Chapter Six: SOUL Searching
The world itself seemed to become a black void, holding nothing in its existence and being as black as the hatred Chara held towards humans. She stood, imagining herself in unconsciousness, but she could feel… somehow… that this was different. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she could just… tell. She could tell that she was looking into a void.
Frisk stayed hidden in Chara's SOUL, the princess assuming she was just staying away from the evil spewing from this void the damned flower had likely created.
Chara walked forward, taking a look around her. She knew there was a wall nearby, but she couldn't feel it at all, no matter how far she walked. She knew that if she didn't hit the wall, she'd hit a walkway.
Her footsteps made no sound. If she were truly in New Home or the throne room, she would have heard the crunch of flowers or the sound of her footsteps on stone. Hell, she would likely have heard that ominous, dreadful sound of her footsteps in Judgement Hall. However, she couldn't hear anything. It was like there wasn't anything for her to step on. She looked around for any sign of life.
The thought had occurred to her that she might be in the afterlife. But… where was Asriel? Or her dad for that matter? This… couldn't be the afterlife. Could it?
Chara eventually stumbled upon a glowing yellow star that had five points. She'd heard of these odd manifestations of power, which were very, very rare. They were said to heal any and all injuries and bring one's magic instantly back up to full regardless of previous damage or affliction. No monster magic could claim that, even the pies her mom made, which were said to fully heal.
She reached for it to touch it, expecting to use it to make herself healed. However, it began to morph into a smile, the smile becoming Flowey's head. It was much, much bigger than Flowey's head, though, and seemed to be on a TV screen. Chara took a step back in shock as she saw it.
"Hello, dear Chara," Flowey said. "I was waiting for you."
The flower's face popped in and out, almost as if it were having static. Chara tried to punch it, but she was smacked backward by some unknown force. Flowey laughed at her. Chara covered her ears, clenching her eyes shut at the sheer volume of it. It boomed in her ears, causing her to hold her ears tightly closed. She couldn't escape it. Eventually, it stopped, the princess looking at the flower.
"I waited for you for a long time," Flowey said, smiling a 'sweet' smile. "I wanted to see you so badly. I knew that you had the DETERMINATION to wake up. But, I never expected you to be so much of a pussy."
"And, I never expected a flower to be such a bitch," Chara said. "You killed my dad when he had his guard down."
"Not like I haven't tried to do it when his guard is up," The flower cackled again. "But, I knew you would be the key to my victory one way or another. I knew it the moment I saw your little SOULmate come tearing through the Underground on her killing spree. I actually mistook her for you, Chara. Boy, was I wrong. Good thing you managed to turn it all back, huh?"
"I'll put you in the ground for good," Chara growled. "I promise you that."
"Oh, Chara, Chara, Chara," Flowey chuckled. "You'd never be able to do that. Even if it weren't for my six SOULs."
"And, why would that be?" Chara asked, a couple sparks emitting from her eye, her magic exhausted from defending her from whatever this void was as well as her fight with Mettaton.
"You'll just have to kill me to find out," Flowey grinned. "But… can you? Oh, wait, you can't. I'm more powerful than you'll ever be and I'll soon be even more so."
"You may have six SOULs, but I won't let you get a seventh," Chara said. "That I can promise you."
"You IDIOT!" Flowey laughed again. "You can't defeat me! I have six SOULs. You're going to burn like the rest. I'll enjoy killing you over and over again. And then, after I've had my fun with you, I'll take your SOUL. The other six are wriggling inside of me. I'm sure yours is aching to join them."
"If you want to see me dead," Chara walked toward him. "You better have one hell of a power boost because I'm going to burn you for killing my dad."
"Bring it on, you little piece of shit," Flowey laughed, the world turning a bloody red color as a monstrosity was revealed to be attached to the TV screen. He had vines crawling everywhere on him and had two monstrous hands that seemed to resemble Asgore's in look only.
A large mouth of a disgusting and distorted shape was just below the screen, horrible teeth in it that simply looked disgusting. Six large holes were encircled with vines, oddly showing off a place the SOULs might be. Chara felt absolutely sickened at this disgusting freak the flower had become. His form did spark something intriguing in her memory. She thought she'd seen this form elsewhere… somewhere she'd been before.
Flowey looked at her, beginning to laugh a much more terrifying laugh than before as his eyes split like a cat's to become red and bloody. He seemed to emerge from the TV screen, pulsating and bubbling. Chara took a step back, horrified. She then regained her composure as she felt the anger she had for him killing her dad.
She clenched her fists, feeling angrier as she stared him down. The two looked at each other, the two beings with the most DETERMINATION in the Underground, possibly the world. Chara felt her tears drip down her face as she looked up at the flower. Flowey just grinned evilly as he twitched like some monstrosity from a horror movie. The vines around him began to contort and move as if fully living and independent.
The entire void they stood in seemed to quake a little at their DETERMINATION, almost as if it couldn't handle seven human SOULs pulsing for combat.
Chara's SOUL burst forth from her locket, beating loudly like her own heart. Flowey stared at the locket for a second, shifting his attention to Chara once again.
"I'm going to enjoy this." He laughed, the large, vine covered hands reaching for her. She dodged, moving forward, her anger pushing her forward. She made an impressive jump, managing to make it up to the mouth that felt oddly smooth. She pulled herself up to the TV screen, avoiding the vines that were reaching for her. She began punching the TV screen, yelling with her rage and sorrow.
"Don't you get it, Chara?!" Flowey's vines grabbed her wrists, spreading her arms wide. "You're unable to do anything against me. I have six SOULs and you only have one. The vines began to stretch the princess, causing her to scream in pain.
Chara felt the vines crushing her limbs and pulling them apart as the flower monster only laughed, a wicked glee in his eyes.
"I've been without a SOUL so long I've forgotten how to feel," He said. "But, hearing your screams is making me feel glee."
Several of the vines twisted together, becoming sharper than almost any knife. They shot straight through Chara's SOUL and chest. Chara spat out blood, her head lolling forward as Flowey continued to pull at her limbs. The fire in Chara's eyes faded, as she felt herself pass into blackness. She could hear Frisk's voice in her head, screaming out her name as she felt her SOUL shatter.
However, before she fully passed into the light, she felt her SOUL be forced back together as if it were crushed in a compactor. She felt her chest painfully knit itself back together as her blood forced itself back into her body. The pain was still there, but she felt her consciousness be yanked back.
She continued to scream from the pain of the piercing she had gotten as her SOUL rapidly regenerated.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you over and over again," Flowey cackled. He wrapped his vines around her, beginning to squeeze her like a grape. Chara felt every one of her bones crack, her body forcing air out of her lungs as she suddenly felt the pain end. Her SOUL shattered once again and she felt herself be dragged into the light.
But just as quickly as she was dragged into it, she was painfully dragged back, all the pain still there.
Flowey's enormous mouth opened, firing a blast at Chara that incinerated her. For ten agonizing seconds, Chara felt the pain of the burns as her flesh was torn or burned off, her muscles following. Her SOUL shattered as her skeleton clattered to the ground. Flowey laughed, using the power of the SOULs once again to revive her.
Chara dropped to her knees, sobbing as she felt the pain from each injury compounded with the injuries she'd suffered from her childhood. She could tell, just by feeling, that this flower was of the same breed, a true force of evil. She saw no hope of winning against this, but she knew that someone or something like this mustn't exist. She… she had to try. For the whole Underground, she had to try.
She stood shakily to her knees, her face stained with tears and blood as Flowey just laughed.
"Every time I kill you, I simply bring you back," He cackled. "I can do this for all eternity. You truly don't understand me at all. You haven't understood anything I told you! Well, I think you're going to need a much more painful lesson."
He began shooting vines all over the place, all of them impaling Chara in some place. They forced her arms to spread wide, Flowey firing thousands of magic shots at Chara. Screaming in pain, Chara was hit by most of them, the magic leaving burns and cuts everywhere.
Flowey only laughed and shot more, a giant Venus Fly Trap appearing next to Chara. Thousands of insects flocked toward it, some of them beginning to sting and bite Chara. Flowey dropped her on the ground, the vines yanking themselves out of her body, trails of blood following them as Chara just lay on the ground.
"Do you not understand now why I'm so much more than you'll ever be?" Flowey loomed over her. He laughed as Chara tried to stand, but collapsed to the ground.
"Your DETERMINATION; your most powerful quality," Flowey snickered. "It will be your downfall. The fact you're so DETERMINED to defeat me will be the reason you will suffer. It's funny, you could have avoided all of this if you had just stayed with good old mommy dearest. Well, I suppose when I'm done with you, I should tell her what's happened to her sweet little child."
"Don't… d-don't touch her," Chara said, weakly looking up at the flower monster.
"Oh, Chara, Chara, Chara," Flowey laughed. "You're in no position to stop me. I'm going to tell her all the painful and fun ways that I destroyed you. I wonder which one will horrify her more. But, I suppose that's an idea I'll figure out when I see her. But, I'm sure you know what the truth is: she never really loved you."
"You… she did," Chara said.
"She just pretended because she felt sorry for you," Flowey laughed. "There was no love for you in her heart, especially now. She would have loved you if you hadn't said your real name back there."
"N-No," Chara said, the horrible thoughts she'd had when she'd reunited with her parents returning with tears. "That's not true…"
"Everyone who's ever shown you kindness," Flowey said. "They didn't do it out of genuine love. They only did it because their consciences wouldn't let them sleep at night."
"N-No," Chara said, shaking her head weakly. "That's not true."
"Even that human who claimed to love you," Flowey grinned evilly. "She truly thought you were a monster, but she never would say it to your face. You disgusted her."
"SHUT UP!" Chara exclaimed, her hair falling in front of her eyes as she pushed herself to a very unstable standing position. She pulled out the pie she had tried to get Asgore to eat earlier. Flowey's face turned to shock as she ate it, all of her wounds regenerating. She faced Flowey as her eye burst forth with her magic.
"You almost had me," Chara said, glaring at him and feeling Frisk's presence, which strengthened her resolve. "But, then you mentioned Frisk. That was when I knew you were full of shit. You're going to burn in hell for what you did to my dad."
Flowey laughed, his vines grabbing Chara and wrapping around her SOUL. They yanked it out of her body, said body going limp as Flowey ate her SOUL. Frisk shouted Chara's name, the princess of monsters not responding.
Flowey laughed, staring down at the body of Chara.
The princess, however, found herself in a strange area. It was still the same blackness that she was in before but it was… different. She looked down to see herself, the last thing she remembered was her SOUL being yanked from her body. She gasped to see she was red. Not with blood, her body was purely red, the same color as her eyes, and seemed to be unlike flesh.
She concentrated on herself, realizing that she was only her SOUL her body outside the flower's own body. She was held within the flower, his prisoner. But, she realized that something was different. The room now had a slight glow to it. It was a light blue color, the same color that one of those SOULs was that Flowey absorbed.
Walking up to her was a human that was light blue, just as she was. Chara narrowed her eyes at this human, knowing that something seemed… off with them.
The human looked at Chara, rushing for her with a speed Chara didn't expect. Chara dodged, the human pulling out a knife and slashing at her. Chara jumped backward, surprised that she seemed to have more strength than she had before this.
The human threw the knife they were holding, slashing Chara's arm. Chara cried out in pain, seeing that her arm was cracking rather than bleeding. The SOUL waved their hand, the knife returning with such speed that Chara only barely dodged.
The light blue human then rushed for Chara, slicing and slashing with a flurry of speed. Chara kept moving backward, pulling out the dagger that Asriel had given her, watching as it showed a red color and seemed to burn with her emotions.
"Maybe if I kill you, the flower loses some of his power," Chara said, moving towards the human with her knife and slashing. Their blades collided with clangs as they faced each other, both of them aiming for vital spots.
Chara began to give in to her hatred of humanity, said hatred fueling her fighting. She continued to slash at the human, the human summoning thousands of blades from around her. They fired them at Chara, the princess jumping back and trying to dodge them. Several hit her, making new cracks on her body.
"What is going on here?" She asked herself. "Am I… just my SOUL… so that means I'm at my most vulnerable… these cracks mean I'm taking such heavy damage. I have to end this quick or else I'll be dead soon."
The light blue human stepped forward, the knives continuing to shoot towards Chara. Chara threw her own knife, watching as it hit dead center on the light blue human, the human giving a pained cry as a large crack appeared on their chest from where the knife hit. Chara smirked as she rushed forward, taking the opportunity to land a devastating punch to the face of the human. Larger cracks appeared as the human stepped back.
However, before Chara could land another, light blue ribbons came out from behind the human, wrapping themselves around Chara as more knives hit her. Cracks began to appear all over Chara's body as she screamed in pain.
"Just give up," The light blue human said as they stepped forward, the ribbons holding Chara. "I did. You'll soon realize that it's pointless to keep going. Rush to the end and die."
"I'll never let that flower get away with killing my dad," Chara said.
"You will not ever understand why this is hard," The light blue human said as Chara struggled against the ribbons. The human summoned more knives, sending them hurtling towards Chara.
However, Chara pulled hard back on the ribbons, yanking the human towards her. The human was impaled by the knives, their body becoming filled with cracks. The ribbons fell from around Chara, the princess kicking the damaged human in the back. The light blue human fell to the ground, turning around to see Chara hold up her own knife, plunging it into their chest.
A shriek was heard before the light blue human shattered, the pieces exploding everywhere. The area seemed a little brighter, a little less dark.
"Now…" Chara said to herself. "To get out of here. That was a bit more difficult than I thought. Hopefully, I can get out of here."
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She turned to see a girl of about nine standing behind her. She was wearing a white dress and was barefoot. Her skin was fair, but nowhere near the pale shade Chara's normally was. Her hair was golden colored and her eyes were light blue, the color of ice. In her hair was a beautiful red ribbon that resembled the ribbon Chara was given by Toriel.
"Thank you," The human said, smiling wide at Chara. "You have saved me from the evil of that flower's hatred. You didn't give up and that's the best part."
"Who are you?" Chara asked.
"It doesn't matter now," The human said. "You may just call me Patience now as that is my trait. I cannot thank you enough for that. I also notice you have my ribbon."
"I suppose," Chara said.
"It looks better on you, Chara," Patience said.
"You do realize I was intending to kill you, right?" Chara asked.
"Yes," Patience nodded, still smiling. "But, that's what I want. I want to move on, something that you don't want."
"You're correct," Chara said. "But, how do I stop this flower?"
"You must free my friends as well," Patience said. "They're suffering too. If you can free us all, not only will we help you stop this flower, we'll help you get a better ending as well. You'll have to be patient for it though."
"This isn't a game," Chara said. "What do you mean?"
"This isn't a game, no," Patience said. "But, we have the ability to send you backwards in time. But, you must defeat this flower first. Only then can you save him and everyone else as well as your SOULmate."
"Why would I save this flower?" Chara asked.
"There are things you will learn that will change your entire perspective," Patience said. "But, hurry. You must rescue my friends."
"I should hate you," Chara said.
"Your hatred is directed, but in your mind, you see us as having suffered," Patience said. "Which is making you feel less hateful. Now, please go and save them. I shall heal you."
Chara felt the injuries she'd suffered from this fight fade away as the cracks in her SOUL mended. She looked at Patience, nodding and walking away. She came into another area of this prison, a slight orange glow appearing.
Chara saw an orange human walk forward, the room gaining a slight orange glow. Chara pocketed her knife, deciding to handle this with her fists. The human walked towards her, Chara noticing spikes on the gloves they wore. They threw a punch at Chara, who barely dodged. The punch itself gave off a shockwave.
"So, that's your skill," Chara said. "I'll have to get rough then too."
Chara walked forward, the human's fist glowing orange with an attack. Chara flinched, not moving so as to anticipate. However, the blow struck her, sending a shockwave through her that caused a huge crack to appear in her abdomen, spreading up her entire chest.
"So, you can use orange magic," Chara said. "Looks like I'll have to avoid that as well."
She moved forward, throwing a punch at the human's neck. However, the bandana they wore blocked it. Chara growled, swinging her leg around to kick the human, but the human was faster, punching Chara's leg.
"You're just a coward," They said throwing Chara to the ground. "You're so afraid of letting go that you hold too tight. The only reason you're at this point is because they babied you."
"Don't you psychoanalyze me!" Chara swung her legs around tripping the orange human before landing three hard punches, making some cracks on the orange human's skull.
"I'll bet you can't even sleep well without the knowledge of their comfort," The orange human said, punching Chara off of them with a hard punch to the face. "You're so afraid of losing them, you'd rather them be trapped here for eternity."
"SHUT UP!" Chara shouted, her magic exploding in a red fire. She ran towards the orange human, landing a punch that caused them to almost crack in half. She threw another punch, but the human dodged this one.
"You're too afraid you can't save Frisk that you won't even tell her you can't," The orange SOUL said, throwing a flurry of punches that Chara dodged with a good deal of effort. "You're afraid of losing her, so you try not to think about it. You're afraid she'll snap again. You're afraid of being all alone."
"I said, SHUT UP!" Chara threw a fireball that the orange human dodged, sending an orange magic attack towards Chara. Chara ran right through it, the orange human's punch hitting her in the jaw.
"You're afraid of the flower that trapped you in here," The orange human said. "You're scared you'll never get out. It keeps you up at night, doesn't it?"
"Go FUCK YOURSELF!" Chara shouted, grabbing the orange human's fist and hitting them with an uppercut that would have beheaded an actual human. The orange human fell to the ground, cracks rapidly covering their body.
"Stay dead!" Chara leapt forward, fire surrounding her body as she pulled back for a punch that had all of her hate and anger fueling it.
The orange human threw a punch that collided with Chara's, a shockwave resounding like an anime Undyne was into. Chara was thrown back, feeling herself crack more. The orange human stood, walking over to Chara, looking like an egg that had one too many smacks on the lip of a bowl during baking.
Chara stood, as hurt as she was, moving forward to throw a punch. The human tried to counter, but Chara switched to a kick, just like Undyne had taught her. She struck the human square in the head, shattering it. The human exploded into shards, the shards rising into the air.
Chara panted, looking down at herself. This fight had hurt her more than the last. If this was how it was going to be, how soon would it be before one of them managed to shatter her?
She turned to see a boy of about twelve look at her with a look of awe. He had hair that was as orange as the fruit it was named after. He was wearing the exact same kind of gloves that Chara was wearing as well as a yellow bandana with abs drawn on it. His eyes were orange as well and he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He wore tennis shoes, which had black laces.
"That was really brave," He stuck his hand out with a grin. "You're no coward, Chara."
Chara reluctantly shook the hand, feeling magic flow into her. She felt her cracks healing, making her whole again.
"Call me Bravery," The human said, grinning again. "And, hey, you found my gloves I put in that box. Cool! My sister gave them to me. They used to be hers when she was into fighting. I've always wanted to be like her. But… well, you know."
"And yet you climbed the mountain humans never return from," Chara said.
"Y-Yeah…" Bravery said. "Of course, my reason really is nowhere near as bad as yours. But, me and my sister climbed the mountain together and she and I met your dad…"
"I'm not apologizing for two humans on his behalf," Chara said.
"I don't expect you to," Bravery said with a sigh. "But, I suppose you are working on your feelings. Obviously, I can't apologize for what they did, but I can say not all humans are like that. And, you're brave, just like my sister, so I think you could handle humans."
"I would rather do anything else," Chara said. "But, I suppose that if the Barrier is broken, I'll have to deal with it."
"That's the spirit," Bravery said. "Just keep going and you'll free us all. I promise we'll help you. I'm sure Patience told you that."
"Yes," Chara said.
She stared at the human, wondering if he was someone from her village. Orange hair wasn't uncommon there, but still.
"I'm not from your village," Bravery said. "I know you think so, but I'm from far away. I think you'll do fine. Just… always try to be brave. Even when others around you can't. There are a lot of people who don't feel about monsters like you do."
"I'm well aware of that fact," Chara said. "Now, where is the next human?"
"That way," Bravery said, pointing. "Be careful. You're going to need to be careful."
Chara sighed, walking in the pointed direction, ignoring the talking the orange human did. She knew there were four left, but she knew it would be a challenge.
As she continued to walk, she saw a darker blue glow than the first SOUL she'd encountered.
The dark blue human didn't waste any time, coming from above to level a kick that shook the ground around where they were. Chara barely dodged, feeling the power of the kick.
The dark blue SOUL rushed forward, lunging with a kick that nearly punctured Chara. Chara barely dodged this one; such was the speed of the dark blue human.
"You're not going to beat me that easily," Chara growled, kicking the human in the stomach. However, before her blow could make contact, powerful gravity magic threw her backwards, forcing her to flip backwards to right herself.
"So, you're going to play with magic, huh?" Chara growled. "Well, I'll not let you try much more of that."
She threw a fireball at the dark blue human, rushing forward to punch them. The human levelled a kick to Chara's face that sent her sprawling onto the ground. She couldn't shake the feeling that she might be outmatched here.
Suddenly, she felt herself be thrown around like a rag doll, the dark blue human waving their arm around to signify where Chara was going to be moving. Chara smashed against some invisible walls, finally being smashed onto the ground with dozens of cracks on her body.
"They never loved you," The dark blue human said. "You were only a tool for them. They only needed a single human and you were that human."
"Shut up," Chara stood, glaring right at the human. "I'm going to destroy you for even thinking to say that."
"She secretly hated you," The dark blue SOUL said. Chara gave a scream of rage, rushing for the dark blue human and throwing a flurry of flaming punches that the dark blue human dodged. They kicked Chara again, Chara feeling a blade on the shoes.
"Bladed, huh," She chuckled, feeling another crack. "Looks like I'll stop fighting fair now."
She ran towards the dark blue human, drawing her blade. The dark blue human threw her back with gravity magic, but Chara threw her blade before they could react. The blade struck them square in the chest, causing a spreading crack. Chara fell to the ground, feeling her shoulder crack.
She charged toward the human, pulling back her fist for a strike.
"She wished you would leave," The dark blue human said, what looked like a tutu forming and sprouting out feathers that blinded Chara, opening her for a kick from the human. "You disgusted her."
"Shut up!" Chara exclaimed, her fire surrounding her and burning the feathers as she grabbed the dark blue human, kicking the blade of her knife further into the chest of the dark blue human.
The dark blue human began to crack further, the princess grabbing them and smashing her head against theirs. Cracks appeared in it as the human kicked her back, cracking her chest. At this, the dark blue human began to dance, making the feathers appear more and more, beginning to move in an intricate pattern.
Chara began to try to dodge, but gravity magic began to hold her down, forcing her to move slower as the feathers also were affected. They seemed to be razor sharp, dancing via the gravity magic as the human danced. Chara felt them slice into her, which caused her to cry in pain.
She let loose more of her fire magic, stomping against the gravity magic to reach the human as they tried to push her back.
Chara felt some drive within her burst forth as she pushed off the ground, landing a powerful punch to the dark blue human's jaw that shattered it. Chara grabbed her blade, ripping it free from the human's chest and slicing once more to shatter them completely.
Suddenly, before her was a girl of about six with a pink tutu and dark blue ballet shoes. She had on a black leotard and white stockings. Her hair was a nice silver color and her eyes the same dark blue shade she'd been. She smiled at Chara, Chara feeling a shudder she didn't know she could give towards a human. This human wasn't much older than she was when she first fell.
"I'm sorry," She said. "Those things… they weren't true. They were the opposite of truth. They were dishonest."
"Damn right they were," Chara said.
I-It's just… when I became consumed by the flower," The girl said. "I became my opposite. Just like my friends. I don't like telling lies. It hurts inside, like something's eating me up."
"Whatever," Chara said with sarcasm. "So what's your name, Truth?"
"Call me Integrity," The girl giggled. "You're close."
"Tell me something," Chara said. "If you're so honest… did my dad kill you?"
"… Yes," Integrity looked sad. "I was with Sans and we met him… he killed me."
Chara sighed, looking at the little girl.
"I want you to give me your power," Chara said, swallowing a lot of emotions. "Help me beat this flower all the way back to hell."
"I can do that," Integrity nodded. "But, you'll have to free the rest if you want to really beat him. It's the only way you can fully win, with all types of magic combined."
"I see," Chara said. "Well, heal me so I can find the next one."
"I will," Integrity nodded. She held her hand out to Chara, Chara's cracks becoming fixed. Chara began to walk towards where Integrity then pointed.
The world became more purple, causing the princess to look around at it. It almost resembled the Ruins.
"Just give up," A voice said, its owner moving forward with a strange gait. It was a purple human. This human moved towards Chara slowly, opening a book of some kind. Words came from the book, rushing for Chara and attempting to entangle her in a web of letters.
Chara dodged, using her magic. However, from the book came a strange mist that Chara inhaled. Immediately, she fell to the ground, coughing and hacking as she felt it invade her lungs. She realized the mist was poison. She let loose her magic in an attempt to burn it away, feeling herself grow weaker as she went.
"You're not good enough," The purple human said. "Just give up. It will be so easy. Everything will be destroyed anyway."
"I'm not letting that flower get away with killing my dad," Chara said, feeling a bit woozy as she moved through the mist to reach the human. However, the purple human seemed to have much better eyes than Chara, kicking her directly in the gut. Chara felt herself crack. This human wasn't particularly strong as compared to the others, but the poison combined with her expert marksmanship made it hurt worse.
Chara stood, punching the human in the face as she threw a fireball at them. The purple human opened the book again, a swarm of spiders emerging as Chara stood on her knees, still weakening.
"Give in to your despair," The purple human said. "If you do, you'll feel so much better."
"I'll never surrender," Chara coughed. "I was taught that from the very beginning. Not even the strongest poisons can stop me from my goal."
"You'll give up," The purple human said. "They all do."
From their eyes, the human looked at Chara, the spiders swarming her. Chara stood still, letting her magic burst forth as she burned them all.
"I stopped being afraid of spiders when I was three,"Chara said, walking towards the human, being able to feel their magic.
"Just give up," The human kicked her again, Chara feeling the cracks widen. She tried to block the next punch, but the human seemed to know exactly where to strike while she blindly flailed.
Chara swung her arm around, trying to get the human with a blow. She managed to nick the human, causing a crack to appear in their cheek. Chara, feeling where the human was, grabbed them, swinging around to level a kick to their neck. The purple human opened the book, the world shaking almost.
Chara shot fire in all directions, feeling the poison's effects grow stronger with each second. She heard the human be hit by one, but she also took three hits in the process.
"Give up," The human said. Chara, hearing where it was coming from threw her knife, a fireball accompanying it. The purple human dodged both, but Chara rushed forward with a punch to meet them after the dodge, damaging them severely. By magic, Chara summoned her blade, which sliced through the human. She drove her knee into the human's gut, landing a powerful punch to their chin. The human fell over, standing and opening their book again.
"Giving up is your best option," The human said, pages beginning to swirl around Chara, getting closer and closer. Chara let loose with some fire, burning some, but dropping to her knees as the poison was finally burning away at her painfully.
The human slammed the book closed and the pages all slammed into Chara cracking and smashing her. Chara felt her arm become useless as the poison drove her to the floor. The human stood above her, looking down.
"Give up," They said one last time as they stomped on Chara's head. Chara grabbed their foot, fire beginning to burn on her hand.
"I'm starting to get the hang of this magic," Chara murmured. "Before I was just letting my emotions throw it, but now, I'm learning to use it right."
With that, she let loose one last burst of fire, the purple human beginning to burn alive. They shouted in pain, their body cracking and popping as the princess drove her knife into their chest one last time.
With one last shriek, the purple human shattered, Chara relinquishing her magic. She was tired, letting the magic fade.
"Don't give up," The voice said as she felt herself be healed. "I'll help you."
Chara stood up, turning to see a female human about sixteen years old. She was wearing light blue boots and a dark purple dress. She wore purple gloves and had on a pair of purple ripped glasses. In her hands was a notebook and she had dark purple dyed hair. Her eyes were also a shade of purple.
"Thank you," She said. "My brother and I went up this mountain to sketch some scenery… well, I wanted to sketch and he wanted to fight. I used to be just like him. Say… you're wearing gloves just like he was wearing. I gave them to him, but it seems as if you found them."
"You're the talkative one, I see," Chara said.
"I am," The human said. "But, you can keep them. We won't need them. Just keep them safe. It's thanks to you we're able to keep going and fight against this flower. I haven't fought in years, but it's time I did again. You have our help, your highness."
"How did you know that?" Chara asked.
"Your mom went on for hours about how I was your age and showed me pictures," The human said. "Oh, I forgot my manners. I'm Perseverance."
"I guess mom would do that," Chara said.
"Don't ever think you're alone," Perseverance said. "We're with you. Now, go. You still have two more of us to rescue."
"I suppose I do," Chara said with a sigh. "To think, I'm not only rescuing humans, I'm relying on their help."
She walked away from the human, heading to where she could see a green glow.
A green human walked towards her, giving a slight giggle as they threw a frying pan at Chara. Chara ducked it, rushing for the human and slicing them with her knife. She also followed it up with a kick that shattered part of them.
The human giggled, the shattered portions beginning to mend themselves. Chara sighed.
"Healing magic," She said. "Looks like you're going to be irritating. But, there's one thing I can count on: you're not one with much magical stamina. No healer is. Healing takes a lot of magic, so we'll see who runs out first."
The green human gave what seemed like a sneer.
"You're pathetic," They said, their frying pan returning. "You're going to die and I'm going to take your power."
"Good luck with that," Chara smirked, unleashing her fire once again. She threw a fireball at the SOUL, making a crack that she followed up with a swinging kick. The green human blocked this with their frying pan, Chara bouncing off of it. She then rushed forward, slamming a fire infused fist into the gut of the green human, who was still healing from the last injuries.
Chara let loose a jet of flames from her fist to shoot through the human with a force enough to shatter stone. The green human's gut exploded form the force, Chara smirking as she let it go.
However, unlike the rest, that shattered fully when they sustained a blow like that, this human reformed, looking at Chara.
"Looks like I'll have to show off a bit more," Chara smirked, her fire swirling around her like a vortex. "I hope you don't mind a bit of burning, you little shit."
"You will be the burning one," The green human rushed forward, swinging their frying pan.
Chara managed to avoid the attack, punching the human with rapid and quick strikes so as to break them faster. Multiple cracks appeared, but they disappeared just as fast. Chara punched the human harder and faster, managing to make bigger cracks. She kept throwing fireballs as well as her punches, the fact she was merely a SOUL at this point adding to her proficiency as well as her anger and hatred.
"You're going to die by my hand, you filthy human," Chara growled, summoning her dagger to impale the human with the blade through their chest. The human coughed with the blade's thrust, Chara kicking it further in as she swung a leg around to kick the human in the head. The human swung their frying pan around, slamming Chara in the side of the head.
Chara flew to the side as her face cracked some. She continued to throw punches, making sure to land them in the exact same place so as to maximize the damage. She made sure to distract them from her knife so as to make sure they didn't remove it. She knew what she had to do with it. Chara began to pound the human, the human trying to counter with their frying pan.
However, Chara was too fast for them, yanking the frying pan out of their hand and smashing it against their head with a resounding sound of glass shattering. The green human's head shattered, but otherwise stayed intact. It still began to regenerate itself, becoming whole once again.
"I'm going to rip your arms off!" Chara shouted.
"I will tear you apart and make your loved ones watch," The green human said. "You're dead."
"And you're going to be more so in a second!" Chara shouted, her rage exploding with her magic, said magic becoming unstable and uncontrollable. The green human began to swing their frying pan wildly, Chara beginning to dodge. Several hits did connect, making Chara nervous that she wouldn't be able to keep it up as the hits did some severe damage.
Chara then began to unleash her own flurry of blows as she tried to gain some ground. If it hadn't been for the healing magic the human was powered by, Chara would have killed them a dozen times over, but that damned magic was keeping them going. Chara knew she had to end this with a powerful attack, but what?
The green human swung their frying pan in a wide arc to catch Chara off guard. Chara dodged, leaning back and concentrating her fire to unleash a technique that she saw her mother use once to show off that she was indeed capable of holding her own in the ways of magic. The fire Chara summoned erupted from the ground in a vortex that consistently burned the green human and shattered them, leaving nothing to heal.
Continuing to use the fire until she felt tired, Chara stopped, panting. It was nowhere near as powerful as Toriel's variant, but it was still enough to get the job done. She looked behind her to see a human of about sixteen standing there. This one was male, having an apron on and holding the frying pan. He had simple shoes on and a flannel shirt. He had messy brown hair and green eyes. He smiled at Chara, which didn't make her any less comfortable with this.
"Thank you, Chara," He smiled. "I apologize for my words. Allow me to heal you."
Chara once again felt the cracks reside and become nonexistent. The human smiled at her kindly, Chara looking at him with irritation.
"Get to the point," Chara said. "Where's the next one?"
"That way," He pointed. "I am Kindness. But, before you go, I want you to promise me something."
"What?" Chara asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"Promise me you'll give me to Flowey after we send you back," He said.
"And why in the fuck would I do that?" Chara asked.
"I assure you that you will understand why when you return to your father's room." Kindness said. "But, perhaps you could also visit Alphys."
"I was already going to," Chara said. "But, whatever. Why should I give that murderous flower your SOUL?"
"When you understand, you'll be glad you have the opportunity," Kindness said, Chara becoming irritated as he gave a knowing smile. "It is something you will not want to miss out on."
"What are you talking about?" Chara demanded.
"I promise you that if I told you now, you wouldn't be able to handle it," Kindness said. "Just know that we will help you to beat this flower and then we will send you back to fix this."
"Fine, whatever," Chara said. "I'll go."
She walked away, beginning to see a yellow glow.
Without warning, a beam of yellow magic shot by her head. The princess had barely any time to dodge, but it missed her anyway. She looked towards the source to see a yellow human with a gun and a hat on.
"Looks like you're a range fighter," Chara said. "Good. I can destroy you without much effort. You're going to need more than that to stop me."
Chara ran toward the human, the yellow human shooting a barrage of beams at her with the gun. Chara dodged, throwing a couple of fireballs. Some of the beams struck her, creating large cracks and even a couple of holes.
"You little shit!" She shouted, creating a shield of magic fire in front of her. She may not have used much magic before this, but Toriel had gone into loads of detail about how different spells worked because of Chara and Undyne's fascination for it. Her shield was stronger than this human, who obviously had no inherited magic to work with, was easily capable of breaking.
Chara ran forward, landing a punch on the human's face just as her shield dissipated. The yellow human began firing again, the princess jumping back and throwing a fireball to counter it. She summoned a larger one, firing it. The human dodged, Chara managing to disrupt their attack.
The princess continued to throw fireballs, not having to worry about her reserves. Being just a SOUL, she had immediate and regenerative access to them all. Besides, the only thing that would have weakened her was using that flaming vortex spell, but she had healed from that. She weaved and dodged around the beams, trying her best not to get hit as she ran forward and threw a fireball.
The yellow human ducked, the fireball barely missing them.
Chara followed it up with a blow to their jaw that cracked it wide. She pulled out her knife, moving forward to make for a quick stab at contact range, but the human continued to fire beams at her. She managed to dodge them, but she had no way to hurt this human. The flaming vortex was out of the question because she not only had the time to concentrate it, she didn't have the stamina to use it again. She may have been healed from using it before, but she also knew what doing something like that so shortly after previous use could do to someone. It wasn't a last ditch move for nothing.
Chara threw her blade, which zipped through the air like it was on rocket boosters. The yellow human shot it, the blade clattering to the ground. Chara ran forward, holding out a flame covered hand to block some of the shots. She grabbed her blade, firing another fireball right at the yellow SOUL. As inexperienced as Chara truly was with actually executing magic, her fireball was still stronger than the beams the yellow SOUL shot at it to block it. It struck them, cracking their body some as well as causing them to stumble.
Chara took the opportunity and lunged, clearing the distance almost as fast as if she'd used teleportation magic. She thrust her blade deep into the chest of the yellow human. Twisting it, she kicked them in the head.
"Burn in hell," Chara said.
"I decide who burns," The yellow human said. "I decide right and wrong. Even your father cannot decide that."
"Well, I'm the Judge now," Chara growled, her eye glowing with a burning rage and fire that threatened to consume all that brought it forth. She saw red, literally, as she began to land blows on the human. First, she kicked their arms, breaking them and preventing them from using magic. She then punched them in the face, cracking it so badly it looked like it was dropped from a mile high.
Bringing forth her power, she sliced them in half, the two halves shattering as she pocketed her knife.
She sensed the presence of the human behind her. She turned to face them. What she saw was a boy with freckles and brown hair. His eyes were yellow and he wore a cowboy outfit, complete with gun and hat. He stared at Chara with a bit of fear, but also admiration.
"You sure know your way around magic," He said. "You would make a good judge."
"Not my thing," Chara said. "I have a hard time killing monsters. But, what's with you?"
"Call me Justice," The human said. "I am the last of them. You have done well, Chara."
"You do realize I was fighting with intent to murder, correct?" Chara asked the human.
"I do," Justice said. "But, you weren't attacking us mostly for us, but to stop the flower."
"Whatever makes you sleep better," Chara rolled her eyes. The other humans appeared next to Justice, smiling at Chara.
"You have freed us all," They said. "And because of that, we will help you to get your wish of defeating the flower. We will grant you our full power and fully unleash the latent powers buried deep within your SOUL."
"Latent powers?" Chara asked.
"Your full magical powers that were buried within you," Integrity stated. "Repressed by your fears and never allowed to manifest until you consistently ingested pure magic and had a significant emotional trigger for their output."
"I… I see," Chara said. "What about Frisk?"
"Your answers are in Alphys' laboratory," Kindness said. "We remember from when she took us there. But, you will have to help her first."
"I will," Chara said. "Now, give me your powers so that I can destroy this little shit and stop him once and for all."
"As you wish," The six humans nodded, holding out their hands towards Chara. Power of their respective colors began to flow into Chara, the princess feeling her magic rise and fluxuate with the insane output of magic. Regardless of the fact that these humans had no magical potential and the magic they did have was simply from the fact that their SOULs aligned with a certain type of monster magic, they, being pure human SOULs, had an enormous amount to give combined. Chara dropped to her knees, feeling her power burn hotter than ever before.
"This is all we can give," Kindness said. "But, it should be enough."
"Th… Thank you," Chara said, a surprising feeling coming from her; actual gratitude towards a human other than Frisk.
She felt her power surge as she immediately felt the blackness dissipate as she rushed for her body. Colliding with it, she immediately felt Frisk's presence embrace her.
"Chara!" She exclaimed, holding her in her subconscious, her voice shaking as if she'd been crying. "I'm so glad you're alright, my little angel!"
"I'm fine," Chara said as her body fell from the control of the vines landing on the ground on her feet. "But, now it's time to burn this plant."
"HOW?!" Flowey exclaimed in rage as he fired dozens of bullets at Chara. However, they all melted and dissipated in the blazing aura Chara was giving off, Chara's red aura now shining a bit of rainbow, but still mostly red.
"Tell me flower," Chara said, her voice low and dangerous as her face was looking downward enough to hide her eyes with her hair. "What is the most dangerous thing to a monster?"
"It's Flowey!" Flowey shouted at the princess.
"I don't care," Chara said. "Answer the question: what is the most dangerous thing to a monster, even more than a monster with a human SOUL?"
Flowey thought over the answer to that question. He immediately felt his 'blood' run cold as he realized the exact answer.
"You get it don't you?" Chara smirked a malicious smirk that glowed as red as her aura. "A human with killing intent. Congratulations, flower. You've just created the most powerful one in existence."
"I'll tear you to shreds!" Flowey slashed at her with his vines, but they burned off.
"You asked me what I'd do if I met a relentless killer," Chara looked at him, her eyes glowing red, a burning fire emerging from her left eye. "Well, I think I have my answer."
Flowey's face turned to one of fear for a split second, Chara's form closing the gap between them in almost that short a time. A powerful fire razed the flower, causing him to shriek. Chara summoned her blade, duplicating it as she began to send them shooting into the flower, slicing chunks of him off.
Flowey retaliated by shooting thousands of bullets and vines at her, but Chara simply used gravity magic to send them back, slamming the flower around simply by waving her hand in a particular direction. The entire time Frisk stayed quiet. She knew exactly why she shouldn't say anything, knowing how Chara would react if she did.
Chara began to slice Flowey with burning blades, the flower shrieking in pain as Chara brutally attacked him, her rage erupting in her shouts.
Flowey managed to wrap some vines around her, but Chara's aura burned them off.
"Wh-What the hell are you?!" The flower demanded of her.
"I am Chara Dreemurr," Chara said, walking towards the flower with a slow, methodical walk designed to intimidate the flower even further. "I am the heir to the throne of the monsters. I am the future of monsterkind! I am your judge, jury, and EXECUTIONER!"
With that, Chara summoned another vortex of flames that consumed the flower, burning him immensely. Flowey screamed with a shriek and began to shrivel up as parts of him burned off. He became charred ash almost instantly and he was left with only the TV screen still partly intact.
"Y-You…" He said, gasping in pain as Chara dropped to her knees, panting as she had used up the magic the SOULs had given her.
"I'll finish with you, flower," Chara panted, the vortex of flames having taken more out of her than she thought. Of course she would overdo it when she was just beginning to learn how to use her magic.
"That's… so… perfect," Flowey said, his voice going from strained to laughing as his body almost immediately reformed itself completely intact.
"Wh-what?" Chara asked, her voice turning to panic as all the damage she'd dealt was undone.
"Didn't expect this, did you?" Flowey cackled. "I used the SOULs to! But, I also learned another power they have: time manipulation."
Vines impaled Chara, shattering her SOUL, only for it to immediately reform as Flowey ripped her body in half. Her SOUL immediately reformed again as Flowey blasted it and incinerated it. Each time, Chara continued to feel the excruciating pain that came with it, causing her to scream for every second she was alive.
Flowey used his vines to decapitate the princess, immediately reviving her. He crushed her into a compacted piece of dripping bones and meat, reviving her. Eventually, after so many deaths Chara couldn't feel the pain anymore, her mind was so disconnected from it. She could barely hear Frisk's voice in her head, but it was still fuzzy.
"Such a shame," The flower cackled, spreading her body wide and shooting magic bullets into it to riddle it with holes. He tried to attack her again, but something was wrong. His magic wasn't working properly.
"What the he—" He began before he saw the SOULs in front of him. They shot their combined powers into him, damaging him beyond anything he could repair without their power. They immediately began to hover around Chara. She couldn't absorb them, but they began to fill her with power, reviving her and bringing her back. However, the eyes that shone form Chara's eyes were not the color of the princess's.
"Chara… or whoever you are," Kindness spoke to her mind. "We will send you back to before you met with your father. The flower is defeated and you must hurry. Do not see your father yet. Alphys needs you more. There are things you will learn."
"I will make sure she does," Frisk said. "And I will bring her back. Rest assured."
"You are aware of the promise Chara made to me?" Kindness asked.
"Considering I know who that flower is, I probably do," Frisk said. "Are you sure that's what you want?"
"If it undoes all of this, I will gladly do it," Kindness said. "Now, please, go."
Frisk nodded as the SOULs used the last of their power, returning them to outside the throne room.
Frisk sat Chara's body down, retreating into Chara's SOUL and walking over to the sobbing, pained form of Chara, the princess lost in her own memories thanks to the tortures of the flower.
"Wake up, my little angel," She whispered to the consciousness of the princess. Chara's body stopped trembling at the sound of her voice.
"F-Frisk?" She asked, hoping that this time wasn't a dream.
"Yes, my angel," Frisk said, holding her close. "It is over. Flowey is gone. We have returned to before you met your father."
"R-Really?" Chara asked. Frisk nodded.
"We should go see Alphys," the ghost said, smiling down at Chara. "You promised you would after you saw your dad. So, once you're ready, wake up and we'll go see her. Perhaps she'll have a way for us to talk like this in person."
Chara looked at Frisk, knowing that the older human didn't really believe that, but since Chara did she would. She sighed, hoping with all her might that Flowey wouldn't come back.
Taking a deep breath, she took control of her body once again, her red eyes opening as she stood up, taking a saddened look at her dad's throne room before turning around and walking towards the other end of Judgement Hall.
And there we have completed the neutral route. Now, the pacifist route can begin. Next chapter we'll see the True Lab and its dark secrets. But, what darkness will Chara and Frisk unearth about the Underground? Is the truth best left unknown? We shall see. Let me know what you think and if I should continue after the pacifist run.