Sans the skeleton leaned on a pillar, waiting to die. He lifted the hand that was covering the knife wound in his stomach and found it stained a brilliant scarlet.
He smiled bitterly. Frisk had finally gotten him.
He had lost track of how many times he had defeated the child, but no matter what, they kept coming back. Sans had fought as dirty as he could, employing every single power and trick at his disposal, but it hadn't been enough. It was something about their unstoppable bloodlust and pure determination that overcame everything he threw at them.
He had failed, but against and enemy like this, failure had always been the overwhelmingly likely outcome. He had given it his best try, and it seemed that there was nothing he could have done all along.
He looked up at his opponent as he slumped onto the floor and into a sitting position.
Frisk was standing before him, the knife clutched between their fingers giving off a stark reflection thanks to the room's large windows. Crimson droplets slid slowly off the blade and into a puddle on the floor. They stared at Sans, slightly panting. Frisk appeared to be somewhat drained, adorned with a multitude of scrapes and bruises from the fight that they had just won. Their hands were coated with dust. The expression they wore showed almost no emotion. There was no celebration of their victory or remorse for their actions.
The two locked eyes for several seconds before either of them spoke.
"so..." Sans began, his voice strained with pain, "i guess that's it, huh?"
Frisk showed no reaction, continuing to stare at the skeleton.
Sans started to chuckle, but was interrupted by a cough that coated the floor in front of him with a smattering of red speckles. He wiped his mouth slowly before continuing to speak.
"just... don't say i didn't warn you."
That was when he saw it. Something that anyone else would have missed. It would have been so easy to not see the tiny little smile that formed on Frisk's lips when he finished talking. It wouldn't have meant much to most, but it made a world of difference to Sans.
Frisk turned to walk away as Sans leaned his skull against the pillar behind him and stared up at the ceiling.
"i get it." He rasped as his smile lost it's bitterness, "you've done all this before... haven't you?"
Frisk continued to walk as a thin ruby trail made it's way from the edge of the skeleton's grin and down to his chin.
"heh."
The human didn't look back as they exited the room. They were in the throne room before long. It was a beautiful place, with a fantastic garden. The scent of the room was pleasant. This was where the king of monsters resided. He was a gentle soul, kind and caring above all else. The type who would avoid a fight unless all other options had been exhausted.
He died easily.
Next was the flower. In his final moments, the human found him to be nothing but a coward, betraying his people to save his own skin. He even resorted to begging for his life, using the face of the king's son in an attempt to gain sympathy. Frisk didn't even remember who that was.
He was shown no mercy.
Frisk drew back the knife for another swing, but there was almost nothing left to attack. The job was done. They looked around the room as the sunlight streaming in through the window took on an orange tinge.
Frisk blinked.
Before them stood a child. They were the same height as Frisk, adorned in a simple striped yellow and green sweater. Their brown hair hung down around the sides of their pale face as they regarded the other human with a pair of piercing red eyes. Their expression was warm, as if they were seeing an old friend for the first time in a while.
"Greetings." They began in a high-pitched voice, "I am Chara."
Frisk didn't respond.
"But you and I have met before, haven't we?" Chara asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
Frisk stared back, clutching the knife.
"It seems that we are not the same." Chara mused, "For some reason, you recreate this world only to destroy it again."
The fallen child appeared lost in thought as Frisk looked at them.
"I must say, you are the type of Frisk I see the most rarely. I consider you a special breed."
Frisk's jaw became set as Chara's expression became slightly confused.
"You are wracked with some sort of perverted sentimentality. I cannot understand feelings like these."
There was a lull in the conversation until Chara eventually shrugged.
"Oh well. I suppose it doesn't matter now. Things are well beyond saving at this point."
The fallen child's smile grew as they extended a hand towards Frisk.
"Now, partner. Let us send this world back into the abyss."
The human stared back at Chara and tiled their head slightly to one side. The fallen child's smile faltered.
"No...?"
They withdrew their hand.
"Hmm... This feeling you have, this is what I spoke of."
Frisk continued to stare at Chara. Frisk's fingers tightened around the knife. Chara's face took on an expression of surprise as they continues to stare back. Something was different.
"...Or perhaps I'm wrong."
A gust of wind blew through the room from an open window. Frisk hadn't noticed, but the sunlight seemed to have dimmed slightly. When they looked back at Chara, the fallen child was smiling at them once again.
"This is about us, isn't it? That's why you did it all over again."
Frisk was silent.
Chara giggled, covering their mouth with one hand.
"Hn... Hn hn hn... Hn hn."
They eventually regained their composure, and returned to looking at the human with the same warm expression as when they had first seen them.
"You really are special." They began as flower petals danced in the breeze around them, "You need to understand, I have done this countless times. I've seen frisks of all varieties. Any time that one wants to bring this place to an end, I'm here to clean up afterwards. I finish the job. The ones who want to destroy everything more than once are rare, but there's still plenty of them. They're strange, but nothing too out of the ordinary."
Frisk's expression didn't change in the slightest.
"But you? You're different. Different in an extraordinary way."
Chara's eyes closed as their mouth twisted into a broad grin.
"You're the first Frisk who's ever wanted to kill me."
Frisk swallowed, taking a small step backwards.
"Come now," Chara said as their red eyes reopened and transfixed themselves onto the other human, "Do you seriously think anyone can detect killing intent better than me?"
Frisk remained silent, but something about them seemed different.
"You have to understand, this is very exciting." Chara started, "I never get to fight anyone myself, I'm always the one watching you have all the fun."
Frisk's eyes narrowed. Their lips twisted downwards into a small scowl.
"But judging by that expression, I think it's safe to say that you've grown tired of me wasting your time."
There was a moment of silence.
"That's a pity. You have so little left."
Frisk focused on Chara as the FIGHT began. A familiar menu appeared, giving the human the same four options as usual. They looked across at their new enemy. A single line of flavor text appeared in front of them. FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, and MERCY were the options.
* You've made a grave mistake.
Shrugging off the warning, Frisk chose ACT. It led to only one other option, CHECK. They chose it.
* CHARA - ATK ? DEF 0
* The fallen child.
Frisk's brow furrowed at the information.
"Checking my stats, are we?" Chara smiled, "How learned of you. It's much harder to kill someone you know nothing about, right? Although I suppose I'm something of an anomaly. You and I are the same in that regard."
Frisk ignored the banter. Chara had simply spoken instead of attacking, giving the human the initiative twice in a row. A defense rating of zero meant that Chara wouldn't be able to survive even one attack.
Selecting FIGHT, Frisk made their move. The child rushed forward, swinging the knife they held with incredible speed and precision. Frisk's killing intent was unmatched. The attack hit it's mark, a diagonal slash across their enemy's chest.
Chara gasped, clutching at the horrible wound with both hands as they stumbled backwards. The shirt they had been wearing began to develop a large red stain where the cut had been inflicted.
"How..." Chara wheezed, "How could you possibly-"
Frisk blinked.
Before them stood a child. They were the same height as Frisk, adorned in a simple striped yellow and green sweater. They smiled warmly at Frisk.
Frisk glanced down at the knife in their hand. The blade was clean.
"I'm just kidding!" Chara said in a jovial tone, "You're probably wondering how I did that, aren't you?"
A bead of sweat formed on Frisk's forehead. It was Chara's turn now.
The child raised a hand, and a knife quickly appeared in it. It seemed to be an alternate version of the knife that Frisk was carrying. It was an identical kitchen knife, except for the fact that both the blade and handle were a stark red. The whole knife glowed faintly as the room continued to slowly darken.
"Do you like it?" Chara asked, "I know you've become something of an enthusiast when it comes to these, so don't worry-"
Chara suddenly threw the knife at Frisk, cutting off what they had been saying. The human managed to move to one side, but the knife still grazed their cheek, leaving a thin cut.
"-They're plenty sharp." Chara finished, still smiling.
Frisk angrily chose FIGHT. A single knife for an entire turn? It seemed that Chara was simply toying with them. The human easily inflicted another mortal wound on their enemy, but Chara returned to normal once again.
Chara looked a little disappointed.
"Honestly, Frisk. I never took you for a slow learner. It should be obvious by now that cutting me isn't going to work."
Frisk stared, expression unchanging. Cara smiled back.
"Do you understand why that is, yet? No?" Chara giggled, "I'll make you deal. Survive this, and I'll tell you."
Frisk tried to move, but found that they couldn't budge.
"Now just hold on a moment. I'll give you control back soon."
The color drained from Frisk's face as they continued to struggle. How was this possible? No one had ever been able to take complete control from them before.
"There you go."
Frisk looked up to see that Chara had somehow spawned countless knives in the air above them. Their eyes widened as they took in the sheer magnitude of blades that had appeared overhead.
"I just needed a few seconds to set those in place."
Without warning, the blades began to launch themselves at the human. First one at a time, then two at a time, then five. The onslaught lasted nearly twenty seconds as Frisk desperately jumped, dove, and flipped in ordered to avoid being skewered. Any knife that missed embedded itself into the stone walls and floor almost up to the handle. The sharpness and sheer force of the projectiles left Frisk with no doubt that being hit with even a single one would spell death.
Eventually Frisk stared down Chara from across the room. The human was panting and adorned with several severe cuts from where the knives had grazed them, but they were still standing. The fallen child's smile grew.
"Impressive." They complimented, "As promised..."
They raised a hand, and a familiar yellow star appeared in it.
Frisk's blood ran cold. The sunlight continued to dim.
"What's with that expression?"
Chara examined the SAVE point in their hand before looking back at their opponent.
"I'm glad you made it this far, now allow me to explain."
Frisk took the moment to catch their breath, eyes wide and nervous.
"You obviously understand how a SAVE point works, right? Whoever has the most determination in the underground gets to SAVE. Up until now, that was you."
Frisk's breath caught in their throat.
"You determination, while impressive, is nothing compared to mine. In fact, you could say that I'm made up of almost nothing but determination. Your determination. The termination of every Frisk. That's why no matter how many times you kill me, I'll always come back."
Their face suddenly became slightly thoughtful.
"You probably realize that this is very similar to how Sans would have felt only a little while ago. Battling an enemy who cannot be truly defeated, no matter how many times you kill them. It's funny how the tables can turn like this."
Chara's voice suddenly took on a far more friendly tone.
"But that's why I'm so glad you've survived both my earlier attacks, Frisk! Because when you die here..."
Frisk took a single shaky step backwards. Chara's features darkened.
"You. Really. Die. Here."
The menu once again appeared in front of the human. The sunlight was nearly gone now. Frisk lifted a slightly quaking hand to select ACT.
Chara lashed out quickly, striking the button three times with a knife in the blink of an eye. Frisk had barely been able to react. It fell into pieces and quickly dissipated.
"Face reality, Frisk." Chara uttered as the knife they had just used turned to fine red dust in their hand, "You never used any of those options before. Why would they help you now?"
Frisk glanced around and realized something. It wasn't just the sunlight that was fading. Everything was. The world around the two of them was turning darker by the second. Soon the two of them would be battling in nothing but a void.
Choosing FIGHT, Frisk put everything into their next attack. The knife swing was immensely powerful, nearly cleaving Chara in half, but the fallen child was standing in front of them again before they could even recover from the exertion.
"Your tenacity was always your greatest quality." Chara's expression seemed to have lost some of it's amusement, "I admired that about you, in a way."
The fallen child summoned a trio of knives and threw them with incredible speed and accuracy at Frisk's legs. The human jumped backwards to avoid them, and Chara took this opportunity to draw a fourth blade and rush forwards in an attempt to deal a killing blow. Frisk barely managed to get their own knife ready in time to block the attack. The exchange left the two close together, locking blades.
"The only question I have left is 'why?'" Chara mused as Frisk struggled to hold them off with gritted teeth, "What did you hope to gain from killing me? Did you want to truly annihilate this world, without leaving me alive? Did you want a precisely blank slate?"
Frisk didn't respond as they struggled to hold their enemy back.
"Or perhaps you think that I'm some sort of pained being, and you wish to kill me out of mercy. To do me a favor and show this horrible, twisted person some compassion? I don't think so. You and I both know that you aren't the right Frisk for that task. The only ones who could do such a thing will never meet me."
The room got darker. The glow from Chara's blades was almost required to see in this darkness. The sickly scarlet radiance painted their faces with terrible expressions. Frisk shivered.
"Or maybe you're one of the Frisks who justifies this slaughter by saying that you're simply in it for the sport, or that you think that this is fun. You, 'had to see everything' that this world could offer. And perhaps you thought that I would be the ultimate challenge."
Chara chuckled, red eyes shining brilliantly thanks to the lighting. The room was growing colder.
"If that's the case, I suppose you were right. Although I doubt you expected this."
Without warning, Chara materialized a second knife and attempted to slash at Frisk's neck. The human ducked under the attack, but doing so changed the angle at which their knife was locked with Chara's, and the blade instantly broke in half. The useless weapon fell from Frisk's grip as Chara slashed them four times before the knife hit the floor.
The fallen child took a few steps back as the human fell to one knee, clutching at their fresh wounds.
"Honestly, I'm a little disappointed." Chara sighed as they casually twirled a glowing knife around in one hand, "You wouldn't believe what I can really do, if you were to last long enough against me."
The world was a pitch black void. Frisk shivered. There was no warmth in this place. The human could feel the life draining from them. Desperately, they attempted to select the ITEM option. They knew that they must have at least one healing item left over from their battle with Sans.
* Everything in your pockets has turned to ashes.
It was true. Frisk found nothing useful at all. Flavor text appeared in their menu once again as Chara watched them with curiosity.
* Despair.
Frisk's vision blurred slightly upon seeing the word. They lifted the hand that was covering the knife wounds in their stomach and found it stained a brilliant scarlet. They moved the trembling hand and selected the FIGHT option.
* There's no point.
Hesitantly, Frisk selected the only remaining option, MERCY.
Chara blinked once in response, their expression taking on a look of disgust.
"That's a level of impudence I didn't expect to see from you." They sighed, "Are you offering to spare me, Or am I to interpret that as you begging for your life?"
Frisk didn't respond.
"It doesn't matter either way."
Chara approached Frisk and placed a hand on their shoulder.
"I'm going to destroy this timeline now. If you have anything you'd like to say before I do, now would be the time."
Frisk didn't respond.
"I figured as much." Chara chuckled, "You may not have quite lived up to my expectations, but I won't forget you. You've earned that in my eyes."
Chara took their hand off Frisk's shoulder and walked away, leaving the human alone in nothing but cold and darkness.
And soon, there wasn't even that.