Raise The Black Flag

Chara had followed her sister into the darkness when she felt a stinging sensation in her neck and fell to the floor. She heard a voice but couldn't make out who it was, however she quickly realized, nothing had happened. Slowly she got to her feet and the lights kicked on, Revealing Dr Roman standing over Chara.

"Got you again dear, you really must stay on your toes if you're to become a knight like your brother!"

Chara was confused but quickly realized Dr Roman had gotten her again. They had a tradition of sneaking up on each other and pinching when it was least expected and she couldn't help but laugh, hugging Roman. "Uncle Roman! Have you seen Samas? She was crying"

Roman thought a moment, trying to remember but it quickly came to him "Yeah. Samas ran into the lab. I know you want to go after her, but I have something to talk to you about first. Could you come with me?"

Chara nodded and followed Roman into an operating room where they say down together. "I have to be honest with you Chara. In my experiments, I was right. Set points in the universe and beyond, I've discovered them. Things that must always happen. And I hated what I saw"

Chara seemed a bit confused but was intent on listening, Roman and Gaster had played a large part in helping raise her, Asriel, and Samas. "What did you see?"

Roman sighs, standing and beginning to pace. "Everyone's death… I've learned of the truth of our multiverse. Our singular universe is in of itself a multiverse, with every choice we make we create an offset timeline a universe where we did the opposite, or where we did nothing at all."

Chara was even more confused, however, she must have made it too obvious, because Roman gave her a smile indicating he noticed her confusion "If it's at all confusing try and imagine a ruler. There are an infinite amount of decimal numbers between 1 and 2. 1.1111111 and so on, infinitely, and in-between each decimal, there's infinite more decimals 1.1.1.1.1 so on and so forth."

"Because of this, we have alternate realities that are so drastically different or just the same. But through all of them, there's always a guarantee of things that must always happen, these are the set points. It all begins with a human, falling down Mt Ebott, and getting adopted by the Dreemurrs. That's you, then, my brother Dr Gaster disappears from reality itself, dying. Following that you will die and Prince Asriel will claim your soul and return your body to the surface where he will be killed by the humans."

"This will cause a chain of events, splitting the Dreemurr Family. More humans fall, and more humans die until the eighth child falls. And with the eighth child comes chaos, they will free all of the monster kind or will slaughter us all."

It was like a horror movie listening to Roman, all those deaths… were they truly unavoidable, and why was he telling her this? "And there's no way to stop it?"

Roman sighed, leaning against the wall and rubbing his temples "Yes, but not in a way that doesn't violate my morals and turn me into some kind of monster"

Chara now went from horror and confusion to concern. "What do you mean?"

Roman now turned his attention completely to Chara, his face serious. "The eighth child will bear the same power that you do, your intense determination. It allows you to save and load, if you die and choose to persist you will load a previous point. Your soul is unique. The red soul has always been a mystery, but I've figured it out. Your Red Soul is Humanity. You are near the six primary traits of Humanity, capable of using the power of all of them, giving you a unique connection to Determination, you can completely resist the void, and you can always come back! You are the solution!"

Chara tried to wrap her head around this, but it was just so much information to wrap her head around, how could she help? She needed to know, she needed to help "What can I do?"

"The answer is your soul, but I don't understand it. Experiments would need to be in order… death. Maiming. What exactly your soul can persist through? Learning this can help me find a way to become unbound from the universe. A way to guarantee success, but time is limited. We are already so close to the first event, my brother's disappearance. It could happen any day now and every event soon after. I need to understand your soul, how it persists, and replicate, give myself infinite time. But the experiments… are ghastly"

Chara was silent now. She had to think. If these events transpired, everyone could and will die. If there was something to be done, she would ensure it. "I was ready to die when I climbed Mt. Ebott. You guys gave me a chance, a new life. I'd do anything to save everyone. Even endure these experiments"

Roman remained quiet, silently contemplating the repercussions. "You're aware this might not work. It could drive us both to madness, in a perpetual cycle of torture and death, are you prepared to take that risk?"

Chara nodded, confirming her readiness to undertake such a grueling task. "This might sting a bit" Roman approached her with a needle, taking her arm and prepping it with an alcohol swab before I jecting her with a needle filled with a strange liquid.

"This will put you to sleep. Only you and I will remember what happens here today."

****

Samas entered her lab with tears streaming down her face. Falling to her hands and knees, she allowed her glasses to slip off her face and hit the ground. She heard it from their lips, they don't even think about her. Edrege was right, she was nothing to them.

After a few deep breaths, she picked up her glasses, bringing them back to her face and wiping her eyes free of tears. She had a look around and realized the lab was completely different. There was some sort of strange door, connected to a metal box.

She approached it slowly and with the utmost caution. A symbol on the door resembled a strange hand with a hole in the center, with hesitance, she opened the door slowly and felt a deep chill in her body. She lost almost all neural ability as she felt a strange force take control of her body as she walked into the strange door. Inside Samas saw true horror.

Before her eyes, she saw a void consuming her world, all of her friends, all of her family. Everyone is taken by this void and laying waste to the very universe. The multiverse. Everything. Gone… like that. She could no longer breathe, she felt herself being pulled into this void, to fall into it like everyone else. She felt herself slipping, deeper and deeper. The sound of a slamming door behind her as she fell into the Void.

****

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

Edrege continued his march deeper and deeper into the lab. He knew that Roman was close, he could feel it. It was finally time to remove Roman from this world.

After what seemed to be hours he made it to the end, the final hallway. That's when it hit him, the overpowering stench of blood and rot. Fearing the worst Edrege began sprinting down the hall, throwing open every door he could find, the stench of blood getting stronger and stronger until he came to the operating room.

He burst into the room, Chara standing over Romans's body. Roman had cracks all over his skull, and blood was seeping from it onto his lab coat, staining it. Edrege was confused, but his anger turned into concern as he walked in, Chara, noticing him turned her concern from Roman to Edrege.

"Edrege! What happened to your arm?! Your armor?! You are covered in burns! What happened to you?!"

Edrege was confused to see Chara in good shape and Roman to be the one who was injured, but he quickly brushed off Chara as if questioning. "What happened to Roman, where have you been?"

Chara wasn't sure how to respond, she had no idea it and been that long, did the saves and loads not work? She thought of an excuse that wasn't exactly a lie, she couldn't risk Edrege being able to tell she was lying. "Roman and I have been running experiments, we were just about to leave and look for Samas when she burst in and Attacked Roman. Smashing him over the head with a hammer."

Edrege was thrown for a loop, this sounded nothing like what their sister would do, but he could tell Chara wasn't lying. He just wasn't sure how this could be possible. "Did you see where Samas went?"

Chara shook her head no, returning to Roman "Edrege, we need to get out of here. You and Roman are badly injured. We need to get you both to a doctor immediately!"

Edrege sighed, struggling with what he needed to do. He had already crossed a massive line… that's when it dawned on him. He killed Gaster… oh god, he killed Gaster. He felt a bit of panic set in, but quickly stifled it, looking back at Chara he just gave a soft nod. "Sure… let's get out of here. I'll carry Roman, don't worry"

With no hesitation, Edrege, with his one arm, threw Roman over his shoulders and began to leave, Chara close behind when they heard crashing. They quickly turned their attention to the sound and sprinted towards it. It was Samas' Lab.

They burst through the doors and saw strange liquids scattered across the floor, broken glass, and in the very center, a small goat girl, lying in a puddle of her blood.