Frisk couldn't believe this. They couldn't believe any of this.

What had changed so drastically, so suddenly? The memories that should have only served to reaffirm their hatred of humans… The presentation, above all, of said memories. They had to think through what happened.

The locket had returned Chara's memories, for whatever reason. Frisk had sensed it from their home, had followed that feeling to the mountain and then all the way to the barrier. It had to have had some sort of magic in or placed on it, but something that would send them back to the void… It didn't make sense.

None of this made any sense. Especially Chara's sudden change in attitude.

They had reset and gone back to the beginning. What did that even entail? Toriel didn't seem at all surprised by their sudden appearance, so had they completely started over? Frisk felt like it should've surprised them, but somehow… they weren't surprised. Chara's soul was missing, yet they carried on.

Nothing about them was normal to begin with. Was the sudden change in method because of their… "programming"? Frisk had an idea of what had happened to them, because they'd been through the same thing. But Chara had been trapped in that lab for much longer, raised with more extreme ideas.

"You are the future of humanity."

That had to have messed them up. The experimentation, the other children, everything they'd been through after falling… Asriel.

They needed to know more about this Asriel situation.

Their thought process was thrown off by… the cold? If they were a ghost of sorts could they feel things like that? Nonetheless, they turned around and saw their own sleeping body, ice slowly covering the bed around it. They moved closer, wondering if it was at all possible to wake Chara despite being incorporeal, but when they reached out and touched their body -

Pain, so intense they couldn't comprehend what happened, shot through them.

They closed their eyes and tried to move their arms to hug themself, only for their arms to be stopped by something. They quickly reopened their eyes, looking at what was holding them back, but realized first of all that their surroundings had entirely changed once again. Just like in New Home… they were back in the void, they were back in their chains.

And there was Chara.

With… Chara?

They both looked identical, but it was obvious to them at least which one was… "real," they supposed. The glitched Chara had its arms wrapped around the original's shoulders, standing behind them as both of them turned to look at Frisk.

The glitched Chara smiled at Frisk as their eyes met.

The simple action sent shivers down Frisk's spine.

And then there was nothing again.


They eventually awoke to find Chara, still in Frisk's body, looking down at them. "Are you okay? Just resting?" Chara sighed, shaking 'their' head as they said, "Listen, I need you to really think about this. We can't stay here long. I know this sounds crazy. I know we can't…" They paused, staring at the other's face for a few moments, before crying, "Frisk, stop looking at me like that!"

Frisk was looking at them in confusion more than anything. When had they… But no, now wasn't the time to think about that. They had to stop this before things got out of hand. Or at least, that's what they thought, before realizing they had no real way to communicate with Chara in the first place. Unless they…

"I," Chara began again, hesitating briefly, "I don't… want to do this. But if it works… nobody will remember. We'll have what we need to break the barrier." They looked away towards the closet, leading Frisk to follow their gaze. "...nobody will have to fall down and get trapped here anymore. Mother won't have to suffer that guilt ever again."

What about you, Frisk wanted to scream, what about the guilt you'd feel?! Their eyes narrowed as they stood and attempted to grab Chara's shoulders. Of course, they sort of just passed right through them. Chara still noticed, however, and couldn't help but sigh.

"I need your Determination. I don't have any of my own. If I try to fight stronger monsters, I'll… I can't do this on my own. So think about it." Instead of waiting to see more of Frisk's attempts at objecting, Chara suddenly turned to storm out of the room. Frisk reached out toward them as they exited, but their hand just lowered. There was nothing they could do for now…

Frisk sat down on the bed, trying to figure out if they could do anything at all in this situation. They had no body, and no way to try and reason with the other child. Chara could use ice magic as a ghost, but Frisk's wasn't exactly strong enough to write a message with or anything…

They were at a stalemate.

This was just great.


Mother was so easy to please.

It didn't matter that the ruins were empty. She didn't seem to care that just about everybody was gone, hidden away or turned to dust. As long as they remained a pleasant child, she didn't suspect a thing.

So they would stay with her, until Frisk changed their mind.

Then they would free all the monsters.

They held the phone in their hand, watching it change from the old model Toriel had given them, to the updated version Alphys had insisted on giving them. It was hard to keep something in its other form, but… if they practiced it…

They walked by Toriel in the living room, smiling. She smiled back and continued reading as her beloved child went into the kitchen.

Until they were sure they could handle it, and keep it that way… they needed something else. The toy knife wasn't going to do long-term. But looking around, there was… nothing, nothing, nothing!

Where are the knives.


A/N: Avatarcatz2323 you are literally the best and I just wanted to toss out a thank you for your review. I'd love to respond to most of what you said/asked but I'm afraid I'll end up giving away stuff out of my eagerness. xD That said, your kind words will power me through this run (which I am now finally playing, but how am I supposed to kill goat mom? It's too painful), and I promise all/most will be explained before genocide is over!

(Also sorry for the quality drop in these last couple of updates, it's been like a year since I was consistently writing Icetale last and I'm still getting in the swing of things! This chapter in particular was difficult, but I think once I get out of the ruins and sort through the initial stuff it'll get easier.)