Chapter Text

Chara sat at the computer in New Home, impatiently waiting for their Steam game to finish downloading. The internet connection in the Underground was terrible, and as a result, it took ages for the simplest things to process. They tapped their fingers on the desk, a bored expression on their face. They jumped at a sudden, excited voice behind them.

“Hey, Chara! Whatcha doin’?”

Chara turned to look at the fluffy boss monster that had approached them and sighed. “Asriel, don’t scare me like that.” They gestured to the computer as they answered his question, “I’m downloading a game I found. It’s called OneShot.”

Asriel’s bright expression became even more excited. “Oh, I’ve heard of that! It looks fun! The main character is adorable! They’re like a cross between a monster and a human!”

Chara’s eyes turned to the small figure on the screen. Asriel had a point; they seemed to have human skin and hair, but their glowing yellow eyes and cat-like ears set them apart from others of Chara’s kind. The human smiled slightly. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

The conversation was brought to a quick end as the download completed itself and the game’s icon appeared on their desktop. Chara moved to open it, but Asriel stopped them.

“Chara, I don’t know exactly what happens in this game, but I really like the main character. Promise that whatever happens, you’ll do what’s best for them, okay?”

Chara raised an eyebrow, confused. “Uh, you do realize this is just a game, right, Az? I can always play it again.”

Asriel continued to stare at them with his wide puppy-dog eyes until Chara had no choice but to give in. “Fine, fine. I’ll keep them safe. You’re such a weirdo.” Chara turned back to the screen and double-clicked the icon. A pop-up appeared for a minute as the game loaded, then disappeared so the game could open. A black window appeared in the center of the screen and promptly locked up.

Chara made a frustrated sound and clicked the screen a few times as if that could somehow make it load. The computer’s only response was to glitch slightly. As it did so, Chara shuddered involuntarily. The screen glitched again, this time more severely. The human felt a sharp pain in their chest as their red soul began to glow. Their hand flew upward, clutching their chest.

“Chara, are you okay…?” Asriel asked them, concerned.

“I-I don’t know. Something’s happening, I don’t-” The computer began to glitch more rapidly and more intensely. Chara looked down at their hands, which they now noticed were almost transparent. Panicked, they shouted out, “ASRIE-”

The computer crashed.

Chara was nowhere to be found.