AN- Look!ANOTHER Undertale fic! I swear I'll get around to my other fandoms eventually.

Disclaimer- I don't own Undertale

I'm so tired PART 1

It always started with the flowers, golden petals gleaming in the small amount of light that reached down that far. Chara reached out for that familiar warmth on instinct, too many RESETS where the two of them were separated, and the warmth of Frisk's soul rushes through her with reassuring kindness. It was weaker than last time, which had been weaker than last time, and weaker than last time, weaker than last time, weaker than last time-

Chara, Frisk butted in gently, her voice tired even in their shared head. I'm fine.

But she weren't, and both of them knew it. She were running out of Determination, and when that happened-

Chara refused to think about it.

It's your turn to choose, she finally respond, putting off the problem as the two of them were apt to. They had plenty of time to take care of things, time was the only thing they had besides each other after all.

Chara, Frisk said quietly, I'm so tired. I just want to take a break.

She grit her teeth, feeling frustration build at the situation. Frisk had earned her happy ending a long time ago, if she even had to earn it at all. All of those nightmare genocides were Chara's fault after all. And while a part of her was grateful that she didn't have to go through this endless repeating hell alone, Frisk deserved to have a rest.

Chara released a long slow breath.

Alright, Chara said gently, You just sleep. I'll take care of everything this time.

…no stabbing?

Chara chuckled, standing up and heading towards the room where they would meet Flowey again. No violence if only so you don't have to worry. I promise.

Gratitude washed over the self proclaimed demon and then Frisk's consciousness was as gone as it could be, feeling almost like she had slipped into a coma. Chara steeled herself and walked through the doorway, the familiar friendly chip grating on her nerves as soon as it started.

"Howdy!" the golden flower said, his tone a little more forced than it had been than last time. "I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"

"Flowey," Chara said darkly, "How much do you remember"

The flower flinched, before sneering, "What do you think?! We're stuck like this. Might as well give up now. How many resets has it been? How old do you think you are now Chara?"

"Shut up," Chara snapped. "There has to be a way."

"And that right there is why these loops are never going to end," he said haughtily. "Because you're Determined to find a way out."

Chara flinched, and before any more could be said the familiar flare of fire magic appeared and Flowey was gone.

"What a miserable creature. Tormenting a poor innocent soul like you," the familiar bulk of Toriel taking up most of her vision. Chara took a mental deep breath and put on her best 'Frisk' face. If the other soul wanted to rest, then it would be best to just go through this normally, like the first time Frisk had freed everyone.

"Don't be afraid my child," Toriel said, "My name is Toriel, keeper of the Ruins-"

Chara found her attention waning as the almost scripted lines washed over her. She moved when it was required and nodded along whenever the boss monster glanced back at her.

Rest well Frisk, Chara whispered in her mind, I'll take of everything.

The rest of the trip through the Ruins was uneventful, complementing every monster that came up, cheering Napstablook on, buy a spider donut for the later confrontation with Muffet, purposely avoid the toy knife, and meet up with Toriel again. Rest for the night, store the pie, and go trigger the fight with Toriel.

The same thing time after time after time. Chara could understand why Frisk always seemed so exhausted by the end of every timeline. She leaned into the hug that Toriel gave a little but more than necessary before the goat woman left again. Chara wanted to say that she still loved her adopted mom, especially since Frisk definitely did, but it was hard to see them as actual people the longer these loops went on.

Still, Frisk didn't like it when she killed everyone. And at this point Frisk was the only one that mattered

Flowey wasn't in the next chamber, and Chara hoped that it meant that he was looking for something useful for once, but she doubted it. The stupid soulless creature prefered to follow her around to try and get her to stab things instead.

The sharp chill of Snowdin air snapped her from her thoughts, and the large door shut behind her with a finalizing bang. Chara took the moment to lean against the door and let out a breath. She was barely beginning and she was already ready to curl up and sleep. She wanted a run where she and Frisk went looking for something new, something to fill them with Determination. She wanted a run where they finally got a lead on why the world kept resetting even when they didn't press that goddamn button.

She wanted this to be done.

But until then, Chara had to stay Determined, especially if Frisk started to waver. The two of them went through ups and downs, and Frisk had always been there for Chara's, so the least she could do is help support Frisk's wavering Determination when the time came around.

She pushed off of the door, and stepped through the snow, leaving behind footprints as she shivered slightly, pulling more into Frisk's sweater. She stepped over the stupid branch that the smiley trashbag always snapped, but made sure to flinch when it snapped.

There had been one time that she had stepped in for Frisk but hadn't acted surprised and smiley trashbag had spent the whole run staring at her as if she was going to stab anyone at any moment. Which by the end of that run, Chara had really really wanted to, if only to get the feeling of his eyes off of her back.

"H.u.m.a.n," the voice said from behind her, "D.o.n.t.y.o.u.k.n.o.w.h.o.w.t.o.g.r.e.e.t.a.n.e.w.p.a.l? T.u.r.n.a.r.o.n.d.a.n.d.s.h.a.k.e.m.y.h.a.n.d."

Chara didn't have to fake her shiver as she turned around hesitantly and stuck her hand in his. The whoopee cushion filled the air, and she forced a giggle, earning a grin from the stout skeleton. Good. Maybe they could have a peacefully run.

As they went through the motions of their introduction, Chara let her mind run on autopilot, running her thoughts through the run two resets ago, when they had finally managed to fix the major glitches in the SAVE files. If it had worked then they should stop having the Underground change on them. Though that one run where everyone was cruel had been fun for her.

"-kid?" Sans' voice broke her out of her thoughts, as he changed the script that was usually followed.

Chara blinked, and smiled at him in confusion.

"you uh, were zoning out there for a minute buddy," Sans commented, which had Chara twitch mentally. The smiley trashbag had never cared enough to tell when something like that happened before.

"I'm fine," she chirped, and twisted her face into apprehension. Crap, she wasn't good at being Frisk when the script changed. If it got really bad she could just kill everyone- She shook her head, she had promised Frisk. "Is your brother really coming this way?"

Sans winked, "yup. don't worry though i'll keep an eye socket out for ya."

Chara made sure to giggle again as they crossed the bridge. Ugh, and now she had to deal with Papyrus. He was fine in short bursts, but too long and Chara started to long for her knife again, if only for a little bit of silence. She ducked behind the lamp when Sans directed her too, and faked a giggle at every pun that Sans made.

She made a face when Papyrus finally left, but schooled her face into Frisk's usual expression when she stepped away from the lamp. Sans gave her a weird look before saying his usual lines, and they continued forward. Chara racked her brain as she walked, wondering what she had done for Sans to study her with such scrutiny.

She huffed under her breath, but continued forward anyways, pulling her arms closer to her body to stay warm. Her breath came out in white puffs in front of her, and she actually laughed at that, breathing out on purpose to see it again.

"Dragon's breath," she said to herself, "The only magic humans can use any more."

She grinned, and continued onwards with a lighter heart, actually enjoying the meetings with the canine unit. If Frisk ever did let her go on a Genocide run again, they were going to be some of the people she spared.

Greater Dog licked at her face, and Chara giggled, giving the white fur one more pet before letting the monster go. She straightened as the dog left, and caught the sight of bright yellow from the corner of her eyes. She whipped around to glare at the flower that was trying to duck back into the cold ground.

"What are you doing here?" Chara snapped, narrowing her eyes. She had thought that he had stopped following them around once he had started to get his own deja vu feelings and realized that the RESETS had been going on for a lot longer than he had thought. The stupid flower loved to rub the constant loops in their face despite the fact that he didn't really remember them.

Flowey sneered, though there was a slight hesitance in the expression. "How long have you done this?"

Chara stared at him in surprise, wondering if she should grab Frisk from her self imposed coma. Flowey always avoided them, whether because he was trying to steal the timeline or because afterwards he just didn't want to deal with the pity of not having a Soul. This was the first time that he had ever tried to talk about the RESETS in a form other than mocking them about the constant loops.

"...long enough that I lost count around ten thousand," Chara admitted just to see his reaction. She would let Frisk rest unless things went really off script. Chara's solution to that tended to be violent which never ended well for anyone.

Flowey stared at her in a mix of horror and surprise. "Why do you keep doing this?"

Chara let out a bitter laugh, crouching down to his level, "What makes you think we have a choice? I think Frisk's died of old age hundreds of times by now, and every time she does we end up back at those stupid flowers. Nowadays we don't even press that damned button. It just happens." She cocked her head to the side, "You seem to have a basic remembrance. You asked about how long we've done this earlier."

The flower flinched, though Chara couldn't figure out why, and was gone again. She sighed standing up. Maybe if he did start to remember things even past the True RESETS, there would be one more person to help stave off the exhaustion and repetitions. It would be nice to have her brother back in some form, and maybe they could get really serious about fixing his missing soul problem.

She went through the motions of going through Snowdin, though she didn't feel the need to stop by the store. Chara may not have the talent that Frisk did at dodging, but she knew the attacks of everyone in the Underground by heart now.

Befriending Papyrus was a simple process as always, and the battle between the two of them was always the least stressful. Being against the one person who had never killed her probably helped.

Waterfall was nice, the darker area appealing to her normal mood. Chara took a moment to grab the dusty tutu, and stood in the hidden area to take a moment to breath. She never figured out how Frisk could go around befriending every monster without getting frustrated. She leaned against the wall, and slid down so that she was sitting on the ground. Everything after this point got frantic until the barrier was broken.

She jerked when Flowey popped up from the ground in front of her. The flower narrowed his eyes at her.

"What are you playing at Chara?" he asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she admitted truthfully. She hadn't done anything to lead him on for a long time. She was always straight with him. She was done with their plan, because Asriel was dead, he wasn't her brother, and the only person she cared about was Frisk. And Frisk actually liked this world.

Flowey waved a leaf in the air as if to encompass everything. "This long con with Frisk. You can't seriously believe that people like us can ever get along with someone like her."

Chara flinched, that statement hitting a little bit too close to home for her comfort. A part of her waited for the normal rush of warmth and comfort that Frisk would send, and though she knew it wouldn't happen with the state that Frisk was in, she couldn't help but wonder if it was because Frisk finally couldn't stand her.

"I'm not planning anything," Chara snapped back, standing up to leave, "Not like you always are Asriel."

"Don't call me that!" the flower snapped, "I'm not him!"

"No," Chara said softly, "No, you're not. You're not my best friend, and haven't been for a long time."

Flowey flinched, and Chara felt a small spike of guilt at that. She didn't want to hurt the flower's feelings- ok that was a lie, but Frisk wouldn't have wanted her too. The other girl always tried to befriend Flowey without fail, no matter how many times the stupid flower got in their way.

Chara sighed, and turned to leave the small alcove, freezing at the sight of Sans standing there casually. His hands were still stuffed in his pockets, which she counted as a good sign. Flowey made a small whimper of fear from behind her, and Chara was certain that he would tunnel into the ground to escape and leave her behind.

"hey kid," Sans said as casual as his posture, but there was something off with his constant grin, and Chara found herself shifting into the defensive on instinct. A reload now would force Frisk out of her rest, and make her even more tired. That would be unacceptable.

The Smiley Trashbag's eyes flickered over her, "so it seems like we need to talk."

Chara thought about keeping the act going, before slumping tiredly and sighing, "What gave me away?"

Sans shrugged, "all of my notes say that the kid doesn't like to talk, but there was snow hesitation when you addressed me earlier."

Chara groaned at the pun and her mistake. She had completely forgotten about that, since the two of them always talked in their head so there was no hesitation from Frisk.

Sans eyed her, "then there was that moment against the door earlier, and talking to that flower. makes little ol' me feel leafed out, you know?"

She twitched at the second pun. "Fine," she said through grit teeth, "I get it. It was obvious. What do you want?"

The skeleton brought his hands up in a shrug, "oh you know. just want to know if your fighting skills are getting dusty."

Chara caught the familiar glint of anger in his eyes before it was hidden behind his normal unreadable face. She rolled her eyes, "Do your notes say how long it's been since I've done anything like that?"

"with you in control, there's still a ghost of a chance," Sans said darkly.

Chara twitched again. "I don't have to put up with this," she muttered, moving to go around him and get back on track for this run.

Her soul pinged blue, and Sans slammed her against the wall hard enough that her HP went down. His left eye sparked with magic, and Chara snarled at him.

"What the hell was that for?" she snapped.

"i'm not taking the chance that you're going to dust everyone after earning their trust," Sans replied darkly.

Chara heaved a frustrated sigh, snarling at him. "So what, the one time you have to actually get off your lazy bones butt is the one time I wasn't going to do anything? Good one comedian, yeah let's provoke the one person who can slaughter every monster. It's a great idea!"

She was slammed against the wall again for her cheek.

"Maybe," Chara wheezed through the pain, "You just want revenge for what I did?" She smiled, all sharp jagged edges, "Or maybe you want to know what it would be like to kill someone without any consequences? Gain some LOVE?"

She cackled, knowing that provoking him was a bad idea, but he just pissed her off. Her body was pulled forward as the smiley trashbag went to slam her into another wall, when he stumbled, dropping her.

Chara scrambled to her feet, and took off at a sprint, not noticing the vine that had wrapped around Sans' foot that had tripped him. The water splashed over her, and she took off in the direction of Snowdin. He wouldn't expect her to head towards where he spent most of his time. Snow crunched under her feet as she ran, and she veered away from the town, heading deeper into the forest that surrounded the area.

Once she thought she was far enough, she started the painstaking task of erasing her tracks behind herself as she headed towards a tree that looked stable enough to hold her for the night. She hauled herself up the branches, and settled into one of the more comfortable spots that she could find.

Chara took a deep breath, and tried to calm her heaving chest. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the comforting thrum of her whole-not-shattered-not-damaged soul. Alone and safe, she let herself break down, all the memories of the blue magic running through her and killing her rushing through her mind. She trembled pulling into herself more, for once glad that Frisk wasn't coherent. Frisk didn't deserve to go through that again when it was Chara that had killed everyone.

She squeezed her eyes shut trying to gather her thoughts, trying to remember which run she was in. The cold air of the forest helped a little, and she jumped when something brushed against her cheek. Chara opened her eyes to see the snowfall start, and she sighed, uncurling from the ball she was in. A blizzard would be moving in, and she needed a better place to stay if she didn't want to reload.

The normally pleasant sound of snow underneath her feet just reminded her of how dust felt when it was kicked, and she had to stamp down on the urge to find a knife. She had promised Frisk, she was trying to be a better person. She hadn't gained LOVE, but Frisk had given her love. It had to be enough. It had to be.

Slowly, Chara made her way towards the town, the whole place eerily empty as the residents went home to avoid the storm. She didn't want to head to the inn, knowing that she wasn't going to sleep that night anyways, regardless of the snoring. Dust filled dreams that were nightmares for Frisk, and a guilty pleasure for her would just leave her awake and shaking all night.

Instead, Chara pushed open the door to Grillby's, knowing that the fire elemental would be in the back closing up. There wasn't a bell on the door, so Chara was free to climb under one of the tables in the back corner without being noticed. She huddled in the shadows, watching Grillby make his final check of the bar before heading out and locking the door behind himself.

She clambered out of her hiding spot, and made her way to the back wall. Her body may not have reached puberty yet, but she definitely needed a drink.