One Simple World
Chapter 5: Simply Suffering
Frisk's Point of View:
It was so cold as I stepped through the snow.
Dressed to the nines as I stepped through the white substance, though it was more Chara who was controllingmy movements. She was the one who pushed us as it appeared a blizzard flying over our heads. Slowly, but surely, we made it from one area or another. I didn't see anyone else as we traveled along the roads. Chara seemed to know all the roads that came from the doors of Toriel's home that we came from. She knew which paths to take and which ones to avoid. She only messed up perhaps a couple of times. I could barely make out a frozen lake at one point.
Chara honestly had full control in some of those moments. She had complete and utter possessionof me. The only thing she didn't have access to was my magic. I was thankful that she couldn't. I had to struggle to keep any control of what I had at all.
It wasn't easy, and Chara didn't make it easy at all for me...
Aftera day or two out in the middle of the storm, I could vaguelyrecall that Chara had us hideout where there was an igloo in the snowy forest for cover and warmth. She made a firepit in the center of it to keep us warm while we ate food that we took from the ruins.
Days passed, we didn't run into anyone until the snow let up and the air became clearer. Visibility was better. It was only then that she put out the fire in the igloothat we used to go out for something else.
It made me sick as I was finally able to hear some of her innermost thoughts. She wanted a monster soul to get back to the surface. She wanted to kill humans... and since she had discovered me and was able to use me as a host... she was going to be able to use my status to her advantage...
I was of a high powered family, the Terians' family. I'd run away with my sister years ago to run when she... did something bad to keep me safe. I wasn't sure of what... but I could only guess that she was fighting Uncle to keep me safe. Since he was hurting us ever since he became our guardian after Mom and Dad died, and then we lost Grammie after just a month... It was so hard...
I ached in my chest as I thought back to those memories that made me miserable.
But it was something I couldn't let Chara do. I couldn'tlet her have a monster soul... the second she got one would be the chance she was looking for. She said she just needed one... but I couldn't believe that. Not after what she made me do to that really sweet lady Toriel. She tricked me to kill her... I just knew it...
Toriel just wanted to keep me safe... but we didn't have to fight so hard! There wasn't a reason to kill her...
It was tearing me up inside. It hurt so much from what I'd done under the ghost girl's influence.
I thought I told you not to call me that.
"It's not like you can stop me!" I felt nothing but anger in my chest. "You can't hurt me without hurting yourself."
I could hear Chara hissing in the back of our mind. I wasn't wrong and she knew it.
It was a small discovery that Chara tried to hide, but as we were merged together even more so now, her pain was mine, and mine was hers. It was a strange mixture, and part of the reason she tried to not communicate with me as much as she could since after... Toriel...
Chara fell down a set of stairs due to ice and she cried out in my mind from the pain. It was something I wasn't expecting, and she tried to cut her cry off short, but wasn't able to. And that was when I noticed just how connected we were at that time. Even if I didn't want to think about it... maybe that meant that if I did something to myself...
Maybe I could kill her along with me? So she wouldn't hurt anyone else?
That was a thought I had to be careful of. I knew Chara would figure out my semi-hidden plan eventually.
Just as my plan couldn't be hidden from her, neither could her plans be hidden from me. It was a two way street, our combined mind, nothing could be hidden entirely or forever from the other. In time, I know we'd know everything.
The only question was how could I use that knowledge to help me?
"Mom! Look how pretty it is!"
Chara immediately stopped the second she heard another voice in the distance. Diving behind a tree she was walking by, she patiently waited to look at the group coming. I could see three people out ahead of us. There were two bear looking monsters, one brown, tall and female looking who wore a lovely dress. Next to her was a white bear that was almost her height, but maybe a tad shorter who had an angry look to his face. He was in shredded jeans and a black sleeveless shirt. Running around their feet was this yellow lizard-like monster with red spikes coming out of its head and back that was covered in a thick winter jacket along with boots on its feet. But... there were no arms on that creature?
Was that the way it was supposed to be? Or a birth defect?
We watched them carefully while the family seemed to be having a walk in the woods together on the cleaned path. The mother I saw patted the lizard's head and complemented what he'd said while the white bear scowled.
"It's not that pretty... we see it everyday, MK."
"Oh Will, don't be so mean to your little brother." The mother seemed to chide him about that, hushing him up. "This time of year the crystals on the trees are brighter than normal! You shouldn't be so mean about that."
"Oh my God..."
"What was that, young man?"
Chara watched the three of them together and it honestly had us frozen to our spots for a while. I couldn't move, granted I couldn't help but try as I noticed she was stunned. I had to get away from anyone else that could be hurt...
I slowly tried to move, my own body finally... finally... moved under my command! Slowly... I stepped backward while Chara was distracted by them. One step... two steps... three steps... four ste-
A soul is a soul. While I would have rather had a more powerful one, even a baby one like that kid's would be all I need to do what I need to do.
No!
Another struggle over my body began while Chara was slowly regaining the steps I'd managed to make backward, then putting herself out into the road for the others to see. At first the mother didn't say anything, focusing on her youngest son while the eldest one watched us. Chara could feel his gaze on her while I screamed in our head for her not to do it.
However, my words couldn't be heard by anyone, my voice was dead to the world then...
When Chara managed to make her way closer to the party, partially bundled up so much that no one could see her face. Her switchbladewas already prepared in her hand for the strike.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?"
And that was the cry that caused Chara to pause, looking upward at the white bear that shouted at us.
"Wilbur! That's incredibly rude!" The mother quickly hurried up to us with a worried look on her face and kneeled beside us. "Are you alright little one? Where's your family?"
And that's when Chara did somethingI wasn't expecting. She pulled back enough of her hood and clothes so that my eyes and tiny face could be seen. "I-I'm sorry... but I can't find my sister. C-can you help me?"
What the hell?! Don't use my voice!
Like I care. She sniped back. And you can't stop me.
Chara closed in on the mother bear, falling into her arms while shoving her knife into the bear's chest. It was just as the woman's arms came to warmly embrace us when I felt her freeze, noticing the hit. Feeling the surge of pain and blood bubbling up through her chest. I saw the woman slowly back away, only as Chara twisted the knife into her chest.
I tried to scream, but it was only in our head as the mother bear's blood dripped onto the ground before she combusted into a cloud of dust. There was an absolutely agonizing period of silence before anyone moved. The kids froze seeing their mother killed before their eyes, but that did nothing to stop Chara. She reached out for the soul shattering among the dust that glowed brightly white.
NO!
My scream and powerful will held Chara back from getting her bloody fingers on that soul. She cursed and hissed at me under her breath as it crackled and faded from sight, at least one soul was able to get away.
I'll keep killing until I get a soul Francine. You'd best give it up.
The low hissingof her temperhummed in the back of my mind. But I couldn't let her do that. I couldn't!
I won't let them suffer like I am! Even if they die, at least they won't be forced to murder people like YOU'RE making me do!
And that's when Chara lunged at the other two before us. The teen male responded first. With an echoing roar among the long, quiet path did ice magic shoot up from the ground. Chara was barely able to weave around each one that attempted to pierce her. Some grew multiples to try and snag her. Chara was just that good at somehow evading magic. How she was able to was something I still was unable to access through her memories. Some other portions that I wasn't able to access. I was trying, but the more I dug into her, the more she was able to get from me.
It was so scary... but what could I do? There was little power I had with her using me. All I could do was dig deeper to figure out anything I could to stop her.
I had to... somehow...
I came back to the fight just as Chara was caught by a piece of ice that caught her dominantarm. It sliced across our shoulder, casing her to almost drop the knife in her hands. It seemed that was what the bear was gunning for so he could get her down.
Yes!
"Run you idiot! Call the guard!"
The older male was directing his voice at the lizard boy, his brother. The small lizard boy stepped back slowly, before turning and full on sprinting down the road.
Yes! He's getting away! He'll stop her!
You wanna bet on that?
I felt my eyes widen as Chara hurled the weapon from her limp arm to her non-dominant hand to hurl at the running kid. Her blade sunk into the back of his neck, right on point, and from his neck he bled and began to suffocate without the ability to breathe.
"MK!"
The bear rushed backward from his enemy. Toward his brother he went and then bent down on one knee to check on him. The weapon was carefully pulled and thrown away into the tree line before attempting to use healing magic to save his brother. I could see the angry teen actually crying during it all.
And Chara carefully stood up and raised a hand to her shoulder. The bitch could actually use healing magic?! Her shoulder was healed and her eyes glowed red, just like myself. I could only guess as her vision turned red. From her hands, I saw her using her magic to create a red magical knife, even bigger than the one she had before in her hands.
Now this is a blade.She then took and walked ever so silently up to the bear that was helping his poor brother. The little lizard boy struggled to breath, watching us with wide eyes as we approached right behind his white furred brother. He pointed behind him with a shaky hand, only for Chara to swing with an insane amount of force that nearly severed the bear's head from his neck. Only held on by a few inches, the bear tried to keep his head on before his head fell off his shoulders, and he burst into dust as well.
His soul didn't even stick around long enough for Chara to even attempt to get it. I had one second to see that the soul was sliced clean through as well...But... how? His soul wasn't hit when his throat was hit right? Oh God... it doesn't even matter! He's dead!
Hmm... must have hit too hard to keep the soul...
Chara pondered while she kneeled herself next to the only slightly healed lizard boy. Chara loomed over him, tilting her head while watching him struggle to breathe. It had been too long... He... he wasn't going to make it...
"There, there, it will be over soon." Chara's sickening voice came out into the air while she watched him with glee. "Now... give me your soul."
Witch's Note:
Man... you know, this has been a emotional roller coaster if you ask me. We finally get to see Angel after three gut wrenching chapters to get a little bit of hope since she and Sans remember, but what about the rest of theworld and the characters we had before? Will they remember?
Clearly not the victimsof this chapter, as Maria, Will and MK succumb to Chara's daggers. But we leave off at a cliffhanger... does Chara get MK's soul? Why does she seem so hell bent on getting them? She complains to Frisk when she doesn't get one, so what exactly does that mean?
What's her goal?
And also, I can't help but mention this, but I'm so happy that some of you tried to guess the plot line for the true story, our final story, that I hinted at. Dasansi and Shadow both gave incredibleideas. Possibilitiesabout seeing characters in an afterlife, some characters in other timelines have to face this Chara, or a possible neutralroute. All such great guesses, but sadly, not what's going to happen.
Granted, you all are more than welcome to guess as often as you wish! It would be no fun if I gave you all the details too soon. Keep reading the story, as chapters come out in the second half, perhaps you may get a better inklingto what will happen? Or a more accurateeducated guess?
We shall see~
But anyway, onto reviews!
Thechaosmaster:Yes, of course Angel lives! She's my written self in story, I wasn't ready to let her go just yet! But who knows if that will be the case? You and Red and most certainly prepare to keep on your toes.
But seeing that you're starting a new project will help you a lot. I know I already reached out to you earlier in the week, but I do hope you have fun with it. Subnautica was an amazinggame. I honestly loved it, and I'm eager to see what they put out for Subnautica 2. And a story based on that alone could be super fun. You could take it in so many angles, technically so many people landed on the plant, maybe you save them? Maybe you watch them die? Maybe they help you to escape? Or maybe you just do a leisurely stroll through the safe shallows and never venture out as the virus eventually infects you and kills you off. Or pretend it never existed. Have fun talking about the cute creatures, or the scary ones.
I could see this turninginto so many things depending on where you wanted to go with it.
Although you did mentionRiley Robinson, and perhaps you go in that direction, but still so many of the things I noted before apply. It also about how you want to do it. And projects like this sometimes bring out the best in us when we don't set a timeline.
That's how this story series went in the beginning. I had no idea if or when I would post it. This was just for fun after watching so much Undertale material and I just wanted to see a happy story for Sans. A character I really loved, and look what that simple idea bore into?
So have fun. Maybe we might get to see it later on if you feel okay with that. No pressure. You enjoy it first for as long as you want. Even if it means it never meets the light of day.
Shadow8Phantom: Yes sir, you most certainly did call it. I couldn't kill Angel. At least not yet, but yes, you're entirely right that she made some insane distance from where she first fell to land on the mountains in Snowdin on the path. The way I always picture it is that when she and Frisk were separated, she was shot out of the northernpeak of the mountain before tumbling down onto the path, that's how it always made a bit more sense to me.
But yes! What better way to have a horror story with all parties separated! Doesn't anyone know you're supposed to stick together in bad situations? No matter if it's horror based or not? Someone needs to remind Papyrus that.
And yes, oh how right you at that things will get worse for Angel and co no matter what.
Dasansi:Awe! Thank you! I did have a nice birthday. And holiday! Would you believe me if I told you it was the day before Halloween? Gonna be celebrating with Mystic Girl, Mystic Man, and Jegur this weekend. Sadly, I had to work on my birthday... Boo...
But I love all the guesses you put out and all the possible thoughts for our final story! I'm curious how soon any of you may guess what actually will be happening...
Oh boy, and now we get to move onto some of the more heart wrenching chapters that hurt a lot to type, at least, once I was done typing them. I'm currently writing the fourth book now. I'm on chapter 10 of it already. And that makes me so happy! It's coming along well while Mystic Girl and I work on it... and man... I wonder when the next turn is gonna be...
Mystic Girl: Are you trying to tell them things?
Me: Of course not! Why would I do that when they could have fun guessing?
Mystic Girl: That's right. Let's keep it fun a little longer.
Me: Duh, that was the plan. We still have fifteen more chapters to go! Why would we rush it! The story is already rushed due to death and killing!
Mystic Girl: Fair, so shall we sign off before we say much more?
Me: Of course! Hey guys, love you all and see you next week!
Halloween Witch and Mystic Girl