Across the Timelines [an Undertale Fanfiction]

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. "Stay there like a good little boy and let's talk. Frisk, here, still believes there is good in you buried somewhere 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."

Chara crossed his arms over his chest as he said, "who ever said that I wanted to be saved? I like how I am. I like what I do." By instinct, a hand flew over to his golden locket, holding it tightly as he met Frisk's eyes. "Why would I ever go back to the way I was before?"

"Chara, please, don't do this!" Frisk begged, hoping the other boy would hear him out. "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. "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.

"You sure have changed over the years, kid. If I've never gone through the game with you, 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. "What's in the locket?"

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. 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? Why do they deserve to be happy?"

"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."

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.

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. He could feel Toriel's worried stare on him as she realized what was happening. Chara was in trouble and Sans would deliver punishment.

"Sans, what are you doing to that poor child! Let him go 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. "Leave my son alone, please."

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! Chara, I'm sorry I didn't realize it was you. I kind of suspected it, but I didn't believe it was possible." Ignoring Sans's magic, Toriel walked over and wrapped her fluffy arms around him, surprising Chara a bit. "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. "Let me go! Don't touch 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.

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. It just may be possible to actually change Chara as long as they can surround him with the people who cared.

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. He wasn't trying to escape them or anything. He only stood there, clutching his chest as if in a panic. 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 another knife. That devilish grin growing on his face as he looked over at the lady he used to call mom.

"I don't like being touched, goat lady. Maybe I should teach you a lesson or two? It 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, after having been told everything, realized what was going on 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.

"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.

"Don't talk to her, you piece of garbage!" Undyne shouted. "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."

"What? Who's stupid mistake was it to do that?"

"Your girlfriend's."

With that, Undyne decided not to respond, afraid that Alphys would blame herself after hearing her words. She couldn't let that happen, not when it took her awhile to get over her last mistake.

"You want to attack me? Go all out, Undyne. We'll see who's stronger!" Chara shouted as he spread his arms out wide. "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. Although she wanted to stop her attack, it was too late. Her spear hit Chara spot on, blood 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 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 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 by now, but it wasn't working. Frisk still wasn't responding to her. "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.

Undyne opened her mouth to apologize, but immediately closed it when she saw that broken look in her eyes. As she watched the two walk away, her eyes met with Alphys and asked, "will she 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 brokened 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 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, 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."

Toriel shook her head no, looking back at both of her boys before saying, "it is him. I know it's him."