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“Greetings.”
Their voice was calm, polite, almost childish. There was no light in this place, only darkness, yet they were entirely visible. Their smile was as polite and happy as their voice and even their red eyes couldn’t give a single hint of the insanity raging inside them.
They had no soul. No feelings. Only madness. Only the mask they had polished years after years, to look sane.
They weren’t.
“Why are you here again ? Isn’t it the fifth time already ?”
“…”
Silence was the best answer to give. The longer you stayed silence, the more their polite and kind mask was going to crackle.
“I don’t understand why you always come back even though you always refuse to collaborate. We could be great partners you know ?”
They always talked a lot because they had to talk. Words make people feel secure. Words can fool people more easily than acts. Words can blind people from your true nature. Words are important to manipulate someone, to make them think you are sane. So they always talked a lot. They always made a good use of their words.
“Have you decided to stay silent forever ?”
“…”
“You still don’t want to cooperate ?”
“…”
“You think you can be the one in c o n t r o l ?
“…”
Silence was the best defense against words. Against their words in particular.
They sighed deeply and sat down. It was just a calculated act, but it at least meant they were done trying to threaten you. Silence was the best weapon against them, but no one really understood that.
They were only unable to react in front of someone who wasn’t talking or moving because no one was usually being silent in front of them.
People were crying, shouting, begging them for mercy, fighting, threatening them, but no one, no one was silent.
“Alright. I guess I’ll do the talking for both of us.”
“…”
“What do you want to talk about ?”
A sly grin. They couldn’t help but try any way possible to make you talk. Even if it was by making you suffer. Especially that way.
“Do you want to talk about your f r i e n d s ? The ones you killed just to meet me again ?”
“…”
“Well, well. I’ll take that for a yes. Let’s talk about… T o r i e l.”
No answer, as usual. No need to answer. Even if they expected one, there was no need to respond to their provocations.
“Toriel is a mother. She was born to be a mother. She’s old, so she considers herself as the mother of everyone, I’d say. She’s a strong woman, she is sometimes overprotective. She’s kind and understanding. She does her best for her children, and wants to protect them at all cost even if this mean becoming the bad guy. However she knows when she has to let them go.”
A little chuckle.
“She can kick asses, however. Don’t underestimate her. It’s not because she refuses to hurt her children that she won’t hurt anyone else. She’s determined and she is willing to make sacrifices. She tries not to regret her acts. She didn’t hesitate to part from Asgore because she believed that what he was doing was wrong, even if the support from her husband was most needed after the loss of her children. She was…”
They had a small hesitation but the smile came back immediately.
“She was the best mother. It was nice, being around her. She even kept chocolate in her fridge thinking about me. It’s best if she never discovers the truth about my death…”
They stayed silent an instant but the need of words quickly came back. When they weren’t on rampage, when they had to act sociable, they absolutely needed to talk.
“Who’s next ? A s g o r e ?”
“…”
“Asgore was a good father. He seems tough - and he is - but he’s a also a sweet and kind man who doesn’t like to fight. He used to be tougher. He still can fight and fight well but now… he lost all desire to fight. He just wants peace. He’s weak and a coward.”
They stopped for a second, chuckling a bit.
“Well, that’s what I’d like to say but I have to admit that it takes a lot of courage to kill innocent kids one by one because of one foolish war declaration when you’re a peace-lover person. It also takes a lot of courage to let go of your beloved wife and see her rebuilding her life away from you and not supporting you while you still love her anyway.”
They caught you staring at them.
“Well, not like I understand those feelings but at least I can get his point. I’m just imagining how he feels. If I hadn’t this ability, I surely wouldn’t have been able to fool the Dreemurr in thinking I was a good and just slightly mentally damaged kid.”
Maybe they expected you to say something but you didn’t so they went on with their analysis. It was a bit scary, to think that someone who had lost their ability to feel anything and who had fallen into their own madness was acting so lucid and so calm, but you weren’t afraid by them anymore.
You were protected by silence. It was enough to keep you safe.
“He’s a good kind and he bears the burden of all ruler without letting anyone see when he’s feeling down. People think he’s softening but I think it’s just a way to hide that he’s tired of all this. If he could just go back in time and stay stuck forever in a time where all was happy, he would. He’s a tired king. He was a good father to me. I think…”
The slightest hesitation in their voice. Whenever they talked about their feelings they were uncertain. Maybe, after all this time, they had grown more at ease with you to the point they were showing a bit of what was underneath their mask.
“I think I admired him, in a way. To be so kind yet so strong. To be a good father and a good king. I don’t think I still admire him because he’s weaker and a bit of a coward but he still owns that peaceful strength that made me envious.”
It takes four second for a silence to become uncomfortable. They knew that fact better than anyone. They couldn’t stop talking for more than three seconds else their real personality would become to appear.
“Let’s talk about S a n s, okay ? I strongly dislike that jerk. Because yeah, he’s a jerk. He’s not better than me.”
“…”
“Okay, he treated his brother better. But still. I can say that his brother is foolishly a good person but Sans isn’t.”
“…”
“What with that look ? I just strongly dislike him, that’s all. His strength makes him an annoying obstacle in my plans. He’s good at fighting and he’s sly. We… we’re similar in some ways, as much as I’m annoyed to say that.”
“…”
“I forbid you to laugh.”
“…”
“Sans is not what people think at first. You really have to test all the possibilities of this… game, to understand what he really is. He dislikes humans. If it wasn’t for Toriel, you would have been killed even with the most pacific intentions. He doesn’t believe that anyone can be a good person if they try. He lies when he says that. He’s just being hypocritical. He’s cynical. He doesn’t really care about anything. He knows about timelines and your existence, player, but what does he do against that ? When you killed Papyrus, what was he doing ? He knows it’s just another timeline that you will reset eventually. Okay, e cares about his brother the most. Okay, if you do a pacifist run, he’ll grow attached to you. But at first ? At first he acts like a good pal but I bet all you want that it’s just an act. He’s just watching that you’re not hurting his brother. It’s all for his brother, always. You’re just a way to make his brother happy.”
“…”
“… don’t tell me you’re a fan of Sans like so many players.”
“…”
“I’ll give you that, he’s an interesting character. At least, he’s aware that he’s just a pawn on your chessboard. There is always more than meet the eyes with him. And once you befriend with him, he can be a nice guy. But he’s so hypocritical that even I can’t know if he’s still playing a role with you to make his brother happy of if he really cares about you. A bit of both, I guess.”
“…”
“Okay, I’ll stop badmouthing that guy you like so much. He has good points but I just don’t want to talk about them since he’s a jerk. We killed him anyway.”
“…”
The sly smirk came back.
“Were you sad when he died ?”
“…”
“Or were you even sadder when you killed… P a p y r u s ? That guy is probably the best person in the Underground. It’s not like me to say that, but you should feel sorry you’ve killed him. Unfortunately I can’t feel anything anymore so… I don’t regret anything. But you, you can still regret. And honestly, if you have to feel sorry you’ve killed someone, feel sorry for him.”
Did they appreciate Papyrus ? Maybe. It might be because it reminded them of Asriel.
“Papyrus is foolish. He’s an idiot. He has beliefs and he holds onto them strongly. He’s… stupidly good. What I mean is, he never hates you. He always believes you can become a good person. Until the end, no matter your choices, he’ll always, always believe in you. It’s stupid and honestly, it makes me laugh but you, you can feel the strength behind his beliefs. Because if everyone turns their backs at you, he won’t. He will think you can take the right way. He’s foolish and an idiot. But a good idiot. He’s strong, psychologically, unlike his brother. He’s very strong. He has an amazing control over his power because he never kills you by accident. He’s way stronger than what people think. I think that if we had to really fight him one day, we might lose. Fortunately, the day he’ll realize you’re really a jerk will never come. He’s too stupid and innocent for that.”
“…”
“You regret having killed him ?”
You didn’t say anything. There was no need to. They were clever enough to know that you weren’t like them.
“Who should I talk about now ? Undyne ? Alphys ? Muffet ? Mettaton ?”
“…”
“… you know I’m not fond of talking about Asriel, don’t you ?”
You got up, implying that conversation was over.
“You’re not funny,” they chirped. “Why did you come here in the first place if you don’t want to make a deal with me ?”
“…”
“You still think you’re the one in c o n t r o l ?” they asked, their cheerful voice becoming dangerously low.
You shrugged with a soft smile. You were used to them threatening you now. Their creepy face wasn’t effective anymore.
“You’re weird,” they commented.
You knew they were interested in you because your behavior was unusual. No one was coming back here specially for them.
“Feel free to come back if you want to make a deal,” they said, calmly getting on their feet to follow you as you walked away in the darkness.
“…”
“You still won’t make one ?” they sighed with childish disappointment.
“Stop kidding me Chara,” you finally answered. “I know you’re not what you pretend to be. Stop acting like a good kid. It’s not what you are.”
“Talking at last !” they exclaimed with a hint of sarcasm in their voice, applauding happily.
“I won’t make a deal with you. I’ll do it my way.”
“You’ll true reset again to kill everyone once more ?” they asked and you could sense the scorn in their voice.
You stopped walking in the now familiar darkness and faced them, not answering.
“You’re cruel. Don’t you care about your… friends ?” they chuckled. “Don’t you have the slightest compassion for them ? I don’t understand why you keep on protecting their world while you kill them anyway to see me.”
“… I guess it’s worth it.”
For once, you answer shut them silent. They blinked, a bit surprised, then quickly regained their composure and laughed.
“I’ll be going now,” you concluded before they could add anything, turning your back at them again.
“Talk more, next time,” Chara said softly as you pressed the TRUE RESET button.
A little smile made its way to your lips as you disappeared from the dark space where Chara was waiting.
“Maybe.”