Thanks go to BadDRUMMERboy15, Wingah, Fixer140.85, 10burgers, bananahead1, Jack54311, Alrarora, JakeGetsFrisky, Zack Frost, Guest, Monkey D Chimera, Guest, and Allagenda-domsitzers-chan.
Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.
Your Best Nightmare began playing.
My feet moved quickly, and I stood with my hands in my pockets as I darted between the rapid fire vines that were blasting down towards me and sticking through the earth behind me, Flowey roaring his fury as he climbed forward out of the plume of smoke he'd been left in by my Beat Blasters.
When the vines began to surround me, my sweatshirt suddenly shifted violently, before ink fired out from my hood and sleeves, slashing viciously and tearing the lethal greenery to shreds.
"Frisk." I looked over my shoulder, and they drew their Worn Dagger, nodding and kneeling down.
"I don't care if you've still got your stupid magic!" Flowey shouted, fleshy maw snapping open and shining a white light from within the flower beast. "You still don't have a chance!"
An eraser formed under Frisk, just before launching into the air and flinging them upward at Flowey's screen while he sent a wave of searing heat exploding down towards me from his disgusting jaws. I was quick to throw up one arm, a wall of keys rapidly piecing itself together before me to guard from Flowey's unholy wrath.
Frisk yanked their blade back over their head as they plummeted down towards Flowey, letting out a battle cry while paper airplanes filled the sky behind them, racing down towards Flowey with them leading the charge.
Frisk landed on Flowey's screen, growling as they stabbed their blade against the glass. Bolts of electricity flew out around their blade, and they grit their teeth, pushing with all of their strength to break through that screen, even as lightning jumped just by their face, leaving a burn mark on their cheek.
Flowey stumbled and shook his head after stopping his energy beam, paper airplanes slashing across his enormous body and making him swing his giant arms in vain.
Frisk slid back and forth on that screen with his head shaking, grunting and gritting their teeth before he bucked his head upwards, and their grip came loose, sending them flinging into the air.
Flowey immediately yanked up one hand, swatting Frisk like a bug and sending them firing back over my head, exploding through the wall and hitting the ground. They rolled to a stop, limp and bleeding, on the flowers of the throne room.
"Gotcha!" Flowey cackled, closing his eyes to revel in his victory while he threw his head back. As he did, however, one giant space bar dropped from above, breaking over the back of his head and making him grunt, jolting with surprise.
"You gotta watch out for those." I chimed in, and Flowey snarled, looking to his side to spot me there, before another space bar dropped onto his head, making him cry out and clench his eyes shut again.
"Flowey I'm tryin' to help you here." I shook my head with disappointment, and Flowey snarled as he opened his eyes to shoot me a murderous glare before a third space bar broke over his head.
"C'mon man there's like zero nuance here." I tilted my head to the side, frowning tiredly.
I jumped to the side, however, when Flowey roared and swung his arm at me, the large chunk of plant sweeping across the ground right after me as I jumped backwards again and again to keep out of it's reach. That was until I landed at the entrance to the hole Flowey had used Frisk's body to make, stomping and sending a wave of pens launching from the earth, driving like pikes into Flowey's arm.
The wall of pens dragged across the ground with the force of Flowey's arm, tearing up the floor and building piles of shattered tile around them before they forced Flowey's arm to a stop, green blood spilling over them.
"You alive back there?" I looked over my shoulder to Frisk, who had climbed to their hands and knees, managing to lift one hand to give me a thumbs up.
"Good." I looked back to Flowey, who's screen flashed the word "WARNING" and displayed a light blue soul.
"We don't have time to slow down just yet."
Chapter 16: Timing Is A Four Letter Word
"But no action is without consequence."
From above, giant knives of plastic rained down, and I stood on the ground, two Beat Blasters at my sides and firing beams into the air, blasting approaching hunks of plastic away while two ink whips flung from my hood, grabbing knives and throwing them to the sides to keep them from reaching us.
My eyes locked onto the large ACT box that was dropping from the sky with the knives before I quickly looked back to Frisk, who was still struggling to get to a knee.
Wonder Gopher's down. I thought, before looking back up to the act box and clenching a hand into a fist. Time for the Fearless Sniper to save the day.
I bent at the knees, before launching forward in a dead sprint across the ground towards the plummeting ACT box.
I jumped to the side, evading a knife that exploded into the earth and continuing to race ahead. As another knife raced down towards me, ink fired up from my hood, slicing the knife into two halves, which crashed to the earth at my sides, sending a cloud of dust blasting up around me.
the dust exploded open with me, however, when I dove from it and high into the air, launching myself right at the slow dropping ACT button.
I yanked back one hand, and threw it forward, slapping it against the button.
*You called out for help.
...
I landed on the ground, watching as the knives that once dropped towards me froze in air, trembling before, with a flash, they shifted to giant glowing green ethereal band-aids, which gravitated towards Frisk and I.
Slowly and skeptically, I reached out towards one of the bandages. It's green light reflected in my green eyes, before my finger tips reached it, and it's form dissipated, green energy seeping into my skin.
When I looked to the throne room, I found Frisk standing as well, giving me a much more confident thumbs up.
I smiled and returned it, just before one large hand shaped shadow dropped over me.
I dropped down to one knee and put both hands on the ground as Flowey's hand flew down to smash me, four pens firing up around me and piercing through his palm, stopping it in its tracks.
I lunged forward, escaping just before my pens shattered under the force of Flowey's assault, his hand making the earth tremble from the power it struck the floor with.
I spun around to face Flowey while I launched back towards Frisk, glaring at the volley of vines that blasted out towards me.
Ink fired swiftly from me once more, jutting from my hood and down my sleeves to rapidly slash away the onslaught.
Load File 3
Suddenly, I was stumbling, having been jumped back mere seconds in time.
What in the-!
My eyes darted to the vine that blasted through my left shoulder, jaw clenching with sudden pain as crimson splattered across the floor.
Frisk jumped over me then, slashing through the vine that pierced my flesh without hesitation before grasping it in their free hand. The vine rapidly receded back towards Flowey, and it yanked Frisk right along with it.
I dropped back onto my butt, gripping my gaping shoulder wound while cold sweat formed on my forehead, chest moving up and down faster with labored breathing.
Frisk flew up until the vines whipped upwards to slip into Flowey's core, where they let go, launching themself high into the air.
"Again with this!" Flowey laughed, leaning his body back and pointing that gigantic maw up at Frisk while they plummeted closer. A light shinned from within the beast once more, washing over them.
Flowey's six eyes widened, however, when four mechanical pencils appeared at Frisk's sides, each aiming down with chilling precision.
THUNK.
"AAAGH!" Flowey cried out as bolts of graphite were fired into his four giant eyes, the two on his screen clenching shut with agony. Green blood sprayed from the four punctured eyes, Flowey flailing and shutting his maw while he stumbled, reaching up to put one enormous claw over his punctured eyes.
Frisk dropped from above, a red slash following their blade as they dropped by Flowey's screen, carving down it and sending bolts of electricity firing from the scratch they left in it once more.
Frisk landed on the chunk of flesh that Flowey's maw protruded from, flicking their blade out to the side before looking over their shoulder, watching one large hand swat down towards them.
They were scooped up, however, under one large paper airplane, which swooped by just in time to fly them away from Flowey, who smacked himself in the face and sent himself stumbling back.
Frisk knelt down on the airplane, riding it back to where I stood holding my bleeding shoulder and hopping off next to me.
"So, when someone is stronger than you, is your first thought just to always go for the eyes?" They cocked a a brow at me, and I frowned.
"Has it not been effective?" I gestured with one bloody hand to the writhing Flowey, who had vines exploring his face and yanking the chunks of graphite from each of his eyes.
"Fair." Frisk shrugged, before we both looked ahead, jolted by the enraged scream that Flowey loosed.
"You worthless brats!" He exclaimed furiously, slamming both hands down to the earth and looking to us with slowly healing eyes. Eyes that suddenly gleamed, before firing white X-es through the air down at us.
I threw up my good hand, and a wall of keys appeared before Frisk and I, the X-es sticking into the keys and coming to a complete stop there.
After the sound of X-es thunking into the wall of keys ceased, disturbing laughter echoed quietly through the shadows.
"Uhh..?" I looked out into the darkness that surrounded us, before Frisk put a hand on my head and forced me to duck, and a cackling cactus snake with a mouth big enough to eat my entire head flung over, disappearing back into the shadows.
"What on God's good green Earth-" I looked in the direction the last one had went as I stood, before my eyes narrowed at more rapidly approaching laughter, and I spun around with a kick, smashing my foot into the side of another cactus snake's head, slamming it through the wall of keys before us.
I swiftly clenched my one useable fist, and the key wall closed around the snake, condensing until green blood splattered out through its cracks.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
I looked over my shoulder to find the first snake launching back at me, only for Frisk to dart towards it, sliding under it and stabbing their knife into it's underbelly, carving down the length of it's body and sending it splattering to the floor.
I spun around as a third shot from the darkness, and my teeth ground with pain while I gripped my blood-pouring shoulder, eyes locked onto the third snake.
Ink fired from under my firmly planted foot at the last second, piercing the abomination's skull and making it go limp.
"You alright?" Frisk asked with concern in their voice while I looked to my blood soaked right hand.
"I'm bleeding out." I responded bitterly, looking to them with a tired and pale face.
The sound of an alarm caught the both of our attentions, and we looked to see an orange soul flashing on Flowey's screen.
"This one's up to you." I added like it wasn't obvious, almost shivering from the cold that was settling over my body. I reeked like iron.
"I've got it, you just don't crushed to death." Frisk nodded to me, and I nodded back. Then, I paused with some confusion.
"Wait, crushed to de-"
The two of us jumped back then, one giant glove clenched into a fist smashing through the ground where we once were and sending shards of tile blasting up into the air.
I winced, eyes darted to my shoulder, which screamed in agony. There was clearly no time for that, however, when I looked up and spotted another fist flying straight down towards me.
I quickly dropped to one knee, an eraser firing up at an angle over my head and colliding head on with the fist. A shock wave burst out from the collision, but the glove went limp, falling like lifeless fabric down to the earth.
My eyes darted to my right at the hand opening to crush me, before I stamped my foot, pens firing from the earth and impaling the glove, tearing through the fabric with ease.
Frisk side stepped one giant punch, and jumped back out of range as the enormous fist cocked back and swung at them a second time.
They rolled to the side to evade a giant jab, slashing swiftly through the glove and tearing open the top of it, sending it tumbling to the ground.
They were quick to spin around, facing an oncoming fist and jumping over it, landing behind it and spinning around to face it.
The glove spun back around, opening its palm to grab them only for them to lunge forward, slashing an X through the fabric and launching through the glove.
Frisk looked to the sky, scanning it momentarily before spotting the ACT button that dropped slowly towards the ground.
Frisk darted forward, running low to the ground and jumping to the side to dodge every fist that raced towards them.
They jumped as one fist plummeted towards them, landing atop it and instantly lunging from it to another glove. They reached the hand, grabbing it's index finger and swinging around it twice before launching themself up feet first towards the ACT box.
Frisk cocked one leg back, jaw clenching before they reached the box, slamming a kick into it to press the button.
*You called out for help...
Frisk dropped back towards the ground, gulping at the distance they were dropping. In the nick of time, a now green glove opened itself, catching them and setting them gently to the ground.
I watched as glowing green gloves giving thumbs up closed in. When they touched me, they faded to green energy, seeping into my skin. After touching a few gloves, the hole in my shoulder had healed, and I no longer felt like I was on the verge of bleeding out and/or going into shock.
"Okay..." I looked to my no longer blood stained hand. "Better."
Gaster watched pensively, holding one fist over his mouth and the other behind his back.
He'd been concerned about this, Omega Flowey. It'd been Flowey who had pushed Cter to unlock more of that killer instinct back when he was fighting Frisk and Chara in the timeloop. It had been Flowey who'd prompted Cter to say that thing about ripping Frisk's arms off during their genocide run.
It had become clear without a doubt that Flowey made something violent awaken within Cter. And with the cards Cter currently had in his hands, that could be a very dangerous thing.
"Cter. Is at. A tipping point."
Of course Gaster knew that. No one had been thinking of that more than Gaster. And as much potential as the good doctor saw in Cter, as much light and hope he truly believed the boy could bring...
"Anarchy needs an equal, and Badster's picking The Hacker."
"We could be so much more than all this, Cter."
... There were plenty of intelligent people who could see other things in Cter, and believed he could bring devastation. Ruin. Death.
And, Gaster hated thinking about it, but, if Cter so chose to play his cards in a certain way... They'd have all that and more.
Bangs echoed, Frisk and I jumping back into the time frozen Judgement Hall to evade the spray of over sized bullets that fired from that giant gun, a yellow soul clear on Flowey's screen.
Beat Blasters appeared over me and Frisk, one on their side and one on mine. Frisk darted forward, Beat Blasters blasting the bullets that were fired down towards them away before they reached them.
Frisk jumped into the air, cocked back one arm, and slapped their hand down onto the ACT box that floated under the gun.
*You called out for help...
The gun ceased movement then, and for a moment all was quiet. Then, the gun disappeared, and Frisk and I watched Flowey's screen go dark. Your Best Nightmare faded out.
Finale began playing.
I walked up next to Frisk, and we watched in awe as the six souls phased out from Flowey's screen, slowly circling out towards us.
The souls surrounded Frisk and I, and their many vibrant colors reflected in our widened eyes while we watched outlines begin to form around them.
Around the light blue, a small child formed in the same color as the soul. It was hard to make out any defining features, but it was clear that atop her head she wore a ribbon and in her off hand she held a toy knife. She extended her hand, and from it, those healing green band-aids began to filter, gravitating towards us.
Around the orange, a young boy formed. Just like the girl, it was hard to define many features, but around his head was a bandanna, and he reached out with one gloved hand, those green thumbs up giving gloves forming and also gravitating towards Frisk and I.
Around the dark blue soul, a girl wearing a tutu formed. She looked older than the last two, and stood elegantly on ballet shoes. She extended one hand, and from her palm emerald musical notes came.
The purple soul formed as a shorter boy with a notebook under one arm, glasses the only defining feature on his face. He reached out to us, words like "HOPE" "PEACE" "HAPPINESS" and "LOVE" floating from his grasp towards us.
The green soul took the form of a very young girl, no older than eight. Her apron was much too big for her, and she wore a pan on her head like some kind of helmet. She extended one hand to us, and from it, green eggs formed, floating out to us.
The yellow soul formed a young man that I had to guess was around my age. He wore a cowboy hat that shadowed where his eyes would have been, and around his waist a revolver was holstered. He extended his open palm to us like his fellow fallen humans, and emerald clovers bloomed from his being, washing over us with the rest of the Soul's gifts.
A few moments passed like this, Frisk and I only watching in awe as our fellow humans gave us what little they had left, before the images of the Souls former selves disappeared, and their souls floated off and away.
I was at a rare loss for words, just staring out into the dark after watching the souls disappear.
Krrrchh!
Frisk and I looked back to see Flowey's screen lighting back up, that strange almost human face shouted furiously on the screen and glitching back and forth on it.
*Flowey's defense drops to 0!
"Perfect!" I commented, shaking off my former shock and throwing back one arm, three enormous erasers forming from the earth behind Frisk and I before I threw my hand forward, sending all three of them exploding forward.
Flowey stumbled back as the erasers crashed into his body, and Frisk jumped up onto one of the large pencils that the eraser was connected to, racing up it towards Flowey like a bridge.
Flowey snarled, and vines blasted from his body down towards Frisk, who slashed rapidly with their dagger, slicing and dodging through the vines before they exploded out the other side, running low to the ground and diving from the edge of the pencil.
They landed right on Flowey's TV face, flipped that dagger around in their hand, and stabbed right down into Flowey's screen. Once more electricity blasted up around Frisk's knife, but they only ground their teeth, pushing more and more against the glass.
Crack!
"Ah!" Flowey's strange and distorted voice cried out as Frisk's dagger stabbed through the glass, sending a spiderweb of cracks blasting out around the hole.
Frisk yanked their blade from Flowey before jumping back off of his head and onto the maw, just in time for the four Beat Blasters that loomed behind them to fire, flooring Flowey with beams of magic fury.
Flowey stumbled back, throwing up one giant hand to block the beams from his face. The blasts only seared his hand, however, turning green to a disgusting burnt black and brown in one chunk of the giant arm.
Frisk roughly gripped onto the fleshy maw on which they stood, growling and stabbing rapidly into it, all the while hanging on through Flowey's enraged flailing.
The laughter of those cactus snakes echoed, and I turned on my heel, cocking back one fist and slamming it directly into the skull of one. A burst of red energy fired out from the top of it's head, before it crumpled to the ground, limp.
I then threw both arms out to my sides, ink firing from my sleeves and wrapping around the necks of the two snakes racing towards me. I yanked them down face first into the ground by the ink I'd leashed them with, and I stomped, pens firing up and stabbing into their cores, making them go limp simultaneously.
Frisk's grip eventually tore off the hunk of skin they held on to, and Flowey once more bucked them into the air, snarling and cocking back one hand.
Ink suddenly fired up, forming an orb around Frisk. As Flowey swung down at the orb, spikes fired from it, slicing through Flowey's hand before he batted the ball back down towards me.
More spikes launched from the orb, stabbing into the floor and bringing it to a stop against the ground, where it slowly opened, Frisk tumbling out.
"Pleh!" Frisk spat a glob of ink to the side, placing a hand on the side of their head.
"Totally saved ya, didn't I?" I grinned over at them, and they scowled up at me.
We both looked back, however, at the sickly snap of a Venus Flytrap's jaws, watching a giant one open up just behind us. Knowing what that meant, we looked ahead, seeing a swarm of locusts racing from under Flowey's grotesque body towards us.
A row of mechanical pencils appeared behind Frisk and I, firing into the swarm as it approached before Frisk lunged into it, slashing bugs apart and sending yellow guts splattering along the floor.
Two spikes of ink fired up from my shoulder blades, curving downward and stabbing down through the bugs that raced past me, eager to meet their doom in the flytrap that stood behind us.
When the bugs died down, I wasted no time racing forward. I ran low to the ground, and Flowey's glare landed on me for a moment, before several dozen glows caught his eye.
"Damn it!" Flowey shouted with frustration, opening his freakish maw and firing a wave of searing energy into the dark, frying several Beat Blasters before the rest fired retaliation.
I jumped and dodged around the bombs that began dropping from above, flames and smoke blasting up around me while the most lethal laser light show in the history of laser light shows flashed over my head.
I threw up both arms, and ink fired from my sleeves, wrapping several times around Flowey's giant arms. I yanked myself forward with my ink ropes, leaning back low to the ground and quickly sliding under Flowey.
I shot out behind Flowey and spun around, skidding back on my feet and clenching my fists, more ink pouring from my sleeves and up the ropes of black that I'd already attached to Flowey.
"Hey, flower!"
Flowey growled, turning his box head to look over his shoulder at me, before his eyes widened at the ink that was pouring over him, wrapping over his arms and clutching onto him tightly.
"I've got an..!" I snarled, digging my feet into the ground while more ink fired like spikes from my back, stabbing into the ground to help hold me in place while I began to slowly drag my arms back towards myself and, by extension, Flowey's arms back towards me by the ink that held him. "Inquiry for ya!"
Flowey roared and shouted, desperately tugging on his arms while they were slowly but surely tugged back uncomfortably far. Giant pencil erasers fired from the earth and slammed into his back, holding him in place while I slowly pulled his arms backwards.
"On a scale'a..! One to ten..!" Sweat beaded down my forehead, and red began to mist from patches of skin on my face. My teeth ground together with relentless exertion.
"Gahhh!" Flowey cried out, eyes clenching shut tight from the pain rippling through his body. Above his head was a steadily dropping health bar.
"How attached are you..!" I snarled, yanking my arms ever closer to myself, the sick sounds of vines snapping resounding from Flowey's plant arms. "To these arms..?!"
"Gragh!" Flowey roared desperately, tugging back on his arms and making me slide forward some, before my footing caught on a key I summoned halfway out of the ground. "TEN!"
In Flowey's agony, he'd failed to notice Frisk flying up over him on a paper airplane.
I roared with a flair of strength and DETERMINATION, and I threw my entire upper body back while Frisk plummeted down towards Flowey, cocking back one fist.
One final rip echoed through the room, and my body jolted back as ink sent Flowey's arms tearing from his body and flinging back through the air, slamming against the Barrier and sending a ripple of force through the clear field of magic. "NOT ANYMORE!"
Flowey screeched with agony, eyes snapping open wide just in time to see Frisk inches from his screen, face clenched in a completely DETERMINED expression. On their chest, a red soul burned furiously, a white outline forming around it while they threw forward one red misting fist.
"N-no! Wait-!"
And I watched with wide eyes as Frisk blasted in through Flowey's screen and out through the back of his TV head, Flowey's original little flower self clenched in their outstretched fist.
Frisk slammed into the ground, rolling rapidly across the earth and clenching Flowey tight to their chest all the while. After a few moments of rolling, they skidded to a stop, and uncurled from the ball they were in, letting their Flowey holding arm drop to the ground, fist unclenching from around him.
I panted, throwing up one ink dripping arm to cover my eyes from the blast of dust that exploded out from Flowey's giant body falling limp to the ground.
As the dust cleared, I squinted to look through what remained of it, spotting Flowey now rooted in the ground just in front of where Frisk had dropped him, their outstretched hand still limp in front of him.
"Y-you..." Flowey managed to speak, withered petals drooping over his face as he lifted his head to glare over at me.
"... Me." I confirmed while I walked closer, sweat dripping down my face and ink from my limp arms.
"Why couldn't you just leave..?" Flowey asked hatefully while I approached, struggling to keep his head up. "You have... No place here..."
"..." I didn't speak. I just paused when I reached him, standing over him and staring down at his pathetic and beaten form.
"If it... Wasn't for you and your... Stupid powers, I would have won..." Flowey clenched his teeth, glaring up at me defiantly.
"You're wrong." I finally responded, and he recoiled some. "No matter how this goes down, who you're up against, you lose."
"..." Flowey growled weakly, before just letting his head drop pathetically. "... So what now..?"
Two options appeared before me.
FIGHT
MERCY
"..." Slowly, ink formed up from my lower back, curling down over my head like a scorpion's stinger. One that pointed right down at the false idol that I'd made kneel before me. "Now."
"... Cter, wait..."
I glanced over at Frisk, who lay to my side, weak and tired. They looked up to me with one half open eye, a certain pleading gleam in their exhausted pupils.
"Don't... Kill Flowey..."
"What..?" Flowey lifted his head to look over at Frisk. He scoffed, "What are you, an idiot..?"
"... Yeah, alright." I closed my eyes after a moment of thought, and the ink stinger receded back into my lower back.
"Wait, what?" Flowey looked up to me, clearly bewildered. "Not you too with this crap, Cter."
MERCY.
"You've gotta be joking..." Flowey shook his head slowly. "Do you really think I've learned something from this? No."
MERCY.
"Sparing me won't change anything." Flowey assured bitterly. "Killing me is the only way to end this."
MERCY.
"If you let me live..." Slowly, a smile begin to tug at Flowey's cracked and bleeding lips. "I'll come back."
MERCY.
"I'll kill you." Flowey leaned forward, venom on his tongue.
MERCY.
"I'll kill everyone." He assured, that wicked smile growing, even as green blood slipped from his lips.
MERCY.
"I'll kill everyone you love." His eyes went dark, expression growing freakish and demonic.
MERCY.
"..." Flowey's eyes narrowed inquisitively, expression changing back to normal.
MERCY.
"...?" Slowly, he tilted his head to the side, eyes unblinking in their stare up at me.
MERCY.
"... Why?" He finally asked, aggravation clear in his tone.
MERCY.
"... Why are you being..." He lowered his head then, looking to be considering. "So nice to me?"
MERCY.
"I can't understand." Flowey confessed quietly, shaking his head.
MERCY.
"I can't understand!" Flowey shouted, finally looking up to me. I only continued to stare, not saying a word.
MERCY.
"I just can't understand..." Flowey sunk back down, staring at the ground for a moment before popping back into it, disappearing.
*Flowey ran away.
"... Eugh..." I groaned after a moment, reaching up and running a hand down my face.
"Doesn't it feel nice to be nice..?" Frisk smiled weakly up at me, and I laughed a little, kneeling down next to them.
"Man, you got all fucked up." I snerked, and Frisk chuckled tiredly, rolling over onto their back.
"You should see the other guy..." They laughed a little, and I took a seat next to them, laughing right along with them while I laid back.
We laid there for a few moments, watching color return to the world around us.
"... Alright." Frisk closed their eyes. "We should probably LOAD back."
"Eyup..." I agreed, groaning as I sat up. "I got it."
I reached out my hand, and the screen displaying my SAVE FILE appeared before me.
"Wait!"
I jumped, eyes darting to Gaster as he reached through a portal.
"Christ, Wingding!" I recoiled, looking over to him. "Damn near gave me a heart attack!"
"Apologies." Gaster grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "It's just that I would like to take Frisk outside the timeline before you two load back."
"Huh..?' Frisk sat up, wincing from the pain it caused them. "Why..?"
"You possess a monster soul, do you not?" Gaster arched a brow. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how useful that power boost will be against Error."
"Oh!" My eyebrows rose. "That's, actually... A really good idea."
"Alright Frisk," I walked back to Frisk as the screen displayed my SAVE FILE disappeared, getting under their arm and helping them to their feet. "Go with the space traveling stranger."
"Very funny." Frisk commented with a small smirk as I handed them over to Gaster, who helped them step into the portal.
"See ya a little bit ago." I clicked my tongue and gave the two a finger gun, and they nodded, the portal closing.
Flash.
The next few hours were a blur, at least to me. Only one person could take Alphys on the date that would inevitably lead to the beginning of her relationship with Undyne, and it became clear I'd retained my skills as Rock Paper Scissors Champ '09 when I crushed Frisk two outta three.
So, I spent that time sitting on my phone making shitposts on Undernet, including but not limited to:
"I'd beat Superman and Goku in a fight."
"L over Light, any day'a the week."
"Lmao frisk be like -_-"
"Chara is yandere as fuc lol"
Eventually, though, Frisk returned, and the two of us ventured into the True Lab after Alphys.
I didn't find the place as creepy as Frisk did. How could I? Just like the amalgamates, I was created down here.
Maybe that's why, when we encountered Endogeny, they rolled right over on their belly and let me pet them.
"Aww... Who's a good puppies? Is it you guys?" I grinned, kneeling down next to Endogeny while I pet them. "I think it's you guys!"
Endogeny barked excitedly, hopping up and patting their front paws on the ground in front of them.
"Hey, Frisk, gimme your stick." I smiled over my shoulder at them, and they gave me a look that was both exasperated and confused.
"... What?" I gestured to Endogeny. "I wanna play with the puppies!"
"... Go nuts." They snerked, tossing me their stick before walking past me and Endogeny. "I'm gonna go collect more keys."
"Kay!" I called in response, before grinning back to Endogeny.
I played fetch with the dogs for several minutes, before they got sleepy, and I took a seat, letting them rest their head in my lap while I pet them.
After a few more moments, Endogeny was sound asleep, and I stood quietly, grabbing Frisk's stick and tip toeing out of the room.
I made my way down those dark hallways once more, and it felt... Less than pleasant. Not from the disgusting aura of the place, but from the hazy memories that I had from my first time here.
I'd spent the majority of my time here either in a magic induced coma or stumbling down the halls to get put into another one, and none of that was particularly unpleasant, but...
"Sometimes life is chaos. And you just gotta do what you gotta do. So, make your choice."
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
My eyes narrowed up at the DT Extraction Machine. The Magic Insertion Machine. The platform on which I'd ascended to... Whatever the hell I am now.
*Fond memories.
None of my memories seem too fond these days.
But that was fine, I figured as I turned and walked into the tape recording room off of the Extractor room.
The future was all that mattered. However little of it I had left before I become the past.
*Dark.
Thank you, ever wise imaginary words that haunt me so.
I looked down to the TV and the tapes, narrowing my eyes with thought. I knew full well what story those recordings told. Who's story those recordings told.
"... Dare I?" I pondered, slowly reaching out towards the dusty tapes.
"You dare'nt."
Speaking of things that haunt me.
"Was wondering when you were gonna pop up again, Chara." I glanced over my shoulder, spotting Chara standing there, arms crossed. The look they were giving me was certainly disapproving. "Almost thought you'd have the patience to wait until Error showed up."
"I'm not a very patient person, Cter." Chara narrowed their eyes then, pausing for a moment. "... What is a 'yandere'?"
That made me laugh a little louder than I would have liked, and that clearly aggravated Chara more.
"You aren't gonna get any less irritated if I explain it to you." I shrugged while I walked past them, and they sighed, turning on their heel and walking after me.
"So, you really do rip arms off, huh?" Chara looked over at me, and I nodded.
"Oh yeah. All day." I confirmed casually. "So you watched my performance with the flower?"
"Had to take notes." Chara smirked lightly. "Glad to see you haven't gotten rusty."
"Huh..." I was only half listening, glancing back down the hall behind us. "... You probably shouldn't stay here."
"Why?" Chara tilted their head to the side. "Afraid Frisk will catch you red handed fraternizing with the enemy?"
"... I told 'em you were back. I told 'em about the deal." I spoke after a moment of hesitation, eyes remaining down the hallway.
"Oh?" Chara's eyebrows rose with surprise. "How'd they take it?"
"... They, cried." I spoke like I didn't believe my own words, eyes glossing to the floor. "Then they hugged me and, said they didn't want me to die... That I was their friend..."
"..." Chara remained silently, staring at my turned back for a moment or two. "... You don't have to die, you know. Your life will continue if you team up with me."
"... Yeah." I nodded once or twice, before looking over my shoulder at them. "The deal. Why'd you change it? Why're you giving me a chance to live?"
"Hm?" They cocked a brow. "I already told you. I want a real fight from you if that is the path you are going to choose."
"... Mm..." I spoke thoughtfully, turning to face them but looking away. Indecision was a common theme with me these days.
"... Well, you should probably head out." I sighed, looking back to them. "I think it would really mess Frisk up to see you."
"Kicking me out already?" Chara smirked playfully. "Usually you let our talks go on for so much longer."
"In a bit of a hurry these days, Char-bear." I held up my phone's key chain, which displayed a key for one of the terminals in the lab. "Big stuff's on its way."
"Scramble to prepare all you like, Cter Hacker." A portal opened behind Chara, and they stepped backwards into it.
"The future will come whether you are ready or not."
Entry Number 18
*The flower's gone.
"Ominous." I commented, crossing my arms.
"I know, right?" Frisk looked over to me as they walked by to the elevator at the end of the hallway. "Gave me chills when I first read it."
"Yeah, me too..." I muttered, looking back to the screen before following after Frisk.
"You ready?" Frisk looked over to me as we both entered the elevator, their hand reached out to the button. "There's kinda this... Totally nuts drop when we start this thing that lands us in the castle."
I shrugged, pressing my back into the corner of the elevator to prepare myself. "Go ahead."
Frisk pushed the button and, sure enough, after a few moments of peaceful elevatoring, red lights flashed, a mechanical voice screaming warning as the elevator shook.
My jaw clenched, fingers digging into the walls at the sudden feeling of a rapid drop.
I steadied my breathing, closed my eyes, and...
Crash.
"... Huh." I glanced around the black void in which I stood.
This is not normal.
Footsteps echoed, and I looked directly ahead. My emerald eyes went wide, and I felt my heart skip a beat at the sight of the small albino boy that walked from the shadows. He looked up to me with curious ruby eyes.
He recognizes you.
"A-Anny?" I leaned forward, but jolted when my face bounced from some invisible wall.
That hurt.
I thought that it had hurt, and I grabbed my face like it had hurt, but I did not feel any pain.
He's dead.
I looked up, and terror struck into my heart when I saw the grotesque, red shaded and grinning outline of a woman step out from behind Anthony, who just kept smiling like nothing was wrong.
I tried to push forward, but the wall stopped me in my tracks. I tried to cry out to him, tried to scream a warning, but it felt like my throat had squeezed shut. I flailed and I pounded on the wall as that woman cocked back that god forsaken crowbar, but Anthony... he just kept smiling at me.
The boy crumpled to the ground with his mother's strike, and I turned my head to the side, clenching my eyes shut tight.
I don't want to see this.
I turned around to run from the scene, only for my face to bounce off another invisible force field, sending me stumbling back and looking ahead.
A little old woman stood there, grinning a crooked smile as grey hairs fell haphazardly over her face.
If only.
Pain and desperation reflected in my eyes, and I slowly placed a hand on the field separating us. I didn't bother trying to scream this time, watching as one tall, white haired man crept from the shadows behind Granny.
He smiled, giddily waving that knife around while he approached her, and I turned away when he prepared to strike.
I can still hear it.
Suddenly, both of their screams entered my ears. Granny's and Anthony's. Screaming and crying and the sick slashing and crunching that their attackers brought down upon them.
Make it stop.
I clamped my hands down over my ears, but the horrors that I heard found their way into my head. As they always did.
Make it stop!
I crumpled to the ground in a pathetic ball, hiding away from the sights and sounds that surrounded me.
MAKE IT STOP!
Quiet.
Gradually, I opened my eyes. I was no longer in the void, I was instead laying at the top of a mountain, a steep drop looming at my side.
I quickly rolled away from the drop and climbed to my feet, looking curiously out to the beautiful blue sky that I stood under. On the horizon, pinks and oranges crept across the clouds with the setting sun.
Drip... Drip...
I looked over my shoulder, and my eyebrows furrowed with silent surprise.
Across from me, on the top of the mountain, Chara stood. Barely.
Their chest heaved with labored breathing, and blood ran down from their hairline and their split lip. They held their right arm, which was completely limp, and they were favoring one leg, clearly trying to keep weight from the other.
They looked... Tired. Exhausted, even, of fighting. Like a wounded predator they stared at me, and they continued to stumble closer, no matter how much pain it caused them.
They need help.
Slowly, skeptically, I reached out towards them, tilting my head to the side curiously.
THUNK.
My eyes went wide, darting to the ink that had fired from my sleeve against my will, and then to the chest it'd stabbed clean through.
Chara went limp, only held up by the spike of ink that fired through their chest, which their trembling red eyes slowly settled on. Blood poured down their chin, and ran in streams down the ink.
I don't want this.
And then, just as Chara looked up, their agonized eyes locking with mine, my fist clenched on it's own, and the ink spike exploded out into more spikes, turning Chara into a pin cushion from the inside out.
"AAAAGH!"
I jolted up, eyes snapping open as I gasped for air, brown hair falling in strands over my face, which icy sweat beaded down.
"Ah... Ah..." I gradually closed my eyes after finding myself back in that elevator, and I gently leaned my head against the wall to my side.
"Bad dream..?" Frisk glanced over at me from the wall they leaned against, right next to the open elevator door.
"Oh god..." I groaned, reaching up and running my hands over my face to wipe the sweat from it. "Like you wouldn't believe..."
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Frisk asked, straightening their back against the wall they leaned against.
"I am..." I held my opened hands out in front of myself and slowly widened my eyes. "... No where near ready to unbox all of what that was."
"Well, then we don't have to. I would never wanna put you through something that stressful." Frisk stood, offering me a hand. "Now lets go fight God."
I chuckled at their joke while I reached up, taking their hand.
"Sounds good."
"Humans... It was nice to meet you." Asgore lowered his head, shadows covering his eyes.
"Goodbye."
Before Asgore could draw his trident, however, light flashed down the hallway, flying right between Frisk and I and blasting into Asgore with a fiery flash.
Asgore dropped flat on his ass, coughing from the smoke of his own singed hairs and waving one large fuzzy hand to disperse said smoke.
"What a horrible creature, torturing such poor, innocent youth." Toriel stated coldly as she walked into the barrier room, shaking the smoke from her palm.
"Goat Mom?"
"Mom?"
Frisk and I looked over our shoulders at Toriel at the same time after speaking at the same time.
Toriel smiled at our reactions, nodding.
"Yes, it is I." Toriel confirmed. "At first I thought I would let the two of you make your journey alone, but..."
"The truth is, I just could not stop worrying about you both." Toriel grinned somewhat sheepishly.
Ha. Sheepish.
"Your journey, it must have been so treacherous." Toriel shook her head, looking to the ground. "And, ultimately, it would present you with such a terrible decision..."
"To take another persons life for your freedom... To trade your morals and beliefs..." Toriel looked back up to us. "I cannot allow that to happen."
"As terrible as Asgore is..." Toriel cast a sideways look over to Asgore, who stared at her with an utterly stunned expression. "He deserves mercy, too."
"Tori..." A hopeful smile overcame Asgore's face as he climbed to his feet. "You came back..!"
"Do not 'Tori' me, Dreemurr." Toriel shot Asgore a death glare, making his hope train stop dead in it's tracks.
"Hey, c'mon Goat Mom, go easy on him." I interjected, stepping over to Asgore and putting a hand on his back. "I don't think he wanted this any more than you did."
"That man is a coward and a meek fool and I have nothing more to say to him." Toriel's glare landed on me that time, and I grinned nervously.
"Hey, sorry man." I shrugged sheepishly, looking up to Asgore while I whispered. "I tried."
Tears beginning to stream down his sad face, Asgore just rested his head atop mine for comfort, which made me chuckle some while I continued to pat his back.
"Nggaaahhhhh!"
Undyne suddenly slid into the room after the sound of her feet pounding down the hallway got everyone's attention.
"Asgore! Humans! Nobody fight each other!" She said urgently with her trademark snarl. "Everybody's gonna make nice and be friends or else I'll-!"
"... I'll..?" Undyne looked between Toriel, Frisk, and Asgore and me, her expression softening with confusion. "What am I, late?"
"Hello!" Toriel greeted with a polite smile. "I am Toriel. Are you a friend of Cter and Frisk? It is very nice to meet you!"
"Uhh... Yeah? Nice to meet you too!" Undyne grinned convincingly, before rushing over to Asgore.
"Yikes, Asgore, is that your ex..?" Undyne whispered, standing at Asgore's other side. he nodded quietly in response. "Geez... That's rough buddy."
"Hey! Stop! N-nobody hurt each other!"
We all looked to the door, finding Alphys bursting in urgently, before looking between all of us and beginning to sweat anxiously.
"Oh, hello! Are you another friend?" Toriel greeted with a smile. "It's nice to meet you!"
"O-oh! Um! Hi!" Alphys smiled nervously, before leaning over to Frisk and whispering: "There's two of them..?!"
"Hey!" Papyrus was next to race into the room. "No one fight anyone! If you do, then I'll! Be forced! To ask Undyne for help!"
"Hello!" Toriel greeted simply when Papyrus' surprised eyes laid upon her.
"Oh, hello, your majesty!" Papyrus waved, smiling, before leaning over to Frisk. "Psst, Frisk... Did the king shave? And, clone himself?"
"Yooooo!" Echoed down the hall, and my head snapped to look down the hall.
"Nobody-!" Monster Kid face-planted with a simple trip, cutting himself off.
". . ." Everyone watched with an anime sweat drop drooping down the back of their head, before Kid suddenly lifted his head up and looked to us as if nothing had happened.
"Nobody fight! It's a bad idea! Don't do..! It..?" Monster Kid's face slowly scrunched up with confusion, and I chuckled, kneeling down in front of him.
"Glad you could make it to the improv friend gathering." I wrapped an arm around Kid, lifting him to his feet before letting go of him.
"Hello!" Toriel smiled over to Monster Kid. "Are you Cter's friend?"
Oh god Toriel don't ask him that I don't know how he's gonna answer I'm not sure if we're ready for that kind of label-
"Heck yeah I'm his friend!" Monster Kid grinned wide, and I looked pleasantly surprised, eyes darting over to him. "He's the coolest dude I know, haha!"
... Oh. I smiled lightly, and a pink shade dusted over my cheeks. Well that feels nice.
"You guys are so cute..!" Frisk whispered to me, and I snapped at them with embarrassment.
"Shut up..!" I whisper screamed. At some point in me glaring at Frisk for that grin they wore, Sans appeared, and he and Toriel began their conversation.
"I agree!" Mettaton suddenly interjected, Monster Kid and I jumping as he too stepped from the shadows hallway behind us, putting an arm around each of us. "You two make quite the dynamic duo!"
The multiple conversations between our many friends went on for a few more moments, before everyone gathered up in front of Frisk and I, smiling happily.
"My children, it appears that you will have to stay here for awhile." Toriel smiled gently. "But, seeing all the great friends you have made... I think... I think you will be happy here."
"By the way, Papyrus... You called everyone here, right?" Alphys looked over to the tall skeleton at her side. "Well, everyone besides Kid and Toriel."
"Erm, anyway..." Alphys shook her head, refocusing. "If I got here before you did, how did you know to call everyone?"
"Well, lets just say a tiny flower helped me!"
And just like that, the magic of this moment was ripped away.
In an instant, vines fired from the earth, wrapping around each of our friends and lifting them into the air, pain overtaking their once happy expressions.
"You IDIOTS!" Flowey pooed from the ground between our friends and us, grinning wickedly. "While you goons were having your little pow wow, I GOT THE HUMAN SOULS!"
"And now, not only do I have those souls under my power," Flowey titled his head back to gesture to our friends. "But all of your friends' souls are gonna be mine, too!"
"And you know what the best part is?" Flowey's eyes went black, lips curving up in a grotesque and unnatural way. "It's all your fault."
"It's all because YOU MADE THEM LOVE YOU."
At this point in Flowey's speech, I growled, pulling back one hand and feeling ink swirl in my sleeve. Frisk was quick to grab my hand, however, and when I shot them a side glance they shook their head at me with a pleading look in their eye.
"All that time you spent listening to them... Encouraging them... Caring about them..." Flowey winked an eye shut, sticking his tongue out. "Without that, they never would have come here."
"And now, with their souls and the humans together..." Flowey's face took up that twisted black eyed grin. "I will achieve my REAL FORM."
"Listen, if you idiots can somehow manage to fumble a victory out of this," Flowey scoffed at the impossibility. "I'll release the souls. I'll destroy the barrier. You'll 'win' the 'game'."
"But that's not what's going to happen." Flowey's face morphed into an over sized grin, which then almost seemed to melt slightly, drooping. "You..!"
"I'll keep you here no matter what!"
At that, vines shot from the earth behind Frisk and I, wrapping us up and lifting us into the air like it did our friends.
"Even if it means killing you 1,000,000,000 times."
Flowey's wicked cackle echoed while the thorns of his vines tore into our flesh and nearly crushed our frames. All the while, 'friendliness' pellets appeared around us and fired down at us, slashing across our skin and sending droplets of crimson splattering across the tile floor.
I grit my teeth, lowering my head and biting back cries of pain.
*Fight.
No, don't do that..! I clenched my hands into fists, trying to bring a stop to the red that was beginning to steam from the cuts Flowey had created on my skin. I could feel ink writhing under my jacket.
Suddenly, fire blasted up around us, scorching away the oncoming pellets and the vines that restrained us before gradually dying down to embers in a circle around us.
Frisk and I dropped down onto our hands and knees, panting for breath before a voice rang out in the dark.
"Fear not, my children..." I managed to lift my head, looking up to see Toriel's kind - yet strained - smile. "We will... Always be here to... Protect you!"
Flowey scowled, and vines fired from our sides to finish us, only for a bone and a spear to fire down, slicing them apart.
"That's right, humans! You can win!" I turned my head to see Papyrus's unwavering grin. "Just do what I would do, believe in you two!"
"Hey, if you two made it past me, you can do ANYTHING." Undyne gave one big grin. "So don't worry, we're with you all the way!"
"Huh? you haven't beaten this guy yet?" Sans grinned in a reassuring way. "Come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you two."
Flowey snarled while more pellets fired at Frisk and I, only for volts of electricity and fire to burn them away.
"Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him..." Alphys gulped nervously, before smiling as best she could. "But, s-somehow, I know you two can do it!"
"For the future of humans and Monsters..!" Asgore smiled with DETERMINATION. "You have to stay DETERMINED..!"
"I've seen you fight, darlings! You're strong!" Mettaton gave us that winning smile. "Much stronger than this ugly little flower, that's for sure!"
"You've got this!" Monster Kid cried out, and my eyes darted up to him, going wide. "You're gonna save us, I just know it!"
In that moment all of our friends began pouring into the room. Grillby, Shyren, Muffet, Froggits, the Royal Guards, the Dogs...
"Urrrrggh... NO!" Flowey trembled, looking out at the monsters that surrounded us. "Unbelievable! This can't be happening..!"
"You... YOU..!"
Time suddenly froze around us, and Flowey grinned wickedly, giggling with manic joy.
"I can't believe you're all so STUPID."
Suddenly, the room began to shake and tremble, and a white light emanated from Flowey's body. I watched in horror as that same light began to overtake our monster friends, everything beginning to fade to white.
I turned my head to the side and clamped my eyes shut tight to protect from the blinding light.
That's probably why I didn't see the portal open behind me, or the skeletal hand that reached through and grabbed me by the back of my shirt.
I did feel it yank me back through the portal, though.
"H-huh?!" I fell back onto my bottom, and my eyes widened up at the closing portal. "No!"
I lunged forward, but the portal disappeared, and I landed on my hands and knees in the darkness of the void.
"You!" I snapped, looking over my shoulder to Gaster. I would never know, but red washed for only a moment over the green of my left iris. "Take me back! They need me!"
"I'm sorry Cter." Gaster held his hands up defensively, slowly shaking his head. "But I need you a lot more than they do."
"How could you possibly-!" I jumped up to my feet and pointed a scolding finger at Gaster, before I stopped dead in my tracks. My voice caught in my throat, my breath in my lungs, my heart in my chest.
I stared past Gaster, right at the photo negative skeleton that stood across from us.
"Cter The Hacker." Error Sans narrowed his sockets, a delightfully wicked smile creeping up his face. "I've got a bone to pick with you."
Cold sweat forming on my brow, I gulped down my throat full of anxieties.
"... Fuck."
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