Soft Reset

[buttercup_eater]

As everything fades away when they die, coming back to life is like seeing everything fading into existence again.

The first thing they're aware of is light, and that they can see, rather than seeing anything in specific.

The second thing they're aware of is sensation, the weight of their limbs pressing into a smooth, stone surface.

Where are they, exactly?

Chara tries to focus, blinking a few times in the hopes of clearing their vision. An empty stone hallway, rather like the one they last died in, with high windows flooding the area with sunlight.

They take a deep breath and try and push themselves into an upright position, only to be hit with a wave of sudden dizziness and have to flop back onto the floor. Okay, that's not good. What happened?

They can remember their SOUL shattering, and laughing so hard their sides were aching. Sans. Bruises. Blood. Theirs? No, not at first. Chasing the other child down unfamiliar hallways. Messy. No EXP increase, no LV.

No partner.

Chara waits a moment, just in case any input is forthcoming, but even after several minutes they remain alone. Once again, they're going to have to do everything themselves.

They manage to sit up with only a minimal amount of dizziness, then lurch to their feet. Minus the dizziness, it's rather like the last time they died and woke up again.

The knife is nearby, again, and they pick it up, again. Their locket is also still hanging from their neck, and they can still feel it faintly beating. But there's also a strange weight in their pocket, and when they slip a hand inside to check- oh. Right. An... alternative version of their locket, they guess.

Gripping the locket tightly, they set out to find their purpose once again.

[As with Frisk's post, this is set three days after their death.]

Comments

Don't mind me, folks

[sansational]

This is a very bad and dishonest thing he's doing. A very bad, very dishonest, very untrusting thing he's doing to a friend. Sans is aware of all of this.

And yet here he is. Because old habits die hard. And because he really did try, but like hell he was getting any sleep, knowing who Frisk was going to see scant hours after coming back from the dead. And he'd rather have Frisk alive and mad at him than dead.

Besides...if something really does go wrong, if things get beyond his control again, he owes it to Frisk to bear witness.

So Sans is lurking around the corner back the way Frisk had come. He thinks he knows Chara's soul well enough to be ready to pull them away if they make another move. When they make another move. For now, though, he'll just listen.

He wants to hope that maybe it will work, but that was what he thought when Papyrus made this very same attempt.]

stealth stealth

[dustless]

Frisk does not know Sans is there. Normally, they'd at least suspect, but walking through the hallways they were killed in less than what feels like a couple hours ago kind of drove a lot of...everything else out of their mind.

So they don't look back, or anywhere else but at Chara.

...Right. They have no idea what Frisk's name is, do they? Maybe they'll learn it later.

They aim a thumb at their face. "Me. Can we talk?" they ask plainly. "Or...still think this stuff is all my fault?"

[buttercup_eater]

Chara's eyes narrow, looking the other child up and down, their gaze eventually settling on the angry red line on their throat. One would think the other child would be a bit more upset at seeing someone who murdered them. Again, Chara wonders: just what sort of game are they playing here?

But. On the other hand... the other child disappeared pretty early, didn't they? And they have to admit that... From what they saw, the other child wasn't the only one who liked playing games...

"I'll give you thirty seconds to plead your case," Chara announces finally.

[dustless]

They got over that kind of thing a long time ago. They're clearly wary, but they're not afraid. And that wariness isn't entirely for their own benefit.

...It takes Frisk a lot of self-control not to roll their eyes.

"...okay? We're in a weird castle in the sky." They jerk their head towards a window, at sunlight streaming in, a couple clouds drifting close by. "We all just woke up here, no idea who or what did that. There's no SAVE files, not mine or yours. Or Flowey's, I guess. Everyone knows you killed me, and that Sans killed you, 'cause that was three or four days ago. Can show you the graves they gave us, for proof," they add, tapping the scar idly with their pointer finger. "Don't know how exactly to tell you that I didn't do it. Not from the same timeline, only sort of know you."

[buttercup_eater]

Unfortunately, Chara isn't privy yet to this version of the other child's past. They can tell the other child isn't particularly intimidated by them though, which is... annoying.

To Chara's credit, however, they do mean it when they say they'll give the other child a chance to 'plead their case' and they even listen, a bit. The castle being mysterious and in the sky isn't especially useful, and is something they'd already mostly figured out. However, they suppose the kid isn't lying when they say they aren't responsible for their circumstances. They certainly didn't have the power to RESET when Chara stabbed them to death, after all.

"Fine," they say. "I suppose this isn't any more unexpected than any of the other occurrences thus far." Being called out of the grave and conscripted to erase the underground, repeatedly dying and RESETing, all while occupying the body of another child a hundred years after their initial death... Sure, why not add a flying castle and cross over some timelines while they were at it?

"Maybe this is all supposed to be entertainment," they mutter and then, in a more normal tone of voice they address the other child. "You can't have wanted to talk just to pass on this information. What do you want?"

[dustless]

"Maybe." The castle seems weird. And they've noticed some fairy-tale elements to it, even if not quite by name--the candy room and the castle being itself make them think of fantasy stories, after all.

What does Frisk want? Now that they're face-to-face with Chara, some of their thoughts are jumbled.

But not all.

"To ask you stuff. Like...why you wanted to hurt--" Pause. No. There's no need to try to be nice and gentle about it to the person who did it, after all. They continue a bit more firmly, standing straight. "--why you killed everyone. And...why nobody's supposed to say your name."

They suppose the latter has to do with what Sans said Gaster said, but they're also curious about why, until the very end, all of monsterkind never seemed to say 'Chara' outright. They could have a better idea themselves, assuming they actually answer.

[buttercup_eater]

Information in return for information. That makes sense, and Chara opens their mouth to respond- then clamps it shut as they realize they're not entirely sure how to answer the other child's questions.

Why did they kill everyone, or try to?

As far as Chara recalls it's only been a few days at most since they first woke up in the other child's body, but it seems more like a lifetime. Still, they remember being confused at first, passively riding alongside the other child... until that child had started to retreat and suddenly the only person there to hold the knife was Chara...

But the name thing they don't really understand at all, and the other child will actually see Chara's brow furrow as they try and figure it out. "I don't know," they admit. "Who told you that you weren't supposed to say my name?"

[dustless]

For a moment, they look grievously offended. They didn't know why they tried to kill everyone? It's only when Chara continues that their expression smooths out again.

"Who? A few people."

They go back to crossing their arms, resolutely staring forward. If Frisk doesn't get a good answer, then neither will Chara.

[buttercup_eater]

"Wow," Chara says, "Your talent for specifics is astounding. Well then, as far as I can tell, 'a few people' are probably just a bunch of weirdos. Maybe they were just trying to play a weirdo trick on you, who knows?" They shrug in a rather theatrical manner.

...And then they fall silent, chewing on their lip and staring intently at some point over the other child's shoulder. After a bit their gaze drifts back to the other child's face.

"...Right, I still haven't told you why I killed so many people," they say. "I have to admit, it surprises me that you don't seem to have an idea. Didn't we kill anyone in your timeline? That was the whole point of resurrecting me in the first place."

[dustless]

Well, now they're talking a lot more, and more smoothly, than they had at their previous meeting. And before, if Sans told them the truth--and why wouldn't he?

Aaand then Frisk completely fails at the not-rolling-their-eyes thing. "Actually, I know lots of weirdos, and they're mostly pretty cool. Least for better trick-y stuff than that." They wonder if they should be playing up being afraid, suddenly. Underground, they sometimes acted a little to get the monsters to do what they wanted. Granted, what they wanted was generally to be left alone or just not to fight...

Maybe they'll try it later. For now, they're going to keep going on as they are.

"No. Well--" Frisk pauses, rocks back on their feet. That wasn't true. Their voice falls a little bit more, as does their face. "...Asgore, I guess. Didn't kill him with the dagger, but fought him until he had low HP. Then Flowey got him with his bullets. RESET later, 'nd it didn't happen the next time."

'The point'. "...really didn't think there was a reason you came back. 'Cept for us having matching SOULS." According to their coffin in New Home, at least. "Thought it was...an accident. Like a lot of stuff." Like Flowey. Like the Amalgamates.

[buttercup_eater]

Honestly. Here Chara is actually trying to answer the other child's questions and everything, and in return the other kid has the temerity to roll their eyes at them? They should have just lapsed into the silent treatment the way they did with Sans and others-

Oh. That was interesting. "Why kill just Asgore?" they ask, "Not that you even really managed that the first time, but even if you killed him properly I don't think you'd gain enough EXP to get you more than a few LVs at most."

The other child's next statement just continues to puzzle them. Did the other child just not pay attention or...?

"Our SOULs might have had something to do with it," they concede, "But I know I didn't return to life out of nowhere. It was confusing at first, but... I remember hearing my name. Hearing someone picking it out. I think that has something to do with how I was revived, although I didn't figure out the purpose of my revival at first."

[dustless]

Headtilt. "Didn't want to get him, either. Thought we could talk. Flowey interrupted. 'First time'?"

Absently, Frisk runs their thumb across their throat. "I don't know who would do that. Nobody...said your name. At all. Even when the monsters told the story at New Home, they called you 'the first human' and stuff." They sort of stare over Chara's shoulder, voice sounding more and more baffled as they go on. "Pretty sure only Asriel ever said your name, actually. 'Cause he thought I was you for a while. And I knew it, but I--just kind of did, after the first fight I got into?"

[buttercup_eater]

"You DID kill Asgore the next time you met, didn't you?" they ask, even though they suspect what the answer is going to be. Honestly, how could they have avoided killing anyone? And why?

Chara intently watches the movement of the other child's thumb across their throat, before returning their gaze to the other child's face. Chara's own has gone carefully blank. "...I don't know what was going through their minds and as you may have supposed, I was unable to talk with most of the monsters in the Underground. If I had to take a guess, I'd say they didn't want to remember me. Or that my name seemed unimportant. I was just a human, after all."

They make a thoughtful noise. "Asriel- er, Flowey anyway- asked me if I'd revived because I heard him calling me. But I know it wasn't him. And anyway, the last time I saw him, the little treasonist ran away, saying he'd 'changed his mind.' Again." Chara mutters the last part.

"Ha. How peculiar. We don't really look much alike, do we? Perhaps it has something to do with our SOULs."

[dustless]

"No. Everyone interrupted before we fought that time at all. Even Toriel. She didn't want anyone to die, even though I don't thi--even though she's angry at him."

Yeah, of course none of them would want to really have a conversation. Quite a few didn't with Frisk, and they hadn't actually hurt anybody. The 'just a human' bit...for the general underground, Frisk could, unfortunately, see that. A little bit. "...Toriel and Asgore might've wanted to, but were too sad."

Frisk refocuses on Chara's face in return. That mention of Flowey derails a bit of their thoughts, springing another question. "...What's the last thing that was happening? B'fore you woke up here, I mean."

Reflexively, their hand drops from their throat to their chest, pressing to where their SOUL could be summoned. Beneath it, the fabric catches on the hidden scars. It feels weird.

[buttercup_eater]

Pause. Toriel was angry with Asgore? It felt strange to hear it said out loud, even if Chara had privately speculated as to why she'd been hiding away in the Ruins. She hadn't mentioned that to Chara before she'd died, but then there had hardly been any time to talk or and it was hard to even think about how things had changed in their absence, as their partner's urging them along had preoccupied them most of the time.

Chara very deliberately doesn't comment on this, or what the other child says about Toriel and Asgore having been too sad.

"Let's see... Before I arrived here and killed you..." Chara murmurs, "I was at New Home, and had just made my way to the Final Corridor. I SAVEd and went to find Asgore, but Sans blocked my way. He made a speech, told me I should be burning in hell, and we fought. We were fighting for a little while, long enough for him to get a bit tired and then I- we..."

...How should they put it, when they still weren't sure why what happened had happened? They could only guess at their partner's motivations from what choices they made, and the sudden burst of mercy, come too late, had seemed nothing but a random whim.

"...Well. He 'spared' me and for some reason, we accepted. Then he killed me, and instead of waking up at my SAVE point I woke up here. So," they gesture towards the other child with their knife, "I've already answered some of your questions. For fairness's sake, why don't you tell me what you were up to?"

[dustless]

Frisk notices that. They feel like it's important, but the latter bit's easier to comment on. "'We'? Thought I was dead before you left the Ruins." Or so they'd assumed from what Chara said before. Maybe Chara was just projecting their own desire for things to be over with--not likely, they think, but Frisk doesn't entirely discard the thought. Frustrated with the situation as they are, they still suspect the friend they'd made in their timeline is in there somewhere.

No flinch. Frisk definitely stares hard at that blade, though. Deliberating.

"We broke the barrier." They look up, slowly. They didn't want to talk about this--Chara might tell, and they didn't want what really happened spread around, since Asriel didn't want it to be. But in this place, who knew? That version might show up. Or Flowey. Or even if not, maybe telling them would be worth the risk. "Everyone thinks it was just me, but it wasn't. Me. And you. And Asriel."

And then they shrug and cross their arms again. "Last I remember, most of us were walking down the mountain to the city. 'Bout halfway, everything went black. Thought I died again, but dunno what would've done that. Then I was here." They tilt their head at the wall. "Was...a bit more than three months ago, I think."

[buttercup_eater]

"So did I," Chara says, carefully. They had wondered if the other child might have had something to do with Sans being spared, but it everything had changed so quickly they'd been too disoriented to tell what exactly was going on. Either way, they realize there's something very important they need to ask the other child.

(We broke the barrier. Chara tries to ignore the sting of remembered failure at those words.)

They lower their knife, looking at the other child intently. "Alright... I believe I have an idea why our timelines may have diverged so radically."

A deep breath.

"Listen. You were sharing your body with me, correct? But. At any point in your timeline, did it ever seem like there was... someone else?"

[dustless]

Frisk visibly perks up at the lowering knife, at their words. "You do?"

That's a weird question. They rock on their heels a bit, tapping a single finger on their chin. Mimicking Grune without quite realizing. Someone else. Other than Chara?

"...don't think so. Who else would there be?"

have some cryptic infodumping

[buttercup_eater]

Chara is silent for a moment, glancing away from the other child as they try to think over the situation as quickly as possible.

The other child doesn't know about Chara's partner, even though Chara was still revived in their timeline. They also don't know how or why Chara was revived, and was able to progress through the Underground without killing anyone. The other child hadn't had much of a stomach for violence- Chara's fairly sure that was why they'd given up their control over their body to Chara.

It sounds as if Chara's partner was unable to direct the two of them in the other timeline, even after Chara's revival.

And now they have to try and somehow explain all this to someone who probably can't understand.

"Someone who awoke me in the first place," they say, "Who needed me to access our world, and who needed my guidance. I'm afraid I don't have a name to offer you, but I came to think of them as my partner. Perhaps in your timeline, our connection to them was severed early on.

"Our goal was to gain power. To become stronger. To eradicate our enemies and increase our EXP. I'd almost reached LV 20 when Sans came along, and- well, you know what happened next.

"Which reminds me. I made an interesting discovery when I killed you. I thought killing you might be enough to increase my LV. But as it turns out, you aren't worth any EXP."

have some attempted armor-piercing questions in return

[dustless]

Little stomach for violence, yes, but they can handle it if they think they need to.

Frisk turns this new information over in their head.

They felt out of their own control sometimes, but they'd always thought it was Chara. No--when they saw the tapes, the tapes that told the truth, Chara had tried to make them leave. Frisk had wanted to leave. But something else had made them stay. Their own curiosity outweighing their horror, they'd thought at the time, but maybe...maybe...there'd been more to it than they'd realized.

It makes more sense that way. Chara wouldn't kill monsters on their own, there was never anything prompting them like that.

Frisk looks at them for a long time.

Then, slowly, deliberately, they step forward.

"...Whoever it was isn't here anymore, are they? Don't need EXP, from me or from anybody, now. Monsters aren't enemies, Chara. You know that. You died for that." Might as well use the information they've got, even if they hadn't wanted it.

And that reminds them.

"Before...before Sans. In the end. Did you ever want to stop? Because...Papyrus. He said stuff to you, didn't he." Not really a question, and not from Sans telling them he had. He's just that kind of person. "Did you...did he make you think about it?"

[buttercup_eater]

The silence is palpable. One downside of not sharing a body, they realize, is that it's harder to pick up on what the other child is thinking.

Even through the other child's staring, even when they take that slow step forward, Chara holds their ground. They're not afraid of a little confrontation after all.

(Though they do tighten their grip on their knife.)

When the other child speaks, it takes a moment for their words and the implications to sink in- but then Chara recoils, their arms springing out in front of them as if to try and shove the other child away.

"What do you know about it!?" they snap, before they can even stop themselves. "If you know anything then you can see how well that worked out for everyone."

And then the other child asks another question.

Chara's brow furrows. Papyrus? That sounds familiar, but...

"...I killed a lot of people, you know. And I heard a lot of things. Who's Papyrus?"

Whelp. Hope this is okay!

[sansational]

Sans has been listening to all of this, of course. A lot of this information is new. Some of it, he simply refuses to believe, and it's easy to refuse because it's Chara the human saying it.

There have been several points where he's thought of speaking up, but hasn't. He's tired, and if he kills them they'll just come back (again and again and again) and he really did promise to let Frisk try and handle this. Even then, he's had to muffle a snort of bitter disbelief whenever Chara started talking about "someone else" calling the shot. Sure, human.

He doesn't technically need to breathe, but Sans still catches a breath and holds it when Frisk asks that question. He doesn't know what difference the answer will make, if he's brutally honest with himself. He doesn't even entirely know why he wants to know. Just that he does. Just that it's one thing among many to keep him up nights since the fight.

But of all the answers Sans had been expecting...somehow, that one still catches him entirely unprepared. Just like their killing blow had. Enough that his hand flies up to his ribcage, so sure for a moment that he's going to feel blood because that's the only thing that could bring this much pain.

(Papyrus was his brother and Papyrus was important and Papyrus was so sure that they could be better, so sure that even Sans hoped, and by the time he'd realized there was never any hope at all he'd been too late he was always too late and he's not supposed to have to go on without his brother, with a piece ripped out of his soul and bleeding, always bleeding...)

Everything goes...cold and sharp and strange. His mind is empty of anything but that question and the bad memories it brings. His soul is full of hate. His arm hurts so, so much and it's such a good pain and Sans almost hopes it keeps going.

Sans stares down at his hands, shaking hard enough to blur. Then he clenches them tight, and smiles, even as he feels the tears start to gather and fall. Chara will feel their soul turned blue as the first warning they get, just before Sans steps almost sedately out of his hiding place around the corner.

"'who's papyrus?'" He shrugs expansively, grinning widely at the human over Frisk's shoulder. "well, let me tell you..."

Then he swipes a hand forcibly through the air, trying to push and slam Chara bodily into the wall again. This time, he's hoping so, so much to hear that sickening crack of their skull.

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

[dustless]

Their expression's rather muted. There's some anger there, some hurt, some disappointment, but that's not all they're there for. They aren't finished talking.

Frisk starts to answer, opening their mouth--

And then Sans is there.

They jerk around halfway so they can see him and keep an eye on Chara at the same time. "What--? Sans?" Surprise is the only thing in their voice, now, since they were supposed to be alone--it'd been like the entire world was only the two of them. Sans shouldn't be here.

...Sans very much shouldn't be here, they register, slowly. Too slowly.

Hopefully this works? w permission from frisk-mun for the auto grabs.

[buttercup_eater]

Whatever answer the other child was looking for, it's evident from their expression that the one Chara gave them wasn't it. Still, Chara regards them woodenly. Maybe their answer wasn't the nice one, but at least they were being honest-

And then there's the distinct clenching sensation of their soul turning blue. What-? The other child can't do that! It has to be-

Chara's head jerks up at the sound of Sans's voice, at about the same time the other child twists to face him. Chara doesn't really register his words, but their eyes narrow upon his face, noticing a distinct shine around his eyes. He's crying and that's weird, grown ups aren't allowed to do that, but they can't really think about it. They have to move quickly, before Sans kills them.

So even with their soul within his grip, they draw upon their determination enough to throw themselves forward and snatch up the other child's wrist within a bruising hold. And at the same moment Chara grabs the other child, Sans swipes his hand through the air and thrusts Chara backwards.

As a result, the other child is dragged along with Chara and the two of them fly down the hallway, although they at least don't smash into the far wall the way Chara does. (87/92)

Ignoring the burst of pain in their skull and the sparks that fly in front of their eyes, Chara throws their free arm over the other child's shoulder and wraps it around their neck. It's not as tight as the grip Chara has on their wrist, but the knife rests as a warning against the side of the other child's head.

"Nice try, you two," Chara says.

Works great! Good going, Sans.

[sansational]

Sans realizes a split-second too late that he's made a very big mistake. Unfortunately, a split-second is all it takes.

He still tries to salvage the situation, turning Frisk's soul blue instead to try and pull them free of Chara's grip. Unfortunately, even at his best, Sans can't keep a hold of two souls. As he is now, the best he manages is to further soften the impact against the wall for Frisk before he loses his grip on both of them and...

"no..." For all his bravado earlier, it's little more than a whimper now. Without thinking, Sans blinks himself forward, but he catches himself just in time to reappear just out of range of the knife.

For a long moment, he just stares at Chara over Frisk's head. His expression is entirely blank, entirely neutral. Then slowly, he raises his hands, fingers splayed. One arm moves a bit more stiffly than the other.

"yep. nice try, me. look, if you took one second to take a look at frisk's face, you'd see that i'm, uh...really not supposed to be here. kinda promised that i'd let them handle you. but hey." He winks conspiratorially at his old enemy. "you know me and promises, don't'cha, kid? so let's just put everything away, write this off as an innocent little mistake between two old friends, and we'll all just walk away."

His head throbs painfully. It feels like his skull is going to crack. Sans winces, wavers...and then draws himself up.

"because here's how it's going to go if frisk dies again." He takes a deep breath. "i will kill you. and then i will sit here with your dead body, and wait for the second you come back, and then I will put you right back in the ground. From now until the end of time. you think i need to sleep or eat with you in the castle? nuh-uh. I just need spite."

Treacherously, a thought enters his aching head. And it's a thought he's hoping Chara is sharing, because Sans really doesn't want to have to say it aloud.

Anything he does to Chara would hurt Frisk a lot less.

A second and perhaps even worse thought is that Chara probably wants to kill him way more than they want to kill Frisk again.