Chapter 4: Barrier
"SEE? I KNEW THE HUMAN WOULD COME AROUND! AND THE OTHER HUMAN DID SO TOO. THIS IS GETTING CONFUSING."
Sans chuckled as he plucked his hands into his hoodie's pockets. "sure is, paps. Maybe after all these years, we should put a little more backbone into learning their names."
"SANS?"
"yes?"
"PLEASE STOP."
As a matter of fact, Sans did, right at that moment, with his feet and all of that. Chara had to flail their arms awkwardly to not bump into him. They caught themselves just in time, glaring with annoyance at the smaller skeleton. This, combined with many other reasons, was why the child didn't like that particular monster. Things like this happened far too often.
"whelp, we're here. I hope you brought your sunglasses, kiddos."
They hadn't, of course. Nevertheless, the sight before them still was breathtaking, in a creepy way.
As if reading their mind, the short monster shifted slightly towards them. "Making your skin crawl, doesn't it?"
Oh, yeah, the puns. That was another reason; the awful, awful puns. Cannot forget those.
"Home is kind of just around the corner right there." Chara commented, hoping the bored shrug following their words would stop their nerves from showing. "It isn't like we never saw it." The child cast a quick glance behind, a small part of them expecting the faces of their family poking out from the entrance to the throne room. Yet, only golden flowers and vines glistered in the pale light of the barrier.
They felt the chain of their locket weight heavily around their neck. Asriel had cried but smiled. Mom had embraced them fiercely with love in their eyes. Even then, she tried to be strong for them. Dad had woven a single golden flower from his garden into their hair. The loving gesture had left a bitter taste in Chara's mouth.
The child shifted their attention to the other human next to them. With curly dark hair covering the side of their face, it was impossible to read Frisks expression. Of course, they had received a similar farewell as well. The soft scent of mom's butterscotch-cinnamon pie still lingered around them.
Sans glanced at his blank wrist. "Huh, seems like they're late."
"MAYBE THEY JUST GOT HELD UP. OH NO, WHAT IF THEY COLLAPSED ON THEIR WAY HERE?! I SHOULD PREPARE SOME OF MY FAMOUS NOURISHING SPAGHETTI!"
"i don't think that's such a great idea. you know how some people just aren't ready to experience your…"
"CULLINARY AWESOMENESS?"
"yes. that."
Just on cue, the light rippling in waves in front of them shifted, the ripples becoming uneven. Chara felt the barrier's energy buzzing, thumping in an uneven beat. Their gaze shifted to the old cart track resting on the firm stone floor just off to the side. One end wound its way deep into one of the rough tunnels next to the throne room, disappearing into the depths of the underground. The other blurred as it disappeared in the buzzing static of the barrier. If they concentrated enough, they could imagine it going on to a place where sunlight touched the glistering, metal surface. Like a disturbed pond, this entrance point send circles of light outwards into the depths of the mountain.
Chara took an unconscious step back, while they watched Frisk step forward towards the source. A hand clasped down on the purple striped child's shoulder. "trust me, kiddo. you don't wanna get too close to that."
An ear splitting screech filled the air. Chara covered their ears as their eyes locked on the vague shape of a cart approaching at alarming speeds. There was a loud thump as it came into full few, careening in a blur towards the tunnel and crashing against a wall of bones that hadn't been there before.
Papyrus huffed, sending the object an offended look as the bones glowed with an orange hue and disappeared in a flurry of magic. "HONESTLY THOUGH, THOSE PEACEKEEPERS HAVE NO MANNERS. SOMEONE COULD HAVE GOTTEN HURT BY THAT!"
Sans nodded, patting his brother on the lower arm that he could reach. "thanks, bro. great reflexes. undyne would be impressed."
"SPEAKING OF WHICH, WHERE IS SHE?"
The shorter skeleton made his way over, peaking into the trunk of the cart. Chara took a cautious step forward, curiosity momentarily overcoming fear.
"i dunno. probably late. mind fetching her?"
The tall skeleton nodded. "I'LL DO MY UTMOST BEST. NYEHEHE! BUT FIRST" he walked over, crouching down in front of the two humans. "SINCE YOU WILL BE OFF SOON, I GUESS IT'S TIME TO WISH MY TWO BEST BUDDIES GOOD LUCK!"
Chara ground their teeth together, trying to ignore the ringing that the skeleton's shrill voice caused in their ears.
"I KNOW THINGS MIGHT LOOK BLEAK, BUT I BELIEVE IN YOU TWO! YOU CAN DO IT, EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK SO!"
Chara raised an incredulous eyebrow at the naïve monster. "So you actually want us to succeed in kil-"
"we're kinda on a tight schedule, paps!"
Papyrus grinned, raising himself back to his full height. "AH YES, OF COURSE. I'LL MAKE IT QUICK. AND DON'T GIVE ME YOUR SCARY FACE, HUMAN."
That only motivated Chara to glare harder.
"FAREWELL, DEAR FRIENDS. YOU'LL BE FINE. AFTER ALL, YOU HAD AN AWESOME TEACHER: ME! AND IF ANYONE WANTS TO PICK A BONE WITH YOU, JUST BEFRIEND THEM LIKE I DID WITH YOU! NYEH!"
They… they weren't friends. Papyrus was annoying, stupidly naïve. Still, his words somehow stung deep within Chara's soul. He was too nice for his own good. They wanted to snuff out the nasty feeling, make a snarky comment or something. But just as quickly, he was gone, running off through the throne room.
Sans turned around to face the children, a small disk in his hand. As Chara looked closely, the numbers on the disk seemed to decrease. A countdown.
Soon enough, the sound of two pairs of feet approaching echoed through the caverns. One resonated with a heavy thud, as the other flopped along, spluttering every once in a while.
"O-Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for b-being late! I-I was so caught up in my… um… research that I totally forgot the time!" It was a miracle that the small lizard storming in could even speak in between her heavy huffs of breath. Worried eyes behind thick glasses flew from one face to another as another monster appeared in the entrance behind her.
"Gosh, why didn't I add an alarm and… huh?! Chara, is that you? O-oh no. Frisk too. So you guys are the new tributes. Oh no oh no oh no. This is bad. I'm so sorry. I'm going to fail everybody and with the population on the surface decreasing, my whole research will be for naught. Oh no, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to… I should, I should…"
"Alphys." A dull voice resonated behind a metal helmet as a strong, steel-clad arm slammed down onto the yellow lizards shoulder, effectively stopping her rambling. "There is no need to apologize. The fate of these two has been decided."
Chara rolled their eyes, biting their lip. They couldn't wait to get this over with. And these two weren't speeding things up at all.
The armored soldier removed her helmet, revealing a fierce smile. "However, that doesn't mean we cannot suplex fate into submission! We just have to wait for the moment to strike. I'll punch reality into a pulp if I need to!"
"U-Undyne…"
"Just don't beat yourself up about this, Alphy."
Monsters were all the same, brimming with hopes and dreams and warmth and compassion. The child's fingers tightened around the locket that rested beneath their sweater. Just like Asriel. Just like mom and dad.
A distant memory of red seeping over a pristine golden floor filled their mind. No, it was for the best. It was just the way their mother had said in that erased figment of time. Monster kind was safer without them.
Taking a deep breath, Chara tried to pull themselves together. "Greetings, doctor Alphys."
In just a moment, all eyes were on them. The child didn't mind, putting on as sweet a smile as possible. "I understand that this whole situation might be…" What was the smart word mom always used? "…upsetting. Even so, we are kind of short on time."
Alphys perked up at that. "O-oh, right. Sorry." Their scales turned a bright, orange shade. "T-this was selfish of me. I-I'm sorry."
Her fishy friend stepped forward for her, pointing a hand at the three vials that were hidden in Alphys' grasp. "Alphys just needed some more time to finish the concoction."
Her head turned towards Sans, scaly brows creasing into a frown. "Hey, Sans, how much time do we have left?"
The skeleton glanced lazily at the device in his hand. "eh, it's enough. One minute and thirty-six seconds."
Undyne stared at him for a moment, mouth in a thin line. As seconds ticked by, Chara thought she'd explode in rage. Instead, the female monster covered her eye in exasperation, before taking a deep breath to let loose a badly contained growl. "Sans, for the love of f-!" She caught herself in time, lone eye drifting towards the two human children. "For the love of monster kind, keep an eye on the time and tell me!"
The knight in shining armor whirled around, focusing all of her attention on the humans.
"NGAH! It doesn't matter! Let's hurry and get this wrapped up."
Chara tried to not shrink into themselves as the intensity of the situation hit them.
Undyne rushed over, plucking the vials from a squeaking Alphys. "Here ya go, you two. One shower of this stuff coming right up!"
"W-Wait!", Alphys stumbled forward, nearly falling over. "They need to drink it to absorb it properly!"
"Oh!" the blue scaled monster stopped for a bit, before resuming with renewed gusto by shoving a vial into each of the human's hands. "Well, then, here you go! Chuck it down. NOW!"
Chara held the object away from themselves as far as possible. "What is this stuff even made of?" As far as their normal sight would tell, the vials were filled with a slightly translucent, milky substance. A closer inspection, however, showed a strangely familiar, white hue wisp above the liquid, shedding a soft, pale light. There was just the slightest, cyan tinge to it.
Undyne let out a nervous laughter, thin trails of sweat sliding down the side of her face. "Does it matter?! Come on, just do it already!"
"I-It's a magic based mixture that a-allows you to pass through the barrier." Alphys added, while wringing her hands in front of her. "It w-will wear off, however, after a small amount of time."
Chara glanced incredulously at the small vial in their hand. "Wait, are you saying anyone could just pass the barrier with a bit of that? That's crazy. Why haven't we used it on everyone yet?!"
"W-Well… erm…"
"one minute." Sans announced lazily, sharing a casual glance with Undyne.
The fish monster cursed under her breath. "Go, go, go, you two!"
Frisk complied without a complaint, lifting the cold glass towards their mouth and downing it in a fluid motion.
Breath quickening, Chara looked down at their own vial, uncomfortably aware of the multitude of eyes on them. If they didn't drink it, they'd look weak. And even so, Frisk seemed to be ok with this path. So what choice did they really have?
Shutting their eyes tight, Chara threw back their head, letting the liquid slide into their mouth, gliding like flaming ice down their throat. They couldn't decide whether it was burning or freezing, but it hurt, the feeling spreading through their whole body. Choking, the child felt their grip loosen as moments later, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the cave.
They may have stayed there forever, every nerve in their body screaming, or just for an instant. Who knew? Maybe it was a bit of both. However, slowly, gradually, the pain ebbed, leaving a tranquil feeling of calm in their wake.
Chara opened their eyes, waiting for the world to come into focus again. Red flared to their left, flickering every once in a while. For a second it was white, then back to cyan, then finally a familiar red, tinged with the slightest hints of pure white. Odd. But Chara recognized the shape. Frisk must have fallen to the floor after drinking their part of the potion. Chara felt a strange sense of pride grow in their chest at the thought of managing to stay upright.
Undyne grimaced apologetically. "Erm… sorry. I forgot how strong that stuff is. Maybe you two should sit down for a moment-"
"forty-five seconds."
"Or we do some good old lesson in toughening up! I'm sorry, but you two will have to suck it up. This experience will make you stronger than ever. Feel the pain. Relish the pain! AND GET MOVING, PUNKS!"
A strong hand closed itself around the neckline of their sweater, scaly fingers lightly scratching skin. Before they could do as much as move a limp, Chara was more dragged than walked towards the barrier. The tall monster only paused to pick up Frisk, dropping them both off onto their feet in front of a wall of energy.
Next to them, Sans calmly strode forward, sipping away at his own vile, this one's liquid glowing in an eerie, pure cyan color. "well, seems like time's up. see ya, dyne! catch ya on this side." And just like that, he led the way into a maze of white fog and buzzing magic.
Chara felt their breath hitch, as their feet seemed to move on their own. They still remembered the first time passing through, all those years ago. The feeling of a thousand pinpricks passing through their body as they fell to their certain death. Or so they thought.
The barrier was simple. Everything, living or not, got in. But try to get out and you get burned to a crisp. At least, that's how the legends go. Reality, in contrast, wasn't simple.
This time, however, was different. It didn't hurt. Even as the energy enveloped them it didn't feel like an attack. More like a distant welcome home, resonating deep within them.
They felt their will to live, to survive this passage unharmed, burn deep within their soul. A deep warmth enveloped them, like a hug in a cold snowstorm, protecting them from harm. Somewhere, a small voice urged them to not rush, rather wait for the energy to shift till passage was safe.
They didn't hear anything, not even the sound of their own feet as memories tucked at them, twisting and grasping. Just a bit more and they'd be safe. No, not safe. Why not?
Because-because they were…
Bright sunlight touched them for the first time in seven years, illuminating their world in bright shades of soft white.