"What… What have I done?" Toriel's eyes were wide as she stared at the girl's corpse, seeming unmoving, despite the battle she had just entered with me.

Obviously, she was just pretending. Right before I had approached them, she had been talking about killing all the others and how we would die. This shock on her face was obviously not real, just an act and nothing more. I didn't know why she was keeping it up. Was she trying to fool me?

No, I wasn't going to fall for any of her tricks. Not after she just killed someone right in front of me.

She still didn't move, so I decided to make the first strike. Bringing the stained knife up, I sliced it right upon her muzzle before leaping back to examine the after effects. It did practically nothing, and it was nothing more than a simple scratch. I could feel myself fuming at my failed efforts. I had to hit harder.

Toriel blinked a couple of times before being brought back into reality. Her eyes widened as she faced me, seeing the knife in my hand.

"Child!" She gasped. "I do not want to fight!" She sounded truly heartbroken and confused. For a moment, I could feel my doubts wavering. It was true that she had just killed this girl… but had she really killed the other two as well?

In the next moment, Chara was next to me. "Don't listen to her, she's very persuasive." There was almost a tone of spite in her voice. "Just don't pay attention to her, and you'll be fine."

I nodded in understanding. Of course she killed the other two. No one else could've. The knife I was holding was living proof of that. It was a good thing Chara was so dependable. Feeling angry that the monster was trying to manipulate me, I charged forward and dealt another slash across her furry arm. She didn't flinch, which gave me the idea that I was not dealing much damage.

"...why are you looking at me like that?" Her voice was suddenly laced with suspicion. "Like you have seen a ghost. Do you know something I do not?"

For a moment, I hesitated. What in the world was she talking about?

"You're distracted again." Chara noted. I ducked my head in shame. "Don't worry. I have a plan."

"It's not controlling again, right?"

"Well… no, not exactly. You can let me control your senses."

I frowned. "How will that help?" Toriel was now sending fireballs in my direction, which I quickly dodged. For some reason, they did not look as complicated as the ones she sent at the other girl.

The one that was now lying dead upon the floor, two feet away from me. Maybe it was better not to underestimate this monster until I had defeated her.

"I can control your hearing, so that you won't hear anything." Chara continued. "You won't get distracted anymore."

I didn't have the time to talk, so I just quickly agreed to satisfy her. "Fine."

Chara grinned. "Alright." Then she faded before me, and all sounds around me seemingly… disappeared.

Yet for some reason, my mind started to clear up as well. Was this possibly Chara's doing, or was it just a side-affect of not having noises to distract me? Either way, I found this tactic much more desirable than the control option. Because although Chara wasn't controlling me completely, I felt like my mind was fresh and clean enough to see through everything.

There was a determined yet unsettled gaze on the goat monster. She spoke, but I didn't hear her. She sent more fireballs in my direction, and I dodged. Her attacks were definitely harder than an average monster's attacks. A few singed my shirt, but I felt nothing. Was it possible that Chara was controlling me to not feel the attacks as well? That was certainly useful, but… scary. To not feel anything at all was a little terrifying. It was literally making me a killing machine, and allowing me to fight until I died. But I had to endure. These attacks were hard to avoid.

And yet, at the same time… it seemed like she was holding back. For some reason, it made me feel angry. It was like she was looking down on me, thinking I wasn't good enough to take her on if she used her full power.

Pouting, I thrust the knife forward. A final cut slashed across her front, and she finally knelt down before me in what I supposed what pain. Her eyes closed in defeat. I wanted to shout in success, but the expression she made made me feel unsure. There was a hurt look on her face, and it showed sadness and regret.

She sighed quietly before speaking a couple of words that I couldn't hear. Chara was still helping me. I had to finish the job.

I raised my arm to deal the last hit. But then suddenly, I stopped. My body was screaming at me to stop. It was like I was frozen. Something inside me told me that this was absolutely, one-hundred percent wrong.

But how? She was a murderer. She killed my friends. How was this wrong in any way? I brought my arm up again, preparing to strike.

"Y… you…" She mumbled. "Really hate me that much?"

I could hear her again. Why wasn't Chara doing her job? I tried to bring my arm down, but my body continued to protest. This couldn't be Chara's doing, right? No, it couldn't be. I hadn't given her permission to control me fully, so therefore she couldn't. Then what in the world could possibly be holding me back?

I could feel the hold on the knife starting to loosen when I realized the truth. Something inside me was reminding me to take a look at the full picture before coming to conclusions. But what could it be? It was a faint memory, something that I knew I should've remembered, but couldn't quite-

And that's when I caught it. Under the false facade, a glimpse of Toriel's flashing red eyes as she showed her devilish grin that displayed sharp yellow teeth. Yelping in surprise, I rehandled my grip on the knife before quickly bringing it down onto her head.

It was only after performing the act did I realize what I had done. Gasping in horror, I let go of the knife before stepping back, leaving it embedded in her head. It just made things look worse, and I could feel disgust at my own actions churning in my gut. But remembering the look she gave me only moments before made me feel just as equally terrified.

Toriel gave me a crazed smile, emanating a creepy aura. "Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here." Her voice gave off a sense of craziness, like she wasn't quite herself. Or maybe this was herself. She was finally revealing her true side. "Not you… But them!"

"T-them?" Confusion swam in my head, making everything seem unreal. Maybe it was. "You mean those other three that you killed?"

"Ha… ha…" Toriel's expression changed, so now she was just giving me a small, weak smile. It was pitiful, almost. And then, she crumbled to dust, leaving behind a single grey soul. It trembled in place for a few, dreadful seconds before splitting into two.

And shattering into a million little pieces.

I blinked at the pile of dust upon the ground, feeling uncertain. Questions were written around all over my head, threatening to consume me in worries I couldn't solve or answer. What was that face Toriel gave, right before I stabbed her head? Who was "them"? Was this… the right thing to do?

Chara reappeared in front of me, oddly silent, but wearing a huge grin. Now that she had left me, I could feel the places where Toriel's fire had hit me. It hurt. I hadn't known I had got hit so many times. It was slightly overwhelming.

When Chara noticed my expression, her grin immediately disappeared. "Why do you look like that?" She asked accusingly.

I slowly inclined my head in her direction. "Like what?"

"That expression you're making!" Chara made a face. "Don't tell me you wanted to actually spare that monster! She killed everyone!"

A quote was stirring in the back of my mind, but I couldn't remember it. "I know."

"And yet…" Chara was gritting her teeth. "You're still thinking those things. Those thoughts of mercy!"

"...sorry."

Chara stared at me for a moment more before shaking her head. "Oh well, you're still young. You have a lot to learn. And at least you still managed to kill her in the end, so I guess that counts for something." I nodded feebly. "Cheer up! We managed to defeat the boss, so start looking like it!"

"It's just…" I wiped my eyes. "My new friends… They're all…" Apparently, I couldn't form coherent sentences. The girl was still lying dead next to me, but I didn't want to look at her. I couldn't look.

I looked.

I immediately wished I hadn't. The ribbon in her hair was crumpled. She was lying face down, but her face was slightly tilted so that I could see her face. Her mouth was twisted in a surprised 'o', and her eyes were glassy and unemotional. Just a few minutes ago, they were alive with energy. Now, they were dead. She was dead.

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve again, barely holding in slight sniffles. I felt dead inside.

Fortunately, Chara seemed to get the idea. She cast a sideways glance at the girl before shifting her gaze back to me. "Well, at least you avenged them. There's nothing we can do about it now."

I wanted to tell her that we could. That we could maybe find the other people, then give all three of them a proper burial. That they could all get some respect to the bravery they had shown. But I knew I couldn't. I couldn't manage to see another dead body, especially not to carry or touch one. There was nothing I could do.

Chara was right. She was always right.

Maybe if I had just listened to her in the beginning and just left when I had the chance to, then I wouldn't have had to meet these people. Then I wouldn't have to feel the remorse now, once they had all died. I gulped, shaking slightly.

And to add on to it, I now had a death on my hands. Not a human, but a monster. Yes, I had plenty of monster deaths on my hands, but this one felt different. It felt like I had betrayed someone by committing to the act of killing. But who could it be? Certainly not Chara. Then who?

I shook my head to clear my mind. All this worrying was just making me sick. What was done was done. All I could do was move on.

But still, seeing that body was making me queasy. I was used to piles of dust, but human bodies…

Chara seemed to notice the disgust on my face. "We can just move on now, you know. There's no use grieving."

"Is there anything to go back for?"

"Not really. There's more pie, but…"

"Yeah. No thanks." I had no appetite.

"So I thought. So, how about it, partner? Let's move on."

I nodded slowly, then stepped forward to open the Ruin doors. They were heavy, yet I still managed to budge them open. It left a loud, ominous creak echoing down the halls.

I didn't look back.

"Hahaha…" The flower was back. I felt like running away, but Chara stopped me, shaking her head.

"Why?" I hissed at her, frantically pointing at the flower. Maybe she just wanted me to kill him?

Flowey ignored my comment. "You're not really human, are you?" Now that got my attention. I snapped my head in his direction, wondering what in the heck he was talking about. My expression demanded answers. "No. You've changed. You're empty inside. Just like me. No wait… you're not you. In fact… you're Chara, right?"

I could feel all my senses exploding at the question. How did he know her? I thought only I could see her? I quickly looked at Chara, wondering how she would react to that. Surprisingly, she seemed almost completely unaffected.

The flower continued to babble, smiling dreamily. "We're still inseparable, after all these years…" Chara turned her head away, as if denying it. "Listen. I have a plan to become all powerful. Even more powerful than you and your stolen soul." Confused, I pointed to myself. Then I tilted my head at Chara, trying to make sense of things. "Let's destroy everything in this wretched world. Everyone, everything in these worthless memories… Let's turn 'em all to dust."

Dust. What all monsters turned to when they died. I thought back to Toriel's tiny pile of dust, lying all alone next to the dead body of another human.

After a moment, Chara nodded at Flowey. Then she motioned at me to do the same. Were the two coming to an agreement on something? Confused, I nodded slowly at the flower.

Flowey grinned eagerly. "That's a wonderful idea!" He chirped. Then he popped back into the dirt, now nowhere to be seen. He left no trace of himself behind.

Nothing was making sense. Nothing fit together. When I first fell, Flowey was ready to kill me. Now, he was making deals with Chara, who I thought only I could see. What was going on? I faced Chara with a confused look, but she didn't look ready to give answers.

Instead, she beckoned me to move onwards, completely dismissing the encounter with Flowey.

"That's it?" I asked. "You're just going to tell me to move on, like nothing happened?"

"What?" She asked unamused, seeming not to get the point. "What do you want me to do?"

"Explain… things!" I waved my arms around, trying to show my anxiety. "I have no idea what's going on. I have no idea what Flowey has planned, and why you're playing along. So many people have died! What am I supposed to do?" I covered my hands with my face, blocking out my line of sight. "What is there to do? I just wish I knew…"

I peeked through my fingers to see Chara shaking her head. "You're hopeless. After relaying this message to you so many times, you still forget it."

"I don't forget it. I just don't understand it."

"Then let me repeat it to you until your head gets it." Chara leaned forward, her face inches away from mine. "In this world, it's kill or be killed. You only did what you had to. Those people died because they didn't follow the rule. Now, we have to move on. It's the only place left for us. You do want to go home, don't you?"

"Home?" It hadn't even occurred to me in these last few moments, to ever go home. Where and what was it, anyway? It wasn't like my memories could conjure anything for me to base home off of. For all I knew, it was a terrible place full of terrible memories. But maybe, it symbolized love and family, a time when I knew peace and happiness.

Well, it certainly couldn't be that. If it had really come to that, why else would I have fallen in this stupid mountain anyway?

"Yes, home. We're heading there. If you just keep following my advice, you won't have to worry about not being able to get there."

I blinked at her for a few moments. "Are you trying to get home too?"

Chara made a spiteful face, but didn't answer. "Now hurry up, we have to keep moving." She drifted towards the Ruins' door, the final exit out these purple mazes. Out this terrible path of memories I would hope to forget.

Sighing, I nodded. Chara was right. Of course. She was always right.

I've received a couple of complaints about how the character went out of characterization in the previous chapter, so if you ever see that kind of thing happening again, feel free to note me on it.