Disclaimer: I don't own the source material. Just the fic. If I did you would be able to call Toriel at all times for warm fuzzy feels.

-Interlude 1: A true nightmare-

Awoken by a sudden feeling of being watched, like I had felt in the forest all those days ago when I had first come to the underground, back in the forest, I reached for my knife. The room was dark and empty. No sign of any obvious intruder, but I did not feel safe in the slightest.

Sliding off the bed, I quietly crept into the hall, knife tightly in hand. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled as I proceeded. No one in the hall either. It was darker than it should have been. Too dark. Dark like night time.

Where was everyone? I... I didn't like this feeling of being alone again. Making my way towards mom's room, I paused. The mirror. Looking into it, I sighed in relief. Despite everything, it was still m- "Greetings." An... unsettlingly familiar voice came from the mirror as my reflection smiled faintly. It sounded like me but... wrong.

Taking a soft gulp, I gathered my determination and replied. "Who... are you?" My reflection tilted it's head ever so slightly, it's expression never wavering, like it was carved into the replica of my face. " Let me answer your question with a story. Long ago there was a human child. They where an ordinary villager, just like anyone else where they were from. A simple village really. "

The mirror image's smile widened ever so slightly. "However that village had a certain belief, as many simple villages often do. From the moment humans where born, they had evil in them." I started feeling ill as they unraveled their little 'story'. Something told me I had heard it before...

"Since it was impossible for them to wash away this evil with simple good deeds, they would 'force' this evil onto one person. A chosen 'vessel' to blame for all their evils. After all, if one person embodies everything they hold as evil, then they can't possibly be evil, right? Such a childish belief. This child became their precious 'vessel'."

"N-no. I don't want to hear anymore." I held out my knife in front of me, desperately not wanting to hear the rest. It was all too painful. "So these people cursed, spat, ridiculed, beat, and blamed this child for every ill fortune fate deemed to bring upon humanity. The sheer senselessness of it all... why was this happening to them? Who should they blame?"

The reflection's eyes glowed a soft red. "They grew to hate humanity. They grew to hate humans and the world they represented so deeply for this merciless persecution. They became exactly what the people wanted them to become. To the point their hatred became a part of them they could never escape, even if they say... fell down into another world without humans."

By this point my hands where shaking badly. "Greetings. I am-" A terrible cacophony of disjointed voices speaking in unison followed. So many names in so many different voices. It was as if I was before legion itself. A terrible and nameless being.

With a soft wave of their hand the voices cut to silence. "I am the demon that comes when people call it's name. I am the one that bears the sins of 'the player' so that they can live like those poor, blind, deluded villagers. I am you."

They slowly left the mirror, a twisted reflection of myself. I... I didn't understand. What 'player'? What did they mean by demon? "Even after all this time. Despite everything, you still resent humanity. You tried to run from it. To bury me... but deep down I was still there. You didn't think you could escape from your duty, did you? You still have to kill those filthy humans who wronged you."

I finally managed to get a hold of myself. " What...? No! I... I don't want to go back there. I don't want to hurt anyone. I have people that love me now. I have a family." They simply smiled, tilting their head further. "Family? Useful tools towards our ends. They will serve well. Monsters can be so... trusting after all. I think I would like to meet them. Come, let us finish what they started"

I snarled at the mirror image. "You won't get anywhere near my family. I refuse to let you anywhere near them!" Their smile faded a bit and their head tilted further still. Any further and it seemed their neck would snap. "No...? Hmm... How curious. You must have misunderstood. Since when were you the one in control?"

Their eyes darkened like black pits, and their smile became worse than ever as they advanced on me. I felt myself pulled into a battle. -'Chara' HP: ? ATK: 99 DEF:99, You are in their way- Not good odds, looking at their stats... but I had to try.

They spoke in an almost calming voice. "It's ok to be afraid, Chara. I have done this countless times... Not that you would know of any of them since this will be your first." They raised a hand towards me. "I will make this quick." With that, all hell broke loose. Blades slashed through the bullet box in terrible volleys, catching my soul and wracking me with pain. Somehow I managed to still be standing through it all though.

"Strange. I was hoping you would fall with my first strike. It would have been easier on you. On both of us." There was no way talking it out was an option here, and I wasn't going to let this damn reflection beat me. Not here. Putting as much force as I could into the knife, I drove it at them. A solid hit, but it barely seemed to slow them.

"Ho. I have obviously underestimated how determined you are to protect your 'family'. Because you 'love' them. Let me rectify that." A hand grasped for my soul, followed by a second. I managed to evade them though. I was in pain but still in the fight.

"Your obstinance is commendable... but the outcome of this was already per-determined. No amount of determination will change your fate." I struck them again with the knife. They bled a small bit of black... and my ability to attack felt like it shattered, followed by every other option, one by one.

I screamed for help. Someone... anyone! There was little else I could do... but nobody came. "I'm glad you made it interesting for me, but I'm afraid that I grow tired of playing with you. It was amusing watching you cling to your beliefs so tightly... but you cannot proceed. It was ordained." The battled ended and I suddenly found myself inside the mirror now. " There's someone else I'd very much like to play with, you know. You know them very well. I would like to see why you think them so special myself. See you soon... partner."

I could do little but scream and pound at the unyielding surface as they walked away in my body. I... couldn't protect anyone. I screamed until my throat was raw. "Chara..." And I screamed even more as hot tears poured down my face. "Chara...!" Because of them my family was going to d- "Chara! Please wake up!"

I felt something shaking me. My eyes shot open to find Toriel standing over me, a very worried expression on her face. "It's ok Chara... it was just a nightmare... you're safe... I'm here..." She pulled me into a gentle hug as I continued to cry. It was... just a nightmare. I was still here. My family was still here... I was still here. It was a long while before the shaking finally stopped.

MsYakumo: Well that escalated quickly! Goat mama to the rescue though so everything's ok. Probably. This at the least does mark the first real serious battle that's cropped up in the fic, even if it was a dream. A fair bit darker than I usually write but it won't be the average, so for those of you looking for a fun time and great adventures, you're in luck! Remember kids, don't do a violence or an edgy demon will eat your soul! As always dear readers, stay determined!

It appears I can't deliver on that Toriel picture and now I feel bad. I didn't realize you can't drop links on here. As a certain flower might put it, 'you idiot'. Yes. I am very much an idiot. But I'm learning at least! Expect chapter 5 relatively soon.