Author's Note:

Hey guys! So, uh... before we start, I just wanted to apologize for how long it took for me to write this. I prioritized MGE this time around, so I didn't start writing it until later. And then, I had my AP homework to consider and stuff, so... yeah. :P

Oh, and one more thing. This chapter should be fine for all of you to read. There are a few more mentions of self-harm and suicide, but all the terribly gruesome stuff is over with. So don't worry—none of you should have any real reason to skip this one.

That's all! Have fun! (I can't wait to blow some minds... hee hee hee...)

*Evil laugh*

Your Perspective

Now, after watching Chara jump, you have to get a break, right? You're going to wake up in the void, a very angry child standing over you with a kitchen knife and a taste for blood. You have to. If you keep going like this; if you're forced to relive more of Chara's awful memories, completely unable to interfere... you're going to go crazy.

But to your dismay, there's no break forthcoming. You'd asked for this. It was your decision to dive into Chara's head. And now... you're going to have to see it through to the end.

Your soul singles out another memory out of Chara's ocean of pain. And, to your surprise... it's not a bad memory. Ironically, in her ocean of pain... there's a small drop of hope. But then, that may not be a good thing.

After all... there has to be hope for there to be despair.

~Hope~

Everything hurts. Every single atom of your being is throbbing to the time of your heartbeat, bruises and cuts alike dotting your exposed skin. That's how you know that you're back in Chara's body. You can't help but wish you were a ghost again—if you were, you'd have the luxury of being non-corporeal.

You're laying face-first against something smooth and cool—probably rock. Beyond that, though, you don't know anything about your surroundings. Chara's awake, but just barely—she's in a daze of pain and confusion, and hasn't bothered to so much as open her eyes. You don't blame her—your shared head is aching so badly that even processing these small thoughts is painful.

Well... you think dully, at least she survived.

This specific brand of pain is something that you're, unfortunately, very familiar with. The aching, the bruises, the lingering butterflies in her stomach, the disorientation... it brings back memories of your own fall into the Underground. Or, in her case... her attempted suicide. You'd been lucky enough to land on flowers, though, if you remember correctly. You briefly wonder why Chara hadn't landed on them...

You're not really thinking straight. The pain you're in is causing you to focus on all the wrong things. You should be asking more questions. Like, for example... is Chara okay? You don't think she has any broken bones, but the throbbing in her head could be serious.

Chara shifts slightly from her place on the ground, as though testing out her muscles. Even that small movement brings a wave of agony, though, and she whimpers in pain. You get the feeling that she would have screamed... but she just doesn't have the strength for it.

'Why... why am I still here?' she asks herself numbly. 'I don't... I don't want to be here.'

She whimpers again. This time though, it's not from pain. Well, not a physical pain, at any rate. (Though there's plenty of that.) No. This time, it's her soul that's crying out.

'Please... if there's a god out there...' she silently pleads, 'just let me die.'

If she had any more tears left to give, you feel that she would be weeping. However, in the absence of healing tears, she only has one thing left to rely on. Determination. And with that determination, she musters up all of her remaining strength, and stretches out an arm. She's looking for something, anything, that can finally give her the end that she's looking for. A knife would be ideal, but she knows full well that she's not likely to find anything like that at the bottom of an abyss. A rock, however, isn't out of the question.

In the end, though, her search reveals nothing but pebbles, all of them too small to inflict any damage. As the last of her determination completely leaves her, she lets out all of her sorrow in one final cry. The air leaves her lungs, creating something like a chocked sob. Then she goes limp again, completely numb to the world around her.

Suddenly, a voice echoes from up ahead. It's not a voice you recognize, but at the same time... it sounds vaguely familiar.

"It sounded like it came from over here..."

You can hear the clattering of pebbles as someone hurries through the ruins, their feet too soft to create any audible footsteps. As they draw closer, you can barely hear the sound of fur brushing against fur. It's a sound you're well acquainted with.

Maybe that's why the voice is so familiar, you theorize. It must be Toriel.

Suddenly, the room falls completely silent. Then a gasp resounds through the room, and the ground trembles ever so slightly as the monster rushes towards Chara. They stop moving, and you can hear them breathing from directly above you.

"H-hey, are you okay?!" the monster exclaims. That... that isn't Toriel. Their voice is too high pitched. But then, why...? They sound so much like her.

Chara's completely withdrawn within herself, oblivious to the monster standing over her. When she doesn't respond, the monster's breath catches, and they crouch down. Soft, padded hands grasp Chara's shoulder, and shake her gently.

"C-come on, please wake up!" they exclaim.

Something about their voice stirs Chara from her withdrawn state. She's never been addressed this way before; with so much genuine concern and care...

Chara's eyes flutter open. For a moment, everything is blurry. All you can see is a small, fuzzy white shape crouched over you. But then Chara's eyes focus, and the image of the monster begins to sharpen...

...It's Toriel in miniature.

You know that can't be true, but that's still the first thought that runs through your head. Standing over the two of you is a young, goat-like monster, their rabbit-like ears and white fur reminiscent of Toriel. They, however, don't have any horns, and their bright green eyes differ wildly from Toriel's violet ones. However, there's one thing that strikes you as especially interesting—the monster is wearing a green and yellow striped sweater, just like the one that Chara does in the present. ...You don't think that's a coincidence.

This is the first monster that Chara's ever seen. You expect her to scream, or go into denial (like you had when you'd first fallen). But... nothing happens. Chara doesn't so much as bat an eye. She's too exhausted to muster up any kind of emotional response. Instead, she just stares at the monster, patiently awaiting them to make a remark about how strange her eyes are.

"Oh, good," they sigh, relief shining in their eyes. "You're awake. For a moment there, I thought you were... but never mind that."

A dull sense of confusion clouds Chara's mind. Why is this person being so... so nice to her? Aren't they scared of her, like everyone else?

The monster looks Chara over, checking her for injuries. The more they see, the more concerned they become.

"O-oh. You... you're hurt really bad, aren't you?" they ask quietly. "Did you... did you fall?"

Chara, again, doesn't say anything. The monster's question brings back unwanted memories. She can still feel the rush of air through her hair, the adrenaline surging through her veins... Chara sighs tiredly, unable and unwilling to sort through her emotions.

"Sorry, that's not a very good question, is it?" the monster asks, their voice softening even further. "Um... we should get you patched up. My mom knows healing magic—I can take you to her, if you want. Can you walk?"

Not knowing what else to do, Chara silently agrees to go with the young monster. With their help, Chara painfully manages to struggle to her feet. Then the two begin to make their way into the ruins, Chara leaning heavily on the monster's shoulder.

"Oh! I forgot to ask—what's your name?" they ask.

Chara's still very suspicious of the monster, but they don't seem to mean her any immediate harm, at least.

"I mean, you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. But it would be nice to have something to call you by—"

"Chara," she whispers hoarsely. "I'm Chara."

The young monster's face lights up as Chara finally speaks, their eyes sparkling and a giant smile on their face.

"Chara?" the monster echoes. "That's a nice name. My name is Asriel. Asriel Dreemur."

Suddenly, everything goes unfocused. Blurry, like you're looking through a frosted window pane. For a moment, you think something might be wrong with Chara. But then you realize that it's not her. It's the memory; it's speeding up.

In a few moments, you find yourself confronted by Asriel's mom—Toriel. She heals and patches up Chara. A blink of an eye later, Chara is introduced to another goat monster, one that you're unfamiliar with. They're practically a giant, towering even over Toriel. Putting two and two together, you decide that this must be Asgore, Toriel's ex-husband and king of all monsters.

Before you can so much as process this new information, time moves even faster, all of Chara's memories playing as if on fast forward. Days pass by like water in a stream, her life acting itself out right before your very eyes. You watch as she slowly warms up to the Dreemur family, and her injured soul slowly learns how to trust again. You see her sitting in Toriel's lap, listening in rapture to the goat mom's lectures on monster culture and history. You watch as she tours the Underground with Asgore, meeting and befriending everyone that she comes across. You watch as she's adopted into the Dreemur family, and is accepted by the entire kingdom as the princess of all monsters.

And, most importantly... you watch as her and Asriel's relationship blossoms. Though it took some time, and a lot of stubborn, unrequited love on Asriel's part... Chara eventually opened up to him like she would for no one else. The two became fast friends, and later, siblings. Not a single day went by when the two wouldn't play together, and they would talk long into the night in their shared bedroom, often keeping each other up long after Toriel's prescribed bedtime. They were inseparable, two parts of a single whole.

Chara would never be healed of her trauma. Far from it, in fact—she was plagued by constant nightmares, and there were days when her newfound family would find her crying for no reason. She often apologized for the smallest of mistakes, and was always overly careful to avoid from insulting or even annoying anyone. Her soul was damaged in ways that could never truly be repaired, and it shone through in more ways than anyone knew how to deal with. However, thanks to the consistent love of Toriel, Asgore, and especially Asriel... their presence in her life served to fill the holes in her soul that others had cruelly torn.

For the first time in her life... Chara had a family. And with that family... came hope. Hope, and love—immeasurably deep, unconditional love.

***

It comes as a surprise to you, but Chara's memories eventually return to normal speed. You have no idea how long it's been since Chara had fallen down. It was at least months, but for all you know, it could have been years.

You find yourself in her and Asriel's bedroom, right in the middle of the two siblings' ritual play session. They're laying on the floor on their stomachs, the both of them completely absorbed in the incredibly delicate task... of finger painting. Nearly a dozen different pots of paint are scattered across the floor, along with a few stacks of old-timey paper. You can't help but wince at the sight of it. Several of the paint pots are tipped over, their contents oozing across the bedroom's stone floors. You can't imagine that Toriel's going to be happy when she sees the mess they've made.

The kids, however, couldn't care less. Asriel's painting like maniac, his fur sticky with paint and his tongue sticking out in concentration. Chara's also working hard on her own masterpiece. Your shared fingertips are actually starting to burn from the pressure she's using to put the paint on the paper.

For a finger painting, it's fairly well made. It looks like... a fireplace. (Well... that, or a fire breathing dragon. It's kind of hard to tell.) You can tell that she drew inspiration from the fireplace in the house's living room—there's a picture sitting on its mantle of her new family, and a rocking chair sitting a distance from the flames. You can also see a second, already finished painting sitting off to the side—it looks like a yellow flower of some kind. Chara must be proud of it—she signed her name at the bottom.

"Hey, Chara! Look at this!" Asriel exclaims, holding up the painting he'd been working on.

Chara looks up from her work, and can't help but snort when she catches sight of Asriel's creation. You can see why—you're honestly not entirely sure what you're looking at. There's a vaguely goat-like figure on it... but it seems to be missing half of its body, its bottom half disappearing into black smoke. It has long, curved horns, and seems to be wearing black war paint of some kind. The figure is holding its hands out. In one palm, there seems to be a flame. In the other, there's some kind of... gun? Or cannon? Again, it's hard to tell when it's finger paint.

The most prominent part of the picture, though, is the strange creature's rainbow wings. (Or at least you assume they're wings. They look more like giant blobs of paint than anything.) They take up over half of the page, and were probably the result of carelessly mixing colors.

"Pfft—what is that?!" Chara asks, trying desperately to hold back laughter. "It looks like a rainbow barfed on it."

"Wha—Chara!" Asriel exclaims, genuinely hurt. "You can't tell what it is?"

"Nope," she says bluntly. "It looks really cool, though. What is it?"

"This is me," Asriel says, a dreamy look in his eyes. "When I grow up, I'm going to be ABSOLUTE GOD OF HYPERDEATH. I'll be invincible, and I'll shoot stars and stuff. Oh, and I also have this really sweet rainbow cannon. See?"

"Rainbow... cannon?" Chara gasps, laughter bubbling up in her. "O-oh my god, Asriel. That's—pfft—that's just... oh my god."

"Heeeey!" Asriel whines, his snout scrunching up. "I worked really hard on this..."

"I know, I know. It's awesome," Chara gasps, wiping away a few stray tears. "Even if it's a total Mary Sue."

"What's a... Mary Sue?"

Chara freezes, a rush of bad memories suddenly coming back to her. She screws her face up and shakes her head, trying to shoo them away.

"Oh, sorry—that's uh... that was my sister's name," Chara mutters. "She was always so perfect, and everybody... ugh. Never mind."

Sensing that Chara doesn't want to talk about it, Asriel quickly finds a way to change the subject.

"So, uh... what're you painting, Chara?"

"Me?" Chara asks. "Oh, it's nothing special. Just our living room."

She holds it up for Asriel to look at.

"See? That's our fireplace, and mom's rocking chair, the family portrait..."

As she explains it, Asriel nods, making interested noises. There's something that seems to bug him, though.

"Hey, uh... Chara?"

"Hmm?"

"You know that fire is red, right? I mean, it has yellow in it, but it's not entirely yellow like that," he points out.

"...Yeah," Chara says dully.

"Oh, and on the portrait, you didn't color your eyes in right," he continues. "They're red, not black."

"..."

Chara falls silent, numbly staring at her small, painted form. If it had been up to her, she wouldn't have colored the eyes in at all. A wave of anger suddenly rushes over her, unwanted thoughts running through her mind at the mention of her eyes. She grits her teeth, and begins to crumple up her paper.

"Ch-Chara! What're you doing?!" Asriel exclaims. "That was really good! Don't ruin it!"
Asriel grabs the painting, and forcefully tries to wrestle it out of her hands. Chara fights back, her eyes starting to water.

"Let go!" she cries.

"No! I won't let you ruin it—not after you worked so hard on it!"

"Let go!" she repeats.

"No!"

The two struggle for a little while longer. Then, with tears streaming down her face, Chara leans backwards with all of her strength, desperate to get the imperfect painting out of Asriel's hands. Suddenly, the paper gives way, tearing straight through Chara's little painted form. The real Chara tumbles backwards from the sudden release, her painting smearing as it comes in contact with her face.

"Oh no!" Asriel squeaks, reaching out for her. "I-I'm sorry—I didn't mean to—oh geez—are you all right?!"

Chara doesn't say anything. Instead, she quietly rights herself, and pulls the paper away from its place plastered against her nose. She looks down at her ruined painting, and then drops it like a hot iron. The portrait Chara's eyes have started to drip, black paint lazily running down her cheeks. The sight of it is ominous, and makes your chest inexplicably tight.

Chara kicks the spoiled paper away from her, and quickly wipes her face on the sleeve of her newly made green and yellow striped sweater. She's interrupted by a hug from Asriel, whose own eyes are also starting to look a little bit misty.

"I'm so sorry!" he cries. "It was perfect, Chara! I don't care if colors were weird—just look at mine!"

Chara sighs, her arms falling to her sides as she lets Asriel hug her.

"I just... don't like the color red," she mutters. "That's all."

Asriel draws back, his hands still on her shoulders. He looks... confused.

"Why?" he asks.

"I just don't, okay?!" Chara snaps.

Asriel flinches back, as if he'd been slapped. A pang of guilt instantly surges through Chara at the sight of it, and her gaze drops away from her brother's in shame.

"Sorry," she mutters. "I didn't mean to yell."

"But... why?" Asriel asks again. "It's just a color."

Chara sighs heavily, and draws a hand across her eyes.

"It's nothing Asriel. Just forget about it."

Asriel stares at her, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Is this... about the humans?"

Chara winces, and her eyes automatically start to tear up again.

"Just drop it, Asriel," she mutters.

"No," he says firmly.

Chara falls silent, and you can feel her body trembling ever so slightly.

"...You shouldn't hate the color red, Chara," Asriel says softly, taking her hands in his. "Because if you do... you're hating yourself."

"What do you mean?" she asks dully, unfeeling.

"Your eyes are special," Asriel continues. "Mom says that most humans usually only have brown, blue, green, or hazel eyes. Right?"

Chara nods.

"I asked her about your eyes, once. And do you want to know what she told me?"

Chara doesn't respond, but he continues on anyway.

"She told me that the eyes are a window into the soul. For most people, it's just an expression. But for you, it's the truth," he says. Chara slowly looks up at him, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "Your eyes aren't the only part of you that's red, Chara."

He pokes her gently in the chest, and gives her a warm smile.

"Your soul is red, too. Your soul—everything that you are—is red. And you know what? It's perfect for you. Red is a beautiful color, just like you're a beautiful person. Inside and out."

Chara puts a trembling hand on her chest, a wash of conflicting emotions tumbling through her head.

"Of course. Even my dumb soul is red," she mutters. "That's just perfect."

"Chara, that's not what I meant—"

"I know. I know you meant well," Chara sighs. "Don't blame yourself for my petty crap, Asriel—it's the humans' fault for messing me up. Not yours for triggering me."

Asriel falls silent and watches her as she goes back to painting, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Chara... what exactly did they... what did they do to you?"

She doesn't so much as look up at him, instead preferring to keep her attention trained on her paper.

"They did a lot of things, Asriel," she says simply. "But none of them are worth talking about."

"But I want to know, Chara," he presses. "Why do you hate humans so much?"

"..."

"Ok, so you don't want to talk about it," Asriel sighs. "That's fine. I just... can you answer one question for me, at least?"

She looks up at him, silently telling him to go on.

"...Why did you fall down here?"

Chara instantly refocuses on her paper, his question uncomfortably close to home.

"It wasn't... it wasn't an accident. Did you...?"

"Did I attempt suicide?" she finishes, her voice a little bit harsh. "Yes. Yes, Asriel—I wanted to die, okay? The humans rejected me as one of their own, and it eventually drove me to jump into an abyss. Now you know. Are you happy now?"

Her voice breaks at the end, and she grits her teeth painfully hard.

"Wha—no, Chara! Happy?! Of course I'm not happy that you... oh, geez. Chara, I just wanted you to... I thought that by talking about it, you'd—"

"What, that I'd feel better?" she asks sarcastically. "Hah. Yeah, sure, thanks. I feel great now. Thanks for reminding me that my kind is the scum of the Earth."

"Chara, I never said—"

"Don't. Just... don't, okay? Humans are evil. That's it. There's no room for discussion. Monsters are good, and humans are evil. That's all there is to it."

"...This is going nowhere," Asriel sighs, giving Chara a long look. "Why don't we do something else for a while?"

Chara sighs heavily, and runs a hand through her hair.

"Yeah," she agrees tiredly. "I think I'm done with finger painting for now. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, remember that one time when mom said that we should start learning how to cook for ourselves?" he asks.

"Yeah, I do. You refused to do the dishes that night, and she got mad at you."

"Hey! C'mon Chara, you know that wasn't my point."

"Okay, okay. What about it?"

"Well... we should learn how to cook. Mom keeps her recipe books above the stove, right? We could try to make something," he suggests. "Oh! And I know exactly what, too. Dad's coming home from a trip to Snowdin today, and you know how much he likes mom's butterscotch-cinnamon pie. We should make one for him, as a welcome home present! What d'you think?"

"...Sure. Sounds like fun."

***

The two siblings moved into the kitchen, and then proceeded to make it into a disaster area, just like they had to their bedroom. In the process of concocting their pie, they'd managed to get flour and egg on every single flat surface... including the ceiling. Asriel had been practicing his magic, and had accidentally sent the first batch of dough flying. And yes, you do mean first. This is now their third or fourth attempt trying to make the crust. (These two have a ways to go before they become gourmet chefs, that's for sure.)

"Okay. That's everything. Now all we need are the buttercups," Asriel proclaims.

"...Wait, are you sure?" Chara asks suspiciously.

Chara takes Toriel's cookbook from her adoptive brother and squints down at it, trying hard to decipher the hand-written recipe. It's all in cursive, and she's finding it extremely hard to read. It looks like someone took a spaghetti noodle and tried to write directions with it.

"Yeah. See, it's right there—buttercups," Asriel says, pointing to an underlined section of the recipe.

"But... buttercups? Don't you think that's a little bit weird?"

"Well... I dunno. Maybe? I mean, mom says that there are a lot of edible flowers out there. Like daisies, or nasturtiums. Buttercups are probably edible, too."

"Oh. That makes sense," Chara says. "But, uh... where would we find them? The only flowers I see growing down here are echo flowers."

"Hee hee! I know a place," Asriel says, looking extremely pleased with himself. "When mom and dad first came down here, dad brought a bunch of flower seeds with him. Most of the flowers died down here—something about bad soil, and not enough sunlight—but we still have a few buttercups left! He's keeping them in the basement, I think. I'll go get a few of them, okay?"

"I dunno, Asriel. It sounds like those flowers might be kinda important," she says hesitantly. "I mean, if dad's working that hard to keep them alive, then they must mean a lot to him..."

"Don't worry about it, Chara!" he exclaims. "Dad just really likes yellow flowers. Oh, and I'll only take a few. Besides, we're doing this for him, right? If we get in trouble for the flowers, we can just give him the pie as an apology."

"Well... alright," she murmurs, giving in. "But this was your idea; not mine. If we get in trouble, I'm blaming you."

"Okay!" Asriel says brightly. "I'll go get the flowers. Meanwhile, you can work on making the dough pie-shaped, okay? I'll be in charge of the stuffing when I get back."

***

Asriel got a hold of the flowers surprisingly quickly, and was back within a few minutes to help Chara with the rest of the pie. After a few attempts, it turned out okay. In fact, it didn't really look any different than a normal pie, which was surprising, considering that buttercups were the main ingredient.

You weren't entirely sure about all of this. You're pretty sure that the main ingredient of butterscotch-cinnamon pie is butterscotch. You don't think buttercups are even edible... but you may be wrong. You're not a nature whiz like Frisk is. If she were here, she'd be able to tell you if you could eat them or not. But in any case, the buttercup pie was made, and it was on its way to Asgore.

"I'm home!" a deep voice called, a door opening in the distance.

"He's home!" Asriel exclaims, a broad smile on his face. "Quick, Chara, go set up the table! I'll make sure that he doesn't come in until you're ready."

Chara, having warmed up to Asriel's plan to surprise their dad, nods enthusiastically. She carefully cuts up the pie as Asriel runs out into the foyer. You can hear his squeal of excitement, and you can hear Asgore grunt as he's nearly knocked over by his son.

"Woah!" Asgore exclaims. "That was quite the jump, Asriel."

"You're home!" Asriel squeals.

"I am," Asgore says, his deep chuckle resounding through the house. "Where is the rest of my welcoming committee, hmm?"

"Mom's out right now, and Chara's... um... in the middle of something."

Chara, having finished cutting the pie, hurries into the other room, and sets it on the family's dining table. Then she rushes back into the kitchen, struggling to reach the adult-height cabinets that hold the dishware.

"I see. Perhaps we should go and help Chara—"

"No!" Asriel exclaims. From his place on his dad's back, he pulls on Asgore's horns as if they're reins, keeping him from moving into the kitchen. Asgore grunts, and gives his son an inquisitive look.

"Asriel, we have talked about this. Do not pull on my horns, please."

"S-sorry," Asriel says meekly. "Just... don't go into the kitchen yet, okay?"

"Hmm... that sounds suspicious. Are you doing something you should not be, my son?"

"No! I promise, it's nothing bad. Trust me, just wait a sec, okay?" Asriel says. "Um... uh... how was Snowdin?"

"Ah, yes. Snowdin. I met with several of the monsters that live there, and they seem to be living quite happily. They are still in the process of constructing a few buildings, but for the most part, they all have homes, and are settling in nicely," Asgore tells Asriel.

"That's great!" Asriel says.

Chara's finished setting the table for one. She and Asriel had earlier agreed that the pie was only for their dad—this was something that they'd made specially for him. (Though Asriel was quick to say that if there were leftovers, they could help themselves.)

"Hey, you guys can come in, now!" she calls, smiling to herself. She can't wait to see their dad's reaction.

"Yes!" Asriel squeaks. He slides off of his dad's shoulders, and then grabs one of his oversized hands. "Come on, come on!"

"My goodness, Asriel! I am coming—no need to pull so hard!" Asgore exclaims, a smile on his bearded face. "What has you all riled up, hmm? What have you two been up to?"

When he rounds the corner, Chara jumps out at him with a huge smile on her face.

"Surprise!" she exclaims. She gestures dramatically at the table, where the still-steaming pie is sitting. "We made you a pie!"

"Yeah!" Asriel pipes in, running around to face his dad. "It's your favorite, too—butterscotch-cinnamon!"

Asgore's eyes light up, and an enormous grin breaks out on his face.

"This is for me?"

"Yep!" the two youngsters reply, their voices in perfect sync.

"And you made it all by yourselves?"

"Yep!" they say again, casting proud glances at each other.

"I am very impressed, you two," he says. "That is quite the accomplishment for such little ones."

"Wha—little?!" Asriel exclaims, a look of absolute rage on his face. "I'm not little! Dad, I'm 12! I'll have you know that my horns are going to come in next year, and then—"

Asgore crouches down so that he's on Asriel's level, and then pokes him gently in the stomach. Asriel's so surprised that he ends up... bleating? You guess? I definitely sounds like something those goats in petting zoos would do.

"BAAAAA!"

"Pfft—ha ha ha! Oh my god, Asriel—again?!" Chara exclaims. Then she gets in on the fun, and gently pulls Asriel's tail.

"BAAAAA!" he bleats. He jumps nearly three feet into the air, and immediately spins around, protecting his sensitive rear from his traitorous sister. "Ch-Chara! Why'd you do that?!"

Chara completely cracks up, laughing so hard that she has to lean on the table for support. You can hear Asgore chuckling as well, but it's a much deeper, low-key sound. If you hadn't been so intent on observing every detail, you would have easily missed it.

"Chara, you should not pull your brother's tail," Asgore says, trying desperately to keep a straight face.

"Oh, c'mon dad—you're laughing too. Stop trying to hide it."

"...You got me. That was... somewhat humorous."

"Daaaad!" Asriel whines, spinning around to face the giant goat monster. "Not you too!"

Asgore pats his son gently on the head. At first, you think that it's a fatherly gesture, but then, the king of all monsters gets an uncharacteristically mischievous look in his eye.

"...Still no horns," he says teasingly.

Asriel's eyes widen, and his cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink beneath his fur.

"You know what? I'll just eat the pie myself!" Asriel exclaims, marching pointedly over to the table. "A meanie like you doesn't deserve it."

"I-I am sorry, my son," Asgore says quickly, hurriedly getting to his feet and cutting him off before he can reach the table. "I only meant to have some fun with you. Forgive me, please."

This guy must really like his pie, you note, amused.

Asriel stares up at him for several moments, his cheeks puffing up as he carefully considers his dad's apology.

"Fiiiiine," he sighs eventually, rolling his eyes. "But you'd better hurry up and eat it—it's getting cold."

"Of course, my son. I would not want to let all of your hard work go to waste," Asgore says, sitting at the table. When his children don't sit down along with him, he seems confused. "Are you not going to join me?"

"It's just for you," Chara says, speaking in place of Asriel (who's still a little bit upset.) "We wanted to do something special for you."

Asriel snorts, and looks away. Chara rolls her eyes and elbows him in the side.

"Riiiight, Asriel?"

"Right," he sighs. "We made it special for you—and besides, we know how you are. Big monsters have big appetites, right?"

It's Asriel's turn to make fun this time. He crosses over to his dad and gently punches him in the gut.

"Oof!" he exclaims, surprised by the sudden impact. "If my ears do not deceive me, I think you just called me fat, son."

"What?" Asriel says, his smile giving away his intentions. "No, of course not! I'm your son. I would never say something like that..."

"He meant to say that you're a little on the tubby side," Chara chirps, grinning mischievously at her brother.

"Hey—Chaaaara!"

Asgore chuckles good naturedly, and watches as the two siblings bicker with each other.

"Alright, alright you two," he says. "That is enough. Now, you are probably both anxious to see how your creation turned out, are you not?"

"Yes!" they both exclaim.

They both crowd around their dad as he takes a piece of the pie, and then cautiously tries a bite. His face screws up the moment that it touches his tongue, but he quickly tries to downplay his disgust; using the skills that every good politician has, he manages to control his emotions, and make his face go deadpan. You notice, however, that he didn't chew before he swallowed. (Guess he's just trying to get it over with.)

"How is it?" Chara asks, excited.

"It was... very good," Asgore says, lying through his teeth. "What kind of pie did you say this was, again?"

"Butterscotch-cinnamon," Asriel chimes. "Why, couldn't you tell?"

"O-of course," Asgore says. "And it is delicious."

To prove his point, he wolfs down the rest of the piece, trying desperately to keep from spitting it back out again. (You don't think you've ever seen anyone eat so quickly in your life.)

"However, I was under the impression that we were out of butter. Did you go out and get some with your mother today?"

"Uh... butter?" Asriel asks Chara quietly. "Did the recipe call for butter? I don't remember seeing it."

"Me neither," she replies under her breath.

"Well, whatever the case, you two did a... good job," Asgore says tiredly. "There is some room for improvement, however. You should keep practicing."

"Okay!" Asriel says brightly. "See Chara, I told you it'd be fine. He didn't get mad, even though we used his buttercups."

"Son," Asgore says quietly. "Did you just say... buttercups?"

"Yeah," Chara says, answering for him. "The recipe said that we needed buttercups, so Asriel went and got them from your little garden in the basement. That's okay, right?"

"Chara, my child... butterscotch pie does not call for buttercups, but cups of butter. In fact, buttercups are poisonous—sometimes even... even..."

Asgore winces, sweat breaking out across his forehead. Then he groans and doubles over, clutching at his stomach. The two siblings take a step back, fear suddenly finding its way into their hearts.

"A-Asriel," Asgore stammers, his voice strained. "Go... find your... your... find your mother."

"W-what? Why?" Asriel says, his voice shaking.

Asgore groans again, and tries to stand up. It doesn't end well. He sways dizzily, and then ends up collapsing to the floor. Chara's eyes widen as she suddenly finds her dad at her feet, and you're fairly sure that you felt her heart stop. Terror is quickly taking a hold of her mind, along with a crushing sense of guilt.

"A...Asriel," Asgore pants. "Go. Quickly."

Asriel, looking as terrified as Chara feels, nods quickly and scampers away, his arms pumping as he sprints towards the hotlands.

"W-what's happening?" Chara asks shakily. "Are you okay?"

Asgore groans again and curls into a ball, sweat running freely down his forehead. Seeing him in such a state is sending Chara into a panic. She clutches at the hem of her sweater, trying to force her hands to stop shaking.

"...Dad?" she asks, her voice breaking.

"Do not... do not worry, my child," he gasps, his hands tightening around his sides. "I will... I will be fine."

Chara doesn't believe him. And, to be honest, neither do you.

Down the hall, a door bursts open. Toriel barrels into the house, a panting and exhausted Asriel at her heels.

"Gorey!" she exclaims, a look of horror on her face. "What happened?!"

"W-we baked a pie for him, but your handwriting was really hard to read, and so we accidentally mistook 'cups of butter' for 'buttercups,'" Chara rushes, eyes wide in fear. "H-he ate a piece, and then just... collapsed. I'm so sorry mom! I-I didn't know—"

"Chara!" Toriel exclaims, whirling to her. "You fed your father buttercups?!"

"I-it was a-an accident," she says meekly, shrinking back. "I-I'm sorry..."

"I cannot believe you!" Toriel thunders, towering over her. "Buttercups, of all things?! Do you not have an ounce of common sense in you at all, young lady?!"

"Mom, it was my idea," Asriel murmurs, tugging at the sleeve of Toriel's robe. "Don't yell at her. She thought it was weird, but I didn't listen to her. It's my fault."

Toriel rips her sleeve out of Asriel's grasp, and acts as if she hadn't even heard him. Then she huffs in frustration and crouches next to her ailing husband, muttering angrily under her breath. Purple light dances in the air as Toriel works her healing magic, her eyes screwed shut in concentration. Asriel silently crosses the room and stands at her shoulder, watching in apprehension to see whether or not it'll work.

You would think that Chara would feel something, anything, in the light of everything that's just happened. But that's not the case. Everything, from her thoughts to her emotions, have gone completely silent. She stands a little ways behind the three monsters, unfeeling as she watches the three of them silently offering each other support. She's completely numb, her hands hanging limply by her sides.

You can feel her eyes training not on Asgore, but on all three of the goat-like monsters. She's noting how similar they all are, how much love she can sense between the three of them. Anyone would be able to tell that they're a family. But... there's something missing. Why isn't she up there with them? Isn't she a part of their family, too? A sudden pang of loneliness surges through Chara's soul. Toriel had yelled at her. And now, she's been excluded. It may not even be conscious on their part, but they've formed a protective ring amongst themselves, blocking out anyone who may further harm Asgore. Blocking out... her.

Chara gently hugs herself, trying to keep those thoughts at bay.

'I'm just overreacting,' she tells herself. 'It's just my stupid, messed up mind that's telling me those things. That doesn't mean they're true.'

The flickering magic around Asgore dies, and Toriel sighs in defeat.

"Mom, how is he?" Asriel asks, looking up at his mom with tears in his eyes. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes, my child," she says tiredly, running her hand comfortingly through Asriel's fur. "He will be fine. All he needs is a little bit of rest."

"That's good," Asriel sighs, looking relieved.

"Help me get him into bed, Asriel," she says. "I will take one arm. Can you take the other? And Gorey, can you stand?"

"I... I think so," he replies, his pain obvious in his voice.

"Okay. On three," Toriel says softly. "One, two... three."

Asgore groans as they help him to his feet, and his breathing is heavy as they slowly make their way towards his bedroom.

Chara, feeling pathetic and useless, sheepishly walks behind them, her hands folded carefully behind her back.

"Mom... is there anything I can do to help?" Chara asks quietly, hanging her head.

Toriel stops and glances back at her, an unreadable expression on her face. Chara looks up at her, hope briefly shining through her uncertainty. Everything was going to be okay. This was her mom she was talking about. She would never—

"My child..." Toriel says slowly, her voice heavy and tired, "go to your room."

Hurt completely extinguishes Chara's brief ray of hope, and she recoils as if she'd been slapped. Without another word, Toriel turns away and continues down the hall, whispering encouragement to her husband and son. Chara remains rooted to the spot, and she watches as her family continues on without her, disappearing into the bedroom and closing the door behind them. None of them give her so much as a second thought. Not even Asriel, who was always at her side.

Just like that, she'd been rejected.

'...I'm not a monster,' Chara thinks dully. 'I'm not one of them. And I'm not a human, either. But then... what am I? Who am I? Do I belong here? Do I... do I belong anywhere?'

Chara continues to stare at the door that leads to Asgore's room, the muffled voices on the other side nothing but white noise to her rapidly destabilizing mind. She clutches at herself, holding herself tightly to try and keep from breaking down completely.

'I... I'm me. I'm Chara.'

She chuckles to herself, and a wide smile breaks out on her face.

'I messed up. This is all my fault. Everything is always my fault,' she thinks. She hugs herself so hard that you can feel bruises start to form on her arms. 'They're right to be angry at me. I don't belong here, or anywhere. I should have just died when I had the chance.'

She starts to laugh, her shoulders shaking as tears roll down her cheeks.

'If I had died then, I wouldn't have poisoned him,' she tells herself. '...Poison. I poisoned him. I'm not a human, and I'm not a monster... but I know what I am, now. I'm poison! Nothing good will ever come from me. I'm poisonous, like a buttercup. Like a weed. And what happens to poisonous weeds? They get uprooted.'

The door to Asgore's room opens, and you can hear retching sounds coming from deep inside it. Asriel hurries out, his nose scrunched up and brow furrowed. He quickly closes the door behind him, and lets out a breath that he seemed to have been holding. When he catches sight of Chara, standing alone and chuckling under her breath, he crosses over to her, a look of concern on his face.

"Hey, are... are you okay?" he asks quietly. "It wasn't your fault, you know."

"You heard your mom," Chara says, grinning at him. "Heh. It was the buttercup's fault."

"...What?" Asriel asks. "I... I guess that's true. It was the flowers' fault in the end."

"Right," Chara says, laughing. "It was all the stupid flower's fault. The stupid, poisonous, unwanted flower's fault."

"...Chara, are you sure you're okay? You seem a little... out of it," Asriel says, gently touching one of her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm fiiiiine, Asriel," she says, still grinning. "Don't you worry about little ol' me. I'm just going to be a good girl and go to our room, okay? You should go and make sure your dad's okay, too."

"But... Chara..."

"Go on, goat boy," she insists. "He needs you right now."

Asriel hesitates for a few moments, but eventually nods and slowly walks away, casting anxious glances at Chara over his shoulder. The moment that he disappears, Chara walks back towards their shared room, weaving ever so slightly in her path. She feels as if her entire world is crashing down around her, and it's showing. She runs into a wall on accident, but she doesn't even register the pain. She laughs is off, and continues on her way.

Once she's in the room, she shuts and locks the door. Then she crosses over her bed and gets onto her stomach, flattening herself and reaching her arm deep into the underbelly of her bed. She searches the ground, her fingers outstretched and anticipating the touch of... metal. She found it. Her hand wraps around the object, and she pulls it into the light.

It's... a fork. In and of itself, that's not very alarming. But when you see that the ends have been sharpened to needle-like points, and you catch thoughts in Chara's head like "she would have noticed if I took a knife," you start to grow a little concerned.

She smiles as it catches the light, and goes to roll up one of her sleeves, exposing the fleshy part of her arm. You can't help but cringe as you catch sight of it. Her old cut scars are still there, though they've faded a bit after so much time. On top of those, there are hundreds of tiny dots. They almost look like freckles. Seeing Chara with the sharpened fork in her hand, though, you know that couldn't be further from the truth.

'I want to die,' she thinks. Then she shakes her head, screwing her eyes shut. She doesn't want to think that way. She knows that she has a lot to live for, logically speaking... but she still can't help the way she feels.

She opens her eyes, and doesn't even hesitate as she brings the fork down, puncturing her skin. Blood oozes from the fresh dots, and a wave of pain rushes over her. She sighs, relieved. The pain distracts her from her suicidal thoughts.

It doesn't last very long, though. The pain soon ebbs away, Chara's unhappy thoughts returning in its absence.

'I'm just a burden to them.'

She stabs herself again. And again, it's only a temporary release.

'I'm worthless.'

Another four puncture wounds appear on her arm.

'Worse, I'm poisonous.'

The wounds almost look like snake bites from their place against Chara's pale skin.

'I should just die!'

Chara drives the fork in especially deep this time, and she hisses in pain. She leaves the fork in her arm for a moment, twisting it to try and keep that last thought at bay. It doesn't work. Not even pain, it seems, is working anymore. Tears slip from her eyes as she yanks the fork out, and she bites back a scream. It's not a scream of pain, but a scream of frustration—she doesn't want to be like this, but she doesn't know how to fix it, either.

"Why can't I just do something right for once?" she asks herself aloud, her voice hushed. In her mind, everything that's ever happened to her has been her fault. She thinks that if she could have done something differently, said something else, tried harder to make others like her... she may not have been abused the way that she had. "All I want is to do something good with my life!"

Chara throws the fork across the room, her frustration and pain roaring in her ears. It strikes her and Asriel's shared bookcase, and causes one of the hand-made tomes to fall out of place. It lands on the floor cover-up, close enough that Chara can read it.

She recognizes the book immediately. It's one that Toriel made for her, from back when she had first fallen. It's entitled "The Barrier." From Chara's head, you glean that Toriel had made it specifically to help her understand how the monsters were trapped, and, with more relevancy to her situation... why it would be impossible for a lone human to cross it.

Seeing that book... gives Chara the beginnings of an idea.

"They need seven souls to break it..." she says thoughtfully. "And a monster would need a human soul to cross it..."

Chara's eyes widen, and a small smile makes its way onto her face.

"I... have a human soul," she says. "This is my chance. This is my chance... to do something good."

Chara, ignoring her bleeding arm, crosses over to the room and picks up the book. Then she sits down against her bed, and begins to flip through the pages...

***

Chara's memories speed up again. In the weeks following the accident, Chara had spent an unusual amount of time studying books on monster history; particularly books about the barrier and the mechanics of souls. She'd started writing notes on a lot of it, and you get the feeling that she's planning something... though you can't tell what.

When the memories return to their normal pace, you find yourself in some kind of throne room. Two gold and purple thrones are in the center of a large outdoor courtyard, lush green grass replacing the stone tile of the rest of the castle. Asriel is sitting on the larger throne, a look of pride on his face. When he sees Chara walking towards him, he waves, and then beckons her over.

"What're you doing?" Chara asks, giggling. "You know you're not supposed to be up there."

"Well, I should be!" Asriel exclaims, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm going to be king one day, you know!"

"Really?" Chara asks. "I thought you were going to be... hold on... I'm trying to remember... oh yeah! The ABSOLUTE GOD of HYPERDEATH!"

Chara strikes a pose as she says it, much to her brother's dismay.

"Chara!" he squeaks. "Come on, don't make fun of it. I can be both!"

"Hee hee. Are you sure? Being king is a big responsibility, you know."

"Oh, I do. A king has to look after all of his subjects, and make sure that everyone is happy!" Asriel exclaims, a sparkle to his eyes. "Like dad does. Oh, and you can be queen, Chara! You can make sure that I don't do anything crazy—like mom."

"I don't think it works that way," Chara points out. "The queen is married to the king, remember?"

"Oh... yeah..." Asriel mutters. "But I still think you'd be a good one! You could help me keep the kingdom happy."

"Yeah..." Chara says, a little bit of sadness entering her voice. "Hey, Asriel?"

"Yeah?"

"You want to make your future subjects happy, right?"

"Of course!"

"Well... I think I know a way we could do that," Chara says. "Right now. You don't even have to wait until you're king."

"R-really?!" Asriel exclaims, visibly excited. "That's great, Chara! What do you have in mind?"

"...We could break the barrier."

Asriel falls silent, staring at Chara in disbelief.

"...How?" he asks, clearly skeptical. "We're just a couple of kids, Chara. If dad and mom can't break it, how could we?"

"Do... do you remember when dad got sick?" Chara asks.

"You mean... when we accidentally poisoned him?" Asriel clarifies, looking ashamed. "Of course I do. How could I forget?"

"Well... Hold on, let me back up. You know I have a human soul, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you know that a monster with a human soul can cross the barrier, right?"

"...Yeah," Asriel says, his eyes narrowing. He seems to be realizing where this is going.

"Well... with my soul, you could cross the barrier," Chara says.

"Well... I guess, technically," he says slowly. "But... you'd have to be dead, remember? Mom says that a monster can't absorb a human soul unless it's completely separated from its body. Otherwise, we would have brought you back to the surface."

"Yeah," Chara says simply. "I know."

"Chara... what are you saying? I don't want you to die—"

"J-just hear me out, okay?" Chara asks, cutting off her brother's protest. "If you took my soul, I wouldn't really be dead. Mom told us about that, too—human souls don't disappear like monster souls do. So, if you combined with my soul, I would still be alive—I'd just be inside of you. We'd still be able to talk to each other and everything."

"I... I guess that's true," Asriel says, though he still looks uncertain. "But that's just one soul—I don't see how we'd be able to break the barrier."

"Well, once we cross the barrier, it would be easy," Chara explains. "All we would have to do is take six human souls, and bring them back with us."

"Chara!" Asriel exclaims, looking horrified. "You want us to kill six people?!"

"They aren't people, Asriel!" Chara exclaims. "They're humans. Humans! They trapped you all down here for no reason! They... they're vile, evil creatures! They all lie, and cheat, and steal, and rape, and abuse each other... Monster don't! Monsters are some of the nicest people that I've ever met. In all of my time on the surface, there wasn't a single human that ever looked at me for who I was. When they looked at me, all they saw was a... a demon, even though I'd never done anything wrong!"

"Woah, woah—Chara, calm down," Asriel says, putting his hands up.

"I will not calm down, Asriel!" she exclaims. "I hate them. I hate all of them. They don't deserve to live up there. They treated me the same way that they would an animal, Asriel. And I wasn't the only one. Do you know what a slave is?"

"A... slave?" Asriel asks, confused. "No. What's that?"

"It's a human that another human has bought as property. They have to do their master's bidding, no matter how awful the task is. If they refuse, they die," Chara explains. "I was a slave. And a special kind of slave—I was a living sex toy."

"Wha-what?!" Asriel exclaims. "What do you—"

"My master would rape me. Over, and over, and over again..." Chara hisses. "And that was only after my family locked me in a cellar and completely abandoned me. And even when I escaped from my master, no one would help me. There wasn't a single human on this cursed planet that would so much as hide me."

"Chara... I had no idea..."

"Those are the kind of people that live on the surface," Chara says, her tone icy cold. "And then, there are the monsters. Before I met you, Asriel, there wasn't a single person in this world that had showed me love. I didn't even understand what that was, before I met you and mom and dad. Monsters are all such kind, caring people. You would never hurt anyone else without reason. You show everyone you meet love, and you all try your best to help others."

"Not all monsters are good, Chara," Asriel protests meekly.

"Maybe not," Chara admits reluctantly. "But there's still more good monsters out there than there are good people. Just look at the war—not a single human was killed. Monsters, however, were slaughtered by the thousands."

"I... I guess that's true," Asriel murmurs.

"You spared them. The monsters spared the humans, even though they were trying to get rid of all of you," Chara says. "Just think about that, Asriel. You could have killed them all. Monsters had the power to defeat them all—all they had to do was fuse with human souls, and they'd have so much power that the humans wouldn't be able to so much as lay a hand on them. But instead, the monsters showed mercy. And what did you all get for your mercy? You were thrown into a giant hole in the ground, and left to rot. If it weren't for your magic, you all would have died down here."

"Yeah, that is pretty awful."

"You monsters don't deserve that," Chara says, taking a step closer to Asriel. "You should be the ones on the surface."

"I guess... I mean, as much as I'd like to see the surface... I don't want to kill anyone, Chara," Asriel says.

"Weren't you listening, Asriel? They deserve to die."

"But Chara, you're human too," he points out. "You're condemning the entire human race to death. What if there are more people out there like you? Do they deserve to die, too?"

"No," Chara says. "But if they're like me, than they would want to die."

"Ch-Chara?"

"Asriel... what the humans did... it messed me up, okay?" Chara says, her eyes getting misty. "It messed with my head. And there are hundreds, no, thousands of people in the same position. They're hurting Asriel. You could be the one to set them free."

"I..."

"Don't you see, Asriel? This is your chance. You can free the monsters, and save the people like me out there—the so-called "monsters" of humanity—that are hurting at the hands of the humans."

"But Chara..."

"Please, Asriel?" Chara pleads. "I... I can't do this without you. I need you. I... I could find another monster to help me, if I had to, but you're the only person that I would want to fuse with. You're my brother, Asriel, and I love you. If I have to spend eternity with someone, you're the only person I'd willingly choose."

"I... Chara," Asriel whispers, his voice breaking. "I don't want to see you die, Chara. Not even for something like this. It's a good idea, but... We can wait until another human falls down—an evil human. Y-yeah! That way, we can make everyone happy, but you don't have to die!"

Chara shakes her head, starting to get frustrated with her brother.

"You don't understand, Asriel. No one else will ever fall down," she says.

"Why? You did, didn't you?"

"I jumped, Asriel, remember?!" Chara exclaims. "The other humans are terrified of Mount Ebott! They know that you guys live down here, and so they won't come within a mile of the place!"

"But..."

"Asriel," Chara murmurs, taking a deep breath. "I've been planning this for weeks. I know what I'm talking about—this is the only way we can free everyone."

"Chara..."

Chara, having told him everything that she could to convince him, has only one tactic left up her sleeve.

"Asriel... you trust me, don't you?" she asks quietly.

"I... Chara, come on. You know that I do."

"Then help me. Please. This is something that I really want to do."

Asriel gives Chara a long, searching, look. Chara stands firm, though. She looks him straight in the eye, her teeth set.

"...Okay Chara," Asriel says quietly. "I can see that you've already made up your mind. I... I'll help you. What do you want me to do?"

Chara nods, a wave of relief rushing through her. She had been prepared to go to another monster, but she's extremely glad that it's her brother that she'll be fusing with.

"Well... mom and dad can't know about this," she says. "They... they wouldn't like it. So, I'm going to have to make my death look like an accident."

"How can you talk about this so calmly?" Asriel mutters. "You're talking about killing yourself, Chara. Aren't you scared?"

"...No. I've already decided," she says, looking away. "It's the deciding to do it that's the hard part."

"...Why didn't you ever come to talk to me about this?" he asks quietly. "I knew that there was something wrong with you recently, but whenever I asked you about it, you just... brushed me off."

"I knew that you would try to stop me," Chara sighs. "Like I keep saying, I had already made up my mind. You wouldn't have been able to change it."

"..."

"Anyway, they can't know that my death was intentional. So, I'm going to have to get sick," Chara says. "...Do you understand, now?"

"...The buttercups. You want to poison yourself with buttercups," Asriel says, his voice monotone.

"Yeah."

"I... I don't like this plan, Chara."

"I know. But it's the only way."

"You're going to make a lot of people sad, you know. Mom and dad are going to miss you."

"But we'll make a lot more people happy," Chara says. "You're all going to be free. My life doesn't mean anything if it saves all of you."

"...But it does matter, Chara."

"...To you. It matters to you. Which is why I want to fuse with you, and not anyone else."

"Okay. Okay, you win. What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to get some buttercups."

"...Okay," Asriel says reluctantly.

He slides slowly off of the throne, and trudges in the direction of the throne room's exit.

"Are you sure about this, Chara?" he asks, looking over his shoulder.

"I am," Chara says. "Meet me in our room, okay? I need to look like I've been sick all day."

Asriel nods silently, a terribly conflicted look on his face. Chara watches him until he disappears into the hallway. Then she turns and runs away, a broad smile making its way onto her face.

'We're going to free everyone.'

*Chara is filled with DETERMINATION.*

Suddenly, the memory cuts off. You're back in Chara's ocean of pain. This time, however... there's something different about it. It's not just "pain" anymore. You're slowly beginning to tell what kind of pain it's made up of. Something about it is familiar. You've felt this before, in your own life, and in your own body. It's not just general pain... it's betrayal. That, more than anything else, is what's hurting her. Someone close to her had stabbed her in the back. ...Just like she had done to you.

That piques your curiosity. Who could have hurt her that much? It had to be someone that she trusted enormously. Someone that she would be willing to give her life for... Only one person comes to mind. But... they get along so well. What could Asriel have possibly done to make her feel this way? So, wanting answers, you take a deep breath, and dive back into the depths of Chara's psyche.

~Betrayal~

When you enter this next memory, it reminds you of when you first entered hope. Everything hurts. This time, though, it's a different kind of hurt. Before, the pain had been external—it had come from cuts, bruises, and head trauma. This time, though... it's coming from within you. And it's absolute hell.

The first thing you notice is the heat. Even though Chara is stripped down to her underwear, and has a cooling cloth on her forehead, you feel as if you're slowly baking in the world's largest oven. Chara's hair is practically soaked in sweat, and whenever she shifts, the sheets beneath her feel unbearably damp.

Then you notice the burning. Your stomach is aching so badly you can hardly breath, but it doesn't feel like a normal stomach ache, either. It's almost as if Chara swallowed acid—like whatever's sitting in her stomach is trying to disintegrate her from the inside out.

Your throat is burning too, most likely from how often she'd been throwing up. There's a bucket beside the bed, and it reeks of bile. You can also detect a more metallic scent in the air, almost like iron.

...Blood, you think darkly.

Now you know how Asgore must have felt.

Chara's alone for a moment, but it doesn't last for long. The door to the bedroom opens, and her entire family soon surrounds her, their faces tight with worry.

"Oh my child," Toriel says quietly, putting one massive padded hand onto Chara's forehead. "You're burning up."

She switches out the rag on Chara's head for a fresh one, her hands shaking ever so slightly as she does so.

"You need to work hard to get better, okay, dear one? I cannot do all the hard work myself, you know," Toriel continues, her voice artificially light. She tries her best to smile, but it just as quickly fades away, disappearing back into that ever-present worry. Toriel sighs sadly, and lifts her hands.

"Do... do not worry, my child," she murmurs. "I am certain... that it will work this time."

Purple magic spills from Toriel's open palms and wraps around Chara, cocooning her in magic. If you were in her place, you would have cried in relief. The pain ebbs the moment that the magic makes contact, and you can feel the fever slowly starting to go down.

Chara, however, is determined to go through with her plan. She shows no signs that the magic is working, and keep s her face in a carefully maintained mask of agony.

Toriel eventually drops her hands, her magic fading, and her head hanging in defeat. A choked sob escapes from her, and Asgore quickly moves in to comfort her. He has tears shining in his own eyes, but like the strong ruler that he is, he remains calm and strong for the sake of others.

"I-I do not understand, Asgore!" she exclaims. "Why is it not working?! I am trying as hard as I can, and yet... nothing."

"I do not know," he replies quietly. "I do not know."

Another sob racks Toriel, and Asgore holds her ever closer, trying to comfort her with his embrace.

"Come, Tori," he says gently. "Perhaps we should go and consult Dr. Kuron. He may have some insight as to what is going on..."

"Yes," Toriel agrees, hope flashing in her eyes. "He will know how to cure her. He... he must."

Asgore supports Toriel as the two get up, and then hurry out of the room, leaving Chara and Asriel by themselves.

"I... I don't like this idea, Chara," he murmurs, his eyes misty. He tries to blink his tears back, but they end up spilling down his cheeks instead.

"Asriel," Chara whispers hoarsely, her voice weak, "Are... are you crying?"

"Wh-what? N-No, I'm not..." he mumbles. "...Big kids don't cry."

"We need... to be strong, Asriel," she whispers. "For them."

"Yeah, you're right," he sniffs, wiping at his face. "But... but I..."

"Do you doubt me?" Chara asks.

"No! I'd never doubt you, Chara," he says. "...Never."

"I know it's hard... but we have to keep going," she murmurs. "It's the... only way."

"Y... Yeah," Asriel mutters. "I know."

"We're doing this... for them, remember," she says quietly.

"We'll be strong. We'll free everyone," he confirms, gently taking Chara's hand.

"Yeah," she agrees, a small smile on her face. "Asriel... I... I need more buttercups."

"What?" he asks, eyes widening. "Why?"

"Mom's healing magic... it's working," she explains. "I... I need more flowers."

"...Okay," he says, a quiet sense of resignation about him. "I'll go get the flowers."

Asriel takes his hand out of Chara's, and goes to leave.

"Wait!" she exclaims, weakly grabbing his hand again. "Asriel, I... I want to bring... my body... with us."

He turns to look back at her, a questioning look on his face.

"I want it... to be... in my village's... flower fields," she says. "To bring everything... full circle, you know?"

Asriel nods solemnly, and then leaves. Somehow, you don't think he'd have agreed if he'd known the truth of Chara's intentions; that she wants all of her old tormentors to see what their cruelty had done to her.

***

Asriel came back with the buttercups, and, after a several hours of violent vomiting and diarrhea, Chara went unconscious. It was, in all honesty, a huge relief for you. While you're still (inexplicably) in her body, at least you don't have to be in a constant state of pain. She can't feel anything while she's out, and so, as a result... neither can you.

So, now that there's nothing going on, you have some time to think about everything that's happened. While you think that Chara's plan is awfully sad and her motives misguided... you can't help but understand her reasoning. And, in some cases, you even agree with her.

The monsters do deserve to be free, and there are definitely a lot of messed up humans on the surface. I mean... hadn't you even considered, however briefly, the idea of giving up your own soul to break the barrier?

You stop for a moment to imagine what Sans' face would look like if he were to see the sun for the first time. That look of unbridled awe and happiness... wouldn't that be worth giving up your soul for? And then, multiply that look by several thousand. You would be freeing not only Sans, but every single monster in the Underground. Imagine, a look of euphoria on every single one of their faces...

Yes, you understand Chara's desire all too well. Or, at least, you understand the justification of her actions. There's one simple fact that differentiates your dream from Chara's. Her wish to break the barrier is, at its core, a wish for revenge. She knows full well that breaking the barrier at this point, with the war still fresh in the minds of participators on both sides, would cause a second war. She wants the humans to suffer for what they did to her, just as much as she wants the monsters' freedom. ...If not more. And, though a part of you feels that she is totally justified in her righteous fury, the other part of you knows that revenge will get her nowhere. Hate breeds hate, and anger breeds anger. It's a cycle that, one started, can't be broken... unless one side decides to offer up forgiveness.

Suddenly, a voice breaks you out of your philosophical musings.

"Chara... Can you hear me?" Toriel asks, her voice breaking. "We... we want you to wake up..."

"Chara! You have to stay determined! You cannot give up!" Asgore exclaims. "You are the future of humans and monsters..."

Chara stirs from her subconscious, waking up just enough to hear their words.

'I am the future of humans and monsters,' she repeats to herself. 'I will save them all.'

"Psst... Chara... Please... Wake up," Asriel whispers. "I don't like this plan anymore. I... I... ...no, I said... I said I'd never doubt you."

He falls silent for a moment, as though he's thinking hard on something.

"Six, right? We just have to get six..." he murmurs. "And we'll do it together, right?"

And with those final words... you can feel Chara's heartbeat slowing down... and then... stopping... completely...

***

You definitely didn't expect to find yourself in another memory. Chara had died. Logically speaking, that should be it, right? But no, it couldn't be. If she had really died, then how did she kill your brother? It doesn't make sense.

There's something... different... about this memory. You feel... strange. Like you're not... yourself. Does that make any sense? You'd gotten used to being in Chara's body—so much so that it had started to feel a lot like your own. But now, you're not in her body anymore... but someone else's. Or... can you even call it a body? It feels so... fragile. As if it's nothing but air and dust and magic.

You shake the thought off, and take a look at your surroundings. Ahead of you, there's a... you're not even sure what to call it. It's a shifting mass of pure energy. It glows the brightest of white, and yet also contains the darkest of shadows. Far in the distance, you can see the golden yellow shine of sunlight, as if at the far end of a tunnel.

The figure that you're inhabiting sighs heavily, and then looks down at something that it's carrying. It's... Chara. No. That's not really her anymore, is it? It's just her body. But then... where is...

'Are you ready, Asriel?'

If you were in your own body, you would have flinched in surprise. You can still hear Chara's thoughts, like you'd been able to when you were in her head. But... she actually sounds like she's talking. She's not just thinking, but she's actually calling out to Asriel, and awaiting a response. What the heck is going on?!

'I... I guess,' comes the reply. That's... Asriel. But... what? Where are you, exactly?! You can't be in both of their heads at the same time, can you?

'Oh, c'mon, Asriel!' Chara exclaims. 'You're about to see the sun for the first time! Aren't you excited?'

'I... I guess when you put it like that... yeah!' he says. 'But... Chara, you're dead. Am I just... supposed to be happy about that?'

'Well... no, I guess not,' she replies hesitantly. 'But it's really only my body that's dead, right? I'm still here. I'm with you. Our souls are one now, Asriel. We'll be together forever, just like we wanted.'

So... they actually did it. Asriel absorbed Chara's soul, and they're now living together in the same body. You don't think it's purely Asriel's body, though. Something seems... off about it. For one... you don't think Asriel is this tall. And then, there's the size of his hands, and your shared head seems unnaturally heavy...

'Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Chara,' Asriel says.

'It's okay,' Chara says happily. 'I know that I was asking a lot of you. But anyway, let's not think about that anymore! Let's cross the barrier, and then set everyone free!'

'Yeah!' Asriel exclaims.

They take a step forward, coming into contact with the barrier. For a moment, you think their plan didn't work. The barrier presses against them, pushing them back. But then, with a grunt of effort, they force their way through. The barrier feels almost like syrup around them, thick and heavy. Their movement slows as they wade their way through the strange substance, their shared determination spurring them onwards despite the difficulty of their task.

Eventually, they make it through. They step out of the Underground, squinting in the light of the sun. They're on a ledge high up on Mount Ebott, close to the summit. Actually... you think you recognize this place. Frisk dragged you up here once for a picnic, if you remember completely. The view in Chara's memory is very different than the one that you're familiar with, though. You can still see the ocean in the distance, but Ebott City is nowhere to be seen. (Makes sense—it hasn't been built yet.)

In its place, you can see a large field of Gorse flowers, with a large white building sitting at its center. A few log cabins dot the landscape here and there, but beyond that, the area is still completely wild. Trees mostly dominate the landscape to the west. They eventually peter out as they stretch eastward, to be replaced by the desert. On the other side of that, Ebott's sister mountain—Mount Ost—looms, blocking your view of the horizon.

The two siblings stand together in awe, completely enraptured by the beautiful spread of nature below them. This is Chara's first time seeing this view, too—she hadn't exactly stopped to enjoy the scenery when she climbed Mt. Ebott, running for her life as she was. They catch their breath, their eyes widening as they slowly get used to the light.

"Wow..." they breath.

'Chara... this is so... wow,' Asriel says. 'This is what the surface is like? It's so... beautiful.'

'I know,' Chara says. 'This is what you guys have been missing out on. But not for much longer, right? We only need six. Then, everyone will be free.'

'Right,' Asriel agrees. 'So... where are we going? I don't see any humans around here.'

'Down there,' Chara says. She takes control of their body temporarily, and points to the field of golden flowers in the distance. 'That's my village.'

'Wow... that's a long ways away,' Asriel notes, sounding a little bit intimidated.

'Are you wishing that you had those rainbow wings, Mr. ABSOLUTE GOD of HYPERDEATH?' Chara asks teasingly.

'H-Hey! Chara!'

Chara laughs from within the confines of their shared mind, her voice echoing throughout whatever space her soul occupies.

'But anyway, if you want, I can take control for a while. I know the way, after all,' Chara offers.

'Sure. When you get tired, though, make sure you tell me, okay? I don't want you to have to do all the work by yourself.'

'Got it,' Chara says. She smiles as she takes full control of their shared body, and starts on the long journey down the mountain. She can't wait to see the looks on their faces...

***

A few yards away from the village, Chara stops, and switches control back over to Asriel. The two of them are still in the line of trees that divides the flower meadow (and the town) from the rest of the forest, so they're reasonably well hidden as they stop to examine their intended target.

It's pretty busy, for some reason. People are hurrying back and forth between houses with the fervor of ants marching back and forth between their nest and a fallen apple. Judging by the leaves changing on the trees, you'd say it might have something to do with harvest season. (But psht, what do you know? You're not a farmer.)

'Wow... there sure are a lot of them,' Asriel says, a hint of fear in his mental voice. 'For some reason, I always thought that there were more monsters than humans.'

His grip on the tree in front of him tightens, and his teeth clench.

'Am I... am I really going to have to fight them, Chara?' he asks.

'...Yeah,' she replies softly. She knows that Asriel doesn't want to do this, and she doesn't want to have to force him, but... she can't just give up, either. She gave up everything for this. She died for this—to free the monsters, and to see terror splayed across her tormentors' faces at the sight of a real monster. 'I know you don't want to, Asriel... but it's the only way. You know that.'

'Yeah...' he says reluctantly. 'I know.'

'Hey, look on the bright side,' Chara says. 'You can try out your new magic! I can tell that it's strong—the determination from my soul, mixed with the magic from yours... it's a really powerful combination.'

'I guess I am kind of curious to see what we can do,' Asriel admits.

'Well then... let's go!' Chara exclaims. 'If we do it quickly enough, we can get six souls and then leave before they regroup—a surprise attack!'

'R-right!'

Asriel grits his teeth, and steps out into the clearing. For a moment, nobody notices him. He walks out among the flowers, and crouches down.

'You said you wanted to be with the flowers, right Chara?' he asks.

Chara is silent for a moment. You think... that she might be crying.

'...Yeah,' she says quietly. 'Thanks, Asriel.'

Asriel smiles to himself. Those few words from Chara made the whole trip worth it. Even if they don't succeed, and they if they don't end up breaking the barrier... at least he made his beloved sister happy.

Suddenly, a scream resounds through the village. Asriel's head shoots up, fear echoing throughout his soul. A young woman is staring at him, her eyes wide with horror. As Asriel makes eye contact, her arms begin to shake uncontrollably. The basket that she'd been carrying tumbles out of her hands, its freshly picked contents rolling along the ground.

"M-Monster!" she screams again, scrambling back. "Monster!"

Every pair of eyes in the village turn to Asriel, filled with nothing but blind fear. For a moment... everyone is completely frozen, shocked at the sudden appearance of a monster so close to their homes.

'Asriel, now's your chance!' Chara exclaims. 'While they're stunned!'

Asriel, however, isn't listening to Chara. He's not even paying attention to the scared and slowly shifting gazes of the humans. Instead, he's looking at something in the back of the village. There are two children—a boy and a girl, about the same age as Asriel and Chara. Unlike the rest of their kin, they seem more curious than afraid. They watch Asriel with wondrous eyes, and one of them—the little girl—even waves to him. This takes Asriel aback, and... he starts to have second thoughts.

'Ch-Chara,' he stammers. 'I thought you said... that they were evil.'

'They are, Asriel!' Chara exclaims. 'Hurry, before they—'

She's too late. The nearest human, an older man, notices Chara's body laying among the flowers. The fear in his eyes is instantly wiped out, to be replaced by a blaze of anger. Without so much as a word, he reaches for his weapon—a musket, leaning precariously against his front door.

He lifts it, and takes careful aim...

'Asriel, look out—'

He fires, shooting Asriel clean through the shoulder. Asriel rears back and cries out, clutching at his new wound.

'Asriel, are you okay?!' Chara shrieks.

Asriel doesn't answer. He's too focused on the activities of the rest of the village.

With that first shot, the other humans are awoken from their haze of shock. The men of the group go for their guns, and the women shrink back, pushing their children behind them. Their judgmental stares, however, are just as damaging as their husbands' weapons.

Asriel quickly scoops up Chara's body and stands up, slowly backing up towards the trees. He doesn't get very far. The sound of leaves crunching under the feet of several people emanates from the woods behind them, and you can hear muffled shouts coming from the same direction.

They're surrounded.

'Asriel... they're dangerous,' Chara warns. 'If you don't do something quickly... this could get bad. Really bad.'

Asriel still doesn't answer. He's trembling ever so slightly, fear completely encompassing his mind. However, even though there are several guns trained directly at him... it's not his wellbeing that he's worried about. His gaze is still trained on the two children. Their mother had joined them, and everything that she's doing... the way that she's protecting them, the quiet assurance in her voice, her cautious glances in his direction... they remind him of his own mother.

These aren't just nameless, mindless humans. These are people. People just like Chara, and just like... just like the monsters. They may look different, but the two races act so similarly... They're only attacking him because they're scared, that's all. He knows that he has to kill six of them to free the rest of his kind, but... he just can't bring himself to do it.

And Chara can sense it.

'Asriel, what are you doing?!' she cries. 'We had a plan, remember?! It's too late to turn back now!'

The humans in the forest burst out of the trees behind Asriel, forcing him to move closer to the village. They're corralling him.

'Ch-Chara... I can't. They're just like us,' he murmurs.

Just then, one of the humans shouts something. From so far away, you can't make out what it is. Moments later, every single man in the group cocks their gun, and looks down the barrel.

'No, they're not, Asriel!' Chara exclaims. 'Look, they're about to attack you!'

'I won't kill them, Chara!'

'I thought you said that you trusted me! I thought you said that you didn't doubt me! Was that all a lie?!'

'No, Chara! No! I do trust you! I believe you when you say that they were horrible to you, but there are still innocents among them, Chara—just look over there! Those kids are just like us!'

The man that called out before says something else. He seems to be calling the shots. ...Wow. Now isn't the time to be making puns. But anyway, the men are taking careful aim, and their fingers are tightening against the triggers.

'Asriel, I died to free all of you!' Chara exclaims. 'Are you really just going to throw away my sacrifice like that?!'

Asriel goes silent. The world almost seems to move in slow motion as the men fire their guns, bullets flying through the air as though it were made of syrup. He sighs, and stares down at the ground.

'Chara... I just can't,' he says. 'I can't kill them.'

'But... if you don't... they'll kill you.'

'Remember what you said about us monsters, Chara? That we're good, and kind, and merciful?'

'...I remember.'

'If I were to kill these people... I wouldn't... I wouldn't be that anymore, would I?'

'Asriel,' Chara protests, her voice breaking. 'They deserve it! They killed me, Asriel. It was what they did to me that made me kill myself!'

'I'm sorry, Chara.'

The bullets hit. Asriel's fragile magic-made body can't handle the force of so many bullets at once, and it starts to deteriorate. Still, though, Asriel doesn't fight.

'Asriel, they're killing you!' Chara screams. 'Fight back! Fight back, or you'll die!'

The commander says something else, and another spray of bullets rushes in Asriel's direction. Asriel cries out when they make their mark, but he still doesn't do anything to end it. He just clutches Chara's body closer to him, his teeth gritted.

'Asriel, you promised!'

More bullets.

'Asriel, you're dying! You have to fight back!'

Yet another round of bullets.

'Asriel... please...' Chara cries, her voice weak. If she still had a physical body, she would undoubtedly have tears streaming down her face. 'I don't want to die again...'

Asriel turns and starts back towards the mountain, dust starting to form at the edges of his body. It flies off of him as he walks, hanging in the air long after he passes by. The humans that would have blocked his retreat shrink back as he approaches, unintentionally allowing him to pass.

'Asriel... I don't want to go back,' Chara whispers.

Each of Asriel's breaths is a struggle, and he can hardly put one foot in front of the other. He keeps going, though. Seeing him retreat, the humans stop firing. They're looking on in confusion, wondering why the monster didn't try to defend itself.

'I did this for you, Asriel. You deserve to live up here.'

Through the trees, Asriel spots a child. It's the girl from before. She'd somehow managed to get away from her mother, and is now watching Asriel with a concerned look on her face. The sight of it warms Asriel heart, and it further cements his decision. He was right to spare them. They don't deserve to die.

'I... just wanted to do something right for once...'

Asriel pauses next to the girl, and looks down at her with a tender expression on his face. She stares up at him, her bright blue eyes shining in the light that filters through the trees. It's at that moment that Chara breaks completely.

'You care more about them... those... those demons... than you do about me,' she says numbly. '...I suppose that's to your credit. I'm nothing but a buttercup, after all.'

Asriel doesn't answer.

'I don't need you. I don't need anyone. I'll break the barrier on my own,' Chara mutters. 'I'll set the monsters free. That will fix everything. The world will right itself if I free the monsters.'

You don't understand her logic. Maybe, at this point... logic doesn't even matter to her anymore. Even in death, you're still connected to her soul. And Asriel's refusal, no matter how well intentioned it was... is making that already battered soul break completely.

*Chara is filled... with DETERMINATION*

Chara screams, all of her conflicting emotions combining into a single desperate cry of agony. And with that... everything goes dark. Chara has somehow separated herself from Asriel. You can't feel the young goat monster's soul anymore. His thoughts are completely gone from your head, and his presence seems to be infinitely far away... Chara's soul must be floating helplessly in the middle of the forest. You can't think of any other explanation for this sudden... loneliness.

Then, you can feel someone's hands on you. Chara perks up considerably, and chuckles to herself. Whatever's happening... it's exactly what she wanted. Suddenly, there's a rush of movement, and you find yourself facing... a soul. You're not entirely sure what's going on. Blackness is everywhere, and there's nothing else here except for the two souls. One of them is Chara's. The other... the other you don't recognize.

It's a small, pale pink soul. However, that's not what commands your attention. No. It's the small, barely visible crack that runs down its center that worries you. You can see the barest traces of silver from inside it, but the crack isn't wide enough for the little soul to lose its determination. Chara chuckles, her voice resounding throughout the black space.

"...Perfect," she purrs. Her soul squares up from its place facing the pink soul, and then... it rushes towards it, heading straight for the crack on its surface. When she makes contact, the pink soul flinches, and seems to be trying to fight back... but it doesn't work. Chara's soul stretches itself into a shape not unlike a snake, and worms its way into the damaged soul...

Chara gasps, and her eyes shoot open. She's laying on her back, the leaves of the trees swaying gently in their place high above her. She blinks for a moment, somewhat disoriented. Then she smiles, the movement feeling foreign on her face after her time without a body. She raises her hands, and examines them closely, turning them so they catch the light. Wait... but that's not right. Chara's... dead, right? How does she have hands? How is she alive?

Then you notice... that those aren't her hands. They're too tan, and callous.

"It worked," she murmurs to herself. "I did it."

From somewhere deep inside of her... a soul is in pain. It's crying out, but can't seem to find a way to express itself. Their body stays completely silent.

Oh my god... you think, horrified. She... did she... but she wouldn't, would she? After everything she's been through, surely she wouldn't...

"Well... I'm not dead, so I guess it worked," she mumbles to herself. "That was really risky—if I were wrong, my soul would've shattered. I guess it really is possible for a human to possess another human."

...Just like she did to Frisk.

Chara smiles and sits up, her now-amber hair falling around her face. Her smile falls, however, when she sees Asriel lumbering away in the distance, his form still slowly turning to dust.

"...Asriel," she whispers.

And then... just when everything was starting to get good... everything fades... to black.

~Void~

You gasp, your mind whirling as you suddenly find yourself back in your own body. You're still standing, but the moment that you come back to yourself, you legs turn into glorified noodles, and you fall to your knees. It feels like it's been an eternity since you've been yourself, and so your motor skills have taken a temporary turn for the worse.

You heave as you struggle to catch your breath, your chest—and, by extension, your soul—feeling tight after so much time spent in perfect sync with Chara's own soul. Your soul isn't in front of you anymore, and has returned to its relatively safe position within you.

That... was intense, you think, still somewhat discombobulated. I... She... I don't...

You would have continued to try and gather your thoughts, but you're caught off guard by a... a vaguely familiar, but entirely unexpected sound. Sobbing.

You look up, and find that Chara is in a similar position to you, on her hands and knees with her head lowered. Her hair forms a curtain around her face, but that doesn't do anything to hide the fact that she was the sound's source—you can see her tears falling to the void's non-existent floor.

"Do... do you really want to know me that badly?" she asks quietly. Her hands curl into fists, and before you can say anything, she emits a harsh laugh. "Do you really want to know my whole life story... so badly?"

She starts shaking, and her tears fall at an even faster rate.

"Chara..." you murmur. "I... I want to understand you, that's all."

"You want... to understand me?" she asks, her voice icy cold. "Hah. What a joke. No one can understand me."

"I... I think I was in your memories just now. I saw—"

"I know what you saw!" she shouts. Her head shoots up to look at you, and her entire face is wet with sweat and tears. Her eyes are red—and you don't just mean her irises. They're blood shot and strained, as if she'd managed to cry an entire river in the time that you'd been in her memories. "You made me relive it all! Every. Fucking. Moment!"

Your heart skips a beat. She'd... she'd been there too? That whole time? And if she had to relive everything... oh god. The physical pain that you must have put her through was... and then there was the emotional scarring... oh god. What have you done?

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know that you'd—"

"Save it," she spits. "I don't want your pity."

Chara staggers to her feet, tears still silently slipping down her ghostly cheeks. She seems dizzy, because she stumbles, before just as quickly catching herself.

"But... all you've went through... I..."

"I said SAVE IT!" she screams. Her eyes go completely black—blacker than the abyss around her. She doesn't stop crying, though. Black tears spill down her face, leaving mascara-like trails wherever they go. ...It reminds you of that painting she made. "I don't need you, and I don't need anyone!"

"But..."

"Shut UP!"

A knife materializes in her hand, and she lunges at you. You screw your eyes shut, and await the inevitable feeling of cold steel against your flesh. But... it doesn't happen. You cautiously open one eye. She's standing nearly a foot away from you, the hand holding her knife shaking uncontrollably. She sniffs, and then... drops the knife. Chara follows soon after, dropping to her knees again.

Her blackened eyes are dead as she stares at you, unfeeling. She doesn't so much as blink. You cautiously reach out to her, thinking that this might be your chance to finally get through to her... but before you can, she disappears into thin air, before reappearing a few feet further away. Just far enough that she's out of your reach.

"I... I could hear you, you know," she says dully. "Your thoughts. Your feelings... your soul."

You don't say anything, knowing that doing so might trigger her again. She falls silent for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts.

"You don't understand. I'm not some poor innocent child that went insane," she says. "I chose this. I chose to be like this. Everything was my fault, in the end."

"But if you hadn't had to go through all of that... you wouldn't have made those choices," you point out, daring to voice your opinion. "While I agree that you aren't blameless, you can't exactly say it's all your fault, either."

"...You haven't heard the rest of the story," she mutters. She looks at you, not so much as a drop of emotion in those black eyes of hers. "When I took over that girl's body... I went back to the village. I integrated myself with the locals, pretending to be her. It was easy. She was just a kid. No one really paid much attention to her. Do you know what the crack on her soul was caused by? Neglect. Her parents would go for days without remembering to feed her. They had four other kids to care for, and she sometimes just... faded into the background. That was lucky for me, though. It was that crack that allowed me to enter, and her neglect kept the others from noticing that anything was wrong.

"That's how I took over all of my hosts. I can't take over a person's body unless their soul is broken in some way—unless they've been hurt, and need something to fill up the gaps left behind," she explains. "I fill them. They would fight against me for a while, but eventually... they'd go comatose, and I wouldn't have to worry about them anymore. Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?"

"I wanted to break the barrier. It was a stupid, stupid goal... but it was what kept me going. So, I came up with a plan. I would find a child in the village with a pure, unblemished soul... a powerful soul... and give them to the monsters. I would take them up Mount Ebott, and push them into the abyss," she says. "The monsters would find them, and at least one of them would kill them for their soul. Like Asriel said... not all monsters are good. Someone would be selfish, and take the child's life for the good of the kingdom."

"I didn't do it all at once, though. The villagers would realize what I was doing, and kill me on the spot. So... I bided my time. Every fifty years, I would take one child, and lure them up Mt. Ebott, in order to give them to the monsters. When my host grew too old, I would find another hurt, broken child, and fill the gaps in their soul," she continues. "The strange disappearances didn't go unnoticed, though. The locals eventually put two and two together over the years, and associated Mt. Ebott with the disappearances. You know the saying: 'Those that climb the mountain never return.' Even though monsters and the war faded away into legend, that saying remained, being imprinted in the minds and hearts of those villagers' children... and their children's children..."

"Charlotte was my tenth or so reincarnation. I took her over when she was just a toddler," she says. "Then I met you. Your soul was one of the brightest that I'd ever seen, and I decided that you'd make a perfect fifth soul. That's why I made friends with you. But then... you introduced me to your brother. Your soul is powerful, but your brother's... well... it was even more so. I continued being your friend in order to get close to him, and wait for the perfect opportunity to bring him to Mt. Ebott. It came on that day when you asked me to pick him up for you."

Chara chuckles, her brow furrowing.

"That was the first time that I'd ever felt... conflicted... about the task that I'd assigned myself. Your brother... he was so sweet, and in some ways, he reminded me of As—of my own brother. But I moved past my conflict easily enough. I only had one goal, and that was to break the barrier. Nothing else mattered. That was the only reason that I existed. My determination to free the monsters is what kept my soul from breaking completely."

"And so... I lured him up Mt. Ebott. It was easy enough to trick him into following me—he was a brave soul, and he loved you more than anything else in the whole world. All I had to say was that you'd gotten lost in the woods, and he practically ran all the way there himself, raring to go save you," she says. "But that isn't to say that he was dumb. He figured out pretty quickly that something was wrong. He tried to run. I didn't have any choice, and I... killed him. That was the first time I'd ever done that—killed somebody, I mean."

"It felt so... so good. I felt so powerful, and in control... something that I'd never felt before in my entire life. No matter what happened to me, it was never by my choice. But being able to end someone's life like that..."

Chara sighs, a happy smile crossing her face.

"Finally, after hundreds of years... I was finally the one in control," she says. "And then... I came by a realization. I didn't need to break the barrier. Why should I? Why should I work so hard to free someone that abandoned me, just like everyone else had? They didn't deserve it. And if the monsters don't deserve it... then no one does. This whole world is dead. It's rotten, and dying."

"But... the deed had already been done. I'd killed Justin. And so, I figured I might as well deliver his soul. The problem was that his soul wasn't appearing. He wasn't quite dead yet. So, I dragged his corpse up the mountain with me. When his soul eventually appeared, I took it, and went into the Ebott Caves with it," she continues. "I went to drop it into the abyss, but I tripped on a vine, and fell in. My host landed head first, killing her instantly. I was immediately ejected from her body, and I eventually found myself back in my own... somehow. Toriel buried my body underneath the opening of the abyss, and I guess I was forced back into it. Charlotte and Justin's souls became the fifth and sixth souls to enter the Underground, albeit dead."

"I'd been foiled at the last moment. All I needed was one more soul, but now I was trapped in my dead body, and slowly going comatose. Luckily for me... I didn't have to lure the seventh human here. Frisk fell in all on her own," she says. "That didn't help me, though. Most of the time, her soul was completely whole. Untouchable. I can't infiltrate a soul if the door isn't left open to me. But then... she reset. I had no idea what was going on, at first. But then as it happened again... and again... I got an idea."

"I could use her resets to my own advantage. I didn't care about breaking the barrier anymore. But if I could take over Frisk somehow, I could get her to kill. Not only would that be a huge stress reliever, but I could absorb a monster soul. ...Or a few hundred. I could vaguely remember the power that had flowed through the fused body of me and Asriel, and I wanted to feel that again. If I had enough power... I could end everything. Nobody deserves to live. The pain that everyone causes each other is just making the world into a cesspool of misery. Instead of freeing the monsters... I could save everyone, monster and human alike."

"So, the next time that she reset... I reached out to her, and I told her something. I told her that the monsters are evil and bloodthirsty, just like the legends claim. I scared her enough that she went out... and killed the first monster that came across. The act of killing caused her soul to fracture, just like I'd intended. And... I slipped inside."

"I would cross the Underworld, killing and growing stronger. Every time I neared my goal, though... that comedian would always thwart me at the last moment. Even though he'd lost everything, and everyone that he loved was gone... he still stood against me, assuming that I meant the world harm. Hah. No. I want to take the seven souls, and erase everything. Then, finally, we can all be at peace."

Chara hesitates, and stares you straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you. Really, I am," she says. "I never meant to hurt you. It was just a side effect of what had to be done. It was the only way."

You feel as if you've been turned to ice. After seeing her memories, you'd started to empathize with her. You'd thought that she was just a poor, abused child that had unintentionally gone down the wrong path. But now, listening to her talk about all of this so calmly... it's making you second guess yourself.

This whole "seven soul" thing... it was by design. It wasn't just an accident that the kids had fallen into the Underground. It had all been Chara. All along, she had been pulling the strings. She'd basically shepherded six children to their dooms, and then took over Frisk to gain the power to destroy the world.

But even as you say that, you can still see the poor little four-year-old girl sitting in a cellar, all alone in the darkness.

...You don't know what to believe anymore.

"(Y/N)... please, you know what it's like," she says. "You've been through a lot. I know you have—when your soul connected with mine... I saw a few of your memories."

"You were abandoned, just like I was. Your parents killed themselves without so much as thinking about the situation that put you in," she says. "I saw all of those years that you were on your own in that cabin, trying to take care of frisk the best that you could."

You look away, unwilling to maintain eye contact with Chara. You don't want to reminded of that. You'd tried to make do with what you had, but you were still just a minor. Between dodging the child protective services and trying to make ends meet without a job... times were hard. You had to put up with depression and crippling loneliness, all the while keeping up a front for Frisk.

"This world is marred beyond repair, (Y/N)," she presses, seeing your hesitation. "With your soul, we could end all of this. No one would ever have to feel the way we do—never again. Everything could be wiped clean, and we could raise a new, better world from the ashes. Join me, and we can set everything right."

For a moment... you're tempted. One of your biggest fears is that Frisk will end up like you did. Desperate, alone, and holding a gun in her hand. But... she's ignoring all the good in this world. Frisk is one example. And Papyrus...

"Chara..." you say. "I won't."

She stares at you, a look of complete disbelief on her face.

"You... won't?" she echoes. "How... interesting."

You're about to explain why, but she doesn't give you the chance. She stands in one fluid motion, her eyes still dripping with that strange black fluid. Her knife appears in her hand, and she takes a slow step towards you.

"Well... then there's no reason for you to be here, is there?"

"Ch-Chara!" you exclaim, taking a step back. "Please, just listen to me. You're right! I am a lot like you. I can't possibly understand the depths of your pain, but I can at least say that I've been in a similar position. I've been where you are. I... I can help—"

"You just don't listen, do you?" she asks quietly. "I don't want your help. I don't need your help. I've put my trust in others before, and do you see where it led me?"

She takes another step towards you.

"What about Asriel, Chara?" you ask.

"...Asriel?" she echoes, cocking her head to the side. "What about him? In the end, he was just like everyone else. I loved him like a brother. I died for him. And what did he do? He chose them over me."

"That's not—"

"What, that's not true? Of course it is. What else would you call it then, oh wise one?"

...You can't think of anything to say.

Chara takes another step forward, running her knife across her fingertips.

"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life. You know that, don't you? You're the only person that's standing between me, and my goals. If you won't give me your soul willingly..."

She suddenly disappears, only to reappear directly in front of you. One of her arms wraps around your back and draws you in, while the other holds her knife against your throat. You would gasp in surprise, but you can feel the blade cutting into your skin with even your slight breaths.

"...I'll just have to take it from you, old friend~"

You hold your breath, your heart beating a mile a minute as fear slowly encompasses your soul. You both know that she can't really take your soul. Not when she's here, in the void... but that doesn't mean that you're happy with the idea of having your throat slit.

Suddenly, a garbled voice resounds through the void. You... recognize it. But for the life of you... you just can't place it. It's like your brain is searching for a memory that no longer exists. Error 404. Chara growls under her breath and presses the knife closer to your throat, a look of distain on her face.

"The old man doesn't like it when I mess with you," she mutters. "Oh well. I guess I'm going to have to cut our little conversation short."

The knife bites deeper into your throat, and you gurgle pathetically as blood rushes out of it.

"But don't mistake this as mercy, (Y/N)," she whispers. "This isn't over. You'd better watch your back from now on—I may not let you off so easily next time."

And with that, she forces her knife clean through your neck, completely decapitating you. There's a scary moment where you're looking at the world from upside-down... but then everything flashes red, and you wake up in your bed, drenched in a cold sweat, and heart racing a mile-a-minute.

Author's Note #2

Mwah ha ha. What do you think, oh readers of mine? It wasn't an accident that the six children fell into the Underground. It was all by design... all part of the grand plan. :P

But anyway, I've got a lot to say this time. Firstly... I have a Patreon account now! Yaaay! If any of you ever feel like supporting me, you can go check it out here: https://www.patreon.com/Zana_B_Sparrows.

Every little bit counts. (Oh, but don't worry. I also accept payment in pats in the back and well thought out comments. I love you guys. XD)

Secondly, there's going to be a new update schedule. It was effect these last few weeks, but I guess I forgot to make a note of it. So, I have a month left before school starts. And... I have three AP assignments I have to finish by then. So, being the responsible student that I am... I'm going to be alternating between writing and doing my AP lit + APUSH homework. So, you can expect new chapters every 2-3 weeks. (Sorry about that guys.)

Oh! And some of you more perceptive readers may have noticed that I changed the over world golden flowers from "buttercups" to "Gorse flowers. That's because the golden flowers only appear in the Underground once Asriel returns from the surface, and so it can't be buttercups. (You can read more on it here (http://undertale.wikia.com/wiki/Golden_Flowers) if you want. It's kinda interesting to note.)

Also, MGE and WTSM will be conjoining soon, so you should start reading MGE if you haven't already. It will become plot important in the future, so you can consider it as an official chapter/chapters of WTSM. (Or you can wait until the point that they conjoin, I guess, but MGE is starting to get kind of long, and it's still in progress, so it'd probably be wise to start now.)

That's it for right now, guys! I will have an important announcement coming out soon, so keep an eye out for that—it will be in the next update of WTSM. I would include it here, but I think the chapter is long enough as it is. It's 55 pages, guys. Wow. That's impressive, even for me.

Until next time~