Disclaimer: I don't own Undertale or any other media mentioned. I just tell the story.
-Chapter 14: Memento Memoria-
Between Sans' rather uneasy look, and Frisk and Kid looking about ready to swallow their tongues, it clicked into my head what this must have looked like. Looking like a dirty crazed sword wielding psycho was definitely not one of my finer moments for certain.
Being the sensible human being that I was (Ha), I dropped the sword pretty quickly upon realizing that. "Eeeegh... Sorry guys. We good now?" I gave a nervous rub at the back of my head. Mercifully the tension deflated a bit from the lot of them.
Realizing I had almost forgotten Sans' question, I continued. "Ah. This here is... well, they've taken to calling themselves Hoodie Tem." The little fluff ball poked their head over my shoulder with a bit of a yawn before spouting a less energetic but oh so content "hOI!" Sans raised a bone brow at that.
"Huh. You made friends with a temmie? Neato, kid. I'm the last person to judge friend choices, but doesn't their enthusiasm wear you down to the bone a bit?" He said with a toothy grin. "Ok, was that joke a bit bad? Be honest. I can take it on the shin." I couldn't help but groan at that one for sure. Worst yet.
Having a moment to look around, I realized that I wasn't actually that far from where i'd broken off from the others to draw Undyne away. Looking back forward, I could see one of those glowing star-like points as well as a table with some sort of pinkish crystal growing on it with what seemed to be cheese encased in it... and...
I couldn't help but stare silently at the pale blue glowing flower ahead. Echo flower. A chill ran down my spine. How did I know what it was? Sure, i'd heard the name before but... i'd never actually seen one before today... hadn't I? I was pulled back to reality slightly by Hoodie Tem's soft content purring in the hood behind me.
"Yo... you ok Chara?" Kid pulled me out of my daze with that question. "Yeah. Sorry. Was just a bit taken by that flower there." Sans cracked a bit more of a grin at that. "Like echo flowers, huh? I figured you were sorta the type."
I shrugged. "Personally I prefer golden flowers actually. But echo flowers look pretty nice as well. Not everyday you see a bioluminescent flower." Sans chuckled at that. "Well if they're still novel to you that means you haven't been underground that long. They're kinda cool I guess, but for most of us at least they're pretty mundane."
I raised an eyebrow at that, noting that even Frisk only seemed dully interested in them. "I suppose that makes sense enough. I lived in the Ruins for a while. Never seen one before." I half-lied. Sans nodded thoughtfully. "Well. Now you can say you have. Ain't that great?"
I went to reply, but Frisk grabbed me by the sleeve and started tugging me in a direction, almost excited. Well, the most excited i'd ever seen them at the least. "Woah. What's got you all jazzed?" They simply pointed forward with a slight grunt as I let them drag me along, Kid and Sans following casually.
They quickly dragged me down what looked to be an old mined out passage in the wall, a telescope and dimensional box next to it. The passage lead to a back room with a more than a little depressed looking pale blue furred rabbit-man monster leaning on what seemed to be an ice cream cart, looking decidedly like he had no idea what he was doing with his life.
Curiously there was also a series of engravings on the back wall like the ones before. However they were partially covered by a menu of 'nice cream' that the bunny-man sold, rendering it unreadable much to my annoyance.
With Frisk gesturing to them, it was pretty obvious what they wanted. Food. It did sound a bit tempting to me as well. And maybe as a bonus I could ask him to let me look at the engravings under his menu? I felt like I needed to know what was there. An important piece missing from a bigger puzzle.
Seemingly not noticing our humble group, the cart operator gave a heavy sigh. "I relocated my store but there are still no customers..." He opened his mouth to continue but I cut him off. "We'll get some nice cream." The poor guy nearly jumped out of his fur at that. Were we really that quiet? "nice cream!" Like a bullet, hoodie tem burst out from my hood making a beeline for the stand.
If he was shocked before he entirely froze up now, as the temmie bounced around like a sentient super ball chanting nice cream over and over in that odd cutesy voice of their's. "Heh. You really know how to pick friends, eh Chara?" With a shocking deftness and ease, Sans plucked them out of the air mid-jump, holding them like a pet cat.
The temmie gave out a slightly surprised sound somewhere between a meow and a bark and paused for a moment before continuing their excitement in the form of rapidly vibrating like a fluffy cellphone. Rather than struggling though they decided to sit in Sans' arms. "I... guess I do, huh?"
Kid's mouth gaped a bit. "Yooooo. You just grabbed them like it was nothin'! So cool!" Sans arched an eye socket, perpetual grin increasing slightly. "Ah, that wasn't really anything special, kid." They continued to gush over Sans however. "No, man! Seriously! I've never seen anything like that before!"
Having been distracted by the two, I hadn't even noticed what Frisk was up to. "Super! Here you go! Have a wonderful day!" Frisk, looking rather pleased with themselves, well as pleased as they could look with their eyes always closed like that, returned to us with a bundle of what I could only presume was nice cream... and a sponge as well? Huh.
They extended one to me along with the sponge. "Here!" Taking them, I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at how earnest they were. "Thanks, short stuff." They crossed their arms, pouting slightly. "Not short." The decidedly short scholar muttered out insistently.
They never were one to raise their voice much it would seem. "hahaha. If you say so." I ruffled their hair, which they begrudgingly enjoyed, and got to scrubbing the snack advertising graffiti off. Out of the corner of my eye I couldn't help but notice that Frisk was chatting with Kid... and... flirting? Ok, that was a bit of of an eyebrow raiser.
But then Frisk came more mentally mature than someone their age should be. Still... flirting. And ho boy were they a killer flirt. "I'm what? I don't get it, Frisk..." And it was falling on deaf ears. Frisk might as well be flirting a brick wall. Shame... They were good at it, almost frighteningly so. I guess Kid was too young to really comprehend these next level flirts... Was Kid even their name? I just kinda assumed that it was. Oh, the sign was finally washed off now. Good.
The once marred script now shown plain as day, softly glowing in the low light of the room, filling it with a faint blue tinge. "Barrier ahead, and ruins behind. Searching hard for answers you _ not find. The die is now cast. _ _ fallen angel's past. Then perhaps in this ancient cave finally the lost _ you will save."
...What the shit was this rubbish? The writings were about as clear as mud to me, and with a few small bits missing even after the cleaning I gave it. In fact it looked like someone had tried to chisel it away in haste, and had gotten at least one presumably important bit. Not being able to understand what you were supposed to be saving was a big deal, right?
Rather than make a big deal of it, I just grumbled a little and repainted the sign. "Thank you guys for the patronage here, even if that was a bit of a weird request to add onto it." The blue bunny-man's mood had markedly improved to be sure as he spoke.
"I guess I was reluctant to admit it to myself though." He gave a bit of a sigh. "I don't exactly get a lot of customers here either. Most of them are like the funny little fella there." He pointed to tem, who was using their unusually elastic paw to take massive licks of their nice cream.
"Where were you set up before?" I asked. He rubbed the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "Well... In Snowdin. Took me a little to realize that wasn't exactly the ideal place." Snowdin, huh? Perhaps we'd somehow just missed him?
"Well, i'm sure you'll find more business up ahead in Hotland. I get the feeling the people there would appreciate a cool treat." Frisk also gave a thumbs up and an encouraging nod. It couldn't hurt to help people along the way.
"Probably a good idea to get moving anyways. No telling when a general evacuation order might come down from New Home." Sans spoke up. He wasn't wrong either I figured. Kid looked to him nervously and questioningly. "E-evacuation? Are things really gonna get that bad?" Way to bring the mood down, Sans.
"We'll be fine as long as me and bonehead are around." I gave a confident grin, thumbing to Sans. I was gonna bring this mood back up a bit. And hey, I could throw badass magic tridents at will, and I was wielding the sword of a dude's vengeful soul ghost or something like that, what couldn't I handle?
"R-right." The Nice cream man's smile flicker a bit before he got his composure back. "Well! You all have a wonderful day, y'hear! And be sure to stop by again! Nice cream is the only cool snack that warms your heart!" I threw him a lazy salute. "We'll be sure to."
Frisk waved to them as well before coming to my side and sticking a hand out. "Heh. Want me to hold your hand short stuff?" They gave a firm nod, still with the nice cream occupying their mouth. Using my free hand I took it into my grasp, giving a soft but reassuring squeeze.
"Don't worry Scholar. You're not alone." With those words spoken, I took a bite of my own nice cream. Too cold? Not quite cold enough? I couldn't decide. The flavor was good though. Like, super good. It was like eating a dozen fresh blueberries dusted with sugar. It had to be some trick of magic how good it was. I couldn't help smiling.
...It was still not chocolate or mom's pie though. God, now I felt homesick. "You seem an awful lot interested in those old writings, Chara." Sans spoke up, his bony grin not quite meeting his eye sockets. "Sure they're worth wasting your time on? You're still young and full of energy. Don't you feel like that's a bit wasted on some dusty old words?"
Sans... Actually raised a pretty valid point there. "You... I suppose you're right. I just... It feels like they're important." Sans gave what I presume was a thoughtful look before shrugging. "If you think so, who knows, maybe you're right. Just don't forget to take some time to focus on the people around you as well."
He glanced to Frisk. "You've been so gung-ho that i'm worried you're not givin' the people around you the attention they need." Yeah... he had me there. Shit, I'd been so wrapped up in trying to press forward and unravel my own mess of a life I wasn't giving the people important to me the attention they deserved as much.
I kept that little expletive to myself though. Young company was present and mom wouldn't exactly approve. It always felt like she had ears everywhere back in the Ruins. What's to say she wouldn't find out outside of them? Casting a glance over to my two charges, I nodded softly to Sans. "You're right. I should be focusing on them a bit more. Don't worry, i'll make sure they have a good time." He gave an amused raise of the 'eyebrow' at that.
"You're startin' to talk like a Judge there, kiddo." That phrase again... I got the feeling that it meant a bit more than just an ordinary judge. I couldn't imagine myself with a powdered wig and gavel. The context didn't suit that anyways. "Sans... what exactly is a Judge down here? I get the feeling it's different from a surface judge."
Who knows. Maybe i'd get a straight damn answer from the bag of bones for once. Sans eyed me carefully, seeming not quite sure how to respond before eventually speaking. "It's a heavy responsibility. Generally the word Judge is used as short hand for Royal Justice. Their job is to serve the crown and kingdom and... well make judgments... not that that's always the case."
Sans rubbed the top of his head, his bony fingers softly scraping against the surface of his skull as he did so. He was nervous to be sure. " One thing common with all Judges however is that they're powerful... and have the power to see the darkness in a soul." Huh... Sounded like a big deal. Why didn't I read or hear about all this all before?
"They sound like a big deal. I'm guessing the capital has one now?" I mused thoughtfully at the prospect. Sans gave a small grunt of affirmation at my question. Perhaps a bit excited at actually getting some solid information I continued in a peppier tone. "I wonder what they're like and when we'll get to meet them? Maybe they can help us?"
Sans met that with a wan smile, looking many years older for it. How did he manage to make bone look exhausted? "Who says they haven't already been lending a hand?" He responded cryptically... to my renewed frustration. "So we've met them already then?" I asked, trying to cut through the cryptic BS while thinking of who could possibly be the Judge among everyone we'd met.
Somewhere in the midst of the conversation we'd all left the side room and started wandering deeper again. False crystal stars glinted over head... reminding me of the fact that I hadn't actually seen the real stars in a few years. With a tinge of unease I realized I had almost forgotten what the real night sky looked like... I could only imagine what it was like for the monsters who lived most of their lives down here.
The tension filled the air as Sans seemed to consider how he should respond to my follow up question when suddenly a tinny electronic jingle cut through the air from one of his pockets and he looked almost relieved. Pulling a phone out of his pocket he answered it. "Sans here... mhm... Alright. I'll be right there. Just need to take care of one thing quick."
Clicking the phone off he turned back to me. "Some stuff's come up. Gonna have to split for a bit. There's a shop a little ways up run by a retired member of the royal guard. I'll put a call ahead to let him know to expect you. He'll watch out for you and give you a chance to rest up while I take care of things. I'm putting my faith in you, kid."
And with a gentle shove he pushed me towards Frisk and Kid before walking off. Damn it he didn't answer my question! Chasing after him, I turned a corner to finds Sans was just... gone. As if he'd vanished into thin air. What the hell...? Looks like the smiley bone bag would be keeping his mysteries for today.
Glancing back to Frisk and Kid, who it would seem were playing foot based patty cake due to the lack of arms on Kid, I couldn't help but sigh. Well... Sans trusted me to watch out for them. Might as well do that. The weight of the sword Flowey had given me and the responsibility with it seemed to suddenly be that much greater now.
Gathering my courage and focus I moved over to them. "Alright guys. We got a bit of a road ahead of us and Sans is off to take care of some stuff. Good news is he's set us up with a place we can stop and rest. Which is great because I could use some real rest which doesn't involve falling."
Reaching down, I extended a hand to Frisk. Sure, they could probably get up fine by themself, but I was there to help so I might as well. That and Kid seemed to have managed getting up on his own somehow. Probably a skill he naturally developed due to his lack of arms.
Taking my hand firmly, I hefted them up and... they seemed the most worried I'd seen them in a while. "Scared..." they breathed out softly, barely a whisper. Frisk was one of very few words, prefering to sign or gesture rather than speak. This was one of those rare moments she chose to use words... and she was scared.
Kid spoke up as well. "Yo... I'm kinda scared myself... What if... the demons get us and we never see our families again?" I couldn't speak much for myself in terms of courage. I had... done some pretty cowardly stuff to find myself in this place after all. I wasn't going to leave them to be afraid though.
Mustering what courage I could, I put on a confident smile. "Well... You guys know i'd never let that happen." More than words... I needed to do something. "Say Frisk... you remember that song I taught you back in the Ruins, right?" They gave a soft nod.
"Alright... then let's all sing that together. A song of determination, and never giving up on our dreams." And with a deep breath, I began to sing. Putting all my determination into it as we pressed onwards. Frisk for their part hummed along more than sang, but eventually they started singing as well, Kid joining in after a few verses themselves... Asriel, if you're still out there... if you're real... I hope this can reach you.
"Listen up, what can you hear?
Does my voice simply disappear,
Sucked away into the void, so empty and so dark?
If there is more to this world,
Then I can be can be certain at last
That this drive burning within
Has some role to fulfill
I was crushed by the longing welling up inside
And I had just surrendered
Without having touched the air above the ground, or the endless sky
So I began to run
Because I feel it, even now,
These sensations overflowing in the beating of my heart
It's time to seize the day
As I am reaching for my goal
We'll create our own tomorrows 'till this world is finally whole
The answer I have found
Will always burn within my soul..."
The song finally dying down after a while more of singing, I rubbed at my throat slightly. That had... taken a lot more out of me than I actually expected. My companions were starting to look pretty tired themselves as well... But less scared at least. The hoodie temmie still rested snugly in their spot as well. Did they normally nap this long?
A few of the luminescent blue rivers made themselves known once more along the quiet paths, waterfalls which gave this place it's name feeding them. Squinting my eyes, I caught the faintest glimpse of something behind one of them.
"I... think I see something. I'm gonna go check it out, alright?" I didn't bother to look back to my companions as I pressed onwards, I could feel them just at my back though. I held the sword at my side, in case I needed to defend them.
Ducking under the falls after a moment's hesitation I found myself in a hollow of sorts. Man or monster made rather than natural. At the far back was another set of engravings like the ones before. However this one seemed better preserved. It's pale blue glow illuminating the cave in a strange fashion.
Hesitantly I approached, not sure what I would find. Steeling myself, I read it out loud. "The fallen prince must be by fate's decree sacrificed. Defiant one, If you seek his monuments, please look around. They hold the keys..."
Somehow I felt this had been addressed to me. What did it mean though? The soft rush of wind through the strange hollow continued but... I noticed there was a curious almost musical tone to it as it howled softly. Like a nostalgic tune that I couldn't quite place. Had this cave been intentionally designed so that the blowing wind would make music?
"I... don't understand..." Fallen prince? Fate's decree? Defiant one? It sounded like something out of a fairy tale, even to me. And I lived with monsters and magic. "Yo... this cave is pretty cool. Maybe when everything's over we can use it as a secret hangout base?" Kid chimed in with a touch of awe.
Frisk was even more silent than before, appearing to just stare at the engraving. I'd never seen them seemingly so... at a loss? Before now they'd even at their most troubled, walked with a strangely high level of confidence, so sure of themselves. Now however, it was like they were trying to swim for the first time.
"Heh. Maybe. But we really should get going. It can't be much further to the shop." Gently I placed a hand on Frisk's shoulder and escorted them back to the path. They didn't put any effort to resist, but they kept glancing back at the cave now and then as we went. Worrying to say the least... Perhaps I'd been imagining it, but I thought I heard an angry dog growl as we left.
Mercifully it wasn't much further until we came to an opening in the left wall, reinforced with wood beams, a sign hung over it in what looked to be an attempt at replicating the earlier engravings reading simply 'Gerson's place'. "Well... I guess this is the place. Hope we're not troubling them..."
It was nice to get out of the cold in any case, particularly now that our clothes were a bit drenched. The inside of the shop was nice and cozy comparatively. A particularly elderly looking tortoise-like monster sat at a counter with a slightly beat up pith helmet on his head.
For the briefest moment he looked about ready to have a heart attack, before he collected himself and threw out a cheery greeting. "Woah there! Greetin's! You must be the group Sans told me about! Come in, come in!"
He seemed quite energetic for a monster no doubt far older than me, a toothy grin to his face as he waved us in. Frisk at this point couldn't help failing to suppress a yawn. "Got some old cots in the back there if you all need a rest. Not exactly pretty here I know, but it sure is warm!"
Frisk looked to me questioningly, and I took a moment to ruffle their hair, with a warm smile. "Go get some rest. I'll be with you guys soon enough and you look like you seriously need it." Frisk looked about to protest before another yawn cut them off and they reluctantly accepted. "Heck yeah, sleepovers", Kid managed to tiredly add.
The two of them shuffled into the back, flopping down on said mattresses. Watching them settle in with a warm smile, as soon as they were down, Gerson's focus returned to me. "Wonders of youth, eh? One moment they're running full tilt, the next out like a light. Envy 'em that."
He considered me real carefully. "Been a loooong time since I've seen a human." He paused, as if expecting something. Ah. I should probably give him my name, yeah. "Chara. My name's Chara." He hummed to himself slightly. "Chara, huh... It's a nice name. Anyways, as I was saying. Been a long time since i've seen a human."
An almost suspicious look crossed his face. "My memory's gone batty on me in my age, but you look real familiar to me for some reason. We met before?" Carefully I removed my hoodie, laying it down near the kids, the temmie giving a sleepy almost-meow. The coat had taken on the bulk of the soaking at least so I mercifully didn't feel the need to strip my short sleeve sweater and pants as well.
"Can't say I remember meeting you before, no. You've got no problem with us staying here, do you?" Gerson gave a wry grin at that. "Not at all. Bit iffy about suddenly having two humans over but Sans swears by you, and i'd say he's a very good judge of character! Wa ha ha!"
What was so funny about that? Quietly he went about making some tea using the glowing water of Waterfall. He broke the silence again after eyeing the patch on my hoodie. "Delta rune, eh? Pretty strange seeing a human wearing the emblem of our kingdom. Wear it because you think it's pretty neat too?"
He set out a cup for me, which I took and sipped gently. "Kinda, I guess? More so I wanna get into the royal guard someday. This place is my home too and I wanna help watch out for it." Gerson's eyes (or eye as it were, there was no sign of his right eye ever opening once) widened considerably at that. "A human in the royal guard, eh? Ambitious. Sure to make for a great story to tell if you make it."
He took a big gulp of his tea. "Would have to get the captain to say yes to you though, and Undyne's a toughie at the best of times. Speakin' of, she actually stopped by here not long ago asking around for someone who looked an awful lot like you and your friend there... I'd watch my back if I was in your shoes. She's relentless when she's got her eyes on a target."
I nodded at that, enjoying some of the tea. It felt like my soul was both revitalized and energized. "Thanks for the heads up. I know I gotta face her down sooner or later. Hopefully by then i'll be able to talk her down. Hopefully after that I can talk with the king and we can work together trying to find a way to bring down the barrier without anyone else having to die." Gerson gave a dubious look at that. "If you say so, Chara. Hope you're right, I really do."
An awkward silence fell over the room after that, the light of the gas lamp keeping the room lit flickering softly. Tea eventually finished, I stood up. "I'm going out for a walk. Make sure nothing happens while i'm gone, would you?" I had the sudden urge to stretch my legs before I turned in.
Gerson gave a toothy, honest grin at that, crossing his chest. "Swear it on my hammer. You be safe out there... and take this with you." He shoved a somewhat old looking but functional umbrella my way. I nodded firmly at that, accepting it. "Thanks." And so I got walking, not thinking terribly hard where I was going, but keeping my guard up.
...Coming to a slowed stop, my eyes fell on something. An old statue of some sort, worn away by age and erosion it would seem. A steady drip from far above sprinkling it... Something about this statue... An air of loneliness hung over it. It was clearly not cared for. Forgotten and left to disappear. Unsure why, I set the umbrella up over it, feeling compelled to do so.
The drops of water softly pattered against the umbrella's fabric and with the water cleared I noticed something in a small recess on the statue. An ancient looking music box. Carefully working it out of the hole, I held it gently. From the looks of it, it had been sealed inside the statue at some point.
Heart racing, and hands shaking for reasons I didn't fully understand, I reached towards the winding key, and turned it several times, letting the music box sing after what must have been ages.
A gentle, and seemingly simple but heartfelt tune met my ears. Slightly repetitive, but... it reminded me of a nostalgic lullaby? I felt like i'd heard it somewhere before, long long ago. It was very similar to the song that the cave a while back had played as well.
The more I listened, the more I was enraptured, and feeling like I was on the verge of... something. But with a soft click, the music box reached it's end... and the spell as it was, was broken. Like the locket, I felt this too was important. That I should not lose it. So I gently placed it in my pants pocket.
Starting to feel fatigue catching up with me a bit, myself, I started my way back... but paused on noticing a corridor I must have missed before. I felt drawn to it, like I had the statue. Following it, I found myself in a dead end with another glowing engraving on one side of the room and a piano on the other... and another one of those glowing golden star-like points in the center of the room.
Something in the back of my mind told me that this point was out of place. That it didn't belong here. A small mental alarm of irrational fear. Still I reached forward and touched it. It flashed softly and once more I felt a surge of determination.
'A haunting song echoes down the corridor... won't you play along?', the engraving said, somewhat cryptically. Silently I cast a glance to the music box in my pocket. It had been down that way. Did I need to emulate the tune on the piano for some sort of puzzle?
I took a careful breath. I had once upon a time played a tiny bit of piano as a hobby. I considered myself a better singer, personally, but i'd probably be good enough. Cracking my knuckles I walked over the the key board and gently played at the keys for a bit.
The piano it would seem, despite it's seeming age was still well tuned. It's notes echoed strangely through the room though. Once I was comfortable with it, I dug into my memory of the song and gently played away. Feeling my fingers fly across the piano, I got lost in the moment, playing it in full, before finally noticing that a new door had appeared at the room's back wall.
A few monsters in the area had also been enraptured by my impromptu performance as well it would seem, dispersing when it was finished however. Uncertainly I cast my gaze to the door... "Well... nothing for it." I pressed inwards.
It opened into another room, a stone pedastal at the back of it with another glowing engraving above. A curious crimson orb rested on the pedestal. I felt... I felt something from it. Like it was... Looking for answers I turned my gaze to the engraving.
'Here lies a gift to the ardent knight from on high. To those who -efy Eb-, grasp your hop-s and dre-ms. They are all that will pr-ect you from fate's designs. Go with dete-mination and mercy.' Some of it had been eroded away or deliberately chiseled at.
Fate's designs again. Talk of an ardent knight... Still, it felt like once more they were speaking to me. So this... orb was for me then. I reached forwards, my right hand to clasp around the glassy scarlet surface. If not for the soft glow from it, it could be mistaken for a simple ball. But if it was so simple, why did I feel my hope swelling as I reached for it?
My thoughts were broken once more by the growling of a dog. Whipping my gaze around, I found myself staring at the little white dog I had seen back in the Ruins quite some time ago. And it did not look happy at all.
Still staring it down, I reached behind me carefully to take the orb. It's growl grew as I did so, and the hair on the back of my neck prickled. Every instinct screamed to me that if I moved, I was dead.
Holding the stalemate, I felt my exhaustion starting to catch up to me a bit. Seemingly sensing my wavering stamina, the dog growled again, small fangs bared. Why did it feel like I was staring down a lethal apex predator rather than an otherwise seemingly cute and harmless dog?
Finally something gave, and unexpectedly. Out of the blue, something small and fluffy leaped over the dog. Cloaked in it's sweater still, was the Hoodie Tem. They gave a cat-like growl at the dog, taking up an aggressive stance between me and them.
"Chara is... FRIEND!" The cat-doglike monster flicked it's tail aggressively. "You will not hurt my friend!" The dog's full attention was now pulled to them. Calling back to me over their shoulder they shouted "Take the orb! Now's your chance!"
With no time to question, I grasped the crimson ball as the dog lunged forwards. I'd just have to trust them. Blinding beams of light shot from between my fingers and I felt myself struck stiff, as if shocked with electricity.
A powerful surge of determination poured through me. A flood of memories washed over me as well. Memories that felt distant and alien, yet integral. Like missing pieces finally put into place, yet still missing a full picture. A recurring theme traced across many of them though. Many of them memories I had once thought to be but dreams.
"Asriel..." I barely whispered out amongst the din of raw magical power that thundered through and around me. The dream-like haze of confusion and uncertainty that surrounded just the very idea of Asriel melted away.
He was now an immutable truth. He was someone who existed with certainty. He was someone... special to me. Someone I had cared about more than anyone else. Family, though not by blood. A best friend who had come to mean everything to me. Finally... finally I had something resembling an answer!
A stark realization fell over me as well. I had been here before. The underground. It had been my home at some point in the past as it was once again now. But... that didn't quite follow. I remembered living and growing up on the surface at the same age. I'd... sort it out later.
Both the dog and temmie had stopped to stare. Hoodie tem in awe, and the dog in what seemed to be shock. Memory after memory slowly slotted themselves into place but everything ground to a halt. A sharp cracking noise filling the air. "No... not yet... Not yet! I was so close to understanding!"
Cracks formed across the orb as a dark lance pierced through it, it's bright glow dying away to a hollow and transparent clearness like fragile glass. With a humph, the dog quickly passed through a wall as a demon entered the room, tall and with sleek yet sinister armor. A dragonesque helm crowned their head, and with a motion of their hand they called the spear back to it.
Two crimson eye-like lights shined through the helm, pinning down on me. Like a far more sinister version of Undyne it took measured steps my way, spear raised in one hand. Power and killer intent rolled off it like a wave of miasma.
Hoodie tem backed away near me, ears pinned back with fear. We were both handily out matched here... I had my sword but lacking what protection my hoodie gave me, and faced with something like this, I shuddered to think how this would go.
Still, determination thumped in my chest, and I wasn't about to give in. I scoured my mind for some way out of this. I still had people counting on me. I... I still had to find Asriel! I couldn't die here! Not yet!
As the demon drew near, they silently extended their free hand and I felt my soul forcefully pulled into the open. A vulnerable target for it's spear. "Oh god, no..." I sputtered. Fear started to set in as they pulled the spear back.
No. My story wasn't going to end here! Not like this! Using every ounce of determination I had, I thrust my hand forward and gripped my soul. I was practically running on instinct by this point. And with a swift turn of the wrist I inverted my soul like I had when I unlocked my magic.
Hot burning pain lanced through me, as glowing white crack-like lines ran up my arm and across my body. It felt... like any moment my body would split apart... but something deep down inside... something... No. I wasn't going to die. In fact I felt stronger than I ever had before.
The blinding light slowly faded away, the demon staggering back slightly in possible surprise. Before them wasn't just a defenseless child anymore... With a heavy thud, the haft of a trident thumped to the ground. Embracing my memories I accepted this new power. I wasn't sure how long I could keep using it... but I had to try. Bringing the trident to bear I spoke, my voice now alien to me. "Everyone... watch over me."
Spear crashed against trident violently. Realizing the danger of the sheer power at play, the temmie backed away, slipping back out of the room to not get caught in the middle of it. It was so surreal, like i'd become the knight of my stories. The golden locket, previously tucked away, now hung in the open.
The dark dragoon pressed their offensive, no doubt trying to end this before it really began. Parrying a blow, I retaliated with a full force swing of the trident. While they managed to block the blow, the force was enough to cleave though the stone wall nearby as well.
Having staggered them, I started to charge some magic into my free hand. Hope overflowing as I drew on my determination. I could do this! We could do this! Throwing my hand forward, I let rip a beam of powerful monster soul white magic, seemingly blasting all the air and dust out of the small chamber, and slamming into the demon with great force.
Staggering back, the demon took stock of it's now badly burned self. It's 'armor' seeming to have melted in places. Sensing that it was now terribly outmatched, it vanished, fading away like fog before the morning light. I knew in the back of my mind this wouldn't be the last I saw of it though.
Attempting to step forward, I staggered, suddenly feeling terribly drained. Shakily I corrected my soul and like wind out of a sail, returned to my usual teen self. The sword clattered to the floor from my hands, suddenly feeling much too heavy.
A quick check on myself showed that I had critically low HP. Had I taken a blow I hadn't noticed, or had using that form simply taken that much out of me? Slumping back against the altar, I let out an aggravated sigh. I couldn't keep pushing shit like this forever. I'd have to get back to the shop but... for just a moment, some rest.
Hoodie tem at some point poked their head back in cautiously, before bounding over and curling up on my lap. "Heh... you did good, friend..." I gave them a tired pat on the head. My heart clenched however at the familiar and steady clang of metal sabatons against stone.
With exhausted heavy breaths I reached for the fallen sword. Out of reach... too weak... Growing dread filled me as the pale blue glow of a magic made spear filled the doorway, illuminating my executioner.
"This ends here, human." She spoke. Her helm seemingly giving a sinister gravity and tone to her voice. Holding one arm up, supported at the wrist by my other, I gritted my teeth, and tried to draw on my magic only to find... I could barely manage even a wisp of it. I can't die here...
Undyne pulled back her spear, drawing my weakened and tired soul out like before. Now a scarlet thing ringed with a band of white around it. Determination. Hope. I refuse to die here. Undyne hurled the spear forth... I refuse to di- My thoughts were cut off by a blinding pain as spear made contact with soul.
...After what felt like an eternity, the darkness before me was broken by a soft flash of gold, and my vision returned. I... I was alive? Looking around, I found myself to be back outside the orb room. The piano and engraving untouched, and the puzzle unsolved.
I gently pulled my hand away from the golden star. I had touched it a while ago but... It was like I had just touched it? That wasn't all a dream, was it? It had felt real enough. And... I had died? Had I somehow come back to life?
No. That had really happened, I was sure of that now, and I hadn't simply come back to life. It had to be something else... and it had to do with this star. Processing just what had played out, I said the only thing that came to my confused mind at the moment. "What the FUCK?!" Now of all times was definitely a good time to swear.
By god this chapter ended up taking far longer than I care to admit. One part real life stuff and one part hectic holiday prep. Still, i'm proud to have gotten it out... as massive as it is. I tried to focus a little bit more on the interaction between Frisk and Chara as well, though i'm not sure if I succeeded well.
My decision to end the chapter the way I did was to in a way demonstrate Chara at her absolute strongest and weakest, and to help outline the stakes a little bit better. SAVE still works for Chara, but only if she loses her HP to something that's not a demon.
I don't know if it was the right call not to end it on a cliff hanger though. I almost did, ending it off with the chapter stopping as the spear hit her soul... but I've done something similar several times before already, and don't want to wear that out. The poor girl could use a break from ending chapters KOed anyways.
We also see some slight payoff from all the way back in the earlier chapters of the story with the return of dog. We have not seen the last of them however.
As for a bit of detail on Chara's new ability... It's called 'DT Skill - Dreaming Knight mode' and was slightly inspired by FF6's morph/trance skill and Asriel's Hyperdeath form. Drawing on her reserves of determination and MP, Chara grasps her soul and forces it inverted to unlock this form. While in this form all of Chara's stats across the board are increased considerably and she can cast magic freely, as well as being able to wield the crimson trident like a proper weapon rather than using it as a projectile. The trade off is that it inflicts a gradual drain to her HP due to the strain it puts on her soul, though it cannot kill her directly, instead forcefully ending when her HP hits 1. This also completely shuts down her ability to use magic for a while as well when it ends because of the drain it puts on her. Best held in reserve. Particularly since overuse of it can result in 'DT Burnout'.
I had planned to get this out prior to Christmas, but alas it wasn't in the cards. Have this as a belated gift perhaps? It wound up even later on her because the doc manager was absolutely busted for me until recently.
And yes... Chara is totally singing some Gurren Lagann there, because i'm a fan and can't help myself a bit. Sorairo Days specifically. I'm not sure why, but having Chara with a bit of a musical background seemed right to me.