The sky was ablaze with embers, the lava filled landscape barren of natural life and greenery. They had passed through this land, made it to the Dragon Temple, and finally fought and had defeated the Dark Master, his final moments of vision being that of his former end was thought to be near, the familiar story almost to its end.
But this time, the ending wasn't the same.
Spyro and Cynder watched as Malefor was dragged into the crystals by his Guardians, his form merging into it. The crystal then began to glow and crack as the world started to fall apart, signaling that end was near. They said their usual lines before Ignitus spoke to Spyro, him figuring out what to do, and Cynder not leaving his side. It was all seemingly perfect.
As Spyro lifted off of the ground, preparing to use his Convexity at full might as he glimmered with the energy, another blast rang out as he released his fury. Cynder looked about quickly hearing the blast, and turning around, she looked in absolute horror as the blast of energy headed towards her, its speed too fast for her to react. At the same time, Spyro's light consumed Cynder as the blast collided with her, causing a disruption of space about her. She was suddenly gone, not a trace to be found.
"Well…" A voice echoed. "That ended better I suspected…"
Frisk started to pack their stuff as they got ready for their trip back to the Underground. Every year around this time, the whole crew returned to the underground to celebrate the breaking of the barrier and the monsters being released. Frisk was now sixteen, the events of Undertale six years ago. They thought to themselves what to do this time as they finished packing the stuff into their backpack, putting it on and then launching themselves out the door.
Toriel was also getting prepared, her packing based around picnic items and food so they could all sit down and eat together at some point in the day, her usual . Frisk rushed into the kitchen and to the door, their enthusiasm showing brightly as they stood at it. Toriel giggled at Frisk's eagerness to go. "Well, well my child!" She said, putting away the last of the supplies she needed. "Eager as always to go I see!" Picking it up, she headed to the door where Frisk was, opening and stepping outside into the warm summer day, the porch overhang shading them from the sun.
At the end of their walkway stood Sans and Papyrus, both of them also in their regular attire: Sans with his blue jacket, shorts, and slippers, while Papyrus wore his "Battle suit." Frisk ran down to join them as Toriel followed, giving them both a big hug to greet them. "Greetings!" Papyrus said triumphantly as he wrapped his arms around Frisk. "Yes! It is I! The Great Papyrus! I am glad to see you as well, Human!"
"Hey Frisk." Sans said, his usual lax tone outlining his words. "Nice to see you in the flesh too."
Papyrus stared at Sans for a moment, his usual face of rage and disappointment upon his face as he screamed, "Sans! No! Not today!"
Sans snickered. "Aw what, Paps? That one rattle your bones?" Toriel and Frisk giggled, amused by Sans's usual "punny" nature while Papyrus shook with anger.
"Hey guys!"
They all turned and looked, seeing the duo of Undyne and Alphys walk up. "You all ready for today?!" Undyne say, excitement in her voice. "Because I know I am!"
Frisk tilted their head. "Where's Mettaton?" They asked, confusion filling them as they were not a trio this year.
"W-Well…" Alphys stuttered out. "He said he really wanted to come this year like usual… But his plane from the United Kingdom got delayed by storms, so he couldn't come this year. B-But he apologizes and sends his regards!"
Frisk frowned. Mettaton always liked coming along to see his old studio. They looked about, trying to spot if Asgore was anywhere. Noticing this, Toriel commented, "If you're looking for Asgore, he said he was going to be late because of a meeting today, so he'll meet us at the entrance instead of here this time. Frisk nodded.
"So if he's not coming here…" Undyne started. "Let's go on then! No time to waste!" She started to march on, the path to Mt. Ebott seen in the distance. The others followed in tow, chatting about how their day went or how they went going to spend their time there this year back at the place they once called "home".
About a two hour walk later, the group found themselves at the once blocked entrance to the Underground, the barrier of course long since smashed. Asgore stood there, his regal clothes flowing in the breeze as he hummed some familiar tune. Hearing the group approach, he turned around to greet the crew, a goofy smile upon his face as he rubbed his neck. "Howdy everyone! Sorry about not meeting all of you at the usual spot, but I had a meeting to attend to." He said apologetically. "I'm here though, and that's what matters right?" They all nodded.
Not wasting any time, they went on in, preparing to do their usual activities they did year after year, greeting some of the monsters who continued to live there as they, preferring to stay in their lifetime homes rather than head to the surface. They had a variety of events they did while there: visiting Flowey, snowball fights in Snowdin, betting on the snail races in Waterfall, and going to the CORE being among some of the may things they did. After all of the other events, they usually did two final activities: They first enjoyed a nice picnic at the Ruins, savoring each other's' company along with some other Ruin dwellers on occasion, and then they "reflect". When everyone reflected they went to their designated locations: Toriel and Frisk at the Ruins, Papyrus and Sans at Snowdin, Undyne at the Waterfall, Alphys at Hotlands, and Asgore at the Castle. However, time and time again, Sans chose the Hall of Judgment for his spot, thinking about all the other timelines that occurred before this Pacifist one. It was the day of the year they all enjoyed, relishing what they all had and have, loving the days that went by that they all still had one another. It was a great day to be alive.
-
Chara floated about in limbo, watching the crew go about their year by year activities. They sneered. They hated when Frisk and the group did this. From their laughing to their happy faces to their enjoyment of each other's company: Chara hated every minute of it. They were so close before though. They had the timeline in their grasp to play with, their murdering streaks joyous in their own fashion, the dust rushing past them in the wind as another Monster fell. It was glorious. However, Frisk managed to regain control, thanks to Sans, and reset the timeline again with Frisk at the front. It was fun while it lasted still wanted to control the timeline, however, with no body, they were just a wandering Soul. They sighed. If only there was something that could help them.
Looking forward, they spotted something. "What the…?" They wondered. Floating closer, they saw what it was: a dragon. A female one. Her body was black and red, adorned with strange with designs. Her sleek design looked quite mobile and nimble, its young stature sporting a toned figure to herself. They looked about the body, cautious of why it was their and who it was. Slowly placing a hand on the dragon, they sensed not only the body was unconscious, but by some reason the soul within it was dormant as well. "Maybe entering this place did it to her…" They reasoned.
But, this was impossible. A body? Just here? And the body just ready to be possessed and used? No. It couldn't be that easy. Besides, their LV probably wasn't high enough for them to possess them anyhow... But it wouldn't hurt to check. Looking at her stats, Chara was stunned.
Her LV was at twenty.
Chara stared before they started to giggle. No this was perfect. They started to then howl with maniacal laugher. They could do it! They could take over the timeline! Not only that, but in a unique body such as this dragon's. They thought unique sense the body wasn't seemingly a monsters sense the Soul didn't feel the same, but the creature definitely wasn't a human either. No matter. They smiled. It would get the job done regardless.
Flowey stayed in his usual spot after "enjoying" his time with Frisk and his friend. He felt like he hated yet loved this time of year, not wanting to admit his partial knowledge of his feeling of them. He suddenly hear footsteps behind him from the direction of the flower patch. Looking behind him, he spotted a particular sight: A young, black dragoness approaching him, her bipedal walk looking a tad sloppy. She stopped at him, her red pupils piercing into him, her sly smile driving an uncomfortable chill down his stem. "Uh…. H-Howdy!" He responded nervously. "And, uh, how can I… Help you..?"
The dragon looked at him, her glare digging deeper and deeper into his nonexistent Soul. Suddenly she spoke: "Nothing much… Asriel."
Flowery's face flattened as he heard his true name, panic overtaking him. "H-H-How do you know that!?"
"Oh… I honestly don't believe that really matters Azzy…" Red energy started to bubble and merge together with her hand, forming a Knife buzzing with the fear element. Flowery's face went to absolute terror as he realized another tone within her voice, her identity solidifying as a wide, familiar smile unwrapped itself onto the dragoness's face. "Because you won't live to remember it."