The gang walked around the Ruins. They needed to continue to the castle. Chara would surely be there. Then they could put a stop to her evil reign. But right now they were having trouble finding the exit...

Meanwhile Petra had something to ask Jesse.
"Hey, do you have any idea why Aiden was so eager to come with us? I mean, it looks like he has changed, but I can't help feeling there's something deeper to him. It's a gut feeling. And I trust my gut on this." Petra glanced anxiously at the Blaze Rod, who was reading something. "I can understand why you're concerned Petra, I really can. But right now we just need to trust him. If he tries anything, then you can decide what to do with him! You can be as creative as you want!" Jesse laughed. Petra grinned and laughed too. Meanwhile Lukas went closer to his former friend. He wanted to make a conversation to avoid awkwardness, but he didn't know where to start. Luckily Aiden started for him.

"So, how's being in the Order doing? I'm sure you've travelled a lot." Aiden tried a friendly smile. "Well, yeah it's been pretty interesting so far. We faced a psycho pumpkin mansion, and fought a ginormous computer face, I got framed, set on fire and mind controlled, but that's kinda the usual." Lukas laughed. But then he saw Aiden look sad for a minute. "Hey, what's wrong?" Lukas asked. Aiden then changed his expression quickly. "Uh, nothing! It's fine, really! I'm good!" he said in a rush. "Aiden, I can tell when something is wrong. Just tell me." Lukas put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Well... it's... about Gill and Maya. They've changed, but in a bad way. Gill met this girl and then really changed. He started losing his temper more and became... psychotic. Once he got mad at me and held a sword at my throat. And Maya is no better. She's depressed, Lukas. She keeps muttering something about voices... and she often spends her time crying in her room. I'm worried about them. If they keep this up... it will destroy them completely." Aiden finished. Lukas just stood in awe. "Wait, what does this girl that Gill met look like?" he asked. "She has bright red hair, glasses, blue beanie, jacket, and a calico cat..."

Suddenly everyone was hit with a huge headache. They all cried out with agony. "What's happening?!" Jodie exclaimed. "My... soul... it hurts... real bad!" Olivia whimpered. They all then saw it. An image. An image of seven bodies laying on the ground, shattered multicoloured pieces of their souls all over, and an eighth person, their soul completely black as shadows, and they had a knife. A real one, not like Lukas' toy one.
You'll never defeat me and my reincarnation! We're unstoppable! And also Perseverance, I'd be even more worried about your friends now! a voice cackled.

Chara.

Then Aiden and Lukas saw it. Maya and Gill. Dead. Blood spilled on the ground and two souls broken. Then the image faded. "They didn't stand a chance. This is all my fault. If I had only stayed with them... looked into them instead of what they were labeled with..." Aiden sank to his knees. Lukas couldn't believe it either. Two of his old best friends... dead? Who had killed them? Why would they kill them? "And that girl... her name was... something to do with a flower... CarrieRose or something...?" Aiden sighed. "CassieRose." Lukas gasped. He knew who was Chara's reincarnation, anyway. Aiden looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jodie had the expression of one of the strongest warriors around. "They will be avenged. Chara was the voice that your friends kept hearing. They slowly drove them to insanity, until they were ready to be killed-" Jodie explained darkly. "Stop it! You're freaking me out! My friends just freaking died!" Aiden sobbed. Lukas shot a you're-not-really-helping look at Jodie. "I promise, justice will be done. When we get our hands on Chara, she won't mess with the Underground ever again, the little punk." Jodie growled at the kid's name.

"Howdy folks! What's happ- oh no what's wrong?" Flowey and Toriel walked in and saw Aiden's tear-streaked face. "Aiden and me's friends were... killed... by Chara's forces." Lukas couldn't believe it himself. Two of his friends from childhood... erased from existence. But then Jesse saw something. He saw Maya and Gill. A blue spear was stuck in Maya. Jesse then saw their bodies turn to dust, and somebody picked up their souls. He immediately knew who had killed them. It wasn't a familiar name, but it was at the same time.

"We need to find them. Maybe we can find some answers from the person who did this." Jesse declared. Why were Lukas' friends in the Underground, anyway? Had they fallen as well? They weren't reincarnations, there was only eight in total and Chara had met her one, but what were they doing in the first place? So many questions, so little answers. They needed to move, fast. Before they were hunted down one by one and taken out. "Toriel, can you guide us out?" Jesse asked the goat-lady. "Oh yes! I definitely can! Follow me, children!" Toriel smiled. She bent down and took Aiden's hand. "It will be alright. As soon as we find out how to stop Chara, everything will be normal." She assured him. Normally Lukas would have laughed slightly at a seventeen year old needing to be held by the hand, but this was serious. He took a look at his aqua coloured soul.

You recollect your PATIENCE.
You are driven by PERSEVERANCE.
It fills you with DETERMINATION.

They would do this. For the humans that died, for Gill and Maya, Asriel, Toriel, the monsters that had been corrupted, and everyone who had been caught in this madness.
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Sorry if this is an uninteresting chapter, but I am currently battling Writer's Block and Writer's Overload at the same time. Block for this story, Overload for everything else. I'll try to update a little more often now!

Stay Determined!