Okay, so I know I said I'd update four days ago, but! My internet went down for several days leading up to Sunday, and in the week prior to that I'd been very busy. So by Sunday I had probably only like 2,000 words of what was going to be a nearly 7,000 word chapter. I know my updates have been a little sporadic lately, and I can't promise they're going to get better. Unfortunately my life is a tad hectic right now. All I can say is that I really want this story to progress because I am VERY excited for the rest of this arc and the arc immediately following it. So I'm trying my best to move as fast as I can while also maintaining quality in every chapter I post.
I've been a little unsure of how exactly I've wanted recent chapters to play out as well, so that adds brainstorming to the process of typing, which slows things down more. But now, as we approach the second half of this arc, I'm getting a better idea of how things are going to go, which means things will move faster.
With all that said, expect the next chapter either next Thursday or, if not then, then the Sunday after that. So within the next seven to ten days.
Enjoy the chapter! I'm excited to see what you all think of it in the reviews!
Thanks go to Skele, Monkey D. Chimera, 10burgers, GrayK, Zack Frost, Jack54311, Wingah, bignibba552, PaperWorld, Genowar, Linki, Stillnyte, Anonymous, ririri, and NBoss01.
Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.
"So... Am I seeing double, or... Are there seriously two other world Cters in my timeline..?"
My eyes glossed over from Hacker's writhing form to the one who sat up to my right, still panting for breath and holding a hand over their throat. It was pretty easy to tell who they were, what with the red eyes they winced up at me with and the striped shirt they wore. It amazed me that Chara's fashion sense hadn't changed at all over the past decade and a half.
"... You this timeline's Chara?" My emerald orbs were a little less than welcoming or accepting as I looked upon the one who'd set off my own Chara's anxieties just by existing.
"No, I'm actually the Onion-San here." F Chara narrowed their eyes with their sarcastic bite. Made sense that they were pissed even though I'd saved them, it was apparent in my eyes that I didn't like 'em. And that was fine that they knew that, if I'd wanted it to be a secret I would've been a lot more convincing. Instead, I looked at them like they were an animal. A disgusting, frothing creature that had chomped at one of my friends.
"Cute." I smiled in a way that lacked mirth or friendship, but it faded away seconds later, like it only ever existed to tell them I was not happy with them. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I-?" F Chara looked at me like I was an idiot, furrowing their brows and tilting their head before shouting furiously. "I live here! You're the one from another dimension, fuck are you doing here?!"
Before I could respond, a familiar electric hiss reminded me that we were not alone, and I threw up one arm, turning my eagle eyes ahead to the wall of keys that I summoned in the path of Hacker's Beat Blaster's ray of white hot destruction. A cone of ivory energy sprayed out around F Chara and I, scorching the stone walkway on which we stood.
"We need to have a serious talk later. Until then..." I threw my hand out to the side as the flashing lights subsided, making the half melted wall of keys disappear just as quickly as it had came. Across from us I could see Hacker now, and he looked like he was very much ready to get this show on the road.
"I'm tagging in."
Chapter 31: KINDNESS Is Also Four Letters
"Come on, you couldn't really kill yourself, could'ja?"
"Another me?" The Demon spoke over the sound of gunshots, darting forward and swiftly weaving between shots as they closed the distance between themself and... Well, themself. They held their knife low to the ground until they reached Chara, who leaned back and out of the way just as Demon slashed up at them. "What do you want?"
As Chara leaned back, a tough glove appeared on their right fist, and they swung right at Demon's head, only for them to raise their forearm and block the incoming knuckles. The two locked eyes then, from opposite sides of the tracks.
"... Answers." Chara finally responded just as the two jumped back away from one another, eyes never blinking.
"You've got an interesting way of asking questions." Demon stung, bending their knees and holding their knife tight while they waited anxiously for the next move.
"Why are you doing this?" Chara's question was scoffed at immediately, and their glare only grew more intense as they watched their doppelganger roll their eyes.
"If you're really me, then you should know that's a dumb question." Demon's red orbs were an emotionless void, an iced over window to the blackened soul beneath.
Chara wanted to snap back with something witty, but they knew The Demon was right. That question was stupid. They knew exactly why The Demon did everything they did, they understood all of their philosophies perfectly. It was their own lifestyle that they didn't get. These days it seemed like Cter could make better sense of their thoughts than they could.
... Cter.
Chara narrowed their eyes with a new kind of contempt now, their jaw clenching and their knuckles whitening around the handle of their blade. They knew what they wanted to ask now.
"Your Cter." The reserved fury was clear in Chara's voice, and The Demon's eyebrows rose with intrigue when they heard it. "How did you convince him to be like you? What did you do?"
"Convince him? Ha!" The Demon smiled wickedly, tilting their head to the side. "He was always like me. Like us. I just got him to stop lying."
"What did you do?!" Chara took a step forward, more anger rising into their tone as they repeated their question.
"Hey, hey! Relax!" Grinning like they thought this was hilarious, Demon rose their hands defensively while they took a step or two back. "I didn't do anything! All I did was make him an offer."
"An offer..?" Chara repeated skeptically, squinting their eyes and scanning their evil double for any tells of dishonesty.
"When he challenged me to a fight for all eternity. I'm guessing your Cter did the same?" Smiling knowingly, The Demon tilted their head to one side.
"... Seven hundred and fourteen times." Chara spoke under their breath, beginning to feel a pit opening in their stomach at the distant memories Demon was stirring up.
"And on the seven hundred fifteenth reload, when Gaster intervened, I extended an olive branch." Demon held out their hand then, mimicking the offer they'd made to their Hacker all those months ago. They recited their words, "Come with me, Cter."
"... And let us make this multiverse our own..." Chara had gone pale in the face, staring with haunted eyes at their double while they whispered the rest of their offer. They realized where this story was going, and they did not like it.
"Cter's a smart guy. He knew I was making him an offer that he couldn't refu-!" Demon was cut off, a fist slamming into their cheek and making their scarlet orbs snap open wide, a stream of blood flinging from their lip as they stumbled back.
"You bastard!" Chara cried out furiously, taking a step forward and raising their knife over their head, stabbing down at The Demon. The less than virtuous doppelganger was quick to lift their forearm however, blocking Chara's stab by catching their wrist. Chara cocked back their fist and swung at Demon's head, but they caught that as well, leaving the both of them grunting and snarling in a power struggle, their arms trembling and pushing against one another.
"Why are you..! So mad..?!" Demon demanded to know, mouth curling up in a berserk smile as blood trickled down their chin, a crimson shade misting up from their split lip and sealing it. "Don't tell me you screwed up and killed your Cter..!"
"My Cter saved me from being a monster like you!" Chara cocked back their head before sending it slamming forward into Demon's forehead and making them lean their head back, wincing as ruby streams quickly began trickling down their face.
"Saved you?!" Demon caught themself, teeth gritting with new discovered rage before they jabbed upwards with their knee, sending it crashing into Chara's abdomen and making the wind spew up and out of their lungs. The Demon let go of Chara then, joining their fists together over their head and swinging them down at their other self's back, crashing into their spine with enough force to make them drop to one knee. "So what, you're some damsel in distress now?! You make me sick!"
Chara snarled at that, unhesitating in summoning their revolver in their free hand and firing a bullet right into The Demon's shoe while they were on one knee, making Demon's eyes snap open wide, pupils shrinking with the sudden pain of having a hole blown in their foot. Chara used this opportunity to jump up, smacking the back of their head into Demon's chin and making them lean back, eyes wincing shut.
"You!" Now back on their feet, Chara yanked back their knife, sending it plunging right into Demon's diaphragm and making them hunch forward. They were paralyzed then, blood slowly rising out over their bottom lip and pouring down their chin before Chara yanked their blade free, spun around, and sent their heel slamming into Demon's cheek. "Make me sick!"
The Demon flung back through the air in a spiral, crashing head first through the railing that guarded the staircase that lead below and tumbling down onto the steps, where they lay prone on their back.
Damn it..! Slowly Demon reached up, wiping away blood from their chin. They could feel the searing, tearing pain in their abdomen beginning to dull, and when they peeked one eye open they could see ruby misting up from what would have been a mortal wound if not for their DETERMINATION. But this regeneration was temporary. Another strike like that and they would be out of luck. What was that..?!
They didn't really understand as they propped themself up on their hands, grunting with exertion. If this was really some goody two shoes sell out version of themself, then there's no way that this Chara would be as strong as them. But judging by the speed and force of that combo, they were not only even with the Demon, they were...
Demon snarled as they pushed themself up on one knee, glaring up at the shadow that suddenly fell over them.
... Lucky shot.
I ran low to the ground, darting between bolts of lead and closing the distance between me and The Hacker. A patch of pens blasted from the stone beneath me, and I jumped into the air, spinning down towards him with an ax kick. Ink whipped from my pant leg, slashing down with my kick and slicing into the concrete as Hacker jumped to the side, landing with his back to the drop to the city below.
I landed on one knee, quickly reaching out to him and clenching my fist. Hands in his pockets, Hacker hopped right back over the edge as my pens shot out from the earth under him. My eyes narrowed as I watched him disappear, and I placed one hand on the ground to push myself back to my feet, quickly running after Hacker and diving over the edge after him.
Ink poured out from my pant legs, attaching to the brick that I fell by and allowing me to surf vertically after The Hacker, who I spotted doing the same trick further down the wall that we were descending. I bent at the knees, accelerating after him and holding my left arm out to the side, manifesting one double ended spear of black ichor.
Smirking confidently, The Hacker uncrossed his arms and aimed his palms up towards me, revealing the mechanical pencils braced with ink to the undersides of his arms. In the next instant graphite bolts were rapid firing up towards me, and I was leaning from side to side, slipping and sliding around the barrage before yanking back that spear of ink and whipping it down at my doppelganger.
That smirk went away real quick, Hacker's eyes going wide as he was forced to lean back like he was in The Matrix, that spear soaring just over his head. I took this golden opportunity then, kicking off from the wall and spinning, gravity yanking me foot first down towards The Hacker, who lifted his head back up just in time to catch my heel on his jaw. He disconnected from the wall too then, and the both of us plummeted to the concrete sidewalk below, leading with his skull under my shoe.
We collided with a blast of force, dust and shards of stone blasting up into the air around us, all while cracks exploded up the wall behind us.
Then for a moment or two, all was silent. The dust started to settle, the high flying pebbles clattered to the ground, and then...
I burst from the peak of the dust plume on an arch, slowly dropping back towards the cracked and slightly overgrown street, landing on my feet and skidding back some. Immediately after my landing, hundreds of different ink whips lashed wildly out from the smoke, swinging and slashing aimlessly in a futile attempt to strike me. After a few seconds, the ink receded back into the settling cloud, realizing that I was hopelessly out of range.
With narrowed eyes I watched Hacker's cover disappear, finding him on his feet with DETERMINATION misting up from the side of his head. Blood trickled down from his hairline, painting the right side of his furious expression in a crimson mask. And boy howdy did he look pissed.
"You..." There was nothing but loathing in his tone, those iced over emeralds crackling with an enraged flame as they glared at me. "Who are you? What are you even doing here?!"
"I'm a you that chose to stop being an asshole." My fingers curled into a fist, cold eyes never leaving The Hacker. "Now I'm here to kill you because you make me look bad."
"I make you look bad?" Hacker repeated with furrowed brows, before his expression lightened and a venomous smile appeared. I deduced he must've made some kind of realization, and he spoke to confirm my hypothesis. "Oh, you mean I'm gonna blow your cover?"
"What are you talking about?" I narrowed my eyes, skeptical of the words I already knew were coming.
"Let me guess, you stuck to your guns, right?" Hacker tilted his head to the side, poison green eyes squinting at me. "Got your 'happy ending' by defeating Chara and RESETing the timeline?"
"Well, I mean. It took a little more than that." My eyes glossed to the side, and I gave a lazy shrug.
"Oh, so you're an even more special one, eh?" Hacker threw up his hands in a way that was only defensive to be mocking. "You had one'a the Charas that came back, so you had to kill 'em twice?"
"Actually, I spared my Chara." I corrected, crossing my arms. I was getting tired of him talking; felt like I was shutting down whatever point he was trying to get to with my corrections. And while that did bring satisfaction, it'd be a lot more satisfying to bury my knuckles in this jackass's cheek.
"... Oh." At first I thought his delayed response came from Hacker realizing he was making an ass of himself, but then I recognized that tone as hatred. Contempt. Envy. "So you really are a rare case."
"Apparently-?" I was halfway through a shrug when Hacker cut me off, his expression hardened with reserved fury.
"Got your super happy ending. All your friends, Chara... You even got those wings you were dreamin' of." Ah, that's where that indignation was coming from. Gotta admit, I'd be pretty pissed too if I found out another version of me got wings and I didn't.
"... So. Do they know?"
"... Know what?" I squinted my eyes as a warning then, feeling the air pressurize with tension. I could already feel my blood pressure rising as I watched Hacker smile wide at my question.
"Why, about you being a murderer, of course!" Grinning gleefully, The Hacker held his arms out to the sides, staring at me with the lifeless eyes I'd spent years seeing in every mirror.
*Uh oh. He knows your dirty secret.
"Animals..." F Chara muttered spitefully as they stared over the ledge and to the two Cter-colored dots down below. One of their arms hung limp, and with the other they held it by the elbow.
They would have liked to continue fighting that arrogant punkass that had nearly strangled them to death, but unfortunately a similar punkass had lead the fight down a hundred something foot drop, and Chara was in no mood to climb. So instead, they stood there, grumbling while they tried to make sense of what was going on.
"You callin' 'em animals because they're fighting or because they're Cters?"
F Chara's eyebrows lifted with surprise, and they looked over their shoulder to find one exhausted Future shambling down the hallway from Asgore's home to greet them.
"Because if it's the former," Future gave a tired grin, a little light twinkling in eyes that often looked long dead. "We might have a pot-kettle situation."
"Cter." F Chara turned around to face Future as he approached, their eyes narrowing some. "You take care of the other brat?"
"Meh. Got an intern to take care of it." Future shrugged lazily, leaning on his spear, the butt of which he planted on the stone floor. F Chara could see the sweat on his brow now. They figured he could probably see the sweat on theirs. They wondered if this was just an off day, or if the two of them really were getting too old for this.
"..." They squinted suspiciously at the king from his words, irritated by yet another question that appeared in their brain. "By intern, you wouldn't happen to mean a younger me, would'ja?"
"What tipped you off?" Future grinned in a way distinctly Cter, tilting his head some.
"A teen you showed up a few minutes ago. Took the fight with Hacker over the edge." F Chara pointed with their thumb towards the ledge behind them. Future pondered if Chara had been making some kind of play on words there, but dismissed the thought. His tired brain couldn't multitask well, and he had much more important questions at hand.
"I'll explain everything in a minute." Future took on a more serious tone, startling Chara as he opened a rift in reality at his side. "Come on, we need to get out of here."
"What, you just expect me to leave the fight?" F Chara crossed their arms stubbornly, scowling. "With you, of all people?"
"You really think either of our tired asses stand a chance out here?" Future's haggard eyes narrowed at F Chara. "Come on. I know you've got questions, you know I've got questions."
"..." F Chara's eyes glossed back over that ledge, their jaw clenching with frustration. "... Fine. I guess one of our talks is long overdue."
Walking backwards down the dark hallway under Asgore's home, Demon deflected crimson bullets with one burnt frying pan. Their expression was twisted in a deep scowl, eyes hardly daring to blink as they feverishly examined the darkness before them, waiting for the next bolt of red.
But the next assault was not in bullets or DETERMINATION, it was a plastic knife that made The Demon flinch. They swiftly lifted their pan, blocking their own line of vision to send the Toy Knife dinging off back into the shadows. When they lowered the pan, however, they were stunned to see Chara diving from the black with one Ballet Shoe covered kick.
Demon held their pan over their abdomen, catching Chara's kick with it, only for Chara to aim down at them with that revolver. Demon was quick to swing their pan to the side and throw Chara back through the air, only for them to land and roll backwards once or twice, coming to a stop in a crouch and lunging back at their counterpart as their blade appeared in hand.
Stepping back, Demon's frying pan switched out for their own knife. Rapidly they deflected Chara's stabs and slashes, and rapidly they lost ground. Step after step was taken backwards while The Demon quickly glanced around. Where was Hacker?!
The entire reason they'd lead their fight down the steps and the hall was in hopes of finding their partner in crime. This Chara was powerful, more powerful than them, as much as that hurt Demon's pride to say. If they were to have any hope of defeating this moral high ground holding doppelganger, they would need The Hacker to back them up. But their ink slinger was nowhere to be found.
His trademark black ooze was splattered along the walls in several places, and chunks of pens and graphite littered the floor. The Demon hoped with all their might that he had taken care of that older Cter and Chara, and not the other way around. They'd made a mistake letting Future escape, but then again they'd've been dead meat if they'd had to face both him and this Chara.
Damn it! Demon's fangs were bared, wincing as they narrowly redirected the force behind another incredible slash, nearly losing their footing and being forced to stumble back out of the hall's shadows. All I wanted was to have dinner with my-! My... Uhm... My...
... Oh god what is Angel to me-? Demon's eyes widened some, darting to the side in a momentary brain freeze. Somehow in this life or death scenario such a simple thought made them pause, a light pink shade appearing on their cheeks.
Chara had no stake in this massive crisis their other self was having however, ruthlessly ducking down under their arms and racing back up with a savage upper cut that knocked The Demon right back to reality and sent them stumbling back on their heels. Relentlessly Chara jumped up, pulled both knees to their chest, and shotgunned a kick into Demon's chest.
Demon's eyes went wide, pupils shrinking. The air had burst out of their lungs, and panic pierced their heart when they were knocked off their feet and sent sailing over the ledge. Immediately gravity had a hold of them, yanking them with growing speed towards the unforgiving concrete below.
Wind billowed in Demon's ears as they flipped in air, now watching the ground rapidly approach as they prepared for the belly flop to end all belly flops. They couldn't open a portal while moving this fast, and they certainly couldn't regenerate from a red splat. Desperately their ruby orbs darted to and fro, examining their surroundings for something - anything - to save them. And then, just as they found themself thinking it was all over, they spotted him.
On the earth they were plummeting towards he stood, facing off with another doppelganger. A poor imitation, far as Demon was concerned. There was only one Cter in their mind, and he would save them from becoming strawberry pancake batter on the pavement. They drew in enough breath to fill their lungs, and with all their might, they called out to The Hacker.
"ANGEEEEELLLLL!"
"I'm gonna take your silence as a 'no, of course I didn't tell my perfect new family about all the people that died because of me'. Am I right?" My teeth ground together as Hacker spoke, ink dripping down between the knuckles of my clenched fists.
"That life doesn't exist now." I spoke sternly, emeralds iced over in my eyes as i stared into the mocking smile of my other self.
"Tell that to Anny's corpse." Hacker spoke in a sweet tone, smiling innocently even though half of his face was drenched in blood. His words made me snarl, and I quickly lifted my arm, ink stabbing out from my sleeve towards him. The attack was sloppy though, even I knew that. Hacker side stepped it, lifting his hands and laughing.
"Easy, easy!" Grinning like a jackass and keeping his hands up defensively The Hacker looked back to me. "I'm not your old girlfriend, it's gonna take a little more than the flick of your wrist to kill me!"
"You did the same shit that I did!" I shouted furiously, taking a threatening step forward.
"Yeah but the difference is I'm not standing here pretending to be a good person after doing it!" Hacker took up a more serious tone then, glaring right back at me. "You know what we are, Angel! There's no going back after all the fucked up shit we've done!"
"..." I stood there in silence for a few seconds, before I slowly shook my head, scowling. "Granny didn't want this."
I watched Hacker flinch with the cord I struck, his eyes narrowing while he clenched his jaw. "Don't you talk about Granny."
"What, so you can run your mouth all day about Anny and Lexi but I can't bring up the little old lady that you're disappointing more every damn day?!" I pointed accusingly at Hacker. "Granny wanted more for us! She believed we could do great things!"
"You-!"
"I'm trying to be better every day! I'm working to make up for what I've done!" I stepped forward then, boldly poking one finger into Hacker's chest. "What are you doing? Hunting people for sport? Being the same dill weed each and every day?!"
"And you have the nerve to talk to me like we're the same! We ain't!" I shoved Hacker harshly, making him stumble a few steps back. I was seeing red now, furious from having my past thrown in my face. "I'm a you that put in effort! You're a me that took the easy route!"
"Don't!" Hacker cocked back one fist, and I was too busy shaking with rage to notice the punch fling up at my face. His knuckles rammed into my cheek, and I was forced to tilt my head, taking a step back. "Lecture me!"
"ANGEEEEELLLLL!"
I looked up from the blood dripping out of my nostrils into my open hand to the dot plummeting down towards Hacker and I, my brows furrowing with confusion.
"You wanna see great things, asshole?!" Hacker jumped back, and ink swiftly spiraled out from the hem of his shirt, forming a spring behind him, which he then landed on and made coil tight. In the next second the spring burst out, launching Hacker right up into the sky to meet Demon.
I glared up, eyes following Hacker as he raced through the air and caught Demon right out of the sky. Then my attention turned to the portal that opened at my side, and urgently I let my wings spread from my shoulder blades while I took a knee.
"Get on!" I ordered Chara before they even had a chance to speak, both feet not even through their portal yet. Confusion exploded across their expression, but I just nodded forcefully towards my back while my wings spread wide.
"Now!"
"Huh!" Demon gasped as Hacker collided with them, catching them in his arms and changing their straight drop to a curved descent en route to a nearby rooftop.
"Sup?" Hacker asked casually, glancing down at The Demon, who was glancing around their surroundings nervously for a few seconds before their scarlet eyes looked back up to him.
"Uhm... Hey." They smiled a little awkwardly, making him snerk as they dropped down towards that rooftop.
"Yeah so," Hacker paused as ink spiraled from his pant legs, forming yet another spring as they neared the rooftop of some abandoned corner market, which when landed on launched them right back into the sky. "I think we need to get outta here."
"Was about to pitch the same idea." Demon scowled then, eyes darting to the side. "Don't know if you could tell, but things weren't exactly goin' too well for me."
"I'm guessing some goody goody you showed up and stopped you from killin' the old man?" Hacker cocked a brow at Demon, hair blowing back in the wind.
"Yup." Demon said spitefully, before glaring over Hacker's shoulder at the two aforementioned goody goodies, giving chase on wings of ink. "Aaaand here they come."
"Son of a-..." Hacker glanced over his shoulder, his jaw clenching and sweat forming on his already blood stained brow. As much as he hated to admit it, things were looking bleak. Him n' Demon couldn't beat those two in a fight, and from the looks of things they couldn't out run them with that Cter's stupid wings.
But this was fine. He'd been the underdog before. He'd gotten himself out of worse situations. His brain began it's wretched cycle, the kind of twisted plots that he'd killed his closest friends with once upon a time beginning to form.
Gunshots rang over the whipping winds, Chara doing their best to aim while clinging to my back for dear life. The beat of my wings sent us racing across the sky, and we gained steadily on our less-than-law-abiding counter parts. Unfortunately with the turbulence of our swift chase, Chara continued to miss wildly, red bolts blasting through windows and into brick walls.
I figured Chara was getting irritated with this because they sent that revolver back to their inventory, their trademark knife appearing in its place. Then they perked up some, shifting and planting their spare hand between my shoulder blades, digging their fingers into my jacket to keep themself steady.
"Get me over them!" They ordered, and I nodded, my wings flapping harshly and sending us blasting faster ahead. Massive pencil erasers began firing up from the earth, and I growled with irritation, swerving and darting between the incoming obstacles.
One last pencil fired up on an angle just behind me, close enough for me to feel the burst of wind and force it dragged with it against my toes. What I felt next was admittedly more startling as Chara leaned back, rolling right off of me and flipping down onto the pencil. They landed skillfully on the wood surface, sliding rapidly on their feet until they reached about halfway down, where they jumped right off, lunging through the air right at Hacker's back.
"Look out!" Demon cried out, swiftly reaching over Hacker's shoulders and putting their hands on his back. They pushed themself over his shoulder, jumping from him to meet Chara in mid air.
A clang resounded as Demon and Chara collided, blade to blade, their momentum coming to a stop in air. The two locked their furious eyes together, before they pushed off from one another, landing on opposite sides of the flat rooftop below.
"Chara!" Hacker cried out, turning around to face the two that dropped from the air and letting his guard down. This opening left him oblivious to the massive eraser that launched from the sky above him, smashing into his back and sending him firing right back down at the same rooftop his partner had landed on.
Chara dove backwards, Demon's eyes narrowing with confusion at this before snapping open wide as Hacker smashed right into their back, sending the both of them crashing through the roof. They blasted into the ground floor of three story building, disappearing into the smoke and dust that exploded up around them.
Chara stood on the building adjacent to the one our enemy had been knocked into, and I hovered above, watching shattered concrete and other rubble gradually slip into the hole in the roof's center.
Hacker coughed drywall dust out of his lungs, wincing his eyes open into the dimly lit room he found himself in. He was surrounded mostly by rubble, the only light being the dull grey that shined through the dust in the massive hole above.
"Chara, c'mon..." He called out, gradually climbing to his feet with a grunt or two. he coughed into his fist, eyes weakly scanning the darkness around him. "We have an opening, we gotta get outta here..."
"_._._._A_n_g_e_l_._._?_"
Hacker's head turned towards the sound of Demon's voice, and his eyes went wide, pupils shrinking with terror. Across the room, Demon laid on their back, that same fear in their eyes while red streaked down their chin. From their abdomen, two rebar spikes protruded, dipped in their scarlet colors.
"Chara!" Hacker called out fearfully, rushing to their side without care for his own aching body. He dropped to his knees next to them, eyes frantically scanning over their injury as he took their hand in both of his.
"Did... D-did we lose..?" Demon asked weakly, the light starting to flicker in their eyes and their face draining of color. "Am I... Going to..."
"No, no!" Hacker attempted a smile, but it was nervous. Panicked, as he shook his head swiftly to refute whatever they were too scared to say. "You're fine! E-everything's fine!"
"I-I can fix this!" Hacker spoke with desperation in his voice, squeezing The Demon's hand in his. His eyes drifted down to their wound once more, and then he repeated in a whisper. "... I can fix this..."
"... Do you get it now?"
Snarling, Hacker glared over his shoulder at me as I slid into the building, my wings folded on my back.
"This is what it's like on the other side." My hands balled into fists, emerald orbs narrowed at my other self. "When someone you care about is being taken away and you can't stop it."
"I already learned this lesson..." Hacker spoke through grinding teeth, slowly standing while letting go of The Demon's hand. He turned to face me, indignation burning in his eyes.
"Then why were ya doing it to other people?" I asked sternly, like I was scolding a child. "If you knew what it was like to have someone special taken from you, why were you taking people from others?"
"So I could get stronger, damn it!" Hacker shouted with frustration. "So I wouldn't have to lose anyone ever again!"
"Well look where it got you." My expression remained a hard frown, eyes unblinking in their scornful stare. "We came here because you were hurting people. Chara's going to die because you were hurting people."
Hacker flinched at the harshness of my words, before he turned his head, looking over his shoulder to the Demon. Their eyes were clenched shut tight, their teeth visibly clenching as they put one hand over their punctured abdomen. Sweat was firing in bullets down their face, and the only time they moved was to turn their head from one side to the other in a desperate search for some kind of comfort.
"... Alright man, look." He drew in a deep breath, shut his eyes, and turned his head back towards me. When he next opened his eyes, I thought they looked... Honest. KINDNESS flickered in them, whatever drops of it Hacker had left. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" I repeated, genuine confusion spreading like wildfire across my face.
"After what happened with Granny, I... I've been all fucked up." Exhausted, pained eyes darted to the side, shame written on Hacker's expression. "I thought if I cut ties with people I'd feel better, but I didn't. I thought if I got revenge I'd feel better, but I didn't."
"When I came here I was... Afraid. Of who I'd been and who I might become." Hacker kept his head low, shadow slipping over his face. "And because of that I, went back to doing things the only way I knew how..."
"... But, you guys have to understand. You're the only ones who can understand." Hacker lifted his head, looking between me and Chara - who stood at the top of the steep rubble hill that dropped into the first floor - with pleading eyes. "Me n' them, this is all we know. We wanna get better, we just... We don't know how."
"... But you're right." My eyes widened with some shock as Hacker dropped to his knees before me. I couldn't deny that I was stunned as I watched what once seemed to be someone so proud, so arrogant, bow his head, grovel on his hands and knees. "Granny didn't want this for me. For us."
"Please, I'll... I'll do whatever it takes." Hacker's hands slowly curled into the rubble covered floor, his eyes clenched shut tight. "Just help them, please. I can't lose the only person I have... Not again..."
My brows furrowed, thoughts flooding my brain and questions damaging my certainty. My eyes lifted from the begging Hacker to the dying Demon, and disgust and anxiety pierced my soul. I felt for this other self, how could I not have? One or two different decisions and our roles would have been reversed. I knew what it was like to feel the self loathing he was feeling. The fear, the uncertainty. And now here he was, about to lose everything all over again because he wasn't strong enough.
"Your fate will be sealed... You'll be just like me..."
Is that what he meant? Wasn't I just doing to Hacker exactly what The Killer had done to me?
...
In the silence and hesitation that followed, no one moved. No one breathed. Chara didn't object, so they must've been considering as well. I thought that was a step in the right direction, but doubted I'd ever tell them.
"... Okay." I nodded solemnly and lifted my right hand, a cinnamon bunny appearing in my grasp from my inventory.
"Cter, I'm not so sure about this." Chara objected with a voice that lacked certainty and screamed anxiety, skeptical eyes not leaving The Hacker.
"I have to give them a chance." I spoke out loud, but mostly to myself. My eyes narrowed, and I slowly extended the bunny to Hacker. He lifted his head some, looking up at me from under his eyebrows as if he too was unsure of this action. "I can't... Be like him..."
"Heh... I knew you'd do the right thing." Hacker smiled thankfully, climbing back to one knee while he reached for the item.
"This won't bring them back to full health, but it'll get them off Death's doorstep." My tired eyes watched as Hacker's hand approached my charity. "Once they're feeling better, we're all gonna have to have a long talk."
"Thanks, Angel." Hacker smiled softly up at me, and I found myself managing to return the favor. "You really are too KIND."
STAB.
"A-... Agh..?" Slowly my eyes drifted down to the spire of ink that had fired up from the earth in an instant, tearing right through the center of my chest. Then, my now lightless emerald orbs trembled back to the face of The Hacker, who's angelic smile had become a demonic grin. I realized he'd kept one hand planted on the ground, feeding his ink through the dirt and biding his time while his redemption speech lowered my guard.
"CTER!"
The ink tore right back out of my body, and I vomited blood up over myself while my knees buckled. I dropped backwards and Hacker snatched that cinnamon bunny from my limp hand, jumping back from the dirt he'd been groveling in to his Demon's side.
Before my back hit the rough broken concrete and tiles, Chara slid down to my side and caught me in their arms. They dropped to one knee, casting a vicious glare at The Hacker. Murder shun in their eyes, and their lips pulled back to reveal their grinding teeth.
I managed to keep my head up, vision fading in and out as I went into shock. I could see red misting off the hole encompassing my chest, and could only hope my soul was powerful enough to regenerate however much of my heart had just been ripped out. But then, my vision focused in, and I watched Hacker pick The Demon up in his arms, those soulless eyes landing upon me and a heartless grin growing on his face while a portal opened behind him.
"Don'tcha get it, Hacker?" The Hacker took one step back through the portal as he finally spoke again. Shadows encompassed one side of his face, leaving only the side that was painted crimson.
"Granny was wrong about us."
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