TW! Mentions of Depressive Spiral/Self-Dehumanization/Past Abuse

"HALT HUMAN!"

Chara walked forward.

"HEY! QUIT MOVING WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY. FIRST: YOU'RE A FREAKING WEIRDO! NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES, BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE! THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE ALWAYS COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER. IT FEELS… LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH. HOWEVER! I PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU! EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY! AND ME! I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Chara walked forward, even as Frisk's heart. Frisk's SOUL trembled in their chest.

"HEY QUIT MOVING! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! HUMAN, I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW, BUT WORRY NOT! I, PAPYRUS! WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR! I WILL GLADLY TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND!"

The SOUL trembled again, and Chara felt his grip slipping on Frisk's body. But he quickly grabbed hold again and walked forward. Puppeting her body even as it resisted.

"AH! I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING, ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE? WOWIE! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING! I, PAPYRUS WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!"

"No- he's sparing us. Chara we can go-"

"NO!" and Chara drove their fist into Papyrus' chest.

His head rolled off his shoulders. "W-WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED. B-BUT STILL. I BELIEVE IN YOU, YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER. EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK SO. I- I PROMISE…."

And then Papyrus is gone. Nothing but a pile of dust in the snow.

"Come on. Frisk. Let's go home."

The soul trembled, and Chara began to walk.

The snow began to melt into rushing water, and Chara held the flickering star in their hands.

"18 left."

Chara and Frisk began to fight over control over the body. "Chara I don't want to do this anymore!"

"They're just monsters! Don't you want to go home and fix everything? We can do it. Together!"

"No! Chara I don't want to hurt anyone!"

"They're just monsters!"

Time seemed to freeze for Frisk as Chara took back control of the body. She found herself locked in her mind, an expanse of green fields and clear blue skies with a distant storm cloud growing ever darker. A book appeared at her feet so she knelt and flipped it open.

Freak. A noun meaning a person, animal, or plant with an unusual physical abnormality.

She flipped the page.

Monster. A noun meaning an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening. Or an inhumanly cruel or wicked person.

An image of Toriel appeared as the storm cloud rolled over and scalding hot rain began to pour from the clouds. Frisk -no- Harriet -no- no no no no. Girl? Freak? It? It. It looked up at Toriel, her blurry form beginning to take shape, Warm, caring, and soft. Toriel held its hand, Didn't hurt it. Toriel gave it a room. Not a dusty cupboard, and food. Warm and hot and fresh and not scraps. It… It killed her. It killed Toriel

A flash of green lightning, and a scream of thunder. "NO! NO PLEASE NOT HARRIET NOT HARRIET!"

"Momma….?" It began to cry. White powder turned to blood on its hands and the hot rain began to create a boiling sea.

"...seem a bit dangerous for now. Take my hand….. My child." Toriel's voice echoed in broken snippets of things It had heard Toriel say.

"Momma! MOM! MOM!" It couldn't swim. Couldn't see. Couldn't breathe.

It was back in the cupboard again. Dark, cold. Spiders sitting on its feet and knees. It always liked Spiders. Little friends in the dark. If It would sit still long enough and hold its hand still the spiders would spin little webs around its fingers. Their chest felt tight and a cough spattered blood in it's hands. Its Uncle Vernon had kicked it down the stairs, and Cousin Dudley had kicked its ribs.

It hurt. It burned. Blood trickled from their lips. A voice whispered in her mind. Cold and dark, like Chara, but warm. Oh so warm. The cupboard door opened into a room of Silver and Green, murky and dark, something swimming in the water behind thick gothic windows. A roaring fire in an ornate fireplace, and in the room sat a young man, whose form shifted between that of a handsome teen and a pale bald snake-faced man. The man snapped his fingers and another soft comfy leather chair appeared next to his.

"Come sit. Harriet Potter. Come sit and talk with me."

"Who are you?"

"Hmm.. you may call me Marvolo"

"Marvolo… am I a freak?"

"A freak? No. You're not a freak. What you can do is perfectly natural. Though, you may be a monster."

"A monster…?"

"Just like me." He grinned and his handsome face shifted to that of the pale snake-face beast of a man.

"You see Harriet. I was once a man, but I became a monster whenever I went to kill a little one-year-old girl, and she SHATTERED me." He prodded her in the chest and the room began to splinter like breaking glass around the edges.

"So now the tides are turned. You've shattered yourself, and I and your little friend will go on our own and retake what I lost."

He jabbed at her again and she fell backward into the abyss. Falling and falling until suddenly. A spear jabbed through her abdomen. Pulling her back into her body.

She awoke with a gasp, Chara blasted from her body in a force of shadow. A blue spear stuck out of her abdomen and blood dripped down around it. In her hands was the toy knife, and as she looked up she saw the flashing armor of what could only be Undyne.

Chara clawed his way across the floor and attempted to repossess her, but Harriet had gone into flight mode. The scene flickering to Aunt Petunia screaming at her for getting blood on her kitchen floors before she looked up, Chara still having some semblance of control attempted to fight, but Harriet twisted her body so the strike would miss, and let herself get pincushioned by more of the spears.

"What are you DOING? We're going to DIE!" Chara hissed as Harriet's soul began to flicker and shake. "They're just MONSTERS! THEY'LL KILL YOU"

"They're not the monsters Chara," she whispered as for the first time, she let go of the knife and let it clatter to the ground. Choosing mercy. "We are." She closed her eyes and imagined the warm sun and soft golden flowers she had landed in when she first fell. Of Toriel's warm voice and guiding hand, and how even when Chara struck down the skeleton… Papyrus, he still wanted to. To be her friend.

Monster: An inhumanly cruel or wicked person.

She had never had a friend before, or someone who would offer a warm hand, just because. So for her, the choice was easy…

She closed her eyes and at the end of the road. She greeted Death like an old friend.

Hey! Tamwyn here, I hope you all have been enjoying the story so far. I know two chapters in one day! I just wanted to give you all something since in the upcoming week I'll be prepping for surgery and then recovering so I might not have time or energy to sit and write as much as I'd like to. I really appreciate all the feedback you guys give and as always remember to hit that follow or favorite button if you want to read more and make sure to leave a review! I'd love to hear your thoughts and constructive criticism while I'm recovering.