm for Chara as well.
Asriel holds out his arm too. Chara can tell he is about to cry… They hesitantly start walking closer to their adoptive parents.
Sure enough, Asriel beings crying when they are all embracing.
Asgore's large strong arms are wrapped around his ex, his son, and Chara, as Toriel holds both the children in her arms. She too, is crying. As is Asgore…
Chara almost starts crying too, but they say, "mom, you're getting my face wet with your tears!"
Asgore and Toriel laugh, knowing full well that Chara is covering for their own tears; and loving the fact that Chara really is back.
Toriel and Asgore both have questions for Chara, but they can wait… For now, all that matters is the moment.
Unfortunately though, the reality of the situation catches back up with Toriel, and she slowly stops embracing her children.
She clears her throat, and says, "Asgore, I hope you have not forgotten what we came here for? I understand how you feel, but we have to postpone reuniting with our children."
Not wanting to let go of his children again, in fear of losing them once more, Asgore hesitantly eases his embrace.
Asgore replies, "you are right. Once we're done helping Frisk, we can properly reunite… at least, with our children…"
Asgore and Toriel look over to Frisk, and they hesitate to approach.
Even Undyne is still scared to approach, though she is now standing with Alphys.
For a moment, Frisk wonders why their mother and father didn't come, but they remember… Their father is dead, and their mother is mourning. It reignites the flame of anger in their heart.
Frisk turns and continues looking to see if anything is attached to the familiar chain.
* The desire to right the wrongs that have been done, and to end everything once and for all…
* FILLS FRISK WITH DETERMINATION!
:-:
Sans gets their attention, "hey, kiddo, the amulet on the necklace is on the north side. instead of walking all the way over there, why don't you ask it to come over here?"
Frisk rolls their eyes, 'of course Sans would have a lazy solution… Might as well give it a try.'
Reaching out with their free hand, Frisk wills the amulet to come to the side they are on…
It doesn't do anything.
Sans chuckles.
Frisk huffs in annoyance, then stabs their rapier at the chain…
They miss, but cracks begin forming on the outside of the Barrier, as their rapier over-powers the barrier. The group starts to feel uneasy as they see small cracks start to form…
Frisk backs up a little and pulls their rapier from the barrier, resulting in the cracks healing and a burst of magic emitting from the chain; the DT in the barrier stabilizes.
Getting angrier now, Frisk swings their rapier at the chain instead of stabbing…
It results in a gash appearing in the barrier where the sword made contact, except where the chain is.
The necklace chain is undamaged.
Frisk sighs. They can't destroy the barrier, let along the stupid chain.
They punch the barrier with their other hand, in frustration, as the gash they made slowly starts to fill in.
Chara gets closer, trying to comfort them, but they move away.
Horrid, otherworldly laughter fills the area.
The group of monsters looks frantically in all directions, trying to find where it came from.
A voice above the party, somewhat recognizable but heavily distorted, speaks to them. "well, look at that. i was gonna break this thing open to distract that annoying skeleton… but the main course came to me!"
Sans' eyes go dark when he sees who the voice came from, since he recognizes who it used to be…
Chara starts to retort, but the horrifying skeleton-spider-octopus thing rushes down at them.
Frisk steps between it and Chara, and deflects the attack.
Sounding slightly upset, but eager, the octopus-skeleton-spider thing comments, "i love it when the food fights back. so small, yet so determined… don't worry, i'll kill you quickly, kiddo. the name's ph'lloig, by the way… not tha-"
Frisk isn't having any of it today, they launch themself at Ph'lloig mid sentence with a sweeping cut.
Anger and death are in their eyes.
… Ph'lloig evades backwards, "didn't your parents teach you that it's rude to interru-"
Chara attacks this time, and the rest of the party steps up and gets ready to fight…
Not liking his odds, despite his newfound powers, Ph'lloig decides to shake things up and blasts the barrier.
It hardly does anything to the barrier itself, but he manages to break the necklace chain around it.
Magic begins loudly hissing out of the gash that Frisk made, which had not fully healed, and the outer shell of the barrier begins cracking as the pressure within builds up.
* A FAINT WHISPER ECHOES THROUGH THE VOID…
"(. . . W_H_O . . . A_R_E . . . Y_O_U . . . ?)"
:-:
Chara's face goes pale…
Frisk may not be able to hear the voice, but Chara clearly recognizes it.
In a whisper, Chara mutters without thinking, "(Sigmund…?)"
Ph'lloig, not having heard anything beyond Chara's relatively meaningless muttering, disappears into the void so that he can return at a more opportune time; expecting that the Determination within the barrier will kill off the monsters for him.
The barrier fades from bright pulsing white, to grey…
"(. . . W_H_A_T . . . H_A_V_E . . . Y O U . . . D_O_N_E . . . ?)"
:-:
The gash and cracks spread across the barrier, as it fades to black.
Ravines start forming on the barrier, and powerful waves of magic burst out from them.
The ground quakes and threatens to upheave even trees with the deepest roots, knocking the group off their feet; the two skeleton brothers begin working together to keep the next shock waves from tossing them around like pebbles on a trampoline.
As the magic pouring from the barrier gives way to piercing beams of pure Determination, and the ravines deepen and turn red, Frisk feels their grasp on the timeline get ripped from them.
Sans and Papyrus' efforts suddenly become exceedingly easy, and Papyrus notices another Papyrus has shown up.
Post-Pre-time jump Papyrus is shocked, "OH MY GOD THERE'S A SECOND ME?! HE'S… HE'S… HE'S SO HANDSOME! THAT MEANS I'M HANDSOME TOO! AND HE LOOKS SO COOL! ! OH MY GOD… HE'S USING HIGH LEVEL HUMAN MAGIC! CLONE ME IS SO COOL! ! !"
Sans interrupts, "is it really a good time to fawn over yourself, bro?"
Papyrus clears his throat and focuses on the task at hand… "YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER. BUT CAN YOU BLAME ME? NYEH HEH HEH HEH! !"
Disappointed, and in disbelief, the Red Sage shakes his head, 'was I really like that?'
The final ground shattering quake heralds the Barrier's complete collapse, as the magic destabilizes to the point to where it explodes outward. A large swath of trees in the nearby forest are uprooted, and a crater forms around the outside of the barrier.
Despite the destructive display, the Determination that was captured within the barrier is meagre in comparison to what the Red Sage expected; such a paltry amount of DT will hardly pose a threat to the monsters in the Sanctum… Let alone reality.
Confused, but not letting his guard down, the Red Sage looks on with interest.
As the debris and dust settles from the barrier exploding, a torn up piece of land covered in dried blood, dessicated organs, limbs, and a few heads is revealed. It was untouched by the explosion, and as a result is higher in elevation now that the surrounding area is a crater…
Dominating the center of the hellish landscape is a colossal mass of flesh, that has been riddled with giant femurs and appears to have been torn apart with ineffable strength.
As the Red Sage stares in awe and horror at the scene before him, he notices what looks like something standing on, or maybe sticking out of, the top of the ravaged mass of amalgamated humans.
"(. . . W_H_Y . . . A_R_E . . . Y_O_U . . . H_E_R_E . . . ?)"
:-:
The group is slowly placed down at the edge of the hellish landscape, thanks to the three skeletons working in unison to protect everyone around them.
As soon as they touch down, Frisk proceeds into the horrid area; despite the smell and view. 'Once I make everything End, it won't matter. Nothing will.'
"(. . . N_O . . . . . . I . . . W_O_N_T . . . L_E_T . . . E_V_E_R_Y_T_H_I_N_G . . . E_N_D . . . !)"
:-:
Frisk stops for a moment, swearing they heard something incredibly faint, but continues walking towards the disgusting mass of amalgamated humans.
Seeing it so close gives Frisk the chills. They do their best to not look at any of the faces, since most carry expressions of agony, or are otherwise heavily mutilated. 'If I were not going to end everything, I would definitely have nightmares for the rest of my life…'
It takes several minutes for Frisk and Chara to walk through the horrid landscape.
They stop approaching when they are a few yards away, and, unable to bear the sight or smell any more, Frisk vomits.
Chara, having been the only one to follow Frisk, manages to avoid doing the same… for now.
Taking advantage of the large gap between the two and their monster friends, Ph'lloig reappears.
Tauntingly, he says "miss me?" Then looks over to the mass of unmoving flesh, and comments, "well, look at that… both of 'em are dead. too bad he didn't build up enough dt to kill your friends for me."
Deciding to go easy on them, so he can have some fun, Ph'lloig starts off with a simple bone attack.
Chara just barely manages to get out of the way, Frisk, on the other hand, stays put and deflects the attack with their rapier.
Frisk lunges forward, and Chara prepares to defend.
Ph'lloig dodges Frisk's attack, then replies with a few summoned bones.
Unable to change their direction mid-lunge, Frisk is hit with one of the bones.
It is quite painful, and burns for an extended time… Frisk gives Ph'lloig a dirty look.
Ph'lloig shrugs, and says, "you left yourself wide open, what did you expect? mercy?"
Chara tries to get Frisk's attention, "Frisk! We have to stick together, if we are too reckless he will kill us…"
Frisk ignores them, and attacks again, this time using magic to enhance their movement.
Their attack connects, and they sever one of his tentacles… but a new one immediately grows in its place.
Scoffing, Ph'lloig comments, "nice try, kid, but it's gonna take a lot more than-"
Pushing their Determination to its limits, Frisk infuses themself with Justice, Bravery, and Perseverance to attack quicker.
Frisk manages to sever two tentacles and a leg…
They, however, are also injured as Ph'lloig follows their attack with a sweeping tentacle.
Huffing from their exertion, Frisk smirks when his limbs don't grow back.
Ph'lloig decides it isn't fun to fight them, so he flies up and backwards away from the two.
The sight is strange, since it looks like he is just standing in the air and sliding away.
Deciding that play time is over, Ph'lloig…
Finds himself locked in the Red Sage's maze again. "You didn't actually think I would let you kill them; did you, Sans?"
Ph'lloig, not having any of the maze shenanigans, decides to vanish into the void; then re-appears in front of Frisk, saying, "time to die, frisk."
The thing atop the mountain of flesh falls, creating a loud crunching and splattering sound that gets their attention.
Now laying in front of them, broken beyond recognition and in a tattered jump suit of some kind, the poor creature slowly begins to stand on legs that should not be able to support them, let alone function.
Ph'lloig backs up quickly, and looks somewhat concerned. "that is supposed to be dead..."
The creature's muscles are haphazardly swinging about, their broken bones are clearly visible, and holes expose various organs… except for one spot that is roughly SOUL shaped.
Witnessing this results in Chara vomiting…
Ph'lloig regenerates his lost limbs, then directs his attention to the creature and attacks with his strongest blaster attack, no longer wanting to take any risks.
Chara maintains a defensive posture, as Frisk rushes over to attack Ph'lloig while he is focused on the creature.
Frisk, however, finds themself somewhere else as soon as they step forward.
They look around and see Chara and the monsters. It would appear the Red Sage teleported them out of the area…
Looking back over to where they were, Ph'lloig's attack has carved trenches in large chunks of the ground; a sickly-purple glow emanates from within the trenches.
The Red Sage informs Frisk, "those attacks are radioactive, and infused with tainted Karmic Poison… You two can't go over there or you will die, painfully. You would have to be a monster, or exceptionally Determined, to withstand it."
Frisk, frustrated, retorts, "fine, then I'll just attack from here!"
Undyne, though feeling uneasy over being so close to Frisk now, gets excited and says, "NOW WE'RE TALKIN'! ! Frisk, you cast your magic, and I'll throw my spears! Alphys, you think you could give my magic spears a little boost?"
Nervous, not wanting to take part in combat, Alphys mutters, "(I-I-I s-suppose so… I… I c-c-can… Uhm… I c-can give you my Yellow magic, so that y-you can… electrify them? Th-that might help?)"
Striking his heroic pose, Papyrus adds, "NYEH! ! WHILE ALPHYS SHOCKS YOU SO YOU CAN SHOCK YOUR SPEARS, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GIVE THEM ENCOURAGING WORDS! ! …I AM ALSO GOING TO SEND MY AMAZING BONE ATTACKS OVER! SANS, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?"
Sans winks, and says, "i'm gonna do what i do best," then gives a thumbs up to Frisk, "you've got this, kiddo. remember that thing i taught you, that i said to never use? well, now's not the time to not not not use it."
Upset by his brother's laziness, Papyrus complains, "SAAANS! REALITY IS LITERALLY IN DANGER AND YOU ARE JUST GOING TO LAZE ABOUT?!"
Sitting down against the nearest rock, and closing his eyes, Sans says, "yep."
The Red Sage gets Papyrus' attention, "Don't worry about him, other me; he will help if his help is needed. Now… I remember my old attacks… they are very predictable. So, I'm going to make them less-predictable! Even if they are still too weak to do and real damage, we can try to get him to dodge into other attacks… If I use my maze again, he will probably just go into the void and evade it all."
With the plans made, and with their friends helping, Frisk is filled with determination.
A heavy hand is placed on Frisk's shoulder, they look back and see Asgore. He kneels down and whispers something to them.
Frisk nods.
Asgore stands and looks to Toriel, she nods.
The two boss monsters stand beside each other, take each other's hand, and begin chanting.
Undyne prepares as many spears as she can.
She begins sweating from the exertion of conjuring and controlling them all, but she is filled with Determination. A subtle red glint shows in her eye.
Alphys channels her Yellow magic into Undyne, to allow her to apply it to her magic spears.
Dark clouds begin to fill the sky, and thunder rolls through them as specks of fire begin to sprinkle from the sky like rain. It doesn't hurt, fortunately, and they are just moderately warm.
Papyrus readies his bone attacks, and the Red Sage infuses them with Purple magic so he can control them once they've been released.
Though still chanting, Asgore lets go of Toriel's hand. Toriel raises her hands and starts to summon fire balls, as Asgore brings out his trident made from Determination.
He stops chanting, gets into a throwing pose, and begins to aim…
Frisk draws on every ounce of magic they have, and attempts to conjure the blasters that Sans taught them back when he was teaching them magic in Waterfall.
Unbeknownst to Frisk, and everyone else, Sans subtly helps Frisk form the blasters; and channels his magic through them as well, to make them more potent.
The group waits for Frisk to conjure their attack… not knowing if they should launch their attacks before they do.
Ph'lloig's assault is still ongoing, and doesn't show any sign of stopping… The sight is intimidating, to say the least.
Asgore, making corrections in his trident's angle and starting to reliably predict where his opponent will be, shouts, "ATTACK!"
Undyne electrifies the spears she conjured, before sending them haphazardly over to the battlefield. If it were not for the magical storm above, they would blot out the sun.
Asgore steps forward with enough force to cause a small crater to form, as he puts all of his strength and weight into the throw, so that his trident will clear the vast distance to his target.
The fire rain starts to follow his trident, and takes on its shape as well.
Undyne's face goes pale, as she witnesses the true strength of a Boss Monster… She had thought that the number of spears she conjured was impressive, until she witnessed Asgore's attack.
Like a hurricane approaching the coast, the sky is filled with fiery magical tridents that are following his Red trident… Undyne sets a new goal for herself.
Papyrus, not wanting to be the last in the attack sequence, launches his bones aided by the Red Sage.
Toriel follows up with a wave of fireballs… Though only numbering in the hundreds, each one is very potent.
Chara grabs Frisk's hand unexpectedly, and says, "use my magic too."
Nodding, Frisk pulls magic from Chara to power their attack… But then a fuzzy, hesitant hand, grabs their other hand.
Frisk looks over to Asriel. He is scared…
They can feel his intent through his magic, and they being to pull magic from him as well to aid their efforts.
:-:
Ph'lloig is desperate.
This thing. CU-270. It was supposed to be dead.
There is no force in the world that should be able to bring it back.
He can't sense anything from it.
No life, thoughts, nor magic…
No determination…
Absolutely, completely, nothing.
And yet, it is moving and dodging his attacks; as if they have been fighting him for centuries.
It is almost as if the body is no more than a puppet.
The creature suddenly dodges backwards, right as it was about to take advantage of an opening…
Ph'lloig quickly glances behind himself and sees why…
He had been so concerned with fighting CU-270, that he forgot the others existed…
Attempting to escape into the void fails, and he instead finds himself leaping out from CU-270.
He dodges backwards quickly, and prepares to defend.
CU-270 stays where he is.
Undyne's spears hit Ph'lloig first, and they almost manage to pin him down; but the electricity infused into them works in his favour.
He swats a large number of the spears with his tentacles, and the electricity connecting them causes the rest of the spears to get yanked off course as they are attracted to the previous ones.
Papyrus' bones then sweep across the battlefield.
At first they are easy to dodge, but their pattern begins to suddenly change; it is then complicated by Toriel's fireballs… Those he really needs to avoid.
Though the bones are hardly worth worrying over, every bit of damage counts…
Ph'lloig is more concerned with the fire raining from the sky, and wants to ensure that he will not die should he fail to dodge, or block, enough of the fiery tridents that are slowly making their way over.
His chances are looking grim.
After dodging a particularly large bone, Ph'lloig's SOUL is suddenly pinned to the ground by a trident made of determination… He played right into their trap.
Ph'lloig tries to get free, to no avail. The pure Determination that makes up the Trident, fuelled by Asgore's intent, Hopes, and Dreams, causes him significant pain as he struggles.
He does his best to get into a better position, then braces for the oncoming attack…
But all the fiery tridents are swept away, as a giant beam of Determination and Perseverance infused magic blasts into Ph'lloig.
It is unbearable…
The group waits for the dust to settle.
Knowing that he won't be able to stop Frisk and Chara from going over to the destroyed battlefield, the Red Sage chants and draws runes in the air.
Upon completion of his spell, a large green circular platform appears in front of them.
He motions to Frisk, "come on, I know you want to go see. At least this way you will be moderately safe, as long as you stay in the center."
Frisk eagerly climbs onto the platform.
Chara hesitantly climbs onto the platform, not wanting to go, but also not wanting to let Frisk go alone.
Asriel opts to stay behind.
The Red Sage begins moving the platform over to the battlefield.
As radiation buffets the underside, the platform starts releasing small white droplets of magic.
The Red Sage comments, "this radiation is but a base form of magic… given the proper catalyst, it will transform into harmless magic. I cannot maintain this for long, however. Also of note, some of the radiation is pouring over the edges of the platform, hence why you must stay in the middle."
Frisk nods.
When the group arrives at the scene, they find that spider-octopus-skeleton thing has turned to dust. Asgore's trident is still sticking into the ground where Ph'lloig used to be.
In the distance, standing in a spot that went completely untouched, that disfigured thing is standing…
Behind the creature, a tall and partially transparent figure apparates… It looks like that mystery man Frisk encountered in the Underground.
He places a hand on what can only be vaguely described as a shoulder, and smiles sinisterly at the three before once again vanishing.
The Red Sage mutters, "(… Gaster…?)"
A shaky, broken finger slowly raises and points at Frisk…
"(. . . I . . . W_O_N_T . . . L_E_T . . . Y_O_U . . . E_N_D . . . E_V_E_R_Y_T_H_I_N_G . . .)"
"(. . . I 'M. . . S_U_P_P_O_S_E_D . . . T_O . . . P_R_O_T_E_C_T . . . Y_O_U ?)"
"(. . . N_O . . . . . . Y_O_U . . . D_O_N_'T . . . A_C_T . . . L_I_K_E . . . F_R_I_S_K . . .)"
"(. . . S_O . . . W_H_E_R_E . . . I_S . . . F_R_I_S_K . . . ?)"
:-:
Chara starts to feel… something they've never felt before. It's like what they feel when they are Determined, except they can clearly tell that it isn't their own Determination.
With gruesome cracking, popping, and snapping sounds, CU-270's body is reconfigured and put back together properly.
After a few moments, the only signs of battle on him is his tattered jump suit; but even that is eventually reverted to its pre-battle state.
Then, the world goes still.
…
Birds stop singing.
…
Flowers stop blooming.
…
And every thing is focused on CU-270.
Reality can feel his Determination… his Defiance.
The rest of the party notices that they are amalgamating, and try to move further away as quickly as possible…
The Red Sage almost tries to teleport Frisk and Chara to safety… but he realizes that this clash is going to happen no matter what… He opts to protect the monsters in the distance as much as possible…
Chara takes over maintaining the platform, somehow knowing what needs to be done to keep it functioning.
CU-270 raises a finger and points at Frisk again…
"(I... WILL… NOT… LET… YOU… END… E_V_E_R_Y_T_H_I_N_G…!)"
:-:
A flash of red washes over everything with the conclusion of his statement.
* WARNING: A SUBJECT 'S DETERMINATION HAS REACHED CRITICAL LEVELS !
* TERMINATE SUBJECT USING NUCLEAR ICBM, OR NEAREST STARRRrrrrrrrrr! Qo?G&RFHs#As0*ksshhHHhh-*
:-:
Alphys melts instantly, followed by Toriel, then Post-Pre-time jump Papyrus, then Sans, and finally Asgore.
Undyne, with her unnaturally high reserve of Determination, manages to stave off the effects for a while, but eventually she succumbs as well.
The only ones left are the Red Sage, Chara, and Frisk; that is, until even the ground around CU-270 starts to turn into goo.
Despite his efforts, and his status as a pseudo Red SOUL, the Red Sage version of Papyrus is unable to withstand the DT.
:-:
Everything is red.
Frisk and Chara are still able withstand the immense amount of Determination pouring from CU-270, but they are starting to lose.
From the looks of it, CU-270's body is slowly melting away.
The sight frightens Chara, and they check to make sure they are not melting too… It doesn't appear that they are; in fact, it seems that they are being protected by some force, as the Determination around them is unable to get any closer than a few inches.
Frisk loses grip on their rapier, and it vanishes.
Chara tries to come up with an idea, but they don't know what to do.
CU-270 approaches Frisk, forces their SOUL out, then grabs and examines it.
"(AS… I… T_H_O_U_G_H_T… …YOU… ARE… NOT… FRISK…)"
"(YOU… ARE… AN… I_M_P_O_S_T_E_R…)"
:-:
With a brief motion, CU-270 forces the Red in Frisk's SOUL to be stripped away; revealing Green.
Too scared to reply, Frisk merely squirms and tries to get their SOUL free.
Chara grabs CU-270's free arm, but the incredible pain forces them to let go.
He turns to Chara, forces their SOUL out, then grabs it with the arm they tried to restrict.
"(! ! ! ! !… YOU… ARE…) K_I_L_L_I_N_G… THEM…!"
:-:
Unable to withstand the sheer amount of Determination any longer, Frisk's body dissolves, leaving only the Green SOUL behind.
CU-270 releases the Green SOUL, and turns to Chara.
Chara hops backwards to prepare to fight, while forcing their SOUL back into their body before CU-270 can do anything to it.
"(… GIVE… THEM… TO ME…)"
:-:
Bringing up the battle interface makes Chara remember fond, and not so fond, memories of their time with Frisk in the Underground…
Chara opts to stay on the defensive, wanting to see what CU-270 will do before trying to attack… They feel utterly Hopeless, but they resolve to do their best.
They Check his stats…
* CHECK: "? ❄ ? ? ✌ ❄ ? ? ? ? ✌ ✌ ❄ "
* LV: -0 HP: - 0 ATK: -0 DEF: -0 MP: -0
"KILL… ME…? I'D… LIKE… TO… SEE… THEM … TRY…"
Chara can't understand his name… They don't get why he used such a weird font.
CU-270 attacks, killing Chara before they can even recognize what he did.
But their SOUL refuses.
Chara tries attacking, but their cleaver melted away some time ago… They toss the useless handle aside, and it disintegrates too.
"(STOP… IT IS… P_O_I_N_T_L_E_S_S… GIVE… THEM… TO ME…)"
:-:
CU-270 attacks, killing Chara instantly.
But their SOUL refuses.
Chara refuses to give up.
A wave of Determination buffets them, forcing them to brace against the pressure.
The fact that Determination creates pressure at all causes Chara to panic slightly.
Chara decides to try ACTing, but they are not sure what to do.
Not having any other options, Chara asks, "Who do you want?"
"(I CAN… HEAR YOU…) GIVE THEM… TO ME…!"
:-:
Before CU-270 attacks again, Chara manages to think '… Not the most helpful response.'
Their SOUL refuses after his attack.
'This must be how Frisk felt while fighting Flowey and Asriel…'
Chara looks over to Frisk's Green SOUL. 'Figures that they were not 'born red,' but how did their SOUL turn red?'
Looking over to CU-270, Chara tries to convince him to stop fighting. "Sig… CU-270, please, stop fighting me! I don't have any one to give you, and I'm not killing anyone!"
It is useless, however. CU-270 doesn't seem to understand.
"YOU ARE… KILLING… THEM…"
:-:
Everything seems to go slower this time, and Chara manages to witness a single moment of CU-270's attack…
When Chara's SOUL refuses, they reel in shock from what they saw.
CU-270 had torn them to pieces, before a blur of white dealt the final blow.
Chara dismisses the battle interface, realizing that it is useless in this situation.
They plead with him again, 'CU-270, please, I don't have anyone! It's just me, Chara!'
But it is pointless, he only seems to barely understand.
"I will… Kill you… As many… Times… As it takes… To get… Them…"
:-:
Another Merciless attack… Another death.
Their SOUL refuses.
Chara doesn't know what to do.
They give up their useless struggle, and hold their arms out to embrace death once again.
An idea comes to them at the last minute.
Their SOUL refuses after CU-270's attack.
Taking a moment to think, Chara wonders, 'how did Frisk get Asriel to stop again…? It was not Mercy, or fighting… It was ACTing, and after that they SAVED him; right? The only problem is I have never SAVED before, so that is out of the question. So how do I save him, since he seems to be trapped in his own mind?'
Chara thinks for a while, and they decide to try using magic to avoid his attacks. They have to be able to stop him from attacking somehow. If they could just survive the first attack, they could figure out some weakness in how he fights.
Reaching inward, they begin to manipulate their magic the way Frisk did.
CU-270 attacks, killing them instantly; again.
When their SOUL refuses, Chara notices that their magic is in the same state as it was before they died.
Chara starts manipulating their magic again, and again, and again.
They die each time they start. 'why am I even bothering? What is driving me to keep going?'
"… I'm going… to save you…"
:-:
'Hilarious. You know how to make jokes.'
Chara begins tediously setting up their magic. Since they are not LOADING, their magic is not reverted. CU-270 either doesn't notice what they are doing, or is not concerned.
Thinking that it may be the latter, Chara feels insulted, 'Do not dare underestimate me!'
Chara releases their magic, in the form of multicoloured slashes emanating from their body.
It's a long shot, but it's all Chara can think of… and all Chara really knows how to do with magic.
They hope that a wide random attack will cause him to misstep, giving them the time and opening they need to avoid his attack… but the magic vanishes as soon as it gets near him.
Despite their failure, CU-270's attack seems significantly slower this time, allowing Chara to see more of what he is doing.
They hate that all they can do is watch, but Chara hopes they can use this to their advantage later.
First, he tears them apart and leaves only their SOUL in tact… The sight is terrifying, but painless since it is happening within a fraction of a second.
Second, he pierces their SOUL with solid bones, in a random pattern, before their body recognizes that anything happened to it. For one reason or another, the attack doesn't seem to kill them as fast as they expected.
Lastly, a blur of white fills their view before they die… Chara is frustrated that they still can't see what that is.
Chara is filled with Determination. 'I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR CHEATING SHIT!'
Focusing inward, Chara attempts to force their vision and body to speed up so they can match CU-270.
It works… to a degree.
Their SOUL refuses.
'Dammit! Not fast enough…'
"…Everything… will be… alright…"
:-:
Scoffing, Chara condenses their own Determination and tries to capture some of the ambient Determination.
It works surprisingly well, and they find themselves slowly able to keep up.
After several failed attempts, Chara finally manages to dodge his initial attack, and is only partially hit on the follow up.
… But their own attack doesn't have any effect on CU-270, and he kills them again.
After their SOUL refuses and they come back to life, Chara balls their hands and looks down at their feet in frustration; they notice something is off…
"Weird. I can still feel my body, but I cannot see it…?"
Chara decides it isn't important right now.
"… You can't kill… that which… is already… dead…"
"… They killed me… yet I fail… to die…"
:-:
In a last ditch effort, they prepare to attack again using Determination enhanced magic, and brace for their death; but nothing happens.
So much nothing happens, in fact, that it confuses Chara.
They release their attack…
CU-270 just stands there, unaffected, as his body slowly flakes away into nothingness.
Chara realizes, much later than they should have, that waiting is probably the best option; his body doesn't appear to be able to withstand his SOUL's Determination, and he only seems to attack after they do something.
They sit there and do nothing for a few moments, and it seems… really boring.
"So… uh… Come here often? …Why am I using pickup lines right now? Dammit Frisk!"
CU-270 finally moves and reaches out to them with his palm up, but does nothing else.
Chara is concerned, but they know that even if they tried to do anything he would just kill them anyway…
"This is all so messed up, why is he killing me? Please, CU-270, please, stop…"
"I see… I'm sorry… that you had… to go through… that, Frisk…"
:-:
Chara is confused and upset, "I am not Frisk, I am Chara; you deranged murder-hobo! Besides, you cannot just kill someone over and over, then apologize as if that makes it better!"
Then they brace for another attack… but nothing happens.
"…I'm not… talking to you…"
:-:
There are no words Chara can think of to describe just how confused and upset they are…
Chara, as calmly as they can, says, "CU-270, that SOUL over there is Frisk."
"… No… That isn't Frisk…"
:-:
Chara sighs replying, "fine, believe whatever you want, just get it over with and kill me for good."
"I'm done killing you. I just need to wait… for a moment… Then I can… save them…"
:-:
Chara decides that CU-270 was driven crazy from being stuck inside the barrier, and having to fight the Gibbering Horror for so long; with this decision, they have also given up hope that they will ever stop being murdered for all of eternity.
They do hope, however, that he never stops waiting to "save" Frisk from them.
CU-270 makes a gentle pulling motion.
Chara feels a weird tingling sensation, originating from where their SOUL should be.
Flecks of exceedingly vibrant red, somehow more red than the ambient Determination, drift over to CU-270's hand.
Chara is worried that CU-270 is breaking down their SOUL… but they don't know what to do. They feel hopeless, and incapable of doing anything. "So… this is it, I guess. This is the end."
"No… …It's only a new… beginning."
:-:
They feel their SOUL hollow out a bit, and at first Chara is concerned… "Wait… why is my SOUL filling back in? What the hell is going on?"
Something feels like it is missing now.
A subtle presence, one they never really paid attention to, but one that still had an effect on them until now…
"What…?"
The brilliant red specks hover between CU-270's hands for a moment, before rearranging into… a seemingly random shape.
"… You can't hear them… Can you…? …I see… That makes sense, Frisk."
"…"
"Chara. Until now… I've been trying… to listen to the… world… through the barrier…"
"Now that the barrier is… broken… and with you here… I can hear them… faintly…"
"When I held your SOUL… I heard them… more clearly."
:-:
Chara doesn't respond… CU-270 is talking rather slowly, but he seems to be getting better.
"As I was killing you… Frisk told me everything…"
"…They lost, originally…"
"When they RESET, it was… too late…"
"Their SOUL wasn't Green because… it lost perseverance…"
"Your SOUL did not take… their Determination…"
"You had latched onto Frisk… and Frisk had latched onto you…"
"You saved them… without even knowing it…"
"But you could not hear them."
:-:
Chara scoffs, "so, I couldn't hear them… Despite the fact that I practised listening through the void, just like y-Sigmund told me to? Right. I was there when Sans saved them! I saw their SOUL!"
"Sans tried to save them … but their body lived on with… another's SOUL."
"A SOUL that was… similar, but different."
"…"
"They were crying out, hoping… someone, anyone, would hear them…"
"But, even with you here… I could not tell where in your SOUL… they were…
"The more I took you apart, the more I could… tell."
"I must admit, part of me thought you knew and were faking."
:-:
Chara can hardly believe it. They really want to, but something still feels wrong. "that can not be correct … The 'fake' behaved exactly like Frisk! A fake Frisk would have behaved differently."
"Our Frisk wouldn't have used magic against anyone, or anything."
"They never fought back. Ever."
"Frisk has darkness inside of them, that is true, but they never acted on it."
:-:
Chara… feels really stupid for not noticing. "But… how…? Why?"
"I don't know how, but I think it was to hide them from David."
"Regardless, it is time for me to fix things…"
:-:
CU-270 looks down to the red specks, and closes his eyes.
The Determination around his hands seems to grow, and in a blink the red bathing everything as far as they can see compresses down around his hands… replacing everything with a deep black.
Chara then notices that his body wasn't melting from Determination Overload, it was converting into Determination; they couldn't tell because it blended in with all the rest of the red everywhere.
That is when Chara notices that their own body has been completely converted into Determination.
The rest of CU-270's body is converted rapidly, and it looks like reality is unwrapping his true form.
An eerie sight that makes Chara feel uneasy, but somehow also fills them with hope.
Chara steps back a bit, subconsciously wanting to get to a safer distance.
CU-270 then speaks what sounds like gibberish…
* SignEF92? ゚ル゚opFOR?quanTELLoCTBLΓÜD
:-:
And Chara begins to feel reality quaking…
* fORGN7 ?¬リᄐchÄs√?!*%#CONTger?MNT8$
:-:
Then everything seems to become bright…
* EnJUMPCH?ûƒë£ôtoNULL?fo#?PuKUTJ⌦
:-:
Brighter…
* ?oGN7LLfo#EL?opUƒëTJcontaLAPS◎dir
:-:
Yet brighter… until it is unbearable.
* ✦GÄN?ᅢワntCOUFjob?tilëgen?VIMdel$
:-:
Chara cannot see any more… and reality is filled with a faint sound rising in volume.
…
…
…
…
Everything is white, silent, and still…
…
…
