Underspankings-Mercy Or Violence

Chapter 4-A Burning Nightmare

(Thanks to Lemonlight's Undertale Musical and Melodiva for the awesome art I found to put on this chapter's cover!)

Rodrigo was getting used to life on Toriel's home. She kept them safe, her pie was very tasty....she was just a bit overprotective every now and then, but so are most mothers!

This, of course, displeased Chara. Maybe it was Frisk's influence, but her partner seemed content in staying there...when they should really just keep on their journey!

"....Frisk, Rodrigo, how long do you plan to play around here? We can't stay on the Ruins forever." she said, annoyed.

"This place is so nice, though. Do we really gotta leave?" Rodrigo whined.

This made the girl sigh in exasperation! Her partner was getting so soft due to Frisk's influence..or maybe she was spoiling him! "Partner, don't you WANT to explore, or go back to whenever you used to call home, not that I get why you'd want to go up there again?" she asked, trying to be patient.

"Chara, give little brother some time here." Frisk softly told her. "He went through a lot ever since our souls began sharing his body. He got two spankings, lots of injuries from monsters, and even died once! He needs to have some fun, too." Frisk said, hugging her little brother protectively in a sisterly way.

"S-sides, all three of us are kids, right? We could use some fun. Heck, even you! You're too serious...." Rodrigo said to Chara, hoping she'd drop it!

"...." Chara's eyes narrowed, but she then sighed. "Want me to have fun, Partner? Then go get us some EXP...." she said, but before Frisk got her closed eyes narrowed and in what Chara considered a nagging lecture, she surprised both Rodrigo and Frisk as she added, "....Or chocolate. Those are pretty yummy."

This made both Rodrigo and Frisk blink in surprise, before giggling!

"W-what? chocolate IS yummy!" Chara protested, pouting!

"I know! It's real tasty, ain't it? I have quite a sweet tooth myself!" Rodrigo smiled.

This made Chara smirk! "I chose my Partner well, it seems!" she said, cheerful. "Yeah, chocolate is the tastiest ever!"

"Okay, okay, you two, let's get some chocolate, but don't eat too much. It's tasty, but too much chocolate isn't good for your health." Frisk adviced them.

Chara rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, you're gonna nag even at this?"

Frisk humphed, "Well, of all the..! Listen, Chara, eating a bit of junk food is okay, but if lil bro eats too much of those, he can get sick!"

"So what? If Partner gets sick, we just Reset to before he ate too much." Chara deadpanned.

"That doesn't make it okay for him to get sick!" Rodrigo's overprotective new big sis whined!

Rodrigo looked back and forth at the arguing going on for a while, before he decided to just get the chocolate! Which made Chara happy, since Rodrigo, Chara, and Frisk all could feel the taste of whatever food the main body ate!

Soon, it was bedtime. But Rodrigo wouldn't have a pleasant dream....

Frisk was nowhere to be seen, only Chara was by Rodrigo's side. And they were both facing Toriel, who was looking sad, but strict.

"....No more monsters will fall at your hands. You are the reason the ruins grew silent, are you not?" Toriel asked, sternly.

"Ha ha ha. And yet your anwser is to try and destroy the ruins's entrance, is it? Not very Determined, if you ask me!" laughed Chara. "Do you believe her, Partner? Monsters attack and try to kill us, we defend ourselves, and yet WE are the bad guys, while Toriel sat on her butt and did nothing to help us or them. What, is SHE supposed to be the heroine?"

"......" Rodrigo shook a bit, not having nearly as much fun as Chara was....so instead of anwsering Chara, he appealed to Toriel! ".....Just let go. You'll never see us again....mother." he mumbled, not realising he is calling Toriel "mother" as his partner used to instead of mommy as he was more likely to do.

Toriel's eyes widened! For a instant, he sounded like....but then she closed her eyes, "I cannot let you leave. But you can stay with me, and I'll help you turn your life around, my child. Maybe you were just not taught right from wrong yet..." she said, letting her love blind her for a instant.

"Well, she made her decision, Partner. Let me handle that...." smirked Chara.

"...No. I don't wanna kill her....." Rodrigo mumbled!

And the fight began, with Toriel begging Rodrigo to just listen to her and stop this foolishness, while the boy only kept dodging the incoming fireballs without really fighting back!

"What are you doing, Partner?! You only need a good hit! We got more than enough EXP for that!" Chara said.

"I don't wanna hurt her! She was nice to me! To us!" Rodrigo protested!

"Well you need to! Cause she's being REAL nice now, isn't she, trying to burn us to a crisp?! Let me take over if you don't feel you can fight her, then!" Chara scolded, extending her hand to him, but was shocked as her Partner's Determination stopped her again!

"NO! I don't wanna hurt her! She tried to raise us, care for us! Even in self defence, this is too much....!" Rodrigo shouted at Chara!

This didn't go unoticed by Toriel! She knew how her child refeered to himself as "us" at times, and talked with a "Partner"....at first she thought it was an imaginary friend, but, since the boy fell underground, maybe he hurt his head and grew a second personality, Toriel thought! If that's so, all the battles in the ruins weren't the child's fault!

Her poor child needed her help....but first she had to knock him out, bring him to his room, and then talk to him when he was calmer!

"PARTNER!!! We'll only have to reset again if you keep like this! We need to attack!" Chara yelled.

"My child! You must stop fighting me! I can help you, if you'll let mother do so!" Toriel said.

"I....I....!!!" Rodrigo said! But the boy didn't notice the sad Toriel was purposely missing her fire balls, not wanting to kill her child, and dodged to the left, on the exact direction that a fireball that was aiming to miss the position he was on before dodging traveled!

"NO! Partner, wrong way....!" Chara gasped!

"My child, no, don't go to the left!" Toriel gasped!

The boy yelled in pain and fell to the ground! He saw poor Toriel cover her mouth, tearfuly, as she cried "M-my c-child...what have I done...?"

And the last thing the boy saw and heard before closing his eyes was his Partner, Chara, sigh in annoyance as she kneeled to look at his eyes and softly ask, "Partner, after we Reset...can you PLEASE promise me to stop being so stubborn and listen to me next time we fight her...?"

The boy couldn't anwser immediatly as he closed his eyes, ready to go back to Judgement Hall-and probably hear an earful from Chara for this disaster....

......As he woke up with a yell on his bed at Toriel's house, and suddently saw Chara and Frisk! Surprisingly, even Chara seemed worried at this!

"Little bro! Please, calm down!" Frisk said, hugging him.

"W...what?! Aren't I at Judgement Hall?!" Rodrigo whined.

"Partner, you must have had a heck of a bad dream. We didn't fight anyone recently for you to die. See, look around!" Chara said, then added on embarassement, as Frisk and Rodrigo were a bit surprised at this, "D-don't get me wrong, I'm not particulary worried about you cause we're partners, it's just that you might do something stupid and get us to Reset for real if you run around without thinking..."

Rodrigo sighed on relief. "I-it must have been a nightmare, then..."

"What was it, lil bro? Maybe you'll feel better if you tell us about it..." Frisk said, rubbing his head to calm him down.

And as Rodrigo described it, while Frisk was surprised but tried to calm him down, reminding him he is a good, Merciful boy who won't empty the ruins, neither of them notice the shock on Chara's face, her eyes widen!

(T-that was not a nightmare....) Chara thought, (It was a memory...from an different timeline...!)

While Frisk conforted Rodrigo, Chara's mind went to the Judgement Hall, on the day that fateful fireball forced a reset...

Chara was glaring at Rodrigo, with her arms crossed. She was giving him quite a strict look! "......"

Rodrigo gulped as he looked at his Partner. He expected to be yelled at as soon as he got on Judgement Hall, but somehow that strict silent treatment made him even more nervous!

The boy sighed and decided to face the music, saying, "O-okay, Chara, I'm ready. Yell away!"

Chara sighed. She WANTED to yell, grab his collar, ask why he was so stubborn! But....deep inside she knew why he was so stubborn. Plus, her partner and her shared the same body, so, no sense in making their co-existence unberable!

....well, that's what Chara reasoned to herself. But the fact is, since she began despising her adoptive family....a weak minded brother who ruined their plan and didn't even have enough Determination for them both to return, a mother who replaced her, a father who vanished who knows where....well, being her Partner, Rodrigo is the closest to family she currently has. The closest to the times where Chara and Asriel still got along...

And Rodrigo's eyes widened in surprise, for Chara made two chairs appear, one next to each other, and said, sighing, "....Nah, I don't feel like yelling. But we gotta set a couple things straight, Partner, before we return. C'mon, stop flinching and take a seat...we got lots to talk about."

"K....kay, Chara..." Rodrigo nervously said, as he obeyed her.

Chara nodded, and trying to be patient, asked, "So, Partner, what do ya have to tell me? Clearly you were not on the mood for that fight, since your Determination almost sent me into Judgement Hall on the middle of the fight."

"....C-Chara....one thing is emptying the Ruins in self-defense....I mean, many monsters attacked us here, I get that, and those who tried to run away could only be preparing an ambush. But Toriel's different...I mean, she was nice to us, raised us, treated us. Hurting her, it's not right...." Rodrigo said, looking down, but though he didn't say it outloud for fear of offending her, he was happy Chara was giving him a chance to explain himself.

Chara nodded, thoughtful, then sighed, "Look, Partner, if you carry on this way, your Determination will weaken, and I should be happy about it, since it would mean soon I call the shots, but I'm not. And I'll tell you why. Your SOUL, my SOUL, we both have the same body. I am Rodrigo. You are Chara. We need to work as a team, be one, if we wanna get to the end goal here."

"Be...be one? Like, fuse?" Rodrigo asked, confused.

"I didn't mean LITERALLY, Partner..." sighed Chara. "I meant metaphorically. Look, we needed to Reset because you were stubborn, and this will not do. We need to decide things together, you and I, or those kinda Resets will happen again, again, and again!" she explained.

"But Chara, I couldn't fight her...!" Rodrigo gasped.

"But *I* could. This is what true Partners do, Rodrigo. You can't fight someone, let ME take care of it. I am in trouble, you take over. Besides, Toriel ain't as nice as you might think. Did you know she used to have an adoptive daughter?" Chara asked.

"N...no, she never told me about her. How do ya know her, Chara?" Rodrigo asked.

"Cause she's talking with ya' right now. Every human child who fell here, she replaced me for them. That's why I don't like her." Chara said!

Rodrigo gasped at this! "I...I'm sorry to hear this....but surely, things might not be what they seem..."

Chara sighed! "Yeah, and the ruins are yellow with red spots. You are too innocent for your own good, Partner." Chara said, shaking her head, but looked serious then! "Point is, you can't keep bein' stubborn anymore. Did you get what I mean?"

Rodrigo sighed, "I'm....I'm sorry if I worried ya, Chara."

"I-I'm not worried!" Chara huffed, embarassed! "It's just that it's annoying for you and me to Reset when we could have avoided it, and..."

But she was interrupted, as Rodrigo looked at her sadly, and asked, "Chara...a-am I in trouble..?"

"Huh? Not anymore, the fight is over, we gotta start again...or are you asking if I'll yell at you? I already told ya, I don't feel like-"

"...." Rodrigo sadly kept his questioning look, knowing Chara would get what he meant!

Which made Chara gasp in understanding! That look was just like Asriel's when... "Wait...are you asking me if I'm gonna punish you?" she asked!

Rodrigo nodded. "C-cause...you were VERY....very upset..." Rodrigo softly remarked.

"Well....that IS true..." Chara mused, as she thought about it.

He did cause a Reset, and didn't listen to her. Plus, Rodrigo is her Partner! They are a team. If she didn't...who would?

This made Chara remember the day she and Asriel accidently gave Asgore a pie that made him sick. Asriel felt very guilty, and asked Chara to punish him. Even if he didn't admit, she could see her partner felt guilty.