Chapter 10: Red Eyes

Its name is Chara.
Their name is Frisk.
Together they hold the key.

Sometimes, it grew sick of dealing with cry babies.

Like now, it thought, red-eyes staring down at the smaller child crying quietly.

"What did you think was going to happen?" it whispered harshly.

The other child sputtered, blubbering a few unintelligible words.

Their entire frame shook in a silent sob as they cradled a softly glowing soul in their tiny palms. They were whispering only nonsensical blubberings at that once vibrant and lively shade of purple. The little heart quivered, now flickering between a dim violet and an ashen grey.

"I'm sorry…"

Their voice cracked. Large, fat drops of liquid squeezed out from between the smallest child's scrunched eyes and rolled lazily down their face.

Red eyes only glared.

It was sick of dealing with all this crying.

The usual leering smile was turned over. The corners of its red grin pulled sharply south into a deep frown.

"Don't… go, Macie. Don't give up."

It groaned.

What pathetic, desperate, pointless words!

That miserable, little crying infant was making such a scene. For what? If they were determined to have such a fragile human stick around, they'd stick around! Death was as impermanent as life when Frisk willed it. Why all this pointless crying over a human that could be revived just as quickly as they had been killed?

"I- I made her-" A sob. "I... I don't want it to happen again. Not. To her. Not… because of me. Me."

Oh.

Oh...

That explained the tears.

They felt responsible. And, probably: Guilty. They forced her hands… her words… into the very choices that made Flowey... Well. Greet Macie with a rather bone-crushing hug.

"I didn't mean… I just- he's always so alone. Macie always made me feel not alone." The trembling soul pulsed, shining vibrantly once more before dulling down to a weakened glimmer. "I thought. I just. She could... but then he... Because- Me!" Their voice choked into a miserable whimper that stilled into nothing. Silence washed over the pair.

Ah, guilt. It remembered feeling the same way. In the beginning.

After all, a brother died because of its choices.

And after that, every human it led into the Underground met a similar fate. It had called to them. It had guided them. Offered soft suggestions. Sometimes, it even forced their hands. But no matter the action, or inaction, it took, each soul was quick to meet that fate shared by all humans in the Underground. Death. Over and over and over again. Then, it forced the souls to reanimate their physical counterparts and try a different set of paths. Coaxed them into directions previously unexplored. So far every trial resulted in another death.

Then it learned that a soul could only break so many times before the pieces became so small and splintered that no amount of determination could ever piece them back together. Chara knew Monsters could do nothing with a human soul pulverized into dust by countless resets. So it had to let go, give up, and wait for the next hapless human sacrifice. Eventually the next sacrifice would come and it would try, and fail, to save Him. Try and fail. Try. Fail.

Chara would watch once brilliant and powerful human souls wither into dusty shadows of their former glory with every failure. It got used to the failure. It got used to the guilt. Frisk would too.

But for now... cry-babies wanted sympathy, right? It could give them that.

"Look. This… gets easier the more you do it."

"I d-don't want to do it again. N-no! Chara, I won't."

Its eyes glittered.

"Then she dies for real. Like all the others. Like you."

The elder child shrugged. These were simple facts. Give up and die. Stay determined and... live (to die again). Frisk devolved into more, loud tears. Uhg. Always with the tears. It sneered. Then it sighed.

All of this was so pointless.

It had never been good at dealing with cry-babies.

Frisk's sobs softened again into quiet shudders as both children watched the small, purple soul begin to crumble. The outermost edges fell away into nothing leaving behind a jagged, unseemly outline. Cracks rippled through the fading, iridescent surface. Their hands cradled the dwindling shape, as pieces dribbled through their fingers in small streams of irretrievable grain.

The younger child looked at their rosy-cheeked companion.

"W-what do I... do?"

The elder child grunted at this, annoyed. They should know what to do. Nevertheless, it settled beside the smaller child and slouched against them. With a wide grin, it half-heartedly tried to topple them with its weight. Frisk refused to be moved by the uncharacteristic show of playfulness in their companion.

"What can I do...?" They whispered again.

"You make her determined."

"I… don't w-want..."

Uhg. Always like this. Rejecting every possible choice and trying to make their own way… but there were no other options here. They had no other choices.

Chara reached around Frisk and cupped their hands. Pale fingers guided Frisk's own and closed both sets of hands around the soul. The purple heart warbled at the combined touch.

"It doesn't matter what you want."

It grinned in red. Wispy tendrils of determination dripped from their pale fingers, twisting around the smaller child's own hands. A spectre of scarlet drifted up and out from both sets of palms and curled around the soul. Slowly, the purple heart was encased in a single, pulsing outline of red.

"You're not the one in control."

Frisk sat still watching as the pressure leaking from Chara's hands - and theirs - forced the soul's cracks to seal. The jagged outer-edges of purple were softened by a thin, pulsing halo of determination. The purple heart was smaller than before- but at least now those horrible cracks were gone.

The older child twitched away, let go, and leaned back on their hands. It was not strong enough to finish its job. Not anymore. The strength of its soul was nothing more than a shadow of its previous power. What remained of its will… could only guide the smaller child. But that was enough. Red eyes stared knowingly at the smaller child now entirely shrouded in a glowing, vibrant red. They cradled the purple soul reverently, hesitating.

"Maybe I shouldn't waste our time playing with such a fragile thing." Chara mused out loud with a taunting smile. "That soul barely holds together as is. We should just toss it."

The worried line of Frisk's mouth set firmly into a barely-there scowl. Their grip on the soul tightened angrily.

"No. I- …Won't let you."

Chara's grin widened.

"So she stays determined?"

Chara knew the answer already. But it was always fun to poke, push, and prod at their supposedly better self. A single moment passed before Frisk's hands closed on the purple soul and tugged it into their chest. A familiar energy crackled around the children. A reload. Things would start again.

"She stays determined."

Macie was determined.

Determined to keep her eyes shut and stay asleep… just a little longer.

She sent out a silent prayer for rest to reclaim her. Waking up more exhausted than when she had been going to sleep was a conundrum she could not, would not, and should not want to comprehend. So she would not wake up. Not yet. Not all stiff and achy like this.

If she kept her eyes jammed shut, maybe she could postpone her inevitable role in the waking world.

However, the purveyor of z's was not a generous deity. Macie was cast out of dreamland as softened puffs of air tousling the curls of hair at her brow and forced her to let go of that desperate desire for shut-eye when she finally relented and unshut her eyes.

Author's Note:

Arg ! Long time, no post. I had to split this chapter in two because the second half just... is not coming together. Hopefully this little update is enough!