Thanks go to Monkey D. Chimera, Zack Frost, Skele, 10burgers, Gray Kanzakai, fergusans18, Fophelia1331, WhoWritesThisCrap, Wingah, Linki, Genowar, Jack54311, ILoveUrWriting, NBoss01, and Infinity Soul.

Linki I almost misspelled your name as Kinki and I thought you should know.

On to the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

God damn it!

Haggard green eyes darted from side to side, strands of black hair falling haphazardly over his forehead, which was detailed with the occasional stream of sweat.

Under the overcast sky he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, landing on dress shoe covered feet before jumping again. His black shoes were matched with black dress pants and the black vest over his white button up shirt, which had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked tired, bags sunken in under his emerald eyes. On his face was unmanaged five o'clock shadow, giving him the look of someone in his mid thirties.

This sleepless expression of his was jarring when compared to the bright set of seven pens that wrapped in bands around his left wrist like a makeshift bracer. They were a rainbow of seven different colors. Cyan, orange, blue, purple, green, yellow, and red.

But what stuck out the most about this individual was not his fancy clothes despite his precarious position or his exhausted eyes or even his strange choice in wrist wear, but the golden crown with a red jewel at its center that laid crooked upon his head. That, and the long black spear he grasped tightly in his right hand, which came to a silvery steel blade.

His jaw clenched, ear catching footsteps behind him. In an instant the panda eyed king spun around, whipping that spear through the air at a stunning speed back towards his chaser.

The chaser was mid jump between rooftops, his hateful green eyes narrowing at the approaching strike from his prey. He was a young man with a head of messy brown hair, stuck up and pointed like a coyote preparing to strike. He looked to be somewhere around a decade and half younger than his opponent, and wore dark blue jeans with a black, red striped T shirt. The young man had many names, that was something the king knew well. But in the dark path he had chosen, he'd decided to go by an old title: The Hacker.

Ink whipped down Hacker's arm, and he slashed the stream out towards the approaching spear, clashing with it and sending it flinging back through the air, spinning on an arch and dropping back down towards The King.

The King landed on one large stone rooftop, sliding back some on his feet and reaching up, catching his spear from the air as it dropped down towards him. He spun his weapon, before taking up a fighting stance and pointing its blade out towards The Hacker, who landed across from him.

"Get lost, brat." There was venom on the king's tongue as he squinted irritably at his attacker, standing ready for his next strike. "I don't have time to babysit you punks."

"You really aren't happy to see us?" Hacker furrowed his brows, smirking devilishly as he tilted his head. "That hurts, your Highness."

The king's eyes widened as another young adult of a human launched from the shadows behind him, racing up from the ally and over the building. As they plummeted down towards him they yanked their knife overhead, the wind tugging at their green and yellow striped shirt and throwing back their auburn hair.

"We were elated to meet you, after all!"

The king growled as this knife-brandishing Demon raced closer, spinning on his heel and preparing to stab out at his assailant, when his spear was restrained, black fluid wrapped tightly around its base in dark tendrils. His tired emerald eyes darted over his shoulder, watching Hacker lunge towards him and throw his arm out to the side, manifesting his own spear from his ink.

The king snarled as the two neared him with murderous strikes, before light shun from the emerald pen around his wrist, and an orb of KIND green force exploded out around him, slamming into the two humans that aimed to murder him and throwing them back through the air.

As the two were stunned, the king took his opportunity, reaching out with his left hand while the sphere of energy disappeared from around him. A light blue energy shined from his pen bracer as he opened his palm to The Hacker, and a PATIENT aura of the same shade suddenly encased him, restraining him in mid air.

The king tossed up his spear, catching it with one cocked back right arm and whipping it right through the trapped Hacker, who's green eye snapped open wide in agony. The spear ripped through his abdomen, sending crimson splattering in puddles on the stonework below him while the same red shade spewed up from between his lips.

Without skipping a beat the king pulled back his outstretched hand and balled it into a fist, the glow of his pen bracer shifting from cyan to dark blue. The Hacker's soul did the same, and as the PATIENT light disappeared from his body he was yanked forward.

Deep scowl on his face, the king grabbed the handle of his spear and brought The Hacker to an abrupt stop, jarring him and making even more agony explode across his expression. Eyes that were usually cold and murderous were wide an blurred, twitching with agony.

His voice a low growl, the king leaned in close to his impaled foe before speaking.

"Get the hell out of my timeline."

He spun then, whipping Hacker from his spear and at the still recovering Demon, who had just sat up across the roof. Hacker collided with them, startling them and sending the both of them skidding back across the cement.

The Demon growled, getting to one knee and holding The Hacker in their arms, crimson eyes darting between their partner in crime and their latest adversary. It was immediately apparent that they would have to retreat, as they judged by the watchful eye of the king, like a cobra waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"Lets... Bounce, Chara..." Hacker's voice cut through, getting The Demon's attention and making them look down to his face. His jaw was clenched, blood dribbling down his chin and cold sweat pouring down his face. "We're gonna... Need a better game plan for this guy..."

"..." The Demon narrowed their eyes with frustration, lifting their head back to look at the king. He was on guard, poised to strike, but he hesitated. There was a glimmer of something in his eyes as he looked upon them, but The Demon found it unreadable at the moment. They had bigger fish to fry. Each second was precious now, they had to escape back to the void and get Hacker the opportunity to heal himself with an item. "... Right."

They stood, lifting The Hacker while a portal opened behind them. The king watched them, white knuckled fingers wrapped around his spear. He knew he should strike them while they were weak. But, malevolent as The Demon's expression was, it served an eerie reminder. A past failure that haunted him, kept him from taking their life.

So they smiled, reveling in his weakness as they disappeared back through their portal, the both of them knowing it was likely things would not go this way a second time.

"See you soon, your Highness."

His emerald eyes narrowed furiously as they disappeared, and slowly he exhaled from between his lips, his body releasing some of its tension. He let his spear disappear into his inventory, turning and walking to the edge of the rooftop.

He reached into his vest, staring out at the smoldering chunk of Ebbot City him and the Bad End Chara-Cter team had left in their wake. Lucky for his subjects, their ruler had managed to keep property damage to a minimum. Some scorched sidewalks, a few destroyed dumpsters, an overturned car and one smashed wall of a storefront. There hadn't been any casualties, thank god. The two murderers had just wanted a challenge it seemed, so the king had managed to keep their attention while his people escaped the district. That was good. After the last killer to strike this city, Monsters were an endangered species.

... The last killer.

He retrieved a silver item from his vest, a flask half empty. His eyes not leaving the dying Kingdom that had been left in his hands, he unscrewed the cap and let the pungent odor of alcohol reach into the air. He turned the flask upside down, gulped its contents down without hesitation, and made another attempt at drowning his regrets. It did little, as per usual. A band-aid on a mortal wound. But, it helped him gather his thoughts and chilled his nerves. He supposed that was enough.

As he lowered his flask and began to screw the cap back onto it, he made some quick witted decisions. He would announce a state of emergency and herd the Monsters into the evacuation zone under the castle until the enemy was dealt with. Then... He would need to enlist help. He was the newly crowned King of the Monsters, and was also their only protector after one traitorous heir had decimated the police force and the Royal Guard. A traitorous heir that was still on the loose and likely planning some unspeakable next move. He didn't have time to be hunting some brats from the past.

"Frisk? C Frisk? I know you're here." He called out into the empty district of Ebbot City, tucking his flask back from where he'd retrieved it while he glanced around. After a moment of searching, he realized two grey little legs were dangling over his chest, and looked up to find one weightless, untouchable monochromatic child sitting on his shoulders. At least, it looked that way. He couldn't feel them there, their form was but an illusion, and it chose to manifest in the space just behind his head.

"You managed to run them off." C Frisk spoke, smiling politely down at the king. "Thank goodness."

"Yeah. Thanks for the heads up that they were comin'." He said gratefully, and Frisk nodded their acknowledgement. "But I need another favor."

"Hm?" Frisk tilted their head, before popping out of existence, suddenly standing in front of the king. This frame skip in reality didn't seem to phase him, however, and he looked down to them calmly. "What is it, Cter?"

"I need someone to handle those little bastards." His emerald eyes narrowed seriously, adding to his stressed wrinkles. "You n' me both know I got too much shit goin' on to play cat and mouse with two highly trained killers."

"Cter, I feel for your plight, but..." C Frisk hesitated, shaking their head. "The Omega is not a military barracks. I don't just have fighters willing to come fight to the death for a timeline they've never heard of, I have refugees traumatized by the horrors that stole their homes from them."

"Don't gimme that shit, Frisk!" Future Cter snapped irritably, those green eyes igniting with the nasty emotions that plagued his tired soul. The sudden tone shift made Frisk jump, their black hole eyes widening with surprise.

"I know you, Frisk! I know you do a little more than run a big refugee camp." Future stomped closer to the grey scale ghost, looming over their form and glaring down at them. "You've got plans, you've got contingencies, you've got important people under your watchful eye and I know you've got a peacekeeper layin' around somewhere, don'tcha?"

"..." Frisk hesitated, narrowing their eyes and lowering their head. Future's words were true, they did have more in the works than they lead on. As for peacekeepers, the ones they had in the past were growing more obsolete with the invasive species that was the 21 DoubleTale Kids. But...

"It means I'm the King.

So kneel."

They did have a new one in the works. And though they'd kept their intervening subtle and left him to his own devices in hopes that they wouldn't need him...

"But it's time to wake up."

... With every devastating move from The Anarchist, it was becoming more and more apparent that their secret weapon might be the multiverse's only chance. But if Cter The Hacker was going to stop Anthony The Anarchist, then he needed to be stronger. He needed to shatter another glass ceiling.

... He needed another test.

"Alright, alright!" C Frisk held up their hands defensively, raising their head back to Future. They took a deep breath in one last moment of contemplation, before gulping down their inhibitions. Their eyes narrowed, understanding the gravity of their next actions full well.

"... I've got a guy."

DOUBLETALE: SEASON 3

Chapter 26: Across Time And Space

"Long time no see, huh?"

Boing! Boing! Boing!

Oh paddle ball. Truly my greatest adversary in the past six months. But even the illusive rubber ball and the cheap wood of the paddle were no match for my expert hand-eye coordination, and after more hours of training than I would care to admit, the wood, the rubber, and the string all submitted to my will.

Truly, I have evolved to a level of power undreamed of. Now, in my conquest up the mountain path, my once terrifying adversary bounced repeatedly and skillfully back and forth with the flick of my wrist. Not once did the ball shift its course, always being pulled right back on its string to the center of the paddle, only to be slapped right back into the air, then tugged back, and the process continues.

... So things have been pretty boring since we freed the monsters and saved the timeline, if you couldn't guess. Uneventful enough for me to become an expert in an obsolete game like this.

It'd been six months since I cheated death, came to terms(ish?) with my past, got my serial killer buddy to chill the fuck out, and I guess became a demi-god living legend? Now I play paddle ball.

... Okay I don't just sit on my ass. I actually keep myself pretty busy, what with helping Monster Society develop and integrate back into the rest of the world, keeping up a social life, occasionally helping Gaster out with sciency stuff, and training just encase another Error Level (Or higher) cataclysm comes knocking.

Perhaps that's what was leaving me feeling unfulfilled: the preparations. Gaster was always warning me to stay vigilant, that the multiverse is a dangerous place and that having killed Error could have drawn unwanted attention to our happy home. But this constant preparation made me feel like I was waiting, just going through the motions until my next epic battle. After awhile, it started to strip the meaning out of a normal life. Made me feel like the past six months had just been filler, like I was just killing time until my next monumental face off.

I would have thought that the power I achieved when I got my wings - that form, Archangel I called it (Get it? 'Cause my name's Angel? Eh? Eh?) - would have been enough to stop anything that would come my way.

"Who are we to deny a death wish?"

... Well, almost anything. But it was hard to believe there were monstrosities as powerful as Character lurking in the dark of the void. Against someone like Error, and we hardly had to lift a finger. That's an inhuman level of strength.

Now, these days, with all my training and my Archangel form, I'm sure I could handle Error in a one v. one. I'm honestly not even sure if it'd be close. But something as powerful as Character would kick my teeth in one on one. So I guess that fusion has become a pinnacle in my head. Certainly the strongest thing I've ever seen. Er, been, I guess.

But Gaster, the way he talks gives me anxiety. It's like he thinks there are just Characters out there left and right, and that any day now one could knock on our front door. It's concerning, because paranoia isn't like G. Skepticism and preparation, for sure. But not paranoia.

... I've started thinking he knows about something I don't. Like he isn't preparing me for a what if, but a when. But, why wouldn't he tell me if that was the case? What reason would he have for keeping something like that from me?

So I guess my anxious theory didn't really hold up. I trusted Gaster, and he trusted me. I'm sure his reasons are less complex than I realize, and I'm overthinking it.

WARNING: PIT FALL AHEAD

Oh, I'm here.

I opened the gate of the metal fence recently constructed around the drop into the Ruins, and stepped to the edge of the massive hole. At said edge, there was one incredibly long steel ladder bolted into the stone of the wall leading up to the opening.

I scoffed with amusement at the over the top and grueling task that the ladder represented. We'd offered to build an elevator of sorts to make traveling from their Ruins home back to the surface to visit their friends and family easier, but Chara and Asriel had declined. Something about all that construction interfering with Asriel's garden. Go figure.

Lucky for me...

Ink slipped up from my hoodie, reaching behind my back to my shoulder blades, where little zippers were located. The thin streams of ink wrapped around the zippers, before pulling them down, opening the metal teeth enough for more ink to elegantly filter through. After one quick moment, my wings had spread wide behind me, and I hopped right down into the Underground.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Cold, analytical eyes narrowed up at the skeleton in a jar. Once a proud and formidable thorn in The Gatherer's side, now floating in glowing green goop on a whim of one of the 'glitches' he had hated so.

If Gatherer hadn't been so aggravated by Error's previous disrespect towards him, he might have felt pity for the photo negative, half dusted puppeteer in the tank before him. he looked like one of those book fair toys, the aliens in the test tubes of slime. Wires ran from the metal seal atop the vat, connected to Error's head in multiple places, along with his sternum, and the two ribs he had left after The Hacker and his Chara had brutalized him.

Truly, Gatherer had been furious with Error after he had so boldly walked right into his office and made his demands. Information is what the puppeteer had wanted six months ago, on the man who would kill him several days later. He didn't like being taken out of control like that, didn't enjoy being at another's mercy.

Now Error's wrong would be righted. In his state of unconsciousness he would be reconditioned, and once Gaster and his other scientists figured out how to save his shattered body, he would be a valuable asset. But these were plans for later. A project on the back burner until he had a full understanding of the fire he was playing with, lest he burn his empire to ash.

His empire, that was the main focus. What a trial getting it off the ground had been, but once he'd spread his influence into the gutters of the multiverse, he'd found plenty of weak minds to shape. On a small and powerful team he had built the foundation, and from there pieces had began falling into place on their own.

Ne'er-do-well's and do-gooders alike believed in The Gatherer's cause, especially in the mass hysteria that his kind was causing. Criminals prey to The Predator, hero's dust under The Anarchist's foot. Pillars of strength on every end of the spectrum were crumbling, and in this fear and uncertainty The Gatherer was a beacon of hope.

Who in their right mind would want to wander the dark with those beasts on the prowl, when they could unite under one powerful banner? He was one of the good ones, they thought. He had all of the power of those other twenty creatures that terrified them, but he wished to unite them, keep them safe in these trying times.

So long as they obeyed The Gatherer, there was no Anarchist, no Predator, no Hacker who could hurt them. Frightened souls really are the easiest to control. And from them Gatherer had molded an army of devouts, all ready to die in his name.

What a time to be alive. His lips curved upwards into his winning smile. That's what he had begun with, his wit and a convincing smirk. An upstart brat once, now a man with control over the infinite in his reach. So long as he didn't lower his arm, kept grasping to the sky, everything would be his.

"That's a real pretty smile for what you're staring at."

Gatherer's eyebrows raised as a voice jarred him from his thoughts, and he turned his head from Error's half dead half alive form to his companion, still reeling from his thoughts.

A Bravery Soul, Gatherer's right hand man. Originally having fallen into the Underground to be slain by Asgore, Cliff was a cut above his counterparts. He had survived the Underground, and he had found his way out into the multiverse. He had been one of the first to dedicate himself to Gatherer's cause, and for the past six months he'd been his body guard and his teacher in the ways of battle.

Cliff was a large man, Gatherer's age but several inches taller than him and with a noticeable and threatening amount of muscle. A gorilla of a man who wore a black T-shirt and pants, with a bandanna wrapped around his forehead. He certainly had the look of a body guard.

"What're you thinkin' about that's making you all happy?" Cliff smiled in a way that was stunningly friendly for his imposing form. This helped shake Gatherer from his stupor, and his smirk returned as his eyes drifted back to all the work before him.

"... Prosperity."

Predator had seen plenty of stunning things, both before coming to the Undertale Multiverse and now. But an interdimensional cargo train, now that sparked a special kind of child-like wonder.

Gatherer's empire was getting bigger, and he wasn't about to create a god even with the human souls at his disposal. Gods were too big a liability, for now it would be easier for him to pick up and move to a timeline that had access to the surface. Predator was sure a whole lot of work had went into setting all this up, and if she was as ignorant as she'd been in the past, she might have bought into all of her former "friend"'s BS.

"I'm going to make an opening, and you are going to run."

... But those days were over.

In a past life, she'd been a coward. In this life, she'd been given another chance. She knew the difference now between Xander and herself. Her wants were small. She had just wanted a life of her own, and to be able to live it in her own unique way. Xander, however, wanted everything.

Her simple dreams had made her do bad things to people who weren't always deserving. Align herself with people who weren't always good. A coward and a fool she'd been, and now she stood with a band of pirates to siege an empire. To atone for her sins, and to prevent those more innocent than her from being tricked into following in her footsteps by The Gatherer's wicked smile and worm tongue.

So there she prowled, The Predator lurking in the inky blackness of the void as that train rumbled below, stretching into the distance from a rift in one reality before disappearing into another wide open portal over the empty horizon.

"So, cowboy," Predator's contemplative funk disappeared with the thrill of the hunt, and she turned her head to flash her wild grin at the young man that stood next to her. "You looks like you know a thing or two about train robbing."

The Justice Soul smirked lightly at that, the shadow of his cowboy hat covering his eyes. Another human soul that'd proven a cut above the rest and survived the Underground, unlike the majority of his counterparts. These kids came in all shapes and sizes, but this particular Clover was a man about Predator's age. He wore faded blue jeans and a flannel shirt under his poncho. Brown leather holsters held a revolver on each of his hips, and a rifle was strapped across his back. His eyes usually remained hidden under the shadow of his hat, but he reached up, pushing up the corner of his hat with his index finger and revealing one golden eye with that same predatory glimmer in it.

"I reckon Pa taught me a thing 'er two." Clover hinted, smirk remaining as he lowered his hand, concealing his accurate eye once more.

Predator grinned at that, giving herself the air of a madwoman while she threw her arm out to the side. She opened her hand, and her trademark oversized scythe appeared in her grasp, its blade chilled with frost.

"Then lets go wild west on these podunks."

A good girl is a quiet girl. That had been mother's philosophy, which she'd engraved into her poor victim daughter.

Poor, weak little Aliza. Hungry, alone, and afraid. The only thing that kept her attention from the terrifying, shifting shadows along the cracked and mossy purple brick was the regrettable memories of her descent into this living Hell. Peer pressure had played on her social anxieties, and her 'friends' had talked her into climbing the Mountain in their malevolence. She was a laughing stock to them, easy prey. How she hated them, how she had wanted to scream in the past and how she wanted to scream now. But...

A good girl is a quiet girl.

A mental blockade prevented her from releasing her fury, her sorrow, or her hatred. Not a peep, not to speak unless spoken to. Even now, alone in a Horrific world. A realm dead and abandoned it seemed, littered with dust and cobwebs. The most lively thing was Toriel, the Goat Aunt who had left her here to wait. Like a good girl.

And the protecting goat monster that had guided her this far was not entirely comforting. There was a presence about her, a darkness in her soul. Aliza had picked up a keen sense for those kind of things in a person from those who had tormented her. She knew the difference between an attacker and a bystander, and she was growing more and more fearful that Toriel was the former.

Fearful. That was the word that described her. Poor little Aliza, knees to her chest and brown hair falling over her face. In the center of the Ruins she was hidden away in a fearful ball, wishing her violet dress would protect her from the world. From the hungry, slithering shadows. Worms they were, gnashing their teeth whenever her sad, abandoned puppy eyes weren't laying upon them. She supposed she could relate to that hunger. After all, the only thing she had to nourish her frail body were her anxieties and bottled emotions. And that did little but to add a sour flavor to her dry mouth.

"Well aren't you just the most pathetic thing I ever did see!"

A voice jarred her completely, made her jump. She was a skittish thing after all, and those words seemed to have shouted from nothingness. There had been no footsteps, no sensing of any kind of presence to alert Aliza that she would be so suddenly addressed, and by such a foreign voice.

But when she lifted her head, and her dim purple eyes met his red ones, she most certainly felt a presence. An overpowering aura, a darkness that melted all other fears she had away and made her whole body freeze like she'd just been dealt a mortal wound. She had felt fear for as long as she could remember. It was the trait that defined her wimpy soul and her worthless life.

But as she looked upon his white face, saw those sharp teeth with that maniac smile, found herself under the glare of those two blood moons he called eyes, she felt a terror beyond terror. This stranger in the darkness, he was pure dread wearing human skin. Pale like a corpse but surviving on the desire to kill.

She thought her life had been spared when she fell. But she was certain now that she had died, and for her cowardly sins she'd been sent to hell. Now the devil was gracing her with his horrifying presence.

"... What?" The Anarchist's eyebrows furrowed as he loomed over her, shadows slipping over his face like black rain. "Is there somethin' in my teeth?"

Aliza couldn't speak. She wasn't sure if her heart was able to beat under the crushing weight of this... Thing that had manifested from the dark. So she stared, ice in her veins, her eyes wide and her shrunken pupils trembling like the rest of her body. She was staring her demise in the face it felt, and that dreadful feeling made sweat pour down her forehead. Made her whole body twitch and convulse with energy to flee. But she was trapped, a fly in a web, struggling pathetically under the weight of The Anarchist's presence.

"Aww, c'mon... What's with that look?" Anarchy reached out, bold and unhesitating. He took her chin gently in his finger tips, forcing her to lift the head she'd kept down her entire life and look right into the glowing red eyes that choked her. He put on a smile that was deceivingly friendly, and he tilted his head.

"Aren't you relieved to see a friendly face in such a horrifying tale?"

Knock knock knock...

I stood in waiting for only a few seconds, listening to footsteps quickly approach the door before watching the nob turn.

"Howdy, Cter!" One fluffy goat boy greeted me, opening the door and stepping aside to let me into the Ruins home.

"Howsit goin', Asriel?" I smiled over to him in a friendly way as I stepped by, turning around to face him while he closed the door.

"Things have been good!" Asriel nodded while we walked, making our way from the entrance towards the living/dining room. "Did you see on the way in? The echo flowers started coming in!"

"Yeah, I was surprised those would grow out here." I stuffed my hands in my pockets, looking over to Asriel as we walked.

*What's really surprising is that the guy who was tormented for years in the body of a flower has taken up an interest in gardening.

Eugh... Texty don't talk too much these days. There ain't exactly as many evil temptations for him to try to sell me on lately, so his yap stays shut for days at a time. And that's fine by me. Now he usually only speaks up when it's to say something nasty.

"I just put a lot of extra water in their plot to make it muddy, and they hold up just fine." Asriel waved a hand dismissively. "I think they're a fun way to make a reminders for chores n' stuff, too!"

"Well that's cool." I nodded my agreement as we entered the dining/living room. The area had changed some since Asriel and Chara had moved in. Above the fire place a TV was mounted, and the kitchen table was vertical to the wall at the end of the room, giving space for the two couches at the back of room, one against the wall opposite to the TV and the other vertical at that couch's side, it's back to the room's entrance.

The two certainly kept themselves busy down here. The Ruins looked a little more homey every time I visited, what with Asriel's gardening and Chara permanently shutting down traps and puzzles. Doors remained open, spikes were removed, pitfalls were bridged over.

Speaking of Chara, they hadn't looked up from the table at the far end of the room, where they seemed to be scribbling with growing frustration onto a sheet of paper. The only time they lifted their head was to glance at the very same ink flower I'd dropped on their grave some six months ago, which was now alone in a water-less vase as the center piece of the table.

I smirked with some amusement at their focus, making my way casually across the room to the table. I stood there silently, arching a brow at their bangs, which were pulled together by a hair tie to keep them out of Chara's eyes while they drew. It looked a little silly to me, however, appearing like a unicorn horn of auburn hair.

Deciding to play a game, I reached out slowly, pulling back one finger with my thumb to flick the hair-horn.

"I'll make you eat that hand."

I chuckled as Chara responded without lifting their head, pulling my hand away from them and crossing my arms. "Oh, so you do know I'm here?"

"I felt a disturbance." Chara's eyes darted to that flower, narrowed suspiciously, then darted back to the paper.

"In the Force?" I cocked a brow, tilting my head to the side.

"In my peace of mind." Chara responded with dry sarcasm, amusing me further as I pulled a chair out from the space across from them.

"Very funny." I plopped down into the chair, slouching lazily. "Whatcha up to?"

"I'm trying to get back into drawing. Thought this flower would be easy. Ready to dive into Hotland's lava pits." Chara spoke quickly and concisely, matching their concentration on the paper.

"That bad, huh?" I snerked, looking over their hand and to their drawing. "I don't see any problem with it myself, but I'm not too artsy."

*You literally made the thing that they're drawing.

Two snide comments in a five minute span? Today must be really special.

"... Alright." Chara took a deep breath, shutting their eyes and quickly standing from the table. "I can't stare at that flower anymore. Lets go spar."

"Wha- already?" I recoiled, eyebrows raising with surprise as I looked up at them. "You don't wanna chill out first?"

"I've been sitting in a wooden chair all day. I need to move around or I'm going to go insane." Chara frowned down at me, before walking past and exiting the living room.

I watched them disappear down the staircase to Snowdin forest, before glancing over to Asriel, who grimaced and shrugged sheepishly.

"They've been kinda moody today." He explained, shaking his head. "I don't know what's up with them. Maybe sparring with you will help."

*Don't count on it.

I don't like Texty, that's why I shot him in the head that one time. But when you're right you're right. If anything, seeing the gap that had formed between our powers only ever aggravated Chara more. They're the second strongest person in the timeline, but no matter how hard they try they haven't been able to catch up with me. We're on equal footing until I go into Archangel. In that form I'm always a step or two ahead.

When it comes to getting stronger, they see me as a rival. And that's fine. I see them the same way. I respect Chara, I know that they're strong. That's why I train with them, because I know my chances of defeating whatever bad dudes have G so paranoid double if I've got them in my corner.

But, Chara's relationship with fighting had changed a lot over the past half'a year. It must've been confusing, going from getting stronger to kill to doing so to protect. I couldn't imagine how they're feeling or what they're thinking, and as a friend that was concerning.

Cold winds gusted down the basement hallways, and I winced some as I came to the entrance into Snowdin. The large doors hung wide open, and where purple brick met white snow Chara stood, staring out into the cold with their back to me.

Oh boy... I grimaced as I watched them, before shutting my eyes and taking a deep breath. ... I'll ask 'em what's up after this.

We made our way out into the forest, and eventually Chara turned on their heel to face me, signifying that we'd traveled far enough out.

"Alright." Chara gestured to me, expression not expressing much. "Power up."

"Huh? Already?" I asked skeptically, furrowing my brows suspiciously. "Don't you wanna, I dunno, warm up a bit first?"

A frown tugged down Chara's expression, and they held their hand out to their side, a knife appearing in their grasp. "I'm ready to go."

Man, they really are in a funk today... This all concerned me. I can't say I wanted to fight much, really I didn't intend on sparring at all today. But I also knew there was no way Chara would talk about whatever was bugging them if I didn't.

So I bent my elbows, squared my footing, clenched my fists, and that crimson aura exploded to life around me. Snow melted under my feet, being blown away from the winds of my power as my wings spread from my back. Then, red flames burst to life over my left eye, and my aura slowly dissipated.

Chara watched with eyes that were unusually cold for them these days, hands white knuckled and jaw clenching. Whether it be wrath, envy, or some other unpleasant and confusing emotion that clouded their mind, I couldn't be sure.

*A whole other level.

Aliza and Horrortale were created by Sour Apple Studios.

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XWolf26, out