Across the timelines [an Undertale Fanfic] (revised)

Don't fight, show mercy

As they all walked in, Chara couldn't help but look around at all the familiar items he had seen when he was first taken to Toriel's home. She had welcomed him with open arms, and was willing to raise him as her own son, but he refused. He refused because Chara's only desire was destruction, a world without monsters, a world all for him.

"Yes, my child? What is it?" Toriel asked as she put down her book to go greet her boy. As she walked into the room, her eyes grew wide as she took in the sight of both boys, both of whom were injured. "Oh my, what have you gotten yourself into? Who is this? Nevermind that, let's clean you boys up first."

As Frisk began to follow her, Chara was held back by Sans as he said, "maybe it's not a good idea to treat this one, Tori. He's not what you think he is."

"Oh, don't be silly, Sans. He needs to get cleaned up before his injuries get infected." With a friendly smile, Toriel held out a hand for Chara to take. "Come with me, child. I won't hurt you. Papyrus, would you be so kind as to help me? A member of the royal guard should know about first aid."

Chara grinned as he pushed Sans's arm away from him and stepped forward, taking Toriel's hand for only a minute. "You won't hurt me, but I can definitely hurt you, Toriel" he whispered loud enough for only Sans to hear. Papyrus smiled almost as if glad to be acknowledged as a member of the royal guard by the former queen herself before following right behind her.

"I'm watching you, kid. If you hurt any of them, I swear I'll-" Sans threatened as he followed them towards Frisk's room.

Chara interrupted him with a laugh, "you'll what? You can't hurt me without killing goody two shoes, Frisk, over there. Face it, old bones, you got nothing on me." With that, Chara followed Frisk towards a bed, sitting down next to him as he continued to glare at Sans.

Sans watched the kid as he walked away, wondering if the others would bother to try to save Chara if he tried to attack them. If he recalls correctly, Toriel was killed first in Chara's timeline. With a sigh, he said to himself, "there's always the dungeon if anything goes wrong. Either that or the judgement hall, and I'm not ready for that."

"That's perfect, Papyrus. Just one more and there." Toriel cheered as she looked over at the tall skeleton beside her, a big smile on her face. "That's great. You did it! Well done!"

With a proud and confident smile on his face, Papyrus said, "but of course it would be perfect. It was I, the great Papyrus, who had given them first aid."

As Frisk gave him a high five, Chara rolled his eyes. "So he learned how to wrap a bandage, who cares? He'll never be in the royal guard. I mean, just look at him. If you hit him with a ball, he'll fall apart into pieces. Heck, he can't even stand up to a dog."

"For your information, rude human child, I happen to be the only member of the royal guard! My name is widely known as the sworn protector of King Asgore and Queen Toriel! So, beat that! Nyeh heh heh heh!" Papyrus felt proud of his statement as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Be grateful that the great Papyrus helped cure your wounds!"

"All you did was listen to Toriel as she explained how to wrap bandages around the cut, and not to make it so tight. You messed up like five times before finally getting it right." Chara pointed out, not seeing why the skeleton was so proud. "Besides, who cares about the royal guard anymore? Asgore isn't king anymore."

Angry now, Papyrus turned away from the boys as he said, "don't talk to me until you are ready to apologize."

"Child! Don't be so rude to our guard!" Toriel said, scolding the boy. Chara only looked at her, almost as if shocked a bit to be treated as such by her. "Be kind to your friends, and they'll come to you in your time of need. If you're not nice, then no one is going to want to come help you when you need it."

Looking away now, he thought about all the times he needed help before shaking his head no. "No one would come anyways. No one ever comes, so why does it matter?" Even before he made the decision to climb Mt Ebott, Chara was all alone in the village. None of the other kids would play with him, nor would any adults consider taking him in and treating him like their own. When he needed someone to be there for him all those times, no one cared. No one came.

Frisk couldn't help but take his counterpart's hand as he gave him a reassuring smile. "Now you have us here. Stay determined, and let us prove to you that we'll come." Frisk couldn't help but give the boy a comforting squeeze before saying, "I'll be your friend, Chara. I'll come when you need me, and so will mom."

"I'm determined to prove you wrong, Frisk. Monsters and humans can never be friends, and neither can I." Chara said, pulling his hand away from the other boy as he met his eye. "It's kill or be killed in this world. Didn't Flowey explain this to you when you first got here?"

He shook his head as he said, "Flowey was wrong! It's not kill or be killed! It's anything but that... Monsters are our friends. They came to help me when no one else could, and I know they would do the same for you if you gave them the chance."

"Children! Children. There's no need to fight." Toriel looked over at both boys, a bit sympathetic for the lonely one. In her mind, she thought of how she came to adopt Frisk, and how happy he was to have found her. Frisk had told her all about his life before he fell into the ruins, which only made her sad to think about all those human children who were waiting for someone to come along for them. "Frisk is right, child. There's plenty of good monsters here, so I'm sure you will make some friends. You just have to be good out there."

Chara glared at her, not bothering to listen. "I don't need friends. I don't need anyone to watch over me. I'm strong enough to take care of myself, Toriel. I've done things that you puny little monsters will never be able to handle."

"You must have been so lonely, haven't you?" Papyrus asked him, clearing away a fake tear from his eye. He then smiled as he pointed at himself with his thumb. "Luckily, you have me, the great Papyrus, to be your friend!"

Frustrated now, Chara tried his best to reach for his knife but was stopped when Frisk noticed his actions. Frisk pushed him to the ground and held him down. "Get off of me! I can't take another moment like this!" Chara shouted as he tried to push Frisk off. "Let me go!"

"No! You were going to hurt them, weren't you?" Frisk asked as he continued to struggle holding the other boy down. "I told you that I won't let you hurt them!"

"Frisk! What has gotten into you?" Toriel asked as Sans tried his best to separate the boys without using his magical power. He hated using his power in front of Papy, so he would have to do this the old fashioned way. "Get off of that poor child this instant!"

Frisk looked back at Toriel, noticing how surprised she sounded by his actions. As he turned to look at her, he couldn't help but notice the look of disappointment and anger flood her eyes, but he couldn't help it. He had to protect them at all costs from this unstable boy. Chara could have hurt them otherwise. 

Papyrus and Sans each grabbed a boy, holding them up as Toriel turned to Chara. "Are you okay, dear child? Frisk didn't hurt you, did he? He normally doesn't act like this with guests." Toriel then turned her gaze to Frisk before saying in a firm voice, "apologize now. That was no way to act to a new friend."

Chara shook his head no, as he glared over at the other boy in Sans's arms. "He couldn't if he tried. Now put me down!"He continued to kick out and push away the arms around him as he tried to make it extremely difficult for Papyrus to keep his grip on him. "Papyrus! Put me down!" 

"Mom, wait! Papyrus, don't!" Frisk shouted, trying to free himself from Sans. He then looked up at his skelebro before saying, "Sans, you have to believe me. He wanted to pull out his kni-"

"Frisk! It's rude to accuse someone of something they didn't do! Now apologize to him this instant or you'll be grounded!" Turning back to Chara now, Toriel nodded towards Papyrus to put him down. "What's your name, dear child?"

"Chara! I haven't seen you in so long!" the once silent Flower shouted as he noticed his old friend. Ever since he was saved, Flowey has been living with Frisk and Toriel in a pot by the window. With everything that was going on, he figured to just watch what happens. "Howdy, how have ya been?"

"There you are! I've been looking for you!" Chara said as he turned to his friend, ignoring the mumbled apology Frisk had given him. He noticed that Flowey didn't seem as thrilled to see him as he was in his timeline. "What are you doing here?"

Flowey shrugged as he said, "I'm not like I was before. Frisk didn't necessarily save my soul that you took from me, but I'm not as blood thirsty as I used to be anymore." As Chara stepped closer with that all too familiar creepy look on his face, Flowey couldn't help but feel nervous. "I-it's still great to see you again! How did you escape the after life?"

Disappointed now, Chara turned back to the others. "You're useless to me in this state, Flowey... I thought you would help me with this job." He sighed before looking down at the ground before saying, "you don't have to be so scared of me right now. I haven't done anything to you... Yet." 

Sans, getting tired of holding Frisk, put him down. "Listen Tori, something happened when Frisk was at Alphys's lab today. Another one of Alphys's projects went wrong and hit Frisk, bringing Chara into our world." With a sigh, he tried to explain this in a way where they would all understand. How would they believe him if he said he was aware of the timelines and what goes on in them? "Chara is the opposite of Frisk. The kid doesn't hesitate to kill monsters, but-"

"Sans, you don't have to explain anything to me, although you do, Frisk. I am not stupid; I could see the dust on the boy's clothes." Getting down on her knees, she pulled in Chara for a hug. "although it may not be easy for the simple eye to see, but I know deep down there's good in him. Chara is a good kid, just mislead. What drove you to that point, Chara?"

Everyone could see the shock on Chara's face as he took in what was going on. They knew what he had done, but none of them were afraid. Why weren't they afraid of him? Why would they embrace him as if he were another lost child? Why would they show him love? Why couldn't he push her away? What was this feeling he felt in his heart?

Toriel smiled as she whispered in a sweet voice, "you may have made some bad choices, but there's always a chance to be good again. Please, believe me when I say that I know you're not a bad child." Her hug, although tight, was warm and loving, something Chara hadn't experienced in so long. He had almost forgotten what a mother's embrace felt like. 

Pushing himself away from her, Chara panicked and ran out of the house, not wanting to be there any longer. His heart hurt as he thought of the way she held him, gentle and comfortingly. He couldn't help but feel as if she had forgiven him, but who was he kidding? There was no way she could forgive him for all the crimes he had committed. There was no saving him from the sins he had crawling on his back. He was evil, and he liked it. He enjoys the thrill out of killing these puny monsters who so desperately fight for their lives until the final blow. He enjoys the look in their eyes as fear and acceptance settles in, knowing that no one will come to avenge them and not wanting them too. And yet despite all he has done, a hint of guilt and regret started to grow inside his heart.

Just then, a Froggit and Moldsmal appeared in front of him happily making their way out to Waterfall. In an attempt to rid himself of the uncomfortable feelings, Chara pulled out his knife, ready to fight them until Frisk came running over.

"No! Chara, don't!" He begged, stepping in front of Chara's knife completely unafraid as he tried to block him. "Don't fight them!"

"Go away, Frisk! I have to!" he shouted, trying to push the other boy away.  He couldn't help but glare at the other boy as he continued to try to get past him."Kill or be killed, remember! Now get out of my way before I kill you myself!"

Sans was watching the boys behind a tree, wanting to see if Frisk could handle the boy like he said he could. He studied their movements carefully, waiting to see what would they do. It didn't surprise him when Chara managed to push Frisk to the ground, but what did was when Frisk suddenly hugged him from behind. Chara tried to break free, but eventually gave up before accepting the hug and dropping his knife.

If he looked closer, he could see Frisk whisper something into the boy's ear, amazed at how easy it was to get Chara to show the monsters mercy. If it was anyone else, there was no doubt that everyone would have died.

"Give me the knife, Chara. You won't need this anymore once I prove it to you," Frisk said as he held his hand out for the weapon. Hesitating, Chara handed it over, figuring it wouldn't be a problem if anything went wrong.

Looking away, Chara had to say, "don't think you're going to change me. I am the way I am because of what happened before this." Sans noticed that small hint of sadness in Chara's eyes as he tried to avoid meeting Frisk's gaze. Chara's changing little by little with Frisk, but even this small act will not erase what he has done. "I will never be like you."