Chapter nine: Yet darker
Asriel was awake. His eyes were closed and he was still motionlessly lying on the stretcher, but he was awake. The lack of sound around him was unsettling; he had at least expected to hear the voices of his friends or family, some of Alphys' equipment or…anything, really.
He opened his eyes, and felt a wave of confusion go through him when he saw his surroundings. He was alone. Even better, he wasn't in Alphys' lab at all. The bright light and high ceiling had been replaced by a much smaller room. He was no longer on the stretcher, instead lying on a familiar bed. The only light source was a lamp near said bed, which illuminated the entire room in a soft, peaceful glow.
This is my and Frisk's bedroom, he thought as he sat up. How did I get here? It feels like I was only out for a few seconds.
He flinched when the door to the bedroom opened, revealing the silhouette of a humanoid figure. With the small amount of light present, Asriel could see that the figure's shape looked like that of a slender teenage Human girl, not unlike Frisk.
Asriel quickly got up from his bed and looked at the figure, slightly nervous. "Frisk?"
The figure's face was barely visible, but Asriel could see that she was giving him a weird look. "Who's this now?"
The prince blinked. "What?"
"Who's frisking?" the figure asked as she took a step into the room, allowing the light to reveal her features.
Asriel gasped.
She looked older than she did all those years ago, but he still recognized her. Those bright red eyes could only belong to one person. Her hair had grown past her shoulders, but it still had that same brown color. Even her clothing was similar: a green t-shirt with a single horizontal yellow stripe on it, brown pants and shoes.
At first, Asriel just sat there, gaping at the person. She stared back, giving him a questioning and weirded out look. Then, the prince momentarily regained his voice, allowing him to utter one word – or a name, rather.
"Ch…Chara?"
The figure blinked. "Asriel? You alright?"
Chara walked over to the small cupboard in the room, and picked up the phone that was lying on it, still waiting for her brother to reply. When he didn't, she turned back to him.
"What?" she asked, annoyed. "You going to get breakfast or what? Mom and Dad worked hard on it, it would be a shame to just leave it there."
"Wha…" Asriel stammered. "Chara, I…"
"What's wrong with you today? What, you had a bad dream?" Chara asked in a mocking voice. "You need Mom to give you a hug? 'Cause I'm not going to do that."
"…no…" Asriel said after a pause. "Uh, of course not."
"Good." She went back to the door. When he didn't move, she turned back to him again. "You coming?"
"Y-yeah."
Asriel followed Chara into the dining room – still not believing what he was seeing – and heard another familiar voice greet him.
"Good morning, Asriel," Toriel smiled as she sat down at the table.
Mom? Asriel thought. What're you doing here?
"Yeah. Uh, morning," he responded.
"Howdy!" Asgore called as he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, carrying a bunch of plates with food. "Ah, I am glad to see that Asriel has joined us. Who would like some breakfast?"
Chara lazily sat down on her chair. "I won't say no to that."
Asgore chuckled and gave both her and Toriel their respective plates, after which he turned to Asriel, who was still standing near the doorway. The king's smile dropped upon seeing his son's frown.
"Asriel?"
Asriel snapped out of his trance. "Huh?"
"Are you all right?"
The prince hesitated. He was definitely not alright, but if he were to say that to Asgore – or whoever this was – his situation would most likely not improve.
He silently nodded and took his seat, looking down to avoid the inspective gazes from his family members. At the moment, he was not sure if he would be able to look into their worried eyes. He just needed to think…
And maybe investigate…
Whatever Sans and Papyrus had done, it had transferred his consciousness into wherever Gaster was. He didn't know anything about the former Royal Scientist or his location, so this all might very well be an elaborate illusion, generated by…something. Powerful magic, perhaps? He wouldn't be surprised if Gaster had somehow come to know complicated tricks like this.
I'll have to break the illusion, Asriel thought. It's the only way to find Frisk.
He barely moved when Asgore quietly put a plate with food in front of him on the table. The king himself took a seat and a plate of his own, and looked at Toriel and Chara, who shrugged. He looked back at Asriel and hesitated.
He eventually made the decision to remain silent about the matter, and exclaimed that everyone enjoy their meal. And so everyone did, with one exception.
Asriel's mind barely registered any of it. It wasn't that he didn't want it to: the food was great as always, but his head was filled to the brink with thoughts, questions, theories, possible solutions…
…doubts…
He put his cutlery down and stood up, once again drawing the attention of his family members. He made sure not to meet any of their gazes and awkwardly scratched his head, forcing himself to make a good excuse quickly.
"I, ah…" he began, "I just…need some fresh air. Yeah, I'm going to…get some fresh air. Uh… Later."
He walked out of the room, not listening to the questions and worried exclamations that the others threw at him. He immediately went to the front doorway and left the building in a state of confusion, fear and shock, which despite the fresh air remained present as he walked through the streets of New Home.
"Asriel!"
He turned around and saw that Chara had chased after him, coming to a stop once she reached him. She frowned at him and threw her hands up.
"Asriel, seriously! What's wrong with you today! Why do you look at me and Mom and Dad like we're a collection of miracles? What's this all about?!"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," the prince retorted. His voice allowed his frustration to shine through, and he suddenly realized how much rage he held. "What is happening?! Why is this all the way it is?! Where is this?!" He looked at Chara. "Why are you here!"
Startled, Chara flinched and took a step backwards. Her eyes were wide and her hands raised in a defensive manner. "Whoa…what…?"
Asriel felt all the anger he had been building up since his resurrection break free from its bonds, and he threateningly took a step towards his sister. He was taller than her (one of the perks of being a Boss Monster), and his usually peaceful face was contorted into an intimidating glare.
"I died!" he yelled in her face. "I died with you! I spent the majority of my life as a psychopath – as a…a megalomaniac! And then she saved me! Frisk! It took me years to get over your loss, and even then – even now…
"And here you are, like nothing ever happened, saying that I have to explain what's wrong with me! You want to explain to me how you came back from the dead, Chara?! Do you?!"
Chara looked back at him, frozen in fear. She never expected to be scared of Asriel, of all people. Asriel. Soft, friendly, selfless, patient Asriel. Her brother. She had known him for years, but she never saw him like this. His face was red, his eyes were starting to water.
Despite his anger clouding his mind, Asriel sensed that something else was…off. He had sensed it when he left the castle, but had been unable to place his finger on it. He looked around as if searching for answers.
Then, he saw it.
"Where're all the people?" he asked. His voice was softer and had started to quiver, his facial expression had turned from furious to nervous.
Chara looked around the empty streets and houses. She tensed up before letting out a despondent sigh. "Shit…I messed up."
Asriel turned back to her. "What?"
"Alright," Chara said, "you got me." She gestured towards Asgore's castle. "Come back with me to the castle. I'll explain everything there."
The prince was hesitant, but he obeyed.
Reaching the castle didn't take long, but the awful silence that hung in the air during the walk was unpleasant. Asriel really didn't know what to think of the situation: it looked like Chara was back, but she seemed to have secrets that went deeper than what could be perceived at first glance.
The prince had a lot of questions, but he didn't dare ask them at that moment. Chara said she'd explain everything in the castle, so Asriel decided that he should be patient and wait until they reached their destination. He might not get any answers otherwise.
Once they entered the house, Asriel followed Chara back to the dining room, where the latter sat down at the table. Toriel and Asgore were nowhere in sight.
Chara gestured to the chair across from her. "Have a seat, Asriel."
The prince shook his head, causing the Human to sigh.
"Look," Chara spoke, "I'm not going to try anything. Just sit down, and I'll tell you all about where you are. I'll tell you where Frisk is, how Gaster fits into all of this… You're free to ask away."
Not without reluctance, Asriel decided to obey once again and sit down after a brief moment of hesitation. Once seated, he looked at Chara and spoke with a restrained voice.
"Where are we?"
"That's kind of a tough question," Chara said, "but I'll do my best to answer it." She leaned back in her chair. "After we died, I somehow found myself…here. It's some kind of…other world. I should be dead, but I'm not – even though I don't have a physical body. I still don't fully understand how it works." She spread her arms. "This all is just one way for the world to manifest itself, and it's the manifestation I chose to welcome you."
"To 'welcome' me?" Asriel said. "I'm pretty sure I should be talking to a former Royal Scientist now."
Chara let out a chuckle – something Asriel wouldn't necessarily expect from someone he'd lost for such a long time – and put a hand on her heart. "You wound me, brother," she said in an overly dramatic voice. "But to answer your implied question: I got to you before you got to Gaster."
"What do you mean?"
"When those two skeletons sent you to him, I intercepted you and brought you to my own part of this world."
"You intercepted me? How's that possible? Sans and Papyrus have a direct connection to Gaster—"
"Yes, they do. And if they'd gone to Gaster themselves, I wouldn't've been able to stop them. You, however…" She pointed to her brother. "Since you don't have a direct connection to that old scientist, bringing you here before you got to him was easy enough. He doesn't have my determination, you see."
Asriel felt a brief drop in temperature when determination was brought up. It reminded him of Flowey. The prince still remembered how he abused the power for his own sadistic adventures.
"So…where's Frisk?" he asked.
"Frisk's with Gaster."
"And where's Gaster?"
"Out of your reach."
"Well then, can you help me get Frisk back?"
Chara shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that's a no. It's not that easy."
The young goat man frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"Asriel…" The Human's relaxed position made place for a more formal one, as she leaned forward, folded her hands and put them on the table. "When Dad declared war on Humanity, I was there. When Mom left him, when he killed those other six Humans, when the Royal Guard specialized in killing Humans… I saw it all happen.
"Then Frisk came. The little pacifist never killed or hurt anyone. She was the only one powerful enough to give the Monsters hope, and she's responsible for your resurrection. You even made her part of the family – and that's where it stings… Because at the end of the day, it wasn't Frisk herself, but her power – her determination – that forged the friendship between her and the Monsters of the Underground."
She cracked her neck. "You see? Like Frisk, those other Humans didn't hurt anyone, yet they died because they had less determination – something that's largely beyond their control. How fair is it then that Frisk is the one to join the family? Aside from her Soul, how is she any different from those others?"
"Where're you going with this? And since when do you care so much about Humans?" Asriel suspiciously asked.
"Eh," Chara modestly said, another humorous smile appearing on her face. "Guess it's part of being incorporeal." She looked her brother straight in the eye.
Asriel nodded, but his face displayed a skeptic look. "Uh-huh, sure. Chara, do you know how long I've been hiding my pain after Frisk saved me?"
"Enlighten me."
"Long. And I can see that you're going through the same."
The Human's smile dropped. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're in pain," the prince said. "And I think I know why. It hurt you, didn't it? Seeing Dad like that – seeing him kill those Humans. It's not easy to accept that our father's got innocent blood on his hands. That's why you're saying Frisk doesn't deserve to be part of the family: because you don't want to blame Dad, you blame her.
"But neither of them are the bad guy. Dad regrets what he did greatly, and I don't hate him. He's doing whatever he can to redeem himself now. There's no one you have to blame, Chara."
"Honestly, I don't think that Dad's declaration of war was a bad idea," Chara said without blinking. "I do think that Frisk shouldn't've intervened."
Asriel froze upon hearing that. His eyes widened. "What?!"
Chara was still looking straight into her brother's eye. "How does Frisk have the right to live? Really, how does any Human have the right to live after what they did to Monsterkind? That's the same as letting a royal break the law with no consequence. That kind of royal is asking to be overthrown. And because you all didn't realize that, I've taken matters into my own hands."
A silence fell.
Asriel was shocked. He had always known that his sister wasn't fond of Humanity, but he never expected to hear her say that genocide would be a good thing.
When the prince spoke again, he spoke slowly. "Gaster's not responsible for Frisk's panic attacks, is he?" When Chara didn't answer, he continued. "He never was. But there was something – or someone – pulling the strings."
When Chara remained silent again, Asriel's voice began to quiver again. "D-did you…?"
"Yes," the Human admitted. "But I had a reason, Asriel."
"Why?!" Asriel felt his eyes sting. "What'd Frisk ever do wrong?!"
"I just explained that," Chara said with forced calmness. "She doesn't deserve to live. She should've died like those other Humans."
"How could you say that?!"
"If she'd died, the Barrier would've been broken and Dad's war would've begun. But now, because Frisk survived, it's up to me to set things right."
"This isn't 'setting things right', Chara!"
"Monsters should be free. And Frisk messed up Dad's plan by staying alive." She narrowed her eyes. "You had the chance to free Monsterkind twice. And both times, you refused. It's your fault that Monsters have been suffering for so long."
That struck Asriel like an arrow. His eyes widened and his voice was momentarily gone. He was almost choking on the pain Chara had sent his way.
Even when he found his voice back, the air he sent through his vocal cords hurt him. "I…I couldn't just let you kill those Humans… And I was scared that, maybe, Humans and Monsters weren't ready to coexist. That's why I left the Barrier the way it was."
"So you sent Frisk home and left everyone else to rot," Chara coldly said. "That's typically you. Too scared to act, even when carrying the fate of the Underground. I'm sure you're proud of yourself: you've sealed the fate of Monsterkind while you could've changed it."
Asriel felt tears in his eyes. There was a lump in his throat. "Y-you…you need…to stop."
"No," Chara spat. "You need a spine."
"What happened just now?!" Frisk asked to the former Royal Scientist. "You just disappeared into thin air and… Well, you left."
Gaster sighed despondently. "I failed."
"What do you mean, you failed? We're both still here, aren't we?"
Gaster looked at her. "Another person was about to join us. Sans and Papyrus had made an attempt to send them to me, but…"
"But…?"
He sighed again. "The Entity. It took the person away, to its own part of the world."
"How's that possible?" Frisk asked. "If Sans and Papyrus can contact you with no problem…"
"Sans and Papyrus have a direct link to me, making them untouchable for the Entity should they attempt to contact me themselves. However, if they were to send someone else…"
"…that someone wouldn't be so immune," Frisk realized. Gaster nodded.
"The Entity has taken them from their path towards me," he said. "It has brought them to its domain. There is nothing I can do to help the victim."
"Who'd they send?" the Human asked, suddenly feeling a sense of fear rise in her gut. "Dr. Gaster, who did they send? Who did the Entity take away?"
The Royal Scientist hesitated, conflicting with himself whether or not he should answer that question. He was also unsure about whether or not he should tell Frisk the truth behind the Entity. He realized that, regardless of the choices he would make, the weight on the young Human's mind would increase.
But, he knew, uncertainty is more unpleasant than unpleasant certainty.
He made his decision. Keeping secrets would only make things worse.
He was going to tell her everything.
You know, I've heard quite a bit about those people who instantly get enraged once Chara is revealed to be the antagonist of a story. To those people, I will say the following…
Remember what Gaster said in previous chapters? The Entity (Chara, obviously) was 'assimilated' by the dark events of the Underground, meaning that she's been corrupted by what the people of the Underground have done. Therefore, it's not (entirely) her fault that she has become malevolent. If that's not good enough for you…well, I'm sorry.