Chara, having recovered most of her bodily functions, slowly walked towards the door Flowey used to manifest in once a human child went past it. She was still processing what the boy stuck in her newly acquired SOUL said, and comically pinched herself for a reality check.

She has been loved again.

Her bright red SOUL pulsed with life, unlike the one she used to call her own. It has been reduced to an empty shell thanks to her demon host, making her unable to love or feel. It was literally a miracle to feel whole again, body and SOUL, even if the latter was given to her. Speaking of that ...

What happened to that boy?

As far as she knows, she was about to fulfill her secret wish of ending her life. There were many reasons for that, a life devoid of love was the one Chara would admit the least. Why bother loving someone who took so many lives anyways? Perhaps the boy was like her, but Chara barred that possibility. The SOUL she hosted was pure, maybe roughed up by abuse constant but never harmed a thing. It was a feeling she thought she sealed for good.

Bullied, picked on, abused, you name it.

"Stupid."

Chara uttered the words without much of a thought and saw the apparition smiling at her. That familiar parenthesis swayed her heart really hard, as she grinned to herself when she felt the boy spooning her. It was unfortunate to be unable to return the gesture, as much as it was strange for Chara to indulge in body contact. Well, technically no contact given the other party was likely a ghost, but all of him felt real to an unrealistic degree.

The main question remained unanswered, as Chara had no clue what happened to that boy. Piecing memories together will probably take some time, and she could still do that while on her way to the Ruins. All Chara could gather was the little intel her friendly ghost companion gave her; he was dead for her sake, her demon host was gone and she was no longer ethereal herself. Chara pondered, then widen her eyes, much like when seeing a nightmare while awake.

The boy was being taken over by her demonic SOUL.

The wretched flower appeared while Chara was deep in thought, believing they found a human to prey on. They plopped near the Fallen with their usual facade but soon shook its head in disbelief.

"You again? What are you doing here? And why do you smell different this time?!"

Again, something was wrong with this timeline, Flowey was sure they just met Chara earlier. The sight of a second sister confused the hell out of him, so much rashly went into battle mode.

"Hello, Asriel."

Chara's body was not fully recovered, but the SOUL she had seemed strong enough to help her hold her ground.

Flowey threw pellets, lots of them, submerging the tight space they fought in with little to no gap for jukes. Chara's hardened body was pretty much used to battle though, and her nimble movements helped her land a strike.

Or so she thought.

Flowey, being an agile whack-a-mole, plopped here and there while throwing pellet waves in different shapes and forms. Each time Chara thought she secured a hit, she either cracked the ground or cut through thin air.

"Stand still Asriel, I'll put you out of your misery." Chara was cold, and it did not surprise her, this plant did nothing else but smear the memory of her late brother.

"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are? You just agreed to my annihilation plan and now you're trying to kill me?!"

"Wasn't me," Chara confirmed that the boy was now being framed in a Genocide run. She had to stop him after she dealt with her current foe.

"Quit the crap! You took over the boy moments ago, and you were about to get busy killing all the Underground again! "

"Guess not," Chara remembered bits and pieces of her genocide runs, it was a dull and tedious process. Killing enough monsters to break havoc, and then disposing of boss monsters so she can save her broken SOUL. Her thoughts were shaken as she grunted, being somehow caught in something and slammed onto the ground.

Flowey got serious and brought up some vine attacks in addition to its rhythmed pelleting. They thought they had the advantage now that Chara was entangled, but she broke free every time with a few strikes and rushed to slice Flowey again.

A familiar fireball was shot after another few bouts, kicking Flowey away once again. Chara giggled at the déja-vu but dreaded her mother's reaction. Toriel came up to check on the child she saved, only it was her long-lost daughter.

"Cha- Chara?! Impossible ..."

"Mo ... Mother?"

Toriel was not sure what to do except go for the longest hug in history, squeezing the weeping Chara, and checking on her for injuries. The Queen noticed that was not Chara's SOUL, but someone else's. It made Toriel wonder whether she was not being fooled by another human, even when she knew hardly anyone could now use magic on the surface.

" My child, to whom belongs that SOUL? " Toriel asked whoever impersonated Chara, torn between reunion and suspicion. She already saw her die countless times in her sleep and was not ready to mourn her again.

"A boy I ..."

I loved?

" ... gave me his SOUL ... "

so I can live again

... and took mine instead."

Chara could not disclose the love part, all flustered at the mere thought of sharing what little memories she had of the boy. Toriel was happily surprised now, past the initial shock of having her daughter back from the dead. Both parent and child took a moment, to catch up on the eternity they have been separated in.

Chara nearly forgot everything in Toriel's arms, including the wandering boy.

FRISK was now able to be a ghost for a limited period, effectively bypassing an approaching Toriel without much effort. He knew she would eventually come around, and readied his knife. Once she was down the entrance stairway, he prepared himself to fight her.

But its SOUL refused.

Bits of Chara's SOUL stopped him from jumping on the Guardian as if he froze in place. He struggled hard to move again, straining on his limbs long enough to break out of the invisible embrace. It was as if Chara herself was trying to stop him, which made him wonder whether he could do it after all.

She would be devastated, won't she?

FRISK decided to leave her last, as he guessed she would be probably on her way to where Flowey used to attack humans. He was not sure what happened with the wretched plant, but he had an eerie sensation of longing. Perhaps that was Chara as well, maybe she wanted to make it up for Asriel after all.

Even if it required murdering everyone.

FRISK slapped himself, remembering the words of the demon. Chara's half-rotten SOUL will not last for long if he did not start killing monsters. He thus went through the ruins, as Toriel deactivated most of the puzzles on the way. FRISK's mind was too preoccupied to bother solving them, yet he had to stop and find buttons to proceed.

He then met a few Froggits near the Licorice room and approaching them triggered battle mode. Three Froggits engaged in battle with him, summoning their weak fly attacks and jumping on him once every turn. FRISK hesitated to opt for a FIGHT and tried to use an ACT instead.

There was, however, no ACT to be used.

Each time FRISK tried his usual pacifist antics, his SOUL felt like being torn apart. His hand twitched and looked for a weapon of its own accord, and his face melted into oozing darkness. Red lights emerged from the black tar that replaced his eyes, making all Froggits tremble in fear. Their attacks missed the next turn, and they all asked to be spared. FRISK or rather, whatever that was right now, no longer hesitated to slice all three monsters open.

They all whimpered and choked briefly before turning into white dust.

The boy's shoulders were covered with something akin to dandruff, and all he did was dust himself off like nothing happened. FRISK would eventually awaken, feel the weight of his blade and break into tears.

That did not matter right now, something primal had taken over the boy, something disturbingly delightful.

It felt really good to be the bully for once.