An Underswap AU: A Tale of Seven Book 1

Entry # 15: DETERMINATION

"DETERMINATION: The eighth Fallen Human in all of the timelines. I wonder if she is still in control."

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"Frisk? Frisk? . . . Are you there?"

Nobody responded.

Carefully, Chara moved his arms. No restraints. Feeling suspicious, he decided to move a bit. He walked, he ran, he opened and closed his fingers, he blinked, he spoke– a stupid grin tugged his lips.

Finally, after more than seventy timelines, he's in control once more! He's in control of his movements, his decisions, his DETERMINATION. And no one else.

Chara is so giddy, he hugged himself and rolled on the grassy ground while laughing. It felt so good to have his body back. To he able to feel something again other than. . .

He grimaced at the unpleasant memory. The brunette stood up and trudged the forest path leading to Ebott's summit. This time, he'll only finish one run. No more RESETs. Only CONTINUE. No more of that Neutral or Genocide crap. Only Pacifist.

He'll reach the ending of the story his way. Just like the original timeline.

At the back of his mind, he wondered where Frisk is. He got so accustomed in having her around that it felt so. . . lonely without her company. Chara shook his head. No, he should not be missing her. She's the reason why their world glitched so badly in the first place.

While he shares Frisk's ideal belief in saving everyone, the numerous futile attempts to do so has proven that such an objective is impossible to achieve. Frisk cannot accept that fact.

Chara, however, had long accepted that he can't free everyone from their prison, but he will do his best to save those that can be saved.

Dusk settled in, painting most of the heavens in an indigo hue. Stars emerged to emblazon the darkened skies, and the moon in it's waning crescent phase began to rise as the sun sets on the other side. Chara switched from walking to jogging then running. He can't possibly find the hole without a reliable light source.

"It should be here somewhere. . ." Chara trailed off, frantically scanning his surroundings. Where is it? He pushed past barely identifiable flora, cursing quietly when the forest is consumed by darkness. Where is it? He is starting to think that he climbed the wrong mountain.

With a flash of deja vu, he tripped on a rock and fell down an enormous hole veiled by hawthorn bushes and eerie shadows. Looks like the hole to the Underground found him instead.

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"Is it just me, or is the flower bed softer?" Chara muttered as he sat up, picking golden petals off his dark brown hair. He had seen this room so many times, and yet he would never grow tired seeing this place.

The sunlit bed of flowers turned into a sunlit pile of flowers, seemingly designed to break a fall from above. Chara sighed. Must be another glitch of this timeline. He slid down and entered the next room, where he found Flowey waiting for him, as usual.

"Good to know that he is not an Echo Flower anymore." Chara stared down at him, feigning curiosity and innocence. He doesn't know whether Flowey remembers the timelines or not, but considering that he keeps on repeating the same dialogue every RESET, Chara assumed that the sentient plant had no idea about his entire fiasco with Frisk.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" Flowey greeted cheerfully, bouncing on his stem. "Hmmm... You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused." Chara had the sudden urge to roll his eyes and walk past the flower. He stood still, however, vigilant for any change in script or tone. "Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!"

Their surroundings turned pitch black, and Chara's glowing red soul hovered over his chest.

"See that heart? That is your Soul, the very culmination of your being!" Flowey began his explanation. "Your Soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Five spinning white pellets appeared around him.

"Down here, LOVE is shared through... little white... "friendliness pellets". Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can!" Flowey said encouragingly, and Chara readied himself for the attack.

The spinning pellets approached Chara. The brunette dodged them in an instant.

Flowey frowned. "Hey buddy, you missed them. Let's try again, okay?"

Another batch of pellets drew near Chara. He avoided them again.

"Is this a joke?" Flower growled in irritation. "Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS!!!" He notices his speech bubble and immediately changes "bullets" into "friendliness pellets". Chara dodges the pellets the third time.

"You know what's going on here, don't you? You just wanted to see me suffer." A ring of pellets surrounded the brunette human. Flowey's face morphed into something even scarier than Sonic the Hedgehog's old movie design. "DIE." With that, he laughed maniacally as the ring began to close in. Chara deadpanned, counting the seconds till Asgore appears.

3, 2, 1. . .

A fireball sent Flowey blasting off again. Asgore emerged from the doorway, concern lacing his furry features. Chara beamed at him. Dad. . .

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth." The blonde haired goat said, checking the brunette for injuries. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Asgore, caretaker of the Ruins." He introduced himself with a reassuring smile. "I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs."

He reached out an open palm, and Chara held onto it. With that, the pair disappeared into the Ruins. Asgore guided him around the area and showed him how puzzles work. Of course, Chara already knew how to solve them, but he listened for old times sake. After all, this will be the last time he'll hear this dialogue from Asgore.

Little did he know, a huge surprise is waiting for him at the house, in the form of six human children who has been residing in the Ruins for the past ten years.