For a moment there was nothing. The pain had gone away.
The heart-shaped red cracked, only slightly. This... must be death, they figured. Everything had turned to... nothing at all. They were free from the life they'd once hated. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe Ri wouldn't...
No
No no no no, the crack got bigger and they panicked.
Don't leave me
You promised
you'd trust me
Asriel...
And the cracks spread. But a warm embrace pulled them together again. Made them whole again.
Suddenly they were more than themselves, too. "They" released a sigh, "they" began to cry. "I thought... you were going to let me..."
But they objected, crying harder, "I-I'm sorry, no, I... I just... I hesitated. I won't leave you, Chara, I... I... um...
"Woah."
Chara's body on the bed, lifeless before them. Eyes closed, they looked like they were asleep. But they weren't there anymore. They were with Asriel now. "That's... oh. Oh." And they... they were honestly sick, seeing it. Seeing what they looked like in the end, seeing their lifeless body, knowing they'd never be themself again. Not really. They wanted to throw up for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Ri asked, but he could feel it too. Just as he could feel their sudden onslaught of emotions – doubt, shock – they could feel his as well. Fear. Sadness. He still... "No! No, I don't doubt you, I'm just... I'm nervous. I know this can work but... we just..."
They had just come together. They would need a while just getting used to this, let alone adding six others into the mix. But they had no time to prepare themselves for what was to come. If mom and dad saw them like this... "They wouldn't understand. They might try and stop us because... it's dangerous. But if you let me handle things, nobody can hurt us, Ri. I've been training for this day."
"I... yeah. I trust you."
Chara wished that was completely true.
