((A/N: Mentions of vomiting, nonconsentual actions, and suicide warning.))


.

.

.

"Greetings, dearie! Sleep well?"

...

Who was that?

Oh, it was Mother. How could Chara forget?

"Greetings, Mother. Yes, I did, thank you. However, I must ask-"

"Oh no no no, hush now. I've got plans to take care of, and I don't need any distracting questions. Just stay quiet and everything will go smoothly," she replied, shuffling papers and various other glass(?) objects through the dark.

Seems the lights are turned off, or maybe there wasn't any at all? Why would Mother have a room like this? It feels colder, but perhaps it's the atmosphere? Chara had many questions, but they knew better than to ask any of them.

They could feel the body of the other child next to them, struggling to get free of... something.

Feeling around when they thought Mother wasn't looking, Chara managed to stand up, cautiously holding their hands out to use their sense of touch where sight failed. The child's clothes, the tough rope binding It, the splintered chair from where It sat...

The knife's blade on which Chara's blood spilled from their hands.

...

So it seems that was the case.

By then it was pretty obvious what exactly Mother had been planning, but Chara still felt an inkling of denial. After all, there had to be a good reason for this! Mother couldn't have been bad all this time, was she?

A dim lamp turned itself on, giving off an eerie purple light and allowing Chara and the child to take in their surroundings.

When she held that sickening grin on her face and the knife was offered to them expectantly, Chara's suspicions were proven correct.

Chara took the knife.

.

.

.

Were they alive?

Were they dead?

Somewhere in between?

During the quick process, Chara had to wonder if this actually WAS what Mother had planned. But considering she completely denied them basic necessities to survive, they really had nothing to back up their claims.

They blacked out for a moment, trying to recover their previous thoughts.

...

Something is flashing a bright red... What could it be?

A Soul?

No, THEIR Soul.

What was it doing out? It shouldn't be unless they-

...

So that's what happened.

They couldn't see anymore, but they could sense they were floating, feeling weightless with the quite-literally-dead weight of their body most likely on the floor. They could feel themselves being pulled away from the warm atmosphere to be placed in someplace... cold.

Perhaps it was a storage tank, similar to ones they've seen the other Souls be put into. They won't be in it for long, if they were right.

It was easier to sense the other two's emotions, particularly the other human's. Fear, concern, and a tad bit of disgust. Honestly, they couldn't care less about it, since It would have to do something even more disturbing than what It just saw.

.

.

.

Frisk was scared.

Scared and disturbed.

Their friend just... Died?

They wouldn't really say 'friend' in the actual sense, per se, but they didn't think they would ever see anyone that treated them okay die...

They looked on helplessly as the person Chara called "Mother" gathered a glowing red light and gently stashing it away in a glass jar, leaving the motionless body behind.

She muttered a few things to herself, then she paused.

Snatching up a syringe, she turned to Frisk and rushed forward. A sharp pain spiked through their right arm as a needle pierced their skin, leaving no chance for them to cry out in fear before she pulled away. Blood oozed slowly out of the wound, and Frisk could feel their energy draining with every drop that spilled.

"It will take a few minutes for the contents to replace your blood and organs, but the earlier the better. I was going to wait a few more days, but then you two-" She glared at the dead body on the floor- "had to find out about this early. Nothing is prepared, thanks to you."

She hustled about again, and Frisk was able to make out some swears.

Somehow, they felt Chara's Soul tremble at her words.

After a bit of fumbling, Mother turned to Frisk with another wide, excited smile. Looking at what her arms held, there were differently-colored glowing spheres that looked like Chara's Soul.

"So here is what's going to happen: You will play nice, and help me test out my experiment. If not- well, you're going to help me either way, but it will hurt much more if you refuse to cooperate," she said with a giggle. She untied the rope binding them, but they were too afraid to move, lest they make their death earlier.

Frisk stared at the colorful orbs in horror as a pale blue Soul was taken out of its glass casing.

"Now say 'Ahh~'"

The child opened their mouth a bit after a long moment of hesitation, then realized what a mistake they made. It was only after it began did they realize. After it was forcefully shoved into their mouth and they could only consume it whole, they realized.

It burned.

After all that pampering they went though, it was only now they realized why.

Why she went through all that trouble, why Chara was suffering so much after their arrival, why they were offered everything the run-down house could offer.

So they wouldn't run away.

Another Soul barely managed to slip down their throat. She gave soft congratulations for being able to take them in so quickly, but Frisk felt their sins crawl on their back. Despite her efforts, every Soul made Frisk's throat drier.

Why did they accept it?!

Something began stirring within them, but they weren't concerned enough to find out what it was.

I don't understand...

They couldn't ask any questions. They couldn't speak at all. The stirring made them want to vomit.

It hurts...

They couldn't sit still. There was so much turmoil, pain surging from every part of their body.

IT HURTS... They didn't deserve this!

They fell from their seat on the chair. She forced their head up to stuff another colored Soul down their burning throat, barely managing the task as the child unceremoniously threw up a metallic substance onto the floor.

Blood.

They clutched their neck as they coughed up a few heavy lumps, making them feel empty. They hoped it was the Souls, but they felt that wasn't the case.

Stop, please...

"Last one, dearie. I promise," Mother purred, turning around for what sounds to be one final Soul.

Finally, this can end.

It can be finished, over with...

A tiny smile managed to make its way onto Frisk's face, despite all that's happened.

There was still hope.

They got up from where they were, tears rolling down their face from the pain. Their arms shook, barely able to keep them up from the puddle of vomit and blood forming underneath them.

But looking up from the blood-drenched floor, Frisk could see the faint glowing of a red Soul through Mother's hands.

No...

They had managed to put away in their mind that those previous Souls were actually long-gone beings, but...

She can't be serious. Wasn't Chara her oldest -or at least, longest-lasting- adopted child?

Although, with what Frisk could recall with their dizzy brain, it seemed Chara expected this to happen, somewhat.

When they figured out that's why the teen treated them so venomously, they...

They kind of felt sorry for them.

That was the last thing Frisk could feel before they blacked out after consuming all Seven Souls.

.

.

.


((A/N: Hl Uirhp'h mznv rh urmzoob ivevzovw! Gszmp tlw!))