They had arrived on campus, and were in the lobby of one of the buildings along with Sans, Undyne, and Alphys.
"While you were gone, there was a c-catastrophe in the laboratory basement," Alphys said. "We h-heard gunfire, and then an explosion. When we went down into the b-basement, we discovered that all our security guards were dead."
Frisk was shaking. Hearing this, they felt a familiar urge to reset. If they went back, then, maybe, they could save those humans.
"I can prevent them from dying!" Frisk argued.
Sans shook his head. "It's not that simple. We have confirmation that Genocide Frisk is in our timeline now. Both you and them are filled with determination. So what happens if either of you try to reset?" Sans shrugged. "We don't have a theory. At worst, this timeline won't be able to handle such an anomaly, and the universe will collapse, destroying everything."
"Genocide Frisk is here?" Frisk asked.
Chara gripped Frisk's arm, but the expression on their face was calm. "Let's hear them out."
"They – Genocide Frisk, I mean – left us a note on one of the d-dead guards," Alphys continued. "Here it is."
Alphys handed Frisk a piece of paper wrapped in plastic. Flecks of dried blood was on the surface of the paper. Frisk recognized the handwriting on the paper as being their own.
'Have this timeline's Frisk meet me by the hill on the west edge of the city. Do not let anyone else come.'
"This was written by Genocide Frisk?"
"That's what we think," Alphys answered. "The trap d-door in the basement had been blown open. Somehow, Genocide Frisk must h-have escaped and killed everyone guarding that door. We s-searched all over the laboratory, but we could not find them."
A feeling of uneasiness hit Frisk like a truck. If Alphys was right, then that meant Genocide Frisk was now somewhere out in the city. Just thinking about that made Frisk's head spin.
"We get how you're feeling, kid," Undyne spoke up. "There's a clone of you out in the city somewhere, potentially wreaking havoc. This isn't good."
"On that note, let's call them something different," Sans said. "'Genocide Frisk' is a mouthful, and, they don't deserve Frisk's name. I propose we call them 'Killer'."
Chara turned away from Sans. Noticing this, Sans' expression softened. Frisk faced Chara and placed a hand over their shoulder.
"Chara? Is there s-something wrong?" Alphys asked.
"No," Chara replied. "I'm fine."
Frisk leaned towards Chara. "Are you really?"
"...Yes," Chara whispered back. "Sorry. I thought for a second that Sans was going to call them...my name."
"He wouldn't do that."
"Yeah. 'Killer' is fine."
"So let's go find this 'Killer' and bust their ass!" Undyne shouted. "They said they were going to meet Frisk at the hill, right?"
"We've prepared ourselves t-to engage them," Alphys said in a nervous voice. "Of course, Frisk, you d-don't need to come."
"They asked us to," Frisk said. "Maybe they have something important to tell us."
Undyne turned towards Frisk and displayed a wide grin. "Well, we can beat it out of them, then! There's no need for you to put yourself in danger for our sake again, Frisk."
"I'll still go," Frisk said. "I've seen them once before. I want to talk to them. I...I want to find out what happened to me."
"Kid. They aren't you!" Undyne continued. "We're dealing with a Killer here! I can't imagine any person more different to you than them."
"Actually, Frisk has a point," Sans spoke up. "Killer might have important information that they're only willing to share with Frisk. It might be about what's going to happen if either of them try to reset. They did mention to only let Frisk come."
"Right," Frisk said. "If I can reset, then I can go back and save those humans. It's something I have to found out!"
Alphys turned her eyes down. "All r-right, Frisk. If you really insist on coming with us, then we'll let you. But, for your s-sake, we'd prefer if you didn't confront them immediately. We have reinforcements, and we're r-ready to take them on if they try to engage us."
Frisk nodded. "Okay."
"Wait. I have a question," Chara said. "Where's...Asriel? The flower we brought along?"
"We evacuated your room," Alphys answered. "Asriel and all of your b-belongings have been moved to a safe site on campus."
Chara breathed in relief. "Thanks."
"Frisk. If they try to attack you, I'll murder them," Chara said.
They were in the car, on their way to the hill that Killer had told them to arrive at. Chara sat in the back seat with Frisk.
"How are you going to fight?" Frisk asked.
A devious grin came over Chara's face. They put their hands in their pants pocket and pulled out a short knife.
"...You were hiding that the whole time?!" Frisk asked.
"Of course. I don't go anywhere without being armed."
"If Killer can t-take out a group of armed men, I doubt a knife will suffice in killing them," Alphys spoke up.
"I don't care," Chara said, tucking the knife away. "I'll fight them anyways."
"Please don't b-be too rash," Alphys replied. "Let's, umm, review the plan again."
Frisk leaned back in their seat and looked out the window. Their car went onto a road that was already leaving the city. Buildings and houses became replaced by dense forest, and they slowly began to ascend up a hill. Above, the sky was dark and cloudy.
It was eleven PM. One hour before midnight, their planned time of engagement.
"Sans is on his motorbike, and Undyne is in the truck with the soldiers," Alphys began. "Undyne will w-walk up the hill and confront Killer first. The twelve s-soldiers that we've brought along will follow her, then spread out to surround the hill in a circle. Next, Sans will come and walk up the h-hill from the opposite direction, hiding, and r-ready to attack from behind. There's a grove around the hill, where the two of y-you will be hiding. I'll stay in my c-car and monitor everything with a camera."
"The soldiers are all armed snipers. If a fight starts, Undyne will g-give the command for them to aim and shoot. However, if she d-does not give the command, they must remain hidden. In the event that...Undyne is incapacitated, or c-cannot give the command, Sans will take over and give the order. Sans has the capability to engage at w-will. You will remain hidden with the s-soldiers until you see the command."
Alphys sighed. "I really h-hope this works."
Frisk wanted to say something reassuring, like 'don't worry, Alphys', but they would be lying. This was the most worried that they had felt since confronting Asgore in the underground. And, unlike before, they had no idea whether or not they could even reset. They could feel their heart pounding in their chest, and their palms were sweating. To calm themselves down, they took a deep breath.
Fifteen minutes later, the car arrived at the base of the hill.
"Be careful," Alphys said as Frisk and Chara got out of the car. "I w-want the two of you to come back alive. Don't risk your l-lives by doing anything dangerous."
"I won't," Frisk replied. Chara didn't say anything.
"Chara. Tell Alphys that you'll be okay."
Chara averted their eyes. "I'll be okay, Alphys."
"And you w-won't do anything risky?"
"...I won't do anything risky."
Sighing, Alphys nodded and closed the car doors.
Frisk looked around. They could hear something something like quick, muffled footsteps around them. It was most likely the other soldiers who were climbing up the hill.
Chara extended out their hand.
"Let's go, Frisk," they said.
"All right."
Frisk took Chara's hand. Keeping their heads low, they began walking up the hill together.
It was cold, and their mood was tense. A chilly wind blew as they walked, shaking the bare branches of trees that grew on the side of the hill. Flecks of snow covered the ground, and their shoes made crunching sounds as they walked upon them. Other than that, the place was silent. Above, large grey clouds loomed, hiding the moon.
Frisk wore their duffle coat, but they still felt cold. They leaned against Chara as they walked for warmth.
"What are you going to say when you meet them?" Chara whispered.
"I don't know," Frisk replied. "I'm hoping for them to talk first."
"...Frisk." Chara gripped Frisk's hand tightly. "Don't reveal yourself. Let me talk first."
"Chara, why?"
They looked at Frisk with a concerned expression. "I don't want you to get hurt. I'd rather get hurt myself."
"I don't want you to get hurt, either!"
Chara looked away. "You don't even have a weapon. If we end up fighting, I'll protect you."
"You think I'm not armed, either?"
A look of surprise came over Chara's face. Frisk took out, from within their pocket, a worn dagger and also a silver heart locket.
"...Frisk?!"
Frisk tried to muster up a smile. "I try to be prepared, too. Here, you can have the heart locket."
"That's...that's the one Asriel and I shared," Chara said, taking the locket.
"Right. It belongs to you."
A sad smile spread across Chara's lips as they put on the locket. "This feels like old times again."
"Huh?"
"I wore this locket back then," Chara said. "Every time I fought with Asriel. Every time we role played together. I always had this locket with me."
"...That's sweet."
"Thank you, Frisk."
"You're welcome."
Chara opened up the locket, looked at what was written inside, and sighed. Then, they tucked it underneath their jacket.
"Okay. Let's go, Frisk."
"Right."
When they reached the top of the hill, the two of them hid behind a tree. Undyne was already there, fully equipped in armour, and wielding a spear and a shield. She stood just metres away from them, at the edge of the field. The field was empty.
Frisk glanced around. They saw the soldiers, too. Some of them were lying in the grass, others hiding behind trees, like them. All of them had their rifles aimed at the field, and were still as statues.
"Look," Chara whispered suddenly. "Someone's coming."
Frisk turned back to face the field. The figure of a little human being was walking into it. When they came closer, Frisk held their breath, and they felt their heart pounding again.
It was themselves, wearing that old blue and purple striped sweater. A knife in hand. A wide and malicious grin upon their face. The only thing that was different was their shadow. There was no giant shadow anymore. In fact, there was absolutely nothing behind them. The entire field was dark.
"Who are you?!" Undyne yelled, pointing her spear at the child.
"Oh? What's this?" the child began to say. "I thought I had asked for this world's Frisk. Instead, I get an angry old fish lady." They chuckled. "You know who I am, Undyne. I'm Frisk."
"No, you're not," Undyne said. "You're a Killer. Frisk isn't."
"Is this one of those timelines where Frisk is a super nice saccharine schtick?" They raised a hand to their chin and giggled. "I should've expected as much. You are back on the surface, after all."
"Tell me why you're here!" Undyne shouted. "Why did you kill those guards in the basement? Why do you want to see our Frisk?"
"Why? Well, I was going to tell you everything, but it seems like you people in this world have a distinct knack for not following instructions," Killer said, smiling. "If you don't follow my instructions, why should I do anything you ask me to?"
Undyne's grip on her spear grew tighter. "Don't mess with me, kid."
"How unfair," they continued to muse. "So, you want to fight, do you? Well. Let me just say – this won't end well for you, or for anyone in this world, really. If you fight me, you're going to die."
She raised her spear into the air, ready to charge. "Prepare yourself!"
"Oh. You really do want to fight." Killer giggled again, and they raised their own knife. "In that case, I'll give you your fight."
Undyne pointed the tip of her spear forward.
"Calm down, fish lady. I'll fight, I'll fight," Killer said, smiling gleefully. "I'll fight – that one over there!"
Killer sprinted to their left, away from the field. A bullet whizzed past them, inches away from hitting their face. They ducked behind the trees, and there was a loud cry from a man. Undyne realized what was going on immediately. She spotted where Killer was running to next, and charged at them.
The sniper that Killer was going for stumbled out from behind a tree. He shot a bullet, but Killer dodged it. Killer raised their knife and dashed at him. Undyne arrived just in time to stand in front of the man, taking the blow.
"URGH!" Undyne shouted. A look of pure shock and terror came over her face. Killer's knife had torn through her armour and slashed her from shoulder to waist. Her skin was already beginning to turn to dust.
Undyne fell to her knees. Her entire body was disintegrating. The man behind her raised his rifle, but, staring into Killer's eyes, he suddenly dropped it. Killer raised their knife again and walked past Undyne. The man looked completely terrified. He took a step backwards and fell to the ground. He tried to crawl away, but Killer was already standing beside him.
Killer raised their knife.
They thrust it down, but a hand grabbed their arm.
"You're going to have try a little harder than that!"
The hand raised Killer up into the air and flung them into the middle of the field. Killer landed with a thud on the ground. Undyne stood up again, raising her spear. Her melting body had somehow solidified again. Her armour was intact. Not a speck of dust was drifting off her skin.
Streams of blue lightning coursed up her arm and onto the tip of her spear. A flash of light shot out of her bad eye, creating a temporary illusion of her weapon. She walked back onto the field.
Killer smiled. They grabbed their knife and stood up – and was suddenly dropped to the floor by an invisible force.
"Looks like you want to have a bad time," Sans said, walking out of the grove from the back of the field. A blue flame glowed in his eye. His bony hand was raised. A circle of blue fire surrounded Killer's feet. Even at this distance, Frisk could feel the magical energy that emanated from it.
They had never seen this side of Sans before, but they had felt it. Sans was powerful.
Killer tried to stand up, but they were pinned to the ground by Sans' magic.
"Hey, Sans! I was waiting for you to show up!" Undyne shouted, flashing her giant grin. She raised her spear again, and prepared to charge.
"Sorry I was late," Sans said. "Well, can't be helped. I think it's time to give our buddy here a thrashing."
"How nice," Killer said. "A pincer attack. This'll be more interesting than usual."
"NGAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Undyne shouted, charging at Killer.
A wicked smile came over Killer's face. They turned to face Undyne directly, raising their knife. Spear and blade crashed together at once. Sparks of blue shot off the edge of Undyne's weapon. Her grin grew larger. She stepped back. Streaks of blue electricity surrounded the handle of her spear. Killer staggered back as she raised the spear into the air.
There was an explosion, and then a flash of white. An instant later, a barrage of magical spears came flying down from the air like rain, each pointed at Killer. It was compounded by the appearance of a wave of bones from Sans. Killer spun to face the spears first, but dropped onto their knees as they were pulled down by an invisible force.
Killer laughed.
They dodged by rolling to their left. Each spear and bone crashed to the floor and disappeared in a flurry of sparks. The rest of them changed direction, curving in midair to home onto the new position of their target. But Killer was too fast. They continued rolling, spears and bones crashing to the floor inches away from them. The grass on the field was incinerated, and the ground almost liquefied as dirt blasted into the air. Still, Killer was not hit.
They jumped back onto their feet when Sans momentarily lost concentration. Undyne charged at Killer again. There was another clash of spear and knife, but Killer's strength seemed to overpower her. Killer wielded their knife with both hands and struck Undyne's spear just below the tip, pushing her back. But Undyne was quick to recover her pose, and she returned with a sideway swipe, intending to knock Killer off their balance. Killer jumped back, dodging it barely.
A mass of bones rose out of the ground, surrounding Killer's feet and trapping them like vines. The bone pile rose into the air, bringing Killer along with it. Then, Sans raised his hand, and something materialized beside him. It was shaped like a giant skull, but it had glowing yellow eyes. The mouth of the skull opened. There was a sound like the firing of a cannon, and a tremendous burst of energy shot out of it and towards Killer.
Killer managed to disentangle themselves from the bones just quickly enough to lean over backwards, narrowly avoiding being struck by the core of Sans' attack. However, they ended up falling over as they lost their balance. Sans spread his arms apart, and the bone pile burst, causing Killer to be struck by several of the shards. Blood sprayed onto the floor.
They were still smiling.
Undyne raised her spear. Dozens more magical spears rained down from the air as she charged at Killer again. Killer tried to stand up, but Sans waved his hand, and an invisible force knocked them to the ground face first.
"You're done, kid!" Undyne yelled, standing above them and lifting up her spear.
Killer looked up at her, grinning. As the spear came down towards them, they flipped over and grabbed the handle of the spear with their hands. The magic electricity on the spears' tip singed their face, but the tip did not strike them. Then, with astounding strength, they raised the spear and threw it over them, launching Undyne into the air. She quickly backflipped onto her feet to regain her balance.
Magical spears blasted the area around Killer, filling the ground with craters. Killer stood up again, resisting the power of Sans' magic.
"Kid," Sans said, walking towards them. The light behind his eye sockets had disappeared, and his tone was murderous. "You won't last against the two of us. You can stop fighting now and leave this timeline, forever."
"I still don't have what I came for," Killer replied in a cheerful voice. "Where's Frisk?"
"You won't be seeing them while I'm alive!" Undyne roared.
She charged at Killer again. However, Frisk (who was watching the fight) blinked, and – when their eyes opened – Sans was actually the closer one.
Killer was struck in the back by a bone, and they fell over, coughing out blood. Three blasters appeared right above their heads. Each of their mouths opened. Behind them, a dozen magical spears rained down.
In a surprise movement, Killer threw themselves straight towards the blasters. The blasters were aimed at where they were standing before, and their shots missed them. But Sans was even faster, and he had caught up with Killer again as if he had teleported right next to them. Bones burst out of the ground, trapping Killer within them once more. Another bone shot towards their chest like an arrow.
Killer deflected it with their knife, but – again – Sans had teleported beside them, and jabbed them in the body with a bone. To his surprise, Killer coughed, and then laughed and aimed a kick at Sans in return. Sans hopped backwards, Killer's feet barely missing him. The momentary loss in Sans' concentration caused the bones trapping Killer to crumble to the ground – in time for them to be struck by a flurry of magic spears. Their body was flung through the air, blood flying everywhere.
"You aren't dead yet?!" Undyne yelled as Killer returned to their feet.
Killer turned towards her, raising their knife.
"If you don't give up, I'll have to use my special attack," Sans warned.
"So use it!" Killer yelled in response.
A duel began between Undyne and Killer. Spear and knife clashed, again and again, and each time there was an explosion of sparks. Then Sans charged into the melee, and Killer turned around, blocking a bone by grabbing it with their own arm. Undyne raised her spear above her head and plunged it down towards them. Killer threw back their head, and – to Undyne's amazement – caught the handle of the spear with their teeth.
Bones rose out of the ground, trapping Killer again. A blaster materialized right above them. But, with their hand still holding the bone that Sans wielded, they launched Sans up into the air and over their head. The blaster's mouth opened, then closed before it fired. Sans tumbled into Undyne, and both of them fell to the ground. Killer spun and laughed, blood dripping from their mouth. Their clothes were completely drenched in red.
"Why aren't you dead?!" Undyne shouted, regaining her pose. "You're not human, are you?"
Without replying, Killer sprinted at her again. Undyne blocked Killer's knife with her spear, then countered with a kick. Killer danced around her and jabbed at her side. Undyne managed to defend herself with the handle of her spear. Two magical spears materialized beside her and flew at Killer. Then, Sans was right behind them, as if he had teleported again.
Spear and bone flew through Killer's body. Even as fountains of blood sprayed out of them, they continued to laugh. They continued to smile.
"Come at me," Killer said, assuming another offensive stance. "Come and die!"
Sans materialized beside Killer. A flying bone swept at their feet, but they dodged it by jumping up. Another bone shot out of the ground, aiming for their neck. They grabbed it with their hand and held onto the bone, causing them to fly through the air. Spears and blasters and more bones chased after them as they continued flying. Then, Sans was right beside them again. A blaster's shot knocked the bone out of their hand, and they collapsed to the ground. Five more blasters encircled them, each preparing to shoot. Killer ducked, and two shots flew above their head. Then, they threw themselves to the ground and rolled to the right, causing the other three blasters to miss –
Undyne was already there, jamming her spear at them. For some reason, they noticed in time and deflected the tip of her spear with their knife. Then, they kicked at Undyne's feet, somehow using that kick to also propel themselves up and back into a standing position.
"Kid," Sans said, sweating appearing on his skull, "Keep going like this, and I'll be forced to use my special attack."
"So use it!" Killer repeated.
Undyne launched herself into another duel with Killer. Sans was also there right away, jabbing at them with bone after bone. Killer deflected every attack with their knife. Undyne spun her spear around and knocked Killer's back with the blunt end of it, pushing them towards Sans. Then, Sans dealt a devastating blow to their chest with the bone in his hand. Blood was flying everywhere. Still, Killer remained standing. On Undyne's next attack, they didn't even turn around, and deflected her spear by raising their knife behind their head.
Sans teleported away.
"If you don't want to see my special attack, then DON'T survive this," Sans said.
A column of bones flew towards them. They ducked. The bones stopped in midair, then flew back at them again. Killer flattened themselves onto the ground, and the bones whizzed by. A long bone burrowed out of the ground right below Killer and launched them up into the air. Walls of bones materialized around them. They clung onto the bone as closely as possible until the wall was so narrow that just moving an inch would cause them to get hit.
The bone vanished, and Killer began to fall. They grabbed a bone and hung onto it in midair. All the others were launched at them. They grabbed one with their feet, and then two with their hands, and hung onto them as they spiralled to the ground. Right before they struck the floor, they threw the bones forward and used the one at their feet to jump, landing back into a stable pose –
And Sans was already there, jabbing at them with a bone. Killer caught it in their hand, but then a pile of bones exploded out of the ground, knocking them over. They balanced themselves with a handstand –
And Sans was right beside them, striking their raised feet with another bone. Killer flew backwards, into a wall of bones that had materialized beside them –
And Sans punched them in the chest with a bone, causing them to fly through this wall –
Sans caught them with a bone in the back, and they lurched forward –
Into a flurry of bones that drilled through their body. The whole field was red with their blood.
An army of blasters materialized around them. Killer laughed and shambled towards the blasters that had appeared last. The ones behind them shot first, barely missing them. Then, they skid to a stop and turned around, running in a circle. Blaster after blaster shot after them, each inches away from striking, but none of them hit. More and more blasters appeared. There were more and more shots. Still, Killer continued running.
Then, they were struck by an invisible force, and their body was flung backwards to the ground, and then to the side, and then flung to the ground face first, and then to the other side, and to the ground backwards again, and to the side again, and face first again, Sans conducting each of these moves with his hand. He repeated this merciless series of attacks, sweat dripping off his skull, striking Killer over and over, and all the while Killer kept laughing and screaming and laughing and screaming until, finally, Sans ran out of breath and –
Undyne was behind them, striking her spear through their chest.
"NOW!" Undyne screamed, raising her hand and giving an OK signal.
A dozen bullets flew out from behind the trees. Killer's body catapulted back and forth as each of the bullets struck them directly – three through their legs, five through their body, and four through their head. Blood burst out from each of these holes. They slid off Undyne's spear.
Undyne backed away and breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the motionless body on the ground.
Sans wiped the sweat off his brow.
"We're...we're done now, aren't we?" Undyne said, breathing heavily.
"They couldn't possibly have survived that," Sans said.
"Then...it's over?"
"It has to be."
Undyne leaned against her spear. "They're...finally...dead."
"Yeah. Whew." Sans chuckled.
"Does a dead body laugh?"
Both Undyne and Sans froze.
The body on the ground, Killer's body, was moving. It was shuddering. It was twitching. It was trembling. It was raising itself to his feet.
Killer raised their hands up into the air and clapped loudly.
"Im...impossible!" Undyne said, backing away.
"What are you?" Sans whispered.
Killer kept clapping.
Then, they saw.
Something was appearing at their feet. Something was pooling around them, and it wasn't their blood. This thing was twisting, like a snake. It was climbing up their skin. It was black. It was as dark as anything could be.
Killer smiled.
The shadowy substance enveloped their body, covering all of the places where they had been wounded. It kept moving, as if it was water. Then, Killer trembled and shook, and the shadows fell off them, but remained at their feet, a writhing pool of darkness.
Where all of their wounds had been before was now perfect, untarnished skin.
"Congratulations," Killer said, finishing their clap. "Congratulations, congratulations. I have to give you my applause. I am truly impressed. You've all given me a very good time."
Their grin widened. "This must be the first competent timeline."
"What...what the hell are you saying?!" Undyne demanded.
"I'm saying that I'm giving all of you a reward," Killer replied. "A reward, for providing me more amusement than I've ever gotten from any of you before. It's a simple reward. I'll tell you what you want to know."
The shadow began to expand outwards in a circle around them. It grew quickly, and soon covered the entire field. It trapped Sans' and Undyne's feet.
"There's not much point in me prolonging this futile battle anymore, is there?" Killer continued. "It was very fun fighting you, but I think it's time for me to show you what you're actually up against."
"You see, after I had killed everyone in the Underground, I met a certain...somebody. As all of you know, this person's name was Chara. They're a spirit that had become intertwined with my soul after I fell into the underground. They were impressed with my power, impressed with my determination. I had revived them, and strengthened them, and fed them my execution points – my level of violence – my stats."
"All that was left to do, now, was to figure out what to do with this world. We could destroy it together, and move on to the next. The only question was – how? How could I destroy an entire world, an entire universe? It came to me, then, what I had to do. I realized what my next step was, and I took Chara with me."
"I dug down, all the way to the Core," Killer said, laughing. "Yes, yes, Sans. That Core. The Core from which you were born. The Core from which you acquired all your power."
Sans' near-constant smile turned into a grimace.
"I realized that my body could survive anything," Killer continued. "It could already withstand all this determination with. What does it matter if I add just a little more...power?"
They giggled.
"I threw myself into the Core. The magic within it overwhelmed me, but I was able to preserve my consciousness, my individual mind, and my sense of self, through pure determination. Not like that weakling scientist!"
For the first time ever, Sans' smile faltered.
"So, you see, I had all this magic power around me, this infinite pool of energy, and I could control it simply by keeping my existence intact," Killer said. "I could use this power in any way I wanted. The first thing I did was give my soul – and the person sharing it – a new form. Why don't we take a look? You can come out now, Chara!"
From within the shadow, two huge eyes and a mouth materialized. But they looked ghastly. The eyes and the mouth were red outlines within the pool of black, and they were melting.
Somewhere deep beneath them, they heard a sound like a long, drawn-out laugh.
"Heh hah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...AH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!"
The shadows began to rise. Tendrils of black rose out of the ground, like hands, and began to wrap around Sans' and Undyne's body. Both of them struggled, and tried to break free, but to no avail. Dozens more, and then hundreds of tendrils rose up, and now they were covered entirely in black.
"You understand now," Killer said, turning away. "This is no normal shadow. It's the embodiment of my soul...the embodiment of Chara."
"STOP...Stop...stop...st-top...st...top..." Undyne was saying.
There was a sound like a muffled cry from Sans.
"And it's saturated with determination..." Killer continued. "I used the rest of the power in the Core to send myself back through time. I went to each of the other timelines, killing every living thing there, consuming the essence of every monster that died, absorbing them into my shadow. With all this determination, you could say I've become...a human amalgamate."
The tendrils that rose out of the shadow began to transform. They began to writhe, and twist, and coil around, until they formed new shapes. There was the face of a Froggit. Goat's horns. Dog's paws. Piles and piles of bones. A seahorse's tail. A miniature volcano. The wings of a little plane. Spider's legs. A magician's hat. A robot's body. Teeth. Eyes. Mouths.
"I destroyed the Frisk of each timeline, so that they couldn't reset," Killer said, giggling. "Once Frisk was gone, I could cover the entire underground with my shadow. Then, I returned to the Core and moved on to the next world."
"This is the first world I've visited where everyone's back on the surface. It was interesting. I had to dig tunnels from the Core to get here. Oh, it's been fun. Now, I'm going to consume this entire planet in my shadow."
"Why?!" Sans shouted, breaking a hand out of the shadows that had covered him. "Why are you doing this?"
"Why?"
Killer shrugged.
"Why not? I don't see anything else for me to do. And, after all – in this world, it's kill or be killed. All of you have proven yourselves to be weaker than me. There won't be any mercy for you. I'll kill you all and destroy this entire universe. I'll destroy every other timeline, and consume everything, until there's nothing left but my shadow. My soul will be the last, and only thing, to exist. And you can do nothing to stop it."
Killer threw their head back and laughed.
Every tendril of shadow that covered Sans and Undyne turned into the shape of a knife. They were instantly impaled. The knives parted to reveal Undyne disintegrating into dust, and Sans bleeding profusely, his face finally descended out of his smile. Then, he disappeared into dust as well.
And the shadow continued to grow, spreading across and past the entire field.
Frisk was shaking so badly that they were nearly convulsing as they watched everything that had happened from behind the trees.
They turned to look at Chara – their own, precious Chara, not that abomination inside Killer's shadow – and saw that their face had become white.
"I can't take this," Frisk said, gripping their head. "Sorry, Chara. I'm going to reset."
"Do it!" Chara responded. "Before that shadow gets here."
Frisk nodded. "Okay!"
They closed their eyes. They had done this so many times before. It was going to work. It had to work. It must work.
Slowly, by the force of their own determination, the world was starting to fade away. Reality around them was disappearing, sliding further away, like how things sometimes felt when they were near falling asleep. They would reset back as far in time as possible – far enough for them to save everybody, at least. Far enough to stop Killer.
Frisk opened their eyes again, and they found themselves falling through a tunnel of darkness.
Suddenly, they slammed into something behind them.
They turned around and was greeted with an enormous cluster of writhing, shadowy limbs.
"Not so fast," a voice was saying. Killer's voice. It rang out all around them, echoing across the entire tunnel. "You can't reset, Frisk. I'm here in your world, now. I have more determination than you. And you can't stop me."
Frisk threw their own body against the shadow, but bounced back as if they had struck a wall.
"Oh. That's amusing. You think you can resist. You think you can overcome me. That's silly. You can't stop me, no matter what you do. Just give up."
Frisk launched themselves against the shadow again. They bounced back again. They gripped the wall and pounded their fists against it. They kicked it with all their strength. They opened their mouth and screamed –
Suddenly, they saw someone coming. Running towards them. It was Chara. Their Chara.
"Frisk!" Chara yelled. "Use my determination!"
"You can reset, too, Chara?"
"Yes! We're sharing the same soul, right? You have all my determination with you! Let's do this together. Let's go back."
Frisk grabbed Chara's hand. Together, they dashed towards the wall.
The shadow gave away. They blasted through it, and began falling through the tunnel again. It was the tunnel of time. They closed their eyes, and waited. Waited to see how far they could go, how far back they would end up...
They opened their eyes.
They were in the room on campus again. Undyne, Alphys, and Sans were with them.
"We evacuated your room," Alphys said. "Asriel and all of your b-belongings have been moved to a safe site on campus."
Frisk gasped, realizing that this was as far back as they could go.
"I'm back," Frisk whispered.
Alphys raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
Chara was standing beside them, holding their hand. Frisk gulped.
"We went and fought Killer," Chara explained. "And...we all lost."