A simple rooftop. The top of her building, I recalled. We often came up here when life got us down, and that day had been rough. I was still covered in grease and sweat, both of which clinged to me. I frowned, turning to her.

Her beautiful, ruby-red eyes looked at me. Black hair fell elegantly around her face, and I was once again struck by how perfect she looked. A small scar from some age-old injury hung out just beneath her left eye, and I put a hand out and rubbed it gently. She smiled a little at that. Good, I thought. She deserved to smile.

She had a rough day, too. I remember that vividly - The clothing store she was forced to work at was closing down, courtesy of the reigning gang in the city having no need for it anymore. That was fine by her, though - Gave her an excuse to try and take my job. Her dad hated that idea, though. Something about it being too rough for his little girl or some other BS like that.

She sighed, turning to the sky above. It was always cloudy in Fortune City. That pale gray that colored the world never left.

"... You have to go back soon." I watched her lips move, but no sound came. Even still, I knew what she was saying, "You can't stay on the roof forever."

"Yeah, my break's ending in a few," I said, sitting up and running a hand through my hair. "Car shop isn't gonna run itself."

"..." Silence for a second, before she sat up too. I watched her scan the city - From here we could see the walled-off community in the center of the city. Unlike the rest of the city, it was clean, pristine. Xander Fortune, leader of the Fortune Gang, lived there, I think. No one would give up his location, if most people knew it at all - less they end up at the bottom of Fortune River. "... Carter."

I listened to her, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, Em?"

"... They won't stop." They said in a near-whisper, "It won't ever stop. You have to take action."

"... What're you talking about?" I asked, "You know as well as I do that I'd love to stop them, but…"

Her body began breaking away. The rest of the world did, too, but I was only focused on her. My heart ached as I watched her disappear, disappear like before.

"... Keep living, Carter the Dragon. Stay strong."

And she was gone.

Chapter 6: Power's Sin

Load 96.

I spawned back into existence at the end of a golden hall, gasping for breath. My eyes darted about my surroundings. Terror flooded my brain when I spotted the red-eyed demon at the other end of the hall. My heart was beating, beating - Where was I? Who am I? A six letter word, a title, a name-

A laugh resounded all around me. Panic. A kneejerk reaction - I slammed my hands against the ground, a hole opening up beneath me and dragging me into the earth. I could feel my pulse pounding against my forehead.

Focus, focus! I yelled internally, gripping the sides of my head and shaking it as hard as I could. Name, name - Doesn't matter. I go by The Dragon here. I had earth magic, I had another SOUL in me, there was another consciousness in my head, and, and…

I'm fighting Chara. I'm winning.

Suddenly, roots shot from the earth around me. They wrapped around my wrists, up my arms, and around my torso. I was trapped in a tomb of my own design - Bound by the restraints of my enemy.

Or…. I was.

I shook the thought away, cleared my mind of whatever thoughts were plaguing me, and clenched my fists. Suddenly, whatever dirt that had collected on me when I entombed myself hardened, and shot from my body in spikes. Successfully free of my restraints, I kicked the ceiling of my own grave, forcing it to explode open. This successfully exposed me to the open air of the Judgment Hall.

I leapt out of the crater created by my blast, surrounded by the dust plumes created by my ascent. My eyes darted about, watching the shifting shadows in the dirt around me.

I was right to do so, as a single murderous enby shot from the dust, their new Dealbreaker leading them on their strike as if they were using it to fly. I was barely able to stumble out of the way of their strike. Yet, just as I lifted a hand to send some rocks following after them, a sawblade of golden flower shot from the dust, perpendicular to my left arm.

… Then I lost all feeling in said arm. Well, except the excruciating pain from just above where the elbow would be.

Shock flooded my veins as I stared at the stump where my arm used to be. I watched it fly into the dust that was beginning to clear, before a large set of green jaws shot from the earth, catching it in its clutches. The venus fly trap happily ate my arm, blood dripping from its toothy maw.

I didn't react much - Too surprised at the sudden loss of my arm to really process what was happening. My eyes drifted to the torrent of blood cascading from my arm.

"Having some trouble there, righty?"

My eyes narrowed at Chara, who twirled their sword in their grip, before solidly planting it in the ground. Beneath my feet, the ground rumbled, and I was barely able to get ahold of my senses before a pink, giant, 5-petaled flower spawned from under my feet. I leapt from the flower, landing on the tiled floor with surprising grace. I barely had time to recognize the flower - wasn't that a Pokemon? - before Chara swiped their blade, dozens of flower petals spawning with their swing - All aimed for me.

I grit my teeth, raising my arm and creating a shield of rock to defend myself with. A simple, curved, neck-length wall, which I quickly dove behind, leaning against the comforting stone as petals thunked into its girth.

"W-What gives, Chara?!" I struggled out, cold sweat pouring down my face and blood pouring from my stump, "When'd you become P-Poison Ivy?!"

I summoned a pie slice from my inventory, but wasn't able to get it in my mouth before another root shot from the wall behind me, trapping my wrist in its twisting grasp. My arm was forcibly yanked into the wall behind me, the stone crumbling under the force of the pull.

A shadow fell over me, and I glanced up to its source. Chara crouched there, blade planted in my wall and a grin spread across their face. They stared down at me, yanking their blade into the air.

"I've got someone on my side," They said, blade poised at me like the stinger of a scorpion, "And, apparently, they want me to win."

*Right. Their "generous benefactor."

And, suddenly, there was a sword through my gray matter.

Shatter.

Load 124.

Sweat beaded down my head as my losing streak went strong. Magma poured from geysers from the ground, a block of rock floating above the slowly-growing sea of lava that was being ripped from the earth. The plan was simple - no plants could grow from a flaming lake.

Unfortunately, Chara proved themself smarter than me. Their eyes shot to the bit of land I was riding like a hoverboard, before their arms shot to their sides, vines shooting from the ceiling above us and grabbing their outstretched arms. These vines carried them into the air, pulling them like a puppet to fight me in an aerial battle.

A scowl grew over my face, and I geopathically shot my rock board I was riding below their form, pulling up before I crashed into the smoking lava lake. Said smoke was beginning to fill the room, and sweat stopped beading and started pouring. Heat was getting to me - I couldn't stay like this for long. I had to kill Chara.

Their puppeted body twisted in mid-air, spinning in air and summoning something in-between their knuckles. Thinking fast, I twisted my foot, shifting the rock I was standing on and shrinking my platform in favor of creating a several-inch thick, several foot high wall in front of me. My footing was a little less sturdy on the thinner rock, now, but it'd defend me against whatever Chara was winding up.

THUNK THUNK.

I was instantly proven wrong as a set of two petals dug into the back of my shoulders, forcing me to stumble forward and slam into the wall I'd created. The wall crumbled from the force of my body, the shards of the rocks spilling from the platform I had created and into the molten rock below. Now, with a smaller platform, smoke filling my lungs, and blood pouring down my back, I watched as Chara flew towards me.

*One shot.

A scowl ripped over my expression as I leapt towards Chara, my Hoverock shattering under the force of my jump as I sailed over Chara. The rocks trailed in the air behind me, and I drew my arms together, two small, thick platforms of rock catching the two of my feet. Effectively this created two hover shoes that I could fly on, if only for a moment or two.

Using this moment, I spawned Texty's Rockstaff from my inventory, spinning and attempting to skewer Chara's neck with a simple stab. However, when I stabbed, I found nothing there.

Suddenly, a leafy vine flew from below me and wrapped around my leg. It tore me from the sky, Chara yanking me into my own lake of lava I had created. They damned me to my own personal Hell, scorching my skin and melting my bones. I wanted to scream, but all I could manage was one melted arm just barely inching out of the lake.

Shatter.

Load 167.

Fury entered Texty's eyes as they shot at Chara, twisting in air and narrowly avoiding the petals, vines, and leaves that were racing towards them. They slid under a wayward Sawblade flower, plunging their fist into the tiles, placing their feet on the ground and firing into the sky with a newly-acquired Rocksword. With a swing, Texty's Rocksword met Chara's Dealbreaker, and they were locked into a stalemate. Our SOUL met Chara's, our power met their LOVE.

"Will you answer the fuckin' question?!" Texty yelled through my voice, rage flaring in their eyes, "Who gave you your magic?! What happened?!"

Chara's cracked eyes narrowed at Texty, and roots sprung from the ground, wrapping around the final Dreemurr's ankles, quite literally rooting them into the ground. Texty matched Chara's strategy, rocks tearing from the ground and trapping Texty's and shins in firm Rockboots.

"I don't know who my Benefactor is," Chara admitted, summoning a semicircle of petals that Texty instantly took out with a matching ring of stalactites falling from the ceiling. "But the deal I struck has ensured your destruction, Dragon."

"You of all people should know how badly deals can turn out, Dreemurr." Texty spat, and Chara's elbows bent just a little bit, giving Texty the slightest advantage in their struggle, "You have no clue what your benefactor will want from you."

"... How do you know these things?" Chara questioned, forcing their sword against Texty's and putting them back on the backfoot, "You and your partner fell today, and yet you two know things that no other person in this universe should."

Texty's teeth grit, ripping their foot from the rockboot it was planted in and shotgunning a kick into Chara's chest, sending them soaring across the hall. A gigantic, purple rose broke their fall, a literal flower bed that they landed on. WIth a sling of their wrist, wooden trees sprouted from the ground, twirling and firing right at Texty.

Texty was having none of it, though, leaping onto one sprouting oak, racing along the wood. In a dead sprint, they leaped into the air, bringing up their sword and swinging it at Chara.

SLASH.

Blood flew through the air, Texty landing crouched on the ground behind Chara with one outstretched sword in their hands. Top slided from bottom, blood spilled to the ground, and one ruby red SOUL floated into the air.

Shatter.

Load 200.

"So why don't you answer my questions?" Chara spat at me, petals sinking into the earth as my feet pounded in the opposite direction as the Demon. I whipped around, my feet skidding on the tile as I thrust one hand into the air, a wall of rock stopping more petals in their tracks. At Chara's command, the petals exploded into blooming flowers, vines and roots blasting right through my rock and tearing through the air towards me.

"Asking me thirty times ain't gonna make it easier to explain!" I yelled, leaping out just out of range as the evil greenery planted themselves firmly where I'd been standing. I stomped a foot, three magma geysers shooting from the earth and turning the greenery into ash.

Chara dove into the air as the geysers settled back down, surfing on a contorting spire of wood. They brought up their sword, looking to decapitate me again. With a growl, I plunged my hands into the earth, coating them in a layer of rock. As they got closer, I ripped my hands out of the earth with brand new Rockgloves, catching their swing dead in its tracks.

"Try me. I've seen some wild, wild things, Dragon."

My simple answer came bubbling out of my throat. With a horrible yell, I unhinged my jaw, flames pouring out of my mouth and searing Chara's face. They tried to back away, but I simply held my grip on their sword. Even when they tried to let go, I gripped the back of their head in two rock-covered hands, lighting their face on fire and melting their bones and skin.

Shatter.

Load 456.

Greenery was flooding the hallway, creating a forest of trees and flowers. Weeds were sprouting from the tiles below Texty as their feet pounded on the tile. They spun, slamming their fits into the ground and skewering a flowery beast that was chasing them. Unfortunately, this was a distraction - Chara had crept behind Texty in the thick woods, attempting to stab us in the back and shatter our SOUL.

Fortunately, Texty thought quickly, grabbing Chara's arm and yanking the two on top of each other. A struggle for dominance ensued, the two twisting and flipping over each other in a desperate attempt to end up on top.

Chara ended up on top, all right, but with Texty's arm around their throat and legs wrapped around their torso, it was hard to say Chara had dominance here. Texty grinned, placing their free hand on the ground and forcing it to rumble.

"Wanna see what a human kebab looks like?"

With their quip, a stalagmite fired from the ground, piercing the two clean through, both of their bodies ragdolling at different points on the spire of rock. Their two SOULs floated into the air simultaneously, before two became four, and four became shards of nothing.

Shatter.

I couldn't really tell you how long that truly went on for. I wasn't exactly keeping track, but I could see our fight going on for hundreds more deaths. None of us gave any ground, none of us wanted to give up.

Chara's cracked eyes met mine as they plunged their sword through my heart. A grin tore up their face, a genuine look at the monster underneath.

After a while, it became hard to distinguish the fights. One fight would end, and another would immediately begin. We didn't bother asking any more questions, the two of us were stubborn as two mules. For Chara and I, every second was used to formulate more and more ways to kill each other.

"..." I stared at the corpse in front of me, skewered on dozens of falling stalactites. I'd gotten the drop on them this time, able to kill them before the fight really began.

*... Are you okay?

My eyes glazed over to my text box, but honestly I barely even realized it was there. It had been so long since we actually communicated, since we decided to actually talk instead of simply switching places to kill another person.

*... I… I don't feel good.

"Wonder why." I said dryly, staring at the puddle of meat and blood. I idly wondered if they ever did this when I died.

*...

After a while, Texty stopped coming out to play altogether. I didn't ask why. I was too focused on killing Chara. It became my purpose.

I brought back one arm, a sharpened point of rock covering the entire thing. It skidded past Chara's outstretched sword, plunging into their head and turning their face into a hole in their skull.

It became my virtue.

Vines had me in their grip, and I couldn't help but laugh, even as they began taking root in my skin. They spread through my veins, through my body, taking root and turning my body into a corpse. Even still, I couldn't help but laugh, cackle at my worst enemy.

It became my sin.

Load 1216.

Flash.

The two of us locked eyes for what had to of been the millionth time, both of us retreating into fighting stances. I summoned Texty's Rockstaff. They wielded their blade. Simultaneously, we lunged.

We were right about to crash into each other, to roll out of the way or maybe even have another stalemate where we straight-up killed each other, when time froze. Not in like a metaphorical sense, either, but rather in a much, much more literal sense. I could see the individual strands of Chara's hair slowly pull back from the force of their jump, their ruby eyes inching wider in utter confusion.

The world's colors flipped into black and white, then to negative, before an explosion of energy erupted from between us, blowing the both of us backwards. Chara slammed into the wall hard enough to make a crater, whereas I flew backward with such force that I ended up back in the throne room, slamming into Asgore's throne and knocking it off its legs. I tumbled and flailed for a second, before planting my feet on a pillar of rock I created, firing back with a jump so powerful it made the throne room tremble.

I landed back in the Judgment Hall, staring at the skeleton that had so rudely interrupted our battle. Dressed professionally, with a long, black, buttoned-up trench coat that easily reached the ground despite his massive height, a white turtleneck popping just barely out from his coat.. His build almost reminded me of Papyrus, but the eerie, hollow grin stretched across his features reminded me more of Sans than anything. Even then, it had a plastic quality to it that had me on edge. Two cracks were on his face - one running down from his left eye and the other up from his right.

"... Uh…" Confusion spread across my features, and I wracked my brain for a second as to who the hell this was. I remembered someone mentioning someone like this, right…?

*Gaster.

My eyes glanced at the text box that had spoken to me for the first time in almost a hundred deaths, before they glossed back to the intruder. "... Your name's… Gaster, right?"

"... YES." He said simply, eerie grin spreading further across his features, he turned to me, "MY NAME… IS W. D. GASTER. I'VE COME TO… GIVE YOU A HAND."

At this command, two hands spawned at his sides. Both of them were outstretched, one of them pointing to me, and the other at Chara, who was staring with wide eyes at Gaster. We were both lifted into the air, before racing towards the tall skeleton at top speed. Our SOULs slotted perfectly into his hole-punched hands, and suddenly, everything went dark.

My eyes slowly drifted back open, eyes meeting the dark sky. SOULs floated in the sky, and I was once more within the walls of my old apartment building. The rotting wood and moldy carpet served as a grim reminder of where I came from.

*Gone now.

I nodded listly at the text box that had appeared in my vision, sitting up and staring down the hallway and into the familiar gray and purple concrete. Two homes overlapped into one, split perfectly down the middle - Left side purple, right side gray. In the courtyard that had one blossoming, red-leaved tree, a human in a green sweater stood, staring at the home that defined their life.

Standing up, I stared at Chara's auburn hair for a long time. I didn't know what to say - What could I say? Every interaction we'd ever had turned violent, so I couldn't say for sure anything I had to say would exactly help matters.

"... I've lived a long time, Dragon." Chara said, hands in a white-knuckled grip at their sides, "Longer than I should have lived, to be honest."

"Should've stayed dead, then." I spat at them, venom on my tongue.

"..." Chara laughed at that, a rumbling chuckle escaping from them. This chuckle evolved into a hearty laugh, and then into an evil cackle. They shook their head, turning it towards me. I could barely see the ruby red SOUL hung like a locket around their neck. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should've stayed dead."

"But I didn't." Chara said, bringing one hand to their face, peaking between their fingers. From here, I could just barely see their scalera change color, going from a pure white into a deep, melting black. "And even in my second life, death follows wherever I go."

"Then quit fuckin' killing people!" I yelled, throwing my hands out to my sides, "It's not that hard!"

"I thought the same, at first." Chara said quietly. "But then I watched Frisk do it. Go back on their pacifistic values just to see what would happen."

My eyes narrowed. Of course.

*But it's not on Frisk, is it?

"So I punished them. Taught them a lesson," All around us, our homes melted away into a sea of darkness, dotted with golden stars. "Actions have consequences, Dragon."

"..." I stayed silent at that, my eyes darting to the void surrounding us. "... But you've taken it too far."

"Have I?" They questioned, tilting their head. Their feet slowly began to move, tapping against the starry floor that had been created around us. They approached me, eyes bleeding black from the cracks, "I'm simply doing unto them what they did unto me. I've taught them that they can never escape their mistakes."

"And to do that repeatedly? Forever?" I asked, fearless at Chara's approach, "It's too far. You're sick."

"Who is more sick? The murderer, or the executioner?" They simply asked, and my jaw locked. "One chooses to kill for the thrill of it, and yet the other kills for their job, in spite of the horrors they may see."

"..." I considered Chara's words for only a moment, but they weren't convincing. An executioner punishes those which are bad, but Frisk had been punished already. Frisk learned their lesson. "Whatever."

The moment they were in range, I grabbed their shirt, bringing back one fist. Red smoked off of it, and Chara's black eyes widened at my surprise attack. With a roar, I planted my fist into their cheek, shattering their spirit. Their will blew apart, the manifestation of their Determination scattering into a million pieces. Chara's surprised, almost hurt eyes flashed through my mind's eye for another moment, but I ignored the growing pit in my heart.

*...

Frisk's SOUL floated down from the shards of Determination left behind by Chara's final death, and I cupped it gently in my hands. My eyes drifted up to it, to the new human that had taken Chara's place.

"..." I closed the distance between Frisk and myself, a frown on my face. They seemed to whither under my expression, but I let out a small sigh as I handed them their SOUL. "... Here ya go."

Their almost-shut eyes widened at my gift. "... Are… Are you sure…? Y-You heard Chara, I… I hurt so many people…"

"I don't want to make you take it, Frisk." I bit at them, "Take the SOUL. Just don't do this shit again."

Frisk timidly nodded at my offer, taking their SOUL back. Their heart thumped, their SOUL resonating with their own will for the first time in nearly years.

The void started to get brighter, the shining light of the stars flooding the pitch blackness in bright color. I closed my eyes, allowing light to overtake us. I ignored the surprised eyes that appeared behind my eyelids.

… Did I make a mistake…?

After a few minutes, my eyes fluttered back open. I groaned as I sat up, rubbing my head. I glanced up at the tall skeleton that was looming over me. I felt a little uncomfortable under his glowing pupils, so I hopped up from my spot on the ground which forced him to back up.

"... HM. YOU ARE… INTRIGUING." His head tilted to the side, a crescent grin clear on his face, "DO YOU… REGRET WHAT YOU DID?"

I frowned, pushing past Gaster and moving to the stripe-shirted human laying on the ground. There were no cracks on their face. My frown deepened as Frisk slowly stirred from their slumber.

Frisk half-lidded eyes shot open as they scrambled away from me, fear splattered across their face. Adrenaline drained out of their system, their breath calmed, and their eyes went back to their normal, squinted status.

"..." I sighed, running a hand through my hair, "You ready to wrap this up?"

Frisk nodded, before summoning their RESET button with one hand.

"AH! WAIT JUST. A MOMENT."

I turned back to Gaster, who had spoken up behind us. He placed his hand on my shoulder, and I could feel a shiver cross against my body. "I SHALL PULL CARTER OUT OF. THIS REALITY. THIS SHOULD GIVE HIM HIS POWERS… WHEN THE WORLD RECONSTITUTES."

"Not a bad idea." I offered with a shrug, pointing a thumb at Frisk, "Might be a good way to keep this one in line."

They shriveled under my thumb's pointage, almost looking like they'd be whimpering like a puppy. Good, I thought. Give 'em something to be scared of.

"EXACTLY…" Gaster said, opening a portal behind him. "STEP RIGHT INSIDE, DRAGON."

I stepped into the portal, looking back behind me for a moment or two. After another moment, Gaster stepped inside, before it glossed over. I turned to Gaster with a brow raised.

"IT CAN NO LONGER BE TRAVELED THROUGH." He said, "IT IS SIMPLY A VIEWING PORTAL, NOW."

I nodded in understanding, staring at Frisk's slumped form. They shook as they stared into the portal for another moment or two, before their eyes drifted down to their shivering hands. These hands lifted up to their cheek, running down the left side. I decided right then to ask them how they were feeling when I saw them next.

*... The red cracks. The benefactor.

I paused at my Text box, my eyes widening in realization. My heart thudded in my chest as my head creaked to the man with cracks in his face behind me. Shadows slipped over his face, a grin tearing across his face. His hand slowly raised out of his coat, detached from the rest of his body. It's fingers outstretched towards me, and on sheer instinct I twisted my heel into the ground to encase him in rock.

Unfortunately, I had failed to realize until that exact moment that we were in a pitch-black void of essentially nothing.

The hand slammed against my throat, carrying me briefly off the ground and throwing me against the viewing portal behind me. It had turned from the golden hues of Judgment Hall to a glowing white blur of code. As the bone-thin fingers cut off my air, panic shot through my brain.

"... YOUR PARTNER IS… VERY PERCEPTIVE, AREN'T THEY?" Gaster asked, his glowing white pupils staring into my very SOUL, "GOOD THING YOU AREN'T QUITE AS SMART AS THEM, HA. HA."

I grit my teeth together, summoning my rockstaff in my hand. The RESET was taking too long, right? I had to stop this. I pulled back my arm, and-!

The arm cocking back the staff was pinned by another skeletal, hole-punched hand. My other arm was pinned to my side. Rage twisted in my expression, my teeth gritting together, indignant growls escaping my throat. My brain was too jumbled from the last day of LOADs, I couldn't think beyond a desire to kill.

"I NEED YOU FOR THIS. NEXT PART OF MY EXPERIMENT." Gaster got in my face then, "A NEW HUMAN, A NEW WORLD… SO MANY VARIABLES TO PLAY WITH."

"HA. HA. HA…" He whispered, twisting his attached hand. The glossed-over portal behind me opened once again, the only thing keeping me from falling being Gaster's detached hands. Suspended in the air, I glowered at him with all the hatred I could muster.

"I'll stop you." I said with less confidence than I'd like.

"YOU CAN TRY." He said, before his hands disappeared. I was thrust into the blinding light, forced into a world that was in the middle of being changed. Light had completely consumed me, and then…

The world was covered by darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED IN SEASON 2….