CharaFell - Restart Chapter 7: -VS Dummy-, an undertale fanfic

Faced with a foe beyond her ken, she steeled her resolve. The imposing sight looming before her. A towering behemoth, a warrior beyond warriors. A Tattered Dummy. The world seeming to grand to a halt, the options from within her might projecting before her.

Toriel was watching. The world had flashed red and black once more. It was...so strangely serious. Curious, she wondered something...what actions could she even take, the prompt shining, revealing possible options from within her thoughts. Cementing what were probably her brighter ideas, or at least the most dominant ones.

|Check| - |Bully| - |Talk| - |Joke|

Chara checked the Dummy. There are deep gashes, stitched many times over on this Gummy. No unified fabric anymore, held together with a patchwork of materials.

Naturally, the Dummy did not respond with any form of action or attack. She hummed some, tempted to tell a joke. Lighten the mood maybe?

She gripped the stick, scanning it over. Her red eyes turning to the commands, sighing some. She decided to fight. The prompts vanishing, as she visualized her balance, and the windup for the swing. Like a sliding scale, of sorts. With a quick swing, she struck at the Dummy.

However, her lack of stance, as well as the stick being heavier on the swing than anticipated, resulted in a bit of a miss. It made her snicker a little. Before noticing the frown from Toriel.

"I-I'm sorry, I...I kind of messed that up." She noted, laughing nervously. "I bet I looked like a Dummy, huh?"

"That's alright, please try again." Toriel requested, sternly.

"Right, Alright." Chara frowned.

The frown prompted Toriel to blink and frown a little herself. Seeming to realize her behavior. She managed a smile.

"My child-" The girl glanced back at her caretaker. "That last joke...left me in stitches,"

Seeing the little smile, hearing the little snicker made her genuinely feel much better. She considered her next action carefully. Getting a little smile of her own.

Chara decided to act.

|Check| - |Bully| - |Talk| - |Joke|

Chara told a joke to the Dummy. "You know, you look like a good friend of mine. He's a Dummy too." She motioned with the stick. "Maybe you're cut from the same cloth."

Toriel smiled a little, shaking her head. The Dummy didn't respond, either because the joke was bad, or it just didn't get it. She wasn't sure, but that was fine.

Chara decided to act.

|Check| - |Bully| - |Talk| - |Joke|

Chara told a joke to the Dummy. "What's wrong, ain't'cha goat anything to say, Toriel?"

The woman smirked. "Wow...I for-goat about your puns."

The Dummy respectfully listened to their exchange. But didn't laugh itself. Too high brow for puns, it seemed.

Chara decided to act.

|Check| - |Bully| - |Talk| - |Joke| - |Toriel|

Chara focused her attention on Toriel. "You forgot my puns?" She asked. "I'll have to investi-goat why."

Toriel struggled to not laugh, while covering her face with her hand. The Dummy looked on with silent approval at this turn of events.

"My child, you're a menace." The goat-lady smiled steadily. "Bravo." She clapped some. "However...we should proceed, no?"

Seeing her smile more consistently than before, gave her the will to Persevere.

Humming a little, she turned her focus back to the Dummy. Truly, despite the long adventure they had together, it was destined to end in violence. She reflected on this, pondered the trivial nature of bloodshed, and war. That such friends would turn against one another. And then snapped out of her little daydream, and snickered, amused with herself.

It was time to finish the fight.

The child looked over her opponent, taking into account the rather glaring weapon points to it. The stitches were a bit lacking, and she wagered a single good hit to any of them would suffice. She watched the projected images fade, as she already knew what she was going to do. |Fight| as it were.

Lashing out, with what she believed was an epic roar, she swung her mighty weapon. And it...thumped and didn't really do anything. Prompting a confused look, and a glance to Toriel who didn't seem all to surprised. Testing herself, she hit it again, harder this time. Blinking in a sort of genuine surprise. Her heart still glowed above her chest, her breathing growing a touch unaligned with her desire to remain calm.

"Well done, we can-" Toriel began.

However, she didn't listen. Didn't care, as frustration mounted. Clenching the stick harder, her soul shined more. Her power rushing into the swing, her movement fluid, yet uncontrolled. Brought down with a loud snapping and tearing noise filling the air.

The end of the stick snapped, slamming against the floor beside her. The main part of it still in her hand. The Dummy shredded through like paper, with stuffing pouring out. Nearly spraying in the air, her eyes widening as she watched.

Something...someone, a voice, haunting the faintest memory whispered to her. "See...I told you it'd be fun, right?" A dark ink welled in one of her eyes. "To tear them apart?" It seeped down her cheek.

The glow of her eyes faded, a hand moving to rub her eye. Noticing the ink, before wiping it on her pants. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to break it." She apologized, the dark fading back into color, as the fight ended.

Toriel stepped over, picking up the broken end of the stick, and then examining the dummy. She ran her fingers across the main tear. It was a surprisingly deep slash, torn by the force of the hit, rather than the strength of the chosen weapon.

The girl was quiet, watching. Replaying it, feeling increasingly anxious as her guardian didn't say anything. After a moment, the monster-lady got up, and smiled some. Patting her on the head.

"It's okay, it's alright my child." She said in a softer voice than she'd had the whole day. "Don't be upset, it's only a Dummy. And trust me, there are plenty more in the world."

Chara blinked and noticed Toriel little snicker. "Y-you aren't mad?" She asked worriedly. "I can try and fix it, but-"

"Chara, look at me-" She motioned, gaining the childs attention again. "It's alright. That's what they're meant for. Right?"

"Are you sure?" Chara asked, having expected to hear something different. "I-I thought you'd be angry."

Toriel considered something for a moment and responded. "What does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

"Huh?" The girl asked. "tile, uhm, what?"

"Shin-gles." Toriel answered, making finger guns.

The pause lasted a few moments. Before Chara began to chuckle. Rolling her eyes.

"B-but, you really aren't-" The girl tried to ask again.

"Did I ever tell you about the knight, afraid to fight?" Toriel asked, gaining a look. "Did I?"

"No." She replied.

"His name was Sir Ender." The monster joked, making Chara laugh harder, as she snickered some herself. "His best friend loved showing up unannounced, but that's why he was called Sir Prize."

"Wowwwww." Chara remarked between laughs, while plopping on to the ground. "H-hey, why was the suit of armor empty?"

"Well, I dunno, why was it empty?" Toriel asked.

"Cuz the owner went out for the knight." Chara grinned, as the two laughed a little too hard at their own dumb jokes.

They relaxed for a little while, waiting for their laughter to die down. And just enjoying the moment. It wasn't too much longer though, before Toriel cleared her throat, and offered her hand.

"We should continue, my child, we still have a ways to go." The woman said,, as Chara took it, and was helped back to her feet. "The ruins aren't the safest at night."

"Okay." Chara hummed, giving a glance back at the dummy. Her smile not fading, even as she wondered about the whisper. Best, she wagered, to forget about it for now. It was likely just her imagination, after all.

With that, they left the room, and continue on the path.