Yup, I'm into Undertale now. I'm so in love with the characters and story, so I can't help but write things for/about it.

For those who follow me for The Greatest Promise, don't worry; I will finish it. I just got distracted by Undertale and life, but the plot has long been finished and all that's left is to write it out. It might still be a little while I work on some other projects, but it will be finished! Thanks for your support and patience.

Enjoy, and please leave a review! I love writing these snippets, so I may continue this "story" into a bunch of Storyshift oneshots. Feel free to leave suggestions of what you'd like to see! ^^

(I obviously don't own Undertale; Toby Fox does.)

"Guardian"

Summary: Chara's been Frisk's guardian and protector since the kid first became the Ambassador for Monsters. The job is relatively easy for Chara, but when her past finally starts to catch up with her, she finds that even she needs protection sometimes.

Genres: Suspense, Friendship

Rated T for intensity

Chara watched Frisk from a distance, keeping her eyes on the kid like a hawk. To anyone passing by she looked like someone wasting time on their phone while sitting on the park bench, her green hood up so her face couldn't be seen from the side or back. In reality, the phone wasn't on at all, but Chara occasionally pretended like she was hitting buttons to keep up the illusion that she wasn't on guard. This was far from the first time Chara and Frisk had done things like this and it usually turned out well, but sometimes things went sour. That's why Chara was there, watching for anything potentially dangerous to happen.

Even from this distance, Chara could tell that Frisk was nervous by the way the kid's shoulders were slightly rigid. No one else would likely notice such a small detail, but Chara had come to know Frisk extremely well over the past year, and knew the kid's mannerisms and quirks like the back of her hand.

Despite the obvious warning signs of this group of protesters, Frisk had insisted on hearing them out and offering what she could of her services to them. With her impressive knack for negotiating and turning hostile situations to ones of peace and understanding, Frisk had always made a point since becoming the Ambassador for Monsters to hear everyone's concerns regarding monster and human interactions and do what she could to resolve any issues that came up. Through this process, a lot of grief and violence had been avoided and humans had come to start accepting monsterkind.

That was most of the time, but there were the periodic instances when humans were too hard-headed and obstinate to consider peace. Chara worried now that this was going to be one of those times, and she purposely looked casual and relaxed so no one would guess that she was ready to spring at a moment's notice.

Frisk was standing a few feet away from the group of adults she was talking to, but one of them stepped toward her. Chara read his hostile body language and realized he was raising his voice in anger. Frisk calmly answered him, but he wasn't having any of it. He started toward Frisk and reached to grab her, but Chara wasn't going to let him get the chance.

She summoned her magic and teleported in between Frisk and him. Frisk, used to Chara's magic, gave no reaction to the sudden appearance, but the guy was totally startled and he stumbled backwards, his supposed friends catching him as he almost backed into them.

"What the heck?! How did you—"

"If I were you, I wouldn't lay a hand on the Ambassador of Monsters," Chara warned. Her stance was somewhat relaxed, with her hands on her pant pockets, but her tone was dangerous. She wanted them to know that Frisk wasn't to be messed with.

Though most of the group got the message, a few of them just got angrier. Chara sighed inwardly, not surprised but rather tired of these humans already.

"What's wrong with you, butting into our business like that?!" the guy that had gone towards Frisk retorted, now recovered and standing his full height, which was a bit taller than Chara.

She was unfazed. "I think the better question is what's wrong with you, advancing on a kid like that? Don't you realize that she's just trying to help you?"

As Chara expected, he had no logical answer; he was just taking his anger out on the Ambassador because he thought he could.

"Help us?" he shot back. "The monsters are pests that need to be exterminated. By letting them out she just—"

That struck a nerve. "Pests?" Chara growled, anger boiling in her blood. She fingered her knife in her pocket until she felt Frisk put a hand on her shoulder, willing her to calm down. That brought Chara away from pulling out her knife, but she wasn't about to let this guy go scot-free.

"Sounds to me like you're basing your opinions on what others say," she replied. "Have you ever talked to the monsters yourself?"

His face scrunched in disgust. "Of course not! I don't go within reach of those filthy beasts if I can help it!"

Ah, so that was why Frisk couldn't get through to him. He was just another human dead-set in his ways. It was clear to Chara that this wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, that's too bad." Chara glanced at Frisk and the kid walked to Chara's side, grabbing Chara's offered hand. "The monsters are giving you a chance, so I would suggest you do the same for them. You're not the one who was trapped under a mountain for centuries."

Without waiting for a response, Chara teleported away with Frisk, leaving the guy fuming at the air.

The duo reappeared a fair distance away, and Frisk looked up at Chara gratefully.

"Thank you," the Ambassador said, smiling. "Those guys refused to listen to anything I had to say."

Chara smiled back. "I'm your guardian for a reason. That group isn't worth your time."

Thankfully, though there were a few groups like the one they'd just escaped, there were many more people that supported Frisk and the return of the monsters. In this case, the minority definitely wouldn't win, at least in their attempts to stop monsters from rejoining humans on the Surface. If there was one thing Chara knew about Frisk, it was that she wanted peace between the races and she was determined to make it happen, despite those against her. The past year had had plenty of bumps in the road, but Frisk almost always ended up on top now. The kid had really learned a lot from her time being the Ambassador for Monsters.

"Alright, let's head home, Frisk," Chara suggested, ruffling the kid's hair playfully and grinning at her flustered reaction before walking away.

"Hey!" Frisk swatted at Chara's hand, smiling despite herself as she hurried to catch up. "I have an image to keep up, you know."

Chara chuckled as they walked. "Of course I know. That's why I do it."

Frisk ran ahead. "Try to keep up!" she taunted, getting all determined again.

Chara grinned and chased after her, glad that she'd recovered quickly from the group's hostility towards her and was being herself again.

She was stopped abruptly when someone grabbed her hood, catching her off guard and halting her run. Oh edge now, Chara spun and swung her arm up, hitting the man's arm hard enough to make him let go.

Chara's eyes widened slightly when she realized it was one of the guys from the group.

"What do you want? I'm kind of in a hurry here." She took a step back, not liking how tall he was compared to her and the fact that he seemed to be hiding one of his hands in his pocket.

The look on his face made it obvious that he wasn't here to apologize.

"You're a demon, aren't you?" he spat, his tone laced with malice.

That one word made Chara freeze. She hadn't been called a demon for years, and the name spurred nasty feelings that had been buried for those years. She'd kept her magic secret until just recently, after Frisk had established with many people that humans who used magic were to be treated as equals. There were still many who disagreed with the Ambassador, but few who spoke out or acted in significant ways on it. Evidently, this guy had waited until Frisk was out of range before bringing it up.

"I—"

"Shouldn't a demon like you know its place?" He started advancing towards her, ire filling his gaze. His hand clenched into a fist. A fist, Chara knew, that was intended for her.

No. No, not again. Chara had thought she'd finally gotten away from people like him. How naïve and ignorant was she? Of course she couldn't escape her past. Chara reflexively stepped back, keeping a few feet of distance between her and him. Her breathing quickened as a sickeningly familiar fear rose in her throat and threatened to paralyze her.

"I was shocked when the Ambassador set monsters free from the mountain, but I was somewhat open to it," he continued. Then his expression soured. "But giving demons free reign to do what they want and saying that they're equal with humans? That is going too far."

So far, he wasn't doing anything, but Chara knew it likely wouldn't last. She had to get out of here, before—

He suddenly lunged at her, hand outstretched. She dodged to the side, but his long arm was too close and he seized the front of her white T-shirt, stopping her from teleporting away. He proceeded to grab her with his other hand too and bring her to him, lifting her off the ground so his face was an inch from hers.

Chara wanted so badly to use magic or her knife to get away, but she knew that he would only use that against her and it would hurt both her and Frisk in the long run. No, she couldn't use violence here, and since most people were still against magic users like her, she knew it didn't matter that he was attacking her first. She'd still lose, because almost everyone still saw her as a demon.

"Do you really think that what the Ambassador says about you changes what you are, demon?" he seethed. "Do you think you have any right to tell us what to do?"

Chara struggled in his grasp, pushing away from him so she could breathe properly and beating down her fear to find the courage to speak.

"That's in the past," she told him firmly, meeting his gaze. "I'm not a demon, I'm just a magic user. You're not above me; we're equal now, whether you like it or not."

He narrowed his eyes. "Is that what you really think?"

He shifted his hands so he could hold her up with only one before pulling a pocketknife out from his back pocket in a swift movement, a glint in his eyes that sent shivers down Chara's spine. If this was going where she thought it was, then this guy was crazy and she'd definitely have to force her way out of this, which she knew was playing into his hands. Unfortunately, she was right.

"Don't you remember the penalty a demon pays for stepping out of line?" He raised his arm, the knife held tip-down in his hand and ready to strike down on the teenager.

Chara reached for her own dagger just as Frisk's voice rang out.

"Hey! Put Chara down! She's under my protection!"

Chara could hear the anxiety in Frisk's voice that reflected her own. The man, realizing he'd been spotted, glared at Chara for a moment before unexpectedly dropping her.

Chara reacted quickly and caught herself after initially stumbling. She swiftly backed away from the guy as Frisk ran up next to her, visibly trying to hide her worry.

"Don't expect me to be so nice next time, demon. Luck can only be on your side for so long." He glared at both of them for a moment longer before turning and walking away, folding and pocketing his knife as he went.

Chara took a moment to steady her rapid breathing. That had been close. Too close. People had tried to kill her plenty of times before, but now she couldn't fight back without making life more difficult for herself and her family, especially Frisk. She'd have to think of another way to get radicals like him off her back, or at least find a way to deal with them nonviolently.

"What took you so long?" Chara asked casually, fixing her shirt and jacket to hide the fact that her hands were shaking.

Frisk ducked her head apologetically. "I'm sorry. Some people that were in the group we got away from came and talked to me peacefully. It took me a minute to realize that they were just trying to keep me from checking on you. What happened? Are you hurt?"

Chara sighed. "No, I'm fine. I'm glad you came, or I might've done something that I'd regret." She glanced in the direction the guy had left in, purposely neglecting to mention how he'd been about to stab her. "He caught me by the hood and stopped me from teleporting. He's just a guy who can't get the ideas of the past out of his head."

Frisk looked unsatisfied, but didn't argue. "Hmm... I'll have to figure out what to do about those people. Are you sure you're okay?"

Chara knew she wasn't referring to her physical well-being this time. Truth be told, she was still trembling and she was shaken from the experience. People like that were the main reason why she ran to Mt. Ebott in the first place, and the reminder was far from pleasant.

"I'll be fine," she assured Frisk, giving the kid a smile.

The kid had enough to deal with already; Chara didn't want to give her more issues to deal with. Besides, this was her problem. She'd deal with it.

"How about we take a shortcut home?" Chara offered, holding out a steady hand to the young Ambassador. "We can figure out what to do about those guys later."

Frisk brightened up; she quite enjoyed Chara's magic, and by now she was used to teleporting.

"Sounds good!" Frisk answered, gladly putting her hand in the teenager's.

Chara grinned. Sure, there were those who hated her for what she was, but Frisk was one of the few humans to see her as a person and treat her like one. In a way, they were each other's guardians. Because of Frisk, Chara had hope for a brighter future with humans, monsters, and magic users alike living in harmony, and for that, Chara would forever be grateful to the kid.