Chapter Text

Book 1: Children of the Mountain

Chapter 1: Falling Down

Running. Panting. The rain beats down on them, hair sticking to their face and blocking their eyes. The ground squelches beneath their shoes.

‘Keep running. Don’t stop!’

Lungs burning. Can’t breath. Legs screaming in pain. They feel like they could give out at any moment.

The sound of boots stomping through the mud behind them makes them grit their teeth and push forward. Someone screams their name, telling them to stop. They try their best to ignore it.

Lightning streaks through the sky, illuminating the forest for a moment, followed by the crash of thunder.

They dance between the trees, jumping over roots and pushing off of heavy tree trunks to try and get ahead. They can hear the sirens in the distance, angry police right on their tail. They can’t outrun them forever. But they don’t have to. The police won’t follow them forever.

They won’t follow them up the mountain.

As they burst from the treeline, a gasp of relief rips free from their throat. Mt Ebott. They’re here. Just a little further.

The grass gives way to unyielding stone, the rain making it slick and slippery. They stumble for a moment, grazing their knees and scratching their palms, but not stopping as they push themselves back up, sprinting as fast as they can up the mountain trail.

In the distance, they can hear their pursuers reach the bottom of the trail. One of them yells their name again, before starting up the trail, only to be held back by their partner.

“The hell are you doing?” the first one screams.

“Are you crazy?” the second replies. “You know what happens to people that go up there!”

“But the kid-”

“Screw the kid! If they’re crazy enough to go up there, then to hell with them. Let them stay gone. It’s not worth it.”

The voices fade as they get further and further away. They know he was telling the truth. No one that climbs Mt Ebott ever comes back down. Anyone who dares to go up disappears without a trace. No one knows how or why. It’s like the mountain swallows them whole, erasing any hint of their existence.

It was the perfect place to run.

Once the sound of voices and storming footsteps completely fades away, leaving them with only the pouring rain to keep them company, the kid collapses, falling to their knees and letting out a shuddery breath. It’s over… for now. The police won’t follow them. They lift their head, glancing around the trail, pushing the hair out of their eyes with their free hand and squinting, trying desperately to see through the darkness and the rain.

Another flash of lightning dances through the sky, lighting up the mountain-side. But a patch in the wall remains dark. A cave? They struggle to get to their feet, stumbling towards the mouth of the cavern. They need to get out of the rain, and dry off before they freeze to death.

They step into the cave, making a futile effort to look around. Even without the cover of night, the cave was shrouded in darkness, shadows clinging to every corner. They let out a frustrated sigh, stepping further inside. They didn’t really have many options. It was either hiding out in there, or walking back out into the rain, and they had no desire to-

Something snags at their foot, gripping their ankle and sending them sprawling forward. A scream is ripped from their throat as they fall, descending into the darkness they could not see.

Another child lost to the mountain.

Frisk:

Frisk slowly began to stir awake as a beam of sunlight pierced their eyes, causing them to groan and squirm. They raised an arm to block the light, slowly opening their eyes, blinking away the sleepiness, as their blank mind tried its best to start up. They didn’t want to get up. They didn’t know where they were, but whatever they were lying on was soft and warm, and they were still so cold from the rain. Whatever they were lying on tickled their skin as they wiggled, their muscles begging to be stretched.

Eventually, they relented, pushing themself up into a sitting position, stretching their arms high over their head and letting their legs push forward, toes curling as they did, letting out a massive yawn. They rubbed the sleep out of their eyes, before finally taking in their surroundings. It appeared as if they were in some sort of cave, stone walls stretching up far above. Frisk followed them all the way to the top, noticing the hole in the ceiling, where bits of sunlight were peeking through.

‘Right,’ they thought to themself, ‘I fell down here last night while I was running away.’ They paused for a moment. ‘At least… I hope it was last night.’ In truth, they had no way to know how long they had been unconscious. For all they knew, they could’ve been asleep for days.

Looking down, Frisk noticed that they were sitting on a bed of golden flowers, a circular patch of grass surrounding it. Corroded and broken marble columns stood at the corners of the room, strings of vines climbing up the stone and rubble. Ahead, a small corridor went deeper into the mountain, the stone cut far too cleanly for it to be a natural formation. It seemed more like a hallway in a castle than a bit of a cave.

‘Where the heck am I?’ Frisk wondered. This was obviously no normal cave. Did they accidentally fall into some undiscovered ruins somehow?

Frisk rose to their feet, only then noticing that they felt pretty decent. They were still a bit battered and their clothes were a bit damp, but weren’t in any pain, and they felt somewhat well-rested. That didn’t seem right. Getting knocked out wasn’t supposed to feel the same as sleeping, was it? And you definitely weren’t supposed to be A-Okay after falling… okay yeah, looking up and seeing the hole they dropped through, Frisk had no idea how far they fell, but it was definitely way too far. That fall should have almost certainly killed them.

‘Maybe I am dead, and this is some kind of weird afterlife,’ they thought, before scrunching up their face and shaking their head to dispel the thought. That was way too morbid. ‘Happy thoughts Frisk. Maybe… you’re just really, really lucky.’

Before their brain could think any further about what was happening, Frisk decided it would be best to start moving. They hoped they could figure out where they were, and more importantly, if there was a way out, because there was absolutely no chance they were climbing all the way up to that hole in the ceiling. They weren’t exactly the best rock climber, and they didn’t want to take a chance and see if they could survive that fall twice.

Quickly walking down the strangely well-cut corridor, Frisk found a fancy archway, pink columns supporting the doorway, with a symbol painted in gold at the top, depicting three triangles underneath an orb, with two fluffy wings at its side. Frisk raised an eyebrow, not recognizing the symbol, before shrugging their shoulders and walking through the doorway.

Only to find the most absurd sight so far; a flower. A golden flower, just like the ones they woke up on. Except this one had a pure white disk, with a smiling face painted on it. Frisk blinked, wondering how the flower seemed to big and healthy despite the lack of sunlight in the room.

And then the flower blinked back.

“Howdy!” the flower said cheerily, making Frisk’s jaw drop. His voice was high-pitched and bubbly, like a super young retail worker. “I’m Flowey. Flowey the Flower!” he continued, sticking out his tongue a little bit at the end. ‘Why does he have a tongue? WHY IS HE TALKING?’

Frisk’s confusion must have been evident on their face, because the Flower tilted their head to the side, letting out a slight hum. He looked Frisk up and down, taking in their appearance.

“You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha?” he asked. Frisk nodded their head, too confused to do anything but answer honestly. “Golly, you must be so confused!”

‘Yeah, you don’t say…’

“Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!” Flowey continued. “I guess little old me will have to do. Ready?”

Frisk tilted their head to the side in confusion, trying to convey the idea of “Ready for what?”, but Flowey just barrelled ahead, giving Frisk a wink. As he did, Frisk felt a warmth in their chest, looking down to see a red heart shape appear over their chest, glowing brightly through their sweater.

“See that heart?” Flowey asked. “That’s your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!” Frisk grazed their soul with their fingers, taking in its warmth. They felt a slight tingle down their spine and arms as they touched it, as if something were tickling their entire body. “Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV.”

Looking up, Frisk made a motion for Flowey to slow down. He was going too fast, and barely explaining anything. What did having a weak soul mean? What did it mean for it to be stronger? And most importantly, where the heck were they?

“What’s LV stand for?” Flowey continued, either unaware or uncaring of Frisk’s confusion. “Why, LOVE of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you.”

Flowey winked again, his eye almost seeming to sparkle as he did. A moment later, a series of pure white flower petals appeared in the air, swirling around Flowey’s head. Frisk watched in fascination, eyes wide as Flowey moved them around without twitching a muscle… stem? Leaf? Whatever.

“Down here, LOVE is shared through… little white… friendliness pellets.” Well, that sounded… odd, but Frisk was currently watching a talking flower use magic. Odd was to be expected. “Are you ready?” Flowey asked. “Move around. Get as many as you can!” he said, not giving Frisk a chance to respond.

Frisk didn’t move a muscle, simply staring with a mixture of awe and deep confusion, as the petals gently floated towards them. Then, at the last second, they stalled in mid-air, before firing off like bullets, piercing Frisk’s chest and pushing them backwards, pain searing through their entire body.

They let out a gasp as they fell backwards, landing on their rear, hand instinctually clutching their chest as waves of pain rolled through them.

“You idiot,” Flowey sneered, his voice sounding much more sinister than before, practically dripping with venom. “In this world, it’s kill or BE killed! Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?”

His face contorted into a sadistic grin, his mouth a series of jagged lines like a fissure in the ground, his eyes nothing more than little white specks in a black void. As he spoke, a halo of flower petals burst into being around Frisk, surrounding them on all sides.

“DIE!” Flowey screeched, laughing maniacally as the petals slowly closed in. Frisk closed their eyes and brought their arms in front of their face to protect themselves, knowing full well it would do nothing, waiting for the inevitable…

…only for the petals to burst into flames, pink fire reducing them to ashes. Frisk cracked an eye open, noticing that the flower was just as confused as they were. A second later, a ball of pink flames burst to life near Flowey, shooting through the air towards him. Flowey let out a screech, quickly ducking underground, disappearing without a trace.

“What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth,” a soft voice spoke from nearby. They had never heard the voice before, but for some reason it felt so familiar, wrapping them in a blanket of comfort and safety. Frisk looked up to find the speaker, only for their jaw to drop once again.

Standing in front of them was what they could only describe as a large goat woman, standing well over 7 feet tall, with snow-white fur, long floppy ears, and two little horns that stuck out the top of her head. She wore a deep purple robe with white trimmings that bore the same crest as the archway that lead into the room in the middle of a light blue heart, and had a golden heart locket around her neck.

Frisk scooted back slightly, only to stop when another wave of pain erupted from their chest. They looked down, seeing their soul still pulsing on their chest, though its light was much dimmer than before.

“Ah, do not be afraid, my child,” the goat woman said, kneeling down and making a placating motion with her paws. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.” She gave Frisk a reassuring smile, reaching a paw out towards them. “I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time.”

Frisk hesitantly took Toriel’s paw, letting her lift them to their feet. A part of their mind was screaming at them to run away. They had just been attacked by a psychotic flower, and now they were accepting help from a goat monster? Everything about this was a terrible idea.

And yet, as they looked at Toriel, Frisk couldn’t muster up any fear. The only thing they felt as they stared at her was a surge of affection, making their heart sing and their lungs flutter. No, affection wasn’t quite right.

It was love… why were they feeling love for someone they didn’t even know?

As they took her paw, Frisk could feel their pain melting away, their entire body sagging in relief as a slight green glow crept across their skin. Toriel smiled down at them, using her free paw to pat at Frisk's clothes, wiping away a few streaks of dirt. “Come,” Toriel said softly, the smile never leaving her face. “I will guide you through the catacombs. This way.”

With that, she turned around, gesturing for Frisk to follow as she continued through the far door into the next chamber. Frisk didn’t move for a moment, mind bouncing between trying to figure out of they should follow her, run away (to where, they didn’t know, considering the only other way was backwards, which lead to a dead end), or pinch themselves to try and wake up. In the end, they decided to follow Toriel, quickly hurrying into the next room.

Frisk entered the room just in time to see Toriel making her way up an imperial staircase, turning around and patiently waiting at the top. Frisk stalled for a moment, taking in the room. It seemed so much more alive than the last two chambers, which were worn down and decrepit. Yes, the walls here still showed their ages, cracks and fault-line crisscrossing along them at every turn, but unlike the other rooms, this one was brightly lit, and at least somewhat cleaned.

The floor was free of dust, revealing its beautiful pink colouring, with pathways painted in a calming yellow. Underneath the landing of the staircase above, Frisk could see a massive patch of deep red leaves, which they were very tempted to launch themselves into. Between the scattered leaves and vines wrapping around the bannister of the staircase, the Ruins felt both natural and constructed, a beautiful blend between nature and civilization that made Frisk’s heart sing. It was weird, and they were still freaking out slightly about suddenly finding themselves in a world of monsters and magic, but something about where they were just felt… right.

"The shadow of the Ruins looms above, filling you with Determination."

Frisk whipped their head around, searching for the source of the voice. That one was new… it wasn’t the high-pitched and sadistic screeching of Flowey, or the calming and maternal voice of Toriel. This one was more forcefully monotone, as if they were trying not to display any kind of emotion. It sounded somewhat off though; the voice was muffled, like someone was trying to speak to them through a solid brick wall. It still sounded close, despite the strange distortion. But when Frisk looked around, they couldn’t see anyone aside from themself and Toriel. Did they imagine it?

They shook their head. It must have been their imagination. With a skip in their step, they followed after Toriel.

“As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you,” Toriel explained as she guided Frisk towards a stuffed dummy, her hand on their back. “You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple.”

Toriel held her palm out, summoning a tiny ember of fire. As she did, Frisk felt a warmth erupt from their chest again, seeing their soul glowing bright red. It had seemed to recover from whatever that flower had done to it before, and was burning bright once more.

“When you encounter a monster that summons their magic with the intent to harm, you will see your soul appear. We refer to this situation as a Fight,” Toriel explained. “While you are in a Fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict.” Toriel stepped back, blocking the next doorway and leaving Frisk alone in front of the dummy. “Practice talking to the dummy.”

Frisk made a noise of discomfort, rubbing their hands together and looking at Toriel to try and convey that they didn’t want to do this, but she didn’t budge an inch, that patient and loving smile ever-present on her face. They instinctually made a few signs with their hands, saying "I can't speak," which wasn't entirely true, but if telling a little white lie would get them out of this, they were willing to bend the truth a little. Unfortunately, Toriel just tilted her head a bit, her ears flopping in a silly and cute way, making it very clear she had no idea what Frisk was saying. 'Of course she doesn't know sign language,' they thought to themself miserably.

When they realized that she probably was willing to wait for however long it took, Frisk hunched up their shoulders, trying to steel themselves. They couldn’t quite place why, but they desperately wanted to appease Toriel, to make her proud. Despite only having just met her, they craved her approval more than anything.

They stood as tall as they could in front of the dummy, barely making it up to its shoulders. They took a deep breath, wracking their brain for something to say, opening their mouths…

…only for nothing to come out. Their teeth clattered together as they tried to force the words out over and over. But they just couldn’t speak. They had managed to make a few strangled sounds, and maybe a consonant or two every now and then, but they couldn’t even get a single word out, let alone a coherent thought.

A few minutes passed in silence. Frisk’s ears burned in shame. They weren’t even trying to talk to a person, just an inanimate object, and they couldn’t even do that. All the while, Toriel simply stood to the side, patiently waiting. Somehow, that made it all the worse. Not once did she give them an annoyed glare, or demand they talk like a person, or try to encourage them. She simply waited, letting Frisk take their time.

Eventually, as if it had gotten bored of the pointless shenanigans, the dummy floated a few feet into the air, before turning on its side and drifting out of the room, practically sliding through the air as it passed over Frisk and out the door.

Neither Frisk nor Toriel seemed to know what to make of the situation. To Frisk’s surprise, Toriel didn’t seem to have been expecting that either. She stared forwards into nothingness for a moment, before blinking twice, and resuming her usual soft demeanour.

“The next room awaits,” she said quickly, making no mention of… whatever just happened, before turning on her heel and departing. After a few more moments in silence, Frisk let out a quiet giggle, pressing a fist into their lips. They had been starting to adjust to the weirdness of where they were, only for something to happen that even the people that lived there hadn’t been expecting. The stress and fear that they had been feeling was finally starting to melt away.

As they moved to follow Toriel, Frisk noticed their soul fade back into their chest, blinking a couple of times in confusion as they noticed something; their clothes were completely unharmed. They tugged on their sweater, observing the clean blue cotton with two purple streaks, taking note of how there wasn’t a single rip or hole in it, despite Flowey shooting them with a barrage of petals… pellets? Whatever they were, Frisk knew they went straight through them. So shouldn’t their sweater have been damaged? Or even their body. Sure, what Flowey did hurt them, but they didn’t ever feel and cuts or bleeding. Why was that?

They caught up to Toriel, who was staring ahead, her eyes drifting over to them for a second. “There is another puzzle in this room,” she said. “I wonder if you can solve it?” Instead of moving forward, Frisk walked over to Toriel, tugging on the sleeve of her dress. “Hmm?” she hummed. “Yes, my child, what is it?”

Frisk motioned towards their sweater, using their fingers to mimic little pellets piercing their chest over and over, then giving Toriel a confused look.

“Are you… wondering why your clothes are unharmed, despite that monster attacking you?” Toriel asked. Frisk nodded, making a little “mh-hm” sound as they did. “I see. Well, it is because that creature was not attacking your body, but your soul,” she explained. “Your soul is the culmination of your being. It is what holds the essence of who you are. Many magical attacks, like the ones that monsters use, directly target a person’s soul. This isn't true for all magic, but you'll find that very few monsters' attacks harm your body. Does this make sense?”

Taking a few seconds to consider that, Frisk nodded their head again. While it didn’t make complete sense, they got the general idea; most magical attacks didn’t affect their body. They would still hurt, and could still kill them, but it wouldn’t cause physical injuries.

“Do you have any other questions, my child?” Toriel asked. Frisk shook their head. “Well then, shall we continue?” With that, she walked ahead, Frisk right on her tail.

“I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while.”

Frisk sat with their back against a marble column, occasionally knocking their head against the sturdy stone, or blowing razzberries. They had no idea how long it had been since Toriel had left them alone, but what they did know is that they were bored out of their mind. Sure, they had a phone, but it couldn’t really do anything with it aside from call Toriel, which wasn’t really an option. The phone reminded them of those old Nokia bricks, the ones that people would joke about, saying they would out-last humans. Looking at the rectangular phone in their hand, testing its strength by hitting it against the floor a couple of times, Frisk found themselves agreeing with that notion.

They let out a sigh of annoyance, sliding down the pillar until they were lying flat on their back. This sucked. Here they were, practically in a whole new world, and they could do nothing but sit there and wait until Toriel came back. This place was like a dream come true. They were in a world with magic. Real magic! And monsters! Well, they were called monsters, but none of the creatures that Frisk had seen so far really looked monstrous. Sure, Flowey certainly acted exactly like Frisk expected a monster to, but he seemed to be the exception rather than the rule.

Toriel had been nothing but patient and kind. She was soft and sweet and cuddly, like a fluffy mother. The Froggit that Frisk had run into earlier didn’t seem malicious, just a bit confused. And the Whimsun they met had enough anxiety to make a teenager look like a courageous lion. Despite feeling bad for scaring the poor thing, Frisk couldn’t help but find that little monster cute.

More than anything, Frisk wanted to explore the Ruins and see what other adorable monsters they would run into. They wanted to run around in this world of monsters and magic and see what new adventures they could find.

‘…wait, why don’t I?’ they asked themself. Sure, Toriel had told them to wait, but Toriel wasn’t there. What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. Besides, Frisk wasn’t a baby. They were thirteen! They could take care of themself.

Their mind made up, Frisk practically leapt to their feet, dancing in place for a moment before rushing into the next room, eager to see what they could find.

The more time that passed, the more that Frisk was convinced that someone was following them.

At first, the feeling was somewhat sparse. They heard that voice from before as they threw themself into a pile of red leaves, rolling around and laughing as they threw them into the air.

“Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with Determination,” the voice whispered. The second they heard it, Frisk pushed their head out of the leaves, scanning the room for the source of the voice. Unfortunately, the only other person they saw was another Froggit, and based on the way that it tilted its head and ribbited at them, Frisk doubted they were the ones talking. They weren’t even sure if Froggits could speak.

From there, the voice went quiet, but there was still a strange feeling in the back of their mind. When they found a bowl of candy with a sign asking them to only take one, Frisk giggled to themselves, grabbing a few pieces one by one. With each piece they took, they felt something admonish them, calling them ‘disgusting’ and ‘the scum of the earth’. Despite the harsh language, there was a playfulness to the words, almost as if the presence was being sarcastic.

The next time they felt the presence was when they had run into a trio of what they later learned were called Moldsmal. They didn’t seem particularly interested in fighting, but they were blocking Frisk’s way for some reason. Rather than trying to talk to them like Toriel advised. Frisk simply put their hands on their hips, wiggling them back and forth. The Moldsmal wiggled with them, before sliding off to the side to let Frisk pass.

“What a meaningful conversation,” the voice deadpanned. Frisk let out a huff, not even bothering to look around. Wherever the voice was coming from, Frisk knew they wouldn’t be able to see if by then. This was likely due to some weird Underground magic. They’d have to ask Toriel about it the next time they saw her.

*Ring Ring*

Frisk felt their phone buzz in their pocket, pulling it out and clicking the answer button.

“Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular… which to you prefer? Cinnamon, or butterscotch?”

Frisk’s grip on their phone tightened a bit, as they tried to steel their nerves. “B- B- B- Bu” they stuttered, a ball of lead sinking further and further into their stomach as they tried to force the word out. It felt so wrong. Eventually, they gave up, letting out an annoyed groan. Their heart was pounding, begging them to stop, and they had to comply.

“Hmm…” Toriel hummed, seeming to pick up on Frisk’s discomfort. “Um, maybe we could try something else?” she suggested. “Could you cough once if you prefer cinnamon, or twice if you prefer butterscotch perhaps?”

“Mm-hm!” Frisk affirmed, before coughing twice.

“Oh! I see. Thank you very much!” Toriel said. She went quiet for a moment, before continuing on. “But, you do not DISLIKE cinnamon, do you?” she asked, heavily emphasizing the word. “I know what your preference is, but… would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate.”

Frisk tilted their head to the side in confusion, wondering what Toriel was doing. They made a small noise of disagreement into the phone, hoping that would be enough to convey that they had no issue with cinnamon.

“Right, right. I understand,” she said. “Thank you for being patient, by the way.” With that, the phone clicked off. Frisk pulled the phone away from their ear, raising an eyebrow at it. They wondered what Toriel was planning to make that had both cinnamon and butterscotch in it. She wasn’t exactly doing the best job at being subtle, but they still appreciated her taking the time to ask for their preference.

They made it about three steps before their phone started to ring again.

“Hello? You do not have any allergies, do you?” Toriel asked. Frisk made another noise of disagreement, trying to convey that they didn’t have any allergies, before making a confused hum. “Why do I ask? Oh, uh, no reason… no reason at all.” With that, the phone clicked off again, making Frisk giggle to themselves.

Toriel was sweet.

“zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…”

Frisk looked at the ghost lying down on a bed of leaves in front of them, taking note of the fact that apparently, ghosts were real. That was something.

“zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…”

Did everyone that died turn into a ghost? Probably not, considering this was the first one that they had run into. Maybe only monsters that died turned into ghosts. Or maybe they were simply born as ghosts. How did that work?

“zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” the ghost continued, saying ‘Z’ out loud repeatedly, pretending to sleep. It wasn’t exactly the most convincing act. They opened one eye slightly, whispering “are they gone yet?” before going back to simply saying “zzzzzzzzzzzz…”

Unfortunately, the path forward was rather slim, and the ghost took up pretty much the entire section, making it impossible to pass without moving the ghost. Well, maybe Frisk could just walk straight through them, since ghosts were probably incorporeal, but that seemed rather rude. Instead, Frisk tried to poke the ghost to get its attention.

The second they did, they felt their soul burst to life, as the ghost sprung up, floating in front of them. As it did, the ghost began to sniffle and cry, their tears weaving through the air and filling the room. Frisk immediately took a step back, feeling awful for frightening the ghost, backing right up into one of the large, wobbly tears that had snuck behind them. As it touched them, Frisk felt something burning at their core, like acid eating away at them. They let out a hiss of pain, grabbing at their heart.

“oh... oh no," the ghost muttered, seeming even more distressed. "i'm sorry, i didn't mean to do that." Somehow, hurting Frisk seemed to make the ghost feel even worse, prompting them to cry more, filling the room with even more tears. Frisk did their best to avoid touching any of them, hopping back and forth. Unfortunately, a few grazed their skin, the feeling of acid burning away at their being making them cringe again and again. They turned back to the ghost, waving their arms to get its attention, before giving it a patient smile, making a calming motion with their hands.

For a brief moment, it seemed to help, the ghost letting out a quick laugh, their tears starting to slow. Frisk took the chance to slow down, beaming at the ghost and giving it a double thumbs up to say they were okay. The ghost began to smile a bit, the corners of their mouth tugging upwards.

“hey…” the ghost murmured. “Can I show you something?” they asked. Frisk gave it a quick nod. “Okay… let me just…” The ghost began to cry again, but this time, instead of flowing randomly through the room, the tears shot straight up, coalescing around the ghost's head and taking on a solid form, weaving together to create a top hat that sat on the ghost’s head. “What do you think?” they asked.

Frisk’s smile grew wider, and they clapped their hands together cheerily.

“oh gee…” the ghost smiled. “i usually come to the Ruins because there’s nobody around… but today i met someone nice…” they said, seeming to speak to themself more than Frisk. They smiled happily, seeming content.

Frisk’s soul faded back into their body, still aching a bit, but the pain was dulled by the feeling of happiness and satisfaction.

“oh, i just realized, i never introduced myself,” the ghost whispered. “i’m sorry. i’m napstablook.” Frisk smiled brighter, signing their own name, before realizing it probably couldn’t understand them. “oh, i’m still in your way, aren’t i,” the ghost muttered. “i’ll go away now.” With that, the ghost faded away, disappearing from sight.

Frisk waved goodbye, not sure if the ghost could see them or not, but wanting to do it anyways, before continuing forward. They did wince a bit as they walked, still feeling a bit sore from Napstablook’s acid tears. Luckily, in the very next room they entered, they found a tiny little shop where they could buy some food.

“Spider Bake Sale!” a sign near the door read. “All proceeds go to real spiders!”

Walking over to one of the nearby cobwebs on the floor that had its own sign offering Spider Donuts for 7g, Frisk reached into their pocket, pulling out a few coins that they had managed to scrounge up, either from finding them on the ground, or from monsters accidentally dropping them while running away (Frisk still felt bad about not being able to find the Whismun to return their money). They placed 7g in the web, watching as a few spiders descended from the roof, a purple doughnut with spider-web designed all over it in their little legs, dropping it into Frisk’s hand.

Frisk waved goodbye to the spiders, moving on ahead as they took a bite out of the doughnut, feeling their pain melt away. That was something they had figured out a while ago while nibbling on some of the Monster Candy they took. For some reason, food in the Underground seemed to heal their soul. Maybe the food was made of magic?

Deciding there was no point trying to figure it out on their own, Frisk kept moving through the Ruins while munching on their snack. A short distance ahead, they saw another sign, pausing for a moment to read it.

“Did you miss it? Spider Bake Sale down and to the right!” Frisk smiled and took another bite of their doughnut. “Come eat food by spiders, for spiders, of-” Frisk stopped mid-bite, rereading the last few words over and over to make sure they weren’t misreading. “…of spiders.”

…Frisk didn’t finish their doughnut.

“CRAP!”

*THUMP*

Frisk let out a pained groan as they were splayed out on the floor, their ribs making it very clear that they were upset with them. They were thankful for the patch of leaves that softened their fall, but they still fell a good distance onto a hard stone floor.

With a bit of annoyance, Frisk rolled over onto their back, looping up at the hole they fell through. ‘Whose idea was this?’ they asked themself. ‘Oh hey, let’s make a room with a bunch of random holes, tell people that there’s a switch to open the way out, but not give them any hints which hole they are supposed to jump down. That’ll be fun!’

Spoiler alert; it wasn’t fun. This was the fourth hole Frisk had jumped - or in this case, fallen - down, and they still hasn’t found anything that looked like a switch, and they were getting a bit frustrated. This wasn’t a puzzle, it was just trial and error! And every wrong guess gave them a new bruise.

“are you okay?”

Frisk tilted their head a little bit to the side, only then noticing that Napstablook was lying next to them. They raised an eyebrow at them, but decided to give them a thumbs up to tell them they were alright.

“oh, that’s good,” Napstablook muttered, not even looking at them. Frisk sat up, tilting their head with confusion. They pointed at Napstablook, at the ground, then tilted their head again. “why am i here?” Napstablook asked, getting a quick nod from Frisk. “i fell down a hole… now i can’t get up… go on without me.”

That just made Frisk even more confused. Every hole had a little tunnel system that you could climb through to get back to the floor above, so there was definitely a way out.

Also, ghosts could fly.

Frisk gave Napstablook a very confused look, before mimicking a pair of butterfly wings with their hands, flapping them and moving them up, then pointing at Napstablood. Napstablook started at them for a couple seconds, before making an ‘Oh’ face.

“wait… ghosts can fly, can’t they?” they asked. Frisk nodded their head, giving Napstablook an amused smirk. “oh well…”

Then, instead of flying up like Frisk expected it to, Napstablook simply faded away like they did before. Frisk blinked twice, then facepalmed, unable to stop themself from chuckling.

Getting their second wind from their laughter and amusement, Frisk rose to their feet, dusting themself off and getting ready to shimmy their way back to the upper floor to try and find the way out… again. As they took a step forward though, they noticed a little red ribbon lying on the floor where Napstablook was. Frisk figured the ghost must have been lying on top of the ribbon by accident.

With a shrug, they leaned over and picked up the little ribbon, stuffing it in their pocket. Maybe they could use it for something later.

As they ran around a pillar and pressed their back against it, feeling it shake and shudder from the impact of the flying fruits and vegetables being thrown at them, Frisk wondered what the heck the definition of ‘Monster’ was.

So far, everything had made sense. Giant frogs? Sure. Little nervous fairies? To be expected. Tiny cyclopes? Not what they had in mind, but it was definitely a monster. Ghosts? A classic! Talking murder flower? Ok, now things are starting to get weird. And then there was the carrot.

That was it. It was just a carrot. A big, stupid carrot that had a face and a desire to throw magical bananas and zucchinis at anyone who passed by. Why? Why did the giant carrot have a creepy face? What was with this place and murderous plant life? Why was that a recurring theme?

Frisk’s frantic thoughts were interrupted by the pillar shaking again, probably from more projectile carrots. But out of the corner of their eye, Frisk saw an orange bounce past the pillar, ricocheting off the wall and heading right towards them. They let out a yelp and tried to duck underneath it, but they weren’t quick enough, the fruit smacking them in the forehead. As it did, they felt a dull pain in their chest as their soul reacted to the magical attack.

A second later, the living carrot hopped over to Frisk’s side, grinning evilly as it threw more vegetables at them like knives. Frisk tried to dodge to the left, but a stray cucumber scraped their knee, sending them falling to the ground with another shock of pain to their soul. The monster hopped closer to them, Frisk’s mind going a mile a minute as they tried to figure out what to do, since they couldn’t move forward until they completed the room’s puzzle, which they couldn’t do under pressure from angry produce when-

*Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

Frisk immediately felt their face flush as their stomach growled loud enough to echo through the room, announcing their hunger to the world. To their surprise though, the monster stopped as soon as they heard the sound, their grin stretching wider and with a bit less malice.

“Hungry?” the monster asked with a scratchy voice. Frisk raised an eyebrow, but nodded their head, eager to have a conversation with the monster if it meant they wouldn’t get pelted with any more apples. “Good, good!” the monster cheered. “Be sure to eat your veggies!”

With that, the sinister carrot opened its mouth, spitting out a single non-monster carrot that was plopped onto Frisk’s lap. They looked down at the carrot, then up at the Vegetoid (they had no idea where that name had come from, but it made sense), which was staring at Frisk expectantly.

Swallowing down their disgust at the idea of eating something a vegetable monster spat out, Frisk picked the carrot off their lap and took a bite out of it, making a point to give a satisfied hum and pat their belly.

The monster seemed very happy with this, chuckling to itself, before turning and hopping away. Frisk let out a breath, tossing the rest of the carrot over their shoulder. Hoping to get out of there before the carrot monster came back for round 2, Frisk pushed themself to their feet and continued on, reading a plaque on a nearby wall and reading which switch they were supposed to flick in this physics-defying room.

Humming a happy tune, Frisk made continued happily down the path, finding themself at a crossroads, with one path leading to the North and the other to the East. They considered which path to take as they pulled a bit of candy out of their pocket, tossing it up into the air and catching it in their mouth, smiling as they could feel some of their body and soul stitching itself back together.

As they stood at the centre of the crossroads, wondering how much candy they would need to eat before they could get rid of all the scrapes and bruises they got while exploring, they heard a familiar voice coming from up North.

“Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would.” Frisk froze in place. They knew that voice. That was Toriel! They immediately moved to take off, only to freeze when they heard their phone start to ring, followed by a surprised gasp. Frisk turned to their side, noticing Toriel staring at them, her phone in hand.

‘Oops,’ Frisk thought, ‘Busted.’

Toriel quickly stuffed her phone back into the pockets of her robes, rushing towards Frisk and getting onto one knee, grabbing them by the shoulders and searching them up and down.

“How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?” she fussed, hands hovering over Frisk’s body. She narrowed her eyes angrily as Frisk hissed in pain when her paw passed over a fresh bruise. "Who did this to you?" she demanded. "You will get an apology.”

Frisk figured it would be somewhat difficult to get an apology from gravity, considering that particular bruise had come from them falling through the cracked floor in one of the previous rooms. But it wasn't like they could explain that to Toriel anyway, so they hoped she would forget about it after a little bit.

“I should not have left you alone for so long," Toriel sighed, looking annoyed with herself. "It was irresponsible to try and surprise you like this.” She seemed to catch what she said a second too late, gasping to herself. “Errr…” she stammered, looking away, before sighing with a smile. “Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer.” She stood back up, offering Frisk a paw. “Come, small one!”

Frisk took her outstretched paw, letting her lead them. They passed through another archway as they ventured north, revealing a quaint little home just out of the way. A black tree stood tall in front of it, surrounded by fallen red leaves, its branches bare. The two quickly walked around it, letting Frisk get their first proper look at the little house. Even from outside, they could tell how homely it was. The faint smell of baked goods filled the air, and a quiet melody drifted out of the door, which was cracked open slightly.

Toriel led Frisk inside, letting go of their hand and taking a few steps forward. Almost immediately, a sense of comfort washed over Frisk. They breathed in deep, letting the smell of cinnamon and butterscotch fill their nose, before looking around the house. The soft wooden floor and warm colours made the house really feel like a home. Little pictures of hearts and a painting of the ruins dotted the walls. To their left and right were doors leading to other rooms, and in front of them, behind Toriel, was a set of staircases that lead downwards, probably into a basement of some sort. They were torn between wanting to look around the house and simply standing there forever, letting the smell of baked goods and music coming from a music box somewhere in the next room lull them to sleep.

“Do you smell that?” Toriel asked, snapping Frisk out of their stupor. They nodded their head with a grin, which Toriel quickly matched. “Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie.”

Frisk’s mouth immediately started watering. They knew that Toriel was baking something with cinnamon and butterscotch, but hearing exactly what it was made Frisk’s stomach rumble. Right then, that sounded like the most heavenly thing in the world.

“I thought we might celebrate your arrival,” Toriel continued. “I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on the snail pie for tonight. Here, I have ano-”

Toriel kept talking, but Frisk’s mind ground to a halt. They… were going to live there? What? Since when was that decided? No, no, that couldn’t be right. They must have misheard. Their ears began to ring. They barely noticed Toriel walking over and taking their hand, leading them off into the hallway to the left.

It took a minute for the mind to catch up to the present, only zoning back in as Toriel lead them into a small room, saying “A room of your own. I hope you like it,” giving Frisk a gentle pat on the head. She topped suddenly, sniffing the air. “Is something burning…?” she asked. “Um, make yourself at home!” she said hurriedly, before dashing out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her loud enough to make Frisk cringe.

Left alone in the room, Frisk took a shuddery breath, slowly working up the courage to look around. The room (their room? That still didn’t sound right) practically oozed comfort. Most of the floor was taken up by a rectangular green carpet, the edges covered in tassels that looked far too fun to play with. A circular table made of dark wood sat on the centre of the carpet, coming up just under Frisk’s knees.

Tucked into the far right corner of the room was the softest-looking bed Frisk had ever seen, a quilted orange blanket laying on top of it. At the foot of the bed was a box of toys, which were probably all cool and fun, but Frisk couldn’t find the energy to be excited about any of them.

The far wall was covered in different bits of furniture. A closet, bookshelf, and chest of shoes were all pressed up against the wall, with additional ledge shelves nailed into the wall above them. Little plastic stars and moons were hung from the ceiling by strings, giving the roof a false night sky.

As they looked around the room, Frisk felt more and more numb. Something was off. Their emotions were all over the place - happiness, joy, love, fear, anger, terror, confusion - the emotions swirled around in Frisk’s heart, pressing themselves together into a ball of lead that burned through their core, leaving them feeling cold. It was all too much. They couldn’t think.

At first, they didn’t even notice that their body had started to move. It wasn’t until their hand tugged on a little string, turning off the lamp in the corner of the room and casting the room into blue darkness that Frisk had realized they were moving. Above them, the false night sky began to glow, giving the room just the barest hint of hopeful light.

Against their will, their body continued to move, dragging them towards the bed. They flopped down face first into the pillow, not even bothering to get underneath the covers. The house was warm and cozy, there was no need. Before they could understand what was happening to them, Frisk’s eyes closed, and before long, their consciousness began to fade away. They hadn’t noticed how exhausted they were. Their limbs felt sore, their eyes heavy.

The last thing they heard before they drifted to bed was a now familiar voice.

“Finding this cute, tidy house in the Ruins fills you with Determination.”

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Reality is a Dream (When Will I Wake Up?)

Frisk:

Frisk’s eyes fluttered as they rose from their dream, not quite feeling awake, but at least somewhat less tired. They let out a sigh. That was the third night in a row they had that dream - or nightmare. That was probably more accurate. Their hand drifted up to the bandage on their cheek, the scar underneath tingling and burning a little bit.

They had rolled onto their side at some point in their sleep, facing the wall. They didn’t plan on getting up, figuring it would be nicer to lie down for a little longer and let themself drift back to sleep… until they realized that the room (their room?) smelled strongly of cinnamon and butterscotch.

They rolled over, shifting to sit up, eyes almost immediately catching on a small plate sitting on the nearby table, a slice of pie and a tiny fork resting on it. Frisk smiled brightly, hopping off the bed and plopping themself down in front of the table, eagerly digging into the cinnamon-butterscotch pie.

It was everything they hoped it would be and more. Beautifully sweet, soft enough to crumble in their mouth, and somehow still warm. Frisk let out a content hum as they ate, stuffing their face with a forkful of pie as soon as they finished swallowing. They probably should have slowed down and savoured the pie, but they just couldn’t bring themself to do so. It tasted way too good!

Something in their heart and mind was singing happily, filling their chest with warm feathers that fluttered about. The light of the plastic stars above them shined brighter for a few moments. For a time, everything just felt right.

Within a few minutes, the slice of pie was completely gone, every last trace and crumb scooped up and devoured. Frisk was sure that Toriel would have scolded them for licking the plate the way they did, but could you blame them? The pie was heavenly! They absolutely had to go back for seconds later.

With their treat gone and spirits high, Frisk jumped to their feet, deciding to poke around the house. They barely had the chance to look around before they had taken their nap, too caught up with… things they didn't want to think about.

Stepping out of the bedroom and quietly closing the door behind them, Frisk took in their surroundings. A long hallway stretched out to their left and right, covered in doors leading to different rooms. Frisk held their hands behind their back, strolling down the hall and taking in the homely atmosphere. The house felt so warm and alive, with its bright colours and wide variety of flower vases, some of which hung from the ceiling with simple daisies and petunias, others pushed up against the wall with… some type of weirdly shaped plant. Frisk knew they had seen it before, but couldn’t quite remember what it was called.

As they reached the end of the hall, they found a little desk with a book sitting on it, opened to a random page. They stood on their tip-toes, leaning over the book and giving it a quick skim.

‘Snails are passive creatures, or so it seems,’ they read. ‘There is no research on whether or not they wish for our demise at every moment.’ Frisk stared at the book for a few seconds, before gingerly grabbing the cover and shutting it with a *Thump*.

‘…that’s enough snail facts for one day.’

Peeling their eyes away from the strangely demented book on snail facts, Frisk noticed a large mirror hanging from the wall, taking a moment to take in their appearance. A small, dark-skinned child with a round face stared back at them, their hazel eyes glittering with joy. They had a large square of cloth dressing taped to their left cheek, covering an old scar still in the process of healing.

As they noticed earlier, their clothes were still perfectly intact. Their blue and purple sweater didn’t have a scratch on it, its size and fluffiness hiding their chubby stomach. Their blue shorts were still clean, and their leggings didn’t seem to have any rips or tears. They could just barely see their socks peaking out of their brown ankle-high boots, covering a little bit of their leggings.

The only thing that seemed out of place was their hair. It was a mess of frizzy brown waves, wrapping around both sides of their head to frame their face. Most of it was flowing behind and around their face like a fluffy blanket, though a decent amount of their hair was simply frizzed out and going in every direction, a combination of running around the Ruins for hours and a bad case of bedhead having completely ruined any semblance of neatness.

Despite that, they couldn’t help but smile at themself. “It’s you,” they whispered to themself. Still, their hair was in desperate need of a bit of fixing. They did their best to comb through it with their fingers, trying to smooth out the frizz and flatten it out, to mixed success. Once they were satisfied with the results, they looked in the mirror again, still feeling a bit off. Something was missing…

They snapped their fingers, reaching into the pocket of their sweater and pulling out a little red ribbon they had picked up earlier. They pulled back a bit of hair on the right side of their face, twisting and tying the ribbon into it. They smiled at themself, loving the way the ribbon tied their outfit together. ‘Perfect.’

Content that they were looking their Sunday best (or at least their Tuesday pretty okay), they skipped away, poking their head through some of the nearby doors to see what they could find. One of the doors led to a simple bathroom, which looked like any other, aside from the gallon of fur cleaner that sat on the rim of the bathtub. And the complete lack of rubber ducks. That was truly a sin.

The next door they went through led to a bright blue bedroom, which Frisk quickly assumed was Toriel’s based on the giant fluffy bed that was double the size of the one they had slept in. They decided not to snoop too much, since they wanted to respect Toriel’s privacy.

They did snoop a little bit though.

With a quiet hum, Frisk moved over to the desk that was right next to the door, taking note of the open book. There was a circled passage that immediately caught their eye. Before they could consider that this might be a diary, and that reading it might have been a bit rude, they read the passage.

‘Why did the Skeleton want a friend? Because she was feeling bonely! ’

Frisk snorted, shaking their head fondly. Apparently, Toriel had a taste for puns. A quick glance at some of the other writings in the book revealed a few other similar jokes. Figuring Toriel would probably want to use some of those jokes later, they elected not to read the rest, looking around the rest of the room.

They flitted about, poking at this and that. They flopped onto Toriel’s bed, finding that it was just as soft as the other one, though it had a few bits of loose fur in it. They pulled a random book off the bookshelf, opening up the encyclopaedia of subterranean plants they grabbed and stumbling across the section describing a plant called ‘Typha’, though it was more commonly known as a Water Sausage. So that's what that plant in the hallway was.

Right before leaving the room, Frisk took note of the large cactus pressed into the corner of the room, its dark green colour standing out amidst the calming blues. It seemed so completely out of place, for multiple reasons.

“Ah, the cactus. Truly, the most tsundere of plants.”

Frisk paused in place, glaring at the cactus. There was that voice again. Where was it coming from? It sounded close. If they didn’t know any better, they’d say it came from right behind them. But there was no one there. What was going on…

‘Who are you?’ Frisk wondered. They felt… something as they asked that. It was a feeling they struggled to describe as anything other than pink, glowing in the back of their mind. The feeling only lasted for a few seconds, before fading away entirely, leaving Frisk alone in the silence.

“Up already, I see?”

The second Frisk entered the living room, Toriel’s eyes were on them. She sat at the far end of the room, lounging in a comfortable-looking chair, a book in hand and a pair of reading glasses on her face. She smiled at Frisk, beckoning them over. Frisk gave her an uneasy smile, before bouncing over, sitting down on the floor in front of her.

“Um, I want you to know,” Toriel continued, “how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I want to share.” Frisk resisted the urge to scrunch up their nose, hoping that most of her books wouldn’t be about how snails secretly wanted to murder everyone in the world. “I want to show you my favourite bug hunting spot.” Huh. Frisk never imagined Toriel would like hunting bugs. She didn’t seem like the type that liked to get dirty.

Then again, looks could be deceiving. Besides, if Toriel was being serious before about the snail pie, she would probably need to go hunting for snails, which could be a somewhat dirty task.

“I’ve also prepared a curriculum for your education,” Toriel said, causing Frisk to pout a bit. “This may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher.” Frisk tilted their head forward, giving Toriel a deadpan stare. “…actually, perhaps that isn’t very surprising.” Frisk gave her a smirk and a nod. “STILL. I am glad to have you living here.”

That caused Frisk to frown again. They still weren’t sure when it was decided that they were living there. Toriel kind of just sprung it on them when they arrived at the house, pushing ahead as if nothing were wrong. In a way, it was awfully kind of her, taking in a random stranger that she knew nothing about. But something about the situation felt wrong, in a very familiar way. It bit at Frisk’s nerves, keeping them on edge.

As Toriel turned back to her book, Frisk stood up, glancing around the room. Paintings and pictures adorned the walls, with a bookshelf and a loveseat pressed firmly up to the wall. A long orange rug stretched across the room, scattered crayons and drawings dotted about. Frisk tilted their head, wandering over and picking up a few pieces of paper. Someone had drawn a few sketches of Whimsuns of Loox in crayon. Frisk gave the picture a small smile. It seemed like Toriel wasn’t exactly the best artist.

A glowing light caught their eye, and Frisk turned to look at the fireplace ahead of them, the logs inside wreathed in glowing pink flames. Frisk found themselves sitting in front of the fire, bathing in its warmth. It was strange. For some reason, the flames didn’t seem burning hot, just pleasantly warm. They put their hands up next to the fire, soaking in the gentle glow.

“It won’t hurt you,” Toriel said, making Frisk jump. They hadn’t realized that she had walked up next to them. She got down on her knees, placing her hands on her lap. “The flames are made of my magic. They will not harm you.”

Frisk gave her a dubious look, trying to convey their disbelief. They pointed at a nearby flower, then mimicked getting hit. Toriel simply laughed, placing a paw on her muzzle to silence herself when Frisk glared at her.

“Not all magic will hurt you, my child,” she explained. “Magic is an expression of a monster’s feelings and desires. If they do not wish to cause harm, then they will not.” To demonstrate, she willingly placed her hand into the fireplace, picking up one of the logs and shifting it around, seemingly completely unaffected by the flames. Frisk watched in awe. Toriel turned to look at them, giving them an encouraging smile. “Now you try.”

Even after seeing Toriel be unharmed, Frisk was still a bit cautious. Common sense and basic instincts tended to steer you away from sticking your hand in an open flame. Plus, maybe Toriel wasn’t affected because of some weird monster magic. But they had no reason to doubt her so far. So, with great hesitance, Frisk slowly reached forward, letting the tips of their fingers graze the dancing fire.

It was soft.

Despite how strange that sounded when they replayed the thought in their head, Frisk really couldn’t find a better way to describe it. The flames ran up their fingers into their palm, gently pressing into their skin. It felt like holding a fluffy blanket; warm and cozy. Or like holding Toriel’s hand. It made sense that this was her magic, it was just as warm and comforting as she was.

“You see?” Toriel said. Frisk didn’t reply, grinning wide as they shoved both hands into the fireplace, marvelling at the feeling and the way the flames moved around, swishing back and forth like waves in a pool. A laugh escaped their throat as they played around with the fire. “Well, I’m glad to see you enjoying yourself.” Toriel pushed herself onto her feet, dusting off her dress. “Do let me know if you need anything, okay my child? Simply say the word, and I shall make my way over to Home to pick up whatever you wish.”

That got Frisk’s attention. Home? What was that? The way Toriel phrased it made it sound like the name of a place, rather than her talking about her own home, which made sense, considering as far as they knew, they were in her home. This warranted investigation! Sure, they could just ask Toriel, but where was the fun in that? This was a question they could answer on their own!

So, as Toriel returned to her chair and picked her book back up, Frisk hopped to their feet, running out of the room and quickly making their way outside, a clear destination in mind. After all, they had explored all of the Ruins, except whatever was on the path East of the crossroads. So Home had to be over there!

“Human! Please find the key to the gate!”

Frisk was many things, but they weren’t the type of person to turn their back on someone in need. Especially when said person went out of their way to ask so kindly. The situation was a bit strange though. Frisk had no idea why the gate that lead into Home (Which was apparently a town? Frisk thought that was a weird name for a town) would be locked and closed. That definitely wasn’t right. Someone had done this on purpose.

With that in mind, Frisk set out to try and find the key to Home. They had been all over the Ruins and hadn’t seen anything that looked like a key. Figuring that Toriel wasn’t the type to steal the key that were people keeping out of their homes, Frisk headed south towards the entrance to the sewers. Along the way, another monster warned them that a pair called ‘The Troubleboys’ were roaming about mugging people.

Against common sense, that was enough to convince Frisk to head down. After all, a couple of monsters mugging random people in the sewers seemed exactly like the type that would play a cruel prank like this.

Walking downstairs through the tunnel, Frisk frowned at the stark change in colour. The pretty and warm pinks, yellows, and reds quickly shifted into dull greys bricks. The water had a flat and lifeless colour, with a few hints of sickly green, and discarded bottles and bits of trash floating around on the surface. Sure, all of this made sense since sewers weren’t exactly known for being pretty, but all of the monsters and magic they had seen had made them a bit hopeful. If little red monsters that looked like Mike Wizowski and knee-high frogs will eyes underneath their legs could exist, then maybe sewers could be less stinky. It seemed that was a bit too much to hope for though.

Despite that, Frisk carried on, cringing a bit when they were forced to wade through ankle-deep sewer water, regretting any and all life decisions that led to them running around and climbing ladders with wet socks.

Much like the Ruins above, there were a couple of puzzles to deal with, which Frisk was happy to solve. Searching for buttons to open the way forward, flicking switches to get all of the lights along the wall to glow green (which caused the bit of flooring holding a set of spikes to retract into the wall, rather than simply lowering the spikes for some reason), and navigating the twisting pathways was an absolute joy.

As they reached towards the end of the sewers, they found a little toy knife sitting on the ground. They picked it up, twisting it around in their hands, a weird conflicting feeling resting on their ribs. Even if it was just a toy, the little knife brought Frisk a weird mix of revulsion and comfort. In the end, they decided to bring it with them, spinning it back and forth in their right hand as they walk into the next room.

Across a little wooden plank acting as a bridge, a square peninsula of stone rested above the water. Dead set in the centre, a tiny pink key sat on the ground. Frisk raised an eyebrow at the obvious trap. With a shrug of their shoulders, they stepped up to the key, slowly leaning over to reach towards it, eyes darting back and forth to look out for danger.

Right as their fingers grazed the metal, they heard the sound of tires skidding against stone and quickly turned on their heel, jumping and rolling out of the way as a monster barrelled towards them, driving straight over the water and almost crashing into Frisk as they reached the peninsula.

Frisk turned around to see an unusual pair. The two monsters were stacked on top of each other, making a single unit. The one on top was painted bright purple, with an obnoxiously large grin and a pair of weird antlers that looked like they were made of cardboard cylinders, like the ones that would hold paper napkins. The one on the bottom was essentially just a yellow ball with a pair of wheels and eyes, an anxious expression permanently plastered on his face.

“Ha-HA!” the one on top laughed. “Look who fell for it!” Frisk resisted the urge to roll their eyes. They most certainly did not fall for that trap, but they weren’t going to stop the monster from boasting. “Thought you could just come in here and take the key, did ya?” he asked.

‘Well it would have been nice,’ Frisk thought to themselves, giving the monsters a shrug.

“Not today! Not today I say!”

‘Should I just come back tomorrow then?’ Frisk thought, resisting the urge to snicker.

“Hitch, g-go easy on ’em,” the ball monster stammered, sounding as nervous as he looked. “They p-probably just want to get home…”

“QUIET PORTABIE!” Hitch yelled. “You’re RUINING our awesomeness!” Hitch looked back up at Frisk, smirking confidently. “We call ourselves The Troubleboys, see? We’re the baddest boys on the block! The troublest tyrants in town!”

“W-we are?” Portabie asked.

“YES, Portabie! We ARE! We’ve been over this!” Hitch grinned at Frisk again. “Enough stalling, prepare to be mugged, big time!”

Frisk felt their soul flare to life as the Fight began, bending their knees and stooping down low to get ready to jump out of the way in case the two decided to charge them. It wasn't a magical attack, but Frisk figured that someone ramming into them with the speed of a car would still probably hurt them. It was just a feeling though.

While they waited, Frisk looked over their opponents. Despite the two calling themselves The Troubleboys (or at least Hitch calling them that), they didn’t really seem all that dangerous. They just looked like a couple of kids that didn’t understand what they were doing.

The sound of a revving engine filled the room, and Frisk jumped out of the way just in time to avoid Portabie trying to run them over. They backed up towards the bridge, figuring that the two would be more hesitant to blindly charge at them on such a narrow path. As they did, they looked down at Portabie, taking note of how uncomfortable he seemed. He didn’t look like he wanted to be there.

Pushing aside any annoyance they felt at the monsters trying to mug them, Frisk gave Portabie a happy smile, taking note of the way he seemed to light up when they did. They made a rolling gesture with their fingers, silently asking Portabie to do a trick for them to try and raise his confidence.

But Portabie immediately cast his eyes down to the ground. “N-no,” he whispered. “I don’t wanna…”

Frisk frowned, but didn’t get the time to do anything else as one of Portabie’s wheels flew off his side, crashing against the stone and bouncing towards Frisk. They let out a yelp and jumped over it, ducking underneath it when it bounced off a nearby wall and flew over them, before reattaching itself to Portabie’s side.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Frisk looked back at Portabie again, trying their best to comfort him with a grin. They gave him a double thumbs up, trying to say “You can do it!” Portabie looked around, seeming a bit uncomfortable, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “O-okay. I think I can do it,” he said.

With that, he charged towards Frisk, who jumped out of the way again, dodging forward and away from the bridge. Portabie rolled straight over it and towards the wall of the room, driving straight up it, riding the wall up to the ceiling, doing a couple of loops on the roof before dropping back down, rolling to catch himself and Hitch before they crashed into the ground.

“Hey, I did it!” he happily cheered, looking like he felt better than he ever had. Frisk grinned from ear to ear, before noticing that Hitch was giving them a weird look.

‘One down,’ Frisk thought to themself. Now they just needed to find a way to get Hitch to back down.

With a sneer, Hitch pressed his lips together and blew a massive bubble that took the shape of a rubber duck, slowly drifting towards Firsk. They glared at the duck in confusion, eyes going wide as it started to shake and expand, unable to move out of the way in time as it exploded, bursting into magical shrapnel. A few pieces tore through Frisk’s chest and arms, sharp pains stabbing at their soul.

Hitch smugly grinned, seeming proud of himself. Frisk looked up at him, shaking their head and giving him a disapproving glare. Hitch rolled his eyes, letting out a huff.

“Stow it loser,” he sneered. “I don’t care what you think.”

Puffing up his cheeks, Hitch began spitting out little purple balls rapid fire, which bounced around the room, ricocheting off the walls and filling the room with a cacophony of noise. Frisk dodged and weaved between the balls, trying their best to dodge, while continuing to glare at Hitch. He seemed to falter under their gaze a bit, casting his eyes down, looking a little bit ashamed.

“Quit giving me that look,” he muttered. “You guys deserve this…” His voice started to trail off, sounding less and less sure of himself. His attacks started to slow down, the balls he spat out beginning to fall to the ground, refusing to bounce. A few still shot around, but their movements were sluggish and imprecise.

Standing up straight, Frisk looked Hitch right in the eyes, before pointing down at Portabie, making a heart with their hands, and showing it breaking in half, telling Hitch he was going to lose his friends if he kept acting the way he was.

“That’s not true…” Hitch whispered, but Frisk could tell he didn’t believe himself.

By that point, any fight left in him had died. Frisk looked down, feeling a bit bad. Even if what they said was probably true, it was still a little bit mean. They bit their lip, looking over at Hitch and seeing how dejected he was. With a sigh, they took a few steps forward, making their way over to Hitch, reaching out a hand and gently patting his head, giving him a comforting smile.

“Heh, thanks,” he said. He still looked pained, but at least he was smiling. Frisk could tell he had a lot to think about. But looking at him and Portabie, Frisk could tell that the boys were no longer quite as troubled.

With a skip in their step, Frisk paced around the newly unlocked town of Home, tossing the Croquet Roll they had gotten from a convenience store in their hand, a little mallet in their off-hand. Tossing the little fried ball of dough in the air once more, the batted it with the mallet, tossing it further up before catching it in their mouth, grinning from ear to ear as they chewed on it, feeling the ache in their soul start to fade away.

Frisk was feeling pretty good about themself. Not only did they get to have a cool adventure through a magical underground ruin, but they also got to help some people in need! And those people seemed genuinely thankful for their help! It felt great to see the monsters that were crowded outside the gate smile as Frisk pressed the key into the lock, letting them all go back to their homes.

As for the town itself, it was adorable. It had the same pink walls and floors as the rest of the Ruins, as well as the pretty yellow paths, but it was a lot more organized, the houses that dotted the town built in a sort of grid. Patches of red leaves and golden flowers were all over the place, giving the town a bit of chaotic colour that really helped bring it to life.

At the centre of town, all of the roads connected into a small park, a tiny square patch of grass showing off a large statue of a goat monster, who looked like a more masculine version of Toriel. He was dressed up in a similar robe but had a large flowing cape draped over his shoulders, and a crown on his furry head. Unfortunately, the plaque on the statue seemed to have been worn away, so Frisk had no idea who it was supposed to be.

Frisk was having a great time walking around and chatting with the various friendly monsters (At least, the monsters were chatting, while Frisk waved and nodded along). Their enjoyment did diminish a bit when they encountered a little bipedal blue bird that acted like he was the smartest person in the world, constantly belittling Frisk’s intelligence and proclaiming how great he was. As soon as he mentioned his “Mind Palace”, Frisk decided they wanted nothing to do with him, and quickly left him alone.

A little while later, they were trying to cheer up a whimsun that was crying by itself, when they heard a very stern voice clear its throat behind them, a long shadow covering over Frisk. The whimsun let out a terrified meep and flew away, leaving Frisk to their fate. They nervously turned around, finding exactly what they were expecting; Toriel, with her hands on her hips, staring down at Frisk with an unamused glare.

“My child,” she said sternly, “where have you been?” Frisk rubbed their neck sheepishly and tried to back away slightly, only to find their back pressed up against a wall. Toriel leaned forward, then quickly backed up, her nose scrunching up in disgust. “And what on earth is that stench?” she asked, placing a hand over her muzzle.

Frisk gave Toriel a confused look, before glancing down at their clothes, realizing that they had just been trouncing through the sewers, and as such, weren’t exactly the cleanest person around. Their shoes and leggings were still soaked with sewer water, and their sweater had dirt and scuff marks all over it.

They looked back up at Toriel, who was still covering her nose and giving them n even more unamused glare. “I believe you are in desperate need of a bath,” she stated in a way that made it clear this wasn’t up for debate. “Now.”

Frisk nodded their head, partly because they didn’t want to annoy Toriel any further, and partly because they really could use a bath. So they didn’t put up any resistance as Toriel lead them home (Not by the hand for once, presumably because they were filthy) and ushered them towards the bathroom. Once they were inside, they stripped down, handing their clothes over to Toriel through the partly opened bathroom door so she couldn’t see them.

“I will have these cleaned for you,” Toriel said. “They should be done by the time you are finished with your bath.” She paused for a moment, Frisk able to hear the distinct sound of a sniff, then a gag. “Although, perhaps you should take your time, little on. Just to er… be sure you are properly clean.”

Frisk snickered into their palm, sticking their tongue out even though Toriel couldn’t see them.

“Yes yes, I’m sure this is all very amusing, my child,” Toriel deadpanned, though Frisk could hear the smile in her voice. “Please do not make a habit of venturing into the sewers. My poor nose can only take so much.”

Once Frisk gave an affirmative hum, Toriel left them alone to their bath. Like she suggested, they took their time, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of hot water on their skin. When was the last time they had a hot bath? It had definitely been a while. Weeks? Maybe months? It didn’t really matter. They had the chance now, so they were going to sit there and soak in the warmth for as long as they could get away with.

And if they used up a bottle of shampoo to make a few bubbles, that was their business, and their business alone.

When Frisk finally got out of the bath - which they only did because the water got cold and their skin started to feel wrinkly and gross - they wrapped themself in a bathrobe and made their way back to the bedroom they slept in before, finding their clothes cleaned and laid out on the bed. There was a note lying on top of the pile, Toriel’s neat cursive writing decorating the sheet.

*Here are your clothes, my child. Unfortunately, your footwear is taking a bit more time to dry, so please be patient. Dinner should be ready shortly.

-Toriel

Frisk shrugged, not super concerned about that. They didn’t exactly need their boots or leggings while they were inside. They quickly doffed their robe and changed back into their clothes, humming contently as the still-warm fabric hugged their skin. It wasn’t until they started swaying on the spot and yawning that they realized how tired they were. Apparently, their journey into the sewers and time mingling in Home had drained them more than they thought.

‘Well, there’s no harm in taking a nap before dinner, right?’ Frisk thought, eagerly hopping onto the bed. They closed their eyes and grinned. Lying in a warm, fluffy bed while wearing freshy washed clothes? Best. Feeling. Ever. It wasn’t long until they happily drifted off to sleep.

And then everything went wrong.

“Frisk? Frisk, where are you?”

Frisk’s eyes snap open as a familiar voice screams their name. They push themself off the ground, finding themself in a forest, their clothes caked in mud. Their head whips around as they try to figure out where they are. How did they get here? Weren’t they somewhere else before?

“Frisk darling, where did you go?” It’s a different voice this time, much gruffer, but Frisk knows it all the same. They break off in a sprint, ignoring the thorns and branches that catch on their skin as they run. What are they doing here? They were supposed to be waiting! Why did they leave? They were told to wait!

Light streams through the branches as they reach the end of the woods, breaking through the treeline and finding themself at a long highway, the road stretching to both their sides into forever. Across the road is a lone bus stop, a long bench sheltered from the pouring rain. When did it start raining? Wasn’t it light before?

“Where did you go?”

Frisk’s eyes snap to the two figures next to the bus stop, screaming their name. A man and a woman, their faces obscured by black bars censoring their eyes, scratching through reality to hide their tears. A smile stretches across Frisk’s face as they see them again. They go to scream out to the figures.

But their voices fails them again, and they say nothing.

“Frisk please!” the man cries. “Please, come back!”

The figures continue to scream and cry, calling for Frisk, unable to see them. Frisk tries to yell that they are there. Mom! Dad! I’m here! Please see me! I’m here! But no words come out. They try to run towards them, but their feet are glued to the ground, holding them tight. Tears streak down their face, burning their cheeks like acid. They have no voice, but they must scream. Why can’t they scream?

The woman breaks down, falling to her knees and weeping. “Why did you run away?” she cries. “Why aren’t you here? Do you hate us that much?” she asked. “Are we such awful people that you don’t want to be with us anymore? Do you not love us?”

Frisk tries to say that isn’t true! That they love them so, so much. That they would do anything for them. But they say nothing. They try to run to their mom, to hold hug her with everything they have, hold her head to their chest and show her how much she means to them. But they don’t move.

The man kneels down next to his wife, bringing her into his arms. “Fine!” their dad snarls. “If you want to leave so badly, to abandon the people who love you, then fine!” He turns to face Frisk, his eyes burning with anger and tears. “Run away! See if we care!” His body ignites, his skin turning to charcoal and crumbling despite the rain.

It’s not true! Frisk tries to tell them they don’t want to run. They want to stay with them! They didn’t have a choice. They had to run away, or they would have gotten caught. Why can’t they tell them? Please, let me tell them!

Their mom looks up, glaring daggers at Frisk. “Go away!” she screams. Her figure starts to waver and fade, dissolving into dust that scatters in the wind. “We don’t need you!”

Frisk tries to scream, but they can’t. They try to move, but they can’t. They struggle with everything they have, but nothing they do works. They can’t do anything. They can’t save themself. They can’t save the people that matter most.

“If you hate us so much, then maybe you should just go! You heard me! Run away! LEAVE!”

And Frisk finally screams.

Pain flared in Frisk’s side as they crashed onto the ground, smacking their head against the cold floor. They thrashed and fought against the blankets tangled around them, trying desperately to rip them off and free themself.

When they finally freed themself, they sat up, pressing their back against the bed they fell off, breathing heavily. As they tried to get their breathing under control, Frisk pressed a palm flat against their chest and started counting to four over and over, tapping a finger against their chest in time with each number, just like their dad taught them.

‘One two three four, one two three four, one two three four, one two three four, one two three four.’

It wasn’t until they started to calm down that the reality of the situation sank in. What were they thinking? This wasn’t their home. They couldn’t stay here! Frisk cursed themself. They had gotten so wrapped up in this new world and their adventures that they forgot what they were doing before they fell into the Underground. They had to get back as soon as they could before their parents started to worry.

“My child, are you alright?”

Frisk’s head snapped towards the door to see Toriel standing there, a concerned look on her face. Frisk started moving their hands about, rapidly signing as they rose to their feet. Toriel blinked at them, stuttering a few times as she watched them try and talk to her.

“Slow down, please,” she insisted. “I have no idea what you are trying to tell me.” Frisk let out an annoyed sound, before they rushed over to the nearby bookshelf, grabbing an empty notebook and a nearby pencil. They started scribbling away, having a bit of difficulty writing in the air, but eventually turning the book around so that Toriel could see it.

“I need to go home.”

Toriel’s eyes went wide, before nervously darting around the room. “Home?” she asked nervously. “This… this IS your home now.” Frisk narrowed their eyes at Toriel. No, this wasn’t their home. They had a- well, they had somewhere they needed to go. They couldn’t stay here just because Toriel wanted them to. They tapped the book in their hand, pointing at the writing.

But Toriel continued insisting that this was their home and that they needed to stay, trying to deflect by talking about snails, or the fact that dinner would be ready soon, or some other random conversation topic. Eventually, Frisk got fed up of going in circles. They let the notebook fall from their hand, balling up their fists and taking a deep breath, before looking up to stare Toriel right in the eye.

“I want to leave,” Frisk begged, their voice barely audible.

Their words hung in the air, sending a cold breeze through the room. The entire house seemed to darken, the bright homely atmosphere fading away as the shadows drew closer. The only thing Frisk could hear was their own ragged breaths, and the sound of blood pounding in their veins. Any comfort they once felt was long since gone, replaced with emptiness. And Toriel?

It was like a switch had been flicked. In an instant, any warmth of kindness in Toriel’s eyes faded away. Her arms fell to her side, her shoulders slouched. A look of grim determination washed over her. “…I have to do something,” she stated, her tone flat and commanding. “Stay here.”

Not giving Frisk a moment to respond, she quickly shuffled out of the room. Alarm bells screamed in Frisk’s mind. What did that mean? What was she going to do? Worry gnawing at their soul, Frisk ran after her, skidding against the long carpet just outside of their room as they tried to quickly turn. As they ran out into the entryway of the house, they just barely caught sight of Toriel as she crested the bottom of the stairs. On instinct, their body continued to move, hands gliding over the bannister as they took the steps two at a time, practically jumping down.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw Toriel waiting, her back turned to them. They weren’t in a basement like they expected; it was more of a long corridor, barely lit and stretching into eternity. Darkness clung to the walls, casting Toriel’s front in shadows.

“You wish to know how to return home, do you not?” Toriel asked, her voice lifeless.

Frisk slowed to a halt, staring at Toriel’s back as they waited for her to continue. She was large enough that she took up most of the thin hallway, stopping them from just running past her, and based on how she was acting, Frisk had a feeling that the exit was just past her.

“Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins,” Toriel continued. “A one-way exit to the rest of the Underground.” She paused. Turning her head slightly, just enough so that Frisk could see the fire in her eyes. “I am going to destroy it,” she declared. “No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.”

Toriel didn’t wait for a reply, storming further ahead into the endless hall. Without asking for their permission, Frisk’s legs moved to follow, dragging them along and charging after Toriel.

“Every child that falls down here meets the same fate,” Toriel explained as she walked, adjusting her pace to make sure she stayed ahead of Frisk. “I have seen it, again and again. They come. They leave.”

She stopped in place, turning to glare at Frisk again.

“They die.”

Frisk froze in place, feeling their heart sink into their stomach. They… died? There were others that came before? And they… the drawings. Those weren’t Toriel’s. They were made by a child. Another child that fell, like they did. Another child swallowed by Mount Ebott, never to be seen again. How many children had Toriel watched die?

Toriel let out a huff, turning her gaze away. “You naïve child,” she said. “If you leave the Ruins, they… Asgore… will kill you.” She screwed her eyes shut, paws clenching into shaking fists. “I am only protecting you, do you understand?” she practically screeched, glaring at Frisk once more. Frisk said nothing, simply staring at her with wide eyes. “…go to your room,” she commanded, turning on her heel and walking away again.

Her parting words bounced around Frisk’s head, breaking their mind and cracking their skull. They would die? That didn’t make any sense. Sure, they had gotten in a few fights with the monsters they met, but none of them seemed to mean them genuine harm! The idea that any of the creatures in the Underground would want to kill Frisk seemed so wrong for some reason. Like it went against everything they knew.

Shaking their head, Frisk forced their mind to refocus. It didn’t matter. They could handle it. After all, they had dealt with monsters attacking them already. And they were used to taking care of themself. They could do this.

Frisk marched down the hallway, chasing after Toriel. Their breathing was weak and shuddery, their heart unsure if it wanted to deflate or burst from their chest, but they pushed forward, their gaze hard as steel. It didn’t matter what reason she gave them, Frisk refused to be a bird in a cage. No matter how dangerous it was, they had to leave.

The hallway bent to the side, and Toriel stopped at the corner, looking at Frisk out of the corner of her eye. “Do not try and stop me,” she demanded. “This is your final warning.” Frisk narrowed their eyes at her back as she walked away, quick to follow her.

Their footsteps echoed off the walls as they ran, each step screaming their desire to leave. They skid to a halt when Toriel stopped in front of a simple door that bore the same emblem as her dress. She still had her back to them, her shoulders fists still shaking at her side.

“You want to leave so badly?” she sneered. Despite the lack of hatred behind her words, they lit up a spark of anger inside Frisk. She let out a dismissive huff, shaking her head. “You are just like the others.”

‘Did you try to trap the others too? ’ Frisk snapped back in their head. ‘Did you try and pretend you cared for them too? To play the part of their mother?'

Toriel finally turned around, a roaring inferno blazing in her steely gaze. “There is only one solution to this,” she stated. “Prove yourself… prove to me that you are strong enough to survive!” As she yelled, her palms erupted into flames, and Frisk felt their soul come to life, the familiar red glow appearing over their chest.

Thrusting her hands out, Toriel summoned a ring of flames that surrounded the two of them, trapping them inside. The shadows danced as the fire sang, waving back and forth, moving in and out like the tides, the room flickering between the warm pink light and the darkness of the void.

Frisk took two steps back, their bare heel grazing against the ring of fire, sending a jolt of pain through their leg. They hissed, looking to the fire around them, then back to Toriel. It burned.

The fire burned them.

She wanted to hurt them.

They were right. She was the same.

Frisk reached into their pocket, pulling out the toy knife. It wasn’t much, but it was all they had, and the “blade” of the knife was made of hard plastic. It wouldn’t cut, but it would hurt. Something inside them screamed as they drew the knife, stooping low and getting ready for a fight, begging them to stop, to run away. They didn’t want this. They didn’t want to fight her. But what choice did they have? They had to run. And she was trying to stop them.

Just like before. Toriel was just like Her.

Toriel wasted no time, thrusting her blazing hands out, a gatling gun barrage of fireballs springing to life as they hurled themselves towards Frisk. They let out a yelp before tucking and rolling to the side, planting one foot firmly on the ground behind them as they finished, and using it to spring themself forward towards Toriel, knife in hand. Toriel immediately raised an arm in defence, the plastic blade deflecting off her sleeve.

With her free arm, Toriel waved a hand in front of her, creating a sheet of flames that forced Frisk to jump backwards to avoid the searing heat. But before their feet even touched the ground, Toriel’s defensive hand came up, creating a jet of flames that burned through the air. Frisk tried to dodge out of the way, but they were still off balance, and the flames crashed into their chest, tossing them backwards as it stole the air from their lungs and burned their soul.

Frisk fell backwards with a roll, their body skidding on the ground. They coughed and sputtered as they tried to push themself to their feet, head hung low as they desperately tried to catch their breath. Without meaning to, they suddenly rolled to their left, just in time to dodge out of the way of a massive fireball that impacted where they were a second ago. They gasped and looked up just in time to see another three coming their way, quickly standing up and weaving between the flames, dodging left, right, and left again.

‘What was that?’ they asked themself. They didn’t even know an attack was coming, how did they know to dodge it? Was it luck? Instinct?

No time to think, as Toriel swirled her arms around each other, summoning a twisting vortex of pink flames, which quickly leaned forward and began spinning towards Frisk, leaving a trail of embers behind it. Frisk ran to the side, easily dodging out of the way of the tornado, only to see Toriel’s brow furrow, as she pulled a hand backwards. The tornado followed her grip, twisting on the spot and changing direction to chase after Frisk.

With a snarl, Frisk skid to a stop, forcing themself to change direction on a dime to avoid the redirected tornado. They ran this way and that, trying desperately to throw the flaming vortex off their trail, to no effect, Toriel redirecting the flames every time they changed directions, all the while throwing a few stray fireballs with her off-hand, forcing Frisk to duck and weave as they ran. No matter what they did, the tornado wouldn’t stop chasing them. It just kept coming.

‘LEAVE ME ALONE!’ Frisk screamed in their mind. They had to keep running. They were being chased, and they had to run. They had to run where they couldn’t be chased.

Twisting their body around, Frisk launched themself forward, dashing towards Toriel, who raised her arm in defence again. But this time, instead of swinging their knife, Frisk threw themself down, sweeping their leg out and kicking Toriel’s feet out from underneath her, sending her crashing into the ground, her head knocking against the hard stone floor, then leapt and rolled to the side.

Toriel shook her head, looking up just in time to see the swirling mass of flames shooting towards her. She let out a startled gasp, before clapping her hands together, dispelling the fiery tornado. Her eyes went wide again as she seemed to remember where she was, and she put her arms up just in time to block another swing of Frisk’s knife.

This time though, the knife bit into her skin, slicing a shallow cut into her arms. Specks of dust scattered into the air, being eaten by the ring of flames at Toriel’s back. Frisk’s mind erupted into a cacophony of noise, burning anger and confusion washing over them. There was no way their plastic toy knife had cut her, and yet there was a clear slice in her arms. How the hell did that happen?

As Frisk was rooted in place, Toriel let out a pained grunt, thrusting her palm into their stomach, dragging a cough from their throat, before clenching her hand, creating an explosion that threw Frisk back, flames washing over their entire body as they were thrown across the room, screaming in agony.

Frisk’s body slammed into the far wall, a sickening crack echoing out as they fell to the ground. They continued to scream as the flames danced over their body, writing in pain. After a few seconds, the flames began to flicker away, leaving Frisk hyperventilating and sobbing as they slowly pushed themself onto their arms, dragging their tear-streaked eyes to look up at Toriel, who was still on the ground as well.

Despite the flames at their back, the room felt eerily cold. Frisk could feel their soul beginning to fade, the usually burning red heard now almost completely dim, its light flickering in and out. Toriel seemed just as tired, panting heavily, a pained expression on her face. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before her gaze turned to steel once more.

‘Just let me go,’ Frisk wanted to beg. ‘Just let me run away. Please.’ But they didn’t say anything. Instead, they hardened their gaze as well, glaring and Toriel, their lips twisting into a snarl. Toriel winced as if she had been slapped, the fight in her eyes dying in an instant, as she looked anywhere but at Frisk.

Frisk’s grip on their knife tightened, their entire body shaking in anger. She was doing it again. Pretending like she cared. It was always the same. She would hurt them, and tell them it was their fault, and then pretend like she was sorry and promise it wouldn’t happen again. But it did happen again. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and ovER AND OVER AND OVER AND-

A guttural scream echoed through the room, filled with years of anger and pain and suffering, as Frisk threw themselves towards Toriel, both hands gripping their knife as they raised it over their head. Toriel’s eyes went wide, but she made no effort to defend herself.

Frisk’s shadow loomed over her.

The knife fell.

"NO!”

The blade ripped through Toriel’s chest, dust exploding into the air as her torso was almost cut in half, a jagged chasm stretching across it. She let out a strangled gasp, the pink flames in the room all snuffing out in an instant as she fell to her knees. Toriel groaned in pain, clasping the gash across her chest. “You… are stronger than I thought,” she muttered, her voice laced with pain.

The knife clattered to the ground as Frisk’s hands flew to their mouth, their eyes wide. ‘What… what just..’ Tears streamed down their face. ‘How did I do that?’

“Listen to me, small one,” Toriel continued, ignoring Frisk’s inner turmoil. “If you go beyond this door… keep walking as far as you can… eventually you will reach an e-exit.”

Her entire body shuddered as if it were trying to fall apart. Her breathing was jagged and laboured, and her hands were both gripping her chest, desperately trying to hold herself together.

“Asgore…” she muttered, saying the name with more hatred and vitriol than Frisk thought she had in her entire body, “d-do not let Asgore t-take your soul… His plan c-c-cannot be allowed t-to succeed…”

Frisk’s eyes were darting around the room, trying to find something, someone, anything that could help. There had to be something. This… this wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t a real knife. It was a toy. Toys don’t- Frisk couldn’t have- they didn’t- this wasn’t-

Their frantic movements stopped when they felt Toriel’s paw on their cheek, guiding them to look at her. She still had one hand on her chest and pain filled her eyes, but she was giving Frisk one of the most sincere smiles they had ever seen.

“Be good, won’t you?” she asked, her voice wavering and distorted. “M y   c h i l d?”

Frisk let out a strangled cry, reaching out to Toriel to try and embrace her, only for their hands to pass right through as her body disintegrated. They crashed down onto their knees, looking down at their shaking hands to find them covered in dust. Toriel was gone.

She was gone.

She was dead.

They… they killed her.

They…

Their forehead hit the ground as they screamed, clutching their dust-covered hands to their chest, trying to embrace what little remained of Toriel. Of the woman who wanted to protect them, to keep them safe. She was so kind. She had been so, so kind. All she wanted was to keep Frisk safe. And all she asked was that Frisk stay in the Ruins. Was that really so bad? All they had ever wanted was a place to be safe, to be loved. And they had it! They had it and they threw it away, and for what?

They murdered Toriel.

And they could never take it back.

Frisk didn’t know how long they stayed there, screaming and crying. But at some point, they had run out of tears, and their throat had become raw and scratchy. Their eyes were bloodshot and unfocused as they stumbled forward, hugging themself tight to try and grasp at any comfort they could, slowly shambling through the Ruins’ exit. Only to stop when a familiar shape appeared in their path.

“Hee hee hee,” Flowey laughed. His voice was far too happy. He laughed like a child who had just heard a silly joke, giggling into their hand. Frisk clenched their teeth, their vision getting blurred as they glared at Flowey. How dare he. How dare he laugh. Toriel was dead and he was laughing.

‘And whose fault is it that she’s dead? ’

‘SHUT UP!’

Flowey’s smile grew wider as he watched Frisk suffer through their own thoughts, drinking in their pain. “I hope you like your choice,” he cackled. “After all, it’s not as if you can go back and change fate.”

Fate… was… was this fate? Was this what was always going to happen? Did Toriel have to die? Did they have to be the one that killed her? Was there really no other way?

His smile grew impossibly wide, practically splitting the flower in half. “In this world, it’s kill or be killed!”

No… no that wasn’t true. It couldn’t have been. There… they… they didn’t want this. This wasn’t what they wanted.

“That old hag thought she could break the rules…”

It wasn’t her fault… she was just trying to protect them. She just wanted to keep them safe.

“She tried so hard to save you humans,” Flowey sneered. “But when it came down to it… hee hee… SHE COULDN’T EVEN SAVE HERSELF! WHAT AN IDIOT!”

Frisk’s arms dug into their side as they tried to find any comfort they could, holding Toriel’s ashes tight. Their legs gave out underneath them and they started to cry again, despite their lack of tears. Their body shuddered as it tried to squeeze out every bit of sadness it could, only to find more to give.

Flowey’s smile turned into a jagged and twisted maw, his eyes expanding into pitch-black voids. His cackling laugh drowned out the sound of Frisk’s hiccups and silent cries. He was thriving on Frisk’s pain, every tear they couldn’t shed seeming to still water his roots.

They didn’t want this. This wasn’t what they wanted.

Flowey’s maniacal laughter filled the air, assaulting Frisk’s mind.

They just wanted to run. They didn’t want to have to kill her. They didn’t want her dead.

Their eyes screwed shut, trying to block out the rest of the world, but that only seemed to make Flowey’s laughter grow louder.

‘I don’t care about fate!’they screamed at themself. ‘I don’t want this! This isn’t what I wanted.’

A golden star appeared in the void of their mind, its light slowly beginning to shine.

‘Take me back,’ they begged. ‘I want to go back!’

A tiny red string emerged from the star, weaving through the air. Frisk could see their life playing across the string, like frames from a movie. The moment they woke up underground. Wandering through the Ruins. Finding the key in the sewers. Resting in the quaint little home above them. Their fight with Toriel.

Frisk reached their hand out towards the string, willing it to stop moving forward.

‘TAKE ME BACK!’ they screamed with everything they had. ‘I WANT TO GO BACK!’

The string twisted upwards, curling backwards into a loop. The frames began to distort, glitching in and out, the images partly erased, but still just barely able to be seen.

‘TAKE US BACK!’

The string completed its loop, wrapping back around itself and forming a tiny knot. The star burned through the emptiness, filling the void with golden light.

And then Frisk woke up.

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: I’m Only Making Your Heart Ache

Frisk:

Pain flared in Frisk’s side as they crashed onto the ground, smacking their head against the cold floor. They thrashed and fought against the blankets tangled around them, trying desperately to rip them off and free themself. 

When they finally freed themself, they sat up, pressing their back against the bed they fell off, breathing heavily. As they tried to get their breathing under control, Frisk pressed a palm flat against their chest and started counting to four over and over, tapping a finger against their chest in time with each number, just like their dad taught them.

‘One two three four, one two three four, one two three four, one two three four, one two three four.’

Once they started to breathe more evenly, Frisk’s eyes darted around. They were back in the bedroom. How was that possible? They were just downstairs, and Toriel… and then Flowey appeared and… was that a dream?

Yeah… it was just a dream. It had to be… right?

*Thump, thump, thump

The sound of Toriel’s footfalls outside the room made Frisk bolt to their feet. As she was opening the door, they flung themself back onto the bed, dragging the covers up with them and hiding underneath, closing their eyes tight and pretending to be asleep.

They could hear Toriel walk over to them, leaning over the bed slightly. She drew back the covers just enough to see their face, letting out a quiet sigh of relief, before replacing the blanket and stepping out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Frisk didn’t dare to more for a few minutes, waiting to make sure she was really gone. After they felt enough time had passed, they peeked out from underneath the covers, just enough so that they could look around and see that Toriel hadn’t tricked them and that she was really gone. Once they confirmed that they were alone, they sat up, a deep sigh escaping their lips as they held their head in their hands.

Except they weren’t alone.

“You can’t hide forever,” a somewhat familiar voice called. “You’ll have to face her eventually.”

Frisk immediately shot up, looking around the room frantically. ‘It’s them again!’ they thought. The voice was clearer now. It had to be close.

“…so you can hear me,” it whispered. “I wasn’t sure for a while.” Frisk tilted their head to the side, wondering how the voice could be unsure about that. As if sensing their confusion, it continued on, saying “I’ve been trying to speak to you since you arrived. You hardly ever reacted.”

“I think I could hear you?” Frisk thought, trying to make sure what they were saying - or thinking - was loud. Their hands moved on their own, signing along to what they were saying, even if it was pointless. “Were you the one calling that cactus a tsundere?”

A flash of pink went off in Frisk’s mind, making their face feel weird. “I… of course that’s the only thing you heard,” the voice muttered.

“Well, it’s not the only thing I heard,” Frisk replied, “It’s just the most recent thing you said. You also said something when I was rolling around in a pile of leaves, and when I was dancing with those slime things.”

“Moldsmal,” the voice corrected. “And that wasn’t dancing, that was flirting.”

“Same difference.”

“I beg to differ!”

“Then beg.”

“You-” the voice started, a dull red glow pulsing from its presence, before Frisk could feel it take a deep breath (which felt extremely strange), the colour fading away. “We’re getting off track. The point is, you can hear me now. Now then, you need t-”

“Why are you following me?” Frisk interrupted.

“I- excuse me?”

“Why are you following me?” Frisk repeated. “Also, who are you? And where are you?”

The voice began to stammer, obviously growing more frustrated. “I’m not following you on purpose!” it insisted. “For some reason, I woke up when you fell into the underground. As for where I am, I’m behind you.” Frisk immediately turned their head around, seeing nothing except the headboard of the bed they were sitting on. “Not like that!” the voice sneered. “It’s… hard to explain. I’m behind you… and a little bit to the left. But I’m not really there.”

“You’re explaining this really well,” Frisk snickered sarcastically.

“I don’t know how else to explain it!” the voice yelled with frustration. At least, Frisk thought they were yelling. Its volume never got any louder or softer, but Frisk could still tell its intention. “I’m just… existing here. I can see and hear things around you, and I get dragged along wherever you go.”

“So you’re in my head?”

“I suppose?”

“Why didn’t you just say that?”

“Can we get back on track please!”

Frisk bit their lip to keep themself from laughing, before nodding their head. As much fun as it was playing around with whoever was in their head, they figured they had had enough. If they poked at the voice any more, they’d probably start getting genuinely angry with them. Best to avoid that. “Sure,” Frisk shrugged. “What do you wanna talk about?”

They could feel the voice narrow its eyes at them with suspicion, before eventually deciding that Frisk was being honest. “You cannot avoid Miss Toriel forever,” it eventually said. “Sooner or later you’re going to have to speak with her.” Frisk immediately curled in on themself. They knew that. Of course they did. But they didn’t know how they could face Toriel after that dream. “…are you sure that was a dream?” the voice continued, catching Frisk off guard. They hadn’t realized they were thinking loud enough for the voice to hear. They’d have to be more careful in the future.

For now, they focused their attention on the current conversation. “You saw that too?” they asked, feeling their blood starting to turn cold.

“I did,” the voice confirmed. It went quiet for a few seconds, before continuing, saying “As well as the previous dream.”

“Oh…” Frisk sighed. They really did not want to linger on that. “Can we… not talk about that please?” they asked. Their face burned with embarrassment and unjustified anger. It wasn’t fair for this random voice to be spying on their dreams and memories. They figured that the voice couldn’t actually control that. It didn’t really seem to have much control over what was happening. But it still frustrated Frisk that they didn’t even have the privacy of their own thoughts anymore.

A soft pink filled Frisk’s mind, covering their thoughts like a warm blanket. It was different to the pink from before; it was more comfortable. It made them feel safe. However, it didn’t stay for long, a monochrome breeze sweeping through their mind and smothering the colour away. “…very well,” the voice eventually said. “We can continue our conversation later. For now, you need to eat. You are hungry.”

That made Frisk pause, tilting their head up. “How do you know?” they asked, less in an accusatory way and more out of curiosity. “Can you feel what I do?”

“In a way,” the voice said. “I can feel anything you do, though the sensations are somewhat muted. However, I can feel what you do much more clearly when I am controlling your body.”

Alarm bells started screaming, and Frisk jumped off the bed, stomping their feet as they landed on the ground. “WHEN YOU WHAT?” they yelled in a panic. “When did you- how did you- what?”

“You were refusing to sleep,” the voice replied curtly. “Would you have preferred I left you alone until you passed out on the floor?” Frisk let out an annoyed grumble, confirming that no, they wouldn’t have preferred that. They still didn’t like the idea of someone else hijacking their body, but at the very least the voice wasn’t abusing its ability to do that. They could appreciate that. “I also remember helping you in the fight with Miss Toriel before,” they continued, making Frisk seize up. They didn’t justify that thought with a response. It was just a dream. No need to keep talking about it.

They were going to try and change the topic, until their body did it for them, their stomach growling loud enough to echo in the tiny room. Frisk let out a tiny snort, giving their stomach a couple of pats and a jiggle. ‘There there, buddy,’ they thought to themself. ‘Don’t cry. I’ll go get you some food right now.’

“…you’re weird.”

Frisk rolled their eyes. They really needed to learn how to hide their thoughts from the voice, preferably sooner rather than later. They moved to leave the bedroom, trying to hype themself up, when a thought occurred. “By the way, you never answered my question,” they told the voice, feeling it raise an eyebrow at them. “Who are you?”

There was a small wave of dark grey in their mind, growing and shrinking as the voice said nothing. Eventually, the wave receded completely, leaving behind a gentle teal. “Who I am isn’t important,” the voice stated flatly. “However, if what you wish for is a name… then you may call me Chara.”

“Nice to meet you, Chara,” Frisk smiled. “My name is Frisk!”

Frisk checked on their footwear near the fireplace at Chara’s request, trying to make sure that they could wear them again. They had dried off a little bit while Frisk was asleep, but still needed a bit more time. At least they didn’t smell as bad anymore.

“You’re lucky that you were wearing boots and a sweater,” Chara commented. “Outside the Ruins is the forest of Snowdin. As the name implies, it is quite snowy out there. You’ll need all the warmth you can get.”

Frisk stood up and stretched their back before they started skipping through the house, heading out the front door to talk to Chara in private. Their conversations weren’t vocal, but it would still raise some questions if Toriel caught Frisk changing their facial expressions every two seconds as if they were talking to someone. Plus, they knew themself well enough to know that they would start signing again, and even if Toriel couldn’t understand sign language, she’d get confused on who they were speaking to. “How does it snow underground?” Frisk asked once they closed the door behind them. “Also, how do you know all this?”

“I have no idea how it snows,” Chara deadpanned. “No one knows. The Underground is a strange and magical place. It is best not to ask questions.” That answer was massively unsatisfying to Frisk. How could no one know? And how could Chara say it was better not to ask? The fact that an underground cave could be filled with snow was so cool (Pun totally intended)! How could they not want to know more? “As for how I know,” they continued, “I know from my time in the Underground while I was alive.”

The Ruins suddenly felt colder as Frisk sucked in a harsh breath. “When you were alive?” they quietly asked. “Does that mean-”

“I died,” Chara said nonchalantly as if they were just telling Frisk what day it was. “What, did you think I was just a disembodied voice that came from nowhere?”

“I… hadn’t really thought about it,” Frisk admitted. They bit their lip, unsure of whether or not they should continue the current conversation. Asking someone about their death was probably rude, right? It didn’t seem like a pleasant conversation topic. How would they feel if someone asked them to talk about their death? Probably not very happy.

Yeah, maybe best to avoid that topic for a bit.

Instead, they chose to shift gears, bringing up something they had been thinking about on and off. “Um… do we have to leave?” they asked. Almost immediately, they felt a surge of red flair up in their mind, warning them to shut up. But they pressed on anyways. “I mean, Toriel just wants to keep us - or, me - safe and happy, right? Maybe we can just… stay here? And be happy?”

Their mind was flooded with a burning crimson, making Frisk wince in pain. They could practically feel the anger radiating from Chara. “Stop making excuses, human,” they spat. “We both know you have no desire to stay. You would be miserable. You simply wish to avoid hurting Miss Toriel’s feelings.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Frisk muttered. “Also, you know my name.”

“It is a bad thing,” Chara sneered, ignoring Frisk’s second comment. “Guess what? You’re going to hurt her. No matter what. You can’t stop that.” Frisk tried to cut them off and defend themself, but Chara didn't give them the chance. “How long do you think you’ll last before you freak out at her again, hm? How long before you yell at her that you want to leave? Or worse, say you hate her?” The burning red turned into a raging inferno, searing the corners of Frisk’s mind. “You aren’t being kind. You’re being a selfish coward, trying to convince yourself to stay to avoid making a difficult decision. Typical.”

Frisk bristled at Chara’s comments, but didn’t immediately jump to defend themself again. After all, they couldn’t exactly deny it. Chara was right, in every sense, which just served to infuriate Frisk more. Still, they had no intention of letting the conversation go without getting back at them.

“Yeah, well you seem awfully eager to leave,” Frisk shot back, their brow creased in anger. “Maybe you just want to get away from Toriel. You knew her when you were alive, right?” In truth, Frisk didn’t know that for sure, but the way that Chara spoke about her made them think they were right. “Sounds like you’re just trying to avoid your problems as well.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Chara hissed. “Miss Toriel was nothing but kind to me during my time in the Underground. I have no reason to wish to leave her.”

Despite their words sounding somewhat genuine, Frisk could feel… something coming from Chara. Like a stream of black ink. They couldn’t figure out what that was supposed to mean. It was obvious that the colours flowing through their mind were Chara’s emotions, and while some seemed strange, it was usually somewhat obvious what the different shades and colours meant. But Frisk couldn’t make heads or tails of this one. The only thing they knew was that it was definitely a negative emotion.

“Regardless, I do have a reason to leave,” Chara continued. “I need to see what is happening in the Underground.” Frisk could feel another wave of red flooding their mind, though the dull shade of it told them it was more frustration than anger. “Monsters being violent, Mister Asgore supposedly killing humans… something is terribly wrong. I need to know what.”

“We don’t know if any of that is actually happening,” Frisk said. “Toriel only told us all that in the dream, so maybe my mind was just making i-”

“How long are you going to hide behind that excuse?”

Frisk didn’t respond to that, simply glaring into empty space instead. They weren’t going to think about that. It was a dream. It had to have been. There was only one way absolutely no way that any of that could have really happened. So there was no point thinking about it.

After a few minutes passed in silence, Chara let out an annoyed sigh, resigning themself to Frisk’s stubbornness. “Fine, be that way,” they sneered. “Your shoes should be dry by now. We should leave.”

“Fine,” Frisk huffed. “But I want to grab some things first. If this is going to be dangerous, I wanna be prepared.”

Chara let out a huff, but Frisk could feel that they agreed. “There should be a backpack in your room,” they said. “Pack it up with some food. I’m sure Toriel won’t miss a few snacks.”

Frisk made their way inside, quickly making their way over to the bedroom and looking around for a backpack. It didn’t take long to find one. Once they confirmed that it wouldn’t break on them, they put it on the bed and ran to the kitchen, trying not to look too suspicious as they walked past Toriel, who was still lounging in her chair and reading.

Scavenging around the kitchen, they managed to find a couple pieces of Monster Candy in a cupboard, a chocolate bar in the fridge (that Frisk felt a strangely strong compulsion to take), and a plastic container that they used to store an extra piece of pie from the countertop (Which they had to cut with their plastic knife, since they couldn’t find a real knife in any of the drawers for some reason). They stuck the chocolate and candy in their pockets and hid the container underneath their sweater as they walked past Toriel again.

Packing didn’t take long. They didn’t have much on them, and the closet in the room didn’t have any spare sets of clothes. So their only possessions were a few snacks, a toy knife, and a back-seating ghost with a caustic attitude. Lovely.

Frisk slung the bag over their shoulders, getting ready to sneak out before Toriel could stop them, but Chara insisted that they tell Toriel they were going to leave. Frisk wondered why, thinking that it would hurt less if they just disappeared, rather than telling Toriel that they were going to go and fighting with her.

“Aside from the fact that you left your shoes in front of the fireplace?” Chara asked, making Frisk blush. They had forgotten about that. “We need to confront Miss Toriel about this.”

“Why?”

“To see whose right.”

Frisk bit their lip. They didn’t like it, but Chara had a point. Frisk knew they were right. Everything that had happened before was just a bad dream. They knew they were right about that… but they still had to be sure.

So with a heavy heart, Frisk trudged their way into the living room. As soon as they did, Toriel looked up from her book, her smile melting away as she took note of the bag on Frisk’s back. Her frown deepened as they walked over to the fireplace, slipping their socks and shoes on. “My child, what are you doing?” she asked, the worry in her voice very clear, despite her obvious attempt to sound calm.

‘Right, time for the hard part,’ Frisk thought to themself. They swallowed hard and adjusted the bag on their back, turning to Toriel and trying to give her a reassuring smile. They pointed to themself and made a walking motion with their fingers, trying to convey that they were leaving.

“Wha-what?” Toriel stuttered, her teeth chattering. “Where are you going?”

Frisk scanned the room quickly, their eyes settling on the crayons and pieces of paper scattering the floor. They picked a sheet up, flipping it over the write on the side without the drawing. They quickly scrawled down the word ‘HOME’, before showing it to Toriel.

Seeing their writing, Toriel pressed her lips into a tight line, refusing to look Frisk in the eye. “This… this IS your home now,” she eventually said. She looked around the room nervously, before picking up the book back up off her lap. “Um, would you like to hear about this book I am reading?” she asked, holding it up in front of her. “It is called ‘72 Uses for Snails’. How about it?”

Frisk shook their head, holding up the piece of paper again and firmly pointing at the word ‘HOME’ on it. They didn’t like how this conversation was going. It was too close to how it went in their dream. The entire situation was unnervingly similar.

Toriel bit her lip, placing the book on her lap, her paws gripping each other tight enough to make them shake. “Um… how about an exciting snail fact?” she asked desperately. “Did you know that snails… uh… sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature? Interesting, no?”

They pointed at the word ‘HOME’ again.

Then, Frisk’s world flipped upside down as the light in Toriel’s eyes died, her expression morphing into a familiar look of grim determination. The warmth that she radiated faded away as she stood up, placing her book on the table in front of her. And then she said it again, word for word.

“…I have to do something,” she stated, her tone flat and commanding. “Stay here.”

Frisk’s heart crumbled into dust as Toriel walked past them, quickly marching out of the living room and down the stairs. They would have sat there in shock for eternity, but Chara took control, forcing them to their feet.

“After her!” they demanded. “Don’t make me do this more than I have to.” Until then, Frisk had assumed Chara had no issue with controlling them, but there was something in their voice that made them unsure. They sounded so uncomfortable with the idea of puppeteering them. Plus, if they wanted to, they could have kept going, forcing Frisk to follow Toriel until they were willing to move again. “Are you listening to me? MOVE!” Chara yelled, snapping Frisk out of their thoughts. They quickly turned on their heel and took after Toriel, running down into the basement as quickly as they could.

“You want to leave so badly?”

Frisk panted heavily as they started at Toriel, their heart screaming with worry. They were barely listening to her as they walked through the hallway, but now that they were standing in front of her, their inevitable fight mere moments away, fear had started to grip at their core. This was real. This was really happening again.

Toriel let out a dismissive huff, shaking her head. “You are just like the others.” Toriel finally turned around, a roaring inferno blazing in her steely gaze. “There is only one solution to this,” she stated. “Prove yourself… prove to me that you are strong enough to- wait… why are you looking at me like that?”

Frisk stood, frozen in place, their eyes wide as they continued to stare at Toriel. Why. Why was this happening? Why was it exactly the same? It… it was just a dream. It was just supposed to be a dream. It couldn’t have been- it wasn’t- they didn’t-

‘No no no no no no no, please no,’ they begged.

Toriel narrowed her eyes at Frisk, turning her head to the side slightly. “Why are you looking at me as if you have seen a ghost?” she asked. “Do you know something that I do not?” she wondered, before shaking her head. “No… that is impossible.”

With that, Toriel’s magic flared to life, her palms once again erupting into flames as a ring of pink fire surrounded her and Frisk. A red glow clashed against the pink light as Frisk’s soul appeared over their chest, trying to fight back against the incoming shadows with its crimson glow.

Toriel wasted no time, thrusting her blazing hands out, sending a flurry of embers flying through the air. Frisk slid to the side, but this time, they did not charge towards her. Instead, they looked around the room in a panic, their mind scrambling for an answer. ‘What do I do?’ they thought to themself, before remembering there was someone they could ask.

“Chara!” they yelled in their mind. “Chara, are you still there?”

“Of course I am,” they replied curtly. At that point, Frisk couldn’t bring themself to be bothered by Chara’s attitude. They were desperate for their help.

“What do I do?” they asked as they ducked underneath a flurry of flames. “I… I don’t want to hurt her!”

“Oh, is that so?” Chara sneered. “You seemed to have no issue with it last time.” Last time. There… there really was a last time, wasn’t there? Frisk really did… they…

Frisk shook their head violently, trying to force the tears back into their eyes before they could escape. Unfortunately, their distraction caused them to ignore Toriel, rewarding them with a wave of fire sweeping across their feet, burning their soul and sending them stumbling backwards until they tripped, barely catching themself before their head knocked against the hard stone floor.

They let out a sigh of relief, and then a yelp as they saw Toriel holding a massive ball of flames over her head, throwing it at Frisk the moment they locked eyes. Frisk scrambled to their feet, barely managing to roll out of the way before the fireball exploded on the ground where they were, embers scattering through the air as it burst, a few nipping at Frisk’s clothes as they pushed themself back to their feet.

“Chara, please!” they begged. They tried to force their feelings outwards, to let Chara see that they were genuine. They focused on their heart, letting the feelings of fear and grief overwhelm them. They didn’t want this. They didn’t want to fight. They never really wanted to hurt Toriel. It was an accident before. They didn’t want this. “Please,” they begged again.

“…very well,” Chara sighed, making Frisk’s heart soar. “I shall assist you.”

“Thank you!” Frisk cheered. “Okay, so what do I do?”

“Nothing.”

“…what?” Frisk blanched. “What do you mean? I have to do something!”

“No, you don’t,” Chara said flatly. “Don’t do anything. Don’t fight, don’t dodge, don’t talk. Just do nothing.”

Frisk screamed as more flames lapped around them, forcing them to run to the opposite side of the arena. They were already starting to run out of breath. “How is that supposed to help?” they demanded. “Do you want her to kill me?!?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

“CHARA!”

“Relax, she won’t kill you,” Chara huffed. “Miss Toriel may be strict and commanding, but as soon as someone stands up to her, she breaks down. If you refuse to fight, she’ll give up.”

Another burst of flames forced Frisk to drop to the floor, the sweltering heat sending sweat down their neck as their hair was singed. “Will she give up before, or after she burns me to death?”

Chara rolled their nonexistent eyes, scoffing at Frisk’s question. “As I already said, she will not kill you. Miss Toriel has no desire to hurt you, let alone kill you.”

“No desire to-” Frisk started incredulously, getting interrupted by two balls of flames, one just barely missing them and forcing them to dodge to the side, and the second crashing into their chest and sending them flying backwards, almost making them fall into the ring of fire surrounding them. They rubbed their chest in pain, looking down at their flickering soul. “She certainly seems like she wants to hurt me!” they yelled.

“Please. This is nothing,” Chara argued. “She’s holding back. If Miss Toriel wanted you dead, you’d be dead.” Somehow, that didn’t really reassure Frisk, or make them feel better about the battering they were receiving. Still, they didn’t exactly have any better ideas themself…

“Are you sure about this?” they asked.

That gave Chara pause, as they took a deep breath. They pushed their feelings outwards, a calming blue flooding into Frisk’s mind. “I am,” they said. “Trust me.”

Frisk let out a ragged breath, looking over at Toriel and standing tall. They reached into their pocket, pulling out the toy knife. Toriel looked down at it, narrowing her eyes at them. Frisk held the knife out in front of them…

…and threw it into the fire.

Toriel’s eyes went wide as she watched the knife melt into plastic goop, before her gaze snapped back to Frisk, who hadn’t moved an inch. “What are you doing?” she whispered, staring straight through them. “Attack or run away!”

She raised her burning hands into the air, before flinging them forward, sending out a sheet of fire that washed over Frisk. They screamed in pain, feeling their life force fading as their soul blinked in and out, but they stood their ground, stomping their foot forward and clenching their teeth to grit through the pain.

Toriel glared at Frisk, her snout twisting into a snarl. “What are you proving this way?” she yelled. “FIGHT ME OR LEAVE!” Frisk didn’t move, simply forcing themself to stand up straight and look Toriel straight in the eye. She hissed in response, her hands clapping together as another sheet of flames burned forward…

… and completely missed, the flames parting around Frisk’s body.

Frisk watched the flames bend around them, before snapping their head around to look at Toriel again, who was refusing to meet their eye. She was biting down on her lips hard, the fire dancing along her palms beginning to flicker and sputter out.

“…stop it,” she hissed. “Stop looking at me that way!” she said, raising her voice louder as she grabbed her head in her hands, shaking her head from side to side as if she were trying to block out Frisk’s voice. “Go away!” she yelled in desperation as she let out another flurry of flames. But this time, it was nothing more than a series of embers that danced through the air, floating off to the side long before they got anywhere close to Frisk.

Frisk did nothing.

Toriel threw more and more fire through the air, none of her attacks reaching anywhere near Frisk.

They continued to do nothing.

The ring of fire around them began to shrink into the ground, the dancing shadows receding towards the walls.

Toriel let out a shuddery cry, screwing her eyes shut tight. “I… I know you want to go home, but… but please, go upstairs now,” she begged.

Frisk bit their lip, trying not to let any emotion show on their face. They hated how hurt she looked, but this was for the best. They couldn’t stay here forever. They had to leave.

“I promise I will take good care of you here,” Toriel continued, finally looking up. Frisk chocked back a sob as they saw the tears welling up in her eyes. Despite that, she had a smile on her face, one that screamed for help, conveying all the desperation and loneliness that Toriel felt. “I know we do not have much, but we can have a good life here.”

It was tempting. It was so, so tempting. Here was someone that wanted Frisk, that was kind and loving, and wanted them to stay. To take care of them and protect them. To keep them safe and warm. It was so tempting to say that they would stay, to just… be happy with her.

But they knew they couldn’t. There was somewhere they had to be. Even if they tried to stay, how long would it be until they had another nightmare? Until they felt the need to leave again? It was only a matter of time until they ruined things. Until they broke Toriel’s heart.

So Frisk stood their ground, shaking their head. Toriel’s smile began to fade, the tears starting to flow down her cheeks. “Why are you making this so difficult,” she sobbed, her wavering voice breaking Frisk’s heart. “Please, go upstairs.” She stared at them for a few seconds, before casting her gaze down.

And then, she started laughing.

At first, it was a quiet chuckle, but it quickly turned into a burst of almost hysterical laughter. “Pathetic, is it not?” she muttered, her mouth flipping back and forth, unsure if it was supposed to be a smile or a frown. “I cannot even save a single child.”

Toriel closed her eyes, and in an instant, all the fire in the room flickered and disappeared, leaving Frisk and Toriel alone in the darkness. Frisk let out a sigh of relief as they felt their soul be absorbed back into their body, though they could feel how weak it was, its usual warmth all but gone.

Wiping away her tears, Toriel let out a long breath. “No, I understand,” she said, forcing her voice to remain steady. “You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this.”

‘No… no that’s not it. I’m sorry. I wish I could stay. I wish it was different.’

Toriel closed her eyes, placing her paws over her heart. “It’s okay,” she whispered, just barely loud enough for Frisk to hear. “My expectations, my loneliness… my fear… for you, my child… I will put them aside.”

She stepped over towards Frisk, standing over them with her hands clasped in front of her. Frisk looked up at her, desperately wishing they could reach out, or say something to make her feel better. But there was nothing they could do. Besides, they knew this was hard enough as is. It was probably for the best that they simply let her do as she wish. It would make it easier for her.

“If you truly wish to leave the Ruins… I will not stop you” Toriel said quietly, looking just a bit off to the side. “However, when you leave… please do not come back. I hope you understand.”

They did. But that didn’t make it break their heart any less.

Frisk couldn’t take it any more. They surged forward, wrapping Toriel in the tightest hug they could, burying their face in her dress. Their arms didn’t reach all the way around her, so they hugged tighter, trying to squeeze her until their hands met. Toriel gasped, before wrapping her arms around them, smothering them in soft fur and love.

The two stood there in silence for what felt like hours, holding each other tightly, until Toriel eventually pulled away. Frisk reluctantly let her go, no longer able to look her in the eye. They kept their head down, unable to bear the weight of her expression anymore.

Toriel stepped around Frisk, walking a few steps down the corridor, before quietly whispering “Goodbye, my child,” her voice thick with emotion. Frisk stood still, listening to Toriel’s footsteps echoing down the halls, refusing to budge until the sound had completely faded away.

And then they cried.

To Frisk’s surprise, Chara didn’t order Frisk to keep moving. Instead, they said nothing as Frisk wept, flooding their mind with deep blue tears. Every time Frisk was on the verge of getting their crying under control, a new wave of Chara’s emotions washed over them, sending them back into tears. The two were feeding off each other’s sadness, their hearts aching together.

It was unnerving, having Chara’s emotions mix with their own. It certainly didn’t help that instead of weeping, Chara laughed. Frisk could tell they were trying to hold it back, but every now and then they could hear a few seconds of Chara’s manic laughter, the voice fading in and out like someone was turning the volume on a radio up and down, over and over. Whenever the laughter cut through the silence, Frisk felt the skin around their mouth stretch in an unnatural way, a smile that wasn’t theirs forcing its way onto their face. Maybe they should have been scared, but they didn’t have the energy to feel anything.

But they both knew they couldn’t sit there forever. Eventually, they forced their emotions down and pushed forward. Frisk wasn’t sure which one of them was in control. Their body was moving, but it didn’t feel like either of them were piloting it. They both watched from the outside as they slowly marched up the many flights of stairs, the exit of the Ruins drawing closer and closer. Soon, they could leave this place behind, and hopefully, the pain with it.

But before they could, a flower stood in their way.

“Clever. Verrrryyy clever,” Flowey drawled, his high-pitched voice grating at Frisk’s ears. “You think you’re really smart, don’t you?”

They didn’t. They weren’t really thinking anything. They just wanted to leave. They tried to zone out, to let Flowey’s words wash go in one ear and out the rest, but his voice demanded their attention. He wouldn’t let them ignore him, no matter how much they wanted to.

A far too chipper smile crossed over Flowey’s face. “In this world, it’s kill or be killed,” he repeated happily. “So you were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person…”

His voice trailed off, as his face began to contort into a wicked amalgamation, a small snout growing from his face, complete with jagged teeth and a crooked grin. Flowey’s maniacal laughter filled the room as he threw his head back, before once again settling his gaze on Frisk.

“But don’t get so cocky,” he drawled, his grin growing wider and wider. “I know what you did.” He leaned closer, his face once again morphing, but this time into an almost perfect recreation of Toriel’s. “You murdered her,” he cheered. “And then you went back because you regretted it.”

Suddenly, Frisk’s attention was entirely on Flowey. Before, they were just barely listening to him, trying to let him speak until he would go away. But now, they didn’t even dare to breathe, not willing to risk a single one of his words get muffled by the sound of their breathing.

Flowey cackled as his face twisted into a jagged smile, a pair of beady white pupils growing in the void of his eyes. “You naïve idiot!” he yelled. “Do you think you are the only one with that power?” He leaned further forward, twisting his head around and around as he spoke. “The power to reshape the world, purely by your own determination. The ability to play God! To Save and Load!” Flower snickered to himself, his grin slowly shrinking back into a slightly more normal one. “I thought I was the only one with that power. But…”

He looked away from Frisk, eyes narrowing. It was hard for them to tell what Flowey was thinking, but they could swear that he looked… annoyed? Angry? Frustrated? Something along those lines. His emotions were hidden behind a thin veil, but Frisk knew it wasn’t something pretty.

“But I can’t save anymore,” Flowey continued, his voice sounding tight, as if he were trying to hold something back. “Apparently, YOUR desires for this world override mine.” He chuckled to himself quietly, turning to face Frisk again. “Well, enjoy that power while you can,” he chirped. “I’ll be watching.”

With one final bone-chilling laugh, Flowey dug back into the ground, leaving behind a tiny hole where he once stood. Once again, Frisk found themself unable to move, simply staring at the spot where Flowey was.

That… that was it. There was no more denying it. They couldn’t lie to themself anymore.

“It was real,” they whispered, their hand slowly rising up to cover their mouth. “It… it wasn’t a dream.”

Chara’s presence settled firmly back into Frisk’s mind, a strange pressure on their back. “Indeed,” they confirmed sadly. “It was real.”

Frisk bit down hard, clenching their teeth together as tightly as they could. They weren’t going to cry. Not again. But… but…

“I killed her,” they cried. “I murdered Toriel.”

“Yup,” Chara deadpanned. “Congratulations, you’re a terrible person.” Frisk lowered their head in shame, trying to hold back their tears, until they heard Chara murmur “At least you’re in good company…” Frisk was almost certain that they weren’t supposed to hear that, based on how quiet Chara’s voice sounded.

“…what do I do now?” they asked. Chara didn’t respond for a while, considering the question. Eventually, they settled on an answer.

“You do what I couldn’t; you keep moving forward,” they said. “And you do better.”

Frisk’s breath hitched, and they swallowed hard. Do better. That was it. There were no excuses, no apologies, no reassurances. Only the command to be better than they were. To try harder, to be kinder. To never lose themself to their emotions again. That will, that promise…

It filled them with determination.

And they left the Ruins with their head held high.

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Skeletons & Skelepuns

Chara:

Chara wasn’t sure what to think of this new human.

There were plenty of ways they could describe them. Naïve, stupid, annoying, immature, and overall a pain. Even if Frisk hadn’t been able to hear them properly before, Chara had been forced to listen to their thoughts since the moment they woke up. 

And hoooooo boy, could Frisk think loud. 

Everything that went through their head was either some mindless drivel about how beautiful everything was and how they were going to make friends with everyone, or a stupid sarcastic quip that Chara wished they would just say out loud, if only because it would make the others around them shut up. There were so many fights that Frisk got into that they could have dealt with a hundred times faster if they just told the monsters they were dealing with to piss off. 

But no, instead they had to waste their time complimenting and hugging them and making them feel better. As if the feelings and emotions of every monster they came across were their problem. It made Chara want to tear their non-existent hair out. 

At least, it did until they saw Frisk’s dreams, and learned how they got that scar on their cheek that they hid under their bandage.

As much as they wanted to, they struggled to truly hate Frisk after that. They tried, really, they did! No matter what happened, Frisk was still human. They were still a blight on the world, just another reason that the monsters were trapped underground. Chara didn’t want to relate to them, to feel sorry for them… but they couldn’t not. After all, Frisk had seen it too. The hatred at the heart of humanity. Their true colours. 

Even if they tried to hide it, Chara could see the scars on Frisk’s heart. The way they frowned whenever Miss Toriel acted a certain way. The voices of the past haunting them, invading the present. Their desperate desire to make everyone like them. 

It was infuriating. It would be so much easier if they could hate Frisk. But everything they did made Chara feel so conflicted. Seeing them try and befriend every monster was annoying as all hell, but they were happy that Frisk cared about the monsters like they did. Being forced to listen to their stupid optimism was scream-inducing, but after being hurt by humans, didn’t they deserve a bit of happiness? 

Then there was the fight against Toriel. Chara could feel the moment Frisk lost control, even if they didn’t quite understand what caused it. Frisk’s thoughts were too chaotic, a cacophony of different voices all screaming at once. Chara was sure that something Toriel had said or did caused Frisk’s panic, but they couldn’t figure out what it was for the life of them. But whatever it was, it made living inside of Frisk’s head turn to hell. 

Chara hated it. They wanted to be angry at Frisk. To hate them for daring to raise their hand to Toriel, to draw a weapon on her. Even if they didn’t understand what they were doing, they still attacked her. Leave it to a human to throw a tantrum as soon as they don’t get what they want, to turn to violence. No matter how much Chara screamed and begged, Frisk didn’t listen. But why would they? They were human. Hatred was what they were made of. Of course they would kill Toriel for standing in their way. 

Except… Chara knew that wasn’t how it happened. They barely knew what they were doing. The inside of their head was a screaming mess, a whirlpool of memories and emotions dragging Chara further and further down into the abyss. They couldn’t tell up from down, barely able to make out the thoughts and voices. But the one thing they could tell was that there wasn’t any hatred. Anger maybe, but not hatred, and certainly not a desire to kill. They only wanted one thing; to run. 

That word… that one word. Chara was pretty sure it was burned into their existence after everything, the word carved into their bones. The fight or flight reaction of a scared animal had been drilled into their mind, their own thoughts overtaken by the flood. It terrified them, the idea that Frisk’s emotions could overpower them so completely, make them want to scream and cry and run, just as they did. 

By the time they had managed to pull themself out of the torrent of fear, it was too late. Frisk had delivered the final blow. Toriel was dying. Chara screamed as they watched her turn to dust, pounding at their prison, desperately trying to crack through Frisk’s skull and escape into the world so they could grab hold of whatever was left. But they didn’t need to, because Frisk already had. They were holding her dust close, and screaming with everything they had. Chara could feel themself getting swept away in Frisk’s emotions again, but this time they didn’t resist. They let their own screams be added to the orchestra, all of their pain and agony and sorrow swirling together with Frisk’s, as the two of them mourned together. 

It was as cathartic as it was rage-inducing. Frisk’s regrets made Chara want to hug and strangle them in the same breath. How dare they? How dare they murder Toriel in cold blood, and then have the nerve to be sad about it? They had caused this! Her dust was on their hands! It was their own fault! But then, Chara’s hands weren’t clean either. They were stained by dust too. 

How were they supposed to feel? Here was a human, a creature of hatred, who had fallen into the Underground and murdered someone that Chara cared about more than the world itself, and Chara couldn’t muster up the strength to hate them like they deserved. And for what? Because they had a sob story back on the surface? Because they were sad that they had to face the consequences of their actions? Was a few tears all it took to convince Chara to turn their back on what they knew was true? Pathetic. 

Of course, because the world had a diseased sense of humour to match Chara’s, things had to get even more complicated. The flower came back. It taunted Frisk for their actions, called them out for being the murderer they were, laughing at how they had to live on, knowing that they had killed someone. 

But that didn’t turn out to be true. Somehow, things changed. A star soared through reality, offering to grant a single wish. Frisk and Chara reached for it as one, demanding that the world make their dream come true; to let them go back. To let them try again, to fix their mistakes. The world didn’t want to listen, because why would it? The world was heartless and cruel. It didn’t care how loud children screamed, it wouldn’t listen. 

Even still, they screamed. They screamed and cried and begged and kicked, and they forced reality to listen. They didn’t care what it wanted, because what they wanted was more important. They wanted to GO BACK! And whether or not the universe liked it, it was going to listen. 

And it did. 

Through sheer force of will, Frisk and Chara bent reality to their whims, forcing the ever-forward marching hands of time to rewind. They woke up together, back in the room that Toriel had given Frisk. As soon as they woke up, the first thing Chara did was look at Frisk’s hands. No dust. 

Good. At least one of them had clean hands. 

Somehow, that event seemed to have brought them closer together. Frisk could hear Chara’s voice. That was good. It meant that Chara could properly grill the human, figure out who they were. How much of a threat they were to the Underground. They had intended to interrogate Frisk. That fell apart somewhat when Frisk spent most of the conversation sassing them, but they still tried. And they learned a few things. 

The most important of which was that Frisk was a cowardly idiot that just wanted to make everyone around them happy. They were too naïve, thinking that if they tried hard enough, they could fix any problem. But that wasn’t how the world worked. Even with the power to turn back time, some things could not be prevented. Chara knew it was only a matter of time before Frisk hurt Toriel again. And they wouldn’t let that happen. Chara had hurt Toriel enough on their own. They didn’t need Frisk to add to her pain. 

Which was why it was important that Frisk was a cowardly idiot. Because that meant Chara could make them do what they wanted. All it took was a firm hand. Even if Frisk was scared or second-guessing their decision, they would listen if Chara yelled loud enough. They could do that. They knew how to do that. 

….better not to think about how badly it went last time they forced someone to listen. 

It would be fine though. They would be better. They would make sure Frisk didn’t hurt anyone. The monsters had suffered enough. Chara would not let Frisk be another source of pain. 

They would protect the people that saved them. No matter what.

Frisk:

The first thought that passed through Frisk’s mind when they stepped outside of the Ruins was ‘How is there wind underground? Where does it come from?’ Their second thought was ‘COLD COLD COLD COLD COOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD!’

Frisk shivered as the Ruins doors slammed shut behind them, locking themselves tight. The change in temperature between the Ruins and the outside was night and day. The air in the Ruins felt somewhat still and a bit musky, but still warm and comfortable. But outside was bone chillingly freezing, the cold instantly sinking into Frisk’s skin even through their thick jumper. How were the Ruin doors holding back this much chill?

In an attempt to warm themself back up, Frisk placed their hands in front of their face and let out a heavy breath, then rapidly started rubbing their palms together. As they did, they looked around, taking in their new surroundings.

When Chara told Frisk that there was a forest outside of the Ruins, Frisk assumed that they didn’t literally mean a forest. They thought it was a nickname, or that the trees were actually just tall stalagmites that looked like trees. But no, there was actually a full on forest this deep underground, a series of tall, dark trees looming overhead, their branches bereft of leaves. And just like Chara said, underneath Frisk’s feet was pure white snow. Frisk took a few experimental steps, finding that, yes, it crunched underneath their foots just like real snow.

A manic grin crossed over Frisk’s face as they started to laugh, stomping their feet over and over. Snow! Real snow! When was the last time they had gotten to see snow? It had to have been years ago, back when they lived with- well, it had been a long time. Frisk wanted nothing more than to flop down into the snow and start making snow angels, but they just barely managed to hold themself back. After all, they didn’t know how long it would be until they found somewhere to warm back up. They didn’t want to give themself hypothermia by rolling around in the snow.

So instead, they slapped their cheeks twice and focused on moving forward. Despite the thickness of the forest around them, there was a clear trail that lead forward. It didn’t seem to be the most well-used path, but it was defined enough that Frisk figured it would probably lead them to some kind of town eventually. So they trudged along, enjoying the sound of crunching snow and trying to get used to the chill.

“The cold atmosphere of a new land… it fills you with determination.”

Frisk paused for a moment, still rubbing their arms to try and counter the biting wind, raising an eyebrow at their dead companion. “Why do you keep saying stuff like that?” they asked. They could feel another rush of embarrassed pink in their mind, making them grin a bit. Even if they did ask because they were curious, getting Chara flustered was a nice bonus. “This is like, the fourth time you’ve said something about determination. What does it mean?”

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Chara snapped. Frisk was momentarily taken about by how hostile Chara’s voice sounded. Had they touched on a raw nerve? They were about to try apologizing, but Chara continued on, sounding much more nervous as they said, “It’s just… something that someone important made me do.”

Frisk nibbled on their bottom lip, trying to decide whether or not they should continue pushing Chara on this. It was clear that it was a somewhat sensitive topic, even if Frisk had no idea why. But they also really wanted to know more about Chara. So, they decided to try and find some middle ground. “Do you mind if I ask why?” they eventually said, hoping that giving Chara the option to say no would make them feel better.

When Chara didn’t immediately respond, Frisk frowned and continued walking. They didn’t want to stand around forever. After a minute though, Chara started talking again.

“It… it was supposed to help me,” they murmured. “It was supposed to be a way to make me appreciate the little things in life. To find happiness anywhere. After a while, it simply became habit.” Frisk continued walking, but they had stopped paying attention to where they were going, focusing entirely on Chara’s voice. They sounded so small and afraid. It felt wrong coming from them somehow. “Apologies, I hadn’t realized you could hear me doing that. I’ll stop.”

Frisk stepped over a large stick in their path, before slowly shaking their head. “Actually, could you keep doing it?” they asked. They felt a flash of dull yellow surprise. “It’s nice, ya know, having someone remind you to appreciate the little joys. I think I could really use that right now.”

Chara let out a quiet hum, seeming to contemplate Frisk’s words. “Very well,” they said. “But do not expect me to coddle or comfort you whenever you feel sad. I shall simply continue on as I was.”

“Fine by me,” Frisk replied. “Thank yo-”

*SNAP

Frisk’s head whipped around, looking for the source of the sound. Eventually, they looked down, seeing the large stick they passed by reduced to splinters. They slowly backed up, eyes darting around as they tried to figure out what had done that, and more importantly, where it was.

“QUIT STANDING THERE!” Chara yelled. “Just run you idiot!”

Frisk didn’t argue, quickly turning back around and charging down the narrow path, ducking and weaving underneath a few stray branches that got in their way. As they ran, they could hear something chasing them, another set of footfalls crunching in the snow and snapping branches. While Frisk ran, it walked, slowly stalking after them, yet somehow always right on their tail.

“Keep going!” Chara insisted. “I think you’re losing i- wait, no, it’s right ther- what? Where did it go?”

“NOT HELPING!” Frisk snapped.

Eventually, the narrow trail started to expand into a full path, the trees around them thinning and moving away as they got back onto what they assumed was the main road for the area. Just up ahead, they could see a tiny chasm with a wooden bridge spanning it. For some reason, the bridge had what looked like a wooden portcullis over it, blocking the way forward. Still, it was the only way across, so Frisk ran for it, hoping they could find some way across.

But as they reached the bridge, they tripped and crashed down to the ground, their foot catching on a plank hidden beneath the snow. Frisk scrambled to get back up, Chara frantically yelling at them the entire time, when they heard a voice right behind their ear.

“H u m a n,” the deep voice bellowed, turning Frisk’s blood to ice. “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 u n d,   a n d    s h a k e    m y    h a n d.”

Frisk swallowed hard, making a loud gulping sound, as they slowly turned around, screwing their eyes shut tight and reaching out their hand, hoping that whoever was in front of them wouldn’t hurt them. They could feel Chara holding their breath, ready and waiting act just in case. Frisk felt the monster in front of them take their outstretched hand.

*Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffftttttttttttttttttttt

“…what.”

Frisk slowly opened their eyes, staring in shock at their hand, barely able to see the floppy sac of plastic pressed against it on a gloved hand. They let out a few strangled noises, completely unsure on how to react to what was happening. After a few seconds, they heard the monster in front of them start to chuckle, prompting them to look up.

“ah, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick,” the monster smiled. “it’s ALWAYS funny.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Chara groaned. “This is what was chasing us? He looks like a potato!”

For the first time, Frisk found themself agreeing with Chara wholeheartedly. The monster in front of them was probably the least threatening person in the world. Frisk had imagined some kind of werewolf or ghoul, but instead there was a short, pudgy skeleton in front of them, the top of his skull just an inch over Frisk’s head. He was wearing an old, stained, blue hoodie and white t-shirt, baggy black shorts, and- were those pink bunny slippers? Really?

And to top it off, the skeleton had the biggest grin plastered across his face, making him look completely harmless. There were a pair of little white lights shining in his eye sockets that were practically gleaming with amusement, as if he had just heard the most hilarious joke of his life.

His voice wasn’t what Frisk expected either. The first time he spoke, the skeleton’s voice was deep and menacing, but now that he was speaking normally, he just sounded bored. He spoke slowly like Chara, but without any of the class, practically slurring his words together. His voice was still somewhat deep, but nowhere near as much as before.

The skeleton pulled his hand away from Frisk’s, stuffing it into the pocket of his hoodie. “anyways, you’re a human, right?” he asked, making Frisk stiffen a bit. “that’s hilarious.”

Frisk blinked twice. That was… not the reaction they were expecting. So far, this entire encounter had caught them completely off guard. Toriel had warned them that every monster outside of the Ruins would be out for their blood, and the first monster they run into immediately scares the wits out of them, reveals himself to be a harmless skeletal potato with a taste for whoopee cushions, and engages in small talk. It was really off-putting.

Still grinning wide, the monster introduced himself. “i’m sans. sans the skeleton.” His grin grew just a little bit wider as he leaned forward, a glint in his eye. “i'm the serif of these parts.” Frisk let out a snort, which turned into a laugh when Chara groaned in annoyance. “nah, i’m just kidding,” Sans shrugged. “i work on a grease cart.” That explained the stains on his hoodie and the smell of condiments.

On instinct, Frisk started moving their hands to introduce themself. “My name F-R-I-S-K,” they spelled out, then they made the gesture for the letter F, followed by making a heart over their chest to show their sign name.

“frisk, eh?” Sans said. “cute name, kid.” Frisk blinked twice in surprise. ‘Wait, did he just understand me?’ they thought. They were about to ask, until Sans said “ya know, i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now.”

And just like that, the tension was back. Frisk had no idea whether they were supposed to feel safe around Sans or threatened by him. He looked harmless, sure, but he also did stalk them through the forest and scare the daylights out of them. And every time he made Frisk laugh or feel safe, he brought the tension right back saying stuff like that. This man was toying with Frisk’s emotions like a yo-yo, and they did not appreciate it.

Sans let his eyes close halfway, the pinpricks in his eyes dimming slightly. “but… y’know…” he drawled, Frisk hanging onto his words to try and figure out if they should stay or run. “i don’t really care about capturing anyone.”

“Oh thank Hell,” Chara sighed.

“now my brother, papyrus, he’s a human-hunting FANATIC!” Sans continued. He leaned a bit to the side, looking over Frisk’s shoulder. “hey, actually, i think that’s him over there.”

“OH COME ON!”

Sans centred himself again, grinning widely at Frisk. “hey, i have an idea,” he said. “go through this gate thingy.” Frisk turned around to look across the bridge, seeing that the so called “portcullis” that they were worried about was just a few wooden bars. “yeah, go right through,” Sans insisted. “my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.”

Just like Sans said, Frisk was able to easily squeeze through the bars, slipping right past them and crossing over the bridge. Sans was right on their heels, leading them forward into a little clearing with a small sentry station, which had a variety of ketchup bottles and other random items standing on its bar-table-like surface. There was also one other object in the clearing; a weirdly tall lamp.

“quick, hide behind that conveniently-shaped lamp,” Sans said, giving Frisk a nudge on the shoulder.

Frisk stared at Sans in disbelief, but the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps encouraged them to do as he said. They frantically ran over to the lamp, hiding behind it and pressing themself up against its body, sucking in their gut so they couldn’t be seen. Weirdly, it really did hide them perfectly… somehow.

The sound of footsteps got closer and closer, eventually coming to a stop. “sup, bro?” they heard Sans say.

“You know what 'sup' brother!” a new voice exclaimed, this one the complete opposite of Sans’. While Sans spoke slowly with a deep and bored tone, this voice was much higher pitched and more nasally, with enough energy and volume to cause an avalanche. Weirdly, it didn’t sound like the voice was yelling, despite its volume, which was absurdly confusing.

Frisk absolutely did not want to know what this voice sounded like when it was trying to be loud.

“It's been eight days!” the new voice - Papyrus, Frisk reminded themself - continued, “And you still haven't recalibrated. Your. PUZZLES!” he yelled, emphasizing each word with a stomp of the foot. “You just hang around outside your station! What are you even doing?!”

“staring at this lamp,” Sans replied, causing Frisk’s eyes to bulge out of their skull, and for Chara to say some words that Frisk was absolutely not going to repeat, but 100% agreed with. “it’s really cool. do you want to look?”

“I’m going to kill him,” Chara growled. “I’m going to wring his skeletal neck until his skull pops.”

“I thought we were trying to avoid killing people!” Frisk shot back.

“I’m willing to make an exception.”

The two probably would have gone back and forth for a while longer, but Papyrus cut in again, saying “No, I don't have time for that!” while stamping his foot up and down. “What if a human comes through here? I want to be ready!”

Hoping that Papyrus wasn’t looking at the lamp, Frisk dared to peek their head around, just enough so that they could see. Their eyes latched on to the first hint of colour they saw, revealing Papyrus’ form. And once again, it was the polar opposite of Sans.

Papyrus was tall and lean, probably close to the six-foot mark. Unlike Sans, who was mostly covered up, the majority of Papyrus’ bones were on display, showing off that yes, he was literally just a skeleton. The clothes he was wearing were somewhat strange. He was wearing some kind of white crop-top breastplate and a blue bowl on his pelvis, along with a pair of red boots, gloves, and a long red scarf that fluttered in the wind.

Needless to say, Frisk thought he looked awesome.

“I will be the one! I must be the one!” Papyrus continued, while Sans lazily smooshed a pink ice cream cone (Where did he get that from?) against his teeth. “I will capture a human!” Wow. Okay, yeah, Sans wasn’t kidding about him being a fanatic.

Just like with Sans, Frisk wasn’t sure whether or not they should be intimidated. Papyrus talked a big game, but he didn’t look particularly dangerous. Then again, Toriel didn’t look dangerous either, but she had some seriously powerful magic. And according to Chara, Toriel was holding back by a lot. Appearances could be deceiving, especially in the Underground, so Frisk decided it was probably better to be safe than sorry.

As they considered all of that, they saw Papyrus shift to strike a heroic pose, one hand on his hip and the other against his chest. “Respect! Recognition!” His pose dropped and he giggled gleefully, placing both hands over his mouth. “I will finally be able to join the royal guard!” he gushed. “People will ask to be... my... FRIEND!” He shifted to hug himself tightly, swaying back and forth. “I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!”

Sans let out a contemplative hum, his gaze shifting to the side to lock eyes with Frisk. “maybe this lamp will help you,” he suggested, tipping his skull towards the lamp.

“SANS! You are not helping, you lazybones!” Papyrus complained, once again stomping like a child. “All you do is sit around your station and boondoggle! You get lazier and lazier every day!”

“Sit and what?” Frisk thought, squinting in confusion.

“It means to spend time or money on wasteful things,” Chara explained.

Frisk let out a quiet “huh” sound. “Thank you, Mirriam-Webster.”

“Bite me.”

“hey, take it easy,” Sans complained, bringing Frisk’s attention back to the other conversation. “i’ve gotten a ton of work done…”

“No…” Chara complained.

“Yes!” Frisk cheered.

Sans closed one eye, his grin growing just a little bit wider. “a skele-ton.” Frisk had to cover their mouth to hold back their snickering as Sans looked off into the middle distance, posing with a pair of finger guns as if he were a character in a sitcom. Chara’s unholy screeching made it incredibly difficult for Frisk to keep back their laughter, but they managed somehow.

“SANS!” Papyrus groaned, sounding so tired.

“come on, you’re smiling,” Sans said.

“I am and I hate it!” Papyrus let out a long sigh, crossing his arms. "Why does someone as great as me have to do so much to get some recognition?”

Frisk saw an increasingly familiar glint in Sans’ eyes, and they immediately started awaiting his next words. “wow,” Sans started. “sounds like you’re really working yourself… down to the bone.” Frisk had to work harder and harder to hold back their laughter as Sans once again looked off into nowhere, this time giving a shrug and a “What are you gonna do about it” face. Luckily, their laughter was drowned out by Papyrus’ complaints.

Having grown tired of the conversation, Papyrus turned around, flipping his scarf as he did. “I will attend to my puzzles,” he said, ignoring Sans’ previous pun and shutting down the conversation. “As for your work? Try to put a little more... backbone into it! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!”

“PAPYRUS YOU TRAITOR!” Chara screeched. By this point, Frisk had grabbed their jaw with both hands to hold back their laughter. They were almost certain that the lamp wasn’t completely hiding them at this point, but it probably didn’t matter since Papyrus wasn’t paying attention anymore.

With that, Papyrus happily walked away, still laughing at his own joke. Just as he was about to exit the clearing and get back on the path, he turned around, giving Sans one last “HEH!” before finally leaving. Once he was gone, Sans looked over at Frisk, giving them a thumbs up. “ok, you can come out now,” he said.

Still grinning, Frisk stepped out from behind the lamp and made their way over to Sans.

“you oughta get going,” Sans said. “he might come back. and if he does, you’ll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes.”

Frisk giggled, giving Sans a wry look. “Don’t tempt me,” they signed. But still, they did as they were told and started heading down the path, following after Papyrus.

“actually, hey…” Sans called, making Frisk stop and look back at him. “hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favour?” Frisk tilted their head to the side questioningly. “see, i was thinking… my brother’s been kinda down lately. he’s never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day.” Frisk looked down for a second, scrunching up their face a bit. “don’t worry,” Sans said assuredly, “he’s not dangerous, even if he tries to be.”

That didn’t really make Frisk feel too much better. Toriel didn’t seem dangerous, but she was. Maybe the Underground had a different scale for what was and wasn’t dangerous. Heck, based on the puzzles in the Ruins, spikes were just something you would find in random places, so that probably was the case.

Still, Papyrus really did seem super innocent. He didn’t sound like he wanted to capture a human for malicious reasons, he just wanted recognition. And he probably wasn’t lying about that, since he was talking to his brother and he didn’t even know Frisk was there. And he did seem kind of funny…

After a bit of deliberation, Frisk eventually looked up at Sans, giving him a thumbs up and a hearty nod. “heh, thanks a million,” he replied. “i’ll be up ahead.” And then he walked in the complete opposite direction, heading back towards the path Frisk had initially walked down.

‘…okay then?’

Frisk took a second to look around the clearing, figuring that Sans would try and circle around them, but they couldn’t seen any movement between the trees. It was like Sans had completely disappeared. Instead of seeing Sans, Frisk spotted a pair of worn pink leather gloves sitting on the counter of the sentry station. Weird… they didn’t seem like the type of gloves Sans would wear. He looked like he was more into mittens.

Before they could move on, Chara started poking at Frisk’s mind. “Hey, go grab those gloves,” they said. “Your hands are getting cold.”

“What? No!” Frisk replied. “I’m not stealing those.”

“It’s not stealing, it’s borrowing. Besides, we’re helping that comedian, right? The least he can do to repay us is let you use a pair of warm gloves.” Frisk was still unsure, making Chara sigh. “Look, just takes the gloves, and next time you see him, ask if it’s alright that you use them for a bit. If he says no, you can give them back. Alright?”

Groaning because, once again, Chara had a good point, Frisk trudged over to the sentry station and nabbed the gloves, slipping them on. Chara let out a triumphant hum, seeming very pleased with themself. Frisk just rolled their eyes and continued on, rubbing their hands together to build up a little bit of warmth in the gloves as they headed down the path.

As Frisk ventured deeper, the forest came to life around them. The tall dark trees gave way for shorter and more lush pines, with almost every one looking absolutely perfect for a Christmas tree, their leaves lightly dusted with snow. The path underneath them was much more well worn, the snow being thoroughly stomped down on and hardened, giving it an almost blue hue. Frisk marvelled at how different this area looked to the Ruins, and how beautiful it was.

To their surprise, it only took a couple minutes of walking before Frisk once again ran into Papyrus and- Sans? How did he get there? Frisk whipped their head around, trying to figure out how the heck Sans got past them. The forest around them was way too thick for him to easily travel through, and even if it was, Sans didn’t seem like the time that would put in all that effort for no reason. Was there a secret path Frisk didn’t know about? Probably.

The two brothers were deep in conversation as Frisk approached. They just barely managed to make out Papyrus saying “So, as I was saying about Undyne-” before they were spotted. Papyrus’ skull creaked as it turned towards them, his jaw dropping a little bit. Frisk gave him a tiny wave.

Papyrus whipped his body around to look at Sans, but as he did, Sans turned on his heel to look at Frisk. Papyrus turned to Frisk while Sans turned to Papyrus. The two went back and forth, back and forth, whipping their bodies around repeatedly, until at some point they started simply spinning around, going at dizzying speeds, then finally stopping at the exact same time, both staring right at Frisk, who had watched the entire display with equal amounts of confusion and amusement.

A few more seconds passed, then Papyrus quickly turned around, wrapping an arm around Sans’ shoulder and dragging him close. “SANS! OH MY GOD!” he whispered, but since it was Papyrus, it was still extremely audible. “IS THAT… A HUMAN?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?”

The two turned back around, but for some reason, they didn’t seem to be looking at Frisk, but past them. “uhhhh,” Sans hummed, “actually, i think that’s a rock.” Frisk blinked twice, turning their head around so that they could see that yes, there was a rock behind them. One that looked remarkably like them… to a scary extent. One that Frisk was absolutely sure wasn’t there before.

“Okay, how does he keep doing that?” Frisk asked Chara. “Is this normal?”

“This is most certainly not normal,” Chara scoffed. “First the lamp, and now this? Why are these skeletons turning our life into a sitcom?”

Papyrus’ shoulders sagged, and he looked down with a defeated expression. Sans looked back at Frisk again, tugging on Papyrus’ scarf. “hey, what’s that in front of the rock?” he stage whispered. Papyrus looked up again, this time looking Frisk square in the eye, his jaw once again dropping.

“OH MY GOD!!!” he screamed, making Frisk’s eye twitch. Guess they found out what happens when he tries to be loud. Papyrus leaned down towards Sans with a suspicious look in his eyes. “IS… IS THAT A HUMAN?” he once again whispered but not-whispered.

“yes.”

“OH MY GOD!!!” Papyrus yelled, this time even louder, the nearby trees rustling as a few birds squaked indignatnly and flew away. A pounding pain filled Frisk’s mind from a combination of the volume and Chara’s frustration.

“Please, for the love of whatever is out there, make him stop doing that!” Chara complained. “My non-existant ears can’t take this!”

A look of child-like glee crossed over Papyrus’ face as he stared at Frisk, his body vibrating with excitement. “SANS!” he exclaimed “I DID IT! I FINALLY DID IT!” He started bouncing on his feet, twisting around rapidly as if he couldn’t control himself. “UNDYNE WILL- I’M GONNA BE- I’LL BE SO-” He threw his hands in the air, his feet shuffling back and forth as he danced. “POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!!!”

Frisk’s joyful laughter seemed to snap Papyrus out of his trance, the tall skeleton looking back over at them, dropping his grin and adopting a serious expression. He cleared his throat - making Frisk wondered why he needed to do that considering he didn’t have a throat, just a spine connecting his head to his body - and pointed dramatically at Frisk.

“HUMAN!” he boomed, his voice echoing through the forest with commanding authority. “You shall not pass this area! I, the Great Papyrus, will stop you!” He brought his hand into a fist, holding it in front of his face and looking up to the sky. “I will then capture you! You will be delivered to the capital! Then... then... I'm not actually sure what's next,” he admitted.

A confused grey seeped into Frisk’s mind as Chara stared at Papyrus. “Wait, does he not know that he’s trying to deliver you to your death?” they asked. “Wow he is naïve.”

“I prefer to think of it as innocent,” Frisk said. “It’s honestly really charming.”

“What's this?” Papyrus cut in, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Human, do you speak with your hands too?”

Frisk looked at Papyrus in confusion, before realizing that they were probably signing along to what they were saying to Chara. They then remembered that Sans had understood them when the signed their name! A flare of hope bloomed in Frisk’s heart. Could it be…

“You know Sign Language?” Frisk signed, unable to stop the grin that was spreading across their face.

Papyrus tilted his skull to the side. “I do not know what this 'Sign Language' you speak of is,” Papyrus replied, “But I am an expert in speaking with hands as you are doing!"

Frisk let out a squeal of joy, their hands shaking at their sides as the bounced up and down. Finally! They finally found someone that could understand them! Who they wouldn’t have to play a desperate game of charades with just to hold a conversation with them!

“Wow, what am I, chopped liver?” Chara sarcastically asked, having apparently heard Frisk’s thoughts again.

“Oh hush,” Frisk shot back. “You’re in my head, you don’t count!”

“That’s discrimination.”

“No it isn’t?”

“HUMAN!” Papyrus exclaimed, taking off his mittens. “I am the Great Papyrus!” As he said that, Papyrus made the sign for ‘Great’, then made the sign for ‘P’ with both hands. “What is your name?”

Frisk’s grin grew wider, any cold they felt quickly being smothered by the overwhelming warmth in their chest. “My name F-R-I-S-K,” they signed again, followed by their own sign name.

“nice to meet ya kid,” Sans lazily said from Papyrus’ side. “pretty sure i already mentioned it, but just in case, the name’s sans.” He took off one glove, slowly making the signs for ‘C’ and ‘S’ back to back. Frisk smiled. They figured Sans would have a simple sign name. It fit him perfectly.

“Now then human Frisk!” Papyrus continued, looking very pleased with himself. “Continue forward... only if you dare!” With that, he charged ahead, laughing “NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!” as he went.

Once he was gone, Sans gave Frisk a thumbs up and a wink. “that went well,” he said.

“Me scared him?” Frisk asked, keeping their eyebrows up.

“naw, like i said, my bro isn’t dangerous,” Sans replied easily. “don’t sweat it kid, i’ll keep an eyesocket out for ya.” He gave Frisk a wave, then walked off - this time in the right direction - leaving Frisk almost alone in the snow once again.

Frisk enthusiastically waved goodbye as they Sans disappeared down the road. “Well, that happened,” Frisk chirped.

“Indeed it did,” Chara droned. “Are you really going to play along with this game?”

“Why not?” Frisk shrugged. “It sounds fun, don’t you think?” Chara responded with a quiet hum, but didn’t say anything more. Frisk frowned at the sudden silence, but didn’t comment on it. Probably best not to poke the hornet’s nest. So instead, they started walking.

“Absolutely no moving?” Frisk wondered as they stared at a wooden sign. 

Frisk didn’t have to walk very far before they found another sentry station, this one looking much fancier and more well maintained than Sans’ and Papyrus’, with an adorable ornate dog face carved near the top. However, it looked to be unmanned. 

Honestly, Frisk wasn’t sure what they were expecting from the sign. Maybe a warning to people passing through the area? Or a note saying whose post this was, like what Papyrus had? Instead, there was just a weirdly cryptic message. There wasn’t even any context for it! What was this supposed to mean? Was it telling people not to pass by the area? Was there something dangerous? Was there a rampaging T-Rex that they needed to worry about?

After a minute of Frisk glaring at the sign with their thoughts going wild, Chara made Frisk’s hand move up and flick them on the temple. “Quit being weird and overthinking it,” they scolded as Frisk rubbed the side of their head. “It’s probably just a monster having a strange sense of humour. Ignore it and move on.” 

“Okay, okay, fine,” Frisk whinged. “I’m going, happy?”

“Very.”

“Good.” 

“Also, rampaging T-Rex?”

“They can only see things that are moving!” Frisk explained. “Thus, the sign is warning us that there is a T-Rex, and we need to not move so it doesn’t attack our Jeep!”

Chara narrowed their vision at Frisk. “…we aren’t in a Jeep,” they said with confusion. 

“I- you- have you not watched Jurassic Park?” Frisk asked incredulously.

“No???”

“Right, that’s the first thing we’re doing once we get out of the Underground.” 

“How do you know that I-”

“Did something move?”

Frisk froze in place, one foot on the ground and the other hovering in the air, slowly shifting their eyes to the left as the head of a dog monster slowly rose from beneath the counter of the sentry station. He looked like a sort of husky, wearing a light-red tank top shirt with a dog biscuit in his mouth. 

The dog monster’s eyes darted back and forth, scanning the area. “Was it my imagination?” he asked, his voice light and rapid-fire. “I can only see moving things.” 

“T-REX PUPPY!”

“SHUT UP FRISK!”

“If something was moving,” the monster continued, “For example… a human… I’ll make sure it never moves again!” The monster vaulted over the counter, pulling a pair of shortswords from sheathes on the hips of his cargo shorts. He sniffed and shifted his head around, searching for Frisk, who was slowly lowering their foot onto the ground, the snow crunching every so slightly as they did. 

In an instant, the monster’s head whipped to look over at Frisk, the blades of his swords turning cyan as he swung them in wide arcs. Frisk immediately sucked in a breath and tried to back up to avoid the attacks, but their body suddenly locked up, all of their muscles seizing and holding them in place. 

“Chara! What are yo-”

“DON’T MOVE!” they snapped. 

Frisk screwed their eyes shut as the blades closed in, awaiting the flare of pain… only for nothing to happen. They opened their eyes, blinking in confusion, before noticing that the dog monster was right next to them, his gaze still shifting around. Did he miss? Was he not aiming for them? 

At least, that was what they were thinking until they looked down, noticing that one of the swords was embedded in the side of their stomach. Frisk’s eyes bulged out, as they tried to rip themself away, only to find their body once again refusing to move. 

“I told you not to move!” Chara yelled again. 

“CHARA THERE IS A SWORD IN ME!” Frisk yelled back. 

“I KNOW THAT!”

“CHARA WHY AM I NOT DEAD!”

“IF YOU WOULD STOP SCREAMING SO I CAN EXPLAIN, I WOULD TELL YOU!” Chara snapped again, a violent red seeping from their words. Frisk wisely kept their mouth shut, giving Chara their space. “Thank you,” Chara said after a few moments. “Now then, I can explain more later, but for now, simply know that cyan attacks like this one will not hurt you, so long as you don’t move.”

Frisk looked down at the blade still stabbed inside of them, watching as the dog monster moved around a little bit, the sword slightly tickling Frisk’s soul as it inched through their body. They turned their attention back to Chara for a moment. “Can I not move at all, or just not move where the attack is touching me?” 

“Where the attack is touching you,” Chara explained. “Why?” 

Without answering the question, Frisk slowly reached a hand up, place it over the monster’s head, then started rapidly petting them, scratching behind their ears and really digging their fingers into his fur. The monster’s head shot up as he moved from his crouching position, eyes going wide and mouth gaping open. “WHAT?” he yelped. “I’VE BEEN PET?”

The monster started swinging his sword around wildly, the light-blue blades whizzing randomly through the air as he yelped a variety of sounds that sounded similar to ‘Pet’, including ‘Pat’ and ‘Pot’. Frisk immediately stiffened, stopping any petting and scratching that they were doing. After a few seconds of flailing, the monster retreated back a few steps, then threw himself back into the sentry stations.  

“S-s-s-something pet me,” he whimpered. “Something that isn’t m-m-moving!” He sank back underneath the counter, muttering “I’m gonna need some dog treats for this.”

Once the monster had disappeared, Frisk let out a sigh of relief, one of their hands immediately ghosting over the spot where they were stabbed. It still felt a little tingly for some reason. Inside their head, Chara let out a quiet hum. 

“I’m impressed,” they drawled. “How did you know petting the monster would pacify him?” 

“Cuz he’s a doggo!” Frisk gleefully replied, stuffing their hands in their pockets and continuing down the path. “Doggos love pets!”

“…I’m sorry, he’s a what?” 

“A doggo!”

“What is a ‘Doggo’ exactly?” 

Frisk gave a cheeky grin, loving where this conversation was going. “It’s a big pupper!” 

“Wha- what?” Chara sputtered. “What in the blazes is a ‘Pupper’?”

“It’s like a small doggo,” Frisk smiled. 

“But you- but that’s- but- STOP GOING IN CIRCLES!” 

“I fail to see what you’re so confused about,” Frisk snarked. “I feel like this is all very self explanatory.” 

Chara let out an annoyed groan. “I hate the weird way you speak, and the strange slang you use,” they hissed. 

“I’m sure you do,” Frisk easily replied. Their eyes went off a bit to the side, spotting a pile of dog treats like the one the doggo was chewing on. They frowned when they noticed that they weren’t actually biscuits, but that they were filled with Tabaco. Their face screwed up in disgust, and they picked up the pace, wanting to get as far away from there as possible.

Frisk and Chara heard Papyrus long before they saw him again, his voice carrying a good distance away. Based on the periods of silence after Papyrus finished talking, they figured that he was bickering with Sans again. Frisk smiled, picking up the pace so that they could catch up to the brothers.

“You're so lazy!” they managed to make out as they got closer. “You were napping all night!”

“uh… i think that’s called ‘sleeping’ bro,” Sans replied as Frisk stepped out of the thick woods. The brothers were standing across from them, on the other side of a decently-sized square where the snow had been flattened. Frisk raised an eyebrow at the space. Was this some kind of trap?

Papyrus waved his hand in front of his face dismissively. “Excuses, excuses!” he exclaimed. He looked slightly off to the side, quickly turning on his heel once he caught sight of Frisk. “Oh-ho!” he laughed, “The human arrives!” Frisk gave him a little wave. “Human Frisk! In order to stop you, my brother and I have created some puzzles!” Frisk smiled widely at the sound of that. They had no idea what kind of puzzles were coming, but goofing off and playing with Papyrus sounded like a great way to spend the day. “I think you will find this one... quite shocking!” Papyrus continued, striking a pose.

“I don’t think I like where this is going,” Chara complained.

“Shush! I’m trying to listen!”

“For you see!” Papyrus boomed as he pointed towards Frisk, “This is the Invisible Electricity Maze!!!” Frisk clapped their hands, both to cheer Papyrus on, and because they noticed the little pun he made (Which made Chara groan as soon as they realized it was a pun). Papyrus grinned cockily, tilting his skull up slightly. “When you touch the walls of this maze, this orb will administer a hearty zap!” Papyrus explained as he pulled a blue orb from… somewhere?

To Frisk’s surprise, they felt a steady stream of orange slip into their mind. Was that happiness? It felt like it was the same shade as joy. Maybe Chara was warming up to the idea of these puzzles!

“Sound like fun?” Papyrus teased, ignoring Frisk when they nodded their head up and down. “Becuase! The amount of fun you will probably have! Is actually rather small I think!” Papyrus cleared his throat, beckoning Frisk forward. “Ok, you can go ahead now.”

Frisk did frown ever so slightly at that. They didn’t even get a hint on where the path was? Ok, that was fine. They would manage. The shock probably wouldn’t hurt that much, right? Sans had said they wouldn’t be in any danger, so it would probably just be like getting zapped by some static on a metal doorknob.

Taking a quick breath, Frisk stepped forward, and-

*ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZPPP

Papyrus let out a yelp and dropped the orb he was holding, which sank a few inches into the snow beneath him. He shook his hand, whipping his head around to glare at Sans. All the while, Frisk stared on in confusion, Chara laughing manically in their head, filling it with a vibrant orange.

“SANS!” Papyrus complained. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!”

Sans hardly reacted, just barely nudging his skull in Frisk’s direction. “i think the human has to hold the orb,” he said.

“Oh, ok.”

Papyrus then skirted around the edge of the maze, entering from near the bottom and making his way through the maze. Frisk’s jaw dropped as they watched him perfectly show them the solution to the maze, even leaving a trail of footprints as he went.

It only took a few seconds for Papyrus to reach Frisk, holding out the orb. “Hold this please,” he politely asked, before placing it gently on top of their head, nestling it a bit into their hair. Afterwards, he ran back through the maze again, once again following the correct path and making the trail of footprints even easier to see and follow.

Chara’s laughter turned into a full-on meltdown, as they cackled and wheezed (somehow). Frisk could swear they could feel Chara inside their head, rolling around and clutching their stomach as they bounced off the walls of Frisk’s skull. It was somewhat annoying, but Frisk couldn’t really find it in themself to be angry when they were filled with so much happiness from Chara’s joy mixing in with their own emotions.

Once Papyrus gave Frisk the go-ahead, Frisk looked down at the path in front of them, then back to Papyrus, giving him a few seconds to see if he realized what he had done. When he didn’t, Frisk simply shrugged their shoulders, stepping into the maze. Once they got to the first turn, they bit their lip, and took an extra step forward, letting themself get zapped to try and play along with Papyrus’ game.

And instantly regretted it because OWWWWWWWWWWWW! That was NOT a light shock! Frisk glanced down at their chest when they felt a familiar warm feeling, seeing that yes, their soul was projecting over their heart, and it was definitely hurting. They looked back up, figuring that it would probably be best to just follow the path from there and finish the maze… but Papyrus looked so happy. Maybe… they could give him a couple more wins?

So that was how Frisk found themself stumbling through a maze where they knew the exact solution, letting themself graze the edges of the maze one or two more times just to pretend like they didn’t know exactly where they were going. They winced and hissed in pain every time they got shocked, Chara halting their laughter to scold them for letting themself (And by extension, Chara) get hurt just to make someone else feel better, but Frisk ignored them and kept going.

But still, it didn’t take long for Frisk to finish the maze. As they did, they turned to Papyrus and dipped into a bow, letting the orb fall off of their head. Papyrus clapped for them, saying “Incredible! You slippery snail!” He crossed his arms and started tapping his foot. “You solved it so easily... too easily...”

Frisk tried not to let their expression dip at all. How long did he expect them to spend in that maze? Because they know for a fact that they couldn’t take too many of those shocks. That was not good for their heart or their soul.

Quickly recovering, Papyrus raised a finger in the air. “HOWEVER!” he stated, “The next puzzle will not be so easy! It was designed by my brother sans! You will surely be confounded! I know I am! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Frisk quirked their lip up in amusement. Yeah, those zaps were definitely worth it.

“hey, thanks,” Sans said from where he was standing. Frisk walked over to him, giving him a quick thumbs up. “my brother seems like he’s having fun.”

“No biggie,” Frisk signed. That wasn’t completely true, but it was true enough. They really were happy to play along.

“by the way, did you see that outfit he’s wearing?” Sans asked. Frisk nodded their head, wondering where he was going with this. “we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party,” Sans explained. “he hasn’t worn anything else since… keeps calling it his ‘battle body’.” Sans shook his head, chuckling a little bit. “man, isn’t he cool?”

Frisk enthusiastically nodded, quickly signing that Papyrus was awesome. “However, Papyrus should be careful,” they admitted. “That puzzle hurt a lot.”

“well, ain’t that a shock.” Sans gave a contemplative hum, closing his eyes. “guess humans are a bit squishier than we realized,” he mumbled. Frisk gave him a deadpan expression. “or maybe it’s just cuz you’re still a baby-bones. either way, i’ll try and make sure the next puzzles don’t give ya any more trouble, alright?”

Frisk gave Sans an appreciative nod, before waving and walking ahead, leaving the skeleton behind. After his last two disappearing acts, Frisk figured that he’d catch up eventually. He somehow always got ahead of them.

A bit further ahead, Frisk noticed a tall blue bunny monster leaning up against some kind of cart, looking dejected. Frisk frowned, quickly making their way over to him just in time to hear him mumble “I don’t understand why these aren’t selling…It’s the perfect weather for something cold…”

Reaching up, Frisk tugged on the monster’s shirt, trying to get his attention. The monster looked down at Frisk, a bright smile stretching across his face when he took note of them.

“Oh! A customer!” he happily cheered. “Hello. Would you like a Nice Cream? It’s the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 15g.”

Frisk reached into their pocket, fishing around for some coins. They’d managed to scrounge up a few from around the Ruins, since monsters there seemed to just be dropping them randomly, plus a few of them had given Frisk a bit of money as thanks for helping them get back into Home.

Pulling out about 30g, Frisk bought two Nice Creams, figuring they could eat one now to help fill their soul back up, and keep one for later.

“Here you go!” the monster said with a smile as he handed Frisk two Nice Creams. “Have a super-duper day!” Frisk smiled back, placing one of the Nice Creams into a pocket on the side of their backpack and ripping the wrapper off of the other one. They were about to stuff it in their pocket to throw away later, until they noticed some writing inside of it.

“You’re super great!”

Frisk let out a little giggle, before gently folding up the wrapper and putting it in their pocket, taking an experimental bite at the Nice Cream. Their eyes sparkled as the sweet taste hit their tongue. Even if this was poor weather to be eating something cold in, it was worth it for the taste alone.

“you enjoying that?”

Frisk looked up, noticing Sans standing nearby with a blue visor hat and standing next to a cart that looked exactly like the Nice Cream man’s, but made out of snow. Frisk narrowed their eyes. Not only had Sans gotten ahead of them without being seen again, but this time he somehow made an entire cart, with an umbrella, out of snow. Because there was no way he had that prepared in advance… right?

“ya know,” Sans continued, knocking Frisk out of their thoughts, “i’ve been thinking about selling treats too.” He tilted his head towards the cart, giving Frisk a wry grin. “want some fried snow? it’s only 5g.”

“Is he serious?” Chara asked. “I don’t even mean that sarcastically, I genuinely can’t tell with this man.”

“Only one way to find out!” Frisk said, before reaching into their pocket to pull out 5g. They figured that maybe fried snow was actually like fried ice cream. That was a thing, right? They were pretty sure they had heard of that before.

Sans looked down at the coins in Frisk’s hand, gripping his chin. “did i say 5g?” he asked. “i meant 50g.”

“50g for SNOW???” Chara screeched. Frisk, however, just raised an eyebrow, feeling curious. They thought they were starting to catch on to Sans’ games, and were prepared to call his bluff.

So despite Chara’s protests, Frisk reached further into their pocket, nodding their head at Sans and pretending to try and root around to scrounge up 50g.

“really?” Sans said, the surprise evident in his voice. Then Frisk looked him in the eye, and a moment of understanding passed between them. “how about 5,000g then?” he asked. Frisk nodded again. “50,000g. that’s my final offer,” Sans said decisively. Once again, Frisk nodded their head. “alright, you got a deal kid.”

Frisk reached out and shook his hand (After looking down to make sure there wasn’t another whoopee cushion in Sans’ palm). After giving it a few firm shakes, Frisk reached into their pockets with both hands, rummaging around for a second, before looking up at Sans and giving him an exaggerated shrug.

“what, you don’t have the money?” Sans asked, getting another nod from Frisk. “hey, that’s okay,” Sans shrugged. “i don’t have any snow.”

The two started at each other in silence for a few moments, before Frisk broke, snorting loudly before descending into laughter. Sans chuckled along with them, his chest vibrating as he laughed. After a minute, Frisk shook their head, waving goodbye to Sans and continuing down the road with a grin.

“Frisk…”

“Hang on, just a little longer!”

“We’ve been here for fifteen minutes!”

“One more minute!”

“You said that eight minutes ago!”

“Just hang on!”

“Frisk, I am begging you, leave the dog alone!”

“NEVER!”

The two argued back and forth for another five minutes, Chara begging Frisk to get up and leave, and Frisk refusing to leave their new friend behind. All the while, Frisk was sitting cross-legged in the snow, still scratching and petting what was once a small armoured dog. Now though, his neck was stretching longer and longer and longer as the petting continued. At one point, Frisk thought the puppy’s head was going to hit the ceiling of the Underground, but before that could happen, it flopped over, letting its neck curl around Frisk. Now, it was dragging through the snow like a snake as it continued to grow.

“There really is no way to stop this madness, is there?” Chara lamented. Frisk ignored them, and continued petting, their laughter getting louder every time the dog’s head got close enough to them to give them a playful lick. Chara let out a tired groan. “It’s possible that you may have a problem,” they eventually said.

“Oh come on Chara, lighten up!” Frisk giggled. “You’ve been moping ever since we left the Ruins!”

“I am not moping!”Chara huffed. “I’m simply taking things seriously, unlike you.”

Frisk frowned a little, their petting slowing down slightly. “I am taking this seriously, I promise,” they said quietly. “But taking things seriously doesn’t mean I can’t have fun.” They buried their palm a bit deeper into the dog’s fur. “Sometimes, you need to appreciate the little things, right?”

Chara went silent, leaving Frisk alone to continue petting the dog. By this point, Frisk had stopped laughing and was giving the dog love less because it was amusing and more because it was calming. After a while though, Frisk felt a calm blue begin to spread across them, hearing Chara let out a sigh.

“You’re right,” Chara admitted, catching Frisk off guard. “I’ll admit, I’m… somewhat nervous about how things are right now.”

“Do you mean how the monsters are attacking me?” Frisk asked.

“Yeah,” Chara replied. “I mean, look at the Lesser Dog!” Huh. So that’s what it was called. “When it first ran into you, it was swinging a sword and shield at you. And now, you’re petting it so much that its neck could give NASA space shuttles a run for their money.”

“I think having this little guy begging for pets is a very nice change.”

“That’s the point!” Chara yelled with frustration. “This is what monsters are supposed to be like! They’re friendly and cute and full of love! They aren’t supposed to- to-”

“To be violent?” Frisk guessed.

“…yeah,” Chara replied. Frisk raised an eyebrow. That response didn’t feel super genuine. Still, they didn’t call Chara out on it. They were finally getting them to open up. Better to let them take their time… probably.

Frisk finally stopped petting the lesser dog, leaning back on their arms and looking up towards the cavern ceiling high above as the dog began to uncoil itself from around Frisk and get up to leave. “Look,” they started, “I know that this is super messed up, especially for you. And I’m sorry if it seems like I’m not taking things seriously. But I promise, we’re gonna get to the bottom of this, alright?”

“…do you promise?” Chara asked, their voice sounding unnaturally small.

“I promise,” Frisk said without hesitation. “I mean, we both want to head for Asgore anyways, right? Our destination is the same. Plus, we’ll probably be able to figure out a good bit of what happened on our way there!”

Chara let out a quiet hum. “You may have a point,” they said. Frisk oh so badly wanted to make a sarcastic retort, but bit their tongue. “Very well. I shall try to lighten up a little bit.”

“Thank you.”

“But can we please not spend nearly half an hour playing in the snow with a single monster again?”

Frisk snickered into their palm. “I make no promises,” they said. “If the Underground really is full of cuties like this, we might be here for a little while. But I promise to try and control myself.”

“I suppose that’s the best I will get…”

“Probably!”

Chara laughed - actually laughed - at that, a few hints of orange filling Frisk’s mind. “For now though, we really should get moving. You need to get to Snowdin as soon as possible.”

“Why’s that?” Frisk asked, genuinely confused.

*Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

“That’s why,” Chara laughed as Frisk grabbed their stomach. They had just realized that they hadn’t eaten anything other than a bit of Nice Cream for ages, and that wasn’t exactly the most filling thing around. They probably needed some actual food.

“I don’t suppose we have any proper food in our backpack, do we?” Frisk asked hopefully, already knowing the answer.

“No,” Chara confirmed. “Just a few snacks. The only thing even slightly filling would be the butts pie, and you probably want to save that fo-”

“I’m sorry, that what?” Frisk yelped.

“Hm?” Chara hummed innocently. “Is there something wrong?”

“Yes! What did you just call the pie?!?”

“You mean the butts pie?”

“You can’t call it that!” Frisk giggled. “That’s so gross!”

“Why not?” Chara grinned. “The main ingredient is butterscotch. The cinnamon is more there to help enhance the flavour. And butterscotch is too long of a word. So I shorten it to butts. Thus, it is dubbed the butts pie!” Frisk tried to stop themself from laughing, to no effect as they snorted into their palm.

“You are such a child!”

“So are you!”

“I know you are, but what am I?”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Oh you know I am.”

Frisk could practically feel Chara grinning, their mind filled with a warm orange colour. After a few moments, the colour began to fade slightly. “You know,” Chara said, sounding a bit more unsure of themself, “I’m somewhat surprised by you.”

“Oh?”

“Indeed. You seem much more talkative than I first expected. I had taken you to be somewhat shy when I first woke up.”

“…oh.” Frisk immediately started tensing up, their shoulders digging into their neck. Even if Chara wasn’t actually in front of them, they still eyed the floor, trying to avoid eye contact.

“I apologize,” Chara said after a couple seconds of silence. “I didn’t mean to bring up a sore topic. It was simply an observation.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Frisk replied. “I just…” They waved their hands around, trying to sort through their thoughts to figure out how to explain thing. “I’m not shy or anything. And it’s not like I can’t think of stuff to say. I have so much I want to be able to talk about!” they emphasized by throwing their hands into the air, letting themself fall back so that they were lying on the ground, their legs still crossed. “I just… can’t get the words out.”

“…I see.”

Frisk let out a tired sigh. ‘Here we go again,’ they thought, making sure Chara couldn’t hear them. “I’m guessing this is the part where you tell me how stupid that is, and that a person my age should be able to speak properly?”

“Absolutely not!” Chara yelled, flooding their mind with a deep crimson. Frisk shot back up, caught off guard by how… angry Chara sounded. Strangely, the anger didn’t feel directed at them. “No, I won’t say that,” Chara continued, the red beginning to fade away. “Everyone has their quirks. You are no different.”

“Yeah, sure,” Frisk muttered in their head, not believing a word.

“I’m serious, Frisk,” Chara insisted. “Everyone has something they are ashamed of.” They went quiet for a moment, as if thinking about what to say. “My best friend was an absolute crybaby. He’d start weeping over the simplest things. Poor boy would get dehydrated he wept so much.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“I’m not,” Chara laughed. “He really did cry that much.” They went quiet for a few more seconds. “Miss Toriel isn’t perfect either. As I’m sure you could tell from her questions about your preferences, she cannot lie for the life of her, and she has the subtlety of a frying pan falling onto a tiled floor.”

Frisk laughed, nodding their head. “I mean, yeah, but that’s not really that bad.”

“It is when you’re a qu-” they started, only to cut themself off.

“When you’re a what?” Frisked asked, raising an eyebrow.

“…nothing,” Chara eventually said. “It’s not really my story to tell. Things seem… different now.” They let out a sigh, the strange sickly black colour rearing its head again. “Let’s just say that it was a problem for her.” They waited a few moments, letting the colour fade away. “Sans and Papyrus most certainly have their quirks. I’m sure I don’t have to point those out to you.”

“Well yeah,” Frisk admitted, “but their quirks are charming and cute. Mine is just… inconvenient.”

Chara raised an imaginary eyebrow. “Do you truly believe that everyone will find their quirks as endearing as you do?”

“What?”

“Even I judged the two of them poorly if you’ll remember,” Chara explained. “Not everyone will think that Papyrus’ attitude is fun, or that Sans’ laziness and sense of humour are amusing.” Frisk looked down at the snow, not sure how to respond to that. “It is possible that the two of them are very happy to find someone like you that enjoys their quirks, just as you were happy to find someone that you could communicate with properly.”

Frisk made a quiet humming sound, then pulled their knees to their chest. “And… what about you?” they asked. Another flash of red, though this time it was much more clearly anger, or at least irritation, and very much levelled at Frisk. “I’m sorry,” they quickly said. “That was rude, I shoul-”

“It’s fine,” Chara said curtly. Frisk could easily tell that it wasn’t fine, but they didn’t want to push Chara on this. They figured they had already crossed a line; best not to call them out on lying. But before they could try and shift the topic, Chara continued on, saying “…I scare people.”

Frisk blinked twice, tilting their head to the side. “Really?” they asked. “I mean, you’re kind of intense, but not really scary.”

“That’s because you can’t see me,” Chara explained bitterly. “Back when I… was alive, people in my old town used to think I was some kind of demon or hellspawn.”

“Why?”

“A number of reasons.” Frisk felt a pressure on the back of their skull, like Chara was resting their back against it. “My red eyes, my creepy smile, the way I laughed,” they listed. “I’m sure there were more reasons.”

“That’s not fair,” Frisk insisted, feeling themself getting angry. “That’s just what you look like! It’s not fair for people to treat you badly because of something you can’t control!”

“I agree,” Chara said, sounding somewhat smug despite the twinge of pain still resting in their voice. Frisk wondered why they sounded to smug for a minute, before realizing that the same could they said could be said about them. “I do hope I’ve made my point,” Chara said once Frisk’s expression dropped into an ‘Oh’ face.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Frisk said dismissively, though in truth they were really touched by Chara’s words. Their chest felt warm with affection. That was the first time someone made them feel… okay with their lack of a voice. Maybe Chara was just biased because they could still hear Frisk talked, but they had a feeling that wasn’t the case. Chara seemed like the type of person that truly wouldn’t mind.

“Good,” Chara said. “Never be ashamed for who you are. Other people have no right to judge you. Do not let their opinions hurt you.”

“Easier said than done,” Frisk muttered.

“Then I shall continue to remind you. It’s not as if I have anything better to do.”

“Really? You can’t think of any better way to spend your time? That’s kinda sad.”

Chara scoffed, and Frisk felt a slight pinch in their temple. “And what exactly would you suggest I do instead?”

Frisk placed a finger on their chin and hummed, pretending to consider the question. “I don’t know. Maybe you can try and see how high you can count until you get distracted.”

“As if you wouldn’t start screaming random numbers at me to try and make me lose my place.”

“Awww, you know me so well!” Frisk cooed, placing their hands on their heart. “And in such a short amount of time. You must really like me~” they sang. Their mind was immediately filled with a light pink glow and Chara sputtering random noises. Frisk bit their lip to try and contain their smile. ‘Are they blushing?’ they thought to themself. ‘That’s adorable!’

“Be quiet!” Chara hissed. “I’m inside your head. It’s hard for me to not understand you. You think very loud.”

“All I’m hearing is that you pay very close attention to what I think.”

“Then you’re as delusional as everyone else. Humans tend to only hear what they want to hear.”

“Does that include you?”

“Of course not. After all, I’m not human. I’m a demon.”

Frisk felt themself deflate. “Chara… just because tho-”

“Stop,” Chara forcefully commanded. “I appreciate you attempting to make me feel better, but do not bother. I do not mind being a demon, so long as it means I am not human.” Their tone left no room for discussion, but Frisk couldn’t help but latch on to what Chara was implying.

“…is being a human that bad?” Frisk asked quietly.

“…yes. It is.”

“Oh…”

The two fell into silence. Frisk curled in on themself. They thought that they were bonding a bit with Chara. But did they just hate them by default? Would there always be this barrier between them, keeping them apart? Was there no way to-

“I see you weren’t listening,” Chara scoffed. “Stop letting others’ opinions hurt you. Including mine.”

“…was that a test?” Frisk asked incredulously.

“Yes, it was. And you failed.”

“You’re mean,” Frisk pouted, sticking out their lips like a child. They could feel Chara snort in laughter, shaking their head. As much as they wanted to keep bantering, the cold was starting to get to them, and they knew if they kept talking to Chara, they’d get distracted and stop moving again. They seemed to be very good at distracting Frisk.

So instead of letting themself get sucked back into another round of meaningless banter, Frisk focused their attention forward. They still had a lot of ground to cover if they wanted to get to Snowdin, and Frisk wanted to get out of the cold as soon as they could. At that point, nothing sounded better than wrapping themself in a thick blanket and hibernating in a fluffy bed for the next few years.

“The promise of becoming a warm Frisky-burrito fills you with Determination.”

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Kick Back and Chillax

Frisk:

Frisk stretched their arms high into the air, popping their bones and trying to get the stiffness out of their joints. As much fun as they were having, the cold was starting to get to them a bit. Chara was right before, they were lucky that they were wearing warm clothes (Though the shorts and tights weren’t helping too much). They would have been in a lot more trouble if they only had a t-shirt and sneakers.

Something that definitely wasn’t helping was their hair. Thankfully the cold air had been keeping it from frizzing out too much, but Frisk constantly found themself having to run their hands through it to shake out the loose bits of snow that got caught up in it. By this point, their hair was once again an absolute mess, a fair bit of it hanging in front of their face and blocking their sight a little, despite how often they tried to move it out of the way.

“Perhaps you could use a haircut,” Chara commented. Frisk rolled their eyes, having heard that a million times before, getting ready to have a similar conversation again.

“I don’t like how my hair looks when it’s too short,” they said with practised ease. “Besides, it’s easy to handle on most days. Just having a bad hair day.”

Chara considered that for a few moments, letting out a hum. “Fair enough,” they eventually said. Frisk moved to respond, only to stop. ‘Wait…what?’ they thought. That wasn’t supposed to happen. They were supposed to keep arguing and insist that Frisk would be happier with shorter hair. That was how this conversation always went.

Frisk’s brain stalled as they tried to figure out why Chara had let the topic go that easily, not realizing that they were still walking until they heard a very loud and happy voice yell “Halt, human Frisk!”

Shaking their head to snap themself back to reality, Frisk looked ahead and saw Papyrus, who was holding his hand out like a traffic guard, and Sans, who still had his hands in his pockets. Frisk smiled, waving hello to the two, who both grinned back at them.

“Greetings, human!” Papyrus cheered. “It is time for your next trial! I hope you are ready for...” he trailed off, looking down at the space between him and Frisk. Frisk followed his gaze, noticing the distinct lack of anything between them, aside from a lone sheet of paper sitting on the snowy ground. “SANS!” Papyrus snapped, his brow furrowing (Somehow? How did he move his bones like that?). “WHERE’S THE PUZZLE?”

Sans lazily removed one hand from his pocket, pointing at the piece of paper. “it’s right there. on the ground.” His hand immediately returned to its rightful place in his pocket. “trust me, there’s no way they can get past this one.”

“Oh, this should be good,” Chara snickered. Frisk smiled at Chara’s brighter attitude, happily skipping over to pick up the piece of paper. They weren’t at all surprised to see the words “Monster Kidz Word Search” at the top of the page. “Of course,” Chara sighed, but Frisk could still feel them smiling. Frisk shook their head, before promptly plopping down onto the ground, pulling their bag off their back and digging around inside of it, eventually finding a crayon in one of the smaller pockets from when they were talking to Toriel. “Wait, are we actually-”

“Oh absolutely,” Frisk confirmed, feeling Chara’s nonexistent eyes glaring at the back of their head. “Come on, between the two of us, this will be super quick!”

“Very well,” Chara sighed.

The two got to work, quickly scanning the box of scattered letters and circling the words they found. It was pretty simple, which wasn’t surprising since it was literally made for kids (Or, “kidz” as the title said), only taking a little less than a minute. There was only one issue…

“They spelt it wrong!” Chara sneered.

“It really isn’t that big of a dea-”

“Yes it is!” Chara interrupted. “Not only did they put a nonsensical made-up word in the search, but they spelled it wrong on the actual search itself!” Frisk wasn’t sure if they should laugh or groan at Chara’s annoyance at this completely minor problem. Looking at the word in question didn't help either. What the heck was 'giasfclfebrehber' even supposed to be? “How do you even mistake an ‘E’ for a ‘U’ anyways? They are completely different letters!” Chara snapped.

Eventually though, Frisk just circled the word on the page, even if it was slightly misspelled. “Just let it go,” they insisted. “It’s the last word we need, and I’m sure Sans and Papyrus won’t notice.”

“BUT I NOTICED AND IT’S WRONG!”

“Chara please…”

“Ugh, fine! But only because you’re legs are getting cold.”

“Thank you.”

With their task finished, Frisk hopped to their feet, walking over to Sans and Papyrus and handing them the puzzle so that the two could look over their work. While Sans scanned his eyes over the sheet of paper, Papyrus turned to his brother, putting his hands on his hips and looking annoyed.

“Sans!” he complained. “That barely did anything! The human solved it almost immediately!”

“whoops,” Sans shrugged. “i knew i should have used today’s crossword instead.”

Papyrus stared at Sans, looking utterly aghast. “What? Crossword?!?” he yelled, placing a hand on his ribcage. “I can't believe you said that! Crosswords are SO easy! Now, Junior Jumbles? That's a real challenge!”

“what?” Sans laughed. “really, dude? those easy-peasy word scramble? those are for baby-bones.”

“UN. BE. LIVE. ABLE!” Papyrus complained, stomping his foot, before whipping his skull around to look at Frisk. “Human Frisk!!!” he declared, “Solve this dispute! Who is right here?”

Frisk raised an eyebrow, looking between Sans and Papyrus, considering if they should choose the correct option or the fun option. Obviously, they chose the fun option and signed “Papyrus is right. Junior Jumble is way harder.”

“HA HA! YES!” Papyrus cheered, throwing his hands in the air. “See Sans? Humans must be very intelligent if they also find Junior Jumble difficult! NYEH HEH HEH!”

With a victorious laugh, Papyrus ran ahead, leaving Sans and Frisk behind. Sans looked over at Frisk, giving them an appreciative smile. “hey, thanks for saying junior jumble just to appease my bro,” he said. “papyrus… finds difficulty in interesting places. yesterday, he got stumped trying to “solve” the horoscope.”

Frisk snorted, shaking their head fondly. “No biggie,” they signed. “I have a lot fun. You two really great.”

“…that so?” Sans said quietly. “well, glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself then.” With that, Sans closed his eyes, giving Frisk the impression that the conversation was over. So they walked ahead, eagerly looking forward to whatever came next.

Having finally solved the puzzle, Frisk walked over to where Papyrus was standing and stomped their foot down on the pressure plate, grinning wide when they heard a distinctive *CLICK and saw the nearby wall of spikes withdraw. That had been a bit more difficult than expected, but that had also made solving the puzzle all the more worth it.

Seeing how happy Papyrus looked also helped make the trouble worth it. “Wow, you solved it!” he cheered, looking rather impressed. “And you did it all without my help!”

“And without mine,” Chara added. Frisk stuck their tongue out ever so slightly, just to tease them a bit. Chara had insisted on helping after Frisk messed up the first time, but Frisk had adamantly refused their aid. It was a challenge at that point! They wanted to conquer it by themself.

Papyrus pulled Frisk into a side hug, squeezing them tight. “Incredible! I'm impressed with your puzzle solving skills, human Frisk! You must care about puzzles like I do!” Frisk felt their breath hitch as Papyrus hugged them, and they leaned into it, smiling gently. Papyrus gave them a confused look, but didn’t do anything to remove them from his side, letting Frisk enjoy how surprisingly soft his bones felt.

At least, until Frisk shivered violently, their teeth chattering. They had been out in the cold for a really long time, and they weren’t exactly being careful to keep themself warm, often throwing themself into the snow. Heck, just a few minutes ago they had started rolling around on the ground to trick a pair of dog monsters into thinking they were a puppy. Chara had gotten concerned after that, telling them to call off the games and find somewhere warm, but Frisk refused, saying they’d be fine.

“Human Frisk, are you cold?” Papyrus asked with concern, pulling away and grabbing Frisk by their shoulders. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Frisk waved a hand in front of them dismissively, before signing “I’m good, I promise.” Papyrus just furrowed his brow though, staring at them for a few moments, before moving his hands to their waist and lifting them into the air. Frisk let out a yelp as they were tossed onto Papyrus’ shoulders, his mitted hands quickly wrapping around their legs. “You doing what you?” they frantically signed right in front of his face, making the symbol for a question mark since he couldn’t see their face.

“Carrying you to the next puzzle, of course!” Papyrus happily replied. “My brother warned me that humans do things such as ‘feel pain’ and ‘get sick from the cold’. And you seem very determined to ignore your own problems!” Frisk ducked their head and blushed at having been called out so easily. “So I, The Great Papyrus, shall swiftly deliver you to the next puzzle, so that we may continue without you bringing yourself further harm!”

Without waiting for Frisk’s response, Papyrus shouted “NYEH HEH HEH!” and charged forward, kicking up snow in his wake as he sped ahead, Frisk screaming and laughing on his shoulders at the impossible speed Papyrus was running at. It was almost like riding on a roller coaster, Frisk’s stomach twisting and squirming about as they body was flung back from the speed. Eventually they had to wrap their arms around Papyrus’ head to keep themself upright, but despite that they had the biggest grin on their face, laughing along with Papyrus the whole time.

Before long, the two had made their way to the next puzzle. From their place atop Papyrus’ shoulders, Frisk could see a large square ahead of them across a tiny bridge made up of different squares. On the other side of the square, Sans was standing next to a machine that was a little taller than he was, with wires connecting it to the squares. Once he noticed them, Sans raised an amused eyebrow at the two, before shrugging.

“Here we are, human Frisk!” Papyrus announced, letting Frisk down off his shoulders. Once their feet touched the ground, Papyrus raced ahead, quickly moving to the other side of the puzzle to join Sans. “You're gonna love this puzzle!" he said. "It was made by the great Doctor Alphys! You see these tiles?” Frisk nodded. “Once I throw this switch, they will begin to change colour! Each colour has a different function!"

Papyrus took a deep breath, his ribcage puffing out, making Frisk extremely confused. He didn’t have lungs, did he? Did skeletons have to breathe? Did monsters in general have to breathe? How did their biology work? Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to think about that, as Papyrus started belting out rules rapid fire.

“RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE, YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC, THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES, IF YOU STEP ON THEM, YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER! ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED, THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES, SWIM THROUGH THEM IF YOU LIKE, BUT IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES, THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU! ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY, YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE IF YOU STEP ON ONE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP SMELLS LIKE LEMONS, WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OKAY! FINALLY PINK TILES! THEY DON’T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…how was that?” Papyrus eventually asked after catching his breath. “Understand?”

“Not in the slightest,” Frisk thought desperately. “Did you catch… any of that?”

“I did,” Chara said. “Don’t worry, I can guide you through this.”

Frisk blinked in surprise, but hey, if Chara said they had this, then Frisk would trust them. So they gave Papyrus a double thumbs up.

“Great!” he cheered. “There's just one last thing…”

“Oh no…”

“This puzzle is entirely random! When I pull this switch, it will make a puzzle that has never been seen before! Not even I will know the solution!" Papyrus grinned proudly, stepping over to the machine and pulling a lever at the side. “NYEH HEH HEH!” he laughed. “Get ready!”

As the squares of the puzzle started flashing different colours, Chara sputtered and squawked. “Random?!?” they yelled. “Completely random, or random with safeguards? Because there is a decent chance that we get a red square right in front of us and the puzzle is impossible to even enter!”

The tiles started flashing faster and faster, the technicolour mess hurting Frisk’s eyes. “They wouldn’t actually make it possible for the puzzle to be unsolvable, right?” Frisk asked. “Surely they have some safeguards in place.”

“Honestly, it’s a 50-50.”

“Oh boy…”

Faster and faster, the tiles glowing brighter, the sound of blooping and beeping filling the air. Frisk eventually looked away, closing their eyes to try and fight off the oncoming headache, until they heard a decisive beep, signalling that the puzzle was complete, cracking an eye open to look at what they were dealing with.

Only for their jaw to hit the ground.

It was a straight line. The middle section of the square was a straight pink line, which Frisk remembered did nothing and could be walked over without issue. And to really add insult to injury, the top and bottom of the puzzle were just solid red lines, meaning they couldn’t even be walked on. The only thing Frisk could do was walk to the other side without issue.

Unlike with the electric maze, Papyrus did notice the issue this time, glaring at the tiles in disbelief. Frisk, Sans, and Papyrus all stood completely still, staring at the puzzle for a minute in complete shock.

Papyrus was the first to react. In the end, he didn’t even say anything. He just looked up, moved down a few steps, then started spinning away, leaving the area behind.

Sans continued to say and do nothing, just shaking his head and closing his eyes, looking like he was dozing off.

Frisk stayed behind for another minute, still in shock. What was the probability of something like that happening? What kind of weird, messed up luck did they have? The statistical probability of something like this… Frisk vowed to buy a few lottery tickets when they got back to the surface. Because something or someone was looking down on them favourably, and they were going to take advantage of that!

“Are we almost there yet?” Frisk complained.

“What are you, five?” Chara shot back.

“No, I’m just tired,” Frisk whinged, their back slouched over and shoulders drooping. “We’ve been walking for ages!”

Chara rolled their not-eyes are Frisk, letting out a scoff. “Well, maybe if someone didn’t spend ten minutes running back and forth trying to catch Sans, that person wouldn’t be so tired.”

“Oh don’t you pretend like you weren’t just as confused!” Frisk snapped. “How the heck was he doing that?”

“I was very confused, and I have no intention of letting the issue go,” Chara argued. “However, I stand by the fact that running back and forth to try and catch Sans before he could get to the other side of the ledge was stupid and pointless.”

Frisk didn’t grace that with a response, just grumbling as they continued forward, not properly looking where they were going. This resulted in them tripping over and landing face first in the snow when their foot caught on something. They pushed themself back up, doing their best to ignore Chara’s sadistic laughter as they shook their head to try and get the snow out of their hair, looking back at what tripped them.

“Stupid pile of snow,” they muttered, glaring at the big fluffy semi-sphere of snow that they had tripped on.

“It’s a snow poff,” Chara corrected.

“A what?”

“A snow poff,” Chara repeated. “At least, that’s what Az- what a friend of mine used to call them.”

Frisk let out a hum as they got back to their feet, seeing more clumps of snow nearby. They pointed over to one, tilting their head to the side questioningly.

They could feel Chara grin along with them. “And this… is a snow poff!” they announced. Frisk smiled brightly, immediately running over to another pile of snow. “This, however, is a snow poff.” Another. “Surprisingly, it’s a snow poff.” Another. “Is it really a snow poff?” Another! “Behold!” Chara boomed, taking control of Frisk’s arms to gesture dramatically “A snow poff!”

Giggling and grinning like a fool, Frisk ran over to one of the last piles of snow in the area, but in their excitement, tripped over their own feet and landed on top of the pile, their hand getting shoved inside. They let out a groan, feeling the cold and exhaustion sink into their bones. Did they have to get up? Maybe they could just lie here for a little bit and-

“EH?” Chara gasped as they pulled Frisk’s hand from the pile, holding a small pouch that jingled as it moved. “There’s 30g inside this... this…”

Frisk raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“…what is this?” Chara eventually asked, making Frisk snort in laughter. They grinned from ear to ear as they rose to their feet again. Now that Chara wasn’t being super grouchy, Frisk found themself really enjoying their company. It felt like their sense of humour seemed to match Frisk’s really well. It was nice getting to spend time with people that seemed to really get them.

But still, there was one final test for Chara: one final snow poff in the area. Would they continue the joke? Would they fall flat at the finish line? There was only one way to find out.

So Frisk confidently stepped up to the pile of snow, gesturing towards it and letting Chara take the wheel. “It’s-” they started, only to stop when they and Frisk saw a small canine head pop out of the snow, letting out a tiny adorable yipp.

“IT’S A PUPPER!” Frisk squealed.

“Oh not this again…”

Frisk smiled happily, reaching down to pet the puppy, only for it to start to rise up… and up… and up… and up, the snow falling away to reveal a heavily armoured figure more than twice Frisk’s size, standing on its hind legs and wielding a large spear, casting a shadow over the little human.

“Yipp yipp!” the dog barked, its voice unnaturally high pitched and unthreatening, as it raised its spear up and brought it down, stabbing the ground where Frisk was standing as they quickly hopped out of the way. The ground shook as they landed from the force of the monster’s attack.

“What the hell are they feeding this thing?” Frisk yelped.

“Stop asking stupid questions and pacify it!” Chara snapped back. “Just pet the damn thing!”

Seeing the monster raise its spear back up, winding up to throw it, Frisk placed their fingers in their mouth and let out a loud whistle. The dog immediately stopped, looking up at them expectantly. Frisk made a beckoning gesture, clicking their tongue to encourage the monster to come over to them. Almost immediately, the monster started running their way on all fours, flinging slobber through the air.

As it skid to a stop in front of Frisk, its spear still clutched in one of its paws, Frisk held out a hand, petting the top of the puppy’s head. It closed its eyes and let out a content sigh, before leaning forward into Frisk, sending them falling onto the ground as it fell asleep on their lap. Frisk blinked for a few seconds, continuing to pet the dog as it snored on top of them.

The moment they stopped petting it though, it woke back up with a start, even more energetic than before. Frisk barely had enough time to duck as it swung its spear around at lightning speed. They tried to pet it again, but it just shook their hand off, letting out a bark and wagging its tail.

“It’s too excited to be pet,” Chara said. “Try throwing something for it to chase!”

Frisk looked around for something to grab, but they saw nothing but snow. So, desperately hoping that the monster wasn’t too picky, they scooped up a bit of snow and formed it into a ball, holding it out in front of them teasingly, waving it back and forth. The monster’s eyes tracked the snowball as it moved, until Frisk reared their hand back and tossed the ball over the monster’s head. It immediately spun on its heel and ran over it, catching the snowball in its mouth, then happily trotting over to Frisk, dropping the snow at their feet.

‘Good puppy,’ Frisk nervously thought as they reached their hand out and pet the dog again, digging both hands into its fur as it leaned into their touch. Eventually, the dog let out a content sigh, its ears flopping over as it smiled.

“The dog has reached 100% pet capacity,” Chara announced.

“Does that mean it won’t try to stab me if I stop petting it?” Frisk asked.

“Probably,” Chara shrugged.

With some hesitance, Frisk removed their hand from the Greater Dog’s head, hoping that it wouldn’t try to attack them again. Instead, the dog just looked at them sadly for a moment, before the armoured form stood up. Then, the dog jumped out of the armour, revealing that it really was just the tiny white puppy Frisk thought it was initially. The dog gave Frisk a few happy licks, before jumping back into the armour head first, and walking away with it’s butt hanging.

Frisk blinked in confusion. “How… but it had hands! And feet! What?”

“Don’t,” Chara warned. “Just… don’t try and understand the Canine Unit. Trust me.”

Once again, that answer was very unsatisfying, but Frisk went along with it, dragging themself to their feet and pushing ahead. A short distance ahead, they saw a long wooden rope-bridge spanning over a wide chasm. Then, Chara told them the best news they had heard all day.

“Snowdin is right on the other side of that bridge,” they said. “There is an inn that you can sle-”

“HELL YES!” Frisk cheered, immediately charging across the bridge with newfound energy. They were almost certainly going to crash as soon as they saw a bed, but at that moment they did not and could not care. They just wanted to get into town as soon as possible. Unfortunately, something, or more specifically a pair of someones, stood in their way.

“Aha!!!” Papyrus bellowed. “Here they come now!”

Frisk skid to a stop, holding the ropes to steady themself. “Oh no,” they groaned. “No, Papyrus. Please, not now.”

“HUMAN FRISK!” Papyrus yelled. “This is your final and most dangerous challenge! Behold! The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror!" Papyrus flicked a lever at his side, a mechanical whir filling the air as multiple traps began to rise up around the bridge, including a spiked mace on a chain, a ballista launcher, a flamethrower, and… a dog? For some reason there was just a dog suspended from a rope. Weirdly, that scared Frisk the most.

Frisk looked over at Sans with desperate eyes. They were under the impression that after the electric maze, he would make sure that nothing too dangerous happened! But this looked at least 10 times more dangerous. Those were real weapons! And with the size of them, they would probably kill Frisk if they got hit once. This was so not what Frisk signed up for.

Unfortunately, Sans just continued staring forward, not reacting at all. What the heck?!?

Papyrus crossed his arms, levelling Frisk with an intense look. “When I say the word, the Gauntlet will fully activate!" he explained. “Cannons will fire, spikes will swing, blades will slice! Each part will swing violently up and down! Only the tiniest chance of victory will remain!!!"

“Chara, we might be in trouble.”

“MIGHT?!?”

“Are you ready?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk frantically shook their head, quickly signing "Please no." Papyrus seemed to falter for a second, his hand twitching, before he schooled his expression again.

“Trembling in fear, are you?" he asked triumphantly. "As you should be! This is truly a... a most terrifying puzzle! One that even you will... certainly struggle with!" he trailed off over and over, sounding unsure, but always bouncing back with the same energy as before. "Now! Let us! Begin!"

Frisk swallowed hard, waiting for the trap to activate… only for nothing to happen. Papyrus’ eyes darted around, making him look even more nervous than before, and he eventually turned around. Sans tilted his skull to the side, giving Papyrus a look. “well?” he asked. “you gonna activate it or what?”

“WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON SANS?”

“Um... yes?” Papyrus asked. “I mean, yes! I am going to activate it! Right now!”

…but nothing happened.

Sans gave Papyrus another look. “that, uh, doesn’t look very activated.”

“Well…” Papyrus said, the hesitance clear in his voice, “This challenge... it seems... maybe... too easy to defeat the human with." His energy came back in full force as he struck a pose, waggling a finger in the air. “Yeah! We can't use this one!"  he announced. “It's far too easy! What's the point in capturing someone if you don't give them a fair chance? No no, this puzzle simply will not do! Away with it!"

Papyrus quickly re-threw the lever at his side, making all of the weapons disappear back underneath the bridge. Frisk put one hand on their heart, letting out a loud sigh of relief that was echoed by Chara. Frisk looked up in time to see Papyrus also sigh in relief, wiping some sweat from his bony forehead.

“What are you looking at?” he asked when he caught Frisk staring. “This was another victory for Papyrus! NYEH! HEH!” He paused for a few seconds, looking away. “HEH?” he whispered, sounding much more unsure, before walking into town.

“I think that took a couple years off my life,” Frisk whimpered.

“Same here,” Chara agreed. Frisk raised a finger to point out that Chara didn’t have a life to take any years off, but they cut in saying “I know what I said.” Frisk pouted for a moment, before shrugging and moving across the bridge, stopping in front of Sans.

“you alright kid?” he asked. Frisk gave him a nod, but didn’t bother to show how tired or nervous they were. “gonna be honest, i don’t know what my brother’s gonna do now,” he admitted. “if i were you, i’d make sure i understand blue attacks.”

“I’ll give you a full explanation later,” Chara said. “For now, you need food and rest.” Frisk quickly agreed with that statement. They were exhausted. There wasn’t a chance that they’d retain any information right now.

They looked over at Sans, making a few quick signs. “I eat where? And sleep where?”

“yeah, you do look bone tired,” Sans said with a wink, making Frisk giggle slightly. “you can get some grub down at grillby’s. it ain’t too far into town. and there’s the snowed inn. they’ll probably have a room you can rest in.”

“Thank you!”

“not a problem kid. you have fun.”

Frisk gave Sans one final nod before heading into town, dragging themself through the snow with their eyes half closed. They could appreciate the town later. For now, they just wanted to rest.

The second Frisk entered the room they paid for, they dropped their bag onto the floor with a thud, swaying on their feet. They were so done. With everything. For like, the next sixteen hours. They could feel the exhaustion sinking into their bones. Going from everything that happened after they woke up in the Ruins after Toriels- well, after their first fight, to the second fight, travelling through the entirety of Snowdin Forest, all the conversations they had and puzzles they had to solve and monsters they had to fight… yeah, Frisk was going to go comatose for a little while.

They slowly dragged themself through the room, making their way towards the bed, when they caught sight of themself in a small mirror hung up on the wall. They could barely see their face through their hair and half closed eyes, but they were able to notice the bandage still stuck to their cheek. They really hated wearing it; it always itched their cheek in an uncomfortable way, but they weren’t supposed to take it off. Their aunt didn’t like it when they did that. Maybe there was some magic thing that could replace it in the Underground? Whatever, they could worry about that later. For now, sleep called, and Frisk was eager to answ-

“Frisk…” Chara whispered, sounding very concerned all of a sudden. 

“What,” Frisk sleepily mumbled back, not even bothering to speak inside their own head. 

“Look at your eyes.” 

Frisk blinked a couple of times, confused about what Chara was talking about. Still, they were too tired to argue, so they looked over at the mirror and ran their hand through their hair to pull it back, revealing their face. The second they did, their eyes went wide. 

Both eyes. Their brown one, and their red one.

“What the heck?” Frisk whispered, leaning closer to the mirror to make sure they weren’t seeing things. But no, it was real. Their left eye, which was once hazel-brown, had now turned blood-red. Frisk pulled the skin around their eye back a bit with their fingers, looking at it from all angles with curiosity. Nothing about it seemed wrong, it was just a different colour now. “Is this-”

“It… It’s the same colour as my eyes,” Chara confirmed.

“Woah,” Frisk breathed. “Why do you think this happened?” they asked. 

Chara silently contemplated the question for a few moments. “…eyes are the windows to the soul,” they eventually said. “Perhaps that saying is more literal than we thought.” 

“So what, my eye is changing colour because you’re attached to my soul or something?”

“I believe so?” Chara let out an annoyed sigh. “It’s hard to tell. I doubt something like this has ever happened before.”

“Weird…” Frisk pulled back from the mirror, letting their body fall over and flop onto the nearby bed. “Hey, do you think I’ll get special powers from this?” 

“What?” Chara scoffed. “No, why would you get special powers from your eye? That’s stupid.”

“Oh come one!” Frisk insisted. “You don’t know that I won’t! I could be like Kakashi with his Sharingan!” They started waving their hands lazily through the air and wiggling their fingers. “Maybe I can do magic with my sign language! If I do the sign for fire and ball super fast over and over, I can make fireballs and stuff like Toriel did!” 

Chara groaned in protest, the noise sounding muffled as if they had their head in their hands. “Of everyone I could get stuck with, why did it have to be a weeb,” they complained. Frisk rolled their eyes at them. 

“Oh please, I know you watch anime too, Mx. ‘Ah, the cactus, the most tsundere of plants’, so try again.” 

“You weren’t supposed to hear that,” Chara blushed, a familiar pink making its way into Frisk’s mind. 

“No need to be embarrassed,” Frisk teased. “After all, I would hope that I have some common interests with the person I’ll be with forever.” 

The colour inside their mind started to grow brighter, flooding their senses and making the edges of their vision turn pink. “Wha- what?” Chara sputtered. “Stop that!” 

“What happens if I don’t?” 

“I’ll stop helping you and leave you to die on your own,” Chara snapped back, though they sounded less annoyed and more flustered. 

Frisk let out a hum, tapping their chin a couple of times. “Oh, alright,” they eventually said. “I would hate to lose your lovely company.” 

“You’re on thin ice, human.” Frisk snickered, their laugh quickly turning into a deep yawn. “Go to sleep,” Chara suggested. “I’ll keep watch.” 

“Don’t you need to sleep too?” Frisk asked. 

“I can’t.” When Frisk frowned, Chara let out a small sigh. “Don’t bother feeling sad for me. I don’t mind. It gives me time to think without your thoughts interrupting me. Besides, one of us needs to keep an eye out, just in case.” Without them doing anything, Frisk’s eyes closed, most likely due to Chara’s interference again. “Sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

Frisk wanted to argue, but they didn’t have the energy to. So instead, they nuzzled deeper into the mattress, wrapping themself in the blanket to form a cocoon around them. Before long, they drifted off to sleep, feeling warm inside and out, falling asleep to the sound of Chara's voice.

“You have become a Frisky-burrito. The warmth and comfort fill you with Determination."

“Are you sure about this? You’re going to get weird looks about this.”

“I’m a human in the Underground. I’m already getting weird looks, so who cares?”

“…fair enough.”

Frisk opened the door and left the inn, feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world! When they first woke up, Chara had advised them to try and do something to hide their eyes, warning that it might draw more attention to them. But really, how much more attention could they get? The entire Underground was already after their head (At least, the ones that realized they were human. A lot of monsters didn’t seem to be able to tell), so did it really matter if their eyes looked weird? Besides, they could just say they had heterochromia and move on.

Plus, it looked cool, and they wanted to show it off.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Chara asked.

Frisk stretched their arms above their head, getting any remaining stiffness out. “Well, I was thinking we could wander the town a bit,” they said. “I wanna look around, and you want to learn more about what’s happened since you’ve been gone. Figured we could kill two birds with one stone.”

“This feels like an excuse for you to goof around and explore more than anything,” Chara commented. “But, you’re still correct. First, let’s get you some breakfast. I saw a shop right next door. They should have something small you can eat.”

As Chara said, there was a small general store right next to the inn, run by a purple-furred rabbit lady wearing a tank top and a straw hat. Her ears perked up as Frisk stepped inside, and she pushed herself up from her position leaning on the counter with a grin. “Welcome, traveller,” she drawled. “Please, check out what I’ve got to sell.”

She pointed at a series of shelves behind her with items on display, as well as a small glass box resting on the counter with what looked to be Cinnamon Rolls inside. Frisk’s eyes immediately locked on to those, as they quickly pointed to ask for one. The shopkeeper laughed, opening up the container and pulling one of the snacks out.

“Shoulda figured you’d be drawn to the sweets,” she said. “Kids ‘round these parts love my Cinnamon Bunnies. It’s my own recipe, ya know?” she said proudly. “Ya know, I gotta say, I can’t remember the last time I saw a fresh face around here. Where’d you come from? The capital?”

Frisk immediately tensed up a bit, looking down at the Cinnamon Bunny they were given, taking a bite to have an excuse not to speak. Seeing that, the shopkeeper quirked her lips, continuing with her line of questions.

“You don’t look like a tourist,” she said. “You here by yourself?” Frisk nodded their head with an affirmative hum. “I take it you’re the quiet type, eh?” the shopkeeper asked. Another nod. “That’s fine. I got some paper and pen you can use if you’d like to ask me anything.”

The shopkeeper reached underneath the counter, pulling out a notepad and a pen, sliding them over for Frisk to use. Frisk happily picked it up, holding their snack in their mouth as they scribbled on the notepad, writing “Can you tell me about town?”

“Sure,” the shopkeeper chirped. “Guessin you wanna know what to do here in Snowdin?” Frisk nodded. “Well, Grillby’s has food, and the library has information. If you’re tired, you can take a rest at the inn. It’s right next door, and my sister runs it.” She looked off to the side, chuckling a bit. “And if you’re bored, you can sit outside and watch those wacky skeletons do their thing.”

Frisk perked up at that, tilting their head to the side questioningly, gesturing for her to continue.

“Yeah, those two are something else,” she continued. “They’re brothers, I think… honestly, I don’t really know much about ‘em. They kinda just showed up one day and… asserted themselves. Heh, town has gotten a lot more interesting since then.”

That definitely sounded right. Papyrus and Sans were a lot of fun. They probably brought a lot of happiness and cheer to this little town. Frisk smiled, thinking for a second. After a moment, they started writing again, flipping the pad around to ask “What’s it like living here?”

At that, the shopkeeper frowned a bit, crossing her arms. “Well, life is the same as always really,” she sighed. “It’s a bit claustrophobic, ya know? But… we all know deep down that freedom is coming, don’t we?” she said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. “As long as we got that hope, we can grit our teeth and face the same struggles, day after day… that’s life, ain’t it?”

Frisk bit their lip, looking down. This was the first time they’d had the chance to ask the monsters what living in the Underground was like. They all seemed so content before. But now, Frisk was wondering how happy they truly were. It made sense. After all, they were hunting humans for a way to break free from the Underground. Not exactly something you would do if you didn’t mind living Underground.

On that sobering note, Frisk decided they had asked enough questions. They gave the shop one last browse, double-checking if there was anything else they wanted to buy. Immediately, their eyes caught onto something; a little orange bandana hanging from a hook with a six-pack of abs drawn on it. It was perfect.

“Absolutely not,” Chara sneered. “You are not wearing that.”

“I am and you can’t stop me!” Frisk grinned back. They immediately pointed over at it, the shopkeeper lazily looking over and pulling it off the hook.

She raised an eyebrow as she looked from the bandana to Frisk. “You want this old thing?” she asked, shrugging when Frisk nodded fervently. “Alright, I can give it to ya for about 50g. How's that sound?” Frisk happily obliged, handing over a small pouch of coins. “Well, thanks for the purchase hon.”

Frisk pulled the little red ribbon they had on out of their hair, replacing it by tying the bandana around their forehead. They finally stuffed the rest of the Cinnamon Bunny into their mouth, happily chewing it, then holding out the pen and pad to the shopkeeper to take back.

But the shopkeeper just shook her head. “Keep it, kid,” she said. “You’re probably gonna need it. Think of it as a bonus for spending so much.” Frisk smiled, waving goodbye and heading out the door, shouldering their bag for a moment so they could slip the notepad inside, and stuffing the pen into their pocket.

Without a clear goal, Frisk stuck their gloved hands in their pockets and simply started strolling through town, taking in the view.

Snowdin was basically just a single long road, houses framing the single road from both sides. Most of the buildings Frisk saw were built like rustic log cabins, which gave the town a super comfortable feeling. A few of the more public buildings, such as the library and Grillby’s, were made of sturdy bricks rather than wood, presumably to help keep them a bit warmer.

The way the town was decorated made it look like it was straight out of a Christmas film, with strings of green and red lights dangling in the air, and bits of tinsel here and there. Heck, there was even a stubby pine in the centre of town that was dressed up like a Christmas tree! It had presents underneath it and everything! Taking a look at the presents underneath, Frisk saw that they were even addressed from “Santa”.

“You enjoying the view?” a nearby monster asked. Frisk looked over to see a large bear-like monster with grey fur kneeling in front of the tree, a half-wrapped gift in his hand. Frisk nodded and smiled, before pointing at the tree and presents with a questioning expression. “What’s up with the tree?” the monster asked, looking for clarification. Frisk nodded. “These are for Gryftmas.”

‘Gryftmas?’ Frisk blinked. Really? Did the monsters actually have a bootleg version of Christmas that they celebrated? Wait, but it was the beginning of Fall! It was nowhere near Christmas. So what was the story behind this? Frisk pulled out their notepad and pen, writing down “What’s Gryftmas?” When the monster gave them a weird look, they quickly added “I’m from the capital, haven’t heard of it!”

“That makes sense. It’s kinda a local holiday,” the monster explained. “See, some awful teenagers tormented a local monster by decorating its tree-like horns. So we started giving that monster presents to make it feel better. Now it’s a tradition to put presents underneath a decorated tree.” He continued wrapping the gift on his lap, carefully folding the paper over the box. “We used to just put presents here whenever we felt like it, but now it’s kinda a yearly tradition. Whenever folks start losing hope, we all come together to give each other presents and remind ourselves that there’s still hope.”

Frisk’s smile dropped for a moment, but they tried to pick it back up and pretend. There it was again, that talk of hope. Frisk assumed the monster was talking about the hope of getting back to the surface. They started looking around at the monsters passing them by, looking at their smiling faces and bright eyes. Were they all just faking it? Just pretending to be happy to try and keep their spirits up?

Poking around and chatting with some more locals, Frisk’s frown grew deeper and deeper as they all gave them the same impression.

“Everyone is always laughing and cracking jokes, trying to forget our modern crises,” one monster complained. “Dreariness, crowding, lack of sunlight… I would join them, but I’m not very funny.”

“We all know the Underground has problems, but we smile anyways,” another commented. “Why?” the monster asked when Frisk tilted their head in confusion. “We can’t do anything, so why be morose about it?”

“Leave me alone kid,” a grumpy monster grumbled. “My favourite TV program is about to start.” Frisk gave the monster a frown, causing her to shrink in on herself a bit. “I know, I know. Staring at a screen… sounds like a boring hobby. But TV offers an escape to another world. We really need that.”

Frisk looked down at the snow crunching beneath their boots as they strolled through town, unable to wipe the grimace from their face. At a glance, Snowdin looked so hopeful and full of life. Children were playing in the street, lights danced in the air, and people had smiles permanently plastered on their faces. But it was all just a façade. It was like the entire town was barely holding itself together, everyone only smiling because it was the only way to hold them all together.

“It’s gotten worse…” Chara whispered, their voice wavering. “I- I didn’t think it could get worse…”

“They’re all so sad,” Frisk added. “They’re trying to be happy, but…”

Chara let out a sigh, breathing out an inky black that filled Frisk’s mind. “We need to get to the capital, now,” Chara said desperately. “Go North from here,” they commanded, pulling Frisk’s attention to a small side path a short distance ahead of Grillby’s. “If we’re lucky, there should be someone that can take us all the way to Hotland.”

Frisk did as they were told, following the side path and doing their best to ignore the monsters yelling about playing ‘Monster and Humans’ as they passed by. The road quickly narrowed as the trees drew closer until it ended at a small dock on a river, a tiny snow-covered bench right at the edge of the path. Frisk could feel Chara’s frown deepen as they looked back and forth, trying to spot anything on the water.

“Dammit, they aren’t here,” Chara grumbled. “Why are you never there when I need you, Riverperson?”

Sitting down on the bench, Frisk rested their chin on their hands, blowing razzberries. “Guess that means we’re walking?” they asked. Before Chara could answer though, the two of them were cut off by Frisk’s phone ringing, vibrating like crazy in their pocket. Frisk pulled it out quickly, trying to figure out who was calling them. Wasn’t Toriel the only one that had their phone number? They clicked the answer button and put the phone against their ear, ignoring how cold it felt.

“Hello?” an unfamiliar voice rasped. “Can I speak to G-” it started, stopping suddenly. “…wait a second… is this the wrong number?” Frisk tried to work up the strength they needed to say “yes”, but before they could even make an attempt, music started blaring through the speaker.

Oh it’s the wrong number!~

The wrong number song!~

We’re very very sorry that we got it wrong!~

Oh it’s the wrong number!~

The wrong number song!~

We’re very very sorry that we got it wrong!~

The phone abruptly clicked off as the song ended. Frisk pulled the phone away, squinting their eyes at it in confusion. “What?” they eventually managed to get out. “Who were they trying to call? And why did they just… have that song on hand?”

“Don’t,” Chara replied. “Just… don’t.” Frisk was starting to get really tired of that answer. But they had more important things to worry about. They started making their way back to the main road, chewing on their lip. Their mind wandered, replaying the past few conversations in their head. The Underground was so different to what they first thought. When they were playing around in the Ruins, Frisk thought the Underground was a magical wonderland! There was adventure and fun around every corner! But that was just because they were new. To the monsters, the Underground wasn’t a wondrous place.

It was a prison.

Frisk narrowed their eyes, quickening their pace, a clear destination in mind. It was clear that they didn’t know enough about the Underground. If they were going to be travelling through the caves to reach the capital, then they needed to know everything they could. And there was somewhere perfect for them to learn.

“Welcome to the library,” a bored-looking lime-green monster sighed, their eyes half closed behind their glasses. “Yes, we know the sign is misspelt.”

Frisk tried to hold back their laughter, feeling a little bad for the poor clerk. They probably had to deal with people commenting on that a lot if it was how they greeted new people in the library - or should they say the librarby? They got the feeling that the clerk would get mad at them if they did, but it did make Chara chuckle. So it was definitely worth it.

Stepping further inside, Frisk took a quick look around. The librarby wasn’t too big, only having a few shelves worth of books and a single table for people to sit at, but Frisk wasn’t expecting much more really. This was a small town, it wasn’t going to have the Librarby of Alexander just sitting around. Still, it would have to be enough.

What did surprise Frisk though was the actual contents. When they started poking through some of the books, they found out that not all of them were officially published books. Some of them, like the one Frisk had just pulled out, where things like school reports that the people in town had written. Frisk got the impression that they were there because the librarby needed to fill out the shelves rather than because of the quality of the reports because uh… yeah, no.

For example, the report that Frisk had just pulled out, which was held together in a poorly made purple binding. The very first line of the report told Frisk exactly what they were in for.

“Monster funerals, technically speaking, are cool as heck,” the report read. Frisk giggled at that, earning them a hush from the nearby librarbian, while Chara just scowled at the page. “When monsters get old and kick the bucket, they turn into dust. At funerals, we take that dust and spread it over that person’s favourite thing. Then their essence will live on in that thing.” Frisk smiled at that. They didn’t think that the process was “cool as heck”, but it was incredibly sweet letting someone live on in what they loved most.

Frisk closed the report, putting it back on the shelf, before pulling out another book. This one looked to be much more official, with a proper cover and quality writing. The title “Monster Physiology” was written across the front in bold letters. Frisk eagerly opened it up, flipping to a random page to see what they could find.

“Because they are made of magic, monsters’ bodies are attuned to their souls,” they read. “If a monster doesn’t want to fight, its defences will weaken. And the crueller the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us. Therefore, if a being with a powerful soul struck with the desire to kill-”

Frisk slammed the book shut, their hands shaking. They shoved the book back onto the shelf, trying to ignore how clearly they could see Toriel’s dust still staining their arms. They screwed their eyes shut, shaking their head to dispel the vision, opening their eyes again to see their arms clean of everything except snow.

“Do you understand now?” Chara suddenly asked, their voice extremely sombre. Frisk didn’t need to ask what they meant by that. They already knew.

“…she didn’t want to fight,” they whimpered. “She never wanted to hurt me.” And yet, she still stood in their way. She still attacked them. “So why…”

“Because she’s a stupid, stubborn old goat,” Chara snapped. “She’d rather sacrifice herself to save you than let you go out on your own, knowing you’d die. Even if it meant…” They didn’t finish the thought, a sorrowful blue dripping into Frisk’s heart.

With a heavy sigh, Frisk moved on to a different shelf, pulling out a book at random and hoping for something a little more light-hearted. They were very disappointed with what they got.

“Love, hope, compassion… this is what people say monster souls are made of,” they read. “But the absolute nature of the soul is unknown. After all, humans have proven their souls don’t need these things to exist.” Frisk shut the book again, sliding it back into place. They ran a hand down their face, deciding that they were done with the librarby.

As they stepped back out into the snow, Frisk closed their eyes and slowed their breathing, trying to connect with their feelings and calm themself down. But the more they tried to get control over their own emotions, the more they noticed how distressed Chara seemed. Frisk could picture them so clearly; a human form resting in darkness, curled up and wrapped in a blanket of dark blue.

Figuring they could both use a pick-me-up, Frisk sat on the steps outside the librarby, doing their best to put a smile on their face. “Monsters are pretty great, aren’t they?” they asked. They could feel Chara still, raising their head up to stare at Frisk in bafflement. “They’re so full of kindness and love. Even when they are trying to hurt me, their compassion stops them as soon as they are shown kindness. It was so confusing at first, but now I think I see why. It’s because monsters are kindness. It’s what they’re made of. Isn’t it?”

A few seconds passed in silence, until Frisk felt the deep blue shift into a bright orange. “Yeah,” Chara smiled. “Being cruel just… isn’t in their hearts. They really are amazing.”

“I guess that also explains why you’re so lovely,” Frisk sang, grinning cheekily. “After all, you spent a long time down here, didn’t you? Figures that the monsters’ amazingness would rub off on you.”

Chara scoffed and rolled their eyes. “And I suppose that explains why you’re so awful,” they bit back. “You grew up with humans, so of course you’re stupid and terrible and have awful fashion sense.”

“Excuse you!” Frisk gasped in mock offence, placing a hand on their chest. “I have an amazing fashion sense! Not everyone can pull off a sweater this adorable!”

“They say, while wearing a bright orange piece of ugly cloth on their forehead,” Chara teased.

“I think it makes me look cool and tough.”

“Evidently, you don’t think at all, especially if you believe that thing looks good.”

“You just don’t know fashion,” Frisk sighed, flipping their hair dramatically as they stood up. Seeing that Chara was feeling better, they decided to go back to roaming around, seeing if there was anything else in town for them to do.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Chara wasn’t done with the current conversation. Frisk could feel Chara narrowing their eyes at them. “Seriously, can you take that stupid bandana off your head?” Chara sneered. “It makes you look ridicul-”

“Mandana,” Frisk corrected.

“…excuse me?”

“Mandana. Not bandana.”

“Are we seriously gendering the bandana just because it has abs on it?”

“Yup!”

“…I really wish that others were able to hear your sass and inane comments.”

Frisk shrugged their shoulders, stuffing their hands in their pockets. “I don’t know, I kinda like the idea that you’re the only one getting to see this side of me.” They looked in the window of a house they were passing by, winking at their reflection with their red eye, leaving the brown one on display. “Makes you special, doesn’t it?”

“I- Stop flirting with me!” Chara stuttered. “I’m a dead person’s voice in your head!”

“No.”

The two bantered back and forth as they strolled through town, Frisk making teasing remarks while Chara snapped and stuttered at them. The entire time, Frisk had a massive smile on their face. Chara was… an interesting person. Most of the time, they seemed reserved, speaking with a monotone voice, their speech sounding stiff as they tried to talk in a fancy way. But when they got flustered and lost focus on keeping up their façade, that was when the real Chara came out.

And Frisk liked that Chara a lot more. They still had the same snark and insult-loving sense of humour, but they felt so much more relaxed. They abandoned their stiff way of speaking and just let the words flow, their monotone voice giving way for an almost peaceful voice, soft and quiet, with just a little bit of a rasp to it. They would call Frisk an idiot, but they would do it with a smile. Frisk adored every second they got with the real Chara.

Their quality time with the voice in their head was cut short by something crashing into Frisk, sending them and it tumbling into the snow, their head getting partially buried. Frisk popped themself back out, shaking their head to try and get all of the snow out, ignoring Chara cackling at them. They looked forward to see what - or who now that they looked - had crashed into them.

“Yo, sorry about that!” the monster in front of them said apologetically. They reminded Frisk of a raptor, except this one had bright yellow skin and no arms. They were wearing a striped yellow and brown turtleneck sweater, with brown pants and boots, with a little spiked tail poking out from the bottom of their sweater. They had a goofy grin on their face, a small overbite making their teeth on almost permanent display. “Yo, you’re a kid too, right?” they asked. “I can tell, ‘cause you’re wearing a striped shirt.”

Frisk raised an eyebrow, looking down at their striped sweater. “It’s a tradition,” Chara explained. “Monsters’ bodies can vary wildly, so most people have their kids wear striped clothes to that everyone knows they are young.” That made sense. After all, if a monster was naturally big, it would be hard to tell if they were a kid. Or if another monster was short, people could mistake it for a child. It was definitely a strange system, but it sounded like it worked.

“I wonder if that weird skeleton is an adult or a kid,” the monster mumbled, before shaking their head. “Oh dang, where are my manners? I’m Monster Kid, but most people just call me MK!”

“My name F-R-I-S-K,” Frisk signed, before realizing that MK ouldn’t understand them. So instead, they pulled out their notepad and wrote their name down, showing it to MK.

MK’s eyes lit up as they saw Frisk’s name. “Oh, you’re Frisk!” they exclaimed. “That tall skeleton dude was looking for you earlier.” Frisk’s eyebrows went up at that. Papyrus was looking for them? “He said he’d be waiting for you on the other end of town, over by the entrance to Waterfall. Better not keep him waiting!”

With that, MK started to run away, before promptly tripping over their own feet, face-planting into the snow. Frisk moved to help them, but just as quickly as they had fallen they got back up, a grin still on their face as they raced forward, leaving Frisk behind.

“Well, they seem… energetic,” Chara commented.

“Very,” Frisk agreed. “So… Papyrus is looking for us?”

“So it would seem,” Chara said anxiously. “This could be trouble.”

Frisk shrugged their shoulders, wiping off any remaining snow from their sweater. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” they said. “Papyrus is a really sweet guy.”

“Just in case, I believe it is time for me to explain how blue attacks work,” Chara replied. Frisk frowned a bit at hearing Chara dip back into their formal speech, but they didn’t comment on it, simply nodding their head as they started making their way to the end of town.

“And that’s it,” Chara announced.

‘Finally,’ Frisk thought to themself, making sure Chara couldn’t hear them. Chara had spent the entire duration of their walk explaining blue attacks, going off on long tangents and explaining every single thing in excruciating detail, to the point where Frisk couldn’t keep track of it all if they tried. And they did try! But it was just… a lot.

Still, they got the jist of most of it… probably. Just in case, they decided to explain it back to Chara to make sure they didn’t miss anything. “So basically, blue attacks are a super special form of magic that hurt more than regular spells, but can’t hurt you if the part of you that they touch isn’t moving.” Wow, one sentence to explain what Chara had spent 10 minutes going on about. Frisk could appreciate Chara’s passion, but really wished they knew they were in for a lecture when they asked for Chara to explain things.

“And they can’t be blocked,” Chara added. “That is very important.”

Frisk shrugged their shoulders. “I mean, it’s not like I have a shield or anything.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Chara deadpanned. “Remember back in the Ruins, where you hid behind a pillar to block that Vegetoid’s attacks? That won’t work on blue attacks. They can pass through any and all physical matter.”

“ANY physical matter? Like, at all?”

“Yes. Anything. Whether it be iron or wood, steel or flesh, there is no stopping a blue attack,” Chara explained. “The only thing that can halt it is orange magic.” Frisk almost, ALMOST asked what orange magic was, but they bit their tongue just in time. They did not have the mental energy for another Chara rant.

As Frisk continued to walk, the town disappearing behind them as the forest thickened, a mist started to rise around them, filling the air with a thick fog. Frisk shivered, the chill in the air around them thickening as it wrapped around their body, making their muscles stiff. As they looked ahead, they could see a shadowy silhouette standing a short distance ahead of them, obscured by the fog. Not that it really mattered, since Frisk could easily tell who it was, even before they spoke.

“Human,” Papyrus said ominously. Frisk leaned backwards slightly, taken aback at how… strange Papyrus sounded. His voice was still loud, but it lacked its usual energy. There was something sombre about it that felt so un-Papyrus that it was unnerving. “Allow me to tell you about some complex feelings," Papyrus continued. “Feelings like... the joy of finding another pasta lover, or someone who can speak with their hands! The admiration of another's puzzle solving skills! The desire to have a cool, smart person think you are cool!"

Frisk nodded along as Papyrus spoke, worry gnawing at them. Papyrus didn’t sound like himself. It wasn’t right for him to not sound excited, to seem sad. It just wasn’t him.

“These feelings... these must be what you are feeling right now!!!”

Ah… there it was.

“I can hardly imagine what that must feel like!” Papyrus exclaimed, striking a pose. “After all, I am very great. I don't ever wonder what having lots of friends is like." He let out a quiet sigh, just barely audible enough for Frisk to hear, before resuming his usual persona. “I pity you, lonely human.”

“Wow, what am I, chopped liver?” Chara asked once again. Frisk didn’t even bother to point out that Papyrus didn’t know they were there. Chara was just trying to get a rise out of them.

“Worry not, human Frisk!” Papyrus exclaimed. “You shall be lonely no longer! I, The Great Papyrus, will be your..." he trailed off, turning around to face away from Frisk. “…no… no this is all wrong! I can't be your friend! You are a human!"

“I feel you there, buddy,” Chara deadpanned.

“I must capture you! Then, I can fulfil my lifelong dream!" Papyrus pointed a hand to the sky dramatically. “Powerful! Popular! Prestigious! That's Papyrus! The newest member...” He summoned a long bone, wielding it like a weapon, swinging it in a wide arc through the air. As he did, a powerful gust of wind flew through the air, clearing the fog in an instant and blowing Frisk back a couple of feet. “…OF THE ROYAL GUARD!”

Frisk felt their soul burn to life, its red glow spreading across their chest. They looked up at Papyrus with worry in their eyes, finally able to see him clearly. His scarf fluttered in the wind, and he was holding his arm out, pointing the long bone he had summoned at Frisk like a blade, showing off that it was basically as long as Frisk was tall. He had a wide grin on his face, confidently laughing “NYEH HEH HEH!” as he always did. Okay, so he was serious about this. Great.

“Chara, plan please!” Frisk begged. Chara had gotten them through the fight with Toriel before, so they definitely had a plan to deal with Papyrus too, right?

“How am I supposed to know what to do?” Chara snapped. Okay, never mind. “I don’t know Papyrus like I know Miss Toriel. I have no idea what’ll work on him!”

With another laugh, Papyrus yelled “EN GUARDE!” before charging at Frisk, swinging his bone club in a wide arc. Frisk bent their back to duck underneath it, then sidestepped another swing, mind racing as they dodged from side to side, trying to think.

Okay, so Chara didn’t know what to do. Which meant that Frisk was on their own for this one. They needed to do something to make Papyrus not want to fight them. What did Papyrus like? Puzzles. Spaghetti. Neither of those were gonna help! What else… attention. Admiration. Praise. That was it!

Frisk ducked underneath another swing, straightening themself up and looking Papyrus in the eye, making sure to give him their most adoring grin. “Hi beautiful,” they signed. “Love your bones.” They clicked their tongue and blew a kiss at Papyrus, watching as his jaw dropped in surprise.

“WHAT IN THE EVERLOVING HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?” Chara screeched.

“I’m trying to make him stop wanting to fight!” Frisk yelled back.

“BY FLIRTING WITH HIM?”

“Papyrus loves praise and adoration! Flirting is just, like, the ultimate form of that!”

“W-WHAT!?” Papyrus stuttered. “Fl-flirting!? So, you finally reveal your ultimate feelings!" Papyrus placed a hand on his chest, trying to look intimidating. “W-well, I am a skeleton with very high standards!"

Frisk thought for a moment, before signing “I know make spaghetti.”

“OH no! Yo're meeting all my standards!” Papyrus exclaimed.

“Is this actually going to work…” Chara asked in shock.

Papyrus tapped his chin, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Well, I guess this means I have to go on a date with you...?”

“That’s… not how that works.”

“Let's date! L-later! After I capture you!”

“That’s definitely not how that works!”

Papyrus resumed his attack, swinging his club again and forcing Frisk to duck, before pulling it back and jabbing it at them repeatedly like a rapier. Frisk weaved left, right, left, down, right, desperately trying not to get an overgrown femur jabbed into their ribs. One of the jabs went towards Frisk’s head and they ducked down low, scraping their hand against the ground and digging up snow before tossing it in Papyrus’ face. He let out a squawk as snow filled his eyes, giving Frisk time to put some distance between them as Papyrus tried to shake the snow out of his skull.

“Damn, I thought that would do it,” Frisk complained. “Well, I’m out of ideas.”

“Are you serious?” Chara yelled.

“It’s not like you have any bright ideas!”

“Oh for the love of- just tell him you don’t want to fight!”

Frisk let Papyrus finish digging the snow out of his eyes, before clearly signing “No fight!” at Papyrus repeatedly. Papyrus narrowed his eyes at them, before shaking his head and waggling a finger at them.

“So you won't fight?” he asked. “Very well... then let's see if you can handle my fabled blue attack!” Papyrus pointed forward, creating an army of light blue bones that swept through the air, swinging like blades towards Frisk. Taking a deep breath and steeling their nerves, Frisk fought against their body’s instinct to try and run, forcing themself to stay absolutely still as the magical attacks moved through them, their body tingling wherever the magic touched them.

After the first dozen bones passed through them, Frisk raised an eyebrow. Surely Papyrus could see that this wasn’t working, right? Why was he just doing the same thing over and over again? Then, too late, Frisk noticed that he was doing something with his free hand, waving it in a strange way. Just as the last of the blue bones Papyrus conjured flew through them, Frisk felt something extremely wrong, like they had been ripped out of their body and placed into a new one. One that was almost identical, but just different enough to feel off.

Then, as if gravity had increased around them, Frisk was dragged to the ground, their stomach and chest complaining as they were slammed into the ground. Frisk tried to push themself back up, their muscles shaking with effort. Their entire body felt heavy, like their skin had been replaced with lead. They managed to catch sight of their soul still glowing on their chest. But now, the burning red colour was being dampened, smothered by a deep, dark blue that was gripping onto it.

“You're blue now!” Papyrus cheered. “That's my attack!”

Frisk grit their teeth, trying hard to stand up, but they weren’t strong enough. They could just barely manage to bring themself to a crouching position where they could move if need be. “Chara,” they ground out, feeling the earth trying to drag them further down, “What’s going on?”

“Soul manipulation!” Chara hissed. “It’s a type of human hunting magic. It changes the nature of your soul, enforcing a new set of laws.”

“In English, please!” Frisk begged.

“Oh for- he turned your soul blue, and now you’re gonna feel heavy. He’s basically manipulating gravity around you.”

“So how do I-”

“LOOK OUT!”

Too late, Frisk noticed the sound of breaking stone, seeing the ground in front of them cracking as three bones sprung out of the earth, striking them in the stomach and knocking the air from their lungs. They were thrown onto their back, clutching their stomach in pain as they coughed up a lung. This wasn’t like when Toriel’s fire struck them, where there was only pain but no damage. It was so much worse. They could practically feel the bruises forming on their stomach and chest.

“What the hell,” Frisk wheezed. “I thought magic attacks weren’t supposed to hurt like that.”

“Most magic attacks don’t harm your body,” Chara corrected. “But Papyrus is using magic specifically designed to hurt humans. With enough magic, he can give his attacks physical form, allowing them to properly damage your body.”

“Well that’s just great,” Frisk groaned as they forced themself back onto their feet, struggling against their body’s increased weight and feeling very thankful that Papyrus was too dabbing something on the side of his skull to kick them while they were down. But for some reason, Papyrus seemed to be slouching a bit, not quite standing at his full height.

Once again reading their thoughts (Frisk really needed to get better control of their own head), Chara answer Frisk’s unsaid question. “To impose new laws on someone else’s soul, you have to impose the same laws on your own soul,” they explained. “He’s feeling the same effects that you are.”

Okay, that at least made things a little easier. He couldn’t go all Inigo Montoya on them with his club while keeping the weird blue effect up, which was a plus. Unfortunately, Papyrus also seemed to be just as capable when it came to fighting at range.

“I can almost taste my future popularity!” he exclaimed as he held his hand out, materializing a series of bones behind him that shot out like arrows towards Frisk, who dropped to the ground as they flew over their head. “Papyrus, head of the Royal Guard!” The earth began to crack underneath Frisk, and they barely rolled to the side to avoid more bones stabbing them in the chest. “Papyrus, unparalleled spagettore!”

“I don’t think that’s a word,” Chara commented.

“Undyne will be really proud of me!” Bones began to rain from the sky. Frisk screamed and pushed themself back up, running to the side of the path to take cover underneath one of the nearby pine trees. “The King will trim a hedge in the shape of my face!” More bones shot out towards Frisk, who circled around the tree, using it as a shield.

Even after barely doing anything, Frisk was feeling exhausted. Their chest heaved as they tried to take in air, their shoulders and legs screaming in pain. They were wheezing more than they were breathing, struggling to do anything. This blue soul magic was wearing them down fast. They needed to find a way to end this quickly before they just collapsed. This was a really bad situation to be in.

...so why were they smiling?

Frisk’s eyes went wide when they felt the earth underneath them rumble, twirling themself around the tree as bones erupted from underneath them, grazing the back of their leg. They hissed in pain as they made their way back onto the path, just in time to see a tall shadow loom over them. They looked up to see that Papyrus had erected walls of bones three times their size in front of and behind them. With a thrust of his palm, the bones began to grind through the ground, threatening to crush Frisk in between.

“Jump!” Chara commanded as the walls cast a shadow over Frisk.

“What?” Frisk cried. “I can barely move, how do you expect me to-”

“Just trust me!” Chara pleaded, pushing forward a familiar confident blue. Frisk bit their lip, but looked up at the wall in front of them with a fire in their eyes. They trusted Chara. So with everything they had, they forced their legs to move, leaping as high as they could into the air.

As soon as they were off the ground, they shot into the air, practically flying over the walls as the bones crashed into each other, crumbling to dust. Frisk hovered in the air for a second, their smile turning into a laugh as they soared above the world, before a heavy weight latched onto their ankles, dragging them back down to the ground, the snow helping to cushion their fall.

“What…” Frisk breathed. “How did I…”

“By enforcing a new soul trait on a person, you bring out its strongest characteristics,” Chara explained. “That means the positives and the negatives.” Frisk looked down at their chest, hovering their palm over their now blue soul. “Integrity can be a heavy burden, one that weighs you down. But staying honest and true to your morals allows you to rise to heights that you could never imagine, if you only put in the effort needed.”

Frisk blinked a few times, looking forward with a deadpan expression. “So basically, it’s super hard to move, but if I try really hard I can jump high.”

“It’s more similar to temporary gravity manipulation, but essentially.”

“And you couldn’t just say that because?”

Hot pink seeped into Frisk’s mind. “Oh will you just- LOOK OUT!”

*BONK

Frisk hissed in pain as a bone knocked into their forehead, making them stumble for a second. “You know, yelling ‘LOOK OUT’ isn’t as helpful as you think it is,” they complained.

“You are doing very well, human Frisk!” Papyrus said. “I am impressed! You are a most enjoyable adversary!”

“Thank you,” Frisk signed. Weirdly, they found themself agreeing with Papyrus; this was a lot of fun. They certainly weren’t enjoying the new bruises they were getting, but there was a certain thrill to fighting. Dodging blows and magic spells... it got their blood pumping, their heart racing, and put a smile on their face. “I have fun too,” Frisk added.

“Of course you are having fun!” Papyrus exclaimed. “You have impeccable taste! It only makes sense that you would enjoy facing an opponent such as me!" Papyrus grinned happily for a few seconds before his smile dipped slightly. “I wonder... will others enjoy my company as much as you do…?”

Frisk could feel the weight on their shoulders lifting ever so slightly as Papyrus lost his concentration, breathing deep to try and take in as much air as they could. They looked at Papyrus sadly as he glanced towards the ground, his confidence dripping away.

“Someone like you is really rare…” Papyrus continued. “and dating might be kind of hard when you’re captured and sent away… Will others care for me the same way you do when you are gone?”

“Papyrus…” Frisk whispered, quiet enough that only Chara could hear them. Frisk was right before, Papyrus didn’t really want to hurt anyone, did he? He just wanted to be seen. Even at his home in Snowdin, Papyrus was an anomaly. The people in town never even used his name, did they? He was always “that weird skeleton” or “one of the skeleton brothers”. When was the last time someone other than Sans had given him the time of day?

“URGH, WHO CARES!” Papyrus yelled, bracing himself as gravity took its hold on Frisk again. “GIVE UP!” he proclaimed as he leapt forward with all his might, conjuring a second bone in his other hand as he shot towards Frisk, this one glowing light-blue. Thinking fast, Frisk grabbed the bone that Papyrus had thrown at them before, lifting it in front of them just in time to block Papyrus’ strike as he landed in front of them.

Bones clashed like blades as Papyrus spun at Frisk, twirling around like a skeletal whirlwind and swinging wildly. Frisk ducked and weaved back and forth, parrying Papyrus’ normal club with their own, and holding their breath and staying still whenever he swung the blue one at them. They could hardly keep up with his pace, but they were managing, if just barely.

Frisk was still struggling to move, even if they knew they could technically move better than before, it required too much effort to do all the time. They needed to save their strength for when they really needed it.

Which they decided was right then as they heard the ground underneath their feet cracking. Frisk parried one more strike then pushed with everything they had, leaping backwards and flipping just in time to avoid getting speared in the stomach by a massive bone breaking through the ground. As they touched the ground, they leapt back a second time, hoping to put enough distance between them and Papyrus that he wouldn’t charge them again like that.

“NO!” Chara screamed too late. Frisk didn’t understand what was wrong, until they saw a shadow loom over them, looking behind their back to see a wall of light-blue bones blocking their path. Unable to stop themself, they flew straight through them, their eyes going wide and a scream being ripped from their throat as their soul erupted in searing pain.

Frisk clattered to the ground, struggling to get back up as their soul pulsed and pounded against their chest, warning them of the pain it was in. Chara was fussing over them, but Frisk couldn’t quite hear them properly. They looked up to see that Papyrus was just as worried, looking very surprised at how much damage his own attack did.

“Human Frisk, are you alright!?” he asked worriedly. A moment later, he blinked, then dropped his worried look, swapping it out for a confident one. “I mean, give up, human! It is clear that you cannot defeat me!”

Frisk took a deep breath, focusing on the way the cold, crisp air bit at their lungs, then forced themself back to their feet, still holding the bone they had taken tight, their muscles shaking the entire way up. They weren’t done. Not yet.

“So you still stand against me..." Papyrus said. “Impressive! However, this battle is over! Give up, human, or I will be forced to use my special attack!”

‘Bring it on,’ Frisk thought, taking the second Nice Cream they bought out of the side pocket of their bag, ripping open the packaging and biting down hard, before slinging their backpack off their shoulders and tossing it to the side.

“You sure you got this?” Chara asked, a hint of concern in their voice.

“We got this,” Frisk corrected. “I’m going to need your help.”

“I thought I was just being distracting?”

“Yelling at me to look out is distracting, but you can still help me in other ways.”

“Such as?”

“The same way you helped with the doggo.” Chara raised an eyebrow at Frisk. Then, realization struck. Frisk felt confidence radiate from Chara, feeling a grin spread across their own face.

“This is your final warning!” Papyrus called. “Surrender, or face my special attack!”

“You ready?” Frisk asked.

“Ready,” Chara confirmed.

Frisk gave Papyrus a cocky grin, waving two fingers in a ‘show me what you’ve got’ gesture. Papyrus narrowed his eyes. “Very well then… BEHOLD! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” Frisk braced themself to move as Papyrus held out his hand…

…but nothing happened.

Both Frisk and Papyrus looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where the attack was, until they heard a tiny “arf” at Papyrus’ feet, looking down to see a little white dog chewing on a bone. “WHAT THE-!” Papyrus stuttered. “THAT’S MY SPECIAL ATTACK! YOU STUPID DOG!”

Startled by Papyrus’ yelling, the dog shot up, running towards Frisk with the bone still in its mouth. Frisk stumbled as the dog ran through their legs, almost tripping them.

“HEY, YOU! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” Papyrus yelled, waggling his fist in the air. But the dog was long gone. He let out an annoyed sigh, pinching his face where his nose would have been. “Great... just great.”

“Okay you?” Frisk signed with their eyebrow up.

“Yes, I'm quite alright,” Papyrus said, though it was easy to tell how annoyed he was. “I suppose I'll just have to use a really cool normal attack instead. Is that alright?”

Frisk gave Papyrus a thumbs up.

“Alright. Here's an absolutely normal attack then. EN GUARDE!”

Papyrus clapped his hands together and the air hummed with magic, the hairs on Frisk’s neck standing up from the power radiating around them. All around them, bones began to materialize in the air, some of them glowing light-blue, before firing off at Frisk like rockets.

“Chara!”

“Let’s do this!”

Still held down by their blue soul, Frisk stood their ground, spinning on the spot as they parried and bashed every bone they could out of the sky. Meanwhile, Chara kept an eye out for any blue bones, forcing Frisk’s body to lock up whenever one was about to touch them. Together, they became a whirlwind, kicking up snow as bones fell around them like rain. Frisk smiled and laughed as they spun around, growing more and more confident and getting flashier with their parries.

As they batted the last of the conjured bones out of the air, Frisk turned their attention back to Papyrus, who had just finished materializing a new set of attacks. He thrust out his palm, throwing a series of bones that were shaped and pressed together to form words at Frisk.

Frisk gathered all of their strength, getting ready to force themself to move, before charging forward. They slid underneath the ‘L’ in the word ‘Cool’ like a limbo pole, and jumped through the ‘D’ in the word ‘Dude’. They hopped and ducked around a few more bones that Papyrus threw their way, until the entire path turned dark as a massive shadow loomed overhead. Frisk looked up to see bones towering over them, the wall layers and layers thick.

“Are you kidding me?” Chara gasped. “What the hell is this guy made of?”

Frisk didn’t even bother responding, simply crouching down and tensing their legs, getting ready. They could do this. As soon as the wall was right in front of them, they sprang up, jumping as high as they could. Their body soared through the air, rising higher and higher as the wall of bones skid past them, grinding through the snow and tearing up the well-worn pathway.

Gravity fought against Frisk, trying desperately to drag them back to the ground, but they refused, pushing their body to keep rising up. Eventually, they passed over the final, tallest section of the wall, letting themself fall back down to the earth. Right before they hit the ground though, something caught them mid-fall, holding them a few inches in the air for a moment, before dropping them flat on their stomach.

Groaning in exhaustion, Frisk managed to lift their head just enough that they could see Papyrus, who was still standing, but they could see that he was just as tired as they were, his ribcage heaving as he huffed and puffed, panting heavily. He weakly raised up his arm, which was still holding on to the long bone that he summoned at the start of the battle, lazily tossing the bone with a quiet “NYEH”. The club didn’t even make it all the way to Frisk, sinking into the ruined snow a few feet ahead of them.

“Well…” Papyrus huffed, “It's clear… you… you can't… defeat me!” He leaned over, resting his hands on his knees to support himself, breathing hard. “Yeah! I… I can see you… shaking in your boots!” Frisk shook their feet back and forth a few times, a tired smile on their face. “I, The Great Papyrus, elect to grant you pity, small human! I shall spare you!”

Frisk raised a hand just enough that they could give Papyrus a thumbs up. As soon as they did, he let out an exhausted sigh, collapsing down and sitting in the snow. As he did, Frisk sighed in relief as they felt the weight on their soul let go, blue turning back into red, then nothing as their soul faded back into their chest.

“Thank goodness that’s over,” Chara sighed.

“Oh yeah,” Frisk agreed, their smile creeping further up. “You could really say it’s a weight off our-”

“Finish that sentence, and I’ll start screaming until your eardrums bleed.”

“I don’t think you can do that.”

“You wanna try and find out?” Chara challenged.

“Please no,” Frisk whined.

“That’s what I thought.”

The two stopped their bickering when they heard Papyrus sniffle, looking over to see his head hanging low. “NYOO HOO HOO,” he cried, looking miserable. “I can't even stop someone as weak as you... Undyne's gonna be so disappointed in me."

“Excuse you, weak?” Chara snapped, a bit of red leaking into Frisk’s mind as Chara glared at Papyrus.

“You know he doesn’t mean it like that,” Frisk said, trying to calm Chara down.

“…I know.”

Papyrus curled in on himself. “Now... now I'll never join the royal guard! And my friend quantity will remain stagnant."

Frisk struggled to push themself up, really feeling their exhaustion now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off. They quickly looked around, spotting their backpack a short distance away from them at the very edge of the path. They slowly rose to their feet, walking over to it and opening up one of the pouches, rummaging around until they found a chocolate bar they had taken from Toriel’s fridge.

“Really?” Chara complained. “Do we really have to give him that?”

“Just a little bit, I promise,” Frisk said. Chara grumbled but didn’t say anything more. Frisk walked over to where Papyrus was sitting, breaking a small piece of the chocolate in front of him to make an audible SNAP sound. Papyrus looked up to see Frisk holding out the bit of chocolate, offering it to him.

“Human?” Papyrus asked in confusion. “What are- you’re giving this to me?”

Frisk nodded and gave Papyrus an affirmative hum, holding the bit of chocolate a little further out. Papyrus took the piece and nibbled on it, looking happy. Frisk sat down cross-legged in front of him, making the sign of “friend”, then pointing between Papyrus and themself.

“You… want to be friends with me?” Papyrus asked, smiling brightly when Frisk nodded. “Wow! We haven’t even had our first date, and I’ve already managed to hit the friend zone.” Frisk snorted in amusement, giving Papyrus a little push on the shoulder. “Nyeh heh heh, who knew that all I needed to do to make friends was force people to do my puzzles and fight them!”

“I’m fairly certain that’ll only work on Frisk,” Chara commented.

“You have taught me a lot, human Frisk,” Papyrus continued, standing up and offering Frisk a hand. “I hereby grant you permission to pass!” Frisk happily took Papyrus’ hand, letting themself be dragged to their feet. “Oh, and allow me to give you directions to the surface!”

“Probably don’t need those, since you’ve got me,” Chara said, “but hey, maybe he’s got some good advice.”

“Continue forward until you reach the end of the cavern. Then, when you reach the Capital, cross the Barrier!”

“Never mind.”

“That’s the magical seal trapping us Underground,” Papyrus explained. “Anything can pass through it, but nothing can exit. Except for someone with a powerful soul, like you!” Papyrus clapped Frisk on the shoulder and pointed at their chest. “That’s why the King wants to acquire a human! He wants to break the Barrier with soul power. Then us Monsters can return to the surface!”

Frisk let out a quiet hum, considering what Papyrus had said. But they were distracted when they felt a strong emotion radiating from Chara. A surge of inky black flooded their mind, tinged with a sorrowful blue. Frisk tried to ask what was wrong, but Chara didn’t respond.

Papyrus’ expression turned serious. He knelt down to be at eye-level with Frisk, holding both of their shoulders.

“But human, to reach the Barrier, you will have to pass through the King’s castle.” Frisk’s eyes went a little wide. They had to go through the King’s home to leave? “The King of all Monsters…” Papyrus continued, trailing off towards the end. “He’s… well…”

Frisk’s eyes begged for Papyrus to finish his sentence and stop leaving them in suspense. All of a sudden, Papyrus’ expression shifted back to joy.

“He’s a big fuzzy pushover!”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Chara whispered. Frisk wasn’t sure if they were supposed to hear that or not.

Papyrus stood back up, holding a finger up. “I’m sure if you just say ‘Excuse me, Mr Dreemurr, can I please go home?’ he’ll guide you right to the barrier himself!” Frisk gave Papyrus a thumbs up, trying to hide how confused they felt.

Everything they had heard about the King so far had been conflicting. Toriel was dead certain that if Frisk left the Ruins, Asgore would murder them and steal their soul. And yet, here was Papyrus, calling the King a fuzzy pushover and saying he’d probably just let Frisk leave if they asked. Those were two very different descriptions of who was supposed to be the same person.

And Chara wasn’t helping Frisk’s mixed view of Asgore. They never really talked about him, but it was clear that Chara held Asgore in high regard. They were completely caught off-guard by Toriel’s description of him, and seemed to be in disbelief that Asgore could ever hurt anyone. But they were also worried enough that they wanted to go see him and find out what was going on.

It was all so confusing. And unfortunately, it seemed like the only way Frisk was going to get any answers was to continue forward.

“Well, that’s enough talk,” Papyrus chirped. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be at home being a cool friend! Be sure to come by and have that date!”

Having said his piece, Papyrus backed up a few steps, then rushed forwards, before jumping up high, fluttering his feet rapidly as if he were treading water. To both Frisk and Chara’s surprise, Papyrus started flying through the air, dipping up and down occasionally but gaining more and more height until he soared over Frisk’s head, then gently floated back down onto the ground and ran back towards Snowdin.

For a short while, there was complete silence as Frisk and Chara simply stared at Papyrus’ retreating silhouette, completely frozen in shock and awe.

“WHAT?” Chara eventually screeched, making Frisk wince in pain from the non-existent volume. They still didn’t understand how Chara could yell without yelling, but it hurt all the same. But there were more important things to be worrying about.

“Did he just fly over us?” Frisk asked as they rubbed their temples. “By kicking his legs?”

Chara didn’t answer Frisk’s question, just continuing to stare off into the distance, Papyrus having long since left their sight. “How did he do that?” they asked. “That- that doesn’t make any sense! He wasn’t using any magic! And- and- NO! THAT’S NOT HOW PHYSICS WORKS!”

Frisk shook their head, trying to push away the oncoming headache. “You know what?” they said. “Maybe sometimes, it’s better not to know. I’m not gonna question it.”

“Good for you, but I am, HOW DID HE DO THAT?”

‘Oh great,’ Frisk thought to themself. ‘They are gonna be going on about this all day, aren’t they?’ That sounded absolutely miserable. Frisk didn’t think they could handle Chara screeching about Papyrus’ physics defying stunts for more than a few minutes, let alone the hours they’d probably spend trying to figure it out.

So of course, Frisk had to find a way to stop Chara from thinking about it. And they knew the perfect way; annoy them out of it.

“Wait a minute,” Frisk said to Chara, doing their best to make their mind’s voice sound like it was on the brink of an epiphany.

“What?” Chara asked, sounding genuinely interested. Frisk bit back a smile.

“I get it!” Frisk exclaimed, snapping their fingers for good measure.

“You do?” Chara practically screamed. “Explain! Now!”

“Papyrus… he…”

“HE WHAT?”

“He’s a Yoshi!”

….silence. Dead silence. Frisk stared off into the distance with a massive grin on their face, eagerly waiting for Chara’s reaction. For a while, there was nothing, just the silence of the snow, the gentle flowing of water just barely audible. But Frisk could feel the contempt radiating off of Chara. A violent red flooded their mind, but Frisk could tell it was at least a little forced by the strings of orange joy that tried to break through.

Eventually though, Frisk heard a loud, exhausted sigh. “I hate you,” Chara growled.

Frisk tried their best not to laugh, forcing themself to keep the bit going. “Think about it!” they insisted. “The little noises he makes when he talks, the way he loves giving people piggyback rides! And Yoshis totally do that leg flutter thing Papyrus just did!” With every word, Frisk could feel the burning red colour in their mind creep a little further forward. “It makes perfect sense!” they continued. “Papyrus is a Yoshi!”

“No, seriously, I genuinely despise your existence,” Chara bit back.

“Does that mean that Sans is actually Mario?” Frisk wondered.

“I hope you fall in a pit and die.”

Frisk let out a loud “Hah!”, grinning like a fool. “Ya know,” they started, “I have a pretty good track record for falling in pits and not dying. So I like my chances!”

Chara let out an annoyed groan, and Frisk could swear they felt Chara put their face in their hands. “Please stop talking to me,” they begged.

“Okay,” Frisk said. “I’ll just go hang out with Papyrus instead then.”

“Already?” Chara asked. “Don’t you think that’s gonna make you seem kinda desperate?”

Frisk rolled their eyes. “He said to come by whenever I felt like it. I feel like it now. Besides, I’m tired and don’t really feel like continuing yet. So either we hang out with Papyrus, or we go spend the rest of our money to stay at the Inn again.” Chara didn’t have a response for that, so Frisk took their silence as agreement, heading back down the road towards Papyrus’ house.

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Spears & Injustice

Chara:

“So, you came back to see me!” Papyrus exclaimed. “You must be really serious about this…”

Chara bit back a groan, thoroughly annoyed at Frisk for dragging them along for this. They had things to do! They didn’t have time to waste chatting with some random goofy skeleton! But nooooooo, Frisk had to do their usual “Please love me!” routine and try and appease everyone. So here they were, chatting with Papyrus instead of doing something productive. Like sleeping to recover their energy, or gritting through the exhaustion and continuing on, or doing literally anything else.

Still, there was nothing Chara could do about it, so they tried to settle down and do the only thing they were capable of; observe and advise. Frisk probably didn’t need much help hanging out with Papyrus, but Chara would rather be safe than sorry. There was a good chance that Frisk did something incredibly weird or stupid and got themself in a situation they couldn’t get out of, and Chara wanted to avoid that if possible. Which meant they unfortunately had to pay attention to Papyrus.

Not that they hated him or anything. He was… fine? He certainly existed. But he had way too much energy. Chara could only take so much of people like him before they wanted to crawl into a hole and stop existing for a few hours, and they had reached that limit with him today about halfway through his fight with Frisk. So they were really not looking forward to hanging around with him for who knows how long.

“I’ll have to take you somewhere super special,” Papyrus continued, pointing a finger in the air like he had an idea. “Somewhere I like to spend a lot of time!”

Papyrus took off down the road, kicking up snow as he speed-walked further into town. Frisk let out a little yelp before running to follow him, barely able to keep up. The two ran past the Librarby, stopping in front of Grillby’s for a moment… only for Papyrus to quickly turn around and run back the way he came. Frisk shook their head in confusion for a moment, before following after him. The two once again stopped, this time right back where they had started.

“My house!” Papyrus exclaimed, looking very pleased with himself. Chara tried to facepalm before remembering they didn’t have arms or a face to do so with. What was the point of that?

Whatever. Chara did what they could and tried to observe. It was a strange experience, looking through eyes that weren’t theirs. The way they described their position to Frisk before was the best way they could at the time, but it really didn’t explain how truly wrong it felt. Their vision wasn’t based on what Frisk was looking at. It was more like they were looking over Frisk’s shoulder, like the camera in a 3rd person video game. They could look around, scanning everything around Frisk, but they were completely unable to move from their place on Frisk’s left side.

Talking to Frisk was an annoying experience due to their position as well. They were a little bit behind Frisk, so Chara couldn’t see Frisk’s face when they were speaking to them, which made it hard to gauge their reactions properly. They counted themself lucky that Frisk didn’t have a lot of control over their thoughts, so Chara was easily able to get hints of what they were thinking or feeling, but they still didn’t like not being able to properly look at who they were talking to.

Their situation had its advantages though, as they could literally watch Frisk’s back, keeping an eye out for things they usually couldn’t see. It had helped a decent amount in Frisk’s fight with Papyrus, and Chara knew it would only prove to be more useful in the future if the two could learn how to properly communicate in the middle of a fight.

For now, though, Chara needed to focus on just getting through the day. They looked up at Papyrus’ house, reluctantly acknowledging how… homely it looked. The dark oak-plank walls and glazed windows made the house look like a cabin from the surface, the kind that people rented for snowboarding vacations. Strings of Christmas lights were wrapped around pillars and hung along the shingles of the roof, and warm yellow light poured from the windows, making the home seem bright and lived in. The house practically called to them, inviting them to come inside, kick off their shoes, and just relax.

But Chara didn’t really get a say on whether or not they did that. That was up to Frisk.

Speaking of, Frisk seemed to be enjoying themself already, happily hopping up the two steps and following Papyrus inside. Almost instantly, Chara felt Frisk begin to warm up, the strange muted cold that Chara was experiencing fading away.

“Welcome to my house!” Papyrus yelled from across the room. “Feel free to look around!”

As they went inside, Chara sputtered in confusion at what they were seeing. The inside of the house was so different from what they were expecting. Instead of a comfy log cabin, they were met with a weird fever dream. The entire floor was covered in a carpet that had a zigzag pattern, the lines alternating between blue and purple, and the walls were a deep maroon. Dead ahead, Chara could see an archway leading into a kitchen that had a standard orange tiled floor, and the contrast between that and the flooring of the rest of the house was enough to give them a headache.

Chara scanned the rest of the living room, cementing the idea that the skeletons desperately needed to hire an interior decorator. Nothing in the room matched. A lime green couch was pressed up against the back wall, looking gross on the blue and purple floor even before taking into account how lumpy it looked. Directly across from it was a flat screen tv sitting on a short wooden block. A small circular table was pressed into the corner of the room, just far enough away from the couch that it couldn’t be used while sitting on it, which made Chara seethe.

Their attention was taken away from the terrible state of the room when Frisk walked over to a long desk near the entrance to the house, taking note of a tiny rock sitting on a plate. It was covered in multi-coloured sprinkles.

“That’s my brother’s pet rock!” Papyrus called from the other side of the room. “He always forgets to feed it, so as usual, I have to take responsibility.” Chara almost thought that was a joke, but Papyrus had a serious expression on his face as if he really believed he needed to feed and take care of the rock.

“He does know that the rock isn’t alive, right?” Chara asked. “He has to know. He isn’t stupid.”

“I mean, who says it isn’t?” Frisk replied. “I saw a living rock back in the Ruins. I had to try and convince him to move onto a button to solve a puzzle.” Frisk shook their head, an exasperated smile on their face. “Trying to do that without talking was a bit of a pain.”

Chara scoffed. “I know that, I was there,” they explained. “But this rock is very clearly just a rock. You know, on account of it not moving, or speaking, or doing anything.”

“Maybe it’s sleeping?” Frisk suggested.

“Oh yeah? Then try and wake it up.”

“What? No! That’s rude.”

“Who cares. I wanna see whose right.”

“Chara, no.”

Chara groaned, trying to fall backwards in annoyance. “Why are you so boring?”

“It’s called ‘Basic human decency’,” Frisk said, Chara able to feel them rolling their eyes. “Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

“No, because humans don’t have basic decency,” Chara snapped. Frisk looked like they were going to reply, but seemed to think better of it, keeping their mouth shut. Good. Chara was done with this conversation anyways.

So instead, Frisk started to walk around and explore the living room, dragging Chara along with them. They walked over to the TV, bending over to look at something on the floor next to it. Chara wrinkled Frisk’s nose when they realized it was a dirty sock, feeling the smell make Frisk’s blood crawl. Their gaze hovered up a bit, noticing a series of sticky notes on the wall above the sock.

‘SANS!’ the first note read in thin handwriting, the entire thing fully capitalized. ‘PLEASE PICK UP YOUR SOCK!’

‘ok,’ the second note read, this one in a goofy and messy font without any kind of capitalization or punctuation.

‘DON’T PUT IT BACK DOWN!’ the next note read. ‘MOVE IT!’

‘ok’

‘YOU MOVED IT TWO INCHES! MOVE IT TO YOUR ROOM!’

‘ok’

‘AND DON’T BRING IT BACK!’

‘ok’

‘IT’S STILL HERE!’

‘didn’t you just say not to bring it back to my room’

‘FORGET IT!’

Frisk snickered as they read the notes, and Chara scoffed. “Ya know,” Chara said, “when I died, I didn’t expect to wake up in a Saturday morning cartoon.”

“More fun than the alternative, don’tcha think?” Frisk replied.

“…”

“Chara.”

“Give me a minute, I’m thinking.”

“Oh shut up,” Frisk smiled.

Now that they were closer to it, Chara noticed that there was a large book sitting on the small table that was horribly placed. They raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was. Seeming to pick up on their curiosity, Frisk walked over to the book, flipping it open. From what Chara could see on the cover, it looked like a joke book.

Except that when Frisk opened it up, it revealed that the book was hollow, and inside there was a quantum physics book. Frisk opened up the quantum physics book, finding that this one was hollow too, and had a joke book inside it. Frisk let out a noise of confusion, opening up the new joke book, and finding that it had another quantum physics book inside it.

Frisk decided to stop and closed all of the books.

“Oh good,” Chara sighed. “Not only do the skeletons defy physics, but their personal belongings do too.” They let out an annoyed sound, wishing they could rub their temples. “I swear, trying to figure out how they work is giving me a headache.”

“You don’t have a head,” Frisk pointed out.

“I know. That’s why I’m impressed.”

Frisk let out a little hum, but didn’t say anything more. Instead, they looked over at the nearby staircase leading up to the second floor, before shrugging their shoulders and going back towards the kitchen they ignored before. Chara wondered what absurdity they would find in there. Maybe their fridge kept food warm instead of cold, or something else stupid like that.

But as Frisk took one stop in the kitchen, Chara’s attention was drawn by the sound of rapid footsteps as Papyrus dashed across the living room, stopping a little bit away from the archway leading to the kitchen. Frisk looked back at him, Chara feeling a hint of fear coming from them worrying they had done something wrong. But Papyrus didn’t seem at all bothered or annoyed. He just stood there, watching Frisk.

Now even more confused, Frisk took a step back. As they did, Papyrus ran back to where he was before. Chara could feel the smile forming on Frisk’s face as an idea popped into their head.

Frisk took a step into the kitchen, and Papyrus ran over to them. They took a step back, and he ran away to his previous spot. Frisk took a step in, and Papyrus came running, and they stepped back, making him run away again. In, out, in out, back and forth, over and over. Frisk giggled as Papyrus scampered back and forth, picking up their pace so he didn’t have enough time to run the entire distance, resulting in Papyrus running in circles in front of his tv. Despite trying not to, Chara couldn’t stop themself from snickering along.

“Wowie!” Papyrus yelled as he ran around. “Being a good host is a real workout.” Frisk giggled a bit louder, picking up the pace more and more, practically dancing on the spot as they hopped back and forth. After a couple of minutes, Papyrus started to huff and puff a bit. “I can’t feel my legs…” he complained, though he didn’t stop running. “That must mean I’m being a great host!”

“Oh my gosh he is precious and I love him,” Frisk gushed. Chara snorted in amusement. They had to admit, he was kinda funny. Still stupid and way too energetic, but funny.

Having enough of their little game, Frisk entered the kitchen properly, Papyrus finally being allowed to stop at the entrance and observe them. Chara turned their attention to the interior of the kitchen for the first time, but they didn’t really look around at anything, because there was one thing that demanded their full attention. The sink.

“Why?” Chara asked, their voice sounding dead.

Frisk tilted their head backwards to take in the entire view of the sink. For some reason, the sink was over twice their height, raised up on a massively tall cupboard. They started it for a few seconds, before turning around to look at Papyrus, pointing at the sink.

“Impressed?” Papyrus asked, looking very proud of himself. “I increased the height of my sink. Now I can fit more bones under it!” He gave Frisk a ‘go ahead’ gesture. “Take a look!”

Neither Frisk nor Chara knew why Papyrus would need a place to store more bones when he could conjure them out of thin air, but they had learned not to look too much into his actions by that point. So without really thinking about it, they opened up the cupboard, finding it bereft of bones aside from one, which was firmly held in the mouth of a little white pomeranian puppy.

“Oh, hello again,” Frisk thought.

Papyrus, meanwhile, was much more frustrated seeing the puppy again. “What!?!?” he exclaimed. “You again?” Papyrus leapt forward, pushing past Frisk and making a grab at the dog, only for it to scamper underneath him and Frisk, bolting out of the kitchen, turning its head slightly to taunt them. “Catch that meddling canine!” Papyrus screamed.

To their credit, Frisk did try. At least, Chara was pretty sure they did. They quickly ran out of the kitchen, chasing after the dog and attempting to scoop it up, but it managed to get away, running and jumping onto the handle of the door, somehow managing to turn it, and hastily leaving the house, trotting away into the snow. Despite failing to catch the dog though, Chara could feel the happiness radiating off of Frisk, making them somewhat suspicious that they let the dog get away on purpose.

Not one to give up too easily, Papyrus stormed towards the front of the house, poking his skull out the door and whipping it left and right, searching for the dog. After a few seconds though, he gave up, slamming the door closed and stomping his foot on the ground. “Curses!” he pouted, crossing his arms like a child.

The moment Papyrus started to complain, Frisk heard a door above them open, followed by the sound of a trombone going 'Bwa bwa bwaaaaaa,' then the door clicking shut.

“SANS!” Papyrus screeched. “Stop plaguing my life with incidental music!!!!!”

“Was that a trombone?” Frisk asked.

“I believe so, yes,” Chara replied.

“But… they don’t have lungs.”

Chara let out a sigh, getting tired of Frisk’s endless questions. “When are you going to learn not to question these skeletons?” they asked. “They defy logic with every step they take.”

“You know, for someone who supposedly lived in the Underground, you don’t really know a lot about this stuff.”

“I only lived here for about a year!” Chara bristled. “Besides, I spent most of my time in the cas-” They stopped, managing to catch themself before they said too much. They didn’t want Frisk to know too much about them. They wanted to have at least some level of privacy.

“Spent most of your time where?” Frisk asked, because of course they did, the curious little gnat.

“None of your business,” Chara snapped.

Frisk obviously wasn’t happy with that answer, but hey, that wasn’t Chara’s problem. They could pout all they liked, it wouldn’t change anything. Maybe Frisk continued to try poking at Chara, or maybe they gave up. Honestly, Chara didn’t really know, since they decided to zone out and stop listening to the world for a while. They were vaguely aware of Frisk moving through the house, looking at this and that, but they didn’t really take any of it in, getting stuck in their own memories.

The castle… how long had it been since they lived there? They tried not to dwell on the fact, but it was easy to see that they had been gone for a long time. How many years had it been since their death? Ten? Twenty? Chara was tempted to ask Frisk what year it was, but they were afraid of the answer. To learn about how many years of suffering and torment they and Asriel had subjected the monsters to.

Chara seethed, feeling anger overwhelming their entire being. Why couldn’t Asriel just listen to them? They had a plan! They were going to set everyone free! If he had just listened to them, none of this would have happened. The barrier would have been broken, and monsters wouldn’t be suffering Underground. Toriel wouldn’t be on her own in the Ruins. And Frisk wouldn’t have had to suffer from humanity’s cruelty.

‘Wait, what?’ Chara blinked, their thoughts grinding to a halt. Why did that last one matter? Sure, what happened to Frisk sucked, whatever, but why did Chara care about that? It wasn’t their problem. Stupid. They were being stupid.

Their mind moved to reply, but Chara shut it down, drowning out anything it had to say. Fine, if their brain was going to be stupid, they weren't going to pay attention to it. What was Frisk doing?

“That’s my room!” Chara heard Papyrus say from behind them. So Frisk had finished exploring downstairs and was checking out the second floor. “If you’ve finished looking around, we could go in and… do whatever people do when they date?”

Wait, hold on, what?

Apparently not hearing him right, Frisk gave Papyrus a nod, signing “Let’s go!” happily. Papyrus bounded up the stairs behind them, eagerly throwing open the door to his room and walking inside, Frisk quickly following behind him.

“Hold on, did you not hear him?” Chara asked, making Frisk pause mid-step.

“What?”

“He just said that this was a date.”

“No he didn-” Frisk started, before trailing off and staring ahead in horror. “Oh my gosh he did.”

As Frisk stared ahead in existential horror, Chara hummed in thought, a concerning question popping into their mind. “Hey…” they whispered, “how old is he?”

“What?”

“Papyrus. How old do you think he is?”

“Um…. I… I don’t know?” Frisk admitted. “Why?”

“Because we’re apparently on a date with him, and I think that there’s a fifty-fifty chance that either he or us is committing a crime by doing so.”

“Wha- NO! STOP! DON’T MAKE IT WEIRD!” Frisk yelled.

“IT’S ALREADY WEIRD!” Chara yelled back.

“Look, it’s not a real date, okay!” Frisk hastily said. “We’re just goofing off.”

“HE SEEMS TO THINK ITS A REAL DATE!” Chara argued.

“Do you genuinely think that he sees us in any kind of romantic way?” Frisk asked.

“I highly doubt it.”

“Okay, so he’s just playing along,” Frisk said, sounding relieved, as if they were trying to convince themself as much as they were Chara. “This is all just a stupid game of house. It’s not a real date. Now stop making it weird.”

“Very well,” Chara grumbled.

“Thank you.”

“But if he leans in for a kiss, I’m kicking him in the pelvis.”

“He doesn’t have lips, Chara. He can’t kiss.”

“That’s depressing,” Chara deadpanned.

“You don’t have lips either,” Frisk stated flatly.

“And yet you still try to flirt with me.”

“Well, you make it too easy darling,” Frisk cheekily replied, a flush of embarrassment taking over Chara.

“Shut up and go on your stupid play date,” Chara snapped, not wanting anything to do with this conversation anymore. Frisk snickered, which Chara did their best to ignore, choosing to instead pay attention to the new room they were in.

Of course, it was just as much of a visual mess as the rest of the house. It had the same headache-inducing carpet, except there was a secondary carpet placed on top of it in the middle of the room, which was a sort of dull purple with fire patterns along the edges. Pressed up against the walls of the room, Chara spotted a desk with a computer that looked old by their standards, a massive bookshelf next to a closet door, a pirate flag, a table covered in action figures, and a bed shaped like a bright red race car.

Frankly, Chara was speechless.

Papyrus was standing in the middle of the room, looking a bit nervous. “So… um…” he stuttered. “Do you want to start the date?” Frisk gave him a nod. “Okay!!!” he exclaimed, pointing a finger up dramatically. “Dating, START!”

“…”

“…”

“…?”

“So um… I’ve never actually done this before,” Papyrus admitted.

Frisk let out a little snort of laughter. “Same,” they signed. Chara almost raised an eyebrow at that, just barely stopping themself from expressing surprise that flirty Frisk had never gone on a date. But thinking about it for even a couple of seconds dismissed that question. Of course Frisk had never dated before. They probably never had the chance.

“But don’t worry!” Papyrus continued. “ You can’t spell ‘Prepared’ without several letters from my name!”

Chara glared daggers at Papyrus. “That’s… technically correct,” they managed to grit out.

Quick as a whip, Papyrus strutted over to his bookshelf, pulling a small book out and holding it up for Frisk to see. “I snagged an official dating rulebook from the library!”

“L-i-b-r-a-r-b-y,” Frisk spelt out without hesitation, making Chara snicker. Papyrus seemed less amused, narrowing his eye sockets at Frisk. “Sorry,” they signed, though Chara could tell they weren’t sorry at all, the little gremlin.

“Anyways…” Papyrus said slowly, “We’re ready to have a great time!” He flipped open the book, bringing it right up to his face to read it. “Let’s see here… step one: ask the person you’re interested in out on a date.”

“Little late for that,” Chara commented.

“AHEM,” Papyrus said instead of actually clearing his throat, “Human Frisk! I, the Great Papyrus, would like to ask you on a date!”

“This is your chance to say no and put an end to this,” Chara noted. They could feel Frisk frown at that.

“No! That would hurt his feelings!” they said. “Besides, we already established that this isn’t a real date.”

“Exactly, so his feelings won’t be hurt if you say no.”

“Shush,” Frisk said, before turning their attention back to Papyrus, giving him a thumbs up. Chara let out a groan, quickly deciding to zone out again. They did not want to die of second-hand embarrassment watching this absolute trainwreck. Better to suffer through their own thoughts than have to deal with… whatever those two were doing. So Chara let their mind wander, thinking about what came next.

No Riverperson meant that they needed to go through the Underground the long way. Passing through Waterfall could take a while, especially if they got lost. That place could be a bit of a labyrinth if you weren’t prepared. On the bright side though, if Chara remembered right, there was a series of elevators in Hotland that could take them right up to New Home. So if nothing else, they didn’t have to suffer through the volcanic hell that was Hotland.

So, they’d travel through Waterfall, take the elevators up to New Home, then… then what? Really, Chara didn’t know. Confront Asgore? And say what? “Hey, stop murdering humans?” Why? Chara had planned to do the same thing. It’s not like they had any issue getting rid of the hateful creatures that trapped the Monsters underground.

Still, the idea of Asgore of all people spilling blood… it didn’t sit right with Chara. That wasn’t something he of all people should be doing. The Asgore they knew was gentle and kind. He couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone children like Toriel had suggested. It was just wrong.

Did that mean Chara wanted to stop Asgore? They didn’t hate his plan, just that he was the one doing it. That was supposed to be their duty. Their responsibility. They were supposed to be the one to bring hope to the Monsters, to sully their hands so that theirs could remain clean. It wouldn’t have mattered if their hands were stained with blood. They were human. They were already diseased. It wouldn’t matter. But Monsters were pure… they weren’t… it wasn’t supposed to be this way.

‘It’s fine,’ Chara thought to themself. ‘It’s not too late to fix this. I just… I just have to get to Asgore. I can sort things out from there. All I need to do is- WHAT IN THE SEVEN CIRCLES OF HELL AM I TASTING?’

Chara gagged as the vilest, most repulsive taste they had ever experienced washed over their entire being, smothering all other sensations in a sea of disgust. They turned their attention back to the real world to try and figure out what was going on, and holy hell what had they missed?

A lot, apparently, considering Papyrus had changed his outfit, swapping out his armour for a red shirt that said ‘COOL DUDE’ and a pair of blue shorts, with shoulder pads that were made to look like basketballs on his shoulders. topped off with a backwards hat and bright red sneakers. His entire outfit basically screamed 'How do you do, fellow kids?' and it made Chara want to commit several crimes.

As their senses came back to them, Chara felt a weight on Frisk’s hands, looking down to see them holding something, and in an instant, everything became clear. In Frisk’s hand was a plate of spaghetti, a single noddle trailing from the plate towards Frisk’s mouth. It was, by far, the most revolting thing Chara had ever had the displeasure of looking at.

Somehow, Papyrus had managed to make spaghetti that was both burnt and raw, the noodles dotted with char marks while obviously looking hard and undercooked. The plate was covered in tomato sauce that had a sickly colour to it, making Chara question what Papyrus had put in it. A few meatballs were buried in the pasta… at least, Chara thought they were supposed to be meatballs. Maybe? What else were they supposed to be? But meatballs weren’t supposed to be that shade of brown. It looked less like meat and more like- no, Chara wasn’t going down that train of thought.

“Frisk,” Chara growled with a strained voice, “Why… THE HELL! DID YOU PUT THAT IN YOUR MOUTH!”

Frisk’s face scrunched up, making them look less like a person and more like a series of skin folds. “I had to!” they complained. “It would have hurt Papyrus’ feelings if I said no!”

“DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?!?” Chara screeched. “SPIT THAT OUT RIGHT NOW BEFORE YOU POISON YOURSELF!”

In front of them, Papyrus was wearing a look of absolute glee. “What a passionate expression!” he exclaimed. “You must really love my cooking… and by extension me! Maybe even more than I do!”

“Literally nothing could be further from the truth,” Chara gagged. “ALSO FRISK, SPIT THAT OUT FOR FU-”

“FINE!” Frisk yelled back, letting the spaghetti drop from their mouth. Luckily, Papyrus didn’t seem to notice, too distracted by having some kind of existential crisis, grabbing his skull with both hands and whipping his body back and forth, making weird grunts and complaining noises, before falling to his knees.

“Human Frisk…” he whispered, his eyes closed and a thoughtful expression on his face. “It’s clear now… you’re madly in love with me!”

“Wait, what?” Frisk and Chara questioned at the same time, one sounding absolutely baffled, and the other sounding absolutely disgusted.

“Everything you do…” Papyrus continued, “Everything you say… it’s all been for my sake.” Papyrus took a deep breath, placing his hands on his chest. “Human, I want you to be happy too. It’s time for me to express my feelings. It’s time that I told you… I, Papyrus…”

“NO! STOP THIS! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!” Chara screamed. “FRISK, MAKE HIM STOP RIGHT THE HELL NOW!”

Papyrus opened his eyes, giving Frisk a weird look, pulling on the collar of his shirt with one hand and fanning his face with the other. “Boy, is it hot in here, or is it just me?” he asked. “Um… oh shoot. Human, I… I’m sorry. I do not like you the way you like me. Romantically, I mean.”

“Oh thank hell,” Chara breathed. Frisk shared the sentiment but did their best to keep a straight face, not wanting to hurt Papyrus’ feelings.

“I mean, I tried very hard to!” Papyrus added quickly, looking a bit panicked. “I thought that because you flirted with me, I was supposed to go on a date with you. Then, on the date, feelings would blossom forth! I would be able to match your passion for me.”

“Does this guy just live in his own world or something?” Chara asked. “How can someone be this naive and this self-absorbed at the same time?”

“Be nice,” Frisk scolded.

Chara scoffed, trying to push forward the feeling of them rolling their eyes. “You are weirdly attached to this guy, you know that?”

“But alas,” Papyrus said, “I, the Great Papyrus… have failed. I feel just the same as before.”

“You no fail,” Frisk signed. “You no have to like me.”

“Please don’t encourage him,” Chara complained.

“If only that were true,” Papyrus replied. “But by dating you, I have only drawn you in deeper into your intense love for me!” Papyrus closed his eyes, shaking a fist dramatically. “A dark prison of passion with no escape! Oh, how could I have done this to my dear friend?”

“Calm down, Shakespeare.”

Frisk walked over to Papyrus, patting him on the chest supportively. “I forgive you,” they signed. “I’ll be okay.”

“Don’t worry, human Frisk,” Papyrus said as he leaned down to give Frisk a hug. “I’ll help you through these trying times. I’ll keep being your cool friend, and act like this never happened. After all, you are very great! It would be a shame to lose your friendship. So please, don’t cry because I won’t kiss you… because I don’t even have lips.”

“Heh, looks like you called it,” Chara snarked. But Frisk didn’t respond, simply leaning into Papyrus more. Chara frowned, squirming uncomfortably at the weird feelings coming from Frisk. It was obvious to Chara that Frisk was a physically affectionate person, but for some reason they treated every hug they were given like it was the last one they’d ever get. It was… uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.

As Frisk and Papyrus continued talking, trading phone numbers and finishing up, Chara focused all of their attention on Frisk, trying to understand the strange person that they had been forcibly attached to. Frisk was such a strange mystery. They almost seemed happy most of the time, but there was something underneath their smile, and Chara hated not knowing what it was. They couldn’t figure out why, but they wanted to get to the bottom of things, figure out what was going on with Frisk.

Before long, Frisk and Papyrus had finished talking, the two of them making their way to the front door as Papyrus escorted Frisk outside. Frisk hopped down the stairs into the snow, waving goodbye to Papyrus as they started walking down the road, a smile on their face. Chara watched them carefully, trying to decipher the strange feelings they felt coming from Frisk, growing frustrated with their mixed success.

It would be so much easier if they could just know what emotions Frisk was feeling, but for some reason they didn’t experience Frisk’s emotions normally. It was like whatever cosmic force put them together wanted to make Chara’s life difficult, making Frisk’s emotions a puzzle that they needed to solve.

“Are you alright?” Frisk asked, snapping Chara out of their thoughts.

“I’m fine,” Chara replied curtly. Frisk obviously didn’t believe them, but they didn’t comment further. “Come one. We need to get through Waterfall quickly. We’ve wasted enough time.”

“…alright.”

“Yo! Are you sneaking out to see her too?”

‘So much for getting through Waterfall quickly,’ Chara bemoaned. Were they being petty? Maybe, but they were also dead and forced to be latched on to some random human that fell on top of their grave. Chara figured they had the right to complain a little.

And they did have things to complain about. Sure, they were happy to finally be out of Snowdin and away from the cold. The second they passed through the mouth of the cave that lead into Waterfall, they breathed a sigh of relief, feeling very thankful for the sudden and drastic change in atmosphere. But at the same time, Frisk was being themself and striking up a conversation with anyone they met.

In this case, that meant chatting with MK, the little raptor monster from Snowdin, who was gushing about… someone. Chara assumed it was this “Undyne” they had heard about a couple of times, which just made them curious who she was. The only thing they knew about the mysterious woman was that she was the head of the Royal Guard, and that little monsters thought she was cool. Not much to go off of.

“She’s just the coolest, right?” MK asked excitedly. “I wanna be JUST like her when I grow up!” MK looked over at Frisk a bit sheepishly, biting their lip. “Hey, don’t tell my parents I’m here, ha ha…”

Frisk giggled into their hand, reaching into their pocket and pulling out their pen and pad of paper. “Don’t worry, I’m not a narc,” they wrote down, flipping the paper around to show MK.

“Thanks!” MK said brightly. “Oh, and you might wanna be careful with that. Waterfall can be kinda… wet. It’d totally suck if your notebook got ruined.” Frisk gave them a thumbs up. “Alright, let’s go!”

MK happily skipped ahead, Frisk quickly following behind with a smile. The two were practically racing ahead, only slowing down when they reached a section where the road was cut off by a shallow river, one waterfall dropping water into the river and another sending it deep into the abyss. MK tried to rush straight through, only for Frisk to grab them by the collar of their shirt and stop them just before a falling rock smacked them in the face.

“Yo, thanks,” MK said sheepishly. “Kinda forgot about that. Not sure why, but someone keeps stacking rocks at the top of the river, and they kinda just fall down over time.”

Chara raised an eyebrow at that. That seemed like a pretty dangerous thing to do. Very off-brand for monsters. They wondered who was behind that.

“Yo, but there’s a secret here!” MK continued. “Wanna see?” Frisk eagerly nodded their head, looking very excited. “Okay, so there’s this little cave behind that waterfall! I found it when I was playing Hide & Seek with some kids around here! I’ve always wanted to turn it into some kind of secret base!”

With a bit of encouragement, Frisk decided to check it out, handing their notebook over to MK so that it wouldn’t get soaked (which seemed a bit counter-productive considering MK was holding it in their mouth) and pulling their sweater off, draping it over MK’s face and revealing the black tank-top they were wearing underneath. They trudged through the shallow waters, making sure to avoid the falling rocks and making their way over to where MK pointed them. With a quick breath to steel their nerves, Frisk leapt into the waterfall, falling into the cave right behind it.

It was exactly as MK had described it; just a simple square cave, a few bits of grass and light-blue luminescent mushrooms peeking out of the ground. Chara let out a quiet hum. They had to admit, MK was right. This would make for a great secret base. Get a couch, a couple of bean bags, and maybe a cooler for drinks and snacks, and this would be the perfect place to get away from the world and just chill.

Frisk, though, seemed to have taken an interest in something else. Without a word, they walked over to the corner of the room, kneeling down and digging their fingers into the dirt. Chara was confused at what they were doing, until they saw a bit of faded pink sticking out of the ground. Frisk removed the thin layer of dirt, pulling out a faded tutu.

“That’s… strange,” Chara commented. They were going to say something else, but before they could, Frisk ripped their bag off their back and shoved the tutu into it, before haphazardly slinging it back over their shoulder and stomping out of the cave. “Frisk?” Chara questioned. “Are you-”

“Later,” Frisk sternly interrupted, catching Chara off guard. They had never heard Frisk sound so… commanding before. It felt weird.

The second they passed back through the waterfall, normal sweet and smiling Frisk was back, happily making their way over to the other side of the river where MK had moved to. Frisk stepped out of the water, shaking themself like a dog to try and get as much water off of them as possible (which only half worked, because their hair soaked up water like a sponge) before slipping their sweater back on and retrieving their notepad.

MK smiled happily at Frisk, vibrating with excitement. “Yo, whaddya think?” they asked. “Pretty cool, right?” Frisk gave MK a smile and a thumbs up. “Yo! Maybe we can get Undyne to help us move some stuff in there! I bet she could, like, TOTALLY lift a couch all on her own! She’s SUPER strong!”

“Why do I get the feeling that’s going to be a problem for us?” Chara bemoaned. They really had a bad feeling about this Undyne person. And the more MK ranted about her, the more worried Chara got. Of course, Frisk seemed as carefree as ever, just smiling along while MK spoke rapid-fire, occasionally writing down a quick question or comment on their notepad. Seeing Frisk trying to talk to MK made Chara feel… something. They didn’t know what, just something.

After a minute, the two (or three, if you counted Chara) of them reached a patch of tall grass, towering over MK and Frisk. The two pushed their way through the grass, slowly stepping forward, only to stop in their tracks when they heard someone speaking above them.

“H-hi Undyne!” Chara heard Papyrus say, his loud and energetic voice sounding extremely nervous. “I’m here with my daily report. Uh… regarding that human I called you about earlier…”

“Dammit Papyrus!” Chara hissed.

The sound of clanking metal filled the air as someone shifted. Chara looked up to see that there was a ledge a decent distance above them, which is where they assumed Papyrus and Undyne were. “Did you fight them?” a voice inquired, presumably Undyne’s. Her voice was gravelly and rough, practically radiating power and confidence. It reminded Chara far too much of a cool anime protagonist, like Ryuko Matoi. Chara paused after having that thought, swearing to never mention that to Frisk. They would never let them hear the end of it.

Above them, Chara heard Papyrus gulp nervously. “Y-yes!” he stuttered. “Of course I did! I fought them valiantly!” he said with his normal confidence, and Chara was absolutely sure that he was striking a pose as he did so.

“And did you capture them?” Undyne stressed with annoyance.

“Oh… um… w-w-well… no?”

A few moments passed in silence, then…

“WHAT?” Undyne roared, stomping her foot down and shaking the ground, making Chara’s nonexistent heart drop into their nonexistent stomach. ‘Holy crap holy crap holy crap MK WAS NOT KIDDING ABOUT HER BEING STRONG,’ they panickly thought.

“I tried, Undyne, really!” Papyrus begged. “I tried very, very hard, but in the end…” he trailed off, sounding unsure of how to finish his sentence.

Undyne let out a frustrated groan, the sound of metal grinding on metal ringing out. “I should have known,” she growled. “Fine. If you want something done right, do it yourself.”

“Undyne?”

“Go home, Papyrus,” Undyne commanded. “I’ll take care of things from here. I’ll find that disgusting human and rip their soul out myself!” Chara felt Frisk tense up, guessing that the realization that they were in serious danger was finally sinking in.

“But Undyne, you don’t have to destroy them!” Papyrus yelled, Chara rolling their eyes at how he refused to use the word ‘kill’. “You see-”

“Papyrus…” Undyne snapped. “What… exactly… are you trying to say?”

“I-I-I… um… well…”

“You aren’t suggesting what I think you are, right?”

“W-well, I mean, I just…”

“Because if you are, then maybe you aren’t cut out to be a member of the Royal Guard.”

“…I understand,” Papyrus eventually whispered. “I…I’ll help you any way I can.”

With that, Chara could hear Papyrus shuffling away, dragging his feet as he left. They almost felt bad for him. Undyne threatening to take away his dream for even daring to suggest not murdering a child was pretty low. They might not have been the guy’s biggest fan, but it was hard not to feel for him.

But at the moment, they had bigger things to worry about. Chara turned their attention back to Frisk, who hadn’t moved an inch. “We need to get out of here,” Chara said. “I don’t want to know what happens if Undyne finds out you’re here.”

“Same,” Frisk agreed, before taking a step forward.

*Swish

The sound of shifting grass sounded a million times louder than normal, and a feeling of dread sank its claws into Chara’s soul. In an instant, they forced their will outward, picturing puppet strings connected to Frisk’s body, grabbing the middle section of the strings to lock them in place. In response, Frisk’s body froze in place, their muscles seizing and locking in place.

Before Frisk had the chance to ask why they did that, Chara shushed them, hearing the sound of stomping metal footsteps. Chara cursed themself for their stupidity. Of course Undyne heard them moving. They should have told Frisk to wait until she left! What were they thinking?

Noticing that Frisk had screwed their eyes shut, Chara almost hissed at them to pay attention, but they worried that saying anything would just startle them, giving away their position. So instead, Chara turned their attention upwards, doing their best to take in every detail.

It was hard to make out too many details since she was masked in shadows, but Chara did their best to drink in Undyne’s form. She was covered head to toe in dark-grey armour that helped her blend in. Behind her helmet, Chara could see a single yellow eye gleaming with burning anger. Why a single eye? Was Undyne some kind of cyclops monster? No, the captain of the Royal Guard definitely had custom armour, and it was obviously made for a monster with two eyes. And there was no reason for her to have her second eye closed. Which means she lost an eye somehow. So she had a blind spot. Chara filled that away for later.

Undyne raised up her right arm, a dark blue spear materializing in her hand, sparks of crackling magic humming in the air around it. The shaft of the spear sparked and sputtered like electricity, wavering back and forth. That meant the spears were probably fragile, only given just enough magic to be held together. But that meant they could be mass-produced. How many of those things could Undyne make at a time? How many could she control at once? Too many unknowns. Chara didn’t like that.

As Undyne’s eye swept back and forth, scanning the tall grass for any sign of movement, Chara cursed silently. The area above them was too dark. They couldn’t make out anything else of note. It seemed that Undyne had shared their frustration, as she flicked her hand, the spear she was holding disappearing in a small flash of light. She backed away, Chara hearing her heavy footsteps grow further and further away, until the area was completely silent, save for Frisk’s shallow breathing.

For an agonizing minute, nothing happened. Frisk didn’t dare to move, and Chara didn’t dare to speak, fearing that Frisk would let out a surprised squeak and give away their position, and Chara didn’t know if Undyne had truly left, or if she was just hiding nearby. But eventually, Frisk slowly started to inch forward, unable to simply stand there forever.

Frisk let out a deep breath when they stepped out of the grass, practically collapsing on the spot, a hand on their chest. Chara felt something squeeze at their soul (Did they even have a soul? Maybe…) seeing Frisk so scared. As much as they hated to admit it, they were starting to grow attached to the little annoyance. Was that a side effect of being latched onto someone else’s soul? Probably. Chara couldn’t really think of any other reason they would care.

Unfortunately, they did care somewhat, so Chara wasn’t able to stop themself from reaching out to Frisk, doing their best to project their feelings of concern outward. “Are you alright?” they asked, feeling sick for even daring to ask something like that. Concern… disgusting.

“Um…” Frisk frowned, “Is yes and also no a good answer?”

“It’s an understandable answer,” Chara replied.

The sound of shifting grass caused Frisk and Chara to whip around, eyes wide in fear as something moved towards them. But instead of Undyne, the grass parted to reveal MK (Chara had completely forgotten they were there), who was sporting the biggest grin Chara had ever seen in their entire life.

“Yo!” they exclaimed. “Did you see the way she was staring at you?” Chara felt their soul freeze, almost instinctually pulling at the strings to tense Frisk’s arms, just in case. “That… WAS AWESOME!” MK screeched, their eyes full of stars. “Oh man, I’m SOOOO jealous! What’d you do to get her attention?”

Chara let go of their grip on Frisk’s body, feeling Frisk let out a massive sigh of relief. Looking up at MK, Frisk gave a little sheepish shrug.

MK laughed in response, smiling even wider. “C’mon!” they insisted. “Let’s go watch her beat up some bad guys!” They immediately ran ahead without waiting for a response, tripping over and falling on their face in excitement, before quickly pulling themself back up and charging on ahead anyway.

“They certainly have a one-track mind, don’t they?” Chara commented.

“Yup!” Frisk chirped happily, which Chara assumed meant they were trying to avoid their problems again. “Come on, let’s catch up with them.”

“You do realize that if they find out you’re human, we’ll be in big trouble, right?” Chara asked. “It might be better to just ditch them now before things go wrong.”

“No!” Frisk yelled, catching Chara off guard with how desperate they sounded. “I just… they’re nice. I just wanna hang out with them for a bit longer. I’ll be careful, promise!”

“…” Chara didn’t reply. They didn’t really know how to. Frisk seemed insistent on keeping MK around for some reason, and Chara couldn’t exactly stop them. It didn’t mean they had to like it though. And they really didn’t like it.

If nothing else, Chara was thankful that monsters were still just as weird as ever.

A short distance into their walk through Waterfall, MK and Frisk ran into a monster named Aaron that was blocking a wooden bridge, staring into the river beneath him and flexing. The two tried to get past, but the bridge was too narrow, and Aaron was refusing to move. That was, until Frisk started flexing themself, initiating a flexing contest between them and Aaron. One that ended with Aaron flexing too hard and falling into the river, his tail propelling him forward like a motor and sending him far, far away.

“Yo, thanks, dude!” MK said. “I swear, that guy is SO annoying. He gets so weird about his muscles.” MK shakes their head, their tail swishing back and forth. “Like, come on dude, you’re nowhere near as strong as Undyne! Calm down!”

Frisk giggled along with MK, while Chara simply scoffed. “Good grief, that is a creepy level of obsession,” they droned. “Seriously kid, get a hobby.”

“Don’t be mean,” Frisk shot back. “There’s nothing wrong with looking up to someone cool!”

“Need I remind you that Undyne is trying to murder you?”

“She’ll have to catch me first!” Frisk replied. “Don’t worry, I can be pretty slippery.” Chara wasn’t sure how much they believed that, but they didn’t really have anything else to say, so they turned their attention back to the world around them as Frisk crossed the bridge.

On the other side of the bridge was a long patch of land, cut in half by the river from before, the way forward further up the river on the other side, with another river to the south. Broken sections of railroad tracks dotted the area, one bit leading into an old mineshaft in the wall that was partially collapsed. As soon as they saw it, MK rushed ahead, beckoning Frisk over.

“This way, dude!” they exclaimed. “It’s a bit of a tight fit, but this is the best shortcut through Waterfall! C’mon!” Without waiting for a response, MK squirmed their way through the rubble, pushing through to the other side with an audible POP, crawling ahead. Frisk tried to follow, but they couldn’t fit through the gap. They tried to call out for MK to wait, but their voice wouldn’t work. Frisk let out an annoyed groan, pulling out of the mineshaft and kicking the wall, pouting like a child.

Chara let out a sigh. “That kid must be made of rubber or something,” they noted. It didn’t really matter to Chara though. To them, this was probably a good thing. Less distractions for Frisk meant they’d hopefully take things more seriously. Plus, if they ran into Undyne and MK realized that Frisk was human, that could cause problems. Better not to risk it.

Still, being unable to go through the shortcut meant they had to trek through Waterfall the long way. Slightly annoying, but not a problem. First things first; get Frisk across the river. Glancing around the area, Chara could already see how to do that.

“Frisk, pick up that flower over there,” Chara said. Frisk stopped pouting for a second, making a confused face. “Yeah, that one over there, that looks kinda like a lily.” Frisk looked confused but did what Chara said, walking over a short distance and plucking the flower off the ground.

“What is it?” they asked.

“A bridge seed,” Chara replied. “When placed in deep water next to each other, they sprout, turning into lily pad like objects and creating a bridge.”

“Really?” Frisk exclaimed. “That’s so cool!” Immediately wanting to test it out, Frisk gently placed one of the seeds in the river, watching it float to the other side. They found another one fairly quickly, watching in fascination as the moment it touched the first one, the two seeds blossomed into lily pads. Chara snickered a bit at how wide Frisk was smiling. It reminded them of their first few weeks in the Underground, when everything was still new to them. It was… nice getting to experience that wonder again.

Chara watched Frisk get to work, running around and searching for more bridge seeds to make a way across the river. But as they were picking one up, they suddenly stopped, tilting their head to the side.

“What is it?” Chara asked.

“Do you hear that?” Frisk asked.

“No? What am I supposed to be hearing?”

“It sounds like someone is crying. Or just really sad.” Frisk stood up, walking over to the river on the southern end of the patch of land. They looked down the river, frowning. “It sounds like it's coming from over there.”

Chara already knew where this was going. “Frisk, no,” they said sharply. “We can’t stop to try and help every crying monster we find. It’s not our problem.”

“It’ll just take a minute!” Frisk insisted. “I promise.” Chara sighed, resigned to their fate. They knew that there was no talking Frisk out of their desperate need to help everyone, the goody-two-shoes. This was going to bite them in the butt one day, and unfortunately Chara would be forced to watch it happen. Yay for them.

With a new goal in mind, Frisk once again got to collecting bridge seeds, this time sending them down the southern river to create a new bridge. A few minutes later, they had a line of lily pads running down the river, connecting to a small dock in a little secluded part of Waterfall. Frisk quickly ran along the bridge, the bottom of their boots getting a bit wet as the bridge bobbed up and down in the water when they ran across.

When they got to the little hideaway, Chara looked around in confusion. There was no one there, and barely anything. There was just a lonely bench and… a tall flower that came up to Frisk’s waist. It was bright blue, from its stem to its petals, opening up to reveal a slightly darker interior. An echo flower. Chara tried to facepalm, feeling SO tempted to take control of Frisk’s arm to let them do so. They were chasing an echo flower, thinking it was a crying monster. Freaking joy.

Frisk immediately walked over to the flower, kneeling down in front of it and leaning forward, putting their ear right next to the bud to listen, forcing Chara to as well.

“I just wasn’t ready for the responsibility…” the flower wept. Chara looked at the flower in confusion, turning their attention over to the bench. Sitting underneath it was a lone quiche. Chara snorted in amusement. It looked like someone had abandoned their snack. They were going to say something to Frisk, but the taste of bitter black coffee assaulted their senses. Almost immediately, Chara turned their attention to Frisk, noticing something important.

They were crying.

Chara hadn’t even noticed at first. Frisk’s cries were completely silent, not making a single sniffle or sob as tears flowed down their cheeks. Frisk was staring at the ground, letting their head lean forward and rest against the echo flower, prompting it to speak again. As it whispered its phrase again, Frisk bit their lip, letting more tears slip down their cheeks. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Why was Frisk reacting this way?

“Frisk?” Chara whispered. “Are… are you alright?”

As if they had forgotten Chara was there, Frisk shot up in surprise, quickly wiping away their tears. “Yeah, I’m fine!” they blurted out. “Totally okay. Let’s uh… we should keep going! Gotta go finish that other bridge, and-”

“Sit down,” Chara commanded, not giving Frisk the option of refusing, pulling at their strings and forcing Frisk to walk over to the bench and sit down. “Don’t try lying to me. I know how sad you are right now. What’s wrong?”

Frisk pulled their legs up onto the bench, curling in on themself. They rested their head on their chin, tilting it to the side a bit. “Wait, can you feel my emotions?” they asked. Chara groaned in response. Why did Frisk always have to ask the difficult questions?

“No,” Chara quickly replied, then winced. That wasn’t right. “Well, yes, but no?” They let out another annoyed groan. “Ugh, it’s complicated.”

“You know when I’m having a strong emotion, but it doesn’t feel like an emotion,” Frisk said. Chara glared at Frisk in confusion, trying to figure out how they knew that.

“…yes, precisely,” Chara confirmed. “I’m assuming you know because you feel something similar?” they guessed. That was the only thing that made sense.

“Yeah. It’s like colours in my mind.”

“Colours?” Chara probed, sounding extremely confused. That had not been what they were expecting, and was significantly different from how things felt - or rather didn’t feel - on their end.

“Yeah, colours,” Frisk continued. “Like, if you’re feeling angry, there’s a lot of red, but if you feel happy, it’s a warm orange!”

“Interesting…”

“Oh, and when you’re blushing ‘cuz you got embarrassed, you get super pink.”

Chara felt a strange and annoying warmth take over their being. “I-I do not blush!” they stuttered.

“You’re literally doing it right now!” Frisk laughed. “It’s a super cute pink too. One of the softer ones.”

“Whatever,” Chara huffed. “So what, you see colours when I have a strong emotion? Does it affect your vision?”

Frisk shook their head. “No, I don’t exactly see the colours. It’s more like… I feel them? Like, they go off in my brain. Like fireworks in my mind. It’s weird.”

“That sounds exceptionally strange,” Chara replied.

“What’s it like for you?” Frisk wondered.

“It isn’t colours,” Chara said. “It’s more like taste. For example, when you’re feeling exceptionally happy, I can taste Ms. Toriel’s pie.”

“Woah, that’s so cool!” Frisk exclaimed with stars in their eyes. “What do my other feelings taste like!” They paused for a few seconds, making a face and scrunching up their nose. “…wow that’s a weird question.”

Chara simply shrugged, or at least tried to give off the impression that they were shrugging. “Our situation is strange, so it is to be expected,” they simply replied. “To answer your question though; your confusion or curiosity tastes of sweet and sour sauce, starting sweet before twisting into sour. Your boredom tastes of plain bread. And when you try to speak, your frustration tastes of white chocolate.”

“What? Why white chocolate?” Frisk asked.

“I assume because it is something deeply unpleasant, much like how you feel when you try to speak.”

“White chocolate isn’t that bad.”

“Say that again and I’ll make you throw yourself in the river,” Chara threatened.

“Ooooooookaaaaaaay then,” Frisk trembled, putting their hands up defensively. They sat quietly for a minute. “Hey…” they said quietly. “What does my anger taste like?”

That gave Chara pause. They didn’t answer for a few moments, thinking it over in their mind. “Are you sure you want to know?” they asked.

“Yeah.”

“…ash. It tastes like ash. It feels so completely wrong coming from you. I don’t like it.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t like feeling it either.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Chara tried to say reassuringly. “It is simply another emotion.”

“It’s an ugly one,” Frisk bemoaned. “I hate it.”

Chara felt something tug at their soul. They tried to push out feelings of comfort and reassurance, hoping that Frisk would feel them. “We all have ugly emotions,” they consoled. “It’s unfortunately part of being human. Something we must suffer through.”

“I thought you were a demon,” Frisk said with a bitter laugh.

“I am. But I was once human. I know the pain.” Chara pulled at Frisk’s strings, gently moving their left hand to rest on their right on, lacing their fingers together. They couldn’t physically be there for Frisk, so this was the best they could do. “Regardless, the fact that you recognize it as something that isn’t you means you won't let it consume you.” Their tone turned serious towards the end. “You know what happens if you do.”

“Yeah… I do.”

“Then do better. Do not let it take over.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Chara tried to give Frisk a wry smile, still unsure of whether or not they could sense Chara’s expressions. “Be warned, I will hold you to that,” they said.

“Please… please do,” Frisk whispered.

The two sat in silence for a while longer, before Frisk stood up abruptly, and without a word, made their way back across the bridge, heading back to where they were before. It was only then that Chara realized that Frisk had played them. They had gotten so wrapped up in their conversation about emotions that they had forgotten to interrogate Frisk on why they were so upset in the first place.

Chara seethed at having been tricked, but decided not to say anything. If Frisk wanted to avoid the conversation, then it was none of their business. They weren’t Frisk’s therapist. They didn’t need to bother with trying to make them feel better. They didn’t care. At all… they didn't care at all.

“I’m just saying,” Frisk shrugged, “ making people find a secret door to progress on the MAIN ROAD is kinda silly.”

“Don’t question it,” Chare replied. “This is just how monsters are.”

“Monsters are silly.”

“It’s part of their charm.”

The taste of cinnamon and butterscotch passed through Chara’s soul as Frisk giggled into their palm, shaking their head fondly. Good, Frisk was going better than they were earlier. Or maybe they were just hiding it better? No, no Chara could feel - or sense - their emotions. This was real happiness. They were better. Not that it was super important to Chara how Frisk felt, but they would much rather be tasting Ms Toriel’s pie than black coffee and ash.

Chara felt themself smile, turning their vision upwards towards the false sky of the Wishing Room. Far above them, the gem-encrusted ceiling of the cavern twinkled like a starry night, filling Chara with a sense of peace. When was the last time they had seen the stars? The last time they had seen their star? For them it had probably been a bit over a year, but in reality? They had no idea how long they had been asleep. If they managed to get to the surface, would they still be able to find their star?

“Whatcha thinking about?” Frisk asked, snapping them out of their worries. Chara continued to stare up at the roof, directing Frisk to do the same.

“This place…” they started. “The monsters call it the Wishing Room. A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky. They believed that if they hoped with all their heart, their wishes would come true.” Chara’s happiness began to fade away. “But now, all they have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling.”

Frisk was quiet for a while, simply staring upwards with Chara. “They’re beautiful,” they whispered.

“But nothing compared to the real thing,” Chara replied bitterly. “They deserve real stars.”

“…do you have a wish?” Frisk asked suddenly. Chara thought about it for a few moments, before sinking further into their sadness.

“No,” they said. “No. The only thing I want is something I can’t have.”

“Maybe that’s why you should wish for it,” Frisk smiled. “To ask the world for a miracle.”

“No such thing as miracles,” Chara scoffed. “The universe isn’t that kind.”

“I don’t know about that. You’re here, aren’t you?”

“You say that as if it’s a good thing.”

“I think it’s a good thing,” Frisk said, making Chara’s soul weep, a stab of pain ripping through their being. “Besides, the fact that you can be here is a miracle. I doubt anyone believed that it was possible for a human soul to survive for this long, or to latch onto someone else. That sounds like a miracle to me.”

“I suppose…” Chara admitted.

“And… and what we did earlier. With Toriel. We got a second chance.” Frisk leaned against the wall of the cavern, letting themself slide down to the ground, never taking their eyes away from the false stars. “If that’s not a miracle, I don’t know what is.”

“…you’re smarter than I thought.”

“And you’re more fond of backhanded compliments than I thought.”

“Oh be quiet,” Chara scoffed without any bite, before getting lost in their thoughts. ‘Wishing for a miracle, huh?’ they pondered. ‘Then, I suppose…’ They turned their gaze heavenward, reaching out towards one of the stars, the second brightest one they could see. ‘I wish that Asriel was here. That he could get the second chance that he deserves… that I could see him again. Please.’

…There was no response from the universe. Really, Chara didn’t know what they were expecting. For Asriel to suddenly pop into existence next to them, giving them one of those warm fuzzy hugs that he loved to give? Stupid. Ridiculous. They were stupid to wish for anything.

It didn’t stop them from whispering the same wish again. And again. And again.

After a while though, Chara turned their attention back to reality, letting out a deep sigh. “We should get moving,” they told Frisk. “We still have plenty of ground to cover.” Frisk gave them a silent nod, pushing themself to their feet, dusting themself off, and heading forward down the road through the secret door.

The passageway lead them onto a series of docks, study wooden planks raised above murky deep water that Chara was always afraid to stare at, fearing they would be sucked into the abyss that it reflected. But Frisk wasn’t paying attention to the water. No, they immediately walked over to the cavern walls that the docks were pressed up against, squinting their eyes at a series of plaques that were embedded into the stone.

“What is this?” they asked in confusion. Chara let out a confused hum, before realizing what the problem was. The writing on the plaques wasn’t English; it was a very, very old language. One unique to the monsters, from back before they met humanity. They didn’t use the language very often these days. It was something sacred to them, only to be used for words of great importance. Which Chara supposed these were.

“A very old dialect,” Chara eventually replied. “Would you like me to read it to you?”

“You can read this?”

“I can,” Chara confirmed. “It was a part of my education in my time here.”

“Then yeah, tell me a story!”

Chara almost laughed at Frisk’s ignorant optimism, just barely stopping themself from telling Frisk that it wasn’t a happy story. They couldn’t risk telling Frisk that, because there was a chance they wouldn’t want to hear it anymore. But Frisk needed to hear this story. It was important.

“Very well then,” Chara said. “The War of Humans and Monsters,” they read. Frisk let out a small gasp, eyes widening, but before they had the chance to say anything, Chara pushed ahead, hoping that they could get Frisk hooked on the story before they had a chance to regret it. “Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the soul of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human soul.”

A moment's pause. Frisk said nothing. Chara didn’t smile, but they let themself feel satisfied. Frisk was going to listen. That was good. So they continued on.

“But humans have one weakness,” they read sadly. “Ironically, it is the strength of their soul. Its power allows it to persist outside the human body, even after death.” Chara felt guilt squeeze at their soul as they continued, the next section bringing painful memories to the surface of their mind. “If a monster can defeat a human, they can take its soul. A monster with a human soul… it would be a horrible beast with unfathomable power.”

Chara turned Frisk’s attention to another nearby plaque, this one with an illustration of a towering and horrifying creature. A bulking chest with the symbol of a heart etched into it, gargantuan arms with claws dripping with blood, wings of stardust, and a horned head, the creature’s maw open to reveal jagged daggers of teeth. The illustration was deeply unsettling, daring Chara to look away, to turn their back on it so that it could stab them in the back.

Despite their instincts telling them not to, Frisk and Chara turned away, focusing their attention back on the main series of plaques. “The power to take their souls… this is the power that the humans feared,” Chara continued. “This power has almost no counter. For a human cannot take a monster’s soul. When a monster dies, its soul disappears. And an incredible power would be needed to take the soul of a living monster.”

Frisk continued to listen in silence, the subtle tastes of bitter coffee and rust assaulted Chara the further they went, but they pushed on anyway.

“There is only one exception,” Chara warned. “The soul of a special species of monsters, called Boss Monsters. A Boss Monster’s soul is powerful enough to persist after death, if only for a few moments. A human could absorb this soul. But this has never happened.” Chara paused for a second, taking a deep breath. “And now, it never will.”

They were almost to the end. Chara tried to soothe their soul. They hated reading about this. It had made them so unbelievably angry the first time they read it. But it was important for Frisk to understand, so they pushed on.

“The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us,” Chara read. “They attacked suddenly and without warning. In the end, it could hardly be called a war. United, the humans were too powerful, and we monsters too weak. Not a single soul was taken, and countless monsters were turned to dust.”

“Not a single soul?” Frisk quavered. “But… the monsters have magic!”

“So did the humans,” Chara replied. “Back then, human Wizards weren’t an uncommon sight. And you should know full well that even without magic, humans can still be a threat to monsters.” Frisk went quiet at that. “Now hush, let me finish.”

Frisk pouted, but remained silent. Chara scanned the plaques, trying to refind their place.

“Hurt, beaten, and fearing for our lives, we surrendered to the humans,” they read. “Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell. Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful soul can leave.” This was it. The part that explained why the monsters were doing what they were. “There is only one way to reverse this spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human souls were to attack the barrier, it would be destroyed. But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. And so, we will remain trapped down here forever.”

One more plaque. One last part of the story. Then they could leave.

“However… there is a prophecy,” they read with reverence. “The Angel… the one who has seen the surface. They will return. And the Underground will go empty.”

…

The two stood in silence, staring at the series of plaques with empty eyes. Chara said nothing, clamping down on their soul to try and hide anything they were feeling. They didn’t want to influence Frisk here. They needed to process this on their own; the horrible history of Humans and Monsters. As a human in the Underground, they needed to come to terms with the crimes their people committed. What they had done to these beautiful, beautiful monsters.

“They were afraid...”

Chara blinked in surprise. They turned their gaze to the side of Frisk’s face, watching as a tear slipped down their cheek. Frisk was still staring at the plaques, not with anger like Chara once had so many years ago, but with bitter sadness, almost like… it was something they expected? It was hard to tell.

“They were scared,” Frisk whispered. “They didn’t hate the monsters. They were just scared. And they let that fear take over… and the monsters paid the price.”

That… wasn’t the reaction Chara was expecting. It wasn’t an unfair reaction, but… it was different. They watched Frisk for a few moments longer, before turning to glare at the plaques again. “Maybe it started as fear,” they said, “But fear can very easily lead to hatred. And humans are very good at feeling hate.”

Frisk didn’t respond to that. They simply turned away, shoulders sagged and eyes on the ground as they shuffled down the docks. Chara bit back a scoff. Of course Frisk would avoid the difficult topic. What else were they expecting? Chara looked away, not wanting to see Frisk’s stupid face any longer. They watched the shadows in the distance, the darkness of Waterfall taking over their vision. They stared into the abyss, seeing nothing but darkness and a single glowing yellow eye.

‘Wait a minute… CRAP!’

Chara violently pulled on Frisk’s strings, forcing their legs to halt and change course. Frisk stumbled backwards, waving their arms around wildly to regain their balance, barely moving out of the way before a glowing blue spear stabbed down into the ground in front of them with a loud *THUNK. Frisk’s eyes immediately snapped to the side, catching sight of Undyne’s form creeping out of the shadows, arm raised as more spears appeared in the air around her.

“RUN!” Chara yelled.

Frisk immediately followed their command, taking off into a sprint and their boots thundered across the docks. Undyne turned on her heel and followed after Frisk, running parallel with them on a long stretch of land on the other side of the water. As she ran, Undyne lifted and flicked her arm over and over, summoning and throwing a volley of spears with every movement of her arm.

As the first volley came their way, Frisk skid to a stop, diving to the side and nearly throwing themself into the depths of the water before scrambling back onto solid land, only to be forced to duck to the side as another volley came their way. Chara cursed. This wasn’t working. If Frisk stopped every two seconds, they would get caught eventually.

“Just run!” Chara commanded. “Focus on getting out of here. I’ll deal with Undyne!”

With no time to argue, Frisk did as Chara said, much to their satisfaction. Chara zeroed in on Undyne, carefully watching the movements of her spears. One volley came their way, and Chara tugged Frisk’s strings sideways, forcing them to take two steps to the left as they ran, the sound of cutting wind filling Chara’s mind as the spears just barely passed by Frisk’s ear. Another volley, and Chara pulled down, making Frisk duck their head down.

‘Predictable pattern,’ Chara thought. ‘She throws multiple spears, but they all follow the same path. She’s only aiming for one spot at a time. Just need little movements. See where the spears are going, and adjust Frisk’s path.’

The three continued their dance to the death along the seemingly neverending stretch of docks. Frisk ran as fast as they could, head down and arms pumping at their sides, lungs screaming for air. Undyne kept pace despite her heavy armour, her eye glowing with hatred as she continued her attack, her volleys getting faster and more frequent. And Chara did everything they could to keep Frisk alive, pulling and twisting Frisk’s strings like a marionette dancer.

Down and duck. Left and right. A powerful pull up, forcing Frisk to leap into the air as the spears threatened to skewer their legs, arms flailing when they landed to regain their balance and momentum. Undyne’s eye narrowed with burning fury, another volley flung at Frisk, and Chara pulled them right, only to realize too late that Undyne had held a single spear back, firing it off a second later with a new path. Chara cursed and tried to pull Frisk left, but it was too late, the spear ripping through their upper arm.

Frisk let out a scream of pain, their legs threatening to give out from under them, but Chara gave them a strong pull up, forcing their legs to pick them back up. “Don’t stop! Stop and you die!” The taste of copper filled Chara’s soul, blood staining it a darker shade of red. Their gaze caught on something up ahead. “Seagrass!” they yelled “Take cover in there!”

Obeying their commands, Frisk, charged ahead, finally reaching the end of the docks and pushing their way through the tall grass, stumbling through for a few seconds before they tripped and fell, rolling to a halt. Chara heard the sound of stomping metal behind them, and gave Frisk’s strings one final pull, making them crawl a few feet to the right, just a bit away from where they were before.

The sound of shifting grass and grinding metal filled the air. Chara wished so deeply that they could close their eyes, but they were forced to simply stare ahead in fear. ‘Please please please, please think we ran all the way through,’ they begged.

Silence dropped. Frisk stopped breathing.

Undyne towered over the grass, her shadow casting Frisk’s form in darkness. She stared downwards. She lifted her hand up, and launched it down, grabbing the form beneath her.

And as she pulled her hand out of the grass, Undyne left up a little yellow raptor that she was holding by the cheek, whose grin was as wide as the world itself. Her eye twitched in frustration. “Are you serious?” she quietly growled.

MK didn’t seem to notice her anger though, grinning even wider. “HI UNDYNE!” they cheered. Undyne didn’t respond, instead slowly lowering MK back into the grass, before turning around with a grunt and stomping away. Chara felt Frisk’s chest tighten as they continued to hold their breath for a minute longer, until they couldn’t bear it anymore and sucked in a deep breath of air, choking as their body gave out from the stress.

When they eventually managed to drag themself out of the grass, staggering and gripping their wounded arm, MK followed behind them with bright eyes and a toothy grin, stomping their feet in excitement. “Yo… did you see that!?” they exclaimed. “Undyne just… TOUCHED ME!!!” They let out a squeal, dancing on the spot. “I’m NEVER washing my face again!”

“Please let me throw them in the river,” Chara begged.

“Man, you are so unlucky,” MK continued, oblivious to Chara’s annoyance. “If you were standing just a LITTLE bit to the left…!” MK shook their head. “Yo, don’t worry! I’m sure we’ll see her again!”

“Yay…”

“Oh, and uh, sorry,” MK said sheepishly, looking down. “I didn’t realize you weren’t following me before. My mom says I have a bad habit of getting too overexcited and not paying attention to people around me. So uh, yeah, sorry. It won't happen again.”

Frisk turned their body so that their bad shoulder was facing away from MK, hiding their bleeding arm and giving them a smile.

“Yo! I know how to make it up to you!” MK chirped. “I saw the Nice Cream Guy up ahead! How about we go buy a couple, my treat!” Without waiting for a response, MK raced ahead, tripping over their own feet in regular fashion before picking themself back up and continuing on. Frisk smiled fondly at MK’s back, making Chara feel sick.

“You got lucky,” Chara drawled. “If they noticed the blood on your arm, it was all over.”

“Mhm,” Frisk hummed meekly. Chara eyed them for a moment, before mentally slapping themself. Frisk was still in pain! Idiot! Stupid! Fix them first, scold them later.

“Sit down,” Chara ordered. “What food do we still have left?”

Frisk’s face scrunched up in concentration as they slowly tried to pull their back off their back. Chara felt something tug at their soul every time Frisk winced in pain, and every time they tried to muffle their sobs. They eventually managed to get it off, but not without a bit of blood staining the straps of the bag.

“Dammit,” Chara hissed. “We’re getting pretty low.” They only had half a bar of chocolate, a slice of pie, and the quiche left. “Alright, time to eat that quiche you picked up earlier.” Frisk complied, pulling out the quiche and quickly scarfing it down. Chara could feel the magic working its way through their system, travelling through their body and swarming towards their arm as it began to put Frisk back together, weaving around their cut like stitches as it closed the gash.

Unfortunately, magic food did nothing for the blood that was staining Frisk’s hands or their sweater. So once the magic had done its work and the pain started to fade away, Chara told Frisk to take off their sweater and dunk it in the river while the bloodstains were still fresh. They were lucky, the river water was nice and cold. Perfect for getting stains out. They spent a few minutes washing away the excess blood, getting most of it out. There was still a bit of a stain, but they could probably just play it off as a mudstain at this point.

Once they were cleaned up, Frisk rose to their feet, wringing out as much water as they could from their fluffy sweater before wrapping it around their waist. They strapped their bag back around their shoulders, then marched on ahead to catch up with MK, who was probably wondering where they were.

Frisk:

While it didn’t quite make up for being chased down and cut open with a magical spear, Nice Cream did make Frisk feel a lot better.

By the time they and MK had finished, the pain in Frisk’s arm was completely gone. And they were in a much better mood after seeing MK grab an unwrapped Nice Cream that Frisk held out to them with their mouth, tilting their head back and eating it like a bird. It was pretty fun to watch.

After they finished eating, Frisk bought a couple of extra Nice Creams for the road (Once they had double-checked that they wouldn’t melt. Apparently they were pretty heat-resistant… somehow). Then, they and MK started heading out, leaving the little alcove that the Nice Cream Guy had set up in. Outside was what Frisk could only describe as a marsh. Before, Waterfall had been patches of tough dirt surrounded by deep rivers and lakes. But now, the ground was squishy and black mud, with bits of luminescent blue grass poking out. The water was shallow and calm, glowing a bright blue and filling the area with light.

So far, this was definitely Frisk’s favourite part of Waterfall. It was just so tranquil and beautiful. Like the entire place was asleep, singing a quiet lullaby to beckon everyone to join their quiet slumber. Frisk could probably lie down and take a nap, and just be perfectly at peace.

“enjoyin the view, kid?”

Oh hey, Sans was here! Even better!

…wait, when did he get there? Frisk was absolutely sure he wasn’t there before. But all of a sudden Sans was positioned next to the door leading to the Nice Cream Guy, with a telescope set up pointing at the ceiling. Frisk shared a look with MK, both of them shrugging their shoulders. Seemed like MK had learned the lesson to not question Sans as well.

Frisk walked over to Sans with a wave, MK on their heels. Sans grinned a little wider as they approached, casually leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. “good to see ya still kickin,” he said. “run into fish-bits yet?”

“YO! WE TOTALLY DID!” MK yelled excitedly. “AND! AND! AND! SHE TOUCHED MY FACE! RIGHT HERE!” they twisted their head to the side, shoving their cheek into Sans’ face. The skeleton didn’t seem too bothered by that, just letting out a quiet hum, flicking an eye-light over to Frisk, who gave him a thumbs up.

“neat,” Sans shrugged. “say, either of you wanna check out my new business venture?” he asked. “been thinkin’ of getting into the telescope business. ya know, just in case my sentry job goes away for, uh, some reason.” Frisk squirmed a bit, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “it’s normally 50,000g to use this premium telescope, but i can make an exception for ya. howzabout it?”

Frisk nibbled on their lip for a moment. They knew a joke was coming. This was going to blow up in their face somehow. But come on, how could they not say yes? If they said no, then they’d never know what the punchline was! And that would keep them awake for weeks! No, better to just let Sans have his laugh. Besides, it could be fun.

So Frisk gave Sans a nod, dropping their bag and walking over to the telescope as he stepped out of the way. They pressed an eye against the eyepiece, looking through to see… red. A lot of red. Literally just red. Frisk squished their nose a bit, moving the telescope around, but no matter where they looked, all they could see was red. Was there something wrong with the lens? Frisk turned around to pout at Sans, looking at him in confusion. That seemed like a pretty lame joke. But at the same time…

“what’s up?” Sans asked, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “you aren’t satisfied?” He gave them a wink. “don’t worry, i’ll give ya a full refund.” Frisk rolled their eyes at him, turning back towards MK, who almost immediately snorted, hunching over slightly and snickering. Frisk blinked in confusion, looking at MK laughing, then back at Sans whose eyes were still bright with joy, starting to put the puzzle pieces together.

They brought a hand up to their face, dabbing the skin underneath their eye, pulling it back to see their fingers stained red. They made a shocked face at Sans before running over to the nearby water, looking down to see their reflection, their gaze immediately catching on the bright red circle painted over their eye.

“PFFFFFFFFfffffffffft,” Chara snorted, descending into cackling laughter. “Holy crap, how did he get you with the oldest trick in the book?” Warm orange filled Frisk’s mind as Chara laughed at them, along with MK and even Sans, who had begun chuckling slightly, pushing himself off the wall and making his way over to Frisk, leaning over them to look at their reflection.

“gotta say, that’s a pretty good look on ya,” he grinned. Frisk pouted dramatically at Sans, playing along and acting upset. Sans continued chuckling, closing his eyes for a moment, which would be his last mistake.

The second Frisk saw their chance, they dipped both of their hands into the water, cupping their palms and splashing as much water as they could at him. Sans sputtered and tried to cover himself with his arms, but Frisk was relentless, grabbing more and more water and throwing it at him as fast as they could.

“ah, c’mon kid,” Sans laughed. “hey hey, i’m sorry! really, cross my heart!” Frisk wanted to call Sans a liar, since people that were sorry usually weren’t still laughing about what they did, but that would mean they had to stop throwing water at him, which wasn’t an option. So instead, Frisk swept their arm through the water, splashing a massive wave of water Sans’ way.

“Yeah, YEAH! Get him!” MK cheered, hopping up and down. Frisk doubled their efforts, splashing more and more water Sans’ way, forcing him to slowly start to back up to try and get away from the onslaught. Just like Frisk wanted. Because unknown to Sans, he had just put his back to another body of shallow water.

As soon as he was close enough, Frisk shot to their feet, charging towards Sans and tackling into his chest, sending the both of them tumbling towards the water. Frisk grinned into his shirt, but right before they hit the water, Frisk felt Sans disappear from their grip, their arms suddenly flopping together as they bellyflopped into the shallow pool. Frisk pushed themself up with their arms, shaking the water out of their hair and pushing it out of their eyes, whipping their head around to try and find where the heck Sans went.

“lookin for something?” Sans drawled. Frisk spun around to see Sans nearby, on dry land, leaning up against a wall with his hands in his pocket, grinning like a joker. How the heck did he do that? Frisk totally had him in their grip! And they were already mid-air, right above the water! How did he get out of their grasp and get back onto dry land without getting soaked? What kind of crap was that?

MK and Chara found the entire situation hilarious, both of them cackling at Frisk’s misfortune. Oh, they thought this was funny? Frisk let out a little growl, jumping out of the water and running full speed at MK, who only realized too late that they were after them. MK tried to escape, but Frisk grabbed them by the collar of their sweater, dragging them backwards and making them both flop into the water. MK thrashed and squirmed, laughing as they tried to break free of Frisk’s grasp, but the human refused to let go, dunking the monster’s head underwater.

Once they felt like MK had suffered enough, Frisk loosened their grip enough that MK could break free. And of course, the monster instantly retaliated, throwing themself on top of Frisk to dunk them underwater. Frisk pretended to put up a fight, but basically just let MK get away with whatever they wanted, forcing Chara to suffer with them as they were unable to breathe, flopping like a fish as the water stung their open eyes.

“OKAY OKAY ENOUGH!” Chara screeched. “FRISK YOU ARE GOING TO DROWN! GET UP!”

“I don’t know, I think I can stay down here a bit long-”

“NO! UP! NOW!”

Frisk snickered to themself, which was absolutely the wrong thing to do while underwater, before tapping MK twice on the shoulder, signalling that they were done. MK almost immediately got off of them, the two children both coughing and sputtering and laughing like maniacs, soaked to the bone.

Eventually, the two of them started getting a bit cold, so they climbed back onto dry land, still both sopping wet. Luckily, Sans was there, offering the both of them a towel, handing one over to Frisk as they greedily grabbed it, and helping MK dry themself off with the other one.

“Not even gonna question where he got those?” Chara asked.

“Nope,” Frisk replied, popping the ‘P’ (which felt so weird to do in their mind). “I’ve given up on trying to figure out how Sans does anything. It just hurts my head. And I already have you for that.”

Chara barked out a laugh, a bit of orange seeping into Frisk’s mind. “Oh ho, the kid has some bite!” they exclaimed. “And here I thought you were completely toothless.” Frisk grinned, feeling proud of themself. They got Chara to laugh again! It still felt weird brazenly insulting someone and being hurtful as a joke, but Chara seemed to like it! So maybe they could get used to it, just for them.

Once they were decently dry, Frisk plopped their back against the wall, letting themself slip down and taking a bit of a rest. Sans and MK quickly joined them, both still smiling wide. Sans let out a little chuckle, shaking his head. “you kids are weird,” he grinned.

Frisk gave Sans an incredulous look. “Pot, meet kettle,” they signed.

“heh, fair,” Sans replied. MK gave the two of them a weird look, not seeming to understand what just happened. “the kid speaks with their hands,” Sans explained. “my brother and i used to know someone that talked like that, so i can understand em.” Mk made an ‘Oh’ sound, nodding to themself in throught. Sans turned back to Frisk. “speakin of weird, mind if i ask you two something?”

“Huh? Oh, sure!” MK chirped. “What’s up?”

Sans’ eyes darkened a bit, the lights turning into pinpricks. “either of you ever heard of a talking flower?” Frisk felt their blood run cold, eyes widening. Was he talking about-

“Duh,” MK scoffed. “Everyone knows about the echo flowers! They’re, like, ALL over the marsh! Say something to them, and they just repeat it over and over.”

“yup,” Sans confirmed in a way that made Frisk think that was definitely not what he was talking about. “never did get how they worked myself, ya know? they’re pretty weird.”

“I guess?” MK replied. They seemed pretty confused about the entire conversation. Frisk, though, was looking Sans dead in the eye, trying to read between the lines. He had to be talking about Flowey, right? How much did he know about him? Had they met before? Frisk needed to know more.

“You ask why?” Frisk signed, biting their lip. Something flickered in Sans’ eyes, his focus seeming to narrow in on Frisk more and more.

“why do I ask…” he repeated. “well, papyrus told me something interesting the other day.” Sans leaned in a bit further. “see, sometimes, when no one else is around, a flower appears and whispers things to him. flattery… advice… encouragement…” His eyes got darker and darker, the light all but faded away. “…predictions.”

As soon as it came, Sans’ strange expression was gone. He leaned back into his usual casual demeanour, the lights in his eyes blinking back to life.

“weird, huh?” he casually drawled. “someone must be using an echo flower to play a trick on him.” His eyes flicked over Frisk and MK, scanning them carefully. “you two wouldn’t happen to know anything bout that, would you?”

MK and Frisk turned to look at each other, before looking back over to Sans and furiously shaking their heads. Part of Frisk was tempted to tell Sans about Flowey but… something else told them not to. Sans was acting weird, and Frisk didn’t know if they entirely trusted that. It was weird.

Sans let out another hum, closing his eyes for a moment. “that so…” he whispered. “alrighty.” With a groan, he pushed himself to his feet, shoving his hands back into his pockets. “welp, i think its about time for me to head back to my station. can’t sleep on the job if i’m not at my job, right?” he asked with a wink, making Frisk giggle into their palm. They waved goodbye, pushing themself to their feet as well, and by the time they looked again, Sans was gone.

“That guy is so weird,” MK stated. They turned over to Frisk, giving them a slightly cautious look. “Is it bad if I think he’s kinda creepy?” Frisk made a so-so gesture, not entirely sure how to react to that. Sans was pretty weird normally, but he was also pretty cool. That conversation was… something though.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, Frisk grabbed their backpack from where they dropped it and slung it back over their shoulder, gesturing for MK to follow them. The two made their way into the marsh for real, the wet ground squelching underneath their feet as they walked. Frisk giggled for the first few steps, eliciting a weird look from MK when they stopped to stomp down on the ground as hard as they could and see how loud they could make the squishy noises. That look lasted for about two seconds before MK joined in, and it became a contest.

It didn’t take long for them to become lost though. MK freely admitted that they didn’t know their way around this area too well, and it was a bit of a maze. At first, MK tried to guide the two of them with what little knowledge they had, but after a few minutes, the pair started simply wandering around blindly, taking whatever turns they saw. They figured that at some point, they’d either get where they were going or run into someone else who could help them.

“Hey, I think I see something!” MK cheered.

Frisk eyed the path ahead, seeing a circular patch of seagrass wavering in the wind. That was good, right? Seagrass had always marked the way forward so far! Frisk picked up the pace to match MK, the two running over, only to find that they had walked into a dead end. The patch of grass was just that; a patch. And three stone walls surrounded them, meaning that they only way they could go is back.

With a pout, Frisk kicked the ground, looking annoyed. MK eyed the ground, looking upset. “Yo, sorry,” they muttered. “I didn’t mean to get us lost.” Frisk almost immediately put a hand on MK’s shoulder, giving them a smile and a thumbs up to tell them it was ok. Honestly, Frisk was more annoyed at the situation than MK. It sucked being lost, but it wasn’t their fault. “Heh, thanks,” MK said. They looked up, eyes seeming to catch on something. “Oh hey, an echo flower!”

Frisk followed MK’s gaze, looking over at the flower, standing alone in the corner of the little square of land.

“Maybe someone left some directions on this one!” MK hoped, walking over to the flower and giving it a poke with their tail. For a second, it was quiet, until Frisk heard someone sniffling.

“I can’t run any longer…” the voice wept. “Please… somebody… anybody…” The voice trailed away, leaving the marsh in silence, aside from Frisk and MK’s heavy breathing.

“…wha- what?” MK whispered. They stepped back, giving Frisk a nervous look. “Y-yo, do you think that person was in trouble?” MK started looking around frantically. “They could still be nearby! We gotta help them!”

But Frisk didn’t respond. They had a feeling they already knew what had happened. Swallowing hard, they walked over to the patch of seagrass and pushed it open, finding a pair of pink ballerina slippers. A small slip of paper was stitched into the inner lining. “Property of Val Principlis”. Frisk fell to their knees, pulling the slippers close to their chest, holding them tight.

Val… Frisk hadn’t lived here for long, but everyone in town knew about Val. The prodigy ballerina that was destined for the stage, only to tragically disappear when he was dared by a student to climb Mount Ebott. His name acted as a cautionary tale, a warning about what happened to those who dared venture too close to the cursed mountain. Of course, no one knew what really happened to him. Except for Frisk now.

Because Frisk was holding his slippers, and had his tutu in their backpack. Val had fallen into the Underground. He had made it all the way to Waterfall, only to be cut down by some monster. He died begging for his life, alone and afraid, with only a lone flower to hear his prayers.

And here Frisk was, standing on his grave.

“Yo, dude,” MK mumbled, tapping Frisk with their tail. “Are… are you okay?” They look down at Frisk’s chest, blinking in confusion and concern. “What… are you holding?”

Frisk didn’t respond, instead just screwing their eyes shut. How could they? What could they even say? That the person MK was worried about was dead? That he wasn’t a Monster? That MK should hate him? How could they convey the heavy feeling in their heart, the guilt of hearing someone’s final words dragging them into the depths of the abyss like an anchor? How could they-

A tight feeling coiled around Frisk’s throat, squeezing their windpipe and pulling their cords at the same time. They couldn’t breathe, they couLDN’T BREAHE! Air moved in and out of their lungs BUT THEY WEREN’T BREATHING. Something was wrong. SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

“He’s human,” Frisk heard their own voice say. What? They didn’t say that. “The voice in the echo flower was a human.” THEY DIDN’T SAY THAT! WHY WAS THEIR VOICE SAYING THAT?

“What?” MK faltered, taking a step back. “What’re you-”

“His name was apparently Val,” Frisk’s voice continued. “It says so in his shoes. He got chased here by a Monster. And he died here.” Frisk’s head moved slightly to the side, just enough that they could see MK; the terrified expression on their face. Their wobbling lips and shaking legs. They looked so scared. “Maybe Undyne killed him,” Frisk’s voice continued. “Wish I could’ve seen it.”

Tears welled up in MK’s eyes as they took another step back, staring at Frisk like they were something wrong. Something to be feared. Frisk felt their eyes narrow against their will, glaring at MK.

“Why the tears?” their voice asked. “Didn’t you say you wanted to watch Undyne beat up some bad guys? Humans are the bad guys, aren’t they? Who cares if one died. That’s what we want, isn’t it?” Frisk looked away. “Don’t be such a crybaby.”

…a minute passed in silence. Then another. And another.

The sound of squelching mud filled the air as MK ran away, fleeing back into the maze of a marsh behind them, leaving Frisk almost alone. The coils around their throat finally let go, letting them breathe again. Frisk coughed and sputtered, dropping the ballet shoes and gently holding their throat. Their eyes burned with tears, body shaking violently.

“What an idiot.”

Frisk’s eyes opened wide at the sound of Chara’s voice in their head.

“Kid talked about how much they wanted to see Undyne beat up a human,” Chara scoffed. “But the second they hear about a human biting the dust, they get all weepy. What a-”

“Shut up,” Frisk ordered forcefully.

Chara was silent for a moment, taken aback. “Excuse me?” they sneered.

“Never… EVER… do that again,” Frisk roared, rising to their feet and glaring into empty space. “Don’t you ever dare to touch my voice again.”

Frisk could feel Chara move to say something, but they didn’t want to hear their voice. So Frisk focused everything they had on their anger. Let it take over their every thought, their every feeling. They wanted to flood Chara’s soul with ash and dust. Let them see just how furious they were. Chara coughed and sputtered in response, choking on the taste of ash. Good.

“I’m only going to say this once, so you better listen very closely,” Frisk seethed. “I am not your GOD DAMNED puppet. I am not yours to play with as you feel! My voice is MINE! You do not get to choose when I use it!”

“Frisk-”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Frisk thundered. “Don’t you dare touch my voice! Don’t you DARE touch my body! Are we clear?”

“…”

“ARE WE CLEAR?”

“…crystal.”

“Good,” Frisk snapped. They leaned over to grab the ballet shoes, roughly shoving them into their backpack, before stomping off, wrapping their arms around themself to get any kind of comfort. They hated this. Hated feeling angry. Hated feeling used. But their voice was not a toy. It was something sacred, something precious. It wasn’t something to be played with. Chara deserved this. They deserved Frisk’s anger. They deserved the taste of ash.

…they deserved this.

Something that Frisk wasn’t used to feeling in the Underground was lonely.

No matter what, they always had something to stop them from feeling alone. Whether that be their initial wonder back in the Ruins, Sans & Papyrus constantly popping up in Snowdin Forest, MK’s excited chattering, or Chara’s constant presense, they always had something to distract them.

But now, Frisk was alone. Chara wasn’t talking to them, and Frisk wasn’t sure if they wanted them to. MK had run off somewhere, and Frisk didn’t know how the monster would react to seeing them again. Sans & Papyrus were back in Snowdin. And Frisk was too miserable to take in the sights around them. Instead, they kept their head down as they shambled through Waterfall, barely registering the world around them.

They eventually made their way out of the maze-like marsh, finding themself back on more solid land as they passed through the caverns. They passed by more broken rails and mineshafts. They didn’t speak to a monster that was trying to catch their attention with the offer of candy. And they basically completely ignored a monster named Onionsan who was desperately trying to strike up a conversation with them. Frisk felt especially bad about that one, but they just didn’t have the energy for dealing with someone that bubbly.

Frisk let out a long sigh, slowing their footsteps. Their anger had been fading more and more, leaving them just feeling hollow. They… they didn’t exactly regret snapping at Chara like that. They meant what they had said. Chara took things too far. But… they didn’t like being angry at their friend(?). And they hated feeling so fragile. Like they were a slight breeze away from breaking down in tears.

*Sniffle

…ok no, that one wasn’t Frisk. They knew they weren’t crying. So who was that?

Frisk took in the space around them, finally starting to get out of their head and pay attention to the world again. They were in a somewhat rectangular room with a pool of water in the middle. A pair of paths split off to the North and the East. There wasn’t much else of not, which made it easy to spot the monster hiding in the corner of the room, softly crying to herself.

She had a somewhat snake-like body, covered in pale-blue scales, her head floating above the rest of the body. With mint-green scales and straight light-blue hair, she almost blended in with Waterfall. From what little of Frisk could see of her face, she looked sad and scared, and Frisk couldn’t help but wonder why.

Part of Frisk wanted to just keep walking. They really didn’t feel like doing anything at the time. They had gone out of their way to avoid conversations for a while, not having the energy to deal with anyone else. But they just couldn’t ignore someone who was crying. What kind of person would they be if they didn’t help?

Having made up their mind, Frisk walked over to the monster, trying to get her attention. But the moment they did, she just curled in on herself more, trying to press herself further into the corner of the room and wimpering. Frisk reeled back, not sure what to do.

“Don’t bother with her,” Frisk heard a voice say. They looked over to see a fish monster passing by with a bored expression. “Shyren don’t talk to anyone since she lost her sister. Girl’s too shy and sad that she’s tone deaf to do anything other than weep.” That made the monster - Shyren - cry more, pressing herself even further into the room. Frisk gave the passing monster a glare, which he didn’t seem to care about, before turning their attention back to Shyren.

The part that they hated the most was that Frisk could sort of see where he was coming from. In between her sniffles, Shyren was humming very faintly, and it… didn’t sound great. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t sing! It just meant she couldn’t sing yet! She just needed some practice and direction. And maybe Frisk wasn’t the best person for that, but they could at least do a little bit for her, right?

Frisk cleared their throat so that Shyren knew they were trying to get her attention without getting too close. Then, they started to hum, slow and soft. Maybe they couldn’t sing for her, but they could at least give her a little guidance. Shyren looked up at them with a confused frown, until Frisk motioned for her to follow along. She looked nervous, but with great hesitance, began to hum along to Frisk’s melody.

And hey, she wasn’t that bad! Frisk gave Shyren a beaming smile, showing off how proud they were. She wasn’t tone-deaf, she was just scared! Frisk cleared their throat again and started to hum a new song, going a bit faster. Shyren hummed along, her voice catching a few times, and she made a hurt expression every time she messed up. But Frisk let her take her time, going back and humming the parts she missed again so she could catch up.

The two went back and forth for a while, humming different songs to each other as Shyren started to get more and more confident in herself. Her tears dried away, carving a path for a genuine smile and twinkling eyes. At some point, Frisk began to notice a few monsters that were passing through begin to slow down, staying on the outskirts of the room and listening to the two. Frisk didn’t mind, but Shyren seemed a bit nervous about the prospect. So Frisk did their best to give her a reassuring look, and hummed a bit louder to try and block out any noise the monsters made.

And then, Frisk began to hum one more song, and a look of recognition passed over Shyren’s face. And instead of humming, she began to sing.

When the light is running low~

And the shadows start to grow~

And the places that you know~

Seem like fantasy~

More monsters began to crowd around, smiling and humming along to the melody. By this point, it had started to become like a concert, the little room packed with varying monsters, from fish to turtles to elementals with flowing hair of water, and even a single stumpy skeleton, who was walking around selling tickets made of toilet paper. ‘Sans…’ Frisk thought fondly.

There’s a light inside your soul~

That’s still shining in the cold~

With the truth~

The promise in our hearts~

The two paused, smiling wide at each other, completely ignoring the packed room of monsters, or how they were basically like rock-stars for a brief few minutes, simply letting themself enjoy the song.

Don’t forget~

I’m with you in the dark~

As Shyren dragged out the final word, the monsters in the room began to clap wildly, cheering and whooping. Shyren went back to looking bashful and afraid, but still with a smile on her face. Frisk put a reassuring hand on her side, giving her a smile, and the two took a bow, Frisk dramatically crossing their legs and spreading their arm out. Slowly, the monsters began to disperse, going back to their regular business. Frisk gave Sans one last look as he started to shuffle out of the room, the skeleton on winking in response, before they started to head off on their own as well, waving goodbye to Shyren.

The cavern began to shrink as Frisk entered what was almost like a tunnel, dark and tight with a low roof. Water dripped through the stone above them, showering parts of the tunnel in rain. Pressed up against a wall was a statue, weathered and eroded by the constant rain, but Frisk could just barely make out the form of a monster with wicked horns and a long snout, resting on its knees and reaching its arms out, as if it were once carrying something. But the stone on its hands looked rough, like something had been broken off of it. Whatever it was carrying was long gone.

While most of the water was dripping onto the statue, there were a few other spots where it leaked through, forming large puddles as the water pooled together. Frisk didn’t bother to avoid walking in them. They were already a little bit wet, and they figured that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. No reason to try and keep their shoes dry.

“…so that’s what you use your voice for.”

Frisk stopped in their tracks, right in front of the statue, feeling themself tense at the sound of Chara’s voice. Was this anger? Were they still angry? It didn’t feel the same… it wasn’t anger, or fear. It was just… something.

“Doesn’t count,” Frisk curtly replied. “You’ve seen me hum responses to people. Humming a song is the same.”

“…I see.”

The two stood in silence for a moment, their only company the pitter-patter of falling rain around them. A few drops splashed down onto Frisk’s head, but they didn’t give any reaction, only staring ahead as they waited for Chara’s next words. They weren’t sure what they were expecting from Chara, but Frisk knew they had something to say.

“…I… I want to apologize,” Chara eventually said. And that… was most certainly not what Frisk was expecting. “I hadn’t realized that there was a line to cross. You had shown no issue with me taking control in most situations to assist you. So I assumed the same could be said for your voice. I see now that it is… more complicated than that. So I apologize.”

Frisk nibbled at their lips. They appreciated Chara apologizing. Really, they did! They weren’t a fan of the fact that Chara had swapped into their stiff and regal way of speaking, since it felt a bit less genuine than the real Chara, but still! It was an apology! And Frisk knew they meant it, because they could feel the sorrowful blue practically radiating from Chara. But…

“I’m… not quite sure if I forgive you,” Frisk whispered. “I want to. I don’t like being mad at you. But… that really hurt. It felt so, so wrong. It… wasn’t the same as you pulling at my arms and legs. It was really bad.”

“All the more reason for me to apologize,” Chara replied. “I hadn’t realized it would be quite that bad. I will not do it again.”

“…thank you.” Frisk shuffled their feet awkwardly, not really sure what to say next. They looked over at the statue, directing Chara’s attention over to it. “Do you know what this is a statue of?” they asked.

The sorrowful blue grew deeper and deeper, jets of ink black swirling into it and forming a whirlpool in Frisk’s mind. “…I’ve never seen it before,” Chara faltered, their voice sounding strangely fragile. “But I think I know who it’s supposed to be.”

“Who?”

“…someone very important to me,” Chara stated. “I’d prefer not to say more if that’s alright.”

“Okay.”

Frisk didn’t really have anything else to say, so they simply walked ahead, continuing through the tunnel. It opened up more and more as they walked, the water dripping from the ceiling growing heavier and heavier, turning from a slight drizzle to almost proper rain. Off to their side, Frisk saw a monster with a spider-like face wearing a yellow raincoat standing next to a bucket of umbrellas.

“Please, take an umbrella,” the monster rasped. “I insist.”

With a nod and a smile, Frisk walked over to the bucket, picked out a bright red umbrella and opened it up. They took two steps forward, before stopping in their tracks. They looked back for a moment, thinking things over, before making up their mind and turning on their heel, heading back the way that they came.

“What are you doing?” Chara wondered. Frisk didn’t reply, simply continuing back through the tunnel, stopping in front of the broken statue. “…Frisk?”

“You said he’s important,” Frisk smiled. “He doesn’t deserve to get rained on.”

Frisk held the umbrella over the statue, wedging the handle into its hand and adjusting it to make sure that no more rain touched the weathered stone. Almost immediately, a bright yellow flooded their mind, tinged with tiny drops of blue, and Frisk knew that Chara was grateful.

And then… a music box began to play from inside the statue.

It was a simple melody. Soft and peaceful, like twinkling stars given form in song. It filled Frisk with a sense of heavy nostalgia for someone they never knew. A weight pressed down on their heart, stalling their breath ever so slightly. It was such a short piece, but it was just… beautiful.

Frisk winced in pain and stumbled forward a step as their mind exploded in colour. Blue and orange clashed for dominance, trying to overpower the other. Specks of bright pink littered their skull, glowing faintly. And above all, the familiar blank ink washed through everything, threatening to drown all the other colours away. It was so, so much, all at once, and it hurt so badly. Was this even a fraction of what Chara was feeling? Were they really feeling all of this at once?

“Chara…” Frisk whispered gently. “Are you-”

“I wrote this song for him,” Chara interrupted. “He… he loved listening to me play. He always insisted I was the best. A-and that he wished he could play too.” The deep blue began to grow more and more, overlapping the orange like waves against the sand. “B-but his hands were too big. Couldn’t h-hit the k-keys right. Ha… hahahaha… he g-got so sad that he started crying like… hahah… a b-baby. S-so I said I would write a song j-just for him. To cheer him up.”

A strained smile that wasn’t their own forced its way onto Frisk’s face. Their heart clenched in pain as they listened. They tried their best to clamp down on their own emotions. Chara was already hurting so, so much. They didn’t need Frisk’s stupid feelings making it worse.

“He was s-so s-stupidly happy,” Chara continued. “Acted like i-it was the b-best thing to ever happen to him.” Chare let out a bitter laugh tinged with sadness, sounding almost manic as they cackled. “I didn’t realize his mom was listening and recording the entire thing. Heh… heh heh… s-she pulled me aside later. T-told me how h-happy she was that I gave h-him something. And t-then she… she had someone make a music b-box for the song. And gave it to him.”

Pushing out as many feelings of comfort as they could, Frisk slowly lowered themself to the ground. They tried to think of every nice thing they knew. Warm hugs. Soft kisses on the forehead. Words of encouragement. Gentle pats on the head. Anything that would give their friend the comfort they needed.

“He was s-so h-h-h-happy,” Chara wept in between their laughs. “Said it w-was the best present e-ever. He listened to it every night before bed. I-I-I-I-”

“Shhhhh…” Frisk whispered. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say any more.”

“I miss him… I miss him so much.”

“I know… I’m sorry.”

Frisk hardly moved a muscle, giving Chara the time they needed to mourn. They could feel a few tears streak down their cheeks, dropping down and causing ripples in the puddle beneath them. Every now and then, a laugh would be ripped from their throat against their will, a manic grin stretching across their face. Frisk looked down at the puddle to look at their reflection and see what they looked like, but-

“Ch-Chara,” Frisk whispered in awe.

“What?”

“Is… is that you?”

“What are you- oh.”

Frisk stood up slowly, their eyes never leaving the puddle below them. Because reflected in the puddle was someone Frisk had never seen before. They wore a bright green sweater with a single yellow line cutting through their chest and cargo shorts, along with ankle-high brown boots. Their skin was pale as a ghost, contrasting their rosy red cheeks. They had choppy brown hair that looked like it was self-cut, messy with mismatched lengths. And most importantly, their eyes. They mirrored Frisk’s; one hazel brown, one blood red.

“It… it is you, isn’t it?” Frisk asked again. They tilted their head from side to side, watching as the reflection copied their movements, allowing them to inspect Chara’s face. They traced the outline of the blush on Chara’s face, trying to commit every detail to memory. Their sharp chin, their dark eyes, the curve of their nose. It was amazing.

Chara seemed less impressed though, laughing even harder than before. “Great, just great,” they hissed. “Well, here I am Frisk. Are you happy?” The smile on Chara’s face stretched from ear to ear, jagged and waving, the skin around their lips straining to not snap. Their eyes went wide, seeming to grow even darker as they did. “Come on Frisk, let’s hear it!” Chara yelled. “Are you scared? Scared of the demon? The freak? The-”

“I'm not scared.”

“…what,” Chara whispered shakily.

As much as they hated it, Frisk could see why people were scared of Chara. They could see the features that had made others declare them a demon. But they could also see how amazing they looked. Their dark eyes drew Frisk in, beckoning them to stare. Their permanently blushing cheeks were disarming and cute, contrasting nicely with their pale skin. Their sharp features gave them a sense of handsomeness that Frisk’s chubby cheeks lacked.

“I'm not scared,” Frisk repeated, doing everything they could to sound as genuine as possible. Chara was silent for a few moments, Frisk’s mind completely devoid of colour. For a second, they thought that Chara wouldn't believe them, or that they had said something wrong. But then, an adorably familiar pink began to glow, making Frisk grin like a fool.

“…you are certainly an odd one,” Chara smiled.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Frisk replied with a wink.

“Good. I meant it as one.” Chara let out a content sigh. “Do you mind if we stay here? For just a few more minutes?”

“Of course. Take as much time as you need.”

“Thank you.”

And so the two sat back down, Chara listening intently to the music that the statue sang, and Frisk staring at the puddle beneath them, smiling at their new best friend.

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: To Keep My Promise, I'll Break Your Heart

Frisk:

Chara:

Darkness drifted all around Chara. They floated through the emptiness, gently letting the currents move them around. What happened? Where were they? Did they die again? Maybe… no… no, they didn’t. Dying was like sleep. Endless darkness, but without the feeling. They couldn’t dream. It was completely silent. But there was noise here. What was it? It sounded like voices. They knew those voices… or rather, someone else knew those voices.

“It’ll just be for a few days,” the voice promised. “Your mother and I have some important business to do, but we’ll be back soon. And don’t worry, your Aunt Casta will take good care of you. Isn’t that right, Cass?”

Colours began to bleed into the abyss like splatters of paint, creating a watercolour reality around Chara, blurred but clear enough to make out. They were standing in front of a quaint little house that screamed ‘suburban’ in every way possible, from the triangle roof to the white picket fence. A woman stood in the open doorway, holding something small in her hand, a black smog radiating out of it, enveloping her feet.

Chara felt something on their shoulder, looking to their side to see a man standing over them with a gentle but strained smile. The details of his face were hard to make out, but Chara could see his tanned skin and loving hazel eyes, both of which were all too familiar. It didn’t take them long to figure out who this was, and whose dream this was.

“Yeah, sure,” the woman said, waving whatever she was holding around. “I’ll take care of the kid while you’re off doing whatever you do. But you owe me for this.”

“Can’t you just do it out of the goodness of your heart? Or your love for your nibling?”

“Don’t push it.”

The man chuckled, shaking his head fondly. He looked down at Chara again, pulling them into a hug. “Alright, I’ve gotta go now. Be good for me, okay Frisk?” Chara felt themself nod. The man pulled away from the hug and began to walk away, waving as he went, until he suddenly faded away like wisps in the wind. Chara turned around to face the woman in the doorway, flinching as she scowled at them.

“So, just you and me again, huh brat?” she snapped. Chara hissed at the sudden change in her tone, from fondly and sarcastically annoyed to frustration and disgust. “Whatever. Just keep quiet and we won’t have any problems, got it?” She didn’t wait for a reply, turning on her heel and stomping into the house. Chara felt themself let out a nervous sigh, following along and closing the door behind them.

Chara felt their vision return to them as they woke up, the world slowly beginning to brighten as they came to their senses. The sound of rushing water filled the air, a sea of blue surrounding them on all sides. They began to shift their vision around, scanning the area.

Which didn’t take long, because there was piss-all in the area except for water and trash. Which meant they were in the dump. Slightly annoying because it meant they were about to get absolutely soaked, but at least it was a familiar landmark. They knew that they were reaching near the end of Waterfall. Just a bit further… then they could take the elevators up to New Home and… do something. They were still working on exactly what that something was.

As they looked around, Chara idly wondered how Frisk had survived the fall, remembering how Frisk had noted their proficiency with being okay after falling into deep holes. They felt something familiar below them, itching at Frisk’s skin. Turning their vision down, Chara noticed a patch of bright yellow beneath them…

Chara felt their soul stutter. Golden flowers. Floating in the waters and holding them aloft was a bed of Golden Flowers. Where… where had they even come from? They couldn’t just be growing there naturally, right? The patch was too perfectly cut and tended to, especially for somewhere like a garbage dump. What were they doing there?

They let out an annoyed groan. Chara hated not knowing how things worked. They had to bite their tongue to keep themself from snapping every time Frisk asked a question they didn’t know the answer to, and doubly so when Frisk pointed out their lack of knowledge. It frustrated them to no end. And it certainly didn’t help that the Underground seemed to do everything in its power to befuddle them. But at the same time, that was part of its charm. There was always more to see, more to learn. Even in such a confined space, the Underground held so many secrets to unearth. Maybe that was part of what Frisk loved about it too.

Speaking of their little annoyance, Frisk hadn’t moved at all. Chara projected their feelings outward, trying to poke at the side of Frisk’s skull. “Hey, get up,” they said. “We can’t just sit here forever.” No response. “Frisk?” No response. “Frisk, I swear if you don’t get up right now…” They didn’t really know how to finish that threat. What were they going to do, make Frisk hit themself? That would just hurt them too.

Actually, speaking of pain, Chara could feel a sharp sensation on the side of Frisk’s head. Pulling at Frisk’s arm, they touched their temple, pulling the hand back to see two fingers stained red. Great. Chara focused their attention on Frisk’s body, taking inventory of their state. The slash at their head was definitely the worst thing, but they could also feel a few sore bits here and there. Probably some incoming bruises. Great.

Realizing that Frisk wasn’t going to be waking up any time soon, Chara decided to act. They were hesitant to start controlling Frisk again so soon after their fight - they had purposefully neglected to help Frisk when they were getting chased by Undyne assuming it wouldn’t be welcomed for that very reason - but considering they were unconscious and didn’t show any signs of getting up, Chara chose to prioritize Frisk’s safety over their comfort.

They reached out, grabbing as many of the theoretical red strings that surrounded Frisk as they could and violently pulling on them, forcing Frisk’s body to jut upwards and sit up, their head nodding back and forth from the momentum, spraying flecks of blood across the Golden Flowers. Chara winced, grabbing at the strings around Frisk’s head to still them. They mentally slapped themself for being so careless, but it was hard moving Frisk like this. Guiding their arms and legs was one thing, but they were basically controlling Frisk’s entire body with nothing but their will. It wasn’t exactly something that came naturally to them.

‘Fix first, complain later,’ Chara reminded themself. Making sure to keep a few strings pulled taught so that Frisk wouldn’t flop over instantly, Chara made Frisk shrug off their backpack, gracelessly moving their arm through the pockets to find something to eat. They pulled out a stick of Nice Cream, jerkily ripping off the packaging and shoving the food into Frisk’s mouth. Which brought them to their next challenge; forcing Frisk to eat.

Trying to make Frisk’s body chew and swallow safely was frustratingly difficult. It was like their body's natural reflexes were turned off while Chara was controlling them, which meant they had to do everything, like making sure the food was small enough to not cause problems and ensuring that it didn’t go down the wrong pipe. The process tested Chara’s control as well as their patience, both of which were reaching their wit’s end. But they managed… eventually.

As they did, Chara could vaguely feel the magic working its way through Frisk’s body, the warmth spreading through them. Sparks danced as the magic jolted up Frisk’s spine, quickly running towards their skull and wrapping around the cut on their temple, stitching it back together. More snaked around Frisk’s entire body, faintly glowing whenever they found a bump or bruise until they faded away. Chara let their senses wander over Frisk’s body, noting that they were still a little sore, but it was good enough. The worst of the injuries were dealt with, and Chara didn’t want to use up any more of their limited food supply.

Unfortunately, Frisk didn’t seem any closer to waking up. For as long as they could remember since waking up, Frisk’s presence was a constant feeling, a constant warmth. They enveloped Chara, wrapping around their soul and holding them close. It loosened up whenever Frisk slept, their grip fading away, but Chara could still feel their touch. But now, Frisk wasn’t holding on at all. It was more like they were draped over Chara’s back, still pressed up against them, but unable to hold on.

‘They probably just need a break,’ Chara thought. ‘Things have been pretty non-stop. Guess their brain took the opportunity to shut down for a while.’ Chara couldn’t exactly blame them per se, but they could still be pretty annoyed at what they had to do. Because there wasn’t a chance in hell that they were just going to sit there and wait until Frisk woke up. For one, that sounded boring. But there were more important reasons.

The main one being Undyne. Chara had no idea how long they had been out for, but they didn’t doubt that Undyne was searching for them. She might not have jumped down after them (because seriously, why would she be that stupid?) but she probably had a decent idea of where they had landed. Which meant that she’d find them eventually. Sitting around and hoping Frisk woke up before then wasn’t an option. Chara needed to find them someplace safe to hide and rest until they were okay enough to keep going.

Chara internally complained about what they were about to do. This was going to be a true test of their control. Gathering all their strength, Chara bundled up as many of Frisk’s strings as they could, and PULLED! Frisk’s body jerked up, stumbling to its feet, swaying back and forth. Chara felt something tight grip at their soul, straining at the touch. It was too much. They weren’t supposed to be able to do this much. Whatever fragment of them feebly clung to life wasn’t supposed to be able to exert this much of their will into the world, and the world was happy to remind them of that.

But it didn’t matter. Frisk was in danger. They needed to move. Because… because if Frisk died, so did they. So they needed to keep them safe. That was what was important. Keeping Frisk safe.

Chara imagined themself as a puppeteer hanging over Frisk's shoulders, projecting an image of themself outward. Crimson strings wrapped themselves all around Frisk’s body, connecting them to Chara’s fingers. One hand controlled their upper body, Frisk’s arms connected to Chara’s thumb and pinky, their head by their middle finger, and their torso by the remaining two. Meanwhile, their other hand controlled Frisk’s legs and hips, desperately trying to keep Frisk’s body balanced and on its feet.

With great effort, Chara began their puppeteering act, forcing Frisk’s legs to move. Left, right, left, right, again and again, all while trying to balance Frisk’s torso to keep them from flopping over. Chara figured they probably looked ridiculous, like one of those inflatable tube people they always saw outside car dealerships, but luckily there was no one around to see them. What mattered was that they were moving.

Frisk’s body stepped off the platform of flowers, sinking into the water that came up past their waist, their body instinctually shivering. Chara felt their soul cringe from the distant feeling of soggy wool gripping their body, regretting the fact that they could feel things more clearly while controlling Frisk. But still, they forced Frisk’s body forward, one shambling step at a time, making sure to keep Frisk’s backpack away from the water so they didn’t ruin anything inside.

It took a minute, but Chara started to get the hang of moving Frisk’s body around, plucking at their strings in just the right way to make them walk. It required a bit more finesse than what they were doing before, simply jerking Frisk in a certain direction while they were already moving or grabbing the strings to lock up their muscles. They had to coordinate all of Frisk’s body at once, keeping them balanced while making their legs moved. It was difficult, but manageable after a while.

Once they started to feel more comfortable moving Frisk around, Chara started to pay more attention to their surroundings. The dump was exactly as they remembered it. Waist-high water made up the floor with piles of trash rising up all around them. Toriel had once told them that the trash came down through a river on the surface that connected to the Underground. It made Chara sick to see how much humanity simply threw away, letting their junk get washed into the Underground.

But unlike humans, monsters were clever and resourceful. They took the junk that humanity carelessly tossed away and made mountains out of them. They stitched up old pieces of clothes to give their children. They studied human technology and mixed it with magic to improve their own. They melted down scrap metal to build new machines. Whatever humans couldn’t bother to use anymore, monsters repurposed.

Chara scanned the area, looking to see if there was anything they in particular could use. Obviously they didn’t have the time or resources to do anything fancy like melt down metal, but surely there had to be something around here that could help them and Frisk. It didn’t take them long to find something promising; an old cooler that was bobbing at the surface of the water. Chara made Frisk wade over to it, clumsily popping it open.

The cooler was mostly empty aside from water, which was probably from melted ice considering how cold it was, but Chara managed to find a couple packets of astronaut food. They grabbed the bags and shoved them in Frisk’s bag, making a note to tell Frisk about them later. They wouldn’t be helpful for healing since they weren’t monster food, but they could help sate Frisk’s hunger and save them some of the actually useful food in case Frisk needed a snack.

Figuring that was the best they were going to get, Chara continued forward towards the end of the dump, which they could see a short distance ahead. They walked past a training dummy that was standing in the water… then paused. They looked back at it in confusion. There was no way that dummy was heavy enough to stand in the water. Surely it should have been floating, falling over onto its back and sitting on the surface of the water.

Chara made Frisk walk over to the dummy, inspecting it carefully. It stood out like a sore thumb, its bright yellow surface clashing with the calm blues of Waterfall. Chara gave the dummy an experimental push, and like they suspected, it really wasn’t all the heavy. They gave it a harder shove, making it fall onto its back, floating a few feet away. They let out a snort as it began to bop in the water. Odd.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Chara turned away from the dummy, directing Frisk’s body towards the end of the dump, eager to get out of the water. But right before they stepped onto dry land, Chara felt a chill run through their soul. They turned around, looking back at the dummy. Or at least, where the dummy was. It had disappeared.

Pulling hard on Frisk’s strings, Chara managed to drag their body back just in time to avoid the dummy that shot out of the water in front of them. They stumbled backwards, desperately tugging at the strings to try and right Frisk’s body. Once they made Frisk stand up straight, they watched the dummy that was now flying over the water, glaring at them with exaggerated eyes that seemed to bulge out of their head.

“FOOL!” the dummy screamed with a loud, angry voice that scratched at Chara’s nonexistent ears. “You think you can hurt ME?!?” The dummy laughed, its head bobbing up and down. “I am a ghost that lives inside a dummy! My cousin used to live inside a dummy too, until YOU DESTROYED THEIR HOME!”

Chara narrowed their eyes at the dummy, wondering what the hell they were talking about. Obviously they were talking to Frisk and not them, so what ghost’s life had Frisk ruined? Napstablook? Doubtful, they seemed to be somewhat fond of Frisk. And… that was all the ghosts Frisk had interacted with. So who the heck was this dumb dummy talking about?

“Us ghosts spend our whole lives looking for a proper vessel,” the dummy continued. “Slowly, slowly, we grow closer to our bodies, until one day we become corporeal beings! Being able to laugh, love, and dance like any other. BUT YOU! You took my cousin’s future away from them! Despicable… despicable…. DESPICABLE!!!”

‘What,’ Chara thought. What the heck were they talking about? A cousin that used to live inside a dummy… who was it… wait. Chara glared at the ghost, Frisk’s head moving to the side in confusion. ‘Is… is he talking about the training dummy that Toriel tried to make Frisk talk to?’ they wondered. It was kind of strange how the dummy seemed to fly away. Chara guessed that it was possessed. But that didn’t explain how Frisk ruined their life.

The dummy glared at Frisk, its body vibrating in anger. “Well?!?” it demanded. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?!”Chara scoffed, preparing to tell the dummy how much of an idiot they were, but paused at the last second, Frisk’s mouth stopping half open.

“Don’t you ever dare to touch my voice again!”

“That really hurt. It felt so, so wrong.”

“My voice is MINE! You do not get to choose when I use it!”

Chara huffed, resisting the urge to growl. They promised not to use Frisk’s voice again. Even if Frisk wasn’t conscious, they couldn’t break that promise, especially not after they had just made it. They wouldn’t do that to Frisk. They couldn’t.

So instead they kept quiet, simply glaring at the dummy, which only made it angrier. “NOTHING?!?” it screamed. “FINE! I hope you aren’t too attached to your body then, HUMAN!” Chara hissed. ‘Of course THIS thing has to know what a human looks like,’ they lamented. The dummy thrashed in the air, its eyes bugging out even more. “BECAUSE YOUR SOUL IS ABOUT TO GET EVICTED!!!”

A violent force pulled at Chara’s soul, forcing it to the forefront of Frisk’s chest along with theirs, the red glow shining through their sweater. Chara cursed themself, trying to come up with a plan. They barely had any time to practice manipulating Frisk’s body on their own. Sure, they could make Frisk walk, but running around and dodging magic was another thing entirely. What the heck were they supposed to do?!

“Dummies, ATTACK!” the angry dummy yelled. Chara barely had time to think ‘What?’ before a series of tiny dummies sprung out of the garbage around them. All at once, the dummies opened their tiny mouth, firing off little balls of what looked like cotton that homed in on Frisk’s body. Chara tried to pull Frisk out of the way, but between their poor control of Frisk’s body and the water slowing down their movements, they could dodge all of the bullets, feeling their soul hiss in pain as a few bits of cotton impacted into them.

Realizing that there was no way they could survive in a prolonged fight, Chara decided to go on the offensive. No time for Frisk’s goody-two-shoes shtick. Maybe monsters could almost always be talked down from a fight, but it was a hell of a lot faster to intimidate them into standing down. Chara certainly didn’t want to do any lasting damage, but if there was anyone that needed a good thwack it was this dummy.

So Chara pulled on Frisk’s strings, making them take the bag off their back and throw it at the dummy. It sailed past them, landing on the patch of dry land ahead, and while the dummy turned to look at it, Chara took advantage of the distraction, making Frisk charge towards the dummy before yanking hard, forcing Frisk to rear their fist back and smack the dummy in the chest. To their surprise though, the dummy fell apart, the head and stand disconnecting from its body, the three parts falling into the water for a few seconds… before flying back into the air and reconnecting.

“Foolish, foolish, FOOLISH!” the dummy screeched. “Even if you attack my vessel, you’ll NEVER hurt me! I’m still incorporeal, you DUMMY!!!”

Oh, right. You can’t hurt a ghost.

‘Crap.’

Chara quickly decided to switch to plan B; run away. They pulled Frisk back up and made them start running towards dry land, but before they could get there a few tiny dummies sprouted out of the ground, opening up their mouths to fire off more magic cotton at Frisk. Chara yelped and forced Frisk to dive to the side, getting them even more thoroughly soaked. They cursed again, realizing that the dummy wouldn’t let them run away. So what were they-

“OWWWW!” the dummy yelped. Chara turned their vision over to the floating dummy, seeing it wiggle its body around in pain. “You dummies! Watch where you’re aiming your magic attacks!” Chara blinked once, twice, before a sense of sadistic joy began to sprout from their soul, making Frisk’s mouth twist into a sinister grin. The dummy seemed to notice, its eyes bugging out of its head once again. “Hey!” it yelled. “Forget I said anything about magic!”

‘No,’ Chara grinned, deciding that it was time to get started on plan C. More mini-dummies sprouted out of the trash around them, but Chara didn’t pay them any mind, instead making Chara charge at the dummy once again. But this time, they yanked Frisk’s strings upwards, making them leap onto the dummy, grappling onto it. The dummy screamed and thrashed around, trying to throw them off, but Chara held firm, and at the last second, they twisted so the dummy spun around.

The balls of magic cotton that the mini-dummies fired crashed into the main dummy’s back, causing it to yelp in pain. “LET GO OF ME!” the dummy screamed. “LET GO OF- OWWW!” it yelped as another volley of cotton smashed into its back. “THAT’S IT!”

The dummy thrashed again, making itself fall apart and dropping Chara back into the water, before reassembling itself. As it did, it turned its attention away from Chara, whipping around to face the mini-dummies all around it.

“Hey dummies!” it screamed. “Remember how I said NOT to shoot at me?” It paused for a second, as if waiting for the mini-dummies to reply, which they did not. “Well… FAILURES! ALL OF YOU ARE FAILURES! YOU’RE FIRED!”

Letting out a series of sad little sounds, the dummies sank into the trash, disappearing. Chara idly wondered if all of the mini-dummies were actually other monsters, or if the main dummy was just an idiot. That thought lasted a second before they turned back to the main dummy, tilting Frisk’s head to the side to ask what it was planning to do next.

“WHAT!” the dummy demanded. “YOU THINK YOU’VE WON? I DON’T NEED THEM! I’VE GOT KNIVES!” As it said that, the seems of the dummy opened up, a knife tumbling out and floating in the air for a moment, before hurtling towards Frisk.

Chara gave Frisk’s strings a hard pull, moving them out of the way just in time to avoid getting stabbed in the heart. The knife plopped into the water next to them. Chara turned their attention back to the dummy, awaiting their next attack.

…

…

“…I’m… out of knives,” the dummy admitted. Chara mentally facepalmed, almost feeling bad for the stupid thing. “But it doesn’t matter!” the dummy insisted. “You can’t hurt me! And I won’t let you leave! You’ll be stuck here with me!” The dummy jerked forward, floating directly in front of Frisk’s face. “Forever,” it whispered. “Forever!” it said louder. “FOREVER!!!!” it screamed, cackling like mad.

And then it yelped in pain again, jerking away from Frisk. “OW, OW!” it yelled. “What the heck is this?” Chara wondered the same thing, until they noticed perfectly shaped teardrops floating in the air, lazily moving about. “Acid rain?!?” the dummy screeched. “What the heck! We don’t even have rain down here!” The dummy thrashed around, looking absolutely furious. “Oh, FORGET THIS! I’M OUTA HERE!”

Chara let out a sigh of relief as the dummy flew past them, running away into the depths of the dump. They felt Frisk’s soul begin to fade back into their body, gently pulling Chara’s along with it as the Fight ended. Then, Chara turned their attention towards the exit of the dump, looking for the only monster they knew that made magic tears.

“sorry… i interrupted you, didn’t i?” Napstablook asked, their voice quiet and wobbly. “as soon as i came over, your friend left. oh no… you guys looked like you were having fun.”

Chara once again moved to speak and explain that Napstablook had actually done them a big favour, before biting their tongue.

“oh no…” Napstablook complained. “i just wanted to say hi… i’m sorry.” They floated backwards a bit. “i… i’m gonna go home now.” They looked down at Frisk, eyes widening a bit. “oh… um… feel free to come visit if you want,” they said. “but no pressure. i understand if you’re busy. it’s fine… no i get it…”

Chara resisted the urge to scoff. Yeah, no pressure, aside from how desperate they sounded. They obviously wanted Frisk to come by, but were too nervous to just ask normally. It was pretty sad. They were almost as spineless as Asri-

…crap, now they felt bad.

They groaned as Napstablook began to float away. The last thing Chara wanted to do was go hang out with someone that would try and constantly guilt trip them into doing things instead of just asking them like a normal person. But… Frisk still wasn’t awake. And Napstablook’s house would probably be a good place to rest while Frisk got back to full strength.

‘…you owe me for this, Frisk.’

Before they left, Chara turned back, seeing something floating in the water beside them. They nibbled on their lip, feeling unsure on what to do, before making a decision. They picked up the item, holding it reverently in their hand, before stepping out of the water.

As they moved onto dry land and picked up their bag, Chara pocketed the item, shoving it far down into Frisk’s backpack where they wouldn’t accidentally find it while trying to dig out their food. And then, they moved to follow Napstablook.

Frisk:

Once upon a time, Frisk’s father had once asked them “If you saw your friends jumping off a bridge, would you do it too?”. Like any other sensible child, Frisk said no, of course they wouldn’t. What Frisk hadn’t realized at the time was that they were apparently the friend that would jump off a bridge first.

Which, okay, wasn’t their brightest move, but having a 7-foot-tall armoured warrior with magical spears threatening your life makes you do crazy things.

Regardless of reason or justification, Frisk did jump. And their reward for doing so was a splitting headache that made them feel like a Greek goddess was about to pop out of their skull, and the strange sense of feeling adrift, floating endlessly through an empty void. But hey, good news, dead people didn’t feel pain, so they were probably still alive!

Frisk’s mind felt fuzzy as they drifted, their thoughts filled with static. It was impossible to think through the pain. Every now and then they could just barely hear something, a quiet sound or a few bits and pieces of conversation, but it sounded so far away. Their soul drifted along as something dragged them around, jerking them here and there.

“I- gh-t -at li- in-id- a du-y! -y cou- us- to -ve in- a -my t-, -til -ou de-to- -eir ho-!”

The voice sounded angry… was it angry at them? It probably was. They must have done something wrong again. Maybe they were being too loud? Or they were speaking too quietly? It was usually one of those two. Frisk tried to nod their head, to apologize, but they still felt so disconnected from themself, so far away from their own reality. That wasn’t good, they needed to apologize. They would get in more trouble if they did nothing.

“Fo-li-, -olish, FOO-SH!”

What were they saying? Foolish? Were they calling Frisk foolish? That made sense. They were being stupid again, weren’t they? They should just talk like a normal person. But instead, they were giving people trouble. They were making life for the people around them harder. Foolish… stupid… idiot…

“-AI-R-! -L OF Y- -RE FAILURES!

Failure… they were a failure, weren’t they? Maybe that was why their parents wouldn’t take them on their trips. Because they were a failure. Because they just gave them trouble. Maybe if they weren’t such a failure, they wouldn’t have to say with their aunt. They wouldn’t have to see her, to listen to her scream, to breathe the smoke… it was their own fault, wasn’t it?

“-sk.”

They were a failure.

“F-sk.”

They were a mistake.

“-ri-k”

They-

“FRISK!”

Frisk winced as they jerked awake, finding that their eyes were already open. Their heart was beating a million miles a minute, lungs heaving for air. They tried to whip their head around to see where they were, but their body suddenly locked in place, preventing them from moving an inch. They began to panic, worrying that they had been captured, that Undyne had found them, until a comforting voice whispered in their ear.

“Breathe, Frisk,” Chara said reassuringly, filling Frisk’s mind with a calming blue. A feeling of warmth enveloped Frisk’s soul, holding them tight. “It’s okay, you’re safe. Try not to make a scene, alright? Napstablook will get suspicious.” What? Napstablook? Sure enough, Frisk could see the ghost floating nearby, idly staring at a computer in the corner of the room they were in with a pair of headphones over their ears (Did ghosts have ears? They must have, since Napstablook was wearing headphones).

“Where are we?” Frisk asked as they tried to get control of their breathing. The last thing they remembered was being on the bridge with Undyne. She had them cornered, and then… they jumped to try and get away from her. Then things went dark for a while. They remembered feeling pain and hearing voices, but they couldn’t remember what they were saying. How did they get here?

“Napstablook’s house,” Chara answered. “We ended up in the dump after you jumped - which might have been the stupidest thing you’ve ever done by the way - and I ran into Napstablook while trying to get you somewhere safe. Figured this would be a good place to rest until you woke up.”

Oh. That made sense. Frisk didn’t realize that Chara could wake up without them, but after thinking on it, they decided it made sense. If Chara could be awake when they were asleep, it made sense that they could recover from falling unconscious before Frisk did. But that also meant that Chara could control Frisk while they were asleep, which was… slightly concerning. They would definitely need to talk about that later.

Realizing that they were safe for the moment though, Frisk took a second to look around. Napstablook’s house was small, and a bit run down, with a few floorboards missing from the ground and the paint on the walls faded and chipped. A couple of cobwebs were hanging in the corners of the ceiling, and Frisk was able to make out a flyer for a bake sale sitting in one of them. They scrunched their nose up, remembering the doughnut they had half-eaten back in the Ruins. They wondered how many spiders were in it, before deciding that no, they didn’t want to know.

There wasn’t much in the way of furniture either. A fridge and TV were pressed up against the far wall of the room, with a desk that had an old, beat-up computer pushed up against a different wall. Aside from that, there was nothing, not even a bed. Frisk tried to figure out where Napstablook slept, before wondering if ghosts even needed to sleep. Or if they even could. Maybe they were like Chara, constantly awake. That sounded pretty awful. Frisk couldn’t imagine living without knowing the joys of a nice catnap.

“How are you feeling?” Chara asked, snapping Frisk out of their thoughts. Frisk took a moment to consider the question, tensing their fingers, rolling their arms, stretching their legs, and rolling their neck. Their muscles felt a little bit stiff, but aside from that there were doing pretty alright. No major pain, no aches, they weren’t feeling sick. They could barely even tell that they had taken another fall.

“Pretty good,” Frisk replied. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

Chara only hummed in response, though Frisk could feel the faintest bit of yellow peeking into their mind. “Well then, if you’re feeling better, we should get going. I’d rather not stay in one place for too long.”

“Awwww, but we just got here!” Frisk complained.

“We’ve been here for an hour,” Chara shot back.

“Doesn’t count. I wasn’t awake, so in a way, I only just got here.”

“That’s not how this wor-”

“It’s decided then! We’re staying!” Frisk happily announced.

“No, we-”

*GRRRRRRrrrrrrr

Frisk put a hand to their stomach as it grumbled at them, complaining about how hungry they were. Right, the last time they had eaten was back when they were hanging out with MK, and between playing with them and Sans, navigating the marsh, singing with Shyren, walking through the rain, and running away from Undyne, Frisk had probably burnt away any of the energy they had gotten from their last meal.

Despite the headphones they were wearing, Napstablook apparently heard Frisk’s stomach growl (“It wasn’t that loud.” “Yes it was.”) They turned around looking at Frisk with a small smile. “oh… are you hungry?” they asked. “i can get you something to eat.”

Napstablook floated over to the fridge, Frisk standing up to follow them. Napstablook opened up the door, one of the little dangly bits at the bottom of their form reaching in and picking up a translucent-looking sandwich. They held it out to Frisk.

“here, this is a ghost sandwich. do you wanna try it?” they asked. Frisk nodded their head, reaching out to grab the sandwich, but it passed straight through their hand. Napstablook and Frisk stared down at the sandwich, both realizing at the same time that most people probably couldn’t eat ghost food. “oh… never mind,” Napstablook murmured.

“Check your bag,” Chara suggested. “I found some astronaut food you can eat.”

Frisk blinked, raising an eyebrow at Chara. “Wait, where did you find that?”

“Not important,” Chara said a bit too quickly for Frisk’s liking. But still, they trusted Chara enough not to poison them. If they were going to do that, they probably would’ve done it already, so they figured the food was safe to eat. Frisk walked over to their bag, which was sitting next to where they woke up, opening up the main pocket to find two packets of astronaut food. They pulled one out and popped it open, finding that it was some kind of beef jerky, though it tasted kind of off. Chara said the taste was probably due to the radiation. Frisk chose not to ask what that meant.

Once they finished their jerky and Napstablook finished their sandwich, Napstablook floated over to the centre of the room. “after a great meal,” they started, “i like to lie down and feel like garbage. it’s a family tradition.” They looked over at Frisk. “do… do you want to join me?”

That was… a weird way to phrase the hobby, but hey, Frisk was down. Everyone needed some time to lie on the floor and think about their existence. Frisk happily nodded their head, making their way over to Napstablook’s side.

“ok… follow my lead,” Napstablood said. Together, the two of them lay side by side, staring up at the ceiling in silence. After a minute though, Frisk slowly closed their eyes, letting their mind drift. Their breathing slowed down as they relaxed, muscles turning to mush as they sank into the floorboards. They felt the world around them fading away, their mind going blank as they simply let themself be.

For the first time in years, Frisk was at peace.

Chara, however, was not. After a few minutes or hours or years passed, they let out an annoyed huff, their voice being the only thing within Frisk’s mind. “…so how long are we gonna lie here for?” they asked with annoyance.

“…”

“Frisk.”

“…”

“FRISK!”

“…”

“STOP IGNORING ME, FRISK!” Chara yelled, a dull red beginning to blur into Frisk’s mind, disrupting the peace. That wouldn’t do.

“Can’t you feel it, Chara?” Frisk asked.

“Feel what?”

“The universe.”

“…excuse me?”

“It’s all around us. The swirling void of infinity. A cosmos of stardust and endless possibilities, stretching off into nothingness. It is everything and nothing. It creates us, but we also create it. The universe is what makes us who we are, but without us, the universe wouldn’t exist. We are the gods of our own reality, trapped within the mortal coil. The only way to be free is to shed our feeble skins, and become one with chaos.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Chara took a deep breath, before letting out a long-suffering sigh. “…I want you to know that if I had my own body, I would be beating you over the head with a frying pan right about now,” they muttered.

“Those are some pretty bummer vibes my dude,” Frisk happily replied.

“THAT’S IT, WE’RE LEAVING!” Chara shrieked, forcing Frisk to abruptly sit up. “I don’t know how, but Napstablook had to have spiked your food with something. I have no idea what it was, but it is messing with your head, and I refuse to share a body with someone that uses slang from the freaking 70s.”

“But it’s so groovy!”

“You are dead to me, Frisk.”

After hanging around for a while longer, Frisk decided that it was time to head out. They were a bit sad to say goodbye to Napstablook, but they had been resting for long enough, and Chara was starting to get a bit too antsy. So bidding their ghostly friend farewell, Frisk headed back out, following Chara’s directions and continuing their journey through Waterfall.

They were only walking for a couple of minutes before Chara had them stop, telling them to take a quick detour down a side path. According to them, there was another one of the Riverperson’s pickup points. Unfortunately, just like when they visited the one in Snowdin, Riverperson was nowhere to be seen.

“Dammit Riverperson,” Chara cursed. “Where the hell are you?”

“How much you wanna bet that they are back in Snowdin now that we aren’t there anymore?” Frisk snorted.

“With our luck recently, it’s almost certain.”

Giving up on doing things the easy way, Frisk went back the way they came to get back on the main path, but stopped when they saw a doorway with a sign over it, advertising a shop. They reached into the side pocket of their backpack, fishing around to see how many coins they had. Chara had managed to win them a decent bit of money back at Napstablook’s snail farm. They were scarily good at figuring out just how much encouragement the snail needed to win the race (Or to just barely lose, since Napstablook seemed to give them more money when their snail lost by a hairs-length than when they won).

A couple hundred gold… that was definitely enough to get them some more food. Mind made up, Frisk stepped into the store, though they quickly realized that it wasn’t exactly much of a professional setting. It was basically just a small rectangular room cut into the cave with a couple of tables dotted about, random assortments of items strewn about. Sitting in a rocking chair behind one of the tables with his eyes closed was the oldest-looking monster Frisk had ever seen.

He was a kind of turtle monster, with a heavy shell on his back and wrinkled green scaly skin, a few dots of brown splotched here and there. A long, wispy grey goatee hung from his chin, gently pressing up against the khaki-coloured safari outfit he was wearing. As Frisk approached, the monster creaked one eye open, revealing that the other one was basically swollen closed. He smiled wide as he saw Frisk, showing off his yellowing teeth, a fair few of which were missing.

“Hah!” he barked. “How ya doin' kiddo?” he asked, his voice creaky with age, but still full of excitement and energy. Frisk gave the man a smile and a thumbs up. “Good ta hear! Don’t think I’ve ever seen ya around before. Name’s Gerson! How bout you, kiddo?”

Frisk pulled their notepad out of their bag, flipping over to one of the front pages where they had previously written their introductions to MK before.

“Frisk, eh? That’s a new one.” Gerson rubbed his chin, gently stroking his goatee. “Well, nice ta meet ya kid, and welcome ta my shop! Feel free ta look around.” Frisk did as they were told, scanning the old wooden tables to see if there was anything they wanted. They wandered over to a basket with some fruit that looked like apples cut into the shape of crabs. They took a few in their hands, walking back over to Gerson and handing over some coins as payment before shoving them into their backpack.

Once they were done, Frisk held their notepad down again, scribbling on a new page. “Tell me about yourself?” they wrote, flipping the page over to show Gerson, who grinned in response.

“Ya sure ya wanna know?” he asked. “I’ve been around a long time. Maybe too long.” He picked up a nearby magnifying glass, spinning it around in his hand. “Studying history sure is easy when you’ve lived through so much of it! Wa ha ha!” he laughed, and Frisk had to try so, so hard to not picture a skinny Italian man with a purple outfit and a crooked moustache in his place.

Instead, they wrote “You’re a historian?” in their notepad, giving Gerson a questioning look. Gerson nodded his head, smiling wistfully.

“Sure am!” he chirped. “Retirement don’t suit me. And it's not like I can keep up the soldier act with how old I am!” Frisk tilted their head to the side. “What, you never heard of the Hammer of Justice? Must be younger than I thought, wa ha ha!” Gerson smiled fondly as he laughed, shaking his head. “Ah, but those days are long gone. ‘Sides, I was never a great hero. Time fer some new blood to take over. Like Undyne.”

Frisk stiffened a bit at that name, trying their best not to show their discomfort. “You know Undyne?” they wrote. Gerson raised an eyebrow, giving Frisk a strange look that they couldn’t quite place, but it made them squirm uncomfortably.

“Yeah, I know Undyne,” he replied. “Helped a bit with her training actually. Heck, when she was younger, the girl used to follow me around, watchin me beat up bad guys. Sometimes she’d even help!” He let out another laugh. “Though, most of the time, she was just attackin random folks like the mailman, but still! I appreciated it all the same, wa ha ha ha!”

Gerson slapped his knee as he laughed, wiping a tear away from his good eye. Frisk couldn’t help but smile a bit too. Hearing about Undyne as a bright-eyed and overly eager kid made her sound pretty cool. They quickly sobered up when they remembered she wasn’t a kid anymore. Now she was a warrior, one that really wanted them dead.

“Eh, but she’s calmed down a bit over the years,” Gerson continued. Frisk raised an eyebrow at that. “Okay, maybe calmed down ain’t quite right,” Gerson admitted. “But still, ya gotta respect the girl. Through grit and determination alone, she fought her way to the top of the Royal Guard! Ya gotta admit, it’s pretty impressive.”

As he said that, Gerson’s relaxed attitude seemed to melt away. His features hardened as he leaned forward, looking Frisk straight in the eye with a serious expression.

“Ya know, Undyne just came through here a little while ago,” Gerson said, making Frisk’s soul stutter. “Matter o’fact, she was askin' bout someone who looked just like ya.” He leaned back in his chair, giving Frisk a conspiratorial wink. “I’d watch yer back if I were you, kid.”

On that unsettling note, Frisk bid Gerson farewell, silently leaving the store. They took one last glance back, seeing the turtle monster leaning back in his chair and closing his eye, before walking out the door, eyes cast downward as they made their way forward, nibbling on their bottom lip nervously. The way Gerson was looking at them and what he said… it made Frisk worried that he knew what they were.

“He did,” Chara confirmed, making Frisk realise that they were thinking too loudly again. “Gerson was alive back when monsters were on the surface. He knows full well what humans look like.”

Well, that answered their question, but also raised a new one. “Do you know him?” Frisk asked.

A muddy and uncomfortable brown filled Frisk’s mind, making them feel squirmy. “I- yes,” Chara replied. “Yes, I knew him when I was alive.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m simply… recalling unpleasant memories.”

Frisk narrowed their eyes, looking back. “Should I be worried?” they asked. “Like, is he gonna call Undyne and tell her I was here?”

“I doubt it,” Chara said. “He wouldn’t have warned you about Undyne if he was going to call her.” Chara let out a sigh. “No, my discomfort is due to a conversation I had with him a long time ago. It has nothing to do with who he is. Do not worry about it.”

“If you’re sure,” Frisk replied nervously.

“I’m sure. Just try to rela-”

“hOI!”

“…oh no.”

Frisk looked down in front of them to see a tiny creature that was staring up at them with an excited smile. She looked like a weird cross between a dog and a cat, with a mostly canine body and a cat-like face, complete with cat ears, but she also had shoulder-length black hair and was wearing a blue t-shirt over her white fur.

‘Awww, hello there,’ Frisk thought, leaning down to give the monster some scritches. As soon as they did though, alarm sirens started going off in their mind, fireworks of red and green burning like Christmas lights.

“Frisk, we need to leave, now!” Chara warned.

“What, why?”

But before Chara had a chance to respond, Frisk felt something lightly brush against their face, stroking their cheek. They looked to see that one of the monster’s limbs had stretched like Mr Fantastic’s arms, reaching up to rub against Frisk’s face. Frisk tried to back up a bit, feeling uncomfortable, but the second they did a second arm shot out, two ovular paws roughly grabbing hold of Frisk’s face and forcing them to stay still.

“hOI!!! am TEMMIE!!!” the monster - Temmie - said with an unnatural smile, one that seemed far too innocent for the world, in a way that made it incredibly unsettling.

Temmie began moving her paws, rubbing them all over Frisk’s face with no regard for their comfort. The longer it went on, the more Temmie started to vibrate, her entire body shaking with enough force to power the entirety of the Underground. It didn’t seem natural. It was like instead of just shaking like normal, Temmie’s body was being grabbed and shaken around while she remained stock still. How was she doing that???

And then, for a brief moment, the vibration stopped. Temmie’s hands froze in place. She stared deeply into Frisk’s eyes, her pupils dilating as she stared into their soul.

“…”

“…”

“….aaaaAAwaaaAA cute!!!!!” Temmie screeched, before glomping at Frisk full force, sending herself hurtling into their chest and knocking them to the ground. Frisk’s back roughly hit the dirt as Temmie began to rub her face in their shirt, hugging them tightly and making weird UwU sounds over and over.

“Chara, help me!” Frisk begged. “What the hell do I do?”

“I’m so sorry Frisk,” Chara said with way too much sincerity. “There is no saving you.”

“CHARA!” Frisk screamed as Temmie rolled around on top of them.

“Just let her get it out of her system, then she’ll let you go.”

Temmie stopped suddenly, turning to look at Frisk. Her face started to vibrate again, but for some reason her eyes didn’t seem to move at all, staying in the same spot no matter how much the face around it moved.

“CHARA!!!!”

No response as Temmie’s eyes began to move away from her face, floating through the air towards Frisk’s face, growing wider and wider.

“CHARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!”

Frisk was stuck there for another ten minutes as Temmie continued to glomp and nuzzle into them. And when it was over, they knew that they would never be the same.

“It’s not too far now,” Chara told Frisk. “Just have to get through this last stretch.”

“Heck yeah!” Frisk excitedly cheered. They had been wandering through another maze - this one in the dark, with only a few lanterns here and there to light their path - and were excited to reach the end of Waterfall. As beautiful as the area was, it could also be a bit frustrating to navigate, and Frisk was tired of constantly being wet. “Alright, which way next?” they asked.

“Uhhhh,” Chara stuttered, making a few uncertain noises. “I believe you simply need to go straight from here?” they said, though it sounded more like a question than a statement. “Wait, no, maybe… actually… hmmm…”

“Do you need a minute?”

“No!” Chara snapped. “I just…” They let out a sigh. “Yes, yes I need a minute. It’s been quite some time. I don’t remember the path as well as I would like.”

“That’s okay,” Frisk reassured. “Take your time.”

“Thank you.” Chara let out another sigh. “To be honest, I had hoped that the monsters would have added more lanterns to this area by now. Mister Asgore had been talking about doing so for ages. It’s quite easy to get lost here.”

“Seems like Waterfall could use a few bits and bobs to help with navigating it,” Frisk laughed. “It’s kinda a mess.”

“Maybe just a bit,” Chara agreed. “Hey, I think I see an echo flower up ahead,” Chara noted. “Maybe it can help?”

Frisk raised an eyebrow, feeling doubtful, but started walking towards it anyway. “How many times have we said that since coming here, and how many times have we been proven wrong?” They asked.

“Well excuse me for trying to be optimistic for once,” Chara huffed. “I’ll be sure not to do so in the future.”

“Good,” Frisk chirped. “Being optimistic and cheerful is my job. It’s your job to be moody and brood inside my head like an angsty teenager who thinks Batman is the best superhero.”

A pause. “…that is somehow the most absurd and most infuriating insult I have ever heard,” Chara laughed. “How very dare you.”

Frisk grinned from ear to ear as they stepped back onto dry land, patting their legs as they walked over to the echo flower that was glowing slightly in the darkness. They squatted down so that they were at eye-level with the flower, giving it a gentle poke to make it speak.

“Behind you.” the flower said, the voice growling with anger. Frisk squinted at the flower for a moment, until they heard the sound of crackling magic and their eyes went wide. They stood abruptly and whipped around to see Undyne standing a short distance away, placing a lantern down in front of her, the light breaking the shadows around her armour. Her yellow eye glowed with silent fury as she stared Frisk down, tightly gripping a magical spear in her hand.

The two stared each other down for a moment, the only sound echoing through the silence being Frisk’s own heartbeat, as Undyne took two loud steps forward. She raised her spear up, holding it forward and pointing it directly at Frisk.

“…seven,” she growled. “Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king - King Asgore Dreemurr - will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the Barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity. And give them the suffering and pain that we have endured.”

Undyne tilted her head up, sneering down at Frisk. Her gaze cut through them like a blade, revealing every fear and vulnerability they had.

“Understand, human?” she asked, spitting the word ‘human’ as if it were an insult, a slur, like even the act of saying the word physically hurt her. “This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your soul…” She leaned forward, gripping her spear with both hands. “…or I’ll tear it from your body!”

A red glow erupted through the shadows as Frisk’s soul flared to life, though any warmth it would usually give was long gone. They took two steps away from Undyne, but their back quickly hit the wall behind them. They desperately looked around, trying to find a way out, but they were cornered in the darkness. They had no idea where they could run. Undyne slowly approached, taking a careful step forward. Frisk’s heart beat faster and faster. This was it. There was nowhere to run. This was the end, wasn’t it?

Undyne charged towards them, her metal boots clanking against the dirt. Frisk tried to move, tried to run, but fear gripped at their soul, glueing their feet to the ground. Closer and closer, the tip of her spear hurtling right towards Frisk's chest. They screwed their eyes shut, waiting for the end when-

“UNDYNE! I’ll help you fight!!!!”

Frisk’s eyes snapped open, allowing them to see a familiar little yellow raptor in front of them, positioned right between them and Undyne, the tip of her spear only an inch away from the side of their head. MK paused for a moment, looking back and forth between Frisk and Undyne. Frisk felt their heart stop, their body not even daring to breathe as they watched the scene in front of them in horror.

MK, completely unaware of their absolute terror, turned to look at Frisk with stars in their eyes. “YOOOO!!!!” they exclaimed. “You did it! Undyne is right in front of you! You’ve got front-row seats to her fight!!!”

Then they paused for a second, looking back at Undyne again, who still hadn’t moved her spear from the side of their head, and was instead just gaping at MK like a fish. MK tilted their head to the side, looking around the area for a few seconds. A confused expression washed over them.

“Waaaaaait…” MK drawled. “Whose she fighting?”

Undyne let out a frustrated groan, dispelling her spear. “Are you kidding me?” she growled. “C’mere brat,” she hissed, grabbing MK by the cheek and dragging them away from Frisk.

“Ow, ow, hey!” MK protested. “Lemme go! Wait, you aren’t gonna tell my parents about this, right?” Their voice got quieter and quieter as Undyne dragged them deeper into the darkness, leaving Frisk alone, cowering in the light of the lantern she left behind. Frisk let out a shaky breath as they leaned back against the wall, letting themself slide down. They felt a comforting blue wash over them, enveloping their soul.

“Are you alright?” Chara asked.

“No,” Frisk quickly replied. “I… I thought that she was gonna- that I was gonna- that-”

“I get it,” Chara said reassuringly. “She caught you off guard. Your fear is normal.” They let out a long sigh. “We need to be more careful. We can’t afford to get cornered like that again. Come on, let’s keep going.” But Frisk didn’t move to get up, still breathing heavily and curling further in on themself. “Do… do you want me to take over for a-”

“NO!” Frisk snapped, before instantly wincing. “I’m sorry, I didn-”

“It’s alright,” Chara stated flatly. “I… I had assumed you would be opposed to the idea. I understand that it will take time to rebuild trust. I had to offer though.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing for my mistakes.”

“But-”

“We don’t have time for this,” Chara stressed. “I know this is difficult, but we need to move before Undyne gets back. We can discuss this further at another time.”

They hated it, but Frisk knew Chara was right. Making an annoyed sound, they pushed themself up and off the wall, scooping up the lantern that Undyne had left and using it to light their way. With it, they quickly found a path off to the side that led out of the dark cavern - of course the exit was two feet away from them - abandoning the lantern as they stepped back into the light.

Frisk was barely taking in the sights around them as they mindlessly wandered forward, continuing down the path. They could just barely see puffs of glowing yellow pollen in the air floating around them, but their mind refused to focus on anything but the sight of heavy metal armour and glowing blue spears.

“What are we gonna do?” Frisk asked nervously. “I don’t think we can avoid her forever. She’s gonna catch us eventually.”

“What happened to you being slippery?” Chara snorted.

“Chara…”

“Just trying to lighten the mood,” they sighed. “I don’t know. We’ll have to find a way to give her the slip. We’ve managed it twice so far. I believe we can manage it again.”

The pollen floating in the air disappeared as Frisk continued on, walking towards a gaping chasm with a single narrow bridge crossing it, the halfway point held up by a solid piece of stone that stretched downward. “So what, we spend the rest of our time in the Underground trying to hide from her?” Frisk huffed.

“No, just until we get to Hotland,” Chara replied. “There’s no way she can survive the heat in that armour. If we can get out of Waterfall, she won’t be able to follow us.”

Frisk stepped onto the bridge, testing the planks, before slowly walking across. “And you said the entrance to Hotland is just ahead?”

“Just a little further,” Chara confirmed. “We can do this.”

“We can do this.”

“Just a little further, partner.”

Frisk paused for a moment. “Partner?”

Chara was quiet for a few seconds, a splash of uncertain teal flowing out of them. “We are partners, are we not?” they asked. “The universe may have forced us together, but it does not make us cooperate. I like to think that makes us partners, does it not?”

“…I guess it does,” Frisk smiled. “Shall we?”

“We sha-”

“Yo!”

Frisk felt their heart stop as their body cringed. They slowly turned around to see MK standing on the other side of the bridge, giving them a weird look. The monster took a few steps towards them, hesitating for a moment, before steeling themself and continuing toward Frisk. Frisk hated how unsure MK looked, like they were something to be afraid of. It made them feel sick.

MK stopped a few feet away from Frisk, tapping the claws of their feet against the bridge. “Yo…” they hesitated. “I… I know I’m not supposed to be here, but like, I wanna ask you something. That alright?” Frisk nodded. “Okay, so, uh…” they faltered, laughing humourlessly. “Man, I’ve never had to ask someone this before… um… are… are you human?”

With a sigh, Frisk nodded their head, looking away and rubbing their arm uncomfortably. They really, really wanted to try and keep this from MK. They liked having a friend that didn’t know. Who they could just be Frisk around, instead of Frisk the Human. Being human always came with strings in the Underground, whether that be people feeling like they needed to capture them, or being afraid of them because of what they could do. All they wanted was one friend that didn’t know. Was that too much to ask?

“Man, I knew it!” MK exclaimed, before smiling sheepishly. “I mean, I didn’t know until Undyne told me to ‘Stay away from that human’, which, ya know, kinda gave it away.”

Frisk moved to take off their backpack, a dagger stabbing at their soul when they saw MK flinch in fear. They slowed down their movements to show they meant no harm, pulling their notepad out of their bag. “I’m sorry for lying to you,” they wrote.

“Nah, I get it,” MK said. “Though, uh… I guess this kinda makes us enemies, right?” they asked. They let out another chuckle. “But uh, I kinda suck at that.” They gave Frisk a hopeful look. “Hey, totally weird question, but can you say something mean so I can hate you?”

Eyes wide, Frisk violently shook their head, adamantly refusing to say anything rude to their friend. “No!” they wrote. “I don’t want to be enemies!”

“We kinda have to be, don’t we? MK asked. “So c’mon, say something mean!” Frisk shook their head again. “Really? So what, I have to do it?”

“Please don’t.”

MK ignored them, scrunching up their face and looking thoughtful. “Um… ok… uh…” They closed their eyes and took a quick breath, before giving Frisk a half-hearted glare. “Y-yo! I… I hate your guts!” Almost immediately, their expression fell. They kicked the ground, blowing a razzberry. “Man, I feel like such a turd,” they mumbled. “I… I think I’m just gonna head home now.”

Frisk turned away as MK began to walk away, letting out a tired sigh. Well, there went the only friend their age that they had in the Underground. Great. Frisk took two steps forward, wrapping their arms around themself for comfort when-

*CRACK

*THUMP

“HELP!” MK screamed.

Frisk snapped their head around, looking for MK, not seeing them anywhere on the bridge, until their eyes caught a bit of yellow, fear striking their heart as they saw MK hanging above the chasm, barely holding on to a small ledge in the stone pillar holding the bridge up by their teeth.

“MK!” Frisk screamed, immediately rushing over to help them, only to stop in their tracks as they saw Undyne on the other side of the bridge, glaring at them with absolute hatred. Frisk felt their entire body freeze, their blood running cold as Undyne took a single step towards them.

*Crrrrrrck

The sound of bits of stone crumbling off the ledge and falling into the abyss snapped Frisk out of their stupor. They gave Undyne a hard look, daring her to stop them as they ran to the middle of the bridge, sliding down and reaching down to grab MK, hooking their hand into the monster’s sweater. They pulled up as hard as they could, straining to drag MK back onto the bridge. The monster did their best to help, scratching their claws against the stone pillar as they tried to scramble up.

Eventually, with great effort, the two managed to get MK back onto the bridge, both of them collapsing and panting heavily as they did. Frisk took a moment to breathe, before slowly looking over to stare at Undyne, who hadn’t moved from where she was, her eye slowly drifting between Frisk and MK, giving the two a calculating gaze. She took another step forward, the clang of her metal boots echoing through the cave.

The immediately caught MK’s attention, the little raptor snapping their head up to look at Undyne. They shot to their feet, standing over Frisk protectively. “Y-y-yo!” they stuttered. “I-if you want to h-hurt my friend, you’re gonna have to go through me!”

Friend.

Friend.

‘My friend.’

Frisk smiled at MK, before turning their attention back to Undyne. She narrowed her eye at the two, moving her head to the side slightly, before taking a step backward. Her eye snapped over to Frisk, glaring at them in a way that told them this wasn’t over, before she turned around and walked away.

MK and Frisk stared off in the direction that Undyne went, neither of them saying anything for a minute. Once they were sure that she wasn’t coming back, the two let out a sigh of relief in sync, before giving each other a look and laughing. MK smiled wide at Frisk, showing off their teeth.

“I think she’s gone,” they said. “Yo, you really saved my skin! I uh… I guess being enemies was just a nice thought, huh?”

“Was a pretty crappy thought to me,” Frisk wrote, giving MK a deadpan expression.

“Okay yeah, it was a stupid idea,” they admitted. “Guess we’ll just have to be friends instead,” they smiled, nudging Frisk with their shoulder. Frisk giggled and went to give MK a light push, before remembering where they were and deciding not to risk MK falling off the bridge again. A sudden look of panic washed over MK. “Oh man, I REALLY need to get home!” they said. “My parents are probably worried sick!” They started to walk away, before stopping halfway, looking over their shoulder “Hey, let me know next time you’re in Snowdin! We can hang out without Undyne trying to kill you!” They gave Frisk a wide smile. “Later!” they called, before running off to head home.

Frisk smiled as they watched MK leave, letting out a quiet sigh once they were gone. They stood up and stretched their back, rolling their shoulders, before continuing across the bridge, onward to whatever came next.

Frisk jogged on through Waterfall, eager to reach the end as quickly as possible, ignoring the massive bath house that they passed by on the way. As tempting as it was to clean themself, they cared more about staying alive and getting the heck away from Undyne. They weren’t going to risk getting themself cornered again, and going into a crowded building where Undyne could trap them seemed like a terrible idea.

As a nervous teal began to seep into their mind, Frisk slowed their jog into a walk, giving Chara the time they needed to form their words.

“We’re just about there,” they said. “The entrance to Hotland is right ahead. If Undyne is going to confront us anywhere, it will be here.” Frisk’s body shuddered as they took in a shaky breath. “Are you ready?” Chara asked.

“No,” Frisk said simply.

“Heh, figured,” Chara laughed. “Just remember, I’m with you all the way, okay partner?” Frisk felt something press against their soul, a comforting presence wrapping around the core of their being. “We’ve got this.” Frisk took a slow, deep breath, forcing themself to walk forward. Their eyes carefully scanned the area around them as they walked, searching for any trace of Undyne.

They walked on a long stone path that wasn’t encased by walls, letting Frisk look over the edge to see a pit of sharpened stalagmites on both sides of the walkway, resting dozens of feet down from where they were. The ceiling of the cavern was so high above them that it couldn’t be seen, making it almost seem like they were out of the Underground if it wasn’t for the endless darkness all around them, devoid of even the false stars that the rest of Waterfall had.

Ahead of them, Frisk could see stone walls rising against the path, forming a mountain-like structure with a tunnel carved through it; the entrance to Hotland. Their heart raced for a moment and they almost smiled, until they looked up, seeing a figure standing at the tip of the mountain, balancing perfectly on the uneven stone. Undyne’s back was turned to Frisk as she stared off into the distance, a red glow surrounding the skyline around her.

Frisk slowed to a halt, barely even daring to breathe as they stared up at Undyne, waiting for her to make her move.

“…seven,” Undyne declared, her voice carrying on the wind. “Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god.” She paused for a second, looking to the side. “Six… that’s how many we’ve collected thus far.” Frisk’s heart stopped as they heard that. Six souls. They only needed seven souls, and they already had six human souls.

Six dead kids.

“Understand?” Undyne asked, turning her head just enough that Frisk could see a flash of her eye. “Through your seventh and final soul, this world will be transformed.” She looked away. “But first, as is customary for those that have made it this far, let me tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started long ago…”

Undyne's voice trailed off towards the end, sounding quiet and unsure for a moment. Frisk looked at her sadly, almost feeling bad for her for a second. This probably wasn’t an easy story for her to tell. It was a tale of her she and everyone she loved had been trapped for a crime they had never committed. It only made sense that she needed a second to compose herself.

“No…” Undyne whispered, her voice still carrying across the cavern. “You know WHAT?” She whipped around fists shaking in anger as she glared down at Frisk. “SCREW IT! WHY THE HELL SHOULD I TELL YOU THIS STORY WHEN YOU’RE ABOUT TO DIE?!?!?!” Undyne violently grabbed her helmet, ripping it off her head and letting out a roar before tossing it to the side. The wind picked up as she did, violently whipping all around Frisk and pushing them back a few inches, forcing them to close their eyes and shield their face until it calmed back down.

As it did, Frisk immediately snapped their gaze back to Undyne, finally able to see the face of their would-be murderer; blue-scaled skin, large webbed ears, fiery red hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail, razor-sharp teeth, and a single, glowing yellow eye, the other covered by a black eyepatch.

“YOU!” Undyne screamed, her voice wavering with barely controlled anger. “You’re standing in the way of everyone’s hopes and dreams!” She let out a scoff. “Alphys’ history books made me think that humans were cool, with their giant robots and flowery swordsmen.”

“Wait, what?” Chara asked. “What kind of-”

“BUT YOU?!?” Undyne growled. “You’re nothing but a COWARD! Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again!”

Frisk let their head fall slightly forward, staring at Undyne with a deadpan expression; the universal signal for asking “Are you actually freaking serious right now?” Was she ignoring the fact that they had just saved MK’s life and that the monster had CHOSEN to stand up for them, or was she just so hell-bent on murdering them that she was justifying her own bullcrap?

“Oh, and let’s not forget your wimpy goody-two-shoes-shtick!” Undyne droned, rolling her eye and putting a hand on her hip, making a mocking gesture with her other hand, opening and closing it to imitate talking. “Oh look at me,” she said in a high-pitched mocking voice, “I’m making such a big difference by hugging random strangers!” She snorted, looking back down at Frisk. “You know what would really help us?” she asked. “IF YOU WERE DEAD!!!”

“I t-think I personally prefer living, thanks,” Frisk shakily thought, trying to keep a lid on their frayed nerves. “Can I offer you a coupon instead?” That got a quiet and nervous laugh from Chara, which counted as a win in Frisk’s book.

“Your life is all that stands in the way of everyone’s freedom!” Undyne called. “All we need to go free is your soul, but you won’t give it up, will you? You selfishly hold onto the key to our prison, acting like you deserve to live just because you haven’t murdered anyone! But guess what, human? Your life, the very fact that you even exist is a crime!”

Black sludge erupted in Frisk’s mind, smothering their soul and tainting the edges of their vision. Their skull pounded in pain, pulsing in time with the flowing darkness. Frisk closed one eye, trying to fight back against the abyss flooding their mind, but it was a losing battle, the tar blocking out everything except Chara, Undyne’s voice fading into the background.

“Chara,” Frisk whimpered. “C-calm down, please.” The darkness stuttered for a moment, before slowly beginning to recede. Frisk’s sense returned to them as the black began to fade, but it didn’t completely leave them, the edge of their soul still stained with tar, an ever-present weight on their heart.

“I’m sorry,” Chara sobbed. “I just-”

“It’s okay,” Frisk interrupted. “Later, alright?”

“…alright.”

*SHING

*FRRRRMP

Frisk staggered back a step as a spear stabbed into the ground in front of them. “Now, let’s end this!” Undyne roared as Frisk turned their attention back to her. “Step forward when you’re ready!” Frisk tore their eyes away from Undyne, staring at the spear in front of them. It hadn’t shattered or faded away like the others she used had before, the blue glow that made up its form seeming more solid. Frisk took a step forward, feeling the magic of the spear making their hair stand on end.

A hint of comforting blue dripped into Frisk’s mind, desperately trying to break through the black sludge that was still there. “We’ve got this,” Chara said. Frisk figured they were trying to sound reassuring, but they sounded just as nervous as Frisk felt.

Closing their eyes, Frisk took a deep breath. In… and out. In… and out. They opened their eyes, watching the tunnel ahead of them, looking up at Undyne, then down at the spear in front of them, keeping their breathing even. They could do this. Undyne was just one woman, and she was the only thing standing between them and the path forward. Frisk and Chara had escaped her twice before on their own. They could do it a third time.

They could do this. She was just one woman.

Taking their bag off their back and dropping it to the side, Frisk stepped forward, grabbing the spear like the Sword in the Stone. All around them, the wind was howling, eagerly awaiting the ensuing fight to carry away the blood to be spilt. The magic radiating off the spear in their grip set their nerves alight, sending tingling feelings up their arm. Frisk tightened their grip on the spear, listening to their heart beating in their chest.

“I haven’t come this far to turn back now,” Frisk announced. “No matter what, I’m not giving up.”

Warmth flooded into Frisk’s soul, banishing the shadows of doubt. They felt Chara smile, a pale yellow peeking into their mind, before fading away as they focused. “Thinking about your journey so far,” Chara began. “About everything you’ve done, and how far you’ve come… it fills you with Determination!”

Frisk ripped the spear from the ground, taking note of its blunt, rounded tip, and holding it tight in both hands as they took up a fighting stance, eyes hard as they watched Undyne above them.

The monster gave them a sinister smile, all sharp teeth and cocky attitude, as she held her arm out to the side, summoning a spear of her own. “Alright then!” she yelled. “No more running away! HERE I COME!” she roared, leaping off the mountaintop, gripping her spear in both hands and pointing it downward as she descended, thrusting the tip into the stone as she crashed into the floor, shaking the earth as it *CRUNCHED beneath her boots.

As she rose up to her full height, Undyne swiped her spear through the air, a flicker of green magic streaking through the air. Frisk felt something deep in their heart, the feeling of having their soul replaced gripping at their being as the red glow in their chest turned a deep green, just like when Papyrus manipulated their soul before. But instead of feeling like gravity had increased around them, Frisk felt something welling up in their soul, power building and building, begging to be released. Danger… there was danger… they had to protect!

Against their will, the power released, a shockwave of light bursting from their soul and stretching outward in every direction, creating a circle all around them, ten feet in every direction. The light solidified and expanded, forming a dome of interlocking shapes and prisms, trapping both Frisk and Undyne in a bright-green forcefield of light.

Frisk’s eyes darted around as the shield formed, mind racing as they tried to understand what was happening. They quickly backed up, stopping as they felt their back press up against the edge of the shield. They took one hand off their spear and ran it along the barrier, pushing against it to test its strength, and finding that it wouldn’t move, no matter how hard they pushed. “Chara?” they asked.

“Clever,” Chara muttered. “She’s enforced Kindness on your soul, and managed to turn it from a shield into a trap.”

“What does that-”

“EN GUARGE!”

Undyne raised a hand up, seven spears flickering to life behind her, before clenching her fist, firing the spears off. They immediately hone on in Frisk’s position, the human letting their instincts take over, ducking into a roll and dodging to their right. The spears sailed past them and crashed into the barrier, and when they did, Frisk felt something grip at their chest, clenching their soul. It wasn’t painful, but it still strained them, like how muscles felt when lifting something heavy.

No time to think about it as Undyne launched herself at Frisk, swinging her spear in a wide arc. Frisk bent backward to duck underneath it, flinging themself upright and jumping up when Undyne fell into a sweeping kick. Undyne moved with her momentum, spinning into a flurry of quick jabs with her spear, forcing Frisk to bob and weave from side to side, using their own spear as a shield whenever they weren’t quick enough, deflecting Undyne’s blows.

With every blow they were forced to block, Frisk felt the muscles in their arms scream in pain. Undyne was so much bigger and stronger than they were; they just didn’t have the strength to hold her back. Desperately needing to put some space between them, Frisk ducked to the side to avoid another one of Undyne’s stabs, before kicking into the stone and launching themself forward, thrusting their spear towards Undyne’s face. The monster ducked sideway, and Frisk took their chance, spinning into a roundhouse kick and slamming their foot into Undyne’s chest, knocking her back a few inches and staggering her for long enough that they could run to the other side of the dome, a single thought on their mind:

‘OWWWWW,’ their mind screamed, scolding them for having the idiotic idea of kicking the person wearing full plate armour. Their foot throbbed in pain, giving them a slight limp as they ran. Maybe it was worth it for the few seconds they got to breathe, but it certainly didn’t feel worth it.

But a few seconds was all they got, because the second they made it to the other side of the arena Undyne continued her assault, stabbing the tip of her spear into the ground before dragging it forward towards Frisk. As she did, a line of blue light shot across the stone in Frisk’s direction, an army of spears ripping out of the ground in its wake. Frisk ducked into a roll and dodged right again, but before they even had the chance to get up Undyne was on top of them, stabbing downward with her spear. Frisk tried to dodge, but they were still off-balance, only managing to move just enough that the spear didn’t run them through, rewarded for their efforts with Undyne’s spear cutting a jagged slash across the side of their ribs.

Frisk’s chest exploded in pain, their body and soul screaming in sync. They staggered to the side, grabbing their ribs to put pressure on the wound, hissing as it stung, before remembering where they were, looking up just in time to see Undyne grinning, her leg already in motion a metal shin SLAMMED into their chest, lifting Frisk off the ground and throwing them across the arena, their back making a horrible sound as it crashed into the forcefield. Their body bounced slightly as it hit the ground, their spear clattering as they lost their grip on it.

“FRISK!” Chara screamed.

Frisk tried to push themself up to no avail, their body refusing to move. They were in so much pain. Their vision swam, blurring at the edges as black spots danced in their eyes. Their lungs heaved and wheezed as they tried to pull in air, but their chest only shook uselessly, not taking in anything. Blood stained the stone beneath them from the slash at their side, slowly starting to form a pool beneath them. The fight had barely just begun, and Frisk was already- they were- they-

…they were going to die, weren’t they?

“Frisk, get up!” Chara begged, their voice sounding so, so far away. “Frisk, please! I-”

The stomp of a metal boot in front of their face made Frisk cringe, their head slowly looking up to see Undyne’s blurry form standing over them. They could just barely make out her toothy grin and the tip of her spear, which was hovering over them, before she brought it down, stabbing towards them with all her might.

*SHINK

Frisk screamed as the spear tore through their chest, crushing their ribs and skewering their heart. Their back involuntarily arched from the pain, pushing the spear further through them. Their scream quickly faded into a chocked squeaking as the world started to fade away, the blur being replaced with darkness as they fell deeper and deeper and deeper and-

…

…

They couldn’t feel anything.

…

They were floating, they thought. Drifing in nothingness. Was this… were they dead? Was this what death felt like? Nothing? They expected it to hurt. And it had hurt in the moment, a pain they never knew was possible, but then it just stopped. There was no pain. There was just… emptiness.

…

…

They died. It was over.

…

…

They were dead. They-

“-ra, st- de-mi-!”

Was someone there?

“-ple-e!”

A voice was calling out to them, sweet and feather-light. It sounded so, so familiar, but they just couldn’t place it.

“Chara! Please!”

That’s not-

“This is just a bad dream! Wake up, Chara! You have to stay determined!”

…a bad dream… but they…

…no.

No, they weren’t done yet. They hadn’t come this far just to give up. They REFUSED to give up!

Pain bloomed in their chest,a screaming hurt that took over their entire being, a reminder of their fate. But since when did they care about fate? They had bent the world to their will before. They could do it again.

Their hand - Frisk’s hand - reached out into the void, calling upon the light. A golden star burned to life, cutting away the shadows in an instant. A red string began to twirl through the air, flashing memories in their eyes. Frisk reached toward it, grasping it in their hand. The world void exploded into colour around them, showing the memory of their own death from the outside. They stood over their own corpse, seeing the light leave their eyes.

But this wasn’t their fate. This wasn’t their end.

They forced the string to twist in on itself, looping it backward. All around them, the world began to rewind, their fight with Undyne playing in reverse as it all came undone. They stopped when they reached the point right before the fight began, their hand grasping the spear in the ground, ready to pull it out. They gave the string in their hand one more tug, looping it over itself, twisting it into a knot. They tugged it tight before letting go, the string eagerly flowing forward on its own once again. Their body burned away to ashes, disappearing as they returned to their old form. And then…

Then they woke up.

Frisk stepped forward, grabbing the spear like the Sword in the Stone. All around them, the wind was howling, eagerly awaiting the ensuing fight to carry away the blood to be spilt. The magic radiating off the spear in their grip set their nerves alight, sending tingling feelings up their arm. Frisk tightened their grip on the spear, listening to their heart beating in their chest.

And then the realization hit them.

They died. Like, completely and fully DIED. They-

Frisk let go of the spear, stumbling back a few steps and falling onto their butt, placing a hand over their heart, only to find that it wasn’t beating as hard as it should have been. They died. They should have been on the verge of a panic attack, but they felt… not fine, but not not fine. Their mind knew that something was wrong - they could very clearly remember the feeling of dying, the pain, the darkness, their consciousness and life fading away bit by bit - but their body just wasn’t registering it. Like it never happened at all. Which, in a way, it didn’t, but it also did.

Feeling a headache coming in, Frisk rubbed their temples. Everything was so confusing. It really did feel like everything that happened before had just been a dream, a nightmare that was slowly fading into the back of their mind. Even as their mind forced them to think about the feeling of Undyne’s spear piercing their chest over and over, their body simply refused to panic. It was so jarring, their body and mind at war at how they were supposed to feel.

“Okay,” Frisk started, their voice a little wobbly. “Was that as disorienting for you as it was for me?” they asked Chara. “…Chara?” they asked again when they didn’t hear a response. “Are you-”

“Did you hear a voice?” Chara interrupted.

Frisk blinked twice, tilting their head to the side. “A voice?”

“Yeah… when we were… gone. Did you hear someone?”

“…actually, yeah, now that you mention it.” Frisk let out a quiet hum. “Yeah, there was… someone saying that it was all just a bad dream, and to stay determined.” They paused for a moment. “But it sounded like they were talking to you.”

Chara only hummed in response, sorrowful blues and blacks pulsing in Frisk’s mind. “We can worry about that later,” they eventually said, their voice painfully monotone. “For now, we have bigger issues,” they said, turning Frisk’s attention back to Undyne, who was still staring at them from the top of her mountain perch, a strange expression on her face.

“Right,” Frisk sighed. “…she really killed us.”

“She killed you. I’m already dead.”

“Chara…”

“Fine,” they huffed. “Well, I’m sure it’s obvious that we can’t beat Undyne in a fair fight. She’s clearly a skilled warrior, both in terms of her martial prowess and her magical capabilities.”

“That reminds me,” Frisk cut in. “What was that forcefield? You said something about Kindness?”

“Another variation of soul manipulation,” Chara explained. “She enforced the Kindness trait on your soul. Usually, it’s supposed to be a protective spell, but Undyne has turned it into a trap. I hate to admit it, but I’m honestly impressed with the ingenuity of it.”

“How does it work?”

Frisk could feel Chara shift into what they called ‘Professor Mode’, where they prepared themself to explain something in the longest, most overcomplicated way possible. “The Kindness trait is supposed to help you protect others,” Chara began. “Enforcing it on a soul turns your desires to help and protect others into a shield the forms around you, using the strength of your soul like a battery to power it. However, Kindness without restriction turns to self-sacrifice. The spell traps you, forcibly preventing you from abandoning others.”

“So it isn’t Undyne making the shield, but me?” Frisk asked.

“Essentially. Undyne is simply forcing your soul to do so, pushing your desires to protect to the surface.” Chara paused their explanation, Frisk feeling them gazing around the area. “We’re lucky that you’re… well, you.”

Frisk tilted their head to the side. “Uh, what the heck does that mean?”

“It means that if our roles were reversed, this trap would become much more dangerous,” Chara replied. “The forcefield is powered by your Kindness. The more you have, the larger the shield that gets created. And because you’re such a goody-two-shoes sap that likes to hug everyone they meet, we have a decent amount of space to work with.”

“Awwww,” Frisk cooed. “That was almost really sweet.”

“Bite me,” Chara snapped. “One more thing,” they added. “Because the shield is powered by your soul, any damage it takes has to be repaired by drawing strength from you. Which means that if you let Undyne try and bust some holes in the barrier, you’ll get exhausted fast.”

Frisk thought back to their fight, remembering how they felt something tug at them when Undyne’s spears hit the shield. They grimaced, clicking their tongue. “So I can’t afford to dodge those spears she throws at me,” they reasoned.

“Correct,” Chara confirmed. “Luckily, the idiot seems to value honour, and she gave you a weapon of your own. That blunt spear may not be able to cut, but it should do well for deflecting her blows.” Frisk frowned at that, not liking the idea of staying still and blocking attacks. They definitely preferred to dodge rather than block. The only time they had really focused on blocking was when they were fighting Papyrus, and that was only because moving wasn’t much of an option. But then, it wasn’t really an option here either, was it? If they wanted to make it out of this alive, they’d have to face Undyne head-on.

“Any ideas on how to actually get past her?” Frisk asked.

Chara gave them a mental shrug. “Outlast and exhaust her like we did with Papyrus?” they suggested. “With that armour and the amount of magic she’s throwing around, she can’t exactly go forever. She’ll have to drop the spell eventually.”

Frisk sighed, remembering that they were just as worn out as Papyrus was when their fight was over. But maybe that was because they had to run around while gravity was trying to crush them. They weren’t exactly super optimistic, but they tried to be a bit hopeful. “Well, it’s about as a good a plan as any,” Frisk said breathily, standing back up and patting their legs down. “Ready for round two?”

“I should be asking you that,” Chara snorted. “I’m not the one fighting for my life.” Frisk let out a humourless chuckle, rubbing the back of their neck. They bit down on their lip, looking off to the side, worry gnawing at their heart.

“Do…” they started, trailing off as they struggled to get the words out. “Do you think that if I- if it goes bad again… that we’ll…”

“…I don’t know,” Chara whispered. “I want to say I’d rather not risk it, but I don’t think we have much of a choice. There’s no way that we’re getting past her without…”

Frisk let out a long sigh, preparing themself for the worst. “Guess I better get used to it quickly,” they muttered. “Maybe I should consider myself lucky. I mean, how many people can say they actually know what dying feels like?”

Chara let out an undignified snort, Frisk practically feeling them roll their eyes. “Well, there’s at least two of us right here,” they snarked. “So hey, maybe it’s more common than you think.”

As tempting as it was to say more, Frisk bit their tongue. They were stalling. They looked up at Undyne, seeing her glaring at them impatiently, gritting her teeth with frustration. They couldn’t put this off forever, as tempting as it was. So with a heavy heart, Frisk stepped forward, pulling their spear from the ground and taking up a fighting stance.

‘Here we go again.’

Standing their ground was so much easier said than done. Frisk was thankful for Papyrus, because fighting him gave them plenty of practice with parrying projectiles out of the air. But it was clear that Papyrus’ fighting style was a pale imitation of Undyne’s, because while Papyrus aimed to hurt, Undyne aimed to kill. 

Frisk stood with their back to the edge of the shield, trying to narrow down the angles that Undyne’s spears could come at them from, swinging their weapon this way and that as they bashed soaring spears out of the air, squinting their eyes when the spears shattered into shards of magic that shotgunned over their face. They were holding their ground well, keeping the spears from harming themself or the barrier, when a siren of red suddenly went off in Frisk’s mind as Chara screamed. Frisk whipped around, bringing their spear up just in time to block an overhead strike from Undyne, falling to one knee from the force of the blow. 

“Not bad!” Undyne grinned, and wow, Frisk had no idea if they should feel honoured that the person trying to murder them was impressed. Undyne pushed down on her spear, Frisk’s arms straining with effort to continue holding her attack back. “But not good ENOUGH!” Undyne yelled, Frisk feeling the hairs on the back of their neck stand on end as they saw a blue light begin to glow underneath them. They looked down just in time to see a spear rip out of the ground and-

“Chara, you can’t give up just yet! Stay determined!”

“What’s wrong, human?” Undyne taunted. “Getting tired already?” 

Frisk huffed and puffed, wiping a bit of blood from their brow, the shallow cut across their forehead stinging as they brushed their hand over it. Their entire body felt sore. They had lasted longer than they ever had before; a couple of minutes, two, maybe three? They were learning that if they stayed closer to the centre of the arena, Undyne was less likely to try and rush them, more willing to keep back and try and catch them off guard by summoning spears from every angle, hoping to catch Frisk in a blind spot. 

Luckily, Frisk didn’t have blind spots, thanks to a little tag-along named Chara, who kept an eye on Frisk’s surroundings, warning Frisk whenever a spear they couldn’t see was coming their way. The two had come up with a good system, Chara relying more on pushing forward feelings of danger than suddenly yelling “LOOK OUT!” 

But that didn’t help with the physical exhaustion. Frisk had spent the past two minutes spinning in place, whacking spears out of the sky and dancing in place to slip past any that they couldn’t break, and it was exhausting. They couldn’t keep this up forever. Meanwhile, Undyne seemed completely fine, standing cockily off to the side, casually resting a spear against her shoulder as she summoned more with her free hand. 

“Pathetic,” Undyne sneered. “If this is the best that you’ve got, then you might as well give up now! Here, let me make it easy for you!” 

Undyne raised her spear to the sky, dozens of identical copies materializing in the air all around Frisk, holding for a moment before firing off all at once. Frisk hissed and assumed their stance, shifting their grip on their spear to the end of the shaft to give them as much range as possible and swinging the spear around, cutting down as many projectiles as they could. But there were just too many. 

A spear sliced across their leg, forcing them to drop to one knee. 

Another ripped another cut across their forehead, bleeding into their eye and half-blinding them. 

A third pierced itself straight into their shoulder, Frisk letting out a pained gasp as they dropped their spear, leaving them defenceless against the incoming barrage. 

They lost count of how many spears tore through their chest before they faded away.

“You have to keep going, Chara! Stay determined!”

Frisk weaved from side to side, holding their spear in their right hand as Undyne stomped around them, summoning spears in both hands over and over, swinging wildly at Frisk. Frisk ducked under one swipe before bashing their spear into another, Undyne’s hastily made weapon shattering like glass, then leaned right to avoid a stab. Undyne quickly summoned a new spear to replace the old one, alternating between the two as she jabbed at Frisk over and over, forcing them to move left, right, right, left, right, down, left, down, right, left, taking a step back after every stab to try and put some distance between them and her.

Then completely at random, Undyne replaced one of her stabs with a spin, twisting her body around and roundhouse kicking Frisk in the side, throwing them to the left as they felt their ribs *CRUNCH, letting out a visceral scream of agony. They stumbled, desperately trying to stay upright, a hand hovering over their broken ribs. They turned to look at Undyne, who was quickly rushing towards them with her spears primed, and Frisk let out a breath, closing their eyes. They weren’t going to accomplish anything in their condition. Better to give up and just try again.

That didn’t make it hurt any less when Undyne ran one spear through their stomach, lifting them up off the ground and listening to their screams for a few moments of eternity, before finally granting them mercy by driving her second spear into their neck.

“Get up Chara, please! Stay determined!”

The sound of shattering glass filled the air as Frisk spun on their heel, wielding their blunt spear like a bat as they blocked and parried spears out of the sky. They had given up on trying to bash them like they did with Papyrus, learning that the spears were more fragile, more hastily made. The second the projectiles hit Frisk’s spear, they fell apart. No point in wasting energy trying to destroy them when they’d break themselves.

But more importantly, Frisk learned to stop trying to think and to just act. They turned around, holding their spear sideways to block a spear aimed at their back, before dropping down to avoid one shooting towards the back of their head. Dodge right, block left, jump, move before you’re overwhelmed. There was too much going on at once for them to think, they couldn’t process it all in time. So they stopped thinking, and let instinct take over. ‘Don’t think, just act.’

A line of blue ripped through the ground towards Frisk, spears crisscrossing as they broke through the earth in its wake. Instead of dodging to the side like they had in a previous life, Frisk pushed their spear into the ground and used it to vault themself into the air, flipping over the spears, giving them clear sight of Undyne as she rushed towards them. The second they hit the ground, Frisk brought their spear up and blocked a strike from the left, Undyne’s spear shattering on impact.

Frisk fell into a familiar pattern, eyes darting back and forth as they kept track of Undyne’s arms, watching their movements. A fog filled their brain as they danced, shifting their spear left, right, up, left. A flash of movement in the corner of their vision, and they ducked underneath Undyne’s roundhouse kick, spinning underneath her leg and bringing themself up in time to block her next blow.

Undyne continued her assault, swinging wildly, summoning and breaking spears over and over as she tried to pierce through Frisk’s defences, grinning like a shark as she pushed them further and further back. Frisk slowly backed up, making sure that Undyne couldn’t get too close to them, keeping themself a spear's length away, making sure-

Their back hit the wall of the shield, and Frisk snapped out of their trance, their head whipping to the side to see that they were trapped. Too late, they remembered Undyne was there, turning around just in time to see a spear coming straight towards their eye and-

“I believe in you, Chara! Please, stay determined!”

A spear ripped out of the ground and tore through Frisk’s leg, a scream filling the air as they fell to the ground. Undyne loomed over them, her shadow casting them in darkness as she raised another spear up and-

“Chara, don’t lose hope! Stay determined!"

A metal boot smashed into their chest, sending Frisk flying into the air. A stabbing pain tore through them as they hit the ground, coughing and sputtering, crimson splattering on the ground as blood filled their throat. The ground beneath them began to glow blue before-

“Remember Chara, you can do anything! No matter what, just stay determined!”

Frisk dropped their spear as Undyne’s gauntlet gripped their face, the monster lifting them into the air as if they weighed nothing. Frisk struggled and kicked, clawing at Undyne’s arm to try and force her to let go, her iron-clad hand gripping tight as pressure built around their skull, growing tighter and tighter until-

“Believe in yourself Chara! Everything will be okay if you stay determined!”

“This isn’t working,” Frisk complained.

Frisk was sprawled out on the ground like a starfish, completely uncaring about how Undyne was watching them with a mixture of bafflement and anger. She was trying to kill them, she had killed them, and she was going to kill them again, and then she wouldn’t remember them flopping onto the ground dramatically and making her wait twenty minutes to pick up the spear and start fighting, so Frisk had no issue with making her wait and pissing her off while they dealt with their existential crisis.

“Ten minutes,” Frisk continued, digging their palms into their eyes. “I lasted for ten entire minutes against her, and NOTHING! She didn’t even seem tired! Heck, I think she was enjoying it!”

“She definitely was,” Chara confirmed with a huff.

“And don’t even get me STARTED on that whole ‘killing you is a mercy’ crap she tried to pull!”

“Considering killing you just brings you back here, it’s quite the opposite.”

“She just- UGHHHHHHH!!!!” Frisk kicked their legs in the air, letting out a long noise of frustration. It wasn’t fair! They were doing everything right. They were getting so good at holding Undyne back. Managing to survive ten minutes against a trained warrior who wanted nothing more than to put their head on a pike was something to be proud of!

But despite that, it wasn’t doing them any good. No matter what, Undyne wasn’t going to stop. She wouldn’t accept any that Frisk didn’t want to fight, and there wasn’t a chance that Frisk could last long enough to tire Undyne out, especially without exhausting themself in the process. Weird and unexplainable time travel powers couldn’t change the fact that Frisk was at least half Undyne’s age. There just wasn’t a way for them to win a battle of attrition with her, their body wasn’t made for it. And they didn't know how long they could keep doing this, dying over and over trying to find some way to make Undyne stop. Every time they died, every spear that pierced their heart, they could feel it, a phantom pain that lingered even when they came back. Their body didn't feel the pain, but their mind knew it was there. They couldn't do this forever.

So what could they do?

They had to get past Undyne. Chara had said that if they made it to Hotland, Undyne probably wouldn’t be able to follow them due to her armour getting too hot. But because of the forcefield that Undyne made, they couldn’t just run. So the problem became ‘How can we make Undyne drop the shield?’. The solution they had come up with before was to outlast her, to make her burn herself out by attacking while holding up the soul manipulation spell.

That plan was a bust though. Undyne was smarter than her bravado made her seem. She reserved her magic by making the majority of her spears brittle, giving them just enough magic to take form, but not so much that they would hurt her reserves. And because the forcefield was technically held up by Frisk’s soul, it was exhausting them more than it was her. Add in the fact that Undyne had warrior’s training and was an actual adult, and Frisk didn’t have a chance in a war of attrition. But how else could they make her drop the spell?

“…I have an idea,” Chara suddenly said, their voice strangely quiet. Frisk ignored that fact, violently snapping to sit up with wide eyes.

“You do?” they desperately asked. “What-”

“You aren’t going to like it.”

“Don’t care, just tell me.”

Chara let out a long sigh. “Check your bag,” they ordered. “Front pocket, all the way at the bottom.” Frisk shot to their feet, running over to where they dropped their bag, dropped to their knees, and ripped it open. “Careful!” Chara warned. “Be very careful when taking it out.”

“When taking what o-” Frisk started, shutting their mouth with a click when they felt something cold and sharp graze their fingers. They slowly moved their hand across the object, grabbing it when they felt the familiar feeling of leather, pulling the object out of their bag, eyes widening. In their hand was a knife, a REAL knife. Some kind of survival blade, with a leather grip, a short crossblade, and a serrated back. “Chara?”

“I found it in the dump, while you were unconscious,” Chara said. “I wasn’t sure if we would need it, but figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Seems I was right to do so.”

“What are you-”

“We can’t outlast her,” Chara snapped, not letting Frisk interrupt them. “If we want to get past her, we need to break her concentration. Force her to let go of the soul manipulation spell.” They pushed their feelings out, a comforting blue filling Frisk's mind. “We won’t- we just need to make her stop,” they said reassuringly. “As soon as the spell is down, we run.”

Frisk looked down at the knife in their hand. It weighed down on them heavily, threatening to drag their body and soul into the earth, the blade radiating an otherwordly chill. “What if we hurt her?” Frisk asked nervously. “What if we-”

“We won’t,” Chara promised. “Remember, monster bodies are attuned to their souls. Undyne wants to fight, meaning her defences will be high. And if we aim only to hurt, and not kill, then our attacks will be unlikely to land a finishing blow.”

“Unlikely?” Frisk shuddered. “But there is still a chance, right?”

“…there is,” Chara confirmed. “But there is a way to minimize that risk.”

“What is it?”

Chara was silent for a few moments, Frisk feeling another wave of blue in their mind, much darker than the comforting blanket from before. “I have more practice controlling my intent in fights,” Chara eventually said. “I know how to control my emotions, to ensure that I don’t accidentally hurt someone too badly.”

“…you want me to let you fight,” Frisk guessed.

“You’ve gotten good at defending,” Chara said. “You could continue as you are, focusing on blocking and avoiding Undyne’s attacks. And when I see an opening, I could strike with the dagger. Partial control, and only for brief moments of time. And I can let you know before I do it so that you aren’t blindsided.”

Frisk took in a shuddering breath. They were still unsure about letting Chara control them again after everything that had happened. The idea that Chara could do something to hurt them again, that they could abuse their power, made Frisk’s soul feel like it was going to break, causing a chill to creep down their spine.

…but Frisk wanted to be able to trust Chara again. They hated how the two had been tip-toeing around each other recently. They wanted to go back to how things were before, when the two were more comfortable with each other. Nothing was going to change if Frisk didn’t let it. So…

“Okay,” Frisk whispered. “Let’s do it.”

“Thank you,” Chara sighed with relief. “Hold the knife in your left hand. I’m more comfortable moving that one, and you’re right-handed from what I can tell. Block with the right, I’ll attack with the left.”

Frisk stood up, shifting the knife over to their left hand, trying hard to ignore how heavy it felt in their palm. They left Chara begin to gently pull on their arm, toying with the knife, testing its weight. They took an experimental swing, the blade cutting through the air in front of them. Their arm returned to their side, the strings holding it loosening as Chara let go of their control. But Frisk could still feel Chara’s grip on the strings, patiently waiting. The pressure settled a cold dread in Frisk’s chest, but they did their best to ignore it. They had bigger problems to deal with.

Ignoring the chill in their heart, Frisk stepped forward. Their right hand reached forward, gripping the blunt spear Undyne gave them, pulling it from the earth. They shifted their grip, holding the spear like a bat, and looking up at Undyne, who leaned forward, grinning wide.

“Finally! Let’s do this!” she roared, leaping off the mountaintop, gripping her spear in both hands and pointing it downward as she descended, thrusting the tip into the stone as she crashed into the floor, shaking the earth as it *CRUNCHED beneath her boots.

As she rose up to her full height, Undyne swiped her spear through the air, a flicker of green magic streaking through the air. Frisk grit their teeth as their soul turned green, power welling up within their chest before releasing in a burst of light, the forcefield forming around them an Undyne, constructing their arena. Frisk took a deep breath, tightening their grip on their spear, feeling their grip on the knife tighten against their will too.

“EN GUA-”

Frisk didn’t let her finish, rushing Undyne as she postured before she had the chance to summon any spears. They felt the strings on their left arm tighten, sweeping the knife in front of them. Undyne’s eye went wide and she ducked to the side to dodge, but the knife still clipped her shoulder, cutting through her pauldron and spraying up a few specks of dust as it bit into her scales.

Blue light began to glow underneath Frisk, and they jumped back just in time to avoid the spears that ripped out of the ground. “So that’s how it is?” Undyne sneered. “Alright then, human, show me what you got!” She held her arm out, summoning a volley of spears behind her that shot out toward Frisk. Holding their blunt spear out, Frisk twisted it back and forth, letting Undyne’s spears crash uselessly into it, moving their head to avoid the shards of shattered magic from blocking their vision.

Midway through the volley, Frisk saw Undyne begin charging towards them, a pair of spears in her hands, one already raised over her head. Frisk ducked and dodged left to avoid ther sweep, lashing out with their own spear towards her hands, intercepting her attacks before they began and shattering the spears in her hands. A metal gauntlet shot out towards their face, and Frisk ducked under it, their left hand lashing out in an uppercut, the blade sinking into Undyne’s arm.

“NYGAAAAHHHH!” Undyne roared, pulling her arm back and spinning into a kick, forcing Frisk to dodge backward, giving Undyne the space she needed to summon another spear, this one looking more solid than the others. She thrust it towards Frisk, and they leaned left to avoid it, then right, then down, then right again, dancing from side to side as Undyne jabbed and jabbed. They let themself fall into their trance, relying on instinct as their eyes tracked Undyne’s movements, but let a quiet thought linger, just enough to stay aware of the shield getting closer and closer to their back as they were forced to back-peddle to avoid Undyne’s stabs.

The second they felt their boot touched the edge of the shield, Frisk leapt into action, dodging left as Undyne stabbed, her spear sticking into the shield, sending a pang of energy through Frisk’s soul as their chest squeezed. They fought through it though, ducking underneath Undyne’s arm and letting Chara strike with the dagger, but Undyne responded too quickly, letting go of her spear and twisting her body to avoid the blow, hastily summoning another spear and sweeping it in a wide arc towards Frisk, forcing them to abandon their assault.

Frisk let out a hiss of frustration, until they heard Chara say “Stick to her left side.”

“Why?” they asked.

“The eyepatch,” Chara replied simply. “Stick in her blind spot, and she won’t be able to respond as quickly. We might get more than a glancing blow if she can’t dodge properly.”

Giving Chara an affirmative hum, Frisk focused back on Undyne as she summoned another volley of spears. As Frisk blocked and parried them out of the air, Undyne ran around the edge of the arena, leaving a trail of spears floating in the air behind her as she went, sending them firing off from all sides, Frisk spinning in place to counter each of them as Chara watched their blind spots, sending alarm bells of red whenever one got too close.

“Not bad, human!” Undyne laughed. “You’re pretty tough! But it won’t save you.” Undyne charged towards Frisk with another overhead strike. Without the time to dodge, Frisk moved their spear up and held it sideways to block the blow, supporting the shaft with their knife to hold Undyne back. “Even if you DID somehow get past me,” Undyne continued, “no human has survived against Asgore! Really, killing you now would be a mercy!”

“Not this crap again,” Frisk hissed. “Does he try to justify murdering kids by calling it mercy too, or is that just your own brand of bullcrap logic?”

“Focus!” Chara yelled as a blue glow erupted from the ground beneath Frisk. Cursing themself, Frisk twisted their body, letting Undyne’s spear slide off their own as they moved right and spun around Undyne’s blind spot, avoiding the spears that ripped out of the ground. As they did, Chara lashed out with the knife, cutting into Undyne’s hit, leaving a deep gash in her armour as the blade tore out a chunk, dust flying through the air, caught in the howling winds. Frisk briefly wonders how their knife cut through metal armour, before shrugging the thought aside.

Undyne let out a pained yell, twisting into another blow, Frisk hopping backwards twice to avoid her and get out of her range. They looked down at their knife, wincing as they saw the dust staining the blade. The sight made their blood crawl, the knife in their hand looking like plastic for a second, until they blinked again, and it was metal once more.

‘Focus,’ Frisk reminded themself.

Undyne charged again, and Frisk met her head-on, blocking Undyne’s strikes with their blunt spear, dancing around her as they blocked, constantly dodging to her right to stay in her blind spot. Frisk settled back into their trance, eyes darting back and forth as their body moved on its own. Block left, right, duck, dodge right, Chara stabs, spin left, duck down, block behind, dodge left, run around to her right, Chara sweeps with the knife, again, again, again. Undyne let out another scream, lashing out with her boot and catching Frisk in the side of their chest, sending them sprawling backward. Their chest heaved in pain, but nothing felt broken from the glancing blow, much to Frisk’s relief.

Eye blazing with yellow fury, Undyne growled at Frisk, holding her hand to the side. “Dammit, will you just die already!” she screamed. Behind her, another five spears burst into reality, but for some reason they were yellow instead of the normal blue. She thrust her hand out, and the spears rocketed towards Frisk.

Frisk twisted their spear to block the first strike, but the yellow spear suddenly stopped in midair, randomly streaking to the right, then firing at Frisk again. No time to react, Frisk ducked down, the spear scraping against their shoulder as it shot past, before shattering against the barrier, sending another jolt through Frisk’s soul.

“The hell?” Frisk thought as their eyes tracked the yellow spears, which were shooting back and forth randomly stopping and starting without reason, before streaking towards Frisk at lightning-fast speeds, barely giving them enough time to realize they needed to block. Another spear shot towards their back, Chara warning them just in time to block it, then twist around to parry the next, then-

*SCHINK

The final spear stabbed itself into Frisk’s left calf, ripping a scream from their throat as it sunk a few inches in before shattering. Warning bells rang in their mind, and despite the pain, Frisk rolled to the side, dodging out of the way as Undyne charged at them, swinging wide in a double arc with two spears. Frisk could feel the blood dripping down their leg, forcing themself to stand up, favouring their right side to try and take the weight off their bad leg. They huffed and puffed, starting to get exhausted, but still standing.

“What the hell are you made of?” Undyne demanded, summoning two spears in her hands, as well as another five yellow spears behind her. “Anyone else would be dead by now!”

“Spite and teen angst,” Chara answered, despite Undyne not being able to hear them.

Undyne leaned forward, the stone cracking beneath her feet as she threw herself forward, the yellow spears behind her wizzing through the air randomly. Frisk brought up their spear to parry, focusing all of their attention on Undyne, relying on Chara to watch their back. Frisk grit their teeth as their leg screamed with pain, but they pushed past it, letting their right leg carry most of their weight and movement. They dodged left, parried right, up, dodge down, spin and block the yellow spear coming for their back, spin again and block Undyne’s swing, dodge right of her stab, let Chara sweep with the knife.

Dust swirled around them as Frisk’s blade cut into Undyne over and over, tearing through her armour and cracking her scales. Jagged cuts peppered the metal chestplate, but Undyne continued her assault. She stabbed left, right, right, right, left, up, Frisk dodging each in turn. Another yellow spear aimed for Frisk’s back, and they stepped into Undyne’s space and spun around to her back, letting her own spear crash into her chest, and stabbing her in the back while she stumbled. Undyne roared in pain, all three remaining yellow spears streaking towards Frisk at once. They held out their spear and swung it in a wide arc, smashing all three to pieces before spinning around to meet Undyne’s gaze.

The monster had raised both hands above her head, gripping them together and bringing them down to crush Frisk’s skull, but they spun to the right, feeling their left arm rear back and-

*SLASH

The blade cut a jagged line across her chest, from her heart to her shoulder. Undyne stumbled forward, Frisk jumped back twice on instinct, putting distance between them and her as Undyne fell to one knee, grabbing her chestplate with a metal hand, breathing heavily. Frisk panted along with her, muscles tense as they watched her.

Undyne groaned in pain, her body trembling as she let out a shuddery breath. “You… were stronger… than I thought,” she muttered, struggling to get the words out. “So then… that’s it, huh? This is… the best I could do?” A warmth glowed in Frisk’s chest as they felt Undyne’s grip release, their soul fading back to red as the forcefield around them crumbled into little green shards.

Breathing heavily, Frisk lowered their arms, slowly lowering their knife and spear. “That’s enough, right?” they asked. “There’s no way she can keep going like this.”

“Yeah, she’s done,” Chara sighed. “The shield is down. We can lea-”

“…no.”

Frisk and Chara’s gazes snapped to Undyne in sync, eyes going wide as they saw her standing back up, her entire body shaking with strained effort. “No no no, what is she doing?” Chara panickly asked. “Undyne, what are you doing?”

“NO!” Undyne screamed. “I won’t give up! Not now! Not when we’re this close to freedom!” She clenched a fist, slamming it against her chestplate with all her might. “Alphys… Asgore… Papyrus… EVERYONE is counting on me to protect them! To save them! To bring them the sunlight! To free us from this prison!”

Dozen and dozens of spears burned into reality, surrounding Frisk on all sides, the magic holding them together unstable and flickering, their light fading in and out as they hovered in the air. Frisk tensed their knees, getting ready for another assault, until Chara started screaming like mad.

“STOP HER!” they yelled. “She’s going to-”

“HUMAN!” Undyne roared, drowning out Chara’s voice. “In the name of everyone’s hopes and dreams…” Her eye started to shift, the glowing yellow fading into a burning red. “I WILL KILL YOU! NO MATTER THE COST!”

With a guttural scream, Undyne pointed her hand forward, the howling of the wind replaced with the sound of a hundred spears cutting through the air. Frisk frantically began to flail their knife and spear around, blocking strikes from all sides, but there were just too many spears to block, and every time they destroyed one, another took its place. Frisk turned around too late to block a spear aimed right at their chest, unable to stop it from running them through. The spear struck their heart…

…and shattered on impact, not even cutting through their sweater.

Frisk stumbled backwards, feeling their soul hiss in pain. They were okay? But how-

Another spear crashed into their leg, once again shattering into a thousand fragments when it did, but still sending a jolt of pain through Frisk’s body. They grit their teeth, focusing on blocking the spears. They could do this! Live first, be confused later. They fell back into their pattern; step, block, spin, duck, step, block, spin, duck, over and over. It wasn’t perfect, there were just too many spears to block them all, but none of them seemed strong enough to truly hurt Frisk. They stung like hell, but Frisk was doing well enough to not face a death by a thousand cuts.

“C’MON HUMAN!” Undyne screamed, her voice sounding strangely distorted. “SHOW ME WHAT YOU’VE GOT!”

“STOP HER, FRISK!” Chara screamed again. Frisk wanted to ask what was going on, why they needed to stop her, but they couldn’t focus on forming the words. Everything they had was going into keeping themself alive. Step, block, spin, duck, step, block, spin, duck, again and again. They didn’t have time to talk! They needed to live! “FRISK, LOOK AT HER!” Chara begged.

Frisk wanted to yell back that they couldn’t, that they were busy, until they noticed that something was wrong. The spears were starting to slow down, barely gliding through the air instead of soaring like stars. And half of them didn’t even make it to Frisk, either shattering in the air or veering off course and crashing into the ground. Frisk looked over at Undyne, confused at what they were seeing.

Undyne was grinning like mad, all sharp teeth. Her eye was glowing a bright red, casting her face in dark shadows. Frisk watched her body tense as if she were about to charge at them, but instead, her legs began to fade, her body wavering back and forth, pulsing as its form distorted. But despite that, Undyne’s smile never dropped.

“What the heck is happening to her?” Frisk finally asked as they batted another spear out of the sky.

“She’s pushing herself too far!” Chara yelled back. “If she keeps this up, she’ll dust herself!”

“WHAT?” Frisk screamed. They looked back at Undyne, and immediately dropped their weapons, letting their spear shatter as it hit the ground and their knife stab into the stone. They started waving their head back and forth, making a giant ‘X’ over their chest with their hands, desperately trying to tell Undyne to stop. Instead, Undyne just laughed, her voice sounding like her lungs were full of blood.

“Ha… ha ha ha… sc-scared, human?” she trembled. “Ha… s-see what happens wh-when we mons-t-t-ters work together!” She tried to take a step forward, one leg giving out underneath her, sending her stumbling forward and crashing to her knees. “H-had… enough?”

Frisk nodded furiously. Yes! They had enough! She won, she could stop now! But Undyne refused, continuing to put everything she had into summoning more spears, most of which simply dissolved in the air. The few that did remain slowly crawled towards Frisk, allowing them to easily step out of the way. Frisk continued to try and silently plead with Undyne, begging her to stop, but eventually Undyne stopped looking at them, shutting her eye as a pained expression took over her face.

“Nnnnn,” she groaned. “N-no… I… I won’t… g-give… up…”

The spear in her hand shattered, and Undyne fell forward, barely catching herself with her arm before she fell face-first onto the ground. She was breathing heavily through her teeth, hissing in pain, one hand holding her up, the other clutching her chest.

“Ha… ha…” she laughed pitifully. “Alphys… this is… what I was afraid of. This is why I never told you…” She went silent for a few seconds, Frisk watching in horror, until she slammed a fist into the ground. “No… NO!” she screamed, whipping her head up to glare at Frisk again. “NOT YET! I WON’T DIE!” She let out a thunderous roar, her body seeming to vibrate with power for a few seconds, before stopping in an instant.

Frisk stared at Undyne for an eternity as she went as still as a statue, her eye wide. Slowly, painfully slowly, Undyne stood up, her eye never leaving Frisk’s face. She took one step forward…

*SPLAT

…and her foot melted into a thick grey slime the moment it touched the ground, sending Undyne right back down to the floor. Half of her body was reduced to sludge as she hit the stone, melting further and further, but her eye never stopped glaring at Frisk with burning hatred.

“I… won’t die,” she warbled, her distorted voice seeming to echo over itself. “I… won’t… die…” Her body melted further, leaving only her face left. “I… won’t…”

And all that was left of Undyne was a puddle of sludge.

…

…

…

…

“Wha… what,” Chara shuddered as a dark, dark grey fear wrapped itself around Frisk’s mind, cutting away the shadows. “What just… she…” they stuttered and stumbled. The skin around Frisk’s mouth stretched as they began to smile wider and wider, a quiet chuckle escaping their lips. “She… hahaha... she melted. Ha ha… ha ha haahhahah! SHE MELTED! That… haha… that’s not possible. How… how did she…”

Frisk’s leg finally gave out under them as the weight of their sins settled on their back, dragging their feeble body to the earth. Their chest heaved with ragged breaths, eyes burning as tears pricked at the edges. She… she was dead. Undyne was dead. They had killed her.

…no. No they didn’t. She did this. They tried so, so hard not to kill her, to hold themself back, and they had! They did everything right! But no, Undyne wouldn’t let them win. She cared more about murdering Frisk than she did living! She had asked for this! She WANTED this! This was her fault!

“Frisk, what’s going on?!?” Chara begged, voice filled with panic. “Frisk, talk to me, what the hell are you thinking?”

Frisk wrapped their arms around their chest, desperately scrambling for any comfort they could find. “She… she’s dead,” Frisk muttered.

“I know, I know,” Chara winced. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t realize Undyne would- we can fix this. We can go back and-”

“No.”

Chara went completely silent, Frisk’s mind devoid of colour. “…what did you just say?”

“No… not again. I- I won’t! Not again!”

“Frisk-”

“NO!” Frisk screamed, their leg throbbing in pain, pulsing with their rapid heartbeat. “I’m not doing this again! I’m SICK and TIRED of dying over and over and OVER AND OVER!” Tears burned at Frisk’s checks as they rolled down. “She asked for this! She wanted this! We told her to stop, but she wouldn’t! This is her fault!”

“Frisk listen to m-”

“NO! I WON’T GO BACK! I WON’T I WON’T I WON’T!”

“YOU HAVE TO!” Chara screamed.

“I WON’T!”

Frisk gripped their arms tighter, letting their body fall forward so that their forehead touched the floor, the cold stone sending shivers down their spine. The stone was so cold, but the blood beneath their legs was so warm, and it hurt, and it hurt, and it HURT and- and- and-

Muscles locked, tears stopped, breathing ceased. Frisk’s entire body froze as the strings around them tightened, holding them in place. Their eyes went wide, mind desperately panicking as they tried to take in a breath, but their lungs wouldn’t move, wouldn’t obey. They couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t control!

Red and black fills Frisk’s mind as their body stiffly rises to its feet, stumbling as it puts too much pressure on its bad leg. “I’m sorry, Frisk,” they hear Chara whisper, their voice full of an emotion that Frisk can’t place. “But I have to do this.”

“Chara?” Frisk panicked as their body took a step backward. “Chara, what are you-”

“I made you a promise, Frisk,” Chara yelled. “I promised to keep you in line. To hold you accountable. And I am NOT going to break another promise!” Frisk took another step back, then another. They thrashed against Chara’s control, managing to move their body a bit before their control is wrestled away. With what little they have, they turn their head to look back, seeing their body move closer and closer to the cliff’s edge.

“CHARA, PLEASE!” Frisk begged. They didn’t want this. They didn’t
want to die again. They didn’t want this!

“I’m sorry,” Chara said again. “If you hate me for this, then fine. I can live with that. But I’m holding you to your word, Frisk. We’re doing
this right.”

Frisk’s foot hit the edge of the cliff, their ankle hanging over the
abyss.

“CHARA!”

“Goodbye, Frisk.”

A heavy pull ripped at Frisk’s body, throwing them back as their body was tossed over the edge. Wind whipped at their ears, drowning out their screams as they fell further and further into the nothingness, tears flying around them as they descended towards another death, fear shackling their heart. Their back hit the stone with a sickening *CRACK, and then-

Then they woke up.

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Alligator Cries

Chara:

Chara was starting to grow accustomed to drifting through the void.

Every time Frisk died, there was a brief moment of pause while time was being rewritten. Where Frisk and Chara floated through nothingness, their souls adrift as the universe tried to force them to fade away. But each and every time, the two refused to let go, willing the uncaring hand of time to turn back.

All around them, red string twisted and stretched as time crawled forward. Before, the string flowed through the void seamlessly, easily swimming through the darkness. But now, the string was twisted and tied up, forced to wrap around itself over and over, forming loops upon loops, all moving back towards the same place, over and over, forming a massive knot that grew larger each and every time they went back. All along the string, Chara could see their repeated fights against Undyne, the memories flickering and faded, but still just barely there.

‘Unnatural,’ Chara thought. That was the only way they could describe what they were seeing. It was unnatural, wrong. They were breaking the laws of reality with every death, slowly unravelling the world around them. They couldn’t help but worry about the consequences of their actions. Would their actions affect the world around them? Nothing had happened yet, but how long could they keep doing this before something went wrong?

…maybe it didn’t matter. Chara was no stranger to making mistakes. They had always been a force of destruction. If it took ripping the universe apart to stay alive, to keep Frisk alive, to reach their goal, they would do it.

Once again, the crimson string completed its loop, wrapping itself back through the knot, the world fading back into view. Chara steeled themself, preparing for what was to come.

The world bled into being around Chara, and almost immediately, they darted their vision around, taking in their surroundings. They were exactly where they hoped they were; standing in the middle of the pathway, the entrance to Hotland looming over them. Frisk's arm was reached out, hand gripping the blunt spear that Undyne had thrown at them tightly. Chara looked up, just to be sure, seeing Undyne glaring down at them from the peak of the pseudo-mountain she was perched on, her eye glistening with excitement. Then, just in case, Chara looked down at Frisk’s hands.

No dust… they were clean. Good.

Chara let out a sigh of relief. It had worked. They were really back. They had worried that something might have gone wrong, that they had been too late. But they were right back where they needed to be.

But something was still wrong. Frisk wasn’t moving. Their hand stayed stone-still, gripped around the base of their spear, their entire body stiff as a statue. Chara tried to focus on Frisk’s emotions, but they found nothing. No anger, or sadness, or… anything. Frisk’s mind was completely silent, a sense of numbness filling Chara’s soul as they tried to reach out towards Frisk.

“…Frisk?” Chara whispered. “Are… are you there?” No response, but Chara did notice Frisk stiffen a bit, their arm shuddering slightly. With almost robotic movements, Frisk removed their hand from the spear, slowly returning it to their side. Then, ever so slowly, they turned around and began walking away from the spear, returning the way they came. “Frisk?” Chara tried again.

No response.

Chara turned their attention up to Undyne to make sure she wouldn’t try anything, but to their surprise, Undyne hadn’t moved an inch, still standing at the peak of her mountain, glaring at Frisk as they walked away. ‘Right, she’s a-okay with murdering a child, but at least she’s honourable enough to not stab them in the back. How kind.’

As Frisk walked further and further away and Undyne disappeared from their sight, Chara let out a sigh. She probably wouldn’t follow them, it was too risky. Besides, the only way to get into Hotland was the entrance that she was guarding. No, Undyne would stay where she was, waiting for Frisk to come back. Which meant that they were safe for a time. At least, Frisk was safe. Chara wasn’t so sure about themself.

Eventually, Frisk stopped in place, stomping their foot down hard. They glared off into the distance, and even if Chara couldn’t look them in the eye, they could feel Frisk’s gaze on them, their hardened stare digging a dagger into their cold, dead heart.

“I trusted you.”

Frisk’s words twisted the dagger in deeper, ripping through their rotten flesh. Chara’s soul burned under their gaze, ash and dust swirling around them like a sandstorm, drowning their senses in pain. But Chara could handle the pain, the hatred, the anger. Those feelings were their home. But what they couldn’t handle was the tang of metal, a taste they knew all too well.

Blood. The taste of pain, of suffering, that flooded their soul. Frisk’s pain, their sorrow, their betrayal, drowned Chara’s heart in crimson, enough to dye their already red soul and even deeper colour. There was so, so much. Chara’s soul clenched. They knew that what they did hurt, they knew that they were betraying Frisk’s trust, but they had to. There wasn’t another way. But it was so much worse than they imagined. They had to make this right. They had to fix this.

“I know what I did was wrong,” Chara said gently. “And if you hate me for it, that’s-”

“Oh for the love of- WILL YOU STOP TRYING TO MARTYR YOURSELF FOR ONE GODDAMNED MINUTE!” Frisk snarled. “I am sick of you screwing me over and then acting like the victim! And I don’t need your permission to be pissed!”

“Frisk-”

“NO! I’m sick of this! I am sick of you treating me like a doll, then acting like you were the one hurt because you did it. I am sick of you screaming at me to shut up, and then screaming at me for being too quiet later! I am sick of you looking at me as if I’m broken, or like I shouldn’t exist! I’m SICK of it! Leave me alone!”

“…Frisk?” Chara asked unsurely, worrying that they knew the answer to their next question.

“WHAT!?”

“…who are you talking to right now?”

“…”

Chara sighed. This… this went so much deeper than they thought, didn’t it? This wasn’t just a betrayal, it was another tally on the board. How many times had Frisk let someone in, only to be stabbed in the back? How many of the knives in their back were Chara’s?

More than anything, Chara wanted to find the magic words that would make this all right. The right combination of excuses, apologies, and grovels that would make Frisk forgive them, make things go back to normal. But after everything… Frisk deserved better than that, didn’t they? They deserved some honesty for once in their life. So with everything they had, Chara pushed back against the storm of ash, reaching out with as much sincerity as they could.

“Look. You want complete honesty? Fine. I’m not sorry for what I did. I AM sorry for how it affected you, and if I thought there was another way, I would’ve gladly spared you from what happened. But I made a judgement call, and I stand by it.”

“…you didn’t have to do that,” Frisk whimpered, rubbing their arm. “You could have just… waited for me to calm down. You could have at least TRIED to help me, instead of just yelling.”

Chara sighed. “Maybe. However, even thinking on it now, I don’t believe that attempting to console you would have worked.”

“Why not?” Frisk demanded.

“Two reasons. The first is practical; we don’t know the limits of your powers. We’ve only ever jumped back a short distance in time. And even then, we haven’t exactly had the greatest control over it. Waiting for too long was risky, and I was worried that if I spent too long trying to convince you, we would lose our chance, and Undyne would have been permanently dead.”

Frisk cringed at the word, and Chara mentally slapped themself. ‘Stop being so freaking blunt,’ they scolded themself. ‘Gentle. They need gentle.’

“Okay, fine,” Frisk huffed. “What about the second reason?”

Chara hesitated for a moment, unsure on how to go about explaining their next point. “Well… look, ki- being the reason someone disappears does things to you. It messes with your head. Even if I had helped calm you down, there was a decent chance that you would have made the same decision and decided to leave things as they were.”

At that, Frisk’s face hardened again, their hand gripping at their arms tightly enough for Chara to feel the pain. “So what?” they hissed. “You decided that you knew better? Figured you’d just take the choice away from me! I’m not your puppet! You don’t get to make my choices for me!”

“It wasn’t about making the choice for you!” Chara insisted.

“Then what was it!”

“I… I just…” Chara stuttered, trying hard to force the words out in a way that made sense, but the taste of ash told them that Frisk was growing impatient with them.

“You just what?” they demanded. “What, you didn’t trust me to make the right choice?” Chara felt their blood boil, seething from Frisk’s attacks. “Couldn’t stand the thought of your puppet doing something you didn’t like? You-”

“I DIDN’T WANT TO LOSE YOU!”

Frisk went quiet, hands immediately losing their grip. Chara cursed themself, worrying that they had said the wrong thing, or said it in the wrong way, or just came on too strong. Were they not supposed to bring this level of worry into a fight? They never really had big arguments like this with Asriel. He didn’t really disagree with them much, and even when he did, it wasn’t hard to get him to agree with them. They didn’t know how to navigate fights like this.

After a while though, Frisk seemed to snap out of their own head. “…what do you mean?” they asked quietly. Chara studied them for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. Frisk didn’t sound upset, just… confused? Unsure? Scared? It was hard to tell. Chara’s senses were assaulted by a menagerie of tastes; bitter coffee spiked with sweet and sour sauce to create a horrid blend, with hints of… something. It was an unfamiliar taste, and Chara didn’t have the time or energy to try and figure out what it was.

So instead, they let out another sigh, and they made a decision; they’d put their heart on the line. After what they had done, Frisk deserved that much at least.

“I was scared,” Chara admitted. “I… I know what something like this can do to a person. How it can change them. When something like this happens, you don’t come out of it the same person. I- I didn’t want that for you. I didn’t want you to lose yourself… I didn’t want to lose you. A-and I could already see it happening, and I panicked, and… yeah.”

“…and your solution…” Frisk said, trailing off. They didn’t need to finish their sentence.

“You were the first to point it out, but when we go back, your mental state reset,” Chara explained. “Everything that happened faded somewhat, like it was a dream. I was hoping that…” They let out a huff. “Look, it was my fault that Undyne… it was my idea to fight back. And I was scared for you to be hurt because of that my choice.”

Frisk let out a long sigh, looking off to the side. “You don’t get to decide what’s best for me. I agreed to your plan.”

“Well maybe I shouldn’t be allowed to make plans anymore,” Chara snapped. “Cuz all my plans seem to do is get people killed!”

“…people?” Frisk asked, making Chara’s soul freeze. “What do-”

“No,” Chara growled. “We are NOT doing this right now.”

“Seriously? You do NOT get to be angry right now! And whatever your thinking is obviously important if-”

“Frisk, drop it!” Chara firmly insisted. “I promise it isn’t relevant, and if you want, I… I’ll tell you about it later. Just… not now, please.”

“…fine,” Frisk huffed. “Whatever.”

“Thank you.”

The two stood in silence for a while, the seconds dragging on forever. Sour ash and sawdust filled Chara’s senses, but there was something underneath it — a hint of sugar, just barely present, but still there.

“Do you hate me?” Chara asked.

Frisk didn’t answer for a while, the silence dragging on into infinity. “I want to trust you,” Frisk eventually said with a quiet voice. “I do, I really do. But… it feels like every time I give you a chance, you end up hurting me somehow.” Chara winced at their words, the dagger in their heat digging deeper at the reminder. ‘Story of my life,’ they thought bitterly. They huffed, forcing the thoughts away and trying to ignore the piercing pain in their soul.

“I promise I’m not trying to. I’m… I’m doing my best to do right by you.”

‘But hurting people is all I’ve ever been good for.’

The two fell into silence again, neither sure of what to say. After a while, Frisk broke the silence. “So now what?”

Chara sighed, looking up at the ceiling of the cavern. “Now? We try and figure out another way to get past Undyne.”

“Yay,” Frisk cheered with a deadpan voice. “Got any bright ideas?” Chara flinched at their tone, ash on their tongue. They almost blurted out another apology, before deciding it was best to keep quiet. Knowing them, they’d probably just make it worse by saying something wrong again. No, if they wanted to make this right, they needed to be useful. Show Frisk that they were worth keeping around. Which meant finding a solution to their problem.

So Chara put their mind to work, trying to see their problem from a new angle. They needed to get past Undyne, who outmatched and overpowered them in every way. They couldn’t outlast her, because they had the body of a thirteen-year-old, and she was an adult and fully trained soldier. They couldn’t brute force their way out, because she was an idiot that would dust herself by trying too hard to kill them. And they couldn’t run because of her forcefield.

The forcefield… that was the real problem. Frisk had never stood a chance in a fight against Undyne anyway. Not in a way that they would be satisfied with. Talking her down wasn’t an option. They had to run. But they couldn’t because they were trapped. So, how do they get out of the trap?

Once again, brute force was out of the question. That’d do more harm than good. Waiting for Undyne to drop the shield was a no-go, as they established before. So… what did that leave? Disrupting Undyne’s magic somehow? Chara wasn’t sure if that was possible, and even if it was, Frisk wasn’t a wizard. That sounded like a spell that was way too complicated for them.

…but then again…

Chara’s mind slowed down, latching onto a new idea. It could work. It would mainly rely on Frisk, throwing them into an impossible situation and asking them to perform under pressure. But then, wasn’t that their entire time in the Underground? If anyone could do it, it was them.

There was just one problem…

“I have an idea,” Chara said quietly. They could feel Frisk raise an eyebrow at them.

“A good idea?”

“It’s… an idea.”

“So that’s a no.” Chara so desperately wanted to snap at them to be quiet, but they bit their tongue. They were in no position to talk back to Frisk. They were on thin enough ice as is. So they kept quiet, and let Frisk have their win, before continuing on.

“I really think this one could work,” Chara continued. “But…”

“But?”

“It… would require you to give up control to me.”

Silence. Bloodstained ashes swelling, any hint of sugar disappearing. Chara felt Frisk hiss as they sucked air between their teeth, before letting out a shaky breath, hands balled into fists at their side.

“Why should I trust you?” they snarled. Chara flinched back at their words, but pushed down their knee-jerk response. Thin ice. No snapping.

“You shouldn’t,” they stated bluntly. “However, consider this; I cannot hurt you any worse than I already have. I cannot betray you in a way that hurts more than what I’ve already done.”

“…and that’s supposed to make me trust you?” Frisk asked incredulously.

“No. I am not asking for your trust. I am asking for an opportunity. I have shown you that I can hurt. Let me show you that I can also help. After all, what do you have to lose?”

Frisk went quiet for a moment, looking down in thought. “…I don’t know what’s stupider; what you’re asking, or the fact that I’m actually considering it.” They let out a short, humourless laugh, shaking their head. “Maybe I’ve gone insane.”

“…Frisk, you are a semi-immortal child due to unexplainable time powers, being haunted by a ghost living in your head, fighting for your life against a murderous fish lady with a near-endless arsenal of magical spears. I believe the situation you are in demands some level of insanity.”

“Snnrrrk,” Frisk snorted, clearly trying to hold themself back, before their will crumbled and they fell into a laugh - a real, joyful laugh that made Chara feel hope that they could make things right. That they could laugh and joke around with Frisk again sometime soon.

After a minute, Frisk calmed down, tapping their fingers against their legs anxiously. Chara could practically feel the gears in their head turning as they considered Chara’s words. Minutes passed before Frisk eventually let out a long, tired sigh.

“I don’t trust you,” they said, making Chara’s heart sink.

“I don’t expect you to,” Chara replied evenly, trying to keep the hurt out of their voice.

“…I want to trust you.”

Chara paused at that, feeling something catch in their soul. “I... appreciate that. It is more than I deserve.”

“Yeah. It is. But… I don’t wanna be mad at you.” They let out a snort. “Even if you are an idiot.”

“Scathing words Frisk,” Chara deadpanned. “Truly, I am hurt. Wounded. Cut to the core.”

“Oh, shut up.”

The two quietly giggled with each other before the sombre mood could take over again, letting themselves enjoy the moment while it lasted. Once it passed, Frisk let out a deep sigh.

“Can you promise me something?”

“What is it?” Chara asked.

“Promise you won’t hurt me again.”

Chara cringed at that, looking down in shame. “I’m… not sure if I can promise that. Hurting people is a speciality of mine. Even when I am trying to help.”

“Can you promise to try?” Frisk sighed.

“I can,” Chara quickly replied. “I will. I do not want to hurt you Frisk, as difficult as that may be to believe.”

Frisk shook their head. “It’s not. I don’t think you’re cruel. An idiot maybe, someone who thinks they know better than everyone else, and someone that refuses to just talk instead of doing things… but I don’t think you’re a bad person.”

“You view me in a kinder light than I do myself then,” Chara laughed. They immediately stopped when they felt a wave of frustration come from Frisk, though they couldn’t figure out where it came from. Did they say something wrong? They didn’t insult Frisk or push them in any way, did they? No, they couldn’t have. So what was it?

“…alright,” Frisk said softly, immediately snapping Chara out of their thoughts.

“Alright?”

“I’ll give you plan a shot.” Frisk quickly put up a finger, cutting off anything Chara was about to say. “After you tell me what it is,” they stressed. “I’m not just giving up my body and letting you run wild, especially after last time. If we’re doing this, then we’re talking things out first.” They took a moment to let out a breath. “And I don’t just mean for Undyne, I mean in general. No more taking control without saying anything, got it?”

“Understood,” Chara eagerly replied, trying to keep themself from sounding too hopeful or desperate. “Shall we discuss the details of our arrangement once we’re safe?”

“Sure. I definitely wanna get past this stupid murder fish before any more heavy conversations.” They raised an eyebrow. “So, what’s your plan?”

“Well…” Chara grinned. “How do you feel about trying some magic?”

Frisk:

Frisk stood before the entrance to Hotland for the umpteenth time, looking up at Undyne who was perched at the top of the makeshift mountain, eagerly waiting for them to grab hold of the spear. Their heart beat hard against their chest, a fish hook grappled around their lungs dragging them down and down into the depths of their gut. Everything in them was screaming, telling them that this was a bad idea, that they couldn’t trust Chara. But what other choice did they have?

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Frisk asked, trying to ignore their thoughts.

“Not at all,” Chara answered unhelpfully. “I’m throwing you into the deep end and expecting you to perform magic under pressure without any training. If you were anyone else, I would never consider this plan.”

“Why do we think this is a good idea then?”

“Because you seem to have an affinity for magic. Maybe things have changed since I’ve been gone, but I’m pretty sure that most humans can’t go back in time at a whim. That’s magic.”

Ok, yeah, Frisk had to give them that. “But I don’t know how I do that!” they argued. “I just… do it!”

“Exactly,” Chara grinned. “Magic isn’t something you do, it's something you feel. Just remember what I told you, and follow you’re gut.” They paused for a moment, a soft swirl of light pinks and blues embracing Frisk’s soul. “I believe in you.”

And dammit, hearing that should not have made Frisk feel as happy as it did. They were supposed to be angry at Chara, not getting giddy every time they got a compliment from them. But despite how stupid their ghostly companion was, they found it hard to be truly angry with Chara for too long. Even if they deserved it. The two were still going to have a long talk after this, but… Frisk really did want to trust them.

So they took a deep breath, closed their eyes… and let go. Their body went slack as they relinquished their control, only to tense up as they felt the strings around them tighten, Chara beginning to pull at them. Chara raised their head and rolled their shoulders, before giving Undyne one last look. Without Frisk’s usual hesitation, they ripped the spear from the ground, twirling it around, then dramatically pointing it up at Undyne.

‘Drama queen,’ Frisk thought, though Undyne seemed to enjoy the gesture, grinning like a shark as she prepared to jump down.

“THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” she yelled. “IT’S ABOUT FRICKIN TIME! LET’S DO THIS!” she roared, leaping off the mountaintop, gripping her spear in both hands and pointing it downward as she descended, thrusting the tip into the stone as she crashed into the floor, shaking the earth as it *CRUNCHED beneath her boots.

As she rose up to her full height, Undyne swiped her spear through the air, a flicker of green magic streaking through the air. Frisk’s soul turned green, power welling up inside them, but this time Frisk focused on the feeling, letting the emotions wash over them.

Adrenaline started screaming through their veins as the forcefield began to form around them. Danger… there was danger. They had to protect. But it wasn’t themself they were protecting, it was everyone else. Memories of Toriel’s kind smile and warm hugs filled their mind. Then Papyrus’ joyful and infectious laughter, Sans’ silly jokes and puns, MK’s excited expressions and rambling, Chara’s snarky wit and desire to help them. Frisk had to protect them! They had to!

“EN GUARDE!”

Frisk felt their body leap into action, rushing forward to meet Undyne head-on, the clashing of spears sending vibrations down their arm, the world blurring around them as Chara made their body dance to the death against Undyne. Realizing they wouldn’t be able to focus like this, Frisk closed their eyes, thankful that Chara didn’t need them to see, trying to block out the world around them. They needed to focus.

Embracing the darkness of their vision, Frisk plunged themself into their soul, reaching deep within. They could see, or rather sense, an arm reaching out toward their soul, slowly drifting closer and closer. The arm winced and flinched back every time they felt the vibration of spears clashing, or the sting of blades licking their skin, but they pushed forward until the soul was within their grasp.

Gently cupping their hands around it, Frisk felt a surge of warmth fill their being. They remembered Toriel sitting beside them at the fireplace, showing them the wonders of magic. They remembered Papyrus lifting them up on his shoulders when they were cold and tired. They remembered Sans making them laugh when they were scared or feeling down. They remembered MK apologizing when they had done nothing wrong, eventually agreeing to chat about something else when they saw Frisk was uncomfortable. They remembered Chara promising to hold them accountable… then keeping that promise.

So many people went out of their way to help Frisk, to keep them safe and warm. Frisk had to do the same, they had to pay them back. They had been shown so much kindness. So much love. The warmth in their soul grew more and more, spreading through their entire body. They focused on that feeling, that desire to give, to be kind, and they gave it back.

They thought about giving Toriel the biggest hug they could, silently reassuring her that they would be alright. They thought about hanging out with Papyrus, making him smile and laugh. They thought about playing along with Sans’ jokes so that they could see that amused twinkle in his eyes. They thought about listening to MK ramble and rant, smiling along as they spoke. They thought about comforting Chara as they cried, pushing their feelings of love outward for them to replace the tears they shed.

Something in their soul seemed to come to life, sending a tingling feeling through them that made them giggle. As they embraced the sensation, they realized that they could feel it. The forcefield. It was all around them, that desire to protect, to keep the people they cared for safe. That kindness.

Their kindness.

This wasn’t Undyne’s shield. It wasn’t her kindness forming it. It wasn’t her soul powering it. It was theirs. Which meant that it was theirs to control, not Undyne. She cast the spell that forced their kindness outward, but she couldn’t control their feelings. They couldn’t control their soul.

“Focus on your kindness,” Chara had told them. “That desire to be good to others, to protect them, to make them happy. Grab hold of it. It’s yours, not hers!”

Frisk held onto their kindness, letting it flow between their fingertips. It was so, so warm. So gentle. But as beautiful as it was, it was hurting them. It powered the shield around them, trapping them. An act of self-sacrifice. They needed to get rid of the shield. They needed it gone. But they had to do it carefully.

“Don’t try to counter the kindness,” Chara had warned. “Your kindness is what determines the strength and size of the shield. Trying to counter it with anger and hate will only make it smaller. Instead, you need to let it go. Suppress the urge.”

Easier said than done, but Frisk had to try. They took all those memories that filled them with so much warmth, all those smiles and acts of kindness, and they began to push against them. The memories pushed back, trying to force themself to the forefront of Frisk’s mind. ‘Remember us, remember us!’ they screamed. They pushed further and further forward, kindness swelling in their soul, bright green covering over every bit of red.

“Frisk!”

Gritting their teeth, Frisk fought back. They wanted to be kind. They wanted to protect the people they held dear. But right then, at that moment, there was no one to be kind to. Chara had hurt them. Undyne was trying to kill them. They felt a surge of anger fill their soul, a burning hot bolt of lightning, but they forced that down too. They didn’t want revenge. They didn’t want to be kind.

They wanted to live.

A spark of red cut through the green.

Frisk wanted to live. They wanted to continue their journey through the Underground. They wanted to climb their way to Asgore’s Castle. They wanted to find the Barrier and pass through, returning to their surface. They wanted to go home to their family. They had a mission! They had to get home! And that desire to go home, to live, to make it all the way…

It filled them with Determination.

Opening their eyes suddenly, Frisk watched as the shield around them shattered, shards of green light falling to the ground and sinking into the stone as their soul shifted from green to blazing red. Undyne, who was standing a short distance away with a series of spears hovering behind her head, started looking around frantically, her eye wide in shock.

“The hell?” she yelled incredulously. The spears around her began to fizzle as she lost focus, jaw dropping in utter bafflement. Frisk could feel warm orange flood into their mind, happiness and pride radiating off Chara.

“Nice work!” they smiled. “Now get us the hell out of here!”

Frisk happily obliged, relishing the feeling of the strings around them loosening as Chara gave up control. Without a second to waste, Frisk sprinted ahead, ducking past Undyne who was too caught off guard to stop them, rushing past her through the entrance to Hotland.

“Wha- HEY!” Undyne screamed. “GET BACK HERE!” Surprisingly, Frisk wasn’t too willing to listen to her, instead picking up the pace, pumping their arms and legs and pushing themself to run faster.

They sprinted as fast as they could through the tunnel, vaguely hearing the sound of a river rushing underneath them, until it was drowned out by the clanging of metal boots chasing after them. They pushed harder. ‘Faster, faster, FASTER!’

“Spears!” Chara yelled. “Taking control!”

The strings around their chest tightened and pulled, forcing Frisk to duck down as a volley of spears passed over their head. They heated the way that their heart frantically and painfully slammed against their ribs when they felt Chara take control, but they couldn’t focus on that! They had to run! They had to keep running!

Frisk skid as they reached a corner, sliding as they turned to keep their momentum and pushing themself harder. To their left, they saw a giant flashing neon sign. “WELCOME TO HOTLAND!” This was it! They were almost there!

Strings pulled them to the right as Undyne threw more spears at them, then up as they hopped over another three. From behind them, much closer than it was before, Frisk could hear Undyne’s stomping boots and annoyed growl. “What the hell are you?” she roared. “You aren’t even looking at me! How are you dodging my spears?”

She was getting closer! Too close! Frisk panted hard, their legs screaming in pain, but they had to keep going! Just ahead, they could see the literal light at the end of the tunnel. They were so close!

As they passed through the exit of the tunnel, Chara’s strings pulled them up once more, throwing them into the air as spears flew underneath them. Frisk flailed their arms around to keep their balance, squinting their eyes as violently bright light and waves of heat struck their face.

They had made it to Hotland!

Frisk touched down on the dry, cracked red stone, continuing in their sprint as they took in the sights around them. Unlike the rest of the Underground, the walls that kept them trapped were made of dark basalt, and far, far below, Frisk could see lava bubbling and flowing, heat visibly radiant upward. To their left they saw… Sans???

To their utter bafflement, Frisk passed by a sentry station just like they had seen back in Snowdin, complete with ketchup bottles and snow on the room (somehow???), with Sans napping against the counter without a care in the world. They almost stopped just to stare at him, until they remembered that there was a murderous fish trying to rip their soul out of their chest. So instead, they kept going, running onto a series of metal pipes that formed a bridge over a chasm of lava.

“Hah!” they heard Chara laugh. “Looks like Sans is being useful for once!”

Without slowing down, Frisk chanced a look back, snorting in amusement when they saw Undyne stopped in front of Sans’ sentry station, absolutely fuming as she yelled at the skeleton, who didn’t even stir from his sleep. After a few seconds, she snapped back to her senses, letting out a battle cry before sprinting after Frisk again. It wasn’t much, but the brief distraction was enough for Frisk to get some distance between them and her, which was all they needed.

They sprinted across the long bridge of pipes, the ground on the other side getting closer and closer. But when they reached the end of the bridge, their foot got caught in between the pipes, sending them spiralling and rolling onto the ground, landing on their back with an “Oomph!”

Frisk panted hard, trying to force themself back up to their feet, but their body rebelled against them, refusing to move. The heated stone beneath them soothed their aching muscles, practically pinning them to the ground as their body screamed for a break. But they couldn’t stop! Undyne was right behind them! She was going to-

“Frisk, look!”

With far too much effort, Frisk managed to tilt their head back, giving them an upside-down look at Undyne approaching. But she wasn’t sprinting at them like before. She was dragging her feet, metal armour scraping against the stone and making a horrid screech. She dropped the spear in her hand, her entire body sagging as if she were melting, which brought back some very uncomfortable thoughts.

Undyne slowed to a stop, only a few feet away from Frisk, glaring at them with untold fury. “No…” she muttered. “Have to… keep… going!”

Frisk watched her in fear and confusion. “What…”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Chara laughed, forcing a smile on Frisk’s face from the pure relief they were pushing out. “There’s no way she can handle the heat in that armour! We win!”

As they said that, Undyne fell to her knees, collapsing to the ground, before falling forward, kicking up a cloud of dust as she lay flat on the floor. Frisk watched her for a few moments, just to make sure what they were saying was real, before letting out a joyful chuckle that quickly turned into full-on laughter. They did it! They won! They were free!

“We did it!” they screamed.

“WE DID IT!” Chara echoed, their voice full of joy.

The two sat there for a minute, laughing and cheering for each other as Frisk waited for feeling to return to their tired muscles. After a while, the scorched earth underneath them started to feel like it was burning their back, encouraging them to finally drag themself upright despite the Herculean effort that took. But Frisk managed to pull themself up to sit on their knees, looking ahead. Just ahead, they could see a towering citadel of iron and steel, casting a long shadow across Hotland. They had no idea what was inside, but they prayed that it had air conditioning and a soft bed that they could faceplant onto.

Frisk pressed their palms into the ground to try and steady themself as they got to their feet, ignoring how hot the ground was and how it burned their hands. They wobbled slightly as they stood up, their legs struggling to hold up their weight, but they managed to steady themself enough that they could walk. With a grin on their face, they took a step forward-

“Hrrrrrrg.”

-and stopped as they felt their heart freeze in spite of the blistering heat. They turned their head enough to see Undyne, who still hadn’t moved an inch. Frisk’s face paled as they looked at her. She was practically shrivelling in the heat, her cheeks sunken, her eye bulging out of her head. She gasped for air, her voice a painful wheeze, like the air she breathed was giving her life and suffocating her at the same time. Her body shook and shuddered, trying desperately to move but only managing tiny little twitches. She stared straight forward, but didn’t look like she was seeing anything.

Frisk watched in horror, unable to tell if their chest was heaving from exhaustion or fear. This… this was their fault. They lured Undyne here. They did this, and now she was dying. She was going to die because of them.

Again.

“Frisk, let’s go,” Chara said. “Before she gets her second wind.”

“We… we have to do something,” Frisk replied. “We can’t just leave her like this.”

Chara was silent for a moment, filling Frisk’s mind with a dull and unsure grey. “She’ll probably be fine,” they eventually said. “She’s resilient. She can hold out long enough for us to get far enough away from her. Then we’ll tell someone she’s here, and they’ll help her. Or maybe Sans will do something. It’ll be fine.”

But Frisk could hear the uncertainty in Chara’s voice. They didn’t want to admit it, but there was a very real chance that Undyne didn’t have long. This heat was killing her. Of course it was. This was their plan. To drag her into Hotland where she couldn’t hope to follow. But she did, and now she was dying and it was their fault it was their fault it was-

Frisk’s head whipped around, desperately looking for something that could help Undyne. There had to be something, anything. Some magical solution that would solve all their problems. They needed a miracle. They needed… they needed…

…a conveniently placed water cooler just off to the side of the path.

‘Huh… that’ll work.’

“Please don’t do what I think you’re about to,” Chara begged. Frisk pointedly ignored them, rushing over to the water cooler and grabbing the oversized bottle on top. “And you’re doing it,” Chara lamented. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I don’t,” Frisk freely admitted, twisting the bottle and ripping it off the cooler, stumbling backwards from the sudden weight, flinging water around them that hissed and turned to steam as it touched the heated ground. “But I have to do something.”

“…you’re too good for this world, Frisk.”

Frisk couldn’t help but disagree, but they didn’t have time for another back-and-forth with Chara. So instead they started dragging their exhausted body over to Undyne, swaying from side to side as they tried to keep the large bottle of water upright, spilling bits of water as they stumbled over. The second they got close enough, they let gravity take hold, almost falling forward as they tipped the bottle over, pouring the entire thing onto Undyne’s face, a few drops splashing onto her armour and making a horrid sound.

“Nnnggghhh…”

Undyne let out a groan as she came back to life, her face filling out as the water rejuvenated her. Her eye screwed shut and her face twisted with effort. Ever so slowly, she pushed herself upward, rising to her knees, panting heavily, then standing straight up. She wobbled for a brief moment before steadying herself, straightening her back and taking up a proud stance.

A painful eternity passed in silence before she finally opened her eye, glaring right down at Frisk, who took a cautious step back. Their heart grabbed their ribs like a desperate criminal, violently shaking them like prison bars. Red and black swirled through their mind, strings tensed around their limbs, not tight enough to restrict them, but a silent show of support, Chara’s way of saying “I’m here, I’m ready to help.”

But to Frisk’s surprise, Undyne didn’t make a move towards them. She simply stared… and stared… and stared…

And then, she turned around and walked away.

Frisk could only watch as Undyne stomped across the bridge of pipes, their feet glued to the ground. Slowly, slowly, slowly, her form grew smaller and smaller, until she was nothing more than a speck of black on the horizon. And then she disappeared into the darkness, passing through the entrance back to Waterfall. And just like that, she was gone.

It was over.

It was finally over.

“Oh sweet air conditioning how I’ve missed you!”

Frisk let out a long, overly dramatic and exasperated sigh of relief, soaking in the divine taste of cold, filtered air. They could feel their muscles turn to jelly, their entire body cheering at the change in temperature. Their exhaustion came back with a vengeance, dragging a yawn from their lips. There was no way that they were staying awake for long. If they didn’t find a bed soon, they were absolutely going to pass out on the floor, hard tiles be damned.

“Thank God for A.C.,” Frisk happily sighed. They winced in pain as a blade of red cut through their calm before quickly fizzling away, though the damage was already done. “Chara?”

“I’m fine,” they said, their voice telling Frisk that they were absolutely not fine. “Just don’t see any reason to thank him for anything.” Frisk was so, so tempted to try and figure out what that meant, but decided against it. Things were still a bit tense between them and Chara, and they wanted all of this to work. That meant leaving the hard conversations for when they were in a better place.

So they filed that little detail away for later, instead focusing on the strange building they had wandered into… or more accurately trespassed in. Which, okay, it wasn’t their fault! They literally couldn’t go around the building! It took up the entire road. Plus the door wasn’t locked and literally opened up for them when they got close. If whoever owned this place didn’t want people just barging in, they should have locked the doors and built a path to go around.

But the mystery person didn’t do either of those things, so Frisk was forced to enter the mystery building. Which, using their finely honed skills of deduction, they knew was a lab. Their deduction had nothing to do with the fact that the word ‘LAB’ was written in bright, bold red letters on the outside of the building.

Regardless, they tried to look around the lab, though it was made difficult by the fact that most of the lights were off. Luckily the room wasn’t completely dark, as there was one massive source of light brightening up the area. Frisk walked further into the lab to investigate, looking to their left to see… themself.

Yup, that was their face plastered on a giant computer monitor. And that face looked mighty confused, just like they did. Oh…

“Is someone spying on me?” they asked incredulously.

“It would appear so,” Chara replied. “That’s… rather disturbing.”

It wasn’t just Frisk being watched either. A set of smaller monitors were attached to the main one by metal rods going in multiple directions, each one displaying a camera feed of different areas of the Underground — the door to the Ruins, Snowdin Town, the Luminous Marsh in Waterfall, and a section of Hotland that Frisk hadn’t been to yet. Whoever was here was watching everything.

“Please tell me we haven’t just walked into the den of the Monster Illuminati,” Frisk fake whined. A dull and lifeless red slowly soaked into their mind. They could feel Chara’s deadpan expression, and they had to fight every urge to break into laughter.

“…we haven’t just walked into the den of the Monster Illuminati, you absolute cretin.” Frisk bit their lip, holding back a snicker. “More importantly,” Chara continued, “there is no such thing as the Monster Illuminati. Or even a human Illuminati!”

“You don’t know that!” Frisk fired back. “You’ve been gone a long time. Maybe they made an Illuminati while you were gone.”

“The humans or the monsters?”

“Yes.”

“Shut up and get us out of here before whatever creep is spying on you catches us in here.” Chara let out a huff. “I am not in the mood for any more schemes, plots, or ruses today.”

“What about shenanigans?”

“Frisk.”

“Fine, fine, I’m going. You don’t need to freak out though. The lights are all off. That means that whoever works here is currently-”

Frisk was blinded as fluorescent light flooded the lab, temporarily blinding them. They blocked their face with their arms, giving their eyes a minute to adjust to the light, blinking rapidly and slowly lowering their arm to see someone standing in front of them.

“You were saying?”

“…I was saying that whoever works here is currently right in front of me and that you were right.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Rubbing a palm down their face, Frisk let out a tired sigh and properly looked over their next probably-would-be-murderer. Thankfully, she didn’t look too intimidating. Standing a short distance ahead was what Frisk could best describe as a yellow bipedal lizard, barely taller than Frisk was, with clawed hands and feet and a set of spikey points on the back of her head that gave the appearance of hair. She was draped in a long white lab coat that was covered in splotches of dirt, oil, and some kind of translucent slime that dripped onto the tile beneath her. Strangely, she seemed just as surprised to see Frisk as they were, her eyes wide behind her thin glasses.

“Oh. My. God,” she muttered with a nasally voice and a slight lisp from behind her bucked teeth. “I didn’t expect you to be here so soon! Oh I haven’t showered, I’m barely dressed, the lab is a mess, and- and- and- uh…”

She started nervously dancing around, flapping her hands and stamping her feet, her long tail thrashing behind her with the anxious energy of a high schooler that forgot to study for their final exam, leaving Frisk to sit and wonder what the heck was happening. Then all of a sudden she froze, cringed, and hastily tried to shift into a casual stance, though the way she hunched over certainly didn’t help her look any less unsure of herself.

“Um… h-h-hiya!” she stuttered with an anxious smile. “I’m Dr. Alphys, Asgore’s royal scientist!” She held out a hand for Frisk to shake, but they took a step back instead, taking up a guarded stance. “Oh no, don’t worry!” she tried to reassure. “I’m not one of the ‘bad guys’! Actually, since you stepped out of the Ruins, I’ve been, uh… ya know… observing your journey through my console.”

“Admitting to spying on a minor isn’t a good look for you,” Chara deadpanned.

“Your fights… your friendships… everything!”

Frisk scrunched their face up at “everything”, thinking that there were quite a few things they didn’t want other people to see. They gave Alphys a look, signing, “Privacy please.”

Alphys blinked, then sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “Er, s-sorry.” Frisk smiled a little bit at that, despite the complete obliteration of any sense of privacy they had in the Underground. Maybe they could never have a moment where they weren’t being monitored, but at least they had found someone else who could understand them. That was nice.

They were still going to have a word with Asgore about privacy laws when they met him.

“A-a-anyway,” Alphys continued, “I was supposed to try and capture you, but watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them! Like watching a hero in an anime!”

“Do I get a cool magical girl transformation?”

“Are the time travel powers not enough?”

“No, I want a cool magical girl transformation.”

“…why are you like this?”

“-sing my knowledge, I can easily guide you through Hotland!” Alphys exclaimed, making Frisk tune back into the conversation. They were struggling to focus on Chara and the rest of the world at the same time, their mind slowing down more and more as the adrenaline from their previous fight wore off and the day’s events caught up with them. Maybe they could ask Alphys to use her knowledge to guide them to a bed.

Frisk was about to ask Alphys if there was somewhere they could rest when she said the magic words.

“There’s, uh, just one tiny issue.”

And just like that, Frisk was wide awake again. “What nooooooooowwww?” they whined. Chara echoed their frustration, specks of red and grey filling their mind. Neither of them were in the mood for anything, and this was sounding like a very big something.

“See, a long time ago, I made this robot named Mettaton,” Alphys explained. “Originally, I built him to be an entertainment robot. Y-ya know, like a TV star.”

“The square dude that Papyrus likes?”

“Anyway, recently I decided to make him more… useful.”

“Oh no.”

“You know, just some small, practical adjustments.”

“Here it comes.”

“Like, um… a-anti… anti-human combat features?”

“AND THERE IT IS!” Chara screamed.

Frisk completely sagged, giving Alphys an absolutely miserable look. “WHY?” they signed, doing the motion over and over to show their complete and utter lack of amusement over this millionth problem. They didn’t care if they looked like a whining baby (which Chara would argue that they are), they were tired. And they really didn’t need this right now.

“I’m sorry!” Alphys apologized, though it sounded more like a whine. “It was before I saw you, and it seemed like a good idea at the time!” She fiddled with the cuffs of her lab coat, shuffling her feet, her claws making quiet scraping sounds against the tile. “B-but when I saw you coming, I decided to remove those features!”

“Oh thank G- thank goodness,” Frisk sighed, quickly correctly themself as relief washed over them. Chara, however, was less calm.

“Wait for it…”

“Unfortunately, I may have made a teeeeensy mistake while doing so, and… um…”

“Oh no…”

“…now he’s an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood? Eh heh heh heh…”

“Told you.”

“Please stop being right.”

“I wouldn’t be too worried though,” Alphys said while waving her hand dismissively. “I doubt you’ll run into him anytime soon.” And oh, how those words immediately sent a stab through what little calm Frisk still had, because why the everloving hell would she say that? Frisk immediately facepalmed, an audible *PLAP ringing through the lab. “What?” Alphys asked.

“You jinxed it,” Frisk signed with an exasperated expression.

“What do you-”

*THUD

“…do you hear something?”

*THUD… THUD

The entire building shook, the lights flickering for a brief moment, bits of drywall flakes falling like snow. Frisk was tossed a few inches in the air from one of the quakes, knocking them onto their butt as they fell. The quakes got stronger and stronger, closer and closer, louder and louder, the lights flickering in time with them like a beat.

A look of horror dawned on Alphys as she shrunk in on herself. “Oh no…”

*THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD

*CRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH

“OHHHH YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!”

The lights and computer monitors all shut off all at once, blanketing the lab in complete and utter darkness, Frisk unable to see even a foot in front of them. Their tired muscles protested as they bent their knees and got into a ready stance, waiting for a signal to book it the hell out of there. But without being able to see, they had no idea where they could run. They saw a door just past Alphys, but they didn’t know if that was an exit or if it just led further into the lab. And they couldn’t go backward, because they ran into the chance of seeing Undyne again, which they would very much not like to do. As their addled mind desperately scrambled for some kind of solution, the new voice started speaking again.

“Welcome, beauties…” the robotic voice announced, reminding Frisk of a certain annoying robot from a video game they weren’t supposed to play.

A spotlight clapped on, revealing a rectangular robot standing in front of a massive hole broken in the wall of the lab, with a single leg ending in a wheel holding him up, two extendable arms, one of which was holding a microphone in a gloved hand that looked like it belonged on Mickey Mouse, and a “face” made up of a screen that was separated into a couple dozen squares that glowed orange and red, forming the shape of an ‘M’.

“…to tonight’s quiz show!!!!!!!!!”

Canned clapping sounds echoed through the lab as a bright neon sign reading ‘GAME SHOW’ descended from the ceiling, along with a pair of disco balls that cascaded rainbow light around Frisk and Alphys.

“HOW?” Chara demanded. “I bet Sans had something to do with that, that stupid comedian!”

“I’m your host, Mettaton of MTV, and this is MTV Quiz Night!” Mettaton cheered with far too much enthusiasm for how late it was. “And boy oh boy, I can already tell this is going to be a wonderful show!” Mettaton rolled back and forth, randomly holding up the microphone to different parts of his body, none of which resembled a mouth in any way. “Everyone, give a big hand for our wonderful contestant!”

More canned clapping sounds and cheering rang out and a bright light shone in Frisk’s face, blinding them. They felt something grab at their shoulders, letting out a yelp as they were suddenly dragged through the air and plopped onto a metal podium, confetti raining down on them from above.

“Where the hell did this come from?” Frisk asked. “I swear this wasn’t here two seconds ago.”

“Never played before, gorgeous?” Mettaton asked, leaning up against the front of Frisk’s podium, barely giving them a chance to breathe. What was going on? Was this the bloodthirsty robot that was coming to kill them? Why were they suddenly on a game show? Were they being recorded? Where the HELL did any of this stuff come from? “No problem!” Mettaton continued, giving zero damns about how confused Frisk was. “The rules are simple! After all, there’s only one rule!” He pushed himself off and rolled underneath the neon sign, dramatically holding his arms outward. “Answer my questions correctly…”

The panels that made up his face went dark for a moment before a skull pattern began flashing on it, the room darkening ever so slightly. Frisk felt something pull at their core, the familiar warmth of their soul beginning to glow in their chest.

“…OR YOU DIE!”

Frisk let out a long-suffering sigh. “Is there at least a consolation prize?” they asked, earning them a snort from Chara.

“Maybe he’ll at least give you a nice grave. Bet it’ll have free wifi.”

“That’d be nice.”

A dramatic sound queue played (from where, Frisk didn’t know), signalling the start of the game. “Alright darling, let’s start with an easy one!” Mettaton announced. He pointed up at the neon sign above him, the text changing as he spoke to display the question.

What’s the prize for answering correctly?

Four possible answers popped up underneath the question: a) Money, b) Mercy, c) A New Car, or d) More questions. A flashing light directly in front of them drew Frisk’s attention to the fact that the podium they were on had four buttons, one for each answer. Oh, so they wouldn’t have to answer out loud. Neat.

They then noticed that there was a timer that was rapidly ticking down way faster than it should be and hurried to make a choice. New Car and Money were both obviously stupid answers, so those were out. And the rule was to answer correctly or die, so answering correctly meant not dying, right? So the answer was Mercy. Frisk pressed down on the B button and-

*ZZZZZZZZZZZZPPPPPPPPPPPP

Frisk screamed in pain as electricity coursed through their body, every one of their nerves igniting in agony. They tried to pull their hand free of the button, but their muscles were locked in place, their hand glued down to their suffering. It felt like hours before the pain finally stopped, Frisk immediately dropping to their knees as they were released from their prison of pain, panting and gasping for air.

“FRISK!”

“Hah! You wish!” Mettaton mocked, his metallic voice grating on Frisk’s ears. Oh, so that’s how they were going to play it?

“Frisk, talk to me!” Chara insisted. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Frisk gritted out. “This is nothing. I didn’t survive against Undyne just to die to a knock-off Claptrap.”

“And now for your TERRIFIC prize!” Mettaton continued, a sadistic smile in his voice. The screen above him changed to the next question.

What is the King of Monster’s full name?

a) Lord Fluffybuns

b) Fuzzy Pushover

c) Asgore Dreemurr

d) Dr. Friendship

“At least this one is easier,” Frisk muttered before gently pressing down on the C button with one finger, still wary of getting electrocuted again. Thankfully, the pain never came. Instead, a cheerful buzzer sounded off, the screen flashing green.

“Very good!” Mettaton said as he clapped his hands. “Good to know the name of your executioner, don’t you think?” A seething red filled Frisk’s mind, tinting the edges of their vision as an involuntary snarl crossed their face before quickly dissapating. Frisk tried to push soothing thoughts outward to calm Chara down, but they seemed to have very little effect. “Now, enough about you, let’s talk about me!” The next question appeared.

What are robots made of?

a) Hopes & Dreams

b) Metal & Magic

c) Snips & Snails

d) Sugar & Spice

Frisk rapidly looked over their options, quickly crossing most of them off the list. B was the only answer that made any sort of sense. The other three looked like they were just references, though to what Frisk wasn’t sure. So with a bit of hesitance, they pressed B.

*DING DING DING

“Correct again!” Mettaton said. “My, aren’t you getting good at this?” He tapped a finger at where a chin on his face would approximately be, humming thoughtfully. “Ah, here’s another easy one for you!” he said, snapping his fingers as the next question popped up.

Two trains, Train A and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B. Station A and Station B are 252.5 miles apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards station A. If both trains departed at 10:00AM and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other?

a) 31.054 minutes

b) 16.323 minutes

c) 32.049 minutes

d) 32.058 minutes

“The hell?” Frisk gasped. “I can’t even read that! The text is too small!”

“You cheating son of a- Frisk, just pick an answer!”

“But how am I-”

“Pick randomly! You don’t have time for this!”

The timer rapidly ticked down and down and down and-

5

4

3

2

Frisk slammed a hand down on A.

*ZZZZZZZZZZZZPPPPPPPPPPPP

“Wrong wrong wrong wrong WROOOONG,” Mettaton sang, drowning out the sound of Frisk’s screams. “The correct answer was D! Come now honey, you’ll have to try a little harder than that.”

“How hard will I have to try to shove my foot all the way up your-”

“Chara!”

“He deserves it!”

“Next question!”

How many flies are in this jar?

a) 54

b) 55

c) 53

d) 52

Alongside the question, a video feed of a jar full of flies popped up, way too cluttered and full of little black blurs to ever hope to count them. Frisk resigned themself to another random guess until they noticed something. Their eyes drifted off behind Mettaton and to the side, where Alphys had subtly managed to move to. She had her hands out in front of her, holding them up in the shape of an ‘A’.

‘There’s no way…’

The timer ticked down, faster and faster. No time to think! Frisk slammed down on the A button.

*DING DING DING!

“Correct!” Mettaton cheered. “Aren’t you a clever little human?” Frisk let out a sigh of relief, sending Alphys a thankful grin as subtly as they could. “Now then, let’s play a little memory game.”

What monster is this?

a) Froggit

b) Whimsun

c) Moldsmal

d) Mettaton

Up on the screen, a picture of a Froggit appeared. ‘Oh yay, another easy question,’ Frisk thought, moving to press the A button. But they stopped when they saw Alphys frantically waving for them to stop before making a D with her hands. Frisk glanced at her in confusion. That was obviously a Froggit… though Mettaton hadn’t exactly been playing fair the last two questions either…

‘Screw it.’

Frisk hit the D button.

*DING DING DING

“Awww, I’m so flattered that you remembered!” Mettaton cooed as the image on the screen zoomed out, revealing Mettaton wearing a shirt with Froggit’s face on it. Frisk glared at the screen in contempt for a moment, making a silent promise to themself to thank Alphys profusely after this.

“How did she…” Chara questioned, their voice trailing off in confusion.

Frisk shrugged their shoulders. “Guess she knows his tricks,” they suggested. “She did build him after all. And right now, I really don’t care as long as she helps me not get shocked.”

“Fair enough.”

The game show continued for another few rounds, the questions getting more and more absurd as time went on. One question had Frisk guessing how many letters were in Mettaton’s name, but the name on screen just kept getting longer as he added more and more ‘n’s. Another had them solving an insanely complicated physics equation about the force of magical bombs. Another was written entirely in binary code, so Frisk didn’t have a clue what that one was even asking. And for every question, Alphys subtly gave them the correct answer, with Mettaton none the wiser.

And then there was…

Would you smooch a ghost?

a) Heck yeah!

b) Heck yeah!

c) Heck yeah!

d) Heck yeah!

Frisk took great delight in answering that question, confidently using both of their arms to slam down on all four buttons at the same time, doing everything they could to mentally signal that they were staring right at Chara. They were rewarded for their efforts with a very excited Mettaton and a very cute pink flush filling their entire mind.

“I hate you.”

A few more inane and ridiculous questions passed before Mettaton held his arms out, linking his hands together and cracking his knuckles. “Alright, time to bring out the big guns,” he announced with a malicious tone.

In the dating simulation video game "Mew Mew Kissy Cutie" what is Mew Mew's favourite food?

Before the answers could even appear on screen, Alphys started hopping up and down, a massive grin on her face. “Oh, oh, I know this one!” she cried. “It’s snail ice cream! In the fourth chapter everyone goes to the beach and she buys ice cream for everyone but it's snail flavoured and she’s the only one who wants it!!! It’s actually one of my favourite parts of the game because it’s actually a very powerful message about… about the… about friendship and…”

Mettaton slowly turned to look at Alphys, the panels of his face dimming. “Alphys, Alphys, darling,” he menacingly whispered. “You aren’t helping our contestant, are you?” He waggled a finger back and forth, making a “tsk tsk tsk” sound. “Oh, you should have told me! I’ll ask a question… that you’re SURE to know the answer to!”

Who does Dr. Alphys have a crush on?

a) Undyne

b) Asgore

c) Me (As in you, not me darling)

d) Don’t know.

“Oh that’s just mean,” Frisk pouted.

Chara raised an imaginary eyebrow in disbelief. “Trapping you in a game show and electrocuting you for getting answers wrong is fine, but revealing someone’s crush is mean?”

“Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words will give me everlasting trauma and depression.”

“…you need help.”

“Don’t I know it,” Frisk snarkily replied. “Well, even if I knew the answer to this, I wouldn’t say. So…”

Frisk hit the D button.

*DING DING DING

“That’s correct!”

“What?”

Mettaton dramatically leaned against Alphys’ shoulder, pulling her into a side hug. “Alphys has a crush on… the unknowable. You see, Alphys believes that there is someone out there… someone watching her. Someone she thinks is cute and interesting. Hello theoretical person! Dr. Alphys likes you!” Mettaton shook his head (Or really his entire body) and laughed condescendingly. “Too bad you aren’t real!”

A derisive laugh-track played, causing Alphys to blush deeply in embarrassment. “H-hey!” she snapped. “I’ve done research about this! There are alternate timelines out there! Maybe s-someday… I can meet them, and-”

“And you said the same thing about Mew Mew Kissy Cutie” Mettaton cut in. He let out a dramatic sigh, pulling away from Alphys. “Well, this won’t do,” he complained. “With Dr. Alphys helping you, the show has no dramatic tension! We can’t go on like this!”

“Oh thank hell,” Chara sighed in relief.

“But!”

“NO!”

“This was just the pilot episode!” Mettaton continued. “Up next, more drama! More romance! More bloodshed!” He blew a kiss in a random direction, presumably towards a camera. “Until next time, darlings!!!!!”

With that, all of the game show screens and disco balls disappeared into the air, as if they never existed. Then, Mettaton crouched down, his arms, “leg”, and wheel compacting into his body, before a violent flame erupted from underneath him. Like a rocket ship, he shot up into the sky, breaking through the ceiling of the lab and blasting off into the great beyond.

Frisk and Alphys were left behind, both of them staring in awe and confusion at the brand new skylight. They looked at it, then down at each other, silently looking into their souls.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...well that was certainly something,” Alphys chirped.

Frisk promptly collapsed onto the ground and went to sleep, completely ignoring Alphys’ panicked cries.

“Rule fourteen; no moving me in my sleep without my permission.”

“Does being knocked unconscious count?”

“Uhhh… let’s say no. If I get knocked it, it probably means I’m in trouble. Just get me somewhere safe, then give me a chance to wake up.”

“And if you need medical attention?”

“I’ll have to trust your judgement.”

After Frisk unceramoniously went to sleep, Alphys had (according to Chara) moved them upstairs to her living quarters in the lab - a mess of anime posters, bookshelves stuffed with dusty tomes of quantum physics and magical engineering, cluttered desks, and a strange machine that Frisk couldn’t properly make out from their position. The entire room reeked of dollar-store ramen, a smell that Frisk was very familiar with.

They were lying on a small bed with a blue plastic frame, the mattress feeling less like a cushion and more like a slice of stale bread — hard and slightly crusty. Frisk lay on their back, their hands resting behind their head as they idly kicked their feet in the air. They had woken up about an hour prior, still sore but refreshed. Once Chara had filled them in on what happened while they slept, the two set to work on establishing some ground rules for their partnership.

“And what about your voice?” Chara questioned. “I neglected to use it last time you were rendered unconscious when you foolishly jumped off a bridge-”

“Which saved my life.”

“-but being able to speak would be helpful get you out of situations, especially since I don’t know Sign Language. Being utterly incapable of communicating could cause issues.” They hesitated for a moment, Frisk feeling a stain of light grey discomfort flowing from Chara’s soul. “I… cannot fully comprehend the discomfort forcing you to speak brings, but I understand that it hurts you. I do not wish to do that. So I need to know if making you speak when you cannot feel it is… crossing a line.”

Frisk squirmed a bit in discomfort, ruffling their hair against their hands. That was a good question. If a tree fell in the forest and no one was there to hear it, would it cause psychological trauma? Maybe.

“I would prefer if you didn’t,” they eventually decided on. “Both because it would be weird for me to suddenly start talking, and because… cuz well…I…”

“If the idea simply makes you uncomfortable, that is fine,” Chara said reassuringly. “However, the way you phrased that sounded like partial permission.”

“…it is,” Frisk sighed. “I would really, really prefer if you didn’t use my voice. But… if I’m not awake, and you have to communicate… then fine. You can talk. But the second you feel me waking up-”

“I will bite my - or rather your - tongue and let you take over.”

“Thank you.”

The two went back and forth, throwing out more rules, most of which were agreed to without issue, the others requiring some discussion to come to an understanding on. Frisk set most of the new boundaries, happy that Chara was listening to them, though that didn’t mean they didn’t also have their own requests.

“I know it might be difficult for you to comprehend, but having my soul be choked by ash is a rather unpleasant feeling,” Chara deadpanned, sounding annoyed by Frisk’s reluctance. “I would appreciate not having to feel that again.”

“So what, I’m not allowed to get angry at you?” Frisk sneered.

“I didn’t say that,” Chara replied. “Anger is something you can’t completely control. But we both know that you fully took advantage of how your anger affects me to cause harm before. Twice now.” They let out a frustrated huff. “I’m not saying your anger wasn’t valid, or that you aren’t allowed to feel it. But do not weaponize it against me. I won’t allow it.”

Frisk’s face scrunched up in anger, a seething burning the blood in their heart. Oh, they wouldn’t allow it? They weren’t exactly in a position to be making demands! Besides, they were the one that hurt Frisk in the first place, and yet they were acting like they were the victim? Frisk had half a mind to give them a lungful of ash just for that!

“Frisk,” Chara wheezed. “I’m trying to be reasonable. I have accepted all of your terms. I’m only asking that you don’t try to hurt me too. If this is to work, then we both need to cooperate.” They paused for a moment, gathering themself. “Please.”

And all at once, Frisk’s anger died, leaving them cold.

“…okay,” they meekfully muttered. “Sor-”

“Don’t. Just… don’t.”

“…okay.”

Conversation was slow after that, but it was done for the most part anyway. The rules were fairly clear. Chara would refrain from forcibly taking control of Frisk - they wouldn’t be treated as a puppet. If Chara wanted to do something, they would ask for permission. In fights, they would quickly inform Frisk of what they were doing and why, only taking control of what they absolutely needed to.

In turn, Frisk would try to place their trust in Chara. They had already placed a good amount of value in Chara’s words, but after everything that had happened, the two felt that it was worth putting it down as a rule - as long as Chara stayed true to their word, Frisk would trust what they said. And when - Frisk definitely noted that they said ‘when’ and not ‘if’ - when Chara messed up again, Frisk would refrain from actively trying to harm Chara through their soul.

They were simple rules for the most part, many of the finer details changing based on the situation, but for the most part they seemed easy to follow.

“I believe that is everything.”

“Guess so,” Frisk huffed. “Wanna go see if Alphys is done with our phone yet?”

“I’m tempted to say no.” Frisk echoed that thought. Alphys had come by earlier asking to exchange phone numbers, only to look utterly aghast when Frisk pulled out their phone, claiming that it was absolutely ancient. Which it was. So when she said she could upgrade it, Frisk happily accepted the offer.

Which they slightly regretted when they heard Alphys working on their phone downstairs. They had no idea what she was doing that involved a blowtorch, a chainsaw, and whatever she used that started screaming, but they wanted nothing to do with it, and they certainly didn’t want to know what she was doing. Ignorance is bliss after all.

But after lying awake in bed for over an hour at this point, Frisk was antsy to get moving again. So they tossed their legs over the side of the bed and hopped to their feet, arching their back and stretching their arms up high to get the sleep out of their system, readying themself to tackle a new day. Feeling wide awake and completely reenergized, Frisk ran to the end of the room and jumped onto the escalator-ramp leading back downstairs, riding it like a skateboard all the way down.

Reaching the bottom at record speed, Frisk jumped in the air, landing on the tile floor with a resounding *THUMP, causing Alphys to shriek and jump in the air, falling off the stool she was sitting on at her nearby desk, sending papers scattering through the air.

“Smooth,” Chara snarked. Frisk pointedly ignored them, running over to Alphys and helping her back up with an apologetic look, righting her stool once she was back on her feet.

“I-it’s a-alright,” Alphys stuttered nervously. “I just d-din’t hear you coming!” She scratched the back of her neck, looking down and slightly off to the side. “Didn’t have time to prepare myself,” she muttered, just barely loud enough for Frisk to hear, making them frown. “Anyway, are you feeling better? You, uh… seemed a bit tired last night.”

“Much better,” Frisk signed with a smile. “Thank you for let me use your bed.”

“N-no problem!” Alphys replied. “Oh, I, uh, finished upgrading your phone.” She reached across her desk, pushing a few papers and empty cups of ramen out of the way, grabbing the phone and offering it to Frisk. They happily took it, surprised for a moment, wondering if it was even the same phone.

Instead of a brick of plastic and metal that it was before, the phone was now much sleeker, turned from an ancient grey slab into a cute baby-blue flip phone, complete with a keychain hooked onto the bottom. Frisk powered it on, the screen quickly flicking to life. Instead of having nothing but a list of phone numbers, the screen showed a wide variety of apps, each of them begging to be opened and explored.

“Do you like it?” Alphys hopefully asked. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the opportunity to give your phone some new apps. Now it can do texting, connect to WiFi, play music… I even added a text-to-speech feature, so if you ever need to talk to someone you can just type out what you want to say, and the phone will read it out for you. It even works while your on calls!”

A flash of surprise crossed over Frisk’s face, before they settled into a smile. That was really thoughtful of her. Phone calls were the absolute bane of their existence, but now they had a way to talk to the person on the other side! They probably still wouldn’t use that feature unless they needed to - they prefered their Sign Language, the familiar motions and facial expressions feeling more them - but this would definitely come in handy.

“I love it,” they beamed. “Thank you.”

“Oh! I-it’s nothing, really.” Alphys blushed, her yellow cheeks painted bright red. Frisk smiled wider seeing how happy she looked, eagerly pulling her into a hug, Alphys letting out a “Meep” sound as they squeezed her tight. Alphys squirmed a bit in their embrace until they let her go, her entire face covered in a bright red blush. “I-um-I-uh-” she stuttered, tripping over her words. “I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM!”

Without another word, she ran off, skidding against the tile as she practically threw herself into a side room, the heavy metal doors slamming shut behind her and locking with a click. Frisk frowned and tilted their head to the side, their heart sinking every so slightly.

“Too much?” they asked.

“It may have been a bit too forward,” Chara replied. “She seems the conservative type.”

“Really? She didn’t seem right-wing to me.”

“…conservative as in more reserved and not being used to sudden change, not bigoted.”

“Oh. Yeah that makes sense.”

Chara let out a huff, Frisk easily able to imagine them shaking their head and pinching the bridge of their nose. “Let’s just get a move on. There should be an elevator nearby that should take us right up to New Home.”

“Snnrrk,” Frisk snorted. “Really? New Home?”

“Mister Asgore is many things, my dear partner, but creative is not one of them.”

“I can tell.” Frisk stretched their limbs one last time, springing on the tips of their toes excitedly. “Well, onwards and upwards! Let’s get this show on the road!”

“So I wanna say thats three times you’ve mentioned a shortcut now that hasn’t worked? That sound about right?”

“Bite me, Frisk.”

“Would if I could.”

Frisk strolled down the winding scorched stone path of Hotland, hands behind their head and humming a tune to themself. They had taken off their sweater and tied it around their waist like a half-skirt, because walking around in a place with literal seas of lava in a sweater sounded like an absolute nightmare. They had tried to use the elevator that Chara had pointed them to which would have let them skip the entire region, but unfortunately it was out of order. Honestly, Frisk wasn’t even surprised.

“Seriously, this is getting ridiculous,” Chara complained. “First Riverperson is nowhere to be found, and now the elevators are busted? How are people supposed to get around in any sort of decent fashion? There are so many monsters that are unable to pass through certain regions due to their biology! How are they supposed to function like this?”

“Add it to the list of things to complain to Asgore about when we see him,” Frisk shrugged.

*Bzzzzz bzzzzz

“You’re very nonchalant about this.”

“Eh, I was kinda expecting it. You’ve seen our luck.”

“Fair enough.”

*Bzzzz bzzzzz

Frisk stepped onto one of the long and winding conveyor belts that replaced the road, their body swaying from side to side as the track rapidly flung them forward, changing direction on a dime for seemingly no reason. Not that Frisk really cared, it was far too fun, almost like a mini roller-coaster. Just without any of the safety precautions.

“This place could probably use some railings,” they noted.

“Add it to the list.”

*Bzzzz bzzzzz

Chara let out an annoyed sigh, a few flecks of red appearing in Frisk’s mind. “I’m starting to understand why people complain about children always being on their phones.” Frisk rolled their eyes at Chara’s overdramatics, pulling their phone out from their pocket. Alphys had apparently taken the liberty of signing them up for the UnderNet, a social media site for the Underground, and added herself as their friend… which she might have forgotten about, considering she kept making posts about them as if they weren’t able to see.

They opened up the app, scrolling through the last few things Alphys had posted about. At first she was complaining that she missed their fight with Undyne, swearing to watch a recording of it later, but she quickly moved into a rapid series of posts about needing to call Frisk, followed by an army of emoticons.

“Perhaps you should tell her you can see what she’s saying,” Chara suggested.

“I should,” Frisk agreed. “But there’s something I have to do first.”

“Which is?”

“Change my username. I refuse to be ‘Human7234’ forever.”

“…I will never understand your priorities.”

Frisk immediately hopped over to their profile page, fingers dancing across the tiny keyboard as they stuck their tongue out in concentration, updating their preferences. With a satisfied smirk, they clicked the save button.

* Human7234 has changed their name to Frisky_Whisky*

“Really?” Chara deadpanned. “That’s the best you could come up with?”

“It’s perfect!”

*Bzzzz bzzzz

Frisk looked back down at their phone to see that Alphys had posted again, shaking their head at her silly new status and beginning to type out their own reply.

ALPHYS posted:
I HATE USING THE PHONE I DONT WANT TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^

Frisky_Whisky commented on ALPHYS’ post:
You know I can see all of your posts, right?

ALPHYS replied to Frisky_Whisky’s comment:
oh

Frisky_Whisky replied to ALPHYS’ comment:
Don’t worry! Take your time! I don’t mind <3

“Must you?”

“What?”

“The heart.”

“What’s wrong with the heart?”

“…”

“Well?”

“…nevermind.”

Frisk raised an eyebrow at Chara’s odd reaction, as well as the strange mix of green and pink fluttering around near their soul. That was a new combination. What was it supposed to mean? It certainly didn’t feel like a positive feeling. It almost felt sickly, the colour sticking to their soul and staining it slightly, refusing to let go. Whatever it was, it was uncomfortable.

Well… Frisk wasn’t in the mood for uncomfortable. So they ignored it and moved on.

“ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?”

“IT’S A SHORTCUT!”

“I HATE YOU!”

Frisk laughed maniacally as they stepped onto another steam vent, feeling the pressure build up beneath their feet. A moment later, the grate underneath their feet exploded with pressure, flinging Frisk skyhigh as they pushed forward, rocketing them over a pit of lava. 

Their sweater flapped in the wind around their waist, their heart soared, adrenaline pumped through their blood. Their laughs were lost to the whipping wind around them, until their flight eventually came to an end as they hit the ground, tucking into a roll and pushing themself back to their feet in one motion, breaking into a sprint to keep their speed.

“Will you stop this already?!” Chara yelled. “Just stick to the path!”

“No way! This is so much faster!” Frisk laughed as they jumped onto another vent and sent them up into the sky again. “And WAY more fun!”

“It won’t be fun when you are incinerated by molten magma!”

“Guess I better not fall in then!”

Frisk cackled at Chara’s frustrated and fluttered grumbles, sprinting and bouncing across Hotland with ease. Was what they were doing dangerous? Of course it was! They were abusing vents that were supposed to blow steam to cool off pipes to bounce around like a drug-crazed kangaroo over rivers and lakes of literal lava! One wrong move would be their death. But who cared? It was awesome! And it wasn’t like death had stopped them before, so why not have some fun with it?

And have fun with it they did. Once the excitement of just being flung into the air started to fade, Frisk started getting creative, doing flips and tricks in the air, spinning and dancing through the sky in increasingly absurd ways. Chara got particularly annoyed with them when they span around T-Posing, calling them something along the lines of a “Beetle-headed wretch”, whatever that meant. Frisk didn’t really care.

They were having too much fun being alive.

“Uhh.. I- um- A-Alphys here!”

Frisk turned up the volume on their phone, putting it on speaker so they could listen and type out their responses. It had taken a while for Alphys to call them, and even when she did, it took a couple of tries for her to not hang up immediately. Frisk felt a little bad for her. She really wasn’t exaggerating about how much she hated making phone calls. Really, they could relate. ‘Maybe I should suggest we stick to texting after this?’ they thought.

“D-do you see the l-lasers ahead of you?” Alphys stuttered. Frisk looked at the path ahead, another bridge of metal pipes. Hovering over the lave nearby where strange circular drones, each of them emitting a thin wall of light that blocked the path ahead. “The, uh, the blue ones… they won’t hurt you if you don’t move,” Alphys explained. “O-orange ones, um… y-you have to be moving, or- and um- they won’t-” she stumbled over her words, growing more and more flustered. “Walk through those ones!”

Without another word and before Frisk had a chance to even consider responding, Alphys hung up the call. Frisk pouted at their phone. Yeah… they definitely needed to suggest switching to texts, because wow, Alphys had already struck them as an extremely anxious person, but that was bad. She did not need the extra stress.

Half paying attention to the path ahead, keeping their eyes up just enough that they could see the colours of the walls, Frisk started typing away at their phone, sending a few text messages to Alphys. They passed through two walls of translucent orange light, stopping in front of a blue wall that swept back and forth, waiting for it to pass over them before speed-walking away so it couldn’t catch up to them. The entire time, they phone was buzzing like crazy, a flurry of notification from UnderNet causing it to vibrate like mad.

ALPHYS posted:
OMG I DID IT! My claws haven’t shaken that badly since Undyne called me to ask about the weather.

ALPHYS commented on ALPHYS’ post:
WAIT THERE’S NO WEATHER DOWN HERE WHY DID SHE CALL ME?

ALPHYS replied to ALPHYS’ comment:
KLJHBGVJBNKTHHIGESLBEKNRTHGESTLKGNTGTG

ALPHYS replied to ALPHYS’ comment:
???????????????????????????????????

ALPHYS replied to ALPHYS’ comment:
HELP??????????????????

"She forgot again," Frisk noted.

“I believe I’ve figured out who her crush is,” Chara snorted.

“Sounds like it goes both ways too,” Frisk noted. “Seriously Undyne?”

“Well, she didn’t exactly seem like the smartest minnow in the stream.” Frisk snickered at that. “What? You aren’t going to complain about me being rude?” Chara amusedly asked.

“It’s Undyne. Smack talk her all you like.”

“Oh. Oh you have given me a wonderful gift, my dear partner.”

Frisk giggled into their palm, cheeks hurting from smiling so much. “Have fun.”

They slightly regretted their decision when Chara spent the next half an hour coming up with every possible insult for Undyne they could, but they couldn’t really be too upset about it when Chara was having so much fun. They basked in the pleasure of having their heart and soul coated in joyful orange and yellows, feeling as bright as the sun, their feet effortlessly carrying them further and further ahead. Every now and then, they’d join in on one of Chara’s jokes, or check their phone for any updates on UnderNet.

ALPHYS posted a picture:
Cute pic of me rn ^.^

A photo of a garbage can with several pink, glittery filters over it is shown below.

…maybe they could check the UnderNet a bit less.

“Ya know, all of these puzzles are making me kinda nostalgic,” Frisk smiled. “Feels like being back in Snowdin Forest.” They walked through a large set of mechanical double doors that had been locked by a pair of puzzles, a grin on their face. “I missed this back in Waterfall.”

“The lack of puzzles is understandable, considering Waterfall is enough of a maze already,” Chara pointed out. “But I understand. Though I am a bit confused.”

“About?”

“About why the puzzles are active. Usually the ones on the main roads are disabled, only being activated during certain holidays. It can be difficult to get around when random puzzles are always blocking the path, and the creators need time to make adjustments so that the monsters can’t memorize the solutions.”

“Huh. That makes sense.” Frisk thought for a moment, tapping their chin. “Maybe Mettaton turned them back on? He might be trying to make things difficult for us.”

“Maybe…”

“You don’t think so?”

“It’s… a possibility,” Chara said carefully. “But at the same time, it seems… out of character.” Frisk tilted their head in confusion, prompting them to continue. “From what little we’ve seen, Mettaton is still an entertainer at heart. He doesn’t just want to kill you, he wants to make a show of it. Having you die to a random set of lasers and stalling you with puzzles doesn’t seem to align with his interests.”

Frisk considered that for a moment. Chara had a point. Mettaton had (presumably) broadcasted their last confrontation, and he had promised more for the viewers. So why would he want them to die or get hurt on a random road? Unless he was recording them the entire way, but that didn’t sound like good entertainment. And it certainly didn’t match up with his theatrics.

Unable to come up with any believable reason, Frisk decided to shelve the topic. Thinking about it wouldn’t help. So they simply continued on, walking down the pathway and hopping across steam vents, much to Chara’s displeasure. With one last jump, they landed on a new path, this one clearly man - er, monster - made, rather than just a natural rock formation. The floor underneath them was bright blue and covered in lime-green polka dots, leading into a building a short distance ahead.

With no other way forward, Frisk stepped inside, pushing the door open. The interior was pitch-black, though Frisk could smell the familiar scents of sugar and baked goods. They looked around for a light switch, feeling the walls around them and using the light that came from outside… until the door slammed shut behind them, blanketing them in darkness, Frisk letting out a yelp of surprise.

“Crap crap crap, this is totally a trap!” they panicked.

“Obviously.”

“I don’t suppose your ghostliness lets you see in the dark?”

“No Frisk, being dead does not give me night vision. But it does let me-”

*RING RING

“AHHHH!”

Frisk let out another strangled yelp, caught off guard by the sudden ringing before they realized it was just their phone. They pulled it out and flicked it open, accepting the incoming call, Alphys’ nervous voice coming from the other side.

“H-hey,” she said, “it’s kind of dark in there, isn’t it?”

“How does she know that?” Chara asked suspiciously.

“She has cameras everywhere, remember?” Frisk reminded them. “Makes sense that she’s keeping track of us since she’s supposed to be our guide.”

“Still…”

“Don’t worry!” Alphys continued. “I’ll hack into the light system and brighten things up!” Frisk could hear the sound of a clicking keyboard, a few beeps and bops, and Alphys whispering “Got it!” under her breath. A few seconds later, the lights started flicking on one by one, lighting up the room they were in.

Specifically, the kitchen they were in.

Before Frisk was a long kitchen, with countertops stretching across the walls to their left and right. The one on their right held a wide variety of baking tools, bowls, and cutting boards, while the one on the left had a bunch of random ingredients strewn about, different parts of the countertop cut interrupted by kitchen appliances, like a fridge and an oven. A fake window sat above the countertop with a painting of the sky behind it, fluffy clouds cutting across the bright blue. And all above them, the roof was a mess of scaffolding and crossbeams, a wide variety of microphones, spotlights, and cameras pointing downward.

“Oh no…” Alphys muttered.

“Oh no,” Frisk thought, realizing where this was going.

“Oh no,” Chara groaned, already sounding tired of everything and everyone.

Mettaton slowly started to rise out from underneath the counter to the right, a cartoonishly long chef had perched atop his “head”.

“OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!” he cheered, once again holding a microphone up to random parts of his body. “Welcome, beauties, to our premier cooking show!!!!!”

A magical light appeared in the air, dancing across the kitchen stage and spelling out the words ‘COOKING WITH A KILLER ROBOT’ in bright pink sparkles, which quickly faded away.

“Pre-heat your ovens, because we’ve got a very special recipe for you today!” He rolled over to Frisk’s side, wrapping an arm around their shoulder, locking them in place despite their efforts to escape. “We’re going to be making… a cake!!! My lovely assistant here will gather the ingredients and helping me along!!!!! Everybody give them a big hand!!!!!”

Canned clapping sounds rang out and confetti rained down from above. Mettaton certainly had a distinct style. At least he was… sort of predictable?

“Now, assistant,” Mettaton said, finally pulling away. “We’ll need sugar, milk, and eggs! Go get them for me, would you sweetheart?”

Frisk side-eyed Mettaton in confusion. “That’s it? No butter, no flour, no baking powder, nothing for any kind of icing? The heck kind of cake are you making?”

“I suspect we’ll be finding out shortly.”

Frisk let out a hum, their eyes drifting over to the exit on the other side of the kitchen, tempted to try and make a break for it. Unfortunately, they could see a barrier of cobalt-blue electricity dancing in front of the door, blocking their escape. A similar forcefield stood in front of the door they came in from, totally trapping them. Which meant that their only option was to play along.

With a sigh Frisk turned around, waltzing over to the fridge and tugging on the handle, only for it to refuse to budge. They looked down in confusion, tugging on the handle again, and again, putting their phone down on the counter and grabbing the handle with both hands and giving it a firm pull. Nothing. Was it locked?

“What are you doing, darling?” Mettaton asked. Frisk blinked at him in confusion, picking their phone back up and pressing a button to swap from the call to type into the text-to-speech app.

“Getting the milk and eggs” a synthetic voice said. Mettaton made a “tsk tsk tsk” sound, waggling his finger.

“In the fridge? Oh no no, darling, they aren’t in there. If they were, they’d get cold!”

“What do you-” Frisk started before their eyes caught on something on the counter next to them - the very familiar shape of a carton of eggs. And right next to that was a container full of milk.

Frisk’s eye twitched in blind anger, the only thing holding them back from running over to Mettaton and strangling him - aside from his lack of a neck - was Chara locking them in place.

“Frisk, no,” Chara lightly scolded.

“HOW LONG?!?” Frisk demanded. “HOW LONG HAS HE LEFT THE FREAKING EGGS AND MILK OUT OF THE FRIDGE? IN THIS KIND OF HEAT? DOES HE HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DISGUSTING THAT IS? WHAT KIND OF SHAM KITCHEN IS THIS?”

“Frisk-”

“LET ME GO! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!”

“Rule nine, I’m allowed to hold you back if you’re attempting to be violent. So no.”

Frisk was absolutely seething. They hated that rule. They really hated that rule. But they promised Chara that they wouldn’t let their anger get the best of them, and Chara had said they would hold them to that promise. They had asked for this. But like hell would they be happy about it.

“Something wrong, sweetie?” Mettaton called. “Come now, we don’t have all day.” Frisk glared at him in anger, then took a deep breath. And another. And another. And one more for good measure.

“You good?” Chara asked.

“Good enough to not commit murder on live television,” Frisk replied, their voice still tense.

“I’ll take it.” Chara released their hold on Frisk, their body loosening as it breathed a sigh of relief. “Come on, let’s just give him his ingredients and get this over with.”

“Fine.”

Frisk reluctantly scooped up the eggs and milk, as well as a nearby bag of sugar, bringing them over to the counter Mettaton was at. They took a step to the side so they could wash their hands at the sink next to them, only to be stopped by Mettaton again.

“This isn’t a show about washing your hands, darling!” he said. “That’s on Wednesdays.”

“I hate this.”

“I know, Frisk.”

“Now then,” Mettaton cheered, “It looks like we have everything we need to bake a cake!”

“We really don’t.”

“…wait a minute,” Mettaton paused, putting a hand underneath his screen in a place that could approximately be his chin. “Wait a magnificent moment! We’re still missing the most important ingredient!”

“Flour?”

Mettaton lowered himself down to reach into a cupboard underneath the counter, ruffling around and throwing out a random assortment of items, including a bottle of bleach, a king-sized rubber duck, and a hair drier, before finally saying “Ah-hah!” and pulling out what he was looking for.

A bright pink chainsaw, plastered with heart and star stickers.

“A human soul,” Mettaton slowly grinned. Frisk felt their heart drop as he started revving the chainsaw’s engine, the smell burning gasoline and the sound of grinding metal filling the air. They took two hasty steps back, eyes darting around for a way out, something they didn’t see before. Maybe that window was real but it just had a painting over it? If it was, what were the chances that it dropped them directly into the lake of lava?

“I really think flour would work better!” Frisk yelled in their head as they backed up, feeling the crackling electricity of the forcefield behind them as Mettaton slowly got closer and closer, taking his sweet time torturing them in suspense as he held the chainsaw out towards them, getting closer and closer and closer and-

“W-wait!”

Mettaton and Frisk both froze, their gazes snapping over to the phone in Frisk’s hand in unison. Right… they never hung up the call. The phone was made so that they could use the text-to-speech while on call. So Alphys was still there.

“Yes, darling, what is it?” Mettaton impatiently asked. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”

“W-well,” Alphys stuttered, “Couldn’t you make a- I mean use a, um- couldn’t you make a substitution in the recipe?” She laughed nervously, Frisk barely able to make out the sound of claws scratching against scales.

“…a substitution?” Mettaton asked. “You mean use a non-human ingrediant?”

“Y-yeah!”

“…why?”

“Ummmm… well… what if someone’s, uh…. vegan.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…vegan,” Mettaton repeated slowly.

“Vegan?” Frisk muttered in disbelief. Was she serious? There was no way this was going to work. Frisk continued looking around, silently weighing their options. The window was looking more and more tempting by the second.

“Well, you se-”

“THAT’S A BRILLIANT IDEA ALPHYS!” Mettaton cried, flinging his arms around wildly in excitement, the chainsaw whipping and slashing through the air while buzzing violently, each swing that just barely missed Frisk by an inch making their chest seize and their heart leap.

“CAN YOU PLEASE STOP SWINGING THAT THING AROUND?” they begged, pressing themself as close to the forcefield as they felt they could.

“Actually, I happen to have a non-human option right here!” Mettaton continued. “MTT-Brand’s very own always-convenient human-soul-flavour-substitute! A can of which is just over on that counter!” Mettaton pointed over to the far side of the room where a long container sat on top of a strangely isolated countertop. “Well, darling?” Mettaton said as he looked back over at Frisk. “Go get it.”

Frisk gave Mettaton a baffled look, both because the way he told them to go get the container was ominous as all hell, but also because why was he going along with this? Was this a joke? Was someone playing a prank on them? They looked over at the counter to their right where they placed the ingredients, staring in complete confusion.

“…but… it already has eggs and milk in it,” Frisk pointed out. “Neither of those are veg-”

“You want to tell him that?” Chara barked. “Go on. Tell the robot that’s threatening to rip you up with a chainsaw that the excuse Alphys gave is crap.”

“…nevermind.”

“That’s what I thought. Now be a good human and go get the substitute.”

Frisk did as they were told, shimmying against the back wall to skirt around Mettaton, giving him and his lollipop chainsaw a wide berth before speed-walking to the other side of the room, desperate to get the stupid ingredient and get this hell-show over with.

But the moment they started getting close to the counter, it shrank down into the ground… then started to shake…. then shot sky-high, a tower of countertops all stacked on top of each other reaching into the heavens, Frisk looking up to see that this section of the studio was built like a tower, allowing the pillar of countertops to rise higher and higher.

“By the way,” Mettaton said, having rolled over to Frisk’s side, “Our show runs on a strict schedule. If you can’t get the substitute in the next minute, then we’ll just have to go back to the original plan. So you better get climbing, sweetie!”

Laughing to himself, Mettaton compacted in on himself and fired up his boosters, flying up into the air. Frisk glared at him from below, wondering what they were going to do, until they felt their hone vibrate in their hand.

“D-don’t worry!” Alphys’ voice called out from the speaker. “I have an idea!” Frisk brought the phone right up in front of their face, eyes wide and silently asking what she meant. “When I was upgrading your phone, I added a few… features.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Chara said.

“You see the button that says ‘Jetpack’ on it?”

“…what.”

Frisk looked down at their phone and, sure enough, there was a button that said ‘Jetpack’ on it. ‘There’s no way…’ they thought, before remembering that they were on a timer. With nothing to lose they pressed the button, feeling the phone begin to violently vibrate in their hand before practically leaping out of their grasp, flipping through the air as it began to expand and extend, a pair of wings springing out of the side and booster rockets appearing at the bottom. In a second flat, the phone had turned into a jetpack, one that automatically flew itself over to Frisk’s back, strapping itself to them and blasting them into the air.

“Woah!”

“There!” Alphys said from behind Frisk. “You should have just enough fuel to get to the top!”

“Heck ye!” Frisk cheered, relishing in the rush of flying, the rushing wind pushing their face into a manic grin. Out of the corner of their eye, they spotted Mettaton flying up above them, carrying a wide assortment of ingredients. “Bring it on,” Frisk challenged.

Heeding their silent invitation, Mettaton began his attack with a carton of eggs. His right arm started spinning round and round, picking up speed until it became a blur of movement as he brought his other hand close, holding the carton out towards the spinning machine. Eggs flew through the air like bullets, threatening to knock Frisk out of the air.

But Frisk turned their body into a spin, twisting their body through the air as they soared higher and higher, eggs whizzing past their body as they twisted and turned, diving into barrel rolls. Eggs cracked and splattered on the walls around them, painting the room in bright yellows.

Once he ran out of eggs, Mettaton tossed the carton aside and let his throwing arm slow down, switching over to an oversized bag of flour that he was keeping on his head. He held it underneath his arms like a cannon, mimicking the motion of locking and loading a rifle, before squeezing the back, sending out a massive solid cloud of flour, then another, and another.

The projectiles may have been bigger, but they could be dealt with the same way. Frisk kept to their flight, spinning and zipping from side to side to avoid getting hit. A large buff of flour forced them to push themself close to the tower, another threatening to hit them directly after. Frisk pressed their feet against the tower of cupboards and pushed themself off, throwing them backward and far out of the way of the next few shots.

Mettaton made an annoyed sound as he ran out of ammunition, tossing the bag aside and moving on to his final weapon; a massive bottle of milk. He ripped the cap off and held the bottle to his side, before slashing it back and forth, sending out blades of milk that Frisk was flying headlong towards.

The long slashes came at Frisk from different angles, preventing them from simply spinning or moving side to side. They had to switch styles. Watching the oncoming blades closly, Frisk made tiny adjustments to their movements, shifting their weight to dodge just out of the way of the attacks, enough that they would avoid getting hit, but not so much to dedicate themself to moving far in that direction so they didnt just run into the next attack. They shifted around, dancing almost in a vertical line, moving just enough to avoid death by liquid dairy.

And then, they reached the top, landing firmly on the counter as their phone-jetpack’s boosters began to sputter and cough, running out of fuel. Frisk reached down and grabbed their prize, holding it aloft like a trophy. Mettaton flew over to their side, clapping his hands.

“My my,” he mockingly cheered. “It seems that you have bested me. But only because you had the help of the billiant Doctor Alphys!” He threw an arm over his “forehead” like a victorian widow. “Oh, I loathe to think of what would have happened to you without her!” He held his pose for a few seconds, before suddenly placing his hands on his hips. “Well, toodles!”

Just like that, he flew off. Frisk gave his back a baffled look, holding their arms out as if to say “What the heck?” Mettaton stopped a bit away, flying back over to Frisk.

“What” he asked. “Haven’t you ever seen a cooking show before? I already baked the cake ahead of time, so forget it!!”

“Are you actually kidding me?” Frisk sneered. “I swear I’m being pranked. This has to be a joke.” They expected Chara to join along in their confusion, but to their surprise, they said nothing. Frisk raised an eyebrow, but before they could ask anything the countertop beneath them started to shake, then retracted back towards the ground at breakneck speed, forcing Frisk to hold onto the side to stop themself from falling off.

Once the counter was at a normal height, Frisk hopped off, their phone returning to its normal form and dropping itself back into their hand. They looked down at it, seeing that they were still on call with Alphys, even after all that.

“We… we did it!” she said happily. “We really did it! Great job out there team!” Frisk snorted and shook their head. Her attitude was infectious. They tapped away at the keyboard, typing out a message.

“Thank you for the help,” the synthetic voice replied.

“I-it’s my pleasure!” Alphys replied. “Um… anyways! Let’s keep heading forward.” With that, Alphys hung up, Frisk pocketing their phone. They then remembered that they still had the MTT Substitute in their hand, spinning the container around to look at what it was. Nothing on the container said anything about what ingredients were in it, so Frisk popped open the top out of curiosity.

Apparently, human souls tasted like vanilla extract. Neat.

Frisk didn’t even pretend to be surprised when they saw Sans again.

After swearing to remember the name ‘Heats Flamesman’, Frisk found Sans at another sentry station identical to his own back in Snowdin Forest, complete with snow on the roof. According to a nearby monster, Sans must have been too lazy to clean it off.

“Not gonna question it?” Chara asked.

“Nope.”

“Look at that. You’re learning.”

Frisk walked up to the stand, giving Sans a hearty wave hello. Sans smiled back, leaning on the counter and tipping the blue vizor hat that he was wearing again.

“sup kid,” he said. “wanna buy a hot dog? it's only 30g.”

And that was the perfect reminder for Frisk that they hadn’t eaten since that morning when they snacked on their remaining crab apples, their stomach growling from the thought of food. Frisk grinned sheepishly, reaching into the pocket of their bag where they kept their gold.

“Yes please,” they signed. They handed over the coins, watching Sans twirl them around between his skeletal fingers before they disappeared like magic. With his other hand, he pulled out a bun, grabbing a long sausage with a pair of tongs and stuffing it into the bread.

“thanks kid. here’s your ‘dog.” Frisk took the meal, blinking in confusion at it. The sausage looked… odd. It had a weird grainy texture to it that didn’t look like meat. They gave Sans a questioning look. “hey, don’t knock it til ya try it,” he shrugged.

Feeling decently confident that Sans wouldn’t give them something they couldn’t eat, Frisk took a bite, surprised to find that it actually tasted pretty alright. Maybe they were just hungry enough that anything would taste good though. It had been a while since they had a proper meal and not a snack.

Either way, it was good, and even after devouring the entire thing, Frisk still felt hungry. So they pulled out a few more coins, placing them on the counter. “Another please.”

“heh, comin’ right up.” Sans started preparing another one, pausing for a moment and letting out a quiet hum. “whoops, i’m out of hot dogs,” he shrugged. Frisk felt a moment of disappointment until Sans held something out to them. “here, you can have a hot cat instead.” They looked down at the offered meal. It was just another hot dog… but this one had little cat ears on it.

Still went down just the same. And it still left Frisk feeling hungry.

“We really need to work on your eating habits,” Chara noted as Frisk paid for another hot dog.

“one more ‘dog, comin’ right up.” Sans chuckled to him, shaking his head slightly. “man, you really like hot animals, don’tcha?” Frisk gave him an odd look, wondering what that was supposed to mean. “hey, i’m not judging,” he shrugged. “i’d be out of a job without folks like you.”

Still not quite sure what he meant by any of that, Frisk took a bite of their hot dog, only to slow down their chewing when they heard Chara snickering like mad.

“What’s so funny?” Frisk asked as warm orange filled their mind.

“You do really Sans just called you a furry, right?” Chara amusingly asked, Frisk perfectly able to picture their grinning face. A hot blush spread across their cheeks as they let out a choked sound, earning a raised eyebrow from Sans. Frisk waved their hand dismissively, signing that they tried to swallow too quickly. Sans shrugged in response, seeming to buy the excuse.

Frisk walked a few feet away, turning around so Sans couldn’t see their face. “He did not!” they hissed. “He was just…”

“Calling you a furry,” Chara repeated.

“Shut up! He was not!”

“You aren’t denying it though,” Chara grinned.

“I- what?” Frisk balked.

“You’re totally a furry.”

Frisk scoffed quietly so that Sans couldn’t hear them, taking another bite of their hot dog. “Says the person that swore off humanity to live in the Underground,” they shot back, smirking when they felt a shot of pink in their mind. “You totally would’ve married some hot monster.”

The pink in Frisk’s mind burned brighter and brighter as they spoke, telling Frisk that they were absolutely right. ‘Gotcha,’ they thought to themself, poking their tongue out slightly in a teasing way.

“I win this round,” Frisk happily sang. A speck of red poked through the pink, but it was quickly drowned out, before the colours all faded away, Chara pushing the emotions down.

“You’re still a furry,” Chara pouted, sounding like a petulant child. It was obvious that they had lost, and were just grabbing at straws to try and get the last word in, and Frisk had no intention of letting them get any kind of victory.

“And you’re still dead. Cope.”

“Wow,” Chara laughed. “Low blow.” Frisk let out a quiet sigh of relief as orange flooded their mind. They were getting used to making the kind of jokes that Chara seemed to like.

Really, Frisk didn’t understand how Chara could find someone poking fun at their death amusing, but they seemed to have a weirdly morbid sense of humour, and Frisk was more than willing to play around outside their comfort zone if it meant they could hear Chara laugh — really laugh. Not a scoff or a quick exhale of breath, but a proper laugh. Frisk felt a warmth fill their chest as they listened to Chara snicker like a hyena, their laugh full of mischief and joy. Listening to it made Frisk’s heart soar, and they swore then and there to do anything to keep hearing it.

Sitting down at the edge of the little area they were in, Frisk enjoyed their meal, kicking their legs idly. They were one bite away from being done when they felt something soft brush up against their leg. Frowning in confusion, Frisk leaned over the side to see something hanging over the lava, a flap of cloth that had gotten snagged on a sharp piece of metal jutting out of the stone.

Idle curiosity led to Frisk reaching down to unhook the offending article and pull it up to them, revealing it to be an apron, its front stained with flour, ketchup, and other various bits and bobs. The words “I Love You With Every PIZZA My Heart” were written across the apron, barely visible underneath all the stains. Frisk’s frown deepened. Something about this didn’t seem like it belonged. It felt very… human.

Chara seemed to pick up on their discomfort, sending out a wave of comfort. “…do you think…” they asked, not bothering to finish their sentence. It didn’t matter. Frisk knew.

“Yeah.”

“I see…” Chara hummed thoughtfully, continuing to give Frisk’s soul a warm embrace, something they greatly appreciated. “Why don’t you hold onto that for them?” they suggested. “I think they would appreciate that.”

“I think you’re right.” Frisk folded up the apron, oh so gingerly resting it in their bag, like lowering a corpse into a grave. They slowly zipped up the bag, patting it gently, before pulling the straps back over their shoulders.

It was time to get a move on.

Chara:

As much as they loathed to admit it, Chara was getting worried about Frisk.

They weren’t sure when it happened. Maybe it was somewhere in Waterfall. Maybe it was during their fight with Undyne. You could only die side by side with someone so many times before forming a bond of mutual suffering with them. Or maybe… maybe it happened long before. Maybe Chara was just in denial.

Maybe it didn’t matter.

At the end of the day, the result was the same. At some point, Chara had gotten attached to the stupid gremlin masquerading as a child that their soul had gotten sucked into. A horrible decision really, but one that Chara unfortunately didn’t get a say in. All of this would have been so much easier if they didn’t care. If they could simply treat this like some sort of business transaction. Chara would help guide Frisk, and in return, they would bring Chara to Asgore to sort out whatever the heck was going on. Nice, simple, and easy.

But things were never simple with Frisk. Of course they weren’t, how could they be? Frisk was the very definition of complicated. They were full of joy and cheer, but their heart was marred by sadness. They were empathetic to a fault, but held so much anger. They had been hurt and betrayed more times than they could count, a good few times by Chara themself, but they were still so trusting, so willing to forgive.

Maybe that’s what drove Chara to care for them so much. Their desire to make Chara smile. Their ability to forgive, to show Chara affection despite their faults. Despite their constant mistakes.

…they were so much like Asriel, weren’t they? Kind. Compassionate. Driven. Meaningful.

Everything Chara wasn’t.

Which was why Frisk’s silence cut through Chara’s soul like a blade, cold steel against their unbeating heart. Silence didn’t suit them. It never had. Frisk was the joy of Spring, the blossoming of flowers. Every step they took was accompanied by a bounce, gently lifting them into the air as they hummed or laughed. Their thoughts were as erratic as the winds, constantly shifting in unknowable ways. Chara had grown fond of their silly little jokes and constant banter. Even when they spoke with their hands, Frisk’s words were so loud.

But Frisk wasn’t bouncing as they walked. They kept their feet flat on the ground, shuffling along, kicking up dry dust from the brick-coloured stone beneath them. They didn’t hum or laugh, or even speak. They were silent as the grave. And it was driving Chara mad.

What could they do? How could Chara fix this? Fixing was never their speciality. They were entropy. They brought destruction to whatever they touched, their cursed fingers burning holes through the world. How could they fix when they were so damaged themself?

…what would Frisk do?

Kind and gentle words? Not exactly Chara’s forte. Pushing thoughts of comfort outward? They had already tried that. It hadn’t seemed to help much. Maybe it was a start, but it wasn’t enough. Tell a joke?

Hmmm… that could work. Jokes were good. Frisk liked jokes.

Right, so what kind of joke could they tell? Maybe they could poke a bit of fun at Frisk for being quiet, trying to prompt them to speak again. Something like ‘Man, you’re as silent as the grave. I thought I was supposed to be the dead one!’ No, that wouldn’t work. It would just make Frisk feel bad for not talking, or worse, make them sorry that Chara was dead. As if being sorry made them any less dead. Their pity was unnecessary.

Okay, what else? What about knock-knock jokes? Or puns? Frisk liked it when the bone-headed comedian made those kinds of jokes. Right, that would do it! Okay, so they just needed to come up with a corny joke!

…

…

…wow they really didn’t know any knock-knock jokes, did they? Was that sad? Knock-knock jokes were horrible, but not knowing a single one? That was probably kinda sad. And they couldn’t think up a single pun either! What the heck was wrong with them? They lived with Toriel for a year! Toriel! The Queen of Bad Puns! How could they not think up a single one after suffering through thousands of her horrid jokes?

Chara groaned to themself. This was getting them nowhere. Could they seriously not even do this one thing right? Could they really not give back the bare minimum? Was this all they were worth?

*Bzzzz bzzzzz

The buzzing of Frisk’s phone turned Chara’s attention back to the real world. They followed Frisk’s eyes down to the flip phone, reading through yet another one of Alphys’ UnderNet rants.

ALPHYS posted:
OMG? People think Mew Mew 2 is better than Mew Mew 1??? LOLLLLLL thats a joke right?

ALPHYS commented on ALPHYS’ post:
omg… DONT THEY GET IT RUINS MEW MEW’S ENTIRE CHARACTER ARC?!?!?!??!?!

ALPHYS commented on ALPHYS’ post:
Mew Mew 2 review - Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 is neither kissy nor cutie. Its trash. 0 stars.

Chara scoffed at the screen, rolling their non-existent eyes. “Geez, and I thought she was bad before,” they muttered, mostly to themself. “But apparently she has trash taste too. Maybe that selfie of a trash can was accurate after all.”

“Pff…”

Chara stopped, a brief sensation assailing their soul. It was short, just a tiniest tickle, barely even enough to be felt. But Chara did feel it. They felt it, and everything that came with it. An unmistakable taste, even as subtle as it was.

Just the slightest hint of butterscotch.

Smiling to themself, Chara doubled down. Frisk liked their dry wit. Sass and snark. They could do that. And Alphys had just given them the perfect ammunition to use. At least she was good for something.

“I mean really,” Chara continued, “Mew Mew 2 is sooooo much better than the first. The first one is all sunshine and rainbows and puppies. There’s barely any substance to it! Mew Mew 2 is much more mature, and actually treats you like an adult instead of a toddler with the attention span of a cockerspanial on cocaine.”

Frisk snorted, their lips twitching into a slight grin. Chara felt their soul lightening up, a weight lifting. They were doing it! Keep going! Make them laugh!

“But nooooooo! Little Alphy-walphy can’t handle an actually good story! She only cares about sparkly unicorns and tiny UwU beans!” Chara started raising their voice, exaggerating their anger to comical levels. “Watch out everyone! You’re stepping into the Bad Opinion Zone! Beware of trash takes from a lizard who is waist-high in ramen noodles cups!”

“Snnnnrrrrk,” Frisk snorted again, barely keeping a lid on their smile. “That’s so mean!” they complained, though their voice was filled with mirth. Chara’s soul floated ever higher, enveloped by searing warmth. They did it! Frisk was talking! They were laughing! Cinnamon and butterscotch danced across Chara’s soul, rejuvenating them.

“I only speak the truth,” Chara shrugged. “It isn’t my fault that Alphys has horrid taste.”

“She’s allowed to have her own opinions.”

“And I’m allowed to say that her opinions are wrong.”

“An opinion can’t be wrong! That’s not how opinions work.”

“And in my opinion, that is exactly how they work.”

“Oh my gosh, you are so-”

“Hey! You! Stop!”

Frisk stopped in place with a little hum, turning around. Chara swivelled their gaze to watch the two monster approaching Frisk - both of them wearing dark-grey plated armour, the style all too familiar. Royal Guard uniforms, just like Undyne’s. The monsters were both extremely muscular, their armour identical aside from the helmets, which were presumably suited to their species, as one had bunny ears coming out of the top and the other had horns jutting from the side.

‘This could be trouble,’ Chara thought.

The guards caught up to Frisk, towering over them. The one with the bunny ears stepped forward, looking down at Frisk. “Listen,” he said, “we were tipped off that, like, a human with a striped sweater was in the area!”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

“I know, scary, right?” the guard continued. Wait, what? “But, like, fear not citizen! Come with us, and you’ll be totally safe, okay?”

“Does he not know?” Frisk wondered.

“Perhaps he didn’t notice the stripes on your sweater,” Chara suggested. Frisk still had their sweater wrapped around their waist, so the stripe was only visible from behind them, and they turned around fairly quickly. It was entirely possible that the guard hadn’t noticed.

“So what do I do?”

“Either wait for them to turn around and run, or follow along with them until they leave you alone.”

“Oh, here, let me take that sweater for you! Wouldn’t want you overheating now would we?”

“Wait no-”

But it was too late. While Chara and Frisk were distracted trying to come up with a plan, the bunny-eared guard reached down and tugged Frisk’s sweater from their waist, holding it by the sleeve. He looked down at it… and saw the obvious purple stripes cutting across it.

“…”

“…”

“…oh,” the guard muttered. “Uh, 02, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” The horned guard whispered something inaudible under his breath, but somehow the other guard heard it anyway. “Yeah… wow, this is totally embarrassing, y’know? We, like, totally have to kill you and stuff.”

“Of course you do.”

“Maybe you could not and say that you did? I think that’s what works best for everyone.”

The two guards drew curved swords from their hips in sync and immediately lashed out at Frisk, who ducked underneath both swipes, scrambling backward across the ground to get some distance. But the horned guard didn’t let them get away, stomping hard and cracking the ground underneath him as he leapt into the air, flying over Frisk and landing behind them, trapping them between him and his partner.

“Crap!” Frisk hissed as they ducked and dodged between synchronized slashes of blades. “Chara, ideas!”

“Why is it always my job to-”

“CUZ I’M TRYING NOT TO DIE!” Okay, that was fair. “HOW THE HECK ARE THESE GUYS HERE ANYWAY? I THOUGHT THAT ARMOUR WAS HOT AS HELL!”

That was a good question. How were those two handling the heat? Even if they were species that were built for the heat, there was no way they could handle the heat of the lava being insulated by heavy metal armour. That was too much for any monster! There had to be some trick to it.

Chara focused their attention on the guard’s armour, spotting the source of their problem. Their armour was coated in a layer of cooling gel, keeping the heat out. That was their ticket!

“Frisk! Wipe the gel off his armour! That’ll overheat him, just like Undyne!”

“But then he’ll get hurt!” Frisk jumped over a low swipe of a blade and hopped to the side to avoid another. “And I don’t see any water!”

“It’ll be fine, there’s two of them! Just wipe the gel off one, and let the other take their friend to safety. If you run, he’ll prioritise his friend.” Chara could taste Frisk’s indecision, the sour tang of lemons, but after dodging another two slashes they relented.

Dodging into a roll, Frisk avoided another attack and swept underneath the bunny-eared guard’s arms, grabbing their sweater off the ground from where he dropped it. The horned guard moved to his partner’s side, the two bouncing in sync for a moment and sharing a nod before they resumed their attack.

“You know, swords aren’t conducive to a good cleaning environment!” Frisk complained. “They tend to make more of a mess!”

“Get in close,” Chara advised. “They can’t hit you if you’re right up in their space, and the other won’t dare swing at you and risk hitting their friend.”

“That’s fighting dirty!”

“Alls fair in love and war.”

Frisk followed Chara’s advice, dodging another strike and moving right up into the horned guard’s personal space, making it difficult for him to strike. The bunny-eared guard raised his sword, but faltered, unsure of what to do for a brief moment, which was all the time Frisk needed. They jumped up and latched on to the horned guard, grabbing hold of him and wrapping their arms and legs around him, forcing the guard to stumble backward, frantically waving his arms to try and keep his balance.

“Hey, get off of him!”

With sweater in hand, Frisk got to work cleaning the gel off his armour, scrubbing away at his chest plate. The gel peeled away like the slimy residue left behind by stickers, getting thinner and thinner, Frisk already starting to feel the heat sinking in. The guard reached and arm out to grab them and pry them off, so Frisk let go, falling down just in time to avoid the grapple and skittering away, their sweater covered in muck and gel.

“Bro, like, you okay?” the bunny-eared guard asked, running over and placing a hand on the horned guard’s shoulder before quickly pulling it away, shaking the heat out.

“Ughhh,” the horned guard groaned. “Can’t… take it… armour… TOO HOT!”

With a mighty roar, the loudest sound that the horned guard had made so far, he ripped his chestplate off, tossing it to the ground in front of him, panting heavily. His toned, scaly blue chest and stomach were revealed to the world, a mighty six-pack proudly presenting itself.

“Much better,” the horned guard whispered, fanning himself with his free hand.

“Well shoot,” Frisk said. “That plan’s a bust.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Chara muttered, looking over at the bunny-eared guard, who was shaking much more than he was before. In fact, they could just barely see a hint of a blush behind the hole in his helmet. “Mister bunny seems a bit… flustered, don’t you think?”

“What do you- oooooooooh.” Frisk grinned like the cat who caught the canary, letting out a short laugh. “I never took you for the type to play matchmaker.”

“If it saves you- er, our life, then I will suggest anything. You’re the one who has to do it.”

“…uh huh. Now then…”

Chara watched Frisk pull their phone out and flip it open, quickly opening up the text-to-speech app while the guards were distracted and typing out a message. They turned the volume way down so that it was just barely audible, then snuck over to the bunny-eared guard, putting the speaker as close to his ears as they could.

“Be honest with your feelings,” the synthetic voice whispered. The guard whipped around suddenly to look at Frisk, his sword coming dangerously close to their stomach, but they managed to hop back just in time to avoid it. The guard looked at them in confusion, but they just made a “Go on” motion with their hands, giving him an encouraging smile.

The bunny guard looked nervously between Frisk and the horned guard, who was getting ready to jump back into the fight, until he realized his partner wasn’t. Chara watched as the bunny guard nervously stuttered and stammered, trying and failing to get any words out. They were sure that his constant looking down at his partner’s muscled chest was the cause of most of his anxiety.

“Why must every gay be such a disaster?” they lamented.

“Pot, meet kettle.”

“Your bones will be used to fertilise salted earth.”

“Uh… you okay dude?” the horned guard asked. The bunny guard continued to stammer and fail at grasping the basic concept of using words to communicate ideas. He was giving Alphys a run for her money. It would have been impressive if it wasn’t so sad.

Eventually, he let out a yell, pulling down on his ears. “UGH, I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!” he shouted. “NOT LIKE THIS!”

“Bro-”

“Like, 02! I like, LIKE you, bro!” The bunny guard dropped his sword, grabbing the horned guard - 02’s - hand in his own. “The way you fight… the way you talk… I love doing team attacks and bouncing in sync with you. 02, I like… I want to stay like this forever.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…wow this got awkward.”

“Did we make a mistake?”

“Uhhhh,” the bunny guard nervously stuttered. “I mean, uh… PSYCHE! Haha, I, uh, totally got you bro! It was just a prank. I was just, uh…”

“…01?”

“Yeah?”

“…do you want to… go get some ice cream?”

“Oh. Uh, yeah. Sure, hehe.”

“Awwww, it worked!” Frisk cooed. Chara let out a sigh of relief. They were getting worried for a second there. But alls well that ends well. Frisk was still in one piece, and this whole mess seemed to have helped their mood every more. They were back to their chipper, annoying self.

…good. Chara preferred it this way.

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Yellow Bellied Liars

Frisk

“Well that was absolutely miserable.”

Frisk slumped down against the wall of the elevator, fanning their face to try and beat back the heat of Hotland. It didn’t help that they had just finished dealing with another one of Mettaton’s inane game-shows, this one forcing them to run around in the sweltering heat while disarming live bombs.

“You don’t find it even slightly suspicious that Alphys installed a bomb defuser into your phone?” Chara asked, their voice filled with distrust. Frisk rolled their eyes, already tired of this argument. Chara had been acting weird about Alphys for a bit, and they were getting a bit sick of it.

“Like I told you, she obviously knows Mettaton’s tricks,” Frisk replied. “She prepared for the worst. Nothing wrong with that.”

“There’s being prepared, and there’s conveniently having a solution for almost every problem we face.”

“You’re being paranoid.”

“Am I?” Chara questioned. “Or are you simply being too trusting?”

“Alphys has done nothing but help us! Why shouldn’t I trust her?”

“…I simply have a bad feeling about this,” Chara said quietly. “Something is off.”

Frisk let out an exasperated huff, pushing themself up and off the wall as they felt the elevator come to a stop. “Well let me know when you figure it out. Until then, I’m going to keep getting help from the person that clearly just wants what’s best for me.”

Pain shot through Frisk’s head, a hammer against their skull as blaring red lights screamed across their soul. Frisk could feel the anger rolling off of Chara, filling their entire being.

“I would be very careful about those who tell you they know what’s best for you,” Chara warned, their voice tight, barely holding back the flood of anger. With that, Chara went quiet, shutting themself away in some corner of Frisk’s soul, the violent red colour in Frisk’s mind fading in an instant.

Gently rubbing their temples to try and fight off the flash headache, Frisk pressed a button to open the elevator door and stepped out, running through the conversation in their head, getting more annoyed each time they did. Things were definitely getting better with Chara, their last few interactions being pretty nice. But something had gotten them in a mood again, and Frisk really didn’t feel like dealing with Chara when they were like this. They were somewhat glad that their spectral tagalong had decided to go dark for a bit. It gave Frisk a moment alone to breathe.

Seriously, what was their problem with Alphys? Sure, she was a bit odd, but Frisk found her quirks charming. She was sweet and caring, doing her best to help Frisk out of the good of her heart. She had been nothing but kind and helpful to Frisk ever since they met her. And yet here Chara was, distrusting her and talking behind her back. Just because, what, they had a bad feeling? Because she was doing too good a job? God forbid things actually go in Frisk’s favour for once, right?

Frisk let out an aggravated sigh, running a hand down their face. They were getting worked up again. ‘Just drop it,’ they told themself. ‘It’s not worth it. Chara will come around. Just give them time.’

“Oh ho ho, a potential customer~” a voice sang. Frisk blinked twice, getting out of their own head enough that they could turn to look over at the voice, only now noticing the monster to their left - a tall lady monster with spider-like features; pale-blue skin, three pairs of arms, and five eyes. She wore a cute red romper and had her black hair tied up in a pair of pigtails, her outfit adorned in ribbons and frills.

The monster stood behind a long table with a checkerboard patterned sheet draped over it. Looking around, it reminded Frisk of the spider bake sale they saw back in the Ruins, with cobwebs and signs promoting different sweets and baked goods.

“Welcome to Muffet’s parlour, dearie~” she happily sang. “Would you care to make a purchase? All proceeds go to real spiders!” Frisk tried their best to hide their grimace, remembering what the doughnut they bought before was made of. If this bake sale was anything like the last one, they’d be better off skipping past it.

Despite that, they gave the monster a smile and a thumbs up, strolling over to the cobwebs to pretend and look over what she was selling. Even if they weren’t going to buy anything, they didn’t want to be rude. So they’d fake browse for a bit, maybe check their pockets and frown as if they didn’t have enough money, give the nice monster a polite smile, they move one and-

Wait wait wait, hold up, WHAT?

Frisk did a double take as their eyes skimmed over one of the signs, their jaw nearly hitting the ground in utter bafflement.

“Spider Donuts: Only 9999g!”

They couldn’t help the confused and insulted look on their face. The heck was this? There was no donut in the world worth that much money! Who would even have that much money? The king? No one in their right mind would be able to afford that, and even if they could, who the heck would ever willingly spend that much on a single donut? Was this chick insane? Frisk’s eyes moved over to the next sign, displaying the price for another good.

“Spider Cider: Only 9999g!”

Okay no, this chick was off her rockers. Frisk looked over at her, noticing that she was watching them, her lip curled into a sugary sweet customer service smile, but her eyes narrowed in contempt, all six of her hands holding each other tightly, shaking and shuddering ever so slightly.

‘Time to go!’ Frisk decided, turning on their heel and running to make a quick mistake. Screw manners, if looks could kill they’d be dead a hundred times over. And then they’d come back and have to deal with her again! Not happening. Frisk ran as fast as they could and didn’t look back.

Hopefully, that’d be the last time they ever saw that weird spider lady.

“Ahuhuhuhu, hello again, stingy human.”

‘I really need to stop jinxing myself.’

Of course it didn’t take long for Frisk to run into the spider lady again. They got about ten minutes of peace where they did some fun puzzles and made plans with Alphys to watch Mew Mew Kissie Cutie (which, based on her description, sounded like a really weird niche anime, but hey, they’d seen weirder), and that brief moment of peace lulled them into a false sense of security. Which was enough to make them not notice that they’d wandered into a large, open room filled to the bring with cobwebs, little purple spiders skittering across the walls and strands of webbing.

They only realized where they were when they heard the spider lady’s voice calling out, mocking them, claiming that they hated spiders. Which couldn’t be further from the truth! Frisk loved spiders! They were adorable, with their little bodies and awesome legs. Plus they got rid of bugs, which was just the best thing ever.

Unfortunately, they didn’t love spiders enough to sell their organs on the dark web just so that they could eat a donut made of ground up spiders. And apparently because of that, they deserved to die.

…somehow that still wasn’t the strangest reason for them to have their life threatened.

“You think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don’t you dearie?” Muffet sang in a condescending voice, putting her fingers to her lips as she let out a regal laugh. “Well, I happen to disagree with that notion. In fact, I think your taste is exactly what this next batch needs!” Warmth bloomed in Frisk’s chest as their soul sparked to life as once again, a monster moved to make an attempt on their life.

‘…is it bad how accustomed I am to monsters trying to murder me?’ Frisk wondered.

“Yes. Yes it is.”

Oh hey, Chara was back.

Frisk was going to say something to Chara, but before they could they felt a familiar feeling rip at their core, the sense of wrongness gripping at their soul as it was replaced with something else. Deep purple spread across their heart as the desperate need to move shot through them, their entire body shaking and shuddering with energy, screaming at them to stop standing still, to push forward, despite the webbing that latched to their boots.

“Don’t look so blue, dearie,” Muffet cooed. “I think purple is a much nicer colour on you!” A series of instruments dropped from the ceiling, an army of spiders crawling across them as music filled the air.

The violet that exploded across Frisk’s soul seemed to seep out of them, spreading down through the webbing at their feet, every string and cobweb in the room turning bright purple, flashing to the beat of a jazzy tune, lighting up the dark chamber. Muffet snapped her fingers to the beat, humming along happily as magic danced at her fingertips. Frisk tensed their muscles, trying to get into a battle stance, but their body fought against them, begging them to move move MOVE! They needed to go stop waiting and go!

“Chara,” they ground out. “Explain!”

“Perseverance, the need to keep pushing forward in spite of hardship,” Chara explained. “Your feet are glued to the ground, but your body feels a desperate desire to move, to keep going no matter what.” Frisk tested Chara’s words, trying to lift their foot, only to find that the violet webbing held fast, refusing to budge an inch. They clicked their tongue, but raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the catch?” they asked. Enforced soul traits like this had pros and cons. Integrity held them down, but let them jump to impossible heights. Kindness trapped them in a barrier, but protected them from everything outside. Frisk bet everything that there was some kind of upside to this weird power too.

Chara grinned in their mind, a gentle crimson string tugging at Frisk’s arm, pulling their wrist up. “You ever watched any of the Spiderman movies?” they asked.

The sound of skittering and clicking mandibles filled the air as strings shot from the air towards Frisk. Giant purple spiders sped down the webbing, their maws open as they raced towards Frisk. They let out a strangled yelp, following Chara’s words and instinct and flinging their arm out, wrist up and hands in a Spider-Man pose.

*THWIP

Purple webs shot from Frisk’s wrist and latched to a far wall, and a moment later the webs at their feet released as they were ripped through the air, flying across the chamber fast enough to make them close their eyes. Their body instinctually twisted around right before they hit the wall, feet pressing firmly into the stone as new webs wrapped around them, holding them sideways. The magic spiders that Muffet conjured crashed into the ground where Frisk had been standing a moment ago, exploding into purple light. Muffet’s eyebrows shot up in surprise before she turned to look at Frisk, five eyes narrowing in contempt.

“Oh heck yeah!” Frisk cheered, a massive grin on their face. Hands down, this was their favourite power so far. It was literally a superhero power! How cool was that!

“You caught on quick,” Chara complimented. “I had a feeling comparing the ability to Spiderman would help.”

“You mean Spider-Man.”

“That’s what I said.”

“No, you said Spiderman. It’s Spider-Man. The hyphen is important.”

“What are you-”

“CRAP!” Frisk yelped, cutting Chara off as they sent out another web and flew through the air again just in time to avoid more of Muffet’s weird projectile spiders.

“Oh, do hold still, dearie,” Muffet sang. “Really, you should be proud! Your flesh will help make a delicious cake~”

Frisk flew through the air, twisting their body into a flip as more spiders rushed past them. “Oh, great, she doesn’t just want my soul, she wants to eat me too!” they complained.

“Focus!”

Muffet let out another laugh and snapped her fingers, more spiders crawling out of the webbing to gather at her feet, holding an army’s worth of stale donuts and croissants in their little legs. With a point of her finger, she commanded them to fire, the spiders throwing a barrage of stale pastries with a strength they shouldn’t have. Frisk flung both hands up, flinging themselves up towards the roof as pastries smacked against the wall where they were, leaving cracks in the stone.

“My my, aren’t you quick?” Muffet said with a hum. She tilted her head to the side, then snapped her fingers. “Oh dear, how rude of me! I forgot to introduce you to my pet~”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

Muffet put a pair of fingers to her lips and let out a shrill whistle. “Oh Cupcake!” she called with a singsong voice. “It’s snack time!” She turned back to Frisk with a cruel grin, wicked fangs glinting and dripping with some thick, dark liquid. “Have fun with him.”

“I really don’t like the sound of-”

A deep, guttural roar pierced the air, forcing Frisk to cover their ears. The chamber shook, quakes pulsing through the room to the beat of footsteps as something big crawled up from the abyss below. Frisk stared down into the darkness, watching in terror as a massive form tore itself from the depths. It’s head was that of a spider, fangs and mandibles dripping with saliva as it’s black, empty eye’s locked with Frisk’s. It’s bottom was almost shaped like the wrapping of a muffin, the paper-like form shredded at certain parts where six giant sharp legs ripped out, the stone fracturing everywhere they touched.

“OH WHAT IN THE FRESH HELL IS THAT?” Frisk screamed.

“SHUT UP AND RUN!” Chara snapped back as the hideous beast roared, it’s legs crouching for a moment before launching itself towards Frisk, who sent themself flying to the right with the flick of their wrist, just barely slipping past the beast as it impacted the wall, leaving a crater in its wake. But before the webs even finished crawling up Frisk’s ankles, the beast shot forward again, forcing Frisk to fling themself across the room, over and over as it chased them.

“CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!” Frisk frantically yelled, each curse followed by a flicked wrist and a string shot as they flew back and forth, the beast constantly nipping at their heels, thick saliva dripping down their legs from the near misses. They launched themself for the umpteenth time, too focused on avoiding the beast to see or hear Muffet snapping her fingers again as more pastries shot towards Frisk, one of them catching them in the side of the head and sending them spinning, landing on their stomach as they hit the wall they flung themself towards.

Frisk let out a pathetic wheeze as the air escaped from their lungs. They tried to push themself up, panicking when they realized they couldn’t move their arms, purple webs crawling up every inch of them that touched the ground, holding them in place. They could only just barely move their head, frantically looking over at the massive beast that grinned widely enough for its maw to rip its head in half, crouching down to leap again.

Time slowed to a halt as Frisk watched the beast launch itself. They couldn’t move their arms or legs, their body stuck fast to the wall aside from their head. They couldn’t use their Spider-Man powers to avoid the spider-meterorite that was hurtling towards them.

‘…unless…’

Frisk decided to try something stupid and nonsensical. They twisted their head as far to the side as they could and opened their mouth, sticking out their tongue, focusing their desire to move, to push past the troubles holding them down and keep going!

Magic danced along their tongue as a purple web shot from their mouth, the webbings gripping their body letting go as they were ripped through the air, the force painfully pulling on their tongue as they let out a strangled noise of pain that was muffled by the massive crash behind them, which they could only assume was Cupcake. They twisted their body to make sure they landed on the roof feet first so they didn’t get trapped again, keeping their hands off the stone as the webs jumped up to their ankles.

“UGH, that hurt like heck!” Frisk complained while holding their tongue out, swatting at it with their hands like they had eaten something spicy and were trying to pat it off. They could feel Chara snicker and roll their eyes, bits of amused and proud orange filling their mind.

“That was both extremely stupid and clever,” they noted. “Only you could be both of those things at the same time.”

Frisk looked down at Cupcake, who was shaking itself off, rubble and loose stones falling from its form as it tilted its head up to sneer at them. Frisk felt their body shudder with the desire to do something, to play with all the ideas in their mind, to try something new. Sparks flew through their brain, screaming ideas bouncing around in their skull, begging to be released.

“Let’s see if this works too,” they grinned as they came up with a new plan. They held their hands out, holding their wrists out towards the beast as it leapt at them again. They willed the magic out, firing off two strings that latched on to the beast’s head, flinging Frisk towards it. But at the last second, they whipped their arms, sending them spinning to the side, their body flying around Cupcake as it flew past them, the strings still connecting Frisk’s wrist to its head.

Pain shot through Frisk’s wrists as the strings pulled taught, but they grit through it, willing the magic in their right hand to let go of Cupcake and fly off in a new direction, the string on their left still holding the beast tight as they shot off in another direction. Cupcake chased after them, but they continued to twist towards its side and force it to dash straight past them, the string on their left wrist twisting around it more and more.

Strings flew through the air as Frisk shot around, attached them left, right, and centre, twisting them around Cupcake and wrapping around its limbs while it desperately chased them.

Another painful tug at their wrists and the beast stopping in mid-air told them that their plan had worked.

Frisk landed back on the ground and looked up at their handiwork with a grin, wiping beads of sweat from their forehead. High above them, Cupcake roared and squirmed, its body covered in webs and strings that shot off in random directions, stringing it up in the air. It’s limbs helplessly flailed around, the magical webs holding them in place as it desperately tried to escape to no avail.

“My my, aren’t you clever,” Muffet sneered, reminding Frisk that she was there. She hung from a nearby web, glaring down at Frisk who crouched into a stance, their arms shaking and shuddering with the desire to move. “If I wasn’t being offered so much money for your soul, I might almost consider letting you go.”

“Not sure I buy that,” Chara snorted.

“A shame, but don’t fret,” Muffet said with a smile. “Your death will go to a good cause! With the money we get from this, the spider clans can finally be reunited!” At Frisk’s confused look, she giggled into a palm. “Haven’t you heard?” she asked. “Spiders have been trapped in the Ruins for generations! Even if they crawled under the doors, Snowdin’s fatal cold is impassable alone. Oh, and don’t even get me started on Waterfall!”

Muffet held all six of her arms out, her body dropping for a moment before strings caught her, wrapping around each of her limbs to hold her in the air dramatically, an army of spiders shooting webs to keep her afloat.

“But with the money from your soul,” she continued, “we could rent them a heated limo! We could have them escorted all the way here! We could finally be brought together again.” The spiders lowered her towards the ground, webs wrapping around her feet as she landed a short distance away from Frisk. “Don’t you think such a noble cause is worth dying for?”

“Even if it was, it wouldn’t stick,” Frisk laughed.

“You are far too calm about your own lacking mortality,” Chara noted.

“Now then,” Muffet sneered. “Be a good little human and hold sti-”

She stopped suddenly, looking down at a spider that tugged at her leg, holding a comically big piece of paper in one of their legs. Muffet tilted her head to the side, picking up the paper and looking it over.

“What’s this?” she asked. “A telegraph from the Ruins?” Her eyes flicked back and forth as she read, slowly widening as she went further and further. “Oh my,” she muttered. “This has been a huge misunderstanding! Not only did the ruin spiders see you, but you also helped donate to their cause!”

She tossed the card over her shoulder, the paper floating down into the black abyss below. She looked over at Frisk with shockingly kind eyes, clasping all six of her hands together.

“I thought you were someone who hated spiders, but I couldn’t have been more wrong!” she chirped. She clicked her tongues a few times, letting out a “Tsk tsk” sound. “My, that monster that asked for your soul must have meant a different human in a striped shirt!”

Frisk fought back the urge to raise their eyebrow and give her a disbelieving look, trying as hard as they could to keep their face neutral. “Are those common around here?” they sarcastically asked.

“I can count at least two,” Chara replied.

“Do you count?”

“You tell me.”

“Oh, I’m very sorry for the trouble dear~” Muffet continued. “Here, let me make it up to you.” She snapped her fingers and Frisk felt the hyperactive energy drain from their body, seeping out into the webs at their feet that finally let them go as their soul returned to its normal red glow, before fading into their chest. “There, all better!”

“Aside from the bruise on my temple from your brick of a doughnut.”

“Now then, you should be on your way!” Muffet suggested. “I have quite the mess to clean up here.”

Frisk decided to follow her advice, quickly shuffling their feet to wipe off the remaining webs and running towards the exit before Muffet changed her mind.

“Oh, and dearie?”

Frisk cringed for a moment, before turning their head to look at Muffet, who was watching them with a devious smile.

“Feel free to come back anytime~” she sang. “I’ll be happy to wrap you up and let you play with my pet again, free of charge!” She let out a haughty laugh, shaking her head fondly. “Oh, don’t give me that look. I’m only kidding.”

“About which part?” Frisk wondered. “The tying me up part, or the free-of-charge part?”

“I’d bet on the latter,” Chara noted. Frisk decided not to call them on that bet.

Chara

Chara was beginning to think that Frisk was just a magnet for trouble. A trip across the Underground that should have taken them a day at most was dragging on more and more, with Frisk already nearing the end of their fourth day. Trudging their way through Hotland on its own had taken up most of the day — between all of the reactivated puzzles, the monsters picking fights, and Mettaton’s constant interruptions, what should have been a quick elevator ride up to New Home had turned into a massively frustrating ordeal.

Of course, Chara couldn’t exactly say much. Trouble followed in their wake like a trail of blood, but that was because they were cursed. Could that be the problem? Frisk was harboring their soul, so they inherited Chara’s issues. Maybe that meant they were fated to suffer a painful, pointless death too.

‘…maybe it’s time to think of something else.’

The point being, as Frisk made their way past Muffet’s lair, panting heavily and sweating buckets, Chara was cautious, wondering what they would have to deal with next. They really needed to find a place for Frisk to rest soon. Preferably somewhere away from the heat. Maybe they could stay at the hotel up by the UG Apartments. Chara had never stayed there, considering there was an elevator that went straight to New Home there, so there was no point in spending the night when they were so close to home the castle, but they’d prefer Frisk to be rested before confronting Asgore.

Asgore…

Chara sighed, feeling something in their soul grow heavier. What were they going to do? Even after four days of thought, they still had no idea what to do when they came face to face with him. Worse, the more they thought about it, the more uncomfortable they grew with what he was doing. Some sick sentimentality made them feel guilt over the deaths. But why? They were just humans. They deserved it. The only issue Chara should have had was the fact that Asgore was acting as the executioner in their place.

But the more time that passed, the more Chara’s mind tried to tell them there was another way, that there had to be a better solution. It was a stupid, immature thought. There was no alternative. They had told Asriel the very same thing so long ago, shutting down any of his pathetic arguments. And yet, there they were trying to convince themself that there had to be a so called “better” way. Like what? Nothing. There was nothing. This was the only way.

That didn’t make the blackened sludge in their soul burn any less.

Perhaps this was their own personal hell. Punishment for their crimes. To helplessly watch as everything they worked for crumbled around them, watching the destruction through the eyes of someone they had only known for a mere four days.

Four days… had they really only known Frisk for so long? It didn’t feel like it. Chara found it an inaccurate estimate. Time shenanigans aside, usually when you said you knew someone for a few days, it meant you had talked for a couple of hours, then went your separate way until the next day. But for Frisk and Chara, one couldn’t exist without the other. Saying they knew each other for four days didn’t sound right. Saying they knew each other for 96 hours, technically more… that sounded better. More true.

It certainly helped better explain their affinity for the crotch gremlin they had been attached to.

“Charaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

‘Speak of the devil, and they shall once again be a pest.’

Frisk’s childish whining brought Chara back to reality, thankfully pushing away the difficult thoughts that they didn’t want to deal with. “What is it?” they asked, trying to keep their voice as monotone as possible so as not to betray their twisting emotions.

“I’m bored,” they complained, as if they hadn’t just nearly died at the hands of a murderous spider with a taste for human blood. “And hot!”

Chara once again wished they had a pair of eyes they could roll. “Oh dear, you’re feeling hot? In a region called Hotland? Shocking.”

“You were supposed to say something like ‘Oh yeah, you’re so hot’,” Frisk pouted, though their tone was teasing.

“If you’re expecting me to compliment you’re looks while your plastered in sweat and dragging yourself around like a corpse, you will be sorely disappointed.”

Despite their words, Frisk actually seemed to perk up, hints of butterscotch dancing across Chara’s soul. “Oh?” Frisk said easily. “So what you’re saying is that if I wasn’t sweaty and tired, you’d think I was attractive?”

A burning bolt shot through Chara’s heart. “I most certainly did not say that!”

“You implied it.”

“You’re simply hearing what you want to hear.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true!”

Chara scoffed, trying to kick and push down their flustered emotions. It was frustrating how easily Frisk could get under their skin. A few hollow words in a flirty tone was apparently enough to throw Chara off balance, something they would rather die than let Frisk ever know.

“You keep telling yourself that,” Chara said simply. “Now be quiet and keep moving. We should be close to a place where you can rest for the night.”

“Best news I’ve heard all day.”

“Indeed. It should be just around-”

“Oh my, that human!”

“Crap,” Chara hissed upon hearing Mettaton’s voice. They cursed themself for getting distracted again. It was their job to watch Frisk’s back. They were slipping.

Determined to regain control, Chara quickly scanned the area. Apparently Mettaton had set up a pop-up theatre on the path up to the UG Apartment complex. A backdrop of a starry sky and silhouettes of buildings was being held up by wires, with a staircase leading up to a hidden section of the stage where Chara could see Mettaton poking his “head” out, allowing them to only see a bit of his screen.

“Could it be…?” Mettaton continued before finally revealing himself, showing off the beautifully made blue dress he was wearing. The bright-blue fabric looks insanely expensive, the dress complete with massive ball shoulders and a poofed out skirt that made room for Mettaton’s wheel. The outfit was completed by a silk bow wrapped around the dress’ waist.

“Okay listen, I get that he’s basically just a metal box with a wheel, but-”

“No no, I get it,” Chara interrupted. “He is rocking that dress.”

“RIGHT?”

Mettaton rolled over to the staircase, holding up the skirt of his dress as he started to roll down, loudly bouncing with every step and drowning out the dramatic music that had begun playing from somewhere. Frisk immediately took a step away from him, only to yelp in pain, Chara feeling a slight zap pricking at Frisk’s arm. They turned their attention behind Frisk to see that another of Mettaton’s signature electric fences blocking the way back. And if Chara had to bet, there was another one blocking the way forward.

But before Chara could consider their next move, Mettaton began to… sing?

“Oh my love! Please run away. Monster king…. forbids your stay~”

“…what.”

“Humans must… live far apart! Even if… it breaks my heart~”

Frisk and Chara both stared slack-jawed at Mettaton has he rolled around them, his dress swishing and swooshing around dramatically as he posed in between movements. This… was not what they were expecting. Their day had apparently hadn’t been weird enough. The cooking show and news programs weren’t odd enough. No, they had to get dragged into an impromptu musical!

“What has my life become?”

“You mean your afterlife?”

“Bite me.”

Mettaton continued to sing and dance around a flabbergasted and completely immobile Frisk, the song degrading more and more as he went.

“They’ll put you… in the dungeon! It’ll suck… and then you’ll die a lot.”

It only took a couple more lines before he stopped bothering to try and rhyme or keep any semblance of rhythm, the lyrics getting worse as his voice grew more and more bored. Seriously? This was his idea! What was he getting bored for? Was he annoyed that Frisk wasn’t playing along? He never had any issue entertaining himself before.

As the music began to fade out, Mettaton wrapped an arm around Frisk’s shoulders, pulling them close.

“Cry cry cry… so sad it’s happening~” he sang in a bored tone, before letting out a synthetic sigh. “So sad that you are going to the dungeon. Right now.” He suddenly pulled away, leaving Frisk swaying on the spot slightly. “Oh well, toodles!”

“Wait, hold on, wha-”

Frisk didn’t get to finish their thought before the ground opened up beneath them, gravity quickly gripping at their ankle and dragging them down a chute. Chara felt a series of bumps and pains as Frisk was battered around, until they were eventually deposited onto solid ground, rolling for a second before landing flat on their back with an “Oomph”, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

“Are you alright, Frisk?”

“…ya know, just because I’m good at falling doesn’t mean I want to do it this often.” Chara scoffed. If Frisk was still cracking jokes, they were probably fine.

As Frisk pulled themself to their feet, Chara saw Mettaton flying down towards them, flames erupting from where his wheel usually was (and somehow not setting his dress on fire). Chara drew Frisk’s attention over to him, letting them prepare themself for whatever game he was playing.

“Oh no, whatever shall I do!” Mettaton lamented. “My love has been cast away into the dungeon!”

“Getting really tired of adults flirting with you.”

“Stop making it weird!”

“A dungeon with a puzzle so dastardly, my lover will surely perish!”

The taste of fizzy, sweet soda flowed through Chara as Frisk visibly perked up in excitement. “Heck yes!” they cheered. “I’m great at puzzles! Bring it on!” They looked over to the path ahead and saw…

“Oh no… not you!”

It was the stupid freaking tile puzzle that Papyrus tried to use on them back in Snowdin. Except this time, instead of being a nice, simple line for Frisk to walk across, it was a technicolour mess of nightmare colours. Chara could feel a headache forming just looking at the bright mess.

“Oh, heavens have mercy! The horrible coloured tile maze!” Mettaton said, with far more excitement than sorrow while he lounged sideways in the air like he was on a divan sofa. “Each coloured tile has it’s own sadistic function! For example, a green tile forces you to fight a dastardly monster! Red tiles will…” Mettaton’s voice trailed off. “Actually, wait a second.” He tapped his screen ponderingly. “Have you seen this puzzle before?”

“Nope! Never seen it in my life! Please explain.”

“Oh my, you have, haven’t you! I see that spark of recognition in your eyes! My, this is perfect! Surely you remember all of the rules, don’t you?” Frisk frantically shook their head “no”, crossing their arms over their chest in the shape of an X. “Great!” Mettaton cheered anyway. “Then I won’t waste your time repeating them!”

“Dammit.”

“Oh, and you better move quickly!” Mettaton continued. “Because if you don’t get through in 30 seconds…”

Mettaton snapped his fingers, the sound of roaring flames bursting to life quickly muffling the sound as a jetstream of fire kicked up at Frisk’s back, forcing them to stumble a few steps away with a yelp. Despite his lack of a face, Chara swore they could see Mettaton smiling.

“…you’ll be incinerated by these jets of fire!”

Chara could feel Frisk’s heartbeat racing, the taste of salty sweat and something twistingly sour assaulting their senses as fear tore its way through Frisk’s body. The sensation only grew worse when the wall of flames behind them began to move, inching closer and closer. Chara mirrored their fear. Dying had hurt, even with their muted feelings, and most of the ways they had died before had been somewhat quick. Burning to death would be…

“Better get running dear!”

Frisk didn’t need to be told twice, sprinting onto the conveyor belt leading the the puzzle. Chara did their best to look ahead to try and find a safe path, but between the mess of colours and stress of the ticking clock, they were struggling to focus. And unfortunately, they didn’t have time to wait. So without Chara’s input, Frisk simply ran, little sounds ringing out each time they stepped on a tile.

Giving up on finding a complete path, Chara resorted to making guesses, looking a few tiles ahead and trying to figure out which path was least likely to lead them to a dead end.

“Go down!” they yelled, Frisk immediately following without question. “Left! Dead end, go down again!”

Frisk’s feet pounded as they ran and slid around, music and the sound of tiles activating filling the air, just barely not enough to drown out the sound of the rapidly approaching flames. Pink, blue, pink, green, orange, purple, orange, pink, blue, go to the pink, not the green! Orange, pink, orange, faster, faster!

But it wasn’t enough. Every moment of hesitation when Frisk waited for Chara’s input, every time they turned on their heel to change direction when Chara pointed out a bad path, it all added up. Before Chara knew it, 30 seconds had passed, the tiles underneath Frisk’s feet powering down and turning grey. Chara could feel Frisk’s heart drop, looking up to see Mettaton floating menacingly over them.

“Oh dear!” he cheered. “It looks like you’re out of time!” He snapped his fingers, and as his command the wall of flames behind Frisk sped up, rushing closer, with another wall on their other side bursting to life, trapping them. “And would you look at that! Here come the flames, darling!”

Frisk braced themself as the flames grew closer and closer. Chara swiveled their gaze around, trying to find a way out. But there was nothing. Flames caged them in on both sides, and below them was nothing but rivers of lava. Chara could feel their soul drop as realization set in that there really was no escape. The taste of bitter black coffee and coppery blood assaulted their sense, Frisk understanding what was happening a second after them.

“They’re closing in!” Mettaton taunted, rubbing salt in the wound.

Chara bit back a sigh. Guess they were going to learn what burning to death felt like after all. Fitting for a witch like them, but Frisk didn’t deserve this. They should have done a better job protecting them.

The flames slowly got closer… slower than before.

“Getting. Closer!” Mettaton said, stressing the last word in a strange way.

Once again the flames drew closer, significantly slower, starting and stopping like skipping frames on a scratched CD. While Frisk was still tensing, shoulders drawn up and eyes screwed shut, Chara relaxed themself somewhat, flicking their vision between Mettaton and the flames which had definitely stopped moving.

“Any second now!” Mettaton yelled in an almost bored and annoyed tone. Something was wrong. Chara could feel it. This… this was weird. And not normal-monster-weird, just weird-weird.

The flames drew just a bit closer, barely far enough away to not lick Frisk’s clothes, then stopped again. Chara could feel the intense heat on Frisk’s skin, but any sense of fear they had was gone, replaced with skepticism. What was Mettaton playing at. Chara watched the robot turn from side to side, clearly looking for something. He brought a fist up to his screen, fake coughing into it, which only made Chara more suspicious because he literally didn’t have lungs.

A few seconds passed before-

*RING RING

Frisk opened their eyes slowly, seeming to finally take in the sight of the flames not moving closer. They looked between the two walls in confusion, then quickly down to their phone, grabbing it out of their pocket.

“W-watch out!” Alphys voice came through the second Frisk hit the accept call button — though Chara swore they heard the click before Frisk even touched the button — “I’ll save you! I’m hacking the firewall right now!”

A moment later, the walls of flames sputtered out in an instant. A bit too quickly for Chara’s liking.

“Oh no!” Mettaton cried, throwing an arm over the top of his screen. “How could this happen? Foiled again by the brilliant Doctor Alphys!”

…

…

Awkward silence filled the air for a few moments as no one said a word. Mettaton continued holding his pause, Frisk stared ahead, holding their phone in one hand, tilting their head to the side in confusion. Chara glared down at the phone, wishing they could see Alphys so they could try and read her expression and body language.

“…yyyyyyyuuuuuuuup,” Mettaton drawled. “Tha-”

“That’s right!” Alphys cut in suddenly with a bit of panic. “Give it up, Mettaton! You’ll never be able to defeat us. Not as long as we work together! Your puzzle is over, and now its time to go home!”

“Over?” Mettaton asked, an audible grin in his voice. “Oh darling, please! Did you forget what the green tiles do?” Chara wracked their brain quickly, before realization dawned on them. “They make a sound, and then you have to fight a monster!” Mettaton said. “Well darling, that monster… is me!”

Mettaton held an arm out, holding his hand out in a finger gun motion as energy gathered at his fingertips before firing off. Frisk quickly hopped to the side before Chara could say anything, a scorch mark bursting onto the floor where they were just standing. Mettaton fired off a couple more blasts, forcing Frisk to hop and dance around as he laughed.

Chara took a second to go over their options. Mettaton’s attacks were lazy and easy to dodge. And since flame walls were gone and Chara didn’t see any forcefields, they could easily run away. Mettaton would… maybe… chase after them, but Frisk was small and slippery. It wouldn’t be too hard for them to find a place to hide.

“H-h-hey!” Alphys voice cut through Chara’s thoughts, almost making them growl in frustration, forgetting they were still on the phone with her. “This looks bad, but don’t worry! I have a plan!”

“Of course you do,” Chara said bitterly, unable to stop themself from projecting the thought loud enough for Frisk to hear.

“Do you see the big yellow button on the side of your phone? Press and hold it down for 3 seconds!”

Without hesitation, Frisk did what Alphys said, pressing down hard on the button. When the seconds ticked by, Chara felt something stir deep within Frisk's soul and immediately braced themself for what they knew was coming. A moment later, a sickening feeling shot through them, like a hand reaching out and gripping at their core, squishing and twisting it like Play-Doh into a new shape. Chara wondered if it was this painful for Frisk, or if it was only so bad because they were attached to their soul.

In the back of their mind, Chara could feel a quiet thought whispering, an echo of the feeling that was probably ripping through Frisk's entire being.

'Justice must be done.'

Chara felt their vision forcibly fixed on Mettaton, Frisk's head snapping to stare him head-on with them. Chara hissed in annoyance, the stupid soul manipulation taking away their ability to watch Frisk's back or find a way to escape.

"Not again," Frisk complained. To be honest, Chara couldn't exactly blame them. Being forced under the effects of Soul Manipulation was exhausting enough on its own, and not only was Frisk already running on fumes, but they were only just recovering from another instance of having their soul forcibly altered against their will.

On the other hand, they got what they deserved for trusting Alphys so easily.

"Justice," Chara began to explain, knowing full well that Frisk was going to use them as a walking encyclopedia again. "Single-minded and absolutely focused on bringing your target to justice. You'll find yourself unable to look away from the one that cast the spell, always needing to keep them in your vision. Though they will also suffer the same effect."

"And the helpful part?"

"This soul trait also gives you the power to bring said foe low." Something was horribly wrong, Chara knew that, but they'd get to that once Frisk was out of danger. "Hold your hand out and focus," they said. "You should be able to materialize magical blasts, even without proper training."

Following Chara's commands, Frisk held their hand out in front of them, fingers twitching for a moment before they settled and mimicked Mettaton, making a finger gun in his direction. As they did, Chara could see something form at the tips of their fingers, glowing yellow light weaving around their arm, forming the shape of a heart hovering just in front of them, the bottom pointing outwards towards Mettaton.

"Oh my!" Mettaton gasped. "What's this? A twist!"

Magic gathered at Frisk's fingertips, and as they twitched their thumb like the hammer of a gun, they fired off a bullet of yellow energy, sending it straight into Mettaton's shoulder. The robot flinched back as the bullet impacted, tearing a hole in his beautiful dress. Frisk twitched their thumb a few more times, riddling Mettaton with magical bullets.

"Oh! OOOH!" Mettaton cried. "Oh, how could this be! You were stronger than I thought, etcetera."

"Did he just say 'etcetera' out loud?" Chara asked.

"Oh the horror! The tragedy!" Mettaton continued to cry, dramatically posing for a moment, before unceremoniously flying away. As he did, Chara felt the magic twisting Frisk's soul drift away, the yellow light in their hand fading away as their soul shifted back to its regular trait, the lock on their vision breaking away. Almost immediately, Chara scanned their surroundings for any other threats, only letting their guard down once they were sure there was no one else there.

"Y- you did it!"

Well, there was technically one other person there.

"G-good job out there!" Alphys cheered through the phone. Chara saw the corner of Frisk's mouth twitch into a smile, warm butterscotch and cinnamon dancing across their soul, making Chara feel sick. 'Idiot,' Chara thought bitterly as they watched Frisk get excited about false praise from a liar.

"It's all thanks to you!" Frisk typed out on their phone, the synthetic voice feeling like it was mocking Chara as it repeated the words.

"Wha- oh, oh no! It wasn't- I mean- you were the one doing everything cool!" Alphys blurted out, her blush audible in her voice. "I just wrote some silly programs for your phone."

"…you turned my phone into a jetpack," Frisk replied, their sarcastic tone failing to come through the bored, monotone phone voice.

"W-well that's simple, really!" Alphys insisted. She went quiet for a moment, though Chara could hear the sound of her shuffling on the other side of the call. "H-hey," she stuttered, "this might sound strange, but, um… c-can I tell you something?"

Frisk made a quiet affirmative sound, a concerned frown on their face. Chara heard Alphys take a deep breath, before letting it out as a long sigh.

"B-before I met you," she started, "I d-d-didn't really… I didn't like myself that much. For a long time, I f-felt like a total screw-up. L-like I couldn't do anything without… just, letting everyone down."

Despite their reservations about her, Chara paused for a moment as Alphys rambled. There was something about her tone that felt far more honest and vulnerable than they were used to. It almost seemed like they were talking to a completely different Alphys, someone other than the woman who had been deceiving Frisk for so long. For a moment, Chara almost believed that they really were just being paranoid, that Alphys really did have Frisk's best interests in heart.

…almost.

"B-but!" Alphys continued, her voice starting to perk up again. "Guiding you has made me feel a lot better about myself. So… thank you. For letting me help you."

"Thank you for helping me," Frisk replied, giving the phone a fond smile.

"I-it's nothing, really! Anyways, we're almost to the C.O.R.E. It's just past MTT Resort." MTT Resort? That was new. Did Mettaton make an entire resort by the UG Apartments? It seemed like an odd place, but considering all of the absurd sets and traps he set up, he clearly had money to burn so he had to be bringing in income from somewhere.

Chara missed the end of Frisk and Alphys' conversation as they considered this, not realizing until their vision started getting dragged along as Frisk began to walk along the now deactivated puzzle with a skip in their step, their mood visibly improved. Chara bit back a sigh, a bit reluctant to ruin their good mood, but someone had to bring it up.

"Are we not going to discuss how suspicious that was?" they asked. Frisk immediately tensed up, Chara able to see a scowl on their face.

"Not this again," Frisk complained, their annoyed tone making Chara's hackles raise. Well excuse them for trying to look out for Frisk! Stars forbid Chara actually try being kind for once.

"I'm sorry, were you not paying attention at all?" Chara snapped. "Did you not notice how odd Mettaton was acting? He barely seemed interested in what he was doing! Not to mention the strange way he slowed and paused the flames walls, instead of using them to, oh I don't know, burn you to death?"

"That was obviously because of Alphys!" Frisk argued. "Her hacking made them glitch out, which was why they were being all weird. Mettaton was just confused on why they weren't working right."

"Seriously?" Chara let out a huff, already tired of Frisk's delusions. "Fine, then how do you explain his bored attitude? The way he barely seemed to care about what he was doing? He said 'etcetera' out loud! Who does that?"

"He's weird! All monsters are! Who cares?"

"Oh for- what about the Soul Manipulation?"

"What about it?"

Chara seethed at Frisk, feeling something ugly bubbling up inside them. Weren't they paying attention to what Chara said at all? "Don't you see? The Justice trait forces you to keep your focus on the person that cast the spell on you."

"So?"

"So… who were you forced to focus on?" Frisk went quiet at that, their eyes darting to the ground. Chara felt a twisted sense of joy at watching Frisk falter, their lack of an excuse lifting Chara's spiteful mood. "But please, do feel free to explain why Alphys' program made Mettaton cast a spell on you. Go on. I'm waiting."

"W-well…" Frisk started, nibbling at their lip. "Well, Alphys made Mettaton, right? So… she obviously put something in that let her-"

"Why would she do that?" Chara snapped back, not letting Frisk finish their stupid argument. "And even if she did, how would she be able to use it while Mettaton was acting outside of her control?"

"Maybe she still has access to his… ya know, files and programs and stuff, or whatever!" Frisk stomped their foot angrily, kicking up red dust. "Look, he's a magic robot! I don't know how magic robots work!"

"If Alphys had access to his programming, why wouldn't she just shut him down?" Chara argued. "Face it, none of this makes sense!"

“Why are you so determined to make Alphys the bad guy?”

“Why are you so determined to give her a free pass?”

“MAYBE I JUST WANT ONE FRIEND I CAN TRUST!” Frisk yelled. “Maybe I just want one friend who I don’t have to fight or be suspicious of or lie to so they don’t know we’re supposed to be enemies!”

For a moment, Chara was speechless. They stared at Frisk in concern, unsure where this outburst was coming from. “Is that truly how you feel?” they gently asked. Frisk let out a huff, crossing their arms and looking away.

“I mean…” they started, sounding much more unsure of themself. “Kinda. Like… I really like Sans and Papyrus and MK and you, but… Papyrus spent so long trying to fight and capture me. I literally had to fight to be his friend. With MK, I had to keep lying to them, because if they knew I was human they wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore. And Sans…”

“Is Sans?” Chara cheekily noted, getting a short chuff from Frisk.

“Yeah. He’s cool, but also kinda… something.” They paused, Chara able to feel their uncertainty. “And you…”

Nothing needed to be said there. They both knew all the harm Chara had done, all the trouble they had caused for Frisk. There was no need to repeat their crimes.

“I just want one friend,” Frisk sighed. “One friend I can just… have. Who isn’t trying to fight me or trick me or hurt me or- or… yeah. Is that so much to ask?”

Yes. Yes, it was. Chara knew that. Frisk probably knew it too, but they refused to look that truth in the eye. And Chara was beginning to realize that trying to get Frisk to do so was just pushing them further away. No matter how much they wanted to, they couldn’t convince Frisk to see the obvious truth in front of them, not without snapping their neck to force them to look at it.

In a way, Chara was impressed by how stubborn Frisk was, how desperate they were to shield themself from the truth in order to protect their heart. It also deeply worried them and made them want to scream. They couldn’t make Frisk see that Alphys was obviously lying to them. So what were they supposed to do, just let Frisk get stabbed in the back? And what about the next time someone tried to lie to them? Was Chara just supposed to watch Frisk get their heart torn asunder again and again without saying a word?

…it wasn’t as if they had another choice. Frisk would never listen to Chara, they could see that now. They had no choice but to let Frisk wallow in their own bed of lies, waiting for everything to fall apart.

And when it did, Chara would have to be there to put things back together again.

"Ya know, this isn't what I expected when you said there was an apartment complex here."

"It wasn't what I had in mind either. This… this is new."

The trudge up to where UG Apartments should have been was awkwardly silent, and felt far longer than it probably was. Chara spent the entire time soaking in the taste of Frisk's sorrow, bitter coffee assaulting their senses. Chara was tempted to reach out and try and comfort them, but held back, figuring that their presence would be unwelcome after the last conversation. So instead, they made themself as small as possible, shoving whatever piece of them existed in Frisk's soul into the furthest corner they could manage for the duration of their walk.

At least, until Frisk made it to their destination, going out of their way to talk directly to Chara and beckoning them outward, leading both of them to look up in confusion at what was definitely not an apartment block.

The actual shape and structure of the building was exactly as Chara remembered; a towering hexagon shaped building with dark blue walls, the forward facing wall covered in windows that poured warm light outward into the dark cavern that lacked Hotland's pools of lava. To each side of the building was a dark alleyway, the shadows equally foreboding and inviting, beckoning any that saw to explore and see what they could find.

But that was where the similarities ended. For where there was once a small, modest sign over the automatic glass doors leading inside that marked the building as the UG Apartment complex, there was now a massive gaudy sign, boldly declaring that this was the MTT Resort, complete with flashing lights and a pair of Mettatons flanking the sign, little angel wings holding them up. The faint sound of catchy upbeat music playing through intercoms could be heard from outside.

"I'm not even going to pretend to be surprised," Chara sighed. "Mettaton is definitely the kind of person that would pull a stunt like this."

"Wait…" Frisk frowned. "If this was an apartment complex, what happened to the people that lived here?"

"I assume they were evicted."

"…I really don't like Mettaton."

"So glad to hear you've finally hit your breaking point," Chara drawled. "Really, it's astounding how much it takes to make you dislike someone."

"Hey! I never said I liked them! Just because I'm only now saying I'm not their biggest fan doesn't mean I liked them."

"And yet, you still find softer ways of saying you hate them."

"Well," Frisk said, shuffling their feet a bit. "Hate is a really strong word."

"He's tried to murder you multiple times, Frisk." Chara didn't point out how suspicious everything going on with him and Alphys was. They didn't feel like starting another argument so soon.

"Meh," Frisk shrugged. "He's not the only one. A lot of folks down here have tried to kill me."

"And that makes it okay?"

"Maybe not… but I'm used to it?"

"Seek therapy."

"Oh, you of all people don't get to tell me that! You're basically a therapist's dream patient! They wouldn't even need other patients. Dealing with all of your problems would be enough to set them up for life."

"Okay, first of all, rude," Chara snarked. "Secondly, die. Thirdly, just because you're right doesn't mean you get to say it. Finally, die. Again."

"Been there, done that. Probably will again."

"Please stop being so nonchalant about dying and your lack of mortality."

"Stop bringing up the fact that I keep dying."

Chara huffed, biting their tongue before they said anything else. It wasn't their fault that their sense of humour involved a fair bit of death. Frisk was the one that kept looping it back around to their own dying, a topic that Chara wasn't very fond of. They were going to have to start watching what they said if they wanted to avoid conversations like this. 'Joy, more censoring myself,' they complained.

Frisk walked up to the glass door with a stupid swagger, grinning from ear to ear for "winning" their little argument. Idiot. The second the automatic doors slid open, Frisk's entire body tensed as a wave of cold air washed over them, letting out a little shiver. Chara could taste their relief, something they couldn't blame Frisk for. Even Chara had never spent this long in Hotland, but the time they had spent there made it easy for them to imagine how desperate Frisk was for some nice, cool air.

While Frisk stepped into the resort, closing their eyes and shivering with joy as they enjoyed the respite, Chara observed their surroundings, what little respect they had for Mettaton dwindling away as they took in the sights around them.

The hotel's decorations — if they could even be called that — were even gaudier and more tasteless than the first impression it gave. The main lobby was a massive space, the walls painted an obnoxiously bright shade of yellow with columns holding up the roof. Columns that were literally plated with gold. Actual, real gold. Chara was in awe of how tacky Mettaton could be.

But of course, it got worse. Large parts of the floor were taken up by red carpets, like the ones that celebrities would walk down before a big event, leading outwards to a series of doors in each cardinal direction. 'Real subtle', Chara scoffed to themself. And somehow, Mettaton even managed to mess that up, because in the centre of the lobby was a circular fountain, with a statue of Mettaton spewing out water that was missing the pool of the fountain and instead spilling onto the carpet.

"What a mess," Chara said. "Seriously, how could anyone stand to stay here?"

"Not sure they have much of a choice," Frisk noted. "Not like there are any other hotels in Hotland. Besides, we can't exactly judge considering we're going to be staying here tonight."

Chara paused, realizing that, oh no, they were right. They were going to be spending the night in the most expensive disaster of a hotel in all of the Underground. And unlike Frisk, Chara wouldn't be able to sleep through their stay. They'd have to stay up all night, surrounded by tacky decorations and walls and lights so bright it made their non-existent eyes bleed.

"…it's not too late to turn back," they pleaded. "I'm sure we can find a tent or something to camp in."

"Chara, I'm not sleeping in that heat."

"Is there any way I could change your mind?"

"I'm pretty sure you'd be a far less grumpy person if you were able to convince me to do what you wanted."

Chara tried. Stars above knew they tried to get Frisk to reconsider, to spare them the torment of having to entertain themself for eight hours (or more, Frisk was definitely exhausted and there was a good chance they'd crash for far longer) in the sparkling pile of vomit that was Mettaton's Resort.

But no, despite their pleading and begging, Frisk refused to offer Chara any mercy, practically ignoring them as they dragged themself over to the receptionist and booked themself a room for an absolutely exorbitant price. Eventually, Chara was forced to give in as Frisk was escorted to their room. Which…

"Why."

"Don't care, not complaining!"

"I am! Why is the bed that big! We could fit a dozen of you on there!"

Frisk, of course, didn't care that a solid 80% of the room was taken up by a massive bed. In fact, they loved it, eagerly throwing themself on top of it before crawling their way underneath the plush red comforter. They giggled to themself as they wiggled around, sinking further into the plush mattress — that Chara refused to admit was insanely comfortable — and curling into a ball, letting out a deep, content sigh.

"Now this is living," Frisk happily said, shuffling a bit to peak their head out from under the comforter and resting it on an obnoxiously yellow pillow.

"…it sure is," Chara sarcastically drawled as they stared up at the ceiling, the reality of their fate sinking in further and further as the gaudy, bright, bright, painfully bright room taunted them. "Can you at least be somewhat useful and turn off the lights?"

…no response.

"Frisk?" … "FRISK! ANSWER ME!"

Frisk snored lightly, dread seeping in as they confirmed Chara's fear; they had somehow, through some twisted miracle, already fallen asleep. With the lights on. Meaning that every bit of yellow and gold — and there was an unfathomable amount of both — was reflecting bright, searing light into Chara's vision.

"…I hate you."

It was going to be a long eight hours.

Scratch that. Thirteen hours.

Frisk slept for thirteen. Stars damned. Bloody. Freaking. Hours.

Which, okay, Chara couldn't blame them for. Frisk had spent the entirety of the day dragging their scrawny behind through Hotland without any form of heat protection, barely ate anything the whole time, and had to fight for their lives at least half a dozen times. They definitely needed a proper rest.

But still. Thirteen hours. They forced Chara to sit and stare at the sun-bleached vomit stain of a room for thirteen damned hours. And they didn't seem even the slightest bit regretful about it. They had that stupid grin on their face the entire time Chara lambasted them for the suffering they inflicted.

"Will you ever stop being such a baby?" Frisk asked amusedly.

"When you stop being such a pain."

"…so never?"

Chara tried to bite back at Frisk a few times, but they seemed to be in a good mood after their rest, barely even acknowledging Chara's jabs, brushing them off with a quick retort. As much as Chara wanted to keep arguing until they inevitably won, they were cut off by Frisk noticing a monster giving them a weird look, scrunching up their nose in disgust.

"Perhaps you should take a quick shower," Chara suggested, despite how awkward that would be. Frisk thought about it for a moment, eyeing the door to their room, before shrugging their shoulders and continuing towards the main lobby.

"No point," they said. "I don't have anything clean to change into. Wouldn't really do much good."

"Gross."

"Oh come on, it's not like it bothers you. You can't smell me."

"And how do you know that?" Chara retorted.

"Because if it did, you would have complained my ear off about it already."

It was annoying how well Frisk knew them already.

As Frisk walked out into the lobby, they were forced to duck this and that way, weaving in between bellboys, cleaners, and other monsters staying at the resort, the sound of chattering voices and trays with squeaking wheels bouncing around the open space.

"Whoops, 'scuse me, pardon me, coming through! Sorry, sorry, don't mind me, just a totally normal not-human, minding their own business!"

A bump from a long monster wobbling from side to side knocked Frisk off their path, forcing them to catch themself on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the lobby.

Chara couldn't help but scoff as they looked at it, the garish statue of Mettaton making them want to hurl. "Seriously," they huffed. "How conceited can he get?"

"Well, there's an inscription on the base," Frisk pointed out. "Wanna find out?"

"Sure. Let's see how bad this-" they started sarcastically, their voice catching as their vision passed over the words.

Royal Memorial Fountain

In Honour of our Fallen Prince

(Mettaton Added Last Week)

It was as if their soul had been dragged under the tides, an anchor weighing them down as they sunk further and further, white noise blaring all around them. Their vision wobbled and blurred, fading in an out.

How… dare he? How dare he?!? How dare Mettaton tear apart a memorial to him and replace it with a pile of trash and vomit for the sake of his own vanity. Did he truly think he was more important, more worthy, more deserving of a place in everyone's hearts? Did he think he had the right to stand above someone so kind, so brave, so humble and sweet?

Chara wanted to scream. They wanted to scream and cry and burn the entire world to the ground. Hands wrapped around their throat, choking them and holding their voice back. Sandpaper scraped at their soul over and over, sparks flying from the friction as the sharp edges grew rougher instead of smoother, threatening to ignite. How DARE he? What gave him the right? To spit in the face of everything Asriel had done, his sacrifice, his life, his death, his-

-a sudden jolt of taste assaulted Chara's senses, a melting pot of bitter coffee and metallic rust, the comfort of warm fudge and brownies coated in something sweet and sour, and emotional cocktail pushing and prodding at their soul, begging them to listen, to hear, to taste, to exist.

Slowly, Chara's vision returned to them, a dull blue slowly bleeding into reality before their eyes. Bit by bit, colour returned, followed by shadow and light, details ever so slowly coming together to reform the world. Tiled bricks layered the floor underneath them, a bright light at their back casting the long shadow of a lost child over the cobblestone.

They were outside the resort. When had they moved? They don't remember leaving. They hadn't left that spot, that sacred temple honouring the brightest star, one that had been desecrated and ruined by that pompous, ignorant, egotisTISTICAL, SELF-SERVING-

"Chara… please."

A voice… whose voice was- Frisk. It was Frisk's. Right, they were with Frisk. They were… lost. Long gone. A soul adrift, simply tagging along. They didn't move because they couldn't. They didn't have freedom or autonomy. Did they ever? Was there ever a point in their life when they could choose for themself? How many cages had they been trapped in? Did it matter how fanciful of gilded the bars were, or how large the enclosure, if it was a prison all the same? Did any of it matter? Did they?

A twist of sour lemons shot through them, their soul scrunching up in disgust, before the overwhelming taste faded, ebbing away as it was replaced with soft, rich chocolate. The sugar danced across their being, filling them with the warmth of a fresh batch of brownies, the comfort of a quiet afternoon, the promise of a peaceful evening and dreamless sleep. A blanket was wrapped around their shoulder, a show of compassion and care.

"Breathe with me. In for four, out for eight."

A stupid request. They couldn't breathe. Even if they weren't being choked, they didn't have lungs. They couldn't-

"Just try. Please. For me?"

…an unfair request. Almost cruel. Something they couldn't refuse. So they acquiesced.

Willing themself to breathe deep, they forced something in, their soul pushing outwards, its form stuttering and wavering. As they did, Frisk took a deep breath, audibly inhaling, holding, then forcefully breathing out. In response, they let go of whatever they were holding, their soul shrinking in on itself, a pressure released. Again, Frisk took in a deep breath, and they followed. In… and out…. in… and out…

Bit by bit, they could feel themself shifting. The movement of their soul became steady, no longer shaking when they inhaled, and shrinking much more gradually when they exhaled. Their beating heart turned rhythmic instead of erratic, the ringing fading away, letting them hear clearly once more. They were…

…not okay. But better. Just a bit.

"Better?" Frisk asked, their voice full of concern. A wasted effort. But… an appreciated one nonetheless.

"Somewhat," Chara hesitantly replied. Silence followed, the taste of Frisk's clear concern stuff lingering. Chara chewed on their words, trying to find something to say. A show of thanks? The idea of thanking Frisk felt wrong. Not undeserved, but wrong. What would Frisk think of them? They must have seen Chara as pathetic, a sniveling child throwing a tantrum at a few words. And Chara was supposed to throw themself at Frisk's feet and thank them for witnessing them so low?

Still, they couldn't say nothing. Chara knew Frisk well enough to know they wouldn't let this go so easily. They would constantly worry about Chara, their mind constantly infused with the taste of sour lemons and vinegar. It's just how they were. So they had to say something to placate them.

"Listen, I-"

"What do you think's down that alleyway?"

Startled by the sudden change in topic, Chara followed Frisk's pointed finger towards a dark alley off the side of the hotel, a sloppy red arrow painted on the ground beckoning them towards it.

"I bet there's something pretty cool," Frisk continued with a casual voice that Chara almost couldn't tell was forced. "Wanna go check it out?"

The "Do you want to stop talking about this?" went unsaid. "Do you want to pretend this didn't happen? Do you want to move on and never speak of this again?" It was tempting. Hells below, it was so tempting. But Chara knew they had to talk about this. They needed to express themselves. Needed to keep Frisk from worrying. Needed to give them the peace that they gave Chara. Needed to-

"Sure. Why not?"

'Coward.'

Chara couldn't help the wave of relief they felt as Frisk hopped to their feet, wordlessly strolling down the alleyway. Wonderful.They didn't have to lower themselves to talking about the vile thoughts going on in their mind, and they would get the lovely experience of having Frisk worry about them constantly. Fantastic. 'Lovely work as always, Chara.'

"Oh my gosh, Catty, look!"

Frisk and Chara both startled at the sudden voice, Frisk letting out a little squeak of surprise as they turned a corner and stepped into a small open area, revealing a tall, lean alligator woman looming over them, draped in a pink shawl with blue and yellow lines slashing across it, her long blonde hair practically hanging in Frisk's face. Just behind her, Chara could see another monster, this one a plump cat-woman wearing blue overalls with tufts of artificial fur where the sleeves of a shirt would be, her black hair streaked with highlights.

The cat monster — who Chara assumed was 'Catty' — put her paws up to her face and let out a squealing gasp, her eyes filled with sparkles as she stared at Frisk. "Oh my gosh!" she screeched. "Bratty, look at them! They're soooooo cute!"

"Like, right?" Bratty replied, her obviously fake valley-girl accent very quickly making Chara wish to embrace the void. "Hey little dude! What's your name?"

Frisk just stared at the two for a second, looking just as confused as Chara felt, before shuffling their backpack off and pulling out their notepad, flipping over to a page where they had already written their name.

"Oh my gosh! Frisk! That's, like, sooooooOOOOOooooo cute!" Catty gushed, her screechy voice like nails on chalkboard. How was Frisk not cringing from the sound? They were somehow completely unphased, something that brought Chara immense confusion.

"Oh, totes adorbs!" Bratty agreed. "Like, we rarely get customers like you 'round here!" Frisk tilted their head at that, scribbling the word "Customer?" down on their notepad.

"Oh gosh, yeah!" Catty said, snapping her fingers. "We're, like, the best store in Hotland!"

"Yeah, the stuff inside is, like…"

"TOTALLY wicked expensive!"

"But, like, the stuff we've got…"

"TOTALLY wicked cheap!"

Chara took a quick glance behind the monsters at the tables of "goods" that they were selling, very quickly realizing why it was all so cheap. Between the sickly looking food and the sea of damaged looking clothes, nick-knacks, and other assorted items, it was clear that everything they were selling came from the dump.

Turning their attention back to Frisk, Chara noted that they were quickly scribbling in their notebook again. Realizing that they were probably going to be striking up conversation with tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb (as they seemed to do with every shopkeeper for some inane reason), Chara decided to push themselves back as far as they could, cutting themselves off from the outside world and hiding away in a little corner of Frisk's soul so they didn't have to experience the audio torture.

A decision they started to regret very quickly, as it left them alone with their thoughts once more.

They were close. They were so close. One quick elevator ride, and they'd be back in New Home, on the outskirts of the castle. Asgore had been very particular about where it was built. He made sure that folks had easy access to it, the main elevator to the city taking folks just a few blocks away. Though, the main reason he built it where there was because he wanted it bordering the… the Barrier.

'Oh no.'

Chara cursed themself, trying desperately to make sure Frisk didn't hear them. Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could they forget! The damned Barrier! The thing keeping them Underground. The thing Frisk was marching straight towards! The thing Chara hadn't told them about! Frisk didn't know. They didn't know that they couldn't leave. Papyrus had told them they could just walk straight through it, and Chara didn't correct him! Didn't care enough to!

What would Frisk do when they found out? That Chara had lied by omission? They were already on thin ice, had already broken their trust too many times! Would this be the last straw? Would this break what they had? Would this be the end of-

'No, not again. Stop it. Breathe. In for four, out for eight. Breathe. You don't have lungs, you can't breathe, but just breathe. You don't have lungs and there are hands on your throat and they're choking the life out of you and you can't breathe but JUST BREATHE DAMMIT!'

Chara's soul thrummed in the void of Frisk's chest, moving in time to their command. In for four… out for eight. In for four… out for eight. Again. And again. And again. Keep it calm. Keep it quiet. Don't let Frisk know. Don't let them see you. Don't-

"Are you okay?"

…stupid soul bond.

Pushing themselves back to the surface, Chara took stock of the situation. They were (thankfully) no longer in the alleyway with the discount valley girls, now standing off to the side of the resort. Vinegar burned their senses, Frisk's worry souring their soul. Of course Frisk noticed. It would be hard for them not to. Even without their bond, Chara was certain Frisk would always know when they were upset.

"Were you thinking about your friend again?" Frisk asked, their voice all soft and full of concern in a way that made Chara sick to their stomach. They didn't deserve this. They didn't deserve Frisk's gentle care. Not after everything they had done, everything they had said, everything they refused to say. Frisk deserved better than them.

…they had to tell them. Even if it was days too late, Frisk deserved to know the truth. Even if they hated Chara for only telling them then.

Chara tried to take a breath, hoping to calm their nerves. ‘Focus. Get rid of the emotions and useless feelings. Speak clearly. Say exactly what you want to say. Use your words.’

"No," Chara said. "No, I was thinking about something else."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Frisk asked kindly. Too kindly. Always too kindly.

"No. But you deserve to know it anyways." The horrid taste of vinegar grew stronger, hints of copper on their tongue. "It's about Asgore. And the Barrier. You can't-"

"you still with me, kid?"

Chara startled at the new voice, turning their attention to the side to see Sans watching Frisk with an amused look. They glared at him, getting sick of being interrupted.

"When did he get here?" they sneered. Frisk tilted their head just a little bit in confusion, before seeming to think better of it and pretending to roll their head and shoulders.

"Um, a little while ago?" Frisk said with a mix of confusion and concern. "He came by while I was talking to Catty and Bratty and offered to pay for me." Well that was generous of him. Suspiciously so. "You… didn't notice?" Chara didn't respond. To the side, Sans raised an eyebrow, looking Frisk over.

"yeesh, you're really out of it, huh?" sans noted. "rough morning?"

After a moment of thought, Frisk raised their hand, waving it in a so-so motion, making Chara scoff. A lie. Frisk was having a fantastic morning. They were skipping and smiling around quite happily. It was Chara who was being miserable.

Sans closed his eyes and nodded. "i feel ya. but hey, nothing a good meal can't fix." he took a hand out of his pocket and pointed a thumb back at the resort. "wanna grab breakfast with me?"

He hardly got to finish his sentence before Frisk was nodding excitedly like a golden retriever that had heard someone saying "treat". Not that Chara could blame them. They hadn't eaten anything before passing out, and they had been asleep for ages. They were probably starving again. A somewhat concerning pattern… Chara would need to find a way to help Frisk eat better. This couldn't be good for them.

"cool, thanks for treating me," Sans joked. Or at least Chara hoped he was joking, considering Frisk had spent pretty much everything they had managed to scrounge up on their room, and based on the price of that room any food they could get here would probably have a price tag that made Muffet blush.

Lazily turning on his heel, Sans started walking off. But instead of moving towards the entry to the resort, he started going around it, making his way toward another alleyway off to the side other side. When he noticed Frisk wasn't following, he beckoned them forward.

"c'mon. i know a shortcut."

With a shrug, Frisk followed at his heels as Sans lead them down a dark alleyway. One that Chara noted lead to a dead end. Despite that, he continued walking straight towards the brick wall at the end without a care. Chara looked around, trying to see where Sans was planning on taking them. Maybe there was a window, or a hidden door, or-

They blinked, and suddenly they were… in a restaurant? Already seated at a table and- wait hold on, what? When did they- how did- they just blinked and suddenly- but they couldn't blink! They didn't have eyes!

"What just- wha- did he- what?" Chara sputtered. Did they zone out again? No, they couldn't have, they were paying attention! How did…

"I feel dizzy," Frisk moaned. Right, that answered that question.

Across from them, Sans sunk into his lavishly plush chair, snuggling into the cushioned back. "well, here we are."

There they were indeed… somehow. Chara still had no idea how he had managed it. One moment, they were walking down a dark alleyway, and the next they were in some restaurant, the walls and ceiling painted periwinkle purple and the floor a checkerboard of dark blue and purple. Tablecloths with designs resembles Mettaton's face covered each table, signaling that they were probably somewhere in the MTT Resort. Pots of fake plants lined the outskirts of the room, and a semi-circular wooden stage took up a large amount of space on the Northern wall, red curtains drawn closed.

The restaurant had a strange atmosphere to it. The lights were dimmed, shrouding the room in an oddly gentle darkness, only held back by candles that were slotted into a space at the center of every table. A few other monsters sat in tables around the room, enjoying the comfort of their extraordinarily plush chairs while they ate and made quiet conversation. It was somewhat unnerving. The resort was so loud, so bright, so lively, and yet this little pocket of it was dark and quiet. Even still, Chara couldn't help but find it somewhat calming.

By the time Chara finished looking around, Frisk seemed to have recovered from their disorientation, sitting up in their seat so they could see Sans properly. "How?" they signed with an expression of pure bafflement.

"i told'ya, i know a shortcut," Sans replied.

"Well, that didn't answer your question at all."

"I- I just… nevermind. I give up. I'm just not gonna think about it." Frisk looked around for a menu, only to be stopped by Sans languidly waving his hand.

"eh, don't worry. i already ordered for ya."

"Not thinking about it. Not going to question it."

Sans closed his eyes, sinking deeper into his chair. Frisk followed his lead, getting nice and comfortable and resting their eyes too, because apparently their thirteen hour mini-coma wasn't enough. The two sat in silence for a while, until a waiter eventually came by, dropping off a plate on either side of the table, each stacked high with pancakes (which were, of course shaped like Mettaton's face), the stacks drowned in syrup.

Frisk immediately jumped to attention, greedily snatching up a fork and knife and tearing into their food, apparently not caring about the mess they were making. Chara bit back a remark, knowing that Frisk needed the food to keep up their strength for what came next. At the same time, they didn't think that the mediocre pancakes that obviously came out of a box deserved the fervour that Frisk was giving them.

Meanwhile, Sans picked at his food, occasionally taking a small bite, spending most of his time just watching Frisk. His eyes were full of mirth as he enjoyed the show… but there was something off about him. Chara couldn't put their finger on it, but his gaze unnerved them.

"so," he eventually started after Frisk had mostly finished their breakfast, playing with his fork, "your journey is almost over. you must really wanna go home." Frisk stalled for a moment, an indecipherable look in their eye, before giving a stiff nod. "hey, i get it. i know the feeling." Sans closed his eyes, placing his fork down. "though… maybe sometimes, it's better to take what's given to you."

Frisk made a face at that, pushing their plate away a bit to give Sans their full attention. Chara could feel Frisk's heart beating in their chest as they finally caught on to the strange atmosphere. Something was deeply wrong. The room around them seemed to grow even quieter, the shadows closing in as the candle's flames flickered and wavered, an invisible wind pushing back against it.

"i mean, think 'bout it," Sans continued, uncaring of Frisk and Chara's growing anxieties. "down here, you've got good food, good drinks, good friends. is what you have to do… really worth it?"

"Asriel, please. Your people are screaming! They want to go free. And you have the key. You can save everyone! You can save them all!"

"…and all it will cost is you."

"It's worth it."

'It has to be.'

"…ah, forget it," Sans shrugged. "i'm rootin' for ya, kid."

He looked off the the side, tapping a finger against the table. Chara could see the light in his eyes dim ever so slightly, before he turned back to Frisk, giving them a strange look.

"hey, wanna hear a story?" he asked. Frisk looked at him in confusion, but eventually gave a hesitant nod. "cool. so, i'm a sentry in snowdin forest, right? i sit out there and watch for humans. pretty boring job. after all, not everyday a human shows up, ya'know? fortunately, deep in the forest, there's this HUGE locked door. and it's perfect for practicing knock-knock jokes on."

"Does he mean-"

"I think so."

"so," he continues, making a knocking motion with his hand. "one day, i'm knocking 'em out like usual. i knock on the door and say 'knock knock'. and then, suddenly, from the other side… i hear a woman's voice."

"Who is there?"

"so, naturally, i respond…"

"dishes."

"Dishes who?"

"dishes a very bad joke."

"then she just howls with laughter, like its the best joke she's heard for a hundred years."

"It might just be the first joke she's heard in a very long time."

"so i keep 'em coming, and she keeps laughing. she's the best audience i've ever had." He shakes his head fondly. "then, after a dozen of 'em, SHE knocks on the door and says…

"Knock knock."

"whos there?"

"Old lady."

"old lady who?"

"Oh! I did not know you could yodel!"

"wow," he chuckled. "needless to say, this woman was extremely good."

"We can never let these two meet." "We absolutely have to introduce them!"

"Frisk, no!"

"Frisk yes!"

"we kept telling each other jokes for hours," Sans went on. "eventually, i had to leave. papyrus gets kinda cranky without his bedtime story. but, she told me to come by again, and so i did." he closed his eyes, a look of contentment on his face. "and then i did again. and again. it's a thing now. telling bad jokes through the door. it rules."

"At least he admits his jokes are horrible."

"That's what makes them great!"

Then, ever so slowly, Sans sits forward, placing his elbows on the table and steepling his hands. "one day though," he says, his voice getting lower, "i noticed she wasn't laughing very much. so i asked her what was up. then, she said something strange."

"Stranger… can I ask something of you? I need a favour."

"…depends. whatcha need?"

"If a human ever steps through this door… please, please. Watch over them, and protect them, will you not? Please, keep them safe.

"now, see, i hate making promises. and this woman, i don't even know her name. but… someone who sincerely likes bad jokes has an integrity you can't just say 'no' to."

The air went still. The room grew colder. The candle's flame shrank to a mere ember, casting a long shadow over Sans' face.

"do you get what i'm saying?" he asked. "that promise i made to her… you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?" He watched Frisk for a moment, daring them to answer, before closing his eyes. "…buddy."

His eyes opened, the pricks of light completely snuffed out, two hollow sockets staring at Frisk. Chara could feel them shivering, the room going completely silent aside from the chattering of their teeth. And then…

"… Y o u ' d    b e    d e a d    w h e r e    y o u    s t a n d."

The world stilled. For a brief moment, nothing dared to move. Fire froze, voices went silent, the air refused to blow. There was nothing.

And then, as if nothing has happened at all, the spell ended. The candle's flame grew back to its full height in an instant, warmth and light returning to the restaurant. The sound of other monsters quietly chattering filled the air. Sans' expression returned to normal, a cheeky look in his eyes that made Chara's skin crawl.

"hey, lighten up bucko," he said casually, as if he were talking to a friend. "i'm just joking with you!"

He wasn't. Chara knew he wasn't. He… he really would have done it. He would have murdered Frisk in cold blood if Toriel hadn't begged him not to. There wasn't a doubt in their mind.

It was ironic. If it happened back in Snowdin, Chara wouldn't have cared. Frisk was an annoyance at best to them back then. But now? Hearing him say that Frisk meant nothing, that he would have cut them down without a second thought? It made Chara's blood boil. It made their soul scream, clawing at the void that held them prison, desperately trying to break free.

"besides, haven't i done a great job protectin' ya?" Sans asked. "not like you died or anything, right?" Chara could see Frisk just barely flinch at that, hardly noticeable at all. And yet, the moment they did, Sans tilted his head, adjusting himself the tiniest bit. "what's with that look?" he chuckled. "am i wrong? cuz if i am, gotta say, you pull off the 'walking corpse' look pretty well!"

Throughout the entire conversation, through all his jokes, Sans' face never changed, the same impassive grin stretching from ear to ear the entire time. Despite that, Chara could swear there was something in his eyes, the little white lights boring into Frisk, slowly ripping them apart stitch by stitch to see what was underneath. Chara wanted to desperately for him to unravel Frisk's chest, to let them out so they could reach across the table and strangle that deadbeat, good for nothing skeleton until the light in his eyes flickered away.

For what felt like forever, Sans silently stared at them, never breaking eye contact, never shifting or twitching or showing any signs of life or thought. And then, like nothing had ever happened, he closed his eyes and shrugged. Without another word, he pushed himself up, lazily stretching and walking around the table, his eyes trained on the exit.

"welp, i better be off," he said. "pap gets worried if he doesn't see me slacking off for too long."

He stopped for a second as he got to the other end of the table, standing next to Frisk, who was still staring straight ahead at where Sans was sitting. Chara was both resentful and thankful for the fact that they couldn't fully see Frisk's face, as what little they could gleam of their expression broke their heart.

Chara felt the slightest tap on Frisk's head, looking up to see Sans' mittened hand lightly ruffling their hair.

"take care of yourself kid. cuz there are some folks out there who really care for ya."

And then he was gone in a blink, as if he had never been there at all. His side of the table was completely clean, his plate spotless, knife and fork perfectly at its side, chair tucked in neatly. The only trace that he had ever stepped foot in the room was the quiet sniffling from a broken hearted child.

Chapter End

Chapter Text

Frisk

The hotel elevator that went straight to New Home was out of service. Because of course it was.

But it was fine. It was completely fine. Alphys told them that there was another elevator just inside the CORE. It wasn't quite a straight shot, but it would put them near the entrance to New Home, where Asgore's castle was.

Thing were still on track. Just a little bit delayed. They'd take the new elevator, make their way up to New Home, find their way to the castle, and confront Asgore. And if Papyrus was right, then they'd have a nice chat, and he would let them go home. And he had to be right. Papyrus was smart. He wouldn't lie to them. Not like his brother-

No, no, they weren't thinking about that. It was fine. Go to the CORE. Take the elevator. Find the castle. Talk to Asgore. Go home. Simple. Easy. It was fine. Everything was fine.

"Just ignore what he said."

Frisk screwed their eyes shut and bit their lip. Right, Chara could read their emotions. And of course, there was no way they couldn't comment on it. No, no, that would be too convinient.

"Leave it alone, Chara," they hissed, hoping to cut the conversation off before it really started. Chara, unfortunately, couldn't take a hint to save their life. 'Which explains why they're dead in the first place.'

"You're better off simply forgetting him," Chara continued. "Do not let his words bother you. After all, it seems he was never truly your friend anyways. You should not-"

"Will you just shut up!" Frisk snapped. "It's not like you know anything about being a good friend either!"

Sickly black and blue flooded Frisk's mind, an ugly bruise at the edge of their conciousness. Oh no. Too far, way too far! That had actually hurt Chara. They needed to backpeddle, quickly.

They took a deeeeeeeeeeeep breath, then ran a hand down their face. "I'm sorry," they said. "That was cruel. I didn't mean that." Chara didn't respond, but the bruise in their mind faded ever so slightly. "I just… can we just drop this? I don't wanna talk about it."

No response again, aside from a quiet hum, before Chara's presense faded into the back of Frisk's mind as they closed themself off.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' Frisk berated themself, punctuating each word by hitting their fist against their forehead. Why did they do that? Chara was just trying to help. And… maybe they were right. Sans was only there because he made some stupid promise to Toriel.

Did he even care? Did anything they talked about mean anything to him? Frisk wasn't blind. Sure, there was something off about him, but they still thought Sans was their friend! He was funny and cool, and his mysterious and aloof attitude made Frisk want to get to know him better. But apparently he didn't feel the same way.

Was he just humouring them? All of the jokes and laughs they shared, all of the encouraging smiles, were they fake? Was he just playing the part of the supportive guardian for a laugh? Maybe he found it funny, stringing Frisk along and making them think he cared. Maybe it was all one big joke! A way to make up for the fact that he wasn't allowed to slaughter them like cattle.

…Frisk decided they didn't want to think about it anymore.

"…I guess they take security seriously around here."

After letting Alphys know they were headed out, Frisk made their way towards the back of the resort, following the hallways towards the entrance to the CORE, something they found very easily with how much it stood out.

The entryway was blocked by a massive steel airlock that looked thick enough to make the people who built Fort Knox blush, the arch over it emblazed with the acronym CORE in bright red letters. To the side was a security console with a message on its screen demanding identification.

"They have to," Chara replied. "The Centre of Renewable Energy, or the CORE, is the source of all of the energy in the Underground. If something were to happen here, the entire Underground would go dark."

"Yeesh." Frisk pulled at their collar to fan their neck. "That doesn't seem smart. Shouldn't there be multiple power plants in case something goes wrong?"

"There used to be. The Steamworks, the Rapids Mill. But once the CORE was built, it simply generated too much power. The other plants became completely obselete, and having them online was considered more of a risk than a boon. Hence the need for such high security here."

Frisk made a face at that, but let the issue go, pulling their phone out of their pocket and pulling up an ID that Alphys had sent to them, holding it up to the screen. The console let out a few contemplentive beeps and blips before flashing green, a little white dog giving thumbs up appearing on the screen and yipping happily.

The massive steel doors let out a heavy *THUNK sound before slowly opening up, hissing as a blast of cool air rushed out, blowing Frisk's hair back and making them shiver, thankful that they had chosen to wear their sweater again.

They stepped through the door, taking in their first impression of the CORE with awe. The walls and floor of the room they were in were painted cobalt blue, patterns like circuit boards stitched into the metal flooring and neon lights filling the space. The power plant seemed to be a strange mix of futuristic and steampunk, with strange pillars holding up the roof that were covered in pulsing lights and screens displaying complicated technical jargon dotted here and there, while also having sections of the wall torn open, revealing copper cogs, heavily insulated wires, and pipes that shook and rattled, occasionally letting out bursts of steam.

Frisk slowly spun around as they took in the room. Vents on the ceiling flooded the space with cold air, strange glass tubes with multicoloured liquids bubbled near bits of machinery, numbers blurred across the screens at a breakneck pace. Just ahead, a pair of staircases on either side of the room lead up to a higher platform.

*Ring Ring, Ring Ring, Ring-

*Click

"H-hey! Alphys here!" she called as Frisk answered the phone. "I can see you on the security cameras! You're almost there! Just head up those stairs."

She didn't have to tell Frisk twice. They rushed over to the bottom of the stairs, not paying attention to where they were going, only to bump into a monster on his way down when they looked up from their phone. They almost fell backward, only just barely managing to catch themself.

"Oh geez, uh, sorry!" the monster said, reaching a hand out. "Are you alr- oh!" Suddenly, he froze, drawing his hand back. "Uh, you're okay, right?"

Frisk looked up at the monster, giving him a confused look. He kinda reminded them of a cat in a way. His ears and nose were distinctly feline, covered in dull orange fur. He looked pretty young — Frisk bet he couldn't be any older than twenty, despite the stress in his expression doing its best to make him look far older.

Looking him up and down, Frisk gave the monster a nod to confirm they were fine, getting concerned because he couldn't look them in the eye. Were they that intimidating? They always thought they looked really approchable.

The moment they did they confirmed they were fine, the monster slipped past them with a nervous chuckle. "Cool, great, glad to hear it, uh, I gotta go! Boss is waiting for me to, uh, yeah! Bye!"

He made a hasty exit, fumbling to pull a security pass out of his pocket and fiddling with the console on the side of the door. Frisk gave the monster another frown, watching as the door cluncked and hissed open again, letting him escape.

"Huh… that's odd."

Frisk looked down at their phone, making a little noise of confusion. Alphys apparently heard them, because she continued talking.

"I-I don't recognize him," she said. "There sh-shouldn't be anyone here except for the CORE workers and maintenance crew."

"A new employee?" Frisk typed into their phone. Alphys seemed to consider that for a second before making a noise of disagreement.

"I should still know them though!" she argued. "I'm a-always a part of the sc-screening process!" Frisk could hear her rapidly tapping away at her keyboard through the speaker, frantically searching for something. "A-and their ID! It's only a day old! T-there's no w-way that anyone sh-should be able to get cl-clearance that quickly! The screening process is r-really thorough! Only the most qualified are supposed to be in here!"

"Does that usually include immortal pre-teens?"

Alphys seemed to think about it a moment longer, then let out a huff. "I-it's fine," she said. "I'll sort it out l-later."

Something about the situation still ate away at Frisk, but they had more important things to worry about, so they continued forward. As they started making their way up the stairs, they could make out the top of an elevator door, flanked on both sides by hallways leading to more heavy security doors.

"See that elevator?" Alphys asked. "That's y-your ticket out! Ride it all the way to the top!"

There, see? Nice and simple. Frisk quickly made their way up the rest of the stairs, quickly crossing the room and hopping to a halt in front of the elevator, a grin on their face. Their hand darted to the side, pressing the 'Up' button with a triumphant flourish.

…

Frisk continued staring at the elevator, their eyes darting left and right nervously for a moment. No response. The button didn't light up like they usually do, and there wasn't any monitor that showned a sign of the elevator coming down. Maybe monster elevators didn't do that? But Frisk didn't hear any movement behind the doors either.

They… must not have pressed the button hard enough. Of course. Frisk pressed the button again, this time making sure to hold it firmly until they heard a *Click. Right, that definitely did it!

…

*Click

…

*Click

…

*Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click

"Frisk-"

"WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?!?"

"Wh-what's going on?" Alphys asked, sounding just as confused, though not nearly as frustrated. "The elevator sh-should be working!" She stalled for a second. "It's fine! We'll j-just have to take a detour! Head through the door on the right and keep going up!"

Right, yeah. Just a little detour. It was fine. It was all fine. All they had to do was walk over to the door on the right, hold up their phone to the scanner to open it, and walk straight through to-

"LOOK OUT!"

Strings tightened around every inch of their body, yanking them backwards with enough force to send them toppling over. Frisk almost snapped at Chara for taking control without saying anything, until they saw what was ahead of them.

Namely, absolutely nothing.

On the other side of the door was nothing but a massive pit, a sheer drop into darkness that looked neverending. They could hear Alphys sputtering through their phone, sounding just as confused as they were.

"Wha- that pit isn't on my map!" she yelled. "Why isn't it updated properly?"

"How could the layout change so much that there's just a massive pit where there used to be a room?!" Frisk asked incredulously, any anger they felt towards Chara quickly turning to indignant frustration.

"Quite easily," Chara answered in their monotone 'Teacher Mode' voice. "The CORE was designed so that every room could be shifted around, allowing the entire structure to be altered in any way. Every room is attached to tracks that allow them to be moved to any other position within the building."

Frisk's jaw dropped at that explanation. That was insane! It was sci-fi level technology. But then, so were fully sentient robots and phones that could turn into jetpacks. They were starting to figure out that monster technology was leagues above what humans had. Maybe it was because of the way they mixed magic and technology together? Or just the desperation of their situation. Restraint was the key to innovation, or whatever that quote was.

"That's… wow."

"Indeed. The creator was something of a mad genius. His ideas were certainly out there, but they always managed to work perfectly."

"Wait, Alphys didn't build the CORE?"

"No, it was constructed even before I fell, and I had never even met Alphys. She was not the royal scientist at the time."

"Who was?"

"It was…" Chara's voice trailed off, a hint of confusion in their voice. "The Royal Scientist, he was… he… his name was… he…" They went completely silent, a dull static filling Frisk's mind, buzzing at their ears, making their vision waver slightly.

"Chara?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes. Apologies, I must have zoned out. What were we talking about?"

Frisk stared forward, feeling absolutely baffled. Was this some kind of joke? "You were telling me about the Royal Scientist."

"Was I?" Chara asked. "I don't recall. Nor do I see why I would. I know as much about Alphys as you do."

"Wha- no, not Alphys! The one before Alphys!"

"The one before?" Chara hummed in thought. "Yes… yes I suppose there must have been one. I haven't a clue who it was though. I never spent much time in Hotland after all."

"But you said-"

"Hello? Are you listening?"

Frisk startled at Alphys voice. Right, she was still there. How long had they been sitting there for? She must have been getting concerned. They nodded their head, knowing that Alphys could see them thanks to the cameras.

"Oh thank god," she breathed. "You were just staring ahead blankly! Are you okay? I-I know that was scary, so if you need a minute we can-" Frisk shook their head rapidly. No, they were fine. They just wanted to get this over with. "O-oh! Um, okay, if you say so? Uh, so, um… you should go through the door on the left! Th-there should be a way forward there." Frisk could just barely hear her say "I hope," under her breath.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Chara said as Frisk got up and started heading down the other hallway.

"Please don't."

"Don't? Don't what?"

"Don't have a bad feeling."

"…why?"

"Because you're usually right, and I really don't need that right now."

Chara snickered, and despite everything Frisk managed to laugh a little bit themself, the sound drowned out by the airlock opening. They stepped through into a long rectangular room, the floor they were on raised high above a large expanse. Pillars stretched out of the darkness below, tubes running up their lengths, pulsing like veins as liquid flowed through them from far below.

"Oh thank goodness," Alphys sighed. "Oh, uh, I mean, there, see! Now you just need to keep going forward, and you should eventually- LOOK OUT!"

Frisk obeyed without question, dropping into a duck, their phone slipping from their hand and clattering to the floor as something *WHOOSHED over their head. They looked up to see a monster floating in the air; humanoid in shape aside from the fact that it was lacking arms and that its limbs weren't connected to its body, simply floating nearby like Ray-man. It was dressed in what Frisk could best describe as a mix between a wizard's and a jester's outfit, wearing a pointed hat and curled boots, all dyed a deep purple.

The monster cackled maniacally, doing a little spin in the air, a pair of purple spheres hovering over its shoulders.

"Alakazam!"

One of the orbs shot forward towards Frisk, who hopped to the right to dodge as it swerved past them before stopping mid-flight, glowing for a moment before firing off a barrage of projectiles in the shape of crosses. Frisk ducked and weaved as the orb zipped around, blasting them from all directions. Searing pain shot through Frisk as one clipped their waist, another their shoulder, sending shockwaves through their soul.

Suddenly, the orb faltered in the air before flying back to the monster, returning to its spot near its shoulder. The monster laughed again, the sound making Frisk feel dizzy, muddling their mind. They neede to finish this quickly.

"Hocus pocus!" the monster shouted, the second orb flying out to smash into Frisk. This time, they stood their ground, hastily ripping off their sweater, holding it out like a matador's cape. Right before the orb crashed into their stomach, they spun to the side, grabbing both ends of their sweater and holding it in the orb's path, folding it over and trapping it.

The orb thrashed and fought to escape its cloth prison, but Frisk held fast, holding it tight. The monster let out an indignant squak, its pointed face twisting into a sneer.

"Please and thank you!" it growled, readying another attack. But Frisk didn't give it the chance, rushing towards it themself to its surprise. It immediately flew backwards as Frisk got within striking distance, hoping to dodge their attack. But Frisk wasn't aiming for it.

Instead, they whipped their sweater, unfurling it just enough that they could trap the second orb before quickly twisting it closed again, holding it close to their stomach to keep a better grip as the orbs both fought to get out.

They turned on their heel, running back the way they came towards the door they came through. The monster immediately gave chase, flying after them at breakneck speed. Realizing they wouldn't make it, Frisk skidded to a halt a short distance away from the exit, turning into a spin to build momentum, then releasing their grip on one end of the sweater, opening the prison and sending both orbs flying into the previous room, then dropping to the ground as fast as they could.

Just as they hoped, the monster flew straight past them, unable to stop itself fast enough. Frisk jumped to their feet again, running to the security console that controlled the door and pressing down on it hard, the door slamming closed just in time to stop the monster from getting back in, a loud *THUD sounding out as they smashed into the cold steel.

Frisk could hear beeping from the other side of the door, realizing with a hiss that the monster probably had a security pass. They took off running, hoping to get to the other side of the room before it got the chance to catch up with them.

"Oh no you don't!" Alphys yelled loud enough to Frisk to hear. Suddenly, there was a loud and angry BZZZZZ coming from the door, the steel jaws remaining shut. Frisk watched the door for a moment, panting, waiting in anticipation. To their surprise and relief it remained shut.

They let out a breath, jogging to the middle of the room and picking up their phone. "What did you do?" they typed with a smile.

"I-I locked their ID!" Alphys cheered, sounding incredibly proud of herself. "Don't w-worry! It doesn't have clearance anymore! Me-meaning it's stuck!"

"You're amazing!"

Frisk could practically hear Alphys blushing, easily able to picture her scaly face growing coloured. "Psssh, naw! I-it was nothing!" She went quiet for a moment. "Madjick," she muttered. "How did it get clearance? That definitely wasn't one of our w-workers!"

That much was obvious. Madjick, if that was its real name, was definitely a fighter. And it must have recognized Frisk instantly, considering how quick it was to attack. Was it here for them? That complicated things.

"Is it Royal Guard?" they asked. That would explain why it was after them. Unfortunately, Alphys was quick to shut that idea down.

"No! It can't be! Royal Guard members h-have their own special ID to get in for security r-reasons! But this one is brand new."

Brand new… just like that other suspicious monster that they bumped into. Which meant…

"Are there any more?" Frisk asked despite already knowing the answer. Alphys started loudly tapping away at her keyboard again, the sound of a very annoyed computer beeping through their phone speaker.

"…I-I don't think y-you're gonna like the answer."

"So yes."

"…yeah." Frisk groaned at her answer. "There are bunch of IDs all made at the same time, and I can see that they're all over the place. I can lock their ID so they can't move around, but I can't do anything to g-get them out! U-usually I'd call the R-Royal Guard for that, but, um, well-"

"They'd murder me on sight."

"Yes, th-that."

Frisk really hated being right.

"It's a good thing you aren't right very often then, isn't it?"

Frisk also hated that Chara could read their thoughts.

"B-but don't worry!" Alphys said with forced cheer. "I'll stay on on the line with you the whole time! I won't leave you alone." That made Frisk feel a little better, even if they wouldn't really be alone without her. "…it's the least I can do."

…what was that supposed to mean?

"W-why are the security measures online?"

Frisk wasn't sure why Alphys was surprised at this point, but they weren't going to stop someone who was expressing frustration for them instead of towards them. It was nice to have someone on their side for once.

"Hey!"

"You don't count.You're in my head; you have to support me."

"We both know that is far from the truth."

"Okay, so, um, see that button on the wall?" Frisk looked over, seeing a nice, big, red, juicy button that looked extremely pressable, positioned a short distance away from the forcefield blocking the way forward. "I-it's primed to activate a trio of laser drones as soon as you press it. It's supposed to help incapacitate intruders that don't know about the trap."

"…couldn't they just make it so you can't open the forcefield without a valid ID?"

"Oh yes, Frisk, because that's worked very well so far."

"Fair."

"B-but don't worry!" Alphys continued. "They're just like the ones back in Hotland! Just s-stand still for the cyan ones, and move through the or-orange ones! Um…" More clicking keyboard sounds. "Right! So the pattern is orange-orange-cyan! So move through the first two, and s-stay still for the last one."

Frisk nodded, repeating the order through their head a few times to make sure it stuck. Orange-orange-cyan, orange-orange-cyan, move-move-stay. They hopped up and down and rolled their shoulders, limbering themself up. When they were ready, the hit the button with the side of their fist, charging ahead to-

Their soul screamed out in pain as they ran straight through a cyan laser swept through their chest, their soul hammering out of beat with their heart. Frisk let out a pained scream, falling to their hands knees mid-run, clutching at their chest. Another drone flew past them, the cyan laser thankfully passing through them harmlessly as they sat still, but-

'If the first two were wrong, then…'

Frisk looked up just in time to see a blur of orange fill their vision, screaming out again as the third laser ripped through them, something deep inside them cracking, fractures erupting along their soul as it-

"This can't be the end, Chara! Please, you have to stay determined!"

"Right! So the pattern is orange-orange-cyan! So move through the first two, and s-stay still for the last one."

Frisk nodded, trying to keep their face neutral and not betray their frustration. It had been a while since they died, so they'd forgotten how much it sucked. The indescribable pain of having their soul shatter into shards of glass, the feeling of nothingness as they floated through the void, the disorientation of suddenly finding themself alive and unharmed, their mind taking a minute to catch up and remember where they were. It was horrible.

Chara, of course, started fretting over them instantly as soon as they were back. In a way, it was nice to see how much they cared. They had come a long way. Though Frisk would rather that seeing Chara's affection didn't come at the cost of their literal life.

Luckily, they hadn't rewound too far back, their powers bringing them back to just before they fought Madjick, who was easier the second go around. Frisk was really hoping there wouldn't be a third.

Remembering what they learned last time, Frisk slammed the side of their fist against the button and froze. They could vaguely hear Alphys yell out in surprise from their phone - something they missed last time - as cyan lasers washed over them. One, two, then Frisk leapt forward, quickly sliding through the orange laser and coming out the other side unharmed.

"O-oh my god!" Alphys shrieked. "Are you okay?" Frisk gave a curt nod, hiding their sigh of relief. "I'm so sorry! I gave you the wrong order. I-I thought- I mean it said-" Her panicked breathing cut out suddenly. "I-its fine! Everything's fine! I have this completely under control!"

She sounded worried- no, she was worried. Of course she was, Frisk had almost gotten hurt! She had every reason to be worried about her friend. But Frisk couldn't help but let their mind wander. Had she done that on purpose? Did she want to hurt them? She wouldn't do that. She wouldn't betray them like Sans-

'No, no, no! Stop it!' Frisk yelled at themself. 'Alphys is different! She cares! She has done nothing but help you! She's concerned about you, and she's doing her best to help. So stop being stupid and just trust her.'

To their surprise, Chara didn't chime in aside from a quiet, curious hum, royal purple flowing at the edge of their soul. Good. Frisk didn't need another argument. They just had to keep going. Trust Alphys. Get to the end. It would be fine.

They were fine.

Frisk was starting to think that the CORE was never-ending.

They had spent the past few minutes wandering through hallway after hallway, stepping around random futuristic structures and ducking under tubes and pipes that snaked out of the walls. It felt like they were making negative progress, the hallways starting to blend together as they moved from corridor to corridor, walking up and down slopes so often they lost track of whether they were any higher or lower than they started.

"I swear we passed that pipe before!"

"You've said that five times, and you've been wrong every time."

"This time I'm-"

"-extra sure; indeed, you said that last time too."

Frisk huffed in annoyance. turning another corner, a grin breaking out on their face at what they saw.

"A crossroads," Alphys noted. Two paths were ahead, one going straight ahead, the other shooting off to Frisk's left.

Finally! Something different! Maybe that meant they were actually making some progress! One way had to lead to the exit, right? The CORE could only be so big. They had to be close!

"Um… tr- try going straight ahead!" Alphys said. Frisk happily obliged, practically dancing as they skipped over the left path. "W-wait!" Alphys called once Frisk was only a few steps ahead. "No, I think you should h-head up!"

Frisk frowned at their phone, before thinking about it a bit more. Everything first option Alphys had picked so far had been wrong. So if her first instinct was for them to head forward, then maybe she was right to tell them to take the left path instead?

Their mind made up, Frisk decided to follow her advice, doubling back and heading down the other hallway, following it down a bend and finding themself before another steel door. Yes! They hadn't seen a door in ages! That had to mean they were somewhere important! No more hallways! Frisk eagerly pulled up their ID and held it up to the nearby console, bouncing on their heels as they waited for the door to open.

*THUNK

*HISSSSsssssssss

The metal slid out of the way, and immediately a long shadow was cast over Frisk, their body freezing in place when they came face to face with… a face. Specifically, a bird's face, a yellow beak poking out with two eyes above it, the entire thing surrounded by metal. Frisk slowly tilted their head up, taking in the monster that was now towering over them.

In turn, the goliath of a monster looked down at them. She was covered head to toe in heavy looking plate armour, painted a deep blue with yellow highlights and trims. A pair of horns curled out of her helmet, her piercing yellow eyes staring down at them from behind the darkness of her visor. The bird-like face that Frisk saw at first took up the entirety of her abdomen, the eyes taking up the space where her chest should have been. The beak opened up, revealing a fifth eye, a low voice whispering out from it.

"Hello, little human," she said with a tired voice. "And goodbye." She reared her arm back, at which point Frisk noted the massive black morningstar in her hand, which was quickly finding its way toWARDS THEIR FACE.

"DOWN!" Chara yelled as strings wrapped around Frisk's shoulders, pulling hard and forcing Frisk to duck just in time for the morningstar to pass over them with a loud *CRASHHH as it slammed into the console, sending sparks and shards of metal out.

Frisk scrambled back the way they came, cursing under their breath and making sure not to take their eyes off the monster as she pulled her weapon from the crumpled metal, slamming the butt of it on the ground and shaking the hallway. She held her free arm out, magic coalescing at her palm into what looked like a miniature sun, the fire holding it together bubbling at the surface, begging for release.

'NOPE! Not dealing with that!' Frisk immediately booked it, running back down the hallway, their shoes squeaking as they skidded on the smooth floor to quickly turn the corner and hide from the barrage of fire, hissing as a few embers managed to singe their cheek, bringing back memories they would rather forget.

Hearing her metallic footsteps getting closer, Frisk ran as fast as they could, making their way back to the crossroads and going down the path they ignored. When they reached another door, they practically slapped their phone onto the console to open it, their head whipping back and forth, going between watching their back as the footsteps got closer and closer, and the door that was opening far too slowly!

When it finally opened Frisk rushed inside, finding themself in a room filled with massive pillars that pulsed with magical light.

*STOMP STOMP STOMP

The footsteps were too close, there was no way Frisk would get to the other side of the room in time, and definitely no way to open the door before she found them. Not seeing another option, Frisk dashed to the side, hiding behind a random pillar, their thumb pressing down harshly on their phone to hang up on Alphys before she gave up their hiding spot.

*STOMP STOMP STOMP…. STOMP… STOMP… STOMP

"…where are you, little human?" the monster taunted. "Come out, come out, where-" Her voice was cut off by a massive yawn. "-wherever you are."

Frisk held their hand over their mouth to muffle the sound of their breathing, pressing their back flat against the pillar they were behind, trying to make themself as small as possible. They didn't dare peak around to watch her, instead listening to her footsteps to try and guess where she was. The moment it sounded like she was getting further away, Frisk sprinted to a new hiding spot as quickly and quietly as they could, trying to get closer and closer to the exit.

"Come out, human," she continued, letting out another yawn. "Don't make this more difficult than it-" Another yawn. "-than it needs to be."

Her yawns were contagious, Frisk finding themself letting one out too despite not being anywhere near tired. They narrowed their eyes, mind whirling as they came up with an idea.

The next time they moved to a new hiding spot, Frisk started tapping away at their phone, sending Alphys a text.

"need u to send me a lullaby, ASAP!!!"

Alphys thankfully didn't ask any questions, instead just sending a music file over. Frisk quickly pulled it up, turning their phone up to full volume and clicking play. Soft music filled the air, a gentle symphony echoing off the walls, merging with the rhythmic pulsing of the pillars.

The monster made a confused sound, her footsteps coming to a halt. "What is this?" she asked. "Do you truly think tha-" A yawn. "-that this will-" And another. "-this will… will…"

Her voice trailed off, quickly turning into nothing more than quiet mumbles. Frisk dared to peak out from their hiding spot, seeing that she had fallen to one knee, all of her eyes drooping as she fought to stay awake. But alas, the call of sleep was too strong, and before long she had fallen into a deep slumber, snoring loudly enough to drown out the music.

Frisk quietly crept forward, moving slowly as they looked her over, making sure she was really asleep. They waved a hand in front of her face, and then in front of the face on her chest, holding back a sigh of relief. Slowly, ever so slowly, they back up, heading towards the room's exit, scanning their ID to open the door, wincing with every noise it made. They really hoped that the monster was a deep sleeper, or else they would be in big-

*RING RING, RING-

Frisk fumbled to press the 'Accept Call' button opening their mouth to hiss at Alphys until she screamed "LOOK OUT!"

The hairs on the back of their neck jumped to attention, and Frisk ducked to the side, a familiar looking orb flying past where they just were. They looked back and saw Madjick flying towards them, cackling the entire way.

"It again?!?"

"The door's open! Go go go!"

Frisk didn't need to be told twice, quickly scrambling through and slapping the console to close the door behind them. The metal slammed shut, Frisk panting hard as they watched to make sure the monster didn't follow them.

"There, I locked it out again," Alphys said through their phone. "T-that was too close." Frisk couldn't help but agree. "H-how did its ID get reinstated? I-is there someone else in the s-system?"

Frisk was wondering the same thing. This obviously wasn't Alphys' doing, no matter what the dark part of their mind said. If she had any part of this, she wouldn't be working this hard to try and keep them safe. So… who was pulling the strings?

"I don't know what's going on," Alphys continued, "b-but I think you should hurry." Not wanting to deal with either of those monsters again, Frisk quickly did so, making their way down…

…another hallway. Joy.

Frisk had always wanted to crawl through an air vent. Sneaking through a building, going straight over the heads of unsuspecting bad guys, listening to their evil plans from above — they wanted it all! But while they were small, they weren't small enough to fit in any vents up on the surface, since people generally didn't make them with the idea that people would move through them. But in the Underground, their dream could finally come true!

…frankly, it didn't live up to their expectations.

"You know," they grunted as they struggled to move through the vent, the walls squishing them uncomfortably as they moved their arms bit by bit, dragging themselves forward, "spy movies make this look so much easier than it really is!"

"Oh dear, what an unsuspected surprise; something portrayed in a movie is unrealistic. Truly, this is a shocking revelation."

"You could at least try to sound sympathetic!"

"Quite frankly, I do not care enough to make the attempt."

"Okay, you're almost there! Just take a right here and you should be out," Alphys instructed, her voice far too loud as it bounced and echoes around the cramped space. Frisk did as they were told, slowly inching through the passage.

"Look on the bright side," Chara said. "Perhaps this experience will make you more resilient in the future. Besides, surely things cannot get any more uncomfortable."

Frisk turned another corner, right into a dead end.

"…oh, um… maybe you were supposed to go left?"

"Oh dear, I must have jinxed it. My apologies."

Frisk let out a long groan, hitting their head against the metal floor to try and get rid of the overpowering orange that filled their mind. If they weren't having fun, Chara didn't get to either.

A fun fact that Frisk learned: running away from an angry flying eyeballs while simultaneously dodging blasts of magic and trying not to fall into a vat of molten lava was NOT a fun experience! For multiple reasons!

First of all, magic hurt. Like a lot. So that wasn't fun.

Secondly, lava was really hot! Uncomfortably so! Even more so when the aforementioned blasts of magic sent globules of it flying around, forcing Frisk to duck and weave to avoid getting melted into a pile of skin and sludge.

And thirdly-

"Go left! Left!"

"Ignore her, go right!"

'WILL YOU BOTH PLEASE BE QUIET?'

"DUCK!" "DUCK!"

-everyone had an opinion on what they should be doing.

"Come on, come one!" the monster cheered from above as he flung around more and more magic "Stand still, stand still! It'll be so much easier to kill you that way!"

Including him. Frisk liked his opinion the least.

Why was there a door controlled by a Galaga minigame?

"I-it's been great for morale!" Alphys argued. She notably didn't answer Frisk's question. "Don't worry! This room is only used during normal work days. It gets put away d-during important shifts!"

That still didn't answer Frisk's question, but it did distract them for long enough to get them shot by an alien ship. 'Dammit.'

"Ugh, not another laser trap!" Alphys complained, mirroring Frisk's rising frustrations. It didn't help that trap was entirely excessive.

For the first time in a decent while, Frisk was outside, along bridge stretched out before them that connected one section of the CORE to another, standing high over an expanse of bubbling lava. Pumps and tubes lined the walls of the structure around them, draining magma from the lake below and dragging it off somewhere far away. Clouds of steam rose up like pillars to the heavens on both sides of the bridge, and to Frisk's dismay, a swarm of familiar drones zipped around through the air, diving in an out of the steam, curling over and under the bridge, as if they were children playing in the air.

There was no way they were getting past this unscathed. Frisk struggled with three lasers before, and they couldn't even count how many there were this time!

"T-that's it!" Alphys said with defiance. "I'm not messing around t-this time! I'm just going to deactivate the bots entirely!"

She fervently tapped away at her keyboard for a minute, Frisk waiting patiently though growing more and more worried as she continued making annoyed noises.

" T-they won't turn off!" She complained. "Why… n-no! It's fine! I have this under control! I'll just cut the power to this sector! That should put the bots in standby mode to preserve energy!"

Frisk could perfectly picture Alphys sitting at her computer, her glasses obscured in white light as if she were an anime character as she glared at her monitor, green text flashing over a black background as she hacked the system, completing her task by hitting the enter button as hard as she could, followed by…

…the sound of machinery dying, a low *Bwoooooo sounding out as the bots powered down, ceasing their movement as they hovered in the air, the glow of their lens fading to a dull light.

"Hah!" Alphys laughed. "T-take that, you stupid machines!" Frisk whooped and pumped a fist in the air, cheering her on. "Okay, you should be safe to cross now!"

Frisk didn't need to be told twice. They immediately booked it across the bridge, their boots thunking on the metal below them. Finally, an easy solution! They were starting to get tired of the constant struggle to make any progress, so they happily took the win, making their way across the expanse as quickly as they-

"W-WAIT! STOP, STOP, STOP!!!!"

Alphys' pure panic made Frisk grind to a halt, their boots scuffing and squeaking on the metal below as they looked down at their phone just in time to see a beam of cyan look shoot through their arm. Their eyes went wide as another joined it, and another, and another, and another, until Frisk's body was being assaulted by magical light on all side, stabbing through the side of their head, their chest, their legs, their heart, completely painlessly, but patiently, eagerly waiting for them to move.

Waiting to tear their soul asunder.

A quiet sob came from their phone, Alphys' voice filled with despair. "Th-the node… it's cycling. It's turning the power back on." Frisk could hear her slam her desk in frustration. "D-damn it!" she cried. "Th-this isn't supposed to…"

She cut herself off quickly. Frisk could just barely hear her trying to stifle her sobs, working to compose herself. They wanted to try and comfort her, but they didn't dare to move, didn't dare to even think too hard lest it make them twitch even the slightest amount. Their lungs screamed as they held their breath, their legs ached and begged to shudder, their eyes were fixed on the phone, hoping that Alphys could save them.

"I-I'm going to shut off the power again!" she eventually said, faux confidence dripping from her voice. "But I don't th-think it'll stay off for long. Wh-when the b-bots shut down, move a-a little, a-and th-then STOP." She gulped loudly, her stutter getting worse.. "I… y-you won't get h-h-hurt! I p-p-p-promise!"

Frisk's eyes twitched up, shifting from the phone to the bots around them as they waited. Seconds that felt like minutes passed, until eventually the bots powered down again, the lasers flickering out. Frisk almost immediately collapsed, sucking in a deep breath and forcing themself to stay upright.

They took off, making sure not to run too fast so they could quickly come to a stop. The lasers flicked back on a second after they stopped, then flicked on again. On, off, on off, on, off, as Frisk ran for their life, playing the worst game of Red-Light Green-Light they could think of.

By the time they made it across the bridge, they were completely out of breath, practically crumpling in on themself as they dropped to the floor, holding a hand against their chest as they took gulping breaths to make up for them constantly trying not to breathe, the thick steam filled air doing nothing to help their starving lungs.

Alphys let out a sigh of relief. "Th-there, see! I've got everything under control!" Her breath hitched. "E-everything is under control. I… I've got this!"

They immediately hated themself for it, but Frisk couldn't stop their mind from bitterly asking if she did. If this was "under control", Frisk really didn't want to see what happened when she lost it.

"She's doing her best," Chara reasoned. A day ago, Frisk would have loved to hear them say that, but at that moment it did nothing but make them even angrier, their face puffing out and turning red.

"Oh, NOW you trust her!" they snapped. "Are you serious? You've been on her case ever since we met her, despite her doing NOTHING but trying to help us, telling me I'm stupid to trust her, but all of a sudden you decide she's fine? Is it because I got hurt? Because she got me killed? What, is me getting hurt mandatory for you to like someone? Will you like her more if she accidentally drops me into the lake below us?!"

That was absolutely the wrong thing to say. Frisk could feel the anger radiating from Chara, violent red flooding the edges of their vision like shifting shadows. But something was smothering it, trying to hold it back, like a fire blanket over a raging inferno. They were trying so hard to hold themself back, Frisk could tell.

"…I stand by what I said before," Chara grounded out, sounding like they were gritting their teeth, subdued anger held back with careful restraint. "However, the situation has changed. Alphys' actions are different to before. More genuine. Certainly far less suspicious."

"So you were wrong?"

"I said no such thing. In fact, if you were paying attention at all, you would know I said the opposite." Frisk felt a flash of annoyance, but did their best to hold it back. "But paying attention is hardly your forte, is it? If it were, you would not find yourself in anywhere near as much trouble as you do."

Chara was making it extremely difficult to not snap at them again.

Frisk forced their eyes shut, taking in deep, calming breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. In for four, out for eight. In, and out. In, and out. The hot air stung their throat, but they forced it down all the same, letting the heat distract them from the fire in their gut.

In and out. In and out.

They couldn't tell how long they sat there, but they eventually felt themself calming down. Unpleasant emotions still bubbled under the surface, but they felt like they were in control of themself again.

"I'm sorry," they sighed. They struggled to come up with an excuse or an explanation, something to make their apology seem more genuine. Luckily, it seemed they didn't need to, the scarlet finally starting to fade a bit more.

"…you are forgiven," Chara said with their monotone voice, despite bits of anger still dripping from their soul. "I am hardly in a position to judge. It is well known that I can be… difficult when I am upset. You are a saint by comparison."

That was an understatement, but Frisk certainly wasn't going to say it. They took another deep breath. Everything was fine. Alphys was doing her best to help them, guiding them through the CORE. Chara was finally starting to trust her. Frisk was still alive, and just like they had hoped, they had come out of the last trap unscathed, despite the unforeseen difficulties. It was fine. Everything… was…

…fine.

Frisk was starting to make real progress. They could feel it!

The further they went, the more the path brought them up and up, scaling maintenance ladders and running up far too steep ramps. New Home was above Hotland, right? That meant they were going the right way. They were getting close!

And Alphys was getting more and more nervous. Her stutter was getting worse, she was giving less directions, leaving Frisk to make decisions on their own unless there wasn't an apparent way forward. When she did chime in, her advice was often wrong, forcing her to find a different solution.

It was frustrating. But even still, despite their annoyance, Frisk appreciated Alphys' help. They wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as they had without her. They needed her!

…which made it all the worse when she abandoned them.

"I-I don't know," she shamefully admitted. "Th-this doesn't look a-a-anything like m-my map." She quietly sniffled, her voice sounding so broken. "I'm s-sorry. I… I… I have to go."

Frisk felt their heart drop like lead, their eyes blowing out. They grabbed their phone desperately with both shaking hands, bringing it as close to their mouth as they could, mustering every bit of will they could.

"WAI-"

*Click

…she hung up.

'So much for not leaving me alone.'