As Frisk continued to run with Papyrus by his side, they came across the castle that Asgore supposedly still visits. As the two walked inside, they couldn't help but take a look at everything around them. They wanted to see if there were any evidence that this was indeed where Asgore had taken the young boy. The more they looked, the more they felt sure that they were in the wrong place until Papyrus noticed something on the ground.
"Human, look at this," he called out as he carefully picked one of the yellow flowers. The yellow flower was stained red with blood and was covered in a bit of dust. Just looking at it, Papyrus couldn't help but think the worst. "What if... What if it's too late for him? What if Asgore is... Gone too?"
Frisk took a look at the flower, trying his best to stay positive even with the evidence right in front of him. He didn't want to think that his dad, Asgore, was gone. He didn't want to think that his friend, Chara, was responsible for all of this. It wasn't until he noticed something shine in the corner of the room, He slowly walked over to it, letting Papyrus watch him as he found Chara's locket lying on the floor.
"What do you mean?" Papyrus asked. With one look at the locket, he could see why it was something that Chara would keep with him, but it made him wonder what had happened to make him leave it behind. After all, seeing something that the boy treasured so much made that monster seem more human. It let him know that no matter what Chara did, Chara was still just a little boy who was all alone in the world. Was it really possible that Chara could have really forgotten it? "Maybe he just dropped it? Chara might not have noticed that he lost it, but maybe we should bring it back to him."
Frisk shook his head no. "Not possible. Whenever Chara gets uncomfortable, he holds onto it, so he wouldn't just get rid of it like this." He started to think of how Chara looks at it, how it gives him comfort when things just weren't going right for him. "You're right about that, Papyrus. We definitely do need to get this back to him. It's the only way we can get him to be himself again."
Papyrus shook his head no. "My brother told me to stay away from him. Chara is dangerous and could do something murderous if I'm there. I know he needs help, but the great Papyrus is scared."
"Papy, it's okay to be scared. I am too, but Chara needs me. He needs someone to save him before he's lost forever. Don't you think that Chara deserves to be saved too?"
As if he had to think about it, Papyrus nodded before giving him a little smile. "You're right. We shouldn't abandon him right now. Especially when he needs help from the only royal guard member. Thank you, human. Let's go save Chara!"
As the two walked off again, they remained silent until they were out of the castle, wanting to pay their respects to the fallen king. Of course, they were upset about Asgore, but no matter how much they warn the monsters never to separate them, it always happens.
Meanwhile...
"Hello everybody, did you miss me?" Chara asked as he walked into Alphys's lab. Undyne, Alphys, and Toriel looked over at the sudden entrance, shocked to see him in the condition Chara was in. His eyes were glowing red behind his messy hair. His arms and legs were covered in cuts and bruises from his last fight, making him look wild. "I thought I would stop by and play with you for a while."
"Alphys, get behind me." Undyne, without a second thought, pushed her girlfriend behind her before looking over at Toriel. "Toriel, please don't go near him. That thing isn't him."
Toriel shook her head no. "You're right. That's not my Chara, but the boy is mine. Monster, release my child. Let Chara live in peace!"
Chara turned his eyes on her, a crazed smile on his face as he said, "I am the monster, mom. This is how it is always going to be." Raising the knife in his hand, he took a step forward. "I'm happy just like this. Now, won't you come play with me? Without Frisk around, it's really boring."
"Don't you dare leave a mark on her! Toriel, take Alphys and go! Call Mettaton here!" Undyne shouted, hoping to get through to her. It wasn't a secret to any of them that Chara was dangerous, but it was more like Toriel needed to give up on him to save herself. She wouldn't be able to help anyone if she dies here. "What are you waiting for?! Go!"
Chara couldn't help but giggle at the monsters, thinking it was cute of them to try to run away. "Yes, run away for now. It will make this game much more interesting if I have to find you."
When Toriel tried to get closer to him, he held his knife up threateningly, making her step back. "Chara, please. I know you want to be good, but this isn't the way. I want to help you be you again! Fight this monster. You have always been so strong, so please do this for me. I need you to be strong for me."
"Are you done? Sorry to tell you this, goat lady, but Chara's not in right now. He's gone." Chara closed his eyes, letting the strange black substance take over. "It's just me now."
"Who are you?" Toriel asked, wanting to know what was going on with him. Chara had always been a strong and lovable child, so it was still hard to believe that Chara had this inside him the entire time. What caused this thing to grow? Where is her son? "Give me my child! You have no right to take him away like this!"
Chara's black eyes went to her, a frown coming across his face. "Shut up! I go by many names, but for now, just call me Player. After all, this is one big game." With that, the smile that was once on his face returned. "I was the one telling Chara to do all those things. I was responsible for every kill he has ever done. Tell me, didn't any of you find it strange that the first child to have ever fallen down here went from being the monsters hope to the true destruction? You all blamed Chara, when everything he has ever done from the time we were awaken was because of me."
"Why would you do that to him?!" Toriel called out. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This entire time, her child was not fully in control. It shouldn't surprise her, especially after everything they've gone through. "Release him this instant!"
"Or what? You going to kill me? Let's face it. As long as I have Chara, you can't get rid of me forever. I will come back, and I will be the one to kill all of you. Alphys, I imagine that you are going to try to save the other monsters by now, so run along. As for you, goat lady, the only reason why you haven't joined your friends in their graves yet was due to the fact that Chara made a promise to Frisk to spare you, but you're starting to get very annoying."
Undyne couldn't risk it anymore, she pushed her girlfriend towards the door, giving her a good start on running before jumping in front of Toriel. Chara attacked, taking this moment as a chance to end Undyne, or at least start the battle. He knew all about Undyne the Undying, and was excited to see that form again.
With that, Toriel became determined to help her fight, not caring that it could be dangerous for her. As long as Alphys can rescue some monsters, they can all escape to upper ground. The humans can protect them if needed.
As they fought, they couldn't help but notice that Chara knew what to expect from them. With each attack, he carefully dodged them, that is until one hit his knee. Toriel's attack hit his knee, causing him to fall down as he looked his injury over quickly. It was bleeding, but to him, it was just a scratch. It was another addition to his previous cuts and bruises.
That's when the monster decided to use Toriel's kindness against her. He made a show as if Chara was fighting him, dropping the knife and clutching his head. He let the boy take control of one eye, the girls watching as the eye returned to it's normal color.
"H-hurry! I-I can't hold him off much longer!" Chara called out, begging the girls to kill him. "Ki-kill me! Please!" The monster knew that Toriel wasn't capable of killing anyone. She was too kind hearted for that to ever happen. Especially when it comes to the human children she loves so much. "De-destroy me, so I c-can't come back. Pl-please!"
Tears came to Toriel's eyes as she saw Undyne ready to give the final blow. As soon as she saw the attack, Toriel couldn't help but jump in front of Chara, wrapping her arms around him to shield him. She fired her own attack to deflect it, but the moment she looked away, she soon felt the edge of a sharp knife enter her body. As Toriel looked down at the boy in her arms, any hint of Chara being there with them was gone inside those endless black eyes. She knew that Chara was aware of everything he was doing because deep within those dark eyes, there was a hint of sadness inside him. A tear formed in his right eye as he stared back at her, despite the monster's efforts to hide Chara away. It was the only sign that Toriel could actually see that let her know that Chara was not trying to do this to her. Chara did not want to see her die.
"Good night, mom. Let's play again sometime, okay?" Chara said as he let his tears fall on her face. He couldn't help but watch as she weakly wiped them away. He supported the woman he considered his mother in his arms carefully, not wanting to hurt her anymore as a last bit of mercy. She was a dying woman, and for Chara's sake, player would not hurt her anymore.
"I l-love y-you, my child." With those words as her last, Undyne watched in horror and grief as the woman who was once the queen turned into a pile of dust. Chara stared at the woman as she quickly dissolved away, watching as the dust blew away in the wind. Undyne's anger for not being able to save another soul was too much as she rapidly started attacking him once again.
Blinded by hatred, it wasn't long until even Undyne fell victim to the boy's knife. Her attacks left Chara weak, his hp only at 5. Not only that, but all the fighting made him kind of tired. He fought and killed three monsters all in one day.
Just as he sat down against a wall, he allowed himself, if only for a little bit, to rest. The monster could hear Chara's cries, demanding that he be freed, in his head, but chose to ignore them. After all, everything that happens here is all Chara's fault. Chara was the evil one.
"Hu-human! Look over there!" a familiar voice shouted, stirring Chara awake. He yawned before looking over at the larger skeleton walking over to him. For a second, he had forgotten where he was but as he scanned the room, it quickly came back to him. He had just taken down three of the strongest monsters here. "I found the other human! Oh boy, he seems to be hurt."
There, right behind him, was Frisk running towards him with determination clearly written on his face. He had no idea what on earth Chara had done, but it wasn't like it was hard to guess. Their clothes littered the ground around him, and yet, Frisk still comes back to him.
"Chara, what happened? Are you okay?" Papyrus asked as he kept his distance from the other boy. If he were to get any closer to Chara, Frisk would be by his side. Standing up now, Chara flashed a smile as he met Papyrus's gaze. His eyes once again empty to let them know that Chara was trapped. "Chara?"
Chara grabbed his knife, taking steps closer and closer to Papyrus. Papyrus got nervous about this and began backing away from him as he said, "you can still be good, Chara. I-I forgive you for hurting everyone. I know it wasn't your fault."
"Papyrus, run! Chara isn't in control!" Frisk shouted as he jumped in front of his skelebro. He stood protectively in front of his friend, not turning his back on Chara. He couldn't trust this monster that was currently running the show. "Hurry! I'll try to knock some sense into him. Go!"
With that, Papyrus took off running, very frightened, hoping to find someone that could help them. His words didn't reach the killer like he would have liked, but since there was no point in trying to save him anymore, he came up with his own conclusion. He would have to be the one to finish what Asgore asked him to do. He would be the one to avenge his brother and the other monsters. He, the great Papyrus, would be the savior the underground needs right now. If only he could gather the remainder of his courage to stand up to him.
"Chara, please stop this. You don't want to do this," Frisk told him, holding his arms out as if to block his path. No matter how Chara tried to get past him, he wouldn't let him catch up to Papyrus. He would buy him time to get out of here safely for as long as papy needed him too. "I know how much you've tried to change. Don't throw it away like this. Let me help you save yourself."
"I will throw everything away if i have to to get Chara back to his usual self again." Chara says as he swings his knife at his friend, silently wishing he would get out of the way. It was obvious to the both of them that Chara, the real Chara, didn't want to hurt his friend, but the monster inside him didn't care about Frisk. The darkness that wouldn't go away forced his body to attack, aiming to kill Frisk with every strike. "Let's face it, you idiot. He can never be saved. Chara is destined to walk this bloody path I chose for him alone, and he's fine with that. In fact, he rather enjoys it. Do you want to know what Chara really thinks of you deep inside? He thinks you're nothing but a useless crybaby, who needs his friends around to keep him from doing the things he has done."
Frisk shakes his head, not believing in those words leaving his friend's mouth. "Chara may be mean and scary, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him. I've told him before that I'll always be there for him. He can call me whatever he wants to because he's my best friend. He's Chara, being mean and sometimes scary is how he is, and I don't expect that to change completely. But the worst thing I could ever do to my best friend is give up on him."
"You really should reconsider that. Chara isn't coming back because he doesn't want to." He attacked once again, watching as Frisk dodged the attack. He couldn't help but get annoyed by that. One minute, he couldn't even attack Frisk, and the next, Frisk can dodge his attacks without a problem. "Tell you what though, buddy. I'll let you visit him inside his grave!"
As if out of nowhere, Chara stopped his attack only to notice his necklace that he abandoned over at the castle around Frisk. He slowly reached out for it, giving it a short squeeze as if the sight of it reminded him of something. Frisk watched as his friend stared at the necklace around him, opening it up to look at the picture inside before letting it go. He felt the necklace hit his chest lightly as it fell back in place, but Frisk never bothered to look away from the boy.
"Chara, please, stop this. Stop now, before it's too late. You don't want to hurt anyone. You told me yourself." Frisk whispered, hoping to get through to him now. No matter what this monster said to him, Chara was still in there. He just has to reach him and give him the motivation to fight back. "You wanted to live with everyone. Don't give up on that dream. Let's reset this timeline, and start over together."
Chara shook his head no, smiling at Frisk's futile attempt to reach the real Chara. "Never. I finally came so close to eradicating this world to just let you or this stupid brat take it all away. I will move on to the next, with or without you. You had your chance to join me, to become strong enough to stand on your own two feet, but not anymore. Chara may have liked you, but I don't. I don't need any dead weight on my journey."
"Chara, don't!" Chara attacked Frisk once again, watching with a smile as his hp went down. Frisk was so close to being killed. The thought of that filled him with joy, but on the inside, Chara was crying. He wanted to be free. He wanted to drop the knife so badly, but this monster wouldn't let him. Player continued to overpower him. "I love you, Chara. You're like my brother, so please stop this. You're the only one who could beat him! Please, fight back. Don't let this thing keep control!"
Hearing those words made Chara cry out for him, making him want to reach out for his friend. Unfortunately, the monster controlling him only laughed as he pushed Frisk down. He could practically see it. Frisk was using mercy to save him, but the monster was hitting fight. If Chara wanted to save Frisk, he needed to fight back harder than ever before. If not for himself, then for Frisk. He couldn't let his only friend die for him again. He couldn't lose anymore friends this way.
"FRISK!"