Across the timelines [an Undertale Fanfic] (revised)

We used to be good friends, you and I

  "Why don't we save that for the judgement hall? I may not have been able to defeat you in your timeline, but this one is different." Sans made sure that his power was still holding Chara back, keeping him where he stood, just in case. After all they just saw, there was no way they were just going to trust Chara to listen to them. "Stay there like a good little boy and let's talk. Frisk, here, still believes there is good in you buried somewhere deep deep down in that black hole you call a heart. I, on the other hand, don't think you're worth the time and energy worth saving and should be destroyed as soon as possible."

Chara crossed his arms over his chest as he said, "is this a trick question? Who ever said that I wanted to be saved? I like how I am, and I like what I do. I'm the threat everyone wanted me to be." By instinct, a hand flew over to his golden locket, holding it tightly as he met Frisk's eyes with a serious gaze. "Why would I ever go back to the way I was before? Why would I ever want to go back to a time when I was a weak and frightened loser when I could be the kind of monster I was forced to be."

"Chara, please, don't do this!" Frisk begged, hoping the other boy would hear him out. After all, Chara's only reason for doing this was because he felt alone in the world, right? So maybe if he could get him to see that there are some monsters out there that care for him now, he'd change his mind. "Think about everyone who cares about you. Do you really think seeing you like this makes them happy?"

"NO ONE CARES ABOUT ME, FRISK!" the other boy shouted out, his hand dropping from his locket. The idea of someone actually giving a damn about him was so unbelievable that Chara couldn't help but feel angry. After all, he was the one who would forever be unwanted and unloved. There's no way he would let Frisk fool him into thinking otherwise. "No one has in a very long time, and I'm fine with it. It's not like I care what happens to them anymore anyways."

Frisk shook his head no, feeling as if Chara was allowing them to see a little bit of his vulnerable side. To Sans, it may not seem like much, but to him, he could hear a hint of loneliness and sadness in his voice. Somewhere in his heart, he knew Chara still cared for the monsters around him. The challenge is to find it.

"You sure have changed over the years, kid. If I had never gone through the game with you several times by now, I don't think I ever would've believed that the cute little kid I met back then had turned into the underground's serial killer." Sans ignored the slightly confused look on Frisk's face, waving his hand as if to say he'll explain later. He was more curious about that locket around Chara's neck and why he found so much comfort in it. What could he possibly have inside it? "What's in the locket you're wearing?"

Chara glared at him as he said, "death can change a person, but it does nothing for you monsters. I will admit that once upon a time, I was like you, Frisk. I had hopes and dreams of my own. All I wanted was to be loved." As a response to Sans's question, his hand flew up to the locket, holding it in his hands protectively. He wasn't about to just answer that question so easily. It wasn't his business what Chara decided to have in his locket. Why should he care? "Then it happened. My dreams were slain, as my hope was destroyed little by little every single day until I found myself alone. After awhile down here, I knew it wasn't going to last. I'm simply not meant to have a happily ever after, so why should everyone else be? Why do they deserve to be happy while I get to be nothing more than what they created? Why did I have to go through hell for them?"

"Don't talk like that, Chara. I know what happened to you was unfair and cruel, but it doesn't mean you have to be like them. You're not like the people that hurt you. You could be better than them." Frisk took a step closer to the boy, against Sans's warnings before saying, "you don't have to be what they say you are. You're free to be whoever you want to be, Chara."

Before Chara could say anything, a new voice called out to him. All three boys turned their heads in the direction of the voice and were surprised to see none other than Toriel running over to them with Alphys and Undyne alongside her. They all noted the worried look on the two faces before noticing Undyne's serious expression. From just one look, they knew that Undyne had already heard of Chara and his actions.

Usually Sans would stop using his magic when others would approach him, especially if they had connections with Papyrus, but at this moment, he didn't care. Letting the boy go right now could very well result in a death battle, and he wasn't willing to risk anyone here at the moment. Especially when he could feel Toriel's eyes on him as she realized just what exactly they were doing. In her eyes, all she could see was Chara in trouble and Sans ready to deliver the punishment he had believed Chara deserved. She didn't see mercy on the table, and the thought of not giving the boy another chance was unimaginable. 

"Sans, what are you doing to that poor child! Leave him alone right now!" Toriel shouted, looking over at Chara. Chara met her eyes for a minute before looking away. The look on his face was the same face he always made when he was confused about something. She's seen it on him plenty of times when she watched Asriel explain something to him. That's how she knew that this boy, this lost soul, was indeed her Chara. "Leave my son alone! Please, Sans."

Avoiding her eyes altogether, Sans shook his head no. "I can't do that, Tori. This kid isn't your son anymore than he is human. Chara's become nothing more than a devil. He's a murderer that needs to be stopped. I'm sorry, Toriel, really."

"That child is not a devil! He's my son, and he's a good boy! He's just lost, Sans. He fell on the wrong path, but it isn't too late to save him. We can help him find his way again. Please Sans, I don't want him to be alone anymore!" Ignoring Sans's magic, Toriel walked over and wrapped her fluffy arms around him, surprising Chara a bit as he felt her tears fall onto him. "Chara, I'm sorry I didn't realize it was you. I kind of suspected it, but I didn't believe it was possible.  I'm so happy you're back, child. You wouldn't believe how much I missed you."

Frisk didn't feel comfortable letting his mom get so close to Chara at the moment, but without his knife, Chara couldn't do anything to her. Mom was a lot stronger than she looks, and he should know. The only thing that kept him from saying anything was the look on Chara's face. Although she had surprised him, for almost a second, a look of guilt had momentarily crossed over his face.

"Stop! Get away from me!" Chara shouted, attempting to push her away. He didn't like the feeling in his chest whenever someone would hug him. He didn't know how to handle affection very well like the others. How could he? "Let me go! Don't touch me! L-leave me alone! Get off of me!"

Toriel stepped away from him, slightly hurt until she saw the look on his face. He was scared now, there in front of everyone. Chara was truly scared as his hands went to his heart, looking down as a slight cry escaped his lips. A tear slipped down his face, something he never expected to happen again. When was the last time he ever cried? When was the last time anyone had ever shown him that much love?

Frisk, too, could feel it. The pain of Chara's stone heart cracking just a bit. He was filled with determination as he realized what this means. Chara, although very powerful, wasn't as strong as he thought he was. His greatest weakness was their strength. Love makes people stronger, but Chara was vulnerable to it. Maybe it was possible to save Chara after all? It just may be possible to actually change Chara as long as they can surround him with people who would love him unconditionally.

Sans was actually surprised at this to see true fear come across Evil's face that he forgot all about his magic. Chara was free, and yet he wasn't running away. He wasn't trying to escape them or anything. He only stood there, clutching his chest as if in a panic. A lost child standing there like a deer in the headlights. At that moment, Sans pictured happy little kid he knew so many years before.

They were both playing inside the old Science lab, Asgore and Toriel having a meeting with Sans's adopted father, W.D. Gaster. It was late at night, and Papyrus was already in bed when he first saw him. Chara was sitting there, bored and kind of sleepy as Asriel leaned against him, fast asleep.

Sans, having finished a book full of puns, was eager to try them out on someone and had approached the human excitedly. At first, he remembered how unamused Chara was with his puns, but after a little while, came around and laughed.

After that, they had become good friends and had always played with each other whenever they went to the lab. It wasn't until Gaster warned him that something was wrong with Chara that Sans realized what his friend was. Gaster had made sure that out of the two brothers, Sans would possess the power needed to protect the Underground from humans who were just like his friend.

"The weight of your sins have to be heavy, pal. Why don't you just give up and let us help you?" Sans asked, not really wanting to fight at the moment. Thinking of their friendship back then and how Chara had basically looked up to him because he was older made things harder for him. He preferred not to think about those times, finding it easier to end the boy that way. "You don't have to hurt anyone anymore."

After awhile, Chara shook his head no, reaching behind him to pull out a toy knife. That devilish grin growing on his face as he looked over at the lady he used to call mom. Even if the weapon he had was a toy, he knew from experience that he could still cause some serious damage to the monsters with it. He just had to hit her hard enough.

"I don't like being touched, goat lady. Maybe I should teach you a lesson or two about manners? It definitely would be no trouble at all." With every step he took, Toriel watched the child she had raised coming after her. If it wasn't for Undyne's presence, she probably wouldn't have moved.

Undyne realized what was going on almost immediately and jumped in front of the queen. She glared at the boy in front of them, not caring if the boy was similar to Frisk. Frisk may have defeated her before, but there was no way this weak human was going to do the same. It may have been awhile since she last fought, but she was constantly training her body in case an emergency sent all monsters back underground.

"That's far enough, human. That dust on your shirt proves you are guilty of murder, so I suggest you say your goodbyes now. I'm not letting you leave here alive." Undyne pointed her large spear at the other boy as Frisk tried his best to pull Toriel back with Sans.

Chara stopped where he stood, his eyes lazily drifting over to a shaking Alphys standing not to far away from the rest of the group. He could see it in her eyes that she was blaming herself for his presence in this timeline. She was taking responsibility for the monsters he had killed and that amused him. She would forever blame herself for his actions, all because her mistake is what led him here. Honestly, he loved the new challenges this time brought to him. He loved the differences they were creating together, so in a way, he should thank her. 

"What happened, Alphys? This isn't your usual move, now is it?" Chara questioned, turning his attention to her. "Usually you wait until after I kill this goat lady and the skinny bones before sending Undyne after me. Who else did you call to confront me? Mettaton? Asgore? Papyrus? How many more of your so called friends do I have to kill before you decide to evacuate the kingdom like last time?"

Alphys was shocked, wondering if that was the plan she had come up with in his timeline. He knew the plan very well, which disappointed her since that was the only plan they had. If Undyne were to fail at any moment, Alphys would evacuate the kingdom for somewhere safer. Only this time, not every monster would be doomed to die within the underground. Some monsters have successfully moved on to live among the humans.

"Don't talk to her, you piece of garbage!" Undyne shouted out to him angrily. She didn't want her girlfriend to start doubting herself now, especially because this wasn't the time. Any distractions could lead to death. "Hey human, take everyone to safety. Sans, can we count on you to keep them safe until I get back?"

Sans nodded, not wanting anything else to happen to them. "I'll do what I can, but you can't kill him. Frisk and Chara are connected. Whenever one gets hurt, the other does too." They also didn't know what would happen if either one of them were to die. With Chara's broken soul, anything could happen to them. Frisk may suffer the same fate as flowey for all they know.

"What? Who's stupid mistake was it to do that?" Undyne asked, keeping her eyes on the boy in front of her. 

Sans sighed a bit before saying, "your girlfriend's."

With that, Undyne decided not to respond, afraid that Alphys would blame herself after hearing those words. She couldn't let that happen, not when it took her awhile to get over her last mistake. Besides, if this was truly her mess, Alphys needed the confidence to fix it. 

"You want to attack me? Go all out, Undyne. We'll see who's stronger!" Chara shouted as he spread his arms out wide. His smile grew bigger as he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "I won't move, so go ahead and hit me! Give it your best shot!"

Screams were all to be heard at the moment as Toriel's cries echoed along with Alphys's voice warning her not to. As Undyne reached Chara, she could see that clouded look in his eyes as if someone or something was making him do this. She could see that the boy on the other side of her attack was not in control himself. Although she wanted to stop her attack, it was too late. Her spear hit Chara spot on, blood quickly spreading across his shirt and dripping out from his wound as he slowly fell to his knees.

His smile never faltered as he looked over to see Frisk coping his movements, falling over in pain as Toriel held him close, begging him to be okay. Tears began to slip down Alphys's face as she watched Frisk laying there still as his breathing grew shallow in Toriel's arms, while Sans looked down to the ground.

"Look at what you've done, Undyne. Who's the monster now?" Chara spoke weakly as he fell forward, eyes closing as his hands were coated in blood. Undyne looked back to see everything play out. Like Chara, Frisk was laying still, blood coming out in the same location her spear pierced Chara. She couldn't believe what she had done. She killed the monster that had been terrorizing the others, but she also managed to kill one of her friends as well.

"Why? Why would you do this to me? Why did you take my children away from me again?" Toriel cried, gathering up Frisk as her tears landed on his cheek. If anything happened to him, his determination usually brought him back right away, but it wasn't working now. Frisk wasn't responding to her this time. "Sans, help me bring them home. Please. Alphys, call Asgore for me. Ask him to come home."

Sans walked over to Chara's body, gathering him up in his arms before following right behind Tori. Undyne couldn't help but feel guilty about what she had done, not just for taking away Frisk's life but for destroying Toriel's dream of fixing her family. She wanted to explain everything to them, why she had done it and what she had seen, but how could she? Even she couldn't find the words to explain her actions.

Undyne opened her mouth to apologize, but immediately closed it when she saw that heartbroken look in Toriel's eyes. Instead, she decided to give the woman some time to herself and pray that she could find it in her heart to forgive her. As she watched the two walk away, her eyes met with Alphys and asked, "do you think she'll be okay?"

"I think so. She just needs some time right now." Alphys answered. "Remember when Chara died the first time? She was so heart broken that she wouldn't step out of her room, and when she did, it was in time to see Asriel die. I can't imagine what kind of pain she's going through, but to loose the son she loves and the son she had just gotten back again has to be the worst."

As the women started walking away now, Undyne couldn't help but think about the boy she saw. Clouded eyes. His eyes were almost like a doll, no emotion, no power. No control. She wasn't sure about this, but she couldn't help but think something was inside him, pulling his strings. No human could be as heartless as Chara on their own, could they?

Once Toriel and Sans got back to her house, Toriel opened the door to the boys room and gently laid Frisk down on his bed. Sans doing the same on the empty bed on the opposite side of the room before moving Chara's hands to cover the wound.

"I'm really sorry about this, Tori. If it means anything, I wish this didn't happen to both of them." He gained Toriel's attention as she looked over at him, unable to find the words she wanted to say. "Back when I was a kid, I remember meeting Chara. He really was a good kid, ya know? We were best buds... I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't blame yourself for what happened to him. This isn't him."

"Chara had gone through a lot before he came to us. He would never tell us himself, but just by looking at him, you could see it in his eyes that Chara had gone through things no child should ever go through. His arms and legs had scars and bruises from before his fall. I'm not sure what exactly had happened to him up in the surface, but Chara had gone through a lot before coming here." Toriel shook her head no, looking back at both of her boys before saying, "this is him, Sans. I know it's him."