Chapter 20: Megalo Strike Back
"We need to go after her." Ordered Asgore.
"No." Said Frisk as she made her way out of the group. "I'm sorry, but I brought her here, I'm the only one who can get rid of her. Find Flowey and make sure Chara doesn't go after him while I try to stop her." Said Frisk before she used her fire magic to propel herself through the hole at the top of the cave and onto the surface.
"Frisk." Called Toriel as she tried to chase after Frisk.
"Wait." Called the illusion Asriel, making everyone turn their attention back to him. "There's something… I never told you… about Flowey. He's more powerful now… he can use a smaller version of his omega form, without the assistance of human souls." Explained Asriel.
"Alright kid, anything else you haven't told us?" Asked Sans.
When Frisk exited the cave at the top of Mt. Ebott, she saw Chara walking through a very large field of flowers near a stream. "Your friends were wrong you know." Said Chara as she turned to face Frisk. "It's not a beautiful day at all. A storm is brewing," Started Chara as she looked up at storm clouds moving over Mt. Ebott. "Thunder is roaring, rain is falling. On days like these, kids like us… SHOULD BE BURNING IN HELL!" Screamed Chara as she made her creepy face for a moment, but quickly changed it back to normal.
"What do you mean 'like us'? Chara you're the only one killing people." Replied Frisk.
"D-do you actually believe that?" Asked Chara. "Hehe, no, you don't believe that. You're just passing the blame off on me again, so your friends won't hate you." Said Chara, making Frisk nervous. "Let me tell you a story, in all one-hundred timelines, there is always one Frisk, who is never satisfied with only one ending. Each Frisk starts experimenting with different outcomes, making different choices, and just like you, that day in Waterfall, they learn their power can bring back the dead. That gives them all the courage they need to start the genocide run. But then, they always chicken out, and I have to finish it for them."
"I only did the genocide run to help you!" Defended Frisk.
"Oh please, you knew that I was with you the entire time." Said Chara."I was just fine with the first ending, I hoped you would find a way for me and Asriel to be together, but there was nothing a genocide run could do to help with that. And eating you friend's souls for power may have been my idea, but it wasn't until you started the genocide run that I suggested it."
"I guess we remember things differently." Replied Frisk.
"I guess we do, but more importantly, now that you've started the genocide run, I have to finish it. Lucky for you though, you won't be around to see it this time." Said Chara, before she used her special move to send a blade of air at Frisk. However, Frisk side stepped the attack and charged at Chara, using her magic to set her left hand on fire. "WAIT! Stop! Get away from me!" Screamed Chara as Frisk ran up to her and threw her left fist near Chara's head. There was a loud explosion sound as fire erupted from Frisk's left hand. Tears ran down from Chara's cheeks as she stood petrified and tried to see what had happened. Chara saw that Frisk's badly burned left hand was still balled into a fist next to her head. She could have killed me. Why would she let her attack miss? Wondered Chara. "W-why?" Was all Chara managed to stammer out.
"Chara, we've both made some mistakes in our past. Let's learn from them together, not fight to forget them." Said Frisk as she fought back tears in her eyes from the burning pain in her left hand.
"I don't need… Your mercy!" Screamed Chara as she swung her knife at Frisk, only to be blasted in the chest by a fireball.
"I guess Sans was right. Talking won't work with you." Said Frisk as Chara made her way to her feet and the two prepared to fight.
Thunder clapped and rain began to fall as Chara and Frisk glared at each other. My body hasn't had time to fully recover, but that burned arm of hers will slow her down. Thought Chara.
Credit: Song "Megalo Strike Back" By: Meltberry
There was another distant thunderclap as the sound of the rain began to mix with the sound of the flowing river. "What you want is what you're gonna get, I'm not waiting for you to figure out, what you've done to cross me the wrong way. I don't think that you understand." Sang Chara as she ran at Frisk and swung at her with her knife twice. Frisk dodged the blows by stepping back. "You've fallen into a spiral of determination, and you don't regret any of your actions. Why do you think I am stopping you right here?" Sang Chara as her body locked up for a moment. "You wanted me to destroy them all, so I listened and helped you on your way. I was sleeping but now you've awakened me, here I am to set you free." Sang Chara as she used her special move, only for Frisk to match it with a fire ball. "Since when were you the one in control? You're a puppet just like the rest of them. I don't understand why you're doing this, now there's no one to be missed." Sang Chara as she slashed at Frisk a few more times. "Falling in, you're stuck with me forever. Don't you think that you should reset while you can? Because in just a moment you'll be-" Chara was interrupted when Frisk pushed her back.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Sang Frisk, before Chara began slashing at her with her knife again. "Why did you have to start genocide? We could have all, just had a good time. Now that you're here I guess that it's clear, nothing I do makes you disappear." Sang Frisk before she snapped her fingers and created several fire balls around herself, that were only slightly weakened by the rain. "You could run kid." Sang Frisk as she launched the fire balls at Chara.
"Gone, lost, stuck, dead." Sang Chara as she deflected the fire balls with her knife. "You think that you can play the victim, even though you know you did this yourself. You can't play it off like an accident, this was of your own free will." Sang Chara as she tried to slash Frisk but was blasted in the chest with a fire ball. "You wanted a murderer of me, and now here I stand ready to attack. Just like you showed me was the right thing to do. No matter who it is." Sang Chara as she made her way to her feet. Frisk turned her back to Chara as she tried to convince herself the accusations weren't true. "You were given so many options, but you chose to stay and to slay them all. Even though you were helpless and so weak, did you even try to speak up?" Sang Chara as she began limping towards Frisk. "Don't you think that I might have some feelings in my heart. It's pointless to believe you, have the time to convince me. When, will, this, end?" Sang Chara as she swung her knife for Frisk's head, but Frisk ducked under the attack and turned to throw a fire ball at Chara's stomach, but Chara jumped over Frisk and landed a deep slash on her back. "What you want is what you're gonna get, I'm not waiting for you to figure out, what you did to cross me the wrong way. I don't think that you understand." Sang Chara as Frisk fell forward into the large patch of flowers. "You've fallen into a spiral of determination, and you don't regret any of your actions. Why do you think that I'm stopping you right here?" Finished Chara as she loomed over Frisk. However, as Chara reached for the large tear in Frisk's body, all her muscles began to sting horribly. D-dang it. My body hasn't had enough time to fully recover. If I ate her heart now, my muscles would be torn to pieces. Realized Chara.
"I'll let you live for now, but don't bother trying to reset. That power was split between the two of us when I left your body." Explained Chara, before she walked off towards Ebott town.
"Yes, there is one more thing I need to tell you." Said the illusion Asriel to Sans and the rest. "If we're all going to make it out of this the first time around, you all need to realize that Frisk and Chara are more alike than you know."
"What do you mean?" Asked Sans.
"Golly, look what we have here." Frisk heard the high-pitched voice of Flowey nearby. "What's the matter? Fallen down? Hahahahaha!" Flowey laughed in mockery of Frisk's weakened state. "Come on Chara, lighten up."
"Flowey… I'm not Chara." Said Frisk weakly.
"Maybe not right now, but that can be changed." Flowey's voice changed to a more threatening tone as two vines wrapped around Frisk's wrists.
"It started out an innocent child's desire. The journey through the underground had been the most exciting experience of Frisk's life, and she didn't want it to end. So, she reset, and did it all over again." Explained Asriel. "Then she did it again, and again, and again. Eventually it became boring to her, but instead of moving on, she started making different decisions, trying different things. No matter how good an ending she got, she was never satisfied. She always believed there was a better ending, one where me and Chara could leave the underground with everyone else. Then one day, on the border between Waterfall and Hotland, Frisk learned just how powerful her determination was… powerful enough to bring back the dead."
"Wait, the border between Waterfall and Hotland? That's where I almost had a heat stroke." Pointed out Undyne.
"Yeah, Frisk wondered what would happen if she decided to be selfish and took the water for herself instead of giving it to you. She felt terrible and reset immediately, but that was when she learned how to reverse death. That, was what gave her the push she needed to do the genocide run."
The group fell silent, no one knew what to say, until Sans spoke up. "So, the genocide run was Frisk's fault after all. Heh, it's almost like some sick joke. Listen do you mind explaining why exactly you're telling us this?"
"Frisk and Chara, they feed each other's perfectionist sides. Chara killing people pushes Frisk to try and make no mistakes. While Frisk succeeding pushes Chara to complete the goal that she was given at the start of the genocide run." Explained Asriel. "If this is ever going to end, one of them has to make a mistake. Persuade Chara not to kill or persuade Frisk to kill Chara. That's the only way out of this." As Asriel finished speaking, his body began to fade, and eventually ceased to exist.
"SANS-" Papyrus was cut off when Sans began to speak.
"Alright, first thing's first, we need to find that flower and make sure Chara doesn't get him." Said Sans. "I'll go through all the flower gardens here in the underground, just in case he decides to show up here. Tori, you should go check the flower garden right above us. Papyrus, you should go check the flower garden on the other side of Mt. Ebott. Mettaton, go check the flower garden between Grillby's and the Spider bakery. Asgore, go check the flower garden in the middle of town. And finally, Undyne and Alphys, go check all the flower gardens around Tori's school."
Everyone in the group nodded, before Sans walked deeper into the ruins. Toriel used her fire magic to propel herself through the hole to the surface, just like Frisk had done. Though his wings were damaged, Mettaton-neo used the remaining thrusters on his back and in his boots to propel himself, Undyne, and Alphys to the surface. "Hey Papyrus, can you use one of your short cuts to drop me off in the center of town?" Asked Asgore.
"CERTAINLY." Replied Papyrus before he took Asgore through a short cut.
As Toriel stepped out from the underground, she noticed it was now raining, but more importantly, she noticed the large flower patch in front of her had been torn up in a fight, and that there was a pool of blood from the loser right in front of her. "Oh dear." Was all Toriel could bring herself to say.
After dropping off Undyne and Alphys at the school Mettaton shuffled through the rain, his injuries clearly slowing him down. "Oh, this rain." Pouted the owner of the Spider Bakery, Miss Muffet. "I'll never be able to sell any baked goods in this weather." As she finished speaking, Muffet noticed a figure struggling through the rain. Who would want to be out in this weather? Wondered Muffet before she realized the figure was none other than the television celebrity Mettaton. Muffet charged out the door of her bakery hoping to finally meet her favorite performer, before she noticed how badly injured he was. "Mettaton!" Called Muffet.
"Sorry darling, no time for autographs." Replied Mettaton as he continued towards the flower garden.
Muffet launched a web to stop Mettaton and yelled, "Mettaton you're hurt! Where are you going in this condition!? The hospital is the other way!"
"Let me go! I must get to the flower garden! I have to find someone immediately! Frisk's life is at stake!" Replied Mettaton.
Frisk, the girl who saved all monsters? Thought Muffet. "Listen, I can see you're in a lot of trouble, but you won't be much help to anyone in that state!" Called Miss Muffet. "Come with me so I can treat your injuries, then I'll help you find whoever you're looking for!"
Mettaton realized he was getting nowhere and agreed. "Alright, but do you really know anything about robot repair?"
"I know a thing or two, now let's get out of this rain." Replied Muffet before the two of them entered her bakery.
"Flowey! Flowey!" Yelled Asgore into the empty flower garden in the center of town.
"FLOWEY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU AT ONCE!" Yelled Papyrus into the empty flower garden at the base of Mt. Ebott.
"Flowey!" Called Dr. Alphys.
"Where are you, you stupid flower!?" Screamed Undyne as her and Alphys searched the large flower garden outside Toriel's school.
Sans walked through Toriel's old house in the ruins, still looking for any signs of Flowey. When Sans began his decent into Toriel's basement, where the passage to the rest of the underground was, he suddenly felt a wave of nausea hit him. It was the same way he normally feels after Frisk resets, only he wasn't moved back in time. Sans continued through the basement until he arrived at the door leading out of the ruins but was surprised to see what was on the other side. I don't remember there being a hallway here. Thought Sans as he looked down the dark hallway, that seemed to have light shining down from the surface into it. In the center of the hallway was a small patch of grass with one golden flower in it. Sans feared the worst as he stepped into the corridor.
Mettaton barely fought back the urge to scream while Miss Muffet's spiders crawled all over his body while they made repairs. Miss Muffet sat nearby drinking a cup of tea, and she seemed to notice his discomfort. "It's alright deary, my spiders don't bite… much. While they're patching you up, why don't you explain to me what's going on?" Suggested Muffet.
Mettaton swallowed nervously but began to explain to Muffet what was happening. "…And now we're trying to stop Chara from getting to Flowey." Concluded Mettaton. Miss Muffet's teacup shook for a minute, but she quickly steadied her hands.
"I see… well, that's a lot to take in." Said Muffet. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Well, you gave me free repairs, that's a pretty good start." Joked Mettaton.
"Oh, this isn't free. We will be discussing a payment plan later." Said Muffet. "But I would like to help you find this flower. If that Chara kid gets him, it sounds like it'll be pretty bad for my business."
"The more the merrier." Said Mettaton.
Then one of the spiders waved at Muffet, signaling that they had all finished the repairs. "It looks like we're all set." Said Muffet. "Time to go." With that, Muffet and Mettaton set off towards the flower garden.