Across the timelines [an Undertale Fanfic] (revised)

Do you remember?

 "No, Chara. Killing is wrong," Frisk answered, moving away from the other boy now. He knew what killing the monsters would mean for him, and didn't want to risk loosing anyone. He loved the monsters, just like they love him. Frisk felt guilty for just even listening to Chara's request to join him in a murder spree.

This didn't settle well for Chara. A frown replaced his creepy grin on his face as he shook his head no, disappointed in the goody two shoes boy in front of him. "I don't need you to do this, Frisk, but I'm asking you to join me. It would be more fun killing them, than actually living with them. Everyone you know has died by my hands at one point in time and when we're done, we can always start all over again. Undyne. Papyrus. Toriel. Flowey. Everyone was killed by me where I came from, and I'm not going to lie to you and say it wasn't fun. I've killed everyone countless of times already. It never gets old."

"Haven't you ever considered befriending anyone? The world isn't kill or be killed anymore. Humans and monsters can be great fri-" Frisk started, but Chara interrupted him.

Chara pushed Frisk away, not satisfied with his answer. "I will never change my ways for the likes of them. They've done nothing for me to treat them any other way! My only friend was Asriel! Now he's nothing but a stupid flower! Without him, I'm alone. I don't have anyone to join my side." With a frustrated sigh, Chara said, "this is the first time in my life, Frisk, that I'm asking for your help. Will you do this with me or not?"

Frisk hesitated a bit, knowing that. If this was Chara's way of asking for help for the first time in who knows how long, he couldn't say no. It'd go against what they told him earlier, but he couldn't say yes to this. Just as Frisk began to shake his head no, he began to wonder if this was Chara's problem. He doesn't want to be alone. Taking a chance, Frisk hugged the other boy, holding him close in an attempt to calm him down.

"Get off me, Frisk. I don't have anymore time to waste on someone like you anymore. I have work to do." Pulling away from Frisk's arms, Chara didn't bother to glance back at him as he walked away, his footsteps disappearing in the snow.

Sans suddenly appeared behind Frisk, watching the dust scatter in the wind. He looked down at the crying boy, checking his LOVE to make sure he was the same boy he always knew. "I'm sorry, pal. Monsters like him won't be easy to change. Let me set him straight."

Frisk looked up at his skelebro, remembering what Chara said about killing everyone. Before he could leave, Frisk took his hand to stop him, not wanting him to go alone. He wanted to be the one to help Chara. Chara seemed to have more trust in him than any other monster, even if he didn't want to believe it. 

"Don't worry. I can handle this alone." As Sans looked down at the human beside him, he sighed as he said, "you won't give up so easily, huh? Well, let's go." A small smile came to Frisk's face as he cleared away more tears from his face before following the skeleton's lead.

It didn't take long to find Chara, especially with Sans's "short cuts" around Snowdin. They only had to follow the trail of dust that could only belong to other monsters. The more they saw, the more horrified they became with Frisk's other half. Sans soon became grateful for asking Papyrus to cook up some spaghetti before going anywhere, distracting his brother for awhile. He didn't want his little brother to see any of this destruction.

Meanwhile...
"I'm s-sorry, Toriel, but I n-need to know. How was the Chara you raised when he was alive? W-what kind of human was he?" Alphys asked, begging former queen, now school teacher, Toriel to answer her questions. After all, it really was a matter of life or death here.

Memories of the little boy who Asriel once brought home brought tears to her eyes. Asriel loved Chara, just as much as she and Asgore had. Sure the kids got into trouble every now and again, but they were just boys being boys. They were just kids playing and having fun. Chara had loved them with all his heart, that she knew for sure, and they loved him in return. They made sure to prove that to him each and every day to make up for the way the humans had neglected him. The day he passed away killed them inside, especially when Asriel followed him shortly after. Toriel never liked to think about that night. It was a dark memory for her, the night she lost both of her own precious children.

"I already told you, Alphys. Chara was a lovely child. He was a good boy, one who I loved very much. Why are you asking me about him? What is so important that you need to bring him up again?" Toriel asked, curious about what the scientist was hiding from her. Her questions weren't exactly an easy subject for her to bring up, so she needed to know why it was so important to her. "Will you tell me what's going on?"

Alphys nodded, gathering her confidence to tell her good friend what she thought. Of course, she was a little worried about how she would take it. Toriel had loved each human child that fell down here, but of course, they always wanted to leave the ruins. After Chara, she had never actually managed to save any human that fell, no matter how hard she tried. Even with Frisk, although he loved her, he also wanted to leave at first despite the danger that Toriel warned him about.

"I-I-I don't know how to tell you this but I think that human is back. I have a video of the other human with Frisk claiming to be him. Please watch it." Alphys held out a tablet, showing the footage to prove it out to Toriel. At first, Toriel seemed hesitant about it, but as she watched, she couldn't believe her ears. Of course, she did notice the similarities between Chara and the boy beside Frisk, but she had only thought of it as a simple coincidence, nothing more.

Taking note of the woman's shock, Alphys knew she had to break the news to her somehow that the child she had loved is no longer the same child. The lovable Chara that Toriel once knew was gone. In his place was a heartless killer who was more than ready to destroy the underground.

Flowey, having heard it from Frisk's room, called out to them. Toriel had been speaking with him, asking him if there was anything he would like to do with her, before Alphys arrived at their door step. Without Frisk around to play, Toriel was all the company he had at the moment, so he didn't want to be left out.

"I told you it was him! I'd know my best friend anywhere." A frown came on his face as he remembered some of the pranks they've pulled together, how many times Chara's ideas had gotten him in trouble. "Chara wasn't always a great person. Sometimes he was really mean to me, even scary, but he would always apologize about it when he realized what he was doing. He didn't always mean to be so mean, but that was all he had known up in the human world."

Alphys looked over at Flowey, instantly feeling guilty as she thought of sweet, little Asriel who had lost his original form the moment his soul had shattered alongside Chara's. Luckily for them, no one knew Chara better than the flower beside them. "What do you remember about him? Is there anything you can tell us?"

"No. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't tell you anything. Chara and I are partners, and I'm not going to be the one who backstabs him first." Flowey shrugs as best as he could with his two leaves before saying, "I had promised him a long time ago that I would keep what I knew about him a secret. He didn't want anyone to know about where he came from or why he came here to us in the first place."

Toriel gave the flower that look that means he better start talking, but Flowey continued to refuse, not wanting to break one of his oldest promises he's ever made. Instead, he looked away from his mother, avoiding her glare altogether. He knew that with Chara around, his old goal would be accomplished as soon as possible. Destroy the underground and take over the humans. Give both the humans and monsters the true monster they forced him to become.

"Where is he? Where is Chara at this moment? I have to see him," Toriel begged, looking back at Alphys's screen. Her heart was racing as she thought of reuniting with another one of her lost children. She was overjoyed to find out that Asriel was still around, but couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in his delicate form. She could tell how unhappy he was with it at first, but there was nothing she could do for him. The thought of having all three children return to her was the best thing she could have asked for. "Please show me, dear. I must see my son."

Hesitating a bit, Alphys nodded before bringing up live footage. "Looks like he's in Snowdin, but are you sure you don't want to wait until Asgore comes home? I'm sure he would want to know too." After all, it wasn't every day that a child from several years ago comes back from the dead.

Toriel shook her head no, believing they could show him later. As a mother, she couldn't wait to be reunited with the child she had missed so much, but even if Alphys understood, she became afraid of what they would see. Handing her the screen, Alphys pulled out her phone and sent out a quick text to her girlfriend, Undyne, warning her of Chara's actions.

"My child, what have you done?" Toriel asked herself as both she and Flowey watched the boy on the screen. Flowey took one look before turning away from it, unable to watch it without being reminded of how hard the human souls had fought alongside Frisk to help save him. He wasn't surprised one bit at the scene, but knew that Toriel would not be able to handle what she was seeing.

Back with the boys...
"Chara! Please stop this! You can't kill them!" Frisk pleaded as he watched Chara approach another frightened monster. He even tried to block his way to the frightened creature, but there was no stopping Chara. All he did was push Frisk away. "Don't kill them!"

Chara happily ignored Frisk's cries as he continued to approach, that is until his body was surrounded with blue light, forcing him to stop in his tracks. Looking back at his friendlier counterpart and the skeleton, Chara smiled. It wasn't one of those friendly smiles, like the hello or nice to see you kind. His smile was a mix of pleasure and madness, as if he really was enjoying the fear he was giving out.

"Did you come to play, Sans? I broke your stupid rule, so what are you going to do about it? Kill me?" Chara asked, holding up the knife to his face, covering one eye as he did so. "I always love to play with you. Of course, you remember it, don't you? Every last detail of our little game. You remember how fun it is to go against each other over and over and over until I finally come out on top."

Sans couldn't deny it. When he looked at Chara like this, all he could see is that time. His blood coating the edge of that sharp knife, his blood over Chara's shirt. He couldn't forget the pain that he felt, not just from his wound, but from the thought of failing his friends. He was supposed to be their mercy, their vengeance, their determination, but he had failed so many times before. He really did not want to fight this monster because no matter how much they go at it, Chara always manages to return with newfound energy, while Sans does not.

As much as that thought scared him, he knew that he didn't have a choice here. If Chara wanted to fight him, it would be to their advantage. Frisk wouldn't allow anything to happen to him, but Sans knew that even he couldn't go all out. Neither of them could risk Frisk, which admittedly was the only reason they had lasted as long as they had without killing each other. Although Chara would be hurt physically, Sans couldn't risk losing Frisk. The idea pained him just as much as the thought of loosing Papyrus. He would never be able to forgive himself.

"It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. On days like this, kids like you should be burning in hell." Sans lifted Chara up into the air, preventing him from attacking them straight on. "Of course, you have already lived in it, haven't you?"

Chara's crazed smile disappeared, replaced with an unamused frown. "I did, and it didn't agree with me. Why don't you join me next time? You've done some killing yourself, haven't you? Some that you're not so very proud of." With that a small smirk came to Chara's face as he said, "you won't willingly admit to the others, but with me, you're so proud. Gee, I wonder why I'm so special."

"I'm nothing like ya, kid. I don't kill for the joy of it. It's too much work for some lazy bones like me." Sans said as he continued to glare over at the floating kid, making sure he didn't lose his concentration. "Now the only reason why I'm not laying a hand on you is because I care about my buddy, Frisk, here. I aint gonna be the one to hurt him, no matter how much you deserve it."

Chara, frustrated now with the idea of receiving another lecture, threw his knife, aiming for Sans's magic eye, even though he knew Sans would only dodge it. "Put me down!" Sans gestured for Frisk to pick up the knife, trusting him to keep it away from the mindless killer before putting him down. "Aw, how cute. You think I need that to beat you? Why don't you think again! I could kill you anytime I want, with or without that knife."