HE SETS HIS SIGN IN THE SKY | JUNE CATCH-ALL

[the_obedient_servant]

Who: Chara + CR, both old and new.
What: Chara reveals some memories, fights their repressed conscience in their dreams, is one haunted ghost and goes spelunking. Plus other stuff!
When: Around the month of June.
Where: All over.

Comments

[the_obedient_servant]

Of course not. I gave you every opportunity to back out. Sans gave you just as many. [They don't need to wait. They turn the corner and Chara is standing against the wall, the buttercups failing to graze their legs. Being a ghost has some perks.]

But... to you. To both of you. It was all just a game. The consequences never mattered a damn bit, because why would they? You were children with the power akin to a god. [The gateway to Asgore's garden awaits the both of them. It always frustrated Chara, that so many people were relying on Asgore once again to save them, and once again he failed.

They didn't expect him to be a difficult fight. How could he be? He's always been too soft hearted to play at the genocidal child killing tyrant that he really ought to be. Chara would offer the souls rest. Peace. Why would they choose him over them?

Asgore's silhouette can be seen ahead, staring after Flowey in the doorway.] Neither of you ever dared imagine that your actions might have had consequences.

But you were a victim too, Frisk. On some level, we both were.

[stilljustyou]

Neither of us were really in control.

( But, Frisk never fought it. They didn't want to. Ultimately, they were happy with going back and reliving their adventure. Maybe they should have done more. They would have, if they knew what fate awaited their friend. Perhaps Chara liked that power, but Frisk knows the consequences of gaining LOVE. )

But, I should have done more - for both of us. For them, too.

( At the time, it became so easy to bring harm to others. But, looking back at it now -- it's nothing that Frisk wants to experience again.

They watch as Frisk -- the other Frisk -- approaches Asgore, only for the King to turn when they stop in front of them.

* You must be the one the flower warned me about
* Howdy!
* Erm...
* What kind of monster are you...?
* Sorry, I cannot tell.

They recall, briefly. Papyrus had said something similar to them. Back then, those words didn't matter at all to them. )

[the_obedient_servant]

There's nothing you could have done, Frisk.

[It's true. What could they possibly do against the will of something that could override their free will?]

I freed us, in the end, you know. At least I thought I did. Do you remember that memory in which we shared a body and were referred to as "Kris"? I suspect that was a later memory. Something that came after this ending.

The true ending.

[The King continues, his voice gentle and patient. Chara still wonders. Flowey recognized them as Chara. Toriel recognized them as a threat. Sans said they were pretending to be human. And now Asgore says the same.

Chara is a ghost. A revenant of sorts. But they don't feel like they were the one being spoken to, here.

A demon, perhaps?

* Now, now. There's no need to fight.
* Why not settle this...
* Over a nice cup of tea?

Chara's anger drives them forward (Or is it Frisk's? Is there a difference in this moment?) and they bring their dagger forward into his worthless coward heart, letting his body turn to dust. There's a sneer on their face. That feels like them.

The EXP gives them both power, and Chara grows stronger.

And then Flowey arrives, to steal their kill, his leaves shaking with fear as the two of them (one of them) looms over him, approaching, knife outstretched.]

He really wasn't ever worth the mercy we granted him, was he? Look at him. How utterly pathetic. As if he'd never tortured them all for his own sick enjoyment. As if he'd never killed you and made it extra painful. As if he was ever any better than either of us.

[stilljustyou]

( They remember. There was a lot about that memory that felt wrong. Frisk may have had more control then, but it was almost as though they had been erased from the world completely. In that sense, were they really free? )

Even if it isn't forever, we can be ourselves together in this new world.

( Frisk knows the fate of most of the people who wake up at the trench. So many people have left. It's not really a thought they've wanted to entertain too much. Right now, Chara has a second chance in life. Frisk has the opportunity to get to know them. If not for their situation now, Chara would still just be a memory that monsters spoke of. )

But, this can't be the true ending. Almost everyone had the chance to be happy when the monsters were freed.

( Almost everyone. What about Asriel? What about Chara? Even now, Frisk knows that it was them that had ended up freeing the monsters.

The moment that the knife moves forward is a moment when Frisk wonders if Chara and Frisk are one in the same. They recognize that anger, after all. They've seen snippets of it when Chara's killed. But, they know that at this point in time, Frisk is the one that wanted to continue to gain LOVE.

It's difficult not to look away when Asgore is killed. It doesn't even feel like a FIGHT at that point in time. It feels like nothing more than murder. It's painful, Frisk thinks. The ending that Asgore faces in this timeline is far more brutal than when Frisk had decided to spare him.

But then, Flowey appears -- finishing him off and looking up at Frisk with a pleading smile, and for a moment -- Frisk can't help but see Asriel in him for the first time.

See?
I never betrayed you!
It was all a trick, see?
I was waiting to kill him for you!
After all it's me your best friend!
I'm helpful, I can be useful to you!
I promise I won't be in your way
I can help....
I can...
I can...
Please, don't kill me. )

He wanted to change in another timeline. If we meet again--

Even if I can't save him -- I don't want to kill him.

( Even now, Frisk still forgives him. )

[the_obedient_servant]

Yes. While we're here. We live in an endless cycle of horror and tragedy, but we're free.

[Or at least they get to think they are. Chara's still not sure what freedom means for the guide and the avatar, but they're something approaching it here.

They chuckle a little.] It's easier to think of it that way, isn't it? But the thing that the comedian and I both understood was that the happiness was always temporary. The timeline would be reset. It was not a matter of if, it was a matter of when.

It's only right that in the happy ending, I would fade away into nothing. And in the worst ending, I would be granted a soul and a body.

[They step forward, closer to this little weed, their knife in front of them. As Frisk looks upon him with mercy, with kindness, Chara looks upon him with nothing but disdain.]

It's all his fault that it's so messed up, you know? He says he never betrayed me, but he betrayed me a long time ago. None of this would have happened if he'd been a good partner and not gone against my orders.

But it's okay, Frisk. You don't have to kill him.

[And suddenly, Chara takes the body for their own. Now, it's Frisk's turn to play the role of observer. And it's Chara's turn for revenge. Chara in Frisk's body grins a large slasher smile, and lowers their knife to point it at this little weed.]

What was it you always said, malformed abomination masquerading as my dead brother? Oh, right. In this world...

I T ' S K I L L O R B E K I L L E D.

[And as Chara hacks him to pieces with a sadistic angry laugh, tears drip down their cheeks, in thick black clumps as their eyes become as dark and as cold as the void itself.

When all is said and done, they rise to their feet and stare up at Frisk.]

* Greetings.

[stilljustyou]

( It's true. The world they were in was far darker than how warm the underground would be. However, Frisk wasn't as pessimistic about it as Chara was. There were some good things about it -- the people that they've met, the opportunities that some people have here that they wouldn't at home. And while Chara may dislike the anomaly; no matter how many times they RESET, there were many timelines where they didn't find themselves minding the fact that they got to relive their adventure.

Frisk can't help but shake their head at Chara's words. They don't quite understand the implication of their words -- not completely. )

... You were able to help everyone in one timeline. You seemed happier then, too.

( They know that now. The one that was guiding them had become so direct and almost emotionless then. But, Frisk was no better. After a while, all they could think about was increasing their LOVE.

Chara speaks again, and it's a stark reminder of how different the two of them are. Though, they know better than to underestimate the pain that Chara and Asriel have both been through. There may never be a time when Chara forgives Asriel for what they've done. But--

He didn't deserve to die.

The scene before them is cruel. They see Chara's anger as Asriel is reduced to nothing. Frisk visibly flinches, and it takes a significant amount of strength to fight the urge to cover their ears and avert their eyes. They've seen many sides of Flowey through the timelines they've experienced -- but, they've never seen such hopelessness or fear from them. Though, it doesn't seem to last long.

But, they see Chara's pain as well. There's no mistaking the tears that fall. It's almost strange. They know how LOVE can affect emotions, but -- it only reinforces Frisk's belief of how burdened the two siblings truly were.

But, it's what Frisk sees next that truly catches them off guard. )

... How? ( They had seen Chara take control, but this? It was almost as though -- Chara was no longer a ghost. ) How did we become separate?

[the_obedient_servant]

You still don't get it, do you? [Chara's voice is right beside Frisk, a hand on their shoulder as they watch themselves from outside of their body this time.] The happy ending helped nobody. Because no matter what happened, no matter how many times we went for it, the happiness wouldn't last. It would repeat, and it would once again land us back here.

There is nothing you could do about it.

[The Chara before them continues speaking, and the Chara that stands next to their partner smiles. It's about to begin. It's about to end. The culmination of years of work, of a hundred deaths.

The apathy sets deep within them as they remember the thrill of the heartbreak behind this action. The thrill behind leaving it all in the dust.]

* I am Chara.
* Thank you.
* Your power awakened me from death. My... "human soul." My "determination." They were not mine. But YOURS.

[The Chara before them looks past Frisk. They speak to Frisk, but there's not a single acknowledgement of Frisk as an individual, only as a window to their true partner.]

* At first. I was so confused. Our plan had failed, had it not?
* Why was I brought back to life?
* You. With your guidance, I realized the purpose of my reincarnation.
* Power.
* Together, we eradicated the enemy and became strong.
* HP. ATK. DEF. EXP. LVL. Every time a number increases? That feeling?
* That's me.
* "Chara." The demon who comes when it's name is called.
* Now, we have reached the point of absolute.
* Let us erase this pointless world and move on to the next.

[ERASE] [DO NOT]

[Chara folds their hands behind their back, looking at Frisk, to see what they'll do. But they already know.]

To answer your question...

We never became separate, Frisk. Even now, even in Trench, my soul is not mine. My body is not mine. They were both shattered long, long ago. No. My body and soul...

They're yours, Frisk.

[stilljustyou]

That's not true. ( Frisk doesn't move to remove the hand on their shoulder, despite their words. ) ... Even if they wanted us to hurt others, we were still able to make everyone happy once. I came from the timeline when we were able to stop this timeline and go back to try to make things better.

( Perhaps that's the biggest difference between the both of them. Frisk refuses to believe that there's no possibility of a truly happy ending for everyone. Perhaps that in itself was part of their DETERMINATION. If they didn't believe in something like that, then how could they have gotten through their fight with Asriel?

Their attention goes back to the scene before them then, their previous feeling of dread only growing. It's not just the way that Chara is introducing themselves (after all, they understand. They, too, felt that power grow as their LOVE increased). Things have only become more difficult to watch. But, strangely enough, along with that feeling of dread, there's--

A strange feeling of emptiness, as well. The words Chara speaks is haunting, but Frisk realizes that there's truly no point in remaining in a timeline like this. But, why wouldn't they offer to RESET? They don't understand. Erasing the world...

Would they be able to go back afterwards?

They quickly look back to Chara upon hearing their words, shaking their head. )

No.

You're your own person. We're connected, but... we aren't the same here.

( It doesn't make sense. Being here meant that Chara had another chance to be alive. ... Didn't it?

It seems as though they don't have time to linger on such thoughts, not when the anomaly is making their choice. It feels like it takes a long time for them to do so -- seconds stretching into minutes until they finally answer Chara's question.

[ERASE] [❤️DO NOT] )