Chara and Frisk, with their backs to the ledge, moved out from under the dripping cavern ceiling. After walking a few yards, they came across another twinkling save point. When they finished saving and walked a few more yards, the solid ground beneath them abruptly ended, and a long boardwalk stretching into the darkness took its place. Chara recognized the boards they were plodding on and began to feel apprehensive. Looking over she could tell from the worried look on her face that Frisk felt the same. Chara knew they were being watched, as a shiver ran down her spine.
Before Chara could say something, whether to fill the tense silence or to calm their nerves, a large blue circle appeared on the boardwalk in front of them. They both froze as another appeared and then another followed by more that quickly popped into existence until there were nearly a dozen in front of and behind them. After a brief second, ethereal blue spears forcefully shot out of the blue circles before quickly disappearing.
Just as Chara was about to shout to Frisk to run, Frisk grabbed Chara's hand and took off with her down the boardwalk. Chara could hear the clang of Undyne's armor over the dull thud of their own footsteps as they pounded the wooden planks beneath them. They ran as fast as they could with Frisk leading the way, that didn't prevent them from getting hit by Undyne's magic spears however. Frisk received the brunt of Undyne's attacks, while Chara got her own number of cuts and one spear that managed to embed itself into her right thigh before fading away. Chara clenched her teeth as the fresh wound made itself apparent and continued running just behind Frisk.
They took several turns as well as a couple of doubling back, first a left, then a right, then another right, then loop back around, then coming to a brief halt to avoid the spears blocking the way before taking off again as soon as they disappeared. Chara's chest was beginning to hurt as every step she took with her injured leg sent a fresh wave of pain through it, yet she kept on running right behind Frisk.
Suddenly, Frisk skid to a halt causing Chara to almost collide with her. Looking over Frisk's shoulder, she could see that they had reached the end of the boardwalk. Taking a quick glance at Frisk, she guessed that she only had a few HP left. Looking at her own HP showed her that she too only had three HP left.
Frisk turned around and took Chara's hand leading them back where they came. They didn't make it very far, as standing directly in their path was Undyne. Undyne took a few steps toward them, her armor clanging with every footstep. After a few tense seconds of Undyne staring them down, she summoned a several spears above them and sent them hurtling toward the wooden planks between herself and them. The spears easily ripped through the wooden planks, severing the part they were standing on from the rest of the boardwalk. For almost a second, Chara felt an odd sense of weightlessness, before gravity promptly reasserted itself sending Chara and Frisk down into the dark.
Chara felt the wind howling past her ears as they descended rapidly toward the ground. She felt Frisk's grip on her hand tighten before she tugged Chara over to her.
"Frisk what are you doing?!" Chara yelled over the wind.
Frisk didn't answer, instead she pressed Chara closer to herself, wrapping her right arm over Chara's arms and around her chest, while placing her left hand on Chara's forehead. Frisk then pulled Chara tight against herself, holding Chara's head against her chest just under her chin, before positioning themselves so that Frisk was falling beneath Chara.
Realizing what she was doing Chara tried to pull away while shouting. "Frisk no!"
Before Chara could free herself from Frisk's tight grasp, they both finally hit the ground, and everything went white.
Chara was lying in bed, her throat and mouth burning and stinging. Every time she swallowed; a fresh wave of pain traveled down her throat. Nothing she ate or drank stayed down for long, and she had sharp pains throughout her stomach. On top of everything she would lose consciousness every other hour.
Chara knew full well that she was dying but she also knew that it would be worth it in the end. She could help give back all the kindness that the monsters and the Dremurrs had shown her over the past year and a half by freeing them all from this underground prison.
She heard the bedroom door open, weakly she looked up to see Toriel with a fresh damp cloth in her hands, Asriel close behind her.
Toriel approached Chara's bedside and laid the cool damp cloth on her forehead. "Here my poor child, I hope this helps." Chara was about to thank her, but Toriel quickly placed a furry hand over mouth. "Shhh, don't speak my sweet child, save your strength. Asgore has sent for Dr. Ģ̸̮͇̙͎̙̝͍̩̈́͋̕à̴̧̗̰͇͒͐͛̑̃̕ͅs̷̢̡̛͚͔͓̹̼̦̜̘̽̈́̿̂͒̕t̶͉͙̦̉̈̕͝e̶̢̢͙̯͉̰̬͐͊͗r̶̛̛̦̺͓̈́̍͗͐̈ͅ, to see if there's something we can do to make you better." Chara looked into Toriel's eyes and could tell she was doing everything she could to hold back tears. Toriel turned to Asriel. "Alright Asriel, I'm going to wait for the doctor, will you stay with your sister and let us know if she gets any worse."
Asriel, with a solemn look on his face, nodded his head. "Yes mom."
"Thank you, my child, I won't be gone long." Toriel placed a gentle kiss on Chara's cloth-covered forehead and on Asriel's furry forehead before leaving the two siblings alone.
Asriel walked over and sat down on the edge of Chara's bed. After a moment of silence, he took a breath and said, "Chara, I don't like this plan anymore."
Chara looked her adoptive brother in the eye, seeing that he was on the verge of tears as well, she felt some pity. "I know you don't Azzy, I don't really like it either. But if we don't do this, then monsters will stay trapped here forever."
"I know that, but isn't there some other way we can free everybody?"
"I wish there was Azzy, but unless six more humans happen to fall down here, I don't think there is any other way." Asriel sniffed and wiped the tears that had begun to fall into his soft fur. "Besides, I would die of old age eventually, while you and mom and dad and everyone would never grow old. But when you absorb my SOUL, we'll be with each other always, forever and ever. We'll always be best friends and we'll never be lonely ever again."
Asriel looked to be lost in thought for a long time before looking into Chara's red eyes. "Do you promise?" he asked, a serious expression replacing the sad look he had earlier.
Chara pulled free her right arm and offered it to Asriel. "Pinky promise." She said with a weak but sincere smile. As Asriel wrapped his own pinky around hers, Chara felt a tear running down her cheek. Asriel took notice and used his sleeve to dry the tear from her cheek.
"Heh, guess I'm the crybaby now." Chara said.
"Come on Chara, you know that big kids don't cry." Asriel said with a small smile of his own.
Chara accepted the buttercups that Asriel had pulled out of his pocket. "Don't worry Azzy, you should be happy, and excited because... we're all going to be free." Asriel nodded while Chara ate the bright buttercups, doing her best to ignore the increased burning in her throat.
The next day, Chara felt herself sinking into the darkened arms of unconsciousness once again, taking her away from the pain of her dying body. This time felt different, however. She felt a certain finality, a feeling that she would not wake up later this time. Chara began to feel apprehensive and panic at the thought of never waking up again, she felt a primal urge to stay alive, her determination keeping her tethered to this world. But then she thought of the monsters, of Asgore and Toriel, and especially of Asriel. And with all of them nestled deep in her heart, Chara released the hold her determination had on her and sunk into the dark embrace of nothingness.
Chara woke with a start, gasping for air as she quickly sat up. She winced at the throbbing pain in the back of her head. Looking down she found herself sitting on a patch of golden flowers, many of which were now flattened, stems broken or bent into irreparable shapes. Looking to her right, she saw Frisk lying next to her. Chara immediately moved to Frisk's side and put her ear to Frisk's chest. Chara sighed with relief as she heard the slow steady beat of Frisk's heart. Sitting back, Chara looked up into the inky blackness hanging above them as she waited for Frisk to regain consiousness.
*Chara and Frisk escaped Undyne once again.*
*You're filled with Determination!*
