Chapter 3: Saving Time
A/N: I was actually quite proud of this chapter! It definitely isn't perfect, so constructive criticism is welcome!
Asriel: "So Chara, how exactly are we going to get to Snowdin from here?"
Chara: [Whoops. I almost forgot about that entirely. It's a very long trek to Snowdin from here…]
Chara: "Aha! The River Person! We'll just take a boat there"
Chara silently praised herself for her quick thinking but…
Chara: "You've got to be kidding me. Where on earth are they?"
She went over to the spot that the River Person usually waited, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Asriel: "It's no problem Chara! We can easily get to Snowdin on foot.
Chara believed Asriel was taking their current situation too lightly.
Chara: "Asriel, we have no clue what awaits us in the other parts of the Underground. Things here are different, who knows what else has changed?"
She thought of all the popular figures in the Underground and their connections to humanity.
Chara: [Does the absence of the war mean that everyone is fundamentally different? Monsters won't be targeting me. Speaking of which…]
Chara paced back and forth. As she wandered, she found herself back in the Hall of Judgement. Asriel remained silent to let her think.
Chara: [No war means no pursuit of human souls. No human souls means no determination experiments and Undyne's wrath. No war means…Undyne, Alphys and possibly Mettaton might be very, very different people in this timeline but…]
[I bet mom, sans, and Papyrus are going to be the same. Just a gut feeling though. Hopefully there's no one like Flowey in this world.]
Chara was worried about an alternate timeline version of Flowey even though the evidence points to it being the contrary. Nevertheless, she doesn't dwell on it for Asriel's sake.
Chara: "Haaaah…Azzyyy what do you think? Help me out here!"
Asriel, startled by the old nickname she used to call him, he blushed.
Asriel: "I said not to call me that anymore! Anyway…if only Sans were here. He could use one of those awesome shortcuts of his."
Asriel saw these "shortcuts" on a few occasions when we was a flower. Even back then he admired that ability.
Chara: […A shortcut huh?]
She thought about her ability to save. Going back in time to a previous Save reminded her of the idea of shortcuts. On many occasions she would observe Frisk's deaths. Not only would she cheat death, but she would go all the way back to a different point in space as well.
Chara: [It felt so weird, experiencing that with Frisk. So warm, yet so cold and frightening…?!]
She focused on that sensation. She recounted each time she experienced this phenomenon. Out of nothing, she would return from death. Her concentration grew sharper and sharper until…
Throbbing pain surged through her body. She felt dizzy, but managed to stay on her feet and power through it. She went to put her hand on her forehead but was met with a glimmering light.
Chara: "W-what the hell is this?"
Chara looked down with a terrified expression. Something that shouldn't be there was emanating from her chest.
Asriel: "Chara! Are you ok? What's wrong?"
The fear on Chara's face was enough to make his own heart sink. Her breathing quickened.
Chara: "You don't see it? My chest it…"
The all too familiar look. It was the glow of a save point, but with a deep, red hue. Her red eyes also had the same shine to them. Her face felt wet. She assumed she started crying but to her horror it was a black ooze trickling from her eyes. However, Asriel saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Her head felt like it was on fire.
Suddenly, all the memories of her atrocities began to swirl in her head. The familiar, euphoric sensation of "those numbers" going up; EXP and LOVE. And then…
*Determination
Chara: "Ngh..ah...AHHHHH! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"
Pain…Pain…Pain.
Asriel held her close. He hugged her and began stroking her hair.
Asriel: "It's okay Chara…it's okay I'm here with you…"
Asriel was scared. Scared for her well-being. Chara's warning about this timeline echoed in his head. He didn't want Chara to suffer soon after being reunited with the people she loved.
Asriel: "That…that would be too cruel."
Tears rolled down his face but held his sobs back.
Asriel: [Right now Chara needs me, I can't be selfish.]
As he said that Chara's bloodcurdling cries continued, and the pain continued to rush throughout her body. It felt like her heart was being crushed rhythmically.
Chara: [H-he..lp.]
In the depths of Chara's mind, all she could think of was making the pain go away. She thought of the 2 best people who could help her right now. She longed for the warmth of her mother. She wanted Sans to make her laugh and forget the pain.
Chara: "What the…?"
Suddenly, the red save point grew brighter and red light enveloped them. Accompanying this light, they feel as if they are falling high through the air. The scene around Chara and Asriel changes. They aren't in the Judgement Hall anymore.
Chara: [So cold…ngh]
Nausea overcomes her, and she turns her head to vomit. Blood dripped from her mouth as well. She as her vision becomes cloudy, she shivers with fear.
Chara: [Am I…dying…?]
Asriel: "Chara please wake! You have to stay determined!"
Chara's hearing started to become fuzzy as Asriel pleaded for her to wake up. As she began to lose consciousness, she heard another voice. A very familiar one.
?: "Heya kid. You look like you're having a bad time."
With that, she enters a deep slumber. After a few moments she awakens and finds herself surrounded by a deep fog.
Chara: "Where am I? Asriel? Are you there…?"
Thankfully she wasn't in pain anymore. Even trying to remember that experience made her dizzy. The fog in front of her parts and in front of her she sees her mother. With great relief, she runs over to embrace Toriel.
Chara: "Mom…Mom! Thank goodness you're here I was so scared!"
However, her mother groans in pain and kneels over. Dust begins to fall from her.
Chara: "What?! Mom what's happening?"
Toriel: "Y…you really hate me that much?
Taken by surprise, Chara backs away as Toriel continues…
Toriel: "Now I see who I was really protecting by keeping you here. Not you…but them!"
As she says this, Chara speechlessly looks down at her hands. Dust stained hands and a knife met her eyes.
Chara: "aaaaAAH! Mom please! I'm sorry…I'm sorry...I'm sorry."
Chara covers her ears and looks away as her mother turns to dust and fades away.
Chara: "MOM! Come back…please…"
*But Nobody Came
Then, Papyrus appears before her, comforting her with a hug.
Papyrus: "Fear not Human! I, the Great Papyrus, will offer you a hug of acceptance!"
An odd noise escapes his mouth. His body disintegrates. All that is left of him was his head.
Tears streamed down her face. She wanted to apologize. She wanted to run. She wanted to curse at herself. But she couldn't speak. The words won't come out. She couldn't control her body. She could only observe the horror.
Papyrus: "W-well, that's not what I expected…But, st-still! I believe in you! You can do a little better! Even if you don't think so! I…"
Chara hands suddenly started to uncontrollably clench his skull.
Chara: "No…stop it! STOP IT!"
Papyrus: "I believe in you…"
With those final works Chara's hands began to crush his skull…
Crack…Crack…Crunch…
Chara: "Make it stop, make it STOP…help me. Kill me…Please. Do anything. I'll do…"
*But Nobody Came
Before she could finish her thoughts. Her body began walking. She Slaughtered all the monsters in her way. Snowdrake, Ice Cap, Gyftrot…It wasn't snowing out. It was the remains of the dead, drifting through the air.
Every monster she killed…
*Your LOVE increased!
She felt that disgusting...and yet pleasurable, euphoria.
*Your LOVE increased!
Those hellish numbers would go up.
*Your LOVE increased!
It continued on and on until suddenly…
The True Heroine appeared.
But…The beacon of hope was immediately defeated.
Undyne: "This world will live on…!"
Chara cried and cried…she wanted to just move on from her past. But it's just too painful.
*But Nobody Came
*But Nobody Came
*But Nobody Came
But then…he appeared. A REAL challenge. The only hope left in this empty world.
Before she could think or even move she died, feeling as if she was being ripped apart.
Chara: "Aa-aghh…hah…hah"
Stabbed in the head.
Her mangled body thrown into walls.
Bones stabbing deep into her.
Blasted into nothing.
Again and again and again and again. A painful death would await her.
This…was KARMA.
She died over and over. With every death her puppet like body pressed on longer and longer into the fight.
She was only an observer, as her body wouldn't listen. Her mind and body were at war, and her body has won.
But then…her last chance appeared. A final message that would try to end this.
Sans: "if we're really friends…you won't come back."
He used such an underhanded method, betraying her mercy and yet it stirred something within her. Hope. An opportunity. As her hand reached over to continue this "game" she stopped.
Why was she doing this? What's the point? Killing her friends…and then she remembered what else Sans had said.
Chara: ["But just because you think you can. And because you "can"…You "have to."]
Chara: "Killing your friends and family for such an absurd reason. Ha ha, I'm irredeemable."
She looked to the past again. Papyrus believed in her. As he was being killed by her. he believed she could still be a good person is she tried.
Chara had one last chance. And she used it. This moment of hesitation. This hope. Her autonomy returned to her, and she finally reset this doomed timeline. She was left floating in a dark abyss.
Chara: "I made my choice a long time ago. Frisk and I never went through with the erasure thanks to those bone heads."
She remembered that this was the present. She's no longer the person she used to be. She knows her sins will never go away, but accepting them and striving to do the right thing will always be in her heart.
Her chest and eyes flared red once again. She took out her knife, basked in crimson light. She illuminated the void. She held the knife to her neck.
Chara: "Let's set everything back to zero."
*You are filled with DETERMINATION
Chara awoke from her deep slumber. Her nightmare finally ended. She immediately knew where she was. She would never forget the aroma of her mom's Butterscotch pie. She looked down and saw that Asriel had his head rested on her bed. She pat his head and decided not wake him up.
Chara: [Thanks Azzy…]
She decided to follow the delicious smell. In the main room she saw Sans and Toriel chatting. When Toriel saw this she ran over and hugged Chara.
Toriel: "Thank goodness you're ok! Sans saw you and Asriel in front of his house. You were in really bad shape. Here, you need to eat and drink something to keep your strength up."
Chara desperately wanted to bawl her eyes out, but she didn't want to worry her anymore so she decided to keep her cool. Sans was here and she didn't want to make a scene.
Chara: "Look mom, I'm perfectly fi…eep"
Chara: [She looks like she's going to scold me…if I don't listen I'll be here all day.]
Chara complied and sat next to sans and Toriel. She had a slice of her famous butterscotch pie and some chocolate milk.
Sans: "Good choice kid, look like you could use some stronger bones."
Toriel: "Hee Hee, thanks for cheering everyone up Sans. Things would have been quite hectic without you."
Sans: "It's no biggie tori. I'm a comedian after all."
Sans shrugged and turned to Chara.
Sans: "Oh man, you should have seen the look on her face kid. When I got here she was all like 'waaah waaah, Sans please help us!'. So I did"
Toriel: "I was not! I was just worried. All you did was tell jokes the entire time!"
Sans: "I'm a comedian after all."
He seemed proud of that one
Sans: "Anyways sorry if my jokes aren't as good kid. I'm all out material for the day because of her."
Chara laughed. As her mom shook her head.
Chara: [It's great to see them get along. Mom must be lonely sometimes…I feel awful for troubling everyone]
Chara looked at both of them and gave a solemn apology.
Chara: "I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused."
Toriel and Sans were surprised at her seriousness, especially since she just woke up.
Toriel: "I would do anything for you…you're my precious daughter after all."
Sans: "You mean a lot to us kid. Papyrus and I would be pretty lonely without you. And besides, who would I be able to prank all day if you were gone?"
Chara chuckled. She was blessed to have so many people are about her. Sans continued.
Sans: "By the way kid I've got a bone to pick with you"
He was clearly joking but Chara felt a chill down her spine. She was still nervous around Sans, given their past.
Sans: "You've got a lot of backbone, I mean you showed up randomly in front of my house crying and throwing up in front of my door. Like, wow."
He wasn't mad at all, just poking fun at her. However, that didn't mean he wasn't worried.
Sans looked her in the eye.
Sans: "But seriously, what happened to you kid? That wasn't normal. You were crying a lot in your sleep too."
Sans looked up at the ceiling.
Sans: "You've got a good brother too…if anything like that happened to Papyrus I don't know what I'd do"
Chara: [I'm not sure if I should talk about this in front of mom…even if I could I doubt I could really explain it either.]
Chara: "Um.. I'm pretty sure it was just something I ate haha…probably got just sick from it."
Toriel: "Do not tell me you were messing with buttercups again!"
Chara: "Yeah! That's right, I uh did it because I felt bad for dad when he got sick because of me that one time."
Buttercups are poisonous. She and Asriel accidently poisoned their dad when they were kids.
Chara: "Sorry…"
Toriel Sighed.
Toriel: "I can't stay mad at you…but don't do something so foolish ever again, you know better."
Sans: "Heh heh heh, it's all right Tori I think she's learned her lesson. There was this one time Papyrus made my ketchup too spicy. Almost died that day, I swear."
Toriel: "…Sans that's completely different!"
Sans: "Anyway, I'm gonna get going. Papyrus hates it when I don't read him his bed time stories. See ya Toriel, good luck with those uh, guests."
Chara: "Guests? Did a human fall down!?"
Chara: {More changes huh…]
Toriel: "Ah, yes well…some others did as well. They're all sleeping right now so you can meet them in the morning. They're a funny bunch!"
Chara: [She seems excited…hopefully everything will be okay.]
Sans: "You hear that? One is snoring SUPER loud."
And right he was.
?: "Zzzz hoho…Zzzz hoho…"
Sans: "Anyway, I'm heading home."
Before Sans could leave Chara called out to him.
Chara: "Ah, before you go could we talk…?"
Sans: "Sure, lets walk and talk to my place."
Chara was surprised that Sans didn't question why.
Toriel: "Is something wrong my child?"
Chara: "Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted to uh, make some new jokes and tell you them tomorrow!"
Chara: [A little lie wouldn't hurt. This is too important to ignore, I need to talk to him…]
Toriel: "Oh! I cannot wait! I'll show you mine tomorrow."
She bought it. She seems to be looking forward to it.
Toriel: "When you are back it is straight to bed young lady. Good night to both of you and get home safe!"
Sans and Chara wave at her as they exit the ruins.
Sans: "So…I know you've got something really important to say, seeing as you lied to your mother, but first I have a few questions."
Sans stopped walking and turned to her, with a face she had seen many times before dying.
Sans: "That expression…That's the expression of someone who is…terrified of me. What's the deal kiddo?"
Chara: [It's gonna be tough to confess but…I won't run away. It's time he learned the truth. Once that's settled we can figure out what's going on. This a new timeline, so I really hope this works or I'll look like a complete idiot…Here goes nothing,]
Sans: "Well?'
*You are filled with DETERMINATION
Chara: "…I'm the legendary fart master."
[Redacted]
?: "UEE HEE HEE! IT'S ALL TOO MUCH FUN…I CAN HARDLY TAKE IT! WILL ANYONE ELSE BECOME FREE?
?: I wonder…Let's see if their choices truly matter…or if free will is merely an illusion they revel in
A/N: Another cliffhanger…Well, cliffhanger might not be the right word for this one but you'll definitely have even more questions…Sorry the previous cliffhanger wasn't addressed this chapter. You'll meet the gang next chapter!
