Bonus Day: Gun

Chara put their back to the wall and willed their breath to slow and their heartbeat to calm. Every sound they made seemed so loud in their ears, they feared every step they took could be heard throughout the entire complex. A solid bar of light along the walls changed from blue to purple to red and back again; no breaks in the pattern indicated there were no enemies in their immediate line of sight. They dared to peek their head around the corner to take a look at the scoreboard high above the playing field, knowing and dreading what they would see. Two players remaining, one on each team. On the red team, Chara Dreemurr with one point. On the blue team, Frisk Dreemurr with five. All other players had been eliminated and had left the field. Somewhere in the laser tag arena, their final opponent was waiting for them. Or perhaps they were stalking them even now.

Chara willed the bile in their throat down. They had no chance in a straight up fight or shoot out. Frisk was faster, more athletic, with keen judgment and preternatural combat instincts. They had sparred a few times when Chara was trying to learn self-defense and they had never, ever been able to defeat Frisk. Even in this game it had been all Chara could do to take out one other player while Frisk had decimated their entire team single-handedly. They had no illusions about their abilities; if they fought fairly, Chara would lose. Maybe they could hide and force the game into a draw? No way, they had no confidence in being able to avoid a confrontation for that long. Besides, their competitive spirit balked at such shameful play. But what if they could sneak up on Frisk? If they could get the drop on Frisk and shoot them before they knew they were even in danger the difference in their abilities would not matter. Chara hefted their gun in their right hand. One shot. All it would take is one shot to the sensor Frisk would be wearing on the chest and back, and Frisk would be eliminated. Winning a fight might be impossible, but getting one opportunistic shot? They could do that. They could surely do that.

They peeked around the corner again, this time holding the gun in both hands as they swept around the corner. No shadows, no figures, no noises. Chara swallowed hard and willed themself to take a step forward. Carefully, carefully. Eyes open, ears sharp. A flash of movement, a footfall just a touch too heavy, anything might be a clue to their prey's location. Yes, their prey. Frisk was probably hunting for them too, but this time Frisk would not get their way. The path split, the right opening leading to the open field in the center of the play space and the way straight leading deeper into the labyrinthine twists and turns. They could not step out into the open; if caught there they would be dead. They had to stick to the outer edges. They stepped forward on the balls of their feet, slowly so as not to make any scuffs or scrapes which might give away their position. They rounded one corner, then another, each time scanning the new hall with their gun in hand, always looking where they were pointing so they could make a shot on the target as soon as it came into view.

Something fell from above, landing right behind them. Had they been crawling on the ceiling like a spider? Chara yelped and brought their gun around but they were too slow; the figure's left hand grabbed Chara's right wrist (my gun hand!, they realized too late) and pushed against them with all their weight, slamming them into the wall. Chara blinked and realized they were staring into the closed-eyed, smiling face of the enemy. "We've got to stop meeting like this," Frisk said coolly.

Chara turned their head away defiantly. "You have me at your mercy," they said. "Go ahead and do your worst."

Frisk pinched Chara's chin and pulled their face back toward them. "Believe me, I will." And then they kissed Chara on the lips.

They really ought to have put up more of a fight. But, well… what they hey? It was dark. They were alone. Chara could not fight back, not with their gun arm pinned against the wall so forcefully. So why not enjoy this for a moment? This was not their target. This was their datefriend, Frisk. Chara melted into the kiss, moaning in appreciation.

Frisk broke off, both of them gasping for breath. "Run away with me," Chara said, trying to get into character for an impromptu roleplay. There should only be a few seconds left on the clock for the match, it should not be impossible to talk Frisk into accepting a draw by timeout. "Let's forget all this, let's leave it behind. We can be together!"

Frisk paused and seemed to seriously consider the offer. "Sorry," they replied, getting into character as they pulled their laser tag gun out of its holster with their right hand and put the barrel up against Chara's chest sensor. "A job's a job." Then they pulled the trigger.

"Chara! It was only a game. You don't have to pout over it."

"I'm still not speaking to you."

"C'mon, Chara, don't be mad!"

From the driver's seat of his car Asriel cackled at Frisk's distress. It was no great surprise that Frisk was able to beat Chara; everyone on both teams figured that would be how it ended, especially after the entire red team was taken out when Frisk, to use Robby's words, "went all Matrix and stuff". What was a surprise was how steamed Chara was when the two of them walked out, Chara turning in their equipment with their jaw set and Frisk pleading with them to talk about it. Once in the vehicle Chara crossed their arms and dedicated themself to looking out the window.

Chara explained, "I hate being in the process of losing, but I don't care whether I win or lose, really. I'm upset because… because of what you did. If you had me in your sights you could have just shot me. But you had to showboat, didn't you?"

"Let me guess," Asriel said, looking back at them through the rearview mirror. "Frisk, you cornered them and shared a tender moment, then went and shot them anyway, right?" He laughed again when neither of them denied it. "Oh, you poor dumb fool! This is what you get for toying with the tender heart of an innocent young enby!"

Chara felt their cheeks get hot. That damn goat, he knew darn well how innocent they weren't and was teasing them about it. But when Frisk spoke again it seemed to have sunk in: their contrition sounded earnest. "Chara… I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad, I was only playing."

They closed their eyes. "Leave me alone tomorrow. On Monday morning bring me a treat, then I'll forgive you."

"O-Okay!" Frisk agreed.