Crunch crunch crunch.

The Human stood across from the tall Skeleton. He was talking. He was saying something.

The Human didn't care.

As Papyrus closed in on his inevitable end, he took a good, long look at his life.

Papyrus knew it was coming. He knew The Human would hurt him. The Human would dust him.

Papyrus gave it his all. He threw everything he had into his speech. But, inevitably..

SLASH.

Papyrus's head came clean off, landing with a soft puff in the snow.

Frisk grinned, lifting their foot.

The only thing Papyrus could do was scream as his head was crushed under the weight of their boot.

Chapter 2:

A Human's Condition.

"I wasn't sure what I was wanting to do. Maybe I was trying to end it all. But then I fell in here."

My feet carried me into the long bridge stretching between Snowdin and Waterfall. My head on a swivel, I called out the name that carried me through so much.

"PAPYRUS! PAPYRUS!"

I ran forward, slipping on something in the snow and landing with a small oof.

I looked at what I slipped on. Something soft and orange.

"Oh… Oh, no…"

Sans appeared across from me, the air warping subtly around him. His eyes were dark.

"..."

I knew this was probably the wrong time to do this, but…

"... I could've stopped this." I said quietly, gently picking up Papyrus's scarf. "If I had the ability. The power."

Sans was silent.

"Please. If you'd just let-"

Suddenly, my SOUL was no longer the usual violet. It was blue.

I heard a SLASH just before Sans threw his arm upward, sending me soaring into the air, the wind taken right out of me, preventing me from screaming.

As I fell back to the ground, I landed on someone just shorter than me.

"Get OFF!" The Human yelled, standing and throwing me off, forcing me to land with an "oof!" just behind them.

I scrambled to my feet, spawning my knife out of my inventory and flicking it open.

"You wanna go again, bitch?!" I yelled, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

I glanced just past them. No Sans.

No help.

I grit my teeth, staring at them, red eyes to red eyes.

"... Yeah. I think I do." They said, flipping the toy knife around in their hand. Something about them seemed… Different. The glint in their eyes wasn't theirs.

They leaped at me, faster than they were before. I was barely able to move out of the way before they landed, spun, and leapt at me again. I wasn't able to do anything this time before they grabbed me, tackling me to the ground, arm over my neck.

They raised their knife, and I lifted my feet, kicking them in the stomach and flipping them over my head. I blindly grabbed my knife, flipping around and stabbing in their general direction. My knife landed true; stabbing right into their shoulder with a wet stab. Gross.

-5. 35/40.

They barely reacted, leaping to their feet and tearing my knife out of their shoulder. Blood dripped down their shoulder, into the snow. I got up similarly, shifting my weight onto my back foot.

They may have had the power, but I had the technique.

They flung their arm wildly at me, and I ducked to the side, popping my arm out for a swift jab to the jaw.

-2.

*It's combo time!

I followed the jab up with a cross right to the side of the head, before grabbing the human by their ears and forcing their forehead into my knee. My knee now up to my chest, I kicked them in the stomach, following it up by switching my feet and hitting them with a swift roundhouse right to their temple.

-3.

-7.

-1.

-5.

*Finish them, Carter!

I grinned, pulling back both fists and punching them in the chest, knocking them fully off their feet, before grabbing their shirt, swinging around and slamming their head into the snow with all my strength. Pulling back my foot, I swung it as hard as I could for the finishing blow!

-15.

*ULLLLTRAAA COMBOOOOO!

5/40 HP.

I grinned, pressing my thumb against the side of my nose and flicking it to the side. "HA! Try recovering from THAT!"

Distracted in my gloating, I didn't notice the fact that the human had, yes, recovered, and threw my own knife right into my chest with a gross thunk!

5/19.

I stumbled back, stumbling backward, my feet crossing over, just before I fell to the ground.

4/19.

My HP dropped, the knife deeper in my chest now that I was staring up at the ceiling. The Human stood above me, chewing something in their mouth. By the frosting around their lips, I'd wager it was a Cinnamon Bunny.

40/40.

I couldn't move. I could barely think. The human knelt at my side, taking the tip of the knife and gently pushing it further into my chest.. This time, I screamed, unrestrained, the muscles in my neck tensing up as the ear-piercing sound punctured the air, echoing throughout Snowdin, and probably into Waterfall.

3/19.

"... hm." The Human hummed quietly. "... I don't think I'll kill you. Yet."

They ripped the knife out of my chest violently.

1/19.

"I'd just have to kill Papyrus again, wouldn't I? Then you'd have a chance to stop me." They said, toying with my knife, my blood dripping from it. If I didn't have a stab wound in my chest, I'd have gagged.

"You're a good fighter, Carter. I'll give you that. But if there's one thing you'll never be able to do…"

The leaned down, grinning wildly. It was a familiar grin. Evil. Wide. Like nothing made them happier than killing.

=)

"You'll never be able to stop me." Chara said, before standing, pulling something out of their inventory and throwing it, the object landing on my stomach. They turned and walked away, taking my knife with them.

*Carter! They threw a Cinnabun at you! You need to eat it!

I couldn't move. My body wouldn't respond. If I moved, then I would damage the wound, and I would die for the second time today. Maybe I should've, out of spite, but my body physically wouldn't let me.

I stared blankly into the sky.

… Then I lost control in a different way. My eyes blinked without my knowledge nor consent. My arm moved, gently, grabbing the Cinnabun with as much strength as the unfamiliar presence could force out of my fingers, before bringing it, dripping with Cinnamon and Blood, to my mouth, shoving it in and forcing my jaw to chew.

The wound in my chest immediately healed, the only sign I was ever damaged being the hole in my shirt and the dried blood around my chest. My body shot up without my consent, stopping, then I regained control.

"I… You can do that…?"

*Apparently. I had to try, considering that Chara could.

"That's reassuring," I groaned, slowly getting to my feet, "Considering the fact that you're both DETERMINATION souls."

*I think you were, once upon a time.

"Maybe." I said quietly, before stretching. The wound may have gone, but the ghost of the pain remained. It felt good to stretch that pain out. Almost cathartic.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an orange scarf. It was sad, honestly. I would've liked to meet Papyrus.

I knelt down, gently picking up the scarf.

*Would he root for you?

I didn't respond. I put the scarf into my inventory, before standing, staring into Waterfall as the cold wind gently blew my hair. I'm sure it would've been a Papyrus worthy image.

"I'm late! I'm late!"

I frowned, turning around, only to see a short lizard bolting towards me. My scarlet eyes widened, just before I took a step out of the way.

"Out of the waaay!"

The lizard yelled, before tripping, falling flat on his face. I laughed to myself.

"You alright, kid?" I asked Monster Kid. He was never particularly one of my favorites, but I liked him enough.

After pulling his head out of the snow, he yelled, "Yeah! Oh! Oh! Are you going to see Undyne too?"

"No, I-" I tried to interrupt, before MK pulled me along by my arm with his tail, into the murky waters of Waterfall, my feet fumbling as I tried to catch my own balance.

"Come on! We can still catch her if we run!"

"Come on, dude! We have to catch her!"

I frowned in annoyance, reaching my hand to the SAVE point next to Sans's post. It was cute at first, but the constant insistence that I follow him into my death was starting to get on my nerves. Besides, I had to get back in contact with Sans. I hadn't seen him since I fought Chara, and, honestly, I was going to need to dump Monster Kid somewhere. But where could Sans be? Once you kill Papyrus, Sans disappears until you reach Judgement Hall.

"Duuuude!" MK yelled, "Undyne could be beating up bad guys!"

My eye twitched.

*Come on, Carter… He's not so bad.

I ignored my text box, turning to MK with the fakest smile I think I've ever made.

"Hey! How about this…" I said in a fake-cheery voice. I was trying not to hurt his feelings, but he was starting to get on my nerves. "You go ahead and see if you can find Undyne! I've… Got some stuff to do here, so I'll catch up in a bit."

MK thought for less than a second, before turning back to me, beaming, a huge smile pointed directly at me.

*He's got a gap in his teeth, like you do.

Shut up.

"Alright! I'll see you later, Dude!"

MK ran off, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Heya."

I jumped, whirling around, my feet getting twisted around each other, causing me to lose my balance and fall into the mud.

"Oh. Hey, Sans."

"So, I was thinking it over." The small skeleton said, his voice heavy. "Maybe your idea of infusing yourself with magic isn't so terrible. But, listen,"

He looked at me, his eyelights dim. "We don't exactly have enough of that power just lying around, y'know. And if we did, by the time we got all the magic collected and working, The Human would be at the King. I'm assuming you know what happens after that."

I nodded. Game Over.

"So, we need a distraction. Someone to keep them busy while Alphys and I get the stuff ready."

I cocked a brow. "You've talked with Alphys about this already?"

Sans nodded. "So, we need you to keep them busy for a bit. A couple of hours, at the very least."

*That's a great idea, considering how your last two fights with them went.

I nodded, looking down. "I can keep them distracted. MK's probably with them by now, so I can probably catch up with those two and slow them down a bit…"

My eyes widened a little. "... and maybe I can keep them distracted even longer." I turned fully to Sans. "Hey, can you get me to the spot with a bunch of tall leaves, the one where Undyne grabs Frisk?"

Sans looked at me, confused. "Frisk…?"

"You know, the one right before the place with the blue lakes and the bird."

Sans seemed a little confused, but nodded as he grabbed my shoulder, the air warping around us as we took a shortcut.

We dropped to the spot I was thinking of, and I nodded to Sans. "Thanks. I'll be here for a minute as I wait for them to catch up."

Sans nodded, the air around him warping, before he was gone. Oddly, the grass that I was just realizing we were standing in was warped around where he was, too. It looked cool.

"Get back here you little freak!"

Right on cue.

Frisk sprinted into the grass, and I stood my ground as their eyes widened, slamming into me, before falling flat on their ass. They looked up at me.

"You…?"

I knelt beside them, hiding in the grass, staring at them with murder in my eyes. I looked up, watching a small, yellow lizard be lifted up by his head, his feet dangling weakly. Undyne had grabbed him, but he'll be fine.

Undyne put him down, before walking away, Undyne's boots thumping loudly as she stormed away.

We stayed still for a couple seconds, before Frisk tried to get up. I pushed them back down with a smirk, before standing and walking out of the grass.

"YOOOOO!" MK yelled, his high voice hurting my ears, "UNDYNE JUST… TOUCHED ME!"

*Awe, he's adorable.

Is he, though? Is he really?

"Yeah, that's really cool, MK." I stated simply, standing next to them as Frisk walked out of the grass.

"I'm sure you'll never wash your face again." They said sarcastically, beginning to walk right past us. I grabbed their shoulder.

"Dude, hold on. Wait up for MK! I'm sure he wants to hang with ya."

"Yeah!" MK said excitedly. "You seem like a cool fellow!"

Frisk's frown deepened, but they knew they couldn't refuse. Being rude to MK could mess up their run later on. For now, they had to suffer through it.

"... Okay." They said, grinning fakely. They were putting on a nicer persona, that was good.

We began walking, easily the weirdest trio of people on this planet.

"Woah…" I said, my eyes bright at the glittering water surrounding us. It was so… Serene. So peaceful. My mind felt at ease.

Or, it would've, had I not had a homicidal maniac literally right next to me. MK grinned, looking like he was ecstatic to show someone around the underground for the first time. Somehow, it seemed that he hadn't caught on that I wasn't a monster, yet. That was good.

Frisk frowned, before looking around. "... I guess it's a little pretty." They shrugged. "You get used to it after seeing it so often, though."

"I would imagine. I haven't been around as much as you two, though." I stated.

"Where are you from, anyway?" Frisk asked, smirking. I glared. They were trying to blow my cover.

"A, uh… Big city. Pretty, uh… Different from around here." Frisk's eyes snapped towards me in interest.

"Oh, like New Home?" MK asked, and I glanced to the side.

"Yeah, something like that."

We began walking, the odd monster here or there popping out of nowhere to greet us. I didn't even consider that… They'd have to go back and kill them, later. Perfect.

MK chatted with the odd monster here or there, introducing Frisk and I to them. The monsters seemed freaked out, but seemed to calm down once they saw that Frisk and I were "Friendly."

We passed through the rest of the blue-laked area, the ceiling beginning to leak water. I was the first to grab an umbrella, the three of us sharing with me in the middle. It was quiet, and nice. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine that the three of us were friends, travelling together.

*It reminds you of a simpler time. A longing to go back.

*... I wish I could go back, too.

I took a deep breath, looking at Frisk. They stared straight ahead.

Silently, to no one besides myself, I wished we could be friends. That I could've fallen down under different circumstances.

How would that have gone, I wonder?

Would I be different? The same? Would I end up how I am now, walking with Frisk and MK through the underground? Or would I be much more… Violent?

It was doubtful, but not impossible. I did have a mean streak, out there.

*But even then, you were kind when it counted.

"..."

"So…" Frisk quietly started, "A big city, huh? What was it like?"

I blinked in surprise. Frisk was actually trying to make small talk…?

MK seemed confused, but stayed quiet.

"... Yeah." I answered honestly. "Big place. Lots of buildings and such." I frowned. "It was a really busted-up place. Overran by gangs."

Frisk stayed quiet. For the moment, it was just the two of us in a void of honesty.

"The biggest one stayed in a mansion in the 'nice' part of the city. They did whatever they wanted, and whatever others wanted them to do, for a price." I stared at the ground, pain from the familiar memories overtaking my mind.

"... They took everything from me." I said bitterly, imagining the four leaders of the gang in horrible, mangled situations. Twisted and dead in the most horrific ways I could imagine. They deserved it.

"..." Frisk was silent for a moment.

"... I grew up in a big city, too." They said simply. Sadly.

"It wasn't as bad as yours, but…" They looked to the side, sadly looking at the ground. "It was still run down. My family wasn't the happiest. Mom died when I was young."

"... Dad, he…" Frisk stopped themself. "Wasn't… The greatest. So, I… Ran."

"To mount Ebott." I finished for them. They nodded.

"I wasn't sure what I was wanting to do. Maybe I was trying to end it all. But then I fell in here."

I stayed silent. I can see why they'd be unhappy no matter what happened. If they went back to the city, they'd run the risk of being stuck with their birth parents again. So they keep Resetting. It was an escape for them.

*What a familiar story.

"So… You two are humans?" MK asked. "... It sounds like being a Human kinda sucks."

Frisk and I looked at MK, then back at each other. We laughed. Real. Genuine. It was… A nice moment.

"It does, MK! Oh my God it does!" We kept laughing, like MK made the best joke in the world."

"Ohhh…" Frisk smiled. "It's so nice to smile again."

Smiling didn't last long. We reached the ledge, the one MK usually had to help the player up with.

We got to the top of the ledge. MK left. We were alone, on the ledge.

"... you can stop, you know." I said simply. "You can turn back."

"... No. I can't." Frisk said. "I'm too far in to turn back now."

"But you can RESET. Please." I begged. "If you do… You can change all this! You can be better."

Frisk shook their head. "No. I don't have that power anymore. It was taken from me."

"..."

"I'm going to lose control, soon. It won't be long now." Frisk looked at me, pulling my knife out of my inventory and handing it to me. I took it gently, flicking it open. They cleaned it. "Beat them, Carter. I know you can."

*Check.

*Frisk. 4 ATK. 5 DEF.

*A kind human with a SOUL filled with DETERMINATION.

"... Okay. I will."

Frisk jumped off the ledge, mud spraying around them. They looked back at me. The red in their eye… It was different. Darker.

*Check.

*Chara. 4 ATK. 5 DEF.

*An evil human with a SOUL filled with DETERMINATION.

Chara trudged away, their boots trudging through the mud. Soon after, I heard screams in the distance.

*The grind's back on.