Chara tiptoed through the puzzle. The cracked floor let a little crunch whenever their feet got too close to the edge of the correct squares. As much as failing on purpose to let the leaves break their fall could have been fun, they had only so much time left before they had to go back to New Home and they still had one last place to visit.
The place where they had met Asriel, where they had first landed in the underground.
They had been very lucky that day, Asgore and Toriel had exceptionally allowed Asriel to visit Home after he had requested it for a long time, usually he didn't go further than Waterfall when he left New Home. He wouldn't have been there to find them after their fall if this hadn't happened.
Ever since Asriel and them became best friends, his parents had been much more willing to let them both go wherever they wanted as long as they asked for permission and returned fairly quickly.
Asriel didn't come with them this time however, he chose to stay home to practice his drawing skills instead.
Chara kept trodding along until another cracked floor blocked their way. They decided to simply jump over it rather than falling down and going back up. Their jump was slightly too short and they had to take a moment to regain their balance in order to avoid tripping backwards and falling through the floor.
They ignored the bowl of monster candy and pressed forward as those were licorice flavored. Yuck !
Whilst they made their way through the unnecessarily long corridor, they suddenly heard something from afar.
It was like a sort of scream.
Chara stopped for a second, wondering if they had just imagined it or not. Another similar groan followed not too long after, giving Chara their answer.
What could possibly have made that noise ? They wondered.
In all cases, it seemed like it came from where they were going anyways so they'd soon find out. Maybe someone picked on Loox again and he got mad, wouldn't be the first time this happened.
Unlike the other puzzles, the spike puzzle was not fully deactivated. However, this was not a problem. This puzzle might look dangerous, but the spikes of the correct pathway were made to automatically retract into the ground as soon as someone walked over them. All Chara had to do was to hold their feet just over the spikes for a few moments to check if it made them retract or not in order to deduce the correct path.
Just as they stepped into the next room, they heard that voice again. It felt louder as well as Chara had gotten closer to it.
"Please… Somebody help !"
They froze in place.
This certainly did not sound like someone was picking on Loox, they did not recognise this voice at all either. It sounded like it belonged to someone rather young.
It seemed to be coming from the deepest point of the ruins. Chara decided to pick up the space slightly to make it there faster.
"It hurts…"
Someone was hurt ? Maybe they should have taken a piece of monster candy with them after all…
Chara's footsteps echoed through the cavern as they got down the stairs.
"I-is someone there ?" The voice asked, having apparently heard Chara getting closer to them.
"Yes, do you require assistance ?" They responded from a few rooms away, although they expected the answer to be yes. They had taken the habit of talking fancy like this after living with the Dreemurrs for an extended amount of time.
"Please help me…" That was all Chara got for an answer, it seemed as if the owner of the voice was starting to cry. Whoever they were, they probably weren't in a very good state at the moment.
They went through the final door, which marked the last room of the cavern and had the deltarune drawn above it.
When Chara turned around and looked at what stood in front of them, they went completely pale in the span of less than a second. Out of all the possible scenarios they could have imagined, this was easily the worst of them all.
It was a human.
They were laying down on the floor just at the bottom of the hole, bleeding, much like they had been long ago when Asriel found them. The human looked like they were somewhere around Chara's age, maybe slightly younger. They wore a blue-magenta striped shirt with blue pants. Their hair was brown and somewhat messy, probably because of the fall. What Chara had heard must have been them screaming out after being injured by their fall.
They were still currently facing the floor, but as they heard Chara, they tried to tilt their head in order to look at them.
Chara was terrified, they were unable to move. A human. In the underground.
They hated humankind with a burning passion, they were all rotten to the core. It was because of them that they had wanted to climb the mountain in the first place.
Humans were cruel, they were violent, they were selfish, the total opposite of monsterkind. Monsters were kind, compassionate and caring. They were the ones who really deserved to rule the surface, and yet they were all trapped underground because of humans.
But at least, by remaining down here, they were safe.
Until now.
This human, they were a threat. They were a threat to the entirety of monsterkind. They might look innocent enough, but the moment they would learn that they needed a monster soul to leave, they wouldn't hesitate to massacre everyone to escape the underground. No, just the fact that monsters were monsters might be enough to make decide to kill anyone who got in their way, just because they were different.
Humans were already incapable of living with each other without resorting to violence and murder, there was not a chance that humans could live with monsters in harmony.
Monsters were too naive to understand this, they would try to greet this child down here like they had greeted Chara in the past. But the moment their guards would be down, the human would betray them without a second thought.
...What was Chara supposed to do ?
They were trembling. This child was going to take everything away from them in the very near future.
Unless..
Chara swallowed their saliva as they realised what the only option that they had was in order to save their family and all of monsterkind from certain doom at the hands of the human.
They had to act while they still could, they had to get rid of the threat right now.
They were so weak, so vulnerable...
The human managed to keep eye contact with them.
"Help me..." They called out again with tears in their eyes.
They had no idea, they were unsuspecting, they still thought that Chara was going to help them.
Chara suddenly remembered. The dagger. They still had their dagger on them. The idea of doing this with it made them feel sick to their stomach. But it was their only option wasn't it ?
The adopted child of the Dreemurrs walked up to the fallen human and knelt down next to them.
They looked so scared, so helpless. It almost felt wrong to have to do this to a kid like them.
No ! That was how they tricked everyone ! Humans were all the same, it didn't matter if they were a child or if they were begging for help, they were going to destroy everything Chara loved if they didn't act right now.
...Why did it have to be so difficult ?
They reached for their dagger with their dominant hand, the human didn't notice it.
They had to do this, they had to kill them, they had to take one life to save countless more.
It turned out that even with their hatred for their own kind, Chara was still having second thoughts about killing this child. It was a necessary evil for the greater good, they had to kill them, but they struggled to bring themself to do it. As it turns out wanting someone dead is way easier than killing them yourself.
"W-what are you waiting for ?" The human asked them, snapping Chara out of their reflexion. They didn't have any more time to waste. They still had the advantage of surprise for now, if they hesitated too long and the human started suspecting something was odd about their behavior, it might be too late.
It would have been easier to do this if they were unconscious or sleeping… Maybe they could try to get them to do so while they seemingly had the human's trust ?
"Close your eyes. You need to rest. I will bring you somewhere safe." Chara lied.
"I… I can't. It hurts too much…" They weeped again.
Welp, it was worth a shot.
They took a deep breath and strengthened their grip on the dagger. They couldn't afford to hesitate to do this when absolutely everything they cared about was on the line. They took one more breath and made up their mind for good. They had to do it, and they had to do it right now as time was against them.
Chara raised the dagger in the air and prepared to strike it down on the human. The child's face filled itself with horror and confusion as they saw what Chara was holding. After looking at them for a moment, Chara brought down the dagger on them.
They missed. the human rolled on the side just fast enough and Chara's dagger only hit the dirt, getting stuck in it.
Chara wasn't sure how this happened, did they hesitate for too long after bringing out their weapon ? How did the kid even dodge this in a state like theirs ? Did the human's survival instinct make them do this without them even realising it ? Maybe both of those things at once ?
Either way, they had messed it up, the mask was off. Chara pulled as hard as they could to get their dagger out of the ground it got stuck in.
While they did so, the human got back on their feet despite their injuries. Their knees felt like they were going to give in at any moment but the primal fear of death gave them the force to keep standing up anyways.
They took a few steps backwards, away from the one who had just attempted to kill them after promising to help.
"W-why ? I-i don't understand !" The human asked. They really couldn't see any reason for Chara to try to do this to them.
When Chara got their dagger back they looked at the terrified human again and advanced toward them without saying anything.
"N-no ! Back off !" The fallen human kept moving backwards until their back hit the walls of the cave, they were cornered. They were so scared. They were going to die.
As Chara approached again, the child closed their eyes and turned their head away from them, looking on the side instead. They didn't want this, what did they do to deserve this ?
The first human pressed their left hand on the other one's chest to immobilise them, not that the invader was trying to flee anyways. In reality Chara was just as scared of the human as they were of Chara. They knew just how dangerous the human could be if they were let the chance to live.
Chara brought their dagger close to the human's throat. They didn't even try to resist, they just looked away from it and kept crying. The adopted child of the Dreemurrs pushed the weapon closer until it was pressed directly against their flesh.
"P-please don't do this. Im begging you." Their tears rolled down the child's still bloodied shirt.
Chara did their best to ignore it. Why did they have to make their job so hard ?
...They were faking it. They had to be. They were just trying to guilt trip Chara into not killing them, then the second they would let their guard down, the human would betray them.
"Shut up." They answered, gritting their teeth.
"W-what did I do to you ? Why are you d-doing this ? Y-you don't have t-"
Chara gave them no answer and pointed the tip of the dagger into their skin, making them yelp in pain. Chara pulled it out immediately. That was just a warning shot.
The human's senses ran at two hundred percent, they felt like they were going to faint but they knew that doing so would mean death. They had to do something not to die. They had no chance to get out of this by force, all they could do was to try and talk their way out of it.
"I'll do anything you want me to do, I swear ! Just… Please don't kill me." Tears rolled down their cheeks again as they broke down after that sentence.
Lies, Chara thought. More lies. The moment they would fall asleep, they would kill Chara, then they would kill as many monsters as they wished before leaving the underground.
"Do you wish to know what i want ?" Chara answered them as they brought the dagger back to them.
The human didn't dare to speak up and looked at them in the eyes, waiting for them to finish.
"I want you to die." As they said this, they aimed for the human's chest and attacked.
Frisk's perception of time froze. It felt like the world was moving in slow motion due to adrenalin. This was it. This was where their story was going to end, just like this.
They didn't understand… Who was this other child ? Why did they want to kill them ? Why were they acting so friendly until they suddenly snapped ?
None of these questions mattered, not anymore. It was too late to get answers now.
As they were about to resolve themself to their fate, something primal began burning inside them.
...No ! They didn't want this to happen ! This couldn't be the end already ! They were too young to die ! They… They wanted to live !
They wanted to take everything back, they wanted things to have gone differently, they wanted to change their fate.
That desire burned stronger and stronger within them, to Frisk it felt like it had been a minute but this had all happened in merely half a second. They started to feel dizzy, like the whole world was fading away from them. What… What was happening ?
RESET
Chara felt the world blinking halfway through their attack. They felt light headed for a few moments. When they got back to their senses, they had somehow... moved ?
They were standing at the beginning of the room again and their dagger was back in their pocket. As for the fallen child, they were once again laying on the ground right where they had fallen.
What just happened ? Did they both just teleport or something ? Did a monster show up and use their magic ? They turned around only to see that there was nobody there.
Chara stepped towards the other human again, as soon as they saw them doing so, the child hurried themself on their feet. Chara caught them before they had the time to attempt to move anywhere and blocked them against a wall once again.
"What did you do ?" Chara asked them.
"I… I don't know what happened !" They hesitantly answered.
Chara brought their dagger to their throat again.
"Don't lie to me. Tell me what you did right now." Behind their apparent confidence, Chara was actually extremely confused by what had just happened, at least they hadn't imagined it since the child clearly knew what they were talking about.
"I have no idea what that was, i swear it on my life !" The human insisted on the last part as they feared that Chara might hurt them if they thought they were still lying to them.
Chara sighed and lessened the pressure on their throat slightly.
"Your life means nothing to me."
The fallen human took this opportunity to try and talk again.
"B-but why ? Why do you want me to… to…" They were still afraid of saying the word, as if actually wording it would make a difference.
"You are dangerous." The first human told them as they held the tip of their weapon against the skin of their throat again, one wrong move and they would pay the heavy price.
Frisk lifted both of their arms in the air, they did so very slowly as they feared how Chara would react to a sudden movement. They wanted to show them that they were harmless, not 'dangerous' in any way.
"Im not going to do anything. I promise I won't get in your way. I'll do whatever you want !" They really were ready to do so if the only alternative was to die.
Chara was lost. They knew that the human was faking it but they were doing a really good job at making it believable. The real thing that bothered them though was this strange teleportation thing that had just happened with seemingly no explanation.
Then, they noticed it.
The bloodied mark that Chara left on the human's throat with their "warning shot" from earlier.
It was gone.
Chara felt chills running down their spine. It was like it had never been there in the first place.
That… What if that wasn't just teleportation ? The two of them had went back to where they were a couple minutes ago, if Chara's dagger was back in their pocket and Frisk's throat injury was gone…
Was… Was that actually time travel ? Did the both of them go back to the past somehow ?
They had to be making this up, but it just made way too much sense. What other explanation was there ? But then how did it happen ? What caused it ? Nothing like this had ever happened until… Until that human fell.
They had a very bad feeling about this whole thing.
It couldn't be… But the possibility was there wether Chara wanted it or not, and if they were right… Then monsterkind was truly doomed. In the end, their fears and curiosity got the better of them.
"Do it again." Chara asked as they let them free of their movements once more.
"What ?" The human was confused, they tried to take a few steps back again but tripped and hit their knees.
"You said you would do what I asked for did you not ? Do that thing again, the one you just did." They repeated themself as they caught up to the fallen human.
"Did… i do that ?" They asked, confused.
"You are going to provide me the answer to this question." Chara told them firmly.
The fallen child immediately obeyed Chara and closed their eyes, the last thing they wanted was to give them more reasons to dislike them. They tried to remember how they felt like just before the world blinked in order to replicate it.
But nothing happened.
"I can't ! I promise im trying to but its not doing anything !" The injured child swore.
Chara was relieved. They had been fearing the worst. They answered the child by bringing out their dagger and preparing to stab them. They really needed to get this over with.
"N-no ! Stop !" The child held their arms in front of their face and something burned inside them again. As Chara was about to attack, the world blinked once more.
RESET
Chara almost lost balance as they found themself at the beginning of the room again.
As soon as they realised what had happened, the human rolled themself in a ball on the ground and wept.
"I didn't mean to do that, it was an accident. It wasn't lying, it really didn't work when I tried ! Please don't hurt me."
Color drained from Chara's face. So it was them, they did cause this. They both went back to the very same place too, in the exact same position, and the damage on their knees was now gone as the one on their throat was last time. It was all just like before.
It really was time travel. They just went a few minutes back in time.
A human with time travelling powers.
Now Chara was the one that was afraid, they were trembling and taking steps back to get away from the other child. This had to be a nightmare, it couldn't be real. This human, they were invincible, even if they seemingly didn't realise that they were yet.
There was nothing Chara could do to stop them. Everyone was at their mercy. This was the end. Even if Chara did stop them, they could just go back and try again until they got what they wanted ! It was just a matter of time until they set out to do as all humans do, worse even, by antagonising them Chara had surely shortened the time everyone had left to live significantly.
Primal panic burned inside them, it triggered a fight or flight response in Chara.
There was no way to fight against a creature like them. So they fled.
Chara turned around and ran away in the other direction. They had no idea what they were supposed to do now. There had to be something… Anything they could do to protect the underground from this time travelling human threat.
How can you stop someone with such an ability ?
The only way Chara could think of would be to block them with something they couldn't get past no matter how many times they tried.
How could they do such a thing ?
After a while, the answer came to them. It was so obvious that they hadn't thought of it.
These ruins were full of puzzles which were originally meant to stop human invaders, weren't they ?