Yeah, it's been a while right?

Sorry for that totally unexpected and necessary hiatus, but I must admit that I haven't exactly been spending all that time doing nothing! :D See, I was trying to finish the entire Genocide Run chapters before posting them, just in case. And so... I'm basically almost done, but I decided to get this chapter out and at it 'cuz I figured it was about time to post something. o_o

(...And also for a little special event I call "my birthday" but ehhhhh that's not the point :D )

"Wow." I mouthed, staring at the broken pieces littered around the black room. There didn't even seem to be enough pieces left to make another robot, much less repair him. "Wow." I repeated.

Unfortunately, I hadn't actually spoken out loud, since my mouth was still in Chara's control. But I could care less at the moment.

We had beat Mettaton NEO. He had looked so hard. But we had actually beat him, and with one attack. Just one. And it was enough to utterly defeat him. Then he exploded.

I wasn't sure whether to jump for joy or frown with disappointment. (Technically I couldn't do either with Chara in control, but whatever.) He was supposed to be hard, right? Then had it been so easy to defeat him? Yet at the same time, I knew I should've been happy. We've defeated him. Now he no longer stands in our way. We've gotten rid of the enemy, so now we can proceed.

Chara just stands in silence as she waits for me to sort my own thoughts out. I was surprised she could stand so calmly and confidently. Had she known that Mettaton NEO would be defeated in one hit? How? And if so, why didn't she tell me?

She noticed my discomfort and sighed. "Honestly," She said with my mouth. "If every little thing is going to surprise you, then you might as well be dead with shock right now."

"But doesn't it surprise you at all? That we defeated it in one hit?"

"Well, a little." She admitted, examining her fingernails. Er… my fingernails. "But do you know how powerful we are right now? I would be more surprised if we hadn't beat him in the first few hits."

I frowned. "We're that strong?"

"Yes." She confirmed. "While you were sleeping away, I defeated a lot of monsters with your body. You have a ton more experience now."

"Experience? But it wasn't even me who was doing it. I wasn't even awake! How is it possible for me to experience things I can't see or feel?"

"You didn't experience it." Chara answered. "But your body did. And that's what counts. Battling so many monsters has caused you to become tougher, making you better for taking in damage and giving it out. That's why you're so strong."

I blinked in awe. While I had been sleeping, Chara had been working hard to help me. Who knew how many she had defeated? She was so good at it, I bet it must've been a ton. That would've been so much experience… No wonder I was so tough!

...not to mention that it must've been pretty weird for all the monsters. After all, they were fighting a human that had their eyes closed! And yet, they were still getting turned to dust. It must've been pretty embarrassing for their whole lot, to get eliminated by a human that couldn't even seem to see anything.

"Thanks!" I chirped happily.

"For what?"

"For helping me even when I'm slacking off!"

She grinned. "You were just sleeping, so I just figured I could help out. There's no need to waste precious time when it's right at your fingertips."

"Ah… so then when you defeated enough, you just put me in the inn?"

"I climbed into the bed and made myself comfortable before leaving your body." She corrected. "Then I went to scout ahead for dangers. When you had woken up, I was just coming back." Seeming to have explained enough, she moved my legs forward to walk. "By the way, you know you can take control back now, right?"

"Well, yeah." I responded. "But I like it like this. We're both working together as a team, and it makes everything more easy and fun. Not to mention that your battle skills are a lot better than mine, so it's better if you just stay in control the whole time."

She raised my eyebrow in skepticism, making a right turn into a much brighter hallway. It was a nice change of scenery. "Whatever you say, partner."

The bright hallway goes for a little while more before an elevator finally appears to the left. Stepping inside, Chara presses the correct button (there's only one), and the doors close as we wait inside. The ride is long and boring; slightly apprehensive.

"We're almost there." Chara suddenly says.

"Almost where?"

"To the end." She replies, almost smiling. "We've almost made it to the end of the Underground. You're almost home, partner."

It takes me a few moments to register the information, but once I do, I'm a smiling mess. "Really?"

"Yes. It's not much farther now. Once we've passed the Judgement Hall, we'll be home free. There won't be anymore strong monsters in the way to stop us."

I feel a little awed. After this whole tiring journey, we'll finally make it to the end of it all. We're finally going to reach our destination, and put this place's miseries behind us. We're going to be free.

The elevator stops and we step out into a gray corridor. Everything is dull-colored, even the bricks. It's slightly depressing. It's almost like someone painted the whole hall grey. Or maybe the place is just really dusty; who knows? We proceed down, make a left, and meet another elevator door.

"It won't work." Chara sighs. "The only way is right." She didn't have to explain since she was in control, but I was glad she did it for me anyway.

There's a bunch of buildings below on our left. They look old and kinda ancient, mysterious like some old archaeology sight. Up ahead, there's another left, and more buildings pop up on both sides of the dull path. It goes for a long way. We keep moving until we meet a pile of gray leaves and a familiar sight.

"New Home." Chara whispers.

It's the first monster's house. Toriel's, or whatever her name was. But how could it be? We couldn't have back-tracked, right?

"No." Chara answers. "It's just a house that looks a lot like it. There's nothing to worry about." She enters the house without any hesitation, and we're back in the familiar hallway. It's starting to bring back dreaded memories.

"The right…" I mumble, my eyes darting to the right hall. "That's where the others were…"

"We have to go there eventually." Chara informs me.

"Why?"

"Keys." She explains, pointing her chin at the two locks in front of the staircase. "But if you want, we can head left first."

"That'd be nice."

So we go left first. I immediately notice that the only colorful things in the room are the yellow flowers. They're large and fill up all nearby flowerpots. They look new, like someone had put them there recently. But who? And why would someone do that? This house looks so old, I would doubt that anyone lives in it.

There's a shelf to the right, but Chara shakes her head. "Nothing useful."

Even the coals in the fireplace are warm. Someone's been here very recently. The thought chills me, but I hope that whoever had come was gone now. We start to move towards another opening to the side in front, but we're stopped by a yellow figure popping out of the ground. It's a flower.

"Howdy, Chara!" Flowey grins, a happy look on his face. "You finally made it home."

I want to narrow my eyes at him, but Chara is in control. "What's he doing here?" I demand.

"Remember when we used to play here?" The flower asks. "Hee hee hee… Boy!" His face morphs into a scarier one. "Today's gonna be just as fun."

And just like that, he's gone. Popped himself right back into the ground. We continue to stare at where he just was a moment ago, wondering what he was doing here of all places.

"This has something to do with that agreement you made with him." I guess. "Way earlier in the beginning… when we left, the uh, Ruins?"

"Not really." Chara grumbles, moving forwards to the opening ahead. She doesn't provide further information, so I'm stuck with waiting.

We're met with the sight of a kitchen. There's normal necessities of a kitchen laying around; a fridge, sink, counter, and oven. Pots and mittens hang from the wall. There's a bright key sitting on the counter. We go forward to take it.

But instead of directly leaving however, Chara heads to the fridge. Interested, I watch as she opens it up. Her face quickly scrunches up with disappointment.

"No chocolate." She mumbles, annoyed. I frown, but don't comment.

When we leave the kitchen, the flower shows up again, wrecking the floorboards. "I remember when I first woke up here, in the garden." He recounts, thoughtful. "I was so scared. I couldn't feel my arms or legs… my entire body had turned into a flower! I called out… but nobody came."

Chara nods, leaving me in confusion. Was the flower suggesting he had limbs before? Nothing he's saying makes sense, but Chara understands somehow. Seeming satisfied, Flowey pops back into the ground, and we proceed to the right hall.

We enter the familiar room where my first friends had inhabited. There are two beds, though. Two large presents lay in the middle of the carpet, and Chara approaches them and bends down before forcefully ripping them apart.

The first one has a heart-shaped locket inside. When Chara picks it up, I can almost feel it beating against our palm. Rapid thoughts seem to be streaming through her head as she stares at it. There's an inscription on the it as well, but I don't have the chance to see it, since Chara is already tying it up around our neck. It now dangles loosely, the metal cold against our chest. Right where it belongs.

The second present has a completely different kind of item. It's a knife, sharp and glinting in the light. But it's not gray; it's red, with purple edges and colorful swirls embedded into the metal. It looks poisonous. I can tell from first glance that it's real, not fake like the toy in the Ruins.

"Ah-ha! Here we are." Chara bends down to snatch the weapon up. The handle fits perfectly into our palm, like it belongs there. "About time." Just holding it makes us feel stronger. It'll be the perfect weapon for upcoming enemies.

"Do we keep the ballet shoes on?" I ask.

"There's no need to take them off." Chara concludes. "Just leave them. It's not like you have anything else to wear anyway."

Not willing to examine the room further, we leave, our new items with us. Way further down the hall, we find the second key. It's sitting upon a small desk. We take it, and Flowey shows up behind us again.

"Eventually, the king found me, crying in the garden. I explained what had happened to him. Then he held me, Chara. He held me with tears in his eyes. He was so… emotional. But, for some reason…" Flowey looked up at us with awe. "I didn't feel anything at all."

We quickly leave him and head back to the staircase. Chara unlocks the chain with the keys, and they fall to the floor with a clink. We then head down the staircase, going back to the attic that I remember so clearly. I could still recall my footsteps thumping on the tiles as I ran, my huffing breaths echoing against the walls like a monster as I followed the trail of blood.

Flowey interrupts my thoughts. "I soon realized I didn't feel anything about anyone." He's appeared back in front of us, right through the stone. "My compassion had disappeared! And believe me, it's not like I wasn't trying." Now his expression was angry. "I wasted weeks with that stupid king, vainly hoping I would feel something. But it became too much for me. I ran away from home. And eventually, I reached the Ruins." He was smiling now, almost with delight. "Inside I found her, Chara. I thought of all people, she could make me feel whole again..." Flowey scrunched his face up sheepishly. "She failed. Ha ha…"

I blinked at the spot where he sat. Nothing he was saying was making much sense. He was a flower… he wasn't supposed to feel anything, right? Then what was all this talk about trying to?

Chara nodded my head, and Flowey continued his story. "I realized those two were useless. I became despondent. I just wanted to love someone. I just wanted to care about someone. Chara, you might not believe this… But I decided…" Flowey sighed before looking down at the ground shamefully. "It wasn't worth living anymore. Not in a world without love. Not in a world without… you."

Chara didn't seem surprised though, just interested. She waved her hand for the flower to continue, not bothering to explain what was going on to me.

"So… I decided to follow in your footsteps. I would erase myself from existence. And you know what?" He smiled. "I succeeded."

I understood that much at least. "Then why's he still here?" I asked Chara. She nodded to Flowey, though I didn't know if it was a response or a sign to make the flower keep going.

"But as I left this mortal coil… I started to feel apprehensive." A curious look traced its way up his face. "If you don't have a soul, what happens when you…?" He shook his petals quickly. "Something primal started to burn inside me. I thought, No. I don't want to die!..." A much needed pause. "Then I woke up. Like it was all just a bad dream. I was back at the garden. Back at my…" He grinned. "Save point."

I narrowed my eyes, not getting it. So just like that, he came back to life? With a… video game term? He was definitely lying. No one could come back to life, much less go back to a… save point.

Chara looked like she was falling for it though. "He's lying." I tell her. "You know that much, right?" She hesitates for a moment before nodding her head. It doesn't convince me fully though. Something's going on here. Something that I don't know.

"Interested, I decided to experiment. Again and again, I brought myself to the edge of death. At any point, I could have let this world continue on without me." He smiled eerily. "But as long as I was determined to live… I could go back." He looked awed at his so-called discoveries. "Amazing, isn't it, Chara? I was amazed, too.

"At first, I used my powers for good. I became 'friends' with everyone. I solved all their problems flawlessly. Their companionship was amusing… for a while. As time repeated, people proved themselves predictable. What would this person say if I gave them this? What would they do if I said this to them? Once you know the answer, that's it. That's all they are."

Chara finally makes a left turn, and I expect to see my friends' dead bodies lying on the ground. But thankfully, there was no such thing. I don't even know why I expected it in the first place. It's obvious that this is a different place, after all. In fact, there wasn't even a door; just another turn to the right.

"It all started because I was curious. Curious what would happen if I killed them. I told myself, I don't like this. I'm just doing this because I have to know what happens." He grins, expression evil as he shows his teeth. "Ha ha ha… what an excuse! You of all people must know how liberating it is to act this way. At least we're better than those sickos that stand around and watch it happen… Those pathetic people that want to see it, but are too weak to do it themselves." He smiles mischievously. "I bet someone like that's watching right now, aren't they…?

"Nowadays, even that's grown tiring." He furrows his brows hopefully. "You understand, Chara. I've done everything this world had to offer." He starts to list his accomplishments. "I've read every book. I've burned every book. I've won and lost every game. I've appeased everyone. And I've killed everyone. Sets of numbers… lines of dialogue… I've seen them all. But you… you all… you're different. I never could predict you, Chara.

"When I saw you in the Ruins, when you fell... I didn't recognize you." He smiles. "I thought I could frighten you, then steal your soul." He pauses a moment. "I failed, like all the other times. But this time was different. This time, the lady didn't even show up!" He grinned. "Let's just say, I was very interested. But when I tried to load my save file… it didn't work. Chara…" He grins. "Your determination! Somehow, it's even greater than mine!

More old buildings are passing to the side. Chara doesn't even look like she's listening anymore, but I still am. I'm trying to figure out just who this flower thinks he is, feeding us this false information about save files and going back in time.

"I just have one question for you, Chara. How did you get back to the Ruins from here...?" He stops, then smiles. "...wait, I know. She must've taken you when she left. And decided to give you a proper burial, rather than… hanging out in the basement forever… but, why then…? What made you wake up?" He makes a hopeful expression. "Did you hear me calling you…?

"It doesn't matter now. I'm so tired of this, Chara. I'm tired of all these people. I'm tired of all these places. I'm tired of being a flower. Chara." He smiles, hopefully. "There's just one thing left I want to do. Let's finish what we started. Let's free everyone. Then… let's let them see what humanity is really like! That despite it all… this world is still kill or be killed!"

"Then?" Chara asks. It's the first time she's actually spoken with my mouth on the outside. Even Flowey looks slightly startled, but he quickly regains his composure.

"Then…?" He repeats thoughtfully. "Well. I had… been entertaining a few ways to use that power. Hee hee hee…" He laughs, but stops. "...but seeing you here changed my mind. Chara… I think if you're around… just living in the surface world doesn't seem so bad.

"Why am I telling you all of this? Chara, I said it before. Even after all this time… You're still the only one that understands me. You won't give me any worthless pity!" He grins maliciously, but Chara looks bored. "Creatures like us… wouldn't hesitate to kill each other if we got in each other's way." I suddenly see an idea flashing in Chara's mind, and I know she's planning something. "So that's… So… that's… Why…"

Flowey's sentences are suddenly cut off as his words slowly come to a stop. He's suddenly shaking, wariness on his face. "...ha… Ha…" He laughs lightly. "What's this… feeling?" He smiles sheepishly as he stares up at us, still trembling. He's visibly sweating, despite the fact that he's a flower. "Why am I… shaking? Hey… Chara…" He looks at us, smiling hopefully. "No hard feelings about back then, right?"

Chara then smiles, pulling my mouth into a wide-stretched grin. She takes a step forward, and Flowey's face is struck with fear. "H-hey, what are you doing!?" His eyes are white with shock as he squeaks. "B… back off!"

He pops back into the ground, and only appears after we take a few more steps. This time, he's grown a few yards further away than usual, but we can still hear and see him. "I… I've changed my mind about all this." He scrambles to speak. "This isn't a good idea anymore. Y-you should go back, Chara. This place is fine the way it is!..." He hesitates, before narrowing his eyes in fear again. "S-s-stop making that creepy face!" He yelps.

I hadn't even realized, but Chara was still smiling. My grin now felt wide and unnatural, large and evil upon my face. It hurt slightly, but Flowey's current expression made it totally worth it. Chara was doing a great job at scaring him off. She raises the knife a bit, and Flowey catches sight of it as it glints in the light.

"This isn't funny!" Flowey screeches, still slick with sweat. "You've got a sick sense of humor!" And with that last comment, he ducks into the ground. He doesn't come back up.

"Nice." I comment as we walk past the empty hole he made in the ground.

Chara only makes an indistinguishable noise that I assume is an agreement. Ahead is an elevator, but it's useless by now. The only way is ahead, to the right.

Determination. Chara whispers.

The scene is so different here, I'm almost blinded. Instead of the usual dull bricks, I'm in a bright corridor of warm colors. The tiles are orange and brown. The walls are orange as well, and fat brown columns line the sides of the hall. Light streams in from the huge windows to the side. They have strange designs on them, but Chara doesn't care to explain. There's a box behind us, but it's the last thing I want to worry about.

"Wow." I blink in awe, trying to absorb as much of the scene as I can. "It's so pretty."

"It's the Last Corridor." Chara echoes. "Or more well known as… the Judgement Hall."

"Why?" I frown.

"You'll see soon enough." She grumbles.

We take our first steps forward, and our ballet shoes make clicking sounds against the tiles that echo around the room. The light from the windows cast eerie shadows from us and the columns, creating strange shapes on the ground. Everything here feels so mysterious and final, like it's the end of everything. After all, it is the "Last Corridor."

I'm so busy admiring the shadows that I don't even see the figure ahead until it speaks. "Heya."

I'm startled, but Chara isn't. She comes to a full and complete stop exactly six tiles away from the imposter. How had he gotten there? I had been pretty sure he wasn't there a moment ago. The monster's short and familiar, wearing a blue jacket…

It's Sans. He's back. It was definitely good to see him again, but… why here, and why now? I can almost feel the danger radiating off of him, and Chara already has the knife readied in her hand. The red light of it makes us look equally dangerous.

Sans's pupils slowly travel to the knife in our hands. "You've been busy, huh?..." He pauses a moment before looking back up at us. A bead of wary sweat is making its way down his skull. He faces us with wariness. "So, i've got a question for ya." He closes the both of his eyes for a brief moment, like he's thinking. "Do you think even the worst person can change...? That everybody can be a good person, if they just try?"

I blink, unsure how to answer. What is he talking about? And why is he asking us this now? His solemness is making me wary, questioning my actions. So that's why this is Judgement Hall. I don't know how to react. However, Chara seems to know exactly what to do. She takes another step forward.

"Heh heh heh heh…" Sans chuckles lightly. It sounds hollow. "All right. Well, here's a better question." His pinpricks disappear, leaving only a black mass inside his empty eye sockets. "Do you wanna have a bad time? 'Cause if you take another step forward… you are really not going to like what happens next."

"Is he fighting us?" I ask Chara, discomfort filling me. Should I be afraid or confident? Sans is the last person I want to fight; he's been the only non-threatening monster I've seen down here. Yet, it makes me wonder how much experience he'll give me. Since he's so weak, he might not give me much, which means destroying him won't even be worth it. It might be better if we just leave him.

Chara doesn't answer me though, and steps forward again, leaving only a five tile space between us and Sans. He takes a deep breath, preparing himself. "welp." He sighs. "Sorry, old lady. This is why i never make promises."

Suddenly, our soul is drawn out. This means bad news. Chara looks ready to fight, but she hadn't even discussed tactics with me yet. She was basically ignoring me, and I hated it. What was wrong with her? Why wasn't she talking to me? Where did our teamwork go?

Sans is still talking, eyes closed and hands in pockets. "It's a beautiful day outside." He says seriously.

This is bad. "Chara, why is he fighting us?" Was it because we killed his brother? If that was the case, I think I could understand, but why hadn't he done this earlier? Something must've sparked him to take action now. "Why are you ignoring me?" We needed to form a plan now. It's what we usually did.

I can almost swear that there's chirping noises coming from somewhere. "Birds are singing," Sans hums. "Flowers are blooming…"

"Chara." I breathe. "Stop ignoring me!"

"On days like these, kids like you…" He pauses before opening the both of his empty eye sockets. "Should be burning in hell."

Sans is scaring the heck outta me, but I have more important matters to take on hand. Shutting my eyes, I force Chara out of my body. She seeps out slowly, like molasses. When I regain my control, the body feels slightly foreign, but I knew I had succeeded in getting Chara's attention.

"What are you doing?" She hisses inside my mind.

"Getting you to stop ignoring me." I answer promptly. "Our teamwork isn't going to work if we can't even communicate properly-"

My words come to a stop when my soul turns blue. Before I'm even warned, Sans waves his hand and gravity pulls me down to the ground within a red border. I don't understand what's happening, and before I can react properly, bones jut out from the ground, rushing through the tiles. At least I had jumped on instinct, but one still hit me in the head, making me feel dizzy. My red soul comes back with a ding.

"Give back control now!" Chara yells.

"What? Why-" More rows of bones appear from out of nowhere, moving towards me in rows. Is Sans doing this? There's an opening through them all, but it's too small, and my aim is imprecise. I bump and push my way through the projectiles. They're surprisingly sharp, actually leaving cuts and bruises all over my arms and legs. My body feels sore.

Just when I think it's the end of it all, the strangest things appear. They look like dinosaur skulls, but their teeth bones are sharper and their eye sockets are crueler. Four of them surround me in a pattern. They open their mouths while a charging sound emanates from them, and I have a hint on what's about to happen. Trying to avoid them, I move to the side, only to run straight into their blue beams of death.

They're horrible. They feel like fire and acid and death all combined together to burn me into oblivion. I screech in horror at the feeling. It's like my skin's being slowly peeled off while my head roasts in a fireplace. I'm blinded by blue light, unable to see anything.

When it's finally gone, I feel like I'm dead. But there's more. Instead of moving aside this time, I use the last of me energy to try to stay in the middle. But once again, I go straight into the center of their fire. It's like they're targeting me like auto-aim machine guns. I feel the acid again, and this time, I want to scream. It's worse than the ghost's acid, worse than Undyne's spears or the guy's bullets. My soul is trembling, and cracks are appearing on its surface. I suddenly realize; it's going to break.

Chara is screaming inside me, but I can't conjure the proper mentality to respond or think. I can only float like a dead corpse in the middle of the air as the most biggest dinosaur skulls I've ever seen appear on both sides of me. They open their mouths, charging their beams…

In the midst of the blue light, I don't even move as my body crumbles to ashes.

yeyyyy she dies! finally! :D

There's three more already prepared chapters, so I guess I'll be posting them up every two days if I remember to. :P