Thanks go to Wingah, CrystalGamer82, Acoolnamme, Zillowzest, Zack Frost, 10burgers, TiredWhiteMayge, sauceman95, and Genowar!

Just wanna say that I'm very proud of you guys. Most of you were reasonably disturbed with Frisk's advances last chapter or at the very least not horny lol. I was worried there would be DoubleTail chants and that riots would erupt, but instead I got people pleading for the safety of our beloved albino boy and that just made me very happy. Don't worry, just like everything else in the story, those scenes happened for a reason. It's all building somewhere. :)

(Also hey wow an on time update can you believe it?)

I hope you guys all enjoy the chapter, and I hope you're kind enough to leave reviews on whatcha thought!

Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

P.S.
Seriously, go read DoubleScramble on Tumblr at DoubleTaleAU. Last chance.

Huh? You're a new face. Or, maybe an old one. Guess my memory ain't what it used to be. Heh.

Was a chilly day - every day was a chilly day in Snowdin town. Snow crunched under his sneakers, bled through the fabric and made his socks wet. He wasn't a big fan of wet shoe, but deal with anything enough times and it stops being upsetting.

Should probably introduce myself; name's Cter! I'm a sentry 'round this parts. Work's usually pretty slow, but business has been boomin' today.

It was snowing - something he was pretty indifferent on, but his roommate always liked. He thought they would prefer watching snow through a window though - they hated the cold. Thoughts of them made him smile, made the trudge through the Snowdin snow a little more bearable. He was sure they'd cheer him up when he visited them - they always did. They were a real ray of sunlight, but he'd never tell them. Some things were better left unsaid, at least until it was the right time.

Don't worry, I'm on break right now. I got time to talk. I got time...

At least my hand's warm. Cter The Sentry thought while he made his slow walk into the snow littered winds. He woulda stopped by home, put on something more warm, but he had a pretty tight schedule. A pretty big milestone in his life was coming up in... Five? Ten minutes? Clench that hand a little tighter, doesn't matter that it's going numb. Stretch that time to fifteen. Stretch that time...

Everybody else kinda has their own stuff goin' on - so it looks like you're stuck with me as you're tour guide.

A gust of wind struck Cter's face - he winced as the silver stained snow stuck to his pale skin. He tried to reach up with his spare hand, wipe the ash away with the back of his fist. But, that arm was lazy. Oh well, at least it was holding his present. He didn't think he could let go of that knife if he tried, wasn't sure his fingers would open. That clumsy Sunlight of his left it laying around, and Cter was sure they'd be upset if they knew someone stole it. Heh, if...

But uh, don't... Don't look so glum! I'm a real fun guy, a real... Mushroom king... I think I said that joke wrong. Point is, last person I guided through this world loved my tour so much, they wanted to go again! And, again. And again. And, again and again and again and again and again and again and again and...

Hey, there's the river. He was getting close, had to be. Sunlight was waiting for him just over there, by the riverside. They ate lunch together here once, Cter thought he remembered. Place had some kind of significance, right? Bah, didn't matter... Not like he could dig 'em up and burry 'em somewhere else. Red dripped and splattered onto the snow. That bitter cold was starting to feel warm and cozy.

But hey, you're here now! What's it been, a day? Four years? All the same thing down here, in uh... I-in uh, in DoubleScramble..!

He coughed, felt something dribbling down his chin. Didn't bother checking - he knew what it was. Another gust of wind, more silver bits stuck to his skin and tattered clothes. He probably looked a mess, hopefully his Sunlight didn't mind. Hopefully he'd done a good job, earned his break. Hopefully they would welcome him with open arms, hopefully they... They didn't think he was a failure...

Something interesting always happens when somebody new stops by... So, I'm happy to see ya. You know how to greet an old friend, don'tcha..?

"Sorry, that took me so long... But... Hey..." Finally, he stopped taking steps. His own body weight felt like 16 tons, he was collapsing in on himself and the moment he stopped walking he knew that standing had been the real trial all along. But that was fine, he made it. He was here. Seeing his Sunlight kept that smile on his face, shaky as it was. He took his bloody hand off the gaping hole in his abdomen, his eyes only twitched a little when the wound flexed its edges and spurted more of his scarlet colors onto the dust stained snow. He wrapped his one working hand around the elbow of his limp left arm, barely managed to lift his left arm's forearm to present the bloodied knife he held. "Gotcha your knife back..."

Before him, a black tombstone remained unresponsive. Crafted from the inky magic of Cter's soul, engraved with their name and a red heart to match the beautiful soul Frisk had shattered.

"CHARA"

It's okay if you forgot - I remember. I always remember.

Chapter 77: A History Of Bad Men

Or: Welcome To DoubleScramble!

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Boney fingers curled into bed sheets, tired eyes clenched shut tighter. Where was he? Cold. No, wait, warm... Snow, soft... Ground... Bed... Sound. What sound? There wasn't sound left. World was dead. He, was...

"Angel, come on! It's noon and you're still in bed!"

... Alive?!

Fun fact about DoubleScramble - we've been living the same day over and over and I'm one of like three people who knows. But I'd bet my now worthless life savings that you're mighty familiar with that concept by now.

Sheets were thrown from the bed, Cter launched himself right to his feet. Legs that were once shaky and knees that were once weak were renewed with strength he'd forgotten he had once upon a time. He raced by his mirror, forgot the horrible scar that defined his chest and the fact that he was in his boxers and nothing else. In just a few steps he was at his door, the knob was turned and the door was throw open, revealing the comforting light of the sun.

"Ang-?!" Chara hardly had a moment to react before their roommate was upon them. Cter lurched forward, latched his arms around them, and yanked their body against him like they were a teddy bear. And while Chara's body stiffened and they looked to the side with eyes now wide, Cter buried their face into his chest and rested his head on top of theirs. And, despite his nudity and Chara's ever reddening face, they begrudgingly returned his hug. What was going on, they wondered as they slowly and gently rubbed his back. Why was he holding them like he was terrified they were going somewhere..?

... I lost Chara last route. They were the one bright part of this special and eternal day, and with them gone I... I went to a pretty dark place. Or, had to confront a dark thing that was already there. And I don't think I won. I don't think I can win without Chara. I don't think anything has meaning without them here.

"Angel, are... Are you alright..?" Chara smiled a little nervously, tried to relax. Even if the idiot had forgotten to put pants on, they... They did feel safer, being held like this. Not that he needed to know that! But, they did sink a little more into his hug. That was the only way they could let him know they were happy to be here.

"Y-yeah..." Cter swallowed the lump in his throat, hoped they didn't feel the few tears he'd let slip hit their head. In spite of his shaky voice and teary eyes however, he was smiling. For what felt like forever, they'd felt like his Granny. Dead, gone. Unsaveable and unreachable. Nothing he could do would bring them back and he would never see them again. Certainly not in death - a man like him would not be gifted the salvation that someone like Chara would receive. If there was life after death, and in that he was uncertain. "This is, the best I've been in awhile, actually..."

"..." Chara smiled at that. They squeezed him tighter, didn't ask for details. Angel was a secretive man, all they needed to know was that he was happy when he held them. It must have been some dream he had... They were happy to be here for him in the morning.

But, hey! You aren't here to see the dramatic emotional and ultimately pointless epilogue to a brutal story that will be undone in twenty four hours time! Actually - why, are you here? Eh, whatever. I'm sure something interesting will happen if you stick around.

They stood like that for awhile, Chara didn't object or try to pull away until it seemed like Cter was ready to let go. And, eventually, his arms did loosen their hold. Begrudgingly he released them, took a skeptical step back and glanced awkwardly to the side. He looked a little embarrassed, maybe because he remembered that they wouldn't remember why he was so desperate to see them again or maybe because he was sure they could see how red and puffy the tears had made his eyes. But, a permanent grin remained on his face regardless. "Ehehe... Sorry."

"For hugging me or for doing it in your boxers?" Chara smirked up at him, crossing their arms over their chest. Cter looked down, his eyebrows rose some when he recognized his own nudity. He continued to stare down at himself for a few moments, nodded once or twice, before looking back to his roommate with an even wider grin than before. He lifted his arms to his sides and bent his elbows, did a shameless little dance to Chara's discomfort.

"Do chu like what chu see?" Cter asked in a silly voice that Chara hardly found appealing; they immediately groaned and rolled their eyes. Face turning red again, the Snowdin sentry planted a light shove in Cter's chest. The moment he stumbled back into his room from this shove, they reached in and grabbed the knob of his door, yanking it shut between the two of them.

"Get dressed and ready to patrol, dork!" Chara hissed through the door, running their hand down their face with clear frustration. Honestly, one second he's sweet as can be and the next he's making a stupid joke..! Face still dusted pink, they rolled their eyes and took the first few steps towards the stairs, burying their face in their coat's collar along the way. They called through the muffling fabric, "I'll be waiting downstairs! You've got five minutes!"

So yeah, if ya hadn't guessed already the roles are all screwy in this timeline. Alphys ended up in Toriel's role, Asgore kinda(?) in Napstablook's, me in Sans's, Chara in Papyrus's... Uhh, Gaster is Grillby, Grillby is [REDACTED]. Monster Kid's Undyne because she's busy being Asgore. Toriel is... She's kinda in Monster Kid's role, actually. Even I'm not sure how that one happened, and I'm the guy who's been pullin' the strings to make sure this shit lines up with Undertale. Mettaton took over as Royal Scientist after Alphys ditched Monsterkind for the Ruins with Asgore. He gave Napstablook a body, but I'm not sure Blooky wanted it. Either way, he's in Mettaton's old entertainer role.

... Papyrus and Sans? Well...

"Where..?" Green eyes glossed over a scorched laboratory in a haze. A teenage boy stood on shaky knees on a dust littered floor, static screeched in his ears while he looked from side to side. He was shaking, but he wasn't cold. Fear, unease and uncertainty... He turned his head, looked through the destruction to see a stranger standing in the underground lab's one doorway. Doctor Wingding Gaster stared with wide sockets, tears overflowed down his skull while he placed one mortified hand over his mouth.

About nine years ago (not counting the eternity that I've been living today) I got pulled into this wacky timeline. It was like Undertale, but something was wrong. The time was all off - Chara fell in late. They were older, about seventeen. They started killing monsters, and I was pulled in with some janky repurposed machine to stop them. But the machine malfunctioned, caused an interdimensional explosion. Which is, if you hadn't guessed, in the top five worst kinds of explosions. Right up there with nuclear and premarital.

Grillby got [REDACTED], and Sans and Papyrus were stuck in my body for awhile. Like, ghosts. Skeletons. Skeleton ghosts. Skosts. They were interchangeable with my text box - I preferred them over the third guy. Killer didn't like having roommates, but it didn't last too long.

Cold sweat dripping down his face, Cter slowly stepped forward. Arms outstretched to his sides, he tried his best to look like he'd forgotten the gaping slash that had been carved in his chest. But Chara couldn't forget. They stared at him, eyes wide and filling with tears. They didn't understand and it didn't make sense - they'd mutilated him, why was he still holding his arms out? Why didn't he hate them? That knife was shaking in their hand now, and when Cter stepped forward and carefully wrapped his arms around them, it slipped through their fingers and landed in the red stained snow.

When people are hurting, sometimes all they need is a friend. It's a good thing that's all Chara needed - with the lack of dust laying around because they didn't kill nearly as many monsters, it took some pretty heavy experimentation to get my magic working. But, for some reason, Chara couldn't SAVE or RESET like I could. Can't be sure why - I think save files might work differently here.

After I got Chara to drop their knife and got the hole in my chest healed up, we managed a deal with the help of Asgore, Toriel and Asriel - the royal family at the time. Me and Chara moved into a house in Snowdin, it was my job to keep an eye on them and make sure they never felt like going back to their old ways. I was also positioned out there to handle any other humans that might come through the Ruins door. Sentry on the surface, Judge in the background. Asriel was around a lot in those days - him and Monster Kid were our best friends. We had so many dinners, all four of us gathered up in the tiny kitchen of our little Snowdin house...

Chara, Asriel and Gaster all watched pensively as Cter knelt in front of a flower pot. Ink flowed with care down his fingers and into the pot. It shaped, built upon itself and became solid. There was a certain life to it, a magic glow that had not been there for the other attempts. And as hope filled the eyes of his friends, Cter tried his best not to grimace at the sight of a flower made from his ink. A simple design, a temporary body for what he silently hoped would some day be a seven souled god. Red eyes opened, a little black flower made from ink stared up at the world for the first time through new eyes. Smiling faces surrounded the little black flower, asked him his name, how he felt...

"... I, don't?"

... We needed a Flowey. I had meta knowledge - I knew we needed a Flowey. And I knew what that meant. Somebody was going to have to endure being a soulless abomination, only to one day have the heart to save us all. Papyrus was the only person I could trust with that role. I knew if he knew the stakes he would give anything to save Monsterkind. But he couldn't know the stakes, not him or Sans or Chara could know. I would explain in time, someday this would be over and I could confess my lies. Once the ends had justified my means, they would certainly forgive me. Problem was, somebody knew I was lying.

Exhaling shakily, Cter took a step back. Faded to the background while his concerned friends crowded Papyrus. How long until he started going by Flowey? How long until he had to stop RESETs, how long until some kid dropped through a hole in the Ruins? How long until his fate was left in the hands of a child? Didn't matter. Just keep quiet, nobody can know. Just be Cter, everybody's friend. Nobody has to know. But, just as he managed to slow his heart rate and swallow the vomit creeping up his throat, his text box popped into existence in his line of vision.

*you did that on purpose.

*Look at you, little Angel! You can take The Hacker out of Fortune City, but you just can't take Fortune City out of The Hacker!

... He'd betrayed friends before. This was easy, he could screw people he loved over for the future. And this time, it was for their future, not his. He could do this, and no comments from Sans and The Killer would stop him.

Flowery - er, I guess he was still Papyrus back then, was easy enough to deal with at the beginning. He stuck around, even though he didn't feel anything anymore. He was upset that he couldn't speak with Sans directly anymore, but I appeased him for awhile by repeating what Sans was saying back to him. At least, everything that didn't include me knowing he probably wouldn't have a soul when I made him a body.

It was stressful, beefing with somebody who I shared a head with. Can't exactly walk away from that conversation. After I spared Chara and starting hanging out with everybody in that Snowdin house, I was sleeping a lot better. Fun fact about us Cters, we don't typically sleep easy. Something about soul devouring guilt and bitter loneliness, I think. And after creating Flowery - yes, Flowery. Papyrus opted to call himself Flowery and not Flowey. - I stopped sleeping so easy. Can't imagine why.

Things were kinda tense for awhile. No one knew what to do with Papyrus or Sans. Gaster was stressed out, I was guilty, Chara didn't have the social skills or emotional intelligence at the time to navigate the tension. But, the royal family really held us all together. Asriel specifically, he never left our side in those days. Him and Monster Kid were there by noon every day - we still managed to have fun. Snowball fights, hide and seek, all sorts of childish things to keep teenagers on the cusp of adulthood happy. We included Papyrus in our games, I think he had a good time. I think it made him grateful to have a body, even if he didn't feel right. Things were getting better, I was trying my best to relax.

... Aaaand then the Ruins door opened.

Through the snow a teenage boy wandered. One hand on the holster on his hip, his golden eye darted left and right beneath the cowboy hat that shaded the upper half of his face. His walking came to an abrupt stop when he looked ahead once more and spotted something that hadn't been there before. Or rather, someone. Down the path stood Cter The Sentry, one hand in his pocket and the other giving Clover a friendly wave. Another human? About time, Clover thought. All he had seen so far was frogs and crybaby bugs.

Clover, the JUSTICE soul. The monsters were kind to him, if not skeptical. Not aggressive but certainly cautious. Now, I know when I said it was my job to "handle humans" it probably sounded a little suspect, but it wasn't my job to kill anyone. My job was to pacify anybody else who dropped down. Make nice, show monsterkind that we can coexist.

"... Soo, you been down here, two years ya said?" Clover glanced over towards the only other human he'd seen, arched a brow under his hat. The two sat across from one another at the bar of Snowdin's newly built diner, Gaster's. Behind the counter was the old doctor himself, drying a glass with a cloth. On the shelf behind him, Flowery was watching this new human with those beady red eyes.

"Just about, yup." Cter shrugged his shoulders - Clover thought that grin he always had on was unnatural. But something about the sentry was convincing. Maybe it was just nice to see another human, the cowboy had thought he would be all alone down here. Blissfully unaware or at least unresponsive to the anxieties of the cowboy he was having lunch with, Cter winked an eye shut and rested his chin on his propped up fist. "It's kinda my job to meet n' greet the new humans. Help 'em get acquainted, keep 'em outta trouble. You know the deal."

"Keep 'em outta trouble, huh..?" Clover repeated in his southern drawl. His eyes drifted back to the pistol on his hip. Stole the thing from his Pa, thought if he put it to good use in this mountain his Pa wouldn't mind after he returned it. Cter watched him, his green eyes narrowed as Clover's fingers drifted briefly over his gun... Before returning to the counter.

"... So. What brings ya down the rabbit hole, Alice?" Cter was looking friendly again by the time Clover looked at him. The sentry sipped from his glass - monster soda was kinda weird, but he liked it. The cowboy considered Cter's question for a minute or two, lowered his head and held his chin. He was just a kid, Cter thought. Must've only been sixteen.

"Pa's a god fearin' man. Says there's good n' there's evil n' there ain't much between. Says that a good man who lets bad men live ain't a good man." Clover stared into his drink. He'd hardly touched it, didn't trust the black magic skeleton smiling behind the counter or his weird devil flower. The cowboy's grip tightened up on his glass - drinking always got Pa to calm down. But he didn't think the bar tender had served him what Pa liked to drink. "There's a rumor spreadin' 'round 'bout this here mountain. People're sayin' the whole place is cursed. That some cruel Chieftain from'a dead tribe'a savages climbed to the peak to hide."

"Hide..?" Cter's grin slipped some, he didn't think to fix it. He was still getting used to smiling all the time, but it was for Chara so he was happy to do it. There was only one human Cter knew of that'd climbed Ebott though, and with them in mind he narrowed his eyes and listened carefully. "Hide from what?"

"People like me n' Pa, I reckon. People with guns." Clover turned his head, Cter could see the gold glow of his one eye. The other one, Cter wondered. How did this boy lose an eye? "Them tribal folk, used to be a lot of 'em fightin' over the mountain I heard."

"Pa n' the other grown ups told the same story about all of 'em. Said they was savages, said violence was all they understood. Said that was why they kept shootin' em dead." Clover's JUST eye scanned the tanned white skin of his own arms. His brows furrowed, he was thinking about something. Cter figured genocide was probably hard for a gold soul to JUSTIFY. Frowning, the cowboy continued. "Me, I can't be sure. Ain't never met one, only ever saw what Pa left of 'em. Reckon we all look the same when we're dead."

"... What was that thing your Pa said?" Cter suddenly asked, garnering Clover's attention. The cowboy turned and arched a brow at him, watched the Sentry drink from his glass again. He wasn't smiling anymore, somehow it looked more unnatural than the dumb grin he'd been wearing. His emerald eyes gleamed just a little, some mix of KINDNESS and something else. "A good man who lets bad men live ain't a good man?"

"... My soul is gold, old people 'round town say that means I'm supposed to believe in JUSTICE." Clover didn't answer Cter's question. He just looked back to the counter that he rested his elbows on, hid whatever his one eye might have shown. A window to the soul that he didn't want anyone to look through, because he didn't understand what it wanted. "But the more I look at what's right n' what's wrong the blurrier it gets. I thought if I climbed Ebott, I thought if I went a lookin' fer whatever evil my soul was certain was hidin' here, I'd figure out what's right."

"..." Cter narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brows. He watched the young man beside him reach up, rest his finger tips over the patch covering his right eye. JUSTICE was blind, but that cowboy still had half his vision. The Sentry found himself grateful for his own red soul, it made deciding what was right and wrong a little easier. The ends justify the means, that's what Cter's DETERMINATION told him and what Clover's JUSTICE didn't believe. But, looking at the conflicted young man beside him, Cter knew he had to say something. This was a turning point in the boy's life, he was contemplating the meaning of his own soul. The Hacker opened his mouth, but he hesitated. What did a liar know about JUSTICE other than to run from it?

"It's Chara. The human that escaped down here is Chara."

Whatever words Cter was managing caught in his throat. His eyes, now wide and mortified, darted to where Papyrus sat in his flower pot. The ink flower stared with apathetic red eyes. He had a curious expression, not malicious but certainly not benevolent. And while Cter and Gaster all looked at the soulless flower with wide eyes and dropped jaws, Clover slammed his hands down on the table and stood from his stool. As his seat tumbled to the ground, Clover demanded knowledge. "What?! You know them?!"

"Two years ago a violent human slaughtered a lot of monsters." Flowery stared with those heartless red eyes, didn't blink a single time before the eye of JUSTICE. His face was blank - Cter had never realized just how disturbing the stare of a soulless creature really was until right then. No remorse, no care, nothing to relate to or rationalize. A being that did not feel and therefore could not be reasoned with. "They live at the end of Snowdin - they're the only other human down here. You can't miss them."

"... I know what I have to do. I know what I have to do!" Clover lowered his head, nodded to himself. What was right, he had to know what was right. His yellow soul told him there was evil under this mountain, his yellow soul demanded that he kill it. Chara, the chief who hid under the mountain. A good man doesn't let bad men live. Before Cter could even process what was happening, the yellow soul was bursting out of Gaster's door, escaping into the snow.

"Wait-!" Finally, a response from his body. Cter threw up one arm, ink leashed out from his wrist just in time to splatter against the door that Clover slammed behind himself. Taking just a second to stare at the ink stained door, The Sentry then whipped his head back around to shoot a glare at the flower sitting on the shelf behind the counter. He barked furiously, "Papyrus! What the fuck?!"

"..." Flowery furrowed his brows. Looked down, then to the side. Thought and thought for seconds that felt like hours. But, then the man made abomination lifted his eyes again. Stared into the mortified orbs of his creator, and smiled in a heartbreakingly empty way. "I wanted to see what would happen."

"Go." Gaster instructed with haste, swiftly plucking Flowery's pot from the shelf and holding it close to his chest. Urgently his eyes darted from Cter to the door, before nodding once. He wandered quickly towards the back room with a confused Flowery in hand, he would talk with the flower. Cter jumped from his seat, booked it towards the door. Chara, he had to make sure nothing happened to Chara!

... It wasn't Chara I should have been worried about.

Everything had been going good. Such an easy day. Asgore and Asriel had been over for lunch, Toriel would be by later for dinner once she finished up some queen business. They'd been outside, shoveling snow out of the pathways connecting their home to the shed. Talking, laughing...

So how did Chara get here, with a gun pointed at them and some kid struggling to pull the trigger?

A cold wind blew by. The laughter stopped, everyone was quiet now. Asgore and Asriel stood still, spring loaded. They wanted to move but Chara had instructed them not to. That thing Clover was holding, it caused death in an instant. A bang a flash and someone had a hole punched in their head. A disturbingly effective murder weapon, one they'd seen used to a ruthless end. No dodging, no ducking. They could blink their eyes and never open them again.

But Clover hadn't fired yet. Everyone stood there, ready to move. To jump, to dodge, to struggle. Everyone but Chara. There was no dodging a bullet, there was no fighting a gunman without another gun. They had tried, they had seen many fail. If he hadn't already taken aim, if that revolver barrel was not already lined up with their heart, maybe there would have been a chance. But it was, and their fate now laid in the hands of the boy before them. No fear in their eyes, Chara wondered if that was why the boy hesitated. Did he think they were afraid of him? They didn't fear his war, didn't worry about what his god might think of them. Their voice was different when they spoke, not like anything the goats behind them had ever heard. "If you aren't going to use it then put the gun away."

"... How many people have you killed?" Clover finally spoke. Under his hat his gold eye glowed, locked onto Chara with lethal accuracy. His finger twitched over the trigger, Chara always figured those things were easy to fire. Didn't have to swing a weapon, didn't have to feel someone die through your weapon. They thought they would have liked them as a child, it would have made their training less brutal. But, the conflicted face of the boy ahead of them told them otherwise.

"Are you trying to JUSTIFY murdering me?" Chara's cold red eyes examined the conflicted soul through the one eye that stared at them now. Couldn't have been one of their people who took his other eye, if anyone they'd trained had gotten that close they would have went for the throat, not the face. "Your best bet is to stop thinking about me like a person. Doesn't matter if I've killed thousands or no one at all, the longer you think of me as someone who dreams like you do-"

"It don't work like that! I know it don't!" Clover snapped, Chara raising their eyebrows at this sudden display of rage. That gun shook in his hand, his jaw tightened and his teeth grit with rage. What a burden a golden soul must be, Chara thought. All the desires to do what's right without the DETERMINATION to give certainty to all your actions. "If I'm gon' kill you it's gon' be 'cause it's the right thing to do!"

"Murder is never the right thing to do." Chara narrowed their eyes, they must've thought he was an idiot. Clover could hear it in their tone. His vision flashed back, he remembered the dead men he'd seen. Pa's smile, the teeth he was missing. Murder? No, it was JUSTICE. Bad people had to die, didn't they? If there was some other option, then why had his Pa killed all those people? Why had he been taught how to shoot a gun so he could kill, too? And why couldn't he pull the got damn trigger?!

"It's a good man's job to kill bad men..!" Clover stated with certainty that was far from absolute. Another cold gust of wind, this damn weather was making his fingers numb. Chara was glaring at him now, there was a certain indignation in their eyes. What, did they think they were the one on the wrong side'a the gun here? If their roles were reversed he knew they'd shoot him dead too!

"I'm not a man and neither are you." The wind blew some of Chara's longer hair out of their eyes. They exhaled slowly, the white mist of their breath was dragged away by the brutal chill Snowdin so rarely produced. They didn't blink, Clover wished they would. Might make it easier to shoot them if they weren't looking at him. "Justify it however you want - killing me isn't going to save you or any of your bastard kin from the wrath of your god. All humans are evil, and we're all going to hell."

"... Heh." Clover's eye lowered to the ground. Something left his expression. The last bit of innocence in his youth, some semblance of withering hope, the light of his own soul. It was all disappearing now. A good man born to bad blood. He would've cried, but last time he did that his Pa gouged his eye out. Said it would help Clover aim better, said he'd have to look at the whole world like he was staring down the JUST side of a barrel from then on. He wished Pa had just taken both eyes, he didn't wanna see this world anymore.

"Now, lets all just calm down." Asriel's voice chimed in, it was the first time any of the goats had spoken since Chara instructed them not to make a move. Now, skeptically and against Chara's instruction, the prince was slowly walking closer to the two humans staring one another down. Chara's eyes darted over to him, flashed a furious warning. They'd told him not to move a muscle! It was them this gunslinger wanted, and they didn't know if he would shoot through Asriel to kill them or not. Regardless of Chara's warning, Asriel soon stood right beside them. He held up innocent hands, pleaded with a cowboy's waning mercy. "Whatever happened on the surface, whatever you've been told and however things are up there, murder isn't the answer. It never has been down here. I promise, we can work this out without violence."

"... You, devil man." What a strange place this was, Clover thought while his gun lowered. His JUST gold eye darted to the monster prince - he knew demons were supposed to look like goats, but he always reckoned they'd take on the more scary traits of the farm animal and not so many of the... Fluffy innocent traits. What was that thing the Chieftain just said? Maybe he'd died on the fall, maybe he was already in the afterlife and maybe him and his kin were already damned. "You ever killed anyone?"

"... Monsters don't kill people, friend." A patient smile crossed Asriel's lips. Clover had lowered the gun, maybe they were really getting through to him. The monster prince took a step forward, reached out one paw towards the cowboy. He was slow, careful. A being with horns trying not to look threatening. Chara reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, but he just smiled carefully back at them. Looking back to Clover, he offered a hand. He offered friendship. "It's like I said. Down here, violence is never the answer. I'm not going to hurt you or anyone else."

"..." Clover hesitated. Let his golden eye look to the snow at his feet, let his cold fingers slide along the rough grip of his revolver. Hand was going numb, he would've brought gloves if he knew it would be so cold. Bah, didn't matter now. Nothing did. JUSTICE was blind, but Clover could see. And with his clouded and unfortunate vision he looked back to Chara. He lifted the barrel of his gun, aimed down the sight with his ever accurate eye, and watched in slow motion as the forgotten Chieftain before him started to recoil. "... Then you're goin' somewhere better than we are."

Maybe it was the cold or maybe it was internal conflict or maybe it was both, but there was a short pause. Not the instant death Chara was certain was coming - a short moment between aim and fire. A second, two at best. But that was all the time Asriel needed. In a panic, a flurry of motion and a knee jerk reaction, the prince threw his weight into Chara. Slammed his shoulder into theirs, sent them tumbling to the snow and out of Clover's sights. But now, time was up. The interval was over, and it was his heart lined up with that barrel instead.

BANG!

... I was too late. Too careless. And Asriel died because of it.

It was what it always was, Chara knew as they watched with wide eyes. Asriel's legs went out from under him in an instant, it was like that one chunk of metal had instantly sapped all energy that he had. The prince plummeted backwards, dropped into the waiting arms of his father. King Asgore dropped to his knees immediately, seeing a hole punched in his son's heart had put one in his own. No words were exchanged, everything was quiet.

Asriel stared up at Asgore with wide, fearful eyes. He didn't know what happened, he didn't understand what that tool had done. In the blink of an eye his health had been ripped away from him, and now his father cradled him as his body began flaking away. Asgore was crying, Asriel felt his tears strike his fur and wash away the silver ash that he was becoming. He tried to speak, tried to apologize for getting himself hurt. But he couldn't say anything, his body didn't dare release what breath he'd managed to suck in for fear that it wouldn't get anymore. Red and silver spilt over the snow, and it was all the prince could do to put his hand over the hand his father rested over the hole in his chest.

"Asriel, hold on..!" Asgore tried his best to assure his son, but his voice was shaky and his eyes were overflowing with tears. How could he convince Asriel this would be okay, how could his last words to his son be a lie? No, not last words. This couldn't be over, not like this. A father wasn't meant to outlive their son, a king was meant to die long before a prince. This was wrong, this was wrong..! Agony strangled the king's heart as he cradled his boy in a way that he had not since the prince was a baby. He held him close to his chest, tried desperately to get his son to stop crying one last time. "I-its okay, I've got you. You're safe, I'm here. I... I would never let anything happen to you..."

Clover stumbled back a few steps. He had been so certain a moment ago, but now his legs were shaking. No, this wasn't right, it was an accident! Chara, he was supposed to shoot Chara! They were the one who deserved to die... Death was JUSTICE, wasn't it? That's... That's what he'd been told. But now, as he watched Asgore hold his son, as he watched Asriel turn to dust in his father's arms, he felt sick to his stomach. Go back, he wished. Put the bullet back in the gun, take it back. This was wrong, this wasn't supposed to happen. He hadn't wanted this! "N-no, I... I didn't mean... Wait..."

The world wouldn't stop turning. The consequences of Clover's actions would not stop playing out before him, even as Asgore begged and pleaded with his son to stay. But it didn't matter, there was nothing the king could say to stop the reaper. There was nothing he could do, there was nothing any of them could do. Asriel's body broke down, faded away after the prince shut his eyes one last time. And Asgore was left kneeling in the snow, his eyes following the shivering white soul that floated up from Asriel's body. All that was left of his son shook and trembled, tried to hold on... And shattered apart. The king made some kind of sound, a death throw from some part of himself that would never be revived. He doubled over, clutched ash to his chest and sobbed in the unforgiving cold.

Chara shook their head, flat on their ass and leaning back on their hands in the snow. Clover came to kill them, Asriel was dead because of them. He'd given up his life to protect them - why? Why?! What would it take for these people to understand that they weren't worth it?! Before Chara knew it, tears were overflowing down their face, and when they couldn't bear to look at the grieving father any longer, they turned their head to look to the boy holding the gun. And when they saw he was pointing the gun at them again, they ground their teeth together. Indignation overwhelmed guilt, and they screamed at him.

"Again?! When will you people have killed enough?!" Like a child, Chara tore at the snow and threw a wave of it up at the cowboy. It was all they could think to do, they felt like a kid kneeling on the ground. Helpless, powerless. Their best friend dead, their fate sealed. Everything they ever worked for, all the years of bitter suffering, all the glimmers of hope snuffed out. Humanity's cruelty made it all for nothing, and it was all they could do to throw more snow up at Clover in their hysteria. "What kind of JUSTICE is this?! Asriel didn't deserve that! He wanted to help us both and you killed him for it! The worst thing he ever did was believe in someone like YOU!"

"... F-first you." A stream of tears overflowed from Clover's single eye. Ran in a stream down his cheek, cupped the curve of his face. His gun shook in his hand, his whole body trembled, his heart pounded in his chest and his stomach threatened to vomit. He knew what he had to do now, and he lifted his free hand, pointing his thumb back into his chest. He'd killed an innocent man, and he would have to kill two guilty ones to make up for it. "Then me."

FWOOSH!

The cowboy recoiled, a wall of flames exploded to life between himself and the Chieftain. He stumbled back a step, the furious orange of those flames reflected in his wide and fearful eye. He didn't understand, he'd never seen magic before. He would have doubted this to be real, if he didn't feel the fire threatening to burn his skin. If he didn't see the snow, melting and misting around the massive shadow that loomed in the fire.

Asgore Dreemurr, the king under the mountain and the father of an innocent man slain lumbered through the fires of his own creation. The flames danced around him, did not singe but one of his hairs. The shadow of his crown covered his eyes, but the fires reflected in the ivory of his horns. His imposing, horned shadow fell over Clover, and the searing heat of the king's fire burned away the tears on his face. A goat man wrapped in flames - Clover was certain the devil was baring down upon him. And though just a moment ago he had been content putting a bullet in his own skull after putting one in Chara's, now he was rapidly backing away. Fear pierced his gold soul, made it yellow.

"W-wait... Wait..!" Clover threw up one hand, nearly tripped as he stumbled. Asgore wasn't so articulate - he was seeing red. Couldn't think, couldn't speak. It was all he could do to open his mouth and let out a primal roar as the fires around him exploded to an even more imposing scale. all these years making due, counting blessings, learning to live happy without the sun, only for a human to return and tear salvation away again. Not this time, not for free. This wouldn't be like the war - King Asgore would see to it personality that Monsterkind got a soul from humanity this time.

Before he knew it, Clover was running. Sprinting through the snow, ducking under explosive fireballs. Survival instinct kicked in, and without thinking about it he was retreating back through Snowdin. Into the forest, towards the Ruins. He had to escape, had to get away from the flames of royal wrath he could not comprehend. And Asgore chased him every step of the way - didn't care what monster saw this side of him along this way. There was no one else in the world at that moment - just Asgore and the boy that deserved to die.

It was, right about then that I popped into the situation. I would have got there sooner, to this day I wish I had just chased Clover on foot. See, after the explosion and getting my magic, I inherited this teleportation ability from Sans. But, it was hard. A lot more math goes into teleporting than you would think. I didn't have it figured out, but I thought that if I teleported I would be able to get to Chara and warn them before Clover got there. It, didn't work out like that though. Ended up teleporting myself through a hundred and one wrong locations before... Well, when I got there, it was too late.

Suddenly, Cter popped into existence. Eyes wide, he held his hands up and hunched forward some like he was trying to stop himself from moving. Urgently, his eyes darted around his front yard. He was here - he was finally here! Was he too late, what happened? Without a second thought he called out, "Chara? Chara?!"

"A-... Angel..?" A voice squeaked out just behind Cter, and he was quick to spin around. But, when he saw Chara kneeling in the snow, his heart dropped into his stomach. They were trying to hold in sobs as they looked at him, shaking hands holding dust covered snow. And Cter's mortified eyes darted from the dust Chara was holding and back up to their face, just in time to see them shake their head while a sob slipped out. They barely managed one word. "A-... A-Asriel..."

"... Oh, no. No no no..." Cter's own voice was trembling now. His brain poured salt in the wound the moment it had been opened, he imagined a rapid flash of memories. The fun him and his friends had crammed in the little kitchen of the home Asriel had been killed in front of. All the jokes, the laughs. Gone forever, with the dust Chara held in their trembling hands. Slowly, he too dropped to his knees. Didn't care about the cold wet snow that crept into his jeans, just stared at the ashen snow melting in Chara's hands. Skeptically, he reached out towards the ash. As if he could revive it, like there was something he could do.

I, had a SAVE FILE, but... I didn't really know how to use it. It had saved me once or twice against Chara, but I never figured out how to load back without dying. Besides, it'd been months since I'd last SAVED, maybe over a year. And I never hit my RESET button - I had no idea how far back it would take me. I, was afraid I would wake up back in Fortune City...

"H-he... Pushed me aside... My fault, it was supposed to be me... I-I..." Chara couldn't articulate, they looked so miserable. More tears overflowed, the lump in their throat strangled them and no amount of sobbing would loosen it up. Cter lifted his gaze from Asriel's ashes to Chara's miserable expression - seeing them cry was more salt in the brutal would Asriel's death caused. And even though he couldn't possibly find the strength to start grinning again, Cter still opened his arms. Chara leaned forward without a second thought, buried their face in his shoulder and wrapped their arms around him. Their dust stained hands clenched in the back of Cter's sweatshirt, and Chara gave up all attempts at holding back their tears.

"... It's, it's okay Chara." Cter tried his best to assure them, wrapping his arms around them. He made sure to hold them tight, even though he was shaking he wanted to make them feel safe. His vision was getting blurry, he wasn't sure why. Granny - why was he thinking about Granny? A lump was forming in his throat. He'd tried so hard, made so many sacrifices and did everything he could, but once again someone he loved was dead and he hadn't been able to stop it. With a shaky voice he reassured them, with clammy hands he rubbed their back. "Everything is going to be okay. I'm, I-I'm going to fix everything. There's, there's a happy ending. I, know it doesn't seem like it... But, but I'm gonna get you there..! I-I promise..."

... I didn't know why seeing Chara this upset hurt me. I didn't understand why I was so desperate to help them - I'd hardly felt empathy for anyone before I met them. I... I didn't understand that I was in love with them back then.

The longer that Cter held Chara there, the more he thought about what had happened. Clover had tried to kill Chara, Asriel had died protecting them... Clover killed Asriel. Clover made Chara cry. Cter had reached out a hand to help that boy and he had put a bullet through it. And the longer he listened to Chara wail, the more maddening the sound became. He thought of The Killer now, remembered how it felt putting a bullet in his head. He would do it again, he would kill another. He had to, Clover deserved it. So, after minutes that felt like hours, when Chara's crying began to dull and subside, Cter delicately asked... "Chara, where is he now..?"

"A-Asgore chased him, back through Snowdin. I, I think he's trying to escape back to the Ruins..." Chara sniffled, blinked some of the tears out of their eyes. They felt even more guilty - there was an emergency and they were sitting around crying. But their head ached now, their heart and their body was so exhausted. They didn't want revenge, they just wanted Asriel back. "I'm, I'm worried he's going to hurt Asgore too..."

"I have to go now, okay..?" Cter pulled away some, but they didn't let go of him. That made him smile a little sadly, and he hugged them tighter one last time. They stayed like that for another moment or two, before Cter started to pull away again. "I'll be back, I promise. I'll bring Asgore back, too. Everything will be okay."

"I-I'm sorry..." Chara apologized while they glanced to the side. They reached up with one hand, wiping a few lingering tears off their own cheek. Cter wasn't holding them anymore, but he still knelt in front of him with a hand on their shoulder. They struggled to look at him though, they were ashamed of their weakness in this moment. They wished they could be strong and calm like Cter was being. They must not have seen the tears that still remained on his face. "I'm pathetic..."

"I don't think you're pathetic." Cter spoke with certainty. He smiled, even though his eyes were still irritated and tear stains still drew lines down his cheeks. Chara looked back to him as he squeezed their shoulder, they were a little surprised by his refutation even though they knew they shouldn't have been. With the KIND green of his eyes shining, Cter added on. "Chara, I think you're amazing."

Chara didn't say anything in response to that, but they felt themself starting to smile again, even though a few more tears overflowed from their eyes. Their smile pushed Cter on, got him to his feet in spite of the dusty snow in the knees of his jeans. He didn't want to leave them, but he had to. Asgore was in danger, and beyond that, a child needed to die. And he didn't want Chara to have to see how angry he was. He didn't want anyone to see The Hacker under his skin.

The BANG of the occasional gunshot echoed along the stone walls of The Ruins. Leaves crunched under Clover's boots, before they were torched by the king's wrath. The boy was faster than the lumbering monster chasing him, but his breathing was ragged now and he was running out of steps to take. He was in the looming darkness before the room full of those blue flowers now, and unless he could climb a 90 degree angle he wasn't getting any further than those flowers.

Spinning on his heel, it was all Clover could do to point his gun back towards the torrent of flames behind him. He looked for those gleaming silver eyes in the billowing orange heat, but just as he lifted his revolver to fire into the flames, another fireball blasted out towards him. The misguided cowboy swiftly tilted his head to the side, and his one golden eye went wide as Asgore's fireball blasted by the side of his face. Heat scorched his face, burnt the skin of his cheek and torched through the fabric of his eyepatch's band, sending the black cloth falling to the ground right with his cowboy hat.

Clover wasted a moment staring at the looming, monstrous shadow in the flames. His scarred over eyelid revealed and clenched shut, his messy brown hair wet with the same cold sweat that was beading down his face. The pupil of his golden eye was shrunk in terror, and as another furious roar erupted from the beast in the flames, he turned tail and ran to the last place he could.

Right back where he started was Clover, soon running palm first into the cruel stone wall. No edges, no points to grip. He was trapped now, and Asgore's flames were already filling the doorway. With no other options, the young gunslinger pointed the barrel of his weapon into the smoke. His accurate eye would see through the fires, it had to. And as he watched the shadow of the king pull back his devilish trident, his finger pushed down on the trigger.

THUNK! BANG!

Agony shot up Clover's arm. His one eye was wide, trembling as it slowly glossed over towards his arm. Pierced was his most important limb by Asgore's trident, the spikes had cleaved through skin and bone and came out the other side of his forearm. The force of the weapon's strike had been so intense that it had shoved his arm back against the stone wall behind Clover, were it was now pinned by the brutal spikes that cleaved through his flesh.

Clover's gun had still fired, late as it was. He'd pulled the trigger only after Asgore's weapon had struck him, his bullet had been thrown off course and the barrel had been forced to aim at the unforgiving stone walls. This sent the bullet ricocheting, bouncing and dinging around the small stone room the king and the killer were in. Asgore, unaware and uncaring of this danger, took another step into the room, and Clover watched as the rebounding lead of his shot drove itself right into the side of Asgore's crown. The metal that defined his royalty indented but did not split, the sudden force struck the side of Asgore's head brutally but did not pierce his skull.

This was enough though, Clover was relieved to see. Asgore's furious eyes widened, his entire body jolted as they rolled back. And then, as the fires around him dulled to smoldering embers... The king dropped forward, unceremoniously and flat on his face. Gasping for air and trembling with terror, Clover watched him. He forgot the agony strangling his arm for a moment, waited for the beast to crumble and fade away to ash like his son had. But, Asgore didn't. He just laid there, unconscious after the sudden blunt force to his head.

"Hah... Hah..." Clover's eye darted up from Asgore and to the empty doorway he laid in, before darting back to his mutilated arm. He had to keep moving, find a way to escape. But he couldn't move, he was pinned there and his one and only weapon was clenched in useless fingers. His grunts and yelps of pain reflected in the petals of the blue flowers that grew all over the ground before him, mocked him as his blood spattered down onto them. And he hissed, cried out in pain as he managed to reach up with his good hand, pry his gun out of his left hand with his right. Wouldn't do him much good - he couldn't aim on his right side on account of his lack of a right eye. But he got the gun in his working hand regardless, before letting that arm fall back to his side. He pushed himself against the wall he was pinned to, clenched his eyes shut and took another few sharp breathes while he tried to stop himself from going into shock.

THUNK!

Clover jolted forward then. The motion brought bloody vomit racing up his esophagus, it spewed over his chin and splattered onto the echoing flowers below. Lurching forward, his shaky vision spotted a long black tendril piercing his abdomen, and his eye followed the inky point back up out of his body and into the shadows, where he spotted a pair of glowing red eyes. He couldn't analyze too long though, another two tendrils exploded out of the shadows and stabbed through his abdomen, shredding organs that were probably important along the way. Clover pointed his gun at those red eyes, fought through the pain even though he couldn't aim without a right eye. Still he pulled the trigger, but no bang came. He'd wasted all his bullets on innocent men, and that sent another blanket of despair falling over the cowboy. His arm went limp, and he dropped his Empty Gun.

"If you were looking to kill an evil human, you shot at the wrong one." Cter's voice entered Clover's ears, overpowered the sound of his own heartbeat. He managed to tear his eyes away from his own mutilated body and look to the man who stepped over Asgore's body. Eyes red with a furious DETERMINATION, Cter The Judge wasn't smiling anymore. Face twisted with fury, he had one hand outstretched. the blackened spears that squirmed in Clover's wounds were connected to that hand, streaming like liquid up his sleeve. The echo flowers repeated his words, echoing one another and breaking his sentence into an unintelligible mess.

"Evil human... Shot at... Kill... Wrong one..."

"Y-... You..!" Clover managed to spit out a few words, before gagging up another pint of blood as the tendrils driven in him began moving. They tore at him, rotated in a slow circular motion around one another and shredded his flesh at a deliberately slow pace. With shaky and blurring vision, the JUSTICE soul managed to look one last time at the Killer before him. "Was..! Was, you...!"

"You! You! You!" Echoed the flowers in Clover's voice, distorted and broken and wrong and only getting worse with every echo. Cter didn't care to listen to the demented chatter. He didn't flinch under the stare of a dying child, he just lifted his other arm out to his side. And over his shoulder, magic took shape. A draconic skull rapidly manifested, flames overflowed from its eye sockets and its wide open maw. The boy before Cter had no concept of the world he was in, the powers that were at play or just who was about to kill him. Angel assured him,

"It's always been me."

Fire exploded from the jaws of Cter's Grillby Gun. They washed over Clover, and he was too weak to even manage a scream. Rapidly his life was scorched to nothing, his body burning and melting against the unforgiving stone he'd been pressed against. It wasn't long before his molten corpse had crumbled to the ground, smoldering and unrecognizable. All that remained of Clover was his one arm, disconnected from the rest of his corpse and pinned against the scorched wall by Asgore's trident. And as Cter lowered his arms, and his ink slithered back up his sleeve while his Grillby Gun disappeared, the echo Flowers sang in their broken tune. "Was... Kill wrong... Shot me... Always been, you..."

Cter was silent. He stood there, in the wake of his murder. In the wake of Asriel's death. In the wake of his relapse. He shut his scarlet eyes, exhaled slowly, and let himself sink to the ground. Eventually he sat there, listening to the fucked up song the echo flowers sang without another word to add to their choir. Knees raised and arms draped over them, Cter opened empty green eyes to look upon the scorched skull of his victim. And he thought to those who lived in his head, You must have a lot to say about this, Sans.

... Several seconds went by. Nothing, no rebuttal. Cter furrowed his brows, waited for his text box to appear with a comic sans font. But, nothing. The echo flowers sang on and on and on, and eventually a less than welcome font appeared in Sans place.

*I'm all that's left now, little Angel.

"Kill... Shot... Always kill... Shot me..."

Silently Cter read those words. His lifeless expression didn't change, he didn't respond. He just looked back to what was left of Clover. All of his anger released on the poor boy in an explosion of fire magic that Cter didn't know he was capable of. He'd meant to summon a Beat Blaster, but in his fury a Grillby Gun had appeared to pass judgement. And now the Judge sat alone in the dirt, a piece of himself dead with the boy across from him.

He sat there for a long time. Stared at Clover, watched the smoke peel off his blackened bones. Eventually, he tried to bring out his RESET button. Thought this life was fucked anyway and that he needed a do over, no matter how far back it took him. Bring him back to Fortune City, fine. He would deal with hearing his parents shout at each other, he'd save his Granny if he got another chance. He'd kill The Killer again if he got the chance, and if he didn't and he woke up back in the scorched lab? That was alright too. He'd prefer it. It was okay if he had to stop Chara again, he would do it better. He would relive the memories he would lose, he would make things right.

... He certainly would have. But no RESET button appeared. Just like Asriel, just like Clover and just like Sans, it was gone. His save file had disappeared with everything else Cter had lost today. So, there was no going back - what else is new? It was wishful thinking at best, Cter had never been eager to play with time in the first place. But, without an undo button, Cter had to answer another question: Where did he go from here?

He could hear echoes deeper down into the Ruins. People were coming, he didn't know who. But eventually someone would be here, and he would be caught with a knocked out king and a dead kid. He pondered the repercussions of this. When Chara fell underground, they'd killed. When Clover fell underground, he killed Asriel. Cter was the shining example of a good human - could he let that reputation fall through so soon?

... He glanced back at Asgore. Thought back to the Neutral routes he knew of. The Crown always ended up on somebody's head. Anybody's head, other than Sans'. Other than his. But Cter? No one else down here had the knowledge Cter had. No one would be able to set up the True Ending. If Cter was detained for such an act of cruelty... No, even if that didn't happen. If the monsters learned that a human had killed the prince and hurt the king, and then learned that the one human they were sure was good had slaughtered a child - even if that child was a murderer - monsterkind would certainly see humans in a new light. Cter would no longer be trusted, the kingdom would no longer be so patient with Chara on their road to redemption. A war on humans would be waged and Cter couldn't be sure he and Chara would be on the monsters side if they knew he was capable of the same cruelty Clover and Chara had displayed.

"You..! Always been me..."

"..." Cter clenched his eyes shut tight, ran his hands through his hair and swallowed his guilt. The end would justify his means. He was lying now, but it would all be worth it. When all of monsterkind is under the sun, Cter thought as he heard footsteps racing closer. Then I can come clean. Then everyone will understand.

"Asgore? Angel?!" Chara darted into the room first, trailed by Gaster - who was holding Flowery in his pot. Everyone's eyes jumped from where Asgore laid, to where Cter sat, and finally stopped on the singed corpse at the room's end. Chara went silent, Gaster stifled a gasp and placed a hand over his mouth. Burnt hair and flesh, the whole room reeked of it. And Flowery furrowed his brows, stared at the massacred boy before him. Without disgust, he couldn't feel it. His heart and his soul were gone, all he knew now was the infinite intrigue of his brain.

"... I was too late." Cter's voice answered all the mortified questions of his friends, and all eyes dropped onto him for answers. He didn't turn around, couldn't look any of them in the eye. He just stared ahead, sunken in green eyes looking into the infinite darkness of the scorched skull's eye sockets. A golden soul floated above the corpse, the last remnants of Cter's crime and one of seven keys to his salvation. "Asgore killed him."

"Asgore? Always been Asgore... Wrong one... Always Angel..."

When Asgore woke up, he didn't have much memory of what happened. He'd been seeing red, could hardly describe most of his chase. And, conveniently, right before Clover died he totally blacked out. My lie was simple, I walked in to find Asgore torching the kid. Had to knock him out to stop him from hurting anyone else. Everyone trusted me, and the evidence was stacked against Asgore.

Now, it's not like Monsterkind was a big fan of Clover - especially after hearing about what he did to Asriel. But, Asgore was mortified. He was a gentle man, he had no idea that kind of cruelty was something he was capable of. Toriel was similarly distraught. Her son murdered and her husband a murderer all in one day. Before any of us knew it, Asgore had stepped down. Toriel had disowned him, he had disappeared into the Ruins to hide from any other human he thought he might hurt.

Toriel tried to reign as the lone queen, but she was broken. When Undyne opposed her "Save the humans" rule, she threw the crown on the floor. Told the head of the royal guard that if she thought she knew better, she could be queen. Then she walked out. She lives in Waterfall now. Visits Chara and I, we have dinner with her at Gaster's from time to time. Guess she's a teacher now. It's been seven years since Asriel died, but she's still not the same as she was. Happier than she was right after the incident, but... Something inside her is gone, and it's not coming back.

Undyne was furious after Asriel's death. Ready to wage war on humanity, and when Toriel handed over the crown, that's exactly what our new Empress did. She's still angry. About losing Asriel, about Asgore leaving. She's so twisted up inside, she even scared Alphys away. She's in the Ruins too these days - I'm glad her and Asgore aren't alone. Makes me feel a little less guilty.

Undyne doesn't like me n' Chara anymore. But, to keep her from trying to take our souls, I struck up a deal. I'll handle any humans that come through the Ruins door. The old doorway is sealed off, monsters can't just pass in and out anymore. Asgore and Alphys made sure of that. But, if a human came through, I promised to slaughter my fellow man immediately. Collect their soul, give it to Undyne. Counting Clover, I've killed four now. Some little girl with glasses, a teenager with boxing gloves, and a ballerina. Their blood stains my hands the same as Clover's. It's alright, though. At least, I keep telling myself it is. Whenever we're saved, whenever we're on the surface for good. I'll work it out then.

Monster Kid took over as head of the royal guard. Undyne's training paid off, he really idolizes her. So much so that he doesn't like me and Chara anymore, either. He was never really the same after losing Asriel either. Thinking about it now, those two were really close. They were kind of a package deal back then. I guess I was just always so glad to see them both back then, I never really thought about. Anyway. Kid says passive aggressive bullshit, tries to be scary. I've about knocked his fucking teeth out more than once, but, hey! I'm a friendly guy. I just keep my grin going, laze around in my cushy sentry job... Kill a kid every few years, and nobody asks any questions when another soul is added to Undyne's collection. They know better than to question a gift from an Angel.

Like I said earlier, with Alphys gone Mettaton took up the Royal Scientist job. I was busy, Gaster was retired, and nobody else new jack shit about science. Guy kinda went crazy with robot builds once he learned how to do it though. Gave Napstablook a body, gave Mad Mew Mew a body, gave the ghost that usually becomes the Ruins dummy a body and christened them 'Maid Mew Mew', to no applause. He made the same goofs Alphys makes in Undertale - got tasked with saving monsters and created amalgamates. I think it really fucked Mettaton up, hurt his confidence a lot and put serious strain on his relationship with Napstablook. It's a lot of pressure, keeping a soul deadening secret. Can't relate.

Flowery went missing after Clover died and I lost Sans. He was gone for awhile, but eventually he resurfaced on some RESET bullshit. That went on for awhile, but it was never like it was with Frisk. Weeks would go by with Flowery goofing around, before we'd get sent back to right after Clover died. More specifically, after I had already told the lie about Asgore. Eventually, he tried killing people. I stomped that shit out right quick - me and Chara stone walled the little fucker. He couldn't beat us, and after I got teleportation mastered, he couldn't escape us either. I must've killed him a thousand times before he finally RESET back again and brought all our friends back. There was never another RESET after that, not until a few months later when Frisk came into play.

I'd been waiting for the kid, but admittedly I was worried to meet them. Hoped for the best, and was pleasantly surprised. At first, at least. Pacifist run, True Pacifist ending, seemed like everything had went great. Until I woke up back underground. Pretty standard Undertale stuff from there, I'm sure you all know the story. RESET after RESET, same shit same day. Last route was the first genocide Frisk did. I, tried my best, but... You saw what happened. Sans - surprise surprise, he's in Chara's role - has Frisk's soul now. And I don't know how we're getting our happy ending. What I do know, though, is that you're here now! And interesting things happen when you're here. Speaking of... Frisk sure has been in the Ruins for awhile.

Stepping through the snow, Cter the Sentry wandered a few skeptical steps closer to the Ruins door. Like clockwork, Frisk was almost always out of the Ruins by now. Genocide or pacifist, they were never in there this late. This might have seemed innocuous, but Cter had learned the patterns of his little adversary like the back of his hand after their uncountable RESETs. For someone so obsessed with doing things differently, Certain aspects of their character were beyond predictable. So, why on Earth were they-

Flash.

Cter's eyes snapped open wide, his entire body jolted. He was sitting back at his post, where he'd been not five minutes ago. A reload? That didn't make sense, either! What was Frisk doing behind that door? Was there even a boss fight for Alphys and Asgore? They certainly would'nt have di-

Flash.

Cter jolted in his seat again. A reload? That was only like forty five seconds, why on earth would they-

Flash.

Another set back, Cter went from being mid inhale to mid exhale and it made him cough and sputter a little. He leaned his head out past his post, glanced down at the door in the distance. Were they just playing with their SAVE FILE now? Loading back every time they lost at Jenga or some-

Flash.

Ooookay, what the fuck? That was four reloads in like a ninety second interval. Cter reached into his pocket, thought to call Gaster to make sure he wasn't the only one feeling this. Shit, he'd take reassurance from Flowery right about now. He got his phone out of his pocket, started to scroll through contacts-

Flash.

Eyup, should have seen that coming. Looked like calling Gaster was out of the question. But seriously, what was happening? Had that little shit finally busted the space time continuum with their nonsense? If they were trying to freak him out-

Flash.

... It was working. Cter leaned back in his seat, summoned a flask in his hand. Might as well get comfortable, he might be here awhile. He unscrewed the cap, managed to get half a sip in before-

Flash.

Alright, screw it. Kid wanted a reaction from him, he'd give 'em one. With a pop, Cter disappeared from his seat and reappeared along the path to the Ruins door. And there he stood, squinting at the purple stone like he hoped to see through it. Anticipation made his skin crawl, confusion created fear and unease. His eyes darted from the door to the shadows that the trees casted over the snow... He could have swore there was movement in the dark. Slithering, wiggling...

Oh, one more thing. Somewhere around a thousand RESETs ago, this big screen appeared in the sky. It was right after we got to the surface, greeted us as we got outside. An Angel and an Anarchist beat the shit out of each other on the screen - nobody but me had any idea what any of it was. I've kept up on my multiverse knowledge, even a bumpkin like me knows how dangerous Anarchy is. I was berated with questions what with myself being one of two people involved in that huge fight, but after denying knowing anything and another one of Frisk's RESETs a few days later, nobody ever asked me about it again. Me, Gaster n' the kid are the only ones who remember it even happened. Don't know why, but that piece'a information suddenly feels relevant.

A History Of Bad Men by The Melvins began playing.

No more reloads came. Cter just stood there in the snow, watching the doorway from a safe distance. Somewhere in the pit of his stomach he felt disgust and despair, but why? The kid was just playing with their save file. Nothing to be worried about. It'd even been a few minutes now, they were done. Cter assured himself they would wander through that Ruins door and shake his ink filled hand any minute now.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

... Ah shit what is that? Cter flinched some, watched the Ruins door shake. That, definitely wasn't how it usually opened. It was like something was banging against it, trying to get out... The shadows were definitely moving now, his judge eyes could see them slipping and slithering over one another between the trees. Trees that were shaking, groaning in the increasing wind speed. The sentry lowered his stance, let ink dance between his finger tips and got ready to move. Had the kid kept their LOVE from the last route? No, that didn't make sense. Why the reloads? Had Sans, gotten a body back with their soul? Somehow? No, that was stupid. So how-?

CRASH!

The stone of the Ruins door blasted apart suddenly, and Cter's astonished eyes watched the shape of a beaten and bloodied Frisk fling through the smoke and stone shards. DS Frisk, a fourteen year old child launched across the path before eventually landing a few yards ahead of Cter. They skidded, flipped and fumbled through the snow from the force of whatever had sent them careening through the Underground sky until they tumbled to a stop right at Cter's feet.

"Frisk?" Fuck the pretenses, Cter had completely forgotten to pretend he didn't know them. He dropped to one knee beside that brat, brows furrowed and worry shining in his eyes. Not for Frisk, but for whatever lurked on the other side of the now blasted apart Ruins door. He reached out one hand, but didn't touch Frisk for fear that it would kill them. They were barely breathing, eyes clenched shut tight and blood seeping out of their broken nose and split lip. One of their legs was twisted over itself twice, and their right hand had fingers spun around and broken in all the wrong directions.

Now kneeling in the snow, Cter slowly lifted his eyes from the child whimpering in agony at his feet. The smoke settled in front of the Ruins door, but it was pitch black inside. That same overwhelming, writhing darkness that lurked in the trees now slithered in the Ruins. And with his heart pounding in his chest, Cter the Judge squinted into The Dark... Until finally, light appeared within it. Two burning red dots, eyes peering out from the void and looking right at him.

Cter gulped, his eyes went wide when he met the stare of The Dark. He felt cold sweat break out all over his body, every instinct in his brain screamed at him to run. But in the underground there was nowhere to run, so instead Cter slowly stood. Face pale, palms sweaty, heart pounding and pupils shrunk, He straightened his back and prepared himself as best he could for the man who lumbered out of The Dark.

First one boot, then an arm. Pale white fingers gripped a filthy crowbar that Cter recognized - a flash of memories struck him. Killer files, Granny's funeral, Anthony's mother, and the mad smile of a boy who had once been his best friend. That boy sauntered out of The Dark now, it slipped off of him like he was stepping out of some sort of disgusting jelly. Anthony The Anarchist crunched snow under a dusty boot, clenching a crowbar in one hand and dragging Alphys along the ground with a grip his other hand had on the back of her hand.

Frisk's blood dripping from his crowbar, Anarchy stared right at a paralyzed Cter. It was a feeling the Judge assumed was like watching an atom bomb plummet down towards you. Hopeless, certain irrefutable doom. Anything and everything his life was before this moment was utterly meaningless, he was now at the mercy of a power beyond his comprehension. Just like poor Alphys, who Anarchy dropped in the snow in front of himself. He planted his boot on the back of her head, and her eyes remained clenched painfully tight as he crushed her head effortlessly under his heel.

"... Ay, knock off." Anarchy's voice suddenly carried across the snow. The trees had quit groaning, Snowdin didn't dare make a sound for fear of death learning it was alive. When Cter realized Anarchy was talking to him, it finally clicked in his head that Anarchy could see him. That this wasn't some horrific event he was seeing play out on a screen, that this was real and that his existence was at the mercy of The Anarchist. The despair in his eyes got Anarchy smiling, "Why're ya lookin' at me like that?"

"Come on!" Throwing his arms out to his sides, Anarchy invited retaliation. He knew, just as all should know, that it was futile. That there was no struggling that could free a prey from the brutal grip of his pincers. The smile on his face peeled back into a grin, and the shadows behind him came to life. Worm heads slithered out from the Ruins door he stood in front of, and they all began cackling with jagged maws as their master shouted.

"You know how to greet an old friend, don'tcha?!"

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