Half-Tale: The Fallen

Chapter 1 (1/3) - A Cease Fire

Half-Tale: The Fallen

Characters are not mine. Half-Life and Adrian Shephard belong to Valve Corporation, and Undertale and Chara Dreemurr belong to Toby Fox. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 1 (1/3) – A Cease Fire

All is found,

None is retrieved;

Rest in Clouds,

A Truth is reprieved

⚛》》»»»◈«««《《⚛

The Void.

A wave of familiarity washes over Frisk, their breath steadying as they reopened their eyes, remembering what they had done. The all so familiar darkness surrounding them slightly encumbers the human, with them embracing it fully; this wasn't the first time they had encountered this darkness. Nor, they knew, would it be the last.

In fact, they welcomed it with open arms, for they have been here a great many times before. After a True Reset, they often get sent here, whether they do a genocide or pacifist run. Everything ends up back here.

To Frisk, this was the norm, although there were a few strange things, or people, rather, that could be found here alongside them.

One was a very peculiar W.D. Gaster. This enigma has always befuddled Frisk, and finding out this spectre's name took a few too many resets and 'FUN' value modifications. Sometimes they found the person in a random room in Waterfall, and other times, they found pieces of him that were scattered across Hotland and Waterfall alike.

Who he is and what his true nature and reasonings for being there are, remains an absolute mystery to them, the spectre appearing on a semi-uncommon basis in the Void after investigating into his past. Interaction with this being was also impossible; no matter how close Frisk got to him, he seemed so far away still.

...but it was no matter. This apparition, to Frisk, was nothing to worry for; he seldom did anything more than stare at them with that piercing, empty voided glare.

Then, there was Chara Dreemurr, the first fallen child turned ghastly apparition that now follows and influences them... or, at least for the initial genocide runs, she did. When that became the only thing Frisk did, Chara grew... discontent. Disgusted with them. She grew spiteful, but knowing that she couldn't do anything, Frisk ignored her cries for them to stop.

Frisk saw Chara more than Gaster. To be truthful, Chara always showed up in the Void, or at the end of the run, when everything was said and done. It was a ritual; Frisk goes through a genocide run, Chara tries to dissuade them from killing everyone for the umpteenth time, failing, and being forced to watch Frisk kill everyone in the Underground.

Sometimes, Frisk did it in different ways. Kill a bunch of monsters in one room using different weapons, differing in killing orders, etcetera. The only constant was that they felt euphoric as they did so. Everything still led to the Void.

However, this time was different. Neither Gaster nor Chara was there. It was just them.

"...Where is Chara?"

Frisk pondered this question for a little while in their head, remaining silent in the meanwhile as they inspected their surroundings.

"Nothing is too different... but neither of them is here. What's going on?"

They thought, for a moment, that Chara was able to break out of this loop they had created. After all, who would want to be trapped in a mindless, infinite loop of constant genocide runs? Frisk had learned to tune out her cries, but the possibility of escape...