L'Appel Du Vide: the call of the void.
Cody followed Chara through the Void, hugging himself. His legs were trembling. But he felt determined at the same time. He was here to save Gaster. And he knew he could do it.
"I do not think you will like what you will see." Chara informed him. Their head was bowed. They were still grey. "Your time is nearing its end. He is almost gone. You don't have much chance to save him."
"I think I'll be able to do it." Cody asserted himself, holding out his frying pan. It was with him this time. He was thankful for that.
"You are very determined, are you not?" Chara laughed. "Before I thought you were nothing but a weakling. But it seems you have proved yourself. You're stronger than I thought."
"I don't want to be a pushover anymore," Cody replied, looking at the cracked ground. "It just hurts everyone..."
"I like your thinking," Chara smiled. They paused, their head even lower than before. "If only he was like that."
"'He'?" Cody asked, raising his brow.
"Never mind," Chara said quickly, straightening their back. "We are almost there."
Cody pouted. He walked beside Chara, making them uncomfortable. He gave them a friendly smile. They didn't show him their face. But they gave him a small nod.
Chara suddenly tensed up. Gaster was there. However, his face was covered in cracks and his lower body was black goop. The black goop was coming out of his cracked skull as well. Hands were floating above him. Darkness was radiating out of him. Cody couldn't help it, he stepped back in fright.
"It is not too late to go back," Chara whispered. They were even further back than Cody, still hugging themself. "You can go back to your friends."
Cody faced Gaster, who was slowly but surely melting away. Chara waited patiently behind Cody, their head bowed. Cody made a face.
"I promised I'd try," he said, eyeing Gaster. "And I don't want to break anymore promises."
Cody took a step, approaching the monster. Gaster made a series of terrifying noises. Cody took a deep breath, chills crawling up his spine.
He couldn't back down now.
"Hey," he said calmly, smiling at Gaster. "I'm here to help you."
Gaster didn't reply. A light gleamed in a hole in his skull.
Cody grinned. "Yeah! I'm gonna get you out of here." He held out a hand, reaching out for one of Gaster's.
"I do not think that is a good idea." Chara mumbled, taking another step back.
More goop came out of Gaster's body. One of his hands reached for Cody's. Cody took another step forward, grabbing the outstretched hand. But as soon as he did, goop covered his shoes. It crawled around Cody's legs. He could barely move.
"Hey..." Cody looked at Gaster. "Could you, uh... please let go?"
Gaster didn't let go. More goop swirled around Cody. Cody frowned, holding up his arms. His grip tightened on his pan.
"Don't make me hurt you." he warned.
"Attack him already, you idiot!" Chara yelled.
Cody ignored them, even when the goop was now at his waist, acting like a boa constrictor. It seemed Gaster wasn't listening.
"I'm really sorry," Cody said, sighing. "But you just won't listen."
He whacked Gaster with his pan, causing the monster to free him. Cody fell on his butt, while Gaster was flung backwards into a pile of goop. Cody stood up, holding out his pan. His knees were slightly bent.
Gaster got back up. Piles of goop approached Cody, making the boy shiver. He stepped back, batting them away with his pan. Suddenly, a large, white, skeletal-like hand picked Cody up and threw him roughly against the ground. Cody's HP decreased and blood came out of his nose. Cody wiped his face, glaring at the red on his hand. He stood up, his body shaking ever so slightly.
He wasn't ready to give up just yet.
More goop approached the child, wrapping around his legs. He struggled, trying to escape. But he could not. Hands appeared all around him and fired blasts of magic. Cody batted them away with his pan, like he was playing tennis with 8 people at once. Chara was still watching, an odd look on their face. A blast of magic grazed Cody's shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain. His HP decreased again.
"Stop it!" Cody yelled.
He forced his way out of the goop. Hands approached him. One of them flew past his face, scraping his cheek. Cody fell to his knees, cupping the side of his face. He breathed heavily.
Another hand picked him up, throwing him against the floor. Cody was convinced he'd broken an arm. Keeping his broken arm in place, he grabbed his pan in his good arm and batted away more blasts of magic from the many hands. Goop wrapped around his legs once more. He could feel energy draining from them... he didn't think he could stand up much longer.
He took a deep breath, using one last burst of energy to jump out of the goop. For a brief second, he thought he was safe.
"Look out behind you!" Chara yelled warningly.
But too late. Another large hand picked Cody up and threw him into a pile of awaiting goop. It wrapped around him like a cocoon, cutting off his airways. Cody couldn't move. All he could see was darkness. His mouth foamed. His body felt weak and useless. His heart was hammering. His HP was decreasing.
He was going to die.
He almost smiled. I'm sorry, Mom...
But then suddenly, he was released. He was lying on the ground, his HP at 1. His vision was blurry and his head was aching like he was having a migraine. He was covered in blood, yet despite everything, he was still alive. He wondered why he had been saved. Then he realised.
"Stand back," Chara growled, approaching Gaster. They were holding a knife, which was covered in goop. "You will not harm anyone ever again."
Gaster made a sound. Floating hands approached Chara. Chara held up their knife, prepared to defend themself. Cody, though his arms felt weak, managed to crane his head over and observe what was happening.
Chara sliced the hands away with their knife, their face twisted into a scowl. Goop approached them. Chara stepped back, running off at top speed. Hands chased them around. Chara turned back and sliced them, turning them into shattered pieces. The pieces rained down like glass.
"You think you deserve a life after what you did?" Chara asked, glaring at Gaster. "All you do is hurt others. You are no better than Frisk. You are no better than me."
"Frisk..." That child again.
Cody frowned. Who were they?
He stared at Chara. He wondered...
Gaster reached out a hand. Chara jumped backwards, avoiding his attack.
"Someone is trying to save you, and this is your response," Chara growled at the monster. "Go to Hell."
Gaster's face melted even more. Darkness was radiating out of him.
"Hey..." Cody tried to sit up. He coughed, making his bones tremble. Blood trickled out of his nose. "Please... be careful..."
He paused, staring at Chara with sympathy. "Frisk."
Chara turned around and stared at him. "That is not my-"
They didn't say anymore because a blast had gone through their chest.
Cody watched in horror as Chara fell to their knees, white cracks appearing all over their body. They were glitching. They flashed from a grey colour scheme, to suddenly having pale skin, reddish-brown hair, flushed cheeks, and were wearing a lime sweater with a pale yellow stripe, and brown pants and boots. They looked like a child Cody had seen somewhere...
"Leave..." Chara whispered, staring at Cody.
They were still glitching, their knife beside them. Cracks appeared all over their face.
But Cody didn't want to leave. He hadn't known this child for long, but they'd saved him, and they... seemed pretty nice. He didn't want them to die. He stood up, his legs shaking. He gripped his frying pan.
"No..." Chara groaned, holding out a hand. "Get out of... here..."
"I'm not gonna let you die." Cody told them.
He limped over to them and wrapped them in his apron. Ignoring Gaster, he pulled out some spare food in his inventory.
"You would want me to die..." Chara told him. "If you... knew who I was..."
"Well, I know you now and you're a nice kid," Cody replied, smiling at them. "So you're not going to die."
Chara frowned. "Later on, you will regret this." But their frown turned to a smile. "But... thank you."
Cody fed them some biscuits. At least he could cook those. Chara stayed still, the apron still wrapped around them. But they hesitantly ate the biscuits. Then Cody stood up and stormed over to Gaster.
"You," he said through gritted teeth. At first, he was angry. But... he softened up. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone else." He sniffled. "But please... just let me help you without you... hurting me."
He clutched his side. He was still only on 1HP. Gaster's face melted even more. Cody forced himself to eat one of his biscuits. His HP increased to twelve. Cody felt a surge of energy rush through him. He took another step towards Gaster.
"Just leave, Cody..." Chara grumbled. "He cannot be saved."
Cody, feeling bad, ignored them. He stared at Gaster.
"Please," he pleaded the scientist. "All I want to do is help you."
Gaster stared at him, his face still melting. Cody felt hopeful. Suddenly, using his magical hands, the Royal Scientist approached Chara. They were surrounded by the monster's hands. The hands were lit up, prepared to...
"Wh... what are you doing?" Cody asked Gaster in horror.
Chara laughed, clinging onto Cody's apron. "Karma."
Gaster's face was indescribable. Chara was smiling. Cody realised what Gaster was going to do.
"Make your choice, Cody," Chara told him, smiling. "Will you save him or me?"
"I..." Cody wiped his eyes. He didn't want to say goodbye to either of them. He had promised to save Gaster, but... "I'm... I'm so sorry."
Cody whammed his frying pan across Gaster's body. Hard. Gaster began glitching, melting even faster. The hands around Chara shattered like glass. Gaster's skull cracked. Cody realised what he had done.
"Wait... no...!" Cody squeaked, holding out his hand. "I didn't mean to...!"
"I told you he cannot be saved," Chara said dryly. "That, or you made the wrong choice."
"No...!" Cody stared at Gaster, who was slowly disappearing.
"I am afraid so," Chara looked away. "But do not be sad. He was destined to disappear anyway." They mumbled, "Just like the rest of this world."
"No!" Cody protested, tears in his eyes. "I have to do something!"
He paused for a brief moment. Suddenly it hit him.
He pulled out his green soul. He knew what had to do.
"What are you doing?" Chara asked Cody, giving him a strange look.
"I'll give Gaster half my soul," Cody replied, his lip trembling. "Maybe that will bring him back."
Chara's eyes widened. "No! You cannot!"
"I have to," Cody responded, his head bowed. His smile was sad. "No one ever said I had to save myself."
"No!" Chara yelled, suddenly standing up. They were in full colour. They quickly reverted back to grey.
"I'm sorry..." Cody said, approaching Gaster, his soul in his palm.
"Stop!" Chara yelled. "That... you...!" Their voice turned demonic. They had their 'creepy face' on. "If you do that, your soul will be useless for my plan."
"What?" Cody turned around and stared at Chara, startled at their appearance.
"Cody..." Chara smiled at him, back to their grey self. "If you give up half your soul, you will lose half of your life-span. You will be incredibly weak. And you don't want people to think you're weak, do you?"
"But... it'll save Gaster, right?" Cody asked.
"Yes, but..." Chara put on a convincing tone. "He would never be a good monster. He would just cause more chaos. If you did save him, I promise..." They paused. "You would regret it."
Cody, unfortunately enough, was pretty gullible. "But... he seems so helpless..."
"He tried to kill you and me," Chara looked down. "If he were alive, he would try to kill your friends." They stared at him. "You don't want your friends to die, do you?"
"O-of course not!" Cody stammered.
"Then keep your soul," Chara said. "Trust me, it's something you will not regret."
"B... but..." Cody stared at the melting Gaster. "What will happen to...?"
"Who cares?" Chara asked. "No one cares about Gaster anymore. In this timeline, no one even remembers him." They muttered, "Aside from that skeleton, maybe." They shook their head. "But you know who people do care about?"
Their face was serious. "You, Cody. They care about you. If you die... you'll be letting all those people down."
"I... I don't know..." Cody mumbled.
That child sounded very convincing...
"Some people cannot be saved," Chara told him. "That is all."
Cody stared at Gaster one last time, his heart aching. He looked at Chara again, who was smiling at him.
"Don't feel bad," they said. "It is more kind to let him die."
Cody turned around, still holding onto his soul. Gaster was almost gone. Tears were in Cody's eyes.
"I..." Cody looked down. Then he stared at Gaster. "I... I can't just let someone die...!"
Chara's voice was dark. "The world let me die. No one was there to save me."
"What?" Cody asked them, raising his brow.
Chara blinked, shaking their head. "Never mind."
"... who are you?" Cody asked them with concern.
They were familiar... from somewhere... they weren't Frisk, so who...
Chara paused. "Do you... care about me?"
"Well, yeah!" Cody replied, straightening his back. "We haven't known each other that long, but..."
"Then it is best if you do not know," Chara replied. Their face twitched. "If you knew my identity... you would not like me anymore."
"What?" Cody asked, shaking his head. "No way! I-I wouldn't mind!"
"So you say," Chara mumbled. They looked up. Their expression was indescribable. "Do not look behind you. You will not like what you will see."
Cody resisted the urge to look behind him. "... but why?"
"Because," Chara laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh. "Gaster is gone."
"You are such a crybaby," Chara said, sitting next to Cody. He had been sobbing for ten minutes straight. "You remind me of-" They stopped themself with a sob of their own.
"Why do people keep getting hurt because of me...?" Cody sobbed, covering his face. "I... I thought I could save..."
"Life is cruel," Chara answered. "That is why I hated it so."
"Wait..." Cody stared at them with surprise. "You're... dead?"
"I have been dead for a very long time," Chara replied, hair covering their face.
"Am..." Cody shivered. "Am I dead too?"
"If you were dead, Frisk would have reset the timeline," Chara responded. "No, you are merely in a coma. I am surprised Frisk did not reset on this. I guess they do not want to reset unless someone dies."
"I'm... in a coma?" Cody asked, wiping his cheeks.
"Yes," Chara replied. "You are in a coma. That... spider that bit you... its venom (or so forth) was not strong enough to kill you."
"You know about that?" Cody asked.
"I know about your whole journey," Chara responded. "I have been travelling with you and your friends since you fell down."
"Wait... what?" Cody asked, making a face. "But... but... we never saw you with us!"
"Usually I cannot physically appear unless there is enough determination," Chara answered. "There was enough determination for me to physically appear, but Frisk was preventing me from doing so. I can only appear when they are preoccupied, or they are not feeling very determined. Such as a time back in Snowdin with that obnoxious bridge. Where Frisk was with that orange boy... Brandon or whatever his name is."
"Brayden," Cody told them. He made a face. "But who... who is Frisk?"
Chara gave him a strange look. "Are you serious? How could you not know who Frisk is? They have been with you the whole journey as well!"
"What?" Cody asked, raising his brow.
Chara groaned. "Humans! They never learn anything!"
"Oh..." Cody looked ashamed. "Sorry."
"Whatever," Chara spat, still annoyed.
Cody got an idea. An idea about how to make his new 'friend' feel better.
"Hey..." he stared at them. "If I can't save Gaster... maybe... I can save you?"
"I do not deserve saving," Chara responded guiltily, their head bowed. "I am too much of a monster."
"No way!" Cody responded brightly, grinning at them. "You're amazing! I don't know who this Frisk is, but they're crazy for not letting you appear and stuff. I mean, for a second I thought you could've been Chara, but... you're way too nice to be Chara. They're an evil jerk."
Chara blushed. "Oh..."
"You should come back with me," Cody held out his hand. "I bet everyone would like you."
"No, no no," Chara turned away. "I cannot. Frisk would never allow it. Just go back alone, okay? You tried your best."
"But..." Cody felt his heart ache. His eyes were watery. Couldn't he save anyone?
"Just go." Chara told him, hiding their emotion.
"What if I never see you again?" Cody asked them. Chara stiffened up. They turned around.
"Oh, you will see me again," they smiled at him, a glint in their eye. "But do not worry about me. Your friends are most distressed about you. Especially your sister."
"Clover..." Cody wiped a fresh tear out of his eye. He took in a deep breath. "Can I save anyone at all?"
"You saved that Vulkin," Chara told him. "And Frisk. And... your sister. You saved her too."
"I guess," Cody looked down, still frowning.
"I will let you leave now," Chara said, looking away. "There is nothing else for you here, Cody. I promise you will not regret leaving me behind."
"I don't think so," Cody shook his head.
"You think so," Chara mumbled. "But you do not know so."
Cody pouted. "One more thing."
He turned around and gave Chara a tight hug. The First Human stiffened up with surprise like Percy. But they managed to relax and gently return the hug.
"Ha... ha..." they laughed, holding back tears. "I don't want to let go..."
Cody gently released the hug. "Thanks."
He turned around to leave.
"You know," Chara mumbled. "Maybe there is hope... somewhere. Some place. You may get another chance. Do not give up. And, um... one more thing." They held up a hand. Cody looked at them. "You remind me of someone."
"Who?" Cody asked, tilting his head.
"My best friend," Chara replied with a sad smile. "His name was Asriel Dreemurr."